Wednesday, July 18, 2018

The always pathetic Katrina vanden Heuvel

First off, read C.I.'s "For Katrina vanden Heuvel and other idiots"-- it's very important.

Katrina vanden Heuvel is a joke.  Her husband Stephen Cohen has done a strong job outlining how the hysteria over Russia is not fact based.  But there's his back stabbing wife on DEMOCRACY NOW talking about how needed the investigation is and how it must be followed through.

I hate Katty van van.  When the little piss pot kicked me in the shin years ago, I should have walloped her.  She's a lazy child and a dangerous child and she remains one to this day.

Piss pants.

Her husband should dump her ass.

If Mike did something like that to me, it would be a loud and serious argument and it might be over.  (Mike would never do anything like that, I know.)  To go out on a limb like Stephen has and to have Katty van van, his own wife, undermine him?

That's before we get to why.

She did it to be a 'player.'

She won't rock the boat, she needs to run with gang.

In doing so, she'll take THE NATION down with her.  We do not need another Cold War.  The DNC does not want to address the serious problems that led to 2016's loss.  They have avoided it by pimping conspiracy theories.  This is outrageous.  That Katrina cannot stand up and state this clearly goes to how weak and pathetic she is. 

You are seeing how someone will do anything to get along.  She's disgusting.  Remember, she's the one who nixed coverage of war resisterss.  She was afraid the magazine waould be targeted by the government.  Pathetic.


"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Wednesday, July 18, 2018.  Sleazy gossip passes for news even on Panhandle Media as they continue to ignore Iraq.


We're going to address a few issues at the start.

First off, nonsense like this.

“I liked Assad. I thought he improved a lot as I met him. He never did enough on human rights but he was moving. He was getting better. He was much more confident every year. You could speak out against him a little bit.”





Seymour Hersh.

Yesterday, I noted Bill Moyer's reporting.  I'm not a Bill Moyers fan (and dislike him as a person).  But I do believe in giving people credit for what they did.

Sy is not above criticism and I've offered criticism here.  I've also offered it to his face.  In the early 70s, for example, I left a protest -- a day before it -- because the government was getting updates on the protest and it could have only come from four people -- one of which was Hersh.

Did I think he was a snitch?  I thought he was someone who used sources for his stories and might share with his sources information they didn't have to get better stories.


Journalists have no ethics as a group.

I know Seymour.  I criticized him to his face on that and have on other things.  He's not an angel.  He's not a saint.

(He also maintained he was innocent on the issue addressed above.  And he may have been.  But everything was being leaked by someone.)

He is a journalist and his reporting has stood up and he's been there for some of the most important stories for about fifty years now.

Borzou?  He writes a good e-mail -- don't worry, Borzou, I plan to leave it at that.

He doesn't write good stories.  He doesn't write informed stories.  He doesn't do anything to break stories even when he knows about them.

He's useless.

He's not the only one attacking Sy presently.

Let's deal with the 'quote Borzou doesn't offer in full.

I don't know Bashar Assad.  I've never met him.  I wouldn't stake my reputation on him.  Sy's met him.  If he thinks Bashar isn't the pure evil that so many have painted him as?  He could be right.  There are many Syrians who support Bashar and the US government has spent decades trying to discredit Bashar.  But the quote is not a blanket endorsement of Bashar.

Why is Borzou rushing in on this?

Because he's a failure.  Life didn't turn out the way he wanted.  (It rarely does.)

So he has to run with the herd.

THE AMERICAN PROSPECT is and always will be a joke.  And their little pissy war with Sy has nothing to do with Syria or Bashar.  It has to do with a 90s book Sy published and, no, no, JFK didn't ever choke a woman during sex!!!! Oh, no!!! Oh, how awful!!!!

Tiny cocks have long memories and they're still grudge f**king Sy over that.

So I'm not surprised by their nonsense nor do I feel it needs to be called out.  It is petty and their usual garbage.  But the attacks on Sy, check out so-called 'journalists' on Twitter, are worrisome.  It reminds me of the gang-pile on Gary Webb among others.  And that needs to stop.  They are trying to defame and destroy a journalist.

