On Alec Baldwin, Barbra Steisand and others (CI)
C.I. of The Common Ills filling in for Kat. Kat had a family crisis. (Everyone's fine now but a relative broke an arm and it was an ER day.) So I told her I'd fill in and she asked me to write about Alec Baldwin.
Okay, here's Kat's previous coverage:
Not since Michelle Phillips divorced Dennis Hopper...
On Alec Baldwin
MSNBC benches Baldwin for two weeks
Alec Baldwin lies on Twitter
Disclosure, I know Alec Baldwin.
Alec's an actor whose films include Beetlejuice, The Hunt For Red October, Married To The Mob, Prelude To A Kiss, It's Complicated, Malice, The Juror, etc. He first came to fame playing Billy Aldrich on The Doctors (daytime soap opera), then Knot's Landing (prime time soap opera) where he was Joshua, then the greatest sitcom of recent history Will Grace where he was Malcolm and then 30 Rock where he was Jack.
He's collected a lot of fans from his work.
He was attempting something different, hosting a talk show on MSNBC. It was put on hold after he verbally insulted a photographer.
He called the man a "c**ksucker." That part is agreed on. He disputes that he said "f**got" after.
Alec lost his show on MSNBC yesterday. They suspended him for two weeks while they decided what to do.
They announced yesterday that they'd decided to end the show.
Today Alec spoke with Gothamist and raised the issue of Martin Bashir.
Bashir launched a vulgar attack on a woman. He did that on Friday, November 15th. On Monday, November 18th, Bashir made an apology. He also contacted the woman and apologized.
Alec feels he was treated unfairly.
There are differences.
First off, Alec originally claimed that he used another f-word. Now he's claiming the word was "maggot."
It doesn't look honest (and, on the tape, it does sound like "fa**ot").
I think Alec could have avoided everything if he'd just said immediately, "I shouldn't have said it."
He could have then added, "I support LGBT rights and I have many friends who are gay which is why I'm embarrassed by this. I think of myself as a progressive person. But when I got angry at someone upsetting my family, the first thing I went to was 'cocks**king fa**ot.' I was upset that my family was being hurt and I wanted to lash out. I chose the words I hoped would be most hurtful. In my attempt to defend my family, I ended up saying words that were hurtful to a community. I apologize."
Gay men are usually aware that Alec was 'gay friendly' when no one was. In 1992, he fought to do Prelude To A Kiss which required him to kiss a man. (His wife, Meg Ryan's character is body swapped with an elderly man. When he realizes the old man is Meg, the characters kiss.) This was a real and romantic kiss his character had to engage in.
And he did it. Without complaint, without jokes.
A year later, by contrast, Will Smith's in Six Degrees Of Seperation. From The Backlot:
Will Smith wasnt a terrible actor in the 1993 film Six Degrees of Separation; however, it was obvious he was a little green for the role. Smith played the role of Paul, based on the true life story of David Hampton, a con man who managed to convince many people he was the son of Sidney Poitier. The character of Paul was openly gay and was represented as such in the 1990 stage play.
When Will Smith signed on to do the role, director Fred Schepisi
begged Smith to do a kissing scene with another man. Smith adamantly
refused saying a male kiss would "gross out" his fans. Over ten years
later, Sir Ian McKellen, who played the role of Geoffrey Miller in the 1993 film, blasted Smith,
saying his remarks were homophobic: "He thought he was saying something
very individual but what he was actually confirming was that hes got
the disease so many people have – homophobia." There were also rumors
that Denzel Washington urged Smith to not do the
kissing scene. For me, the refusal to kiss another man completely
ruined Smiths already shakey performance and its definitely a gay role
I couldve done without. Will Smith later said he regretted not doing
the kiss.
It's actually much worse than that. Did anyone see the play?
Will Smith destroyed it. There are actually two kisses he refused to do (the second finds him leaning in and the scene ending). He refused to do a scene nude or even appearing nude with the man his character controlled and had sex with.
The film's a piece of trash. Sorry.
And Will begged to play the part and then, after he got the role, he refused to.
Alec knew the kiss was in the play, he still wanted the part and, when it came time to film the scene, he didn't whine and moan and get out of it. He knew the scene was crucial and he played it.
Alec is not uncomfortable around gay people nor is he someone who lives in fear that he will be mistaken for gay.
So MSNBC was wrong to fire him?
No, I don't think so.
They were right to.
Let's deal with how Bashir was different.
Right now there's a campaign to fire Bashir. Many on the right have spent this week and last trying to make the case.
Friday the 22nd, I noted my opinion was Bashir offered an apology, it seemed sincere, end of story for me. You can feel differently, these are just opinions.
Bashir made his comments on a Friday, when his show resumed on a Monday, he offered an apology.
Does he have a history of this? Not that I'm aware.
People can make mistakes -- I know I certainly do.
If Alec had apologized, things might have been different.
But the issue isn't just this one incident.
Alec is passionate. That's great. I can remember an intense conversation with him in the 90s where we were the only ones in the room arguing that if the National Endowment of the Arts couldn't support art then it wasn't worth having -- that Jane Alexander's repeated compromises were hurting art.
But passionate on Alec is now seen as "hot head."
That has to do with the leaked audio message he left his daughter a few years back. That's not forgotten, I'm sorry.
It has to do with any altercations with photographers he gets into.
And most importantly it has to do with his Twitter feed.
I have a friend I may be calling out shortly. She can't shut up and she needs to stop Tweeting.
Unlike her, Alec tries for humor with his attacks but you can't read it and always get that.
Also, poli sci major or not, Alec's becoming a know it all and has to share on every topic (I'm referring to his Twitter persona).
Ellen Barkin ensured that The New Normal would get the axe. She appears to have actually learned from her mistakes. I hope so. I like Ellen.
But those Tweets last year were disgusting.
They were also stupid.
If I want to have a career in film, I need people to buy tickets. The Guilt Trip should have been huge. Seth was delightful in it and I do think it was some of Barbra's most honest work.
But right before the film's released, Barbra's on a tear attacking Republicans.
Attack politicians, fine.
But stop attacking the people.
These blanket attacks are unhelpful and all they do is make you look some sort of fanatic while hurting people's feelings.
Barbra's attacks ensured that Republicans weren't wanting to pay money for the film.
It also meant that she looked like an ass. A mean asshole. And that meant that non-political people -- a huge number of Americans -- had the attitude of, "Oh, I don't want to spend money on her movie. She's so political."
Barbra had a musical planned for her follow up film.
Now?
After she ran off fans?
No studio wants to touch her.
If you are the reason people aren't watching or aren't buying a ticket, studios and networks aren't going to hire you.
It's not a blacklist, it's just that you run off the audience.
In 2012, Barack Obama got roughly 51% of the vote and Mitt Romney got roughly 47% of the vote.
So you're attacking Republicans non-stop means you're losing that segment. And, again, you're also losing the people who don't care about politics. You've also got politically blended families. Some get alone great -- they're not going to appreciate your attacks on their family members. Those that don't get along? You've just reminded them of bad visits with their family. You really think they're going to spend 2 hours in a dark theater looking at you.
I'm on the left.
I have no problem calling out any politicians -- right, left or center.
But if I get an e-mail where someone who is right wing or Republican and they feel I have insulted them, I take that into account and try to be as precise as possible when I slam someone online.
I do not write things like, "Conservatives are stupid!"
Why would you attack people in your own country?
Because you disagree politically?
That's something the US is built on. That we can disagree.
I'm all for holding people accountable but I don't blame The People for what politicians, pundits and others do.
Alec had become a public relations nightmare.
If he had delivered ratings, MSNBC would have kept him.
He was a public relations nightmare and couldn't deliver the audience. They got rid of him. It was the right decision in my opinion.
That said, MSNBC didn't promote the show.
It treated it like a new MSNBC entry.
It wasn't that.
It was Alec Baldwin's talk show. Meaning, you advertise it on NBC during prime time. They didn't. They didn't give him the roll out he needed.
He is an actor. As such, he was slammed for doing a political talk show.
That's not a surprise.
But you hire an actor like Alec to get an audience. You then need to leave MSNBC and advertise on NBC, you need to run ads in Ladies' Home Journal, Glamour, Men's Fitness, etc.
Alec can bring an audience.
MSNBC's failure to promote him properly ensured that he didn't have an audience.
That's the other reason I think it was right to axe the show. If MSNBC can't even promote it properly then there's no point in Alec doing it because he's taking the blame for their lousy promotion.
Here's today's "Iraq snapshot:"
Wednesday, November 27, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, Nouri tries
to spin a business success, the KRG upstages Nouri, Jen Psaki throws a
hissy fit, the State Dept makes clear just how little they value Sunni
lives, corpses in the streets of Iraq, and more.
The Press Association reports, "The opening of the first branch of a British bank in Iraq has been
hailed by its prime minister as a sign of new international trust in the
country, and a testament to the ongoing friendship between the new
nations. Speaking at the opening of the branch of Standard
Chartered in Baghdad, prime minister Nouri Al-Maliki paid tribute to
Britain for its support as the two countries continue to work to help
Iraq rebuild itself after years of conflict."
Oh, that's so cute.
For Iraq and Standard. In 2012, Jonathan Stempel and Carrick Mollenkamp (Reuters) reported:
In a rare move, New York's top bank
regulator threatened to strip the state banking license of Standard
Chartered Plc, saying it was a "rogue institution" that hid $250 billion
in transactions tied to Iran, in violation of U.S. law.
The
New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) on Monday said
the British bank "schemed" with the Iranian government and hid from
law-enforcement officials some 60,000 secret transactions to generate
hundreds of millions of dollars in fees over nearly 10 years.
In other words, what really happened today is that a rogue bank opened a branch in a rogue state.
And it's not really a British bank, is it? As Standard Charted notes,
"We operate in some of the world's most dynamic markets and have been
for over 150 years. More than 90 per cent of our income and profits are
derived from Asia, Africa and the Middle East."
They already operate in Bahrain, Jordan, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
So the customers aren't primarily British. But the bank, the bank itself is British!
No, you can't be a "multi-national" -- which Standard Charted is -- and
belong to one country. Or did we forget the meaning of "multi" in
"multi-national"? It was founded in South Africa. It only 'divested'
itself of South Africa (where it was part of the blood diamond trade) in
1987 -- at the point when everyone else with integrity had long ago
left. Scan Wikipedia
and you'll see quickly that "no integrity" really sums up Standard
Charted which is forever in trouble in India and which attempted bribery
in the Philippins and Malaysia. They got into trouble for inflating
claims -- trouble with the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission.
In other words, they should be perfectly at home in Nouri's corrupt Iraq.
Poor Nouri, this was his big moment and so much of nothing.
This month Hyatt announced a new Hyatt Regency . . . in Iraq. But Nouri can't get excited, the hotel will be in semi-autonomous northern region governed by the KRG. And Kelly Clarke (Khaleej Times) reported two weeks ago:
During a conference unveiling a new
multi-billion dollar development to go up in the Kurdistan regions
capital, Erbil, last month, Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar said ithopes
to close similar deals with the countrys government in the future,
building on its already growing economy.
[. . .]
“To have such an international brand like Emaar coming in is a big
step up for the development of the area and it will surely create
confidence,” he (real estate agent and CEO for Elite Homes Ali Asad] told Khaleej Times.
Asked why he thinks one of the worlds biggest property developers
has chosen to develop in Erbil, rather than Baghdad, where property
prices are higher, he said it was simple.
“If they want a footstep into Iraq, Erbil is the perfect place,
because its secure,” however Asad did mention the Downtown Erbil
development will undoubtedly create inflation in the area, as listed
prices are already considerably higher than similar developments in the
area.
Not everything's in the KRG.
For example, today the KRG Prime Minister wasn't. He was in Ankara.
National Iraqi News Agency reports
that Nijervan Barzani met with Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and the two discussed "the issue of oil exporting from Kurdistan
region to Turkey." All Iraq News quotes
"Turkish sources" stating, "Erdogan signed many conventions with
Barzani in oil and gas sectors and after the three hour meeting he
announced his intention to visit Baghdad and Erbil to assure the desire
of Turkey in promoting relations with all Iraqi components."
The pipeline could assist with the oil exports that are already taking place between the KRG and Turkey. Seyfettin Gursel (Al-Monitor) reports:
Oil production in the region controlled by the KRG is 300,000 barrels
per day. About two-thirds of this amount is exported to Turkey
intanker trucks. This is a tedious and expensive method. Nevertheless,
the KRG revenues — which were at $150 million seven years ago — have
risen to $12 billion, and per capita income has climbed to $5,000 from
$300. It is possible to boost the daily production to 1 million barrels
with the operating wells. With proven and estimated oil reserves, this
production will increase multifold in coming years. According to Celebi,
yet-untapped naturalgas reserves are estimated at 40 billion cubic
meters. The KRG has already signed deals with international oil
companies for production and to build the pipelines that would cross
Turkey.
Even limited oil-production revenues have raised Turkeys exports to
Iraq to above $10 billion, which comes afterGermany in Turkeys primary
export markets.It is, however, likely to occupy the top slot soon.
According to Celebi, 90% of exports to Iraqgoto Northern Iraq, with
the rest going to the south of the country. Imagine how these numbers
are going to multiply when the pipelines are completed and oil and
natural gas starts to flow.
Of today's meet-up,Asharq al-Awsat notes,
"Speaking to CNNTurk television on Wednesday, Barzani confirmed that
Iraq's Kurds are hoping to start pumping oil to Turkey before the end of
the year via the Baghdad-controlled pipeline." AFP reports
that Barzani declared before the meeting that the oil could be flowing,
via the pipeline, to Turkey "before Christmas" (December 25th).
Guess which cranky boy forgot Santa Claus was making a list of who was naughty and who was nice?
Nouri al-Maliki. AFP quotes
Nouri's mouth piece Ali al-Mussawi conveying Nouri's fury, "The Iraqi
government informed the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad of its strong
opposition to signing the pipeline deal with KRG." And if that's got
Nouri stomping his feet, whatever will he do in December? That's when, Rudaw reports, a major commerce event takes place in the KRG:
More than 100 international energy companies and 800 political and
diplomatic figures are expected to attend the Kurdistan-Iraq Oil
Gas Conference 2013 in Erbil next month, notably coinciding with
historic oil exports by the Kurds.
The four-day conference opens Sunday, just as the autonomous
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq begins to export
oil directly to Turkey through its newly-extended pipeline.
Maybe he'll have time to adjust? But today, Nouri thought it was his
day. He'd dominate the news cycle by announcing a one-time tool of the
British empire was invading Iraq. Instead, all anyone cares about right
now is what Barzani and Erdogan agreed to.
How important is today's news?
Nouri's not the only one throwing a hissy fit. At the US State Dept press briefing today, spokesperson Jen Psaki took sides and acted like an idiot. What a proud moment for the State Dept.
QUESTION: About the energy deal between Turkey and KRG: The
KRG Prime Minister Barzani, Nechirvan Barzani, was in Turkey yesterday
and he told to the Turkish reporters there that the pipeline between
Irbil and Turkey will start to carry all the oil next month, before the
Christmas. So I know that you raised this – your concern on this issue
with the Turks when Mr. Davutoglu was here, but what is the latest
situation and what is your view on the latest arrangement of this --
MS. PSAKI: Our view has not changed. We dont support oil
exports from any part of Iraq without approval of the Iraqi federal
government. We continue to urge the federal government of Iraq and
Kurdistan Regional Government to reach a constitutional solution, and
that has consistently been our position. And it also has not changed.
QUESTION: There is a plan on the table that Turks are arguing
that theyre going to accumulate the revenue, oil revenue, in a Turkish
bank in Turkey, and then they gonna split the spoils arising from this
energy resources between KRG and Baghdad. So 70 percent will be going to
the Kurds, and the rest will be Baghdad. Are you okay with that plan?
MS. PSAKI: I dont have anything on that for you. Our position remains the same on this specific issue.
QUESTION: Did you raise this issue with Mr. Davutoglu when was in town?
MS. PSAKI: I will check and see if theres more to report on our meeting with Foreign Minister Davutoglu.
QUESTION: So, just so I understand correctly, you do stick to
the principle that the central governments was responsible for the
export of oil from Iraq?
MS. PSAKI: Thats right, without approval of the Iraqi federal government.
'We stay out of it! We stay out of it! We support the Iraqi Constitution and the laws! It's not for us to decide!'
Did I forget any of the lies that have been told from the State Dept podium?
The State Dept doesn't give a damn about the Constitution of Iraq. They don't give a damn about the Iraqi people.
If you give a damn, you have something to say.
Let's drop back to yesterday snapshot to underscore how damn little the State Dept cares about Iraq:
National Iraqi News Agency reports 1 person shot dead in Khalis, preacher and Iman Rakan Hussein al-Naimi was injured by gunfire in a Rilkaif assassination attempt. Sheikh Ghadanfar al-Mahdawi survived (without injury) an attempted assassination "between Baqbua and Muqdadiyah," a Falluja sticky bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer, 1 police officer was shot dead in Baghdad, a Falluja roadside bombing claimed the life of 1 police officer and left two more injured, and the corpses of Sheikh Adnan al-Ghanem and Sheikh Kadhim al-Jubouri were discovered in Basra. All Iraq News adds that the Mayor of Shuqiara Sufla Village, Jasim Mohammed al-Jubouri, was assassinated.
Where's the statement from the State Dept. On mayors? That's at least
the eighth one assassinated since October 1st. Where's the statement
decrying that?
Where's the State Dept on the assassinations of Sheikh Adnan al-Ghanem and Sheikh Kadhim al-Jubrouri?
Two religious leaders are killed. Jen Psaki didn't give a damn. She and the Dept she speaks for could care less.
By contrast, All Iraq News reports:
The
Iraqi Scholars Assembly condemned the crimes of assassinations that
targeted Sheikhs, Adnan al-Ghanim, and Kadhim al-Jobouri, in Basra
province.The head of the Assembly stated to AIN "These crimes aim at arousing sectarianism."
"The outlaw armed groups are behind these ugly crimes," he added.
Please let it register in Iraq that when Sunni religious leaders are
assassinated, the US government doesn't bat an eye and remains silent.
Let's stop pretending that this White House is any different than the last. They don't give a damn about the Sunni people.
The White House is nothing but a maxipad for Nouri, to help prevent
spotting. When the maxipad is fully stained (Bully Boy Bush) a new one
is applied (Barack Obama).
The US Embassy in Baghdad is also silent as two Sunni Imams are assassinated.
Silence is what Jen Psaki should have offered today.
The State Dept may not like what the KRG does but (a) why should the KRG
give a damn what the US government thinks or wants (seriously, after
being stabbed in the back in November 2010, why should the KRG give a
damn?) and (b) the KRG's actions are legal.
Little Psaki was apparently unable to speak the truth but there's no oil law.
Nouri was installed (by Bully Boy Bush) as prime minister to pass an oil
law. When Democrats were saying (pretending) they'd end the Iraq War
if they got control of even one house of Congress in the 2006 mid-terms?
Well they got control of both houses of Congress and the White House
quickly came up with a set of benchmarks that would prove 'progress' in
Iraq -- so Congress wouldn't cut off funds. That was six years ago so
let's cite a source for any who might be new to the topic. From Gail Russell Chaddock (Christian Science Monitor, May 14, 2007):
It's almost 100 days after President Bush requested emergency funds for
the Iraq war, and Congress and the White House are converging on a deal
that includes benchmarks for progress for the Iraqi government,
including a national oil law and provincial elections.
For Democrats now controlling Congress, these benchmarks – plucked right
from the president's 2007 State of the Union address – are a way to
avoid giving the White House "a blank check" on a war that a majority of
Americans now oppose.
Nouri agreed to meet the benchmarks. Where's the oil law?
Nouri couldn't get it through in his first term and he's failed in his
second term. Nouri introduces bills to the Parliament -- it's not like
the US Congress. Nouri's failed over and over.
And it's no longer just an issue of the KRG. As Abdullah Salem (Niqash) reported last week, Nineveh Province is making moves to handle the sale of their own oil:
But the head of Ninawa's provincial legal committee, Nofal
Hammadi al-Akoub, said that Baghdad was relying on out dated oil and
gas laws – federal Iraq still doesn't have a national oil and gas law, even though Iraqi Kurdistan has passed it's own.
Those older laws relate to the preservation of oil wealth
by preventing illegal extraction of oil. However, as Hammadi al-Akoub
points out, “the provincial council didn't authorise the extraction of
oil. Rather they authorised investment in oil. In taking this decision
they were relating back to a 2008 law that gives provincial councils
this authority – so the Ministry can't actually object.”
If there is any contesting of the council's decision to be
done, “parliament is the only entity that has the right to do this and
the Supreme Federal Court will make the final decision,” al-Akoub told
NIQASH.
But it is not only the Iraqi government that is upset by
the invitation for tenders. Some of the critics of the local government
move come from within the council itself. Different factions within the
council are concerned that the move will open the door for more Iraqi
Kurdish companies to enter the disputed territory, and put the Iraqi
Kurds ahead in the battle over disputed territories within Ninawa.
With no national oil law what does that mean?
It means there's nothing to prohibit the KRG from doing what they're doing.
Jen Psaki can scream and rip out her own hair. She can set herself on fire if she wants.
None of that will change the fact that the KRG is acting within the law.
Nor will it change the reality, the ugly truth, that the State Dept is
not backing Iraq or the Iraqi people. It's nothing but a bloody maxipad
kept in place to protect Nouri.
The bleeding from violence never ends in Iraq.
Duraid Adnan (New York Times) reports,
"But on Wednesday, the daily tally of violence took on an air of
pinpoint
deliberation with the execution-style killings of several groups of
civilians, a grim reminder of the worst days of sectarian warfare in the
country. While major bombings have become common, the killings
reintroduced the prospect of a resurgence in the type of violence that
rattled Iraq in 2006 and 2007." Salam Faraj (AFP) reminds:, "At the peak of sectarian fighting, Sunni and Shiite militiamen would
regularly carry out tit-for-tat kidnappings and assassinations and leave
scores of corpses littering the streets, many of them bound,
blindfolded and showing signs of torture." Sinan Salaheddin (AP) also makes that point today, "Bodies were frequently found dumped during the height of Iraq's
sectarian violence in 2006 and 2007, when the country was at the edge of
civil war."
Such as the never ending violence. National Iraqi News Agency reports 1
suicide car bomber took his own life at a Habbaniyah police station
entrance and he was followed by a suicide bomber wearing a belt with
both bombings claimed the lives of 3 police officers with five more
injured, an Albu Assaf suicide bomber "blew himseful up at the gate of
the police station," 1
"suicide car bomber blew himself up at the entrance of the headquarters
of Peshmerga forces in Jabarah county of Khanqin" leaving 3 Peshmerga
dead and ten more injured, an Abu Ghraib suicide bomber took his own life at a Baghdad funeral and killed 9 other people with twenty more left injured, an armed attack on a Mosul police station left one police officer and one detainee injured, a Qa'im roadside bombing left 1 Iraqi soldier dead and two more injured, 1
real estate worker was shot dead in Mosul, Hussein Sameer Malalah (Dept
of Compensation employee) was shot dead in Mosul and Homam Adnan Ahmed
(Dept of Energy employee) was shot dead in Mosul. BBC News addsthat
"five members of the same family were shot dead in the mainly Shia
district of Hurriya. The victims were reportedly Sunnis."
Multiple attacks
on police stations and assassinations but that's not the focus of the
non-Iraqi press. Check my math but I think that's 35 reported dead and
39 injured (13 of the dead will be noted in a second.)
There was to have been a protest tomorrow. Nasiriyah Network News reported
earlier today that Dhi Qar journalists planned to protest the French
Consulate over the lawsuits against two reporters in the province. The
invitation to the protest noted that Iraqi journalists must protest all
efforts to curtail freedom of the press in Iraq and that failure to do
so could lead to not just corruption but also dictatorship. In an
update, the outlet notes
that the two French companies who were suiing the two journalists have
dropped their lawsuits and the protest has been called off. All Iraq News notes
cleric and movement leader Moqtada al-Sadr met in Baghdad with the
French Ambassador to Iraq Denys Gauer today and the two discussed a
number of issues including parliamentary elections in Iraq.
Moqatada is a Shi'ite cleric so staying with religion, let's note
Patriarch Krill I of Moscow, the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia. The Voice of Russia (link is text and audio) reports
he met with Iraq's Ambassador to Russia Ismieal Shafiq Muhsin today and
quotes him stating, "We know that Christian communities have been
subjected to violence. Very many people were killed just for being
Christians. Many people have left Iraq under the threat of death.
That, of course, changed the cultural landscape of your country. We
believe it is in a way a catastrophe for civilization because Christians
and Muslims have always lived in peace on the territory of your
country." Last week, Prashant Rao (AFP) reported on Iraqi Christians noting:
Before 2003 more than a million Christians lived in Iraq. Now there
are around 400,000, according to Chaldean Patriarch Louis Sako, head of
one of the world's oldest Christian communities.
Baghdad has seen a dramatic fall in its own Christian population, which at one point numbered 600,000.
According to Archdeacon Temathius Esha, an Assyrian priest in Dura,
the neighbourhood's Christian population has all but disappeared, from
around 150,000 shortly after the 2003 US-led invasion to about 2,000
now.
Though home to seven churches -- Assyrian, Chaldean and Syriac -- Dura now has only two priests.
Esha's 500-capacity St. Shmooni Church attracted just 20 people for a
recent Friday service, and he said only about 150 show up for Christmas
or Easter.
The priest's own family lives in the town of Ainkawa in Iraq's
northern Kurdish region, which has been mostly spared from the violence
plaguing the rest of the country.
Religious minorities throughout Iraq are targeted -- including Yazidis,
Mandaeans, Caldo-Assyrians, Shabaks and others. One group that has been
repeatedly targeted is the Iraqi Jewish community.
In 2012, on World Refugee Day, Ron
Posner, Israel's Ambassador to the United Nations, wrote of the climate
in the Middle East immediately after WWII and observed of Iraq, "In
Iraq Jewish businessman Shafiq Adas, then the country's wealthiest
citizen, was immediately arrested on trumped-up charges and publicly
lynched. This was followed by bombings targeting Jewish institutions,
arbitrary arrests of Jewish leaders, and massive government seizures of
property. Within years virtually all of Iraq's 2,500-year-old Jewish
community had fled, emptying the country of many of its greatest
artists, musicians, and businessmen." Last week the United Nations held
a conference in New York entitled The Untold Story of the Middle East:
Justice for Jewish Refugees from Arab Countries. Jacob Kamaras (Jewish News Service) reports:
The story of Jews expelled from Iraq has recently drawn significant
attention due to the current exhibition in Washington, DC of 24
artifacts from the “Iraqi Jewish Archive,” a collection of 2,700 Jewish
books and documents recovered in 2003 in the basement of the Iraqi
intelligence ministry and restored by the National Archives and Records
Administration. The U.S. has said it plans to return the archive to the
Iraqi government following the exhibition, in line with a written
agreement between the two countries, but Iraqi Jews say Saddam Husseins
government confiscated the materials from them.
Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of
Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, at the U.N.
conference reiterated a recent statement issued by 42 groups, addressed
to Secretary of State John Kerry, that the archive should be protected
and remain continually accessible to Jews.
“We urge our government not to send them back to an uncertain fate in
Iraq, where hundreds of holy Torah scrolls remain in disuse and decay,”
Hoenlein said.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Ron Prosor told JNS.org regarding the
Iraqi archive, “There were a lot of resources and assets put together in
order to compile it the way it is; it was saved, and we dont want it
to be lost again.” Robert Singer, CEO of the World Jewish Congress, told
JNS.org that the fact that 42 groups signed the statement to Kerry
shows “a unified position of the Jewish community on this issue.”
Ruth covered the issue yesterday and notedRory Cohen's O.C. Register column:
Haj Amin al-Husseini, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem and one of the
initial members of the Muslim Brotherhood, became a Nazi agent after
meeting Adolf Eichmann, an architect of the Holocaust, in 1937. With
Nazi funds, al-Husseini organized the Arab Revolt of 1936-39. In 1941,
the mufti orchestrated a short-lived, Nazi-backed generals' coup in
Iraq. The coup was followed by the Farhud, a vicious pogrom.
It's an event that is indelibly imprinted in the consciousness of Iraq's Jews.
The Mufti obtained Hitler's assurance in November 1941 that, after
dealing with the Jews of Europe, Hitler would treat the Jews of the
Middle East similarly. In a two-day period, mobs rampaged in Baghdad and
other Iraqi cities. At least 150 Jews were killed and more than 2,000
injured; some 900 Jewish homes were destroyed and looted; and hundreds
of Jewish-owned shops were robbed and destroyed.
My older family members recall witnessing how soldiers pulled small
children away from their parents and ripped the arms off young girls to
steal their bracelets; pregnant women were raped and their stomachs cut
open. My grandfather rescued his little brother when the violence began.
My great-grandfather claimed to be a Muslim when Iraqi troops stormed
their home. That was how he saved himself and his daughters, including
my grandmother. Many of his neighbors weren't so lucky.
Turning to veterans issues, Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and
serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the
following:
FOR PLANNING PURPOSES CONTACT: Murray Press Office Wednesday, November 27th, 2013 (202) 224-2834MONDAY EVENTS: Murray to Tour JBLM
Sexual Assault Response Center, Keynote Ceremony for Military Grads of
Microsoft Training Program 12:30, JBLM: Murray will tour sexual assault response center 2:00, Saint Martins University: Murray will keynote graduation ceremony for military graduates of Microsoft IT training program(Washington, D.C.) – On Monday, December 2nd,U.S.
Senator Patty Murray, a senior member of the Senate Veterans Affairs
Committee, will be in Tacoma and Lacey, WA for two events. First, at 12:30 PM PT, Senator Murray will visit the newly opened sexual assault response center at Joint Base Lewis-McChord. The center is a
first-for-the-military facility that brings together law enforcement,
medical support and victims advocates in a single space. Second, at 2:00 PM PT, Senator Murray will be the keynote speaker
at a graduation ceremony to honor the first graduating class of
military students from Microsofts Software Systems Academy pilot
program at Saint Martins University in Lacey, WA. The 22 graduates,
currently active duty service members from JBLM, will be hired into
entry-level roles as software testers at Microsoft or Launch
Consulting. The Microsoft Academy was inspired by Senator Murrays “VOW
to Hire Heroes Act.”To RSVP for either event, contact the Murray Press Office (sean_coit@murray.senate.gov) or the JBLM Public Affairs Office (253-967-0152) Event 1: WHO: U.S. Senator Patty Murray Maj. Gen. Kenneth Dahl, Deputy Commanding General, I Corps Col. Charles “Chuck” Hodges, Commander, Joint Base Lewis McChord Lt. Col. Robert Stelle, JBLM Sexual Assault Response Team DirectorWHAT: Senator Murray will tour JBLMs new,
first-for-the-military sexual assault response center, which brings
together law enforcement, medical support, and victims advocates in a
single space.WHEN: Monday, December 2nd, 2013 12:30 PM PTWHERE: Sexual Harassment/Assault Response and Prevention (SHARP) Resource Center Bldg 2027 Joint Base Lewis McChord, Dupont Gate, I-5 Exit 119 Escort required – please RSVP in advanceEvent 2: WHO: U.S. Senator Patty Murray JBLM-based service members graduating from Microsofts Software Systems Academy Col. Charles Hodges, Jr., Base Commander, JBLM Dr. Roy Heynderickx, President, Saint Martins University Officials from Microsoft, Launch Consulting WHAT: Murray will be the keynote speaker at a graduation
ceremony to honor the first graduating class of military students from
Microsofts Software Systems Academy pilot program at Saint
Martins UniversityWHEN: Monday, December 2nd, 2013 2:00 PM PTWHERE: Saint Martins University Norman Worthington Conference Center Lacey, WA MAP ###Sean CoitPress SecretaryOffice of U.S. Senator Patty Murray202-224-2834Get Updates from Senator Murray@PattyMurray
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