Friday, January 19, 2018

Easy (really) cornbread muffins

I told Tiffany in an e-mail exchange this week, "Next time, start with 'I use a mix'."

:D

I was providing her all these cornbread recipes because she wanted to make them like her great aunt had -- with corn kernels and jalapenos.

Okay, here's easy (really) cornbread muffins.

Go buy a dry mix at the store (on the baking aisle).  Check the back of the package before leaving store to make sure you have all you need (eggs, usually).

Mix the mix in a bowl as instructed.  Then, add 1/2 of 1 can of creamed corn -- it must be creamed, do not use regular corn.  Spoon into a muffin pan.

(Really easy, easy, easy?  Line the pan with cupcake holders.  That will make for less problems when you have to clean the pan.)

Chop some jalapenos from a jar -- not fresh unless you know what you're doing.

Drop one or two into each muffin.

Put into oven and cook as instructed on the back of the mix.

It's really easy.

I didn't blog last night.

Because I was pissed.

Dylan Farrow.

Can't stand her.

Don't believe her.

And I feel bad but she comes off like a liar.

She also comes off as selfish (notice she said nothing about the two boys her uncle molested -- he's serving ten years in prison for that currently).

And as a liar.

And she had her day in court.

Back in 1992, we had to live through this whole nonsense.

It was such a big story that it was joke time on the talk shows and it was even a topic at the national convention for the Republican Party.  (I think Dan Quayle brought it up, he wasn't the only one to do so.)

So now we're back to it all these decades later?

She had her day.

Two different investigations.

She was not found to be believable.

One group, the New Haven-Yale group, found that she had not been molested and that what she was stating was the result of coaching (from Mia).

She had her day and now she's back to whine again.

And it's not enough for her to attack Woody Allen, she has to attack the people who worked with him.

Honey, start with your own damn mother.  Who was perfectly willing to work with him even after the break up.  (She thought she could make all those charges against Woody and he'd still play opposite her in Manhattan Murder Mystery.  He fired her and Diane Keaton stepped in.)

She's whining about how everything's a trigger.

Grow the f**k up.

You're 32-years-old, grow the f**k up.

I'm serious.

She's selfish and she's a liar.

She had her day in court -- twice.

She was found to be a liar.

And now she's whining again.

It didn't happen and she won't shut up.

She's as disgusting as her trashy mother.  Here's Moses talking about 'loving' mother Mia:

In his earliest memories, “I was awoken in the middle of the night by Mia. I was in kindergarten. I slept in the girls’ room with [my adopted sisters] Lark and Daisy, on the lower bed of the bunk. Mia pulled me out of it. I was still half asleep as she repeatedly asked in a harsh tone if I had taken her pills. It wasn’t out of concern that I had swallowed any, but rather accusing me that I had stolen them from her. She took me to her bathroom. I was crying as she stood over me, scowling. I told her a dozen or so more times that I hadn’t taken them, but finally I said what she wanted to hear. I was forced to lie. However, simply telling her I took them didn’t suffice, and more questions ensued. I had to elaborate on the lie and tell her I had taken four or five pills because I thought they were Tic Tacs.  She pulled me over to the sink and directed me to put her bar of soap in my mouth and then instructed me to wash out my mouth, telling me that lying is a bad thing to do. Once I dried my mouth she put me back to bed. The next day I searched for the missing pills and found them under the cabinet between the toilet and the bathtub; however, I never mentioned it to her out of fear of getting into more trouble. This was the first time I felt truly fearful of her, and it was the start of her instilling fear in me. It began the very long and impossible task of gaining her approval. I can recall numerous times that she let me know the burden was on me to gain her trust.
“The summer between first and second grades, she was having new wallpaper installed in the bedroom I slept in, across the hall from hers on the second floor of the house in Connecticut. She was getting me ready to go to sleep, and when she came over to my bed she found a tape measure. I didn’t even know what it was. She had a piercing look on her face that stopped me in my tracks. It was really scary. She asked if I had taken it. She used that familiar voice I had become attuned to as she explained she had been looking for it all day. I stood in front of her, frozen.  She asked why it was on my bed. I told her I didn’t know, that perhaps the workman left it there. After a couple more demands for the answer she wanted, she slapped my face, knocking off my glasses. She told me I was lying. She directed me to tell my brothers and sisters that I had taken the tape measure. Through my crying and tears I listened to her as she explained that we would rehearse what should have happened. She told me that she would walk into the room and I would tell her I was sorry for taking the tape measure, that I had taken it to play with and that I would never do it again. We practiced at least a half dozen times. It became late, I was afraid and had cried myself out. Once she was satisfied, she took me to the rocking chair and rocked me. After a short while she brought me downstairs and made hot chocolate for me before putting me to bed. That was the start of her coaching, drilling, scripting, and rehearsing.
“Over the next few years, I continued to become more anxious and fearful. At that point, I had learned to fight, flee, or freeze. I often chose the latter two. For instance, as a young child, I was given a new pair of jeans. I thought they would look cool if I cut off a couple of the belt loops. When my mother found I had done this, she spanked me repeatedly—as was her way—and had me remove all my clothes saying, ‘You’re not deserving of any clothes.’ Then she had me stand naked in the corner of her room.”
Monica Thompson was a nanny in the Farrow household from 1986 to 1993. In a January 1993 affidavit to Woody’s lawyers reported by theLos Angeles Times, she said that around 1990 she saw Farrow slap Moses across the face because he could not find a dog’s leash. “The other children were horrified and told their mother that it could not have been Moses who lost the leash. Farrow told the children that it was not their place to comment on the incident. The children were scared of their mother and did not like to confide in her because they were afraid of what their reactions might be.” (Thompson acknowledged that in 1992 she had told Connecticut police that Farrow was a good mother and did not hit her children but that she had lied because she was pressured to support the charges against Woody and feared losing her job. She resigned in January 1993 after being subpoenaed to testify in the custody battle.)



That's the real Mia and probably how Dylan learned to lie (read on about how she says Mommy wants her to lie and she'll get a doll if she does -- Dylan gets that doll).


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


Friday, January 19, 2018.  Chaos and violence continue and it's getting harder and harder for Hayder al-Abadi to spin present day Iraq as 'success.'





I'm under 25 & I know who Ashleigh Banfield is.

She was the reporter on NYC streets during 9/11.

She interviewed Taliban prisoners during the Iraq War.

& She's the woman who made sure Brock Turner's mugshot was on CNN.

IDK who TF Katie Way is, but she's no journalist.










Actually, Jailain, I'm not sure you know who Ashleigh Banfield is.

Her most courageous moment was regarding the Iraq War -- and that was calling out the coverage of it.

You do mention the Iraq War but I'm not sure you understand that either.  Taliban?

Did you study with Dick Cheney?  Was Bully Boy Bush your tutor?

The Taliban is in Afghanistan.

As for Katie Way, I detest the article she produced (the bad date = abuse nonsense).  But she is a journalist.  And the fact that you're Tweeting about her underscores that.

And I doubt Katie Way would confuse Afghanistan with Iraq.


Iraq where the greed keeps the foreign fighters on the ground . . .




BP strikes deal with Iraq to exploit giant Kirkuk field. Agreement cements Baghdad control over Iraqi Kurdistan after its failed independence bid.











The greedy swoop in.  Iraq's a country with double-digit unemployment (16% is the official number).  An oil rich country that can't take care of its citizens.  Where does the money go?  Don't ask Hayder al-Abadi -- he's spent three years now insisting he was going to fight corruption.  They can do show trials of Sunnis they wrongly call members of ISIS and carry those trials out in 15 minutes but somehow it's different for the corrupt.  Probably the difference results from the fact that the ones stealing from Iraq are the political class.


A country of widows and orphans.  That's what the Iraq War has created and continues to create.


Hayder's taking to crowing a lot lately.




The number of Iraqis returning to their home has now surpassed the number of IDPs in Iraq. With the support of its local and international partners, the will continue working to ensure the safe and dignified return of all displaced Iraqis to their homes and communities








He forgets that many of the displaced have been forced to return and forced to return to unsafe areas.

He also forgets the issue of the ages of the displaced.


REUTERS reports:

About half the 2.6 million people displaced in Iraq after a three-year war with Islamic State militants are children and persisting violence hampers efforts to ease their suffering, the United Nations said on Friday.

While the Baghdad government last month declared victory over Islamic State after wresting back almost all the territory IS seized in 2014, persistent bombing and shooting attacks make it difficult to rebuild the lives of displaced people, according to UNICEF, the U.N. children's agency.
"We believe that as a result of the conflict, a lack of investment over the years, and the poverty ... that there are 4 million children now in need across Iraq," said Peter Hawkins, UNICEF chief representative in the country.


Not really a success for Hayder, no matter how he spins it.

B-b-b-ut at least he vanquished ISIS, right?

Uh . . . no.

From the US Defense Dept this morning:





Strikes in Iraq

There were no reported strikes conducted in Iraq on Jan. 18, 17 and 14.

On Jan. 16 near Rutbah in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against ISIS targets, destroying three ISIS underground facilities and a generator.

On Jan. 15 near Rutbah in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets, destroying two ISIS weapons caches.

On Jan. 13 near Mosul in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of one engagement against ISIS targets, destroying an ISIS tunnel.

On Jan. 12 near Tuz in Iraq, coalition military forces conducted a strike consisting of three engagements against an ISIS tactical unit.

Yes, the US continues to bomb Iraq.


It says it's targeting ISIS.

That sort of contradicts Hayder's boasts of triumph.

As does the continued violence.  WORLD BULLETIN reports, "At least three civilians were killed Friday in two separate bombings in Iraq’s Baghdad and Diyala provinces, according to local security sources."  And the death toll has now climbed to four with at least two people left injured.


'Success'?  Does that also include the continued targeting of civilians by Hayder's militias?





and have seen widespread violations against Kurds since the military takeover of the disputed areas by the Iraqi army and Iranian-backed Hashd al-Shaabi militias in mid-October.











The more time passes, the less impressive he comes off.

Which is why he wants the elections to be held in May and not postponed.

On the elections, MIDDLE EAST MONITOR reports:


The Iraqi parliament has failed to set a new date for the upcoming legislative elections, Iraqi media sources reported yesterday.

Media sources quoted Members of the Parliament (MPs) as saying that yesterday’s session was devoted to a secret ballot on holding the elections on either 12 May, the date that was announced by the Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi, or in early December 2018.

During the session, Kurds and Shiites MPs both stressed the importance of holding elections on time, while Sunnis argued that it should be delayed.

Of the 260 MPs in attendance, 149 suggested a secret vote on the matter, but Shiite MPs objected, arguing it was illegal.

Parliament speaker Salim Al-Jabouri, a Sunni, decided at the end of yesterday’s session to postpone the voting session to next Saturday, after the “secret voting to delay the elections failed.”


If elections are going to take place in May, this vote needs to happen soon.  In the past, three months has been used as the minimum required to prepare for elections.  Electronic voting -- if paper ballots are indeed out the window in Iraq as some insist -- will not mean less time required since there will need to be training and planning to utilize those.

The US Embassy in Baghdad issued the following yesterday:


The U.S. government strongly supports holding the Iraqi national elections in May 2018, in line with the Iraqi constitution.  Postponing the elections would set a dangerous precedent, undermining the constitution and damaging Iraq’s long-term democratic development.
To that end, the United States is providing assistance that will help ensure that all Iraqi voices are heard and counted, including the approximately 2.6 million Iraqis who remain displaced from their homes in the liberated areas.  USAID is assisting in the training of local civil society groups in election monitoring and providing Iraq’s Independent High Electoral Commission (IHEC) with six elections advisors who will help IHEC strengthen its electoral systems, personnel, and processes in the following ways:


  • Enfranchise internally displaced Iraqis by focusing on voter registration and ensuring electronic voting systems are effective.
  • Improve provincial electoral administrative capacity to support voting in recently liberated areas.
  • Help the new IHEC Board of Commissioners finalize a sound operational plan for the May 2018 elections.


Support for Iraq’s democratic institutions is a key part of the United States’ ongoing commitment to a federal, democratic, prosperous, and unified Iraq.  By exercising their constitutional right to vote, Iraqis will signal their commitment to governance through peaceful processes rather than through violence.



The following community sites -- plus Jody Watley, PACIFICA EVENING NEWS and LATINO USA --  updated: