BULLY BOY
PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID
TABLE
CELEBRITY PRINCESS BARRY O HAS DECIDED THE BEST WAY FOR HIM TO FIGHT IS TO WRITE A COLUMN ASKING FOR OTHERS TO DO THE WORK FOR HIM.
REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, PRINCESS BARRY REVEALED HE WAS AT AN UNDISCLOSED HEALTH SPA, "HAVE YOU SEEN MY HAIR! I'VE LOST ALL COLOR! NO WANTS TO DO IT WITH OLD PEOPLE! AND MY SKIN IS ALL ASHEN! I HAVE CLEARLY BEEN WORKING TOO HARD. OH FOR THE DAYS WHEN MY BODY MAN REGGIE LOVE WOULD PROTECT ME."
ASKED IF HE HAD SEEN THE PRESS, PRINCESS BARRY BECAME EXPLOSIVE INSISTING MEGAN FOX WAS COPYING HIM, "I WORE IT FIRST! I WORE IT BEST!"
ONCE ASSURED THAT WE WEREN'T TALKING FASHION BUT FOREIGN POLITICS, PRINCESS BARRY CALMED DOWN LONG ENOUGH TO SAY, "I AM SO OVER ISRAEL. ISRAEL. ISRAEL KNOWS WHAT THEY DID AND THAT'S ALL I INTEND TO SAY ABOUT IT."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
The failures just continue to pile up for Nouri al-Maliki. Security issues, protests, failed deals you name it.
The middle of the week finds Iraq slammed with violence. Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) counts 55 dead and 288 injured. KUNA reports "two booby-trapped cars in the northern cities of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmato" leaving ten dead and over one hundred injured. The Voice of Russia notes
that the Kirkuk bombing was a suicide car bombing "outside the
headquarters of the Kurdistan Democratic Party" -- the KDP is the
political party of KRG President Massoud Barzani. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports
that police sources state 27 people have died in the Kirkuk bombing
with another one hundred injured but health officials are saying the
death toll is 50. Mustafa Mahmoud (Reuters) quotes
Police Brigadier Sarhat Qadir stating, "A suicide bomber driving a
truck packed with explosives detonated the vehicles outside the KDP
headquarters. It's a crowded area, dozens were killed and wounded." BBC News offers this perspective:
The BBC's Rami Ruhayem in Baghdad says Wednesday's attack seems to send a political message.
Kirkuk is rich not just in oil, but in symbolic importance, and seen by Kurdish nationalists as a crucial part of any future Kurdish state, he says.
As always, the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, and so too will any political aims behind the attack, leaving the doors wide open to speculation, our correspondent adds
In southern Kirkuk (Zab), Alsumaria notes, 1 police officer died attempting to defuse a bomb placed on the side of the road. On the Tuk Khourmatu bombing, The Voice of Russia notes a bombing "outside the branch of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan" -- the PUK is the political party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Fars News Agency counts 2 dead and twenty injured in the Tuz Khurmato bombing. Alsumaria states it targeted the Peshmerga and that 2 are dead and thirty more injured according to a source who was present when ambulances began arriving but before the police cordoned off the area. EFE adds that "three policemen died and their vehice was set ablaze in an attack by armed men in the Shaab neighborhood of Northeast Baghdad." Dar Addustour reports a so-called 'honor' killing in Iraq. A pregnant woman and her husband were murdered by two of the young women's brothers because the family did not agree ot the marriage. According to what the brothers told police, the husband would not have been killed if he had 'stayed out of it,' that their plan was just to kill their sister.
The BBC's Rami Ruhayem in Baghdad says Wednesday's attack seems to send a political message.
Kirkuk is rich not just in oil, but in symbolic importance, and seen by Kurdish nationalists as a crucial part of any future Kurdish state, he says.
As always, the identity of the perpetrators remains unknown, and so too will any political aims behind the attack, leaving the doors wide open to speculation, our correspondent adds
In southern Kirkuk (Zab), Alsumaria notes, 1 police officer died attempting to defuse a bomb placed on the side of the road. On the Tuk Khourmatu bombing, The Voice of Russia notes a bombing "outside the branch of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan" -- the PUK is the political party of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Fars News Agency counts 2 dead and twenty injured in the Tuz Khurmato bombing. Alsumaria states it targeted the Peshmerga and that 2 are dead and thirty more injured according to a source who was present when ambulances began arriving but before the police cordoned off the area. EFE adds that "three policemen died and their vehice was set ablaze in an attack by armed men in the Shaab neighborhood of Northeast Baghdad." Dar Addustour reports a so-called 'honor' killing in Iraq. A pregnant woman and her husband were murdered by two of the young women's brothers because the family did not agree ot the marriage. According to what the brothers told police, the husband would not have been killed if he had 'stayed out of it,' that their plan was just to kill their sister.
AFP offers
this possibility on today's violence, "No one immediately claimed
responsibility for the attacks, but Sunni militants often launch waves
of violence in a bid to destabilise the government and push Iraq back
towards the sectarian violence that blighted it from 2005 to 2008." By
contrat, Prensa Latina offers,
"So far it is unclear whether the attacks are linked to the PKK's
decision to open negotiations with the Turkish government, announced by
the leader of that organization, Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned in Turkey."
In addition, Press TV reports, "Elsewhere, a series of bomb attacks in the cities of Baiji and Tikrit, north of the capital, left two people killed and six others injured." Alsumaria notes a Mosul roadside bombing left two Iraqi soldiers injured. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports, "A mother and daughter were fatally shot when gunmen stormed their house in a Shiite neighborhood." All Iraq News adds that a Baghdad bombing left five police officers injured. The outlet also notes a Falluja roadside bombing targeted the funeral of Aifan al-Issawi left one person injured. Al Jazeera explains, "Essawi's coffin, covered in an Iraqi flag, was transported atop a 4WD vehicle that was part of a massive convoy of dozens of vehicles." Adam Schreck (AP) reports, "A bomb went off as mourners gathered to mark al-Issawi's death, wounding three of them, authorities said." From yesterday's snapshot:
Alsumaria also reports that Iraqiya MP Aifan al-Issawi was killed by a suicide bomber in Falluja.
A year ago, Aifan al-Issawi was describing the situation in Iraq to Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal, January 16, 2012) as, "We are preoccupied with how we can finish each other off." Today he is dead. Along with being an MP for Iraqiya, al-Issawi was also a tribal chief and one of the founding members of the Sahwa. The Sahwa are Iraqis (largely Sunni -- but not just Sunni according to then-Gen David Petraeus' testimony to Congress in April 2008) who were paid to stop attacking the US military and their equipment. April 8, 2008, Senator Barbara Boxer noted they were being paid $182 million a year by US tax payers. All Iraq News notes the attack took place today on 40th Street in central Falluja. Kamal Maama (Independent Online) adds, "Posing as a worker, the attacker hugged Efan al-Esawi before detonating an explosive vest to kill the politician, who once campaigned against al Qaeda after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, police and local officials said."
A year ago, Aifan al-Issawi was describing the situation in Iraq to Sam Dagher (Wall St. Journal, January 16, 2012) as, "We are preoccupied with how we can finish each other off." Today he is dead. Along with being an MP for Iraqiya, al-Issawi was also a tribal chief and one of the founding members of the Sahwa. The Sahwa are Iraqis (largely Sunni -- but not just Sunni according to then-Gen David Petraeus' testimony to Congress in April 2008) who were paid to stop attacking the US military and their equipment. April 8, 2008, Senator Barbara Boxer noted they were being paid $182 million a year by US tax payers. All Iraq News notes the attack took place today on 40th Street in central Falluja. Kamal Maama (Independent Online) adds, "Posing as a worker, the attacker hugged Efan al-Esawi before detonating an explosive vest to kill the politician, who once campaigned against al Qaeda after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, police and local officials said."
Today Sam Dagher and Ali A. Nabhan (Wall St. Journal) report:
Mr. Issawi and other tribal leaders in Anbar rallied their followers starting in 2006 to join the U.S. campaign against al Qaeda that later became known as the Sahwa, or Awakening. Mr. Issawi's Albu-Issa clan had been among the Sunni tribes that welcomed and sheltered foreign jihadists who flocked to Iraq starting in 2003 to fight what was largely seen by Sunnis as an occupation by infidel Americans.
Sentiments shifted when many of the Iraqi tribesmen saw the fighters' brutal tactics firsthand. In interviews, Mr. Issawi had said his mother and several members of his extended family were killed in March 2007 when al Qaeda insurgents detonated a dump truck packed with explosives and chlorine gas canisters.
Men including Mr. Issawi received arms and cash from the U.S. military to join the battle against al Qaeda in Iraq. He forged ties with the Americans, eventually hosting U.S. military commanders and diplomats for poolside barbecues at his farm house near Fallujah. In one living room at the house, Mr. Issawi—who U.S. troops nicknamed "Dark" for his skin tone—exhibited accolades from the U.S. military and photographs showing him with U.S. officials, including a photo taken with then-President George W. Bush during his 2007 visit to Anbar.
The US Embassy in Baghdad issued the following statement:
The
United States Embassy strongly condemns the murder of Iraqi
parliamentarian Ifan Saadoun Al-Issawi and members of his security
detail and the wounding of other Iraqis. We extend our heartfelt
condolences to the families and communities of the victims and wish a
full and speedy recovery to those injured.
All Iraq News notes the Embassy faxed the statement to news outlets today. They also note that the Turkish Foreign Ministry faxed their statement today in which they condemn the attack. And they note
that the office of the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government
issued a statement in which Massoud Barzani condemned the attack and
and sees the attack as an attempt to sew distrust and sedition in Iraq.
Alsumaira adds
that Sahwa leader Abu Risha is accusing Iran of beig behind the attack
and states that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard carries out many acts of
violence in Iraq already.
