Cedric's Big Mix: 2013-02-10

Saturday, February 16, 2013

One baby cries another teethes

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

KILLER BARRY O SANG HIS FAVORITE SONG FROM THE AUSTIN POWERS MOVIES AGAIN TODAY:

DADDY, DADDY WASN'T THERE
TO TAKE ME TO THE FAIR
IT SEEMS HE DOESN'T CARE
DADDY WASN'T THERE
TO CHANGE MY UNDERWEAR
IT SEEMS HE DOESN'T CARE
DADDY WASN'T THERE

AND BIG BADONKADONK-ED KATHA POLLITT DEMONSTRATED THAT A BUTT UGLY WOMAN CAN BE OBSESSED WITH AN ATTRACTIVE WOMAN TO THE POINT THAT SHE LIES, WHORES AND DISTORTS ABOUT THE PRETTY WOMAN.

OF COURSE KATHA WAS IMMEDIATELY PRAISED BY GLENN GLENN GREENWALD -- EVERY GLENN GLENN NEEDS A HAG.

POOR KATHA, EVER SINCE SHE LOST THE MAN OF HER HEART TO A YOUNGER, SMARTER WOMAN, SHE'S BEEN RIDICULOUS, FIRST STALKING THE MAN AND THEN ENTERING INTO SOME SORT OF FUZZY HAZY ESPRESSO COMMERCIAL MOMENT.

OH WELL, AT LEAST HE'S NOT AROUND TO COMPLAIN ABOUT HER FARTING AT THE DINING TABLE ANY MORE. KATHA CAN FART FREELY -- AS SHE DID THROUGHOUT THE RELATIONSHIP -- WITHOUT FEAR.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Your Call airs on the Bay Area's public radio station KALW Monday through Friday (ten to eleven in the morning Pacific Time). Today host Rose Aguilar and the program offered something you rarely hear on American radio today: a discussion of Iraq. The guests were Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson.

Rose Aguilar: It's been almost ten years since the US invasion and occupation of Iraq. In fact today marks the 10th anniversary of the historic global protests against the war that took place all over the world. In 2003, today's guests photo journalist Kael Alford and Thorne Anderson took photos of Iraqi citizens outside of the confines of the US military's embedded journalist program. Their goal was to find out how the war was effecting ordinary people. Their photos are on display at the de Young Museum in San Francisco. The description on a photo taken in Baghdad at a hospital on April 9, 2003 says, "A pool of blood is left on the floor of the lobby of the Saddam Medical Center after a man died on a makeshift operating table. Located near the front lines, the hospital was overlowing with patients." Another photo taken in Najaf on August 21, 2004 shows a man holding his crying son. The description reads, "On the wrecked outskirts of the old city, a father tries to cross the front lines with his terrified child signaling to snipers to hold their fire. Father and son crossed safely." Thorne Anderson began his work in Iraq in October 2002 photographing the impact of UN sanctions on Iraqis. He spent ten months of the last two years -- actually, that's not right. He was last in Iraq in 2004. While covering the war from Baghdad, he was arrested by Iraqi intelligence and expelled from the country. He returned from Iraq as soon as the borders opened at the end of the war and has covered the occupation resistance movements. He's also worked in the Balkans, Afghanistan, Israel and Palestine. He's taught photo journalism at the American University in Bulgaria and his photographs regularly appear in major American and international newspapers and magazines. And Thorne joins us here in the studio. [. . .] We're also joined by Kael Alfred, a freelance photo journalist who was based in Baghdad during the US invasion in 2003. She was last in Iraq in 2011. Her work focuses on the growing culture of resistance, religion and the grassroots movements developing since the invasion. She has worked extensively covering southeast Europe and the Middle East for many major US and European magazines. She's currently working on a longterm project about the environmental degradation of the landscape and culture of the Gulf Coast.At the top of each Friday show, Your Call always asks their guests to note reporting that they found valuable and noteworthy that week.

Kael Alfred: Well this isn't specifically -- It's not journalism but it's reporting done by Human Rights Watch. They just -- every year they publish this world report based on what happened in the last year. And as I was researching and preparing to speak to audiences about Iraq, I came across their report which goes into some depth about what's happened in Iraq in the last year. And, although I was there in 2011, it's nice to see -- or, it's not sort of nice, but it's confirmed in this report what I saw in Iraq in 2011 which is that the leadership of Iraq is, and I'm quoting the report here, sort of the intro to the report, "is using draconian measures against opposition politicians, detainees, demonstrators and journalists -- effectively squeezing the space for independent civil society and political freedoms in Iraq." Human Rights Watch said this today in their world report -- this was just published at the end of January. And so it's -- There just isn't a huge amount of reporting coming out of Iraq these days by western media because budgets are shrinking. There are a lot of conflicts happening all over the world and our attention shifts elsewhere. And, you know, we were just speaking about this before the show, how tens years on, the anniversary of this war, we don't really know what's happening in Iraq, we don't know what it looks like.

Rose Aguilar: Right. I remember on MSNBC, one of the hosts said, "President Obama has announced that the war is over, the troops are leaving." Sort of 'end of story.'

Kael Alford: Right.

Rose Aguilar: So you went there last year. Just talk about when you go, where do you go and what do you set out to do? What did you find this time around?

Kael Alford: Well I-I had a short period of time to work there. I only had a few weeks. And actually my time was even shortened by my having to get my visa through. So I had this window to work and I decided that what I would -- The best way to catch up with what had happened since I was there last would be to take the photographs I had made and revisit as many of the people as I could in these photograph -- people I had met in the past and reported on in the past. So I searched systematically, went searching for these people, and it was like detective work because the country was so up-ended in the last years that I didn't know where to find anyone, they weren't living in the same neighborhoods, they certainly didn't have the same phone numbers --

Rose Aguilar: And these are the people you have gotten to know over the years?

Kael Alford: Right. The people who I met in 2003 and 2004. And, you know, I hadn't really kept in close contact with them, it was really difficult, many of them don't speak English or don't write English and I don't speak or read Arabic. So when I went back, I found these people and just sort of asked them what's happened in the last eight years since I was here last? How is your life? What are your concerns? And almost universally, people's lives had gotten much, much harder. The situation was violent. It was very divided. People couldn't live safely in the places they'd lived before. The Sunni people I'd met, many of them felt confined to specific neighborhoods. There really was this ethnic divide, this ethnic cleansing, that targeted mostly Sunnis -- who are in the minority now -- were the subject of that. So Sunni people were really living in much more cloistered circumstances than they'd lived before -- if I could even find them at all. And-and there's one woman. Her name is Karimah. She and her family, I'd spent time at their house a lot in 2003 and 2004 and she's a widow and her husband was killed in the Iran - Iraq War. She has a large number of kids. And I went to visit her and her son, her oldest son, Aalee had been picked up at a cafe in a raid. And there were these Iraqi security forces who were looking for members of the Sadr militia. They picked him up, detained him, didn't charge him with anything really and interrogated him, extracting a confession from him and then proceeded to sort of keep him in prison until the family sold everything they had and could buy him out of prison basically. And that speaks to the state of the Iraqi judicial system today. It's a confession-based sort of system and people are frequently detained and not charged with anything until people can just buy them out. And that's included in this Human Rights Watch report. So it's really, the biggest concerns for the people who are coming up from this new very sort of corrupt and ineffective Iraqi government, in their words, in the way they described it and also the infrastructure was just a mess.

Rose Aguilar: Tell us more about that because we've done -- over the years we've done a lot of shows about the infrastructure. And I remember when we used to have a series Open Line To Iraq and we'd bring Iraqis on on a regular basis and the first question was do you have electricity, do you have water and it was so sporadic.

Kael Alford: So sporadic. I mean, the grid supplies maybe six hours of power a day -- the national grid. And otherwise, there are these neighborhood generators that are either privately owned by one wealthy person in the neighborhood that sells energy to everybody else -- produces it and sells it to everybody else at whatever price they decide to set. At least when I was there, they were talking about regulating this generator system but it wasn't happening yet when I was there. And then sometimes a neighborhood would go in together and buy a generator and they can be more of a grassroots, sort of democratic use of the generator. And these are the very large generators, like the size of shipping containers that would sit every few blocks and were constantly running and spewing fumes -- they run on petroleum and they smell terrible and they're loud. And then people would have a little generator at their house if they were wealthy enough to have their own generator that they would run when both those other systems weren't working.

Thorne Anderson: You know, it's important to note, we're not talking about an earthquake or some kind of natural disaster. What we're talking about here is just a disaster of massive corruption because there have been billions and billions of dollars that have been poured in for the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure and that has not been realized. That money has gone into Iraq but it hasn't gone into the infrastructure.

Kael Alford: That's a good point.

Thorne Anderson: So we're not talking about a national disaster here. We're talking about a really poorly managed transition of huge amounts of money.

The exhibit is entitled to "Eye Level in Iraq" and the exhibit continues to June 16, 2013 at the de Young Museum. Kenneth Baker (San Francisco Chronicle) reviews the exhibit today observing:

Looking at these images, visitors who opposed the man-made human catastrophe of Operation Iraqi Freedom before or after it began will experience again some of the nauseating helplessness they felt a decade ago at government deceit, lawlessness and ideology-driven aggression.
The exhibition leaves it to viewers to connect the discredited neocon foreign policy with draconian provisions of the 2013 National Defense Authorization Act and with the killer drones now fatally realizing abroad the nightmare concept of the world as a battlefield. A picture such as one Alford took in Zafrania a month after the invasion suggests the peril she must have faced daily from enraged Iraqis certain of her foreignness but not of her relationship to the calamity engulfing them.
No less chilling is a shot she took from behind on the same day of an insurgent peering from an alley, a loaded rocket launcher on his shoulder. Was he aware of her presence? What preceded and followed from the image we see?

The Your Call discussion is a great one and hopefully we'll return to it next week. I'll also note that Thorne Anderson is an associate professor at the University of North Texas (Denton, Texas). And quickly, on the topic of photography, AFP's Prashant Rao Tweeted:

10 hrs Prashant Rao ‏@prashantrao

REMINDER - @AFP has begun publishing its 'Iraq War - 10 Years On' series of photographs. Have a look: http://www.bit.ly/AFPIraqPhotos

Expand

Moving to Iraq. Last Friday saw the largest turnout in the ongoing protests which now span three months (December, January and February). Each week, the numbers grow, but last week was a huge leap forward in participation. (I'm basing that call on media coverage, on social media photos, on reports from Iraqi community members by e-mail and two that I spoke with on the phone as well.) Nouri's forces infamously attacked the protesters in Falluja on January 26th., killing at least nine (Human Rights Watch noted that 2 more of the wounded had died) with dozens left injured. And this resulted in public condemnation -- though not from the US government where the pathetic response from the State Dept was to have Icky Vicky Neocon Nuland, Dick Cheney's former Deputy Advisor on National Security, insist that both sides should not resort to violence. (Number of protesters killed by Nouri's forces: at least 9. Number of forces killed at protests: Zero.) But while Victoria and the administration coddled, stroked and fondled their puppet Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and chief thug of Iraq, others were appalled. The United Nations and the British government were among the most publicly vocal. Nouri knows the world is watching and that's, for now, prevented another assault on the protesters.

With the huge increase in participants and with Nouri refusing to meet the demands -- which have been the same demands for months now and which are also pretty much the exact same demands that the protesters were making in February 2011 (demands Nouri swore he would meet if given 100 days -- he didn't meet them, he didn't care, he lied to stall for time and to try to stop the protests) -- the protesters decided maybe a stronger presence was needed in the capital. From Saturday:

Kitabat reports that yesterday some protesters in Anbar Province announced their intent to march to Baghdad next Friday. All Iraq News notes National Alliance MP Qasim al-Araji is calling out the plan to stage a sit-in in Baghdad. The Ministry of Interior (run by Nouri al-Maliki since he never nominated anyone to head it) had its own announcement. Alsumaria reports that today it was declared their intent to crack down on any protest -- anywhere in the country -- that they felt was a threat or lacked a permit. Al Mada notes that the spokesperson for the Anbar protests, Sayad Lafi, states that the protesters have written Baghdad seeking permission to pray in the city on Friday and return the same day.

And Nouri's response? From Tuesday's snapshot:

In the failed state of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki is refusing to allow Iraqis from the west to enter their own country's capital. We noted this development yesterday morning and in yesterday's snapshot. The non-Iraqi press continues to ignore it with only one except[ion]: Jane Arraf (see yesterday's snapshots for her Tweets) who reports for Al Jazeera, the Christian Science Monitor and PRI. Today, she Tweets.

6h jane arraf ‏@janearraf

Back in #Baghdad this evening, anti-aircraft batteries along the river, roadblocks, rumors of a Thursday curfew. That is some scary protest.

Expand

Feb 13

‏@nedparkerlat

Most striking thing in Anbar last week was how many young Sunni males are afraid to come to Baghdad because they fear the security forces.

Expand

Following the Falluja massacre last month, Nouri was forced to pull the military out of Falluja by the provincial council which demanded he stop using the military to police the people. Baghdad's not in Anbar so the Anbar council has no power. But why is he allowed repeatedly to use the military on the Iraqi people?

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Friday, February 15, 2013

It's all just one big photo-op for the model-in-chief

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

AS KILLER BARRY O WAS ROUNDING UP VARIOUS VICTIMS FROM VARIOUS CRIMES WHILE HE'D BEEN IN OFFICE TO SIT AS PROPS FOR HIS STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS, THERE WAS 1 GROUP OF PEOPLE HE DIDN'T ASK: THE HEROES WHO STOPPED NIDAL HASAN'S FORT HOOD MASSACRE.

AS THEY EXPLAINED TO ABC, KILLER BARRY O HAS BETRAYED THEM. HE USED THEM AS PROPS IN HIS 2010 SPEECH TO THE NATION AND NOW, THREE YEARS LATER, HE REFUSES TO HELP THEM OR EVEN ACKNOWLEDGE THEM.

WHEN THESE REPORTERS REACHED KILLER BARRY O, HE WAS BUSY PREPPING A NEW JOKE, THAT HE WAS GOING TO BE MORE TRANSPARENT ABOUT HIS DRONE WAR. "THEN AGAIN," HE SAID, "MAYBE I SHOULD JUST STICK TO KNOCK-KNOCK JOKES?"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Moving over to the United States . . .

Dr. David Rudd: I've included in my testimony the tragic suicide of Russell Shirley. I spoke with Russell's mother over the course of the last month. I've spoken with one of his dear friends. And I think Russell is probably typical of the problem -- the tragic problem which will occur over the coming years. Russell was a son, a husband, a father. He was a soldier. He served his country proudly and bravely in Afghanistan. He survived combat. He came home struggling with PTSD and Traumatic Brain Injury. With a marriage in crisis and escalating symptoms, he turned to alcohol. He received a DUI and, after ten years of dedicated service, he was discharged. And part of the rationale for the discharge was the increasing pressure to reduce the size of the force. I think we're going to see more and more of that over the coming years. After the loss of his family, the loss of his career and the loss of his identity, Russell shot himself in front of his mother. Having spoken with Russell, I would tell you -- or having spoken with Russell's mother -- I would tell you that a part of the tragedy is that we knew that Russell was at risk prior to his death. We recognized, identified him as an at-risk soldier prior to his discharge, but yet there were not adequate transitional services in place that allow a clean connection from an individual to an individual. And I think those are the sort of things we need to start talking about, we need to start thinking about. How do we connect at-risk soldiers -- once we identify them and they're being discharged -- particularly if they're being discharged against their -- against their wishes -- into the VA system and how do we connect them with an individual and not just with a system? How do we help them connect in a relationship that can potentially save a life? I've included a picture of Russell with his two children at the end of my [written] testimony. And the reason I've done that is I think it's important for all of us. When I read the Suicide Data Report, the one thing that is missing in the Suicide Data Report are the names of the individuals, the names of the families, the names of the loved ones that are affected and impacted by these tragedies. And I think it's important for all of us to remember that.

Rudd was speaking before the House Veterans Affairs Committee yesterday as they explored mental health care issues. He was on the first panel along with the Wounded Warrior Project's Ralph Ibson, the Disabled American Veterans' Joy Ilem and Connecticut's Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Linda Spoonster Schwartz. Rudd spoke of Russell Shirley's forced discharge and the loss of identity that took place as a result. Linda Spoonster Schwartz picked up on that theme.

Linda Spoonster Schwartz: The President's message last night [Barack Obama's State of the Union address] that we're going to have all of these people coming down. He [Rudd] mentioned a very important point -- some of these people who have joined, you have an all volunteer force who has joined. They intended to make this their career and now you have a drawdown and that is a loss of identity. As a disabled veteran, I had to leave military service and I had a long time finding a new identity.

What she went through, what Russell Shirley went through, is happening for a number of veterans right now and is about to happen for even more. Dr. Rudd portrayed Russell Shirley as someone the military knew, prior to the discharge, would be someone who would struggle with the discharge. If they knew ahead of time and still couldn't tailor some program for him, what does that say about their ability to help those whose problems emerge at a later date?

Chair Jeff Miller: Last night the President announced that 34,000 service members currently serving in Afghanistan are going to be back home. The one-size-fits-all path the Department is on leaves our veterans with no assurance that current issues will abate and fails to recognize that adequately addressing the mental health needs of our veterans is a task that VA cannot handle by themselves. In order to be effective, VA must embrace an integrated care delivery model that does not wait for veterans to come to them but instead meets them where the veteran is. VA must stand ready to treat our veterans where and how our veterans want to be treated -- not just where and how VA wants to treat them. I can tell you this morning that our veterans are in towns and cities and communities all across this great land. The care that they want is care that recognizes and respects their own unique circumstances, their preferences and their hopes.

Spoonster Schwartz noted that veterans sought care that was closest and that might mean skipping the VA if it was sixty miles away. She also noted that veterans had more access -- outside the office -- to a private sector doctor than to a veterans doctor

"Something somewhere is clearly missing," House Veterans Affairs Committee Chair Jeff Miller observed at the start of the hearing. US House Rep Mike Michaud is the Ranking Member on the Committee.

Ranking Member Mike Michaud: Over the years we have held numerous hearings, increased funding and passed legislation in an effort to address the challenges of our veterans from all eras. VA spent $6.2 billion on mental health programs in Fiscal Year 2012. I hope to see some positive progress that this funding has been applied to the goals and outcomes for which it was intended and the programs are really working. We all know that mental health is a significant problem that the nation is facing now -- not only in the VA but throughout our population. In the broader challenges is an opportunity for the VA to look outside its walls to solve some of the challenges that they face rather than operate in a vacuum as they sometimes have done in the past. One of the most pressing mental health problems that we face is the issue of suicide and how to prevent it. Fiscal Year 2012 tragically saw an increase in military suicides for the third time in four years. The number of suicides surpassed the number of combat deaths. Couple that with the number of suicides in the veterans' population of 18 to 22 per day and the picture becomes even more alarming.

Still on the issue of health care and veterans, Senator Patty Murray is now the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and her office issued the following today:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, February 14, 2013
CONTACT: Murray 202-224-2834
Tester 202-228-0371

Murray, Tester Introduce Bill to Expand Health Care for CHAMPVA Children

Would raise maximum age for CHAMPVA eligibility to 26 to bring program into parity with Affordable Care Act

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, Senators Patty Murray (D-WA) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced legislation to adjust current eligibility requirements for children who receive health care under the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA). Under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act a child may stay on a parent’s health insurance plan to age 26. However, children who are CHAMPVA beneficiaries lose their eligibility for coverage at age 23, if not before. The legislation introduced today by Sens. Murray and Tester would raise the maximum age for CHAMPVA eligibility to age 26 in order to bring eligibility under the VA program into parity with the private sector.

“As more and more servicemembers return home from Afghanistan, CHAMPVA will continue playing a vital role in caring for veterans’ loved ones,” said Senator Murray. “In our ongoing commitment to keep the faith with our nation’s heroes, this bill ensures CHAMPVA recipients, without regard to their type of coverage, student status, or marital status, are eligible for health care coverage under their parent’s plan in the same way as their peers.”

"Allowing young folks to stay on their parents' health insurance until they turn 26 gives them a chance to finish school or start their careers without worrying what happens if they get sick,” said Senator Tester. “This bill makes sure that the children of our most selfless citizens have access to the same care as the rest of the country."

“MOAA strongly supports VA-sponsored health coverage for eligible adult children of CHAMPVA beneficiaries,” said VADM Norb Ryan, USN-ret., President, Military Officers Association of America. “Such coverage is mandated in law to be made available for every other qualifying adult child across the nation and only a technical adjustment to the VA statute is needed to extend it to the grown kids of our nation’s heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.”

“The DAV applauds Senators Murray and Tester for introducing legislation we strongly support, which would grant adult children of beneficiaries of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of Veterans Affairs (CHAMPVA) eligibility for continuing health benefits through age 26,” said Disabled American Veterans National Commander Larry Polzin. “DAV believes children of severely disabled veterans and of veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of our nation should be able to enjoy the same comfort and peace of mind of having health coverage into their young adult years as every other child in our great nation.”

“This legislation is critical to ensure that dependent children of severely disabled veterans are afforded the same health care protection as all other children,” said Paralyzed Veterans of America President Bill Lawson. “It is simply unacceptable that the only children who do not have the benefit of extended health care coverage are those children of the men and women who have sacrificed the greatest.”

CHAMPVA is a VA health insurance program that provides coverage for certain eligible dependents and survivors of veterans rated permanently and totally disabled from a service-connected condition. CHAMPVA is a cost-sharing program that reimburses providers and facilities a determined allowable amount, minus patient copayments and deductible. Once a veteran becomes VA-rated permanently and totally disabled for a service-connected disability, the veteran's spouse and dependents are then eligible to enroll in CHAMPVA.

###

---

Meghan Roh

Press Secretary | New Media Director

Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray

Mobile: (202) 365-1235

Office: (202) 224-2834

@PattyMurray | @SenateBudget | @MegRoh

Get Updates from Senator Murray

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Thursday, February 14, 2013

A faded rose, a toast that went stale

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

IN THE AFTERMATH OF KILLER BARRY O'S LATEST BAD SPEECH, THE CRITICAL RECEPTION IS NOT GOOD. EVEN LONGTIME SUPPORTER AND ENABLER POLITIFACT HAD TO RATE KILLER'S STATEMENTS ABOUT BEING HONEST AND UPFRONT WITH CONGRESS ABOUT HIS DRONE WAR FALSE.

ON TOP OF THAT 49% OF AMERICANS ARGUE HE IS MISHANDLING THE ECONOMY. (NOD TO TRINA'S KITCHEN FOR THAT CATCH.)

AND THE AUDIENCE JUST ISN'T THERE FOR KILLER BARRY O ANYMORE AS THE RATINGS FOR TUESDAY NIGHT'S SPEECH DEMONSTRATE.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Felons rejoice, at his company website, Tony Podesta self-boasts, "Many people in Washington can tell you what just happened to you. Tony Podesta helps you change outcomes." The company slogan appears to be -- because it's all over the website -- "we are the podesta group. we deliver." -- "the trash" must have been left off due to a lack of space. Or maybe with the Podestas, trash is just implied?

In the second most popular episode of Charlie's Angels, season one's "Consenting Adults" (written by Les Carter), Farrah Fawcett's Jill lays down some basic truth with Laurette Spang's Tracy.

Jill: Okay, let's both stop playing games. For starters, you can drop the "Tracy." It rhymes with Stacy and Macy and all those other jive names hookers like to latch onto.

Hookers and con artists frequently have to change their names -- which one is the Podesta Group? Wikipedia explains the lobbying group "was founded in 1988 by brothers John Podesta and Tony Podesta and has previously been known as Podesta Associates, podesta.com and PodestaMatton" or, as it's called in DC, "the Podestaphile." Byron Tau, Anna Palmer and Tarini Parti (POLITICO) reported this afternoon, "The government of Iraq is in the final stages of inking a contract with the Podesta Group as its first D.C. lobbying firm, according to multiple sources." Really? One wonders how the Iraqi people will feel about that, their government signing with John Podesta's lobbying firm considering John's Iraq history.

Dropping back to the March 28, 2007 snapshot:

Interviewed by Bonnie Faulkner (KPFA's Guns and Butter) today, professor Francis Boyle discussed how a 2003 exploration of impeachment by the Democrats was cut short when John Podesta announced that there would be no introduction of bills of impeachment because it would harm Democrats chances in the 2004 election. Speaking of the measures being applauded by much in the media, big and small, Boyle declared, "It's all baloney. All they had to do was just do nothing and Bush would have run out of money. . . . The DNC fully supports the war, that was made clear to Ramsey [Clark] and me on 13 March 2003 and nothing's changed." John Podesta, former Clintonista, is with the Democratic talking point mill (that attempts to pass itself as a think tank) Center for American Progress -- with an emphasis on "Center" and not "Progress."

Here's David Swanson (in 2009, at Democrats.com) discussing Podesta's role in the Iraq War:

Boyle and Ramsey Clark presented the case for impeachment to Democratic congress members on March 13, 2003, just days before the bombs hit Baghdad. Impeachment could conceivably have prevented over a million deaths. The congress members present accepted the validity of the case, but John Podesta and others argued that it would be better for Democrats in the next election to let the war happen. We saw this same cold blooded calculation, of course, in 2007 and 2008, as the Democrats controlled the Congress and claimed to "oppose" the war while keeping it going. While Clark argued for the political advantage of pursuing impeachment, Boyle declined to address that point, preferring to stick to the facts. Sadly, electoral arguments are almost the only thing most congress members care about, and human life is not even on the list.

Here's Boyle speaking to Dori Smith (Talk Radio Nation -- link is audio and transcript) from February 7, 2007:

Francis A. Boyle: We just need one person to introduce the bill with courage, integrity, principles, and of course a safe seat. In Gulf War one I worked with the late great Congressman Henry B. Gonzales on his bill of impeachment against Bush Sr. We put that one in. I did the first draft the day after the war started. So in my opinion there is no excuse for these bills not to have been put in already. In fact, on 13 March 2003, Congressman John Conyers convened a meeting of 40 to 50 of his top advisors, most of whom were lawyers, to debate putting in immediate bills of impeachment against Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, and Ashcroft, to head off the war. There were draft bills sitting on the table that had been prepared by me and Ramsey Clark. And the Congressman invited Ramsey and me to come in and state the case for impeachment. It was a two hour debate, very vigorous debate, obviously all of these lawyers there. And most of the lawyers there didn't disagree with us on the merits of impeachment. It was more as they saw it a question of practical politics. Namely, John Podesta was there, Clinton's former White House chief of staff, who said he was appearing on behalf of the Democratic National Committee and they were against putting in immediate bills of impeachment because it might hurt whoever their presidential candidate was going to be in 2004. Well at that time no one even knew who their presidential candidate was going to be in 2004. I didn't argue the point, I'm a political independent. It was not for me to tell Democrats how to elect their candidates. I just continued arguing the merits of impeachment. But Ramsey is a lifelong Democrat and he argued that he felt that putting in these bills of impeachment might help the Democrats and it certainly wasn't going to hurt them in 2004.

So when the right thing could have been done, when the Iraq War could have been stopped before it started, when everything could have been changed, there was John Podesta arguing to destroy Iraq, to destroy the lives of the Iraqi people, so that Democrats could win the 2004 elections? (For the record, the whore was wrong even when it came to electability: the Dems lost in the 2004 election -- they lost the presidency, the House and the Senate both remained under Republican control with Republicans increasing their seats -- in the single digits, but it's an increase -- in both houses of Congress.)

The Iraqi people are going to see their public monies go to feather the nest of the Podestas? Oh, thug and prime minister Nouri al-Maliki may have some fresh problems on his hands.

The ongoing political crises continue. Fresh off meetings this week with Ayad Allawi (head of Iraqiya -- the political slate that came in first in the 2010 elections) and cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr, Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani met with another official today. Alsumaria reports he met with US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft in Erbil where they discussed the political crises and the issue of the democratic process in Iraq and that Beecroft supports a national meet-up which would be what Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for since December 21st -- of 2011.

Yesterday there was outrage over the arrest of Imam Mohammad Zaidi. Alsumaria reports today that the he has been released after being held for a little over 24 hours. His supporters see the arrest as evidence of Nouri's practice of arbitrary arrests targeting those he sees as political rivals. Mohammed Sabah (Al Mada) reports State of Law (Nouri's political slate) is insisting that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi is keeping 30 people from being arrested -- that they have warrants and he won't lift immunity (members of Parliament cannot be arrested while serving unless their immunity is lifted). Iraqiya (political slate Osama al-Nujaifi belongs to) responds that the warrants are an attempt by Nouri to intimidate political opponents.

Moving over to protests, All Iraq News reports a new development in Basra where "hundreds" have staged a sit-in outside a center for the blind. There are said to be as many as 500 people taking part in the sit-in that's calling for the government to care for the people with special needs (at least 13,000 people in the province are recognized by the federal government as challenged or disabled). All Iraq News also reports that National Alliance MP Jawad Franck is insisting that protesters elsewhere in Iraq are being supported by 'third parties,' outsiders, foreigners. More alarmist talk. The reason? Saturday, protesters in Anbar Province asked for permission to do a sit-in in Baghdad this Friday. Nouri's been in a tizzy. He's held multiple meetings with the National Alliance trying to figure out how to stop the protests. Al Mada reports Anbar responds today with protesters saying they will go to Baghdad and take part in morning prayers and that Nouri cannot prevent them from entering their country's capital, not these residents and tribes of Anbar who refuse to allow their dignity to be besmirched.

But everything's in a state of flux and Ali Abel Sadah (Al-Monitor) reports that it appears the citizens will not be going to Baghdad to march, attend worship or take part in a sit-in thei Friday:

But the widespread deployment of security personnel at the entrances to Baghdad, alongside security checkpoints near Adhamiya, where the Abu Hanifa Mosque is located, prompted the protest leadership to retract the decision to move to Baghdad.
Rafi Taha Rifai, the Sunni Grand Mufti of Iraq, said in a statement obtained by Al-Monitor that the demonstrators’ decision “to go to Baghdad was rejected by the dictatorial authorities."
Rifai called on demonstrators to “postpone the decision to move to Baghdad to an appropriate time.”
Sources close to the leaders of the Anbar demonstrations expected activists to stay at their traditional place, in the “square of glory and dignity.”

By the way, who's supporting 'Ba'athists'? Nouri's forever accusing protesters of being 'terrorists' and 'Ba'athists' and having connections to Saddam Hussein's regime. For an example of that kind of propaganda, you can refer to this Ahlul Bayt News Agency nonsense.But Al Mada reports it's Nouri who's paying for the treatment of a Ba'athist in Turkey. Sheikh Ali Hussein al-Hamadani's medical expenses are being covered by Nouri (which most likely means the Iraqi people are paying the costs) and the rumor is that he's doing it to curry favor with tribal leaders in Anbar in the hopes that they'll call off the protests.

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Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The embarrassing press

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

KILLER BARRY O GAVE A SPEECH LAST NIGHT AND FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT HIS DRONE WAR, THE NDAA OR ANYTHING THAT MATTERS MUCH.

FORTUNATELY FOR KILLER, MOST OF THE PRESS LOOKED THE OTHER WAY.

LIKE LAZY ASS TODD S. PURDUM WHO THREW TOGETHER A TON OF WORDS FOR VANITY FAIR WHILE MANAGING TO NEVER SAY ANYTHING.

TODDY DEMONSTRATED WHAT A BITCH HE COULD BE WITH INSULTS TO THE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES BUT 'FORGOT' TO DO HIS JOB. PRIME EXAMPLE:

When he suggested not only raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour (it was $3.10 or so when I was in high school and working summers in a farm-supply store, but in real terms, higher than now) but also linking it to the cost of living, Paul Ryan could not conceal a smirk.

READING THAT AND NOT HAVING SEEN THE SPEECH, ONE WOULD ASSUME PAUL RYAN WAS JUST AS BITCHY AS TODDY. A REAL REPORTER WOULD HAVE INCLUDED THE FACT THAT, AS EVEN KILLER BARRY O NOTED AT THAT POINT IN HIS SPEECH, THIS WAS A PROPOSAL THE ROMNEY-RYAN CAMPAIGN SUPPORTED LAST FALL.

BUT WHAT'S INFORMATION AND REPORTING. TODDY WOULD RATHER JUST BE BITCHY!

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

In the failed state of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki is refusing to allow Iraqis from the west to enter their own country's capital. We noted this development yesterday morning and in yesterday's snapshot. The non-Iraqi press continues to ignore it with only one except: Jane Arraf (see yesterday's snapshots for her Tweets) who reports for Al Jazeera, the Christian Science Monitor and PRI. Today, she Tweets.

6h jane arraf ‏@janearraf

Back in #Baghdad this evening, anti-aircraft batteries along the river, roadblocks, rumors of a Thursday curfew. That is some scary protest.

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Alsumaria reports that there will be a ban on 'roaming' in Baghdad starting Thursday and that "security reasons" are being cited for the curfew that kicks off at midnight tonight and for the refusal to allow 'outsiders' into Baghdad. Dar Addustour adds that security forces have been put on "high alert" and that there is pressure on various mosques in Baghdad not to call for demonstrations on Friday while i.d.s continue to be checked and people from western Iraq are being refused access to Baghdad. The Iraq Times notes that two military brigades are being used to stop cars attempting to enter Baghdad.

This is all in response to a request, not a threat. An official request prompted this alarm and panic from Nouri. From Saturday:

Kitabat reports that yesterday some protesters in Anbar Province announced their intent to march to Baghdad next Friday. All Iraq News notes National Alliance MP Qasim al-Araji is calling out the plan to stage a sit-in in Baghdad. The Ministry of Interior (run by Nouri al-Maliki since he never nominated anyone to head it) had its own announcement. Alsumaria reports that today it was declared their intent to crack down on any protest -- anywhere in the country -- that they felt was a threat or lacked a permit. Al Mada notes that the spokesperson for the Anbar protests, Sayad Lafi, states that the protesters have written Baghdad seeking permission to pray in the city on Friday and return the same day.

Alsumaria notes that the National Alliance is calling for the western protesters not to come to Baghdad and that this call follows a hastily put together meet-up in the office of National Alliance leader Ibrahim al-Jaafari -- a meeting that Nouri personally attended. Now when provinces wanted to break off -- using the Constitution's provisions for that -- and become semi-autonomous, Nouri told them they couldn't. But now he won't allow western Iraqis to enter Baghdad, to enter their own capital?

Not only did Nouri attend a meeting at al-Jaafari's office but Alsumaria also reports -- and provides a photo -- that al-Jaafari visited Nouri at Nouri's office late last night. When you think of all the foot dragging by Nouri over the last weeks, it's rather amazing how motivated he can get out of the fear that Iraqis from outside Baghdad might show up to demonstrate.

All Iraq News reports that late yesterday the Anbar protesters who hope to demonstrate in Baghdad state that they still planned to demonstrate in Baghdad on Friday. Alsumaria reports that the Anbar Provincial Council is asking the protesters not to go to Baghdad but, they note, the spokesperson for the protesters Said Lafi says they will meet tomorrow to decide what they are going to do.

Alsumaria notes that Iraqiya is decrying the "illegal and arbitrary practices" to prevent Iraqis from Anbar Province from coming to Baghdad. Iraqiya is the political slate that won the 2010 parliamentary elections. Ayad Allawi is the head of Iraqiya.

Yesterday, we noted the confusion with regards to Moqtada al-Sadr:

News outlets are reporting conflicting claims regarding the movement leader and cleric. Al Rafidayn reports that Moqtada has decreed that his followers will not participate in the demonstrations this Friday. By contrast, All Iraq News reports that Moqtada's called on his supporters to participate in the demonstrations this Friday to show support for the people of Bahrain. Al Rafidayn states Moqtada called off participation because of Nouri's actions, Nouri issuing a statement through the Office of the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces calling on the Iraqi military to physically stop protesters.

Today, Alsumaria reports Moqtada al-Sadr released a statement saying that he calls for his followers to demonstrate on Friday throughout Iraq following morning prayers and to support the second anniversary of the Bahrain revolution.

The US Embassy in Baghdad issued the following warning:

Emergency Messages for U.S. Citizens
Risk of Terror Attack and Demonstrations
February 11, 2013
The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad warns U.S. citizens of continued incidents of violence in Iraq, following the February 9 terrorist attack at Camp Hurriya, which killed six people. Attacks, similar to what occurred on February 9, may occur at any time.

In addition, the U.S. Embassy warns U.S. citizens of ongoing demonstrations across the country, which have occasionally turned violent. Citizens are urged to remain alert to local security developments, to be vigilant regarding their personal security, and to avoid all demonstrations, particularly after Friday prayers, when most demonstrations have occurred.

The U.S. government considers the potential threat to U.S. Government personnel throughout Iraq to be serious enough to require them to live and work under strict security guidelines. All U.S. Government employees under the authority of the U.S. Chief of Mission must follow strict safety and security procedures when traveling outside the U.S. Embassy and U.S. Consulates. We urge U.S. citizens to stay current with media coverage of local events and be aware of their surroundings at all times. Please check our current Travel Warning and Country Specific Information Sheet for further security guidance.

We strongly recommend that U.S. citizens traveling to or residing in Iraq enroll in the Department of State's Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) at www.Travel.State.Gov. STEP enrollment gives you the latest security updates, and makes it easier for the U.S. embassy or nearest U.S. consulate to contact you in an emergency. If you don't have Internet access, enroll directly with the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate. The Embassy also offers SMS text alerts delivered to your mobile phone when new security and emergency messages are released.

For the latest security information, U.S. citizens traveling abroad should regularly monitor the Department of State's Internet website at travel.state.gov where the Worldwide Caution, Country Specific Information for Iraq, Travel Warnings, and Travel Alerts can be found. Follow us on Twitter and the Bureau of Consular Affairs page on Facebook as well. Download our free Smart Traveler iPhone or Android app to have travel information at your fingertips.

Up to date information on security can also be obtained by calling 1-888-407-4747 toll free in the United States and Canada, or, for callers outside the United States and Canada, a regular toll line at 1-202-501-4444. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The killer leaves the mess for someone else to clean

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE

HOW DO YOU MAKE SURE KILLER BARRY O DOES WELL WHEN YOU CHECK HIS RECORD OF PROMISES?

MAKE LIKE TAMI LUHBY (CNNMONEY) AND IGNORE THE ONES HE FAILED TO KEEP (LIKE CLOSE GUANTANAMO). IF YOU WRITE A WHOLE ARTICLE IGNORING HIS 100% BROKEN PROMISES, IT'S A LOT EASIER TO PRETEND, FOR EXAMPLE, THAT HE'S HAD SOME ACHIEVEMENT ON HIS JOB PROMISES.

AND BE SURE TO IGNORE HIS DRONE WAR. THE BLOWBACK FROM KILLER BARRY'S DRONE WAR IS GOING TO BE UGLY AND PROBABLY INCLUDE MULTIPLE 9-11S BUT, HEY, BARRY O JUST WORRIES ABOUT BARRY O. THE FUTURE BEYOND 2016? THAT'S SOMEBODY ELSE'S PROBLEM!

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

And in the failed state today? UPI reports that Nouri al-Maliki's government refused to let a Turkish plane land -- the plane was supposed "to land in Kirkuk and pick up some of the 75 Kurdish victims of a Jan. 23 assault by Arabs in the Iraqi city of Tuz Khurmatu." The plane's landing isn't the only thing Nouri's blocking. Kitabat reports today that Nouri's forces are preventing the residents of Salahuddin Province and Nineveh Province from entering Baghdad and that traffic is stopped as i.d.s are checked and security forces turn people away. Alsumaria also notes that people are being prevented from entering Baghdad and adds that there are rumors that Nouri plans to impose a curfew starting Thursday. What's got Nouri in a panic?

From Saturday:

Kitabat reports that yesterday some protesters in Anbar Province announced their intent to march to Baghdad next Friday. All Iraq News notes National Alliance MP Qasim al-Araji is calling out the plan to stage a sit-in in Baghdad. The Ministry of Interior (run by Nouri al-Maliki since he never nominated anyone to head it) had its own announcement. Alsumaria reports that today it was declared their intent to crack down on any protest -- anywhere in the country -- that they felt was a threat or lacked a permit. Al Mada notes that the spokesperson for the Anbar protests, Sayad Lafi, states that the protesters have written Baghdad seeking permission to pray in the city on Friday and return the same day.

Al Mada reports that the Anbar protesters state they have still not received a reply to their request. The reply is most likely "no" judging by events taking place currently. Al Jazeera, the Chrisian Science Monitor and PRI's Jane Arraf Tweets on the vehicles being prevented from entering Baghdad.

18h jane arraf ‏@janearraf

#Iraqi army security checks from #Ramadi/Fallujah to #Baghdad blocking traffic for miles days ahead of Friday protest in Baghdad.

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11h jane arraf ‏@janearraf

#Iraq army closing roads from #Fallujah for the night. 'Don't you know what the situation is like?' soldier says.
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In other protest news, Alsumaria notes that Diyala Province officials have formed a committee to convey the demands of the protesters to the federal government. In addition, Vice President Khudair Khuzaie told US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft that the federal government will be "flexible" when it comes to the protesters demands. Alsumaria notes Iraqiya issued a statement noting their continued solidarity with protesters and their legimate demands. Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq met with Anbar Province Governor Qassim Fahdawi to discuss ways to implement the demands of the protesters. al-Mutlaq is a member of Iraqiya. All Iraq News speaks with Iraiqya MP Raad Danielle who states there has been too much procrastination and foot dragging. He cites an example of the protesters calls for detainees to be released and how these are words in the media but they are not acted upon by the government.

Martin Kobler is the Special Enovy in Iraq for United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Karin Laub (AP) interviews Kobler today

Martin Kobler, the U.N. envoy to Iraq, said that while he believes the head of the committee, Deputy Prime Minister Hussain al-Shahristani, is taking the Sunni concerns seriously, "there is more the government could do" to deal with the protesters' demands.
"We have the impression that a lot of the problems (raised by the demonstrators) are rule of law, human rights problems, the situation in detention centres. And these are all problems the government can solve tomorrow," Kobler told The Associated Press.

Violence continues in Iraq. Iraq Body Count notes that through Sunday 139 people have died from violence in Iraq so far this month. That's 139 violent deaths in 10 days. AFP's Prashant Rao Tweets his organization's catch.

13h Prashant Rao ‏@prashantrao

After a couple late-confirmed deaths last night, we are now up to 110 dead, 273 wounded this month in Iraq - @AFP: http://www.bit.ly/AFPIraqToll

Expand

Today? Sufyan Mashhadani, Isabel Coles and Kevin Liffey (Reuters) report a Mosul suicide car bombing has claimed 12 lives (in addition to the driver of the car) and left at least eighteen injure. Alsumaria notes that an attack on a Thar Thar checkpoint (outside of Ramadi) resulted in the deaths of 2 Iraqi soldiers and two more injures. All Iraq News adds that a Baghdad sticky bombing has left the Dean of the Ministry of the Interior injured. UPI reports that Sahwa commander in Diyala Province Khaled al-Lahibi has been assassinated in Baquba. The assassination of al-Lahibi was the third assassination attempt of a high profile figure in as many days. Alsumaria notes that a Sunday Mosul bombing targeted Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi's convoy (no one is reported harmed and al-Nujaifi wasn't in the convoy despite his being expected to have been). Focus Information Agency noted Saturday that the Polish Ambassador to Iraq, Lech Stefaniak, was targeted by a roadside bombing in Baghdad but no one was hurt.

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Saturday, February 16, 2013

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Friday, February 15, 2013

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Thursday, February 14, 2013

A faded rose, a toast that went stale

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

The embarrassing press

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

The killer leaves the mess for someone else to clean

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