Saturday, May 31, 2008

The times changin' again

We are in a unique moment in history. The internet and in this particular case Digg has changed the balance of power with regards to the media. Just 4 years ago in 2004, a similar attack by the Swift Boat 527 group was devastatingly effective. And played a major role in the defeat of Senator Kerry.

It is a certainty that the status quo is not willing to watch power slip from their hands. At this moment they are plotting to restore their position of absolute dominance over the flow of information. We must be vigilant and be prepared for a battle to keep this from happening.

At the same time we should take full advantage of the opening that has been created. Now is the time to speak out forcefully and courageously. We The People must use the weapons at our disposal. In this battle the pen is mightier than the sword.

Rather than fighting for the "right to bear arms" we should be focusing on fighting for the "right to freedom of the internet". Today a gun or a rifle would be of little use in the hands of individual citizens in a battle against a tyrannical form of government, but the internet is a powerful weapon that can prevent the takeover of our government by would be tyrants.

It is my belief that we are at the cusp of a new age. In these revolutionary times, we have the ultimate power to choose our future. There are a few alternate future realities that could emerge. According to quantum physics, perhaps multiple futures are possible. The future could be one of increased democratization and freedom, or one of centralized power and repression. It is really up to us. Ultimately we will get the form of government that we deserve.

---

"The times they are a changin' " by Bob Dylan 1964

Come gather 'round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You'll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin'
Then you better start swimmin'
Or you'll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come writers and critics
Who prophesize with your pen
And keep your eyes wide
The chance won't come again
And don't speak too soon
For the wheel's still in spin
And there's no tellin' who
That it's namin'.
For the loser now
Will be later to win
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don't stand in the doorway
Don't block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There's a battle outside
And it is ragin'.
It'll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin'.

Come mothers and fathers
Throughout the land
And don't criticize
What you can't understand
Your sons and your daughters
Are beyond your command
Your old road is
Rapidly agin'.
Please get out of the new one
If you can't lend your hand
For the times they are a-changin'.

The line it is drawn
The curse it is cast
The slow one now
Will later be fast
As the present now
Will later be past
The order is
Rapidly fadin'.
And the first one now
Will later be last
For the times they are a-changin

In support of Wesley Clark for VP

First, let me make a full disclosure. I am an unapologetic apologist for Clark. I believe he would make the best Vice President for Obama and for America.

Why does Obama need Wes Clark?

The first reason is the one most people are focused on right now. Simply stated, he would provide the Obama ticket with the much needed national security credibility which will allow him to become President of the United States.

The other reason is one that most casual observers of Wes Clark are not aware of. Wes Clark is a die hard opponent of the neocons in the Bush administration. He has called them out on numerous occasions and all of his stated policies are in direct opposition to the stated policies of the neocons. He is in essence the anti-Cheney. He is the neocons worst nightmare - a patriotic General that will stand up for the interests of the American People at home and abroad.

"All warfare is based on deception" quote from The Art of War by Sun Tzu

Clark is a former general and was Supreme NATO Commander. He graduated first in his class from the West Point Military Academy. He fought in Viet Nam and was injured on the battlefield. Clark in other words has studied war. He knows that "all warfare is based on deception", and he knows that we are in a war with the neocons. What is at stake is the very survival of the United States as we know it.

So when Clark goes on MSNBC and declares that the Clinton campaign will fight all the way to the convention, I immediately ask the question: What's up? I note Clark's expression. A sly grin is on his face as the televised exchange wraps up. What is this fox up to?



Please allow me to offer my interpretation of the events. It could be that Clark is making this statement simply to endear himself to the Clinton supporters. Then when Obama picks him to be VP, he can claim to be the unity candidate. Clinton supporters would look foolish to not back him given his loyalty to Clinton to the bitter end.

Is Clark capable of such deception? Absolutely. Does he have ambitions to become the next Vice President of the United States? No doubt.

In case you don't believe that Clark is truly the neocons worst nightmare take a look at this video. Clark's boyish looks tend to soften the message he is delivering, but pay close attention to what he is saying. Watch it again and let it sink in.

Friday, May 30, 2008

Ancient wisdom; Tibet, China, and the earthquake

It almost makes you long for the wisdom of ancient times, when a devastating earthquake would have been seen as a sign and the Chinese would have immediately given Tibet its freedom to placate the angry gods.

Even in modern times earthquakes have had political consequences. In 1972 there was an earthquake in Nicaragua. (Tragically, the great Puerto Rican baseball player, Roberto Clemente, lost his life in a plane accident while delivering aid to the devastated country.) In the ensuing effort to rebuild the country the corruption of the U.S. backed dictator, Somoza, became all too apparent. This led directly to the Sandinista revolution which overturned the government.

In China, there are some parallels with the current situation. The loss of life of many Chinese children has been attributed to the poor quality of construction of the schools in the area. This has been blamed on corruption. In this case corruption directly led to the loss of the most precious gift life has to offer. Will the parents hold Chinese government officials accountable for their actions?

Is Israel the 51st state?

Listening to the candidates talk about undying loyalty to the "Jewish State" would certainly give that impression. You get the feeling that there would be a more virulent reaction to an attack on Israel than there would be to an attack on Hawaii. After all HRC has openly called for "obliterating" Iran for a hypothetical attack on Israel and Obama refuses to take any options off the table.

If Israel is in fact the virtual 51st state, shouldn't it be following US laws? In the US there is freedom of religion. How does the concept of a "Jewish State" fit in with that ideal?

Lieberman forced to resign from "Vets for Freedom" Board

How many bloggers can say that they forced a powerful US Senator to resign from an influential position? Well I can't claim to have achieved such a feat, but the events are interesting to follow.

A few days ago I posted an article on Digg that claimed the group "Vets for Freedom" is a front group for Joe Lieberman and the Israel Lobby. The posting went viral as noted in my blog, and a few days later Senators Lieberman and Graham both resigned from the Advisory Board of the group.

This happened without any campaign within the MSM (mainstream media). The only other organization that had openly spoken out regarding this issue with any forcefulness was The Huffington Post. The Obama campaign is being quoted in articles after the resignation that it applied pressure to have Lieberman and Graham removed, but I can't find any evidence of that pressure other than some comments after the fact.

Of course my original Digg post was a video link to an appearance that Senator Durbin made on Face The Nation. But Durbin's comment were buried in the interview and received no follow-up until I brought them to attention.

Of course the real credit goes to the diggers that supported this post. Especially the first group that made the article "popular" in the first place. Once an article becomes popular on digg and begins to appear on the front pages, then there is a viral effect that easily takes over - it becomes more popular because it's popular.

I posted some follow-up articles regarding the actual announcement of the resignations, but to my surprise these never achieved popularity. Meanwhile "Vets for Freedom" released a second attack ad.

I was doing some follow-up research on Google news and came across a reference to a SourceWatch article on "Vets for Freedom". I had made the connection between the group and the Israel Lobby based solely on the presence of Lieberman on the board, but here was conclusive evidence of the ties between the group and the Israel Lobby.

SourceWatch describes "Vets for Freedom" this way, "It was, in essence, a Republican front group managed by Republican-affiliated public relations, media, legal, and political consultants, including former White House spokesman Taylor Gross, to defeat candidates who advocate an end to the US occupation of Iraq." (link)

They also provide a section in the article titled "Non-partisan, bi-partisan or neocon lobbyists?" (link) So my basic instincts proved to be more correct than I could imagine. No doubt Lieberman was on the Board for fund-raising purposes. It helps when your requesting donations from the Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) to be able to point to Jewish pseudo-Republican Lieberman on the board.

Thursday, May 29, 2008

What Obama should say at the AIPAC conference

Jimmy Carter has written Obama's AIPAC speech for him. Now Obama just needs the courage to deliver it.
Carter: 10 minutes to change the world

"When I'm the president of the United States," he intoned, the voice still strong, "My country will never again torture a prisoner. When I'm the president of the United States, we will never again attack another country unless our security is directly threatened. When I'm the president of the United States, human rights will be the foundation of our foreign policy." He went on in that vein, with ringing declarations on global warming, a promise to honour international agreements and to bring "security and peace to Israel and all its neighbours and treat them all on an equal basis." The audience thundered its applause, signalling that this was the American speech they yearned to hear. Carter insisted that a new president would not need a hundred days to change America's image in the world, just the "ten minutes" required to say those words.
Now that would be "change we can believe in".

Monday, May 26, 2008

My Digg posting on Lieberman goes viral

I just had a Digg posting go viral! Pretty exciting stuff. It's the first time any of my digg posts have become "popular". It's currently on the front page of digg.com, ranked at number 7!

Ooops. I just tried to upload an image of the digg front page, but got an error. I'll try later and update this post if successful.

Here's the post that I'm talking about.
http://digg.com/politics/Veterans_for_Freedom_is_a_front_for_Joe_Lieberman

"Veterans for Freedom" is a front for Joe Lieberman

cbsnews.com — At 1:20 Sen. Durbin exposes Veterans for Freedom as a front for Senators Lieberman and Graham who are on the Advisory Board. It is a 527 that produced an attack ad on Barack Obama. By law 527's are not allowed to advocate a particular candidate, only issues. Another Israel Lobby front exposed!

I wonder how much the reference to the Israel Lobby helped or hurt this post in making it popular? One thing is clear, Joe Lieberman is not a popular guy! :)

Follow my exploits on Digg.com

As I mentioned earlier, I have turned my attention from my blog to Digg. Here's my main profile page:
http://digg.com/users/FrankHope
From there you can check out my latest article submissions to Digg:
http://digg.com/users/FrankHope/history/submissions
And read my latest comments:
http://digg.com/users/FrankHope/history/comments

Many of my previous blog posts here and especially on MyBarackObama (before I got kicked out) consisted of excerpts from articles interspersed with my comments. Digg provides an excellent platform on which to do just this. It took me a while to get comfortable with the format, but I now see this as a powerful tool for providing instant uncensored commentary to the current news.

Digg is democracy in action. For example when a Fox news commentator joked about killing Osama and Obama, I dugg it right away. I added a comment to the digg post with a link to my blog post titled AIPAC targets Obama for Assassination. By the next day over 7,000 people had dugg the Fox news article, and at least 90 people had dugg my related post. That's 90 people that say they have strongly agreed at least in part with the subject of my post. That doesn't count the number of people that may have read the post. This is a much larger and more diverse audience than I could have ever hoped for at MyBarackObama.

Even my comment to the Fox story caused quite a stir and got over 80 diggs.
(link to comment)
Here's the text of that comment:

Yeah, well. I told you so...
http://digg.com/political_opinion/AIPAC_targets_Obama_for_Assassination
This woman is another Israel Lobby stooge in the media. She wrote an article in the Washington Times calling Mel Gibson's movie The Passion anti-Semitic. That's right, the Bible is anti-Semitic.

According to her bio on the Fox News website she taught Journalism at Stern College of Yeshiva University. Would you like to take a journalism class from a woman that thinks it's appropriate to joke about assassinating the likely next President of the United States?
And yes I did "shamelessly" promote my own article as was pointed out by one of the replies. But what's wrong with that? :)

Author of "Israel Lobby" agrees with Jeffrey Goldberg

In one of my recent postings titled "Final Solution" for Palestinians I analyzed the article by Jeffrey Goldberg titled "Israel's America Problem". I noted that Goldberg criticized the book "The Israel Lobby" and made this comment.

Of course Goldberg feels the need to take a swipe at the book "The Israel Lobby" just to maintain his creds in the pro-Israel Lobby, but he is absolutely wrong on this point. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt do not argue against "support of Israel", they argue against "unconditional support for Israel". In fact I am sure they would agree with most of what Goldberg states in this article.
I just read the reply by Stephen M. Walt in a NY Times letter to the editor.
Israel’s Friends and the Path to Peace
Re “Israel’s ‘American Problem’ ” (Op-Ed, May 18):

Jeffrey Goldberg attacks our book, “The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy,” while openly embracing one of our main arguments.

He writes that we “argue, unpersuasively, that American support for Israel hurts America. It doesn’t. But unthinking American support does hurt Israel.”

Our book contains detailed case studies showing that unconditional support for Israel is not in America’s national interest. Readers can judge for themselves whether we are “persuasive.”

But we also emphasized that “the lobby’s impact has been unintentionally harmful to Israel,” that its actions “may even be jeopardizing the long-term prospects of the Jewish state” and that its “influence has been bad for both countries.”

The lobby’s harmful impact on Israel was also a central theme of an op-ed article, “Israel’s False Friends,” we wrote in The Los Angeles Times on Jan. 6. Mr. Goldberg clearly agrees with this part of our argument. John J. Mearsheimer

Stephen M. Walt
Chicago, May 18, 2008
This is good stuff. You couldn't make this stuff up if you tried. The Israel Lobby is uncharacteristically tripping all over itself lately.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

digg my blog

Sorry I've been neglecting my blog. I've been busy on digg.com. My post titled "AIPAC targets Obama for Assassination" suddenly became popular after Hillary blurted out that she was still in the race in the hopes that Obama would suffer the same fate as Bobby Kennedy. OK, well I do admit that a few strategically placed comments on digg with links to my post may have had something to do with the sudden popularity.

If you want to vote on that post, here's the link:
http://digg.com/political_opinion/AIPAC_targets_Obama_for_Assassination/who

I have to figure out how to add digg links to the bottom of my posts to make it easier for people to digg my blog.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Obama, the appeaser

No I'm not talking about appeasing Iran, I'm talking about appeasing Israel.

Quote from NY Times article titled "Many Florida Jews Express Doubts on Obama".

“The people here, liberal people, will not vote for Obama because of his attitude towards Israel,” Ms. Weitz, 83, said, lingering over brunch.

“They’re going to vote for McCain,” she said.
My advice to Obama... Dump the Jewish vote! They are never going to support you anyway. They are racists to the core. Look at how they treat the Palestinians.

By supporting Zionism you lose the independent vote that wants to see a real change in American politics. The most corrupting influence in American politics today is the Israel Lobby. Obama says he is fighting against lobbyist, but when it comes to the biggest lobby of them all he has sold out.

Follow the example of Ron Paul and stand up to AIPAC, the neo-cons, Israel, and the Israel Lobby. How does it feel to have Bush denounce you in front of a cheering Knesset? Haven't you gotten the message yet?

These people are the ones behind the "Hussein" smear campaign. They have Hillary Clinton and John McCain doing their dirty work for them. If you want to connect with working class White Americans, then stand up for them. We want a President that will defend the interests of America, not the interests of Israel.

Stop the War in Iraq. Stop the War with Iran. Stop the settlements. Stop the aid to Israel. Tear down the wall in the West Bank.

By doing these things, you will restore America's economy and our prestige throughout the world. You will make friends with the Arabs and the Muslims. You will reduce the threat of terrorism.

Stop backing Israel and Israel's policies. If Israel wants a War with Iraq then let it send its own sons and daughters to fight and die there. And stop supporting Israel's military that uses our weapons to murder innocent children in Palestine.

It's time for a one state solution. The very idea of a Jewish State is a contradiction to everything America stands for. We are a nation that was founded on freedom of religion and equality for all. How can we support a state that only grants full rights to members of one religion?

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

"Ich bin ein Palestinian"


As John F. Kennedy clearly articulated, a divided country is a temporary condition that will ultimately end in failure. There is only one solution for the Holy Land that can bring lasting peace. That is a a one state solution.

Excerpts from JFK's speech in West Berlin, 26 June 1963. Liberally modified by me to reflect the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Zionist world.

Let them come to Gaza.

... ... ...

The apartheid wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Zionist system -- for all the world to see.

So let me ask you, as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Gaza, or your country of Palestine, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this country will be joined as one and this Holy Land in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of Gaza can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for more than six decades.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Palestine.

And, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Palestinian."
Here is a video of the original speech delivered by John F. Kennedy in Berlin on June 26, 1963. One can easily imagine JFK delivering a similar speech to the people of Gaza. Kennedy was the last President that stood up to Israel. He demanded inspections of the Dimona nuclear reactor in Israel. Kennedy opposed arms sales to Israel, but after he was assassinated and Johnson became President US policy began to change and Israel was showered with US tanks and fighter planes. The same US tanks and fighter planes that today are used by Israel to massacre the innocent children of Gaza.



Full text of Kennedy's original speech.
Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Ich bin ein Berliner."

There are many people in the world who really don't understand, or say they don't, what is the great issue between the free world and the Communist world. Let them come to Berlin. There are some who say that communism is the wave of the future. Let them come to Berlin. And there are some who say in Europe and elsewhere we can work with the Communists. Let them come to Berlin. And there are even a few who say that it is true that communism is an evil system, but it permits us to make economic progress. Lass' sie nach Berlin kommen. Let them come to Berlin.

Freedom has many difficulties and democracy is not perfect, but we have never had to put a wall up to keep our people in, to prevent them from leaving us. I want to say, on behalf of my countrymen, who live many miles away on the other side of the Atlantic, who are far distant from you, that they take the greatest pride that they have been able to share with you, even from a distance, the story of the last 18 years. I know of no town, no city, that has been besieged for 18 years that still lives with the vitality and the force, and the hope and the determination of the city of West Berlin. While the wall is the most obvious and vivid demonstration of the failures of the Communist system, for all the world to see, we take no satisfaction in it, for it is, as your Mayor has said, an offense not only against history but an offense against humanity, separating families, dividing husbands and wives and brothers and sisters, and dividing a people who wish to be joined together.

What is true of this city is true of Germany--real, lasting peace in Europe can never be assured as long as one German out of four is denied the elementary right of free men, and that is to make a free choice. In 18 years of peace and good faith, this generation of Germans has earned the right to be free, including the right to unite their families and their nation in lasting peace, with good will to all people. You live in a defended island of freedom, but your life is part of the main. So let me ask you as I close, to lift your eyes beyond the dangers of today, to the hopes of tomorrow, beyond the freedom merely of this city of Berlin, or your country of Germany, to the advance of freedom everywhere, beyond the wall to the day of peace with justice, beyond yourselves and ourselves to all mankind.

Freedom is indivisible, and when one man is enslaved, all are not free. When all are free, then we can look forward to that day when this city will be joined as one and this country and this great Continent of Europe in a peaceful and hopeful globe. When that day finally comes, as it will, the people of West Berlin can take sober satisfaction in the fact that they were in the front lines for almost two decades.

All free men, wherever they may live, are citizens of Berlin, and, therefore, as a free man, I take pride in the words "Ich bin ein Berliner."

Sunday, May 18, 2008

"Final Solution" for Palestinians

Here is an "interesting" op-ed in the New York Times by Jeffrey Goldberg titled "Israel’s ‘American Problem’". In which Goldberg seems to be endorsing Obama for President and at the same time making the case that Israel should abandon its West Bank settlements. Goldberg of course will be condemned by AIPAC for these statements and even labeled a "anti-Semite" or "self-hating Jew" - take your choice.

There are some Jews who would be made anxious by Mr. Obama even if he changed his first name to Baruch and had his bar mitzvah on Masada. But after speaking with him it struck me that, by the standards of rhetorical correctness maintained by such groups as the Conference of Presidents and the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, or Aipac, Mr. Obama is actually more pro-Israel than either Ehud Olmert or Ehud Barak. (To say nothing of John McCain and President George W. Bush, who spoke to the Knesset last week about external threats to Israel’s safety but made no mention of the country’s missteps.)

This is an existentially unhealthy state of affairs. I am not wishing that the next president be hostile to Israel, God forbid. But what Israel needs is an American president who not only helps defend it against the existential threat posed by Iran and Islamic fundamentalism, but helps it to come to grips with the existential threat from within. A pro-Israel president today would be one who prods the Jewish state — publicly, continuously and vociferously — to create conditions on the West Bank that would allow for the birth of a moderate Palestinian state. Most American Jewish leaders are opposed, not without reason, to negotiations with Hamas, but if the moderates aren’t strengthened, Hamas will be the only party left.

And the best way to bring about the birth of a Palestinian state is to reverse — not merely halt, but reverse — the West Bank settlement project. The dismantling of settlements is the one step that would buttress the dwindling band of Palestinian moderates in their struggle against the fundamentalists of Hamas.

So why won’t American leaders push Israel publicly? Or, more to the point, why do presidential candidates dance so delicately around this question? The answer is obvious: The leadership of the organized American Jewish community has allowed the partisans of settlement to conflate support for the colonization of the West Bank with support for Israel itself. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt, in their polemical work “The Israel Lobby,” have it wrong: They argue, unpersuasively, that American support for Israel hurts America. It doesn’t. But unthinking American support does hurt Israel.
Of course Goldberg feels the need to take a swipe at the book "The Israel Lobby" just to maintain his creds in the pro-Israel Lobby, but he is absolutely wrong on this point. John J. Mearsheimer and Stephen M. Walt do not argue against "support of Israel", they argue against "unconditional support for Israel". In fact I am sure they would agree with most of what Goldberg states in this article.

It is of course refreshing to hear some rational discussion on the issue of West Bank settlements coming from a member of the Israel Lobby, but talk is cheap. It really comes down to action. One of the strategies discussed in the book "The Israel Lobby" is the one of maintaining an illusion that Israel entertains the idea of a Palestinian State while at the same time doing everything to make the realization of such a state impossible.

This article also gives a rationale for why Goldberg is making this suggestion at this time. The answer can be found in the title of Jimmy Carter's book, "Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid". People in the United States are finally waking up to the idea that Israel's policy towards the Palestinians are no different than South Africa's policies were towards Blacks. There is the beginning of a divestment campaign against Israel just like there was against South Africa.

Here is what Archbishop Desmond Tutu has to say, "I am a black South African, and if I were to change the names, a description of what is happening in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank could describe events in South Africa."

And here is a quote from the Goldberg article.
“We now have the Palestinians running an Algeria-style campaign against Israel, but what I fear is that they will try to run a South Africa-type campaign against us,” he said. If this happens, and worldwide sanctions are imposed as they were against the white-minority government, “the state of Israel is finished,” Mr. Olmert said in an earlier interview. This is why he, and his mentor, former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, turned so fiercely against the Jewish settlement movement, which has entangled Israel unnecessarily in the lives of West Bank Palestinians. Once, men like Mr. Sharon and Mr. Olmert saw the settlers as the vanguards of Zionism; today, the settlements are seen, properly, as the forerunner of a binational state. In other words, as the end of Israel as a Jewish-majority democracy.
A "binational state" is a code word for a single state solution. The hard core Zionists of course have no problem with that because they have a solution - "transfer". "Transfer" is another code word. Genocide is the proper translation, although these days the media seems to prefer another code word - "ethnic cleansing". "Transfer" was the solution offered by Zionists confronting the same problem 60 years ago and it is the same solution offered today. It is "the Final Solution".

Saturday, May 17, 2008

AIPAC targets Obama for Assassination

Make no mistake about it. Agents of AIPAC and the Israel Lobby are targeting Obama for assassination. Most recently Huckabee gave a graphic description of Obama in the crosshairs. Previously Hillary has been dropping hints that something catastrophic might happen to Obama.

These "dog whistles" are intended to motivate some psychotic individual to action. Think of Son of Sam or John Lennon's assassin. These people heard voices. AIPAC is hoping to reach them through their public campaign to target Obama. Let's call them the Manchurian Candidates. If that doesn't work then AIPAC will hire someone or setup some patsy like JFK's assassin.

AIPAC demands 100% obedience from its slaves in the Congress and White House. Anyone that steps out of line is immediately punished in the harshest way to set a public example and send a message to the rest that no insubordination will be tolerated.

Even though Obama has toed the AIPAC line with his votes in Congress, he has dared to suggest that Iran is anything less than the new Hitler. This brought sharp criticism from AIPAC agent President Bush in front of the Knesset.

AIPAC's campaign against Obama is intensifying.

  • First there was the "Hussein" email campaign
  • Then the Farrakhan smear
  • Then the Reverend Wright smear
  • The 3 AM, not experienced campaign
  • The unpatriotic smear
  • The "elite" campaign
  • Now the traitor to US smear, disguised as appeasement
AIPAC agent Hillary Clinton was assured that these smear campaigns targeted at Obama would topple him from the Presidential race, but none of them have worked so far. Now may be the time for the nuclear option. AIPAC will not allow a U.S. president to be elected that they cannot control 100%.

However, make no mistake about it, Obama has done AIPAC's bidding in Congress. Also, his official position paper on Israel and the Palestinians appears to have been written by AIPAC agents. The main areas where he is in conflict with AIPAC are the War in Iraq and relations with Iran.

But ask any congressman who has opposed AIPAC on any legislation and you will find that anything less than 100% agreement with AIPAC is considered unacceptable. These people are targeted by AIPAC. There campaign funding dries up; the funds go to their opponents. They are subjected to smear campaigns by the Israel Lobby and their agents.

The War in Iraq is an AIPAC war. The Iraq War is not a war for oil. It is a war of expansion in the Middle East to support the goals of those Israelis that seek a Greater Israel in the Middle East. If we do not stop this corrupting influence on American politics, it will destroy our society.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Ralph Nader on Israel-Palestine, Barack Obama

His better instincts...have been censored by himself. He was pro-Palestinian when he was in Illinois... now he is supporting the Israeli destruction of... Gaza. He doesn't have any sympathy for a civilian death ratio of about... 300 Palestinians to one Israeli.

Link to video

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Proposal: The Peace Lobby

I propose a Peace Lobby to counter the Israel Lobby. I prefer this name to the anti-Israel Lobby or pro-Palestinian Lobby, because it gives a much more positive and open image. By calling it the Peace Lobby we don't automatically turn off the intended audience before they have a chance to hear our message.

The Israel Lobby is the single most corrupting influence on American politics today. It has been the biggest proponent of the Iraq War and is now proposing a War with Iran. In order to counteract its pervasive influence on American politics we will need to unite to get our message across to the American people. This must begin with a grassroots movement since the Israel Lobby is so adept at pressuring the mass media into following their agenda. But they cannot pressure thousands of us working in unison from getting the word out through the internet. This can be done with a minimal budget. The biggest investment required is your time and commitment to this cause.

What is at stake? The lives of thousands of our young men and women in Uniform. The economic stability of the United States. The prestige of the American people around the world.

The Iraq War is not a war for oil. It is a war of expansion in the Middle East to support the goals of those Israelis that seek a Greater Israel in the Middle East. If we do not stop this corrupting influence on American politics, it will destroy our society.

Peace now!

Frank Hope

Hillary sends "dog whistle" to potential Obama assassins

Hillary's latest statements about why she is staying in the campaign saying that something might still happen to Obama that would change the results can only mean one thing. She is expecting Obama to be assassinated.

Remember when she said she was still in the race because he hadn't been vetted. Then she launched the kitchen sink. Vetted is a code word meaning that an AIPAC smear campaign is coming.

Now she is using more code, but this time it means the ultimate weapon is about to be employed. The one they used against JFK, RFK, and MLK. Next target is BHO.

Potential Obama assassins have received the "dog whistle" signal broadcast via the media. You didn't hear it because it wasn't intended for your ears, but to those in tune with this message it is loud and clear. Their ears have perked up and they are going about in preparation to complete this mission.

Wonder why Obama didn't campaign in West Virginia? No doubt there were strong rumors that an assassination attempt in WV was a strong possibility. Do you remember what happened to Rabin when he got to cozy with the PLO?

Wednesday, May 14, 2008

Note to Obama: Your website is being censored

Hi Barack,

If you are thinking that you are getting honest feedback from the bloggers on your website, think again. Whoever is in charge of administering your website is obviously part of the pro-Israel lobby. It seems that anyone that does not toe the AIPAC line on Israel gets their account deleted. I am the third case that I am aware of, but there must be many more.

Meanwhile someone can write a post titled "F..k Jeremiah Wright", but that post is never deleted. And the post I am referring to spelled out the "F" word in full. In fact if you don't believe me, here is a link.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/kenklassen/gGCJzd

But if you even suggest that maybe Israel should stop creating settlements on the West Bank or cluster bombing civilians in Lebanon, you automatically get the boot.

What a crock!

My last post contained the picture of a dying Iraqi child that caused some controversy when the Washington Post put it on their front page. The child was a victim of a "US air raid attack". I only put it up after I saw it on someone else's MyBO blog and figured if they did it then it was OK for me, but I guess if you have ever posted any anti-Zionist stuff then there is a different standard.

Here is a link to another post I am referring to that contained the picture of the child, Ali Hussein, who died. So if the MyBO staff is going to use the fact that I posted that picture as an excuse for giving me the boot, then they have just been exposed as Israel Lobby agents.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/post/paullyons/gGCSDV

Frank Hope

Obama on 60th Anniversary of Israel

This is very disturbing. Obama is repeating verbatim the AIPAC party line regarding Israel and the US relationship with Israel. These are the same types of statements that got us into the Iraq War and they will get us into a War with Iran as well... because according to AIPAC it is in the security interests of Israel and therefore it is also in the security interests of the United States.

What is the difference in practice between Obama saying he will be "an unwavering ally" and Clinton saying she will "obliterate Iran" if they attack Israel. We should be disengaging militarily from the Middle East. When was the last time Israel was attacked by another country? Iraq fired some Scud missles during the first Iraq War. Palestinians and Hezbollah firing rockets does not constitute a credible threat to Israel. If Israel were willing to trade land for peace as many Isrealis favor, then she could live in peace with her neighbors. Just look at Egypt and Jordan. They have recognized Israel and have not had any conflict with Israel since Carter's Camp David Peace Agreement.

----
(link to transcript)
BLITZER: I want to move on but on this 60th anniversary of Israel, what
does Israel mean to you?

OBAMA: Israel is not only our strongest ally in the region and one of
our strongest allies in the world but there is a special connection
between America and Israel, one that when I traveled to Israel was evident.

Not only do we share so much in terms of common culture, not only is it
the site of so much of our – my religious your faith and the site of so
much of our understanding of the world around us but what I love about
Israel is it is such a robust democracy and that they are committed to
principles like rule of law and civil rights and civil liberties and so
it is critical that we send a message around the world, we will stand
with Israel, we want them around not just for 60 years but for 600 years
and when I am president of the United States they will have an
unwavering ally in me.

Video: See Obama's response on CNN
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8AaL1Se38gg

Ralph Nader's earlier response to Obama's position on Israel-Palestine
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fz7EkulVyHo


---

My comments:

MYTH: Israel is one of our strongest allies in the world.
- Israel has been caught on numerous occasions spying against America. The most recent involved AIPAC members spying on America.
- Israel has not supplied any troops or weapons in Iraq.

MYTH: There is a special connection between America and Israel
- There is also a special connection between America and many European countries, but that does not justify Israel receiving more foreign aid in multiple forms from the US than any other country.

MYTH: Israel is a robust democracy with civil rights and civil liberties
- Palestinians in the occupied territories have their rights trampled on every day.

MYTH: US should be an unwavering ally to Israel
- US should put its interests first in the relationship with any foreign country. That should apply to Israel just as it applies to every other country. If Israel takes some action that is contrary to US interests then the US should not feel obliged to support those actions and policies.

Still experimenting

I'm still experimenting with this blog site, so please pardon the quality of the first few posts until I get the hang of it.

Some of the first stories coming out about the China earthquake

HIV, Bird Flu, Tibet, Earthquake... Whenever disaster strikes in China
the first reaction is to censor it.

---



http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3542458,00.html

Levine said that the Chinese media was censored due to the earthquake.
"The press channels were shut down, and the television was darkened
just like during the incidents in Tibet. We are trying to learn the
details from those people who know English, but we can't really
understand the extent of the event."

---



http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/34774,features,earthquake-shakes-chinas-development

In the race to develop every facet of Chinese society the government
has overseen the construction of tens of thousands of buildings that
fall below even the most basic safety requirements. Officials in
Sichuan province, the picturesque backwater at the epicentre of the
earthquake, were probably encouraged to throw up hundreds of cheap,
dangerous buildings in order to impress party bosses in Beijing.



Even a cursory visit to a major city in China reveals the shoddy
quality of so much of the recent building work. The desire to design
and construct cityscapes which will compete with Paris, New York and
London mean local planning commissions frequently sacrifice quality
materials for the sake of a flashy facade or extra height.



I lived in one such building in Beijing and it literally broke in half
while I was in it - an enormous fissure split it from top to bottom,
prompting the floor to buckle underfoot. Typically these building
projects are undertaken before anyone has calculated whether people can
afford to live or work in them. The skyscrapers which have shot up in
Shanghai, for example, are frequently empty.

---



http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/05/12/afx4995442.html

A powerful earthquake that shook southwestern China did not appear to
have caused major damage in the Sichuan provincial of capital Chengdu,
near the epicenter, state television reported on Monday.



A reporter for CCTV news in Chengdu. over 1,500 km from Beijing, said
residents of the city had poured out onto the streets following the
quake, measured at between 7.5 and 7.8 by various agencies, but that
public transport and electricity supplies remained operational.



Asked if anyone had been hurt in Chengdu, the reporter said: 'All
appears to be fine.'

---



US examining satellite images of China quake area

http://www.reuters.com/article/latestCrisis/idUSN12287376

The official said the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, or NGA,
was assessing high-altitude imagery as a routine step taken whenever a
natural disaster or another major event occurs someplace in the world.



U.S. spy satellites and other high-altitude surveillance platforms can
produce highly detailed pictures of damage to roads, railways, tunnels,
ports and coastlines.



The defense official declined to comment on what the images of China
show.



NGA is part of the Pentagon and analyzes overhead pictures from U2 spy
planes and Defense Department satellites.

---



Earthquake coverage on Chinese TV

http://jamesfallows.theatlantic.com/archives/2008/05/earthquake_coverage_on_chinese.php

- News channels from Taiwan, which we are watching in alternation with
the mainland coverage on CCTV, have extensive video footage from
Chengdu, estimates of casualties, etc. So far no on-scene video footage
that I've seen on CCTV-1, and no casualty figures. (The state news
agency, Xinhua, is saying that 7600 people, or more, may have died.)
Channel-surfing, we see that the German, Japanese, and Korean networks
are also running Chengdu footage. It could have been on CCTV when I
wasn't watching, but it's certainly not featured. CCTV is mainly
running telephone interviews with correspondents in Sichuan and
talking-head analyses in the studio. Possible background: controlling
coverage within China until being sure exactly how the story should be
presented. (Update: just saw a 20-second video clip from Chengdu on
CCTV.)

---

Is Mother Nature part of the Dalai Clique?

What a strange coincidence that just after the Olympic torch reached Mt. Everest, the ground shook.

Earthquake - over 50,000 dead and dam cracked
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article3931767.ece
Plaque on children
http://www.efluxmedia.com/news_Beijing_Reports_First_Victim_of_Child_Virus_17556.html

What next? Drought? A plague of locusts?
Does this remind you of the story of Moses in the Bible and the calamities that descended on Egypt?

If this were happening to Iran we would have evangelicals like Hagee declaring that it was the will of God. Regardless of whether this is a form of divine intervention, these events will impact China as the Beijing Olympics approaches.

China will be forced to open up to the foreign press and will have to divert military resources from repressing the Tibetan people.

And it will certainly reduce the number of people attending the Beijing Olympics.

Self censorship

One of my last comments on MyBO was about self censorship. If I recall correctly it went something like this...

"Self censorship is the worst form of censorship. It is an ominous omen that we are increasingly moving towards an authoritarian form of government in this country."

How ironic that just after that my account was deleted.

Rethinking Israel after Sixty Years

Here's an article I was going to post on MyBO (mybarackobama.com) before my account was deleted.

----

Rethinking Israel after Sixty Years
by Jeff Halper

Israeli Independence Day 2008, marking the sixtieth anniversary of the rise of the Jewish State on the ruins of Palestinian society, should be cause more for sober reflection and reevaluation than for celebration. True, Israeli Jews have much to celebrate. Only a few weeks ago the shekel joined the fifteen strongest currencies in the world, and with an economy fueled by diamonds, arms, high-tech, security services, and tourism, Israel's economy is booming. Israel's international position continues to soar: the European Union recently upgraded its links, German Chancellor Angela Merkel brought half her cabinet to Jerusalem to emphasize that Germany was Israel's "loyal partner," and President Bush will come for the second time in the past few months. Celebrities like Steven Spielberg (who withdrew as a cultural consultant to the Olympics in protest of China's human rights violations), Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Google founder Sergey Brin, Rupert Murdoch, and Henry Kissinger, alongside South African Nobel Laureate and anti-apartheid crusader Nadine Gordimer, will also grace the festivities. And as for the "conflict," it has been effectively removed from the public consciousness (with the exception of Sderot) as attacks inside Israel have been virtually eliminated. What's not to celebrate?

A lot, it turns out, though most of it exists beyond the bubble that insulates the Israeli public from its wider reality, and so does not dampen public celebrations. After sixty years, however, several fundamental developments have materialized which were not anticipated by the Zionist movement nor Israel's founding, but which must be squarely acknowledged and addressed. First, the vast majority of Jews did not and will not come to Israel. Israeli Jews represent, if emigrants are factored in, less than a third of the world Jewish community. Only 1% of American Jews ever came, and most of them are religious, even ultra-orthodox Jews, or the elderly, who live there only part-time. The reservoir of potential Jewish immigrants has been exhausted. Second, some 30% of Israel's population -- almost 50% if we include the Palestinians of the Occupied Territories who, it seems, will stay permanently under Israeli rule -- are not Jews. This is the Demographic Bomb, made even more threatening to a "Jewish state" by the fact that the Palestinians are a people whose national rights can no longer be denied. Israel/Palestine is a b-national country which somehow must either be partitioned or shared. And finally, the greatest irony of all, it is Israel, by its own hand, through its massive settlement project, that has foreclosed partition and created a thoroughly bi-national entity which can only lead to a one state or apartheid.

These realities are irrefutable; they have been exhaustively documented and are plain to anyone with the eyes (and open mind) to just look. What remains for anyone sincerely looking for justice, peace, security, and the well-being of Israel (dare I say of both peoples?) is to unflinchingly face this political equation and rethink the viability and justice of Israel as a Jewish state. Only then will we find a way, based on reality and the best interests of these two inextricably linked peoples rather than on wishful ideological preferences, to reconcile the "facts on the ground" with the rights, claims, and needs of all the country's inhabitants. That is not an easy task; it requires a fundamental re-conceptualization of the two-state paradigm and, with it, the very possibility of preserving Israel as a Jewish state. This rethinking is, however, a prerequisite to formulating a political program that, given the events of the last sixty years, has a fighting chance of resolving this conflict. It is also essential to redeeming Israel, whether as a country or as a national entity within a wider bi-national state or regional confederation.

Most dramatic development, one ignored or denied by Israelis even though their successive governments bear responsibility, is the disappearance of the two-state solution. Anyone familiar with Israel's massive settlements blocs, its fragmentation of the Palestinian territories and their irreversible incorporation into Israel proper through a maze of Israeli-only highways and other "facts on the ground," anyone who has spent an hour in the West Bank, can plainly see that this is true. The expansion of Israel's Matrix of Control throughout the Occupied Territories, coupled with an absolute American refusal to allow international pressures on Israel to meaningfully withdraw, has rendered a viable Palestinian state unattainable -- and thus the two-state solution, unless we Jews, Israeli and Diaspora, are willing to become the world's new Afrikaners ruling permanently over an impoverished Palestinian mini-state, a chilling thought on this 60th anniversary.

It turns out, however, that we have mechanisms for both delaying forever a political solution and avoiding the predicament of apartheid. It is enough that we maintain a de facto apartheid since, for the vast majority of Israeli Jews, it is enough to merely assert a two-state solution, to profess to support it as a general idea, in order to considered peace-minded. In fact, most Israeli Jews, like most Jews of the Diaspora, require a Palestinian state as a condition for the existence of a Jewish one, the alternative being a bi-national state which is anathema to a Jewish one. But since being in de facto control is better than making concessions but can nevertheless be presented as a "pro-peace" position, two-state supporters require only the notion of a Palestinian state, a never-ending process towards it. Especially since few believe in, genuinely aspire to, or even care about such an eventuality. As long as a Palestinian state can be held out as a possibility, the pressure's off.

Thus many Israelis, Diaspora Jews, and others --- including such searching and otherwise radical figures as Noam Chomsky and Uri Avnery, together with the Peace Now, Brit Tzedek, Rabbis Michael Lerner and Arthur Waskow and members of Rabbis for Human Rights -- cling tenaciously to the two-state solution, all refusing to admit that it is no longer viable as a solution. (A growing coterie of Jewish organizations -- ICAHD, the Jewish Voice for Peace, parts of the European Jews for Just Peace coalition and others -- are unable to reconcile Israel's "facts on the ground" and unconditional support for its occupation policies on the part of the US and Europe with the prospect for a genuine two-state solution. While not yet embracing a one-state solution, they advocate a kind of holding pattern, expressed in the phrase "end the Occupation," until some viable solution emerges, a rational position nonetheless considered "radical.")

Underlying this refusal to even entertain the notion that a two-state solution is no longer possible is the realization that, if a Palestinian state cannot be detached from Israel, then the conflict is one which encompasses the entire country from the Mediterranean to the Jordan River. This, in turn, raises issues we'd rather leave untouched, events and policies we have suppressed these past 60 years. A Palestinian state -- or, again, the prospect of a Palestinian state -- is needed, above all, not for the Palestinians but for us Israelis. It is the only thing that will leave Israel intact as a country and, no less important, leave its dybbuks at rest.

And the dybbuks -- any sense of guilt or responsibility for the terrible events of 1948 and thereafter -- are at rest, and thus the festive spirit of the 60 Years in Israel. They have been exorcised from our public mind. Focusing exclusively on a two-state solution, on the Occupation, leaves Israel itself intact, removed from the political discussion, off the hook. The threat to modern Israeli narrative, legitimacy, and political claims by going beyond 1967 to 1948 -- a threat inherent in marking 60 Years -- has been excised. But if the dybbuks have been silenced, the Palestinian poltergeist of 1948 continues to stir under the feet of the dancing Israelis. For a good half of the people of Palestine/Israel, the 60 Years is precisely the issue, the unresolved Nakba, the catastrophe as present and alive for Palestinians as the Holocaust is for the Jews. The 60 Year anniversary takes us beyond the Occupation to those issues and questions we have so successfully blocked out, which we refuse to acknowledge or discuss.

Did the Palestinians really flee or did we, the Israeli Jews, drive them out? If almost half the inhabitants of that part of Palestine apportioned by the UN to the Jews in 1947 were Arabs, how could we have turned even that small bit of land into a "Jewish state"? Is Zionism, then, truly free of war crimes or did we in fact conduct a deliberate and cruel campaign of ethnic cleansing that went far beyond the borders of partition? In that context, was the occupation of the entire land of Palestine the result of Jordanian miscalculation or, from a perspective of forty years later, was in actually an inevitable "completion" of 1948, as Rabin and many others have said? Can we reconcile a genuine desire for peace with a steady annexation of the Occupied Territories, including almost 250 settlements? Do we prefer a false peace -- insulation from attacks even as Palestinian resistance to occupation grows -- to territorial concession leading to a viable Palestinian state? Can we really expect to "win," to frustrate Palestinian aspirations for freedom in their homeland forever, and if we do, what kind of society will we have, what will our children inherit? Do we have a responsibility towards the Palestinians as the people who dispossessed them of their land, first and foremost the refugees of 1948 and 1967 and the tens of thousands of families whose homes we wantonly demolished? As Israeli Jews speaking in the name of world Jewry, can we expect our Diaspora to support a crime going on these past 60 years and thereby implicate them, thus undermining the moral basis of their community, convictions, and faith? And the hardest question of all: What about the moral basis of Zionism? Are we truly the victims, or have we perpetrated a terrible crime for which redemption means coming to terms with what we have done -- a task far harder than simply making peace? If Palestinians are understandably preoccupied with throwing off the oppressive Occupation and reclaiming at least a part of their country, their identity and their freedom, shouldn't we Israelis be equally preoccupied with cleansing ourselves of the transgressions that require us to suppress our guilt, shirk our responsibilities, and, in the end, fail to reconcile with the Palestinians with whom we are so entangled despite a hundred "generous offers"?

For Israeli Jews, 60 Years is a cause for celebration rather than reflection. Still, the poltergeist churns, the celebrations are exaggerated, even forced, an unsettled disquiet permeating the festivities, most visibly in the presence of thousands of soldiers and distinctly militaristic character. The Palestinian people, exhausted, brutalized, impoverished, steadfastly refuse to disappear or submit. In 1967 Israel defeated the entire Arab world in six days; after more than 40 years it is unable to pacify the unarmed Palestinians. As the history of colonialism shows, a people cannot be defeated, oppression cannot be normalized or sustained, no matter how strong the dominating regime seems to be. Nineteen sixty-seven had to do with occupation. Had we dealt with that wisely and justly, Israel today could have been a Jewish state on 78% of the Land of Israel living at peace with its neighbors. Nineteen forty-eight, the focus of the 60 Years, is a different matter entirely. With the Occupation having been transformed into a permanent political fact (a Palestinian prison-state a la a South African Bantustan will not resolve the conflict), the question of peace, co-existence, and reconciliation now shifts to the entire country, to an indivisible Israel/Palestine. No need to blame the Palestinian for that; they accepted the two-state solution way back in 1988. It is us, those who thought (and still think) that military power combined with Jewish victimhood can defy a people's will to freedom, who carry the responsibility.

Nothing remains, if we want to salvage a national Jewish/Israeli presence in Palestine/Israel, but to courageously confront what we did in both 1967 and 1948 so as to transform the 60 Years into the turning point whereby we finally dealt with the presence in our country of another people with equal claims and rights. When we truly quiet the poltergeist and put our dybbuks to rest. Supremely difficult, the fundamental rethinking this will require is the only way out. And if, in the end, because of our policies, a bi-national polity emerges in Israel/Palestine, well, if done in a spirit of mutual recognition and reconciliation, it may in fact represent the original and ultimate aspiration of Zionism: a genuine homecoming of the Jewish nation to the hearth of its civilization. Now that will be a cause for genuine, unfettered celebration.

MyBO account deleted

Today my account on MyBO was deleted. So I can start to concentrate on this blog. As far as I can tell the account was deleted because of some remarks I made with respect to US policy in Israel.

Yes. The pro-Israel lobby is alive and well in the Obama campaign and up to its usual tactics of attacking anyone that doesn't toe the line.