The name of the holiday is "Independence Day"
Its not, "the Fourth of July". Yet, that's what's blasted at each of us out of the corporate media boxes. Everything says 'Fourth of July". You very rarely see "Independence Day."
Is there something that they want us to forget?
How would Bill O'Reily and friends react if someone tried to take the "Christ" out of "Christmas" by just calling the holiday "the Twenty-Fifth of December"?
This holiday celebrates all that was and is great about America. It celebrates that once in this land there were people willing to stand up to governments, armies and corporations and declare their INDEPENDENCE! It celebrates that they were willing to fight for years to win it.
And it should serve as a reminder that we are a free people in a free land.
Why do they want us to forget this?
Call the holiday by its proper name .... "INDEPENDENCE DAY!"
Saturday, July 3, 2010
Thursday, July 1, 2010
War Funding Vote today.
What really should be happening is that we should be gathered around the Capital in our millions, demanding that these billions be spent instead on unemployment benefits and economic stimulus that would benefit American citizens.
But since we're not that smart or that active, we should at least be bombarding every Congresspersons office with our phone calls and emails. Here's a link to a site begging 21 so-called 'progressive' Congresspeople to actually vote like they talk. And contact your own Representative. The Capital Hill switchboard number is (202) 224-3121.
And, don't be fooled by the Democrats' trickery with fake votes and half votes and the like. Just wait until the dust is settled, then look to see if the war is funded or not funded. If at the end of the day the war is funded, then you know the Democrats support this war (again). That will be the clear sign that this is the Democrat's war and that a vote this fall for the Democrats is a vote for more and more and more war.
You've seen the Collateral Murder video (if not, scroll down to embedded player below). Today you get to find out if the Democratic majority in the House spends more of your money to keep that happening again and again. Or if they stand and say no more by stopping the money that pays for the war.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Corruption
U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman, who overturned an offshore-drilling moratorium imposed by the Obama administration in the wake of the Gulf-spill crisis, owned stock in a drilling corporation that was, in the company's own words, "suffer[ing]" because of the ban.
C'mon man. You got to be kidding me.
Should be interesting to watch. Does this crooked ban that's endangering American security and safety get overturned? Does the judge get any sort of penalty for his conflict of interest in this case? Wouldn't bet in favor of either one in today's corrupt America. Instead, this just sounds like business as usual.
Surely the name of the judge should have raised a few eyebrows during his confirmation?
The Images Israel Didn’t Want Seen: Video and Photographs from the Gaza-Bound Aid Flotilla
The Images Israel Didn’t Want Seen: Video and Photographs from the Gaza-Bound Aid Flotilla from Democracy Now!
15 minutes of video shot from onboard the Gaza Flotilla ships and smuggled somehow past the Israelis who've confiscated the film from all the other cameras you see in the video. Follow the link above to more, including a 5 min version of this footage, images taken from the ships, and interviews with the people who took this images and video.
15 minutes of video shot from onboard the Gaza Flotilla ships and smuggled somehow past the Israelis who've confiscated the film from all the other cameras you see in the video. Follow the link above to more, including a 5 min version of this footage, images taken from the ships, and interviews with the people who took this images and video.
More random West
Regarding the intellectual defects of Du Bois' noble endeavor: First, he assumes that highbrow culture is inherently humanizing, and that exposure and immersion in great works produce good people. Yet, we have little reason to believe that people who delight in the works of geniuses like Mozart and Beethoven or Goethe or Wordsworth are any more or less humane than those who dance in the barnyards to the banjo plucking of nameless rural folk in Tennessee.
Well, this writer started off dancing to banjo picking in Tennessee. And in fact, when I lived back east, my favorite way to spend a weekend was to go back up to the mountains and find a bluegrass festival. And I did it not only for the fine music, which was very fine indeed, especially if one accepts American improvisational concepts that come from jazz and blues as being as fine an art form as the prepared playing of the classics by an orchestra.
But mostly, I went for the people. Go to a bluegrass festival, especially the ones the hippy kids hang out at, and you are likely to meet the kindest, gentlest and most peaceful people you'll ever meet. You could pick a random spot to plop a tent down for the weekend, and almost always be camping near kind people who would become great friends before the weekend was done.
If the people dancing to banjo plucking at these music festivals ran the world, we'd have no wars, and we'd all live in a much kinder and just world.
Is Advice From the IMF Better Than Advice From a Drunk on the Street?
Is Advice From the IMF Better Than Advice From a Drunk on the Street? by Dean Baker.
If a track record of accurate predictions is a guide to the usefulness of a writer, then Dean Baker is one of the more useful economists around. He was predicting the collapse of the housing bubble and the resulting economic problems while the CNN and CNBC cheerleaders were telling us all how wonderful the economy was.
Oh, and while the IMF wasn't predicting this either ...
And as to the question Mr. Baker poses today, I think I'd gladly prefer the advice of a drunk off the street. After all, the drunk off the street is far more likely to be aware of the problems that us non-bankers might be experiencing, while the IMF is certain to be pushing whatever the bankers want today.
Yep, the drunk on the street is definitely going to have better ideas than that.
Oh, and for those who don't know what the kids in the street of Toronto are protesting, this is it. They are protesting these austerity measures. They are the ones trying to convince the world that these 'austerity' measures are a very bad idea for most of us.
If a track record of accurate predictions is a guide to the usefulness of a writer, then Dean Baker is one of the more useful economists around. He was predicting the collapse of the housing bubble and the resulting economic problems while the CNN and CNBC cheerleaders were telling us all how wonderful the economy was.
Oh, and while the IMF wasn't predicting this either ...
Where was the IMF when the housing bubble in the United States and elsewhere was inflating to ever more dangerous levels? Was it frantically yelling at governments to rein in the bubbles before they burst with disastrous consequences? After all, what could possibly have been more important than warning of the dangers of these bubbles?
It was easy to both recognize the housing bubbles and that their collapse would have devastating consequences for the economy. Economies don’t adjust easily to a loss of wealth that in some cases exceeded 50 percent of GDP.
Real economists know this, but apparently the folks at the IMF did not, or if they did, they didn’t think it was worth saying anything. One will look in vain through IMF publications during the buildup of the housing bubble for serious warnings of the potential dangers.
And as to the question Mr. Baker poses today, I think I'd gladly prefer the advice of a drunk off the street. After all, the drunk off the street is far more likely to be aware of the problems that us non-bankers might be experiencing, while the IMF is certain to be pushing whatever the bankers want today.
The impact of most of its proposals will be to reduce the benefits received by ordinary workers. The proposed changes in labor market regulations will likely also weaken workers’ bargaining power, leading to cuts in wages. Furthermore, the reduction in demand caused by the turn to austerity will leave millions more out of work, both depriving these workers of income and further weakening the bargaining power of those who still have jobs.
Yep, the drunk on the street is definitely going to have better ideas than that.
Oh, and for those who don't know what the kids in the street of Toronto are protesting, this is it. They are protesting these austerity measures. They are the ones trying to convince the world that these 'austerity' measures are a very bad idea for most of us.
Monday, June 28, 2010
Honduras, One year after the coup
Honduras, After Democracy by Bill Quigley.
Since what's been going on in Honduras after the coup is largely blacked out in America, this is a useful article to read.
I do think Mr. Quigley goes too lightly on Obama when he says ....
From the American left, there seems to be a fundamental unwillingness to accept Obama's real role in the coup. There is not some mysterious 'leadership vacuum' that's mysteriously allowed right-wingers to control US foreign policy. The very best you can say about Obama is that he's deliberately created this 'vaccum' because he wants right-wing policies in effect. But even that is letting Obama off lightly, because in my opinion he's supported and backed this coup from the beginning. There's only one statement from his administration right after the coup to the contrary. And by now, surely everyone is learning not to trust what Obama says.
First, the left apparently was never willing to acknowledge that Obama has constantly attacked Chavez just like the rest of right-wing rhetoric. A quick google search found this item from Talk Left. This is an Obama quote from 2008.
Note carefully also the way Obama characterized Bush's 'failure' south of the border. This was a constant Obama campaign theme, and it essentially said that the growing signs of independent democracies in South America was a sign of a foreign policy failure by Bush. And the unspoken part of this is that he's saying in 2008 that he'll fix Bush's 'failures' in South America. Presumably by trying to roll back this democracy movement that we see in places like Venezuela and Bolivia.
Then, in Obama's first year, a democratically elected President who's somewhat allied with Chavez gets overthrown in a coup. Yet, the lefties in the US still have such blinders on about who Obama is and what he's really doing that they write these bizarre theories about mysterious "leadership vacuums" that somehow let the American right wing mysteriously do exactly what Obama was saying that he'd do before the election. The left seems incapable of realizing that this was really Obama's policy.
The first step towards solving a problem is to correctly understand the problem. The fact that the left in this country can not see that it was Obama who approved and staged the coup against Honduras' democratically elected President is quite worrying. Because it means there's no solution to this anytime soon when people go to such great lengths to see mysterious vacuums instead of the real problems.
I hope the people of Honduras aren't waiting for help from us. Because even the people who should be their supporters in America have such blinders on concerning Obama that they simply can't see that its their great progressive leader who is the problem.
The American left could maybe ask Honduras' deposed president what he thinks.
See Also: Democracy Now! segment One Year After Coup, Honduras Repression Continues
Since what's been going on in Honduras after the coup is largely blacked out in America, this is a useful article to read.
I do think Mr. Quigley goes too lightly on Obama when he says ....
A leadership vacuum in the Obama Administration regarding Honduras has led to extreme right-wing ideologues directing US policy there. These people are hell bent on stopping the growing populist movements throughout Latin America from gaining more influence and power. Some, such as Otto Reich and Roger Noriega, have moved from positions in the State Department and United Nations into private lobbying firms or conservative think tanks. Others, such as Robert Carmona-Borjas, who was granted asylum in the US after his involvement in the attempted coup against Hugo Chavez, are working for so-called NGOs that use vague missions such as “anti-corruption” to mask the foreign policy work they do.
From the American left, there seems to be a fundamental unwillingness to accept Obama's real role in the coup. There is not some mysterious 'leadership vacuum' that's mysteriously allowed right-wingers to control US foreign policy. The very best you can say about Obama is that he's deliberately created this 'vaccum' because he wants right-wing policies in effect. But even that is letting Obama off lightly, because in my opinion he's supported and backed this coup from the beginning. There's only one statement from his administration right after the coup to the contrary. And by now, surely everyone is learning not to trust what Obama says.
First, the left apparently was never willing to acknowledge that Obama has constantly attacked Chavez just like the rest of right-wing rhetoric. A quick google search found this item from Talk Left. This is an Obama quote from 2008.
[D]emagogues like Hugo Chavez have stepped into this vacuum [of a failed US Latin America policy.] His predictable yet perilous mix of anti-American rhetoric, authoritarian government, and checkbook diplomacy offers the same false promise as the tried and failed ideologies of the past.
Note carefully also the way Obama characterized Bush's 'failure' south of the border. This was a constant Obama campaign theme, and it essentially said that the growing signs of independent democracies in South America was a sign of a foreign policy failure by Bush. And the unspoken part of this is that he's saying in 2008 that he'll fix Bush's 'failures' in South America. Presumably by trying to roll back this democracy movement that we see in places like Venezuela and Bolivia.
Then, in Obama's first year, a democratically elected President who's somewhat allied with Chavez gets overthrown in a coup. Yet, the lefties in the US still have such blinders on about who Obama is and what he's really doing that they write these bizarre theories about mysterious "leadership vacuums" that somehow let the American right wing mysteriously do exactly what Obama was saying that he'd do before the election. The left seems incapable of realizing that this was really Obama's policy.
The first step towards solving a problem is to correctly understand the problem. The fact that the left in this country can not see that it was Obama who approved and staged the coup against Honduras' democratically elected President is quite worrying. Because it means there's no solution to this anytime soon when people go to such great lengths to see mysterious vacuums instead of the real problems.
I hope the people of Honduras aren't waiting for help from us. Because even the people who should be their supporters in America have such blinders on concerning Obama that they simply can't see that its their great progressive leader who is the problem.
The American left could maybe ask Honduras' deposed president what he thinks.
"What we suspected at the beginning has now been confirmed. The United States was behind the coup."
See Also: Democracy Now! segment One Year After Coup, Honduras Repression Continues
Pragmatic pragmatism
"Prophetic pragmatism worships at no ideological alters. It condemns oppression anywhere and everywhere, be it the brutal butchery of Third World dictators, the regimentation and repressions of peoples in the Soviet Union, or the racism, patriarchy, homophobia and economic injustice of the First World capitalist nations.
In this way, the precious ideals of individuality and democracy of prophetic pragmatism oppose all those power structures that lack public accountability, be they headed by military generals, bureaucratic party bosses, or corporate tycoons.
Nor is prophetic pragmatism confined to any preordained historical agent, such as the working class, black people, or women. Rather, it invites all people of goodwill, both here and abroad to fight for an Emersonian culture of creative democracy in which the plight of the wretched of the earth is alleviated."
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Kinsey for Senate
In Colorado, we are lucky to have a voice for peace and real change on the ballot for US Senator ... Bob Kinsey.
This is Bob speaking at the Hands Across the Sands event in Denver on June 26.
If you live in Colorado, support Bob. Visit his website at kinseyforsenate.org
If you don't live in Colorado, find out who's on your ballot. Since we will only win with grassroots power, you can't wait until election day. You have to get involved now if you want real change.
This is Bob speaking at the Hands Across the Sands event in Denver on June 26.
If you live in Colorado, support Bob. Visit his website at kinseyforsenate.org
If you don't live in Colorado, find out who's on your ballot. Since we will only win with grassroots power, you can't wait until election day. You have to get involved now if you want real change.
Thursday, June 24, 2010
Get Involved!
This is from a local Denver Green Party effort. The local Green Party is doing a cable access TV show, and a few weeks ago picked the Gaza Flotilla attack as the topic.
Its a fascinating discussion, well worth listening too.
Don't laugh too much at the editing ... this was my first try at that. :)
If you're reading this in Denver, come get involved. If you are reading this somewhere else, then look around, the same might be happening near you. Or if not, you can start it. The technology to do make a video is within everyone's grasp.
In Denver, we are fortunate to have Denver Open Media, as a collective to purchase some good gear and provide some nice studio space. But, even without that, a video can be made these days with home video gear and editing on a home computer.
Its a fascinating discussion, well worth listening too.
Don't laugh too much at the editing ... this was my first try at that. :)
If you're reading this in Denver, come get involved. If you are reading this somewhere else, then look around, the same might be happening near you. Or if not, you can start it. The technology to do make a video is within everyone's grasp.
In Denver, we are fortunate to have Denver Open Media, as a collective to purchase some good gear and provide some nice studio space. But, even without that, a video can be made these days with home video gear and editing on a home computer.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Time to arrest all Americans
Two stories currently in the news lead to this statement.
Supreme Court upholds terrorism support law This is the law that outlaws any support of any kind to a 'terrorist' organization. Even advice on non-violent conflict resolution is subject to charges under this law.
Probe: US Tax Dollars May Be Funding Taliban In order to truck supplies through Afghanistan, US military contractors are paying protection money to the Taliban. $2 million to $4 million a week. Undoubtedly these costs are being passed along by charging higher rates, and thus eventually paid for by the US tax payer.
Put these two together, and its now clear that every US tax payer is now guilty of providing support to a terrorist organization. We've all paid taxes, and a portion of those taxes have been used to fund the Taliban. I'd say that prison building is about to become a huge growth industry, even more than before, but I'm not sure who will be building these since we'll all be inside the wire.
Maybe we can cut a deal pleading ignorance as to what our taxes were used for. But it occurs to me that this is only possible until the next election. Because on the next election day, we can vote to continue these same Bush/Obama policies on the Afghan war.
Or we can vote for candidates who will do something different. Like get us the heck out of there so we can stop paying protection money to Osama Bin Laden's friends in the Taliban.
Supreme Court upholds terrorism support law This is the law that outlaws any support of any kind to a 'terrorist' organization. Even advice on non-violent conflict resolution is subject to charges under this law.
Probe: US Tax Dollars May Be Funding Taliban In order to truck supplies through Afghanistan, US military contractors are paying protection money to the Taliban. $2 million to $4 million a week. Undoubtedly these costs are being passed along by charging higher rates, and thus eventually paid for by the US tax payer.
Put these two together, and its now clear that every US tax payer is now guilty of providing support to a terrorist organization. We've all paid taxes, and a portion of those taxes have been used to fund the Taliban. I'd say that prison building is about to become a huge growth industry, even more than before, but I'm not sure who will be building these since we'll all be inside the wire.
Maybe we can cut a deal pleading ignorance as to what our taxes were used for. But it occurs to me that this is only possible until the next election. Because on the next election day, we can vote to continue these same Bush/Obama policies on the Afghan war.
Or we can vote for candidates who will do something different. Like get us the heck out of there so we can stop paying protection money to Osama Bin Laden's friends in the Taliban.
Wikileaks video - "Collateral Murder"
Here's the Wikileaks video, "Collateral Murder", of the shooting of the Reuters employees (and about 10 others, including children) in Iraq. It opens with an appropriate Orwell quote
What struck me about this video is that the horror just keeps getting worse. You think you've seen the worst of it, and that the rest of the video will just wind down. But then decision after decision just keeps making this even more horrific.
Wikileaks deserves support.
"Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable, and to give the appearence of solidity to pure wind" - George Orwell
What struck me about this video is that the horror just keeps getting worse. You think you've seen the worst of it, and that the rest of the video will just wind down. But then decision after decision just keeps making this even more horrific.
Wikileaks deserves support.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
We're Number 1!!!!!!!!
Three Charts to Break Your Heart from Reason Magazine ======================== Yes folks, we did it. We stayed number one. Russia is pushing us hard for world domination, but we managed to stay ahead and keep our number one ranking.Sorry, Russia isn't on that chart. Only the pikers like the Mexicans and the Turks who run country club prisons. And everyone knows that Sweden is just run by the crime lords. No, you'll find our slim lead over Russia on this next chart. As you can see, we've got to be throwing more of our citizens into prison every day just to keep our vital lead in the prison race over Russia.
Of course, we don't do this just for fun, right? We do this because we have to do it. We have to protect ourselves from dangerous criminals. Only by locking away those who would rape and murder and steal can we all be safe. Obviously, all these police we've hired and the arrests we've made and the courts we've packed with former prosecutors as judges and all the prison's we've built have made a big impact on crime, right?
The bump in the crime wave in the early 90's was largely demographics, and the decrease since probably has to do with more of the population becoming aging baby-boomers. Anyways, one can easily see that we used to have basically the same crime rates in 1974 with only about 1/10th as many of our citizens in prison. 
But hey, we've got to do it. We've got to keep locking up our citizens because if we don't the Russians and maybe even the Rwandans might catch us and no longer will be able to point our foam fingers proudly in the air and scream that we're number one!Unless you're a fan of freedom. If you think America stands for freedom, these charts say we're dead last.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
What's the big deal?
One Year After Cairo, Obama's Speech: Promises Made; Promises Unkept By ESAM AL-AMIN
Yes, folks, it was one year ago that Obama was making his famous speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. One year later, VP Joe Biden is saying "What's the big deal?" about Israel machine gunning 70 unarmed activists on a humanitarian aid mission.
There's a scorecard in the article. Obama's 0 for 10 in keeping the promises he made in that speech.
This is the problem with Obama. He speaks wonderful words sometimes. But he doesn't mean them. You judge where someone is by their actions, and look at Obama supporting Israeli piracy and murder.
Obama speaks wonderful words. Just don't listen to them. Or, if you listen to enjoy the craft of his excellent speechwriters, then fine. Just don't believe them.
Yes, folks, it was one year ago that Obama was making his famous speech to the Muslim world in Cairo. One year later, VP Joe Biden is saying "What's the big deal?" about Israel machine gunning 70 unarmed activists on a humanitarian aid mission.
There's a scorecard in the article. Obama's 0 for 10 in keeping the promises he made in that speech.
This is the problem with Obama. He speaks wonderful words sometimes. But he doesn't mean them. You judge where someone is by their actions, and look at Obama supporting Israeli piracy and murder.
Obama speaks wonderful words. Just don't listen to them. Or, if you listen to enjoy the craft of his excellent speechwriters, then fine. Just don't believe them.
Thursday, June 3, 2010
American shot 4 times to the head
American, 19, Among Gaza Flotilla Dead from ABC.
Shot at close range, with four bullets to the head and one in his chest. Anyone who's ever watched anything from "CSI" to "Law and Order" to "The Sopranos" knows that's an assassin's kill. One to the heart, one to the head, from close range of course, that's the classic assassin's kill. Maybe the Criminal Minds at the BAU would tell us that the 4 to the head instead was a sign of rage towards the victim. Or maybe it was an young Israeli assassin's first kill, and he just got over excited and wasted bullets?
People who are defending themselves in a fight don't usually take the time to aim at the head. Its a smaller target than the body, and if someone is attacking you, what you want to do is stop them. So you aim for the big target. If you deliberately try a head shot and miss, the attacker might be on top of you.
Its very unlikely that a killing in self defense involved four shots to the head. What, the first three didn't stop him so the soldier had to fire a fourth time?
And look at the overall numbers. 19 dead, 60 wounded. That's not an accident. That's not somebody struggling for a gun and getting hurt. That's people opening fire on a crowd of unarmed people with a machine gun. Or multiple people firing with multiple machine guns. The typical American gun nut in a mall usually can't rack up scores that high, so this is most likely multiple people with machine guns firing into a crowd.
There are huge holes in Israel's story that any thinking person can see.
But don't expect it to get any better .... the official investigation of this is left to the Israelis. Now there's a deal even Tony Soprano could never get. Being named the head investigator on one of his own hits.
PS ... note how the early testimony from eye-witnesses, such as below, and which was denied by Israel's apologists, now turns out to be true once Israel can no longer hide at least some of the evidence ... his body.
A U.S. citizen who lived in Turkey is among the nine people killed when Israeli commandos stormed a Turkish aid ship heading for the Gaza Strip, officials said today. The victim was identified as Furkan Dogan, 19, a Turkish-American. A forensic report said he was shot at close range, with four bullets in his head and one in his chest, according to the Anatolian news agency.
Shot at close range, with four bullets to the head and one in his chest. Anyone who's ever watched anything from "CSI" to "Law and Order" to "The Sopranos" knows that's an assassin's kill. One to the heart, one to the head, from close range of course, that's the classic assassin's kill. Maybe the Criminal Minds at the BAU would tell us that the 4 to the head instead was a sign of rage towards the victim. Or maybe it was an young Israeli assassin's first kill, and he just got over excited and wasted bullets?
People who are defending themselves in a fight don't usually take the time to aim at the head. Its a smaller target than the body, and if someone is attacking you, what you want to do is stop them. So you aim for the big target. If you deliberately try a head shot and miss, the attacker might be on top of you.
Its very unlikely that a killing in self defense involved four shots to the head. What, the first three didn't stop him so the soldier had to fire a fourth time?
And look at the overall numbers. 19 dead, 60 wounded. That's not an accident. That's not somebody struggling for a gun and getting hurt. That's people opening fire on a crowd of unarmed people with a machine gun. Or multiple people firing with multiple machine guns. The typical American gun nut in a mall usually can't rack up scores that high, so this is most likely multiple people with machine guns firing into a crowd.
There are huge holes in Israel's story that any thinking person can see.
But don't expect it to get any better .... the official investigation of this is left to the Israelis. Now there's a deal even Tony Soprano could never get. Being named the head investigator on one of his own hits.
PS ... note how the early testimony from eye-witnesses, such as below, and which was denied by Israel's apologists, now turns out to be true once Israel can no longer hide at least some of the evidence ... his body.
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Some of them shot in the passengers' heads. Many people were murdered – it was unimaginable."
Gaza flotilla raid: 'We heard gunfire – then our ship turned into lake of blood' from the Guardian(UK).
Israel tried to control the story for a day by detaining these people. But, now they've been released and its becoming possible to hear eye-witness accounts of the raid. You really should go read this .... and its ok to cry.
and
To hear that she expected to be shot in the legs is horrifying. Shooting in the air to do a Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation and scare people is one thing, but just shooting people in the legs for the heck of it, that makes me shudder. Then, the true horror comes as you read on and realize that this is just setting up that they were directly shooting people in the heads instead.
Of course the fact that the Israelis were deliberately shooting at the heads of their victims will not surprise anyone in Gaza.
There's more than that ... follow the link. I can't copy any more of it right now.
Israel tried to control the story for a day by detaining these people. But, now they've been released and its becoming possible to hear eye-witness accounts of the raid. You really should go read this .... and its ok to cry.
"I can promise there was not a single weapon aboard the ships," he told a reporter who was returning to Sweden with him after the writer had been deported by Israel.
and
Iara Lee, a Brazilian filmmaker who was also on the Mavi Marmara, claimed the Israeli troops had invaded the ship after cutting all communications and "started shooting at people". She spoke to Brazil's TV Globo from the prison in southern Israel where an estimated 600 foreign activists, including around 40 Britons, were being held. Israeli officials said tonight that they would all be freed immediately.
Lee said: "[The attack] was a surprise, because it happened in the middle of the night, in the darkness, in international waters, because we knew there would be a confrontation but not in international waters. Their first tactic was to cut all of our satellite communications and then they attacked. All I witnessed first hand was the shooting. They came on board and started shooting at people."
She said the commandos then sent the women to a lower level of the ship.
"They said we were terrorists – it was absurd. They came into the part where the women were, lots and lots of them, dressed in black and with gigantic weapons as if they were in a war. They confiscated all of our telephones and all of our luggage and took everything out of the bags and put it on the floor."
"We expected them to shoot people in the legs, to shoot in the air, just to scare people, but they were direct," she said, in a separate interview with the Folha de São Paulo newspaper. "Some of them shot in the passengers' heads. Many people were murdered – it was unimaginable."
To hear that she expected to be shot in the legs is horrifying. Shooting in the air to do a Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation and scare people is one thing, but just shooting people in the legs for the heck of it, that makes me shudder. Then, the true horror comes as you read on and realize that this is just setting up that they were directly shooting people in the heads instead.
Of course the fact that the Israelis were deliberately shooting at the heads of their victims will not surprise anyone in Gaza.
There's more than that ... follow the link. I can't copy any more of it right now.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
What my Congressperson really thinks.
This is the bottom left corner of my Congressperson's web page.The message seems rather unmistakable.
Felony Murder
The Flotilla Massacre - Israeli Commandos Fired Unprovoked Into Sleeping Civilians: Eyewitnesses By Nafeez Ahmed
Of course, I have no idea what happened out in the Med. I wasn't there. But, since major corporations will be blasting the Israeli version of events at you a thousand times today, I thought I'd post what the other side is saying.
If they were shooting the moment they hit the deck, which the Israelis deny, then that's premeditated murder.
I'd love to get a CSI team on that ship. What do the gunshot patterns look like? Do they look like they were fired by someone descending on a rope from a helicopter? Do the locations of the gunshot impacts agree with the stories of struggles with the passengers? Or do they look like someone who'd just hit the deck opened fire?
Israel is denying all access to the ship, and to any videos or pictures that they don't release? It seems as if the last thing they want is to have any of these questions answered.
If someone dies when you commit a crime, that's felony murder. The boarding was definitely a crime. It was a ship of unarmed people and building supplies who'd been videoed ever since they'd assembled. It was 40 miles off the coast. There is no claim of Israeli self defense because Israel was under no immediate threat from a floating pile of lumber forty miles off its coast.
If someone commits armed robbery, and if the victim struggles for the gun and it goes off, the robber is still held responsible. It doesn't matter who struggled or who resisted. These are not justifications of murder.
No US court would accept from a defendant the claim that he had to kill a jewelry store clerk in self defense because he resisted his attempt at armed robbery. There is no reason to accept this from Israel.
Then, the following shocking account at 6:30 yesterday morning, from Greta Berlin - an account which not only explains why whatever the crew of peace activists did, they were doing it in self-defence, amidst an unfolding massacre:
Under darkness of night, Israeli commandoes dropped from a helicopter onto the Turkish passenger ship, Mavi Marmara, and began to shoot the moment their feet hit the deck. They fired directly into the crowd of civilians asleep... Streaming video shows the Israeli soldiers shooting at civilians, and our last SPOT beacon said, "HELP, we are being contacted by the Israelis."
Of course, I have no idea what happened out in the Med. I wasn't there. But, since major corporations will be blasting the Israeli version of events at you a thousand times today, I thought I'd post what the other side is saying.
If they were shooting the moment they hit the deck, which the Israelis deny, then that's premeditated murder.
I'd love to get a CSI team on that ship. What do the gunshot patterns look like? Do they look like they were fired by someone descending on a rope from a helicopter? Do the locations of the gunshot impacts agree with the stories of struggles with the passengers? Or do they look like someone who'd just hit the deck opened fire?
Israel is denying all access to the ship, and to any videos or pictures that they don't release? It seems as if the last thing they want is to have any of these questions answered.
If someone dies when you commit a crime, that's felony murder. The boarding was definitely a crime. It was a ship of unarmed people and building supplies who'd been videoed ever since they'd assembled. It was 40 miles off the coast. There is no claim of Israeli self defense because Israel was under no immediate threat from a floating pile of lumber forty miles off its coast.
If someone commits armed robbery, and if the victim struggles for the gun and it goes off, the robber is still held responsible. It doesn't matter who struggled or who resisted. These are not justifications of murder.
No US court would accept from a defendant the claim that he had to kill a jewelry store clerk in self defense because he resisted his attempt at armed robbery. There is no reason to accept this from Israel.
Monday, May 31, 2010
Self Defense
Israel claims a right to attack for its own self-defense. Israel make ridiculously large claims of self-defense, which basically amount to a right to attack anyone in the world at any time if the Israelis on their own decide to do so.
The latest example was of course the attacks on ships trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel claims the right to attack peaceful people on ships carrying building supplies, medicines, food and children toys as act of self-defense.
Any legitimate right is available to everyone. This is one of the basic principles of freedom. So, the flaw in Israel's claims quickly becomes obvious when they deny any right to self defense to anyone else.
For instance, think of the people who are ships peacefully sailing in international waters. Do they have a right to self-defense? In Israel's mind, none at all. Because as you read Israeli statements, they justify the murder of 16 or so people and the wounding of 60 more because the people on the ship gave the feeblest of resistance when suddenly attacked at night in the dark by Israeli commandos.
In Israel's mind, they have the right to attack anyone in the world and call it self-defense. And no one in the world has any right to ever defend itself against an Israeli attack.
This is of course insanity. Its an armed and violent insanity from people with nuclear weapons. An nuclear armed Israel that produces this sort of deranged reasoning to justify its constant violence against anyone around it seems a much greater threat to world security than any Iranian bomb. There's only speculation that Iran might use such a weapon, while Israel leaves stacks of dead bodies wherever it turns its evil gaze.
The UN should be debating sanctions. But they've got the wrong country. The UN should be debating sanctions against Israel. We as Americans need to change our government for that to occur.
At the very least, Americans should be demanding a government that does not put the interests of a foreign country ahead of its own. There is no American interest in backing a vicious country that just killed a bunch of people on a humanitarian mission. In fact, doing so puts America in a much worse position in the world and puts the lives of Americans in greater danger of some sort of blowback attacks.
We as Americans must insist that our leaders look out for the interests of our country first. Any politician who says they support Israel should be removed from office. If they want a seat in the Knesset, let them go try to get one. If they want to keep their seat in the American Congress, then they had better start looking out for American interests.
And at the very least, with a crashing economy and spiraling deficits, its very clear that America can not afford the $5 billion or more of aid we give Israel every year. We need that money for Americans. Its time to look out for ourselves, and to tell Israel that they are on their own.
The latest example was of course the attacks on ships trying to bring humanitarian aid to Gaza. Israel claims the right to attack peaceful people on ships carrying building supplies, medicines, food and children toys as act of self-defense.
Any legitimate right is available to everyone. This is one of the basic principles of freedom. So, the flaw in Israel's claims quickly becomes obvious when they deny any right to self defense to anyone else.
For instance, think of the people who are ships peacefully sailing in international waters. Do they have a right to self-defense? In Israel's mind, none at all. Because as you read Israeli statements, they justify the murder of 16 or so people and the wounding of 60 more because the people on the ship gave the feeblest of resistance when suddenly attacked at night in the dark by Israeli commandos.
In Israel's mind, they have the right to attack anyone in the world and call it self-defense. And no one in the world has any right to ever defend itself against an Israeli attack.
This is of course insanity. Its an armed and violent insanity from people with nuclear weapons. An nuclear armed Israel that produces this sort of deranged reasoning to justify its constant violence against anyone around it seems a much greater threat to world security than any Iranian bomb. There's only speculation that Iran might use such a weapon, while Israel leaves stacks of dead bodies wherever it turns its evil gaze.
The UN should be debating sanctions. But they've got the wrong country. The UN should be debating sanctions against Israel. We as Americans need to change our government for that to occur.
At the very least, Americans should be demanding a government that does not put the interests of a foreign country ahead of its own. There is no American interest in backing a vicious country that just killed a bunch of people on a humanitarian mission. In fact, doing so puts America in a much worse position in the world and puts the lives of Americans in greater danger of some sort of blowback attacks.
We as Americans must insist that our leaders look out for the interests of our country first. Any politician who says they support Israel should be removed from office. If they want a seat in the Knesset, let them go try to get one. If they want to keep their seat in the American Congress, then they had better start looking out for American interests.
And at the very least, with a crashing economy and spiraling deficits, its very clear that America can not afford the $5 billion or more of aid we give Israel every year. We need that money for Americans. Its time to look out for ourselves, and to tell Israel that they are on their own.
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