Tuesday, July 31, 2012

THIS JUST IN! HE'S A BITCH!

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE


LIKE THE NASTY LITTLE BITCH HE'S BECOME, CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O CAN'T STOP LYING ABOUT HIS POLITICAL OPPONENT.  HE USED FALSE NUMBERS TO ATTACK MITT ROMNEY ON MEDICARE AND HIS STAMMERING ATTACK DOG STEPHANIE WOOF WOOF CUTTER INTENTIONALLY AND FALSELY CONFLATED BAIN & COMPANY WITH BAIN CAPITAL.

REMEMBER ALL THAT HIGH FALUTIN' TALK IN 2008?  HOW HE SAID HE WAS GOING TO CHANGE THE WAY THINGS WERE DONE IN WASHINGTON?  HOW HE WAS GOING TO USHER IN A NEW KIND OF POLITICS?

BUT WHEN YOU'VE GOT NO ACCOMPLISHMENTS APPARENTLY ALL YOU CAN DO IS TURN INTO A NASTY LITTLE BITCH AND PRAY TO GOD NO ONE NOTICES AND STARTS QUESTIONING YOUR MANHOOD?

NEWSWEEK IS ASKING ABOUT ROMNEY'S SUPPOSED 'WIMP' FACTOR.  IT'S PAST TIME THEY ASKED ABOUT BARRY O'S BITCH FACTOR.



FROM THE TCI WIRE:


Starting with the Summer Olympics.  They're taking place in London and the official website is here.  The NBC website for the Olympics is here and cluttered and poorly put together.  If you're looking for anything other than video (live or otherwise) go to the London site which is easier to navigate and more pleasing to the eye.  Apparently NBC spent so much on the rights to the Olympics, they didn't have any money left to design a solid website.
 
Iraq has sent 8 athletes to the Summer Olympics in London.  Dana Abdul Razak competed in the 2008 Olympics and this go round will run the 100 meter race.  The other seven are attending for the first time: Adnan Taess Akkar (800 meter race), Noor Amer al-Ameri (shooting), Mohanad Ahmed Dheyaa al-Azzawi (swimming), Safaa al-Jumaili (weightlifting), Rand al-Mashhadani (archery), Ali Nadhim Salman Salman (wrestling) and Ahmed Abdulkareem Ahmed (boxing).
 
Ahmed Abdulkareem Ahmed  boxed yesterday.  Click here for a Reuters photo of his match with South Africa's Siphiwe Lusizi (photo taken by Murad Sezer).  Scott Christ (Bad Left Hook) reports, "Siphiwe Lusizi (South Africa) def. Ahmed Abdulkareem Ahmed (Iraq), 17-13: Decent fight, and an admirable effort from Ahmed.  He gave it all he had, but Lusizi was better than him.  A lot of these fights are really as simple as that.  One guy is just better than the other guy in these early stages."  The official Olympics site notes that the first time Iraq ever competed in the Olympics were in the 1948 Olympics.  And that was also the last time, until this year, that the Summer Olympics were held in London.  Back then, Iraq sent an "11-man team" for basketball, L. Hasso for the 400 meter run and Ali Salman ran in the 100 meter and the 200 meter in addition to playing on the basketball team.
 
The second photo in the Toronto Sun's "Photos of the Week" is by Suhaib Salem (Reuters) and of Rand al-Mashhadani from Friday's ranking round for women's individual archery. 
After the awful opening musical numbers (see Ann's "6 men, 1 woman"), you might think some in London might show some humility.  That's not the case.  Alsumaria reports that the Telegraph of London has declared that Algeria and Iraq have the worst national anthems.  The unsigned article in the Telegraph of London, ranks what they call the ten worst anthems -- Iraq comes in at number seven:

Iraq's national song, "My Homeland," comes from a poem written by Ibrahim Touquan, a Palestinian poet, in 1934.  Reinstated in 2004 after a previous anthem reminded residents too much of Saddam Hussein's regime, the lyrics are rousing but the jaunty melody underplays the seriousness of the message. 

In actual Olympic news, AFP reports Noor Amer al-Ameri, competing in the shooting competition for Iraq, was prevented from taking her equpiment on the flight from Baghdad to Dubai, "Emirati authorities later gave the green light for the pistol to be transported to Dubai by plane on Wednesday, and pledged that it would arrive safely in London."   Al Mada notes Noor competed Sunday and came in 46 out of 55, that she was born in Karbala in 1994 and attends Baghdad University.  In the article, an Iraqi official -- Minister for Youth and Sports Jasim Mohammed Jaafar --  blathers on about how, five to ten years from now, Iraq will have heroes who compete.  That's really insulting.  Dana Abdul Razak, for example, has been shot at while training.  The eight who made it are making history.  Instead of Iraqi officials making insulting remarks about those competing, they might want to take a hard look at themselves and where they put the emphasis.  It wasn't on training.  People shouldn't have to leave their home country to train but that happened.   As is usual in Iraq, a lot of over 40 men were made officials -- some who look they should be forced to retire -- and they made themselves the focus.  I'm referring to Iraq's official Olympic Committee.  Go to the website and prepare to be insulted.  I thought three weeks ago (wrongly), that this website would provide bios of the athletes and photos.  Wrong.  Even now, with the Olympics underway, when you go to the photo exhibit what you get are a bunch of bald and balding old men, sitting around, congratulating themselves.  If anyone visits the site, it's to see the athletes, not the officials.  That they couldn't grasp that goes a long way towards explaining where the problem is.  It's not with the athletes competing, it's with the egos of the officials. And many, like Jasim Moahmmed Jaafar have on claim to sports (engineer) and are only serving on the Committee because they are exiles like Nouri (Jaafar was an exile from 1981 to 2003).
 
All 8 who made it to the Olympics have much to be proud of.  And maybe if the officials ever do their job, Iraq will be able to compete in a lot more events?  But don't trash the eight who made it to the Olympics.  They overcame a great deal to be there.
 
In Iraq conflicts continue between the KRG and the Baghdad-based central government.  Last week, Rudaw reported, "On Friday the minitry of Peshmerga said that the Iraqi government had sent troops to border strip between Syria and the Kurdistan Region and that 3,000 Peshmerga fighters stationed in the area had stopped their advance.  There was serious concern about armed classhes between both sides."   Xinhua added, "Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki criticized authorities of the country's semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan for preventing Iraqi army soldiers sent by Baghdad from reaching a border point with Syria located at a disputed area controlled by Kurdish forces."  Al Mada noted that Jabbar Yawar, Secretary-General of the Peshmerga, states these are areas that the Peshmerga naturally patrols.  Al Mada also noted that the Kurdistan Alliance states Nouri is not able to move forces into the KRG without the consent of the Kurdish Regional Government.  Calling it "the most dangerous escalation and confrontation between the two sides," Omar al-Saleh (Al Jazeera) reported from Fishkhabur on the Iraq - Syria border.
 
Omar al-Saleh: What the Kurdish troops did is they prevented thes troops from advancing further this way.  They blocked it and they sent their own reinforcements.  We even saw some artillery, mortar, rockets and we've seen heavy -- heavy weapons.  And basically what the Iraqi government has said in a statement is that it's not aimed -- this move, this troops' movement -- is not aimed at the Kurdish Regional authority but it wants to prevent any infiltration or any security breaches from the borders with Syria.  Now what the Kurds will tell you is the prime minister of Iraq is trying to send his troops into a disputed area. 
 

Besides the usual turf wars universal to different security forces around the world, there iss also the fear that Nouri would use the issue of the border crossings in an attempt to install the Iraqi forces permanently in these areas.  That's a valid fear.  Considering other power grabs that he's made, it wouldn't be a stretch.  In addition, Nouri probably has a fear of his own.  It wasn't that long ago that Syrian 'rebels' seized control of the borders (July 19th).  Iraq's not had any cartography or survey done of that area in some time.  They have focused their concerns with regards to the border they share with Iran due to the fact that Iran insists that land Iraq considers to be Iraqi land is actually Iranian land.  With Syrian President Bashar Assad, this was not a concern or pressing issue.  That changed when the rebels seized up to four borders.  Nouri had no concern over 'securing the borders' until the 'rebels'
 
Alsumaria reported KRG President Massoud Barzanai gave a speech Saturday.
 
The speech was a clarification of the crisis between the KRG and Baghdad and Barzani states that he was compelled to address the basics and shine a light on the problems.   He argues it boils down to the fact that the Kurds have tried to live in a peaceful coexistence under the Iraqi Constitution but while some respect the rights and duties of the Constitution others disregard and dismiss the Constitution to compile a monopoly of power in their own hands.  He states the disagreement between Nouri al-Maliki and himself is not personal and that Nouri was a close friend many years ago when he lived in Kurdistan [presumably this is during Nouri's exile period which also includes stays in Iran and Syria].  But since 2008 when Nouri sent the Iraqi soldiers and tanks to Khanaqin in a face-off with the Peshmerga, dialogue has been harder and harder.  He notes that the Constitution's Article 140 has never been implemented.  [This is the Article about disputed territories such as oil-rich Kirkuk.  A census and referendum is supposed to be held.  By the end of 2007.  Nouri has refused, for six years now, to implement Article 140.  Nouri is in violation of the Constitution.  This issue, by the way, was seen by the RAND Corporation as the biggest once facing Iraq.]  In addition, Baghdad is not providing the budget for the Peshmerga, nor is it working on a draft oil and gas law.  He notes that the Erbil Agreement has been evaded and that a true partnership has been lost.  It is as though, he states, they hvae returned to a dictatorship, following all the ignored promises.  In violation of the rules and laws, he states, Nouri has attempted to grab absolute power over the administration issues, security issues, the military issues and the  economic ones.  This is in violation of the Constitution, he notes. 
 
He states in his speech that the oil contracts currently in dispute [ExxonMobil and Chevron] are about issues that have been spoken of for years and that, for years, there has been talk of the oil and gas law but still no passage.  The KRG will call for a special committee to review all of the government's files related to oil in the KRG and Iraq.  The Kurds have been patient and waited for issues to be resolved but they have not been.
 
On the political crisis, he states that the failure on Nouri's part to implement past agreements and Nouri's lack of commitment to the Constitution led to the move for a withdrawal of confidence in Nouri.  Barzani states he is willing to set that move aside if someone can put an end to the outstanding issues [seems to echo Moqtada al-Sadr's statement that all Nouri has to do to stop a vote of no-confidence is to return to the Erbil Agreement].  The vote can be tabled and Iraq can return to the right path that will prevent one person from amassing control and a monopoly of power.   That's my translation.  The speech was in Kurdish (which I don't speak or read) and the KRG translated it to Arabic.  There is no English translation provided by the KRG at present. 
 
Of the speech,  Hiwa Osman (Rudaw) notes:
 
The speech did not achieve the impact it should have, especially as the crisis escalated and Iraqi soldiers approached the Syrian border close to Kurdish territories.
As an observer, I was first of all surprised that the speech was not televised.  The second surprise was that it was in Kurdish.  Especially with the recent escalations of tensions, Iraqi Arab public opinion is very much against the Kurdish region.  The media in Baghad has been full of pro-Maliki voices to say the least, and they are all depicting Kurds as those who want everything. 
President Barzani's speech touched on many issues related to the future of Iraq as a whole, not just as pertains to the Kurds.  One of the key points in talks with Baghdad has been the vision of the country's federal future.  But this is not known to the Arab public.
In the absence of a strong Kurdish presence in Baghdad's media, a televised message from President Barzani in Arabic for the people of Iraq would have explained the Kurdish position to the rest of Iraq.  It would have also been a strong response to Maliki's NRT interview.
 
 
And possibly Barzani felt the same way and that's why he made a high profile TV appeareance over the weekend.  Barazni sat down with Jane Arraf (Al Jazeera) for an interview.  Excerpt.
 
President Massoud Barzani:  There's no doubt that the Kurdish question has made a lot of progress.  But I cannot deny that we still face a lot of challenges.  I can however definitely say that the Kurds have passed the stage where their survival could be threatened.  It would be impossible for us as a people to give up everything we have achieved. 
 
Jane Arraf: There's a real crisis going on in Iraq and you warned just a few months ago that if it continues that the Kurdish region could seek its independence.  Are you still prepared to follow through on that?
 
President Massoud Barzani:  If I can make clear what exactly I said, it's this, that Iraq is facing a serious and genuine crisis and we have two kinds of problems.  One is a general problem for Iraq as a whole and the other is problems between the Kurdish region and Baghdad.  We've called for general reforms for the problems -- the Iraqi-wide problems and also the ones between the Kurdish region and Baghdad.  I call upon the Iraqi leaders, if they are ready and willing to come talk to us.  We are ready to do whatever we can to solve these problems.  If the other Iraqi factions are not ready to follow us, then I will go back to the Kurdish people and ask them to decide what needs to be done. And I am still saying the same thing.
 
Jane Arraf: And do you feel now, considering that there really hasn't been much progress between Baghdad and Erbil, do you feel now that you will go to the Kurdish people in September and ask them in a referendum whether they want independence?
 
President Massoud Barzani:  Frankly speaking, the current situation is not acceptable and we will not allow it to continue.  Our people cannot tolerate it and I'm sure the Iraqi people will not accept it either.  Certainly, at some point, I'd go back to the people but I'd first have to consult with the political parties in the region.  I have to consult with Parliament.  This is not a decision for me to make alone.  But certainly, the moment that we feel disappointed and lose hope of solving the problems and getting out of this crisis then I will go back to the people.  But before that, I have to consult with the political groups here and with Parliament. 


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