To be a woman in Iraq . . .

Margaret Griffis (ANTIWAR.COM) notes, "In Basra, gunmen killed a woman who owned a beauty shop."  The murder continues the series of murders targeting Iraqi women of late.  Robin Smith (NEWS.COM) reported Friday:

“I’M not afraid of the one who denies the existence of God, but I’m really afraid of the one who kills and chops off heads to prove the existence of God.”

That’s what Tara Fares wrote on Instagram to her 2.8 million followers in July. Two months later she was murdered in a brazen, daylight attack.
The model known for her risque posts was shot several times by a man who leaned in to the window of her white Porsche as she drove through Baghdad last week.
Her death is the latest in a string of attacks on popular women and activists who dare to speak up for change in Muslim-majority Iraq.

It follows the death of a woman known as “Iraq’s Barbie”, plastic surgeon Dr Rafeef al-Yassiri, who many believe was poisoned over her work offering cosmetic surgery victims of war.
Soad al-Ali, another prominent female activist, was gunned down in the southern Iraqi city of Basra in what police described as a “purely personal” attack.

Nishita Jha (BUZZFEED) notes:

“All women entering public life are targets,” Hanaa Edwar, a women’s rights activist based in Baghdad, told BuzzFeed News. “Fares had more than 2 million followers. All of the women killed were courageous, ambitious women with strong personalities.”
As a consequence, Edwar said, many Iraqi women are withdrawing from public life.
“We have seen so many businesswomen in Basra stop their activities; young women in media have gone into hiding; women are deactivating or changing their social media profiles. Some of them have changed homes, are living low-key and under the radar. These killings are spreading fear and terrifying young women and feminists.”

Liz Sly‏Verified account @LizSly Oct 2

The latest twist for Iraqi women: the former Miss Iraq receives a text message saying “you’ll be next”. Four are already dead. An effort to remove women from the public space. Terrifying.

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1. Sandra Lee BANKS‏ @SANDRAleelee67 7h7 hours ago

   High-profile women gunned down in broad daylight in Iraq — sparking concerns of a ‘witch-hunt’

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OmerXatat‏ @XatatOmer 9h9 hours ago

#Yanar_Mohammed interviewed by the German DW about the killings of women in Iraq while in the airport - leaving for safety. This is not about a conservative society, it is about a misogynist Islamic militia rule supported by Iran.

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The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley -- updated:

The Official Jody Watley Website

Jody Watley and SRL. Thank you to UK Radio.

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Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills)

Cat Power coverage

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Kat's Korner: WANDERER proves Cat Power is still the greatest

Kat:  Cat Power's new album is called WANDERER and she is -- so is the music she makes.



Cat's left MATADOR after a battle where they apparently forgot that they were an independent album and wanted her to churn out cookie cutter songs instead of pursue her art.  If the tale is true, MATADOR's in a heap of trouble.  They'd already lost Liz Phair and now Cat Power?  Is there a reason for them to be around other than their back catalogue?

Cat's back catalogue includes great albums like YOU ARE FREE and SUN and JUKEBOX.  It also includes THE GREATEST -- not just a classic for Cat but a classic period.  In 2006, I compared it to the classic DUSTY IN MEMPHIS.  Dusty produced many solid albums -- and a ton of great singles -- in her career but only one qualifies as a classic.  With WANDERER, Cat manages to grab a second classic album.

WANDERER is bluesy, yes, but it's also tart and flows like syrup.  It's the Georgia peach of Cat's Atlanta roots -- the peach that's been grown in Georgia for over 150 years but started out in China, the original wanderer.  Song after song find Chan moving, a foot out the door, a look over the shoulder.  "I am leaving," she sings in "Me Voy"; "I been wandering," in "Wanderer"; "When I walk from the bright side," in "Robbin Hood"; and she's singing about emotional changes as well as physical such as "The courage to turn it around" in "Nothing Really Matters" and "You forbade yourself to think/ See where you are as you begin to sink" in "In Your Face."  Where are we and what are we becoming -- that seems to be the question WANDERER is asking.

Bite into the album and it's 11 tracks, savor it because it's all  one delicious Georgia peach.


Mother, I wanna hold your hand
Father, I need you to be a man
Sister, if there's any help in me
I'm always on my way
Little brother, let's get on to travel
Let's get up to something
Little sister, can I have this dance
You're on the horizon I cannot stay 
You're on the horizon I'm on my way
You're on the horizon
And he looked the other way


That's from "Horizon."



C.I. noted it was her favorite song and it's probably the heart of the album.  But there are so many wonderful moments throughout the album, moments that are classics and come together to form a classic album.  Each track adds to the total portrait and journey.  Like Sade, Cat Power makes true albums, recordings meant to be heard in total.

In better times, we knew the importance of albums.  You'd put one on for a date -- to make out too -- or to relax too -- maybe with a glass of something or a something rolled.  You'd enjoy it, savor it.  Now we're back to the bouncy bouncy of the 50s, pretending that "All About That Bass" has any more value than the equally dopey "How Much Is That Doggie In The Window." 




Fortunately, though MATADOR didn't appear to grasp this, real artists like Cat Power do create a following. 





"Woman," her song with Lana Del Rey, is a great song, probably won't pop up on top forty, bubble gum radio.  But it's a great song.  And if you appreciate music, you can get into the song and really appreciate the song.  The label's role is to get the word out.  MATADOR, and "Woman" sounds a lot like a reply to MATADOR, didn't seem to understand that.  They appeared to believe that their job was to hold their hands beneath Ed Sheeran's and catch his droppings like "New Man" which you'll toss around, fling at your cages and then at the people.  They don't seem to grasp art at all.

Or, sadly, what a wonderful trip WANDERER provides.  Cat's caught the same wanderlust like Joni Mitchell did on HERIJA and the results are equally impressive. 

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Avenatti"

Isaiah's latest THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Avenatti."  As Michael Avenatti chases an ambulance, Senator Dianne Feinstein asks, "Who would have guessed that an ambulance chasing, porn actress representing con artist could hurt our party?"  Isaiah archives his comics at THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS.