Androminos' Questions about the Middle East

Androminos' Questions about the Middle East

How long does the international community think ANY nation has to suffer the kidnapping and murder of its people?

To all who are feeling unsure about what position to take on this, let's just be sure not to sit back and tell ourselves that this age-old problem is something new and that the destruction of innocent lives and displacement of human beings is the right or the moral solution to the back-and-forth violence between state and non-state that has been going on for so long in the territory. One look with an untainted eye will tell you that it's absolutely untrue. How long has there been tribal struggle in the Palestinian region between diverse groups of people? What about Rwanda? Darfur?

Where is a Western leader with moral authority today? The world longs for him. A just God cries out for him (or her). The U.S. will never be a good ally to Israel until the U.S. makes good-faith efforts to stand behind her with an active diplomatic effort for a two-state solution that never sleeps. The past five years have been a disastrous slumber with a wrong-headed approach to protecting Israel on the part of the United States.

What we need is order - a fight for the protection of human rights and a proper prosecution of the rule of law among nations. This isn't some pie-in-the-sky notion. The work of peace and the keeping of order in this world is a tremendously difficult task, yet I am dismayed when I see that President Bush and his administration are only serving to stir up the pot of hatred and distrust amongst the people of the Middle East. You can see proof by the numbers of hard-line extremists being elected in these nations. A moral Western leader who respects and believes in the rule of law would try to guide the world with wisdom, respect for all peoples, and the promise of opportunity and participation for all in the global economy, provided that they are willing to compromise along with the West. Empire is a goal that comes with violence and unjust treatment of the weakest. The goal of Empire must be laid aside if America truly wants to help its ally Israel.

What then is a solution. And I don't just mean to end the current round of fighting. I mean what is the solution to the very real and legitimate problem faced by Israel who is surrounded by combatants and terrorists committed to her destruction?

A new commitment to non-Empire. Allowing Middle Eastern nations to govern themselves rather than hanging an anvil around their necks with the threat of violence and destruction whenever unrest (they call it "terror") occurs in their own respective nations. There will be no healthy Western-friendly democracies born in the Middle East until the people of the Middle East desire it. Let's use of heads. Put a moral thinking cap on. Destroying innocent people is no way for them to desire the rule of monsters that inflict such misery. As the Reagan years approached in the U.S., over thirty years ago, neoconservatism was born and with it came the hope (and determination) that new democracies would spring up in the Middle East. In the meantime, and most hypocritically, evil regimes were embraced by the U.S. government for political gain. The people of this world aren't stupid. They know when a motive is sincere and when it is merely a position taken to gain oppressive power. We embrace Saddam Hussein one day and he's the monster-du-jour the next.

The problem is, neoconservatism went from a left-leaning idea about freedom to a today's dogmatic hard-line right revolution that most of the American people do not desire.

When Ned Lamont beat Joe Lieberman in Connecticut this week, this is what the American people were screaming about!

There must be a change in U.S. foreign policy about which the world will sit up and take notice.

How does one stop the terrorists from attacking? Expecting Israel to go back to the status quo of accepting terrorism against it's people from those along it's borders is hardly a viable solution.

"Accepting" terrorism is one thing. Creating conditions that will ensure a whole new generation of terrorism is totally another. For what is terrorism? It is a tactic used by those who choose to opt out of the international community - those who chose to return to the law of the jungle rather than the international rule of law.

For all intents and purposes, President Bush opted out of the internatiuonal rule of law when he made a pre-emptive strike on Iraq.

Israel has used the excuse that a few kidnapped soldiers is legal reason to destroy the infrastructure of southern Lebanon and displace 25% of the Lebanese population.

The leaders of the U.S. and Israel are going about this in a way that is front-loading the best likelihood of a new World War whose sides will not be lined up as they were in the last two world wars. They call the rebellious and violent tactic used by non-states "the enemy." A tactic is an "enemy" - not a specified state or group of states. Tell me - how do you conquer or vanquish a tactic? How do you "conquer" hatred? Who do you kill? How do you quantify such a win? What will be acheived when that "win" is quantifiable and qualifiable (if it ever could be)?

Let's remember that there were a group of upstarts who caused violence in a civilized place called Concord, Massachusetts well over 200 years ago. They reared up against a great power and used non-traditional and brutal tactics to resist their enemy. After the ragtag rebels caused Great Britain to lose their political ability and will to win, they formed an independent new government and we sit here today calling ourselves the recipients of and the fighters for the symbol of freedom. A nation had been living in the hearts of men and women in Lexington and Concord, but that nation was not yet a part of the world until they made it so. Those colonist rebels in America didn't prey on the innocent, but they were ruthless in battle. Who are we to say that there are not new nations living somewhere in the hearts of some people in the Middle East? Who are we to determine their destiny for them? Who are we to languish in Iraq when the destiny of that nation, in light of freedom, belongs to them? We can't be the world's policeman. No one nation has a right to do that.

There are international forums for political crises. The U.N. is the first one that comes to mind. If they have become an impotent joke to some, it's because the people who have had the most poewer to make it succeed have sabotaged it for the past five years. Without a strong and effective forum with which to iron out international problems, we may as well forget that we are a civilized world and leave the world to savages.

Lieberman Wants to Play Nice With Rubber Stampers While He Allows Our Democracy to Shrivel Up and Die

Lieberman Wants to Play Nice With Rubber Stampers While He Allows Our Democracy to Shrivel Up and Die

Joe Lieberman's still looking for old-school civility and old-time protocol in a world where unprincipled Republicans have taken advantage of every good-faith and civil effort on the part of Congressional Democrats and any other sap who has stood in their way in the name of truth. It would behoove poor old Joe to understand that there's an expiration date on how long you can fool people. Joe's problem is that he's fooling himself. We've watched him hold on to the liferaft of "bipartisanship" long after the mothership had sunk and a sea of rubber-stamping sharks chomped on his legs with talking points and dirty tricks. He was too complacent to realize that, as a representative of the People, it wasn't only his legs being bitten off. It was our legs, too. He's been so numb that he didn't feel the pain while we could only watch and scream in agony at the joke that liferaft of "bipartisanship" had become.

I think David Beckwith is really on to something when, in a post titled McCain & Lieberman to launch "Arrogant Has-Been Party," he writes:

According to New York Times columnist David Brooks,

..the "three major parties in America" are "the Democratic Party, the Republican Party and the McCain-Lieberman Party," and "all were on display Tuesday night."

"The Democratic Party was represented by its rising force -- Ned Lamont on a victory platform with the net roots exulting before him and Al Sharpton smiling just behind," Brooks opines in Thursday's edition of The Times. "The Republican Party was represented by its collapsing old guard -- scandal-tainted Tom DeLay trying to get his name removed from the November ballot."

"And the McCain-Lieberman Party was represented by Joe Lieberman himself, giving a concession speech that explained why polarized primary voters shouldn't be allowed to define the choices in American politics."

Mr. Beckwith goes on to comment:

Moderate Republicans need to realize that the immoderate Republicans are corrupt, jaded, mediocre, hateful, incompetent, bloodthirsty, Mammoniacal, greedy, self-rightous, ego-centric, micranimous, war-profiteering, war-mongering, murderous, liars and thieves. And many of them can't wait for WWIII.

Lieberman once said: "If you want to live like a Republican, you need to vote like a Democrat." I take it he wants to live like a Republican. I guess he is impressed by the corrupt, jaded, mediocre, bloodthirsty, Mammoniacal, greedy, selfish, ego-centric, micranimous, war-profiteering, war-mongering liars and thieves. Who knows. Maybe he was talking about moderate Republicans, but there is a reek of obsolescence among this diminishing sect.

I am also impressed by Mr. Beckwith's latest observations, where he employs his satirical genius about Bush (and his rubber stampers') tactical misleadings. He's got these fear-mongering bastards all figured out.

Why is George hiding in Texas? (Think 9/11) : The week the world ended

Why is George hiding? II

How to Cause the World Not to End

Don't miss Beckwith's special Lieberman close-up photo underneath the headline:
Loserman Paying for Kissing Bush Ass

Lebanon Catch 22 = Death for Innocents and Environment

Lebanon Catch 22 = Death for Innocents and Environment

Lebanon Oil Spill May Rival Exxon Valdez of 1989 - Dania Saadi, Bloomberg News

"In the worst case scenario, and if all the oil contained in the bombed power plant at Jiyyeh leaked into the Mediterranean Sea, the Lebanese oil spill could well rival the Exxon Valdez disaster of 1989," the UN said in an e-mailed statement todayIsraeli jets, which attacked the power plant twice, deterred firemen from putting out the fire at the storage units, which continued for 10 days, Sarraf said in an interview on Aug. 3. [..] The spill, which has polluted around two-thirds of the Lebanese coast and spread into neighboring Syria, may threaten East Mediterranean countries such as Cyprus and Turkey, Lebanon's Environment Minister Yacoub Sarraf has said. [..]

[..] The Israel navy prohibited Lebanese and foreign officials from surveying the damage of the spill from Lebanon's territorial waters, the minister said. The spill has grown into a 3,000-square kilometer area because it absorbed water, Sarraf said.

The Lebanese government is relying on the international community to provide as much as $200 million to clean up Lebanon's territorial waters, the minister said.

_____________

A 'Pretext' War in Lebanon by Robert Parry - Consortium News

Israeli sources indicate that Bush gave Olmert a green light for the [current] conflict at the May 23 summit. The sources said Bush has even encouraged Israel to expand the war by attacking Syria, although Israeli leaders balked at that recommendation because they lacked an immediate justification. [..]

[..] Only days after the Lebanon-Israel conflict began, Washington Post foreign policy analyst Robin Wright wrote that U.S. officials told her that “for the United States, the broader goal is to strangle the axis of Hezbollah, Hamas, Syria and Iran, which the Bush administration believes is pooling resources to change the strategic playing field in the Middle East. …

“Whatever the outrage on the Arab streets, Washington believes it has strong behind-the-scenes support among key Arab leaders also nervous about the populist militants – with a tacit agreement that the timing is right to strike.” [Washington Post, July 16, 2006]

____________

Has the War on Terrorism Been Good for Iran? an analysis by Michael Scott Moore - Spiegel Online

"Thanks to the aggressive policies of the US and Israel, Iran has become a great regional power."

- Editors of German newspaper Die Tageszeitung, a left-leaning daily

[...] The right-leaning Die Welt seems to agree -- not on Iran, but on the policy of violence. Its lead editorial wonders if all-out war in Lebanon hasn't hurt Israel. Soldiers and generals, the paper writes, don't worry about "collateral damage," even if they lead to humanitarian and political catastrophes. Now the destruction in Lebanon -- "TV networks, mobile phone networks, water, electricity, the Beirut airport: this has all been declared 'Hezbollah's infrastructure'" -- threatens to create enemies in Lebanon of both Israel and the United States. The paper notes that the war has unified religious factions in Lebanon under the national label "Lebanese." "This, of course, was the hope of the West before the Cedar Revolution," which drove out Syrian troops last year. "However, the new (Lebanese) identity orients itself against Israel and the US ... Whether this 'collateral damage' can be fixed will depend on how long the war lasts."

____________

THE CATCH 22 EFFECT
Israel refuses to leave until the force is in place, and nations won't go in until a cease-fire is in effect.

Arab nations: Israel must pull out by Cameron Simpson - Herald UK

Arab nations demanded Israel pull its troops out of Lebanon as part of any UN resolution to end a war in which 45 people were killed yesterday by Israeli strikes. [..]

Bush's Line of Reasoning Isn't Helping to Ensure a UN Agreement
...Calling upon nations for assistance - nations to whom he forbids Condi Rice to speak - is insane if he thinks those nations will comply after being labeled 'Axis of Evil'. It will surely undermine the UN effort and prolong the violence - and Bush should know this. What is he attempting here? Why does he seem to want this UN effort to fail?

[..]President George W Bush insisted that he wanted the UN resolution as quickly as possible and called on Syria and Iran to rein in Hizbollah. Hizbollah says that it will fight on until Israel stops bombing Lebanon and pulls out around 10,000 troops from the south.

Hezbollah isn't even a party to the UN discussions or decisions, so it's moot whether they agree or not!

Lebanon is the nation that is under attack. This is a lopsided UN referendum on Lebanon's government, of which Hezbollah is only a part. It's destined for failure. Bush's neocon administration are calculating. They have made no silent affair of talking about wanting to attack Syria and perhaps Iran. What better way than to get President Bush to front-load sure failure at the UN?

Meanwhile,
Israel Plans Deeper Push Into Lebanon and Americans press Bush: Talk to Syria. Bush assumes: "Syria knows what we think." Not a good answer - so says the New York Times: "Start talking."

The people of this country and the world have something universal in common, regardless of our respective country of origin. We see the immorality in the senseless killing of innocents on both sides. The irrational expectations of President Bush (a lopsided mess) are beginning to flourish into yet another unsuccessful UN resolution, more senseless death of innocents, more danger to the environment, and more alienation of the Arab and Muslim people.

As a concerned American, I want to see good-faith effort on the part of this President to talk to those he perceives as our "enemies" - not a feel-good chat, but real diplomacy....and to encourage our ally Israel to back off and allow that diplomcy to work. There are age-old hatreds at play in the Middle East - one kidnapped soldier wasn't the lone catalyst - President Bush needs to stop insulting our intelligence. The hatred is irrational, and we certainly don't need an irrational foreign policy to match it! Bush talks a pretty game about freedom. If we're going to survive together, we'd best do every last thing we can possibly do to secure real freedom which can ony come when enough people are left alive to find peace with one another.

Thomas Mann said that war is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace. If that's true, we have a world dominated by cowards, and I'm disappointed to know that my own President is at the top of the heap of them all. Why? Because he always had the power to show others the way to peace, and he failed, promoting the kind of protracted war that Alexis de Tocqueville assured us would "never fail to endanger the freedom" of our own country.

Who Said This?

Who Said This?

"....you cannot negotiate when someone can't hear you or refuses to hear you or can't even understand your language, and that's clearly what's happening in a lot of places in the world right now, the West Bank, Gaza and Israel, not the least of which there's very little listening and understanding going on. Our language is entirely different than theirs, and I don't just mean the words. Who thinks that Hezbollah is a bad word? Show of hands. Usually connotes fear, terror, some kind of suicide bombing. If you live in the Arab world, Hezbollah means Shriner. Hezbollah means charity, Hezbollah means hospitals, Hezbollah means welfare and jobs.

These are not the same organizations we're dealing with. How can you negotiate when you' re talking about two entirely different meanings? And until we understand - we don't have to like Hizbullah, we don't have to like their militancy, we don't have to like what they do on the side, but we have to understand that they like it, that they like the good things about Hizbullah, and that you can't just paint it with a blanket statement that it's a terrorist organization, because even when it comes to the militancy these people believe that militancy is simply freedom fighting and resistance. You can't argue with that. You can try to negotiate, but you can't say it's wrong flat out...."

To learn the answer, you can google the sentence
"If you live in the Arab world, Hezbollah means Shriner."

Reuters Photographer Cheats While More Die

Reuters Photographer Cheats
While More Die

Jeff Jarvis is crowing about another "Dan Rather moment" for the blogosphere. If Charles Johnson figured out that the smoke in the photo was placed by photoshop, then he (and others in the blogosphere) deserve credit. No professional mainstream photographer should get away with propagandizing. Is the photographer guilty of the charge? As in the case of Dan Rather, we may never get all the specifics after the storm has passed. There is an investigation going on and photographer Adnan Hajj's 900+ photos have been pulled from Reuters.

I hope we all realize that innocent life is still being lost in Southern Lebanon and northern Israel. One in four Lebanese have been displaced. Smoke or no smoke.

In the end, the cessation of senseless deaths on both sides is what really matters. Catching dirty journalism is a good thing - but if Adnan Hajj is used as a future example of unfair suspicion of the typical mainstream photographer in the region, then the lessons learned would have become no more than a tool for bloggers' propaganda to blindly defend Israel's actions.

As moral and ethical people, we need to understand that we only support President Bush when we stop expecting him to side with Israel on everything they do. He's going to have to make some pretty difficult decisions and compromises with the international community in days to come if he wants to bring any sense of peace and an end to violence in the region.


Update 5 pm - National Journal's Blogometer covers excerpts from a few prominent blogs.

Taylor Marsh raises some interesting points at the Huffington Post

Tar Heel Tavern #76

Tar Heel Tavern #76

Billy the Blogging Poet has done a great job with this week's edition of the Tar Heel Tavern.




Screwy Hoolie's Uncle Aubrey has his own ideas about "creating affordable housing, employing folks, and instilling hope in a region [post-Katrina New Orleans] that needs all three."

Fukuyama on Chavez

Fukuyama on Chavez

Jonah Goldberg might be pissed off [in a pseudo-intellectual way] at this man for exposing the extremists among neoconservatives [that Golberg fell for and who who unfortunately grabbed a hold of the heart of the Bush administration], but Frances Fukuyama deserves a reading with his latest Washington Post column about Hugo Chavez of Venezuela: History's Against Him

I hope the next Democratic president (hopefully elected in 2008) will understand that a third way in foreign policy - moderation and healthy compromise for the sake of peace, commerce and healthy democracies - is not a bad word when sane and intelligent policy backs it up and convinces others of its benefit. Bush has done nothing save widen the lanes of extremism on either side. The world's exploding because of it.

Neoconservatism never had to become a filthy word, but the Douglas Feiths (the most f**king stuid guy on the planet according to General Tommy Franks) of the PNAC crowd have forever ruined the moniker. The most stupid f**king pundits on the planet FELL for it. History is no more on the Bush-neocons' side than it is on Chavez' side.

Balz Only Half Right About Lieberman Effect

Balz Only Half Right About Lieberman Effect

Dan Balz is only half-right when he says

An upset by Lamont would affect the political calculations of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.), who like Lieberman supported giving Bush authority to wage the Iraq war, and could excite interest in a comeback by former vice president Al Gore, who warned in 2002 that the war could be a grave strategic error.

Whether or not Senator Lieberman wins his primary, the interest of Democrats in a candidate other than the ones who remain steadfastly defensive of their own 'pro-Iraq War resolution' vote and of the war itself is already quite obvious. The damage to the Lieberman mindset has already been done - set in concrete - whether or not he is given a slim margin by Connecticut Democrats to run in November. Of course, a primary loss would give this rolling grassroots stone a lot more speed. This was a man who was a popular VP candidate with Democrats in 2000 - and a "loserman" to Republicans. The fact that there's been a near 180-degree turnaround should be lost on no political analyst.

Mr. Balz seems to think that Mr. Gore is the "not-Hillary" candidate to watch.

(Let's make this clear: Calling any candidate "anti-Hillary" is far too extreme and disingenuous, in my opinion. Mrs. Clinton's views are not like night and day to the positions of other Democrats, so let's not get carried away).

Mr. Balz writes:

None, however, may be as attractive to the grass-roots activists as Gore.

Respectfully, as a grassroots activist, I have to disagree - even though I respect Mr. Gore tremendously. The wood-factor still applies to Mr. Gore. He is not a political animal, and admits this readily. His reticence to run in 2004 (when he would have been in the strongest position to win) is a weak point for a 2008 strength-of-position. I can just hear the GOP hounding him - a pre-9/11 leader refusing to run against Bush again in 2004 (even when he'd won the popular vote in 2000). What was his fear back then? I think these are questions that would need solid and convincing answers if Gore is to be running against a guy like Giuliani or McCain.

Mr. Balz shows how some Democratic leaders may be cowed by the GOP mouth machine to back away from the citizens who are looking for reasons to support them. [Getting scared by GOP talking points is to the Democrats' detriment because they're already seen as a party who shies away from their convictions].

Republicans are already seeking to exploit a possible victory by Lamont as a sign that Democrats are moving too far to the left on national security issues. "They want retreat -- under the guise of 'reducing the U.S. footprint in Iraq,' " William Kristol writes in the latest issue of the Weekly Standard.

In reality, Ned Lamont is staunchly pro-Israel and he's looking for a better way to handle Iraq, if we are to believe his public statements. [And I see no reason why we shouldn't]. There's a new breed of Democrat appearing on the scene, and I would hate for political analysts in the mainstream to miss the boat and spread disinformation unbeknownst to them. The new breed are not the cookie-cutter anti-war left of old.

Bush Policy = Middle East Disaster

Bush Policy = Middle East Disaster

President Jimmy Carter: Bush has pursued 'erroneous' Mideast policy
August 6, 2006
USA Today

Carter said the United States should work for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah and the world community should concentrate on a long-term solution, but he is uncertain whether Bush can accomplish a cease-fire. [..] "It depends on whether world opinion is strong enough to get the administration to change its erroneous policy, which has been to encourage the continuation of attacks on both sides," he said..


Carter: Bush Israel's 'worst ally' in D.C.
(same article as above, different title and link)



Beginning of the End for Israel?
Nathan Gardels' interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski
August 1, 2006
Huffington Post

In the final analysis, Iran is a serious country; it's not Iraq. It's going to be there. It's going to be a player. And in the longer historical term, it has all of the preconditions for a constructive internal evolution if you measure it by rates of literacy, access to higher education and the role of women in society. The mullahs are part of the past in Iran, not its future. But change in Iran will come through engagement, not through confrontation. If we pursue these policies, we can perhaps avert the worst. But if we do not, I fear that the region will explode. In the long run, Israel would be in great jeopardy.



Israel’s Actions Harm Iranian Democracy Movement
By Amitabh Pal
August 2 2006
Progressive


Bombs won't turn Lebanese hearts
By Ted Galen Carpenter
August 1, 2006
Philadelphia Inquirer



Crisis Could Undercut Bush's Long-Term Goals
By Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, July 31, 2006


The Values That Will Shape Our Future
by Tony Blair, PM, UK
Outlook magazine Online (free registration required)

'What is happening today is..a struggle between what I will call Reactionary Islam and Moderate, Mainstream Islam ... We are fighting a war, but not just against terrorism but about how the world should govern itself in the early 21st century, about global values.


'A Moment of Opportunity'
By Dan Froomkin
Special to washingtonpost.com
Monday, July 31, 2006; 1:42 PM

President Bush's "moment of opportunity" in the Middle East is increasingly looking like an opportunity for disaster.

In case we all forgot, Americans are still dying in Iraq
by Jimmy Breslin
August 6 2006
Newsday
The strategy for the Middle East is to keep Israel and Hezbollah/Lebanon fighting. Keep all attention on them. If they ever stop, then everybody would look at Americans dying.


Rice Wallows in an Imaginary World
by Jeremy Seabrook, author, UK
Statesman, India
August 6, 2006
..the transcendent quality of their struggle becomes barely distinguishable from that of their foe. The re-making of West Asia is only part of a wider re-fashioning of this world in the invented imagery of the next, in which we must all learn to recognise, like the inhabitants of Beirut, the ruins of the only home we have.

Shirin Ebadi's Human Rights Group Banned in Iran

Shirin Ebadi's Human Rights Group Banned in Iran

Shirin Ebadi's Rights Group Banned
Written by The Media Line Staff
MediaLine.org

Iran's Interior Ministry banned on Saturday a human rights group headed by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shirin Ebadi, the London-based daily A-Sharq Al-Awsat reports.

The Center for Protecting Human Rights was banned because it had not obtained a permit, the Interior Ministry stated.

"Violators of this decision will be prosecuted," the ministry warned in its statement.

Ebadi, quoting from the Iranian constitution, said that "non-governmental organizations which respect the law and do not disrupt the public order, do not require a permit."

Nevertheless, Ebadi stated that the rights group tried several times to obtain a permit, but the Interior Ministry rejected its request without giving an explanation.

The Center for Protecting Human Rights demanded last Tuesday an independent investigation into the "suspicious" death of Akbar Muhammadi, a student activist who died in prison last Sunday following a hunger strike.


Related:
Nathan Gardels' Interview with Nobel-prize winning Shirin Ebadi
New Perspectives Quarterly
May, 2006

John Edwards: Send 40K Troops Home From Iraq Now

John Edwards: Send 40K Troops Home From Iraq Now

The AP is reporting this as "news", but Senator Edwards has been saying it for a long while - at least since last fall when he admitted that he believed he's been mistaken on having had voted "yes" to the Iraq War reesolution of 2002. Senator Edwards believes that America should make it clear (to the Iraqis) that we are leaving Iraq, and the best way is to start leaving. He says that we should take 40,000 combat troops out now. Bob Herbert made this clear in his New York Times column about Senator Edwards last June.

"There is no chance other countries in the world will help Iraq as long as we are an occupying force," he said.

He also said this on Wednesday night at Missouri State University's Public Affairs Conference:

"You can't lead if you don't tell the truth," he said referring to the Bush administration. Edwards said keeping large numbers of troops in the country sends a signal that the U.S. "is there forever and is there for oil."

A tone of agreement has been set by former President Jimmy Carter [USA Today]:

"In my opinion, we should make every effort now to withdraw American troops from Iraq," Carter said. "I would say certainly begin a major withdrawal no later than the end of this year."

- President Jimmy Carter

Senator Edwards has spoken out on the situation with Isreael's air raids and limited ground invasion of Lebanon with the aim to do damage to Hezbollah. In the New York Times, he is quoted:

On the Israeli-Hezbollah fighting in the Middle East, Edwards noted he was on the Israel-Lebanon border only three weeks ago, and said Israel "has absolutely the right to defend itself, though he said there "needs to be an international security force in southern Lebanon."

On the One America Committee blog today, he replied to a blogger:

Israel (none / 0)

thanks for your comment. i was in israel about a month ago. went to the lebanese border - could see the hezbollah outpost in southern lebanon. i actually believe that hezbollah and hamas were acting, at least to some extent, in concert in an effort to stir up hatred of israel and strengthen radical islam. we clearly need an international security force in southern lebanon.

John Edwards

by John Edwards

Min Wage Failure: Shame on Bill Frist's Republicans

Min Wage Failure: Shame on Bill Frist's Republicans

On August 3, the Senate failed to get the 60 votes required to end debate (prevent a filibuster) on the "trifecta" bill. This legislation (passed last week by the House) would raise the minimum wage, but only by also providing estate tax reform benefitting the wealthiest. The vote was 56-42.

"The Democrats have obstructed what heretofore had been their No. 1 issue," said [Bill] Frist. [NYT]

Not so fast.

The GOP deliberately front-loaded this obstruction.

It was nothing more than a cheap double-cross by Senator Frist's side of the aisle. Frist goes to churches on Justice Sundays and preaches about values, but like a hypocrite, sets up a scenario where the greedy gain mightily and the poor are made poorer. I've never read about that in Matthew 25. Frist then acts wounded when his chicanery fails and he's faced with a Senate filled with men and women of honor and a clearly better developed sense of American values.

The politics of blackmail, in this case, is nothing more than a political front-loading destined for failure in an attempt to rob the working poor of opportunity while making attempts to enrich the fat and happy.

Shame on Bill Frist's Republicans.

Tom Kean Jr. of New Jersey looks small in the Washington Post today, lashing out at Democrat Bob Menendez, his opponent for the NJ senatorial seat vacated by Jon Corzine on the minimum wage issue, apparently cheering on the mass Republican feasting upon the backs of the working poor for the benefit of the smallest class of American families who are already swimming in luxury.

I believe that Americans are onto this political charade. Many are disgusted by it. A look at just about any recent poll will tell you that.

Billy Shore Tells His Story Beautifully

Billy Shore Tells
His Story Beautifully



This true story, as told by Billy Shore [of the anti-hunger nonprofit Share Our Strength], is a moving narrative stemming from a unique experience. Through his accounting - from a fallen soldier to the simple falling of a tie, you are bound to the personal details as if you were actually living them.

This is what democracy looks like. Now what?

This is what democracy looks like. Now what?


photo credit: AP/NYT

What do you think about when you hear or see the mobs on the Iraq street chanting "Death to Israel"? How do you reconcile that with the Bush administration's stubborn defense that their foreign policy and the Pentagon's military embodiment and prosecution of that policy is "successful"?

To whom has success traveled?

In Saddam Hussein's Iraq, these Islamic fundamentalists may have been sent to prison and tortured. That would have been morally wrong.

So now they're free.

And they want death for Israel.

Think about where the Bush policy has led us.

He Just Wanted to Eat Elvis' Teddy Bear

He Just Wanted to Eat Elvis' Teddy Bear


I'm all shook up - a- huh- hmm- oo- yeah

Dog Destroys Elvis' Teddy Bear at Museum

He ain't nothin' but a hound dog.

You ain't never caught a rabbit. But you've caught a Teddy bear. You ain't no friend of mine. Don't be cruel.

NY25 Heat Wave: Maffei's Race Against Walsh is Kicked Up a Notch

NY25 Heat Wave: Maffei's Race Against Walsh is Kicked Up a Notch
Rubber Stamp Walsh Votes for Bush Agenda 88% of the Time

Below you will find many recent articles about Dan Maffei, New York's 25th district Democratic challenger to incumbent House Representative Jim Walsh.

Last week, Dan held a press conference calling for a 'windfall profit' tax on oil companies in light of the recent revelation that Exxon-Mobil made a whopping 36% more, in one short year, off the backs of Americans at the gas pumps - a shameful profit at a time when Americans are having a hard time paying the bills. It's more than his political opponent James Walsh has done for the people of teh 25th district. He is also pushing serious research into alternative fuels (details here, scroll to "Manhattan project for energy independence").


Click photo above to view a Maffei for Congress ad called "The Plan"

Dynamic Vision for Upstate New York
The War in Iraq
Science & Innovation
Education
Health Care
Jobs & Economy
Environment
Social Security

from Maffei for Congress.com


House Republicans face tougher races
Boston Globe - August 3
...Entrenched Republicans are running harder than ever because of voter hostility toward President Bush and Congress. [..] Walsh, a nine-term incumbent who had no Democratic opponent in 2004 and whose father served in Congress, has dominated the politics of his New York district for years. But his pollster, Jeff Stonegash, said surveys indicate Bush's unpopularity could pose a risk to Walsh and other Republicans.

Candidates come together on stem cell research
News 10 Now, NY - Aug 1, 2006
...Two democratic congressional candidates joined forces at a news conference to discuss stem cell research. [..] Both Michael Arcuri and Dan Maffei voiced their concerns on the recent vote to uphold a veto on federal funding for stem cell research. [..] The candidates disagree with the way current congressman Jim Walsh voted, and say the research should be allowed to continue.

Note: Dan Maffei's speech on President Bush's veto of stem-cell research can be read here.

"I am disappointed President Bush vetoed a bi-partisan piece of legislation being supported by the vast majority of Americans including conservative Senator Orin Hatch, Senator John McCain and Nancy Reagan. I am more disappointed that Jim Walsh once again voted with George Bush, showing that he acts as a rubberstamp for the Bush Administration."

House Republicans come out swinging
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY - Jul 30, 2006
....The ads for Walsh and Reynolds don't address hot-button national issues such as immigration, the war in Iraq or stem-cell research, but focus instead on local, personal topics.
[It looks to me like Rep. Walsh is hiding from Bush and the national Republicans in the light of day - thinking and/or hoping no one will examine his actual voting record.]

NY 25th District: I like Walsh's challenger!
Daily Kos - July 30, 2006
...I would strongly and warmly urge all in Central NY (and elsewhere) who may be unaware that Walsh has a challenger to feel free to take a close look at Mr. Maffei, to see how they feel. For me, Walsh's votes to support "The Decider" (ahem, ahem) on his veto of federal funding for stem cell research, provide any additional justification (if I needed any) to hope he may soon become one of our soon-to-be "former Congresspersons".

Related story on the stem cell issue in Upstate New York here at WROC8 in Rochester NY - July 20, 2006
....Seeing as how he feels the president used props in the form of so called "snow flake babies" in announcing his veto Wednesday, Ramesh Padman brought a few his own, namely his lab coat and biology degree, to his one man protest Thursday outside the office of Congressman Randy Kuhl, who sided with the president, and presided over the house vote which failed to override. "Our congressman decided to put politics over science."

Gas prices continue to soar
News 10 Now, NY - Jul 27, 2006

State by State
The Hill, DC - Jul 24, 2006


United Healthcare Workers Union rallies for Maffei
News 10 Now, NY - Jul 20, 2006

Slate of lively races on agenda
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY - Jul 19, 2006

Upstate New York: A Wealth of Pickups
Daily Kos - July 17, 2006
...

excerpts -

This was the only Republican district in the state to go for Kerry in 2004; it has a PVI rating of D +3. This largely urban district, which mainly encompasses the Syracuse area, at one time was a Republican stronghold, though like most other Northeastern urban districts has largely been trending towards the Democrats, especially since the early 1990s. Since 1992, the Democratic presidential candidate has carried this district every time, although the people continue to ticket-split and give commanding margins to the entrenched, right-leaning Republican incumbent James Walsh. The Democratic opponent is Dan Maffei, who really doesn't have that much name recognition and has been outraised by Walsh so far by nearly a 5 to 1 margin. Even with this districts increasingly leftward voting habits, James Walsh is still popular with most of his constituents and is favored by most political analysts to win. I think it can easily become more competitive, though, by this November (especially if anti-Bush sentiment increases here in Upstate N.Y.)

Walsh foe's path to nomination cleared
The Hill, DC - Jul 10, 2006
....Democratic House candidate Dan Maffei's primary opponent dropped out of the race yesterday, giving the former congressional aide a clear path to the nomination.[..] "The 2006 elections are about changing the direction of the country," Capanna said in a statement. "The way to do that is to avoid a primary and to stand together in our efforts to defeat Mr. Walsh."

NY-25: And then there was one...and no primary
Daily Kos - July 10
...Make no mistake about it, Maffei still has one hell of an uphill battle. Walsh won something like 90% of the vote in 2004. But there's been at least one promising poll that puts Maffei within striking distance, and if he can afford to run TV advertising in both Rochester and Syracuse, he just might have a shot.

NY 25: Capanna Drops Out; Walsh Will Face Maffei This Fall
By Marie Horrigan - Jul. 10, 2006
...The 25th Congressional District, which runs from Webster to Syracuse, may have a Working Families Party primary between Democrat Daniel Maffei and author Christina Rosetti, who currently lives downstate and outside of the district.

More news briefs
Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, NY - Jul 8, 2006
....Illinois Rep. Rahm Emanuel, chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, on Thursday stumped for congressional candidates in upstate New York and raised about $35,000 for two Rochester-area hopefuls. Emanuel, who is steering Democratic efforts to try to take control of the House in November, held a luncheon fundraiser for Democrat Daniel Maffei in Syracuse and an afternoon fundraiser for Democrat Eric Massa in Brighton. Emanuel said upstate New York is a prime region for Democrats to beat longtime Republican incumbents.

Dan has garnered the politically-coveted and impressive support of many Labor unions in the 25th district:

Teamsters Local 1149, represents nearly 1,700 workers. The largest facility is the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Baldwinsville, NY.

The United Food & Commercial Workers (UFCW Local One) represents 24,000 members in New York.

Communications Workers of America, represents 80,000 workers in New York State.
American Postal Workers Union Local 257, represents nearly 1,000 members in Upstate New York.

International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, represents 17,000 members in New York State.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 97, represents over 5,000 members in Central New York.

International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 2213, represents nearly 1,200 members in Central New York.

Teamsters Local 317, represents 3300 members and 2100 retirees in Central New York.

SEIU Local 1199, New York’s largest organization of health care workers, represents nearly 300,000 workers, including 3,600 workers in New York’s 25th District.

United Steelworkers of America, representing over 10,000 workers in Central New York.

For those who are following the race closely, don't miss the Syracuse-based blog The Walsh Watch. [It isn't my blog, FYI]. See Extra Credit Assignment to figure out who votes with Bush 88% of the time and is unlikely to change anytime soon. Walsh's Minimum Wage Hypocrisy is easily seen on this post.

Beware The Blog

Beware The Blog

Phil Boas comments on the age of the blog at AZCentral.com. He makes the important point that not all blogs are equal. Stereotyping all of them as mills of gossip and untruths is not the fair thing to do in the case of many of today's online journals. Another point that Mr. Boas brings out is that blogs are self-policing. If you fail to fact-check, you're sure to be found out by your peers.

Turkey Moving Farther From US/Israel

Turkey Moving Farther From US/Israel

When a broken hipbone is set, you don't put undue pressure upon it because a re-break could possibly cause the kind of damage that could ensure the hip will never heal properly.

Think about the relationship between Israel and Turkey since the early 1990s. The spread of Islamic radical revolution has appeared to both Turkey and Israel as a threat since both countries' governments are non-Islamic. Both countries have a stake in improving international (and bilateral) cooperation against the perpetrators and sponsors of terrorism. Turkey and Israel have both had close relationships with the United States. The fear, on Turkey's behalf, that improved relations with Israel would have damaged Turkish contacts and interests in the Arab world seems to be coming real.

The public opinion in Turkey right now is bringing Prime Mimister Erdogan to the forefront calling for a ceasefire. Turkey has been very sympathetic and outwardly generous to the people of Palestine who seem to be isolated recently by the world because they've excercised democracy in their country, electing a Hamas majority.

In the case of the relatively new, delicate, and once-hopeful alliance between the nations of Turkey and Israel, you have the case of the hipbone on the mend (a fragile nation-to-nation relationship) and you have Israel's brutal bombardment of Southern Lebanon. Qana has been the catalyst for Israel losing moral authority, and there are some disturbing warning signals coming from the Turkish population.

MP Yildiz Resigns From Turkey-israel Friendship Group
....Serpil Yildiz, a MP from the Motherland Party (ANAVATAN), resigned from her post in the Inter-parliamentary Turkey-Israel Friendship Group, to protest Israeli offensive against Lebanon and Palestine. [..] In a petition she sent to the Parliament Speaker`s Office, Yildiz said, ``Israel has been trampling on all values created by the humanity in the history. Its offensive against Lebanon and Palestine has been gradually turning into an atrocity and massacre.`` [..] ``Unfortunately all powers, including the United Nations, have remained silent against those inhuman acts. Hundreds of thousands of people were forced to leave their homes. Hospitals, public buildings, tourism centers and crowded dwellings were bombed, and everyone including children, women and elderly became target of Israeli attacks,`` she stressed.

Deputies fleeing Turkey-Israel friendship group
...The resignations have now reached 25.


Israeli Families Attacked In Turkey
...According to Eyal [Yakar], it was the incident in Qana that affected Turkish treatment of his family [of tourists]. "After the bombardment of Qana, they changed, because, typically, they're very pleasant. People on the bus also swore at us."

Protests in Ankara against UN Failure to Stop Israeli Aggression
...A group of Turkish peace activists protested the United Nations in Ankara for its failure to stop the Israeli aggression against Lebanese civilians.[..] Some 60 members of the Civil Servants Union (Memur-Sen) gathered in front of the UN building in Ankara on Wednesday, chanting slogans against Israel and the UN, reports Trend. [..] Memur-Sen General Director Ahmet Aksu said Israel had killed hundreds of people including children in attacks on Lebanon. [..] Aksu condemned the UN for its failure to secure a ceasefire and to stop the Israeli aggression. [..] "We are protesting the UN for its failure to stop the massacre of innocent children." [..] The protestors laid a wreath at the UN building and hung a baby's soother on the door of the building.

Prime Minister Erdogan: Israeli Offensive Plants Seeds of Hatred
...Erdogan said the eruption of tension in the Middle East may turn into a clash of civilizations, and the United Nations (UN) faces a major threat to the peaceful principles it represents. [..] “If we do not raise our voices today and say ‘stop’ to this war and offer a peaceful alternative, tomorrow it will be too late. [..]Erdogan said the outbreak of violence in the Middle East and ongoing security problems have made Turkey impatient, and added: “It is a must that this war ends immediately. The sensitive balance of the Middle East can not stand up to tension. [..]

Strident public protests mount in Turkey over Israeli aggression in Lebanon
... Government and popular campaigns of denunciation and condemnation have become more strident in Turkey, with the advent of the twentieth day of the Israeli aggression against Lebanon. [...]Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul cautioned that the feelings of hostility towards Western nations were rising in Turkey, noting that "moderate and liberal people in Turkey tend to becom hostile because of these operations. [..] " The ranks of the peace-loving people in Turkey have united after the Israeli dawn bombardment of Qana in which more than 60 civilians were killed and a wave of anger in Turkey have surfaced.


Any fool, if they can see what's happening in the Middle East, will tell you that the new set of "birth pangs" being witnessed by Condi Rice is actually the Middle Eastern governments finding new ways to separate themselves from the U.S. and Israel because they can no longer work with their world view. [See Fethullah Gulen's post about the Abant Platform/OIC. See author/journalist Cengiz Candar's op-ed regarding Ms. Rice and the neocons of D.C.]

There's nothing like a bunch of fundamentalist ideologues helping our ally Israel to isolate herself in the heat of her passion in the middle of an angry sea of surrounding communities.

You sure don't birth no babies that way!

Hardliners in D.C., especially Dick Cheney and his band of neocons, should step back and allow Condoleeza Rice to do her job.


____________


Related:

An Appeal for Leadership
Why Hasn't the World's Lone Superpower Stopped This Tragedy?
By Abdullah Gul
Washington Post op-ed

Kate O'Bierne is having a cow over at NRO and using pretzel logic to lead only the delusional to believe that the U.S. should not be expected, by other nations in the region, to use the obvious power they have to convince Israel to stop killing innocent people and destroying their cities - causing 25% of Lebanon to be thrown into a grave humanitarian crisis. She accuses Abdullah Gul of insincerity, saying, "It's not a plea for the U.S. to take the lead."

No? It surely looks that way to me, Kate. I've been covering Turkey on this blog closely since this recent conflict began. I have no doubt these people are sincere. But - is Kate?

The U.S is reflexively denounced for acting alone to handle problems without the prior consent of the international community and then is the subject of whining and criticism when it does not take the lead in acting, even to the point of being criticized for not acting alone.

You can't convince me that this line of thinking is intellectually honest - or even rational.


I've denounced Bush many times myself for going half-assed into his Iraq madness without a plan or good faith international cooperation. I now call upon him, as Abdullah Gul does, to use every bit of power and influence he has to finally be the leader America deserves.

No matter how hard Kate O'Bierne attempts to "freedom-fry" Turkey as so many errant pundits did in the case of France circa 2002, it looks like willful ignorance to say that Bush doesn't deserve this blasting. He should have used every waking moment to get Israel to use some restraint before 1000 innocent people died in Southern Lebanon - many of them children. Perhaps political writers are totally out of touch with the hearts and minds of the people of this world. How can they be so blind?


Ref: U.S. Watches Dreams of Transformation Dissolve, an analysis by Jim Lobe

____________

I Recommend These Articles/Posts:

How to Bring Peace to the Middle East
by Asad Yawar

Arabic Books in the Markets of Istanbul
Lorelle VanFossen


UPDATE ON AUGUST 4:

- The Bush administration has responded to criticism levelled at it by Turkey’s Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, saying that Washington’s position was at variance to that depicted in an article written by the Turkish diplomat on the situation in Lebanon. US State Department spokesman Sean McCormack defended the US stand on the war in Lebanon during a press conference Friday. [MSNBC]

____________

- Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has an opportunity at today’s gathering of the Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in Malaysia to reveal Turkey’s role in ending the Middle East crisis, and express his thoughts over the possibility of deploying peacekeeping forces to Lebanon.Erdogan will return to Ankara after his four day trip to grant his official recognition to the Supreme Military Court’s decision regarding new appointments in Turkey’s military, reports Trend. The Turkish PM will have the opportunity to conduct mutual talks with leaders from other Islamic countries at this summit, in particular Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Erdogan is expected to organize a private meeting with the Iranian president after the summit, which coincides with a time of intense focus on Iran over its involvement in nuclear projects and its impact on Hezbollah. [Trend.az]

____________


- From an LA Times editorial Turkey's Balancing Act:

What Truman knew then holds true today: Turkey remains the physical, cultural and strategic bridge between East and West. Lately, it has been reasserting that role, even at the expense of alienating its old Western allies. The United States and Europe need to prepare for and manage the inevitable disagreements ahead while soliciting a greater Turkish role in the troubled Middle East, beginning in Lebanon. [...]

Regarding the benefits that would come with the acceptance of Turkey as a leading participant in an international peacekeeping force [Turkey demands an immmediate ceasefire before agreeing to do it]:

[...]Turkey would get a chance to boost its regional profile and pursue a more assertive — and popular — foreign policy while bolstering its ties to the West. Better to maintain a shaky balance than to lose the only secular Muslim ally the U.S. has.

_______

Ale Bulac asks: What Can Turkey Do? [Zaman] He answers his own question with his opinion:

The killing of a Lebanese by the Turkish soldiers even if by accident will deeply hurt us all. Public opinion in Turkey would not support such an arrangement.The public opinion in Turkey have to act with common sense on this issue.


What Turkey must do at this stage is first increase the humanitarian, (Medicine, food, clothing, water, and financial) aid to the Lebanese and Palestinians. Secondly it must take diplomatic steps with its allies the US, NATO and the EU, warn them on the dangers facing the region and potential consequences to all..Apart from these, it must follow a diplomacy that will motivate and encourage the Islamic countries, Egypt, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Saudi Arabia, to form together an alliance hat will pressure the west for a just solution to the problem.

I think Andrew Sullivan's Giving McCain Far Too Much Credit

"You have probably seen our European friends say: ‘Well, the Israelis have got to stop.’ What would we do if somebody came across our borders and killed our soldiers and captured our soldiers? Do you think we would be exercising total restraint?"

- Senator John McCain
A statement that most Americans would agree sounds a little too "green-light" on behalf of a state's unbridled violence, considering the fact that a civilian population is being terrorized by war and a humanitarian crisis of monumental proprtion has been created. It's time to keep it real or give up our nation's reputation as a fair broker. Our "European friends" happen to fall in the same category of moral and ethical opinion as the rest of the international community.

I think Andrew Sullivan's Giving McCain Far Too Much Credit

When it comes to why a Democrat like myself has stopped supporting Joe Lieberman, Andrew Sullivan writes in such a way - today - that shows me that he "gets it."

The notion, advanced by Lieberman, that criticism of the president's war leadership is somehow inappropriate when the country is in danger gets it exactly the wrong way round, I think. It is precisely because the danger is still so great that criticism is so necessary. That's democracy's strength. You could understand, if not forgive, this abdication of leadership if Lieberman were bound by partisan loyalty to Bush. But he isn't. And even those who are - like Chuck Hagel and Lindsey Graham and John McCain and John Warner - have had more astringent criticisms of the the conduct of the war than Lieberman.

I'll agree with Mr. Sullivan on Senators Graham and Hagel.

However, I have to say that, having paid very close attention to Senator McCain since I saw him give grossly overcompromising support of Bush's handling of the Iraq war at the September 2004 RNC convention; and knowing that he failed to convince me that he would have a coherent plan for a "victory" and "exit" in the many months since, that his public questioning has been far less astringent than I would have hoped.

A Scenario I'd Regret to See

Iraq's a failed mess of a mistake - the worst strategic mistake in America's history. I strongly suspect that no venture - whether it's in war or diplomacy - will politically go America's way in this world again until we end the occupation of that country. Here's what I foresee if a McCain presidency should come to pass: It's 2009. The hawkish President, who has a son serving in Iraq [and rumors are that it's likely his 18-yr-old son Jimmy could be serving in Iraq soon] tells America that at least 250,000-300,000 more troops will be needed to tackle the dangerous instability in the Middle East caused by President Bush's failed foreign policy. McCain could have spoken up in 2004, but he chose campaign politics over honest criticism of the President's obvious failings. At that time, he looked us in the eye and dared to say: "Only the most deluded of us could doubt the necessity of this war." The military is exhausted. A draft will be required. President McCain will expect no dissent on the draft. After all, he always supported the war in Iraq. Americans voted for him because he believed that this war was always right [he said so without question in 2004 when we all knew the course was failing]. He will have a mandate. A President McCain would tell you that we should continue with even more firepower and boots on the ground and that your sons and daughters can expect their draft notice in the mail. All for American imperialism.


McCain Should Have Spoken Out Honestly in 2004

Hiding Behind Flowery Rhetoric in His RNC Speech Gave Bush Political Power to Perpetuate Failure

My disappointment in September 2004 upon hearing McCain speak at the RNC had much to do with the fact that McCain said:

[Democrats] emphasize that military action alone won't protect us, that this war has many fronts: in courts, financial institutions, in the shadowy world of intelligence, and in diplomacy. [..] We agree. [..] That is what the president believes. [...]

The President never utilized the style or the standard of good-faith diplomacy employed by all other American Presidents. Instead, he carried on on his own revolution of thugs, where nations who had any ideas of their own to contribute were shunned and the America's trust meant nothing. For too long, each American citizen's intelligent dissent over the Iraq war was treated as near-treason by Republican leaders. They should be ashamed to call themselves defenders of freedom for having done that.

By the time Senator McCain spoke the following words, it was already clear that the war in Iraq was never necessary - especially the way Bush did it. Yet, McCain heaped undue praise upon Bush, giving him political support to keep failing. It's hard to forgive Senator McCain for that. He should be embarrassed to have ever said it:

We couldn't afford the risk posed by an unconstrained Saddam in these dangerous times. By destroying his regime, we gave hope to people long oppressed, that if they have the courage to fight for it, they may live in peace and freedom. Most importantly -- most importantly, our efforts may encourage the people of a region, that has never known peace or freedom or lasting stability, that they may someday possess these rights. I believe as strongly today as ever, the mission was necessary, achievable and noble.

He said:

What our enemies have sought to destroy is beyond their reach. It cannot be taken from us. It can only be surrendered.

Yet, we've been losing more liberties with each passing year - surrendered - thanks to a rubber stamp Republican majority who would not assent to the fair oversight for which they owed responsibility to the American people. {McCain does get credit for pushing for the independent 9/11 commission, Then again, so did Joe Lieberman.

Senator McCain said,

Let us argue -- let us argue our differences, but remember we are not enemies, but comrades in a war against a real enemy...

The only reference to "enemies" I ever heard during that time came from the mouths of Republicans toward anyone who would not accept the obvious political manipulation and daily trot-out, even in the mainstream press, of outright untruths from our government about their 21-plus rationales for going to war with Iraq.

We aren't stupid. Senator McCain's not stupid - but I believe he was condescending to the American people in that RNC speech. He blasted Michael Moore's anti-Bush documentary [for cheap laughs and some applause] - having never actually seen the documentary for himself. I personally heard Michael Moore's retort when I [and 10,000 others] saw him speak in Syracuse later in September of that same year. From my own journal:

How many times did we hear Osama bin Laden’s name mentioned at the RNC? George Pataki mentioned it once. Michael Moore says his own name was mentioned more (and received more boos) than Osama bin Laden or Saddam Hussein. Moore said, sarcastically, that he was glad the Republicans have their priorities straight. Moore says he felt a bit embarrassed for John McCain, who didn’t know Moore was in Madison Square Garden when McCain spoke negatively about him at the RNC. After the speech, McCain spoke to Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball and admitted to him that he had not even seen ‘Fahrenheit 9/11” for himself.

To this day, Senator McCain still thinks that the war in Iraq is a necessary and noble venture. I disagree. Millions upon millions of Americans disagree. He has underestimated many intelligent Americans - and he's done so at his own political peril.


See my reasons for doubting his credibility as a capable handler of Iraq.
- November 2005
- December 2005
- March 2006

I think McCain's a personable fellow and I know what he went through as a POW beacuse my great Uncle was nearly tortured to his death as a prisoner of war in the Phillipines and Japan during WWII. I consider my uncle and the Senator as brave and tough men for having survived their similar experiences. With respect, it doesn't make either of them automatic candidates for commander in chief. In the end, character really does count. I've seen Senator McCain waver on too many of his so-called convictions. His suck-up at Bob Jones University was just one more example of the marshmallow-soft center of his alledged convictions. Bottom line, I think he isn't much different than Senator Joe Lieberman in the sense that both men have underestimated and miscalculated the feelings and opinions of the American people.

YouTube Station Devoted to John Edwards' Political Activity

YouTube Station Devoted to John Edwards' Political Activity

There's a new YouTube.com station for videos [47 to date] of the public speeches and other related political activities of Senator John Ewdwards that have been created, produced, and/or collected by the savvy members of the One America Committee blog.

Double Cross:Family Values Hypocrisy in Congress

Double Cross:
Family Values Hypocrisy in Congress

Yonce Shelton, who has testified in front the House Ways and Means Committee on behalf of Call to Renewal on the issue of minimum wage, says that there's a double cross going on this week in the House and Senate. You can see his full article at the current issue of SojoMail. [Sojourners]

Excerpts:

[..]Last Friday, the House passed legislation to raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over three years. But there's a catch. The bill (Estate Tax and Extension of Tax Relief Act - aka "trifecta" bill) would also permanently reduce the estate tax - an important source of federal revenue impacting only the wealthiest half of one percent of our nation's taxpayers, which also encourages billions in charitable donations (according to the Congressional Budget Office, between $13-25 billion in 2000). The bill would also extend other expiring tax cuts. [..]

[..]The House leadership proudly touted its "American Values Agenda" week in July, which included votes on gay marriage, the pledge of allegiance, abortion, and human cloning. Missing from that agenda was the value of promoting family economic security. Integrity of political procedure seems also to have been missing, which isn't new. Before last week's vote, a $7.25 minimum wage increase passed a House committee as part of an appropriations bill. Apparently that committee's values took House leaders by surprise. Stuck without an easy way to strip out the wage increase, House leadership has chosen not to move that appropriations bill forward until after the elections. By denying a straightforward vote and coupling the wage increase with other politically dicey provisions, House leaders are again choosing political charades over people and the common good.

If the "trifecta" bill becomes law (the Senate will vote on it this week), the trade-off for a minimum wage increase will be a sacrifice of other supports for working families playing by the rules but coming up short. Work must "work" - working families, individuals, and those unable to work deserve a living family income. They deserve to be treated with respect - especially by their elected representatives. They deserve an up or down vote on the wages for their labor. [..]

On the heels of this WaPo article, here was a discussion about the situation at the One America Committee blog yesterday, where many expressed their own opinions, including myself.

Bob Geiger rreports that the Republican bill to "increase" minimum wage will actually lower wages in seven states!

As it stands at 7 pm today, the success of Congress passing the bill in the Senate looks to be highly in doubt.

I personally question Senator James Inhofe's (R-Ok) priorities and values when he adnits that he “really hasn't decided” whether to swallow a minimum-wage increase in exchange for an estate-tax rollback. He can barely stand to see minimuim wage workers in his state making more than $5.15 per hour while he opens new avenues for millionaires to play welfare "Dynasty"-style and robbing Oklahoma of much-needed revenues that could benefit working families. Inhofe's statement makes me sick, especially since he claims he's such a devout Christian.

Act Now: Intl. Ceasefire Campaign

Act Now: International Ceasefire Campaign


Cease Fire Massacre
credit: Jude Rouslin/Galeropia


I received this e-mail from my Weekly Action Coalition partner, Thoughts of an Average Woman.

Dear friends,

Right now a tragedy is unfolding in the Middle East. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or wounded in the bombings in Lebanon, Palestine and Israel and the death toll is rising every day. If the US, Syria or Iran get involved, there is a chance of a catastrophic larger war. UN Secretary General Kofi Annan has called for an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of international troops to the Israel-Lebanon border, and been strongly supported by almost every world leader. This is the best proposal yet to stop the violence, but the US, the UK, and Israel have refused to accept it. I have just signed a petition calling on US President Bush, UK Prime Minister Blair, and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert to support Kofi Annan's proposal. If millions of people join this call, and we advertise our views in newspapers in the US, UK, and Israel, we can help pressure these leaders to stop the fighting.

Go to the link here and sign up now!

With hope,
C.

I encourage you to go and sign this petition.
After you do, you may wish to read William Rivers Pitts' Cease-Fire Now.

Thanks,
Jude

Turkey's Relationship With U.S. in Focus

Turkey's Relationship With U.S. in Focus

See my post at THE AMERICAN STREET today.

Excerpts:

Academics from Turkish universities have urged their Israeli colleagues to “raise their voices” for peace in the Middle East as an Israeli offensive in the Palestinian territories and Lebanon rages on...Turkey has called for cease-fire in the Middle East and stepped up diplomacy for an end to the conflict. Thousands of Turks have also taken to streets to protest the Israeli offensive.

Turkey has strongly condemned the killing of innocent civilians, most of whom were children, by the Israeli army in the Southern Lebanese village of Qana.

In a New York Sun op-ed titled "Green Light," the ABC radio network's John Batchelor - who doesn't hide the fact that he wants the U.S. to crush Iran - sets up the scene for an Armageddon-like scenario in a world where Iran has already gotten the political upper hand. Personally, I think that this is a lot of speculation and fear, with Mr. Batchelor parroting Syrian and Iranian propaganda as if it's the gospel truth. There has been absolutely no sign of Iran provoking the U.S. or any other nation to take military action against them. Propaganda from both sides with no deterrent to war by nation states - no diplomacy - will likely give brutal war-mongers exactly what they desire. Bush has an opportunity now to talk to all concerned parties and his refusal to do so will only lead to a senseless war that, by his inaction, he seems to want. We can give thanks to the many foreign policy miscalculations, mistakes, and missteps by the Bush Administration for Batchelor's fear-laden scenario in which we'll either have to lose northern Iraq OR lose Turkey's alliance. As always, it's about the oil:

The supply routes from Iran to Syria are not only air lanes but also overland trucking on tribal routes through Turkey and Kurdistan. Turkey knows this and knows this is tacit support of the Hizbollah and Syria. More striking is that the Kurds in northern Iraq, ostensibly America's strongest ally in the liberation and democratization of Iraq, are openly cooperating with the Iranian military convoys. The Kurds have made a deal with Tehran that looks to the future and the establishment of an independent, oil-rich Kurdistan.[..] The Kurds aim to drive out or massacre the minority Turkmen in their territory, and they know this will be a casus belli for Turkey. The Kurds will need Iran for an ally and also for a transportation route to get their oil to market.

Here is where I think John Batchelor and others hungry for a U.S. attack on Iran are frustrated. The U.S. is not gearing up for war on Iran, judging their latest actions. Regardless of how frustrated so many Americans are with the images of dead women and children they see on their television screens at Israel's wanton hands, the U.S. doesn't appear to be hoping that the conflict will spread its instability over the borders of other nations. In his LA Times op-ed yesterday titled The Return of Turkey's Kurdish Problem, Henri J. Barkey leads us to believe that the U.S. may overlook a limited Turkish incursion into Iraq, likely led by the brand new head of their military, the "blunt-speaking hawk" General Yasar Buyukanit. The U.S. seems to want to keep their alliance with Turkey as strong as possible because of their needed participation in a peacekeeping force in Southern Lebanon. The Lebanese people have expressed a desire and trust to have Turkey as the lead-nation in any peacekeeping force.

Related Articles:

Related Article:

For Turkey, challenges - and opportunities? - in the current Middle East crisis [SFGate.com]

Key Country by Huseyin Gulerce

Tragic Partnership With The U.S. - Turkish Press/Mustafa Balbay

Rice's "New ME Birth pangs" Deliver "Daughter of the Mountain" - Op-ed/ K Gajendra Singh/Al-Jazeerah

Moscow will not let down Damascus .In the wake of ill conceived Neocon policies in Middle East , in spite of historical enmity , Syria has made up with Turkey , and despite Washington's displeasure , Ankara has also made up with Moscow and Tehran .Caught up in its quagmire in Iraq and now the Israeli denouement in Bint J'beil , USA at odds with Turkey ,is now trying to entice Ankara in its ME objectives, but the price demanded might be too high .

The New UN Force in Lebanon - Should TurkeyParticipate? - JTWNews.com

Conservative Leaders Insult and Blame Katrina Victims

Conservative Leaders Insult and Blame Katrina Victims

Some conservatives are stooping so low as to put all the blame on the blacks who couldn't escape New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina because they were poor. Hearing them take stabs at the character of desperate human beings who were confused and living in their own feces at the Superdome while Washington D.C. virtually abandoned them is disgusting to me.

The Reverend Jesse Lee Peterson, president of BOND -- the Brotherhood Organization of a New Destiny -- says many blacks in New Orleans were too dependent on government to flee from the storm.

He says that when officials then put evacuees into the Superdome, "within a three-day period they turned the dome into a ghetto." He says that showed "a lack of moral character."

Bill Cosby-izing Hurricane Katrina victims is about as low as you can go.

Listen to more of this crap:

Rev. Grant Storm, who is the Caucasian minister and president of Conservative Christians for Reform, echoed Peterson's view. "The mentality of 'government's going to bail me out. Where's the government?'" is "in the black culture," Storm said. "The mentality is instilled within their churches and in their homes -- of 'the government owes you, the government is your solution, and the government will come and help you.'

"When the government doesn't come and help them, frankly all they do is yap and complain," said Storm, instead of "saying 'Hey, I better go get a job, I better go on my own, I better go find an apartment, I better go take care of myself and my family.

Those who fail to realize what it's like for the millions of Americans who are living in poverty today who work for wages that will never afford them upward mobility [and will likely not even get them through the month without a shortage for things their families require] are completely out of touch if they believe that any government program today is to blame for "keeping them down." If they believe that the government owed no responsibility to these citizen-victims of Hurricane Katrina, and if they believe that expectations were not bitterly crushed and the chaos and loss of lives, homes, and jobs was the fault of the victims, I'd say that they are too elitist and too stubbornly ideological to possess hearts and minds worthy of American political leadership.

It is not poor blacks or any other New Orleans citizens who had caused the hurricane or the disastrous response of the federal government. We have to look at the breakdown of the emergency response system and at an economic system that rewards the richest while failing to provide social spending to empower and educate low-wage or unemployed workers.

What's next? Will these dolts blame weatherman Al Roker for Hurricane Katrina? It would make as much sense. Its all Al's fault for turning the Gulf Coast into a ghetto!

Tar Heel Tavern Edition 75

Tar Heel Tavern Edition 75



Erin did a great job on the Tar Heel Tavern this week. Number 75 is HERE.

Billy Jones will host next week's edition.

Turkey Proposes Peace Force With Conditions

Turkey Proposes Peace Force With Conditions

As I reported here on Friday, there is breaking news that Turkey is proposing a peace force in Southern Lebanon.

Let's not assume too much from this headline. There are stil reservations and conditions on Turkey's part.From Zaman.com:

Turkey is hesitant about the planned UN-led military force, and Ankara will not participate in an international force if the clashes with Hezbollah continue.

Before engaging their forces, Turkey would also require that Hezbollah agree to the implementation of the UN’s decision to disarm them. [Do we really think this will happen anytime soon?]

In response to Zaman’s questions, diplomatic sources revealed, “We will not rush soldiers to embattled areas.”[..]

There are other voices from the peace conference held recently in Rome, and the following is an example of just how hard this is going to be. The goal of the U.S. to disarm Hezbollah without acknowledging them or Syria in international discussions; obtain a UN agreement; and create an international peacekeeping force while completely avoiding the requiring of Israel to cease-fire is looking pie-in-the-sky- especially since the most recent development where every country in the world except the U.S. is publicly expressing repulsion upon seeing Israel randomly killing innocent women and children:

[..]In response to the question “What would Turkey’s attitude be if the mission of implementing the UN peace force includes disarming Hezbollah,” Ankara replied, “It depends on the parties’ (including Hezbollah) positive approach.”

Foreign Affairs officials on the other side responded: “The UN decision regarding the international force will be taken first. States are free to join. The direction, time and the mission of the force are crucial. A force, which will have an active role when weapons are laid down and the ceasefire starts, should keep the peace in the region.”

My question still stands: What concession will Turkey get from the U.S. for their participation - and will it inflame passions amongst the Kurds [specifically PKK] in northern Iraq? As always, oil is the material for which the forces of greed and the lure of power will walk over the human rights of any proud population who stands in the way.

With the opening of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyan pipeline on July 14, and the pumping of Iraqi crude to begin in a few days, Turkey's hopes of becoming a key player in the global oil industry is closer.

Listen to the fear and frustration from a Kurdish doctor who is beginning to lose faith in the U.S. support of a system that fairly addresses human rights in their dealings with Turkey [because of the conflict in Lebanon]:

"....the Israeli Terror holocaust is not sparing anybody in Lebanon in their killing and destructive attacks. The Islam-inclined Turkish government was very careful not to raise its voice against those crimes. That spells danger to me for Turkey may well be tempted to follow the Israeli example and attack Kurdish populations in the south to force the PKK into surrendering and disarming."

On Meet the Press today, a Lebanese representative said that he wished world leaders would use their brainpower instead of their firepower. There's the soundbite that says it all. In international relations and support for healthy Western-firendly democracies in other nations, Bush is losing Lebanon because he cannpt reconcile his seemingly blind support for Israel, regardless of their wanton bombings in Southern Lebanon. His administration is now risking international relations with Turkey. How could this have happened? To say that Iraq is not related would be a deadly error of judgement when looking at the overall picture of where the failed Bush foreign policy has taken us. If U.S. citizens have lost the democratic power to demand a change in the course, I'm afraid there may be no outcome other than a new and deadly world war with the United States as a tepid international influence because of a president who never took the advice of the best and brightest minds.


Related Articles:

For Turkey, challenges - and opportunities? - in the current Middle East crisis [SFGate.com]

The Return of Turkey's Kurdish Problem [LA Times op-ed by Henri J. Barkey]