Saturday, January 21, 2017

Roberta Flack

Betty asks, "Aren't we all sick of fake ass Alyssa Milano?"

I answer, "Yes, we are."

She posts three videos in one day, while claiming to be pro-woman, and all are of male vocalists?

As Betty wrote, Alyssa clearly doesn't believe women can produce music.

At THE COMMON ILLS, that would never happen.

C.I. realizes that we create the canon.

We have that power.

We can merely repeat the excessive male choices or we can use our voices and spaces to promote women.

Alyssa doesn't care about that because she doesn't care about women.

She's just a hacktress who can't really act and who's not smart enough to be political (something she should inform her mouth and fingers of) and she does real damage with all of her nonsense.

She harms women and girls with every stupid Tweet she publishes.

Women can and do make music.

I'll focus on only one of the greats.

Here's Roberta Flack doing the Beatles "Let It Be" in the early seventies.




Roberta's most recent album is 2012's LET IT BE ROBERTA: ROBERTA FLACK SINGS THE BEATLES.




roberta flack

 


Kat reviewed it here.

It's an incredible album.

Roberta, a Grammy winner, sings, plays the piano and also produces.

Yes, Alyssa Milano, women can make music.


Here's Roberta performing her classic hit "Killing Me Softly With His Song."




Here's Roberta performing the number one hit she sang, wrote and produced "Feel Like Making Love."



Lastly, here's Roberta performing "Oasis."




I did four videos, unlike Alyssa's three, because "Oasis" is one of my all time favorite Roberta songs.



"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Friday, January 20, 2017.  Chaos and violence continue in Iraq but, faded celebs from a time gone by, insist that the real tragedy is here in the US as the country prepares for the inauguration of Donald Trump.



Today, Barack Obama passes the presidential baton to Donald Trump.


Places where they ain't thanking Obama: Flint Somalia Yemen Syria Libya Iraq Afghanistan Honduras Haiti Etc.......






Maybe Elton John can warble his "dead blondes" song (nod to Keith Richards) live over the internet to console The Cult of St. Barack.

Because Barack is leaving.

And if you doubt that, Antonia Juhasz has suddenly re-discovered Iraq.

For years, she's avoided it -- like the fake ass that she is.

Just another hostage to the Democratic Party, unable to speak for what's important.

How did she find Iraq?

With 'veterans' that mean old John McCain wouldn't meet with.

Did they have a meeting scheduled?

Nope.

Are they his constituents?

Nope.

Did they bother to make themselves presentable for a meet-up?

Some did.  A few guys wore suits.

Some needed to shave or trim their beards.

One woman in particular needed schooling on the dangers of clown make up in broad daylight.

But they showed up.

To cause trouble.

This is the same group of veterans who showed up at the RNC 2008 convention to disrupt and to make John McCain look bad.

(After getting punked by Barack at the DNC convention.)

So they've got no appointment, they're not his constituents and the last time they were around they were trying to ensure his defeat in the presidential election.

McCain would meet with them why?

They want headlines and they've certainly become the focus of Antonia's Twitter feed but then it's all partisan politics which is all cheap whores like Antonia can offer.

Remember how we wrongly took her seriously?

She produced that bad, plodding book. It was so poorly written, we took it for sincerity.

Why would a non-writer try writing for so many pages unless they were sincere?

Well if they're a former Democratic Party operative apparently their spots don't change.

There's  a 'resistance' in the country, and Anotonia wants to lead it.


Which is a sure sign that it'll go nowhere.


Need another sign?


Hollywood millionaire celebrities lead rally in NY. (Yawn)








I'll leave Alec out of it (I know and like Alec) but what a buffet of losers.

Mark thought he could elect Hillary by promising to go nude in his next film.

Apparently, he forgot that his nudity in IN THE CUT didn't help the box office.  Or that he's many years older now.

(And I believe he also flashed the goods in XX/XY.)


Michael Moore?  He looks more like Paula Poundstone every year.

A community member, an Iraqi refugee, e-mailed on the LA protest.  Jane Fonda will be there.  The member writes, "So she'll speak out against words hurting us but not bullets and bombs?"

That's right.

'Activist' Jane promised not to be silent on the Iraq War and then fell silent.

She, like the rest of the losers above, couldn't speak out against the ongoing Iraq War throughout the last eight years, or the illegal spying Barack was conducting, or the attack on Libya, or . . .


But someone they don't like is becoming president and they're going to stage photo ops and try to get their tired names back in the news.

