However, I also love "In The Car."
But if I'm honest, I love the whole thing. I love every track on this album -- I believe there are fifteen.
I want to get it on vinyl but can't find that at AMAZON or elsewhere.
In other news, Jonathan Turley:
This week is the one-year anniversary of one of the lowest points in the history of modern American journalism. During the week of June 6, 2020, the New York Times forced out an opinion editor and apologized for publishing the editorial of Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) calling for the use of the troops to restore order in Washington after days of rioting around the White House. While Congress would “call in the troops” six months later to quell the rioting at the Capitol on January 6th, New York Times reporters and columnists called the column historically inaccurate and politically inciteful. Reporters insisted that Cotton was even endangering them by suggesting the use of troops and insisted that the newspaper cannot feature people who advocate political violence. One year later, the New York Times published a column by an academic who has previously declared that there is nothing wrong with murdering conservatives and Republicans.
As I observed at the time of the Cotton column, I disagree with the basis or wisdom of invoking to the Insurrection Act to address the rioting in Washington. (The Act was not invoked to deploy national guard to end the Capitol riot). However, I also noted that the column was historically accurate. Critics never explained what was historically false (or outside the range of permissible interpretation) in the column. Moreover, writers Taylor Lorenz, Caity Weaver, Sheera Frankel, Jacey Fortin, and others said that such columns put black reporters in danger and condemned publishing Cotton’s viewpoint.
In a breathtaking surrender, the newspaper apologized and not only promised an investigation in how such an opposing view could find itself on its pages but promised to reduce the number of editorials in the future.That was embarrassing. I don't generally run things here but people send C.I. stuff all the time for THE COMMON ILLS. As she said in real time, if Cotton's office had sent that in, it would have gone up at THE COMMON ILLS and it would not have come down. Agree or disagree with the points? Fine. But that column told you exactly what a US senator thought and, instead of being pulled, it should have been widely distributed. Especially if you disagreed with the column, you should have wanted others to see it so they could join you in opposing Cotton's view.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Monday, June 7, 2021. Robert Pether really isn't the face Iraq wants to show to the world while they the Iraqi government tries to increase foreign investment, and much more.
Starting with Iraq.
The Tweet above notes that Fuad Hussein, Iraq's Minister of Foreign Affairs, met with his Danish counterpart to discuss relations between Iraq and Denmark and how Danish companies could invest in Iraq. Do business with Iraq?
Australian citizen Robert Pether has apparently been abandoned by his own country which does nothing to object to his imprisonment in Iraq. (The Australian Embassy staff didn't even meet with Pether until May 3rd, 26 days after he was imprisoned.) It's now been over forty days that he's been held in a prison with no charge (they say they are holding him for "questioning"). His appeal for bail was denied on May 11th. He was told by his own government that it was safe to go to Baghdad for a meeting. He showed up at the meeting but there was no meeting. Instead, he was hauled off to an Iraqi prison. Earlier this month THE IRISH EXAMINER noted:
While Australia has done little to nothing, Irish politicians have lodged public objections. One example is Senator Eugene Murphy:
Robert Pether's wife Desree is Irish. She spoke with THE JOE FINNEGAN SHOW last month. Christopher Knaus (GUARDIAN) speaks with Robert and Desree's oldest son Flynn:
Flynn said it had hit the family hard.
“I feel like it’s criminal what they did,” he said. “It’s downright inhumane the way they’ve been treating him, given he has worked tirelessly around the clock to deliver the project.”
Flynn is currently preparing for his university entrance exams in Ireland, something that brings its own enormous stress. Usually, his father would be there to support him. They were close and spoke daily, often about university and Flynn’s future.
But he has managed to speak to his father behind bars just once during the ordeal, for about 30 seconds.
“As soon as he knew that I was on the line, he was just apologising, saying ‘Sorry I can’t make it to graduation, sorry I can’t get to your birthday, I will make it up to you, I promise,’” he said.
