3/27/2021

men online

 

i liked that video and hope you did too.  i had 2 e-mails this week about twitter celebs.  basically real guys who post photos of themselves shirtless and sometimes pantless online.  kira and brandi e-mailed and asked me if i ever had fantasies about any of those men?


not really.  i can take a model doing a video like the 1 above.  but a person who basically put their life online?  i don't know that i want to live with that kind of attention.  i'd - even in a fantasy - worry that he'd be posting our whole life.  i do like some privacy, you know?


i'm a fairly open person, but i do like some privacy.


it's a different world, though, i know that.  

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


 Friday, March 26, 2021.  Migh the AMUF be repealed and would that end the Iraq War?  Joe Biden finally gives a press briefing, Moqtada al-Sadr offers to disarm others, and much more.



Andrew Desiderio (POLITICO) reports:


The House Foreign Affairs Committee on Thursday advanced a measure to repeal a nearly two-decade-old authorization for the use of military force in Iraq, lawmakers’ first effort to claw back their war-making powers under President Joe Biden.

The panel’s action, which sailed through with support from Democrats and Republicans alike, scraps the 2002 authorization for the use of military force (AUMF) against Iraq, which at the time was led by Saddam Hussein. A similar push is already underway in the Senate, where Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) have proposed repealing the 2002 AUMF, in addition to a 1991 measure that also authorized military force in Iraq during the first Gulf War. 

Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), the committee’s chair, said the outdated authorizations serve no operational purpose and argued that existing threats can be addressed by the 2001 authorization, which dealt with terrorist groups in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks.“There are continuing threats from Iranian-backed militants. There are threats from ISIS and al Qaeda. That said, the 2002 AUMF doesn’t help us deal with any of these threats,” Meeks said. “Our forces would stay under Iraq under the 2001 AUMF, and the president can always defend America and our forces under Article II [of the U.S. Constitution].”


So even the repeal of the AUMF, if it happened, wouldn't end the continued occupation of Iraq by US troops.  SPUTNIK notes:


The 2002 Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq (AUMF), passed in October of that year, made the forthcoming US invasion of Iraq in March 2003 legal under US law. It built on the AUMF that was passed in 2001, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda that killed 3,000 people. The 2002 law further extended the principle of pre-emptive strike that was at the heart of then-US President George W. Bush’s military doctrine that became the US War on Terror.

However, while a couple of Republicans sided with their Democratic colleagues in voting for the resolution, some said it was too soon to shred the 2002 AUMF, since a replacement for the 2001 AUMF hasn’t been implemented yet.

“Real AUMF reform requires Congress and the administration working together on actual text to replace the aging 2001 and 2002 AUMFs to provide authorities needed to keep the American people, and, most importantly, our deployed troops, safe from terrorists,” said Rep. Michael McCaul (R-TX), the leading Republican on the committee.


REUTERS adds, "The U.S. Constitution gives the power to declare war to Congress. However, that authority has gradually shifted to the president as Congress passed AUMFs that did not expire – such as the 2002 Iraq measure, as well as one that allowed the fight against al Qaeda in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."  The authority has shifted by custom, not by law.  By law, only Congress has the right to declare war.  By refusing to hold that power, they have allowed the executive branch to use it and courts can recognize custom.  


Meanwhile,  a parade took place in Baghdad yesterday.  David M. Witty Tweets:


Iraqi Rab’ Allah (ربع الله) militia conducts driving parade in Baghdad to protest US occupation, slow government, & demand to lower dollar exchange rate.



PRESS TV adds, "On Thursday, a number of armed Iraqi groups took to the streets of the capital Baghdad in a show of force, demanding the expulsion of all foreign forces from Iraq."  Staying with the topic of militias,  Shi'ite cleric Moqtada al-Sadr is back in the news.  Also covering the parade, MEMO notes:


An armed Iraqi militia yesterday threatened to target US forces and their agents in the country, Anadolu news agency reported.

The Rab'Allah militia made the threat during a military parade with weapons in the streets of the capital, Baghdad.

"The Iraqi people are living in the darkness of the brutal American occupation and a complicit and puppet government," the movement said in a statement, adding that its fighters have travelled across the capital "in a threatening message to the Americans and their agents".

The movement published photos of its fighters riding in pickups and carrying machine guns and RPGs in Baghdad.


These militias are now part of the government forces and Mustafa al-Khadimi has become the second prime minister in a row who, despite officially being over these forces, cannot control the militias.  ARAB WEEKLY reports:


Iraqi Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr is increasingly wanting to appear as a statesman while his political ambitions to hold the reins of the executive authority in the country are growing.

Earlier in February, the populist Shia cleric said he backed early elections overseen by the UN, in a rare news conference outside his home in the Iraqi shrine city of Najaf.

Iraq is meant to hold earlier parliamentary elections this year, a central demand of an anti-government protest movement which erupted in 2019 and involved Sadr’s supporters.

The elections will be taking place under a new electoral law that has reduced the size of constituencies and eliminated list-based voting in favour of votes for individual candidates.

Sadr’s supporters are expected to make major gains under the new system.

In November, Sadr said he would push for the next prime minister to be a member of his movement for the first time.

With eyes on the executive authority, the Shia cleric has been calling recently for control of the weapons’ chaos in the country so as to curb attacks by armed factions on foreign forces, their supply convoys and the headquarters of the US embassy in Baghdad.

Sadr’s calls come even though the Shia cleric himself is at the head of the most powerful militias in Iraq, the Peace Brigades, which are seen as a heir to the Mahdi Army militia that had previously led an offensive against government forces under the rule of former Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki.


The Mahdi Army was 'disbanded' in 2018.  Ir was active again by January 2020.  Mostada was once a movement leader with even some of his harshest critics hailing him as the potential healer of Iraq.  That was 2018.  But Shi'ites began turning on him in 2020 as he went from supporting the protests to opposing them to supporting them again to attacking them.  His ambition apparently was too much for him to control, let alone conceal.  


This ambition is at the heart of his proposal to disarm other militias.  Others.  Not his own.  It would give him a leg up that might make up for some of the popular support he has lost since early 2020.  


Joe Biden has a lot of ambition as well and look where it's led him -- he's not just President of the United States, he's Joe Bomber, destroying Iraq.  Chad Garland (STARS AND STRIPES) reports:

  

The U.S.-led coalition against the Islamic State has conducted more airstrikes in Iraq this month than it did all of last year, destroying scores of enemy positions and killing dozens of terrorists.

Coalition jets carried out over 150 strikes against ISIS fighters in the mountains south of Mosul this month, U.S. and Iraqi military officials said earlier this week. An analysis of previous coalition strike data shows fewer than 120 airstrikes were carried out against ISIS in Iraq all of last year.

Including Iraqi air force and army aviation operations, a total of 312 airstrikes have destroyed 120 enemy positions and killed 27 terrorists, Col. Wayne Marotto, a spokesman for the military coalition, said in a tweet Wednesday.


Maybe Joe does have a 'plan' for ending the Iraq War?  End Iraq itself by bombing it out of existence?  


Biden Bluster was on display yesterday as Joe finally held a press briefing -- his first since being sworn in as president.  Ted Rall Tweets:


Biden held his very first news conference on Thursday, bringing to a close the longest amount of time in which an American president has held off hosting such an event in modern times. Your take depends on your politics.



Joe used a lot of words to say very little -- certainly nothing worth applauding.  Patrick Martin (WSWS) observes, "Biden pronounced on a number of other topics, ranging from the filibuster (he is not yet prepared to overturn it), to Afghanistan (he said the US would not meet a May 1 withdrawal deadline but would be gone by the end of the year), to his expectations for the 2024 election (he said he and Harris would run for reelection, but was unsure what his opposition would be, or if the Republican Party would even exist) to North Korea (he said that it was the most serious foreign policy issue facing the United States)."

Former US House Rep Justin Amash Tweets:


Obama said we’d leave soon. Trump said we’d leave soon. Biden says we’ll leave soon. It’s been almost 20 years. End the war. Leave Afghanistan now. No more excuses. Bring home the troops.
1:45 PM · Mar 25, 2021


Jimmy Dore Tweeted:


So far : Zero questions on the $2000 checks lie, $15 minimum wage lie, Foreclosures, Evictions. American corporate news media-FUCK YEAH!!
1:02 PM · Mar 25, 2021



I'm seeing nothing at ANTIWAR.COM and I checked the US Green Party's feed for some form of critique.  Guess everyone was busy?  Or maybe Biden just bores everyone into slumber?  THE KATIE HALPER SHOW did cover the  press briefing.  






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3/26/2021

jessica walter

the actress jessica walter has died.


crapapedia notes some -- some - of her credits:


979 Vampire Nicole DeCamp Television movie
She's Dressed to Kill Irene Barton Television movie
1982 Joanie Loves Chachi Vanessa Sterling Episode: "Everybody Loves Aunt Vanessa"
Knots Landing Victoria Hill Episode: "Reunion"
1984–85 Three's a Crowd Claudia Bradford 8 episodes
1985 Murder, She Wrote Joyce Holleran Episode: "Murder In The Afternoon"
The Execution Gertrude Simon Television movie
1986 Magnum, P.I. Joan Fulton Episode: "Novel Connection"
Murder, She Wrote Joan Fulton Episode: "Magnum On Ice"
Wildfire Lady Diabolyn (voice) 13 episodes
1988 Aaron's Way



that's not their full listing.  i've pulled the above because my first thought was 'bare essence.'


