Wednesday, February 27, 2019

Corporate efforts to rip off We The People fail for once

A very strong piece by Danny Haiphong at Black Agenda Report should be read by everyone.  Not just Cher, who does need to read it after her outraged Tweet about how Alexandria Ocascio-Cortez had cost NYC jobs, but everyone who still does not grasp that multinationals are not our friends.

From the article:

Jeff Bezos has decided not to build an Amazon corporation headquarters in New York City. According to reports, Bezos was deterred by opposition from local politicians. Opposition from local New York City politicians was in part a response to the organizing efforts of unions and community organizations such as the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union and CUNY Rising Alliance. The deal to bring Amazon to New York City initially came under scrutiny after the richest corporation in the world was guaranteed three billion dollars in local and state tax subsidies and other incentives. Amazon’s departure from NYC was much more than a singular “bad deal.” Bezos was sent packing because real limits to austerity do exist and it is the task of revolutionary and socialist leftists to assist the masses in realizing them.
One limit of austerity is the “buy the city” model that monopoly corporations have been imposing on localities across the United States for the last several years. Corporations such as Amazon understand that low-wages and high-tech production schemes eventually reach their limits of profitability when competing monopolies adopt the same practices. One of the ways that monopolies have increased their profitability is by pressuring public sector institutions into starvation (austerity) and then replacing them (privatization).The U.S. austerity regime has reached a high-point and has primarily targeted Black cities. During the Obama period, Detroitand Atlantic City had their governing bodies turned over to the same private law firm, Jones Day, which acted as a proxy for the banks. These cities were effectively declared “failed states” of the domestic variety and in need of humanitarian economic intervention from Wall Street.


This model inspired Amazon to sink its teeth into New York City, home of Wall Street and one of the highest union density rates in the United States at 22 percent . Bezos didn’t have to fight hard for three billion dollars in tax evasion dollars from New York’s coffers. Amazon had already pressured Seattle last year into rejecting a proposed per-employee tax on the corporation that would allow the city to address the issue of homelessness. Recent reports have found that Amazon has paid zero dollars in federal taxes over the last year despite being the most profitable corporation on the planet.
Amazon has also profited mightily from the U.S. military apparatus. Amazon possesses a 600-million-dollar contract with the Central Intelligence Agency . Last year, Amazon came under fire for having sold facial recognition technology to ICE in support of its deportation regime. The corporation is also the frontrunner in securing a contract to develop cloud technology for the Pentagon . Enhanced cloud technology will greatly expand the surveillance capabilities of the military-state. Amazon invests heavily in perpetual warfare to boost its profit margins at the expense of the world’s people.


It's an important article about an important topic.


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

 
Wednesday, February 27, 2019.  Accountability, does it exist at all?


This event wraps up today:



Today and tomorrow, The Night Foundation Media Forum:






Stream the Knight Media Forum LIVE on YOUR Website
LIVE February 26-27, 2019

The Knight Media Forum is the most important annual gathering of journalists, funders, information theorists and others interested in the future of the news media in this country.

And this year its mission is more crucial than ever, as trust in the media continues to decline, as local newsrooms shrink, as news deserts expand and as the threat these changes pose for democracy becomes abundantly clear.

The Knight Media Forum will be convening leading experts at both the local and national level to explore solutions to assure that all citizens receive accurate, reliable news and information that serves the needs of their diverse communities.

Detroit Public TV will be live streaming the conference on February 26-27 and providing it to organizations free of charge.

Anchoring the coverage is Emmy-winning journalist, Hari Sreenivasan, host of “PBS NewsHour Weekend” and the national public television show “SciTech Now.”




Should any of the above not work, remember to check Detroit Public TV where the forum will be streamed live.






Regarding yesterday's snapshot, Martha and Shirley calculate 37 e-mails to the public account from non-community members who don't see the point in calling out CODESTINK.  Many of the e-mails, per Martha and Shirley, had the exact same language including "divisive."

No, it's not divisive.  If it is, I'm fine with that.

You would understand the Dems and better if you knew what happened to the US antiwar movement in 2006/07. It was hijacked by ⁦⁩ & ⁦⁩ to serve AND fund the war in . It never recovered.
 
 



Exactly.

And if you don't learn, you're going to be tricked again.  Yes, I noted in 2004 that all the internet really was doing was beheading Cokie Roberts while thousands of Cokies sprung up in her place (all of which were male).

There were so many promises and so many boasts.  Where are they?  Where are they opposing plans to overthrow an elected government in Venezuela?

And they certainly aren't bothering to inform you of all the sell-outs.

Leslie Cagan grandstanded on Iraq.  We could explore the damage she did to PACIFICA RADIO -- and Leslie's moves back then are part of the reason PACIFICA has had so many financial problems.  But the reality is she used United for Peace and Justice as a front group, it's purpose was not to end the Iraq War.  It's purpose was to elect Democrats.  UFPJ -- and CODESTINK was part of this -- refused to hold DC events after the Democrats were in power of the Congress.  Didn't want to "embarrass" them.  And, of course, a week after Barack Obama was elected, they shut down their site stating that their goals had been accomplished.

The war didn't end.

But UFPJ didn't care.  And you know they weren't going to call out Barack so they had to shut down.  Fake asses.

Jill Stein?

I think I've been very fair to Jill Stein.  I can't stand her.  Ava and I called her out (rightly) in "Let the fun begin" but except for that piece, I've usually ignored any real criticism of her unless it was Iraq.

I'm an adult, I'm in mood for her b.s.  She thinks Tweets are actions?  She's an embarrassment (and she better not get the Green Party nomination in 2020, they sorely need fresh blood).

In 2012, Jill ran for the presidency.  Barack had a flair up in a debate with Mitt Romney, it didn't go well.  And Jill could have built on that to get left votes.  Instead, she used that moment to attack Mitt Romney demonstrating that she would never really be much more than the little sister to the Democratic Party.

Three real debates took place between Barack and Mitt.  Jill participated in at least two mock debates.

I'm sorry her Tweets about how awful the Iraq War was?

Glad you see it in 2019.  Where the f**k were you in 2012 or 2016?


In 2012, Barack was campaigning on how he removed all US troops from Iraq and kept his campaign promise.  He didn't.  The press let him get away with it, whores.  Why did Jill let him get away with it?

Ahead of the three debates, September 26, 2012,  Tim Arango (THE NEW YORK TIMES) reported:

 
Iraq and the United States are negotiating an agreement that could result in the return of small units of American soldiers to Iraq on training missions. At the request of the Iraqi government, according to General Caslen, a unit of Army Special Operations soldiers was recently deployed to Iraq to advise on counterterrorism and help with intelligence.        


But over the next weeks, Barack would go through three televised debates with no member of the press questioning him at the debate or in print after about why he was making claims that were not true.

Nor did Jill ask that question.

Jill ran in 2012 with no mention of war and peace.  She was a joke.  The Green Party can run serious candidates.  And has.  Jill is not one.

And it's outrageous when she now does a Tweet 'about' the Iraq War.  They are never about the Iraq War.  Jill can't even focus on Iraq for 280 characters.  She can't -- and hasn't -- given a speech on Iraq while she has twice run for the presidency.  But she wants to jump on a no war train that might build so she used Iraq today.  It's short hand, it's a reference point.

Iraqis are dying.  Iraq is occupied by the US.  I can't believe the craven whores who think they can get away with ignoring Iraq excepts as a moment in the distant past.

That's Medea Benjmain.  Media has problems.  Seriously, there's a disconnect there.  She's just not very bright.  I grasp that.  But I also grasp that she walked away from Iraq in 2006.  I grasp that and Joie (a bundler for Barack) used Iraq to destroy Hillary Clinton in 2008.

Why would anyone forgive her for that?

She bird-dogged Hillary, CODESTINK did it as an organization as well.  They forgot to note that founder Jodie was backing Barrack and that Jodie was a bundler for Barack's campaign.

That wasn't fair.  And we called it out in real time.  Every now and then in the last two years, a Hillary cultist will whine in a piece that it's so unfair Hillary was held accountable but this man or that man wasn't.

There are some reasons why Hillary is held accountable when others are not -- some that are valid.  But there are reasons that aren't valid.

And if the ones whining want to get serious, they need to blame Medea and CODESTINK.  They even teamed up with an African-American woman that they quickly dropped after 2008 -- teamed up to trash Hillary because they needed, in their minds, a person of color to give them 'soul.'  How very frat boy of them.

Again, they dropped her -- long before the idiot started sporting dollar store weave in public.

She let herself and her work be used and CODESTINK was happy to use it.

Let's define Hillary cultist.  I do not insult the 2008 crew.  If you were around then -- Debra Messing wasn't -- you know how Hillary was held to an unfair statndard in order to promote lies about Barack so that he'd get the nomination.  You know Hillary experienced real sexism in 2008.  If you called that out, you were attacked.  The cesspool that is DAILY KOS, for example, began banning women (they would disagree with that statement and if I care what right wingers from authoritarian regimes in Latin America thought, I'd word that differently).

I don't know where Patty Arquette (who I do know but never knew she'd get this f**king crazy) was in 2008 but she wasn't helping Hillary.  Nor was Debra Messing.

Rickie Lee Jones was, Cher was, etc.  I don't fault them for their support of Hillary in 2016.  And they, like so many others, have the scars from 2008.  Delilah Boyd and so many other women who were important voices online closed shop because of the attacks that we experienced from men for refusing to lie about Hillary, for refusing to stone her and join in the bash the bitch game.

Even Riverdaughter who I always had problems with is not going to get attacked for supporting Hillary in 20016 because she was there in 2008 and she was there fighting.

We fought sexism.  And the bratty boyz of DAILY KOS and elsewhere trashed us, threatened us, tried to intimidate us.  That even includes that hideous Lambert of CORRENTE.  I had several e-mails from female bloggers about the way he treated them, the way he attacked them, for supporting Hillary (and he was supposedly a Hillary supporter -- supposedly? he encouraged people to write in Hillary in the general election -- that wasn't a vote for Hillary, if those votes were counted they would have gone to Barack Obama, he lied, he's a liar).

Now CODESTINK used Iraq to destroy Hillary in 2008.  And then where were they on Iraq in 2009?

No where.

It was important enough for them to stalk her, to show up at campaign events booing her and heckling her.

But a year later?  Iraq what?

Medea presents herself as a leader to this day.  She's not.  She's a huckster -- less so than some because she really isn't intelligent.  She has to co-write those pieces (she chooses to co-write with men, she doesn't have to do that).  She is just not smart and if you speak with her you will grasp that quickly.

She needs to be called out because she's a fake ass.  Right now, she's supposedly against war on Venezuela.  Okay, is she going to be there three or four years from now?

No, she's not.

And we saw that in 2006, Medea and CODESTINK left the US -- in the midst of their hideous hunger strike (do not encourage women or girls not to eat -- that is a serious issue in the US) -- to go meet with Iraqis.  This was going to be huge, they insisted, and they were going to be writing about it and talking about it and giving intereviews about it and . .

Oh, look, Palestine!

And they immediately stabbed the Iraqis in the back. One who met with them has written a wonderful column for the gina & krista round-robin about what a betrayal that was.

Medea and CODESTINK can't focus, they drop real issues (like the ongoing Iraq War) to instead devote time to whatever's trending on Twitter.  And they do this while insisting they are an anti-war group.

They need to be called out. MOVE ON does as well.  And I've called them out repeatedly and directly.  Unlike Danny Schechter who hid behind me to call them out.  He was as furious over their betrayal as I was but could only tell me that on the phone or in an e-mail or (a few times) in person.  So he hid behind me and my writing to call them out.  Fine. I'll be your sin eater if it gets Iraq covered.

But grasp that there are entire conversations that take place among the left about how far you can go in holding one of our own accountable.

These people need to be held accountable.

Medea's misleading today.  She needs to either take publicly accountability or step aside (or be pushed aside).  I'm okay with trusting someone even if I'm skeptical about what they might do.  But when I know what they have done?  When I know that they will drop protesting an ongoing war when they don't think it gets them media attention?  No, I'm not going to enter into that situation.

The Iraq War has not ended.  BBC NEWS reports:

A soldier has admitted manslaughter by gross negligence after accidently killing his best friend in their living quarters during a tour of Iraq.
L/Cpl Colin Theaker was "playing around" with a service pistol when he accidently fired a fatal shot at L/Cpl Scott Hetherington, from Middleton.
In a statement, L/Cpl Colin Theaker described the shooting on 2 January 2017 as a "terrible accident".



How horrible.  And Colin Theaker may have accidentally pulled the trigger but this is a global issue.  Why were foreign troops still in Iraq in 2017?  (Because the war never ended.)  That blood is on all of our hands -- mine included.  We have allowed these wars to continue and we have put people in places that they should not be.  If Scott Hetherington hadn't been sent to Iraq by his government, he might be alive today.


Let's again note former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki's accusations:


: THE : " ": THE . Former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki: Administration Played Important Role In Of : -> via
 
 
The People's Voice | Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has revealed,...
 
 
Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has revealed, for the first time, how the US supported ISIS and intentionally allowed the terror group to gain power in Iraq so that Washington could...
 
 
Former Iraqi PM Reveals How Obama Knowingly Helped ISIS. Nouri al-Maliki has revealed, for the first time, how the US supported ISIS and intentionally allowed the terror group to gain power in Iraq...
 
 
Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki agreed with remarks made during 2016 US presidential campaign that was the “founder” of Daesh, since he fully evacuated Iraq at the wrong time to let the terrorist group overrun it.
 
 
Ex-Iraqi PM accuses Obama of helping ISIS seize large parts of Iraq: Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki said the administration of played a crucial role in the creation of Daesh by allowing the terrorist group to occupy Iraqi territories.
 
 


Again, the US media continues to ignore this.  In other news, Alex Williams (PREMIER) reports:

Pope Francis has parted ways with a luxury car, with the money raised by its sale being used to restore Church buildings destroyed by Islamic State in Iraq.

A silver and gold Huracán Coupé presented to the pope by Italian car marker Lamborghini in 2017 was entered into a lottery which raised €200,000.
The sum (equivalent to £171,000) has been donated by the pontiff to the Catholic charity Aid to the Church in Need (ACN) to fund the restoration of a nursery and a community centre.









The following community sites -- plus ANTIWAR.COM and DISSIDENT VOICE -- updated:




  • Tuesday, February 26, 2019

    Divisions?

    At WSWS, Hiram Lee and Andre Damon take a look at GREEN BOOK and at an effort on the part of some critics to promote and sew divisions:


    Where does this lead? Why not establish two different academies and sets of awards—one for best “black” film, and one for best “white” film? And why stop at film? Why not have separate schools and colleges? Why not separate drinking fountains?
    The sickness of racism is gripping substantial sections of the upper-middle class and dominant sections of the political establishment, academia and official cultural commentary. The top 10 percent of society, immensely jealous of the vast wealth piled up by the financial oligarchy yet fearful of the masses, sees in racial and identity politics a way of pursuing its social interests not only against those above, but, more importantly, against those below.
    This racist view of politics has been invested with tremendous political significance and has become the central electoral strategy of the Democratic Party, which fears above all any effort to unite workers of different nationalities in a common struggle.

    That's an interesting take.  I will have to mull it over.


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


    Tuesday, February 26, 2019.  Violence is on the rise in Iraq and Nouri's plotting and scheming to be the prime minister again.


    Today and tomorrow, The Night Foundation Media Forum:





    Stream the Knight Media Forum LIVE on YOUR Website
    LIVE February 26-27, 2019

    The Knight Media Forum is the most important annual gathering of journalists, funders, information theorists and others interested in the future of the news media in this country.

    And this year its mission is more crucial than ever, as trust in the media continues to decline, as local newsrooms shrink, as news deserts expand and as the threat these changes pose for democracy becomes abundantly clear.

    The Knight Media Forum will be convening leading experts at both the local and national level to explore solutions to assure that all citizens receive accurate, reliable news and information that serves the needs of their diverse communities.

    Detroit Public TV will be live streaming the conference on February 26-27 and providing it to organizations free of charge.

    Anchoring the coverage is Emmy-winning journalist, Hari Sreenivasan, host of “PBS NewsHour Weekend” and the national public television show “SciTech Now.”




    Should any of the above not work, remember to check Detroit Public TV where the forum will be streamed live.


    This morning, XINHUA reports, "At least three people were killed and three others injured Tuesday in a roadside bomb explosion in Iraq's western province of Anbar, a provincial police source said."
    This attack takes place as violence is already on the increase in Iraq.  EGYPT TODAY reports:

    Fatwa monitoring observatory stated Monday that Iraq topped the countries that witnessed the largest number of terror attacks during the third week of February, totaling nine attacks carried out by IS group.

    According to the observatory, the attacks targeted Iraqi security forces in Nineveh city, and ranged between armed attacks, explosions, kidnapping, executions, bombings and landmines. The attacks killed two officers, and 12 Iraqi citizens, including five security personnel.  



    CODESTINK, meanwhile, is trying to work up attention over their meeting with an official in Iran (an official who has since resigned).

    The useless pieces of trash -- that's what you are ladies.  You fund raised off Iraq.  I'm counting 25 of your Tweets back (not reTweets) and not one focuses on Iraq.  You went to Iran.  Am I supposed to be impressed?  You didn't go to Iraq.  You never do.

    Youu do useless hunger strikes which is the last thing women need. All of your actions are useless.  You hate Donald Trump so suddenly you're back.  Where were you when Barack was in the White House?

    CODESTINK is a place for worthless whores who do nothing and who lack the fortitude to stick with any cause for more than 30 seconds.  If you want to read what they 'feel' happened in Iran, go for it.  I don't trust them.  I don't trust them to stay with a cause.  I also don't trust their 'feelings' about evetns that take place.  It's a ridiculous and unsourced article.  Oh, 91% supported a deal a few years back now a little over 50% do?  Based on what?  A government official told you that?

    Well CODSTINK's now become the Judy Miller Girl Brigade.  What a proud moment.

    There's not an honest sentence in their own write up.

    What a sad bunch of aging freaks who failed to commit to anything.  Even the Raging Grannies expressed disappointment in CODESTINK and read any of their (in)actions today and you'll see why.

    Medea's not getting the attention she so requires.  Maybe she'll return to crying about being pie-ed in what has to be one of the funniest moments of the last ten years.  No one ever deserved a pieing as much as fake ass Medea.

    They flew to Iran and apparently couldn't make it over to neighboring Iraq.  What a joke they have become.

    At Chatham House, Renad Mansour examines a power struggle:


    Earlier this month, Iraq’s paramilitary group raided the home of and arrested one of its own — a prominent and long-time paramilitary leader, Aws al-Khafaji. The Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) — an umbrella organization of about 50 predominantly Shia paramilitary groups — has initiated a crackdown on groups.
    The purging reveals an emerging reality in Iraq: the paramilitary groups that fought together against ISIS are competing against each other for power, legitimacy and resources. In this process, the PMU is further institutionalizing by centralizing power over the disparate groups that fall within its umbrella. This competition has profound implications for stability in post-ISIS Iraq — and for how we should understand its emerging state.
    The PMU was created in response to the rise of ISIS in 2014. While Iraq’s armed forces remained in disarray, the PMU brought together paramilitary organizations that quickly recruited thousands of volunteers to fight ISIS. Groups within the organization hold varying ideologies and sources of emulation, but the senior leadership maintains strong links to Iran.
    Recently, the senior PMU leadership has embarked on raids and purges from within its own ranks to consolidate and centralize power and institutionalize the organization. This process is the PMU’s attempt to clean up its image by taking more control over groups that commit violations. In a recent interview, PMU leader Abu Mehdi al-Muhandis said that certain paramilitary groups were committing violations and should be dealt with. The PMU accused Khafaji’s organization of being one of these groups.
    During the fight against ISIS, Khafaji remained loyal to the senior PMU leaders and their Iranian allies and often spoke on behalf of the PMU. As that battle wound down, he began criticizing Iranian interference in Iraq. He also stood against the killing of his cousin, Iraqi novelist Alaa Mushthoub, who was gunned down in Karbala. He and many Iraqis believe that the gunman was linked to the PMU. To them, the novelist was targeted for his secularism and sustained critique of Iranian Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
    The PMU’s internal divisions are part of a wider intra-Shia struggle for power that dominates post-ISIS Iraqi politics. Following last summer’s elections, this fragmentation produced two competing Shiite blocs in parliament for the first time since 2003.
    On one side of the internal Shia Islamist struggle, a conservative group is led by the senior PMU leadership (referred to as the pro-Khamanei group), with allies such as the former prime minister and a vice president of Iraq, Nouri al-Maliki. This camp is close to Iran. On the other side, a reformist Shia Islamist group with leaders such as Muqtada al-Sadr and Ammar al-Hakim seeks to limit Iranian influence and the role of the PMU in politics.
    Further exacerbating the divide, a rivalry has emerged from within the conservative camp itself. Following the summer’s elections, factions within this group competed for a limited number of cabinet posts in the new government. The Fateh alliance, the electoral wing of the PMU, was unable to match each PMU leader’s expectations with the ministerial posts available to them.


    This development isn't at all surprising.  We repeatedly noted before Iraq liberated or 'liberated' Mosul from ISIS that, for the government of Iraq, it was the best period ever.

    The common enemy meant various factions were forced to work together.

    We repeatedly noted that during this time, the Iraqi government should be moving towards inclusion.  They didn't.  They wasted that entire period.

    Now ISIS is not the threat that it was (ISIS remains active in Iraq and still holds a small are in Anbar).  And it's time for various groups that never got along to explore what their role will be.  Even with non-thugs, this is a natural process.

    When the process involves thugs -- like the bulk of the militias -- the process is  much more violent.

    And former prime minister and forever thug Nouri al-Maliki has used the tensions well.  He wants to be back as prime minister and has done all he can do to nullify any progress or movement by the current prime minister.  That said, Adil Abdul-Mahdi is so inept that it's no surprise Nouri and others have been able to render him useless and to do so this quickly.  Mahdi cannot even fill the security posts of Minister of Defense and Minister of Interior.  Nouri has begun making noises about challenging Mahdi this spring.  It would most likely be a Constitutional measure such as a vote of no confidence in Parliament.  Nouri knows all about that because he almost faced that himself until the US government put pressure on then-Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.  Using powers not in the Constitution, Talabani discarded the petition.

    Nouri is not dependent upon the US government at present.  His recent remarks praising President Donald Trump and shredding former President Barack Obama (see yesterday's snapshot) indicate that he may be attempting to court the current administration in an attempt to return to power with the help of the US government but, with or without its help, Nouri is plotting his return.


    Former PM Nouri al-Maliki (PM: 2006-2014) says the US, especially the administration, played a crucial role in the creation of /  terrorism.






    Obama Administration Played Important Role In Creation Of ISIS: Former Iraqi Prime Minister On February 24, former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told a local TV station that the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama had played a key role







    Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, stated on Sunday that the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama had played a crucial role in the creation of [ISIS] by allowing the terrorist group to occupy Iraqi territories



    Former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has for the first time divulged explosive secrets about how the United States supported [ISIS] and intentionally allowed the Takfiri terror outfit to gain power in Iraq so that Washington could creep back into the Arab country.



  • Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, told a local TV station on Sunday that the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama had played a crucial role in the creation of [ISIS] by allowing the terrorist group to occupy Iraqi territories,...






    Iraq’s former prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, told a local TV station on Sunday that the administration of ex-US President Barack Obama had played a crucial role in the creation of [ISIS] by allowing the terrorist group to occupy Iraqi territories,...





    What US outlets are covering that?

    They devoted themselves to Nouri al-Maliki for over seven years.  They only turned on him when Barack made his June 19, 2014 remarks.  Prior to that, Nouri was a god to them.  He was a thug but very few bothered to let you know that.  The US government was backing him so the US press felt that their job was to do so as well.

    Now this man they treated like a god has declared Barack responsible for the rise of ISIS and the US outlets act as though they never heard of Nouri.

    Before Nouri came to power, there was the Abu Ghraib prison scandal.  The Center for Constitutional Rights notes:


    Court hearing Wednesday over torture at Abu Ghraib
    This Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at 10 a.m., the Center for Constitutional Rights will argue before the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, urging the court to reject efforts by private military contractor CACI Premier Technology, Inc. to dismiss the lawsuit filed against the corporation for its role in the torture of prisoners at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. The Center for Constitutional Rights and co-counsel will oppose CACI's motion for summary judgment, motion to dismiss the lawsuit under the state secrets privilege, and motion to dismiss for lack of subject matter jurisdiction (Alien Tort Statute). After more than a decade, the case, Al Shimari v. CACI et al., is currently scheduled to go to trial on April 23, 2019.
    Read the motions to be argued Wednesday on the Center for Constitutional Rights' case page.



    The following sites updated: