Monday, February 04, 2019
Video of the week
Chaka Khan's "Hello Happiness" -- the title track to her new album due out February 15th (day after Valentine's Day).
Will you call out the bombings?
From Friday's "Iraq snapshot:"
From yesterday's snapshot:
The Iraqi government remains corrupt, remains unresponsive to the needs of the people, continues to arrest protesters and reporters covering protests (as events in Basra have demonstrated). And every year, they train and retrain and then train again the Iraqi military in an effort to get it up to speed. Of course, the Iraqi military repeatedly fails.
The western press repeatedly works overtime to lie about that. The Iraqi military would not have 'won' Mosul without US war planes blindly bombing Mosul -- a city full of civilians.
Andrew Tillet (Australia's FINANCIAL REVIEW) reported yesterday:
Australian fighter jets were involved in an air strike believed to have killed up to 18 civilians while fighting Islamic State terrorists in Iraq - the highest casualty rate implicating Australian forces - Defence chiefs have revealed.
But the pilots have been cleared of wrongdoing, with the investigation finding they had acted in accordance with their rules of engagement and laws of armed conflict as part of desperate efforts to save the lives of Iraqi soldiers during brutal urban combat to liberate West Mosul.
While I have no problem with the pilots being cleared of wrongdoing, I do have a problem with those over the strikes and the policy of the strikes being cleared of wrongdoing. Mosul is a highly populated city. That was known. That was known before the US or any other government started dropping bombs on Mosul to 'fight' ISIS. There were no 'precision' strikes. That's a lie used to lull the public into stupidity so they won't object to what's really going on -- the equivalent of carpet bombing schools, places of worship, homes, etc.
#Breaking 
#Australia: Defence Force officials have admitted Australian jets were involved in an #airstrike, which killed #civilians in #Iraq #MENA
This morning, Amnesty International issued the following statement:
Responding to the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) admission that its air strikes in Mosul, Iraq may have caused up to 18 civilian deaths in 2017, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:
“The Australian Defence Force’s latest admission that its air strikes killed civilians during the battle for Mosul in 2017 is a step in the right direction. Once again, the Australian government has proven more willing to take responsibility for causing loss of civilian life than its coalition partners, including the UK, USA and France.
“The matter must not end here, however. The ADF should continue to lead by example by providing the further details necessary to help an independent assessment of whether this attack and its operations in Mosul complied with international humanitarian law. We know that an Australian plane struck a target in West Mosul and unintentionally killed up to 18 civilians in a nearby house. In order to understand how this happened the ADF needs to disclose more information, including the type of weapon used in the strike, the nature of the target, what measures were taken to ensure that the target was a military objective, whether other means or methods of attack that would have minimized the risk to civilians were considered, and what was done to collect information about the presence of civilians in the vicinity.
Will other governments come clean? Will the US government specifically? Probably not. The US government is involved in countless wars while currently working for war with Iran and Venezuela. Bombing from war planes has always been less 'offensive' to the American people. It's boots off the ground and, in an operation like Mosul, there's little chance of American fatalities since a group like ISIS (being a terrorist group and not the military of another country) doesn't have a fleet of airplanes.
So they know they can blindly bomb an area for weeks, months, in Mosul's case, years and the American people won't pour into the street or even bat an eye due to being lied to that these are 'precision' strikes and that the government of the United States has done 'everything possible to minimize civilian casualties.'
No, they haven't.
They haven't done anything to minimize civilian casualties. As for doing 'everything' to minimize, doing everything would include not bombing civilian areas. But they did bomb civilian areas -- over and over and over.
The US government will most likely never get honest about civilian casualties. At some point in the near future (say, five years on down the line), they'll offer an under-count of the civilians killed in the Mosul bombings -- but only when they can claim some new technology has come along to make the strikes even more 'precise.' They'll use that to sell more strikes.
It's really outrageous how little the media cares about the bombs being dropped. (And if the media doesn't cover it, the American people have a hard time hearing about it.)
From yesterday's snapshot:
The Iraqi government remains corrupt, remains unresponsive to the needs of the people, continues to arrest protesters and reporters covering protests (as events in Basra have demonstrated). And every year, they train and retrain and then train again the Iraqi military in an effort to get it up to speed. Of course, the Iraqi military repeatedly fails.
The western press repeatedly works overtime to lie about that. The Iraqi military would not have 'won' Mosul without US war planes blindly bombing Mosul -- a city full of civilians.
Andrew Tillet (Australia's FINANCIAL REVIEW) reported yesterday:
Australian fighter jets were involved in an air strike believed to have killed up to 18 civilians while fighting Islamic State terrorists in Iraq - the highest casualty rate implicating Australian forces - Defence chiefs have revealed.
But the pilots have been cleared of wrongdoing, with the investigation finding they had acted in accordance with their rules of engagement and laws of armed conflict as part of desperate efforts to save the lives of Iraqi soldiers during brutal urban combat to liberate West Mosul.
The
deaths have been attributed to a lack of solid intelligence on the
ground as Iraqi troops fought, with no time to properly assess whether
surrounding buildings were clear of civilians before bombs were dropped.
While I have no problem with the pilots being cleared of wrongdoing, I do have a problem with those over the strikes and the policy of the strikes being cleared of wrongdoing. Mosul is a highly populated city. That was known. That was known before the US or any other government started dropping bombs on Mosul to 'fight' ISIS. There were no 'precision' strikes. That's a lie used to lull the public into stupidity so they won't object to what's really going on -- the equivalent of carpet bombing schools, places of worship, homes, etc.
#Breaking #Australia: Defence Force officials have admitted Australian jets were involved in an #airstrike, which killed #civilians in #Iraq #MENAThis morning, Amnesty International issued the following statement:
Responding to the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) admission that its air strikes in Mosul, Iraq may have caused up to 18 civilian deaths in 2017, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:
“The Australian Defence Force’s latest admission that its air strikes killed civilians during the battle for Mosul in 2017 is a step in the right direction. Once again, the Australian government has proven more willing to take responsibility for causing loss of civilian life than its coalition partners, including the UK, USA and France.
“The matter must not end here, however. The ADF should continue to lead by example by providing the further details necessary to help an independent assessment of whether this attack and its operations in Mosul complied with international humanitarian law. We know that an Australian plane struck a target in West Mosul and unintentionally killed up to 18 civilians in a nearby house. In order to understand how this happened the ADF needs to disclose more information, including the type of weapon used in the strike, the nature of the target, what measures were taken to ensure that the target was a military objective, whether other means or methods of attack that would have minimized the risk to civilians were considered, and what was done to collect information about the presence of civilians in the vicinity.
The ADF has taken a positive step by acknowledging that their attacks resulted in civilian casualties. What they must do now is provide the victims’ families with the best chance of achieving justice and accountability. The way to do this is to release the further information required.
“The ADF has taken a positive step by
acknowledging that their attacks resulted in civilian casualties. What
they must do now is provide the victims’ families with the best chance
of achieving justice and accountability. The way to do this is to
release the further information required.”
On 31 January 2019, the Australian Defence Force’s Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld acknowledged that as many as 18 civilians were killed in an attack on a target in West Mosul in which two Australian Super Hornet F-18 jets were involved on 13 June 2017. This follows a previous ADF admission on 28 March 2018 that it killed two adults and injured two children in a strike on Mosul that came to light following Amnesty International investigations on the ground.
Background
The Coalition’s battle to wrest Mosul from the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) began in October 2016 and ended in July 2017. Throughout the campaign, and especially in its later stages in West Mosul, the Coalition relied heavily upon air power, despite the presence of civilians trapped in the city by IS. Amnesty International revealed the effects of this upon the civilian population with its July 2017 report, At Any Cost: The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq.On 31 January 2019, the Australian Defence Force’s Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld acknowledged that as many as 18 civilians were killed in an attack on a target in West Mosul in which two Australian Super Hornet F-18 jets were involved on 13 June 2017. This follows a previous ADF admission on 28 March 2018 that it killed two adults and injured two children in a strike on Mosul that came to light following Amnesty International investigations on the ground.
Will other governments come clean? Will the US government specifically? Probably not. The US government is involved in countless wars while currently working for war with Iran and Venezuela. Bombing from war planes has always been less 'offensive' to the American people. It's boots off the ground and, in an operation like Mosul, there's little chance of American fatalities since a group like ISIS (being a terrorist group and not the military of another country) doesn't have a fleet of airplanes.
So they know they can blindly bomb an area for weeks, months, in Mosul's case, years and the American people won't pour into the street or even bat an eye due to being lied to that these are 'precision' strikes and that the government of the United States has done 'everything possible to minimize civilian casualties.'
No, they haven't.
They haven't done anything to minimize civilian casualties. As for doing 'everything' to minimize, doing everything would include not bombing civilian areas. But they did bomb civilian areas -- over and over and over.
The US government will most likely never get honest about civilian casualties. At some point in the near future (say, five years on down the line), they'll offer an under-count of the civilians killed in the Mosul bombings -- but only when they can claim some new technology has come along to make the strikes even more 'precise.' They'll use that to sell more strikes.
It's really outrageous how little the media cares about the bombs being dropped. (And if the media doesn't cover it, the American people have a hard time hearing about it.)
Oh, do shut up
Anzac wants withdrawal, really and truly! Just not via Donald Trump.
Oh, do shut up already! As for the Kurds and Arabs and Christians in Iraq? If they can't defend themselves, the US staying is not going to help them. Grow up.
That should be the motto today for: Grow up and get out.
I think a lot of ppl agree that US shld withdraw from Afghanistan & Syria & Iraq.
Not in the way Trump wanted to do it. And ISIS is not defeated.
US can't just use ppl like the Kurds & their Arab & Christian allies & then let be slaughtered by Turkey.
US shld review Turkey.
Oh, do shut up already! As for the Kurds and Arabs and Christians in Iraq? If they can't defend themselves, the US staying is not going to help them. Grow up.
That should be the motto today for: Grow up and get out.
Amnesty calls for honesty on the bombings
From Amnesty International:
Responding to the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) admission that its air strikes in Mosul, Iraq may have caused up to 18 civilian deaths in 2017, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:
“The Australian Defence Force’s latest admission that its air strikes killed civilians during the battle for Mosul in 2017 is a step in the right direction. Once again, the Australian government has proven more willing to take responsibility for causing loss of civilian life than its coalition partners, including the UK, USA and France.
“The matter must not end here, however. The ADF should continue to lead by example by providing the further details necessary to help an independent assessment of whether this attack and its operations in Mosul complied with international humanitarian law. We know that an Australian plane struck a target in West Mosul and unintentionally killed up to 18 civilians in a nearby house. In order to understand how this happened the ADF needs to disclose more information, including the type of weapon used in the strike, the nature of the target, what measures were taken to ensure that the target was a military objective, whether other means or methods of attack that would have minimized the risk to civilians were considered, and what was done to collect information about the presence of civilians in the vicinity.
Responding to the Australian Defence Force’s (ADF) admission that its air strikes in Mosul, Iraq may have caused up to 18 civilian deaths in 2017, Lynn Maalouf, Amnesty International’s Middle East Research Director, said:
“The Australian Defence Force’s latest admission that its air strikes killed civilians during the battle for Mosul in 2017 is a step in the right direction. Once again, the Australian government has proven more willing to take responsibility for causing loss of civilian life than its coalition partners, including the UK, USA and France.
“The matter must not end here, however. The ADF should continue to lead by example by providing the further details necessary to help an independent assessment of whether this attack and its operations in Mosul complied with international humanitarian law. We know that an Australian plane struck a target in West Mosul and unintentionally killed up to 18 civilians in a nearby house. In order to understand how this happened the ADF needs to disclose more information, including the type of weapon used in the strike, the nature of the target, what measures were taken to ensure that the target was a military objective, whether other means or methods of attack that would have minimized the risk to civilians were considered, and what was done to collect information about the presence of civilians in the vicinity.
The ADF has taken a positive step by acknowledging that their attacks resulted in civilian casualties. What they must do now is provide the victims’ families with the best chance of achieving justice and accountability. The way to do this is to release the further information required.
“The ADF has taken a positive step by
acknowledging that their attacks resulted in civilian casualties. What
they must do now is provide the victims’ families with the best chance
of achieving justice and accountability. The way to do this is to
release the further information required.”
On 31 January 2019, the Australian Defence Force’s Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld acknowledged that as many as 18 civilians were killed in an attack on a target in West Mosul in which two Australian Super Hornet F-18 jets were involved on 13 June 2017. This follows a previous ADF admission on 28 March 2018 that it killed two adults and injured two children in a strike on Mosul that came to light following Amnesty International investigations on the ground.
Background
The Coalition’s battle to wrest Mosul from the armed group calling itself Islamic State (IS) began in October 2016 and ended in July 2017. Throughout the campaign, and especially in its later stages in West Mosul, the Coalition relied heavily upon air power, despite the presence of civilians trapped in the city by IS. Amnesty International revealed the effects of this upon the civilian population with its July 2017 report, At Any Cost: The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq.On 31 January 2019, the Australian Defence Force’s Air Marshal Mel Hupfeld acknowledged that as many as 18 civilians were killed in an attack on a target in West Mosul in which two Australian Super Hornet F-18 jets were involved on 13 June 2017. This follows a previous ADF admission on 28 March 2018 that it killed two adults and injured two children in a strike on Mosul that came to light following Amnesty International investigations on the ground.
This edition's playlist
1) Diana Ross' diana.
2) Diana Ross' THE FORCE BEHIND THE POWER.
3) Diana Ross' EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY.
4) Diana Ross' EATEN ALIVE.
5) Diana Ross' SWEPT AWAY.
6) Diana Ross' THE BOSS.
7) Diana Ross' STOLEN MOMENTS: THE LADY SINGS JAZZ AND BLUES.
8) Diana Ross' GREATEST HITS LIVE.
9) Diana Ross' DIANA EXTENDED: THE REMIXES.
10) Diana Ross' DIAMOND DIANA: THE LEGACY COLLECTION.
Highlights
This piece is written by Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude, Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix, Kat of Kat's Korner, Betty of Thomas Friedman is a Great Man, Mike of Mikey Likes It!, Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz, Ruth of Ruth's Report, Marcia of SICKOFITRADLZ, Stan of Oh Boy It Never Ends, Ann of Ann's Mega Dub, Isaiah of The World Today Just Nuts and Wally of The Daily Jot. Unless otherwise noted, we picked all highlights.
"Iraq snapshot" -- most requested highlight of the week by readers of this site.
"Sweet and Sour Chicken in the Kitchen" -- Trina serves up a recipe.
"Curiosity scores a victory on Mars while warming ocean water does harm down here on earth," "Mars" and "Rocks and ice -- the Moon and Greenland" -- Betty covers science.
"My 5 most favorite Donna Summer songs," "Drama queen Jermaine reacts to LEAVING NEVERLAND," "Beyonce?" "The Grammys," "James Ingram," "Neil Young" and "Grace Slick" -- music coverage from Elaine, Stan and Kat.
"This is something Kamala Harris needs to answer for," "barbara ehrenreich, nancy pelosi, kamala harris," "Kamala is no leader," "Tulsi, Justin Raimondo, MODERN FAMILY," "Saturday Feb. 2nd," and "It's time for Tulsi!!!!" -- campaign coverage in the community.
"Venezeula: The war they want," "Hands off Venezuela!," "Don't fall for war on Venezuela," "Venezuela," and "Venezuela is not our enemy (but pretending so will make many rich)" -- Trina and Ann on Venezuela.
"this week's episode of 'dynasty'" -- Rebecca covers TV.
"The future will probably not be kind to 2 'heroes'" -- Ruth offers a prediction.
"Hillary's Debate Strategy" -- Isaiah dips into the archives.
"She should have faced legal punishment"-- and why didn't she?
Monday, January 28, 2019
Truest statement of the week
Corporate media absolutely won’t tell you this, but this year’s Los
Angeles teachers strike is the latest chapter in the long running
struggle against the privatization of public education in the US. With
massive public support, 30,000 teachers have voted a settlement that
increases their wages a little, brings back nurses, librarians and
counselors to each and every one of the city’s 900 schools, caps class
sizes and charter school expansion and more. Striking teachers managed
to bring issues to the table that were supposed to be impossible to
address, like the manipulation of school board real estate, school
closings and charter policies to gentrify neighborhoods, among others.
[. . .]
For a generation now, privatizing the public schools has been the bipartisan project of America’s one percenters. Democrats and Republicans, Donald Trump and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, celebrities like John Legend and Magic Johnson, conservative and liberal engines of corporate philanthropy including the Gates, Walton, Broad, Heritage, McArthur and other foundations, Fox News and CNN, black and white big city mayors, hucksters like Al Sharpton and Roland Martin, the lords of Silicon Valley, Amazon, and Mark Zuckerberg, the hedge fund boyz, and a gaggle of thousands of big and small time crooks of all colors and descriptions are in on the hustle. Glen Ford explained several years ago how a handful of right wing foundations spent a cool billion or more in the 1990s trying to create an astroturf “movement” for privatizing schools, first through vouchers, then as charter schools, peddling the proposition that getting poor children out of public schools was civil rights movement of the coming new century.
-- Bruce A. Dixon, "Some Early Lessons From The Los Angeles Teachers Strike" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).
[. . .]
For a generation now, privatizing the public schools has been the bipartisan project of America’s one percenters. Democrats and Republicans, Donald Trump and Barack Obama and Mitt Romney, celebrities like John Legend and Magic Johnson, conservative and liberal engines of corporate philanthropy including the Gates, Walton, Broad, Heritage, McArthur and other foundations, Fox News and CNN, black and white big city mayors, hucksters like Al Sharpton and Roland Martin, the lords of Silicon Valley, Amazon, and Mark Zuckerberg, the hedge fund boyz, and a gaggle of thousands of big and small time crooks of all colors and descriptions are in on the hustle. Glen Ford explained several years ago how a handful of right wing foundations spent a cool billion or more in the 1990s trying to create an astroturf “movement” for privatizing schools, first through vouchers, then as charter schools, peddling the proposition that getting poor children out of public schools was civil rights movement of the coming new century.
-- Bruce A. Dixon, "Some Early Lessons From The Los Angeles Teachers Strike" (BLACK AGENDA REPORT).
Truest statement of the week II
From the very beginning, the UTLA did everything to prevent a strike,
dragging the negotiating process over 20 months, ignoring the 98
percent mandate to strike, and submitting to endless state mediation and
fact-finding.
Facing increasing pressure from rank-and-file teachers, the UTLA was ultimately compelled to call a strike for January 10. Three days before, however, UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl announced the union was dropping the teachers’ most critical demands opposing the expansion of charter schools, unlimited standardized testing and other schemes used to privatize education. Caputo-Pearl tried to justify this capitulation by claiming the union had no choice but to accept LAUSD’s position that such issues were outside of collective bargaining.
Then the UTLA announced it was postponing the January 10 strike date to January 14. When it became clear the teachers’ commitment to fight had become even stronger, the UTLA called the walkout on January 14. Although there was widespread public support, it was clear the UTLA had no intention to wage the type of battle that teachers were demanding. Although it had not struck in 30 years, the union provided no benefits from its multi-million-dollar strike fund.
-- Alan Gilman, "How the UTLA orchestrated the betrayal of Los Angeles teachers" (WSWS).
Facing increasing pressure from rank-and-file teachers, the UTLA was ultimately compelled to call a strike for January 10. Three days before, however, UTLA president Alex Caputo-Pearl announced the union was dropping the teachers’ most critical demands opposing the expansion of charter schools, unlimited standardized testing and other schemes used to privatize education. Caputo-Pearl tried to justify this capitulation by claiming the union had no choice but to accept LAUSD’s position that such issues were outside of collective bargaining.
Then the UTLA announced it was postponing the January 10 strike date to January 14. When it became clear the teachers’ commitment to fight had become even stronger, the UTLA called the walkout on January 14. Although there was widespread public support, it was clear the UTLA had no intention to wage the type of battle that teachers were demanding. Although it had not struck in 30 years, the union provided no benefits from its multi-million-dollar strike fund.
-- Alan Gilman, "How the UTLA orchestrated the betrayal of Los Angeles teachers" (WSWS).
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