The Good Wife

The Good Wife



Sunday night, CBS' "The Good Wife" was not the worst episode. But that may just be because the episode before last was the all time worst episode of the show.

This one's only real saving grace was Jackie.

And that tells you how bad it was, when we're having to applaud Jackie. (Heads up, next time, Jackie throws a drink in Stockard Channing's face.)

So Peter may appoint this one woman to be a judge.

Jackie doesn't want it to take place.

Why?

The woman slept with Jackie's husband when he was alive.

(She was The Original Good Wife!!!! For heaven's sake, Alicia, moisturize!)

So she blackmails the woman.

She says she'll tell the woman's husband about the ancient affair.

The woman says her husband is dying of cancer.

Jackie doesn't care.

At the end of the epiosde, Will Diane went to Alicia and Carey's offices to . . . snipe.

Alicia excused herself and was asked out -- on the phone -- by the judge of her current case.



Going out with C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

Tuesday, November 26, 2013. Chaos and violence continue, assassination
attempts increase, the KRG speaks out against violence against women
while Baghdad is largely silent, more executions are carried out, we
review the Jewish archives, and more.



In 2006 a number of things regarding Iraq became clear. Among them was
that you can't play red-light-green-light with Iraq. You can't dash in
and then dash out, checking out for months at a time. Well you can.
You can do that if you want to look stupid.

Phyllis Bennis looked like the world's biggest idiot going on
CounterSpin and raging over how little the US cared about the deaths of
Iraqis as evidenced by the refusal to do keep a body count. Poor
Phyllis, it had been reported months ago that there was a count. But
she was off on Lebanon and Palestine and she'd checked out on Iraq but
thought she could weigh in with an 'informed opinion.' She couldn't.
She still struggles to this day because she pays damn little attention.

Another lesson that's emerged is people can't just discover Iraq as a
topic. It's starting to become to clear, as an e-mail today noted, why
outlets would assign people to various beats and keep them on it. This
allowed the reporter to be informed and to have some perspective.

What's the alternative?


The garbage Adam Chandler serves up at Tablet. And he references Lisa Leff's earlier 'report' so it's like a foundation of stupidity with a light dusting of ignorance powder.

Lisa Leff's big concern was that some people were calling the trove of
Jewish artifacts discovered wasting in water in 2003 an "archive" and
that's "misleading" because blah, blah, blah. We don't have time to
quote idiots in full. Her definition? That's actually how the trove
was used prior to be it stolen by the Iraqi government. She doesn't
know a damn thing and, if you doubt that, the US National Archives have
digitized every page and created a website for it. What did this US
governent body responsible for archiving call the site? Preserving The Iraqi Jewish Archive. Not creating a new archive, preserving an existing one.

Adam Chandler knows even less. He wants to cite Reuters ("A
National Archives spokeswoman said the materials, whose removal from
Baghdad was agreed in 2003 - when a U.S.-led invasion toppled Saddam and
the country lurched into widespread sectarian turmoil - would be going
back to Iraq and the decision was made by the U.S. State Department.") and insist this decision was just made.


Let's drop back to the June 21st snapshot -- pay attention, Dunce Chandler and Dunce Leff, if you're capable of learning, you just might -- for the National Archives statement:


Washington, DC…On Friday, October 11, 2013, the National Archives
will unveil a new exhibition, “Discovery and Recovery: Preserving Iraqi
Jewish Heritage.” The exhibit details the dramatic recovery of historic
materials relating to the Jewish community in Iraq from a flooded
basement in Saddam Husseins intelligence headquarters, and the National
Archives ongoing work in support of U.S. Government efforts to
preserve these materials. Located in the Lawrence F. OBrien Gallery of the National Archives Building in Washington, DC, “Discovery and Recovery” is free and open to the public and runs through January 5, 2014.
In both English and Arabic, the 2,000 square foot exhibit features 24
recovered items and a “behind the scenes” video of the fascinating yet
painstaking preservation process. This exhibit marks the first time these items have been on public display.

Background
On May 6, 2003, just days after the Coalition forces took over
Baghdad, 16 American soldiers from Mobile Exploitation Team Alpha, a
group assigned to search for nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons,
entered Saddam Husseins flooded intelligence building. In the basement,
under four feet of water, they found thousands of books and documents
relating to the Jewish community of Iraq – materials that had belonged
to synagogues and Jewish organizations in Baghdad.
The water-logged materials quickly became moldy in Baghdads intense
heat and humidity. Seeking guidance, the Coalition Provisional Authority
placed an urgent call to the nations foremost conservation experts at
the National Archives. Just a week later, National Archives Director of
Preservation Programs Doris Hamburg and Conservation Chief Mary Lynn
Ritzenthaler arrived in Baghdad via military transport to assess the
damage and make recommendations for preservation of the materials. Both
experts share this extraordinary story and take you “behind the scenes”
in this brief video
[http://tinyurl.com/IraqiJA]. This video is in the public domain and
not subject to any copyright restrictions. The National Archives
encourages its use and free distribution.
Given limited treatment options in Baghdad, and with the agreement of
Iraqi representatives, the materials were shipped to the United States
for preservation and exhibition. Since then, these materials have been
vacuum freeze-dried, preserved and photographed under the direction of
the National Archives. The collection includes more than 2,700 Jewish
books and tens of thousands of documents in Hebrew, Arabic, Judeo-Arabic
and English, dating from 1540 to the 1970s. A special website to launch
this fall will make these historic materials freely available to all
online as they are digitized and catalogued. This work was made
possible through the assistance of the Department of State, National
Endowment for the Humanities, and Center for Jewish History.
The Jews of Iraq have a rich past, extending back to Babylonia. These
materials provide a tangible link to this community that flourished
there, but in the second half of the twentieth century dispersed
throughout the world. Today, fewer than five Jews remain.
Display highlights include:
A Hebrew Bible with Commentaries from 1568 – one of the oldest books in the trove;
A Babylonian Talmud from 1793;
A Torah scroll fragment from Genesis - one of the 48 Torah scroll fragments found;
A Zohar from 1815 – a text for the mystical and spiritual Jewish movement known as “Kabbalah”;
An official 1918 letter to the Chief Rabbi regarding the allotment of sheep for Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year);
Materials from Jewish schools in Baghdad, including exam grades and
a letter to the College Entrance Examination Board in Princeton
regarding SAT scores;
A Haggadah (Passover script) from 1902, hand lettered and decorated by an Iraqi Jewish youth ; and
A lunar calendar in both Hebrew and Arabic from the Jewish year
5732 (1972-1973) - one of the last examples of Hebrew printed items
produced in Baghdad.“Discovery and Recovery” is divided into six sections:
Discovery: The dramatic story of how these materials
were found, rescued and preserved is one worthy of a Hollywood
blockbuster. A short film captures these heroic efforts. The section
includes actual metal foot lockers used to ship the documents to the
United States.
Text and Heritage: This section explores Iraqi
Jewish history and tradition through recovered texts, including a Torah
scroll fragment, a Hebrew Bible with Commentaries from 1568, and a
Babylonian Talmud from 1793.
Iraqi Jewish Life: Constancy and Change: Using
recovered texts, this section explores the pattern of Jewish life in
Iraq. Highlights include a Haggadah (Passover script), siddur (prayer
book) and an illustrated lunar calendar in both Hebrew and Arabic (one
of about 20 found, dating from 1959-1973).
Personal and Communal Life: Selected correspondence
and publications illustrate the range and complexity of Iraqi Jewish
life in the 19th and 20th centuries. Original documents and facsimiles
in flipbooks range from school primers to international business
correspondence from the Sassoon family.
After the Millennia: Iraqi Jewish life unraveled in
the mid-20th century, with the rise of Nazism and proliferation of
anti-Jewish propaganda. In June 1941, 180 Jews were killed and hundreds
injured in an anti-Jewish attack in Baghdad. Persecution increased when
Iraq entered the war against the new State of Israel in 1948. In 1950
and 1951, many Iraqi Jews were stripped of their citizenship and assets
and the community fled the county en masse. This section includes the
1951 law freezing assets of Iraqi Jews.
Preserving the Past: It is not surprising that the
Coalition Forces turned to National Archives conservators for help.
Learn about transformation of these materials from moldy, water-logged
masses to a carefully preserved, enduring historic legacy. View the
National Archives state-of-the-art treatment, preservation, and
digitization of these materials.
The Fall issue of Prologue Magazine, the Archives flagship publication, will feature two articles on “Discovery and Recovery.” Prologue is available in the Archives Shop.
National Archives Preservation and Conservation
The Conservation Department cares for the Constitution, the
Declaration of Independence and other founding documents, as well as
billions of other records. In state-of-the-art preservation labs, staff
assess the condition of records and identify their composition. Experts
stabilize and treat documents to prepare them for digitization,
exhibition, and use by researchers. A “conservator-on-call” team is
ready to provide guidance for any records emergency at National Archives
facilities nationwide. National Archives conservation experts also
serve as “first preservers” and provide aid to other agencies and
offices following disasters such as Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy.
View the conservation and re-encasement of the original Declaration of Independence [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9ovu0a6pL8]
See astounding conservation work on the 1297 Magna Carta
as staff use ultra-violet photography to reveal previously illegible
writing, remove old repairs, fill areas of loss with conservation paper,
and humidify and flatten the document
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqQVY1Zn0oM]Go behind-the-scenes to see the state-of-the-art preservation lab at the new National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis, MO.
A fire in the former facility in 1973 destroyed millions of military
personnel files. Watch preservation technicians arduously treat records
for damage and mold, piece together burnt paper fragments, and see how
text seemingly lost to fire damage can be restored to legibility
[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xNvAudiRwU]The National Archives is located on the National Mall on Constitution Avenue at 9th Street, NW. Hours are 10 AM-5 PM.
# # #
For more information on or to obtain images of items included in the
exhibition, call the National Archives Public Affairs staff at
202-357-5300.
Connect with Us on:
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/@USNatArchives
Facebook: USNationalArchives
Tumblr: http://usnatarchives.tumblr.com




Lisa Leff is deeply stupid. So caught up in word use, she doesn't even
realize she doesn't know a damn thing she's talking about.

The Jews of Iraq did not abandon those documents, they were stolen by
the Iraqi government in 1984. The 'wave' Leff thinks she knows about?
These documents were left in a Baghdad synagogue (on the second floor).
This was not an abandoned synagogue but a temple for Jews who chose to
remain in Iraq. It was from this active synagogue that the documents
were stolen.


It was the Iraqi government that stashed them in a basement. Jews were still in Iraq in the 80s. Since 2003, most have fled. AP reported last month that the last rabbi left Iraq in 2006. They didn't name him, but it was Rabbi Emad Levy. By 2008, there were nine remaining Jews in Iraq (read this WikiLeaks published State Dept cable).
The whispered number is 3 Jews remain in Iraq (in Baghdad) but that
comes from a 'religious leader' (non-Iraqi) who was caught lying in
testimony by IPS (he'd testified in '06 that there were no Jews left in
Iraq when there were -- and he got angry at the IPS reporter insisting
his public testimony wasn't supposed to be public so IPS shouldn't
report on it). I'm not even in the mood to mention that British liar's
name. We ignore him and have due to his lying. Most Iraqis in and
around Baghdad consider him a snitch and have throughout the illegal
war. So he's got bad reputation pretty much everywhere he goes.

This is stolen property. It was stolen in 1984. The government of
Saddam Hussein is no more. That doesn't mean, legally or ethically,
that Nouri or Iraq has a claim on these documents.

Adam Chandler, the plan has always been that the documents would be
returned. There is serious objection to this, as their should be.

The US government should have determined ownership before entering into a contract.

However, the US government being left red-faced with embarrassment?
That doesn't override the owners' rights to the property in question.

It belongs to the Jewish community. Since 2003, Iraq's worked overtime
to kill Jews and run them off. Now they want to insist that Jewish
property belongs to the Iraqi government?

In what world?


Not in the world of Congress. November 13th, Brett McGurk, the State Dept's Deputy Assistant
Secretary for Iraq and Iran Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs, appeared
Wednesday before the US House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the
Middle
East
and North Africa (see the Nov. 15th "Iraq snapshot," the Nov. 14th "Iraq snapshot" and the Nov. 13th "Iraq snapshot"). The Subcommittee made clear, repeatedly, their position. Here are a few examples.





Chair Ileana Ros-Lehtinen: Before we begin this afternoon's hearing I
will hand Deputy Assistant Secretary McGurk an envelope and ask that he
please deliver it to Secretary [of State John] Kerry. These are my
previous letters to Kerry pleading for the United States to help the
residents of Camp Ashraf and Camp Liberty and to prevent another deadly
attack like the one from September at Camp Ashraf which left 52 dead and
7 hostages who are still missing. There's also a video taken by the
residents of Camp Ashraf during the last assault that I urge Secretary
Kerry and all members of this Subcommittee to view. And finally, a
letter to Secretary Kerry regarding the return of Iraqi-Jewish community
artifacts that are now on display at The National Archives. In 2003,
US and coalition forces found a trove of Iraqi-Jewish cultural
artifacts being warehoused in the basement of Saddam Hussein's secret
police headquarters. And the US subsequently brought them here, to The
National Archives, for restoration, preservation and display; however,
these artifacts are scheduled to be returned to Iraq where the
government will claim possession of these artifacts which were unjustly
taken from the Iraqi-Jewish community. The US government must not
return those stolen treasures to the Iraqi government but instead should
facilitate their return to their rightful owners or descendants.
Therefore, on behalf of me, Congressman Steve Israel and over 40 of our
House colleagues, we ask you, Deputy Secretary McGurk, to personally
deliver this letter to Secretary Kerry and the Dept of State ensures
that the Iraqi-Jewish community does not get robbed again of its
collective memory and treasures.


[. . .]

Ranking Member Ted Deutch: I'd actually like to get back to the
issue of the archives. And you said that you're "open to discussions."
And these are just a couple of observations -- and I appreciate the
attention that you've paid to this issue already. Iraq, Babylon, was
the center of Judaism for a thousand years and-and these documents,
tattered as they were, found a decade ago are -- according to the
agreement that was reached with the -- with the Coalition Provisional
Authority were supposed to be sent -- were supposed to be sent back to a
place where the number of Jews, the number is perhaps in the single
digits. The documents -- many of the documents are very personal in
nature, records of the community, things that are of real value to the
members of the community and their descendants who simply aren't there.
So help me. I understand what the agreement was. You've also said
you're now open to discussions. And can we explore that a little bit?
Can we explore that a little bit? And if you could just continue where
you left off? What discussion can we have? And what can we do? What
-- what would be the hold up to ensure that these items are so, so
personal to the community that is no longer living in the country can
actually reside with the community?

[. . .]US House Rep Grace Meng: Regarding the issue of Iraqi Jewish
artifacts that are currently on display in The National Archives, I want
to especially acknowledge and thank Congresswoman [Ileanna]
Ros-Lehtinen, Congressman [Steve] Israel and Senator [Chuck] Schumer for
their leadership on this issue. Rescued from Baghdad in 2003, the
collection of ancient artifacts include letters, books and personal
photos that were left behind by Jews after WWII who experienced extreme
anti-Semiticsm including harassment and violence. It is imperative that
these artifacts are returned to the descendents of the Jewish community
from which they were wrongly confiscated and not the Iraqi government.
We must ensure that justice for the Iraqi Jewish community.




That's just three examples, we can provide more. US House Rep Grace
Meng thanked Senator Chuck Schumer, Subcommittee Chair Illeanna
Ros-Lehtinen and US House Rep Steve Israel because they had sent open
letters to the White House calling for the trove, artifacts, archive not
to be handed over to Iraq.

This is not a minor issue. Cultural heritage is not minor. If it were, the US Immigration and Custom Enforcement (ICE) would not work so hard to track down stolen Iraqi artifacts and return them to Iraq,


Today, Sylvia Westall and Jonathan Saul (Reuters) quote
the World Organisation of Jews from Iraq's Cynthia Kaplan Shamash
stating, "Returning the collection to a Jewish-free Iraq in the current
conditions is incomprehensible and unacceptable." And they quote Edwin
Shuker, whose school certificate is pat of the documents set to be
returned, stating, "It is not a sectarian issue. Nothing is safe, no
shrine or holy place let alone a site where Jewish artefacts are stored.
There is a complete breakdown in safety and security in Iraq now."

That is correct. Iraq is still neither safe nor secure. That's why Iraqis continue to flee the country. Al Rafidayn reports
the kingdom of Jordan has issued an apology for the treatment of some
Iraqis crossing the border -- the article says Iraqis have been harassed
(it does not define how) -- and declaring that this is not the policy
of Jordan.

Here's what should happen right this minute. The World Organisation of
Jews from Iraq should filed in federal court on behalf of Shuker for his
document -- it clearly belongs to him. In addition, they should argue
that other artifacts can be traced and, even if they can't, Shuker and
others would have legal claim -- especially if they were making a
community claim and not a singular one. It should be argued that those
living today whose family names can be found within the trove have more
of a claim on the collection than does anyone in the Iraqi government.
This would delay any transfer to Iraq and they could win the case.
They could win on legal grounds or they could win on electoral grounds.
Electoral grounds? 2014 is an election year. Would the White House
go up against so many Americans?


Doubtful.

Saad Eskander is the head of the Iraq National Library and Archive. Eric Tucker and Randy Herschaft (AP) quoted
Eskander earlier this month stating, "Now, Iraqis have no problem in
accepting the fact that the Jews are true Iraqi patriots who can
live with their culture in a multicultural society, "

Now they do?

After the last Iraqis are run out of the country?

As for the ridiculous claim of a multicultural society -- the government
out of Baghdad doesn't recognize that. At the start of 2007, Nouri
al-Maliki signed off on the White House benchmarks for success in Iraq.
The Council on Foreign Relations has a write up here, the benchmark we're referring to is this one:


Reversal of de-Baathification laws. The Iraqi
parliament passed the Justice and Accountability Law on January 12,
2008, clearing the way for an estimated thirty-thousand low-ranking
ex-Baathists to return to public life. The law also allowed some party
members to collect pensions. But some Sunnis argue the law has made
matters worse for them by opening the door to federal prosecution,
barring top-ranking officials from regaining jobs, and restricting
former Saddam security forces from reintegration. The drive to rescind
de-Baathification laws was part of a larger effort to make
constitutional concessions to minority groups like Sunni Arabs.



That's still not happened. Nouri's targeting Sunnis. That's no longer even debatable. AsTim Arango (New York Times) reported last September, Nouri has armed Shi'ite militias to kill Sunnis in Iraq:


In supporting Asaib al-Haq, Mr. Maliki has apparently made the risky
calculation that by backing some Shiite militias, even in secret, he can
maintain control over the countrys restive Shiite population and,
ultimately, retain power after the next national elections, which are
scheduled for next year. Militiamen and residents of Shiite areas say
members of Asaib al-Haq are given government badges and weapons and
allowed freedom of movement by the security forces.


Not only that, but Aswat al-Iraq reported last week,
"Parliamentary Deputy Sepaker Aref Taifour called the federal
government to submit an apology for the Kurdish people for the
atrocities of the previous governments. He pointed out that 'some are
still believing that the Kurds are second-[class] citizens,' calling
Iraqi officials to follow the Turkish type in their apology to the
Kurds."

That apology won't be coming anytime soon.

Multicultural Iraq?

Al Rafidayn reports
a young girl was slapped in school for not wearing a veil, slapped by
the teacher, and the uproar has the Ministry of Education investigating
the incident. Earlier this month, the CEO of Thomson Reuters Foundation, Monique Villas, (at Huffington Post) notedviolence against women:



The picture is grim. A perception poll of gender experts by the Thomson Reuters Foundation
shows that the rise of political Islam across Arab Spring countries has
had a real impact on secularism. Almost three years after popular
uprisings toppled autocratic leaders in one of the most conservative
corners of the world, three out of five Arab Spring countries rank among
the bottom five states for women's rights
Many political gains for women have been lost. In fact, women are
struggling to preserve their dignity, and far from progressing, they are
now fighting to preserve the rights they had before the Arab Spring.[. . .]Life is not much better in Iraq, second-worst country for women's rights in the region, according to the survey.
The experts said that radical Islamisation of society, sectarian
violence and a reaction against what many see as western imperialism in
the years after the 2003 invasion were all having a devastating impact
on women.
The "war on terror" has made widows of 1.6 million Iraqi women,
leaving them without income and with few prospects of employment. In
Iraq, only 14.5 percent of the entire female population is employed, and
women have lost their voice in political circles. Mass displacement has
made them vulnerable to trafficking and sexual violence.

The response from Iraq? The Ministry of Human Rights attacked it. So did the Ministry of Women. The latter insisted the report was "inaccurate" and that Reuters had "no clear-cut knowledge of Iraq and its laws."
If you're wondering why the Ministry of Women didn't speak up in
support of the young girl slapped, it's because the Minister has stated
that women have no rights. She's a chauvinist, a sexist and hateful
pig. She
attempted to institute a dress code -- for women only -- and she's done
nothing to speak out or support Iraqi women who don't wear the hijab.We've long noted the gender-traitor Ibithal al-Zaydi (see, for example, the February 3, 2012 snapshot). Mufid Abdlulla (Kurdistan Triune) quoted the gender-traitor's most infamous remarks:I am against the equality between men and woman. If women are equal
to men they are going to lose a lot. Up to now I am with the power of
the man in society: If I go out of my house: I have to tell my husband
where I am going. This does not mean diluting the role of woman in
society but, on the contrary, it will bring more power to the woman as a
mother who looks after their kids and brings up their children.She's in a position of authority and she's arguing against women's
rights. She's also supposed to represent all women and yet she doesn't.
In Iraq, as in every country, there are women who will never have
children (by choice or due to fertility issues -- of the woman or the
man), there are women who will never marry. And Iraq is a land of
widows. Not only is she harming women's rights but she's even rendering
women invisible.Back in March, Rania Khalek (Muftah) noted it wasn't always women under attack in Iraq:Contrary to popular imagination, Iraqi women enjoyed far more freedom
under Saddam Husseins secular Baathist government than women in other
Middle Eastern countries. In fact, equal rights for women were
enshrined in Iraqs Constitution in 1970, including the right to vote,
run for political office, access education and own property. Today,
these rights are all but absent under the U.S.-backed government of
Nouri al-Maliki.
Prior to the devastating economic sanctions of the 1990s, Iraqs
education system was top notch and female literacy rates were the
highest in the region, reaching 87 percent in 1985. Education was a major priority for Saddam Husseins regime, so much so that in 1982 Iraq received
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) award for eradicating illiteracy. But the education system
crumbled from financial decay under the weight of the sanctions pushing
over 20 percent of Iraqi children out of school by 2000 and reversing
decades of literacy gains. Today, a quarter of Iraqi women are illiterate, more than double the rate for Iraqi men (11 percent). Female illiteracy in rural areas alone is as high as 50 percent.
Women were integral to Iraqs economy and held high positions in both
the private and public sectors, thanks in large part to labor and
employment laws that guaranteed equal pay, six months fully paid
maternity leave and protection from sexual harassment. In fact, it can
be argued that some of the conditions enjoyed by working women in Iraq
before the war rivaled those of working women in the United States.BBC News has a photo essay entitled 'In Pictures: Women At Risk In Iraq." Umed Sami (Kirkuk Now) reportedSunday that it is Domestic Violence Awareness Week which actually
lasts two weeks and that there are many different actions because there
are "20 women's rights organizations in Kirkuk." From the article:


No to Violence against Women is a womens rights organization founded
by a group of womens rights activists back in 2010. It is one of the
organizations planning to organize a protest rally on November 25 in
front of the governors office as they protest against the poor
conditions of womens rights and their struggles.
In the meantime, the Kurdistan Womens Union, a womens organization
affiliated with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, the party of Kirkuk
Governor Najmadin Karim, is a member of the political bureau boycotting
the activities of No to Violence against Women and who view their rally
as an “opposition against the governor and not demanding the womens
rights.”
Womens activist Naska Muhammad told Kirkuk Now “The majority of the
womens rights organizations have boycotted the rally as we feel it is
more targeted against the governor and it is politically driven.”The Kurdistan Regional Government noted
the kick off on Monday and that Monday was International Day Against
Violence Against Women (that's a United Nations day around the world).
KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani addressed a large group of men and
women -- including ministers of government, MPs in the Iraqi Parliament
and the Kurdish Parliament, regional official and diplomats -- in
Erbil. Barzani noted that violence against women is violence against
human rights and the issue is not a 'women's issue' but one for the
entire community to work on. He called for justice which means changing
the laws in the KRG so that the light penalities for husbands killing
wives are eliminated (he noted the KRG law currently mirrors the law for
the rest of Iraq). He noted that they need to address the issue of
child brides and the practice of female genital mutilation. He cited
figures finding that reported violence against women had fallen in 2012
but he stated that the gains were not enough and the community needed to
work harder to address the issue.Iraq's Human Rights Ministry also had an event.
Compare the photos. Even if you can't read Arabic, you'll note many
things. For example, the Baghdad turnout? Not that impressive in terms
of numbers. The KRG photo displays ten packed rows of attendees (and
the photo cuts off with the impression that there are rows not displayed
in the photo). In Baghdad, they take up about six rows -- with a lot
of empty spaces. In the KRG, you see shiny, healthy hair on the heads
of men and women. In Baghdad, most women have their hair covered.
(Four brave women on the second row do not cover their hair.) Nouri's
Prime Minister of Iraq. Did he address the gathering?Nope.He couldn't be bothered with the topic. Ibithal al-Zaidi was present. Declaring she (now) believes in equality
between the sexes -- based on the law and religions. Whatever. How important was the event? They don't even bother to finish the press release -- it cuts off before the end of the release.Nouri should have been present. By refusing to show up for the Baghdad
event, let alone speak at it, he made clear that violence against women
does not qualify as a serious issue to him.

We're not done with the KRG yet. Al Mada reports
that KRG President Massoud Barzani issued a statement decrying violence
against women saying it was inhumane and against the basic principals
of humanity. He noted the sacrifices and actions Iraqi women had taken
part in to create a better Iraq and called for rights to live safely and
free from oppression, discrimination and violence.Let's drop back to September for Joel Brinkley's San Francisco Chronicle profile of the Iraq Ambassador to the US, Lukman Faily:Yes, the Middle East is aflame, as Faily put it. And Iraq is in deep
trouble, like most of the region. Almost daily, 20, 30, 50 or more
people die in terrorist attacks that generally involve Sunnis killing
Shiites or vice versa. Eighty-three people died in attacks Sunday
through Tuesday, bringing the total dead so far this year to more than
3,800.
But Faily said his government is not asking the United States to return troops to Iraq. No, he said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki
yanked him from his position as ambassador to Japan and sent him to
America a few months ago to carry the message: We need help
withgovernance.Falih Hassan Fezaa (Rudaw) notes the interview today and points out:
Faily stated that Iraq was “sitting on billions of barrels of oil. But no one has clean water.”
He stated in no certain terms that daily life in Iraq is
deteriorating, lacking in clean water, a workable budget, modern
technology and efforts to fight corruption.
Based on Mr Failys statements, I had thought that Baghdads Islamist
rulers had finally realized their failures, and were looking to America
for help.
But then, when Maliki visited Washington earlier this month, he
reportedly asked for more weapons, instead of help with things like
water and electricity. This is a dysfunctional government with no real military capabilities.
More than 10 years since the 2003 fall of Saddam Husseins
dictatorship, the Shiite Islamists in Baghdad have failed to govern,
while the Kurds have succeeded in carving out an autonomous and historic
safe haven for themselves in the midst of Iraqs sea of violence. These
are parallel tales of failure and success.


The editorial board of the Gulf News observes, "It is abundantly clear that the Nouri Al Maliki government has failed
Iraqis miserably. It has done nothing to address the root causes of the
unrest, especially when it comes to complaints of discrimination against
ethnic and religious minorities."

Violence continued today. Al Mada notes there was a wave of assassinations and assassination attempts. 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.


Executions also made the news cycle today. Dropping back to the November 18th snapshot for some numbers:


Ammar Karim (AFP) reports that Nouri's government boasted today that they had executed 12 more 'terrorists' today. By October 10,
the number executed was at least 132 so that brings the total to 144.
In their yearly high, Iraq executed at least 130 people in 2012. 2013
will continue their yearly increase. Kitabat reports
that the official making the announcement today refused to provide his
name. Kitabat's count is 144 for the year as well. Here are the
figures for the previous three years, as offered by Kitabat:

2010 18 executions
2011 67 executions
2012 123 executions


November 22nd came an announcement of 7 more deaths bringing the total to 151. Salam Faraj (AFP) reports
11 more executions were announced today -- the eleven were hanged on
Sunday. Faraj notes Sunday's executions bring the total number to 162.



In 2012, Iraq came in third for most executions. (The US was fifth.)
It is known to have executed 129 which placed it behind Iran with 314
and behind China with no provided number. Figures are from Amnesty
International's [PDF format warning] Death Sentences And Executions 2012.





iraq
reuters
the new york times
tim arrango
aswat al-iraq
al rafidayn
bbc news
joel brinkley
the san francisco chronicle
gulf news
national iraq news agency
all iraq news
amnesty international
afp
salam faraj

ammar karim