POOR SHARON O'CONNELL, SHE'S AS STUPID AS MATT DAMON AND BOTH OF THEM GOT KNOCKED UP BY CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O AND THEN DUMPED AS SOON AS THEY PEED ON THE URINE STICKS.
IT'S NOT A SURPRISE BECAUSE THAT IS BARRY O'S HISTORY. ABANDONED BY HIS NO ACCOUNT FATHER WHO CAME TO THE U.S. ALREADY MARRIED TO ONE WOMAN AND ENTERED INTO A SHAM 'MARRIAGE' WITH A WOMAN NOT YET A LEGAL ADULT, ONE HE QUICKLY DUMPED AND NEVER GAVE A 2ND THOUGHT TO LEAVING BEHIND A FAT LITTLE SON -- WHOSE STEP-FATHER MADE HIM VERY SENSITIVE ABOUT BEING SOFT AND FAT -- WHOM HE WOULD ENCOUNTER ONLY ONCE.
THE FAT LITTLE, ILLEGITIMATE, BASTARD SON WOULD -- PAY ATTENTION, SHARON, YOU GET THIS WRONG -- GROW JEALOUS OF THE LOVE SHOWERED ON HIS HALF-SISTER BY HER FATHER AND INSIST THAT HE BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO HAWAII AND TO LIVE WITH HIS GRAND PARENTS THEREBY FOLLOWING HIS DEAD BEAT DAD'S LEAD IN WALKING OUT ON HIS MOTHER.
NOW PEOPLE ARE SURPRISED BARRY O DOESN'T LIVE UP TO HIS WORD. HE IS THE BASTARD CHILD OF BARRY O SR. WHICH MEANS HE'LL DIE A BROKEN DOWN DRUNK WHOSE EARLY PROMISE WAS ALL BUT FORGOTTEN.
FOR THOSE WHO DOUBT IT, HE'S ALREADY TWO-THIRDS OF THE WAY THERE AS HE MAKES LEERING COMMENTS ABOUT NUDITY IN FRONT OF FAILED STARLETS TOO DUMB TO REALIZE WHAT'S GOING ON.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
We noted Kelley B. Vlahos' "Iraqi Protests Make Washington Squirm" last week. Saturday at Antiwar.com, an Antiwar Radio interview Scott Horton did with her was posted. We'll note the section where they discussed her article:
Scott Horton: But I want to talk about Iraq. Mostly, I especially want to talk about Iraq because apparently and maybe this is just my hyperbole, you know, I'm kind of an extremist but the way, the best I can the rest of America has decided that the Iraq invasion happened some time a hundred years ago back before World War I and nobody cares at all about Iraq anymore, just forget it, that was George Bush's thing and it might as well have been Korea or something, you know, back when TV was still in black & white. And so it seems to me that since the consequences -- even just the short terms consequences -- of America's invasion back in 2003 and the occupation that's lasted this whole time are still playing out there that we ought to pay extra attention to what's going on. So, uhm, you have this great article, it's at Antiwar.com right now, "Iraq protests make Washington squirm." And you have a very detailed write up of the very recent history of the state of Iraq and the protest movement -- Tunisia and Egyptian-inspired protest movement there --- as it has existed over the past few weeks. Why don't you give us a brief roundup there and maybe we'll save the politics 'till the second half.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Yes, sure. Before I even get started on that, I was Google-ing around on Iraq a little while ago and the story popped up about members of a Buffalo based National Guard unit headed to Iraq. And it just -- It sort of like took me back into some sort of tailspin newswise. You know, here, like you said, this is like ancient history to most Americans. We still have units, soldiers, going over to Iraq. Meanwhile the mixed messages that this war is over, that our guys and gals are home, that somehow we're not even stationed there anymore, we don't here about the troops over there anymore, where are they, what are they doing? And here I just Google "Iraq" and here's a unit going over there. Most of the guys in this particular unit, this is their first deployment. Some of them, they've been on deployment before. But it just, it kind of gives me kind of a funky feeling, you know, deja vu, but also of sadness because I realize that these deployments are still occuring and nobody cares anymore. And, like you said, with my article I try to explore what's been going on with Iraq because I haven't -- It's been really difficult to go to the mainstream media and kind of discern what's been going on there in the context of these revolutions in the Middle East right now. Iraq is having its own revolution but in a very ironic way that they're revolting against us. I mean we have been the chief puppet masters over there for the last eight years. The-the prime minister that they are railing against all throughout the country across ethnic lines -- this isn't a a Sunni/Shia thing, this is Sunni-Shia-Kurd-All revolting over there and Prime Minister Maliki is the key reason. His government has failed to bring basic services, things that we take for granted -- electricity, food, water, sewage -- in the last several years. He's been in power since 2006, he's failed to-to make good on all his pledges to reconstruct that country. We have failed on our promises to reconstruct that country. But he is basically Our Man In Baghdad. And so they are, in effect, fighting us. And when I say it's making Washington squirm, it is. It's very awkward. It's embarrassing. And official Washington has basically reacted to that by silence, is what I say. So I tried to fill in the void by providing some of the, you know, easily accessible information that's out there on the web right now about what's going on on the ground because our mainstream news is just ignoring it.
Scott Horton: Well you know it's especially ironic, I mean here America backs every dictator in the region and so the irony there where we're supposed to have the legacy of the Declaration of Independence on our side and all of that is really harsh. But in the case of Iraq, here they did this whole aggressive invasion in the name of liberating the people of Iraq and providing them a democracy so they wouldn't have to suffer under an American-backed military dictatorship anymore like the rest of Middle East and this is the government that these people are rebelling against.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Right. And when you think about it, it really isn't too much of a surprise. The military took over -- the military was responsible obviously for the invasion, but it also took over the reconstruction. It marginalized the State Dept, it marginalized the civilians in our government from going in and having a hand in there. It politicized the reconstruction so that what you have left is a military led post-invasion Iraq. And, at some point, the charade over the whole democracy and liberation was ripped off and basically we did -- our military did -- everything it could just to get out of there with some semblence of a face left. And what it did is they installed Maliki, you know, they committed to the surge, they pummeled Iraq and Maliki's enemies so they could get out of there. It became less about establishing a democracy and reconstructing that country and more about us saving face and saving Petraeus' face and putting a veener of success on it all. And this is what you're seeing, you're seeing that veneer ripped off the Potemkin village exploded and you're seeing what - what basically, the-the-the chickens come home to roost, as though they say.
Scott Horton: Yeah, well. And, you know, you're certainly right. One of the first headlines I saw about the protests was "From Mosul to Basra" -- virtually every population center in Iraq had a giant protest on the Day of Rage there.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Mm-hmm.
Scott Horton: And that was what? Last Friday?
Kelley B. Vlahos: Right, last Friday. And upwards of 29 protesters were killed. I've seen varying numbers but that's the highest number I've seen and not only protesters killed but demonstrators beaten, journalists detained and tortured in the jails there too.
Scott Horton: Well that's where we're going to pick this up when we get back, is the persectuion of the journalists and the intellectuals as a result of this, al-Maliki's post-protest crackdown. It's Kelley B. Vlahos from Antiwar.com and The American Conservative Magazine. We'll be right back [. . .] and we're talking about Iraq's Day of Rage, massive protests across that country against the American-installed government of Nouri al-Maliki and when we went out to the break we were just about to get to the crackdown that came as the result last weekend. Kelley, tell us about that.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Well people might be surprised that a democracy that we supposedly helped flourish in Iraq has responded to largely peaceful protests by sending out storm troopers. in essance, to round up journalists, round up protesters, hunt them down -- as one person had described, bringing them to detention centers, torturing them, beating them, releasing them after signing affidavits that they haven't been tortured. All in an attempt to stifle this people protest in Iraq. Something that we had bragged and boasted that we helped create, remember, with the purple finger elections, you know, starting in 2005. And now we're seeing sort-of the outgrowth of that, we're seeing that we have helped bring in an authoritarian government that is responding to people trying to exercise their rights [being met] with lethal force really. --
Scott Horton: Well it's just like -- Brent Scowcroft tried to tell George Bush that "Look, man, this is what's going to happen." You're going to topple the minority dictatorship there and the majority is going to take power." And that's what happened. The Ayatollah Sistani said, "Hey, if you believe in God go out there and demand one-man, one-vote. And demand it, say you want it, really soon." And they had no choice after that. Once you overthrow Saddam Hussein, now you're job is installing whoever Sistani and Sadr can agree on.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Yeah.
Scott Horton: And so that was that whole war, just fighting for those guys.
Kelley B. Vlahos: Right. Exactly. And like I mentioned earlier, we helped Maliki basically destroy his political enemies through systematic, sort of ethnic cleansing and superior fire power. I mean, I remember going and seeing David Petraeus talk about how we won the surge and basically it was basically unleashing the mighty forces of superior US firepower on Baghdad, unlike anything that those people have ever seen and so basically we just pummeled the crap out of Iraq, out of the Sunnis, out of Sadr City and basically brought all of Maliki's enemies to heel so that he could basically create a central government with all the powers that came with and he's become an authoritarian strongman there. And now we're seeing his real, true colors come to be through these protests. And one way this is actually a good thing is it basically tears the veneer off of everything that we've been saying about what we've done over there and trying to do. It basically shows Maliki for who he really is and what's been going on there while the media has been ignoring it these past two years.
Today's New York Times finds the editorial board offering "Mr. Maliki's Power Grab" which includes, "Instead of taking responsibility, Mr. Maliki charged that the protests were organized by 'terrorists.' He ordered the closing of the offices of two political parties that helped lead the demonstrations. His only concessions were vows not to seek a third term in 2014 and to cut his pay in half. That was not persuasive, especially given his many recent power grabs." And not persuasive given news that emerged over the weekend about Friday's protest in Baghdad. Adam Youssef, news photographer for Al Mada, is among the people David Ali (Al Mada) reported on. At the Friday protests, Adam was brutally beaten by Iraqi security forces despite repeatedly telling them he was a photographer and only present to take photos. They beat him and beat him, over and over with batons. But brave little thugs rarely only beat one person. Activst Hana Adoor and journalist Npras Mamouri were also beaten with batons by security forces who apparently were threatened by the thought of two women out in public. The Arab American News reports surrounded the protesters in large numbers:
"People will continue demonstrating until there is reform because the government has been built on a sectarian basis," said Faisal Hamid, a pensioner who walked to Tahrir Square from the nearby neighborhood of Karrada.
The Iraqi government, worried the demonstrations may spiral out of control, have taken strict measures that appear designed to limit the number of demonstrators who come out.
Late Thursday, they imposed a vehicle ban in the capital so many of the protesters were forced to walk for miles. Similar vehicle bans were in place in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, and the southern city of Basra.
Side streets leading up to the square were blocked with security vehicles and helicopters buzzed overhead in Baghdad.
Before those protests, Iraqi officials tried to discredit the demonstrations by saying they were being backed by supporters of Saddam and al-Qaeda. The warnings seemed designed to keep people away and paint those who did take part in a bad light.
Over the weekend, Nouri continued his attacks on the protesters. Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Lara Jakes (AP) reported he took to state television Saturday where he verbally attacked the protesters, "Those who call for regime change are limited in number; they are weak and voices of discord. [. . .] Do they want the return of a dictatorship? Or the Revolutionary Command Council? Or a regime that marginalizes groups? We say clearly that who ask for the change of this regime are out of line with the will of the nation." True only if Nouri's desires are the will of the nation. Iraqi voters made clear Nouri was not their choice in the March 7, 2010 elections when despite his harassment, scare tactics, abuse of office and a largely compliant media he was not able to lead his political slate to victory. Abdul-zhra and Jakes note how "liar" and other words are increasingly applied to Nouri at the ongoing public demonstrations.
In other news of outrage, Wael Grace (Al Mada) reports that the practice of ministers and officials (since the start of the war) stealing Iraqi land and homes may be coming to an end. Many Iraqis have been left homeless as a result of the illegal practice and MP Safia al-Suhail is calling for the land to be returned. In other news of corruption, Inas Tariq (Al Mada) reports that while Iraqis are plagued with unemployment, the few jobs available are being doled out by ministers to their own unqualified family members and friends. Unqualified being one of the key words. Last week, New Sabah reported that the Integrity Commission has supposedly developed a plan to examine the graduate certifications and other credentials of various officials and they will be checking them out and also looking into the rumors that certain positions were purchased with large amounts of money. The Ministries of Defense and Interior are named in New Sabah's report as two ministries that will be examined. Yesterday Saad Abdul-Kadir and Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reported that there are "some 20,000 goovernment employees" under investigation of possibly forging diplomas and graduate certifications and MP Layla Hassan states, "Some of those who have fake education certificates are senior officials in the current and former government. These people should not be pardoned. Otherwise, others will do the same in the future." New Sabah reports that the chair of the Integrity Committee in the Iraqi Parliament announced that former ministers and officials have broken laws and is calling on heads of Ministries to utilize appointments correctly. The Committee was "shocked" by the corruption that has taken place and vows former officials and ministers will be brought to justice. Dar Addustour adds that today Parliament is supposed to, according the Integrity Committee vice chair Ahmed al-Jubouri, hold a workshop explaining how the commission did relatively little work in the last years due to the fact that a law was not passed giving them the needed powers.
"People will continue demonstrating until there is reform because the government has been built on a sectarian basis," said Faisal Hamid, a pensioner who walked to Tahrir Square from the nearby neighborhood of Karrada.
The Iraqi government, worried the demonstrations may spiral out of control, have taken strict measures that appear designed to limit the number of demonstrators who come out.
Late Thursday, they imposed a vehicle ban in the capital so many of the protesters were forced to walk for miles. Similar vehicle bans were in place in the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk, and the southern city of Basra.
Side streets leading up to the square were blocked with security vehicles and helicopters buzzed overhead in Baghdad.
Before those protests, Iraqi officials tried to discredit the demonstrations by saying they were being backed by supporters of Saddam and al-Qaeda. The warnings seemed designed to keep people away and paint those who did take part in a bad light.
Over the weekend, Nouri continued his attacks on the protesters. Qassim Abdul-Zahra and Lara Jakes (AP) reported he took to state television Saturday where he verbally attacked the protesters, "Those who call for regime change are limited in number; they are weak and voices of discord. [. . .] Do they want the return of a dictatorship? Or the Revolutionary Command Council? Or a regime that marginalizes groups? We say clearly that who ask for the change of this regime are out of line with the will of the nation." True only if Nouri's desires are the will of the nation. Iraqi voters made clear Nouri was not their choice in the March 7, 2010 elections when despite his harassment, scare tactics, abuse of office and a largely compliant media he was not able to lead his political slate to victory. Abdul-zhra and Jakes note how "liar" and other words are increasingly applied to Nouri at the ongoing public demonstrations.
In other news of outrage, Wael Grace (Al Mada) reports that the practice of ministers and officials (since the start of the war) stealing Iraqi land and homes may be coming to an end. Many Iraqis have been left homeless as a result of the illegal practice and MP Safia al-Suhail is calling for the land to be returned. In other news of corruption, Inas Tariq (Al Mada) reports that while Iraqis are plagued with unemployment, the few jobs available are being doled out by ministers to their own unqualified family members and friends. Unqualified being one of the key words. Last week, New Sabah reported that the Integrity Commission has supposedly developed a plan to examine the graduate certifications and other credentials of various officials and they will be checking them out and also looking into the rumors that certain positions were purchased with large amounts of money. The Ministries of Defense and Interior are named in New Sabah's report as two ministries that will be examined. Yesterday Saad Abdul-Kadir and Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reported that there are "some 20,000 goovernment employees" under investigation of possibly forging diplomas and graduate certifications and MP Layla Hassan states, "Some of those who have fake education certificates are senior officials in the current and former government. These people should not be pardoned. Otherwise, others will do the same in the future." New Sabah reports that the chair of the Integrity Committee in the Iraqi Parliament announced that former ministers and officials have broken laws and is calling on heads of Ministries to utilize appointments correctly. The Committee was "shocked" by the corruption that has taken place and vows former officials and ministers will be brought to justice. Dar Addustour adds that today Parliament is supposed to, according the Integrity Committee vice chair Ahmed al-Jubouri, hold a workshop explaining how the commission did relatively little work in the last years due to the fact that a law was not passed giving them the needed powers.
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