My stance is that we have a good President making a terrible mistake, and admit I could be wrong about it being a mistake. That is, if among other things, Obama gets hawks to stop opposing harsh Muslim values as the main reason for supporting the war. I hope people who want to support Obama, but not the war, join me.
The belief that the West is out to oppose Muslim values is why those Muslims who believe that the war is against Islam, feel that way. I also fear the new America that is loved, not hated, by the world is something priceless that is about to go away.
How can people who agree with the above statement, or similar statements, become a united voice? We who still like Obama, but oppose the war, are a significant minority, and both sides are trying to make us choose. We know that Martin Luther King kept meeting with President Johnson, and it’s now been noted that Johnson had private strong doubts about the war. I wonder if a support Johnson but not the war movement took off, whether the war not the great society would have ended during his term.
Much of the Muslim world is both angry at al Qaeda and also hates the idea of the US imposing Western values, which is why President Obama went along with the idea of Sharia Law in the Swat Valley of Pakistan, much to the chagrin of many Americans, whether hawks or doves.
Spanish Muslim clerics on the anniversary of the Madrid backpack bombing called bin Laden a heretic. Dr Fadl a fundamentalist, who supported the concept of holy war elsewhere, condemned al Qaeda for destroying the most holly Shiite Golden Dome, causing tit-for-tat reprisals that caused millions of Shiite and Sunni in Iraq to flee their neighborhoods or die.
Hamas and al Qaeda hate each other, so do Iran and al Qaeda. It wasn’t even news in the US when al Qaeda, 11/17/09, declared war on Iran. Please, both hawk and dove, click on the following for look an amazingly different perspective,
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=75663§ionid=351020101
http://www.thefirstpost.co.uk/50581,news-comment,news-politics,iran-neocon-ally-war-al-qaeda-and-the-taliban-obama-gordon-brown-afghanistan-israel
http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2009/08/hamas_and_al_qaeda_l.php
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/egypt/4736358/Al-Qaeda-founder-launches-fierce-attack-on-Osama-bin-Laden.html
Sort of off the subject, http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/16402
After Nidal Hasan’s rampage at Fort Hood, many wanted Muslim recruits removed from the army, not noting the desperate need for Arabic translators. During the Cold War, Condoleezza Rice learned Russian just so she could understand and oppose Communism better. The pursuit victory is hopeless no matter what unless someone pays close attention.
I’m sure Obama. from his unique perspective, sees something I don’t. Maybe I’m wrong about the war, providing Obama can convince Americans to be more interested in a far off war then health care here a home, and can make Americans willing to go along with Sheria Law where Muslims want it, etc, etc.
I am saddened that so many fellow antiwar activists during Bush are starting to believe Obama is an evil man. Does anyone else have anything to add that will make it less likely that the war will destroy the new America the world is beginning to love again?
By Richard Kane
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Google Richard Kane
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/1693626c39309
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/backing-obama-not-war
http://readerrant.capitolhillblue.com/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=133856
Read more!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
Viscous smears threaten US future, but suddenly there is hope
Election day smears aren't new, but for Obama and Sarah Palin they never end. The Republican Party has been getting ever more rigid when it comes to war policy for a long time. In 2006 Richard Warner dropped out, and Chuck Hagal lost, Lincoln Chafee in 2004. Arlen Specter was squeezed out of the Republican party, due to his abortion stance, and became a Democrat. In the last election, Dede Scozzafava was trounced by fake campaign ads, that looked like they were sponsored by her, shrilly overstating her pro-choice position,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/bias-media-dirty-tricks-a_b_341141.html
The polls were so bleak that she dropped out and endorsed the Democrat. Some people cheered a Democrat winning a district that was Republican since the Civil War, as some ultra-conservative ideologists cheered the Republican Party becoming more pure. But no one seems to be trying to punish or get restitution from Arkansas businessman, Jackson Stephen, who sponsored the dirty tricks. It's as if all sides seem to now think that dirty tricks is the norm.
But recently certain things have clicked back in the direction of being civil, besides Sarah Palin and Hillary comments on wanting to have a casual chat,
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/hill_up_for_coffee_talk_with_palin_3us1GLNzJEZZYZ0rj2hCdP
More importantly Mike Huckabee condemned those who can only find fault with the President. He criticized those who claim that Obama having kids on the White House lawn for Halloween was using children. Huckabee is happy that the kids had a rare opportunity and unlike some of his Republican comrades is honored that the President paid his respects to the returning dead soldiers. Since he was already condemned for being a softy in the 2006 primaries he can speak out without getting additional flack,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/huckabee-calls-knee-jerk_n_364023.html
I confess that I was one of those who thought something cute was going on, when ideologists accused John McCain of not being really a Republican due to McCain making conciliatory comments toward the President right after Obama won the election, instead of being frightened that a civil handshake after a rough campaign was no longer allowed.
When it comes to the ethic issues communities something more amazing has suddenly been occurring, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) came out with a report criticizing Glenn Beck as the number one fear-monger in the country. So much for the hysterics of the pro-Israel lobby, for allegedly trashing Obama for not giving Israel everything it wants,
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/17/2009-11-17_glenn_beck_is_scarier_than_rush_limbaugh_sean_hannity_says_antidefamation_league.html
In the Cuban-American community something amazing has been happening as well. A conservative Cuban-American group, Free Cuba Foundation, sponsored an online petition against the death-threats against Cuban entertainers who were thinking of playing at a peace concert in Cuba,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
I wish pubic heath care protesters in this country had an online petition against the "Bury Obama next to Kennedy" placards that a few brought to the protests.
Another piece of good news is changes at the Washington Times which had been heavily funded by Sun Myung Moon. Rev. Moon came to America with the Korea-gate lobbying scandal. The Korean lobby back then was assertive like the Israeli and Cuban-American lobbies. It later became a go-between, between the Religious Right and the Political Right. Moon's News World Communications, besides owning the Washington Times and United Press International owned the now defunct Rising Tide Newspaper, that according to Scoobie Jackson originated the "Obama is a Muslim" smears,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/frank-gaffney-spreads-obama-is-muslim.html
However back in Korea it maintained businesses in North Korea and had direct dealings with the North Korean government and I suspect helped prevent a war between North Korea and the West. Sun Myung Moon retired and turned over his church to his three sons. Recently Hyung Jin Moon took over the control of the Washington Times from Hyun Jin Moon. There is an exciting possibility that Hyung Jin Moon is undoing his father's right-wing policies in pursuit of Moon's other goals of a united Korea and a united world. If anyone remembers, George Bush, when it first came to office, couldn't decide if he wanted to be an interventionist or an isolationist and compromised by only going after the small (and in his mind) the particularly bad powers which he called "The Axis of Evil". Since North Korea isn't the kind of country to back down under threats, it is very possible that Moon's go-between activities prevented war between North Korea and the Bush administration. If the Unification Church undoes some of its harsh past while still pursuing a united world, the US, if not the world, could be better off.
The efforts of the Cuban-American Foundation and the ADL reminds me of something the US stopped noting since it stopped bragging about being a melting pot. A huge number of Americans are particularly interested in another part of the world, if you include the Czech and Polish-Americans upset that the defense shield isn't going to be extended there, people who get excited on St. Patrick's Day, and the native-American tribes partial to Brazilian President Lula who is a native Indian and partial to the peasants. I suddenly realize that this fights the polarization that is going on.
There is one problem where there is not yet this kind of glimmer of hope. Following the Nidal Hasan's massacre of 13 US soldiers, there has been greater polarization between American Muslims and non-Muslims. The load condemnation of Muslim-American organizations of Hasan's murders never gets reported. Rev. Pat Robertson is insisting that Islam itself is a terrorist organization not a religion, something David Horowitz is also spreading around. If they do manage to get the army to stop enlisting Arabic translators and those who have a feel for Afghan culture, and Muslims start leaving the US, it will play into al Qaeda's goal of making this a Balkanized world. George Bush applied the term "terrorist" to Green Peace and animal right's activists. Now there is a concerted effort by David Horowitz and Tigre Hill to paint Mumia abu-Jamal who was convicted of killing Officer Faulkner as a terrorist. I guess their real goal is to get anyone accused, or convicted, of a heinous crime be deigned any rights at all. The word "terrorist" seems to be beginning to be thrown around the way "Communist" was during the Joe McCarthy witch-hunt days. Whatever Mumia's involvement or lack of involvement in Officer Danny Faulkner's death, he clearly feels empowered by his writings, and no matter what he did or didn't do the night of the murder, and never felt empowered by putting a gun to someone's head and pulling the trigger. Tigre Hill's movie on Mumia is not yet out but the trailer has David Horowitz philosophizing about terrorism, has headlines which it doesn't explain where they came from, "Pipe Bomb Damages 12 Police Cars", "Machine Gun Fire Kills 2 Cops". The words "kill a pig" repeated several times. And the words "pig" in bold letters repeated twice as the audio hurled it like a curse word,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2w_WntxpLE
Glenn Beck and Tigre Hill's help with his trailer, using Marc Hill's quotes surrounded by inflammatory material helped manage to get Marc Lamont Hill fired from Fox News for supporting Mumia, and got Van Jones fired or on his own decided to leave the Obama administration because Glenn Beck was making such a fuse. Perhaps the ADL could speak out about the misuse of the word terrorism, and counter Geert Wilders who on a tour with Horowitz, had been claiming that the Koran is a book that should be banned.
I wish to apologize for thinking it was cute that McCain was accused of being a Democrat in disguise when he tried to make conciliatory comments after the election was over. Thank you Hillary and Sarah Palin and all the others I mentioned on for your efforts. I urge us all to join them, but caution conciliatory comments need to be made during a heated effort for a particular bill or foreign policy, more than when a skirmish is over or one might end up facing what McCain faced.
By Richard Kane
Also available at,
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/16402
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/vicious-smears-threaten-us-future-suddenly-there-hope
Read more!
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-kelly/bias-media-dirty-tricks-a_b_341141.html
The polls were so bleak that she dropped out and endorsed the Democrat. Some people cheered a Democrat winning a district that was Republican since the Civil War, as some ultra-conservative ideologists cheered the Republican Party becoming more pure. But no one seems to be trying to punish or get restitution from Arkansas businessman, Jackson Stephen, who sponsored the dirty tricks. It's as if all sides seem to now think that dirty tricks is the norm.
But recently certain things have clicked back in the direction of being civil, besides Sarah Palin and Hillary comments on wanting to have a casual chat,
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/national/hill_up_for_coffee_talk_with_palin_3us1GLNzJEZZYZ0rj2hCdP
More importantly Mike Huckabee condemned those who can only find fault with the President. He criticized those who claim that Obama having kids on the White House lawn for Halloween was using children. Huckabee is happy that the kids had a rare opportunity and unlike some of his Republican comrades is honored that the President paid his respects to the returning dead soldiers. Since he was already condemned for being a softy in the 2006 primaries he can speak out without getting additional flack,
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/11/19/huckabee-calls-knee-jerk_n_364023.html
I confess that I was one of those who thought something cute was going on, when ideologists accused John McCain of not being really a Republican due to McCain making conciliatory comments toward the President right after Obama won the election, instead of being frightened that a civil handshake after a rough campaign was no longer allowed.
When it comes to the ethic issues communities something more amazing has suddenly been occurring, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) came out with a report criticizing Glenn Beck as the number one fear-monger in the country. So much for the hysterics of the pro-Israel lobby, for allegedly trashing Obama for not giving Israel everything it wants,
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2009/11/17/2009-11-17_glenn_beck_is_scarier_than_rush_limbaugh_sean_hannity_says_antidefamation_league.html
In the Cuban-American community something amazing has been happening as well. A conservative Cuban-American group, Free Cuba Foundation, sponsored an online petition against the death-threats against Cuban entertainers who were thinking of playing at a peace concert in Cuba,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
I wish pubic heath care protesters in this country had an online petition against the "Bury Obama next to Kennedy" placards that a few brought to the protests.
Another piece of good news is changes at the Washington Times which had been heavily funded by Sun Myung Moon. Rev. Moon came to America with the Korea-gate lobbying scandal. The Korean lobby back then was assertive like the Israeli and Cuban-American lobbies. It later became a go-between, between the Religious Right and the Political Right. Moon's News World Communications, besides owning the Washington Times and United Press International owned the now defunct Rising Tide Newspaper, that according to Scoobie Jackson originated the "Obama is a Muslim" smears,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/frank-gaffney-spreads-obama-is-muslim.html
However back in Korea it maintained businesses in North Korea and had direct dealings with the North Korean government and I suspect helped prevent a war between North Korea and the West. Sun Myung Moon retired and turned over his church to his three sons. Recently Hyung Jin Moon took over the control of the Washington Times from Hyun Jin Moon. There is an exciting possibility that Hyung Jin Moon is undoing his father's right-wing policies in pursuit of Moon's other goals of a united Korea and a united world. If anyone remembers, George Bush, when it first came to office, couldn't decide if he wanted to be an interventionist or an isolationist and compromised by only going after the small (and in his mind) the particularly bad powers which he called "The Axis of Evil". Since North Korea isn't the kind of country to back down under threats, it is very possible that Moon's go-between activities prevented war between North Korea and the Bush administration. If the Unification Church undoes some of its harsh past while still pursuing a united world, the US, if not the world, could be better off.
The efforts of the Cuban-American Foundation and the ADL reminds me of something the US stopped noting since it stopped bragging about being a melting pot. A huge number of Americans are particularly interested in another part of the world, if you include the Czech and Polish-Americans upset that the defense shield isn't going to be extended there, people who get excited on St. Patrick's Day, and the native-American tribes partial to Brazilian President Lula who is a native Indian and partial to the peasants. I suddenly realize that this fights the polarization that is going on.
There is one problem where there is not yet this kind of glimmer of hope. Following the Nidal Hasan's massacre of 13 US soldiers, there has been greater polarization between American Muslims and non-Muslims. The load condemnation of Muslim-American organizations of Hasan's murders never gets reported. Rev. Pat Robertson is insisting that Islam itself is a terrorist organization not a religion, something David Horowitz is also spreading around. If they do manage to get the army to stop enlisting Arabic translators and those who have a feel for Afghan culture, and Muslims start leaving the US, it will play into al Qaeda's goal of making this a Balkanized world. George Bush applied the term "terrorist" to Green Peace and animal right's activists. Now there is a concerted effort by David Horowitz and Tigre Hill to paint Mumia abu-Jamal who was convicted of killing Officer Faulkner as a terrorist. I guess their real goal is to get anyone accused, or convicted, of a heinous crime be deigned any rights at all. The word "terrorist" seems to be beginning to be thrown around the way "Communist" was during the Joe McCarthy witch-hunt days. Whatever Mumia's involvement or lack of involvement in Officer Danny Faulkner's death, he clearly feels empowered by his writings, and no matter what he did or didn't do the night of the murder, and never felt empowered by putting a gun to someone's head and pulling the trigger. Tigre Hill's movie on Mumia is not yet out but the trailer has David Horowitz philosophizing about terrorism, has headlines which it doesn't explain where they came from, "Pipe Bomb Damages 12 Police Cars", "Machine Gun Fire Kills 2 Cops". The words "kill a pig" repeated several times. And the words "pig" in bold letters repeated twice as the audio hurled it like a curse word,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q2w_WntxpLE
Glenn Beck and Tigre Hill's help with his trailer, using Marc Hill's quotes surrounded by inflammatory material helped manage to get Marc Lamont Hill fired from Fox News for supporting Mumia, and got Van Jones fired or on his own decided to leave the Obama administration because Glenn Beck was making such a fuse. Perhaps the ADL could speak out about the misuse of the word terrorism, and counter Geert Wilders who on a tour with Horowitz, had been claiming that the Koran is a book that should be banned.
I wish to apologize for thinking it was cute that McCain was accused of being a Democrat in disguise when he tried to make conciliatory comments after the election was over. Thank you Hillary and Sarah Palin and all the others I mentioned on for your efforts. I urge us all to join them, but caution conciliatory comments need to be made during a heated effort for a particular bill or foreign policy, more than when a skirmish is over or one might end up facing what McCain faced.
By Richard Kane
Also available at,
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/16402
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/vicious-smears-threaten-us-future-suddenly-there-hope
Read more!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Let’s Stop the Spiral of Hate!
There is intense tension between Muslims in Holland and the wider community. Some of this extends to the rest of Western Europe as well. This hasn’t happened in the US as of yet despite broad accusations concerning Islam since the Fort Hood killings by conservative papers and web-sites and which sometimes got repeated on Fox News. Only Joe Leiberman claiming that the Homeland Security Committee will investigate the Fort Hood killings for terrorism, has created public worry from progressive groups and those concerned about pushing US Muslims in the wrong direction,
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/13820
I’m not making excuses. Al Qaeda likes to attack locals who translate for the US. If mistrust created by Nidal Hasan, interferes with Arabic-speaking Americans translating, al Qaeda would consider this a real plus.
Once the US was proud of what was once called the American melting pot. Obama is attempting to bring back the America the world loved after World War II. Bush after 9/11 urged that Muslim businesses not be defaced, humbly visited a mosque, and repeatedly called particularly the King of Jordan, US’s friend. Obama and Bush while very different, don’t have the opposite visions when it comes to the need for friends. At a certain point tensions could snowball like in Holland. Remember the anger all over the Muslim world when the USSR was fighting in Afghanistan. The US hasn’t faced united Muslim anger, and it is a warped sense of patriotism to think that it shouldn’t be avoided.
Arab translators would be needed even if the US would embark on exploring a rapid orderly exit policy from Afghanistan. During the Cold War Condoleezza Rice, learned Russian, as what she felt was a matter of patriotism. I haven’t heard of bloggers, urging Muslims be removed from the army, learning Arab to replace Muslim translators.
A problem is that many people believe that the liberal media is sanitizing the facts, and thus expect more detail from the conservative media. However the NY Times may have had more detail then any other publication or blog,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10inquire.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/us/09reconstruct.html?
Perhaps as much of the liberal media claims Nidal Hasan snapped from the insults hurled at him for being a Muslim. However, he bought a $1,000 automatic pistol in July,
http://prairiepundit.blogspot.com/2009/11/hasan-spent-1000-at-guns-galore-before.html
Snapping might have occurred long before November 6. Not that he couldn’t have hesitated until November 6. Witnesses say he carefully chose which soldier to shoot, so I think he was very calculating.
In 2002 Daniel Pearl who was with the Wall Street Journal, was lured by terrorists in Pakistan. In a gruesome Internet broadcast he was tortured and beheaded. Instead of reacting with hate and helping the terrorists Balkanize the world, his friends and relatives organized the Daniel Pearl Foundation with interfaith peace concerts, dialogues and prayer services,
http://www.festivaloffaithskc.org/
http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/
I think this is what bin Laden doesn’t want. Driving Muslims out of the West while Westerners were driven out of Middle Eastern countries would in bin Laden’s mind shield Muslims from dangerous Western influence.
Somehow many Americans think 9/11 gives us a unique responsibility to stop al Qaeda. The Madrid commuter train backpack bombings, could have killed more people had one train arrived at a station moment later. Many Spaniards can’t go to work without being reminded of that dreaded day.
To discombobulate US efforts for a coalition government in Iraq, al Qaeda at several points in 2006 and 2007 attacked and destroyed the Shiite Golden Mosque the holiest sight in Shiite world, causing massive tit-for-tat violence, and millions to have to relocate in fear of their lives,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_al-Askari_Mosque_bombing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Askari_Mosque
Since al Qaeda has no anger at Shiite Islam, much of the Muslim World hates al Qaeda causing mass mayhem, just for a temporary strategic reason. US policy toward Iran, distracts Iran from its anger at the mayhem bin Laden caused.
Nidal Malik Hasan’s rampage enhanced the ignorance of the American public to the nuances of the Muslim attitudes toward al Qaeda. My guess is that creating tension between Arabic translators and the US government was intentional, and in different ways modified what he did for maximum effect. Another tragedy that should be faced is that he can become a larger-than-life example for some. Al Qaeda members got drunk before 9/11. As part of their disguise was avoiding the mosque or appearing to be a Muslim. One Muslim web-site that I haven’t yet relocated dwelt both on the accusation that one of the 9/11 hijackers had a relative who was an Israeli spy and in almost the same breath the accusation that one of the hijackers visited a brothel. Prophet Mohammad wouldn’t have taxed drugs like the al-Qaeda-ized Taliban is doing, nor put up with a Joan or Arc, or child lookouts and spies, much less equipt a child with any kind of weapon at all. A child or an elderly lady both with down syndrome being outfitted with a remote-controlled suicide vest, is something foreign to any kind of historic tradition. One son doing this to his mother violated what every religious teacher ever advocated. Sadly, for a change, Nidal Malik Hasan gives the appearance of seriously practicing his religion. A possible silver lining in this whole affair would be if I and other could induce Americans to start paying attention to what the Muslim world thinks.
I would like to see Obama to ask France or some country to supervise a cease-fire between us and the Taliban with a clear timetable for withdrawal as long as Americans are not fired upon. But bin Laden wouldn’t want anything in the way of his vision of a permanent Muslim warring-class as long as there is a divided world, and may want to sabotage such a deal. Those who don’t have a clue claiming the war relates to an oil pipeline I don’t think helps to solve the difficulties that the US and the world is in.
Don’t forget that the attitude of Daniel Pearl’s relatives are very important whether or not at what point the US government should or should not engage in force in dealing with foreign affairs.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/blog/2419
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/13820
I’m not making excuses. Al Qaeda likes to attack locals who translate for the US. If mistrust created by Nidal Hasan, interferes with Arabic-speaking Americans translating, al Qaeda would consider this a real plus.
Once the US was proud of what was once called the American melting pot. Obama is attempting to bring back the America the world loved after World War II. Bush after 9/11 urged that Muslim businesses not be defaced, humbly visited a mosque, and repeatedly called particularly the King of Jordan, US’s friend. Obama and Bush while very different, don’t have the opposite visions when it comes to the need for friends. At a certain point tensions could snowball like in Holland. Remember the anger all over the Muslim world when the USSR was fighting in Afghanistan. The US hasn’t faced united Muslim anger, and it is a warped sense of patriotism to think that it shouldn’t be avoided.
Arab translators would be needed even if the US would embark on exploring a rapid orderly exit policy from Afghanistan. During the Cold War Condoleezza Rice, learned Russian, as what she felt was a matter of patriotism. I haven’t heard of bloggers, urging Muslims be removed from the army, learning Arab to replace Muslim translators.
A problem is that many people believe that the liberal media is sanitizing the facts, and thus expect more detail from the conservative media. However the NY Times may have had more detail then any other publication or blog,
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/10/us/10inquire.html?hp
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/us/09reconstruct.html?
Perhaps as much of the liberal media claims Nidal Hasan snapped from the insults hurled at him for being a Muslim. However, he bought a $1,000 automatic pistol in July,
http://prairiepundit.blogspot.com/2009/11/hasan-spent-1000-at-guns-galore-before.html
Snapping might have occurred long before November 6. Not that he couldn’t have hesitated until November 6. Witnesses say he carefully chose which soldier to shoot, so I think he was very calculating.
In 2002 Daniel Pearl who was with the Wall Street Journal, was lured by terrorists in Pakistan. In a gruesome Internet broadcast he was tortured and beheaded. Instead of reacting with hate and helping the terrorists Balkanize the world, his friends and relatives organized the Daniel Pearl Foundation with interfaith peace concerts, dialogues and prayer services,
http://www.festivaloffaithskc.org/
http://www.danielpearlmusicdays.org/
I think this is what bin Laden doesn’t want. Driving Muslims out of the West while Westerners were driven out of Middle Eastern countries would in bin Laden’s mind shield Muslims from dangerous Western influence.
Somehow many Americans think 9/11 gives us a unique responsibility to stop al Qaeda. The Madrid commuter train backpack bombings, could have killed more people had one train arrived at a station moment later. Many Spaniards can’t go to work without being reminded of that dreaded day.
To discombobulate US efforts for a coalition government in Iraq, al Qaeda at several points in 2006 and 2007 attacked and destroyed the Shiite Golden Mosque the holiest sight in Shiite world, causing massive tit-for-tat violence, and millions to have to relocate in fear of their lives,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2006_al-Askari_Mosque_bombing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Askari_Mosque
Since al Qaeda has no anger at Shiite Islam, much of the Muslim World hates al Qaeda causing mass mayhem, just for a temporary strategic reason. US policy toward Iran, distracts Iran from its anger at the mayhem bin Laden caused.
Nidal Malik Hasan’s rampage enhanced the ignorance of the American public to the nuances of the Muslim attitudes toward al Qaeda. My guess is that creating tension between Arabic translators and the US government was intentional, and in different ways modified what he did for maximum effect. Another tragedy that should be faced is that he can become a larger-than-life example for some. Al Qaeda members got drunk before 9/11. As part of their disguise was avoiding the mosque or appearing to be a Muslim. One Muslim web-site that I haven’t yet relocated dwelt both on the accusation that one of the 9/11 hijackers had a relative who was an Israeli spy and in almost the same breath the accusation that one of the hijackers visited a brothel. Prophet Mohammad wouldn’t have taxed drugs like the al-Qaeda-ized Taliban is doing, nor put up with a Joan or Arc, or child lookouts and spies, much less equipt a child with any kind of weapon at all. A child or an elderly lady both with down syndrome being outfitted with a remote-controlled suicide vest, is something foreign to any kind of historic tradition. One son doing this to his mother violated what every religious teacher ever advocated. Sadly, for a change, Nidal Malik Hasan gives the appearance of seriously practicing his religion. A possible silver lining in this whole affair would be if I and other could induce Americans to start paying attention to what the Muslim world thinks.
I would like to see Obama to ask France or some country to supervise a cease-fire between us and the Taliban with a clear timetable for withdrawal as long as Americans are not fired upon. But bin Laden wouldn’t want anything in the way of his vision of a permanent Muslim warring-class as long as there is a divided world, and may want to sabotage such a deal. Those who don’t have a clue claiming the war relates to an oil pipeline I don’t think helps to solve the difficulties that the US and the world is in.
Don’t forget that the attitude of Daniel Pearl’s relatives are very important whether or not at what point the US government should or should not engage in force in dealing with foreign affairs.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/blog/2419
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
Friday, November 6, 2009
Fort Hood Shooting Spree
It looks like bin Laden, Dick Cheney, Glenn Beck, and the people at the Washington Times and Fox News might have got their way, a world at war, but there may be still time for Obama and sober folks to help us get along with each other instead.
In Europe Muslims are seen as freaks, in the US we tend to have a touch of a melting pot and Muslims tend to get such jobs as back tellers because Islam preaches honesty, but it may not be enough and the world could end up dividing into warring camps like bin Laden and Beck craves, but groups like the Daniel Pearl Foundation are trying to bring us all together instead.
RichardKanePa.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
In Europe Muslims are seen as freaks, in the US we tend to have a touch of a melting pot and Muslims tend to get such jobs as back tellers because Islam preaches honesty, but it may not be enough and the world could end up dividing into warring camps like bin Laden and Beck craves, but groups like the Daniel Pearl Foundation are trying to bring us all together instead.
RichardKanePa.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Obama - unlike Jimmy Carter - fights the smears Fox News hurls at him
History is repeating itself. When Carter was President, he was sabotaged and smeared by right-wingers who hated him. The very worst example was called the “October Surprise”. Under President Carter so-called super-patriotic Americans including a former Vice-President who was later to become President, President Bush, in the worst case example, worked with America’s enemies to sabotage Carter’s domestic and foreign policy. It hasn’t been smoking gun proven, but the elder Bush’s emissaries might have actually directly, not indirectly, worked with the Iranian hostage takers, google Wikipedia and October Surprise.
Obama is different, he fights back, but only MoveOn.org is supporting the President’s policy of standing up to the smears hurled against him and this country by so-called friends of America like the super publisher Rupert Murdock and his Fox News. America isn’t weak under President Obama, it is strong. For the first time, really since World War II, the world actually respects and honors this country. The Nobel Peace Prize was actually given to President Obama for bringing back the America, the promoter of peace and stability, that President Wilson once presented to the world.
The biggest hate smearers at Sun Myung Moon’s Washington Times newspaper, get honored by being on Rupert Murdock’s Fox News, such as Andrew Breitbart,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/09/andrew-breitbart-throws-stones-at-acorn.html
If the above link sticks, go the Scoobie Davis blog, and scrawl down to Sept 29,
http:www.scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/
The smear that Obama was a Muslim wasn’t urban legend, but a carefully planned hate message,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/frank-gaffney-spreads-obama-is-muslim.html
As part of a subliminal hate message, the Washington Times’ story about children murdered in Chicago, had a picture with it of Obama’s children. See Media Matters story # 200905130025
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200905130025
Many think because they have been quiet of late the Moonies are mostly gone or retired. Moon has actually given much, if not all, of his control of his Unification Church to his three sons or in Moon’s mind, God has given control of His church over to His three sons.
Moon just married 40,000 new couples in a mass marriage that covered several countries. Moonies in the past, besides getting married at Moon’s beck and call, have done fund raising, such as selling flowers and small figurines and stuffed animals 16 hours a day, and did a lot of political work for their god.
An article in the Boston Globe covered the mass marriage. It was an Oct 12 Associated Press story by Hyung-Jin-Kim, http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/10/12/rev_moon_turning_over_unification_church_to_sons
The only reference to brainwashing in the story was of a child raised in the cult, However, many recruits were college students who’s lives got totally engrossed in a mind bending cult, much to the horror of their parents and other relatives. Since Moonies, in the past, did fund raising and other errands for their god, I wonder how many are now professionals assigned to smear President Obama.
We need a little history. Sun Myung Moon came to this country as part of the Korea-gate lobbying campaign to secure more aid and support for South Korea. Somehow people get all excited about the Israeli Lobby lobbying for more support for Israel. However, many of the complaints against the Israeli Lobby come from Jews that disagree with the lobby, nothing like the conspiracy between Rupert Murdock (who happens to be a foreign lobbyist not an American) Dick Cheney, and the Rev. Moon.
Rev. Moon preaches Godism, not Democracy. A victory for the world Moon envisions would not only be a defeat for what the US represents but any religion that has a concept of free will.
It is interesting to note (if not ominous)that a major paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, took the Associated Press story of Moon’s mass wedding, and removed the reference to brainwashing and to Sun Myung Moon’s ownership of the Washington Times, and added a picture of Moon’s youngest son looking like a ordinary preacher. According to both the Inquirer and Associated Press’s version of the story, Moon’s youngest son rebelled for a while and became a Buddhist. Not emphasized in either version is that this would represent a drastic change since Moonies are supposed to worship Rev. Moon. But the youngest son was only put in charge of Moon’s local church in Korea, not Moon’s overseas lobbying empire. The Inquirer’s cut version of the story only emphasized Moon’s youngest son, Moon Hyung-jin
According to retired University of Pennsylvania Wharton Professor Ed Herman, the right-wing owner who bought out the Philadelphia Inquirer from Knight Newspapers, Brian Tierney, is embedding in right wing causes, see,
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/inky-toes-party-line-lockerbie-expense-truth-and-more
Brian Tierney, mixed in with Rupert Murdoch, Moon’s Washington Times, and with Dick Cheney is a very toxic brew.
The best reference to the conspiracy I am referring to is at, Scoobie Davis’s blogs
http://www.scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com,
For earlier material see,
http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/moon.html
I wrote, the following which may add a little something to what they wrote,
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2009/06/re-sun-myung-moon-ten-more-facts-about.html
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/washington-times-moonies-are-very-involved-supporting-honduras-coup
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/taxonomy/term/3210
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/richardkanepa
http://RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Moon’s religious views have been called weird. But more than weird, I noticed they are extremely harsh. Moon likes to dwell on the Biblical use of the word “seed” to represent procreation in general. Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden represents according to Moon Eve having the Devil’s Child, and the Virgin Birth in the Bible is God changing human genealogy back in God’s hands. So Jesus was supposed to, according to Moon, have a lot of kids and bring God’s seed back to humankind to suppressed the Devil’s genetic line. Thus to Moon’s ideology, Jesus failed. To Moon the only difference between good and evil is who has the most power. To me it almost seems like good means evil to Moon. Moon wants a world where a higher authority makes all the decisions.
I might get in trouble with progressive friends, but I think there is actually some merit in some of the Conservative religious causes that Moon’s Washington Times has been ruining with its support. Destroying and twisting them might be one of his so-called higher purposes Moon is up to. Moon corrupts every cause he gets involved in supporting.
Cheney and Rupert Murdoch don’t hate human rights and civil liberties, they just don’t want such things to get in the way of what they think needs to be done. Someone on the scene that truly hates freedom, and free will, may be more destructive of human freedom then the resistively small number of Moonies would otherwise merit. I expect almost everyone who reads this will think that Moon at best is an only small part of any right-wing conspiracy. But I think that I though conceivably Scoobie Davis is the only people to think otherwise.
One can get most of the details by reading the historical links by Scoobie Davis and Robert Parry at Consortium News, which I linked to earlier.
One thing missing from what they write is Moon’s heavy involvement with Latin America. The Washington Times newspaper has had heavy support for right-wing Cuban-Americans and their effort to change the Cuban government. Most of Latin America especially the governments of Mexico and Brazil were upset at the overthrow of the President of Honduras. But the Washington Times by hammering away at the idea that Obama is supporting Castro’s and Chavez’s policy by pressuring Honduras to return to democracy, got otherwise uninvolved conservative Cuban-Americans to think that by opposing democracy in Honduras they are working for more freedom in Cuba. Without the Washington Times goading them on the overthrown of the President of Honduras might have never happened in the first place.
Many Hispanic Americans including Cuban-Americans, are being pressured by US domestic circumstances in a progressive direction. Most Cuban-Americans voted for President Obama. Heath care reform will benefit Hispanic-Americans the most. If Cheney and Rupert Murdoch win the day, with the next President proud of torture and human rights violations, and elderly Cuban refugees get to march back in style to Cuba the way the Iraqi Congress in Exile did in Iraq expecting to be greeted as returning heroes it will be a disaster for them as much as it was for the Iraqi Congress in Exile. Making peace with the Cuban Government, perhaps on somewhat their terms, is their only real hope for Cuban-Americans for their homeland. The Washington Times can only permanently poison their future.
A very good sign is that many conservative Cuban Americans signed an online petition against the threat to attack any Cuban-American entertainer if he attended the then pending peace concert in Havana,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
This would be like Pat Robertson and Dick Cheney signing an on-line petition against such things as the signs “Bury Obama Next to Kennedy”. Why can’t other conservatives take responsibility for what the extremists among them do? I hope and think it is possible for those angry at former Fidel Castro’s legacy, to take a good look at the plight of the former members of the Iraqi Congress in Exile, and negotiate an end to the blockade directly with Raul Castro, perhaps getting certain significant but minor changes in Cuban society in the process. I also think it is possible for President Obama to get together with, and even befriend former President Bush to work against the current hate campaign against him. When Obama became President he actually called on the Washington Times reporter to ask a question at his press conference. But now Obama must fight back if people like David Corn who has sterling radical credentials will let him. However, it is possible that the Korean version of the Unification Church under Moon Hyung-jin, might eventually end up in charge of the entire Church operations and expose and apologize for past dirty tricks and work for a united world humanity, without the elder Moon’s hate for world democracy mixed in.
By Richard Kane
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/taxonomy/term/3210
PS. I can’t reedit the above for spelling & other errors
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/richardkanepa
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Read more!
Obama is different, he fights back, but only MoveOn.org is supporting the President’s policy of standing up to the smears hurled against him and this country by so-called friends of America like the super publisher Rupert Murdock and his Fox News. America isn’t weak under President Obama, it is strong. For the first time, really since World War II, the world actually respects and honors this country. The Nobel Peace Prize was actually given to President Obama for bringing back the America, the promoter of peace and stability, that President Wilson once presented to the world.
The biggest hate smearers at Sun Myung Moon’s Washington Times newspaper, get honored by being on Rupert Murdock’s Fox News, such as Andrew Breitbart,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/09/andrew-breitbart-throws-stones-at-acorn.html
If the above link sticks, go the Scoobie Davis blog, and scrawl down to Sept 29,
http:www.scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/
The smear that Obama was a Muslim wasn’t urban legend, but a carefully planned hate message,
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com/2009/06/frank-gaffney-spreads-obama-is-muslim.html
As part of a subliminal hate message, the Washington Times’ story about children murdered in Chicago, had a picture with it of Obama’s children. See Media Matters story # 200905130025
http://mediamatters.org/blog/200905130025
Many think because they have been quiet of late the Moonies are mostly gone or retired. Moon has actually given much, if not all, of his control of his Unification Church to his three sons or in Moon’s mind, God has given control of His church over to His three sons.
Moon just married 40,000 new couples in a mass marriage that covered several countries. Moonies in the past, besides getting married at Moon’s beck and call, have done fund raising, such as selling flowers and small figurines and stuffed animals 16 hours a day, and did a lot of political work for their god.
An article in the Boston Globe covered the mass marriage. It was an Oct 12 Associated Press story by Hyung-Jin-Kim, http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2009/10/12/rev_moon_turning_over_unification_church_to_sons
The only reference to brainwashing in the story was of a child raised in the cult, However, many recruits were college students who’s lives got totally engrossed in a mind bending cult, much to the horror of their parents and other relatives. Since Moonies, in the past, did fund raising and other errands for their god, I wonder how many are now professionals assigned to smear President Obama.
We need a little history. Sun Myung Moon came to this country as part of the Korea-gate lobbying campaign to secure more aid and support for South Korea. Somehow people get all excited about the Israeli Lobby lobbying for more support for Israel. However, many of the complaints against the Israeli Lobby come from Jews that disagree with the lobby, nothing like the conspiracy between Rupert Murdock (who happens to be a foreign lobbyist not an American) Dick Cheney, and the Rev. Moon.
Rev. Moon preaches Godism, not Democracy. A victory for the world Moon envisions would not only be a defeat for what the US represents but any religion that has a concept of free will.
It is interesting to note (if not ominous)that a major paper, the Philadelphia Inquirer, took the Associated Press story of Moon’s mass wedding, and removed the reference to brainwashing and to Sun Myung Moon’s ownership of the Washington Times, and added a picture of Moon’s youngest son looking like a ordinary preacher. According to both the Inquirer and Associated Press’s version of the story, Moon’s youngest son rebelled for a while and became a Buddhist. Not emphasized in either version is that this would represent a drastic change since Moonies are supposed to worship Rev. Moon. But the youngest son was only put in charge of Moon’s local church in Korea, not Moon’s overseas lobbying empire. The Inquirer’s cut version of the story only emphasized Moon’s youngest son, Moon Hyung-jin
According to retired University of Pennsylvania Wharton Professor Ed Herman, the right-wing owner who bought out the Philadelphia Inquirer from Knight Newspapers, Brian Tierney, is embedding in right wing causes, see,
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/inky-toes-party-line-lockerbie-expense-truth-and-more
Brian Tierney, mixed in with Rupert Murdoch, Moon’s Washington Times, and with Dick Cheney is a very toxic brew.
The best reference to the conspiracy I am referring to is at, Scoobie Davis’s blogs
http://www.scoobiedavis.blogspot.com/
http://realsunmyungmoon.blogspot.com,
For earlier material see,
http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/moon.html
I wrote, the following which may add a little something to what they wrote,
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2009/06/re-sun-myung-moon-ten-more-facts-about.html
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/washington-times-moonies-are-very-involved-supporting-honduras-coup
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/taxonomy/term/3210
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/richardkanepa
http://RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Moon’s religious views have been called weird. But more than weird, I noticed they are extremely harsh. Moon likes to dwell on the Biblical use of the word “seed” to represent procreation in general. Eve eating the apple in the Garden of Eden represents according to Moon Eve having the Devil’s Child, and the Virgin Birth in the Bible is God changing human genealogy back in God’s hands. So Jesus was supposed to, according to Moon, have a lot of kids and bring God’s seed back to humankind to suppressed the Devil’s genetic line. Thus to Moon’s ideology, Jesus failed. To Moon the only difference between good and evil is who has the most power. To me it almost seems like good means evil to Moon. Moon wants a world where a higher authority makes all the decisions.
I might get in trouble with progressive friends, but I think there is actually some merit in some of the Conservative religious causes that Moon’s Washington Times has been ruining with its support. Destroying and twisting them might be one of his so-called higher purposes Moon is up to. Moon corrupts every cause he gets involved in supporting.
Cheney and Rupert Murdoch don’t hate human rights and civil liberties, they just don’t want such things to get in the way of what they think needs to be done. Someone on the scene that truly hates freedom, and free will, may be more destructive of human freedom then the resistively small number of Moonies would otherwise merit. I expect almost everyone who reads this will think that Moon at best is an only small part of any right-wing conspiracy. But I think that I though conceivably Scoobie Davis is the only people to think otherwise.
One can get most of the details by reading the historical links by Scoobie Davis and Robert Parry at Consortium News, which I linked to earlier.
One thing missing from what they write is Moon’s heavy involvement with Latin America. The Washington Times newspaper has had heavy support for right-wing Cuban-Americans and their effort to change the Cuban government. Most of Latin America especially the governments of Mexico and Brazil were upset at the overthrow of the President of Honduras. But the Washington Times by hammering away at the idea that Obama is supporting Castro’s and Chavez’s policy by pressuring Honduras to return to democracy, got otherwise uninvolved conservative Cuban-Americans to think that by opposing democracy in Honduras they are working for more freedom in Cuba. Without the Washington Times goading them on the overthrown of the President of Honduras might have never happened in the first place.
Many Hispanic Americans including Cuban-Americans, are being pressured by US domestic circumstances in a progressive direction. Most Cuban-Americans voted for President Obama. Heath care reform will benefit Hispanic-Americans the most. If Cheney and Rupert Murdoch win the day, with the next President proud of torture and human rights violations, and elderly Cuban refugees get to march back in style to Cuba the way the Iraqi Congress in Exile did in Iraq expecting to be greeted as returning heroes it will be a disaster for them as much as it was for the Iraqi Congress in Exile. Making peace with the Cuban Government, perhaps on somewhat their terms, is their only real hope for Cuban-Americans for their homeland. The Washington Times can only permanently poison their future.
A very good sign is that many conservative Cuban Americans signed an online petition against the threat to attack any Cuban-American entertainer if he attended the then pending peace concert in Havana,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
This would be like Pat Robertson and Dick Cheney signing an on-line petition against such things as the signs “Bury Obama Next to Kennedy”. Why can’t other conservatives take responsibility for what the extremists among them do? I hope and think it is possible for those angry at former Fidel Castro’s legacy, to take a good look at the plight of the former members of the Iraqi Congress in Exile, and negotiate an end to the blockade directly with Raul Castro, perhaps getting certain significant but minor changes in Cuban society in the process. I also think it is possible for President Obama to get together with, and even befriend former President Bush to work against the current hate campaign against him. When Obama became President he actually called on the Washington Times reporter to ask a question at his press conference. But now Obama must fight back if people like David Corn who has sterling radical credentials will let him. However, it is possible that the Korean version of the Unification Church under Moon Hyung-jin, might eventually end up in charge of the entire Church operations and expose and apologize for past dirty tricks and work for a united world humanity, without the elder Moon’s hate for world democracy mixed in.
By Richard Kane
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/taxonomy/term/3210
PS. I can’t reedit the above for spelling & other errors
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/richardkanepa
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Read more!
Monday, October 19, 2009
We Lost! We already lost the war in Afghanistan! Not admitting it is a serious mistake!
Unless we admit we lost the war, the bad news can only get worse. There are different degrees of defeat. Delaying signing a peace treaty could mean US troops leaving from on top of the US embassy (like in Vietnam) or even a total collapse far worse than the collapse of the Soviet Union after it bankrupted itself partly by the Afghanistan War. General Stanley McChrystal's grim blunt assessment that we would lose unless he got 40,000 new troops in a hurry in order to starve off a relatively quick defeat, in no way expressed any optimism that we would win in the end even with more troops. I would like to reinterpret his statement as implying that we should leave rather quickly rather than face a possibility of a last minute panicky retreat like in Vietnam.
Actually there is still a window of possibility for a quick hollow victory in Afghanistan where the Taliban agrees in the future to hand over any al Qaeda leaders for trial to any international court that requests, in exchange for a quick US withdraw.
There is very little chance for the divided leadership of the Taliban to actually comply with such an agreement or for an al Qaeda leader to allow himself to be taken into Taliban custody. But this would prevent al Qaeda from cheering that a relatively few al Qaeda suicide bombers chased America out of Afghanistan. However people like Dick Cheney would argue that we really lost to al Qaeda and help al Qaeda crow a little.
A similar scenario actually happened once before, but no Democrat, or Bush-hater, sabotaged not allowing al Qaeda to cheer. Bin Laden originally vowed to drive US troops out of Saudi Arabia, It was his main claim for 9/11. In 2003, George Bush withdrew US troops, from Saudi territory and if 9/11 never happened US troops possibly could be still on Sacred Muslim territory. Western infidels in Mecca, in bin Laden’s mind, was the biggest affront to Islam in what he sees as a 1000-year-old war between Islam and the West. When US troops began leaving Saudi Arabia, private contractors moved in. Al Qaeda smelling what they thought was a trick that US troops would stay in Afghanistan disguised as private businessmen and private contractors. Al Qaeda attacked the private contractors. This scared most Saudis who previously had mixed feelings toward al Qaeda. Saudis rely a lot on non-Muslim servants. Muslim servants are supposed to follow the same customs Saudis do like to pray five times a day. It could be a little awkward for a Muslim servant to watch them do such things as skip prayers, or on the other hand for Saudi’s not to frown a little if a Muslim servant had overlooked them. In many little ways, and some major ones, not being able to hire non-Muslim servants would drastically change the Saudi way of life. Attacking contractors made al Qaeda very unpopular in their country. However, if back then when US troops left Democrats would have yelled, "Bin Laden won!", like Cheney would do today, al Qaeda could have crowed a little about victory.
Obama preformed close to miracle in Iraq, US troops left the cities under the condition that they wouldn't return unless ethnic strife or a government request brought them back in. Remember all the warnings during the Bush administration that the bloodbath between Sunnis and Shiites would become extremely intense, unless the US were kept in-between them.
Now, thanks to Obama, the Shiites are ignoring highly provocative al Qaeda suicide attacks because they would rather US troops stay out then to randomly get even with Sunnis in tit-for-tat ethnic strife.
If the US continues to waste vast sums on ever more expensive smart weapons, like drone airplanes, until the dollar collapses, and since most Americans are far away from food sources we will be fighting with each other over food here at home rather than the US fighting a war abroad. The usual way a war ends is that of a signed peace agreement. This is much preferable to a hasty last minute withdrawal. The Taliban doesn’t want to see Afghans continuing to die, they are willing to try to make at least small compromises in exchange for peace.
Sometimes a military defeat is attempted to be covered over by a political event. Hitler didn't seize southern France during World War II, the Vichy government took power. I contend that if moderates like Arlen Specter continue to be kicked out of the Republican Party until the next US administration is proud of torture and human rights infringement like Cheney and the constant escalation of the war advocates at the Washington Times want, it would be a defeat of the US Republic. Sun Myung Moon who founded the Washington Times believes in what he calls "Godism" not democracy, all major decisions made by a central higher authority. Some of those who work at the Washington Times may also go further than Cheney's belief that sometimes human rights and Democracy gets in the way of what needs to be done. I contend that many who shrilly advocate sending more troops to Afghanistan aren’t concerned about Afghanistan but in using the war to disrupt the domestic progressive agenda. They far more interested in change in this country than worrying about change in Afghanistan.
Let's back up a moment. Why is it the US's responsibility to stop al Qaeda when al Qaeda also made horrible attacks in Spain and Britain? To discombobulate Bush's plans for a coalition government in Iraq, al Qaeda blew up Shiite sacred sites which got many thousands of Shiites and Sunnis to kill each other in tit-for-tat violence. This is something many Shiite Muslims in Iran and other Muslims hate him for. If the US wasn’t so egocentric we would realize that purposely creating widespread ethnic strife was a greater crime than 9/11.
Even Saudi Arabia would fight to keep al Qaeda from becoming in charge. The Soviet Union fought militant Muslims in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Unfortunately for them at the time, they did manage to inadvertently convince Muslims around the world that Russia was their enemy, much more that George Bush who constantly insisted that moderates like the King of Jordan was US's friend. Russia would never allow a militant like bin Laden to take charge of much of the world, especially Muslim areas near Russia, or take charge of Pakistani nukes. Also, al Qaeda made it clear that if the US actually withdrew from Afghanistan they would be attacking China in a big way, already looking for a fight with China over suppression of Muslim separatists in Uighur. Time Magazine referred to an Oct 7th al Qaeda statement threatening China that I think is urgent for both US doves and hawks to contemplate,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929388,00.html/
Unfortunately the information covered by Time Magazine didn't get central coverage elsewhere in the media.
During both world wars the US government's only central purpose was to win. This held true in Korea as well. But Lyndon Johnson also wanted his Great Society programs, and Obama wants health care reform. US soldiers want to protect their buddies much more than any burning desire to win. If the central purpose of US foreign policy was to defeat al Qaeda, we would let Iran get the weapons it wants in return for attacking al Qaeda, something due to their hate of what al Qaeda did to Shiite holy sites they already would have done if not tension between the US and Iran and Israel and Iran hadn’t gotten in the way. This is the kind of policy that the US had during World War two when even Stalin was considered US’s friend.
There is no way we can win against an enemy that envisions a permanent warring class, without making stopping al Qaeda the overwhelming focus of US foreign and domestic policy. No American believes that al Qaeda would be in charge of the world if we don't take leadership like most did against Hitler and the Soviet Union. Al Qaeda attacked on 9/11 because it wanted US troops out of Saudi Arabia and feared the then slow march toward victory of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan would have been both a psychological and physical blow to extremism, while temporary control of Afghanistan by the US would only be a physical, not psychological, setback.
Actually like everyone else I really don't have the answers, but let's lobby Obama in the spirit of trying to get him to do a better job, rather than join those who think criticizing Obama on war is a good way to sabotage Obama and the general progressive agenda.
During Vietnam the theme of the antiwar movement was that “Vietnam was not our enemy” which fit in with the fact that Vietnam never had any plans for the US. Today the theme should be we have no business deciding to be in charge of fighting al Qaeda while paying little attention to what they are all about. I wish I could convey the danger I see in belittling the al Qaeda threat by not only the antiwar movement but ordinary Americans tired of a far away conflict.
Bin Laden's dream of a permanent Muslim warring class is grim news for the world, including much of the Muslim World. But unlike with Hitler stopping al Qaeda is in no way dependent on US resolve. The antiwar movement should stop risking being a tool of those who are investing their future political clout in the hope that al Qaeda will have another 9/11 some day. Remember Al Qaeda attacked Spain when the antiwar movement there was strong and Britain when Tony Blair was in danger of losing his party's support, and could only threaten to attack the German Beer fest when Germans wanted to leave Afghanistan, but just the threat had an effect of the German election outcome. But unless we are willing to give up all other domestic and foreign policy in an effort to stop al Qaeda, such as arming Iran who was hurt the most by an al Qaeda attack of Shiite holy sites, we have no business trying to be in charge while are eyes and ears are focused elsewhere. Where there is emotional commitment some want to use anger against bin Laden to spread to anger at Hamas and Hezbollah, others to anger at all religious people who oppose womans rights or gay rights, or anyone who is more than a Sunday Christian. Others just hoping the war ends the progressive social agenda.
I don’t like the way today’s antiwar movement is copying the Vietnam precedent by claiming that al Qaeda is not a problem for us. Let’s reinterpreted General Stanley McChrystal's grim assessment as meaning that it is likely that any kind of US policy toward sustained change in Afghanistan might not work almost no matter what we do. Reinterpreting General McChrystal’s statements as reason to get out might actually bring and earlier end to the war.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/20044
http://phillyimc.org/en/we-lost-we-already-lost-war-afghanistan-not-admitting-it-serious-mistake
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/10214
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
Actually there is still a window of possibility for a quick hollow victory in Afghanistan where the Taliban agrees in the future to hand over any al Qaeda leaders for trial to any international court that requests, in exchange for a quick US withdraw.
There is very little chance for the divided leadership of the Taliban to actually comply with such an agreement or for an al Qaeda leader to allow himself to be taken into Taliban custody. But this would prevent al Qaeda from cheering that a relatively few al Qaeda suicide bombers chased America out of Afghanistan. However people like Dick Cheney would argue that we really lost to al Qaeda and help al Qaeda crow a little.
A similar scenario actually happened once before, but no Democrat, or Bush-hater, sabotaged not allowing al Qaeda to cheer. Bin Laden originally vowed to drive US troops out of Saudi Arabia, It was his main claim for 9/11. In 2003, George Bush withdrew US troops, from Saudi territory and if 9/11 never happened US troops possibly could be still on Sacred Muslim territory. Western infidels in Mecca, in bin Laden’s mind, was the biggest affront to Islam in what he sees as a 1000-year-old war between Islam and the West. When US troops began leaving Saudi Arabia, private contractors moved in. Al Qaeda smelling what they thought was a trick that US troops would stay in Afghanistan disguised as private businessmen and private contractors. Al Qaeda attacked the private contractors. This scared most Saudis who previously had mixed feelings toward al Qaeda. Saudis rely a lot on non-Muslim servants. Muslim servants are supposed to follow the same customs Saudis do like to pray five times a day. It could be a little awkward for a Muslim servant to watch them do such things as skip prayers, or on the other hand for Saudi’s not to frown a little if a Muslim servant had overlooked them. In many little ways, and some major ones, not being able to hire non-Muslim servants would drastically change the Saudi way of life. Attacking contractors made al Qaeda very unpopular in their country. However, if back then when US troops left Democrats would have yelled, "Bin Laden won!", like Cheney would do today, al Qaeda could have crowed a little about victory.
Obama preformed close to miracle in Iraq, US troops left the cities under the condition that they wouldn't return unless ethnic strife or a government request brought them back in. Remember all the warnings during the Bush administration that the bloodbath between Sunnis and Shiites would become extremely intense, unless the US were kept in-between them.
Now, thanks to Obama, the Shiites are ignoring highly provocative al Qaeda suicide attacks because they would rather US troops stay out then to randomly get even with Sunnis in tit-for-tat ethnic strife.
If the US continues to waste vast sums on ever more expensive smart weapons, like drone airplanes, until the dollar collapses, and since most Americans are far away from food sources we will be fighting with each other over food here at home rather than the US fighting a war abroad. The usual way a war ends is that of a signed peace agreement. This is much preferable to a hasty last minute withdrawal. The Taliban doesn’t want to see Afghans continuing to die, they are willing to try to make at least small compromises in exchange for peace.
Sometimes a military defeat is attempted to be covered over by a political event. Hitler didn't seize southern France during World War II, the Vichy government took power. I contend that if moderates like Arlen Specter continue to be kicked out of the Republican Party until the next US administration is proud of torture and human rights infringement like Cheney and the constant escalation of the war advocates at the Washington Times want, it would be a defeat of the US Republic. Sun Myung Moon who founded the Washington Times believes in what he calls "Godism" not democracy, all major decisions made by a central higher authority. Some of those who work at the Washington Times may also go further than Cheney's belief that sometimes human rights and Democracy gets in the way of what needs to be done. I contend that many who shrilly advocate sending more troops to Afghanistan aren’t concerned about Afghanistan but in using the war to disrupt the domestic progressive agenda. They far more interested in change in this country than worrying about change in Afghanistan.
Let's back up a moment. Why is it the US's responsibility to stop al Qaeda when al Qaeda also made horrible attacks in Spain and Britain? To discombobulate Bush's plans for a coalition government in Iraq, al Qaeda blew up Shiite sacred sites which got many thousands of Shiites and Sunnis to kill each other in tit-for-tat violence. This is something many Shiite Muslims in Iran and other Muslims hate him for. If the US wasn’t so egocentric we would realize that purposely creating widespread ethnic strife was a greater crime than 9/11.
Even Saudi Arabia would fight to keep al Qaeda from becoming in charge. The Soviet Union fought militant Muslims in Afghanistan and Chechnya. Unfortunately for them at the time, they did manage to inadvertently convince Muslims around the world that Russia was their enemy, much more that George Bush who constantly insisted that moderates like the King of Jordan was US's friend. Russia would never allow a militant like bin Laden to take charge of much of the world, especially Muslim areas near Russia, or take charge of Pakistani nukes. Also, al Qaeda made it clear that if the US actually withdrew from Afghanistan they would be attacking China in a big way, already looking for a fight with China over suppression of Muslim separatists in Uighur. Time Magazine referred to an Oct 7th al Qaeda statement threatening China that I think is urgent for both US doves and hawks to contemplate,
http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1929388,00.html/
Unfortunately the information covered by Time Magazine didn't get central coverage elsewhere in the media.
During both world wars the US government's only central purpose was to win. This held true in Korea as well. But Lyndon Johnson also wanted his Great Society programs, and Obama wants health care reform. US soldiers want to protect their buddies much more than any burning desire to win. If the central purpose of US foreign policy was to defeat al Qaeda, we would let Iran get the weapons it wants in return for attacking al Qaeda, something due to their hate of what al Qaeda did to Shiite holy sites they already would have done if not tension between the US and Iran and Israel and Iran hadn’t gotten in the way. This is the kind of policy that the US had during World War two when even Stalin was considered US’s friend.
There is no way we can win against an enemy that envisions a permanent warring class, without making stopping al Qaeda the overwhelming focus of US foreign and domestic policy. No American believes that al Qaeda would be in charge of the world if we don't take leadership like most did against Hitler and the Soviet Union. Al Qaeda attacked on 9/11 because it wanted US troops out of Saudi Arabia and feared the then slow march toward victory of the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan would have been both a psychological and physical blow to extremism, while temporary control of Afghanistan by the US would only be a physical, not psychological, setback.
Actually like everyone else I really don't have the answers, but let's lobby Obama in the spirit of trying to get him to do a better job, rather than join those who think criticizing Obama on war is a good way to sabotage Obama and the general progressive agenda.
During Vietnam the theme of the antiwar movement was that “Vietnam was not our enemy” which fit in with the fact that Vietnam never had any plans for the US. Today the theme should be we have no business deciding to be in charge of fighting al Qaeda while paying little attention to what they are all about. I wish I could convey the danger I see in belittling the al Qaeda threat by not only the antiwar movement but ordinary Americans tired of a far away conflict.
Bin Laden's dream of a permanent Muslim warring class is grim news for the world, including much of the Muslim World. But unlike with Hitler stopping al Qaeda is in no way dependent on US resolve. The antiwar movement should stop risking being a tool of those who are investing their future political clout in the hope that al Qaeda will have another 9/11 some day. Remember Al Qaeda attacked Spain when the antiwar movement there was strong and Britain when Tony Blair was in danger of losing his party's support, and could only threaten to attack the German Beer fest when Germans wanted to leave Afghanistan, but just the threat had an effect of the German election outcome. But unless we are willing to give up all other domestic and foreign policy in an effort to stop al Qaeda, such as arming Iran who was hurt the most by an al Qaeda attack of Shiite holy sites, we have no business trying to be in charge while are eyes and ears are focused elsewhere. Where there is emotional commitment some want to use anger against bin Laden to spread to anger at Hamas and Hezbollah, others to anger at all religious people who oppose womans rights or gay rights, or anyone who is more than a Sunday Christian. Others just hoping the war ends the progressive social agenda.
I don’t like the way today’s antiwar movement is copying the Vietnam precedent by claiming that al Qaeda is not a problem for us. Let’s reinterpreted General Stanley McChrystal's grim assessment as meaning that it is likely that any kind of US policy toward sustained change in Afghanistan might not work almost no matter what we do. Reinterpreting General McChrystal’s statements as reason to get out might actually bring and earlier end to the war.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/node/20044
http://phillyimc.org/en/we-lost-we-already-lost-war-afghanistan-not-admitting-it-serious-mistake
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/10214
RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
RichardKanePA
Read more!
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Washington Times "Moonies" are very involved in supporting the Honduras Coup
It’s been so long since I seem mention of the Washington Times and the Moonies in the same article that I was beginning to fear people were forgetting that they still exist. But things are now changing. I noted two recent blog articles, not only Robert Parry’s “WTimes, Bushes Hail Rev. Moon”,
http://consortiumblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/wtimes-bushes-hail-rev-moon.html
but also Alex Constantine’s “Ten More Facts about a living Messiah who is growing old” which I also responded to,
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2009/06/re-sun-myung-moon-ten-more-facts-about.html.
Also some other new material recently hit the Internet that I haven’t yet digested.
But I was disappointed that none of the articles mentioned the extensive effort of the Washington Times to encourage and then defend the Honduran coup, and their continuous efforts to befriend ultraconservative Miami Cubans.
On other causes the Wash. Times plays both sides. It systematically condemned Chas Freeman, who blamed the Israeli Lobby instead of the Wash. Times for not getting the foreign policy post Obama was going to give him, instead of the Wash Times. Somehow, pro-Israeli groups didn’t want to start condemning the Wash Times for getting many angry at the pro-Israel lobby for something they were not responsible for. See washingtoncitypaper.com, Our Morning Roundup: Washington Times “Owns” Chas Freeman Story,
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/03/11/our-morning-roundup-washington-times-owns-chas-freeman-story
I am torn between wanting to condemn Right-Wing Cuban-Americans and praise the efforts of usually conservative Cuban-Americans to stand up against gross extremism. You don’t see Conservative Republicans loudly condemning the sick “Bury Obama Beside Kennedy" signs. However, some extremely conservative Cuban-Americans signed a petition condemning the death threats against Cuban-American performers participating in a Havana peace concert,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
Some rather conservative Cuban-Americans, “Ladies in White”, who have relatives or who had relatives back in Cuban prisons, during the last election campaign, were hoping Obama would negotiate getting their loved ones out of prison, rather than supporting McCain’s vow to force the Cuban Government to do so,
http://havanajournal.com/cuban_americans/entry/ladies-in-white-back-obamas-promise-to-ease-cuban-family-travel-restriction
The Wash Times is sabotaging every effort by the present US government to improve things, accusing Obama of supporting Chavez’s and Castro’s policies in Honduras. It is a distinct possibility that they, and Dick Cheney, with al Qaeda’s help, might create a US government proud of torture, and human rights violations, with the next or following Presidential election and thus it is possible that the most extreme Cubans along with Washington Times embedded reporters will march back to Cuba in triumph like the Iraqi Congress in exile did, and there will likewise be a grim Cuba to follow. The Wash Times is an albatross around any group it supports.
Robert Parry in “WTimes, Bushes Hail Rev. Moon", reminded people of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s early sexual ideas. But somehow everyone misses the harsh universe Moon projects about God and Satan in a breeding war to see whose genes come out in the end. According to Moon the apple eaten by Eve was the Devil winning one and Jesus’s Virgin Birth was God winning one. Cuban Americans, people who want to defend traditional marriage, and every other cause supported by the Wash Times should be wary of how accepting help from a group with such a harsh view of reality might affect them in the long run.
Despite being an albatross the Wash Times has done a lot for the pro-immigration movement. In 2006 it outed "'[added Oct 7]' "Rep. Mark Foley for]"' being harshly against immigration which ironically helped the Democratic election sweep,
http://immigrationstance.diggersrealm.com/fl/representative_mark_foleys_record_on_immigration_reform_and_illegal_aliens.html
The W Times exposed that Foley made inappropriate comments and written notes to underaged pages.
More recently it stopped Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich from hysterically condemning the Sotomayor nomination by having an article claiming that future Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor was pro-life,
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060309/content/01125107.guest.html
Because of it's conservative credentials the W. Times has uncanny access to areas no other pro-imagination group can venture. But remember they are far more interested in rich conservative immigrants than poor apolitical or poor immigrants with any kind of progressive credentials.
It seems almost impossible to me that Robert Parry didn’t include some of the Latin American material unless the Washington Times tracking cookies gives different results to different viewers. I wish Parry’s Consortium blog publication would send someone to the Washington DC main library and photocopy back issues. There could even be different versions of W. Times mailed editions. In the 70's I had two Moonie “Rising Tide” Newspapers of identical date. On one page, in identical format, was an article praising the Iranian Revolution and in the other otherwise identical edition was an article condemning it.
I clear tracking cookies before and after I click on a W. Times link. I should only use the public library. If I was the only one at Kinko’s using Kinko’s to read a newspaper they might steer the Kinko’s computers toward a version of their paper they give to hostile readers. Perhaps a conservative might want to google once or twice on a Kinko’s computer with their laptop also Googeling the Wash. Times sites and see if they get a different version of the BrainWashington Times articles than they get on their home computer. Getting this Albatross off all of our necks should be a priority.
Also posted at,
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/washington-times-moonies-are-very-involved-supporting-honduras-coup
l
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/8716
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/7723
I’m Richard Kane retired in Philly PA at RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Read more!
http://consortiumblog.blogspot.com/2009/10/wtimes-bushes-hail-rev-moon.html
but also Alex Constantine’s “Ten More Facts about a living Messiah who is growing old” which I also responded to,
http://aconstantineblacklist.blogspot.com/2009/06/re-sun-myung-moon-ten-more-facts-about.html.
Also some other new material recently hit the Internet that I haven’t yet digested.
But I was disappointed that none of the articles mentioned the extensive effort of the Washington Times to encourage and then defend the Honduran coup, and their continuous efforts to befriend ultraconservative Miami Cubans.
On other causes the Wash. Times plays both sides. It systematically condemned Chas Freeman, who blamed the Israeli Lobby instead of the Wash. Times for not getting the foreign policy post Obama was going to give him, instead of the Wash Times. Somehow, pro-Israeli groups didn’t want to start condemning the Wash Times for getting many angry at the pro-Israel lobby for something they were not responsible for. See washingtoncitypaper.com, Our Morning Roundup: Washington Times “Owns” Chas Freeman Story,
http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2009/03/11/our-morning-roundup-washington-times-owns-chas-freeman-story
I am torn between wanting to condemn Right-Wing Cuban-Americans and praise the efforts of usually conservative Cuban-Americans to stand up against gross extremism. You don’t see Conservative Republicans loudly condemning the sick “Bury Obama Beside Kennedy" signs. However, some extremely conservative Cuban-Americans signed a petition condemning the death threats against Cuban-American performers participating in a Havana peace concert,
http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/denounce-death-threats-against-juanes.html
Some rather conservative Cuban-Americans, “Ladies in White”, who have relatives or who had relatives back in Cuban prisons, during the last election campaign, were hoping Obama would negotiate getting their loved ones out of prison, rather than supporting McCain’s vow to force the Cuban Government to do so,
http://havanajournal.com/cuban_americans/entry/ladies-in-white-back-obamas-promise-to-ease-cuban-family-travel-restriction
The Wash Times is sabotaging every effort by the present US government to improve things, accusing Obama of supporting Chavez’s and Castro’s policies in Honduras. It is a distinct possibility that they, and Dick Cheney, with al Qaeda’s help, might create a US government proud of torture, and human rights violations, with the next or following Presidential election and thus it is possible that the most extreme Cubans along with Washington Times embedded reporters will march back to Cuba in triumph like the Iraqi Congress in exile did, and there will likewise be a grim Cuba to follow. The Wash Times is an albatross around any group it supports.
Robert Parry in “WTimes, Bushes Hail Rev. Moon", reminded people of Rev. Sun Myung Moon’s early sexual ideas. But somehow everyone misses the harsh universe Moon projects about God and Satan in a breeding war to see whose genes come out in the end. According to Moon the apple eaten by Eve was the Devil winning one and Jesus’s Virgin Birth was God winning one. Cuban Americans, people who want to defend traditional marriage, and every other cause supported by the Wash Times should be wary of how accepting help from a group with such a harsh view of reality might affect them in the long run.
Despite being an albatross the Wash Times has done a lot for the pro-immigration movement. In 2006 it outed "'[added Oct 7]' "Rep. Mark Foley for]"' being harshly against immigration which ironically helped the Democratic election sweep,
http://immigrationstance.diggersrealm.com/fl/representative_mark_foleys_record_on_immigration_reform_and_illegal_aliens.html
The W Times exposed that Foley made inappropriate comments and written notes to underaged pages.
More recently it stopped Rush Limbaugh and Newt Gingrich from hysterically condemning the Sotomayor nomination by having an article claiming that future Supreme Court nominee Judge Sotomayor was pro-life,
http://www.rushlimbaugh.com/home/daily/site_060309/content/01125107.guest.html
Because of it's conservative credentials the W. Times has uncanny access to areas no other pro-imagination group can venture. But remember they are far more interested in rich conservative immigrants than poor apolitical or poor immigrants with any kind of progressive credentials.
It seems almost impossible to me that Robert Parry didn’t include some of the Latin American material unless the Washington Times tracking cookies gives different results to different viewers. I wish Parry’s Consortium blog publication would send someone to the Washington DC main library and photocopy back issues. There could even be different versions of W. Times mailed editions. In the 70's I had two Moonie “Rising Tide” Newspapers of identical date. On one page, in identical format, was an article praising the Iranian Revolution and in the other otherwise identical edition was an article condemning it.
I clear tracking cookies before and after I click on a W. Times link. I should only use the public library. If I was the only one at Kinko’s using Kinko’s to read a newspaper they might steer the Kinko’s computers toward a version of their paper they give to hostile readers. Perhaps a conservative might want to google once or twice on a Kinko’s computer with their laptop also Googeling the Wash. Times sites and see if they get a different version of the BrainWashington Times articles than they get on their home computer. Getting this Albatross off all of our necks should be a priority.
Also posted at,
http://www.phillyimc.org/en/washington-times-moonies-are-very-involved-supporting-honduras-coup
l
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/8716
http://seminal.firedoglake.com/diary/author/7723
I’m Richard Kane retired in Philly PA at RichardKanePA.blogspot.com
Read more!
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