Friday, March 31, 2017

Healthcare is a right


Bernie Sanders wants to expand Medicare to everybody — exactly what its architects wanted by



Yes, that was the point.


That was what FDR wanted.


But he died.

So over 60 years later, we still don't have it.

How does that make sense?

It doesn't.

We need to demand Medicare for All.  It's the only answer.

Healthcare is a right.

It is not an option.

Senator Ben Cardin is a disgrace.

He currently supports the Iraq War and sees a need for it to be endless.

(But he opposed it in 2002??????????)


He's also standing in the way of Medicare for all.






And . . .

cannot be fixed. No tweaking, we need NOW It's Made-in-America @TheRealDonaldTrump



That's what we need.

How do we get it?


You have to demand it.


You have to insist upon it.

It's the only way.


This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot" for Friday:


Friday, March 31, 2017.  Chaos and violence continues as Michael Gordon and THE NEW YORK TIMES sling their ass to work it for death merchants.


Judith Miller lost her job at THE NEW YORK TIMES over her Iraq War stenography.  Her frequent co-writer Michael Gordon kept his.

A reminder of the damage control the government stenographer can still perform appears on A6 of today's NEW YORK TIMES.

What is the big news?

The massacre of civilians in Mosul, apparently killed in a US air strike.

So the government rolls down the window at Gordo's street corner and guess who walks over?

The money shot?

"New ISIS Tactic: Gather Mosul's Civilians, Then Lure an Airstrike."

In other words?

Those hundreds of civilians killed?

They had it coming.

Shouldn't have gone out that late at night, shouldn't have worn those tight clothes, they were begging for it.


No where in the ravings of the aging prostitute do issues like international law appear.

Not once does he note that, even if his assertion is true, it doesn't not excuse dropping bombs on civilians.


Silly US government, they sent a disease ridden whore to do a clean up thinking the American people would believe Michael Gordon.

Gordo, of course, offers no dissenting view.

And, for the record, he has no eye witnesses.

Iraqis would be the one to talk to -- residents of Mosul.

But when has THE NEW YORK TIMES ever been interested in the Iraqi civilains?

When they sold the war?

When the re-sold it to keep it going?


yeah, so maybe you guys close up shop. I'm sure the people of Iraq wouldn't mind you scumbags





The Iraqi people are not numbers.

They live, they breathe, they dream just like anyone else.

Yet the paper of (mis)record has repeatedly rendered them invisible.

Gordo continues that long and disgraceful tradition today.

Not everyone is unable to speak to the victims.

Heartbreaking: speaks with survivors of the attacks that left dozens dead and others injured








Meanwhile, THE ARMY TIMES reports, "About 600 soldiers from the 1st Armored Division will deploy later this year to Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army announced Wednesday.  Of those, about 400 soldiers belong to the 1st Armored Division headquarters at Fort Bliss, Texas. They are scheduled to deploy this summer to Iraq in support of Operation Inherent Resolve."  Corey Dickstein (STARS & STRIPES) adds, "Both deployments are rotations of regular troops replacing units currently deployed, according to the Army. Therefore, they do not represent an increase in American forces in either country, an Army spokesman said."  On the topic of troops, W.J. Hennigan (LOS ANGELES TIMES) reports:

Even as the U.S. military takes on a greater role in the warfare in Iraq and Syria, the Trump administration has stopped disclosing significant information about the size and nature of the U.S. commitment, including the number of U.S. troops deployed in either country.
Earlier this month, the Pentagon quietly dispatched 400 Marines to northern Syria to operate artillery in support of Syrian militias that are cooperating in the fight against Islamic State, according to U.S. officials. That was the first use of U.S. Marines in that country since its long civil war began.
In Iraq, nearly 300 Army paratroopers were deployed recently to help the Iraqi military in their six-month assault on the city of Mosul, according to U.S. officials.




It's day 165 of The Mosul Slog.

How's that working out?


map update. Green= completely liberated. Orange= frontline clashes. White= control








That's a visual showing the Islamic State still controls a great deal of land.

Still controls it 165 days after the operation to 'liberate' Mosul started.


And how's that 'liberation' going?



: IOM urgently requires $76.3 million, of which $28.83 million is desperately needed 2 care 4 IDPs in next 12wks.







UN chief urges greater solidarity with displaced: via


In N Iraq, calls for greater support for all those displaced by the fighting in Mosul.






IRAQ: Displace Iraqi Families from Western Mosul.








Doesn't look like liberation, does it?


Doesn't sound like it either as described by Molly Hennessy-Fiske (LOS ANGELES TIMES):


They camp on muddy corners, beside an abandoned mosque and in the rain-soaked ruins of a soccer stadium — families displaced by ongoing fighting in Mosul are filling emergency camps in this smaller city about 20 miles south.
Disabled boys arrived in wheelchairs one day last week, and elderly men limped in on metal braces and canes.





The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan, THE GUARDIAN, Jody Watley and DISSIDENT VOICE -- updated:











  • ADDED at Ann's request:






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