KAREEM TELLS THE TRUTH

The Coming Race War Won’t Be About Race
By Kareem Abdul-Jabbar

Will the recent rioting in Ferguson, Missouri, be a tipping point in the struggle against racial injustice, or will it be a minor footnote in some future grad student’s thesis on Civil Unrest in the Early Twenty-First Century?

The answer can be found in May of 1970.
 
You probably have heard of the Kent State shootings: on May 4, 1970, the Ohio National Guard opened fire on student protesters at Kent State University. During those 13 seconds of gunfire, four students were killed and nine were wounded, one of whom was permanently paralyzed. The shock and outcry resulted in a nationwide strike of 4 million students that closed more than 450 campuses. Five days after the shooting, 100,000 protestors gathered in Washington, D.C. And the nation’s youth was energetically mobilized to end the Vietnam War, racism, sexism, and mindless faith in the political establishment.

You probably haven’t heard of the Jackson State shootings.

On May 14^th, 10 days after Kent State ignited the nation, at the predominantly black Jackson State University in Mississippi, police killed two black students (one a high school senior, the other the father of an 18-month-old baby) with shotguns and wounded twelve others.

There was no national outcry. The nation was not mobilized to do anything. That heartless leviathan we call History swallowed that event whole, erasing it from the national memory.

And, unless we want the Ferguson atrocity to also be swallowed and become nothing more than an intestinal irritant to history, we have to address the situation not just as another act of systemic racism, but as what else it is: class warfare.

By focusing on just the racial aspect, the discussion becomes about whether Michael Brown’s death—or that of the other three unarmed black men who were killed by police in the U.S. within that month—is about discrimination or about police justification. Then we’ll argue about whether there isn’t just as much black-against-white racism in the U.S. as there is white-against-black. (Yes, there is. But, in general, white-against-black economically impacts the future of the black community. Black-against-white has almost no measurable social impact.)

Then we’ll start debating whether or not the police in America are themselves an endangered minority who are also discriminated against based on their color—blue. (Yes, they are. There are many factors to consider before condemning police, including political pressures, inadequate training, and arcane policies.) Then we’ll question whether blacks are more often shot because they more often commit crimes. (In fact, studies show that blacks are targeted more often in some cities, like New York City. It’s difficult to get a bigger national picture because studies are woefully inadequate. The Department of Justice study shows that in the U.S. between 2003 and 2009, among arrest-related deaths there’s very little difference among blacks, whites, or Latinos. However, the study doesn’t tell us how many were unarmed.)

This fist-shaking of everyone’s racial agenda distracts America from the larger issue that the targets of police overreaction are based less on skin color and more on an even worse Ebola-level affliction: being poor. Of course, to many in America, being a person of color is synonymous with being poor, and being poor is synonymous with being a criminal. Ironically, this misperception is true even among the poor.

And that’s how the status quo wants it.

The U.S. Census Report finds that 50 million Americans are poor. Fifty million voters is a powerful block if they ever organized in an effort to pursue their common economic goals. So, it’s crucial that those in the wealthiest One Percent keep the poor fractured by distracting them with emotional issues like immigration, abortion and gun control so they never stop to wonder how they got so screwed over for so long.

One way to keep these 50 million fractured is through disinformation. PunditFact’s recent scorecard on network news concluded that at Fox and Fox News Channel, 60 percent of claims are false. At NBC and MSNBC, 46 percent of claims were deemed false. That’s the “news,” folks! During the Ferguson riots, Fox News ran a black and white photo of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., with the bold caption: “Forgetting MLK’s Message/Protestors in Missouri Turn to Violence.” Did they run such a caption when either Presidents Bush invaded Iraq: “Forgetting Jesus Christ’s Message/U.S. Forgets to Turn Cheek and Kills Thousands”?

How can viewers make reasonable choices in a democracy if their sources of information are corrupted? They can’t, which is exactly how the One Percent controls the fate of the Ninety-Nine Percent.

Worse, certain politicians and entrepreneurs conspire to keep the poor just as they are. On his HBO comedic news show Last Week Tonight, John Oliver ran an expose of the payday loan business and those who so callously exploit the desperation of the poor. How does an industry that extorts up to 1,900 percent interest on loans get away with it? In Texas, State Rep. Gary Elkins blocked a regulatory bill, despite the fact that he owns a chain of payday loan stores. And the politician who kept badgering Elkins about his conflict of interest, Rep. Vicki Truitt, became a lobbyist for ACE Cash Express just 17 days after leaving office. In essence, Oliver showed how the poor are lured into such a loan, only to be unable to pay it back and having to secure yet another loan. The cycle shall be unbroken.

Dystopian books and movies like Snowpiercer, The Giver, Divergent, Hunger Games, and Elysium have been the rage for the past few years. Not just because they express teen frustration at authority figures. That would explain some of the popularity among younger audiences, but not among twentysomethings and even older adults. The real reason we flock to see Donald Sutherland’s porcelain portrayal in Hunger Games of a cold, ruthless president of the U.S. dedicated to preserving the rich while grinding his heel into the necks of the poor is that it rings true in a society in which the One Percent gets richer while our middle class is collapsing.

That’s not hyperbole; statistics prove this to be true. According to a 2012 Pew Research Center report, just half of U.S. households are middle-income, a drop of 11 percent since the 1970s; median middle-class income has dropped by 5 percent in the last ten years, total wealth is down 28 percent. Fewer people (just 23 percent) think they will have enough money to retire. Most damning of all: fewer Americans than ever believe in the American Dream mantra that hard work will get them ahead.

Rather than uniting to face the real foe—do-nothing politicians, legislators, and others in power—we fall into the trap of turning against each other, expending our energy battling our allies instead of our enemies. This isn’t just inclusive of race and political parties, it’s also about gender. In her book Unspeakable Things: Sex, Lies and Revolution, Laurie Penny suggests that the decreased career opportunities for young men in society makes them feel less valuable to females; as a result they deflect their rage from those who caused the problem to those who also suffer the consequences: females.

Yes, I’m aware that it is unfair to paint the wealthiest with such broad strokes. There are a number of super-rich people who are also super-supportive of their community. Humbled by their own success, they reach out to help others. But that’s not the case with the multitude of millionaires and billionaires who lobby to reduce Food Stamps, give no relief to the burden of student debt on our young, and kill extensions of unemployment benefits.

With each of these shootings/chokehold deaths/stand-your-ground atrocities, police and the judicial system are seen as enforcers of an unjust status quo. Our anger rises, and riots demanding justice ensue. The news channels interview everyone and pundits assign blame.

Then what?

I’m not saying the protests in Ferguson aren’t justified—they are. In fact, we need more protests across the country. Where’s our Kent State? What will it take to mobilize 4 million students in peaceful protest? Because that’s what it will take to evoke actual change. The middle class has to join the poor and whites have to join African-Americans in mass demonstrations, in ousting corrupt politicians, in boycotting exploitative businesses, in passing legislation that promotes economic equality and opportunity, and in punishing those who gamble with our financial future.

Otherwise, all we’re going to get is what we got out of Ferguson: a bunch of politicians and celebrities expressing sympathy and outrage. If we don’t have a specific agenda—a list of exactly what we want to change and how—we will be gathering over and over again beside the dead bodies of our murdered children, parents, and neighbors.

I hope John Steinbeck is proven right when he wrote in Grapes of Wrath, “Repression works only to strengthen and knit the oppressed.” But I’m more inclined to echo Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues,” written the year after the Kent State/Jackson State shootings:

Inflation no chance
To increase finance
Bills pile up sky high
Send that boy off to die
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life
Make me wanna holler
The way they do my life 

MORE ON PROPOSED RANGELEY MISSILE BASE

MAKE IT BETTER FOR MY SON

Captain Ron Johnson spoke of the need for communication, understanding, and faith at Sunday’s Rally for Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO.

Johnson began by apologizing to Brown’s family. “I wear this uniform, and I should stand up here and say that I’m sorry,” Johnson said to a long round of applause. “I’ll tell you right now, I came in today and saw people cheering and people clapping; this is what the media needs to put on TV.”

Johnson replaced Ferguson Police Chief Jon Belmar after several days of over-militarized police presence led to a crisis in the St. Louis suburb. Johnson cited his link to the community, pledged to protect its right to protest, and brought it back to the personal bond he feels with his own family, and how he sees the experience shaping the bond for the families of the Ferguson community.

“When this is over, I’m gonna go in my son’s room,” Johnson said. “My black son, who wears his pants saggy, wears his hat cocked to the side, got tattoos on his arms. But that’s my baby, and we all oughta be thanking the Browns for Michael. Because Michael’s gonna make it better for our sons, so they can be better black men.”

THE KILLING CULTURE

Why?

Because we can
we want to feel
powerful
and
dominant
that's what we do
in this culture

We are taught
to win
at all cost
we can kill them
fast
or we can kill them
slow

Our mission
our job
our role
in America
says Pentagon
is
'security export'

we are warriors
hunters
killers

We've been chosen
by the man
we are the
primary resource
extraction service
for corporate
globalization

We do it
because we can
it's our culture
'full spectrum
dominance'

SUNDAY SONG

OUR RIGHT TO BE HEARD

HELP US SPREAD OUR NEWSLETTER IN YOUR COMMUNITY

The latest edition of the Global Network's newsletter is now printed and being mailed to members.  We would be happy to provide local activists with bulk copies for local distribution.  We don't ask for any money for printing - we just request reimbursement for the cost of postage when we mail them to you.

You can help us spread our message about drones, missile offense, and the larger issue of the Pentagon using military space technology to control the planet on behalf of corporate globalization.  Let us know how many copies you want and we'll send them right away.  Just email us at globalnet@mindspring.com or call (207) 443-9502 and tell us how many copies you want.

You can view this latest edition of the newsletter here

KIEV BLOCKING HUMANITARIAN AID

In the last stage of its mission to crush self-defense forces in eastern Ukraine, the Kiev regime is pounding cities and towns with shells and bombs. Scared locals are suffering not only from constant fighting, but there's also a shortage of food, water and electricity. In order to bring some relief to the conflict zone, Russia's trying to send tons of humanitarian aid, but the convoy is stuck at the border.

Kiev wants to either directly kill its own citizens in eastern Ukraine by shelling or starve them to death. The world community remains largely silent.

KILLING IN EASTERN UKRAINE

Ukraine's National Guard which is supported by the West is controlled by Neo-Nazis with Nazi emblems.

Documented in the video, war crimes are being committed by both the Ukrainian Army and the Ukrainian National Guard.

In the media's coverage of unfolding atrocities directed against civilians in Eastern Ukraine, the words Nazi, Fascist or Neo-Nazi are a taboo. They have been eliminated from the anthology of investigative reporting.

The mainstream media by denying the very existence of these crimes against humanity committed by Neo-Nazi military and paramilitary formations is complicit under the Nuremberg Principles of "crimes against peace"

War crimes committed by both the Ukrainian Army and the Ukrainian National Guard in Eastern Ukraine against civilian population. Mainstream media channels won't show you any of this footage. This is a war they don't want you to see.

Kiev's warmongers and fascists on the ground keep on killing innocent civilians. 90% of the footage shown here was filmed by the locals and is readily available on YouTube. The blood that's being spilled over by Kiev's punishers will never be washed away.

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Yesterday the Lewiston (Maine) Sun Journal newspaper ran a front page story about the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) public hearings in Rangeley.  I was quoted but there were two important mistakes in the article that also quoted my organizing companion Jason Rawn.  So this morning I sent this response to the paper and will hope it gets printed.

Lewiston Sun Journal

Dear Editor,

I read with great interest your article “Mixed emotions over interceptor base in Franklin County” (8-14-14).  This issue about Maine possibly hosting a “missile defense” (MD) interceptor base should be given serious public attention as it would create many environmental, economic and political consequences.

I was mis-identified in the article as a Vietnam vet.  While I was indeed in the Air Force during the Vietnam War I told your reporter that I was a Vietnam-era vet. 

Secondly a couple of my key words were mischaracterized and should be corrected.  I was quoted accurately about the fact that Iran has no nuclear weapons and no missiles capable of reaching the continental US.  North Korea does have a few nukes but no missiles able to reach our shores.  Neither are the threat.  It is Russia and China these systems are really aimed at.

In the article the reporter says that I believe the US will attack Russia and China in a first-strike.  I didn’t say that.  What I actually said was that there are several versions of “missile defense” which the Pentagon is currently testing and deploying (at considerable tax payer expense).  These MD systems are creating the capability that “would allow” the US to launch such a first-strike attack against Russia or China. 

In fact the aerospace industry magazine Aviation Week & Space Technology has reported several times about the annual US Space Command computer war game where they practice such a first-strike attack against Russia and China.  MD is the shield that is used to pick-off any retaliatory strikes after an initial US attack.  They are misnamed as missile defense, they should be called “missile offense”.  The name is really all about public relations.

Instead of just putting “missile defense” interceptor bases here inside the US, the military is now surrounding Russia and China with ground-based and sea-based interceptors.  That means US MD systems are currently going into Poland, Romania, Turkey, Black Sea, Japan, South Korea, Guam, Okinawa, Taiwan and more.  Imagine if the shoe was on the other foot and that Russia or China were establishing MD bases in Mexico and Canada and putting interceptors on ships just off our Atlantic and Pacific coasts.  We’d go ballistic.  When we do it to others it is ignored, excused, and anyone who speaks up is taken as a suspect.

The corporate profits building the new arms race into space are enormous.  In fact the Pentagon has long maintained that space warfare technology (Star Wars) will be the largest industrial project in the history of Earth.  And where will those funds come from?  Some years ago the industry publication called Space News ran an editorial calling for the defunding of the “entitlement programs” in order to move those funds over into the space technology budget.  The entitlement programs officially are Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and what is left of the welfare program.

Remember what former President Eisenhower told the nation on his last day in office, “Beware of the power of the military industrial complex.”  They lied us into Vietnam, Iraq and are now trying to scare us with “Iran and North Korea” are coming.  Proceed with caution.

Bruce K. Gagnon
Coordinator
Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space 

Also a member of Maine Veterans for Peace

NOTHING TO LAUGH AT

On August 9^th in Hebron, Israeli soldiers celebrated shooting an 18-year-old Palestinian youth in the leg with live ammunition.

See much more on the story here

REPORT ON MISSILE OFFENSE PUBLIC HEARING IN MAINE

55-foot silos going into ground at Ft. Greeley, Alaska, a GMD base similar to the one being proposed for the east coast of the US.  Public hearings are now under way in four states, including Maine, as potential basing sites.

Yesterday I made the drive to Rangeley along with fellow Maine activist Jason Rawn. The occasion was the "public hearing" put on by the Pentagon's "Missile Defense Agency" (MDA) - better termed missile offense agency. The corporation Black & Veatch was contracted to organize the hearings to help determine where the MDA should build an "east coast" missile interceptor base and they sub-contracted with some other company to actually do the work. So when Jason and I walked in the door just before the 9:00 am start time we were swarmed with about 40 Army Space Command personnel (Huntsville, Alabama), MDA staff and sub-contractors.

In order to avoid having a real public hearing, where citizens can hear and learn from one another, the MDA plan was to have display boards on easels throughout the Rangeley regional school gymnasium. This set up allowed for the atomization of the public voice as folks were forced to go from easel to easel and be literally surrounded by 2-3 MDA types who would immediately ask, "Do you have a question?"

The truth is that most of the 50-some public citizens we saw during our two-hours were mostly stunned. They have no clue what "missile defense" (offense) really is and they have no idea what it means to have a new base plunked down inside Maine's environmentally sensitive western mountains. Sixty interceptor missiles are envisioned at the base as a result of the Congressional mandate that public hearings be held in Michigan, Ohio, New York and Maine to decide which state gets the 'lucky prize' if Congress ultimately decides to further fund this expensive and destabilizing program.

This particular version of "missile defense" is called the Ground-based Midcourse (GMD) system and has had the least successful testing regime of all the various MD systems. GMD has the most difficult task of having a bullet hit a bullet in deep space while "enemy rockets" would be travelling at 15,000 mph. The few "positive" tests came when they put beacons on the dummy missiles helping the GMD system to locate them - what is called a "strap down rabbit test". The program was in serious trouble because of cost and technology hurdles but primary contractor Boeing Corp. marshaled their vast congressional resources and the combined influence of New England's congressional delegations got Maine into the final four. Raytheon, a key sub-contractor in the program, is headquartered in nearby Massachusetts.

One local environmentalist was "shocked at the scale of the project" that could bring anywhere from 1,000 to 1,800 people into Rangeley to build the base and/or staff the missile installation. Current year round population of Rangeley is about 1,100 and the kindergarten to high school student population is presently only 260 kids. Expect a dramatic change in local culture if this site is picked. The sleepy summer lake and winter mountain ski culture would be infused with bars, pawn shops, and other signs of military "outside the gate" culture so familiar around the country and world where US bases are located.

The sixty interceptors would be trucked to the mountain region after huge holes were blasted into rocky mountain surfaces. Inside the holes would first go 55-foot long black silos that would also be trucked to Rangeley. Once installed the interceptors, key elements in Pentagon first-strike attack planning, would be filled with hydrazine. Hydrazine is a hazardous toxic pollutant and will be used to fuel the final stage of the "hit-to-kill" kinetic warhead. The lower stages of the interceptor missiles will be fueled by solid fuel. The primary ingredient for the solid fuel is perchlorate which has been found in water tables throughout the US. The Colorado River, used to provide water for crops in California, is loaded with perchlorate and the toxin is showing up in lettuce and milk among other food products. 

I learned that the "pure water" bottler Poland Springs (owned by Nestle) has 1,000 acres at the very edge of this proposed missile base. The local water aquifer would thus be very close to fuel storage tanks holding the hydrazine that would also be trucked in from away. The opportunities for serious water contamination are more than certain.  We know that the Pentagon is the largest polluter on the planet.

This particular wilderness site has also recently been in consideration for being set aside as a wildlife refuge. The Appalachian Trail Club is deeply concerned about the environmental impacts as are other environmental groups in Maine.

Jason stood by the door and handed local citizens entering the hearing a flyer from Maine Veterans For Peace about our October 11-20 Walk for Peace & A Sustainable Future. The walk will begin in Rangeley and end in North Berwick and is intended to connect various communities in Maine that are increasingly reliant on military spending/production. Nearly 10% of Maine's gross domestic product derives from military spending because it is the only real government job creation program going these days. It's important to remember that the Pentagon has long been saying that America's job under corporate globalization of the world economy will be "security export".

Politicians from both parties are eager to bring the military to our state and jobs is always the reason given. They know that there isn't going to be any real money for anything else so their philosophy is get what you can - the path of least resistance.

As we were leaving the hearing Jason and I talked with one of the MDA staff who told me that he has been reading my blog regularly for many years. I can only hope he, and others from the military industry complex who read it, are learning something.

Public comments from US citizens are due by September 15 and you can access the MDA web page here.

Ridgely Fuller from Belfast, Maine hands a Maine Walk for Peace flyer to one of the MDA's officers at today's public hearing in Farmington.  She has on her pink Bring Our War $$ Home t-shirt.

WHO IS GONNA BE NEXT?

Ferguson, Missouri saw more protests Tuesday night as the community’s anger over the shooting and killing of an unarmed African-American teen by police refuses to subside. Seeing the tragedy as a representation of a larger racial divide in the country, residents are demanding leaders address their concerns and more fairly treat minorities in their city and across the nation. RT’s Anastasia Churkina is in Ferguson and speaks to several citizens.

THE CHANGE IS COMING

Adam Jones from the Baltimore Orioles - a team once mighty, then fell to a long sleep, now resurrected and taking down the evil empire

Orioles beat the Yankee$
after 14 years of losing
O's now in first place
Yankee$ baseball empire
on the wane
collapsing

maybe a sign
of the times
Birds (nature)
trump empire
a headline
long overdue

A start of things
to come?
or already deep
in motion
toward an
unstoppable
shift
we just don't see it
yet

The motto is
stick with your team
through the hard times
and the good

TEACHING HATRED OF RUSSIA TO LITTLE KIDS

Here is a vivid example of the anti-Russian propaganda being taught by the US-EU backed regime in Kiev that came to power with the help of Nazi elements in Ukraine.

Doing this to children is cruel but likely effective in planting the seeds of hatred of Russia.  Very sad.

This woman is Irina Farion from the ultra-nationalist camp in Kiev.

HOW'S THEM APPLES?

The Polish, who have sent soldiers and military equipment into Ukraine to attack self-defense forces in the eastern region of the country, have joined the US-EU in their sanctions against Russia.  But Russia has responded by deciding to end trade with US-EU and is moving on to greener pastures in South America and Asia.

Already Polish officials are feeling the loss of the Russian market for their apples.  They want into the US market.  But US apple growers are not likely to want to buy that deal...

COURAGEOUS RESISTANCE

Post by Siakap Keli.

Amazing courage of this man non-violently resisting the Israeli army .....people complain about Hamas being violent but how about giving this man (and thousands like him) the respect and support they deserve!

FROM THE FIRING END IN UKRAINE

Телеканал "Звезда"

Залп украинских «Градов» по Горловке. Съемка очевидца 11 августа 2014, 13:16 В Сети продолжают появляться свидетельства массированного применения тяжелой боевой техники украинскими военными. Очередное видео обстрела сделано под городом Горловка, где войска, подконтрольные Киеву ведут огонь по жилым кварталам. На кадрах запечатлен момент залпа из реактивных систем залпового огня «Град».... Подробнее »

Click on the link above to see the 35 second video...

The Kiev regime daily fires these shells into eastern Ukraine at unprotected citizens whose only crime is they speak Russian first and want to elect their own mayors and governors rather than have them appointed by the US-NATO backed farce now in control.

Imagine being on the receiving end of these shells.  No wonder almost one million Ukrainian citizens have run across the border into Russia.  No wonder hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers have crossed into Russia too.  What is Russia to do?

DISTRACT AND DECEIVE

Hillary
we've 'been there
done that'
alright
already

But she
will be the first
woman president
following the first
black prez

specifically designed
to keep the 'left'
in place and
under control
as the social fabric
of the nation is
dissolved
and
foreign policy
privatized

Corporate oligarchy
knows Hillary
will play the game
read the script
act the part

Shows
reveals
the Democrats
have nothing left
inside their
dollar bill packed
'program'

It's a blank program
one intended
to distract
and deceive

PUSHING SPACE WAR TECHNOLOGY

Huntsville, Alabama is home of the Army Space Command and is a key research and development center for the missile defense industry.   The 17th annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium is scheduled for August 11-14 at the Von Braun Center in Huntsville.

Huntsville calls itself the "Pentagon of the south" since they get so much money to create the arms race in space.

The Army's space and missile command in Huntsville in directing the "public hearings" now underway in Maine, New York, Ohio, and Michigan to determine where an east coast interceptor missile base might be located.

OPERATION GHETTO STORM

Glen Ford: The mainstream media’s refuses to contextualize the fatal shooting of unarmed teenager Michael Brown by Ferguson, Missouri police in America’s tradition of the mass incarceration of African Americans and police brutality sparking black uprisings.

First they came for the black man but I wasn't black.....

YOU CHOOSE

In the film, people sacrifice the very core of what makes us human: The ability to choose right and wrong. All choices are made for them, from career to family to curfew. The community is the ultimate triumph of a totalitarian state because the people are no longer aware they are being controlled. The state has won jurisdiction over their minds and quieted their hearts with opiates.

 Director Jeff Bridges sees a link to today:

“I think although the movie takes place in some future time that it is very reflective of our own and there’s a bit of a cautionary tale of how us humans roll and what we’re capable of. And the brutality and the subtleties of our brutality toward each other and also the love and the strength that’s inherent in us... Us human beings are still capable of that kind of thing. We need to be on guard for that and look for that. Not numb ourselves to it. Be engaged. One of the biggest challenges for us at this stage, I know for myself, is to not be cynical, you know, throw up our hands. We need to be engaged.”

KIEV KILLING ITS OWN PEOPLE

250,000 people have been left without water, electricity and communications for over a week in the eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk. The town is subject to siege conditions and under heavy bombardmentby the US-NATO backed regime in Kiev.

MISSILE DEFENSE IN MAINE?

• We had another Gaza support vigil yesterday here in Bath, Maine.  A dozen folks turned out.  We'll do it again next Sunday at noon.
• There is an article in the Portland Press Herald today about the Pentagon's 'Missile Defense Agency' public hearings in our state this week.  I was quoted in the article saying that Maine Veterans for Peace (VFP) is opposed to the proposed deployment of ground-based missile defense systems in Maine.  I'll be driving up to Rangeley (in the western mountains) on Wednesday to attend the hearing and to then do a second drive of our peace walk route that begins there on October 11 and ends in North Berwick on Oct 20. I got a call today from Maine public radio who also interviewed me about why VFP is against the possible interceptor base in our state. You can read more about the public comment process here.  All US citizens can leave comments if you'd like.

Key talking points include:

1)  Ground-based mid-course missile defense systems have not proven themselves to work effectively thus deployment is way premature assuming one could make a case they were even needed

2)  Huge waste of tax payer dollars

3)  Missile defense systems are destabilizing and fuel new arms race – particularly with Russia & China

4)  Pentagon often says these systems are needed to protect against Iran & North Korea but neither have nuclear weapons delivery systems capable of reaching continental US (Iran does not even have a nuclear weapon).  In reality these systems are aimed at Russia & China

5)  Missile defense systems are key elements in US first-strike attack planning – they are the ‘shield’ to be used after a US first-strike attack is launched.  The US Space Command has been war gaming such attacks for years

6) The environmental degradation to the mountains east of Rangeley, and the impacts on wildlife, are totally unacceptable. The idea of driving 55-foot long interceptor missiles from Bangor to the Rangeley area on country roads is ludicrous.

To submit a comment directly to the 'Missile Defense Agency', send an e-mail to: MDA.CIS.EIS@BV.com      

WHO VALUES LIFE THE MOST?

Young boy in Syria sleeps between the graves of his parents

One familiar refrain
from politicians
and media
in the US
is that
'we value life'
more than
others
around the world

This is of course
totally ridiculous
absurd
and spin
intended to provide
moral justification
for the Pentagon's
endless wars
for resource
extraction

The air strikes in Iraq
began just hours after Obama
authorized them
in a televised address
he said
that the US had an obligation
to protect its personnel in Iraq
and prevent a potential genocide
of minority groups by ISIS
(ISIS who the US/Jordan/Saudi Arabia/
England/Israel funded and trained)

Suddenly Obama is concerned
about genocide
apparently oblivious
to Palestine
and
eastern Ukraine
and American
Indian reservations

Obama
knowing of the great
reluctance and
outright opposition
of US citizens to
'boots on the ground'
promises none

“I think the slippery slope analogy
is the right one for Iraq right now,”
said Barry Posen,
director of the Security Studies program
at MIT

The cost for another
Iraq attack?
No worries
Those 'entitlement'
programs
social security
Medicare
Medicaid
even troop
benefits
can be cut

with few jobs
available
what choice
do US soldiers
have?
flip burgers
or fight
for oil

We value
life
they say
in Washington
but in fact
they value
$$$$
more

OUR JOB IS TO BOMB BROWN PEOPLE

SUNDAY SONG

PARTNERS IN CRIME

Cash, Weapons and Surveillance: the U.S. is a Key Party to Every Israeli Attack

By Glenn Greenwald

The U.S. government has long lavished overwhelming aid on Israel, providing cash, weapons and surveillance technology that play a crucial role in Israel’s attacks on its neighbors. But top secret documents provided by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden shed substantial new light on how the U.S. and its partners directly enable Israel’s military assaults – such as the one on Gaza.

Over the last decade, the NSA has significantly increased the surveillance assistance it provides to its Israeli counterpart, the Israeli SIGINT National Unit (ISNU; also known as Unit 8200), including data used to monitor and target Palestinians. In many cases, the NSA and ISNU work cooperatively with the British and Canadian spy agencies, the GCHQ and CSEC.

The relationship has, on at least one occasion, entailed the covert payment of a large amount of cash to Israeli operatives. Beyond their own surveillance programs, the American and British surveillance agencies rely on U.S.-supported Arab regimes, including the Jordanian monarchy and even the Palestinian Authority Security Forces, to provide vital spying services regarding Palestinian targets.

The new documents underscore the indispensable, direct involvement of the U.S. government and its key allies in Israeli aggression against its neighbors. That covert support is squarely at odds with the posture of helpless detachment typically adopted by Obama officials and their supporters.

See the rest of the story here

PUTIN'S PROBLEM

From the Vineyard of the Saker:

Who is Mr. Putin? by Mikhail Khazin (MUST SEE!)

There is a lot of nonsense and garbage floating around on the Internet about the personality of Vladimir Putin, mostly written folks who not only know nothing about him, but who don't even understand the basics about how the Russian state works.  Today, I want to share with you a video (especially translated for this purpose by the Russian Team) in which the renowned Russian economist Mikhail Khazin shares his view of Putin and of Putin's current position vis-à-vis the hostile and russophobic West.  I don't always agree with Khazin, and even in this case I don't fully agree with some of what he says, but I think that Khazin has really "nailed the bottom line on the head" (how is that for a combo-neologism?).  Seriously, I think that Khazin is fundamentally correct, especially about the West's refusal to accept Putin as anything else than a very junior partner (and even that was in the past, now they want him dead).  Where I disagree with Khazin is when he implies that Putin wanted or even believed that such an honest partnership was possible.  Medvedev - yes.  But not Putin.  By training and by trade he knew the West, and especially its ruling elites, extremely well and I believe that Putin pretended to play the "partnership game" for as long as possible to buy as much time as possible for his party which I refer to as the "Eurasian sovereignists" (folks like Shoigu or Rogozin), as opposed to the "Atlantic Integrationists" (folks Medvedev or Kudrin).  Anyway, listen to Khazin - who is superbly informed and who knows his stuff - and get a rare insider view of what is really happening behind the Kremlin walls.

The Saker

ARE WE READY TO PAY FOR ANOTHER WAR IN IRAQ?

Elite donors of American allies in the Persian Gulf region have poured an immense amount of resources into rebel groups like IS in efforts to advance on three general goals: opposing Iran, its ally Bashar Assad and his government in Syria, and fomenting the Sunni-Shia divides in the region.

AFTER THE BOMBS FALL...

STIRING SHIT UP

U.S. CREATES ISIS AND THEN BOMBS IT

US military aircraft have conducted an airstrike on artillery used by the forces of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIS).

The real goal is Iraq is to break it up into three separate countries.

FORCED TO FIGHT IN UKRAINE

Some Ukrainian soldiers have been appalled by the methods used by the army in the east. Over 400 troops crossed the border to Russia seeking refuge there. Maria Finoshina met some of them.

CHOMSKY ON ISRAEL'S "SADISTIC" GAZA ATTACK

Hideous. Sadistic. Vicious. Murderous. That is how Noam Chomsky describes Israel’s 29-day offensive in Gaza that killed nearly 1,900 people and left almost 10,000 people injured. Chomsky has written extensively about the Israel/Palestine conflict for decades. After Israel’s Operation Cast Lead in 2008-2009, Chomsky co-authored the book, “Gaza in Crisis: Reflections on Israel's War Against the Palestinians” with Israeli scholar Ilan Pappé.

His other books on the Israel/Palestine conflict include “Peace in the Middle East? Reflections on Justice and Nationhood” and “The Fateful Triangle: The United States, Israel, and the Palestinians.” Chomsky is world-renowned political dissident, linguist and author, Institute Professor Emeritus at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he has taught for more than 50 years.

PLEADING FOR LIFE IN IRAQ

The war of insurgency that ISIL Takfiri militants have waged in Iraq is indiscriminately affecting people from all faiths living in the country. Now concerns are rising over the plight of a specific minority, the Yazidis also known as Izadis, who face extermination as a result of the ISIL violence in the north.

The Iraqi parliament has been urged to help do something for the plight of one of the world’s most ancient minorities.

It's all very complicated in Iraq and I am not following the day-by-day story enough to have a good opinion.  Here though is a report from the Vineyard of the Saker:

Daashing out of Iraq: Recent Military Maneuvers

The timing of the Kurdish advance west in Daash held territory appears to be a well planned operation. Three events are significant.

The first was that the advance and confrontation of the Kurds did not begin till the return of Former President Jalal Talibani. He is pragmatic and astute as opposed to Massoud Barzani who is Kurdish nationalistic and believed to be close to Israel. A deal was being reported where he, Talibani, allowed the Iranians to send in 200 “Advisors”; this was denied by the Iranian press. But it is possible that the Kurds are now being “advised” by the Iranians.

The second is the death of Hezbollah commander Ibrahim Mohammed al-Haj, who the Hezbollah confirmed was killed/martyred in Mosul, Iraq. This is very significant as the commander was killed deep in Daash territory. Three members of Iran’s Elite Qods Brigade have also been killed in Iraq. Kamal Shirkhani in June near Samarra, Ali Reza Moshajari mid June in Karbala, and Shojaat Alamdari Mourjani in Samarra Early July.

The third is the official backing, at this stage purely symbolic, of the Iraqi government to Sunni opposition groups willing to fight/already fighting Daash in Mosul. Also recent comments made by Sunni politicians that request the Iraqi Air Force to avoid civilian casualties and work closely with the Peshmergas and comments backing Sunni Militias opposed to Daash indicate an aligning of interests.

On a political and military level, the three sides appear to be aligning against their common enemy. The Iraqi Air Force/Army Aviation is now flying sorties for the Peshmergas. However, there is bound to have been some quid pro quo between the Kurds and the Iranians, and in Baghdad, between the Shia and the Sunni. The future of Kirkuk is going to be of great interest. The Kurds will eventually hand over Mosul and Sinjar to the Iraqi government, but control of Kirkuk and other cities with substantive Kurdish populations, such as Jalawla, is going to be contentious.

The Kurds had, like the Iraqi government earlier, requested the United States for air strikes. Obama did not oblige. The Iranians may have stepped in. The movement of heavy equipment and the Kurds investing their armour in the fight suggests that Iran may be willing/or may already be rearming and resupplying the Kurds.

The rebellion by the Shaitat tribe in Eastern Syria has forced Daash to pull back its fighters from Iraq and reinforce its fighters in Syria. This has been of significant tactical advantage to the Kurds. By attacking the Peshmergas, Daash has over played its hand and stretched itself thin. For now, Daash has lost the offensive.

PLANE CRASH VIEW FROM MALAYSIA

MH 17: WHO STANDS TO GAIN?
                                                                            

By Chandra Muzaffar

The Russian military has released military monitoring data which challenge allegations circulating in the media pertaining to the MH 17 crash in the Donetsk Region of Eastern Ukraine on July 17 2014. Questions have been raised about Kiev military jets tracking MH 17, Ukrainian air traffic controllers and the deployment of Buk missile systems. Kiev should also release military data on the circumstances leading to the crash. So should the Pentagon which reportedly has relevant intelligence and satellite data.

Since military data is hardcore information, Kiev and Washington should be persuaded to be transparent and accountable. The UN Secretary-General can play a role in this since there is a specialized agency within the UN, the ICAO, dedicated to international civil aviation. Military data from Moscow, Kiev and Washington should be scrutinized by the independent international panel that is supposed to probe the MH 17 catastrophe.

Such data carries much more weight than videos purportedly revealing the role of the pro-Russian rebels and the Russian government in the crash. One such video showing a Buk system being moved from Ukraine to Russia is a fabrication. The billboard in the background establishes that it was shot in a town --- Krasnoarmeisk --- that has been under the control of the Ukrainian military since May 11. Similarly, a You Tube video showing a Russian General and Ukrainian rebels discussing their role in mistakenly downing a civilian aircraft was, from various tell-tale signs, produced before the event.

The public should be wary of fabricated “evidence” of this sort, after what we have witnessed in the last so many years. Have we forgotten the monstrous lies and massive distortions that accompanied the reckless allegation that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction (WMD) which led eventually to the invasion of that country in 2003 and the death of more than a million people? Iraq continues to bleed to this day. What about the Gulf of Tonkin episode of 1964 which again was a fabrication that paved the way for wanton US aggression against Vietnam that resulted in the death of more than 3 million Vietnamese? The “babies in incubators” incident in Kuwait in 1990 was yet another manufactured lie that aroused the anger of the people and served to justify the US assault on Iraq.  Just last year we saw how an attempt was  made by some parties to pin the blame for a sarin gas attack in Ghouta, Syria upon the Assad government when subsequent investigations have revealed that it was the work of some militant rebel group.

From Tonkin to Ghouta there is a discernible pattern when it comes to the fabrication of evidence to justify some nefarious agenda or other. As soon as the event occurs before any proper investigation has begun, blame is apportioned upon the targeted party. This is done wilfully to divert attention from the real culprit whose act of evil remains concealed and camouflaged. The colluding media then begins to spin the “correct” version with the help of its reporters and columnists who concoct “fact” out of fiction. Any other explanation or interpretation of the event is discredited and dismissed derisively to ensure that the “credibility” of the dominant narrative remains intact. As the narrative unfolds, the target often embodied in a certain personality is demonized to such a degree that he arouses the ire of the public and becomes an object of venom.

The pattern described here is typical of what is known as a “false flag” operation in which blame for some dastardly deed is consciously transferred to one’s adversary. It has happened right through history and many contemporary nation-states --- and not just the United States --- are guilty of flying false flags.

To protect ourselves from being deceived by such operations, the general public should always ask: who stands to gain from a particular episode? Cui Bono is in fact an important principle in the investigation of a crime. In the case of the MH 17 carnage, the pro-Russian rebels do not benefit in any way from downing a civilian airliner. Their goal is independence from the Kiev government which is why they are fighting Kiev through sometimes violent means including shooting down its military planes.  Massacring 298 passengers in a flight from Amsterdam to Kuala Lumpur does not serve their cause. Moscow which backs the rebels to an extent also gains nothing from involving itself in such a diabolical carnage. 

10 days after the carnage, it is now clear who is trying to reap benefits from that terrible tragedy in the skies. The demonization of the Russian President, Vladimir Putin, orchestrated from various Western capitals, including Kiev, after Crimea voted to join the Russian Federation, thus thwarting one of the primary strategic goals of NATO’s eastward expansion, has now reached its pinnacle. After MH 17, it has become a lot easier to convince people--- even without an iota of evidence --- that Putin is a “mass murderer”.  The tarnishing of Putin’s image is crucial for those in the West who want to curb Russia’s political re-assertion so that the US and its allies can perpetuate their global dominance without hindrance.    

MH 17 has helped the elite in Washington in yet another sense. It has strengthened its push for tougher sanctions against Russia which began after the Crimea vote. Given their extensive economic ties with Russia, many European countries such as Germany, France, Netherlands and Italy have been somewhat lukewarm about widening and deepening sanctions. But will that change now? Will an outraged European public, incensed by the MH 17 massacre, demand that their governments punish Moscow?

It is obvious that those who seek to punish Russia and the pro-Russian rebels, namely, the elite in Washington and Kiev, are poised to gain the most from the MH 17 episode. Does it imply that they would have had a role in the episode itself? Only a truly independent and impartial international inquiry would be able to provide the answer.

In this regard, we must admit that while elites in Kiev and Washington may stand to gain from MH 17, those who actually pulled the trigger may be some other group or individual with links to the powerful in the two capitals. It is quite conceivable that a certain well-heeled individual equipped with the appropriate military apparatus and with access to air-control authorities in the region may have executed the act of evil itself.

Because of who he is, and where his loyalties lie, that individual may have also decided to target Malaysia. Was he giving vent to his anger over our principled stand on the question of justice for the Palestinians? Was he also attempting to divert public attention from Israel’s ground offensive against Gaza which time-wise coincided with the downing of the Malaysian airliner?

As we explore MH 17 from this angle, would we be able to connect the dots between MH 17 and MH 370, between July 17 and March 8, 2014?

We should not rest till the whole truth is known and the evil behind these two colossal catastrophes punished severely.

We owe this to every soul who perished on those fateful flights.

(This article is dedicated to the cherished memory of all those on MH 17 --- especially the 80 children who were on board).

- Dr. Chandra Muzaffar is the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST) Malaysia

International Movement for a Just World
JKR 1258, Section 5
Jalan Telok off Jalan Gasing
46000 Petaling Jaya
Selangor Darul Ehsan
03 7781 2497 (Phone)
03 7781 3245 (Fax)
www.just-international.org 

THE CAR CULTURE

Mr. Big loves cars
especially the financing
the oil is a nice
additional
addiction
to the wallet

We were taught
to carry our wallet,
like bearing the cross
around our necks,
a public
acknowledgement
of our servitude

we are all on this sinking
ship together

Obama says to Africa

"Coca-Cola will help provide clean water, General Electric will assist with infrastructure development, and Marriott will build more hotels."

Look the hell out
Africa!
Mr. Big
is coming to town
tonight

You gonna get,
like India got,
cars and wallets
financing is nice

from the west
to the east
Mr. Big
loves them all

Just don't object
or you get
drilled
shelled
locked down
the hard way

Go along
and you'll suffer less
bullies always get
their way

Obama is a
damn pig
working for the man
dancing and smiling
his way along


Some fear telling the truth
about the man of
African descent
who sells out black, brown
and white folks
in the land of the free
and home of the brave

Look out Africa
Obama wants to
bring you
the car culture
and slavery,
slavery with a smile,
it's all Hollywood now
everyone's an actor

IMPORTANT HISTORY ABOUT PALESTINE

Post by Yasir Ali.

ARRIVING IN RUSSIA

Driven to desperation by the now 4 month long army offensive in eastern Ukraine, thousands have been fleeing the conflict zone to Russia - forced to leave their lives and homes behind. Maria Finoshina reports now from one of the border crossings.

TEXANS STAND AGAINST GAZA CLEANSING

Texas Stands With Gaza held a 5,000 person gathering in Austin, Texas Saturday August 2nd, 2014 to march and rally in solidarity with Gaza. Speakers included:

• Dr. Rania Masri, Professor, writer, human rights activist
• Minister Jim Rigby, St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church
• Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, Jewish Voice for Peace
• Sheikh Islam Mossaad, North Austin Muslim Community Center
• Snehal Shingavi, Professor, writer, human rights activist

THE SETTLER COLONIES

PLANNING FOR WAR WITH RUSSIA & CHINA

It's actually been 69 years since the US dropped the atomic bombs on Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9).  The US is the only country in the world that has ever used these kinds of weapons against other human beings.

Historian Gar Alperovitz has written about the US bombing....

Here is how General Dwight D. Eisenhower reports he reacted when he was told by Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson that the atomic bomb would be used:

“During his recitation of the relevant facts, I had been conscious of a feeling of depression and so I voiced to him my grave misgivings, first on the basis of my belief that Japan was already defeated and that dropping the bomb was completely unnecessary, and secondly because I thought that our country should avoid shocking world opinion by the use of a weapon whose employment was, I thought, no longer mandatory as a measure to save American lives.”

Some might be surprised to learn that the Pentagon is still preparing for nuclear war - particularly with Russia and China.  On July 31 the Pentagon published a new planning document entitled “Ensuring a Strong Defense for the Future,” which was drafted by the National Defense Panel, a group of former top civilian and military officials, commissioned by Congress to provide a critical review of the official Pentagon planning document released early this year, the 2014 Quadrennial Defense Review.

The Pentagon planning document states:

“We believe … a global war-fighting capability to be the sine qua non of a superpower and thus essential to the credibility of America’s overall national security strategy. In the current threat environment, the United States could plausibly be called upon to deter or fight in several regions in overlapping time frames: on the Korean peninsula, in the East or South China Sea, in the Middle East, South Asia, and quite possibly in Europe [Russia]. The United States also faces the prospect of having to face nuclear-armed adversaries. Additionally, the spread of al Qaeda and its spin offs to new areas in Africa and the Middle East means that the U.S. military must be able to sustain global counterterrorism operations and defend the American homeland even when engaged in regional conflict overseas.”

The authors repeatedly complain of the limitation on US military spending because of the burden of domestic social programs, pointing to “the large and growing gap between the amount collected to support entitlement programs, principally Social Security and major health programs, and the amount being spent on those programs.”

They declare, “America must get her fiscal house in order while simultaneously funding robust military spending. Aggressive health care cost containment should certainly be pursued both within the Department [i.e., for the soldiers and their families] and more broadly across all government programs.”

The National Defense Panel is co-chaired by William Perry, defense secretary in the Clinton administration, and General John Abizaid, former head of the US Central command. Its members include four other retired generals, as well as Michele Flournoy, former deputy defense secretary under Obama, and Eric Edelman, a leading neo-conservative and defense undersecretary in the George W. Bush administration.

The group is thus bipartisan, representing the entire spectrum of the security establishment in official Washington. Its report was issued under the auspices of a federally funded agency devoted to the study of war, whose name, with impeccable Orwellian logic, is the US Institute of Peace. 

STAYING ACTIVE IN MAINE

Bri, Nicole, MB and I worked the Veterans for Peace table at the Brunswick peace fair last Saturday 

• The 10th annual peace fair last weekend in neighboring Brunswick was better attended than any I had ever remembered.  Likely had to do with the outrageous Gaza massacre going on and local folks needed to be around one another so they could share their feelings. Community is important, especially during dark times.  I was busy all day talking with people and handing out literature from VFP, the Global Network, PeaceWorks, and from Jeju Island.
• The cease fire in Gaza is welcomed I'm sure by the Palestinian people.  Israel is catching hell all around the world and the boycott of Israeli products is spreading like wild fire.  You can see the list of products that are being boycotted here.  I would love to see the International Criminal Court take some serious action against Israel's genocide of the Palestinian people. 
  
• Ukraine continues to unravel under the controlling hands of US-EU.  Without their support the Kiev regime would have likely fallen by now.  More innocents are being killed daily by Kiev's shelling of population centers from a safe distance.  The recent mass desertions into Russia by Ukrainian troops is a welcome sign that those soldiers have figured out that they are on a fool's errand.  The western media twists the facts of these white flag waving soldiers from Ukraine.  They make it sound that Russia forced them over the border.  The media is always looking for a way to submerge the truth.  It's gotten so now you can spot the lies quickly when you listen to NPR or the BBC.
• Our Global Network newsletter Space Alert! is now at the printer.  I finished up with the editing on Monday and our layout person Nancy Randolph did her usual great job of piecing it all together.  Now it is sitting at the printers waiting to be run.  You can see the online version here
• I head to Biddeford again tomorrow evening to tape another TV show on the public access program done by Richard Rhames.  He wants to talk about Hiroshima and Nagasaki.  I was just down there last month - it always good to be with Richard - one of the sharpest guys I've ever met. 
• We'll hold another Gaza peace vigil here in Bath this coming Sunday at noon.  We will meet on the corner of Washington & Centre Streets.  Public opinion is rapidly moving against Israel's wicked policies and we need to stay visible with our protests.
• My Op-Ed was published in our local paper today.  It's called Why Endless War? and you can see it here

DIGGING TO LIVE

Tania Krämer for Deutsche-Welle joins the tunnel diggers in the Gaza Strip.

The Jewish newspaper Haaretz has a beautifully written story called The underground ghetto city of Gaza: Having despaired of the world, of the fear, of the blood, the only refuge left to us was the earth. We buried ourselves alive. You can find it here

ANOTHER REASON FOR GENOCIDE IN GAZA

Whilst the BBC ignore worldwide protests over Gaza, a British Gas spin-off group, BG Group, has found nearly £2.5 BILLION worth of natural gas in the troubled region. BG owns around 90% of the rights to offshore gas field exploration around Gaza. Since the discovery, Israel stepped up a maritime blockade and confiscated Gaza's energy resources - leading to criticism that not only are they separating Palestinians from their land, but stealing their resources as well.

THE OTHER HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

The eastern Ukrainian city of Lugansk has declared a state of humanitarian catastrophe over a lack of medical supplies, electricity, lighting, mobile and internet communication. Some 250,000 civilians are unable to leave, the statement also says.

US-NATO are on the hook for these war crimes as they fund and direct this mess by their puppet regime in Kiev.

ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WAR CRIMES IN GAZA

Israel is pulling its troops out of Gaza. A 3-day ceasefire brokered by Egypt is now officially in place. Israel says it has completed its month-long mission, which was to target Hamas, but which brought the worst devastation and civilian losses in years. Bill Van Esveld from Human Rights Watch joins RT.

CEASEFIRE TO RELOAD ISRAEL'S WAR MACHINE

ON THE RUN FROM FASCIST KIEV'S WAR

A total of 438 soldiers, including 164 Ukrainian border guards have been allowed to cross into Russia on Sunday night after they requested sanctuary.

Previously hundreds of Kiev's soldiers have crossed into Russia - not wanting to kill their own citizens in the civil conflict being encouraged, funded, and directed by the US-NATO war machine.

Vineyard of the Saker writes today:  

There is also information that among those who did not surrender there are Polish mercenaries, which essentially explains the stubbornness of the resistance (a serious international scandal is possible).

CONVERT THE WAR MACHINE

"NOBODY BELIEVES YOU ANY MORE"

Senator David Norris is a political and human rights activist in Dublin, Ireland and speaks about Israel's Gaza crimes.

BOYCOTT ISRAELI PRODUCTS

Post by Peeter Nass.

GAZA PROTEST IN BATH

We had 19 folks join us in Bath, Maine today at noon... we stood on corners for an hour and then walked through the downtown shopping district in a solemn procession..... going to do it again next Sunday at noon as well. 

We had very good response from local citizens and tourists...... being on the street helps the public feel that they are not alone in thinking that Israel's attack on Gaza is shameful and a war crime.

OUR SOUL IS DEAD

War is big biz
we arm the world
the more war
the better
for those
with the mega
yachts
they bought
with 'Shock and Awe'
profits
I've seen the one
docked in Freeport,
Maine

perfect name
'Freeport'
free in this country
to cheat, lie, steal,
kill
rampage
slaughter
burn
blast

til they surrender
or are all gone
or just hidden

I saw a video
yesterday
a boy
about 15
in Gaza
still alive
in hospital
lower part of
his face
gone
upper lip
on down
all gone

I almost puked
by my heart was
injured
I can't stop thinking
about him
and the rest
of the innocents
blasted
and back home
in places like BIW
we are building more
to blast someone else

whose next?
step right up for a
blasting
Ukraine?
Russia?
China?
Venezuela,
hey you got oil!
You next?

Surrender to
Mr. Big
or get blasted
and we'll even
make money
on the deal

our soul is dead

SUNDAY SONG

"WE CAN NOT BE ASSOCIATED WITH THIS"

Joe Scarborough (former conservative Republican congressman from Florida) railed against Israel's ongoing offensive in Gaza.

This is the beginning of the end for Israel.  Serious splits developing among the American people and now even in the mainstream media.  

With the coming starvation and disease that will be the next crisis in Gaza (having been intentionally created by Israel's genocide policy) there will be an even stronger global outcry.

The days of Israel getting away with anything they want are over.  And now the US will have to wear this 'wreath of death' in Gaza around its neck as well because it is the US that pays for this operation.

DISECTING MEDIA MANIPULATION

Afshin Rattansi goes underground with filmmaker and author John Pilger as he challenges Western mainstream media spin. He warns that ‘to be informed by it is not an option’ because of censorship, omission and distortion of the facts. Whilst other stories overtake it, we find out the death toll in Libya is still rising. We discover why illegal immigrants were prevented from smuggling themselves OUT of Britain. We look at whether Cameron is privatising the NHS by selling it to doctors and nurses. And as the IDF offensive on Gaza continues, are media attitudes softening whilst those of the government harden?

US-EU INTEND TO MAKE MORE WAR IN UKRAINE

Despite the Ukrainian conflict claiming more lives every day, Kiev is getting further support from its Westen backers. The Obama administration now plans to train and equip National Guard fighters, while the EU's quietly lifting a ban on supplying Ukraine with weapons.

FEEDING THE MARCHERS ON JEJU

Those behind the scenes who did the work to feed the hundreds of people during the Grand March for Life & Peace on Jeju Island, South Korea.  The event concluded just as a major typhoon is heading toward the island.

THE OTHER (U.S. SUPPORTED) GENOCIDE

Panikhida - A Panikhida is a memorial service which is a liturgical solemn service for the repose of the departed, in the Eastern Orthodox Church. 

Dedicated to all those killed in Eastern Ukraine (Novorossiya): Children, women, old people, men, militia and soldiers.

I WAS SENT TO PALESTINE

The talk by Eran Efrati was filmed in Denver, Colorado on March 3, 2014 as part of The Soldier and the Refusenik U.S. tour with Maya Wind. Eran talk about his experiences in the IDF and then more broadly discusses Israel, its relationship to the U.S. and the global expansion of militarism.

Eran Efrati, 28, was born and raised in Jerusalem. After graduating high school he enlisted in the IDF, where he served as a combat soldier and company sergeant in Battalion 50 of the Nachal Division. He spent most of his service in Hebron and throughout the West Bank. In 2009, he was discharged and joined Breaking the Silence, an organization of veteran Israeli soldiers working to raise awareness about the daily reality in the Occupied Territories. He worked as the chief investigator of the organization, collecting testimonies from IDF soldiers about their activities. He also guided political tours and to the West Bank and worked to educate Israeli youth about the reality of being a soldier in an occupying army. His collected testimonies appear in the booklet "Operation Cast Lead" and their most recent release "Our Harsh Logic". Since leaving Breaking the Silence, his investigative reports appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Guardian. Today he is active with the Israeli groups Anarchists Against the Wall and Boycott from Within.

THUGS COME MARCHING IN

Left to their
own devices
the thugs
are always problematic
their power though
is limited

but when Mr. Big
gives them
money
and face time
on TV
they gain
undue influence

The thugs attract
other sad characters,
likely deeply wounded
when young,
need to
take revenge
on someone

or the bullies
just do it for cash
egos fanned
by ideological
contamination

The thugs are
at work
in many places now

mercenaries
like the ones
the CIA
planted in Ukraine
directing their
ops
against those
near a certain
border

Our 'friends'
in Gaza,
better to call them
partners
in crime,
are testing
the tactics and
weapons of the
future...

They drain our budgets
and we still vote
for them
frozen by fear
witnessing our own
fleecing
and
demise

GAZA TURKEY SHOOT