SICKOFITRADLZ: The Originals continues to amaze this season

The Originals continues to astound on The CW.

This is the best season yet.

On Friday's episode, we learned a lot more about The Hollow and its dangers as it attempted to get Klaus and Marcel to fight so that the death of one of them would allow The Hollow to take over.

We also learned that Marcel's girlfriend is a liar.

She teamed him up with a witch who said he'd remove The Hollow's attachment.

He didn't.

He set Marcel up.

They're not helping Marcel. The girlfriend wants Klaus dead.

And the witch?

He wants someone brought back.

I'm assuming Davina.

Every episode has acknowledged Davina and I feel that they have to bring her back in some form.

Killing her off at the end of last season was a mistake.

Davina's needed.

Cammy's death?

Hasn't effected the show at all.

But Davina?

She's an important part of the story.

Elsewhere?

The other big development is probably Freya and the wolf helping her. Freya freed the woman.

But the woman stayed.

I think I was right that the two are going to become a couple.

They make a good couple.

Brenda e-mailed me asking about this season in terms of race.

For those who don't watch, the show is set in New Orleans -- which has a huge percentage of African-Americans.

Here's the most recent demographics:

In Orleans Parish, the share of the 2015 population that is African American — while lower than in 2000 when it was 66.7 percent — continues to represent the majority of city residents at 58.5 percent. The share of Hispanics in the city increased from 3.1 percent in 2000 to 5.6 percent in 2015; the share of Asians increased from 2.3 percent to 3.1 percent; and the share of whites increased from 26.6 percent to 31.3 percent. Meanwhile, Hispanic, Asian, and African American populations increased as a share of the total population in Jefferson, St. Bernard, St. Charles, St. John the Baptist, and St. Tammany parishes, each. In fact, the number and share of Hispanics have increased in all eight parishes in the metro area.

They've added the wolf and she's a major part of the story for a newcomer -- she's African-American.

I'm assuming Marcel's girlfriend will be gone -- they never last. And she's White but that has been his pattern -- falling for White women.

With the wolf, Marcel and Vincent front and center as well as Vincent's dead wife showing up in flashbacks, they've done a better job with race this season than ever before, I'd argue.

Now to another topic . . .

Democracy Now! has become just another foundation baby -- whoring for the government.

I used to love that show.

But it's just another spear carrying, drum thumping part of the War Machine.

Veterans for Peace has an open letter to Amy Goodman (host of Democracy Now!) about her whoring for war on Syria:

Why is there no need for evidence? This looks to us like yet another replay of “Gulf of Tonkin,” “WMDs in Iraq,” and numerous other false provocations going back to 1898 and “Remember the Maine!” Once again the mainstream media is pushing for war. Rush to judgment with no penetrating questions asked.
Unfortunately, with only rare exceptions, DEMOCRACY NOW has NOT been raising such questions either in regards to Syria. On your Friday, April 7th show, you featured numerous guests discussing Syria, some openly accusing Assad, but nobody asking about evidence. Listeners of your show were left to take for granted that the Assad regime is guilty as assumed. This is particularly disappointing to us as we are long-time listeners of your show; we have over the years trusted you as a reliable source of information.

We are asking you to take another and closer look at Syria. Consider the credible investigations by Seymour Hersh and others, including the Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity (VIPS), on the chemical weapons incident of August 21, 2013. Their reports indicate those chemical weapons were launched by armed opposition NOT the Syrian government. This seems very relevant to the current situation.

Here's C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Friday, April 14, 2017. Chaos and violence continue, The Mosul Slog continues, the US government continues to hand over everything to Iraq with no conditions and much more.

The whore of Babylon herself gives props to another world class liar.

‏ @janearraf

‘People Just Flat-Out Lie’ politi.co/2pizlj7 via @politicomag

2 retweets

Andrea Mithcell, now famous in syndication for calling a woman slut, is the woman who slept her way to the top of NBC, of course. Dating and marrying Alan Greenspan ensured she'd be kept around while doing nothing. (Don't try to find out details of her first marriage. In her badly ghost written autobiography, Andrea disappeared her first husband and her step-children.)

POLITICO: "She's never faced off against a White House like this before."

Well maybe that's because she was happy to promote the lies of the Bully Boy Bush White House?

Peter Hart (FAIR) reminded in 2013:

Ten years ago today, Colin Powell made the Bush administration’s case for going to war against Iraq. Much of what he said about Iraq’s threats to the United States was false. But the media coverage gave the opposite impression, and most of the pundits and journalists who promoted the justifications for the war paid no price for their failures.
As FAIR reported at the time, even before the Powell address there were reasons to be skeptical of the administration’s claims. On February 4, 2003, FAIR published “Iraq’s Hidden Weapons: From Allegation to Fact,” which made the point that “it has not been demonstrated that Iraq continues to hold unconventional weapons.” FAIR criticized coverage like that of the New York Times (2/2/03), which asserted that “nobody seriously expected Mr. Hussein to lead inspectors to his stash of illegal poisons or rockets, or to let his scientists tell all.”
As the FAIR release concluded:

The media convey to the public the impression that the alleged banned weapons on which the Bush administration rests its case for war are known to exist, and that the question is simply whether inspectors are skillful enough to find them.

Powell’s address was instrumental in pushing a faulty media line on Iraq’s WMDs further. That much was clear in the coverage right after his appearance at the United Nations, as FAIR documented on February 10 in “A Failure of Skepticism in Powell Coverage.”

In Andrea Mitchell‘s report on NBC Nightly News (2/5/03), Powell’s allegations became actual capabilities of the Iraqi military: “Powell played a tape of a Mirage jet retrofitted to spray simulated anthrax, and a model of Iraq’s unmanned drones, capable of spraying chemical or germ weapons within a radius of at least 550 miles.”

Dan Rather, introducing an interview with Powell (60 Minutes II, 2/5/03), shifted from reporting allegations to describing allegations as facts: “Holding a vial of anthrax-like powder, Powell said Saddam might have tens of thousands of liters of anthrax. He showed how Iraqi jets could spray that anthrax and how mobile laboratories are being used to concoct new weapons.” The anthrax supply is appropriately attributed as a claim by Powell, but the mobile laboratories were something that Powell “showed” to be actually operating.

We included Dan Rather above because 'the resistance' has mistaken him for a truth teller. He's about as real as Robert Redford's toupee.

Also don't forget that Andrea was involved in the whole attack on former US Ambassador Joe Wilson for calling out Bully Boy Bush's yellow cake lies. Andrea's own statements even attempted to mitigate the exposure of Joe's wife (and downplay the actions of Scooter Libby).

There's nothing honest about Andrea. Not her nose job, not the fillers in the cheeks, not that 'blond' hair and certainly not anything the 'journalist' offers on air.

No wonder Jane Arraf would be attracted to her.

Jane covered for thug Nouri al-Maliki -- covered for, not covered -- when he was prime minister. She did the same for Saddam Hussein. CNN's policy was to do anything to keep their reporters on the ground in the country (as Eason Jordan revealed in his now infamous NEW YORK TIMES column). Jane parted ways with CNN but she internalized the policy.

Her cover ups were most disgusting when it came to the rape of Sunni women and girls in jails and prison. For months, she ignored the story. Even when Parliament was investigating, she ignored the story. When she finally 'stumbled' upon it, it was when Amnesty International issued a report. And, in noting it, she managed to only quote men -- not a single woman or girl. They were the victims but she was attempting to dumb down and white wash what had happened so she didn't quote the actual victims.

Jane earned the title whore of Babylon.

Day 178 of The Mosul Slog.

The United Nations notes:

Using satellite imagery and local researches, the most recent evaluation confirms that western Mosul has undergone extensive destruction, “far greater than in the east,” according to a senior United Nations aid official in the country.
“The level of damage in western Mosul is already far greater than in the east, even before the battle to retake the Old City begins,” said Lise Grande, Humanitarian Coordinator for Iraq, in a news release issued by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
With more than 1,140 housing sites having been destroyed across the city, the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat) confirms that damage to houses in western Mosul is two and a half times greater than in the eastern districts with one-third of the residential devastation reported to have occurred in the Al Jadeda neighbourhood.
Ms. Grande pointed out that nearly 300,000 civilians have already fled western Mosul and “hundreds of thousands more may in the days and weeks ahead.”
She stressed that homes are being destroyed, schools and health centres damaged and that crucial public infrastructure, including electricity and water stations, are in ruins.
“Under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict are obliged to do everything possible to protect civilians and limit damage to civilian infrastructure. Nothing is more important,” concluded the Humanitarian Coordinator.

Success?

And elsewhere in Iraq?

More violence.

Baghdad:
Press reports:#Hashd _Militias and #the government_ forces have carried out forcible displacements in... fb.me/8swn3nE6I

Maysan:
A body of unidentified old man stabbed has been found in Huseein  Al-Qadeem neighborhood in the middle of Emara.

Baghdad:
A body of unidentified man has been found in tajiyat area north of Baghdad.

Baghdad:
A person was killed and "5"were wounded as an IED exploded in Ma'lif area south of Baghdad.

1 like

Basra:
A body of unidentified man has been found at Ashar River in the middle of Basra.

Anbar:
An IED has hit a patrol in the middle of Heet ,further details unknown.

Ninenevh:
News agencies: Deaths and injuries were resulted and two hummers and vehicles destroyed as an attack... fb.me/6MOsEbeHE

1 retweet

Nineveh:
News agencies:The "Islamic State" has retaken some areas from the government forces at the suburbs of... fb.me/1khQ4Na7c

All the violence is horrible, no question.

But when bodies start surfacing in neighborhoods, it's usually a sign that the violence is about to intensify. That has been the pattern.

One of the biggest supporters of the Mosul operation -- and of Iraqi forces including the militias -- has been Haidar Sumeri.

So this Tweet is especially interesting.

‏ @IraqiSecurity

We told you & told you again.

"Al-Qaeda is on our side in #Syria." - email from policy advisor to Sec. of State Hillary Clinton (Feb 2012).

1 reply35 retweets31 likes

Hillary worked with al Qaeda when it suited her.

Meanwhile, Nouri al-Maliki plots his comeback. Mohamed Mostafa (IRAQI NEWS) reports:

Vice President and former prime minister Nouri al-Maliki is tipped for the presidency of Iraq’s largest political group as the tenure of its incumbent leader nears its end.
Maliki is a candidate for the presidency of the Iraqi National Alliance, according to press statements by Rasoul Radi, an MP from the State of the Law, the parliamentary bloc headed by Maliki.
The alliance’s chairman, Ammar al-Hakim, is scheduled to end his tenure early August, and has recently called for starting measures to select his successor. The alliance’s member parties agreed to take a candidate’s party’s share of parliament seats into consideration when making the selection.

The Iraqi National Alliance is Iraq’s largest Shia political coalition, and was founded in 2009 by former PM and current foreign minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari.

Nouri back in charge?

That would be a nightmare.

If only the US government had some pull and was able to make the long promised reconciliation in Iraq take place -- even just legally.

If only . . .

Oh wait, there is.

Wednesday the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency announced:

WASHINGTON, Apr. 12, 2017 - The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Republic of Iraq for pilot and maintenance training, contractor logistical support (CLS) for trainer aircraft, and base support. The estimated cost is $1.06 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on April 11, 2017.
The Government of Iraq has requested a possible sale of pilot training; maintenance training; and contractor logistical services support for C-172, C-208, and T-6 aircraft for up to five (5) years to include contractor aircraft modification; repair and spare parts; publications; aircraft ferry; and miscellaneous parts, along with training base operation support, base life support, security, construction, and other related elements of program support. The estimated total program value is $1.06 billion.
The proposed sale will contribute to the foreign policy and national security of the United States by helping to provide for a stable, sovereign, and democratic Iraq, capable of combating terrorism and protecting its people and sovereignty. Iraq currently owns twelve (12) C-172, five (5) C-208, and fifteen (15) T-6 training aircraft. The training pipeline will allow the Iraqi Air Force to tailor pilot training for several U.S.-origin operational aircraft. The C-172s and T-6s are Iraq’s training platforms for their mobility and fighter attack fleets. The C-208s are Iraq’s platform of choice for training its Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) pilots.
The proposed sale of training and support services will improve the Iraq’s ability to train its pilots and maintenance technicians. By training its own pilots and maintenance technicians in-country, Iraq will decrease its overseas training requirements, significantly reduce its training costs, and will enhance its ability to take over the sustainment of its aircraft. Iraq will have no difficulty absorbing this support. In addition to its primary mission – pilot and maintenance training for Iraqi Air Force personnel – this proposed sale includes Contractor Logistical Support costs for the trainer aircraft, as well as possible future construction and base operation support costs.
The proposed sale of this training and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.
The principal contractor is Spartan College, Tulsa, OK. At this time, there are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale.
Implementation of this proposed sale will require the assignment of approximately four U.S. Government representatives and 50-55 contractor representatives to Iraq.
There will be no adverse impact on U.S. defense readiness as a result of this proposed sale. All training and support listed on this transmittal are authorized for release and export to the Government of Iraq.
This notice of a potential sale is required by law and does not mean the sale has been concluded.

All questions regarding this proposed Foreign Military Sale should be directed to the State Department's Bureau of Political Military Affairs, Office of Congressional and Public Affairs, pm-cpa@state.gov.

Bully Boy Bush got the Iraqi government to promise -- in writing -- that they would proceed with reconciliation.

But they didn't.

Barack Obama got oral promises.

But they didn't.

Donald Trump will now become the third idiot who hands over weapons Iraqis want without putting conditions on their handover.

And thus the Iraq War never truly ends.

The following community sites -- plus Cindy Sheehan and Diane Rehm -- updated: