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

Thursday, December 26, 2013

Ephron nailed it

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Not Born In A Manger" went up yesterday.

"How The Grinch Tried To Steal Christmas, Or, Have A Holly Jolly Christmas" is Hillary Is 44's latest.

I don't think they pull it off.

And I wish, since they were silent for five days, they'd just tried to do a straightforward post.

Some people can pull off funny. Cedric and Wally, for example, can do funny.

"The future looms"
"THIS JUST IN! WHAT COULD BE WORSE?"

C.I. can do it and did this week with "The Portable Sowell: The Imprudence and Stupidity."

But everyone can't pull it off.

It's like the line Nora Ephron wrote for Carrie Fisher's character in "When Harry Met Sally . . .," "Everybody thinks they have good taste and a sense of humor but they couldn't possibly all have good taste."

Exactly.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Thursday, December 26, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, the Ashraf community is attacked again, Barack Obama 'gifts' weapons to Nouri (leaving US tax payers on the hook for his $7 million gift?), Christmas Day saw an attack on Iraq's Christian community which left nearly 40 dead, and more.

The two biggest topics in the e-mail are Joss Stone and the Ashraf community. Starting with Joss, who is amazing.

"Drive All Night," written by Joss and Eg White, is from Joss' LP1 album which Kat reviewed here and, examing 2011's year in music, Kat found first place to be a three-way tie, "Stevie Nicks' In Your Dreams, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake and Joss Stone's LP1." And we picked it for "The Make Out Song of 2011" at Third. And, FYI, I know Joss and I know Dave Stewart but I'm actually plugging Joss right now because Kat intends to feature Joss in Kat's look back at 2013 in music.

Make out song?

An e-mail to the public account -- yes, we're starting the snapshot slowly -- wants to note celibacy. It's aimed at gay men. So I called to ask some friends, "Is this some new activist movement" since it wasn't filled with hate -- "or what?" No, it's an effort to promote an online gay matchmaking service. It's Gayquation whose Facebook page is here and whose Twitter feed it here. With eHarmony's well noted homophobia, I have no problem noting a gay matchmaking online service (once, I'm not going to do it all the time).

But I won't take part in a celibacy campaign for adults. Adults will do what they want and should. And 30 days of celibacy sounds a lot like that very bad Josh Hartnett film 40 Days and 40 Nights.

That was an idiotic movie and I said it would be before it started filming. Movies have to be relatable to be successful. The film bombed in the US ($37 million box office -- a sleazy and misleading ad campaign allowed it to do very well outside the US). I said open the film with a pissed off woman who doesn't like being his latest one night stand and, while he's sleeping, locks him in a celibacy device. Forced celibacy would speak to many men's fears and he is kept in the device until that one night stand feels he's learned a lesson. That's relatable as a fear. A grown man who is sexually active -- leading a life many male ticket buyers wish they had -- deciding not to have sex for 40 days isn't relatable. And that brings us to Gayquation's campaign. That movie took a promising actor and stripped him of his heat and Hartnett's still not recovered. The campaign may harm your company in a similar way. You got your links, be happy and don't e-mail again.

Ashraf.

BBC News notes, "A rocket attack has killed three members of an Iranian opposition group in Iraq, the group and its parent organisation say. They say a number of people from the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) group were injured at Camp Liberty in Baghdad." Camp Hurriyah, also know as Camp Liberty, is where the Ashraf community was forced to relocate. Tonight, the US State Dept issued the following statement:

Press Statement

Jen Psaki

Washington, DC

December 26, 2013

The United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s rocket attack at Camp Hurriya that has reportedly killed and injured camp residents and also injured Iraqi police officers. Our condolences go out to the families of the victims and we hope for the swift recovery of those injured.
From the moment we learned about this attack, we have been in communication with the United Nations Assistant Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and senior Iraqi officials to ensure swift and immediate treatment to the wounded. We thank both UNAMI and the Government of Iraq (GOI) for rapidly responding, including by providing ambulances and treatment to those seriously injured.
We continue to call on the GOI to take additional measures to secure the camp against further violence, including by immediately installing additional protective barriers, such as bunkers and t-walls. We also call on the GOI to continue to honor its obligations under its December 25, 2011 agreement with the UN and urge the Iraqi Government to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable for the attack.
The United States is committed to assisting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the relocation of all Camp Hurriya residents to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq. We call on more countries to assist in responding to this urgent humanitarian situation by welcoming camp residents for relocation, as Albania has admirably done over this past year, and by contributing to the fund established by the United Nations to support their resettlement. The Department, through its Senior Advisor for MEK Resettlement, Jonathan Winer, will remain actively engaged in the international effort to relocate the residents of Camp Hurriya to safe, permanent, and secure locations outside of Iraq as soon as possible.

PRN: 2013/1266

As of September, Camp Ashraf in Iraq is empty. All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty). Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks. The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one. As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out." Those weren't the last attacks. They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept. (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.) In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions." So the US has an obligation to protect the residents. 3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf. They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part. A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday. That was the second attack this year alone. February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah. Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured. Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release." They were attacked again September 1st. Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents. In addition, 7 Ashraf residents were taken in the assault. Last month, in response to questions from US House Rep Sheila Jackson Lee, the State Dept's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Brett McGurk, stated, "The seven are not in Iraq."

Today's attack? The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom issued the following statement today:

At 21:15 Baghdad local time on 26 December 2013, Camp Liberty was the target of dozens of missiles. This attack has taken place a matter of months after Iraqi forces massacred 52 residents at their previous home in Camp Ashraf. The shamefully weak response to that attack by the EU Governments, the US administration and the United Nations has given the Iraqi authorities the green light to continue killing at will.
In total, Iraqi assaults on the two camps have left some 115 unarmed and defenceless civilians murdered. These are Iranian dissidents to whom the US authorities guaranteed protection and who are recognised as Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Today the whereabouts of seven hostages taken by the Iraqi authorities in the 1 September 2013 attack remain unknown and the latest murders are an indication of the Iraqi authorities’ intentions in relation to Camp Liberty. It is in this Committee’s view no coincidence that such an attack occurs shortly after Nuri Al-Maliki returns from a visit to Tehran.
The British government and other member states of the United Nations must immediately condemn this latest attack. Further UNHCR must immediately recognise Camp Liberty as a refugee camp and grant all the members of the camp group refugee status. It is clear that their current recognition as persons of interest under international law is insufficient and has hindered their safe return to third party states.

Lord Carlile of Berriew CBE QC, Co-Chair of the Committee said:
“This Committee has repeatedly warned the British Government and the United Nations that these assaults will continue until such time as an armed UN presence is stationed at Camp Liberty. Today’s deaths were avoidable had that UN presence been in operation. The British Government must today publicly show its support for an armed UN presence at Camp Liberty while calling for the immediate release of the hostages.
This attack and the uninterrupted executions happening in Iran each and every day have resulted from the international community’s weak stance towards the Iranian regime in recent months.
Unfortunately the UK Government has been weak in expressing its protests, and has done little to ensure that both Iraq and Iran understand that these attacks on unarmed people are wholly unacceptable.”

Reuters notes al-Mukhtar Army militia is claiming credit for the attack, saying they "fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds" at Camp Hurriya and quotes the group's leader Wathiq al-Batat stating, "We've asked (the government) to expel them from the country many times, but they are still here." Yesterday, PMOI Iran posted a video of retired US Col Wes Martin speaking December 19th about the Ashraf community, "As you've heard before -- and as everyone here knows -- there is no way an assault can come on that camp without going through Iraqi forces."

His comments especially make sense in light of today's attack. (His full comments make even more sense but PMOI Iran has badly edited his remarks.)

They -- whomever 'they' may be (claiming credit doesn't necessarily mean someone did the act; however, the fact that the group made the assertion quickly does lend credence to the claim) -- launched 20 rockets and mortar rounds. Where was the Iraqi military that's supposed to be guaranteeing the Ashraf community's safety?

Don't expect an answer. There are never answers provided by Nouri al-Maliki's government.

The government that's being armed.

As noted this morning, misreporting took place by many outlets:

The Voice of Russia states, ""The United States is sending dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help government forces combat an explosion of violence by al-Qaida-backed insurgency that is gaining territory in both western Iraq and neighboring Syria." This is echoed by The NewsHour (PBS), "The U.S. is "quietly" sending dozens of Hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq, in hopes the government can quell an al-Qaeda insurgency." Noah Rayman (Time magazine) parrots, "The United States is supplying Iraq with arms and surveillance technology to combat al-Qaeda-backed insurgents amid worsening violence, the New York Times reported Thursday, two years after the last American combat troops left the country." AFP runs with, "The United States is sending Iraq dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to help it combat a recent surge in al-Qaida-backed violence, the New York Times reported Thursday. The weapons include a shipment of 75 Hellfire missiles purchased by Iraq, which Washington delivered to the country last week, the Times reported."

Fortunately, not all outlets have correspondents from the kiddie table. Elise Labott and Tom Cohen (CNN) get it right regarding who is providing arms, "Two years after bringing home U.S. troops from Iraq, the Obama administration is sending Hellfire rockets and ScanEagle surveillance drones to help government forces fight al Qaeda affiliates growing in influence, a State Department official confirmed to CNN on Thursday." Paul Richter (Los Angeles Times) also gets it right, "The Obama administration has begun sending Hellfire missiles and surveillance drone aircraft to Iraq to help the government battle an expanding threat from local Al Qaeda-affiliated militants, U.S. officials said, the first such assistance since the American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011."

Congress wasn't notified of these arms. The Arms Export Control Act's Section 36(b) requires that the President of the United States informs Congress in writing of all defense articles sold to foreign governments before the sale goes through. That's the law.

So was these sold or was this another 'gift' that the US taxpayer is paying for?

December 12th, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade and the Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa held a joint-hearing on Iraq. We covered it four days later in the December 16th snapshot.

Subcommittee Chair Ted Poe: Now he wants some help once again. He talks out of both sides of his mouth while trying to cozy up to the United States, he cozies up to the Iranians at the same time. Prime Minister Maliki came here dragging the sack in November wanting more tax payer money. He wanted attack helicopters and all sorts of advanced equipment. But is that what he needs to go after al Qaeda? Does he have other reasons for wanting that equipment? Maliki has centralized power. alienated the Sunnis, brought back the Shi'ite hit squads. This in part has allowed al Qaeda to return to be back in Iraq. What Maliki needs is a new strategy to fight al Qaeda. This includes doing a better job of reaching out to the Sunni population so that they feel that Maliki represents all Iraqis, not just one group.

And we'll note this:

Ranking Member Brad Sherman: And he wants American weapons. And his biggest argument is that we should give him American weapons because his enemies hate us. The problem is, his friends hate us too. And his friends in Tehran are more dangerous to us than his enemies in Falluja. Now Maliki's argument goes something like this: He holds office today solely as a result of various actions taken by the United States -- some of which were mistakes. And so therefore he is our product and therefore we have to protect him and do whatever he wants. And so therefore he is one of the good guys no matter who he allies himself with today. The fact is, his allegiance to Tehran is only a little bit less than Assad's allegiance to Tehran. But Maliki's government goes something like this: Since he has been the beneficiary of a series of American mistakes in the past, we have a legal duty to continue to make mistakes on his behalf in the future. Uhm, if we're going to provide him with weapons, there ought to be at least four conditions. The first is that he start trying to reach a compromise with at least some elements of the Sunni community. He's taken provocative actions against Sunnis such as postponing elections in Sunni areas and forcing prominent Sunni politicians out of the government. He shouldn't be seeking the best deal he can for the Shi'ite community, he should be seeking a peace that would benefit not only him but the United States. And he needs to allow proper Sunni representation in his government. Second, if he wants our weapons, he ought to pay for them. People involved in foreign policy seem to be so focused on foreign policy that whether we get paid for the weapons is a footnote. The fact is Iraq has plenty of oil now, will have even more in the future. They've to enough cash to pay for the weapons now and they can certainly borrow on the international markets and, at very minimum, they can agree to pay us later in cash or oil. Third, he's got to stop Iranian flights over his air space into Syria. He'll say, 'Well then give me an airforce.' We don't have to. All he has to do is authorize the Saudi, the Turkish or the American airforce to ensure that his air space is not used by Iranian thugs transiting to so that they can destroy and kill as many innocent people and some non-innocent people in Syria. And finally he's got to focus on the hostages of Camp Ashraf and the human rights of those in Camp Hurriyah also known as Camp Liberty. These are international responsibilities that he has. So if there is no penetrating analysis, the argument will be: 'We created him, he seems like a good guy, he's in trouble, therefore we give him weapons for free.' That is the default position of our foreign policy

Congress wasn't informed. Either Barack broke the law or Iraq is being given -- by Barack with the US taxpayers footing the bill -- these weapons. There was also no public announcement.

Congress wasn't informed. I have no idea why the New York Times, 'breaking' the story seems to have forgotten to contact Congress. That's sort of a basic for a news outlet.

Outlets run statements like this from Australia's ABC: "'The recent delivery of Hellfire missiles and an upcoming delivery of Scan Eagles are standard [foreign military sales] cases that we have with Iraq to strengthen their capabilities to combat this threat,' a State Department official said."

That would say this was Iraq purchasing; however, "foreign military sales" is not said in the quote by the State Dept. The State Dept quote is, "The recent delivery of Hellfire missiles and an upcoming delivery of Scan Eagles are standard cases that we have with Iraq to strengthen their capabilities to combat this threat."

So it may be a gift. We'll stay with 'gift' for now.

What's Congress going to say about this 'gift'?

We know what was said this month.

Subcommittee Chair Ted Poe: When I was in Iraq, a couple of years ago, a year and a half ago, Prime Minister, I asked him the question about the oil and how about paying for some of this nation building, military, all the things America's doing and he literally went -- was very vocal about Iraq would not pay the United States a dime for helping them liberate their country and rebuild their country. So I think that may still be his position.

I can't imagine that Congress will be thrilled by the 'gift.' As RT observes, "Other plans to provide Iraq with supplies have also stalled in Congress, where a bill to lease and sell the country's Apache helicopter gunships to Baghdad is languishing among concern that Maliki would use them to bully his political rivals."

UPI notes the 75 Hellfire Missiles arrived in Iraq last week and that "more are expected." Rethink Afghanistan puts the cost of a single Hellfire Missile at $58,000. 75 of them? Check my math, but that comes to $3,750,000. A nearly four million dollar 'gift' has been purchased with the American taxpayer dollars. And that's not counting the drones. There aren't specific numbers being reported regarding the drones, so we'll just note the US Air Force put the price of one system (4 drones and the reporting device) at $3.2 million in 2006. We're now at the price tag of $7 million dollars.

Taxpayer dollars, Barack's not using the family checkbook on this gift.

Among the reasons Congress objects?

Nouri's a thug and they know it. Many members of Congress also have an affinity for the KRG -- the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government. KRG President Massoud Barzani's repeatedly warned about the danger arming Nouri could result in.

He's not the only one concerned. US military leaders thought, with regards to the F-16s the US will provide Iraq with next year, there was an agreement in place in June that no planes would be supplied until the Iraqi military was restructured because US military intelligence raised red flags over the appointments Nouri was making -- key positions being filled by those with links to Iran. US military leaders were disturbed by that for a number of reasons including Iraq providing Iran with technology. Again, the White House appeared to give their word that the F-16 transfer would be slowed down so that it did not take place until after the 2014 parliamentary elections (currently scheduled for April 30th). US military intelligence says Nouri can't win re-election as Prime Minister, he's too unpopular. (He didn't win re-election in 2010. His State of Law lost to Iraqiya but the White House brokered The Erbil Agreement to go around the voters and the country's Constitution and give Nouri a second term.)

I was told this evening that the drone transfer is "outrageous." The military officer noted the US already runs drones (US military and CIA) in Iraq and wondered why Nouri needed his own but, more to the point, why this technology was being handed over to Nouri since the same drones are used in spying on other countries? (He meant Iran.)

There are a lot of questions to ask about this 'gift.'

The press seems so uninterested in any of them.

Turning to today's violence, Xinhua usually does the best job of the foreign outlets. Today, they do so by default since AP and Reuters have little interests in the day's violence. However, Xinhua is off the mark with, "Four people were killed and five others wounded in separate violent attacks in Iraq on Thursday, police said." They note 1 police officer and a relative were shot dead near Baquba, the corpse of Cleric Ali al-Timimi was discovered in Maqdadiyah, a Kut bombing left 1 person dead and four injured and a Salahrudin Province roadside bombing left a Sahwa leader injured.

That was, sadly, not all the reported violence. There were 12 more reported deaths and twenty-three more reported injured. National Iraqi News Agency reports a Falluja bombing claimed 1 life and left three more people injured, a Kut roadside bombing left Major Dhirgham Bashir dead, an Alshwertan Village bombing left two police officers injured, a Mosul home invasion left 1 police officer and his wife dead and their son injured, 1 former military colonel was shot dead in Mosul, a Hit bombing left an Iraqi military officer and four soldiers injured, assailants "dressed in military uniforms, kidnapped four citizens in the Karim al-Haymas village in Mandali in Diyala, then killed them just 500 meters from the village," an Ishaqi bicycle bombing left 2 police members dead and three injured, 2 Tuz Khurmato bombings left 1 person dead and eight injured, and an Associate Director of a polling center in Mosul was left injured in a Mosul shooting.

All together that's 16 reported deaths and 28 reported injured.

Through yesterday, Iraq Body Count counts 9300 violent deaths so far this year with 838 for the month thus far and 56 for yesterday.

Yesterday was Christmas Day. Pope Francis delivered his holiday message which included:

Looking at the Child in the manger, our thoughts turn to those children who are the most vulnerable victims of wars, but we think too of the elderly, to battered women, to the sick. Wars shatter and hurt so many lives!
Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid. We have seen how powerful prayer is! And I am happy today too, that the followers of different religious confessions are joining us in our prayer for peace in Syria. Let us never lose the courage of prayer! The courage to say: Lord, grant your peace to Syria and to the whole world.
Grant peace to the Central African Republic, often forgotten and overlooked. Yet you, Lord, forget no one! And you also want to bring peace to that land, torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty, where so many people are homeless, lacking water, food and the bare necessities of life. Foster social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state.
Prince of Peace, in every place turn hearts aside from violence and inspire them to lay down arms and undertake the path of dialogue. Look upon Nigeria, rent by constant attacks which do not spare the innocent and defenseless. Bless the land where you chose to come into the world, and grant a favorable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq, once more struck by frequent acts of violence.

38 of yesterday's 56 deaths? They took place in the Dora neighborhood of Baghdad. Latin American Herald Tribune explained, "Al-Dura is a majority Sunni neighborhood that has a large Christian community and several churches." Xinhua reported:

The deadliest attack occurred around noon when a car bomb went off near Mar Youhanna church when Christian worshippers were leaving after celebrating Christmas day in Doura district in the southern part of Baghdad, killing up to 27 people and wounding 56 others, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, three roadside bombs went off in a quick succession at a busy marketplace in the same predominantly Christian district, killing 11 people and wounding 14 others, along with damaging nearby shops and stalls, the source said.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center issued the following today:

December 26, 2013

"The civilized world's overwhelming silence and inaction guarantees more innocent victims in 2014,” Rabbi Abraham Cooper, associate dean, Simon Wiesenthal Center

At least 37 people were killed in bomb attacks in Christian areas of Baghdad on

Christmas and dozens of other injured, some by a car bomb near a church after a service.

“That these religious celebrations in Iraq turned into carnage was entirely predictable as Al Qaeda and other Islamist terrorists have labeled Iraqi Christians as heretics,” charged Rabbi Abraham Cooper, Associate Dean of the Center. “Indeed, Iraqi security forces were posted at churches, whose worshipers braved the threat of death to mark the holiest day on their calendar. We call on the United States and the EU to take the lead in committing to protect religious minorities wherever they dwell. The civilized world’s overwhelming silence and inaction only guarantees more innocent victims in 2014,” Cooper continued.

“While the year 2013 has seen a gradual descent into hell for an Iraq under siege by Islamists,” observed Rabbi Yitzchok Adlerstein, the Center’s Director of Interfaith Affairs. “It has meant slipping into the seventh circle for Christians, whose ranks have already been decimated by years of sustained attacks against its historic Christian communities. The world must recognize that the unfettered suppression of religious minorities in Iraq – and Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Nigeria – continues to grow. It will spill over to other countries unless the world moves to make the safeguarding of religious expression a core policy goal. The trampling of this fundamental human right devalues all of civilization – believer and atheist alike.”

Earlier this year, during a private Simon Wiesenthal Center audience with Pope Francis, Center dean and founder Rabbi Marvin Hier told the Pope that he has an ally in his efforts to protect persecuted religious minorities, including endangered Christian communities.

For more information, please contact the Center's Public Relations Department,
310-553-9036, join the Center on Facebook, www.facebook.com/simonwiesenthalcenter, or follow @simonwiesenthal for news updates sent direct to your Twitter page or mobile device.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center is one of the largest international Jewish human rights organizations with over 400,000 member families in the United States. It is an NGO at international agencies including the United Nations, UNESCO, the OSCE, the OAS, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament (Parlatino).

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Favorite Chrismas song

Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Under The Tree" went up tonight.

Yea!

And don't mean to spoil the surprise but one more Christmas comic tomorrow from Isaiah. I'll note it late Thursday when I next blog.

My favorite Christmas song? After the traditional ones, I have to say it's Jimmy Fallon's "I Wish It Was Christmas Tonight." I was with my sisters today doing cookies and we had the radio on a Christmas station. That song came on and I was singing along and bouncing along and my sisters didn't know the song.

That surprised me. I can still remember when he first performed it on SNL.

But it's a cute song and, in California anyway, I've heard it all month whenever I've been in a store. But maybe that's just in California? (I'm home in Atlanta for Christmas.)

I hope everyone has a Merry Christmas if you're celebrating. If you're not, I hope you have a really good day.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Tuesday, December 24, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, Iraqis celebrate Christmas in Iraq and Jordan and elsewhere, Nouri's forces surround the Ramadi protest yard and then withdraw (for real or as a fake out), and more.

It is Christmas Eve. December 25th is a holiday for many around the world. For some (including many children around the world), it's a time for Santa.

Also, Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Under The Tree" went up earlier with Barack playing Santa. For some of those and for other, Christmas is a religious holiday celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.

One of the traditional holiday songs is "Silent Night" from 1818 (written by Franz Xaver Gruber and Joseph Mohr). Stevie Nicks performs it below with Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers.

In Iraq, Iraqiya leader Ayad Allawi treated warm greetings to Iraqi Christians and best wishes for all Iraqis.

Ayad Allawi ‏@AyadAllawi 8h

نتقدم الى الاخوة المسيحيين والشعب العراقي كافة بأحر التبريكات بمناسبة حلول اعياد الميلاد متمنين ان ينعم بلدنا... http://fb.me/6rjXiRDIw

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Northern Iraq is the semi-autonomous Kurdish Regional Government. The KRG issued the following today:

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (KRG.org) – The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) spokesman, Safeen Dizayee, has expressed the KRG’s heartfelt congratulations to Christians around the world on the occasion of Christmas and announced that the days of 25 and 26 December 2013 will be official holidays in all government departments and institutions in the Kurdistan Region.
At the same times the KRG spokesman announced that the days of 1 and 2 January will also be official holidays in all government departments and institutions on the occasion of the New Year.

KRG President Massoud Barzani also issued a message:

Now that Iraq is going through the phase of rebuilding, one of the responsibilities is to protect co-existence among the various religious and ethnic communities in the country, and this tradition should not be compromised.
Unfortunately, in the past few years, Christians in Iraq have become targets of violence, but we should be proud that Kurdistan has always been a refuge and a home for all different communities and it is the responsibility of all of us to preserve this co-existence.

Lukman Faily is the Iraqi Ambassador to the United States. He re-Tweeted the following this evening:

Iraq Pictures ‏@IraqPics 4h

Christmas midnight mass in Baghdad, Iraq ليلة عيد الميلاد في بغداد السلام #Christmas #Baghdad #Iraq pic.twitter.com/IdHQHQoVwk

Retweeted by Lukman Faily
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Nouri al-Maliki, chief thug and prime minister of Iraq, of course had no message of warm wishes or good tidings. Nouri's done very little for religious minorities in Iraq of any faith. He is the US government installed puppet and he reflects the attitudes of his puppet masters. Tom Halland (Guardian) observed Sunday:

It is a bitter irony that the invasion of Iraq in 2003, launched under the aegis of two devoutly Christian leaders, George Bush and Tony Blair, should have heralded what threatens to be the final ruin of Christianity in the Middle East. It was Iraqi Christians, trapped between the militancy of their Muslim compatriots and the studied disinterest of their western co-religionists, who bore the initial brunt of the savagery. Extortion, kidnapping and murder became their daily fare.
The venerable churches of Mesopotamia, ancient even in the days of patriarch Timothy, have suffered a terrible reaping. Since 2003, so it has been estimated by the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), almost a million Christians have left Iraq. Those few that remain face an ongoing martyrdom.

BosNewsLife notes that, in Amman, Jordan, Iraqi and Syrian children (among the refugees seeking safety in Jordan) are celebrating Christmas with the Religious Freedom Coalition providing dinner and a "joy bag" (gift) which will "contain at least a week's worth of food for families, including rice, oil, pasta, cheese, milk, sugar, tea, halawi dates and candy." Christa Case Bryant (Christian Science Monitor) addressed the topic yesterday:

As an evening breeze sweeps across the Jordanian capital of Amman, dozens of Iraqi refugees file out of the Jesuit Fathers church, touching or kissing the cross on their way out.
Among them is Mofed, an Arab Christian who recently fled the turmoil in his native country. A year ago, Mofed (who, like other refugees, would only give his first name out of fear of retribution) was running a photo shop in Baghdad. Then one day several men came into his store and gave him three options: become Muslim; pay a $70,000 per capita tax (jizya) levied on non-Muslims; or be killed, along with his family.
"You pay, or get killed," says his wife, Nuhad. "There is no in between. If you say, 'OK, I'll become Muslim,' there is no problem. That is their aim, to get you to change your religion, to be Muslim."
Mofed and Nuhad decided to exercise a fourth option: flee their homeland, bringing their three children along with them. Their decision is emblematic of what an estimated half million Christians have done since the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003 and the subsequent brutal civil war there. During that time, Muslim extremists have attacked more than 60 Christian churches across the country. This includes the 2010 Al Qaeda-linked strike on a mass at Our Lady of Salvation Church that killed 58 worshipers.
The proliferation of jihadist groups after the fall of Saddam Hussein, coupled with the rise of political Islam, has made an already tense environment even more unbearable for the country's Christian community, which has been part of Iraqi society for more than 1,900 years. While many Muslims have fled the turmoil in Iraq as well, Christians have been disproportionately represented, in part because of their above-average means: Four years into the war, Christians – who made up 5 percent of the population in prewar Iraq – accounted for 15 to 18 percent of registered Iraqi refugees in neighboring countries, according to the International Red Cross. Today, fewer than 500,000 Christians remain in Iraq from a prewar population of 1 million to 1.4 million.

Christian Iraqis who've sought asylum in the US observed Christmas Eve. Stephen Farrell (New York Times) reports on Middle East Christians in NYC:

The Salam Arabic Lutheran Church has become a home for Arab Christians, many of whom fled the Middle East. Some escaped violence in Syria and Iraq. Others say life was made difficult by armed gangs, kidnappers and extortionists, jihadi extremists or Israeli soldiers and settlers.

There are other Arab churches in New York, but Salam Arabic is truly a kaleidoscope of Middle East Christianity. Side by side in its pews are Greek and Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Iraqi Chaldeans, Lebanese Maronites, Egyptian Copts and Greek Orthodox from the Galilee in northern Israel.

Its pastor is the Rev. Khader N. El-Yateem, a 45-year-old Palestinian who was born in the West Bank village of Beit Jala and came to New York two decades ago to minister to a growing Christian Arab diaspora.

Some see December 25th as a day of peace.

Iraq is one country that could use a day of peace. Iraq Body Count notes 28 violent deaths yesterday, 766 for the month of December through yesterday and 9200 for the year so far.

The violence continued today, December 24th, with Iraq Times reporting a Mosul attack left 2 police officers dead and a Christian bystander shot in the leg. National Iraqi News Agency reports a Falluja mortar attack left seven Iraqi soldiers injured, 2 Bartel bombings left 2 people dead (a woman and a man) and seventeen more injured, a Tikrit suicide bomber took his own life and that of 1 police officer while leaving three more injured, a Baaj roadside bombing left four Iraqi soldiers injured, a Tuz Khurmato car bombing left three police officers injured, a Mosul armed attack left 2 police officers dead, a bomb targeting Nouri's puppet Sadoun al-Dulaimi -- we're not including his title, he doesn't have a title, only a vote by Parliament can give him that title and we're not even going to call him "acting" because since 2010 that office been vacant -- left two bodyguards injured, a Falluja roadside bombing left 1 Iraqi soldier dead and three more injured, a Shuhada attack left 1 police officer dead and another injured, an armed Mosul attack left 1 police officer and his brother dead, an Imam roadside bombing left three police injured, a Buhriz bombing left two people injured, and, on the border between Iraq and Syria, clashes left 8 people dead.

Meanwhile, Iraqi Spring MC reports the latest attack on the press. The governor of Anbar has terminated a satellite news channel because it had the 'nerve' to visit the square and speak to the protesters.

The governor is Ahmed Khalaf Dheyabi. He became the governor in August after elections were held June 20th -- elections some have called fraudulent. The US government didn't call the election results fraudulent -- no, the State Dept's Brett McGurk praised Ahmed Khalaf Dheyabi. Dropping back to the December 2nd snapshot:

December 21st, the protests will have hit the one year mark -- that's twenty days away. Today, All Iraq News reports:

The Coordination Committees of the Sit –In yards in Ramadi city announced on Monday withdrawing their authorization for the Governor of Anbar to negotiate with the Central Government over the demands of the demonstrators.

The demonstrators and chieftains in Anbar announced on September 3^rd authorizing the Governor of Anbar Ahmed Khalaf to negotiate with the CG to implement their demands.

They're not pleased with the talks Governor Ahmed Khalaf has had with Nouri -- which have produced no results. But they're especially bothered by the fact that the Governor is not working for them. Some feel he's working for the United States' government.
Where did they get that idea? Who knows. But Sunday, these remarks from Brett McGurk were posted repeatedly on Arabic social media:

In the Sunni majority provinces of Ninewa and Anbar, provincial elections had been delayed due to security concerns. We were clear from the outset that this decision was unwise, and pushed to ensure the elections took place, which they did on June 20. The outcome led to a status quo in Ninewa, with the brother of Speaker Osama Nujaifi retaining the governorship; but new leaders emerged in Anbar, and these new leaders, with our encouragement, are engaging the central government.

Prime Minister Maliki met the new Anbar Governor, Ahmad Khalaf al-Dulaimi, before traveling to Washington, and we expect to see additional meetings soon, with a focus on coordinating security and political efforts.

McGurk is the US State Dept's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs and, last month, he testified to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and North Africa. We covered his testimony in the November 13th "Iraq snapshot," the November 14th "Iraq snapshot" and in the November 15th "Iraq snapshot." And the statements that were so popular on social media yesterday are from his opening statement which you can read in full here.

It appears the US government's puppet will use his post as governor to attempt to prevent the media from reporting on the assault on Ramadi. That's a Nouri trick but it's one he learned from the US government which repeatedly attacked the Iraqi media in the early years of the (ongoing) occupation.

In fact, a great deal of Nouri's behavior is not just US aided, it's US learned. For example, the Guardian's Martin Chulov spoke to Australia's ABC today and stated:

There is, for example, an intelligence service called the Iraqi National Intelligence Service which was raised and funded by the CIA,’ he said. ‘[It’s] meant to be slightly different from the state itself but it’s been totally co-opted by Maliki who has instilled members of his Dawa Party into it. [It is] the special forces of the Iraqi military. One unit of it works directly as a Praetorian guard for Maliki.
There’s a prison inside the Green Zone which is used to prosecute those who oppose him… I guess the tendencies are towards the same sort of totalitarianism that was ousted ten years ago.

National Iraqi News Agency reports protesters met with the governor today:

The source told NINA on Tuesday, Dec. 24, that the dignitaries, tribal chiefs and representatives for the protestors, as well as clergymen have agreed with the Governor of Anbar, Ahmed Khalaf al-Dulaimi, during a meeting held on Tuesday evening, at the Governorate building, on the necessity to withdraw joint forces that are besieging the sit-in squares.

All Iraq News reports that Nouri's forces withdrew from the protest yard after the meeting. Iraq Times notes that this was followed by an air drop of leaflets and that Nouri's forces were receiving support from the US military. Leaflet droppings advising to protesters to leave are a lot like the 2003 pre-invasion leafleting the US government did over Iraq.

There are fears that this is an attempt to lull the protesters into a false sense of security. Arabic social media notes that Nouri's forces had blocked roads prior to encircling the protest yard and, after leaving the protest yard, they did not open those roads back up to traffic but continued to seal them off.

Lastly, the International Committee of the Red Cross issued the following yesterday:

Baghdad (ICRC) – With the security situation deteriorating, Iraqi women who have lost their husbands in connection with the armed conflicts of recent decades are struggling hard to earn a living. Because they face increasing hardship, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is stepping up its support for them.

There are currently over a million Iraqi women in Iraq who bear the responsibility of supporting their families because their husbands were killed, arrested, disabled by war injuries, or went missing. The women are among those hardest hit by years of armed conflict. With violence against civilians on the increase, their needs are set to grow.
"Widows in Iraq are often ill-equipped to overcome the significant challenges they face all by themselves," said Patrick Youssef, head of the ICRC delegation in Iraq. "With just a little help from us, however, they are able to take matters into their own hands, rebuild their lives and see to it that their children have enough to eat."
The ICRC seeks out the people who most need its help, including in particular women finding themselves with little or no means when their husbands die. In 2013, the ICRC helped more than 50,000 people in Iraq, including more than 1,500 women responsible for supporting their families, find a suitable way of earning a living.
"When my husband died I found myself alone. I was very tired, and the burden was unbearable. Everything was difficult for me, because my kids were small. They needed school. They needed clothes," said Huda Muttashar Naji, a mother of three. Financial support from the ICRC enabled her to open a beauty salon and hairdressing business in her own home in one of Baghdad’s poorest neighbourhoods. "Now I find myself stronger. My beauty salon is good, thank God, and I can cover all the expenses of the household."
The ICRC has been in Iraq since 1980, working to ease the effects of conflict and other violence. Its assistance activities in the country focus, among other things, on helping poor farmers boost production, providing displaced people with emergency aid, and making grants to women heading households and to disabled people so they can start small businesses, generate income and live in greater dignity.

For further information, please contact:
Pawel Krzysiek, ICRC Baghdad, tel: +964 790 191 6927

iraq
the christian science monitor
stephen farrell
the new york times
national iraqi news agency
iraq body count
all iraq news
iraq spring mc

Monday, December 23, 2013

My gripe

I don't think the word "f*g" is funny.

Even if my brother wasn't gay, I have enough loved ones who are, that I still wouldn't think it was funny.

Ted Rall went on Cindy Sheehan's radio show Sunday.

He whined about how he used the f term and people called him homophobic.

Okay, I'll play.

Let's see the comic in question.

Here it is, I believe.

No.

That is homophobic.

Three groups are insulted. The f word is used to insult gays.Women are insulted with "bitch" and then he goes to a Latino slur.

Supposedly, the person using these words is a Republican.

Where's the N-word?

It's not there.

Because Ted Rall knows it's unacceptable.

But he thinks he can slip by the f*g word.

I'm not providing a link to the interview.

As bothered as I was by his remarks, I was as bothered by Cindy Sheehan chuckling.

I don't think it's funny, Cindy.

And I don't think you've done anything for LGBT rights so I really am just left with the fact that your guest uses the f word and you find it hilarious.

Cindy tried to unseat Nancy Pelosi in the 2008 Congressional races.

Nancy's district then, especially then (it's been slightly redrawn)?

You needed to appeal LGBT.

And you could but Nancy was failing there.

But Cindy didn't do it.

Didn't make any speeches about LGBT issues or issue any press release or write any blog post.

I don't think Cindy's homophobic.

I don't even think Ted Rall is.

I think Ted wanted a cheap laugh and wanted to get it in while he still could -- this comic will be censored from any collections within ten years. It will be seen as unacceptable.

As for Cindy?

I don't think she's homophobic but I'm starting to think gay people and gay issues make her nervous.

It's not funny.

Someone needs to let her know that.

And don't give me the s**t about you were laughing at the idea of Ted Rall being called a homophobe. I listened to that interview, that's not where the laugh comes.

I also love the whining of both.

Has life been hard since Barack became prez? Poor babies.

Especially you Cindy.

You like to pretend that you railed against Barack.

But you didn't. And in 2008 you could be found leaving comments at Common Dreams, trashing Hillary and pimping Barack.

And as you did so, the Common Dream-ers rushed to thank you and praise you and welcome you back to the fold.

As late as December 2008, she was still embarrassing herself.

Read Elaine's excellent post from that time period if this is news to you.

I'm not planning to blog about this topic again.

But I will probably now not be voting for Cindy.

I had assumed I would.

But the laugh and the refusal to get honest?

I'm sorry there are people who spoke out and spoke out when it mattered.

Cindy didn't, she helped elect Barack and she never wants to take ownership for that.

She can whine about how hard it's been on her opposing Barack.

I'm a Black woman who opposed Barack. White Cindy needs to find someone else to whine to because any 'hardship' she suffered is nothing compared to those of who are Black and on the left and refused to support War Hawk Barack.

"Iraq snapshot" (The Common Ills):

Monday, December 23, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, journalists continue to be targeted, targeted with violence and also targeted with sexism if they're women, Nouri al-Maliki prepares to attack Ramadi protesters, his girlfriend Hamo Tweets a lie involving a photo of the protesters (but it's not the protesters! and the photo's nearly a year old!), Joel Wing's got the blood lust again, and much more.

December 15th, journalist Nawras al-Nuaimi was assassinated.

This is all the attention AFP gave her when she was killed:

GUNMEN murdered a female TV presenter in northern Iraq on Sunday, her station and police said, making her the sixth journalist to be killed in the country since October. Nawras al-Nuaimi was shot near her home in Mosul, Al-Mosuliyah TV said, and was the fifth journalist killed in the northern city in the same period.

Her life was worth a grand total of 55 words to AFP when she died.

Today her life was worth over 3 times that amount to AFP (they offered 185 words). Eight days after they report her death oh-so-briefly they're suddenly interested and more interested than the first time.

What happened?

AFP's Iraq reporting notoriously sexist. It's been so bad that above the bureau chief's head at AFP, it's not even question of have-we-been-sexist because they accept that the reporting coming out of AFP has been sexist and that's one reason that changes are taking place regarding AFP's Iraq coverage.

In "Editorial: Iraqi women" yesterday at Third, we noted, "A 19-year-old journalist is killed. And AFP breezes past it but tries to create a mythical savior out of a (male) police officer who hugs a suicide bomber?"

Remember that?

That magical body that was a bomb shield? (No, it doesn't work like that, we covered that last week.)

They hailed the man as a hero. AFP devoted 274 words to his death.

But Nawras was only worth 55.

Today she was worth 185. Because her mother met with the killer and told the killer that he sent her daughter to "paradise." She feels no anger or rage. And the killer, the mother said, turned Nawras into "a bride to paradise."

And that's why AFP can embrace Nawras.

The dead police officer, they made him a hero, they told a Little Golden Book story of a man of action. And Nawras? Her life was action. She was an Iraqi journalist in Iraq. That's courageous. She can go to jail, she can be killed and she has no foreign outlet behind her.

And Nawras being a strong woman didn't interest AFP one damn bit. Their entire output of the last three years have demonstrated that strong women don't interest them.

But when her grieving mother made those idiotic statements (hopefully out of grief), it was a way for AFP to run over Nawras and her strength, it was a way to turn her passive. And once they could portray her as the passive woman, they were suddenly nearly three times as interested in her death.

'We were just reporting!'

No, you weren't. When you wrote about the hugging police officer, you found a lot of people to quote. You didn't want people Nawras died and you didn't quote anyone. A week later her mother makes some idiotic remarks and you quote that but you don't quote her co-workers. The day Nawras died, Mu Xuequan (Xinhua) reported:

Nuaimi has been working as a presenter of TV programs in the local Mosuliyah channel for five years, he said, adding that she was the fourth journalist killed in Mosul since October and the 51st in Nineveh province since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

Nawras al-Nuaimi, 19, had worked for five years at the station. Since she was 14.

But AFP didn't find that impressive and wasn't interested in that or anything except now she was passive and a 'bride' in death.

What AFP refused to do, Yasir Ghazi (New York Times) does today:

On Dec. 15, her last day alive, Nawras al-Nuaimi left her university and headed home for a nap before going to work at a local television station. She had just become engaged, to a doctor, and friends said she was realizing her dream of becoming a television news presenter. On her way home, she was ambushed by several gunmen, who shot her in the head and chest.

“She was on top of the world,” said a journalist friend, Mohamed, who gave only his first name because he feared he too could be killed.

Security forces have found lists of journalists targeted for assassination during raids on militant hide-outs in Mosul, and many journalists have stopped reporting in the streets or attending news conferences. Like other reporters in Mosul, Mohamed fled to the relative safety of the nearby autonomous Kurdish region. Even there, though, in the city of Sulaimaniya, a reporter was recently killed outside his home, in front of his mother.

Mohamed said he had warned Ms. Nuaimi not to go out alone.

“She told me she is not doing anything wrong, why would anyone think of killing me?” he recalled in a recent telephone interview.

All Iraq News reports an attack on "the building of Salah-il-Din Satellite Channel and the office of the Iraqiya Satellite Channel in central Tikrit." Ammar al-Ani (Alsumaria) reports militants stormed the station following a bombing (bombing in downtown Tikrit). Xinhua explains, "The attack took place in the afternoon when gunmen broke into the building in central Tikrit, some 170 km north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, after a huge explosion at the entrance of the building, the source said on condition of anonymity."

NINA notes the Ministry of the Interior killed 4 suicide bombers. All Iraq News notes 5 suicide bombers are dead (from detonating their own bombings), 4 guards of the building are dead and nine more injured, 9 assailants were shot dead by the security forces and 13 police officers were killed. AFP adds 5 journalists were killed: "the chief news editor, a copy editor, a producer, a presenter and the archives manager" with five more left injured. Of the five dead journalists, Al Jazeera notes the five were "four men and a woman."

The Committee to Protect Journalists issued the following:

The Committee to Protect Journalists condemns today's attack on Salah al-Din TV station headquarters in Tikrit, Iraq, which left several journalists dead. The attack comes amid a wave of targeted killings of journalists in the past few months that has made the country among the deadliest in the world for journalists.

"This vicious attack on a TV station plunges the Iraqi media back into the darkest days of the war which has already claimed the lives of more than 150 journalists," said CPJ's deputy director, Robert Mahoney. "Iraq has a pitiful record of prosecuting the killers of journalists. If the government fails to bring all those responsible for this latest outrage to justice, gunmen will again conclude they can kill journalists with impunity."
It is not clear how many journalists were killed in the attack. Iraqi police told Al-Jazeera that at least five staff members--the station's chief news editor, a copy editor, a producer, a presenter, and the archives manager--were killed by gunfire or explosives. The Associated Press reported that six channel staff members were killed but did not specify their identities. The motive for the attack was also not clear. Earlier this year, the Iraqi government suspended the licenses of 10 stations, including Salah al-Din, accusing the channels of sectarian incitement for their coverage of Sunni protests in Hawija outside of Kirkuk.

Mohammed Tawfeeq and Joe Sterling (CNN) remind:

Journalists haven't been immune from the terror. Before the latest violence, Irina Bokova, director-general of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, denounced the killings of eight journalists in Iraq this year.

"Violence against media workers undermines the ability of journalists to carry out their work freely as well as the right of citizens to receive the independent information they need," Bokova said.

Kirkuk Now points out, "The attacks on the two media outlets came following the assassination of a female journalist in Mousl and another one in Kalar distrcit of Sulaymaniah province." The woman the outlet's referring to is Nawras al-Nuaimi. while the man is Kawa Garmianai. As Kirkuk Now noted, he died December 5th, shot in front of his own home and died en route to the hospital. He was "the editor-in-chief of Rayal Magazine, an independent monthly magazine." On the 19th of this month, in a bombing in Baghdad's Dora district, journalist Muhanad Mohammed and his son were killed. Friday, the International Federation of Journalists issued the following staement:

The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) has expressed its deep sadness following the death of Iraqi journalist Muhanad Mohammed in Iraq yesterday, Thursday, 19 December.
According to media reports, Iraqi journalist Muhanad Mohammed, who worked for Sumariya TV, and his son were killed in an explosion in front of their house in the Dura area of south Baghdad yesterday, Thursday 19 December. Twenty people were killed and 40 others were injured in the explosion which is believed to have been targeting pilgrims on their way to the holy city of Karbala.
"We express our deepest condolences to the family of the respected journalist Muhanad Mohammed and we send our sympathies and solidarity to his colleagues," said IFJ President Jim Boumelha.
Amid the escalating violence in Iraq, the IFJ is appealing to the Iraqi government to introduce genuine measures that will bring an end to the killing of innocent journalists and ensure that those who carry out acts of violence against the media face the full weight of justice. Six journalists have been murdered in the country in the last three months.
In October, the IFJ launched its End Impunity campaign which is calling on the governments of Iraq, Pakistan and Russia to investigate killings of journalists and bring their perpetrators to justice.
"Our message is clear: the slaughter of journalists in Iraq must end now," continued Boumelha. "Such blatant and utterly appalling disregard for the lives of journalists quite simply cannot be tolerated.
"We reiterate our call for the Iraqi government to set up a special task force to that has the resources to carry out thorough and independent investigations into the murder of journalists in the country. Impunity must end and those responsible must answer for their crimes."
For more information, please contact IFJ on + 32 2 235 22 17
The IFJ represents more than 600 000 journalists in 134 countries

Among other outlets, Muhanad Mohammed worked for Reuters. Reuters correspondent Serena Chaudhry has Tweeted about his passing.

Reuters' Alastair Macdonald Tweeted:

And we noted it Friday, but Ammar Karim (AFP) remembered Muhanad Mohammed here.

There was more violence today in Iraq.

National Iraqi News Agency reports an armed attack in Dora left 4 people dead, Baghdad shootings left 6 people dead and three more injured, an Abu Ghraib mortar attack left 5 members of the military dead, a Zaidan rocket attack left 2 members of the Iraqi military dead and a third injured, a Karbala shooting left 1 person dead and four more injured, and an armed attack on a Mosul checkpoint left 2 rebels dead. All Iraq News adds that 4 Salah-il-Dun University students were shot dead in Tikrit.

And there will be more violence. Not just because that is the pattern but also because Nouri wants another massacre and whores are doing their best to help him.

Friday, the ongoing protests in Iraq hit the one-year mark. Nouri's preparing to attack the protesters. W.G. Dunlop (AFP) reported yesterday that Nouri has declared the sit-in in Ramadi is a 'terrorist' cell:

The protest site is located in the Anbar city of Ramadi, but is nowhere near where the clashes took place.
"I say clearly and honestly that the sit-in site in Anbar has turned into a headquarters for the leadership of Al-Qaeda," Maliki, a Shiite, said in remarks broadcast Sunday on Iraqiya state TV.

Nouri was testing the waters and the White House didn't do a damn thing to send a message of "NO!" So the attack will take place. The latest in a series of attacks on the protesters. January 7th, Nouri's forces assaulted four protesters in Mosul, January 24th, Nouri's forces sent two protesters (and one reporter) to the hospital, and March 8th, Nouri's force fired on protesters in Mosul killing three. And then came the April 23rd massacre of a peaceful sit-in in Hawija which resulted from Nouri's federal forces storming in. Alsumaria noted Kirkuk's Department of Health (Hawija is in Kirkuk) announced 50 activists have died and 110 were injured in the assault. AFP reported the death toll rose to 53 dead. UNICEF noted that the dead included 8 children (twelve more were injured).

Nouri can't get away with murder unless he has his whores. Like Hamo.

‏@HamoHusso

To all those criticising Maliki, these are some of the "protesters" at the camp in Anbar !!! #Iraq pic.twitter.com/HnTZczXFy6

Oh, that's so cute Hamo. It wasn't really Ramadi, it was the highway between Baghdad and Anbar Province. And it's not a picture of a sit-in. It's not even a picture from this month. Or last month. Or the month before that or . . .

Poor stupid Hamo.

He really thought he could trick the world. The photos are from March. The gunmen, not identified as al Qadea or terrorists were there to protect people from Nouri's forces.

Poor stupid Hamo. He almost got away with it, didn't he?

He didn't realize that a lot of browsers -- such as Chrome -- have an image search function.

Alsumaria noted the Chair of Anbar's Provincial Council has pointed the Iraqi military needs to be focused on securing the borders -- especially with the unrest in Syria -- and not be involved in 'securing' sit-ins. Kitabat quotes Sheikh Daggar stating that the Iraqi people have carried out peaceful protests for a year now and will not be deterred by Nouri's threats to storm the sit-ins. Should Nouri attempt this, the Sheikh states, it will only make the Iraqi people more determined and more persistent.

Here's video of the bombing campaign Nouri launched on Anbar today.

Kitabat reports that the operations began early Monday morning (before sunrise) and that Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi has called for calm and for Nouri to meet with leaders to discuss how to resolved the crisis. Iraqi Spring MC reports Baiji is under curfew and that helicopters fly overhead as the military goes after the protesters. National Iraqi News Agency reports cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr, like Osama al-Nujaifi, is calling for dialogue:

On the steps of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki against Western demonstrations , Sadr said , " We have heard threats against demonstrations from Maliki ." and I say " this should not be a prelude to a sectarian settling of accounts with the Sunnis , but it must be directed to terrorism only , and this should not be a reason to delay the upcoming legislative elections."
He added , " I call to refer such matters to the parliament for a vote, before an individual decision, the all may regret it, and partners (if there are any) should be consulted on it."

People are dying but it's fun games to little prick bitch bois like Joel Wing and Kirky Sewer Sowell. Remember this exchange any time you ever make the mistake Joel Wing knows what he's talking about or that he's even remotely interested in peace. He's the dirty whore he always was.

Joel Wing ‏@JoelWing2 10h

@UticensisRisk Unfortunately op is another whack a mole
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Kirk H. Sowell ‏@UticensisRisk 10h

@JoelWing2 We'll see. They can't just play defense. Question is about the precision of the intelligence and effectiveness of implementation.
Expand
Joel Wing ‏@JoelWing2 10h

@UticensisRisk ISF has been conducting ops in Anbar desert/border for last 6 months w/no effect
Expand
Kirk H. Sowell ‏@UticensisRisk 10h

@JoelWing2 But if all they do is play defense, they'll never win. No alternative but offense as well as better defense.
Expand
Joel Wing ‏@JoelWing2 10h

@UticensisRisk If both are conventional which is what ISF doing will fail Refuse to do counterinsurgency b/c dont want to work with Sunnis
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Kirk H. Sowell ‏@UticensisRisk 10h

@JoelWing2 I agree with that. But COIN is not inconsistent with offensive ops. Both essential.

Innocents are being slaughtered.

We called out Hawija in real time, unlike the bitch that is Joel Wing. In fact, we called it out before it happened, we called it out when Nouri's forces were surrounding the protesters and refusing to let them leave or to let Members of Parliament enter.

But there's no concern for humanity from Joel Dirt Bag Wing. He's just concerned this might be whack-a-mole -- how very John McCain of him. And Joel frets that it might not be good counterinsurgency.

Joel's not independent, he's not a voice of peace, he's not a voice for the Iraqi people. He's a little whore for war and he'll die still being a little whore for war. People are dying and it's a game to Joel Wing. He wants to offer play-by-play. These people are disgusting.

Nouri has repeatedly called the protesters "terrorist." He did in 2011. In fact, we were just noting that on Friday. In fact, in March of 2011, the New York Times' editorial board's "Mr. Maliki's Power Grab" was noting that practice:

Instead of taking responsibility, Mr. Maliki charged that the protests were organized by "terrorists." He ordered the closing of the offices of two political parties that helped lead the demonstrations.

He has slaughtered innocents in Hawija including 8 children but to Joel Wing's it's all a video game, it's all fun-fun-fun.

What's going on is bloody. And don't expect the whores like Joel Wing to note the bloodshed. He never could with Hawija. People die because of Nouri al-Maliki.

That a man who ordered a slaughter in April would even be taken seriously in claiming another group of protesters were 'terrorists' goes to just how whorish so many people are.

We'll note Iraqi widows tomorrow and probably WG Dunlop's NPR chatter.

iraq

the new york times

yasir ghazi

iraq body count

xinhua
mu xuequan

al mada
national iraqi news agency
alsumaria
all iraq news
the committee to protect journalists
cnn
joe sterling
mohammed tawfeeq
afp
ammar karim
w.g. dunlop