The Common Ills

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Kat's Korner: Why a very good album isn't great

dedicated

Kat: I didn't realize Wilson Phillips' Dedicated was out yet. I knew the TV Guide reality show had begun airing. Mainly because I heard Ava and C.I. all last week discussing whether or not they could cover it at Third Estate Sunday Review, debating whether they knew too much 'behind the music' to cover it, whether they wanted to analyze Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson the way they would characters in a scripted show and might they be too close to the three to be impartial?

In the end, it was all for naught. The sexism of The Water Cooler Set meant Ava and C.I. would tackle the posers pretending to be critics who betray standards and dumb down the world for all of us. It's a great piece but I, for one, would have preferred to have seen them explore the group dynamics of Wilson Phillips which, as portrayed in the reality show Wilson Phillips Still Holding On, are a messy free-for-all. There's so much to tell.

I'm not the one though because, unlike Ava and C.I., I don't personally know Chynna, Carnie and Wilson. Years ago, when they were first starting out, I was dating a guy at RCA and he passed me a cassette. He put it down, the music, the three women. They were singing Stevie Nicks' "Wild Heart" in a beautiful three part harmony. I believe there was also a Heart song ("Dog and Butterfly"?) and I can't remember the third. The three were then working with Richard Perry, laying down demos. I'm not sure if they had set out to interest RCA or if a friend had merely slid the tape over to my then-boyfriend. But he was very dismissive of the trio and I listened to the tape repeatedly attempting to figure out why?

I know music as well as anyone else and the gals clearly had talent, the songs they sang (not their own compositions) were strong ones with unique interpretation. Why the hatred? "They've had it to easy," insisted my boyfriend. It's a line used to dismiss various women at various times. Supposedly, Carly Simon's had it to easy, Stevie Nicks, Linda Ronstadt -- basically any woman who didn't get busted for a heroin habit. Like the increasingly repulsive Ani DiFranco, men think they can demand that women bleed.

It's a way to keep women out of the club and nothing else.

But how did Chynna, Carnie and Wendy have it easy?

Chynna, daughter of Michelle Phillips and John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas, had a drug using and dealing father who might have cared more about her if seeing her required a prescription. By all accounts, the creative genius of the Beach Boys was much more loving but Brian Wilson was also much more often unreachable due to his inner demons. Like Chynna, the Wilson sisters were raised largely by their mother (Marilyn Wilson of the 60s girl group The Honeys who recorded albums and also sang back up on Beach Boys and Jan and Dean tracks).

"I know there's pain . . ."

So opened Wilson Phillips first single -- one that went all the way to number one in June of 1990 -- "Hold On." Written by Chynna and new producer Glen Ballard (with "additional lyrics by Carnie Wilson"), the single was catchy, perfect for the times and made it harder for even the sexists to insist that the three women had it easy growing up. It also allowed Michelle and Chynna Phillips to become the first (and so far only) mother and daughter to have number one hits separately (as opposed to on a song they sang together) -- Michelle with the Mamas and the Papas' "Monday, Monday." (Triva note, on Belinda Carlisle's 1987 album Heaven Is A Place On Earth, Michelle and Chynna Phillips and Carnie Wilson are among the back up singers.)

Their debut album, the self-titled Wilson Phillips, had more hits including chart toppers "You're In Love" (written by Glenn Ballard, Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson) and "Release Me" (written by Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson), the top five hit "Impulsive" (written by Clif Magness and Steve Kipner) and the number 12 hit "The Dream Is Still Alive" (written by Glen Ballard, Chynna Phillips, Carnie Wilson and Wendy Wilson). Even better, the non-singles weren't just filler. Their interpretation of Tim Hardin's "A Reason To Believe" brought new interest to the song (three years later, Rod Stewart would 'remember' he'd recorded the track in 1971 and include it in an MTV special).

The album was huge. The group was huge. And had a huge problem.

There's not a group in the world that hasn't had tension over who gets attention which is why the distrust and dislike for the front person is a theme even in Cameron Crowe's Almost Famous. The other Bangles were jealous of the attention Susanna Hoffs received, the other Go-Gos were jealous of the attention that Belinda Carlisle received. Stevie Nicks was trashed repeatedly in the late 70s by Lindsey Buckingham who couldn't deal with her success. Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have a decades long love-hate relationship that would be hate-hate had Keith not been elevated to one of the Glimmer Twins.

Chynna got her mother's beauty. There are few women who will ever look as lovely as Michelle Phillips. (In the reality show, when Chynna's not fully made up, she looks even more like her mother.) As a California blond, and a gorgeous one, Chynna was going to get attention. As the co-writer (with Ballard) of the band's first number one and with a song so clearly autobiographical, Chynna's songwriting chops were going to be recognized and "additional lyrics by . . ." credits weren't going to improve Carnie's standing there. The first song that was not Chynna on lead or all three sharing lead was also the first not to go number one ("Impulsive"). There was a lot of attention and flattery Chynna was receiving.

Equally true, she had a healthier self-image than the other two because, and this is the point of "Hold On," she's already addressed her father issues. While Chynna's father descended into drugs, Brian Wilson had different problems. And the relationship, in 1990, was forever in flux as Brian began attempting to resurface from his reclusive state. It wasn't easy for either Carnie or Wendy.

In addition, the beauty issue was a problem for Carnie who couldn't accept that she was pretty and she was heavy. We'd all love to be Michelle Phillips' size but we're not all going to be that. Carnie had it easier than most large women ever will. She was attractive and talented and, by standing next to Chynna, she got to recall the one and only Cass Elliot who'd been in the Mamas and the Papas with Michelle. She never got how easy she had it -- and judging by the TV show and her decision to have yet another surgery to lose weight, she still hasn't.

Poor Wendy. She was a very pretty young lady. And in a band with drop dead gorgeous Chynna and pretty but heavy Carnie, Wendy was never going to be noticed. She was also the weakest singer of the three in 1990. Chynna possessed range and breath control, Carnie possessed sheer power. Wendy's vocal skills were still emerging. The biggest news about their track on 1991's Elton John tribue album Two Rooms ("Daniel," number seven on the adult contemporary charts) was how far Wendy had come as a vocalist. Her growth would continue on the group's 1992 release Shadows and Light.

Shadows and Light is seen as a failure (it sold over a million copies in the US alone) and people can't understand why it failed. I argued in real time -- and still do -- that they could have survived grunge (which emerges on the charts in 1991) because they were unique and modern . . . except they'd done the Elton John tribute album. "Daniel" killed it for them. The 80s had been all about the baby boom generation, in terms of music. 10,000 Maniacs and R.E.M. were huge . . . on college radio. It took Janet Jackson and the Beastie Boys to really break through the wall-to-wall baby boom. "Daniel" came too soon after the wall was broken down. It left Wilson Phillips looking tired and old.

They had two top forty hits from the album -- "You Won't See Me Cry" made it to number twenty while "Give It Up" made it to number thirty and both tracks were written by the group with Glen Ballard -- and that's really all they had. Chynna left the group.

By Beach Boy standards, it was shocking. The Beach Boys have replaced and reshuffled throughout the years -- only Mike Love and Brian are constants -- and even had Toni Tennille as a Beach Boy. You keep going, no matter what, you keep going! So the Wilson sisters did a Christmas album and then, with their father, 1997's The Wilsons.

Chynna came from a different tradition. At the height of their fame, the Mamas and the Papas were fine with breaking up. They'd recorded four albums -- all huge sellers -- and had 15 singles hit the top 100 -- ten of them going top 30. And breaking up didn't fill the band with fear, everyone was ready to do their own thing. Michelle would act and sing, Cass would sing, act and do variety shows, Denny would sing and host his own variety show in Canada. Only John couldn't let go of the ghost and, really, that was only after attempts at being a solo artist and at writing for Broadway resulted in failure. Chynna's group broke up after two albums? Her parents group broke up after four.

Wilson Phillip's gotten back together for shows before and even got back together for 2004's California which was half-very good and half-not-so-much. When it worked, it sounded wonderful, like a real trio was working it. When it didn't work, it sounded like the weakest tracks of People Like Us -- the Mamas and Papas 1971 album that they recorded only because their label was going to sue them for a million dollars if they didn't produce once more record and an album that largely found Cass on the sidelines due to health reasons.

Watching the reality show last week and seeing Chynna announce that she was doing Dances With The Stars as Carnie exploded, I thought, "Uh-oh." Chynna insisted Wendy and Carnie could work in the studio and then, after a day of taping the ABC dance show, Chynna would come in for an hour and do her vocals. That is not the key to a successful album and Carnie had every right to be furious.

As the reality show unfolds, we may learn Carnie got her way or Chynna came to her senses. Something had to have happened because Dedicated is really something.

But, sadly, it's not enough.

And they're responsible for that conclusion.

They invite the criticism. 12 tracks and only 5 are Mamas and the Papas?

I mean, come on. Are they asking us to explain to them which group was rock and roll and which was rock?

I had a long section where I ripped into the Beach Boys that I've removed. I'll simply note one group was a musical and cultural forces and one wasn't. The one that impacted on all levels was the Mamas and the Papas.


Split it down the middle equally or people are going to quibble.

And if they're forced to quibble, it won't be at the Mamas and the Papas expense.

The Mamas and the Papas didn't copy the Doors or anyone else to try to climb back to the top.

Including "Do It Again" really begs for a critical push back on that song and a final acknowledgment of the huge debt it owes to the Doors' "Soul Kitchen" which was released two years prior to the Beach Boys 'similar' song. In real time, critics noted "Do It Again" was a return to their surf sound. No. That's really the only way the Boys knew to do a fast song. Listen to "Do It Again" and listen to "Soul Kitchen" and you'll see Brian Wilson was attempting to copy the new California sound, not return to the old. (Brian wrote the music, Mike Love wrote the awful lyrics.) If you play the two songs at the same time, you'll really notice the similarities including how the riff Ray Manzarek's pounding out on the Vox Continental matches exactly with the hand claps on the Boys' track.

By refusing to split it down the middle, six of one group and six of the other, they're reminding you that, for example, they're not recording "Safe In My Garden," the Mamas and the Papas 1968 single that is perfect for a soft blend from Chynna and Wendy on the first four lines of the verse and then Carnie belting out the next four. Or what about the undiscovered gem that is "Snowqueen of Texas"?

That is the sort of feel the album (produced by Carnie's husband Rob Bonfiglio) really seems to be going for. And "Do It Again" and "Fun, Fun, Fun" don't belong at all. They don't work either lyrically or musically with the gentle vibe the album's creating elsewhere. An up tempo Beach Boys number like "Vegetables" (written by Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks) or "I'd Love Just Once To See You" (written by Brian and Mike Love) would have been a better fit for the album.


In addition, someone needs to explain to Wilson Phillips that if you have nothing new to offer on "Fun, Fun, Fun," you really have no reason to include it. And I felt that way in when Joan Jett recorded it for her Good Music album (1986). I feel that way only more so when three adult women, all in their forties and all with father issues, are left singing an insulting song about a young woman's quest for freedom being interrupted because "Daddy took the T-bird away." It's a trifle of a song, there's no reason to include it lyrically and the trio's done nothing with it musically to warrant its inclusion.


The uneven split leads the listener to more questions. For example, you wonder why they didn't try the Mamas and the Papas "String Man" or if "Creeque Alley" didn't make the cut because the "no one's getting fat" bothered one member of Wilson Phillips?

Cass Elliot had no problem belting out that line or any other in the classic John and Michelle wrote and one of the big surprises on the album is when Owen Elliot-Kugell comes in on "This Is Dedicated To The One I Love" sounding so much like her mother. And the track is one of the album's strong moments. On this and many other tracks, there's no 'star' and it's about the interplay of the voices. However, there are tracks when one member takes the lead such as when Wendy steps out front of "Wouldn't It Be Nice." It's on that track especially that she demonstrates she's the vocalist who's come the furthest and really hints that she could seriously (and successfully) explore jazz if she so desired.

Carnie gets out front with "Good Vibrations" which is probably the strongest recording on the album. While Carnie delivers the lyrics, Wendy and Chynna create the aural landscape Carnie's able to bounce off of. And as the track fades (the last on the album), you're left wishing they'd do a psychedelic album. Maybe work in Donovan's "Wear Your Love Like Heaven," Love's "She Comes In Colors," the Who's "I Can See For Miles" and the Mamas and the Papas "Too Late"?

Until that album comes along, we've got Dedicated which contains solid singing, often inspired arrangements, some nice drum work and ten tracks you'll find irresistible. It's by no means a bad album. If fact, I expect this to be a contender for my year's top ten. It showcases one of the most talented trios doing some gorgeous work and putting a lot of genuine love into the songs. Nine tracks are really worthy of praise with four being outstanding ("Dedicated To The One I Love," "Wouldn't It Be Nice," "Don't Worry Baby" and "Good Vibrations") -- excellent even. They more than make up for "I Can Hear Music" which is lackluster. But they can't overcome "Do It Again" or "Fun, Fun, Fun" which do not fit with the album's musical theme and which really offer nothing to justify the re-recordings. Those two tracks bring down what would otherwise be an excellent album, leaving it with the grade of just "very good." For some, that'll be enough. For others? We'll treasure the bulk of this album but keep hoping this is just the warm up for the group's second phase.































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The continued political crisis, squabbling MPs, Moqtada wants to show Barack some shoes

Hayder al-Khoei (Guardian) takes on the Associated Press here. As with pretty much everything he writes, I disagree. But I'm happy to note media criticism. It would be a lot stronger media criticism if Hayder had the guts to name the reporters. (I know. It's not my job to do the job Hayder refused to.) Bob Somerby is always surprised that the press doesn't name names. It does so more now than it used to. I'm remembering the first person who took on the New York Post -- seriously took on the entire paper publicly -- after Rupert Murdoch bought it. The first person to widely and loudly criticize it for the loose grasp of 'facts.' That was Paul Newman. (The paper got 'creative' about a press conference for Fort Apache The Bronx.) And, as he noted back then (and in conversations he never stopped noting), the press wouldn't criticize Murdoch or the Post. They would say, "Paul Newman criticized a New York newspaper" and not name it. They'd protect each other and his point was that bad reporting needed to be called out and that by refusing to name the bad reporting the New York Times, Newsday, etc. were being lumped in with the Post because their silence was an endorsement.

So, again, I think Hayder's criticism is wrong but I think it's also weak because he doesn't name the reporters. The Associated Press has hundreds and hundreds of people working for it. His argument is that the AP is wrong about the state of Sunnis. He is wrong about the state of Sunnis. The AP was reporting on today and he wants to take it back to 2006 to say they're wrong. He can take it back to 2006. He can't, however, make up his own facts and not be called on it. Deborah Amos has already documented the period he wants to write about in her excellent book Eclipse of the Sunnis: Power, Exile, and Upheaval in the Middle East (now out in soft cover -- available at Amazon right now for $6.40). Equally true, the vast majority of external refugees have been Sunni and there are more Sunni internal refugees than Shi'ite. Feel free to disagree. Read his critique and form your own opinion.

Al Sabaah reports that MPs continue to miss sessions of Parliament (if their numbers are correct -- we're talking less than thirty -- this is actually an improvement in attendance). Dar Addustour notes that State of Law MP Mahmoud Hassan and Kurdish Alliance MP Bir Saz Shaaban got into a loud argument yesterday. Hardly surprising considering all the conflict between Nouri (head of State of Law) and the KRG.

The conflicts between the two include, most recently, the issue of oil contracts and more long-term the lack of an oil and gas law and the failure of Nouri to implement the agreed upon Erbil Agreement. Florian Neuhof (The National) notes:

Baghdad is irked by ExxonMobil's decision late last year to explore six blocks in the Kurdistan region, following the lead of Tony Hayward, the former BP chief executive who is heading the investment company Vallares, along with numerous smaller oil companies.
The central government has an informal policy of blacklisting oil companies active in the autonomous region from licensing rounds in the south of the country. But tough contracts and difficult conditions have made Kurdistan an attractive option for big operators over the rest of Iraq. The French oil major Total has hinted it may set up shop in the north.

Al Mada reports that officials in both the central-government in Baghdad and the KRG government are stating that to prevent ExxonMobil from operating in Iraq would be a blow to Iraq's oil industry. Moqtada al-Sadr has waded into the issue. Al Mada reports his online column this week responds to questions about the dispute and he states that the oil is not the centeral-government's oil or the KRG's oil but Iraqis' oil and belongs to all Iraqis. Asked of speaking with US President Barack Obama, al-Sadr states Barack needs to learn a lesson and floats that option that Barack, on a visit, could meet the same shoe treatment Bully Boy Bush did. He also states that Barack continues occupation and oppression of Muslims.

KRG President Massoud Barzani visited DC last week. We covered his speech Thursday and some responses to questions at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy event in two
"Iraq snapshot" (speech and response to questions about the state of Iraq) and "Iraq snapshot"(response to questions regarding Kirkuk). He also spoke at an event for Kurds in the US and Kani Xulam (Rudaw) covers that event:

There were other tidbits about little Kurdistan, but I am going to be picky for the purposes of this report. In America, he said, he was happy to meet with the likes of President Obama and conveyed to him our people’s unswerving commitment to the constitution of Iraq, which recognizes Kurdistan as a federal state. But, he added, there were unmistakable signs of trouble in the city on the Tigris. The source of that concern was Nouri Maliki. He was concentrating power in his hands, he was like five ministers at once, and now, again, Mr. Barzani raised his voice: “He also wants to be head of the Central Bank of Iraq.”

The Kurds aren't the only ones in disagreement with Nouri. John Glaser (Antiwar.com) writes of the ongoing political crisis:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has demonstrated an increasingly authoritarian rule as he consolidates power over the country’s institutions and security forces. He has marginalized his political opponents through force and coercion, which has stoked sectarian tensions and even threatened a break-up of the nation. And Obama is supporting all of it.

Maliki, a Shiite, ordered the arrest of his Sunni Vice President Hashemi just as the last U.S. troops left Iraq. The U.S. ambassador to Iraq expressed approval in January of this quest to detain Iraq’s vice president on trumped up terrorism charges, despite a virtual consensus that it was a blatant attempt to eliminate a political rival.

Tareq al-Hashemi is Sunni, he's also a member of Iraqiya which won the most votes in the March 7, 2010 elections. Emre Peker (Bloomberg News) reports that Tareq al-Hashemi "arrived in Turkey last night". He's on a diplomatic tour and has already visited Qatar and Saudi Arabia. AFP adds, "During his visit to the kingdom, Saudi officials said that Al Hashemi might remain in the kingdom until his political foe, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, leaves office. But Hashemi's aides said he would not live in exile and would return to the autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq, where he has been sheltering since he was accused late last year of running a death squad." Today's Zaman notes, "Al-Hashemi's visit to Turkey was his first trip to Turkey since the allegations were leveled against him."

Iraqiya's led by Ayad Allawi who has penned a column for the Washington Times addressing Iraq's political crisis:


Of even greater concern is the increasing number of attempts to quash or take over institutions that are supposed to be independent, such as the elections, integrity and communication commissions and, most recently, the Central Bank. These, among other disturbing acts, are chilling reminders of the governance pattern established by dictatorship. More recently, Mr. al-Maliki stepped up his rhetoric against the government of the Kurdistan region. This was partly on the heels of Mr. al-Maliki’s unconstitutional moves to target Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi and Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq immediately after he returned from a trip to the United States. This, in turn, brought Iraqis to make wrongful inferences about Washington’s role in this series of events, in contradiction to the original vision of the United States to build a democratic state in Iraq with civil liberties, national reconciliation, an independent and fair judiciary, and pluralistic political and media systems.

Washington’s evident disengagement gave Mr. al-Maliki the confidence to move even closer to his objective of achieving absolute power by blatantly avoiding the implementation of the power-sharing Erbil Agreement sponsored by Masoud Barzani and the White House. Eventually, the political momentum behind the agreement dissolved, allowing the country to drift back into sectarianism and autocratic rule instead of moving forward with reconciliation and reconstruction. The resulting disastrous state of affairs is fanning increasing disillusionment among Iraqis about the role of the United States and its efforts to create a stable democracy in Iraq.

With no obvious effort by Washington as the patron of the Erbil Agreement to break the current deadlock, Iraq surely will plunge into violence among Iraq’s sects, ethnic groups and even political parties.


After losing the March 7, 2010 elections, Nouri refused to budge and the country entered Political Stalemate I, gridlock for over eight months as Nouri refused to honor the results and didn't have to because Barack Obama was backing Nouri -- over the results, over democracy, over the will of the Iraqi people. In November of 2010, the US-brokered Erbil Agreement was signed off on by all political blocs. It would allow Nouri a second term as prime minister and, for everyone conceeding to that, it would offer various benefits for the other political blocs. After starting his second term as prime minister, Nouri trashed the Erbil Agreement creating Political Stalemate II which has lasted for over a year now. Jasim al-Sabawi (Rudaw) reports:

The Erbil Agreement signed between the Kurdish government and Baghdad following Iraq’s general elections in 2010 has become the main cause of tension between the Kurdistan Region and the central government.
Kurdish officials backed Prime Minister Nuri Maliki to form a government on the condition that he would implement Article 140 with regards to the disputed territories, pass a new oil and gas law and consult with all parties on decision-making.
Two years on, the Kurds, as well as Iraq’s Sunni leaders, say Maliki has ignored the agreement and acts as an authoritarian ruler.
Political analyst Abdul Sultan believes that the Iraqiya bloc of former Prime Minister Ayad Alawi is paying the price for concessions it made to Maliki.
"The Iraqiya bloc offered many concessions in order to participate in the political process and it has been hurt by those concessions,” he says. “Now it is left with no cards to play."


Al Mada notes that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon states the political crisis needs to be addressed and regrets that the national conference was not held last Thursday as scheduled. (The National Conference is what Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for since December 21st to address the ongoing political crisis.) Nouri has resisted the conference since it was suggested. In February, his refusal began to be based on the Arab League Summit which was scheduled for March 29th. He argued that the conference would have to wait until then. The weekend before the conference, Talabani pushed Nouri's hand by announcing that the conference would take place April 5th. Nouri quickly touted that in public statements. But then the conference was cancelled at the last minute, less than 24 hours before it was to be held.

On the summit, Mohammed Akef Jamal (Gulf News) offers this take:

The Baghdad summit did not receive much popular sympathy. In fact, it engendered a lot of hard feelings. The capital was transformed into a military base, and the freedom of people was restricted, which resulted in additional misery.
Much has been written about the Baghdad summit, and most articles were positive, indicating that Iraq had returned to its Arab environment.
However, the over-optimistic forgot that Iraq has been suffering from a lack of national identity and this can be seen clearly in the conduct of people, and in their increased sectarian and ethnic affiliations.
Those concerned about Iraq's future are not wary about Iraq's return to the Arab fold at this moment. Rather, they are very worried about Iraq maintaining its unity and territorial integrity. Only a united Iraq can play a positive role in its Arab environment.


Musical Tuesday. Today various new releases are out. Bonnie Raitt releases Slipstream, her first album in seven years (download the album for $7.99 at Amazon currently, that's a sale price, regular price will be over $14.00). Mike noted the release last night in "Bonnie Raitt." Bonnie was an established and talented artist admired by many before she finally found huge commercial success with Nick of Time in 1989. On the same day that classic was released, Carole King's City Streets was released -- by the same label which did not do a good job of working both albums. But today Bonnie and Carole both issue new releases again. While Bonnie's releasing her first album in seven years, Carole's releasing her first book ever, the autobiography A Natural Woman: A Memoir (on sale for $17.04 in hardcover at Amazon right now). Renee Montagne speaks with Carole King on today's Morning Edition (NPR -- link is audio and will be transcript later today). Kat noted the book in her reviews of the reissues of "Carole King's Touch the Sky" and "Carole King's Welcome Home" last month. (I've only read three chapters but I love it and hope to read more whenever time is created with a magic wand. Seriously, we will be covering it in some form at Third -- so I'll probably be flipping through the book furiously on the plane ride home Saturday morning.) This month, Kat's reviewed "M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion" which is released today and Renee Montagne also speaks with M. Ward on today's Morning Edition (link is audio -- transcript will be posted by this afternoon). We're not done with musical Tuesday. Before noon today, Kat's latest album review will be up. Not Bonnie Raitt. She'll post her Bonnie review this Sunday. This is a different album she's reviewing this morning. Again, it's musical Tuesday. (And for those who don't know -- Bonnie's hits include "Have A Heart," "Something To Talk About," "Thing Called Love," "I Can't Make You Love Me" and many more while Carole's hits as a singer-songwriter include "It's Too Late," "I Feel The Earth Move," "Only Love Is Real," "So Far Away" and more. Her hits as a songwriter are far too numerous to mention. )


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Veterans issues: Homeless, unemployment, PTSD

Among the many pressing problems for today's veterans in the US is housing. Wallace McKelvey (Press of Atlantic City) reports, "A lack of affordable, stable housing for veterans is a persistent problem despite the efforts of nonprofit organizations such as Community Quest and government agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA announced in November it was seeking to build 4,000 units on unused VA properties nationwide through leases to third-parties — only one is in New Jersey, near a health campus in Lyons, Somerset County. An estimated 76,000 veterans were homeless nationwide in January 2010, the most recent statistics available. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the VA, 43 percent of them went unsheltered."

Wars produce veterans. It's a basic point but one that, when made in 2004 by Senator John Kerry, was greeted with scorn not just by Bully Boy Bush but also by our so-called free press. And the number of veterans increases and will continue to increase. Just as the Bush administration did not prepare for the rise in the need for medical care, the Barack administration has not adequately prepared ofr the rise in homeless veterans (this while setting the goal of doing away with homeless status for veterans within five years).

Press TV (link is text and video) notes that the US Government and Accountability Office estimates "1.8 million American women veterans are homeless." March 14th, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on homeless veterans. We covered this in the March 15th snapshot. Among those testifying was Iraq War veteran Chanel Curry.

Chanel Curry: I started off as as a veteran during Operation Iraqi Freedom. I'm from Cleveland, Ohio and I joined the military in 2008. As I served overseas and came back to the United States, I suffered many difficulties finding employment. So I recently relocated to Atlanta, Georgia because I had a job opportunity available to me almost immediately. So I relocated and during my process of living in Atlanta, Georgia, a lot of different circumstances forced me to have to move back to Cleveland, Ohio where I was originally stationed. Coming back to Cleveland, Ohio, it was very hard to find a job. So basically, I bounced around from different relatives homes, different friends and it just became definitely a burden because a lot of people I knew suffered their own hardships and no one could afford to accommodate another adult. So that forced me to have to contact the VA and I contacted the Ohio Coalition for the Homeless and I spoke to a veteran by the name of William and he directed me over to a female by the name of Toni Johnson. Toni Johnson is a representative of the women's homeless outreach program. And she, herself, actually opened up a lot of possibilities for me to get back on my feet. She told me about the Grant Per Diem program and I lived in a homeless shelter, a women's homeless shelter, known as the Westside Catholic Center and there there were other things available for me such as the Employment Connection and I met with a representative by the name of Angela Cash and she basically helped me to get a job at the Cleveland Clinic. So she offered me classes, computer training, basically everything that I needed to be readily available for work. And also she had her own non-profit organization known as the Forever Girls At Heart which is a group of beautiful women who helped me get all of the things I needed for my apartment. Now with that being said, I will be moving into my place as of Friday if everything goes as planned. And I do have everything I need. So the VA definitely went above and beyond to make sure that I was not -- that I did not remain a homeless veteran.


Erik Tucker and Kristin M. Hall (AP) explain, "The problem, a hurdle to the Obama administration's stated goal of ending veterans' homelessness by 2015, is exacerbated by a shortage of temporary housing specifically designed to be safe and welcoming to women or mothers with children." That's a very mild way of putting it. Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. In the March 14th hearing, she was very clear about what women veterans faced:

Chair Patty Murray: VA must focus on a new and unfortunately growing segment of the homeless veteran population -- female veterans. Like their male counterparts, women veterans face many of the same challenges that contribute to their risks of becoming homeless. They are serving on the front lines and being exposed to some of the same harshest realities of war. They are screening positive for PTSD, experiencing military sexual trauma, suffering from anxiety disorder, and having trouble finding a job that provides the stability to ease their transition home. Yet when our female veterans find themselves homeless, they have needs that are unique from those of male veterans. And, as the VA's Inspector General found in a report released on Monday, some of those unique needs are not being addressed. The IG [Inspector General] found that there were serious safety and security concerns for homeless women veterans, especially those who have experiences Military Sexual Trauma. They found bedrooms and bathrooms without sufficient locks, halls and stairs without sufficient lighting and mixed gender living facilities without access restrictions. They also found that the VA should do a better job at targeting places and populations that need help the most. And in addition to this IG report, GAO released a report at the end of last year that cited VA for the lack of gender-specific privacy, safety and security standards. Following that report, I sent a letter to VA and HUD with Senators [Jon] Tester and [Olympia] Snowe seeking answers to a number of questions it raised. I have heard from HUD that they are reviewing their data collection process in order to capture more information on homeless women veterans. I have also heard from VA that they are working to develop and provide training for staff and providers to better treat veterans who have experienced traumatic events and modifying their guidance on privacy, safety and security for providers who serve homeless women veterans. As more women begin to transition home and step back into lives as mothers, wives and citizens, we must be prepared to serve the unique challenges they face. As we continue to learn about the alarming number of homeless women veterans, we must be sure that VA is there to meet their needs.


Jessica Pieklo (care2.com) notes, "Female veterans also face some unique challenges according to advocates. Many have suffered sexual assault and remain too traumatized to share common space with men. Many are single mothers struggling to find housing for themselves and their children. They're also more likely to be jobless: Unemployment for female veterans who've served since September 2001 was 12.4 percent last year, slightly higher than for their male counterparts."

US House Rep Linda Sanchez tells John Blackstone (CBS News -- link is text and video), "Female veterans I think feel like, they've kind of been the forgotten patriots. I think you're gonna see increasing numbers continue to struggle." And Sanchez has used her spot on the House Veterans Affairs Committee to ensure that female veterans and their issues are not forgotten. One example from the House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing for February 15th:



US House Rep Linda Sanchez: [. . .] To the Secretary, I know that you and I have previously discussed some of my concerns -- specifically with respect to the VA employing female specialists to assist specifically female veterans with VA services. And I know that the administration's budget contains $403 million to address the needs of women veterans. I'm wondering if you can tease that out a little bit and provide more specifics on how that money will be used to address the growing needs of the female veteran population?

Secretary Eric Shinseki: Uh, thank you, Congresswoman. I'm going to call on Dr. Petzel for the details but this is confirmed that you and I have had discussions about this.

US House Rep Linda Sanchez: Yes.

Dr. Robert Petzel: I thank you, Mr. Secretary. Uh, the -- our goal is to ensure that every female veteran has a choice of providers and that, if they wish to, they will be able to be seen by a female provider. About 75% of women choose to have a female provider. And we are able to meet that need in virtually every setting except perhaps some remote community-based outpatient clinics where we just don't have those sort of uh facilities. I can, for the record, give you the details about how much staffing -- what kind of staffing is to be associated with the $403 million increase we're seeing in women's health programs. I don't have that number at the tip of my fingers but it is important to us as I'm sure it is to you that women have a choice, that if they wish to see a female provider, they are afforded that opportunity.

US House Rep Linda Sanchez: Yeah, one of the things on my tour of the Long Beach facility is that they do have a sort of separate women's clinic area where women can choose that to be their point of entry to the system.

Dr. Robert Petzel: About sixty of our largest medical centers have specific women's centers, women's health centers where all of the services are provided in that same environment. The rest of them are sort of associated with women specific primary care clinics when they're not as large. And then, in community based outpatient clinics we have trained the primary care providers in the necessities of women's health.

Derek Turner (Stars and Stripes) reports that unemployment for all "recent veterans" of the current wars hit 10.3% last month -- an increase from February's 7.6%. John Blackstone (CBS News) breaks down that 10.3% -- "10.2 percent of male vets are listed as unemployed. The number stands at 10.8 per cent for females".

In addition to homelessness and unemployment, veterans face many other challenges including wounds of war. Iraq War veteran Edward Andrew Snyder returned home but, as Dennis Yusko (Times Union) reports, he was discharged from the military after being "diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and depression" and struggled until he took his own life December 9th of last year, becoming one more fatality in the Iraq War. His grandmother Melody DiGregorio states, "He could no longer deal with the darkness, the heaviness of PTSD. He did not feel he could get out of it."

PTSD can span from mild to severe. Some self-medicate due to lack of VA resources (sadly, this includes those who actively seek help and are denied or delayed due to various budget and staffing issues), some are unaware of the resources that are out there. (Click here for the VA's National Center for PTSD page.) There is also the military culture stigma towards seeking help that undercuts treatment of PTSD. For those who seek and receive treatment, PTSD is something that can be managed. (I'm sure there are a number who have PTSD and never seek treatment and never self-medicate or self-harm that do just fine. There are always exceptions to the rule. Most people, however, will need treatment whether it's clinical, medical, holistic or whatever. There are a variety of treatments and ways to address PTSD.) Veteran Devin Hamilton of KFBB provides a video report on living with PTSD. It's not closed captioned. We'll do an excerpt of it in today's snapshot.

The following community sites -- plus NPR, the Guardian, CPSAN, Cindy Sheehan, Adam Kokesh, Antiwar.com, Susan's On The Edge and The Bat Segundo Show -- updated last night and this morning:

Okay, it's musical Tuesday. Today various new releases are out. Bonnie Raitt releases Slipstream, her first album in seven years (download the album for $7.99 at Amazon currently, that's a sale price, regular price will be over $14.00). Bonnie was an established an talented artist admired by many before she finally found huge commercial success with Nick of Time in 1989. On the same day that classic was released, Carole King's City Streets was released -- by the same label which did not do a good job of working both albums. But today Bonnie and Carole both issue new releases again. While Bonnie's releasing her first album in seven years, Carole's releasing her first book ever, the autobiography A Natural Woman: A Memoir (on sale for $17.04 in hardcover at Amazon right now). Renee Montagne speaks with Carole King on today's Morning Edition (NPR -- link is audio and will be transcript later today). Kat noted the book in her reviews of the reissues of "Carole King's Touch the Sky" and "Carole King's Welcome Home" last month. (I've only read three chapters but I love it and hope to read more whenever time is created with a magic wand. Seriously, we will be covering it in some form at Third -- so I'll probably be flipping through the book furiously on the plane ride home Saturday morning.) This month, Kat's reviewed "M. Ward's A Wasteland Companion" which is released today and Renee Montagne also speaks with M. Ward on today's Morning Edition (link is audio -- transcript will be posted by this afternoon). We're not done with musical Tuesday. Before noon today, Kat's latest album review will be up. Not Bonnie Raitt. She'll post her Bonnie review this Sunday. This is a different album she's reviewing this morning. Again, it's musical Tuesday. (And for those who don't know -- Bonnie's hits include "Have A Heart," "Something To Talk About," "Thing Called Love," "I Can't Make You Love Me" and many more while Carole's hits as a singer-songwriter include "It's Too Late," "I Feel The Earth Move," "Only Love Is Real," "So Far Away" and more. Her hits as a songwriter are far too numerous to mention. )


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Monday, April 09, 2012

Iraq snapshot

Monday, April 9, 2012.  Chaos and violence continue, Ayad Allawi calls out the direction Iraq's headed in, Iraqis begin to voice displeasure over the White House's indifference to their plight, it's 9 years since the US military pulled down the statue of Saddam Hussein, and more.
 
Nine years ago today, Gulf News' Mayada al-Askari observes, was "the toppling of Saddam Hussain's statue by the Americans at Al Firdaus Square in Iraq." In 2004, David Zucchino (Los Angeles Times) reported that the April 9, 2003 toppling of the statue was a psyops operation.  Before we go further, we should note that the US government is not allowed to use psyop operations on the American people.  In fact, that sort of propaganda is why Voice of America is legally prevented from broadcasting in the United States.  It's very telling that the Congress refused to investigate what the Los Angeles Times exposed.
Iraqi civilians didn't topple the statue, the US military did: "And it was a quick-thinking Army psychological operations team that made it appear to be a spontaneous Iraqi undertaking."
 
It was supposed to be the start of democracy in Iraq but there's been no progress. Peter Van Buren, author of We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the War for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People, and former State Dept employee explains at TomDispatch.com:
 
Sadly enough, in the almost two years since I left Iraq, little has happened that challenges my belief that we failed in the reconstruction and, through that failure, lost the war.
The Iraq of today is an extension of the Iraq I saw and described.  The recent Arab League summit in Baghdad, hailed by some as a watershed event, was little more than a stage-managed wrinkle in that timeline, a lot like all those purple-fingered elections the U.S. sponsored in Iraq throughout the Occupation. If you deploy enough police and soldiers -- for the summit, Baghdad was shut down for a week, the cell phone network turned off, and a "public holiday" proclaimed to keep the streets free of humanity -- you can temporarily tame any place, at least within camera view. More than $500 million was spent, in part planting flowers along the route dignitaries took in and out of the heavily fortified International Zone at the heart of the capital (known in my days as the Green Zone).  Somebody in Iraq must have googled "Potemkin Village."
Beyond the temporary showmanship, the Iraq we created via our war is a mean place, unsafe and unstable.  Of course, life goes on there (with the usual lack of electricity and potable water), but as the news shows, to an angry symphony of suicide bombers and targeted killings. While the American public may have changed the channel to more exciting shows in Libya, now Syria, or maybe just to "American Idol," the Iraqi people are trapped in amber, replaying the scenes I saw in 2009-2010, living reminders of all the good we failed to do.
 
 
This weekend, Heath Druzin (Stars and Stripes) offered, "Iraq experts say that recent developments in Iraq and a growing Iranian influence are signs that America's hopes are dimming for Iraq to become the 'beacon of hope' that President George W. Bush had envisioned in a 2005 speech."  Felicity Arbutnot (Global Research) evaluates the 'progress' in Iraq the illegal war has brought: "Also since the invasion, the terrorization, whether for relgious reasons or ransom money, score settling or the unfathomable, in a country were people have co-existed for countless generations, has been bewildering.  Overnight (literally) Iraq changed from a land where, broadly, the streets of towns and cities could be walked alone, safely, late at night, to a country which awoke to find while families in morgues bearing wounds indicating unimaginable torture. It woke to beheaded bodies chucked on rubbish dumps -- and beheaded fathers and sons dumped on door steps or in front gardens. Iraq also woke to ransom kidnappings, extortion, destruction of homes, premises, businesses -- or their takeover by force."
 
In Iraq, the political crisis continues. Liz Sly (Washington Post) observes that "the appearance of calm that has endured for four months has come at a price, many Iraqis say, in the form of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's increasingly authoritarian behavior." And she notes, "Sunnis and Kurds, angered by what they see as Maliki's efforts to exclude them from power, accuse the United States of doing little or nothing to restrain his excesses or to press him to implement agreements under which he planned to share power."  That latter specifically refers to the Erbil Agreement.  So let's provide the recap.
 
 

Nouri's State of Law came in second in the March 7, 2010 elections and Iraqiya came in first -- despite the efforts by Nouri to demonize Iraqiya and use the Justice and Accountability Committee to outlaw various Iraqiya candidates weeks prior to the election. Nouri refused to let go of the post of prime minister and, since he had the backing of Barack's White House, he was able to dig in his heels for over months (Political Stalemate I). The gridlock was only ended when all parties signed off on the US-brokered Erbil Agreement. Nouri used the agreement to get a second term as prime minister and trashed the rest of it. That is the beginning of Political Stalemate II (December 2010) which is the country's current crisis. Since last summer, the Kurds have been calling for the Erbil Agreement to be honored. Iraqiya has joined that call as has Moqtada al-Sadr.
Last week, on Thursday, there was supposed to be a meeting, a National Conference.  Since December 21st, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and Speaker of Parliament Osama al-Nujaifi have been calling for the conference to address the political crisis.  Less than 24 hours before the scheduled National Conference was to take place, al-Nujaifi announced that it was not taking place.
 
 
Liz Sly notes that some Iraqis are seeing US indiference to whatever Nouri might do. She also notes:
 
Sunni concerns have crystallized in recent weeks around Obama's nomination of Brett McGurk, 38, a lawyer who has frequently advised the U.S. Embassy but is not a diplomat to be the new ambassador to Iraq.  As the chief adviser to Ambassador James F. Jeffrey and former ambassador Christopher R. Hill, McGurk is closely associated with the United States' controversial 2010 decision to support Maliki's candidacy as the better hope for future stability over that of Ayad Allawi, the head of the Iraqiya bloc, which narrowly won the most seats in parliament.
 
We'll get to Allawi in just a moment.  But let's deal with Brett McGurk first.
 
* McGurk is Barack's third nominee for Ambassador to Iraq.  Why have all three been men?  Iraq -- not just Iraqi women and girls, all of Iraq -- would strongly benefit from the US putting a woman in that post.  When Ava and I argued that to members of then President-Elect Barack's transition team we were shot down with the issue of qualfications.  No one on the transition team could think of a single woman in the State Dept or out of the State Dept who was qualified -- in their opinion -- to be Ambassador to Iraq. (So don't give me any of that s**t about Barack being a friend to women. He's not.  Press whores and idiots repeat that crap.  Those of who have dealt with the administration damn well know better.)
 
* Three nominees and all of the men.  McGurk has no qualifications.  He's been a coffee fetcher and little else for men who've been in the post.  He only graduated colled (as an undergraduate) in 1999.  Not only is the lie that they can't find a qualified woman offensive, so is their desire to put a COMPLETELY UNQUALIFIED PERSON in charge of the mission that they plan to spend at least $6 billion dollars on each year through 2016.  It is the most expensive State Dept assignment.  How in the world do you justify wet-behind-his-ears McGurk as qualified for that position.  He's been in no leadership position, he's got little-to-no-experience in oversight or economics and he hasn't even been a mid-level manager.  He is completely and totally unqualified.
 
* Unqualified was Chris Hill.  We established that when we reported on his confirmation hearing.  He backed it up with his bizarre behavior in Baghdad.  (Naps under his desk?  Pray those were only rumors, pray.)  Because of the Idiot Hill, Barack had to nominate a grown up -- James Jeffrey.  Jeffrey's friends are talking all over DC about how Jeffrey does not feel he's gotten the support he needed from the White House that he spends hours trying to explain to the administration that the sky is blue and they keep asking, "Are you sure it's not a little bit green, are you sure?"  McGurk may be pliable but he's not qualified.  If Jeffrey is not replaced with an adult, Iraq will likely slide towards authoritarianism even faster.
 
* Barack Obama was not against the Iraq War.  That was a stupid little press lie to sell you a War Hawk.  To appease voters in Chicago (when he was in the state legislature) he gave a 2002 speech -- a dumb speech.  By the time he ran for the US Senate, he wasn't against the Iraq War.  (He told Elaine and I that the US was over in Iraq now so it didn't matter.  That's not "anti-war.")  But the anti-war vote and sentiment took him to the White House.  Why the hell has the Cult of St. Barack allowed him to appoint one pro-Iraq War person after another?  McGurk is only the latest example of 'anti-war' Barack giving a plum assignment to someone who was pushing the Iraq War in 2002.
 
Brett McGurk lacks experience, was wrong about the war, is too immature to be put over a $6 billion a year project and Iraqiya -- the political slate that got the most votes -- doesn't want him.  If there was a functioning left -- as opposed to the Cult of St. Barack -- McGurk would be announcing right now that he's withdrawing his nomination to spend more time with his family of hamsters.
 
 
It has been nine years since U.S. forces removed a brutal tyrant in Iraq at a huge cost in lives and treasure, but already the country is slipping back into the clutches of a dangerous new one-man rule, which inevitably will lead to full dictatorship, and already it is dashing hopes for a prosperous, stable, federal and democratic Iraq.  Exploiting the unconditional support of Tehran and the indifference of Washington, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has violated the constitution to consoldiate his own power by using security and military forces to intimidate and oppress political rivals and, indeed, the general population, as manifested in his suppression of peaceful demonstrations in Iraq.
 
And that's just the opening paragraph.  Al Hayat reports that Iraqiya has revealed it is in talks with other blocs about withdrawing confidence in Nouri al-Maliki. The Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq denies that they have engaged in discussions on replacing Nouri. Speaking for the Moqtada al-Sadr bloc, MP Jawad Hasnawi allows that they have serious problems with Nouri but thinks that talk of replacing him is premature. That said, if requested to, Hasnawi says Moqtada would be willing to step in as a prime minister. At the end of this Al Hayat article, KRG President Massoud Barzani offers his concerns that there are serious attempts by the current government in Baghdad to restore Iraq to a dictatorship.
 
Alsumaria reports that State of Law MP Mohammed Chihod declared today that those seeking a no-confidence vote on Prime Minister and Thug of the Occupation Nouri al-Maliki are "conspirators." He makes other charges; however, that one alone should be seen as disturbing in a country where the likes of Chihod (Nouri's goons) regularly demonize political rivals as "Ba'athists" and "terrorists." It's in that landscape that "conspirators" emerges. A vote of no confidence is not a conspiracy, it's an approved measure with a process outlined in the Constitution.

Chihod shows more ignorance of the Constitution he allegedly took an oath to when he declares the KRG is in violation of the Constitution for refusing to hand Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi over to Baghdad. There is nothing in the Constitution about that. The Constitution does cover immunity for office holders, however. Demonstrating that his ignorance is not limited to the Constitution, Chihod then accuses KRG President Massoud Barzani of visiting the US last week in order to lead on a no-confidence vote in Nouri. A no-confidence vote would take place in the Iraqi Parliament. While it's true that many MPs live outside of Iraq, they're not living in the US.

Meanwhile Al Rafidayn reports on State of Law's whisper campaign against Barzani in which they hurl everything at the wall hoping something will stick. This includes the claim that Barzani's a failure because he wanted the Arab League Summit in Erbil and it was held in Baghdad. Apparently State of Law's inability to govern resulted in a heightened sense of awareness as compensation thereby allowing them to read minds. Barzani's made no comment regarding the Arab League Summit being held in Erbil. It was scheduled for Baghdad and scheduled to be held there in 2011. It was finally held there in 2012. He has called for the national conference (to resolve the political crisis) to be held in Erbil. State of Law brings up the allegations of smuggling oil to Iran and insist these are true and that Barzani is behind the smuggling (the way they go on, we're apparently supposed to picture Massoud Barzani with a hose and gasoline can, stopping beside an oil tanker, ready to siphon the tank). Barzani's trip to the US is called a failure (no reason for that judgment call is given). The whispers also include that Barzani's made a deal with Ahmad Chalabi wherein Ahmad will replace Nouri.
 
Al Mada reports on an interview Barzani gave in DC after meeting with US Vice President Joe Biden. In it, Barzani noted that Nouri refused a meeting to put all the issues on the table. He cites Nouri as the reason the National Conference failed (it was set for last Thursday but one day prior it was announced the conference was off). He says Iraq is suffering from a real -- not manufactured -- crisis.

Trend News Agency reports that Barzani appeared on Al Arabiya TV and stated Nouri is leading Iraq "to the dicatorship" and that, "If all parties fail to agree on specific changes, then the Kurdish autonomy will no longer regard al-Maliki as Iraqi prime minister". Wladimir van Wilgenburg (Rudaw) adds:

After increased tensions between the Iraqi and the Kurdish governments, Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani told Alhurra TV last Thursday that Baghdad is considering the use of F-16 fighter planes against the Kurds.
In the interview, Barzani says the issue with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not personal, but it is about his dictatorial policies. "I still consider him a brother and a friend," he said. According to Barzani, division commanders in the Iraqi army are supposed to be approved by parliament, but this hasn't happened.
Barzani told Alhurra that he has confronted the Iraqi PM many times and been told by Maliki that he will act, but he hasn't, and suggested there is talk of a "military solution" to confront the Kurds in Baghdad. Barzani said that in an official meeting with Iraqi military commanders, it was stated that they should wait for F-16s to arrive to help push back the Kurds.

Aswat al-Iraq notes, "Shiite Sadrist leader Muqtada al-Sadr said that 'some want to build a dictatorship under the so-called new false reconciliation,' according to the Media Center of his Trend. He did not mention names."
 
Yesterday, Erbil saw a bombing -- Dar Addustour says it was the first sticky bombing in Erbil -- a sticky bombing is when an explosive device is attached to something, generally with adhesive -- one person was injured in the bombing. In other violence Chen Zhi (Xinhua) reports an armed Tuz_Khurmato attack which left Sahwa leader Sheikh Hussein Awad Khalifa and his bodyguard dead and a Baghdad suicide car bombing claimed the life of 1 bystander and left four more injured.
 
 
Yesterday was also Easter.  Garibov Konstantin (Voice of Russia) points out, "The US-British invasion destroyed the Christian community in Iraq".  The Associated Press notes Pope Benedict XVI's remarks Sunday in St. Peter's Basilica were a call "for peace in Iraq, Syria and elswhere in the Middle East [. . .] Sectarian violence in Iraq, often aimed at Christians, has prompted an exodus over the last years of many from the sizeable Christian community there."  Dar Addustour notes Iraqi Christians in Baghdad celebrated Easter under tight security. EuroNews says that "members of the congregation underwent security checks."  Rami Ruhayem (BBC News) adds that St. Joseph's Chaldean Church in Baghdad was "surrounded by army checkpoints, and concrete barriers block cars from approaching the entrance."  Sanaa Nimr is a pharmacist and she tells Ruhayem, "It's like entering a military camp, not a church."  Ruhayem reports, "Alcohol-shop owners and women who did not confirm to Islamic dress codes had suffered intimidation, [MP Yonadem Kanna] added.  Mrs Nimr said some Christian schoolchildren had been instructed by teachers to recite verses from the Koran."  Nimr explains, "They don't like anyone who is different from them.  They cannot tolerate the other -- Muslim or Christian or atheist or whatever."  BBC News offers a photo essay of Easter celebrated around the world and the second photo is of a mass at the Armenian Church in Baghdad.  Jane Arraf (Christian Science Monitor) reported from Karamiles where, at the St. Addaie the Messenger Church, Christians celebrated Easter:
 
Like other Christian communities in the disputed areas, a steady stream of families have departed either legally or illegally to Europe and the United States. Despite its own violent upheaval, Syria still serves as a way station for Iraqi refugees hoping for a better life in the West.
The community has been neglected by both the Kurdish and Iraqi governments, says Monsignor Yousif. Water is sometimes cut off for days. There are almost no jobs.
Over the years, some townspeople have made their homes within the crumbling stone walls of the remains of centuries-old homes.
 
 
Dar Addustour also notes Kirkuk Governor Najim al-Din Omar Karem maintains Christians in Kirkuk were able to celebrate Easter more publicly and he offered his congratulations to the Cathedral of Kirkuk. Luiza Oleszczuk (Christian Post) reminds, "In Iraq, hundreds of thousands of Christians (even as many as one million, according to some estimates) left the country due to an eruption of sectarian violence that had seen religious minorities targeted, following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion of the country." Ed West (Telegraph of London) calls for England to take in Iraqi Christians and offers this overview:
 
Christianity in Iraq has a rich past and confusing present. Tradition has it that the faith was brought to Mesopotamia by the Apostles Thomas and Thaddeus, and by the second century the Syriac-speaking people of the region had a thriving church, whose members went on to convert much of Asia. After the Arab conquests, Syriac Christians played a pivotal role in Islamic civilisation's high point; of 60 scholars who preserved the works of the ancients by translating them into Arabic, 58 were Christian (of the other two, one was Jewish and the other a Sabaean).
Today there are six Christian denominations (not including tiny numbers of Protestants), the largest of which is the Chaldean Catholic Church, which came into communion with Rome in the 16th century, followed in size by two Assyrian Orthodox churches. Assyrians speak neo-Aramaic (a modern form of Syriac) and identify as a distinct Semitic ethnic group; and although the term Chaldo-Assyrian is often used to emphasise the unity of Iraqi Christians, some Chaldeans identify simply as Christian Arabs. Others, especially those who hail from southern Turkey, call themselves Syriacs or Arameans and doubt the validity of the term "Assyrian", which only dates as a modern ethnic term to the 19th century, but nonetheless consider themselves to be one people.
 
Last month, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom released [PDF format warning] their 2012 Annual Report of the "worst religious freedom violators" which includes Iraq on the list.  The Commission found:
 
The Iraqi government continues to tolerate systematic, ongoing, and egregious religious freedom violations.  In the past year, religious sites and worshippers were targeted in violent attacks, often with impunity, and businesses viewed as "un-Islamic" were vandalized.  The most deadly such attacks during this period were against Shi'a pilgrims. While the Iraqi government has made welcome efforts to increase security, it continues to fall short in investigating attacks and bringing perpetrators to justice. It also took actions against political rivals in late 2011 that escalated Sunni-Shi'a sectarian tensions.  Large percentages of the country's smallest religious minorities -- which include Chaldo-Assyrian and other Christians, Sabean Mandaeans, and Yazidis -- have fled the country in recent years, threatening these ancient communities' very existence in Iraq; the diminished numbers that remain face official discrimination, marginalization, and neglect, particularly in areas of northern Iraq over which the Iraqi government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) dispute control. Religious freedom abuses of women and individuals who do not conform to strict interpretations of religious norms also remain a concern.
Based on these concerns, USCIRF again recommends in 2012 that Iraq be designated as a "country of particular concern," or CPC.  USCIRF has recommended CPC status for Iraq since 2008, and placed Iraq on its Watch List in 2007.
Although the Iraqi government has increased security and reportedly prevented several bombings, Muslim and Christian religious sites and worshippers still experienced violent attacks in 2011 - 2012.  Four individuals were convicted and sentenced for the high-profile October 2010 attack on a Catholic church in Baghdad, but there appeared to be little progress in investigating and prosecuting perpetrators of other attacks.  Sunni -Shi'a sectarian tensions increased significantly in late 2011 after the Shi'a-led government sought to arrest or fire senior Sunni officials. Christian and Yazidi businesses deemed "un-Islamic," such as liquor stores, were vandalized in Baghdad and the KRG region during 2011.  Non-Muslims and ethnic minorities in disputed areas continued to report abuses against women, girls, and secular Iraqis. Violence against Iraqi civilians continued in 2011 at approximately the same level as in 2010. Large numbers of Iraqis, many of whom fled religious persecution, remain displaced internally or outside the country, including in Syria where the security situation is increasingly dire.
 
 
Since the start of the illegal war, Iraq has had an ongoing exodus.  The professional class was the first to leave ("the brain drain").  As each year of the war and occupation started up, more and more Iraqis were leaving.  By 2008, Iraq was the largest refugee crisis in the Middle East since 1948.  Most do not get passage to Europe or the US and instead head for a neighboring country such as Jordan and Lebanon (and Syria until recently).From there some have received aslyum in other countries and others have entered Europe through a non-official process. 
 
The UNHCR estimates that Iraq currently has 1,343,568 internally displaced people and 1,683,579 external refugees. In addition, Iraq has an estimated 34,655 refugees in its country.  That includes the 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf as well as Palestinians. They aren't the only ones.  Benjamin Hiller (Berlin: Between Photo & Journalism) notes:
 
During my recent stay in Iraq I visited a refugee camp for Iranian Kurds about an hour by car from Hawler (Erbil) while the Kurdish New Years festivity Newroz was being celebrated.  Established 18 years ago roughly 400 people live in this camp of small concrete buildings, dust and surrounding fences.  The people had to flee Iran due to alleged ties to groups opposing the central government in Tehran. 
The camp was constructed with some help by the KRG (Kurdish Regional Government) and external donors, but the main work was done by the refugees themselves. Currently the children living in the camp, most of whom were born there, can attend a nearby school.  But the situation is still dire -- as the adults are only allowed to work one week a year.  A small store the refugees had set up on a street just outside of the camp to sell merchandise to passersby was closed down by the KRG as they had no official license. Their only regular income is a support payment by the Iranian-Kurdish Party: 20,000 Iraq Dinar a month -- around 17 Dollars.
 
 
Over the weekend, Iraq's oil was in the news -- specifically in terms of the disputes between the Baghdad-based central-government and the Kurdistan Regional Government.  All last week,  Baghdad insisted that ExxonMobil had cancelled its contract with the Kurds.  As Reuters noted, the Kurds have stated the deal made in October is still on. Aabha Rathee (Wall St. Cheat Sheet) reported, "A statement on the Kurdish president Masoud Barzani's website said Exxon chief executive officer Rex Tillerson has reaffirmed the company's commitment. "Rex Tillerson renewed the commitment of his company's signed contracts with Kurdistan and Iraq and expressed the readiness of Exxon Mobil to continue its work in Kurdistan," the statement said." The Kurdish Globe also noted the story. The Trefis Team (Forbes) offers this background:

Exploration companies have been lured to sign contracts with the KRG as it has offered attractive production sharing contracts while the central government has given out service contracts that compensate players based on a production linked fee. [1] The better security environment in Kurdistan also makes the region more lucrative to companies intending to set up local operations. However, despite these advantages, most oil majors have stayed clear of pursuing deals with the KRG to avoid antagonizing the central government, which does not recognize the validity of such regional contracts.


ExxonMobil is not the only issue of difference between the Nouri's government and the Kurdistan Regional Government. Pierre Betran (International Business Times) noted KRG President Massoud Barzani's visit to DC this week and points out, "At the heart of the Kurdish-Arab dispute is a constitutional provision that Kurdish President Massoud Barzani said last week hasn't been implemented by Baghdad. Speaking in Washington, he said the provision is designed to set governing and power-sharing agreements between the two governments. The law would also repatriate strategic oil-rich parts of Iraq to Kurdistan."
 
 
And back to the US for  this from Emma Cape's "Mark the second anniversary of Collateral Murder: help us free Bradley Manning" (Bradley Manning Org):

On April 5, 2010, WikiLeaks released the Collateral Murder video, depicting the killing of civilians and Reuters journalists, and the severe wounding of two children by a U.S. apache helicopter in Iraq. The Reuters news organization had unsuccessfully filed a Freedom of Information Request after the incident to obtain the video. However, it was the WikiLeaks whistle-blower, allegedly PFC Bradley Manning, who took action to expose the horror that took place that day.

Since then, WikiLeaks has become well known worldwide, and Bradley Manning has been nominated twice for the Nobel Peace Prize.

To honor the second anniversary of the video's release, we ask that you gather your friends and neighbors sometime during the week of April 15-21 to show them the video and start a discussion about why Bradley Manning deserves to be freed.

Below are links to a downloadable version of Collateral Murder and an interview with soldier Ethan McCord, seen rescuing children out of the van in the video. You can share the videos with your guests to start the discussion about advocating for Bradley.

Download Collateral Murder here.

Suggested questions:
  • How are you feeling after watching this video?
  • Have you seen the video in the news or have you heard friends talk about it? How do you think the release of the video has impacted your community?
  • In his supposed Instant Messaging conversation with Adrian Lamo, the hacker who reported Bradley to the authorities, Bradley states the information should be in the public domain because "without information, you cannot make informed decisions as a public." Do you agree?
Bradley Manning was arrested one month after this video was made public.

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