BRUCE SPINGSTEEN Protest Songs : Bush's War on CIVIL LIBERTIES AND the POOR

Here's a bit more on the ongoing problems of post-Katrina , post- 9/11, post-Iraq war

The administration has shown little interest in rebuilding New Orleans or other areas decimated by hurricane Katrina and the inadequate response of FEMA and the Bush elitist regime. Meanwhile civil liberties are being slowly chipped away under the Bush/ Cheney regime. So they call all critiques and dissidents unpatriotic . The regime insists torture , renditions , massive surveillance , the dismantling of the Separation of Powers and the Separation Church and state are all absolutely necessary .

Springsteen: Banned-"Protest Music " 2

Springsteen: (Banned by Clear Channel). Dissent is Patriotic. "Protest Music" is Patriotic.

One of two from Crooks and Liars' "Protest Songs." Months old, but just as important today as then. Part three = "Make Games Not War."



Lawyer Arrested During Housing Protest




Isn't this odd a lawyer on the side of the poor - he should be seen as a hero as someone with personal integrity ; as someone with core moral and ethical values. But no he is seen by the media and many Americans as another rabble-rouser and malcontent . He doesn't represent Lawyers in general since most lawyers in America or Canada are only interested in supporting the ruling class at all cost no matter how degenerate and mean spirited the ruling class is . Besides most of the upper middle class has no interest in the poor or the working poor or the homeless since they see them as lazy, stupid, ignorant and as persons of little consequence in the grander scheme of things. The only time the Middle Class and the rich give a thought to the poor is at xmas or Thanksgiving when the well-off donate a few cans of soup to the Food-Banks or Soup Kitchens . They are dead set against paying a few dollars more in taxes to help out the poor or others. The Credo which arose in the 1980s is now entrenched in our society that there are winners and losers and the winners have no obligation to the so called losers.

.

New Orleans Protest-post Katrina -a national disgrace
Dec. 21, 2007 CNN



Note CNN blames the protesters for the brutal actions of the police. The reporters don't even consider for a moment that the people of New Orleans who are going to be directly impacted by the city's policies should have a right to attend the council meetings and have a say. Since most of these people are poor and or homeless CNN like much of the American media characterizes them as being rabble- rousers or trouble makers. Then CNN refers to the issue of the demolition of the Projects but doesn't give the numbers . The mistaken conclusion CNN comes to is that all of those in the housing project and the homeless in New Orleans will get comparable or better housing than they had before . So the Media doesn't see what the problem is or why these ungrateful people are protesting.

But the impression given by CNN does not tell the whole story. If the city were intending to replace those public housing units with an equal number of low rent housing units as in private houses then there would not be much of an issue. The problem is that the city is demolishing some 4,500 apartments in public housing to be replaced by only 850 single family dwellings. So what are the other 3,650 other families to live . Under the bridges in parks or tents . Is the aim of the municipality, the state and the federal government mainly to push more poor people out of New Orleans . Is the new and improved New Orleans only for the Upper Middle Class and the rich. This is in fact the conclusion which lower income or poor and homeless New Orleaners have drawn from what has and is happening in New Orleans since hurricane Katrina.

take care,
GORD.

The Junky's Christmas by William S. Burroughs: WHAT WOULD JESUS DO?

Here's one of my favorite Christmas stories. William S. Burroughs' " THE JUNKY's Christmas " Narrated by Burroughs.
The Junky gives an answer to What Would Jesus Do?
And what would the conservatives and evangelicals do , oh yes execute the Junky ...
I was unable to upload directly from my computer to this blog. I had to splice it into two sections to upload to Youtube and the download ...

part one



part two



Even a Junky can sometimes redeem himself.

take care,
Gord.

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE Or How I Became A Socialist !

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE to " A Beautiful Day " By U2
Dick Cheney playing Old Man Potter : A Story of Mean Spirited Rapacious Capitalism
The Movie Neocons Love to Hate
or How I Became a Socialist




#2 SONG -It's A Wonderful Life
An original song, inspired by a classic theme
Musician ClarenceGotHisWings
Joined: December 20, 2007
If you have problems go to Youtube it's still there.




A Christmas Carol Alastair Sim - still the best Scrooge
Conscience Awakened or What Would Jesus Do if He were not a Neocon-
" More of Gravy than of Grave in you... an undigested piece of beef "
One must be tough and heartless to succeed -to feel is bad so the successful tell us...
or its ok to feel one day of the year...



But all those well meaning Christians would rather starve the poor and open more sweat shops. Oh how Bush and Harper long for the good old days. Then there were the poor houses and Debtors Prisons. Oh how they dream of the time when you could execute a man for stealing a loaf of bread. And they remember when in the Good Old Days when Oliver Twist and his kind knew their place- ah but that's another story...But oh how they dream on Christmas day when they were treated as princes and kings and everyone bowed their heads as they passed .

take care,
GORD.

New Orleans :Tossing out The Poor and the Meaning of Christmas

ah yes it is Christmas and I wonder if Christians truly believed and put into practice the words of Jesus as in the Sermon on the mount then maybe I too would call myself a Christian . But how many actually do. It seems many Christians are endlessly fighting amongst themselves splitting hairs ,parsing words and phrases. They argue whether it is by faith alone or grace that one is saved . Is it by workrs alone that one is saved. Is one save by a combination of faith and works .Some might argue that one is saved by baptism alone . To be saved does one have to take part in the Eucharist and confession . Can one be saved through the Eucharist alone . Can one be saved by Confession alone. Is the path of the Christian to love everyone even those who are not Christian or only fellow Christians or just fellow Baptists or Catholics or Presbyterians . Is all of humankind destined for the torments of Hell except for a predestined elect etc.

So how then should the weak , the meek and the poor be treated in a supposedly Christian nation.
Should Christians merely feel bad for the poor . Should Christians feed and clothe the poor . Should Christians fight for public policies to create long term solutions to poverty. Should Christians only help those willing to help themselves. Should Christians help those in need without any hesitation like the Good Samaritan

From these thoughts at Christmas we turn to those still stuggling in places like New Orleans.

Anyway here 's an update on the situation in New Orleans Post-Katrina . The struggle continues as those in power use the disaster to promote their own agenda. And what is their agenda. To create a New Orleans rid of its excess population . This includes the lower classes including the working poor and the poorest of the poor . By getting rid of public housing projects the land can be used for development for homes for a so called mixed income neighborhood. Such a neighborhood would have a smaller population with a smaller percentage of lower income residents. The members of this new neighborhood could be checked out so that they are of the right sort. They could be approved of by the city and the developers. The corporations involved in the new development and investment would finally have a say about who should be permitted to live in particular areas of New Orleans. As for those who cannot afford to buy these new houses or condos or over-priced apartments can always live in the streets until the city finally expels them . And where will those expelled live.

Ah well the government and the corporations may set up low income trailer parks or housing projects far from the city limits . Eventually all the poor could be extracted from Suburbia and from the city centres. This way they will be out of sight and out of mind . The very sight of these lower class leeches would no longer need disturb those who are more successful . One wonders if this is part of the Neoconservative agenda and dream of their New World Order. The creation of a different kind of Ghetto to place the unwanted , the unwashed , the disenfranchised . Maybe when needed the people in these new Ghettoes would be given permits to enter certain parts of the cities . They would be restricted in their ability to travel. They would no be permitted in certain parts of the city after certain hours by means of a curfew and maybe the gates locked at night . Imagine they have to go through a series of roadblocks on their way to and from work or going shopping or visiting frriends . Sort of like the Palestinians in the occupied territories . snaking their way to work though a dozen checkpoints . And they call that freedom and mutual respect So imagine this is what the United States Canada and Britain might look like .

Battle for New Orleans Public Housing
Keeping the poor out



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

Tent City in Suburbs Is Cost of Home Crisis By Dana Ford Reuters Thursday 20 December 2007

Between railroad tracks and beneath the roar of departing planes sits "tent city," a terminus for homeless people. It is not, as might be expected, in a blighted city center, but in the once-booming suburbia of Southern California.

The noisy, dusty camp sprang up in July with 20 residents and now numbers 200 people, including several children, growing as this region east of Los Angeles has been hit by the U.S. housing crisis.

The unraveling of the region known as the Inland Empire reads like a 21st century version of "The Grapes of Wrath," John Steinbeck's novel about families driven from their lands by the Great Depression.

As more families throw in the towel and head to foreclosure here and across the nation, the social costs of collapse are adding up in the form of higher rates of homelessness, crime and even disease.

While no current residents claim to be victims of foreclosure, all agree that tent city is a symptom of the wider economic downturn. And it's just a matter of time before foreclosed families end up at tent city, local housing experts say.

"They don't hit the streets immediately," said activist Jane Mercer. Most families can find transitional housing in a motel or with friends before turning to charity or the streets. "They only hit tent city when they really bottom out."

"Squatting in Vacant Houses"

Nationally, foreclosures are at an all-time high. Filings are up nearly 100 percent from a year ago, according to the data firm RealtyTrac. Officials say that as many as half a million people could lose their homes as adjustable mortgage rates rise over the next two years.

California ranks second in the nation for foreclosure filings - one per 88 households last quarter. Within California, San Bernardino county in the Inland Empire is worse - one filing for every 43 households, according to RealtyTrac.

Maryanne Hernandez bought her dream house in San Bernardino in 2003 and now risks losing it after falling four months behind on mortgage payments.

"It's not just us. It's all over," said Hernandez, who lives in a neighborhood where most families are struggling to meet payments and many have lost their homes.

She has noticed an increase in crime since the foreclosures started. Her house was robbed, her kids' bikes were stolen and she worries about what type of message empty houses send.

The pattern is cropping up in communities across the country, like Cleveland, Ohio, where Mark Wiseman, director of the Cuyahoga County Foreclosure Prevention Program, said there are entire blocks of homes in Cleveland where 60 or 70 percent of houses are boarded up.

take care,
GORD.

The Rape of Jamie Leigh Jones by Halliburton Employees : The Birth Pangs of Bush's New World Order

Anyway here is some more on the case of Jamie Leigh Jones' rape case for those few who might be interested.

So one could ask is the Bush/Cheney Regime- including the State Department, the Attorney General , the Department of Justice, the Department of the Interior- are they all AWOL when it comes to Rape Cases or any crimes committed by Private Contractors and Employees of Halliburton and other Big Corporations . Is this all part of the Neocon New World Order . It seems that according to the Neocons that these corporations are to be treated as if they were beyond any legal or ethical norms or concerns. For instance the argument has been made that Private Contractors and Corporations are not subject to the same rules or laws as the average citizen. Given this belief then it is deemed appropriate that they be allowed to police themselves . They are therefore beyond the reach of any court or judiciary. They are therefore a law unto themselves !!!

What then does this say about the " New Society "which is being created in the image of the Neocon God and Ideology.Are these then the " Birth Pangs "Bush, Cheney, Karl Rove and Condoleeza Rice are talking about !!!

It is difficult to understand why more people are not outraged by what happened to Jamie Leigh Jones .
Jamie Leigh Jones Testimony - KBR Gang Rape House Judiciary Committee



Rapes and assaults like torture and massacres are Just Business as usual in the Bush/ Cheney Neocon world . And the response to this is mainly silence or accusing the victims of being unAmerican and traitors out to undermine the War Effort. It is especially noticeable in this time of year when Christians loudly claim they wish for Peace and brotherly love and yet make excuses for the Brutal Barbaic War Machine they have unleashed upon the world to prove their superiority .They claim Christians and America and the West are good and that the Muslim world is malicious and evil .It takes a strong act of will to deny the 'Facts on the Ground " or what we used to call " reality "

In a society which accepts the use of kdnappings, renditions , torture, massacres of innocent civilians , carpet bombings of towns and cities in Iraq and Afghanistan I guess it becomes difficult to be outraged by a few assaults and rapes of American citizens working in Iraq or Afghanistan. Anyway its Christmas so the people and the media do not want their delusional belief that their society is one of justice , freedom and equality and a beacon and light to world to be questioned or shattered by facts which may undermine these beliefs.They therefore do not want to give much credence to some woman or women " crying rape ". Jamie Leigh Jones' story is lost in the hustle and bustle of Christmas shopping and yule tide partying . Besides if you use the power of positive thinking we are told all the injustices of our socity and the horrors of the wars we are engaged in will just fade or dissipate . Then one can return to speaking of Good tidings and Good Will towards all of God's children. Say Merry Christmas enough times and the evil of the world and the evil we permit our leaders to do in our name will no longer be of any consequence.

And one wonders Where's The Outrage by Congress , the White House , By the Holier Than Thou Religious Right the Evangelicals and the leaders of the Megachurches - of course they would first ask if the alleged rape victim is a Christian or has been born again otherwise she as a person is of little interest to them. They would argue that if the women in question are " feminists " and " secular humanists " or " liberal " then being raped is just a matter of getting what's coming to them. This is just a matter of reaping what you sow .

Do they imagine that Jesus if he were an American he would be a CEO of a Big Corporation like Halliburton who would only be interested in profits and nothing else. Would this newly defined American Jesus permit his followers to torture and sodomize detainees. Would he have no concern for those in villages and cities being bombed by American planes.


Gang Rape of Jamie Leigh Jones - Keith Olbermann
Halliburton employees gets away with rape
Bush



Jamie Leigh Jones- KBR Gang Rape MSNBC Dan Abrams Dec. 17/07



Chairman Conyers' Witness Questions at the KBR / Halliburton Rape Hearing




Statesman.com ;Lawmakers criticize Justice for not taking part in Iraq rape hearing Texas lawmaker says other women have come foward with similar stories of attacks while working for KBR

By Rebecca Carr
WASHINGTON BUREAU
Thursday, December 20, 2007

WASHINGTON — Lawmakers criticized the Justice Department on Wednesday, accusing it of failing to promptly investigate allegations that several Halliburton/KBR workers gang-raped a fellow employee in Iraq.

Jamie Leigh Jones of Conroe told a House Judiciary Committee panel that she was drugged and raped at Camp Hope, a KBR camp in Baghdad, in 2005. She said a KBR representative kept her in a shipping container so she wouldn't report the assault.

Glaring at the empty seat assigned to a Justice Department official, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Tyler, vowed to "move Justice in the right direction."

"This is an absolute disgrace," said Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., chairman of the committee.

Justice Department spokesman Peter Carr said Justice Department officials decided not to testify at the hearing so as not to compromise an ongoing inquiry.

Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, said several other women have made claims of suffering sexual harassment and assault while in Iraq for KBR.

No one has been charged in connection with Jones' accusations.

And : KBR faces more rape, sexual harassment lawsuits,khou.com, Wednesday, December 12, 2007

By Jason Whitely / 11 News

At least four women have filed federal lawsuits claiming they, too, were either sexually harassed or raped while working as Kellogg, Brown & Root contractors in Iraq.

A Houston attorney said at least six more federal lawsuits will be filed on behalf of other women making similar accusations. Jamie Leigh Jones .

Searching through a federal database, we found a second federal lawsuit in Oklahoma, another in North Carolina, and a fourth in Florida, all from women who said they were either sexually harassed or raped while working as contractors for KBR in Iraq.

In a sworn affidavit in the Jones case, SSG Kevin Rodgers, a Texas National Guard Soldier said:

“During my tour in Basra I encountered many unprofessional acts by the employees of KBR and the U.S. State Department.”

Several others concur.

“During my time as an HR (Human Resources) supervisor, I was aware that a lot of sexual harassment went on - it was our major complaint,” admitted Letty Surman, a former KBR employee.

Finally, here is what Linda Lindsey, a former KBR employee said in her affidavit: “There was a lot of promotion based upon who was sleeping with the boss.”

And for more information check out :

The jamie Leigh Fondation

The Jamie Leigh Foundation is a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping United States citizens and legal residents who are victims of sexual harassment, rape and sexual abuse while working abroad for federal contractors, corporations, or government entities. We believe that overseas contractors and corporations should act responsibly, and be held accountable to provide safe housing and a work environment free of sexual harassment, and limit the potential for abuse. We believe that United States civilians who perpetrate crime while working in foreign countries should be held accountable for their actions. The Jamie Leigh foundation will assist victims through advocacy, education, referral and providing support. We work toward the day that no person shall face sexual abuse and harassment, and all persons, regardless of gender, will be able to work without fear, consternation, and safety concerns.

take care,
GORD.

Bush Defending His Role As Emperor Threatens the Independence of the J.A.G's

The Bush Regime of the United States has shown a wanton disregard for the fundamental concept of the United States system of government which is the separation of powers. Bush and Cheney have argued for more power and authority to be concentrated within the executive branch . This would essentially give more power to the Presidency than the American Constitution or its Bill of Rights would allow .The reason for these checks and balances was to prevent the safeguard against the President acting as a despot or tyrant.

The Judiciary in the United States is supposed to be independent of the Executive branch and the legislative branch of government. The Bush Regime has time and again acted in ways which have blurred the distinction between the executive and judiciary branches of government . They have done this in regard to the legislative branch through the use of intimidation and threatening to veto bills of which Bush does not approve. Bush also uses signing statements as a way of getting around the legislative branch . Bush has shown contempt for the legislative and judiciary branches of the federal government. He appears to believe that the president should have ultimate power over all branches of government and over each individual government department or agency. Bush has tampered and interfered with various departments and agencies of the federal government from the department of defense and the Pentagon and CIA & FBI to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Bush has interfered with the daily operations in a number of Federal Agencies and departments . For instance Bush has put pressure on government scientists and bureaucrats in the EPA or other Federal agencies to ignore or downplay any science which may be used as evidence for Global Warming or that may view as harmful to the environment or the public the activities of certain industries ie coal mining as in Mountain Top Removal Mining etc.

The American system of government was set up so that each branch of government could act independently of one another. Each is also to be a safeguard against one branch dominating the other two. It was especially designed so that the executive branch could not act unilaterally and in a despotic authoritarian manner.

This should count as another scandal . It is also reminiscent of President Musharaff's of Pakistan power grab by taking over the judiciary thereby ending any semblance of democracy. So the lawyers protested publicly and held demonstrations. Imagine lawyers fighting corruption & the abuse of power . That's how the French Revolution started so we are told .

If the attorneys working within the American Federal Government are not permitted to do the job that they are supposed to without undue influence , pressure , intimidation from the President or his government appointees then they have not just a right but a duty to inform the legislators and the American People who are the ones they are ultimately responsible to.

But in America loyalty to one's boss or to the President is more important than ideals such as fairness, justice, due process, equality before the law or the American Constitution or The Bill of Rights etc.The other ideal in America and in our society in general is to keep one's job at all costs . Notions such as ethics or morality are all considered in our cynical age pass`e. Only a fool would ever take such things seriously.

But in our imaginary world where such things matter the 4,000 attorneys at JAG would protest by way of letters to the editor or full page notices in newspapers or even television spots . If these didn't get the results the attorneys hoped for they would hold walk-outs and demonstrations until they got results. Then if there were no results they would ask all government attorneys and the American Bar Association to join them in protests. But that is in the world of fantasy where justice and ethics matter.

In Pakistan when president Musharraf interfered with the Judges and government attorneys; the attorneys and judges staged walk outs and demonstrations. Of course when Musharraf sent his troops to beat up these attorneys and have them arrested and imprisoned Bush did little to interfere . In fact Bush has come out as an even a bigger supporter of Musharraff than he was before. So we can only imagine what Bush, Cheney and Co. would do if something similar were to happen in America.

One could argue that for instance other government employees could also stage protest and walk-outs etc. if they believed the Bush administration was not permitting them to do their jobs honestly and with integrity. For instance scientists working for the American government who have been told to skew their reports to fit with the Bush Regimes ideology i.e. Global Warming is just a fable - then those scientists & bureaucrats have a right and a duty to stand up to the government publicly and to inform the public of what is going on . If these professionals truly believed in the ideals of Democracy , Justice and Freedom etc . then they would act.

In Burma Myanmar it was the religious leaders of the country the Buddhist monks who marched in the streets to protest on behalf of the people against an oppressive , brutal regime. Of course they were beaten, gunned down , imprisoned and tortured . The government of Burma claimed these monks were trying to destroy the country . The Buddhist Monks had hoped they could get the government to see reason and start acting more humanely and justly towards its people. But like George W. Bush , Cheney , Condi Rice & co they believe that the only ones who matter are the rich and powerful, the super-wealthy, the Big corporations and the elite.

And to go one step further with this little bit of fantasy or thought experiment.
As for the American people I doubt they would even bother protesting and might even applaud if Bush were to arrest a few thousand publicly protesting and demonstrating lawyers or scientists or bureaucrats or University Professors etc. So maybe the cynics or realist are right Why Rock the Boat in this Best of All Possible Worlds to quote Voltaire that is.

Control Sought on Military Lawyers By Charlie Savage The Boston Globe,15 December 2007

Washington- The Bush administration is pushing to take control of the promotions of military lawyers, escalating a conflict over the independence of uniformed attorneys who have repeatedly raised objections to the White House's policies toward prisoners in the war on terrorism.

The administration has proposed a regulation requiring "coordination" with politically appointed Pentagon lawyers before any member of the Judge Advocate
General corps - the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal force - can be promoted.

... former JAG officers say the regulation would end the uniformed lawyers' role as a check-and-balance on presidential power, because politically appointed lawyers could block the promotion of JAGs who they believe would speak up if they think a White House policy is illegal.

...and would mean that promotions & job security would depend on the lawyers being "team players" who "bow to their political masters on legal advice.".

(and in a bit of an understatement given the seriousness of the matter) : "The message would be clear to every JAG, which is that when you have been told that the general counsel has a view on the law, any time you dare disagree with it, don't expect a promotion," Saltzburg said, adding "I don't think that would be in the best interest of the country. .."

... it would affect all military lawyers, not just the top JAGs. Retired Rear Admiral Donald Guter, the Navy's top JAG from 2000 to 2002, said the rule would "politicize" the JAG corps all the way "down into the bowels" of its lowest ranks.

"That would be the end of the professional [JAG] corps as we know it," Guter said.
-----------
For instance here is the letter from retired JAGs on waterboarding and other forms of torture:
Retired Judge Advocates General Write To Leahy Condemning Waterboarding

The Honorable Patrick J. Leahy, Chairman United States Senate Washington, DC 20510

Dear Chairman Leahy,

In the course of the Senate Judiciary Committee’s consideration of President Bush’s nominee for the post of Attorney General, there has been much discussion, but little clarity, about the legality of “waterboarding” under United States and international law. We write because this issue above all demands clarity: Waterboarding is inhumane, it is torture, and it is illegal.

In 2006 the Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the authority to prosecute terrorists under the war crimes provisions of Title 18 of the U.S. Code. In connection with those hearings the sitting Judge Advocates General of the military services were asked to submit written responses to a series of questions regarding “the use of a wet towel and dripping water to induce the misperception of drowning (i.e., waterboarding) . . .” Major General Scott Black, U.S. Army Judge Advocate General, Major General Jack Rives, U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate General, Rear Admiral Bruce MacDonald, U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General, and Brigadier Gen. Kevin Sandkuhler, Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps, unanimously and unambiguously agreed that such conduct is inhumane and illegal and would constitute a violation of international law, to include Common Article 3 of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.

We agree with our active duty colleagues. This is a critically important issue - but it is not, and never has been, a complex issue, and even to suggest otherwise does a terrible disservice to this nation. All U.S. Government agencies and personnel, and not just America’s military forces, must abide by both the spirit and letter of the controlling provisions of international law. Cruelty and torture - no less than wanton killing - is neither justified nor legal in any circumstance. It is essential to be clear, specific and unambiguous about this fact - as in fact we have been throughout America’s history, at least until the last few years. Abu Ghraib and other notorious examples of detainee abuse have been the product, at least in part, of a self-serving and destructive disregard for the well- established legal principles applicable to this issue. This must end.

The Rule of Law is fundamental to our existence as a civilized nation. The Rule of Law is not a goal which we merely aspire to achieve; it is the floor below which we must not sink. For the Rule of Law to function effectively, however, it must provide actual rules that can be followed. In this instance, the relevant rule - the law - has long been clear: Waterboarding detainees amounts to illegal torture in all circumstances. To suggest otherwise - or even to give credence to such a suggestion - represents both an affront to the law and to the core values of our nation.

We respectfully urge you to consider these principles in connection with the nomination of Judge Mukasey.

Sincerely,

Rear Admiral Donald J. Guter, United States Navy (Ret.) Judge Advocate General of the Navy, 2000-02

Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, United States Navy (Ret.) Judge Advocate General of the Navy, 1997-2000

Major General John L. Fugh, United States Army (Ret.) Judge Advocate General of the Army, 1991-93

Brigadier General David M. Brahms, United States Marine Corps (Ret.) Staff Judge Advocate to the Commandant, 1985-88

----
Mountain Top Removal Mining

Rule to Expand Mountaintop Coal Mining, New York Times By JOHN M. BRODER ,August 23,2007

Mountain Justice Summer

Appalachia Is Paying Price for White House Rule Change By Joby Warrick Washington Post Staff Writer , August 17, 2004

GLOBAL WARMING:

BBC News.co 7 June, 2001,Scientists warn Bush on global warming

Bush Disses Global Warming Report ,Dismisses His Own Environmental Protection Agency's Findings WASHINGTON, June 4, 2002

NASA scientist rips Bush on global warming: Renowned expert says data 'screened and controlled,MSNBC, Oct. 27, 2004

Landmark greenhouse plan feels Bush axe Herald Sun.com.au ,December 21, 2007
( " THE US Government has blocked California's plan to reduce greenhouse gases from vehicles, setting the stage for an election-year battle over global warming.")

CNN.COM Special Reports:Global Warming: U.S. turns its back on Kyoto ;President Bush has re-entered the global warming debate by unveiling his alternative to the 1997 Kyoto agreement on global warming. ...

"Has the White House interfered on global warming reports?A new report claims that the Bush administration has suppressed scientists' climate-change work. By Peter N. Spotts The Christian Science Monitor, January 31, 2007

(More than 120 scientists across seven federal agencies say they have been pressured to remove references to "climate change" and "global warming" from a range of documents, including press releases and communications with Congress. Roughly the same number say appointees altered the meaning of scientific findings on climate contained in communications related to their research.)

Judiciary:

M. Collins: George W. Bush, A Judiciary Of One 15 September 2007, Presidential Signing Statements Michael Collins “Scoop” Independent News Washington, D.C.

The Bush-Cheney White House is responsible for the birth of a new constitutional doctrine. He has elevated himself to become a judiciary of one. . When the president signs legislation passed by Congress, he frequently adds his own signing statement stating those legislative provisions he intends to ignore based on his interpretation of the Constitution. This caused the New York Times to note, “President Bush doesn't bother with vetoes; he simply declares his intention not to enforce anything he dislikes.”

Through the magic of the president’s petulant pen, signing statements never mentioned in the Constitution, Bush has ordered the torture of prisoners and spying on U.S. citizens without a warrant. Just have the boys in the back room knock out one of those signing statements. It’s all good.

The Politicization of the Department of Justice , The Lawyers Weekly,Elizabeth de la Vega, September 09, 2007

take care,
GORD.

Torture, Lies and Videotapes & THE DECLARATION OF THE RIGHTS OF MAN

" Of all the human emotions, there is none that corrupts as much as fear, none that distorts characters more, none that more effectively prevents the development of all the faculties. If the forms of judicial power – this power that never ceases to act on us – were such in a particular State that they inspired only fear, for example, no matter how wise we might presume the political Constitution of that State to be, no matter how favourable that Constitution might be to liberty, by the mere fact that judicial power created only fear in all souls, it would prevent all the natural effects of the Constitution. While the Constitution would inspire energetic manners and strongly marked customs, judicial power, on the other hand, would tend to give you only weak manners and servile customs. And because it is in the nature of judicial power... never to suspend its action, you will readily see that it would fairly quickly end by changing all characters and by disposing you to prejudice and to institutions that are conducive to despotism and that, unfortunately, make despotism easy to support."
---Nicolas Bergasse (1750-1832 French Lawyer During the French Revolution he delivered a report to the National Assembly on the organization of justice., REPORT ON THE ORGANIZATION OF JUDICIAL POWER, 17 August 1789.

" The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

The source of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body, no individual can exercise authority that does not expressly proceed from the latter.

Society has the right to call for an account of the administration of every public agent.Those who procure, expedite, execute or cause arbitrary orders to be executed, ought to be punished. "

From The DECLARATION OF
THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE CITIZEN ,1791, FRANCE (for more see below ENDNOTE )

" On August 27, the National Assembly issued its Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen - the draft of which had been discussed with Thomas Jefferson, then the U.S. ambassador to France. Rather than law, this was a statement of principles, the purpose of which was to educate and enhance love of liberty. The declaration spoke of man's natural right to liberty and right to resist oppression... Virtue and talent, it stated, should be the only requirements for public office. It claimed that all "men" should be equal before the law, that arbitrary arrests should be illegal, that people should be presumed innocent until proven otherwise in a court of law...

From The French Revolution at MacroHistory PREHISTORY TO YESTERDAY

As the Bush administration with the tacit approval of the so called opposition party " the Democrats " slashes away at the United States Constitution and The Bill of Rights at what point will we be forced to say that America is no longer a " Democracy ".
If this so called noble experiment known as " democracy " is to be undermined and tampered with to the point where it no longer reflects the ideals of liberty, justice and equality then in time it shall fade becoming a vague memory.If America slides into despotism or into a " police state " then will the rest of the " Free World " follow in its wake. As each sovereign free nation uses the fear of " Terrorism " to concentrate more power into the hands of a few setting aside the basic inalienable rights of its citizenry there will come a " Tipping Point " imperceptible to the populace in which the Democratic state ceases for all intents and purposes.

"Did CIA break the law destroying torture tapes?"
Michael Ratner: " U.S. law is clear - Torture is a crime and destroying evidence is a crime "
See transcript at The Real News Network

December 17, 2007 Michael Ratner: What the tapes represent is essentially The US torturing people-

MICHAEL RATNER, CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS:

" The whole controversy is remarkable because, of course, now they're focusing on the destruction of the tapes but almost not at all on what the tapes really represent, which is essentially the United States torturing people. I think really went on here and what clearly went on here is these tapes were destroyed to protect high-level administration officials and CIA people from criminal prosecution. And they were frightened about it, whether it was here in the United States or abroad. And I think that comes out because, as you said, they were actually requested to give these tapes over to the 9/11 Commission. In addition, we in our Guantanamo cases had orders from the court requesting that the government, the CIA and others, preserve all CIA materials that might be involved in torture or abuse. So they're in violation of a court order, not just the 9/11 order. So you have to ask yourself, what were they doing here? They were protecting their own."




for instance see commentary on the terrorism bill introduced to US Senate in Sep. 2006.
Unclaimed Territory by Glenn Greenwald Thursday, September 28, 2006

The legalization of torture and permanent detention ...
authorizes the use of interrogation techniques which, as this excellent NYT Editorial put it, "normal people consider torture," along with the power it vests in the President to detain indefinitely, and with no need to bring charges, all foreign nationals and even legal resident aliens within the U.S. But as Law Professors Marty Lederman and Bruce Ackerman each point out, many of the extraordinary powers vested in the President by this bill also apply to U.S. citizens, on U.S. soil.

As Ackerman put it: "The compromise legislation... authorizes the president to seize American citizens as enemy combatants, even if they have never left the United States. And once thrown into military prison, they cannot expect a trial by their peers or any other of the normal protections of the Bill of Rights." Similarly, Lederman explains: "this [subsection (ii) of the definition of 'unlawful enemy combatant'] means that if the Pentagon says you're an unlawful enemy combatant -- using whatever criteria they wish -- then as far as Congress, and U.S. law, is concerned, you are one, whether or not you have had any connection to 'hostilities' at all."

This last point means that even if there were a habeas corpus right inserted back into the legislation (which is unlikely at this point anyway), it wouldn't matter much, if at all, because the law would authorize your detention simply based on the DoD's decree that you are an enemy combatant, regardless of whether it was accurate. This is basically the legalization of the Jose Padilla treatment -- empowering the President to throw people into black holes with little or no recourse, based solely on his say-so.

and see : The New York Times Editorial Rushing Off a Cliff September 28, 2006

Republicans say Congress must act right now to create procedures for charging and trying terrorists — because the men accused of plotting the 9/11 attacks are available for trial. That’s pure propaganda. Those men could have been tried and convicted long ago, but President Bush chose not to. He held them in illegal detention, had them questioned in ways that will make real trials very hard, and invented a transparently illegal system of kangaroo courts to convict them.
It was only after the Supreme Court issued the inevitable ruling striking down Mr. Bush’s shadow penal system that he adopted his tone of urgency. It serves a cynical goal: Republican strategists think they can win this fall, not by passing a good law but by forcing Democrats to vote against a bad one so they could be made to look soft on terrorism.

... the White House and three Republican senators announced a terrible deal on this legislation that gave Mr. Bush most of what he wanted, including a blanket waiver for crimes Americans may have committed in the service of his antiterrorism policies. Then Vice President Dick Cheney and his willing lawmakers rewrote the rest of the measure so that it would give Mr. Bush the power to jail pretty much anyone he wants for as long as he wants without charging them, to unilaterally reinterpret the Geneva Conventions, to authorize what normal people consider torture, and to deny justice to hundreds of men captured in error.

and from the New York Times : Experts Say Bush's Goal in Terrorism Bill Is Latitude for Interrogators' Methods By SHERYL GAY STOLBERG & KATE ZERNIKE September 19, 2006

In his showdown with rebellious Senate Republicans over bills to bring terrorism suspects to trial, President Bush has repeatedly called for clarity in the rules for what he calls ''alternative interrogation techniques'' used by the Central Intelligence Agency.

What Mr. Bush really wants, legal experts on both sides of the debate say, is latitude so the interrogators can use methods that the military is barred from using under a recently issued Army field manual.

Despite his call for clarity, the president has been vague in talking about the alternatives, which have in the past included sleep deprivation, playing ear-splittingly loud music and waterboarding, which induces a feeling of drowning.
''They can't come out and say we want more leeway to rough these people up,'' said John Radsan, who was assistant general counsel for the intelligence agency from 2002 to 2004 and now teaches at the William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul. ''That doesn't sell. So he says we need clarity. It doesn't play well to say we need to deprive them of sleep and play loud music.''

ENDNOTE:

Just a reminder that democracy , freedom & Justice require the vigilance of the people if they are to endure: For those who have forgotten . For those who merely ape the cynicism of this age .For those who think the struggle is over .

DECLARATION OF
THE RIGHTS OF MAN AND THE CITIZEN ,1791

The representatives of the French people, organized in a National Assembly, considering that ignorance, forgetfulness or contempt of the rights of man are the sole causes of public miseries and the corruption of governments, have resolved to set forth in a solemn declaration the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man, so that this declaration, being ever-present to all the members of the social body, may unceasingly remind them of their rights and duties; in order that the acts of the legislative power and those of the executive power may at each moment be compared with the aim of every political institution and thereby may be more respected; and in order that the demands of the citizens, grounded henceforth upon simple and incontestable principles, may always take the direction of maintaining the constitution and welfare of all.

In consequence, the National Assembly recognizes and declares, in the presence and under the auspices of the Supreme Being, the following rights of man and citizen:

Article 1. Men are born free and remain free and equal in rights. Social distinctions can be based only on public utility.

2. The aim of every political association is the preservation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of man. These rights are liberty, property, security and resistance to oppression.

3. The source of all sovereignty resides essentially in the nation. No body, no individual can exercise authority that does not expressly proceed from the latter.

4. Liberty consists in the power to do anything that does not injure others; accordingly, the exercise of the rights of each man has no limits except those that secure the enjoyment of these same rights to the other members of society. These limits can be determined only by law.

5. The law has only the right to forbid such actions as are injurious to society. Nothing can be forbidden that is not interdicted by the law, and no one can be constrained to do that which the law does not order.

6. The law is the expression of the general will. All citizens have the right to take part personally, or by their representatives, in its formation. It must be the same for all, whether it protects or punishes. All citizens, being equal in its eyes, are equally eligible to all public dignities, places and employments, according to their capacities, and without other distinction than that of their virtues and talents.

7. No man can be accused, arrested or detained, except in the cases determined by the law and according to the forms it has prescribed. Those who procure, expedite, execute or cause arbitrary orders to be executed, ought to be punished. But every citizen summoned or seized by virtue of the law ought to render instant obedience; he makes himself guilty by resistance.

8. The law ought only to establish penalties that are strictly and obviously necessary, and no one can be punished except by virtue of a law established and promulgated prior to the offence and legally applied.

9. Every man being presumed innocent until he has been pronounced guilty, if it is thought indispensable to arrest him, all means that may go beyond what is strictly necessary to secure his person ought to be strictly suppressed by law.

10. No one should be bothered on account of his opinions, even religious, provided their presentation does not upset the public order established by law.

11. The free communication of ideas and opinions is one of the most precious rights of man. Every citizen can therefore speak, write and print freely, subject to responsibility for the abuse of this freedom in cases as determined by law.

12. The guarantee of the rights of man and citizen requires a public force; this force is therefore instituted for the advantage of all and not for the personal benefit of those to whom it is entrusted.

13. A general tax is indispensable for the maintenance of the public force and for the expenses of administration; it ought to be equally apportioned among all citizens according to their means.

14. All citizens have a right to ascertain, by themselves or by their representatives, the necessity of the public tax, to consent to it freely, to follow the employment of it and to determine its amount, basis, collection and duration.

15. Society has the right to call for an account of the administration of every public agent.

16. Any society in which the guarantee of the rights is not secured, or the separation of powers is not determined, has no constitution at all.

17. Property being a sacred and inviolable right, no one can be deprived of it, unless a legally established public necessity demands it, under the condition of a just and prior indemnity.

Take care,
GORD.

Keith Olbermann with Bill Moyers : A Voice of Reason Against the Corrupt And Immoral Bush Regime

Anyway here's a must see video of Keith Olbermann being interviewed by Bill Moyers. Keith Olbermann explains why he started to do his uncompromising commentaries critiquing the Bush Regime . Since no other journalist was willing to take on the administration and point out when members of the administration were not quite telling the truth or were contradicting themselves or merely spouting propaganda & superficial " Talking Points ".

Keith Olbermann on Bill Moyers Part 1
and the remainder of the interview at YouTube
or for full interview and transcript see : Truthout



What Moyers & Olbermann fail to realize or refuse to acknowledge though is that most of the people in America prefer these superficial /black and white / good versus evil / " talking points " . This also goes for the Canadian & British Peoples in that they prefer over-simplified easy to understand superficial explanations rather than have to sit through or read the more complex though truer explanations about various issues.The People as it were do not want to have to think about issues and prefer " jingoistic" NEWS BITES which act as a salve for their consciences.
People really do prefer ignorance to knowledge that may be disturbing to their World View .Ignorance is Bliss.

In keeping with the above commentary here are three such scandals:

Halliburton , CNN & US JUSTICE DEPT. & George Bush Designate the Gang Rape of an Employee as merely a " Labor Dispute"

Halliburton and CNN Categorize Gang Rape Allegation as a “Dispute”by Lucinda Marshall, Feminist Peace Network December 14, 2007.

Memo to CNN and Halliburton: A gang-rape should never, ever be described as a "dispute". According to Raw Story, Halliburton is claiming that the civil suit brought by Jamie Leigh Jones alleging that she was gang-raped while working for Halliburton in Iraq must be heard by an arbitrator of Halliburton's choosing rather than in a court because of an employment agreement to settle disputes in this manner.

""She signed an employment contract and there is a mandatory arbitration clause in that contract," CNN legal analyst told Kiran Chetry on CNN's American Morning Tuesday. "It says if there's any dispute arising out of your employment or related to your employment, that dispute doesn't go before a jury, doesn't go before trial judge, goes before an arbitrator."
Memo to CNN and Halliburton: A gang-rape should never, ever be described as a "dispute".

In this case of " Gang Rape " we see the Neocon / Religious Right philosophy at work.
Many of us take such incidents seriously and find it abhorrent but the Bushies for them it is a different matter.

First they would argue this woman and other women should not be working at such jobs to begin with .
Secondly Halliburton and other corporations owe little or nothing to their employees . These people are supposed to be happy to have a job.
Thirdly corporations should not be interfered with by Governments for any reason whether it is Halliburton or Blackwater Worldwide. INC.
Fourthly as George Bush and Cheney and Rice would claim that like " torture" these are highly subjective and " vague " terms . Was the woman " raped " or merely assaulted or in their view like most Rape Victims was she partially responsible by flirting for example or wearing provocative clothing or they are exaggerating the incident or just making it all up.
Fifthly because the incident occurred in a foreign country / Iraq US laws have no jurisdiction outside the United States.
Sixthly a contract with a corporation trumps any other legal issue including the laws of the United States or the rulings of the Supreme Court of the United States.
----------------
In the next case the issue from the Neocon perspective is that of loyalty . No matter what a department of the Government is doing no matter whether illegal or unethical an employee has no right to speak out . So " Whistle-Blowers " are disloyal at the least and unpatriotic and involved in seditious activity against the duly elected government. So a " Whistle -Blower" could be charged with treason according to the Bushites especially since the United States is at WAR.


Coast Guard Whistle-Blower Alleges DHS Retaliation/ Truthout

Spencer S. Hsu, writing for The Washington Post, reports: "A civilian US Coast Guard employee was placed on paid administrative leave, threatened with a criminal investigation and confronted by guards at gunpoint in retaliation for disclosing information embarrassing to the service's troubled fleet replacement program, his attorney said.

"
-----------
Tampering with voters' rights seems to be an ongoing problem under the Bush Regime. But the majority of Voters who are being disenfranchised are of various minorities African-American and Latinos . So there is a racist element to all this but the case is that most visible minorities tend to vote Democrat and not Republican.
The bUSHITES / NEOCON believe that voting is a privilege and not a right.
They believe that there should be rather strict rules about voting to eliminate as many people from the voters list as possible.
Besides if they could the Neocons would prefer to re-institute the Poll Tax. This would of course have a negative impact on those of low income, unemployed , or poor. Neocons , Bush and the Religious Right hate the poor . They characterize the poor as " lazy " or that they are not religious enough, aren't praying to God enough etc. They would also prefer to re-institute various forms of means test such as the ones used primarily in Southern States which were used to keep Black people especially from voting. though Condoleeza Rice may claim that Blacks even in the 1950s were treated as equals and that Blacks who complain are just as her father told her a " a bunch of trouble makers "
Anyway from the Neocon point of view all that matters is to win elections by whatever means necessary. They also characterize the Democrats or others who are concerned over voter tampering and manipulation as just " poor losers" . Besides as the Religious Right would argue God is on the side of Bush and the Republicans . Therfore, they argue whatever the result of an election is that which was ordained by God. ( Would they still believe this if a Democrat becomes President who then insists on setting up various committees to investigate the Former Bush Regime for all its corruption and its undermining of the American Constitution and Bill of Rights etc.And hopefully if such a Democrat of integrity takes power he or she would then begin criminal investigations and be prepared to put a number of people in Jail . But there is little hope of this since the whole system has become corrupt )
In the Neocon political view the results of an election are a product of natural social and historical processes at work. Part of their belief is that there is a natural hierarchy must be kept in power no matter who or what part is in power.


Justice's Voting Chief Steps Down Amid Controversy By Greg Gordon McClatchy Newspapers

Friday 14 December 2007

Washington - The Justice Department's voting rights chief stepped down Friday amid allegations that he'd used the position to aid a Republican strategy to suppress African-American votes.

John Tanner became the latest of about a dozen senior department officials, including former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who've resigned in recent months in a scandal over the politicization of the Justice Department in the Bush administration.

In recent months, McClatchy has reported on a pattern of decision-making within the department's Civil Rights Division, of which the Voting Rights Section is a part, that tended to narrow the voting rights of Democratic-leaning minorities.

Take Care,
GORD.

Anti-Semitism & The Protocols of the Elders of Zion

" World War II is a story of how 'a grossly delusional view of the world, based on
infantile fears and hatreds, was able to find expression in murder and torture beyond all
imagining. It is a case-history in collective psychopathology, and its deepest implications
reach far beyond anti-Semitism and the fate of the Jews."

-----Norman Cohn, Warrant for Genocide (1966)

And as for The Protocols of The Elders of Zion Norman Cohn explains:

Today when people think of the myth of the Jewish world -conspiracy they think of the forgery known as the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, which circulated through the world in millions of copies in the 1920s and 1930s. But the Protocols are only the most celebrated and influential in a long series of fabrications reaching back almost to the French Revolution. " (Warrant , cohn,p. 29 )


Civilta cattolica a Catholic publication in the 1890s characterizes Jews as :

...Jews thrust for world domination, their hunger for gold, and their belief that Christians are no better than animals. Wherever the Jews live, in the words of these authors, they " form a foreign nation, and sworn enemy of (the people's ) well being." What should good Catholics do about this terrible threat to their to their livelihoods and happiness? The answer offered in the pages of civilta cattolica was clear : The Jews " civil equality " must be immediately revoked , for " they have no right to it ," remaining forever foreigners in every country , enemies of the people of every country that puts up with them ." Civilta cattolica Catholic Journal ( p. 8 Kertzer )

The Christian Church for centuries characterized the Jewish people as working against Christianity and God . The Jews were depicted as agents of the Devil and eventually became associated with the Antichrist . Thus were the Jews demonized . Once demonized it became easier for those who accepted this view to at the least allow the Jews to be unjustly treated . As again Norman Cohn in Warrant For Genocide explains :

" From the time of the first crusade onwards Jews were presented as children of the Devil, agents employed by Satan for the express purpose of combating Christianity and harming Christians . But above all it was said that Jews worshipped the Devil , who rewarded them collectively by making them masters of black magic; so however helpless individuals Jews might seem, Jewry possessed limitless powers for evil. And already then there was talk of a secret Jewish government- a council of rabbis, located in Moslem Spain, which was supposed to be directing an underground war against Christendom and employing sorcery as its principal weapon . " ( Warrant for Genocide , Norman Cohn p. 26 )

"The propagation of such views by the clergy century after century, gradually but decisively influenced the attitude of the laity...Christian teaching and preaching ensured that they ( the Jews ) would be treated not simply as strangers but as most dangerous enemies. During the Middle Ages Jews were almost wholly without legal rights and were frequently massacred by the mob. " ( Warrant , Cohn p. 26 )

"The myth of the Jewish world-conspiracy represents a modern adaptation of this ancient demonological tradition . According to this myth there exists a secret Jewish government which , through a world wide network of camouflaged agencies and organizations , control political parties and governments, the press and public opinion, banks and economic developments .
The secret government is supposed to be doing this in pursuance of an age -old plan and with the single aim of achieving Jewish dominion over the entire world; and it is also supposed to be perilously near to achieving this aim. " ( Warrant, Cohn, p. 27 )

Anxiety over the rapid changes taking place in the 18th and 19th centuries led some to believe that it was all part of a conspiracy and since the Jews were concentrated in the cities & tended to favor liberal and democratic reforms :

" As a result , by about 1870, it was possible to see in 'the Jews ' the supreme incarnation of modernity, even while continuing to see them as uncanny, semi-demonic beings " ( Warrant , Cohn p. 28 )


" The demonolgical type of antisemitism on the other hand, flourished among those who were the most thorughly disconcerted by the civilization of the nineteenth century. It was above all the landed aristocracy and the clergy who saw in ' the Jews ' a symbol of all that most threatened their world- and not only their material interests but the values that gave meaning to their lives. These people were only too happy to believe that such alarming changes must spring not from any defects in the old order, nor from impersonal historic processes , but from the macinations of a handful of devils in human form. Moreover by putting this idea about they could hope to achieve certain highly practical aims. To portray democracy, liberalism, and secularism as the work of the Jews was a way of making these things suspect in the eyes of a growing but ill-educated electorate " ( Warrant, Cohn pp. 28-29 )

As we have seen anti-Semitism was embedded in Christianity from the beginning. Throughout most of the history of the Catholic Church the Church did nothing to discourage such hatred & intolerance of the Jewish people . Though there were a few Popes who dared to alleviate the unnecessary oppression of European Jews but they were usually followed by Popes who believed it was their duty to keep the Jews segregated & impoverished through the establishment of Ghettos & severe restrictions on what work they were permitted to do & where or what professions they could aspire to or none & that they were to wear distinctive clothing or badges to distinguish them from non-Jews .

The Basic theological argument was that the Jews had been cursed by God for killing Jesus and that the curse was passed down from one generation to the next . Further it was argued that the Jews were to act as witnesses to the rise of Christianity as it became more triumphant . It was argued that the Jews were to " survive but not thrive ". This meant in practical terms whenever the Jews seemed to be not merely surviving but thriving they had to be put back in their place through more restrictive laws , massacres & executions or expulsions from various countries. According to The Church the Jews were also destined to see the Second Coming of Christ . At that future date a remnant of the nation of Israel would convert to Christianity so the Jews could not therefore according to church doctrine be completely wiped out.


In fact the Catholic Church was one of the primary institutions which through its teachings & its official journals such as " Civilta cattolica " in the 19th and into the 20th century helped to spread & even deepen the suspicions & superstitious nonsense and hatred of the Jews .


As Hans Kung points out :

Pope Pius VI rejected the 1791 Civil Constitution of the French Revolution and rejected the " abominable philosophy of human rights" and especially " freedom of religion, conscience, and the press and the equality of all human beings." ( p.153 Hans Kung )

And he adds :

Thus in the nineteenth century the papal state was the most backward state in Europe both politically and socially; in it the pope even spoke out against railways, gas lighting, suspension bridges and the like." ( p. 157 Hans Kung )


In the nineteenth century a new form of antisemitism emerged which was apparently more secular and appealed to reason in its criticisms of the Jews & Judaism. But for the most part no matter how it was dressed up in pseudo-scientific or social theories or pseudo-rationalists arguments it was just the same old irrational & superstitious prejudices against the Jews adapting medieval stereotypes claiming the Jews as being an inferior race who were not just enemies of Christianity but of humankind itself.

Once again the Jews were blamed by the anti-Semites for all that they believed was going wrong with society & that was perceived as evil or immoral from liberalism, the French Revolution ,to Napoleon , free-masons , the Illuminati, humanism, secularism , the revolutions of 1848 , the Paris Commune, socialism, communism,anarchism, corporate capitalism,the banking system, the stock exchange, nihilism, Darwinism, psychoanalysis, Higher Biblical Criticism, human rights & liberal notions such as equality , liberty, fraternity, nationalism & internationalism . Everything that was wrong with the world could be traced back to the invisible hand of the Jews who were characterized as a foreign element and like an infectious disease in the body politic.

Later the First World War & the Russian Revolution were also blamed on the Jews.
And Hitler blamed the Jews for Germany's defeat in the First World War & the unfair terms of the peace treaty for war reparations & the collapse of the German economy . Meanwhile the Russian Bolsheviks' after 1919 blamed the Jews for the social & economic problems of the Soviet Union.

The Catholic Church & other Christian Churches tended to criticize the Jewish people not just because of their religion but also at times suggested that the Jews were a separate race so it was not just as a matter of cultural differences ; it was not just their religion which they were taught & their upbringing that set them apart but something which they could not overcome ie race . To put it another way the anti-Semite would say it is their nature . All Jews are then characterized by the anti-Semites as being materialistic, greedy , miserly , cunning, immoral , sexually deviant , corrupt with a deep desire to destroy Western Christian Civilization & all its institutions including the Church, the Monarchies, & the natural order of things .

These days there are those who might say its in their genes which some scientists who promote a racist view would & have argued .

But it is one thing to say that some individual is tall or short or dark or fair etc. due to ones genes and quite another to say someone or a whole people is honest or dishonest; moral or immoral because of their genes & there's nothing to be done about it. So from the anti-Semitic or racist viewpoint even if a Jew converted to Christianity they were still a Jew & would therefore act accordingly since they could not help themselves.

This notion also fits into the Christian view that the Jewish people had been cursed by God for their guilt in the Crucifixion of the Christ ( Deicide ) . The Church argued that this guilt was passed down from that first generation which killed Jesus to all succeeding generations of Jews even to the present time. Being cursed by God meant that the Jewish people could not truly change no matter how they might wish to so they are beyond redemption except for a small remnant who would be saved during The End Times & the Second Coming.

The focus then changed to suit the new era from being merely an attack on the religion of Judaism or as being cursed for killing Jesus to an attack on the Jews as a race .If the Jews constituted a separate race from the rest of humankind then their failings were passed on from one generation to the next .Given this dubious belief there was no way then for Jews as a people to behave in ways that were more natural or acceptable to other supposedly superior races such as the White European Race .

So enters a number of anti-Semitic forgeries the most influential of which was the full blown antisemitic diatribe that most fantastical notorious forgery entitled The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. The Protocols were produced by the secret police of the Russian Czar in order to discredit the growing revolutionary movement which was spreading across the nation . As the Protocols circulated & were reprinted again & again they came to influence Adolph Hitler and other anti-Semites including the American industrialist Henry Ford and the 1930s popular American radio preacher & notorious anti-Semitic Catholic Priest Father Coughlin . ( More on Ford & Coughlin at another time)

Even after being publicly exposed as a forgery in the Times of London in the 1920s The Protocols were still being promoted by anti-Semites as an authentic document . What is even more remarkable is that The Protocols continued to be treated as authentic after World War II & the Holocaust . One would think that if ' The Jews ' had such power then surely they could have prevented the murder of some six million Jews but the anti-Semites reason therefore that the Holocaust was a " Jewish Hoax ". Or one could reason that if the Jews had had such power then they lost it by being reduced drastically in terms of numbers . But one shouldn't try to bring logic & reason into play concerning anti-Semitism & their belief in the World Wide Jewish Conspiracy . Like any questionable or bizarre " Conspiracy Theory " any new evidence can be twisted about to fit the " theory ".

The ludicrous claim of one of the earlier forgeries known as The Rabbi's Speech was a record of the actual written report or possibly the minutes taken down of a secret meeting held in a cemetery at night of Jewish representatives from around the world. Supposedly these meetings are held once every century . Each of the twelve members speaks detailing what they had so far accomplished in their drive to secretly control all the nations of the world . According to this text every government ,the financial institutions ,the military ,the newspapers , the schools, churches etc. had been infiltrated by their members in all the nations and therefore were now being controlled by members of their secret society but their task was not yet finished.

Later this was further adapted into The Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion :

" The Protocols of the learned Elders of Zion constitutes one of the most infamous documents of antisemitism. It consists of the supposed minutes from twenty-four sessions of a congress held by representatives from the " twelve tribes of Israel " and led by a Grand Rabbi, whose purpose was to plan the conquest of the world . This congress never took place. The pamplet is actually a crude forgery created by the Okhrana, or secret police, of Imperial Russia . it first appeared in 1903 and it incorporates many of the most vicious myths about the Jews handed down over centuries . Used initially to blame Jews and their supposedly servile allies, the Freemasons , for the 1905 Revolution in Russia, the Protocols would become a welcome export around the world . If not simple hatred then pogroms , and if not pogroms then even worse , followed in its wake . It was applauded by royalty, it was embraced by counter revolutionaries , and the Nazis made it required reading . It still serves as a staple for numerous fundamentalists , conservative, neofascist, and antisemitic groups in the United States and throughout the world . What the real Communist Manifesto was for marxism , the fictitious Protocols was for antisemitism. "
A Rumor about the Jews : Reflections on Antisemitism and the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion , Stephen Eric Bronner pub. 2000

" The book Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion was a fraud -- a forged document that was purported to be a copy of the secret plans of the Jewish elders to create chaos and take over the world. It was a forgery created in czarist Russia by the czar's secret police in 1902. It portrayed Judaism as a worldwide conspiracy dedicated to the destruction of Christian civilization. The czar's police were trying to blame the Jews for the terrible state of affairs in Russia, to divert attention away from Czar Nicholas' incompetent management of the country. In the long run, it did not do Nicholas any good, but it caused the Jews a lot of grief.

The czarist secret police actually copied an obscure political document written by the Frenchman Maurice Jole (Joly sic) in 1864, "A Dialogue in Hell: Conversations Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu about Power and Right". The Dialogue was a series of debates between two fictitious characters -- Machiavelli and Montesquieu in Hell -- with Montesquieu defending republicanism and criticizing the authoritarianism of Napoleon III. As you can imagine, the fictitious Machiavelli attacked democracy and republicanism, and plotted its undoing. The czar's police simply plagiarized Jole's(Joly's sic) Dialogues, and put the words of this fictitious Machiavelli in Hell into the mouths of some equally imaginary Jewish elders. That forgery was then used as justification for murderous pogroms against the Jews.

In the following century, the Protocols became a favorite document of all kinds of hateful anti-semites. Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler both spoke of its great influence on them. The Protocols provided an excuse for attacking the Jews. The Nazi logic was that the Protocols showed that the Jews had already attacked the German people, the German economy, and the German government, and the Nazis were merely fighting back to defend their country from aggressors who were bent on destroying their nation.

The Religious Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps by A. Orange Chapter 18: Henry Ford and Anti-Semitism

And as for The Protocols first appearance as a complete work we get this From The Protocols of The Learned Elders of Zion in PDF

The Protocols did not become public until 1905, when Russia's
defeat in the Russo-Japanese War was followed by the Revolution in the
same year, leading to the promulgation of a constitution and institution
of the Duma. In the wake of these events, the reactionary "Union of
the Russian Nation" or Black Hundreds organization sought to incite
popular feeling against the Jews, who they blamed for the Revolution
and the Constitution. To this end they used the Protocols, which
was first published in a public edition by the mystic priest Sergius
Nilus in 1905. The Protocols were part of propaganda campaign which
accompanied the pogroms of 1905 inspired by the Okhrana. A variant
text of the Protocols was published by George Butmi in 1906 and again
in 1907. The edition of 1906 was found among the Czar's collection,
even though he had already recognized the work as a forgery. In his
later editions, Nilus claimed that the Protocols had been read

And From a defender of the Protocols we get this sort of desperate nonsense which attempts to explain a number of complex issues & problems by explaining everything by a handy Conspiracy Theory which gives the believer a false sense of certainty :The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion:Proof of an Ancient Conspiracy by Ivan Fraser

The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion is a document which should be read by all. No other single document provides us with such a clear understanding of why the world is gradually moving towards a One World Government, controlled by an irreproachable hidden hand. In fact, in the Protocols, we are given clear insights as to why so many incomprehensible political decisions are made in both local, national and international politics, which seem to continually work against the favour of the masses and in favour of the vested interests of the banking/industrial cartel - the global power elite.

We ignore it at our peril.


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As the following article makes plain though many are aware of The Protocols they usually know little about them or their history and that the Protocols are still in print or can be found on the internet and so are still promoted as authentic & are believed in by millions of otherwise sane rational beings . One can only assume they fill some pathological need to focus one's anxiety , paranoia & fear on some all encompassing Conspiracy Theory which explains why & how things are the way they are . A sort " cognitive dissonance " to explain what otherwise seems to the individual inexplicable.

Their resurgence is especially notable & troubling in Arab & Islamic countries & communities around the world and help to promote a more rabid & virulent form of anti-Semitism which also encompasses by default suspicions about the State of Israel. This in itself is disturbing And unfortunate since historically Muslims up to the 19th century were not nearly as anti-Semitic traditionally as were the Christians .


The anti-Jewish lie that refuses to die
The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, a forgery about a world plot by Jews, have sustained anti-Semitism for 100 years. Times 2 meets the woman still battling against them: an interview with Hadassa Ben-Itto author of The Lie That Wouldn't Die : The Protocols of The Eleders of Zion ,pub. 2005.


TimesOnline - UK/March 2, 2005
By Steve Boggan

When Hadassa Ben-Itto told her colleagues she was giving up her career as one of Israel's most senior judges to expose the deadliest forgery of the 20th century, they thought she was crazy. The forgery - perhaps more accurately a plagiarism - was The Protocols of the Elders of Zion, and it had been used to justify the murders of millions of Jews in Russia and Nazi Germany. But, they said, it was nonsense. It was a fairy story. Surely, no one believed this rubbish any more . . . did they?

That was in 1991. Ben-Itto subsequently embarked, at the age of 64, on an odyssey that took her thousands of miles from home and more than 100 years back in time to pre-revolutionary Russia and a Europe in anti-Semitic ferment. And, by the time she had completed her epic journey, no one thought she was crazy any more...

But first, what are The Protocols of the Elders of Zion? They first appeared in 1905 as an appendix to The Great and the Small by the Russian writer Sergei Nilus. Purporting to be the minutes of a great meeting of Jewish leaders, they chronicle the devious methods by which Jews will cause global economic and political collapse to facilitate their complete domination of the world.

The reasoning behind the Protocols was first used as a means of justifying the massacres - or pogroms - that left thousands of Jews dead in Russia, the message being: "If we don't kill them, they will kill us." It was a similar message to that used by Hitler 30 years later.

Divided into 24 tracts on such subjects as Ruthless Suppression, Despotism and Modern Progress and Assault on Religion, its use of language is chillingly matter-of-fact. For example, in Instilling Obedience, Protocol XXIII reads: "Subjects . . . give blind obedience only to the strong hand which is absolutely independent of them, for in it they feel the sword of defence and support against social scourges . . .

"What do they want with an angelic spirit in a king? What they have to see in him is the personification of force and power."

"I was horrified when I read them - particularly when I found out they were still being published around the world as if they were true," she says.

"Everyone had heard of them, but no one was taking them seriously. I decided to have a series of ten dinner parties for ten or so people, senior lawyers, academics, politicians and journalists, at which I would ask the guests about the Protocols. Everyone had heard of them but not one had read them.

"When I told my guests what they said and what I had found out about their history, they were appalled. I then thought that if so many influential Jews were living in ignorance, it was time for me to unmask the Protocols for what they were. The Jewish people have a history of not standing up when they are being attacked - and we have seen the results of that. I believe in standing up at the first sign of danger."

"The real tragedy is that despite Georges Brunschvig's great victory, the Protocols are still being published in new editions all round the world.

"You can even buy them on Amazon. They represent the most dangerous libel on an entire race and give support to the belief in what is more widely known as the Jewish Conspiracy - that the Jews are responsible for everything.

"For 9/11, for Iraq, for the spread of Aids, for all political unrest. They are so clever, you see, because any kind of social, economic or political problem fits in with the grand plan for creating the kind of disorder necessary for world domination.

"The Protocols have now left me with a moral dilemma. I am against banning and burning books - that is the kind of behaviour we associate with the Nazis. But when something has been proven to be a fake and when it is specifically designed to incite racial hatred, then I think there is a case for banning it. That is now impossible with the rise of the internet, so the best I can do is expose it as widely as possible for what it is."

And surprisingly as recent as 1993 there was a court case in Russia dealing with the authenticity of the Protocols and whether they constituted Hate Literature the article is found atThe Nizkor Project website .

RUSSIAN COURT RULES 'PROTOCOLS' AN ANTI-SEMITIC FORGERY By Michael A. Hiltzik
Los Angeles Times, November 28, 1993

MOSCOW -- In what observers called a historic ruling, a Russian
court has pronounced the infamous "Protocols of the Elders of Zion" an
anti-Semitic forgery -- the first such verdict in the land where the fraud
originated 90 years ago.
"Up to now every country had disengaged itself from this shameful
book, except Russia, where it was concocted," Tancred Golenpolsky, the
publisher of the Moscow Jewish newspaper that won the ruling, said

The ruling by Judge Lyudmila Belikova was hailed by the Los
Angeles-based Simon Wiesenthal Center, which provided financial support for
Golenpolsky and documentary material to the court.
"The ruling today under Russian law destroys any veneer of
respectability that hatemongers around the globe have tried to bestow on
this hateful work," said Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the center's associate dean,
in a statement."

But The defenders of The Protocols ... argued that "They have no decency left to say the Protocols are a fake when the entire history of Russia after 1917 is solid proof that they are genuine,"said Dmitri D. Vasiliev, head of the organization, in an interview'

So such court ruling do little to discourage the anti-Semitic true believer since they can argue that the judge or the court or jury & the media are being manipulated behind the scenes by ' the Jews ' .

take care,
GORD.

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also see:

The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion Plagiarism at its Best by José Delacruz, November 2003

Holocaust education from THE NIZKOR PROJECT

The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu
By Maurice Joly


“What He Has Done Is Sickening to Contemplate”: Catholic Liberal John Ryan Denounces Father Charles Coughlin
by John Ryan

Spartacus Educational home page

The Religious Roots of Alcoholics Anonymous
and the Twelve Steps by A. Orange Chapter 18: Henry Ford and Anti-Semitism

ANTI-SEMITISM AND ANTI-JUDAISM WITHIN THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH 1st to 20th Century CE

and:
Religious Tolerance .Org

also see: Jewish-Christian Relations.net
& of particular interest at this website on anti-Semitism in the New Testament see the article Removing Anti-Jewish Polemic
from our Christian Lectionaries: A Proposal by Norman A. Beck

see On Martin Luther's Anti-Semitism
Martin Luther's dirty little book:On the Jews and their lies A precursor to Nazism by Jim Walker

and also see:
Medieval Sourcebook: St. John Chrysostom (c.347-407) Eight Homilies Against the Jews

And from the website Catholic Answers: Just War Doctrine

and for more in depth coverage of the Holocaust & Anti-Semitism see the following websites:

The Nizkor Project: Remembering the Holocaust (Shoah)
Dedicated to 12 million Holocaust victims who suffered and died
at the hands of Adolf Hitler and his Nazi regime

Antisemitism Research Resources
This Web site provides annotated links and original material about antisemitism and the Holocaust (Shoah)

The Protocols of the Elders of Zion website Thousands, perhaps even tens of thousands, of Jews have died because of this infamous forgery.Rabbi Joseph Teluskin Jewish Literacy

Anti-Semitism of the "Church Fathers"

YASHANET.COM

Other References:

ANTISEMITISM: THE LONGEST HATRED, Robert S. Wistrich, pub. 1992

A Moral Reckoning :The Role of the Catholic Church in the Holocaust and Its Unfulfilled Duty of Repair by Daniel Jonah Goldhagen, pub. 2002

Constantine's Sword : The Church & the Jews by James Carroll, pub. 2001

The Catholic Church By Hans Küng -Translated by John Bowden, pub. 2001

The Popes Against The Jews: The Vatican's Role in The Rise of Modern Anti-Semitism, By David I. Kertzer pub. 2001

THE CRUCIFIED JEW: TWENTY CENTURIES OF ANTI-SEMITISM by Dan Cohen-Sherbok , pub.1992

The Horizon History of Christianity, by Roland H. Bainton pub.1964.

Warrant For Genocide : The Myth of the Jewish World Conspiracy and the Protocols of The Elders of Zion, by Norman Cohn 1967 & revised 1996.

A Rumor about the Jews : Reflections on Antisemitism and the Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion , Stephen Eric Bronner pub. 2000

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As for those who defend the Protocols their arguments are rather absurd & tortuous as every bit of evidence compiled against The Protocols only makes its defenders more insistent on their authenticity. They assume that there is a Jewish Conspiracy & The Protocols prove it.

For a current antisemitic dubious & twisted defense of the authenticity of The Protocols in which the author claims that the forgery story is just another incident of the ongoing Jewish conspiracy see:

NEW LIGHT ON THE PROTOCOLS **
LATEST EVIDENCE ON THE VERACITY OF THIS REMARKABLE DOCUMENT
BY W. CREUTZ

Gord's Poetry Factory: Gord's Poetry Factory: COSTA-GAVRAS FILM "AMEN" THE HOLOCAUST & THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Gord's Poetry Factory: Gord's Poetry Factory: COSTA-GAVRAS FILM "AMEN" THE HOLOCAUST & THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

Gord's Poetry Factory: Urban Myths , Rumors , Anti-Semitism & "The Blood Libel "

Gord's Poetry Factory: David Kertzer : The Popes Against the Jews - " Blood Libel "& Other Absurdities

Gord's Poetry Factory: FAITH , CERTAINTY , PARANOIA & ANTI-SEMITISM

Gord's Poetry Factory: SHOAH & THE RIGHT TO JUDGE THE GUILTY

Gord's Poetry Factory: Hitler , Martin Luther :The Roots of Anti-Semitism

Gord's Poetry Factory: HOLOCAUST/ SHOAH & THE CATHOLIC CHURCH