I really have never enjoyed statisticians who fancy themselves oracles. So I am really hoping that his results -- and I do not know who he's calling other than in the presidential election -- predictions are off this cycle so we don't have to hear more about him.
Every time journalists reference Nate Silver, that's another excuse for them to avoid actually reporting on the election and real issues.
Nate Silver's a joke and part of the dumbed down culture in America. He serves no purpose and there are bookies in Las Vegas who do what he does and do it better without ever proclaiming themselves media stars or geniuses.
Equally dangerous is the way that Silver's 'work' impacts perceptions.
Again, he is not a friend to democracy, he is a foe.
His work does not inform you as to stands or positions.
40 years ago, his crap wouldn't have passed even for good gossip.
For those who can't handle real democracy, Nate Silver is a quick fix. He gives you the impression that you are participating. He lets you yell and cheer from the nosebleed section and kid yourself that somehow you're engaging in civic participation.
It is one more case of our lives being reduced to a sporting event, or serious topics being reduced to 'who's up and who's down.'
We need to demand more for ourselves and expect more from our media.
"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):
Friday,
October 26, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri's supporters call
for a majority government, Nouri targets the press, Senator John McCain
calls out Colin Powell while some in the 'press' pile on McCain, and
more.
Trash of the day? New York
'magazine.' If you've ever flipped through the magazine (fewer and
fewer bother to), you know it's little more than ads with the text
equivalent of light blogging. They don't do journalism and, more and
more, that's because they're not able to -- their writers lack the
skills. And intelligence. As Dan Amira demonstrates today.
When you don't like the message, what do you do? Attack the messenger.
Yesterday, War Criminal Colin Powell endorsed Barack Obama.
Senator John McCain -- a War Hawk -- called out Powell's endorsement
today. A magazine could explore that at length in a way that a
newspaper can't but New York isn't a real magazine and Dan Amira isn't a
real journalist. So instead we get "Increasing Crotchetiness" from
Amira.
And what that reminds me of is the
November 15, 2011 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing where
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta and Gernal Martin Dempsey (Chair of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff) appeared and the senators -- of both parties
-- established that negotiations were on-going for a treaty to allow US
troops to remain in Iraq, that regardless of whether that was successful
or not, all troops would not leave Iraq (Panetta noted the number would
not go to zero), that US troops were being moved from Iraq to Kuwait
where they would remain, the numbers the generals wanted to stay in
Iraq, and many other important issues (including the Committee's opinion
that the residents of Camp Ashraf must be removed from the US terrorist
list -- an opinion held by every member of the Committee, Democrat or
Republican). These were serious isse and we covered them in this
community, see "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot," "Iraq snapshot." Ava reported on it with "Scott Brown questions Panetta and Dempsey (Ava)," Wally reported on it with "The costs (Wally)" and Kat reported on it with "Who wanted what?".
We
did. But others: Reuters, AP, the LA Times, on and on, turned it into
"McCain snaps at Panetta." I'm not a John McCain fan. (I do know Cindy
McCain, I like her, she works very hard on a number of children's
issues.) We've called him out repeatedly here. When he's made an
idiotic and/or offensive remark in a hearing we attended, you'll find
him called out hear (especially true when he made homophobic
remarks). But his personality isn't the story. It wasn't the story of
the Senate hearing (which also found Panetta and McCain laughing later
in the hearing -- Leon considers him a friend which apparently the
idiotic, face-pressed-against-the-glass press doesn't know but I know
Leon and have for years and he wasn't upset by McCain and has long
consider John McCain to be his friend). But by making it the story of
the Senate hearing (and all outlets -- print and television -- made that
the sole story except Elisabeth Bumiller and the New York Times),
they got to play catty and bitchy and Americans weren't informed.
Do you think just once, all you bitchy little spinners, you could bother to inform the American people of the issues first?
Equally
true, 'righteous' Colin Powell and 'maverick' John McCain were media
creations. Neither man was what the media made them out to be. McCain
was long ago tossed to the press wolves but Collie gets to repeatedly
try a make over. He's a War Criminal who belongs behind bars and shame
on any thinking person who rushes to rescue Powell. Powell's a cheap
tacky liar, human trash that cultivated the press early on in his
career. And the press responded by shaping an image that's never been
true.
He's a liar who lied before the United
Nations. With the whole world watching, Colin Powell lied. And it
reveals how hollow and trashy the American press is that this man thinks
he can make a political endorsement of anyone today.
Find a cell for the like of Mark Kleiman (so-called Reality Based Community)
as well who sees the whole thing as a 'scrimmage' and rushes to defend
his lover Barack. You stupid idiot, Iraqis are dead, babies are born
with defects. This is not a game, it was never a game. Your political
whoring is not surprising, your inability to grasp that this is not a
sports event or a video game is appalling. That you can write such a
thing and post it goes to just how sad and depraved you are.
These
people are beyond evil. There's no excuse for them at this late hour
in the day. When I saw this blind devotion to Bully Boy Bush, this lack
of even compassion for the Iraqi people, I could tell myself, 'They
don't know any better. They've been sold a bunch of lies. As events
unfold, they will be better informed and stop making excuses.' That's
the right-wingers. How do you excuse those on my side who knew the
illegal war was wrong and called it out under Bully Boy Bush but now
rush to embrace Case-Closed Colin Powell and miminize his crimes just
because he endorsed their political hero? You can't excuse it, you
can't excuse whoring, not when people's lives are at stake.
Gather
is a website, it doesn't claim to be a magazine. Brian Gabriel shows
more awareness of the basics invovled than the overpaid, supposed
journalist Dan Amira. Gabriel's first paragraph:
Colin Powell, the Secretary of State under Bush, has endorsed Barack Obama for President just like he did in 2008. Says former Republican presidential nominee John McCain:
"Colin Powell, interestingly enough, said that Obama got us out of
Iraq. But it was Colin Powell, with his testimony before the U.N.
Security Council, that got us into Iraq." McCain makes a good point: it
was Powell's famous speech to the U.N. Security Council in 2003 that got
many people on board with the invasion. But wasn't McCain one of the
biggest supporters of the war in Iraq even before it started? The
candidate Obama ran a much more peace-oriented campaign than did McCain
--the candidate who spoke like the biggest war-hawk of the 2008
political season.
Iran's Press TV also manages to address issues and not resort to 'look at the cranky old guy' nonsense. Colin Powell lied and help sell the war. That's reality. He did a tiny pivot as the press turned on the illegal war. The summer of 2005, Cindy Sheehan's actions (Camp Casey at Crawford) forced questions to be asked. Colin could see the writing on the wall and did a tiny pivot. Which is who in September 2005, he goes on air with Barbara Walters pretending that he was misled. There were lies spoken, but he didn't know they were lies! And it was a "blot," he declared, on his image. As Ava and I noted, he was still for the war, he wasn't calling out the war and he was lying about not knowing -- State Dept staff had repeatedly told him that the claims were lies. He knew they were lies before he said them. Colin Powell is a cheap liar and his lies resulted in the deaths of nearly two million Iraqis.
A few months after
that interview with Barbara Walters, Collie's Girl Friday Lawrence
Wilkerson started making the media rounds, acting a surrogate for a
truth-barren Powell, creating fancy lies for the AP and MSNBC and so
many more but, as Norman Solomon (Cold Type) pointed out in November 2005, it wasn't believable:
Rest
assured that if the war had gone well by Washington's lights, we'd be
hearing none of this from Powell's surrogate. The war has gone bad, from
elite vantage points, not because of the official lies and the
unrelenting carnage but because military victory has eluded the U.S.
government in Iraq. And with President Bush's poll numbers tanking, and
Dick Cheney's even worse, it's time for some "moderate" sharks to
carefully circle for some score-settling and preening.
In his speech to the American Legion -- a group that is interested in the Iraq War (even if New York
'magazine' isn't) -- McCain noted that Colin Powell is going ga-ga in
public about how Barack ended the Iraq War (someone forgot to tell Iraq
-- and Al Mada notes today Moqtada al-Sadr is calling out the continued US efforts to occupy Iraq). That's not surprising.
McCain is right, this is duplicity.
And
it's so sad to see supposed lefties rush in to defend Colin Powell.
Before Bully Boy Bush physically occupied the Oval Office, Robert Parry
and Norman Solomon were writing a series about the reality of Colin
Powell (start with "Behind Colin Powell's Legend"). And Powell's lies did not start in 2003. September 5, 2002, Norman Solomon (FAIR) was warning about the reality of Colin:
Media coverage is portraying Powell as a steady impediment to a huge assault on Iraq. But closer scrutiny would lead us to different conclusions.
Instead of undermining prospects for a military
conflagration, Powell's outsized prestige is a very useful asset for
the war planners. The retired general "is seen by many of Washington's
friends and allies abroad as essential to the credibility of Bush's
foreign policy," the French news agency AFP noted as September began.
Avid participation in deplorable actions has been integral to Powell's career. A few examples:
Colin
Powell was for the illegal war. Ann Wright was at the State
Department. The former military colonel resigned the day before the
start of the illegal war and did so publicly. From her resignation letter:
I
wrote this letter five weeks ago and held it hoping that the
Administration would not go to war against Iraq at this time without
United Nations Security Council agreement. I strongly believe that going
to war now will make the world more dangerous, not safer.
There
is no doubt that Saddam Hussein is a despicable dictator and has done
incredible damage to the Iraqi people and others of the region. I
totally support the international community's demand that Saddam's
regime destroy weapons of mass destruction.
However,
I believe we should not use US military force without UNSC agreement to
ensure compliance. In our press for military action now, we have
created deep chasms in the international community and in important
international organizations. Our policies have alienated many of our
allies and created ill will in much of the world.
Countries
of the world supported America's action in Afghanistan as a response to
the September 11 Al Qaida attacks on America. Since then, America has
lost the incredible sympathy of most of the world because of our policy
toward Iraq. Much of the world considers our statements about Iraq as
arrogant, untruthful and masking a hidden agenda. Leaders of moderate
Moslem/Arab countries warn us about predicable outrage and anger of the
youth of their countries if America enters an Arab country with the
purpose of attacking Moslems/Arabs, not defending them. Attacking the
Saddam regime in Iraq now is very different than expelling the same
regime from Kuwait, as we did ten years ago.
I
strongly believe the probable response of many Arabs of the region and
Moslems of the world if the US enters Iraq without UNSC agreement will
result in actions extraordinarily dangerous to America and Americans.
Military action now without UNSC agreement is much more dangerous for
America and the world than allowing the UN weapons inspections to
proceed and subsequently taking UNSC authorized action if warranted.
I
firmly believe the probability of Saddam using weapons of mass
destruction is low, as he knows that using those weapons will trigger an
immediate, strong and justified international response. There will be
no question of action against Saddam in that case. I strongly disagree
with the use of a "preemptive attack" against Iraq and believe that this
preemptive attack policy will be used against us and provide
justification for individuals and groups to "preemptively attack"
America and American citizens.
The
international military build-up is providing pressure on the regime that
is resulting in a slow, but steady disclosure of Weapons of Mass
Destruction (WMD). We should give the weapons inspectors time to do
their job. We should not give extremist Moslems/ Arabs a further cause
to hate America, or give moderate Moslems a reason to join the
extremists. Additionally, we must reevaluate keeping our military forces
in the Middle East, particularly in Saudi Arabia. Their presence on the
Islamic "holy soil" of Saudi Arabia will be an anti-American rally cry
for Moslems as long as the US military remains and a strong reason, in
their opinion, for actions against the US government and American
citizens.
Ann Wright
was able to do the right thing but Colin Powell's entire life has been
about doing the wrong thing, about lying to advance his own personal
interests and doing so at the expense of many innocent civilians. That
has been Colin Powell's chosen path for decades and to pretend that he
is qualified for anything other than an arraignment hearing for War
Crimes, is to be less than honest. The whoring has to stop. Even
prostitutes -- real ones, not press whores -- will draw the line and say
there are some tricks they will not turn. Sadly our sex workers have
stronger ethics than those who compose what passes for a modern day
press.
And Colin Powell sure is a happy
little talker. When he has a book to promote, he runs ot the media,
when he's being paid six figures, he rushes off to the convention. But
Powell does nothing that doesn't enrich his own pockets.
Where's
the 'good' general's concern for those who served? What has he ever
done, for example, to assist those whose health was destroyed by
exposure to various chemicals due to military burn pits? Erin Jordan (Cedar Rapids Gazette) reports on Joshua Casteel's recent death
and how his family believes that burn pit exposure while serving in
Iraq is what caused the cancer. Joshua Casteel is only the most recent
tragedy. August 10th came news that Iraq War veteran Russell Keith had died. November 6, 2009, at the Democratic Policy Committee
hearing Russell Keith testified, "While I was stationed at Balad, I
experienced the effects of the massive burn pit that burned 24 hours a
day, 7 days a week. The ten-acre pit was located in the northwest corner
of the base. An acrid, dark black smoke from the pit would accumulate
and hang low over the base for weeks at a time. Every spot on the base
was touched by smoke from the pit; everyone who served at the base was
exposed to the smoke. It was almost impossible to escape, even in our
living units." May 17th,
it was Iraq War veteran Dominick J. Ligouri. If Colin Powell gave a
damn about anyone other than himself -- even only in recent years -- he
would be doing something to speak out and raise awareness on an issue
that mattered. But as he churns out one co (ghost) - written book after
another, it's all about enriching his own pockets.
Even
now, in the face of what his lies have caused, he can only think about
enriching his own pockets. Last night, Iraq War veteran Ross Caputi (Guardian) observed:
Four new studies on the health crisis in Fallujah have been published in the last three months. Yet, one of the most severe public health crises in history, for which the US military may be to blame, receives no attention in the United States.
Ever
since two major US-led assaults destroyed the Iraqi city of Fallujah in
2004, Fallujans have witnessed dramatic increases in rates of cancers,
birth defects and infant mortality in their city. Dr Chris Busby, the
author and co-author of two studies on the Fallujah heath crisis, has
called this "the highest rate of genetic damage in any population ever
studied".
In the years since the 2004 sieges, Fallujah was the most heavily guarded city in all of Iraq. All movement in and out of Fallujah was monitored by the occupying forces. The security situation
made it nearly impossible to get word out about Fallujans' nascent
health crisis. One of the first attempts to report on the crisis was at
the seventh session of the UN Human Rights Council in the form of the
report, Prohibited Weapons Crisis: The Effects of Pollution on the Public Health in Fallujah by Dr Muhamad Al-Darraji. This report was largely ignored. It wasn't until the first major study on the health crisis was published in 2010 that the issue received mainstream media attention in the UK and Europe.
To
this day, though, there has yet to be an article published in a major
US newspaper, or a moment on a mainstream American TV news network,
devoted to the health crisis in Fallujah. The US government has made no
statements on the issue, and the American public remains largely
uninformed about the indiscriminate harm that our military may have
caused.
All the dead, all the
wounded, all the blood on the hands of liars like Colin Powell but
because he rushed to endorse Barack Obama, some media whores want to
pretend like he's someone to listen to and not someone to be tossed
behind bars?
As Collie The Blot Powell tries to saunter away from the illegal war he caused, people continue dying in Iraq. AP notes an attack on a Buhriz checkpoint has left 2 police officers dead and they reported "Shortly
after sunset, a car bomb exploded near a Shiite mosque in Mahaweel,
killing two Shiite worshippers as they were leaving the mosque compound,
police officials said. Six worshippers were wounded in the attack." In addition, Alsumaria reports
a Babil Province car bombing claimed the life of 1 person with three
more injured, a Khalis car bombing left six people injured and the
government announced 36 corpses (killed from 'terrorism') were
discovered in a mass grave to the south of Baghdad.
During the Eid holiday, Wasit Province is banning motorcycles, Alsumaria notes. The ban follows Thursday's bombing in Mosul that used a motorcycle and a Wednesday bombing in Kirkuk said to have also used a motorcycle. By contrast, All Iraq News reports, Sulaymaniyah is seeing a crackdown on beggars with 40 arrested in the last two days. In addition, they are also using helicopters in Sulaymaniyah to monitor traffic. In Basra, Al Mada reports, the focus is on preventing Iraq's latest cholera outbreak from spreading in the province.
Al Mada reports
that United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon's Special Envoy to
Iraq is calling for Iraq to resolve their political differences. Martin
Kobler is quoted stating that he repeats his call for the parties to
redouble their efforts to resolve the political crisis. Thursday, July 19th,
the United Nations Security Council held a hearing on Iraq and
Kobeler noted his concerns "that the ongoing political stalemate" was
harming Iraq.
All Iraq News reports that National Alliance MP Wael Abdul Latif is calling for the political crisis to be resolved by a majority government. Ibrahim al-Jaafari is the head of the National Alliance.
Al Rafidayn reports
that al-Jaafari met with US Ambassador Robert Beecroft yesterday and
that the two addressed the political stalemate but al-Jaafari spoke of
continued dialogue, not a majority goverment. But that was when
speaking to the US government's representative. As Kitabat notes, al-Jaafari favors a majority government and says it is the Constitutional right of Nouri to form one. Alsumaria notes that KRG President Massoud Barzani is calling for dialogue (not a majority government) and the return to the Erbil Agreement.
The Erbil Agreement ended the eight month political stalemate that followed the March 2010 parliamentary elections. Even before then, Nouri al-Maliki has long wanted a majority government. US General Ray Odierno saw that desire and warned the US government about it but US Ambassador Chris The Nit Wit Hill said Odierno was wrong. Hill then got the White House to refuse to allow Odierno to speak to the media. Because they are so incompetent, the White House not only nominated the idiot Hill to be ambassador but they failed to grasp that Hill had no clue what was going on in Iraq. It would be months before they realized what was going on. During those months, they ignored Odierno and shut him out of the process. Had Odierno been listened to, the will of the Iraqis and the Iraqi Constitution might have been followed.
Al Mada reports that Nouri al-Maliki is calling for the spirit of Eid al-Adha to lead the political blocs to create a better atmosphere for a national conference. Nouri's long opposed such a conference. When he supports it, he's usually working to destroy it. History would indicate that's what's happening behind the scenes right now. He also wants people to "discard their differences." Like their differences over the Erbil Agreement?
When Nouri failed to win a second term as prime minister as a result of State of Law coming in second in the March 2010 elections, the White House negotiated a contract -- the Erbil Agreement -- during the 8 months that Nouri dug in his heels and refused to allow a new prime minister to be named. The contract gave Nouri a second term in exchange for Nouri agreeing to implement Article 140, agreeing to create an independent national security commission and more.
Nouri signed the contract, agreed to it, gladly took his second term as prime minister and then trashed the agreement, refused to honor the contract.
That's what caused the current stalemate.
Nouri's
power-grab knows no bounds and, to be successful, it will depend upon
silencing the Iraqi press. That need may in fact explain the murder
this week of an Iraqi journalist. Dropping back to Wednesday's snapshot:
In addition, Kitabat reports
that journalist Zia Mehdi was stabbed to death in Baghdad while she was
doing an investigation into the persecution of Iraq's LGBT community.
Iraq's Journalistic Freedoms Observatory notes
the investigative journalist was in Baghdad's Tahrir Square at ten a.m.
Monday morning conducting meetings and interviews and she was also
working on a story about prostitution and brothels in Iraq. She went to
a police station to interview some of the 180 women arrested but a
police officer prevented her from entering and he denied that there were
any prostitutes among the arrested. He left and then moments later
re-appeared telling her she could enter but without her colleagues. Zia
Mehdi didn't feel comfortable with that offer and instead returned to
Tahrir Square to continue her LGBT interviews. Later she was discovered
dead, stabbed to death, still in her jacket that noted she was a
journalist.
Today Al Mada reports
that the military protection for the Union of Writers headquareters in
Baghdad's Andalus Square that has been in place since 2004 has just
been withdrawn with no reasons given and that the writers are stating
this leaves them an easy target for terrorist attacks. Over the summer,
a bombing in Andalus Square left at least 12 dead. When not removing
physical security, Nouri's government is attempting to remove rights. Kitabat notes
Iraqi journalists are protesting Nouri's efforts to restrict the media
and stating that this is the first stage of authoritarian rule in Iraq.
International labor journalist, David Bacon, author most recently of the book Illegal People -- How Globalization Creates Migration and Criminalizes Immigrants (Beacon Press) which
won the CLR James Award, is known for text and for photographs. He has
two photo exhibits currently. In Mexico City, he has the following
exhibit (first the Spanish announcement, then in English):
Facultad de Economia
Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico
El Area de Conocimiento de Economia Internacional de Posgrado
Academia de Economia Politica y el proyecto PAPIIT IN304312
Invitan a la Muestra Fotografica
"Migracion de Jovenes Mexicanos en Estados Unidos"
de David Bacon
"Que
tiene como objectivo visibilizar a traves de imagenes, las condiciones
de vida que tiene los jovenes mexicanos que trabajan en los campos
agricolas de California."
Desde 3 de octubre hasta 1 de noviembre
En la sala de la Facultad de Economia, UNAM
Mexico, DF
The Economics School
National Autonomous University of Mexico
The Postgraduate Study Area for the International Economy
The Academy of Political Economy and the Project PAPIIT IN304312
Invite you to the Photographic Exhibition
"The Migration of Mexican Youth to the United States"
By David Bacon
"Making visible through images the living conditions of young Mexicans who work in the fields of California."
From October 3 to November 1
In the entrance hall of the Economics Faculty, UNAM
Mexico City, DF
And he has an exhibit taking place in Oaxaca as well:
El Instituto Oaxaqueño de Atención al Migrante (IOAM)
Les invita a la exposición de fotografias
"Sobreviviendo: la vida de los jornaleros agrícolas y sus familias en EU"
del fotoperiodista David Bacon
Palacio Municipal de la Ciudad de Oaxaca de Juarez
Plaza de Danza, Centro Historico
Oaxaca
8 de octubre hasta 8 de noviembre
"La
mayoría de las personas tiene la idea de que ir a EU es como ir a
barrer los dólares y todo es fácil de conseguir, cuando realmente las
personas tienen que vivir bajo los árboles, en casas hechas de cartón o a
la intemperie para mandar el dinero a sus familias" -- el titular del
IOAM, Rufino Domínguez Santos.
Esta
exposición consta de un total de 18 fotografías a gran formato y a
color, es itinerante y por ello recorre los municipios identificados en
tener el mayor índice de expulsión de migrantes hacia Estados Unidos,
con el fin de sensibilizar y hacer conciencia en la población sobre las
condiciones de vida de los migrantes.
The Oaxaca Institute for Attention to Migrants
Invites you to the photographic exhibition
"Surviving: the life of farmworkers and their families in the U.S."
By photojournalist David Bacon
City Hall of Oaxaca de Juarez
Plaza de Danza, Centro Historico
Oaxaca
October 8 to November 8
"The
majority of people have the idea that by going to the U.S. you rake in
the dollars and everything is easy to get, when in reality people have
to live under trees, in houses of cardboard, or outdoors, in order to
send money to their families" -- Rufino Dominguez Santos, director of
IOAM
This
exhibition contains 18 large color photographs, and is a traveling
show, going especially to those towns identified as ones sending the
majority of people to the United States. Its purpose is to make people
aware of the living conditions of migrants.
Entrevista de David Bacon con activistas de #yosoy132 en UNAM
Interview of David Bacon by activists of #yosoy132 at UNAM (in Spanish)
elise labott