Hat Tip to Information Clearing House
Bruce Springsteen & Tom Morello - The ghost of Tom Joad (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2009)
"Now Tom Said; "Ma, whenever ya see a cop beatin' a guy
Wherever a hungry new born baby cries
Wherever there's a fight against the blood and hatred in the air
Look for me ma I'll be there
Wherever somebody's srtugglin' for a place to stand
For a decent job or a helpin' hand
Wherever somebody is strugglin' to be free
Look in their eyes ma,
You'll see me"
The Other Story: Home Made Uprising in Madison Wisconsin-Feb. 22, 2011
The turbulence in the Arab world has drawn the full attention of the American media. Riots and demonstrations in Libya and Bahrain are dominating the news channels' at primetime, and the newspaper front pages. As Lauren Lyster reports, while U.S. leaders fly the flag for popular uprisings thousands of miles away, it's a very different story at home.
Noam Chomsky on Democracy Now! discussing the anti-labor legislation in Wisconsin he argues is also part of the Democrats policies as well as Republicans since both parties are are more concerned with giving the wealthy more tax breaks while increasing taxes or insisting on wage freeze for public employees.
So as long as the rich and those dependent on the military/Security Industrial Complex are happy then Obama and the Democrts see labor protests as a mere anoyance by the unwashed masses.
Obama has over and over again paid lip service to such issues but is only interested in doing as little as possible regarding many of these issues such as protecting Whistleblowers ( Wikileaks ) and incresing the budgets of certain departments ignored by the former Bush Regime ie Department of Education, Environmental Protection Agency instead he is reducing their budgets and ultimately their effectiveness.
After all we know that Hillary Clinton and others in the Obama administration are big supporters of Big Coal and Big Oil.
Obama for the most part has ignored environmental disasters in the making such as Mountaintop Removal Minning or the BP oil spill in the Gulf area.
Chomsky: Uprising in the USA? World-renowned public intellectual Noam Chomsky discusses the protests in defense of public sector employees and unions in Wisconsin. Feb. 18, 2011
The reason why you can’t get Democratic leaders to join is because they agree. They are also trying to destroy the unions. In fact, if you take a look at—take, say, the lame-duck session. The great achievement in the lame-duck session for which Obama is greatly praised by Democratic Party leaders is that they achieved bipartisan agreement on several measures. The most important one was the tax cut. And the issue in the tax cut—there was only one issue—should there be a tax cut for the very rich? The population was overwhelmingly against it, I think about two to one. There wasn’t even a discussion of it, they just gave it away. And the very same time, the less noticed was that Obama declared a tax increase for federal workers. Now, it wasn’t called a "tax increase"; it’s called a "freeze." But if you think for 30 seconds, a freeze on pay for a federal workers is fiscally identical to a tax increase for federal workers. And when you extend it for five years, as he said later, that means a decrease, because of population growth, inflation and so on. So he basically declared an increase in taxes for federal workers at the same time that there’s a tax decrease for the very rich.
And there’s been a wave of propaganda over the last couple of months, which is pretty impressive to watch, trying to deflect attention away from those who actually created the economic crisis, like Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, JPMorgan Chase, their associates in the government who—Federal Reserve and others—let all this go on and helped it. There’s a—to switch attention away from them to the people really responsible for the crisis—teachers, police, firefighters, sanitation workers, their huge pensions, their incredible healthcare benefits, Cadillac healthcare benefits, and their unions, who are the real villains, the ones who are robbing the taxpayer by making sure that policemen may not starve when they retire. And this is pretty amazing, like right in the middle of the Madison affair, which is critical.
Pro-Democracy, Pro-Reform antigovernment protests spread from Tunisia to Egypt to Iran, Jordan, Sudan, Morocco( West Sahara) to Bahrain and Libya .
Bahrain and Libya and Morocco have met protests with brute force and spreading propaganda to undermine any sympathy or support for those calling for reform. The leaders of these nations discounting any criticisms of their governments have invented various conspiracy theories -that those demonstrationg do not represent most of the citizens of these nations and in fact the demonstrations are being instigated and fueld by radical foreign elements connected with terrorists organizations. Other nations just want to undermine the authorites in these countries.So is the Israelis or the Communists , anarchists and or Islamists out to push for their own agenda to take poer.
It doesnot occur to them that these protests are actually a reflection of the majority or at least a large percentage of the citizens in these nations.
Meanwhile mainstream media ignores or chastises protesters uprisings and demonstartions in Wisconsin, Ohio, South Dakota
Democracy Now! Amy Goodman Feb 21, 2011
as for freedom of the press in America it appears to be that this freedom is slowly but surely being undermined under Obama as it was under Bush/Cheney authoritarian anti-democracy Regime.
"Journalist Returning from Abroad Has Notes, Computer and Cameras Searched and Copied by US Authorities at Airport " by Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! via Alternet, Feb. 21, 2011.
Independent journalist Brandon Jourdan had all of his documents, computer, phone and camera flash drives searched and copied upon arriving at a US airport.
Independent journalist Brandon Jourdan recently returned from Haiti after being on assignment documenting the rebuilding of schools in the earth quake-devastated country. However, when he returned to the United States, he was immediately detained after deboarding the plane by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. He was questioned about his travels and had all of his documents, computer, phone and camera flash drives searched and copied. This is the seventh time Jourdan says he has been subjected to lengthy searches in five years, and has been told by officials that he is “on a list.” Jourdan joins us in our studio. Catherine Crump, a staff attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union, says that Jourdan is not the only one facing such treatment by the Obama administration. Crump says many journalists and lawyers who often work abroad have also experienced similar interrogations—and the ACLU believes the First and Fourth Amendments must be honored within U.S. airports.
And a word from George Bush has only praise for the brutal dictator Qadhafi.
In order to increase the number of its allies the US ignores the oppression and brutality of various regimes such as Qadhafi's. So the logic is rather insane that the USA in order to fight its war on terrorism has taken under its wing a number authoritarian regimes which in fact terrorize their own citizens while in some cases even actively supporting International Terrorist that is individuals and groups.
So how do we determine how much blood is on the hands of American administration or those of other Western Nations who have been involved in this immoral and possibly illegal support for some of the world's worst dictators ie Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia , Libya, Sudan, Jordan, Yemen, Bahrain
as for instance Iran the USA was deeply involved in keeping the brutal Shah of Iran in power and then when a popular uprising took place the USA refused to back the Iranian people or those who were more moderate to offset the influence of the Ayatollah Ruholla Khomeini.
Besides the USA also supported the ruthless brutal dictator Saddam of Ira until he had outlived his usefulness to America.
The USA also supported with material help weapons and money the most radical Drug Lords and Islamic extremists in Afghanistan until 9/11 in order to overthrow the USSR invasion and occupation force in Afghanistan. One wonders if it is the US intentions along with NATO to mass murder and subdue the Pashtun Taliban and its 40 million or so citizens who have in the past destroyed one Imperialist army after another whether the Britian, the Ottoman Turks etc.
"Blast from the Past: George Bush Bragged About Diplomatic Success With Blood-Stained Libyan Despot Muammar Gaddafi by joshua Holland via AlterNet.org, Feb. 21, 2011.
I think you really have to give the right some credit for sheer Chutzpah. Just 7 short years after George W. Bush normalized relations with the Libyan regime, over the strong opposition of Barack Obama, some conservatives actually have the nerve to revise that very recent history and claim the reverse to be true (causing even Debbie Schussel, of all people, to cry 'foul').
Anyway, I dug this bit out of Bush's 2004 State of the Union speech:
Because of American leadership and resolve, the world is changing for the better. Last month, the leader of Libya voluntarily pledged to disclose and dismantle all of his regime's weapons of mass destruction programs, including a uranium enrichment project for nuclear weapons.Yup, diplomacy was great with the eminently-reasonable colonel Gaddafi, but didn't result in Saddam Hussein handing over the weapons that he had destroyed a decade earlier.
Colonel Qadhafi correctly judged that his country would be better off, and far more secure, without weapons of mass murder. Nine months of intense negotiations involving the United States and Great Britain succeeded with Libya, while 12 years of diplomacy with Iraq did not. And one reason is clear: For diplomacy to be effective, words must be credible -- and no one can now doubt the word of America.
And ever since that time, "no one can doubt the word of America."
Fox News & O'Reilly Glenn Beck , Sean Hannity attack protesters in Wisconsin and say it is an Insurrection while still supporting the Tea party Movement without reservation.
Note O'Reilly also is blaming public sector workers and unionized labor in private sphere as being the fundamental cause of the deficit crisis.
He doesn't bother to talk about increases in military spending and the billions given to Israel, Morocco, Egypt etc.
The Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have already cost the American public over one trillion dollars. stop the war or scale it down would save billions. The USA should be looking at shutting down some of its overseas bases such as the fifth Fleets in Bahrain.
This is also part of the anger of the Bahrianians that the USA has stationed the Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and has stood by and even supported the brutal authoritarian regime in Bahrain.
The USA that is President Obama could easily make a call and inform the Bahrain government the US will not tolerate violence against peaceful demonstrators and may either intervene or move the luvcrative US Fifth Fleet 's port to some where else.
Maybe the US could also resolve the deficit issue by withdrawing the Fifth Fleet and brin it home to America where it belongs.
Of course Obama is unwilling to dare to criticize the US armed forces or the Military Security Industrial complex.
FOXNEWS - O'Reilly, 'Insurrection' in Wisconsin
Meanwhile anti-labor Tea Party Republicans have been taking measures to discredit the Wisconsin protests.
Tea Party Leader Hatches Plan to Infiltrate and Sabotage Union Protesters in WI and Other States by Lauren Kelley via AlterNet.org
Does the name Mark Williams ring a bell for you? He's the former Tea Party Express chairman who was ousted from the group last summer for publishing an unbelievably vile NAACP parody in the form of an "open letter" from Abraham Lincoln to the "coloreds," who wanted to "buy flat-screen TVs" with white people's money. (Happy President's Day!) Three weeks later, Williams was back in business at the helm of a new Tea Party group, the Citizens for Constitutional Liberty.
Now that you know what a class act this guy is, it will surely come as little surprise that this is the same Mark Williams who wrote a blog post over the weekend entreating his fellow Tea Partiers to infiltrate the union workers who are protesting in Wisconsin and elsewhere this week, with the goal of getting himself on TV so he can say embarrassing things to tarnish the movement.
In his own words:
Here is what I am doing in Sacramento, where they are holding a 5:30 PM event this coming Tuesday: (1) I signed up as an organizer (2) with any luck they will contact me and I will have an “in” (3) in or not I will be there and am asking as many other people as can get there to come with, all of us in SEIU shirts (those who don’t have them we can possibly buy some from vendors likely to be there) (4) we are going to target the many TV cameras and reporters looking for comments from the members there (5) we will approach the cameras to make good pictures… signs under our shirts that say things like “screw the taxpayer!” and “you OWE me!” to be pulled out for the camera (timing is important because the signs will be taken away from us) (6) we will echo those slogans in angry sounding tones to the cameras and the reporters. (7) if I do get the ‘in’ I am going to do my darnedest to get podium access and take the mic to do that rant from there…with any luck and if I can manage the moments to build up to it, I can probably get a cheer out of the crowd for something extreme.
Sacramento organizers, beware!
In fact, organizers all over the country, beware. Williams says he's been "flooded" with requests from Tea Partiers who want to participate in his ruse at protests in Iowa, Massachusetts, Colorado, and elsewhere. As he writes, "Chances are that because I am publishing this they’ll catch wind, but it is worth the chance if you take it upon yourself to act."
America's allies were shocked by the Obama administration using its veto power for the first time at the United Nations to prevent the passage of a resolution condemning Israel for continuing to expand its illegal-Settlements.
The Israeli backed by the USA has little motivation to stop such expansion and is more interested in creating more settlements in the Occupied territories to establish more facts on the ground.
Israel has shown once again it is only interested in a political solution that is completely on its terms with little or no regard to the Palestinians.
It appears the USA is in favor of a two state solution in which the Palestinian area is not a continuous uninterrupted area but rather more comparable to a number of Bantus-tans surrounded by independent or Israeli controlled Settlements .Such a patchwork solution is no solution at all since there would still be competition and friction among these settlements and their Palestinian neighbors.
As it is one of the major issues facing a two state solution are the Israeli Settlement which usually take the higher ground and take control of the water and demand that Palestinians not have freedom of movement through areas the Israeli Settlers claim as their own territory and that these disputed areas of the Settlers keep expanding.
The US by refusing to criticize in any substantive manner the Israeli government is acquiescing to the extremist in the Israeli government and is seen by the Palestinians as being more in favor of Israel & therefore on Israel's side and by extension anti-Palestinian.
Of course the USA defended Israel even after the Israelis attacked the Humanitarian Aid flotilla to Gaza and in the process killed a number of activists in its act of piracy on the High Seas.
But Israel like the USA does not adhere to international laws concerning International waters.
Israel and the USA act as laws unto themselves.
Besides how can one be rational when dealing with a theological position in which Israel's arguments are based upon theological works that is the Torah and Talmud and not mundane human made laws.
In essence the USA seeing itself as a divinely created entity must protect Israel which is also a divinely created entity.
So the issue as it stands is unsolvable due to its theological and ideological entanglements.
An America that understands that the settlements are the obstacle should have joined in condemning them. By Gideon Levy at "Haaretz"via Information Clearing House, Feb. 20, 2011
- - This weekend, a new member enrolled in Likud - and not just in the ruling party, but in its most hawkish wing. Located somewhere between Tzipi Hotovely and Danny Danon, U.S. President Barack Obama bypassed Dan Meridor and Michael Eitan on the right and weakened their position.
The first veto cast by the United States during Obama's term, a veto he promised in vain not to use as his predecessors did, was a veto against the chance and promise of change, a veto against hope. This is a veto that is not friendly to Israel; it supports the settlers and the Israeli right, and them alone.
The excuses of the American ambassador to the UN won't help, and neither will the words of thanks from the Prime Minister's Office: This is a step that is nothing less than hostile to Israel. America, which Israel depends on more than ever, said yes to settlements. That is the one and only meaning of its decision, and in so doing, it supported the enterprise most damaging to Israel.
Moreover, it did so at a time when winds of change are blowing in the Middle East. A promise of change was heard from America, but instead, it continued with its automatic responses and its blind support of Israel's settlement building. This is not an America that will be able to change its standing among the peoples of the region. And Israel, an international pariah, once again found itself supported only by America.
This should have disturbed every Israeli. Is that what we are? Alone and condemned? And all for the continuation of that worthless enterprise? Is it really worth the price? To hell with the UN and the whole world is against us?
We can't wrap ourselves in this hollow iron dome forever. We must open our eyes and understand that if no country, aside from weakening America, supports this caprice of ours, then something fundamental is wrong here.
Israel, which is condemned by the entire world but continues merrily on its way, is a country that is losing its connection to reality. It is also a country that will ultimately find itself left entirely to its fate. That is why America's decision harmed Israel's interests: It continued to blind and stupefy Israel into thinking it can go on this way forever.
The Veto and the Case for Impeaching President Obama By Alan Hart via February 21, 2011 "Information Clearing House"
-- Never before has an American President’s fear of offending the Zionist lobby and its stooges in Congress been so exposed as it was by Obama’s decision to veto the Security Council resolution condemning continued, illegal Israeli settlement activities on the occupied West Bank and demanding that Israel “immediately and completely cease” all such activities. In a different America – an informed America – some might think, I do, that Obama should be impeached. The charge? TREASON.
After she had exercised the Obama administration’s first veto, the plea made by U.S. Ambassador Susan Rice for understanding of America’s position could not have been more absurd. “Our opposition to the resolution before this Council today should not be misunderstood to mean that we support settlement activity. On the contrary, we reject in the strongest terms the legitimacy of continued Israeli settlement activity.”
So why the veto? Ambassador Rice said:
“The United States has been deeply committed to pursuing a comprehensive and lasting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, In that context, we have been focused on taking steps that advance the goal of two states living side by side in peace and security, rather than complicating it. That includes a commitment to work in good faith with all parties to underscore our opposition to continued settlements.”
What nonsense! If the Obama administration really wanted to underscore its stated opposition to Israel’s on-going colonization of the occupied West Bank including Arab East Jerusalem, there was no better or more effective way of doing so than voting for the resolution or abstaining. In either case the resolution would have passed and that would have opened the door to real global pressure on Israel if it continued to defy international law.
As for advancing the goal of a two-state solution, the Obama administration has done the opposite. By allowing Israel to continue its illegal settlement activities and consolidate its occupation, it, the Obama administration, has helped to guarantee that there can never be a viable Palestinian state living side by side with an Israel inside its borders as they were on the eve of the 1967 war.
and so it goes,
GORD.
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