It wasn't in a remote area, but in Baghdad.
To be fair, President Obama said the remaining 50,000 troops would play a support role.
But media reports from the Iraqi capital said U.S. soldiers and at least one helicopter were involved the fighting, providing suppressive fire. Sounds a lot like a firefight. SSDD.
The above is from Robert Weller's "End Of U.S. Combat Role In Iraq Last Less Than A Week" (All Voices) and we'll come back to that topic in the next entry but I thought Weller's words needed highlighting so we're including it in this one.
Former UK Prime Minister and forever lapdog Tony Blair continues to demonstrate that a crook just can't turn an honest buck. The War Hawk is attemping to garner press -- revisionary press -- while on his book tour. On Saturday, Dublin made clear what they think of him as they hurled shoes, eggs and insults. CNN reports that today Tones Blair has canceled a book-signing in London out of fear of protests. In a statement, Blair attempts to spin the animosity the world feels towards him insisting that "I have decided not to go ahead with the signing as I don't want the public to be incovenienced by the inevitable hassle caused by protesters." AFP quotes the War Hawk whining to Sky News, "I think it's sad if you can't sign a book without people trying to physically prevent you, and as we saw in Dublin there were hundreds more who wanted to come and have their book signed than wanted to protest." Tony's also running from the revelations that his "I will give all royalties to wounded British soldiers" was another of his Iraq War lies because his huge advance means there will be few (if any) profits from the book and he's not handing over any of that six-figure advance to wounded soldiers. UK's Stop The War notes:
Tony Blair has cancelled his book-signing at Waterstone's bookshop. He knows he cannot appear in public without being confronted by protests over his war crimes. He is running scared but he cannot hide. Stop the War has called a protest at Tate Modern gallery at 5.30pm on Wednesday September when Blair is hosting a book launch party, which will no doubt also be attended by Alistair Campbell, Jack Straw, Peter Mandelson and other war criminals.
Protest when Blair hosts book launch party Wednesday 8 September 5.30pm
Tate Modern Gallery, Park Street, Bankside, London SE1 9TG Tube: Mansion House
Q. Who said: "You've got to put in prison those who deserve to be there"? A. Tony Blair, 6 September 2010
While Blair would like to pretend that only a small number of people are objecting to him, polls demonstrate otherwise. While he would like to write off his critics, they include various well known figures. Matt Sandy (Daily Mail) reports, "The former head of the Army has accused Tony Blair and Gordon Brown of letting down British troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. General Sir Richard Dannatt branded Mr Brown 'malign' for failing to fund the Armed Forces adequately and said Mr Blair lacked the 'moral courage' to make his then Chancellor deliver the money that was needed. He makes the accusations in his autobiography, Leading From The Front." The Telegraph of London offers an excerpt from Dannatt's book.
As usual on holidays, I'm the one solely working the e-mails. That brings up a few things.
I can't book hotels or cruises for you, I can't get you whatever DVD or CD you're inquiring about. A very angry person who says he lives in Norway cannot believe that I still haven't helped book his trip to Florida. What is he talking about?
The snapshot gets re-posted at community sites. In addition, it's reposted outside the community. I have no control over that nor have I ever attempted to exert any control over that. Before there was the snapshot in 2006, long before, entries here were reposted. UK community members in late 2004 and early 2005 were reposting entries to music blogs and music sites. That's fine with me. We've been reposted by legal sites and other sites and that's fine as well. I don't endorse pornography but when we were started getting reposted at 'adult' sites, I had to face the fact that I truly have no control over the issue. This is not a for-profit site. This is about information and getting it out and anyone who can repost and wants to repost should. I've never objected to anyone nor have I ever written another site and stated, "Take that down!" Nor will I ever write any site and state that.
But some sites that repost do business and don't confuse me with any of those sites. I was puzzled last year why people kept e-mailing me with offers to be their nanny. Why were they confusing me with Julie Andrews? And then I found out that a UK nanny site had reposted some of the entries. I am not seeking employment, I don't need employment. Nor am I offering any services for hire. I understand the confusion and if leads to frustration for someone, I'm sorry but, again, I don't object to anything I've done here being reposted elsewhere. This isn't a for-profit site, we just try to get the word out. Repostings have always allowed the community to grow and I will say thank you to all who have ever reposted anything from this site anywhere on the web.
Also, on this topic, there is a Common Ills Facebook site that I keep getting e-mail about. They have reposted something there as well. I am not part of Facebook, I would never be on Facebook. As long as people in the community know that, I have no problem with whomever has started that account/website/social network, whatever.
A number of visitors are e-mailing to ask a question that I should have answered two months ago. We're going through at least the end of December (which would mean January 1st actually). As community members and readers of this site know, my summer of 2005 plan was for TCI to go dark in 2008 after the November elections.
We couldn't walk away due to a War Hawk being elected and the fact that a lot of cowards and lackeys would silence their voice. Leslie Cagan, that would include you, you old Whore. We never should have allowed Leslie to lead. We're talking about an old woman who still can't admit publicly that she's a Communist. There's not a damn thing wrong with being a Communist. There's a lot wrong with being unable to admit you are. Though Leslie could come out of the sexual closet and admit she was a lesbian, she never had the guts to come out of the political closet. She was whining to Politico on Saturday about how hard it had been for her 'leading' UFPJ (United for Pathetic and Juvenile) and how she needed a rest. Are the Iraqis allowed to rest, Leslie? Have the bombs stopped exploding in Iraq?
No, they haven't. The reality is that Leslie Cagan wasn't going to call out a man she whored for because she considered him "Black" and because her "old school" Communist background did not allow for her to call out anyone she saw as "Black."
[For those late to the party, Barack's biracial. While Tom Hayden has decided to put on the racist White robes, many others who worked on the multi-cultural issues of the last decades refuse to do so and refuse to return to the KKK's "one drop" rule. Bi-and multi-racial is a classification and it's one that activists worked very hard to receive recognition on. Amazingly, the 2000 census would include it for the first time as a result of the work done by multi-cultural activists. Sadly, by 2008, some would rush to treat "biracial" as a dirty word because it was really important for them to perpetuate the lie that the offspring of a White mother and an African (Black) father was "Black." Alice Walker, who refuses to have anything to do with her own biracial daughter Rebecca Walker, was among those denying reality. How very telling on Alice.]
The day after the 2008 elections, Leslie posted that ridiculous note at UPFJ about how peace had come to America and the peace movement had won!
Really, Leslie? US drones killing Pakistani civilians. That's peace? An ongoing Iraq War? That's peace? An escalation in the Afghanistan War? That's peace?
Leslie Cagan was a tired old whore. She betrayed the peace movement. There is something so disgusting about so many of Barack's 'name' supporters who are not Democrats but damn well influenced the Democratic Party primaries. In the future, whenever anyone endorses a candidate in a political party primary, they should have to identify what they are. Had Republicans, Communists and Socialists not hijacked the punditry of the party season -- posing as Democrats -- they wouldn't have been able to create the illusion of a push for Barack.
And it was very telling of these 'old school' Communists that despite all their lip service to the 'masses,' they used lies and smears to attack both the masses and the candidate they supported, the candidate who got the most votes in the Democratic Party primary: Hillary Clinton. But 'old school' Communism was always about hatred of women's independence. It's why so many women left Communism in the 20th century.
Leslie Cagan pretended she was building a movement with UPFJ but all she wanted to do was tell people how to vote in an election. And for her the 2008 election was a victory. Leslie, as someone who knows you, trust me, you're a sad, sad whore. Short of a major mea culpa, there's no comeback for you.
"I was exhausted," whined Leslie to Abby Phillip (Politico). Well whoring is taxing, Leslie, especially on someone who spends so much time hiding in a political closet. Another old school Communist hiding in a closet, Alice Walker, was spotted this weekend by a friend who called me to say Alice now looked as ugly as she really is. And that's called "justice," not "aging." Over time, you get the face you deserve. And though Leslie and Alice will, no doubt, make at least one more trip to Cuba to worship at the feet of Fidel, they will never, ever again be mistaken for voices of peace and/or justice. They ensured that they wouldn't by whoring for a Corporatist War Hawk, by silencing their own voices to suck off the patriarchy. Bit off more than you could chew, girls? Tough s**t. Hope it chokes you as you swallow.
Today is Labor Day, we'll note this from Sherwood Ross' "Want An Exciting Career? Become A Union Organizer" (Global Research):
If you're seeking an exciting career that's really fraught with risk and danger and that makes the world a better place, forget about joining the Army: become a labor organizer!
You'll be called upon to risk your job and your life and to face unjust jail terms for organizing on behalf of your fellow man and woman, with no way to fight back against thugs with guns, tear gas,and billy clubs except by using your wits.
Let's compare the careers of Army officers and labor organizers to see which actually comes closer to fulfilling that wonderful slogan of the Army's:"Be all you can be."
Advertising in the August 26th issue of "The Miami Hurricane," the student newspaper of the University of Miami, a typical Army ad seeks to enroll students in the Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) with glib generalities such as "Start Taking Charge," "Start Leading" and "Start Getting Ahead of the Game." The ad promises ROTC leads to an Army Officer's commission after graduation and "With a start like that, there's no limit to what you can achieve."
What the ad doesn't say is that if you're new to the Army you won't be taking charge of much of anything. You'll be taking orders, not giving them. You won't be leading, either; you'll be following. And what exactly does "Getting ahead of the game" mean? Once enrolled, will you be playing games? Is that what's going on in Afghanistan?
Whereas a union organizer can quit any time for any reason, once you've enlisted you're stuck for years and could face jail if you don't want to serve.
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Now He's Soaking In It" went up this morning as did Kat's "Kat's Korner: Last Decade's Buried Treasure" and Kat has another music article which will go up shortly.
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
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