Do you stand with Ann? You know I do. BLACK AGEDNA
REPORT is dead to me. I was trying to be okay with what they did even
though it's not acceptable. But Ann does do Twitter and Margaret
Kimberley left a Tweet about the objectionable thing so we're probably
even going to roundtable on this.
The
objectionable thing? BLACK AGENDA REPORT is publishing convicted sex
offender Scott Horton's writings -- and doing so without a warning to
readers.
That is unacceptable.
I
remember when BAR had integrity and they would question the ethics of
others, they even used to do a Congressional scorecard. Those days dies
with Bruce A. Dixon and Glen Ford. And Bruce, as we all know, would be
grossly offended by BAR publishing Ritter.
Equally true, it's "BLACK" AGENDA REPORT. Not only is Ritter a convicted sex offender, he's also not Black.
I've long noted that Danny Haiphong was dragging BAR's reputation down. That's only now more clear.
Maggiee Kim-Kim's response to Ann's Tweet? To repost Aaron Matte Tweeting about Scott Ritter.
He's
not very smart to begin with (Ritter) but it's outrageous that they are
popularizing a registered sex offender while not letting people know,
"Our next guest" or "The writer of this column" is a registered sex
offender. He's been arrested three times.
That's
not my Black Agenda. There has been such a huge drop off in quality
since Glen and Bruce died. Maybe they just need to close BAR and start
over? Instead of degrading the memories of real heroes like Bruce and
Glen -- or, for that matter, Nellie Bailey.
BAR
was a glorious site. But it's clearly evolved into something else,
something I'm not at all interested in. Ann was raped, I'm not going to
insult her and other survivors by acting like it's okay to popularize
Scott Ritter or any other registered sex offender. He went to trial, he
was found guilty, the doctor testified that he would try to sleep with
underage girls again.
Mohammed
Shia al Sudani is prime minister of Iraq. Born in 1970, the
52-year-old is the youngest person to hold the office created after the
US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. The median age in Iraq is 21. REUTERS reminds
that Mohammed "previously served as Iraq’s human rights minister as
well as minister of labor and social affairs, will head the new
government." Sinan Mahmoud (THE NATIONAL) explains:
Descended
from a well-known tribe in the southern province of Maysan, Mr Al
Sudani, 52, started his political career after 2003 as a member of the
Shiite Dawa Party.
From 2004 to 2009, he served as member of the provincial council in his home town and as provincial governor for a year.
He
ran for election with the State of Law Coalition led by former prime
minister Nouri Al Maliki and has won three terms in parliament since
2014.
Among
other posts, he served as minister of human rights from 2010 to 2014
and minister of labour and social affairs from 2014 to 2018.
The political deadlock since then has done little to quell public anger over what many see as widespread and rampant corruption.
"The epidemic of corruption that has affected all aspects of life is
more deadly than the corona pandemic and has been the cause of many
economic problems, weakening the state's authority, increasing poverty,
unemployment, and poor public services," al-Sudani said in parliament.
Since
Nouri al-Maliki, every prime minister has promised to fight corruption
and every prime minister has left office without making any impact on
that front.
The US State Dept issued the following:
Formation of Iraqi Government
Press Statement
Ned Price, Department Spokesperson
October 27, 2022
The United States congratulates Prime Minister Mohammed Shia
al-Sudani on forming a new Iraqi government. We look forward to working
with him and his government on the range of our shared interests, from
improving services for the Iraqi people to ensuring a safe, stable, and
sovereign Iraq as outlined in our Strategic Framework Agreement.
The Iraqi people deserve economic opportunity, an end to corruption,
and improved public services. The United States welcomes Prime Minister
al-Sudani’s commitment to bring weapons under the control of official
and legitimate state institutions. We share the Iraqi government’s
interest in preserving stability and security.
The United States stands ready to work with the Iraqi government and
people to confront Iraq’s challenges together, from improving respect
for human rights to addressing climate change and improving economic
opportunities for a growing population. Iraq has a partner in the United
States as it moves forward with reforms.
UNAMI issued the following:
Baghdad, 27 October 2022 - The United Nations Assistance Mission for
Iraq (UNAMI) welcomes the confirmation of Prime Minister Mohammed S.
Al-Sudani’s government by the Council of Representatives. The swift
completion of his cabinet is now an essential next step.
The new government faces many serious challenges that require
decisive action. These will include addressing Iraq’s systematic
corruption; implementing desperately needed reforms and delivering
adequate services to all citizens; diversifying the economy; encouraging
the meaningful participation of women and youth; tackling the effects
of climate change; ending impunity and making perpetrators accountable;
and reining in non-state armed actors while asserting the State’s
authority.
A strong resolve, across the spectrum, to provide concrete solutions
will prove vital. The United Nations reaffirms its steadfast commitment
to supporting the government and people of Iraq.
Along
with his age, Mohammed is also significant in another way. He was
named prime minister-designate October 15th. Yesterday, he became prime
minister by getting his Cabinet of 21 ministers approved by Parliament
(two spots remain vacant). That's 12 days after being named the
designate. The Constitution gives the designate 30 days. Mohammed has
set a new record for fastest formation. 21 is what most outlets are
saying. Most. KURDISTAN 24 reports:
His cabinet consists of 22 ministers, mainly representing the
Administering the State Coalition's parties that formed the government.
There are currently two Kurdish ministers in the cabinet. Fuad
Hussein, representing the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) member, was
elected as Iraq's foreign minister for the second time.
Khalid Shwani of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) became Iraq's justice minister.
Al-Sudani's cabinet has three female ministers, Finance Minister Taif
Sami, Minister of Migration and Displacement Evan Jabro, and Hyam Al
Yassri of the telecommunication ministry of communications.
The most recognizable name on the list to the west may be Fuad Hussein.
He
will continue as the Minister of Foreign Affairs, a post he assumed in
2020, and he was previously the Minister of Finance. A Kurd, he is a
member of the KDP. In 2018, the KDP nominated him for President of Iraq
(the post went to the PUK's Barham Saleh).
RUDAW reports, "The cabinet consists of 23 ministers but only 21 were approved as Sudani
did not present any names for environment and construction ministries.
All members of the cabinet were later sworn in." Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) also goes with 21, "A
majority of the 253 lawmakers present voted to appoint 21 ministers,
with two posts -- the Construction and Housing Ministry and the
Environment Ministry -- remaining undecided." TRT states, "Of the 21 ministries nominated, 12 posts go to Shia supported by the
Coordination Framework, six to Sunni leaders, two to Kurds and one to a
Christian woman — one of three females in the new government."
The formation of the government came one year and 17 days after the elections (October 10, 2021).
For
months, cleric and cult leader Moqtada al-Sadr had attempted to form a
government and repeatedly failed. He had been hailed by the western
press as a "kingmaker." He'd never been it before and, turns out, he
wasn't it this go round either. Will the western press be issuing
corrections? Amending previously published news reports -- not opinion
pieces, news reports? Of course, they won't.
Moqtada
had one tantrum after another. He overplayed his hand when he stomped
his feet and ordered members of his political bloc to immediately
withdraw from Parliament. Fatty just knew that everyone would beg him
to have his ministers return. Didn't happen. They resigned and his
bluff was called. The second biggest vote getters replaced Moqtada's
MPs. He's not represented in Parliament and, guess what, his people
also hold no ministry.
In his speech prior to the vote, Sudani described the economic and political priorities of his government.
“The world is witnessing tremendous political and economic changes
and conflicts, which will add new challenges to our country,” Sudani
said. “We will ... do our utmost to succeed in addressing these
challenges."
Analysts say that despite breaking the deadlock, the new government is set to face a number of obstacles.
“The fulfilment of the enormous expectations outlined in the
Ministerial Programme will be one of the primary obstacles this
government will encounter,” Research Associate at Chatham House, Hayder
al-Shakeri, told Rudaw English on Friday.
“For instance, fighting corruption throughout and organizing early
elections one year later. This will not occur while attempting to
maintain the satisfaction of the political elite who have empowered
Sudani to become Prime Minister,” Shakeri argues.
Another
obstacle may be protests. The October Revolution will be in the
streets demanding accountability. As usual, Moqtada will try to
piggy-back on to the movement. He'll have to struggle for that because
they refused to back down last go round -- on his demands that males and
females not be protesting at the same site, for example.
Winding down . . .
BROS is playing around the world and, in the
US, you can also stream it -- rental or purchase. It's a comedy classic
and the best film of 2022.
The Congressional Progressive Caucus on Tuesday
withdrew a letter that mildly expressed support for diplomatic
negotiations to end Russia's war on Ukraine as the document's 30
signatories faced a torrent of criticism and hysterical backlash from fellow Democrats, party leaders, and pundits on social media.
Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), the chair of the CPC, said in a statement that the letter
addressed to U.S. President Joe Biden "was drafted several months ago,
but unfortunately was released by staff without vetting"—a line that was
widely seen as Jayapal throwing her staff under the bus.
"As
chair of the caucus, I accept responsibility for this," she added.
"Because of the timing, our message is being conflated by some as being
equivalent to the recent statement by Republican Leader McCarthy
threatening an end to aid to Ukraine if Republicans take over."
"The
proximity of these statements," the CPC leader said, "created the
unfortunate appearance that Democrats, who have strongly and unanimously
supported and voted for every package of military, strategic, and
economic assistance to the Ukrainian people, are somehow aligned with
Republicans who seek to pull the plug on American support for President Zelenskyy and the Ukrainian forces."
Jayapal said that narrative—peddled by one Democratic leader who Politico granted anonymity to slime their colleagues as Putin apologists—could not be "further from the truth."
"Every
war ends with diplomacy, and this one will too after Ukrainian
victory," Jayapal continued. "The letter sent yesterday, although
restating that basic principle, has been conflated with GOP opposition
to support for the Ukrainians' just defense of their national
sovereignty. As such, it is a distraction at this time and we withdraw
the letter."
[, , ,]
Late Monday, in the face of growing backlash, Jayapal issued a statement
purportedly aimed at "clarifying the position" of the letter, which was
endorsed by a number of peace groups including Just Foreign Policy, Win
Without War, and the Friends Committee on National Legislation.
"Let
me be clear: we are united as Democrats in our unequivocal commitment
to supporting Ukraine in their fight for their democracy and freedom in
the face of the illegal and outrageous Russian invasion, and nothing in
the letter advocates for a change in that support," Jayapal said.
"Diplomacy is an important tool that can save lives—but it is just one
tool."
Erik Sperling, the executive director of Just Foreign Policy, toldThe Intercept
Monday night that "the shrill response to this utterly moderate letter
exposes that war proponents are scared of an open debate about the range
of potential approaches to address this escalating conflict."
Jayapal's an idiot -- Mike named her Idiot of the Week -- and there's a lot of stupidity at play here so its hard to know where to start.
But
to start anything, you have to know -- so let's start there.
Yesterday, we noted WSWS's article on this. Today, we note COMMON
DREAMS. And?
THE PROGRESSIVE should just fold
shop. It should just shutter its doors. It claims to be: "A voice for
peace, social justice and common good." Yet if you read it in the last
years, that really comes across like a punch line, doesn't it? They
haven't stood for peace -- or anything -- in forever. They're so fluffy
that they make IN STYLE look like an investigate outlet. They always
have time to rot your brain, but THE PROGRESSIVE has no time to deal
with reality and what happened is reality.
THE NATION?
Joan
Walsh offers "DO WE REALLY HAVE TO CARE ABOUT MISERABLE WHITE PEOPLE?"
No, Joan, we don't have to care one bit about you. Geoffrey Marx,
apparently believing he was contributing to THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER, hands
in "I WANTED A BOYFRIEND. MY LIFE COACH TOLD ME TO BECOME A
COMMODITY." Hairball Dave Zirin jerks off to "Is Portland About to Have
Two Supporter-Owned Soccer Teams?" -- the universal answer being, of
course, come a nuclear war, Dave's scribbles will come off even worse.
John Nichols lands yet again on his knees in front of the DC, fully
ready to demonstrate that he has no gag response with his usual nonsense
that has no weight or meaning.
This was an important moment, The Fraud Squad backing down yet again.
This was an instructive moment.
But you don't know about it if people don't cover it.
THE PROGRESSIVE, THE NATION, IN THESE TIMES and COUNTERPUNCH have elected to ignore it.
Why?
VOTE VOTE VOTE!
Voting matters!!!!
Not if you don't hold politicians accountable. Not if you just vote and then go silent.
Which
is what political parties want. It's natural, they need your vote.
That's all they want. Then leave them alone and let them do the job
they mistakenly believe that they're smart enough to do all on their
own.
They need to be called out and they need to know that this is not acceptable.
We're getting closer to the brink of nuclear war, this is not acceptable.
And it is not acceptable that supposed 'independent' media like THE NATION, et al can't cover this as the big story that it is.
JACOBIN's
worthless. They won't cover it. They've pimped this war all along.
Just like some on the 'socialist' left pimped the Iraq War. A friend
pimped it, self-identified as a Socialist. I told her it was the worst
mistake of her life. She's had some fawning since her death but no real
scholarly piece. When that day comes or when a biography is written
about her that her daughter doesn't screen, they'll have to deal with
her stupidity of calling for the Iraq War.
Ukraine is popular with the Bette Midler crowd on Twitter.
It's not popular with the American people.
The
letter the Fraud Squad issued was weak. But it was also stupid. In
terms of being stupid, the most ignorant part was leaving out the
financial cost. Over $65 billion already pledged, another $50 billion
about to be. The American people do not like that. As the country
suffers from inflation and you can honestly spent $100 at a grocery
store and leave with only two bags (as e-mails to the public account
continue to note), the American people are tired of billions going
overseas.
