That is Olivia Newton-John singing "Jolene" with Dolly Parton. I wrote about "Olivia Newton-John" last week and noted how I had forgotten the sound of her 70s material until hearing it recently.

I must not have written it very well because there were a few e-mails that felt I was trashing Olivia's output in the 80s.

I was not trying to. "Heart Attack" and "Twist Of Fate" are two eighties songs I love and that sound fresh to me. Especially "Heart Attack" because it did not get the massive airplay that, for example, "Physical" did.

I do love the innocence in her vocals on the 70s songs but I also like the way she grabs and storms the material in the 80s and I like the synths on "Heart Attack" and "Twist of Fate."

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

Thursday, February 23, 2023. Iraq activists are under assault, Anya Panya and the faux activists from the weekend continue to be called out for their racism and transphobia, look who took a plea deal, and much more.

We get busy and things get dropped all the time as a result. I was planning, months ago, to announce news in a criminal proceeding. It's several months old, the Justice Dept's press release, but I was talking to a veteran with a VSO yesterday and he brought up when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker of the House and shoved an unqualified and corrupt member of Congress down a committee's throat. To give a little background, the VA was having one scandal after another. The most recent one ahead of this shoving was the VA's failure to deliver the checks for veterans going to college. Veterans had to pay it themselves or take out loans. They knew it -- the VA knew it was going to happen ahead of the fall schedule. And, as Christmas approached, some veterans still hadn't received their checks. Their family holiday was on hold. It was disgusting and it was disgusting the way the media walked away from the story long before it was over.

The work of so many on that Committee -- Democrats and Republicans -- was important in fixing this issue for the veterans. I especially would cite Stephanie Herseth Sandlin whose work on a House VA Subcommittee really helped get answers -- especially after the media had Baby-cried-the-day-the-circus-came-to-town and moved on.

The Committee worked as a team to help the veterans on this issue . . . with one exception.

Wig woman.

Bad wig woman.

Corrine Brown.

The Snuffleupgus of K-Street herself, "Can you tell me how to be crooked, how to be crooked on K-Street."

From November 27, 2014, Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Corrine Brown:"

There was Corrine explaining how she stayed up late nights eating and watching cable 'news' and FOX told her that this was the veterans fault and if those dumb veterans had done their paperwork right, there never would have been a delay and blah blah blah.

She couldn't fix her wig, did we really not notice that over and over and over. Con artist was blaming veterans to let the VA off the hook, even after testimony in Stephanie's subcommittee hearing revealed that the VA knew this was going to happen, was warned over four months before the start of the fall semester that it would happen. But facts don't matter to a con artist.

Over the uproar of many veterans, Speaker Pelosi decided her friend was just the crook to head the Democratic Party side of the House Veterans Affairs Committee. VSOs were begging for Tim Walz. Walz was a member of the Committee, he was also a veteran. Unlike Corrine, Tim spoke English.

But Pelosi installed her friend Corrine the Crook.

Where's Tim today?

Serving his second term as governor of Minnesota. Congratulations to him.

And where's Corrine?

From July 30, 2017, this is Isaiah's "Little White Devil."

She was serving too.

Hard time in prison. It was supposed to be five years but COVID panic allowed her to get an early release on April 22, 2020. She then thought Florida voters were insane and would vote for her so she ran in the Democratic Party primary for a seat . . . and came in fourth. But Corrine isn't just a convicted felon. She's also a convict who doesn't want to go back to the big house. A technicality from a lower court meant she was facing a second trial set for May of last year. Which is why she entered into a plea deal right before then:

Former Congresswoman Corrine Brown Pleads Guilty To Corrupt Obstruction Of The Administration Of The Internal Revenue Laws

For Immediate Release

U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Thursday, May 19, 2022

Jacksonville, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Corrine Brown (75, Jacksonville) today pleaded guilty to engaging in a corrupt endeavor to obstruct and impede the due administration of the internal revenue laws. After accepting her guilty plea, Chief Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced Brown to the time that she had already served in the custody of the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, specifically two years, eight months, and nine days. Brown was also ordered to pay $62,650.99 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service.

