Thursday, July 12, 2012. Chaos and violence continue, Human Rights
Watch draws attention to a proposed law that could greatly harm Iraqis,
Ammar al-Hakim publicly played Nouri's steady but behind closed doors . .
., Katie Couric's image pops up in Iraq, the White House blusters
about wanting a prisoner (that they turned over to Iraq), and more.
Starting with sports, today Emily Alpert (Los Angeles Times) reports
an important event, "For the first time in Olympic history, every
country will have a woman competing on its team, including longtime
holdout Saudi Arabia, the International Olympic Committee announced
Thursday. Brunei and Qatar will also send female athletes to the London
Games for the first time." Alsumaira notes
Iraq will be sending 8 athletes to the Olympics in London and the goal
of the Iraqi team is participation in the sport and to gain knowledge
for future Olympic competitions according to Samir al-Moussawi who is
over the team which will compete in the 100 meter run (Dania Hussein),
the 800 meter run (Adnan Taas), shooting (Nour Amer), crossbow (Rana
al-Mashadani), weighlifting (Safa Rashed), swimming (Muhannad Ahmad --
and I'm saying the rest of this parenthetical not Alsumaria, Muhannad
Ahmad is gathering a lot of talk as the Arab male athlete to watch in
this year's competition -- and only some of that talk is due to Ahmad's
good looks), boxing (Ahmed Abdel-Karim) and wreslting (Ali Nazim). Iraqi Olympic Committee notes that Safa Rashed has been at a Ukrainian training camp for weight lifters since June.
Lara Spencer: And we start with
Katie Couric. Her mega-watt is being
seen an unlikely place. She's become the poster child, if you will, for the
Iraqi Electricity Ministry to cool people's impatience over the lack of
electrical power in the country. But is it working? One Iraqi local told the
New York Times, "It doesn't give me hope about
electricity. But I do like to see her beautiful face." Popping
in to talk about it is Katie Couric herself. Hi,
Katie.
Katie Couric [via phone line]: Hello, Lara. How are you?
Lara Spencer: I'm great. And I'm looking at your mega-watt smile.
Can you tell us -- Can you tell us how this happened?
Katie Couric [via phone line]: Well Lara, as you recall, we
actually broke the story during the pop news segment of GMA [Good
Morning America] a few months ago when I was filling in for Robin Roberts.
Lara Spencer: I do recall.
Katie Couric: So actually, we did break the story and, sadly, the
New York Times is once again following GMA.
Lara Spencer: That's right. We have scooped the New York
Times.
Katie Couric: I thought it was really weird so we got a translator
to translate it and they said, "It's a billboard for the local utility
company."
Lara Spencer: And, hey, it's good promotion for your upcoming
show.
Katie Couric's upcoming show is Katie, set to debut September 10th, a syndicated daily (Monday through Friday), hour long talk show with a studio audience.
Lara Spencer: Just how high wattage is our guest host Katie
Couric? Well this is a billboard in Iraq Tweeted by a reporter there
and it turns out, there it is, and it turns out it's a public service
announcement by Iraq's Electricity Ministry. It says, "Daily
Electricity Bulletin" which -- ironically, Katie -- is what we were
thinking of renaming the show this week.
Katie Couric: Somebody sent that to me on Twitter and they said, "I think this is your face on this bulletin board."
Lara Spencer: I think so.
Katie Couric: And I'm like, "Yeah. Isn't that weird."
Today Katie Tweeted:
Katie Couric has a very nice smile. And if you were the Minister of
Electricity in Iraq, you might latch onto it. Right about now is when
the person -- all men so far -- in this position usually steps down and
usually because of public outcry over the fact that there is no
improvement in providing Iraqis with electricity. While the average
minister serves all four years of their term, the Minister of the
Electricity is far more likely to just serve two years.
At least four times a day, Hadi Ahmed leaves his Baghdad home and goes out into the sweltering heat to restart his generator.
"We are dying in this heat," he says. "I feel like every day
this country is going backwards. The lack of electricity is destroying
my business."
Mr Ahmed spends about US$3,000 (Dh11,018) a month producing
electricity to power a plastics factory that manufactures household
items. He says he can afford to operate the factory at only a third of
capacity.
"Out of six machines, because of the current circumstances, I only have two operational," said Mr Ahmed.
Still on the energy issue, over the weekend AFP reported,
"Iraqi Kurdistan has begun sending oil produced in its three-province
autonomous region out of the country without the express permission of
the central government, an official said on Sunday." UPI states
the Turkish government is seeking the same sort of deal from the
Baghdad-central government and "Ankara's maneuvering is also interwoven
with Turkey's drive to restore itself as the region's paramount power,
which puts it in direct competition with Iran." Trend News Agency notes
that Turkey and the KRG border one another but that they have not had a
history of cooperation. What changed? Nouri went wacko and began
charging the Turkish government with all these accusations. He took a
working relationship he had with the Turkish government and destroyed
it. Meanwhile, the KRG and Turkey have grown closer. Nouri's own
lunacy helped facilitate that.
It is no secret that the majority of Kurds, if not in fact, all
of them, would love to see an independent Kurdistan. And the easiest way
for a Kurdish politician to become popular is to call for an
independent state.
Although the Kurdish president, Massoud Barzani, has recently
given the impression that he wants to see an independent Iraqi
Kurdistan, the political party to which he belongs, the Kurdish
Democratic Party (KDP), and the other major political party in the area,
the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have so far resisted similar
temptations. In fact, most Kurdish politicians are still talking about a
"united Iraq" despite Kurdish public opinion against this idea.
And they have a point. If you are a Kurdish politician and you
need to maintain diplomatic relations with your neighbours, and if
you're aware of the economic and political realities for Iraqi
Kurdistan, then it's very hard to call for Kurdish independence and
really mean it.
It is possible that Iraqi Kurdistan is politically mature enough
to be independent – but the region is not ready for such a step in
economic or military terms. And it is true that, over time, the
political consequences of Kurdish independence have always been
considered greater than the economic consequences. But that no longer
applies.
The draft bill calls for up to 10 years in prison and closing a
publication for vaguely worded offenses such as "portraying the prophets
inappropriately." It is expected to be voted on in the near future.
The legislation came about after the publication of an article
in May 2010 that was an imaginary discussion with God that included
profanity. Outrage over the article boiled into rioting that caused
property damage and led to arrests and injuries.
Because it was an apparent response to a free speech issue,
there were concerns that the bill would also limit free speech.
Estabrooks says, "Basher Hadad, the head of the committee that's
drafting this bill in Iraq, has told different news services that this
is not going to be any kind of censorship," but he believes that's a
total front.
By the vague nature of the bill's wording, it will do exactly
that, even though people are assured that they will still be free to
criticize mullahs, scholars, Islam, or the history of Islam. Estabrooks
says,
Still on the issue of proposed laws, a major organization is calling out
a different proposed law. Human Rights Watch released a new report
today entitled [PDF format warning] " Iraq's Information Crime Law: Badly Written Provisions and Draconian Punishments Violate Due Process and Free Speech." From the opening summary of the report:
Iraq's government is in the process of enacting what it refers to as
an Information Crimes Law to regulate the use of information networks,
computers, and other electronic devices and systems. The proposed law
had its first reading before Iraq's Council of Representatives on July
27, 2011; a second reading is expected as early as July 2012. As
currently drafted, the proposed legislation violates international
standards protecting due process, freedom of speech and freedom of
association.
This is not a minor point and HRW connects the law with the broader attack on liberties taking place in Iraq:
Since February 2011, Human Rights Watch has documented often
violent attacks by Iraqi security forces and gangs, apparently acting
with the support of the Iraqi government, against peaceful demonstrators
demanding human rights, better services, and an end to corruption.
During nationwide demonstrations on February 25, 2011, for example,
security forces killed at least 12 protesters across the country and
injured more than 100. Iraqi security forces beat unarmed journalists
and protesters that day, smashing cameras and confiscating memory
cards. On June 10 in Baghdad, government-backed gangs armed with wooden
planks, knives, iron pipes, and other weapons beat and stabbed peaceful
protesters and sexually molested female demonstrators as security
forces stood by and watched, sometimes laughing at the victims.
Given
this backdrop, the draft Information Crimes Law appears to be part of a
broad effort to suppress peaceful dissent by criminalizing legitimate
activities involving information sharing and networking. Iraq's Council
of Representatives should insist that the government significantly
revise the proposed Information Crimes Law to conform to the
requirements of international law, and the council should reject its
passage into law in its present form. Without substantial revison, the
proposed legislation would sharply undercut both freedom of expression
and association.
Further in, the report notes:
Among other things, the law threatens life imprisonment and large
fines for those found guilty of "inflaming sectarian tensions or
strife;" "defaming the country;" "[u]ndermining the independence, untiy,
or safety of the country, or its supreme economic, political,
military, or security interests;" or "[p]ublishing or broadcasting false
or misleading events for the purpose of weakening confidence in the
electronic financial system, electronic commercial or financial
documents, or similar things, or damaging the national economy and
financial confidence in the state." The law also imposes imprisonment
and a fine on anyone who "encroaches on any religious, moral, family, or
social values or principles," or "[c]reates, administers, or helps to
create . . . any programs, information, photographs, or films that
infringe on probity or public morals or advocate or propagate such
things."
And let's point out this under Thug Nouri. Nouri who sued the Guardian newspaper
in England because he didn't like their story on him where some
officials were talking about his power grabs. Nouri who has tried to
shut down press outlets repeatedly -- most recently wanting to close a
list of outlets -- which included the BBC -- because they didn't have
the correct 'papers.'
Let's remember this is Nouri al-Maliki, Little Saddam.
The man who had barely become prime minister in 2006 before he was
stating that reporters covering bombings were terrorists and tried to
stop all coverage of violence in the country. It's a detail that so
many of the foreign (non-Iraqi) press overlooks today -- probably
because they were covering something else (another country, another
beat) in 2006. This is the thug who has repeatedly targeted one news
outlet after another. One example, dropping back to November 2, 2011:
In other news, Iraq continues its crackdown on a free press. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) reports:
On
Monday, the Iraqi Communication and Media Commission accused
al-Baghdadiya television of having a link to the church kidnappers and
ordered the station to close, state television reported. Iraqi security
forces surrounded the bureau of al-Baghdadiya TV in Baghdad.
Two
of the station's employees were detained, according to a statement
posted on the al-Baghdadiya TV website. It said the two employees had
received a call from the church kidnappers demanding the release of
female prisoners in Egypt in return for the hostages' freedom. The
demand was later broadcast on al-Baghdadiya TV.
The station, which which is an Iraqi-owned, Egypt-based network, subsequently reported that its employees had been released.
Daily News World adds:
Al-Baghdadia, the TV station in Baghdad
that said it was contacted by gunmen during Sunday's church hostage
drama, has been taken off air.
It stopped transmitting shortly after its building was taken over, reportedly by a large number of government troops.
The station says its director and another employee have been charged with terrorism-related offences.
[. . .]
Al-Baghdadia – an independent station
based in Egypt – says its public hotline number was phoned by the gunmen
who requested it broadcast the news that they wanted to negotiate.
As the station was being taken over, it
broadcast pictures of security forces surrounding the building, before
the screen went blank. Transmission then resumed from al-Baghdadia's
Cairo studio. The station says its office in Basra has also been taken
over by security forces.
It has called a sit-in at the building and appealed to local and foreign media to attend in soldidarity.
Nouri's long pattern of attacks on the press and what appears to
be at best weak 'evidence' would indicate that the station's biggest
'crime' was broadcasting news of an event that was internationally
embarrassing to Nouri. Reporters Without Borders issued a statement today which includes:
Reporters Without Borders condemns yesterday's decision by the
Iraqi authorities to close the Baghdad, Kerbala and Basra bureaux of
Cairo-based satellite TV station Al-Baghdadia in connection with its
coverage of the previous day's hostage-taking in a Baghdad church, which
ended in a bloodbath.
Two of the station's employees, producer Haidar Salam and video
editor Mohammed Al-Johair, were arrested under article 1/2/4 of the
anti-terrorism law. Al-Johair was released today, after being held
overnight, but Salam is still being held in an unknown location,
Reporters Without Borders has learned from Al-Baghdadia representatives
in Egypt.
That's Nouri and it takes the world's attention to stop him. Grasp
that. Grasp that if this bill becomes a law, as bad as Iraq is now, it
will get a lot worse. Let's also remember this is Nouri who is waiting
for the current Parliament to finish its term so he can use one MP and
this is also the same Thug Nouri who tried to have Deputy Prime Minister
Saleh al-Mutlaq stripped of his post for saying Nouri was becoming a
dictator.
The Human Rights Watch report notes that it threatens all Iraqis -- all Iraqis
and yet the news cycle is obsessed with one defector today --
journalists, activists, everyone due to it being vaguely written and due
to the harsh punishments proposed. It would threaten and intimidate
free speech, a major issue in a society already struggling against a
government that seems allergic to openess.
Ammar al-Hakim, leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, continues his visit in Iran meeting with various dignitaries. Ahlul Byat News Agency reports he met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Press TV notes he met with Speaker of Parliament Ali Larijani. One wonders what they talked about.
His desire to oust Nouri al-Maliki? His push for a no-confidence vote?
In spite of Ammar acting as if he was going steady with Nouri al-Maliki,
a new interview reveals that, privately, Ammar was less than supportive
of Nouri. Rudaw interviews
the Kurdistan Democratic Party's spokesperson Jaafar Ibrahim. KDP is
President Massoud Barzani's political party. As they discuss the
ongoing political crisis, Ibrahim offers some interesting revelations.
Asked if possibly the no-confidence vote was floated too soon, Ibrahim
declares they weren't the ones bringing it up, that Shi'ites were when
they came to the KRG, "For example, Ammar Hakim was the first to
complain about the dysfunction of the Baghdad government." He repeats
this later in the interview noting again, "Mr. Ammar Hakim was here in
Kurdistan and was complaining." And is the effort to withdraw
confidence from Nouri over? "Attempts are ongoing," Ibrahim notes.
Meanwhile Alsumaria notes
the Sadr bloc is backing a bill to limit the three presidencies --
Prime Minister, President of Iraq and Speaker of Parliament -- to two
sessions and, in a press conference today, MP Baha al-Araji discussed
it. He was joined by independent MP Sabah al-Saadi who has already
noted that such a change would be done by law in Parliament and does not
require a Constitutional amendment.
All Iraqi News notes
that MP Sabah al-Saadi also told the press that the judiciary has been
polticized, that in the past it was a slave to Saddam Hussein and that
today it is a slave to someone else. He means, but does not say, Nouri
al-Maliki. The article notes he's talking about Nouri but none of the
quotes have him naming Nouri. All Iraqi News also notes that National Alliance held a meeting yesterday to discuss the political crisis.
The Reform Committee is a lot like the earlier call for a national
council -- a lot of meetings get held but nothing is accomplished.
Alsumaria reports
that a corpse was discovered outside Tikrit. The man was feed shop
owner and the body had multiple gunshot wounds. In addition, Alsumaria notes
a Babylon attack on the home of an Awakening (Sahwa, Sons of
Iraq/Daughters of Iraq) and four members of his family were also shot
dead, a Kirkuk bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer with two
more injured and a Salah al-Din attack left one truck driver injured.
Through Wednesday, Iraq Body Count counts 151 dead from violence in Iraq so far this month.
But don't worry, the same Nation magazine that once railed
against the undercounting of Iraqi deaths, the one that grandstanded --
remember? -- will allow their Lyndon LaRouche refugee to undercount the
deaths as he did this week. The United Nations may say over 400 died
but that's not good enough for The Nation magazine, you
understand. The rag that used to be outraged by the refusal to pay
attention to the Lancet study finding over one million Iraqis had died
in the Iraq War now proves what a cheap and whorish rag it is by joining
in the undercount because The Nation only really opposed wars today when a Republican occupies the White House.
Turning to England and other liars. Ed West can't grow a man's beard
and he also apparently struggles with honesty which would explain this nonsense at the Telegraph:
But one thing Blair is not is a war criminal. Iraq was a
dreadful mistake, a mistake that cost thousands of American and British
lives, and the lives of between 100,000 and 150,000 Iraqis, and
strengthened the most hostile power in the region (not to mention driving out Iraq's Christian population).
But it was not illegal, nor was it opportunist on Blair's part; people
forget that the prime minister was not jumping on the 9/11 bandwagon,
but had been rooting to remove Saddam since 1997.
What a liar.
1) taking advantage of opportunities as they arise
Which would be Blair using the tragedy of 9-11 to get the war he'd
always wanted (Iraq was not involved in the September 11, 2001 attacks
on the US).
2) exploiting opportunities with little regard to principle or consequences
Which would be Blair -- the alleged Christian whose illegal war drove
Christians out of Iraq. We can provide tons of examples on the second
definition but that does it. Tony pretends to be pious and envoke's a
deity's name repeatedly in public -- in a manner that the UK hasn't seen
to that degree from a prime minister in the last 100 years and yet for
all his lofty Christian ideals, the Christians and Iraq suffer because
of what Tony Blair did. Suffer and die.
He's a war criminal.
Ed West further argues that Stop the War Coalition's
Lindsey German shouldn't be listened to about Tony Blair because Tony
Blair got move votes than German. Uh, that's not how it works but if Ed
wants to play it that way let's note. 1) Ed West is nothing, a nobody
outside of England. 2) In the US many of us make a point to give
Lindsey our attention with any column, interview or speech and that's
true around the world. Where there are people who've made a point to
oppose the Iraq War, you'll find people who know of Lindsey
German. Repeating, no one knows Ed West globally, no one cares.
Lindsey German? A fine example of citizenship lived fully. Lindsey German had a Guardian column on Tony Blair.
Five years after he left Downing Street, Tony Blair's attempted comeback
to political life shows how little he understands about what went wrong
with his career, and about the level of opposition to him that still
remains.
He has planned a series of fundraising events to facilitate
his return to grace, including an "in conversation" with Tessa Jowell
and a £500-a-head dinner alongside Ed Miliband tomorrow. Jowell had to
hastily cancel her appearance for fear of demonstrations. Tonight's Blair event at Arsenal's Emirates stadium in north London will be met by protests organised by the Stop the War coalition over his role in the Iraq war.
It
appears that his old friend and partner in crime, Alastair Campbell,
will be there. While we have to assume that those attending will not
choke on their dinners, many Labour members and voters will find all
this too much to stomach.
From England and Iraq to the US and Iraq. Ali Mussa Daqduq is someone
that I believe likely killed 5 Americans and 4 British citizens. There
are probably others as well. But my "likely" doesn't matter. A court
of law makes that decision. As December 2011 approached and the US
government prepared to pull most US troops out of Iraq, Republicans and
Democrats in Congress began asking the White House about Ali Mussa
Daqduq who was then in US custody. Many Republicans were vocal that the
US should keep him in custody and try him in the US, in a military
court, at Guantanamo or somewhere. As with the leases and everything
else about Iraq, the Barack Obama administration bungled it. They
handed him over to the Iraqis.
Once that happened, that was the end of it. The White House played
idiot and insisted they had promises that Ali Mussa Daqduq would be
prosecuted and, though he might not be found guilty in the death of the 5
Americans, he could be busted for entering Iraq 'illegally.' What a
comfort to the families of the fallen. (That was sarcasm.)
So Iraq tried him. And said he was innocent of all charges. The US
government whined and moaned and the verdict was appealed. The appeals
court rendered a not-guilty verdict. Moqtada al-Sadr has called for
Daqduq to be released. US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta has said
Daqduq should continue to be held.
Who's right?
I like Leon but he's wrong. I agree there is no 'justice' in the Iraqi
'justice' system. But the US handed him over and knew he would be tried
by Iraqi courts. When that happened and he was twice found not guilty,
that was the end of the story. He needs to be set free.
CNN reminds the five US soldiers killed "were:
Capt. Brian S. Freeman, 31, of Temecula, California; 1st Lt. Jacob N.
Fritz, 25, of Verdon, Nebraska; Spc. Johnathan B. Chism, 22, of
Gonzales, Louisiana; Pfc. Shawn P. Falter, 25, of Cortland, New York;
and Pfc. Johnathon M. Millican, 20, of Trafford, Alabama."
I am very sorry that the families did not see justice. I'm very sorry
that Barack Obama traded others involved in the killings (he let go the
head of the League of Righteous and others who were involved in this
attack -- let them go in the summer of 2009 from US prisons and did so
-- as they would reveal themselves -- because he wanted the 5 kidnapped
British citizens released by the League). I'm sorry that American lives
mattered so little to Barack Obama. I'm sorry that he wants to
grandstand on the backs of US service members after releasing the
ringleaders involved in killing 5 Americans.
But at this point, it's too late. The legal system is followed or it
isn't. The US is interfering with Iraqi law and the legal system. Not
to try to save someone from being executed but to try to prevent someone
from being released. If Barack didn't want him released, he should
have kept in US custody. Barack chose not to and the man was turned
over to Iraq. He's now stood in trial twice. He was found not guilty.
By the rule of the law, he's free. I don't like it, I don't think it's
fair, but it's the law.
And think about the message that the US sends when they ask Iraqi to continue to hold a man twice found innocent.
My heart goes out to the families of the fallen but when Barack made the
choice to release Daqduq to Iraqi custody, it became a matter for the
Iraqis. Now Barack doesn't like their decision and wants a do-over.
That's not how it works.
Lara Jakes and Qassim abdul-Zahra (AP) report
that Antony Blinken -- Vice President Joe Biden's national security
adviser -- states that the US wants Daqduq to be hld and that they not
only want to see him extradited to the US, they've already made that
request. They also note, " Abdul-Sattar
Bayrkdar, spokesman for Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council said the
appeals court ruling is final and there are no charges pending against
Daqduq. Ali al-Moussawi, media adviser to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri
al-Maliki, said he was unaware of any U.S. request to extradite Daqduq."
Barack is the presumptive Democratic Party presidential nominee . . .
( presumptive, that's what his attorneys just argued in the Florida case, remember?). The presumed Republican nominee is Mitt Romney. Yesterday, he spoke to the NAACP.
Marcia's " Romney and the NAACP," Stan's " Talk about embarrassing," Betty's " Mitt's speech"
and Ann's " 4 men, 2 women" weigh in on that speech and the event. Jill Stein is the presumptive
Green Party presidential nominee. Yesterday, in DC, she announced that Cheri Honkala would be
her running mate. Ruth's " Roseanne Barr's sour grapes," Trina's " Time for some brave move,"
Elaine's " Big Day for the Green Party" and my (filling in for Kat) " Stein's choice is Honkala" cover
that. Leigh Ann Caldwell (CBS News) interviewed Stein yesterday. Excerpt:
As a physician, what is your response to the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the president's health care bill?
Stein: It's very problematic. I think the Supreme Court's
decision destroys the most useful part of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) -
that is the Medicaid extension. We have a track record here. We don't
have to just guess what he impact of the ACA will be. We already have it
in Massachusetts, where I live. We've already had it for five years. It
has not been a solution. The cost of health care continues to
skyrocket.
On the other hand we have a real track record of what does work. It's
called national health insurance, Medicare for all. We actually achieve
health and we do it in a way that provides health care to everyone at
less than half the cost per person. We know that under Medicare for all,
we would be saving trillions of dollars over the next decade because it
eliminates the wasteful health insurance bureaucracy and it stabilizes
medical inflation. This is the way to go.
You have a "Green New Deal" to employ "every American willing and able
to work." Is this your economic plan? And how do you plan to do it?
Stein: By using our tax dollars instead of to provide a stimulus package
that's predominately tax breaks for corporations, instead we use a
comparable amount of money and put it into the direct creation of jobs.
And again, this is not a hypothetical idea. It's based on a plan that
helped markedly to get us out of the Great Depression of the 1930s. This
would not be a cookie cutter, top-down Washington-controlled program.
Rather it would be nationally funded but locally controlled where by
communities decide what kinds of jobs they need to become sustainable.
It would create jobs in what we think of as the Green economy, but it
would also create jobs meeting our social needs - hiring back teaches,
nurses, after-school care [providers], violence prevention.
Stein is the presumptive nominee. The candidate will be announced at the Green Party's national
convention which kicks off tomorrow in Baltimore.
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Katie Couric 
