I enjoy giving -- especially when I picked good. I love seeing someone's face if I picked good.
This year, I got some really great gifts. My favorite from family? A tough pick but I'd say my nephew who found a copy of Cher's STARS on vinyl. It's one of Cher's great albums -- considered her best of the 70s. It never made it to CD. So that alone thrilled me. But he combined that with a sweet -- always the way to put your gift to me over the top! -- and I love Whoppers. I love all candy, let's be honest, I have a sweet tooth. But Whoppers? I never think to buy them. I usually get some on Christmas and maybe that's why I don't buy them at the store. But I love Whoppers. (I also love Lemonheads, Red Hots, Milky Ways, M&Ms, Three Muskateers, Runts, Gummy Worms . . .)
My favorite from a friend?
It's another vinyl record. I kept telling C.I., "I don't need anything this year." And December 19th, she told me I had until the end of the day or she was getting me a vinyl album ("and fudge and that's it"). I said that was fine. So she got me a vinyl record. I didn't know what the record was before I unwrapped it and I was so happy when I opened it.
It's Nate Bargatze's THE TENNESSE KID.
I love Nate!
He's one of my top five comedians of all time. Of living comedians? I'd probably say it is him and Lily Tomlin. (I love many more, but those are my two favorites.)
I didn't know that the NETFLIX special was even available on vinyl. It's a double disc album.
Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"
Tuesday, December 28, 2021. Reults are certified in IRaq even if the western press can't get the results right or cover the Baghdad protest.
Desmond Tutu has passed away.
The world leader lived his life making a difference.
He fought against apartheid, he stood for Palestinian rights, he advocated for LGBTQ rights, he advocated for the environment. Time and again, he was a voice who spoke out when many were silent.
In February 2004, 11 months after the Iraq War started, CNN reported:
Saying the United States and Britain must regain international credibility, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has urged George Bush and Tony Blair to admit they made a mistake in launching an "immoral war" in Iraq.
The world is a less safe place than before, the church leader said.
"How wonderful if politicians could bring themselves to admit they are only fallible human creatures, and not God, and thus by definition can make mistakes," Tutu said in a speech in London on Monday.
"Weak and insecure people hardly ever say, 'Sorry.' It is large-hearted and courageous people who are not diminished by saying, 'I made a mistake.'
President Bush and Mr Blair would recover considerable credibility and respect if they were able to say, 'Yes, we made a mistake,'" he said.
The nobel laureate criticized the leaders for justifying the war by saying it was necessary to oust Saddam Hussein, rhetoric that has intensified since no weapons of mass destruction had been found.
Eight years later, CNN reported:
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said Sunday that Tony Blair and George W. Bush should be “made to answer” at the International Criminal Court for their actions around the Iraq war.
Writing in an op-ed published by The Observer newspaper, the Nobel laureate accused the former leaders of the United Kingdom and the United States of fabricating a motive to invade Iraq, namely that it possessed weapons of mass destruction, and said that they had acted like “playground bullies.”
“The immorality of the United States and Great Britain’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, premised on the lie that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, has destabilised and polarised the world to a greater extent than any other conflict in history,” wrote Tutu. “In a consistent world, those responsible for this suffering and loss of life should be treading the same path as some of their African and Asian peers who have been made to answer for their actions in the Hague.”
I met Desmond Tutu many times over the years. Once, in Los Angeles, I remember U2 being present.
Lead singer and celebrity Bono, of course, died years ago. The soulless husk that wanders around now is an embarrassment and a poser. Why did their last album, SONGS OF EXPERIENCE, flopped so badly. Of THE BILLBOARD 200 album chart in ten weeks, music listners appalled that, without asking, they'd been 'gifted' with digital copies of the album. The band's never recovered all these years later.
Desmond lived his life in truth, Bono lived one lie after another. By ACHTUNG BABY, he was openly cheating on his wife and yet people looked the other way for Saint Bono. (The gal for the night was selected among the women who crashed that days sound check.) This looking away only encouraged him and he'd refuse to speak out against the Iraq War. The poser who pretended to be about people and against war wouldn't speak out against the Iraq War and, to this day, has not.
That's becuase he was cock-knocking buddies with Bully Boy Bush.
That's his buddy, that's his roll dog, a War Criminal.
And no one had any use for Bono anymore. His santimonous stances were not only prickly, they were exposed as hollow.
By the time he left his 'beloved' Ireland to live in the US -- to avoid paying taxes in his own country, the world knew the real Bono.
To this day, Bono plants open mouthed kisses on Bully Boy Bush. May he end up Buly's Eva Braun when the two both end up in hell together.
Desmond Tutu lived a life that mattered. A lot of people used him as a prop and for photo ops to improve their own images but time will out and hucksters like Bono always get exposed.
raq's Supreme Court has ratified the results of October's parliamentary election, dealing a blow to Iran-backed factions who have staged protests against the outcome of the vote.
LIE! Stupid idots or lying whores? We'll assume they're ignorant but feel free to drop a rwenty ont he dresser for each of them.
The KDP, the party of the Barzani family in Kurdistan is a political party. Moqtada's bloc or alliance is not a party.
Moqtada al-Sadr's party did not get the most. His political alliance did. If you're too stupid to grasp the difference, maybe you shouldn't be reporting on Iraq -- or anything else.
Moqtada's party got
CNN needs to correct the lying. But, even more important, stop the 'kingmaker' nonsense. The election was months ago. And in all that time, Moqtada's not been able to build a coalition -- in fact, former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki has done a much better job than Moqtada of trying to reach out to other blocs and parties.
Sinar Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) words it correctly:
The Sadrist bloc, a political group sponsored by populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, emerged as the clear winner with 73 seats in the 329-seat parliament. The Taqadum party, one of two main Sunni political groups, and led by former parliament speaker Mohammed Al Halbousi, followed with 37 seats. Former prime minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law bloc came third with 33 seats.
Mr Al Sadr’s main rival, the Iran-backed Fatah Alliance, won only 17 seats, compared with 45 in 2018.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 31 seats, while the Kurdistan Alliance led by the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party won only 17 seats.
Last week, Ruwayda Tweeted:
And Mustafa Saadoon Tweeted:
We could offer many more photos of Nouri reaching out but we can't of Moqtada. Fat boy apparently is too busy eating to maintain his plush figure. Even those in his bloc are ticked off by Moqtada and his lazy ass.
But, hey, US tax dollars went to Moqtada in August (to get him to proclaim he would be particiapting in the elections) so NYT and other US outlets are comfortable lying.
Many on Arabic social media are outraged. And protests took place in Baghdad, protests the western media largely ignored. PRENSA LATINA did report on the protests:
The demonstrations coincided with appeals filed by the head of the Al-Fatah (Conquest) alliance, Hadi Al-Amiri, one of the coalitions that lost more than 30 seats for the next legislature.
Most of the streets in Baghdad were blocked by burning tires and other objects, while troops were deployed to keep the flow of vehicles.
Those opposed to the electoral results sought a correction to the decisions of the Electoral Commission, whom they accuse of manipulating the votes.
The following sites updated;
