Tuesday, September 14, 2021

Karen Black's new album and Ken Tucker's old bigotry



Karen Black has a new album out. The actress died about ten years ago. At the height of her fame -- FIVE EASY PIECES, AIRPORT '75, NASHVILLE, etc -- she was also in the studio recording. I'd be more interested in this news if it hadn't come from Ken Tucker who is openly sexist and passively racist -- and that's what he's been all his writing career. He covers Karen's album for NPR and loses me quickly.

Such as? When he talks about Bones Howe. Bones, he tells us, produced The Turtles and Tom Waits. The latter never really sold and the former's a one-hit wonder. Now Bones was the engineer for the Mamas and the Papas (on their first two albums) when Lou Adler produced them. Bones himself also produced a huge group of the late 60s and early 70s: The 5th Dimension. This was during some of their biggest hits -- but, hey, there are women in the group and the group is made up of African-Americans so Ken, of course, ignores them. He also ignores Diana Ross who is a bigger name than The 5th Dimension, The Turtles and Tom Waits combined.

Ken Tucker is the problem. And it's so telling that NPR and FRESH AIR employ him. We need better critics and we need better points of reference. Terry Gross and her merry band of misogynists can't leave the air soon enough.

Here's a video of a song from Karen Black's new album.



 


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


 Tuesday, September 14, 2021.  War Criminal Condi Rice thinks she has wisdom to share.


Starting with a War Criminal.



Mad Maddie's gal Condi Rice wants to talk Iraq.  On her terms.  Kind of like she wanted to talk 9-11 on her terms.  Remember that?   Former US Senator Bob Kerrey was trying to get her to answer questions when she appeared before the 9/11 Commission and she repeatedly attempted to evade answering.  Remember?  Bob warned her not to try to filibuster.  She claimed no one could have guessed that planes would be used.  Remember?  He had to repeatedly insist that she 


In fact, because people may have forgotten, let's note some of that exchange:

KERREY: You've used the phrase a number of times, and I'm hoping with my question to disabuse you of using it in the future.

You said the president was tired of swatting flies.

KERREY: Can you tell me one example where the president swatted a fly when it came to al Qaeda prior to 9/11?

RICE: I think what the president was speaking to was...

KERREY: No, no. What fly had he swatted?

RICE: Well, the disruptions abroad was what he was really focusing on...

KERREY: No, no...

RICE: ... when the CIA would go after Abu Zubaydah...

KERREY: He hadn't swatted...

RICE: ... or go after this guy...

KERREY: Dr. Rice, we didn't...

RICE: That was what was meant.

KERREY: We only swatted a fly once on the 20th of August 1998. We didn't swat any flies afterwards. How the hell could he be tired?

RICE: We swatted at -- I think he felt that what the agency was doing was going after individual terrorists here and there, and that's what he meant by swatting flies. It was simply a figure of speech.

KERREY: Well, I think it's an unfortunate figure of speech because I think, especially after the attack on the Cole on the 12th of October, 2000, it would not have been swatting a fly. It would not have been -- we did not need to wait to get a strategic plan.

Dick Clarke had in his memo on the 20th of January overt military operations. He turned that memo around in 24 hours, Dr. Clarke. There were a lot of plans in place in the Clinton administration -- military plans in the Clinton administration.

In fact, since we're in the mood to declassify stuff, there was -- he included in his January 25 memo two appendices -- Appendix A: "Strategy for the elimination of the jihadist threat of al Qaeda," Appendix B: "Political military plan for al Qaeda."

So I just -- why didn't we respond to the Cole?

RICE: Well, we...

KERREY: Why didn't we swat that fly?

RICE: I believe that there's a question of whether or not you respond in a tactical sense or whether you respond in a strategic sense; whether or not you decide that you're going to respond to every attack with minimal use of military force and go after every -- on a kind of tit-for-tat basis.

By the way, in that memo, Dick Clarke talks about not doing this tit-for-tat, doing this on the time of our choosing.

I'm aware, Mr. Kerrey, of a speech that you gave at that time that said that perhaps the best thing that we could do to respond to the Cole and to the memories was to do something about the threat of Saddam Hussein.

That's a strategic view...

And we took a strategic view. We didn't take a tactical view. I mean, it was really -- quite frankly, I was blown away when I read the speech, because it's a brilliant speech. It talks about really...

... an asymmetric...

KERREY: I presume you read it in the last few days?

RICE: Oh no, I read it quite a bit before that. It's an asymmetric approach.

Now, you can decide that every time al Qaeda...

KERREY: So you're saying that you didn't have a military response against the Cole because of my speech?

RICE: No.

KERREY: That had I not given that speech you would have attacked them?

RICE: No, I'm just saying that I think it was a brilliant way to think about it.

KERREY: I think it's...

RICE: It was a way of thinking about it strategically, not tactically. But if I may answer the question that you've asked me.

The issue of whether to respond -- or how to respond to the Cole -- I think Don Rumsfeld has also talked about this. Yes, the Cole had happened. We received, I think on January 25, the same assessment -- or roughly the same assessment -- of who was responsible for the Cole that Sandy Berger talked to you about.

It was preliminary. It was not clear. But that was not the reason that we felt that we did not want to, quote, "respond to the Cole."

We knew that the options that had been employed by the Clinton administration had been standoff options. The president had -- meaning missile strikes or perhaps bombers would have been possible, long-range bombers. Although getting in place the apparatus to use long-range bombers is even a matter of whether you have basing in the region.

RICE: We knew that Osama Bin Laden had been, in something that was provided to me, bragging that he was going to withstand any response and then he was going to emerge and come out stronger.

KERREY: But you're figuring this out. You've got to give a very long answer.

RICE: We simply believed that the best approach was to put in place a plan that was going to eliminate this threat, not respond to an attack.

KERREY: Let me say, I think you would have come in there if you said, "We screwed up. We made a lot of mistakes." You obviously don't want to use the M-word in here. And I would say fine, it's game, set, match. I understand that.

But this strategic and tactical, I mean, I just -- it sounds like something from a seminar. It doesn't...

RICE: I do not believe to this day that it would have been a good thing to respond to the Cole, given the kinds of options that we were going to have.

And with all due respect to Dick Clarke, if you're speaking about the Delenda plan, my understanding is that it was, A, never adopted, and that Dick Clarke himself has said that the military portion of this was not taken up by the Clinton administration.

KERREY: Let me move into another area.

RICE: So we were not presented -- I just want to be very clear on this, because it's been a source of controversy -- we were not presented with a plan.

KERREY: Well, that's not true. It is not...

RICE: We were not presented. We were presented with...

KERREY: I've heard you say that, Dr. Clarke, that 25 January, 2001, memo was declassified, I don't believe...

RICE: That January 25 memo has a series of actionable items having to do with Afghanistan, the Northern Alliance.

KERREY: Let me move to another area.

RICE: May I finish answering your question, though, because this is an important...

KERREY: I know it's important. Everything that's going on here is important. But I get 10 minutes.

RICE: But since we have a point of disagreement, I'd like to have a chance to address it.

KERREY: Well, no, no, actually, we have many points of disagreement, Dr. Clarke, but we'll have a chance to do in closed session. Please don't filibuster me. It's not fair. It is not fair. I have been polite. I have been courteous. It is not fair to me.

I understand that we have a disagreement.

RICE: Commissioner, I am here to answer questions. And you've asked me a question, and I'd like to have an opportunity to answer it.

The fact is that what we were presented on January the 25th was a set of ideas and a paper, most of which was about what the Clinton administration had done and something called the Delenda plan which had been considered in 1998 and never adopted. We decided to take a different track.

RICE: We decided to put together a strategic approach to this that would get the regional powers -- the problem wasn't that you didn't have a good counterterrorism person.

The problem was you didn't have an approach against al Qaeda because you didn't have an approach against Afghanistan. And you didn't have an approach against Afghanistan because you didn't have an approach against Pakistan. And until we could get that right, we didn't have a policy.

KERREY: Thank you for answering my question.

RICE: You're welcome.

KERREY: Let me ask you another question. Here's the problem that I have as I -- again, it's hindsight. I appreciate that. But here's the problem that a lot of people are having with this July 5th meeting.

You and Andy Card meet with Dick Clarke in the morning. You say you have a meeting, he meets in the afternoon. It's July 5th.

Kristen Breitweiser, who's a part of the families group, testified at the Joint Committee. She brings very painful testimony, I must say.

But here's what Agent Kenneth Williams said five days later. He said that the FBI should investigate whether al Qaeda operatives are training at U.S. flight schools. He posited that Osama bin Laden followers might be trying to infiltrate the civil aviation system as pilots, security guards and other personnel. He recommended a national program to track suspicious flight schools. Now, one of the first things that I learned when I came into this town was the FBI and the CIA don't talk. I mean, I don't need a catastrophic event to know that the CIA and the FBI don't do a very good job of communicating.

And the problem we've got with this and the Moussaoui facts, which were revealed on the 15th of August, all it had to do was to be put on Intelink. All it had to do is go out on Intelink, and the game's over. It ends. This conspiracy would have been rolled up.

KERREY: And so I...

RICE: Commissioner, with all due respect, I don't agree that we know that we had somehow a silver bullet here that was going to work.

What we do know is that we did have a systemic problem, a structural problem between the FBI and the CIA. It was a long time in coming into being. It was there because there were legal impediments, as well as bureaucratic impediments. Those needed to be overcome.

Obviously, the structure of the FBI that did not get information from the field offices up to FBI Central, in a way that FBI Central could react to the whole range of information reports, was a problem..

KERREY: But, Dr. Rice, everybody...

RICE: But the structure of the FBI, the restructuring of the FBI, was not going to be done in the 233 days in which we were in office...

KERREY: Dr. Rice, everybody who does national security in this town knows the FBI and the CIA don't talk. So if you have a meeting on the 5th of July, where you're trying to make certain that your domestic agencies are preparing a defense against a possible attack, you knew al Qaeda cells were in the United States, you've got to follow up.

And the question is, what was your follow-up? What's the paper trail that shows that you and Andy Card followed up from this meeting, and...

RICE: I followed...

KERREY: ... made certain that the FBI and the CIA were talking?

RICE: I followed up with Dick Clarke, who had in his group, and with him, the key counterterrorism person for the FBI. You have to remember that Louis Freeh was, by this time, gone. And so, the chief counterterrorism person was the second -- Louis Freeh had left in late June. And so the chief counterterrorism person for the FBI was working these issues, was working with Dick Clarke. I talked to Dick Clarke about this all the time.

RICE: But let's be very clear, the threat information that we were dealing with -- and when you have something that says, "something very big may happen," you have no time, you have no place, you have no how, the ability to somehow respond to that threat is just not there.

Now, you said...

KERREY: Dr. Clarke, in the spirit of further declassification...

RICE: Sir, with all...

KERREY: The spirit...

RICE: I don't think I look like Dick Clarke, but...

KERREY: Dr. Rice, excuse me.

RICE: Thank you.

KEAN: This is the last question, Senator.

KERREY: Actually it won't be a question.

In the spirit of further declassification, this is what the August 6 memo said to the president: that the FBI indicates patterns of suspicious activity in the United States consistent with preparations for hijacking.

That's the language of the memo that was briefed to the president on the 6 of August.


And let's watch the video of Condi trying to lie to Richard Ben-Veniste at the hearing.





Condi: "I believe the title was 'Bin Laden Determined To Strike In The United States'."

"Condi Lousy" -- that's what Fred Kaplan called her at SLATE due to that testimony:

 


One clear inference can be drawn from Condoleezza Rice’s testimony before the 9/11 commission this morning: She has been a bad national security adviser—passive, sluggish, and either unable or unwilling to tie the loose strands of the bureaucracy into a sensible vision or policy. In short, she has not done what national security advisers are supposed to do.

The key moment came an hour into the hearing, when former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste took his turn at asking questions. Up to this point, Rice had argued that the Bush administration could not have done much to stop the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yes, the CIA’s sirens were sounding all summer of an impending strike by al-Qaida, but the warnings were of an attack overseas.


One clear inference can be drawn from Condoleezza Rice’s testimony before the 9/11 commission this morning: She has been a bad national security adviser—passive, sluggish, and either unable or unwilling to tie the loose strands of the bureaucracy into a sensible vision or policy. In short, she has not done what national security advisers are supposed to do.

The key moment came an hour into the hearing, when former Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste took his turn at asking questions. Up to this point, Rice had argued that the Bush administration could not have done much to stop the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Yes, the CIA’s sirens were sounding all summer of an impending strike by al-Qaida, but the warnings were of an attack overseas. 


Ben-Veniste brought up the much-discussed PDB—the president’s daily briefing by CIA Director George Tenet—of Aug. 6, 2001. For the first time, he revealed the title of that briefing: “Bin Laden Determined To Strike in US.”*

Rice insisted this title meant nothing. The document consisted of merely “historical information” about al-Qaida—various plans and attacks of the past. “This was not a ‘threat report,’ ” she said. It “did not warn of any coming attack inside the United States.” Later in the hearing, she restated the point: “The PDB does not say the United States is going to be attacked. It says Bin Laden would like to attack the United States.”

To call this distinction “academic” would be an insult to academia.

Rice acknowledged that throughout the summer of 2001 the CIA was intercepting unusually high volumes of “chatter” about an impending terrorist strike. She quoted from some of this chatter: “attack in near future,” “unbelievable news coming in weeks,” “a very, very, very big uproar.” She said some “specific” intelligence indicated the attack would take place overseas. However, she noted that very little of this intelligence was specific; most of it was “frustratingly vague.” In other words (though she doesn’t say so), most of the chatter might have been about a foreign or a domestic attack—it wasn’t clear. 


This is who we now want input on Iraq from?


She's a War Criminal.  And she's a liar.  And she's lying about Iraq.  She's claiming that Iraq is "increasingly stable" and, no, it is not.  That's a damn liar from a damn lying War Criminal who should be hanging her head in shame but instead seem to think that anyone wants to hear from her.  If she offered to stand still while various Americans threw rotten fruit at her, she could fill a stadium.  But that's the only way she could ever attract a crowd.  


THE NEW ARAB reports:


While Basra governorate lies on an ocean of oil - receiving foreign investments to the tune of hundreds of millions of dollars per year - local people live in grinding poverty and suffer high unemployment. 

They are also left vulnerable to the violent disputes which frequently erupt between armed tribes in a region where the state and security forces are almost absent.

Last year, Muhammed Al-Waeli and his family were forced to leave their home in Abu Sakhir, northern Basra, in fear of their lives due to ongoing clan disputes, Fadhil al-Gharawi, a member of the Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights (OHCHR Iraq) told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, The New Arab's Arabic-language sister publication. Many fall victim to clashes they have no connection to.

General Amjad Qasim, who heads the Basra police force, confirms that 13 families have left their homes in the city for the same reasons. 


That's 'stability'?  Condi's a damn liar.


Next month, Iraqis are supposed to vote.  And yet RUDAW reports:

 Turnout for Iraq’s October 10 parliamentary election is expected to be a record low, with a recent poll predicting just 29 percent of eligible voters will cast ballots.

The random survey conducted by the Kulwatha Center polled 3,600 voters from all provinces. Twenty-nine percent of respondents said they intend to vote and 14 percent are still undecided.

The election was called ahead of schedule to meet the demand of anti-government protesters, but interest in the vote is low. Several parties from across the spectrum have announced they will not participate. Parties and voters are questioning the legitimacy of the vote in an environment where powerful militias operate outside of government control, activists and election candidates are threatened, and the electoral commission and political elites are accused of fraud.

The vote will take place with electronic voting and counting, but 74 percent of those surveyed by Kulwatha Center said they don't think new technology will reduce fraud and 64 percent said they support a manual recount of votes.

The survey was conducted between June 6 and August 14 and results were published on Sunday.


That's stability?  


Condi Rice is not a trusted source, she's nothing but a War Criminal and outlets that treat her like anything else are dirty jokes.


The following sites updated:




Posted by at

Monday, September 13, 2021

Laura Nyro

I reviewed the late Laura Nyro's live album that came out in July.  See  "Kat's Korner: TREES OF THE AGES: LAURA NYRO LIVE IN JAPAN   " to read that review.  For those who don't know of Laura Nyro, Richard Williams (GUARDIAN) wrote about her last month:


Whatever role Laura Nyro chose to play – earth mother, soul sister, angel of the Bronx subways – she committed to it. With a soaring, open-hearted voice and ingeniously crafted compositions, Nyro transformed a range of influences into her own kind of art song. She made vertiginous shifts from hushed reveries to ecstatic gospel-driven shout-ups with an intensity and a courage that, as Elton John would point out, left its mark on many contemporaries who achieved greater commercial success.
As the music of the 1960s reached a climax, no one else merged the new songwriting freedoms pioneered by Bob Dylan with the pop sensibility of the Brill Building tunesmiths to such intriguing effect. As a teenager, she wrote And When I Die and Stoney End, songs that became hits for other artists. Her own enigmatically titled albums – Eli and the Thirteenth Confession, New York Tendaberry, Christmas and the Beads of Sweat – showed a precociously sophisticated sensibility.
Later, rejecting commercial pressures, she would help push the boundaries of popular music by writing songs celebrating motherhood, female sexuality and her menstrual cycle. In the hearts of admirers, she kindled a loyalty fierce enough to withstand the semi-obscurity into which she had fallen by the time of her death from ovarian cancer in 1997, at 49. But a new generation will this month get to hear Nyro’s music, as American Dreamer, a box set containing her first seven albums and an eighth disc of rarities and live tracks, is released.

And last week Kieron Tylor (THE ARTS DESK) covered her:


“She is a 20-year-old white New Yorker who sings like a 55-year-old black lady from Mississippi.
The experts say she will do for soul pop what Dylan did for folk.” Lillian Roxon’s verdict on Laura Nyro appeared in her ground-breaking 1969 book Rock Encyclopedia, issued before Nyro’s third album New York Tendaberry.
In January 1970, Life magazine ran a feature on Nyro which was headed “The Funky Madonna of New York Soul.” By then, New York Tendaberry was out. Her follow-up, Christmas And The Beads Of Sweat, was being recorded when the article appeared.
Both descriptions demonstrate a unanimity about what Nyro represented: she was creating a form of soul music. But there was another point of agreement. Roxon noted “she wrote ‘Stoned Soul Picnic’ for The 5th Dimension…giving them a major hit.” This cast Nyro as a back-room songwriter, a Jimmy Webb type. No matter that “Stoned Soul Picnic” was drawn from her second album, Eli And The Thirteenth Confession. Life went further: “right now [she] is probably the most successful pop composer around…it seems like the easiest way for other performers to have hits is to record her songs.” And hits there were: The 5th Dimension also did Nyro’s “Wedding Bell Blues”, Three Dog Night did "Eli's Comin'”, Barbra Streisand did "Stoney End". Frank Sinatra jumped on board too.
Life’s writer Maggie Paley got to grips with the Laura Nyro style which was proving so popular for acts looking for material. She writes “songs that blend gospel, rock 'n roll, jazz and blues (people also hear in them classical influences, from Schumann to Stravinsky),” said wrote. “Lyrics that are knowing, evocative, elusive, personal; and a voice full of soul and nuance. She [also] has songs that are more like progressive jazz, with lyrics that speak of pain as well as joy.”
So that’s one characteristic of Laura Nyro. She recorded songs which were covered. There’s another aspect. Her influence.

Meanwhile, THE VINYL FACTORY notes:


Laura Nyro’s 1966 audition tape is being released for the first time, as Go Find The Moon: The Audition Tape, via Omnivore Recordings this September.
During the summer of 1966, the then 18-year old Laura Nyro auditioned for music producer Milt Okun and A&R figure Artie Mogull. Mogull would subsequently become Nyro’s manager, and Okun took on production duties for her debut album, More Than Just A Discovery.
Now being released for the first time, Go Find The Moon: The Audition Tape features an early rendition of ‘And When I Die’, along with previously unreleased tracks and covers.
It follows the reissue of Nyro’s 1967-78 studio albums as Laura Nyro: American Dreamer in July.

 


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


 Monday, September 13, 2021.  Faucci, Iran, oh my.


Not a fan of RISING now that Krystal and Saager have left.  We haven't noted the show since then.  But an e-mail to the public account argued this video should be noted.


I streamed it.  I agree it does need to be included and I've noted it here in the entry right before this one.  I'm also including it in the snapshot at the top.  Here's Senator Ran Paul speaking with Megyn Kelly about the issue.



There are periodicals like WSWS who have staked their reputation on where COVID came from -- insisting that discussing China is akin to claiming WMD in Iraq.


If it is true that it came from China -- I have no idea nor am I the gatekeeper that WSWS has tried to be lately -- that's an issue.  And 'trust the science' has always been crap and I have called that out here.  I don't worship science.  Science gave us the atom bond.  Science gave us Tuskegee.  Science gave us the suicide of Frank Olson.  Trust the science?  I don't trust anything carried out in private.  


And my feelings are not uncommon.  I'm not unique in that.   You should have built your campaigns around doctors.  People trust their doctor -- those lucky enough to have one.  We know our doctors.  "Trust the science" was never an answer to concerns the people had.


It doesn't matter where it came from in terms of Dr. Anthony Faucci.  He's compromised in terms of trust because of the changes in policy that have been present since the start of the pandemic.  If you want to send a new tone, a message that your administration is different than Donald Trump's, the first thing you do is retire the troubled spokesperson.


B-b-b-but what if Faucci is not lying to Congress or what if his blunders were the blunders of the government and not his own (example: no point in wearing masks, everyone wear masks, etc)?  


I don't care.  Nor does America nor should they.  I don't believe in the 'greater good' theory -- that leads to so many being exploited.  But it's strange, isn't it, that the proponents of greater good never apply to it big money.


Faucci has become an issue.  A large segment of the American public does not trust him.  We are in the midst of a pandemic.  We have switched presidents from Donald Trump to Joe Biden.  It is perfectly natural for a succeeding president to 'shake up' the teams by putting in new people.  


The administration is having to spend too much time defending Donald Trump's Faucci.  He keeps the government off message.  It's time for him to go -- for the good of the country, for the good of the administration and to help everyone get on the same page regarding the pandemic.


That we're having to open the Iraq snapshot with Faucci goes to how much of a problem he has become.

Thank him for his service and send him packing.  When the spokesperson creates this much controversy, the spokesperson is the problem.  He needs to go.  The White House needs to be focused on COVID 19, not on defending Faucci.


The pandemic has not ended, not in the US, not elsewhere.  AFP reports:


Iraq on Sunday received a donation of more than 100,000 AstraZeneca doses against Covid-19 from Italy via vaccine-sharing facility Covax, the UN children's agency UNICEF said.

More than four million people in Iraq, or around 10 percent of its 40 million inhabitants, have received at least one coronavirus vaccine jab, according to the health ministry.

Healthcare workers say they are battling not just the coronavirus but also widespread scepticism over vaccines, as a result of misinformation and public mistrust in the state.


Anyone who's very presence (Faucci) sews mistrust needs to go.  That's in the US, that's anywhere.


In Iraq, the Kurdistan has continued to be attacked.  Last Thursday, Iran attacked the Kurdistan (northern area of Iraq) with bombs and drones (called "suicide drones" by the press for some reason).  Saturday, northern Iraq was attacked again.  ALJAZEERA reported:


Erbil International Airport in northern Iraq has been targeted in a drone attack, Kurdish security officials said, the latest in a series of similar incidents over the past year.

The internal security service for Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, of which Erbil is the capital, initially said three rockets had hit near the airport. 

A second statement by the Kurdish counterterrorism force said the attack had been carried out by explosive-laden drones.


While the US media ignored the bombing on Thursday and the bombings that continued to take place, Dilan Sirwan (RUDAW) noted:

At least three blasts had been heard near the airport. According to initial reports from Rudaw reporters citing security forces, the blasts occurred outside the airport perimeter. 
 
[. . .]

This is the fourth time this year Erbil airport has come under attack. Previous attacks were blamed on Iranian-backed Iraqi militias who have demanded United States forces withdraw from Iraq. US forces are stationed at the airport.


                                                                             

Seth J. Frantzman (JERUSALEM POST) added, "The area has been targeted by drones frequently over the last eight months and also by rockets in the past. Pro-Iranian groups in Iraq are alleged to use drones and rockets to target US forces at Erbil airport or threaten the US consulate in Erbil. "


No one knew who's responsible for this attack at present but, yes, Iran has been bombing the Kurdistan region -- which is where the Erbil airport is -- since Thursday.  RUDAW reported:


Iranian forces bombed the mountains around a village in northeast Erbil province on Saturday, terrifying local residents, according to the head of the village. Kurdish forces say it was an airstrike on the third day of attacks by Iran on Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region.

“Since 4am, Iran has been regularly bombarding the mountains in the vicinity of Barbzin, creating fear among the villagers. The lives of people who own livestock and farmers are in danger,” Mohammed Majid, mukhtar (chieftain) of the village, told Rudaw. 

The village has been under fire since Thursday when Iran launched attacks against Kurdish opposition groups located within Kurdistan Region borders, sending warplanes, drones, and suicide drones across the border. Areas around Choman, Sidakan, and Haji Omran in northeastern Erbil province are the focus of the attacks. Barbzin is located in the Sidakan area. 


Yet it wasn't until Sunday that the US media took notice and then it was only one outlet.  Sunday, Kaelan Deese (WASHINGTON EXAMINER) reported:

The U.S. military struck down two Iranian drones attacking the Erbil airport in Kurdish-held Iraq on Saturday, defense officials said.

The late attack on the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11 did not come with any reports of casualties or damage, according to a spokesperson for the U.S.-led coalition in northern Iraq.

"Each attack against the GoI, KRI and the Coalition undermines the authority of Iraqi institutions, the rule of law and Iraqi National sovereignty," Operation Inherent Resolve spokesman Col. Wayne Marotto tweeted on Saturday. "These attacks endanger the lives of civilians and the partner forces from the ISF, Peshmerga and Coalition."


THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER covered it -- the story was then carried by YAHOO NEWS (which is where the link above goes).  MSN reposts Deese's report here.  And if you couldn't hide behind Deese, you didn't note the news because you were too busy pretending it never happened.


Why?


Multiple reasons.  In terms of Iraq, the US had stage crafted Mustafa al-Kahdimi's trip to Iran.  It came on Saturday and much to the US government's horror, that's when the latest attack took place.  The whole point was to show Mustafa as a leader in the US government's desperate bid to get Mr. Useless some votes in the October election.  Covering the bombing, Secretary of State Antony Blinkin himself told CNN was bad for ''optics'' and "off message.''  So that's how we determine what is and isn't news?  Based on what the US State Dept says can be covered and what it says can't be covered?


And Mustafa's visit to Iran on the same day only made it more news worthy.  CNN wonders why it's no longer the news outlet you can trust, well look no further than their taking orders on their coverage from Antony.


I'm so anti-State Dept these days -- that's what friends tell me.  Friends who are at the State Dept.  I don't think I'm anti-State Dept at all.  But if US tax dollars are being used to pay off Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr and I know about it -- sorry about your slip up on the phone with me -- then I'm gong to note it.  And it is news and other sshould be noting it.  The US government paid off Moqtada to get him to come out in favor of the vote, this was last month.  We're the only ones with the guts to tell you.  RUDAW may deserve credit for, in recent days since we noted that pay out, tip-toeing around it.  But the US media has ignored this topic.  I don't mean, "How dare they not credit us!"  They don't have to.  The same State Dept person I was speaking to had already spoken to serveral members of the press and let slip about the pay off -- let slip?  Bragged about it.


So this is known and yet they cover it up instead of covering it.


It's amazing also because if you really want to end Moqtada al-Sadr, the easiest way is to expose him as a US-client.  That's what he is when he carries out the orders of the US government when they pay him off.


On Moqtada, to the blogger who keeps bothering me with his loud and angry e-mails telling me that I was wrong about the candidates aligned with Moqtada running for office . . .


In July or early August, I noted that a member of Moqtada's party had written at length to explain that despite Moqtada's public statements against the election, his candidates were running for office.  And since then, this blogger has bothered the public account repeatedly.


From a report RUDAW filed yesterday:


Sadr himself has never run for elected office, but he has been involved in the political scene since 2005 and his party is a current partner in the sectarian quota system. The movement secured 30 - 40 seats in each parliamentary election between 2006 and 2014. And it had no fewer than ten ministers between 2010 and 2014.

It has 90 candidates across Iraq competing in the October vote and is confident of victory, Sadrist member Hassan Faleh said in an interview with Rudaw.  

"The position of the next prime minister is the least that the Sadrist movement deserves, and we are certain that we will be the largest and strongest coalition in the next stage," Faleh said.


90 candidates.  Guess what?  August 27th, was too late for them to file to run.  That's the day Moqtada withdrew his objection to the elections.  


I'm sorry that you can't handle reality.  But, again, this member of Moqtada's political group has been e-mailing this site since 2007.  I've differed with some of his viewpoints but I've never had a problem with anything he said happened -- he's been proven right year after year.

 In other news,   Durrie Bouscaren (PRI) reports on the drought issues plaguing the region:

Muhammed Fouad, a cattle rancher, was just two years into a venture to bring affordable milk to his hometown in Iraq’s Anbar province, when — seemingly overnight — the cows started dying. 

“We brought in veterinarians from Erbil, because they were OK and suddenly dying the next day,” Fouad said in a phone call, through a translator.

The initiative left him with $350,000 in damages. Fouad had to lay off his employees and sell his home to pay his debts to the project’s investors. He now works in construction, back in Erbil.

Unprecedented drought — driven by climate change and exacerbated by upstream irrigation — is wreaking havoc on some of the world’s oldest river-fed farmlands in Iraq and Syria.

A dry winter has pushed water levels on the Tigris and Euphrates to record lows, disrupting hydroelectric power facilities and concentrating pollution in the river to undrinkable levels. Aid groups estimate that 12 million people are affected, in a crisis they warn could tip the balance of the food system and livelihoods for the entire region.


Kat's  "Kat's Korner: TREES OF THE AGES: LAURA NYRO LIVE IN JAPAN   " went up earlier today.  The following sites updated:


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Friday, September 10, 2021

Diana Ross, Halsey, Kacey Musgraves, Ed Shareen

Okay, new music post.  All the videos were released in the last four weeks.  First up, Diana Ross' "If The World Just Danced"



Now Halsey's "I'm not a woman, I'm a god" 




Kacey Musgraves' "justified"




And Ed Shareen's "Shivers"   



So there's some new music.  And I'm going to be doing an album review at THE COMMON ILLS this weekend.  I've got it written in long hand.  I've asked C.I. to read over it and provide any suggestions (I hope she's okay that I mention her in it).  It's an album that came out in July but I just now got around to reviewing.


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


Friday, September 10, 2021.  Donald Trump should be publicly shunned for the latest revelation, others played a role in that as well, elections gear up in Iraq, and much more.


ALJAZEERA reports:


A former Pentagon spokeswoman has said the White House under former President Donald Trump had pressured the military to downplay injuries sustained by 110 US troops following a 2020 Iranian missile attack on a base in Iraq.

Alyssa Farah, speaking on the One Decision podcast, said there was pressure from the White House to downplay the success of the attack on the Ain al-Asad base in Iraq, which came in retaliation to the US killing of top Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani in a drone strike at the Baghdad airport on January 3.


There are so many issues with the above.  


First, it's wrong to 'downplay' (lie) the number of people wounded and/or killed.


Second, Donald Trump needs to be condemned for that.


Third, others need to be condemned to.  That would include Joe Biden who is currently president, it would include Barack Obama who was president before Donald.  There's really not a difference between lying about that and refusing to provide an accurate count of how many troops are in Iraq or wherever.  I don't believe Bully Boy Bush.  He did something similarly dishonest by trying to keep the coffins of the fallen hidden so let's condemn him for that and let's grasp that when you hide the truth, each step of the way builds up to something bigger.  


Donald Trump should be condemned for that.  I would hope it would impact his money raising ability -- he's still sending out pleas for money.  Like his July 9th e-mail begging entitled "I need YOU" which opened:


The RADICAL Democrats and their friends in BIG TECH are doing everything in their power to SILENCE real Americans like you and me.


For the record, I don't support Big TEch's censorship efforts -- or censorship -- but I've yet to use that opposition to beg for money.  Oh, excuse me, ask you to buy a 'membership'  in TRUMP LIFE MEMBERSHIP.


Donald needs to be condemned.  But we're still not done with the above topic.  Fourth, yes, we're on fourth, does life matter?  Because they've all undercounted civilian deaths and undercounted them while pretending they weren't keeping a count.  "We don't do body counts" or some other foolish lie Donald Rumsfeld said early on in the Iraq War.  But they did od a body count.  Nancy A. Yousef broke that story and most people don't know about it.  We corrected Phyllis Bennis when over six weeks after the fact she went on radio to complain about the US not keeping a body count.  They did keep one.  They just pretended they didn't.  Nancy broke that story -- which we treated as the major report it was -- the last day KNIGHT RIDDER existed before being consumed by the awful MCCLATCHY NEWSPAPERS which had whored like all the other outlets in the lead up to the war but then, having bought (silenced) KNIGHT RIDDER, paraded around two male reporters (overlooking the female reporter who'd also pushed back against the officials pin) as they promoted their paper chain -- again, the paper chain that existed in 2002 and could have done actual reporting but didn't.  


It has been accepted -- and it shouldn't be -- that we have no right to know about civlian deaths.  We have every right to know.  We're the ones paying off the financial costs of war, we and about the next three generations -- at least.  The government works for us -- maybe it's past time we sat Congress down for a performance evaluation?


Each step of disrespecting life leads to where Trump took us.  It wasn't an accident.  It was a steady progression.


Fifth, Alyssa Farah?  Are we going to try her for treason?  Are we going to go after her?  No, I don't think we should.  But is there a great deal of difference between the exposure she just made and what Julian Assange, as the publisher of WIKILEAKS, revealed?


Last year, Paul Daley (GUARDIAN) reported:



US prosecutors have failed to include one of WikiLeaks’ most shocking video revelations in the indictment against Julian Assange, a move that has brought accusations the US doesn’t want its “war crimes” exposed in public.
Assange, an Australian citizen, is remanded and in ill health in London’s Belmarsh prison while the US tries to extradite him to face 18 charges – 17 under its Espionage Act – for conspiracy to receive, obtain and disclose classified information.
The charges relate largely to the US conduct of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, including Assange’s publication of the US rules of engagement in Iraq.
The prosecution case alleges Assange risked American lives by releasing hundreds of thousands of US intelligence documents.


Dean Yates was the head of REUTERS' Baghdad beureau when the July 12, 2007 attack took place killing REUTERS journalists Namir Noor-Eldeen and Saeed Chmagh -- the attack carried out by the US government.  Daley quotes Yates stating, "What he did was 100% an act of truth-telling, exposing to the world how embarrassing Collateral Murder is, how shameful it is to the military – they know that there’s potential war crimes on that tape."
  


Alyssa Farah has done nothing wrong by sharing the information she did.  She should be applauded.  By the same token, the actions Julian Ssange exposed were the actions of others, not of Julian's.  We should be outraged by what our government attempted to hide not outraged at Julian for getting the truth out there.  

Aleksmit Tweets:

Stop torturing Julian Assange❗ Journalism is not a crime. #FreeAssangeNOW
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8:20 AM · Sep 3, 2021

Earlier this week, Richard Medhurst spoke with Julian Assange's father.



And below is Kevin Gosztola (SHADOW PROOF) reporting on the big news this week.





Donald Trump deserves to be condemned for the revelations but  but if we're condemning him for hiding the truth, why are so many -- including the US government -- attacking Julian Assange for freeing the truth?

Is fair fair or just fair for some?  Let's stay on that topic of a second more.  PRESS TV reports:

Iraqi authorities have decided to double the number of visas issued for Iranian nationals heading to the holy city of Karbala to commemorate Arba’een, the 40th day after the martyrdom anniversary of Imam Hussein (AS), the third Shia Imam.

The media bureau of the Iraqi prime minister’s office said in a statement that Mustafa al-Kadhimi had ordered officials to increase the quota for pilgrims from 40,000 to 80,000, including 60,000 for Iran.



I've got no objection to anyone taking part in their religious traditions or practices.  I have no problem with grown adults deciding to go on a pilgrimage (and take their children along with them) if they want.  But I'm bringing the above up because the western media has still not taken accountability for the way they tried to shame the Pope for visiting Iraq.  They framed the story that way from the moment the trip was announced.  How dare he!  We're in a pandemic!  How dare he!  Well, that year, the pilgrimage took place and did so without any outcry from the western media and it's happening again with no outcry.  



Is it that the media thinks this is safe but a Sturgis Rally isn't?  If so, what's the difference?  I don't know but I do know that they went to town on the Pope -- so much so that I was offended.  And I know a lot of Catholics were and remain offended by the way the media slammed the Pope for that visit.


A cardinal said on Tuesday that Pope Francis’ historic visit to Iraq in March had a profound impact on the country.

Delivering his testimony at the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest, Hungary, on Sept. 7, Cardinal Louis Raphaël Sako explained that the pope’s trip had changed the atmosphere in the Middle Eastern country.

“The pope touched the hearts of all Iraqis by his messages, especially Muslims. And now, something has changed in the streets, in the mass, the population,” he commented.

“Christians are proud of that and now they are very appreciated also.”

In his testimony at the Hungexpo Budapest Congress and Exhibition Center, the main congress venue, the 73-year-old leader of the Chaldean Catholic Church recalled the landmark meeting between the pope and Iraq’s top Shiite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.


I didn't slam the Pope.  I applaud him for visiting Iraq.  I applaud the pilgrims who will be practicing and celebrating their religious beliefs.  But let's not pretend that the western media did the same.

While we're on PRSS TV, let's note their report on the Iranian attack on Kurdistan (northern Iraq):

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has pounded the positions of terrorists in northern Iraq days after warning against anti-Iran movements, Tasnim news agency reports. 

The IRGC Ground Force used suicide and combat drones as well as smart and precision-guided artillery on Thursday morning to target the terrorists in the semi-autonomous region's rugged mountains.



We already noted that act of war in yesterday's snapshot.  We're noting it again because PRESS TV reporting on it allows us to note that Iran did come up in yesterday's US State Dept press briefing as a trained monkey brought up Iran to pose such talking points as "What if the Iranians do not want to restart the talks in Vienna?"  But no one asked about Iran bombing their neighbor Iraq.  No one in the room.  In fact, most US outlets haven't even bothered to report on it.

Before we jump to a different topic -- "suicide drones"?  I saw that in yesterday's report but thought it was a mistake due to deadlines.  PRESS TV is using the term today.  A suicide bomber is someone with a bomb strapped to them who takes their own life in the explosion.  I get that a drone could have a bomb strapped to it but it is not a suicide drone -- (a) it doesn't have a life to give and (b) it's not making the decision.  A dog has a life.  But if you strap a bomb to a dog -- even a trained dog -- and send it into a crowd, that doesn't make it a ''suicide dog.'' The dog's not going there to blow people up or to take its own life.  I don't get the usage of "suicide drone."

Iran now joins Turkey in bombing Kurdistan.  Both countries are engaging in illegal actions.  Yousif Musa (RUDAW) reports:


Villages and resorts in northern Duhok province have lost more than a million dollars this summer because of Turkey's offensive against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Villages have been evacuated and damaged, and resorts are empty of tourists.

“We invested $7,000 in this [house] but Turkey damaged it and now it is gone,” said Ali Muhsin, a former resident of Bihere village located within the Zakho sub-district.

Bihere, along with 21 other villages, has been affected by Turkish military operations that were launched in April, according to the mayor of Zakho’s office. 

“We fled to Darkar, selling our 600 goats,” Muhsin added. 

When Turkey bombarded the yard of his house in May and injured his brother, they and five other families fled the village. Since then, no one has returned, except for brief visits to their property.

Additionally, 28 resorts have been affected by the bombardment, the Sharansh waterfall being one of them. It used to see 20,000 tourists annually, however, that was not the case this year. 


RUDAW also Tweets:

Iraq elections: Nearly 4.7 million voter cards printed before 2014 and 2018 elections but never picked up by registered voters are being destroyed to prevent electoral fraud - UNAMI 📸: UNAMI/Facebook
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3:47 AM · Sep 10, 2021



 October 10th, elections are supposed to take place in Iraq.  ARAB WEEKLY offers their take on the present situation:

Iraq’s Al-Fatah Alliance, which serves as a political umbrella for Shia militias led by the Badr Organisation, announced the name of its candidate to head the next government in the country, prompting an early race for the premiership among Shia forces and political parties ahead of the October 10 parliamentary elections.

Al-Fateh Alliance parliament member Naim Al-Aboudi said that Hadi al-Amiri is a frontrunner to head the next government, a position that can only be held by a Shia, according to Iraq’s power-sharing agreement.

Amiri heads the Badr Organisation, which was established in Iran during the Iran-Iraq war to fight alongside Iranian forces against the Iraqi army.

The head of the Badr Organisation leads the Al-Fateh Alliance, which brings together the majority of the Shia militias that make up the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF), particularly those who announced their loyalty to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

“If we get the seats that qualify us to ally with the political blocs, we will participate and we will present our candidate in a clear and unambiguous way. Those who will support us are welcome and those who oppose us can join the opposition,” Aboudi said,

The MP’s statements seemed to be an attempt to take the pulse of the other Shia forces, who have joined the race for the leadership of the next government, at a time when Iraqis are questioning the significance of the elections, which will likely restore the same political forces and faces that have been long accused of corruption and mismanagement.


 
Halgurd Sherwani  (KURDiSTAN 24) notes this regarding the upcoming elections:
      

Anyone caught removing, tearing down, or vandalizing election campaign billboards could face imprisonment or a fine, or both under Iraq's election law. 

As Iraq's parliamentary elections in October nears, candidates are scrambling to win enough votes to get into parliament. Competition becomes sometimes so fierce that political billboards and posters in public spaces have been torn apart. 

Most of the time, the perpetrators of such vandalism are not apprehended. Nevertheless, candidates accuse their rivals' followers of complicity.

Under Article 35 of the election law, anyone caught ripping apart or vandalizing an electoral candidate's billboard could be punished with imprisonment for at least a month but no longer than a year, Joumana Ghalad, the spokesperson for the Iraqi Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC), told a press conference on Wednesday.

The law also allows judges to fine offenders with no less than a million Iraqi dinar but no more than five million. Also, both punishments could be applied simultaneously, Ghalad explained.

It's a pity Big Tech can't be fine.

The following sites updated:





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