“I said to him, ‘It’s not going anywhere without you, and it’s all being recorded anyway. You’re not missing out.’”
Robert’s wife Desree has previously told the Guardian that, prior to travelling to Baghdad for the meeting, her husband sought advice from the Australian embassy. She says he was advised there would be little risk in going to the meeting.
The 46-year-old man is having problems with dizziness and, due to COVID restrictions, has had difficulties receiving appropriate medical care. This morning, Brittany Chain (DAILY MAIL) reports:
'I just want my dad home,' Mr Pether's 18-year-old son Flynn told Daily Mail Australia.
'He did nothing but work hard and help [Iraq].'
Flynn is in his final year of school and trying to juggle the workload with the stress of wondering whether his dad is alive and safe each day.
Up until this ordeal, he'd planned to study engineering at university so he could work in the Middle East like his father.
'He was making a real difference,' Flynn said.
Given the pressures of the last two months, Flynn is leaning toward deferring his degree for next year to take some time to reassess his ambitions and plans.
The only contact Flynn has been able to have with his dad was one quick phone call and a letter for his 18th birthday, which was passed on through the embassy in Baghdad.
But he had to fight hard just to get that.
For the first 19 days of his detention, Mr Pether spent his days in solitary confinement and had just two hours' freedom to speak with a lawyer.
In total, the family have spoken with him just five times in the 61 days since he was arrested.
'It's an absolute nightmare,' Mr Pether's wife Desree said. 'He feels massively betrayed.'
Ms Pether understands that her husband's detention is a blatant attempt to extract money from his employer.
She claims Mr Pether's lawyer has been told 'all of this can go away' if their demands are met regarding getting out of paying for a four year contract.
'They're blatant about it. It's not even hidden. They were literally tricked into the country and then trapped and are blatantly being held as pawns,' Ms Pether said, adding her husband remains 'terrified' about what could happen next.
As more and more people learn of what's happened to Robert Pether, let's see how willing they are to do business with Iraq. It's a corrupt government.
In other news Raja Razek and Tara John (CNN) report:
Two drones were shot down over an Iraqi airbase housing US troops and Iraqi and coalition forces on Sunday, the Iraqi military said in a statement.
On May 8, an attack by an unmanned aerial surveillance system targeted the Ain al-Asad base, but it caused no injuries.
Since the start of this year, there have been 39 attacks against US interests in Iraq.
The vast majority have been bombs against logistics convoys, while 14 were rocket attacks, some of them claimed by pro-Iran factions, who aim to pressure Washington into withdrawing all their troops.
Staying with violence, thug and despot Recep Tayyip Erdogan spent last week threatening to attack a United Nations refugee camp in Iraq. On Saturday, he carried out his threat. AFP reports:
Three civilians were killed on Saturday in a Turkish drone attack on a refugee camp in northern Iraq in an area Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan recently threatened to “clean up”, a Kurdish lawmaker said.
Rashad Galali, a Kurdish MP from Makhmur, told journalists the strike targeted “a kindergarten near a school” in the UN-supported camp that houses Kurdish refugees from Turkey.
“Three civilians were killed and two wounded,” he said.
The thug has attempted to silence criticism by insisting that a 'terrorist' was killed. He says nothing of the innocent civilians. He never acknowledges the many civilians that are dead because of attacks he has ordered. Never. This is not a new development. This is part of a historical attacks carried out against the Kurds. Of the camp, THE NATIONAL explains:
Set up by the United Nations at the end of the 1990s to host Turkish Kurds, the Makhmur camp was hit on Saturday by a Turkish drone strike that left three civilians dead, a Kurdish official from the camp told AFP.
Ankara regularly accuses the PKK of running the Makhmur camp, which is 250 kilometres south of the Turkish border.
Turkey regularly conducts cross-border operations and air raids on PKK rear bases in Iraq – moves that have strained relations between the two neighbours – launching its latest offensive in April.
The attack is outrageous and it needs to be condemned. What took place was illegal -- buried in a REUTERS report on the attack:
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Ankara last week and said she told officials that "any attack targeting civilians at Makhmour refugee camp would be a violation of international and humanitarian law".
What they have done is illegal. NRT reports:
Iraqi President Barham Salih on Sunday (June 6) condemned Turkey’s deadly airstrike on the Makhmour refugee camp the previous day, calling it a “dangerous escalation.”
According to a local official, three civilians were killed near the camp in a drone strike conducted by the Turkish military, which justified its actions as necessary to combat the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
In a statement released by his office, Salih said that “Turkish incursions and violations of Iraqi sovereignty that destabilize security and threaten citizens' lives should be put an end.”
“The recent Turkish airstrike near Makhmour camp in northern Iraq is a dangerous escalation that threatens citizens' lives and refugees, and is contrary to international and humanitarian law,” he added.
Journalist Rebaz Majeed offers this thread on Twitter:
Music.
Kat's "Kat's Korner: Chase Rice serves up a masterpiece" went up earlier this morning reviewing Chase Rice's THE ALBUM and her "Kat's Korner: Liz Phair shines on SOBERISH" also went up this morning reviewing Liz Phair's SOBERISH.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Friday, June 4, 2021. The Turkish government continues its assault on the Kurds, Qassem Musleh remains in custody, and much more.
As noted in yesterday's snapshot, the Turkish government has threatened Iraq, insisting that they make take their illegal bombings and raids further into Iraq. THE ARAB WEEKLY puts it this way:
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Iraq that Turkey will “clean up” a refugee camp which it says provides a safe haven for Kurdish militants, threatening to take its long military campaign deeper inside Iraqi territory.
Turkish forces have stepped up attacks on bases of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) inside northern Iraq over the last year, focusing their firepower and incursions mainly on a strip of territory up to 30 kilometres inside Iraq.
But Erdogan said Makhmour, a camp 180 kilometres south of the Turkish border which has hosted thousands of Turkish refugees for more than two decades, was an “incubator” for militants and must be tackled.
AL-MONITOR's Amberin Zaman Tweets:
Hishyar Ozsoy, a lawmaker for the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, said if Erdogan could get the blessings of Baghdad and the United States, attacking the town of Makhmour “isn’t something he would not do.” Ozsoy told Al-Monitor, “For a long while Makhmour and Shingal have — alongside Qandil — been cited as targets by the Turkish government.” Shingal is another name for Sinjar, the Yazidi-dominated region overlooking Syria, which Turkey claims is a strategic foothold for the PKK.
An unnamed Iraqi official cited by Reuters said Turkey had complained last week to Baghdad about “terrorist activities” launched by the PKK “from their camp in Makhmour.” The official said security officials had sought to investigate claims but were denied access to Makhmour by PKK fighters. It’s unclear how the PKK would attack Turkey from Makhmour given its distance from the Turkish border.
“Instead of resolving the Kurdish matter through dialogue [the Turkish government] is determined to persist in its militarist policy, attacking everywhere, including civilian settlements and refugee camps,” Ozsoy said. “Rather than bomb Makhmour, the government should be responding to the question of why Makhmour was established to begin with and why tens of thousands of Kurdish citizens of Turkey are living in a refugee camps in Iraq.”
The area that Turkey wants to target for 'PKK' is also an area heavily populated by the Yazidis. Who are the PKK? Aaron Hess (INTERNATIONAL SOCIALIST REVIEW) described the PKK in 2008, "The PKK emerged in 1984 as a major force in response to Turkey's oppression of its Kurdish population. Since the late 1970s, Turkey has waged a relentless war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of Kurds and driven millions from their homes. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless population -- whose main population concentration straddles Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- and have been the victims of imperialist wars and manipulation since the colonial period. While Turkey has granted limited rights to the Kurds in recent years in order to accommodate the European Union, which it seeks to join, even these are now at risk."
The PKK is not the inciting incident. The PKK is a response. It emerges after slaughter and persecution. Just as the Turkish government still refuses to take accountability for carrying out the Armenian genocide at the start of the 20th century, they refuse to take responsibility for their attempts to destroy, to eradicate, the Kurdish people.
The Kurds have no homeland so they've been pawns on the geopolitical chess board for years. Their struggle has largely been rendered invisible by a global media. Even now, as Recep threatens -- that is the word -- western outlets water it down to he 'warns' -- he's not warning, he's making a threat. He's talking of breaking more laws. But the western media insists that they are uses 'neutral' language. No, they are intentionally misleading.
We'll note this from AHVAL:
That's exactly what it is, the war you don't see.
On Thursday, the President of the Republic of Iraq, Barham Salih, said, “cutting down forest trees is an environmental crime,” referring to Turkey’s cutting down of trees within the borders of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
This came days after forests in the north of Duhok governorate were exposed to, what activists and environmental organizations described as, genocide by Turkey.
“Encroachment upon State sovereignty, violence, and the displacement of civilians from their homes in Harur, Bativa and other border areas in Kurdistan Region, are inhumane practices that should not be ignored,” Salih tweeted.
He attached his tweet with a picture of logged trees, which social media users said, were cut off by the Turkish forces.
“Practical coordination between the authorities of the federal government and Kurdistan Region is our duty in order to stop abuses and hold the guilty accountable,” the Iraqi president added.
In other news of violence, GULF NEWS reports a Baghdad bombing last night claimed 2 lives and left fourteen more people injured. Sura Ali (RUDAW) notes that ISIS has claimed responsibility for the bombing:
Pro-ISIS websites published a statement from the group in which they
claimed their fighters detonated an explosive device at a "gathering of
the Rafidah [Shiite] infidels" in the Kadhimiya area, killing three
people and wounding more than twenty others.
The Iraqi military’s Security Media Cell said
the blast was the result of an exploding gas pipe in a shop. It did not
report any deaths, but stated some people were injured.
Staying with violence, militia commander Qassem Musleh was arrested last week with reports out of Iraq noting this was due in part to the assassination of two activists. KIRKUK NOW Tweeted:
Alzino 12 Tweeted:
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi ordered the arrest. Former prime minister Hayder al-Abadi has praised the move stating that no one is above the law. That point of view isn't found in Mina Aldbroubi's latest piece for THE NATIONAL:
Iraq’s refusal to release paramilitary commander Qassem Musleh a week on from his surprise arrest could lead to long-term security repercussions, experts have told The National.
Mr Musleh, leader of Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF) operations in Anbar province, was arrested in Baghdad last Wednesday on suspicion of terrorism and in connection with the targeted killing of civil society activists and protesters.
Tensions in the capital skyrocketed when PMF fighters taking to the streets around the office of Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi, prompting him to deploy Iraqi security forces and the elite Counter-Terrorism Service to protect the government and diplomatic missions.
The standoff sparked fears of violence as some armed PMF factions gathered at the entrance to the fortified diplomatic Green Zone in Baghdad. But, so far, the situation has remained stable.
A previous attempt by Mr Al Kadhimi to have PMF fighters arrested led to similar standoffs and threats of violence before the gunmen were ultimately let free.
But, Mr Musleh remains in custody and the Iraqi government believes it has solid evidence linking him to the recent assassination of activist Ihab Al Wazni in the southern city of Karbala. Judicial and security sources also told Reuters that he was wanted in connection to rocket attacks on US and international forces in Iraq.
The next step for Mr Al Kadhimi’s government will be to file charges and bring Mr Musleh in front of a judge.
'Experts' have not worried about what letting killers walk has meant throughout this nearly three year wave of assassinations targeting activists (and journalists) in Iraq. ''Experts'' haven't concerned themselves with the rule of law. Now 'experts' are concerned? Now?
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