29 December 2006

The true costs of debts

The UK is finally repaying its final financial debts to the US for the loans we granted under the Lend Lease program in World War II. The total cost of the debt was a meager $4.33bn with a 2% APR, quite reasonable interest rates by any means. It only took 65 years and 3 generations to fulfill its obligations. A further cost to the British Empire was, well lets say, the loss of its empire, which evaporated after the war, costing the UK trillions of additional dollars.

The reason why I bring this up in the first place, is simply to remind everyone that the national debt of the US continues to rise at staggering rates. Even in a time of war, the ultimate costs must be measured before forces and policies are committed. In a time of peace, to allow the national debt to balloon in such an exponential rate is quite literally insane! The US debt is $ 8 , 6 1 6 , 5 6 2 , 3 0 3 , 8 8 2 . 8 7 !!! This is something I have reported on repeatedly, but it never seems to catch the attention of any national press.

I can tell you this, if my household expenditures exceeded my net income by this margin every year, my children would be living in trailer parks, if not taken away by social services before that for lack of food to eat. We live in a nation not unlike a family home, and this insane policy of giving us illusions of false prosperity by maxing out our credit cards is bankrupting everyone. How stupid can you be to not realize this?

Further, if it took the UK 65 years to pay off its $4.33bn debts, how long will it take the US to pay off its 8.6 trillion dollar debts? By that rate it will take is 1000 years to pay off our unnecessary peacetime debts (which are largely going to large corporations and the rich who send or reinvest their money overseas).

28 December 2006

Religious reciprocity


I am certainly no Catholic, but I have to agree with the Pope when he demands religious reciprocity from Muslim countries. We in the west are extremely tolerant when it comes down to it, accepting peoples of any faith. Try exercising your personal religious beliefs in regions dominated by Islam, and you will quickly see how intolerant of a religion it is.

Reciprocity means that "if Muslims want to enjoy religious freedom in the West, then Christians should have an equal right to follow their faith in Islamic states, without fear of persecution."

The double standards of muslims is apparent by the recent case of the cathedral in Córdoba, Spain. It was originally built as a testament to the greatness of Islam by the Moors during their occupation of the Iberian peninsula (it was the second largest mosque in the muslim world). Converted to a cathedral in the 1300s when the Moors finally got the boot, it remains a magnificent piece of architecture to this day.

"The Roman Catholic bishop of Cordoba in southern Spain has rejected an appeal from Muslims for the right to pray in the city's cathedral, a former mosque." according to the BBC online. Would a Hindu, Christian, pagan, etc. enter any mosque in the world and attempt to pray, they would likely be stoned to death.

This double standard is most notably evident in Jerusalem. The Temple Mount הַר הַבַּיִת (aka the Noble Sanctuary الحرم القدسي الشريف) is a similar place of dispute. It is the 3rd most holy site to muslims (depending on who you consult), but the most holy site to Jews. Yet, to avoid confrontation, Israel allows muslims to manage the site, and as a consequence nobody can pray here except muslims. Try it, I dare you. I was stopped at the door and not allowed to enter under threat of violence.

Somalia, Iraq, and the EU


Again, a post about 3 subjects. Let us start off with a huge victory in the war against terror. Ethiopia, Africas longest democracy, ardent supporter of the struggle against Islamic fundamentalism, and unfortunate victim of the Cold War (they were allies with the Communists, while the US supported Muslim terrorists as a counterbalance), has done the right thing, and sent in its armed forces to combat the takeover of Somalia by the United Islamic Clerics. The UIC, a radical Islamist group was headed toward taking over the entire country (with support by 2000 Eritrean troops), establishing Sharia (strict Islamic law, which includes beheadings, intolerance, and severe discrimination against the western values of freedom and equality), and creating a safe haven to Al Qaeda (al-Qā`ida) and other terrorist groups. Fortunately, despite the incompetent fools at the State Department, Ethiopia has supported the legimate transitional government, and intervened militarily. This has been such a stunning success, that the BBC reports that "Islamist fighters have left the Somali capital as government forces backed by Ethiopian troops advance on the city". Thank you Ethiopia for doing what is right.





Next, we head to Iraq. The nations highest (and clearly biased appointed) court ruled that Saddam Hussein must be executed within 30 days. This will likely result in a prompt execution in the within a week. Despite his heinous crimes and cruel nature (he is worse than George Bush), the kangaroo court that convicted him was clearly biased from the start and the verdict was determined long before the trial even began. This mockery to justice and clear violation to international standards can only serve to strengthen the hand of many groups. Primarily, the Baath Party (a secular Arab nationalist political party who have promised retaliation), Iraqi insurgents, and radical Islamists across the globe. If he is to be executed, let it be done in an impartial light, with just proceedings under the guidelines of an international tribunal empowered by the UN. This summary execution is just as much of mistake as the entire war and consequent occupation has been, something pushed forth by idiots with little education, wisdom, or foresight into the damage their seemingly bold actions cause. Fuel on the fire doused with more fuel. Sheer lunacy.



Finally, Gaelic (the celtic language of Ireland) has been set to get official status in the EU on the 1st of 2007. This is a huge step forward both for the respect of Ireland, linguistic diversity, and the potential strength of the Europen Union. As a union not only of nationalities, the EU could possibly become the liberator of regional independence within a united Europe, including voices for the Basques, Catalans, Corsicans, Tyrolians, Scotts, and all of the unique cultures on the subcontinent.

23 December 2006

Exxon being let off the hook








The Exxon Valdez. The world remembers this as the poster-child for the surging environmental movement. A ship runs aground, spilling at least 10 MILLION gallons of oil. Though not the largest spill of all time, the fragile ecosystem where it happened was devestated.

The BBC reports that "A US court has almost halved the damages oil giant Exxon Mobil must pay for a 1989 oil spill off Alaska". No doubt, one of the ultra conservative activist judges appointed by King George and the neocon assholes. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has a good scientific report on it.

I have a couple serious questions regarding this. One, why does ExxonMobile even need the financial penalties reduced after boasting record profits for the last 6 years in this Bush economy? I believe they posted a 10 BILLION dollar net profit last quarter alone. This is a drop in the bucket for them.

Second, and probably more importantly, why has it taken 18 years for Exxon to pay out anything for this environmental disaster? Some people who were not even born when this happened can now vote! Nearly 2 decades later.

Third, why isnt the media in the USA covering this story?

13 December 2006

Republicans trying to Steal the Senate, again

Democratic Senator Tim Johnson from South Dakota has just suffered a serious stroke, the BBC reports. Should this suspicious stroke turn out to be enough for him to resign, Republican Governor Marion Michael "Mike" Rounds has the power to appoint a replacement, who would serve until the next election (2008). Of course, as the man who signed the nations first anti-roe abortion bill (following the stuffing of the US Supreme Court with conservatives by King George), Mike Rounds would likely fill it with a republican, thereby shitting on the face of the voters of South Dakota, and worse yet, handing control of the US Senate back to the Republicans.

First off, let me state that the timing of this whole affair is extremely fishy, even suspiciously dubious. Just as suspicious as when Democratic US Senator Paul Wellstone mysteriously died in a plane crash 1 week before he was going to be re-elected in Minnesota. We have all seen the lengths the "neo-cons" will go to to silence opposition and keep their iron grip on power (irregularities in key voting districts, treasonous revealing of undercover CIA operatives when their spouses fail to tote the party line, calling democrats terrorist lovers, etc.). Is so far fetched to think there might be a conspiracy at work here?

Even if the Republicans or their evil cohorts are not responsible, would it not stand to reason that a Democrat should be appointed to fill the vacant seat? Of course, without a great degree of political pressure, including street protests, massive mailing campaigns, and the like, Republican Gov. "Mike" Rounds will surely play the final card in their strategy to steal the US Senate from the American people.

10 December 2006

Pinochet, Hastert, and Republican bullshit

General Augusto Pinochet "who terrorized his opponents for 17 years after taking power in a bloody coup, died Sunday, putting an end to a decade of intensifying efforts to bring him to trial for human rights abuses blamed on his regime. He was 91." according to Yahoo! News. Though his death may finally give thousands of people who he was responsible for repressing, torturing, and killing, it is nonetheless too bad that that he was never forced to stand trial for his crimes against humanity. This is direct relic of good old fashioned american gunboat diplomacy for those of you who dont recall, where the legimitally elected socialist president of Chile, Salvadore Allende was overthrown in a bloody coup orchestrated by the CIA. The following suppression led to the "dissappearance" (ie. abducted by the Chilean secret police and subsequent torturing, raping, and killing) of literally thousands of dissidents, intellectuals, protesters, and inconvenient bystanders.



Next, the US House Ethics "committee harshly criticized Speaker
Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., saying the evidence showed he was told of the [Foley] problem months before he acknowledged learning of Foley's questionable e-mails to a former Louisiana page. It rejected Hastert's contention that he couldn't recall separate warnings from two House Republican leaders.
", according to the AP. This is no surprise to those of us who have paid attention to the gross misconduct perpetrated by the Republicans over the last 6 years, where might made right, regardless of the price. Funny that the party that claims the moral high ground on family values issues keeps getting busted with shit like this. Paedophiles, drug use with gay prostitutes, outright lying and covering up, welcome to the GOP.



And finally, the dismal 109th Congress is finally over. But just to prove how pathetic they are, they rammed thru a decisive and moronic final bill which only approved a temporary government spending bill (a stop gap measure), renewed the Bush tax breaks for the rich (thereby increasing our 8.6 trillion dollar national debt to an ever deeper hole), and cut medicare by 5% (among many other draconian things). Yahoo! News covered the story fairly well.

05 December 2006

Wealth Inequity increasing

The World Institute for Development Economics Research just published a comprehensive report on the distribution of the worlds wealth. It found that "The richest 2% of adults in the world own more than half of all household wealth", and that "the poorer half of the world's population own barely 1% of global wealth". This comes as little surprise to us living in the United States, where the gulf between rich and poor people has been increasing exponentially since the conservatives began to take over in 1980.

Think about how unjust this situation is. Regardless of talent, skill, or hard work, generations of human beings are born into virtual slavery, condemned to a life of taking the bus to work 11 hours at 2 jobs for minimum wages just to barely squeek by. The wealth their hard work generates goes directly to the rich, who are born into a life of prestige, privilege, and comfort. These people don't understand hardship, misery, or chosing between food and gas. How fucked up is that?

Communism (the form it took in the former Soviet Union for instance) may not be the answer, but this Caveat emptor style of brutal capitalism that has been promoted by big business clearly is not the answer either. Are you a slave? Fuck that. Subvert that dominant paradigm and do not cooperate with their insideous plan. Dont buy into commercialism, dont buy a bunch of useless shit you dont need because its christmas or a birthday or some shit like that. Dont become another cog in the machine. Live free and proud.

04 December 2006

West Has Failed to Learn From 9/11

From Mosnews.com, a brilliant article and analysis on the struggle against international terrorism. Read it.

26 November 2006

General Pinochet accepts responsibility


In a move long waited for by victims rights advocates and human rights organizations, General Augusto Pinochet has finally accepted responsibility for his inhumane and brutal actions as a fascist dicatator in the south american state of Chile from 1973-90.

A quick primer: a democratic and free election in 1970 in Chile brought Salvador Allende to power. He was a legitimately elected socialist president with Marxist ideals, so enter the US government. In its fanatical zeal to eradicate communism at any price from the globe, the, " United States tried unsuccessfully to prevent his taking office.". Upon not finding a legal leg to stand on, the CIA enlisted the help of one, General Augusto Pinochet to have an illegal coup and take power by force and consequently slaying the legitimately elected president of the country, Salvador Allende.

In the ensuing chaos, political oppression by the fascist conservative regime was rampant and violent, with over 3,000 people "disappearing" (ie. abducted by the secret police, tortured, and executed), with many more thousands suffering ruthlessly by the same security services, all under the gunboat diplomacy umbrella of the CIA in the USA.

The evil dictator controlled the country for 17 years, only letting his iron clasp go when the supreme court of Chile agreed to absolve him of any crime he or his cohorts committed during his reign of power. You may remember the case in which Spain had the UK arrest him years ago for a EU warrant for murdering Spanish citizens during his tyrranical conservative rule, only to be released after a shady back room deal when the press coverage died down 2 years later.

In any case, this proves 2 integral points. First, the US government is intimately involved in the overthrow of legitimally elected foreign governments (you can place a lions share of the blame on Nixon for this case). Remind that to the neocons and their bullshit line of supposedly promoting democracy abroad (see Pakistan for a more recent example). Second, if there is no justice, there can be no peace. When killers like Pinochet are allowed to go free and unpunished for the repression and mass murder (some may even claim genocide) that they allow or encourage, there is no justice. Old and feeble or not, he deserves to at least be incarcerated for his crimes against humanity.

There is a dire moral responsibility this country has to stand up for what is right. This desire for impartial justice has always given the USA legitimacy in foreign affairs. Unfortunately, the conservatives seek to push an American empire above all other considerations. We need to push for justice in Chile and here at home to ensure we are not just another global power seeking domination. We need to reassure the world that our ideals are just and righteous, so let Pinochet stand trial.

23 November 2006

Civil War Erupting in Iraq

The wonderfully detailed International Herald Tribune has a good article on the latest sectarian bloodbath in the nation formerly known as Iraq. Over 150 are dead after a string of highly coordinated and devastating blasts in the Shiite slum of Baghdad called Sadr City (formerly known as Saddam City). The response from the radical Muqtada al Sadrs Medhi "Army" (a bunch of fanatical gunmen) was swift, with mortars falling in a densely packed Sunni neighborhood and close calls to one of Sunni Islams most holy shrines (although honestly, every Muslim shrine seems to be considered "one of the most holy").

This is the latest in an increasingly bitter battle in Iraq between the majority and stricter Shia and the minority (and strangely enough, more moderate) Sunnis. This is one of the things that what we liberals have been warning of all along. King George and the shady neocons once again have their heads stuck deep in the sand, not seeing the obvious developments from their shortsighted and risky maneuvers.

We liberals warned from the start that there was no hard evidence of WMDs. Alas, no WMPs existed. We warned that Iraq was not pursuing nuclear weapons. They were not. We yelled out for all to hear that there were NO ties between Al Qaeda or similar Islamic fundamentalist groups and the Baathist regime of Saddam Hussein. Again, we were correct. The radicals who infiltrated the country after the invasion (and ensuing lawlessness) are an after result, and this too was easy to see beforehand.

King George implied Iraqs vast oil wealth would pay for the costs of reconstruction. Here we sit nearly 4 years later, with over half a trillion dollars spent (from borrowed money mind you), much of it going to corrupt contractors who just so happen to be big Bush and Republican campaign contributors. Our troops were not greeted as liberators, and a vast majority of Iraqis hate them (and us) today. The country is more dangerous now than ever, despite continued promises by King George that the Iraqis would "stand up" to take responsibility for themselves. Despite claims that this would be a short and relatively painless adventure, we are embroiled in a long and bloody conflict today, with no end in sight.

From the beginning to today, this entire fiasco has been a colossal disaster. The responsibility for this lays squarely on the shoulders of King George, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, in fact the entire "neo-conservative" backdrop in general. They are deceitful, short sighted, and incomptetent and have led this nation astray, both internationally and here at home. The spiraling civil war erupting is yet further evidence of this. Just watch and see, this is only going to get worse, just as I predicted years ago on this blog.

21 November 2006

Lebanon mourns

The BBC reports that yet another moderate politician in Lebanon was assasinated. "At least three gunmen ambushed Mr Gemayel, ramming his car with their vehicle before spraying it with gunfire from point blank range." Unlike the assasination of Former PM Rafik Hariri, this one has no signs of CIA involvement, and was likely carried out by Syrian trained agents or more likely Hezbollah gunmen.

The region has destabilized as a whole, and Lebanon in particular will prove to be a central flashpoint in the months and years ahead. With any luck, the radical islamic elements can be marginalized, with the cooler heads of moderates gaining a solid foothold on the leadership of this volatile place.

12 November 2006

Giuliani misunderstands roots of terrorism

Rudolph Giuliani stated today on the 'First in the Nation Forum' in New Hampshire that terrorism is caused by repressive foreign governments that do not give its citizens religious freedom and freedom for women. What a profound misunderstanding of the roots of terrorism he has. Maybe he will continue the failed policies of the 'Bush Doctrine' by allowing radical Islamists to take over further nations in the Muslim world. Remember that once allowed to genuinely participate, Hamas won in a landslide against Fatah in the Palestinian territories. Similarly, Egypt and Pakistan would likely turn fundamentalist would there not be repressive regimes in place there. And this Iraqi 'democracy', mark my words, within 5 years there will likely be an Iranian style Shia theocracy in its place. Wake up and smell reality Giuliani.

Rumsfeld finally gets fired


Donald Rumsfeld, the chief architect of the Iraqi debacle has finally, at long last been fired. His misinterpretation of history (equating the Iraq war to WWII for instance) and misguided perceptions of international realities led this nation to the quicksand situation we are in today. He NEVER should have achieved this much power in the first place, and thousands of people paid the price for his ignorance with their lives.

In his final speech, Rumsfeld attempted to evoke one of the most brilliant speeches in american history, that of Eisenhower in his final remarks as president. However, what Eisenhower was talking about was the dangers of the military industrial complex, that evil enterprise that Rumsfeld is at the center of, not global terrorism. This is a typical tactic of the neocons, to blatantly distort the reality of the situation for short term political gain. Anyone who corrects them is attacked as a terrorist lover. This brutal onslaught of rhetoric and merciless intimidation is nothing short of fascism my friends, pure and simple.

Let us remember that Rumsfeld was one of the central personalities that had close ties to Saddam Hussein in the 80's, meeting with him personally (see the picture above for undeniable proof) and contributing to the conservative thinking that led to our nation selling him massive amounts of weapons. How hypocritical that he then pushed for war with Iraq not many years later. I guess if he had any type of insight or wisdom in the first place, he might have used his influence to try to persuade the other conservatives NOT to sell Hussein weapons. Ignorance + power = danger.

None the less, the damage is done, but at least Rumsfeld is gone. May history judge him as the moron he was.

USA 2006 Elections

The elections are over, and the people have spoken. Prior to Tuesday, 3 straight election wins of Karl Roves fascist tactics had most of the country disillusioned. Finally, people stopped listening to the Republican and conservative attack machine that spews hate instead of constructivity. Finally. Of course, all it took was 3 years bogged down in the Iraqi quagmire by incompetent leadership (King George) and thousands of lives for this to finally sink in.

The final results are that the Democrats seized at least 230/435 seats in the House of Representatives (the most sensitive barometer to the current political climate) and in the biggest victory, wrested control of the Senate from the polarizing Republicans (only 49 senators are democrat, but the 2 independent ones will caucus with the them making a majority of 51 seats/100).

Congratulations to all those who stayed in the game, making sure the Republicans did not steal the close elections again. And a further congratulations to all the 3rd party candidates that stayed in the game to make this a true democracy.

23 October 2006

Star Wars?


US adopts tough new space policy



Weapons in space. Though a reality since the first USA and Soviet rockets could reach low orbit and the inception of the dreaded ICBM (Inter-Continental Ballistic Missile), the practicality of arming outer space has eluded our financial capacity. Enter: an excellent opportunity to attempt to phase out the archaic struggle to control at the point of a gun. Naive? Why? We have global treaties to phase out nuclear weapons (the Non-Proliferation Treaty) Granted, this has not stopped India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea from aquiring nuclear arms, nor has it resulted in the USA, UK, Russia, China, or France (note the parallel to the Security Members on the UN with permanent seats and a full VETO power) from getting rid of theirs, which were dual intents of the treaty. We have a Chemical Weapons accord (which King George and the neo-cons (ie. ultra conservatives) unilaterally withdrew from). The world has adopted a ban on biological weapons (despite a storehouse in Atlanta, Georgia with some of the deadliest strains).

Perhaps in reality, these dipolmatic treaties don't realize their original intents, but is it wrong to try? Wouldn't the world be a better place if we at least TRY to curb the war hawks who use nationalism, race, or religion as an excuse to slaughter those who disagree with them?

King George just signed a decree stating among other things that the US governement, "rejects any proposals to ban space weapons". The US has the edge in space technology at the moment, and the military industrial complex is determined to push an American empire by dominate in the realm of space as long as it can. This has one innevitable result: a mulinational arming of orbital vessels.

Anyone who has the slightest grasp of the historical progression of nation states understands that the industrial and technological might of the USA is on the decline. It is a temporary advantage (mainly stemming from profiteering during WWII) that will soon (within 5 generations) wane to the likes of China, India, and possibly states in the Middle East. Thus, by pushing our strength of weapons in space at this point, we do nothing but create a historical precedent by which future world superpowers can unapologetically do the same, leading to... you get it, an arms race in space.

Congratulations.

12 October 2006

French Take Stand Against Turkish Genocide

The Armenian genocide took place nearly 100 years ago. In the latter stages of WWI, the Ottoman Turks systematically slaughtered 1.5 million nearly helpless Armenians in a vicious campaign of ethnic cleansing that cleared out many millions more from their homeland of a thousand years in eastern Anatolia. Today, the Turkish government continues to deny this holocaust and threaten any nation that uses the term "genocide" in a shallow attempt to avoid responsibility. Note that Hitler was quoted as saying, "Who remembers the Armenian genocide today?" before the Nazi slaughter of Jews in WWII (a mere generation later).

Congratulations to the French, for having the strength of character to stand up to this bullying by passing a law which makes it as much of a crime to deny the Armenian genocide as it is to deny the Jewish genocide. How can the Turks wonder why there is such fierce resistance to let them join the EU when they continue to deny this?

A great independent film on this subject is highly recommended. Ararat (2002)

11 October 2006

No one exempt from Republican hate








A year ago when I presented my plan for Iraq, I did it to provide leadership and protect our troops. The Republicans have spent their time name-calling while the situation for our troops in Iraq gets worse.

They've tried to smear me, other veterans, Democrats, you and anybody who stands up to them. Well, let me say one thing right now: screw them. Those gravestones at Arlington cemetery don't say Democrat or Republican on them.

We are all patriots.

But as long as Republicans are in charge, they're just going to keep playing politics instead of doing what needs to be done for the American people. And that's why we need to throw them out of power—as many of them as possible.




Republicans smear? No way, they are too "family-value" oriented to do that. I guess not. Check out the smear photos that have come out on ultra conservative blogs (ie. parasitic propaganda) since Murtha, a longtime defense expert in Congress, went public with the reality of the Iraqi quagmire. He gets instantly demonized by the Republican attack machine.

10 October 2006

McCain: Playing politics


As part of a disturbing trend in recent Republican activity, everything is being blamed on Clinton (likening R-FL Foleys young boy perversion with Bills blowjob). Perhaps part of a pre-emptive strike against Hillary, John McCain, the once proud maverick turned neo-con puppet stated in a speech that North Koreas nukes were the fault of Bill Clinton. Instead of dealing with the situation at hand, once again, the conservatives are trying to divert attention away from their failed policies by playing politics for personal gain. McCain, what happened to you? Do you want to be president so badly that you have become a mouthpiece for the very demons you once spoke out against? Have you lost sight of right and wrong to such a degree that you cannot distinguish anymore? What a pity.

06 September 2006

Bush lying again

Its tragically comical how short of a memory the average American voter has. King george (or curious george as some call him) continues his rampage of deceipt, this time being exposed for letting the CIA run secret prisons in other countries across the globe. This is just the latest in a long line of his misleading and outright lying to be exposed (among others: weapons of mass destruction, his ties to the greedy oil companies, protecting Karl Roves treason, domestic espionage, etc. etc. etc.).

"So whats so bad about this?" you might ask. For one, its a violation of international law. Second, prisoners are often flown to such third world countries as Egypt and Thailand, where horrific torture is practiced. Where once our higher standards were a source of domestic patriotism and foreign envy, the US is losing its legitimacy in world affairs by secretly condoning such behavior. Third, this policy undercuts the credibility of our allies abroad, making them appear to their constituents as mere puppets of a fascist regime.

How long will we continue to tolerate this deceipt, these blatant and obvious lies of a pseudo dictator within our midst? It is the responsibility of good men everywhere to stand against evil. Next time some idiot starts regurgitating Republican "talking points", remind them of how nearly every major thing King George has ever stated has turned out to be untrue. This man and his party must go.

04 September 2006

Crocodile Hunter Dead


Steve Irwin, the champion of wildlife across the planet, best known at the Crocodile Hunter, was killed today. While working on a documentary about the Great Barrier Reef, an encounter with a stingray left him dead.

Despite his cheesy appeal to the youngest of audiences, his devotion to our natural world was monumental in steering public opinion towards a deeper understanding of our planet as a whole. Steve, your work was appreciated and you will be missed.

06 August 2006

Hezbollah

Free Image Hosting at www.ImageShack.us


"Lucky that we are dealing with Hezbollah today, and not in another two or three years." Ehud Olmert
link

Hezbollah (hezb allah or the party of "god") is a pristine example of radical Islamic fundamentalism. When I travelled thru the region years ago, my preconceived notions of Israeli oppression and occupation of a poor minority was quickly shattered by the reality that they live in hornets nest and *have* to do the things that they do. To take a softer approach in any way would quickly translate into the death of the Israeli nation.

Islam, like other strict monotheistic religions, torture the human spirit and trample on freedom. The difference being, it is much worse than the others. The most cruel branch of Islam is the Shi'a, which include most Iranians, Hezbollah, and yes, the majority of Iraqis (but we will save that for another day).

Israels rapid and underplanned withdrawal from southern Lebanon was followed not by a reward of peace, but a blistering series of attacks from a suddenly confident Hezbollah. Instead of securing the peace, they planned for war. With the help of their Iranian masters (the so called Syrian connection is somewhat dubious), there was a huge stockpiling of weapons and tactical training. As a result, Israel is getting barraged by over a hundred rockets everyday, some of which are technologically advanced (they struck the very ship with a radar guided missile that fired a shells trying to kill their leader for instance). Add to this the series of tunnels, IEDs, and fortifications, and it becomes clear why Israel is having such a difficult time making any serious inroads in its campaign.

Still, as quoted by Olmert above, in a few years time, there is little doubt that their fortifications would be even more extensive (including infiltration tunnels on par with the ones connecting Egypt and Gaza), their training would be much more thorough, and their weaponry quite advanced (like the Fajr-5, which could hit anywhere in Israel). To secure the peace for a nation that preserves real freedoms, Hezbollah must be crushed, completely, and irrevocably.

27 July 2006

Exxon records record profits

Exxon is a demon, pure and simple. Raking in over 10 BILLION dollars in profits during times when we're all paying double or triple what gas at the pump should cost is evil. Thats pure profit for the corporation at the expense of you and I. Sure, they and the conservative policians in their pockets try to explain away gas prices as a result of "turbulence in the middle east" (like thats something new), "refineries getting hit by Hurricane Katrina" (funny how they spiked 6 months before and have stayed up ever since), and, get this, "normal market fluctuations". When does something ever shoot up in price from under a dollar to over $3 in 7 years (yes, gas averaged about 90 cents in 1999 during the Clinton presidency). I guess they need another tax break, like the multi billion dollar one King George and the Republicans granted them last year.

15 June 2006

Bush lying yet again




"When America gives its word, it will keep its word,"


Well, anyone who actually has any type of coherent memory in the political realm remembers as short as 5 years ago, when our little dictator embraced our international agreements in such ways as:

1. unilaterally withdrawing from the AMD Treaty. This was *the* cornerstone of nuclear weapons peace accords which limited Anti Missile Defense systems with the former Soviet Union, thereby averting a runaway nuclear arms race. I guess if the former communist block is no longer a viable threat, our agreements signed in good faith no longer fall under the banner of any type of meaning.

2. the Chemical Weapons accords. Hell, why not throw in the towel on our banning of chemical weapons why we are at it? Maybe biological weapons will be the next glorious step in Bush's little empire.

Bush shows us over and over again that he is a liar that cannot be trusted. The only way that his administration has gotten away with this bullshit for so long is due to a masterful scheme of distraction (ever notice how when Bush's popularity ratings used to go down the terrorist attack meter used to go up?), media intimidation (fox nexs, conservative radio, religious right slander, etc.), and faith in the short memory of the American populace. I guess they might be on to something, because no matter what they do, nobody seems to notice or care. What a sad state of affairs our former democracy is in. Welcome to the New World Order of tyranny in America under a fascist empire. Like your freedom? Stand up for it!

09 May 2006

History

Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) once said,
"History never repeats itself, but it often rhymes."
Unfortunately, the patterns of yesteryear are often lost.
So this is a reminder to you of those years, a mere couple generations ago, when a nation was hijacked by ultra-conservative fanatics and led right over the cliff of destruction.



28 April 2006

Bipartisan Report on Hurrican Katrina blames Bush






No big surprise. Those of us who actually paid any bit of attention to the disaster (other than the usual bullshit on Fox news and the other govt. propaganda stations), knew that Bush and his terrible conservative administration was to blame for mucking the recovery effort up. From appointing a horse breeder as the FEMA chief to not accepting foreign rescue missions (read my prev. posts on this subject), Bush has once again failed America. Yahoo! yanked a good article on this from the AP.

Last week, I finally went down to coastal Mississippi and New Orleans to see the area for myself. Half a year later, there is still massive devastation everywhere. Entire blocks around Biloxi and Gulfport are gone. You can tell where buildings once stood, but now there is nothing but rubble. Trees were uprooted and tossed into the bay, where they sit today. Structural damage is massive. I will post some pics when I get high speed internet access again to demonstrate the failure of the rebuilding effort.

Edit- here are a few pics

11 March 2006

Milosevic Found Dead

After 4 years in a polically motivated kangaroo court set up by Nato (via bullying by the US), Milsevic was found dead today in his cell. Though I would likely be a dissident from his politics if I were Serbian, as an outside observer, I followed how he was brutally demonized and made a scapegoat for all of the troubles that erupted in the former Yugoslavia.

Let us begin at the beginning: the fall of communism. The Soviet Union was always weaker and less aggressive than the capitalist alliance (mainly the US, UK, and western Europe). The skillfully crafted breakup of the USSR into newly independent nations had ended the Cold War. With the main competition no longer any type of viable threat, the US govt started to move onto the nations that had been loyal to the communist bloc for so long. First target- Yugoslavia.

This was a ripe and easy target. A mishmash of different ethnicities and religions mangled into a relatively new nation (formed after WWII).
With intelligence and logistical support, independence movements suddenly began gathering steam (CIA fingerprints everywhere on this one). Slovenia was an easy one to give up, but by not cracking down (as most governments around the world do on a regular basis to squash independence movements), the Yugoslav government opened the door for the disintegration of the republic. Croation followed suite, and this is where the real problems started.

There are, or I should say *were* large areas inhabited primarily by ethnic Serbs within the borders of of Croatia, and these people were completely opposed to becoming a new minority in a new country. So the guns started firing, militias formed, and a small ember began to turn into a fire. When Bosnia, the most ethnically mixed of all declared its independence, the fire turned into an inferno.

Let me restate that none of these entities would have had the organizational skill or means to achieve independence had it not been for outside help (again, the CIA). This was pure punitive action taken to destroy the remnants of the communists in Belgrade, and replace them with western puppets, moving Yugoslavia into the hegemony of the US (instead of Russia). If Belgrade had instantly capitulated, have no doubt, we would still be looking at a united Yugoslavia today.

The Pentagon had a more difficult time justifying the Kosovo campaign. The KLA (Kosovo Liberation Army) was a purely criminal and terrorist organization that was given a skillful whitewash. They were actively encouraged to stir up trouble, knowing that Belgrade would have to crackdown, as Kosovo is not just part of Serbia proper, but the cradle of their entire ethnic consciousness. Again, this turned into wonderful propoganda and was a precursor to the Nato bombing campaign in all of Serbia (including civilian targets, public bridges, media stations, and the carpet bombing of an entire ethnic Albanian village in which over a hundred died).

What could justify such an aggressive policy? Again, the Pentagon propaganda machine was thinking ahead, and made Milosevic the main demon for everything. "We HAD to act because of his barbarism". With the subsequent engineered "mass uprising" that removed the former communists from power, Serbias new leaders were given a choice: hand over Milosevic to stand trial at a new court made especially for this and receive hundreds of millions of aid, or face further punishment and get a continuation of the economic blockade.

So Milosevic was virtually kidnapped and sent off to face "justice" in a court never sanctioned or recognized by the only internation organization that would have the legitimacy for such a thing: the United Nations. He was subjected to 4 years of isolation and intimidation by this court, all to justify a war for a political game. They refused to let him travel to Russia for needed medical treatment, despite a guarantee by the Russian govt. that he would be returned immediately after. And now, he's dead. Congratulations new world order, this is what has become legal precedence in our times: might makes right. I guess he was just a smaller fish than the one that ate him.

06 March 2006

Conservatives hurt our economy again

The insanely underreported story of the massive US budget deficits have led to a grave situation, a gargantuan total debt. A news article from a reputable news service in a foreign land (where such "trivial events are actually reported) was quoted as saying "the total accumulated debt is now close to its limit of $8.2 trillion". Will this news get any airplay? Doubtfully. Conservatives have an amazing way of keeping an iron grip on information and thought in the mass media. Still, at least now you know.

01 March 2006

Muhammad cartoons part 3

Intellectuals Speak out Against Islamic Totalitarianism
Good to see that writers, journalists, and thinkers are standing up for freedom in the way bombs and threats never can.

Some excerpts:
"After having overcome fascism, Nazism, and Stalinism, the world now faces a new global threat: Islamism," the manifesto says.

"We, writers, journalists, intellectuals, call for resistance to religious totalitarianism and for the promotion of freedom, equal opportunity and secular values for all."

[The clashes over the cartoons] "revealed the necessity of the struggle for these universal values," the statement continues.

The writers said they refused to accept that Muslim men and women "should be deprived of their rights to equality, liberty or secularity in the name of respect for culture or tradition".

"Islamism is a reactionary ideology which kills equality, freedom and secularism wherever it is present," the writers added, saying it is nurtured by fears and frustrations.

26 February 2006

Intelligent Design

Religious fanatics in this country attacking science is unbelievably idiotic. To put things in perspective check out this article...Gravity vs Intelligent Weight. This reminds of what I learned during my EDUCATION (check out that radical concept) when the conservative catholic church refused to acknowledge that the Earth was not the center of the universe for over 400 years.

08 February 2006

more Mohammed cartoons

Good to see others beat me to the punch and continued the trend to print further cartoons of Mohammed. you can find them here.

There is also a good article on a Dutch MP speaking in favor of western liberties (via the cartoons) and critical of strict islamic intolerances at the BBC.

07 February 2006

Local desires vs the WTO

The US governed WTO recently ruled that the EU cannot stop the import of GM (genetically modified) foods into their markets, despite a nearly unanimous desire on the part of their electorate to prohibit such imports. Perhaps this is a sign of global federalism in the making, where a country (in this case, a collective of countries) cannot decide their own trading policy. We can only hope that the local vendors are at least required to let its customers know (in bold print) that the food they are buying is GM.

Muhammad cartoons again

The daily unfoldings of this story are simply too precious to leave alone. The BBC has a great page of comments on this whole fiasco, many are worth reading. One in particular caught my eye,

"the wanton destruction by the Taliban...of the historic Buddha images carved into the a cliff [in Afganistan]. Buddha is a prophet too, but I cannot recall any demonstrations of the Muslim world to protest this inane destruction. Double standards..."

How true. The slightest misstep by any non muslim is like kicking over a hornets nest. They begin with simple marches in the streets, but this soon leads to a mob mentality, with effigy burning, signs threatening suicide bombings, and the occasional invasion and burning of, guess what, non muslim buildings. Should any dissenters be the in the location, they will at least be beaten if not killed.

Where was the outrage when the massive, 15 story tall, ancient Buddha statues were blown up? Where was it when the synagogues were burnt in Gaza following the pullout? Where was it when more radical elements of the muslim world killed hundreds of people throughout the last 10 years in everyplace from Chechnya to Kosovo to the Phillipines to India to the Sudan?

But now the muslim world erupts because of...cartoons?

06 February 2006

Muslim fanatacism rampant

It seems I may have not hit the issue directly on the head in my initial blog post. The firestorm of violence sweeping the muslim world should cause us all concern, because it directly challenges our sovereign freedoms, and as thus is an attack on free men everywhere.

Freedom of expression. Freedom of speech. Freedom in general. These words become meaningless as soon as we surrender our capacity to make decisions for ourselves to an aggressive monotheistic religion, or a dogma of any sort. The publication of cartoon depicting Islams 'prophet' mohammed is one of those freedoms. Would we all stop eating meat if it directly challenged some wacky religions notions about vegetarianism? What if the fanatics of this religion turned massively violent because of it, would we give up?

The freedom of the press is a basic liberty of our culture. If the muslims cannot accept this, then that is their problem. I see countless things everyday which I find deeply offensive, yet believe in freedom to the extent that I accept others misdeeds, transgressions, and outright insults. I expect others to honor this basic precept as well, even muslims.

So if I see an islamic protest burning an effigy of the Danish prime minister, I will speak up. All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. Oppose the radicals. Confront their ignorance. Be strong.

02 February 2006

Prophet Muhammad cartoons

Muslims are so touchy. Islam is probably the strictest and most idiotic dogma ever allowed to fester in the history of manking. An example being how they consider any printed version of their holy text, the Kuran to be the literal body of their silly god, Allah. Another being their radical insistence that their "prophet", Muhammed not be portrayed by any drawings, which is a pure misconception of their own holy text.

According to the BBC, "There is no specific, or explicit ban on images of Allah or the Prophet Muhammad - be they carved, painted or drawn. However, chapter 42, verse 11 of the Koran does say: "[Allah is] the originator of the heavens and the earth... [there is] nothing like a likeness of Him."

Now the fanatics (and yes, they even more fanatical than even southern Baptists here in the US) are freaking out over some cartoon depictions from a Danish Publisher of mohammed, not only boycotting Danish goods, but having violent protests, and worse, threatening violence against Europeans for reprinting it.

Evil must be opposed, and organized religion is dangerous. As a proud member of the free world, I hereby give you, the prophet they speak of in all his glory.

26 January 2006

Be Careful What You Wish For: Democracy and Hamas


It has been a key focus of our republic since its inception over 2 centuries ago to foster democracy around the world. Though a noble and revolutionary idea at heart, this pursuit has its dangers. Case in point, the Islamic world. Muslims are like Southern Baptists on steroids, with an uncompromising fanatacism that is ruthless. Not all muslims of course, there is a small percentage of 'secular' muslims that know a greater disdain than those of us who are secular here in the US.

Never the less, the Palestinian territories just had their first truly democratic election in history. Big surprise to the international media, but no surprise to those of us who have been there and seen the situation first hand, Hamas won by a landslide (76/132 seats) and will now govern.

Hamas is a wolf in sheeps clothing, cloaking the repeated mass murder of Israelis by building hospitals for Palestinians. They accept zero dissent in their ranks and will likely make a hard push to instate Sharia (Islamic Law) in the West Bank and Gaza. They are a terrorist organization who has been legitimately elected. Congratulations, democracy at work in the Islamic world.

If little bush has his way, Egypt will be next, as Mubaraks rule is resented by the masses there, his party is seen as widely corrupt, and the islamists have the hearts and minds of a majority of the populace. Further, look at the debacle of an election in Iraq, where the strictest form of Islam, the Shia, have a solid majority and may push for an Iranian style theocracy in time. Thrusting the gift of democracy on a people not ready for it is a disaster, and will ultimately lead to exponentially greater turmoil in the long run.

Let us not forget what makes democracy work, a large and well educated middle class (obviously among other things). Without this dynamic social component, it either turns into a tyrrany of the majority or a corrupt falacy of democracy (which is the direction our own democracy is heading).

24 January 2006

Canada going the wrong direction

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4643882.stm
It appears that Canadians are just as suceptible to the old dirty tricks of politics as those of us in the USA are. After masterfully hiding information about some undoubtedly shady kickbacks by some minor members of the Canadian liberal party, the conseratives wouldn't let the issue rest, and stoked the flames of anger as hard as they could. Cause and effect, the voters get disgruntled, feel like this needs to go away, voilah, a change in leadership.

Its the same old snafu that the shameful ultra-conservatives south of the border have been pulling for generations down here, from McCarthyism to Reagan to Schwarzenegger. Welcome to the modern age. Innocence begone my northern friends.

Your country is now ruled by decree from the White House, who no doubt offered extensive logistical support and intel towards this end. Prepare to send your boys to Iraq, and as a consequence have somefuckingthing blow up in your country by some dumbass jihadists. Next step will be acts of government to restrict civil liberties, and a further entrenching of your military forces overseas, under the watchful eyes of your southern masters.

Dark days indeed. This election has disappointed me almost as much as John F. Kerrys smearing by the right here. Watch out.