Thursday, October 14, 2021

Adele's "Easy On Me"

Kat's been noting Adele over the last two weeks:

My favorite Adele song is probably "Rumor Has It." And I haven't loved anything since 21 -- not the James Bond theme and absolutely nothing on 25. So she released her new song "Easy On Me" tonight. Here's the video.

This is the first thing she's done since the 21 album that I have loved. And I really love it. I wasn't excited about the new album (it's due out next month). I had been so excited when it was getting time for 25 to be released but then I heard "Hello From The Other Side" or whatever that nonsense was. The whole album sucked musically. It was as though she'd lost her mojo or something. She went from being this soulful diva to having this really bad, drone type music behind her.

"Easy On Me" has a great vocal but it also has some great music.

This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Thursday, October 14, 2021. Iraq did not have a fair and free election.

Iraq elections were supposed to prove something. And the US government really wanted that. They want Mustafa al-Kahdimi to have a second term as prime minister and they want the elections to send a message to the world. And a message has been sent, it's just not the message that the US government was hoping for.

The Iraqi people are not fooled by the government that has been imposed upon them. They are not fooled by the politicians and officials who promise to represent them but never do. Maybe if, like in the US, they'd lived under the current system for over 200 years, it woul dbe different. But 'democracy' in Iraq is still a new thing and the Iraqi people know there is something better, that there has to be, then what is being imposed upon them.

This shows in the record low turnout. It shows in reactions to the results.

Some see the results as a "scam."

Mina al-Orabia (FOREIGN POLICY) provides a walk-through:

On Sunday, Iraq held its fifth national elections since the removal of Saddam Hussein in 2003, with the national parliament’s 329 seats at stake. While final results have yet to be announced, the biggest losers appear to be pro-Iranian militant groups, which have already said they’ll reject the outcome and have issued veiled and not-so-veiled threats of violence.

Another loser of the election is Iraq’s struggling democracy itself. Believing their system to be manipulated, about 60 percent of eligible voters stayed away from the polls. That hasn’t kept the government and election monitors from touting the vote as a success—it went relatively smoothly, there were no incidents of violence, and most voters had easy access to polling stations. Electronic voting and biometric registration cards had been introduced with the promise of eliminating the kind of fraud that undermined the last elections in 2018.

However, the Iraqi government and Independent High Electoral Commission promised to deliver the results within 24 hours of the polls closing, which would have been Monday night. Instead, the results of only 10 provinces were announced on Monday, with Baghdad and eight other provinces still trickling in. When the electoral commission made the initial results public online, its website crashed as Iraqis rushed to see the results. A delay in electronic vote counting meant that some boxes had to be counted manually without external monitors, further undermining Iraqis’ trust.

The elections and the results aren't credible -- not to the outside world, not inside Iraq. PRENSA LATINA notes:

Former Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday said that due to mistakes in the procedures of the Electoral Commission, there is a lack of credibility in Sunday's election results.

Al-Abadi said in a tweet that he was among the first to support an early parliamentary elections that would win popular confidence, but the recent polls failed in that objective.

Meanwhile, Hadi al-Ameri, Head of the Conquest Alliance (al-Fatah Alliance), expressed his rejection to preliminary reports of vote counting.

Some in the press are rushing to spin the results as a mark against Iran.

They are imposing their wishful eye glasses on others.

Iran and Iraq are neighbors. They will get along. They will squabble. It's been that way for decades. They have links and they have barriers. You'd be better off arguing the election was a reproach to the militias. I don't know what to say here so I'm just going to say it. The US government is stupid beyond words. It's wanted, for years and years, to turn Iraq against Iran. But they never grasp how. It's fairly obvious how. And it's not in the way they've done it. I'm going to stop there because I don't want to help empire. But all the US government is doing right now is ensuring that Iran and Iraq will resolve conflicts.

This is nonsense:

Iraq: Pro-#Iran forces slam preliminary legislative elections results as 'scam'

middleeastmonitor.com

Iraq: Pro-Iran forces slam preliminary legislative elections results as 'scam'

Shia parties loyal to Iran yesterday denounced the results of the Iraqi legislative elections, describing them as 'manipulation' and a 'scam'. The Fateh Alliance

You can say "Iran-linked." But "pro-Iran"? Are we going to include others in that? Certainly, the KDP in Kurdistan is pro-Iran. Does Hero Talabani make a move without darting off to Tehran first? Not a significant move.

Iran and Iraq are neighbors. There are many Iraqis who are 'pro-Iran." And that same group can -- and does -- include pro-Iran Iraqis who are also pro-Iraq and want an independent Iraq.

What's passing for analysis is soggy and ill defined.

Some of the rush to spin Iran as the loser is also about trying to move the spotlight off the US. It's the US government that imposed the corrupt system in Iraq. It's the US that back the current prime minister -- the low turnout can -- and should -- be read as a reflection upon him. This election was a debacle for the US government and for it's 'mission' in Iraq.

Thanks to Mina al-Oraibi for getting it right regarding the Commission's promise that they'd have the results on Monday -- and that they didn't. And apologies to her because until the person I was dictating this snapshot to this morning said it was "Oraibi," we have spelled it here "Draibi" -- and that's been for years. My apologies.

I have no idea why the Commission would make that promise. For over two weeks, we noted that as follows:

In one surprising development, Dilan Sirwan (RUDAW) has reported: "Iraq’s electoral commission aims to announce the results of the upcoming parliamentary elections on October 10 within 24 hours, they announced on Thursday following a voting simulation."

It was never going to happen. But they made the promise and they weren't able to keep it which is one more thing being pointed to on social media with some suggesting that they weren't able to do that because the results did not go as they wanted so they were rigging it.

That's one possibility. I don't subscribe to it but I could be wrong and often am. What I find most appalling is the lack of census. I'm surprised by how many adults were registered to vote -- I'm going by the commission's published figure for 2020 that we noted earlier this week. Every adult is not registered to vote. The CIA's estimate -- an estimate -- is 40 million. Iraq is a land of widows and orphans. 21 years-old is the median age. It's past time that Iraq held a census and I would question every election held until they do at this point.

This election was not transparent and it was not fair. I am no fan of the militias -- I'm opposed to them being part of the government (as security forces) and I see the bulk of them as thugs and call them that here regularly. But the Iraqi government made them part of the security forces. To have done that and then not allowed some to early vote? That's not fair. That's not a free election. As security forces, they were deployed around Iraq on election day. If they couldn't early vote, they had to return to their homes to vote and for some that wasn't possible.

If we did that to any security forces in the US, it would be denounced as unpatriotic. Joe Lieberman helped destroy the 2000 election, please remember, by going on NBC's MEET THE PRESS and responding that US military ballots should be counted even if they didn't meet the regulations.

I don't know how Mustafa gets away without having to publicly weigh in on that.

I don't support the militias being part of the Iraqi government. All the problems that they cause ar problems we noted here -- years ago. Because they tried to make them part of the government for years. But it doesn't matter right now what I think about whether they should be government forces or not, they are government forces.

And some were deprived -- by the government -- of the right to vote.

That's a corrupt system and that's not a fair and free election -- and I don't care how many foreigners you dub "observers" -- it doesn't make it fair.

People are protesting for many reasons.

And it's amazing that the press wants to talk about low turnout but doesn't take the time to note that many disabled and challenged voters were deprived of the right to vote. Weeks before the election, Human Rights Watch loudly warned about the barriers for this group and called for this issue to be addressed. After they published that call, they raised it on their Twitter feed at least once a day. And yet news outlets supposedly want to address low turnout but don't have a minute to devote to how one group was not equal to all others and faced hardships and obstacles that others didn't.

I marvel at what passes for news analysis from the major outlets.

Let's wind down with this from Burn Pits 360:

October 2021 Newsletter

Jon Stewart's Apple+ Show Premieres
The Problem With War:
Burn Pits & Sick Veterans

On September 30th, "The Problem With Jon Stewart" premiered on Apple+ and we are so proud and honored to have been his first guests to discuss his first "problem" with what's happening in America -- and that is veterans dying from burn pits exposure.

We were introduced and became friends with Jon Stewart back in 2019 when he heard about Le Roy's story and the stories of the many veterans we advocate for. After his successful fight for New York City First Responders who were suffering similar fates after the 9/11 Terrorist Attacks, he took up our cause and has been a fierce ally and advocate since.

Since this program aired, support for our veterans suffering from burn pits exposure has been beyond what we can imagine.

We've been in this fight for our veterans for over a decade and we're glad to see this issue getting the attention that it deserves. We have other projects in the works that we look forward to sharing with you.

"The Problem With Jon Stewart" can be seen starting Sept. 30th and features Rosie & Le Roy Torres of Burn Pits 360. Click the photo to watch a clip.

Rosie Torres, Jon Stewart, Rep. Takano, and John Feal advocating in DC.

Please consider supporting our efforts by making a contribution today.

Honoring Heroes That We Have Lost...

SFC (Ret) Frederick Timothy Slape retired from the Army after 20 years of service on August 31, 2012. He was diagnosed with Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma Lung Cancer with Metastatic Brain Tumors, due to his extensive exposure to the burn pits during his 2 tours in Afghanistan. Just 9 weeks after his diagnosis, on October 22, 2015, he passed away which was only 3 years after retirement. His wife Diane has been an ardent advocate for Burn Pits 360 in honor of her late husband's legacy.

LISTENING IN...

Earlier this Summer, Burn Pits 360 teamed up with Grunt Style to launch a new podcast called "Gaslighting the Warfighter" which focuses on the injustices our veterans face after returning home from war, and spreads awareness that they are being denied health and compensation benefits after being diagnosed with respiratory and other exposure-related health conditions.

The show is hosted by Marine Veteran and Grunt Style CSO Tim Jensen, as well as Rosie Torres of Burn Pits 360. The podcast features political activists, epidemiologists, and various other medical experts that discuss how military service-members that return home from war are facing numerous roadblocks when it comes the VA, dealing with the various illnesses, and also how Americans can get involved to support those veterans.

C lick here to check out all episodes.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Marco Rubio team up with Rep. Raul Ruiz to pass meaningful burn pits legislation.

Bipartisan and bicameral legislation by the Senators called the Presumptive Benefits for War Fighters Exposed to Burn Pits and Other Toxins Act, and its companion legislation introduced in the House by Rep. Raul Ruiz would support over 3.5 million veterans exposed to toxic burn pits while serving overseas. Visit Warfighters2021.com to learn more about and support the War fighters bill.

Senator Jon Tester who is Chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee had unveiled sweeping legislation that would also provide veterans suffering from toxic exposure their due benefits and care by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). This bill has been passed out of the Veterans' Committee and will be going to the Senate floor for a full vote.

We encourage all of our subscribers and supporter to contact their Member of Congress and US Senator to push for this legislation to be voted on and passed so it can be signed into law as soon as possible. They move when we apply pressure. Visit Warfighters2021.com to learn more about our efforts behind this legislation.

You can find out who your Member of Congress and US Senator is by clicking here.

BURN PITS 360 BULLETIN BOARD

NVLSP Announces Program for Free Representation of Veterans on VA Disability Claims Based on Exposure to Burn Pits

The National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP) – a nonprofit veterans service organization that has been representing veterans for free since 1981 – is opening its doors to representing veterans on claims for VA disability benefits for diseases related to exposure to burn pits. You can read about NVLSP on its website – www.nvlsp.org. If you would like NVLSP to consider representing you on your VA burn pits claim, send your name and email address by November 15, 2021 to ryan.kelley@nvlsp.org. Ryan Kelley will then let you know the information NVLSP needs to decide whether it can take on your case.

OUR PROGRAMS

WARRIOR HOPE NETWORK

Burn Pits 360 is proud to announce the establishment of our Warrior Hope Network. This program will provide access to our various network partners that are providing many types of healthcare modalities at either a discounted rate or under full scholarship grant. Our partners are providing services such as hyperbaric oxygen therapy, stem cell therapy, detoxification, as well as nutritional, emotional and spiritual support. We will begin taking applications for participation in this program in January 2022.

Our pilot program launched in the Spring of 2021 with an initial cadre of 4 veterans undergoing treatment at the NorthStar Hyperbaric Clinic in Tucson, AZ. These treatments were made possible through the support of a wonderful 501(c)3 charity, Healing Arizona Veterans. All four of our veterans came from other areas of the country and due to the length of treatment and the accompanying logistical support demands that go along with that, Burn Pits 360 provided a communal home free of charge so they could have a place to rest and heal while undergoing treatment without worry of how to pay for accommodations while away.

We are currently looking for additional providers to expand our network across the United States. If you are interested in joining in our efforts, please email bpadvocates@burnpits360.org.

We here at Burn Pits 360 would just like to thank all our donors, subscribers, and others for always fighting for our veterans. We honestly would not be able to do this without your continued support. Your support means the world to us.

If you are interested in making a recurring donation of $10 a month, please consider doing so here .

Copyright © 2021 Burn Pits 360 Veterans Organization, All rights reserved.
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Our mailing address is:

Burn Pits 360 Veterans Organization

P.O Box 1475

Robstown, TX 78380

The following sites updated: