Monday, March 12, 2012

At least 12 dead as violence continues to flare in Iraq

Like the ongoing occupation, violence has never ceased in Iraq. It continues today. CNN reports armed assailants invaded the Mayor of al-Dhuloiya's office today and killed 5 of his guards while, in Baghdad, assailants "robbed a pair of jewelry stores" and had "a shootout with police." AFP adds that the Ministry of the Interior says both owners of the jewelry store were killed, 2 police officers and 2 bystanders were killed and ten people were left injured -- that adds up to six dead; however, the hospital states that 7 died and fourteen were attacked (go with the hospital figures), the Tarmiyah municipal headquarters were attacked early this morning leaving 3 police officers dead and a police patrol came across the assailants nearby resulting in 2 police officers shot dead. Zee News notes Tarmiyah mayor Jassim Mohammed Saleh's home was attacked yesterday resulting in the death of 1 bodyguard and four of the mayor's female relatives. Xinhua identifies the four women as the mayor's "wife, sister and two daughters."

Maybe if Nouri al-Maliki had appointed heads of the security ministries back in December 2010, violence would have decreased? Instead, he's left the positions of Minister of the Interior, Minister of Defense and Minister of National Security vacant for 15 months and counting. He's in charge of them in the meantime -- and doing a lousy job.

Al Mada reports that the fifth planning and prep meeting for the national conference is supposed to take place today. Since December 21st, Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi and President Jalal Talabani have been calling for a national conference to address the nation's political crisis. Nouri's latest stalling tactic is to insist that the national conference must wait until after the Arab Summit which is scheduled to be held in Baghdad on March 29th. If it takes place, Nouri is supposed to represent Iraq the way others will represent other countries. Presiding over the summit is supposed to be Jalal Talabani. Over the weekend, Kitabat reported that Talabani's latest trip to the Mayo Clinic in the US makes many believe he won't be back in Iraq in time for the summit and won't be able to preside over it. (Past trips to the Mayo Clinic usually require Jalal to spend a week to a week and a half in the US. If this trip is like previous ones, he should be able to make it back to Iraq in time for the summit.) It's been a period of bad news for Talabani which kicked off with last month's killing of American teacher Jeremiah Small in the KRG. The killer then took his own life. The killer was Beyar Talabani, Jalal's great-nephew.

In today's New York Times, Jack Healy reports on the targeting of Iraqi youth and notes the image problems as the Arab Summit looms, "Many details of what Iraqi newspapers have called the 'emo killings' are murky, but the uproar comes at an awkward moment for Iraq. The country has been preparing to showcase itself to the world as host of a high-profile meeting of Arab leaders in late March, the first major diplomatic event here since American forces withdrew in December. But the news that young men in tight T-shirts and skinny jeans are being beaten to death with cement blocks and dumped in the streets has threatened to overshadow the new palm trees and fresh paint."

In political news, Al Rafidayn reports that Ammar al-Hakim and Hadi al-Amiri's organizations (the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq and the Badr Organization) issued a statement on Sunday announcing that they were two separate entities. The Badr Organization was previously the Badr Brigade, the armed militia of ISCI. Last November, Al Rafidayn reported on the unofficial split between the two and quoted Ammar al-Hakim declaring that, in the 2010 elections and others since 2005, ISCI was weighed down by the Badr Organization.



On this week's Law and Disorder Radio -- a weekly hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights), topics explored included a squatters museum, AIPAC, Michael Smith's book tour for Who Killed Che? (written by Michael Smith and Michael Ratner), attorney Wolfgang Kaleck on the Columbian Trade Unionist murder and Cyrus McGoldrick on police surveillance of American Muslims.


The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.




























Posted by at

The never-ending targeting in Iraq

Iraqi Christians have suffered wave of attacks since the start of the Iraq War, the most brazen being the October 31, 2010 attack on Baghdad's Our Lady of Salvation Church. These waves of attacks led many to become refugees which is why they make up a surprisingly large percent of Iraq's external refugees. Within Iraq, they have relocated to northern Iraq for safety. Jack Healy (New York Times) reported yesterday that lack of jobs and safety concerns are resulting in they're leaving northern Iraq and heading towards "Turkey, Jordan, Europe and the United States." Those who remain will face additional problems. Ahmed Mohammed (Al Mada) reports on the literacy law being discussed by Parliament and by educators which would foster education through a series of measures -- one of which would be withholding family rations cards if a family does not send their children to school. When waves of attack start on, for example, Iraqi Christians, the first thing many parents do is keep their children home. They are the ones who would most likely be punished by the measure.

Iraq was once the cradle of civilization. It was an advanced country. Then the US wars and the sanctions wore it down. After the 2003 invasion, a new trend emerged -- Iraq's educated class began fleeing the country. This was dubbed "the brain drain." It didn't have to happen. But the US government didn't rate an educated class as important, they were too busy getting in bed with thugs and exiles and exiled thugs. Thugs scare, thugs intimidate and that was the role the US government wanted them to play, to throw off and scare the Iraqi people so that there would be little resistance to the plans the US decided to impose.

An educated class could organize, could put forward leaders, could put forward opposition. So the US was more than happy to set the thugs loose throughout Iraq to ensure that didn't happen. And thugs fear knowledge so they especially loved targeting the doctors and the professors and the engineers, etc.

The thugs have terrorized throughout the war and occupation. And other than the thugs, few have experienced safety.

The educated, Iraqi women, Iraqi Christians, other religious and ethnic minorities and Iraq's LGBT community and now the Emos. At some point, a real leader would be calling this nonsense out. A real leader -- and goodness knows Iraq needs one -- would point out to the Iraqi people that this is terrorism and it has to stop, that a small band of thugs have to stop attacking Iraqi citizens and that this theocratic b.s. that everyone will look and act and think alike is not going to cut in modern Iraq.

Until a leader can say those words, Iraq doesn't have a leader. Thugs have a leader, Iraqis have none.




That's Sky News with a video report.

Simon Newton: Even for a country used to terrible violence, these killings have been shocking. The rise of Emo culture among some young Iraqis hasn't been welcome in all quarters. Despite the infiltration of Western influence, many in the country remain deeply conservative. Sarah is an Emo but too frightened to show her face on camera. She interacts with other followers around the world using Facebook.

Sarah: There are special events where we support the Emo group. We meet regularly to decide which ones to attend.

["Famous Last Words" by My Chemical Romance plays.]

Simon Newton: Like most youth cultures, Emo has its own music, fashion and lifestyle -- much of it revolving around themes of emotional pain and andorgeny -- a blurring of the sexes. Sarah says she only meets fellow Emos with her parents approval and admits her family are divided by her lifestyle.

Sarah: Sometimes we have heated discussions at home. I usually stay silent and usually don't go to gatherings.

Simon Newton: Nine Emo youngsters were bludgeoned to death and seven shot recently in Sadr City. The Interior Ministry says it's monitoring the movement claiming rumors of homosexuality and mass suicide means it's a danger to wider society

[Official babbling, I'm not interested.]

Simon Newton: Being gay remains taboo in Iraq. Human rights groups say 750 men and women have been murdered for their sexual orientation. But with clerics linking the Emo lifestyle to homosexuality, the fear is that figure will only rise. Simon Newton, Sky News.

NME adds, "Reports also indicate that militias in the Iraqi capital Baghdad's conservative Shia neighbourhood of Sadr City have distributed leaflets with the names of 20 young people that they say should be punished for being 'emo'."

There's been no statement from the United Nations so far. There's been no statement from the US State Dept or the White House. Nothing but silence.

On this week's Law and Disorder Radio -- a weekly hour long program that airs Monday mornings at 9:00 a.m. EST on WBAI and around the country throughout the week, hosted by attorneys Heidi Boghosian, Michael S. Smith and Michael Ratner (Center for Constitutional Rights), topics explored included a squatters museum, AIPAC, Michael Smith's book tour for Who Killed Che? (written by Michael Smith and Michael Ratner), attorney Wolfgang Kaleck on the Columbian Trade Unionist murder and Cyrus McGoldrick on police surveillance of American Muslims.

The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.



























Posted by at

Sunday, March 11, 2012

And the war drags on . . .

The targeting of Iraqi youth continues. Specifically, if you are or are thought to be Emo or gay, you are targeted. Mohammed Tawfeeq (CNN) speaks with a gay Iraqi youth who explains, "Ten days ago, I received a letter from militiamen threatening me that if they found me then they will not kill me like other 'perverts' but they will cut my body into pieces." The letter reads, "We strongly warn every male and female debauchee, if you do not stop this dirty act within four days, then the punishment of God will fall on you at the hands of Mujahideen." Tawfeeq also reports that a source in the Ministry of the Interior confirmed that 14 Iraqi youths have been killed in the last weeks. We need to clear something up before we go further. This isn't from Tawfeeq's report. Tawfeeq's in the region and reads Arabic so is aware of Emo. But there are two other reports we're going to be kind and not note which insist that "gay" and "Emo" are the same thing in Iraq. No, they're not. You can be gay and Emo. But Emo -- and this comes from the demonization that took place in Egypt last year -- is also seen as "Satinists" and "vampires." Again, we're being kind because for many this story is only now 'news' (only since Saturday have major outlets reported on it). However, we will note Prashant Rao damn well knows better and his report is an embarrassment. The "vampire" aspect has been especially scary (drinking blood) in a country that was bragging just last month that their security forcers had arrested "sorcerers." Brody Levesque (LGBTQ Nation) quotes Iraqi blogger Bissam who explains that "it is commonly assumed that most emos are 'f**s,' feminine (in the case of boys) or masculine (in the case of girls), and Satan worshipers. Girls wearing short skirts, tight trousers (called 'stretch') are also singled out as morally corrupt and therefore legitimate targets." BBC News notes, "Dozens of Iraqi teenagers have been killed in recent months by militias who consider them to be devil worshippers, human rights activists claim. The young people are described as /emos', a term used in the West to refer to youths who listen to rock music and wear alternative clothing. [. . .] Iraq's interior ministry recently described emos as devil worshippers. In Iraq, the term emo is also conflated with homosexuality, which although legal is socially and religiously taboo." The BBC contradicts practically everything Prahsant Rao 'reported' and the BBC is correct. If you're still not getting it, Kanchana Devi (Truth Dive) points out, "The killings have taken place since Iraq’s interior ministry drew attention to the 'emo' subculture last month, labelling it 'Satanism' and ordering a community police force to stamp it out."


Richard Spencer (Telegraph of London) reports:

Gangs of youths have devised a particularly brutal method of killing those they regard as "emos", in the West a term for youths who wear black and adopt a moody appearance but used in Iraq to describe anyone with "floppy hair" and dressed fashionably.
The method, known popularly as the "double block", involves abducting the youths and smashing their heads between two lumps of concrete. Activists say up to 90 people, all but two of them men, have been killed in this method or by shooting or beating this year accused of being either homosexual or "emo".

We'll come back to Spencer in a minute. Jasim Alsabawi (Rudaw) speaks to a variety of Iraqis including Dr. Shamil Ashu who is a psychologist and explains that emo has been in Iraq for some time, "It emerged in the 1990s when some bands were singing emotional songs to attract people's attention. Many teenagers and children who had family problems were influenced by it. These bands have unique costumes, and the suppressed emotions and frustrations among teenagers nowadays is the reason they are mimicking these imported habits."

Spencer notes that the Interior Ministry posted a statement attacking the Emos in February. He also quotes a friend of Nouri's apparently puzzled by what's going on.

Here's what's going on, Nouri's in charge.

Not just because he's prime minister but because Nouri al-Maliki has refused for one year and three months to nominate someone to head the Ministry of the Interior. With no one approved by Parliament, Nouri controls the ministry and is its acting head. So when the Ministry of the Interior website featured this last month, ""The 'Emo phenomenon' or devil worshipping is being followed by the Moral Police who have the approval to eliminate it as soon as possible since it's detrimentally affecting the society and becoming a danger. They wear strange, tight clothes that have pictures on them such as skulls and use stationary that are shaped as skulls. They also wear rings on their noses and tongues, and do other strange activities."? That was on Nouri. It was done under his watch. He most likely gave permission for it. If he didn't he wasn't providing the supervision needed. And if you're trying to convince us that a month after that popped up on the Ministry of the Interior website, Nouri's only now learning that Emos are being targeted, we're not as stupid as Nouri would hope we were. Gay Star News has started a petition to show your support for Iraqi youth and to condemn the violence.

They'll get a link but we're not quoting their article. Nazi Germany targeted Jews, gypsies, gays and lesbains and others. To pretend otherwise is offensive. By the same token, those who see their interests in Iraq soley as whether or not gays and lesbians are being targeted better grasp real damn quick how offensive they're coming off. You do not 'cleanse' the list of the 'cleansed.' That's following the same patterns of Nazi Germany. Emo and gay are not the same and, most importantly, not all targeted for being gay are gay -- a fact you would think Western societies would be damn well aware of. Tossing "and Emo" in the title of your article and then forgetting to mention them in the body of your article is very Aryan of you, very Aryan. (But so is pretending you discovered it on Friday. Al Mada reported on it days prior, Monday of last week, they are the ones who broke the news on this story -- and they are why we noted it here on Monday. The UK glory hog should be spit roasted. Slowly, for extra flavor.)


They're just there to try and make the people free,
But the way that they're doing it, it don't seem like that to me.
Just more blood-letting and misery and tears
That this poor country's known for the last twenty years,
And the war drags on.
-- words and lyrics by Mick Softly (available on Donovan's Fairytale)

Last Sunday, the number of US military people killed in the Iraq War since the start of the illegal war was 4487. Tonight? PDF format warning, DoD lists the the number of Americans killed serving in Iraq at 4488.

3-11-12


New content at Third:




The e-mail address for this site is common_ills@yahoo.com.






































Posted by at
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)