Saturday, March 19, 2016

SHADES OF BLUE (the robbery, the explosion)

Tess is shot.

That's the main fall out from the robbery in this week's SHADES OF BLUE (NBC).

But Tess is far from the only one injured.

Woz (Ray Liotta) was watching the FBI guy when Harley came out.

Only it wasn't Harly (Jennifer Lopez).  It was the prostitute who looks a little like her, the one the FBI guy makes wear a wig to look even more like Harley, the one he calls Harley.

Once she found out about it, Harley checked her tablet at the house.

She watched the footage from the cam she planted in the FBI agent's home.

After seeing him and the woman -- and him calling her Harley and power tripping on the prostitute -- she put the tablet aside for a moment before picking it back up.

Remember when I said I didn't think the man really called his superior to get an immunity agreement for everyone on Harley's crew?

He didn't.

She watched the video.

He didn't call.

He just pretended.

So she's trying to get the others not to be involved so it will just be her and Waz.

Doesn't work out that way.

Meanwhile, Christina is doubting her mother Harley more and more and Miguel is playing into that.

He's also breaking into Harley's home.

He's there when she has it out with the FBI so he now knows everything -- though no one knows he was there.

The robbery goes haywire.

The points there?

Mainly that Donnie was willing to see Waz dead.  He and Waz may be lovers but the point of the robbery was to kill the crew and let Donnie & company get all the money.




"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Thursday, March 17, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, the Islamic State takes credit for a plane crash,  Moqtada al-Sadr's followers get ready to turn out in Baghdad, what might a Hillary Clinton presidency mean, and much more.


In the United States, the battle for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination continues with War Hawk Hillary Clinton competing with Senator Bernie Sanders.  Tuesday saw Clinton win four primaries.


Which doesn't mean the race is over.




  • .: It is absurd to say we should rally behind a candidate when only half the country has voted



  • Though some are calling for the issue to be wrapped up, those who remember Hillary staying in through June of 2008 realize she'll look like a real hypocrite should she or her staff begin floating that Sanders should drop out now.


    There's also the fact that he drives the enthusiasm in the race while she brings with her a certain boredom.


     
     
     



    And there is the fact that she's married to Bill Clinton.


    Bill Clinton who cheated on her when he was governor of Arkansas and when he was president of the United States.

    One of the affairs, with Monica Lewinsky, resulted in impeachment (but no removal from office).

    Once a cheater, always a cheater.

    So what might a Hillary Clinton presidency look like on the evening news?



    Andrea Mitchell:  Good evening, I'm Andrea Mitchell and this is NBC NIGHTLY NEWS WITH LESTER HOLT.  Lester is off tonight.  Our top story?  Former president Bill Clinton refuses to vacate the White House.  First up, we go to NBC analyst and host of MEET THE PRESS Chuck Todd. Chuck?

    Chuck Todd: Andrea, they're calling it 14 Days of Do-Nothing.


    Andrea Mitchell: Who's calling it that, Chuck?


    Chuck Todd: Just me, so far, but I'm really hoping this catchs on.   It was 14 days ago that the world learned of Bill Clinton's affair with actress Bernadette Troy.  The scandal continues because of the inaction on the part of the White House and, today, Ms. Troy's announcement today that she will be selling copies of a sex tape with First Gentleman Bill Clinton.


    Andrea Mitchell:  Now is this 'alleged sex tape' or has anyone actually viewed it?


    Chuck Todd:  Thus far, no one has viewed it.  At midnight, it will begin selling and streaming at iTunes and Amazon.  


    Andrea Mitchell:  And there has been no response as of yet to the announcement or the affair.  Thank you, Chuck.  We'll come back to Chuck later in the program but for now we go to NBC News correspondent Michelle Kosinski who was at the White House earlier today when President Hillary Clinton was joined by UK Prime Minister David Cameron to address the issue of Iran's nuclear program.  But the only questions were about Bernadette Troy.  Michelle?


    Michelle Kosinski:  You are correct on that, Andrea.  Finally facing a group of reporters, President Clinton was on the White House lawn this afternoon.  The press was told that she would speak and then Mr. Cameron would make a few remarks.  There would be no questions.  Someone, Andrea, forgot we have a free press.


    Footage of President Hillary Clinton and David Cameron standing at a podium. 

    President Hillary Clinton: And so it is for this reason that we are giving Iran an ultmatium.  They have until midnight --

    Reporter 1:  What about the sex tape!

    Reporter 2:  Have you seen the sex tape, Madam President!

    Reporter 3:  Are you and the First Gentleman sharing the same bedroom still!

    Reporter 4:  Do you forgive him?


    Michelle Kosinski:  President Clinton's remarks on Iran were a footnote to today's event.  Clearly, America wants to know what is going on.  More to the point, they want an answer to that lonely cry: "Do you forgive him?"  Back to you, Andrea.  


    Andrea Mitchell: Thank you, Michelle, for that report.  To grasp what it all means, we go back to NBC news analyst Chuck Todd.  Chuck, you heard Michelle's report.  What do you make of it?


    Chuck Todd:  Clearly on Day 14 of Do-Nothing, the American people want answers.  They need answers.  Remember, this is not the first time Bill Clinton has cheated on the president.  But this is the first time it's happened -- or known to have happened -- since Hillary Clinton was sworn in as president.  


    Andrea Mitchell:  And what does it mean exactly?


    Chuck Todd: Exactly?  My sources say that this was more than just a Lewinski -- much more.  There was penetration --


    Andrea Mitchell: No, Chuck, what does it mean for the country?


    Chuck Todd: I think what the American people are asking is, "Do you forgive him?"  Does President Clinton forgive her husband Bill?


    Andrea Mitchell: Thank you for breaking that down, Chuck.  We now go to entertainment correspondent and TODAY SHOW host Savannah Guthrie.  Savannah, the whole country still wants to know who Bernadine Troy is?


    Savannah Guthrie:  Well, Andrea, Bernadette Troy in Meadville, Pennsylvania in 1988 and went on to a notable career with an episode of DONNY!, a background player on BEST TIME EVER WITH NEIL PATRICK HARRIS! and contributions to many other shows that ended with an exclamation point.  Troy is possibly most recognized for her work with Tom Beregon on infomercials.

    Andrea Mitchell: So she is acclaimed in her field?

    Savannah Guthrie:  Yes, that is correct.  One observer said, and I'm quoting, "Bernadette is like a young Charo or Joey Heatheron before the drugs."


    Chuck Todd: I said that!  Andrea, I said that.


    Andrea Mitchell:  NBC News analyst Chuck Todd.  Chuck, I understand that you are now being cited as an expert on this topic?


    Chuck Todd:  Yes, Andrea that is correct.  Now --



    Andrea Mitchell:  Excuse me, Chuck, we have Richard Engel standing by.  NBC News chief foreign correspondent Richard Engel.  Richard, are you there?


    Richard Engel: Yes, Andrea, I am there or, rather, I am here in downtown Baghdad where protests are breaking out across the region and the root cause of it may be the latest affair of former president Bill Clinton.  In Tehran, the protesters carried signs stating "YANKEE DEVIL WATCH WHERE YOU POKE THAT THING" while in Damascus some signs proclaimed, "YANKEE DEVIL STOP YOUR FORNICATION."

    Andrea Mitchell: And, Richard, I understand that some foreign governments are watching this situation very closely.  

    Richard Engel:  Well in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, leader Kim Jong Un has said that President Hillary Clinton has been bloodied on the world stage insisting that her paralysis on the issue of her marriage is reflective of her larger failure to act on the world stage.  He declared today, and I quote, "Yankee devil Hillary is weak and now is the time to destroy the United States."

    Andrea Mitchell:  Chuck, analysis?


    Chuck Todd:  It would appear President Clinton is being seen as a, quote, "Yankee devil."


    Andrea Mitchell:  Insight!  We'll be right back after these commercial messages.



    In DC today, Secretary of State John Kerry felt the need to speak.

    Felt the need?


    He was under a Congressional order to make a decision by Thursday the 17th as to whether or not the Islamic State was committing genocide.


    Looking like an idiot by waiting until the last minute, Kerry compounded his doofus image by wearing a green tie that was an eye sore and didn't go with the black suit he was wearing.  It was a tired, washed out green.


    We get it, John, you're part Irish.  You can note that with a little lapel pin on St. Patrick's Day, you don't have to wear an ugly tie while holding a news conference.


    John declared the Islamic State "responsible for genocide against groups in areas under its control, including Yezidis, Christians, and Shia Muslims," insisted it was "genocidal by self-proclamation, by ideology, and by actions – in what it says, what it believes, and what it does" and maintained the Islamic State "is also responsible for crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing directed at these same groups and in some cases also against Sunni Muslims, Kurds, and other minorities."


    It was a wordy speech but one bereft of poetry or insight despite the months he had to prepare for it.


    The reaction to the speech?

    A lot of panning.


    For example:




  • Today I wished I be in 's press conference to throw my shoes on his face just like the old days




  • Reactions also included that John Kerry announcing this new status required that certain actions kick in:



  • Since you've denoted ISIS as genocidal, Secretary , why won't the US take in more Syrian & Iraqi refugees for sanctuary?


  • How many Syrian & Iraqi refugees will you accept, President ? Labels like "genocide" come with humanitarian obligations.





  • Meanwhile, John continued to stroke the Shi'ite administration of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi despite the fact that Sunnis continue to be targeted by many Shi'ite militias -- al-Abadi has folded these militias into the official Iraqi forces.





  • MP: militias have kidnapped 1400 civilian men fleeing Anbar. They are being held & tortured south of Baghdad.




  • Meanwhile Moqtada al-Sadr, movement leader and Shi'ite cleric, is calling on his followers to turn out in Baghdad.  STRATFOR describes it as follows:


    Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr has organized a sit-in that will take place March 18 near Baghdad's Green Zone. The objective of the protest, like many before it, is to end government corruption and replace members of Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's Cabinet with technocrat ministers. Widely viewed as a symbol of resistance to Western intervention in Iraq, al-Sadr has significant influence over Shiite public opinion. Because al-Sadr's political coalition lacks the parliamentary votes to disapprove new Cabinet members, he has turned to protest to gain leverage with the government. Previously, al-Sadr had given the government 45 days to implement various reforms. 
    During the 11 days of planned protest — set to end on the day of the reform deadline — 15,000-20,000 registered protesters will take turns occupying tents near the Green Zone's three gates. During a phone conversation with the Iraqi president, al-Sadr stressed that the sit-in is a tool to pressure the government, and both sides emphasized the need to maintain order during the protest.



    Hamdi Alkhshali and Ralph Ellis (CNN) report that an Iraqi military plane carrying five people crashed on Wednesday in nothern Iraq and that the Islamic State is claiming they shot the plane down.  REUTERS shares a photo of what is said to be the wreckage -- the photo was taken in Hawija.



    Hawija is home to the notorious massacre of a few years back, the April 23, 2013 massacre of a sit-in in Hawija which resulted from the Iraqi security forces storming in on the orders of then prime minister Nouri al-Maliki and slaughtering citizens.  Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk)  announced 50 activists 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).


    If indeed the Islamic State did down the Iraqi military plane, it will be seen by some as a highly symbolic action/victory as a result of/response to the 2013 massacre.  It also refutes some of John Kerry's boasts in today's speech.



    Today, the US Defense Dept announced/bragged:



    Strikes in Iraq
    Attack, fighter, and remotely piloted aircraft conducted 20 strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

    -- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL weapons cache.

    -- Near Rutbah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit.

    -- Near Beiji, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit.

    -- Near Fallujah, a strike struck a large ISIL tactical unit and destroyed an ISIL staging area and an ISIL mortar position.

    -- Near Hit, four strikes struck two ISIL weapon factories and destroyed an ISIL vehicle, an ISIL bomb and an ISIL supply cache.

    -- Near Kirkuk, a strike destroyed an ISIL machine gun position.

    -- Near Kisik, two strikes destroyed three ISIL beddown locations and four ISIL assembly areas.

    -- Near Mosul, nine strikes struck seven ISIL propaganda sites and two ISIL manufacturing factories.


    Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.






     

    Sunday, March 13, 2016

    Biggest musical fear?

     Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Low Road" went up this morning.

    low road

    Okay, for me, my biggest musical fear?

    That's a question from an e-mail from Ginger.

    She terms it "probably a dumb question."

    Not at all.

    For me, I'm really worried about someone's follow up album.

    Sam Smith's IN THE LONELY HOUR DROWNING SHADOW EDITION is perfection.

    That's the deluxe version which features a bonus disc.

    I just don't see how this gets topped.

    Worse, I fear it may not even be able to be matched.

    His vocals on "Money On My Mind" are amazing all by themselves.

    I love the entire album but you could reduce it all to just his vocals on that one song and it's pretty amazing.

    I know a lot of people fail when it's time to make that second album.

    I hope that won't be true of Sam but I'm lowering my expectations, to be honest.



    "Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
    Saturday, March 12, 2016.  Chaos and violence continue, the daily bombings continuing, AIRWARS notes the civilian dead from the 'coalition' bombings, the Defense Dept wants to talk short term interrogations, the press doesn't want to address the issue, and much more.



    Oh, how the US government manipulates information.

    Wednesday, Cheryl Pellerin with DOD News or Propaganda, wrote the following:


    Leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant who are captured by the Expeditionary Targeting Force and held for questioning will be detained by the force only for short periods of time and the detention will be coordinated with Iraqi authorities, a Pentagon spokesman said today.
    Navy Capt. Jeff Davis told defense reporters here that ETF missions, first announced in October, are conducting operations as part of the coalition fight there against ISIL.

    “One of the missions that we anticipate they will do is to capture a small number of ISIL leaders,” Davis said. “The detention of these [leaders] we anticipate will be very short-term [and] coordinated with Iraqi authorities.”


    Well that's interesting where did it come from?

    It came from the Defense Dept trying to seize the narrative.

    Wednesday morning, they were still concerned that the US press might actually actually get off their lazy and useless asses and do their damn job.

    The Defense Dept should never have sweated it because the US press never does their job.



    Tuesday the Senate Armed Services Committee held a hearing which we covered in Tuesday's Iraq snapshot, "Magical Bernie trumps Tired Hillary" and in Thursday's Iraq snapshot.


    Three generals testified before the Committee, Gen Lloyd Austin (CENTCOM),  Gen Joseph Vogel (Special Operations Command) and Gen David Rodriguez (US Africa Command).  The Chair of the Committee is Senator John McCain, the Ranking Member is Senator Jack Reed.

    What had the Defense Dept sweating bullets was the following exchange from that hearing.



    Senator Kelly Ayotte:  I wanted to follow up on an important question.  Both General Rodriquez and General Votel, this is something I've actually asked both your predecessors about and my concern is if we capture Ayman al-Zawahiri or Baghdadi -- [Abu Bakr] al-Baghdadi tomorrow where will we detain these individuals under long term law of war detention -- most importantly to interrogate them to find out all that we need to know about al Qaeda and ISIS?  And as I asked your predecessor going back to 2011, I asked -- I asked General [Carter] Hamm, your predecessor in AFRICOM, what would happen if tomorrow we captured a member of al Qaeda in Africa?  And you know what he told me?  He said I'm going to need some lawyerly help on answering that one.  I also asked the same of Admiral  [William] McRaven, your predecessor, General Votel.  And he said to me that it would be very helpful if there was actually a facility that was designated for long term, law of war detention and interrogation.  So I guess my question to both of you is tomorrow, if we capture these individuals, given the phenomenal work that the men and women who serve underneath you do ever day, where are we going to interrogate them?  Do you know that?  Do you know what you would do with them?  Especially if you wanted to have a long term interrogation of them?  


    Gen Joseph Votel:  Senator, in my experiences, we've looked at operations where we're actually going to detains somebody we have had a plan in place before we actually conducted the operation for how we were going to potentially detain them and what their legal disposition would be -- whether that was back in the US courts --

    Senator Kelly Ayotte:  No, General, we just recently captured someone in ISIS and as I understand it, they're not being -- they're being held short term and then they're going to be turned back to the Kurds.  So what about long term detention?  You would agree that long term interrogation is quite helpful, for example, in gathering the information that we needed to get [Osama] bin Laden.  That's what worries me

    Gen Joseph Votel:  I --

    Senator Kelly Ayotte: What do we do in a long term setting?  Do we know?

    Gen Joseph Votel:  I--I would agree that there is a requirement for long term detention, Senator.

    Senator Kelly Ayotte: And do we know where that would be now?



    Gen Joseph Votel:  I-I don't know that.  That is a politica -- a policy decision that I think is being debated.

    Senator Kelly Ayotte:  I think it's a policy decision that has basically never been made under this administration.  It's one that has been left up in the air which means it's left up in the air in a way I think undermines our national security interest.


    So a captured member of the Islamic State can't be held and will be turned back over to the Kurds.


    You'd think the CBS EVENING NEWS would open with that news or NBC NIGHTLY NEWS or . . .

    No one wanted to touch it.

    The news was, for those who can't catch it, in Iraq a member of the Islamic State was captured, the US briefly interrogated him and would now be handing him back to the Kurds.  This was due to not having a facility and this did not seem, to Gen Joseph Vogel, to be the appropriate thing to do.

    You can disagree with him, agree with him or have no opinion on what should be done.

    But it is news.

    And news is what we're supposed to debate and discuss in a democracy in order to be informed citizens participating in our self-governance.


    The day after the hearing, THE NEW YORK TIMES, for example, was front-paging 'news' like "Fasting Diets Are Gaining Acceptance" by Anahad O'Connor.

    You know who does the most fasting in America?

    The extreme poor.

    It's not 'trendy' or 'buzz worthy,' so it doesn't make it onto the front page of THE NEW YORK TIMES -- or inside.


    Nor does news that really matters like the Tuesday Senate Armed Services Committee hearing.


    The issue even arose Friday in a Defense Dept press briefing with Col Steve Warren (in Baghdad, briefing was via teleconference).


    Q: Colonel Warren, what is the U.S. military's policy on detaining ISIS operatives?

    COL. WARREN: Our -- our policy can -- I guess would best be summed up as short-term and case-by-case. So there's -- there hasn't -- there's only been two so far, and neither one has -- has been -- neither of those two have been the same. In the case of the first one, Umm Sayyaf, we held onto her for some time, and then eventually moved her over to the custody of the Iraqi government. In the second case, this -- the chemical guy, we only held onto him for a very short time, about two weeks, and then we moved him over.

    So we're not equipped for long-term detention, we're not set up here for that, and so we're not in that business. But there's no real one-size-fits-all answer. As we take people off the battlefield, we're just going to have make, you know, the decisions as we go.

    Q: And what is the definition of short-term detention, and is case-by-case, is that a -- the de facto policy?

    COL. WARREN: Yeah. That is the policy, I think. That's -- at least that's how we're approaching it here at the CJTF. There isn't even a hard definition of short-term, 14 to 30 days is a ballpark figure. But even that is not really completely nailed down.

    Q: How do I explain to my mother-in-law, Betty Harper, from Laurel, Mississippi and other Americans out there who are a little confused that if this war against ISIS is this comprehensive war, it's by all accounts going to take years to fight ISIS, how do you swear that with only holding a detainee for 14 to 30 days when there, I'm sure, a lot of information to glean from this person months down the road?

    COL. WARREN: Well, I mean, this is not a catch-and-release program, Lucas. I mean, we've already captured them, and then we don't have the means to hold them. We just give them to the Iraqis to hold. You know, if we've got to go back and talk to them, we'll go back and talk to them. You know, if there's more information that comes, you know, if we have to confirm a piece of info or whatever the case, I mean, they're right -- they're still here in Iraq. We'll go get them and, you know, we'll interrogate them some more.





    While the press wasn't interested in that, they did go overboard this week reporting on the capture of a major event -- according to the Defense Dept -- the capture of a big official in the Islamic State.

    But, thing is, that story's already in doubt.




    ALSUMARIA reports that the Chair of Parliament's Defense and Security Committee has announced that, despite us claims, there has been no chemical weapons officer of the Islamic State that has been captured.  These reports, he insists, are attempts to breed fear and terror.


    On the Dept of MisInformation, US President Barack Obama said he would end the Iraq War.  He didn't.  He said he wouldn't put US troops back on the ground in Iraq again.  He did.  He said they wouldn't be in combat.  They are.


    He recently sat down with fellow War Hawk Jeffrey Goldberg and the two talked war and more war for THE ATLANTIC.


    At Brookings, Shadi Hamid offers a critique of A COUPLE OF WAR DICKS SITTING AROUND TALKING:

    Obama’s tendency to distort beyond recognition the positions of his critics goes hand in hand with an apparent disdain for those critics and, perhaps more worryingly, an unwillingness to even so much as question his own decisions after he’s made them. Over the course of his conversations with Goldberg, the only thing he really blames himself for is having “more faith” in the Europeans than they apparently deserved. Elsewhere, he faults himself for underappreciating “the value of theater in political communications.” Of course, what Obama is faulting himself for is not clearly appreciating the faults of others.
    It is jarring to hear, in such measured words, a president so confident in his own abilities (George W. Bush, contrary to popular perception, was willing to reassess his policies, shift direction, and accept outside counsel during his second term). The colorfully rendered Obama doctrine of “don’t do stupid s[**]t,” itself a phrase dripping with disdain, is little more than a reaction to critics who Obama thinks, presumably, support doing stupid s[**]t.
    As troubling as all of these things are, especially in a president, they are not the most troubling thing that emerges from Goldberg’s interviews. As much as he himself might insist otherwise, Obama is basically a Huntingtonian at heart. I had seen flashes of a “clash of civilizations” in Obama’s various speeches, but these usually seemed like momentary lapses rather than omens of a more coherent philosophy. I think about Obama’s universally panned and seemingly non-representative endorsement of the “ancient hatreds” thesis to explain Middle Eastern conflicts (something I argued against in these pages). I think about his remarks from the Oval Office just a month prior, where he suggested that Muslims had some communal responsibility—just by virtue of them being Muslim—to do more to condemn and confront extremism.

    I am not against the notion that Islam is in some way different than other faith traditions. I argue in my new book that Islam is “exceptional” in how it relates to politics, and that this has profound implications for the future of the Middle East. But this is not quite the same thing as viewing “Islamic exceptionalism” as something bad, unusual, or at odds with history. Being the liberal determinist that he is, Obama, like so many others, seems frustrated by both Islam and Muslims. Why can’t they just get their act together and stop being such a nuisance, distracting me from dealing with “emotionally contained” technocrats in Asia? This was a sentiment I noticed more and more after the Charlie Hebdo attacks in Paris in January 2015: the desire, sometimes a demand, to see Muslims embrace liberalism, and an anger that many simply won’t. Too many Muslims, it seemed, were intent on defying the arc of history.



    Meanwhile, in Iraq, life is getting even worse for refugees.  Friday, UNHCR issued the following alert:




    The UN Refugee Agency is concerned about a rising trend of newly-displaced Iraqis being forcibly transferred to camps where restrictions on their freedom of movement are imposed in a manner disproportionate to any legitimate concern, including those related to security.
    "While recognizing the responsibility of authorities to undertake security screening of people fleeing territory controlled by extremist groups, we urge the government to set up clear procedures and facilities for this purpose that are separate from camps established to provide shelter and other humanitarian assistance to displaced Iraqis," UNHCR spokeswoman Ariane Rummery told a news briefing in Geneva on Friday (March 11).
    Nazrawa camp, in Kirkuk Governorate, was opened by UNHCR in November 2015 for internally displaced Iraqis seeking safety from conflict and severe human rights abuses, thanks to flexible funding from over ten donor countries.
    It was opened in response to a long-standing request by the Kirkuk authorities for more support from the humanitarian community in their efforts to provide protection and assistance to large numbers of internally-displaced persons, or IDPs, in the governorate currently numbering nearly 400,000.
    Approximately 2,000 displaced Iraqis are currently residing in Nazrawa camp. However, authorities have progressively imposed movement restrictions on residents of the camp. Since February 22 all residents have been confined to the camp, irrespective of whether or not they have completed security screening procedures.
    Instances of forcible relocation of Iraqis into camps, as well as disproportionate restrictions on their freedom of movement, have also been recorded by protection partners elsewhere in Iraq.
    In Garmawa camp in northern Iraq, Iraqis who were forcibly relocated to the camp from villages in Tilkaif District in 2015 continue to face restrictions on their freedom of movement. Similar concerns are also emerging in Salah Al Din and Anbar Governorates.
    "We are concerned about this developing trend as freedom of movement is key to displaced people being able to exercise other rights, such as access to work, food, healthcare and legal assistance," Rummery told reporters.
    "With the prospect of further displacement as military operations against extremist groups escalate, it is becoming increasingly urgent for the authorities to ensure both that IDPs are granted access to safety in a timely manner, and that camps maintain their humanitarian character," she added.

    In addition to nearly one million Iraqis displaced since 2006-7, there are more than 3.3 million people in Iraq who have been displaced since January 2014. The displaced in Iraq continue to face challenges, including exposure to violence, disproportionate restrictions on access to safety and freedom of movement, forced encampment, and constrained access to basic services.



    The continued suffering also includes living  in a country where bombs are dropped daily by planes flying overhead.  Today, the US Defense Dept announced/claimed/bragged:


    Strikes in Iraq
    Attack and fighter aircraft conducted nine strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

    -- Near Baghdadi, a strike destroyed an ISIL heavy machine gun position.

    -- Near Hit, a strike struck an ISIL tactical unit.

    -- Near Ramadi, five strikes struck three separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed an ISIL rocket position, two ISIL vehicles, an ISIL fighting position and three ISIL tunnel systems and denied ISIL access to terrain.

    -- Near Sinjar, two strikes struck two separate ISIL tactical units and destroyed two ISIL fighting positions and an ISIL weapons cache.




    Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target.


    This week, Chris Woods, Kinda Haddad, Latif Habib, Alex Hopkins and Basile Simon (AIRWARS) noted the civilian deaths:


    Latest assessments suggest more than 1,000 civilians may now have died in 18 months of Coalition airstrikes across Iraq and Syria. The estimate is fifty times greater than the number of civilian deaths so far admitted by the US-led alliance.
    Airwars researchers have so far identified 352 reported civilian casualty events, in which Coalition aircraft allegedly killed between 2,232 and 2,961 non-combatants in the war against so-called Islamic State.

    Based on credible public reports and confirmed Coalition strikes in the vicinity, some 166 of these incidents are currently assessed as having likely led to civilian deaths – with a reported range of 1,004 to 1,419 killed.