Sy may have been leaking to the government (Coretta Scott King had the same concerns I did -- she did not finger Sy or anyone but she also was aware that there was someone leaking and she also walked away from the action).  He may not.  He denied it.  I have no idea whether it was him or not.  But I can -- and always have -- set that aside and addressed the work he produced.

These people, these Borzous, cannot do that.  And they're trying to shut Sy down and destroy his reputation.

Finally, a someone questions Seymour Hersh about falling off the deep end with his Syria stories.


Shane Bauer works for the embarrassing rag MOTHER JONES.  Shane Bauer has no standing. He is the David Corn of this century (Corn also works at the rag MOTHER JONES).  This is not acceptable.  This is an attempt to destroy the work and we've seen it before.

The pack destroys and it's trying to destroy Seymour Hersh.  That's outrageous.  I'll try to read his new book and write about it here shortly.  I support his work -- regardless of any disagreements we've had over the years (and we've had serious disagreements).  I do not support the Shanes and Borzous who have never accomplished anything and never will.

Check out Borzou's lousy Twitter feed.  He takes time to join in the public stoning of Sy Hersh but this 'reporter' paid to cover Iraq for over 15 years can't offer anything serious on the protests in Iraq and the violent response the government's offering.

That tells you everything you need to know about Borzou.

Protests are ongoing in Southern incl’d in & , due to lack of jobs, water/electricity & opposition to Iran’s influence in Iraq. Christians have closed down all of their church/school activities in S. Iraq; & will do same.





Iraq's SWAT forces clamping down on protests in the southern city of Samawa:


0:22
1,345 views




  • BREAKING ALERT: Internet and cell service has been shut down in southern and central Iraq, including Baghdad, as protests continue to spread throughout the country.




    Yesterday, former US President Barack Obama gave a speech.

    Hashd_ Al_Shabi militant's Hummers supported by 's regime, run over protesters


    604 views
    0:19 / 0:38

    0:19
    604 views




    Mark Mericle.  Tired, dried up s**t draining public radio.  KPFA needs to sweep the moldy oldies out the door.  Mark's been around since at least the 90s.  Public radio needs new life.  He's not on the Supreme Court.  This isn't a lifetime assignment.  One of the reason KPFA looks so, so White is that it has refused to update with the times.  They have all these useless people who should have been swept aside long ago.

    Mark made it clear that he's part of that trash that needs to be taken to the curb yesterday on PACIFICA EVENING NEWS.

    Please note, the weekday show has refused to address what's taking place in Iraq.

    Mark's been on hysterical binge of late and continued it yesterday.  In the first 10 minutes, for example, trashing Trump was so important that Mark used a significant amount of time to play an interview with the laughable Luke Harding -- he replayed an interview with that hack from a broadcast earlier that morning on KPFA.  At length.  That's not news.  It's certainly not how you lead off an alleged news program.

    In his rush to trash Donald Trump -- and be the tiny poodle running with the herd -- keep yapping, Mark, he declared that Barack "took aim at what he called strong man politics" in his speech.

    Hmm.

    He said Barack was "urging people around the world to respect human rights."

    Hmm.

    Dear I hope you’ve seen what’s happening in nowadays.. There is No Rights, Humanity, and no one is watching..




    If you don't spend every night beating off while staring at your poster of Donald Trump, you might stop a moment and ask, who is a threat to human rights currently?

    Maybe you'd notice that Hayder al-Abadi is using the Iraqi military to attack protesters right now in Iraq.  Has been for days now.


    Very sad picture This picture is real in and not in action films.

     
     



    I have no idea what Barack Obama was speaking of.  Mainly because this speech -- which was news -- wasn't broadcast.  We got the ridiculous Luke Harding talking about the liar Christopher Steel and rumors of a tape that never existed and blah blah blah.  We didn't get Barack, a former US president, speaking out about human rights abuses.

    Barack may have been trashing Donald Trump.  I don't know.  Mark couldn't do his job.

    But Barack is the reason Hayder al-Abadi became prime minister of Iraq.  After Barack gave Nouri al-Maliki a second term as prime minister (over ruling the Iraqi people), thug Nouri went to town becoming a tyrant.  Barack was disgusted.  Not disgusted enough to ease him out or publicly object, but disgusted enough not to take his post-election day November 2012 phone call -- Barack had it sent to Joe Biden.  Finally in June 2014, Barack had to walk away from thug Nouri and replaced him with Hayder.

    Was Barack speaking of Hayder?  He may have been, he may not have been.  But KPFA is supposed to provide the insight that Mark ignored.  And Mark ignored what's going on in Iraq.

    Iraq didn't walk up to the US with a 2x4 and hit it.  The US government attacked Iraq.  It still occupies Iraq and determines its government (or tries to).  All of that is the reason Lew Hill created PACIFICA to begin with -- so that those stories would be covered, so that those points of view would be presented.

    Instead, Mark wants to run with the herd mentality.

    (For a better take on Donald, check out FLASHPOINTS -- including yesterday's show when Kevin Pena interviewed Joe Lauria of CONSORTIUM NEWS.)


    ANADOLU AGENCY reports:


    According to Hussein Allawi, an Iraqi political analyst and academician, the demonstrators are articulating “legitimate grievances”.
    “But the timing of the demonstrations happens to coincide with the final days of Iraq’s outgoing government,” he told Anadolu Agency.
    He added: “Planned reforms and solutions will depend entirely on the country’s next government, the features of which remain unclear until now.”
    “The political groups that won the [May 12] parliamentary poll must be involved in the solution process,” he said.
    Allawi went on to warn: “Any delay in forming the next government will only serve to exacerbate the demonstrations.” 


    ARAB WEEKLY notes, "Police in Iraq wielded batons and rubber hoses to disperse about 250 protesters gathered at the main entrance to the Zubair oilfield near Basra on Tuesday as unrest across southern cities over poor basic services gathered pace."  Though Mark Mericle can't grasp it, this is a news story.  STRATFOR offers:

    The future looks bleak for Iraq's water supply. Long-term pressures are conspiring with an acute drought and a tricky transition in the political system to make for a full-blown crisis. Water shortages have added to public dissatisfaction over economic issues such as high unemployment, fueling mass protests in southern Iraq. Bans on crop planting and the impending filling of a reservoir in Turkey will further rile up the populace, some of whom will be forced out of rural areas and into cities because of the drought. The problem, however, is only likely to worsen. Given its lingering security challenges and political instability, Iraq won't be able to solve the current water crisis on its own, and its neighbors will do more to hurt than help the situation.


    New content at THIRD:




    Tuesday, July 17, 2018

    Thomas Friedman, I'm not your 'fellow' anything so f**k the hell off

    From Bill Van Auken (WSWS):

    New York Times foreign affairs columnist Thomas Friedman, the chief media propagandist for the Iraq war, described Trump as “an asset of Russian intelligence,” adding sonorously, “My fellow Americans, we are in trouble and we have some big decisions to make today. This was a historic moment in the entire history of the United States,” given that Trump had “engaged in treasonous behavior.”
    Friedman added: “Every single Republican lawmaker will be—and should be asked on the election trail: Are you with Trump and Putin or are you with the CIA, FBI and NSA?”
    Such is the choice offered by the American ruling class to the population of the United States: Side with Trump or side with the unaccountable and murderous operatives of the “deep state.” Friedman and the Times, who reliably articulate the line of the Democratic Party, make clear that the Democrats are the party of the latter.
    Unmentioned by Friedman or any of the dozens of other media pundits who spoke or wrote along similar lines are the enormous crimes carried out by these agencies, from coups and assassinations of foreign leaders to torture and domestic spying.

    Thomas Friedman is a joke and always has been.

    He remains one today.

    He is an apologist for the Israeli government.  He lied and schemed to help start the Iraq War.

    He's a piece of trash who has a little bit of money because he learned to whore.  He will not retire -- though he should -- because he knows he is not a permanent member of the class he aspires to.  He knows the minute his column is over, he and his wife won't be hobnobbing with anyone and he'll have to return to 'fly over country' that he hails from.

    Thomas is in on a pass and so he lies to stay in.  He's just a cheap liar.

    I'm not a 'fellow' to begin with.

    I also don't see anything American about accusing people of treason.  That's a serious charge and it's disgusting how easily it's lobbed around.

    "Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
    Monday, July 16, 2018.  Protests continue as Hayder al-Abadi sicks the military on civilians in Iraq.


    Iraq's going to hell but all the corporate whore like Christiane Amanpour can do is have hissy fits on air because Donald Trump has upset their status quo.  How sad. But she's been sad and stupid for years.

    In fairness to the whore, most say CNN lost interest in Iraq when they could no longer spin on CNN MARKETPLACE MIDDLE EAST (that show ended in 2007). Which would explain why even Sunday's CONNECT THE WORLD (with guest host Lynda Kinkade) "a very special CONNECT THE WORLD" (Lynda insisted) that focused on . . . The World Cup.

    Yes, yes, please give us the news we need, CNN.  Please let's celebrate the whorish and the awful trash that they serve up day after damn day.

    CONNECT THE WORLD?  No, distract the poor sap who thinks they're going to get news by tuning into CNN.

    The world is watching Iraq, even if the US isn't.  Bel Trew (INDEPENDENT) notes:

    At least three protesters have been killed and dozens injured in Iraq, after week-long rallies against soaring poverty gripped the oil-rich but neglected south of the country.
    On Sunday, security forces fired into crowds in Samawa town, 170 miles south of Baghdad, killing at least two people, when a mob stormed a courthouse.

    It followed the death of another protester last Tuesday in Basra, Iraq’s second largest city, where the rallies first erupted.

    If his facts are a little shaky, he's reporting from Israel.

    The death toll is far greater.  IRAQI SPRING MC has been noting it repeatedly.  Here's ALJAZEERA:

    Protests have spread to more Iraqi cities after a week of violent demonstrations in the oil-rich city of Basra where at least seven people were killed, dozens wounded, and hundreds arrested, police and activists said.

    And ALJAZEERA updates the death toll to eight in this video report.






    The situation in Iraq now is like that: The civilian are protesting against the government because of the miserable situation in Iraq, the government's answer is: - cutting of the internet service. - shutting down the electricity power in a lot of cities.
     
     





    ALL IRAQ NEWS reports prime minister Hayder al-Abadi met with a delegation from Najaf today and he insisted that the Iraqi government respected the right of the people to protest.




    Sunday, 3 protesters were killed in Samawah with fifty more injuredMaysan province saw twenty-three people injured.  Curfews were imposed, social media sites were blocked and the internet was taken down in some areas.

    Who is behind the attacks on these protesters?

    Is it ISIS?

    No, it's not.

    It's Hayder.  Hayder al-Abadi ordered the attacks.  These attacks started on Saturday.





    : Now, |i Army Counter Terrorism units are using machine guns to suppress pro- armed protesters in , . They are protesting due to after decided to not sell water to due to in .
    The media could not be played.




  • : This is most recent video from which shows |i Army counter terrorism unit deployed from using machine guns to scare protesters & disperse them. Pro- media are falsely claiming these are |ian forces or militias!!
    2:08






    While CNN can't find the story, NPR's MORNING EDITION covered it today:


    DAVID GREENE, HOST:
    Let's turn now to Iraq. The most widespread protests since 2003 are sweeping through the southern part of the country right now. Demonstrators have been gathering for a week. They are demanding jobs, also better services. And in response to this, the Iraqi government has sent army and counterterrorism troops. NPR's Jane Arraf has been monitoring these protests, and she joins us from Amman, Jordan.
    Hi, Jane.

    JANE ARRAF, BYLINE: Hi, David.

    GREENE: So why are these protests happening, and what is the timing of them here?

    ARRAF: Well, first of all, this morning in Basra, it's 115 degrees.

    GREENE: That's hot.

    ARRAF: And the temperature's rising. It is hot. And so imagine you're sitting in that degree temperature, and you turn on the tap, and all you get is salty water, and then the electricity goes out. And they've been dealing with this for 15 years since the U.S. invaded Iraq and promised them better lives, and they just haven't got it. So they've been demonstrating.

    (SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

    UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: (Chanting in foreign language, clapping).

    ARRAF: At this particular one, which is outside government offices in Basra, they're calling for the downfall of the Iraqi government. Now, that's something you hear a lot, but these protests are so widespread, they're a little bit different. One of the demonstrators, Haider al-Halfi (ph), who describes himself just as citizen, lists the reasons that they're out there.

    HAIDER AL-HALFI: (Foreign language spoken).


    ARRAF: Now, he's saying that employment has increased; there are no public services. He said they want what the rest of Iraq has. And another demonstrator says they want dignity. And when you're talking about young men, what they mean by dignity a lot of times and in this case is they want jobs.


    ARAB WEEKLY explains the job situation, "The oil sector accounts for 89 percent of the state budget and 99 percent of Iraq’s export revenues, but only one percent of jobs, as the majority of posts are filled by foreigners.  Officially, 10.8 percent of Iraqis are jobless, while youth unemployment is twice as high, in a country where 60 percent of the population is aged under 24."

    Where are the jobs?

    A protester told AP, "I will not leave my place here until I get all my rights. The government lies to us, they always give us such promises and we get nothing." Noel King observed on NPR's MORNING EDITION, "They're demanding jobs and better services. And in response to these protests, the Iraqi government has sent army and counterterror troops into the south."


    Let's be clear what's going on because it is a War Crime but it's also supposed to mean that -- per the Leahy Amendment -- the US cut off all aid and assistance.  Hayder's using weapons supplied by the US and training conducted by the US to attack the Iraqi people.

    A protester tells Sofia Barbarani and Naser Al Wasmi (THE NATIONAL), "They are firing live ammunition and teargas."  And why are the rallies spreading?  Barbarani and Al Wasmi explain, "Demonstrations in southern Iraq are not unusual in scorching summer weather, but they boiled over last Tuesday, when security forces opened fire, killing one person and wounding five."

    War Crimes.

    This is what the War Whores of CNN and elsewhere are ignoring.

    Why?  Well, they're whores and they don't do very well about calling out the US government.  Oh, they can whine about how Donald Trump upset their delicate sensibilities but they're not going to call out official US policy, they never really do.

    So most Americans don't know what's going on.

    They certainly didn't hear about it from Goody Whore or her hideous DEMOCRACY NOW! which couldn't even note Iraq in a headline today.  Amy Goodman doesn't give a damn about Iraq.  She only used it to bilk PACIFICA -- a public radio network that begs for donations -- out of millions.  Amy got rich off the Iraq War.  That's the truth.


    XINHUA notes that today was the 9th day of protests and that, today, the protests spread to Baghdad:

    In Baghdad, demonstrators rallied in Tahrir Square in downtown the capital, raising Iraqi flags and confirming their solidarity with demonstrators in the southern cities of the country.

    The protestors raised banners and placards, urging the security forces to stop using violence against the demonstrators who demand their rights of better public services.

    Some banners read "No to violence against demonstrators" and "Public services are rights guaranteed by the Constitution for all Iraqis."


    "The demonstrators pledged to continue to protest until the government meets their demands," Ali Akram, one of the protestors, told Xinhua.



    REUTERS has a photo essay of the protests here.

    REUTERS also notes, "Local officials said demonstrations have not affected crude production in Basra, whose shipments account for more than 95 percent of OPEC producer Iraq’s state revenues. Any disruption could have a severe impact on the country’s limping economy and push up global oil prices." BLOOMBERG rushes to reassure with, "Iraq is pumping oil at normal levels even as protests spread across the southern region from where OPEC’s second-biggest producer exports most of its crude, according to a government spokesman."


    Well maybe if the protests upset the oil supply, CNN, DEMOCRACY NOW and so many others can finally discover the protests and the Iraqi government's violent reaction to them.

    In other violence, the US Defense Dept announced today:

    Strikes in Iraq
    There were no reported strikes conducted July 10-15 in Iraq.

    On July 9, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets near Diyala. The strike engaged an ISIS tactical unit and destroyed two ISIS motorcycles, an ISIS-held building, an ISIS vehicle and an ISIS supply cache.



    The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley and BLACK AGENDA REPORT -- updated: