The two biggest topics in the e-mail are Joss Stone and the Ashraf community. Starting with Joss, who is amazing.
"Drive All Night," written by Joss and Eg White, is from Joss' LP1 album which Kat reviewed here and, examing 2011's year in music, Kat found first place to be a three-way tie, "Stevie Nicks' In Your Dreams, PJ Harvey's Let England Shake and Joss Stone's LP1." And we picked it for "The Make Out Song of 2011" at Third. And, FYI, I know Joss and I know Dave Stewart but I'm actually plugging Joss right now because Kat intends to feature Joss in Kat's look back at 2013 in music.
Make out song?
An e-mail to the public account -- yes, we're starting the snapshot slowly -- wants to note celibacy. It's aimed at gay men. So I called to ask some friends, "Is this some new activist movement" since it wasn't filled with hate -- "or what?" No, it's an effort to promote an online gay matchmaking service. It's Gayquation whose Facebook page is here and whose Twitter feed it here. With eHarmony's well noted homophobia, I have no problem noting a gay matchmaking online service (once, I'm not going to do it all the time).
But I won't take part in a celibacy campaign for adults. Adults will do what they want and should. And 30 days of celibacy sounds a lot like that very bad Josh Hartnett film 40 Days and 40 Nights.
That was an idiotic movie and I said it would be before it started filming. Movies have to be relatable to be successful. The film bombed in the US ($37 million box office -- a sleazy and misleading ad campaign allowed it to do very well outside the US). I said open the film with a pissed off woman who doesn't like being his latest one night stand and, while he's sleeping, locks him in a celibacy device. Forced celibacy would speak to many men's fears and he is kept in the device until that one night stand feels he's learned a lesson. That's relatable as a fear. A grown man who is sexually active -- leading a life many male ticket buyers wish they had -- deciding not to have sex for 40 days isn't relatable. And that brings us to Gayquation's campaign. That movie took a promising actor and stripped him of his heat and Hartnett's still not recovered. The campaign may harm your company in a similar way. You got your links, be happy and don't e-mail again.
Ashraf.
BBC News notes, "A rocket attack has killed three members of an Iranian opposition group in Iraq, the group and its parent organisation say. They say a number of people from the Mujahideen-e-Khalq (MEK) group were injured at Camp Liberty in Baghdad." Camp Hurriyah, also know as Camp Liberty, is where the Ashraf community was forced to relocate. Tonight, the US State Dept issued the following statement:
The
United States condemns in the strongest terms today’s rocket attack at
Camp Hurriya that has reportedly killed and injured camp residents and
also injured Iraqi police officers. Our condolences go out to the
families of the victims and we hope for the swift recovery of those
injured.
From the moment we learned about this attack, we have been in communication with the United Nations Assistant Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and senior Iraqi officials to ensure swift and immediate treatment to the wounded. We thank both UNAMI and the Government of Iraq (GOI) for rapidly responding, including by providing ambulances and treatment to those seriously injured.
We continue to call on the GOI to take additional measures to secure the camp against further violence, including by immediately installing additional protective barriers, such as bunkers and t-walls. We also call on the GOI to continue to honor its obligations under its December 25, 2011 agreement with the UN and urge the Iraqi Government to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable for the attack.
The United States is committed to assisting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the relocation of all Camp Hurriya residents to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq. We call on more countries to assist in responding to this urgent humanitarian situation by welcoming camp residents for relocation, as Albania has admirably done over this past year, and by contributing to the fund established by the United Nations to support their resettlement. The Department, through its Senior Advisor for MEK Resettlement, Jonathan Winer, will remain actively engaged in the international effort to relocate the residents of Camp Hurriya to safe, permanent, and secure locations outside of Iraq as soon as possible.
From the moment we learned about this attack, we have been in communication with the United Nations Assistant Mission in Iraq (UNAMI) and senior Iraqi officials to ensure swift and immediate treatment to the wounded. We thank both UNAMI and the Government of Iraq (GOI) for rapidly responding, including by providing ambulances and treatment to those seriously injured.
We continue to call on the GOI to take additional measures to secure the camp against further violence, including by immediately installing additional protective barriers, such as bunkers and t-walls. We also call on the GOI to continue to honor its obligations under its December 25, 2011 agreement with the UN and urge the Iraqi Government to find the perpetrators and hold them accountable for the attack.
The United States is committed to assisting the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in the relocation of all Camp Hurriya residents to a permanent and safe location outside of Iraq. We call on more countries to assist in responding to this urgent humanitarian situation by welcoming camp residents for relocation, as Albania has admirably done over this past year, and by contributing to the fund established by the United Nations to support their resettlement. The Department, through its Senior Advisor for MEK Resettlement, Jonathan Winer, will remain actively engaged in the international effort to relocate the residents of Camp Hurriya to safe, permanent, and secure locations outside of Iraq as soon as possible.
PRN: 2013/1266
As of September, Camp Ashraf in Iraq is empty. All remaining members of the community have been moved to Camp Hurriya (also known as Camp Liberty). Camp Ashraf housed a group of Iranian dissidents who were welcomed to Iraq by Saddam Hussein in 1986 and he gave them Camp Ashraf and six other parcels that they could utilize. In 2003, the US invaded Iraq.The US government had the US military lead negotiations with the residents of Camp Ashraf. The US government wanted the residents to disarm and the US promised protections to the point that US actions turned the residents of Camp Ashraf into protected person under the Geneva Conventions. This is key and demands the US defend the Ashraf community in Iraq from attacks. The Bully Boy Bush administration grasped that -- they were ignorant of every other law on the books but they grasped that one. As 2008 drew to a close, the Bush administration was given assurances from the Iraqi government that they would protect the residents. Yet Nouri al-Maliki ordered the camp repeatedly attacked after Barack Obama was sworn in as US President. July 28, 2009 Nouri launched an attack (while then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was on the ground in Iraq). In a report released this summer entitled "Iraqi government must respect and protect rights of Camp Ashraf residents," Amnesty International described this assault, "Barely a month later, on 28-29 July 2009, Iraqi security forces stormed into the camp; at least nine residents were killed and many more were injured. Thirty-six residents who were detained were allegedly tortured and beaten. They were eventually released on 7 October 2009; by then they were in poor health after going on hunger strike." April 8, 2011, Nouri again ordered an assault on Camp Ashraf (then-US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates was again on the ground in Iraq when the assault took place). Amnesty International described the assault this way, "Earlier this year, on 8 April, Iraqi troops took up positions within the camp using excessive, including lethal, force against residents who tried to resist them. Troops used live ammunition and by the end of the operation some 36 residents, including eight women, were dead and more than 300 others had been wounded. Following international and other protests, the Iraqi government announced that it had appointed a committee to investigate the attack and the killings; however, as on other occasions when the government has announced investigations into allegations of serious human rights violations by its forces, the authorities have yet to disclose the outcome, prompting questions whether any investigation was, in fact, carried out." Those weren't the last attacks. They were the last attacks while the residents were labeled as terrorists by the US State Dept. (September 28, 2012, the designation was changed.) In spite of this labeling, Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) observed that "since 2004, the United States has considered the residents of Camp Ashraf 'noncombatants' and 'protected persons' under the Geneva Conventions." So the US has an obligation to protect the residents. 3,300 are no longer at Camp Ashraf. They have moved to Camp Hurriyah for the most part. A tiny number has received asylum in other countries. Approximately 100 were still at Camp Ashraf when it was attacked Sunday. That was the second attack this year alone. February 9th of this year, the Ashraf residents were again attacked, this time the ones who had been relocated to Camp Hurriyah. Trend News Agency counted 10 dead and over one hundred injured. Prensa Latina reported, " A rain of self-propelled Katyusha missiles hit a provisional camp of Iraqi opposition Mujahedin-e Khalk, an organization Tehran calls terrorists, causing seven fatalities plus 50 wounded, according to an Iraqi official release." They were attacked again September 1st. Adam Schreck (AP) reported that the United Nations was able to confirm the deaths of 52 Ashraf residents. In addition, 7 Ashraf residents were taken in the assault. Last month, in response to questions from US House Rep Sheila Jackson Lee, the State Dept's Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, Brett McGurk, stated, "The seven are not in Iraq."
Today's attack? The British Parliamentary Committee for Iran Freedom issued the following statement today:
At 21:15 Baghdad local time on 26 December 2013, Camp Liberty was the target of dozens of missiles. This attack has taken place a matter of months after Iraqi forces massacred 52 residents at their previous home in Camp Ashraf. The shamefully weak response to that attack by the EU Governments, the US administration and the United Nations has given the Iraqi authorities the green light to continue killing at will.
In total, Iraqi assaults on the two camps have left some 115 unarmed and defenceless civilians murdered. These are Iranian dissidents to whom the US authorities guaranteed protection and who are recognised as Protected Persons under the Fourth Geneva Convention. Today the whereabouts of seven hostages taken by the Iraqi authorities in the 1 September 2013 attack remain unknown and the latest murders are an indication of the Iraqi authorities’ intentions in relation to Camp Liberty. It is in this Committee’s view no coincidence that such an attack occurs shortly after Nuri Al-Maliki returns from a visit to Tehran.
The British government and other member states of the United Nations must immediately condemn this latest attack. Further UNHCR must immediately recognise Camp Liberty as a refugee camp and grant all the members of the camp group refugee status. It is clear that their current recognition as persons of interest under international law is insufficient and has hindered their safe return to third party states.
“This Committee has repeatedly warned the British Government and the United Nations that these assaults will continue until such time as an armed UN presence is stationed at Camp Liberty. Today’s deaths were avoidable had that UN presence been in operation. The British Government must today publicly show its support for an armed UN presence at Camp Liberty while calling for the immediate release of the hostages.
This attack and the uninterrupted executions happening in Iran each and every day have resulted from the international community’s weak stance towards the Iranian regime in recent months.
Unfortunately the UK Government has been weak in expressing its protests, and has done little to ensure that both Iraq and Iran understand that these attacks on unarmed people are wholly unacceptable.”
Reuters notes al-Mukhtar Army militia is claiming credit for the attack, saying they "fired 20 Katyusha rockets and mortar rounds" at Camp Hurriya and quotes the group's leader Wathiq al-Batat stating, "We've asked (the government) to expel them from the country many times, but they are still here." Yesterday, PMOI Iran posted a video of retired US Col Wes Martin speaking December 19th about the Ashraf community, "As you've heard before -- and as everyone here knows -- there is no way an assault can come on that camp without going through Iraqi forces."
His comments especially make sense in light of today's attack. (His full comments make even more sense but PMOI Iran has badly edited his remarks.)
They -- whomever 'they' may be (claiming credit doesn't necessarily mean someone did the act; however, the fact that the group made the assertion quickly does lend credence to the claim) -- launched 20 rockets and mortar rounds. Where was the Iraqi military that's supposed to be guaranteeing the Ashraf community's safety?
Don't expect an answer. There are never answers provided by Nouri al-Maliki's government.
The government that's being armed.
As noted this morning, misreporting took place by many outlets:
The Voice of Russia states, ""The United States is sending dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq to help government forces combat an explosion of violence by al-Qaida-backed insurgency that is gaining territory in both western Iraq and neighboring Syria." This is echoed by The NewsHour (PBS), "The U.S. is "quietly" sending dozens of Hellfire missiles and surveillance drones to Iraq, in hopes the government can quell an al-Qaeda insurgency." Noah Rayman (Time magazine) parrots, "The United States is supplying Iraq with arms and surveillance technology to combat al-Qaeda-backed insurgents amid worsening violence, the New York Times reported Thursday, two years after the last American combat troops left the country." AFP runs with, "The United States is sending Iraq dozens of missiles and surveillance drones to help it combat a recent surge in al-Qaida-backed violence, the New York Times reported Thursday. The weapons include a shipment of 75 Hellfire missiles purchased by Iraq, which Washington delivered to the country last week, the Times reported."
Fortunately, not all outlets have correspondents from the kiddie table. Elise Labott and Tom Cohen (CNN) get it right regarding who is providing arms, "Two years after bringing home U.S. troops from Iraq, the Obama administration is sending Hellfire rockets and ScanEagle surveillance drones to help government forces fight al Qaeda affiliates growing in influence, a State Department official confirmed to CNN on Thursday." Paul Richter (Los Angeles Times) also gets it right, "The Obama administration has begun sending Hellfire missiles and surveillance drone aircraft to Iraq to help the government battle an expanding threat from local Al Qaeda-affiliated militants, U.S. officials said, the first such assistance since the American withdrawal from Iraq in 2011."
Too many lives have been shattered in recent times by the conflict in Syria, fueling hatred and vengeance. Let us continue to ask the Lord to spare the beloved Syrian people further suffering, and to enable the parties in conflict to put an end to all violence and guarantee access to humanitarian aid. We have seen how powerful prayer is! And I am happy today too, that the followers of different religious confessions are joining us in our prayer for peace in Syria. Let us never lose the courage of prayer! The courage to say: Lord, grant your peace to Syria and to the whole world.
Grant peace to the Central African Republic, often forgotten and overlooked. Yet you, Lord, forget no one! And you also want to bring peace to that land, torn apart by a spiral of violence and poverty, where so many people are homeless, lacking water, food and the bare necessities of life. Foster social harmony in South Sudan, where current tensions have already caused numerous victims and are threatening peaceful coexistence in that young state.
Prince of Peace, in every place turn hearts aside from violence and inspire them to lay down arms and undertake the path of dialogue. Look upon Nigeria, rent by constant attacks which do not spare the innocent and defenseless. Bless the land where you chose to come into the world, and grant a favorable outcome to the peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians. Heal the wounds of the beloved country of Iraq, once more struck by frequent acts of violence.
The deadliest attack occurred around noon when a car bomb went off near Mar Youhanna church when Christian worshippers were leaving after celebrating Christmas day in Doura district in the southern part of Baghdad, killing up to 27 people and wounding 56 others, a police source told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
Meanwhile, three roadside bombs went off in a quick succession at a busy marketplace in the same predominantly Christian district, killing 11 people and wounding 14 others, along with damaging nearby shops and stalls, the source said.
iraq
cnn
elise labott
the los angeles times
paul richter
xinhua
bbc news
the latin american herald tribune
