Saturday, November 30, 2013

THIS JUST IN! GARTH SPANKS BARACK!

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

A SOBBING BARRY O CONFRONTED THESE REPORTERS TODAY, A CRUMPLED COPY OF THE OVERNIGHTS IN HIS HAND.

"HE BEAT ME!" SCREAMED THE DAHLIBAMA.

WHAT HAD THE CELEBRITY IN CHIEF SO UPSET?

GARTH BROOKS, WHO HASN'T RECORDED A NEW ALBUM SINCE 2001, MANAGED TO DESTROY BARRY O IN THE RATINGS.

"I'VE GOT FRIENDS IN LOW PLACES TOO!" A DESPERATE BARRY O SOBBED. "HAVE PEOPLE NOT SEEN JAY CARNEY?  OR KATHLEEN SEBELIUS?  DOES IT GET ANY LOWER THAN THOSE TWO?


FROM THE TCI WIRE:



Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reports 18 corpses, bullets in head, were found dumped in the town of Mishada.  BBC News adds the 18 were abducted from their homes hours prior to being dumped and that the kidnappers "were wearing police uniforms, according to eyewitnesses."  AFP offers, "The victims, all male, were taken on early Friday by men wearing military uniforms and driving around six SUVs, which looked like army vehicles. The victims' families were told that they were suspects in an official investigation and were being taken away for questioning, witnessed told AFP."

AFP and Al Jazeera rush to name al Qaeada.

It must be nice to be a crook in Iraq, the press always willing to cover for you, always willing to lie.

They lied in 2006 as well.  Repeatedly.

This is why the ethnic cleansing lasted two year -- media felt their job was to protect Nouri and his goons, even if Nouri and his goons were the ones doing the killings.

One of the few to tell the truth was the human rights organization Human Rights Watch.  October 29, 2006 they issued a statement which opened:

The Iraqi government must move quickly to prosecute all Ministry of Interior personnel responsible for “death squad” killings in Baghdad and elsewhere, Human Rights Watch said today.
“Evidence suggests that Iraqi security forces are involved in these horrific crimes, and thus far the government has not held them accountable,” said Sarah Leah Whitson, director of Human Rights Watch’s Middle East division. “The Iraqi government must stop giving protection to security forces responsible for abduction, torture and murder.”
Every month, hundreds of people are abducted, tortured and killed by what many believe are death squads that include security forces. To terrorize the population, the killers often dump the mutilated corpses in public areas.

Human Rights Watch welcomed the recent suspension from duties of the 8th Iraqi Police Unit pending an investigation into their complicity in abductions and killings. The US military has claimed that the unit was responsible for the October 1 kidnapping of 26 Sunni food factory workers in southwest Baghdad, 10 of whom were later found dead. The news agency Inter Press Service reported that the unit used Ministry of Interior vehicles and, according to witnesses, some wore black “death squad” uniforms.


AFP and Al Jazeera cite police for the 'proof' that the culprits are al Qaeda.

Neither damn outlet notes the reality that the police and the military -- all the security forces Nouri controls -- were active killing Iraqis as part of the ethnic cleansing from 2006 to 2007.  It's the same way they covered up the Ministry of Interior targeting and killing men suspected of being gay only a little while ago.

Apparently truth telling and 'reporting' don't go hand in hand.

Today, 18 people are pulled from their homes by people wearing security uniforms and driving security vehicles.

AFP and Al Jazeera rush to tell you that it's al Qaeda.

They have no proof.  They'll lie and whore -- because that's what the press does -- and insist that they're just including details to flesh out the 'reporting.'

Those aren't details, those are accusations.  A detail?  That would be noting the long history Nouri's forces have for conducting 'extra-judicial' killings.

Borzou Daragahi (Los Angeles Times) reported in October 2006 on the response from Jawad Bolani to accusations that police forces were carrying out "sectarian death squad killings."  Daragahi noted:


Few sectarian gang members who have been arrested were employees of the ministry, Bolani said. Often they worked for a separate Iraqi security force that guards government buildings, or are security guards at other ministries or for politicians. Some arrested have been linked to the Iraqi National Intelligence Service, he said.

But AFP and Al Jazeera can't be bothered noting any of that.

Why?

Because the Ministry of the Interior has a sterling reputation today and is run by . ..

Oh, wait.  It's reputation is worse today than it was back then.  In addition, it has no minister heading it.  Nouri never nominated anyone to.  Nouri is the one overseeing it.

So little suck-ass 'reporters'?  They hump Nouri's leg while whimpering and pretending that passes for reporting.

We know it doesn't.

We all know it doesn't.

What it does do is demonstrate how biased AFP and Al Jazeera are, how they suck up to power and turn a blind eye to the suffering.

But we already knew that, right?  Al Jazeera and AFP didn't say one damn word about today's massive protests.


They ignore so very much.  The ignore that Nouri al-Maliki is supporting Shi'ite militias.  Tim Arango (New York Times) broke that story at the end of September:




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.

Asaib al-Haq have badges and weapons supplied by Nouri.

A Shi'ite death squad.

Unnamed police 'sources'?  AFP and Al Jazeera run with it ignoring the fact that such sources are hardly unbiased.  While they include those sources, they ignore many others.  Here's one example.


  • : MP Ahmed al-Alwani accuses Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq of widespread targeting and killing of Sunni Arabs:



  • For the record, a member of Parliament?  Official source.  But not in Nouri's tent.  So  AFP and Al Jazeera feign ignorance.


    They are pretending, right?

    There's no way that two news outlets could be that ignorant, is there?




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    "THIS JUST IN! SING IT BARRY!"



    Friday, November 29, 2013

    THIS JUST IN! SING IT BARRY!

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

    AS MILEY CYRUS FAR OUTPACES BARRY O IN VOTES FOR PERSON OF THE YEAR, BARRY O IS REFLECTING ON POSSIBLE CAREER CHANGES.

