Jenny e-mailed to ask why I didn't like ROCK A LITTLE?
I actually do like ROCK A LITTLE.
It's got "I Can't Wait" which is a song I love and one of my favorite Stevie videos.
I also love "Imperial Hotel" (and have blogged about that) on the album.
"Sister Honey" is an amazing song as well.
I love the ballads -- the title track, "Has Anyone Ever Written Anything For You" and especially "I Sing For The Things."
"The Nighmare" is amazing and who can't love the hit "Talk To Me."
It's a great album.
I don't think Stevie's made a bad album.
STREET ANGEL is my least favorite of her albums but even it works in many spots.
But WILD HEART will always be my favorite of her first albums. It was everything, the music, the art, the moment. There are times when I'll be talking to Rebecca and C.I. and one of us will just launch into the title track and start singing. It's a powerful album.
If you've never heard ROCK A LITTLE, I would urge you to start with "I Sing For The Things" and then move over to "Sister Honey." I love those songs. If you do, you'll love the album.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Friday, March 9, 2018. The occupation of Iraqcontinues as so many in the western press attempt to confuse and distract.
Starting in California where our primary will take place in June. In the race for the US Senate, the top two vote getters in the primary -- regardless of party i.d. -- will face off in the November general election.
Kevin de Leon is who I'm supporting.
Starting in California where our primary will take place in June. In the race for the US Senate, the top two vote getters in the primary -- regardless of party i.d. -- will face off in the November general election.
Kevin de Leon is who I'm supporting.
Pinned Tweet
I'm running for the U.S. Senate because you deserve a seat at the table.
Please join my campaign: kevindeleon.com/signup
In CA we knew from day one that Trump would work overtime to scapegoat honest immigrant communities. That's why I authored #SB54 to ensure Californians never spend a single cent to help this admin carry out its racist schemes. #CAValuesAct
Join our fight: kevindeleon.com/join-the-fight…
Kevin de Leόn Retweeted
.@kdeleon: "California no se dejará intimidar por la demanda de Jeff Sessions"
But we have more work to do. Women are still drastically underrepresented in positions of power across every industry and woefully underpaid. That’s why this #InternationalWomensDay
is a critical #calltoaction to ensure a better future for women across the globe.
is a critical #calltoaction to ensure a better future for women across the globe.
I’m proud to say that my campaign team are majority #womenofcolor, including senior positions. As Senate leader, I made sure to prioritize:
Equal pay for women
Preventing sexual assault on campuses
Promoting upward mobility for #WOC
Equal pay for women
Preventing sexual assault on campuses
Promoting upward mobility for #WOC
Happy #InternationalWomensDay! I was raised by a single mother and older sisters and was lucky enough to raise a daughter of my own. I learned early on to value and promote qualified women — that also means #WomenOfColor.
! I was raised by a single mother and older sisters and was lucky enough to raise a daughter of my own. I learned early on to value and promote qualified women — that also means #WomenOfColor.
Kevin de Leόn Retweeted
In a press conference with @kdeleon, @RicardoLara4CA and @DavidChiu, @EricHolder spoke on the phone about @TheJusticeDept lawsuit: "[Federal government] cannot insist that the State of California use its money and its resources to help in [its immigration policies]."
Kevin is a fighter and he can lead the state into the future, the incumbent Dianne Feinstein is trapped in the 20th century and unable to progress.
Turning to Iraq . . .
Why does Laura Rozen write? Or even bother? It's not just that she has turned out to be so dishonest (her 'reports' are shaped by politics), it's also that she never has a clue.
George Nader is a Trump and Clinton associate. She writes about him (at AL-MONITOR) for what reason? Apparently, she's off on the lunacy and hysteria trend that is destroying so many. And she's galloping off on her high horse so quickly that she can't be bothered by facts.
Nader was involved in the 2012 deal Iraq made with Russia.
That's a corrupt deal.
And Laura tiptoes around that reality with this nonsense:
The Iraqi-Russian arms deal was
controversial in Iraq and long suspected to have involved corruption. In
November 2012, just a month after it was signed, Iraq’s then-acting
Defense Minister Dulaimi announced that the deal was canceled, “citing possible corruption in the contract,” Reuters reported.
But Maliki’s then-media adviser
Ali al-Moussawi was cited by Reuters as saying that the deals would be
renegotiated and any suspension of the contract was “a precautionary
measure because of suspected corruption."
Was Ali al-Moussawi quoted saying that, Laura? When? Was it before or after he left Iraq? That's a key part of the story, Laura. You do know that, right? You're not really that stupid, are you?
Dropping back to November 30, 2012:
As Jane Russell and Marilyn Monroe explained in Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, "When love goes wrong, nothing goes right." It appears the lesson is learned yet again in Iraq as former 'blood brothers' -- a prime minister and a spokesperson -- turn on one another publicly.
As is often the case, money appears to be the root of the conflict.
Ali al-Dabbagh used to be so close to Nouri that the two were practically bath buddies. Today All Iraq News reports that he's accusing Nouri's Media Affairs Office Ali al-Moussawi of a media lynching as Nouri attempts to weasel out of the corruption charges regarding the $4.2 billion weapons deal with Russia [by pinning it] on al-Dabbagh. In a written statement to the news outlet, al-Dabbagh alludes to information about Nouri's inner circle that he could reveal. al-Dabbagh has twice publicly denied any involvement in the arms deal. Al Mada notes that in his written statement, he cited his six years of being a spokesperson for the Iraqi government as proof of his (no laughter, please) integrity. Kitabat quotes it in full and that includes insisting that his image is being distorted and that his reputation is unfairly maligned. As a result, he insists, he can no longer do his job. That might have carried more weight had he issued it when he was still in Iraq and before he reportedly fled the country.
October 9th, with much fanfare, Nouri signed a $4.2 billion dollar weapons deal with Russia. After taking his bows on the world stage and with Parliament and others raising objections, Nouri quickly announced the deal was off. The scandal, however, refuses to go away. The Iraq Times states Nouri's offering up Ali al-Dabbagh and others to protect the truly corrupt. Meanwhile, All Iraq News notes National Alliance member and one-time MP Wael Abdul Latif is calling for Nouri to quickly bring charges against those involved in the corruption. (The arms deal is now treated by the Iraqi press as corrupt and not allegedly corrupt, FYI.) Latif remains a major player in the National Alliance and the National Alliance has backed Nouri during his second term. With his current hold on power reportedly tenous and having already lost the support of Moqtada al-Sadr, Nouri really can't afford to tick off the National Alliance as well. Kitabat reports MP Maha al-Douri, of Moqtada's bloc in Parliament, is saying Nouri's on a list of officials bribed by Russia for the deal. The outlet also notes rumors that al-Dabbagh is leaving the UAE for Bulgaria.
Laura quotes Ali al-Dabbagh without noting that whatever comments he made publicly to REUTERS at one point were null and void as a result of him and Nouri turning on one another and Ali fleeing the country amidst charges and counter-charges of corruption.
Kind of a huge part of the story.
She also floats Nader being close to Nouri's son Ahmed al-Maliki. But Laura refuses to note that the Parliament publicly decried Ahmed's involvement in the deal from the start and then made public statements declaring he had profited from the deal himself.
For example, in November of 2012, Ahmed Hussein (IRAQI NEWS) reported:
MP, Mohamed Ridha al-Khafaji, of
Ahrar bloc revealed “Among the figures behind the corruption in the
armament contracts concluded with Russia is Ahmed al-Maliki, son of the Premier, Nouri al-Maliki.”
He stated to Iraqi News
(IraqiNews.com) “The suspicions over corruption in this contract
involved Ahmed al-Maliki and the spokesman of the Government, Ali
al-Dabbagh, as well as MP, Izzat al-Shahbander, the leader within the
State of Law Coalition .”
Laura somehow misses -- refuses -- to address that.She refuses to do so much that her name shouldn't be Laura Rozen, it's should be Laura Refusen. A reader of her tale comes away with nothing of value despite the fact that the piece is way too long and way too dull.
Reality, the corruption was known within the US government -- up to the White House -- and no one gave a damn. We look back, today, and wonder how the US government could have, for example, gone after the Native Americans, how they could have been so willing to kill. Don't wonder? There's been no change in the US government. It's as deadly as it ever was. It's motto has always been the same, "F**k you, we do what we want." While the Iraqi people suffered, Nouri and his family stole from the country's wealth and the US government didn't give a damn, stayed in business with him, couldn't care less. The soap boxes so many in the government have stood on, should collapse under the weight of their lies.
REUTERS reports, "Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi issued a decree on Thursday formalizing the inclusion of Shi’ite paramilitary groups in the country’s security forces." The militias did not liberate any city, they terrorized citizens. This has been documented at length by Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International. These crimes did not lead to any punishment. Pressed, Hayder would insist that there would be an investigation and then, when the media light moved elsewhere, the matter was dropped. A woman whose 'crime' was being (or being accused of being) the sister of a member of ISIS has been sentenced to death. But the Shi'ite militia groups who destroyed homes and terrorized people? They aren't convicted of anything (nor are their sisters, brothers, etc).
Let that soak in for just a minute.
You are a Shi'ite militia groups -- or even a Shi'ite member of the real Iraqi military -- and you kill civilians -- especially Sunnis and Kurds -- and you torch their homes and that's not going to get you dragged before a judge. You will not be punished. This has repeatedly been made clear.
Now let's note this from RUDAW:
Abadi, however, was less optimistic about the ability of his, or any, government to solve the “age-old” divisions between communities.
“The role of the government is not to solve religious or sectarian or ethnic problems. These are age-old. I don’t think any government of the day can solve all differences,” he said.
Kurdish, Shiite, and Sunni differences were brought under the spotlight once again during months’ long efforts to pass the government’s 2018 budget bill. The bill was finally passed last week despite a boycott by Kurdish MPs who maintain their constitutional rights were ignored in the bill in the wake of Kurdistan’s vote for independence from Iraq last fall and Baghdad’s subsequent efforts to exert federal control over the autonomous region and the disputed areas.
Iraq will hold parliamentary elections on May 12 and provincial elections on December 22.
The government, Hayder insists, cannot solve differences.
Even though, please note, it's Hayder's government that promotes the differences -- differences in justice, differences in rights, differences in safety.
Hayder is a failure and a War Criminal but the US government will continue to back the puppet. The US government will keep the US military in Iraq to prop up Hayder. (And Germany's adding more troops to Iraq, according to Chancellor Angela Merkal.)
He's a failure and those under him know they can get away with anything -- including murder.
KURDISTAN 24 reports:
A tribal group in Nineveh
Province on Friday issued a statement on the suspicious death of a
policeman from an Arab tribe while in an Iraqi army detention center in
Mosul.
“Khalid Ahmed Mohammed
al-Juhaishi, from the village of al-Barghaliya in the al-Ayadiyah
district of Tal Afar district, died under severe torture at the hands of
intelligence officer of the 15th Brigade, Captain Ihab, from
Nasiriyah,” Muzahim al-Hewitt, a spokesperson for the Nineveh Arab
Tribes, said in a statement.
He said that al-Juhaishi was arrested a few days ago by the 73rd Brigade, the 15th Division of the Iraqi Army, along with two other residents.
He added that the victim was a policeman stationed in the area of Rabia.
Hayder is a fraud. Check out the reality of 'reconstruction' in Anbar Province. Or note this laughable Tweet.
The @IraqiGovt Women Empowerment Unit's seeks to support all Iraqi women in transforming their lives and building a peaceful and prosperous future for Iraq #TimeIsNow #IWD2018
#IWD2018Hayder, if you're really supporting women -- end the practice of males voting for women.
At this late date, it's tough to tell who's more full of **** -- the US government of the US press. The latter works so hard to tell so little.
It's time to make yourself heard. Later this year, for example, there will be an action that Cindy Sheehan's organizing:
WOMEN'S MARCH ON PENTAGON ORGANIZING CONFERENCE CALL MARCH 14TH, 2018
WOMEN'S MARCH ON THE PENTAGON
Organizing Conference Call
When: Weds, March 14th
Time: 4:30pm pacific
5:30 mountain
6:30 central
7:30 eastern
Who is Invited?
Anyone who is interesting in helping organize the
Women's March on the Pentagon
Or, anyone who wants more information.
TENTATIVE AGENDA:
:3O to :35
Waiting for Everyone to Call
:35
Call Closed
:35 to :40
Welcome by Cindy Sheehan
:40 to :50
Status of Organizing
:50 to :00
Volunteer Opportunities.
:00 to :10
Stack for Comments/Questions
:10 to :20
How to Organize Buses to March
:20 to :30
Final Comments/Question
:30
Closing Remarks
If you'd like to join the call, please email
Cindy Sheehan for call-in number and code
CindySheehan@MarchonPentagon.com
When: Weds, March 14th
Time: 4:30pm pacific
5:30 mountain
6:30 central
7:30 eastern
Who is Invited?
Anyone who is interesting in helping organize the
Women's March on the Pentagon
Or, anyone who wants more information.
TENTATIVE AGENDA:
:3O to :35
Waiting for Everyone to Call
:35
Call Closed
:35 to :40
Welcome by Cindy Sheehan
:40 to :50
Status of Organizing
:50 to :00
Volunteer Opportunities.
:00 to :10
Stack for Comments/Questions
:10 to :20
How to Organize Buses to March
:20 to :30
Final Comments/Question
:30
Closing Remarks
If you'd like to join the call, please email
Cindy Sheehan for call-in number and code
CindySheehan@MarchonPentagon.com
The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, THE DIANE REHM SHOW, GORILLA RADIO, PACIFICA EVENING NEWS -- updated:
