Saturday, September 19, 2020

Cost of War pretends it's independent -- and UN mandate renewed for another year

 David Vine writes at THE GUARDIAN:


Since George W Bush declared a “global war on terror” following al-Qaida’s September 11 attacks, the wars that US forces have launched and engaged in have displaced an estimated 37 million people, according to a new report I helped produce with teams from American University and Brown University’s Costs of War Project.

The 37 million people displaced include 8 million refugees and asylum seekers and 29 million displaced within Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Pakistan, the Philippines, Somalia, Syria, and Yemen. Displacing 37 million people is equivalent to removing all the residents of Texas and Virginia combined or almost all of Canada.

Given questions about even the best international displacement statistics, our estimate of 37 million displaced is a conservative one. The true total displaced by the US post-9/11 wars could be closer to 48–59 million – more people than in all of England.


It's just all equally spread out, right?  That's the way the text plays.  That's a cute way of ignoring reality.  The displacement in Iraq had already become the biggest displacement in the Middle East since 1947 -- and that was before Bully Boy Bush left the White House.  The displacement didn't stop after he left.  If you check the graph, you'll notice 9.2 million displaced puts Iraq well in the lead.  But, hey, you'd have to be an idiot or someone not paying attention to fail to notice that Cost of War put a pause on concerns about Iraq starting in 2009.  When Vine does note that some may have concerns over some of the countries included, he still doesn't convey the truth:

Some may criticize the inclusion of countries outside Afghanistan and Iraq in our calculation. Some may critique the inclusion of Syria (although our conservative methodology includes well under half of those cumulatively displaced since the start of Syria’s civil war). We note that even if we were to focus only on the 14.5 million displaced in Afghanistan and Iraq, that total would exceed displacement in any war since 1900 except the second world war.


Iraq, at 9.2 million, has nearly twice as many displaced as Afghanistan (5.3 million).  Iraq can never get its fair share -- even when counting the tragedies.  


And Cost Of War  wants to be taken seriously in 2020.  Are we all supposed to forget how certain leaders on the Cost of War project there were part of Barack Obama's campaign and how, once he was elected, they really scaled back their alleged 'concern' for the Iraqi people.  Is that academia because it's always struck me as nothing more than whoring.

Linda Blimes, you little whore, getting on that advisory board -- was that your payment?  Should I say, was that your only payment?  No, it wasn't.  Barack appointed you to two advisory boards.  And you were never really 'independent,' were you?  Independent people wouldn't have served in Bill Clinton's administration, would they?  But, hey, the men left the money on the dresser for you, didn't they, Linda?

The Iraq War never ends and the occupation goes on and on forever.  Friday, the United Nations Security Council announced:

The Security Council, in a videoconference meeting* on 18 September, announced its decision to renew the mandates of the United Nations Investigative Team to Promote Accountability for Crimes Committed by [. . .] ISIL (UNITAD) — and the Special Adviser leading it — until 21 September 2021.

In unanimously adopting resolution 2544 (2020), the Council took note of the request by Iraq in its 16 September letter (document S/2020/909).  It also decided that any further extension would be determined at the request of Iraq’s Government, or any other Government that has requested the Team to collect evidence of acts that may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity or genocide committed by Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Da’esh) on its territory, in accordance with resolution 2379 (2017).



In other news, June 6th is the day being floated by Iraq's Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kahimi for parliamentary elections.  On that front, Zhelwan Z. Wali (RUDAW) notes:

Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi urged parliament’s speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi to press for the “swift” passage of the draft electoral law at a meeting on Saturday.

The top leaders "discussed the election law, and stressed the importance of passing it swiftly, in order to move forward with holding early elections next June," according to a tweet by PM Kadhimi's office. 


Here the two are in a Tweet that Mustafa posted:

رئيس مجلس الوزراء يبحث، خلال استقباله رئيس مجلس النواب ، مستجدات الأوضاع في البلاد، سياسيا وأمنيا واقتصاديا، وأهمية تكامل العمل بين السلطتين التنفيذية والتشريعية، والذي من شأنه الإسراع في تشريع القوانين التي تخدم مختلف شرائح المجتمع.
Image


That Tweet notes that they discussed economic, security and and political issues and the need for the executive branch and the legislative branch to work together.  The Tweet below from Mustafa notes that they discussed the need to pass an election law:


كما بحث الجانبان قانون الانتخابات وأهمية الانتهاء منه سريعا، للمضي قدما بإجراء الانتخابات المبكّرة في حزيران المقبل، وتنسيق الدور الرقابي لمجلس النواب، ودعم الجهود الحكومية في مكافحة الفساد .





 

Fight For It (Diana Ross)

 

Diana Ross' "Fight For It."  First appeared as the B-side of her hit single "Swept Away."  Included on the 2014 re-issue of her SWEPT AWAY album.  "Fight For It" was written by Diana Ross, Bill Wray, Peppy Castro and Ray Chew.





Mountain Greenery (Diana Ross & The Supremes)

 "Mountain Greenery" is from the album THE SUPREMES SING ROGERS & HART -- an album Diana Ross and the Supremes recorded following the ABC STAGE 67 presentation of ROGERS & HART TODAY which featured Diana and the Supremes along with Bobby Darin (see video below), the Mamas and the Papas, Count Basie and his orchestra and others performing the songs of Richard Rogers and Lorenz Hart.










Just Say, Just Say (Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye)

 

From the album DIANA & MARVIN, Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye singing Ashford & Simpson's "Just Say, Just Say."



"What I've told you won't be reported on the BBC" | Craig Murray on Assange extradition

 

"It's impossible to sit through every day of the hearing and believe this is a fair and impartial process - because it isn't." Former diplomat Craig Murray discusses Assange's extradition hearing and new disputes over the publisher putting people in danger with his leaks. RT UK is a channel based in London covering British news and politics, protests and interviews with people who make a difference. SUBSCRIBE: http://youtube.com/RTUKnews FOLLOW ON INSTA: https://www.instagram.com/rtuknews/ FOLLOW ON TWITTER: http://twitter.com/RTUKnews LIKE ON FACEBOOK: http://fb.com/RTUKnews READ MORE http://rt.com/uk/



Caleb Maupin Interviews: Howie Hawkins - A Green New Deal


Howie Hawkins talks about what the Green New Deal would do for America. Be sure to like, comment below, and subscribe for future content! Support Caleb's work: https://www.patreon.com/calebmaupin http://www.calebmaupin.com Main Channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/Clevelan... Newsletter: https://calebmaupin.com/sma/subscribe... Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/calebmaupini... Twitter: https://twitter.com/calebmaupin?ref_s...



 

Roseanne Barr Interviews Ryan Long

 






Kamala Harris CNN Interview Exposes Huge Vulnerabilities | Tim Black

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SHOCK POLL: 60% say TWO-PARTY system is NOT WORKING

 

On today's What America's Thinking , a new Hill-HarrisX poll finds 60 percent of registered voters believe there needs to be a more viable third party to have an effective political system while 40 percent say the current two-party system is working. Lee Drutman, senior fellow in the Political Reform program at New America and Author of Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: The Case for Multiparty Democracy in America, joins Hill TV to discuss. This survey was conducted online within the United States from September 10 - 14 among 3,758 registered voters by HarrisX. The sampling margin of error of this poll is plus or minus 1.60 percentage points. The results reflect a nationally representative sample of registered voters. Results were weighted for age within gender, region, race/ethnicity, income, political party, and education where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population. Link to Breaking the Two-Party Doom Loop: https://global.oup.com/academic/produ...







Ballot Victory! Texas Greens Candidates with Howie & Angela

 

Join Howie Hawkins and Angela Walker along with Green Party candidates in Texas who successfully fought back against voter suppression and won the right for people of Texas to have the democratic choice to vote for progressive Green candidates this November. Let’s celebrate!



What Ruth Bader Ginsburg's Death Means w/ Law Prof Samuel Moyn

 

Ruth Bader Ginsburg died today at the age of 87, following four separate instances of cancer and cancer treatments in 1999, 2009, 2018, and 2020. She was nominated to the Supreme Court of the United States by then-President Bill Clinton in 1993. Samuel Moyn, Henry R. Luce Professor of Jurisprudence at Yale University (https://twitter.com/samuelmoyn), joins Katie to discuss Associate Justice Ginsburg's legacy. Please support The Katie Halper Show on Patreon https://www.patreon.com/thekatiehalpe... Follow Katie on Twitter: https://twitter.com/kthalps




Roseanne Barr Interviews Steve McGrew aka Liberal Larry

 

That's a spoof, above.  Just in case anyone can't grasp it.

Some drive-by e-mails are from people furious with me for posting two Roseanne videos earlier this week.  They're threatening not to ever come back to this site.

Oh, heavens!  Whatever will I do!!!

We'll do just fine without you.  If this site has nothing for you, go find one that does.  Keesha long ago said this site was "a private conversation in a public space."  We have our community newsletters when we want to have a private conversation in a private space.

Not one community member has complained about Roseanne's video being posted her.


I know they wouldn't because my feelings on Roseanne are well known.

I know Roseanne.  I've known her for many years.  

She is not perfect anymore than I am.  

But she's a good person and she cares about the world.  She's not a racist and you're an idiot if you believe she is.

ABC managed to silence someone they didn't care for politically and to also steal her money-making creation.  That's a story and it's one that so many have ignored to instead pimp the lie of "Roseanne's racist!"

Roseanne supports Donald Trump.  Good for her.  If she's something in, good for her.  I don't.  But my friends do not have to vote like I do.  Roseanne is a Socialist and her concerns have always been class concerns.  She's concerned about the working class -- which is made of up every race.  She felt Donald was more responsive to them than Hillary Clinton would have been.  I don't disagree with her on that.  And, while I do disagree with her on Donald, I do understand where she's coming from and how she reached the conclusions she did.  

I have friends who think Barack Obama was a president of peace.  Clearly, I don't feel that way about the liar who promised he'd bring all US troops home but never did.  (Even the 'withdrawal' -- actually a drawdown -- did not bring all US troops home and then, of course, he began sending US troops back into Iraq -- who could have guessed that?  Oh, wait, I wrote that he would do that here back in 2007 when he was running for the party's nomination.)  But that doesn't mean my friends who feel that way about Barack are no longer my friends.  I don't dump a friend because we have a differing viewpoint.  

Roseanne is guilty of no crime.  She's a good person.  Her Tweet was deliberately distorted in order to silence her and  -- remember this "and" -- to rip her off.

THE CONNORS does not get anywhere the number of viewers that ROSEANNE did.  So why is it still on?  Because they're able to keep more money now that she's not on the show and they blackmailed her into signing over her creation.  No one has ever been asked to do that before.  Grasp that.  Grips would have been out of their jobs if she hadn't done that.  That's the only reason Roseanne signed away her rights.  They used the one thing they knew would force her hand -- threating the jobs of working class people.  To save those jobs, Roseanne signed away rights.  She never should have been put in that position and shame on anyone who can't call that out and can't call ABC, Sarah Gilbert and every other piece of s**t that is now benefitting from ripping off the creations of an artist.  May they all burn in hell.  I'm not joking here.  I don't f**k around when it comes to art.  (I am not, however, a lunatic like Diane Warren who confuses bric-a-brac with art.  See Betty's "Whatever Happened to Baby Diane Warren?" and the only thing I would have added to Betty's post is "Brenad, this is a Golden Globe! It's sacred!"  Remember that?  We all laugh when Goldie Hawn's character says that in FIRST WIVES CLUB but pathetic Diane Warren has a fit over Kanye and the Grammy.  She's become a loon -- and a very sad loon.)

What they did to Roseanne was disgusting. 

And that is not a new thought for or from me.


You can see the following pieces written A.T. (After the Tweet):

 "TV: Comedy really is hard," "TV: Roseanne didn't kill ROSEANNE, ABC did," "TV: Things to ponder," "It was Rhoda's wedding (Ava and C.I.)," "TV: Woah, Nellie!," "TV: MURPHY BROWN was bad but Channing Dungey's far worse" and "TV: Does TV ever change?"

Ava and I wrote all of those pieces.  We also noted Roseanne many times B.T. (Before the Tweet) and here are some of those pieces including one we wrote with Marcia:

"TV: Sometimes you can go home again," "TV: Reality and fakery," "TV: Who gets the green light, who gets the work?" and "Judd The Sexist (Marcia, Ann, Ava and C.I.)"


If it upsets you that Roseanne exists or that I post a video of her, you probably should go somewhere else.  Life's too short.  And if you ever think you can bully me into walking away from a friend or an issue, you don't know s**t about me.  That only makes me dig in deeper.  I've never been ruled by fear and I never will be.   





#USArmy #MedalOfHonor #ServeWithHonor Press Conference: Medal of Honor Nominee Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne

 

[When we covered this last Saturday, I wasn't aware Sgt Payne had held a press conference or we would have included this video then.]

This press conference offers members of the media the opportunity to speak with Army Sgt. Maj. Thomas “Patrick” Payne. Payne will receive the Medal of Honor for conspicuous gallantry in support of Operation Inherent Resolve in Hawija, Iraq. On Oct. 22, 2015, then-Sgt. 1st Class Payne served as an assistant team leader during a contested rescue mission that liberated 75 Iraqi hostages being held by ISIS in a prison compound and resulted in 20 enemies killed in action. President Donald J. Trump will present the Medal of Honor to Sgt. Maj. Payne at a White House ceremony on Sept. 11. (Courtesy of the Army Multimedia and Visual Information Directorate) About U.S. Army: The Army Mission – our purpose – remains constant: To deploy, fight and win our nation’s wars by providing ready, prompt and sustained land dominance by Army forces across the full spectrum of conflict as part of the joint force. Connect with U.S. Army online: Web: https://www.army.mil Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/USarmy/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/USArmy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/usarmy/ Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/soldier... #USArmy #MedalOfHonor #ServeWithHonor





Howie Hawkins Interview: Democrats Removing Me From Ballot May Cost Joe Biden Wisconsin

 

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#UnconditionalLove #SusannaHoffs #OfficialMusicVideo Susanna Hoffs - Unconditional Love (Official Video)

 

"Unconditional Love" by Susanna Hoffs Listen to Susanna Hoffs: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/listenYD Subscribe to the official Susanna Hoffs YouTube channel: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/subscribe... Watch more Susanna Hoffs videos: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/listenYD/... Follow Susanna Hoffs: Facebook: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/followFI/... Instagram: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/followII/... Twitter: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/followTI/... Website: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/followWI/... Spotify: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/followSI/... YouTube: https://SusannaHoffs.lnk.to/subscribe... Lyrics: It doesn't matter what I say 'Cause it always seems you're taking me the wrong way But if you could read my mind You'd see, I fight myself all the time When I see you I surrender, oh Unconditional love (Love) love (love) oh-woe (love) (Love) love (love) oh-oh (love) #UnconditionalLove #SusannaHoffs #OfficialMusicVideo




#TheJimmyDoreShow BREAKING! Ruth Ginsburg R.I.P. Democrats Posturing Begins!

 

Become a Premium Member: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/join Go to a Live Show: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/tour Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jimmydorecomedy/yt... LIVESTREAM & LIVE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS: Email: https://mailchi.mp/jimmydorecomedy/yt... Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmy_dore Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimmyDoreShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejimmydor... WATCH / LISTEN FREE: Videos: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/watch Podcasts: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/podcasts (Also available on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.) ACCESS TO FULL REPLAYABLE LIVESTREAMS: Become a Premium Member: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/join SUPPORT THE JIMMY DORE SHOW: Make a Donation: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/donate Buy Official Merch (Tees, Sweatshirts, Hats, Bags): https://jimmydorecomedy.com/store DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP: App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jimmy-d... Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de... Jimmy Dore on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jimmy_Dore Stef Zamorano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/miserablelib Edited by Koki Miyazaki About The Jimmy Dore Show: #TheJimmyDoreShow is a hilarious and irreverent take on news, politics and culture featuring Jimmy Dore, a professional stand up comedian, author and podcaster. With over 5 million downloads on iTunes, the show is also broadcast on KPFK stations throughout the country.







Friday, September 18, 2020

Summit 2020: The Years of Repair

 

ES: https://youtu.be/YviuIfugNI0 FR: https://youtu.be/JSIjOk0cXus PT (BR): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wq9Hy... The Covid-19 pandemic has imposed lock downs around the world. How can we harness the new pace of our lives to heal the deep rifts in our societies? Join Naomi Klein and other members of the PI Council to discuss how we can use this time for reparation on multiple fronts: climate, race, economy, infrastructure. ••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• SUPPORT US It is time for progressives of the world to unite. Show your support. https://progressive.international/sup... FOLLOW US ON SOCIAL MEDIA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/progintl Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/progintl Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/progintl_en





#TheJimmyDoreShow FRACKED Integrity! Biden Supporter's SELF OWN!

 

Become a Premium Member: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/join Go to a Live Show: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/tour Subscribe to Our Newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/jimmydorecomedy/yt... LIVESTREAM & LIVE SHOW ANNOUNCEMENTS: Email: https://mailchi.mp/jimmydorecomedy/yt... Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmy_dore Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JimmyDoreShow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thejimmydor... WATCH / LISTEN FREE: Videos: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/watch Podcasts: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/podcasts (Also available on iTunes, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or your favorite podcast player.) ACCESS TO FULL REPLAYABLE LIVESTREAMS: Become a Premium Member: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/join SUPPORT THE JIMMY DORE SHOW: Make a Donation: https://jimmydorecomedy.com/donate Buy Official Merch (Tees, Sweatshirts, Hats, Bags): https://jimmydorecomedy.com/store DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP: App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/jimmy-d... Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/de... Jimmy Dore on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Jimmy_Dore Stef Zamorano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/miserablelib Edited by Koki Miyazaki About The Jimmy Dore Show: #TheJimmyDoreShow is a hilarious and irreverent take on news, politics and culture featuring Jimmy Dore, a professional stand up comedian, author and podcaster. With over 5 million downloads on iTunes, the show is also broadcast on KPFK stations throughout the country.




Six Reasons Julian Assange Should Be Thanked, Not Punished

 Six Reasons Julian Assange Should Be Thanked, Not Punished

By World BEYOND War, September 18, 2020
https://worldbeyondwar.org/assange/

1. The effort to extradite and prosecute Julian Assange for journalism is a threat to future journalism that challenges power and violence, but a defense of the media practice of propagandizing for war. While the New York Times benefitted from Assange’s work, its only reporting on his current hearing is an article about technical glitches in the court proceedings — utterly avoiding the content of those proceedings, even falsely suggesting that the content was inaudible and otherwise unobtainable. The corporate U.S. media silence is deafening. Not only does President Donald Trump’s effort to imprison Assange (or, as he has publicly advocated in the past, kill him) conflict with media fictions about Russia, and contradict fundamental pretenses about U.S. respect for freedom of the press, but it also serves an important function that is clearly in the interest of media outlets that promote wars. It punishes someone who dared to expose the malevolence, cynicism, and criminality of U.S. wars.

2. The Collateral Murder video and the Iraq and Afghanistan war logs documented some of the greatest crimes of recent decades. Even the exposure of the misdeeds of a U.S. political party was a public service, not a crime — certainly not the crime of “treason” against the United States by a non-U.S. citizen, a concept of treason that would make the entire world subject to imperial dictates — and certainly not the crime of “espionage” which has to be committed on behalf of a government, not on behalf of the public interest. If U.S. courts were to prosecute the actual crimes exposed by Julian Assange and his colleagues and sources, they would have little time available for prosecuting journalism.

3. The idea that publishing government documents is something other than journalism, that real journalism requires hiding government documents while describing them to the public, is a recipe for misleading the public. Claims that Assange assisted a source in criminally (if morally and democratically) obtaining documents lack evidence and appear to be a smokescreen for the prosecution of basic journalistic practices. The same goes for claims that Assange’s journalism harmed people or risked harming people. Exposing war is the very opposite of harming people. Assange withheld documents and asked the U.S. government what to redact prior to publishing. That government chose not to redact anything, and now blames Assange — without evidence — for a small number of deaths in wars that have killed huge numbers of people. We have heard testimony this week that the Trump administration offered Assange a pardon if he would reveal a source. The offense of refusing to reveal a source is an act of journalism.

4. For years the United Kingdom maintained a pretense that it sought Assange for criminal accusations from Sweden. The idea that the United States sought to prosecute the act of reporting on its wars was mocked as paranoid fantasy. For global society to now accept this outrage would be a significant blow to press freedom globally and to the independence of any vassal state from U.S. demands. Those demands tend to be, first and foremost, to buy more weapons, and, secondarily, to participate in the use of those weapons.

5. The United Kingdom, even outside of the European Union, has laws and standards. The extradition treaty it has with the United States prohibits extradition for political purposes. The United States would punish Assange brutally pre-trial and subsequent to any trial. The proposal to isolate him in a cell in a prison in Colorado would amount to a continuation of the torture that UN special rapporteur on torture Nils Melzer says Assange has already been subjected to for years. An “espionage” trial would deny Assange the right to put forward any case in his own defense that spoke to his motivations. A fair trial would also be impossible in a country whose top politicians have convicted Assange in the media for years. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has called Wikileaks a “non-state hostile intelligence service.” Presidential candidate Joe Biden has called Assange a “hi-tech terrorist.”

6. The legal process thus far has not been legal. The United States breached Assange’s right to client-lawyer confidentiality. During the last year at the Ecuadoran Embassy, a contractor spied on Assange 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including during his private meetings with his attorneys. Assange has been denied the ability to properly prepare for the current hearings. The court has displayed extreme bias in favor of the prosecution. Were corporate media outlets reporting on the details of this travesty, they would soon find themselves treated in a hostile manner by those in power; they would find themselves on the side of the serious journalists; they would find themselves on the side of Julian Assange.

##

--

David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of WorldBeyondWar.org and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson's books include War Is A Lie. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org. He hosts Talk Nation Radio. He is a 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019 Nobel Peace Prize Nominee.

Follow him on Twitter: @davidcnswanson and FaceBook.

Help support DavidSwanson.org, WarIsACrime.org, and TalkNationRadio.org by clicking here: http://davidswanson.org/donate.

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Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report on M4BL and the Black National Convention