Friday, November 11, 2016. Chaos and violence continue, the refugee crisis continues, the refugee population includes a cat named Lulu, there's no "spolier," and much more.
One image.
If the plight of the woman doesn't effect Americans, maybe the cat Lulu will?
Mosul has been held by the Islamic State since June of 2014. The operation to free or 'free' it began 25 days ago.
For those late to the party, yes, just 25 days ago.
Over two years ago, the city was seized by the Islamic State.
For over two years, the Baghdad-based government did nothing.
That was certainly plenty of time to, if nothing else, plan effectively.
But that didn't happen.
The World Food Program notes these numbers:
- 10 million people in need of humanitarian assistance (OCHA)
- 18 governorates affected
- 3.2 million people displaced (IOM)
- 2.4 million people food insecure (WFP)
- 225,455 Syrian refugees in Iraq (UNHCR)
The refugee crisis keeps getting worse every year and the answer since August 2014 has been?
Drop bombs on Iraq daily.
That's not helping.
Brett McGurk claims there's a diplomatic response, let's hope so because we haven't seen it thus far.
(More on Brett later in the snapshot.)
On the ground,
Tim Arango (NEW YORK TIMES) reports:
Musab Juma, a Shiite who used to live in the Mosul area, said he would
not be going back, either. He relocated to Najaf, in southern Iraq,
where he has a food stall and has decorated his home with old photos
and antiques from his hometown. Yazidis and Kurds and Shabaks, other
minorities that were once vital pieces of Mosul’s human tapestry, have
moved on, too. And many Sunni Arabs, who make up most of Mosul’s
population, say they will never go home again, even if that is where
their parents and grandparents are buried.
It's a very important article. The opening is very strong and probably what would most grab but I went for a paragraph that noted multiple sects in that city.
The city's being torn apart.
The number of refugees is climbing.
And the number of War Crimes being committed is climbing.
THE INDEPENDENT doesn't appear to have time to report on War Crimes.
It's too busy serving up propaganda.
The latest?
A column passed off as a news report claiming that Mosul has been liberated.
Mosul is liberated?
Well surely the militias will be dancing and congratulating one another.
So let's check their Twitter feed.
Mosul remains occupied.
AP notes that the advance halted on Thursday to allow the forces to "regroup."
But THE INDEPENDENT has published a piece of garbage column (passed off as reporting) claiming that Mosul is liberated.
By the way, when an ambassador writes a column, their byline should read "Ambassador." No one should have to go to the bottom of that long piece of junk to discover that it was penned by Iraq's Ambassador to the United Kingdom.
Today is Veterans Day.
Usually, we do more on Veterans Day here. My apologies that we're not this time. Like a lot of other Americans, I'm exhausted by this election. (We'll be talking about the election later in the snapshot.)
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America is always on the job, however.
We will note
On The Border because they always e-mail (and I'll try to do a stand alone of it near lunch time today).
Message body
|
Veterans with military ID or proof of military service receive a free create your own combo entrée ("Choose 2" or "Choose 3" options). Valid on Friday, November 11, 2016 only. Dine-in only. Not valid with any other offer or promotion. Offer may vary by market. At participating On The Border locations only. Cash value 1/100¢.
|
|
|
|
Brett McGurk is President Barack Obama's special envoy. He Tweeted the following this morning:
Let's note this from
IAVA
NEW YORK, NY (November 9, 2016) -- Today, after the conclusion of the brutal 2016 Presidential Election, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) renews its call to unite all Americans with our nation’s veterans.
“America is bigger than any election. And no matter who we voted for, we will be united on Friday and in the critical days ahead,” said IAVA Founder and CEO Paul Rieckhoff. “In the military you’re trained to stick together and to lead by example–no matter what. That’s why IAVA launched “Operation Unite America” well before the polls closed last night. Just like our military, IAVA has always been a uniting force for people of all backgrounds and political viewpoints. Our movement stands ready as an example and a conscience–especially in our nation’s toughest times. If there is one thing that may actually help bring us all together after this grueling election, it’s Veterans Day this Friday. We invite all Americans to come together with us on November 11 for Operation Unite America.”
At the IAVA Commander in Chief Forum in September, we challenged the Presidential candidates to unite together with us on Veterans Day. We again issue that challenge today. We invite them and their supporters to march with us and put patriotism ahead of politics. It will be extremely hard, but we believe that uniting around our nation’s veterans will lead our country toward a brighter, less divisive future.
“The voters have spoken and President-elect Donald Trump will soon be sworn in as our Commander in Chief. But first, we have some healing to do as a nation,” continued Rieckhoff. “Our veterans are all too familiar with rough times and now stand ready to support that healing and serve as a bridge for all Americans. Today, and every day, America can look to our veterans for inspiration, toughness and reason to have hope.”
IAVA is the leading voice of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans in Washington and communities nationwide. Led by veterans, our non-partisan advocacy work ensures that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans and their families are supported, protected and never forgotten. Since 2004, IAVA has been a juggernaut in Washington, creating and driving the national conversation on issues ranging from Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) to women veteran issues to veteran unemployment. IAVA’s dedicated staff in Washington, D.C. leads this work, advocating on behalf of our members daily. We also train our member veterans to be powerful advocates for their community.
Note to media: Email press@iava.org or call 212-982-9699 to speak with IAVA CEO and Founder Paul Rieckhoff or IAVA leadership.
Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (www.IAVA.org) is the leading post-9/11 veteran empowerment organization (VEO) with the most diverse and rapidly growing membership in America. As a non-profit founded in 2004, IAVA’s mission is to connect, unite and empower post-9/11 veterans. Celebrating its 12th year anniversary, IAVA has connected more than 1.2 million veterans with resources and community, and provided more than 7,300 veterans with personalized support from IAVA’s Master’s level social workers.
Back to Brett McGurk.
Donald Trump, Republican presidential candidate, has won the election.
Psychos and psychotics like Debra Messing are calling for electors to the Electoral College to vote instead for Hillary.
Grasp, they aren't calling for abolishing the Electoral College.
In the US, there is the popular vote after all ballots are counted. The states then send electors to the Electoral College and that is who actually votes in the republic.
The Electoral College thwarts direct democracy.
I'm all for abolishing it.
But the Debra Messings don't want to change the system, they just want to try to rig it.
"I'm not happy with the results!" so they want to get a pass this one time.
Grow the hell up.
POLITICO has the state by state vote tally.
Hillary Clinton is responsible for the fact that she is not president.
As is the media and crony system that elevated her.
She was a lousy candidate.
"I'm With Her" renders the American people tag alongs and that's all she had to offer in her dismal, vanity-centered campaign.
She picked a running mate who was just as right-wing as she was.
This did not add 'variety' or 'mix' to the ticket.
She ran as The Woman of Wall Street.
How dare the American people ask about her speeches to them!!!
She will keep them hidden.
How dare the American people ask about The Clinton Foundation!!!
She will run out the clock.
In fact, how dare the American people ask anything of her.
Don't they know their place?
Their place is simply to vote for her.
She offered nothing.
Her campaign had no theme and no higher purpose.
And she offered nothing to the left.
She was a lousy candidate.
Gary Johnson did not steal her votes.
Jill Stein did not steal her votes.
This nonsense of 'spoiler' emerged after the Supreme Court awarded the 2000 election to Bully Boy Bush.
This allowed the cronies in the DNC to move further right.
They didn't need to try to win back voters who left because they were to the left of Al Gore and Joe Biden.
They just used fear.
And people let them get away with that.
Glenn Greenwald or someone had some comment about the fear factor of this election.
Where have you been?
I gave up on fear when the idiotic NATION magazine declared an election the torture election and if the country didn't vote their way . . .
Fear cannot be a motivating factor for campaigning.
You have to win votes.
You have to appeal to voters.
Failure to do so results in what we just saw.
Naomi Klein has a new column that we'll note this from:
"Information
Clearing House"
- "The
Guardian"
-
They will blame
James Comey and the FBI.
They will blame
voter suppression and
racism. They will blame
Bernie or bust and misogyny.
They will blame third parties
and independent candidates. They
will blame the corporate media
for giving him the platform,
social media for being a
bullhorn, and WikiLeaks for
airing the laundry.
But this leaves out the force
most responsible for creating
the nightmare in which we now
find ourselves wide awake:
neoliberalism. That worldview –
fully embodied by
Hillary Clinton and her
machine – is no match for
Trump-style extremism. The
decision to run one against the
other is what sealed our fate.
If we learn nothing else, can we
please learn from that mistake?
Here is what we need to
understand: a hell of a lot of
people are in pain. Under
neoliberal policies of
deregulation, privatisation,
austerity and corporate trade,
their living standards have
declined precipitously. They
have lost jobs. They have lost
pensions. They have lost much of
the safety net that used to make
these losses less frightening.
They see a future for their kids
even worse than their precarious
present.
At the same time, they have
witnessed the rise of the Davos
class, a hyper-connected network
of banking and tech
billionaires, elected leaders
who are awfully cosy with those
interests, and Hollywood
celebrities who make the whole
thing seem unbearably glamorous.
Success is a party to which they
were not invited, and they know
in their hearts that this rising
wealth and power is somehow
directly connected to their
growing debts and powerlessness.
Robert Parry also makes a strong point:
November 10, 2016 "Information
Clearing House"
- "Consortium
News
"
With blinders firmly
in place, the
Democrats yoked
themselves to
Clinton’s gilded
carriage and tried
to pull it all the
way to the White
House. But they
ignored the fact
that many Americans
came to see Clinton
as the
personification of
all that is wrong
about the insular
and corrupt world of
Official Washington.
And that has given
us President-elect
Trump.
You want better and more responsive candidates?
Stop pimping the lie that anyone's a "spoiler."
In an election, you campaign for votes.
No one owes you their vote.
You have to win it.
If someone else wins it, they haven't done anything wrong, you have.
Hold the candidate accountable.
iraq
WikiLeaks 
Michael Tracey
Johnny Pineiro 
#IRAQ شمرية العراق 
Jean-Marc Mojon
Rudaw English
AFP). 
Iraqi PMU English 
John Davis 
Brett McGurk 
Michael Oman-Reagan 