Sally needs the work.  She's not Aunt Mae anymore (and never should have been -- it's "Aunt" Mae, not Great Grandma Mae) and MY NAME IS CLITORIS flopped because she couldn't keep her stupid politics out of promoting the film (although the film was poor to begin with -- no woman near retirement in this country would be encouraged to quit her job and go out and look for another when she has no skill set to speak of).  Sally needs to jump start her career.

Julianne Moore has no career.  Fiery supporting performances never led to stardom.

She couldn't carry a film 20 years ago and she still can't today.

Because of her politics, the Academy gave her an award for a so-so performance in a film no one will remember.  As she searches for roles in the streaming service world, even she knows she's a never-was.  She's Jeanne Crain with less camera appeal -- and for any who just said "who?" -- exactly.

So here they come, the same crowd that tried to tell American how to vote.

All they did was alienate a lot of people.

Adults know how to vote.

It's one thing to say, "I'm proud of Hillary and I'm voting for her.''

It's another to try to shame someone into voting for your political crush.

And now, in utter stupidity,they show up as Donald is being sworn in, to protest . . .

What?

Because he's going to do things that demand protest.

And by upping the outrage factor with protests before he's even president, all these idiots are doing is making sure many Americans will tune out when actual protest for actual actions take place.

Way to go idiots.

And let's go back to those vets.

Because I'm thinking about Sally Field's Emmy acceptance speech and how she pretended to care about Iraq -- then lost all interest in it as Barack came into office.

And I'm realizing how many years ago that was.

I look at a number of the veterans protesting as young people.

They're not.

They've been out of Iraq for at least ten years now.


This Tweet provides perspective on the long, long ongoing Iraq War:


The Iraq War in 2003 can clearly remember every Teacher in School talking about it and I was only 5 at the time.









So as they protest McCain, I'm left to wonder, where the hell have they been as Barack's sent more US troops into Iraq, as Barack's bombed Iraq daily since August 2014?

Where the hell have they been?

I didn't start Iraq Veterans Against the War -- they did.

So I guess, in a John Kerry-like way -- they were against the war before they were for it?

And all of the above, where is their cry to stop the paranoia and fear of Russia?

The Russian government has not been proven to have done anything.

There is no evidence that it hacked the election or anything else.

Now I know Jane fell to the floor in Russia when Roger Vadim took her there and she had a panic attack because she was consumed by the Cold War fears.

Why in the world wouldn't she speak out now as idiotic Temple Prostitutes for Hillary try to restart The Cold War?


These losers want to pretend life was great the last 8 years when it truly was not.


Compare what the new pres. will (supposedly) do to the US to what the old one(s) did to Iraq and Afghanistan.






Exactly.

But they were silent because they were members of The Cult of St. Barack.



They moved on to become Temple Prostitutes for Hillary.


And they still damage the world.


Is it one of the planks of to demand provocative deployments of US troops on or near Russia's border?











Rachel Maddow is disgusting.

And it appears Hillary Clinton's legacy will be not just to be known as a loser but also to have re-started The Cold War.

If that happens, Hillary can rest assured that she will be ripped apart in history books.

The ridiculous person who couldn't concede an election and who allowed her supporters to whip up hysteria against another country because princess was too lazy to campaign.

I get tired of pointing out everything and wish others would.

But Bully Boy Bush was mocked by many -- I mocked him -- for his 2000 campaign and how he had to be home every night to sleep in his own bed as the campaigning wore on.

What a spoiled brat, right?

Well one reason Hillary was so ineffective on the campaign trail is she wasn't doing enough campaign events because, like BBB, she had to be home in her own bed.

She was lazy, she was corrupt.

All these idiots with their protests refuse to face reality.

Hillary refused to have an inspector general reviewing her.  In her entire term as Secretary of State, she had no IG.

This is a pattern with her.

That's why she did the private e-mail server.

That's why she deleted e-mails.

That's why she and others in her department stonewalled Congress throughout the end of 2011 and the start of 2012 in hearing after hearing.

Hillary will not allow for oversight.

And this is who you defend?

You don't take to the streets to defend the Iraqi people but a corrupt and whorish woman who claims she's devoted her life to public service -- while raking in millions and millions of dollars -- and who has cheered on every war she could is who you want to defend?


Jason Ditz (ANTIWAR.COM) reports:

The Obama Administration has made a habit of dramatically underreporting civilian deaths in its assorted military operations around the world, but took things to a whole new level in what will presumably be their last such document, claiming only one civilian killed all year in US drone strikes “worldwide.”
[. . .]
The most recent incident was in mid-December, when a US drone participating in Iraq’s invasion of the city of Mosul destroyed a house full of civilians, killing a family of nine. These of course are all just a fraction of the hundreds of civilians killed in US airstrikes over the course of 2016, but in many cases it remains uncertain if the strike was a drone or a manned aircraft, and similar systematic under-reporting of deaths by Centcom makes such determinations all but impossible.


The Iraqi people live in a war zone.

A US created war zone, please remember.

It is the height of indulgence and narcissism for Americans to focus on the 'tragedy' of a person being sworn in as president while ignoring the very real suffering in the world.


And for those who just can't get it through their skulls, take some advice from Aretha.





Get some pride and a deeper love and stop wallowing.


The following community sites updated:














  • Thursday, January 19, 2017

    PORTLANDIA

    Am I watching anything?  David asked that in an e-mail?

    Not really.

    I am watching PORTLANDIA but I don't count that because I rarely watch it live.

    But I do love the show.

    I watch THE GREAT INDOORS live sometimes.  Mainly because Mike and our daughter watch.

    It's a funny show though.

    I am so not looking forward to it going off because some idiot decided it was time to bring Judd Hirsh back to 'comedy.'

    Speaking of TV . . .

    "TV: When the missing return" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):
    By taking moments, by letting the story breathe, THE OA leaves viewers caring.

    When things don't add up on BEYOND, you're not left wondering what that means, you're just rushed off into another cliffhanger.  When it's not making sense on THE OA, you're left to wonder if Prarie made the whole thing up?


    You also care about the supporting characters on THE OA -- especially Steve (Patrick Gibson), Betty (Phyllis Smith, following up her teacher role in BAD TEACHER playing another teacher), Brandon Perea (French), Brendan Meyer (Jesse) and Buck (Ian Alexander).

    If Prarie's made it all up, what does it mean for the four who were with her?

    The show resonates while BEYOND gets by on thrills that never add up and the very natural appeal of Burkely Duffield.  As a result, BEYOND isn't a failure but it's far from the more mature slate that the former ABC FAMILY has been promising since it changed its name to FREE FORM.


    Stan's "FEUD" talks about a show I will be catching -- Susan Sarandon playing Bette Davis and Jessica Lange playing Joan Crawford.

    That should be a really interesting show.

    I am not a big TV watcher, as you know if you read this site, but I really can't get over how tired this year's offerings have been.


    "Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
    Thursday, January 19, 2017.  Chaos and violence continue, the Mosul Slog continues, give REUTERS access and they'll kiss your ass, billions still being made off the Iraq tragedy and much more.


    Robert Burns (AP) reports, "Sending thousands more American troops into Iraq or Syria in a bid to accelerate the defeat of the Islamic State group would push U.S. allies to the exits, create more anti-U.S. resistance and give up the U.S. military's key advantages, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in an Associated Press interview."


    It's a failure of Barack Obama's that Ash Carter even has to say that.

    The answer has always been a political solution.

    President Obama said it himself on June 19, 2014.

    But instead of offering a diplomatic surge, he let John Kerry play general and fail at the job of Secretary of State.

    Apparently still hurting over his Swift Boating -- what most people forget was the biggest laughs during that period came from John in shrink wrap shorts in Hawaii -- he was going to lead . . . the military if not the State Dept.

    Kerry was an idiot.

    It's rare that the Secretary of State shows a greater desire for military actions than for diplomacy.

    Ash Carter had a good run as Secretary of Defense.

    He ran his department far better than John did State.

    The interview with Carter also includes this:

    So while he believes faster is better, "It's important that it be done in a way that victory sticks." That was a reference to avoiding a repeat of the disastrous events of 2014, when Islamic State militants swept into western and northern Iraq from Syria and grabbed control of large swaths of territory as the Iraqi army collapsed. The Obama administration was caught by surprise at the hollowness of the Iraqi army, weakened by political and ethnic strife.


    They were caught by surprise.

    But the surprise was 'turned corner' is still believed.

    Those of us who endured the reporting of the first years of the Iraq War -- especially from THE NEW YORK TIMES -- should remember the turned corner very well.

    It maintained: 'We have turned a corner in Iraq.'

    It maintained that repeatedly.


    Over and over.

    So much so that US forces appeared to be walking circles in Iraq as they were forced to turn, turn, turn and turn again non-stop.

    The US government -- from day one and continued through today -- has not attempted democracy building in Iraq.

    They don't want democracy, the US rulers.

    They want control.

    Iraq was invaded by foreigners when the US-led war started in 2003.

    It was not an empty piece of land.

    There were young people, old people, rich people, poor people, doctors, mechanics, etc.

    It was a country with a rich culture and a rich heritage.

    So Saddam Hussein is run out of power (and eventually found and then executed) and the answer to the US (then and since) has been to put a 'friendly' exile in charge.

    That is who they backed from the start.

    Cowards who fled Iraq.

    These people have no legitimacy in Iraq.

    When Bully Boy Bush installed Nouri al-Maliki in 2006, Iraqis weren't overheard proclaiming, "Thank goodness!  He's someone who left the country three decades ago.  He fled.  How lucky we are to have this coward as our leader."

    Given the choice, they defied US conventional 'wisdom' and voted Nouri out in the 2010 elections -- however, Barack knew best, right?

    So he had US officials broker The Erbil Agreement which nullified the election results and gave a Nouri a second term.

    Now the idiotic Hayder al-Abadi is in charge.  Nouri's friend who seems unaware/unconcerned that Nouri is dying to get back into the role of prime minister (he has, to this day, refused to move out of the prime minister's official quarters and Barack put Hayder in charge back in 2014).

    Saturday, Hayder declares that Iraq's forces -- especially the militias -- will not be involved in neighboring countries after Mosul is 'liberated' and seems completely unaware that days earlier Nouri al-Maliki had declared that the militias could next take the battle to Syria.

    Two exiles, two cowards.

    As though Iraq did not have thousands and thousands of strong men and women capable of leadership?

    These exiles largely left in the 70s and 80s and waited until the US invaded to return home.

    Returning home itself wouldn't be a problem.

    But cutting ahead of everyone else to take charge of the country you haven't even lived in for the last years?

    The exiles also tended to return to Iraq carrying a great deal.

    No, that's not a reference to Ahmad Chalabi stealing all those millions from the bank in Jordan.

    It's a reference to those grudges they could never let go of.

    They hated Saddam.

    Saddam was gone.

    That wasn't good enough for them.

    They wanted the Sunni people to pay.

    They returned with chips on their shoulders and axes to grind.

    And it's why sectarianism took hold in Iraq -- it starts at the top.

    And it's why Iraq falls apart repeatedly.

    There is no success to build upon, Ash Carter.


    The people of Iraq have a puppet government that does not serve their needs.

    Billions are brought in every year from oil but the Iraqi government cannot pay the bills.

    Why?

    Due to the vast corruption in this government of exiles.

    Nouri didn't get rich in exile.

    But two terms as prime minister allowed him to dip into the funds and make himself a millionaire and to buy cars and apartments for his worthless son who had needed Daddy to provide him with every job he's ever had.

    This isn't news if you paid attention.

    When Bully Boy Bush was in office, the Democrats in Congress wanted to hear about Iraq.

    Nouri's corruption is well documented in hearing after hearing -- 2007 through 2008.

    It's why Hillary Clinton could call him a thug in an open hearing in 2008 while she sought the Democrat's presidential nomination -- and why no one fretted about any damage between US-Iraq relations over Hillary's comment.

    It's why Senator Barbara Boxer could demand that Nouri pay the Awakenings' salary (also known as Sons Of Ira and Sahwa) and it happened (well, the promise of it happened at least).

    The corruption was well known.

    But Barack came into office and, per Samantha Power, it was time to appease Nouri.

    All oversight of Iraq stopped under Barack.

    Hillary's State Dept refused to do more than submit a generic budget request for Iraq to Congress and when questioned about specifics refused to explain what they were requesting money for.

    Stuart Bowen was let go as his office (Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction) was closed because Hillary didn't need no stinking oversight.


    Bowen's greatest crime?

    While Hillary's State Dept insisted on millions, for example, to train Iraqi police, Bowen wrote in a report and testified to Congress about how the official (acting Minister of Interior) had publicly declared that Iraq did not need the help from the US in training and that the US should spend their money elsewhere.

    Despite this sentiment, Hillary's State Dept wasted millions constructing a training facility that would never be used for that purpose.

    Barack and his team came in having learned no lessons from the previous administration.

    And as Ash Carter gets ready to depart, he's learned nothing.

    We will turn another corner.

    Yeah, right.

    The violence stems from the actions the Iraqi government takes and from the fact that it's not a real government.

    People were hopeful with Hayder al-Abadi.

    People I consider very wise on the subject of Iraq thought a change was going come.

    It didn't.

    Americans whining about an "illegitimate" president better either own up to Iraq or just stop whining.

    The Iraqi people have an illegitimate government.

    And it was forced off on them by us, the American people, because it has been our leaders who have put these exiles in charge and repeatedly looked the other way as various sections of the population were persecuted.

    I know the Yazidis are backed up by the right-wing p.r. group.

    Even so, it is amazing to read supposedly mainstream press reports claiming they are the most persecuted religion in Iraq.

    I'm sorry, is there faith water based?  Have they been scattered around the world?

    There are religious groups that suffer throughout Iraq.

    Maybe if the Mandaeans could interest US neocons, they'd get publicity too?


    Instead, they live with persecution daily while, in the US, The Debra Messings whine because someone they don't like will be sworn in as president on Friday.

    Mosul will be no "turned corner."

    As former US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told HERE AND NOW (NPR) last November, "The real issue is not whether Mosul could be retaken — it'll be retaken — it's what happens afterwards. And that's the whole set of questions we did not ask ourselves before we invaded Iraq in 2003 — who governs, who's legitimate to govern, how will the new governing coalitions be established, how are you going to rebuild a country?"


    That point gets little airing.

    But "turned corner" and idiotic praise never stops.



    In under 3 weeks, -i forces went from holding 1/4 of to nearly the whole east of the city. Imperssive










    Whose Kalin working for?

    Hard to say REUTERS with that Tweet.

    Kalin's not a columnist.

    So he needs to deal with facts.

    Three weeks?

    I guess if you want to reset the starting date you can lie like that.

    The operation -- which was supposed to last 3 weeks tops -- began how many days ago?

    94 days ago.

    And it's still not been completed.

    There's nothing impressive about that.

    Lick the boots of your master, Kalin, lick the boots.

    (If he didn't, he couldn't boast, "Reuters gained unprecedented access late last month to three locations where hundreds of U.S. troops are deployed, including one of their most forward outposts in Bartella where Matthaidess operates.")



    Here's another fact for Kalin, THE MORNING STAR reports:

    Some commanders on the ground disputed Lt-Gen Shaghati’s claim of “full control” of eastern Mosul. Lieutenant General Abdul-Amir Raheed Yar Allah said the eastern side “has not been fully liberated … and the advance is still continuing.”

    Or how about this:

    Iraqi Civilian Death Toll Mounts as Fighting Intensifies in Mosul









    Or this:


    😭😭😭😭 My Ppl Iraqi sunnis civilians From My tribes killed by Iraqi army Airstrikes on



    و لاقناة ولا عربيه نشرت المجزرة التي حدثت مع مشايخ شمر لعد شكد سرسريه سنة العراق قصتهم ك قصة النبي يوسف رمونا بالبئر ونسونا




    اني هواي مرات اسئل نفسي احنا (سنه العراق ) احياء لو اموات ؟! هل نحن اموات فلا يستطيع احد رؤيه جرائم الحكومة الطائفيه ضدنا ولا اعلام يصل لنا




    I ask myself Are we (Iraqi Sunnis civilians) still alive or we dead for this no one can see us and the media can not reach us










    Just a few realities that interfere with Kalin's version of a ''turned corner."


    Don't act so concerned
    No don't be concerned
    Don't know how much more
    Of your kindness that I can bear
    Guess I had to learn
    I just had to learn
    That after all this
    You just don't care
    But don't let that worry your mind now
    I'll be OK

    -- "Don't Lose Any Sleep," written by Diane Warren, first recorded by John Waite for his album ROVER'S RETURN


    It's just the destruction of Iraq that's taken place, no need to be concerned, right?

    That appears to be the view of many.

    And big money was and is being made off Iraq.

    THE DAILY GAZETTE reports, "General Electric on Wednesday announced that Iraq’s Ministry of Electricity awarded it a contract worth more than $1.4 billion to set up power plants, upgrade technology and provide maintenance services."  And Aref Mohammed, Saif Hameed, Maher Chmaytelli and Susan Fenton (REUTERS) report, "Shell has signed a $210 million contract with Halliburton to drill 30 wells in Iraq's Majnoon oil field, two oil sources said on Thursday."





    The following community sites -- plus KPFK -- updated: