BULLY BOY
PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID
TABLE
PRINCESS BARRY O'S SAUSAGE FEST CONTINUES AND GETS SOME MEDIA ATTENTION.
WHEN REACHED FOR COMMENT, PRINCESS BARRY O DELIVERED A RAP TO THESE REPORTERS:
I LIKE BIG CHUCKS AND I CANNOT LIE
YOU OTHER BITCHES CAN'T DENY
THAT WHEN A GUY WALKS IN PACKING
PAPER OR PLASTIC CROTCH SACKING
YOU GET SPRUNG, WANNA PULL OUT YOUR TOUGH
'CAUSE YOU NOTICE THAT CHUCK WAS STUFFED
PRINCESS BARRY STOPPED HIS RAP TO ASK, "YOU GET THAT WHEN I SAY 'CHUCK' I MEAN DICK, RIGHT?"
HE THEN WENT BACK TO RAPPING:
SO FELLAS! FELLAS!
HAS YOUR BOYFRIEND GOT THE CHUCK?
HELL YEAH!
TELL HIM TO SHAKE IT!
SHAKE IT!
SHAKE THAT HEALTHY CHUCK!
BABY GOT CHUCK!
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Today's primary focus, however, was on an escape. The Iraq Times reports there has been a Taji prison break with 12 prisoners fleeing -- some of whom are said to have been sentenced to death. AP states the inmates escaped through cell windows. Al Bawaba adds, "While sources agree that all of the inmates who broke out of jail on Friday are Iraqi, the number is disputed. An interior ministry official put the number at 12 while a military source claimed there were 16 escapees." An unnamed military officer tells AFP, "They escaped from Taji prison after they got hold of the guards' weapons. It could be there was cooperation from the guards."
Protests continued in Iraq today. AFP's Prashant Rao Tweeted:
Prashant Rao
Nouri used the extra-Constitutional Tigris Operation Command to suppress movement in Kirkuk, Alsumaria reports,
and the military force prevented people from entering. They cut off
roads in an attempt to stop those marching in Hawija as well.
Demonstration organizer Banyan Obeidi tells the network that the Tigris
Operation Command was not present to provide protection but to prevent
the demonstrators and to block them." In Nineveh Province, Alsumaria reports
the people turned out following morning prayers and that they renewed
their call for the innocent prisoners and detainees to be released and
for those officials who have raped and tortured women in Iraqi prisons
to be prosecuted. Nineveh Province is where Nouri has sent the military
in an attempt to stop the protests. But the governor of the province,
Atheel al-Nujaifi (also spelled Ethel al-Nujaifi) has refused to allow
the protests to be stopped and declared this week, "I am not an employee
of Nouri al-Maliki. I am servant to the people of Nineveh."
al-Nujaifi is the brother of Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi.
He is also in conflict with Nouri who, in 2011, began demanding that
al-Nujaifi step down as governor. Currently, al-Nujaifi is demanding
that Nouri hand over a soldier to the province, the soldier raped a
young girl. Nouri's refused to honor the arrest warrant. al-Nuajifi is
also demanding a serious investigation into Monday's protest
when Nouri's military ignored al-Nujaifi and the Provincial Council's
orders that the square in downtown Mosul be opened to the protesters,
the military ignored it and moved in injuring at least four protesters
in the process.
Omar
al-Saleh: It's the third consecutive week of protests and the numbers
are increasing. Tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets
across Sunni provinces including parts of Baghdad. But despite the
heavy security presence and attempts by the army to prevent people from
reaching mosques, many showed up for Friday prayers. At Umm al-Qura
mosque, politicians and clerics called on protesters to carry on.
Rafiaa
al-Issawi: I warn the army against being a tool to curb protesters. I
call on you to carry on until your demands are met.
Omar
al-Saleh: In Ramadi, the birth place of the protests, tens of
thousands continued their sit-in. They warned Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki of using force against them. In Samarra and Mosul, thousands
more demanded an end to what they describe as a marginalization of
Sunnis. They also want the abolishment of an anti-terrorism law which
they say targets them. And the release of Sunni prisoners. The
government's stance is that all demands should be dealt with according
to the Iraqi Consittution. It blames foreign countries of supporting
the protesters to ignite a sectarian strife.
Alsumaria reports
that cleric and leader of the Islamic Supreme Council delivered a
sermon today calling for dialogue among all the parties and refusing to
lay the blame on protesters. Also weigh in? Grand Ayatollah Ali
al-Sistani whose message today, delivered by Sheikh Abdel Mahdi
al-Karbalai during morning prayers, was a call for unity and
responsibility. Alsumaria reports
he stated that the political blocs are responsible for the current
problems and that the politicians and the security services must
exercise restraint and utilize wisdom. He warned against attacking the
protesters. All Iraq News notes
that he spoke of the need for government institutions to be independent
and to preserve the independence so that no one official could exploit
the powers of the government for personal gain. Cleric and movement
leader Moqtada al-Sadr also weighed in today. Kitabat notes
that Moqtada explained the popular protests in Mosul, Salahuddin and
Anbar are not against government but against policies and that it is the
right of the Iraqi to speak their beliefs. He noted that there had
been some early mistakes (referring to some slogans and banners in early
protests -- they generally expressed the not uncommon belief in Iraq
that things were better before the US invasion) but that these are cries
to rally the nation. He stated that Nouri is the one throwing out
obstacles. Alsumaria reports
Minister Rafia al-Issawi and Sunni Endowment president Ahmed
Abdul-Ghafoor Samarrai showed their support by attending a demonstration
in Baghdad following morning prayers. All Iraq News reports
Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq issued a statement today
declaring that force should not be used against the protesters. Others
went further. For example, Kitabat reports
Sunni Sheikh Abdul Malik Saadi stated that it is the resposibility of
Iraq's rulers to hear the protesters' demands, that it is the right of
citizens to exercise their rights, and that the security forces are to
provide security and their role is not to target the protesters but to
protect them. The Iraqi people are partners in the country, the Sheikh
noted, citizens, military, they are partners. He called on the
protesters to be strong and patient, not to take up arms and he called
on the military to protect the protesters.
Of course, there are two groups of protesters in Iraq currently. First you have the vast group of thousands of legitimate protesters asking for a better Iraq and then you have the tiny bands of Nouri's goons who sometimes make it into the 'hundreds.' Both were out today.
The tiny faux group registered the most in Najaf. Let's call them the Pat Boones. A sign of how small they are? All Iraq News notes "dozens." But then few want to be an ass kisser. Visit any high school and ask for a show of hands if you doubt it. The Pat Boones are demanding that things stay the same and that mass arrests continue. Aswat al-Iraq adds that they are calling "for boycotting Turkish and Qatari companies. They found support from State of Law MP Ali Mirza who called for his "government to deny work for Turkish and Qatari companies, as well as reviewing diplomatic relations in order to cut off relations with them." Press TV notes a small turn out in Basra as well.
Of course, there are two groups of protesters in Iraq currently. First you have the vast group of thousands of legitimate protesters asking for a better Iraq and then you have the tiny bands of Nouri's goons who sometimes make it into the 'hundreds.' Both were out today.
The tiny faux group registered the most in Najaf. Let's call them the Pat Boones. A sign of how small they are? All Iraq News notes "dozens." But then few want to be an ass kisser. Visit any high school and ask for a show of hands if you doubt it. The Pat Boones are demanding that things stay the same and that mass arrests continue. Aswat al-Iraq adds that they are calling "for boycotting Turkish and Qatari companies. They found support from State of Law MP Ali Mirza who called for his "government to deny work for Turkish and Qatari companies, as well as reviewing diplomatic relations in order to cut off relations with them." Press TV notes a small turn out in Basra as well.
By contrast, Kitabat notes "tens of thousands" of real protesters turned out forllowing Friday prayers. Alsumaria notes thousands marched in Salahuddin Province to show their support with the Anbar Province protesters who are demonstrating and continue their sit-in. The outlet notes that local officials, religious scholars and tribal leaders are part of the demonstrations and that the demands include the release of the innocent prisoners and detainees, the prosecution of those who have tortured or raped Iraqi women in the Iraqi prisons and detention centers, and for the government to change its current course. Salam Faraj and Jafia Abduljabbar (AFP) report that protests took place in Ramadi, Samarra, Mosul, Tikrit, Adhamiyah and Ghazaliyah and "Protesters also blocked off the highway linking Iraq to Syria and Jordan for a 20th day in western Anbar province, while in the northern city of Kirkuk, hundreds of protesters waved banners and raised flags". Patrick Markey and Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) observe, "Three weeks of mass protests reflect deep discontent among Sunnis who say Maliki's Shi'ite-led government has marginalised their minority community, increasing worries Iraq may slide back into the sectarian violence of its recent past." The World Tribune notes, "The protesters blocked a highway to Jordan and Syria, which halted trade and passengers to and from Iraq."
In
one of the more surprising moments of unity today, the KDP and PUK
declared their support for the protesters. The Kurdistan Democratic
Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan are the two big political
parties -- political rivals -- in the KRG. Iraqi President Jalal
Talabani (currently receiving medical treatment in Germany) is the
leader of the PUK while Massoud Barzani is the President of the
Kurdistan Regional Government (semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq)
and the leader of the KDP. Alsumaria reports
the two parties came together today to make a joint declaration of
support for the protesters and to insist that the course the country
is on is wrong and unacceptable.
The Iraq Times reports that Ayad Allawi, leader of Iraqiya (political slate that came in first in the 2010 parliamentary elections) held a press conference today to talk about the crisis that has led to demonstrations throughout Iraq. He noted that Iraqiya and he himself had been sounding alarms for some time about what was taking place. He noted the policies (being implemented by Nouri) were dividing the country and he called for unity to protect Iraq. Iraqiya won in 2010 as part of Iraq's rejection of sectarianism. This trend could be seen in the 2009 provincial elections as well.
This embrace of a national identity
could have been fostered, could have been encouraged. The US government
refused to do that. There was more concern in the Obama White House
that Nouri al-Maliki get a second term than that the voters in Iraq be
listened to, that the Constitution be honored or that democracy be
assisted. The White House backed Nouri who threw a tantrum which lasted
over eight months as he refused to allow the Iraqi government to move
forward. While he dug his feet in refusing to allow a new prime
minister to be named, Barack had the US government spend their time in
Iraq trying to force the various political actors to accept a second
term for Nouri. Since he didn't win the election, the Constitution
couldn't allow this. So the White House came up with the Erbil
Agreement to get around the voters and the Constitution. The Erbil
Agreement was a legal contract that the White House assured political
leaders was binding and that it would have the US government's full
support. In the contract, political leaders agree to allow Nouri to
have a second term as prime minister. In exchange, Nouri agrees to
allow various things to happen such as he agrees to implement Article
140 of the Iraqi Constitution -- a census and referendum will be held in
Kirkuk to determine who has claim to the disputed area.
The
things he agrees to in this contract are largely things he was already
supposed to do. Article 140, for example, is the Constitution and he was
supposed to have implemented that no later than the end of 2007 -- it's
written into the Constitution, that date. From 2006 to 2010, Nouri had
every opportunity to implement Article 140. He refused to do so.
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