Ann's Mega Dub

Tuesday, March 29, 2022

Howie Hawkins

Howie Hawkins latest video.

Howie is who got my presidential vote in 2020. I'm a Green. I appreciate that he's our first nominee who didn't give up after the presidential election. He has continued to raise Green issues every week and to make sure that we are out there addressing real concerns.

He's trying to build the Green Party and I applaud him for that.

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

Tuesday, March 29, 2022. We return to the topic of yesterday . . .

Let's pick up with Will Smith's assault on Chris Rock. A few issues were raised in e-mails and I was thinking about following up to answer or include those and P Diddy had to comment to news outlets but then Will released his 'apology' and I knew we'd have to go another day.

First off, P-Diddy, you're trash. You degraded J-Lo's image when she was with you, you lowered her brand. And that's not just because of the shootings. Not just.

If you missed it, PeePee Diddy has interjected himself into the story. He wants you to know, hand to God, pinkie swear, that he's talked to Chris Rock and he's talked to Wil Smith -- he's the Jimmy Carter of the entertainment world (in his mind), and they're just fine ane . . .

We don't give a crap what you say. Get it through your head, music man. This was not your event. This was an event for the film industry. We don't need to herar from your trashy ass. You're nobody in the film world. You're a failed actor who probably showed more than he realized when he tried to act. Pee Pee Diddy, no one needs to hear from you. Most of us don't believe you. But what you think's going on doesn't really matter to the indursty that you are not a part of.

Supposedly, late yesterday, Will Smith issued an apology. He didn't.

And I won't lie like CNN did. CNN 'quotes' him. Here's the actual words.

Violence in all of its forms is poisonous and destructive. My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable. Jokes at my expense are a part of the job, but a joke about Jada’s medical condition was too much for me to bear and I reacted emotionally.

I would like to publicly apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong. I am embarrassed and my actions were not indicative of the man I want to be. There is no place for violence in a world of love and kindness.

I would also like to apologize to the Academy, the producers of the show, all the attendees and everyone watching around the world. I would like to apologize to the Williams Family and my King Richard Family. I deeply regret that my behavior has stained what has been an otherwise gorgeous journey for all of us.

I am a work in progress.

Sincerely,

Will

What a load of garbage. I say that as somoeone his publicist called about the 'apology.' Point of fact, I am not leading the backlash. For me, the Academy Awards outrage was the silence over Urkaine and the White people while never a minute of silence for the Arabs around the world -- not in Iraq, not in Syria, not . . .

That was the focus of the thing I wrote the night of the Awards. As I explained in yesterday's snapshot, at the after parties, it kept being brought up and those who know I write here had read it and were reading it and were telling me that I missed the big news of the night and . . . . I'm not leading anything. Every year I do campaign for friends to to be nominated and to win. I also do my part to ensure that certain people do not win. (Yes, I did enjoy Sunday night.) Will Smith is not an actor of note or merit. I was opposed to him winning -- and I did not vote for him -- but a few weeks back, when it became obvious he stood a good chance of winning, I didn't swing into action to try to tip the scales against him. He didn't matter enough to me. I had other dogs in that fight and stayed focused on preventing them from winning. (Again, Sunday was a very good night for me.)

When I was called about the statement being crafted, I said very clearly that he didn't need to bring Jada into it. I said he needed to take responsiblity for his actions, that he was a middle aged man, and he needed to apologize to Chris and to the industry.

He couldn't do that. If he were your child and started making excuses for someone he struck at school during his so-called apology, you'd stop him.

And let's get something else clear.

I've had cancer. Twice. I've had chemo. I don't want to hear about poor Jada's 'medical condition.' She's bald. Big deal. It's not life threatening. It hurts her vanity? Too damn bad. Wear a wig. Or don't tell the world about it.

She's bald. Jokes have been made about bald people forever and a day. As bald jokes go, "Can't wait for GI JANE 2," is not that harsh. He could have made a Kojak joke.

Willie's not taking accountability. And for the member of Congress that applauded this b.s? Ayanna Soyini Pressley, you are unfit to serve in Congress. That pains me to say. But you are unfit. We have noted you here and I have often been impressed with you but you're applauding that violence is disgusting. Oh, you're bald too so we all have to walk on egg shells1!!! F**k you. If you were speaking and someone came up onstage and slapped you, I don't think you'd be offering a Tweet of glee. Your hypocrisy and your inability to see beyond yourself goes to how unfit you really are. I am very disappointed.

Jada's bald. Get over it.

It's not a life threatening condition, stop pretending like it's cancer or MS or any real disease that threatens someone's life. Women have worn wigs forever and a day. If she choose not to, more power to her. But don't then whine because someone makes a single sentence joke.

And, for the record, Jada would be damn lucky to star in GI JANE II. It's not like she's had a film career in years, not as a leading lady. And, like Will, she's aging out of the roles. So she'd be damn lucky to star in GI JANES II.

What Will did was offensive.

Most of the e-mails are noting that he'd be expelled from a school for doing what he did.

And that is true. Equally ture, he's not a child. He's not 14 or 15. He's not a young man, even. He's a middle aged man lliving a few blocks from elderly.

He is responsible for his actions. He is responsible for the message he sends.

That dopey apology began the minute the Academy announced that they were conducting a formal investigation into the events. Thats when he decided he couldn't just stay silent (and the plan was to then go on Jimmy Kimmel and crack some jokes).

This was an industry event. Any other industry that he pulled that crap in, he'd be out of it right now. They wouldn't be making excuses for him or give a damn that his wife is bald.

They would note that this was an industry event and he degraded the industry. He brought his trashy ways into the venue and then stormed the stage to attack an invited persenter.

You need to grasp that, if you haven't already.

Because the industry is film, it's televised around the world. So the whole world saw. It lives on forever on YOUTUBE.

He embarrassed the industry. And we're only more embarrassed because on the night he acted the fool, we gave him an award.

He spat on the event.

Again, my big concern was Iraq.

But I did listen at the after parties as people made solid points. What he did was offensive.

This is not some b.s. awards show. No offense, but it's not The People's Choice Awards or The American Music Awards. It's the industry itself handing out these awards. It may seem silly on the outside and on the inside of the industry but it is our awards that we choose to hand out, our night when we honor film.

Amd over a single semtemce. Will Smith thought he had the right to leap form his seat in the midst of a presentation, storm the stage and assault the presenter.

That is not allowed. That is outrageous.

(And, as many of you note in your e-mails -- it was a woman who had made jokes about the very 'dramatic' marriage of Will and Jada from the stage and Will didn't go after her).

Chris Rock's joke was mild. And I hate that we have to say that. It doesn't matter what Chris Rock said. In no world would that be allowed.

At an industry event, Chevy Chase destroyed his career. It wasn't the Academy Awards. But he felt the need to show just hostile (with words only) he could be and he made statements that were offensive. That's why Chevy ended up on TV -- and was lucky to end up on TV. His opportunites dried up throughout the 90s and he was offered garbage. And the reason was the stunt he pulled at an industry event.

If he'd done that on live television at the Academy Awards, he never would have been able to be cast in COMMUNITY.

Will Smith embarrassed the industry.

Mila was brought on so that the Academy could put on their best and most caring face for the public. Ah, look at them, they care, they really, really care.

Awards, as always, frequently went out to undeserving winners because the Academy liked the 'look' of awarding a film about uplift or whatever.

And there in the middle of this celebration -- and carefully crafted p.r. -- Will elected to act the fool.

He didn't just disgrace himself, he disgraced the industry.

And he woke up today and, guess what, Jada's still bald.

Chris Rock didn't make her bald.

Again, she doesn't have cancer, she's not dealing with a life threatening condition. She is losing her hair. It happens and you can go natural, you can wear scarves, hats, wigs , whatever.

Because of Will's actions there are now safety concerns. I was noting the jokes that Helen and Judi would show up next year with armies of bodyguards. And they were jokes. At the after parties. But now?

People are really worried.

What if they're presenting an award next year and some Will Smith doesn't like the joke or doesn't like the winner and storms on stage?

This has never happened in the history of the awards. 94 times, statues have been handed out. Never.

This is not minor. This was not some one outside the industry streaking across the stage. This was someone the industry chose to recognize and he responded with violence.

He shouldn't be at any Academy event ever again -- that includes the awards. That pass shold be pulled from him immediately.

Any efforts to look the other way or not come down hard will encourage others.

This was an industry event. He dsigraced himself, he disgraced the industry and he brought physical violence onto the stage. That's outrageous.

I'm not calling for him to lose his award. If others do, that's fine. And that is a possibility. But I am now joining with the many other voices saying that the Academy has to take a very strong stand on this matter and that we never need to see the producer of this show again since he failed to protect Chris Rock. Where was security Why wasn't Will imemediately evicted as he should have been?

Calls were made and they were all the wrong calls.

I don't even know if he deserved to give an acceptance speech to be honest. Not after that stunt. They should have played music once he was handed the award and that should have been it. His actions didn't deserve a reward.

That there are people out there justifying Will's actions and minimizing them goes to what a dangerous precedent could be set. And that's why the Academy needs to come down hard.

Still in the US (and California) there's news regarding Omar Abdulsattar Ameen, the Iraqi refugee who is fighting to remain in the US. Don Thompson (AP) reports):

A U.S. immigration judge in California has halted the deportation of an Iraqi refugee to Iraq for fear that he could be tortured if he were returned there. Assistant Chief Immigration Judge Tara Naselow-Nahas in November ruled that Omar Abdulsattar Ameen was eligible to be deported because he lied on his immigration papers. The decision came even though a federal judge earlier rejected allegations that he had killed a police officer on behalf of the Islamic State group. On Monday, advocates praised Naselow-Nahas’ decision blocking Ameen’s deportation to Iraq, although she ruled against him on other grounds. U.S. immigration officials declined comment.

Brittnay Johnson (KCRA) adds:

This is a case KCRA 3 Investigates has been following since Ameen was arrested in 2018. The U.S. Government claimed Ameen was a terrorist with ISIS and that he murdered an Iraqi police officer. Not only did it turn out that "Ameen" was not in Iraq at the time the alleged murder happened in 2014, but the judge also found the government's evidence had "substantial deficiencies" and is "ultimately unpersuasive," which led to the decision not to deport Ameen to Iraq.

"It is a big deal," Ilyce Shugall with Immigrant Legal Defense and part of Ameen's defense team, said. "It's a big deal for two reasons; really one, because the judge found that he does need protection from removal to Iraq and made a finding a very clear finding that she believes it is more likely than not that he would be tortured if returned. The second reason it's a big deal is because it's now the third time that a court has found that the government cannot prove that Mr. Ameen was involved in terrorist organizations or terrorist activities."

No, it is not safe in Iraq. The judge recongizes what the Academy Awards did not. Tomorrow, Baghdad is supposed to be the location of the vote for a president. Twice that has failed.

The following sites updated:

Monday, March 28, 2022

Call Me Kat

Call Me Kat airs on Fox on Thursday nights. Last week?

Not really thrilled. The episode before had the new guy in the neighborhood, the deli guy, annoying and ultimately enchanting Kat. This episode? He's not even mentioned, let alone seen.

Kat spent the episode with her mother Sheila. She thought Sheila had lied when they double-dated but turns out that Sheila had a whole life that Kat never knew about.

The other story -- which provided the real laughs -- was picking up on a continuing element: Max and Randi moving in together.

Now that they are roommates, they're getting to know each other. Randi is Carter's girlfriend and Max is Carter's best friend so their problems really mess up Carter's world. He eventually grasps them together in one over-size shirt to try to make them deal with their problems.

Oscar was on this episode. He went on the double-date, for example. But there was no time or effort to explore what Kat's feelings about the deli guy meant for Kat and Oscar's relationship.

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

Monday, Marcb 28, 2022. Hollywood celebrates and elevates a homophobe while LGBTQs in Iraq remain targeted.

Let's start with the Academy Awards. "What about the suffering of the Iraqi people" went up last night and per those attending three after parties last night, I buried the lead.

A 53-year0old man went onstage and physically assaulted a comedian in the midst of a live broadcast Some are making jokes -- like how Judi Dench and Helen Mirren will show up surrounded by bodyguards prepared to throw down. A director -- who's African-American and insisted that made the remark not racist --p=put it bluntly, "It's the Academy Awards not The Source Awards." Others felt Jada needed to put her sub-cuck on a leash when she takes him out in public since he can't control himmself.

It shouldn't have to be said but it apparently does: Your wife being a joke in a sereis of one liners does not require your comment. If you want to comment, you can say it after the ceremony. To interrupt a live ceremony is appallling and to do so with your hands is outrageous.

"Never in the history of the Acadmy" was the phrase I kept hearing. Over and over. (Which is why so many insisted I buried the lead in last night's post.) It was outrageous and I noted it. (I did not disclose that I knew Chris Rock -- the man Little Willie Smith attacked -- and that I consider Chris a friend. Little Willie's tantrum was not the focus of the post and I didn't think it needed to be noted. Little Cuck Willie is now the focus and I am disclosing regarding Chris Rock.)

This was the 94th annual Academy Awards and never before has this happened.

Will Smith's actions were outrageous and he needs to apologize for them.

He disgraced himself but who cares about that? He's a half-assed actor who can't deliver at the box office anymore and he did serious damage to himself within the industry last night. But this is a disgrace to the industry and not the face we try to present to the world. It was also offensive in that a middle-aged man resorted to violence when he was unhappy with a joke. And he did it on an awards show, he did it on a show that's supposed to celebrate the best of the industry.

His garbage should have him run out of the industry.

He won the award on the same night, Best Actor.

It's the least important actng award the Academy gives out. And it was obvious he was going to win it two weeks ago which is why Ava and I noted:

Excellence isn't rewarded. It's certainly not rewarded at the Academy Awards. The only exceptions being Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress in a good year. The statues are not handed out to the deserving. Men -- in both male actor categories -- win because Academy members liked the films they were in and because the Academy thinks it makes them look good. That's why there are so few memorable performances among the winners for Best Actor.

Anthony Hopkins for his performance in THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS is a rare win. More often it's pedestrian performances in pedestrian films that the Academy thinks hugging will make them look good.

Actors win Academy awards are winning based upon what Academy members feel about the film they appeared in.

Women win for acting. They have to go all out, most years. While men can be stoic (stiff) onscreen but still win.

Bette Davis, Jane Fonda, women like that have to really deliver. They have to dig deep and serve it up onscreen.

If you doubt it, think about Sally Kirkland. ANNA (1987) was one of the worst films ever. But Sally did deliver in it and she got a Best Actress nomination. You won't catch any actor -- even if he delivers -- from a third-rate, C-picture getting nominated. And actors are rarely asked to deliver any real range when being handed an Academy Award. Think about that when they're handing out Oscars at the end of the month.

And think about the fact that when a woman wins she has delivered. If she wins twice -- for example, Jane Fonda, Bette Davis, Jessica Lange, Hillary Swank, Olivia de Havillind, etc -- then she's really something. That list would include Renée Zellweger

He played a dad that the industry wanted to glorify. He gave a lousy performance. An Academy Award winning actress insisted to me that he was "overdue" for the award. And the homophobia that he's displayed for years? "It's not important." Really? Then why don't you say it publily. Say that publicly. You've got one foot in the grave and will be dead before the 2020s draw to a close. Say it. Your career is over. Say it. And grasp that the minute you say it out loud, your death does not mean people say, "Oh, too bad. I really liked her." No, instead, they say, "THat ______. F((k her and may she rot in hell."

She was one of those whining a few years back that Will hadn't been nominated. This is a very obvious blind item, you should be able to figure her out and maybe then grasp that those idiots who are applauding her for pro-gay statements in the 70s need to stop praising her.

It was more important, she insisted, that Will win because of his race than that Will be held accountable for his homophobia.

She doesn't agree now. She was loudly called out at a party last night when she barged into a conversation a group of us were having and she tried to 'correct' me. She was told she was a dumb bitch -- kind of agree right now -- and that some of us actually have an education -- true -- so maybe she should just shut her damn mouth. Hmm.

I see she took the message to heart because she hasn't Tweeted her congrats to Will or, honestly, anything at all. And she loves her Twitter. But maybe she's thinking this week's big event won't have the turnout she needs if she's promoting a homophobe?

I hae no idea.

But before the ceremony started last night, a line had already been drawn in the industry between those of us who support equality and those who support homophobia.

Supporitng Will is supporting homophobia. He has never apologized for all of his As Ava and I wrote in February:

Self-hatred's long been used to overlook the homophobia of some actors -- Will Smith, rumors insist, is gay. We really don't care if he's gay or straight or bi, we just think he owes everyone a public apology.

ZOOM and the pandemic have meant that we do our various conversations over the internet. No more are we able to go onto campuses or into union halls or whatever. We miss the face to face, honestly. But what we have on the plus side, the up -- as Mike would say, is that we've been able to expand the groups we speak to since we aren't traveling. And one of the groups we've added a lot more of is LGBTQ groups.

Things are better for young LGBTQs than they were for previous generations but things are still not where they should be. As we've enlarged the scope of our groups, a friend who is a therapist asked if we'd mind speaking with her group. They were nine gay men, in their forties, who basically did not feel listened by society or represented in the media. Would we speak to them? Being told that, we were dying to speak to them. And we were not disappointed.

There's a story that's not really told and they brought it to the forefront (as have other gay male groups we've spoken to since). We thank them for that. Like them, we marvel over how this part of the story really isn't told.

Being gay is easier than it used to be. 20 years ago, or even just ten in some places, there was so much harassment. We have honestly advised men who've shared their experiences to consider filing lawsuits. And we're not joking and we're not litigious people.

Films and TV shows thought they were being 'sympathetic' and true telling of the gay kid in school who got picked on by some bully. That's the story we've heard rejected over and over for the last five months from many different groups of gay men.

No, what we've heard is about how the whole school system was after you. That was the bully, yes. And there was usually a coach -- at least one -- and a principal egging them on. Adults were around and they not only were not protecting these children, they were actively participating in harassing them.

And it was accepted back then. It was 'normal.' That's in part due to a point we've made here forever: the socialization of males by this society is one of bullying. Toughen up, don't cry. You can see it, as we've often noted, in two films from the 80s. In both, two characters join the military and are treated horribly. In the one about the male, AN OFFICER AND A GENTLEMAN, Richard Gere is harassed by his drill sergeant (Louis Gossett Jr.) and, instead of rejecting that harassment, we are supposed to applaud it and feel all warm inside. In the other, PRIVATE BENJAMIN, Goldie Hawn and her team get their revenge on the harasser (Eileen Brennan). The male socialization is bullying in this society. That's not acceptable (even with the well known existence of 'mean girls') when it comes to females.

So sometimes, a gay man will offer that maybe the principal was trying to help him by bullying him, by mocking him in front of other students, by sneering at him and calling him a "fairy" and worse in front of the whole school assembly.

We say f**k that. We say sue those assholes. And what about statute of limitations? Who cares. File the paperwork, have it thrown of court as a result of being beyond some time limit. But in between the those two moments, let that elderly abuser know that the world knows what he or she did. And let them sweat it and let them be haunted by it.

They have made no effort to find these former children and apologize to them. So f**k them. To lead a school into targeting a young boy because he's gay? You were an adult. There's no excuse for what you did. And if the court of law can't put you on notice, the court of public opinion certainly can.

NETFLIX is offering AMEND: THE FIGHT FOR AMERICA -- a documentary series. Episode five is "Love." Yes, what the world needs now. Professor Martha S. Jones talks about the impact of LOVING V VIRGINIA -- a breakthrough case that especially impacted her life because her mixed race parents married years before the verdict in LOVING.

This landmark case gets far less attention than it deserves. We've noted it many times such as in 2008:

Loving v. Virginia was a breakthrough, a legal landmark, for the United States. In a debate, Barack Obama was asked, "Senator Obama, the laws banning interracial marriage in the United States were ruled unconstitutional in 1967. What is the difference between a ban on interracial marriage and a ban on gay marriage?" Obama mouthed a lot of nonsense about 'equality' and then went on to state it's a decision for different denominations to make. There should have been a gasp heard round the country.

Barack is a lawyer, a trained legal mind. Though we find it difficult to believe he's never studied Loving v. Viriginia (as difficult to believe as Clarence Thomas' Senate testimony that he'd never thought about Roe v. Wade), we'll allow that maybe it fell into some gap in his education. But as a trained legal mind, he does grasp court billing. "v. Virginia" means versus state. Not versus a denomination.

In that historic case, the Supreme Court of the United States found the laws of the state of Virginia to be unconstitutional and illegal. That finding meant that all states could no longer refuse to issue marriage certificates to couples of different races. Obama's weak-ass response should have been considered weak ass. (John Edwards also embarrassed himself in that debate noting he was against "gay marriage" and "I do not" support it leading us to shout back at the screen, "Gee, John, we weren't aware you were being inundated with proposals!") But it was also dishonest. A law student, forget the former president of the Harvard Law Review, grasps that Loving v. Virginia was not about whether "denominations" could make a decision, it was about what the government could do. To provide perspective, imagine the issue was illegal search and seizure on the part of the government (forbidden by the Constitution) and Obama had responded, "I think it's up to denominations." The government was discriminating and the Supreme Court stood up for the rights of all. A trained legal mind should grasp that. If Obama didn't, he's either not much of a student or he's a really bad liar.

It's good that the episode starts off with LOVING because that is at the root of equality. And other cases are cited including LAWRENCE v TEXAS and the appalling BOWERS v HARDWICK. Episode five revolves around the importance of The Fourteenth Amendment and how its importance and relevance leads to the historic OBERGEFELL v HODGES.

We applaud much about the documentary but episode five, for all of its applause, also has to answer for something.

Will Smith produced the series. And probably should have stayed off camera. Why doesn't Will have an Oscar. Well, Jada, it's partly because he's not really an actor -- don't confuse stardom with acting ability -- but it's also because of his hateful past which includes a lot of homophobia and Academy voters just don't embrace hatred and intolerance.

In episode five, Will declares of Cincinnati in the 70s, "The message to its LGBTQ citizens is be quiet, stay hidden or get out." Will, could of course, admit that his message to the LGBTQ citizens has been be quiet, stay hidden, get out or be mocked and demonized.

That is what he has done.

Some try to argue that he's gay or bi in real life. He presents as straight. Take him at his word. But even if he were choking a cock every night, that doesn't justify the damage he has done.

Early on, he told MOVIELINE that the reason he wouldn't kiss Anthony Michael Hall in SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION -- as required in the script and has had happened when it was a stage production without Will Smith -- was because Denzel Washington told him not to.

Did Denzel tell him that?

We have no idea. And the reason we have no idea is because Denzel, a movie star for decades, didn't go public. If he was against gay people or playing one or whatever, he had the brains not to say so publicly.

Will didn't. And this is throughout his career.

Is he homophobic, we wanna know.

How can we tell what's in his soul?

It's in his recordings: "All the filthy stinking nasty people be quiet. All the homeboys that got AIDS be quiet. All the girls out there that don't like guys be quiet." It's in his films -- such as HANCOCK, and BAD BOYS 2. It's in his red carpet encounters.**

Will gave interviews about how ''gross'' two men kissing were. He's done that since, 1991.

We can't tell what's in his soul, we can only register the meaning of his statements and his actions.

Now he just wants to act like it never happened? Like decades of homophobia from a one-time action-movie star didn't have an impact:?

His comments egged on others as much as any teacher or principal at a school.

He needs to publicly apologize. It's that simple.

That's whoo the Academy elected to honor last night. And before he even got handed the award, he'd proven all of us opposed to be accurate. He is an embarrassment.

His actions were outrageous. His toxic behavior is not going to fade away. It is part of his legacy forever more.

It was a disgraceful moment when Will interrupted a live brodcast to physically attack Chris Rock. But it's what all of us warned you about. He's trash. And you don't give trash awards.

The good news is that his stunt resulted in mass revulsion within the industry. He should have been held accountable for his homophobia. Instead, he'll be held accountable for being low class and having no manners. Whatever hurts a homophobe? I'll take it as a win. Gladly.

PINK NEWS notes:

LGBT+ people in Iraq are being hunted, abducted, tortured, raped and murdered by armed groups, including police and security forces, according to a new report.

The report from Human Rights Watch, supported by Iraqi LGBT+ rights group IraQueer, included 54 interviews with LGBT+ Iraqi people, as well as with six witnesses to killings and abductions by armed groups of LGBT+ people.

According to the report, attacks on LGBT+ people were committed by police, government security forces, and state-sponsored armed groups dedicated to hunting down and attacking queer Iraqis.

Of the 54 people interviewed, the report recorded eight cases of abductions, eight cases of attempted murder, four extrajudicial killings, 27 cases of sexual violence —including gang rape — 45 cases of threats to rape and kill, and 42 cases of online targeting by individuals who identified themselves as members of armed groups against LGBT+ people in Iraq.

The need to call out homophobia is greater than ever before. And if you don't grasp that, it's because you're too busy 'caring' about (lip service) whatever the corporate news tells you to care about. Generally speaking, when it's something saturated on corporate news, it's not really anything in need of amplifying. MIDDLE EAST EYE notes:

One 31-year-old Iraqi transgender woman told HRW and IraQueer that she was returning home from work last February when six men in a Hummer stopped her next to a rubbish tip in Baghdad. “They pulled out a razor blade and a screwdriver and poked and cut me all over, especially my ass, crotch, and thighs,” she said.

“They sliced me up and poured around five litres of gasoline all over my body and face and set me alight.”

A 27-year-old gay man from the capital described how he watched four men from an armed group torture his boyfriend in May 2020.

“Then they shot him five times,” he said.

The 54 LGBTQ+ people interviewed said that while they were in detention they were routinely denied food, water, medical care and access to their families.

Colin Stewart (76 CRIMES) notes:

One 27-year-old gay man from Baghdad described how his boyfriend was tortured by four members of an armed group in front of him in May 2020. “Then they shot him five times,” he said.

In eight cases, abuses by armed groups and police, including arbitrary arrest and sexual harassment, were against children as young as 15. Many of those attacked were able to identify the armed group responsible. The groups implicated in the most serious abuses are Asa’ib Ahl al-Haqq, Atabat Mobilization, Badr Organization, Kata’ib Hezbollah, Raba Allah Group, and Saraya al-Salam.

The people interviewed described arrests and routine violence from security officials, who verbally and physically assault them, and arbitrarily arrest and detain them, often without a legal basis.

LGBT people reported abuses during detention including being denied food and water, or the right to contact a lawyer or family members, or get medical care. They said the police sexually assaulted them and physically abused them and forced them to sign pledges stating that they had not been abused.

Last night, the Academy had the chance to do the right thing and not shake hands with homophobia. They didn't do the right thing. And the man they awarded made a mockery of the ceremony and disgraced himself and the Academy. Excuse me, if I don't shed tears for the industry. It got exactly the disrespect it deserved. Here's hoping the ratings were very low.

Let's wind down with Cindy Sheehan on THE BITTER TRUTH.

Kat's "Kat's Korner: Joss Stone and Judy Collins crash and burn" went up Sunday morning. The following sites updated:

Thursday, March 24, 2022

Albright was a War Criminal with blood on her hands

Wikileaks and others have Tweeted about the death of the disgusting Madeleine Albright:

“We have heard that half a million children have died.. that's more children than died in Hiroshima...is the price worth it?  

"We think the price was worth it" [Madeleine Albright 1937 - 2022] #Iraq

33.5K views

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12:58 PM · Mar 24, 2022

white supremacist and imperialist warmongerer Madeline Albright who defended genocidal US sanctions on Iraq that killed upwards of 500,000 civilians met her demise today. a cause worthy of celebration!

1:47 PM · Mar 23, 2022

"There is a special place in hell for women who don't help other women." Madeline Albright

The sanctions on Iraq led to a 90% cut in health spending & the maternal mortality rate more than doubled. 

Overall, UN estimates put the number of deaths from US sanctions at 1.7 million

4:00 AM · Mar 24, 2022

As Sec. of State in the 1990s, Albright oversaw the US starvation of Iraq, an action which killed 1 million people including 500,000 young children. Successive UN diplomats resigned over the matter, claiming it was a"genocide."

Watch what she has to say about it when challenged:

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2:15 PM · Mar 23, 2022

Former U.S. Secretary of State & war criminal, Madeleine Albright, died on Wednesday due to cancer. Madeleine who supported numerous wars and invasions, will be remembered for having no sympathy for around 500k children in Iraq who passed on.

11:30 PM · Mar 24, 2022

As the US determines Russia has committed war crimes in Ukraine, it prepares a hero’s funeral for Madeline Albright who claimed that killing 500,000 Iraqi children was “worth it” to stop Iraq’s non-existent WMD program.

4:14 PM · Mar 23, 2022

Don't let the corporate media whitewash the blood off this war criminal's hands.

I am glad she's gone and thinkt he world is much better off without her in it.

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

Thursday, March 24, 2022. Moqtada al-Sadr wasnt his inexperienced relative to be prime minister of Iraq as Mad Maddie Albright slips away to that special place in hell that she spoke so often of.

We're live on the Blood Runway, awaiting the latest arrival. Look, there he is, Mad Maddie! She's sipping throug purgatory as she heads straight to hell. Mad Maddie! Mad Maddie! Can you stop a moment to speak to us!!!

Madeleine Albright :Yes, what is it?

Is there anything you'd like to say to our viewing audience?

Madeleine Albright : Just that I've always believed that hate is eternal and if you spend your life focused on that, you can do a lot real damage and kill a lot of innocent people. The only wasted life is a life dovted to love and peace.

Some people consider you a buthcer.

Madeleine Albright :: A butcher? No, a utcher does much more honest work. I'm an excutioner. I am a destroyer. I used my time on earth ensuring others wuffered and I'm really, really proud of that. My only real regret is that I couldn't have killed more.

Mad Maddie could you speak up, some people in purgatory are starting to boo.

Madeleine Albright : Yes, and I hear them. All I can say is you hate me, you really, really hate me. It makes all I did worth it to feel so much hate and repulsion.

What are you most grateful for?

Madeleine Albright : A lifetime of destrution. Probably right after that would be the press..I've always insisted, ''Give me a whorish press and I can kill millions." They whored for me while I killed Iraqi children. They whored for me out of office. Kisses to Katrina vanden Heuvel who ran Naomi Klein's GUARDIAN report on James Baker profiting off the Iraq War but refused to let THE NATION run the article about me profiting off the Iraq War. Katty, you cheap whore, let's bump one last time when you join me in hell! But seriously, even now the press whores for me, even in death. They won't hold me accountable. They'll talk about me being the first -- and theyll shortchange me. "The First and The Worst!" -- that's how I always billed myself. Give me the credit I'm due!!!!

Last question, Mad Maddie, what are you wearing?

Madeleine Albright :: It's my 100% pure civilian coat, made from the skins of many of the actual children I condemned to death. All murders matter but there's something especially soft and warm about knowing that your kill was a child, you know what I mean? Now excuse me, I have to go. The Haliburton wing of Hell has a strict check-in policy and I don't want to lose my suite. Tell Condi [Rice] to keep giving Hank [Kissinger] all the love that I did and, Dick [Cheney], I know you'll be joining me soon!

Madeleine Albright has left the earth. The whorish press is attempting to sweep up and conceal the mess she left behind. Some will insist don't speak ill of the dead but did Mad Maddie follow that practice regarding the Iraqi children she killed?

No.

From Elaine's "Mad Maddie leaves this earth:"

Madeleine Albright died today. Do not worry about the former Secretary of State. As she long noted, there is a special place in hell . . . for people like her.

She infamously said there was a special place in hell for women who didn't help other women. Since she took pleasure in the deaths of so many Iraqi girls (and boys) you can be sure her destination is already booked and they have a room ready.

"We think it was wroth it." That's her infamous remark from 60 MINUTES when Lesley Stahl asked her about the crushing sanctions she oversaw as part of Bill Clinton's administration -- sanctions that led

Liz Sly (WASHINGTON POST) noted in 2017 that a more recent study had found that it wasn't 500,000 children who died.

But that was what the figure was thought to be when Mad Maddie was asked. And she said it was worth it.

She was a bloody thirsty War Hawk. Unlike the bulk of the deaths she caused, she lived to the age of 84. She profited off of the Iraq War. She was a merchant of death. I hope she will be very warm in her after-life. Very, very warm.

Margaret Kimberley Tweets:

Former secretary of state Madelyn Albright said killing 500,000 kids was "worth it." I watched the interview and thought she'd find a way not to answer, obfuscate, blame Saddam, or change the subject. Nope. She went all in. Killing kids was ok with her. Now she's dead. Oh well.

Ajamu Baraka Tweets:

Madeline Albright was a criminal like her boss Bill Clinton. If there was real justice in the world they both would have found themselves in the dock for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

9:12 PM · Mar 23, 2022

In Iraq, the political stalemate continues. October 10th elections were held. The country still waits on a president and prime minister all these months later. ARB WEKKLY reports:

Partisan and personal loyalties have decided the fate of Iraq's presidency and premiership, despite all previous vows by populist leader Moqtada al-Sadr to base his nominations for leadership posts on the national interest only.

Instead, Iraq seems to be moving away from a system of political quotas to one based on the accommodation of various players, if not indeed, plain nepotism.

Sadr chose to nominate Riber Ahmed, the Kurdistan region’s interior minister and director of the office of party leader Massoud Barzani, for the position of president of the republic. He has also nominated Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr, one of his cousins, to serve as the country’s prime minister.

Iraqi political analysts said that Sadr, who had claimed to be motivated by a desire to free himself from the yoke of the pro-Iranian Shia Coordination Framework, has fallen under the control of Massoud Barzani and accepted his conditions. These included endorsing the latter’s nominee for the presidency of Iraq, despite the fact that the candidate is virtually unknown to most Iraqis. Moreover, Ahmed will have a hard time filling the shoes of a figure of the stature, connections and overall record of the incumbent Barham Salih.

Analysts said that by agreeing to be swayed by the game of political accommodation and by choosing a relative with no political record nor experience as nominee for prime minister, Sadr has shown he is no different from the rest of the political players who have assumed leadership positions in the country since the 2003 US invasion. His opposition to quotas, nepotism and his advocacy of the “national majority” now ring hollow, they add.

Three days before the appointment of a new president for Iraq, the tripartite alliance (the Sunni Sovereignty Alliance, the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Sadrists) announced the formation of the largest bloc in parliament under the banner of “Saving the Country”. The new alliance officially announced the nomination of Riber Ahmed for president and Mohammad Jaafar al-Sadr as prime minister.

The buffon the western press called a "kingmaker" is revealed as the fraud so many of us already knew he was. In fact, the western press itself was smarter about Moqtada in 2004 than they are now (excepting Paddy Cockburn who was always an idiot when it came to Moqtada -- then and now).

March 25th is when Parliament is set to meet next and they should be voting on the issue of president. There are dozens of nominees. After the president is voted on, the next step would be for the new president to name a prime minister-designate. That person would then have 30 days to form a Cabinet. It's supposed to be a full Cabinet. No one's ever been held to that. They should be. It's the only measure you have to meet to move from prime minister designate to actual prime minister. The point of the test is to demonstrate that you will be able to govern. And the more empty Cainet spaces a designate has had, the harder it was for them to govern once they were prime minister. So the test does serve a prupose.

We'll wind down with a few more Tweets regarding the thankfully dead Mad Maddie:

madeleine albright confronted by an ohio state university student in 1998 on why the US continues to bomb iraq while selling weapons to israel used on palestinians. her response is accusing the students in the room of defending saddam hussein

1:47 PM · Mar 23, 2022

To you, that was a beloved child, your progeny, the fruit of your loins, the synthesis of you and your beloved spouse, the herald of a brighter future after decades of gloom -- to Madelyn Albright, it was a small price to pay to show Saddam a line in the sand.

3:35 AM · Mar 17, 2022

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