Petition

Phyllis Diller passed away and I blogged about that last night.  CBS News has video of Joan Rivers remembering her.

Nothing at the supposed feminist sites of Women's Media Center or Ms.

Those two sites are also refusing to cover the presidential campaigns of Roseanne Barr and Jill Stein.  Two women are running for president this year.  This may be a first.  Have we ever had two women for that office?

In 2008, we had Cynthia McKinney.  And we've had other women as well.  But two of the best known third party candidates are women.

If you sign this petition, you can add your voice to call for WMC and Ms. to cover the campaigns.

They should already be covering these two campaigns.



Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, August 21, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, more troops will go to Kuwait at the end of the year, Gen Martin Dempsey goes to Baghdad, (and) gets lectured by Nouri, Mitt Romney's campaign appears asleep at the wheel, and more.   John Luciew (Patriot-News) reports on a send-off ceremony at Fort Indiantwon Gap for approximately 100 Pennsylvania National Guard troops who are headed to Afghanistan, "The National Anthem played through stereo speakers that made the song sound muffled, not the big, booming ode to a nation that we've come to know.  Even the commanders who rose to give the speeches seemed subdued.  Perhaps, it's from the repetition. A spokesman said the Pennsylvania National Guard is nearing its 30,000th service members deployments since the terror attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. And there are more to come.  The next year will see another 2,000 make their way overseas, most likely to Afghanistan, the destination for this deployment, and Kuwait, Iraq's next-door neighbor."  Dropping back to the June 19th snapshot:   Today the Senate Foreign Relations Committee released [PDF format warning] "The Gulf Security Architecture: Partnership With The Gulf Co-Operation Council." On page v., Senator John Kerry, Chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, notes, "Home to more than half of the world's oil reserves and over a third of its natural gas, the stability of the Persian Gulf is critical to the global economy."  Chair John Kerry has stated of the report, "The Gulf Region is strategically important to the United States economically, politically, and for security reasons.  This is a period of historic, but turbulent change in the Middle East. We need to be clear-eyed about what these interests are and how best to promote them.  This report provides a thoughtful set of recommendations designed to do exactly that."  [. . .] Page nine of the report:     A residual American military presence in the Gulf and increased burden-sharing with GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] states are fundamental components of such a framework. However, the United States must also carefully shape its military footprint to protect the free-flow of critical natural resources and promote regional stability while not creating a popular backlash.     Page 12:     Kuwait is especially keen to maintain a significant U.S. military presence. In fact, the Kuwaiti public perception of the United States is more positive than any other Gulf country, dating back to the U.S.-led liberation of Kuwait in 1991. Kuwait paid over $16 billion to compensate coalition efforts for costs incurred during Desert Shield and Desert Storm and $350 million for Operation Southern Watch. In 2004, the Bush Administration designated Kuwait a major non-NATO ally. * U.S. Military Presence: A U.S.-Kuwaiti defense agreement signed in 1991 and extended in 2001 provides a framework that guards the legal rights of American troops and promotes military cooperation. When U.S. troops departed Iraq at the end of 2011, Kuwait welcomed a more enduring American footprint. Currently, there are approximately 15,000 U.S. forces in Kuwait, but the number is likely to decrease to 13,500. Kuwaiti bases such as Camp Arifjan, Ali Al Salem Air Field, and Camp Buehring offer the United States major staging hubs, training rages, and logistical support for regional operations. U.S. forces also operate Patriot missile batteries in Kuwait, which are vital to theater missile defense.     Yes, despite Barack Obama's claims otherwise, all US troops did not come home.  Nor are they coming home anytime soon.  But the shell game has always been a popular short-con because it's so easy to move things around and distract people.   Adam Schreck (AP) reports the Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin Dempsey met with officials today in Baghdad.   Al Manar quotes Dempsey stating, "We still retain significant investment and significant influence.  But now it's on the basis of a partnership and not on the basis of ownership."   The quote comes from an interview he gave to AFP's Dan De Luce.  Now its a partnership and not ownership?  When did the US own Iraq?  I know what Dempsey's trying to say.  I also know what he said.  And the plane had barely touched down, Alsumaria reports, before State of Law MP Mohammed Chihod was stating that the Iraqi forces are able to thwart plots against Iraq and that they do not need the US or any other country.  State of Law is Nouri's political slate.  And they're not smart.  They're sort of the rejects of Iraq.  All the better Shi'ites went to other groups.  This could have been a day when State of Law yet again looked ridiculous on the world stage but then Dempsey had to start using "ownership" to describe the US relationship with Iraq?        The Defense Dept notes that Dempsey was scheduled to meet with US Lt Gen Robert Caslen (chief of the Office of Security Cooperation Iraq) and Nouri al-Maliki.  Alsumaria reports that he made nice with Nouri in a meeting in which Nouri demanded that the pace of supplying arms to Iraqi forces -- to protect, land, water and air -- must be accelerated.  There's an agreement, Nouri stated, the Strategic Framework Agreement, and they are monitoring the US' ability to complete what was agreed upon.  AFP's De Luce notes, "The four-star general said he would not press the Iraqi government on reports that it may be allowing Iran to ferry supplies to the Syrian regime through Iraqi territory or helping Tehran circumvent financial sanctions."   Sanctions?  The front page of Sunday's New York Times featured James Risen and Duraid Adnan's "U.S. Says Iraqis Are Helping Iran to Skirt Sanctions" about the White House's knowledge that Iraq is helping Iran "skirt economic sanctions."  And, the two reported, Barack was "not eager for a public showdown with Nouri."  So instead of being a leader and addressing it, Barack will live in denial?  He wanted the job, why's it so damn hard for him to do the work required?  If he can't go toe-to-toe with a flunky the US-installed under Bush and that he (Barack) made sure got a second term inspite of the vote count and the Constitution, what kind of leader is Barack? The US government sought the sanctions against Iran.  The US president knows they're being ignored and he's too chicken to confront Nouri?   Courage is not sending the US military into other countries or over -- Libya and Syria -- them.  Courage is being able to stand up and Barack doesn't have the courage to stand up to Nouri.     And what kind of idiots are on Team Romney that they can't call out Barack on this?  This is exactly a test of are-you-ready-for-the-office-or-not and, by the way he's dawdled and ignored it, Barack's still not ready to be president even after four years on the job.     Apparently the right-wing was just flapping their gums and pretending to be offended when Barack was scraping and bowing to foreign leaders.  I gave them the benefit of the doubt on that because they were right: the US President bows down before no one.  I believe that very firmly.  Apparently the right-wing was just looking for something to complain about that day because, otherwise, they'd be all over Barack for refusing to address this issue.    Not only is he not laying down the law with Nouri, he's about to turn F-16s over to Nouri.  When the White House knows or 'knows' (believes at the very least) that Iraq is helping Iran get around economic sanctions?  AFP reports US officials are stating that the first of 36 F-16s will be delivered to Iraq in September 2014.   Truth telling in the press?  Not very often but today AKnews offers some truth:   The US government has not demanded the oil companies not to invest in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, said Kurdistan Natural Resourced Minister. Ashti Hawrami made the remarks in response to some media reports which quoted the US State Department Spokesperson Victoria Nuland saying Washington has warned the oil companies not to sign any oil deals with Kurdistan without Baghdad's approval or Baghdad may take legal action against them.   He is correct.  Good for AKnews for reporting on his statements.   Turning to the topic of violence,  AKnews reports a 14-year-old boy was shot dead in front of his home Monday night and that a 23-year-old police officer has been arrested.  Alsumaria reports the PKK states today that they have killed 11 Turkish soldiers and 1 police officer on the Turkey-Iraq border and they report 1 police officer was shot dead outside his Mosul home and that one corpse was pulled out of the Tigris River.  Yesterday AFP reported "at least 409 people" died in the month of Ramadan with another 975 left injured.  Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) noted last night that the Antiwar.com count for July 21 to August 18th was 711 deaths with 1590 injured.     Since 2003, Iraq has become known as the land of widows and orphans.  All Iraq News reports today that MP Haifa Hilfi, who serves on the Women, Family and Children's Committee in Parliament, has publicly expressed surprise over what she calls the "neglect" on the part of the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs to provide widows and orphans with the support they need.  This is not a minor issue in Iraq.  Yesterday,  All Iraq News noted that the largest percent of orphans in the Arab world are in Iraq where over five million exist as a result of the violence.  The CIA estimates 38% of Iraqis are 14-years-old or younger and only 3.1% of the population is over the age of 65.  The median age is 21.1-years-old. Ramzy Baroud (Tripoli Post) writes of Iraqi children: I remember visiting a hospital that was attached to Al-Mustansiriya University in Baghdad. The odour that filled its corridors was not the stench of medicine, but rather the aroma of death. At a time of oppressive siege, the hospital lacked even basic aesthetic equipment and drugs. Children sat and stared at their visitors. Some wailed in inconceivable pain. Parents teetered between hope and the futility of hope, and at prayer times they duly prayed. A young doctor gave a sweeping diagnosis: "No child that ever enters this place ever leaves alive." Being the young reporter I was at the time, I diligently made a note of his words before asking more questions. I didn't quite grasp the finality of death. Several years later, Iraq's desolation continues. On August 16, 90 people were killed and more were wounded in attacks across the country. Media sources reported on the bloodbath (nearly 200 Iraqis were killed this month alone), but without much context. Are we meant to believe that violence in Iraq has transcended any level of reason? That Iraqis get blown up simply because it is their fate to live in perpetual fear and misery? But the dead, before they were killed, were people with names and faces. They were fascinating individuals in their own right, deserving of life, rights and dignity. Many are children, who knew nothing of Iraq's political disputes, invited by US wars and occupation and fomented by those who feed on sectarianism. AKnews reports a 14-year-old boy was shot dead in front of his home Monday night and that a 23-year-old police officer has been arrested. Alsumaria reports the PKK states today that they have killed 11 Turkish soldiers and 1 police officer on the Turkey-Iraq border.  Yesterday AFP reported "at least 409 people" died in the month of Ramadan with another 975 left injured.  Margaret Griffis (Antiwar.com) noted last night that the Antiwar.com count for July 21 to August 18th was 711 deaths with 1590 injured. Today, Hayder al-Khoei (Guardian) looks at the propaganda/recruitment videos al Qaeda in Iraq groups are making: Another propaganda video, uploaded in mid-August, demonstrates just how sophisticated the jihadi operations are. They have live-fire training exercises in broad daylight and rehearse their attacks on security targets. In one of their operations, they storm the city of Haditha, in the Anbar province, in disguise and go from checkpoint to checkpoint killing the security forces. The al-Qaida militants wear interior ministry "Emergency Response" uniforms and casually drive around the city in official Swat vehicles. The jihadists are heavily armed, use night-vision goggles and sophisticated communications equipment. Though the group is a mix of both Iraqi and foreign Arab jihadists, the men who use the walkie-talkies speak in an Iraqi accent. They understand, and copycat, the security "speech" in Iraq. The al-Qaida militants are so well disguised as members of the Iraqi security forces that at one point they even mistook each other for the real deal. In a dramatic "friendly fire" incident, jihadists shouted at each to stand down – not realising they were on the same side. Two of them were killed. Depending on the press outlet, Syria is either feeding fighters into Iraq or siphoning them off.  An estimated 15,000 refugees have arrived in Iraq due to the ongoing conflict in Syria. Reuters notes a UNHCR and Iraqi government refugee camp for Syrian refugees in Qaim and quotes refugee Ayad al-Ali stating, "The children do not get healthy nutrition, they eat adults' food, they are suffering from diarrhea."  That camp, however, sounds like a Hilton Hotel when compared to the slum Rudaw reported on at the end of last week: Iranian Kurdish refugees residing in Waleed camp suffer from lack of services such as drinking water, electricity and a medical center. In addition, Iraq's Ministry of Interior is pressuring them to leave. Waleed is located in Anbar province in the west, near the Syrian border. The camp -- which accommodates 120 Palestinian families, 24 Kurdish families and 19 Arab families from Ahwaz, Iran -- was established in June 2009. For the past three months, the Iraqi government has been using various tactics to force the families to leave the camp, such as removing basic services like electricity and water. However, residents of the camp have been defying the government's decision.    Nouri didn't even want to take in refugees.  He was only shamed into doing it when he realized how much damage his statements that Iraq couldn't take in refugees was doing to his world image.     This week's Black Agenda Radio, hosted by Glen Ford and Nellie Bailey (now broadcasts over the airwaves at 4:00 pm EST Tuesday on the Progressive Radio Network),  the guests included Rosa Clemente.  Excerpt.       Glen Ford: Earlier this summer the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement released a report detailing the killings of Blacks by police, security guards or white vigilantes from New Year's Day through June 30th.  The study found that 120 African-Americans were executed without trail, one every 36 hours.  Rosa Clemente, the former Green Party vice presidential candidate, was one of the authors of the study which was largely ignored by even the so-called progressive media. Rosa Clemente:  Unfortunately, these progressive outlets and some mainstream outlets that we may see people that we may think would at least say that the report is out there whether it's MSNBC or Michael Eric Dyson filling in on the Ed Schultz Show or Rev Sharpton or Melissa Harris Parry.  No, they've chosen to ignore it because there's no way that they don't know this report exists.  There's no way they don't know or somebody hasn't brought it to their attention and we're dealing right now with an electoral political season that really doesn't want to talk about this issue. They don't want to deal with the issue of race or the systematic violence.  They don't want President Barack Obama or his Justice Department to be kind of put on blast as we would say in hip-hop. So they're purposely ignoring it which, to me, is more nefarious than CNN and Anderson Cooper saying they don't want to -- because these are folks that constistently say that there journalism that they're engaging in is community journalism and that there's a responsibility.  Well they're not at all being responsible about what they should be doing.  I don't know if they necessarily hold them just accountable or if we really need to understand that part of any organizing activist strategy moving forward will have to include now or we're really going to have to figure out how we are going to begin whatever Black or Brown kind of independent news network, however that looks, how we're going to create that. I think it's sad.  You know, and I think these folks are consistently back in communities of color because they are people of color.  I think it's for other like progressive outlets -- like Democracy Now or The Nation or In These Times or many other places we could cite -- that they haven't covered this either or it's just been a news headline.  I think this speaks about how this is not valued and how we're not valued when it comes to telling stories.   Glen Ford: Yes, it almost seems as if the only Black news that's thought of as news worthy is the Black president.   Rosa Clemente:  Yes, I would 100% agree and in fact when a friend tried to get it on MSNBC for me, the response I got was that they were doing nothing but covering the election.  And when I got that response, I said, "Well okay, I'd like to come on as a former vice presidential candidate and talk about some issues."  And they were very clear that they are focusing on the Democratic Party and that they would not be covering anything outside of that purview until maybe after the election.  As we know, we're looking at a murder every 36 hours of a Black [man], woman or child.  So how many more of these when the election happens and why would it be important after the election?  It's not important to the president now or, some of these journalists, I don't see them seeing it as important after the election is over.   It is an election year and, this year, four women make up two US presidential tickets:   Jill Stein has the Green Party's presidential nomination and her running mate is Cheri Honkala and  Roseanne Barr has the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party and her running mate is Cindy Sheehan.    At The Daily Beast, Roseanne pays tribute to the late Phyllis Diller:   All hail and observe a moment of silence -- a genius has vacated this space and left us here to remember her life and her work. I remember hearing her records as a child. My dad collected comedy records, and what I loved the most about her was her laugh. She was the only comic I saw who laughed at her own jokes, and I found that funnier than hell. I stole that from her, but she viewed it as more a tribute than a lift. The last several years I called my ex-husbands "Fang" on stage, too. It was timeless, that wacky, tacky character she created; the cigarette holder was genius, paradoxically regal. She was a victorious loser hero, the female iteration of Chaplin's Little Tramp, replete with costume jewelry that would embarrass Rick Ross. You could tell the character had a messy house, and she couldn't care less because she also had a dreadful husband and a world of shit. So? Hey, must be time for a gin martini and some laughs! It wasn't until you saw her paintings or heard her play a concerto on the piano that you understood that this woman lived her life as a true artist and a revolutionary. She knew a woman's place was not in the home, at a time when everyone on earth regurgitated that canard every minute of every day.   While Roseanne remembers Phyllis Diller, Michael Kraft proves he doesn't know a damn thing at Charlotte Conservative.  Using a potty mouth that must make his mother proud, he attacks Cindy Sheehan for calling out Bully Boy Bush and for not calling out Barack.  The problem?   Cindy Sheehan has called out Barack.  She went to Martha's Vineyard to protest him.  The nickname she generally uses for him in her writing is "Obomber."  If he's going to call Cindy a piece of s**t, he should try to know what he's talking about and he doesn't.  He doesn't know a damn thing she's done in the last four years.  Get out of your bubble, Michael Kraft.  You've condemned Cindy for not doing things when she has done that, you've flaunted your ignorance.  Now find a way to salvage your reputation by having the ethics to correct your mistakes about Cindy.   Cindy's a lighting rod because she supports peace.  Imagine having a vice president who actually supported peace.  Third Party Politics posts video of Jill Stein speaking in Seattle at the Seattle Hempfest.  Excerpt.     Jill Stein:  We need to liberate cannabis right now.  And we need to stop attacking the medical marijuana industry and the consumers of medical marijuana who are not criminals.  They are patients who are using a very important medical substance. And I can say this because I'm here not only as the Green Party candidate for president but also as a medical doctor and a public health advocate.  In fact, as we all know, canabis is a drug which is dangerous because it is illegal.  It is not illegal on account of being dangerous because it's not dangerous at all.  The president, by the way, has enormous power to change all of this on day one of her administration if she so desires.  And how do we do that?   ["Vote!"]  Vote, yes. Go vote.  And go register to vote. [. . .]  Because on day one of a Green administration, we can put an end to all this reckless, immoral persecution.  And the way we can do that is by the president instructing the Drug Enforcement Agency to do a really radical thing.  You know what that is?  Use science in the classification of substances because the minute science is used, marijuana, cannabis and hemp are off the list of scheduled substances because there is no scientific reason to schedule them.  And that's not only good for jobs.  As we know, it's really good for the climate.  Hemp provides fuel, food, nutrition and energy all in a way that is really good for the climate that we badly need, that we urgently need, and we need it right now.  It also means that we can start to empty out the jails that are packed full of recreational, non-violent users of cannabis and other substances.  We need to legalize cannabis.  Get the users out of jail and start to treat substance abuse and addiction as a public health problem, not as a criminal act.      We're not done with Jill yet.  She's doing something really stupid.  She's going to take part in protests at the GOP convention.  Fine and dandy, as long as she's going to do the same at the Democratic convention where, hopefully, she'll march from Obamaville.  What's that?  That the stupid part.  The useless cowards of the left -- there are so damn many -- are going to be doing a "Romneyville."  Jeremey Wallace (Herald Tribune) explains, "It's a play on Hoovervilles tent cities that spawned up during the Great Depression when Herbert Hoover was president."  I believe he means sprung up.  Regardless, that's the stupidest thing I've ever heard of today.  Times are bad for many people.  No question. But Mitt Romney's not been president for even a day and may never end up president.  Barack Obama is in the White House.  You want to send up Hooverville, you do it using Barack.  This is so stupid.  It doesn't even make for good political theater.    In 2008, a group of lefties gave a pass to Democrats at their convention -- yes, they did -- and then headed on to Michigan where they wanted blood in the streets.  And it turned out very violent.  That's not a surprise, that's what so many went looking for.  You send out that vibe, you will attract it.  They wanted Michigan to bleed.  I support real and genuine protest.   I don't support liars and whores who set out to make someone look bad in order to try to scare up votes -- it's fear tactics and I don't play that game.                iraq the new york times james risen duraid adnan iraq aknews the guardian hayder al-khodei alsumaria antiwar.com margaret griffis the tripoli post ramzy baroud rudaw black agenda radio glen ford nellie bailey

Phyllis Diller

Okay, first the music.  Labor Day Weekend, I'm planning on doing three album reviews.

Phyllis Diller died.

She was a very funny woman.

She was also considered "ugly" and "homely" when she was starting out.  Was she?

By the standards of those days, she was.

A woman had to look like Sandra Dee basically.  A man could look like crap and often did and it was no big deal.

Phyllis' looks were something to overcome back then.

And she did.

Being a woman was something to overcome.

And she did.

And she blazed a trail that allowed women to have a much easier path.

If, like Roseanne, you were overweight when you became famous, they never let you forget it.

But they stopped lumping in "plain" with "ugly."

And, in time, they'll stop obsessing over women's looks period.

Right now, the culture's mood is to attack beautiful women.

Whitney Cummings, for example, was attacked for her looks.

FunnY?

The woman's hysterical.  Her sitcom was a laugh out loud must-see.

But she got insulted and trashed and it had to do with her looks and with her gender.

I don't think a man's ever been trashed -- a comedian -- for being too good looking.  But then men have never had to be good looking in the field of comedy and you can count on one hand probably the number of male comedians who are even f**kable.

Phyllis Diller was a TV fixture.  I can remember, in the early 70s, seeing her while I was stoned and watching Scooby Doo and then, a few days later, on Merv or Mike Douglas.  She was all over the dial.  She was on the game shows, she was on the talk shows.

And she had her signature rat-tat-tat laugh.

She could be and often was hilarious.

She could also talk straight off the cuff and that's why she was such a great talk show guest.  She'd surprise you with her honesty.

My two favorite films she made -- live action -- are Boy Did I Get A Wrong Number and Eight On The Lam.  Both are with Bob Hope.  In the first, the jokes are about how homely and unattractive she is.  She's the maid for Bob and his wife.  She's very good in the role.  But I like her as Golda in Eight On The Lam when she babysits the kids.  She shows up with a boyfriend (fireman) in the first scene and there's a cop who's crazy for her (and he ends up in the last half of the film and is played by the great Jonathan Winters).  They are two different types of roles and she is really good in both films.


June 5, 2011 we picked one of her films as "Must Stream" at Third.  Which one?






It's the sixties stop-motion classic Mad Monster Party.


Closing with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Monday, August 20, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Iraq helps Iran skirt economic sanctions, Barack's nervous about a confrontation with Nouri, Total continues business with the KRG, violence claims the life of a prominent Sunni, Barack gives a press conference, and more.   Alex Lawler (Reuters) reports, "Exports from Iraq's south have averaged 2.25 million bpd in the first 20 days of August, the data shows.  That is up from 2.22 million bpd in July -- the highest since before the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, according to the International Energy Agency."  But Iraqis aren't seeing improved lives. Moahmmed Salem tells AP that the money is "being stolen by government officials and sent to banks outside of Iraq" and "There is no electricity, no public services. No respect for the people of Iraq."  The issue of Iraqi oil was raised in today's State Dept press briefing in DC:     QUESTION: A different topic. I have a quick question regarding the oil agreements made in Northern Iraq. I had asked this question last week during a panel to Brett McGurk. He is a special advisor to Madam Secretary, probably, as I understand it. There are some American companies who made deals with KRG directly, bypassing Baghdad government, and this is an issue between KRG and Baghdad government right now, these oil agreements. And also, Turkey and KRG -- Turkish Government and KRG mad an -- agreements between two governments, and the -- some trucks started to transfer some oil to Turkey from Northern Iraq. I'm wondering this -- the official position of U.S. Government on this issue, because the Baghdad government is arguing that this is unconstitutional, these kind of agreements, but KRG is arguing that no, they have license to do that. What is the official position of USA -- U.S. Government on this issue?     MS. NULAND: I mean, our position on this has not changed. We've spoken about it many times here. We speak about it in Iraq. With regard to our own companies, we continue to tell them that signing contracts for oil exploration or production with any region of Iraq without approval from the federal Iraqi authorities exposes them to potential legal risk, and we continue to tell them --  obviously, they'll make their own business decisions, but unless and until we have federal legislation in Iraq governing these things, something that we've been urging, that there are risks for them. So that's our message to our companies.     QUESTION: Did you raise this issue with the companies directly?     MS. NULAND: We do. When they come to us and ask what we think, then we raise this issue with them, yes.     QUESTION: And how about Turkey?     MS. NULAND: What do you mean?     QUESTION: Did you raise this issue with Turkey, I mean, in terms of this agreement made by -- between Turkish Government and KRG?     MS. NULAND: Well, obviously, they know where we are on our view of this issue. When the Secretary was in Istanbul, I think Foreign Minister Davutoglu had just been in Northern Iraq, so obviously, they talked about that trip, and they talked about Iraq as a general matter and our interest in seeing the groups work together and get through some of the political issues that they have so that they can get back to things like working on the oil legislation that is important for everybody.       Though Nouri al-Maliki seems to struggle with this concept, in the US, oil companies aren't controlled by the government.    In more bad news for Nouri, Reuters reports, "French oil major Total has bought a minority share in an exploration block in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, ignoring threats from the central government in Baghdad made after a similar deal last month." Oil and Gas Journal adds the company's purchased "a 20% participating interest in the Taza PSC."   At The National Interest last week,  Joost R. Hiltermann weighs in on the conflict between Erbil and Baghdad: Pipelines connecting the Kurdish region to the Mediterranean are still two years away. The Turkish government has not yet decided what kind of direct hydrocarbons relationship it wants with the KRG. That decision could lead to Iraq's break-up, a prospect that Ankara has historically feared and actively resisted because of the threat it would pose to Turkey's own territorial unity. Yet times are changing: the Syria crisis and a possible U.S.-Iran war could redraw the region's borders. Not knowing how the chips will fall, political actors are starting to move to secure their interests as best they can and maximize any advantage they might gain. The Maliki government and the Kurds are therefore unlikely to kiss and make up. Any new agreement will be a temporary accommodation that would give each what they need most right now—Baghdad: revenues from Kurdish crude before its own production in the south ramps up; Erbil: the ability to pay producing companies before they throw in the towel in utter frustration. The real battle—over the future of Iraq and Kurdistan—is still a couple years away.       Meanwhile AFP reports "at least 409 people" died in the month of Ramadan with another 975 left injured.  That's basically two week of July through Saturday.  For the month of August, through Saturday, Iraq Body Count records 323 deaths from violence.   Violence continued over the weekend and there was one high profile incident.     Sunday brought news of the death of a notable figure.  KUNA reports, "Head of the Sunni fatwa authority in Iraq Sheikh Madhi al-Sumaidaie has sustained critical injuries due to a car-bomb blast that targeted his motorcade in west of the Iraqi capital, an police source said on Sunday." AP notes four body guards were killed in the attack and three more were left injured and they explain, "Al-Sumaidaie has sided with the government against Sunni extremists. Earlier this year, he called for a unified religious authority to bridge the gap between Iraq's Sunnis and Shiites. " Al -Arabiya elaborates, "Sumaidi, who extermist Sunni groups viewed as aligned with the government, had called for all Iraqis to disarm after the formal withdrawal of U.S. troops last year, saying that those who carried weapons were aginast Iraq and its interests."  Kareem Raheem (Reuters) adds, "The attack came as Al Qaeda's local wing, Islamic State of Iraq, has warned of a new campaign and security analysts say fighters in Iraq are benefitting from funds and morale from Islamists slipping into Syria to join the revolt against President Bashar al-Assad next door."  Political analyst Ibrahim al-Sumaidaie, also the Shaeikh's cousin, tells AFP, "Gunmen driving a car tried to cut off Sheikh al-Sumaidaie's convoy, and when the convoy came to a halt, another car driving fast crashed into his car and blew up."  AKnews notes a statement from Nouri al-Maliki saying that this was an effort to "silence any moderate national voice."   It was left to Kitabat to offer actual journalism, they pointed out that the Ministry of the Interior had ordered that Sheikh al-Sumaidaie's convoy was always to be protected with at least two police cars.  Where were those cars today, Kitabat -- and only Kitabat -- asks?  The orders were put in place after the January Baghdad assassiantion of Sheikh Mullah Nazim al-Juburi.  Since those orders were put in place, al-Sumaidaie has been the target of many public threats, the paper explains, including several just last week.      Alsumaria notes a Diyala Province roadside bombing which left three soldiers injured.  Alsumaria also notes a Nineveh roadside bombing injured a soldier and one Sahwa was shot dead by unknown assailants on motorcycles.   In the face of all of this, there are still no heads of the security ministries.  Nouri was supposed to nominated people in December 2010 and didn't.  All this time later, he still hasn't made nominations.  Today, Raman Brosk (AKnews) reports, "The State of Law Coalition (SLC) led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that it is not responsible for naming the interior and defense ministers, adding that resolving the file needs sincere intentions from all of the political blocs."   The political crisis continues as well and All Iraq News reports that Iraqiya has stated the only person benefitting from the ongoing crisis is Nouri.  Alsumaria adds that Iraqiya continues their call for a government of national partnership (as opposed to what Nouri's offered).  And Iraqiya MP Yassin al-Mutlaq states that the biggest cause of problems in Iraq today is the inabilty to address the political crisis.  Raman Brosk (AKnews) reports, "The State of Law Coalition (SLC) led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has said that it is not responsible for naming the interior and defense ministers, adding that resolving the file needs sincere intentions from all of the political blocs." Saturday Diyala Province Governor Hashim Hayali and his wife died in what's being called a car accident (Hayali most recently survived an assassination attempt April 21st).  All Iraq News notes that Iraqiya issued a statement noting the "tragic loss."    Meanwhile AFP reports,  "Iraq insisted Monday that its trade with Iran was honest, denying reports that it was helping the Islamic republic skirt sanctions by smuggling oil and moving cash in secret."   What are they talking about?   The front page of yesterday's New York Times which featured James Risen and Duraid Adnan's "U.S. Says Iraqis Are Helping Iran to Skirt Sanctions" about the White House's knowledge that Iraq is helping Iran "skirt economic sanctions."  And, the two reported, Barack was "not eager for a public showdown with Nouri."  The New York Times-owned Boston Globe runs the story but 'forgets' a byline and may leave readers with the impression that they originated the story.  The Toledo Blade runs the story but credits it to the Times.  AFP writes about the Times report and highlights this statement by Nouri al-Maliki's spokesperson, "We also have good relations with Iran that we do not want to break."  Covering the report, Reuters notes, "Barack Obama, the US president, acknowledged the problem last month when he barred a small Iraqi bank, the Elaf Islamic Bank, from any dealings with the American banking system, according to the report." At Third yesterday, we offered "Editorial: We're giving that guy the F-16?" because it doesn't make a lot of sense to share F-16 technology with a government who's already helping Iran get around legal sanctions. But when does the US government make a great deal of sense? Al Arabia and AFP report that the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Martin "Dempsey acknowleged arch-foe Iran was trying to expand its influence in Iraq but said the Baghdad leadership wanted to build up relations with the American military."  Dempsey's headed to Iraq to smooth things over because apparently money is more important than safety and it's more important to the White House that the F-16 deal goes through possibly because, as Dar Addustour noted last week, Iraq is also seeking arms from the Russian government. Iraq is currently observing Eid al-Fitr.  All Iraq News reports that Moqtada al-Sadr's bloc is calling on politicians to use the religious holiday to work towards a true reconciliation which will benefit Iraqis and resolve the differences.  While Moqtada's group calls for reconciliation, the outlet notes that Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq's Ammar al-Hakim used the holiday to sepak of martyrs, blood and warn of coming risks.  He then voiced his support for President Jalal Talabani's renewed call for a national conference.  Kitabat notes that this holiday sees thousands of children forced to play in dumps (cities) or in yards and orchards next to dumps (small towns) and that children are at risk being next to the waste disposal.  All Iraq News notes that the largest percent of orphans in the Arab world are in Iraq where over five million exist as a result of the violence.     Saturday came news of Camp Ashraf  where 1,200 residents remain and have thus far insisted that they will not move to Camp Libert with the other residents who have already moved there.  Gulf Times  quoted Maryam Rajavi (President of the National Council of Resistance of Iran) stating, "As a gesutre of goodwill, the residents of Ashraf will commence the 6th convoy of 400 residents from Camp Ashraf to Camp Liberty on August 23."  Martin Kobler, the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Iraq, declared, "I welcome the announcement that the next group of 400 residents are willing to commence the move from Camp Ashraf to Camp Hurriya immediately after the Eid holiday."     Turning to the United States and the Dept of Veterans Affairs.  Recently the VA published a report [PDF format warning] "Strategies for Serving Our Women Veterans."    The intro notes that women are "the fastest growing cohort of the Veterna community" with 1.8 million of veterans last year being women (2 million predicted in 8 years) and with women making up 14% of the current active duty and 18% of the National Guard ("In contrast, the percentage of women in uniform was just 2 percent in 1950").  The work group "identified issues or needs of women Veterans:"   * Underutilization of services * Lack of awareness of benefits or eligibility * Personal privacy and environment of care * Fragmentation and gaps in health care * Access to mental health care services * Access to gender-specific specialty care (OB/GYN) * Gender-based health disparities * Underrepresentation in research; lack of data * Unemployment * Homelessness * Need for child care * Military sexual trauma (MST) and related issues (i.e. PTSD coverage, employment, etc) * Domestic violence   And to address these issues?   * Develop a department-wide integrated action plan for meeting the needs of women Veterans. * Analyze the current organizational design, relationships and internal accountability measures and mechanisms.  Identify organizational and business process enablers and barriers throughout VA, and identify opportunities for improvement. * Formalize the roles, responsibilities, accountability and reporting mechanisms across the VA organizations that are engaged in addressing the unique needs of women Veterans.      On the issue of unemployment, the report notes that for last year, "the annual average unemployment rate for women Veterans was 9.1 percent compared with 8.2 percent for non-Veteran women."   According to this March 20, 2012 Labor Dept press release, the 2011 unemployment rate for all veterans was 8.3 percent.  That would make the unemployment rate higher last year for female veterans than for male veterans overall.  (The VA report does not break down the numbers by age group.   The report moves on to note, "There has been a considerable investment in enhancing VA's programs, benefits, and services for women Veterans but there remain policies, practices, programs, and related activities that are not yet fully responsive or sensitive to the needs of women veterans."  Which is accurate but may cause some who follow the issue to reflect.   For example, in the May 21, 2008 Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, Senator Patty Murray was noting that despite the huge number of women veterans today, "only 255,00 of those women actually use the VA health care services."  When Murray met with female veterans in her state of Washington, "Some told me they had been intimidate by the VA and viewed the VA as a male only facility.  Others simply told me that they couldn't find someone to watch their kids so they could attend a counseling session or find time for other care." This was the hearing where the VA's Dr. Gerald Cross objected to a bill (Murray and Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison's bill, S. 2799, Women Veterans Health Care Improvement Act of 2008) that would allow for childcare.  Cross declared that if the childcare option were included, veterans in need of  "mental health care or other intensive health care services at the VA" would not get the care they needed because the bill would "divert funds." Senator Murray replied by referring to Cross' own opening remarks, Cross was observing that lack of child care prevents some women from access "for mental health or other intensive services -- so you identified the lack of child care as a barrier [. . .] but you're unwilling to do anything about it?"    And that was the case.  July 14, 2009, Murray would question Grace After Fire's Kayla Williams and Disabled American Veterans Joy Illem about this issue (the hearing was covered in the July 14th and 15th snapshot, this exchange is noted in the 15th -- and links for Grace After Fire and Disabled American Veterans]:   US Senator Patty Murray: I hear a lot from women about the access of child care being a barrier to the VA.  You, several of you, mentioned this in your testimony and I don't think a lot of people realize that you tell a woman there's no child care, they just simply don't go, they don't get their health care.  Do you for all the panelists, do you think that the VA providing child care would increase the number of women veterans who go to the VA and get the care that they need? Joy?   Joy Ilem: I would say definitely.  I think researchers have repeatedly shown this as a barrier for women veterans and that's the frustration, you know?  How many research surveys do you have to do when women keep saying this is a barrier to access for care?  And I think it was Kayla who mentioned the experience of someone who was told it was inappropriate for them to bring their child with them and some of these very personalized for appointments for mental health or other things -- it may be very difficult but they have no other choice.  I think it would definitely be a benefit and we would see an increase in the number of women veterans who would probably come to VA.   Senator Patty Murray: Ms. Williams?   Kayla Williams: I definitely think that usage rates of the VA would increase if women knew that they had child care available.  There are a variety of innovative ways that we could try to address the problem of women having to balance their needs of child care with their needs to get services.  Among them would be increasing the availability of tele-help and tele-medicine where women don't have to necessarily go all the way to a remote facility and spend four hours trying to get to and from and then be in-care.  And there are also opportunities for innovative programs.  For example, the VA has small business loans available if they could provide loans to women veterans who want to provide child care facilities near VA facilities, that would be a great way to try to marry these two needs.  There are also a lot of community organizations that stand ready and waiting to help that would be happy just given a small office to staff it with volunteers and be able to provide that care for the time that a woman has to be in appointment.  I think, as many others have said, the specific solutions may vary by location but there are a lot of innovative way that we could forge public-private partnerships to try to meet these needs.   But the VA wanted to say no, no and no.  In December of 2009, Senator Patty Murray was able to announce that planning and design had been funded for the Women and Children's Center at Madigan Army Medical Center, she'd been able to tack it on the Fiscal Year 2010 Consolidation Appropriations Committee.  And you can look at that and applaud the progress -- and should -- but you should realize what a struggle it was to get that far and how when a bi-partisan bill couldn't pass on this issue, it took perseverance.  You should also grasp that this issue has required starting at zero in many cases because there was so little information about women veterans.      2012 is  a presidential election year in the United States.  The editorial board of the Saudi Gazette notes the silence in the US election cycle on the issue of Iraq and Afghanistan.  President Obama claimed that US forces were leaving behind "a sovereign, stable and self-reliant Iraq." But the eruption of widespread violence in Baghdad within hours of the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq after nine years showed how incalculable was the damage done by Bush's war to Iraq's social fabric. All this would have been overlooked if reconstruction in Iraq has succeeded and living conditions of the ordinary people have improved even slightly. No, it failed dismally. The US couldn't even restore the country's electric system or give a majority of its people potable water. The situation is no different in Afghanistan where the central government's writ does not run beyond the capital Kabul. That a vanquished enemy, Taliban, can disturb the equanimity of US and NATO forces even after a decade tells its own story.     Brian Montopoli (CBS News) reports on Barack's press conference today where he denied that his campaign suggesting Mitt Romney was a felon and more qualified as "out of bounds" campaigning.  Barack went on to lie  that Mitt Romney releasing "his 2010 tax returns and an estimate of his 2011 returns" is not like the "precedent that was set decades ago, including by Mr. Romney's father.  And for us to day that it makes sense to release your tax returns, as I did, as John McCain did, as Bill Clinton did, as the two President Bushes did, I don't think is in any way out of bounds." When Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid repeated the lie about what others released, Bob Somerby (Daily Howler) noted, "Surely, Reid understands that Candidate McCain released only two years of tax returns, just as Candidate Romney is doing. Candidate Palin also released only two years of returns."   Barack isn't the only person running for the White House.  In fact, in 2012, four women make up two US presidential tickets:   Jill Stein has the Green Party's presidential nomination and her running mate is Cheri Honkala and  Roseanne Barr has the nomination of the Peace and Freedom Party and her running mate is Cindy Sheehan.    Today, we'll highlight the campaigns via the Tweeter accounts.  Here are four Tweets from Roseanne:       18 Aug BarrSheehan2012 ‏@BarrSheehan2012 i'm not running2 take votes from obama-I'm running2 take votes frm the duopolistic fundraising arm of the prison military industrial complex Expand Reply Retweet Favorite ly Retweet Favorite 18 Aug BarrSheehan2012 ‏@BarrSheehan2012 first day in office: end all wars immediately. how? I'll cease funding the opposition. #commonsense #barr/Sheehan2012 Expand Reply Retweet Favorite 18 Aug BarrSheehan2012 ‏@BarrSheehan2012 @ChuckBaggett oh i see- yes I'll use R strong military for good, no bloodshed whatsoever-but2 get the food to the hungry & arrest the guilty View conversation Reply Retweet Favorite 18 Aug BarrSheehan2012 ‏@BarrSheehan2012 @Angie__Anderson @Chili69 NO. I'm voting for the solution to everything: peace and freedom! View conversation Reply Retweet Favorite     Here are five from Jill Stein (she's got five because five stood out on her first page):   6m Jill Stein ‏@jillstein2012 RT @anirvan: Jill Stein for President: The Interview http://j.mp/MYDnJ7  Expand Reply Retweet Favorite 14m Jill Stein ‏@jillstein2012 What if? Let's try it and see! RT @mark_mean: @OccupyWallSt @Feruginous what if the 99% voted @gpus and took back the country?? Expand Reply Retweet Favorite 51m Jill Stein ‏@jillstein2012 Join #GreenParty VP candidate @CheriHonkala at #Romneyville in Tampa next week to protest the #RNC! http://ow.ly/d6zwL  Expand Reply Retweet Favorite   4h Jill Stein ‏@jillstein2012 Curious about @JillStein2012's position on #cannabis? Watch & Share this video from last week's Hempfest! http://ow.ly/d6veA  View video Reply Retweet Favorite 5h Jill Stein ‏@jillstein2012 "We need to have people in Washington who refuse to be bought by lobbyist money & for whom change is not just a slogan." #ecomonday Expand Reply Retweet Favorite          iraq the new york times james risen duraid adnan alsumaria al mada all iraq news  cbs news brian montopoli