in 1983, she played ava on 'bare essence' - nbc's attempt at a prime time soap opera.  it had been a hit 2-part mini-series starring genie francis.  donna mills, linda evans and lee grant also starred in the mini-series.  when it was turned into a weekly t.v. show, donna and linda weren't available (both were in the midst of current acting gigs - 'knots landing' and 'dynasty').  lee grant didn't do the t.v. series so jessica walter took over for her.  


jessica was 1 of the best things about the weekly series.  


she also did a great job playing archer's mother on the t.v. show 'archer' and i wonder what they'll do there?  i can't imagine a season without her.  


some will remember her from 'arrested development,' others from 'play misty for me.'


she had a long and varied career.

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


 Thursday, March 25, 2021.  A look at the media.


Starting with the media.




That's RISING and that's RISING proving just what a waste they are.  It's not like they filed anything important on Iraq -- the Iraq War hit the 18 year mark over the weekend.  But here they want to file on how US Vice President Kamala Harris will be joining former president and forever womanizer Bill Clinton for an event about empowering women and girls.  Bill is credibly accused of having raped Juanita Broaddrick and he did have a highly inappropriate relationship with Monica Lewinsky which was, honestly, harassment after he's needing her to be silent about that affair.


There is no reason in the world that a sitting vice president should be taking part in this nonsense.  The optic are wrong, just for starters.  


But where does RISING get off criticizing anything about this event for women and girls?  They bring on two guests and nither are experts in empowering women and girls nor are they women.


This is not why media is supposed to exist.  This is lazy and it's sexist. 


Of and when Krystal leaves RISING (and her podcast with Kyle as well), let's hope she's not planning to guest on other shows because the pattern she's set is that women don't make up half the world and they certainly shouldn't make up half the guest list.


Is it really too much to think that, in 2021, half of RISING's guests could be women?  Is it really reaching to expect that a segment like this would feature women?


They are the problem.  RISING is the problem.  


Right now, some are slamming Senator Tammy Duckworth for her declaration that she wouldn't vote for anymore Biden cabinet nominees unless they were minorities until Joe nominates an Asian American cabinet official.


"Race quotas!"  And other nonsense many hissed.  


First off, it wasn't Tammy alone.  Senator  Senator Mazie Hirono also joined her in that stance.  They have both backed off.  


They shouldn't have.  Tammy and Mazie were not asking for a full cabinet, they were asking for one official.  And all Joe's offered in terms of diversity has been officials -- meaning he's got no iversity in thought, no diversity in programs.  His administration is run of the ill generic with the exception of skin tone, sexual orientation, etc.  The individual is the diversity -- not the programs, not the experience, not the outlook.  So if that's all he's offering, that's all he's offering.


And Mazie and Tammy are well within their rights to make demands.  Sadly, they didn't stick to those demands.  


The Krystal Balls of the world go merrily along the way reinforcing every double standard and every barrier that has existed for years.  As a co-host of RISING, she should be inviting women on air.  But she barely does.   And that's why people have to make demands.  It's 2021 and Krystal Ball has the power to invite on her show whomever she wants.  She misuses that power on a daily basis.


Krystal, if women aren't good enough to make up half the guests on RISISNG, maybe they shouldn't make up half the hosts?  How would you like that if it were your ass on the line?


I don't like women who refuse to help other women.  I don't like women who climb their way to the top over the bodies of other women.


This really needs to end, I'm damn tired of it.  


Let's also remember that we're nearing the end of what's supposed to be Women's History Month.  Did you see any outlets up the number of women that featured this month?  No, of course not.  They keep doing their 1/3 of the guests female and we're all supposed to look the other way.  


It's disgusting.


Staying with media, let's move to HARD LENS MEDIA.



That's a hard hitting commentary from both hosts in the video above.  US House Rep Pramila Jayapal has introduced a bill for Medicare For All and she states "that means that we now have a bill number. Medicare For All is officially HR 1976 "


And?


The hosts are correct that she and others refused to Force The Vote back in January.  More to the point, does Pramila Jayapal think she's the first person to introduce this bill?


Has she never heard of Dennis Kucinich?   Here's  then-US House Rep Dennis Kuccinich doing just that in 2008.  And here's Dennis two years prior to that talking about another bill that he introduced for Medicare For All that session.  We could go on and on with this.   If Jayapal wants credit for doing something then she needs to do something unique.  Introducing a bill?  She's not the first on the Moon with that action.  


Staying with the media, MEMO offers:

 

The United States is to resume strategic talks with Iraqi officials next month regarding the status of combat troops, a senior Biden administration official said.

The talks will be the first set of US-Iraq meetings under President Joe Biden and are expected to set the tone for the relationship between the two countries during the next few years, the Associated Press reported.


Is that the language now?  If it is, I'm fine with it.  But I do want to know if this is now the official language?  For years and years, they've not been called combat troops -- they were just there to advise and train, remember that?


They're combat troops, they've always been combat troops.  But the press has played language games and pretend.  Now MEMO (and AP before) are saying combat troops.  


MEHR NEWS AGENCY reports:


Logistics convoys affiliated with US terrorist forces were once again targeted in Iraq, Al-Mayadeen reported.

According to the report, a roadside bomb exploded near a convoy of American terrorists in Diwaniyah province in Iraq. Ashab l-Kahf group claimed responsibility for the blast.

Another roadside bomb targeted a convoy of US troops in Dhi Qar province in Iraq. Oliya al-Dam group claimed responsibility for the blast.



Again, they are combat troops.


We're going to again note IAVA is hosting a FACEBOOK Live event:


FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
March 23, 2021
CONTACT: press@iava.org

New York, NY – On Thursday, March 25th, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) CEO Jeremy Butler will be joined by House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Ranking Member Mike Bost (R-IL) and IAVA Member Advocates Sarah Letts and Corey Foster for a Facebook Live event focused on women veterans and burn pits and toxic exposures. The event will conclude IAVA’s virtual fly-in advocacy week. 

“As veterans, we know the importance of working together for the greater good,” said Ranking Member Bost. “That’s exactly how we’re going to get veterans back to work and fully recovered from COVID-19, improve services for women, support those suffering from toxic exposure, and more. I’m ready to listen and learn from these leaders on Thursday about the challenges post 9/11 veterans are facing and the solutions IAVA is bringing to the table.”

Throughout the week, IAVA’s Member advocates are meeting with lawmakers from both parties to discuss the crucial issues facing the veteran community, including impacts from burn pits and toxic exposures, the veteran suicide crisis, the needs of women veterans, equitable access to VA healthcare, and more. Videos of the event will be recorded and available on IAVA’s website and social media channels.

“IAVA is laser focused on raising awareness and enacting real change for veterans and their families,” said IAVA CEO, Jeremy Butler. “And what a fitting way to end our advocacy event – with fellow veterans and Ranking Member Mike Bost, rallying for the betterment of our veteran community.”

This Facebook Live event will provide an overview on IAVA’s history of advocacy across legislative issues, including women veterans and toxic exposure. The event will also highlight personal stories from IAVA Member Advocates. There will be time allotted for viewers to ask questions throughout the event. 

“I am so appreciative of the opportunity to represent IAVA members and veterans in general in discussing my experiences of combat toxic exposure, from burn pits to poorly treated water in degrading plastic bottles,” said Sarah Letts. “And I am encouraged by the focus on the treatment of and services for women veterans. Please join us in this important discussion.”

“I look forward to having a candid conversation about the needs of female veterans and the impact of burn pits and toxic exposures,” said Corey Foster. “It’s critical that as a collective group we raise awareness about these important issues so we can facilitate positive change for veterans and their families.”

Biographies of the Member Advocates for this week are available here. IAVA’s CEO Jeremy Butler and Member Advocates are available to meet with the media upon request through press@iava.org.

WHO:        

Jeremy Butler, CEO, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America

Representative Mike Bost (R-IL), Ranking Member of House Veterans’ Affairs Committee

Corey Foster, Member Advocate

Sarah Letts, Member Advocate

WHAT:     

IAVA Announces Facebook Live Event with Ranking Member Bost During Virtual Fly-in

WHEN:     Thursday, March 25th at 5:00pm EST/ 2:00pm PST

WHERE:   Join the Facebook Live event here. The event is open to the press.

Jeremy Butler serves as IAVA’s Chief Executive Officer. Jeremy joined IAVA with 15+ years of experience providing substantive and strategic counsel to leaders in high-profile government and private sector offices, including the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security. He graduated from Knox College with a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations and received a Master of Arts in National Security and Strategic Studies from the U.S. Naval War College. He is a Surface Warfare Officer in the Navy Reserve. Butler regularly contributes to national media outlets across the country.

IAVA is the voice for the post-9/11 veteran generation. With over 400,000 veterans and allies nationwide, IAVA is the leader in non-partisan veteran advocacy and public awareness. We drive historic impacts for veterans and IAVA’s programs are second to none. Any veteran or family member in need can reach out to IAVA’s Quick Reaction Force at quickreactionforce.org or 855-91RAPID (855-917-2743) to be connected promptly with a veteran care manager who will assist. IAVA’s The Vote Hub is a free tool to register to vote and find polling information. IAVA’s membership is always growing. Join the movement at iava.org/membership.

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That's later today.


Mike's "They were all better than Joe   " isn't showing up on the links but it did post as did the following:






 

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