BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
SHOULD BARRY O REFUSE TO STOP HIS USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS, HE WILL BE ATTACKED.
U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY REVEALED TODAY THAT THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF HAVE DRAWN UP A PLAN OF ATTACK.
"IT'S CALLED 'THE SILENT BUT DEADLY.' WE INTEND TO SNEAK UP ON HIM AND JUST BLAST HIM, THE WAY HE'S DONE TO SO MANY," KERRY EXPLAINED.
HOWEVER, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESMODEL JAY CARNEY DISPUTED WHETHER OR NOT THIS WOULD WORK NOW THAT THE ELEMENT OF SURPRISE HAD BEEN LOST, "BESIDES, BARRY O HAS BEEN EATING CHILE BEANS. YES, AMERICA, HE'S GONE NUCLEAR.."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
We start with independent media and how it is at risk of going under in the United States. This morning, Amy Goodman (Democracy Now!) announced, "The independent, daily half-hour news program Free Speech Radio News is
airing its last edition today due to funding shortfalls. According to
its website, FSRN is looking into the possibility of restructuring its organization in the future." That's dishonest.
FSRN explained in a public statement
on their website, "FSRN is currently carrying just over $200,000 in
accounts receivable. For much of the year, our major funder Pacifica has
not been able to pay us and its past-due balance to FSRN is about
$198,000. "
Amy Goodman doesn't have to worry about these things because she found a
way to leverage an attempted takeover of Pacifica Radio into riches.
This led to the 2002 deal in which Amy got ownership of the program
(which had been owned by Pacifica) and hundreds and thousands in
funding.
So maybe it's guilt that made Amy lie this morning. I don't know, I don't give a damn.
She's just one of many WBAI thieves in the '00s who've destroyed Pacifica.
WBAI in the '00s aired one substandard, embarrassing program after
another. This really isn't a story about a Saturday schedule without
news, with tired old records or the programs of a dead man that were
rarely topical when he was alive (Al Lewis), or wasting the airwaves
with a program about "your PC" at a time when laptops and tablets were
the new norm.
Pacifica Radio started with KPFA. In 1949, KPFA
began broadcasting in the Bay Area. Pacifica was KPFA, KPFA was
Pacifica. It was the first listener-supported radio. Long before NPR,
there was Pacifica. It had a commitment to diversity and to peace.
When Amy Goodman pimps Samantha Power and the UN resolution on Syria
this morning, she's betraying the roots of Pacifica, so it's actually
good in many ways that Democracy Now! is not a Pacifica program anymore.
A decade later, 1959, Los Angeles' KPFK started. No problem there, like KPFA, KPFK pulled its own weight. Then came WBAI
in 1960 and the troubles emerge. No group worked to put together WBAI
and that's why it's been trash on the airwaves for decades. They
arrived with a feeling of entitlement. In the Bay Area and in Los
Angeles, work had to be done to create KPFA and KPFK. In Washington DC,
work had to be done to create WPFW (1977) and in Houston, Texas, work had to be done to create KPFT (1970). Those four stations contributed and never had a sense of entitlement.
But unlike the other four, WBAI was a donation. It's officially donated
to Pacifica in January 1960 (it had been a commercial radio station)
and broadcasting in the first week of the month.
It has always pulled stunts that have risked the work of the entire
network. They knew, for example, that broadcasting the George Carlin
'naughty words' routine was risky but they did it. Fortunately, the
Supreme Court sided with Pacifica but it could have gone the other way
and risked the entire network.
You do not get that cavalier F**K YOU WE DO WHAT WE WANT from the other
four stations. They have a history of work, not of entitlement. That
is not to claim that life is perfect and wonderful at the other four.
It is to note that if they take a stand, it's on a real issue -- a news
issue, a broadcast issue -- whereas WBAI does stunts.
And that's created the culture at WBAI that has been so destructive.
Greed and incompetence have been the hallmarks of those who chose to
stay with the station (as opposed to the many who elected to move on).
I'm not going to embarrass a '00 on air here. But she was a woman of
color, she was a very talented broadcaster and she was ousted from her
job by the little junta which controlled WBAI in the '00s. This same
group -- a mixture African-Americans and Anglo Jews -- are the first to
scream racism, but their own actions targeting people of color were
racist.
Doug Henwood hosts Behind The News (whch originated at WBAI and now airs on KPFA Thursdays at noon PST). He characterizes the '00s at WBAI:
Charges of “racism” were lobbed constantly. A succession of managerial
mediocrities drove the station into the ground. Excruciating stupidity
was embraced in the name of populist programming. For several years in
the mid-2000s, the station was run by a cabal of black nationalists of
an antique and alienating sort. They were forced out by Pacifica
central, only to be replaced by an even less distinguished (though not
black nationalist) set of sub-mediocrities.
That probably includes the people who caused Henwood to leave. In 2010,
major changes were implemented and leadership forced on to WBAI.
Bernard White felt the need to whine publicly. Strangely enough, White
felt it was okay to use WBAI's airwaves in 2008 to promote and endorse
Barack Obama for president. In his role as program manager of WBAI,
that endorsement was both questionable and potentially harmful. As the
daytime voice, he did bumpers between the morning programs, stupid
musings without merit that would be embarrassing in any city but
especially in New York City where so much media was present to catch the
stupidity.
It was in one such 'bumper,' that he mused on the violence that would
arrive should Barack not become president. Pacifica has a certain tax
status and has that because it's non-partisan. To have the daily
announcer -- who is also the program manager and was the voice of WBAI
at that time -- make such a stupid statement was appalling to the
Pacifica board. It was unprofessional and it could have resulted in the
network losing its tax status.
WBAI was not pulling its own financial weight and had not been for some
time. White's stunt set in motion his 2009 dismissal (which he claimed
publicly was a COINTEL plot and "non-progressive, what I consider to be
racist people"). What followed was the usual stupidity of 'poor Bernard
was fired because he was Black!' It's interesting how color 'matters'
when White's cabal screams racism. It didn't matter when White fired
Robert Knight (who is African-American -- Knight would go on to do Flashpoints on KPFA with Dennis Bernstein and Nora Barrows-Friedman
before returning on air at WBAI after White left), it didn't matter
when they got rid of the woman of color I wrote of earlier. But when
White loses his job, it's 'racism.'
No, it was about not paying the bills. It was about draining Pacifica's
cash with your station no one listened to. In 2010, serious measures
were taken. It was necessary to get money and listeners immediately.
Pacifica was in danger of going under -- that was chiefly due to monies
WBAI owed. All stations suffered and had to make concessions. KPFA,
for example, had to do away with The Morning Show. (A blessing
in disguise. It allowed for diversity in programming and thought to
replace an increasingly soft pseudo news show.) For WBAI, it meant
experimenting with new programs -- a long overdue need. That meant
moving some programs currently airing and how the hosts did howl.
Mya Shone and Ralph Schoenman provided a real service with Taking Aim.
(Doug Henwood would disagree, he despises shows that question the 9-11
narrative.) They did a first-rate program. But when they learned their
Tuesday show was moving from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm, they had a hissy
fit. They dubbed ten p.m. "the bedtime hour." Excuse me? 10 pm is
bedtime in NYC? WBAI was attempting, through the efforts of interim
director Tony Bates, to bring in listeners. They had to shake up the
schedule. They were not burying Taking Aim at midnight or later, they
were airing it during the last hour of prime time. (Don't ask Mya or
Ralph what happens on ABC's Scandal
-- which returns this coming Thursday at 10:00 pm EST, 9 central --
because they're already in bed and can't watch.) The anger of Mya and
Ralph was misplaced but quickly adopted by the Bernard White crowd with
calls of 'take back WBAI!' Under Bates, the station was actually
listenable. (Law and Disorder is the only WBAI show the station had
that was consistently listenable in the '00s.)
They never succeeded and they won't. Goodman's gotten what she wants (she got it immediately -- two airings daily of Democracy Now!
on WBAI). They have no real leaders (in the past, people stood behind
White, real leaders, pulling the strings). And they're in a position of
weakness. August 13th, I filled in for Stan at his site and wrote "WBAI troubles."
Oh, how the deluded don't like reality. I got a real taste of the
hatred the Bernard White crowd has heaped on Robert Knight (he had dared
to call out Barack's Drone War, war on Libya and more). To suggest
that WBAI should be sold!!!! Gasp!!!! How dare I?
Here's some of what I wrote:
It has been a worthless radio station. I don't slam the shows about
"conspiracy theories" the way Henwood does. I think they gave WBAI some
diversity in thought.
But the garbage, I call that crap out and have for some time. We wrote about a lot of this in real time.
For example, Saturdays and Sundays on WBAI was crap with one dee jay oldies music show after another.
After Grandpa Munster passed away his Saturday time slot should have
gone to needed news programming. Instead Al Lewis was kept on the air
(via old programs) for a year after he died.
Now this garbage on the weekend?
WBAI gets credit for airing Winter Soldier put on by Iraq Veterans Against the War.
But it didn't air them.
It aired Friday's proceedings. They skipped Saturday and Sundays
proceedings to air their crappy programs where they spin old records.
Actual news was taking place -- and KPFA was airing it -- but WBAI
wasn't.
Doug Henwood apparently is uncomfortable calling that out. I have no problem. I called them out on the Saturday it happened.
News.
WBAI's news has been a damn joke forever.
They are in the media capitol of the world and yet their news played
like the worst local news in the worst and smallest market in the
country.
The news only aired Monday through Friday and for a half hour.
So if any news broke on the weekend, WBAI couldn't cover it.
While KPFA has hourly news breaks during the day -- at the top of the
hour (except during Democracy Now!) -- WBAI considers 'news' to be
telling people the time and temperature.
They are an embarrassment. So is the DC station.
And if you can't carry your weight and you're risking destroying the 'network' (five stations) you need to go.
Law and Disorder Radio
will go on if WBAI doesn't. The rest of programming offers nothing.
It's weak minded hosted by the weak minded and so far from Lewis Hill's
intent with Pacifica that they should all be ashamed. It's not just the
falling asleep on air twice in 2012 by Tom Wisker (who was then hosting
Weaponry on WBAI). They are an embarrassment. More
importantly, they are not carrying their weight. They owe Pacifica
money and they risk the entire network going under as a result.
Free Speech Radio News was actual news. It wasn't garbage. It
wasn't, "Let me interview my friend about their new book while we
pretend on air like we're not best friends." This was actual reporting
-- a foreign concept to WBAI, granted. The loss of this half-hour show
is tremendous. Free Speech Radio News covered everything that was news and did so professionally.
A few weeks ago (a few days before I wrote the post at Stan's blog), a friend called about what was going to happen to FSRN.
Couldn't we, he suggested, all kick in and take care of that? We
could. And normally I'd be the first to write that check. But I'm sick
of paying WBAI's bills. And rescuing FSRN would just give Pacifica another excuse not to address the WBAI problem.
WBAI is not pulling its weight. It needs to publicly be informed it has
X number of days to turn that debt around or its station will be sold.
Pacifica cannot risk going under to save that awful station. Today,
the world lost Free Speech Radio News. If the problem's not
addressed, it will be something else in a few months. If the problem's
not addressed, it will eventually be announced that Pacifica is going
under. One station should not be allowed to destroy the whole network.
KPFA, KPFK, KPFT pull their own weight. WBAI needs to make money
quickly or be cut lose and the same is true of WPFW.
Pacifica is supposed to be a network which supports peace. Its purpose
is too important. Losing FSRN is a huge blow, losing Pacifica would be
even more so.
If you want to help Pacifica, you might also start demanding Amy Goodman
write off the two million she's expecting Pacifica to pay her. As
Pacifica Treasurer Tracy Rosenberg noted at Matthew Lasar's Radio Survivor:
It’s not correct that Democracy Now hasn’t been paid a penny by
Pacifica. It’s been paid millions of dollars, just not the last million.
Since 2002, when the initial contract is signed, through the current
day, the total amount Pacifica contracted to pay Democracy Now is over
$5 million dollars. The problem is signing contracts that go up every
year regardless of whether the pledges received during the airing of the
program go up or down, and they have gone down substantially in the
last decade. Pacifica, unfortunately, has gotten a lot of bad legal
advice over the years and tends to make decisions emotionally. Emotional
ties to DN were not a good enough reason to sign a contract which was
not advantageous to both parties involved. And in the end, it hasn’t
proven that advantageous to DN either. Pacifica’s then-ED Greg Guma
objected to the terms during the renegotiation in 2007 because he could
see the numbers weren’t trending in support of the terms, but no one
listened to him at the time.
Goodman's very good at enriching herself. It's really time for her 'to
give back.' It's also time for Pacifica to either enter a new contract
with her or else drop her from the airwaves. It wouldn't be a loss. As
Cindy Sheehan has pointed out, since Barack Obama has become president, she's been on Democracy Now! only once for a few seconds. Amy puts on CIA contractor Juan Cole but ignores Cindy? That's not Lew Hill's mission statement.
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Saturday, September 28, 2013
Friday, September 27, 2013
The peace talks and breaking wind
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY TODAY MET BRIEFLY WITH CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O.
EMERGING FROM THE OVAL OFFICE IN A GAS MASK AND HAZMAT SUIT, KERRY DECLARED, "NEEDLESS TO SAY, ONE MEETING AND A CHANGE IN TONE, WHICH WAS WELCOME, DOESN'T ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS YET AND THERE IS A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE."
JUST AS THE WORLD COLLECTIVELY SIGHED IN RELIEF THAT AN ATTACK ON THE WHITE HOUSE AND ON THE FARTER IN CHIEF HAD BEEN AVERTED, BARRY O LET A LOUD ONE RIP.
KERRY LEPT ON THE PRESS SCREAMING, "EVERYBODY DOWN!"
EMERGING FROM THE OVAL OFFICE, A SHEEPISH BARRY O DECLARED, "SORRY FOLKS. HAD ENCHILADAS OUT OF A CAN LAST NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Cultural betrayal cannot be supported by the world community. But it has been. In the US, there has been a strong reluctance to call out the abuse of the social sciences by the US government. We're talking about the military's Human Terrain System which maintains its mission is:
The Human Terrain System develops, trains, and integrates a social science based research and analysis capability to support operationally relevant decision-making, to develop a knowledge base, and to enable sociocultural understanding across the operational environment.
No, what they did was war on a native people, they are the trash betraying their training and their field, bringing dishonor to academia. Tom Hayden's called this out and David Price has repeatedly. We first called it out in December of 2006 (see "When Dumb Ass met Dumb Ass").
The field of anthropology is not to learn about a people in order to attack and harm them. To participate in counter-insurgency should result in someone losing their professional accreditation. Instead, the only 'harm' has been one woman telling George Packer that her work has resulted in her being shunned at cocktail parties.
Tom Hayden noted:
The new doctrine was jointly developed with academics at the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard. The Carr Center's Sarah Sewell, a former Pentagon official, co-sponsored with Petraeus the official "doctrine revision workshop" that produced the new Army-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual [U.S. Army Field Manual No. 3-24, Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5, 2007]. The workshop was held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, onFeb. 23-24, 2006, and can be accessed here.
This is not an academic text but, in the Marine Corps' title, a "warfighting doctrine", complete with hundreds of recommendations ranging from how to "clear, hold and build", how to use secret agents in calling in air strikes, even advice on public speaking ["avoid pacing, writing on the blackboard, teetering on the lectern, drinking beverages, or doing any other distracting activity while the interpreter is translating."
The new counter-insurgency approach purports to be more civilized and humane than conventional kinetic war. It seeks to save the population ["winning hearts and minds"] from the insurgents. It attempts to minimize civilian casualties and avoid torture of detainees. It promotes social programs. These no doubt were the attractions of the collaboration for Harvard's "humanitarian hawks". The introduction to the Manual is thoughtful and balanced, even raising questions whether the effort can work at all. She tastefully avoids any references to the brutal though targeted suppression necessary for the mission to succeed, [. . .]
Again, David Price (Concerned Anthropologists) has repeatedly called this betrayal out. Here is one example of him doing so at CounterPunch in 2009:
Like a mad scientist’s slime monster that will not die in a 1950s B Movie, the Human Terrain System’s counterinsurgency teams not only somehow remains alive in the face of extensive devastating criticism, but the program’s existence remains firmly publicly boosted by a seemingly endless series of uncritical mainstream news and features stories that frame the program as America’s last best hope to win the hearts and minds of the occupied peoples of Iraq and increasingly Afghanistan. If this were a B monster movie, such prolonged survival would be due to remarkable adaptive abilities, but Human Terrain has no such extraordinary power; its success has been guaranteed by the support it receives from the corporate media as it fawns over HTS in a flurry of glowing formulaic profiles ignoring the program’s fatal flaws. If this were a 1950’s B monster movie, this situation would like finding those we depend on to open fire on the monster shooting blanks (and feeding it table scraps) while abundant cases of live ammo lay at their feet.
The Human Terrain program embeds social scientists, such as anthropologists, with troops operating in battle theatre settings as members of Human Terrain Teams. These teams are part of counterinsurgency operations designed provide military personnel with cultural information that will help inform troop activities in areas of occupation. Since the first public acknowledgement of HTS two and a half years ago, it has been criticized by anthropologists for betraying fundamental principles of anthropological ethics, as being politically aligned with neo-colonialism, and as being ineffective in meeting its claimed outcomes. For the most part, the mainstream media has acted as cheerleaders for the program by producing a seemingly endless series of uncritical features highlighting what they frame as kind hearted individuals trying to use their knowledge of culture to save lives; while misrepresenting the reasons and extent of criticism of the Human Terrain program.
Slowly, criticism has somewhat emerged in the press this year. In February, Tom Vanden Brook (USA Today) reported US House Rep Duncan Hunter was calling out the program in a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, maintaining that the military had lost control of the program and was unable to effectively oversee it. Also in February, Tom Vanden Brooks reported:
A 2010 Army investigation shows the program was plagued by severe problems, including:
And many commanders deemed worthless — or worse — the reports the teams produced. In one case, the commander of a brigade combat team in Iraq told the Army investigator that he "relied very little on his (Human Terrain team) and viewed them as incapable and of little value. He never looked at his team's products and believed their survey efforts actually created anxiety among the local Iraqi populace."
[. . .]
In one case, a team member with military experience made a statement under oath that the training staff at Fort Leavenworth was overwhelmed and that problems, including sexual harassment, flowed from bad leadership.
"Teams were hurriedly deployed to Iraq and subsequently without exception failed either as a team or in the quality of the product delivered," the statement said. "This atmosphere was reflected in the staff's struggles in dealing with the continuous deluge of unqualified students and severe personnel issues. ... This gross lack of leadership and oversight sowed the seeds for the chaos and malfeasance to come."
One of those leaders, according to the statement, was "one of the worst misogynists I have ever encountered in my career." Sexual innuendo was commonplace, the official wrote. "One woman upon giving (the trainer) a goodbye hug and peck on the cheek received the comment, 'How about a little tongue with that next time.' "
This week Tom Vanden Brook continues to cover the scandals with the program:
Several former and current members of the program told investigators and the paper, on condition of anonymity, that they regularly filed for hours they didn't work, taking home more than $200,000 a year and months of comp time for little effort. The Army's internal investigation showed that supervisors directed team members to claim the maximum amount of overtime and comp time possible, earning them salaries topping $280,000 and entitling them to six months paid leave upon returning to the United States.
By contrast, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel earns a salary of about $200,000.
Are we really surprised that the program is plagued with theft, sexism and racism? These are people who can't live up to the ethics of their own field. Why hasn't the program already been shut down? Maybe because people like Sarah Sewall support it. That trash bragged on TV about being able to put words into Barack Obama's mouth (see Ava and my "TV: Charlie Rose by any other name would still be as bad") and today she serves on the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board. She also wrote the introduction to the military's counter-insurgency manual.
What's that stink?
Oh, it's the Samantha Power drifting from between someone's knees. The Problem From Hell Samantha Power blurbed the counter-insurgency manual. Today the War Hawk Tweets:
Sammy will have her war if it kills her. World Bulletin reports, "A mortar shell hit the Iraqi consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, killing an Iraqi woman and wounding four other people, witnesses said. State news agency SANA quoted a source at the consulate as saying the shell had also damaged the building." If the embassy was the intended target, the attacker was not the Syrian government or army. It was Barack's beloved 'rebels' (al Qaeda). The Iraqi government has repeatedly stated that a military action would not help Syria and would harm Iraq. Just today, prior to the attack, Alsumaria reported Nouri al-Maliki was again stressing the military was not an answer to Syria's crisis, that a diplomatic solution was necessary. Bob Dreyfuss (The Nation) observes:
[. . .] yesterday Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, warned that Iraq opposes arming the Syrian rebels.
Zebari’s warning comes as The New York Times reports that a big chunk of the so-called “moderate” Islamist rebels inside Syria formally broke ties with the phony, US-backed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. That decision vastly complicates President Obama’s ability to lobby on behalf of the Syrian opposition. Recognizing the problem, a US official told the Times, using circular reasoning, that the United States has “extreme concerns about extremists.”
During an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Zebari endorsed the US-Russian effort to reach an accord on Syria’s chemical weapons, and he called for a “peaceful settlement” of the Syrian civil war. There is, he said, “no hope of military victory” for either side. But, in a message clearly aimed not only at the United States but at Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, Zebari said: “We oppose providing military assistance to any [Syrian] rebel groups.”
When the US Ambassador to the United Nations isn't screaming for war on Syria, she's still trying to destroy Iraq.
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SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY TODAY MET BRIEFLY WITH CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O.
EMERGING FROM THE OVAL OFFICE IN A GAS MASK AND HAZMAT SUIT, KERRY DECLARED, "NEEDLESS TO SAY, ONE MEETING AND A CHANGE IN TONE, WHICH WAS WELCOME, DOESN'T ANSWER THOSE QUESTIONS YET AND THERE IS A LOT OF WORK TO BE DONE."
JUST AS THE WORLD COLLECTIVELY SIGHED IN RELIEF THAT AN ATTACK ON THE WHITE HOUSE AND ON THE FARTER IN CHIEF HAD BEEN AVERTED, BARRY O LET A LOUD ONE RIP.
KERRY LEPT ON THE PRESS SCREAMING, "EVERYBODY DOWN!"
EMERGING FROM THE OVAL OFFICE, A SHEEPISH BARRY O DECLARED, "SORRY FOLKS. HAD ENCHILADAS OUT OF A CAN LAST NIGHT AT MIDNIGHT."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Cultural betrayal cannot be supported by the world community. But it has been. In the US, there has been a strong reluctance to call out the abuse of the social sciences by the US government. We're talking about the military's Human Terrain System which maintains its mission is:
The Human Terrain System develops, trains, and integrates a social science based research and analysis capability to support operationally relevant decision-making, to develop a knowledge base, and to enable sociocultural understanding across the operational environment.
No, what they did was war on a native people, they are the trash betraying their training and their field, bringing dishonor to academia. Tom Hayden's called this out and David Price has repeatedly. We first called it out in December of 2006 (see "When Dumb Ass met Dumb Ass").
The field of anthropology is not to learn about a people in order to attack and harm them. To participate in counter-insurgency should result in someone losing their professional accreditation. Instead, the only 'harm' has been one woman telling George Packer that her work has resulted in her being shunned at cocktail parties.
Tom Hayden noted:
The new doctrine was jointly developed with academics at the Carr Center for Human Rights at Harvard. The Carr Center's Sarah Sewell, a former Pentagon official, co-sponsored with Petraeus the official "doctrine revision workshop" that produced the new Army-Marine Corps Counterinsurgency Field Manual [U.S. Army Field Manual No. 3-24, Marine Corps Warfighting Publication No. 3-33.5, 2007]. The workshop was held at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, onFeb. 23-24, 2006, and can be accessed here.
This is not an academic text but, in the Marine Corps' title, a "warfighting doctrine", complete with hundreds of recommendations ranging from how to "clear, hold and build", how to use secret agents in calling in air strikes, even advice on public speaking ["avoid pacing, writing on the blackboard, teetering on the lectern, drinking beverages, or doing any other distracting activity while the interpreter is translating."
The new counter-insurgency approach purports to be more civilized and humane than conventional kinetic war. It seeks to save the population ["winning hearts and minds"] from the insurgents. It attempts to minimize civilian casualties and avoid torture of detainees. It promotes social programs. These no doubt were the attractions of the collaboration for Harvard's "humanitarian hawks". The introduction to the Manual is thoughtful and balanced, even raising questions whether the effort can work at all. She tastefully avoids any references to the brutal though targeted suppression necessary for the mission to succeed, [. . .]
Again, David Price (Concerned Anthropologists) has repeatedly called this betrayal out. Here is one example of him doing so at CounterPunch in 2009:
Like a mad scientist’s slime monster that will not die in a 1950s B Movie, the Human Terrain System’s counterinsurgency teams not only somehow remains alive in the face of extensive devastating criticism, but the program’s existence remains firmly publicly boosted by a seemingly endless series of uncritical mainstream news and features stories that frame the program as America’s last best hope to win the hearts and minds of the occupied peoples of Iraq and increasingly Afghanistan. If this were a B monster movie, such prolonged survival would be due to remarkable adaptive abilities, but Human Terrain has no such extraordinary power; its success has been guaranteed by the support it receives from the corporate media as it fawns over HTS in a flurry of glowing formulaic profiles ignoring the program’s fatal flaws. If this were a 1950’s B monster movie, this situation would like finding those we depend on to open fire on the monster shooting blanks (and feeding it table scraps) while abundant cases of live ammo lay at their feet.
The Human Terrain program embeds social scientists, such as anthropologists, with troops operating in battle theatre settings as members of Human Terrain Teams. These teams are part of counterinsurgency operations designed provide military personnel with cultural information that will help inform troop activities in areas of occupation. Since the first public acknowledgement of HTS two and a half years ago, it has been criticized by anthropologists for betraying fundamental principles of anthropological ethics, as being politically aligned with neo-colonialism, and as being ineffective in meeting its claimed outcomes. For the most part, the mainstream media has acted as cheerleaders for the program by producing a seemingly endless series of uncritical features highlighting what they frame as kind hearted individuals trying to use their knowledge of culture to save lives; while misrepresenting the reasons and extent of criticism of the Human Terrain program.
Slowly, criticism has somewhat emerged in the press this year. In February, Tom Vanden Brook (USA Today) reported US House Rep Duncan Hunter was calling out the program in a letter to Army Secretary John McHugh, maintaining that the military had lost control of the program and was unable to effectively oversee it. Also in February, Tom Vanden Brooks reported:
A 2010 Army investigation shows the program was plagued by severe problems, including:
- Team members were encouraged to maximize their pay and comp time by inflating time sheets.
- Allegations of sexual harassment and racism were made against the government contractors who recruited and trained Human Terrain teams and a soldier who worked in the program.
- The program relied on unaccountable contractors and inadequate government oversight.
And many commanders deemed worthless — or worse — the reports the teams produced. In one case, the commander of a brigade combat team in Iraq told the Army investigator that he "relied very little on his (Human Terrain team) and viewed them as incapable and of little value. He never looked at his team's products and believed their survey efforts actually created anxiety among the local Iraqi populace."
[. . .]
In one case, a team member with military experience made a statement under oath that the training staff at Fort Leavenworth was overwhelmed and that problems, including sexual harassment, flowed from bad leadership.
"Teams were hurriedly deployed to Iraq and subsequently without exception failed either as a team or in the quality of the product delivered," the statement said. "This atmosphere was reflected in the staff's struggles in dealing with the continuous deluge of unqualified students and severe personnel issues. ... This gross lack of leadership and oversight sowed the seeds for the chaos and malfeasance to come."
One of those leaders, according to the statement, was "one of the worst misogynists I have ever encountered in my career." Sexual innuendo was commonplace, the official wrote. "One woman upon giving (the trainer) a goodbye hug and peck on the cheek received the comment, 'How about a little tongue with that next time.' "
This week Tom Vanden Brook continues to cover the scandals with the program:
Several former and current members of the program told investigators and the paper, on condition of anonymity, that they regularly filed for hours they didn't work, taking home more than $200,000 a year and months of comp time for little effort. The Army's internal investigation showed that supervisors directed team members to claim the maximum amount of overtime and comp time possible, earning them salaries topping $280,000 and entitling them to six months paid leave upon returning to the United States.
By contrast, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel earns a salary of about $200,000.
Are we really surprised that the program is plagued with theft, sexism and racism? These are people who can't live up to the ethics of their own field. Why hasn't the program already been shut down? Maybe because people like Sarah Sewall support it. That trash bragged on TV about being able to put words into Barack Obama's mouth (see Ava and my "TV: Charlie Rose by any other name would still be as bad") and today she serves on the Secretary of Defense's Defense Policy Board. She also wrote the introduction to the military's counter-insurgency manual.
What's that stink?
Oh, it's the Samantha Power drifting from between someone's knees. The Problem From Hell Samantha Power blurbed the counter-insurgency manual. Today the War Hawk Tweets:
-
The draft UNSCR establishes that
#Syria's use of CW is threat to international peace & security & creates a new norm against the use of CW.
Samantha Power
Sammy will have her war if it kills her. World Bulletin reports, "A mortar shell hit the Iraqi consulate in the Syrian capital Damascus on Thursday, killing an Iraqi woman and wounding four other people, witnesses said. State news agency SANA quoted a source at the consulate as saying the shell had also damaged the building." If the embassy was the intended target, the attacker was not the Syrian government or army. It was Barack's beloved 'rebels' (al Qaeda). The Iraqi government has repeatedly stated that a military action would not help Syria and would harm Iraq. Just today, prior to the attack, Alsumaria reported Nouri al-Maliki was again stressing the military was not an answer to Syria's crisis, that a diplomatic solution was necessary. Bob Dreyfuss (The Nation) observes:
[. . .] yesterday Iraq’s foreign minister, Hoshyar Zebari, warned that Iraq opposes arming the Syrian rebels.
Zebari’s warning comes as The New York Times reports that a big chunk of the so-called “moderate” Islamist rebels inside Syria formally broke ties with the phony, US-backed National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. That decision vastly complicates President Obama’s ability to lobby on behalf of the Syrian opposition. Recognizing the problem, a US official told the Times, using circular reasoning, that the United States has “extreme concerns about extremists.”
During an appearance at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Zebari endorsed the US-Russian effort to reach an accord on Syria’s chemical weapons, and he called for a “peaceful settlement” of the Syrian civil war. There is, he said, “no hope of military victory” for either side. But, in a message clearly aimed not only at the United States but at Saudi Arabia and other Arab states, Zebari said: “We oppose providing military assistance to any [Syrian] rebel groups.”
When the US Ambassador to the United Nations isn't screaming for war on Syria, she's still trying to destroy Iraq.
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Thursday, September 26, 2013
Kerry floats fear Barry O will use lima beans
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
TODAY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY MET WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI AND THE TWO DISCUSSED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O'S CONTINUED USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS CITING THIS WEEK'S FART ATTACK ON THE UNITED NATIONS' GENERAL ASSEMBLY (SEE "THIS JUST IN! BARRY O GASSES THE UN!" and "Barack makes an impression").
"THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH!" KERRY THUNDERED AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER. "THINGS HAVE ONLY GOTTEN WORSE IN THE LAST WEEK. AND THERE ARE RUMORS THAT BARRY O IS CONSIDERING MOVING FROM PINTO TO GARBANZO AND EVEN LIMA BEANS. LIMA BEANS! IMAGINE HOW BAD THE FARTS FROM THAT COULD BE!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Today, violence slammed Iraq again. National Iraqi News Agency reports that there was an attempt to storm the Hawija Council building -- guns went off, suicide bombers, mortars. EFE offers, "Militants targeted the city hall, police station and courthouse in the town of Hawijah." The attack left at least 14 people dead and twenty-two more injured. Al Mada quotes Iraqi army Major General Mohammed Khalaf Saeed al-Dulaimi stating the breakdown on the dead is 3 Iraqi soldiers, 7 civilians and 4 rebels. Yaseen al-Sabaw tells Reuters, "I was at the Hawija local council building when suddenly two blasts shook the ground. I ran out of the building and was shocked to see human flesh and body parts spread around the entrance." Bi Mingxin (Xinhua) notes, "The attacks occurred at noon in Hawijah, some 60 km west of the capital city of Kirkuk, when insurgents blew up a car bomb near a police station while two suicide car bombers struck the entrance of the city council building and another police station, local police source said told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." On Iraq's increasing violence, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) offers, "The tensions began escalating after an April incident in Hawija. That's when Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government."
Tawfeeq is referring to the April 23rd massacre of a sit-in in Hawija resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault. AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).
The attack in Hawija wasn't the only violence today. Alsumaria reports a Tikrit bombing claimed the lives of 2 women and left three more injured. All Iraq News notes a Mosul market bombing has left 5 people dead and forty-two more injured. Xinhua reports, "A group of unidentified gunmen stormed a house in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and shot dead six people from one family, including three children, an Interior Ministry source said Wednesday." NINA adds a Tikrit roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left four more injured, 2 farmers were shot dead in Muqdadiya, a Mousl roadside bombing claimed the lives of 3 police officers (two more were left injured), 2 Shabaks were shot dead in Mosul, a Rutba roadside bombing left 2 people dead and a third injured, and a Ramadi sticky bombing claimed the life of "Ammar Theyabi, one of the organizers of the Anbar protests." Alsumaria reveals that Ammar was crossing a bridge when the bomb went off. Iraqi Spring MC states the attack bears the characteristics of one carried out by government intelligence agents.
That is Ammar Jassam Theyabi who was assassinated today. Iraqi Spring MC published the photo as they noted yet another attack on the peaceful protesters. The current wave of protests passed the nine month mark last Friday. The world press has had very little interest in the attacks Nouri's forces have carried out. (But didn't they all freak out and offer coverage when Saleh al-Mutlaq got the bum's rush when he attempted to take over a protest to self-promote?)
If you're not getting just how bad the world media's coverage of the attacks on the Iraqi protesters have been, note that EFE, AP and countless others mention the Hawija attack all the time but 'forget' to note that UNICEF found 8 children were killed in that massacre. They can't even get the numbers right for the dead. Most English language outlets will go with 40. EFE today goes with 26. What kind of nonsense is that? And since when did UNICEF stop being a respected source for news on the world's children?
BRussels Tribunal does a great job getting the word out on Iraq. But today might be the day for them to create a list. They already have the following lists:
Maybe it's time for a list of activists who have been assassinated in 'free' (post-invasion) Iraq?
In police news, NINA notes that suspects are said to have been apprehended in Saturday's bombing of the funeral in Sadr City and that some residents took to government buildings with stones and bullets today demanding the suspects be handed over to them. All Iraq News quotes a security source who states, ""Some protesters attacked some governmental institutions including the Local Council of Mudhafar square on the background of the bombing that took place in Sadr city and targeted a solace. The protesters called to close the governmental institutions in Sadr city." Ahmed Hussein and Sam Mahmoud (Alsumaria) report there are three suspects being held in the Saturday bombing.
From Saturday's entry:
Reuters notes, "At least 65 people were killed in a triple bombing that targeted a tent filled with mourners in Baghdad's Shi'ite Muslim stronghold of Sadr City on Saturday, police and medical sources said." Press TV adds, "In the deadliest of the attacks on Saturday, 57 people died after two bombings were carried out near a funeral tent in Shia-dominated Sadr City north of the capital Baghdad." The death toll continued to rise. AP notes, "Police said at least 72 people were killed and more than 120 were wounded in that attack. One bomber drove up near the tents before detonating his deadly payload, and another on foot blew himself up nearby, police said."
The bombings were condemned by the United Nations, the UK Foreign Ministry, the EU, and the US Embassy in Baghdad among other foreign bodies. Saturday's bombing was followed Sunday by the targeting of a Sunni funeral in Baghdad and Monday, in Baghdad, another Sunni funeral was targeted. Some of those who lost loved ones in the Sadr City bombing are calling for executions. All Iraq News reports:
The number of the demonstrators demanding to execute the perpetrators of the solace explosion in Sadr city increased in Sadr city.
The correspondent of AIN reported that ''The demonstrations still continue and the number of protestors increased demanding to execute the terrorist who carried out the explosion that targeted a solace in Sadr city.''
Amnesty International released a statement on executions in Iraq today:
All executions in Iraq must be halted immediately, Amnesty International urged today after 13 men were executed in Baghdad.
Today, the organization has been able to confirm the names of nine of the men, who were executed on 22 September following death sentences imposed after unfair trials and based on “confessions” allegedly extracted under torture. Four others were also executed that day, bringing the total number of executions in Iraq so far this year to at least 73.
“The Iraqi authorities have chosen to defy repeated calls not to execute prisoners and to rely on tainted ‘confessions’ obtained under torture. That a death sentence could be imposed after obviously grossly unfair trials beggars belief,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International had urged the Iraqi authorities not to carry out the executions of these nine men, and to investigate their allegations that they were tortured to coerce them into making “confessions”. The court trying them appears to have disregarded compelling medical evidence supporting these complaints, and used “confessions” inadmissible as evidence under international law - their trial fell far short of international fair trial standards.
“We again urge the Iraqi authorities to declare a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty and to commute all death sentences. They must address the flaws in the Iraqi justice system, investigate claims of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, and, where applicable, grant re-trials in full compliance with fair trial standards,” said Hassiba Hadi Sahraoui.
In other police news, NINA notes that police raided the University of Tikrit's College of Education "and detained the professor of the science of Quran [. . .] Dr. Salah Yasser al-Obeidi." Iraqi Spring MC adds that over 90 young people (all under the age of 20) have been rounded up and taken away by Nouri's forces today in Rawa (Anbar Province). It would appear that the Iraqi protesters are being targeted not just with bombs but also with arrests.
In other political news (targeting protesters counts as political news because the goal is to silence their protests), All Iraq News notes Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with British Ambassador to Iraq Simon Collis today to discuss the security situation in the country. al-Nujaifi also met with US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft today and the two discussed the security situation and the ongoing political crisis.
The political crisis has been going on for nearly three years now. Nouri didn't get the votes to be prime minister. The White House wanted al-Maliki to have a second term. They brokered The Erbil Agreement -- a contract where the heads of the various political blocs in Iraq agreed to give Nouri a second term in exchange for Nouri agreeing to their terms. Nouri used the contract to get a second term and then trashed it, refusing to honor the legal promises he had made in writing. That's what's behind the ongoing political crisis.
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"Barack makes an impression"
TODAY U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY MET WITH CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER WANG YI AND THE TWO DISCUSSED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O'S CONTINUED USE OF CHEMICAL WEAPONS CITING THIS WEEK'S FART ATTACK ON THE UNITED NATIONS' GENERAL ASSEMBLY (SEE "THIS JUST IN! BARRY O GASSES THE UN!" and "Barack makes an impression").
"THIS HAS GONE ON LONG ENOUGH!" KERRY THUNDERED AT A PRESS CONFERENCE AFTER. "THINGS HAVE ONLY GOTTEN WORSE IN THE LAST WEEK. AND THERE ARE RUMORS THAT BARRY O IS CONSIDERING MOVING FROM PINTO TO GARBANZO AND EVEN LIMA BEANS. LIMA BEANS! IMAGINE HOW BAD THE FARTS FROM THAT COULD BE!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Today, violence slammed Iraq again. National Iraqi News Agency reports that there was an attempt to storm the Hawija Council building -- guns went off, suicide bombers, mortars. EFE offers, "Militants targeted the city hall, police station and courthouse in the town of Hawijah." The attack left at least 14 people dead and twenty-two more injured. Al Mada quotes Iraqi army Major General Mohammed Khalaf Saeed al-Dulaimi stating the breakdown on the dead is 3 Iraqi soldiers, 7 civilians and 4 rebels. Yaseen al-Sabaw tells Reuters, "I was at the Hawija local council building when suddenly two blasts shook the ground. I ran out of the building and was shocked to see human flesh and body parts spread around the entrance." Bi Mingxin (Xinhua) notes, "The attacks occurred at noon in Hawijah, some 60 km west of the capital city of Kirkuk, when insurgents blew up a car bomb near a police station while two suicide car bombers struck the entrance of the city council building and another police station, local police source said told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." On Iraq's increasing violence, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) offers, "The tensions began escalating after an April incident in Hawija. That's when Iraqi security forces raided a site used by Sunni protesters to demonstrate against the Shiite-led government."
Tawfeeq is referring to the April 23rd massacre of a sit-in in Hawija resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault. AFP reported the death toll eventually (as some wounded died) rose to 53 dead. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).
The attack in Hawija wasn't the only violence today. Alsumaria reports a Tikrit bombing claimed the lives of 2 women and left three more injured. All Iraq News notes a Mosul market bombing has left 5 people dead and forty-two more injured. Xinhua reports, "A group of unidentified gunmen stormed a house in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad and shot dead six people from one family, including three children, an Interior Ministry source said Wednesday." NINA adds a Tikrit roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 Iraqi soldier and left four more injured, 2 farmers were shot dead in Muqdadiya, a Mousl roadside bombing claimed the lives of 3 police officers (two more were left injured), 2 Shabaks were shot dead in Mosul, a Rutba roadside bombing left 2 people dead and a third injured, and a Ramadi sticky bombing claimed the life of "Ammar Theyabi, one of the organizers of the Anbar protests." Alsumaria reveals that Ammar was crossing a bridge when the bomb went off. Iraqi Spring MC states the attack bears the characteristics of one carried out by government intelligence agents.
That is Ammar Jassam Theyabi who was assassinated today. Iraqi Spring MC published the photo as they noted yet another attack on the peaceful protesters. The current wave of protests passed the nine month mark last Friday. The world press has had very little interest in the attacks Nouri's forces have carried out. (But didn't they all freak out and offer coverage when Saleh al-Mutlaq got the bum's rush when he attempted to take over a protest to self-promote?)
If you're not getting just how bad the world media's coverage of the attacks on the Iraqi protesters have been, note that EFE, AP and countless others mention the Hawija attack all the time but 'forget' to note that UNICEF found 8 children were killed in that massacre. They can't even get the numbers right for the dead. Most English language outlets will go with 40. EFE today goes with 26. What kind of nonsense is that? And since when did UNICEF stop being a respected source for news on the world's children?
BRussels Tribunal does a great job getting the word out on Iraq. But today might be the day for them to create a list. They already have the following lists:
Maybe it's time for a list of activists who have been assassinated in 'free' (post-invasion) Iraq?
In police news, NINA notes that suspects are said to have been apprehended in Saturday's bombing of the funeral in Sadr City and that some residents took to government buildings with stones and bullets today demanding the suspects be handed over to them. All Iraq News quotes a security source who states, ""Some protesters attacked some governmental institutions including the Local Council of Mudhafar square on the background of the bombing that took place in Sadr city and targeted a solace. The protesters called to close the governmental institutions in Sadr city." Ahmed Hussein and Sam Mahmoud (Alsumaria) report there are three suspects being held in the Saturday bombing.
From Saturday's entry:
Reuters notes, "At least 65 people were killed in a triple bombing that targeted a tent filled with mourners in Baghdad's Shi'ite Muslim stronghold of Sadr City on Saturday, police and medical sources said." Press TV adds, "In the deadliest of the attacks on Saturday, 57 people died after two bombings were carried out near a funeral tent in Shia-dominated Sadr City north of the capital Baghdad." The death toll continued to rise. AP notes, "Police said at least 72 people were killed and more than 120 were wounded in that attack. One bomber drove up near the tents before detonating his deadly payload, and another on foot blew himself up nearby, police said."
The bombings were condemned by the United Nations, the UK Foreign Ministry, the EU, and the US Embassy in Baghdad among other foreign bodies. Saturday's bombing was followed Sunday by the targeting of a Sunni funeral in Baghdad and Monday, in Baghdad, another Sunni funeral was targeted. Some of those who lost loved ones in the Sadr City bombing are calling for executions. All Iraq News reports:
The number of the demonstrators demanding to execute the perpetrators of the solace explosion in Sadr city increased in Sadr city.
The correspondent of AIN reported that ''The demonstrations still continue and the number of protestors increased demanding to execute the terrorist who carried out the explosion that targeted a solace in Sadr city.''
Amnesty International released a statement on executions in Iraq today:
All executions in Iraq must be halted immediately, Amnesty International urged today after 13 men were executed in Baghdad.
Today, the organization has been able to confirm the names of nine of the men, who were executed on 22 September following death sentences imposed after unfair trials and based on “confessions” allegedly extracted under torture. Four others were also executed that day, bringing the total number of executions in Iraq so far this year to at least 73.
“The Iraqi authorities have chosen to defy repeated calls not to execute prisoners and to rely on tainted ‘confessions’ obtained under torture. That a death sentence could be imposed after obviously grossly unfair trials beggars belief,” said Hassiba Hadj Sahraoui, Deputy Director of the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
Amnesty International had urged the Iraqi authorities not to carry out the executions of these nine men, and to investigate their allegations that they were tortured to coerce them into making “confessions”. The court trying them appears to have disregarded compelling medical evidence supporting these complaints, and used “confessions” inadmissible as evidence under international law - their trial fell far short of international fair trial standards.
“We again urge the Iraqi authorities to declare a moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing the death penalty and to commute all death sentences. They must address the flaws in the Iraqi justice system, investigate claims of torture and other ill-treatment in custody, and, where applicable, grant re-trials in full compliance with fair trial standards,” said Hassiba Hadi Sahraoui.
In other police news, NINA notes that police raided the University of Tikrit's College of Education "and detained the professor of the science of Quran [. . .] Dr. Salah Yasser al-Obeidi." Iraqi Spring MC adds that over 90 young people (all under the age of 20) have been rounded up and taken away by Nouri's forces today in Rawa (Anbar Province). It would appear that the Iraqi protesters are being targeted not just with bombs but also with arrests.
In other political news (targeting protesters counts as political news because the goal is to silence their protests), All Iraq News notes Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi met with British Ambassador to Iraq Simon Collis today to discuss the security situation in the country. al-Nujaifi also met with US Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Beecroft today and the two discussed the security situation and the ongoing political crisis.
The political crisis has been going on for nearly three years now. Nouri didn't get the votes to be prime minister. The White House wanted al-Maliki to have a second term. They brokered The Erbil Agreement -- a contract where the heads of the various political blocs in Iraq agreed to give Nouri a second term in exchange for Nouri agreeing to their terms. Nouri used the contract to get a second term and then trashed it, refusing to honor the legal promises he had made in writing. That's what's behind the ongoing political crisis.
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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Barack makes an impression
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
APPEARING BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY YESTERDAY, CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O POSED, PRANCED AND EVEN TOSSED HIS SHIRT OFF TO DISPLAY HIS PURPLE NIPS.
MOST OF ALL, HE DECLARED THAT HE WOULD NOT TOLERATE HIMSELF AND THE DEADLY FARTS EMITTING FROM HIS BUTT.
"AS SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY HAS NOTED," BARRY O SAID, "BARACK OBAMA IS THREATENING THE SAFETY OF THE WORLD WITH HIS FARTS -- WITH MY FARTS. THEREFORE I AM CALLING FOR THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION DECLARING WAR ON ME OR AT LEAST BANNING MY FARTS."
WITH THAT BARRY O PAUSED FOR APPLAUSE BUT BEFORE A SINGLE HAND COULD CLAP, HE LET ONE RIP AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY GASPED AND RAN OUTSIDE SCREAMING.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
As the world's press rush to and fro, Iraq only grows more desperate. Jane Arraf (Gulf News) examines the realities on the ground today:
Today's violence included a bit of everything. NINA notes a helicopter crashed "near a military camp northeast of Baquba." AFP reports the helicopter was fired upon (and pilot had gun wounds) and the Iraqi military is disputing whether or not the helicopter was "shot down." Press TV adds, "Eight people have been killed in attacks on two Iraqi police stations and a local official's house in the western province of al-Anbar. Seven officers and the brother of a local official were killed on Tuesday in two bombings and a shooting incident in the towns of Rawa and Aana." Xinhua explains, "In one of the attacks, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive- laden car at the entrance of the house of Waqass Adnan, mayor of the city of Aana, some 250 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." AFP reports the Aana assault was an attempt "to take over a small Sunni town."
In other violence, NINA notes a car carrying four Sunni Endowment staff was attacked to the northeast of Baghdad leaving all four injured, a Baghdad car bombing left five people injured, a Tikrit bombing left four people (including one police officer) injured, an attack on an Iraqi soldier's Baquba home left one child and a civilian adult injured, 1 farmer was shot dead in Baquba, an attack on a Jurf al-Sakar military headquarters left 1 Iraqi soldier dead, and a Jebela sticky bombing claimed 1 life and left another person injured.
Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 909 violent deaths in Iraq so far this month. At the Palais de Nations in Geneva today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Melissa Fleming addressed the violence in Iraq:
In Iraq, UNHCR is concerned as recent waves of sectarian violence threatens to spark a new internal displacement of Iraqis fleeing the recent horrific bombings and other attacks.
Since the beginning of the year, bombings and rising sectarian tensions have displaced some 5,000 Iraqis, with people mostly fleeing from Baghdad into Anbar and Salah Al Din governorates, as well as causing displacement within Diyala and Ninewa governorates.
Reports from the last two weeks suggest that up to 160 families from Basra and Thi Qar were displaced into Salah al Din and Anbar and 57 families from Baghdad arrived in Babylon. A smaller number of families have also fled from various governorates into Kerbala, Najaf and Wassit. Those displaced so far include Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Shia Shabak, Turkmen as well as Shia Arabs who are in minority situation.
UNHCR and its partners have conducted needs assessments of the newly displaced people and is advocating with the government of Iraq for their registration. In coordination with the government, UNHCR and our partners ensure that food, core relief items, education and adequate accommodation are provided and that relevant identity and residency cards are also supplied.
This recent displacement adds to the over 1.13 million internally displaced people inside Iraq that fled their homes amidst the 2006-2008 sectarian violence mostly residing in Baghdad, Diyala and Ninewa governorates.
Some 467,000 internally displaced people, returnees and squatters remain in more than 382 settlements on public land or in public buildings, enduring harsh living conditions and with limited access to electricity, adequate sanitation, schooling or sufficient job opportunities despite efforts from the governorates and others. Many may be at risk of eviction. UNHCR with the IDP working group has been working with the government, particularly with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, on a comprehensive plan to end displacement. This incorporates the development of policies on integration as well as livelihood, employment opportunities and shelter programmes.
We'll come back to the statement in a moment. Yesterday evening, Catherine Ashton, European Union High Representative, issued the following statement on the violence:
"I condemn the attacks that took place in Iraq on Saturday and Sunday, killing more than one hundred mourners and injuring close to two hundred in different districts of Baghdad, and killing two policemen in the north of the country. My thoughts go out to the many victims, and I express my condolences in particular to the families touched by this tragedy at a time when they were already grieving over the loss of their loved ones.
I continue to be extremely concerned by the escalation of sectarian violence in Iraq and the threat it poses to the stability of the country.
I welcome the recent initiatives by Iraqi political leaders to address their differences and promote reconciliation as a means of achieving lasting peace. I encourage them to spare no effort in searching for ways to reduce tensions and ensure that all Iraqi citizens are protected from violence."
Yesterday we called out the US Embassy in Baghdad for condemning the bombing attack on a Shi'ite funeral in Baghdad but being silent about the Sunday Baghdad bombing of a Sunni funeral and the Monday Baghdad bombing of a Sunni funeral.
They issued this statement:
The U.S. Embassy in Iraq denounces yesterday’s attack on mourners at a funeral in Baghdad. This brutal attack, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians, and Saturday’s similar attack at a funeral, remind us of the formidable security challenges that Iraq faces. We continue to work with the Government of Iraq to combat the terrorism threat and bring justice to those responsible for such despicable crimes. The U.S. Embassy extends its most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes for a rapid recovery to those injured.
They say they issued it yesterday.
They lie.
I called a State Dept friend to say I was sorry for missing that statement yesterday and how I would do a correction in today's snapshot. My friend couldn't stop laughing. That was issued today. He said, "Google it and get the time stamp." I did. He was right.
Back to UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming addressed the violence in Iraq:
Meanwhile, following the attack on Camp New Iraq on 1 September in which more than 50 residents died UNHCR remains gravely concerned for the safety of seven former residents of the site who remain unaccounted for. According to reports reaching UNHCR, the missing persons are reportedly being held somewhere in Iraq and may be at risk of being returned involuntarily to Iran, which would be a serious breach of international law. These seven are all known by UNHCR to be asylum-seekers, and UNHCR wants to have the opportunity to interview them.
In light of the numerous and persistent reports over the past week that these individuals may be at risk of forced return to Iran, UNHCR calls upon the Government of Iraq to locate them, to ensure their physical security and to safeguard them against return to Iran against their will. UNHCR furthermore urges the government to ensure the protection of the residents of Hurriya temporary transit location and calls on the international community to find solutions outside Iraq as a matter of urgency.
Iraq's prime minister and chief thug Nouri al-Maliki has denied having the seven hostages. Nouri's word doesn't mean anything on the world stage. Right about now, we usually do the background on the Camp Ashraf community but instead we'll let the United Nations News Centre cover it:
The United Nations human rights office today called on the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ascertain the whereabouts of seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, who have been missing since the facility, which housed Iranian exiles, was attacked on 1 September, leaving at least 52 residents dead.
“We are gravely concerned about allegations that seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, six of whom are reported to be women, were kidnapped during the events of 1 September,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said at a briefing in Geneva.
“If they have indeed been kidnapped, all efforts should be made to secure their release unharmed,” Mr. Colville added, noting unconfirmed reports that suggest that they are being held at an unidentified location in Iraq and are at risk of being forcibly returned to Iran.
Camp Ashraf was comprised of Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.
More than 3,000 residents have been relocated to Camp Hurriya, previously known as Camp Liberty, while the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) carries out a process to determine their refugee status, and resettle them outside of the country, in line with an agreement signed in December 2011 between the UN and the Iraqi Government.
Camp Ashraf has been attacked several times, making relocation a priority for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Following the latest attack, the remaining residents were transferred to Camp Hurriya, but the circumstances of the attack remain obscure.
“As three weeks have now passed, we reiterate our call on the Government to do its utmost to shed light on exactly what happened and to identify the perpetrators of these killings,” Mr. Colville said, while welcoming the transfer of the remaining residents to Hurriya.
He added that UNHCR and others shared the concern over the missing former residents and called on the Government to ensure their safety and prevent their involuntary return to Iran.
Twelve days ago, US Senator Robert Mendez's office released the following:
September 12, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released this statement condemning the attacks on Camp Ashraf residents, and called on the Iraqi government to protect the community and secure the release of seven hostages taken after the massacre at Camp Ashraf.
Menendez is the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Again, Nouri stated last week he is not holding any hostages. If true, did he deport them or have them killed? Deportation isn't a joke. There are rumors swirling in social media that Nouri's going to deport the remaining Ashraf community members. James Morrison (Washington Times via Iran Focus) reports:
From Capitol Hill to Brussels, supporters of the Iranian opposition are urging Secretary of State John F. Kerry to take action against Iraq for the massacre of 52 Iranian exiles by Iraqi gunmen.
Thirty-four House members urged Mr. Kerry to cut funds for Iraq until Baghdad takes “clear and verifiable efforts” to protect more than 3,000 dissidents in a refugee camp near the international airport.
They called on Mr. Kerry to demand the release of seven hostages taken during a Sept. 1 raid on Camp Ashraf, a smaller camp north of the capital.
The House members and other lawmakers noted that most of the victims were shot in the head and many had their hands tied behind their backs.
Doesn't really sound like John Kerry has the time to threaten war on Syria. But when you crave destruction, when you lust for blood, you make the time.
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APPEARING BEFORE THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY YESTERDAY, CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O POSED, PRANCED AND EVEN TOSSED HIS SHIRT OFF TO DISPLAY HIS PURPLE NIPS.
MOST OF ALL, HE DECLARED THAT HE WOULD NOT TOLERATE HIMSELF AND THE DEADLY FARTS EMITTING FROM HIS BUTT.
"AS SECRETARY OF STATE KERRY HAS NOTED," BARRY O SAID, "BARACK OBAMA IS THREATENING THE SAFETY OF THE WORLD WITH HIS FARTS -- WITH MY FARTS. THEREFORE I AM CALLING FOR THE UN SECURITY COUNCIL TO DRAFT A RESOLUTION DECLARING WAR ON ME OR AT LEAST BANNING MY FARTS."
WITH THAT BARRY O PAUSED FOR APPLAUSE BUT BEFORE A SINGLE HAND COULD CLAP, HE LET ONE RIP AND THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY GASPED AND RAN OUTSIDE SCREAMING.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
As the world's press rush to and fro, Iraq only grows more desperate. Jane Arraf (Gulf News) examines the realities on the ground today:
Behind the numbing regularity of Iraq's car bombs is the much quieter
sound of a country slowly imploding. The targets these days are not
usually the fortress-like ministries or security installations -- they
are regular Iraqis. Last Friday, bombs exploded in a Sunni mosque near
Samarra, killing at least 15 people. The attack capped a week of
violence that also saw at least 30 people killed on September 17 in
coordinated bombings that targeted Shiite neighbourhoods in Baghdad,
still mourning the victims of previous attacks. The bombers intended to
cause the maximum number of casualties -- detonating their explosives at
the end of the day, when Iraqis crowd into markets and cafes.
More than 4,000 civilians have been killed so far this year, the
highest death toll since Iraq climbed out of civil war five years ago.
Any wreckage is now quickly hauled away, as the government in Baghdad
has little capacity for forensic investigations. In many neighbourhoods,
the black funeral banners draped over brick walls and concrete blast
barriers are the only lasting signs of repeated explosions. Apart from
civilians, hundreds of soldiers and police, as well as officials from
the Interior and Justice Ministries, have been killed. Many of these
attacks are the handiwork of Al Qaida, which has made clear that it
intends to foster a civil war in Iraq. The jihadist group’s targeting of
markets, cafes and mosques seems aimed at showing Iraqis that
government security forces cannot protect them -- potentially pushing
them into the arms of the Shiite militias and Sunni extremists who were
at the forefront of sectarian violence during the worst days of Iraq’s
civil war.Today's violence included a bit of everything. NINA notes a helicopter crashed "near a military camp northeast of Baquba." AFP reports the helicopter was fired upon (and pilot had gun wounds) and the Iraqi military is disputing whether or not the helicopter was "shot down." Press TV adds, "Eight people have been killed in attacks on two Iraqi police stations and a local official's house in the western province of al-Anbar. Seven officers and the brother of a local official were killed on Tuesday in two bombings and a shooting incident in the towns of Rawa and Aana." Xinhua explains, "In one of the attacks, a suicide bomber blew up his explosive- laden car at the entrance of the house of Waqass Adnan, mayor of the city of Aana, some 250 km west of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, the source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity." AFP reports the Aana assault was an attempt "to take over a small Sunni town."
In other violence, NINA notes a car carrying four Sunni Endowment staff was attacked to the northeast of Baghdad leaving all four injured, a Baghdad car bombing left five people injured, a Tikrit bombing left four people (including one police officer) injured, an attack on an Iraqi soldier's Baquba home left one child and a civilian adult injured, 1 farmer was shot dead in Baquba, an attack on a Jurf al-Sakar military headquarters left 1 Iraqi soldier dead, and a Jebela sticky bombing claimed 1 life and left another person injured.
Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 909 violent deaths in Iraq so far this month. At the Palais de Nations in Geneva today, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson Melissa Fleming addressed the violence in Iraq:
In Iraq, UNHCR is concerned as recent waves of sectarian violence threatens to spark a new internal displacement of Iraqis fleeing the recent horrific bombings and other attacks.
Since the beginning of the year, bombings and rising sectarian tensions have displaced some 5,000 Iraqis, with people mostly fleeing from Baghdad into Anbar and Salah Al Din governorates, as well as causing displacement within Diyala and Ninewa governorates.
Reports from the last two weeks suggest that up to 160 families from Basra and Thi Qar were displaced into Salah al Din and Anbar and 57 families from Baghdad arrived in Babylon. A smaller number of families have also fled from various governorates into Kerbala, Najaf and Wassit. Those displaced so far include Sunni Arabs, Kurds, Shia Shabak, Turkmen as well as Shia Arabs who are in minority situation.
UNHCR and its partners have conducted needs assessments of the newly displaced people and is advocating with the government of Iraq for their registration. In coordination with the government, UNHCR and our partners ensure that food, core relief items, education and adequate accommodation are provided and that relevant identity and residency cards are also supplied.
This recent displacement adds to the over 1.13 million internally displaced people inside Iraq that fled their homes amidst the 2006-2008 sectarian violence mostly residing in Baghdad, Diyala and Ninewa governorates.
Some 467,000 internally displaced people, returnees and squatters remain in more than 382 settlements on public land or in public buildings, enduring harsh living conditions and with limited access to electricity, adequate sanitation, schooling or sufficient job opportunities despite efforts from the governorates and others. Many may be at risk of eviction. UNHCR with the IDP working group has been working with the government, particularly with the Ministry of Displacement and Migration, on a comprehensive plan to end displacement. This incorporates the development of policies on integration as well as livelihood, employment opportunities and shelter programmes.
We'll come back to the statement in a moment. Yesterday evening, Catherine Ashton, European Union High Representative, issued the following statement on the violence:
"I condemn the attacks that took place in Iraq on Saturday and Sunday, killing more than one hundred mourners and injuring close to two hundred in different districts of Baghdad, and killing two policemen in the north of the country. My thoughts go out to the many victims, and I express my condolences in particular to the families touched by this tragedy at a time when they were already grieving over the loss of their loved ones.
I continue to be extremely concerned by the escalation of sectarian violence in Iraq and the threat it poses to the stability of the country.
I welcome the recent initiatives by Iraqi political leaders to address their differences and promote reconciliation as a means of achieving lasting peace. I encourage them to spare no effort in searching for ways to reduce tensions and ensure that all Iraqi citizens are protected from violence."
Yesterday we called out the US Embassy in Baghdad for condemning the bombing attack on a Shi'ite funeral in Baghdad but being silent about the Sunday Baghdad bombing of a Sunni funeral and the Monday Baghdad bombing of a Sunni funeral.
They issued this statement:
The U.S. Embassy in Iraq denounces yesterday’s attack on mourners at a funeral in Baghdad. This brutal attack, which killed and wounded dozens of innocent civilians, and Saturday’s similar attack at a funeral, remind us of the formidable security challenges that Iraq faces. We continue to work with the Government of Iraq to combat the terrorism threat and bring justice to those responsible for such despicable crimes. The U.S. Embassy extends its most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and wishes for a rapid recovery to those injured.
They say they issued it yesterday.
They lie.
I called a State Dept friend to say I was sorry for missing that statement yesterday and how I would do a correction in today's snapshot. My friend couldn't stop laughing. That was issued today. He said, "Google it and get the time stamp." I did. He was right.
The U.S. Denounces Recent Attacks on Mourners - Iraq
iraq.usembassy.gov › News › Press Releases15 hours ago - ... and wounded dozens of innocent civilians, and Saturday's similar attack at a funeral, remind us of the formidable security challenges that Iraq faces. We continue to work with the Government of Iraq to combat the ... The U.S. Embassy extends its most sincere condolences to the families of the victims and ...
Back to UNHCR spokesperson Melissa Fleming addressed the violence in Iraq:
Meanwhile, following the attack on Camp New Iraq on 1 September in which more than 50 residents died UNHCR remains gravely concerned for the safety of seven former residents of the site who remain unaccounted for. According to reports reaching UNHCR, the missing persons are reportedly being held somewhere in Iraq and may be at risk of being returned involuntarily to Iran, which would be a serious breach of international law. These seven are all known by UNHCR to be asylum-seekers, and UNHCR wants to have the opportunity to interview them.
In light of the numerous and persistent reports over the past week that these individuals may be at risk of forced return to Iran, UNHCR calls upon the Government of Iraq to locate them, to ensure their physical security and to safeguard them against return to Iran against their will. UNHCR furthermore urges the government to ensure the protection of the residents of Hurriya temporary transit location and calls on the international community to find solutions outside Iraq as a matter of urgency.
Iraq's prime minister and chief thug Nouri al-Maliki has denied having the seven hostages. Nouri's word doesn't mean anything on the world stage. Right about now, we usually do the background on the Camp Ashraf community but instead we'll let the United Nations News Centre cover it:
The United Nations human rights office today called on the Government of Iraq to do all it can to ascertain the whereabouts of seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, who have been missing since the facility, which housed Iranian exiles, was attacked on 1 September, leaving at least 52 residents dead.
“We are gravely concerned about allegations that seven former residents of Camp Ashraf, six of whom are reported to be women, were kidnapped during the events of 1 September,” Rupert Colville, spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), said at a briefing in Geneva.
“If they have indeed been kidnapped, all efforts should be made to secure their release unharmed,” Mr. Colville added, noting unconfirmed reports that suggest that they are being held at an unidentified location in Iraq and are at risk of being forcibly returned to Iran.
Camp Ashraf was comprised of Iranian exiles, many of them members of a group known as the People’s Mojahedeen of Iran.
More than 3,000 residents have been relocated to Camp Hurriya, previously known as Camp Liberty, while the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) carries out a process to determine their refugee status, and resettle them outside of the country, in line with an agreement signed in December 2011 between the UN and the Iraqi Government.
Camp Ashraf has been attacked several times, making relocation a priority for the UN Assistance Mission for Iraq (UNAMI). Following the latest attack, the remaining residents were transferred to Camp Hurriya, but the circumstances of the attack remain obscure.
“As three weeks have now passed, we reiterate our call on the Government to do its utmost to shed light on exactly what happened and to identify the perpetrators of these killings,” Mr. Colville said, while welcoming the transfer of the remaining residents to Hurriya.
He added that UNHCR and others shared the concern over the missing former residents and called on the Government to ensure their safety and prevent their involuntary return to Iran.
Twelve days ago, US Senator Robert Mendez's office released the following:
September 12, 2013
WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, released this statement condemning the attacks on Camp Ashraf residents, and called on the Iraqi government to protect the community and secure the release of seven hostages taken after the massacre at Camp Ashraf.
“I
condemn the brutal violence targeting Camp Ashraf residents in the most
forceful of terms and personally offer my deepest sympathies to the
families of this horrific act of terror. The surviving residents have
been moved to Camp Liberty, but serious threats endure for the community
and they remain targets of future attacks even as they are relocated.
The United Nations Assistance Mission in Iraq must proceed with their
independent investigation and thoroughly ensure the safety and wellbeing
of those residents now in Camp Liberty.
“I
hold the Iraqi government directly responsible to protect the
community, to investigate this matter thoroughly, and to prosecute the
perpetrators of this heinous act. I am deeply concerned for the seven
hostages who were taken during this attack. The Iraqi government should
act swiftly to determine their whereabouts and ensure their safety.
There is added urgency for the global community, as well as for the
United States, to help resettle this community outside of Iraq, and end
this cycle of ongoing terror attacks.”
###
Menendez is the Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Again, Nouri stated last week he is not holding any hostages. If true, did he deport them or have them killed? Deportation isn't a joke. There are rumors swirling in social media that Nouri's going to deport the remaining Ashraf community members. James Morrison (Washington Times via Iran Focus) reports:
From Capitol Hill to Brussels, supporters of the Iranian opposition are urging Secretary of State John F. Kerry to take action against Iraq for the massacre of 52 Iranian exiles by Iraqi gunmen.
Thirty-four House members urged Mr. Kerry to cut funds for Iraq until Baghdad takes “clear and verifiable efforts” to protect more than 3,000 dissidents in a refugee camp near the international airport.
They called on Mr. Kerry to demand the release of seven hostages taken during a Sept. 1 raid on Camp Ashraf, a smaller camp north of the capital.
The House members and other lawmakers noted that most of the victims were shot in the head and many had their hands tied behind their backs.
Doesn't really sound like John Kerry has the time to threaten war on Syria. But when you crave destruction, when you lust for blood, you make the time.
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Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Kerry busts a move
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX -- THE KOOL-AID TABLE
"THE FIGHT ABOUT BARACK'S DEADLY GAS IS NOT A GAME!" THUNDERED U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY BEFORE QUICKLY ALSO TWEETING IT.
KERRY AGAIN REFERRED TO THE SEPTEMBER 13TH INCIDENT INVOLVING BARRY O AND THE AMIR OF KUWAIT (HIS HIGHNESS SHAYKH SABAH AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL SABAH) IN WHICH GAS WAS PASSED,
KERRY DECLARED TODAY, "THE AMIR IS STILL SHAKEN. THE SMELL HAUNTS HIM AND HE NOW TREMBLES IN ANY ROOM WHICH DOES NOT HAVE AN OPEN WINDOW! IS THIS WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN! FOR THE WORLD!"
JOHN KERRY THEN RIPPED OFF HIS TIE, JACKET, SHIRT AND PANTS AND, STANDING ONLY IN A DIRTY PAIR OF GRANDPA DRAWERS, CLAPPED HIS HANDS WHILE REPEATEDLY SHOUTING "BACK IT UP! BACK IT UP!" AND ATTEMPTING TO GRIND ON THE PRESS CORPS.
SENSING SOMETHING WAS WRONG, KERRY STOPPED AND ASKED, "IS TWERKING NOT COOL ANYMORE? I CAN ALSO POP AND LOCK. OR DO THE RUNNING MAN."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Of course, the US State Dept and White House have said nothing on the violence but they still haven't made time to even issue a statement congratulating the KRG on Saturday's elections. Prashant Rao went to the KRG to cover the elections for AFP. His latest Tweet on the election:
While the State Dept and White House remain silent, UNAMI issued their statement on Saturday:
Erbil, 21 September 2013 -
The Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations
Secretary-General for Iraq (DSRSG), Mr. Gyorgy Busztin, welcomes the
smooth conduct of the Parliamentary Elections in the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq. كوردى
“I want to congratulate the people of the Kurdistan region for their participation and their contribution to the democratic process,” DSRSG said, adding that he was particularly pleased with the high turnout and the peaceful and non-violent nature of the polling.
Saturday, 1,129 candidates competed for 111 seats and over a million people voted in Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahuk. The voting took place without serious incident.
KRG Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani and his wife Nabila Barzani (pictured below) were among the first to vote in Erbil Saturday morning. Saturday, Jamal Hashim and Liang Youchang (Xinhua) quoted Nechirvan Barzani stating, "Today is a historic day for the Kurdish people and we have taken another step in the region to promote democracy. The people of Kurdistan are the only winners in these elections." Sunday, KRG President Massoud Barzani issued a statement congratulating the KRG citizens on their participation in Saturday's vote and the peaceful process which he hailed as a victory for the region and for the people. He called for peace and harmony as well as respect for the official results which the Independent High Electoral Commission is supposed to announce shortly.
Let's note some other voices. Here's a collection of Tweets on the election from the last 3 hours:
#KDP election center: KDP: 34-35 seats. #Gorran: 29-30 seats. #PUK: 14-15. Yakgrtu: 9-10. Komal: 6-7. #KRGElections http://www.bayanpress.net/Detail.aspx?id=5018&LinkID=1 …
In "The KRG elections" Sunday, Jim and I discussed the elections:
Jim: Right. But to me the more interesting thing was the KDP's success.
C.I.: Why is that?
Jim: The press has said repeatedly that Massoud Barzani has overstepped his bounds, that he's unpopular, etc. And you've argued differently for two years now. If you were wrong, KDP wouldn't be in the lead.
C.I.: I don't know where the nonsense on Barzani got started. He's very popular. The press has always insisted that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is popular. He's also a Kurd -- like Barzani -- and he heads what had been the other dominant party, the Patriotic Union Kurdistan.
Jim: That's right. Going into this election, it was a two party race. The PUK and the KDP were the dominant political parties in the KRG -- like the Democrats and the Republicans in the US. With the results of Saturday's elections, that has now changed.
C.I.: Right. Gorran is now one of the two dominant parties.
Jim: But back to Barzani. The press, Joel Wing and so many others kept insisting that Barzani was passe, over, loathed, etc. But his party got the most votes.
C.I.: Well, first of all, he's the head of the party. Voters voted for the party. I don't know that you can extrapolate that he's very popular just from the results of this election. But I do think that if he was as unpopular as many in the press have tried to pretend. If he were, I would argue, he would have dragged the KDP down and they would not have won the most votes.
This is Rudaw's count/projection for the votes:
KDP 38.7 % | 726,876
Gorran 23.26 % | 436,825
PUK 16.84 % | 316,248
Yekgrtu 10.1 % | 189,638
Komall 6.52 % | 122,500
Other 4.59 % | 86,199
Ma'ad Fayad (Asharq Al-Awsat) reports today:
The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that approximately 73.9 percent of the autonomous region’s population turned out to vote, with Duhok recording the highest turnout at 76 percent. Approximately 2.88 million people were eligible to vote.
The UN secretary-general’s special representative for Iraq, George Boston, praised Kurdistan’s high voter turnout.
Meanwhile, exit polls showed that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by KRG president Massoud Barzani, will likely secure the most votes. They are followed by Nawshirwan Mustafa’s Gorran Party (Movement for Change), and then the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.
World Bulletin notes the consensus that exit polling is accurate:
According to the report, political observers agreed with the exit polls, expecting the KRG to win between 42 and 45 seats in the parliament. They also expected the KRG to secure the Erbil and Duhok constituencies.
Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of the opposition Gorran (Movement for Change), expressed hope that the elections would be a good start to a new political phase in Kurdistan. He expressed his hope of building a new and fair democratic system in Kurdistan, adding, “I hope the elections pass quietly and that their results come to fulfil all people’s expectations.”
Rudaw adds:
With final results from Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region still to come, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has accepted defeat.
“Though we still have to wait to see the final results of the election, we are made anxious by the initial results,” read a statement that followed a meeting Sunday of the PUK’s political bureau.
“The early results conflict with the PUK’s history of struggle, yet we accept the results,” the party said after the meeting, which was headed by deputy secretary general Kosrat Rasul.
The results so far show that the PUK is behind Gorran by around a quarter million votes in Sulaimani.
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"THE FIGHT ABOUT BARACK'S DEADLY GAS IS NOT A GAME!" THUNDERED U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE JOHN KERRY BEFORE QUICKLY ALSO TWEETING IT.
KERRY AGAIN REFERRED TO THE SEPTEMBER 13TH INCIDENT INVOLVING BARRY O AND THE AMIR OF KUWAIT (HIS HIGHNESS SHAYKH SABAH AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL SABAH) IN WHICH GAS WAS PASSED,
KERRY DECLARED TODAY, "THE AMIR IS STILL SHAKEN. THE SMELL HAUNTS HIM AND HE NOW TREMBLES IN ANY ROOM WHICH DOES NOT HAVE AN OPEN WINDOW! IS THIS WHAT WE WANT FOR OUR CHILDREN! FOR THE WORLD!"
JOHN KERRY THEN RIPPED OFF HIS TIE, JACKET, SHIRT AND PANTS AND, STANDING ONLY IN A DIRTY PAIR OF GRANDPA DRAWERS, CLAPPED HIS HANDS WHILE REPEATEDLY SHOUTING "BACK IT UP! BACK IT UP!" AND ATTEMPTING TO GRIND ON THE PRESS CORPS.
SENSING SOMETHING WAS WRONG, KERRY STOPPED AND ASKED, "IS TWERKING NOT COOL ANYMORE? I CAN ALSO POP AND LOCK. OR DO THE RUNNING MAN."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Of course, the US State Dept and White House have said nothing on the violence but they still haven't made time to even issue a statement congratulating the KRG on Saturday's elections. Prashant Rao went to the KRG to cover the elections for AFP. His latest Tweet on the election:
Prashant Rao
Last night, supporters of Kurdish President Massud Barzani packed Arbil's streets after elections the previous day: http://instagram.com/p/elk_f-hnQ5/
While the State Dept and White House remain silent, UNAMI issued their statement on Saturday:
“I want to congratulate the people of the Kurdistan region for their participation and their contribution to the democratic process,” DSRSG said, adding that he was particularly pleased with the high turnout and the peaceful and non-violent nature of the polling.
Mr.
Busztin commended the professionalism of IHEC in carrying out the
elections after visiting a number of polling centres in Erbil and
welcomed the work of the High Electoral Security Committee (HESC) in
assuring safe conditions for voting.
“Today’s
orderly polling is an encouraging sign for the long overdue upcoming
Governorate Council Elections on 21 November,” he concluded.
Saturday, 1,129 candidates competed for 111 seats and over a million people voted in Erbil, Sulaimaniya and Dahuk. The voting took place without serious incident.
KRG Prime Minister Nechervan Barzani and his wife Nabila Barzani (pictured below) were among the first to vote in Erbil Saturday morning. Saturday, Jamal Hashim and Liang Youchang (Xinhua) quoted Nechirvan Barzani stating, "Today is a historic day for the Kurdish people and we have taken another step in the region to promote democracy. The people of Kurdistan are the only winners in these elections." Sunday, KRG President Massoud Barzani issued a statement congratulating the KRG citizens on their participation in Saturday's vote and the peaceful process which he hailed as a victory for the region and for the people. He called for peace and harmony as well as respect for the official results which the Independent High Electoral Commission is supposed to announce shortly.
Let's note some other voices. Here's a collection of Tweets on the election from the last 3 hours:
گۆڕان Gorran
The so called independent high electoral commission has just announced that count must stop. After PUK had ballots for hours. #krgelections
PUK violence. Armed supporters of PUK firing tonight across Green zone. 6 injured. 1 dead. #krgelections pic.twitter.com/mBY9z6d6PV
Idrees Mohammed
Abdulla Hawez
Shkar Sharif
IHEC via NRT: We are not aware of armed men entering vote counting stations... This is contrary to what reporters are saying. #KRGElections
Burak Aydin
Rebaz Qaradaghi
PUK and Gorran loyalists are about to go head to head in Slemani... Both sides need to calm down.. #KRGElections
Remziya
PUK & Gorran need to release immediate statements and calm their supporters. This nonsense in #slemani needs to stop. #KRGElections
PUK Election Team urges their supporters to remain calm and wait on IHEC's decision in regards to PUK's formal complaints #KRGElections
Shayan Billbas
Barzani asks KDP to refrain from making statements on potential coalition partners, until the Executive meet. #TwitterKurds #KRGElections
Love our media outlets in #Kurdistan, everyone is reporting different things, and all adding fuel to the fire. #KRGElections
This is not the action of our peshmerga armed forces but a self serving group within the PUK #KRGElections #notocoup
In "The KRG elections" Sunday, Jim and I discussed the elections:
Jim: Right. But to me the more interesting thing was the KDP's success.
C.I.: Why is that?
Jim: The press has said repeatedly that Massoud Barzani has overstepped his bounds, that he's unpopular, etc. And you've argued differently for two years now. If you were wrong, KDP wouldn't be in the lead.
C.I.: I don't know where the nonsense on Barzani got started. He's very popular. The press has always insisted that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is popular. He's also a Kurd -- like Barzani -- and he heads what had been the other dominant party, the Patriotic Union Kurdistan.
Jim: That's right. Going into this election, it was a two party race. The PUK and the KDP were the dominant political parties in the KRG -- like the Democrats and the Republicans in the US. With the results of Saturday's elections, that has now changed.
C.I.: Right. Gorran is now one of the two dominant parties.
Jim: But back to Barzani. The press, Joel Wing and so many others kept insisting that Barzani was passe, over, loathed, etc. But his party got the most votes.
C.I.: Well, first of all, he's the head of the party. Voters voted for the party. I don't know that you can extrapolate that he's very popular just from the results of this election. But I do think that if he was as unpopular as many in the press have tried to pretend. If he were, I would argue, he would have dragged the KDP down and they would not have won the most votes.
This is Rudaw's count/projection for the votes:
KDP 38.7 % | 726,876
Gorran 23.26 % | 436,825
PUK 16.84 % | 316,248
Yekgrtu 10.1 % | 189,638
Komall 6.52 % | 122,500
Other 4.59 % | 86,199
Ma'ad Fayad (Asharq Al-Awsat) reports today:
The Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) announced that approximately 73.9 percent of the autonomous region’s population turned out to vote, with Duhok recording the highest turnout at 76 percent. Approximately 2.88 million people were eligible to vote.
The UN secretary-general’s special representative for Iraq, George Boston, praised Kurdistan’s high voter turnout.
Meanwhile, exit polls showed that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by KRG president Massoud Barzani, will likely secure the most votes. They are followed by Nawshirwan Mustafa’s Gorran Party (Movement for Change), and then the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Iraqi president Jalal Talabani.
World Bulletin notes the consensus that exit polling is accurate:
According to the report, political observers agreed with the exit polls, expecting the KRG to win between 42 and 45 seats in the parliament. They also expected the KRG to secure the Erbil and Duhok constituencies.
Nawshirwan Mustafa, the leader of the opposition Gorran (Movement for Change), expressed hope that the elections would be a good start to a new political phase in Kurdistan. He expressed his hope of building a new and fair democratic system in Kurdistan, adding, “I hope the elections pass quietly and that their results come to fulfil all people’s expectations.”
Rudaw adds:
With final results from Saturday’s parliamentary elections in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region still to come, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has accepted defeat.
“Though we still have to wait to see the final results of the election, we are made anxious by the initial results,” read a statement that followed a meeting Sunday of the PUK’s political bureau.
“The early results conflict with the PUK’s history of struggle, yet we accept the results,” the party said after the meeting, which was headed by deputy secretary general Kosrat Rasul.
The results so far show that the PUK is behind Gorran by around a quarter million votes in Sulaimani.
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