    WHITE HOUSE INSIDERS SAY HE'S LEANING TOWARDS CABARET.

    "IF YOU HAVE ANY MATERIAL FOR HIM," WHITE HOUSE PLUS-SIZE SPOKESMODEL JAY CARNEY INSTRUCTED THESE REPORTERS, "YOU CAN LEAVE IT WITH ME.  HE'S PRIMARILY LOOKING FOR BALLADS, SLOW NUMBERS. KATHLEEN SEBELIUS IS WORKING OUT THE CHOREOGRAPHY.  SHE SWEARS THIS WILL BE BIGGER THAN  THE TARP BAIL OUT, BIGGER THAN EVEN OBAMACARE!"

    THOUGH WE DIDN'T HAVE ANY SONGS WE HAD WRITTEN, WE DID SUGGEST AN OLDIE THAT WE FELT BARRY O COULD RELATE TO:


    DELTA DAWN
    WHAT'S THAT FLOWER YOU HAVE ON
    COULD IT BE A FADED ROSE
    FROM DAYS GONE BY?


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:




    The Press Association reports, "The opening of the first branch of a British bank in Iraq has been hailed by its prime minister as a sign of new international trust in the country, and a testament to the ongoing friendship between the new nations. Speaking at the opening of the branch of Standard Chartered in Baghdad, prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki paid tribute to Britain for its support as the two countries continue to work to help Iraq rebuild itself after years of conflict."

    Oh, that's so cute.

    For Iraq and Standard.  In 2012, Jonathan Stempel and Carrick Mollenkamp (Reuters) reported:

    In a rare move, New York's top bank regulator threatened to strip the state banking license of Standard Chartered Plc, saying it was a "rogue institution" that hid $250 billion in transactions tied to Iran, in violation of U.S. law.

    The New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Monday said the British bank "schemed" with the Iranian government and hid from law-enforcement officials some 60,000 secret transactions to generate hundreds of millions of dollars in fees over nearly 10 years.


    In other words, what really happened today is that a rogue bank opened a branch in a rogue state.

    And it's not really a British bank, is it?  As Standard Charted notes, "We operate in some of the world's most dynamic markets and have been for over 150 years.  More than 90 per cent of our income and profits are derived from Asia, Africa and the Middle East."

    They already operate in Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

    So the customers aren't primarily British.  But the bank, the bank itself is British!

    No, you can't be a "multi-national" -- which Standard Charted is -- and belong to one country.  Or did we forget the meaning of "multi" in "multi-national"?  It was founded in South Africa.  It only 'divested' itself of South Africa (where it was part of the blood diamond trade) in 1987 -- at the point when everyone else with integrity had long ago left.  Scan Wikipedia and you'll see quickly that "no integrity" really sums up Standard Charted which is forever in trouble in India and which attempted bribery in the Philippins and Malaysia.  They got into trouble for inflating claims -- trouble with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.

    In other words, they should be perfectly at home in Nouri's corrupt Iraq.

    Poor Nouri, this was his big moment and so much of nothing.

    This month Hyatt announced a new Hyatt Regency . . . in Iraq.  But Nouri can't get excited, the hotel will be in semi-autonomous northern region governed by the KRG.  And Kelly Clarke (Khaleej Times) reported two weeks ago:

    During a conference unveiling a new multi-billion dollar development to go up in the Kurdistan region’s capital, Erbil, last month, Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar said it hopes to ‘close similar deals with the country’s government in the future’, building on its already growing economy.
    [. . .]
    “To have such an international brand like Emaar coming in is a big step up for the development of the area and it will surely create confidence,” he (real estate agent and CEO for Elite Homes Ali Asad] told Khaleej Times.
    Asked why he thinks one of the world’s biggest property developers has chosen to develop in Erbil, rather than Baghdad, where property prices are higher, he said it was simple.
    “If they want a footstep into Iraq, Erbil is the perfect place, because it’s secure,” however Asad did mention the Downtown Erbil development will undoubtedly create inflation in the area, as listed prices are already considerably higher than similar developments in the area.



    Not everything's in the KRG.

    For example, today the KRG Prime Minister wasn't.  He was in Ankara.

    National Iraqi News Agency reports that Nijervan Barzani met with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the two discussed "the issue of oil exporting from Kurdistan region to Turkey."  All Iraq News quotes "Turkish sources" stating, "Erdogan signed many conventions with Barzani in oil and gas sectors and after the three hour meeting he announced his intention to visit Baghdad and Erbil to assure the desire of Turkey in promoting relations with all Iraqi components."


    The pipeline could assist with the oil exports that are already taking place between the KRG and Turkey.  Seyfettin Gursel (Al-Monitor) reports:

    Oil production in the region controlled by the KRG is 300,000 barrels per day. About two-thirds of this amount is exported to Turkey in tanker trucks. This is a tedious and expensive method. Nevertheless, the KRG revenues — which were at $150 million seven years ago — have risen to $12 billion, and per capita income has climbed to $5,000 from $300. It is possible to boost the daily production to 1 million barrels with the operating wells. With proven and estimated oil reserves, this production will increase multifold in coming years. According to Celebi, yet-untapped natural gas reserves are estimated at 40 billion cubic meters. The KRG has already signed deals with international oil companies for production and to build the pipelines that would cross Turkey.
    Even limited oil-production revenues have raised Turkey’s exports to Iraq to above $10 billion, which comes after Germany in Turkey’s primary export markets. It is, however, likely to occupy the top slot soon. According to Celebi, 90% of exports to Iraq go to Northern Iraq, with the rest going to the south of the country. Imagine how these numbers are going to multiply when the pipelines are completed and oil and natural gas starts to flow.



    Of today's meet-up, Asharq al-Awsat notes, "Speaking to CNNTurk television on Wednesday, Barzani confirmed that Iraq's Kurds are hoping to start pumping oil to Turkey before the end of the year via the Baghdad-controlled pipeline." AFP reports that Barzani declared before the meeting that the oil could be flowing, via the pipeline, to Turkey "before Christmas" (December 25th).

    Guess which cranky boy forgot Santa Claus was making a list of who was naughty and who was nice?
    Nouri al-Maliki.  AFP quotes Nouri's mouth piece Ali al-Mussawi conveying Nouri's fury, "The Iraqi government informed the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad of its strong opposition to signing the pipeline deal with KRG."  And if that's got Nouri stomping his feet, whatever will he do in December?  That's when, Rudaw reports, a major commerce event takes place in the KRG:


    More than 100 international energy companies and 800 political and diplomatic figures are expected to attend the Kurdistan-Iraq Oil &  Gas Conference 2013 in Erbil next month, notably coinciding with historic oil exports by the Kurds. 
    The four-day conference opens Sunday, just as the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq begins to export oil directly to Turkey through its newly-extended pipeline.


    Maybe he'll have time to adjust?  But today, Nouri thought it was his day.  He'd dominate the news cycle by announcing a one-time tool of the British empire was invading Iraq.  Instead, all anyone cares about right now is what Barzani and Erdogan agreed to.


    How important is today's news?

    Nouri's not the only one throwing a hissy fit.  At the US State Dept press briefing today, spokesperson Jen Psaki took sides and acted like an idiot.  What a proud moment for the State Dept.


    QUESTION: About the energy deal between Turkey and KRG: The KRG Prime Minister Barzani, Nechirvan Barzani, was in Turkey yesterday and he told to the Turkish reporters there that the pipeline between Irbil and Turkey will start to carry all the oil next month, before the Christmas. So I know that you raised this – your concern on this issue with the Turks when Mr. Davutoglu was here, but what is the latest situation and what is your view on the latest arrangement of this --


    MS. PSAKI: Our view has not changed. We don’t support oil exports from any part of Iraq without approval of the Iraqi federal government. We continue to urge the federal government of Iraq and Kurdistan Regional Government to reach a constitutional solution, and that has consistently been our position. And it also has not changed.


    QUESTION: There is a plan on the table that Turks are arguing that they’re going to accumulate the revenue, oil revenue, in a Turkish bank in Turkey, and then they gonna split the spoils arising from this energy resources between KRG and Baghdad. So 70 percent will be going to the Kurds, and the rest will be Baghdad. Are you okay with that plan?


    MS. PSAKI: I don’t have anything on that for you. Our position remains the same on this specific issue.


    QUESTION: Did you raise this issue with Mr. Davutoglu when was in town?


    MS. PSAKI: I will check and see if there’s more to report on our meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu.


    QUESTION: So, just so I understand correctly, you do stick to the principle that the central governments was responsible for the export of oil from Iraq?



    MS. PSAKI: That’s right, without approval of the Iraqi federal government.



    'We stay out of it! We stay out of it!  We support the Iraqi Constitution and the laws! It's not for us to decide!'

    Did I forget any of the lies that have been told from the State Dept podium?

    The State Dept doesn't give a damn about the Constitution of Iraq.  They don't give a damn about the Iraqi people.

    If you give a damn, you have something to say.



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    Wednesday, November 27, 2013

    THIS JUST IN! BARRY O DOES HOLLYWOOD!

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

    CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O WENT TO HOLLYWOOD TO RUB ELBOWS WITH COMEDIAN STEVE MARTIN AND TO RUB AGAINST MARTIN WHILE JIM PARSONS WATCHED, A SEX FANTASY AT LAST FULFILLED.

    BUT MAINLY TO TALK ABOUT THE ECONOMY BECAUSE HE'S AS DIVORCED FROM REALITY AS THE FANTASY FACTORY IN HOLLYWOOD.

    REACHED FOR COMMENT LATE YESTERDAY AFTERNOON BY THESE REPORTERS, THE DAHLIBAMA DECLARED, "ALL I REALLY WANT TO DO THIS TRIP IS MEET SHREK.   I THINK HE'S CUTE AND MAYBE IF HE KISSES ME HE CAN CHANGE ME INTO SOMETHING ELSE -- ANYTHING ELSE."


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:



    Al Rafidayn reports a young girl was slapped in school for not wearing a veil, slapped by the teacher, and the uproar has the Ministry of Education investigating the incident.   Earlier this month,  the CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation, Monique Villas, (at Huffington Post) noted violence against women:



    The picture is grim. A perception poll of gender experts by the Thomson Reuters Foundation shows that the rise of political Islam across Arab Spring countries has had a real impact on secularism. Almost three years after popular uprisings toppled autocratic leaders in one of the most conservative corners of the world, three out of five Arab Spring countries rank among the bottom five states for women's rights
    Many political gains for women have been lost. In fact, women are struggling to preserve their dignity, and far from progressing, they are now fighting to preserve the rights they had before the Arab Spring. 

    [. . .]

    Life is not much better in Iraq, second-worst country for women's rights in the region, according to the survey.
    The experts said that radical Islamisation of society, sectarian violence and a reaction against what many see as western imperialism in the years after the 2003 invasion were all having a devastating impact on women.
    The "war on terror" has made widows of 1.6 million Iraqi women, leaving them without income and with few prospects of employment. In Iraq, only 14.5 percent of the entire female population is employed, and women have lost their voice in political circles. Mass displacement has made them vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence.



    The response from Iraq?  The Ministry of Human Rights attacked it.  So did the Ministry of Women.  The latter insisted the report was "inaccurate" and that Reuters had "no clear-cut knowledge of Iraq and its laws."  If you're wondering why the Ministry of Women didn't speak up in support of the young girl slapped, it's because the Minister has stated that women have no rights.  She's a chauvinist, a sexist and hateful pig.  She attempted to institute a dress code -- for women only -- and she's done nothing to speak out or support Iraqi women who don't wear the hijab.


    We've long noted the gender-traitor Ibithal al-Zaydi (see, for example, the February 3, 2012 snapshot).  Mufid Abdlulla (Kurdistan Triune) quoted the gender-traitor's most infamous remarks: 



    I am against the equality between men and woman.  If women are equal to men they are going to lose a lot.  Up to now I am with the power of the man in society: If I go out of my house: I have to tell my husband where I am going.  This does not mean diluting the role of woman in society but, on the contrary, it will bring more power to the woman as a mother who looks after their kids and brings up their children.


    She's in a position of authority and she's arguing against women's rights.  She's also supposed to represent all women and yet she doesn't.  In Iraq, as in every country, there are women who will never have children (by choice or due to fertility issues -- of the woman or the man), there are women who will never marry.  And Iraq is a land of widows.  Not only is she harming women's rights but she's even rendering women invisible.


    Back in March, Rania Khalek (Muftah) noted it wasn't always women under attack in Iraq:


    Contrary to popular imagination, Iraqi women enjoyed far more freedom under Saddam Hussein’s secular Ba’athist government than women in other Middle Eastern countries. In fact, equal rights for women were enshrined in Iraq’s Constitution in 1970, including the right to vote, run for political office, access education and own property. Today, these rights are all but absent under the U.S.-backed government of Nouri al-Maliki.
    Prior to the devastating economic sanctions of the 1990s, Iraq’s education system was top notch and female literacy rates were the highest in the region, reaching 87 percent in 1985. Education was a major priority for Saddam Hussein’s regime, so much so that in 1982 Iraq received the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) award for eradicating illiteracy. But the education system crumbled from financial decay under the weight of the sanctions pushing over 20 percent of Iraqi children out of school by 2000 and reversing decades of literacy gains. Today, a quarter of Iraqi women are illiterate, more than double the rate for Iraqi men (11 percent). Female illiteracy in rural areas alone is as high as 50 percent.
    Women were integral to Iraq’s economy and held high positions in both the private and public sectors, thanks in large part to labor and employment laws that guaranteed equal pay, six months fully paid maternity leave and protection from sexual harassment. In fact, it can be argued that some of the conditions enjoyed by working women in Iraq before the war rivaled those of working women in the United States.




    BBC News has a photo essay entitled 'In Pictures: Women At Risk In Iraq."  Umed Sami (Kirkuk Now) reported Sunday that it is Domestic Violence Awareness Week which actually lasts two weeks and that there are many different actions because there are "20 women's rights organizations in Kirkuk."  From the article:


    No to Violence against Women is a women’s rights organization founded by a group of women’s rights activists back in 2010.  It is one of the organizations planning to organize a protest rally on November 25 in front of the governor’s office as they protest against the poor conditions of women’s rights and their struggles.
    In the meantime, the Kurdistan Women’s Union, a women’s organization affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Kirkuk Governor Najmadin Karim, is a member of the political bureau boycotting the activities of No to Violence against Women and who view their rally as an “opposition against the governor and not demanding the women’s rights.”
    Women’s activist Naska Muhammad told Kirkuk Now “The majority of the women’s rights organizations have boycotted the rally as we feel it is more targeted against the governor and it is politically driven.”


    The Kurdistan Regional Government noted the kick off on Monday and that Monday was International Day Against Violence Against Women (that's a United Nations day around the world).  KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addressed a large group of men and women -- including ministers of government, MPs in the Iraqi Parliament and the Kurdish Parliament, regional official and diplomats --  in Erbil.  Barzani noted that violence against women is violence against human rights and the issue is not a 'women's issue' but one for the entire community to work on.  He called for justice which means changing the laws in the KRG so that the light penalities for husbands killing wives are eliminated (he noted the KRG law currently mirrors the law for the rest of Iraq).  He noted that they need to address the issue of child brides and the practice of female genital mutilation.  He cited figures finding that reported violence against women had fallen in 2012 but he stated that the gains were not enough and the community needed to work harder to address the issue.


    Iraq's Human Rights Ministry also had an event.  Compare the photos.  Even if you can't read Arabic, you'll note many things.  For example, the Baghdad turnout?  Not that impressive in terms of numbers. The KRG photo displays ten packed rows of attendees (and the photo cuts off with the impression that there are rows not displayed in the photo).  In Baghdad, they take up about six rows -- with a lot of empty spaces.  In the KRG, you see shiny, healthy hair on the heads of men and women.  In Baghdad, most women have their hair covered.  (Four brave women on the second row do not cover their hair.) Nouri's Prime Minister of Iraq.  Did he address the gathering?


    Nope. 


    He couldn't be bothered with the topic.  


    Ibithal al-Zaidi was present.  Declaring she (now) believes in equality between the sexes -- based on the law and religions.   Whatever.  


    How important was the event?  


    They don't even bother to finish the press release -- it cuts off before the end of the release.


    Nouri should have been present.  By refusing to show up for the Baghdad event, let alone speak at it, he made clear that violence against women does not qualify as a serious issue to him.

    We're not done with the KRG yet.  Al Mada reports that KRG President Massoud Barzani issued a statement decrying violence against women saying it was inhumane and against the basic principals of humanity.  He noted the sacrifices and actions Iraqi women had taken part in to create a better Iraq and called for rights to live safely and free from oppression, discrimination and violence.



    Let's drop back to September for Joel Brinkley's San Francisco Chronicle profile of the Iraq Ambassador to the US, Lukman Faily:


    Yes, the Middle East is aflame, as Faily put it. And Iraq is in deep trouble, like most of the region. Almost daily, 20, 30, 50 or more people die in terrorist attacks that generally involve Sunnis killing Shiites or vice versa. Eighty-three people died in attacks Sunday through Tuesday, bringing the total dead so far this year to more than 3,800.
    But Faily said his government is not asking the United States to return troops to Iraq. No, he said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki yanked him from his position as ambassador to Japan and sent him to America a few months ago to carry the message: We need help with governance.



    Falih Hassan Fezaa (Rudaw) notes the interview today and points out:


    Faily stated that Iraq was “sitting on billions of barrels of oil. But no one has clean water.”
    He stated in no certain terms that daily life in Iraq is deteriorating, lacking in clean water, a workable budget, modern technology and efforts to fight corruption.
    Based on Mr Faily’s statements, I had thought that Baghdad’s Islamist rulers had finally realized their failures, and were looking to America for help.
    But then, when Maliki visited Washington earlier this month, he reportedly asked for more weapons, instead of help with things like water and electricity. This is a dysfunctional government with no real military capabilities.
    More than 10 years since the 2003 fall of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship, the Shiite Islamists in Baghdad have failed to govern, while the Kurds have succeeded in carving out an autonomous and historic safe haven for themselves in the midst of Iraq’s sea of violence. These are parallel tales of failure and success.


    The editorial board of the Gulf News observes, "It is abundantly clear that the Nouri Al Maliki government has failed Iraqis miserably. It has done nothing to address the root causes of the unrest, especially when it comes to complaints of discrimination against ethnic and religious minorities."



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    Tuesday, November 26, 2013

    THIS JUST IN! REJECTED EVEN IN SAN FRANCISCO!

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


    NO CELEBRATIONS FOR BARRY O.

    AMERICA'S CELEBRITY IN CHIEF KEEPS GETTING LESS AND LESS APPLAUSE.

    YESTERDAY IN SAN FRANCISCO, BARRY O WAS CONFRONTED WITH A HECKLER OBJECTING TO THE FACT THAT BARRY O HAS ALREADY DEPORTED MORE IMMIGRANTS THAN BULLY BOY BUSH

    CONFRONTED, BARRY O ATTEMPTED HIS USUAL PLAY -- FAKE AND LIE.

    THE ASSEMBLED REJECTED IT AND BEGAN CHANTING "STOP DEPORTATIONS! YES WE CAN!"


    AND THE POLLING JUST KEEPS GETTING WORSE WITH HIS LOWEST SO FAR BEING A 37% APPROVAL RATE.


    POLLING EXPERT JAIME REGALADO DECLARES, "HE'S AT THE LOWEST POINT IN HIS PRESIDENCY."

    SO FAR!

    SO FAR, JAIME, THE LOWEST SO FAR!



    Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2013/11/25/5946573/with-public-approval-at-an-all.html#storylink=cpy


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:



    We're starting with the United Nations.  We'll be discussing how the UN Security Council is lazy, ignorant and wasteful.  But first, Nickolay Mladenov offered testimony this morning.  He heads UNAMI and he's UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's representative in Iraq.


    He noted early on, "The security situation continued to worsen, with almost daily attacks by terrorist and armed groups against civilians and the Iraqi security forces.  Along with rising casualty figures, forced displacement on a sectarian and ethnic basis has re-emerged in several governorates."  Today, Jason Ditz (Antiwar.com) reports, "Sectarian bombings continue apace across Iraq in general and the capital city of Baghdad in particular, killing almost 200 in the past week and showing that rather than slowing down, the summer violence is actually speeding up as winter approaches."  Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed Saturday, "The U.N. Assistance Mission for Iraq estimates at least 979 Iraqis -- 852 of them civilians -- were killed in October alone."  For a Reuters graph of the UN fatality figures, refer to Geoffrey Ingersoll's report for Business Insider.



    And possibly the most important thing he told (read to) the UN Security Council was about the ongoing protests.


    Nickolay Mladenov:  Protests continued in Anbar, Nineveh, Salah al-Din, Kirkuk and Diayala governorates in the form of unified Friday prayers.  Compared to the past reporting period, the protests assumed a lower profile, owning in part to increased attention to the protesters' demands by newly elected local administrations. Indeed, the Anbar Governorate Council elected Sabah Karhout, a member of the Arab Iraqiya party, as its chair, and Ahmed Khalif al-Dulaimi, a member of the Muttahidoun party, as Governor.  In Ninewa, the Governorate Council re-elected Atheel al-Nujaifi, a known supporter of the protestors and brother of the Speake of the Council of Representatives [Osama al-Nujaifi], as Governor.  On 5 October dialogue between the Government and the protestors resumed following a meeting between the Prime Minister [Nouri al-Maliki] and the Governor of Anbar, who was nominated by the demonstrators to represent their interests.  While the meeting was described as positive and fruitful by the Prime Minister's office, no progress has been announced to date in addressing the demonstrators' demands.  



    Could the lazy foreign (non-Iraq) press register that?

    "While the meeting was described as positive and fruitful by the Prime Minister's office, no progress has been announced to date in addressing the demonstrators' demands."

    Can they register that?  AP, Reuters, AFP, etc, can you register that.

    Because these outlets keep pimping the lie that Nouri has met protesters demands.

    He's not met them and even UNAMI notes that Nouri's office spins but there is no progress.

    The protests passed the 11 month mark last Friday.

    The non-Iraq outlets ignored it.  But there's a chance, a small one, that AP, AFP, et al might actually report on the protests next month.  That's because December 21st will be the one year anniversary of the protests, 12 months of continuous protesting.  So there's a chance, a small one, that non-Iraqi outlets might finally give some serious attention to these protests.

    If they do, let's hope they remember what the United Nations Security Council was told today:   "While the meeting was described as positive and fruitful by the Prime Minister's office, no progress has been announced to date in addressing the demonstrators' demands."

    Nothing they've 'reported' in the last months has indicated there are even aware of that reality.

    Here's a little more reality from National Iraqi News Agency, Nouri's security forces arrested Sheikh Mehdi Ziad today a "member of the coordinating committees in Samarra and preacher of the sit-in of Samarra."  His home was raided and he was arrested "without knowing the reason for his arrest."


    As protesters are killed and the leaders are arrested (repeatedly on both), where is the world press?


    Prashant Rao heads AFP's Baghdad bureau which should mean he's interested when Nouri's forces arrest the leaders of the protests.

    Should mean that.

    But there's no Tweet on that.

    He did, however, make time to note this very important issue:



    1. The only solace in being a Bulls fan now is that the Lakers decided they're not interested in contending, by signing Kobe to a $48mn deal.



    They do something.

    I don't know that anyone would call it reporting, but they do busy themselves with trivia.

    Last January, the International Anti-Occupation Network issued a call for support:



    The protesters are justly demanding:
    1. The immediate release of detained protesters and dissident prisoners.
    2 . A stop to the death penalty.
    3. The approval of an amnesty law for innocent detainees.
    4. The abolition of anti-terrorism laws (especially Clause 4 used to target them).
    5. The repeal of unfair rulings against dissidents.
    6. Fair opportunities for work based on professionalism.
    7.The end of the use of all military command based on geographic areas.
    8. The provision of essential services to all areas in Iraq neglected by the state.
    9. The holding of all … governmental officials, army or security units who have committed crimes against dissidents accountable, especially those who have violated the honor of women in prisons.
    10. A U.N.-sponsored population count.
    11. An end to marginalization, a stop to agitating divisions between ethnic and religious groups, and a stop to the house raids without legal warrant based on the information of secret informers.
    12. A stop to financial, administrative and legal corruption.
    13. The combating of sectarianism in all its forms by returning religious buildings and all religious properties to their rightful owners, and the abolishment of law No. 19 of 2005.




    The prisoners, the disappeared.  Secret prisons in Iraq, false arrests.  "False arrest" is the correct term. You're married to Gary and there's a knock on your door one day when Gary's out.  You open it, it's the Iraqi police.  They want Gary for some reason.  You're suspected of no crime but you're hauled off and tossed into the prison and detention system because the Iraqi police can't find Gary.  That happens over and over in Iraq.

    It's from the US government actually.  They started this illegal practice.  They did so by having the US military act worse than mobsters -- the mob's a little more respectful of families than the US government which ordered US forces to grab the wives of suspects and throw them behind bars to hold them as hostages until/unless the suspects came forward.

    This practice of arresting family members continues.  (But there's no effort to release the innocent family member if the suspect comes forward or is caught elsewhere.)


    Testifying to the UN Security Council today, Mladenov that UNAMI has been allowed to visit and inspect the prisons and detention centers under the Ministry of Justice.  They found, he testified, "overcrowding and lack of adequate health services."  He also noted that there was "a lack of special programs for female detainees and prisoners to ensure their reintegration into society after release."


    This is a standard comment from whomever is the head of UNAMI.  Let's not another one, a more disturbing one, "UNAMI has not yet been granted access to detention centers under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior.  UNAMI nevertheless received reports of abuse, mistreatment and, at times, torture of many detainees and prisoners in those facilites prior to charge and transfer to facilities under the authority of the Ministry of Justice, in particular with regard to persons detained under the Anti-Terrorism Law Number 13 of 2005."


    Let's be clear, torture is continuing in Iraq.

    But let's be even more clear.  Outside of Iraq, people often miss this point.

    That's especially true with some in the US.

    Iraq has a different executive branch system than the US.  While cabinet heads, such as Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebaria have their equivalents in the US like Secretary of State John Kerry, there are very real differences.

    Chief among them, if John Kerry does a job US President Barack Obama doesn't approve of, Barack will ask for his resignation and Kerry will deliver it.  Should Kerry fail to do so, Barack would just cut Kerry out of the loop.

    The way things are set up in Iraq are different.  Let's pretend John Kerry is an Iraqi.  Nouri nominates  him to be Minister of Oil.   The Iraqi Parliament then votes.  If they vote to confirm him, Kerry is the Minister of Oil.  If Nouri's unhappy with Kerry's performance, he can ask for a resignation.  Kerry can refuse.  If Kerry refuses, Nouti's next step is to go to the Parliament and ask them to strip Kerry of his post.  Nouri attempted this from the end of 2011 to May 2012 with both Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq and Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi.

    The Parliament refused to do so.  Both al-Mutlaq and al-Hashemi remain in their posts until their terms end.

    If Kerry refused to step down as Minister of Oil and the Parliament refused to vote him out of that post, Nouri would be stuck with John Kerry.

    Nouri didn't feel his Cabinet (violation of the Constituion).  He instead did a power grab by refusing to nomiate people to head the security ministries. Ayad Allawi, head of Iraqiya, immediately called it that but the foreign press dismissed that assertion and insisted, in January 2011, that Nouri would fill his Cabinet in a matter of weeks.


    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 three positions remain unfilled.  All this time later, they're empty.  This allows Nouri to control them.  He puts a puppet in as 'acting' minister (no approval from Parliament so they have no job protection and do Nouri's bidding).

    Nouri doesn't control the Ministry of Justice.

    UNAMI was able to inspect and visit the prisons and detention centers under the Ministry of Justice.


    But what did Nikolay Maladenov say?  "UNAMI has not yet been granted access to detention centers under the authority of the Ministry of the Interior."

    That's prisons and detention centers under Nouri's control.

    Nouri's refusing to allow the United Nation to have access to those.  Nouri and only Nouri because he's over the Ministry of the Interior as a result of his power grab.



    We'll note another statement the head of UNAMI made -- this one when he spoke briefly to reporters after (he spoke to the press for less than three minutes).


    Nickolay Mladenov:  I strongly believe that we need to have a focus on the forthcoming elections that have been scheduled for April 30th.  The government and the political parties have agreed to have that date on time and I do believe that it is vital that this date be observed properly by all and UNAMI will continue to invest heavily in in supporting the Electoral Committee in Iraq as well as working close with all the authorities to make sure that the election is done in a proper and transparent manner and in the timeframe that has been stipulated by law.



    Of the UN Security Council, Matthew Russell Lee (Inner City Press) reports:


    After the UN Security Council much belatedly issued a press statement Monday on the carnage in Iraq, Inner City Press asked the Council's president and then Iraq's Permanent Representative what had taken so long.
    Just as the Security Council has not met or even had a briefing about Libya and militias in Tripoli killing dozens of civilians, there is a similar resistance to admitting how un-solved Iraq is after intervention. But Iraq's Permanent Representative Mohamed Alhakim told Inner City Press that his country had been asking the Council to issue a statement. 
    Inner City Press asked, so it was only the US opposing it? 
    He replied that, "We wanted a clear" statement. "Sometimes a mixture of different" approaches "and we were against that." We said, "please come up with something unified, strong,  target the organizations and countries" behind the terrorism, which "has support of money."


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    "THIS JUST IN! HAND JIVE TIME!"

    Sunday, November 24, 2013

    THIS JUST IN! HAND JIVE TIME!

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


    CBS NEWS REPORTS CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O HAS HIT AN ALL TIME LOW, 37% APPROVAL RATE.


    EVERYBODY SING:

    How low can you go, how low can you go, how low can you go, how low can you go 
    Higher, higher, higher and higher
    Now can you hand-jive, baby, oh can you hand-jive, baby
    Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, born to hand-jive, oh yeah                 


    HOW LOW CAN BARRY O GO, HOW LOW CAN BARRY O GO, HOW LOW CAN BARRY O GO, HOW LOW CAN BARRY O GO?

    HE WAS BORN TO HAND JIVE.


    FROM THE TCI WIRE:





    National Iraqi News Agency notes that US State Dept official Brett McGurk met with Iraqi Vice President Khodair al-Khozai to discuss "the latest developments" in Iraq and he met yesterday with the head of the  Supreme Islamic Council of Iraq, Ammar al-Hakeem, and that "US Ambassador to Iraq, Robert Beecroft, attended the meeting."


    What could they be discussing?

    And Beecroft an after thought?

    Thank goodness that MoveOn and everyone else got together and said "NO" to Brett McGurk's nomination to be US Ambassador to Iraq.

    Oh, wait, they didn't.

    They stayed silent or they whored.

    Brett did what?

    That's right, he was a key negotiator in Iraq during Bully Boy Bush's occupation of the White House.  His responsibilities included extending the US military presence in Iraq.

    What could he be discussing this time?


    The last week of October, chief thug and prime minister of Iraq Nouri al-Maliki visited DC.  On Friday, November 1st, US President Barack Obama hosted Nouri at the White House.

    Though the visit received some attention, it may be about to get a little more.  At least in the Arab world which has a more functioning press than we do in the United States.


    Kitabat reports on an interview Paul Bremer gave.  I'll assume it was to a non-US outlet since there's no US coverage of Bremer's remarks (although the US press ignores Iraq repeatedly so maybe not).

    Bremer stated in the interview that Nouri asked Barack to send US troops.

    What answer did Nouri receive?

    According to Bremer (according to Kitabat), he was not turned down, he was told the US was prepared to study how to best do this.

    Dar Addustour columnist As Sheikh also weighs in on the Bremer interview and notes, if Bremer's remarks were accurate, Nouri has acted unilaterally and not informed the Parliament or sought their input or approval.

    This would qualify as a serious Iraq issue.

    So of course no one's talking about in the US media -- not even the so-called watchdogs and press critics.

    Let's move to The Great Frauds of NYC.  Peter Hart of FAIR, come on down.  Hart wants to whine that some media members are comparing ObamaCare and/or its roll out to the Iraq War.  That comparison's gone on for some time now, we've never made it here.  It's not one I would make.  It's also not the simplistic comparison FAIR and others reduce it to.  ObamaCare supposedly is going to save lives.  So, yes, it does matter whether the rollout works or not.


    It is the same lies that led to the Iraq War?

    To me, no.  But the Iraq War -- the ongoing Iraq War -- actually matters to me.

    Let's bring another loser into the conversation.  Greg Mitchell's being itching for another woman to hate on.  What do do after the pack sent out a woman to attack their despised network TV woman and it turned out the attacker wasn't a reporter but someone who repeatedly had sex with military officers to get her lame newspaper stories?

    Find another woman to attack.  At his blog Pressing Issues, Mitchell's had another fit.  No, I'm not talking about his attack on Courtney Love -- in a week when he mentioned hundreds of male musicians and didn't attack any of them.  I'm talking about this:

    Unlike a lot of media and political writers I am not one to let bygones be bygones, at least in a very few tragic or high stakes cases.  For example, the media failures in the run-up to the Iraq war, given the consequences.  This explains my reaction to the Columbia Journalism Review today announcing, after a widely-watched search, that it was hiring Liz Spayd of The Washington Post as its new editor.

    Now, I suppose I should review her entire career, for context, though others are doing it and you can read about it in plenty of places.  She has been managing editor of the Post for years now and obviously supervised a good deal of important work (and some not so terrific, of course).  But I am moved to recall, and then let go,  one famous 2004 article, by Howard Kurtz, then media writer at the Post, which I covered in my book on those media failures and Iraq, So Wrong for So Long.



    And what was so wrong?  That she said this about the paper's coverage:


    "I believe we pushed as hard or harder than anyone to question the administration's assertions on all kinds of subjects related to the war. . . . Do I wish we would have had more and pushed harder and deeper into questions of whether they possessed weapons of mass destruction? Absolutely," she said. "Do I feel we owe our readers an apology? I don't think so." 



    For context, last Friday, Martin Bashir made hideous comments on MSNBC.  I'm not going to link to them -- I think they were hideous, why would I want to promote them? -- but I didn't see it.  Every day this week, e-mails have come in insisting it must be noted.

    And it might have been noted if I'd heard of his remarks on Friday, Saturday, Sunday or early Monday.  I first heard of them on Tuesday and that was after his Monday evening apology.

    He apologized.

    We all say things that we regret.

    He apologized.  I did stream that.  It appeared sincere.

    So he made remarks that he admitted were out of bounds and he offered an apology.

    To me, that's the end of the story.

    I don't like Martin Bashir (going back to his 90s 'reporting'), but if someone offers a sincere apology for words they spoke, I think we're grown ups and we accept it.

    Greg Mitchell is having a fit over Elizabeth Spayd's remarks in 2004 -- brief remarks.

    Spayd worked for the paper.  She states she wishes the paper had pushed harder on WMD.  She doesn't believe the paper owes an apology.

    I don't think the Washington Post needs to apologize either.

    I think they need to add corrections to hundreds of articles they ran on Iraq.

    I think they were wrong and I think they served up a lot of lousy journalism.

    But that's a difference of opinion with Elizabeth Spayd.  Or a difference of opinion I have with her opinion expressed back in 2004.

    Back in March, Ava and I wrote "TV: The War Crimes Documentary" covering  James Steele: America's Mystery Man In Iraq -- the British documentary about counter-insurgency in Iraq.  I also covered it repeatedly here in multiple snapshots.  dropping back to the April 30th Iraq snapshot:




    December 6, 2012, the Memorandum of Understanding For Defense Cooperation Between the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Iraq and the Department Defense of the United States of America was signed.  We covered it in the December 10th and December 11th snapshots -- lots of luck finding coverage elsewhere including in media outlets -- apparently there was some unstated agreement that everyone would look the other way.  It was similar to the silence that greeted Tim Arango's September 25th New York Times report which noted, "Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions.  At the request of the Iraqi government, according to [US] General [Robert L.] Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence."


    For months, we were the only ones analyzing the MoU.  Then there's Tim Arango's very important report noted above.

    We have covered it and linked to it and covered it again.  That didn't stop in 2012.  We continue to cover it.  In addition, we also repeatedly note his important report this year.   In September, Tim Arango (New York Times) broke that story about Nouri arming and outfitting Shi'ite militias to target Sunnins:


    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.


    That's important.  Why aren't press critics at FAIR, as well as Greg Mitchell, amplifying these reports? Why aren't they offering critiques of how the rest of the media treats Arango's reports as though they have "Classified" stamped on them?

    And let's quote hypocrite and fat ass, limp dick liar Greg Mitchell one more time:

    Unlike a lot of media and political writers I am not one to let bygones be bygones, at least in a very few tragic or high stakes cases.  For example, the media failures in the run-up to the Iraq war, given the consequences. 


    High stackes cases?

    That's what he says.  And "the media failures in the run-up to the Iraq war, given the consequences."

    What consequences?

    You mean death and dying?

    If so, that never ended and continues to this day.

    So it must be Greg Mitchell's "media failures" that have prevented him repeatedly from noting Iraq.

    The only time he brings up Iraq, is as a finished, past story -- and then, only to clobber people over the head with it.

    Well put on your big boy pants Greg and explain to us -- if consequences matter -- why you didn't cover the documentary at your site, why you don't cover Arango's reports, why you don't cover the ongoing, 11-month old protests in Iraq?

    These are some of the ongoing consequences of the Iraq War.

    You want to hold someone else accountable, you need to make sure you're doing your job and, let's be honest, since Bully Boy Bush left the White House, Greg Mitchell's 'reporting' has been about running interference for the White House.  He doesn't give a damn about the Iraqi people.

    He can write -- and write poorly -- about people who question Barack's eligibility to be president.

    We are critics of Barack Obama -- as we would be of any War Hawk.  And yet I've never had the time to indulge in writing about that topic.  We'd never noted it at Third if it wasn't a pattern of Greg Mitchell's lies.


    Yes, Greg not only felt the need to write about it but, liar that he is when we pointed his mistake at Third (comprehension is so hard for Greg), when we laughed him for being so stupid and so wrong, he went back into Pressing Issues and changed what he wrote without noting that he'd changed it.  That is a liar.

    FAIR didn't cover the British documentary about counter-insurgency.  They didn't cover the lack of coverage of Tim Arango's reports.  They have yet to do a blog post, report or on air mention (CounterSpin) of how protests can continue for eleven months -- with protesters being killed -- and the US media can ignore it.

    Iraq matters.  As much today as it did in 2003, Iraq matters.

    In fact, it actually matters more now.  Back in 2003, there was media attention on Iraq -- All Things Media Big and Small.  Today, there's really not attention in the United States.

    And let's be real damn clear, in 2013, whining about what happened in 2003 is neither productive nor helpful.

    It can be part larger effort to cover Iraq.

    But if that's what passes for your Iraq coverage today?

    You're not just a whore, you're a dumb whore.


    This is from CJR's announcement of that Elizabeth Spayed was becoming editor in chief and publisher of Columbia Journalism Review (magazine) and of the CJR website:




    Spayd has spent the last 25 years at the Washington Post, most recently as managing editor of the paper, where she helped supervise a newsroom of 600 journalists in Washington and around the world, overseeing coverage of everything from political, foreign, and financial news to investigative projects and features. Spayd’s previous job was managing editor of the Post’s website. She joined the Post in 1988 as an editor on the business desk, and before that she was business editor at the Detroit News. She earned her BA in journalism from Colorado State University in 1981.
    “Journalism is shape-shifting into a form like nothing we’ve ever seen, a process that’s fascinating and invigorating but also nerve-wracking and confusing,” said Spayd. “It makes intelligent coverage of the field essential, and I hope as we fortify CJR’s mission, we’ll emerge as something of a North Star for those who care about journalism.”
    Spayd’s mandate is to lead a strategic reset of CJR’s audience and editorial vision, with an eye toward ensuring rising visibility, impact, and relevance for CJR’s content through print, digital, video, and mobile channels. The magazine will continue its traditional media criticism, while also exploring and clarifying how traditional journalistic ethics apply to the digital space, as well as analyzing and evaluating new business models that have the capacity to change the profession.



    You can judge for yourself whether she's qualified or not.  I honestly don't care.  (I do care that Mitchell's never-ending War On Women made her the latest target.)  Mainly because we've got to roll up our sleeves and do what FAIR and Greg Mitchell and all the other useless ones won't do, we have to cover Iraq.


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