Friday, June 11, 2021

The most important science story of the week

 I consider the story I'm about to highlight to be science.  I hope you will as well. And it's a very important science story right now.  Here's a text story from Rob Stein (NPR):


As the pandemic calms in the U.S., a growing number of states have started scaling back how often they update their dashboards tracking what's happening with the virus.

The moves are sparking alarm among many public health experts.

"One of the most troubling trends recently has been that states are making the decision to either slow or wind down their reporting efforts," says Beth Blauer, who helps run the Coronavirus Resource Center at Johns Hopkins University, a leading source of information about the pandemic.

"I think it's absolutely appropriate for us to celebrate the progress we've made, but we still are very much navigating a pandemic. We haven't gotten to the point where we can stake victory," Blauer says.

 

You can use the same link to hear the story.  

 

If we're not accurately keeping numbers, how are we supposed to know when the numbers are dropping and whether the vaccines are doing any good?  We've seen mutations of the strain already.  A mutation could knock out any effects of the vaccine.  Why are states getting away with this?  The federal government needs to step in and insist that numbers are reported accurately and timely.

 

"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

 Friday, June 11, 2021.  The Kurds, the PKK, Turkey, we walk through a lot of history



Kurdistan Junis Tweets:


"The population of Afrin was once at least 96 % Kurdish. Following the Turkish occupation, most of them were displaced, & the proportion of the Kurdish population fell to around 25 %. ". If this isn't genocide, what is it then ?!!!!


"In south Kurdistan, they have established tens of military and intelligence bases and outposts to be used against the interests of our people," Elyana Elyan remarked this week regarding Turkey's illegal actions in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of Iraq. 


The Kurdish People's Assembly Tweets:


The Turkish military is attempting genocide against Kurds in South Kurdistan, targeting civilians and a large refugee camp. Ask your MP to sign an Early Day Motion condemning Turkey’s actions, and to speak up in favour of an arms embargo on Turkey:


What is going on?  Insisting that they must defend themselves from the PKK, the government of Turkey is violating international law by sending troops into Iraq on raids and other missions and bombing the Kurdistan Region with war planes and drones.  PKK?  The what?  The PKK is one of many Kurdish groups which supports and fights for a Kurdish homeland. Aaron Hess (International Socialist Review) described them in 2008, "The PKK emerged in 1984 as a major force in response to Turkey's oppression of its Kurdish population. Since the late 1970s, Turkey has waged a relentless war of attrition that has killed tens of thousands of Kurds and driven millions from their homes. The Kurds are the world's largest stateless population -- whose main population concentration straddles Turkey, Iraq, Iran, and Syria -- and have been the victims of imperialist wars and manipulation since the colonial period. While Turkey has granted limited rights to the Kurds in recent years in order to accommodate the European Union, which it seeks to join, even these are now at risk." The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq has been a concern to Turkey because they fear that if it ever moves from semi-autonomous to fully independent -- such as if Iraq was to break up into three regions -- then that would encourage the Kurdish population in Turkey. For that reason, Turkey is overly interested in all things Iraq. So much so that they signed an agreement with the US government in 2007 to share intelligence which the Turkish military has been using when launching bomb raids. However, this has not prevented the loss of civilian life in northern Iraq. Aaron Hess noted, "The Turkish establishment sees growing Kurdish power in Iraq as one step down the road to a mass separatist movement of Kurds within Turkey itself, fighting to unify a greater Kurdistan. In late October 2007, Turkey's daily newspaper Hurriyet accused the prime minister of the KRG, Massoud Barzani, of turning the 'Kurdish dream' into a 'Turkish nightmare'."


While Turkey pretends the problems started with the emergence of the PKK, they are lying.  The PKK is not an initiating incident.  It is a response to Turkey's long persecution of the Kurds -- perscuetion of the Kurds in Turkey and elsewhere. 


Sirwan Renas (Washington Kurdish Institute) offers his take:

The foundations of Kurdish nationalism in contemporary history can be traced back to the historical transition from pre-modern empire political system to the modern state-building order in the Middle East. In regard to Islamism, what makes Kurdish nationalism different from its rival nationalisms is the contemporary historical context through which it emerged. 

The Arab, Turkish, and Persian/Iranian nationalisms are state nationalisms that were constructed in opposition to Western colonialism — namely, British and France — at the beginning of the twentieth century and the domination of the United State in the aftermath of World War II. In contrast, Kurdish nationalism is a stateless nationalism aimed at the creation of the state of Kurdistan, and, thus, it emerged in opposition to the domination of Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian states — not the domination of Western powers. While for Turks, Arabs, and Persians, Western powers were seen as interventionists and occupiers, for Kurds the Turkish, Iranian, Iraqi, and Syrian states were perceived as occupiers. Even though Britain and France played a major role in dividing Kurdistan, for Kurds, it was their occupying authoritarian states that suppressed almost every Kurdish liberation movement throughout the twentieth century— a brutal suppression that led to all kinds of violations of human rights, from denying their fundamental rights to practice their language and culture and the possession of their homeland to mass killings, chemical bombings, ethnic cleansings, and genocides. The fact that the Kurdish national rights have been violated by the occupying states (not Western colonialists) made a significant difference in how Kurds perceive Islamism. 

Kurds do not have any state of their own to identify themselves with, nor do they identify themselves with any of the pre-modern Islamic empires or with any of the modern occupying states. That is not to say that Kurds have played no active role in the Islamic empires. Saladin Ayyubi, the founder of the Ayyubid dynasty, for example, led the Muslim military campaign against the Crusaders in the Levant. However, Kurds do not identify themselves with the Ayyubid dynasty and it has not become a basis for Kurdish nationalism. On the contrary, Turks identify themselves with the Ottoman Empire, Persians with the Safavid Empire, and Arabs with many Islamic dynasties since the birth of Islam. 

The transitional period from pre-modern empires to modern states in the Middle East is a crucial moment that helps us to understand how Kurdish nationalism and Islamism were affected by this historical context. It is widely believed that nationalism as a political ideology is a modern phenomenon.



Zooming in on recent events, Washington's Kurdish Institute notes the following for Iraq:

 

  • Turkey’s ongoing incursion into Iraqi Kurdistan stoked tensions between the Kurdish Democratic Party’s (KDP) Peshmerga forces and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) last week. On Saturday, the Peshmerga accused the PKK of ambushing one of its convoys traveling to Metina in an attack that killed five Peshmerga, wounded five more, and was denounced by Kurdish and Iraqi officials and US and European envoys. The PKK responded by denying involvement and calling for an “independent investigation.” That said, unidentified assailants killed another Peshmerga member near Zakho on Tuesday, and a joint federal and regional parliamentary group is set to conduct a fact-finding mission in the region soon. Meanwhile, Turkish forces conducted additional airstrikes, plundered more trees from the region, and appear poised to exploit KDP-PKK tensions by launching additional incursions into Iraqi Kurdistan.  
  • Turkish forces made good on a threat from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and ignored US warnings by launching an airstrike on the Makhmour refugee camp and killing three civilians. Erdogan continues to claim the camp, which houses thousands of Kurds who fled Turkish military operations during the 1990s, is providing a safe haven to PKK members. 
  • The first joint Peshmarga-Iraqi operation targeting ISIS (Da’esh) took place east of Tuz Khurmatu on Sunday. The Iraqi Security Media Cell announced Iraqi forces also launched five airstrikes on Da’esh positions during the operation. Likewise, a senior Peshmerga commander told Rudaw 13 Da’esh tunnels were destroyed during the operation. Iraq’s “Disputed Territories” have remained plagued by Da’esh since Iraqi forces and Iranian-backed militias removed the Peshmerga in October 2017.  
  • Anti-government protests continued in Kirkuk Governorate due to ongoing shortages of water, electricity, gas, and waste collection. Dozens of taxi drivers launched a demonstration to protest the lack of fuel, and even non-Kurdish demonstrators praised former governor, Dr. Najmaldin Karim, for his successes in providing services while bashing the current acting governor, Rakan Saed al Jabouri, who was imposed on the governorate on October 16, 2017. 



On the sixth of this month, Hunar Rasheed (RUDAW) reported:


Harmin Waheed, 19, is afraid she will miss out on this year's classes as she has fled home and sought shelter in another village with her family because of the ongoing conflict between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Waheed, a grade 12 student, and her family left the village of Kesta along with dozens of other families in late April. She says instead of going to school, she now just does housework. They have taken shelter in Dargalka village.

"They [Turkey] fired missiles plenty of times causing huge bangs, not letting us study. They did not let us continue our studies. Nobody was in the mood to study," she recalls of the misery they faced back home in Kesta.

Waheed and her family took shelter at Begova Highschool in the village of Dagalka.

"The aftermath leaves us terribly frightened. Although the fight is a little far from our village, we can still hear it. The loud bangs sound so close, they terrify us," Warshin Hassan, a student, told Rudaw on Monday.

Teachers have warned that the number of students is declining year by year thanks to the decades-long impact of warfare in the mountainous border region.

According to data from the Amedi Education Department, 22 schools and 800 students have been affected by Turkish airstrikes and bombings.



The government of Turkey's actions are destroying lives.  On the eight of this month, Khazan Jangiz (RUDAW) reported:


Members of the Kurdistan Region and Iraqi parliaments visited Duhok province on Tuesday to speak with villagers displaced from border areas where Turkey is conducting an operation against alleged Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions, a Kurdish MP has told Rudaw.

“A parliamentary delegation of the Kurdistan Region’s parliament, with some members of the Iraqi council of representatives … is investigating the tension at the border areas in Duhok province, in addition to losses created by this tension between both Turkey and the PKK forces, as well as the PKK and Peshmerga forces,” Shno Shahid Ashqi, a Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) MP said on Tuesday.

“We are sitting with some of the village chiefs, we are listening to their complaints. They are the ones who have evacuated their villages,” he added.

Ashqi, who is also a member of the Health, Environment and Consumer Rights committee in the Kurdistan Region parliament, said the villagers have said suffered great losses in a number of areas.

Not only “have their trees been cut but all of their lands has been burned and destroyed. They have suffered great losses, more than what is talked about in the media and on social media. Their houses are looted, their electricity destroyed, their livestock is being stolen.”


Yesterday, Yousif Musa (RUDAW) reported:

Six months after they fled their homes in northern Duhok because of clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a group of villagers returned and found their homes had been looted, their belongings stolen or destroyed.

"I saw all the doors were broken. The house supplies have been taken out into the streets, there was a mess," said Mahdi Naif, one of three men who snuck back to visit their village Roisy in the Batifa district. “The whole village was looted.”

"We found that they had left our houses in shambles," said Omer Ali, another villager who visited their homes. "The doors were smashed, no supplies were left for the people. What's left is not usable."

Roisy village has been abandoned for six months because of conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Eighteen families fled the community for safer areas in December. Four Turkish military bases have been established within close proximity of the village.

The PKK is an armed group fighting for greater rights for Kurds in Turkey. It has bases in the Kurdistan Region's mountains and the Turkish army frequently carries out cross-border operations against the group. Local civilians are victims of the conflict. They are targeted in bombing campaigns and driven from their homes. More than 500 villages have been emptied in the Kurdistan Region over three decades of Turkey-PKK conflict.
 


Let's also not forget the outrageous attack that took place last weekend when Turkey bombed a UN refugee camp.  Here is AFP's report on that bombing.




Where did Turkey get the drones?  The US has been supplying them with drones and other weapons for years.  In exchange, Turkey has provided spying intel on Kurdistan and other areas in Iraq.  Also, Turkey agreed to host a CIA outpost close to the border they share with Iraq.



We noted Elyana Elyan's statement earlier.  You can find her remarks in the video below.





She was speaking Tuesday at the webinar hosted by the Washington Kurdistan Institute.  The webinar was moderated by Sierwan Najmaldin Karim and Philip Kowalski.  The guests included analsts Hiwa Osman, Nilufer Koc, Dr. Henri Barkey and form US Ambassador Peter Galbraith.  (Dislcosue, I know Peter and have for several decades.)   The Institute issued a statement that included:



For a century, the Turkish state has persecuted the Kurds, denying their very existence, committing countless massacres, and seeking to eliminate the Kurdish identity. Since 2015, the current Turkish regime led by Erdogan has committed countless acts of military aggression against the Kurdish people in Turkey, Syria, and Iraq, openly pursing a campaign of ethnic cleansing.
The Turkish military has occupied areas in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq for many years and is actively seeking to expand its presence – at present, there are tens of Turkish military bases and posts throughout South Kurdistan. This most recent act of unprovoked aggression is part of a larger plan to broaden Turkey’s zones of occupation in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, prevent any type of self-determination for the Kurdish people, and eventually eradicate the Kurdish identity.
We condemn these attacks in the strongest terms and call upon the United States government and the international community to take immediate action to bring Erdogan’s campaigns of military aggression to an end and sanction his regime for systematic violations of international law and global human rights conventions.
We reaffirm once again a solution to the Kurdish question will only be achieved through dialogue between the Turkish state and the PKK, and the United States and international community could play an integral role in encouraging and facilitating this dialogue to achieve just peace for all peoples of the region.


That statement was issued in April.  It could have been issued any day of any month of any recent year.  That's how long Turkey's illegal actions have been carried out.  That's how long the world has largely looked the other way.

The government of Iraq has also not offered a strong response.  Though various officials have spoken out, there has been no leadership on this issue and the current prime minister has no clear stance.  In addition, Andam Aso Aziz notes:


The Iraqi president and foreign minister are Kurds. We have several Kurdish diplomats and parliamentarians in Iraq and the KRG. If we are not working effectively to throw Turkey out of the KRG now, when are we going to do it?

 

Also rather silent has been the US government.  But the attack over the past weekend did prompt one public remark from a US official who was quoted in a REUTERS report:

 

U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield visited Ankara last week and said she told officials that "any attack targeting civilians at Makhmour refugee camp would be a violation of international and humanitarian law".


Elyana Elyan noted of the most recent wave of attacks, "The Turkish state's choice of this date, April 24th for the initiation of operations is no coincidence as it is the anniversary of the Armenian genocide.  This is a clear message, an open threat of genocide."


Changing topics, kidnappings continue in Iraq.  Persecution.org notes:


 Assyrian activist, Husam Alkass, was abducted and later released by the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), according to the Assyrian Policy Institute. Alkass, who was a member of the Assyrian Human Rights Network, was captured in Derik (Al-Malikiyah), located in northeastern Syria near the Turkish border.

Alkass was abducted on June 3 and later released on June 4. His whereabouts were unknown during his capture. Prior to his abduction, he was known for documenting human rights violations committed by the de facto Kurdish authorities. According to Anadolu Agency, Alkass was kidnapped and beaten by a group of masked men while he was returning to his car from shopping that afternoon.

Al-Malikiyah has a rich history of Assyrian heritage, with its indigenous inhabitants fleeing to Syria the Assyrian Christian genocide from Turkey. The city is now occupied by the terrorist group. The PYD has links to the perhaps more well-known Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which operates in Turkey and Iraq. The terrorist group closed all Syriac-Assyrian schools in Al-Malikiyah in August 2018, claiming they did not have the correct licenses. The closure was widely seen as repression of the Assyrian minority groups.

For interviews, please contact Addison Parker: press@persecution.org


Earlier this month, the Assyrian Policy Institute had Tweeted:


The Assyrian Policy Institute is deeply concerned by reports that Assyrian activist Husam Alkass, a member of the Assyrian Human Rights Network, has been abducted in Derik (al-Malikiyah), Syria by militiamen affiliated with the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).
Image



We include that Tweet to put a face to Husam's name.  Again, he has been released. 

Yesterday, UNAMI issued the followig:


Baghdad, 10 June 2021 – A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has today been signed between the General Secretariat of the Iraqi Council of Ministers’ (GSCOM) Women Empowerment Directorate and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to advance gender equality and women empowerment in Iraq.

Building upon existing structures and ongoing gender mainstreaming efforts, the new partnership will strengthen the institutional and analytical capacity of relevant Iraqi stakeholders to advance gender equality, focusing on the specific needs of women and girls in Iraq. It will help Iraq achieve its gender equality commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by integrating gender perspective in governmental policies and plans.

One of the priority activities under the MoU is to assist the government’s Central Statistical Organization to establish an e-platform that aims at bridging the gender classified data gap by facilitating the flow of reliable, gender-specific data across different institutions in the country that will help shape government policies.

The Secretary General of the Council of Ministers, His Excellency Mr. Hamid Al-Ghizi said: “Whereas women around the world are seen as powerful agents of change towards advanced, sustainable and inclusive societies, Iraqi women have played a strong role in addressing the crises and challenges that Iraq has experienced and have had an effective role and contribution in establishing inclusive society. Hence, we believe that this MoU is an important step towards strengthening these roles”
“While Iraq still grapples with the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, it has disproportionately affected women and girls, exacerbating numerous existing social, economic and political challenges. This calls for increased gender responsive efforts towards achieving gender equality. UNDP Iraq will continue support the government to mainstream gender equality and fulfil its national obligations under the SDGs. This MoU with GSCOM will further strengthen inclusive and gender sensitive policies, as well as our efforts to achieve gender equality in Iraq,” says Resident Representative of UNDP in Iraq, Zena Ali Ahmad.

Media contact:
Mohammed Al-Bahbahanee, Communications Specialist | mohammed.al-bahbahanee@undp.org | +964770 439 9222





The following sites updated:






Thursday, June 10, 2021

Mars

The US has two land rovers on Mars that are currently active. There's my favorite, Curiosity, who has been on Mars for several years. And then there's the newbie, the Scrappy to Curiosity's Scooby, Ingenuity. NASA notes of Ingenuity:

On June 1, NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover kicked off the science phase of its mission by leaving the “Octavia E. Butler” landing site. Until recently, the rover has been undergoing systems tests, or commissioning, and supporting the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter’s month of flight tests.

During the first few weeks of this first science campaign, the mission team will drive to a low-lying scenic overlook from which the rover can survey some of the oldest geologic features in Jezero Crater, and they’ll bring online the final capabilities of the rover’s auto-navigation and sampling systems.

Image taken by the helicopter flying over Mars
Séítah From the Air: This image looking west toward the Séítah geologic unit on Mars was taken from the height of 33 feet (10 meters) by NASA’s Ingenuity Mars helicopter during its sixth flight, on May 22, 2021. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech. Download image ›

By the time Perseverance completed its commissioning phase on June 1, the rover had already tested its oxygen-generating MOXIE instrument and conducted the technology demonstration flights of the Ingenuity helicopter. Its cameras had taken more than 75,000 images, and its microphones had recorded the first audio soundtracks of Mars.

“We are putting the rover’s commissioning phase as well as the landing site in our rearview mirror and hitting the road,” said Jennifer Trosper, Perseverance project manager at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “Over the next several months, Perseverance will be exploring a 1.5-square-mile [4-square-kilometer] patch of crater floor. It is from this location that the first samples from another planet will be collected for return to Earth by a future mission.”

The science goals of the mission are to study the Jezero region in order to understand the geology and past habitability of the environment in the area, and to search for signs of ancient microscopic life. The team will identify and collect the most compelling rock and sediment samples, which a future mission could retrieve and bring back to Earth for more detailed study. Perseverance will also take measurements and test technologies to support future human and robotic exploration of Mars.

Mastcam-Z's 360-degree View of "Van Zyl Overlook": Perseverance’s Mastcam-Z imaging system captured this 360-degree panorama at "Van Zyl Overlook," where the rover parked during Ingenuity helicopter’s first flights. The 2.4-billion-pixel panorama consists of 992 images stitched together. Download the image or view a full-screen interactive version. Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS.

Unique Geology

Spanning hundreds of sols (or Martian days), this first science campaign will pursue all of the mission’s science goals as the rover explores two unique geologic units in which Jezero’s deepest (and most ancient) layers of exposed bedrock and other intriguing geologic features can be found. The first unit, called “the Crater Floor Fractured Rough,” is the crater-filled floor of Jezero. The adjacent unit, named “Séítah” (meaning “amidst the sand” in the Navajo language), has its fair share of Mars bedrock but is also home to ridges, layered rocks, and sand dunes.

“To do justice to both units in the time allotted, the team came up with the Martian version of an old auto club-style map,” said JPL’s Kevin Hand, an astrobiologist and co-lead, along with Vivian Sun, of this science campaign. “We have our route planned, complete with optional turnoffs and labeled areas of interest and potential obstructions in our path.”

Most of the challenges along the way are expected to come in the form of sand dunes located within the mitten-shaped Séítah unit. To negotiate them, the rover team decided Perseverance will drive mostly either on the Crater Floor Fractured Rough or along the boundary line between it and Séítah. When the occasion calls for it, Perseverance will perform a “toe dip” into the Séítah unit, making a beeline for a specific area of interest.

The goal of the campaign is to establish what four locations in these units best tell the story of Jezero Crater’s early environment and geologic history. When the science team decides a location is just right, they will collect one or two samples.

“Starting with the Crater Floor Fractured Rough and Seitah geologic units allows us to start our exploration of Jezero at the very beginning,” said Hand. “This area was under at least 100 meters [328 feet] of water 3.8 billion years ago. We don’t know what stories the rocks and layered outcrops will tell us, but we’re excited to get started.”

The first science campaign will be complete when the rover returns to its landing site. At that point, Perseverance will have traveled between 1.6 and 3.1 miles (2.5 and 5 kilometers) and up to eight of Perseverance’s 43 sample tubes could be filled with Mars rock and regolith (broken rock and dust). Next, Perseverance will travel north then west toward the location of its second science campaign: Jezero’s delta region. The delta is the fan-shaped remains of the confluence of an ancient river and a lake within Jezero Crater. The location may be especially rich in carbonates – minerals that, on Earth, can preserve fossilized signs of ancient life and can be associated with biological processes.

The start of Perseverance’s first science campaign also marks a transition on the team: On June 7, Jennifer Trosper became the mission’s new project manager. She succeeds Matt Wallace, who is moving on to become JPL’s Deputy Director for Planetary Science.

“From Sojourner to Spirit and Opportunity to Curiosity to Perseverance, Matt has played key roles in the design, construction, and operations of every Mars rover NASA has ever built,” said Trosper. “And while the project is losing a great leader and trusted friend, we know Matt will continue making great things happen for the planetary science community.”

Jezero Crater depicts the routes for Perseverance’s first science campaign as well as its second
Perseverance’s First Road Trip: This annotated image of Jezero Crater depicts the routes for Perseverance’s first science campaign (yellow hash marks) as well as its second (light-yellow hash marks). Credits: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona. Download image ›

More About the Mission

A key objective for Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including the search for signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.

Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.

The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.

JPL, which is managed for NASA by Caltech in Pasadena, California, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.

For more about Perseverance:

mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/

nasa.gov/perseverance

News Media Contacts

DC Agle
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
818-393-9011
agle@jpl.nasa.gov

Karen Fox / Alana Johnson
NASA Headquarters, Washington
301-286-6284 / 202-358-1501
karen.c.fox@nasa.gov / alana.r.johnson@nasa.gov



 
Those are some great photos in the article.

I'm depressed of late. Just thinking about how ineffectual Joe Biden is to the climate crisis and how we're all just supposed to pretend (a) the the climate crisis isn't happening and (b) that if it were, Joe would address it. We need action. We're not seeing it. At the point that it's too late, I guess we'll see ELYSIUM come to life and the Jodie Fosters will flee for refuge to another planet while the rest of us will be stuck on a failing planet.


"Iraq snapshot" (THE COMMON ILLS):

 Thursday, June 10, 2021.  Attacks on US-interests in Iraq, a probable killer walks free, and much more.


The most dominant Iraq item in the news cycle?  Another attack.





ALJAZEERA reports:


Multiple rockets have targeted two Iraqi military bases hosting US-led coalition troops and foreign contractors but nobody was hurt in the attacks.

Iraq’s joint operations command said in a statement on Thursday one attack near a military base next to Baghdad’s airport was spearheaded by three explosives-laden drones, and one of the UAVs was intercepted and destroyed.

Three rockets also hit Balad airbase, north of the capital, on Wednesday without causing any casualties or damage, a military statement said. The base houses foreign military contractors.


AFP explains, "Balad air base, north of Baghdad, is used by US company Sallyport to service F-16 fighter jets flown by Iraq’s air force and has repeatedly been targeted by rocket fire. Another US company, Lockheed Martin, withdrew its staff from the base last month amid concerns about the safety of its personnel."  Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) provides this context, "The attacks are the latest in a string that continue to target the U.S. presence in Iraq. Over a dozen have targeted Iraqi military bases and Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone since U.S. President Joe Biden assumed office this year. More than 10 people have been killed, including two foreign contractors."  Sura Ali (RUDAW) notes, "In May, a leader in the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or Hashd al-Shaabi in Arabic) affiliated with the Iraqi Ministry of Defense said there are Iranian-made drones in Iraq that are ready to be used against US combat troops." THE NEWSHOUR's Leila Molana-Allen Tweets:


More info on last night's attacks in #Iraq: at least four rockets hit Balad and #Baghdad aiport air bases hosting #US troops.


In other news, Qasim Muslih was released yesterday ending a brief, momentary hope many Iraqis had that someone might be held accountable for the wave of assassinations targeting Iraqi activists.  Balsam Tweets:


In his first statement after release, Qasim Muslih, militia leader, says, 'it is expected that Hashed leaders would face terrorism charges whilst terrorists become martyrs...Hashed has played a role in establishing the state of Iraq'. Who was he referring to as 'terrorists'?


You really don't need to ask that question.  Qasim Muslih and his cohorts have designated activists as terrorists.  When their wave or propaganda took place in January of 2000, they attacked and beat Shi'ites hanging truths around Baghdad about their fallen wet dream -- assassinated by the US government -- who was nothing but a thug who terrorized Sunnis, Iraq's LGBT community and freedom.  Putting a poster is an offense that can get you executed in Qasim's mind, it is terrorism.  And taking down a poster promoting Qasim and his fellow thugs?  It's cause to murder.


JoJo Jabbani reminds:


Qasim Muslih: "Any hand which [takes down] posters of the Hashd and Abu Mahdi AlMuhandis, I will cut it and send it back to you" Many such audio recordings of direct threats, but still "insufficient evidence" for his role in assassinations of activists.


Terrorists, in Qasim's mind, are those activists who make up The October Movement, a group of largely Shi'ite Iraqis who came together to demand better public services -- we'll come back to that in a minute -- and an end to corruption.  Making those demands?  In Qasim's mind is an act of terrorism.  The militias were always a bad thing but since they were folded into the official Iraqi military, they've been even worse.  They have threatened and bullied the current prime minister.  And they got away with it.  


Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim (WASHINGTON POST) report:


Iraq's government suffered an embarrassment Wednesday after a rare move to limit impunity among Iran-linked militias instead resulted in a commander accused of several killings walking free from custody and into a hero's welcome.

Although Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s government issued no statement about the May 26 arrest of Qasim Musleh, a militia commander from the southern city of Karbala, the fallout from it has dominated news broadcasts and underscored the administration’s weakness as militias kill and intimidate members of a protest movement that brought Kadhimi to power.

The arrest had sparked immediate controversy. Iran-linked militiamen arrived at the gates of Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone within hours. The army was deployed. That standoff ended only when one of Kadhimi’s predecessors and political foes, Nouri al-Maliki, stepped in to defuse tensions, officials say.

In a statement Wednesday, Iraq’s judiciary said that it had not seen sufficient evidence to convict Musleh and that he had provided a document showing that he was out of the country during the killing of at least one of two civil society activists in Karbala whose deaths he is being linked to. Iraqi officials had previously said that they had a case file proving his connection to the killing.



Better public services?  I said we'd come back to that.  Though not reported on that often these days, Iraq still has a problem of providing potable water -- safe drinking water.  For example, Khazan Jangiz (RUDAW) reported yesterday:

Sulaimani’s health directorate on Wednesday expressed its concern over increasing cases of diarrhea among the public, urging residents to refrain from using unsuitable drinking water.

“The data that we have, we will not hide it, it’s caused us worry and fear because the number of people infected with diarrhea has tripled and now a large number of people are suffering from diarrhea,” Sabah Nasraddin, the general director of Sulaimani’s health directorate, said in a press conference on Wednesday. 

“We suspect if it’s not controlled, it could be a cause for the spread of cholera,” Nasraddin warned. “One of the reasons as you know is the drought, because the water has decreased and people are resorting to well water and water that is not suitable for drinking, which will spread disease.”


ARAB NEWS reports:

 However, a senior Iraqi government official denounced the decision to release Muslah.

“Telephone communications on the topic of these assassinations between Muslah and the direct perpetrators, threats to relatives, witness testimony, explanations received under questioning — all were supplied,” the official said.

“The government presented all available evidence, but the judges have decided to release him because of pressure exerted on them.” Muslah’s release coincided with the arrival in Baghdad of Gen. Esmail Ghaani, head of the Quds Force, the overseas unit of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Ghaani met militia and political leaders to discuss tensions between the government and the Hashd Al-Shaabi. Muslah’s arrest last month sparked tensions and fears of violence.

Hashd Al-Shaabi forces surrounded Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi’s headquarters inside the heavily fortified Green Zone, the seat of the Iraqi government, and Iraqi security forces and the elite Counter-Terrorism Service were deployed to protect the government and diplomatic missions.


FREE MALAYSIA TODAY Tweets:

Qasim Muslih's release without charge is one of many failed govt efforts to rein down armed groups. #FMTNews


YEMEN DETAILS Tweets:


An official #Iraq government source decried the decision to release pro-Iran #PMU commander Qasim Muslih, adding that “the government presented all available evidence, but the judges have decided to release him because of pressure exerted on them.”



We'll note this Tweet.


The man on the left is Ihab Al-Wazni and the one the right is Fahim Al-Ta’aie. Please share this thread to expose the power of Iran within iraq, the unacceptable actions of the Iranian backed militias, the resistance and the crimes they have committed against many activists.
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The two remain dead.  Their alleged killer walks free.


A friend at the Pentagon asked me to note the following which was posted by the US Defense Dept yesterday:


The Defense Department celebrates the extraordinary achievements of its LGBTQ+ service members, civilian employees and their families' sacrifices during Pride Month, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III said today at the Pentagon.

Speaking to an audience that included the department's senior-most leadership, the secretary said as DOD reflects on the progress it's made in making sure that everyone who wants to serve and is qualified, can do so with dignity and respect.

"We know we have more work to do, but thanks to your courage, advocacy and dedication, the Department of Defense has been able to do more to secure LGBTQ+ rights than at any other time in history," Austin said.

That includes efforts to ensure all military families and spouses receive the benefits their loved ones have earned, and to which they are entitled; to helping veterans who previously were forced out because of their sexual orientation to apply to correct their records, or — where appropriate — to return to service, he said.

"[It's] often said that progress is a relay race [and] not a single event. That's certainly been true when it comes to the pioneers who fought for this community’s civil rights in the military," the secretary said.

Throughout American history, LGBTQ+ citizens have fought to defend our rights and freedoms — from the founding of our nation to the Civil War, from the trenches of two World Wars to Korea and Vietnam and from Afghanistan to Iraq, the secretary said. "They fought for our country even when our country wouldn't fight for them."

Austin noted how not every advocate of this community's rights has been an LGBTQ+ community member. Former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, was one leader who took a courageous stand against the law, "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," which led directly to its repeal 10 years ago.

Today, the department commemorates the repeal of that law and welcomes a new generation of soldiers, sailors, airmen, guardians and Marines, openly and proudly serving their country, Austin said. 

"And today, we reaffirm that transgender rights are human rights and that America is safer — it is better — when every qualified citizen can serve with pride and dignity," the secretary said.

He called such efforts real progress and emphasized how the repeal was hard-fought and hard-won.

However, DOD's work isn't done until it tackles the challenge of sexual assault and harassment in the force, he emphasized. 

"And we know that service members from this community are at elevated risk of this crime.  Our work isn't done until we recognize that the health of the force fully incorporates mental health, including for LGBTQ+ service members," the secretary pointed out.

"That's why we must recommit to treating all wounds, both visible and invisible. And our work still isn’t done until we create a safe and supportive workplace for everyone — one free from discrimination, harassment and fear," Austin said.

"No one should have to hide who they love to serve the country they love," he said. "No service member who is willing to put their life on the line to keep our country safe should feel unsafe because of who they are."

Further, the secretary said, "No citizen who is qualified, willing and able to do the job should be turned away. So yes, we've got more to do. But I'm confident we'll get there because of all of you, and because of the LGBTQ+ service members and civilians around the world who never stop living the values they so bravely defend."

The secretary said he knows this community is especially proud this month and rightfully so. "I'm proud, too," he said, adding, "proud every month and every day to call you my teammates and to serve alongside you — because your lives, careers, service and stories are living proof that we are stronger and more effective together."

Austin thanked the LGBTQ+ community for their service, their skill, and change and progress as they continue to lead. "It matters very much to the defense of this nation," he said.




The following sites updated: