Monday, March 14, 2022

Give your life for corruption and War Crimes?

Jonathan Turley:


In World War II, Winston Churchill famously declared that “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” It appears that there may be even fewer to count on if a recent poll out this weekend is accurate. The Quinnipiac University poll asked Americans “what would you do if you were in the same position as Ukrainians are now, stay and fight or leave the country?” Only 55 percent said that they would stay and fight for this country. That included only 40 percent of Democrats. Overall 38 percent of Americans said that they would flee. It appears that this country is facing an existential crisis of faith and we should have a frank discussion about why so comparably few Americans are now willing to pledge their lives in defense of this country.

Quinnipiac has long been relied upon in polling in the United States and is one of the most cited polling outfits for the media.

It is important to note that, while the results were shocking overall, many did say that they would stand and defend the United States from any invader. When asked this question 68 percent of Republicans and 57 percent of Independents say that they would fight. However more than half of Democrats (52%) said they would flee before fighting for their country (Eight percent did not have an answer, a shrug that is equally alarming).


I don't find the results shocking at all.  The US government does nothing for the American people.  I'm not surprised large numbers of people say they would flee rather than defend it.  Equally true, the US government regularly carries out War Crimes so why should anyone feel compelled to defend it?

 


"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Monday, March 14, 2022.  The persecution of Julian Assangec ontinues, truth tellers continue to fight back against the corporate media, and , in Iraq, Moqtada appears to be reaching out to Nouri.



Starting with the ongoing persecution of Julian Assange.  US President Joe Biden wants to attack the free press and the First Amendment which is why he continues the government's atack on Julian Assange for exposing War Crimes -- such as in Iraq.  Joe will never punish the War Criminals (he'd have to punish himself) but he will go after Julian Assange.

Kristinn Hrafusson is the editor-in-chief at WIKILEAKS and he speaks about the persecution of Julian in the video below.






Jamse Bradford has a question:


If Britain has a free press why is Julian Assange still in prison for publishing the truth?



Luke Rudkowski Tweets:

Julian Assange of had a pretty good approach at trying to prevent WAR, too bad the U.S illegally locked him up, tortured him and threw away the key as he is still rotting away in jail RIGHT NOW for the crime of journalism!
12.9K views
0:32 / 1:58


In other news, THE GUARDIAN notes:


The WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange will get married in Belmarsh prison on 23 March, with just four guests allowed to attend.

Vivienne Westwood is designing a wedding dress for the 50-year-old’s fiancee, the lawyer Stella Moris, and a kilt for Assange, whose parents have links to Scotland. The designer has been a staunch supporter of Assange.

Moris, who met Assange when he was living in London’s Ecuadorian embassy seeking political asylum, will marry the WikiLeaks founder in the high-security jail nearly three years after his arrest. The couple have two children.

Moris, who spoke to her fiance on Sunday, told the PA news agency they were both “very excited” despite restrictions on the ceremony.


Meanwhile, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is set to fund al Qaeda with US tax dollars.  What are talking about?




If you're late to the party . . .  Not Woke Enough Tweets:


Just your family reminder that rammed through the #OmnibusBill from 12 am to 130 am. Included..... 14 BILLION dollars to Ukraine. Because sending 14 BILLION to Ukraine helps the U.S. government operate. WAKE. UP. PEOPLE.


While Sasha Tweets:


Why are sending so much aid to Ukraine over 14 billion dollars but you can’t help out Americans by cancelling student debts? You could do it but you expect Americans to just take crumbs while paying for everything else! AMERICANS FIRST we can’t afford new cars food or gas!


A certain Swedish government has been in the news for possibly funding ISIS.  There's no question that Nancy's $14 billion gift would fund al Qaeda.  


She wont help the American people.  Chris Floyd Tweets of Speaker of the House Nancy Pelsi:


Pelosi is perhaps the most inept, ineffective political leader of our time. I won't attribute it to her age, because I know several people older than her who are sharp, insightful, vigorous and wise. I will, however, attribute it to her wealth, which has separated her from even

the slightest understanding of the lives of ordinary people in this godforsaken century. She's lived in this golden circle of riches and power for 50 years and is utterly tone-deaf to anything outside of it.


Margaret Kimberley observes:


And she is Speaker precisely because she is rich and well connected and tone deaf.


The editorial board of WSWS notes:


As the conflict develops, the US and NATO are involving themselves ever more directly in the proxy war against Russia. The imperialist powers provoked the conflict with the idea that they could bog down Russia in an Afghanistan-like conflict, using the fact that Ukraine is not officially part of NATO to pursue the war without provoking a direct conflict between Russia and NATO.

However, as the war has developed, the fiction that NATO is not directly involved is increasingly impossible to maintain. Over 20 countries, including most members of NATO, have poured missiles, anti-aircraft systems, aircraft, vehicles and other weapons into Ukraine. The United States, having transferred over $350 million in weapons to Ukraine in the span of just two weeks, authorized another $200 million in military equipment over the weekend.

[. . .]

The escalating war between the US-NATO and Russia over Ukraine is at the same time a war against the entire working class. With surging prices causing real wages to plummet, workers are simply told to grit their teeth in the name of defending “freedom”—that is, the right of Ukraine to join the NATO military alliance. “NATO Needs More Guns and Less Butter,” demanded a March 7 op-ed in the Wall Street Journal, calling for Social Security and Medicare to be gutted.

In just a matter of weeks, the war has set the stage for a massive realignment of government expenditures around the world. Last week, the United States passed the largest military budget in history, while slashing remaining funding for the COVID-19 pandemic. Germany has utilized the crisis to triple its military budget.

The war will, in other words, become the occasion for a massive reduction of living standards for the working class, in which real wage declines caused by runaway inflation are accompanied by social austerity and court-mediated injunctions against strikes in the name of “national security.”



Cindy Sheehan offers the following:


I have lived through the Domino Theory in Southeast Asia;  “WMD” in Iraq and the demonization of many world leaders, including, but not limited to: Fidel Castro; Saddam Hussein; The (fill in the blank) Terrorist Group; M. Qaddafi; Hugo Chavez; Evo Morales; etc, etc. Some of those leaders stayed strong, but most met the final solution fate of Empire. Under Republican and Democrat regimes alike, the crapaganda has been strong and their voters very weak and gullible. Today, the current "bad guy" is Vladimir Putin of Russia.

Back before my son was KIA in Iraq (after Saddam was hung and beheaded), I remember Rep. Walter Jones of North Carolina (since, opposed the war; now deceased) changing the name of “French” Fries to “Freedom” Fries in the Capitol’s dining room. At that time, I would have considered myself proudly liberal, and I thought the Republicans were being the biggest xenophobic drama queens on the face of the earth. It was hilarious. There was a frightening aspect to the fearporn on steroids, though: many Sikh were attacked because dopes thought they were Islamic. Today, we are seeing an increase in attacks on Russian business owners here in the states. Most of these people have said that they are not pro-Russia invading Ukraine, but the attackers also don’t get the irony that the neo-Nazi regime in KIEV has been murdering Russian speakers in east Ukraine for eight-years; so not only do they “stand” with Ukraine, but they are doing its dirty work, as well.

Now, over 20 years later, I am not liberal, in fact, they terrify me. Ever ones to jump on the newest cause cĂ©lèbre, liberals, who I am sure, couldn't name the president of Ukraine two weeks ago, are pledging devotion and love to the U.S. puppet Zelenskyy (displacing the now mostly forgotten Anthony Fauci) (READ ABOUT THE REAL ZELENSKYY HERE).  Liberals are the ones dumping out their Russian vodka (many brands here are NOT made in Russia) and boycotting Russian dressing: A product of Vermont. The weirdest thing to me is that they don’t see how truly preposterous they are being with their double-standards. Most democrat faithful still believe the now discredited lie that Putin stole the election from the horrific Hillary Clinton and that somehow Trump is pulling his strings to this day. Currently with this vilification of Putin, a Democrat is steering the War Ship of state in DC.  So, falling easily into the trap of the imperialists,  "antiwar" liberals are now demanding no-fly zones over Ukraine; increased funding for NATO; more armaments for Ukraine; and eliminating Putin all together (okay, that was an anti-Trump conservative, Lindsey Graham). I said it after the 2016 election when they were screaming for increased sanctioning of Russia, that these liberal Democrats would rather have World War III than admit their shitty candidate lost on her own demerits. With their cries for increased hostility and not diplomacy, their allegiance to the bloodiest Empire in human history is despicable and dangerous for all life on planet Earth.

No one has to gaze across the miles to Russia to look for the reason the world is on the brink of another World War—they just have to look at the criminals in WashedUp, DeCeit and their stenographers in the legacy media. Dopey Joe Biden is the spearhead of this latest crisis.

BREAKING NEWS: Anonymous US officials report that Russian troops are taking babies out of incubators and throwing them on the floor in Kuwait."

In 2014 (not ancient history), the U.S. poured millions of dollars to promote and support a “color” revolution in Ukraine. Of course, many times these protests begin with legitimate grievances from the people; but as the diminutive Democrat, Rahm Emanuel famously said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” The State Department’s apparatchik on the ground at the time was the notoriously belligerent Victoria Nuland and the U.S. ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt did everything in their power to depose the leader and install one more friendly to the US, and, as it happens, more friendly to neo-Nazi elements in Ukraine.


In Iraq, who's back in the news?  Nouri al-Maliki.  Jawad Bashara Tweets:


Après la dernière manœuvre de Muqtada al-Sadr pour contacter Nouri al-Maliki et arriver en principe à sortir de l'impasse et du blocage politique, il annoncera très bientôt une alliance politique qui se considérera comme le plus grand bloc au Parlement sous le nom [Alliance pour


October 10th, elections were held in Iraq; however, all this time later, still no president, still no prime minister.  Farhad Alaaldin (RUDAW) reports:

As political stalemate continues in Baghdad, rumours are swirling around the leader of the Sadrist movement’s nomination for prime minister. In recent days, Muqtada al-Sadr has made rounds of phone calls to Iraqi leaders, including his arch-rival Nouri al-Maliki, to discuss his choice of potential candidate. Sources suggest he is keen to nominate his cousin for the post: Iraq's ambassador to the United Kingdom, Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr (MJS).
 
Little is known about him, but MJS is the son of the revered Shiite leader Sayeed Mohammad Baqir al-Sadr, the founder of the Islamic Dawa Party, and movements such as the Sadrists and Asaib Ahl al-Haq, who follow his ideals.
 
MJS worked at the Ministry of Foreign affairs for some time, and was elected as a member of parliament in 2010 with the State of Law, led by Maliki, whereupon he resigned a few months later.
 
In a rare interview published in Elaph in 2010, MJS discussed his ideals and shared his hopes for Iraq and its future.


Last week, KURDISTAN 24 Tweeted:


According to the Shiite cleric’s office, before speaking with KDP President Barzani, al-Sadr called Mohammad al-Halboosi, the Iraqi Speaker of Parliament, and his long-time rival, Nouri al-Maliki.


Whether this will move the stalemate towards resolution is anyone's guess.  Though the US press ignored it, the two met -- along with others -- back in December in a meet-up organized by Hadi al-Amiri.



The following sites updated: