Monday, February 28, 2011

Canada's Week of Shame :Toronto Police Riot Report: "Civil Rights Trampled in Police Response to G20 Protests: Report "

Civil rights trampled in police response to G20 protests: Report Thestar.co, Feb. 28, 2011


OTTAWA—Civil rights violations at last summer’s G20 summit in Toronto go beyond a few “misbehaving police officers and were endorsed high up the chain of command, civil rights groups charged Monday.

The violent dispersal of peaceful protests, mass arrests and “illegal” detentions all point to a concerted police strategy critics said as they came to Parliament Hill to press their case for a public inquiry into the actions of law enforcement officers—and the question of who was directing the entire operation.

“Someone with authority must have directed police to engage in activities that ignore proper conduct and even the rule of law,” said James Clancy, president of the National Union of Public and General Employees.

“Whoever that person or persons are, they must be held accountable. That’s not going to happen unless we have an independent public inquiry,” Clancy said.




For those who demand Canadian content on our blog here's something to chew on.
Last year the G20 Summit met in Toronto Canada and while most protesters were peaceful the Police were out to get their pound of flesh to prove that the Police , the Military the secret service , the wealthy and well connected elites are still in control. Democracy when it comes down to this sort of confrontation in Canada gets tossed out the window.
It seems no matter how many homeless and poor people there are in Canada it is verbotten to speak up on their behalf.

The problem is that Canadians for all their bluster about human rights, civil rights and freedoms these are just empty outdated (we are told) quaint notions that belong to more naive innocent earlier days before (we are told) 9/11.

Now only those who support unconditionally and without question Canadian domestic and foreign policies are permitted to speak all others who are critical of these policies as Bush/Cheney and Washington would say are therefore on the side of AlQaeda, the Islamist extremists etc. Our current Prime Minister Stephen Harper fights for Big Oil and believes workers should take cuts in pay or benefits so corporations can make bigger profits and pay their CEO lavish salaries.

Police Attack Jail Solidarity Action-June 27, 2010.



--

Compare to Egyptian police attacking protester while the protesters were praying. Anumber of Coptic Christians at one point surround those Muslims praying in order to protect them from bein beaten by the police.
Egypt :New images show police using water canons against protesters praying on a bridge last Friday.



And some video about Canada's Week of Shame in which the riot police rioted against primarily peaceful protesters.
The message good or Real Canadians do not protest period.

Welcome To The Banana Republic of Canada the USA's 51st State
Secret Police in unmarked vans snatch and grab at G20 Toronto 06.27.2010



Torontonians gather at police HQ to condemn abuses-Real news Network




G20 riots expose police brutality



G20 Protest The Battle of Toronto




POLICE SURROUND PROTESTERS AND ATTACK - QUEENS PARK TORONTO - G20



Fortress Toronto Aljazeera 2010




June 27, 2010





Any Canadian therefore taking part in such protests are to be deemed enemy combatants whom the police are permitted to beat the shit out of while many Canadians at home applaud.
What disturbed our Uberconservative Canadians is that the police didn't use live rounds on protesters .
This may not be true but given the silence of most Canadians at the time and now eight months later would give their silent approval to these "Police State " tactics even the CBC went overboard to prove they are on the side of repression in the name of law and order. The CBC thinks if it moves further to the right the Neoconservative Religious Right Prime Minister and his quasi Fascist Regime will not cut their government funding . So dream on CBC.

More money was spent on security at the G20 summit in Toronto 2010 than at any other G20 Summit
There also only about 75,000 demonstraters yet police acted as if there were half a million or more.


Civil rights trampled in police response to G20 protests: Report Thestar.co, Feb. 28, 2011

OTTAWA—Civil rights violations at last summer’s G20 summit in Toronto go beyond a few “misbehaving police officers and were endorsed high up the chain of command, civil rights groups charged Monday.

The violent dispersal of peaceful protests, mass arrests and “illegal” detentions all point to a concerted police strategy critics said as they came to Parliament Hill to press their case for a public inquiry into the actions of law enforcement officers—and the question of who was directing the entire operation.

“Someone with authority must have directed police to engage in activities that ignore proper conduct and even the rule of law,” said James Clancy, president of the National Union of Public and General Employees.

“Whoever that person or persons are, they must be held accountable. That’s not going to happen unless we have an independent public inquiry,” Clancy said.

“This wasn’t just a few rogue officers or somebody on the front line. This was systematic,” Clancy said. “This goes up the line. The question is how far.”

The union, with about 340,000 members nationwide, joined with the Canadian Civil Liberties Association to produce a 59-page report backing their demands for a public inquiry.

As Prime Minister Stephen Harper played host to world leaders last June inside the Toronto convention centre, downtown streets resembled a war zone as peaceful protesters clashed with police officers and number of vandals smashed windows and looted stores and businesses.

Over two days, 1,105 people were arrested, the largest mass-arrest in Canadian peacetime history.

“In an effort to locate and frustrates a small cohort of vandals, police disregarded the constitutional rights of thousands,” the report says.

The report takes aim at the security effort, saying it wasn’t properly planned to accommodate the expected peaceful protests and then once the summit was underway, excessive – even illegal — force was used to deter the protesters.

“There are events in Canadian history that will remain symbols of the fragility of our democratic rights and the policing at the G20 will be remembered as one of them,” said Nathalie Des Rosiers, general counsel for the civil liberties group.

“We still don’t know why such conduct was allowed to take place and why the right to peacefully protest was not fully protected,” she told a news conference Monday morning.

Des Rosiers said none of the reviews ordered so far have the scope or legal mandate to provide the answers she says are needed or to explore the interaction between the RCMP, the Ontario Provincial Police and the Toronto police involved in the summit security.

“Is there some legal safeguards that needs to be implemented better? Is there some better training? This should not happen again and that’s why we need a public inquiry,” Des Rosiers said.

“The failure to train police officers properly, the strategy deployed is what we are questioning today,” she said.

“Canadians deserve to know what went wrong,” she said.

Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay said it’s hypocritical for the federal Conservatives to voice support for peaceful protest across the Middle East when Toronto protests were so aggressively confronted by police.

“I think the line got crossed in the G20,” she said.





Top Ten Disastrous Policies From the Wisconsin GOP You Haven't Heard About
Saturday 26 February 2011 by: Kevin Donohoe | ThinkProgress | Report, Feb. 26,2011.


As the standoff between the Main Street Movement and Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) continues for the twelfth day, much of the media coverage — and anger — from both sides has focused on Walker’s efforts to strip Wisconsin public workers of their right to collective bargaining. But Walker’s assault on public employees is only one part of a larger political program that aims to give corporations free reign in the state while dismantling the healthcare programs, environmental regulations, and good government laws that protect Wisconsin’s middle and working class. ..


Since his inauguration just two months ago, Walker and the Wisconsin GOP have taken unprecedented action to undermine the state’s unions, environmental regulations, long-term fiscal health, social welfare programs and basic democratic structure. As Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) said Tuesday, Walker has stopped acting like the Republican governor of a Midwestern state and has instead “basically taken on the position of a dictator” with a “vision of America that’s similar to somewhere like Nigeria or Pakistan.”

and so it goes,
GORD.

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Libya :Qaddaffi Defiant & Interim Gov't Formed & Spain Taking On U.S. Attorneys For Justifying Torture

UPDATE: 5:26 PM, Feb. 27, 2011

In Libya military commanders denounce Qaddaffi and join the anti-government protesters especially after Qaddaffi ordered the military to use lethal force on unarmed protesters.
Colonel Hussein was especially angered at the reports of security forces’ firing on protesters after prayers. “They did not have weapons,” he said, speaking at an abandoned army base in the eastern city of Benghazi, which is firmly under rebel control. “They shot people outside the mosque.”

Asked what would happen if Colonel Qaddafi was deposed or killed, Colonel Hussein said Libyans wanted a democracy.

It was our duty to enter the fight,” he added. “The regime started this. They are the ones who brought the revolution.” Quote from New York Times

Interim Libyan government wins support from Aljazeera Feb. 26, 2011.



Gaddafi now on fire against protesters in Libya



and :

Battle for Tripoli continues
From AljazeeraEnglish ,Feb. 26, 2011


Al Jazeera's Hoda Abdel-Hamid is in eastern Libya from where she wraps up the latest from across the country



Security forces in Libyan city switch sides as Gadhafi clings on
By the CNN Wire Staff February 27, 2011


Zawiya, Libya (CNN) -- Libya's embattled leader, Col. Moammar Gadhafi, seemed increasingly cornered Sunday as security forces defected to the opposition in a town a short drive from the capital, and the United Nations Security Council voted for tough restrictions on and possible war crimes charges against the Libyan regime.

Former security forces said they had switched sides and joined the opposition in Zawiya, a town about 55 kilometers (35 miles) from the capital, Tripoli. Some buildings in Zawiya showed signs of damage, including a freshly burnt-out police station.

CNN's Nic Robertson saw armed civilians taking defensive positions on rooftops to prepare for a possible effort by Gadhafi loyalists to retake the town.

About 150 people rallied outside the town in support of Gadhafi later on Sunday, in what appeared to be a hastily organized demonstration.



"Qaddafi Forces Shooting From Ambulances, Witnesses Say" by: David D. Kirkpatrick and Sharon Otterman, The New York Times News Service Feb. 26, 2011



Tripoli, Libya - An increasingly gruesome picture began to emerge Saturday of the violent tactics used by the government of Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi to quell protesters in Tripoli, the Libyan capital, with several witnesses confirming that forces loyal to the government had been shooting people from ambulances and using antiaircraft guns against crowds.

Witnesses to the violence in Tripoli, where a tense standoff held on Saturday, also said that the government had removed dead bodies as well as the wounded from hospitals in an effort to disguise the mounting death toll in the uprising against Col. Qaddafi sweeping Libya.

Col. Qaddafi’s forces had put down demonstrators, who had taken to the streets after Friday Prayers to mount their first major challenge to the government’s crackdown, with snipers from rooftops, buckshot, and tear gas, witnesses said. There were unconfirmed reports that an armed rebel force was approaching the city on Saturday.

In Tajoura, a neighborhood of the capital where there has been significant fighting since a peaceful demonstration there last Sunday, residents had barricaded a street with old television sets and cinderblocks to try to keep out pickup trucks full of men with machine guns. A doctor working at the local clinic here said he had seen 68 people killed and 150 injured in recent days of clashes, and that residents were braced for more violence.

A rebel officer who is coordinating an attack on Tripoli, Col. Tarek Saad Hussein, asserted in an interview that an armed volunteer force of about 2,000 men — including army defectors — was to arrive in Tripoli on Friday night. There was no way to confirm his claim.

Protesters in Tripoli said that they had heard a force was on its way from the eastern cities that had fallen to rebels, but that they had been stopped in Surt, a remaining Qaddafi stronghold halfway between Tripoli and Benghazi, the opposition-controlled city where the uprising began.

Colonel Hussein was especially angered at the reports of security forces’ firing on protesters after prayers. “They did not have weapons,” he said, speaking at an abandoned army base in the eastern city of Benghazi, which is firmly under rebel control. “They shot people outside the mosque.”


Colonel Hussein said the force consisted of active duty, retired soldiers and army reservists who had joined the rebel side. It was sent to the capital in small groups, he said, adding that they carried a mixture of light arms and heavier weapons, including rocket-propelled grenades.

He did not offer more details about the size of the groups, or their route. The road to Tripoli from the country’s eastern cities is blocked to the rebels by the city of Surt, Colonel Qaddafi’s hometown.

Colonel Hussein said he was negotiating with tribal leaders and military officers in Surt to abandon the government, or at least not stand in the way of the rebels. “We’re appealing to the people of Surt to help us stop the bloodshed,” he said.

Army soldiers stationed at a barracks near Benghazi said on Friday that 200 to 250 of their colleagues had left the barracks in recent days, headed to Tripoli to fight Colonel Qaddafi’s forces.

A group of 60 or so officers stood outside another barracks in Benghazi on Friday, saying they were volunteering to go fight in Tripoli. Colonel Hussein said they were joining the battle because protesters were being killed. “In cold blood,” said Colonel Hussein.
         Asked what would happen if Colonel Qaddafi was deposed or killed, Colonel Hussein said Libyans wanted a democracy.

It was our duty to enter the fight,” he added. “The regime started this. They are the ones who brought the revolution.”


Major Yemen tribal figure joins protests
Feb. 26, 2011, Aljazeera





Pro-reform pro-democracy protests continue and are spreading in the Middle East and North Africa.
Qaddaffi with little support left clings to power and has killed hundreds if not thousands in the last couple of days.

Meanwhile the latest news interim government being formed with the expectation that Tripoli will soon fall and Qaddaffi deposed.

over 100,000 protest in Madison Wisconsin while Governor Scott Walker stands his ground and unfairly blames public sector unions for deficit problems .Many argue that Gov. Walker is in fact using the deficit issue just to go after the Unions .

So first up is a another having fun with Glenn Beck episode this time on the Ed Schultz show.

Ed Schultz criticizes Glenn Beck for connecting pro-union protests in Madison to uprisings in Middle East & North Africa . Beck thinks pro-union protesters are ignorant kids or useful idiots being used by New World Order thugs or the Muslim Botherhood or AlQaeda or whomever (this week) he thinks is the behind the scenes shadow government organizing all of these uprisings and protests. And the aim of all these protests according to Beck and his ilk is to undermine America's authority .

Of course if a particular brutal authoritarian Regime is backed by the USA and that in the face of growing opposition the US continues to back such a regime then of course the pro-democracy protesters are going to also sound anti-American or any other nation that backs one of these dictators.

Beck points out that even children are being forced to take part in these protests organized by the George Soros Islamist anti-American Jihadists. He didn't bother him when young people and children took part in the Tea Party Republican anti-government anti-Obama campaign.

But will his audience not eventually catch on to the fact that Glenn Beck just makes a lot of stuff up and that for instance when Tea Party prottesters chanted "Kill the Bill" this was somehow different from when Wisconsin protesters chanted the same slogan refering to the Health Care Reform Bill.


Madison, Wisconsin Protests: Beck Insults American Workers, Unions & 'Young People'





Spain to prosecute attorneys of the former Bush Regime for their involvement with US policy on the use of torture.

During the rule of the Bush Regime tens of thousands of prisoners in jails in Iraq , Afghanistan were abused and tortured . Abu Ghraib is just one of the prisons along with Guantanamo and Bagram which became infamous for their abuse of prisoners.

But dozens more under US jurisdiction including those ostensibly under the control of Iraqis or Afghans used torture routinely.

Meanwhile President Obama is protecting the torturers and their enablers from President Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld and their attorneys and those in the CIA & Pentagon and other agencies which took part in the use of torture.

Most of the nations now facing popular uprisings are being run by authoritarian , oppressive regimes which routinely use torture .


While the world focuses on the pro-reform pro-democracy anti-torture states protests in the Middle East and Northern Africa anti-torture groups in USA announce that the Spanish government is going ahead with indictments against the former Bush Regime's attorneys who created a pseudo-legal veneer which allowed the Bush Regime to claim that torture was legal and did not contravene American or international law.

Bulletin from WarIsACrime.org
Spain Hears You, Bush Can Sleep Less Easily
The Spanish government's representatives appreciated the support you gave them earlier this month, thanking and encouraging Spain to prosecute U.S. war criminals. A report is here on what we did. The Spanish media spread the word.
Now comes a report from the Center for Constitutional Rights that suggests Spain may be listening:


February 25, 2011, New York – In response to news that the full panel of Judges of the Audencia Nacional (Spain’s High Court) rejected a Spanish prosecutor’s effort to stop an investigation into the role of US officials for torture on Guantanamo, the Center for Constitutional Rights, which has submitted many papers in this and a related case in Spain, released the following statement:

This is a monumental decision that will enable a Spanish judge to continue a case on the “authorized and systematic plan of torture and ill treatment” by U.S. officials at Guantanamo. Geoffrey Miller, the former commandin g officer at Guantánamo, has already been implicated, and the case will surely move up the chain of command. Since the U.S. government has not only failed to investigate the illegal actions of its own officials and, according to diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks, also sought to interfere in the Spanish judicial process and stop the case from proceeding, this will be the first real investigation of the U.S. torture program. This is a victory for accountability and a blow against impunity. The Center for Constitutional Rights applauds the Spanish courts for not bowing to political pressure and for undertaking what may be the most important investigation in decades.

Americans Spent Valentine's Day Thanking Spain for Prosecuting Bush Lawyers Submitted by davidswanson at War Is A Crime,2011-02-15

On Valentine's Day 2011, yet another U.S. judge agreed with yet another claim that President Obama has the right to protect members of the Bush-Cheney administration from prosecution for torture.

But a coalition of human rights groups spent the day visiting the Spanish Embassy in Washington, D.C., and Spanish colsulates around the United States to share some love for a country that is working to prosecute former top Bush officials for torture.

The coalition thanking and encouraging Spain to enforce laws when the United States will not has gathered 8,400 signatures on a letter, a love letter of sorts, to the people of Spain, and has raised $6,000 so far for purchasing newspaper and street advertisements in Madrid.

The delegations that presented the letter on Monday to Spain's representatives in the United States reported that their visits seemed to be accepted in the spirit of friendship and gratitude in which they were made. Visits to Spanish diplomatic offices were made in Washington, D.C., New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, Miami, Dallas, and Phoenix.

Spanish media outlets, and Spanish-language U.S. outlets, are reporting widely on this effort, while the rest of the U.S. media, and even the blogosphere, could hardly be less interested.

At the Embassy of Spain in Washington, D.C., Ray McGovern and Ann Wright led a meeting with a Spanish diplomat, thanking and encouraging Spain to prosecute former Bush officials for torture on behalf of a large coalition. Ron Fisher reports that they gave the embassy personnel Valentine’s Day balloons and cookies.

In New York City, a delegation of a dozen New Yorkers gathered outside the Consulate General of Spain. They went upstairs together to the Consulate and delivered the letter, roses and a box of chocolate. They were interviewed by Univision and EFE.





and so it goes,
GORD.

Saturday, February 26, 2011

Moveon.org Calls For Protest Across The US Meanwhile Anti-Union Media Stars Limbaugh, Hannity, O'Reilly Have Benefited From their Union Membership

UPDATE: 3:37 PM, Feb. 26, 2011.

Protests in Madison Wisconsin


Tax The Rich sign at protests in Madison , Wisconsin.
The rich and super-wealthy do not pay their fare share of taxes being pro-rapacious capitalism who have no regard for the common good and therefore UNAmerican-

above photo of protest in Rotundra Madison Wisconsin legislature.

"This isn't really about saving taxpayers money. but consolidating political power. Walker and such leading lights of the GOP leadership as Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and Ohio Gov. John Kasich, among others, have decided that public employee unions make great punching bags, effective scapegoats for an outraged electorate and a satisfactory diversion from the real culprits of this grim, economic melodrama - the Simon Legrees of banking and finance who got us into this meltdown mess in the first place."
From article: "Attacks on Unions Barking Up the Wrong Money Tree" by
Michael Winship, Truthout Feb. 25, 2011.


UPDATE: 1:38 PM. Feb. 26, 2011.

Anyway as mentioned in the previous posts Moveon.org and other progressive and liberal organizations were today hold demonstrations across the USA to protest against the Wisconsin anti-labor law and defend the rights of all workers whether they work for government or in the private sector.

So hopefully there will be large numbers of American citizens demonstrating even though it appears Gov. Scott Walker has pushed the Bill through in a session held after midnite.

There should also be protests demanding Scott Walkers resignation after he revealed during a prank phone call from Dave Koch what a slime ball he really is and that he is not working for the people of his state but for vested interests especially those like the Koch brothers who donated quite liberally to Walkers campaign.

There is a great deal of speculation about whether Governor Walker has exaggerated or cooked the books to make the budget deficit look worse than it is.
It also seems contradictory that he is decreasing taxes or creating more tax break and loopholes for the rich in Wisconsin.


Noam Chomsky Democracy in USA " Has been eviserated "
Democracy Now!



Protesters in Madison Target Koch Brothers Offices
Watch this amazing video from Democracy Now! which shows that protesters in Madison have found another, highly-appropriate target: the local lobbying offices of the Koch Brothers.


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Meanwhile according to an article at Alternet.org that for all their ranting against unions the self-appointed media spokespersons for "Real Americans" including Sean Hannity, Bill O'Reilly, Rush Limbaugh are themselves members of unions or have benefited from Union membership in the past. But this is a well studied sociological phenomenon in which a large segment of those who once benefited from Unions or government run programs once they become more well off financially than they once were they become more conservative in their views about unions and the right to collective bargaining or affirmative action programs or other government run programs that help and protect lower wage earners. For instance when someone is fairly young in their late teens or twenties may be glad there are laws regarding minimum wage and other protections for wage earners but once they get beyond that stage ie becoming professionals lawyers, doctors,etc. small business owners, CEOs they then identify more readily with the upper classes than with the lower classes the poor and working poor and those who's salaries and wages are fixed and barely keep up with the increases in Cost of Living -ie COLA clauses in union settled collective bargaining agreements.

Those who have such a hate on for Unions or protections for the rights of labor should refuse such benefits which were the result of Union bargaining or the result of government legislation.
If they are so sincere in their beliefs they should also as a gesture of their sincerity pay back to a union or to the government any financial gains they made due to collective bargaining.
Those who believe in collective bargaining and legislation to protect all workers should make these blowhards put their money where their mouths are . This would also go any such anti-union anti-government individuals or groups that benefited from various government actions such as affirmative action that includes quotas for minorities or women etc. That is a uberconservative woman or African-American who benefitted from such a quota system ie quotas in universities to accept more women or other groups into the university and especially into professional schools such as Law Schools and medical schools.

It always struck me as odd and hypocritical when women for example some of whom I have known who benefited in getting accepted into a university or later on into graduate work or into the professional schools from such mandated quotas once they were established in their careers became vociferously anti-Quotas for women or any body else which are intended to give them a leg up as it were and as redress for society's discrimination against women and minorities.
Most of those complaining about quotas also have the belief that it is only right being followers of the likes of Ayn Rand and of "trickle Down Economics' and a Machiavellian view of the society that they take advantage of any program being offered even if they philosophically and politically against such programs . So their ethics as such can be ignored or bent and rationalizations are at the ready when they themselves benefit from such programs or legislation. This happens to be one of my pet peeves when it comes to feminists who refuse to acknowledge that a significant number of successful women have adopted this uberconservative/ Neo-Con ideology and insists against all factual data which proves otherwise that they did not benefit in any way form over a hundred years of women fighting for equal rights in a patriarchal society..
These uberconservative anti-union media spokespersons argue that to be in favor of unions and the right to collective bargaining makes an American citizen UnAmerican, anti-American or not "Real Americans" or as Gov. Walker said "Not one of us". So this is another litmus test for loyal Americans to be added to being in favor of an aggressive American foreign policy being anti-Gay rights and against non-Christians being allowed to run for public office and of course being anti-abortion and in favor of shutting down the so-called liberal biased Mainstream Media and against the Separation of Church and State in America.

Note these uberconservatives such as Limbaugh put this sort of disagreement in apocalyptic either or good vs evil -Unions evil corporations and government run by uberconservatives good.
Once again there is in their view no room for compromise on this issue or any other.
It is unfortunate that in the current struggle President Obama who should be leading such a struggle has tended to be silent or once again tries to compromise with so called moderate conservatives who have no intention of compromising . When all of this fails Obama's habit more often than not is to attack his own base of moderates, liberals and progressives. It's like his rhetorical acrobatics to find a middle ground on issues such as the War on Terror and the use of torture. He agrees to allow a little torture or torture lite or like Bush before him redefines torture in such a way that it is no longer recognizable that is he abandons the Internationally accepted definition of torture in favor of a uniquely American definition which even defies the common sense ordinary language definition of torture- that is to cause unnecessary short term or long term mental or physical pain or anguish. Or to put it another way local police , the FBI, the CIA and the US military are exempt from these international laws and agreements defining and outlawing torture. International Law does not make exceptions in the use of abuse or torture no matter what crime these enemy combatants or POWs or just plain criminals are accused of and no matter who's jurisdiction they are under or where they are located geographically. So torture is wrong in the local police station in American penitentiaries or in military prisons in the US proper or in Guantanamo Bay or Abu Ghraib or Bagram etc.or whether the persons performing the torture are regular soldiers or contracted out mercenaries or advisors etc.

"Confirmed: Union-Bashing Right-Wing Media Stars Hannity, Limbaugh and O'Reilly Are AFL-CIO Union-Affiliated Members :
In spite of their criticism of unions in Wisconsin, AlterNet has confirmed that leading right-wing pundits are American Federation Television and Radio Artists union members."
February 26, 2011


When it comes to the Wisconsin union fights, right-wing pundits Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh have a couple of things in common. For starters, have all voiced their opposition to the plight of public employee unions in the state.

On Feb. 18, Limbaugh said on his radio program, "We are either on the side of the Wisconsin protesters or we are on the side of our country." Hannity has featured several guests critical of the union and its supporters, including Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, on his Fox News television and radio shows.


On the Feb. 18 edition of "The O'Reilly Factor," O'Reilly stated, "Governments can't afford to operate" because of "union wages and benefits." But it turns out that opposing workers' rights isn't the only thing these blowhards have in common.

As it turns out, all three of them belong to the American Federation Television and Radio Artists union (AFTRA), which is the AFL-CIO affiliate for television and broadcast workers.

Yes, you read that right. While Hannity, O'Reilly and Limbaugh have been railing against union workers in Wisconsin, all three of them belong to an AFL-CIO affiliate union.

A report voted to the front page of Reddit Friday claimed that Hannity, Limbaugh and O'Reilly were union members, as well as Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and Ann Coulter. Right-wing blogger Michelle Malkin called it the "stupid lie of the week," insisting that neither she nor the "other Fox News personalities being accused of 'hypocrisy' belong to the union." As one might expect, Malkin didn't know what she was talking about and the liberals were right (she herself, as just a frequent guest on the network, is not a member of the union).

A representative from Beck's camp denied the claim, but a source within AFTRA confirmed to AlterNet Friday that O'Reilly, Limbaugh and Hannity were indeed union members

----------------------

Rachel Maddow was shocked when Glenn Beck on his TV show admitted to being somewhat perplexed (which happens a lot)about the popular uprisings in the Middle East and Northern Africa and invited on his show an expert but who was an expert on Biblical Prophecies not on the politics of that area. Well Glenn is especially happy to discover this guy doesn't just interpret prophecies he is in fact a prophet and seer who can read God's signs interpret them for other Christians who do not have the Gift of Prophecy.



It always strikes me as odd that the anti-labor crowd includes those who claim to be the "Real Christians" In the 19th century it was in large part those Christians who believed in the Social Gospel that a number of reforms took place during that century including slavery, child labor, basic education for all laws, better regulations for industries to create a safer environment for the workers and put an end to the serf-like conditions in the USA, Canada, Britain and throughout Western Civilization making it more civilized and humane.

The upshot is that those Christians who believed in the Social Gospel believed in the dignity of all people not just the wealthy and powerful and those who are pious Christians .
They believe this was the essence of Jesus' message to all men and women that each of them should be treated with respect and that the individual had an obligation to do onto others as they would have others treat them.So it is a duty to help others .

The new improved (not quite) Evangelicals are at the opposite end of the spectrum of Christians and as author and journalist Michelle Goldberg in her book Kingdom Coming calls them Christian Nationalists who believe America is a Christian Nation which must then apply God's Law as found in the Bible which would include barbaric punishments and myriad of petty annoying and even irrational - so the punishments for breaking God's Law would include stoning , burning at the stake -"suffer not a witch to live"so witches heretics, blasphemers , sodomites, adulterers all sent to the chopping block, or gallows, or crucified and a thousand whipping offenses and of course the stocks every village and every exurb or suburb.

Would they then defend the right to have slaves or indentured servants , concubines,the beating of children . Reconstructions such as Gary North see no problem with this as Michelle Goldberg refers to one preacher uses Stalin's quote "No man, No Problem" This is where Christian Nationalism in America is heading if they can get enough power . And what will they do if they get resistance let loose rivers of blood.

As for the law and obedience and those who rule these Christian Nationalists believe that there is a natural hierarchy so there are those who give the orders who rule over the lesser human beings who have less knowledge of god's design who have less faith and piety and so they must accept their plight of being poor or barely getting by. Whereas those who are rich and those who are chosen by God to do his bidding get rewarded in this life as well as in the next.
Now that's a bum deal.


Fox News Endtimes Prophet interpreting "Book of Revelation" connects the dots between Egyptian uprising and others in North Africa and the Middle East to the protests taking place in Madison WI and the Satanic Unions , liberals, secularists, Gays and Lesbians who are supported by Obama who in fact maybe the Anti-Christ.


The acceptance of the notion of Gifts has become a hallmark of the current incarnation of the radical Evangelical Christian Movement in America .
The Gifts include Speaking in Tongues , prophecy, healing by the laying on of hands .


If anyone has been following Glenn Beck's program he has had other Endtime prophets on his show explaining their interpretation of Biblical prophecies especially those found in "The Book of Revelation" for instance he has had Pastor John Hagee who has one of the largest congregations and television audience in the US and he is also the head of CUFI - Christians United For Israel the biggest Christian pro-Israel group and so Hagee is also a Christian Zionist and hater of the poor , the lame , the sick, unions - What you don't remember Jesus ' anti-union pro-Wall Street Sermon on the Mount or his damning of Cooperatives or when he called the minimum Wage an abomination before God.


Once again Glenn Beck and Fox News lend credence to the belief in the Biblical Apocalyptic Endtimes.
So the Christian Evangelicals who insist the Bible be read as the literal word of God and that it is withour error ( inerrancy ) and that all who believe in Jesus will be saved and blessed by being permitted after death to enter paradise.

The premillenialists believe that there will be a period of wars, pestilence etc. the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse etc. in which a few billion people will perish and that the dark forces of the AntiChrist will fight against Jesus and his followers at Armageddon where he will defeat them.

But many Evangelical Christians believe that all those who have been born again will be taken up into Paradise before this era of the Tribulation and therefore will not be forced to suffer through it. This they refer to as the Rapture that is being taken up " in the air in a twinkling of an eye" bodily that is leaving behind their unsaved family members, friends , co-workers who are all damned to Hell unless they truly repent in time.Those who are left Behind who truly repent may get a second chance to be saved and will as the saving remnant act as witnesses to God's wrath on Earth.

Maddow is flabbergasted that such drivel would be showcased as real genuine in depth journalistic analysis of these social and political issues on Fox News. But this sort of Christian Evangelical approach to politics and world events has been going on in the Megachurches and on Christian bradcasts by various self-proclaimed prophets such as Pat Robertson, Pastor James Kennedy, Dobson, Pastor John Hagee .

First things first -didn't Maddow watch Jesus Camp or other such documentaries exposing how wide spread and deeply entrenched these endtimes apocalyptic views of the world are in American society. While Bush was in power he poured hundreds of millions of dollars into these extremist Evangelical Christian organizations under the ruse of his so called Faith initiatives . This money was not spread around to all Christian denominations or to non-Christian faiths which Bush claimed . No most of this money went to strident anti-democracy Evangelical Uberconservatives who used much of the money to proselytize to those not yet Born again and to the Back sliders.

These radical Christian Evangelical are referred to as being Dominionist and influenced by the most extreme form Christian theology known as Reconstructionists.
They claim that as a group they are being oppressed by the liberal Christian churches and those American citizens who belong to other faiths such as Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists .
And they claim they are also under daily attacks by secularists, socialists, communists who control America's major institutions and spheres of influence such as Education, Churches, businesses, the Government, the Media and the arts and entertainment
They can be divided up into two major factions of pre-and post millenialists.

Both insists that America was founded by Christians for Christians as part of God's mandate for America to spread the Gospel throughout the nations.
Both believe that the law of the land must reflect God's Law not Man's Law.

The postmillenialists believe that once the agents of Satan are defeated that is the secularists, atheists, liberals including liberla Christians this would be followed by a theocracy formed by the Christian Taliban or Christian Nationalists.

They either believe they must try to convert the non-believers before the endtimes to earn a place in Paradise while others contend that they must spread God's Word throughout the nations and establishe God's Kingdom on Earth which will last a thousand years and then comes Jesus to judge all of mankind .


For the Uberconservative business men and women and politicians or Media stars who may or may not believe in this endtimes senario , the AntiChrist, the Rapture, the Battle at Armageddon have used this theology and escatology to mobilize these Christian Evangelicals to help destroy or undermine American democracy and attack such rights and freedoms which the elites find rather annoying such as The Right to Collective bargaining or a free press or free speech except for those who support their point of view and that of Fox News and its fellow travelers.

These elites use these evangelical Christians who fear going to Hell if they don't fight back against the Anti-Christ and his secular, liberal followers in the USA and around the world.

This is a big part of how Bush and the gang were able to sell the Iraq War by demonizing Saddam as the AntiChrist or one of the AntiChrist' minions.
And they also play on the whole notion that they must defend Israel and insist that Israel must expand to include the territory which it had in ancient Israel as defined by the Holy Bible.

This sort of complex belief system has been around since the middle of the 19th century and managed to take root and grow especially in the USA so that now there are at least some 20 million American Evangelicals who wholeheartedly and with fear and trembling believe that these prophecies as found in the Book of Revelation are now unfolding before their very eyes.
But they also relish the idea of all of their enemies suffering horrible deaths followed by an eternity in Hell Fire.
But it is through this endtimes apocalyptic mindset that they view all major cataclysmic events along with what seem to be minore events such as protests in Madison as a sign of the endtimes closing in as being the work of the antichrist . For them everything is a sign this all get revved up if you like when Israel once again became a nation as the Bible and the "Book of Revelation " in their view predicted through prophecy.

Post Millenialists also see signs from God giving the faithful visions and penetrating knowledge of these signs . These signs guide them in their slow but eventual conquering of America at least if not the whole world. by such public actions they are able to recognize those who are anti-God

So even the protests in Madison are a sign from God because first the liberals and progressives who are the followers of Satan and or the Antichrist came out into the open to oppose the Wisconsin legislation but all their fervor it appears did not stop the passage of the law so is this too a sign of God.
Even the scandal over the prank phone call by someone pretending to be Scott Walkers bag man David Koch in which Scott Walkers revealed that he is just hyped up on the idea ofbeginning the process of crushing all unions not just in his state but in all of America.

It should be noted that Glenn Beck and Fox News, Limbaugh and the rest of the right wing have been trashing unions and demonizing them arguing that the whole idea of a union and collective bargaining rights is UnAmerican.

As radical Muslims call such notions "innovations" which are the result of either a faulty reading of the Qur'an or a deliberate misreading of the the Qur'an to make the Qur'an agree with what you already believe and to justify your actions which are in fact sins against God/Allah/ Jehovah .

Uberconservative evangelical Christians have managed on a variety of issues to get the support of Uberconservative Catholic fellow travelers.

The self-proclaimed leaders of the Christian Nationalists such as Sarah Palin , Michelle Bachmann, Newt Gingrich , George W. Bush, Don Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Ralph Reed, Lou Engle ,Rod Parsley, John Hagee either sincerely believe in this bizarre eschatology or merely for their own politicalor finacial gain pay lip service to this wild theorizing.


Books for suggested reading:

By radical evangelicals see:

* Seven Mountain Prophecy by Johnny Enlow, 2008

* The Call of The Elijah Revolution: The Passion For Radical Change by Lou Engle & James W. Goll, 2008

about radical Evanglicals or the Christian Right and the Political Rightwing see:


* God's Own Party :The Making Of the Christian Right by Daniel K. Williams, 2010.

* Kingdom Coming : The Rise of Christian Nationalism by Michelle Goldberg 2006.

* American Taliban : How War, Sex, Sin, and Power Bind Jihadists and the Radical Right by Markos Moulitsas , 2010.

* Roads To Dominion : The Right-wing Movements and Political Power in the United States by Sara Diamond, 1995.

* Dark Crusade: Christian Zionism and US Foreign Policy by Clifford A. Kiracofe, 2009

*The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus On the Family and Evangelical America Are winning the Culture War by Dan Gilgoff, 2007

and so it goes,
GORD.

Friday, February 25, 2011

US Military Deeply Involved In Yemen & other Countries Where Uprisings Are Taking Place & Moveon.org's "Rally To Save The American Dream" Feb. 26

UPDATE:  4:15 PM & 5:42 PM Feb. 25 2011.

* Moveon.org calls for massive rallies across the US to defend worker's rights.

* Scott Walker's prank call (see side bar on left)speaks volumes about Gov. Walker and other Republicans desire to quash first Public Service Unions and then all unions in order to help private businesses to profit more. Tea Party Republicans have been bought out by the Koch brothers and others.

* Libyan leader Qaddaffi vows to stay in power and will let loose a river of blood ???
Note on spelling ( on how to spell Qadafi?, Gaddafi , Gadafhi, al-Gadafi el-Gadafi etc.)

* will Obama do the right thing in the middle east and north Africa or just help with window dressing by  replacing current dictators with  new American-friendly dictators.

First a word about Wisconsin and the attempt across the USA to destroy Unions and the right to collective bargaining

Letter from People For The American Way:
ARE YOU READY FOR TOMORROW?

The progressive movement is taking to the streets. Events have been organized in cities and state capitols across the nation to show solidarity with workers in Wisconsin and people in every state who will suffer as a result of the Right's slash-and-burn attacks on workers' rights and critical budget priorities.

The time is 12:00 NOON tomorrow, wherever you are ... it's going to be big, so please don't miss out on being a part of it.

Our friends at MoveOn have compiled the master list of events around the country. Find the event or events nearest you here >

We hope you can make it, and, as always, please help spread the word.

In Solidarity, Ben, PFAW

and from Moveon.org:


Rally to Save the American Dream

In Wisconsin and around our country, the American Dream is under fierce attack. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to corporations and the very rich—and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response, and vital human services.

On Saturday, February 26, at noon local time, we are organizing rallies in front of every statehouse and in every major city to stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin. We demand an end to the attacks on worker's rights and public services across the country. We demand investment, to create decent jobs for the millions of people who desperately want to work. And we demand that the rich and powerful pay their fair share.
We are all Wisconsin. We are all Americans.

This Saturday, we will stand together to Save the American Dream. Be sure to wear Wisconsin Badger colors—red and white—to show your solidarity.

Libya- government response to protests with wanton violence
Yemen appears to be softening its response to protest.
Bahrain response mixed

Robert Fisk reports on Bahrain growing protests which is different from other countries.
Fisk describes the uprising as civil rights movement especially for the Shia Muslims but that the protest from what he has seen is classless and secular as it was in Egypt.
In both countries as in others these uprisings are for the most part not the result of Islamic extremists.



In Libya Qaddaffi defiantly holds onto power while much of the military is siding with the anti-Qaddaffi protesters. Meanwhile Qaddaffi gives a rambling almost incoherent speech blaming , Al Qaeda , AlJazeera and outside agitators who have been drugging the drinks of Libyans with LSD or other hallucinogens  which Qaddaffi believes makes them act crazy. He sounds as paranoid as other meglomaniacs such as Saddam or Bush and Cheney when they were in power.

But no matter how crazy Qaddaffi appears the US is still helping to prop up his failing government .
Some reports to Aljazeera & other news outlets suggest that the government of Libya has already  loss of control over large parts of Libya.


Qaddaffi on TV told the loyal soldiers to enter the homes of the protesters beat them and kill them .

Horrifying video from Libya mercenaries in Benghazi entering homes & shooting people
91177info



Massacre by Gaddafi (qaddaffi) in Libya - Mass Burial in Tripoli - 519 died, 3,980 wounded 1,500 missing.






Obama like his predecessors is more concerned about its phony war on terror and its agenda to keep the American Empire in tact and to further extend it as the Americans expand bases in Afghanistan, in Africa, South America etc.

Obama if he continues in his dithering and backing these friendly dictators against the peoples of these states will prove that he is as morally bankrupt as Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Condoleeza Rice, Karl Rove etc who only believed in the Nietzchean Will To Power or Real Politik.

We can use Yemen or one of the other nations now facing uprisings in trying to evaluate the involvement of the US gov't and the US military & CIA in these countries.After Obama's gutless kow-towing to Israel last week at the UN it is difficult to expect the US to do the right thing in Libya, Yemen, Bahrain , Morocco etc. without acting within  in its own interest & agenda .And if Obama request help from the UN some countries on the security council may on principle be against whatever the USA now tries to do no matter how reasonable.
Remember the USA's government has been trashing the United Nations going back at least as far as President Nixon .

The USA even under Obama has shown itself merely concerned with its own agenda without any real sincere regard for the peoples of these nations.

Over and over the USA' s excuse for not backing reform or pr-democracy in these nations is because of terrorists threats . But the problem is becoming the old chicken and egg conundrum- by supporting unpopular regimes the people feel they have no voice in their own countries so some in desperation turn to the use of force and guerrilla tactics at first and then terrorists actions as the people in other colonial nations such as Algeria experienced in the 1960s as the people fought for Independence.

Once this sort of polarization and extreme is reached and the Americans continue to prop up an unpopular regime then America and its allies eventually are seen as legitimate targets.

So using Cruise Missiles, Tomahawks and drones in these countries just adds fuel to the fire as with each attack dozens of innocent civilians are killed what the Callous Arrogant American Media refers to as "Collateral Damage" or as Cheney infamously said "Shit Happens".

The American Media and its government is more interested in preserving the false image of America as a Holier than thou state which can do no wrong and always acts in a supposedly Christian and moral manner than to admit to when America has made mistakes or has in the last few decades been on the wrong side of history.

So even the deaths of dozens , hundreds or tens of thousands of innocent people killed by American forces or its proxies in these nations is of little consequence to the myopic narrow minded Uber Patriots of America as they wrap themselves in the Flag and the Cross to justify all of their actions which have more to do with materialism , profit , greed and the Will To Power.

Yemeni students protest in renamed 'Tahrir square'



Conflicting reports coming out of Yemen-is the government sincerely willing to compromise with protesters and make substantive reforms ?
Yemen security forces ordered 'to protect' protesters



US has been on the wrong side for decades in Libya ,Yemen Bahrain , Tunisia , Morocco , Saudi Arabia, Jordan

US for years has kept the brutal authoritarian regime in Yemen in power.
The USA also has carried out or at least orchestrated Cruise Missile & Drone attacks in defense of the current regime. The Obama Regime like the former Bush Regime uses the excuse of The Perpetual War on Terror to attack civilian populations because there might be would be terrorist amongst them. This has it appears had a blow back effect on the Yemen government and has increased anti-Americanism in Yemen.

U
US-Yemen military ties under scrutiny - PressTV 110224



Conversation: Jeremy Scahill on US Military Actions in Yemen



also see articles at Human Rights Watch:
Middle East Protests Intensify
Our Team in Libya Documents, Investigates Deaths

In Libya, Muammar Gaddafi has vowed to fight protesters "to the last bullet." Human Rights Watch has documented more than 300 deaths, and the full toll is believed to be much higher.

Our team in eastern Libya viewed mobile phone footage from a witness in Benghazi of several dozen bound and blindfolded men -- many in military and police uniforms. The person who took the footage said they were soldiers and police who were executed for refusing to attack the protesters.

Our Middle East and North Africa division director writes about tyranny in Libya; (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=qlL0LbMRLjKZLlI&s=mwL4KhN3IsI1KfNZKtG&m=hmLZLiNZKeIVKpL)

In Bahrain, protests continue to grow, with demonstrators marching away from the original focus of anti-government demonstrations, Pearl Square, toward the financial district and disrupting traffic.

We witnessed the release of 23 political prisoners whose arrest sparked massive riots in 2010. Most were arrested for peaceful political activities. We're pressing for the government to drop politically motivated charges against them.

Our researcher reports from outside the prison in Bahrain; (http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=mrKSIZOBLfITKbJ&s=mwL4KhN3IsI1KfNZKtG&m=hmLZLiNZKeIVKpL)

In Yemen, two anti-government protesters died after attacks by provocateurs. At least three were detained for several hours, and one said a police officer beat him for trying to deliver medical supplies to protesters.

After the attack, President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered all security forces to halt clashes and prevent direct confrontation between demonstrators.

Read more about the attacks in Yemen;
(http://www.kintera.org/TR.asp?a=puIYJ8PNKiL0IlI&s=mwL4KhN3IsI1KfNZKtG&m=hmLZLiNZKeIVKpL)

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Rachel Maddow :Gov. Scott Walker Union Busting On Behalf Of Koch Industries

Rise Against - Tim McIlrath "Ohio" at the Wisconsin Union Protest - Feb 21st 2011








AFL CIO  advert re: Gov. Walker's Attack on the right of Collective Bargaining




As the world watches amazed by the uprisings by the citizens of countries under brutal authoritarian Regimes protesting for Democracy and reform to have more rights and freedoms to be treated with dignity and to have more of a say in the domestic and foreign policies in their respective countries in America the Uberconservative Republicans and the Tea Party pro-rich and the American Christian Taliban is attcking democracy and the rights and freedoms of millions of American citizens.

Meanwhile in America the citizens rights and freedoms as in the case of the right to collective bargaining are under attack.
Women's Rights are also being attacked by the Tea Party Republicans and The American Christian Taliban who want women to know their place and submit to the rule of Christian Men.

For instance the reproductive rights of women are under attack in various forms from the defunding of Planned Parenthood to outlawing all Abortions without exception. Even Rape and Incest or the woman's mental or physical health are not permitted as reasons for an abortion.
So Rape and Incest victims are to be further victimized by being made to carry a child they do not want to term. And once its born the child and mother are on their own. No government agency would be permitted to help them finacially or with whatever other needs they may have whether medical or psychological since the uberconservatives are against any government health care.
They are trying to pass laws which would allow for anyone to kill a doctor or anyone else who has or is about to perform an abortion.
Various states have passed legislation which allows a pharmacist to refuse to dispense the morning after pill or the Birth Control Pill or IUDs or Condoms to their customers.

The conservative Tea Party Christian Evangelical Republicans want to deprive their fellow citizens of the rights which these oppressed groups including women, workers, labor, african-Americans , Gays and other minorities have achieved through at least a century of struggle against those who believed in protecting the privleged elites to keep the rest of Americans under their thumb and doing their bidding.
Republicans taken over by the Tea Party and the Religious Right working to undermine all progress made in regards to the rights of American citizens
that includes the rights of minorities African Americans, Spanish Americans , gays and those won for women and children, and the rights of the poor and the homeless and those with mental or physical disabilities -

The unberconservative winner take all crowd hate America as it is today
Their speeches and actions are proof of their loathing for a free America in which all Americans whateveve the color of their skin, or their religious beliefs whether Born Again Christians or Catholics or Mormons or Mennonites or Quakers or Jews or Muslim or Hindu or Buddhist or Wiccans or Pagans etc. and even those who are agnostics or athiests , or whatever job they have whether white collar or blue collar or whatever education they have not just the rich or the Born Again or White Americans have rights and freedoms
have demonized these various groups as if their obtaining the rights which should have been theirs from the beginning of the establishment of the United States of Americ.
Republicans and uberconservatives want to return to the days when all of these group were kept in their place and knew their place.

Workers rights in Jeopardy

Scott Walker tied to the scandal ridden unsavory security firm Wackenhut
Rachel Maddow Scott Walker Union Buster & Security Firm Wackenhut
It appears this is all part of Scott Walker's MO in which he uses the excuse of financial trouble such as Budget deficits to go after unions or to use his power in whatever way he wishes to.



Rachel Maddow Interviews Rep. Tammy Baldwin In Madison , Wisconsin



So much for the Tea Party and Republicans being on the side of average Americans since it appears they are on the side of the wealthy elite.

an example of the right's attack on the Common Man & unions, Democrats, progressives
Right Wing Uberconservative Heritage Foundation's Anti-union Propaganda



Cenk Uygur on MSNBC with Lee Fang discussing Koch Industries Support For Gov. Scott Walker Of Wisconsin.



Koch Industries Front Group Americans for Prosperity Launches Ad to Support Walker's Union Busting by: Lee Fang | ThinkProgress Feb. 22, 2011

As ThinkProgress has reported, the global conglomerate Koch Industries not only helped elect Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), but is the leading force orchestrating his union-busting campaign. Koch gave Walker over $43,000 in direct donations and its allies aired millions of dollars worth of attack ads against his Democratic opponent. Then, Koch political operatives pressured Walker to crush labor unions as one of his first priorities. Tim Phillips, a former lobbying partner to Jack Abramoff and current president of Americans for Prosperity, a front financed by David Koch, told the New York Times that Koch operatives “had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown.” A Koch-financed front group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, has prepped Wisconsin GOP lawmakers with anti-labor legislative ideas.

Today, the Koch group Americans for Prosperity announced that it will air an ad smearing the protesters in Madison and calling on the state to support Walker’s power grab. As we noted on Friday, Koch has demanded that collective bargaining rights be curtailed for both private and public sector unions, a step beyond Walker’s already extreme move. The ad disparages the pro-labor protesters for allegedly bringing in “out of state political protesters.” In fact, the small pro-Walker demonstration orchestrated by Koch operatives last Saturday included a number of out of state conservative activists, including Herman Cain (from Georgia), Jim Hoft (from Missouri), and Phillips (from Virginia).

AFP NARRATOR: Democratic legislators don’t even have the guts to show up for their jobs, hiding out in other states. President Obama backs the union bosses and floods the state with out of state political protesters. Governor Walker has the courage to do what’s right for Wisconsin. Stand with Walker.

Last year, at a Koch-organized fundraising meeting in Colorado attended by fellow right-wing billionaires like Steve Schwarzman and Phil Anschutz, attendees discussed strategies for taking down the labor movement. As MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow has explained, the right’s national anti-union campaign has little to do with budget deficits. Instead, it is about defunding the progressive movement and weakening Democrats in the longterm.

Moreover, Koch’s political activism on behalf of Walker is also a strategy for increasing its profit margin. Koch Industries has a large set of businesses within Wisconsin, including a network of oil pipelines, paper plants, and coal companies. The Walker administration is signaling a very Koch-friendly approach in targeting environmental regulations and going on record with fierce opposition to clean energy policies.

To take full advantage of such a friendly local government, Koch Industries quietly expanded its lobbying operation in the state. Koch has a new government affairs office in Madison, and according to reporter Judith Davidoff, recently registered seven full time lobbyists to work with the Republican-led government in Wisconsin.


and so it goes,
GORD.

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Glenn Beck Compares Reform Rabbis To Radical Islamists & Guns Of Brixton Arcade Fire & Protests in Madison & American Colonialism

UPDATE: 2:59 PM & 3:22 PM , Feb. 23, 2006

Here's an anthem for those struggling for reform in Liby, Algeria, Sudan, Jordan, Bahrain, Morocco, Yemen and in Madison Wisconsin - hold your ground

Guns Of Brixton (Clash)-cover by Grammy Winners Arcade Fire




Bahrain releases a number of political prisoners and Bahrainians still occupyin Pearl Square
Feb. 23, 2011 Euronews


- The real concern as this Western Media report highlights  for the West appears to be not human rights and tyranny but rather the flow and price of oil.
The West has been supporting friendly tyrants for over a century now in the Middle East and Africa and now acts as if these domestic affairs have nothing to do with the West and its historical role in the region.

Gaddafi 'could sabotage oil fields'



BBC 23 February 2011
Middle Eastern media see end of Gaddafi


Arab media commentators hail what they see as the end of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi's rule in Libya, although many fear that his latest speech shows he will not quit without further bloodshed.


Many fear that Gaddafi's speech means he will not quit without further bloodshed
Pan-Arab TV channels continue to lead on the story, with even usually reticent Syrian satellite TV noting international calls for Libya to halt attacks on its own people.

The pro-Libyan London newspaper a-Arab al-Alamiyah also reported on the disintegration of Colonel Gaddafi's regime. One Saudi paper criticizes the pan-Arab TV station al-Jazeera, which has led the critical coverage of the Libyan leader, accusing it of behaving unprofessionally.

Iranian comment from left and right sees no way out for Colonel Gaddafi, and one Turkish newspaper columnist said former African, British and US allies cannot save him.

Some writers criticise Arab and other states for having tolerated the Libyan regime for so long, and one Israeli commentator calls for Colonel Gaddafi to be put on trial for genocide and shot



Bush's and Obama and America's friend Gaddafi blames media for encouraging unrest in Libya and telling lies about what is actually taking place in Libya. He especially blames Aljazeera so his hatred and paranoia about Aljazeera mirrors that the Obama administration which also claims Aljazeera is cohoots with pro-democracy movement which many in the US media see as anti-Americanism.
We shoud note that when millions of Americans and tens of millions protested around the globe against the US pending invasion of Iraq the Government and its echo chamber in the Mainstream Media called the numbers of protesters exaggerated and that those opposed to the invasion were anti-American and by their logic therefore pro-terrorists and anti-Western & Anti-Christian.


Libyan officials say Qatar, Al Jazeera arranged revolt Feb. 23




Defiant Gaddafi vows to 'fight on' Aljazeera-Feb. 23



Libyan interior minister resigns- Aljazeera-feb 23




The American Mainstream Media while showing some sympathy for the pro-democracy movements in Libya, Bahrain , Egypt etc. are either ignoring or criticizing pro-union pro-labor demonstrations in Madison Wisconsin and elsewhere in the USA.

American uberconservatives, Tea Party Republicans, Neocons, Neoliberals with a hint of racism and colonialism argue Egypt and other countries fighting for reform are too backward to have real democracy.

US government fears losing its favorite dictators and authoritarian Regimes.
Obama makes excuses rather than pick up the phone and tell these tyrants he's pulling the plug but that 's not the American way.

American hypocrisy in Foreign Affairs

US claims it is in favor of democracy and human rights , civil rights, freedom of speech, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly , freedom of association while denying such freedoms to its satellites or colonies.
American colonialism is no better than British, French, German, Italian, or Spanish colonialism.
The US government and its elitist enablers attitude towards the American Empire's client states or colonies is similar to the British Empire's attitude toward the American colonies during America's War of Independence.

The American way in the last 60 years or so has been to cozy up to tyrants and to help quash critics and dissidents-imprison, abuse , torture or kill any citizens demanding reform or democracy.

The people of Bahrain for example are rising up against a tyrannical government which is supported by the USA.

Meanwhile the American 5th fleet is stationed in Bahrain but the USA has done nothing to support the people of Bahrain-
While Obama with a straight face has the Gaul to claim the US does not interfere in the domestic affairs of other nations-Give Me A Freakin Break!!!

Glenn Beck goes after George Soros and Reform Rabbis - anti-semitism or what???

Glenn Beck: Reform Judaism like "radicalized Islam"
BY ALEX PAREENE at Salon.com, Feb. 22, 2011


Glenn Beck said something stupid about Jewish people, today. Just FYI. On his radio program, while discussing George Soros, Beck says Reform Judaism is "almost like" "radicalized Islam."




For example Alex Pareene has focused on the unsavory beliefs of those in the media such Richard Cohen of the Washington Post who believes Egyptians are too backward to be able to set up a real democracy.

In another article below Richard Cohen like other Uberconservatives and the Mainstream Media demonizes Public servants such as teachers, firefighters who want better wages and benefits and the right to collective bargaining.
What he is arguing is that he and his fellow travelers deserve the salaries they draw while teachers and others are supposed to be glad to even have a job and should accept whatever is given to them. (The crumbs from the rich man's table)

Richard Cohen like Glenn Beck, O'Reilly , Sean Hannity and the dedicated members of "The Family"et al want to return to what they see as the good old days when union organizers were tossed into jail and when strikers were met with brute force. This helps explain their ambivalent attitudes towards the uprisings in the Middle East and Africa.

WAR ROOM Richard Cohen: Egyptian democracy will be "a nightmare"
BY ALEX PAREENE at Salon.com feb.1 2011


Nothing saddens Richard Cohen more than the sight of hundreds of thousands of Egyptians peacefully protesting. The longtime Washington Post columnist is sad because those childish Arab Muslims might end up with a democracy, but they don't know how democracy works. Here is how democracy works: We like it unless "the people" want something that complicates our current foreign policy objectives.

Cohen is just broken up about this. "Egypt, once stable if tenuously so, has been pitched into chaos." "The dream of a democratic Egypt," he says, "is sure to produce a nightmare." It is sure to. Such a nightmare it will be. Just not anywhere near as pleasant as these last 30 years of "stability" have been, for everyone.

Cohen is totally an expert on Egypt and Muslims, because he is a longtime opinion columnist for the Washington Post, and not at all a blinkered idiot. Egypt "lacks the civic and political institutions that are necessary for democracy," he tells us. And you can't argue with that. I mean, do Egyptian newspapers even run syndicated Richard Cohen opinion columns? Do they have "Dancing With the Stars," to teach them how voting works?

My take on all this is relentlessly gloomy. I care about Israel. I care about Egypt, too, but its survival is hardly at stake. I care about democratic values, but they are worse than useless in societies that have no tradition of tolerance or respect for minority rights. What we want for Egypt is what we have ourselves. This, though, is an identity crisis. We are not them.

Cohen is concerned that the Muslim Brotherhood -- which "runs the Gaza Strip" under the name "Hamas," he tells us -- will take control of Egypt and attack Israel, at which point "the mob currently in the streets will roar its approval." That "mob" certainly does seem pretty bloodthirsty. They clearly want all-out war with the region's sole nuclear power. Pretty sure that's what these demonstrations are about. "I'm actually pretty cool with Mubarak but I really wish we were waging war against Israel right now" -- An Egyptian protester.

Cohen seems to understand that the Brotherhood, while involved in the demonstrations, did not organize them, and he has been told that the majority of the demonstrators have no ties to the group, but he thinks that might just be because they are sneaky. "It has been underground for generations -- jailed, tortured, infiltrated, but still, somehow, flourishing. Its moment may be approaching." Scary!

And why should we all be super-scared of them? "The Islamists of the Brotherhood do not despise America for what it does but for what it is." Thanks, Richard Cohen, for explaining who these Islamists are, and what they despise about us. It's not our lengthy history of propping up the dictator who brutally repressed them -- they hate us for our freedom. (You may compare Richard Cohen's history of the Muslim Brotherhood to that an an actual expert on the subject, if you wish.)

This column is so full of winning lines, I have to stop myself from quoting the entire thing. There is literally an "I like democracy, but" part: "Majority rule is a worthwhile idea. But so, too, are respect for minorities, freedom of religion, the equality of women and adherence to treaties, such as the one with Israel, the only democracy in the region."

There is literally an "I like democracy, but" part: "Majority rule is a worthwhile idea. But so, too, are respect for minorities, freedom of religion, the equality of women and adherence to treaties, such as the one with Israel, the only democracy in the region."

I'm sorry, I can edit that one to more clearly express Cohen's actual point: "Majority rule is a worthwhile idea. But so, too ... [is] respect for... Israel...."

These are the last lines:

America needs to be on the right side of human rights. But it also needs to be on the right side of history. This time, the two may not be the same.

The "right side of history" might not be the "right side of human rights." Got it? Sometimes you have to be on the "wrong side" of "human rights," and history will totally understand.

Poor Egypt. Maybe you will be grown-up enough in the eyes of Richard Cohen to handle a democracy someday, but right now, it's just not in the cards.



Is this where America is headed and with the blowback with labor and Dems finally taking a stand the US is becoming more polarized as the rights view of reality is becoming nightmarishly delusional but inventive their imaginations running wild.

He believes as other uberconservatives that teachers and other public servants are overpaid and they should one be glad that such dim witted individuals would dare as Oliver dare to ask for more. They believe that the wealthy deserve their wealth and that their wealth should be increased while average workers get paid less and less.


Overpaid newspaper columnist: State employees are too generously compensated
BY ALEX PAREENE via Salon Feb. 22, 2011


The Washington Post's Richard Cohen's "take" on this whole Wisconsin public sector union mess is that public sector employees are retiring with too-generous pensions, in New York, according to some stuff he read in "the local newspapers," which means the right-wing anti-union New York Post. This makes him steaming mad, that a police lieutenant and some teachers have very big pensions. And did you know how many LIRR employees claim to have disabilities? Stupid Wisconsin teachers!
Cohen's been at the Washington Post for more than 40 years. As of 10 years ago, he showed up at the office once a week. His column runs only on Tuesdays. I am willing to bet that -- like many senior Post editorial employees -- he makes comfortably more than six figures a year.
Wisconsin's 2010 "Teacher of the Year" -- the very best teacher in all of the state, who presumably went to work five days a week, at least during the school year, and who helps more people learn more things in one day than Richard Cohen has in 30+ years of opinion-columnizing -- made $54,928.
Or, put another way: Richard Cohen is outraged that cops, firefighters and transit workers make nearly as much in retirement as Richard Cohen does for doing the exact same amount of work on the average day.

"Wisconsin governor's "fireside chat": Not particularly convincing"
BY ALEX PAREENE at Salon.com ,Feb. 22,


Scott Walker claims to not be at war with unions, argues that collective bargaining increased the deficit

President Franklin Roosevelt used "fireside chats" to reassure a Depression-ravaged and war-torn nation that a brighter future was ahead, and to tell people to have faith in American institutions. Tonight, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker had a "fireside chat" to dismiss the claims of protesting Wisconsin public employees and the millions of Americans who sympathize with them in their fight to retain collective-bargaining rights.

Walker warned that outside agitators were being shipped in from Nevada and Chicago. He claimed that his union-busting bill was aimed purely at deficit reduction, and not intended as a "battle with unions." If he'd meant to cripple unions, he said, "we would have eliminated collective bargaining entirely or we would have gone after the private-sector unions."

"Our bill is about protecting the hardworking taxpayer," he said. "Unless the taxpayer is a teacher," he didn't add. "It’s about Wisconsin families trying to make ends meet and help their children," he said. "Although I have no idea how any specific family will be helped by depriving state employees of the right to negotiate for benefits," he also didn't add.

He read a letter from a substitute teacher who disliked the protest, and mentioned a laid-off private sector worker "who asks simply why everyone else has to sacrifice except those in government," because the money class has been setting workers against each other in a resentment-fueled race to the bottom for decades. (Hint, laid-off worker: There is a class of people that no one expects to "sacrifice" anything, and it ain't teachers.)

Walker also begged Democratic state legislators to return to the state, so that he can finish dismantling their base of support. The Senate minority leader declined.


and so it goes,
GORD.