1/2 pound reduced-fat cooked kielbasa or Polish sausage, halved and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1-1/2 cups chopped green pepper
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3/4 pound uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 cup uncooked instant rice
Lemon slices, optional
Directions
In
a large saucepan, saute onion and garlic in oil for 2 minutes or until
crisp-tender. Stir in sausage; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until
sausage begins to brown. Add green pepper; cook and stir for 2 minutes
or until crisp-tender. Stir in the tomatoes, broth, seasonings and hot
pepper sauce. Bring to a boil.
Cook, uncovered, for 2 minutes or until heated through. Stir in shrimp.
Cook 3-4 minutes longer or until shrimp turn pink. Stir in rice. Remove
from the heat.
Cover and let stand for 5 minutes or until rice is tender. Discard bay leaf. Serve with lemon slices if desired.
This recipe doesn't call for a roux. I don't believe roux's are difficult to make -- yes, you have to stir constantly, but they're not hard. I'd consider the above to be a starter recipe that you'd make as you got used to it and then you might move on to making a recipe that used a roux.
I don't cook my rice in the gumbo anymore. I do it separate because I like to use brown rice and it's just easier to cook it on its own. If I were making the above recipe, I would make brown rice, by itself. I would also add a can of clams (eight ounces or greater) with the juice into the pot of gumbo. I'd add a tomato, okra, corn combo -- you can get that in a can -- or I'd add some okra by itself. I don't think you have gumbo without okra. Those are the only real tweeks that I'd make.
They were pimping luntic conspiracy theories that appeared to exist solely to promote Joe Biden's campaign. These articles often carried David North's byline.
Now that Joe's won, you may notice the lunatic conspiracy articles have come to an end.
I wish WSWS hadn't gotten nutty. I wish that they hadn't whored for Joe Biden. If even WSWS has to whore, is there any outlet with independence?
Friday, November 27, 2020. Protesters attacked in Iraq, poverty
increasing in Iraq and some US gas bag wants to wonder if a star chamber
got ahold of president-elect Barack and forced Barack to do what he
did?
We're
noting the above for a reason. I don't know Michael Malice. Maybe
he's new to the scene? If not, he needs to learn before he speaks.
Michael Malice is puzzled because, before he became president, Barack Obama voted against the Iraq War.
No.
You
are wrong. You either don't know the truth or you're a damn liar and,
at this late date, I'm not sure there is a significiant difference.
Barack
Obama ran for the US Senate in 2004. He was the keynote speaker at
that summer's DNC convention in Boston. He was not in the Senate (and
he was never in the House of Representatives) when the Iraq War vote
took place in 2002.
Grasp that. Get it through your
head. Patricia J. Williams was especially fond of going on the radio
and lying that Barack voted against the Iraq War -- only KPFA listeners
ever offered her any on air pushback.
He, Michael
Malice, is puzzled and wants to know since Barack was against the war
then why did he continue it? Is there, Malice wonders, some star
chamber that controls you, that comes to the new president and tells you
'this is how it's going to be'?
Do we really conspiracy theories? Apparently, they save a lot of time from doing the actual learning required.
We
covered it here repeatedly. In the very intense 2008 Democratic fight
between Barack and Hillary Clinton for the presidential nomination,
Samantha Power called Hillary Clinton a "monster" and resigned. While
the order in that sentence is correct, Samantha did not leave the
campaign for that reason. Samantha was in England and just being a
media darling, telling this and telling that. The "monster" comment
wasn't a big deal -- whores like John Nichols worked overtime to invent a
false friendship between Hillary and Samantha to minimize the attack.
The problem was what was about to come out. Barack was campaigning on
ending the Iraq War.
And Samantha told the BBC the
truth -- that Barack's promise? Just words. He wouldn't be bound to
anything he said in a campaign speech if he were elected president.
We covered it -- for days -- and THE WASHINGTON POST covered it and that was really about it.
A
lot of Barack whores ignored. Take Tom Hayden. Tom ignored it. Then
when he realized, months later, that Barack was going back on his
promise, Tom suddenly shows up in July in a fit at HUFFINGTON POST
screaming about what Samantha said back in March. Why didn't this get
called out . . . by Hillary's campaign!!!!
He wouldn't
take responsibility for his own silence but he would blame Hillary's
campaign. Truth was, though, Hillary's campaign had called it out in
real time. The only whoring was done by Barack's supporters.
Samantha's
words were a danger for Barack in the midst of the primary and that's
why she was forced out. Not because of "monster" but because if she
remained with the campaign, the press would be asking about Barack's
non-promise as detailed by his financial advisor Samantha Power. Her
departure meant that the campaign could respond (and did), "Ms. Power is
no longer with the campaign."
Barack was always
lying. Back in 2007, he gave an interview where he explained that he
might pull US troops out of Iraq only to send them back in. We noted
this interview at length in the November 2, 2007 "Iraq snapshot," and at THIRD, we built "NYT: "Barack Obama Will Keep Troops In Iraq"" around it.
Barack
was never about ending the war. Barack had said, as Bill Clinton
rightly pointed out, that, had he been in the Senate, he probably
would've voted for the 2002 measure.
I don't have time,
12 years later, to deal with some idiot's desperate need for a good
daddy to lead him to offer conspiracy theories that exist to remove
fault from Barack. Barack was not your friend. He was a hustler who
lied to the people over and over. That you're so stupid and so
desperate to believe in Barack's innocence that you'll invent some
lunatic conspiracy to justify Barack's actions? You really are a sad,
little man. Barack made clear what he would really do if he became
president. And then he did it. So how about we deal with that? Hmmm?
How about we deal with reality and address the damage that was done to
the Iraqi people instead of offering fan boy jerk off material?
I'm just not in the mood.
The
Iraqi government is in so much financial trouble that they are now
attempting to get pre-payments as opposed to being paid for oil when
it's delivered. This isn't 'pay ahead of shipping,' this is pay years
in advance. Julia Payne and Ahmed Rasheed (REUTERS) explained, "The country is seeking a five-year prepayment starting January 2021
until December 2025 to be repaid with cargoes of its Basra crude,
according to a letter sent by state oil marketer SOMO to its customers
and seen by Reuters." ARGUS MEDIA notes:
Iraq has long been forced to juggle a heavy reliance on
oil revenues to meet domestic funding requirements alongside pressure
from the Opec+ alliance to comply with crude production quotas. But the
strain has started to show ahead of next week's Opec and Opec+
ministerial meetings.
"We have reached the limit of our ability
and willingness to accept a policy of one-size-fits-all," Iraq's finance
minister and deputy prime minister Ali Allawi said at a Chatham House
Iraq conference this week. "It has to be more nuanced and it has to be
related to the per-capita income of people, the presence of sovereign
wealth funds, none of which we have."
Under the current Opec+
agreement, Iraq was required to cut output by over 1mn b/d in May-July
and by 849,000 b/d in August-December from an October 2018 baseline of
4.65mn b/d. Iraq produced an average 102,000 b/d above its quotas in
May-October and now needs to produce 305,000 b/d below its November-December ceilings to compensate.
Iraq has long blamed
the semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north of the country for its
failure to adhere to its Opec+ production ceiling, but Baghdad can only
hide behind its dispute with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) for
so long. Iraq produced 3.85mn b/d in October, slightly above quota and
140,000 b/d higher than in September, Argus estimates show, but
the month-on-month rise came mostly from federal fields, with KRG
production largely stable at around 450,000 b/d.
Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has failed to meet any of the
social and political demands of the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who
took to the streets in October last year and forced the resignation of
Adel Abdul Mahdi’s government.
His caretaker government, widely viewed as Iraq’s “last chance,” is now discredited and reviled.
The
mass demonstrations were the result of growing anger among young people
unable to find jobs, under conditions where 60 percent of the
population is under 24 and most young people have no work. Over 90
percent of Iraqi jobs are casual, day-labour jobs in the informal
sector, with just 10 percent providing regular employment, largely in
the public sector and allocated on the basis of Iraq’s sectarian
political system.
Repression of the initial protests—more than 560 demonstrators were
killed and thousands injured as the government sought to disperse the
crowds—led to their mushrooming into a generalised uprising against the
conditions of poverty, the failure of essential social services and the
endemic corruption in the sectarian-based regime ushered in by the US-UK
military occupation after the criminal US-led invasion of 2003.
Successive
Iraqi governments have presided over obscene levels of social
inequality in a country that in 2009 was the world’s fifth-largest oil
producer. Its immense wealth has been looted by the multinational oil
corporations and banks as well as Iraq’s politically connected
kleptocrats. In May, the UN predicted that poverty would rise to 40
percent of Iraq’s 39 million population because of the pandemic
restrictions and falling oil prices. According to ReliefWeb, around 8
percent of households (3 million people) were not getting enough to eat
in September.
Mustafa al-Kadhimi became
prime minister on May 7th. He's done nothing. When it comes to the
violence being carried out by his security forces, he is no longer just
looking the other way, he's now rewarding
these thugs who kill civilians. Doubt it? John Davison and Ahmed Rasheed (REUTERS) report:
The Iraqi military is training a former member of an Iran-backed
militia, who is under U.S. sanctions for killing protesters, to become a
high-ranking officer in the army, according to six government, security
and militia officials.
They said
that Hussein Falih Aziz, known as Abu Zainab al-Lami, had been sent to
Egypt with Iraqi officers for a year-long training normally reserved for
the country’s military personnel.
A
defence ministry document seen by Reuters showed his name, with the
rank Major General, on a list of officers attending the training until
next summer.
He is a failure -- one in a long line of failures. An official who does nothing for the people. ANADOLU AGENCY notes:
Poverty in Iraq, which had amounted to 20%
in 2018, or nearly 10 million people, has risen to 31.7% following the
COVID-19 outbreak, Serife Akinci, an expert on Middle East and African
Economies Studies, said in the report published by the Center for Middle
Eastern Studies (ORSAM).
Iraq’s coronavirus count now stands at 12,086 deaths and 542,187 infections as well as 472,054 recoveries.
Armed outlaw militia affiliated with the cleric Moqtada al-Sadr suppressing peaceful demonstrators in the city of Nasiriyah with live bullets and burning the sit-in tents
#الناصرية_تقمع#جمعة_طيبة#Iraq#العراق_للعراقيين#الحبوبي#save_the_iraqi_pepole
Quote Tweet
Venus || الثورة مُستمرة
@Venus_f7
·
إصابة العشرات من متظاهرين ساحة الحبوبي في الناصرية برصاص ميليشيات المجرم مقتدى الصدر!!
#الناصرية_تقمع
Preparations have begun to remove internally-displaced Iraqis from Laylan displaced people’s camp in Kirkuk.
Camp residents, who are being returned against their will, have expressed fears of being returned to areas that are unsafe.
MSF urges the Iraqi authorities to reconsider their decision to
close Laylan camp and to ensure that future returns are made in a
voluntary and safe manner.
Amsterdam – Early yesterday morning, trucks arrived at Laylan displaced people’s camp, in Kirkuk governorate, Iraq,
in preparation for moving residents back to their areas of origin. Camp
residents have expressed their fears of being returned against their
will to staff from Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). MSF, who is providing
healthcare in the camp, is deeply concerned about the humanitarian
consequences of such rushed camp closures on the already-vulnerable
displaced people without offering a safe and sustainable resolution.
Since October 2020, some 25,000 Iraqis living in formal camps for
displaced people have been returned to their areas of origin, as the
government of Iraq begins the process of camp closures. While for many
people returning home is a dream come true, for others the insecurity,
lack of shelter and absence of services that await them make camp
closures a nightmare.
“Even if they want to close the camp, they should not send us to our
home areas now,” one woman told MSF staff. “They need to provide safety
for us. Because of many tribal issues and insecurity, many people cannot
go back to their villages.”
They need to provide safety for us. Because of many tribal issues and insecurity, many people cannot go back to their villages.Displaced woman, Laylan IDP camp, Iraq
In some cases, returnees face possible violence and arrest in their
areas of origin if they are suspected of affiliation with the Islamic
State (IS) group. Stigma in Iraq against anyone suspected of links with
the IS group means that some people are extremely fearful for their
family’s safety.
“When some of my neighbours went back, they were verbally assaulted
and had to hide from local people – they were afraid they would be
hurt,” adds the woman.
More than 7,000 people currently live in Laylan camp, most of them women
and children. The camp was established in 2014 after conflict broke out
in several Iraqi towns, including Hawija and Salah Al-Din, forcing many
people to flee their homes. Several camp residents told MSF that they
have nothing to return to.
“Our house has been destroyed,” said one woman. “We have young children
and we don’t know how we’ll manage if we are sent back. The weather is
getting colder and colder each day. We have no salary to rent a house to
keep safe and warm.”
“Laylan camp is safe for us and we have water and electricity,” said the
woman. “If we are sent away, we’ll have no water or electricity. How
can we manage without these services in our daily life?”
Many residents also rely on the medical care they are receiving within
the camp, while access to healthcare for displaced people outside the
camp is limited.
“MSF is treating 300 patients with non-communicable diseases in the
camp; they require uninterrupted lifelong treatment and care,” says Gul
Badshah, MSF head of mission in Iraq. “With this rapid closure, there is
no time for MSF to provide patients with medication to cover a
three-month period until they manage to access another health facility
and to prepare the medical files they need to enrol in another NCD
programme in their area of return without interrupting their treatment.”
“Our concern is that patients may have to move out of the camp in the
middle of the COVID-19 pandemic,” says Badshah. “There are eight
confirmed COVID-19 cases in the camp’s isolation area. It is not clear
how these patients would be transferred and how quickly they would get
access to medical care.”
MSF urges the Iraqi authorities to reconsider their decision to
imminently close Laylan camp and to ensure that future returns are made
in a more transparent, voluntary, safe and dignified manner.
Again, I'm tired of the lying and the liars. Joe Biden is not a progressive. He is not going to be nudged into being one. Nothing short of massive protests in the streets will change Joe. Kristina Betinis (WSWS) reports:
The DSA plays a critical role in maintaining the fiction that the
Democratic Party can be pressured to implement policies of social
reform. Nationally, the DSA and Jacobin are currently engaged in campaign to promote illusions in a “progressive” Biden administration.
The
DSA hopes that convincing Biden not to appoint Emanuel will help
prevent masses of workers and youth from coming into conflict with the
Democratic Party and a Biden-led government. Its efforts to cover up the
reality of the Democratic Party, however, will founder on the reality
of a reactionary administration and a growing wave of social anger and
unrest.
The deluded liars distract from reality.
Let's go to another topic. Rebecca's "faking dressing" addresses how to pass instant dressing off as something you made from scratch. I hope everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday.
Wednesday, November 25, 2020. The International Day for the
Elimination of Violence Against Women finds us looking at the realities
of violence against women and girls in Iraq as well as women and girls
in the US.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women,
marked every year on 25 November, is a global advocacy effort aimed at
preventing and eliminating violence against women. Women worldwide
continue to face unacceptable levels of violence.
WHO estimates that nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide have experienced
physical and/or sexual violence, mostly by an intimate partner. The
COVID-19 pandemic has further contributed to increasing risks of
violence, particularly domestic violence against women.
From 25 November to 10 December, during the 16 Days of Activism
against Gender-Based Violence, WHO and partners will be raising
awareness about the global need to prevent and respond to violence
against women, and provide support to survivors.
The Council of Europe Convention on Preventing and Combating Violence against Women and Domestic Violence, also known as the Istanbul Convention, is ratified by 34 member states.
It offers the most comprehensive legal framework to prevent and combat
violence against women and domestic violence and contains a wide range
of measures for governments to take, and to involve NGOs, women’s
organisations and civil society generally. Non-member states of the
Council of Europe can also join.
The Istanbul Convention asks for preventiveaction to be taken, but also to support and protect women that have been exposed to violence or are at risk of such violence. Ensuring accountability through investigation and prosecution is another important pillar of the Convention. Co-ordinating such action and offering a holistic response not
only to domestic violence but also to rape, sexual violence, stalking,
sexual harassment, online and technology-facilitated violence, forced
marriage, female genital mutilation and forced abortion/sterilisation is
what will really make a difference in the lives of women and girls.
As countries implemented lockdown measures to stop the spread of the
coronavirus, violence against women, especially domestic violence,
intensified – in some countries, calls to helplines have increased five-fold.
The UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE to End Violence against Women campaign,
a multi-year effort aimed at preventing and eliminating violence
against women and girls, will focus on amplifying the call for global
action to bridge funding gaps, ensure essential services for survivors
of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, focus on prevention, and
collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and
girls.
This year’s theme for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women is “Orange the World: Fund, Respond, Prevent, Collect!”.Like in previous years, this year's International Day will mark the launch of 16 days of activism that will conclude on 10 December 2020, which is International Human Rights Day.
Several public events are being coordinated for this year's
International Day. Iconic buildings and landmarks will be ‘oranged’ to
recall the need for a violence-free future.
The war
against women, the terrorism against women, is global. We're going to
focus on Iraq and the US -- Iraq because it's our focus and because the
decisions of the US government have made life much worse for Iraqi women
and the US because we don't just finger point at other countries -- the
US has more than enough problems addressing gender violence.
In early October 2019, Iraqi civil society began peaceful
demonstrations, calling on the Government to end corruption and
unemployment, and to address inadequate housing and lack of basic
services. In defiance of patriarchal gender norms, women joined the
demonstrations to demand rights and equality. Alongside all
demonstrators, they have faced significant repression and violence,
while suffering additional public reprobation from key religious
leadership for breaking with traditional gender norms and for calling
for women’s rights. With the spread of coronavirus in Iraq, the
situation is becoming particularly acute for women and girls, especially
those who face multifacted discrimination, based on gender, as well as
race and/or disability. Iraqi women and girls confront a lack of
adequate health services, and a lack of access to services and justice
for gender-based violence victims at a time when domestic violence is
increasing in relation to measures to confront the COVID-19 pandemic.
Iraq is at a fragile crossroads, making it more important than ever
that the international community support Iraqi civil society’s efforts
to protect human rights. Women are key actors in efforts to avert
conflict and build just societies, and their meaningful participation is
linked to recognition of their basic human rights, including the right
to be free from gender-based violence. The Government of Iraq should
listen to women’s leadership in civil society movements, including in
the recent demonstrations, and meaningfully consult with the women’s
leadership who are on the frontlines calling for change, and not just
the “self chosen” leadership of the protest movement. This will sow the
seeds for sustainable change and help protect the foundation of women’s
rights that the demonstrations have called for.
Key recommendations for both the International community and the Government of Iraq include the following:
Pass the draft Family Violence Protection Law.
The law would set a historical precedent providing recognition of
victims and holding abusers accountable for attempted ‘honor’ crimes and
other forms of domestic violence. It is currently pending in the Iraqi
parliament.
Provide adequate protection to Iraqi NGOs providing shelter.
Women’s organizations not only provide shelter for the most vulnerable;
they also act as first responders, providing much-needed aid and
peer-to-peer support - without the sectarian strings often attached to
religious groups and associations.
Violence
is rendering women invisible. Please note, the bulk of websites today
will not be noting this day or any women's issues. Maybe someone at THE
HILL will ponder how 'identity politics' helps anyone? It's not
identity politics. It's exploding the assumption that the norm is
male. It's expanding our understanding of the reality that so many of
us live with daily. Madre notes that women participated in the ongoing
protests. Yes, they did.
The media regularly silences
women. On the issue of Iraqi women participating in the year long and
ongoing protests -- actually, year long and a month at this point -- it
was the press that refused to cover women's participation. From the October 26, 2019 snapshot:
Natasha Ghoneim (AL JAZEERA) reports, "People here [Baghdad] are furious. Some are trying to storm barricades leading
to the Green Zone, where government offices and the parliament building
are located. They want the government to go. Security forces are using lots of tear gas and stun grenades." Azhar al-Rubaie (MIDDLE EAST EYE) observes,
"One if five Iraqis lives below the poverty line, World Bank figures
show, and youth unemployment is at 25 percent. The rates are staggering
for OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, which Transparency
International ranks as the 12th most corrupt state in the world." CBS and AP note
60-year-old widow Um Layth who participated in the Baghdad protest but
asked her children not to "because she feared for their safety." The
outlets quote her stating, "I am
not afraid if I die, but I want a better future for my children. If
these parties and this government stay, they will have no
future." Yes, women participated. Much of Friday's coverage in the
western media attempted to act as if this was not the case. RUDAW reports the reality and runs photos: Anti-government protests resumed in Baghdad on Friday, with many women
also taking to the streets of the Iraqi capital. Photographer Ziyad
Matti captured powerful moments amid the protests that turned violent
as the day passed. Iraqi women have always been part of the protests in Iraq. However,
women in Iraq face many restrictions, including religious, cultural and
tribal obstacles which leave them unable to fully participate in civic
life. Although Iraqi women theoretically share equal civil rights with men
under the Iraqi constitution, religious conservatism continues to
permeate all areas of public life, in opposition to the socially liberal
values found among sections of the urban youth.
Men, women and even children from all walks of life marched to #Baghdad’s Tahrir square once again, despite a deadly crackdown on protests, writes Nabil Mafrachi. ow.ly/ivE950wUxMN#Iraq
We
had been calling out the western press here and I'd been working
friends at various outlets on the phone. Yet 'improvement' was one
outlet acknowledging women two days later. Only one US outlet. And it
was AP. But AP didn't get honest. They had to cover their own ass.
So, on the Sunday they reported, they said that women had appeared for
the first time at protests on Saturday. We had documented in the Friday
snapshot that women were present. When I complained to a friend at AP,
he noted that the outlet was the only one at that point noting women
had even participated. True enough. But they weren't being honest.
From that day's "AP strips women out of the coverage yet again:"
Qassim Abdul-Zahra (AP) quotes 19-year-old Fares Mukhaled stating, "I want change. I want to remove those corrupt people who sleep in the
Green Zone and who fired tear gas and rubber bullets at us."
Qassim also maintains: "The rallies have mainly been by young,
unemployed men who are demanding
jobs and better services. Young women appeared among the crowd in
Baghdad for the first time Saturday, some handing out water to the
protesters." That second sentence is incorrect. Women have taken part
in the Baghdad protests from the beginning. One woman was crowned a
hero for her participation and that was two weeks ago. But let's just
deal that protests that started back up on Friday. Women were there.
We noted this Saturday night: RUDAW reports the reality and runs photos: Anti-government protests resumed in Baghdad on Friday, with many women
also taking to the streets of the Iraqi capital. Photographer Ziyad
Matti captured powerful moments amid the protests that turned violent
as the day passed. Iraqi women have always been part of the protests in Iraq. However,
women in Iraq face many restrictions, including religious, cultural and
tribal obstacles which leave them unable to fully participate in civic
life. Although Iraqi women theoretically share equal civil rights with men
under the Iraqi constitution, religious conservatism continues to
permeate all areas of public life, in opposition to the socially liberal
values found among sections of the urban youth.
There are 13 photos with the RUDAW article -- in addition, the huge
photo that is above the report focuses on a young woman in the protests
in Baghdad on Friday.
Anti-government protests resumed in Baghdad on Friday, with many women also taking to the streets of the Iraqi capital. Photographer Ziyad Matti captured powerful moments amid the protests that turned violent as the day passed.
So we're not supposed to believe RUDAW or their photos? Is that the way it's supposed to work.
Exactly what the hell do Iraqi women have to do to get attention from
the western press? They have been attacked, they have been and they
have been raped. And the western media has spent the entire Iraq War
ignoring this reality. Yes, AP covered the trials regarding the US
soldiers who gang-raped and murdered Abeer and murdered her parents and
younger sister. And that's good that they did that. But that is not a
pass for the lack of coverage of women or for getting the facts wrong.
This
is violence and it's gone on and on forever. The press has the ability
to shine a light. Sadly, women are always the last to get that
recognition or attention. Well, not always. When the Iraqi government
lies about women, the press love to report it. When Nouri al-Maliki was
arresting girls and women for the 'crimes' of being married to someone
or being someone's mother or someone's daughter, when he was
disappearing them into prisons and secret jails where they were tortured
and disappeared? The western media largely avoided the topic while
Iraqi journalists -- such as ALMADA -- risked their lives to discuss
what was actually happening. The same outlets that ignored what was
happening to Iraqi women and girls -- actions that were documented by a
committee in the Iraqi Parliament -- suddenly rushed to cover Nouri's
'release' of the women. It must have been a confusing February for many
news consumers, trying to suddenly grasp a problem that had been
building for several years but was never reported on by most US
outlets. A collective "Huh?" wouldn't have been a surprising response.
An
appalling response was that the western press took this public
relations move as reality. Nouri was releasing these women. They were
going home. A few token women were provided for the press. If the
women were free, however, why didn't they go home? Yeah, AP and the
other western outlets never bothered to check but the Iraqi media did
and those women did not make it home. Were they released? Some may
have been. Since some were raped in prison and jail, they may not have
been able to return home. So-called "honor" killings take place in
Iraq. A woman or girl who has disgraced her family can be killed for
"honor" and you can do that by being raped or even by being married to
the wrong religion -- don't ask Patrick Cockburn about that. He's still
a laughingstock on Arabic social media for 'reporting' on the latter
and getting how she was killed wrong.
The death on April 18 of a 20-year-old woman in Najaf, possibly at the hands of her husband, should act as a wake-up call for Iraqi
legislators to pass a law against domestic violence, Human Rights Watch
said today. Iraqi authorities should investigate and prosecute domestic
violence, and ensure appropriate sentences for violence against women.
“Domestic violence has always plagued Iraq,” said Belkis Wille,
senior crisis and conflict researcher at Human Rights Watch. “We see
case upon case of women and girls dying at the hands of their families,
but Iraq's lawmakers have not done enough to save those lives.”
On April 12, a video surfaced on social media of the woman in a
hospital with severe burn wounds. Her mother told Human Rights Watch
that eight months ago her daughter married a police officer who had only
allowed her to visit her parents once since then. On April 8, her
mother said, the husband called to tell her that his wife had a “slight
burn accident” and was in the hospital.
The mother could hear her daughter screaming. She rushed to the
hospital, where the husband’s mother blocked her from seeing her
daughter. Police took the young woman’s statement while her mother was
blocked from the room, the mother said. On April 11, when she was able
to enter the hospital room, her daughter told her that her husband had
beaten her so badly on April 8 that she poured gasoline on herself and
warned him that unless he stopped, she would light herself on fire.
“I still don’t know if he lit her on fire or she did it herself, but
she told me she burned for three minutes while he just watched, and
finally his father, also a policeman, came in and put out the fire,” the
mother said. “She begged them to take her to the hospital but they
waited for over an hour before doing so. Her father-in-law then
pretended to the police that he was her father and said to them the fire
had been an accident.”
The young woman died on April 18. Najaf’s governor, Loai al-Yasiri,
told Human Rights Watch on April 15 that the authorities had established
an investigation committee and arrested the husband, father-in-law, and
the husband’s uncle. Al-Yasiri said that this case would likely be
resolved through a mediation in which the husband’ family’s ashira (clan) would negotiate with Samira’s family’s ashira to reach a non-judicial settlement.
There
was no fog of war. Let's not even play that nonsense game. Green,
Barker, Cortez and Jessie V. Spielman were near Abeer's home. Green
saw her and plotted with them. They snuck off base, broke into Abeer's
family home, gang-raped her in one room while she heard the shots that
killed her sister and both of her parents. Green then killed her. He
wasn't done yet. He set her body on fire and they tried to make it look
like Iraqi 'terrorists' had been in the home. The death penalty was
sought. No one got the death penalty. In fact, Spielman, although he
remains in prison, has already hit the time frame where he could be
paroled if authorities felt it was warranted. There is no parole for
Abeer. But Spielman was 'only' part of the planning and he was 'only'
present and 'only' a lookout for the crimes. So, when he was sentenced
in 2007, it was noted he could be paroled in ten years. 'Only.'
Brian
L. Howard was also part of the sentencing. His family tried to play
him as the victim. I'm sorry, who killed and/or gang-raped Brian?
No one.
Brian
'overheard' (some say was part of the planning) talk of the crimes
ahead of them being carried out and, after the fact, he lied to cover
for the rape and murder. His defense for not coming forward before the
crimes were carried out? "He said he was unsure if anyone was aware what he had heard."
Well pin a medal on him, right? He served 27 months in a military
prison. He's now out and about, among the people. Heaven help the
women and girls of the United States.
Steven D. Green?
He was already out of the military when the news came out. In fact, he
was returning to the US and was seized after he got off the plane.
Sandra Lupien, then at KPFA, was the only one who reported that event on
the day it happened. Time and again, it has been women who've had to
cover these issues.
Granted, Ellen, Alissa, Sabrina,
Cara, Sandra, Nancy A. Youssef and others are aware that these issues
matter. But it shouldn't have to fall on women only to cover these
issues.
The Go-Go Boys in the Green Zone. Remember them. The rah-rah boys -- especially THE NEW YORK TIMES' Dexter Filkins and John F. Burns.
They
lied repeatedly and those lies distorted what Americans knew about
Iraq. Dexter won an award for a piece of garbage full of lies -- it
doesn't hold up but we called it out the day it was published.
Supposedly, Dexter has repented -- that's what e-mails from members of
the press via the public e-mail account (common_ills@yahoo.com) --
regularly tell me. Now I'm not the Pope so maybe I'm not grasping
"repent"? But my understanding is that if you're repenting you are
making up for your wrong. Dexter has never 'elaborated' on his prize
winning garbage. And, honestly, I never expect him to. He doesn't have
that kind of character. I know that because I always know a ton more
than I put up here. Meaning, I know exactly what Dexter did in Baghdad
besides reporting. John did it too. How did Amy Winehouse sing it?
"Kept his dick wet." Right. They wouldn't cover the prostitution in
Baghdad but they were damn well aware of it. OFF OUR BACKS did cover
the prostitution. They did so in the final issue noting the way the war
was destroying the lives of Iraqi women. I miss OFF OUR BACKS. Back
to Dexy, if he truly 'repented' he would have demonstrated it by
focusing on Iraqi women and girls over the last few years since he left
THE TIMES and moved on over to THE NEW YORKER. (In 2019, PBS' FRONTLINE did a report on the sex trafficking in Iraq.)
I don't need to know what Dexy told you privately. I know what Dexy did. I also know what he said.
They
lived it up in the Green Zone, those go-go boys. Iraqi women suffered
as a result. I don't have any sympathy for Dexy Filthens Filkens. And
Molly Bingham, at the same time, was doing reporting that should have
won prizes. Yet again, a woman is ignored. We saw that over and over.
Our
'friend' ("he's on the left!") Gregg Mitchell would repeatedly do a
column celebrating reporters covering Iraq. He never noted Molly. Or
Molly Ivins. Or Alyssa or -- No women. What about Pig Boy Thomas E.
Ricks? He would regularly do a column noting books on Iraq and which
were the best.
Strange thing, though, he never seemed
to notice any women writing about Iraq. Not Riverbend -- the young
Iraqi women blogging at BAGHDAD BURNING. Her voice never mattered to Thomas E. Ricks. But it wasn't just Iraqi women he ignored. Deborah Amos wrote ECLIPSE OF THE SUNNIS: POWER, EXILE, AND UPHEAVAL IN THE MIDDLE EAST.
That's one of the most important books published by any US reporter on
Iraq. And Deborah was a name journalist -- NPR -- who had already won
awards over the years. However, Thomas E. Ricks, year after year, could
never note her work.
Maybe Deborah's 'crime' was
dealing with the aftermath? Thomas E. Ricks was only interested in the
battle scene, the thrust. What happened after he shot his wad on War
Porn didn't concern him. Meanwhile, Deborah's writing about what
actually happened as a result of the war. She's covering the
aftermath. Isn't that, if you think about it, what women
stereotypically do? We get stuck with the clean up over and over. We
have to deal with what happened while the Thomas Ricks just get their
jollies on the bombs falling and the bullets shot.
Pig
boys and go-go boys 'covered' Iraq in a way that never noted what was
being done to women. It happened over and over. And you saw echoes of
that all over again when the protests started in October of last year
and the western press rendered women invisible from the coverage.
Last May, UNHRC issued the following:
“Women in Iraq face several
additional challenges right now,” says Danielle Bell, Head of UN Human
Rights in Iraq. “The restrictive measures adopted to fight COVID-19 in
Iraq heighten the risk of domestic violence, whilst at the same time
substantially reducing the ability of victims to report abuse and seek
effective shelter, support and access to justice.”
As COVID-19
sweeps the globe, in many countries it is often women who bear the brunt
of the crisis. Taking on the lion’s share of the caregiving and
household responsibilities is just one aspect. Women may also face
difficulty accessing healthcare due to issues of stigma around the
virus, and they are also far more vulnerable to violence in their own
homes.
When the first official case of COVID-19 was declared on
24 February in Iraq, measures put in place by the authorities were
swift. As case numbers grew, schools, universities, restaurants, and
shopping centres were closed, and mosques and other religious venues
were forbidden to host large gatherings. By the middle of March, a
nationwide lockdown and curfew were implemented, as well as travel
restrictions.
“While these early preventive actions were necessary
to help prevent transmission, the curfew has had substantial impact on
the lives of women,” continues Bell. “We’ve received reports that some
women cannot leave the house to seek medical care because of the stigma
and shame it could bring to their families, but also because cultural
norms do not allow women to be alone in quarantine centres in the
absence of a male relative.”
One of our main concerns is the
exacerbation of domestic violence in the country, which we fear was
highly underreported even prior to the pandemic.”
When home is not a safe place
Although the
Constitution of Iraq prohibits all forms of violence and abuse in the
family, school, and society, the Penal Code provides that the punishment
of a wife by her husband is the exercise of a legal right and as such,
is not a crime. Perpetrators frequently go unpunished. However, the
Iraqi Government is showing commitment to change this, with the
Anti-Domestic Violence Law currently under discussion in the parliament.
These discussions are taking place amidst a worrying context for
women and girls. In mid-April, the United Nations in Iraq confirmed
multiple reports of horrific abuse, including the rape of a woman with
special needs, spousal abuse, sexual harassment of minors, and suicide
due to domestic abuse. Iraq’s High Judiciary Council subsequently issued
a circular calling on judges to use all legal provisions for
deterrence, but this won’t close the loopholes.
Confinement affects reporting
Media and
social media in Iraq are also reporting an increase in acts of domestic
violence. The authorities on the other hand have noted a decrease in
official reports of domestic violence, but acknowledged in some
instances that the curfew has contributed to this reduced number.
The
‘humiliation’ of being exposed in front of neighbours and the community
has often led to under-reporting of domestic violence. Victims do not
always seek support, for fear of publicly shaming their family. This is
exacerbated by home confinement.
“Throughout Iraq, entire
families are confined together,” notes Bell. “Quite frequently, there is
a pressure to resolve family disputes – including domestic violence -
without any intervention from a third party due to shame and stigma
associated with such violence. Resolutions are therefore fraught, and
the cycle of violence just continues.”
“Iraq’s response plans for
COVID-19 should include the adoption of the Anti-Domestic Violence Law
to enable the prevention and redress of violence against women,” says
Bell. “Without doubt, this is the time for the Iraqi Government to renew
its efforts to finalise the law and organize the remedies offered to
women including establishing enough shelters accessible without
cumbersome procedures.”
In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic,
the signing and implementation of this law is even more crucial. Current
lockdown measures mean that only half of staff in Iraq’s family
protection units are coming to work. These units previously offered a
place of safety and support for women who were victims of violence. Now,
the few women who are able to come to report a case are often quickly
dismissed, and they also have to get the report signed by a judge,
clearly a challenging and complicated endeavour.
In situations
where perpetrators have been brought to account, they have often simply
been forced to sign a document to say they will not repeat the offence.
Another favoured ‘solution’ is that victims are asked to ‘reconcile’
with the perpetrators.
Impunity for perpetrators must end
”Since the
start of the COVID-19 curfew in Iraq, the obstacles faced by women in
reporting domestic violence have created an even deeper sense of
impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes,” notes Bell. “Violence
against women and girls is a crime, and perpetrators need to be held to
account.”
UN Human Rights is urging the Government to take
immediate steps. “Special measures need to be made available immediately
to women, including secure and confidential online services to lodge
complaints, or an easing of the requirements for women to report abuse
and seek emergency shelter,” says Bell.
For Bell, the adoption of
the Anti-Domestic Violence Law is critical in the battle to save human
rights, and human lives. “In the meantime,” she says, “judicial systems
must continue to prosecute abusers. The women and girls of Iraq – as in
any country – deserve the right to protection, and to be safe in their
own homes.”
Two months later, in July, UN Women issued this:
The coronavirus pandemic is one of the biggest challenges facing
Iraq, but it is not the only one. In addition to fighting the deadly
virus, the country has been grappling with popular protests in several
regions, a challenging reconstruction process for large parts of the
country recently liberated from terrorist groups, and dwindling state
revenues from oil, which experienced a sharp fall in price as a
repercussion of the pandemic.
Furthermore, Iraq’s health sector lacks resources. The sector’s budget, just 2.5 per cent
of the USD 106.5 billion state budget (2019), represents a small
fraction of spending compared to neighboring countries in the Middle
East. Underfunding of the sector has led to a shortage of hospitals,
medical equipment, and supplies, as well as specialized doctors and
medical staff.
Combined, these challenges have placed onerous demands on front-line
workers in Iraq. Women workers in particular are shouldering a
disproportionate burden, faced with additional responsibilities in their
households and communities.
“Iraqi women have shown a great deal of resilience in the various
sectors in which they work,” said Dina Zorba, UN Women Representative
for Iraq and Yemen. “UN Women is in close cooperation with partners to
minimize the impact of COVID-19 on women and to ensure that women are able to carry out their roles in service of their communities and country.”
Zorba also highlighted that, as in many parts of the world, measures
to reduce the spread of the virus, such as lockdowns and curfews, have
exacerbated pre-existing inequalities for many women; the country has
seen a rise in cases of domestic and gender-based violence since the
onset of the pandemic.
“UN Women, alongside its partners, is focusing its attention on
fighting domestic and gender-based violence and minimizing repercussions
of the situation on women, particularly those most in need of help,”
says Zorba.
Despite the unprecedented challenges, Iraqi women are playing vital
roles in the country’s COVID-19 response, serving as leaders, health and
social workers, and responders to domestic and gender-based violence.
Here are five Iraqi women’s stories of how the coronavirus crisis has impacted their lives.
Navigating the pressures of work and home as an essential health worker
Mariam Taha, a lab worker at
the Central Public Health Laboratory in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region of
Iraq. Photo: Courtesy of Mariam Taha.
Mariam Taha is a 36-year-old technical assistant at the Central
Public Health Laboratory in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Since
the first COVID-19 cases were detected in Iraq in February 2020, Taha’s
life has changed drastically.
Taha, who normally works eight hours every day, now logs an 11-hour shift.
The nature of her work has shifted too; the laboratory has become
entirely dedicated to testing suspected COVID-19 cases. Taha is now in
constant fear that she might contract the virus at work and spread it to
her family.
“No matter how much I try to pretend that the situation is normal,
what is happening makes me worry,” said Taha. “I wash and sterilize my
hands all the time. I avoid crowded places and try to keep my distance
from patients and colleagues,” she shared.
Although no COVID-19 cases have been recorded at the centre she works
in and she takes every precautionary measure, including donning a face
mask, gloves, goggles and suit while at work, anxiety about contracting
and spreading the virus has become a part of Taha’s daily life.
“Every time I leave work, I feel anxious and stressed that I might
infect my family. Before leaving the centre, I take off my disposable
personal protective gear, and I sterilize myself using medical
sterilization. As soon as I arrive home, and before physical contact
with anyone in my family, I shower and wash the clothes I was wearing,"
Taha explains.
While the demands of her work have been difficult during the pandemic, Taha is dealing with challenges on other fronts as well.
She notes that her responsibilities as a wife and a mother have
increased, especially after school closures. “My four children are now
staying at home without schooling, except for one who is receiving
distance learning online and requires my time to follow up on his
homework.”
Providing for others, despite personal loss
Fayza Elias Rashu is sewing masks to distribute
among the displaced community in the Sharya complex for displaced
persons in the Duhok Governorate, northwestern Iraq. Photo: Courtesy of
Dak Organization for Ezidi Women Development.
Ten years ago, Fayza Elias Rashu and her family, who belong to the
Yazidi minority group, left their home in Sinjar in the Nineveh
Governorate in northern Iraq in a bid to improve their living
conditions. They settled in the Sharya complex for displaced persons in
the Duhok Governorate, northwestern Iraq, where Rashu, using her
previous sewing experience, found work as a dressmaker for the Dak
Organization for Ezidi Women Development.
The position enabled Rashu to support her family, and she excelled at the job, training many women and girls on sewing.
“I love my work very much. I’ve always loved sewing and with the
training opportunities that I’ve received from many organizations, I
have fulfilled my childhood dream of becoming a professional
dressmaker,” Rashu shares.
Before the COVID-19 crisis, Rashu dreamed of expanding her small shop
into a large workshop, but the situation has forced her to close the
business.
Despite the loss, Rashu continues to sew for others. With the support
of the Dak Organization, one of UN Women’s partner organizations, Fayza
has sown more than 500 and distributed them, free-of-charge, to her
community.
“I wanted to do something of value for my community, especially those
suffering from forced displacement. This is something I have wanted to
do for so long,” she says proudly.
Pushing for improved resources for survivors of violence
Kajhal Nayef Rahman, Judge at
the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Erbil, Kurdistan Region of Iraq,
during an activity organized by UN Women in 2019. Photo: UN Women.
Kajhal Nayef Rahman is a judge at the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Erbil, the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Like many public officials, Judge Rahman and her office have been
shouldering a heavy workload since the onset of the COVID-19 crisis.
She says that there has been a noticeable rise in the number of
domestic violence cases in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) since the
pandemic hit and containment measures were put in place, closing
businesses and public offices across the country.
“The lockdown and the curfew have severely impacted the ability of
women facing abuse at their homes to communicate with us and to seek
help,” she explains.
Despite the security measures available in the area, such as shelters
and safe housing for violence survivors, women in abusive situations
still do not have adequate means to communicate with authorities, Judge
Rahman says.
“With the closure of government departments and the curfew, the
government should find ways to enable violence survivors to make
complaints, seek help, and get needed assistance and protection. A
domestic violence hotline, for example, could connect survivors to
resources.”
After fighting the virus on the front lines, a dentist in Baghdad battles the disease herself
Dentist Shahd Al-Jawari takes part in an activity
to raise awareness of the new coronavirus along with colleagues in
Baghdad, Iraq. Photo: Courtesy Iraq Women Journalists Forum.
The COVID-19 pandemic has severely affected healthcare workers
worldwide. A limited supply of personal protection equipment in Iraq has
caused many front-line workers to fear for their health and safety, and
that of their families as well.
Shahd Al-Jawari, a dentist working in the capital city of Baghdad,
recently contracted the virus, most likely through her clinical practice
or while participating in a public awareness campaign about the novel
coronavirus.
Like others in the healthcare sector, Dr. Al-Jawari worked longer
hours following the virus outbreak, as she fought to curb the spread and
protect the health and safety of others.
“Due to the current situation, doctors have to be in hospitals for
longer hours regardless of their specializations,” Dr. Al-Jawari said in
an interview with the Iraqi Women Journalists Forum, one of UN Women’s
partners, in early May, before contracting the virus.
Dr. Al-Jawari also stated that there are more women working in the
health sector in Iraq than men, estimating that 60 per cent of all
health workers across Iraq are women. She says this statistic is “a
testimony to the capabilities of women in addition to their dedication,
commitment, and patriotism."
"My work is no longer limited to the medical practice. I’ve also
volunteered to present a TV programme to [raise awareness] on the risks
of this virus and ways to protect oneself. I’ve taken many field trips
to hospitals and quarantine stations and helped patients,”.
Despite all her precautionary measures, Dr. Al-Jawari contracted the
coronavirus and was recently moved to an intensive care unit in a
Baghdad hospital. A breast cancer survivor, Dr. Al Jawari continues to
fight the virus with optimism, determination and hope.
Leading the way in the fight against coronavirus
Wasan Al-Tamimi on an inspection visit along with
her team to a location in Al-Muthanna Governorate in southern Iraq.
Photo Courtesy of SAWA Organization for Human Rights.
“Resolute, persistent and courageous,” this is how colleagues of
Wasan Aref Al-Tamimi describe her. Dr. Al-Tamimi is the Director of the
Public Health Department of Al-Muthanna Governorate, in the southernmost
part of Iraq.
In the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, ensuring food safety is
critical. Along with her team, Dr. Al-Tamimi examines all foodstuff that
comes into the governorate for sale and public consumption and conducts
inspections at local markets to make sure that food supplies meet the
health standards.
She is also the only female member of the Government’s Crisis Cell in
Al-Muthanna Governorate, She follows up on the implementation of
coronavirus response plans in her community and liaises with all
relevant actors – medical staff, crisis teams and public health
officials.
“We have an active role in following up on suspected as well as
confirmed coronavirus cases,” explains Dr. Al Tamimi. “I take the lead
in solving any problems facing my team members at hospitals and during
inspection tours, particularly when people resist being quarantined.”
Like many other women on the front line, her work doesn’t end when
she goes home. A single mother of three, she juggles long hours of paid
work and parenting: “I am trying to make sure that …I am spending time
with [my children], listening to them, and discussing any problems they
face.”
Let's move over to the US. Does assault matter?
If
you're Gloria Steinem, it clearly doesn't. Former CIA employee Gloria
latched on to feminism but really never delivered anything but her own
fame. Sondra Locke was promised help by Gloria, it did not emerge.
Help would have required Gloria to challenge a man and she wasn't going
to do that. From a podium, maybe. But face to face? When Gloria
encountered a sadistic male, she didn't confront them, she slept with
them. Henry Kissinger wasn't the only one. Was Gloria undermining the
feminist movement because of the CIA? That's for her to answer -- and,
let's be clear, she's never answered honestly since becoming a
'feminist.' She attacked and smeared The Red Stockings, she stole their
work, but she never answered honestly. You can find many clips of
Gloria talking about her work for the CIA on YOUTUBE -- and those are
from before she became a 'feminist.'
What I do know --
and I know Gloria -- how well is now open to debate because for years I
believed her non-response regarding her CIA ties -- is that Gloria
destroyed the feminist movement. The Second Wave went from making
demands and staging sit-ins to funding from questionable foundations
while we did nothing. Gloria sold women out in 1976 at the DNC
(HARPER'S has the report) and she was weak over and over. She couldn't
see a better future, she could only see maintaining what already was.
As Ellen Willis so infamously said of Gloria, a reformer can't lead a
revolution.
And we see that over and over. Monica
Lewinsky? Gloria covers for Bill Clinton. Multiple women come forward
to talk about unwanted touching (and sniffing) from Joe Biden and
Gloria's defending Joe. Tara Reade comes forward to speak of both
harassment on the job and of an assault and Gloria goes into silent
mode.
Now on this day, one thing being stressed is believe all victims.
I
don't agree with that and I've never agreed with it. We all have
brains, we should use them. If you don't believe a woman who came
forward, you may have a good reason not to, you may not have a good
reason but you're going by what you see. We need to use our brains.
There are women who've come forward that I don't believe. I believe Rose McGowan
one hundred percent. I don't believe another actress who has come
forward about Harvey because I know this actress slept her way into
roles including with a friend of mine who is a woman. I mention that
because the woman coming forward that I'm speaking of presents as
straight and has pretended to be in relationships with men. The only
men she's slept with have been producers and directors. And it was for
film parts.
I'm making that call based on what I know
about her. I could be wrong. That's always possible. But I am not
tearing her down. I am not naming her and writing, "You slept with
_____ for your role in ____ and then with _____ for your role in ____
and" or "You have publicly lied about ____ and ___" I'm not doing that
and I won't do that.
I do call out EJ Carroll. The
minute she said that rape was sexy, that was it for me. No, it's not
sexy. Have you been raped or assaulted? Those of us who have know it's
not sexy. She may have some fetish where she pretends to be raped and
it gets her off but she's an adult who should be smart enough to grasp
that, in that case, she finds pretending to be raped sexy, not rape.
If
you're saying rape is sexy, I don't have any use for you and I'll call
you out because it has been one huge barrier after another that we have
faced in the US to getting rape recognized and to moving from rape
culture. EJ's on her own.
But there are women that I do not believe. It's because of them, not because I'm defending the man accused.
I loved Bob Filner. When women came forward against him, I did not question the women.
I did not say, "Hey, that's my friend!" I said I hoped the accusations
weren't true but that I didn't know, that we needed to listen to the
women. If ever I was going to have a blind spot, it was then. But we
covered it here and never attacked the women (they were telling the
truth).
With Tara Reade, I've been very clear that I
find her highly credible and can think of no one who has come forward
about a past event who has as much supporting evidence as she has. I
believe her.
And I'm fine with those who don't if they're not slamming her.
Her
credit history has nothing to do with her assault. What some former
friend thinks of her doesn't have anything to do with the assault.
The
actress I was speaking of who gave it out to everyone to get a job?
She still could have been assaulted. I'm basing my opinion on what I
know about her -- beyond just her sexual history but the first thing I
did was call my friend and ask her what she thought since she had slept
with the actress and given her a role. We don't believe her for a
variety of reasons and we could be wrong.
People who spread lies about Tara? Why? Why are you attacking her?
If
you look honestly at your attacks, you'll admit that you're too tied up
in Joe Biden to be honest. That's why you're attacking her.
As
for those 'feminists' who said they believed Tara but were voting for
Joe? Those bitches I have a problem with. Don't call yourselves
feminists. Second Wave feminism and Third Wave have worked way too hard
to fight for survivors and see that they are able to make their claims
in a public manner.
There
are many stories that women have not brought forward about Gloria.
When I began questioning Gloria's CIA ties and lies, it was because
someone brought it up to Ava and me in an e-mail to THE THIRD ESTATE
SUNDAY REVIEW. I hadn't given it much thought. I knew Gloria's side of
the story (which were lies, I now know) and Gloria was friend. I
thought I knew her. But I can always be wrong -- I often am -- and when
Bob Feldman raised the
issue in an e-mail, I did take a look at it. And I do that when someone
raises an issue. I started asking and women started responding
differently. It was a topic that a number of us had closed ourselves
off too. The wall was broken and now we've arrived at the point where Gloria's work for the CIA can be -- and was -- reported by THE NEW YORK TIMES resulting in a whiny e-mail from Gloria.
Gloria
is not a leader. She's failed feminism. She has taken the spotlight
away from too many other women and, honestly, she thought Betty Friedan
was too old in her fifties and worked to shove Betty aside (let's be
honest, that's what happened) but she's 86 and still won't retire.
Remember how, in the 70s, she teamed up with African-American women?
She'd speak with one to raise issues. Please note, she never teamed up
with younger women. That's what she should have been doing in the 80s,
highlighting younger women, pulling her spotlight over to note them.
But she didn't do it.
And now this media appointed 'leader' can't speak up for women.
Tara
is saying she was assaulted. If you believe her but voted for Joe
Biden, I don't think you can honestly call yourself a feminist.
If
you didn't believe her, you can call yourself a feminist. That was
your call and we can all make the call to believe or not believe.
But
knowing how difficult it has been for women to come forward about past
abuse and how they have been treated when they do come forward, to say
you believe a survivor of assault but you're going to vote for Joe?
You're saying what Robin and Gloria were saying to Phyllis: You don't
matter, your assault doesn't matter.
And that's what
women have been told since the beginning of time. It's why we have a
feminist movement and have needed one: You don't matter.
I
don't see how you can say "I believe Tara but I voted for Joe" and not
expect to be called a hypocrite and a whore. You've betrayed women.
(Again,
if you didn't believe Tara, that's your right. I'm not saying every
feminist who voted for Joe should cease using that term. I am saying
that those who believed her and voted for Joe need to stop calling
themselves feminists.)
You've made it so difficult for any woman to come forward.
And
let me add that you may have voted for Joe and you didn't know what to
think regarding Tara. That happens and it doesn't make you not a
feminist. We're not experts on every issue and when Tara came forward,
you may have had difficulty assessing her assertions -- especially since
the corporte media worked so hard to kill her -- not just her story but
to wipe her out of the public record.
Excuse me, 60 MINUTES in Australia covered the story. In the US? Not a peep.
It sends a message. You
don't matter. The man who assaulted you? We're going to protect him.
He is more important than you are. We are sorry you were assaulted and
harassed but there is what we say we believe in and there is what we
actually do.
I'm not a great person or even a good
person -- I don't pretend to be. But when society sends the message
that my assault does not matter, I reject that. Even me, someone who is
not rushing to claim any glory, defend myself.
I am a victim of
assault. I am a survivor of assault. I am Tara Reade for all intent
and purpose. I have been assaulted and I want that recognized. When it
is ignored, when it is minimized, you are not practicing feminism.
(Again, if you didn't believe Tara that's your right and you can not
believe her and still be a feminist. I'm addressing women who stated
they believe Tara and still voted for Joe.)
When you ignore me and my assault, you are saying that I deserved it and I should shut up because I don't matter.
I'm
luckier than Tara. I was assaulted as a child by a non-family member
who kidnapped from school. There wasn't any pushback on my claims.
Because of my very young age, I didn't have to face charges of what I
was wearing, claims of leading someone on, etc.
Alright well, myself and other rape victims have been wanting to talk about Tara Reade and how Joe Biden raped her for .... awhile. And the resounding response from Democrats was: "Wait until we get him elected, and then we'll talk about it."
Well....
Let's go!
I
agree. I believe Tara was assaulted by Joe Biden. I know she was
assaulted by the media and the Democratic Party. The second assault is
appalling and telling and we have a great deal of work to do in terms of
creating spaces for survivors to tell their stories. But the push back
you're seeing right now? It's what I said months ago. This isn't
over. The media's attempts to bury this have not worked. This will
haunt Joe Biden throughout the rest of his life and will always be
attached to his legacy. It is not going away and the support for Tara
is only going to build. I saw it happen before with Anita Hill. The
men -- including Joe -- thought that they had silenced Anita. No.
Women didn't stay silent. And younger women and younger men could see
what the men of the Senate and the men of the media refused to see in
real time. You can see the same with Juanita Broaddrick. It's been on a
smaller scale but she is being believed. I believe her. (And, to be
clear, I didn't believe or disbelieve her back in the 90s. I was out of
the country when she came forward. I left because I overheard some
remarks by Bill that I shouldn't have -- unrelated to assault -- and I
was of the opinion, as was James Carville, that it could come up and I
left the country to avoid it coming up.) She is someone whose story is
still being told and will continue to be told. The same thing is taking
place with Tara.
Joe has lost to history. He's one
woman coming forward away from losing in the present(there are two I
know of who are weighing coming forward).
If we valued
women and girls, we wouldn't have to have an annual day to eradicate
violence against them. But the treatment of Tara Reade this year
reveals that we don't value women. We have a great deal of work to do.
Bless the Fourth Wave because they're the ones who will carry on this
battle.
: Ziyad Matti
