Saturday, February 06, 2021

MELANIE Peace Will Come ('73)

 

I envisioned myself as a mythic woman laying across the hills, part of and connected to the reason for life. I sensed that we were all part of a beautiful plan of peace and creation. https://www.patreon.com/MelanieSafka






CDC Investigation | Full Measure

 


Today we begin with an investigation regarding the Covid-19 vaccine shortages. There are serious questions about an incorrect claim made by top scientists at CDC: the nation’s premiere public health institute. Critics call it misinformation. CDC chalks it up to an “honest mistake." Whatever it is, it resulted in vaccines going to some who are said to need it the least depriving others who are said to need it the most. --------- Full Measure is a weekly Sunday news program focusing on investigative, original and accountability reporting. The host is Sharyl Attkisson, five-time Emmy Award winner and recipient of the Edward R. Murrow award for investigative reporting. She is backed by a team of award winning journalists. Each week, we have a cover story that explores untouchable topics in a fearless way including: immigration, terrorism, government waste, national security and whistleblower reports on government and corporate abuse and misdeeds. Full Measure is broadcast to 43 million households in 79 markets on 162 Sinclair Broadcast Group stations, including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, CW, MyTV, Univision and Telemundo affiliates. It also streams live Sunday mornings at 9:30 a.m. ET. Read more about us at: http://fullmeasure.news/about Find out where to watch us at: http://fullmeasure.news/about Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FullMeasureNews Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/FullMeasureNews



Diane Warren ('The Life Ahead,' 'The One and Only Ivan' songwriter): Lucky with 2 fantastic movies

 

Diane Warren ('The Life Ahead' and 'The One and Only Ivan' songwriter) felt 'lucky' to compose for two 'fantastic' movies. She chats with Gold Derby editor Daniel Montgomery. Subscribe to Gold Derby: https://www.youtube.com/user/goldderby CONNECT WITH GOLD DERBY Web: http://www.goldderby.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoldDerby/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoldDerby Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goldderby/ Newsletter: http://pages.email.goldderby.com/signup/ ABOUT GOLD DERBY Gold Derby features celebrity videos plus expert predictions. Who'll win Oscars, Emmys, Grammys, Tonys, Golden Globes and top reality TV shows 'American Idol,' 'The Voice,' 'Survivor,' 'Amazing Race,' 'Dancing with the Stars' and more.





More attacks on convoys and, with Joe Biden, less chance that the US will leave Iraq

PRESS TV notes, "A military convoy carrying logistic supplies for American forces has been targeted in Babil province, central Iraq.  The convoy was targeted on Saturday night near the Iraqi city of Musayyib in Babil province, according to the Lebanese TV channel Al Mayadeen."  MEHR NEWS adds:

Earlier, Iraqi resistance groups announced that they have recorded the footage of a US convoy being targeted and they will release its video soon.

They released the video of a truck carrying US military logistics equipment being targeted in the south of the country today.

The Saberin News Channel reported that the video belonged to a convoy carrying logistics equipment for the US Army, which was targeted by a roadside bomb on February 1 in the western part of Basra province.

According to Saberin News, the operation was carried out by Iraqi resistance group Awliya al-Dam.


If only the United States had a new president, someone with a fresh point of view who could look at this war that has dragged on through Bully Boy Bush occupying the White House for two terms, through Barack Obama's two terms as president and through Donald Trump's one term as president.  


Well we do have a new president, he just doesn't have a fresh point of view.


THE HILL reports:


Author Michael Knox told Hill.TV he is disappointed that President Biden has signaled he might leave certain troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for the foreseeable future, after the president committed to ending some wars during his 2020 campaign.

“I would say it’s a disappointment, but it’s to be expected. Joe Biden ended his nomination acceptance speech and his victory speech and his inauguration speech with the words ‘And may God protect our troops,’” said Knox.

The professor emeritus at the University of South Florida said former Presidents Trump and Obama also expressed similar sentiments about the U.S. military in their speeches.

Knox, author of “Ending U.S. Wars by Honoring Americans Who Work for Peace," said those kinds of repeated remarks by presidents are part of a “culture of war” in American society that emphasizes militarism.



Joe doesn't have a fresh point of view, he doesn't have a fresh anything.  Even his lies are old.  SPUTNIK notes:

US President Joe Biden has revived a decade-old claim that he was shot at during an overseas trip. Speaking to employees of the State Department, the 78-year-old lauded them for "personal courage" and said:

"I’ve been with some of you when we’ve been shot at. I’ve been with some of you when we’ve been in places that you would not have any idea you’d want to be when you were going to school. They never told you that that is going to happen."

The Democrat did not elaborate on when and how he was shot at, but it appears he was referring to the statement he made in 2007, which caused a lot of controversy. Back then he said he was shot at three times in the Green Zone, an area established during the US-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. When asked to elaborate in detail, the politician gave an evasive description, saying there were instances when he was shot at or felt that he was being shot at. Only one of the instances, Biden said, involved a shot landing outside the building where the politician was staying.

"No one got up and ran from the room—it wasn’t that kind of thing.…It’s not like I had someone holding a gun to my head", he told reporters before saying that the more accurate description would be "I was near where a shot landed".

The politician’s explanation later caused indignation among servicemen and veterans. Back then Patrick Campbell, legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, warned that the Democrat should be careful with such statements.

"Veterans don’t like it when people mischaracterise their service, people who overstate what happens to them. We have names for them", Campbell said.

'I’ve done some dumb things'

This is not the first time that Biden has stated something which has later turned out to be untrue. During his first presidential campaign in 1988, he was accused of plagiarism: the Democrat copied the speech of British politician Neil Kinnock, who served as a UK MP and Leader of the Opposition between 1970 and 1995. During that time, Biden, a law school graduate, left colleagues and voters bewildered when he claimed to be a coal miner, apparently mixing himself up with Kinnock’s father in Wales who worked down in the mines. He reiterated this claim when he became vice president of the United States in 2008.


Joe's lies were getting old back when he was in the Senate.  Now he's just pathetic.


And what the US has done to Iraq is pathetic.  It has not helped the Iraqi people one bit.  RUDAW notes:


Militia forces affiliated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raided a number of activists' houses in Iraq’s Najaf province on Saturday night, activists told Rudaw English. The raids came a day after a group of activists chanted slogans criticizing the cleric on the one year anniversary of the killing of tens of people by Sadr supporters. 

Activists on Friday held a ceremony to mark the one year anniversary of a massacre in Najaf’s Sadrayn square where Sadr supporters known as the "Blue Caps" stormed an anti-government protest camp. Twenty-three people were killed and more than 182 wounded, according to AFP.

Live rounds and petrol bombs were used against protesters during clashes, and their tents were burned or removed. Days later, Sadr announced the dissolution of the "Blue Caps" militia.

Video from the anniversary ceremony on Friday showed dozens of people gathered in the Writers Union Hall in Najaf, chanting slogans against the Sadrist movement and its leader. "No god but Allah. Muqtada is the enemy of Allah,” they shouted in clips that went viral on social media. 

The day after the ceremony, forces from the pro-Sadr Saraya al-Salam (the Peace Brigades) militia stormed the homes of four activists, terrorizing them and their families, according to Najaf activist Saif al-Mansoori. 

Speaking to Rudaw English on Saturday, Mansoori said they are being threatened by people who are active on the political scene. "Freedom of expression is guaranteed in the constitution, but the one who threatens the activists because they try to express their views freely, is participating in elections that are part of the democratic process.”


This as Fadhel al-Nashmi (ASHARQ AL-AWSAT) reports, "Unidentified assailants attacked the headquarters of the Iraqi Communist Party in Najaf with Molotov cocktails, burning the offices despite causing no causalities."  It's related.  In the past the Communist Party partnered with Moqtada.  That partnership broke and last week they announced an alliance with the demonstrators.  Then their headquarters were bombed.


We'll wind down with this from Danny Haiphong (BLACK AGENDA REPORT):


The white hooligans who invaded Capitol Hill on January 6th set the stage for the U.S. ruling class to reinvigorate its most prized political narrative: American exceptionalism. Trump committed the most egregious crime of all in the eyes of the empire by encouraging his most loyal supporters to desecrate what one police officer on the scene called “the most sacredest place.” His closing act paved an even smoother road for the incoming Biden administration to quickly militarize Washington D.C. and normalize a period of sustained crisis vis-à-vis cosmetic changes to the leadership of the empire. But as neoliberal elements of the ruling class breathe a sigh of relief, the struggle against the Biden administration’s imperial criminality will face immense challenges in the coming period.

For one, Biden is a white supremacist and a war hawk but one would never know listening to the corporate media. The ruling class understands that Joe Biden is less popular than Bernie Sanders’ mittens  and has thus focused all of its energy on the optics of his administration. However, endless celebrations of the “diversity” embodied in Joe Biden’s cabinet are nothing but hollow gestures for people under the crossfire of U.S. empire. As Nikole Hannah-Jones pondered the significance of Lloyd Austin being named the first Black Secretary of Defense , no one in the Biden camp has spoken out against the past, present, and future war crimes which will undoubtedly shape the administration.

“Celebrations of the “diversity” embodied in Joe Biden’s cabinet are nothing but hollow gestures.”

Biden’s Secretary of State Tony Blinken provided a useful review of what to expect from the U.S. empire moving forward in his confirmation hearing  with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Blinken co-signed U.S. support of disgraced coup leader Juan Guaido as the head of state  in Venezuela and endorsed the continued enforcement of starvation sanctions on the Venezuelan people. He also affirmed the blatant lie that Iran is the largest state sponsor of terrorism  in the world. Blinken agreed with Trump that China represented the “greatest foreign policy challenge of this century” and promised to build a more effective but equally “tough” strategy of containment . The first days of the Biden era saw a U.S. military envoy enter occupied Syria from Iraq. Israel, the U.S.’ closest military ally in the region, celebrated Blinken’s affirmation of U.S. loyalty to the settler state by launching an airstrike  that killed a handful of Syrian men, women, and children. The politics of representation, in the area of U.S. empire, amount to a narrow nationalism that places the superiority and exceptionalism of the United States above the lives of colonized people and oppressed people around the world.This is why it is so important for organizations such as Black Alliance for Peace  to develop and strengthen in the coming period. The Trump era left the struggle against empire defenseless from the popularization of faux-populist and white nationalist politics on the one hand, and the Democratic Party’s con of diversity on the other. Only an organized Black Left movement can reconcile the contradictions presented by these two ideological wings of a dying imperialist bird of prey. 


The following sites updated:






  • Dissenter Weekly: Crooked ICE Union Deal, Drone Company Co-Founder Abused Access To Classified Info

     

    In this edition of “Dissenter Weekly,” host and Shadowproof editor Kevin Gosztola covers a couple whistleblower stories that are emblematic of the mess that must be cleaned up after President Donald Trump’s administration. Later, Kevin highlights a wild story involving the co-founder of a drone company, who is fortunate to not be facing a prosecution under the Espionage Act because he abused his access to classified information to enrich himself. It further demonstrates how political Espionage Act cases are when brought by the Justice Department. The show concludes with a deconstruction of an MSNBC segment that cynically pit NSA whistleblower Reality Winner against NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden




    #TheGrayzone Ecuador's historic election explained: Inside the Citizens' Revolution

     Ben Norton traveled to Ecuador to report on the historic February 7 election, which pits a wealthy US-backed right-wing banker against a left-wing economist who pledges to continue the socialist Citizens' Revolution launched by former President Rafael Correa.

    In this short documentary film, working-class Ecuadorians explain why they support leftist candidate Andrés Arauz and oppose the repressive Washington-allied government of Lenín Moreno. ||| The Grayzone ||| Find more reporting at https://thegrayzone.com Support our original journalism at Patreon: https://patreon.com/grayzone Facebook: https://facebook.com/thegrayzone Twitter: https://twitter.com/thegrayzonenews Instagram: https://instagram.com/thegrayzonenews Minds: https://minds.com/thegrayzone Mastodon: https://mastodon.social/@thegrayzone #TheGrayzone








    #DrewBarrymoreShow #DrewGooder #SherinaJones Drew Surprises Woman Running Community Fridge with $10,000 Worth of Meals | Drew-Gooder

     

    Sherina Jones explains why she wanted to start a community fridge (or free-dge as she calls them) in Florida to help those who've struggled during the pandemic. To support her: https://www.gofundme.com/f/VillageFre... #DrewBarrymoreShow #DrewGooder #SherinaJones Subscribe to The Drew Barrymore Show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWIj... Keep the party going with a visit to https://thedrewbarrymoreshow.com FOLLOW THE DREW BARRYMORE SHOW Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedrewbarr... Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrewBarrymoreTV Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheDrewBarry... Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/thedrewbarr... Snapchat: https://www.snapchat.com/add/drewbarr... TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedrewbarrym... FOLLOW DREW BARRYMORE Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drewbarrymo... Twitter: https://twitter.com/DrewBarrymore Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DrewBarrymore Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/drewbarrymo... The Drew Barrymore Show is daytime’s brightest destination for intelligent optimism and maximum fun, featuring everyone’s favorite actor, businessperson, mom and cultural icon, Drew Barrymore! From news to pop culture, human interest to comedy - you’ll discover it here with Drew along with the beauty and wisdom, as well as the heart and humor in life. Drew Surprises Woman Running Community Fridge with $10,000 Worth of Meals | Drew-Gooder http://www.youtube.com/thedrewbarrymo








    Briahna Joy Gray: Why Democrats Fear Third Parties (Or How They Can Help Us Win Social Programs)

     

    On the "Unauthorized Disclosure" weekly podcast, co-hosted by Rania Khalek and Kevin Gosztola, Briahna Joy Gray outlines why the Democratic Party widely fears third party candidates, especially during presidential elections. She proposes a strategy for swing states, where a candidate could draw attention to demands from the left and push the Democratic presidential candidate to agree to back at least a few of these policies.




    S01E10: How is Feminism Political? | Intersectional Feminism—Desi Style!

     

    As feminists, the one thing we are exhausted of everyone telling us is that Feminism should be centred around 'women issues' and has no business speaking about national politics - but what people often forget is that the history of feminist struggles has always been political, be it black feminists who were at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement in the US or the Dalit feminist movement in India or Shaheen Bagh’s Muslim women protestors or even the women farmers who have been resisting the recent farm bills - the fight for equal rights and gender justice cannot be divorced from its socio-political contexts. Joining our hosts in this episode of Intersectional Feminism - Desi Style is team FII! Tune in to hear how they bust the myth that feminism is not political! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Follow Feminism In India: Website: https://www.feminisminindia.com Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/feminisminindia Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/feminisminindia Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/feminismini... Telegram: https://t.me/feminisminindia Newsletter: http://eepurl.com/cjuLbv




    #RichardMedhurst Democrats Push $15 Min Wage to 2025

     

    Support the show on Patreon: https://patreon.com/papichulomin Donate on PayPal: https://paypal.me/papichulomin Donate on GoFundMe: https://gf.me/u/yctyrt Richard Medhurst on Twitter: https://twitter.com/richimedhurst Like the show on Facebook: https://facebook.com/papichulomin Richard Medhurst on Instagram: https://instagram.com/richardtmedhurst Independent media is constantly under threat and we need your help to keep going. Rokfin: https://rokfin.com/richardmedhurst Venmo: @RichardMedhurst CashApp: $RichardMedhurst Bitcoin address: bc1qnelpedy2q6qu67485w4wnmcya5am873zwxxvvp About Richard Medhurst: #RichardMedhurst is an independent journalist and commentator. Regular live streams and interviews with popular guests from the Left such as Glenn Greenwald, Mike Figueredo (Humanist Report) and Max Blumenthal (Grayzone). Fluent in English, Arabic, French, German, and having grown up across several continents, Medhurst’s show aims to provide a critical analysis of electoral politics and international affairs from an anti-imperialist viewpoint.