"TV: REACHER, IN FROM THE COLD, PEACEMAKER and AMEND: THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):
Women also are treated in condescending ways. Strength? It's been absent from women's portrayals in entertainment.
Oh,
sure, if you go to song, you can argue that Nancy Sinatra sang "These
Boots Are Made For Walking" but the reality is that she walked right out
of strength after that hit, she quickly ended up doing sickening duets
with Lee Hazlewood and, sadly, her own father (not for nothing was
"Something Stupid" dubbed "the incest song"). Lesley Gore may have had a
hit with "You Don't Own Me" but she followed it up with "That's The Way
Boys Are" and other garbage. Carly Simon had the strength to compose
and perform "You're So Vain" but was following that up with weaker songs
-- and, of course, with "Slave" (which she wrote with Jacob Brackman,
"I'm just another woman raised to be a slave," she sings). Strength,
for women, was a one-off. Or, worse, something to run from. By the
80s, Pat Benatar had built up her operatic range as the perfect vehicle
for tough stances -- "Treat Me Right," "Love Is A Battlefield,"
"Invincible," "Heartbreaker," "Hell Is For Children," etc. But she
quickly turned her career over to Neil Giraldo and the hits just stopped
coming. Pat the submissive wife wasn't selling. We've commented on
how she destroyed her own career many times but we want to draw your
attention one more time to "Life is too short, Pat, so why waste precious time?"
-- our piece on her ridiculous 2019 tour billed as Pat Benatar and Neil
Giraldo 1979 - 2019: 40th Anniversary Tour. No one ever paid a dime
for a ticket to see Neil Giraldo and the world doesn't know who he is.
Pat's on a suicide mission trying to inflate Neil's ego and it's a
mission she forgot to include their daughter Hana on -- which is why, on
E's RELATIVELY FAMOUS: RANCH RULES, when Hana introduces herself to the
offspring of other famous parents, she says, "I'm Pat Benatar's
daughter." Like everyone but her own mother, Hana knows the world
doesn't care about Neil Giraldo. In "Tina Turner: A retrospective,"
we've already written of how this fear of strength in women harmed Tina
on the charts. You can also include Alanis Morissette as one who fell
from the charts as she surrendered her own strength.
Today in songs that make the charts? Pink's both an exception and a quandary. Her work involves multiple levels and then you get the videos adding even more levels. We see "Try" -- the song and the video -- as an expression of the need to own your actions and responsibilities -- a strong statement. But we do understand others don't feel the same. More often we get the insipid. Taylor Swift's had a lot of success and the obvious question is: Why? Like Aretha Franklin in her famous evaluation of Taylor, we really aren't all that impressed. A bunch of feather weight songs that supposedly include a number of kiss-off songs but they all sound like they're sung by a meek 12-year-old, not like a 32-year-old woman. Then there's highly embarrassing Billie Eilish who, especially since the release of her second album, seems little more than the wooden dummy of her ventriloquist older brother Finneas. (Want to hear real art? Skip Billie's two albums and stream Finneas' OPTIMIST. That's art.)
In film and TV? There have always been a Barbara Stanwyck or two who played strong women. But they've been few and far between. Scream Queen Jamie Lee Curtis and her friend Sigourney Weaver have carried on Stanwyck's mantle. Sadly, there's been little real attempt to further develop strong women. In 1991, we were all supposed to be applauding Jodie Foster's pathetic character in the homophobic and anti-woman SILENCE OF THE LAMBS. A slasher film with a focused script (Ted Talley created the transitions in the script that allowed Jonathan Demme to finally make a coherent film -- each scene ends with a statement or an image leading into the next one), SILENCE OF THE LAMBS introduced 'strong' Clarice -- a Daddy's girl haunted by Daddy's death. Jodie would play the same pathetic type in CONTACT and many other women would show up on TV and in film in action roles due to their Daddy issues. Lamenting and mourning Daddy became the key to allowing women to fight back, to fight period. It infantilized the female characters, but we were never supposed to notice that and, certainly, actresses like Jodie never copped to the reality of what they were actually playing.
REACHER has Roscoe and Neagley thick in the action. Roscoe has lost her father . . . and her mother. But she's not plagued by Daddy issues and there's no real backstory for Neagley -- a true wonder. A woman can come on and do action scenes without the show runners or director feeling the need to explain how and why.
Ava and C.I. wrote a mammoth piece so be sure to check it out.
We should all be checking out the latest allegations regarding Hillary Clinton.
If you have a problem with that coming from FOX NEWS, my argument is: Get some other outlets to cover it -- like CNN, for example.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
The White House issued the following:
Statement by President Joe Biden
Last night at my direction, U.S. military forces in the northwest Syria successfully undertook a counterterrorism operation to protect the American people and our Allies, and make the world a safer place. Thanks to the skill and bravery of our Armed Forces, we have taken off the battlefield Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurayshi—the leader of ISIS. All Americans have returned safely from the operation. I will deliver remarks to the American people later this morning. May God protect our troops.
###
Margaret Kimberley rightly Tweets:
This is BS. Poll numbers dropping, Ukraine hoax stalled, 2,000+ covid deaths per day. What to do? Easy. Find an Arab, claim he was an ISIS leader and kill him and his family. Later the story changed to say he blew himself up. Don't believe that either. #Bogus
This is how bad things have gotten for Joe Biden, he's aping Bully Boy Bush and hoping that somehow this helps him look good.
ISIS is not followers with one mighty leader. ISIS exists to be a headless snake. Is the White House not getting that reality or are they hoping the American people are too stupid to grasp it?
Quraishi was detained at the camp after US forces picked him up in Mosul, Iraq in January 2008, although details of the operation are scant.
In a press release at the time, US forces claimed to have captured “a wanted individual believed to be the deputy leader of al-Qaida in Iraq for the network operating in the city.”
It added that Quraishi — known by the alternative name Amir Muhammad Said Abd al-Rahman al-Mawla — had “previously served as a judge of an illegal court system involved in ordering and approving abductions and executions.”
During interrogations by US intelligence services he gave the names of some 88 individuals, some of whom he said were key figures in Isis. He gave the organisational positions of 64 of them, detailing their responsibilities in the legal, military security, media and administrative branches of the organisation.
In one document he appears to offer an affidavit, testifying against 20 named individuals and identifying illegal activities including kidnappings, assassinations and attacks on coalition forces.
He also gave information about the structure of the jihadist organisation completing “a line and block chart” showing the names and positions of 40 individuals. This information is believed to have led to 39 of them being killed by US forces.
It is clear that Quraishi was useful to the US. The level of detailed information he shared makes him a US asset, or at the very least an informant. The nature of the operation to take him out — which Turkey was not told about in advance — poses more questions than it answers.
Was he killed by US operatives as he had served his purpose or because of fears his role and links to Washington could be exposed?
Is it really conceivable that both he and his predecessor Baghdadi were simply released into the wilds and allowed to find their way to the very top position in Isis without being tracked or monitored by US intelligence services?
It seems highly unlikely.
Just as it stretches credibility to suggest that the attack on the prison in Hasakah province could have been planned and carried out in an area teeming with US soldiers and intelligence without Washington’s knowledge.
It would represent the biggest intelligence failure since the 9/11 attacks on the Twin Towers in New York and the Pentagon if this was also missed.
The court said in a statement that a decision by parliament to accept his presidential bid was incorrect as the 68-year-old Kurdish politician did not fulfill the conditions for nomination stipulated in the country's constitution. It also barred him from running for the post in the future, the official Iraq News Agency reported on Sunday.
“We were surprised by our exclusion from our right to nominate,” Zebari said in a news conference following the ruling.
“We respect the judiciary, but I have the right to say that there has been injustice and arbitrariness in the decision.”
