1/05/2013

the sexism of the hagel supporters

chuck hagel suffers from crackatoa - that's crack odor.  i stood downwind of him twice and you need a gas mask.

for that reason alone, i wouldn't nominate him for anything.

but supposedly barack is going to nominate him for secretary of defense next week.

now he's strongly anti-choice.  he's opposed to abortion.  but naral and planned parenthood won't call him out.

i knew ann richards and her daughter cecile is nothing but a trashy whore.

she wouldn't have a job anywhere if she weren't ann richards' daughter.


so she gets to be in charge of planned parenthood.

back-stabbing bitch that she is, she sells out women.  she won't oppose hagel.  nor will the cowardly naral (i've been calling out naral here since 2005).  they can rot in hell.

it's time we all stopped giving to those 2 sell out organizations that do not promote women's rights but exist instead to prop up whatever democratic man made it into the white house this time.

i'm sick of their crap.

ray mcgovern - speaking of crap - wants us to support chuckie:

 Chuck Hagel is his own man. There is even some chance his example might prompt Mr. Obama to be more his own man. Clearly, the president needs all the backbone strengthening he can get, if he is to stick to his plan to exit Afghanistan and face down supporters of hard-right Israelis itching for war on Iran.

'his own man.'  guess no woman can claim that, huh, ray?

why is ray mcgovern such a sexist ass?

remember when he was attacking the 2 women who may have been raped by julian assange?

remember when he was going around giggling 'honeypot.'  did he think he was cute?

oooh.  he's so disgusting.  and sooooooooo sexist.

the biggest increase in the military in the last 10 years?

women.

and women are at risk of being sexually assaulted.

chuck hagel's not qualified to deal with that.

he's not qualified to deal with anything.

and it's really past time that we made it clear that we're sick of republicans being the secretary of defense.

hagel needs to go.

his anti-abortion stance makes it very clear that he doesn't respect women.  his comments about rape and abortion make it very clear that he can't lead on combating sexual assault.

hagel needs to go.

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

Friday, January 4, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, calls ring out for the government to be dissolved, Victoria Nuland is again forced to address Iraq in a press briefing, Parliament calls a special meeting for Sunday, and more.
 
Weeks ago, Nouri threatened to call early elections.  Today someone called his bluff.  Alsumaria notes Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi has joined Nouri's call for early elections -- this is parliamentary elections, not provincial elections which are scheduled to take place in a few months.   KUNA quotes Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq stating, "The incumbent government has to step down."  Like Allawi,  al-Mutlaq is a member of Iraqiya.  Though Nouri's had no response as of yet.  Alsumaria reveals that MP Jabbar Kanani with Nouri's State of Law states that the answer to the current problems is to dissolve the Parliament and hold early elections.  Paul D. Shinkman (US News and World Reports) states they have been told by a source (unnamed) that "the fledgling Baghdad government may be on the brink of dissolving parliament within days" and that this may happen "as soon as 48 hours."
 
 
 
Allawi's not just calling for early elections, he's calling for an interim government to be set up.
In 2010, there was a push for just such a thing.  The United Nations and France were on board with the idea but the US government killed that proposal.  As reported in Michael R. Gordon and Bernard E. Trainor's The Endgame: The Inside Story of the Struggle for Iraq, from George W. Bush to Barack Obama, the top US commander in Iraq, Gen Ray Odierno, had concerns that if Nouri's State of Law did not come in first in the March 2010 parliamentary elections, Nouri would refuse to stand down.  France, the UN and Odierno were right to be concerned.
 
Nouri's State of Law was supposed to run in a landslide -- that's what he said would happen.  But the voters had a different plan.  There was no landslide for Nouri and, in fact, State of Law didn't win.  Iraqiya came in first.  State of Law came in second.  Having won the elections, per the Constitution, it would be Iraqiya's job to form the government.  Someone from the slate would be named prime minister-designate.  That person would then have 30 days to create a Cabinet (that's a full Cabinet, the Iraqi Constitution does not recognize a partial Cabinet).  If the person can't form a Cabinet within 30 days, it's up to the President of Iraq to name another person prime minister-designate. 
 
None of that happened.  Nouri had the White House on his side.  And he refused to stop being prime minister.  He refused to let a new government be formed.  He basically threw a temper tantrum for over eight months holding Iraq hostage.   It was a political stalemate. 
 
Instead of reasoning with the loser (Nouri), the White House told the other political blocs that Nouri could continues this for months and, for the good of the country, to allow Iraq to move forward, it was time for the leaders of the political blocs to be the bigger person and let go of their objections to the loser remaining prime minister. 
 
The White House basically said to what they had termed a "democracy," 'Forget what the Iraqi people voted for, forget what the Constitution says, let Nouri have a second term as prime minister.  Now, for that to happen, what do you need in return?"
 
The extra-Constitutional contract that the US brokered is known as the Erbil Agreement.  Had an interim government been set up, Nouri would have had no edge, no place from which to toss a tantrum and bring the country to a standstill.
There were consequences for what the US did.  John Barry's "'The Engame' Is A Well Researched, Highly Critical Look at U.S. Policy in Iraq" (Daily Beast) notes:



Washington has little political and no military influence over these developments [in Iraq]. As Michael Gordon and Bernard Trainor charge in their ambitious new history of the Iraq war, The Endgame, Obama's administration sacrificed political influence by failing in 2010 to insist that the results of Iraq's first proper election be honored: "When the Obama administration acquiesced in the questionable judicial opinion that prevented Ayad Allawi's bloc, after it had won the most seats in 2010, from the first attempt at forming a new government, it undermined the prospects, however slim, for a compromise that might have led to a genuinely inclusive and cross-sectarian government."
 
There were other consequences as well.
 
What some called a 'democracy' would have been an 'emerging democracy' at best.  Barack Obama decided the lesson to teach Iraqis was (a) your vote doesn't matter and (b) your Constitution doesn't matter.  This does not make for building blocks to a strong democracy.  This was hugely damaging.  You puff out your chest and lie that you've brought people democracy -- when all you've really brough them was death and destruction -- and then the ones who were willing to hope that was true, the ones who were willing to believe in the process are given the message that your vote doesn't matter and it can be overturned in a backroom bargain, your Constitution doesn't matter and the US government can circumvent it on a whim. 
 
The White House, in an honest moment, would argue that they were comfortable with (US puppet) Nouri and felt he was a 'stabilizing' force.  In a really honest moment, which they are incapable of, they'd admit that Nouri swore now, finally, he could push through the oil and gas law the US has long wanted.  Now this is the same law that Nouri promised to push through years ago.  In fact, these are part of the Bush White House's benchmarks which Nouri agreed to in 2007.  He didn't accomplish it then or in all the years since.
 
A smart person looks at the record and says, "Uh, Nouri can't accomplish this.  If he could have, he would have done it yesterday."  However, an idiot says, "He just screwed Bush.  Nouri would never screw me over.  It will be different this time, Nouri will keep his word."  That's what an idiot said and that's why the US insisted Nouri get a second term.
 
Allawi wants a caretaker government because that's the only thing that can curb Nouri.  A temporary government can prevent him from hanging on to an office if he hasn't earned it.  Zaid Sabah and Khalid al-Ansary (Bloomberg News) has State of Law's MP Khalid al-Aadi stating, "The State of Law didn't ask to dissolve the parliament.  But when any party asks for dissolving the parliament and dissolve the government and call for early election, we will not stand against it."  They also say that the request is for Nouri to continue -- after the Parliament is dissolved -- "to govern as a caretaker."  That is completely false and it is not what Ayad Allawi stated.
 
 
As protests continued to spread in Iraq today, Nouri al-Maliki, prime minister and thug of the occupation, had a message.  KUNA quotes him stating, "The recent calls by extremists to turn the protests into civil disobedience only serve external agendas and could undermine the entire political process in Iraq."  By Nouri's 'standards,' Martin Luther King Jr., Hendry David Thoreau, Mahatma Ghandi and other proponents of civil disobedience would be branded 'terrorists' as would the Muslim women in Pakistan in 1947.  Not only is that global tradition ignored, Sun Yunlong (Xinhua) reported March 25, 2008, "Iraq's radical cleric Muqtada al-Sadr Tuesday called on Iraqis to hold sit-ins across Iraq if attacks by U.S. and Iraqi troops continue against his follwers, a Sadr statement said." 
 
Despite Nouri's attempts to demonize protests, Pakistan Today reports, "Thousands of Sunni Iraqis have continued to protest in Fallujah and other Iraq cities" and that they continue to insist upon "the release of prisoners and the end to allegedly sectarian policies."  And Nouri continues to refuse to allow Iraqis to exercise their rights freely.  AFP reports, "Demonstrators gathered at the Abu Hanifa mosque in the mostly-Sunni neighbourhood of Adhamiyah, but were barred by security forces from leaving the compound to rally on the street, an AFP correspondent said." The Voice of Russia adds, "The protests, which were attended by hundreds of thousands of people took place in other cities across the country as part of a declared 'Resistance Friday'."  SAPA Asian News Agency spoke with two protesters, one male, one female.  Abu Adbullah wondered, "How much longer will our children stay in prisons for no other reason than being Sunni."  Umm Mohammed states, "My three children were arrested four years ago for no reason and I ask Maliki -- release them."  Ahlul Bayt News Agency notes that "anit-government protests took place in several Iraqi cities, including Salahuddin, Diyala, Kirkuk, and Nineveh provinces, while demonstrators in western Anbar province continued to block off a highway linking Iraq to Syria and Jordan for a 12th succssive day."
 

All Iraq News notes that, following today's morning prayers, Arabs in Kirkuk took to the streets to protest and demand the release of the prisoners and the abolition of Article 4 which is seen as being used for political purposes against Sunnis.  October 31, 2010, Our Lady of Salvation Church in Baghdad was assaulted.  Today, cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr visited the Church to show solidarity with Iraqi Christians and underscore that the dream is one Iraq that is welcoming and home to all Iraqis regardless of faith.  Alsumaria notes he spoke of sending delegates to speak to the protesters in Anbar Province for that reason.  He repeated his statements from earlier this week noting that the protesters had a legitimate right to express their grievances.   All Iraq News notes that he stressed the importance of the Christian community to Iraq.  Alsumaria adds that Moqtada then went to Kilani Mosque in central Baghdad for morning prayers.  Emily Alpert (Los Angeles Times) offers, "Sadr is believed to be making gestures to the Sunni protesters and religious minorities in order to style himself as a unifying figure ahead of the provincial vote."  Adam Schreck (AP) echoes Alpert, "Al-Sadr [appears] to be trying to capitalize on the political turmoil by attempting to portray himself as a unifying figure ahead of provincial elections in the spring."
 
Maybe so.  But what is known is that Nouri's held onto the arrest warrant for Moqtada.  It's part of the reason Moqtada stayed out of Iraq (especially after Nouri's 2008 attacks on Basra and Baghdad's Sadr City).  Moqtada is taking a real chance going into Baghdad today.  Whether that's to see himself up as "a unifying figure," I have no idea.  Since 2010, we've talked about how he believes he will be Iraq's next prime minister.  But ambitions or no ambitions today, with that still outstanding arrest warrant (which dates back to the US occupation), Moqtada took a real chance going into Baghdad, speaking of the need for unity and decrying what is taking place.
 
 
While Moqtada was talking inclusion and one Iraq, Nouri continues his attempts to divide the country.  Al Mada reports that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi has called out Nouri's attack on him (saying al-Nujaifi was unfit because he supported the protesters).  al-Nujaifi has responded that the right of protest is guaranteed in the Constitution and that the citizens have the right to exercise their freedoms and to reject tyranny and injustice.  Kitabat states that there was supposed to be a meeting of various political leaders today but the head of the National Alliance, Ibrahim Jafaari, postponed the meeting.  Nouri was busy today too.  Kitabat reports that he sent out forms to the local governments asking the identify the people leading the protests and to arrest them.
 
That's a fact US State Dept spokesperson Victorial Nuland worked hard to avoid at today's State Dept press briefing.
 
 
 
QUESTION: Just on Iraq.
 
 
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
 
 
QUESTION: More protests today. Have you guys had contacts with the Iraqi government about how they're going to respond to this, how they're going to reduce tensions?
 
 
MS. NULAND: We have had contacts with the Iraqi government. We've had contacts with all of the stakeholders in Iraq along the lines of the comments that I made yesterday calling for peaceful protesters to be allowed to protest peacefully, but that also for restraint on all sides, including on the part of protesters and on the part of security forces. Our understanding is that they were relatively big protests today but that they were somewhat more peaceful than they had been in previous days, which is a good thing.
 
 
QUESTION: Victoria, are you involved directly in mediating, like at the Embassy level or perhaps at the "someone from the building level" between the different parties in Iraq? Because Allawi, the Iraqiya – the head of the Iraqiya – today called on Maliki to resign. Are you mediating any kind of talks between the two?
 
 
MS. NULAND: Well, Said, I wouldn't use that word. We've talked about this before here. You know that on a weekly basis, sometimes on a daily basis, our Ambassador in Iraq has meetings with all of the key leaders, encouraging them to work with each other to settle issues that they have through dialogue, to protect and preserve the basic tenets of the Iraqi constitution. He regularly sees the Prime Minister, the deputy prime ministers, the Vice President, cabinet ministers, deputy ministers, parliamentarians. So we try to use our good offices with all of the groups to encourage them to participate actively in dialogue with each other.
 
 
QUESTION: Okay. And Muqtada al-Sadr, the fiery Shia leader who heads Jaish al-Mahdi – the Mahdi Army is also is threatening to sort of break away with Malaki. Do you see this as a good sign as breaking away from Iran's hold?
 
 
MS. NULAND: Again, what we want to see is the major stakeholders in Iraq, political leaders, work through their issues through dialogue in consultation with each other. I'm obviously not going to comment on specific political moves by one player or another, except to say that when there are grievances, we don't want them settled through violence. We don't want to see them settled through moves that will hurt innocents. We want to see conversation, we want to see dialogue, we want to see protection of the constitution.
Still on Iraq? No?
 
 
QUESTION: Yes.
 
 
MS. NULAND: Yes on Iraq?
 
 
QUESTION: Yeah. One of the issues that the protesters are angry about is the prisoners. They say that up to 50,000 people are being imprisoned in Iraq just because of their – this sectarian reasons. And the government is denying that number, and they're saying there are 900 women, and they didn't provide the number of male prisoners. Between those numbers of the government and the protesters' numbers, from your people on the ground during those meetings, do they have an idea? I mean, can they – do they have anything solid regarding the number of prisoners? Because this is one of the main issues that the people are protesting against in Iraq.
 
 
MS. NULAND: I'm not prepared to address here our assessment of what the accurate numbers may or may not be. I will say that this is one of the issues that we have encouraged dialogue and transparency on. It's important in any democracy for the justice system to be transparent, for there to be fairness and a level playing field, and that's something that needs to be addressed, obviously.
 
 
It's cute how Nuland ignores topics that matter and how she continues to attack the Iraqi protesters.   Professor Gareth Stansfeld (Royal United Services Institute) provides a more concrete take on what's going on:
 
Fallujah, Ramadi, Tikrit, Mosul - all saw demonstrations against the Maliki government, with some, including Mosul, calling for the withdrawal of the Iraqi government and police forces. Never one to shirk from a challenge to his power, Maliki has responded with ominous language - including calling up protesters to 'end their strike before the state intervenes to end it'.
While Maliki has faced threats from the Sunni areas before, he has never faced them in isolation. This time, however, the Kurds are no longer his allies and instead have increasingly common cause with their Sunni neighbours. Following years of poor relations between Erbil and Baghdad, caused over disputes over oil and gas policy, budgetary allocations, the status of the disputed territories (including Kirkuk), and an overall disenchantment within Erbil towards the Maliki government, the relationship between the two capitals has, by the start of 2013, become appalling.
Following a military stand-off in the disputed territories at the end of 2012, the scene is set for 2013 to be one of the Kurds moving ahead with securing their autonomy by strengthening their relationship with Turkey and the Arab Gulf states, and by exporting oil and gas directly to their northern neighbour. In order to protect their region, it would make sense for them to do so from the disputed territories themselves, and so raise the spectre of increased military confrontation with Maliki in such volatile flashpoints as Kirkuk, Diyala, and Ninevah. This is a confrontation that the Kurds, with at least tacit Sunni support, may feel capable of winning. The Kurdistan War of 2013 may not be too unlikely, looking at the current pieces on the board.
 
 
Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq have called a special session of Parliament for Sunday.  Alsumaria notes that MP Ali al-Tamimi, member of the Sadr bloc, states that they will be attending the Sunday special session.
 
 

A bombing yesterday in Musayyib targeted pilgrims taking part in the Arbaeen rituals.  Today Yasir Ghazi and Christine Hauser (New York Times) report the death toll rose to at least 32 (injured is at twenty-eight).  They also note a Thursday Baghdad roadside bombing which left 4 dead and fifteen injured.   The UN News Center notes that United Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq has strongly condemned the bombing and  "The Mission expresses its profound sympathy to the families of the victims, to whom it extends sincere condolences, and wishes for a speedy recovery to the wounded."  The month has just begun, is not even a week old, and already Iraq Body Count counts 55 people killed by violence in Iraq so far in January.  Today,
Alsumaria reports that a grenade attack on a Mosul checkpoint left two police officers injured.
 
 
Yesterday's snapshot included this:
 
 Fars News Agency notes, "Turkish Fighter jets bombed over 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq late Monday."  Trend News Agency points out, "The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted over 25 years."   Aaron Hess (International Socialist Review) described the PKK in 2008, "The PKK emerged in 1984 as a major force in response to Turkey's oppression of its Kurdish population. Since the late 1970s, Turkey has waged a relentless war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of Kurds and driven millions from their homes. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless population -- whose main population concentration straddles Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- and have been the victims of imperialist wars and manipulation since the colonial period. While Turkey has granted limited rights to the Kurds in recent years in order to accommodate the European Union, which it seeks to join, even these are now at risk."  Today the World Tribune reports the government of Turkey is in talks with the PKK on a disarmament treaty, "Officials said Turkey's intelligence community was examining the prospect of a long-term ceasefire with the PKK. They said the intelligence community offered the PKK a range of options after Ankara determined that Kurdish insurgents could not be defeated militarily."  This follows their report from yesterday that Turkey was speaking to Abdullah Ocalan (imprisoned PKK leader) about a ceasefire.  Hurriyet Daily News adds, "Peace and Democracy Party Deputy Ayla Akat Ata, lawyer Meral Danış and independent deputy Ahmet Türk traveled to İmralı Island on Jan.3 to meet with the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, according to daily Radikal."
 
Citing Turkish Minister of the Interior Naim Sahin, AP states that the Turkish military will continue its operations even as talks are pursuded.  Sahin states, "Operations are continuing.  They will continue until members of the group who bear enmity against our people are no longer in a position to attack or shed blood."  Hurriyet Daily News informs, "Imprisoned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan said during a meeting on Imrali island on Jan. 3 that he should be considered the 'only authority' in the process of  of PKK disarmament."
 
 
al-Qa'im is in Anbar Province -- where so many protests have taken place in the last days.  al-Qa'im is where one of the non-KRG refugee camps for Syrian refugees has been set up.  Amy Mina is with Save The Children and she wrote a piece for CNN about the needs of the refugees in that camp:
 
 
The baby is crying. Her cheeks are swollen and yellowish as are those of many of the older children. "Al Sfar" (jaundice), confirms Um Ahmed. She says the clinic offers no help. One mother hugs her 3-year-old daughter. "I'm just watching my child get sicker every day and there is nothing I can do."
Another woman, Intisar, wordlessly pulls the base of the tent out to show me how damp the gravel is under the tent. "It seeps into those sponge mattresses, into our bones, into our skin. There is no way of staying warm or dry." Her husband shows me the deep crevice dug by their resident rats. "All night they crawl under us, trying to get warmth. The children scream, and I spend all night beating the rats out."
As I walk out, the tears rise in me. It hurts to look into the despair on the children's faces, to see a toddler barefoot on the gravel. There is so much that needs to be done. Without support these children truly suffer. As winter tightens its grip on Syria's neighboring countries, stories like those I heard in Al Qaem are far from unique.
[.  . .]
As with all other organizations responding to the humanitarian needs of the Syrian refugees in the region, our greatest challenge is funding. We are on the ground. We have established operations in Al Qaem, which is no small feat. We are ready to deliver aid immediately but we need the funds to make it happen.
That night, I cannot get warm, despite the blankets and thick walls. I cannot stop thinking of the children, out in the desert cold.
To donate to Save the Children's Syria Children in Crisis Fund, which provides relief and support for Syrian children seeking refuge in Lebanon, Iraq and Jordan, please click here.
 
 
The Bill of Rights Defense Committee is a US group that works on issues effecting the basic rights.  It is a national group that first came on my radar when I was going campus to campus speaking about the then-just started Iraq War.  When Congress was unwilling or unable to stop the Patriot Act, BRDC organized city by city to get local governments to pass resolutions against the Patriot Act.  Usually, people appeared before the municipal body to speak about why such a measure was necessary.  Often they would be color coordinated (such as all wearing blue shirts).  When the Patriot Act needed resistance it came down to librarians and the BRDC fighting for the rights we too often take for granted.   Barack Obama has a Drone War in the rest of the world.  He's bringing the drones closer in 2013.  Many US cities and towns will discover the surveilance drones.  From surveilance, what comes next?  The Congress doesn't care.  The weapons lobby has, as usual, bought off the Congress which is how drones are now about to operate freely just above US soil.  The Bill of Rights Defense Committee is hoping to repeat their earlier efforts and get cities and towns to stand up.  This year, they made the list of Great Nonprofits.  If you're not familiar with their work, you can check out the website and you can also refer to the following news articles:
 
 
 
 
 
Posted by at

1/03/2013

wars

ap reports england wants to hold onto the falkland islands but argentina wants them back and calls them the malvinas islands.  180 years ago, argentina maintains, the uk stole the islands.  the uk denies this. 

since they have been disputing this issue for nearly 2 centuries, i'm sure this isn't a result of the 2011 oil find; however, i'm sure that has added to the dispute.

supposedly, we're a more progressive people.

we read about disputes in history when we're little kids and we think of the world now as settled and wrongly think that we've moved beyond some of the petty nonsense.

however, this proves it's not in the past.  how badly does either side need the islands?  better yet, set the island free.  let it be independent, both nations stop claiming it.

but we can't do that because of whatever b.s. reason.

and that's why wars were fought long ago and why wars will be fought in the future.

and, yes, that is a very depressing thought.

thank you to c.i. for 'Nuland smears the protesters (C.I.)' last night.  i had a family thing pop up around 4:30, totally unplanned.  i got the heads up and thought, 'damn.'  then i called c.i. and she said she'd fill in.  she wrote a very great post.

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

January 3, 2013.  Chaos and violence continue, the neocons remain in the US administration, protests continue in Iraq, Shi'ites join Sunnis in the protests, US State Dept spokesperson Victoria Nuland smears the protesters, Nuland can't define progress in Iraq or give an example,  the Turkish government is said to be in discussions with the PKK about a ceasefire, the Defense Department needed over $500 million in Iraq this fiscal year, and more.
 
A major bombing in Iraq today has again underscored how there is no peace or end of war for the country the US invaded in 2003 and now controls via the puppet Nouri al-Maliki who was first installed in 2006.   Today was the culmination of the Arbaeen rituals which AFP estimated resulted in 15 million pilgrims going to Karbala over the last tend days.  They explain, "Arbaeen marks 40 days after the Ashura anniversary commemorating the slaying of Imam Hussein, one of Shiite Islam's most revered figures, by the armies of the caliph Yazid in 680 AD.  Sad songs blared from loudspeakers throughout the city and black flags fluttered alongside pictures of Hussein and his half-brother Imam Abbas, both of whom are buried in the city."  A pilgrim from Basra explained how long it had taken him to get to Karbala on foot and how he was taking part to defy terrorism.  That was before the bomb struck.   CNN reports it was a car bomb in nearby Musayyib. Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) adds, "A police source in Babil province told Xinhua on condition of anonymity that the blast took place at a car park when pilgrims returned from the Shiite holy city of Karbala in southern Iraq."  BBC News cites a police source for their news that "the bomb went off close to a bus stop where coaches that carry pilgrims from Karbala to other Iraqi cities drop and collect them."  Reuters quotes eye witness Ali Sabbar, "I was getting a sandwich when a very strong explosion rocked the place and the blast threw me away.  When i regained my senses and stood up, I saw dozens of bodies. Many cars were set on fire.  I just left the place and didn't even participate in the evacuation of the victims."   NBC News Wire Services quotes teacher Ibrahim Mohammed stating, "The explosion shook the whole block and smashed the windows of my house.  I ran to the scene of the explosion only to find charred bodies and burning cars.  There were women screaming and searching for their missing children." 
 
Michael Peel and Abeer Allam (Financial Times of London) count 27 dead.  Reuters notes at least sixty people were injured.  KUNA points out, "Over the past few days, Iraqi authorities have carried out tight security measures in the areas, including air surveillance."  Deutsche Welle points out that today's "violence hit despite" those security measures.  Omar Al Saleh (Al Jazeera) observes, "We understand that security is very tight, and it's obvious that this is a breach of security, this is a setback for the security of this country."
 
Let's move from real violence to pretense and also to money -- the US taxpayer money. 
 
 
First up, Victoria Nuland.  We've covered Icky Vicky repeatedly.  For those late to the party, she was the Deputy National Security Advisor to Dick Cheney during Bully Boy Bush's first term which allowed her to take Dick's plans for world domination and help make them happen.  She is not a neocon just because she worked for Dick Cheney on 'national security.'  She is also a neocon because she married into the Kagan family which is the neocon family. 
 
In the 60s, the US government's war on Vietnam allowed some Communists in the US to take stands on peace and on fairness.  It allowed other Communists to go running for a Daddy to comfort them from their night terrors.  Donald Kagan is one of those former lefties who ended up a conservative -- although this transformation was also said to be in part as a result of Cornell creating a Black Studies program.  He is one of the leading lights (or dimmest bulbs) in what is the neoconservative movement.  With the Project for the New American Century in 1997, they began publicly calling for war on Iraq.  Donald Kagan is Victoria's father-in-law.  She's married to Robert Kagan (who is a neocon -- and probably their strongest theorist -- but he rejects the label).  Her brother-in-law is Fred Kagan and her sister-in-law is Kimberly Kagan.  Donald, Fred and Robert all signed the Project for the New American Century screed entitled "Rebuilding America's Defenses."  Fred has a wide ranging background with a variety of fields and expertises.   Most recently, as Rajiv Chandrasekaran (Washington Post) exposed, it was learned that he and Kimbergly Kagan were advising then Gen David Petraeus while he was heading up the US mission in Afghanistan.  Kimberly Kagan is seen as the most personable of the Kagans.  She married Fred and is liked by the press because she's seen as less intense as the others (including Nuland).  She's in charge of the Institute for the Study of War.  Victoria and her family all wanted war on Iraq. 
 
Somehow it was decided, after Barack Obama was elected president based on his pretense of being against the Iraq War, that Victoria Nuland was the perfect face for the State Dept -- begging the question of had anyone seen that face?
 
At the State Dept, Victoria Nuland usually handles the daily press briefing which allows her to ignore Iraq.  Yesterday was one of those rare times she bothered to mention Iraq.
 
QUESTION: On Iraq, what do you make of the protest in Iraq? I mean, obviously, there are more – they're now in Anbar, in Mosul, and they're even – they've moved to the – blocking the highway that connects Iraq into Syria and Jordan, the international highway, and they're protesting against the – Maliki's regime, their government, they're against what they call sectarian practices, arresting women and torturing them. That's – these are their claims. What do you make of these protests?


MS. NULAND: Well, first, let me just make the general statement that we always make, which is that we support the right of peaceful protest around the world. That said, we have been concerned by violence by parties during these protests, and we call on all those involved to exercise restraint, to respect that right of peaceful expression, and to apply that right responsibly without inciting further tensions. And any actions by any party to subvert the rule of law or provoke ethnic and sectarian tensions risks undermining the significant progress that Iraq has made towards peace and stability, and the important work that the U.S. and Iraq have been doing together.
So we want to see these difficult issues settled through consultation among Iraqi leaders, and we want to see them reach an agreement on the path forward for Iraq.
 
The Iraqi protests have not been violent.  They've been taking place since December 21st and only one has had any violence -- when an unpopular politician showed up, refused to take the stage and his guards fired on protesters.  I filled in for Rebecca last night and noted that Nuland was deliberately distorting reality in order to play the protesters as 'wrong doers.'  Sure enough, the Albany Times, reporting on her remarks at the press conference, headlines their piece The Albany Tribune headlines this 'news,' "U.S. Concerned Over Violent Protests in Iraq."
 
She knew exactly what she was doing.
 
It's interesting, isn't it, that she didn't rush to talk about the need to allow the press to do their work?  As noted in Friday's snapshot, Nouri used the military to keep reporters away from protests so that they couldn't cover them. 
 
In today's press briefing, Nuland experienced a little push back on the topic of Pakistan and on the topic of Iraq.  Here she is taking offense to a pretty fair characterization of her lackadaisical, flat affect when it comes to Iraq.
 
QUESTION: Iraq.
 
MS. NULAND: Yeah.
 
QUESTION: The country is teetering nearly on the verge of explosion yet we are – I am struck by your position towards what's going on in Iraq. I mean, there is a threat that Kurdistan may break away. There are elements of – there is heightened sectarian tension, there is violence going on every day, and so on. And your reaction is like that of Switzerland. I mean, the United States has invested blood and treasure, to repeat the common term, in Iraq. Yet, share with us what are you doing behind the scene to basically mitigate this explosive situation?
 
MS. NULAND: Well, I would completely reject your characterization of our dialogue and our interaction with Iraq and Iraqis. We have been extraordinarily active for many, many months now with Iraqis of all stripes and all groups, and maintaining the highest level contact with leaders across the country in support of political dialogue among them to protect and preserve the gains that they have made, and the constitutional structure of the country that provides for human rights protections and power sharing among the various different Iraqi groups.
So you know that we want to see Iraq continue on a stable, peaceful, democratic trajectory. That's going to – that takes work. It takes commitment by all forces in Iraq. And we've been making the general point about issues of concern between communities being settled by dialogue. But we've also been quite active when individual issues have cropped up, including recently with regard to Iraqi forces in the Peshmerga, et cetera. So we are continuing to be enormously vigilant. We have an enduring commitment and agreement to support Iraq, but it is undergirded by our desire to see Iraqi democracy protected in all of its forms.
 
QUESTION: On that very point, on the constitution, and it was shepherded by the United States of America, there are some major things that have not been followed through on despite commitment to the contrary, like the hydrocarbon law.
 
MS. NULAND: Right.
 
QUESTION: Like the power sharing. Like many, many, other things, Article 140 that regulates whatever between Kurdistan and the central government. Could you share with us how much progress have you made in the last two, three years?
 
MS. NULAND: Well, again, I don't think anybody's satisfied by how difficult it's been to resolve some of these issues that have never gotten settled, including the question of the hydrocarbon law and energy sharing, et cetera, inside Iraq. I think Iraqis, among all of us, are the most frustrated by that. But, again, these issues can only be solved politically, they can only be solved democratically, they can only be solved through dialogue. That's the course that we continue to urge, and we continue to use our influence to try to encourage Iraqis to talk to each other and work through these issues.
 
 
 
The point of the neocons was war with Iraq and they latched onto Nouri al-Maliki as the answer to stealing Iraq's oil.  That's why the Bush administration installed him in 2006 and why Barack Obama refused to let Iraqiya have the prime minister post in 2010 despite the fact that Iraqiya beat Nouri's State of Law in the parliamentary elections.  (Doubt Barack's neocon connections.  Listen to the 2012 State of the Union address again -- that's Robert Kagan's The World America Made that he's riffing on, as even Random House noted.)  Michael Rubin's a neocon as well (you don't post pieces like this one unless you're a neocon).  Rubin's not an idiot.  So at Commentary today, he really isn't as stupid as he comes off.  He's lying the way neocons always lie.  Protests are taking place in Iraq against Nouri.  Against Nouri.  Rubin knows that.  Rubin knows Nouri's a joke on the international stage.  Rubin knows the best way to distort the protests and improve Nouri's image is to pretend that the protests are "anti-Shi'ite."  Here are facts that Rubin hopes you don't know Ayad Allawi, head of Iraqiya, is Shi'ite.  Allawi has endorsed the protesters.  Moqtada al-Sadr, Shi'ite cleric and movement leader, has endorsed the protests.  Today another Shi'ite group endorsed the protesters.
 
These are not anti-Shi'ite protests.  But Rubin hopes if he lies about it, it'll take some of the pressure off Nouri, the neocon pet.  Getting rid of Bush did not end the neocons.  In fact, Rubin still is the adviser to US military officers when they're about to be shipped off to the Middle East.  Do you get how offensive that is?  This is under Barack's administration. 
 
 
Please grasp that the US government has spent and wasted billions of tax payer dollars on Iraq -- on the illegal war, on propping up puppet Nouri and so much more.  When Bully Boy Bush was in the White House, the State Dept was required to publish a weekly report on Iraq -- and they did.  Back then, the Defense Dept was in charge of the billions.  Now it's the State Dept in charge and in charge of billions of dollars.  In Fiscal Year 2013 (which started October 1, 2012), the State Dept plans to spend $4.8 billion in Iraq.  How?  Don't you know the State Dept is not accountable to you the taxpayer.  Apparently, the State Dept is like the Bell Telephone Company before the break up. "We are not subject to city, state or federal legislation.  We are ominpotent," Lily Tomlin's Ernestine used to say.
 
They won't answer the Congress, they won't answer the Special Inspector General on Iraq Reconstruction.  No one can get a straight answer out of them.  In a functioning democracy, they would be denied all Iraq funding as a result.  And asked today, "Could you share with us how much progress have you made in the last two, three years," Nuland had nothing to offer.  How telling.  $4.8 billion wasted this year that could have been better spent.
 
Instead, they get the bulk of Iraq funding.  The bulk.  Not the only.
 
The US Defense Dept is still in Iraq, still spending money despite claims that all US troops are out.  Look at the DoD's budget request for FY2013 [PDF format warning, click here].  It is in this Feburary 2012 document that you'll find all sorts of interesting information including this:
 
Years of effort have helpd enable the Iraqi government to take the lead in protecting its people and providing essential services.  While U.S. forces will continue to play important roles in providing force protection and targeted counterterrorism operations, there are no performance goals included in the Department's Annual Performance Plans (Exhibit B) in FY 2012 and FY 2013 for this objective area.
 
That's chapter seven's page thirty-seven, by the way.  (Each chapter in the request starts numbering their pages with page one, FYI.)  On chapter six's page five, you'll find this:
 
OSC-I: $508 million for the operation of the Office of Security Cooperation - Iraq (OSC-I), which is a cornerstone for achieving the long-term U.S. goal of building parternship capacity in the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF).  The OSC-I will conduct the full range of traditional security cooperation activities such as joint exercise planning, combined arms training, conflict resolution, multilateral peace opeartions, senior level visits and other forms of bilateral engagement.  Additionally, the OSC-I will conduct security cooperation activities in support of the ISF to include providing: Academy instructors; Ministerial and Service level advisors; logistic and operations capacity building; intelligence integration; and interagency collabortion.  The OSC-I is the critical Defense component of the U.S. Mission Iraq and a foundational element of our long-term strategic partnership with Iraq.
 
$508 million.   That's a pretty big figure when Barack kept saying in the debates that he brought all US troops home. 
 
Let's move over to the protests that the US administration refuses to support.  Alsumaria reports Nineveh Province Governor Ethel al-Nujaifi (also spelled Atheel) noted today that the protests against Nouri al-Maliki and his oppressive government continue.  He states that the demonstrations will continue until the protesters demands are met.  The Governor is the brother of Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi and yesterday their family suffered a loss when the son of their cousin Abdul-Rahman Khalid al-Nujaifi was shot dead in Mosul.  AFP reports today that the son killed, Abdulrahman al-Nujaifi, was only ten-years-old and that Governor al-Nujaifi states Nouri's anti-terror brigade killed the child, "This anti-terrorist brigade, we call it the golden brigade, in Mosul, opened fire on the car and killed the young boy in public, in front of everyone. They followed the car, and they opened fire with no regard.  The young boy was in the car with his brothers and the driver, returning from school."
 
 
Nineveh Province is only one area where the protests are taking place.  UPI notes, "Sunni communities in Anbar set up a tent city near the provincial capital of Ramadi to protest Maliki's government, the BBC reports. A protest banner on a tent warns "the sectarian government" against dragging the country into war."  Alsumaria observes that banners and slogans in Anbar are calling for harmony and unity and they demand that Nouri's government correct itself from the path its on.  The Economist offers this perspective on the protests:
A recent wave of protests across the mainly Sunni areas to the north and west of Baghdad, including strikes and sit-ins, has sharpened sectarian strife. Sunnis were particularly outraged last month when the bodyguards of the Sunni finance minister, Rafi al-Issawi, were arrested.
That provoked memories of a similar episode a year ago, when Mr Maliki's men jailed, tortured and sentenced to death the guards of the vice-president, Tareq al-Hashemi, another leading Sunni, accusing them of being part of a death-squad that was targeting Shias. Mr Hashemi fled to the Iraqi Kurds' capital, Erbil, and now resides in Turkey. He was later sentenced to death in absentia. A serious illness that has recently befallen Iraq's mainly ceremonial president, Jalal Talabani, a Kurd who has sometimes acted effectively as a mediator above the sectarian fray, has further jangled Iraqi nerves.
 

As the protests continue, they gather additional support.  The Iraq Times reports that Baqir Jabr al-Zubeidi has declared this political party is in solidarity with the protesters.  al-Zubeidi is a high ranking member in the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (led by Ameer al-Hakim).  al-Zubeidi was the Iraq Minister of Finance during Nouri al-Maliki's first term as prime minister. Kitabat notes the statement's significance is due to the "broad popular support" the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (a Shi'ite group) enjoys in Iraq and within the government.   The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq's endoresement of the protesters follows cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr's earlier endorsement this week.  Michael Jansen (Irish Times) covers the endorsement and offers this compare and contrast between Nouri and Moqtada:

For a majority of Iraqis, Mr Maliki represents the Iran-nurtured Shia fundamentalists who returned to Iraq under US auspices after its invasion and occupation of the country.
By contrast, Mr Sadr (39) was born and raised in Iraq during the last years of the regime of Saddam Hussein and has projected himself as an independent Iraqi nationalist. A middle-ranking cleric, he is the son and son-in-law of grand ayatollahs Mohamed Sadeq al-Sadr and Mohamed Baqr al-Sadr, both revered religious figures assassinated by the ousted regime.
Discord between Mr Maliki and the populace has intensified due to his inability to deliver electricity, water, jobs and security since 2006 when he first became prime minister. According to Iraq Body Count's conservative estimates, last year's death toll from bombings and shootings reached more than 5,000, topping the 4,136 of 2011.

Al-Monitor translates an Al-Hayat article by Mushreq Abbas on the protests which includes:

Shiite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr has stepped up his campaign against Maliki and warned him of an "Iraqi Spring." On the other hand, Maliki has threatened to disperse demonstrations by force.
With the return of prominent cleric Abdul-Malik al-Saadi to Iraq and his immediate joining of the demonstrations that are gaining ground in Sunni cities, sources confirm that it will not be long before Sadr's supporters do the same in Shiite cities.
Since his return, Saadi has changed the inclination of demonstrators in Anbar and other cities. He sought to eliminate sectarian slogans and flags from the former regime and give the demonstrations a national impetus. He also called on prominent Shiite figures to give the demonstrations their blessing.

MP Jawad Alshahyla is with Sadr's bloc in Parliament and he tells Alsumaria that if Nouri dares to use force against the protesters, it will immediately trigger an Arab Spring across Iraq.  Iraqiya has also voiced its support for the protesters and Alsumaria reports that the Ayad Allawi led political slate today called for an end to corruption, an end to the targeting on large segments of Iraqis and an ended to attempts to marginalize various groups of Iraqis.  This refers to Nouri's targeting of various groups including Sunnis and Kurds.  Xinhua notes that Nouri allowed in a statement yesterday that the protesters might have some point and the outlet explains:
 

For more than a week, thousands of Sunnis have been taking to the streets to hold anti-government demonstrations in several Sunni-dominated provinces protesting against marginalization by the Shiite-led government as well as targeting the Sunni community by arresting hundreds of their sons.
The demonstrators also accused the Shiite-dominated security forces of arresting women instead of the wanted male of their family members.


Christine Hauser (New York Times) has a brief write-up on Nouri's speech yesterday.  Ted Galen Carpenter (National Interest) notes the "American news media" lacks interest in Iraq and he presents a number of issues that raise concern such as:

The Maliki regime's political practices grow ever more worrisome. Not only is corruption on the rise, but there is a steady erosion of political freedoms. Journalists who dare to be critical of the prime minister and his allies increasingly complain of harassment and sometimes outright censorship. Maliki's security bureaucracy has detained hundreds of former officials, accusing them of supporting a return to Ba'athist Party dictatorial rule. Although some of those allegations may be true, the government has cast a very wide and indiscriminate net.
An especially ominous development occurred when the Maliki administration charged Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi with treason -- specifically with running anti-government death squads. Hashemi, one of Iraq's leading Sunni Arab politicians and a leader of the Iraqiya political bloc, vehemently maintained his innocence and fled the country.
A report by the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War concluded that Maliki seems to be conducting a concerted campaign to stifle dissent and political opposition. "He has made it more difficult for his Shi'ite rivals to dissent," the report stated, "while simultaneously confining his Sunni opponents in a position suitable for exerting pressure and exploiting divisions within their ranks."


Nouri's nonsense and lies know no bounds. We're dropping back to yesterday's snapshot:

Raheem Salman, Ahmed Rasheed, Isabel Coles and Kevin Liffey (Reuters) report that Sunni cleric Khaled al-Mullah is representing the protesters in talks with Nouri and that Nouri states he will declare a special pardon which would allow approximately 700 female prisoners to be released out of 920.  That may or may not address one of the issues.  May or may not?  Nouri's not real good about following up on verbal promises or written ones. And if that doesn't sound fair, you're not only missing his past record, you're missing the rest of the story.  Ammar Karim (AFP) reports the women aren't going anywhere just yet.  What's being reported isn't what Nouri's promised.  What Nouri promised?  That he would "write to the president to issue a special amnesty to release them." That would be President Jalal Talabani.  Nouri's not releasing anyone.  And he's writing to Jalal who left Iraq for Germany in a medical transport from an illness/condition that no one with his office or his family has identified.  (Nouri's office stated Jalal had a stroke.)  


The 700 most likely will never be released.  Just like his lie of "give me 100 days and I'll stop the corrpution."  He lies to defuse the anger.  100 days passed and he had no plan and didn't do a damn thing.  Today Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reports "Iraqi authorities" are going to release 11.  No, not really.  If the 11 families -- in poverty striken Iraq -- can raise the money for a fee (they're calling it "bail"), then the women -- who have no charges against them -- can finally come home.  That's not being released.  Today's protests throughout Iraq saw a development that Michael Rubin just can't handle.  AFP reports, "In a sign of cross-sectarian anger with the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, meanwhile, hundreds of protesters from mostly-Shiite provinces in south Iraq joined the rallies, days after a powerful Shiite cleric voiced support for the demonstrations."
 
 
 
The protests are being seen as indicitive of the mood of the electorate and provincial elections are only a few months away.  Selim Hussni (Al-Monitor) offers:
 
Citizens will be eager to cast their votes, for they wish to eliminate former figures from the scene. Iraqis' experience with these officials was not pleasant; they heard many promises but unemployment rates remained high, services stayed just as bad as ever and the security situation continued to deteriorate. Iraqis have observed up close their outrageous behaviors, as they went to-and-fro to their bureaus.
Democratic Iraq has undergone many electoral experiences that uncovered a deep-seated collective resentment. Promises have never been met and candidates turned a deaf ear after they were elected. Such a recurrence has pushed Iraqi voters into a state of deep regret that is expressed in private, in public and on satellite channels.

 

 
 
Alsumaria reports that Diwaniya Province has announced 478 candidates will be running in their provincial elections (130 are women).  (There are 650,000 voters in the province.)

In other news, All Iraq News reports that there is no deal between Baghdad and Erbil and the military stand-off in the disputed areas continues.  The KRG Ministry of Peshmerga says of their Erbil meeting with a delegation from the Iraqi Ministry of Defense yesterday did not result in an agreement and that differences on several key points remain.  Erbil is the capital of the Kurdistan Regional Government -- the semi-autonomous region in northern Iraq.  Fars News Agency notes, "Turkish Fighter jets bombed over 20 targets of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Northern Iraq late Monday."  Trend News Agency points out, "The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted over 25 years."   Aaron Hess (International Socialist Review) described the PKK in 2008, "The PKK emerged in 1984 as a major force in response to Turkey's oppression of its Kurdish population. Since the late 1970s, Turkey has waged a relentless war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of Kurds and driven millions from their homes. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless population -- whose main population concentration straddles Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- and have been the victims of imperialist wars and manipulation since the colonial period. While Turkey has granted limited rights to the Kurds in recent years in order to accommodate the European Union, which it seeks to join, even these are now at risk."  Today the World Tribune reports the government of Turkey is in talks with the PKK on a disarmament treaty, "Officials said Turkey's intelligence community was examining the prospect of a long-term ceasefire with the PKK. They said the intelligence community offered the PKK a range of options after Ankara determined that Kurdish insurgents could not be defeated militarily."  This follows their report from yesterday that Turkey was speaking to Abdullah Ocalan (imprisoned PKK leader) about a ceasefire.  Hurriyet Daily News adds, "Peace and Democracy Party Deputy Ayla Akat Ata, lawyer Meral Danış and independent deputy Ahmet Türk traveled to İmralı Island on Jan.3 to meet with the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) Abdullah Öcalan, according to daily Radikal."
 
 
 
Moving over to the US, Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee and her office issued the following today:
 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Thursday, January 3rd, 2013
CONTACT: Murray Press Office
(202) 224-2834
 
MILITARY SUICIDE: Murray Effort to Create Standardized Suicide Prevention Program Signed into Law by President Obama
 
New law will eliminate gaps in care from one service to the next; change comes in response to major review of military suicide prevention programs
 
(Washington, D.C.) -- Today, an amendment sponsored by U.S. Senator Patty Murray, Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, that would require the Pentagon to implement a standardized and comprehensive suicide prevention program was signed into law by the President as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (S.3254).  Murray crafted the amendment after a major study by the RAND Corporation showed that there are serious gaps and a lack of consistency in military services' suicide prevention programs.  The new law comes as the number of active duty suicides continues to rise with 2012 exceeding 2011.
"This law is another step forward in our efforts to ensure that servicemembers aren't slipping through the cracks," said Senator Murray.  "It will help to not only standardize suicide prevention efforts, but also contains provisions to reduce wait times, ensure proper diagnoses, and achieve true coordination of care and information between the Pentagon and the VA.  We cannot afford to be passive about the military suicide epidemic we face.  We must continue to respond with every legislative and outreach effort possible in order to turn this tragic trend around."
Senator Murray's amendment [calls on] the Department of Defense to create a comprehensive, standardized suicide prevention program; expand eligbility for Department of Veterans Affairs mental health services to family members; strengthen oversight of DoD Mental Health Care and the Integrated Disability Evaluation System; improve training and education for our health care providers; create more peer-to-peer counseling opportunities; and require VA to establish accurate and reliable measures for mental health services.  For more information on Senator Murray's ACCESS Act which was signed into law as part of the Defense Authorization Act visit:
 
 
 
###
 
Matt McAlvanah
Communications Director
U.S. Senator Patty Murray
202-224-2834 - press office
202--224-0228 - direct
matt_mcalvanah@murray.senate.gov
News Releases | Economic Resource Center | E-Mail Updates
Senator Patty Murray's office
 
Senator Murray's YouTube Channel
 
Senator Murray's Press Office Twitter Account
 
RSS Feed for Senator Murray's office
 
 
 
 
Turning to radio, Nellie Bailey and Glen Ford are the hosts of the weekly  Black Agenda Radio (here for this week's broadcast) which airs on Progressive Radio Network each Monday from 11:00 am to noon EST.  This week they explore a number of topics including an anti-lynching march in Dover, Delaware on January 15th and the NAACP with Reverend Edward Pinkney who feels the organization's strayed far from its roots and is organizating a picket outside the February 1st NAACP Image Awards and with David Lowrey who explains how he went from President of the Chicago South Suburban chapter to non-member.  Excerpt.
 
David Lowrey:  This started on October 4th, when I received a call from Lewis Raymond who is one of the regional managers for the re-election Obama campaign.  He tried to convince me to use my branch, to be able to disimenate information as well as get people registered to vote for the Democratic ticket in the upcoming election.  After I refused to do that, because I'm an independent, Mr. Raymond got upset with me and told me he had been watching me and that he knew everything about me as well as go on to say that they would deal with me -- then hung up in my face. So I didn't know at the time who he was.  I reported it to the police because of my position and being in a national organization like the NAACP we run into some situations when we try to stand up and do the right thing.  So we made a police report of it.  WBBM Channel 2 got a hold of it.  It went viral.  And so the media was looking to interview me about the incident.  So I did do a show on Sirus Radio Rob Redding News Review.  I did this on the fourth.  And so I started talking about the issue of what happened.  I had spoke to the state president George Mitchell and told him what happened as well.  After that show aired, maybe six or seven days later, that was when I was supposedly suspended when Ben Jealous heard it.  But this is what actually happened, the show had aired and then they did hear it but they came at me with a cease-and-desist letter.  And I had already complied with that.  I'd spoken to the state president and told him, you know, man, I haven't said anything out of line, everything I said was true, that President Obama has not addressed any kind of issues in the Black community such as economic development, employment and education and all the other things that the situation face every day.  He hasn't said one word.'  And so when the state president heard the WBBM clip, he sent me a letter telling me to cease-and-desist -- as if I was trying to hurt President Obama's re-election and accomplishments, all that kind of stuff.  So I sent him a letter back saying I'd adhere to it but my freedom and right to speak is my own and cannot be dicated by the NAACP national office.  So the word was getting around, other people were calling me about interviews and so Ben Jealous finally did hear it.  That was when they ordered me to be suspended. But that wasn't what they suspended me about as well.  They were looking for something and when I rebutted the fact that I had not been partisan to any party -- because at first they said that I was being partisan to the Republican Party by talking about Romney and not Obama.  So when I dismissed that, then they came back and said that I was going to be suspended for supporting President Obama.  [Laughs.]  So I filed an appeal and I'm waiting to hear from that but in the meantime they tried to conduct an election.  And one of the guys, Gil Ford, who is over the membership branch, he and I have not been friends over the years so they suspended me plus my membership so that I couldn't even run for office over this branch again.  And after this incident happened, I did a news piece at Redding News again.  I found out that there's been several other NAACP presidents who they've done this to that took a dead branch -- I had 12 members when I started and now that branch has swollen to over 300.  I've written legislation -- House Bill 5665 that deals with illegal foreclosures here in the state of Illinois -- that is now at the Senate getting ready to go committee.  We've gotten people jobs, we've worked at re-entry people, we've done so many things out here in the Southland that have promoted equality and respect for the branch that I didn't actually understand what they wanted because they didn't want that.  We got no support from national. So I'm excited to hear back what the NAACP has to say regarding my appeal that I filed.  And after I hear from that, then I'll take this to the next level because I'm recommending that people who have experienced the unaccountability of the NAACP in the Black community -- and yet they get millions of dollars to say that they're doing things -- and yet they cannot be partisan and we all know for a fact that they are a political machine for the Democratic Party. So I'm getting a petition together and you can go to my website at http://www.livingdrivingwhileblack.net/ and tell people to sign the petition and let's get the NAACP back to the table because I'm going to request the IRS revoke their national charter until they get themselves back to what it's all about and that's freedom fighting for people of color.
 
 
 
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