Ann's Mega Dub

Wednesday, October 28, 2020

Go, Howie!

AOC is a fake ass. I never really trusted her but when she became a sheep dog for Joe Biden, I knew she was full of it. She's the new pin up for the left, created by the DNC to give hope to those whose political needs and dreams will die. But for ten or twenty years, they'll false worship her only to be let down repeatedly.

I'm voting Howie. I believe in Howie. I believe in the programs he supports. I also believe in my party, the Green Party, and the need to build it. Turnout in the states will determine how much ballot access we get for the next go round.

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

Wednesday, October 28, 2020. The Biden scandal continues to fester, a 'reporter' writes a column that makes clear all the complaints we've made about her and we look at a feud and how women are not helping other women.

Starting in the United States where the long campaign season should wrap up after next Tuesday when voting should end. Joe Biden is the non-house broken pet of the media and they remain determined to carry him across the line. But there are problems on the horizon. Jeffrey Martin (NEWSWEEK) reports:

In an interview with Tucker Carlson on Fox News Tuesday night, Hunter Biden's former business partner Tony Bobulinski said that Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden did not want tighter controls placed around a holding company that did business with the Chinese government.

Bobulinski has claimed to have information linking the Biden family to shady business deals in China. When some documentation was published by the New York Post in October which purported to provide evidence, many claimed the story was based on uncorroborated sources. Bobulinski said in a Thursday press conference that he had documentation and electronic devices that would implicate the Bidens.

Pseudonyms for major players in the business were allegedly used in the emails including the word "chairman," which Bobulinski claims is how Hunter Biden referred to Joe Biden. Bobulinski said he had asked for tighter financial controls to be placed around Oneida Holdings, a company set up to handle dealings between the Bidens and Chinese energy company CEFC. According to Bobulinski, Hunter Biden replied by saying that his "chairman gave an emphatic no."

And here's the interview in question with US Navy veteran Tony Bobulinski.

Tuesday, Jonathan Turley observed:

In her interview with Joe Biden, CBS anchor Norah O’Donnell did not push Biden to simply confirm that the emails were fake or whether he did in fact meet with Hunter’s associates (despite his prior denials). Instead O’Donnell asked: “Do you believe the recent leak of material allegedly from Hunter’s computer is part of a Russian disinformation campaign?”

Biden responded with the same answer that has gone unchallenged dozens of times:

“From what I’ve read and know the intelligence community warned the president that Giuliani was being fed disinformation from the Russians. And we also know that Putin is trying very hard to spread disinformation about Joe Biden. And so when you put the combination of Russia, Giuliani– the president, together– it’s just what it is. It’s a smear campaign because he has nothing he wants to talk about. What is he running on? What is he running on?”

It did not matter that the answer omitted the key assertion that this was not Hunter’s laptop or emails or that he did not leave the computer with this store.

Recently, Washington Post columnist Thomas Rid wrote said the quiet part out loud by telling the media: “We must treat the Hunter Biden leaks as if they were a foreign intelligence operation — even if they probably aren’t.”

Let that sink in for a second. It does not matter if these are real emails and not Russian disinformation. They probably are real but should be treated as disinformation even though American intelligence has repeatedly rebutted that claim. It does not even matter that the computer has seized the computer as evidence in a criminal fraud investigation or that a Biden confidant is now giving his allegations to the FBI under threat of criminal charges if he lies to investigators.

This should worry everyone. Ava and I pointed out:

Tara Reade is not going to go away -- nor should she. Here's the really scary thing: The press isn't going to change either. Should Joe Biden win the election, the press is going to continue to cover for him. If they couldn't investigate him during a campaign for the presidency, they're not going to suddenly start after he's sworn in. In fact, they're far less likely to -- it would require them admitting they'd made a mistake and hadn't done their jobs. As we've seen with regards to the Iraq War, confessing to malpractice isn't in the journalist make up.

Ava and I also note the attacks on Tony and how they echo the attacks on Tara. The press carries these attacks out at the request of the Biden campaign. The Biden campaign won't deal with the charges -- whatever the charges are -- they'll only launch smears and character attacks.

Bruce Golding (NEW YORK POST) reports:

A former Hunter Biden business partner said Tuesday he was warned against going public with information about their business dealings when another ex-partner told him: “You’re just going to bury all of us.”

During an appearance on Fox News, Tony Bobulinski said he spoke with former partner Rob Walker to demand that Walker get US Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) to retract his claim that The Post’s recent reporting on Hunter Biden’s emails was part of a Russian-orchestrated “smear on Joe Biden.”

Host Tucker Carlson then played a snippet of an audio recording that Bobulinski said was part of the phone conversation.

“If he doesn’t come out, on record, I am providing the facts,” Bobulinski said.

“Ah, Tony, you’re just going to bury all of us, man,” Walker responded.

Bobulinski, a former US Navy lieutenant, said he was outraged by Schiff’s Oct. 16 comments on CNN, where Schiff attacked a series of reports by The Post about Hunter Biden’s emails.

Harriet Alexander (DAILY MAIL) zooms in on this:

After Bobiulinski said goodbye to Joe on May 3, he went to meet Jim at the Peninsula Hotel in Los Angeles, he said.

Jim Biden, seven years younger than Joe, spent two hours discussing the family's story, and their careers.

Bobulinski told Carlson: 'I know Joe decided not to run in 2016, but what if he ran in the future - aren't they taking political risk or headline risk?

'And I remember looking at Jim Biden and saying: "how are you guys getting away with this? Aren't you concerned?"

'And he looked at me and he laughed a little bit and said: "plausible deniability".

'He said it directly to me at the cabana at the Peninsula Hotel, after an hour and a half or two-hour meeting, with me asking out of concern how are you guys doing this, aren't you concerned you will put your future presidential campaign at risk, the Chinese, the stuff you guys have been doing already in 2015 and 2016 around the world.

'And I can almost picture his face where he sort of chuckles and says plausible deniability.'

Jim has not responded to DailyMail.com's request for comment.

THE WASHINGTON POST, THE NEW YORK TIMES, etc continues to avoid reality. But we don't live in a world where honesty and journalism go hand in hand. Example? We note THE NATIONAL when they've got something worth noting. We are especially careful about noting Mina al-Oraibi. She pretends to be an objective reporter but she's not. And her opinions frequently shape her coverage -- not by accident, by choice. She's not independent nor is she representing her own government (her dual citizenship is in the UK and Iraq). She is a mouthpiece for the US State Dept and, more importantly, for the US security lobby. Tell those truths and a lot of people get their feelings hurt. But we bring it up for those who refuse to see reality because 'reporter' Mina has a column at the US publication FOREIGN POLICY (a pro-war publication). I don't get how you write that column and then go on to pretend you're objective.

Mina needs to be writing clearly labeled columns for THE NATIONAL, not news reports. Her bias has leaked in to far too many of her so-called reports. We've called her out for it and for those who don't grasp why, read her FOREIGN POLICY column.

Let's weigh in on opinion for a moment so that Martha and Shirley don't have to continue to wade through the e-mails. There's some sort of conflict between Jimmy Dore and Ana Kasparian. Apparently, I have to weigh in according to e-mails. Wasn't planning to, certainly don't know all the details but if you want it, don't complain to me after I offer it. Jimmy Dore. An important voice. Do I always agree with him? No. I disagree with his take on Tulsi Gabbard. She was a fake ass. She gave Joe Biden a pass for the Iraq War in the debate and then spent days using her media time to excuse him. So don't tell me she's anti-war. She's nothing of the sort. She also, as Ana noted, refused to vote for Bernie's measure regarding the war. I also strongly disagreed with Jimmy's argument that the Green Party should have given this year's nomination to Jesse Ventura. How is that fair? He refused to campaign -- but did say he'd take it if it was given to him -- while others went out there and campaigned. Why would you do that? Why would you let people campaign and then, at the last minute, give the nomination -- gift it to them -- when they refused to campaign?

Those are the two times I've disagreed with Jimmy in the last 12 or so months. Those are both opinions -- meaning he could be wrong or I could be wrong. I'm sure we both feel strongly about the issue. But these are opinions. I do not have any problems with Jimmy over facts. And I think he's a very important voice and that's why we highlight him.

Ana?

I want to like Ana. But she's a reactionary far too often. She's also a woman who does nothing to promote other women -- which is a lesson she honed at THE YOUNG TURKS -- one of the most vile and disgusting places. It is toxic and we've called TYT out for years.

Ana's now doing work with JACOBIN. Her weekend co-host died. Did you notice what happened after? She got a new co-host.

Is there a rule that the co-host has to be a man? I mean Rachel Maddow started out on AIR AMERICA RADIO with Lizz Winstead as her co-host. Two women, imagine that. (Chuck D was a co-host but he was largely a drop-by co-host and he was not on the bulk of the UNFILTERED broadcasts.)

It's not like JACOBIN is top heavy with women -- as either guests or hosts. They do all these solo pieces where a man -- and it's always a man -- looks into the camera and just gives a lecture. So I'm scratching my head over why JACOBIN couldn't get a female co-host. I guess the idea never occurred to Ana who comes from TYT.

A question we should all ask is why that is? Then we should be asking why, in 2020, we're letting our 'progressive' outlets get away with this crap?

Women aren't even half the guests on these shows. We're lucky if a woman is a co-host. Why are we acting like this is okay? Why are we letting 'progressive' outlets lecture us when they do so from a sexist platform?

Katie Halper is only going to be noted from now on if it's a female guest on the video clip. I'm not interested in all this male, male, male nonsense. Sorry to be that way but I'm not. Women have made no leaps and bounds on the internet. The same male gatekeepers got to establish the rules and far too many women have gone along with it. MOTHER JONES is run by two women who have made their 'star' contributors . . . two men. One of whom cheerleaded the Iraq War (the other of whom attacked those who protested the war). Laura Flanders presents as a feminist but her show can't feature an equal number of men and women. I really don't want to hear from Katie or any of them about the sexism they face. I don't deny that they face sexism. I just know that they have a platform that they could be using to make a difference and they refuse to do so.

Ana, Katie, Krystal, Laura, et al? Do you know why some people don't take you seriously? Because you're women. And, guess what, my heart doesn't break for you.

You decide who you will bring on to your shows. By making women half your guests, you would be saying, "Women matter. Women can speak to issues. Women are half the population." You don't do that. And you suffer as a result because your shows feature men over and over and, in doing so, put forth the lie that the male opinion matters more.

That's what you say when you refuse to bring on women in equal numbers.

Now at THIRD right now, Ava and I are focused on ALL SONGS MATTER which is top heavy with men each Friday. But we find that to be the case over and over regardless of what program we're tracking or what magazine. Remember we traced the by-lines for THE NATION to document how awful that was (and turned down bribes -- offering Ava and I space in the magazine to shut up and stop our study mid-year was a bribe). Why are we having to fight with, for example, THE NATION over their refusal to publish an equal number of women to men? If you missed that reality, go read "The Nation featured 491 male bylines in 2007 -- how many female ones?" and if you don't have the time, the answer is 149. They published 491 pieces with a male byline and 149 with a female. And this is when not only was Katrina vanden Heuvel in charge (she still is) but Betsy Reed had a say in all of this as well.

Women are not helping other women. That's the reality. We see it at THE NATION, we see it at MOTHER JONES. We see it on Katie Halper's podcast and on others.

So, no, I'm not on Ana's side -- mainly because she's not on the side of women.

The following sites updated:

Tuesday, October 27, 2020

Kevin Zeese Emerging Activists Fund Online Gala

That's Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Calm Deliberation of Hysterical Stelter" and Brian Stelter is disgusting, yes, but better question, why in 2020 does CNN refuse to hire a man of color or any woman to act as their media critic? CNN appears to think only (fat) White men can do the job. Imagine if we had a different voice who could focus on issues of representation and portrayals?

We can have a better world but it's not going to come about via the likes of Brian Stelter.

It's not going to come about as a result of voting for the duopoly candidates either. The corporations own the Republicans and the Democrats. We need the Green Party and I'm voting for Howie Hawkins.

Howie Tweeted the following:

Tickets are still on sale for tomorrow's Kevin Zeese Emerging Activists Fund Online Gala! Support this great cause in memory of our late Communication Director Kevin Zeese. 

7:30 PM EDT
Tickets on sale until 6:00 PM EDT on 10/28

Buy tickets at http://PopularResistance.org/store/

5:01 PM · Oct 27, 2020

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

Tuesday, October 27, 2020. Suadad al-Salhi remains targeted in Iraq, Joe Biden continues to campaign on nothing, real issues are ignored by both Joe and the press, and much more.

America's long nightmare will soon be over. The Trump presidency? No, the hysteria over the election as if voting ever changed anything. Emma Goldman was right: "If voting changed anything, they'd make it illegal." The American Empire goes on, regardless of who is in the White House. Donald Trump is crass and that seems to upset a number of neocons and neolibs. He's not the different from Barack Obama -- who made a mockery of the lead water in Flint -- except he's less smooth. They're madmen, the criminals who run the United States. They terrorize the world and a lot of Americans fool themselves otherwise.

As Gloria La Riva observes, the Democrats and the Republicans are two pillars of the Pentagon.

Gloria is the US presidential candidate for the Party for Socialism and Liberation.

2020 could have been a change moment. Bernie Sanders isn't an especially smart person, not especially wise and he certainly never demonstrated much of a backbone in his Congressional career but, in 2020, he did run on real issues, on the actual needs of the American people. That's why people responded to his campaign in such large numbers. Had he received the Democratic Party's presidential nomination, you would have had an electrified electorate who would have made demands and held him to what he was promising. Instead, the powers-that-be rigged the election for the worst person running for the nomination: Joe Biden.

Joe promises nothing. He will deliver nothing for the people. He's pro-fracking, he's anti-New Green Deal, he's anti-Medicare For All and he's never held accountable for his actions with regards to Iraq. In fact, the media has acted as though -- has lied -- his actions with Iraq began and ended in 2002 with his vote for the Iraq War. Joe's been able to stand on the debate stage during the primaries, taking credit for Iraq and bragging that Barack put him in charge of Iraq. Barack did put him in charge. For eight years, Joe was in charge. It was eight of the worst years the country has seen since the war began.

It was under Joe, for example, that the US government overturned the votes of the Iraqi people in 2010 and then brokered The Erbil Agreement to give the loser of that election, thug Nouri al-Maliki, a second term as prime minister. It was under Joe that the US looked the other way as Nouri refused to honor the promises he made in The Erbil Agreement to get a second term. This despite, please remember, the November phone call Barack made to Ayad Allawi promising that The Erbil Agreement had the full backing of the US government and would be enforced. Allawi, of course, is the person the Iraqi people voted for. This led to efforts to remove Nouri from office. Moqtada al-Sadr, Masoud Barazani, Ayad Allawi, Ammar al-Hakim and other leaders announced their intent and Moqtada, while the process went on, repeatedly and publicly reminded that all Nouri had to do to stop the effort was to start implementing his side of The Erbil Agreement. He refused, so they followed the removal process outlined in the Constitution, gathering signatures from MPs for the move for a no-confidence vote. They gathered those signatures and submitted them to the then-president of Iraq, Fat Ass Jalal Talabani.

So Nouri was removed?

If you're asking that question, you're admitting the American media failed you. It failed you in real time as this went down and it failed you for the last two years as they cheerleaded Joe and avoided reality.

Per the Constitution, Jalal's only role was to read the names into the record in Parliament. Under pressure from Joe Biden (and with US monies being dangled before him) the corrupt and corpulent Jalal invented 'new rules.' He had, he insisted, the obligation to verify the signatures. Okay . . . but then he added that he had the right to make sure that not only did they sign the paper but that if he had the paper in his hand today and was holding it and giving them the stink eye, the people who signed would still sign. He never revealed numbers but he insisted that a large number of MPs insisted that, yes, they signed but if, he was holding the petition in front of them today, they wouldn't sign it.

Joe's responsible for that. Jalal's responsible for lying. And Jalal got bit on his fat ass by karma. He did that, he betrayed Iraq, and sensing that the Iraqi people were going to be outraged, immediately left the country. He fled to Germany. He lied to the Iraqi people telling them this was life-threatening surgery. It wasn't. He had elective knee surgery (his knees were shot from carrying that fat ass of his around) (seriously, he was most infamous in America for a trip to a bookstore where his fat ass fell to the ground and he had to be helped up -- this after he had the equivalent of lipo on the same trip). Karam didn't like Jalal. That's why it made true on his lies. Meaning? By the end of the year, it gave him a stroke -- in the midst of an argument with Nouri. And he had to be medically transported to Germany. And? He never recovered. He couldn't speak, he could barely move.

All of that got left out in the US press that pretended to cover Iraq. So did the reality that Nouri's second term is responsible for the rise of ISIS. Nouri was a delusional paranoid, as the CIA noted in early 2006. That's why Bully Boy Bush selected him to be the prime minister of Iraq. It was thought that Nouri's intense paranoia would make him easy for the US government to manipulate and control. Joe wanted Nouri to have a second term and did not care about Nouri's make up or, for that matter, his actions. By 2010, it was already known that Nouri was running secret prisons and torture cells in Iraq. But Joe gave him that second term and one of the results was the rise of ISIS and ISIS seizing Mosul.

That's the actual record Joe bragged about in Democratic Party debates. And the bordello that is the American press whored and looked the other way.

They also looked the other way with regards to Jo Jorgensen which is why so many are unaware that -- by any standard -- Jo should have been on stage at the debates this month. She's the presidential candidate for the Libertarian Party and voters in all fifty states can vote for, she has the ballot access. There was no reason to bar her from the debates but no big corporate 'news' outlet wanted to write that article or serve up that video report, did they?

It's not enough that they rally behind Joe, they have to render invisible anyone who might challenge him -- that's a political opponent, that's Tara Reade or anyone else telling uncomfortable truths about Joe.

And the reality is that the man they rally behind promises nothing and swears nothing will change, that a bunch of lying whores rally behind.

Howie Hawkins is the presidential candidate for the US Green Party. At COUNTERPUNCH this morning, he notes:

The result of progressives consistently settling for the Democrats as the lesser evil has created a political dynamic has been moving US politics to the right for decades. The soft-right Democrats ignore progressive demands they pose no threat of taking their votes elsewhere. Instead, they adapt to the hard-right Republicans. Bill Clinton called it “triangulation.” Joe Biden calls it “working across the aisle.”

Meanwhile, the progressives in the Democratic Party are accommodating to Biden’s politics. Bernie Sanders is now for Medicare for All over 55 years old with a public option for the rest. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez took the Green New Deal slogan from the Greens and diluted the content in the non-binding resolution for a Green New Deal by dropping the essential immediate demand for a ban on fracking and new fossil fuel infrastructure, eliminating the rapid phase-out of nuclear power, removing the deep cuts in military spending to help fund the program, and extending the deadline for zero carbon emissions from 2030 to 2050. The words Green New Deal were not mentioned at the Democratic convention, in the Sanders-Biden Unity Task Force recommendations on climate, or in the Democratic Platform, which is pro fossil fuels and, for the first time in 50 years, pro nuclear.

There will be no Medicare for All or Green New Deal from the Democrats, let alone a retreat from military bloat, wars, and coups abroad. But these progressives counsel people to vote for them everywhere, which tells the Democrats to take them for granted because posed no threat to vote for the Greens anywhere.

I don’t support a safe states strategy. Every state is a battleground for the Green Party. The gas industry is fracking the hell out of battleground states Pennsylvania and Ohio where the ducking Democrats join the retrograde Republicans lending no support to the anti-fracking movement. Greens, not the Democrats, are fighting the expansion of the Enbridge oil pipelines that take Alberta tar sands oil and Bakken fracked oil across Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Minnesota on to oil refineries. In every state, Greens are taking on Democratic machines in the cities, and real estate industry that finances them, when we fight for affordable housing and against the brutality of police forces that do what the Democrats in the cities designed them to do, which is to keep downscale people, particularly Black people, down and out of upscale communities. They are set up to police the New Jim Crow lines of school district and municipal boundaries that segregate us by race and class.

We should all be concerned about the voter suppression activities of Trump and the Republicans. But Greens know from bitter experience that we should also be concerned about voter suppression in the form of party suppression by the Democrats. The Democrats were able to knock the Greens off the ballot in Montana, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania where the Green petitions had two to three times the required signatures, which was difficult to do in the Covid lockdown. But the Democrats are also legislating party suppression. For example, in New York the Democrats rammed through a law attached to the state budget bill in April while attention was focused on the pandemic that triples the number of votes the Greens need to keep their ballot line. Only Nader for president in 2000 and me in 2014 for governor ever got that many votes as a Green candidate in New York. If we lose the ballot line, we will need 45,000 good signatures – triple the old number – collected in a six-week window to get statewide candidates on the ballot. When the Socialist Party lost its ballot line in 1938 in New York, it never recovered it. There was not an independent left party with a ballot line in New York again until the Green Party, 1999-2002 and 2010-?.

I can understand why people in a close state would vote for Biden to stop Trump. I don’t agree, but I share their desire to get Trump out. But why aren’t the prominent progressives afraid of a repressive Democratic Party that is suppressing the Green Party?

AOC whores lately. Did she ever do anything else? I don't know. But we called out AOC and Jane Fonda whoring yesterday. Here's a discussion of Howie rightly calling out AOC.

AOC's a whore. And Jane needs to shut up about the environment. We're talking about a woman who just produced a glossy paged coffee book about the environment -- so thick headed, she didn't grasp that coated paper isn't biodegradable. What an idiot.

Yesterday, we noted a conversation Tara Reade took part in. She pointed out that despite both Donald Trump and Joe Biden being accused by multiple women each of harassment and assault, the topic was never raised in either debate. So much was ignored in the duopoloy debate.

That's Howie talking about the environment. You know what else the duopoly debate ignored? Poverty. You can say basically any word now on primetime TV. The only word censored today is, in fact, poverty.

That's Howie talking about poverty. I haven't her 'Scranton Joe' talking about poverty. Have you? The duopoly debate certainly didn't address peace. The US government has multiple wars going on across the globe and the Iraq War, for example, turns 18 years old in March. But despite Donald and Joe both wanting to be sworn in as president in January 2021, neither had anything to say about peace or how to end these forever-wars.

You have many alternative to corporate Joe if you're voting. You can vote for Gloria La Riva, Jo Jorgensen and Howie Hawkins, to name but three.

Turning to Iraq and the threat against journalism and specifically against journalist Suadad al-Salhy. Suadad has reported for ALJAZEERA, THE NEW YORK TIMES, ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS. She currently reports for MIDDLE EAST EYE. The Iraqi government is attempting to silence her. RUDAW reports:

The Coalition For Women In Journalism (CFWIJ) is calling for the retraction of an arrest warrant issued for Middle East Eye journalist Suadad al-Salhy.

An Iraqi court ordered the arrest on October 22 over a libel lawsuit which is penalizable under Iraqi law by imprisonment, financial compensation or both. The warrant didn’t include information about the claimant, says the CFWIJ.

Salhy’s arrest warrant came the same day the journalist published an exclusive report claiming that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was behind Iraqi armed factions deciding to halt their attacks on US interests last week.

No announcement of Salhy's arrest has been made.

“The Coalition For Women In Journalism condemns the arrest warrant against Suadad and expresses its solidarity with the journalist,” the organization said in a Friday statement. “CFWIJ calls upon the Iraqi authorities to amend the penal code to remove imprisonment of journalists for publishing and libel and to ensure a safe and free environment for women journalists in Iraq.”

This is the MIDDLE EAST EYE report she wrote that has resulted in her being targeted. Wladimir van Wilgenburg (KURDISTAN 24) explains:

The report was posted to the web on Thursday and hours later, a judge at the Investigative Court in Karada issued a warrant for her arrest, charging her with “defamation.”

So in the view of the judge, Salhy had defamed Khamenei by stating that he was behind the militias’ declaration of a ceasefire.

The charge of defamation appears under article 443-1 of Iraq’s Penal Code and is punishable by a fine and a year in prison.

Kurdish officials have complained that despite Iraq’s liberal 2005 constitution, many laws from the deposed Baathist regime remain in effect.

Just why that article should have produced a charge of defamation—within mere hours of its publication—is not clear. It is quite possible that what really upset the judge in Karada (and any others who might have been involved) was Salhy’s earlier article, in which she reported, in detail, that Iran and its proxies in Iraq had retreated in the face of very serious US threats.

It is also unclear what authority the judge had to issue such a warrant or what investigation preceded its issuance, coming as it did, so soon after the article’s publication.

According to the website of Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council, under which the Karada court operates, a court of investigation consists of one judge and one attorney, and it responds to complaints from local police stations.

For now, no further steps have been taken against Salhy, and both the CPJ and RSF have called on Iraqi authorities to refrain from executing the arrest warrant and to drop the charge against her altogether.

None of the reporters who have worked with her, including Ned Parker, have bothered to note what's going on right now. I would've thought they would rush to support her and raise awareness about what's going on right now. Scott Horton (ANTIWAR RADIO) interviewed her in February (see below) and he still hasn't even Tweeted about her being targeted.

Meanwhile, protests continue in Iraq and we'll note two video reports.

New content at THIRD:

The following sites updated:

Erica Gimpel and Fame

Kat's "Kat's Korner: Tramps like me, baby, we were born to bitch" went up Sunday as did Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "The Calm Deliberation of Hysterical Stelter" and (above) "The Last Debate."

I will be so glad when this damn election is over. It seems like it's gone on forever and ever. With no end in sight. My nightmare is that counting the ballots takes forever and, a weekend after election day, we still don't know who won.

Non-election, I'm noting this.

I loved the TV show Fame. Erica Gimpel was my favorite. To this day, I'm thrilled when I see her in anything. When she came on NIKITA as the bad guy, I loved it. She played Coco on the TV show Fame. She was outstanding. I loved everyone on the show but she was my favorite.

After Erica, Gene Anthony Ray was my favorite. He played Leroy. I was shocked when he died in 2003. He was so talented. Only Debbie Allen really got to strut after the show ended. Erica's carved out a career but her talent should have resulted in projects being created for her. That really didn't happen.

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

Monday, October 26, 2020. Assault survivor Tara Reade addresses what's needed next in the movement, Suadad al-Salhy is the latest reporter to be in jeopardy in Iraq, protests continue in Iraq, and much more.

Yesterday, Natalia Tylim hosted a conversation with Tara Reade. Tylim belongs to the Tempest collective and is a member of the Democratic Socialist of America.

Natalia Tylim: In 1993, Tara was a Congressional aid and she was sexually assaulted at her work place by her boss, Joe Biden. She chose not to come forward at that time but she filed a complaint and was soon let go from her job. Flash forward to 2020 and her assaulter is the front runner to be the presidential candidate on the Democratic Party ticket. On the heels of the #MeToo uprisng, she decided it was time to come forward. In response, she was met with unbelievable cruelty, with attacks and smears, in an attempt to protect Joe Biden. This allegation has yet to be investigated. It has been tried and supposedly settled in the court of the mainstream liberal media. But there has been no independent investigation and the pertinent documents that are being held at the University of Delaware have yet to be released. If you choose to vote for Biden, we understand and we respect your individual voting choice. But we also believe that that choice need not go hand-in-hand with throwing Tara Reade under the bus. The mainstream feminist movement in this country has just failed a giant test. It has fallen into the trap of blaming a survivor because of who her assaulter is and this is unacceptable and we need to rebuild a feminist movement on a stronger foundation or it will be completely toothless. The feminist movement in the United States will not succeed if it is tied to the Democratic Party. This is a party that has demonstrated time after time that our rights and our lives are negotiable to them.

Tara Reade's book, LEFT OUT: WHEN THE TRUTH DOESN'T FIT IN comes out this week:

The Ebook of my memoir will be available October 27th, and the hardcover will be available January 1st, 2021. 
https://tarareadeauthor.com

I will be reading the book. I support Tara. I do not support all that she's said in the above interview. I don't think we need new laws or more laws, for example. Why are people Tweeting death threats? Because liars keep telling you this election is the game change, this is going to change the country forever, this is . . . It's just an election. Unless you're an idiot, you know the US is not perfect and hasn't been for some time. You know Barack Obama put children into cages, you know he didn't end the Iraq War, you know he killed people -- including an American child -- with drones. There is no going back to a 'perfect time' because no perfect time exists. This is another election. It will neither save nor kill the country. Voting doesn't do either. But all the rhetoric around this election? That is why a Tara Reade gets death threats, for example.

I also don't agree with Tara's blanket support for all who come forward. I have a brain and it's my job to use it. If I don't believe your story, I will allow in most cases that I could be wrong and just find something other to cover. But if I know you're a liar, I'm not getting behind you. In our piece that Ava and I wrote last night, we note the hideous E. Jean Carroll. We don't believe her. We never have. We know why she was fired from ELLE, we know her personal history. That's before you get into her going on live TV, CNN, and telling a shocked Anderson Cooper that rape is "sexy." She was 74 or 75 at the time, a public speaker, a journalist, a former TV show host. She knew what she was saying and intended to say it. Life's too short for me to waste my time supporting some whacko who goes on TV to tell America that rape is "sexy."

I'm not going to spit on the work of Susan Brownmiller by acting like it's okay E. Jean Carroll goes on TV to insist that rape is "sexy." Nor am I going to spit on the survivors of rape and assault (which would include me) by acting like that statement was okay.

Meanwhile, ALJAZEERA reports:

Dozens of Iraqi protesters again clashed with security forces in Baghdad on Monday, a day after a rally marked the first anniversary of the start of nationwide mass anti-government demonstrations.

Police fired stun grenades and tear gas at protesters who were burning tyres and hurling rocks on the strategic Al-Jumhuriyah bridge across the Tigris River leading to the highly fortified Green Zone, an AFP photographer reported.

The bridge, barricaded by towering concrete walls, separates the Green Zone from Tahrir Square, the epicentre of the old and new demonstrations.

The highly-secure Green Zone, where government offices, parliament and the US embassy are located, is off-limits to most Iraqi citizens.

What's going on? The year-long protests continue and yesterday was a day when they called for more protesters in the street. And people turned out. Louisa Loveluck and Mustafa Salim (WASHINGTON POST) report of Sunday:

In the heart of Baghdad, Iraqis awoke to find blue- and green-clad riot police fanned throughout central squares as concrete barricades blocked the gates to the heavily fortified Green Zone. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi had pledged that security forces would avoid the kind of harsh crackdown carried out during the months-long protest movement. More than 500 protesters were killed.

[. . .]

Protesters reported late Sunday that riot police were firing into the air in an attempt to clear a nearby thoroughfare.

The October uprising, as it is known here, became one of the largest grass-roots movements in Iraq’s modern history as largely young crowds railed first against corruption and a lack of basic services and later against the entire system of sectarian politics — all of which have pushed the country to ruin.

But many of the protesters’ grievances have since only worsened. Tanking oil prices in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic have left Iraq with an unprecedented liquidity crisis. Iran-backed militias that human rights groups blame for some of the worst violence during the protests last year are more empowered than before. And the United States and Iran have dueled more openly on Iraqi soil than in earlier years.

Protests also occurred in Iraq’s southern cities Sunday, but none on the same scale as in Baghdad. Hundreds of youths had traveled to the capital, to join rallies there, instead of at home.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS reported that tear gas was fired at the protesters. Arwa Ibrahim (ALJAZEERA) notes, "Iraqi security forces fired water cannon and tear gas at the protesters during Sunday’s demonstrations to prevent them crossing fences on a bridge leading towards government buildings." No one notes that, October last year, they killed a protester by firing tear gas into the crowd -- a tear gas cannister was shot into his head. From the October 25, 2018 snapshot:

In addition, Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) reports, "Iraqi police fired live shots into the air as well as rubber bullets and dozens of tear gas canisters on Friday to disperse thousands of protesters on the streets of Baghdad, sending young demonstrators running for cover and enveloping a main bridge in the capital with thick white smoke. One protester was killed and dozens were injured in the first hours of the protest, security officials said."

Ala الاء‏ @alaa_nafaa12 1 hour ago

 The cost of freedom is always high, but Iraqis  have always paid it.  I’m sorry for the horrible video but this is the democracy USA brought to Iraq a protester been shot in head with tear gas canisters #baghdad #iraq #USA_democracy

0:09

2 replies7 retweets14 likes

The first one killed is said to have been hit with a tear canister. The video above is supposed to be of that protester after he was hit.

Human Rights Watch's Donatella Rovera Tweeted:

#IraqProtest back in full swing tonight - one year on and despite 600+ the killing of demonstrators by #Iraq’s security forces & #Iran-backed militias     #يريدون_وطن

From Layth Hazim 

3:57 PM · Oct 24, 2020

KURDISTAN 24 notes:

About 40 protesters and 17 security forces members were wounded in new clashes, one security source told Kurdistan 24, as protesters marked the first anniversary of “The October Revolution.”

Attilio Cotroneo Tweets:

“Our blood, our souls, we sacrifice for you #Iraq,” chanted hundreds of protesters as they marched through the capital’s #TahrirSquare, epicentre of the protest movement ⁦

@AlJazeera

And Adnan Mohanad Tweeted:

This kid a militia killed his father in the Iraqi revolution, and the son came carrying his father’s picture to complete the revolution. A free and great Iraqi generation, is very difficult for the slaves of authority to understand.
#IraqProtest 
#الا_رسوال_الله 
#ثورة_اكتوبر

7:00 PM · Oct 25, 2020

The people of Iraq remain under threat. The people of Iraq include the journalists. Dropping back to the September 24th snapshot about what took place, less reported, while Iraqi president Salih Barham spoke to the United Nations:

The western press loves Salih. He's trying to thwart upcoming elections, he's corrupt and so much more, but they love him. Especially in the US, they love Salih. He's not the saint they portray him as. The Committee To Protect Journalists issued the following yesterday:

New York, September 23, 2020 – Kurdish authorities in Iraq should immediately release journalist Bahroz Jaafer, drop all charges against him, and allow the press to cover and write critically about politicians without fear of detention or legal action, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Yesterday, police arrested Jaafer, a columnist for the independent news website Peyser Press, in the northeastern Iraqi Kurdish city of Sulaymaniyah and transferred him to the Azmar police station, where he remains in detention, according to news reports and a statement by the Metro Center for Journalists’ Rights and Advocacy, a local press freedom group.

Authorities charged Jaafer with criminal defamation, according to the Metro Center. If tried and convicted under Article 433 of Iraq’s penal code, Jaafer could face up to one year in jail and a fine of up to 100 dinars (about 8 US cents).

The arrest was sparked by a defamation complaint filed by the lawyer of Iraqi President Barham Salih, in response to a column by Jaafer criticizing the president, according to those reports.

“Iraqi authorities should develop a thicker skin and stop resorting to the criminal code to stifle critical reporting and commentary,” said CPJ’s Middle East and North Africa representative, Ignacio Miguel Delgado. “Iraqi President Salih should immediately drop the defamation complaint against journalist Bahroz Jaafer, and local authorities should release him unconditionally.”

On August 29, Jaafer published a column titled “How much longer will the president be driving the wrong side?” in which he criticized Salih, also an ethnic Kurd, for allegedly failing to support Iraqi Kurdistan amid disputes with the national government over land, oil, and the autonomous region’s budget.

Karwan Anwar, head of the Sulaymaniyah branch of the government-funded Kurdistan Journalists’ Syndicate, told local broadcaster Rudaw that Jaafer, a member of the syndicate, is required to remain in detention until a hearing scheduled for September 30, unless he is granted bail beforehand.

The Iraqi president’s media office did not immediately reply to CPJ’s request for comment sent via messaging app. Dindar Zebari, the Kurdish regional government’s coordinator for international advocacy, did not immediately reply to CPJ’s emailed request for comment.

Salih's done nothing to help the Iraqi people -- that includes the Iraqi activists.

Now another reporter is being targeted, Sudad al-Salhy. MIDDLE EAST EYE notes of their correspondent:

An arrest warrant for Middle East Eye journalist Suadad al-Salhy has been issued in Iraq over the charge of “defamation”.

A judge at Tahqiq al-Karada Court issued the warrant on Thursday, requesting Salhy be taken to al-Alawiya police station.

No other details are provided and MEE is seeking more information from the court. According to the Iraqi penal code, Salhy could face up to one year in jail and a fine of 100 Iraqi dinars (US$0.08) if convicted of criminal defamation.

Suadad al-Salhy has reported with THE NEW YORK TIMES, ALJAZEERA, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS and REUTERS. She is an internationally recognized journalist and even that doesn't protect her. Reporters Without Borders notes:

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the Iraqi authorities not to execute a warrant for the arrest of Suadad Al-Salhy, a Baghdad-based reporter for the Middle East Eye news website, and urges the judicial system to drop the charge brought against her.

Al-Salhy has learned that she could be arrested at any time as a result of a yesterday’s decision by the Supreme Judicial Council to arrest her under article 433-1 of the Penal Code for defamation, which is punishable by a fine and a year in prison.

The decision was taken just hours after Middle East Eye published a story by Al-Salhy in which she revealed that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei ordered Iraq’s pro-Iranian militias to stop attacking US interests last week. The article is sourced and well documented.

“We ask the Iraqi authorities to ensure that Suadad Al-Salhy is not detained and that the judicial proceedings against her are dropped,” said Sabrina Bennoui, the head of RSF’s Middle East desk. “This journalist, who is known for her professionalism, just did her job. Revealing information, even sensitive information that annoys some people, is fundamental principle of the freedom to inform.”

This is not the first time Al-Salhy has had exclusives on very risky subjects in Iraq. In August, for example, she revealed that a former adviser to Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis – the co-founder of Iraq’s Hezbollah Brigades who was killed in a targeted US drone strike in January 2020 that also killed Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani – accused the current prime minister, Mustafa Al-Kadhimi, of plotting to killed Muhandis several times in the past.

Al-Salhy has herself received threats in the past. She escaped a murder attempt by unidentified gunmen in 2007 and explosive devices were found outside her parent’s home in 2014.

Iraq is ranked 162nd out of 180 countries in RSF's 2020 World Press Freedom Index.

The Committee To Protect Journalists issued the following:

New York, October 23, 2020 – Iraqi authorities should drop the arrest warrant issued for journalist Suadad al-Salhy and allow the press to work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today.

Yesterday, a judge at the Al-Karrada Investigative Court in Baghdad issued an arrest warrant for al-Salhy, a reporter for the Middle East Eye news website, on charges of defamation under Article 433 of the Iraqi Penal Code, according to the warrant, which CPJ reviewed, and a report by her employer. As of this afternoon, she was not in custody, according to a source who asked not to be named for fear of reprisal.

“The warrant for Suadad Al-Salhy’s arrest is a sad reminder that Iraqi journalists are facing constant threats of government harassment and obstruction,” said CPJ Middle East and North Africa representative Ignacio Miguel Delgado. “Press freedom entails allowing coverage of events of public interest and a wide range of viewpoints. Iraqi authorities should immediately drop the arrest warrant for al-Salhy and allow her to do her job freely and without fear of reprisal.”

The arrest warrant demands al-Salhy be taken to the Al-Alawiya police station, but does not say what actions prompted the order. If convicted of criminal defamation, al-Salhy could face up to one year in jail and a fine of 100 Iraqi dinars (US$0.08), according to the Iraqi penal code.

Al-Salhy has covered many sensitive issues in Iraq, including the role of militias, the country’s relations with Iran, and anti-government protests. She has contributed to international media outlets including Reuters, Al-Jazeera, and The New York Times.

Suadad's work has been important throughout the ongoing war. She's often reported on issues others have ignored such as in November 2013 when Suadad al-Salhy and Isabel Coles (REUTERS) reported:

Domestic abuse and prostitution have increased, illiteracy has soared and thousands of women have been left widowed and vulnerable. Many women also rue the political leaders that came to power after Saddam was overthrown and the growing social conservatism that has diminished their role in public life.
Once at the vanguard of women's rights in the region, Iraq ranked 21st out of 22 Arab states in a poll of 336 gender experts released on Tuesday by Thomson Reuters Foundation (poll2013.trust.org).

She also covered the meat and potatoes issues such as in 2008 when Suadad and Katherine Zoepf (NEW YORK TIMES) reported the price of oil per barrel going up and slightly down has Iraq's concerned about their budget for next year and have cut it by $13 billion dollars. We've long noted her work at this site, for over a decade now. She's one of the reporters who've remained covering Iraq by changing outlets -- Liz Sly and Jane Arraf would be two others. I'm going to assume that they and the many reporters she's worked with in the past -- Ned Parker, among them -- will be at least offering a Tweet in support of her. Ned certainly knows what it's like to be targeted by the government of Iraq, for example. At present, there are two Tweets only.

The Iraqi Observatory for Human Rights Tweets:

@MAKadhimi
 must protect the journalist, Suadad al-Salhy, who is facing a lawsuit over her newspaper articles.  Al-Salhi is one of the most important and prominent Iraqi journalists.

@RSF_inter
 @AmnestyIraq
 @hrw
 @CPJMENA
 @SaadoonMustafa

11:21 AM · Oct 23, 2020

Arwa Ibrahim also Tweeted about Suadad:

The arrest warrant issued for Iraqi journalist Suadad al-Salhi came shortly after she published a piece saying Iran’s Khamenei had ordered and end to Iraqi attacks on US interests.