The suicide bombing in Taji today is far from the only violence. AFP's Prashant Rao Tweets this morning:
Prashant Rao
27 dead reported today -- 22 in
attack on Sahwa in Taji, 1 dead in Baghdad, and 4 killed overnight in
Kirkuk. Yesterday, death toll was 32.
We're on day four of a new month and in the first three Iraq Body Count's already counted 40 dead. Alsumaria adds that the corpse of a 13-year-old girl was discovered in west Kirkuk, she had been strangled to death. Of the four killed in Kirkuk that Prashant Rao notes, Kitabat explains it was four young Arab men who were playing dominoes and were shot dead at 10:35 pm local time by a person or persons with a 9mm pistol. UPI adds that "a student dormitory at a technical school in the" KRG has caught on fire leaving 3 people dead and fifty-six more injured.
Like the violence, the political landscape isn't getting any better. World Bulletin reports, "Secretary General of and the Spokesperson for the pashmarga ministry of the regional administration in north of Iraq, Jabbar Yaver on Monday said that no results have been achieved in talks on military issues between the Iraqi Kurdish regional administration and Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki." Karin Laub and Sameer N. Yacoub (AP) reported Saturday that Nouri declared a revolt against his government -- as may be taking place in Syria -- "will not happen." He had the nerve to say, "What happened in Syria will not happen in Iraq. In Iraq, there is freedom. There are no detained journalists or politicians." Journalists? Le Monde's Nadir Dendoune has been held for three weeks now. As for politicians, Nouri and his kangaroo court have forced Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi out of the country, not to mention forcing Nouri's former spokesperson Ali al-Dabbagh to flee the country at the end of last year as Nouri attempted to shove the corruption in the Russian arms deal off on his spokesperson.
Today Kitabat reports MP Jawad Alshahyla is calling Nouri al-Maliki out for his statement that Iraqis protesting currently and Kurds -- all Kurds -- are not part of Iraq. Jawad Alshahyla is part of Moqtada al-Sadr's parliamentary bloc. Parliament voted to limit the three presidencies to two terms -- that's Speaker of Parliament, President and Prime Minister. What's followed is Nouri attempting to strong arm the judiciary and his State of Law insisting the law is unconstitutional. Alsumaria reports that Kurdistan Alliance MP Mahmoud Othman is stating that the law could be set aside if the three in the positions -- Osama al-Nujaifi, Jalal Talabani and Nouri al-Maliki -- would all agree to limit themselves to two terms. Why anyone would trust Nouri to keep a promise at this late date is beyond me.
Confusion characterizes two stories out of Iraq. England wants to split Iraq into three parts -- Kitabat argues that here and here. The second confusion? Is Ayad Allawi, leader of Iraqiya advocating the disollution of Parliament and early elections? Al Mada appears to say yes, the Iraq Times says no.
And Allawi says?
اوصيت وزراء العراقية بالانسحاب من الحكومة لفشلها وإنعدام الشراكة لكن بعضهم رفض وهم يتحملون مسؤولية بقائهم في مناصب رمزية خالية من الصلاحيات
The Tweet refers to disolving Parliament but in the past tense. Ayad Allawi explains why he had recommended it (the government had failed and there was no partnership). The tone of the Tweet suggests that he had recommended the move but had given up on it.
If you're looking for something to listen to, Cindy Sheehan's Soapbox features Michael Parenti as the guest. That's much more productive than what I'll call Radio Dateline covering a 24-year-old case -- poorly covering, forgetting to include the press involvement. The difference being the Dateline crew does know how to have fun (see Ava and my "TV Review: Dateline New York ... Warm Fuzzy" from 2005) whereas the prigs covering a 24-year-old case on public radio this morning are just interested in playing tired games and avoiding commenting on actual cases that need attention right now to instead offer grandpas with tired stories about yesterday many decades ago (yes, the episode focuses on a 1989 case -- talk about being timely and pertinent). They've still failed, for example, to note Lynne Stewart's cancer. (Yes, I am referring to Law and Disorder Radio.) From Lynne's website, we'll note:
Please listen to these two updates, and write Lynne to let her know you’re thinking of her!
To send Lynne a letter, write:
Lynne Stewart #53504-054
Federal Medical Center, Carswell
PO Box 27137
Ft. Worth, TX 76127
Listen to Lynne’s doctor-daughter Zenobia talk about Lynne’s situation on WBAI’s Health Action Monday, January 28. (mp3)
Listen to Zenobia and Ralph Poynter discuss Lynne’s situation on the radio show Where We Live, from January 24, 2013. (mp3)
The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.
iraq dpa ramadan al-fatash afp salam faraj reuters
patrick markey kareem raheem kevin liffey prashant rao alsumaria al mada world bulletin the associated press karin laub sameer n. yacoub kitabat the iraq times
cindy sheehan lynne stewart
michael parenti
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