Blog Betty (Thomas Friedman is a Great Man was an online novel)

Wednesday, October 19, 2016

Snide, smirky Hillary

If this is how she would be as president, the country's going to be even worse than anyone could have thought.

It was like watch a smug and off putting child.

One that could not shut up.

She was so annoying.

And she was snide and insulting. To people who work for a living.

And she couldn't stop smirking.

It was like watching Bully Boy Bush all over again.

Like watching Bully Boy Bush in an ugly pant suit from the Chairman Mao collection.

I hope you already saw this:

Speaking Monday on Fox News with host Neil Cavuto, former Democratic presidential candidate and United States House of Representatives Member from Ohio Dennis Kucinich opined that, from early on, the US government’s investigation of Hillary Clinton for mishandling confidential information while she was Secretary of State was fixed in her favor.
Instead of the investigative process being focused on achieving justice, Kucinich says it was “a very political process” that had “everything to do with the 2016 presidential election” in which Clinton is the Democratic nominee.
Kucinich elaborates that “the executive branch of government made an early determination that no matter what came up that there was no way that Hillary Clinton was going to have to be accountable under law for anything dealing with the mishandling of classified information.”

There's video at the link.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):
Wednesday, October 19, 2016. Chaos and violence continue, broken promises continue, Moqtada al-Sadr hosts a big meet up, and more.

The Iraq War continues.

Not only did he promise that, in 2011 and 2012 he was bragging that he had done that.

He did no such thing.

‏@mtracey

Obama will try to claim "ending the Iraq War" as part of his "legacy" while he is simultaneously waging war in Iraq. That should be good.

11 replies49 retweets83 likes

He will try to claim that.

But his true legacy is destroying the reputations of his legions of whores.

Except for the millions he basically extorted from Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden didn't have much but he did have his (inflated) past.

Now the forever sell out doesn't even have that.

He's just an old drunk who couldn't speak out against the ongoing Iraq War, the Drone War, the war on Muslims (no surprise there, as a member of the California Assembly, he was a tool of the Zionist machine), the spying on Americans, you name it.

He's exposed as an old drunk.

And Jane Fonda?

She's an "activist."

She always says.

But then in DC in January 2007, she also said she was committed to ending the Iraq War and would not be silent.

Since then?

She's covered for Barack and worn really ugly wigs.

She's whored for Barack and done some lousy acting (NEWSROOM was especially an embarrassment).

She's pimped more exercise videos -- how many calories does one lose with each repeated face lift? -- and she's stayed silent.

Please note, when Richard Nixon had Jane's mail opened and her phones tapped, Jane sued the government -- after the fact.

It was that important to her.

And for years and years, she'd blather on about how important that was.

But today, with Barack collecting every bit of information on a person?

Jane's too busy making sure her bad wig doesn't upstage Robert Redford's bad wig as they rush to make a bad movie for NETFLIX.

She's an "activist," she says.

Does anyone believe her anymore?

Leslie Cagan, Bill Fletcher . . .

So many fake asses.

We've seen a million frauds, and we've exposed them all.

Like the 'leader' who was with Veterans for Peace.

Remember him?

His own son doesn't want to serve in the Iraq War and wants to self-check out and this 'anti-war' 'leader' criticizes him and condemns him.

Yeah, check the archives, we've been exposing the fake asses all along.

They better grasp that they will not escape their pasts.

They cannot, as they did during Vietnam, claim to have been doing something when they weren't.

They have Twitter feeds now -- the better to stroke the forever hungry egos.

Via THE WAYBACK MACHINE, their statements and activities will live on forever.

So when they step forward to try to lead next and insist they protested the Iraq War, people will be able to say to the United For Peace and Justice folks, for example, "Wait, a week after the November 2008 election of Barack Obama as president, you announced you were closing shop. You weren't protesting the Iraq War, you were protesting a Republican -- Bully Boy Bush -- being in the White House."

Fake asses, one and all.

Did someone say Jar Jar Blinks?

Yes, Raed Jarrar!

Iraqi (or Iraqi-American) when it can get him publicity.

Scroll through his Twitter feed and search in vain for a mention of Iraq -- I gave up after scrolling back through the month of August.

Fake asses one and all.

John Nichols, Matt Rothschild, Katrina vanden Heuvel . . .

On and on it goes -- and it never ends.

Just like the violence in Iraq.

And while the coverage of Iraq focuses on Mosul and other violence, things are taking place outside the camera's view.

Stratfor reports Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr met with Shi'ite military/militia leaders on Tuesday:

Al-Sadr has long been a divisive figure in Iraq, having come to international fame, or infamy, in his violent fight against American and British forces in his country. Since 2011, however, he has been more interested in political voice than in military power, relying on his clerical training to cultivate a more respected image. Al-Sadr has spent the past year alternately championing Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's efforts at reform and protesting their sluggish pace. As a political organizer, al-Sadr's sway reaches well beyond the Shiite community, rallying Sunni and Kurdish protesters to join his massive demonstrations. Combating foreign occupation is another of al-Sadr's favored causes, and, like reform, it resonates with Iraqis, especially in light of the Mosul offensive and the foreign military influences it entails. Pushing against foreign influence in Iraq — particularly non-Shiite influence — is just one of many issues on which al-Sadr and the other leaders present at Tuesday's meeting see eye to eye.
Although al-Sadr is reluctant to cast his lot with any one political movement, the upcoming municipal vote could be enough to bring him closer to his Shiite rivals. To make gains in the elections, especially among skeptical Iraqi voters tired of the same old corruption, political blocs will have to demonstrate a greater degree of unity. Tuesday's landmark meeting was a step in that direction. After the meeting, al-Sadr held a press conference outside his home during which he and the other attendees affirmed their respect for one another and their commitment to their country's best interest. Al-Sadr announced that he had reached an agreement with the leaders of the Popular Mobilization Forces standing alongside him on Iraq's future "after the Islamic State." Hadi al-Amiri, commander of the Iran-backed Badr organization, said a common understanding with al-Sadr was at "its highest level." Even Qais al-Khazali, commander of the Iran-backed Asaib Ahl al-Haq militia, put his turbulent history with al-Sadr — a former ally with whom he had not met in seven years — behind him, hailing al-Sadr as a patriot. Such effusive comments indicate the strong political pragmatism of these individualistic leaders and hint at a grander plan.

Moqtada does not get along with Nouri al-Maliki.

Nouri is th eformer prime minister of Iraq and the forever thug of Iraq.

Last week's news that the federal court had overturned present prime minister Haider al-Abadi's decision to axe the post of vice president bothered Moqtada because that meant Nouri al-Maliki returned to being one of Iraq's three vice presidents.

Nouri and Moqtada were always at odds.

That's one of the reasons Moqtada spent so many years out of Iraq (in nearby Iran).

There was an arrest warrant for Moqtada prepared in 2004 (two years before Nouri became prime minister) but instead of it being executed, it was kept in a drawer should someone feel the need to remove Moqtada.

Both are Shi'ites.

Nouri is desperate enough for power that he'd make a deal with anyone.

That includes Moqtada.

Moqtada's refusal to reach out to Nouri and make a deal might seem surprising unless you realize that Moqtada is fully aware that Nouri has never honored any deal (or promise) he's made.

He lies to get what he wants and then never follows up on his promise.

What's interesting is where Ammar al-Hakim factors in.

He is the leader of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (a Shi'ite political movement).

He's also now in charge of the Shi'ite coalition/grouping in Iraq -- having replaced Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Moqtada and Ammar have never publicly feuded and have joined forces with other groupings.

The future of much of Iraq may rest upon whatever type of relationship Moqtada and Ammar can hammer out.

On the US political front, Friday THE YOUNG TURKS are hosting a presidential town hall:

‏@TheYoungTurks

We are hosting a Presidential Town Hall
with Jill Stein @drjillstein  this Friday Oct 21st… instagram.com/p/BLuqBd2jaVh/

0 replies398 retweets721 likes

The following community sites -- plus BLACK AGENDA REPORT, THE GUARDIAN and Jody Watley -- updated:

World news: Iraq | guardian.co.uk

Two months to take Mosul from Isis, says Iraqi general

4 hours ago

Thomas Friedman is a Great Man

Can we make them return our tax dollars?

8 hours ago

Ruth's Report

Big surprise, pay to play Hillary also tried quid pro quo

8 hours ago

Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude

the fix was always in

8 hours ago

Mikey Likes It!

Hillary wants to destroy Social Security

9 hours ago

Like Maria Said Paz

Hillary Hypocrite

9 hours ago

Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

She's so hideous

9 hours ago

SICKOFITRADLZ

What if The Originals is cancelled?

9 hours ago

Black Agenda Report

Unspeakable America

10 hours ago

The Official Jody Watley Website

Celebrating My Son. Arie.

19 hours ago

New content at THIRD:

iraq

Tuesday, October 18, 2016

Can we make them return our tax dollars?

So much hitting the fan for Hillary Clinton these days.

Fred Barnes (WALL ST. JOURNAL) notes a lot but I want to emphasize this:

Meanwhile, an unnamed State Department employee who worked in the group tasked with handling FOIA requests and reviewing nearly 300 Benghazi-related emails, reported that senior State officials, including Mr. Kennedy, put the team under “immense pressure to complete the review quickly and to not label anything as classified.”
This employee also reported that the group was made to work with officials at the Justice Department, the Defense Department and the White House Counsel’s office who were not their “normal” points of contact.
The employee also noted that the process was dictated by what State employees referred to as the “Shadow Government,” a “powerful group of very high-ranking STATE officials” who met every Wednesday to deal with “everything CLINTON-related.”

How corrupt is this woman?

Will we ever know exactly what the State Dept. covered up?

And they were supposed to be working for us.

In reality, we paid their checks but they were working for Hillary.

I say we sue the State Dept. and force them to repay us out tax dollars.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Tuesday, October 18, 2016. Chaos and violence continue, no real solutions have been implemented, Amnesty International notes the continued persecution of the Sunnis, and much more.

Today, the US Defense Dept announced:

Strikes in Iraq
Attack, bomber, fighter and remotely piloted aircraft and rocket artillery conducted seven strikes in Iraq, coordinated with and in support of Iraq’s government:

-- Near Qaim, a strike engaged an ISIL tactical unit and destroyed a vehicle.

-- Near Mosul, four strikes engaged three ISIL tactical units and two staging areas; destroyed 10 mortar systems, five artillery systems, four ISIL-held buildings, four fighting positions, four vehicles, two supply caches, two repeater tower generators, a vehicle bomb facility, and a vehicle bomb. Four tactical units and three rocket positions were suppressed.

-- Near Qayyarah, two strikes engaged two ISIL tactical units and a mortar position; destroyed an ISIL-held building, a mortar system, an oil tanker truck and a rocket-propelled grenade. A vehicle was damaged.

Task force officials define a strike as one or more kinetic events that occur in roughly the same geographic location to produce a single, sometimes cumulative, effect. Therefore, officials explained, a single aircraft delivering a single weapon against a lone ISIL vehicle is one strike, but so is multiple aircraft delivering dozens of weapons against buildings, vehicles and weapon systems in a compound, for example, having the cumulative effect of making those targets harder or impossible for ISIL to use. Accordingly, officials said, they do not report the number or type of aircraft employed in a strike, the number of munitions dropped in each strike, or the number of individual munition impact points against a target. Ground-based artillery fired in counterfire or in fire support to maneuver roles is not classified as a strike.

And along with the four strikes above near Mosul, forces are targeting the city where the Islamic State took control in June 2014.

‏@attackerman

“The Iraqi army arrived yesterday and took the town, and today Isis came back and the army ran away.” 

1 reply24 retweets15 likes

While much of the US press offers rah-rah, XINHUA serves up some actual news.

‏@XHNews

More than 100 U.S. troops embedded with Iraqi forces in fighting to retake #Mosul: #Pentagon xhne.ws/deORo

5 replies34 retweets44 likes

Trainers.

Advisers.

Not, US President Barack Obama insisted, boots on the ground.

But that's exactly what they are.

On the south grounds of the White House today, standing beside Italy's Prime Minister Matteo Reni, Barack declared.

The start of Iraqi operations to liberate Mosul is another major step forward. Mosul, as many of you know, is Iraq's second largest city and ISIL has been entrenched there for more than two years -- perhaps 1 million civilians are still living there. And so, in addition to rooting out ISIL, our focus jointly is on the safety and the humanitarian aid for civilians who are escaping the fight. That's going to be a top priority for both our governments. Mosul will be a difficult fight and there will be advances and there will be setbacks. But I am confident that -- just as ISIL has been defeated in communities across Iraq -- ISIL will be defeated in Mosul as well and that will be another step towards their ultimate destruction.

But, of course, ISIS does not get defeated on the battlefield.

Once upon a time, Barack grasped that.

In fact, June 19, 2014, he declared:

Above all, Iraqi leaders must rise above their differences and come together around a political plan for Iraq’s future. Shia, Sunni, Kurds -- all Iraqis -- must have confidence that they can advance their interests and aspirations through the political process rather than through violence. National unity meetings have to go forward to build consensus across Iraq’s different communities. Now that the results of Iraq’s recent election has been certified, a new parliament should convene as soon as possible. The formation of a new government will be an opportunity to begin a genuine dialogue and forge a government that represents the legitimate interests of all Iraqis.
Now, it’s not the place for the United States to choose Iraq’s leaders. It is clear, though, that only leaders that can govern with an inclusive agenda are going to be able to truly bring the Iraqi people together and help them through this crisis. Meanwhile, the United States will not pursue military options that support one sect inside of Iraq at the expense of another. There’s no military solution inside of Iraq, certainly not one that is led by the United States. But there is an urgent need for an inclusive political process, a more capable Iraqi security force, and counterterrorism efforts that deny groups like ISIL a safe haven.

Where's that solution?

Where's that inclusive political process?

"There's no military solution inside Iraq," he said.

But all he's done is take a military approach -- dropping bombs daily, sending US troops in, etc.

Where's the effort on the part of diplomacy?

Where's the work of the State Dept?

Oh, that's right -- John Kerry has a big case of cabinet envy and tries to play Secretary of Defense while ignoring his own State Dept.

And nothing is done to attempt to move Iraq towards a political reconciliation.

David Gardner (FINANCIAL TIMES OF LONDON) observes, "Mr Abadi looks no match for such powerful forces, including militia notionally aligned with his Shia Islamist Da’wa party but ultimately beholden to Iran. His efforts to restore power-sharing between Shia, Sunni and Kurd have so far failed. A sectarian political class, putting faction before state, has hollowed out Iraq into de facto partition. Absent a consensus on how to share Iraq, the question of who governs a liberated Mosul will be an explosive one."

Nothing has changed in two years.

Nothing.

As Ranj Alaaldin (GUARDIAN) observes, "In other words, the conditions that gave rise to Isis in the first place are still there and have been exacerbated, rather than alleviated, over the past two years since the jihadis took control of Mosul in 2014."

Today, Amnesty International issued a press release which included:

Paramilitary militias and government forces in Iraq have committed serious human rights violations, including war crimes, by torturing, arbitrarily detaining, forcibly disappearing and extrajudicially executing thousands of civilians who have escaped areas controlled by the armed group calling itself the Islamic State (IS), said Amnesty International in a new report published today.
The report ‘Punished for Daesh’s crimes’: Displaced Iraqis abused by militias and government forces exposes the terrifying backlash against civilians fleeing IS-held territory, raising alarm about the risk of mass violations as the military operation to recapture the IS-held city of Mosul gets underway.
The report is based on interviews with more than 470 former detainees, witnesses and relatives of those killed, disappeared or detained, as well as officials, activists, humanitarian workers and others.
“After escaping the horrors of war and tyranny of IS, Sunni Arabs in Iraq are facing brutal revenge attacks at the hands of militias and government forces, and are being punished for crimes committed by the group,” said Philip Luther, Research and Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.
“Iraq is currently facing very real and deadly security threats from IS, but there can be no justification for extrajudicial executions, enforced disappearances, torture or arbitrary detention.

“As the battle to retake Mosul gets underway, it is crucial that the Iraqi authorities take steps to ensure these appalling abuses do not happen again. States supporting military efforts to combat IS in Iraq must demonstrate they will not continue to turn a blind eye to violations.”

On NPR's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, Robert Siegel discussed the report with Amnesty's Diana Siegel:

SIEGEL: And your report details a number of specific incidents of what you allege are war crimes. What would you say are the most important findings?

ELTAHAWY: Amnesty International's findings really show a consistent pattern of abuse committed by predominantly Shia militias but also by members of the government forces. I can give you one example from the recent operations to retake Fallujah and surrounding areas.

SIEGEL: Fallujah, a city that had been taken by ISIS and then was retaken by the Iraqi government...

ELTAHAWY: Yes, yes. The prime minister, just like now in the operations for Mosul, has called for the protection of civilians. What happened in reality was very different. We spoke to a number of survivors from an area just north of Fallujah who told us that they were intercepted by a large force of men in different uniforms. And then the men were separated from the women and marched off to be shot dead. And this is 14 men and four boys. And this is just one incident.

In other news, the Turkish government continues to insist that its troops will remain in Iraq -- this despite objection from the Iraqi government.

RT reports that Baghdad witnessed a large protest today outside the Turkish Embassy.

‏@iraqi_day

#BREAKING
Sadr : All PMF leaders agreed on #Turkey as an invaders and we will take necessary steps against it.
#هاي_موصلنا_عراقيه

1 reply31 retweets10 likes

Iraqi Day is speaking of Shi'ite cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr.

Turning to the US presidential election, PRESS TV notes the WikiLeaks revelations about Democratic Party presidential candidate Hillary Clinton:

Newly released documents show that the State Department sought to shield Clinton from prosecution by pressuring the FBI to drop its insistence that an email on the private server she used while secretary of state contained classified information.
The FBI ultimately decided against declassifying the email's contents, despite pressure from Patrick Kennedy, the State Department’s most senior manager, according to the latest release of interview summaries from the FBI’s year-long investigation into Clinton's exchange of classified government secrets via her unauthorized server.

So it's no surprise that the US government appears to have pressured the government of Ecuador into cutting Julian Assange's internet connection.

The State Dept is denying any US involvement. Does anyone believe them?

‏@HillaryLostMe

RT DrJillStein: If JohnKerry did ask Ecuador to cut off Assange's Internet access, what else is the U.S. hiding? #…

5 replies39 retweets33 likes

Tweeting Yarnie ‏@TweetingYarnie 13h13 hours ago

Obama and Kerry on behalf of Hillary decided to silence @wikileaks Long before the October surprise? Transparency in our government is gone

23 replies203 retweets396 likes

And while Julian certainly has reviewed the documents, he's not the one hitting publish.

This is more than a little stupid on the part of Hillary's government groupies.

Some are noting how money bought favors -- donating to the Clinton Foundation brought favors from then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Some are noting her tight relationship witht he Saudis.

‏@medeabenjamin

So Clinton knew Saudis were funding #ISIS and continued to approve weapon sales to Saudis???

1 reply18 retweets17 likes

Donald Trump is the presidential candidate for the Republican Party. He Tweeted:

‏@realDonaldTrump

Hillary’s Aides Urged Her to Take Foreign Lobbyist Donation And Deal With Attacks: 

2,601 replies9,101 retweets14,620 likes

And Adam H. Johnson reminds how 'comedians' posing as news sources time and again come out against free speech.

Jill Stein is the presidential candidate on the Green Party ticket. She's clearly offended British John Oliver. Oliver, not being a US citizen, probably won't be voting in the US elections. In his own country, they have many political parties so it's rather shocking that he's threatened by the same in the US.