Cedric's Big Mix: 2016-06-05

Saturday, June 11, 2016

She'd sell her own dead grandma

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

DONATE A MILLION DOLLARS TO THE CLINTON FOUNDATION AND YOU TOO CAN BUY YOUR WAY ONTO A GOVERNMENT BOARD.

REACHED FOR COMMENT, CRANKY CLINTON TOLD THESE REPORTERS, "YES, I AM RESPONSIVE TO CONCERNED CITIZENS. ANYONE WHO EXPRESSES THEIR CONCERN IN DOLLARS -- A LOT OF DOLLARS -- WILL GET MY ATTENTION. MONEY MAKES MY WORLD GO ROUND."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

On the airstrikes, Greg Jaffe and Loveday Morris (WASHINGTON POST) explain:

The White House is on the verge of releasing a long-delayed accounting of how many militants and civilians it has killed, primarily with drones, in countries where the United States is not at war. The list will include airstrikes in countries such as Libya, Pakistan, Somalia and Yemen.
It will not include deaths in Iraq or Syria. Nor is it likely to mollify critics who say that Obama’s largely defensive, low-American-casualty approach puts too many civilians at risk and too often feeds resentment that benefits U.S. enemies. The report will mean little to Iraqis and Syrians in places such as Mosul, Ramadi and Raqqa, where the tragic consequences of American mistakes are often easily ignored and American precision bombs sometimes do not seem very surgical or precise.

In nearly two years of fighting in Iraq and Syria, U.S. officials say they have killed as many as 20,000 Islamic State fighters and caused only 41 civilian deaths. Military analysts and human rights activists said those figures are absurd. “They don’t pass the straight-face test,” said retired Col. Christopher Kolenda, who led troops in Afghanistan and served as a senior adviser to U.S. commanders there. He recently completed a study on civilian casualties for the George Soros-funded Open Society Foundations.

AIRWARS counts 8,768 air strikes in Iraq and 4,128 in Syria with a minimum of 1,278 civilians killed. To put just two faces on the many civilians killed in Iraq, last September, RADIO SAWA journalist Zaid Benjamin Tweeted this:

‏@zaidbenjamin

#Iraq | Mouselaon bloggers say a man & his son were killed in an airstrike by US-led coalition in #Mousl Sunday

RETWEETS12
LIKES6

1:20 PM - 21 Sep 2015

12 retweets6 likes

Thursday, June 09, 2016

She'll exhaust us all

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

CRANKY CLINTON HAS A SECRET PLAN FOR NOVEMBER -- JUST KEEP LYING.

IT'S NOT REALLY THAT SECRET BUT SHE'S NOT REALLY THAT SMART.

BUT HER PLAN IS TO KEEP LYING.

AND LYING AGAIN.

"AT SOME POINT," SHE EXPLAINED WITH A SHRUG, "AMERICANS WILL GROW TIRED OF HEARING ABOUT MY LIES. THEY'LL JUST MOVE ON. LIKE WITH IRAQ. EVERYONE JUST MOVED ON. EXCEPT THE DEAD. BUT, HEY, I CAME, I SAW, THEY DIED."

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

Human Rights Watch issued a press release today which opens:

(Beirut) – The announced investigation into allegations of abuse of civilians around Fallujah by Iraqi government forces is a test for the government’s ability to hold abusive forces accountable. Judicial officials should conduct this investigation transparently and impartially, assess command responsibility, and ensure protection for victims and witnesses.
Ahead of the offensive in Fallujah against forces of the Islamic State (also known as ISIS), Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said that his government had taken measures to protect civilians. Human Rights Watch, however, has received credible allegations of summary executions, beatings of unarmed men, enforced disappearances, and mutilation of corpses by government forces over the two weeks of fighting, mostly on the outskirts of the city, since May 23. On June 4, 2016, in response to allegations of abuse, al-Abadi launched an investigation into abuses in Fallujah and issued orders to arrest those responsible for “transgressions” against civilians. On June 7, al-Abadi announced the “detention and transfer of those accused of committing violations to the judiciary to receive their punishment according to the law.”
“The Iraqi government needs to control and hold accountable its own forces if it hopes to claim the moral upper hand in its fight against ISIS,” said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East director. “It’s high time for Iraqi authorities to unravel the web of culpability underlying the government forces’ repeated outrages against civilians.”
Human Rights Watch also expressed grave concern about reports of ISIS preventing civilians from fleeing Fallujah and allegedly executing and shooting at those who attempted to do so. Human Rights Watch is concerned about the presence of ISIS fighters among civilians inside Fallujah, perhaps amounting to human shielding, a war crime. But the presence of fighters among civilians does not absolve forces fighting ISIS from the obligation to target only military objectives and to take all feasible measures to avoid civilian harm, Human Rights Watch said. ISIS forces should allow civilians to leave areas under their control and not use civilians to shield its military objectives from attack, Human Rights Watch said.
Human Rights Watch directed questions about the composition of the investigative committee, its authority, and relation to the judiciary to five Iraqi government institutions in addition to the human rights section of the United Nations Assistance Mission to Iraq. A member of the parliamentary Human Rights Committee told Human Rights Watch that the committee had started its own investigation and was liaising with the investigation by the prime minister’s office, which remained secret. The other officials contacted did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
On June 3, Human Rights Watch received information alleging that members of the Federal Police and the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an auxiliary fighting force created after ISIS advanced in June 2014, and that includes many pre-existing Shia militias, had executed more than a dozen civilians from the Jumaila tribe fleeing Sajar, a village north of Fallujah. Human Rights Watch spoke to five people, including two officials from Anbar governorate, who said they were protecting three surviving witnesses to the executions.

Three of those interviewed confirmed the account that a survivor gave on Tigris (Dijla) Channel television that a group consisting of Federal Police and PMF had separated men from women, marched the men to where the troops’ officers were, lined them up, and shot at least 17 of them, including one teenage boy. One person said that the incident took place on June 2. The PMF are, at least nominally, under the command of the prime minister.
One of the Anbar governorate officials provided Human Rights Watch with a list of names of those killed and said that the incident happened near the Sharhabil school in Al-Bu Sudaira neighborhood in the northern outskirts of Fallujah. The other Anbar official said that the witnesses met with senior Iraqi government officials on June 5, following which he said Prime Minister al-Abadi launched an investigation into the incident. A former Iraqi government official with good contacts in the security forces told Human Rights Watch, on June 5, that the investigation had already led to the arrest of a police officer whom survivors could name.

Another person who said he was in the Sajar area, 7 kilometers northeast of Fallujah, at the time told Human Rights Watch that on May 28, he saw Federal Police and PMF, including dozens of fighters from the Badr Brigades and Hezbollah (two prominent Shia militias in the PMF), fatally shoot civilians with white flags raised fleeing toward the government forces that day. He said that a fighter told him his superior officer had ordered the shootings. He also told Human Rights Watch he was in Saqlawiya around May 30. This person said a villager and several PMF fighters in the area told him that PMF fighters stabbed dozens of villagers to death with knives.

Human Rights Watch follows an earlier cry. Tuesday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein which included:

“There are extremely distressing, credible reports that some people who survive the terrifying experience of escaping from ISIL, then face severe physical abuse once they reach the other side,” the High Commissioner said. “Eyewitnesses have described how armed groups operating in support of the Iraqi security forces are intercepting people fleeing the conflict, separating the men and teenage boys from the women and children, and detaining the males for ‘security screening’, which in some cases degenerates into physical violations and other forms of abuse, apparently in order to elicit forced confessions. There are even allegations that some individuals have been summarily executed by these armed groups.”

When that alarm was raised, the US State Dept played dumb. They did so again today:

MR TONER: We can go to Fallujah, sure.

QUESTION: Okay. First of all, could you give us an update of what’s going on? And second, there seems to be, like, some sort of a campaign to aid the “Sunnis,” quote-unquote, in Fallujah in places like Saudi Arabia and other places. A spokesman for the ministry of interior in Saudi Arabia says we cannot stop people’s sentiments and so on. Are you concerned or would you sort of take this up with the Saudis to --

MR TONER: You – I’m sorry, just – I missed it. You’re saying that there seems to be a – yeah, sorry, sorry. Yeah.

