Third Estate Sunday Review

The Third Estate Sunday Review focuses on politics and culture. We're an online magazine. We don't play nice and we don't kiss butt. In the words of Tuesday Weld: "I do not ever want to be a huge star. Do you think I want a success? I refused "Bonnie and Clyde" because I was nursing at the time but also because deep down I knew that it was going to be a huge success. The same was true of "Bob and Carol and Fred and Sue" or whatever it was called. It reeked of success."

Sunday, July 09, 2017

Not a good time to be CNN

The CABLE NEWS NETWORK has had an especially bad run of late.

May 31st, they fired Kathy Griffin from their yearly New Year's Eve special.

This was after Kathy's 'joke' that no one really laughed at -- her holding a representation of President Donald Trump's head -- severed.

The next month, CNNMoney.com reported:

Three CNN journalists, including the executive editor in charge of a new investigative unit, have resigned after the publication of a Russia-related article that was retracted.

Thomas Frank, who wrote the story in question; Eric Lichtblau, an editor in the unit; and Lex Haris, who oversaw the unit, have all left CNN.

And, as Jim noted here last week in "Jim's World," CNN practiced blackmail and bullying.

CNN practiced it.

Go back to that story, we didn't name a reporter.

Lee Fang and other hysterics went into overdrive mid-week about the poor reporter whose name was attached to the story (attached by his employer CNN).

He didn't write it!!!!

That's not the story and simps and fops like Lee Fang will never grasp that.

Instead, they'll Tweet nonsense like this:

‏ @JustinRaimondo

So what? Did the reporter object? Does anyone at CNN have a moral sensibility? Are they all *brain-dead*?

Lee FangVerified account @lhfang

Interesting: Gizmodo confirms awkward language in that CNN story was inserted not by a reporter, but CNN exec https://gizmodo.com/how-cnn-made-its-own-reporting-sound-like-blackmail-1796656983?utm_campaign=socialflow_gizmodo_twitter&utm_source=gizmodo_twitter&utm_medium=socialflow …

4 replies14 retweets34 likes

The nonsense is from Lee's Tweet, by the way.

Justin Raimondo's questions are quality ones.

And, more to the point, the article was online bullying and online blackmail.

Idiots like the Lee and GIZMODO crowd insist that CNN wouldn't retract the offensive lines because of some blah blah blah.

No, they won't retract because they were intended to be perceived as the threat that they actually were.

Mock us, CNN was saying, and we'll go after you.

That was the message and it doesn't matter who wrote it.

It was published.

And the month's not over and already a scandal CNN thought had died down is resurfacing.

Rania Khalek Retweeted

Ben Norton‏Verified account @BenjaminNorton 13 hours ago

CNN Hired Top al-Qaeda Propagandist for Award-Winning Syria Documentary and Wants to Cover Its Tracks

17 replies497 retweets439 likes
Rania Khalek‏Verified account @RaniaKhalek 13 hours ago

What would liberals do if @CNN put an alt right or KKK propagandist on its payroll? How is this any better?

18 replies143 retweets168 likes

Fake news at its finest, that's the image CNN's spent the last months projecting.

Tweet of the week

‏Verified account @mtracey

Not much bandwidth in US media to cover Iraq War 3.0 adequately when there's a Russian behind every bush.

14 replies100 retweets222 likes

This edition's playlist

1) Alicia Keys' HERE.

2) Jefferson Airplane's VOLUNTEERS.

3) The Mamas & The Papas' DELIVER.

4) Janet Jackson's UNBREAKABLE.

5) The Fifth Dimension's LIVING TOGETHER, GROWING TOGETHER.

6)  Tori Amos' UNREPENTANT GERALDINES.

7) Sam Smith's IN THE LONELY HOUR DROWNING SHADOW EDITION.

8)   Aretha Franklin's ARETHA SINGS THE GREAT DIVA CLASSICS.

9)   Stevie Wonder's HOTTER THAN JULY.

10)  Diana Ross' EVERY DAY IS A NEW DAY.

AI: At any cost: The civilian catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq

From Amnesty International:

Iraq: Battle between US-led coalition, Iraqi forces and Islamic State creates civilian catastrophe in west Mosul

Report sheds light on the scale of death, injury and suffering caused to civilians caught between the warring parties in Mosul
Islamic State deliberately trapped families in west Mosul to use as human shields
Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition used imprecise, explosive weapons, killing thousands of civilians. Some violations may constitute war crimes

A new report by Amnesty International uncovers the horrifying scale of death, injury and suffering of civilians trapped in the battle for west Mosul. The report documents how the group calling itself the Islamic State (IS) moved civilians from neighboring villages into the zones of the battle in west Mosul, trapped them in their homes and prevented them from escaping, using them as human shields. Meanwhile Iraqi and coalition forces failed to take adequate measures to protect civilians, instead subjecting them to a terrifying barrage of fire from weapons that should never be used in densely populated civilian areas.

At any cost: The civilian catastrophe in West Mosul, Iraq, covers hostilities in west Mosul from January to mid-May 2017. Amnesty researchers interviewed 151 west Mosul residents, experts and analysts, and documented 45 attacks in total, which killed at least 426 civilians and injured more than 100, providing analysis for nine specific attacks by Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition.

“The scale and gravity of the loss of civilian lives during the military operation to retake Mosul must immediately be publicly acknowledged at the highest levels of government in Iraq and states that are part of the US-led coalition,” said Lynn Maalouf, Director of Research for the Middle East at Amnesty International.

“The horrors that the people of Mosul have witnessed and the disregard for human life by all parties to this conflict must not go unpunished. Entire families have been wiped out, many of whom are still buried under the rubble today. The people of Mosul deserve to know, from their government, that there will be justice and reparation so that the harrowing impact of this operation is duly addressed.”

“An independent commission must immediately be established, tasked with ensuring that any instances where there is credible evidence that violations of international law took place, effective investigations are carried out, and the findings made public.”

IS violations: forced displacement, summary killings, and use of human shields

Since October 2016, IS has carried out a systematic campaign of forced displacement, moving thousands of civilians from neighbouring villages into areas that were still under IS control. IS then used these civilians as human shields.

“Abu Haidar” a man from the village of Tel Arbeed who was forced to move into west Mosul by IS, told Amnesty International:

“[IS] said you must leave, or you will be killed. We were brought as human shields. They brought us to stand between them and the missiles. All of this happened just before the operation for west Mosul started… When the Iraqi forces went forward, IS fell back, and they took most of the civilians with them.”

To prevent civilians from evacuating to safety, IS trapped people inside their homes by welding their doors shut, rigging booby traps at exits, and summarily killing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people attempting to escape.

Mosul resident “Mohsen” told Amnesty International: “They came to us in a pick-up truck, with a generator in the back, and then they welded shut the gap between the two doors… They did this to our door, and even worse, they did it to another house in our neighbourhood where hundreds of people were staying.”

Another man, “Hasan”, witnessed how IS hanged the bodies of civilians trying to flee from electricity pylons: “We did not have any options. If you stayed, you would die in your house from the fighting. If you tried to run away, they would catch you and kill you, and hang your body from the electricity pylon as a warning.Four of my neighbours were caught trying to escape, and I saw them hanging from the electricity pylon. They were left for days, just hanging there. They would hang between 15 and 50 people from the pylons.”

The fear of being killed by IS while escaping meant that many civilians had to wait until the clashes reached their peak. Once IS fighters were busy fighting, civilians would run directly through the front lines to reach Iraqi forces.

Violations by Iraqi forces and US-led coalition: Unlawful attacks and use of imprecise, explosive weapons

“When the Iraqi forces came, the mortars and missiles came with them.” – Mohsen

Because IS was forcing civilians to move into the fighting and preventing them from escaping, IS-controlled areas in west Mosul became more and more crowded with civilians as the battle raged on. Iraqi forces and the US-led coalition failed to adapt their tactics to this reality and continued to use imprecise, explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated urban environments.

“IS’s use of people as human shields does not lessen the legal obligation of pro-government forces to protect civilians. Military planners should have taken extra care in the manner in which they used their weapons to ensure that these attacks were not unlawful,” said Lynn Maalouf.

Amnesty International documented a pattern of attacks in which US-led coalition and Iraqi forces appear not to have struck their intended military targets, instead killing and injuring civilians and destroying or damaging civilian objects. In some cases, civilian deaths and injuries appear to have resulted from a choice of weapons that was inappropriate for the circumstances or failure to take necessary precautions to verify the target was a military objective.

Even in attacks that seem to have struck their intended military target, the use of what seem to be unnecessarily powerful weapons or failure to take necessary precautions resulted in needless loss of civilian lives. For example, on 17 March 2017 a US airstrike on the Mosul al-Jadida neighbourhood killed at least 105 civilians in order to neutralize two IS snipers.Regardless of whether – as the US Department of Defense has maintained — secondary explosions occurred, it should have been clear to those responsible that the risk posed to civilians by using a 500lb bomb was clearly excessive in relation to anticipated military advantage.

Mohamed from al-Tenak neighbourhood, west Mosul told Amnesty International: “The strikes targeted the IS snipers. A strike would destroy an entire house of two storeys. They shelled during night and day. They hit so many houses. They’d hit one house and also destroy the two houses on either side. They killed a huge number of people.”

“Iraqi forces and members of the US-led coalition must ensure that the fight against IS – not only in the fight for Mosul, but in other battles in Iraq and in Syria – is fought in a way that is consistent with international law and standards. States engaged in this fight must not only focus on the military aspect of this fight, but also deploy in conjunction the resources needed to alleviate the incredible suffering of civilians trapped by conflict and abused by IS,” said Lynn Maalouf.

Downloads

Iraq report-At Any Cost - The Civilian Catastrophe in West Mosul- UNDER EMBARGO UNTIL 11 JUNE 2017

Isakson Cites Support for Appeals Reform from VA, Veterans Service Organizations

Senator Johnny Isakson (above) is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. His office issued the following Thursday:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Thursday, July 6, 2017	Kristen Hines, 202-224-9126

Isakson Cites Support for Appeals Reform from VA, Veterans Service Organizations

Legislation seeks to modernize VA benefits claims appeals process

MARIETTA, Ga. – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today highlighted broad support for the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, bipartisan legislation he introduced to overhaul the woefully outdated benefits claims appeals process at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

The VA’s current appeals process is in desperate need of updating, and nearly half a million veterans are in limbo because of the VA’s existing backlog. Between fiscal year 2015 and fiscal year 2017, the number of pending appeals increased from approximately 380,000 to 470,000 – a more than 20 percent increase.

To improve the process, Isakson’s measure would create three separate paths for veterans to choose from when seeking redress from a decision by the Veterans Benefits Administration on their claims for VA benefits. Many veterans currently awaiting a decision on existing appeals will have the ability to opt-in to one of the new paths that best fits their needs.

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs passed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 on June 28, and the bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote.

The bill was introduced by Isakson and Senator Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on May 3, and has the support of 24 other Republican and Democrat senators. Additional co-sponsors of the legislation include U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., Thad Cochran, R-Miss., Susan Collins, R-Maine, Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, Steve Daines, R-Mont., Richard Durbin, D-Ill., Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., Dean Heller, R-Nev., Mazie Hirono, D-Hawaii, Tim Kaine, D-Va., Angus King, I-Maine, Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., Mike Rounds, R-S.D., Jon Tester, D-Mont., John Thune, R-S.D., Tom Udall, D-N.M., and Mark Warner, D-Va.

The Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 is supported by VA Secretary David Shulkin and VA state directors around the country. This legislation has also won the support of several veterans groups that represent millions of veterans in the United States.

Supportive statements are included below:

The Department of Veterans Affairs

“I want to thank the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee for its bold action on VA appeals modernization. I look forward to the full Senate passing the bill quickly to help us move the antiquated appeals process into the modern era, and provide veterans with much quicker resolution of their appeals - something we have long sought.” – VA Secretary David Shulkin

The National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs

“S. 1024, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, is a model of meaningful and well thought out bipartisan legislation for our nation’s veterans. The product of nearly two years of work and cooperation between members of both the U.S. Senate and House and their staffs, VA, Veterans Service Organizations and advocates, it superbly takes into account and balances needs of many stakeholders; most importantly, America’s veterans and tax payers. The new law, once enacted, will make a real difference in getting disability and compensation appeals decisions in a more timely manner, while maintaining due process for veterans. It would be an understatement to say that this landmark bill (S. 1024), once passed, will be one of the most historic pieces of veterans legislation in recent history.” - Randy Reeves, President, National Association of State Directors of Veterans Affairs

The American Legion

“On the behalf of the 2.2 million members of The American Legion, we thank Senators Isakson and Blumenthal for drafting legislation aimed at helping veterans expedite appeals to their VA disability claims with the goal of reducing wait-times to less than a year. We have been working intimately with this committee for over a year on this effort and are satisfied that this bill will enhance veterans rights, modernize and expedite the appeals process, and ultimately reduce costs through greater efficiency. We thank both the Senate and House of Representatives for working together in a bipartisan manner to assist the fine men and women who have proudly served our nation. The American Legion supports this legislation as currently written and looks forward to its passage. The Legion will work tirelessly throughout the year to ensure this program is successful, and help veterans understand the changes in law and how they will be able to succeed.” - Charles E. Schmidt, The American Legion National Commander

Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)

"Appeals modernization is long overdue and it is imperative that Congress pass this important legislation. With more than 1,900 accredited representatives around the world, representing nearly 500,000 veterans in prosecuting their benefit claims before the VA, the VFW can attest to how the new appeals framework would better serve veterans. Congress must act to ensure veterans receive the benefits they have earned in a timely manner. The VFW appreciates the chairman's strong commitment to veterans." - Brian Duffy, National Commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

Disabled American Veterans (DAV)

“DAV strongly supports the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017 as a means of improving the efficiency and accuracy of the claims and appeals process for veterans. Lengthy delays in the decision-making process are not only unacceptable, they unnecessarily force veterans to wait for their earned benefits. This is an historic opportunity to enact significant reform that not only drastically improves the adjudication process, but will also protect veterans’ rights. DAV thanks Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Tester and Senator Blumenthal for their continued support of this issue, and we urge enactment of appeals reform this year.”– Dave Riley, DAV National Commander

American Veterans (AMVETS)

“AMVETS applauds the introduction of, S. 1024, the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017. It is refreshing when such a thorough piece of bipartisan and bicameral legislation is introduced. If passed, this measure will improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of veterans stalled and stuck in the broken appeals process. AMVETS is pleased that this bill addresses the input of a variety of stakeholders; that it protects the effective date of a benefits award; and that it further refines and improves the process to accomplish in an average of 125 days what is currently taking up to 1,825 days (5 years).” - Joe Chenelly, AMVETS National Executive Director

Paralyzed Veterans of American (PVA)

"Forcing paralyzed veterans to wait years for a decision on an appeal is unconscionable, particularly in cases where the veteran ultimately prevails. As Paralyzed Veterans of America worked over the past year to build a system characterized by timelier and more accurate decisions, we applaud those who stood with us to ensure expediency did not come at the expense of justice for veterans who live with some of the most severe conditions, such as spinal cord dysfunction and traumatic brain injury. This reform protects due process rights for veterans with the most complex issues, and puts veterans across the country on a faster path to receiving the benefits they've earned by virtue of their service to our country." - Gabriel Stultz, Legislative Counsel, Government Relations, Paralyzed Veterans of America

###

The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 115th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the armed forces as well as more than 750,000 veterans.