Cedric's Big Mix: 2015-01-18

Friday, January 23, 2015

Who will teach Barry O to count?

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

SOME ARE SEEING FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O'S WORDS OF "I HAVE NO MORE CAMPAIGNS TO RUN . . . I KNOW BECAUSE I WON BOTH OF THEM" SOMETHING TO BE PROUD OF.

THOSE IDIOTS PROBABLY APPLAUDED WHEN BARRY O CLAIMED TO HAVE VISITED "ALL 57" STATES IN THE U.S.

FOR THE RECORD, THERE ARE 50 STATES IN THE U.S.

AS DISTRESSING AS IT IS THAT SOMEONE OVER THE U.S. ECONOMY CANNOT COUNT CORRECTLY TO 50, IT'S EVEN SADDER THAT HE CAN'T COUNT TO SIX.

LOOK, BARRY O, HOW MANY IS THIS?

NO, NOT TWO!

BARRY O HAS RUN 6 CAMPAIGNS IN GENERAL ELECTIONS AND WON SIX.

HE RAN FOR THE ILLINOIS LEGISLATURE 3 TIMES WINNING EACH TIME. HE RAN FOR THE U.S. SENATE ONCE AND WON.

WE ARE NOW UP TO FOUR.

F--O-U-R -- IF WE SAY IT SLOWLY, IT WON'T BE SO SCARY, BARRY.

HE RAN FOR U.S. PRESIDENT TWICE AND WON TWICE.

THAT IS SIX GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGNS AND SIX RUNS.

(HE HAS HAD 7 PRIMARY RUNS WITH 6 WINS. IN 2000, HE RAN IN THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY PRIMARY FOR A U.S. HOUSE SEAT. BUT BOBBY RUSH SLAPPED HIS ASS, PULLED HIS PANTS DOWN, TOOK HIM OVER THE KNEE, SPANKED HIM IN PUBLIC EMBARRASSING TYPE OF LOSS.)

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

AFP reports that Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared Thursday that Iraq was lacking in sufficient weapons -- that's right, that Iraq did not have enough weapons -- and stated, "We don't want to see a military defeat because of budget and fiscal problems."

Again, Haider believes Iraq is starved for weapons. All the bullets and all the bombs have not been enough for Haider.

These were not off the cuff remarks but something's he's been harping on for some time.

Vivian Salama and Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) quote him declaring in an on Wednesday interview that "we are in this almost on our own." These are similar to the remarks he made last week.

Last week, AFP reported that Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi was slamming the coalition the US government has put together and saying it was taking to long to provide "military support" to the Iraq military, "The international coalition is very slow in its support and training of the army."

At the Pentagon on Thursday, US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel was asked about the statements.

Q: Mr. Secretary, yesterday Prime Minister Abadi said that he was upset by what he considered the slow, stalled pace of U.S. weapons and training, both by the U.S. and the coalition in Iraq. Do you agree with his assessment? Has that been slow or delayed? And the 6,000 -- the reports of 6,000 insurgents killed, is that a measure of what the U.S. is doing, and is that number accurate?

SEC. HAGEL: Well, regarding Prime Minister Abadi's comments, first, I don't agree with those comments. I met with Prime Minister Abadi, as many of you know who accompanied me on that trip about a month ago. The fact is that we have put a particular emphasis on getting the kind of equipment and materiel, ammunition, the needs, the requirements for the Iraqi Security Forces and the -- and the Kurds.
To give you some examples, last year we were able to move more than 1,500 Hellfire missiles, expedited in every one of these cases, all of the requests that the Iraqi government has made.
We'll have provided over 250 MRAPs, some of those went to the Kurds. Tens of thousands of small arms and ammunition. The flow of ammunition and materiel and the requests continue at an accelerated rate.
So, I do -- I do disagree with the prime minister's comments. I would say even further, I don't think they're helpful. We have a coalition of over 60 countries that have come together to help Iraq. And I think the prime minister might want to be a little more mindful of that.
We are continuing to deploy more American troops for training. And we have three of four training sites now operational in Iraq. We have about a dozen coalition partners who have trainers there, along with our trainers. We'll have a fourth training camp up soon.
So, we are doing everything we can possibly do to help the Iraqis.
As to the second part of your question, first, I have not seen any verification of that number of 6,000 that you referred to. We do know that thousands of ISIL fighters have been killed, and we do know that some of ISIL's leadership have been killed.
But also, as you ask, is that the measurement or a significant measurement of progress? It is a measurement. But I don't think it is the measurement. I mean, I -- I was in a war where there was a lot of body counts every day. And we lost that war.
What you look at is you look at things like do you have ISIL on the defensive? And I think by most every measurement, not imperfect, not perfect, they have been on the defensive.
Are they having difficulty recruiting? Yes they are.
The Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces cut into their supply lines? Yes, they have.
Has there been a distortion in command and control networks of ISIL? Yes, there has been. Significant, tangible, measurable.

These are also the metrics you look at as to how much progress you're making in a war.

Poor Haider al-Abadi. Is he nuts?

If he's not insane, he's just the biggest idiot in the world.

Any time he has a chance before the world media, he makes a fool of himself.

That is his pattern.

As September drew to a close, he visited the United States and quickly made a fool of himself in the media. As Ray Sanchez and Evan Perez (CNN) explained then:

From Washington to New York, a flurry of denials followed media reports that Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi told reporters at the United Nations that his country's intelligence agency had uncovered an imminent ISIS plot against United States and Paris subways.

"We don't have anything to back it up at this point," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told CNN. "We'll keep looking at it."

What had been a mini-triumph -- Haider proved he could both stand erect and speak, traits puppets don't always possess -- was destroyed when Haider decided to 'reveal' plots against the NYC subway that Iraqi 'intelligence' had learned of.

He hurried back to Iraq a laughing stock.

Thursday, Hagel took on Haider's remarks which Hagel clearly sees as carping.

On the issue of the 6,000 number raised to Hagel, that number comes via Al Arabiya reporting:

The U.S.-led airstrikes have “taken more than half” of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) group’s leadership, U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones told Al Arabiya News Channel in an interview aired Thursday.
Jones described the airstrikes as having a “devastating” effect on ISIS after Baghdad criticized Washington for not doing “enough” to eliminate the Islamist group.

“We estimate that the airstrikes have now killed more than 6,000 ISIS fighters in Syria and Iraq,” Jones said.
The U.S. ambassador added that the airstrikes have “destroyed more than a thousand of ISIS vehicle inside Iraq.”

Back to Haider who had a chance to shine today that he spoiled with his own mouth yet again.

It's not a surprise that Haider wants more weapons. He's done nothing since August -- in fairness to him, the US government hasn't encouraged or pressed him to -- when he became prime minister to heal the serious rifts in Iraq -- the rifts at the heart of the ongoing crises in the country.

So, like any puppet installed as opposed to a leader elected, he fears being toppled.

What keeps a puppet from being toppled, arms and more arms.

The shocker!

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

IT'S THE SHOCKING DISCOVERY NO ONE EXPECTED . . .

FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O HAS AN EX-WIFE -- ONE WHO IS A WOMAN.

TO FIND OUT THAT HE HAD A MALE LOVER OR TWO IN HIS PAST? WELL THAT'S LONG BEEN WHISPERED.

BUT WHO KNEW MICHELLE WAS NOT HIS FIRST WIFE.

WHERE IS THE FIRST WIFE?

HAS SHE BEEN IMPRISONED IN GUANTANAMO?

CAN ANYONE UNCOVER THE TRUTH?

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Last night, US President Barack Obama blathered on about a couple who fell in love and it was one of the most embarrassing speeches ever given as a State of the Union Address. We focused on Iraq last night. Dan Murphy (Christian Science Monitor) had hours to reflect on the speech before he weighed in today and here are his 'deep' thoughts re: Iraq, "He also glossed the fact that he's sent troops back to Iraq, with Baghdad at risk of falling to Islamic State." Kaveh Waddell (National Journal) adds, "The president mentioned Iraq, where Islamic State extremists have taken over significant swaths of land, only twice, compared to an average of five over his last five State of the Union speeches."

Things only got worse.

Barack declared, "Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,00 remain." And the do-nothing Win Without War responded with this Tweet:

Win Without War @WinWithoutWar · Jan 20

"Our combat mission in #Afghanistan is over." President Obama. When will our remaining 15,000 troops there come home, Mr President? #SOTU

8 retweets 4 favorites

Now I know they're whores. But are they stupid? 15,000 was not given by Barack as the number of US troops in Aghanistan, it was Afghanistan and Iraq.

Win Without War is a group who thinks they can take over the Democratic Party from within. It's never worked out that way for them. They just whore and whore until they stand for nothing while they continue to try to herd voters over to the Democratic Party.

In 2006, they couldn't stop pretending to care about Iraq.

Today?

Not so much.

And then there's Ruth Conniff.

The aged princess of The Progressive is bound and determined to run the magazine into the ground -- and knowing Ruth, she'll succeed at that.

Ruth couldn't stop Tweeting throughout the speech.

But not about Iraq.

Remember this is the stupid woman that went on KPFA and bragged about how none of her friends had children who enlisted and she didn't no anyone who served in the Iraq War.

Ruth thought that was something to share.

No surprise, her ascension at the magazine has only resulted in an already muddied approach getting worse.

Unlike Ruth, many Americans do not veterans of today's wars.

March Forward!'s Mike Prysner offers his take at Veterans for Peace and concludes, "A system set up like this can only replicate the same heart-wrenching tragedies for people like us. No need to watch the State of the Union--we need a revolution." Following Barack's speech, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America issued the following:

WASHINGTON, D.C. (January 20, 2015) – Tonight, President Obama failed to address critical priorities for the veteran community, including restoring trust in the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) after last summer’s scandals and reforming veteran mental health care services. Despite praising the Joining Forces initiative to improve veteran unemployment and mentioning the VA disability claims backlog, the President remained silent on critical veterans issues.

Particularly disappointing was the President’s failure to affirm his administration’s support for urgent passage of the Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans (SAV) Act – historic bipartisan legislation that will increase access to quality mental health care and combat veteran suicide. With 22 veterans dying by suicide every day, IAVA has partnered with more than 20 veteran service organizations and partners and lawmakers from both parties to promote the bill, named after Marine veteran Clay Hunt who died by suicide in 2011.

“Tonight, the Commander-in-Chief once again thanked our veterans and servicemembers for their selfless service to our country. However, actions speak louder than words,” said IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff. “Yes, the President must speak to many constituencies in the State of the Union, but no other group fought and sacrificed for its country like veterans. After the VA scandal and marking more than 13 years of combat, veterans were hoping for a proactive policy agenda from our President. As the recent success of the film “American Sniper” attests, our country is beginning a sober discussion on the impact of the post-9/11 wars on our servicemembers, their families and our country, and we had hoped for the President to lead that conversation. He didn’t.”

Rieckhoff continued, “This next year will be crucial for the veteran community as more servicemembers return home and transition to civilian life. But in the address tonight, the President rarely mentioned veterans. Veterans exist, and many among us need assistance, particularly in the often overlooked area of mental health care. But we refuse to have our issues swept under the rug, and we will not rest until Congress passes and the President signs the Clay Hunt SAV Act, designed to combat the tragedy of 22 veterans dying by suicide every day.”

“Furthermore, in last year’s address the President committed to slashing the VA’s disability claims backlog. A year later, we are nowhere near “backlog zero.” Currently, more than 242,000 veterans are still waiting to get the benefits they earned. The state of the union is strong, but the state of the VA is still smoldering. Last summer, IAVA members and veterans across the country were shocked to learn about the alleged misconduct and wrongdoing at VA hospitals. For many veterans, the VA health care system is their only health care system. While we appreciate the efforts of Sec. McDonald and his team to enact reforms, we are frustrated the President did not mention how he will restore veterans’ faith in the VA after months of scandal. Our veterans don’t deserve to be ignored,” said Rieckhoff.

IAVA looks forward to Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) delivering the Republican response to the State of the Union Address. As the first female combat veteran elected to serve in the U.S. Senate, Sen. Ernst is in a unique position to fight for the nation’s veterans, particularly the female soldiers who bravely served the country. Sen. Ernst served in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and currently serves as a Lt. Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard. IAVA urges her to publicly address the veteran suicide crisis and to endorse urgent passage of the SAV Act as well.

At IAVA offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, veterans attended SOTU watch parties and live-tweeted the President’s address using the hashtag #SOTUVets.

Note to media: Email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699 to speak with IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff or IAVA leadership.

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the nation's first and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization representing veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan and has nearly 300,000 Member Veterans and civilian supporters nationwide. Celebrating its 10th year anniversary, IAVA recently received the highest rating - four-stars - from Charity Navigator, America's largest charity evaluator.

Wednesday, January 21, 2015

Now he plans to fix parenting

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

CALLING UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE A MUST-HAVE IN LAST NIGHT'S SPEECH, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O FEELS HE'S FIGURED OUT HOW TO PROVIDE IT.

"I SLEPT ON IT!" HE EXCITEDLY TOLD THESE REPORTERS THIS MORNING. "AND IT JUST CAME TO ME! ANOTHER ONE OF MY BRILLIANT IDEAS!"

TO PROVIDE UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE, BARRY O EXPLAINED, HE'S GOING TO PASS A LAW REQUIRING EVERY PARENT PURCHASE IT.

"INSTANT BINGO! I'VE CREATED UNIVERSAL CHILD CARE -- JUST LIKE I DID WITH HEALTH CARE!" HE INSISTED.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

"I have no more campaigns to run," declared US President Barack Obama tonight in a possible attempt to provide comfort to a put-upon nation as he delivered yet another State of the Union Address.

He first ran for the oval office, for example, promising to close the gulag at Guantanamo.

In his campaign literature entitled "The War We Need To Win" in 2007," the promise was made, "As president, Barack Obama will close the detention facility at Guantanamo." Eight years later, it remains open.

President Barack Obama: As Americans, we have a profound commitment to justice -- so it makes no sense to spend three million dollars per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit. Since I've been President, we've worked responsibly to cut the population of GTMO in half. Now it's time to finish the job. And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down. It's not who we are.

Has he "worked to cut the population of GTMO in half"? Well the promise was to close it.

And not to close it in his second term.

Pointing out realities makes one one of the "cynics" Barack referenced in his speech, a reference that left him sounding truly Nixonian.

The editorial board of the San Diego Union-Tribune saw the speech as "self-flattery" and observed:

The notion that a broadly resurgent United States can “turn the page” on a recent era of economic pain, wars and terrorism builds off a sunny assessment of the world that we don’t think many people share.

After the turbulent past year, it is hard to conceive of how anyone could argue the world is safer because of U.S. leadership.

Obama’s self-congratulation on the economy is also baffling. When unemployment was high and growth low, Democrats blamed an obstructionist House. Now that the jobless rate is coming down and growth is rebounding in much of the nation, suddenly the gridlock narrative is gone in favor of the idea that the good news is due to the president’s vigorous stewardship of something vaguely described as “middle-class economics.” But wait — wasn’t that stewardship utterly stymied? Isn’t it far more likely that the U.S. rebound is because of the private sector’s vitality — especially in energy and tech — not the actions of government?

AP opens their fact check of the State of the Union Address with, "The U.S. may not have 'risen from recession' quite as rousingly as President Barack Obama suggested in his State of the Union speech Tuesday night. Seven years after that severe downturn began, household income hasn't recovered and healthy job growth is complicated by the poor quality, and pay, of many of those jobs."

Perhaps to avoid charges of being a "cynic," AP avoids fact checking Barack on Iraq (one aside is not a fact check -- especially an aside that combines Iraq with Syria).

Barack insisted, "Six years ago, nearly 180,000 American troops served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Today, fewer than 15,000 remain."

Fewer than 15,000?

But he promised they would be gone -- from Iraq.

August 1, 2007, Barack promised, "When I am president, we will wage the war that has to be won, with a comprehensive strategy with five elements: getting out of Iraq and on the right battlefield in Afghanistan and Pakistan; developing the capabilities and partnerships we need to take out the terrorists and the world's most deadly weapons; engaging the world to dry up support for terror and extremism; restoring our values; and securing a more resilient homeland."

The drawdown at the end of 2011 was a drawdown, not a withdrawal.

It was a point made December 12, 2011, when Ted Koppel filed an important report on Rock Center with Brian Williams (NBC) about what was really taking place in Iraq:

MR. KOPPEL: I realize you can't go into it in any detail, but I would assume that there is a healthy CIA mission here. I would assume that JSOC may still be active in this country, the joint special operations. You've got FBI here. You've got DEA here. Can, can you give me sort of a, a menu of, of who all falls under your control?

US AMB. JAMES JEFFREY: You're actually doing pretty well, were I authorized to talk about half of this stuff.

Not only did Barack not get "out of Iraq," in June he began openly sending more US troops in.

More and openly being the key words.

In the fall of 2012, Tim Arango (New York Times) reported, Barack sent a brigade of US Special-Ops into Iraq. In the US, the brief passage on Iraq buried in a report on Syria garnered very little attention. To other outlets it was major news and a story they pursued. One example of that would be Press TV reported which reported in December 2012::

Over 3,000 US troops have secretly returned to Iraq via Kuwait for missions pertaining to the recent developments in Syria and northern Iraq, Press TV reports.
According to our correspondent, the US troops have secretly entered Iraq in multiple stages and are mostly stationed at Balad military garrison in Salahuddin province and al-Asad air base in al-Anbar province.

In June of 2014, he began sending US troops in openly and publicly.

In June of 2014, he insisted that the only answer for Iraq was a "political solution."

Tonight, Barack declared:

I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership. We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don't let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century presents. That's exactly what we're doing right now – and around the globe, it is making a difference.

But that isn't what's being done.

Barack may say he believes "in a smarter kind of American leadership" which combines "military power with strong diplomacy." He may say that.

But as we've noted for months here, he's instead focused on bombing and getting foreign governments to send troops into Iraq while ignoring the diplomatic issues and the diplomatic power.

Sunday brought not one but two major reports noting the lack of political progress in Iraq. Martin Chulov (Guardian) reported:

Iraq’s vice-president for reconciliation, Iyad Allawi, said a lack of a political process between the Shias who dominate the country’s power base, and disenfranchised Sunnis was a “grave mistake” that could mean the air attacks end up achieving little.
“The whole strategy needs to be revisited and readdressed and the international allies should be part of this,” Allawi told the Guardian. “People are asking me what will come after Isis. What would be the destiny of [local] people? Are they going to be accused of supporting or defeating Isis? Would they be accused of being Ba’athists? It is going to be really difficult for them to engage without reconciliation.”

And Tim Arango and Omar al-Jawoshy (New York Times) reported:

On any given day, Sunni women gather here in search of answers about their men, some of whom have been jailed for years.

“The Iraqi Army took my son in March of 2014,” said Tawfika Abbas. “Until now, I don’t know where he is. Zero information.”

Another woman, Entisar Gannos, cried for her four sons: one jailed since 2006, another since 2010, and the other two since 2011, all without court hearings.

Their grief, and the pain of not knowing what is happening to their loved ones, highlight a vital task for Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi: reforming Iraq’s criminal justice system. Well-documented abuses of the system, including long detentions without trial and confessions obtained by torture, are the primary grievance of the country’s Sunni minority.

But tonight he didn't own up to that reality.

President Barack Obama: In Iraq and Syria, American leadership – including our military power – is stopping ISIL's advance. Instead of getting dragged into another ground war in the Middle East, we are leading a broad coalition, including Arab nations, to degrade and ultimately destroy this terrorist group. We're also supporting a moderate opposition in Syria that can help us in this effort, and assisting people everywhere who stand up to the bankrupt ideology of violent extremism. This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.

By passing what? Oh, yeah, that authorization for force, the one he sent US Secretary of State John Kerry to argue, December 9th, before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee -- sent Kerry to argue that Congress must pass an authorization for Barack's actions in Iraq and Syria and that this legislation must include that Barack can send US combat troops into Iraq.

Secretary of State John Kerry: However, while we certainly believe this is the soundest policy, and while the president has been clear he's open to clarifications on the use of U.S. combat troops to be outlined in an AUMF, that does not mean we should pre-emptively bind the hands of the commander in chief or our commanders in the field -- in responding to scenarios and contingencies that are impossible to foresee.

Barack wants ground troops in Iraq to be in combat.

Tonight was the perfect time for him to get honest with the American people.

He elected not to do so.

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

The applause getting line

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

IN A DESPERATE NEED TO GIVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE SOMETHING TO CHEER, FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O DECLARED, "I HAVE NO MORE CAMPAIGNS TO RUN."

AFTER SIX YEARS OF SUFFERING, THE NATIONAL COMEDY IS COMING TO AN END.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

The US-led occupation of Iraq continues with Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) reporting 175 violent deaths today. While the Canadian government acknowledges that combat took place for Canada and the Islamic State. Al Jazeera reports:

Canadian special forces have clashed with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant group by exchanging gunfire in Iraq in recent days, in the first confirmed ground battle between Western troops and ISIL, a senior officer has said.
The Canadians came under mortar and machine gun fire while training Iraqi troops near front lines and shot back in what Canadian special forces commander Brigadier General Michael Rouleau described as self-defence, killing the ISIL fighters.

Rouleau said the melee had taken place in the previous seven days and was "the first time we've taken fire and returned fire" in Iraq, where the armed group has overrun large areas.

When did the exchange take place? Laura Payton (CBC News) offers it was "sometime in the last week when they went to the front lines following a planning session with senior Iraqi leaders, their commanding officer told reporters in Ottawa on Monday." BBC News quotes Brigadier General Michael Rouleau that the incident was "the first time we've taken fire and returned fire."

This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be advisors and trainers.

Sound familiar?

Steven Chase (Globe and Mail) points out:

The release by the Canadian military on Monday has triggered a debate about whether mission creep is afflicting what was supposed to be a relatively limited assignment for nearly 70 elite soldiers to offer military advice to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq.
The military and the Harper government insist these activities are not the kind of direct-combat ground operations that Canadians were assured troops would avoid in their role as instructors and trainers to peshmerga forces battling the Islamic State.

Mission creep is always a possibility. A point the American people should remember.

And as the news of combat for Canadian troops gets traction, There are calls for more foreign troops to be sent into Iraq. AFP reports, "US Senator John McCain on Monday urged the deployment of international ground forces to combat jihadists in Syria and Iraq, as he toured the Middle East with a Senate delegation."

While McCain called for more troops, Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi met with some US scholars. al-Abadi's office issued the following today:

PM Al-Abadi Discusses Developments in Iraq and the Region with American Think Tank Specialists

	January 19 2015 Prime Minister Dr. Haider Al-Abadi met today with researchers and specialists in Iraqi affairs and counter-terrorism from US-based think tanks. During the meeting with Dr. Kenneth Pollack, Dr. Kimberly Kagan and Dr. Fred Kagan, they discussed security challenges facing Iraq and the region as part of the war against Daesh terrorists. Prime Minister Al-Abadi stressed the need for greater awareness in the international community about the global threat of terrorist organizations. He called for greater efforts to dry up their funding streams, challenge extremist ideologies and develop more comprehensive intelligence mechanisms to monitor their movements and ultimately eliminate the threat posed to the entire world. The American delegation in turn recognized the positive developments taking place in Iraq under Prime Minister Al-Abadi's leadership and welcomed the recent military successes achieved by the Iraqi Security Forces as part of the war against Daesh.

Kenneth Pollack is with the centrist Brooking Institute and right-wing Kim Kagan heads the Institute for the Study of War and her arm candy Fred Kagan is right-wing as well.

US President Barack Obama has no real plan for Iraq. He began bombing Iraq in August but bombing was never a plan.

It stopped being effective long ago.

And all these months later, Barack has nothing to show for the billion-dollars-plus he's wasted bombing Iraq.

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Sunday, January 18, 2015

Who was responsible?

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

FADED CELEBRITY BARRY O APPROVED THE C.I.A. SPYING ON THE SENATE.

REACHED FOR COMMENT BY THESE REPORTERS, BARRY O INSISTED THAT "SPYING IS JUST ANOTHER WAY OF SAYING, 'HEY, BABE, I CARE.' IF I DIDN'T CARE, I WOULDN'T SPY."

AT THAT MOMENT, WHITE HOUSE SPOKESPERSON JOSH EARNEST DEFECATED IN HIS PANTS AND SCREAMED, "YOU CAN'T PRINT THIS! THIS IS ALL OFF THE RECORD!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Cindy thinks there might have been some conspiracy.

There was most likely none at all.

Her film never had studio backing -- nor even serious interest from a studio.

Even if it had, there are projects studios get behind which get gutted all the time. Jodie Foster and Robert Redford were supposed to star in Crisis In The Hot Zone but Redford was a dick and a vain one and Jodie walked. The film had been in competition with Dustin Hoffman, Rene Russo and Morgan Freeman's Outbreak to see which could start shooting first. That ended when no other name actress wanted to put up with Redford's nonsense.

Films go under all the time, they go from talk to nothing.

They can even be announced -- and advertised -- and then not get made.

faye

That's Faye Dunaway. Height of her beauty. Height of her box office.

And she's going to make the film Duet For One. It's about to begin filming.

Nope.

When it was made a few years later, it would star Julie Andrews.

There was no plot to keep Faye busy, to tie her up, so no one else could use her in movies.

Joan Crawford would leave MGM for, among other reasons, the refusal to allow her to star in The Spiral Staircase despite the fact that she'd optioned the source material. (A few years later, RKO would make the film and it would be a hit.) Miriam Hopkins thought she'd play the lead in the film of Jezebel. She'd played the role on Broadway, she held the rights, Jack Warner led her to believe that handing the rights over to his studio meant she'd star in the film. Instead, Bette Davis played the role and won her second Best Actress Academy Award. Bette Davis was led to believe she'd star as Mary Todd Lincoln but when the project moved from development towards filming, Jack Warner refused to greenlight claiming a film that told the truth would be an insult to Abraham Lincoln's memory.

Yentl is a film classic and one that director Barbra Streisand should forever feel proud of. But as much as the film on the screen is something to be proud of, Barbra's dedication to the project is also something to be proud of. She started working on the project in 1968 and never lost faith in it, never took a "no" as the final answer and, in 1983, the film was reality.

Or look at The Dollmaker. In 1971, Jane Fonda falls in love with Harriette Arnow's book. In 1974, she meets with the author about making the book. She's in her grey-listed period -- where politics keep US studios from hiring her for many projects (though she still has a few offers coming in -- she turned down Chinatown and The Exorcist, among others, during this period). When Tricky Dick resigns and realities have to be reconsidered, studios are interested again and her first leading role is in the box office hit Fun With Dick and Jane (1977). One hit after another followed and Jane still couldn't get studio interest for the film. So, as she herself tells it, she met with ABC in 1979, the day after she won her second Academy Award, and she (and Bruce Gilbert) proposed The Dollmaker as a movie of the week for the TV network. ABC was all for it but there was still the issue of the script. It would be 1983 before the TV movie was filmed and 1984 when it aired. (Jane won an Emmy for her performance.)

To get a film made -- for the big screen or for TV or (today) the internet) -- you have to be a long distance runner.

The film frustrations Cindy Sheehan went through don't even qualify as a 1 K fun run.

Let's deal with another aspect and then we'll circle around.

Casey Sheehan died.

That was a huge loss for his family.

As someone who felt her loss was great enough to warrant a meeting with a world leader, I'm not really sure where Cindy gets off insulting Chris Kyle.

Guess what, it's not all about you, Cindy Sheehan.

I've defended Cindy here repeatedly over the years. She's said nothing to help another mother, has she? She can't identify with Pat Smith's loss?

I've wondered about that.

And now here is she is trashing a dead man because she thinks he's racist -- or says she thinks it.

If only we were all so pure and wonderful like Cindy Sheehan?

The fact of the matter is she needs to lose the judgmental.

There's no reason for her to insult Chris Kyle.

Her view of her son is in conflict with those who served with him.

That's not surprising.

He was put through the same socialization process everyone in the military is.

So I'm not understanding why Cindy's being so awful to Chris Kyle who has a family that misses him dearly.

You're not happy that he shot Iraqis?

I'm not happy that any Iraqis were shot.

But the blame for that, for Americans, goes to the White House (then and now) and the Congress.

Casey Sheehan didn't declare war on Iraq. Neither did Chris Kyle.

If you're offended by what Chris Kyle did, then you need to take that argument up the chain.

Stop blaming the people and start blaming those in charge.

Chris Kyle broke no law.

He said some mean spirited things about Arabs?

I don't doubt it.

And I'm not stupid enough to assume he came up with those remarks himself. I'm fully aware that this was part of training, part of the socialization, part of the attempt to create the belief in 'the other' which allows the dehumanization necessary to kill.

Now maybe moon beams shot out of Casey Sheehan's ass like Cindy seems to think. Maybe they didn't. But I'm not going to insult Casey Sheehan because I'm opposed to the ongoing war. And I'm not going to insult Chris Kyle for it either.

I don't expect Cindy to be a saint. I do expect her to have common sense.

Her post is beneath her and goes to the reality that she has a myth about Casey with regards to Iraq and it's a myth she wills herself to believe.

Chris Kyle.could have been her son but she attacks him and berates him in a post.

She has no humanity to share and can't relate to the family of Chris Kyle on any level.

Nursing a myth takes a lot out of you.

And let's point out the obvious about her supposed offense regarding what Kyle wrote in his book.

Cindy does a radio show. If she really cares about the Iraqi people why doesn't she cover Iraq?

If she really cares why, in the year long bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods, has she never devoted an episode to this topic?

These are War Crimes, legally defined War Crimes.

And Cindy's not calling them out, she's not using her forum to draw attention to the thousands of civilians who have been killed and wounded for the 'crime' of being in their neighborhood, for the 'crime' of being in their homes.

This is not the Islamic State.

Grasp that.

This is the Iraqi military bombing Falluja daily.

It started under Nouri al-Maliki. September 13th, new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi noted how wrong it was -- but stopped short of calling it a War Crime -- it is one, it's the legal definition of "collective punishment" -- and promised the bombings had stopped. The next day they continued.

So when Cindy's going to talk about that?

I'm so tired of people who pretend they care about this or that but when they've got the chance to talk about something that matters, they don't.

Ongoing War Crimes and no one wants to call them out. It's pretty much Human Rights Watch, Felicity Arbuthonot and this community willing to call out the War Crimes. (If you call it out or know someone who does, send a link to common_ills@yahoo.com and it will gladly be noted here.)

How damn difficult is for a citizen in, for example, the United States to call out the Iraqi government attacking civilians daily in Falluja?

I don't think it's difficult at all.

But the silence from Cindy Sheehan and others never ends.

Pick any day at random, let's go with June 18th: The bombing of Falluja's residential neighborhoods claimed the lives of 6 civilians -- two of whom were children -- with sixteen more civilians injured.

So don't come whimpering to me about some 'naughty words' that were used in a book when you don't have the guts, the spine, the compassion, the humanity to call out the year long suffering of Sunnis in Falluja as the military has repeatedly targeted the residential neighborhoods wounding and killing thousands in 2014 alone.

The United Nations refuses to release an 'official' count on deaths in Falluja and that's because they don't want to speak up about the ongoing War Crimes.

The only time they've acknowledged it seriously was when new Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced these bombings had ended -- then the UN had praise to offer publicly. But the bombings didn't end, the UN didn't retract their praise or even acknowledge that the bombings continued.

Iraqi Spring MC notes 3 civilians dead and four injured on Friday from the Iraqi military's non-stop bombing of civilian areas in Falluja.

And these bombings have other impacts as well.

اعلام الربيع العراقي @IraqiSpringMC ·

النازحون من منازلهم جراء القصف العشوائي المتعمد من قبل القوات الحكومية على منازل المدنيين.
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اعلام الربيع العراقي @IraqiSpringMC ·

النازحون من منازلهم جراء القصف العشوائي المتعمد من قبل القوات الحكومية على منازل المدنيين.
. 

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As Iraqi Spring MC notes, they add to the ever-growing refugee population in Iraq.

The silence also means others can get away with it.

Today, civilian areas in and around Baghdad were bombed by the war planes in the US-led coalition.

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