The oint of Hoshyar was to claim the presidency. In the past, it has been held by a Kurd from the PUK party (the prty of the Talabanis). However, the October 10th election saw the continued eroision of the PUK. They are no longer a major political party. So why should they hold the post? The KDP thought Hoshyar would be the easiest way to defeat Barham Salih (PUK member and the current president of Iraq) because Zebari was not just a national figure, he was an international figure. They also assumed that, as a long standing member of Parliament, he would be a safe and popular choice to both Iraq and the international community. They underestimated Nouri al-Maliki.
Former prime miniser and forever thug Nouri is known for his paranoia. It's why Bully Boy Bush installed him as prime minister in 2006 -- the CIA assessment noted his high degree of paranoia and that this could be used to manipulate Nouri for US interests.
We have repeatedly noted the 2010 Erbil Agreement that gave Nouri his second term. The voters didn't want that and made it clear in March of 2010. But Nouri refused to step down. Eight months later, in November of 2010, the voters were tossed aside via the US overseen Erbil Agreement.
Nouri used the contract to get a second term and then he walked away from it claiming it was illegal. The other parties insisted otherwise. Well . . . most of them. The KDP was among those insisting that Nouri honor that contract or face a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Ayad Allawi, Moqtada al-Sadr, Amir al-Hakim and many others insisted the contract be honored. One political group didn't. The same group tha theld the presidency: the PUK. And when the others gathered the needed signatures to hold a no-confidence vote per the Constitituion, Jalal Talabani did what?
Well he didn't follow the Constitution. He created new poers for himself that included the right to toss the petition out. He didn't have that power. He only had the power to introdcue it (read it into the record). Then Jalal high talied it out of Iraq claiming emergency surgery. His life was at risk! It was electibe surgery on his knee. Liar. And karma bit him in his fat ass when six months later, as he had a very loud verbal argument with Nouri, he collapsed from a stroke that he would never recover from.
The PUK has sided with Nouri in the past. And they've sided with him again re: the October 10th elections. While Moatada has claimed victory -- with the press agreeing -- his wins are not enough to put together a government. As he's dithered, Nouri has built his own coaltiion. A war of attrition is how Nouri sees any political battle and he uses old techniques. The issues regarding Zebari? Not all that different from how Nouri tried to derail Saleh al-Mutlaq back in the '00s.
If you don't know (or remember) his playbook, the last months have probably been very confusing. If you do know them, you've seen Nouri launch one counter-measure after another and marveled over how out of it and ignorant Moqtada is.
The shine is off Moqtada, he's no longer a fresh rose. To those watching, he looks like a bumbling fool and that's one of the many points that Nouri's tryied to establish: Moqtada's not up for the power so many are rushing to gift him with. Moqtada, of course, hates Nouri from years back. Nouri was brought to power ty the US governmetn and had the arrest warrant for Moqtada that the US government sought. He repeatedly threatened Moqtada with it. When threatened, Moqtada would usually flee to Iran. In addition, in early 2008, Nouri declared all out war on Moqtada's cult/followers with two battles. (Yes, these battles were supposed to be a joint-US operation but, remember, Nouri jump-started them ahead of the US' planned start date.)
The two are and have been bitter rivals. If that's news to you, you've spent way too much time reading the US press in the last year.
Maybe you caught Jason Beausbien on NPR yesterday with his ridiculous claims:
MARTIN: You know, it's been four months since the elections, but there's still no agreement on a prime minister or a cabinet. Would you explain what's going on?
BEAUBIEN: This is still a young political system. Even today, the supreme court disqualified the leading candidate for the presidency, and that's just for a mainly ceremonial role. Iraq's parliament is divided. That no party got a majority in that last round of elections. The main winner, however, was the populous Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr. His party got the largest bloc of votes of anyone. Many people might remember Sadr's militia. It was known for fighting fiercely against U.S. troops. But he's moderated to some degree now, and he's seen as sort of the counterbalance to a lot of the political forces here that are aligned with Iran. And he really looks like the kingmaker at the moment, but he's been driving a hard bargain over sharing power, over how to form a new government.
It's a young political system. Just stop whoring. Moqtada's "moderated"? Stop lying.
Two-bit whores belong on street coerners, not in front of microphones. NEWSWEEK carries a column by Shayan Talabany and Jemima Shelley:
On Feb. 13, 2020, Iraqi streets were awash with pink and purple. In response to influential Islamist cleric Muqtada al-Sadr's allegations of "promiscuity" by protesters in popular country-wide protests, women's rights activists donned pink and purple items of clothing to demonstrate their right to be heard in Iraq's male-dominated political arena.
This was two years ago, but today the legacy of the Tishreen (October) movement that precipitated the women's march is as important than ever. It revitalized the history of women-led struggles in Iraq, largely overlooked by the West, and inspired a politically active new generation who are determined to change Iraq for the better.
Despite years of various anti-government protests around the country dating back to 2011, the Tishreen movement that erupted in 2020 was larger than any other protest movement Iraq had seen in recent history. This organic movement represented the sentiments of a large segment of Iraqi society opposed to Iraq's systemic corruption, and sectarian and paternalistic political system that has failed to meet political and economic demands. Iraqi women became integral to its success.
I don't know who the bigger bitch is: Moqtada or Jason?
Moqtada isn't moderate. And his attack on women in 2020 was not a minor thing. Some foolish people e-mail this site about those protesters and tell me that o'of course Sunnis don't like Moqtada.' I'm sorry your media system has failed you and taught you lies about Russia and nothing about Iraq. But The October Revolution had nothing to do with SUnnis. That was Shi'te youngsters. Sunnis weren't a part of it. That was Shi'ites calling out Moqtada. And when he tried to dismiss women, the protesters foguht back and they turned out with signs mocking him. It showed clearly the generational break with Moqtada.
Now the US media couldn't tell you that because they kept turning to Whore of Baghdad Jane Arraf and, as a result, they were ignoring women. In October of 2020, we were pointing out there tha the big story was the number of women at these protests and how the US press was ignoring them.
Moqtada didn't ignore them. He condemened the women for being there and he condemned the men for protesting wit them.
In a previous time, he might have gotten away with it.
But in 2020, he didn't.
And that was a big story . . . unless you were a US outlet.
They never know what's happening because they choose to stay ignorant.
On the presidency, ALJAZEERA adds:
In a separate decision the Federal Court said that President Barham Salih, who is also running for a second term, will continue in his position until a new president is elected.
The court decision is a blow to populist Shi'ite Muslim cleric Moqtada al-Sadr, who was the biggest winner in the October parliamentary election. He had vowed to quickly push through a government that could exclude Iranian allies.
Sadr, along with the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) of which Zebari is a member, and an alliance of Sunni Muslim lawmakers had supported Zebari's bid for president.
Shelly Kittleson (AL-MONITOR) reports, "The deaths of several soldiers in the western Anbar desert and attacks further south in the same province have drawn attention to the vast expanses that were long a hideout for insurgents." ARAB NEWS notes, "The polls were marred by record-low turnout, post-election threats and violence, and a delay of several months until final results were confirmed." And THE NATIONAL points out, "Some members of the Coordination Framework, including MP Alia Nsayyif, who is allied to former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki, have warned that violence could break out if government formation did not reflect their claimed electoral gains."
- Truest statement of the week
- Truest statement of the week II
- A note to our readers
- TV: REACHER, IN FROM THE COLD, PEACEMAKER and AMEN...
- Mike picks the Idiot of the Week
- Trina serves up a recipe and covers inflation
- Betty cover science
- Marcia critiques an online erotic novel
- Elaine covers movies
- The Oscar nominations (Stan weighs in)
- Kat notes the hypocrite that is David Rovics
- Rebecca goes to the movies and sees a bad rom-com
- Ann examines the ugly on 'news' television
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