Friday, August 29, 2014

THIS JUST IN! THE SUIT WASN'T THE ONLY DISASTER!

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

THURSDAY, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O DECLARED THAT THE U.S. GOVERNMENT HAD NO PLAN FOR IRAQ OR SYRIA YET.

THE GUARDIAN INFORMS THAT IT'S COST THE U.S. TAXPAYER $7.5 A DAY FOR BARRY O'S IRAQ ADVENTURES SINCE JUNE 16TH.

THAT ADDS UP TO OVER A 1/2 BILLION DOLLARS SO FAR ($555 MILLION, TO BE PRECISE).

NO RUSH ON DECIDING ANY TIME SOON, BARRY O, BUT REMEMBER, TIP IS 15% MINIMUM.

Today on a KPFA newsbreak, Mark Mericle noted:

Oakland Congresswoman Barbara Lee is one of three lawmakers who have sent a letter to Republican House Speaker John Boehner calling for a debate and a vote on an authorization for the use of military force in Iraq when the House of Representatives returns on September 8th. In a statement, Lee says that it's clear that the current US mission in Iraq is extended beyond the limited, specific and targeted scope of preventing genocide and ensuring the security of US personnel there. Lee said the president must seek Congressional authorization before the situation escalates further. She was joined by Democrat Jim McGovern and Republican Walter Jones. The three were the principle co-sponsers of a resolution that overwhelming passed the House with 370 votes. It said the president should not deploy or maintain United States armed forces in a sustained combat role in Iraq without the specific authorization from Congress.

Time's Jay Newton-Small explains:

There are some in Congress who are calling on Obama to push through a War Powers Resolution. Article II of the Constitution grants the President the power to defend the country. But Article I gives only Congress the power to declare war. So, what in a post-war-on-terrorism era constitutes an actual war? In 1973, afraid of Vietnam mission creep, Congress passed the War Powers Act, which requires the President to consult Congress 60 days after engaging in hostilities. If you count bombing a foreign country as hostile — as the U.S. did against militants in northern Iraq on Aug. 7 — then the 60 days expires Oct. 7.
Theoretically, if Congress cares about not further weakening its oversight of the President’s ability to bomb whatever country he pleases, lawmakers will move to pass a War Powers Resolution in the next month. Presidents, including Obama, have argued that the War Powers Act is unconstitutional. But a turf fight over who gets to go to war is the last thing on Congress’ mind weeks before the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama insisted today that "throughout this process, we've consulted closely with Congress, and the feedback I've gotten from Congress is, is that we're doing the right thing."

He was speaking this afternoon at the White House -- in the suit that gave Cedric and Wally pause.

US President Barack Obama: Second, in Iraq, our dedicated pilots and crews continue to carry out the targeted strikes that I authorized to protect Americans there and to address the humanitarian situation on the ground. As Commander-in-Chief, I will always do what is necessary to protect the American people and defend against evolving threats to our homeland. Because of our strikes, the terrorists of ISIL are losing arms and equipment. In some areas, Iraqi government and Kurdish forces have begun to push them back. And we continue to be proud and grateful to our extraordinary personnel serving in this mission. Now, ISIL poses an immediate threat to the people of Iraq and to people throughout the region. And that’s why our military action in Iraq has to be part of a broader, comprehensive strategy to protect our people and to support our partners who are taking the fight to ISIL. And that starts with Iraq’s leaders building on the progress that they've made so far and forming an inclusive government that will unite their country and strengthen their security forces to confront ISIL. Any successful strategy, though, also needs strong regional partners. I'm encouraged so far that countries in the region -- countries that don't always agree on many things -- increasingly recognize the primacy of the threat that ISIL poses to all of them. And I've asked Secretary Kerry to travel to the region to continue to build the coalition that’s needed to meet this threat. As I've said, rooting out a cancer like ISIL will not be quick or easy, but I'm confident that we can -- and we will -- working closely with our allies and our partners. For our part, I've directed Secretary Hagel and our Joint Chiefs of Staff to prepare a range of options. I'll be meeting with my National Security Council again this evening as we continue to develop that strategy. And I've been consulting with members of Congress and I’ll continue to do so in the days ahead.

Barack was several minutes late for the appearance which is strange until you realize he was supposed to begin speaking at four but had been scheduled to meet, also at four, with US Vice President Joe Biden and the National Security Council. Barack is said to have met for four minutes ahead of the meeting. A quick four minutes. And, as he noted in his remarks, he was meeting with them later that evening as well.

"Them" was identified in this White House press release:

Readout of the President’s Meeting with the National Security Council on Iraq and ISIL

This afternoon the President met with his National Security Council to discuss the situation in Iraq, our ongoing efforts to support the Iraqi government, and our comprehensive strategy to counter the threat posed by ISIL in Iraq and Syria. The President will continue to consult with his national security team in the days to come.
Participants in today’s meeting included:
The Vice President (via secure video)
Secretary of State John Kerry (via secure video)
Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (via secure video)
Attorney General Eric Holder
Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson (via secure video)
White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough
National Security Advisor Susan Rice
U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Samantha Power (via secure video)
White House Counsel Neil Eggleston
Director of National Intelligence James Clapper
Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Brennan
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey (via secure video)
Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff James Winnefeld
Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Matthew Olsen
U.S. Central Command Commander Lloyd Austin (via secure video)
Director of the Office of Management and Budget Shaun Donovan
Deputy National Security Advisor Antony Blinken
Assistant to the President for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Lisa Monaco
Deputy National Security Advisor for International Economics Caroline Atkinson
Deputy Secretary of State William Burns
White House Coordinator for the Middle East, North Africa, and Gulf Region Philip Gordon
Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs Katie Fallon
Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Iraq and Iran Brett McGurk
U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Robert Stephen Beecroft (via secure video)

Suzanne George, Executive Secretary and Chief of Staff of the National Security Council

In an embarrassing article for the Guardian (Barack is seen as torn -- deer in the headlights, little puppy, etc.), Spencer Ackerman does note, "Obama’s national security team convened at the White House Thursday afternoon to discuss the contours of a still-inchoate strategy. Administration officials have recently begun describing Isis in apocalyptic and near-hysterical terms, even as they decline to endorse additional military action against it, a discrepancy that has prompted confusion in Washington and beyond."

Maybe these sketchy meetings explain in part why the 'mission' in Iraq still lacks a mission?

Josh Jordan Tweeted the following today:

Francis Matthew (Gulf News) notes:

This alarming lack of purpose is reflected in how the world’s superpower is confused about what it is trying to do. President Barack Obama has offered some deeply contradictory messages as he first authorised humanitarian support on a strictly limited basis, but then talked of refusing to allow Isil to continue and the necessity of a long drawn-out struggle.

It is clear that the growing acceptance of the importance of defeating Isil is creating some very uneasy alliances, as the Iranians and Bashar Al Assad regime in Syria offer to work with the Americans and Saudis. This fits into the new pragmatic search for stability that will dominate the Arab world for the next few years, as regional and world powers work with any non-Islamist who can regain control of a nation state and impose an end to civil war and chaos.

Here are some Tweets in reaction to Barack's speech:

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"IAVA Praises President’s Executive Action Supporti..."

"They're all lined up for war"

" Barack's descent"

"'We don't have a strategy yet'"

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"Helen Thomas, you are missed"

"about that diane sawyer rumor"

"Pat's right"

"Joan Rivers"

"The Plan For Day 101"

"Bruce The Fool Springsteen"

"Why would you spend $400 on a laptop that would cost around $289?"

"He's looking bad, real bad"

"THIS JUST IN! HE LOOKS HIDEOUS!"

Thursday, August 28, 2014

THIS JUST IN! HE LOOKS HIDEOUS!

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

FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O IS SPEAKING FROM THE WHITE HOUSE IN THE MOST AWFUL SUIT A PRESIDENT HAS EVER WORE.

THE SHOULDERS SWALLOW HIM AND THE FACT THAT IT LOOKS LIKE AN OLD MAN'S SUIT DOESN'T HELP.

CHUCK TODD IS ATTEMPTING TO DISTRACT FROM THE SUIT THE SAME WAY HE ATTEMPTS TO DISTRACT FROM HIS OWN BALD SPOT.

BUT THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NOW KNOW, BARRY O DIGS THROUGH THE CLOSET OF ANY SUPPORTING MALE CHARACTER IN A TENNESSEE WILLIAMS PLAY.

BUT WOULD A SUPPORTING CHARACTER WEAR THAT MUCH MAKE UP?

THEY'VE PILED SO MUCH ON BARRY O THAT HIS BLACK MOLES LOOK PINK!

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Tonight the Washington Post published a column by Anbar Province Governor Ahmed Khalaf al-Dulaimi which notes:

We are struggling in this war against the forces of darkness, but we are a people who can see the light at the end of the tunnel, even if it is thousands of miles away. No matter how dim the light, we hope that it will shine brighter every day.

Iraqis have the right to live in peace. Our young people have the right to enjoy all the wonderful things that life has to offer. And we have a responsibility to give them hope that will empower them to live life to the fullest, to reach out to their counterparts in other nations and to turn away from death and extremism.

The Iraqi people are a strong group who has overcome repeatedly the attacks and 'help' from outsiders. And, of course, they managed to survive two terms under the despot and tyrant Nouri al-Maliki.

We frequently note he's not gone here and sometimes add that Nouri will only be truly gone when he's in the ground.

Some e-mails insist that's too harsh. Nouri's shown a kinder side in recent days and weeks, one e-mailer argued.

Has he? Well that certainly erases his sending his goons into middle schools and high schools to liken gay men to vampires and to encourage the students to bully, harm and kill and Iraqi gays they might know. Right? And doesn't it wipe away all the Sunni protesters he killed?

And doesn't it just vanish all the civilians in Falluja he's killed and wounded with his bombing of residential -neighborhoods? (National Iraq News Agency notes the bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods today left 3 civilians dead and seven more injured.)

And we could go on and on.

Nouri's a thug.

I'm not kind to thugs, so sorry.

And my belief that Nouri's not gone yet -- even though the world press tells us he is outgoing -- gone, gone, gone?

Hamza Mustafa (Asharq Al-Awsat) reports:

Iraq’s outgoing Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki said on Wednesday he was prepared to form a new government from among Iraq’s Shi’ite parties if ongoing talks on the shape of the new government fail.
Speaking in his weekly national address, Maliki claimed that the Shi’ite-led National Alliance—which includes his State of Law coalition, parties loyal to firebrand cleric Moqtada Al-Sadr, and the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI)—had a “Plan B” in place if Prime Minister-designate Haider Al-Abadi was unable to make progress in talks on forming a government with Sunni and Kurdish factions.

Still think Nouri's packed it in? Or, and this is a better guess, are you thinking Nouri's actively working to ensure that Prime Minister-designate Haider al-Abadi fails so that he can be named to the position and take 30 days to form a government?

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"THIS JUST IN! THEY TRICKED HIM AGAIN!"

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

THIS JUST IN! THEY TRICKED HIM AGAIN!

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

FACED WITH A DILEMMA, FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O THOUGHT HE'D MADE A GOOD DECISON.

THEN WHITE HOUSE CHEW TOY JOSH EARNEST EXPLAINED IT TO HIM.

"HUDDLE! OH, HELL NO!" EXPLODED BARRY O. "I THOUGHT ME AND NATO WERE GOING TO CUDDLE!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Justin O. Smith (Daily News Journal) argues for full on war in Iraq to combat the Islamic State. Citing what's being done to Christians and Yazidis, he writes, "This is genocide pure and simple. America sees it and knows it as genocide, and as such, it is imperative that the U.S. and the world take vigorous military action against ISIS and all possible measures to prevent this massacre of minorities in Iraq. And with more than vigilance and 130 advisors, the U.S. and its allies should send 130 bombers and 130,000 soldiers to run ISIS into the ground, utterly destroy them and kill them mercilessly with extreme prejudice, just as they did entire Christian communities."

Smith's opinion has a few issues beyond the issue of calling for war.

He writes, "Obama, ever sympathetic to Sunni Muslims, more than likely illegally and surreptitiously armed the so-called 'rebels' in Syria by late 2011 from Libya, as strong evidence suggests." I think few Sunnis in Iraq would make the ridiculous claim Smith does. In fact, let's allow Sunnis to speak for themselves.

In March of last year, activists in Samarra put their message on display.

"Obama, If you Cannot Hear Us Can you Not See Us?"

The following month, Sunnis would be slaughtered at a protest elsewhere.

April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault. AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).

Did Barack call for bombings when that took place?

No, he didn't.

What he did was further arm Nouri al-Maliki.

"Obama, If you Cannot Hear Us Can you Not See Us?"

He couldn't see the Sunnis. He just didn't care.

The prime minister of Iraq killed peaceful protesters. Including children. Including the child of a father who was present. The young teen was trying to get his father to safety. The challenged community in Iraq does not wait for others to do things, they join their brothers and sisters in the street in protests. And this father was in a wheel chair. It was chaos as Nouri's forces began firing at protesters and attacking them and the son was attempting to get his father to safety when they were stopped by Nouri's thugs.

The thugs said one of them was dying and they shot the son when he tried to protect his father by stepping in front of him. They shot the father then too. But the son died.

No one outside of Iraq really seemed to care about that man and the son he lost or about the children shot dead by Nouri's forces at that protest site.

Barack didn't do a damn thing.

The BRussells Tribunal cared and carried the account of Thamer Hussein Mousa who lost his son Mohammed Thamer.

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"THIS JUST IN! SPEAKING WORDS OF WISDOM!"

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

THIS JUST IN! SPEAKING WORDS OF WISDOM!

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

WORDS OF WISDOM FROM THE WASHINGTON POST:

PRESIDENT OBAMA'S UNPOPULARITY ISN'T GETTING WORSE OR BETTER. IT JUST IS.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Let's start with the obvious: Dan Rather is an idiot.

I have no use for 'big left' Dan of today because when he occupied the anchor chair for years and years on CBS, he didn't do a damn thing.

Now he's got nothing left so he pretends he's left. He's not.

Jeffrey Meyer, of the right wing media site Newsbusters, notes:

Dan Rather, former anchor of the CBS Evening News, appeared on CNN’s Reliable Sources to harshly criticize those in Congress calling for the U.S. to take military action against the terrorist group ISIS.
Speaking to anchor Brian Stelter on Sunday, August 24, Rather proclaimed that he will only listen to those who advocate boots on the ground “if you tell me you are prepared to send your son, your daughter, your grandson, your granddaughter to that war of which you are beating the drums.”

While some idiots will applaud that, they shouldn't.

It's the same pompous and discriminatory b.s. that prompted Dan Rather to treat Connie Chung like crap and get her fired when she was briefly made his co-anchor. Make no mistake, Dan Rather is a nasty, dirty person.

Members of Congress should not support war, Rather says, unless they are willing to send their loved ones into war.

It's not the ancient days of Dan Rather's boyhood.

Children are not chattel, they will not be sent somewhere.

They will make up their own minds.

If Connie Chung were in the Senate and pounding the drums of war, that's on Connie.

Dan's a stupid piece of s**t and the continued embrace of his sexist and out of date notions does not need encouragement.

Matthew Povich is his own person. What his parent Connie or Maury does? That's on them. That's not on him. If Matthew wants to join a war, wants to oppose a war, wants to ignore a war, that's on him.

This is b.s. and Dan Rather needs to be called out on it.

Here's Jessica Lange speaking at a 2005 peace rally:

JESSICA LANGE: There have been twice as many terrorist attacks in the three years since 9/11 than in the three years preceding 9/11. All their reasons for waging war on Iraq have been proven to be manipulation of facts, untruths and lies, lies, and more lies. And then he dares accuse us of being guilty of wrong thinking, a man who traffics in deadly lies, the front man for an administration who came into office with the intention of taking out Saddam and becoming an occupying force in Iraq, members of the Project for the New American Century, who promote an ideology of U.S. domination through the use of force, who have imposed their politics of scorch and burn on the American people and made us complicit against our will in their regime of shame.

And who are these men? Who are these men? Let’s talk for a minute about these masters of war, these same men that are sending our sons and our daughters, our brothers and sisters, our mothers and fathers to fight an undeclared and unconstitutional and unwinnable war for them. Let’s talk about their service records. Karl Rove did not serve. Paul Wolfowitz did not serve. Richard Perle, Douglas Feith, Elliott Abrams, Newt Gingrich did not serve. Jeb Bush did not serve. The list goes on and on. And we know George W. did not really serve.

Click here to stream it or read it in full at Democracy Now!

Did you notice what Jessica did?

She held people accountable for their actions.

Jenna Bush is not responsible for what her father does. Malia Obama is not responsible for what her father does. Both women may agree with their father's choices, may disagree, may not care one way or the other. That's their right. That's every person's right.

Jessica Lange rightly pointed out that the War Hawks pushing the Iraq War didn't serve in the military. She didn't attack the children or grandchildren of War Hawks.

Dan still believes in chattel.

Shame on those who promote that nonsense.

Furthermore, the whole point of Dan's little stunt is to say what?

If Dick Cheney had forced Mary into the military (against her will) it would be okay for the US to go to war on Iraq?

No.

It wouldn't have made the illegal war right.

No one should die in this illegal war. Many have. I'm really not into wishing that the death toll rises but I guess when the career's over, when you're name is a disgrace, when you're a hateful old man with nothing to look forward but death, I guess then you just want everyone to die, eh, Dan?

Dan Rather's nonsense is wrongly seen as 'antiwar' or 'peace' only because there's no peace movement in the country.

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