This ain't my first rodeo

The Unbelivable Duplicity of "Grass Roots" Anti-Health Care Reform "Movement"

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 23:40:00 +0000

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

August 10, 2009 -- SPECIAL REPORT. "The Congresswoman and the Turkish Lobby sexual blackmail ring" - Wayne Madsen

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 23:25:00 +0000

The following is an updated special report by Wayne Madsen, published here with his permission, on the deposition given by Sibel Edmonds in Washington D.C. yesterday (August 8, 2009). His original story follows this update.

[WMR is publishing its 10 August issue a day earlier because of the breaking nature over the weekend of the story involving the American Turkish Council blackmail of Rep. Jan Schakowsky, a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence].

WMR previously reported that Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a close ally of President Barack Obama and his chief of staff, former Representative Rahm Emanuel, who, like Schakowsky, represented a Chicago district, was sexually blackmailed by a lesbian prostitute who worked for the American Turkish Council (ATC).

The ATC and its affiliated Turkish government lobbying organizations were cited by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds in her deposition in an Ohio Election Commission complaint filed by Representative Jean Schmidt (R-OH) against her 2008 opponent, David Krikorian, over statements by Krikorian that Schmidt received financial support from the Turkish lobby in the United States. Edmonds was subpoenaed for a deposition in the case in support of Krikorian's allegations that the Turkish Lobby has wielded tremendous influence over U.S. policymakers like Schmidt in Congress. After raising objections to Edmonds's testimony, pursuant to a state secret gag order imposed by then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, neither the Justice Department nor the FBI moved to block Edmonds's statements at her deposition on August 8 in Washington, DC.

WMR has received additional confirmation from a high-level Congressional source that Schakowsky regularly engaged in a lesbian sexual tryst at a Washington DC townhouse with a female employee of the ATC. WMR previously reported that law enforcement sources told us that the tryst location was bugged by a Turkish surveillance team that recorded the encounters. The recordings were later used to blackmail Schakowsky into backing away from supporting Armenian genocide resolution initiatives in the House. The surveillance operation was so complex, a second surveillance team monitored the primary team to ensure the bugging devices were properly installed before what the FBI called the "hooking process" commenced.

WMR has obtained from a law enforcement source the first name of the ATC employee but we are withholding it from release to protect the privacy of someone who may have been forced into the prostitution situation by Turkish intelligence officers.

WMR has been informed that another Democratic member of the House was contacted in 2006 by a controversial web journalist who ostensibly represents the "progressive" community and who is a competitor of WMR. The journalist inquired as to whether the member had heard anything about Schakowsky having a lesbian affair with a possible foreign intelligence operative. The member replied no but would ask Schakowsky in private about it during their next meeting. The member met with Schakowsky in the Chicago Democrat's House office and stated: "Jan, you know sometimes that in our position we are often put into the position of doing things that we normally would not do."

Upon hearing that, Schakowsky appeared to understand what was being intimated and she threw her head back and became very upset. Schakowsky then replied that she did not care about the situation because she was "getting in good with the leadership." At the time, Dennis Hastert, who was also alleged to have received bribes from the Turkish Lobby, was Speaker of the House.

The latest information received by WMR appears to indicate that Hastert was well aware of the sexual blackmail by Turkish intelligence agents being used against Schakowsky and that he approved of it.

The House member who was contacted by the journalist later told the journalist that Schakowsky had been contacted and that "she seemed to understand the issue and was quite upset about it," adding she "tried to get in with the leadership." The journalist, who is supportive of Israeli policies, never revealed Schakowsky's name but appeared to be involved in a fishing expedition to see what other members of the House knew about Schakowsky's situation at the time.

The member was appalled at Schakowsky's explanation because the member considered her to be a "soul mate" on issues ranging from opposition to the Iraq war -- Schakowsky had opposed the Iraq War Resolution -- to private military contractors and U.S. Israeli policy. Schakowsky was a founding member of the Out-of-Iraq Caucus.

The member stated that after the encounter over the "lesbian" issue, Schakowsky
"went quiet" on all her signature issues, including her vocal opposition to the role of private military contractors, adding that she became very hawkish in support of Israel.

The member felt that Schakowsky was "set up" by the Turkish Lobby, working in concert with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), to "control her." The member also said that Schakowsky noticeably "backed off" many issues, including the role of private military companies.

In January 2007, after the Democrats captured the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi appointed Schakowsky to be a member of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Currently, Schakowsky is chair of the House Select Committee on Intelligence's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations -- which puts her in a conflict-of-interest in investigating Turkish and related Israeli intelligence penetration of the FBI and State Department, as stated under oath by Edmonds, and the paying of bribes by Turkish government interests to current and former members of Congress.

WMR has also learned from congressional sources that Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich was aware of Schakowsky's "problems" and that he resisted pressure from Obama and Emanuel to appoint Schakowsky to Obama's vacant Senate seat. When Blagojevich signaled he was going to appoint someone other than Schakowsky to the seat, the joint Israeli and Turkish lobbies, in addition to Emanuel, arranged for U.S. Attorney for Northern Illinois Patrick Fitzgerald to receive a green light to arrest Blagojevich even before any federal corruption indictments were handed down by a grand jury. Blagojevich was later impeached by the Illinois House and removed from office by the state senate. An indictment on multiple counts was later handed down by a federal grand jury.

WMR has previously reported that Fitzgerald dragged his feet on the investigation of the leak by the Bush White House of the covert identities of CIA officer Valerie Plame Wilson and her Brewster Jennings & Associates cover firm. Fitzgerald, WMR is told, was trying to limit damaging exposure to the nuclear smuggling operation that involved the Turkish and Israeli Lobbies and Turkish MIT and Israeli Mossad intelligence operations. Mrs. Wilson and her team were apparently narrowing in on the Turks and Israelis in nuclear smuggling around the world. The key U.S. government players in outing Brewster Jennings were named by Edmonds in her deposition.

August 10, 2009 -- SPECIAL REPORT. The Congresswoman and the Turkish Lobby sexual blackmail ring - Wayne Madsen Report (9 August 2009)

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20090809

http://snipurl.com/pjaiv

Original Story Published on WMR on 08/09/09:

August 8-9, 2009 -- BREAKING NEWS. SPECIAL REPORT. Turkish government blackmailed sitting member of House of Representatives

Ohio Election Commission officials and lawyers representing Ohio Democratic House of Representatives candidate David Krikorian and incumbent Ohio Republican Representative Jean Schmidt heard testimony Saturday morning and afternoon from former FBI Turkish and Farsi translator Sibel Edmonds in a case brought against Krikorian by incumbent Republican Representative Jean Schmidt. Schmidt alleges in her complaint to the commission that Krikorian made "false statements" in his 2008 independent race against Schmidt. The commission subpoenaed Edmonds in the case, Schmidt v. Krikorian and the deposition was held at the offices of the National Whistleblowers Legal Defense and Education Fund in Georgetown, Washington, DC.

According to sources attending the deposition, Edmonds testified that while she was working as a translator for the FBI she was aware of bribes being made by the Turkish government to elected and former members of Congress, as well as senior officials of the executive branch, including the Department of State.

The Eric Holder Justice Department attempted to block Edmonds's testimony and said it considered the subpoenaed testimony by the Ohio Election Commission to be void since it was conducted in the District of Columbia and not Ohio. However, no Justice Department or FBI representatives attended the deposition by Edmonds as had been previously expected. Edmonds has been blocked from revealing the nature of the Turkish espionage and bribery ring by a State Secret gag order that was imposed by Attorney General John Ashcroft. There is uncertainty as to whether the Holder Justice Department will block release of Edmonds's testimony transcript and video.

After Edmonds was fired from her FBI job after she complained to her superiors about Turkish intelligence infiltration of the translation branch of the bureau, she was exonerated in a report by the FBI's Inspector General. Her allegations were also supported by senior members of the U.S. Senate.

Edmonds's testimony under oath revealed that the American Turkish Council (ATC), which has been cited by a number of informed observers as a sister organization of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), paid bribes to a number of members of the House of Representatives in return for opposing the Armenian genocide resolution as well as providing other legislative assistance to Turkish special interests. Other Turkish organization in the United States named in the bribery scandal is the Assembly of Turkish American Assoiactions (ATAA).

WMR has learned that attorneys for Schmidt objected to most of Edmonds's statements.

Named as recipients of Turkish government bribes are, in addition to Schmidt, former House Speakers Dennis Hastert (R-IL), Dick Gephardt (D-MO), and brief House Speaker Robert Livingston (R-LA), as well as Representative Dan Burton (R-IN) and former Representative Stephen Solarz (D-NY). Also named are Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Adviser under George H. W. Bush and Gerald Ford and former George W. Bush State Department Political Undersecretary Marc Grossman.

Edmonds's testimony also dealt with the involvement of the Rand Corporation with the Turkish espionage and bribery operations in the United States. Edmonds's testimony also dealt with Turkish and Israeli joint operations to engage in smuggling nuclear technology from the United States. In particular, the Turkish espionage and influence-peddling ring was heavily involved in the Bush White House "outing" the covert identities of CIA counterproliferation officer Valerie Plame Wilson and her Brewster Jennings & Associates non-official CIA cover firm. WMR has learned from another informed source that the nuclear smuggling operations also involved Israel PhD students at American universities and research firms.

The Turkish operations also involved the U.S. corporate media, which was pressured by the Turkish organizations not to cover the Armenian genocide issue.

Krikorian, in a statement during a break in the deposition, said that based on what he heard, such criminality "should not be tolerated in the land of the free and home of the brave," adding that what he heard constitutes "high crimes against the U.S. government."

Perhaps the most explosive part of the deposition involved the Turkish government being engaged in a sexual blackmail operation against a sitting member of the House of Representative. In what the FBI termed a "hooking process," an ATC female operative enticed a female member of the House into a lesbian sexual encounter at a Washington, DC townhouse. A Turkish intelligence surveillance team had placed surveillance bugs throughout the townhouse, including the bedroom and captured the lesbian tryst on tape, according to Edmonds's testimony. To ensure the surveillance team successfully completed its technical surveillance operation, another Turkish operational team was present outside the townhouse to make sure the surveillance team carried out its task.

After the surveillance recordings were made known to the House member, she changed her support for the Armenian genocide resolution and announced her opposition to it.

The identity of the House member in question was not revealed during the deposition by Edmonds. However, WMR has learned from another informed source that it is Representative Jan Schakowsky (D-IL), a strong supporter of AIPAC and Israel and a close political ally of President Obama and his chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

The first sexual encounter between Schakowsky and the Turkish lesbian prostitute reportedly occurred at a vulnerable time for Schakowsky, just after her mother's death. The first sexual encounter was followed by numerous others, according to U.S. law enforcement sources.

To her credit, Schakowsky has been a vocal opponent of private military contractors and the lack of government oversight of their activities, especially in Latin American and Iraq.

Informed Ohio political sources report that Schmidt's complaint against Krikorian has resulted in unforeseen "blow-back" with the Edmonds testimony and that Schmidt is under significant pressure to drop her complaint against Krikorian lest more damaging information is revealed about members of both the Republican and Democratic parties.

Schakowsky is a Chief Democratic Deputy Whip in the House and a member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. She is married with grown children and was mentioned as a possible replacement to fill Obama's Illinois Senate seat. She has also been mentioned as a possible Senate candidate in 2010 to replace tainted Senator Roland Burris.

The revelations about Schakowsky will not come as good news to Democrats in Illinois, already buffeted by scandals involving indicted and impeached Governor Rod Blagojevich and ethics issues involving Burris, Obama's replacement in the Senate. However, the Turkish bribery scandal is bipartisan with Hastert also implicated in bribe taking.
August 8-9, 2009 -- BREAKING NEWS. SPECIAL REPORT. Turkish government blackmailed sitting member of House of Representatives - Wayne Madsen Report (9 August 2009)

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/articles/20090808_1

http://snipurl.com/pgeev

Dennis Kucinich: During 2006 Stanford Investigation, SEC Told to "Stand Down" by "Unnamed Federal Agency"

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 18:51:00 +0000

"As Chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommitee, I have sent a letter to the SEC asking for documents that relate to [the NY Times] report that they were told to 'stand down' rather than enforce the law against the Stanford Group going back to 2006. If this is true - and this is an official that is quoted - then we have the beginnings here of a massive scandal and we've got to get to the bottom of it," says Congressman Dennis Kucinich on Fox Business.

In fact, all indications are that Allen Stanford [pictured left] has been investing drug cartel money with CIA involvement. The CIA/DEA may have been taxing the Latin American "plazas," investing the "revenues" and using the dividends to fund covert operations. They even may have been raiding the fund, but this is conjecture based upon the CIA's notorious sense of entitlement and longstanding maverick attitude.

As mentioned in the interview, this is all reminiscent of the Iran-Contra Affair and the drug trafficking allowed by then Vice President George H. W. Bush during the Reagan years, a scheme concocted by the Contras themselves in order to fund their right-wing counterrevolution in Nicaragua [cf. Dark Alliance, by Gary Webb].

This same organizational structure has been indicated in the Afghanistan to Turkey opium/heroin pipeline revealed by Sibel Edmonds and Valery Plame, a fact that was suppressed with the cooperation of the mainstream media during the Bush Administration but reported by the Times OnLine in the U.K. Agencies now under the Homeland Security umbrella continue to "tax" the flow of drugs through the "plazas" (choke points like Michoacán, Antigua & Barbuda, the West African narco-state of Guinea-Bissau and other African nations).

From West Africa, drugs are then transported by the Russian-Israeli Mafia -- now partners in the Latin American drug trade -- into Europe, the Middle East and to Maldives before entering Mumbai, India, controlled by former CIA asset, now gangster and drug lord, Dawood Ibrahim.

The transfer point between the Latin American cartels and the Russian-Israeli Mafia is Antigua & Barbuda and other Caribbean Islands where Allen Stanford operates offshore banking activities. He has been accused by the FBI of operating money laundering activities for the drug underworld, but it is now becoming apparent, as Dennis Kucinich is insinuating, that Stanford may have a deeper involvement than that of investment banker, one that involves "deep cover" and perhaps a "taxman" status for which the DEA and CIA have become notorious since the days of Iran-Contra.

That CIA is using their underworld "tax revenues" to invest in stocks and money market funds in order to fund covert operations with the dividends is not outside the realm of the possible. And this may explain why "an unnamed agency" of the federal government stepped in to squelch the investigation of Stanford by the SEC in 2006.

There is much more to this story than has been revealed. Mexican President Felipe Calderón [pictured right] become suspect because of his efforts to eliminate the Gulf Cartel and the Sinaloa Cartel, allowing Michoacán room to breath and to consolidate control of the flow of cocaine from Colombia, Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru and Chili. From Michoacán's Pacific coast, the cocaine is then shipped north to the Sinaloa plaza before transport into the U.S. West Coast region, or it is transported across the narrow isthmus of Mexico for shipment to Antigua and Barbuda for redistribution into the American South, Southeast and Eastern Seaboard. Oil platforms in the Gulf of Mexico, some of which were established by the Bush family owned Zapata offshore oil interests, are used as drop-off points for smaller packages and then delivered by fast boats to points along the American Gulf Coast.

Both northern state cartels, the Tamaulipas (Gulf) and Sinaloa, have been involved in a war for control of the state of Michoacán, Calderón's base of power and home state. In 2006, Calderón received help from Karl Rove in engineering a close election, in which accusations of election fraud still persist.

We commend Representative Dennis Kucinich for his continuing efforts to address corruption in government, a task for which he is getting little support from his peers. Few in Congress have his courage. For that matter, few in Congress enjoy his level of independence from the "power lobbies" that run Washington -- I'll leave it at that.

~*~

Ron Paul's "What If" Speech

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sat, 14 Feb 2009 20:37:00 +0000

I don't agree with him on domestic policy. I'm a Progressive. But Ron Paul's questions regarding American foreign policy are profoundly insightful.

~*~

ACLU Action Alert; Investigate Reeves County Detention Center in West Texas

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 19:20:00 +0000

ACTION ALERT: Investigate RCDC

TAKE ACTION: Contact the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Justice

The first two paragraphs below are supplied by the ACLU to be used in your plea if you choose. The paragraphs that follow [edited] were added by a former employee of The GEO Group, a private prison contractor who has become notorious for abuse and neglect at dozens of its facilities worldwide.

Please help these inmates. They are being exploited, neglected and abused by a corporatist system whose bottom line in profit. Moneys that should be applied to food and medical services, as well as rehabilitative educational programs, are being redirected to the company and county coffers. In the meantime, the human rights of these people (in this case non-violent foreign nationals being held in minimum security until their time is served after which they are deported) are being ignored. --editor

To the Inspector General, U.S. Department of Justice:

As you are aware, RCDC, a federal Bureau of Prisons-contracted facility, has been the site of two multi-day riots since mid-December. Reports of inadequate medical care and other substandard conditions have been cited as a possible cause for both incidents.

One riot at any facility is troubling and rare, and because RCDC has been the site of two such incidents in as many months there is legitimate concern that serious problems within the facility may exist.

I used to work there, I know. But as a counselor I was seen as a "bleeding heart liberal." ALL of the money budgeted for substance abuse was diverted. I had zero funds to work with. I was even asked to provide fraudulent figures on the curriculum-based classes that were recommended by the federal contract, yet The GEO Group refused to purchase the specified curriculum with the excuse that our "local contract" permitted such leeway -- and even more basically, because the incarcerated population consisted of foreign nationals, not U.S. Citizens. Why then did they want me to commit fraud regarding the documentation of these classes?

Inmates used to complain to me that the night shift of corrections officers refused to come to their cells when inmates were pleading for emergency medical assistance. There were many medical emergencies exacerbated by this negligence -- as well as two deaths that I am aware of -- between 2004 and 2008, the time I worked there. The company made promises to address the inmates' issues, including food and recreation, yet nothing ever changed. Their unenlightened excuse was that these are foreign nationals and the taxpayers did not want to invest in rehabilitating foreigners. They were often accused of malingering but nothing could excuse the company's failure to investigate a crisis.

In a local television interview this morning, Sheriff Andy Gomez stated that these detainees receive better medical services than the general population of the town -- that "The GEO Group is doing a good job." Ironically, this is reminiscent of George W. Bush's remark in the wake of the Katrina debacle, "Good job, Brownie!" Incredulously, the sheriff even stated that the dental services were superior despite the fact that a dentist only comes in once a week and has time to see only 3-4 patients from a long waiting list. His disingenuous attempt at damage control comes after two weeks of stonewalling. Sheriff Gomez was simply repeating the sound bites given to him. Gomez, as well as the county commission on whose behalf he was speaking, is part of the problem -- Reeves County must share the cost for all these services -- they have been complicit in this gross medical neglect.

I urge you to investigate not only by interviewing current and former staff members; but also, by interviewing the inmates themselves. For obvious reasons, please do it in a way that protects their confidentiality. The privatization of prison services has led to abuse and neglect and the attitude of "warehousing" a population of human beings whose well being is sacrificed for the "bottom line."

TAKE ACTION:
Contact the Office of the Inspector General at the U.S. Department of Justice

~*~

Foreign Nationals Riot Again at Reeves County Detention Center: Claim Ongoing Medical Neligence

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 01:42:00 +0000

Prison under control after 10-hour riot
(Not what I'm hearing)
Stephanie Sanchez / El Paso Times Staff
Posted: 02/02/2009 12:00:00 AM MST

EL PASO -- A riot at the Reeves County Detention Center in Pecos [Texas] was under control 10 hours after it started and no injuries were reported, a Reeves County Sheriff's Office dispatcher said Sunday.

At about 2 p.m. Sunday, dispatch personnel said the situation was under control but it was still unknown what prompted the riot. During the riot, inmates set fires to the booking room, kitchen, infirmary and other areas of the detention center that houses as many as 2,080 inmates.

About 700 inmates were transported to a Sierra Blanca detention center for housing because sleep quarters were destroyed. Dispatch personnel said no injuries were reported, but several news accounts state three inmates were hospitalized.

The detention center, which is about 260 miles east of El Paso, is a low security level facility. This is the second violent outbreak in two months.

The GEO Group is lying to the press about this riot. They know very well what caused it. It is not the first or the second or the third time inmates have rioted over medical negligence. This is ongoing. I used to work there. They have failed medical audit after federal audit. The detainees are begging for medical services and are not getting them. They are sometimes ignored outright by lazy, under-staffed, overworked, over-tired, stressed out corrections officers who sometimes refuse to go to their cell-doors to even hear their complaints. Or, when they put in a written request, they are put on a long waiting list for services while they continue to suffer. The medical department is under funded and under-staffed. Dental services are nearly non-existent. The dentist only comes once a week and only sees from 3-5 patients. If an inmate has an abscess he is likely to suffer for days or weeks. The last riot (in December) occurred when an inmate died under conditions of neglect despite pleas for help in the night. He was ignored.

The bottom line for The GEO Group is the Almighty Dollar.

There are two major factors that lead to recidivism: poor education (including job skills) and a history of substance abuse. When I worked there as a CD Counselor my budget was ZERO. The Education budget had been slashed as well. They had no vocational training whatsoever. Medical services bordered on "crimes against humanity."

All of this is due to the "redirection" of funds by The GEO Group and by Reeves County officials at the local level, funds that have been allocated by the Feds for these vital rehabilitative services but never make it to target services that only operate as shells. Indeed, the federal government is funding a multimillion dollar shell game perpetrated by the private prison industry not just in Pecos but all over the country. To say there is poor oversight by federal contract monitors falls short of the reality. GEO is extremely well connected in Washington. I'd bet dollars to bananas that the local maintenance kick-backs that began in Pecos ten-years ago are still going on. And the food stinks.

This is Billy Sol Estes country. Some things never change.

Local administrators rationalize the abuse and neglect of those they warehouse by pointing out that the detainees are "foreign nationals" and don't deserve the amenities afforded to incarcerated U.S. citizens -- that "the taxpayers don't want to feed, house, treat and pay for 'illegal aliens' to get an education they'll just take back to their foreign countries." But the truth is that their "redneck reasoning" is used to justify or enable corporatist profiteering.

Administrators of private prisons do not care about rehabilitation; they WANT recidivism. Dick Cheney is a major share holder in private prisons and every other government service he could privatize. The GEO Group has been involved in scandal after "riotous" scandal yet they keep getting contracts. "Follow the money."

Obama says he wants to bring change yet he hasn't said a word about the privatization of government services that went on under Bush and Cheney [READ: Corporatism & Cronyism].

View Larger Map
Reeves County Detention Center, Pecos, Texas
Run by The GEO Group

~

For Gaza and for Israel: "From a Distance"

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 25 Jan 2009 06:40:00 +0000

From a distance the world looks blue and green,
and the snow-capped mountains white.
From a distance the ocean meets the stream,
and the eagle takes to flight.

From a distance, there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
It's the voice of hope, it's the voice of peace,
it's the voice of every man.

From a distance we all have enough,
and no one is in need.
And there are no guns, no bombs, and no disease,
no hungry mouths to feed.

From a distance we are instruments
marching in a common band.
Playing songs of hope, playing songs of peace.
They're the songs of every man.
God is watching us. God is watching us.
God is watching us from a distance.

From a distance you look like my friend,
even though we are at war.
From a distance I just cannot comprehend
what all this fighting is for.

From a distance there is harmony,
and it echoes through the land.
And it's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves,
it's the heart of every man.

It's the hope of hopes, it's the love of loves.
This is the song of every man.
And God is watching us, God is watching us,
God is watching us from a distance.
Oh, God is watching us, God is watching.
God is watching us from a distance.

The Truth About Isareli War Crimes

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Israel is thwarting the efforts of the International Red Cross and the UN relief mission in the Gaza:

I. Alex Thompson Interview:

II. Alex Thompson Interview:

Proof of Infanticide:

Inside AIPAC's Pocket; Obama's Hypocrisy:

George Galloway 1309 Truth About Israel:

Cynthia McKinney Speaks at Washington D.C. Rally 01-10-09:

No Bravery

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:16:00 +0000

Counter Insurgency Warfare: Mistakes in The Gaza

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 22:57:00 +0000

I just wrote an editorial/book review for Amazon.com on the military manual, Counterinsurgency Warfare; Theory and Practice, by David Galula, with a forward by General David Petraeus [pictured at left]. Lacking other more significant resources, the book review/editorial is my heartfelt attempt to help support the suffering Palestinian civilians of the Gaza. I've also posted it to my FaceBook site. The review follows:

If Israel would employ this strategy [detailed in the book] in dealing with Hamas, Hezbollah and Fatah, I am convinced they would be able to achieve a lasting peace with the Palestinians. The ultimate goal of an effective counterinsurgency is to win the hearts and minds of the people themselves -- to establish yourself as the protector of the people in turning the tide against terrorism and the urban guerrillas who exploit the civilian population and endanger their lives and well being by hiding among them.

General David Petraeus has already offered his expertise to the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and has toured the Middle East, visiting Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinians themselves. Indeed, Petraeus is the world's foremost expert actively working in the field of counterinsurgency technology [which includes law enforcement technology] and wrote the forward to the latest edition of this classic. He now uses it to train the American military and its principles became the foundation of the 2007 "Surge" in Iraq, which has miraculously begun to achieve stability there despite initial doubts expressed by Petraeus himself that it was already too late to win in Iraq after Rumsfeld's brutal policies radicalized the entire region and turned the civilian population against "The Great American Satan."

Currently, the IDF is conducting a high-muscled conventional military strategy in The Gaza that hopes to produce short-term gains against the Hamas insurgents; but despite their aspirations, this strategy will only further entrench the Israelis in the continued long-term struggle that has been the hallmark of their violent relationship with the Palestinians.

Rumsfeld's strategy in destroying Fallujah twice over with air strikes and heavy artillery is the classic example of this self-defeating brutality based on the principles of conventional Post-Nepolianic modern European warfare. Israel's debacle in South Lebanon in 2006 is another. They laid cluster bombs in carpeted attacks attempting to clear out the population of South Lebanon and thus create a safe zone wherein there would be no civilian population among whom Hezbollah could hide. The strategy was a humanitarian and political disaster. Mossad-trained Georgian troops recently unsuccessfully employed such brutality in South Ossetia, attempting to roll-up the civilian population and send them northward into exile in Russia and then following-up with bulldozers to destroy South Ossetian habitations in order to discourage their return -- just as Isreal did in South Lebanon and in the West Bank. The Russian military intervened in South Ossetia and was much more humane in their treatment of Georgia, leaving egg on the faces of the CIA and the Bush Administration who sponsored the debacle in an overreaching attempt to secure the oil and gas pipelines from the Caspian at Baku to the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

The fact that Israel refuses to deploy the more functional and civilian-friendly counterinsurgency promoted by Galula, Petraeus and other counterinsurgency experts can only indicate one tragic conclusion -- that Israel intends to hang onto a quixotic and archaic strategy of expansionism perpetrated against the native Palestinians, one institutionalized in the 50s by the government of David Ben-Gurion and maintained to this day. The strategy is grounded in early 20th century Zionism with a grandiose but painfully understandable goal, given the tragic history of the Jews throughout European history, of recreating the ancient Davidic Kingdom of a "Greater Israel" beyond the current piecemeal boundaries they've achieved in establishing a Jewish homeland by elbowing and walling the Palestinians out. Despite their feined idealism, the continued stubborn use of this strategy by Israel has led to polarization and radicalization of the native populations in the Middle East, resulting in the stridently Jihadist Islamism we see today taking over the region.

The United States alone has the influence and responsibility to insist this effective counterinsurgency strategy upon Israel in the interest of a lasting peace in the region. Again, its hallmark is its overall goal of winning the hearts and minds of the people themselves, winning friends and influencing enemies. Yet, American politicians continue to speak of "surges" in conventional military terms without having a clue as to their function and operational execution. The American people, who overwhelmingly support Israel's right of statehood, are even more disinformed by a strident Israel Lobby that leans hard on the American media.

This book should be read by every member of Congress, by Obama's new Chief-of-Staff and dual citizen Rham Emmanuel, by Obama's National Security Adviser General James L. Jones, by Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, by Barack Obama and Joseph Biden themselves and by every member of the Israel Lobby who are so obsessed with the security of Israel that they don't see the solution right here under their noses.

NOTE: For a concise understanding of the situaltion in the Gaza, I strongly recommend the recent article by Richard Falk, "Understainding the Gaza Catastrophy," posted to The Huffington Post. Falk is the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in the Palestinian Territories and writes a very objective analyses.

AFTERWORD: Although I firmly believe in Satyagraha as means, I wrote the above review of "Counterinsurgency Warfare," because it encourages a more humane military perspective than that currently utilized by the IDF in the Gaza. This is a strategy designed to win the hearts and minds of the people as it works against insurgents such as Hamas who would exploit civilians and put the lives of innocents at risk.

This is a strategy that Israel resists but one that is required for peaceful coexistence. The fact that the IDF refuses to employ this more humane approach -- now the accepted standard in counterinsurgency warfare -- reveals Israel's ulterior, violently expansionist strategy of imposed Zionism.

EVERYONE, particularly activists, journalists, members of Congress and the Obama Administration, should read this brief manual on the humanitarian treatment of civilian populations caught-up in this conflict. It is imperative that we get the word out that the IDF has been offered a humane alternative they are rejecting.

~ ~ ~
This book review has been cross-posted to:
Southern Perspectives, my blog at Open Salon, a member feature of Salon.com
and also to: TPM Cafe at Talking Points Memo
~

Goodnight Mumbai

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 06:34:00 +0000

And goodnight to George Harrison where ever you are.

John F. Kenney On an Open Society

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 01:04:00 +0000

~*~

Blackwater Exploiting Piracy Crisis off the Coast of Somalia

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 19:39:00 +0000

Here is some breaking news that may indicate why the US Navy announced this week that "it can't be everywhere" and therefore chose not to intervene in the Saudi Oil Tanker Incident:

Blackwater Gunboats to Protect Ships From Pirates.

The American security company Blackwater is planning to cash in on the rising threat of piracy by launching a flotilla of gunboats for hire by shipping companies.

The firm, which gained international notoriety when its staff killed civilians in Iraq, has already equipped one vessel, the McArthur, which will carry up to 40 armed guards and have a landing pad for an attack helicopter.

The McArthur, a former survey ship, arrives in the Gulf of Aden, the scene of high-profile hijackings and shootouts with Somali pirates, at the end of the year.

It is to be joined by three or four similar vessels over the next year to form the company's private navy.

We saw this coming over the last couple of months, long before piracy off the Somali coast was pushed by the press as "a problem":

"We'll Fight Those Bad Ol' Somali Pirates for You"

"Blackwater Worldwide today announced that its 183-foot ship, the McArthur, stands ready to assist the shipping industry as it struggles with the increasing problem of piracy in [Somalia's] Gulf of Aden," the firm says in a statement. "As a company founded and run by former Navy SEALs, with a 50,000-person database of former military and law enforcement professionals, Blackwater is uniquely positioned to assist the shipping industry."

Somali pirates have hit commercial vessels 100 times, just in this year. The U.S. Navy and its allies have admitted than they don't have a big enough fleet to ensure every ship's safety. So ship owners are now reaching out to Blackwater for protection, according to Executive Vice President Bill Matthews.

It's not exactly a brand-new idea. Mercenaries have been battling pirates for a good eight centuries, off and on. Back in 2005, the Somali government tried to hire a U.S. security contractor for maritime protection -- only to have the company fall victim to scandal. This June, there were conflicting reports that a French security outfit had won a $150 million deal to take the American firm's place. One U.S. admiral even joined in the pirate-fighting mercenary chorus, allegedly. But it "raises more legal issues than anyone could possibly count."

Meanwhile, Blackwater is looking for new income streams, as its business protecting diplomats and executives in Iraq looks increasingly fragile. Blackwater employees are protecting missile interceptors in Japan, schooling Taiwan's secret police, and rescuing blonds in Kenya. The company is assembling a private fleet of airplanes, helicopters, and spy blimps. And let's not forget about Blackwater's work after Katrina in New Orleans. Maybe the company will get a chance to follow up another mess.

In fact, by the time they made that noble offer they had already begun remodeling light ships, such as the geophysical survey ship, The MacArthur seen in the photo, equipping them with heliports and quick offloading speedboats.

Blackwater's 183-foot vessel MacArthur underway. The ship is based in Norfolk with a 14-person crew, and is ready to deploy with small rigid-hull boats and helicopters to provide escort. (Blackwater photo)

Lieberman Must Go!

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 22:57:00 +0000

Alan Keyes Files Lawsuit Challenging Obama's Right to Serve

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 05:38:00 +0000

It's the birth certificate issue again.

Alan Keyes, 2008 American Independent Party candidate, filed a lawsuit in California Superior Court today challenging Barack Obama's right to serve under the Constitution that specifies that candidates for the presidency must be "natural born" citizens of the United States.

The suit demands that Obama produce a certificate of live birth from a hospital in Hawaii to prove his status as natural born. More specifically, the suit petitions the State of California and it's Secretary of State to withhold Californian's electoral votes from Obama at its meeting of electoral delegates in December unless he can provide documentary proof of his "natural born" status.

The suit asserts that the Hawaiian hospital that claims it holds the certificate on file but will not release it has not provided sufficient evidence to show proof of "natural born" citizenship. Under Hawaiian law, a birth certificate can be issued in Hawaii if the parents are citizens of Hawaii but the child does not actually have to be born in Hawaii. The suit asserts that if this was the basis for issuance of Obama's certificate it does not meet the requirement that he be a "natural born" citizen under the United States Constitution. Here is the portion of the petition for writ of mandate that makes that point of contention:

74. A press release was issued on October 31, 2008, by the Hawaii Department of Health by its Director, Dr. Chiyome Fukino. Dr. Fukino said that she had “personally seen and verified that the Hawaii State Department of Health has Senator Obama’s original birth certificate on record in accordance with state policies and procedures.” That statement failed to resolve any of the questions being raised by litigation and press accounts. Being “on record” could mean either that its contents are in the computer database of the department or there is an actual “vault” original.

75. Further, the report does not say whether the birth certificate in the “record” is a Certificate of Live Birth or a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth. In Hawaii, a Certificate of Live Birth resulting from hospital documentation, including a signature of an attending physician, is different from a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth. For births prior to 1972, a Certificate of Hawaiian Birth was the result of the uncorroborated testimony of one witness and was not generated by a hospital. Such a Certificate
could be obtained up to one year from the date of the child’s birth. For that reason, its value as prima facie evidence is limited and could be overcome if any of the allegations of substantial evidence of birth outside Hawaii can be obtained. The vault (long Version) birth certificate, per Hawaiian Statute 883.176 allows the birth in another State or another country to be registered in Hawaii. Box 7C of the vault Certificate of Live Birth contains a question, whether the birth was in Hawaii or another State or Country. Therefore, the only way to verify the exact location of birth is to review a certified copy or the original vault Certificate of Live Birth and compare the name of the hospital and the name and the signature of the doctor against the birthing records on file at the hospital noted on the Certificate of the Live Birth.

Adding to the controversy, a Video has been posted to YouTube that claims Obama was born in Kenya. Someone does not want this man to be president.

Here is a PDF copy of the lawsuit filed today in Superior Court of California, County of Sacramento. There are purportedly five other lawsuits pending that make the same challenge.

The rides not over. The Right-Wing didn't get to sing and its not over till their fat lady from the Wagnerian opera "does her thang."

Brünnhilde Palin

~*~

This breaking news report has been cross-posted to the writer's blog at:
Open Salon: Southern Perspectives

Obama Initiates 2012 Presidential Campaign; Selects Rahm Emanuel as Chief-of-Staff

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 02:33:00 +0000

Obama's caution in last night's victory speech that "change" will not happen all at once is not encouraging in the light of today's announcement of Rahm Emanuel's selection as chief of staff.

I. First, during the primaries, he tip-toed away from his commitment to Progressives to limit the influence of lobbyists. This is the bedrock of change; you simply cannot restore the Republic without limiting the influence of the lobbies.

The lobbies were the financial engine employed by Tom DeLay in the complete and utter destruction of the democratic process in the House of Representatives.

The largest of these is the Israel Lobby, followed by the National Rifle Association. Bankers and other corporatists employ a variety of lobbies but they were all being organized under the "K-Street Project"in Washington D.C. by the minions of Tom DeLay and his comrade in corruption, lobbyist organizer Jack Abramoff.

II. The second sign of the betrayal was Obama's surprise vote in favor of the renewal and upgrade of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) along with the immunity provision for the telecommunications companies, a provision that all but eliminates any hope that the National Security Agency (NSA) can be effectively investigated in their use of "offshore" telecom companies to spy on the American people.

Interestingly, the central telecoms involved, who NSA and the Neocon Pentagon wished to protect, were those "offshore" in Tel Aviv under private contract along with with Mossad and CIA sigintel crews operating on-site, among whom were telecoms involved in the intel that warned against the terrorist strikes on 9-11 but, as it is now alleged, were ignored by the Bush Administration leaving open the question of complicity by the Office of the Vice President in facilitating the attacks. If true, it opens the Bush Administration to charges of high treason and the use of terrorism against the American people as an act of (false-flag) provocation in order to initiate a region-wide war of adventurism in the middle east.

Obama had changed his mind to vote with the Bush Administration on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) literally over a weekend where he was under intense pressure from his Indiana colleague Rahm Emanuel and the threat from the McCain Campaign to use a no-vote as evidence that Obama is weak on security issues. Members of Congress were denied access by the Administration to a list of telecoms the immunity provision would affect, an unusual act of disrespect indicating a lack of trust and/or the desire for a guarded outcome by manipulation for the expected rubber stamp from a compliant, indeed possibly criminally complicit, Congress.

III. The third event in this time line happened almost immediately after the vote on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. He met with the Israeli Lobby, speaking before AIPAC and followed-up with a visit to Israel. All the while Joe Lieberman played the roll of yapping dog biting at the seat of his pants throughout this entire period of change.

From a progressive-pandering candidate of the people who recognized the paramount prerequisite of limiting lobbies and special interests in the great task of rescuing democracy from the plundering hands of the Corporatists and Neocons, Barack Obama moved under the Shadow of the wings of the Great Shades of the right-wing in what seemed like only weeks.

And now Obama wants us to accept Rahm Emanuel? The "pit-bull" of big-donor fund raising? The Jack Abramoff of the Democratic Party? The former Bill & Hillary Clinton "New Democrat" apparatchic? I'm sorry, that is just too in-your-face. And what separates Rahm Emanuel from Joe Lieberman is that Emanuel never had to change parties in order to overtly expedite his dual loyalties.

So going into an Obama Administration that touts change in Washington as well as the withdrawal of forces from Iraq, the very first appointment Obama makes is a cross between Jack Abramoff and Joe Lieberman with the added nuance that Emanuel served in the Israeli Defense Forces under wartime conditions, hails from a family of -- let's call his father a "Zionist paramilitary insurgent" to be kind -- and holds dual citizenship in both the United States and Israel.

This is a major red flag that cannot be ignored. There is more than naiveté going on here on the part of a president elect, unfamiliar with the nuances of foreign policy and the contrivances of K-Street who wishes to demonstrate loyalty to an extremely talented Chicago collegue. Here, in the minds of Progressives from every quarter, we have the suspicion of a sell-out that some suspect was planned from the very beginning and approved by the Israeli Lobby.

If indeed, this is part of some lobbyist conspiracy that Obama hasn't yet figured out, this is as sinister as it gets. If his appointment of Emanuel in predicated on a calulated political gamble that he will be able to control the volitile and aggressive Emanuel, Obama reveals himself as overly optomistic and prone to take unnecessary risk as the boldest members of the Kennedy dynasty. The selection of dual citizen Rahm Emanuel doesn't just smack of lobbies, it stinks to high heaven of APAC-Likud influence, of Bibi Netanyahu [on the right] and the extremist right-wing Zionism of Sheldon Adelson, the third richest man in America, 12th richest in the world, who sits on top of the largest money laundering operation in the world, the Las Vegas, Nevada, casino industry, which Adelson is using to fund the Netanyahu campaign in Israel.

Emanuel has already alienated himself from left-of-center Democratic stalwarts such as DNC Chairman Howard Dean and special issues philanthropist George Soros; although, their relationships were said to be on the mends going into the 2008 elections cycle. If former Clinton political adviser James Carville is still looking askance at Howard Dean, Dean can count the days before he is forced out since Obama's choice of Emanuel, if nothing else, indicates an alliance with the Clintons and their well-oiled political machine.

If the selection of Rahm Emanuel is indicative of Obama's current right-of-center political leanings, the betrayal by Obama of the Progressive Movement will not be undone soon, unless of course, Obama intuits that Progressives are part of a necessary coalition in order to insure a successful administration. And if the utility for personal exploitation is the criteria he imposes for his personnel and policy decissions, rather than the ideological needs for the restoration of republican democracy, then Obama will very quickly be defined by his detrectors as the pandering narcissist some Progressives have already projected upon his dubious character, given numerous instances of insencerity, avoidance of taking stands before he can determine what's in it for him personally and, of course, his betrayals.

Indeed, with this appointment, it may already be to late for Obama to placate the Democratic Left. The now predictable ouster of Howard Dean will confirm the betrayal yet again and the Progressive Movement may well turn again to its favored son, Howard Dean, for a future challenge to Obama.

Many in this country think that Israel controls American politics. They allow their antisemitism to drive their thinking from an emotional ground, one immersed in hate. It is just the opposite: The Zionist-Corporatist right-wing, its neoconservative aparatchicks in American government and a Zionist-Christianist American populist base controls Israeli politics.

More appropriately, we should describe it, as did Hillary, although indirectly, as a "vast right wing conspiracy," one that involves the largest of the lobbies that, in their aggregate, are responsible for the corruption of government with which Obama has pledged to change.

But "calling a spade a spade" doesn't go far enough. It's not just that the Israel Lobby is the largest of the lobbies and wields the most political power of any of the major lobbies simply by buying the candidates. It's not just that it implies an even greater risk to democracy that this lobby is dominated by internal right-wing forces of corporatism, shutting out the more moderate and progressive voices of the Jewish American community that seek to mitigate the extremist Zionism of their efforts. Even that seriously mendacious condition does not sound the alarms from "beyond the pale" as does the fact that this vastly powerful right-wing lobby, which has extended its tentacles via the interrelationship of the K-Street organization into virtually every lobbying wing in the United States, operates on behalf of the interests of a foreign nation -- a decidedly right-wing militarist foreign nation so paranoid for its existence as it render stability in the entire Middle East at risk with the coming ascension of its most extremest expression, the Likud Party under Benyamin Netanyahu.

And we didn't get enough of the Neocons with Scooter Libby, David Wolfowitz, David Wumzer, Elliott Abrams, Richard Perle and Douglas Feith?

My God, who will rescue us from these Corporatists and Neocons if not Obama? Does Obama have any idea what he's gotten himself into by making this apparent deal with the devil? Is this how he got elected. Did he cut a deal with them to get them not to commit election fraud against him? It this sounds over the top and I like a conspiracy theory fabulist, then you haven't been paying attention, dear reader.

Extending this discussion to the Vice President Elect, someone today said Joseph Biden is a good guy but also noted with caution that he proclaims himself to be a proud Zionist. Some would label Biden's pandering comments to Shalom TV the yammering of a politician. I confess that I don't know what to make of them.

But let's see, how long did it take? Obama was declared a winner last night around 11:00 PM and his announcement of Rahm Emanuel came at noon today! Let's hope he was only floating a name in order to gauge the American response. If that's the case, we should start making the phone calls first thing in the morning.

One thing seems predictable in Obama's strategy thus far: He is certain to avoid any decisions that threaten his current sweetheart relationship with the Isreal Lobby. If we can take him at his word when he warned last night in his victory speech from Grant Park in Chicago that we should not expect change to occurr overnight, we will see no change until he wins reelection in 2012, if then. His very first move, even before assuming office in January of 2009, was to initiate the reelection campaign of Obama-2012.

~*~

Will the Circle Be Unbroken? A Condolence

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 18:41:00 +0000

While I grieve and let go this evil that has possessed my soul for the past eight years, this cynical regime that exploited religion and instilled in me hatred for its leaders, I recall that even more immediately Barack Obama and his family will need time to let go and grieve as well -- that many of you here will experience a similar process and need a time to grieve.

Music is part of my family roots, particularly the music of the blue grass country and the Irish who carried it to these shores. It is a way through grief that opens the heart to spiritual healing.

My great-great grandfather watched the family plantation south of Atlanta burn while Sherman's soldiers poured molasses into my great grandmother's imported piano, breaking her heart and taking from her the final dignity.

One can sense the trauma and the defeat in my great-great grandfather's eyes in the family photo to the left. I am a son of the South, a grandson of her past tattered and defeated aristocracy. I know the suffering of a people enslaved and the people who enslaved them. The stories have burdened my conscience since childhood, even as racism continued to grip my family and I fought them.

I am a rebel against my extended family -- a true outsider, a man exiled from his own family traditions and yet I too have a mother whose memory lives on inside my grieving heart and because of her memory, my love for her, my respect for all those suffering and for Barack Obama's great victory tonight in the midst of his grief, a bitter-sweet victory, I offer this tribute from the hearts of people of the land, a land of the grasses that run blue in the springtime: A condolence to Barack Hussein Obama. May the lineage holders of all our parallel family narratives come together some day to sing a final dirge to The South and to the memories of family members we hold dear.

I regret deeply that Georgia did not join us tonight.

My grandfather was the Georgia state blue grass fiddle champion for so long they retired him and made him a judge so that the competition could continue before the contestants resigned. My father played on the radio for a time during the Great Depression. My youngest brother has the very fiddle that our great grandfather carried with him on military campaigns throughout the War Between the States. It was a bloody struggle. Some have still not surrendered.

For a Brief time in his youth, my father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan in Florida, one of the largest chapters in the South at the time. But when he was 19, having lied about his age in order to get a job as a bus driver busing the St. Louis Cardinals around during spring camp in Sarasota, the brakes on his bus went out on a regular run. He was unable to prevent his bus from plunging into a canal while traffic stopped ahead at a draw bridge. He was knocked unconscious. His porter, a young black man, went into the canal and pulled him out of the bus, saving his life. From that day, my father refused to attend another meeting of the Klan. I am so proud of him. He was named after Woodrow Wilson, one of the intellectual leaders of the Progressive Movement of the early 20th century.

Racism contaminated that movement.

Tonight looking at the electoral map, it is obvious to me that the war continues. The hatred lives on needlessly, tragically.

Ask yourself this: Who does this hatred benefit?

~*~

This narrative is crossposted to my blog at Open Salon:
Southern Perspectives; The Decline & Fall of the Southern Strategy

Obama Wins!

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 09:32:00 +0000

Can You Hear Them? They Are Tolling For This Great Land Tonight! They are Tolling For the Return of Freedom!

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:29:00 +0000

May the blessings of liberty ring across this great land tonight and recall us to the Light we once held above the night.

~*~

Pax Amerikana in Decline: The Plundering Continues

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 18:38:00 +0000

In the wake of the Great Depression, and after a half-century struggle between the American people and the corporatist robber barons who were plundering -- and continue to plunder -- the great American continent for its natural resources, Woodrow Wilson "Woody" Guthrie posited a radical populist notion in the American progressive conscience: "This land is your land; this land is my land."

This is a folksong that continues to intrude upon the American conscience, a conscience grown dim after having entrusted all responsibility for the land and it's management into the hands of a cynical right-wing who has continued to facilitate the personal fortunes of the robber barons -- their cronies -- while manipulating their base of conservative evangelicals and dominionists with the grandiose delusion that this generation is the last -- that these are the "End Times," and that, therefore, the environment is of no pressing concern.

To those not given to such delusions, they have proffered outright lies and denials about global warming, denigrated the honest work of scientists, exploited the Christianist fear of science, sought to distract attention from the reality of the Earth's great climatological crisis, covered up the devastations facilitated through "fair trade agreements," and have continued to facilitate the plundering and contamination of our forests, our waters, our oil and gas reserves and other natural resources held in common by the people of this great land and they've done it in the name of free market economy. They have enlisted the corporatist-owned resources of the mainstream media against us in doing so.

Now, under cover of the national elections, these duplicitous Amerikan Corporatists, led by Bush & Company, are currently attempting to slip one by us in the waning days of The Regime. This is a self-serving affront by the neoliberal oligarchy that Bush represents against Justice and the common good:

Bush Team Rushes Environment Policy Changes

By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent Mon Nov 3, 5:02 am ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – As the U.S. presidential candidates sprint toward the finish line, the Bush administration is also sprinting to enact environmental policy changes before leaving power.

Whether it's getting wolves off the Endangered Species List, allowing power plants to operate near national parks, loosening regulations for factory farm waste or making it easier for mountaintop coal-mining operations, these proposed changes have found little favor with environmental groups.

The one change most environmentalists want, a mandatory program to cut climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions, is not among these so-called "midnight regulations."

Bureaucratic calendars make it virtually impossible that any U.S. across-the-board action will be taken to curb global warming in this administration, though both Republican John McCain and Democrat Barack Obama have promised to address it if they win Tuesday's U.S. presidential election.

Even some free-market organizations have joined conservation groups to urge a moratorium on last-minute rules proposed by the Interior Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, among others.

[The article continues here]

The question remains: After we elect a new president, will he, Nancy Pelosi and a "Democratic" Congress allow the plundering and contamination of our economy, our natural resources and our very ecosystem to continue? Whose country is this, anyway?

~*~

Evita Palin

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 17:07:00 +0000

Tony Hillerman, Beloved Writer of Navajo Mystery Novels, Dies at 83

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:11:00 +0000

Acclaimed Author Tony Hillerman Dies at 83

By AMANDA LEE MYERS
The Associated Press
Monday, October 27, 2008; 1:57 AM

PHOENIX -- Tony Hillerman, author of the acclaimed Navajo Tribal Police mystery novels and creator of two of the unlikeliest of literary heroes -- Navajo police officers Joe Leaphorn and Jim Chee -- died Sunday of pulmonary failure. He was 83.

Story continues here

~ ~ ~

8-Years Later

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 05:29:00 +0000

Important Announcement from The National Association of Evangelicals, Dominionists & Pentecostalists

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sun, 26 Oct 2008 02:42:00 +0000

~ ~ ~

This Just Says it All

BaileyWu@mztv.net (Bailey Wu Xiang) — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 20:32:00 +0000

Dedicated to Matt Drudge
who broke the story without investigating

~