Monday, October 15, 2012

More power grabs from Nouri

Wang Yuanyuan (Xinhua) reports an al-Riyadh car bombing injured five people and 2 car bombings and one roadside bombing in Kirkuk have left 1 person dead and eighteen injured.  Alsumaria is calling the Kirkuk car bombings an attempted assassination attemp on the life of police Colonel Mekdad al-Mohammed.   All Iraq News notes an Albuaath armed attack left three Iraqi soldiers injured, and a Tuz Khurmatu armed attack left 2 police officers dead, and a Tarmiyah home bombing left three members of a police officer's family injured.  AFP reports a Tuz Khurmatu car bombing has left nine people injured, a Samarra home invasion killed 2 Sahwas who were brothers and the two men's father and an  attack on a Baghdad checkpoint has left three Iraqi troops injured.  On Sahwa, Alsumaria reports another died from a Kirkuk sticky bombing.  All Iraq News notes that one Ministry of Justice employee was shot dead in Baghdad.


When not having the then-head of Iraq's Electoral Commission arrested, you may remember, Nouri was attempting to take over Iraq's Central Bank, insisting it must come under his authority -- he targeted all the independent institutions in his attempted power grab.  Al Mada reports today that Parliament sources say an arrest warrant exists for Sinan al-Shabibi, the Centeral Bank president, and that the people are seeing this as another effort by Nouri to take control of the independent institution.  Alsumaria notes that al-Shabibi is currently in Tokyo at a conference and due to return to Baghdad later today.  Dar Addustour offers a run down on what happened with the warrant itself  It was issued by a judge who did not ask questions and when the news reached the Chief Justice Medhat al-Mahmoud, he ordered that the warrant be pulled.   Iraqiya's spokesperson Maysoun al-Damalouji tells the outlet that it is necessary for the central bank  to maintain its independence.

This comes on the heels of Nouri's threat to dissolve the Parliament over the weekend if the controversial infrastructure bill isn't passed.  It also comes as Nouri ups the word war yet again.  Al Mada reports Yassin Majeed, an MP with Nouri's State of Law, is declaring that KRG President Massoud Barzani is a threat to Iraq.  Majeed held a press conference outside Parliament to denounce Barzani.  Alsumaria notes that among Barzani's supposed outrageous offenses is objecting to the infrastructure bill and objecting to the recent weapons shopping spree Nouri's been on ($1 billion dollar deal with the Czech Republic, $4.2 billion dollar deal with Russia).  All Iraq News notes that Iraqi President Jalal Talabani issued a statement noting that, at a time when they are trying to resolve the current political crisis, the remarks are not helpful.




That's Melanie's "Till They All Come Home."  Dar Addustour reports that US forces are on the Iraqi border with Syria inspecting trucks and cars coming into Iraq and that the US military continues to expand its presence at Iraqi airports where it is searching planes. 

The legendary Melanie Safka is, as Kat's noted, a mystic.  She's  the original Queen of the Rock Festivals, having performed at so many (including Woodstock).  "Lay Down (Candles in the Rain)" made her a name all over the world and her other hits include "What Have They Done To My Song, Ma?," "Peace Will Come (According to Plan)," "Bitter Bad," "The Nickel Song," "Ring The Living Bell," her cover of "Ruby Tuesday," "Beautiful People" and her number one hit "Brand New Key."



 
Sometimes when I am feeling as a big as the land
With the velvet hills in the small of my back
And my hands are playing in the sand
And my feet are swimming in all of the waters
All of the rivers are givers to the ocean
According to plan
-- "Peace Will Come" written by Melanie (Safka), first appears on her Leftover Wine

From October 19th through 28th at Blackfriars Theatre in Rochester, New York, Melanie and the Recordman will be performed, the story of Melanie and her late husband Peter Schekeryk (he passed away in 2010, they were together for decades, starting in the sixties).  That's ten performances only and among those working on the show with Melanie is her son Beau Jarred Schekeryk. From her website:

 Blackfriars Theatre, Rochester NY, October 19 - 28, 10 performances
All seats reserved $45 - Tickets now available from the box office at 585-454-1260 or online at www.bftix.org
 Through the hits and the misses, they made beautiful music.
With Melanie as narrator, Melanie and the Recordman captures the amazing story of her life with record producer Peter Schekeryk--her husband and manager for more than 40 years. The production features a cast of 8 and is being described as "Elaine Stritch at Liberty meets Jersey Boys"...


That starts this Friday.  On this week's Law and Disorder Radio,  an 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), Phyllis Bennis talks about the Afghanistan War and CODEPINK's Rae Abileah  talks about the Drone War.



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




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Things we care about, things we're not interested in

In Basra, we've noted two girls under the age of six have been kidnapped and found raped and murdered.  If any others are, we'll note that as well.  But we're not endorsing Iraqi 'justice.'  Al Mada has a report on the arrest of three people for the rape and murder of one of the girls, Abeer Mohammed.  Dar Addustour also notes the arrests.  Those stories and Alsumaria's report note that the three arrested have confessed.  Iraq's 'justice' system has a history of forced confessions and we do not and will not accept the premise that confessions under torture are accurate.

It's easy to trumpet "3 arrested!" -- especially in such a brutal and vile crime.  But forced confessions aren't confessions.  It's also worth noting that journalist Hadi al-Mahdi was assassinated September 8, 2011, over a year ago, and Iraqi 'justice' hasn't even seen fit to manufacture a 'confession' in that crime.


While talking about things we're not interested in, I'm not interested in wire reports that don't know their facts.  Two different wire services (I haven't seen AP do a story on it if that helps you eliminate one posssibility) are offering bogus information re: cholera.  I don't know if they're that stupid or they think we are.  But to note one bogus claim wire services are repeating, Iraq is not suffering it's first cholera outbreak in five years or nearly five years.  It's 2012.  Subtract five and you're left with 2007.  To make that lie work, you're going to have to vanish a great deal -- such as this 2009 AP report entitled "New Cholera Outbreak Hits Iraq" -- and five plus 2009 would be 2014.  Two years away.  Get your facts right.  And that's not only the year that disproves the claim but I was discussing this with a friend at AP this morning and told him I'd link to that article.  One cholera story we will note is this one run by the Oman Tribune which notes 4 deaths from cholera so far and another 272 confirmed cases.

On things we're not interested in, I can't believe I have to repeat this yet again but let's try one more time: I don't give a ___ about your efforts to re-elect or blow Barack Obama.  You will not use this website for your propaganda.  We went over this in 2008.  Stop sending me your garbage.  And you are trash for refusing to focus on real issues and instead wasting time on propaganda and spin.  Stop sending me that garbage.  If you're someone sending something important -- whoring for a political party is not important (though it is embarrassing) -- and it hasn't been noted yet blame the woman who won't stop sending the public account garbage over and over and over.  I heard about this from Martha and Shirley on Friday and I told them to just move it all into my folder and I'd go through it when I got a chance.  I'm only now going through all the messages this woman has sent, all the bad writing she wants noted.  She's embarrassing herself and she's clogging up the public account with nonsense.  There's stuff in here somewhere on Africa and Afghanistan that matters.  But to get to those e-mails, you have to scroll through all the crap that this one woman keeps sending.  I'm saying "one woman" right now.  Keep sending that crap and I'll get more specific here.

Yesterday, Human Rights Watch issued a call for Iraq and Turkey to open their borders to Syrian refugees:

 The Iraqi and Turkish authorities should immediately re-open border crossings where more than 10,000 Syrians have been stranded for weeks and allow all those wishing to seek asylum to cross without delay, Human Rights Watch said today. Tens of thousands of Syrians fleeing recent fighting – including in Syria’s Aleppo, Idlib, and Deir el Zor provinces – are attempting to use the crossings to reach Iraq and Turkey quickly and safely.

Since the second half of August 2012, Iraq and Turkey have unlawfully prevented thousands of Syrians from entering their countries through these crossing points. Each country has allowed only a limited number of people to cross, either based on medical emergencies or on arbitrary limits. Blocking people from crossing international borders to claim asylum – whether through formal or informal crossing points – breaches international law, Human Rights Watch said.

“Over 10,000 desperate Syrians fleeing the terror of aerial bombardment and shelling are stuck on the Iraqi and Turkish borders, many living in miserable conditions,” said Gerry Simpson, senior refugees researcher and advocate at Human Rights Watch. “Iraq and Turkey should keep their borders open at all times to people fleeing threats to their lives and other forms of persecution.”

On this week's Law and Disorder Radio,  an 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), Phyllis Bennis talks about the Afghanistan War and CODEPINK's Rae Abileah  talks about the Drone War.






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






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Sunday, October 14, 2012

Hejira

The big story for Iraq today is the birth defects.  A new study by the Bulletin of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology is getting attention from the press.  The war -- specifically the weapons -- contaminated Iraq and led to a skyrocketing in the number of birth defects.  Press TV explains:
Between 2007 and 2010 in F[a]llujah, over half of all the surveyed babies were born with birth defects. Before the US-led invasion of Iraq, the figure was one in 10.
In Basrah’s Maternity Hospital, over 20 babies out of 1000 were born with defects in 2003, which makes the figure 17 times higher than it was in the previous decade.


Al Arabiya adds that samples demonstrate residents of Falluja are exposed to extremely high levels of mercury, lead and other "poisonous metals."  And when those are in the eco-system, exposure becomes highly common.  RT offers,  "According to the WHO, a pregnant woman can be exposed to lead or mercury through the air, water and soil. The woman can then pass the exposure to her unborn child through her bones, and high levels of toxins can damage kidneys and brains, and cause blindness, seizures, muteness, lack of coordination and even death."   Current notes:



The report's authors link the rising number of babies born with birth defects in the two cities to increased exposure to metals released by bombs and bullets used over the past two decades. Scientists who studied hair samples of the population in Fallujah found that levels of lead were five times higher in the hair of children with birth defects than in other children; mercury levels were six times higher. Children with defects in Basra had three times more lead in their teeth than children living in non-impacted areas. Dr Savabieasfahani said that for the first time, there is a "footprint of metal in the population" and that there is "compelling evidence linking the staggering increases in Iraqi birth defects to neuro-toxic metal contamination following the repeated bombardments of Iraqi cities". She called the "epidemic" a "public health crisis". "In utero exposure to pollutants can drastically change the outcome of an otherwise normal pregnancy. The metal levels we see in the Fallujah children with birth defects clearly indicates that metals were involved in manifestation of birth defects in these children," she said. "The massive and repeated bombardment of these cities is clearly implicated here. I have no knowledge of any alternative source of metal contamination in these areas." She added that the data was likely to be an "underestimate", as many parents who give birth to children with defects hide them from public view.
Professor Alastair Hay, a professor of environmental toxicology at Leeds University, said the figures presented in the study were "absolutely extraordinary". He added: "People here would be worried if there was a five or 10 per cent increase [in birth defects]. If there's a fivefold increase in Fallujah, no one could possibly ignore that; it's crying out for an explanation as to what's the cause. A rapid increase in exposure to lead and mercury seems reasonable if lots of ammunition is going off. I would have also thought a major factor would be the extreme stress people are under in that period; we know this can cause major physiological changes."

This tracks with the findings from earlier studies -- such as the 2010 one.  Last spring, Karlos Zurutuza (IPS) reported that in January alone, Falluja saw 672 children born with birth defects.  Gene Clancy (Workers World) observed a year ago that "Fallujah sees at least 11 times as many major defects in newborns as world averages, research shows."  At the start of this year, Dahr Jamail reported for Al Jazeera, "Most of these babies in Fallujah die within 20 to 30 minutes after being born, but not all."  As usual, expect US outlets to ignore the study.  Especially the New York Times which ran the 'fanciful' writing of Dexter Filkins.  We called it out the day it was published.  Dexy won an award for that 2004 crap.  But sometimes a person gets stripped of their award.  That is very likely the fate that awaits Dexy.




Turning to today's violence, Alsumaria notes a Tikrit attack that left a judge's bodyguard injured, an armed attack in Kharrar left 1 police officer dead and three more injured.  All Iraq News adds that a Tarmiya attack left 1 Sahwa dead and one civilian injured and a Mosul bombing left one police officer and one civilian injured.





I'm traveling in some vehicle
I'm sitting in some cafe
A defector from the petty wars
That shell shock love away
-- "Hejira," written by Joni Mitchell, first appears on her album of the same name

 The number of US service members the Dept of Defense states died in the Iraq War is [PDF format warning] 4488.



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