We previously discussed the controversial career of Marc Elias, a partner at Perkins Coie, who featured prominently in the alleged concealment of the Clinton campaign’s funding of the Steele Dossier. Elias later gathered donors in challenging elections for Democratic candidates and fighting voting reform bills, including some controversial comments. Now the role of Elias and Perkins Coie could be raised in the investigation (and expected report) of Special Counsel John Durham. However, he and the firm have finally separated. Elias is now opening a legal group that purportedly will focus on, among other areas, ethics and campaign disclosures. That irony may not be lost on Durham who is looking into the origins of the Russian investigation, including not just the dossier but another controversy linked to Perkins Coie. Durham is reportedly investigating whether individuals or groups knowingly created or passed along false information or tips to the FBI to start the Russian investigation.
I previously described news accounts linking the firm and Elias to the dossier scandal:
Throughout the campaign, the Clinton campaign denied any involvement in the creation of the so-called Steele dossier’s allegations of Trump-Russia connections. However, weeks after the election, journalists discovered that the Clinton campaign hid payments for the dossier made to a research firm, Fusion GPS, as “legal fees” among the $5.6 million paid to the campaign’s law firm. New York Times reporter Ken Vogel said at the time that Clinton lawyer Marc Elias, with the law firm of Perkins Coie, denied involvement in the anti-Trump dossier. When Vogel tried to report the story, he said, Elias “pushed back vigorously, saying ‘You (or your sources) are wrong.’” Times reporter Maggie Haberman declared, “Folks involved in funding this lied about it, and with sanctimony, for a year.”
It was not just reporters who asked the Clinton campaign about its role in the Steele dossier. John Podesta, Clinton’s campaign chairman, was questioned by Congress and denied categorically any contractual agreement with Fusion GPS. Sitting beside him was Elias, who reportedly said nothing to correct the misleading information given to Congress.
The Washington Post also reported that “Elias drew from funds that both the Clinton campaign and the DNC were paying Perkins Coie.”
Maggie Haberman, who called out the Clinton campaign for lying about the funding, was one of those who revealed the departure of Elias from Perkins Coie.
Marc Elias should be questioned, journalists should be investigating him, he perpetrated a fraud on the American people and his actions resulted in time wasted by the FBI and the Congress. I do not plan to vote for any candidate who uses him. To me, using Elias says you have no ethics. I'm not voting for any politician who's admitting that they have no ethics while they're running for office.
"TV? What if . . . the possibilities are . . . limited" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):
Every TV show you could think of is much better than the first episode of WHAT IF?
So what if Peggy Carter became the first Avenger?
Oh, wake us up when the woke era is gone-gone. Honestly, this is an
example of all that is wrong with some of the current whining -- yes,
whining.
So what if Peggy, and not Steve Rogers, had the serum and became Captain America?
They have no context, they have no understanding, they just have woke on their side.
In the world of TV and movies, women are woefully underrepresented as
heroes. When they are part of the film or TV show, they're rarely part
of the action. THE GALAXY OF THE GUARDIANS did damn little for the
women in the two live action films -- in fact 'stews' flight attendants)
did more action on TV and in film in the 70s. THE AVENGERS film
franchise did put Black Widow in the action (as did the Captain America
films) and it even turned the women of GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY into
superheroes. But far too often, we're left with women in roles of
weakness (the same Avengers franchise refused to ever truly acknowledge
Scarlet Witch's power, by the way) or women doing nothing.
So we do get the woke sentiment. It's an anger we share.
But you don't make Peggy Carter Captain America. In fact, you can't. Which is why she's CAPTAIN UK or some sort of nonsense.
Captain America was a comic book character created for propaganda
purposes -- that's in the comic and in the real world. The US is still
at war but today appears to be beyond comic book characters who can
rally support and enthusiasm. (We could be wrong, we hope we aren't.)
But Steve Rogers inspired within the comic world. He rallied other
soldiers just by being Captain America. Peggy, a British citizen, can't
rally American troops the way Steve could based on his citizenship.
So the whole exercise is pointless. And the audience is left bored and
detached. That's woke writing for you. There are Americans that they
could have used. For example, we've always been huge fans of Hellcat.
And we're thrilled anytime she pops up (not very often). But What If
Patsy had been the First Avenger? That would have been a better story.
Because, honestly, without an American to rally US forces, what do we
have? The way the 'history' has been told in the US, you have Nazis in
control. Weak Steve Rogers fighting with just heart and soul was every
G.I. It's something that Peggy can't pull off.
We're supposed to cheer Peggy on, after she has super powers, when she
says to this man that he's lucky to even be in the room. He's said that
to her repeatedly before she had the serum.
That's 'woke' writing for you too.
Good writing would be a scene where Peggy saves the sexist and he either
immediately realizes (because of action) that he was wrong or she just
smirks at him because he'll never learn.
That's Ava and C.I.'s latest. They wrote a new piece Sunday and I think they're posting it tonight.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Monday, August 23, 2021. More problems emerge in Iraq and, try not to notice, all are connected to the Turkish government's actions.
Today, the Norwegian Refugee Council issued the folowing:
Across the region, rising temperatures, record low levels of rainfall, and drought are depriving people of drinking and agricultural water. It is also disrupting electricity as dams run out of water, which in turn impacts the operations of essential infrastructure including health facilities. Higher temperatures caused by climate change increase the risks and severity of droughts.
More than five million people in Syria directly depend on the river. In Iraq, the loss of access to water from the river, and drought, threaten at least seven million people. Some 400 square kilometres of agricultural land risk total drought. Two dams in northern Syria, serving three million people with electricity, face imminent closure. Communities in Hasakah, Aleppo, Raqqa and Deir ez Zour, including displaced people in camps, have witnessed a rise in outbreaks of water borne-diseases such as diarrhoea, since the reduction in water.
In Iraq, large swathes of farmland, fisheries, power production and drinking water sources have been depleted of water. In the Ninewa governorate, wheat production is expected to go down by 70 per cent because of the drought, while in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq production is expected to decrease by half. Some families in Anbar who have no access to river water are spending up to USD80 a month on water.
“The total collapse of water and food production for millions of Syrians and Iraqis is imminent,” said Carsten Hansen, Regional Director for the Norwegian Refugee Council. “With hundreds of thousands of Iraqis still displaced and many more still fleeing for their lives in Syria, the unfolding water crisis will soon become an unprecedented catastrophe pushing more into displacement.”
CARE’s Regional Director in the Middle East and North Africa, Nirvana Shawky, said: “The situation demands that authorities in the region and donor governments act swiftly to save lives in this latest crisis, that comes on top of conflict, COVID-19 and severe economic decline. In the longer term, beyond emergency food and water, they need to invest in sustainable solutions to the water crisis.”
The Danish Refugee Council’s Middle East Regional Director Gerry Garvey said: “This water crisis is bound to get worse. It is likely to increase conflict in an already destabilized region. There is no time to waste. We must find sustainable solutions that would guarantee water and food today and for future generations.”
In Al Sebat, 30 km away from Hasakah, residents have seen scores of villagers leaving to other areas, forced out by the drought.
“This year we have witnessed a wave of intense drought and as a result our lands did not produce any crops and we don’t have any sources of drinkable water either for us or for our animals,” said Abdallah, a tribal leader from Al Sebat. “It is infuriating to think that the current conditions will force us to leave the rural areas and that our lands will be left as ruins.”
Many farmers have spent their savings and gone into debt to keep their animals alive.
“Because of the drought I was unable to harvest any wheat,” said Hamid Ali from Baaj, one of the worst affected districts in Ninewa, Iraq. “Now I am overwhelmed with debt.”
Other aid groups joining today’s warning and call for emergency and flexible funding are: ACTED, Action Against Hunger, Mercy Corps, People in Need, Première Urgence Internationale, War Child, Help, Women Rehabilitation Organisation, VIYAN Organization, Al Rakeezeh Foundation for Relief and Development.
Notes for editors:
- Photos and B-roll can be downloaded for free use and distribution.
- Syria is currently facing the worst drought in seventy years while Iraq is facing the second driest season in 40 years due to record low rainfall according to the UN.
- In Turkey, major cities have suffered severe water shortages as the country’s largest reservoirs quickly became depleted at the end of last year.
The 'success' that is Iraq -- according to War Criminal Paul L. Bremer.
Post-government life as a ski bum apparently didn't work out for Paul so he returned with a column for THE WALL STREET JOURNAL that was filled with lies -- see "A War Criminal Returns."
The media's in a panic that the American people might catch on to reality so they're working overtime to hold on to US control of Iraq. They're in panic mode as they cringe and gasp and cry about what's going on in Afghanistan -- refusing to tell you that this was always the way US military in Afghanistan was going to end.
Fearful Americans might catch on to reality, Paul shows up to insist that Iraq is a success. And to prove that THE WALL STREET JOURNAL has no fact checkers and will print any garbage submitted to them.
On the water issue, Dilan Sirwan (RUDAW) reports:
An Iraqi delegation will visit Turkey early next month as water levels
in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers have decreased by more than 50
percent, spokesperson for Iraq’s water ministry told state media on
Sunday.
“This year is a water scarce one and there is a clear decrease in water
levels in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, to a point that their water
levels have dropped by more than 50 percent. That is in addition to a
major drop in the water levels at Dukan, Darbandikhan, Sirwan, and
Diyala dams,” spokesperson Ali Radhi told state media.
The Tigris and Euphrates both have their sources in Turkey and pass
through Syria before joining together in Iraq and spilling into the
Persian Gulf. They are important water resources for all three nations.
“Many meetings have been held with the Turkish and Syrian sides on the
water issue, and there is an expected visit of an Iraqi delegation to
Turkey at the beginning of next month in order to continue talks on
Iraq’s share of water and the situation of the Tigris and Euphrates,”
said Radhi.
He said Iraq is also preparing for a tripartite meeting with Turkey and
Syria to discuss “the issue of sharing damage in the water scarcity
period, completing the discussion on the joint protocol between Iraq and
Turkey, and establishing a research team in Iraq” to study the issue.
Staying with that wonderful Turkish government, they're still killing civilians. Yesterday, AFP reported, "Two civilians were killed on Sunday in Iraq’s northern Kurdistan region by a Turkish army bombardment as forces battled the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) rebels, local officials said." Dilan Sirwan (RUDAW) notes, "A reported seven other civilians have been killed, several injured, and 20 villages emptied this year. " Kamaran Osman Tweets:
The crime 26-year-old Yousif Ammar and 40-year-old Ahmed Shukir carried out? Yousif Musa (RUDAW) explains that "they visited the village of Bankie."
Well then, off with their heads, as the Queen of Hearts would say in ALICE IN WONDERLAND, right?
This is a genocide and it should have been stopped long ago.
Musa also notes, "A parliamentary report issued last year concluded that at least 504 villages have been emptied across the Kurdistan Region since 1992, and hundreds of people have been killed. In Duhok alone, 366 villages have been abandoned since 1998."
Again, this is a genocide.
Last Tuesday, they bombed a clinic and killed civilians. RUDAW informs that War criminal Recep Tayyip Erdogan, despot of Turkey, insisted yesterday that they did not bomb a clinic. That's right and Erdogan's thugs didn't attack Americans on US soil either, right? Oh, wrong.
Recep lies about attacking the clinic because that attack met the legal definition of a War Crime. He knows that. And he thinks if he rejects the term, cowed journalists won't use it and will continue to act as though it was an 'oopsie!' and not an actual War Crime that he can be -- and should be -- prosecuted for.
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