6/19/2016

ronan farrow got served

i missed this at the end of may.

but starlet ronan farrow got served.

the boy-man famous for nothing other than having a failed talk show and being the real life norman bates to mommy mia farrow has taken to screeching on behalf of his sister dylan.

ronan feels that the whole world needs to take up her cause - the claims she and her untruthful mother mia have made for years that woody allen once molested her.

ronan's never felt the need to pen a column about his uncle john (mia's brother) who is currently serving time in prison for molesting 2 young boys.

so anyway, after ronan's most recent tantrum, robert b. weide responded with an open letter:

Now you and your mother resort to exploiting the women who have accused Bill Cosby of rape, by trying to hitch your cause to theirs, repeatedly connecting your father’s name to Cosby’s, as though the cases are in any way similar. That would be laughable under less tragic circumstances.

For starters, Cosby has had, what… 50? 60? accusers, many with strikingly similar stories to tell. I assure you, this disturbs me as much as it does you. In your father’s case, there was a single accusation concerning a single alleged incident, raised by an ex-lover during a contentious custody battle. Obviously, the accusation of a single crime should warrant the same attention as a spate of serial abuses. But how can you brush aside the obvious fact that Cosby’s accusers, until very recently, never had their day in court, when your mother, on your sister’s behalf, had months in court as well as unlimited and well-utilized media access?
Furthermore, how many of Cosby’s accusers would give anything to have an extensive court-ordered criminal inquiry into their case, to prove the validity of their claims? As you know full well, your mother and sister had the benefit of just such a review. The Connecticut State Police ordered an investigation by the The Child Sexual Abuse Clinic of the Yale/New Haven Hospital, whose six-month inquiry (which included medical and psychological examinations) concluded, decisively and unambiguously, that Dylan had not been molested. (The Yale-New Haven investigation summary is actually available on line for anyone to read.)
Then there was the entirely separate 14-month investigation conducted by the N.Y. State Department of Social Services (child welfare). Guess what their conclusion was? The same as Yale-New Haven: “No credible evidence was found that the child named in this report has been abused or maltreated. This report has, therefore, been considered unfounded.” How could all these official investigations get it so wrong? Although the custody case raged on, criminal charges were never brought against your father.
Let me repeat that: Woody Allen wasn’t tried and found “not guilty,” nor was he exonerated by way of some obscure legal loophole. Rather, two separate, thorough investigations, conducted by highly-regarded teams of professionals, whose job it is to determine whether there is credible evidence to charge someone of a crime, concluded that the incident never happened. Your father was never tried for any crime, because no charges were ever brought against him. Yet you’re essentially asking the media to treat him as a pariah who never faced up to the charge, or was convicted of a crime and managed to negotiate his way out of a proper sentencing. For someone with your background in law, that’s a very interesting position to take.

ronan farrow is ridiculous. and the best piece ever written on him was written by ava and c.i. (c.i. has known mia for years) for 3rd estate sunday review 'TV: Another idiot for the idiot box.'

let's close with c.i.'s 'Iraq snapshot:'

Saturday, June 18, 2016. Chaos and violence continue, the War Crimes in Falluja continue, thousands of new refugees have been created by 'liberating' the city, US President Barack Obama meets with Saudi royal, and much more.

The stupidity runneth over -- and circles around itself:

‏@green_lemonnn

#Iraq In light of Fallujah quick fall, Mosul upcomig battle seems now less unrealistic. 

Joel Wing @JoelWing2

Fight to take Fallujah was much quicker than Ramadi even though IS had over 2 yrs to build up defenses there IS collapsed

7 retweets11 likes

Does it get any more stupid than Green Lemon and Joel Wing?

A terrorist organization is not a government.

The Islamic State seized portions of Iraq not because they were so wonderful or so trained but because the government of Iraq was much worse than inept -- it was (and remains) corrupt and selective -- persecuting all that aren't in power but most openly persecuting the Sunnis.

We have repeatedly pointed out how embarrassing it is for Haider al-Abadi (US-installed prime minister of Iraq) that he's been prime minister since August of 2014, Mosul was taken over by the Islamic State in June of 2014 and Mosul still is held by the Islamic State.

al Qaeda, the big terrorist in the world mind throughout the '00s, never controlled Afghanistan. (The Taliban did.)

The Islamic State is able to do amazing attacks, vast destruction, deadly deeds, criminal acts.

In Iraq, thanks to the government of Iraq, they were able to seize territory.

That they can be driven from that territory should not been seen as a shock.

That it's taken two years for Haider -- and counting -- to reclaim Mosul is shocking.

And appalling.

That the Islamic State could be driven out of cities it holds in Iraq was never in doubt -- even without US participation.

That it's taking so long goes to the corruption that is the Iraqi government.

[Sidebar, we don't focus on Syria here. We have not made a point to condemn or even criticize US President Barack Obama's scattershot approach -- which has included arming some of the same groups designated as terrorists elsewhere. I would not have armed anyone but the picture there is different than in Iraq. Though Barack's now being pressured -- heavy this week -- he has refused to send US combat troops into Syria. I think that's probably the smartest thing he's done in his presidency. The briefest possible description for Syria remains "civil war."]

And, again, these 'victories' should have taken place "even without US participation."

The fact that the 'victories' come only after a year and five months of daily US bombings, after that long in training, after the use of US forces in combat, etc, etc, is appalling.

‏@IraqSurveys

Iraqi gov officials/militia commanders recruit children @AmnestyIraq @hrw @DRovera @ChildSoldiersIn

RETWEETS30
LIKES13

3:13 AM - 16 Jun 2016

30 retweets13 likes

And they're using child soldiers.

Which is appalling.

And should not happen.

But such children demonstrate more dedication and passion than the government of Iraq has.

That is the story.

For nearly two years, Haider al-Abadi has been prime minister of Iraq.

During that time, Mosul has been occupied by the Islamic State and remains occupied.

How do you look yourself in the mirror when you've allowed a terrorist group to take over cities and when you won't do anything yourself?

Every action taken -- whether by the Iraqi forces proper or by them and/or the Shi'ite militias (which are part of the Iraqi forces now -- is backed by either the United States or Iran.

There is no rah-rah here despite the media drum beat and desire to create one.

I do not care for the Shi'ite militias. That said, these comments are not a slap at them. They are not a slap at the Iraqi military proper.

They are an acknowledgement that the government of Iraq is a failure.

Beyond that, these actions are empty -- these military 'victories.'

That's before you take into account what 'liberation' has looked like in Ramadi and elsewhere.

But the military actions are meaningless in terms of wiping out the Islamic State.

It's a terrorist organization that took root in Iraq because of the government persecuting the citizens.

Ammar al-Shamary and Jim Michaels (USA TODAY) explain:

Analysts say the battlefield gains will need to be followed by political reconciliation, since the Islamic State was able to take advantage of Sunni anger at the Shiite-dominated central government.
The Islamic State is not popular among Sunnis, but resistance in some areas of the country was weak, since many Sunnis did not want to fight on the side of the Iraqi government — allowing the militants to take over large swaths of territory two years ago.
"Political concessions with Sunnis will be needed for the Fallujah operation to sustain any gains," said Sterling Jensen, an assistant professor at the United Arab Emirates' National Defense College in Abu Dhabi.

There has been movement on the political front.

Haider al-Abadi has replaced Nouri al-Maliki as prime minister but the persecution has not changed.

That's not surprising.

The two are friendly (at one point, they were friends) and they both hail from the same political party (Dawa).

Haider's blusters about ending corruption but then appoints a member of Dawa to head the so-called investigations thereby ensuring that Nouri and he himself are protected.

The corruption starts at the top.

As does the disregard for the Constitution of Iraq.

Haider's tossed out vice presidents -- a power he does not have in the Constitution. He's tried to put together a new Cabinet -- while the old ministers remain in their role -- never having been stripped of the roles by the Parliament (the only body that has the power to do so).

He long ago lost the support of the leading Shi'ite cleric in Iraq, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani.

In the face of his continued failures, the 'liberation' means very little.

It certainly does not wipe away or justify War Crimes that have taken place this week -- such as:

‏@moonnor27

Iraqi Sunni civilian displaced from Fallujah tortured  by Shia Militias  #warcrimes #IRAQ 

72 retweets9 likes

And then there's the new refugees.

‏@UNIraq

43,000 Iraqis Recently Displaced from #Fallujah #Iraq - 
http://bit.ly/1Yoe4Sz  - via @IOM_news @IOMIraq

9 retweets8 likes

With no time spent on a political solution and no time spent on a plan for what happens after the Islamic State is driven out of Falluja, it's really a hollow victory -- if it's even that.

The White House issued the following yesterday:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release

June 17, 2016

Readout of the President’s Meeting with Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Deputy Crown Prince and Minister of Defense of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

President Obama met this morning in the Oval Office with His Royal Highness Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia, to continue discussions begun in April at the U.S.-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Summit in Riyadh. The President expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia’s contributions to the campaign against ISIL. Reviewing recent Iraqi gains against ISIL, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed steps to support the Iraqi people, including increased Gulf support to fund urgent humanitarian and stabilization needs. On Syria, they reaffirmed the importance of supporting the cessation of hostilities and a political transition away from Asad. The President and Deputy Crown Prince also agreed to build support for Libya’s Government of National Accord. With regard to Yemen, the President welcomed Saudi Arabia’s commitment to concluding a political settlement of the conflict and of GCC support to address urgent humanitarian needs and rebuild the country. More broadly, the President and Deputy Crown Prince discussed Iran’s destabilizing activities and agreed to explore avenues that could lead to a de-escalation of tensions. They also discussed the important role Saudi Arabia can play in addressing extremist ideology.
The President commended the Deputy Crown Prince’s commitment to reform Saudi Arabia’s economy and underscored strong U.S. support for achieving the recently-announced Vision 2030 goals. The Deputy Crown Prince underscored Saudi Arabia’s strong support for the Paris Agreement and welcomed cooperation with the United States on clean energy issues. The President and Deputy Crown Prince reaffirmed the strategic partnership between the United States and Saudi Arabia.

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