Noting HBO's upcoming Tina Turner documentary again:
Get to know the woman behind the name.TINA is a revealing and intimate look at the life and career of musical icon Tina Turner, charting her improbable rise to early fame, her personal and professional struggles throughout her life and her even more improbable resurgence as a global phenomenon in the 1980s. In addition to a stunning amount of archival footage spanning 60 years, the documentary includes interviews with Angela Bassett; Oprah Winfrey; journalist Kurt Loder who co-authored “I, Tina,” which inspired the feature film; playwright Katori Hall, who scribed “Tina – The Tina Turner Musical”; and husband and former record executive Erwin Bach, among many others.#HBO #HBODocs #TinaTurner Subscribe to HBO on YouTube: https://goo.gl/wtFYd7 Stream on HBO Max: http://itsh.bo/hbo-max Get More HBO Official Site: https://itsh.bo/dotcom Twitter: https://twitter.com/hbo Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hbo Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/hbo Tina (2021) Official Trailer | HBO
Saturday, March 27, it begins airing on HBO.
I can't wait to see it. I'm also interested in NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC'S GENIUS:
Anthology series focusing on the untold stories of the world's most brilliant innovators. This season of GENIUS will explore Aretha Franklin's musical genius, her incomparable career, and the immeasurable impact she has had on music and culture.
That will start airing March 21st.
"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Wednesday, March 10, 2021. As Pope Francis talks about humanity and opposes war and weapons, US Catholic Nancy Pelosi charts her own 'religious' journey. And we address some e-mail topics.
Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports, "Separately, a grenade was tossed near the Imam Bridge in Baghdad on Monday which killed one woman and wounded 11 pilgrims. No one immediately took responsibility. The bridge is located on the Tigris River, which connects the predominately Sunni Adhamiya area to Kadhimiya, which is mostly Shiite." Ali Jawad (ANADOLU AGENCY) explains the pilgrimage, "On every 25th of Rajab of the Islamic calendar, tens of thousands of Shia pilgrims mark the death of Imam al-Kadhim, the seventh imam according to the Shia community. On Wednesday, the number of Shia arrivals to Al-Kadhimiya is expected to reach a peak amid tight security measures imposed by joint forces from the army and police. The rituals include walking from different areas of Baghdad and some nearby provinces toward the Al-Kadhimiya area in northern Baghdad, where the shrine of Imam Al-Kadhim is located." Of the Iman, ABNA offers:
Imam Musa Al-Kathem was reared under the care of his father, Imam Jaafar
As-Sadeq (peace be upon him). He lived with his father for twenty
years, and during these years he learned in his father’s seminary of
jurisprudence and science. As a young child, he was the most prominent
among his siblings.
The Political Circumstances during his Imamate
After
the death of his father, the phase of Imam Musa Al-Kathem's Imamate was
marked by the rise of the Abbasid Caliphate. The Abbasid authority had
become established and strengthened, and the Imam assumed leadership in
very difficult and tough circumstances because the Abbasid Caliph,
Al-Mansur, was very oppressive.
What made matters harder was
that the brother of the Imam, Abdullah Al-Aftah, falsely claimed that he
was the Imam. Some people followed Abdullah, and they were later known
as the faction of “Al-Fatahiya”. There was another group known as the
Ismailites who believed that Ismail, the eldest son of Imam Jaafar
As-Sadeq (peace be upon him), was the rightful Imam –even though Ismail
had died while Imam Jaafar As-Sadeq (peace be upon him) was still alive.
At first, the Abbasids were in doubt as to the true identity of the
appointed Imam and thus they were heedless of Imam Musa Al-Kathem (peace
be upon him). They were not able to ascertain who the true Imam was in
order to persecute or assassinate him. This granted Imam Musa Al-Kathem
(peace be upon him) a greater chance to fulfill the role God entrusted
him with.
We'll note this Tweet:
The pilgrimage follows another religious event in Iraq, the historical visit of Pope Francis. Fri Benedict Mayaki (VATICAN NEWS) reports on the Pope's remarks this morning in Rome:
“The Iraqi people have the right to live in peace; they have the right to rediscover the dignity that belongs to them,” Pope Francis stated.
Recalling the country’s religious and cultural roots which are thousands of years old, the Holy Father noted that Mesopotamia is the cradle of civilization.
Historically, he added, Baghdad is a city of primary importance, "hosting for centuries the richest library in the world."
“And what destroyed it? War!” the Pope lamented.
War, he explained, “is always the monster that transforms itself with the change of epochs and continues to devour humanity.”
“But the response to war is not another war, the response to weapons is not other weapons... The response is fraternity,” Pope Francis affirmed.
This, he insisted, is the "challenge not only for Iraq but for many regions in conflict and, ultimately, for the whole world.”
Philip Pullela (REUTERS) also covers the remarks:
On Sunday the 84-year-old pope saw ruins of homes and churches in the northern city of Mosul that was occupied by Islamic State from 2014 to 2017.
"And I asked myself (during the trip), 'who sold the weapons to the terrorists?, who sells weapons to terrorists today who are carrying out massacres elsewhere, for example, in Africa?,'" he said, departing from his prepared address.
"It is a question that I would like someone to answer."
Francis has said in the past that weapons manufacturers and traffickers would have to answer to God one day.
And this was Tweeted from Pope Francis' official Twitter account:
US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi is Catholic as is US President Joe Biden. This is not a historic moment. When JFK was president, the Speaker of the House was John W. McCormack who was also Catholic. Unlike Nancy Pelosi, McCormack oversaw the passage of needed programs for the We The People -- including LBJ's Great Society programs. Instead, Nancy overseas the passage of pork that enriches the already well off while failing to do anything substantive for We The People. She has declared that the so-called COVID relief package still not passed will most likely be the last one Congress entertains. And in that bill, that one time bill in her mind, the American people are worth? $1400 provided they qualify to begin with. $1400.
That's with Democrats controlling the White House, the Senate and the House of Representatives. $1400.
Donald Trump, as president, oversaw $1800 (first $1200 and then $600). Despite Joe promising $2000 checks in January, the Democrats are only going to deliver $1400 -- and that's if you qualify. In the midst of pandemic, when other nations were offering UBIs, the government never thought enough of their bosses to give them the relief they needed. And, of course, 'Catholic' Nancy and Joe oppose Medicare For All. Both will soon be gone from this world due to their advanced age and one wonders what they believe awaits them after death? I can't see how the religion that they practice gives them belief in any eternal peace. Maybe they're amassing so much wealth on earth because they're hoping their survivors can use that money to buy them out or purgatory?
Or maybe Nancy's just planning on rotting in hell? Or maybe she's not very good when it comes to picturing the future?
At the start of last month, Christiana Zhao (NEWSWEEK) reported, "House Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Friday said that Joe Biden's stimulus package, which includes a third relief check of $1,400 to eligible Americans, will be passed by Congress 'before the end of February'."
Nancy, wrong once, wrong always.
But, hey, she doesn't have to worry about monthly bills so what does she care if the American people are struggling with rent, electricity and other items. Didn't they plan better use of that previous $1800? Weren't they able to stretch that $1800 out of a full 12 months? She has no idea of what the average working class person has to struggle with. Maybe Congress should be forced to live a few months on minimum wage each year. Might teach them compassion -- if they're capable of learning.
The Pope's visit to Iraq came ahead of the 18th anniversary of the start of the ongoing Iraq War. The US-led invasion began this month back in 2003. 18 years later and US troops are still on the ground in Iraq. Why? Darren Beattie Tweets one possible reason:
Moving over to issues non-community members are raising in the e-mails.
Taylor
Lorenz? I have no idea why I'm being asked to weigh in. She's a
journalist whose work I've never read. She states that she is being
threatened. Glenn Greenwald and Michael Tracey do not believe this to
be true. Are they the reason I'm being asked to weigh in?
I think Michael Tracey is toxic and have stated that before. You can Google when we called him out for going to town on Kamala Harris in a manner he never went to town on with a man.
It was excessive -- to put it mildly -- and goes to his dislike of
women. That doesn't mean he's wrong in this situation. Doesn't mean
he's right. Glenn has sexism that he doesn't see. But it's there.
Doesn't mean he's wrong on Taylor Lorenz.
The only thing I have to say on this topic -- that doesn't interest me
in the least -- is that Taylor needs to stop playing Christopher
Columbus.
Oh, no, mean things were said!!!!
Threats?
