Cedric's Big Mix: 2014-04-13

Saturday, April 19, 2014

A Jesus complex

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

TODAY FADED CELEBRITY IN CHIEF BARRY O ORDERED MULTIPLE MURDERS WHEN HE ORDERED A DRONE STRIKE IN YEMEN. 16 PEOPLE IN A PICKUP TRUCK WERE KILLED WITH FIVE MORE PEOPLE WHO WERE NEARBY IN CARS -- SIX MORE PEOPLE WERE INJURED.

REACHED FOR COMMENT, BARRY O TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "THEY HAD IT COMING. I'M THE DECIDER. I DECIDE WHO LIVES AND DIES. I'M LIKE GOD! ASK AL SHARPTON! I AM GOD!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

On the elections, Fareed Zakaria (Global Public Square, CNN) offers a list of readings, including Ned Parker's latest:

“On the surface, the speed with which Iraq’s new political order has fallen apart is a puzzle. Although bombings never stopped, there had been relative stability since the spring of 2008, when Maliki, emboldened by the successful U.S.-backed Sunni revolt against al Qaeda, known as the Awakening, set out to disband the Shiite militias endangering law and order in Basra and Baghdad,” argues Ned Parker in the New York Review of Books.
“The campaign, supported by the Americans, produced a surge of patriotism among both Shiites and Sunnis. By 2010, when the country was preparing to stage its second national elections for a four-year government, Iraq seemed poised to cast off its divisions. Maliki, running for reelection, had learned to present himself as both staunchly Shiite and a leader for all Iraqis. Resisting pressure from other Shiite religious parties and Iran, he ran his own list of candidates, including Sunni tribesmen and secular politicians…Yet Maliki and his Shiite Islamist supporters were unable to shed their deep mistrust of those they believed had fought them in the past. Rather than being integrated into the political system, several dozen leaders of the Awakening ended up dead or in jail, or forced into exile.”

Alice Fordham has a report for NPR's Morning Edition (link is text and audio) that wants to insist Nouri's trying to bring the Sahwa into the military -- while ignoring what Ned Parker's outlined above and what's taken place for the entire second term of Nouri al-Maliki until right before these elections.

She's providing a wrong impression to listeners.

She's also wrong in the following, "But fighting still rages and it's been announced that national elections planned to the end of the month will not happen in Anbar. Alice Fordham, NPR News." She got her name right. You can dispute the "NPR News" label -- NPR doesn't really do much news anymore, it's all feature stories. But she's wrong about an announcement regarding Anbar.

How did that make it on air?

Well, like I said, NPR really doesn't do news anymore so there's no one to fact check.

April 8th, the IHEC declared not all areas of Anbar would have polling stations. Today Tasnim News Agency reports:

“In Anbar Province, all necessary arrangements have been made to ensure the security of the election, which is to be held on April 30,” Faleh Al-Eisawi, the head of the council of the province said in an interview with the Tasnim News Agency.
[. . .]
He also emphasized that the police forces in cooperation with Anbar Operations Command are to implement an extensive security plan to provide the security of the elections.

Again, Alice Fordham's claim (""But fighting still rages and it's been announced that national elections planned to the end of the month will not happen in Anbar.") does not hold up.

Iraq last held parliamentary elections in March of 2010. In those elections, Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law lost to Ayad Allawi's Iraqiya. Though Allawi should have been named prime minister-designate, loser Nouri threw an eight month long tantrum and the White House indulged him. They did more than that, they also worked to find a way to let the loser have a second term as prime minister. Since he lost the vote, they went to the leaders of the political blocs and pointed out Nouri could hold out for 8 more months (Parliament wasn't able to meet during Nouri's tantrum, he brought government to a standstill) and got them to sign a contract (The Erbil Agreement) which Nouri used to grab a second term.

As Anthony H. Cordesman and Sam Khazai pointed out earlier this year in [PDF format warning] "Iraq in Crisis:"

US officials applauded the 2010 Erbil agreement, and said they were hopeful that such cooperative arrangement would provide a political breakthrough among Iraq’s leadership, and allow them to address the country’s problems. They pointed to the influence the US had in pushing for the outcome, including the adoption of an American suggestion that Allawi head a new, “National Council for Security Policy”.

And let's note Karen DeYoung (Washington Post) reported in real time:

Vice President Biden made numerous calls to senior Iraqi leaders over the past several months and U.S. officials directly participated in top-level negotiating sessions that lasted until just moments before the Iraqi parliament finally convened to approve a new power-sharing government Thursday, a senior Obama administration official said Friday.

The contract didn't just have the leaders say, "Second term for Nouri!" In exchange for that second term, the contract outlined actions Nouri would have to take. But then he refused to honor his promises. It's among the reasons he's so loathed today.

We've note many press whores over the years. When there's a member of the press that tells the truth, we also try to note that. On The Erbil Agreement, we're going to drop back to November 13, 2010 when one reporter had the guts to tell the truth. Michael Jansen (Gulf Today) stated the obvious, "The deal making that produced last Thursday’s session of parliament is nothing to boast about." She then continued:

It is not clear why Iraqiya thought Maliki -- a sectarian Shiite whose Dawa party was a bitter enemy of the Baath -- would implement this pledge. Maliki has also failed to carry out solemn promises to recruit into the security forces or find civil service jobs for fighters of the Sunni Awakening Councils -- or Sons of Iraq movement -- who helped US and government forces curb Al Qaeda in 2007-08. Maliki has shown himself to have absolutely no intention of sharing power with Sunnis and certainly not with secular politicians like Allawi who represents the "old Iraq" where politics was non-sectarian.
In spite of Obama's declaration that an "inclusive" government formula had been found after months of wrangling, Maliki is not interested in including Sunnis, secularists, former Baathists and others who do not subscribe to the ethno-sectarian system imposed on Iraq by the previous Bush administration.

She said that days after The Erbil Agreement was signed. She had been proven correct by the events that followed. Credit to Michael Jansen for offering reality and perspective when few others were able or willing to. Salah Nasrawi (Al-Ahram Weekly) reports:

With the vote only days away, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki’s prospects for re-election look dim, and the country’s Shia parties, which together are poised to win the most seats in parliament, have started looking for a challenger to the incumbent leader.
Al-Maliki, who is seeking a third term in office, is in trouble as Iraq is teeming with problems. Many blame him for the country’s sectarian violence, political turmoil and economic deadlock and are eager to see a new prime minister in place.
For the time being, there is no frontrunner in Iraq’s elections, scheduled for 30 April, as several Shia politicians have been vying for the powerful position which also includes the key post of commander-in-chief of the armed forces.

Iraq Times reports the Independent High Electoral Commission announced Thursday that they have fined 61 political bodies and candidates so far for campaign violations. The IHEC is a ruling body but the Iraqi people are the ultimate ruling body (unless the White House steps in as it did in 2006 when it installed Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister and as it did in 2010 when it demanded he be given a second term). And the people are defining their own issues right now. For example, Rekar Aziz and Alexander Whitcomb (Rudaw) report that, in the Kurdistan Region, where campaign posters, leaflets and other printed materials are made is becoming an issue with voters and local businesses since much of the campaign material is coming "from Turkey, Lebanon and as far away as China" harming the KRG's local economy.

Let's stay with the Kurds for a moment, Ilnur Cevik (Daily Sabah) reports:

Iraqi Kurdish leaders feel that if the current impasse in relations with the Iraqi central government continues after the April 30 elections they will have no other option but to gradually weaken their ties with Baghdad and eventually declare a separate state. Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani was in Ankara to meet with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Wednesday night to feel the pulse of Ankara if the Kurds eventually move away from Baghdad. A source close to Barzani told Daily Sabah on Thursday that Barzani returned home late Wednesday night "satisfied."
The central government of Iraq led by Nouri el-Maliki has been at odds with the Kurds over an array of issues stemming from an oil and gas dispute. Baghdad has thus been slow in sending the KRG's share of Iraqi oil revenues and therefore pushed the Kurds into a financial bottleneck with serious delays in even the payment of civil servant salaries in the KRG.

And Nouri continues to alienate the Kurds. Adnan Jassem (Anadolu Agency) notes, "Iraq's main Shiite bloc led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will endorse a 'moderate Sunni Arab' candidate to succeed incumbent President Jalal Talabani, who is Kurdish, a leading bloc member has said."

On the election, All Iraq News reports:

Ahrar bloc of Sadr Trend described granting a 3^rd term for the Premier, Nouri al-Maliki, as "Dreams."
MP, Hussien al-Shireifi, of Ahrar bloc stated to AIN "The majority of the political blocs object renewing a 3^rd term for Maliki due to his policies that caused crises and problems for the country."

In addition, Iraq Times quotes another Sadr bloc MP, Bahaa al-Araji stating that Nouri will not receive a third term as prime minister. In another report, the outlet quotes al-Araji stating Nouri has no achievements to speak of, not when security has deteriorated and the economy is not improved and . . . Dar Addustour reports that both cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr and Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq's Ammar al-Hakim went to Tehran to make clear that a third term for Nouri is unacceptable and that this follows KRG President Massoud Barzani told officials in Tehran that a third term for Nouri would cause the Kurds to secede. As Ann noted last night, Ayad Allawi declared this week that Nouri shouldn't have a third term as prime minister. Iraq Times reports the State Dept's Brett McGurk is advocating for a third term for Nouri and that Ahmed Chalabi is speaking with the White House about why this is not a good idea and spoke to US Ambassador to Iraq Robert Beecroft about this on Monday.

Not all Iraqis who vote will be voting in Iraq. There are many Iraqis who have had to flee the country due to violence. NINA reports, "A leading member of Rafidain parliamentary bloc MP, Imad Youkhana called on Iraqi communities abroad to broad participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections." All Iraq News reports:

The member of the Parliamentary Foreign Relations Committee, Imad Yokhana, called the Iraqis abroad for wide participation in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
He stated to AIN "The Iraqis abroad can determine the future of Iraq for the next 4 years via their participation in the elections."

Two days before the election, Iraq's security forces will take part in early voting. Mustafa Habib (Niqash) explores the military vote and we'll note this section:

It is also possible that the situation they are facing in Anbar may be turning the Iraqi military against al-Maliki. When problems first started in Anbar, al-Maliki seemed to be very popular with the military, observers say. However over recent months this has changed.

“Al-Maliki’s popularity is decreasing,” says one senior member of the military in Basra province, who did not want to be named for fear of repercussions. “Because the army is having huge difficulties in Anbar.”

According to this soldier, the Iraqi government has allegedly played down the number of military casualties it’s had in the fight against insurgents in Anbar. Videos being posted on YouTube and other social media indicate many more are being captured and killed.

“Previously regiments in the south of the country were fairly safe on their bases,” the military source says. “Then al-Maliki decided to bring them to Anbar and it’s led to many deaths. This has increased ill will towards the government.”

“The government has forced the Iraqi military into a battle it cannot win,” says Yassin al-Rubaie, a former member of the Iraqi army’s Seventh Division, which is currently deployed in Anbar. “We don’t have any experience fighting a guerrilla war on the streets and we don’t know the area at all. The militias fighting us know the area very well, they’re better coordinated than the army and they have had this kind of combat experience before,” he says.

Nouri al-Maliki continues killing civilians in Anbar. Alsumaria reports a military shelling of a residential neighborhood in Ramadi left 3 people dead "including a child." Iraqi Spring MC notes Nouri's three murders here. Iraqi Spring MC also notes people demonstrated in Ramadi calling on Nouri to pulls his forces out of the city and the military 'responded' by firing randomly. Meanwhile Nouri's forces continued their bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods. Alsumaria reports 1 civilian was killed and ten more were injured in the latest assault from Nouri's military. Suleiman al-Qubeisi (Anadolu Agency) also reports on the Falluja assault. NINA quotes Sheikh Mohammed Fayyad stating, "Friday sermons in Fallujah focused on demands to stop the indiscriminate shelling of the city if the government rely want to develop a solution to the crisis , the abolition of the provincial government and members of the board because of their frustrated stands as they escaped to the northern provinces or out of Iraq and stealing by some of them aid, food and funds allocated by many local and international agencies for the displaced people of Anbar moreover of exploited the stolen funds and material to serve them in the propaganda of electoral campaign." Kitabat notes the Sheikh called out the "genocide" taking place as Nouri attacks the civilians of Falluja and Ramadi.

Friday, April 18, 2014

It really does take two (the idiot and the idiot in the media)

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

THE SILLY SELFIE JOE BIDEN AND FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O TOOK LEFT THEM LOOKING LIKE 2 YOUNGSTERS WHO JUST DISCOVERED THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB AND TRAINING BRAS.

FINALLY, THERE'S SOME PUSH BACK THAT ALL THIS OVERSHARING IS KIND OF TACKY.

BUT NO REAL ACKNOWLEDGMENT THAT THE MEDIA ITSELF FUELED THIS TACKY TREND.

REACHED FOR COMMENT THIS MORNING BY THESE REPORTERS, THE DAHLI BAMA RESPONDED, "DEBASE THE PRESIDENCY? BOYS, I INTEND TO SKULLF**K IT UNTIL I'VE DRAINED EVERY LAST DROP OF CREDIBILITY FROM IT!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Yesterday on KPFA's Voices of the Middle East and North Africa, the controversial bill which passed Iraq's Cabinet of Ministers and that chief thug and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has forwarded to the Parliament was discussed.

Shahram Aghamir: Last month the Iraqi Cabinet approved a new personal status legislation called the Ja'fari law which is named after the sixth Shi'ite Imam, Ja'far al-Sadiq who established a school of jurisprudence in Medina in the 8th century. This legislation has created an uproar among Iraqi women's rights and the civil rights community. If approved, the Ja'fari law will abolish the current Personal Status Law 188 which is considered one of the most progressive in the Arab world. The new law will roll back the rights of women in marriage, divorce and child custody as well as inheritance. It will lower the age of marriage for girls from 18 to 9 and boys to 15. Who has initially proposed the law and what are the implications of this law for Iraqi women? Malihe spoke with Iraqi women's rights activist Basma al-Khateeb who volunteers with Iraq's 1st Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Shadow Report Coalition as an expert and a trainer.

Basma al-Khateeb: Actually, the Minister of Justice by the end of October declared that they have a committee -- expert committee -- and they have finished drafting the Ja'fari law. It consists of 256 articles and he's going to present it to the Cabinet by the next session. He says that they've been working on for the past two years.

Malihe Razazan: Back in 2004, Abdul Aziz al-Hakim who died in 2009, he was in exile in Iran for 20 years before the invasion, and after the occupation of Iraq, he worked very closely with the Americans. His party worked to pass Decision 137 issue by interim governing council to abolish the Personal Status Law Number 188 which was passed in 1959 --

Basma al-Kahteeb: That was actually the first thing that he -- that he issued, this Resolution 137 -- as if Iraq had no problems. This was the only rule that he came up with. And we had demonstrations and we managed to defeat that. They withdrew it.

Malihe Razazan: Yeah, because there was a huge backlash against it.

Basma al-Khateeb: But this is historical. His father, Muhsin al-Hakim, back in 1959, when the civil Personal Status Law was issued, the religious institutes led by Muhsin al-Hakim back then, his father, refused this Personal Status Law because it will take all the authority from the cleric.

Malihe Razazan: In matters regarding women's divorce, child custody, inheritance it will be left to civil courts.

Basma al-Khateeb: Yes. And this is how our judicial system and lawyers and colleges and scholars all -- I mean, we're talking about sixty years that all our institutions -- judicial, court, everything -- is built on it. This -- going back just to abolish all of this -- this law --the formal law, the Personal Status Law that's still active now. It doesn't go to clerics, only the judge rules. This current law puts another council that is in control of judges of courts. It just turns everything into chaos. Every lawyer has to study all these religious and cleric institution and legal issues. It doesn't mean that we have one court. It means that we have more than 20 courts because each Ayatollah is different in examination with the other. Havilah? Even though they're Sh'itie, they're different from the Sadr group, they're different from Sistani interpretation which means multi courts.

Raheem Salman, Ahmed Rasheed, Isabel Coles and Andrew Roche (Reuters) explore the topic and note:

Proponents of the Ja'afari Law say many families marry off daughters underage anyway, particularly in the rural south, so the bill would protect young brides by codifying their status.
"The law does not make the marriage of underage girls obligatory," said Shi'ite women's rights activist Thabat al-Unaibi, adding she would not let her own two daughters marry until they were old enough to have finished their studies.
"Why all the fuss over this issue?"

And supporters have been the winners. Hajer Naili (Women's eNews) notes:

Haider Ala Hamoudi, a law professor at the University of Pittsburg who advised the 2009 Constitutional Review Committee of the Iraqi legislature on behalf of the United States Embassy in Baghdad, has analyzed the text.
In a phone interview he called it sloppily drafted and poorly organized. "I just dismiss it as publicity to garner votes."

In a March 31 article in the Jurist, Hamoudi lays out the obstacles to transforming religious texts into actual laws and calls the text something of a "political stunt." In the article he quotes Ayatollah al- Bashir Najif, a leading Shiite, as criticizing the bill as "rife with flights of fancy in legal and juristic formulations that render it impossible that a jurist would find it acceptable."

Really? We're going to predict what's going to happen in an election when anything can happen?

And if it's being used "to garner votes," might some push hard for it to pass the Parliament after the election?

I have no idea what's going to happen with the bill.

But it does have supporters and it is being sold. It's being normalized.

And this is happening not just with the bill and the attempt to kill off the Personal Status Law Number 188. This is part of a larger war. Dropping back to January 27, 2012 snapshot:

We bring that up because Nouri did finally find a woman and named her to be Minister of the State for Women's Affairs. The woman is Dr. Ibtihal al-Zaidi. And Al Mada reports the lovely doesn't believe in equality stating equality "harms women" but she's happy to offer government dictates on what women should be wearing. No, she's not a minister. She's many things including words we won't use here but she's not friend to women and that's why Nouri picked her. A real woman fighting for other women? Nouri can't handle that. A simpering idiot who states that women should only act after their husband's consent? That gender traitor gets a ministry. She's currently at work devising a uniform for Iraqi women.

Let's to back to Wednesday's broadcast of Voices of the Middle East and North Africa.

Basma al-Khateeb: It lowers the marriage age for girls to 9 --

Malihe Razazan: From 18.

Basma al-Khateeb: -- 15 for boys, it's 18 for both [currently] marriage. Only in very, very special cases it's 15 with the consent of the judge under the current law. But for this Ja'fari law it lowers the age to 9. And wives must seek permission from their husbands before leaving the house. If I am a doctor or a minister or a lawyer, I cannot go out without permission from my husband, go out of the house. Muslim men would be prohibited from marrying non-Muslim women. Granting husbands legal rights to have sex with their wives without their consent. Granting custody to the father of any child over two-years-old in the case of divorce which is not the case that we have now with the current law.

Note the similarities between the law and the position, two years ago, of the Minister of Women's Affairs.

Nouri picked that idiot for a reason.

This is not happening by accident.

Bit by bit, this gets pushed over and over. And every time it does the appropriate response is world wide condemnation. Short of that? It's not just being normalized within Iraq, it's being normalized outside of Iraq via silence.

"But it's still a danger because it's there, the draft is there," Basma al-Khateeb noted.

As Mark Taliano (Troy Media) observes, "'Freedom' and 'democracy' are still cloaking, tacitly or overtly, mass murder and genocide in Iraq at this moment." And that's certainly clear as Nouri terrorizes the citizens of Anbar. His War Crimes are many but include the non-stop bombing of residential neighborhoods in Falluja. Yesterday's snapshot noted how common these bombings were. The military's bombing of the residential neighborhoods continues. NINA reports, "A source at the Fallujah General Hospital told the reporter of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / five people, including a woman, were killed and 11 others wounded, including two children, in the renewed shelling and mortar to most of Fallujah today." Qatar News Agency covers the killing of civilians here.

This is a War Crime. Nouri's committing War Crimes with weapons the US government provides him with.

Ann submitted a question to Gwen Ifill's live 'chat' (it's not) at PBS' The NewsHour today:

12:34

Comment From Ann

Good afternoon, Gwen. I'm bothered by the attack on Anbar Province in Iraq and the lack of western media coverage. Specifically, Nouri al-Maliki has been bombing the residential neighborhoods of Falluja every day since the start of the year. This is collective punishment and it is leaving many dead -- including many children. But we see nothing on the news about this in the US. Since we are the ones arming Maliki, this seems like a serious news issue in need of coverage to me. What does it take to get Iraq covered on The Newshour? Thank you.

12:34

Gwen Ifill:

I have to say, if you're going to see coverage of the ongoing situation in Iraq anywhere, it will be on the NewsHour.

So Ann raises specific issues and gets an 'answer' where Gwen basically says, 'Watch The NewsHour!'

It's a funny kind of chat with Gwen playing Amway salesperson.

But credit to Ann for raising the issue during the 'chat.'

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Thursday, April 17, 2014

Little Boy Per Lijas has a crush

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

HONORARY GIRL POWER BOY PER LIJAS CAN'T KEEP IT IN HIS MOUTH.

TODAY THE TONGUE COMES OUT FOR JOE BIDEN AND BARRY O.

A SELFIE, FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, IS WHEN YOU TAKE A CELL PHONE OR A TABLET, HOLD IT AT ARM'S LENGTH AND SNAP A PHOTO OF YOURSELF WITH OR WITHOUT OTHERS.

IT IS SOMEWHERE, ON THE SCALE OF VISUALS, BELOW A PHOTO BOOTH AT CHUCKY E. CHEESE.

THERE IS NO ART INVOLVED, NO SKILL, NO TECHNIQUE.

BUT PER LIJAS STOPS FINGERING HIMSELF LONG ENOUGH TO GASP, AT TIME MAGAZINE -- NO LESS, "JOE BIDEN'S FIRST SELFIE IS JUST AWESOME!"

YOU SORT OF PICTURE HIM GASPING AND RIDING A DILDO TO A BIG ORGASM RIGHT AFTER. YOU DON'T, HOWEVER, PICTURE HIM PRACTICING JOURNALISM.

YOU GO, BOY!

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

When is the world going to object? When are people going to express their outrage? The US has weaponized Nouri, giving him what he needs to kill civilians. And he's killing them.

Will anyone speak out?

BRussells Tribunal carried "Iraq - Genocide in Fallujah" by the European Parliament's Struan Stevenson:

The unfolding tragedy in the Iraqi city of Fallujah seems to have slipped off the international radar screen, as the focus of the global community drifts from Syria to Kiev and back again. The humanitarian situation in Fallujah is dire. The sectarian prime minister of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki has surrounded the city with thousands of troops, effectively sealing it off. The Iraqi air force has mounted daily bomb attacks, cutting off electricity and water supplies and destroying several bridges in an effort to prevent food and water from reaching the besieged inhabitants. Last week, they bombed Fallujah General Hospital, killing nearly all of the doctors and nurses and many of the patients and forcing its closure. More than 300,000 people have been made homeless.
Ban Ki Moon and the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq (UNAMI) continue to plead with Maliki to provide humanitarian aid to the city and to enter into negotiations that can bring an end to violence in the predominantly Sunni, Al Anbar Province. The sharp response from the aggressively pro-Shia prime minister was there would be "no negotiation with terrorists." In a single sentence he has labeled all of the residents of Iraq's largest province as "terrorists" in order to justify his genocidal campaign.

And, as BRussells Tribunal points out, the European Parliament as a body has called out these attacks on civilians and did so in the European Parliament resolution 27 February 2013 on the situation in Iraq:

Is deeply concerned about the continuing acts of violence perpetrated against the civilian population, vulnerable groups and religious communities; calls on the Iraqi Government and on all political leaders to take the necessary measures to provide security and protection for all people in Iraq, in particular members of vulnerable groups such as women, journalists, young people, fundamental rights activists, trade unionists and religious communities, including Christians; calls on the Iraqi Government to ensure that the security forces comply with the rule of law and international standards;

In January, Human Rights Watch issued "Iraq: Protect Anbar Residents From Abuses." And that's it for the world's attention. It's a shame other bodies and government officials can't call out these War Crimes. The White House not only can't call Nouri out, they can't stop arming him, it's like an addiction with them.

And yet there's no outcry in the US. Everyone looks the other way and rushes to find some problem -- real or faux -- to pretend they care about.

How many civilians have to die before Nouri's assault is called out?

Maybe people think, "Oh, it's just a few." It's a number nearly every day.

We're going to through past snapshot's to illustrate. Please note, there's more than we've covered. And there's more than the below and our missed coverage. This is one of the most under-reported series of killings by the press.

From the January 10th snapshot:

And fearful, scared Nouri resorted to collective punishment again today. Iraqi Spring MC reports Nouri al-Maliki's air force bombed residential areas in Ramadi today, denied humanitarian aid to Falluja, killed a child named Taha Ayoub Aelchortani and left two more injured with his bombings, bombed homes in Falluja, Ramadi's hospital has received 200 dead or wounded from Nouri's bombings and Falluja has received 150 dead or wounded. Omar al-Jaffal (Al-Monitor) reports:

Meanwhile, the head of the tribal council in Anbar, Abdul Rahman al-Zobaie from Ramadi, told Al-Monitor, “The army ought to stop the indiscriminate shelling of civilian houses.” He noted, “This has killed and injured hundreds of civilians and destroyed a large number of houses. The government of Anbar ought to expedite measures to meet the needs of the affected families.”
Zobaie said, “Local police forces are deployed at the entrance of the city, and checkpoints have been established in all areas in Fallujah, [and are] working on protecting the governmental institutions with the support of the tribes. There are no members affiliated with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham [ISIS] as propagated by some politicians and the government of Anbar.”
He added, “The government of Fallujah, with all its tribal sheikhs and dignitaries, are demanding that the central government and the armed forces stop the indiscriminate shelling of residential areas and withdraw the armed forces, as the [local] police are the only party responsible for managing the crisis.”

Now for, January 18th:

Cheng Yang (Xinhua) adds of Falluja, "The city has no electricity for several days as large parts of the electric power grid were destroyed by the bombings, the source added."

January 19th:

Nouri's military has resumed bombing in Falluja and Nouri's military helicopters resumed bombing of Falluja and Ramadi as Nouri's assault on Anbar continues. NINA reports, "The city of Fallujah has seen this morning major displacement, not seen since the start of military operations since more than two weeks because of the intensification of indiscriminate shelling by the army forces stationed on the highway outside the city."

January 21st:

The assault on Anbar continues. Kareem Fahim and Yasir Ghazi (New York Times) report, "Thousands of residents have fled Falluja in recent days, fearing worsening violence after the failure of negotiations between local leaders and jihadist militants to end a standoff that has lasted weeks, leaders from the city said Monday." AFP reports 22,000 families have been forced to flee their homes due to the Anbar operations and they note, "The UN said the actual figure was likely to be higher, as not all those who fled had registered. It said of those who had left, most had found refuge elsewhere in Anbar, but some had gone as far afield as the northern Kurdish region." UPI adds, "Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is having a tough time trying to dislodge al-Qaida forces who hold much of the western cities of Fallujah and Ramadi because his army doesn't seem to be up to the task, despite emergency shipments of U.S. arms."
NINA reports today:

Security source announced on Tuesday the continuation of the displacement of hundreds of families in several neighborhoods of Fallujah as a result of the shelling of the city by the army.
A security source in Anbar, told / NINA / that hundreds of families fled the city of Fallujah, because of the artillery intense shelling that led to the killing and wounding of many civilians.

And they note that among the Falluja shelling targets today was a school. Steve Inskeep (NPR's Morning Edition -- link is audio and text) spoke with AFP's Prashant Rao this morning about the violence.

RAO: In terms of how the government is responding though, it varies depending on the area. In Baghdad, they have locked out a lot of areas. They've sort of increased checkpoints and they've sort of tighten those checkpoints. But in Anbar, the response have been a combination of the deploying of U.S.- supplied Hellfire missiles and also clashes in some towns in between Ramadi and Fallujah, where the Iraqi army and Iraqi police, allied tribal fighters are all looking to take back territory that the government lost about three weeks ago.

From January 23rd:

the Iraqi military's shelling of Falluja left 2 civilians dead and ten more injured ("including women and children")

From Janaury 24th:

National Iraqi News Agency reports that the Iraqi military's mortar shelling last night left 4 people dead and 32 more injured "including women and children" and today's military shelling of Falluja left 5 people dead and 14 more injured -- "most of them women and children." Collective punishment is what Nouri's pursuing. If you doubt that: Iraqi Spring MC notes that Nouri's army shelled Falluja General Hospital.

From January 25th:

Alsumaria quotes medical sources who explain that the residential neighborhoods in Falluja are being targeted and that many citizens are being killed and injured. It's so bad that even Abu Risha called today for the bombing of Falluja to stop. NINA reports that the military's shelling left three people injured in Ramadi in one incident, another incident of the Iraqi military shelling Ramadi with mortars left 3 civilians dead and five more injured, the military's shelling on Falluja left 3 civilians dead and eleven more injured and a second military shelling on Fallua left 3 civilians dead and six more injured.

From January 27th:

NINA notes that "hundreds" continue to flee Falluja as military helicopters continue to bomb Falluja and Ramadi which today left 8 civilians dead and thirty-nine more injured. Dar Addustour reports that multiple cities in Anbar have been placed under curfew.

From January 28th:

Mohammad Sabah (Al Mada) reports that the MPs stressed today in the Iraqi Parliament that there is no "military solution" to Anbar, there is only a "political solution." They noted that the use of the military had only increased tensions and inflamed the crisis NINA reports security sources tell them seven civilians were wounded in the military bombing of Falluja today.

From January 30th:

‏@barq_iq_sy

احد الجرحى الذين اصيبوا اليوم بسبب القصف المتعمد من قبل مليشيات المالكي التي تستهدف الاحياء السكنية في #الفلوجة، pic.twitter.com/cwZinUDSaI

That's one of Nouri's victims today -- injured by his forces shelling Falluja. NINA reports that hospitals have received 141 civilians have been killed in Ramadi and Falluja alone this month with another 509 injured and: "He added that this can not be considered as final number because there are dead and wounded in areas which could not be moved to the hospital." Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 1037 violent deaths in Iraq so far this month. It's doubtful many counts will include the 141 civilians killed by the bombings and shellings from Nouri's forces. NINA also notes military shelling left 3 civilians dead in Ramadi with eight more injured

From February 7th:

National Iraqi News Agency reports Falluja General Hospital received 5 dead and twenty-injured people as a result of Nouri's shelling of the city (the dead and wounded included children and women),

From February 10th:

Falluja General Hospital was again shelled (by Iraqi military) and 1 person was killed with fourteen more left injured ("including a doctor and three nurses"),

From February 11th:

shellings left 5 people dead and thirty-one injured in Falluja, a mortar attack on Falluja Educational Hospital left one doctor injured,

From February 12th:

NINA notes Iraqiya MP Leaq Wardi stated, "The continuation of indiscriminate shelling and concentrated, the past few days, on the health institutions, especially the Falluja General Hospital, confirms the existence of a deliberate intention not to resolve the crisis, despite the announcement of continuous initiatives to solve the crisis." [. . .] military shelling in Falluja left 3 civilians dead and seven more injured,

From February 13th:

And let's really emphasize this:

A security source told the reporter of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / that"a number of artillery shells of army forces stationed outside the city fell on the building of Fallujah hospital, wounding / 9 / workers, including / 3 / Indian doctors and two nurses from Bangladesh as well as four Iraqi employees. "

These are War Crimes. You are not allowed to target hospitals.

From February 14th:

National Iraqi News Agency reports [. . .] Iraqi military bombed Falluja General Teaching Hospital doing substantial damage and this is "the third bombing of the hospital during the last 24" hours, [. . .] and the Iraqi military's bombing of Falluja residential neighborhoods left 3 dead (including Mufti Rafi Rifal) and eleven injured.

From February 15th:

and Nouri's military's continued shelling of residential areas in Falluja left 3 civilians dead and four more injured.

From February 18th:

the Iraqi forces shelling of residential areas in Falluja left 2 civilians dead and six more wounded,

From February 19th:

Alsumaria notes a family of 6 in Falluja are dead from a shelling.

From February 22nd:

and "Army forces stationed around Falluja pounded with heavy artillery and tanks" leaving 5 people dead ("including two children") and five more injured.

From February 23rd:

NINA explains:

5 civilians have been killed and ten others injured on Sunday 23, Feb as a result of the bombing of military forces to Fallujah despite the decision to suspend military operations for three days .
A security source told the reporter of the National Iraqi News Agency / NINA / "The army forces stationed outside the city of Fallujah pounded, with heavy artillery and tanks, Fallujah despite the Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces' decision yesterday to stop military operations in Fallujah for / 3 / days ."
He added, "The bombing killed five civilians and wounded / 10 / others , including 3 children ."

From February 24th:

Military bombing in Falluja today left three civilians injured.

From February 25th:

NINA reports 5 civilians were left injured by the military's bombing of Falljua's residential neighborhoods of Jubail Nazal and al-Sinaei while the military's bombing of western Falluja left 1 woman dead and three members of her family injured in Albu Alwan Village.

From February 26th:

Nouri's military shelling of Falluja left five family members ("including two children") injured,

From February 28th:

NINA notes Nouri's forces have walled off Falluja with dirt and one of their mortar attacks today -- during the supposed 'truce' and 'cease-fire' -- left two children and two adults injured when the mortars hit their home.

From March 1st:

If the military's shelling of western Falluja (Nassaf Village) today left three civilians injured, there is no cease-fire.
If another Falluja shelling leaves 1 child dead and nine people injured, there's no cease-fire.

From March 2nd:

NINA notes Nouri's military shelled Falluja Sunday evening leaving eight civilians injured,

From March 3rd:

Today, Anadolu Agency reports:

Four Iraqis have been killed in an airstrike that targeted a passenger vehicle in the western city of Fallujah, a tribal source said Monday.
"The aircraft shelled a vehicle carrying ten people in the city," the source told Anadolu Agency."

And in another incident today, NINA notes Nouri's shelling of residential areas in Falluja left ten people injured -- including three children.

From March 5th:

NINA reports the military's bombing of Falluja left 4 civilians ("including a child") dead and seven more injured. And the military's airstrike in Ramadi left a man and a woman dead and three more in their "civilian car" injured.

From March 6th:

Under the guise of fighting 'terrorism,' Nouri continues to kill Iraqis. National Iraqi News Agency reports Nouri's military shelled al-Jughaifi, al-Shuhada and al-Asakari neighborhoods in Falluja leaving 4 civilians dead and twelve more injured (three of the injured were children). Another round of shelling left 1 civilian dead and twelve more injured.

From March 8th:

That wasn't the only way Nouri celebrated International Women's Day in Iraq. No, he had his military again shell residential areas in Falluja leading to the death of 1 woman and 1 child with six more people ("including two young girls") being left injured.

From March 9th:

Collective punishment is defined as a War Crime and Nouri excels at War Crimes. So today, his indiscriminate shelling of Falluja residential neighborhoods left 6 people dead and seventeen injured.

From March 12th:

As his assault on Anbar Province continues, so do Nouri al-Maliki's War Crimes. The thug and prime minister of Iraq continues to resort to the crime of collective punishment. Today that means his military shelling of Falluja residential neighborhoods today left 1 child dead, two children injured, one woman injured and one man injured.

From March 14th:

  National Iraqi News Agency notes that the military shelled a residential neighborhood in Rawa killing 1 person and injuring three members "from the same family." Nouri also ordered bombings in Falluja's residential neighborhoods and 1 adult and 1 child were killed while another child, a woman and five males were left injured. Civilians are targeted, hunted and killed in Nouri's Iraq.

From March 15th:

  Alsumaria reports the latest numbers from Falluja General Hosipital are that Nouri's shelling of the city has left at least 131 people dead and 752 more injured and that the victims have mainly been children, women and the elderly. Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) reports 1 "civilian killed and seven others injured" in Falluja as a result of the military bombing residential neighborhoods.

From March 17th:

Moving to violent deaths, Nouri's bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhood today have killed 1 child and 1 woman while leaving five more family members injured and a military bombing in Anbar last night left four civilians injured.

From March 18th:

In addition, Nouri's bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods left 1 civilian dead, two adults injured and two children injured.

From March 20th:

NINA reports the military shelling of residential neighborhoods in Falluja left ten civilians ("including three children") injured.

Also on March 20th, Betty noted a second shelling: "15 civilians died and forty more were injured on Thursday in Falluja due to Nouri's mortar attacks and bombings of residential neighborhoods."

From March 21st:

NINA reports that Nouri's bombing of residential neighborhoods in Falluja today left 3 civilians dead and eleven more injured.

From March 22nd:

Nouri continues committing the War Crime of collective punishment and his shelling of residential neighborhoods in Falluja left five civilians injured today.

From March 24th:

Nouri's continued assault on Anbar, specifically his bombing of residential neighborhoods, left 2 women dead and two children injured.

From March 25th:

In addition, Nouri's continued assault on Anbar continues. His shelling of residential neighborhoods in Fallujah today has left 6 civilians dead and ten injured (the injured include two children).

From March 26th:

NINA reports the military's shelling targeting Falluja not only left five people injured but also set afire a power plant -- burning over 50% of the plant.
From March 28th:

Doubt the victims of Nouri's shelling of Falluja residential neighborhoods with have a "Happy Friday!" either. NINA notes 2 civilians are dead and thirty-nine injured from today's shelling.

From April 1st:

Nouri continues attacking civilians in Falluja. Anadolu Agency reports, "At least eight civilians were killed and 16 others injured in Iraqi army shelling of Fallujah in the western Anbar province, a medical official said."

From April 4th:

NINA notes the military's continued shelling of residential neighborhoods in Falluja -- this happens every day, this bombing -- has left 6 civilians dead and nine more injured.

From April 5th:

Nouri's assault on the civilians of Anbar continues. NINA noted early Saturday that the military's bombing of Falluja neighborhoods had left 1 civilian dead and nine more injured and then, later in the day, 2 more civilians were killed and six more were injured.

From April 6th:

NINA reports that a hospital in Falluja has been shelled by the military. The hospital isn't identified. In the past. Falluja General Hospital and Falluja Teaching Hospital have both been shelled. Nouri also continued the shelling of Falluja's residential neighborhoods and five civilians were injured.

From April 7th:

Yang Lina (Xinhua) reports the latest outcome of the Iraqi military shelling residential neighborhoods in Anbar:

Separately, artillery and mortar shelling on several neighborhoods in the besieged city of Fallujah left a civilian killed and nine others wounded, a medical source from the city hospital said.
Meanwhile, several mortar rounds landed on the town of Garma near Fallujah, damaging several houses and wounding four civilians, including a child, a local police source said.

From April 8th:

After all, today NINA reports, "23 civilians killed and wounded due to the resumption of indiscriminate shelling by army forces of the residential neighborhoods of Fallujah city today." Five dead -- including one child -- and eighteen injured. And when does the world call out Nouri's assault on the civilians of Anbar? Every day brings news of more people in Falluja killed and wounded by Nouri's bombing of residential neighborhoods. This is a War Crime. Sometimes, as over the weekend, it also includes bombing of hospitals in Falluja. War Crimes as well. But the same White House that wants to convince you that Putin is 'evil' but they really, really care about human rights? That same White House is arming Nouri al-Maliki and looking the other way as he terrorizes the people.   Anadolu Agency quotes Falluja General Hospital spokesperson calling today's shelling "the most violent." Iraqi Spring MC reports that the military is also shelling residential areas in Abu Ghraib's Khudayr Zawbaa Village.

From April 9th:

NINA reports his bombing of residential neighborhoods in Falluja today killed 7 civilians and left twenty injured. In an update, Alsumaria notes the tolls increased: 9 dead and twenty-three injured. War Crimes.

From April 10th:

National Iraqi News Agency reports 5 civilians ("including a child") died from the bombings with fourteen more injured. Meanwhile, Nouri's ordered the same bombings in Ramadi and NINA reports people are fleeing their homes, being rendered refugees, as a result.

From April 11th:

Alsumaria reports three children were wounded in the bombing of the residential areas of Falluja and 3 more children were killed.

From April 12th:

NINA reports 3 civilians were killed and nine ("including two women and a child") were left injured.

From April 13th:

NINA reports Nouri's continued shelling of the residential neighborhoods in Falluja left 5 people dead (including one child) and eighteen people injured. NINA reports that.

From April 14th:

In his latest bombing of Falluja residential neighborhoods, NINA reports, 2 women have been killed and two children badly wounded. These are War Crimes and not only has the US government provided the weapons for Nouri to kill civilians, they're also training and advising on how. World Tribune reports, "Officials said U.S. advisers were training and mentoring Iraqi SOF units in the war in Anbar. The officials said the advisers were training the Iraqis in urban warfare, counter-insurgency techniques, bomb detection and coordinated helicopter assaults."

From April 15th:

National Iraqi News Agency reports his shelling of Falluja's residential neighborhood have left 7 civilians dead today and seventeen injured.

Does is start to overwhelm?

Do you see how long this has been going on? These are War Crimes and the White House pretends to give a damn about the Ukraine in yet another pissing match while they're the ones arming Nouri.

I don't want to hear any more crap about Bully Boy Bush from Americans who can't call out the above murders. The US has had months to get it together enough to respond. No one in Congress has called it out. No leading figure of the left has called it out.

In the US, there's not even serious coverage of this issue.

There's been plenty of time.

It's April, it's been going on since January.

Where's the concern? Where's the dismay?

In the months that these War Crimes have taken place, US talking heads and gas bags have found time to pontificate about Bully Boy Bush this and Dick Cheney that but they haven't had the spine, courage or guts to call out what's going on right now.

I don't give a damn about their electoral choices or other partisan crap.

And clearly they don't give a damn about humanity or what happens in Iraq.

Iraq matters to them then and now only as a political football.

Wednesday, April 16, 2014

Old man continues to sell his soul

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

USED UP AND EMPTY NUT SACK BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN, COMING OFF HIS LATEST FAILED ALBUM, WILL NOW WHORE WHATEVER'S LEFT OF HIS NAME BY PROPPING UP FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O AT A STEVEN SPIELBERG EVENT FOR 'HUMANITY.'

REACHED FOR COMMENT, THE TOADY SPRINGSTEEN EXPLAINED, "NO ONE BOUGHT MY ALBUM HIGH HOPES -- FOUR MONTHS LATER, IT STILL HASN'T GONE GOLD. I USED TO SELL MILLIONS IN A SINGLE MONTH. I WON'T BE 65 UNTIL SEPTEMBER SO UNTIL SOCIAL SECURITY KICKS IN, I NEED TO MAKE SOME BREAD. SO I SPREAD. AND SAY, 'HEY POLITICIANS, WANT TO BOSS THE BOSS AROUND? I'LL TAKE IT UP THE ASS FROM ANY DEMOCRAT. I USED TO HAVE STANDARDS AND BE OUTSIDE THE TWO PARTY SYSTEM BUT THESE DAYS I SPREAD LIKE JIFFY."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Sarah Jessica Parker waited too long to have her chin wart removed, it had already killed any shot at a big screen career by the '00s. The wart was repugnant on the big screen but she was attached to it. Maybe it contained her brain?

What else could explain her garbage today guest hosting The Leonard Lopate Show on WNYC? There she described the former propagandist for the New York Times, Dexter Filkins, as "one of the best war correspondents of his generation."

Dexter Filkins -- Falluja Filkins -- won an award for his awful piece of 'reporting' on the US attack on Falluja -- eye witness 'reporting' that missed the use of White Phosphorus and other weapons in a story published November 21, 2004 -- a story of events on November 15, 2004 that is published November 21, 2004. Was Dexy using The Pony Express to get his copy to the paper?

No.

But the US military vets copy very slowly. And Dexy doesn't do anything the commanders didn't approve of.

After all, as Molly Bingham publicly revealed, when Dexy was bragging about an interview he'd set up with a resistance leader in Iraq, he got a unpleasant look from a US military officer and that was that. From her "Home from Iraq" (Courier-Journal):

The intimidation to not work on this story was evident. Dexter Filkins, who writes for The New York Times, related a conversation he had in Iraq with an American military commander just before we left. Dexter and the commander had gotten quite friendly, meeting up sporadically for a beer and a chat. Towards the end of one of their conversations, Dexter declined an invitation for the next day by explaining that he'd lined up a meeting with a "resistance guy." The commander's face went stony cold and he said, "We have a position on that." For Dexter the message was clear. He cancelled the appointment. And, again, this is not meant as any criticism of the military; they have a war to win, and dominating the "message," or the news is an integral part of that war. The military has a name for it, "information operations," and the aim is to achieve information superiority in the same way they would seek to achieve air superiority. If you look closely, you will notice there is very little, maybe even no direct reporting on the resistance in Iraq. We do, however, as journalists report what the Americans say about the resistance. Is this really anything more than stenography?

Dexy was in Falluja during the assault and never reported the US military used White Phosphorous. November 2005, Robert Burns (AP) would report, "Pentagon officials say white phosphorous was used as a weapon against insurgent strongholds during the battle of Fallujah last November, but deny an Italian television news report that it was used against civilians." The BBC noted, "The US had earlier said the substance - which can cause burning of the flesh - had been used only for illumination. BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood says having to retract its denial is a public relations disaster for the US." But Sarah Jessica Parker didn't ask about that. Mainly because she's too stupid and too busy giggling about "David" (Dexter boss) and what he told her to talk about.

Dexter's a reporter worth praising?

To Sarah Jessica Parker it is. As she stumbled and fumbled for words on live radio today, it was obvious she should sticky to her tacky ready-to-wear line. "To-to-to"?

She offered one air-head question after another, making it clear (a) she'd done no research and (b) that, for Sarah Jess, the latest issue of Vogue is 'heavy' reading.

Typical 'question' from Sarah Jess, "And do you think that-that this is a disposition that you sort of st-stumbled upon in some way, that this-this character that is . . . needed and-and maybe even this photographer that you met up with, is this something that's-that's-that is in some ways the criteria for-for-for a person who does your work or do you -- can you acquire -- is it like learning to like . . ." She's nowhere near the end of that question but we'll cut her off there.

Falluja Dexy didn't just cover up for a massacre ("It's fun," he said at one point in the interview), he also lacked any professionalism or ethics as he slept with everything he could in Baghdad -- everything -- and destroyed his marriage and then tried to attack a female colleague for calling out the toxic work environment he had created.

Sarah Jess didn't ask about that. Doesn't know about it. But she'll be subbing tomorrow as well so heads up on that and you can turn it into a drinking game by doing a shot every time she says "Wow." Warning, if it's anything like today, you'll need several bottles of tequila. "Wow."

Here the Propagandist and the Hacktress 'discuss' Falluja:

Dexter Filkins: And I can say when I was embedded with the Marines before they went into Falluja which was -- turned out to be the biggest battle of the Iraq War, uhm, yeah, I knew that was coming [going into Falluja], uh, uhm, I guess a day before hand they gave us the briefing and said, 'Here's what we're going to do, we're going in tomorrow night.' Uh-uhm, I- you know, if we were to write that, then that was -- that would basically tip off

Sarah Jess: Right.

Dexter Filkins: -- the-the bad guys and-and then get a lot of people killed. And so that's not something -- that's something that you're going to say Okay, look, we're making a judgment here that we're not in the business of getting people killed so, uhm, we'll withhold something. But it's rare.

For the record, the killed in Falluja? That tended to be Iraqis and, yes, Dexter Filkins is in the business of getting people killed.

Judith Miller's bad reporting, at worst, helped get the US military into Iraq. Dexy Filkins propaganda kept the US military there for years and years. And he'd lie in print, then come back to the US, do a campus speaking tour and tell people about how badly things were actually going, then go back to Iraq, file some more lies, and then come back offer some more Pianissimo-voiced confessions. At least Judith Miller believed the crap she wrote.

Falluja Filthy Filkins did other audio at the end of March. March 31st, Sasha Weiss hosted the discussion between Dexy and War Hawk George Packer about "fiction, poetry, and memoir writing about the Iraq war by the veterans of that conflict." Somehow that translated to Packer wanting to talk "Iraqi humor" which he characterized as "a lot of them had to do with dismemberment -- the sexual dismemberment -- of hated figures in the old regime."

They do make time to enjoy Phil Klay's writing which turns war into sex -- something that says a great about Klay and about the two pigs Packer and Dexy but it's something that Weiss doesn't wish to explore or follow up on.

19 minutes into the 24 minute podcast, Sasha Weiss states, "Let's talk about women for a minute. It hasn't really come up."

Sasha wasn't lying. They spend about a minute on the topic. One minute and nine seconds.

The bulk of that minute is used by George Packer as he offers insulting statements about women that I'm not going to transcribe. He was born a pig, he'll die a pig and, when that day comes, few will miss him.

He does manage to note one woman, after blathering on about women and combat, Kayla Williams [Kayla Williams has authored Love My Rifle More than You: Young and Female in the U.S. Army and her just released Plenty of Time When We Get Home: Love and Recovery in the Aftermath of War] "but basically this is a male genre."

Sexist men to love to say that.

It's their excuse for not noting women.

Just off the top of my head, I'd note Jessica Goodell's Shade It Black: Death and After in Iraq, that women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan share their stories in Laura Browder and Sascha Pfaefing's When Janey Comes Marching Home: Portraits of Women Combat Veterans, Lisa Bowden and Shannon Cain edited Powder: Writing by Women in the Ranks, from Vietnam to Iraq, there's veteran Miyoko Hikiji's All I Could Be: The Story of a Woman Warrior in Iraq, Heidi Squier Kraft's Rule Number Two: Lessons I Learned in a Combat Hospital, Shoshna Johnson's I'm Still Standing: From Captive U.S. Soldier to Free Citizen -- My Journey Home, Jane Blair's Hesitation Kills: A Female Marine Officer's Combat Experience in Iraq, retired Colonel Kimberly Olson's Iraq and Back: Inside the War to Win the Peace, Melia Meichelbock's In the Company of Soldiers, and Janis Karpinski's One Woman's Army: The Commanding General of Abu Ghraib Tells Her Story.

Now since they made time to discuss a book that hadn't even been published by someone who wasn't in the military and that they don't believe was in Iraq during the Iraq War, it's fascinating that they only had one minute and nine seconds to discuss women veterans sharing their stories and that the entire discussion was about how Packer didn't believe women in Iraq saw combat and ended with a brief mention of Kayla Williams and the declaration that "this is a male genre."

Packer's a pig, Dexy's a pig. Both pigs were enabled by women. At least Sasha didn't repeat "Wow!" over and over or giggle repeatedly the way 49-year-old would-be-but-failed-sex-kitten Sarah Jess did.

Along with being pigs, Packer and Dexy are both War Hawks which is why their supposed discussion of books by veterans ignored Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramadi: The Private Rebellion of Sergeant Camilo Mejia, Joshua Key's The Deserter's Tale: The Story of an Ordinary Soldier Who Walked Away from the War in Iraq, Aiden Delgado's The Sutras of Abu Ghraib: Notes from a Conscientious Objector in Iraq, and Kevin Benderman's Letters from Fort Lewis Brig: A Matter of Conscience.

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