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Jan 11, 2003 Opinion Editorials http://www.aljazeerah.info |
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Human Price of the Israeli Occupation of Palestine Israeli daily aggression on the Palestinian people Mission and meaning of Al-Jazeerah
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What shall be our
legacy after Bush? -
It seems like only yesterday when the world was caught up in mass hysteria and dire predictions of doom and gloom about the impending Y2K crisis that would plunge the world into utter chaos and darkness. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief when, at the stroke of midnight on January 1, 2000, planes did not plunge from the skies, computer systems continued to function, and the lights remained on. In short, life went on as usual. Little did people realize, however, that the year 2000 was to herald in an unprecedented age of terror and darkness. The road to hell began barely nine months
into George Bush's presidency, when the American public suffered a major
terrorist attack made possible allegedly by a simple failure of U.S. law
enforcement and intelligence agencies to connect the dots. The dust had
barely settled when select congressmen were graced with letters laced with
weapon-grade anthrax whose origins mysteriously point to a U.S. source.
Next, U.S. citizens had their Constitutionally guaranteed civil rights
sharply curtailed by the passage of the USA PATRIOT Act. Their right to
privacy was even further eroded by the just recently passed Homeland
Security Act which sets up a Total Information Awareness operation that
would make George Orwell blush. Most Americans see themselves as innocent victims in a world gone mad and believe, quite naively, that their government holds the moral high ground in its efforts to establish a Pax Americana worldwide. The facts, however, reveal the United States to be not only a part of the cycle of violence, but the largest exporter of death and destruction this world has ever known. Richard Grimmet of the Congressional Research Committee reported that in fiscal year 2001, of the $26.4 billion in registered sales of international military weapons, the United States exported $12.2 billion, or roughly 46 percent of the total. This represents 2.5 times more than the amount sold by the second (UK) and third (Russia) largest exporters, 9.7 times greater than the level exported by France, and 19 times more than that of China. The Center for International Policy estimates that about 80 percent of U.S. arms exports go to non-democratic regimes notorious for gross human rights abuses against not only their own citizenry but people of other countries as well. In 1999, of the forty-two conflicts in the world, thirty-nine of them made use of U.S. military equipment or technology, a whopping 92 percent rate of indirect U.S. participation in, but direct support of, war and violence. The U.S. also trains foreign military in the art of murder and torture in more than 70 countries and has troops currently stationed in nearly three out of every four countries in the world. Sadly, the lives of 3,000 civilians from the U.S. and many other countries were lost in the September 11 attack, but where is the American outrage at the millions of deaths that the U.S. has caused, directly or covertly, in the twentieth century alone? Over 3,000 innocent Afghanis were killed in blind retaliation for terrorist attacks with which these oppressed people had nothing to do. Add hundreds of thousands of preventable deaths of mostly elderly, infants and young children in Iraq due to over ten years of extreme economic sanctions, demanded by the U.S., that prevent Iraq from importing essential medicines and disinfecting agents because of their potential for dual usage. Don't forget the 500,000 deaths in wars supported by the U.S. in Guatemala, El Salvador, Chile, Argentina, Haiti, Panama, and other Latin American countries over the past half century, or the hundreds of thousands more in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. The United States is just as guilty as any other nation in targeting civilian population centers -- cities such as Dresden, Hamburg, and Tokyo were mercilessly firebombed during World War II; atomic bombs were dropped in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, all resulting in hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. Recently in Iraq, Yugoslavia, and Afghanistan, the United States has resurrected and implemented a new kind of nuclear warfare through the use of weapons outfitted with a depleted uranium component. Upon impact, the uranium is released in micro-sized particles that travel great distances on the wind to contaminate air, food, soil, water; in short, anything it touches. Post Gulf War soil samples tested in Basrah register an 84 times greater than normal background radiation level from uranium elements, according to studies carried out by various international organizations. This new American-made legacy will be remembered for its long-term, continuous assault on innocent people and their environment. Studies conducted by Johns Hopkins University reveal a sevenfold increase in cancer, leukemia and birth defects in Iraq since the Gulf War. Full-term babies there are born with grotesque malformations such as having no face, no eyes or nose, twisted, fused or missing limbs, huge heads with no brains, no digestive tract, heart defects, severe ulcerations of the skin, and other abnormalities. All this is made possible by each and every American who chooses to remain silent in the face of U.S. military atrocities against humanity. The United States is squandering both its status of most powerful nation and its potential to do some lasting good by continuing to serve the gods of greed, fear, hatred, war and violence. America should be leading the world by practicing what it preaches to other nations. The truly powerful lead by example, not by intimidation and brute force. Placing self-righteous justification and moral superiority aside, for all involved parties seem to claim them, we need to look at war for what it really is -- murder and maiming, pure and simple. Our unquestioned faith in the use of military threats, death and destruction to deter violence and settle disagreements is an inherently flawed philosophy that has brought the world to the brink of mutually assured destruction with the United States leading the way. The late Philip Berrigan had it right when he spoke about "the universal American fantasy that 'national security' can depend on weapons of mass destruction." These weapons we insist on amassing are instead the very cause of our mortal danger. His final words resonate as a warning to us all, "nuclear weapons are the scourge of the earth; to mine for them, manufacture them, deploy them, use them, is a curse against God, the human family, and the Earth itself." In this unparalleled period of danger and darkness brought about by the ignorance of mad men in their lust for power, it's time for people to awaken and do their part to transform this insane, money-making, war- mongering mentality. Imagine what a different world this could be if everyone took personal responsibility and vowed no longer to be a part of the ongoing cycle of government sponsored terrorism. Imagine if the people who build (in part or whole) bombs, guns, assault weapons and other weapons of mass destruction were suddenly to have an attack of conscience and leave their jobs, refusing to manufacture the evil that gets exported around the globe. Imagine how different the world could be if the $839 billion dollars spent yearly on military expenditures worldwide (Arias Foundation figures for FY 2001) were instead used for constructive purposes to alleviate hunger and provide decent housing, education, health care and meaningful employment for all. I am convinced that reprioritizing the use of our vast resources from our current destructive bent towards constructive, life-affirming, humanitarian ends would be a much more successful deterrent to terrorism than our ineffective and inane faith in using "the violence to quell all violence." As the great Martin Luther King, Jr. believed, "An eye for an eye only ends up making us all blind." Life is a series of making choices. We can choose to take the easy path by closing our eyes and remaining part of the evil of war and violence, whether it be through our line of employment that may directly or indirectly contribute to government sanctioned destruction and murder, or through the complicity of simply keeping silent in the face of inhumane policies carried out by our government. Else, we can choose the more difficult and courageous route of speaking out and working towards eliminating war and weapons of mass destruction all over the world, beginning in our own country. If we do not walk the talk of peace and disarmament, then we are, in fact, no better than the terrorists we are purporting to defeat. The state and fate of our world and the legacy we leave for future generations all come down to the individual choices we make in our lives. As the adage from the Vietnam era significantly states, "Just imagine if they gave a war, and nobody came." [Doreen Miller lived, studied, worked and traveled abroad for several years, and is currently a Senior Lecturer and educator of international students. She dedicates part of her time to serving the elderly and Alzheimer patients. Mother, musician and poet, she pursues an avid interest in Buddhist and Eastern philosophy. She advocates human rights, social justice, fair trade, and environmental protection. Doreen lives in the United States.] Doreen Miller encourages your comments: dmiller@YellowTimes.org
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We've all likely seen or read about
scientific studies of aggression and violence in that otherwise
intelligent and loveable species, chimpanzees. Some even take these
observations as a kind of biological justification of war. But
intellects able to understand other species and responsible for the
magnificent thing we call civilization surely give us the capacity to
rise above the behavior of chimpanzees.
Advanced societies have begun to acknowledge
the counterproductive nature of violence. Even in the United States,
where lethal injection, guns in the street, and belly-over-the-belt
attitudes still hold considerable pride of place, it is, for example,
universally illegal for teachers to strike students. In some states, it
is also illegal for parents to strike children. It is illegal for a
husband to strike his mate, and in some jurisdictions, police officers
called to a scene of domestic violence, routinely arrest a man who has
committed an assault on his mate, an act that not many years ago was
virtually ignored and treated as "a private family matter."
Even America's Catholics, inclined by the
very nature of their faith to accept authority, have finally spoken up
over the matter of child abuse by unsuitable priests, something that had
gone on quietly and with few consequences for as long as anyone can
remember.
So why is it that Americans believe that
bombing and shooting and burning people in Iraq or Afghanistan can
produce anything of value? You might think the ghostly screams of three
million murder victims occasionally wafted in on Pacific breezes from
Vietnam would serve as terrifying reminders of the futility of war.
Why are the civilized tools of patient
diplomacy and international organizations held in contempt by many
Americans?
Quite apart from all the weighty concerns of
morality and human civilization, the truth is that war almost never
solves anything.
I do not question self-defense, but most
people can distinguish an act of genuine self-defense without hearing
from official spokespersons and propagandists and advertising hucksters.
I suspect that most of the world's people recognize that much of what
the United States is doing today has little to do with self-defense.
This instinctive judgment is reinforced by all the choking smog of
explanations coming from Washington.
The First World War grew out of the
inability of France and Britain to accept economic and political decline
relative to a rising Germany. Also, contrary to unexamined slogans about
peace through military preparedness, a direct cause of the First World
War was precisely that all the powers of Europe were heavily armed,
requiring just the smallest disturbance to tip them into destruction.
About twenty years later, the mass slaughter
in the trenches and the treaty-makers' failure to establish institutions
adequate to peace had set conditions for the Second World War, the most
destructive event in human history -- the rise of Hitler being only
possible from the ashes, ruin, and despair of the First World War.
As soon as the Second World War ended, the
U.S. worked diligently to resurrect Germany, even sometimes using former
Nazis in the effort. World War II had created conditions for the Cold
War, that long, immensely costly, and largely pointless crusade against
an economic system always destined to die of its own false premises.
Genuine, permanent peace in Europe has been
achieved through the very diplomacy and international organizations so
despised by many Americans -- that is, through fifty years of
statesmanship in building the European Union. Major war in Europe today
is inconceivable, and there is little doubt that the united super-state
emerging will one day provide a needed counterbalance to the United
States in world affairs.
History is littered with examples of the
futility of war. Americans would have achieved independence without the
Revolutionary War because every other part of the British Empire
gradually and peacefully did so.
Contrary to popular belief, America's Civil
War was not about slavery, although the measures necessary to protect
and extend slavery had generated the tensions and hatreds behind the
war. Had the South been permitted peacefully to secede, the institution
of slavery would just as surely have come to an end, as it did
throughout South America and the Caribbean.
The entire mystical legend of "the
cause" of a glorious South fighting for freedom and gracious old
ways would never have been born. Instead, there would be only the memory
of a squalid, provincial slave state.
Likely, too, the non-industrial South would
have returned, hat in hand, after some period to rejoin the Union. The
terms of re-entry might well have spared us the century of human
degradation that replaced slavery in a defeated South. We might also
have been spared the political dominance of the South, a result of some
of the more anti-democratic provisions of the American Constitution
favoring small and rural places, and something that has given America
many leaders and policies better consigned to the dustbin of history.
Under Mr. Bush, the terrible example of
Israel has become something to imitate rather than condemn. Israel
maintains a constant state of war against the people with whom it is
destined to share its geography. Not a week passes that we do not read
of Palestinians shot in the streets, houses bulldozed, suspects
assassinated, and an entire people humiliated with the West Bank reduced
to a prison. So simple an act as Mr. Arafat's attending a Christmas
service is arrogantly forbidden.
And has a half century of savage policy
produced anything positive? Of course not. It produces new generations
of young people with minds tortured by hate, and it unavoidably deadens
the very consciences and idealism of Israelis themselves. What a
remarkable example Israel might have set had she instead invested an
equivalent effort on assisting and educating the Palestinians, on
generously forming bonds of friendship and peace.
Mr. Bush adopts this same attitude towards
Iraq and many others who object to America's arrogant and often harsh
policies. Somehow, they are all reduced to the poorly-defined status of
terrorists, and they are all subject to military attack, assassination,
embargo, and every kind of interference in their private affairs it is
possible to conceive. It is impossible to see how the long-term results
of such a policy can be anything but vicious, dangerous, and
destabilizing.
War is a vestige of our common ancestry with
the apes, one that we can deliberately shed as surely as that vestigial,
unnecessary organ, the appendix. But we need to be seriously dedicated
to the task, and we need to commit serious resources to it. For now, the
reality is that the people who have great power only hypocritically talk
of peace while spending $400 billion each year on ways to kill people.
John Chuckman encourages your comments: jchuckman@YellowTimes.org
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ISRAEL: AMERICA'S SHAME AND
HUMANITY'S STAIN By Mohamed Khodr
Al-Jazeerah, 1/11/03
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"I am aware how almost impossible it is in this country to carry out a foreign policy [in the Middle East] not approved by the Jews. [Former Secretary of State George] Marshall and [former Defense Secretary James] Forrestral learned that.... terrific control the Jews have over the news media and the barrage the Jews have built up on congressmen .... I am very much concerned over the fact that the Jewish influence here is completely dominating the scene and making it almost impossible to get congress to do anything they don't approve of. The Israeli embassy is practically dictating to the congress through influential Jewish people in the country" -- Sec. of State John Foster Dulles in Feb. 1957 quoted on p.99 of Fallen Pillars by Donald Neff "I've never seen a president --I don't care who he is-- stand up to them [the Israelis]. It just boggles your mind. They always get what they want....If the American people understood what grip those people have on our government, they would rise up in arms. Our citizens don't have any idea what goes on."----Admiral Thomas Moorer of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. (See Washington Report 12/1999, p.124 quoting from Andrew Hurley's book, "One Nation Under Israel") "We have come to be one of
the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated
Governments in the world - no longer a Government of free opinion, no
longer a Government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a
Government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant
men." - ----Woodrow Wilson
[U.S. President during World War I] PITY the wonderful, kind, generous, good hearted, peace loving American people as being the only people in the entire world totally unaware of how Israel, a nation whose founding and funding depends on the American taxpayer, so dominates, controls, intimidates, humiliates, and even bites and puts at risk the very lives and hands of the American taxpayer who feed it. While the American people are fiercely proud, independent, and will not submit to any nation or any person who dares stomp on the world's sole superpower, they do submit willingly and unwillingly to the dictates of a foreign nation, Israel, whose economy and political support is the prime priority of Washington D.C., even at the expense of the needs and lives of the American people themselves. Inquiring Minds Around the World Want to Know: Why are the American people so loved and respected around the world for so long (prior to Israel's founding in 1948) for their freedoms, educational and technological superiority, their friendliness, generosity, and respect for other people's beliefs and needs, are so naive to the destructive influence of Israel's "Jewish Power" upon their domestic and foreign policies? Why are they so blind and uninformed despite having the world's largest and most advanced educational system, the world's largest media outlets, the ability to travel around the world freely, the world's largest interdependent economy that sells to every nation on earth, except to Israel where it loses on trade; a nation with more military bases around the world than any other, a nation of immigrants from around the world, a nation in possession of the wondrous law unavailable to most of the world--the "Freedom of Information Act"--whereby a citizen can seek governmental answers on policies, but doesn't when it comes to foreign policy? WHY, WHY, WHY? Why has the world been engulfed in wars and conflicts in the Middle East since Israel was founded in 1948 and not before? Why did Islam suddenly become America's enemy immediately after the collapse of Communism in 1991? Why 9/11? Why is Bush so determined against ALL odds, evidence, logic, and against the wishes of the entire world to annihilate Iraq, a nation his father already destroyed, a nation impoverished with sanctions, a nation that's been bombed continuously for 11 years? There is a reason why our government and our media are not asking the most important question regarding 9/11, the question of WHY America and not any other nation. There is a reason why President Bush has refused for a long time to appoint an Independent Commission to examine 9/11. There is a reason why Congressional inquiry only focused on the failures of the FBI/CIA/NSC and not the WHY issue. There is a reason why no media outlet is independently investigating this issue either. There is a reason why our government quickly and quietly kicked out 120 Israeli "spies" out of the country soon after 9/11, some were caught on videotape filming the crash into the WTC towers and dancing on rooftops (see FOXNEWS report by Cameron for 3 nights, later deleted from the website). Much more incriminating information on Israel's prior knowledge of the attack has been reported abroad but not here. Why did Israel not inform the United States? There is a reason that Bush appointed Henry Kissinger, a powerful Pro-Israeli Jew to head the Independent Commission but who later resigned than reveal his "conflict of interest" nations. The reason is Israel and the answer as to WHY there is new found HATE between the U.S. and the Muslim world is: Why do THEY hate U.S.? ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL Why do WE Hate Them? ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL, ISRAEL Despite the fact that most Americans, including our Government understand this truth, America is too fearful to admit that Israel is the barrier between the West and Islam, between perpetual war and peace, and between the interests of the American people and the Pro-Israel politics of our Government too greedy for Jewish money and votes, and too cowardly to face the Pro-Israeli Media backlash should they ever so slightly oppose the "Israel First" policy. The Political Unemployment line is filled with politicians who fought for America's cause and independence from Israel and who sought peace in the Holy Land. Among them are former Senators William Fulbright, Charles Percy, Reps. Paul Findley and Cynthia McKinney. The American Government, Media, Wall Street, Hollywood, and "experts" on television are ensuring through daily bombardment of intimidating sound bytes that the American TAXPAYER, who is the ultimate VICTIM in this charade of 55 years of Israel's existence, will never know the truth about Israel's grip on this nation or if he/she does, that they will never have the courage to ever speak out publicly. THE ANSWER MY FRIEND AS TO WHY MUSLIMS ARE DYING EVERYDAY AND WHY AMERICANS HAVE BEEN KILLED BY ISRAEL (USS Liberty in 1967, Marines in Beirut) and will continue to die around the world especially in Israel's push for America to attack Iraq, and not North Korea, IS BLOWING IN THE WINDS OF "JEWISH POWER".(See the book: "Jewish Power" by the Jewish American journalist and Editor of the Jewish paper, "FORWARD") The Zionist Jewish hold on the western world, especially America, stems from the following foundations: 1. The HOLOCAUST: The murder of millions of innocent Jews in Europe, not America, was among the many genocidal holocausts in history. Jews were murdered, their properties confiscated, and were scapegoated for their faith and ethnicity. Tragically and ironically, Jews in Israel are propagating the same crimes against innocent Palestinians while once again the world is SILENT, but this time America is providing the money, weapons, and protective Vetoes in the United Nation to directly support Israel's Jews in their "Palestinian Holocaust". 2. The Intimidating Power of ANTI-SEMITISM: Anyone who dares criticize Israel's policies or atrocities against innocent Palestinians or Muslims is publicly tarred and feathered by the Pro-Israel media, and branded for life with the new and improved Scarlet Letter "A" for Anti-Semitism; a career ending silencing weapon that Presidents, Congressmen, Kings, Prime Ministers, Popes, world citizens, and most importantly American citizens fear most. It's time to understand the real meaning of "SEMITE" and for world Jewry to get over their psychological and politically motivated paranoia that the entire world, especially the United Nations, genetically and inherently HATES them because they are God's "Chosen People". The very idea that God, the loving, merciful, omnipotent Creator of all the universe would have an "exclusive" love and relationship to a small group of people, especially people whose relationship with God is one of continuous rebellion, is beyond divine logic. What does such logic leave for Christians who believe in God's only son as their personal Savior? Today, the 13 million Jews around the world are the most prosperous and powerful ethnic group in the world. The existence, the military power, wealth, and brutal behavior of Israel toward its neighbors despite world condemnation is a testament to that prosperity. Definition of Semitic: Semite derives from the name of Noah's son, Shem, the father of the Semitic speaking peoples. Semitic refers to LANGUAGES, not a religion or ethnicity. It refers to the Semitic languages of Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, Assyrian, Babylonian, Ethiopian and others. It has NOTHING to do with Jews or Judaism. Given that the majority of Jews are neither related to the original Israelites nor speak Hebrew, most therefore are not Semites, while all Arabs are by definition Semites given their Arabic language. SO let's stop this hypocritical manipulation of Anti-Semitism to silence criticism of Israel. 3. The American MEDIA and HOLLYWOOD: ALL of the Hollywood Studios were founded by European Jews while most of America's MEDIA Conglomerates are either owned, controlled, directed, or have a majority of Jewish editors, journalists, or columnists, compared to any other ethnic group. There are Nine Major Media Conglomerates that control most of the world media and almost all are owned or run by Jews. People seem to get a neurological seizure when such factual statements are made but that's the truth. Even Michael Medved, the known Jewish American film critic asks the question, "So What if Hollywood is Run by Jews?", so why should anyone else recoil from such statements. Ironically, the most courageous critics of Israel around the world are Jews, but these Jews are pariahs, called "Self Hating Jews" by other Jews, and are denied access to the American media. Even more ironic is that Israeli Jews and the Israeli Media are the harshest critics of Israel and defenders of Palestinian human rights but no such brave Jew exists in America's media. To Jewish Americans, Israel is their "Wailing Wall" where their money, votes, and protests serve to compensate them for their guilt of not immigrating to Israel and leaving their American wealth. Most Jews around the world are non-religious, in fact almost all the Zionist Jews who founded Israel were non-religious, many were atheists, Buddhists, or Communists. In fact the majority of the Russian Communists who established the Soviet Union were Jews. NO American who wishes to speak against Israel is allowed to write in the OpEd pages of the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal or appear as a talking head on television. If you pay close attention to the "experts" on Israel or Islam on Television you'll find that they're almost always Jews, Israeli's, or Pro-Israel Christian Zionists like Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham, Bill O'Reilly, Cal Thomas, George Will, Charles Krauthammer and so on. 4. CONGRESS: Out of 100 Senators, 11 are Jewish (that's 11% despite Jews are only 1.7% of U.S. population). NONE of the Senators are African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, Muslim Americans. Congress has been correctly called by Former Secretary of State James Baker as the "Little Knesset (Israel's Parliament)" and by Pat Buchanan as "Israeli Occupied Territory". No American institution is a better pandering doormat to Israel's concerns and needs than Congress. (see quotes on Israel's power on Congress by American statesmen in www.mideastfacts.com)
The ONLY American Group to have a SPECIAL LIAISON
OFFICE in the White House are American Jews. No other American
ethnic, religious, civilian, or military group has such a privileged or
special office with an Assistant to the President for Jewish Affairs in
the White House, other than American Jews. No group has immediate
access to the President on such issues as foreign policy, budget
matters, military issues, aid to Israel, or who Israel deems next to be
America's next enemy or a candidate for the all important
"Terrorism" list. Saying NO TO ISRAEL automatically puts
a person or nation on the "List
5. RECYCLED JEWISH INFLUENCE:
Influential Pro-Israel Jews are constantly in and out of the U.S. Government in jobs important to Israel such as in the National Security Council (During Clinton's term, 7 out of the 11 members of the NSC were Jews), the State Department, Pentagon, Ambassadorships and so on. Such "expert" Jews flow with ease between important national security jobs in the Government and Jewish owned or Israeli funded Washington Think Tanks, such as the Washington Institute for Near East Policy or other Conservative Think Tanks such as the Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, the Cato Institute, the Council of Foreign Relations and others. "Expert" such as: Dennis Ross, Martin Indyk, Steven Grossman, Eliot Abrams, Richard Hass, Paul Wolfowitz, Stuart Eizenstat and so on. For decades American foreign policy positions dealing with the Middle East have always been given to Jewish Americans, such is the "honest broker" policy in the MidEast. It seems there are no other Americans capable of filling such positions. Currently the most powerful Zionists in the government are those who want Americans to die in Iraq for Israel's sake: Eliot Abrams in charge of MidEast policy at the NSC; Paul Wolfowitz at the Pentagon, and Richard Perle of the Pentagon Advisory Council. Neither the President of the United States, nor his Cabinet, nor the United Nations, nor the European Union, nor Russia (the so called "Quartet" group for MidEast peace) have any influence in the Middle East not approved by Israel. 6. JEWISH WEALTH: Roughly 60% of the donations to the Democratic National Committee is from Jewish donors. America's corrupt campaign financing laws forces candidates to pander to Israel's supporters for money in exchange for all the billions, weapons, and vetoes at the U.N. Israel wants. Now that Bush's warpath on Arabs and Muslims pleases Israel, Jewish Americans are supporting Republican candidates and dumping Democrats their historical allies. To Israel and Jewish Americans there is only ONE LITMUS TEST for their Money, Votes, and favorable Media Coverage: WHICH political party supports Israel the most and allows Israel a free hand to drench the soil of peace in the Holy Land with Arab Christian and Muslim blood.
Today it's President Bush and the Republican
Congress. Bush learned from his father's defeat after the
Desert Storm four important lessons: a. Never Cross
American Jews b. Never Cross the Religious
Right c. Using the Military to Kill
Foreigners, especially Muslims, is popular with the American people d.
Give Tax Cuts to the Rich.
Hence Bush's Economic Plan Addresses these
Priorities:
1. Israel is to get $20 Billion in Free Aid
this year to support it's Economic Recession, Pay for it's Military
Occupation, and provide for Health Care, Housing, and Jobs for its
Veterans-----of course while denying America's Veterans Health care
benefits, housing, and job training.
2. Launch War on Islam to placate the
Conservative Religious Right comprising of such Godly Men of Peace as
Jerry Falwell, Pat Robertson, Franklin Graham, Jerry Vines, Benny
Hinn, James Robison, John Hagee and the rest of the Christian
"Tele--tubbie--Evangelists" whose aim is to kill Jews,
Muslims, and anyone else to bring back the "Prince of Peace".
Thus their plan for salvation is paved with war, death, and blood.
3. Bush is cutting deeply into Domestic
Programs such as aid for Heating Oil for the Poor, Education,
Health Care, Social Security and Medicare, and aid to States, while
providing large Tax Cuts for the Rich and for the unpatriotic
Corporations leaving for overseas to avoid paying taxes and hiring American
Union workers.
4. An Iraq War will provide billions in profits
for Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld Oil Companies as well as the Military
Industrial Complex where his father, family, and friend enjoy Board
Directorship positions. NO such aid came to the millions of
Americans who lost everything as a result of lies, fraud, and bankruptcy
of Bush supported Corporation such as Enron.
Well you don't believe me. OKAY, YOU WANT PROOF OF MY STATEMENTS. I would hope that the readers would have the courage and curiosity to search for such facts themselves. One can start with these websites, some maintained by Jews: www.cactus48.com (Jewish site on Origin of Israeli-Palestinian conflict; www.wrmea.com; www.mideastfacts.com (great comprehensive site on the MidEast); www.electronicintafada.com; www.palestinechronicle.com; www.mediamonitors.net; www.aljazeerah.info; http://www.palestine-un.org/; http://www.mecaforpeace.org/; http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/mideast/mideast.htm; http://www.peacenow.org.il/English.asphttp://www.freepalestinecampaign.org/ (great site of: Int'l Solidarity Movement); http://iviews.com/Articles/articles.asp?ref=IT0301-1820 (a recent important article by an American General (Ret) PROOF THAT IN AMERICA ZIONIST "JEWS" ARE MORE VALUED THAN OTHER AMERICANS. 1. United States Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. (Established by the UNANIMOUS passage of Congressional legislation in October 1980 (Public Law 96-)388). Although American Jews were not victims of the Holocaust and it was American soldiers who liberated Jews from Concentration Camps, the U.S. Government in response to Jewish pressure, donated federal land (Illegally) and paid with U.S. Taxdollars (illegally) to construct a PRIVATE Holocaust museum on the venerable American National Mall in Washington D.C. After paying for its construction, Congress annually appropriates the majority of the funds (tax money) for the Museum's maintenance. In fact, President Bill Clinton on October 13, 2000 signed Legislation Granting this "PRIVATE" Museum "Permanent Federal Status" which permits Congress to fund the museum annually without any question or review. FROM THE U.S. HOLOCAUST MUSEUM PRESS RELEASE: October 13, 2000
CONGRESS DEEMS IT UNWORTHY TO PROVIDE PUBLIC FUNDING TO HONOR AMERICA'S VETERANS IN WASHINGTON D.C. FOR THE FOLLOWING WARS AND SACRIFICES: 1. World War I Memorial 2. World War II Memorial (privately funded) 3. A Korean War Memorial (privately funded) 4. A Vietnam Memorial (privately funded) 4. An African-American Slavery Museum 5. A Native American Holocaust Museum 6. A Revolutionary War Memorial 7. A Civil War Memorial 8. An American Women Armed Services Memorial 9. A National Pearl Harbor Museum in So Why a "Holocaust Museum" and not a publicly funded Memorial for American Veterans? The answer from one of the most powerful Jewish Americans in Washington D.C., a man no one dares refuse his phone call, not meet with him immediately, or publish his letters or opinion pieces. Abraham H. Foxman, National Director of the Anti-Defamation League (A.D.L.) On the Frontline, January 1994 p. 2 , gives the following answer to this question:
Why should the AMERICAN TAXPAYER
fund a private Holocaust Museum while America's own Veterans, men and
women who've honorably served this country from the Revolutionary War
onward have NO publicly funded monument or museum in their honor?
This outrageous shame continues while Congressmen compete to provide more
funds to Jewish American Museums around the country. Adding
insult to injury they shamefully DENY funding of Veterans issues such as
health care, pensions, disabilities, burial rites, retirement
compensations. AMERICA NEEDS ITS PROUD VETERANS ONCE
AGAIN TO ANSWER THE CALL FOR ITS SECOND INDEPENDENCE. This time an
Independence from a small opportunistic foreign nation called Israel.
It's time our Veterans provide the political strength and leadership to
reclaim our Government to serve the American people and their needs and
not the needs of the 16th wealthiest nation on earth, Israel, simply
because of a powerful small Jewish lobby. Israel has received $1.7
Trillion from the American taxpayer since 1949 and continues to receive
40% of all of America's foreign aid while all of Africa and Latin America
get pennies per person. Americans are once again being taxed twice:
Once for America and Once for Israel, except with Israel this constitutes
"Taxation Without Representation" in that Americans have no
voice on how their money and weapons are used. Muslim and
Christian children are dying in Palestine with America's bullets,
missiles, and tanks. Is our America "the land of the brave, and
home of the free" or is it Israel's America "the land of the
silenced cowards, the land of Israel's hostages" American Veterans have always been ready to defend our nation and Constitution. However, once their job and sacrifice was completed our own Government disowned, ignored, neglected, and denied their just and fair compensation. In fact, World War I Veterans had to resort to marching on Washington D.C. in the "Bonus Army March" of 1932 to demand restitution of unpaid pensions. The Government's caring response was to send in the military to evict them forcefully from the city. Today, America's Veterans are seeking to recreate a second "Bonus March" on Washington of One Million Vets to once again protest our Government's shanty treatment of these courageous American heroes. In a recent editorial (1/2/2003) titled "Ill-Treated Veterans", the Boston Globe excoriates President Bush and the country for breaking the promise to Veterans for a life time benefit of health care if they serve 20 years. This is in spite of President Bush's statement to the American Legion during his 2000 campaign that ''we have a responsibility to fulfill the health care commitments made to those who wore the uniform.'' It is shocking that our brave men and women who've served this country honorably have to resort to a class action suit to reclaim their health benefits. (See: http://www.classact-lawsuit.com/response.html) Veterans are often homeless, without jobs, training, health care, drug and alcohol addicted, suffer from chronic physical and mental health problems (Gulf War Syndrome, Agent Orange, Radiation Sickness), and have higher divorce rates. According to a recent survey by Rescue Missions: "One in three homeless men at Rescue Missions Are Veterans. While more than 40 percent of Homeless Vets Served in Vietnam alone." An American Veteran wrote a letter to former Republican Senator Alan Simpson seeking relief and assistance for America's Veterans. Here's part of Senator Simpson's response: "You made a choice to make the military a career, and no agency can match the benefit level of the military pension. All federal programs are, as they should, being subject to extra scrutiny as Congress looks to regain fiscal sanity in the government." AUG. 29, 1996 No American politician would DARE send such a letter to a Jewish American organization or to an Israeli official claiming fiscal responsibility and scrutiny as reasons to deny Israel the Billions it DEMANDS and ALWAYS GETS. For 30 years, Congress was automatically doling out Billions to Israel despite a massive federal budget deficit, massive debt, and massive cuts in domestic programs. Congress takes Israel's "grants" out first from the budget and then balances the budget on the backs of America's Seniors, Veterans, Minorities, Poor, and even America's schools and children. In fact, on April 14, 1999, Senators l Moynihan (D-NY), Fitzgerald (R-IL), Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Spencer Abraham (R-MI) introduced legislation exempting all restitution payments to Holocaust victims and their heirs to be exempt from federal income tax.
American Veterans should be so lucky for willing to
die for their country.
"The moon gives you light,
And the bugles and the drums give you music, And my heart, O my soldiers, my veterans, My heart gives you love." ---Walt Whitman (1819–1892), U.S. poet. Dirge for Two Veterans (l. 33–36
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Facts about Israel and its
relationship with America as a Pop Quiz
By James J. David
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"Q. Which country in the Middle East had its Prime Minister announce to his staff not to worry about what the United States says because 'We control America?'.." The original Middle East Pop Quiz was published by Charley Reese back on February 8, 1998. Since then, there have been many additions to the quiz which I have added. With many thanks to Charley Reese and hoping he makes a full recovery from his recent illness, I present the updated version. Question: Which country alone in the Middle
East has nuclear weapons?
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Upping the stakes
The White House ought to know it cannot treat North Korea with the same
arrogance as Iraq. However President Bush’s unique brand of precision
sledgehammer diplomacy has worsened already strained relations with North
Korea. In blowing the whistle on Pyongyang’s continuing nuclear weapons
program last year, Washington miscalculated and played into North Korean
hands. By focusing on the country’s nuclear program, it allowed the North
Korean government to ratchet up the stakes progressively, first by
announcing it would resume the operation of nuclear reactors, (turned off
after the 1994 Framework Agreement with the US, in return for aid), then by
throwing out UN inspectors and now by repudiating its accession to the
Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty. Bush wants to get on with humiliating Iraq and finishing his father’s
Gulf War business. Now, however, the growing danger from North Korea is
diverting White House and Pentagon attention to the Far East. This may well
explain why all of a sudden, the urgency seems to have gone out of
Washington’s demands that the UN weapons inspectors complete their search
for Iraq weaponry. The key to understanding the extraordinary North Korean regime, a
repressive Communist dictatorship unsafely fossilized from change, is to
realize that this is a country that considers itself under siege. Its
people, who for 50 years were taught to revere the state’s founder, Kim
Il-Sung, as the “Great Leader”, believe themselves surrounded by enemies
eager to crush them. Only in Kim himself can they find protection. The
dictator may have died in 1994 but he remains his country’s leader,
officially branded “ President for Eternity”. Kim’s son and successor
Kim Jong-il, defers continually and very publicly to his father’s guiding
principles. Of course for the top leadership, who have the resources to
understand the realities of the outside world, such shenanigans are bunk.
For them the maintenance of North Korea’s paranoid and aggressive
isolation is the only way to hang onto their own power and privileges. Knowing that North Korea is on Washington’s hit list of countries that
deemed to comprise an Axis of Evil, Kim has almost certainly calculated that
were he to just sit back and let the Americans deal with Iraq as they see
fit, North Korea’s turn would be next. A military attack against heavily
armed North Korea may be unthinkable but it can be expected that Washington
will seek to isolate the regime completely, hoping that by persuading China
and Russia to cut off support, the country will simply collapse. Whether
China could be persuaded to allow a united Korea on its doorstep with a
continued US presence, as the White House wants, is another matter. The
crucial section of the North Korean statement announcing its withdrawal from
the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty comes at the end where it sets out a
need for dialogue. What Kim is trying to do is to lock the Americans and
North Korea’s neighbors into a firm commitment, not only to leave his
country alone, but also to resume the economic support that will permit his
regime to survive. If Washington does not parley now, then North Korea will
press ahead with its nuclear weapons program so raising the price that it
hopes it will eventually be paid for compliance.Kim no doubt thinks his is a
win-win position. He is betting that the Bush White House wants so badly to
topple Saddam Hussain’s regime, that it will be prepared to pay a high
price to bring North Korea back into line. On the face of it, he seems to be
correct. Even if Washington would ever contemplate fighting to destroy North
Korea, it could hardly do so at this moment. President Bush is therefore
pretty well between a rock and a hard place. Maybe it would have been better
last year to have ignored North Korea’s resumed nuclear program, in the
same way that Washington has so long turned a blind eye to Israel’s
equally illegal acquisition of nuclear weaponry.
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2003: a momentous year for Turkey
By Mohammad Noureddine
The Daily Star, 1/11/03
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The year gone by was full of changes for
Turkey, ensuring that the one ahead will be full of challenges and
testifying both to the country’s enduring dynamism and its many
contradictions. Mohammad Noureddine is an analyst on Turkish affairs.
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Arab
Americans' struggle in the US
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No ‘smoking gun’ in Iraq doesn’t mean
no war An Arab press
review, By The Daily Star, 1/11/03
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The mixed verdict on Baghdad’s compliance
with UN disarmament requirements delivered by chief weapons inspector Hans
Blix gets a mixed reception in the Arab press.
Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent Al-Jazeerah's. |
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