Like Maria Said Paz: Afghanistan

Ironic considering it was US support for religious extremists in Afghanistan that made such a picture impossible after they won.

Jim RobertsVerified account @nycjim

Replying to @nycjim

To convince Trump that Afghanistan was not lost cause, McMaster showed him 1972 photo of Afghan women in miniskirts. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/its-a-hard-problem-inside-trumps-decision-to-send-more-troops-to-afghanistan/2017/08/21/14dcb126-868b-11e7-a94f-3139abce39f5_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-main_trumpdecision-838pm-winner-new%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.b21317940f2e … 

77 replies1,660 retweets2,821 likes

The US government destroyed Afghanistan just like it destroyed Iraq.

It set women's rights back.

It created a legacy of widows and orphans.

Margaret Kimberley Retweeted

‏Verified account @BarackObama

President Obama: "By 2014, the war in Afghanistan will be over."

427 replies4,267 retweets2,733 likes

Barack was hideous.

He is part of the crumbling of the Democratic Party.

I hope the Sandernista wing wins control of the party, otherwise there's just no hope and it will drift further and further right.

"TV: The disappointing DEFENDERS" (Ava and C.I., THE THIRD ESTATE SUNDAY REVIEW):
Daredevil dies in the big climax.

You know, like Superman in BATMAN V. SUPERMAN: DAWN OF JUSTICE?

And, like Superman, at the end of that movie, it turns out Daredevil isn't really dead.

But it kind of feels like MARVEL's NETFLIX franchise is.

A team up of Luke Cage and Danny Rand (in the comics, they were teamed for POWER MAN & IRON FIST) might be interesting.

But even THE DEFENDERS is a let down.

Readers of the comic at its height can be forgiven for wondering: Who the hell are these characters?

Except for Luke Cage, they're not The Defenders.

Where's Hellcat and Valkyrie?

Oh, yeah, that's the other thing.

Jessica Jones.

Four characters, still only female superhero.

At their most popular, THE DEFENDERS comic book featured at least two women on the team: Hellcat and Valkyrie.

Why are we accepting this?

Yes, Weaver is a villain and Elektra's brought back to life to be a villain.

But why are we not noticing that in 2017, there really aren't super heroines on NETFLIX?

Grasp that, unlike the faux Social Justice Warriors of The Water Cooler Set, we're not asking that an existing character has their gender changed -- the way they trashed Jones' Danny for not being any other race than White.

No, we're asking that a series called THE DEFENDERS, loosely based on the comic book of the same name, feature two female characters who were part of the team.

From issue four of THE DEFENDERS to the conclusion of the comic book title, Valkyrie was a member.

Hellcat?

Yes, Trish Walker is a version of the character -- Jessica Jones' friend and adopted sister. But she's a powerless version of her.

Hellcat is a member from issue 44 to 124 (issue 125 starts THE NEW DEFENDERS).

Why are we applauding a mini-series that features only one female super hero?

We're not.

Strip away Colter, Jones and Weaver and THE DEFENDERS has little to offer.

It seems to just tick off cameos and plot points as what should have been a rallying cry instead goes out as a sotto voiced whisper.

THE DEFENDERS was a huge letdown. My daughter hated it.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, August 23, 2017. Chaos and violence continue, a reporter visits 'liberated' Mosul, the US government works overtime to prevent Kurdish independence, and much more.

From video report below: "The Baghdad government has declared victory. But the threat still lingers. There are still pockets of ISIS fighters in the old city. And this is what liberation looks like. Iraq's second largest city, just ruins."

Yalda Hakim reporting from Mosul for the BBC.

At THE DAILY MIRROR, they have a photo essay featuring Carol Guzy's photographs of some of the Mosul survivors.

Meanwhile, it's apparently victory lap time for others.

Brett McGurk‏Verified account @brett_mcgurk 20 hours ago

Proud to serve with LTG Townsend, a nightmare for #ISIS as he led our @coalition campaign in #Iraq and #Syria over the past 12 months.

25 replies112 retweets367 likes

Hmm.

I wonder.

Mad Maddie Albright infamously declared on TV, in the 90s, that the death of 1/2 million Iraqi children was worth it. She was still aglow, feeding on the blood of the dead.

Ten years later, she realized that gloating would follow her forever.

Will Brett be so proud in 2040? When we have a strong estimate on exactly how many civilians were killed?

And the war drags on.

‏Verified account @XHNews

Iraqi forces enter 1st neighborhood in Tal Afar, last #IS major redoubt in Iraq xhne.ws/2OfzB

2 replies34 retweets70 likes

When Tal Afar falls, I guess they'll move on to the next "last #IS major redoubt in Iraq" -- the way that was once how they described Mosul. Will that be Hawija?

US Special Envoy Brett McGurk called Tal Afar "the last major city they [ISIS]'re holding in northern Iraq."

W.J. Hennigan (LOS ANGELES TIMES) passes on, "U.S. commanders say the offensive against the estimated 2,500 militants in and around Tall Afar will be grinding because Islamic State fighters built extensive defenses. Among them: They lined up derelict vehicles to push invading forces into a kill zone strewn with booby traps." Really?

Grinding?

Because abandoned cars and trucks are directing the foot flow?

How many tons of bombs is the US coalition planning to drop on Tal Afar?

2,500 militants?

You'd think the Iraqi forces -- even the Iraqi forces? -- could handle 2500 fighters by themselves.

You'd think.

In other news, the US government again meddles in foreign elections.

Yesterday, Brett McGurk declared, "We believe these issues should be resolved through dialogue under the constitutional framework and that a referendum, at this time, would be really potentially catastrophic to the counter-ISIS campaign. We've mentioned that before. And so we've made that position very clear, but we are hopeful that this dialogue that's going on now can deliver some results."

But, Brett, the KRG is following the Constitution of Iraq, as you well know.

As for timing?

Isn't it funny how the oppressors will always insist to the oppressed that they're not against freeing the oppressed but just not right now?

There's never a 'good time' for certain types to give up the reigns (and whip?) but there is a "right time" for it and I'd argue a referendum on Kurdish independence is long overdue.

Australia's ABC notes:

And one of them [working for the referendum] is Zirian Fatah, from Kurdish Lobby Australia.
"Both my parents were freedom fighters, fighting on the front line against Saddam Hussein's dictatorship," he said. "As a child my bassinet was a suitcase."
Now, with dialogue rather than bullets, he's working to win support in Australia for the independence referendum.
"The reality of Iraq is it was always fictional. It was always a state that was sticky-taped together," he said.
"During the 1920s, the Kurds were promised their own state. Unfortunately, due to the superpowers — the British and the French — Kurdistan was divided and carved up amongst four host nations. We're hoping to see that undone now.
"The Kurdish people aspire to achieve their independence. It has been a long time coming, and it is an historic moment in time."

But the US government is attempting to stop the vote from taking place.

It's interesting, isn't it, how this happens in the open with no outrage in the US?

Contrast that with the still unproven charge that Russia 'hacked/interfered/mind controlled' the 2016 US presidential election. Contrast it with the outrage and hysteria from Hillary Clinton's Temple Prostitutes. Or crazed Hillary herself, right?

In the United States, IAVA issued the following:

PRESS CONTACT

Tel: 212-982-9699

NEW YORK, NY (August 19, 2017) – Today, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the leading voice of the Post-9/11 generation of veterans, applauded the President’s signing of H.R. 873, establishing a memorial in Washington for our generation of warriors. This is the third IAVA legislative priority to become law in the last month, with another expected this week on VA appeals.

“We are proud to support a memorial for the Global War on Terror in the nation’s capital. We thank Andrew Brennan and the GWOT Memorial Foundation for their steadfast leadership, and members of Congress and the President for listening to veterans and acting quickly to sign this bill into law,” said Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and CEO of IAVA. “Eighty-two percent of IAVA members said that they support the creation of a memorial for veterans and their families of this era. Having a place for our generation to gather and mourn is vital to honoring all those who have served since 9/11. We’re proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with our VSO partners to ensure that veterans and their families have somewhere to reflect and remember the sacrifice of those in our community.”

IAVA has advocated for a Post-9/11 National Monument in its Policy Agenda for years. For the full IAVA recommendations on a national memorial, please see the 2017 IAVA Policy Agenda.

Note to media: Email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699 to speak with IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff or IAVA leadership.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the leading post-9/11 veteran empowerment organization (VEO) with the most diverse and rapidly growing membership in America. As a non-profit founded in 2004, IAVA’s mission is to connect, unite and empower post-9/11 veterans. Celebrating its 12th year anniversary, IAVA has connected more than 1.2 million veterans with resources and community, and provided more than 7,300 veterans with personalized support from IAVA’s Master’s level social workers.

The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, BLACK AGENDA REPORT, LATINO USA and CHOCOLATE CITY -- updated: