Muslims, Governments, War, and the Oligarchy

Below is my response to a dear friend of mine who sent me an anonymous "broadcast" type email.  That email was about how Muslims seem to be happy only in non-Muslim countries, and totally unhappy in Muslim countries.  The author laced the piece with numerous bits of sarcastic humor as to why that was [supposedly] true in each case.  Even though it was ridiculous, my bizarre sense of humor did find it funny.  My response---

That is funny!  On the serious side, here's why they're "happy" in non-Muslim countries---

The U.S. Gov't (& often the U.K. Gov't as well) is not bombing them in non-Muslim countries.  Their beloved grandmothers are not being blown to bits by a drone strike in non-Muslim countries, like they are in a country that's not even at war with the USA (Pakistan).  I've seen numerous interviews on Democracy Now with Pakistani victims and/or bystanders whose relatives have been killed by drone strikes.  Your tax dollars have killed over 1400 innocent civilians in Pakistan alone.  

The so-called "War on Terror" (a term not even used anymore) could easily be over--- all the Fed Gov't would have to do is pull out of Muslim countries, stop bombing them, stop attacking SUSPECTS with drone strikes, stop supporting Muslim dictatorships (like Egypt & Saudi Arabia), and let the proper agencies handle any further terrorist incidents---law enforcement agencies.  Soldiers are not trained to be cops, & shouldn't be expected to do that job.

It's a myth that most Muslims are trying to take over the world...propaganda put out by Oligarchs.  The tiny radical element in Islam that might be trying that has been trying for about 1400 yrs.  Apparently they aren't very good at it.  The Oligarchy will never let them succeed.  They don't have a prayer (no pun intended:).

The Oligarchs in the USA and their wholly owned subsidiary, the Fed Gov't, use the Muslim thing simply to keep Perpetual War going.  It's good for BIG Business (less than 1% of Business), and it keeps the "bewildered herd", the "little people", and the "ignorant masses" (what Oligarchs refer to the rest of us as) under control.

You don't really believe that some average joe or jane sat around & composed that piece, do you?  I admit, it's certainly possible that happened, but it's more likely that is propaganda concocted by some subgroup working for some "Public Relations" firm that was hired by some "Nonprofit" outfit of Oligarchs, probably all of them in some particular industry.  Just my guess.  The point of it is to keep the "bewildered herd" continually mad at or fed up with (or both) some designated "boogie-man" group.  So, then, when a few fanatics from that overall group blow something up in the name of "The Almighty Whoever", it's easier to convince the "little people" or "ignorant masses" that the U.S. must spend military blood, and treasure we don't have, on bombing some country and killing hundreds of thousands of their sovereign citizens.  No wonder the Muslims are pissed off AND want to live in Western countries.

Our biggest Arab ally in the Middle East, Saudi Arabia (a dictatorship), sponsors the most radical, fundamentalist, fanatic sect of Islam in the world (Wahhabism, the Wahhabi Sect) as a State Religion.  The Wahhabis spread their extremism all around the globe.  Ask yourself why our Fed Gov't has the Saudis as an ally.  The answer is much more than oil...or business ties to the Bush family.

Once again, none of the above is any kind of "conspiracy".

Partly just my opinion.  Be Well

Three Liars: Obama, Netanyahu, and Susan Rice

Yes, it's a harsh title, I know.  Perhaps I'm wrong.  If they aren't lying, then they're extremely uninformed, ignorant, and/or naive.  You decide.  I'm taking a break from painting, so this piece will be somewhat short.  In my opinion, the three characters mentioned in the title above perfectly illustrate how Oligarchs (or their puppets) sometimes operate.  Consider the following points.

1.  The tunnels---  Hamas has built tunnels into Egypt as well as Israel.  After the current dictator of Egypt took part in a military coup that overthrew a democratically elected gov't, he had the Egyptian ends of the Hamas tunnels SEALED.  Israel could have done the same thing with the ends of the tunnels crossing their borders.  The Israelis claimed that one of the reasons they bombed and invaded Gaza (killing hundreds of civilians and destroying thousands of homes) was to destroy the tunnels.  They could have been permanently sealed from the Israeli side.  This was expressed by Norman Finkelstein on Democracy Now.  Rarely reported in the Corporate Media is why there were tunnels into Egypt.  It was because Gaza is under blockade... not just weapons are restricted, but all kinds of civilian goods as well.  Those tunnels allowed the Palestinians to obtain much needed civilian goods and supplies.  The Israelis allow only minimal amounts to be imported into Gaza.  Gazans are not permitted to be a free people; they basically are confined to an area that is six times more densely populated than Manhattan.

2.  Obama and the Congress have given foreign aid to Egypt that amounts to over a billion dollars.  The sole reason for that appears to be because the Egyptian dictatorship does not support Hamas.  [Let's not forget that decades ago, the Israeli Irgun was a terrorist organization as well, operating in the very same land where Hamas dwells.]

3.  The rockets---  First of all, the Hamas "rockets" hardly can be called rockets at all.  That term implies a degree of sophistication; nevertheless, they are explosive projectiles of some sort.  The author, Norman Finkelstein, claims they amount to something a few degrees above fireworks.  In any case, they certainly are dangerous... so, that begs the question, why are they being fired into Israel?  The Corporate Media rarely go into that, and if so, just barely.  I have to be brief, too... Hamas is trying to get Israel to end the almost eight-year blockade of Gaza.  In addition, I suspect that Palestinians are still pissed off that for more than 65 years, the Israelis have been trying to drive them off their land.  Palestinians refused to accept the U.N. partition of their land (Palestine) in 1948 into two States (Israel and Palestine) because they had been living on that land in a majority for hundreds of years.  They considered all of it their land.  The Israelis, by means of terrorism starting in 1946, finally forced the British to go to the U.N. for some sort of solution to the "Palestinian problem".  The Israelis "reclaiming" land on which their ancestors lived a couple of thousand years ago is akin to me & my "clan" returning to Ireland and "reclaiming" some place where my ancestors lived a couple of thousand years ago.  Perhaps the American Indians/Native Americans here in the U.S. should reclaim their land.  [You see how the whole idea breaks down in modern times.]

4.  The Iron Dome---  Theodore Postol, an M.I.T. Professor, a physicist, and expert on missiles, rockets, and military defense systems, stated on Democracy Now that the Iron Dome is at most perhaps 5% effective.  He explained his claim quite well, but I don't have the time to detail it.  He also said that the lack of Israeli death and injury from Hamas attacks is not due to the Iron Dome, but rather to the advanced Israeli early warning system and the fact that Israeli homes, by law, must have an artillery-shell-proof shelter within.  In addition, of course, there are many public shelters throughout Israeli towns and cities.
Meanwhile, Obama and our Congress have authorized $225 million MORE to bolster the almighty Iron Dome...which, according to a top expert, is 5% effective.  Who benefits?  Raytheon Corporation, that's who.  Plus, National Security Advisor Susan Rice states publicly what a great defense system is the Iron Dome.

5.  The lobbyist-funded love affair between the U.S. Gov't and the Israeli Gov't---
Norman Finkelstein, on Democracy Now, also pointed out that Obama started out touting the righteousness of the Israeli invasion of Gaza.  Then after the Israelis essentially murdered so many civilian bystanders and even U.N. personnel in schools and hospitals by deliberate targeting of same, he had to change his tune.  According to Finkelstein, Netanyahu withdrew his troops because Obama said publicly that the Israeli actions were deplorable and indefensible.  The author said that this is the beginning of the end of the love affair between the two Gov'ts.

6.  Even IF Hamas was using civilians to shield military activities, a HUMANE Gov't does not go ahead anyway and target civilian homes, schools, and hospitals...thus killing hundreds of innocent men, women, and CHILDREN.  CHILDREN!  As to the Israeli military warning civilians that their homes were about to be bombed, the question arises, to where should they run?  U.N. shelters were also bombed... killing refugees, as well as U.N. workers.  That is insanity; there is no justification for it.  These are war crimes.

Enough of the lies from the Establishment... enough of only part of the history of Israel and Palestine.  Israel is not the Little Miss Goodie Two Shoes portrayed by Obama (until very recently), Netanyahu, Susan Rice, and the Corporate Media.  There are two sides to every story of conflict.

Partly just my opinion.

Be Well

Lessons for Clinton, Bush, and Obama

1.  Exactly where in the Constitution (C.) does it give the 

Feds the power to use our military as the world's police 

force?  The War Powers Act does not supercede the C., 

nor does any other law.  The phrase, "Commander-in-

Chief" does not negate the rest of the C.  Using our blood 

& treasure to quell insurrections around the world may 

be commonly accepted in this country, but it's blatantly unconstitutional.

2.  RE:  the Justice Dept. memo authorizing the killing of 

an American citizen without a formal charge or a trial---  

The Constitution does permit "Letters of Marque and 

Reprisal" (assassination orders) against enemies, BUT 

THEY MUST BE ISSUED BY THE CONGRESS.  

There are good reasons for that, but that's another story.

3.  Fed Law and Judges often are used to subvert/pervert 

the Fed Justice System.  For a case in point, see the 

excellent documentary Bidder 70, the story of Tim DeChristopher's 

battle over an oil & gas leasing auction.  In the court trial, 

the Judge instructed the jury that they were not to judge 

the law...he would explain the law to them.  (All judges say 

that.)  Here's a quote from John Jay, the very first Chief 

Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court:  "The jury has the right 

to judge both the law and the facts in controversy.".  From

 Samuel Chase, Supreme Court Justice:  "The jury has the 

right to determine both the law and the facts.".  From 

Harlan F. Stone, the 12th Chief Justice of the Supreme 

Court:  "The law itself is on trial quite as much as the cause

 which is to be decided.".  There are many others of a similar

 nature.  The last civilian bastion of freedom in this country is 

the right of a jury to nullify a bad law, but judges usually 

claim 

that jury nullification is illegal.  Let's not forget that we once 

had the following laws in this land:  The Fugitive Slave Act, 

The Indian Removal Act, and the Chinese Exclusion Act.

4.  Supporting the dictatorship in Egypt is as wrong as wrong 

can be.  That regime has demonstrated over and over that it 

does not believe in freedom.

5.  The Office of President has been converted, especially by

 Clinton, both Bush Boys, and Obama, into a virtual Kingship.  

The Head of our Gov't (whoever it is) now thinks that the

 Presidency is superior to Congress and the Courts.  In actual 

fact, it is co-equal.  Unfortunately, recent Presidents have by-

passed the other two branches with impunity.  [One 

example:

Even though Congress was not in favor of it, Clinton sent 

troops 

to 

Bosnia.  Another example:  in 1993, he gave Mexico $20

billion to bail out Wall Street banks... without the 

approval of Congress.]

6.  Iraq, again?  Don't we ever learn?  No matter what is 

done, 

as soon as we leave (again), the civil war will continue.  How 

many years have we "aided" the Iraq Gov't?  How many 

years have we "trained" the Iraq security forces?  How 

many?

  I'm sorry, but enough is enough.  It should be obvious that 

there's another agenda going on.  I leave it to you to figure it 

out.

..................................................

Ours is a Gov't of "Enumerated Powers" [Google it]; if the 

power isn't listed, the Feds don't have it.  Furthermore, the

 Constitution enumerates...it does not "imply".  The 

Executive Branch is out-of-control...especially because of 

Clinton, Bush, and Obama, with their despotic concept of 

the "Unitary Executive".  The "updating" of the Constitution 

must be done by the formal Amendment process or the 

holding of a Constitutional Convention...no other way is legal.

If we're going to ignore the U.S. Constitution because the 

document is not convenient, then I suggest we just throw 

it out.  Ignoring it, as has been done for decades, has the

 same effect.

p.s.  I'm not a Democrat or a Republican, nor a so-called 

"Liberal" or so-called "Conservative".  Those outdated 

labels essentially are meaningless in this time of the 

Oligarchy.

Be Well

Part II: The Bush-Obama Doctrines

PREFACE
These blog pieces should not in any way, shape, or form be viewed as "anti-American".  The principles of We the People in the USA have not been represented by the Fed Gov't for decades.  I'm talking about the principles of freedom, Free Market Capitalism, fairness, and justice.  Our Gov't has been co-opted by a fairly disorganized (but nevertheless effective) Oligarchy whose members don't believe in any of those things.  That has been going on for a very long time.  The dissidents in America are far more patriotic than the Oligarchs can ever hope to be or care to be.

Now, on to the Bush-Obama Doctrines, Part II.  [Many other Democrat and Republican Administrations could be included, but for clarity I'll stick with only those two.]

1.  Dictators around the world should be opposed... unless, of course, they march to the tune of the U.S. Fed Gov't.  Then they should be supported.  [Example:  the Feds fairly recently gave the military dictatorship of Egypt 1.5 BILLION dollars in aid.  This is the same dictatorship that conducts court trials of hundreds of dissidents at once; each trial lasts about 30 minutes.  This is the same dictatorship that overthrew a democratically elected government.  Previous to all that, the Bush Administration gave similar amounts of aid to the Gov't of the dictator Mubarak.]

2.  Continue to inundate the People with Edward Bernays style propaganda.  [Examples:  lies about NSA surveillance; lies about the health of our economy; lies about Oligarchs "creating jobs"; lies about the power of the Office of President; lies about the role of the U.S. in world affairs; lies about mega banks; lies about conflict of interest in DC;  lies about so-called "Free Trade" Agreements; and many other items too numerous to list.]

3.  Tell the People whatever you think it is that they want to hear... even if it's untrue, or utter nonsense.  [Examples:  "Saddam is linked to Al Qaida"; "Our troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2014"... a bit later--- "Our troops will be out of Afghanistan by 2016"; "This is not anything like our involvement in Vietnam"; "We will assure the People of Iraq and Afghanistan the right of free choice"; "They hate us for our Freedom"; "We're fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here"; "Our economy will collapse if we don't do this"; "Congress has NSA oversight"; "All NSA surveillance is authorized by a court...it's all legal and Constitutional" (no mention that it's the kangaroo, rubber-stamp FISA "court"... a secret court... and no explanation of exactly HOW/WHY it's Constitutional... because it isn't.); etc., etc., ad nauseum.]

4.  Originate (Bush) and continue (Obama) the concept of the Unitary Presidency... an absurd, false principle concocted primarily by John Yoo, former Counsel to Dubya.  It's basic premise is that the Office of President legally can bypass Congress, the Courts, or anybody when undertaking actions previously denied by our system of Checks and Balances in government.  [Google:  Unitary Presidency.]  The result has been to convert the Office of President into that of a virtual King.

5.  Prosecute war criminals and terrorists... unless, of course, those same people are in the U.S. Fed Gov't.  [Richard Clarke, former Counterterrorism "Czar" under Clinton, and for a short time under Bush, has stated publicly that he believes some of the actions of Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld measure up to "war crimes".  Noam Chomsky--- political dissident, political analyst, Professor Emeritus of M.I.T.--- has stated publicly that he believes the invasion of Iraq was in itself a war crime.  Other prominent people in the world believe the same thing.  I would ask this:  did Iraq, a country that did not threaten or attack the U.S., and also a country that we supplied arms to in the '80s (including chemical weapons), have sovereignty in 2003 or not?  Yes, Saddam was a brutal ruler; however, that has absolutely nothing to do with the Constitutionally permitted use of our military.  Nothing at all.  That war was completely unconstitutional.  It was an exercise in NeoImperialism & Big Bullyism perpetrated by a President and supported by Senator Obama who both are puppets of the mega corporation Oligarchy.  The Feds even provided tutorial conferences (relative to the war) for mega corporations, showing them how to belly-up to the Federal Money Trough, the Fed Gravy Train.]

6.  Sign International Agreements relating to war crimes and terrorism... but exempt the USA's Gov't from being subject to any prosecution under their provisions.  [That has been going on for decades.  The Fed Gov't always has self-immunized itself from any such prosecution.  That is understandable to some degree... until the Feds (as they often do) chastise some country or another for violating "International Law"... the Law to which the Feds are not subject... by their own insistence.  That is completely bizarre.]

Out of time.

Be Well