According to the plea agreement, between October 15, 2009, and October 15, 2015, Brown caused her certified public accountant to file individual income tax returns for tax years 2008 through 2014 that did not include income associated with cash deposits into her bank accounts. During the same period, Brown also over-reported her charitable giving by inflating total gifts to charitable organizations and non-profit entities. Brown signed each referenced tax return under penalty of perjury, knowing that each one contained false information. In addition, Brown caused two Jacksonville non-profit entities to create letters that did not accurately reflect her donations so that Brown could use those letters during an IRS audit.

Brown was previously convicted by a federal jury for various offenses; after Brown’s appeal, her earlier conviction was vacated.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys A. Tysen Duva and Michael J. Coolican of the Middle District of Florida and Trial Attorney Michelle Parikh and former Deputy Chief Eric G. Olshan of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section prosecuted the case.

Crooked Corrine. The felon.

That's who Nancy Pelosi put in charge for the Democrats on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Not Tim Walz, crooked Corrine, who suffers from both mush mouth and a nasty addiction to bad wigs. Nancy 'knew' that was the right decision and she rejected the leaders of every VSO to put Corrine in charge.

From November 23, 2014, Isaiah's "Let's Be Whats!"

When they write about her legacy, Crooked Corrine should be a large chapter in THE BOOK OF NANCY. And we should all wonder why Nancy refused to employ a veteran to be the head of the House Veterans Affairs Committee? She chose a crook over a veteran. That's her legacy -- that and being Speaker when ROE V WADE was overturned -- and failing to push for it to be codified in 2009 when she was also Speaker (running for president, Barack Obama lied that codifying ROE would be the first thing he would do as president).

I need to correct the idiot Anya Parampil. When not expressing her transphobia or cozying up to the right wing, she likes to insist that she's smart. Pretense. She gave a bad speech on Sunday insisting that four presidential candidates were present. Uh, no.

Anya The Transphobe apparently never learned to count.

One.

Not four.

One.

Use your fingers if you have to, Anya, but I'm pretty sure even you can count to one.

Jill Stein was the Green's presidential candidate in 2012 and 2016. The rest weren't presidential candidates.

Tulsi Gabbard was not a presidential candidate. She did not run for president. You run for president, you're a presidential candidate. Tulsi is a failed candidate for the Democratic Party's presidential nomination. Similarly, Ron Paul has run twice for a party's presidential nomination (Republican) and he has not won it. Dennis Kucinich also twice pursued a political party's presidential nomination and twice failed. He's not really a presidential candidate. A presidential candidate is on the ballot in the general election -- or running as a write-in nominee in the general election. It's kind of like saying Tulsi or Ron or Dennis graduated top of their class in medical school when, in fact, they applied but were not accepted.

While we're dealing with the transphobe Anya Parampil, let's note a few more things about her and her racist action. She has a Tweet, by the way, where people have again called her out and she's whining that's she's tired of being called a racist and a transphobe.

She's tired of it.

I think the country's tired too -- of her racism and transphobia. Let's note some of the responses.

We could go on and on. And I'm sure the truth hurts for Anya Panya.

And here's a truth, they could have had two past presidential candidates participating in their fake action over the weekend. Cynthia McKinney taped a video for them -- just like Roger Waters. Now maybe Anya used too much time truing to strut on the stage? Who knows? But they refused to show it at the rally. They did briefly post it to their website before pulling it down.

She's not a racist and it wasn't a racist event, they insist. But the only African-American woman who was to speak was censored. Cynthia was the 2008 presidential nominee for the Green Party.

Tell us again, Anya Panya, how you're not a racist and it wasn't a racist rally but Cynthia was removed from the program? Former member of Congress, former US presidential candidate.

And everyone grasp that they decided to remove her after they were already under fire for the racist nature of their rally. Grasp that. Anya Panya better get used to being called a racist because she is one. If she doesn't like being called that, she needs to do the work required to end her own internal racism. She can start by publicly apologizing to Cynthia McKinney. If she can't do that? She's just a liar.

Anya works on the plantation -- see Ann's "Anya, do they give you bathroom breaks on the plantation?" and "Anya Parampil can't leave the plantation" -- because she's sleeping with the overseer Max Blumethal. And she and Max have been lying about a lot of things.

BLACK POWER MEDIA calls them out for their lies and their racism.

Turning to Iraq, Human Rights Watch notes the targeting of activists:

Iraq’s environmental activists are facing threats, harassment, and arbitrary detention by government officials and armed groups, Human Rights Watch said today.

On February 16, 2023, leading Iraqi environmentalist Jassim al-Asadi was released after being abducted on February 1 by an unidentified armed group and held for more than two weeks. Al-Asadi said in a TV interview that he was subjected to “most severe forms of torture” using “electricity and sticks” during his captivity, and was moved from place to place. Human Rights Watch confirmed with his family that the voice in the interview is his. It appears he was released after intervention by the Iraqi government. Al-Asadi’s kidnapping is the latest in a string of acts of retaliation against environmental activists apparently intended to halt their advocacy.

“Rather than taking decisive steps to solve Iraq’s critical environmental issues, Iraqi authorities are instead attacking the messenger,” said Adam Coogle, deputy Middle East director at Human Rights Watch. “Decimating the country’s environmental movement will only worsen Iraq’s capacity to address environmental crises that affect a range of critical rights.”

Government agencies have detained and prosecuted other activists for speaking out about environmental problems. Salman Khairalla, another environmentalist and co-Founder of Humat Dijlah (Tigris River Protectors Association), told Human Rights Watch that he believes armed groups and Iraqi officials are targeting key members of the environmental movement to silence them and send a threatening message to others.

In November 2022, Human Rights Watch released a report documenting that Iraqi authorities have failed to ensure any accountability for state security personnel and state-backed armed groups responsible for killing, maiming, and disappearing hundreds of demonstrators and activists since 2019.

Iraqi authorities should immediately hold accountable those responsible for extrajudicial punishments such as kidnapping, stop using the justice system to harass and retaliate against environmental activists, and drop all abusive legal cases against them, Human Rights Watch said.

Al-Asadi’s brother told Human Rights Watch that al-Asadi was driving on the highway with his cousin on the morning of February 1 when two cars stopped him six kilometers south of the capital. Armed men in civilian clothes handcuffed him and forced him into one of the vehicles, taking him to an unrevealed location and leaving his cousin in the car on the side of the road. His brother said he did not know the motivation behind his brother’s kidnapping but that many government backers were not happy about his environmental activities.

Al-Asadi is the founder of the local nongovernmental organization, Nature Iraq, which aims, “to protect, restore, and preserve Iraq’s natural environment and the rich cultural heritage that it nourishes.” Al-Asadi has appeared regularly in local and foreign media outlets to raise awareness of the threats facing the country's southern wetlands, including drought and loss of vegetation coverage.

His brother said that the family reported the kidnapping to a National Security office in Baghdad and Iraqi security forces began investigating the case. The case reached the attention of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani, who assured the family “that there’s no armed force above the law and that everyone is subject to the authority and law of the state.” A few days later, Al-Asadi was released, but the reason for his detention and identity of the kidnappers have not emerged.

Although the Iraqi government appears to have taken steps to intervene and secure al-Asadi’s release, in other cases Iraqi authorities themselves have been responsible for retaliation against environmental activists in response to their efforts to draw attention to human rights breaches linked to the country’s environment and climate.

In late 2019, Iraqi authorities arbitrarily detained Salman Khairalla, another environmentalist, prompting the then-UN special rapporteur on human rights defenders to intervene to demand his release. After Khairalla was released on bail, he left Baghdad.

Another activist, Raad Habib al-Assadi, head of Chabbayish Organization, an environmental organization, told Human Rights Watch that during the 2019 and 2020 droughts that struck Iraq, he criticized the Water Resources Ministry for its poor policies and responses to the worsening water situation. He said that he published basic information about the droughts in the marshes in Nasiriyah, such as how much the water levels were dropping. The ministry retaliated by taking him to court.

On October 5, 2020, Dhi Qar Federal Court of Appeals ordered Habib to appear in court under Article 434 of Penal Code, which criminalizes insulting any person or imputing the reputation of another, and carries a penalty of up to one year in prison and/or a fine.

A court acquitted him in February 2021, but ministry representatives subsequently filed a second case against him, under Article 229 of Iraq’s Penal Code, which criminalizes insults or threats to, “an official or other public employee or council or official body in the execution of their duties or as a consequence of those duties.” This “crime” is punishable by up to two years in prison or a fine.

Habib told Human Rights Watch that the court also acquitted him of the new charges, with the final acquittal coming on December 10, 2022. But ministry officials continue to appeal the acquittal.

Habib said he is forced to attend the appeal hearings to avoid prison and believes that ministry officials are drawing out the case to punish him. “Every Monday and Thursday I have to go to the court [to deal with the appeals],” he said. “But nothing happens when I go to court. I attend and then the appeal is delayed – one week or 10 days or 14 days. But if I don’t attend, the authorities can issue an arrest warrant.”

He said ministry officials have offered to drop the case against him if he pledges to stop criticizing the ministry, but he has refused.

“I did nothing wrong, I only shared information about the droughts in marshes and they treated me as a criminal,” Habib said. “I can’t travel or do anything because I have to go to the court every Monday and Thursday. The ministry officials told me, ‘We want to quiet you.’”

“The Iraqi government’s muzzling of environmentalists who are trying to raise awareness around the country’s grave challenges is part of a broader attitude that sees civil society groups as threats rather than partners,” Coogle said.

At THE ARAB WEEKLY, Samir Daoud Hannoush writes:

It seems clear that now is the moment of truth as it is time for Iraq to comply with American conditions as set out by US Ambassador Alina Romanowski and as discussed in Turkey and finalised in Washington.

Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa al-Sudani has not hesitated to inform the leaders of the Coordination Framework that the honeymoon with the country’s Iranian neighbour is over. He warned that the time had come to jump from Tehran’s sinking ship, otherwise they would all drown because prevarication no longer works and everyone is under the microscope of Federal Reserve monitoring.

The political system in Iraq has come under the supervision of the US Treasury, whose decisions are more consequential than those of the State Department and the Pentagon.

Iran can no longer receive a single dollar from Iraq, while Iraqi banks that used to funnel dollars to Teheran are now threatened with closure and loss of assets.

Sudani told his audience that any attempt to circumvent US restrictions would amount to playing with fire.

Let's wind down with this from Defending Rights & Dissent:

Australian publisher Julian Assange is a political prisoner. After being abducted out of the Ecuadorian embassy, he has languished in Belmarsh prison for nearly four years. In the intervening time, press freedom groups, major newspapers, and civil libertarians have all condemned the US’s unprecedented charges against Assange. After years of grassroots advocacy, now members of Congress are starting to speak out. But they need to hear your voice.

Take action!

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) is currently circulating a sign-on letter calling for Attorney General Merrick Garland to drop the charges against Assange. Other members of Congress can join the letter, but this is an issue that demands courage. They need to hear from you, their constituents.

Will you write your members of Congress right now and ask them to join Rep. Tlaib’s effort? The future of the First Amendment is at stake!

Take action!

In solidarity,

Chip Gibbons, Policy Director