Happy Birthday, Barack!

From August 1, 2010, that's "Happy Birthday, Barack!" 

C.I. wrote:

 She Hulk declares, "Barack celebrate birthday alone! She Hulk go to Spain. Don't make me angry! Grrrr!" Barack agrees, "Don't make her angry. She's big time scary." Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.

Michelle as She-Hulk is one of my favorite bits.

She does have an inclination to show angry faces when her picture is taken.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, November 21, 2013.  Chaos and violence continue, the floods continue, John Wright's simplistic 'answers' are damaging, Anonymous has a video, and more.



Did you hear about those awful Gittes?


Those people are just evil.  They just want to take over the world.  The whole region would be better off without them.


Thank goodness, we know that they are inherently evil, right?


Now we know the cause of all the violence.


And since it's just those damn Gittes, there's no reason to look to what anyone else is doing wrong, certainly not a government.


It's just those Gittes, they have death and destruction on the brain -- it's in their blood.


So now that we know the problem we just have to figure out if we're going to arrest them all or just kill 'em?  Hunt em down, exterminate them, right?



There are no Gittes.

The above is stated for a reason (and Gittes because I had Chinatown on the brain -- script by Robert Towne and Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway star with Jack Nicholson playing private investigator JJ Gittes).



For the second day in a row, RT has allowed John Wright to blame Sunnis for the violence in the Middle East including Iraq.


How stupid or hateful is he?

Does he even know what the situation is in Syria?

But Wright tells you the problem is Sunnis.  Sometimes he says "Sunni fundamentalists."

There are some Sunnis who do resort to violence - -they're not the only group in the rgion that does -- and it apparently is 'cute' to call them "fundamentalists."  But 'cute' or not, that's also inaccurate.  Fundemantalists are one thing -- in any religion, in any area.  They take their religion very seriously.  Doing so means they don't usually resort to violence.  In the US, we have some religious fundamentalists who are opposed to this or that.  Religious fundamentalist in the US do not, for example, kill abortion doctors.  The ones who do that are extremists or fanatics; however, they aren't really "fundamentalists."  Fundamentalists would take to prayer not to bombing an abortion clinic.

Fundamentalists are different than I am.  I live a secular life with modern toys and amusements.  But they're being different from me -- or me being different from them -- doesn't give me the right to misdescribe them.  And pay really close attention here because this is the part that effects all of humanity:  When you hold up violence as a form of religious fundamentalism?

The grown ups who are fundamentalists blow you off.  They know better.

They know that they have strict observance of their faith and that's what makes them fundamentalists.

Kids?

Kids are always trying to make sense of the world and figure out where they fit in -- that is what growing ups about.  So you take a confused kid with religious leanings -- especially one shocked by some new development or modernity -- and you raise him -- via the media -- to believe that religious fundamentalism -- strict observance of your faith -- means bombing and killing people?

You've just created a generation of people who now believe this is how you express your faith.

That's especially likely in Iraq where there are so many orphans as a result of the illegal war.  In November of last year, Caroline Hawley (BBC News) reported "that between 800,000 to a million Iraqi children have lost one or both of their parents."  That's a huge number.  It's also probably an undercount -- 4.5 million is probably closer to reality., the Iraqi Orphan Foundation estimates the number to be 3 million and, at the start of 2009, Timothy Williams (New York Times) reported 740,000 widows in Iraq -- not all widows have children or children under the age of 18 but there are a huge number of orphans in Iraq without any parent and that was 2009.  The violence hasn't ceased since 2009 and, in fact, it has picked up.  Regardless of whether the number is four million or one million, that's a huge number -- especially in Iraq where the population is estimated.

The teenage years are fraught with confusion -- bodies change, hormones rage, you're still a child but confronted with adult situations.  For some teenagers, that period can be one where they find salvation in religion or retreat deeply into it, however you want to see it.  Do you really want to create the message for this group of children that bombing and shooting -- killing -- is religious fundamentalism?

John Wright's uninformed and ugly stereotype is not only false, it is highly damaging.


But it is false as well.

By blaming Sunnis for the problems in Iraq, Wright's able to ignore so much including how Nouri al-Maliki fuels the violence.


The mass arrests of Sunnis fuel the violence.  Monday, for example, 85 people were rounded up in Wasit Province alone.  The mass arrests would be disturbing in any country.


They're especially disturbing in Iraq.

There is no speedy justice.  People linger in jails, detention centers and prisons with the no court appearance and, in fact, often with no charges brought against them.

Some held in prisons, jails and detention centers can't be charged.  They were arrested but they were arrested for no real reason. They aren't  even suspects.  But, in Iraq, when you can't find the suspect, you're allowed to arrest their wives or mothers or siblings or fathers or children or grandparents.

They're rounded up and arrested with no one believing they broke a law.  They're arrested, taken from their homes and thrown behind bars because they're related to a suspect.

The disappeared (into the 'legal system') are among the issues fueling the ongoing protests.  As Mayada Al-Askari (Gulf News) observed Monday,  "In the past two years, demonstrations have increased in Baghdad and other governorates as people have been calling for better services, the release of women detainees and more civil rights."

Now if the problem is just these 'bad' Sunnis, as John Wright keeps insisting, then we don't have to worry about what Nouri's doing, we don't have to worry about a minority population being disenfranchised.

Let's drop back to the October 4th snapshot:



Protests took place today.   Iraqi Spring MC notes protests took place in Baghdad, in Tikrit,  Najaf,  Ramadi, Falluja,  Samarra, Baquba, Balad Ruz,  Jalawla, among other sites.   Protests have been taking place non-stop since December 21st.   Of today's protests, NINA notes:


Preachers of Friday-prayers called on the sit-inner in their sermons to continue the sit-ins as are the only way to get rid of injustice and abuse policy.
They said in the common prayer which held in six regions of Diyala province : " Iraqi government must not deal with the demands of the protestors in a double standard . Urging worshipers to unify their stand until getting the demands, release innocent prisoners and detainees from prisons.


Kitabat reports that Sheikh Mohammed al-Dulaimi spoke at the Falluja protest and accused the government of supporting militias who target and kill Sunnis.  The Sheikh said that instead of implementing the demands of the protesters, the government would rather target or ignore the protesters.  National Iraqi News offers the Sheikh said, ""The Iraqi government rather than implement the demands of the protesters and adopt genuine reconciliation with people, it tracking and embarrassing the protest leaders, since 9 Months ago claimants the usurped legal rights."


Sheikh Mohammed al-Dulaimi is correct in his accusation:  Nouri al-Maliki (prime minister and chief thug of Iraq) is supporting Shi'ite militias.  Tim Arango (New York Times) broke that story last week -- but somehow the US Congress and the rest of the media missed it.  (The media may be playing dumb.  Members of Congress actually missed it, I spoke with several yesterday about Tim Arango's report.)   Arango noted:

In supporting Asaib al-Haq, Mr. Maliki has apparently made the risky calculation that by backing some Shiite militias, even in secret, he can maintain control over the country’s restive Shiite population and, ultimately, retain power after the next national elections, which are scheduled for next year. Militiamen and residents of Shiite areas say members of Asaib al-Haq are given government badges and weapons and allowed freedom of movement by the security forces.

So in addition to all the other targeting, they're also being targeted by Shi'ite militias and these are government sanctioned militias -- armed and outfitted by Nouri al-Maliki.

But don't worry about that.

That doesn't matter.

Remember, John Wright knows the problem: It's the Sunnis.  That's the only problem.  So there's no need to reform the government or to examine how all of this effects Iraq, 


John Wright's xenophobia and ugly stereotypes are not helping anyone.


National Iraqi News Agency reports:


Security source told NINA that SWAT force raided the house of Hijra Mosque's Imam and Preacher, Salam Selbi al-Fahdawi, taking him to a security center.For its part, the Association of Moslem Scholars said that it will close on Friday all of the province's mosques protesting the arrests being practiced by security forces against the province's dignitaries and mosques imams and preachers, including Thursday's arrest, and that demonstration will follow the closure of mosques to protest the arrests and demanding the release of detainees.



You think that's gong to calm the violence?  Or the arrest in Ramadi of former army officer Ahmed al-Dulaimi?

Monday came news that 12 more people were executed.  Iraq was in the top three countries for numbers of executions last year with 130 executions.  This year there have already been at least 144 executions.  Ammar Karim (AFP) observed, "The growing use of the death penalty comes with violence in Iraq at a level not seen since 2008, when the country was just emerging from a brutal sectarian conflict."


And the violence just continues.   Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports that an al-Sadiya suicide car bombing has caused multiple deaths and injuries. Sinan Salaheddin (AP) counts 38 dead and forty-five injured.  National Iraqi News Agency reports Sheikh Mohammed Homadi was assassinated in Mosul, a western Baghdad car bombing claimed 6 lives and left fourteen people injured, a Qa'im bombing left two Iraqi soldiers injured, a Mosul bombing near a hotel left seven people injured, a northern Baghdad bombing claimed 1 life and left five people injured, a northern Baghdad suicide bombing targeting a military checkpoint left 3 Iraqi soldiers dead and six injured, 2 people were shot dead inside a Baghdad food store, 1 Peshmerga was shot dead in Mosul, a Baquba roadside bombing left one person injured, a Mousl armed clash left 2 police members killed and two more injured, a Khanaqin car bombing claimed 4 lives and left ten people injured, and a suspect -- in the Wednesday murder of Tharwat Moahmed Rachid (Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's chief body guard) -- was shot dead in Sulaimaniyah Province.


Iraq Body Count notes that, through Wednesday, there have been 503 violent deaths in Iraq so far this month and over 7,800 for the year so far.   AFP's Prashant Rao Tweets:

Prashant Rao ‏@prashantrao 12h

With today's attacks in Iraq, the death toll this month has topped 400 for an eighth consecutive month - @AFP tally: http://u.afp.com/IraqToll 

• Reply
• Retweet
• Favorite

AFP reports on the flooding in Iraq and notes protests over inadequate public services:

“What is happening is because of the government,” said Ali Hussein, a protester in Nasiriyah.

“There must be real measures taken after what has happened. They should take things seriously, as the conditions here are really bad.”
Six people died in building collapses caused by flooding in Nasiriyah, while two women and a child were killed in similar circumstances in Diwaniyah.
In Babil province, south of Baghdad, two children died as a result of collapsing buildings, while more than 50 families had to take shelter at a tourist resort after their houses flooded.

As we've already noted this week, Iraq's now in the rainy season.  This is not surprising, it happens every year.  It is surprising that Nouri has refused to improve the public services.

Iraq's sewage civil system last had major work in the 1970s.  Despite bringing in over 100 billion yearly for oil, Nouri won't spend money to fix things. Last December, he announced he would fix the public sewage system.

And then, he didn't.

Which is Nouri's pattern.

Without a working sewage system, the heavy rains do not drain, they stand in the streets and that's why most of the flooding is taking place.

That's on Nouri and no one else.

Turning to the United States, David DeGraw notes this Anonymous video to the music of Linkin Park's "A Light That Never Comes."










"A Light That Never Comes" is written by Linkin Park and Steve Aoki and first appears on their new album Recharged.

Nah you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire below me
You cannot catch me, cannot hold me
You cannot stop much less control me

When it rains it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care when it breaks your doors
Say it's all you can take, better take some more

(Oh)
'Cause I know what it's like to test fate
Had my shoulders pressed with that weight
Stood up strong in spite of that hate
(Oh)
Night gets darkest right before dawn
What doesn't kill you makes you more strong
And I've been waiting for it so long

The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
(Oh)
Waiting for a light that never comes

When I was young they told me, they said
Make your bed, you lie in that bed
A king can only reign 'til instead
There comes that day, it's "off with his head"

(Oh)
Night gets darkest right before dawn
What don't kill you makes you more strong
You'll have my mercy then when you're gone

The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
(Oh)
Waiting for a light that never comes

And I told them: nah you don't know me
Lightning above and a fire belowme
You cannot catch me, you cannot hold me
You cannot stop much less control me

When it rains it pours
When the floodgates open, brace your shores
That pressure don't care, it breaks your door
Say it's all you can take, better take some more

Oh oh oh oh...
Waiting for a light that never comes
The nights go on
Waiting for a light that never comes
I chase the sun
Waiting for a light that never comes
Oh oh oh
Waiting for a light that never comes

Anonymous notes:




Reform is the light that never comes. Tyranny reigns. Revolution is all we have left... This video was created in support of the Anonymous call for a Worldwide Wave of Action ~ #www. Here are several sites that have reposted the original call to action:

EvolveSociety
http://evolvesociety.org/feature/a-ca...

TruthOut
http://www.truth-out.org/speakout/ite...

InterOcuppy
http://interoccupy.net/blog/a-call-fo...

US Day of Rage
http://www.twitlonger.com/show/n_1rrmtgk

Popular Resistance
http://www.popularresistance.org/a-ca...

AnonInsiders
http://anoninsiders.net/anonymous-cal...

Social media pages have been created in support on the following locations:

EvolveSociety:
https://evolvesociety.org/network/ind...

Twitter:
https://twitter.com/WaveOfAction

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Worldw...












iraq
caroline hawley
bbc news
timothy williams
the new york times
afp
the associated press
sinan salaheddin
cnn
mohammed tawfeeq
ammar karim

Read on ...

Barack Addresses Netroots Nation

From July 25, 2010, that's "Barack Addresses Netroots Nation."

C.I. wrote:

Barack explains, "If you want me to do something, you have to make me. I'm the Slacker President." Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.

And how ironic that this is the comic to highlight when Barack's held his "I'll fix it, I swear!" press conference (on ObamaCare) today?  

Barack is the joke that just keeps on giving.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, November 14, 2013.  Chaos and violence continue, Matt Olsen talks to Congress about al Qaeada, Brett McGurk thinks he can solve the problems of Iraq's religious minorities by just meeting with Catholics, the US government has top secret information about the September 1st attack on Camp Ashraf, the process of elimination means that the information is about Nouri's participation in the murders, Barack Obama covers up for Bully Boy Bush like a true friend or maybe just like a man in love, and much more.

Before we get to yesterday's hearing on Iraq, let's start with an example.  There's a small yard three homes face.  Daisy uses a third to grow rose bushes, Millie opts for tomatoes, Diane grows cabbage.  There's a well that all three use to water their plants in order to avoid dragging a water hose across the street.  Then one day Diane walls off the well and puts a padlock on the gate.  The neighborhood gets together to make peace and Diane agrees to share the water.  But she doesn't follow up on that and begins making other demands, saying the roses belong to her and so do the tomatoes.

The neighborhood tries to fix the peace again -- "fix" being the key word.

They say to the three women that the actions are hurting the neighborhood.  They insist that peace is imperative.  From now on, they say, for peace, Daisy will give Diane a third of her roses and Millie will give Diane a third of her tomatoes.

And that, the neighborhood insists, will bring peace.

That's not peace.  That's a bully, a mafia, a crook that's already refused to follow agreements now getting more concessions.

Nouri al-Maliki is Diane.

After his State of Law lost the 2010 elections, he brought the entire government of Iraq to a political standstill for 8 months as he refused to step down so that a new prime minister could be named.

The White House backed him and went around to the leaders of the political blocs, telling them that Nouri could hold out for another eight months, insisting that if they loved Iraq, if they cared about it, they needed to give Nouri a second term.

And, look, they'll put it in writing, make it a contract, and make sure that the needs of each bloc are addressed by getting legal concessions from Nouri that will be in the contract.

That contract is the US-brokered Erbil Agreement.  It gave Nouri the second term that the voters didn't give him.  But he stalled on implementing the promises he made.  He insisted they would take place but first he needed to name a Cabinet, first his Cabinet needed to get focused, first he needed to address government corruption (to get protesters off the streets), first . . .

He was supposed to implement it in November 2010.  By the summer of 2011, with it still not implemented, Iraqiya (the slate that won the 2010 elections), the Kurds and cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr were publicly demanding that Nouri implement The Erbil Agreement.

This is the political crisis and it continues because Nouri still hasn't honored his promises.

Into this environment stumbles Salah Nasrawi (Al Jazeera) idiotically insisting that it's time for 'compromise,' for everyone to do so:

Iraq's main ethnic and sectarian groups - Kurds, Shia Muslims and Sunni Muslims- each with its own militias, have to share power. Iraq cannot be ruled by one side, nor divided among all. It was in dire need of visionary, credible and strategic leadership to unite people and lead the transition to democracy. That collective effort was, and still is, absent, creating competitive and even violent approaches to power. One of the enduring sources of instability in Iraq is the policies and tactics of the political class to either maximise gains, or stop the other side from doing so, all at the expense of the common good.
Many of Iraq's problems stem from its political leaders who are exploiting the ethno-sectarian divisions in their favour to grab more power. Their failure to craft an inclusive democracy has deepened rivalries and given rise to sectarianism, ethnic chauvinism and authoritarianism. Even the constitution which has established a term of reference to solve the power-sharing problems, has been breached time and again.

No, that's lying.

If you've already compromised in good faith and honored your part of a legal contract only to have the other party refuse to own their part?  You don't compromise again.

To compromise again is to fail the people you represent, the people who are counting on you.  

There should be no agreements or compromises until Nouri honors what he's already promised.

And that means actions.   That does not mean a new contract where Nouri gets what he wants and says he'll honor the promises he already made.

The Kurds fell for that last time.

Nouri took an oath to uphold the Iraqi Constitution when he was made prime minister in 2006.  The Constitution -- then and now -- includes Article 140 which addresses how you resolve oil-rich Kirkuk -- a disputed province claimed by both the central government out of Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government.  The Constitution compels Nouri to hold a census and referendum to resolve the dispute.  And it also calls on the prime minister to do this by the end of 2007.

Nouri never did it.

And it was stupid on the part of the Kurds to think that someone who refused to honor the Iraqi Constitution would now honor a contract.  Yes, the White House told Kurdish leaders The Erbil Agreement was a legally binding contract and, yes, the White House lied that they would back The Erbil Agreement 100%.  

But when someone's legally required to do X and they haven't?  You don't sign any agreement with them until they do X.  

The Erbil Agreement was bad enough but now here comes a 'helper' via Al Jazeera -- which can report from Iraq but so rarely does.  And the 'helper' has a grand plan: From where you're standing right now, compromise!

But all but Nouri are standing on less ground than they had in 2010 and they don't need to disappoint their followers by giving up any more ground.

US House Rep Grace Meng:  Regarding the issue of Iraqi Jewish artifacts that are currently on display in The National Archives, I want to especially acknowledge and thank Congresswoman [Ileanna] Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman [Steve] Israel and Senator [Chuck] Schumer for their leadership on this issue.  Rescued from Baghdad in 2003, the collection of ancient artifacts include letters, books and personal photos that were left behind by Jews after WWII who experienced extreme anti-Semiticsm including harassment and violence.  It is imperative that these artifacts are returned to the descendents of the Jewish community from which they were wrongly confiscated and not the Iraqi government.  We must ensure that justice for the Iraqi Jewish community.

Meng was speaking at yesterday's House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa hearing.  US House Rep Ileana Ros-Lehtinen is the Subcommittee Chair and US House Rep Ted Deutch is the Ranking Member and the witness appearing before the Subcomittee was Brett McGurk.  Yesterday we focused on the Jewish Archive aspect.  

Today, we're going to focus on religious minorities and Camp Ashraf.   Religious minorities have long been under attack.  Will McGurk's words reassure? 

US House Rep Steve Chabot:  While Iraqi Christians find themselves in an increasingly hostile environment, the Kurdish region was a safe haven for Christian refugees in Iraq.  However, a number of bombings against Christians in Kurdish -- in the Kurdish region have changed the security situation for Christians.  And with reports of discrimination, Christians no longer feel safe even in the -- in the Kurdish region.  What's the administration doing to help Christians and other minorities in Iraq and what is the Maliki government doing to protect Iraqi religious minorities?

Brett McGurk:  Well, thank you, very important, uh question, and at the State Dept we are focused on this every single day I try to meet with the Iraqi Christian community here in the United States.  When I'm in Iraq, I try to meet with the Christian leaders.  Our Ambassadors engage with them on a regular basis.  On my last trip, I met with Bishop [Bashar]  Warda who's in Erbil  And we-we asked him, what do you really need from us?  And he needed some more facilitation with the Kurdish government and he needed some help to resolve some land disputes.  And they have now set up a joint-commission to do just that.  Uhm, the prime minister met Archbishop [Louis Raphael] Sako -- the main Christian leader in Iraq -- to talk about threats to the Christian community.  Uh, the real problem in Iraq now is that every community is under threat.  The casualties that have taken place this year in Iraq are a threat to everybody but the Christians in particular and some of the other minority communities such as the Shabaks and the Yazidis are under real threat from these al Qaeda groups.  We are talking with the Christian -- the Iraqi Christian community here and also Christian leaders in Baghdad about what we can do to harness local forces to protect their local communities and then working with the Iraqi government to get resources into those communities.  And we've made some progress over the last three to four months but I-I -- I just -- Our eyes are wide open that this problem isn't -- Again, the more that al Qaeda gains strength and, uh, gains roots in western Iraq, the greater the threat will be.  That's why we have to go after that in a very serious way.

Sako is the main Christian leader in Iraq?  That's certainly going to be news to a lot of others in Iraqis?  But Shabaks and Yazidis aren't Catholic.  How will they be helped when their needs aren't explored.  If you're not talking to them and their leaders, how are you helping them?  You're not.

In Mosul today, NINA reports, four homes were blown up. Who lived in them?  Shabaks.  They're being targeted and the State Dept isn't even listening to them.  Or most Christians because they're really not in Baghdad these days.  The migration was started long ago but really accelerated after October 31, 2010 when Our Lady of Salvation Church was attacked in Baghdad.

Not only are these Christians in large and increasing numbers, their needs are going to be different than those living in Baghdad.  They are refugees.  And what is the State Dept doing about that?  Nothing and apparently because they're not even aware of them or the need to converse with them.

Let's move over to the Ashraf residents.  As of September, Camp Ashraf in Iraq is empty.  All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty).  Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were  welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks.  The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one.  As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out."  Those weren't the last attacks.  They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept.  (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.)   In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."  So the US has an obligation to protect the residents.  3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf.  They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part.  A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday.   That was the second attack this year alone.   February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah.  Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured.  Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release."  They were attacked again September 1st.   Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents.

The September 1st attack was not minor to the Subcommittee.  Chair Ros-Lehtinen told McGurk she wanted regular updates on the T-walls and how many are being put up to protect the Ashraf community from mortar attacks. He stated that there were "about 14,000 now" ready to be assembled and put up.  But US House Rep Brad Sherman pointed out there were 17,000 T-walls up when he last visited Iraq, up at Camp Liberty, but now they're are less than 200.  Clearly, T-walls were taken down (by the orders of Nouri al-Maliki although McGurk insists it was because of the desires of the Ashraf community).  US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher had one of his constituents stand.  The man lost family in the September 1st attack. He was one of the Ashraf community supporters who regularly attend hearings wearing yellow (they also turned out in full force to protest Nouri's visit to DC).  US House Rep Ted Poe noted them in his remarks to McGurk,  "These people that are here, working people, Americans, and they are concerned about people that they love in Iraq.  And they constantly are losing friends and family members to attacks."  These attacks have lasting effects and the State Dept has done very little.

US House Rep Joseph Wilson:  . . . but a real tragedy has been the murders at Camp Ashraf.  Since December 2008, when our government turned over the protections of the  camp to the Iraqi government, Prime Minister Maliki has repeatedly assured the world that he would treat the residents humanely and also that he would protect them from harm.  Yet it has not kept the promise promise as 111 people have been killed  in cold blood and more than a thousand wounded in five attacks including the September 1st massacre, what is the United States doing to prevent further attacks and greater loss of life in terms of ensuring the safety and security of the residents

Brett McGurk:  Congressman, first let me say thank you for your-your service and your family's service.  Speaking for myself and my team who've spent many years in Iraq and have known many friends we've lost in Iraq, it's something we think about every day and it inspires our work and our dedication to do everything possible to succeed under very difficult circumstances.  Regarding Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty, the only place for the MEK and the residents of Camp Liberty to be safe is outside of Iraq.  Camp Liberty is a former US military base  We lost Americans, right nearby  there, as late as the summer of 2010.  We lost a number of Americans to rocket fire and indirect fire attacks and our embassy compounds were the most secure facilities  in the country as late as the summer of 2010, that was when we had about 60,000 troops in the country in the country doing everything that they possibly could do to hunt down the rocket teams that we knew were targeting us.  Uh, there are cells in Iraq  -- we believe directed and inspired from Iran -- which are targeting the MEK, there's no question about that.  And the only place for the MEK to be safe is outside of Iraq.  That is why the State Dept and the Secretary have appointed a colleague of mine, Jonathan Winer, to work this issue full time. to find a place for them to go. Right now, there's about 2900 residents at Camp Liberty and Albania's taken in about 210, Germany's agreed to take in 100 and that's it.  We need to find a place for these - these people to go.  It is an urgent and humanitarian issue, an international humanitarian crisis.  And I went to the camp to meet with the survivors, to speak with the families, and what they told me and I promised them to do everything I possibly could to get them to safety.  Uh, it is incumbent upon the Iraqi government to do everything it possibly can to to keep them safe -- and that means the T-walls and the sandbags and everything else.  Uh, but the only place for the residents to be safe is outside Iraq.  Since the tragic attacks at Camp Liberty on September 1st 1300 Iraqis were killed, 52 people were massacred at Camp Ashraf.  This was a tragic, horrifying act.  But since then, 1300 Iraqis in the country have been killed.  The country is incredibly dangerous and the MEK, to be safe, have to leave Iraq and we want to find a place for them to go.  

US House Rep Joseph Wilson:  Well I appreciate your commitment to that.  After the September 1st massacre, the State Dept called for an independent investigation by the United Nations.  74 days on, nothing's been done, let alone an independent investigation.  Could you tell this Committee whether any independent probe has been carried out or not?  If so, by whom and what is the finding?  If not, why not?  Five attacks have been launched against the residents and not one person has been arrested.  What do we do to maintain promises of protection?

Brett McGurk: Uh, Congressman, shortly after the attack, we worked with the United Nations to make sure that they got a team up to Camp Ashraf within 24 hours of the attack to document exactly what happened because there was a lot of stories about what happened.  They went there took photographs of the bodies to make sure that it was documented as to how these people were killed and there's no question about it.  We have looked very closely at all of our information I know that I've-I've had the opportunity to brief some members of the Subcommittee in a classified setting which I'd be pleased to do again to update you on the information that we have.We did call for an independent investigation and for the UN to be involved in this process.  The UN was also involved in making sure that the survivors got out of Camp Ashraf and out of harms way to get to get to Camp Liberty.  But, again, Congressman, I would welcome the opportunity to brief you and discuss with you in a classified setting everything we know that happened on September 1st.

Here's a question.  Why did it take the September 1st attack for the State Dept to hired someone to work on the issue?  In fairness to Secretary of State John Kerry, maybe the question should be why, in four years, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton didn't hired anyone?  Or how about why did she fight a federal court for years before taking the MEK off the terrorist list?

And if this i really considered "an international humanitarian crisis" by the State Dept, could Brett or John inform the spokespersons for the State Dept because Iraq rarely comes up and Camp Ashraf  is not a topic -- Iraqi Christians as well -- that interests the spokespersons.

Seems to me if you have a semi-daily press briefing by the Dept, you use that briefing to highlight "an international humanitarian crisis."  

I'm also confused why you need to go into a classified briefing to discuss an attack on Camp Ashraf?

McGurk hurled every imagination you could think of at Iran in one remark or another.

So he's not protecting Iran.

Who's he protecting?

It would appear he doesn't want to speak publicly about how Nouri al-Maliki allows and aids attacks on the Ashraf community.

This was made even more clear in another exchange.

US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher:  You believe them that that there's really a security reason that they haven't put those T-walls up at Camp Liberty?

Brett McGurk:  No, I do not think that there are legitimate security reasons that the T-walls have not been put up.

US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher: You sounded to me when I was listening to you -- and I listened very closely to what you said -- that we can't blame the leadership -- the Maliki leadership for the lack of security at Camp Liberty?

Brett McGurk:  Uh, no.  And in fact my conversation with Maliki was that you need to get as many T-walls into that facility as possible without any excuses.  Period.  Full stop.  So I -- if I -- You may have heard me say something differently but I 

[crosstalk]

US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher:  Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you said.  Now tell me this.  Those troops that came into Camp Ashraf and murdered 52 unarmed MEK refugees, you hold that this was done by a rogue element in the Iraqi army or do you think the Maliki regime is complicit in this murder?

Brett McGurk:  I don't believe there was a rogue element.  I think a lot of this goes back to the background of the situation.  Camp Ashraf was seen as a forward operating base to the MEK --

US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher:  I don't need a background on it.  I'm not trying to find out.  It's clear that we had Iraqi soldiers going in there murdering people who are unarmed, tying their hands behind their back and then blowing their brains out.  This is an atrocity.  It's a crime against humanity.  Now, I don't need a background to find out the background on Camp Ashraf.  Do we hold that government responsible or is this a rogue element?  And if it was a rogue element in the military, what has the Maliki regime done to deal with that?  

Brett McGurk:  Congressman, I would -- I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you in a classified setting and tell you everything we know about this attack including who committed the atrocity. 

US House Rep Dana Rohrabacher:  You know, I'm not asking for all the information that you know.  I'm asking who we're holding accountable.  And we aren't.  Clearly  we are sending a message to the Maliki government that it's okay because we're not doing anything about it.   We have -- we have -- Here's a picture of a gentleman who used to work up here and we have -- and I submit this right now, Mr. [Acting] Chairman [Ron DeSantis], for the record -- a gentleman who used to work on Capitol Hill representing the MEK and we saw him on many occasions.  And guess what? [Pointing to photo] Here's his body at Camp Ashraf where they have murdered him -- brutally tied his hands behind his back and blown his brains out. We need -- we need to -- If we excuse this by lack of attention, we are sending our own message as to what values we have and we're sending other dictators and terrorists a message as well about American weakness. I am not satisfied with what this administration is doing.  And one last note, Mr. Chairman, and that is: These people are under attack.  I think at the very least, and this is my opinion right now, we should take the people in at Camp Liberty.  Let's just take them in.

Again, McGurk had no problem launching any and every allegation at Iran in his comments to the Subcommittee.  So what's the classified issue?  It really appears the State Dept knows what the press does, Nouri was responsible for the September 1st attack.  

There was another exchange on the topic of Ashraf that we need to include.

US House Rep Ted Poe:  I've been to Iraq a lot.  I've seen a lot of people in Iraq.. and I met with Maliki.  I was with Mr. Rohrabacher.  We met with Maliki and we asked him this one question:  Can we go see the people at Camp Ashraf?  And he said: Absolutely not. In fact, he got so incensed that we asked that question when we were on a helicopter to the north to see the Kurds, he went to the State Dept and asked us to leave the country.  We were kicked out of the country.  So when you see him get a little emotional -- and me as well -- here we are giving billions to a country where the president -- or the prime minister -- refuses to let members of Congress see what's taking place in Camp Ashraf.  That's the background.  Five attacks on Ashraf and Liberty.  Five. Over a period of years.  Not one criminal has been brought to justice.  Not one.  We don't even know their names or who they are.  If the Iraqis were serious about investigating, they would at least bring in somebody.  If those investigators worked for me when I was a prosecutor, they'd have been fired several attacks ago. These people that are here, working people, Americans, and they are concerned about people that they love in Iraq.  And they constantly are losing friends and family members to attacks.  Meanwhile, the United States?  I'm not sure what we're doing.  I now understand that not any of the witnesses have been talked to about the latest attack.  These are real people that are killed and I'm sorry for the graphicness of this poster but this has happened at Camp Liberty where the people were in the clinic and they were assassinated [the poster he held showed 4 people on the ground dead].  They were tracked down and murdered.  Now we would think, being the freedom loving country we are, that we would be opposed to this type of activity and we would do a little bit more to pressure it because it is our responsibility. You have made a comment that we are not taking these people into the United States because they used to be a foreign terrorist organization but the State Dept through the Secretary of State can waive that as they did with 12 previous people who came in.  When I've talked to other countries about why don't you take these folks from the MEK?  You know what the first thing they say is?  'The United States is hypocritical.  They say that people ought to take them but you won't take any of them.'  Got a good point.  When we talk to the Germans and the British and the French and the people in the Netherlands that they ought to take the former MEK, when they say 'well you're not taking any of them.  Good? It's an excellent point.  I find it hard to believe that the Iraqi security forces are unaware of this attack when they had to go through numerous checkpoints to get to the place where they murdered these folks.  The Iraqis are responsible for guarding them and they were missing in action, they all went on a doughnut break at the time that these homicides occurred -- they're always missing.  And there's a debate about the seven who were taken and captured I've become a real big fan of the French Foreign Affairs Minister -- especially with this last situation where he stopped this bad deal with Iran -- in a letter to some of his people in the Parliament, he makes the comment that, as far as he's concerned, these 7 are still in Iraq. My question is: Have these seven people been rescued to your knowledge -- no matter where they are?

Brett McGurk: No.

Has anybody in the State Dept interrogated the survivors as far as a criminal investigation gone on?  Have we sent in all of the investigators that we have?  Or any of the investigators -- what happened?  What did these people look like, etc, etc?

Uh-uh, we have turned our -- as much information as we possibly can to find out where these seven people are and I'd be happy as I've done with some members of the Subcommittee to brief you in a classified setting. 

That's not my question.  My question is have they been asked specifically about the murders in the camp that they survived?  About who they were?  What they looked like? What they said?  What language were they speaking?  Interrogated about those basic criminal investigation questions?  

Brett McGurk:  We have asked, uh, our contacts with the MEK that we deal with to put their contacts and those who have information in contact with our experts at our embassy to connect some of the dots.

US House Rep Ted Poe: We've waived 12 and allowed them to come into the United States.  Why haven't we waived that for more people who want to come?

Brett McGurk:  Congressman, I want to be very precise in my language.  When I said that a legal fix would help given the FTO designation, we are under, we are deliberating about our policy regarding entry into the United States and we are -- no decision has been made.  That is why I cannot discuss this further here.

US House Rep Ted Poe:  But it's the law, is it not, that the Secretary can waive that under the current law right now?  That's not any big secret.

Brett McGurk:  There are mechanisms under which a limited number of people would be able to come into the US, yes. 

US House Rep Ted Poe:  So what do we tell these folks?  Freedom loving folks in a place where they don't want to be.  We won't take them.  We can't get other countries to take them.  And you want to know what they're waiting for? The next attack if we don't hold Maliki accountable. I just want to make this comment.  I don't know if you've seen this letter or not but 44 of us -- 22 Democrats and 22 Republicans-- have sent a letter to the President of the United States saying, 'No more money to Iraq until there's accountability for the murders in Camp Ashraf.'  Have you seen that letter?

Brett McGurk:  I have seen that letter. 

Briefly during the hearing, US House Rep Ron DeSantis was acting Chair when the Chair had to step out of the hearing.  DeSantis is also an Iraq War veteran.  US House Rep Adam Kinzinger also serves on the Subcommittee and he is an Iraq War veteran.  We may include Kinzinger tomorrow.  Of DeSantis?  We'll note Brett's an idiot.

And policy is being made on his stupidity.

To DeSantis, Brett McGurk explained that the suicide bombers in Iraq?  They're foreigners.  They're foreign males who can't do anything else (like be a mechanic, Brett offered), so they come into Iraq and become a suicide bomber.

Hey, last month, schools were targeted.  One successfully for the suicide bomber in that it resulted in killings.  Less than two weeks ago, another one unsuccessfully for the suicide bomber in that the bomber was caught.  From the November 4th snapshot: " Al Mada notes that a female suicide bomber was caught yesterday before she could blow herself up in front of a primary school."  Oh.  And get this.  She was Iraqi.

Brett's so deeply stupid.  And his stupidity is used as the baseline when making policy, that's really frightening.

We're covering the hearing one more time.   It's an important hearing.  And it's one the press has ignored.  Did Cheryl Mills ask them not to cover that up to?

Who knows, but it was an important hearing.   We were at a hearing this afternoon which got a little attention thanks to an AP report.  Everyone's re-writing AP and including the one line quote.  No one's noting the hearing itself because they weren't there and AP didn't identify it.  It was an afternoon hearing of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee and the witnesses were Matt Olsen, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, FBI Director James B. Comey and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Rand Beers.  Olsen did not just bring up Iraq in his prepared testimony.  He was giving a survey of al Qaeda in many countries.  Here's what he noted about al Qaeda in Mesopotamia: 

al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, is at its strongest point since its peak in 2006 and this year has significantly increased its pace of attacks. The group is exploiting increasingly permissive security environments in Iraq and Syria to fundraise, plan, and train for attacks. AQI has maintained an experienced cadre of operatives in Iraq. The group's amir last year initiated a campaign of attacks against prisons to free members, which culminated this July in high-profile coordinated attacks on two Iraqi prisons that freed hundreds of prisoners. In addition, AQI continues to operate in Syria, where the group has recruited many foreign fighters, including Westerners. AQI's growing cadre of Westerners in Syria probably bolsters the group's pool of external operatives who could be used to target the west.

Violence?  Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) reports 67 killed in Iraq today in violence with another 152 injured.

From the reality of the illegal war, let's move to the fairytale. 

And I'm so sad
like a good book
I can't put this 
Day Back
a sorta fairytale
with you 
a sorta fairytale
with you 
-- "A Sorta Fairytale," written by Tori Amos, first appears on her album Scarlet's Walk

For those who can't remember, let's revisit former President Bill Clinton's 2008 remarks:


"But since you raised the judgment issue, let's go over this again. That is the central argument for his campaign. 'It doesn't matter that I started running for president less a year after I got to the Senate from the Illinois State Senate. I am a great speaker and a charismatic figure and I'm the only one who had the judgment to oppose this war from the beginning. Always, always, always.' "
[. . .]
"Second, it is wrong that Senator Obama got to go through 15 debates trumpeting his superior judgment and how he had been against the war in every year, numerating the years, and never got asked one time, not once, 'Well, how could you say that when you said in 2004 you didn't know how you would have voted on the resolution? You said in 2004 there was no difference between you and George Bush on the war and you took that speech you're now running on off your website in 2004* and there's no difference in your voting record and Hillary's ever since?' Give me a break.
"This whole thing is the biggest fairy tale I've ever seen."

"*" It was 2003 when it was first disappeared as Glen Ford (Black Agenda Report) has pointed out.

Barack Obama lied throughout 2008 -- it was a fairytale, his so-called objection to the Iraq War.  Bill Clinton called it correctly.  Barack gave into some elderly and overweight smelly radicals (I knew them years before, trust me, they stink) and appeared at a 2002 'rally' (15 or so people) to 'speak out' against the Iraq War before it started.

By the time it started he was on board 100%.  He was now running for the US Senate.  That's when Elaine and I encounter him -- after a hard sell on him from people whose names we're never supposed to mention -- and the first thing we want to know about is Iraq.  But the war's started, he tells us, so it's too late for objections, it must be "successfully prosecuted."  We immediately left and didn't write a check.


We were face to face with the fraud and that might explain why we were immunized from The Cult of St. Barack that emerged in 2007 and 2008.

We knew he was a cheap liar using the Iraq War to get elected.

All these years later, it's still hard for The Cult to admit St. Barack wasn't against the Iraq War.

Not only did he not vote to defund the war when he finally got into the Senate but full of crap Barack rescued the Bully Boy Bush administration by refusing to hold them accountable for their crimes.

He also never met an Iraq War supporter he couldn't find a job for in his administration: John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, Robert Gates, Susan Rice, Samantha Power, Chuck Hagel . . .

The list is endless.  Ann Wright resigned from the State Dept in objection to the Iraq War.

Barack had no post for her in the government -- despite Ann being not only a diplomat but, prior to that, Col Ann Wright in the US military.

Somehow that resume didn't impress Barack.

In the latest news of Barack's support for the Iraq War, Al-Arabiya News explains:



The United States is behind the delaying a key report's release showing how the UK went to war with Iraq, London-based daily The Independent reported on Wednesday.
White House and State Department officials are behind the blocking of the four-year Chilcot inquiry, which the UK's Cabinet Office has been criticized for halting.
The newspaper saw drafts of the report earlier this year which challenged the official story of the UK's entry into the Iraq war, mainly related to exchanges with then-PM Tony Blair and former president George W. Bush.


Don't worry, this is more three-dimensional chess from Barack, his Cult will explain.  They will tell us that this is part of a larger scheme to lull Bully Boy Bush into a false sense of security and then, just as Bully Boy Bush is convinced he'll escape scott free for his crimes, Barack will dispatch a drone! Or Samantha Power to bore Bush to death with a speech!


Please, Barack's a War Hawk himself. That's all he is and now he covers for the War Crimes of Bully Boy Bush.  Sisters under the skin, the two of them.

Chris Ames (Iraq Inquiry Digest) walks through the latest here.  Richard Norton-Taylor (Guardian) reports:



The former Labour foreign secretary, Lord Owen, has criticised Tony Blair and the coalition over the refusal to release key evidence about what Blair told George Bush in the runup to the invasion of Iraq.
Blair's position was an "intolerable affront to democratic accountability", Owen told the Guardian.
It has also emerged that Lord Butler, the former cabinet secretary who chaired an inquiry into the use of intelligence before the invasion, has accused Blair of deliberately preventing his ministerial colleagues from seeing important data at the time.
In a move prompted by last week's disclosure by Sir John Chilcot, chair of the Iraq inquiry, that he was still in dispute with Whitehall over release of the Blair-Bush records, Owen has written to David Cameron about the role played in such deliberations by the cabinet secretary, who is currently Sir Jeremy Heywood. Chilcot has made it clear, in public letters to Cameron, that Heywood was at the centre of discussions not to disclose the records of conversations between Blair and Bush. Owen points out that Heywood was Blair's principal private secretary in 10 Downing Street from 1999-2003, "the very time when the decisions to go to war were being taken".

iraq

national iraqi news agency

antiwar.com
margaret griffis

tori amos

glen ford

Read on ...

Tales of Indonesian Folklore

From July 18, 2010, that's "Tales In Indonesian Folklore." 

I'd forgotten I'd even done that comic.  How appropriate for this week that it's the comic -- this week where Barack says he's 'sorry' for lying about ObamaCare.

When this went up. C.I. wrote:

Ann Dunham questions her son Barack Obama (by the name he used then), "Barry Soetoro, did you cut down that cinnamon tree?" Barack replies, "Mother, I cannot take accountability! It was George W. Bush who chopped down the tree. And someday he'll be the reason for my continuing two wars, for the failed economy, the Gulf disaster and my tanking poll numbers." Isaiah archives his comics at The World Today Just Nuts.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, November 7, 2013.  Chaos and violence continue, does the 'turned corner' myth resurface, Dar Addustour captures Nouri's visit to DC, Ayad Allawi talks to CNN, Cindy Sheehan responds to USA Today's attack on her, a State Dept employee enters a guilty plea,  and her beliefs, and more.


In 1973, Maureen McGovern made it to the top of the Top 40 with the number one hit "The Morning After" ("There's got to be a morning after . . .").  Thirty years later, the US government and its press agents posing as 'reporters' sang their own version "The Turned Corner," ("There's about to be a turned corner . . .")  For those who've forgotten or missed it in real time, as the illegal war kicked off, reality kicked back.  And the White House and press hacks like John Burns and Thomas Friedman constantly insisted a turned corner lay in the immediate future and the entire failed war was about to turn around.  However, that never happened.

Were any lessons learned from that?

Apparently not.


The Washington Post's Liz Sly noted the turned corner claim is still around.

Liz Sly ‏@LizSly 7h

Apparently this is good news about Iraq: its crisis will be over in 20 years. Then it will have a bright future. http://www.shafaaq.com/en/interviews/7818-us-expert-iraq-crises-to-end-in-2033-the-problem-is-not-al-maliki-.html …

Expand         

The Shagaq News article is about the judgment calls of an American,  Michael Knights of the Washington Institue, and it starts:

"Iraq's tunnel is long, but at the end there is a light, with this sentence Michael Knights, an expert at the Washington Institute for the Near East began his talk as he believes that after 20 years, Iraq will come out of this crisis, will be a leader , tolerant and open state".

That's the article's punctuation.  They leave a quote -- without noting that they have (clearly Michael Knight did not declare "with this sentence Michael Knights, an expert at . . .") -- and put an end quote at the end of their sentence.


The point of that is that "20 years" may or may not be Knights' remark.  He is quoted in the article speaking of "someday."

Regardless, his hope for a turned corner seems more than a bit unrealistic based upon his own argument.

He is quoted stating, "During our presence in Iraq , we say that the problem were not Saddam Hussein, as it was the Iraqi strong central regime. For this, we focused on decentralization , and for this we have set and develop in the Constitution. However, after we have withdrawn Maliki returned to Saddam Hussein's central strong (...) and surrounded himself with a group of angry Shiite that wasn't for revenge. These groups controlled the nominations of the armed forces, courts and the central bank. "


So the problem is Nouri.  You can pretend and mess around all you want but the reality is the problems in Iraq are the making of Nouri al-Maliki (which means they're the making of the White House since the 2006 administration demanded that Nouri be named prime minister and the 2010 administration negotiated The Erbil Agreement to give Nouri a second term the voters and the Iraqi Constitution didn't give Nouri).

Is Knights really so reluctant to tell the truth or is it the outlet?  I have no idea but 'someday' or '20 years' isn't good enough for the Iraqi people -- it's not good enough for any people.  They shouldn't have to suffer under Nouri's nonsense.


Knights's 'findings' are illogical and not fact based.  This is evident by the half-quote that the article includes from him, "if not anything else, the decentralized Constitution that we have set, which I think solved Iraq's problems, as I told you "  Setting aside who 'set' the Iraqi Constitution, the Constitution is meaningless at this point.

Nouri's refused to implement Article 140 of the Constitution.  He was required to implement it by the end of 2007.  He refused to do so.  He agreed, in The Erbil Agreement of 2010, to implement it.  He has refused to do so.

The Constitution outlines who becomes prime minister.  The Erbil Agreement circumvented the Constitution.

The Constitution's not being followed with regards to replacing the incapacitated president.  Last December,  Iraqi President Jalal Talabani suffered a stroke.   The incident took place late on December 17th (see the December 18th snapshot) and resulted in Jalal being admitted to Baghdad's Medical Center Hospital.    Thursday, December 20th, he was moved to Germany.  He remains in Germany currently.  Every few weeks someone comes along to announce, "He's getting better!"  It's past time that Iraqis were told when Jalal was coming back and if he's not coming back shortly, it really is time to replace him.  He's been out of the country -- and not doing his job -- for nearly a year now.  We're 11 days from a year. A constitutional government does not allow this to happen.

There has been no president of Iraq for a year.

That's not a sign of a functioning government.  It's not a sign of compassion.  Compassion is you give the Talabani family six weeks or so.  After that, you start calling them on the lie.  Jalal's hidden away because he can't function and he can't perform his duties.  He's been allowed to draw his salary though.

Then there's the issue of the Cabinet.

The President names a prime minister-designate.

The person has 30 days to become prime minister and the only way they do that is by forming their Cabinet -- which is done by naming nominees that Parliament votes for and confirms.  They have 30 days for that.

It's the only thing that has to be done for a prime minister-designate to become prime minister.  (This is Article 76 of the Constitution.)  Should the prime minister-designate fail to complete this task in 30 days, the president is supposed to name a new prime minister-designate.

Jalal  betrayed the Constitution.  Firstly, he declared Nouri prime minister-designate at Parliament's November 11, 2010 session but then claimed that wasn't official -- it was -- so he could provide Nouri with a later date -- he reset the clock.  Even doing that, Nouri still didn't have a partial Cabinet until January 2011.  That's a violation of the Constitution.

So is 'partial cabinet.'  Anyone can form a partial cabinet.  You just get one nominee to your Cabinet confirmed and you've formed a 'Cabinet' by Nouri's logic.  The Constitution calls for a Cabinet -- that means a full Cabinet.  (Four Iraqis who were part of the 2005 Constitution have made that clear.)

Yet Nouri wasn't bound to the Constitution.  And even now, as his second term winds down, he's not got a full Cabinet.  Back in July 2012, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed, "Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has struggled to forge a lasting power-sharing agreement and has yet to fill key Cabinet positions, including the ministers of defense, interior and national security, while his backers have also shown signs of wobbling support."   Those posts have remained vacant.  Throughout his second term. No Minister of Defense?

Is it any wonder that Iraq has seen an increase in violence?

AFP notes today, "It is the latest in Iraq's worst violence since 2008, with more than 5,500 people dead this year despite tightened security measures and a swathe of operations against militants."  But they fail to connect the increase to the security ministries.    They also undercount.  As Christiane Amanpour noted on Amanpour (CNN) Tuesday, it's "almost 7,000" killed this year.  She was raising the statistic because she was addressing Iraq with her guest was Ayad Allawi who was prime minister of Iraq from June 2004 through May 2005 and who should, based on the 2010 election results, have been named prime minister in 2010.  Click here for video, here for transcript.  Excerpt.



AMANPOUR: Prime Minister, sorry to interrupt you, and we'll talk about the politics, but many people believe, including former U.S. ambassadors, commanders, et cetera, that you can't really do as much as you would like on political progress without having security.

So the question is, do you think Prime Minister Maliki had a successful visit to the U.S.? Did -- do you believe he got what he wanted from President Obama? And what does the U.S. need to do to help at least in the security area right now?

ALLAWI: I don't think the U.S. have a larger stake to improve security overnight in Iraq. I don't know what he discussed -- and Maliki discussed in the U.S. But I definitely know that the ingredients of security are not there.

The ingredients, the three (inaudible) security lies upon is healthy political process; institutions which are professional, that control their responsibility and the economy finding jobs for the people, in a rich country like Iraq, where a third of the nation are under poverty line.

On top of this, we have gross interferences from our neighbor to our east, which is Iran. Iran have been trying to meddle with the Iraq efforts, especially after everything was dismantled upon occupation and Iraq -- Iran became the most important power wreaking havoc on Iraq and supporting militias and support sectarianism in Iraq.

AMANPOUR: Prime Minister, regarding the political situation, President Obama urged Prime Minister Maliki, the current prime minister, to make sure a new election law gets passed.

Apparently it has been passed; there will be elections according to what's been laid out in a road map.

Do you have hope for those elections?

And do you eventually plan to run for election again yourself?

ALLAWI: Of course. I mean, you know, we have fought for 30 years for my country, to get rid of tyranny. We will continue to play a role in politics. And definitely I'll go into elections.

But I don't have that much faith. Last time I won the elections, I was two seats in Parliament, and we were clearly the winners. And according to our constitution, the way I should form the government, or at least should be given the chance to form the government and the chance was according to our constitution for 45 days.

This even challenge we were denied to have. And according to Maliki, was reinstated, what the power of Iran, with the support of Iran with the acceptance of the U.S. And we are where we are now, unfortunately.

People have been betrayed in Iraq as far as the elections are concerned. And they felt that they went -- when they went to the ballots and they elected their -- whatever or whoever they elected, but yet the results were not to their -- to the -- to the standards of the -- of the (inaudible). But rather to Iran to decide what was doing there. And those were not doing there.

AMANPOUR: So what is your view of where the Sunni population is going to be?

I said that they felt frustrated and this is some fertile ground for the resurgence of Al Qaeda.

Is the Sunni population still willing to give politics a chance?

ALLAWI: It's getting much weaker, their resolve towards politics and towards election is getting much weaker now. Unfortunately the turnout in the last provincial elections, which was just under a year ago, was in the best 28 percent in the best areas in the -- in the -- in some of the -- like most are like Salah ad-Din (ph) and Anbar (ph).

And you know, all these provinces now have been demonstrating for the last seven months, eight months, and there are lots of adversities being committed against them.

So really there is a lot of faith lost in the -- in the elections and the results of the elections. And even on the democracy, there is a loss of faith. And that's why Al Qaeda is getting more powerful in the country, it's waging a clear war, sitting whenever they like at whatever -- whatever they like, without the government being able to do anything about this.

AMANPOUR: You sort of -- I know you're not playing down the violence, but obviously you're playing up the need for a political solution; everybody would agree to that. But how do you expect to be able to again try to defeat and push back Al Qaeda? And how dangerous are they right now, especially given the fact that Al Qaeda in Iraq has linked up with Al Qaeda in Syria?

ALLAWI: Well, Christiane, let me tell you frankly, if people are disenfranchised, if people are oppressed, if people are on the side, if people are not cared for, if they live in poverty, they will definitely go to the extreme. And this is unfortunately what's happening in almost half of the country.


The violence is bred by Nouri and Michael Knights may be prepared to wait for 'someday' but how much longer can the Iraqi people survived Nouri al-Maliki?


Last week, Nouri visited DC and that visit was, in part, to get a blessing for a third term.

Many words have been written about the visit but maybe the one what best captured US President Barack Obama's feelings towards thug Nouri is the photo Dar Addustour published last night of Nouri standing next to a bored Barack?

Al Mada notes Nouri's visit cost the Iraqi government at least $48,000 and, according to Ahmed Chalabi, may have cost as much as $100 million.  Former US Ambassador  Dan Simpson (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) observes:



The theory on the U.S. side was that Mr. Maliki would put together a power-sharing government, including his majority Shiites; the Sunni, who ruled the country from independence in 1932 until the U.S. invasion in 2003; and the Kurds.
Mr. Maliki instead put together a ruling Shiite power nexus that has hogged political and commercial authority, pounded on the Sunnis, including locking up their leaders, and fallen out with the Kurds. Both groups, but especially the Sunnis, have fought back. Sectarian fighting in October alone produced 1,095 deaths.
Mr. Maliki came to Washington asking for arms, including F16 jet aircraft at $47 million a copy and Apache attack helicopters at $20 million each, to fight his Iraqi enemies. He should get nothing — given that America was entirely correct to clear out of the useless, catastrophic Iraq War in 2011 and that Mr. Maliki has not done what was needed to put together a government that reflected the diversity of the 32 million people of Iraq.

There are so many reasons -- legal ones -- why the US should not provide Nouri with weapons or funds.


There's the  April 23rd massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from  Nouri's federal forces storming in.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault.   AFP reported 53 dead for several days now -- indicating that some of the wounded did not recover. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured). 


By that incident alone, US laws and guidelines forbid US tax payer dollars going to Iraq.

There's also the issue of  the topic of the Ashraf community.   Camp Ashraf in Iraq is now empty.  All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty) as of last month.  Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were  welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks.  The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one.  As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Iraqi Prime Minister  Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). That's the attack Lara Logan reported on.  In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out."  Those weren't the last attacks.  They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept.  (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.)   In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions."  So the US has an obligation to protect the residents.  3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf.  They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part.  A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday.   That was the second attack this year alone.   February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah.  Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured.  Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release."  They were attacked again September 1st.   Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents.



During Nouri's DC visit last week, the supporters of the Ashraf community protested him and his visit repeatedly and were most visible at the US Institute of Peace when Nouri spoke last Thursday.  At Grio, the former chair of the RNC Michael Steele writes:


While this face-to-face meeting may have served to raise Maliki’s diplomatic profile, in the eyes of many it diminished the profile of the United States and its professed commitment to justice, human rights, and international law. The president should have refused this meeting.
No one should doubt, least of all Prime Minister Maliki, that he owes his position to the United States, which sacrificed its blood and spent billions of its treasure to pave his way to power. But Maliki’s failure to be a true partner with the U.S. and his cozy relationship with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, as well as his recent actions, have created more problems than solutions for the United States.
On September 1, 2103, at the apparent request of the Iranian Mullahs and on the orders of Nouri al-Maliki, Iraqi security forces attacked and killed 52 Iranian refugees (and kidnapped seven, including six women) at Camp Ashraf in eastern Iraq.
Camp Ashraf was settled more than 25 years ago by 3,400 members and sympathizers of the principal Iranian opposition known as the People’s Mojahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI/MEK). The U.S. military disarmed Ashraf City in 2003, and in 2009 turned over control of the camp to the Maliki government in Baghdad. At that time, the United States assured residents of Ashraf City that the Iraqi government would treat them humanely in accordance with international law. As refugees, members of the opposition and their families are protected persons according to the Fourth Geneva Convention, and should not be subject to harassment, much less kidnapping and murder by the military forces of Iraq.


Steele is not a lone voice in the US.  Other prominent voices calling attention to the attacks on the Ashraf community include Senators Robert Menendez, Carl Levin and John McCain, former Governor Howard Dean, former US House Rep Patrick Kennedy.  Those are only some of the people who have called for the US government to honor its legal obligation, under Geneva, to protect the Ashraf community.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton never managed to go to Iraq while holding that position.  She held hands with Hoshyar Zebari and maybe played footsie with Nouri's boy toy but she refused to honor her obligations with regards to the Ashraf community.  She refused to comply with a court order until after she was slammed publicly for over a year.  She refused to do her job.  Forced to, by the court and by the court of public opinion, she did it begrudgingly.  While she was SoS,she refused -- and her department refuse -- to answer the Office of the Special Investigator General for Iraqi Reconstruction. Secretary of State John Kerry has shown no inclination to address Iraq either.  This despite the request that billions of tax payer dollars continue to flow to Iraq as they did, via the State Dept, during Hillary's term.  $1.8 billion is what Kerry's department is requesting for Iraq adventures for Fiscal Year 2014.





Violence continues in Iraq.  EFE counts 37 dead today and eighty-seven injured.   The Voice of Russia reports, "Two suicide bombers blew themselves up minutes apart at an Iraqi army base late on Thursday, killing at least 16 soldiers, police and medics said."    National Iraq News Agency reports a Mosul roadside bomb claimed the lives of 4 people (3 were Iraqi soldiers) and left two injured, and a Mosul attack left 2 people dead and one woman injured, car bombing. All Iraq News adds that a Jisr Diyala roadside bombing claimed 1 life and left five injured, a Baghdad car bombing left 3 people dead and ten injured, a Baquba car bombing left 2 police dead and a civilian injured, a Tikrit home bombing left 6 people dead (all members of the same family), a Tikrit armed attack left 2 police dead and three more injured, and a Beji Refinery worker was kidnapped in Tikrit. Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reports a bombing of pilgrims en route to Karbala which left 4 dead and six more injured.  EFE adds, "A police officer was shot to death by unknown gunmen in the southern city of Mosul." Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count notes 132 violent deaths in Iraq.

On the killing of the religious pilgrims, BBC notes, "The latest violence as Shia Muslims prepare to commemorate Ashura, which marks the martyrdom at Karbala of Hussein, a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad."  On the attack of the Tikrit home, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) notes it was the home of a Sawha commander (and has the 6 dying from bullets, not a bombing).  In addition, the self-check outs from the Iraqi military continue.  World Bulletin reports, "The Iraqi army in the city of Kirkuk has seen a mass exodus of soldiers. The 12th Division in the governorate of Ta'mim saw the defection of 20 soldiers."

Last week, the US Embassy in Iraq issued the following:




The U.S. Embassy Baghdad urges Iraqi citizens and residents to use caution when working with private entities to apply for visas to the United States.  Reports of fraudulent e-mails, websites, and print advertisements offering visa services are on the rise.
The Diversity Visa program (“DV program,” also known as the “Green Card Lottery”) offers up to 55,000 visa slots annually for people who wish to immigrate to the United States.  After conducting a random drawing, the U.S. Department of State contacts applicants directly, advising them to check the status of their applications online at dvlottery.state.gov.  Applicants may only verify status online; no information on an application’s status is sent by letter or e-mail.  Unsuccessful applicants have no further recourse but to apply again next year.
Only the U.S. Department of State is authorized to notify DV program applicants of their status.  Unfortunately, fraudsters posing as DV program officials have targeted Iraqis.  The scam e-mail instructs recipients to send money via Western Union to a fictitious person at the U.S. Embassy in London.  UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES should money be sent to any address for participation in the DV program.  Immigration information and forms are free and available to all at the Department of State (www.state.gov) and U.S. Embassy Baghdad (iraq.usembassy.gov) websites.
The only way to register for the DV program is directly through the Department of State website during a limited-time registration period; DV-2015 applicants may register between October 1 and November 2, 2013, and will be able to check the status of their entry for free at dvlottery.state.gov starting on May 1, 2014.  DV-2014 entrants (those who entered the DV lottery between October 2 and November 3, 2012) may check their status at dvlottery.state.gov through June 30, 2014, and should keep their confirmation letter until September 30, 2014.
To report incidents of visa fraud, please e-mail the Embassy at BaghdadIV@state.gov.  Complaints about scam e-mails may be sent to the U.S. Department of Justice (www.usdoj.gov/spam.htm).



What was that about?

Apparently the scandals never end at the State Dept.  John Kerry's over the Dept and he's responsible for it but today's scandal should  fall at Hillary Clinton's doorstep because it predates John Kerry becoming Secretary of State.  In fact, the criminal in question stopped working for the State Dept in September 2012 -- while Hillary was still Secretary of State.   The scandal?


The South China Morning Post reports, "Michael Sestak, who had worked in the US Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City since 2010, was arrested in May. Sestak, 42, was responsible for issuing visas after reviewing applications and conducting interviews."  Vera Bergengruen (McClatchy Newspapers) reported yesterday that the man "admitted in U.S. District Court that while serving as the non-immigrant visa chief in Vietnam, he accepted more than $3 million in bribes to approve visas for nearly 500 foreign nationals seeking to enter the U.S., according to government prosecutors."  Domani Spero (DiploPundit) notes that the man could be sentenced to as many as 24 years behind bars and also includes links to past DiploPundit coveage:

• Jilted Lover Reportedly Helped Exposed Sestak Visa Scandal – There’s a Hole In Your Wall?
• Michael Sestak Visa Scandal: USG to seek forfeiture money judgment of at least $9.7 Million
• USCG Ho Chi Minh City’s Visa Fraud Allegations — When Silence Isn’t Golden
• USDOJ: FSO Michael Todd Sestak Charged With Conspiracy to Defraud and Conspiracy to Commit Bribery and Visa Fraud
• “Conservative Estimate” of Proceeds from Alleged Visas for Sale Scheme “At Least $10 Million”
• Sestak Criminal Complaint Details Alleged Visa For Dollars Scheme: Refusal Rates, Emails, and Money Trails
• USCG Ho Chi Minh: Former Visa Chief Faces Charges of Conspiracy to Commit Visa Fraud and Bribery

While this happened on Hillary's watch, it's worth noting that the State Dept refused to hold a press briefing today.  Apparently, this guilty plea was among the things the State Dept didn't want to discuss.

On the topic of criminal exploitation, the US Justice Dept issued the following today:

Department of Justice

Office of Public Affairs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Iraqi-Based Construction Company Pays $2.7 Million to U.s. for Alleged False Claims in Bribery Scheme

Iraqi Consultants and Construction Bureau (ICCB) has paid the U.S. $2.7 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act by bribing a U.S. government official to obtain U.S. government contracts in Iraq, the Department of Justice announced today.  ICCB is a privately owned construction company headquartered in Baghdad, Iraq. 

 

“Bribery will not be tolerated in government contracting,” said Assistant Attorney General for the Justice Department’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery.  “We will ensure that government contracts are awarded based on merit and pursue allegations of fraudulently procured contracts wherever they occur.” 

 

The government alleged that, from 2007 to 2008, ICCB paid bribes to Army Corps of Engineers procurement official John Salama Markus, 41, of Nazareth, Pa., to obtain information that gave it an advantage in bidding on several construction contracts with the Department of Defense in Iraq.  The contracts supported reconstruction efforts involving the Iraq war, including infrastructure and security projects and the building of medical facilities and schools.  ICCB then knowingly overcharged the U.S. for services provided under the contracts, according to the government’s allegation.   

 

“It is offensive that anyone would see projects to promote stability, health and education in a rebuilding country as a way to make illegal cash on the side,” said U.S. Attorney for the District of New Jersey Paul J. Fishman.  “We will not abide companies paying to play in such a system.”

 

“The Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) is committed to protecting the integrity of the Defense acquisition process from personal and corporate avarice,” said Special Agent in Charge, DCIS Northeast Field Office Craig Rupert.  “Ensuring the proper use of U.S. taxpayers’ dollars and preventing contract fraud is in our nation’s interest and remains a priority.”

 

The settlement is part of a larger investigation initiated by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey.  As part of that investigation, Markus pleaded guilty on Sept. 7, 2012, to wire fraud, money laundering and failure to report a foreign bank account in connection with more than $50 million in contracts awarded to foreign companies in Gulf Region North, Iraq.  Markus was sentenced to 13 years in prison on March 12, 2013, in Newark, N.J., federal court.

 

The investigation is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey and the Civil Division’s Commercial Litigation Branch, in cooperation with the Defense Criminal Investigative Service, the Major Procurement Fraud Unit of the Army’s Criminal Investigation Command, the Criminal Investigative Division of the Internal Revenue Service and the Department of Homeland Security.  The claims resolved by the settlement are allegations only; there has been no determination of liability. 

Monday and Tuesday, we noted USA Today's attacks on peace activist and California gubernatorial candidate Cindy Sheehan.  Today, Cindy issues a response to USA Today's attacks:

These are some of the issues that the USA Today did not choose to tell its subscribers:

I believe in peace: not just the absence of war, but a society organized around the principles of non-violent conflict resolution and economic and human equality.

My heart aches at the growing income and wealth disparity in this country. I believe that it is immoral that over one million of our children don't get enough food or that millions of our fellow citizens do not have roofs over their heads each and every night. Are these humans considered disposable "fringe?" In a society where about .01% of the population own about 50% of the wealth, it makes me sick to my stomach to know that advocating for a more just distribution of wealth and resources is considered "fringe."

The USA Today somehow left out the fact that the PFP and I are an environmentalist party. I told the "reporter" that contacted me that I rode my bike across the country this year advocating for the reduction and eventual elimination of the exploration and use of fossil fuels. Of course, mainstream politicians and rags like USA Today are in the pockets of Big Oil and the destruction of life on this planet is the "normal" position. No mention was made of my urgent advocacy for an international response to contain the multiple nuclear meltdowns at Fukushima, either. Hmmm...same explanation. Ignoring radioactive Armageddon is also mainstream. I am proudly on the "fringe" for environmental sustainability and health!

I advocate for education from pre-K to University and health care as rights, not privileges for the wealthy. In most industrialized countries of the world, these positions are normal and not fringe. What about the fact that our government, the ones that are supposed to work for us, actually spy on all of our communications and collect them to mine data? This is not a fringe view or conspiracy theory, the government brags about it and people like Nancy Pelosi (the leftwinger--LOL) defend the policy.

According to the puppet man on this video, the media also stopped covering me in 2012 because I ran for VP on the Peace and Freedom Party ticket with comedian Roseanne Barr. I think the media stopped covering me (unless it wanted to marginalize me) in 2006 when the establishment figured out that I figured out the game of the "elites." It's about the system, not about Bush, or Obama. That little secret cannot get out, or there might be a revolution of we the ones who have been oppressed for generations. 

In September, Betty wrote "The Female Brando" about a book she was reading, Jon Krampner's The Female Brando, which argued Kim Stanley was the female Marlon Brando.  Betty disagreed with the book and this became a theme post last night.  Betty offered "Jane Fonda," Rebecca picked "debra winger,"  Elaine offered "Jessica Lange," Mike went with "Marilyn Monroe," for Marcia it's "Charlize Theron," Ann selected "Diane Keaton," Stan argued for "Tuesday Weld," Trina felt the obvious choice was "Faye Dunaway," for Kat it's "Cher" and Ruth went with "Shelley Winters."



iraq
the voice of russia
the washington post
liz sly

cnn

mohammed tawfeeq

alsumaria

all iraq news

al mada

dar addustour

cindy sheehan

usa today

national iraqi news agency
iraq body count

bbc news

world bulletin

Read on ...