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

Wednesday, April 29, 2020

The one where Chris Cillizza rips of THE COMMON ILLS

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Ridin With Biden."

I will give Hillary that. If she's had work done, you can't tell it. My guess is that she hasn't had any work done. But Nancy Pelosi? She looks like her various parts are held together with chewing gum, like she's had every procedure a plastic surgeon can do, like she's more addicted to plastic surgery than Michael Jackson ever was.

Did you catch this at CNN:

On Tuesday night, CNN's Don Lemon asked former Georgia state lawmaker (and potential vice presidential pick) Stacey Abrams about allegations made by a former Senate staffer that Joe Biden had sexually assaulted her in the early 1990s. Here's how she responded (bolding is mine):

"I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources. ... The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible. I believe Joe Biden."

That bolded section about The New York Times finding that Reade's accusation was "not credible" comes directly from talking points being distributed by Biden's campaign, talking points first reported on by BuzzFeed's Ruby Cramer. Here's the specific language from Biden's talking points:

"Biden believes that all women have the right to be heard and to have their claims thoroughly review. In this case, a thorough review by the New York Times has led to the truth: this incident did not happen."

Chris Cillizza published that after 4:00 pm today. C.I. published the following before 9:00 am this morning:

Marty Johnson (THE HILL) reports:

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) on Tuesday night defended presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden when asked about sexual assault allegations from Tara Reade, a former Biden aide who has alleged that the then-senator sexually assaulted her in a secluded part of Capitol Hill in 1993.

"I believe that women deserve to be heard and I believe they need to be listened to, but I also believe that those allegations have to be investigated by credible sources," Abrams, who is said to be on the shortlist to be Biden's running mate, told CNN's Don Lemon.

"The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible," she added. "I believe Joe Biden."

Oh, look, she's using the talking points -- Ruby and Rosie publish the talking points at the end of their article about the talking points. Oh, Stacey couldn't do her own work. There's a surprise, right?

Is Stacey a lesbian? 46 and never married? There's nothing wrong with being a lesbian but, as Olivia Pope told the unmarried politician on SCANDAL, people can relate to gay, they can't relate to celibate. And if she's a closeted lesbian, that is an issue. We don't need closet cases a heartbeat away from the presidency. We also don't need some loser who can't even win a statewide office as vice president. I think even Amy Klobuchar would agree with that. Certainly, Kamala Harris would as well. Both women have won statewide races.

Stacey's a state legislator. That's all she's ever been. She doesn't have the experience to sit in a Cabinet, let alone be a vice president -- especially to a man in poor health.

Stacey on the ticket means Joe's campaign spends weeks and weeks defending her. They don't have the time, they don't have the energy. But Joe is stupid enough to ignore that warning -- same way he's ignored every other.

And when Stacey spits up known talking points? She needs to be challenged on it. She needs to be told, "Yes, Stacey, we've read that talking points. Do you have anything yourself to say or do you need to be programmed ahead of time?"

Ruby and Rosie, as C.I. wrote. She noted their BUZZFEED article earlier in this morning's snapshot:

Nancy LeTourneau's awful article reads like it was written by his campaign. It was certainly shaped by them as so much of the coverage has been. Ruby Cramer and Rosie Gray (BUZZFEED) report:

While Joe Biden has remained publicly silent about a sexual assault allegation made against him, his presidential campaign has sought to coordinate and unify Democratic messaging on the matter, advising surrogates earlier this month to say that the allegation “did not happen.”
The Biden campaign circulated talking points among top Democratic supporters shortly after the New York Times published a story earlier this month about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office who says he assaulted her in 1993.
With good news and bad, talking points are standard fare on presidential campaigns. In substance, the private guidance largely hews to the sole public statement on the matter from Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield.
But the messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination, aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that’s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded.

It's time to stop that. If you want to end rape culture, you end it. That means no one who's accused gets to hide behind skirts and coordinate the coverage.

Ruby Cramer and Rosie Gray. And Rosie. Maybe if Chris wasn't so busy ripping off THE COMMON ILLS, he would have realized the BUZZFEED article had two authors.

As usual, you'll learn more from THE COMMON ILLS than you will from CNN.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Joe Biden's been issuing talking points and that's apparently all Stacey can repeat publicly, shameful women in Congress refuse to speak out, and much more.

Tara Reade has accused Joe Biden of assault. The dimmest of the dim is Nancy LeTourneau. Where does she work? THE DNC organ WASHINGTON MONTHLY. She's not just a whore, she's really, dumb whore. Apparently ignoring the evidence that has emerged over the last seven or so days was Nancy's guiding principle. Whores like Nancy don't seem to grasp that they may fool some in the present but that women will not forget this and that she's destroyed her own career because this moment will be her defining moment when people look back. "What Is Disturbing ABout Nancy LeTourneau's Allegations" -- to steal the title to her own bad article (no link to gutter trash) is that she's hoping you're stupid.

"After choosing to remain anonymous to other reporters, two of Reade’s friends confirmed to Rich McHugh that she had told them about the assault at the time." Who writes that stupidity but a whore named Nancy? They didn't choose to remain anonymous. They were never asked by the press. That's why they came forward. Nancy's not just a whore, she's a lying whore. Women will not forget. Sure, some delusional bitches will applaud her right now (maybe her media crush Joan Walsh), but this is career suicide. She better start penning some opus about how women are destroying the world because this article means her only future is as anti-woman writer who plugs her books on FOX NEWS.

Yesterday, Hillary Clinton endorsed Joe Biden and CNN's Chris Cilliza is heartbroken that Joe didn't use the opportunity to 'address' Tara's allegations:

Biden and his side are operating under the assumption that if they don't give Reade's allegations any more than the statement offered by deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield -- in which she denies Reade's claims -- then this will all go away shortly. There's plenty of reason to believe that is not, in fact, the case.

Talk about whoring. You don't get to be a bigger whore than Chris without a lamp promising you seven wishes. Joe refuses to speak publicly. That doesn't mean he "and his side" are not doing anything.

Nancy LeTourneau's awful article reads like it was written by his campaign. It was certainly shaped by them as so much of the coverage has been. Ruby Cramer and Rosie Gray (BUZZFEED) report:

While Joe Biden has remained publicly silent about a sexual assault allegation made against him, his presidential campaign has sought to coordinate and unify Democratic messaging on the matter, advising surrogates earlier this month to say that the allegation “did not happen.”
The Biden campaign circulated talking points among top Democratic supporters shortly after the New York Times published a story earlier this month about the allegation by Tara Reade, a former staff assistant in Biden’s Senate office who says he assaulted her in 1993.
With good news and bad, talking points are standard fare on presidential campaigns. In substance, the private guidance largely hews to the sole public statement on the matter from Biden’s deputy campaign manager, Kate Bedingfield.
But the messaging shows that while Biden has stayed quiet on the allegations on the eve of his nomination, aides were taking the claims seriously enough behind the scenes to coordinate messaging among other Democrats to try to cast the matter as one that’s been thoroughly vetted and determined to be unfounded.

It's time to stop that. If you want to end rape culture, you end it. That means no one who's accused gets to hide behind skirts and coordinate the coverage.

Every Thursday, we highlight women in Congress. We didn't last Thursday. I finally got around to doing it over the weekend. I'm not sure if we'll bother this week.

Tara Reade is credible. Not credible? The various senators and reps who refuse to speak up. That's Senator Patty Murray certainly. That's also Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. With Kirsten, I do get it. She spoke out for survivors and took a lot of crap for it. First from a female senator no longer in the Senate but on CNN constantly. Then she got attacked for speaking out against Al Franken's outrageous behavior. In fact, that harmed her a great deal when she was running for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. If Kirsten had run a stronger campaign, it wouldn't have. Her enemies among the party were demonizing her. She wasn't defending herself and she wasn't projecting strength. Her weakest point was her speaking voice. She sounded too young, too immature and if we're talking about what hurt her campaign, we need to start there. But I get her being shy to step up to the plate again. I do. But that's no excuse if you believe in the cause. I love Patty but there's no excuse for her to be silent. Or for Hirono or any of them. They weren't silent with regards to someone they were afraid would sit on the bench so why be silent about someone who might end up president?

As Democrats, in fact, it's their duty to stop this nominee so that a stronger nominee can represent the party.

It's shameful that so many women in Congress refuse to speak out.

It's shameful that Hillary endorsed Joe as all this is going on. But it's Hillary's pattern. She put up with Bill's lying and cheating and she let herself be publicly humiliated more than once. She saves her real rage -- to this day -- for Barbra Streisand and continues to believe that Bill slept with her. Why that woman, Barbra, is the breaking point, I have no idea. But she also backed Brett McGurk -- a Bully Boy Bush loyalist who couldn't keep it in his pants. Then there's Philippe Reines who, as the late journalist Michael Hastings noted, had a history of harassment. There's Hillary's close ties to Harvey Weinstein and the way she tried to bully Ronan Farrow into not pursuing the Weinstein story. In fact, most of the men around Hillary have one scandal after another of their abuse of women. She's attracted to them and they to her. So it's not real surprise that Hillary would endorse Joe.

But the silence from these other women is shocking.

Marty Johnson (THE HILL) reports:

Former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) on Tuesday night defended presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden when asked about sexual assault allegations from Tara Reade, a former Biden aide who has alleged that the then-senator sexually assaulted her in a secluded part of Capitol Hill in 1993.

"The New York Times did a deep investigation and they found that the accusation was not credible," she added. "I believe Joe Biden."

A former neighbor of Tara Reade, a woman who has accused Joe Biden of sexual assault, has come forward to say that Reade told her about the alleged assault in the mid-1990s. The account, purportedly told to the neighbor within a few years of the alleged incident, marks the first detailed and on-the-record corroboration of Reade's allegation against the presumptive Democratic nominee for president.

Lynda LaCasse told CNN in a phone interview Monday that she remembers stepping out of her two-bedroom home in Morro Bay, California, to sneak in a cigarette break away from her children. It was 1995, perhaps even early 1996, based on her recollection. LaCasse said she often sat outside on her stoop smoking Virginia Slims, and that on this particular day, she cried as she discussed with Reade a custody battle for her kids.

Reade began to cry too, LaCasse said.

"She started talking about Joe Biden. And I didn't really know much about Joe Biden," she said. LaCasse said that Reade told her that when she was working in Washington some years prior, Biden "had pushed her up against a wall and he put his hand up her skirt and he put his fingers inside of her, and she was dealing with the aftermath of that."

Sam notes Rebecca's Traister's article at THE CUT. We'll quote from the article tomorrow, I'm just short on time this morning.

In Iraq, the protests against the Iraqi government continue. MEMO reports:

Iraqi protesters gathered in Tahrir Square in the capital Baghdad after the government scaled back some of its anti-coronavirus measures during the month of Ramadan, Anadolu Agency reported

The protesters held photos of Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Kadhimi with a red “X” on his face in rejection of his candidacy for the role.

Activist Ghassan Adel told the news agency that “any transitional government that brings with it party quotas is rejected not only in Tahrir Square, but in all the country’s protest arenas”.

Adel, who had been protesting in Tahrir Square for months, said: “The masses are stronger than tyrants, parties and politicians,” adding that “this government will not pass. If it is passed, we will overthrow it with escalatory measures.”

The following sites updated:

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

Is the Democratic Party trying to lose the 2020 election?

You have to wonder.

The Dems in Congress have given everything to corporations, everything to big business and nothing to the people. Not a damn thing to the people in this pandemic.

And this is an election year.

This is what the Democrats do right now, in front of our eyes, when we are months away from an election. They don't care. They don't care about us and they don't care about disguising the fact that they don't care.

They don't care.

That's why they're pushing the awful Joe Biden, the rapist Joe Biden.

ARAB AMERICAN NEWS notes:

It’s been about a month since Tara Reade, a former staffer to Joe Biden when he served in the Senate, publicly aired her allegation of sexual assault against the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee.

Reade claims that Biden assaulted her in the Capitol building in 1993, when she worked as an aide. Biden’s campaign has denied the assault took place and encouraged the press to investigate, though the candidate has yet to react publicly to Reade’s allegation.

Meanwhile, additional people who say they were told about the alleged assault around that time have come forward to corroborate Reade’s story. On Monday, Business Insider reported that a former neighbor of Reade’s from the 1990s and a former coworker in a California state senator’s office recalled Reade describing parts of her account.

The assault allegation now lingers as Biden all but certainly claims the nomination and picks up endorsements from major figures like former President Barack Obama, 2016 Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, and his biggest competitor in the 2020 race, Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Joe's a rapist. I don't care who endorses him. I'm not voting for him. Any woman who has been assaulted? They're not likely to vote for him.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Tuesday, April 28, 2020. ISIS grows more active in Iraq while we all need to ponder how a man accused of rape can claim he's 'eletable'?

March 24th, Ryan Grim (INTERCEPT) reported on Tara Reade going to Times Up to get assistance as she came forward to accuse Joe Biden of assaulting her. One month and four days later and Joe Biden has still not made a public statement to any news outlet. Instead, he's hid behind a series of women including the nut job who should have been disqualified by a working press. (I noted her conflicts in the "Tara Reade and coronavirus roundtable" we did.) The media has assisted Joe by refusing to ask him when they interview him. There is nothing else newsworthy about Joe's campaign currently but people like Anderson Cooper ignore the topic over and over. In fact, Anderson has interviewed Joe twice since the allegation surfaced and both times refused to ask a question about it.

The media has practiced a double standard and wallowed in hypocrisy. Of THE NEW YORK TIMES smear job on Tara, April 12th, Naomi Wolf Tweeted:

As a feminist I just note that the wording around this accusation in

@nytimes

is more skeptical and guarded than in the same paper’s reporting on women accusing Trump. Should be a nonpartisan single standard for reporting allleged sexual abuse.

The hypocrisy was noted on FOX NEWS.

Lara Logan: Well, to me, Sean, it says something very disappointing: That people who claim the moral high ground, claim to have some degree of moral authority, don't really care about the principles at all because the principles should survive politics, they should survive ideology, they should survive everything. And I know, in my own case, it's hard, in a way, even listening to it. Not because I haven't come to terms with it but because I know as someone who was raped, I know all the people, men and women, over the years, who've come to me with their own stories of what they've been through. And the one thing I was concerned about through the entire MeToo movement and Kavanaugh and everything else is that the voices of the real victims would be lost as everybody was rushing in the frenzy to use this moment for their own gain.

Yesterday, Rich McHugh (BUSINESS INSIDER) reported:

In March, when a former aide to Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden accused the candidate of sexually assaulting her in 1993, two people came forward to say that the woman, Tara Reade, had told them of the incident shortly after it allegedly occurred — her brother, Collin Moulton, and a friend who asked to remain anonymous for fear of retribution.
Now two more sources have come forward to corroborate certain details about Reade's claims. One of them — a former neighbor of Reade's — has told Insider for the first time, on the record, that Reade disclosed details about the alleged assault to her in the mid-1990s.
"This happened, and I know it did because I remember talking about it," Lynda LaCasse, who lived next door to Reade in the mid-'90s, told Insider.
The other source, Lorraine Sanchez, who worked with Reade in the office of a California state senator in the mid-'90s, told Insider that she recalls Reade complaining at the time that her former boss in Washington, DC, had sexually harassed her, and that she had been fired after raising concerns.

Each day, Tara's case gets stronger and yet no one wants to ask Joe Biden the question they need to. Is that a ground rule?

Are they getting access by guaranteeing not to ask Joe about the rape allegation?

The media watchdogs are largely napping. The right-wing NEWSBUSTERS has followed this story. The left-wing CJR has. But FAIR, COUNTERSPIN? They won't say a word.

Joe won't say a word. We know why. He fears litigation. He's pulling the Bill Clinton strategy. Juanita Broadrrick accused Bill of rape (I believe her). Bill hid behind a spokesperson and never himself spoke to the allegation. That's what Joe's doing now.

With Bill, he was a lame duck president. It was 1999. He could ride it out and did. Joe's asking people to vote for him. This isn't something he can ride out.

Tara's case gets stronger with every day.

The calls for Joe to drop out mount.

This is not a strong candidate for November. Joe needs to go. He was never more than an empty suit and now he's facing credible charges of assault. He's been unable to defend himself for over a month. How does this argue for him doing well in November?

He's offering nothing but tired plans from the past which failed. His only argument has been that he's 'electable.' He's now accused of rape and does not look like a sure thing at all.

Turning to Iraq, Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports, "A militant wearing a suicide vest struck an intelligence bureau in northern Iraq on Tuesday, wounding at least three members of the security personnel, Iraqi officials said, blaming the attack on the Islamic State group." Margaret Griffis (ANTIWAR.COM) adds, "ISIS attacked the Rutba home of a district councilman. Talal Al-Absi was killed, and his son was abducted."

As ISIS grows more active, Iraq has no real prime minister. The 'acting' prime minister resigned last year. Adil Abdul Mahdi was inept and resigned at the end of November. All these months later, Iraq still does not have a prime minister.

And let's be clear, the post is supposed to be filled long enough for elections to be called. No one is saying that the new prime minister needs to serve a lengthy term.

Struan Stevenson (UPI) offers:

Iraq's prime ministerial merry-go-round continues to spin apace. Spy chief Mustafa al-Kadhimi, director of the country's National Intelligence Service, is the third prime minister designate this year, following the withdrawal of Adnan al-Zurfi, the previous prospective candidate, after he failed to secure enough support to form a government.
Al-Zurfi had tried to step into the shoes of Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, who suffered a similar fate, leaving Iraq under the tremulous caretaker control of Adil Abdul-Mahdi, the crooked former prime minister and puppet of the Iranian mullahs, who was forced to resign last November amidst widespread protests.
Under the Iraqi constitution, a prime minister designate has 30 days to secure the backing of parliament for his new government. This has been the stumbling block for each of Abdul-Mahdi's chosen successors so far, as they have attempted to gain the approval of the wide range of deeply divided and sectarian factions that make up Iraq's Majilis.

Recently, former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki hosted a 'party' at his house where various Shi'ite politicians plotted how to defeat Allawi.

Khaled Yacoub Oweis (THE NATIONAL) reports:

A parliamentary supporter of Iraq’s latest Prime Minister-designate Mustafa Al Kadhimi cast doubt on whether he could form a Cabinet, in the first acknowledgement from the allied camp of the secular nominee that he is in political trouble.
Shirwan Mirza of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) told Iraq’s official news agency late on Sunday that Mr Al Kadhimi, an intelligence chief supported by Washington, could fail like his two predecessors.
Mr Mirza said Mr Al Kadhimi was hoping to be approved by parliament before the month of Ramadan.
“The Cabinet talks are ongoing but have not reached a result so far,” Mr Mirza said. “Al Kadhimi was supposed to present his cabinet before Ramadan but some political groups withdrew their support for him.”
The Kurdish parliamentarian was referring to pro-Iranian Shiite players linked with militia powers who dominate the legislature and who had initially indicated that they would let Mr Al Kadhimi form his Cabinet.

Mr Mirza said if Mr Al Kadhimi does not suffer “the same fate” as his predecessors”, parliament could convene a physical vote-of-confidence session despite the coronavirus.

The following sites updated:

Monday, April 27, 2020

Bernie -- the 'B" is for betrayer

This really ticks me off.

And "this" is what they're doing to Nina Turner -- I'm not ticked off that Jimmy Dore reported it. I'm glad Jimmy covers these stories.

Bernie really can't stand by anyone who supports him, can he? He trashed Zephyr Teachout when all she did was point out Joe Biden's record -- his actual record. This was not controversial. This was about what he voted for and what bills he introduced. And yet Bernie was grasping for the vapors and clutching the pearls.

Nina Turner stood up for Bernie and he's such a coward he won't do a damn thing to get her on a task force?

He's a joke.

If you missed it, he's been removed from the ballot in New York state.

Wah.

He's trying to get us all outraged and yelling over that.

He dropped out.

I didn't ask him. I didn't say, "Bernie, show me what a coward you are and drop out while there are 26 primaries that still haven't been held."

No, that's on him.

He ended his campaign and packed it in, walked off with his tail between his legs.

Now he wants to whine that he's not on the ballot.

Good. Shouldn't be.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Monday, April 27, 2020. Support for Tara Reade builds, calls for Joe Biden to drop out continue, one of the fallen is remembered in California, protests continue in Iraq, and much more.

After Friday's snapshot posted, hours after, this was added to it:

Ryan Grim has a scoop at THE INTERCEPT:

In interviews with The Intercept, Reade also mentioned that her mother had made a phone call to “Larry King Live” on CNN, during which she made reference to her daughter’s experience on Capitol Hill. Reade told The Intercept that her mother called in asking for advice after Reade, then in her 20s, left Biden’s office. “I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help? I was mortified,” Reade told me.
Reade couldn’t remember the date or the year of the phone call, and King didn’t include the names of callers on his show. I was unable to find the call, but mentioned it in an interview with Katie Halper, the podcast host who first aired Reade’s allegation. After the podcast aired, a listener managed to find the call and sent it to The Intercept.
On August 11, 1993, King aired a program titled, “Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth?” Toward the end of the program, he introduces a caller dialing in from San Luis Obispo, California. Congressional records list August 1993 as Reade’s last month of employment with Biden’s Senate office, and, according to property records, Reade’s mother, Jeanette Altimus, was living in San Luis Obispo County. Here is the transcript of the beginning of the call:

KING: San Luis Obispo, California, hello.
CALLER: Yes, hello. I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.
KING: In other words, she had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?
CALLER: That’s true.

King’s panel of guests offered no suggestions, and instead the conversation veered into a discussion of whether any of the men on set would leak damaging personal information about a rival to the press.

Tara Reade has accused Joe Biden of assault. Along with telling her brother and a friend in real time (both have verified they were told in 1993 when the assault happened), Tara had stated she told her mother who has since passed away. Now we have the above.

The allegations are not going away and Tara's case is only getting stronger.

Daniel Ponti (SLATE) explains:

A video that has recently come to light from 1993 appears to show the mother of Tara Reade, who has accused former Vice President Joe Biden of sexual assault, calling the Larry King Show to discuss problems her daughter experienced while working for “a prominent senator.” The Intercept was first to report on the video and the conservative Media Research Group later quickly published the relevant clip. Reade then confirmed that it was her mother’s voice on the call. “I’ve been crying because I haven’t heard my mom’s voice in a few years. So it’s been a little emotional,” Reade told CNN. “I miss her. I miss her voice.” Reade’s mother died in 2016.

Liz Peek is a name familiar to the community when wowOwow was an active website (Women On the Web, was what the site was known on). She weighed in on Tara Reade this morning:

The liberal media has naturally tried to minimize coverage of the Reade accusation; she leveled the charge on March 25, but most major news outlets ignored it until April 12, fully 19 days later. Criticized over the delay, the New York Times’ editor Dean Baquet explained that the paper wanted to have enough information about the charge that readers could “understand” the story.
But the Times even edited its own story about Reade. It originally reported that, “The Times found no pattern of sexual misconduct by Mr. Biden, beyond the hugs, kisses and touching that women previously said made them uncomfortable.” In later editions it dropped the last (and most damaging) part of the sentence.
Baquet explained, “The campaign thought that the phrasing was awkward and made it look like there were other instances in which he had been accused of sexual misconduct.” Since when do newspapers run a story by a “campaign” for approval?
Nonetheless, the new video has given Reade’s allegations new legs. In part, that is because Joe Biden has a troubling history of inappropriately touching women – a record his backers ascribe to his “folksy” manner and old-fashioned “tactile” politics.
But, one also wonders whether Democrats are beginning to face up to what many have seen for months: Biden is not a strong candidate.

Daniel Molina (THE FLORIDIAN) observes:

In a recent interview with Vice President Biden, CNN’s Anderson Cooper discussed a wide array of topics, but one issue that was not addressed is the allegations aimed against him, This, Tara Reade says, made her lose respect for the journalist.
Speaking to Fox News, Reade expressed that “it’s shocking that this much time has passed and that he is an actual nominee for president and they’re not asking the questions.”
Reade added that Biden has “been on ‘Anderson Cooper’ at least twice where he was not asked.”
She further questioned, “if this were Donald Trump, would they treat it the same way? If this were Brett Kavanaugh, did they treat it the same way?”

Reade concluded that “it’s politics and political agenda playing a role in objective reporting and asking the question.”

CNN? They finally mentioned Tara on air Saturday. As Ava and I explained in "TV: Journalism isn't supposed to be melodramatic or provoke belly laughs," they did so because Ryan Grim reported Friday on the clip from the 1993 episode of CNN's LARRY KING LIVE where Tara's mother called in. But they forgot to note that Ryan Grim had reported on the clip and instead acted as though CNN had just suddenly discovered the clip all on their own.

Over the weekend #DropOutBiden began trending. Brandon D. Jones (ABC 14 NEWS) reports on Rose McGowan who has joined those calling for Joe to drop out:

The Charmed actress may perhaps not feel like a heavyweight who could inflict injury on a big political vocation. But because previous Biden staffer Tara Reade alleged that the prospect sexually assaulted her almost 3 decades ago, McGowan has turn into a 1-woman military contacting out the hypocrisy of Hollywood and media elites, in particular Alyssa Milano, who have backed the #MeToo and #TimesUp actions but are nevertheless supporting the presumptive Democrat nominee.

The actress has now added her voice to the #DropOutBiden groundswell, demanding this weekend in an excoriating community statement that the applicant stop the race. “Fellow citizens, use your electric power, use your social media voice,” McGowan tweeted late Saturday. “Tweet at Joe Biden to close his marketing campaign efficient right away.”
In her assertion, McGowan called out the mainstream media, women’s groups, LGBTQ information retailers, Oprah Winfrey, and even feminists like Gloria Steinem for their continued backing of Biden’s marketing campaign.

As support builds for Tara, the people notice not just the silence of the media and various celebrities but also the silence of Joe Biden himself. March 24th is when Katie Halper's interview aired with Tara. It's now April 27th and Joe Biden has refused to make any statement to the American people on this topic. He has hid behind campaign staff -- hid behind female campaign staff.

Joe hides a lot. He's got a lot to evade -- that includes the destruction of Iraq and the many dead. 34-year-old Diego Pongo was killed in Iraq March 8th. Pongo was a Gunnery Sergeant in the Marines.

WTHR reports:

Due to coronavirus restrictions on large gatherings, his family couldn't honor his life with a formal funeral or memorial.
After Diego’s brother Andres and his wife Andrea posted online asking for support from the community, the city showed up in a big way.
Thousands of people drove past the family's home to pay their respects to the fallen hero.
Numerous emergency vehicles cruised by the home to honor Sergeant Pongo's life, too.

Meanwhile, at Carnegie Middle East Center, Oula Kadhum offers:

The Iraq protests are not a flash in the pan. Rather, they represent a historical turning point for a new generation that has tired of government ineptitude, politicized sectarianism, corruption, and an unequal society. As long as these symptoms persist in Iraqi society, so will the protests. The movement has been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic however, though its spirit continues in smaller sit-ins in Tahrir Square in Baghdad and smaller gatherings in Nasiriyya and Basra. Those still holding the fort are helping to sanitize public spaces and distribute provisions to those in need. The message from these camps remains resolute: Once the threat from the coronavirus is contained the revolution will be back bigger and stronger.

Yet two threats represent the greatest impediments to the movement’s survival. First, repression by the state and militias continues, including the targeting of activists and assassinations. Only recently a female activist was killed in Nasiriyya. Second, the unknown longevity of the coronavirus will test the ability of the movement to maintain its momentum. For now at least the protests have certainly been stalled, but they most certainly have not been silenced.

Even with the coronavirus, protests continue in Iraq. See "Editorial: Protests continue in Iraq" for more on that.

Meanwhile the third prime minister-designate this year, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, struggles as much as the previous two. MIDDLE EAST MONITOR ONLINE reports:

Shia parties in Iraq have rejected the ministerial nominations of Prime Minister-Designate Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, Al-Araby Al-Jadeed reported on Sunday. The London-based website said that Al-Kadhimi had agreed to at least 12 ministerial nominees proposed by the Shia party officials.

According to one anonymous Iraqi MP, the leaders of the Shia parties met on Saturday night at the home of former Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki, and then told the PM-designate that they rejected a lot of his nominees. The MP said that they would nominate new candidates for each ministry from which Al-Kadhimi can choose.

The same source claimed that Al-Maliki, the leader of the State of Law Coalition, and Hadi Al-Ameri, the head of Al-Fatah Coalition, are the “prominent obstacles” in the efforts to form a new government in Iraq.

New content at THIRD:

Saturday, April 25, 2020

Science post: Rain and earthquakes, smell and wildflowers

"Raining." Carly Simon's song that appears first on her boxed set CLOUDS IN MY COFFEE. It's time for a science post and let's take a look at rain.

First, some basics from WIKIPEDIA:

Rain is liquid water in the form of droplets that have condensed from atmospheric water vapor and then become heavy enough to fall under gravity. Rain is a major component of the water cycle and is responsible for depositing most of the fresh water on the Earth. It provides suitable conditions for many types of ecosystems, as well as water for hydroelectric power plants and crop irrigation.
The major cause of rain production is moisture moving along three-dimensional zones of temperature and moisture contrasts known as weather fronts. If enough moisture and upward motion is present, precipitation falls from convective clouds (those with strong upward vertical motion) such as cumulonimbus (thunder clouds) which can organize into narrow rainbands. In mountainous areas, heavy precipitation is possible where upslope flow is maximized within windward sides of the terrain at elevation which forces moist air to condense and fall out as rainfall along the sides of mountains. On the leeward side of mountains, desert climates can exist due to the dry air caused by downslope flow which causes heating and drying of the air mass. The movement of the monsoon trough, or intertropical convergence zone, brings rainy seasons to savannah climes.
The urban heat island effect leads to increased rainfall, both in amounts and intensity, downwind of cities. Global warming is also causing changes in the precipitation pattern globally, including wetter conditions across eastern North America and drier conditions in the tropics. Antarctica is the driest continent. The globally averaged annual precipitation over land is 715 mm (28.1 in), but over the whole Earth it is much higher at 990 mm (39 in).^[1] Climate classification systems such as the Köppen classification system use average annual rainfall to help differentiate between differing climate regimes. Rainfall is measured using rain gauges. Rainfall amounts can be estimated by weather radar.

Heavy rain falling over the desert at sunset

Rain is also known or suspected on other planets, where it may be composed of methane, neon, sulfuric acid, or even iron rather than water.

Our planet needs rain. Can there be too much rain? Yes. We can have flooding. But can too much rain cause other problems. SCI NEWS reports:

The 2018 eruption of Kīlauea volcano in Hawaii was likely initiated by prolonged, and at times extreme, rainfall in the months leading up to the event, according to new research from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science at the University of Miami.

Very interesting. Doyle Rice (USA TODAY) explains:

"We knew that changes in the water content in the Earth’s subsurface can trigger earthquakes and landslides. Now we know that it can also trigger volcanic eruptions," said study co-author Falk Amelung, professor of geophysics at the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School, in a statement.

"Under pressure from magma, wet rock breaks easier than dry rock. It is as simple as that," he said.

Prior to the eruption, Hawaii had several months of unusually high amounts of precipitation, the study said.

And the University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science adds:

While small steam explosions and volcanic earthquakes have been linked to rainfall infiltration at other volcanoes in the past, this is the first time that this mechanism has been invoked to explain deeper magmatic processes.
“Interestingly, when we investigate Kīlauea’s historical eruption record, we see that magmatic intrusions and recorded eruptions are almost twice as likely to occur during the wettest parts of the year,” said Jamie Farquharson, a postdoctoral researcher at the UM Rosenstiel School and lead author of the study.
The authors highlight that if this process can be detected at Kīlauea, then it is likely to occur elsewhere as well.
“Having established the evidence for rainfall-triggered eruptions at Kīlauea, it will be fascinating to investigate other volcanoes,” said Farquharson. “If we can identify regions of the globe where this kind of coupling between rainfall and volcanism exists, it could go a long way towards advanced warning of associated volcanic hazards.”
“It has been shown that the melting of ice caps in Iceland led to changes of volcanic productivity,” said Farquharson. “As ongoing climate change is predicted to bring about changes in rainfall patterns, we expect that this may similarly influence patterns of volcanic activity.”

“This study was only possible thanks to a number of Earth-observing satellites,” said Amelung. “We obtained precipitation information from a joint mission between NASA and the Japanese Space Exploration Agency and ground deformation observations from a mission of the European Space Agency.”

Rain waters trees, grass, flowers, plants, etc. David Downey (PRESS ENTERPRISE) reports:

The coronavirus pandemic brought the economy to a screeching halt. But Mother Nature kept right on going.
Thanks to soaking March and April rains, colorful wildflowers are springing up from the sun-splashed hills of the Inland Empire to the fog-kissed coastal bluffs of Los Angeles and Orange counties.

“It’s a strange year,” said Evan Meyer, executive director for the Theodore Payne Foundation for Wildflowers and Native Plants in Los Angeles’ Sun Valley. “We got a lot of rain early and then it was really dry. And then, all of the sudden, we got a lot of rain again.”

How can you see some of these wildflowers? Downey also lets you know that:

The Payne Foundation, which posts Wild Flower Hotline reports each Friday, is emphasizing the convenience of virtual peeks.
That’s a good way to see sprawling fields of poppies at the Antelope Valley California Poppy Reserve, which is closed, Meyer said.
It’s also a way to see the wide variety of coastal and desert wildflowers at Prisk Native Garden in Long Beach at Prisk School. The garden is closed, a foundation report said, but anyone can take a virtual tour via a recorded video the garden posted on Facebook.
Live video feed of Walker Canyon is being provided by the city of Lake Elsinore on its website, www.lake-elsinore.org/poppies.
In Orange County, flowers are blooming profusely. For example, on Wednesday afternoon, April 22, Huntington Beach residents Jason Brown and Mary Durham hiked past blooming Garland daisies along Weir Canyon Trail in Santiago Oaks Regional Park, in Anaheim Hills.

Because parking lots at Orange County parks and trails are closed, spokeswoman Marisa O’Neil wrote in an email that officials are urging people “to enjoy nature from home” by viewing content on social media pages.

I love that moment when rain is about to fall. The air feels thicker and moist. It tends to be cooler and you just expect it, feel it, and, yes, after it falls, sometimes we can smell it. Rich Haridy (NEW ATLAS) reports:

New research from an international team of scientists is suggesting that instantly recognizable earthy smell after rain is released by bacteria trying to attract a particular arthropod as a way to spread its spores. The smell is a 500-million-year-old example of chemical communication, evolved to help a particular type of bacteria spread.

Scientists have long been fascinated by the unique odor that appears when it rains. The scent is particularly prominent when the first rains of a season hit dry soil. Two Australian researchers named the odor petrichor, after an influential study in the 1960s suggested a particular oil is produced by certain plants during dry periods, and then released into the air when it rains.

One major component of petrichor is an organic compound called geosmin. Scientists have known for some time that a common genus of bacteria, known as Streptomyces, produce geosmin. Virtually all species of Streptomyces release geosmin when they die, but until now it has been unclear exactly why the bacteria generates this distinctive aroma.

I haven't noted Curiosity in a while so let me note this background on the Mars mission from NASA:

Launch: Nov. 26, 2011
Mars Landing: Aug. 6, 2012 (EDT)

Building on the success of the two rover geologists that arrived at Mars in January 2004, NASA's next rover mission is being planned for travel to Mars before the end of the decade. Twice as long and three times as heavy as the Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity, the Mars Science Laboratory would collect martian soil samples and rock cores and analyze them for organic compounds and environmental conditions that could have supported microbial life now or in the past. The mission is anticipated to have a truly international flavor, with a neutron-based hydrogen detector for locating water provided by the Russian Federal Space Agency, a meteorological package provided by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science, and a spectrometer provided by the Canadian Space Agency.

Image right: Artist's concept of Mars Science Laboratory. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

Mars Science Laboratory is intended to be the first planetary mission to use precision landing techniques, steering itself toward the martian surface similar to the way the space shuttle controls its entry through Earth's upper atmosphere. In this way, the spacecraft would fly to a desired location above the surface of Mars before deploying its parachute for the final landing. As currently envisioned, in the final minutes before touchdown, the spacecraft would activate its parachute and retro rockets before lowering the rover package to the surface on a tether (similar to the way a skycrane helicopter moves a large object). This landing method would enable the rover to land in an area 20 to 40 kilometers (12 to 24 miles) long, about the size of a small crater or wide canyon and three to five times smaller than previous landing zones on Mars.

Like the twin rovers now on the surface of Mars, Mars Science Laboratory would have six wheels and cameras mounted on a mast. Unlike the twin rovers, it would carry a laser for vaporizing a thin layer from the surface of a rock and analyzing the elemental composition of the underlying materials. It would then be able to collect and crush rock and soil samples and distribute them to on-board test chambers for chemical analysis. Its design includes a suite of scientific instruments for identifying organic compounds such as proteins, amino acids, and other acids and bases that attach themselves to carbon backbones and are essential to life as we know it. It could also identify features such as atmospheric gases that may be associated with biological activity.

Using these tools, Mars Science Laboratory would examine martian rocks and soils in greater detail than ever before to determine the geologic processes that formed them; study the martian atmosphere; and determine the distribution and circulation of water and carbon dioxide, whether frozen, liquid, or gaseous.

NASA plans to select a landing site on the basis of highly detailed images sent to Earth by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter beginning in 2006, in addition to data from earlier missions.

NASA is considering nuclear energy for powering the Mars Science Laboratory. The rover would carry a U.S. Department of Energy radioisotope power supply that would generate electricity from the heat of plutonium's radioactive decay. This type of power supply could give the mission an operating lifespan on Mars' surface of a full martian year (687 Earth days) or more. NASA is also considering solar power alternatives that could meet the mission's science and mobility objectives.

For more information visit http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/msl/.

Make sure you read "Life just got a little harder for fake asses like Alyssa Milano (Ava and C.I.)" -- I am glad I believed Tara Reade. God's got her back and he's backing her story up.

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

Friday, April 24, 2020. Joe Biden maintains his silence on the rape accusation, Iraq's prime minister-designate still struggle to come up with a portfolio, Barbara Slavin sees US troops leaving Iraq, and much more.

ADDED 4/24/203:28 EST: Ryan Grim has a scoop at THE INTERCEPT:

In interviews with The Intercept, Reade also mentioned that her mother had made a phone call to “Larry King Live” on CNN, during which she made reference to her daughter’s experience on Capitol Hill. Reade told The Intercept that her mother called in asking for advice after Reade, then in her 20s, left Biden’s office. “I remember it being an anonymous call and her saying my daughter was sexually harassed and retaliated against and fired, where can she go for help? I was mortified,” Reade told me.
Reade couldn’t remember the date or the year of the phone call, and King didn’t include the names of callers on his show. I was unable to find the call, but mentioned it in an interview with Katie Halper, the podcast host who first aired Reade’s allegation. After the podcast aired, a listener managed to find the call and sent it to The Intercept.
On August 11, 1993, King aired a program titled, “Washington: The Cruelest City on Earth?” Toward the end of the program, he introduces a caller dialing in from San Luis Obispo, California. Congressional records list August 1993 as Reade’s last month of employment with Biden’s Senate office, and, according to property records, Reade’s mother, Jeanette Altimus, was living in San Luis Obispo County. Here is the transcript of the beginning of the call:

KING: San Luis Obispo, California, hello.
CALLER: Yes, hello. I’m wondering what a staffer would do besides go to the press in Washington? My daughter has just left there, after working for a prominent senator, and could not get through with her problems at all, and the only thing she could have done was go to the press, and she chose not to do it out of respect for him.
KING: In other words, she had a story to tell but, out of respect for the person she worked for, she didn’t tell it?
CALLER: That’s true.

King’s panel of guests offered no suggestions, and instead the conversation veered into a discussion of whether any of the men on set would leak damaging personal information about a rival to the press.

Joe Biden thinks he deserves to be president. But he doesn't think he has to answer publicly when a woman accuses him of assault or rape. Tara Reade has come forward to accuse Joe of assault. Katie Halper interviewed Tara about the assault. At THE GUARDIAN this morning, she writes:

You can hear and read Reade’s heart-wrenching account yourself, but to summarize her claims: she says she brought Joe Biden his gym bag as she’d been instructed. The two of them were alone and that is when she says “he just had me up against the wall and his hands were on me and underneath my clothes. And then he went down my skirt, but then up inside it and he penetrated me with his fingers ... Everything shattered in that moment.”
Reade’s good friend Jane (not her real name), who lived at the same residence and interned for another senator at the time, told me that Reade called her after the incident: “When I said, ‘Did you feel like you could walk away?’, [Tara] said no. And that his hand went where it shouldn’t below the belt...He said something that made [Tara] feel like a grain of dust… small and insignificant. On the phone...you can’t see someone’s facial expression… but you can tell when someone’s voice is shaking... She was definitely confused, disoriented.”
Reade’s brother also remembers learning about the incident: “First my mom told me about it. She was up in arms. And I was like I don’t know what happened. I think my sister was trying to spare me.” Indeed, Reade did try to spare her younger brother somewhat but, as he told me, “I remember my sister being specifically asked to handle a gym bag... And there was a moment he had her up against the wall and made a hand move under her clothes.”
[. . .]
Political leaders, the media and victims’ advocates for months have refused to honor Reade’s request to be heard, sacrificing not only one woman but basic principles at the heart of the Democratic party and the survivors’ justice movement that brave Democratic women helped build.

The corporate media has done an appalling job covering the story. College newspapers, however, have led on this story. Genna Edwards (THE PITT NEWS) observes:

Biden, like Trump, has been accused of sexual misconduct and assault by multiple women. And like Trump, he and his campaign deny these claims. Biden’s history as a “Democratic” politician is littered with choices that are incredibly un-Democratic. He’s more of a centrist than anything, going wherever the money and power want him to go. He wavers on abortion, having supported the Hyde Ammendment. He is not an LGBTQ+ ally. He voted for the Iraq war. He is anti-Social Security and anti-Medicare. Tara Reade, a former staff assistant to Biden, has accused him of sexual assault — I believe her. I’ve seen the videos of Biden inappropriately touching and sniffing young girls.
So. As both a leftist and a queer woman, I am appalled. Losing Sanders robs us of any dignity the American people may have had left. If I have to choose between two unfit men in the fall to lead my country out of a historic pandemic that neither are fit to fix given their policies, well — I’m moving to an underground bunker.

If I thought myself naive for believing in politics before this, boy, is that smacking me in the face now. I try to have hope, stupid white woman hope, and I’ve tried to have hope again and again. I thought Sanders was it this time, that we could escape this Trump hell and feel at least marginally better about living in this country.

We'll note another college paper, Liddy Grantland (DUKE CHRONICLE) offers:

I disagree with Joe Biden on many issues. I believe that there were better choices in the Democratic primary, and I voted that way. With his ever-increasing delegate lead, though, I was begrudgingly becoming accustomed to the idea of casting my vote for him in November. As much as I remain opposed to much of his past and current work, I believed fewer people would be harmed by his presidency than would be harmed by another four years of Donald Trump in office. I still believe that.
But I now know that no matter what happens in November, the Oval Office will almost certainly be occupied for the next four years by a perpetrator of sexual assault.
This is not the first election where voters have had to choose between two candidates who have caused direct harm. Black, Brown and Indigenous voters have had to choose between the lesser of two evils—the person less likely to rob them of their freedom and dignity—in nearly every election where they have even been able to cast a ballot.

It would be politically convenient for me to forget Tara Reade, to ignore the harsh reality about this member of my team. Many people on my team have already made that choice. I understand it. But I will not do the same.

Lena Felton (THE LILY) speaks to a number of women about the way the media and others have treated Tara Reade:

Such is the case for Alannah Raitt, a 25-year-old bus driver and barista who’s also a volunteer aide for Joshua Collins, a Democratic candidate for Congress in Tacoma, Wash. “I will not support people who can’t seem to respect people’s bodily autonomy or can’t seem to understand the concept of consent,” says Raitt, who identifies as a victim of sexual assault. “I don’t understand how so many people can say ‘Oh, well, Trump’s done it too.’ That’s the lowest bar on the planet, and that’s not an excuse.”

The same goes for Sarah Ann Masse, who was one of the first women in October 2017 to allege sexual misconduct by disgraced Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein. It doesn’t matter which party the accused stands for, she says: “For me, sexual violence is not a partisan issue. If we’re going to believe survivors, we have to believe them regardless of the politics of their abuser and regardless of whether we like their policies.”

Survivors are watching what happens. They are seeing this unfold and they are fully aware that this is harmful to all women, to all survivors. Instead of reporting, most outlets are attacking Tara Reade. It sends a message. Fake asses like Alyssa Milano have used #MeToo to cover for their failed careers. But when they could be of any value at all, the Alyssa Milanos refuse to support women.

At COUNTERPUNCH this morning, MG outlines her experiences and notes:

I might not be ready to tell my story, but I am sharing this anyways. Nothing Tara did in the subsequent years after Joe Biden digitally raped her disqualifies her story. Nothing I did in the years following my assault changes what happened to me. Holding such a secret for so long, living a lie as truth is a defense mechanism for those of us who are not ready to tell. It is a way to pretend that “that thing” never happened. That defense mechanism kicks into overdrive when the perpetrator is a public figure. You become smaller, so you do more to deny the truth. You share a different face publicly than the emotionally scarred one.

As George Orwell said, if you want to keep a secret, you have to hide it from yourself. Shame on everyone for trying to psychoanalysis a victim that is still concealing their truth. Shame on the Democrats for forcing Biden on all the women and men who can see their story in Tara’s story. Who now see a version of their attacker in what liberals claim is the “women’s rights” candidate for the President of the United States. Biden is a secret the party is trying to hide from themselves, and it is going to cost us all dearly in the end.

THE TAKEAWAY spoke to VOX's Anna North about the charges against Biden.

On THE KATIE HALPER SHOW this week, Katie offers an interview with Tara's friend who corroborates Tara's story and was told of it in real time -- after that she speaks with THE INTERCEPT's Ryan Grim and with journalist Rich McHugh.

Katie Halper · 273-Tara Reade's friend speaks out on Joe Biden sexual assault allegation + Ryan Grim & Rich McHugh

We're also going to note this video.

On the one hand, I can see what she's going for, healing. On the other, I'm damn tired of women being the world's punching bag, the canary in the coalmine. I'm tired of it.

Would INFINITE LUNCHBOX do a video about the need to help killers find their way back? It's only when women are the targets that we have to think about the criminals and the suffering of the criminals. Let a woman be raped and the supposed 'fair' reaction is to think about the suffering that the rapist is going through.

Assault is a crime.

It's not my job to humor or defend Joe Biden if he assaulted Tara Reade. It's not my job to do that for anyone who assaults a woman.

I do get the whole let's-heal-America which, let's be honest, is largely bulls**t. But I am going to repeat, we only have this attitude when it's women.

We only have this attitude when it's women and man might suffer for his actions.

How is the nonsense INFINITE LUNCHBOX offers any different from the earlier nonsense of "boys will be boys"?

It's not. It's a new twist on rape culutre.

Danny Schechter used to bother me all the time for money. And then he got his little feelings hurt when I said no more. That was after terrorist Ike Turner died. I know Tina. I love Tina. She lived through terrorism. But Ike dies and there's Danny claiming that Tina forgives Ike or has to if she doesn't because . . . STFU. I told him not to ask me for money anymore, not to bother me anymore. He was a fan boy and that supposed to mean that a man gets to wipe away all of his crimes.

Time and again, that's what happens to women. Ike abusing and terrorizing Tina is well established. Even then, it becomes a case of "Oh, well, he had a hard life and Tina's forgiven him or should . . ."

No one says that about a Palestinian who's been terrorized -- nor should they -- or someone who was tortured at Guantanamo (nor should they). But let a woman be attacked by a man and it becomes a case of the woman has to soothe the delicate feelings of the male criminal.

Only women are expected to make things better for their attacker. That's bulls**t.

Turning to Iraq, ASHARQ AL-AWSAT reports:

Four forged ministerial lists were circulated and were said to represent the composition of Iraqi Prime Minister designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government, yet it was reported that the fifth list that has been circulating for the past two days is the legitimate one.

The list which includes 14 ministers could be passed by the parliament, while the rest of the portfolios are to be discussed between Kadhimi and the political blocs that represent the three main components in the country (Shiites, Sunnis, Kurds).

The PM-designate has not yet named figures who would head the defense and security portfolios.

Reasons behind this postponement vary. Some say differences over the interior and defense portfolios are limited between Sunnis and Shiites, while others suggest that Kadhimi wants to nominate both ministers himself without resorting to blocs or components.

Mustafa al-Kadhimi remains prime minister-designate. He is the third prime minister-designate so far this year. Will he succeed where the other two failed?

At THE ATLANTIC COUNCIL, Barbara Slavin offers:

A withdrawal of most US military forces from Iraq seems likely this year as the Iraqi government seeks to maintain some sort of diplomatic and economic relationship with the United States without alienating its powerful neighbor Iran. How this withdrawal is managed will help determine future US influence not only in Iraq but in the Middle East as a whole.
Iranian support for Prime Minister-designate Mustafa al-Kadhimi—who has had good relations with the United States—appears to be predicated on his agreeing to negotiate a new Status of Forces agreement (SFA) with Washington, which aims to remove the bulk of the several thousand US troops still deployed in Iraq.
The Americans’ mission was ostensibly to prevent the resurgence of the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) and to train Iraqi armed forces. However, the US jeopardized their continued presence in the country by breaching the terms of a 2008 SFA; they targeted Iran-backed Shia militias and the leader of Iran’s Quds Force, Qasem Soleimani, on Iraqi soil after a spate of attacks on American military and diplomatic targets last year. Even if the US actions were justified both to defend Americans and to deter future attacks, they represented a significant escalation in the rules of the game—an unprecedented targeting of a senior Iranian official in a foreign country.
The attack near Baghdad, when Soleimani was on an official visit, put Iraq in an untenable position. Iraq cannot afford to alienate a powerful neighbor with which it shares a 1,400-kilometer border and which has deep relations with a variety of Iraqi armed groups. If forced to choose, Baghdad will choose Iran, not the United States. It is, therefore, not in US interests to force Iraq to make such a choice.
While Tehran has long sought an exit of US forces from Iraq, Iran-backed militias did not attack US forces in Iraq while the US remained in compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal. The situation deteriorated after the US withdrew unilaterally from that deal in 2018 and sought to put a total embargo on Iran’s oil exports in 2019. That was when Iran commenced a series of retaliatory actions in the Persian Gulf and Iraq that prompted the assassination of Soleimani in early 2020. Also killed by the drone strike near Baghdad airport, were several Iraqis, including Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the leader of the Kataib Hezbollah militia and deputy commander of all of the Popular Mobilization Forces that had battled ISIS. The assassinations led the Iraqi parliament to pass a non-binding resolution expelling American forces.
Tensions abated somewhat after Tehran accidentally shot down a Ukrainian civilian airliner on January 8, mistaking it for a hostile US missile. The outbreak of the coronavirus in Iran and its neighbors also took attention away from US-Iran strains. However, a second spate of tit-for-tat attacks occurred in March, leading to the death of two more Americans and a British citizen, as well as three Iraqi soldiers, an Iraqi civilian, and several militia members. US forces have now been withdrawn from three isolated outposts in Iraq and consolidated in the relatively safe Kurdish city of Erbil and at the al-Assad air base outside Baghdad. The United States also brought in Patriot missile batteries to defend these bases against militia rockets.
This author has argued elsewhere that the decision to kill Soleimani and Muhandis was an overreaction to Iranian provocations that would make a long-term US military presence in Iraq very difficult—if not untenable. That the crisis came at a time when Iraqis had been protesting in the streets against Iran’s excessive influence in their country made assassination even more strategically questionable. Overnight, the issue became the United States, not Iran.
However, it is still possible to retain US influence in Iraq and to offer Iraqis an alternative to complete domination by Iran. This goal would be advanced by an effort to de-escalate tensions with Tehran; at a minimum, to deal with any provocation by Iran-backed groups in a way that does not humiliate Iraqi politicians by violating their country’s sovereignty.
Ideally, the United States should re-examine its policy of “maximum pressure” toward Iran, which has not and will not achieve its stated goals. Iran is more, not less, aggressive in the region, continuing its development of ballistic missiles—including its first successful satellite launch—and has accelerated its nuclear program. More pressure will either lead to war, strengthen Iranian hardliners, or both. Even a botched initial response to the coronavirus does not appear to have increased the chances for regime change. If anything, these crises have increased the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps’ economic and political dominance.
The United States could use the pandemic as an opportunity to make goodwill gestures toward Iran. While the Iranian government has rebuffed such offers, they resonate with the Iranian people, whose views of America and its citizens have historically been much more positive. The neutral US reaction to the first transaction by INSTEX was a good first step and further guidance from OFAC facilitating the supply of medicine and medical devices to Tehran was welcome. Iran should, also, be allowed to receive the emergency loan it requested from the International Monetary Fund and have access to revenue frozen in foreign banks for medical supplies.
However, even in the absence of any real improvement in US-Iran ties, it should still be possible to remove Iraq from the middle of hostilities. This will oblige the United States to significantly reduce its forces in Iraq and restrict the remaining troops’ role to training and counter-ISIS operations. Iran, in turn, should restrain its Iraqi proxies from attacking US targets and give Kadhimi a solid chance to stand up a new government.
Since 2003, little has happened in Iraqi politics without Iran playing a role, which is predictable, given Iran’s long association with the Iraqi Shia and Kurds that opposed the rule of Saddam Hussein. The US lost opportunities to cooperate with or, at least, avoid antagonizing Iran, swayed by those in the administration who hubristically believed that they could instigate regime change in Tehran. Other mistakes—such as dissolving the Iraqi army, failing to protect Iraqi infrastructure from looting, and installing a Lebanon-like system in Iraq, with top positions for ethno-religious factions—doomed the country to sectarian strife and increased Iran’s ability to manipulate political developments. Nevertheless, as memories of the 2003 invasion fade, young Iraqis are more focused on constructing a less sectarian society that delivers jobs and other tangible economic benefits. They resent Iran’s meddling and want to reconnect with the Arab world and beyond.

The United States can support this trend by keeping Iraq out of its fight with Iran to make it easier for Iraqi politicians, businesspeople, and security officials to maintain some sort of constructive relationship with Americans. US intervention in Iraq has cost thousands of American and tens of thousands of Iraqi lives as well as billions in US taxpayer funds. For those who died and sacrificed on all sides since the invasion, the United States should find a way to withdraw most of its military forces with dignity. Otherwise, US credibility and influence throughout the region will fade to the benefit of Iran, China, Russia and ISIS.

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