Thursday, July 22, 2021

Eric Clapton

NPR reports:

Famed musician Eric Clapton said on Wednesday that he will not perform in any venue that requires audience-goers to be vaccinated against COVID-19.
"Following the PM's announcement on Monday the 19th of July 2021, I feel honor bound to make an announcement of my own: I wish to say that I will not perform on any stage where there is a discriminated audience present," Clapton wrote.

THE GUARDIAN adds:

In response to the government announcement that vaccination passports will be required to access nightclubs and venues by the end of September, the musician has issued a statement saying he would not play “any stage where there is a discriminated audience present.
“Unless there is provision made for all people to attend, I reserve the right to cancel the show.”
Clapton shared the statement via the Telegram account of Italian architect and Covid sceptic Robin Monotti. It was accompanied by a link to Clapton’s anti-lockdown collaboration with Van Morrison, Stand and Deliver, in which they sing: “Do you wanna be a free man / Or do you wanna be a slave?”

Here's the video by the way.



What do I think? I think history will see Eric Clapton's stance as heroic. The hysteria and fear of the moment will have been forgotten and Eric will be seen as having taken a strongly ethical stand. Please note, I got the vaccination. I would do it again. I am living in the fear and hysteria. And, like everyone else, trusting medical sources on what I need to do. But, yes, when this period is over, I do believe we will look back and regret a great deal that happened.

If you thought I was going to write about the biggest disappointment in music, I'll write about that loser tomorrow. I'm so sick of him. Broadway Brucie. He really should have retired. In the meantime, make sure you read my review of his garbage album entitled LETTER TO YOU.

 

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


Thursday, July 22, 2021.  As Muarafa al-Kadhimi prepares to meet with US President Joe Biden, many Iraqis make requests to Joe.


People in conflict are at risk around the world.  17-year-old Ali Adil is only one such person.  Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) reports:


An Iraqi social media influencer has attracted the attention of top officials in Washington with a plea to President Joe Biden to help him seek refuge outside of the country.

High school pupil Ali Adil, 17, has been using social media platforms for the last five years to convey the struggles of young Iraqis as they experience few employment opportunities, electricity cuts, poor public services and deteriorating security.

His effort to publicise his plight was spotted by a top US diplomat in the Middle East, Joey Hood, acting assistant secretary at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

In his latest video posted on Instagram, Ali is seen standing on a rooftop on a hot summer's day with the sound of gunshots in the background, telling Mr Biden that he will “commit suicide and jump from the building” if he does not receive help from Washington.

“Biden if you don’t help me I will jump, I’m not joking with you, I’m on the rooftop, if you don’t help me I will die, can you hear the fire in the background? This is normal in Iraq,” the teenager said.


At the US State Dept's Twitter feed, this was posted:


Acting Assistant Secretary Hood responds to Ali Adil: m.facebook.com/story.php?stor


2:09 PM · Jul 18, 2021



MEMO notes:


In addition to the global pandemic, there is widespread unemployment in Iraq, failing public services due to widespread political corruption and ongoing security concerns.

Protests have continued in the country since 2019 over various issues including frequent electricity shortages and power outages and lack of accountability for the targeting of activists.

Acting Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs Joey Hood picked up on the video, recording his own response: "Please Allawi, we in America love you, do not jump, I'm not Joe Biden, but Joey Hood, and life is precious."

"Iraq needs you; your voice is important for Iraq, I cannot bring you to the US but if I ever visit Iraq I'll make sure to see you."


Halgurd Sherwani (KURDISTAN 24) adds:

Joey Hood, acting assistant secretary of the US State Department Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, later responded to Adil, pleading with him not to jump.

“We in America love you,” Hood said, encouraging the young Iraqi to vote in elections to change the country’s future.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al Kadhimi hosted Adil at his office in Baghdad on Wednesday, stressing that he told the young man he had “complete freedom” to criticize the government.


Ali has "complete freedom" to speak his mind?  The only ones with complete freedom in Iraq are the assassins in the security forces (militias) who kill with impunity.  We'll note this Tweet:


A young girl holds a picture of her brother who was killed by the Iraqi government during peaceful protests. #إنهاء_الإفلات_من_العقاب #EndImpunity in iraq
Image
7:02 AM · Jul 22, 2021


That's the 'freedom' the Iraqi people see on the streets of their country, the 'freedom' of assassins.  The people?  They suffer.


July 26th, Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kahdimi will visit with US President Joe Biden.  Will anyone in the press pool for that photo-op dare to bring up Ali?  Are they too scared to mention the 17-year-old's name?  


They probably are too scared.  They've gotten their marching orders, sell the failure Mustafa for a second term as prime minister.  If you can't outright lie to create a positive buzz around him, just say he's the best that Iraq could have, right?


Mustafa's Iraq?  Margaret Stanton (The Organization For World Peace) explains:

Dozens of people died in a fire at Al-Hussein Teaching Hospital in Nasiriyah, Iraq. There are various reports disputing the death toll, from the Health Ministry saying 60 to Iraq’s state news industry reporting 92 deaths. This is the second deadly fire to occur in one of Iraq’s coronavirus wards in three months. The police announced that sparks from a faulty wiring system caused an oxygen tank to explode, leading to the fire. Additionally, reports on the hospital’s condition highlighted the lack of basic safety infrastructures, like fire sprinkler systems and fire alarms. 

An anonymous medic told Reuters, “[W]e complained many times… that a tragedy could happen any moment from a cigarette stub, but every time we get the same answer from health officials: ‘We don’t have enough money’.” According to Johns Hopkins University, Iraq has experienced over 17,000 deaths and 1.4 million confirmed COVID-19 cases. It is experiencing a third wave due to the delta variant. The country’s hospitals, which were already neglected from decades of war and widespread corruption, have been severely overwhelmed and strained by the pandemic. 

Iraq’s new isolation wards are missing crucial safety measures, causing doctors and patients alike to fear the hospitals. “[…When I’m on call I numb myself because every hospital in Iraq is at high risk of burning down every single moment,” said Hadeel al-Ashabl, a Baghdad doctor working in an isolation ward like the one in Nasiriyah. Although patients refuse treatment inside hospitals, “it’s also out of their hands.” Local media reported that 13 arrest warrants were issued, including one for the province’s health chief Saddam Sahib al-Taweel by the Integrity Investigation Court. As the government is trying to investigate and find out who is responsible for the fire, angry relatives clashed with police, setting fire to two police vehicles, a Reuters witness said. 


Mustafa's Iraq?  Fuwaz Turki (GULF NEWS) also details Mustafa's Iraq:


Iraq is a resource-rich nation where, if the reservoir of oil it has in the ground is money in the bank, Iraqis today would be wealthy folks. But they are not. The country they inhabit has one of the highest poverty rates among middle-income economies in the world, with a staggering 36 per cent unemployment rate.

Iraq, it seems, has fallen into an abyss. And whenever Iraqis gaze at that abyss, as they daily do, it gazes beckoningly back at them.

Ravaged Syria and Lebanon can now pass the torch on to Iraq — that ancient land between the Tigris and the Euphrates, once the vanguard of Arab and Islamic civilisation — as the epicentre of a suffering humanity living chaotic, helpless lives, at the receiving end of corruption, ineptitude and double-dealing by self-serving elites to whom the rules of the social contract are there to be broken.

Why? Why has it come to this in so many countries in the Arab World, a world once known to an earlier generation as the Arab Nation, where Arabs were confident that one day, and soon, they would live as one united people possessed of a dynamic voice in the global dialogue of cultures?

[. . .]


Next Monday, US President Joe Biden will host Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi at the White House. Were I the American president I would have some rancorous words to say to the Iraqi prime minister, directed clearly not at the visiting diplomat personally but at the excesses that his government has allowed those “political parties” responsible for the tragedy in Nasiriya to get away with.



Taif Alkhudary (THE NEW ARAB) offers:

The fires in Al Hussein and Ibn Al-Khatib hospitals are symptomatic of the larger issue of systemic political corruption in Iraq. This has allowed the same political elites that were empowered by the US and its allies in 2003 to hold on to the reins of government for over 18 years, without providing even the most basic of services to their citizens. 

The deterioration of public services in Iraq can be traced back to the Iran-Iraq war when spending on public goods was already being cut. This deficit was later exacerbated by the most comprehensive sanctions programme to be placed on any country in history, making it difficult to procure medicines and equipment from abroad or to provide comprehensive training to medical professionals. 

Following the implementation of the Muhasasa Al Ta'ifia or the ethno-sectarian apportionment system in 2003, the health system began to deteriorate even further.

This new political system, which was supposed to ensure rights and representation for all, has actually meant that after every election cabinet positions and civil service jobs are divided between the dominant ethno-sectarian political parties. These same parties then appoint their most loyal civil servants to key positions within the ministries they gain. In turn, they use their positions to embezzle public funds and ensure that they end up in party coffers. 

A recent Chatham House report revealed that senior civil service positions have become so lucrative that in recent election negotiations, parties opted to obtain these posts over cabinet positions as means of ensuring that public funds go back into their pockets. This means that instead of funding vital public infrastructure such as health services, political parties use public money to fund their own activities and interests. 


Who among the US press will bring reality to the photo-op next Monday?  Probably no one.  They're not their to tell the truth, after all, they're present to advance a narrative and narratives are pre-determined.


Mustafa offers faux rage from time to time which always fits the narrative.  He never does anything.  He okays a US bombing of Iraq and then he offers public statements (a) pretending to be shocked by the bombing he knew about and (b) pretending to be outraged.  He is in it for Iraq, he lies.  When Iraqi citizens are shot down in the streets by Mustafa's own forces, he won't even bring the killers to justice.  When Iraqi women are raped, he doesn't give a damn.  Matthew Russell Lee (INNER CITY PRES) reports:



Hypocrisy on Iraq by the UN under Antonio Guterres is on display. Guterres has covered up the rapes of Iraqis by UN former staff member Karim Elkorany, arrested then freed on $500,000 bond on September 2, 2020 in connection with drugging and raping women in Iraq while working for the UN in 2016, then allegedly lying to the FBI about it in 2017. See below.

  But on July 21, 2021, with Guterres' main spokesman / censor Stephane Dujarric on extended vacation, the UN Security Council issued a boiler plate statement while refusing to do any oversight of UN rapes, or Guterres' censorship: "The members of the Security Council condemned in the strongest terms the cowardly terrorist attack in Baghdad, Iraq, on Monday, 19 July 2021. The attack, which was claimed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh), resulted in at least 30 deaths and at least 50 injured.     The members of the Security Council expressed their deepest sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims and to the Government of Iraq, and they wished a speedy and full recovery to those who were injured.     The members of the Security Council reiterated their support for the independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, democratic process and prosperity of Iraq.     The members of the Security Council reaffirmed that terrorism in all its forms and manifestations constitutes one of the most serious threats to international peace and security.     The members of the Security Council underlined the need to hold perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of these reprehensible acts of terrorism accountable and bring them to justice, and urged all States, in accordance with their obligations under international law and relevant Security Council resolutions, to cooperate actively with the Government of Iraq and all other relevant authorities in this regard."

  A superseding indictment belatedly unsealed on October 29 said Elkorany raped a UN contractor, in the US and Dohuk, Iraq. And still the UN did nothing.

 On November 9, another brief status conference in the case, which Inner City Press live tweeted:

AUSA Richenthal says the US is reviewing more electronic devices.

Elkorany's lawyer Dawn Cardi asks for 90 more days' delay, since some of the discovery is marked "Restricted." 


Mustafa is a failure.  Fires are breaking out in hospitals due to lack of oversight.  Hospital staff are quitting because Mustafa never fixes anything, just fires and arrests people.  Installing fire alarms and fire sprinklers?  Mustafa won't get off his lazy ass and order that.  And, in the midst of a pandemic, there are no real precautions to protect the Iraqi people.  Dijilah Tweets:


There are students infected with corona, however, they must attend and take the exam with the rest of the students and in the same class
@JoeBiden
@POTUS
@FLOTUS
#Biden_save_the_students_iraq
7:48 AM · Jul 22, 2021


Sanna Tweets:

#الاضراب_العام_الطلابي Iraqi students in universities want electronic exams, and the Minister of Higher Education sacrifices students and forces them to perform them in the halls despite the increase in infection among students..
@JoeBiden
@WHO
@MOHealth_Iraq
7:35 AM · Jul 22, 2021





We're going to wind down with Black Alliance for Peace.  First, BLACK AGENDA REPORT'S Margaret Kimberley speaking about whistleblower Daniel Hale.






And now this statement from BAP:


For Immediate Release

Media Contact:
(202) 643-1136
communications@blackallianceforpeace.com

JULY 16, 2021—The Black Alliance for Peace stands in solidarity with the sentiments and positions the Black Lives Matter coalition recently expressed on U.S. policies on Cuba. The moral hypocrisy and historic myopia of U.S. liberals and conservatives, who have unfairly attacked BLM’s statement on Cuba, is breathtaking. 

Their reaction comes on the heels of another in a series of annual votes in the United Nations, when most of the world’s countries—except for the United States and Israel—overwhelmingly supported ending the murderous six-decade-long economic embargo against Cuba.

Not only do Democrats and Republicans join hands to defy the world by refusing to lift the embargo. U.S. congresspeople as well as the anti-communist and anti-Black corporate press display their duplicity by continuing the subversion against Cuba. This only demonstrates for oppressed working-class and colonized people—once again—that the U.S. ruling class remains united in its hostility to any socialist project and sees all such attempts by global South nations as existential threats to the rule of capital.

BAP welcomes the principled stance taken by BLM and hopes BLM will continue to be a visible force in the ongoing struggle against war, subversion, militarism, intervention and the economic exploitation that is at the center of U.S. imperial policies. Too often, BAP has been a lone voice in opposition, a position fundamental to the Black Radical Tradition.

Progressive Black forces are making the connections between the U.S. reaction to Cuba, Haiti, Colombia and the United States deploying its military on the African continent in the form of the U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM). That connection links back to the United States when we understand these policies are directly related to the militarization and violence of police forces in the United States and to the economic and social crisis of the capitalist system.

It is only by making those connections and building an effective unified Black working class-based opposition that real leadership can be given to the movement for substantial social change in the United States. BAP sees this as the historic task of the current Black revolutionary movement. Going forward, BAP hopes we will be able to find a way toward the unity of all Black, colonized, working-class and poor people in the United States.


The following sites updated:



Posted by at

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Bob Dylan

From PITCHFORK, here's some news about Bob Dylan:

Bob Dylan has announced the 16th volume of his long-running Bootleg Series. The new installment, called Springtime in New York, focuses on Dylan’s work from 1980 to 1985. The collection will feature unreleased outtakes, alternate takes, rehearsal recordings, and live performances, as well as detailed liner notes, previously unseen photographs, and more. Springtime in New York is out September 17. Watch the Vol. 16 trailer, as well as information on Third Man’s Vault edition of the collection, below.

I have a complaint. I wish it had gone up to 1986. KNOCKED OUT LOADED came out that year and it has more in common with 1985's EMPIRE BURLESQUE as well as 1981's SHOT OF LOVE.

I also think that both EMPIRE BURLEASQUE and KNOCKED OUT LOADED need critical reappraisals. I think they are both grossly under-estimated.

Andy Greene (ROLLING STONE) notes:

“It’s quite often said that Bob lost his way in the Eighties,” says a source close to the Dylan camp. “But he was searching for his way in the Eighties. This set shows that search.”
It begins in September and October 1980 when Dylan and his Christian-era band were holed up at Rundown Studios in Santa Monica, California rehearsing for their upcoming Musical Retrospective Tour. The plan was to work out some of Dylan’s older songs that were being added into the set after a year of strictly playing religious tunes, but Dylan kept throwing them unexpected covers like Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline,” Bill LaBounty’s “This Night Won’t Last Forever,” and Dion’s “Abraham, Martin and John.” All three of those songs appear on this set along with Dave Mason’s “We Just Disagree” and Dr. Hook’s “A Couple More Years.”
“Take a song like ‘This Night Won’t Last Forever,'” says the source. “That was a sappy Top 40 hit from that time. But when Bob does it, it sounds like a Dylan song. You forget how much attitude Bob can bring to a song. That’s why we wanted to include it. They also show what he was listening to back then.”
Several of the cover songs are duets with backup singer Clydie King. “When they sang together, it was really magical,” says the source. “I don’t think he had a singing partner that he did so much work with other than Joan Baez. He did a lot of things with Clydie and they’re all wonderful.”

Clydie King? From WIKIPEDIA:

 

As backing vocalist (selected)



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


Wednesday, July 21, 2021.  The al-Kadhimi failures loom as elections are set for October.


Parliamentary elections are supposed to take place in Iraq this October.  Will they?  On Arabic social media, there's a growing belief/fear that they might be postponed.  If they are held, other questions are raised -- including who will be voting?  Thus far you have some activists in The October Revolution stating that they will not participate, you have some Christians stating that they won't participate and you have Shi'ite cleric and professional drama queen Moqtada al-Sadr saying that they won't participate.  Meanwhile ASHARQ AL-AWSAT reports:


In the wake of the suicide bombing that targeted Sadr City, east of Baghdad, on the eve of Eid al-Adha, Iraqi public opinion saw such incidents as “political messages,” which could “recur” until the elections are held in October.

Many agree that the upcoming poll is the most complex among all previous rounds since 2003, as difficult scenarios lie in the horizon, regardless of the winner, amid an intricate equation and an unprecedented political race.


But the main forces insist on holding the elections on time, driven by great enthusiasm to achieve a broad legislative presence, especially among the political wings representing the armed Shiite factions. Those see the upcoming elections as an opportunity to increase their influence in the legislative and executive authorities, as well as to end the mandate of their rival, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi.


Pro-Iranian Shiite leaders are discussing various propositions to deal with Kadhimi, whom they blame for obstructing the project of the Popular Mobilization Forces.


The Iraqi premier is aware that his role is limited on “holding the elections” on the agreed date, but he adopts a political approach that prevents the armed factions from taking over the state and its institutions.


Mustafa al-Kadhimi is the current failed prime minister of Iraq.  He was installed May 7, 2020.  He's accomplished nothing.  In a few days, he will visit the US to meet with President Joe Biden and the US government is attempting to market him as needed for a second term -- as the recent WASHINGTON POST column by CIA mouthpiece David Ignatius made clear.  To do so, they have to pretend that things are much better in Iraq than they actually are.


Iraq remains a failed state.


Iraq remains a corrupt state.


The citizens are not served by their government.  Elements of government forces (the militias) even carry out deadly attacks and assassinations on citizens and do so with impunity -- never being held accountable -- despite the fact that many assassinations are caught on video camera and despite the fact that following at least two assassinations, the assassin left the scene in a taxi.


These and many other issues that are not being addressed will impact not only results in any election but also the turnout for any election.  


Hiwa Shilani (KURDISTAN 24) reports:


Iraq’s Ministry of Health and Environment warned on Tuesday that hospitals around the Middle Eastern nation are incapable of meeting the needs of sustained high numbers of new coronavirus patients.

Director-General of the Ministry’s Public Health Department Riyad Abdul Amir said in a statement that "hospitals are almost losing control from absorbing the high number of COVID-19 patients," expressing his hope that the government would reinstate strict precautionary measures to stem the tide of the highly contagious disease.

"The coming days," he added, "will be dangerous to the health of the population."

Earlier that day, health officials said they recorded 8,922 new infections and 59 deaths over the previous 24 hours. This brings the total figures since the first case was confirmed in Iraq to 1,510,517 including 17,951 deaths.

"There is an escalating increase, and the positive percentage has now reached 24 percent, which we have only seen in this wave," continued Abdul Amir, noting that "firm measures must be taken to cut the chain of infection between people and curb the spread of the virus."


Turkey's TRT also reports on the crisis in Iraq.





The whole world is facing the ongoing pandemic but, in Iraq, it's made worse by a corrupt and failing government.  This month saw the second fire in a hospital treating Covid 19 patients.  In April, the first fire took place leaving approximately 100 people dead.  This month a similar fire claimed a similar number of lives.  In both cases -- true throughout Iraq -- the hospital was not equipped with a fire sprinkler system or even a basic: a fire alarm.  In both hospitals -- true throughout Iraq -- employees were known to smoke inside the hospital -- near oxygen.  


Oversight and regulation should have meant that neither fire happened.  If they had happened, oversight and regulation would have meant that the death toll was much lower. 


Both fires happened under Mustafa's watch. 


He's a failure.


And his method of dealing with these injustices?  Blame everyone else.  Order arrests and firings that accomplish nothing and play surprised when the next fire takes place.  ARAB WEEKLY reports:


Several hospital administrators in a southern Iraqi province have abandoned their posts, local authorities said Saturday, after arrest warrants were issued for senior staff following a deadly hospital fire in the city of Nasiriyah.

Saad al-Majid, health director of the southern governorate of Dhi Qar, said that management teams of five hospitals had quit as “they’re unwilling to assume responsibility” over any possible repeat of the tragedy.

At least 60 people were killed in the blaze late Monday at a temporary facility for Covid-19 patients at Nasiriyah’s Al-Hussein Hospital in Dhi Qar fuelled by oxygen canisters exploding.

It was the second such tragedy in Iraq in three months.

In April, a fire at a Covid hospital in Baghdad — also sparked by exploding oxygen cylinders — killed 82 people, prompting the country’s health minister to resign.

Local journalist Adnan Toame said the resignations among senior hospital staff at a time of public outrage were “embarrassing”.

“They are shirking their responsibilities when they should instead be redoubling efforts to face up to this crisis,” he said.

“This is a clear sign of the collapse of the health system in the governorate,” chimed in Nasiriyah activist and journalist Adnan Dhafar.


The pandemic is a crisis.  It was before Mustafa became prime minister.  But his actions are making it far worse.


A hotel fire claimed the life of a young girl on Sunday.  Of the fire, Mina Aldroubi (THE NATIONAL) observes, "Citizens blame corruption, negligence and mismanagement in various sectors of government for the disasters."


 After awhile, it all links together in the public's head.  Mustafa may or may not be at the point where every failure is attached to him in voters minds but it's something he should be worrying about right now.  And to listen to him, following the three fires noted above, rage about corruption is embarrassing.  Does he really think he's got some sort of an out?  He is the head of the government.  In the minds of the Iraqi people, he's either failing to address corruption or he's part of the corruption.  


We haven't noted a recent arrest here.  And that's due to the fact that it needs to be put in context.  They can and do that on Arabic social media.  Away from that? In the so-called press?  Not really.


July of last year saw the assassination of analyst -- not activist -- and government adviser Hisham al-Hashemi.  Last week, an arrest was made.  Finally.  And some western outlets rushed to hail this as a big Mustafa victory.  'Victory' is more like it for those who don't give a damn about the Iraqi people.  He was a friend to the government.  But all the activists assassinated with their killers going unpunished?  Mustafa won't work to see justice done in those cases.  The fact that Mustafa took to Twitter to boast of the arrest didn't win him any accolades.  Somehow the western press misses all of that?  It's a good time to miss it, right?  Miss any real criticism of Mustafa as the US government prepares to sell a second term for Mustafa.


We'll note this from ALJAZEERA:


Iraqi state TV broadcast brief clips of an apparent confession of one suspect, 36-year-old police lieutenant Ahmed al-Kenani. Wearing a brown jumpsuit, al-Kenani confessed to shooting al-Hashemi dead using a pistol.

According to reported surveillance footage of the attack shown on state TV, al-Kenani carried out the killing with three others, riding on two motorcycles


Is the confession real?  Post 2003 invasion Iraq has a very well known record of beating confessions out of people, of torture and abuse inflicted to force a confession -- even a false confession.  Since 2003, Iraq has had no functioning judiciary.  If they did, the confessions would not be airing to begin with.  But, remember, this is the same corrupt judiciary that held a press conference to declare a man guilty before he'd ever appeared in court.  It gets worse.  One of the judges declaring the man guilty of charges the court would supposedly be evaluating?  One of those judges announced at the same press conference that the accused had tried to kill him.  


That passes for a fair judiciary, that passes for acceptable behavior.


We called that crap out.  It's a shame no one else did.  Let's drop back to the February 16, 2012 snapshot:


Big news out of Iraq today and apparently it's so big that the press can't handle it.  Doubt it?  Here's Sinan Salaheddin and Lara Jakes (AP) reporting, "An Iraqi judicial panel said Thursday the country's Sunni vice president and his employees ran death squads that killed security officials and Shiite pilgrims. The findings offer the first independent assessment of accusations that have thrown the nation into political chaos and threaten to re-ignite sectarian tensions." Suadad al-Salhy (Reuters) misses it too.  Here's al-Salhy's opening, "A panel of Iraqi judges detailed Thursday 150 attacks they said were carried out by death squadsunder the command of Sunni Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi, in accusations likely to reignite political conflict."
 
What follows is how the announcement could have been covered:
 
 
IRAQI VICE PRESIDENT PROVEN CORRECT
After many claims that he could not receive a fair trial, Tareq al-Hashemi's
assertions were backed up today by the Iraqi judiciary.
BAGHDAD -- Today a nine-member Iraqi judiciary panel released results of an investigation they conducted which found the Sunni Vice President of Iraq was guilty of terrorism.  Monday, December 19th, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki swore out an arrest warrant for Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi who had arrived in the KRG the previous day.  Mr. al-Hashemi refused to return to Baghdad insisting he would not receive a fair trial.  Instead, he was the guest of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and KRG President Massoud Barzani.
During the weeks since the arrest warrant was issued, Mr. al-Hashemi has repeatedly attempted to get the trial moved to another venue stating that Prime Minister al-Maliki controlled the Baghdad judiciary.  Mr. al-Maliki insisted that the vice president return and that he would get a fair trial.
Today's events demonstrate that Mr. al-Hashemi was correct and there is no chance of a fair trial in Iraq.  This was made clear by the judiciary's announcement today.
A judiciary hears charges in a trial and determines guilt; however, what the Baghdad judiciary did today was to declare Tareq al-Hashemi guilt of the charges and to do so before a trial was held. 
Not only do the events offer a frightening glimpse at the realities of the Iraqi legal system, they also back up the claims Mr. al-Hashemi has long made.
 
 
Get it?  You can't be the judiciary and declare -- before a trial -- that someone is guilty.  Tareq al-Hashemi is absolutely correct.  He has been proven to be correct.  Whether he was or was not guilty isn't an issue because there's been no trial yet.  But what is known is that the judiciary has already issued a finding of guilt before a trial took place.  There is no reputable legal organization in the world that would support Nouri's argument that al-Hashemi can have a fair trial in Baghdad.  The court's own actions have demonstrated that will not be the case.
 
The Iraqi Constitution is very clear on this point -- and it's really past time that Iraqi officials started following their Constitution.  Innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.  The judiciary chose to skip the trial and just declare him guilty.  They violated their own Constitution.  They didn't hem and haw and treat it like an indictment where they found cause to hold a hearing.  No, they declared him guilty. That is in violation of the Iraq Constitution.  If they had a functioning Parliament, Iraq should be moving to impeach everyone of those nine judgesand remove them from the bench.  Clearly, they do not understand the Constitution that they are supposed to be interpreting.
 
Article 19th's fifth clause is very clear: "The accused is innocent until proven guilty in a fair legal trial.  The accused may not be tried on the same crimefora second time after acquittal unless new evidence is produced." The judiciary issued a finding today publicly declaring Tareq al-Hashemi guilty.  In doing so, they violated his right to a fair legal trial and if they'll violate his legal rights -- a vice president of Iraq -- they'll violate any Iraqis legal rights.  Today the judiciary of Iraq has given the Iraq legal system a black eye.
 

We're being very remedial and highly redundant in an attempt to make clear that what just took place demonstrates that Tareq al-Hashemi cannot have a fair trial in Baghdad. There are other points that can be made -- Mike made some this afternoon including that the judiciary releases their finding and provides no evidence -- but in terms of the news value of these events, the news value is that Tareq al-Hashemi's repeated assertions that he would not receive a fair trial in Baghdad have been proven to be correct as evidenced by the fact that, without a trial -- without even a defense, nine members of the Baghdad judiciary have declared him guilty.


So, for any who needed it, there's your spoon feeding.  Find someone else to burp you.


Maybe Joe Biden can?  He was Vice President when all that went down.  He did nothing to help Iraq.  "B-b-but Joe was vice president! Just vice president!"   Pick up your toys and go home.  It is clearly past your bedtime.


Barack Obama put Joe Biden in charge of Iraq.  He couldn't put Hillary in charge.  She had called Nouri al-Maliki a "thug" and worse in an open Senate hearing in April 2008.  Though she was Secretary of State, because of the animosity between her and Nouri over her remarks, she could not be over the Iraq portfolio.  Barack made Joe the point-person on Iraq.


How did Joe help Iraq's vice president Tareq al-Hashemi?


Not at all.  He never did a damn thing.


Now, since we're talking about elections, let's remember that even if elections are held in October, the votes don't actually matter.  Joe's the President of the United States now.


Remember what he did as Vice President?


In March 2010, Iraq held elections.  They voted out thug Nouri al-Maliki.  Nouri refused to leave office.  For over eight months, he refused to leave -- this is the political stalemate.  Early on, the US spoke of democratic principles and the need to honor the results.  Under pressure from Susan Rice and Samantha Power, Joe wobbled and quickly became part of the Nouri camp.  


Joe and his underlings (Brett McGurk, we're looking at you) pushed through a legal contract -- The Erbil Agreement -- which overturned the results and gave Nouri a second term.


Joe did that as Vice President.  Now he's president.  Do we really think that the votes will be honored?


While David Ignatius and other press whores try to sell a second term for Mustafa, events on the ground argue for change.  The Norwegian Refugee Council issued the following:


The effects of COVID-19, the worsening economy, the ongoing drought and the recent camp closures have compounded an existing humanitarian crisis, resulting in Mosul remaining a shell-shocked city with destroyed infrastructure and limited income generating opportunities

“We will rebuild our city with our own hands”

Four years since the Islamic State group was driven out of Mosul by Iraqi forces and an international coalition, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis continue to languish in poverty and displacement.

Wednesday 21 July marks the fourth year since the city was returned to government control. Thousands of families in Mosul remain traumatised, living in damaged housing and struggling with joblessness. While the international community has provided significant investment in Mosul, reconstruction efforts need to be stepped up to further support the people of Mosul to be able to fully recover and rebuild their lives.

In recent weeks, Norwegian Refugee Council and Oxfam have spoken to some of the people in Mosul. In their own words, they tell us how they are rebuilding their lives in the aftermath of the devastation and destruction.

Farah *

I’m the person who is providing income for my family. My husband is jobless. He has been looking non-stop but has had no luck.

“Before ISIS, our social norms in Mosul would not allow me to go out. When we were liberated, I broke that norm. I went out and started working. The experience that I went through made me stronger and want to go and earn my own income.

During ISIS we used to eat whatever we could get. My son wanted to help us so he started selling sandwiches. ISIS took him and lashed him. He was just a child trying to help his family. Now my son is afraid to go out; he has been traumatised. My daughter wants to become a police officer. I encourage her to always pursue her dreams. Just because she is a female doesn’t mean that she can’t be anything she wants in the future.

The hair salon was all I wanted. I work hard in here. People love my work. Now I’m planning to get a tattoo machine and learn how to provide tattoos. Four years since ISIS left, my children are still scared to be outside, and they are still not able to continue their education.

Previously, my husband was not okay with me having my own job but after ISIS, everything changed. I gained more independence as now society finally realizes that women can also be responsible for bringing in income to support their kids and family”

Ahmed *

We need to rebuild what has been destroyed

“I’m 21 years old and live in Hamam Alil. Our family lost the coffee shop that my father used to own. We were forced to sell it. After ISIS we could not keep the coffee shop because the land owner wanted to sell the land.

Now we have a new shop for hardware and tools. I usually take care of the shop and my brother takes over whenever I need to go to school. This shop is our main income as my father cannot work anymore. He is 60 years old. I don’t mind studying at night after I close the shop as there is no other option for me to earn income and take care of my family.

With the pandemic and the recent dollar raise it has been hard to secure an income, especially now that all materials like motors and power units are more expensive. This shop has helped us a lot.

Monthly, we get 150,000 IQD (about $100), but it’s not enough to pay rent and buy food and other essential needs for my family. I go to school and then directly to this shop. I barely get five minutes rest or a lunch break.

The biggest challenge is all of this destruction. Most people left Hamam Alil to Mosul city so there are not many services anymore. I’m still sad about the coffee shop as it belonged to my father since the 80s.

I hope that people can come back and start a new life. It is hard but we have to move on with our lives. We need to rebuild what has been destroyed and if the government is not doing anything, we will rebuild our city with our own hands.

Samira *

Now I sell whatever I have to provide basic needs for my children. I barely can buy them new clothes.

“I used to live in Hamam Alil. I wanted my children to go to a good school so I couldn’t stay there. There is no future for my kids there. My family all came to Mosul. Here I stay in an unfinished house owned by my relative.

When ISIS took over Hamam Alil, I feared for my children and left my home. I went to a camp and stayed there for about two to three years. In the beginning, it was okay as we used to receive aid every day but then it got less and less over time.

My husband married another woman and left me and my kids in the camp. I left the camp because the aid stopped. My children needed to continue their education as there was no school in the camp.

I’m still trying to provide my children with the best I can. I do not have an income, but I will manage. I survived ISIS and stayed in a camp. The experience made me depend on myself only.

There are fewer job opportunities than before. I hope there will be a permanent solution for this situation. I do not want just to be given cash. I need a job and a house so I can take care of my children."

Ibrahim *

My wife and I will never stop believing there will be a better day coming. My children need to learn resilience and positivity from us.

"I remember clearly the day when the military operations started to retake Mosul. It was 4:30 p.m.

Before ISIS I used to work as a construction worker earning 25,000IQD, (about $17), every day. My children used to go to school and life was more stable than today.

When ISIS took over, I stayed at home most of the time. We hosted 15 families for a month. We ran out of most of our supplies. There were days that we had to eat dried bread with water. Sometimes I did not eat for two to three days and only drank water.

During the military operation to retake Mosul, my children used to play in the living room near the door that led to the outside. One of the neighbour’s children was chatting to my daughter on the front door. Then suddenly a rocket fell literally on the front of the door. My neighbour’s child died from the explosion. Now, all of my kids have permanent injuries. One is completely paralysed.

I gathered myself and went to the hospital. It was too late for my daughter to survive and my oldest son couldn’t get proper treatment. Eventually an NGO helped to take the shrapnel out of his spine, but it was too late to recover his ability to move.

When I came back to my house after about 8 months; it was burned and destroyed. I lived with my neighbour for a few months until I was able to repair the damage.

Since then, I resumed my work as a construction worker, but the daily wages are lower and when the pandemic hit most of the construction work stopped. Now I am lucky if I work two days a week. What I’m earning monthly is enough for only one meal per day and one month’s rent.

I need to resume my life even if there has been so much change in the past years. I am proud that I keep going forward. I lost my daughter and my children have marks that will always remind them of what happened. I always tell them that these bruises will only make you stronger. One day they will be responsible for their own communities and family and I want them to be ready."

  • Names changed to protect identity

NRC and Oxfam have been supporting families in Mosul with cash assistance, grants to start businesses, repairs to schools and teacher training, access to water, support to gain civil documentation and more.


On the topic of organizations, a friend with Amnesty asked me to note this:


   USA must drop charges against Julian Assange

Authorities in the USA must drop the espionage and all other charges against Julian Assange that relate to his publishing activities as part of his work with Wikileaks. The US government’s unrelenting pursuit of Julian Assange for having published disclosed documents that included possible war crimes committed by the US military is nothing short of a full-scale assault on the right to freedom of expression.

Julian Assange is currently being held at Belmarsh, a high security prison in the UK, on the basis of a US extradition request on charges that stem directly from the publication of disclosed documents as part of his work with Wikileaks. Amnesty International strongly opposes any possibility of Julian Assange being extradited or sent in any other manner to the USA. There, he faces a real risk of serious human rights violations including possible detention conditions that would amount to torture and other ill-treatment (such as prolonged solitary confinement). The fact that he was the target of a negative public campaign by US officials at the highest levels undermines his right to be presumed innocent and puts him at risk of an unfair trial.

Julian Assange’s publication of disclosed documents as part of his work with Wikileaks should not be punishable as this activity mirrors conduct that investigative journalists undertake regularly in their professional capacity. Prosecuting Julian Assange on these charges could have a chilling effect on the right to freedom of expression, leading journalists to self-censor from fear of prosecution.

Sign the petition now and protect the right to freedom of expression.

Urge the US authorities to drop the charges against Julian Assange that stem solely from his publishing activities with Wikileaks.


Clicking on the link takes you to the petition.


And let's note this from the Green Party of Michigan.


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The Green Party of Michigan Summer 2021 State Membership Meeting!

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Hey Greens! It's that time again! Our Summer State Membership Meeting will be on Saturday, August 14, 2021 from 9am - 5pm. Its been a long time since we have met in person so I'm exited to announce that this meeting will be held both in person and via Zoom which means you can participate from the comfort of your own home! We value your opinions, fresh ideas, and input on important GPMI business. If you're interested in serving in a position of responsibility in the Green Party of Michigan, join us, we need you. I cant wait to see you, so save the date! See you there!

Saturday, August 14, 2021

9:00 AM till 5:00 PM

Check in starts at 8 AM

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RSVP Now!

Click on the Zoom link below to join the meeting at home. Details for the Zoom link also listed below.

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The Green Party of Michigan is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Topic: GPMI SMM
Time: Aug 14, 2021 09:00 AM Eastern Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
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Winding down, Ava and my "TV: Outside factors" went up yesterday evening.  Jim posted it. Ava and I write in longhand, then we type it up.  Then it goes up?  Rarely.  In fact, for over a year now, we've waited until we knew it was going to go up -- Jim telling us they were about to publish -- to go back and in our links.  We wrote that on Sunday at Jim's request because of two guests we had over for lunch -- connected to MANIFEST.  Jim asked for it, so we wrote about it.  (And lost a thread -- we were going to include the continuing nature of storylines.  We'll pick that up another time.)  We had told him it was time sensitive and he saw some headline yesterday -- I don't know where -- and realized it really needed to be up (on Sunday, it needed to be up).  I found out about it after it went up. (Yes, take it up with Jim if you're one of those who gets upset when the entire content of a week is just one piece by Ava and me.)







The following sites updated:


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