Many remember that Barack Obama, when
he was president, talked of how Ukraine really wasn't an American
issue, didn't have impact on this country.
It's
a war of choice. We don't need to be involved. And considering the
regime in Ukraine is racist and neo-nazi, we shouldn't be giving them a
dime.
Nor should we have instigated this conflict, but we did.
In one year, our politicians are willing to give over $110 billion to Urkaine?
While we suffer at home?
Progressive caucus, that was the first point you should have made.
Iraq’s Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Shia Al Sudani
is expected to submit his Cabinet list to Parliament on Thursday for
approval, as squabbles over government posts continue between political
parties.
If
approved, it will end the longest political deadlock over the formation
a new government in Iraq since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled
Saddam Hussein’s regime.
At its height, that stalemate turned bloody when clashes broke out between Shiite militias
in Baghdad's Green Zone, the heart of government that contains
Parliament and foreign embassies. Dozens of people were killed and
wounded.
BROS is streaming in the US and playing around the world.
Omg Just watched #BrosMovie And i loved it so so much. Very funny and i think @DebraMessing is finally free from Grace 😜😂 Go see it!
The #BrosMovie
finally came out in Australia, and I freaking loved it. I laughed out
loud multiple times, and it was both sexy/romantic, witty, hilarious,
heart-warming and thoughtful. I related to so many situations 😅 @billyeichner is a certified star 🤩 pic.twitter.com/fq5Acmiifh
There's been a non-stop, right-wing attack on the film in the US and
it's an attack on LGBTQ+. You could help prove them wrong by seeing the
film. We'll be writing about that at THIRD so I'll just leave it at
that for right now.
Let's wind down with this from MS. MAGAZINE:
Ms. Memo: This Week in Women's Rights
October 26, 2022
From
the ongoing fight for abortion rights and access, to elections, to the
drive for the Equal Rights Amendment, there are a multitude of battles
to keep up with. In this weekly roundup, find the absolute need-to-know
news for feminists.
Abortion rights protesters at the Tucson Federal Courthouse on July 4, 2022. (Sandy Huffaker / AFP via Getty Images)
BY
ROXY SZAL | A significant portion of young women are already making
plans about where they are willing to live and work based on whether
abortion is protected or banned in states, according to new Ms.
magazine and Feminist Majority Foundation (FMF) polling by Lake
Research Partners across the nine battleground states of Arizona,
Florida, Georgia, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio,
Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Over
half (53 percent) have had their future plans impacted in some way: 44
percent have either considered moving or are making plans to move to a
state where abortion is protected; 10 percent already have declined a
job in a state where abortions are banned.
Young
women voters of all political leanings—and the people close to them—are
taking actions to control their reproductive lives, regardless of where
they live, such as purchasing or obtaining long-acting birth control,
the morning after pill and abortion pills. Taking these actions in
response to the overturning of Roe v. Wade crosses party lines for young women.
A
third of young women Republicans have procured long-acting birth
control (33 percent), and a quarter (25 percent) have purchased the
morning-after pill.
Three quarters (75 percent) of young women Democrats have taken some sort of action.
Shockingly,
10 percent say they or someone close to them, or their partner or the
partner of someone close to them, already have received sterilization
services in response to the Court’s decision.
Tune in for a new episode of Ms. magazine's podcast, On the Issues with Michele Goodwin on Apple Podcasts + Spotify.
On
today’s show, Dr. Goodwin is joined by experts Danielle Citron and
Jackie Rotman to tackle the issues women face in online spaces — from
privacy to misogyny to censorship of women who use their voices to speak
out, and more. How are women taking on the tech platforms and fighting
back in the face of online harassment, discrimination and censorship?
We hope you'll listen, subscribe, rate and review today!
U.S.
democracy is at a dangerous inflection point—from the demise of
abortion rights, to a lack of pay equity and parental leave, to
skyrocketing maternal mortality, and attacks on trans health. Left
unchecked, these crises will lead to wider gaps in political
participation and representation.For 50 years, Ms.
has been forging feminist journalism—reporting, rebelling and
truth-telling from the front-lines, championing the Equal Rights
Amendment, and centering the stories of those most impacted. With all that’s at stake for equality, we are redoubling our commitment for the next 50 years. In turn, we need your help, Support Ms. today with a donation—any amount that is meaningful to you. For as little as $5 each month, you’ll receive the print magazine along with our e-newsletters, action alerts, and invitations to Ms. Studios events and podcasts. We are grateful for your loyalty and ferocity.