QUESTION: No, two things. First of all, can you give us an update? And then I’ll follow up with --

MR TONER: Okay.

QUESTION: -- other one.

MR TONER: Sure thing, hold on one second. Apologize; my book has grown too large.
So as I think I said yesterday, Iraqi forces are making progress, are advancing on the city. I’d obviously refer you to the Iraqi authorities to speak more about what progress has been made. I do know that – and I think I’m speaking to your – maybe your second question – but we are concerned about the plight of civilians who are fleeing Fallujah, and I spoke about this yesterday. Our understanding is that ISIL [. . .] is holding tens of thousands of civilians hostage and under terrible conditions. Iraqi Security Forces are trying to screen those who are fleeing the city to ensure that [Islamic State] fighters are not hiding among these innocents – civilians. And it’s difficult work, but we expect it to be conducted in a way that respects human rights and the safety of these civilians who are fleeing the fighting.

QUESTION: And it seems that the Fallujah battle is stirring or polarizing the Sunni-Shia schism; and in fact, in places like Saudi Arabia and other Sunni-dominated countries are collecting contributions and money and so on being sent. Some fear that it might find its way to ISIS, or others fear that it will only exacerbate this --

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: -- sectarian schism.

MR TONER: Well – and we’ve, again, talked about this the last couple of days. I mean, look, we’re obviously aware of the underlying dynamics and tensions inherent to this assault or this offensive to retake Fallujah. We understand Prime Minister Abadi has opened safe passageways for civilians to be able to escape. We’ve talked a lot about messages from Prime Minister Abadi as well as Ayatollah al-Sistani’s message that Iraqi Security Forces involved in this offensive should protect civilians and civilian properties.
We are troubled by reports that civilians in Fallujah and the surrounding area have been subject to torture or abuse and in I think some cases even murder. I know Prime Minister Abadi has pledged to investigate all credible reports and hold those accountable – the perpetrators. He’s issued clear instructions to Iraqi Security Forces, including the Popular Mobilization Forces, to protect civilians and respect their human rights. And we firmly support this approach.
I think that the Iraqi Government is saying the right things, pledging to do the right things, and we’re obviously working closely with them to ensure that they follow through.

QUESTION: Finally, are you troubled by reports that suggest that Iranian General Qasem Soleimani is giving personal advice or field advice to – personally to Prime Minister Abadi on how to conduct the Fallujah battle? Are you aware of those reports?

MR TONER: I mean, look, this offensive – we’ve seen the reports, certainly, and I acknowledge that we’ve seen them. We’re not in a position to confirm any of these images as accurate. We don’t know about his travel schedule or where he is. I’d have to refer you to Iranian authorities to speak to that.

The Fallujah operation though, writ large, is under the command and control of the Iraqi Government, and we’d refer you to them to answer any questions about that. But this is a large-scale operation involving tens of thousands of Iraqi forces and with the support of these Popular Mobilization forces, and thus far it’s a difficult fight. It’s a long fight. As we talked about, there’s – we’re watching closely reports of – credible reports of abuses on civilians, but thus far we’re hearing the right things from the Iraqi Government.

Are you hearing credible reports, spokesperson Mark Toner?

Or are you ignoring reality?

The same way the US government ignored the realities of abuse throughout Nouri al-Maliki's second term as prime minister of Iraq (2010 - 2014) allowed the situation to grow worse and worse until the Islamic State began to appear to be a viable alternative to some Sunnis in Iraq.

The US government will back anyone if they think it will help with regards to oil.

There are never real concerns for the people caught on the ground.

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From the mouths of children

BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIG MIX & THOMAS FRIEDMAN IS A GREAT MAN -- THE KOOL AID TABLE

CRANKY CLINTON'S PRESUMED NOMINATION FOR PRESIDENT BY THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY HAS CHANGED THE WORLD FOR GIRLS.

AT A DAY CARE THIS MORNING, THESE REPORTERS TESTED THE PREMISE.

8 YEAR OLD SABRINA READILY AGREED THINGS HAD CHANGED, "LIKE THAT AWFUL WENDY, SEE HER OVER THERE IN THE RED JUMPER, WELL SHE'S BEEN TRYING TO FLIRT WITH DAVEY AND DAVEY IS MINE. NOW THAT CLINTON MAY BE THE NOMINEE, I KNOW IT'S MY RIGHT TO TRASH WENDY AND CALL HER A LIAR AND A LOUNGE SINGER AND INSIST THAT ANY CLAIMS DAVEY KISSED HER ARE JUST PART OF A VAST RIGHT WING CONSPIRACY."

6 YEAR OLD WANDA ALSO FELT THE WORLD HAD CHANGED, "I KNOW NOW I DON'T HAVE TO SETTLE DISAGREEMENTS WITH WORDS. I JUST NEED TO BOMB PEOPLE WHO I DON'T LIKE. I ASKED MY DADDY LAST NIGHT TO BUILD ME A DRONE."

AND 8 YEAR OLD LEA ANN INSISTED, "THANKS TO HER [CLINTON], I REALIZE THAT ONLY AMERICAN GIRLS AND WOMEN -- SPECIFICALLY WHITE -- MATTER. WE CAN BOMB WOMEN OF COLOR ALL OVER THE WORLD AND NEVER APOLOGIZE BECAUSE THEY'RE NOT AS GOOD AS US. STINKY FOREIGNERS."

FROM THE MOUTHS OF CHILDREN.

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

The big news in Iraq today was the protest in Baghdad.

And you know it was huge because the western media refused to report on it.

ALSUMARIA reports that the demonstrators called for an end to corruption and demanded a government of technocrats, one free of political parties.

The huge crowd pictured in the photo ALSUMARIA published demonstrates that even Haider al-Abadi's efforts to cut off the roads and bridges to Baghdad could not stop today's huge turnout in Tahrir Square. Those rallying are said to be followers of Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr. On Arabic social media, there are reports of violence carried out by the police on the protesters today.

MP Aqeel Abdul al-Hussein (of Moqtada's bloc) has declared that Haider al-Abadi (US-installed prime minister of Iraq) will face consequences for his inability to bring about change and that the previous prime minister (thug Nouri al-Maliki) wasted government funds.

ALSUMARIA also notes that Nouri's insulted the protesters in a Tweet and Moqtada has responded by noting that Nouri was no agent of change and failed to make a squeak as Iraq's resources were plundered by corruption.

Meanwhile AL MADA reports that Moqtada has accused Mohammed al-Ghabban of implementing a foreign agenda. al-Ghabban is the Minister of the Interior. al-Ghabban is a Shi'ite politician who is part of Nouri al-Maliki's State of Law coalition and who belongs to the political party for the Badr militia. IRAQ TIMES notes the statements and states they came following an arrest warrant being announced for Moqtada.

Parliament is currently out of session and not due to return until July. An online poll at ALSUMARIA currently finds that only 24.8% expect Parliament to convene a session before their scheduled return. (75.2% vote there will be no emergency session.) This belief is in keeping with statements made by MPs. For example, Sunday NATIONAL IRAQI NEWS AGENCY quoted MP Diaa al-Asadi stating that the Ahrar bloc (Moqtada's bloc) would not end its boycott of Parliament until a vote took place on a cabinet.

On what western media will report . . .

Maybe you caught AFP or IANS or other outlets this week reporting on the over 400 corpses in a mass grave in Saqlawiyah ("near Falluja") -- victims of the Islamic State.

The only problem?

Doesn't appear to have happened.

ALSUMARIA reports that the Iraqi military's media branch announced today that there was one corpse above ground and two buried and that the claims of 400 are inaccurate. ALL IRAQ NEWS quotes from the statement of the Joint Special Operations Command's media division that following on-site research it's clear that there are no mass graves."

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"Hillary Capone"

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Hillary Capone

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

"PEOPLE AROUND THE GOVERNMENT KNEW" INSISTS CRANKY CLINTON.

THEY KNEW THAT SHE WAS USING A PRIVATE SERVER.

CRANKY WON'T NAME THESE PEOPLE -- MAYBE THEY DON'T REALLY EXIST.

BUT WHETHER "PEOPLE AROUND THE GOVERNMENT KNEW" OR NOT, SHE GOT CAUGHT LYING.

CRANKY SCOFFED TO THESE REPORTERS THAT IT WOULD MAKE ANY DIFFERENCE.

"I'M LIKE AL CAPONE," SHE BLUSTERED. "THEY'LL NEVER PIN ANYTHING ON ME! NEVER!"

FROM THE TCI WIRE:

The assault on Falluja continues.

In Wednesday's snapshot, we noted our disbelief in western press reports that the assault on Falluja had ceased (due to concerns for 20,000 kids trapped there). Thursday's snapshot noted that Iraq's Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi had stated the assault had never been halted.

Friday?

Even the US State Dept was going to town on western media outlets.

State Dept spokesperson Mark Toner, "First of all, beginning with Fallujah. I wanted to update you on the ongoing effort to retake Fallujah. Contrary to some media reports, efforts have not stalled."

Poor western media, so foolish, so stupid.

It's why they also struggle to report reality -- like the War Crimes taking place in the 'liberation' of Falluja.

‏@Malcolmite

These are the "non sectarian" Shia Hashd militia abusing Sunni clerics. This is the Iraqi Shia alternative to ISIS

عمر مدنيه

RETWEETS62
LIKES25

2:20 PM - 31 May 2016

View conversation
69 retweets22 likes

To the War Crimes, the US government turns a blind eye.

And, when questions are raised about the war crimes, a deaf ear.

From Friday's State Dept press briefing:

QUESTION: Similar to Said’s question but involving the PMF, the Popular Mobilization Force.

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: If – we’ve got some eyewitness accounts from a camp south of Fallujah, people who have escaped the fighting there, saying that the PMF has separated the men from the women and children, beating, handcuffing for security screening purposes the men. And then the government denies any of this abuse is happening. Does that suggest that the government is reluctant or incapable of reining in some of the purported abuses of the PMF?

MR TONER: Again – and I’m aware of the, as you talked about it, the separation. I’m hesitant to get too into the weeds in terms of what’s happening on the ground there. My understanding is that part of that is simply an effort to ensure that members of [the Islamic State] aren’t trying to escape Fallujah. So there has – there does need to be some measure of screening conducted. Now, how that’s conducted is certainly important, and whether it’s done respectfully is also important, and we’re looking at that closely as we see these allegations.

QUESTION: There are quite a few warnings from human rights groups and others saying that the potential for abuse is imminent as the city and then other cities are cleared. Is there some kind of mechanism beyond the good faith assurances from Baghdad that they are attempting to rein in the PMF; as was alluded to earlier, that --

MR TONER: Sure.

QUESTION: -- a lot of this – that sectarian division is what lead to some of these – ISIL to be able to take hold, et cetera?

MR TONER: I’m – we are in close contact with the command and control of the Iraqi Security Forces and – as well as the Iraqi Government as they conduct these operations. This is an Iraqi-led operation, and we’ve been very clear about that. But we still believe that the government is committed to conducting an operation that is respectful of the civilian population, and we’ve seen it by the fact that they have opened some of these safe passageways for civilians to escape from the city. But it’s something, obviously, we’re keeping an eye on.

Yeah, let's not get into 'the weeds' of War Crimes, let's not get too hung up on the persecution and brutality against civilians, right?

No one will ever remember Barack Obama as a human rights president.

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Cedric's Big Mix

Saturday, June 11, 2016

She'd sell her own dead grandma

Thursday, June 09, 2016

She'll exhaust us all

From the mouths of children

Sunday, June 05, 2016

Hillary Capone

About Me

Links

Cedric's Big Mix