Sunday, December 18, 2022

Iraq

 

BBC NEWS reports:


At least nine police officers have been killed in a bomb and gun attack in northern Iraq.

The attack took place near the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, about 290km (180 miles) from the capital Baghdad on Sunday.

The Islamic State group has claimed responsibility.

IS has already said it was behind the planting of a roadside bomb that killed three Iraqi soldiers near Baghdad on Wednesday.


ISIS was not vanquished in 2014.  It was driven out areas that it was occupying.  Terrrorists really don't occupy.  They threaten, they scare, they carry out violent attacks. But during Nouri al-Maliki's second term as prime minister, that's how badly he had destroyed Iraq, areas of it could be held by a terrorist group.  Since losing control of those areas, ISIS has continued to stage attacks. 


In other news, Iraqi MMA   Amir Albazi is making headlines.







Nolan King and Ken Hathaway (YAHOO NEWS) report:


At UFC Fight Night 216, Albazi (16-1 MMA, 4-0 UFC) picked up his first TKO win in seven years when he finished promotional newcomer Alessandro Costa (12-3 MMA, 0-1 UFC) with a slick uppercut and follow-up punches at the UFC Apex.

After the fight, Albazi hammered home that he’s not playing around. He considers himself ready for the elite of the elite at 125 pounds.

“I wanted to come here to show not the same Amir,” Albazi told MMA Junkie and other reporters at a post-fight news conference. “I’ve already submitted two blackbelts before, so I wanted to put on a really good performance to show I’m a different level than these guys and that I’m ready for the top five. I’m ready for that belt. I hope you guys saw that. I hope you saw that I have knockout power, too. I can put people to sleep standing up, and I can put people to sleep on the ground. Just keep them coming, and I’ll keep taking them out.”


New topic, "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You - Ann Wilson of...'' contains some comments by me that at least one person has e-mailed to express offense to.


Get over it.


Seriously, I don't back down on art.  Don't.  If the remarks about Cecile The Failure had bothered, I might rethink.


But art is art.


No one put a gun to Ann Wilson's head and said, "Record 'All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You'."  She made that decision all by herself.  They were coming off BAD ANIMALS -- an album that sold three million copies in the US and had three top 20 singles including the number one hit "Alone."  They weren't being pushed around by the label.  Ann could have said no.


She said yes.


And the song became a huge hit.  For the record, I never liked the song.  For different reasons than Ann, I disliked the song.  But the fans loved it.  It was a huge hit.  It's their last big hit.  You don't thank the fans by going on tour and not performing one of your biggest hits.


She needs to get over herself.  She thinks she's better than the song.  She's not.  She's been ungrateful to the fans.  


Cher goes on stage and performs "Just Like Jesse James."  She doesn't like the song.  In part, she doesn't like it because of all the words.  But she performs it because fans love it.  (I love the song.)  And often she'll explain before she sings it, her relationship with the song.  Makes for an interesting concert moment.  


Unlike Heart, Cher has a ton of songs that were hits.  She's got 57 that made the top forty in the US (46  solo, 11 with Sonny) on the pop chart, the ac chart or the dance chart.  46.  On tour, she's going to have to emphasize some and cut out others. Heart doesn't even have half that -- they've got 28.  Most of which didn't make high in the top forty -- number 39 for example.


And they've written some so-so songs.


Years ago, I would be asked to tell my 'story' -- joke -- at various parties.  I stopped doing it because I realized it was so popular because people were seeing it as anti-woman.  That's not how it was intended.  It was to highlight bad writing -- I mentioned the women aspect because three women wrote it.


It went something like this.  I would note the bridge to "Dog And Butterfly" written by Ann and Nancy Wilson and Sue Ennis:


We're getting older the world's getting colderFor the life of me I don't know the reason whyMaybe it's livin' making us give inHearts rolling in taken back on the tideWe're balanced together ocean upon the sky


I would repeat, "Hearts rolling in taken back on the tide?  We're balanced together ocean upon the sky?"  WTF was that supposed to mean?  A bridge so bad it took three women to write it.


Again, I noticed upon repeat tellings that some glommed on the three women aspect.  It was never meant to be anti-women.  But I haven't told or mentioned that since 1982.


I mention it now because a lot of the songs Heart wrote don't deserve to be sung again.  "Mistral Wind," for example.  Even "Even It Up."  "Even It Up" struggled to number 33 and listen to that bridge and grasp that no one needs to pretend that very bad rough draft is an actual song.


I'm sorry but your fans paid your bills, Ann Wilson, you need to stop being so damn picky and perform your hits.  You're not a great writer.  Nancy's not a great guitarist.  You were lucky to have fans and you shouldn't be spitting on them by refusing to perform one of your biggest hits.  Like their other biggest hits  "Alone," "These Dreams" and "What About Love," Heart did not write "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You."


In fact, they only wrote one of their top ten hits; "Magic Man."

The other top ten hits -- "Alone," "These Dreams," "All I Want To Do Is Make Love To You," "Who Will You Run To," "What About Love," "Never," "Nothing At All" and "Tell It Like It Is," were all written by people not in the group -- Dianne Warren, Holly Knight, etc.


The following sites updated:




Posted by at