I've written of them here -- we posted the FBI thing on the side of
the site because of it. That was more than one person but, yes, it was
one of Bob Somerby's roll dogs. Not everyone can call up someone at the
FBI. I can. Presumably Taylor can as well. If she feels she's being
threatened, that's the way to go. But, again, she doesn't need to play
Christopher Columbus and pretend she's discovered a new world. Digby of
HULLABALOO, Delilah Boyd, Betty
and many others have already dealt with what she says she's dealing
with. In the words of Stevie Nicks, "Who in the world do you think that
you are fooling? Well I've already done everything that you are doing"
("Two Kinds Of Love" written by Stevie, Rupert Hine and Rick Nowels,
first appears on Stevie's THE OTHER SIDE OF THE MIRROR). I would hope
Taylor is a feminist. If she is, she should be familiar with the term
"reinventing the wheel." We get stuck reinventing the wheel when we are
unaware of what came before. Women being abused and threatened online
didn't start in 2019, Taylor. If she wants to use her platform, she
might try calling out institutions and not individuals. In 2008, for
example, we called out CBS NEWS and helped effect change. In 2008, CBS
NEWS posted their policy on comments and rightly would not allow racist
comments. Barack Obama was running for the Democratic Party's
presidential nomination at that time. CBS NEWS would, however, allow
sexist comments. Hillary Clinton was running for the same nomination
that year. At first, CBS NEWS tried to look the other way and would
justify it in one-on-one conversations. It took many moths but they
finally altered their posted policy. It's a real shame that a great
site, INFORMATION CLEARING HOUSE, has a new posted policy but sexism is
not anything that their policy rejects. Maybe Taylor could do a report
on that?
Or maybe she could do a piece on many of the homophobic remarks her
supporters are making against openly gay Glenn Greenwald? Glenn's not
going to call attention to that -- he'll 'toughen' it out. But I don't
support homophobia and I will call it out. To be clear, a joke about
teen slang and how young Glenn's husband is misses the point (better
wording could have helped the joke land) but it is not a threat and it
is not abuse. Others go beyond jokes -- failed or landed -- and are
homophobic. I see Taylor's included on these Tweets and have to wonder
why she never calls them out?
Glenn and Michael could be right. Taylor could be right. Believe it or
not, all three could be right. Equally true, those charging sexism at
Glenn over this -- or even at Michael -- could be wrong in this
instance. I've spent about as much time on this topic as I plan to.
That's (a) because she's made it about herself, (b) there are solid
allegations -- made by Glenn and Michael and others -- that this is not
about threats but about silencing criticism and (c) her Tweets reveal
that she's not a very caring person.
The most ludicrous one was when she realized how entitled she was coming off (she went to a Swiss boarding school) and she attempted to enlarge the landscape asking for support for women and for all people of color. What about LGBTQs who are not people of color? What about -- go down the list. She made it about herself. Criticized for coming off entitled, she attempted to be expansive but only came across more obtuse. If the issue truly mattered to her, she'd be saying no threats to anyone. She's not doing that. She's acting and her performance does not convince me.
Iraq. I've got e-mails about how I ignored Tara Reade
all last week. I am on record stating that I believe Tara Reade. I am
on record stating that Iraq and Tara Reade are the reasons I could not
vote for Joe Biden. (I voted for Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker.) I
do not know Tara. I have never corresponded with Tara. I have never
spoken to her. You may follow her every move but I do not.
Iraq was a big story last week and this week And it didn't matter to
most Americans. We did a roundtable with 7 community members in Iraq
for POLLY'S BREW focusing on an issue one member had already raised in
an e-mail. The western media -- especially the US media -- was putting
out coverage that was insulting and hurtful to some Iraqis. No one
wanted to deal with that. Not in the US. The Iraqis in the roundtable
spoke of how the US media looked down on them, portrayed them as
ignorant and as savages, felt they weren't worthy of a visit from Pope
Francis, felt that though the US could hold various events and campaign
in the midst of the pandemic, the Iraqi people were too backward to
grasp how to act at an event held during the pandemic, etc. This was a
very big issue to them and this became a very big issue here. We noted
the complaints in one e-mail, we noted the events that actually took
place. It may not have mattered one bit to you -- I hope that's not the
case -- but it was an issue to Iraqis we spoke to.
Related, yesterday, I noted Jeff Mackler and his idiotic column. This
led to drive-bys (drive-bys, Taylor, are not threats, they're word
projectiles hurled over the internet). It's so wrong, I'm told over and
over, and I'm so evil!!!! I may very well be evil. I've never made the
case for myself being a good person. But it wasn't wrong.
In January of 2020, then-US President Donald Trump killed a vile person.
Being a vile person doesn't mean Donald had the right to kill the man
and we never argued that Donald had that right (we don't believe he had
that right). But what followed was a bunch of crap from the usual group
of knee-jerk idiots. That vile man targeted Iraq's LGBTQ community --
or are you unaware of when boys and men suspected of being gay had their
anuses glued shut? -- and he targeted Sunnis and he targeted . . . Your
arrival late to the party does not excuse your glorification of a vile
person. Some of you insist that it is anti-Shi'ite to call him out.
You feel that way because you're an uninformed idiot and I don't feel
the need to pretty that up. Yes, the people who turned out -- on orders
from Moqtada al-Sadr -- to parade in the person's honor were Shi'ites.
Guess what, the protest that began in the fall of 2019? Predominately
Shi'ite. They started that protest without Moqtada. Moqtada tried to
glom on the protest because it was a powerful group. They wouldn't let
him order them around (he was opposed to, among other things, men and
women protesting together). He then denounced them. He was surprised
that many international observers saw him as weak. He only looked weaker
when he immediately tried to disown his denouncing. He was back and
forth and erratic and the protesters didn't give a damn what he had to
say. He is part of a corrupt system and they are protesting corruption.
Again, this a predominantly Shi'ite group, these protesters.
It this is news to you at this late date, don't know what to tell you.
Here's some more news for you: Moqtada's cult members that paraded to
honor the vile person in January of 2020? They attacked protesters in
the fall of 2020 in Baghdad. They continue to attack protesters in
Nasariyah. These are the goons that saluted the vile person.
Jeff Mackler shows up with no knowledge and steals the ongoing protests
from the actual protesters and turns them over to eh paraders of January
2020. No, that's not accurate and it's not fair to the Iraqi
protesters who have risked so much. He wanted to make political points
but was too stupid to do the research required so he distorted the
ongoing protests -- which were not related to the vile person. In fact,
the paraders for the vile person attacked the protesters on that
Saturday in Baghdad. The two groups do not overlap. It was a
distortion and it shouldn't have been published. I loved Alexander
Cockburn but COUNTERPUNCH -- then and now -- prints a lot of useless
garbage that is factually incorrect.
My obligation and loyalty at this site is not to Mackler. It's not to
Dr. Margaret Flowers (who I do respect). It's to the Iraqi people.
Enough people in the US walked away from them long ago. I'm not going
to allow anyone to lie about them or distort them without calling it
out. They have suffered enough. They have endured enough. If Mackler
has some points he wants to make about Iran (or, knowing his history,
some glorification of the government of Iran), have at it. But don't
use the Iraqi people to do so. It's a real shame that they have
protested for months and months and no one wants to portray that
accurately or give them the credit for their actions. It's flat out
offensive that Mackler wants to take their hard work and credit it to
those who have physically attacked the protesters.
The protests continue with MEMO reporting yesterday:
Hundreds of Iraqis demonstrated in Al-Muthanna governorate again, on Monday, to demand the dismissal of Governor Ahmed Judeh from his post, while protesting against the poor level of services and mismanagement.
The demonstrators chanted slogans calling on Governor Judeh to "prevent bloodshed and resign from his post."
Authorities in Al-Muthanna governorate did not issue any official statement regarding the popular protests until 14:00 (GMT).
After Babylon, Al-Diwaniyah (south), Wasit (central), and Dhi Qar (southeast), Al-Muthanna was the fifth Iraqi governorate in which demonstrators have demanded the dismissal of the governor due to widespread corruption and official failure to serve the people's interests.
As for Tara Reade, I don't know the details. I have, since learning
of yesterday's e-mails, become aware that Michelle Goldberg had made
another insulting and dishonest remark about Tara Reade. That is in
keeping with Michelle Goldberg.
Michelle claims Tara destroyed #MeToo. Like Rose McGowan, I consider that to be pure nonsense. It was people like Michelle that destroyed MeToo's power.
Michelle is writing about Andrew Cuomo. I've resisted writing about that here. We have posted videos of the allegations against him. I know Andrew. I am not in New York, I don't live there. It is up to the people of New York to decide what happens next. He holds statewide office. If he held national office or represented my location, I would probably weigh in. On Gavin Newsom, I had planned to write of him before I ended up in the hospital. What I was going to say there is that I do not support a recall. That's about it.
New content at THIRD:
- Truest statement of the week
- A note to our readers
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- TV: A win and a mis-fire
- Tweet of the week
- Superhero Roundtable
- A SPY IN THE HOUSE OF ANAIS NIN (Dona)
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- Mailbag
- This edition's playlist
- Black Agenda Radio 03.01.21
- #TheJimmyDoreShow Biden Betrays Working People Aga...
- Reacting To Biden's Syria Bombing W/ Matt Taibbi &...
- AOC & Dems...Cages are now "Facilities"???, Biden'...
The following sites updated:
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Genevieve Leigh breaks it down4 hours ago
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BEWITCHED4 hours ago
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Keith Malik Washington5 hours ago
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Dr. Margaret Flowers5 hours ago
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Jimmy Dore and Max Blumenthal5 hours ago
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Howie and Angela5 hours ago
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TV: A win and a mis-fire6 hours ago
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Ruth's "Children are still in cages" also went up but is not showing on the links yet.
