Sunday, February 27, 2011

'ensuring a smooth transition’ or keeping the status quo?

As I’ve watched events unfold across Africa to the Middle East there are many
things that I do not know. But, these things I believe; that it was that the oppression, poverty unemployment and quality of life were so bad that the
Tunisian, and then the Egyptian people rose up determined to make a change.
Life was unbearable, and people naturally want, at the very minimum a better
chance for their children.

For the masses of young people they have already seen in their short
lives the unfairness of the systems under which they live. And youth, feel
and have it within them the desire and determination to end the injustice.
Youth have the most to gain or lose depending upon whether or not they succeed
in changing a corrupt and unjust social order. They have seen that whilst they
live in poverty, and are oppressed to maintain that order those in power live
lives of luxury.

I am not Tunisian, nor Egyptian so I cannot write as knowledgeable or eloquently as my brothers and sisters who took part in those events as to the reasons behind their actions. And, each person is different. But, I wished
that I were Tunisian or Egyptian as I watched from afar.

But, I am American (though I’ve resided outside of the country since 1997),
and I’m an American with certain unique experiences and learning. It is estimated that about nine million Americans were in military uniform during the Vietnam War (Aug. 5, 1964- May 7, 1973). This was out of twenty-seven (27) American million
men who were of draft age during that period, and eligible for service. About 2.8 million served in Vietnam. Out of these about 1.6 million were in combat units, or exposed to hostile fire. That’s about 0.177% of all those who went to Vietnam were in combat; a very small minority.

This means that only about of all males in the United States during the War years only about 0.6% experienced combat. We are a minority, and different from the
rest of the population. For me, the effects of combat were that I spent much of
the first three years trying to anesthetize myself with alcohol and drugs;
anything that would blot out the pain that I brought home as a result of what
I saw, experienced, witnessed and did in Vietnam.

But, my war experiences drove me to find out the truth about the war,
and what my government did and does across the world in the name of freedom
and democracy. One of the first to open my eyes was Professor Chris Nteta an anti-apartheid activist from South Africa.

I read everything that I could get my hands on about US military
involvement abroad. At college I took many courses in African-American
studies which helped to understand the truth of my country. There was a
gaping hole between the professed values of freedom and democracy and the
reality of my country’s actions at home and abroad.

I was proud to be a member of the Revolutionary Student Brigade RSB at
Boston State College from 1974 through 1977, and a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War VVAW since 1974.

America was founded upon the genocide of its Native peoples, and it
was built upon the slave labour of millions of Africans brought to America
in chains…to the Land of the Free and the Home
of the Brave.

Michael Collins a leader of the Irish War of Independence understood
that the oppressive British Occupation rested upon intelligence; it was vital
to the rule of the British, and his contribution to the War was to wipe out
their best intelligence networks. The rule of any oppressive regime is not
just held up by armed forces, but by intelligence networks or agencies.

Some of the most criminal and terrorist networks that exist today and
purport to fight terrorism are in fact the creators of terrorism. Mossad is
one. But, the CIA (better known as Criminals in Action, or Cocaine Importers
of America) is one of the most criminal and terrorists organizations upon this planet for the last 60 plus years.

Through the CIA and the US military the United States has controlled
Central to South America since the end (if not before in places like Nicaragua)
of the Spanish American War. Between 1850 and 1857 America took one-third of Mexico’s land in four invasions or wars. An American, John Walker and his mercenaries fought and took over much of Nicaragua and brought in slavery
and forced labour.

The list is long.
Panama in 1856
Cuba, Peurto Rico, Guam and the Philippines in 1898; the Spanish American War.
From 1899-1902 America waged a brutal attempt to put down revolutionaries.
1904 The Dominican Republic
1905 US troops went into Honduras, and went back four times in the next 20 years.
1906 Cuba
1907 Honduras
1908 Panama
1915 Haiti (sugar interests) On and on and on…almost yearly interventions in one
country or another.

In 1953 the CIA staged coups that overthrew the democratically elected
government in Iran to protect the oil companies from paying higher prices
for oil.

In 1954 respectively the CIA overthrew the democratically elected government of Guatemala, and overthrew its puppet dictator Ngo Dinh Diem in Vietnam.
In 1956 the US wrested control of the Suez canal from the British and French

In all of the corrupt regimes in North Africa and the Middle East the CIA
and the US military were the main supporters of these corrupt regimes. And,
where there was an alleged democracy the CIA manipulated the elections to
ensure that its loyal puppets were elected again and again.

So, as I watched the events in Tunisia and Egypt I feel certain that
the CIA plays a role that is largely unseen to us the public. What happened
when the protests got huge in Egypt? The Egyptian generals quietly made their
way to Washington to talk strategy: what to do. At first, force is used to
try and crush the rebellion, but when this did not work in either Tunisia or
Egypt the US talks about ‘ensuring a smooth transition’ of power. But, that
means one thing to the people, and quite another to the US. To the people
it means a peaceful transition of and change of power to a more representative government.

But, to the US intent on maintaining its hegemony ‘ensuring a smooth transition’ means nothing less than sacrificing one dictator and instituting a façade of a better government. I have read that in Egypt the army is held in high regard compared to other governmental institutions, but the Mubarak regime included the armed forces of the state. In Egypt the army, air force and navy are no less the regime. They are the regime that collaborates with the US.

The same can be said of Tunisia. How can corrupt generals who were a part
of a brutal regime against the people decide how and when democracy will
take place? Only the people can do that!

What has happened was clever. By promising change it brought these same
generals (who have not said what they discussed in Washington) time. I
believe that during that time the army and the secret police are able to
draw up lists and prepare to come down hard.

These things have happened in South America from the 1960s through much
of the 1990s.

In Bahrain there was an even greater crackdown, and that is because it
is home to the Fifth Fleet Headquarters.

There is a backdrop to all of this and that we know that 9/11 was a staged
attack from within to give a pretext for a series of wars of aggression by
the war party in America. They are not about to let a government representative
of the people come to power in Bahrain because such a government may tell the
US navy to pack up and go; and it should.

The only purpose of the massive military presence of the US is control of
the resources which belong to the people and their countries.

Also, the US is planning a far greater war; World War III for total domination
of the planet. Next on the list is Iran and also Pakistan. The US wants to
steal Pakistan’s nuclear weaponry before it attempts its ultimate objective
waging war on Russia and China. This war will see the use of man-made
earthquakes by the US, and it will be a war fought from space.

We must not let the phony changes and promises of elections to be set by
a military junta. To have any chance of stopping these wars we must wage
war on the war makers. To make their own backyards and every place that
they have troops…an unsecured zone.

Above all we must win over as many of the troops in each of the countries militaries, including the US, UK, French and German to see who the real
enemies of peace are, and to rebel and make it impossible for the military
to wage war

Peace to all, but fight

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Why I will not vote in these elections:I won't choose which crooks to let rob me!

I will not vote in the upcoming elections,
and here is why.

This country is owned by the banksters, internal
and external financial interests as they have for
many decades.

I don't believe that all politicians are corrupt, but
all are corruptable, or susceptible to blackmail or
extortion.

But, mostly we in this country are being fleeced and
robbed by financial interests, many of whom we do not
know the names of, and our politicians will not tell
us who they are. Nor, will they tell us the truth.

Fianna faíl have ruled this country for decades for the
benefit of the developers, bankers, speculators, and who
knows who.

While this went on successive generations of the best of Ireland:
it's youth were forced to leave this island and seek a life
elsewhere.

How many politicians of the various political parties had to do
the same? None!

How many of the banking class, the developers(unless they were
bankrupt) had to leave this island. Not many. I learned when I
moved here in 1997 that the politicians, especially of Fiann Faíl
would make zoning changes or almost anything for a brown bag of cash.

No favours asked; none given. was the mantra when they were caught.

If Michael Collins and those brave men were to come back here for
24 hours they would be drawing up lists of people...parasites and
bloodsuckers (of society) that needed to be eliminated. That's what
they did less than 100 years ago.

That is how this country won its independence, and the 'Soldiers of
Destiny' and the other parties have sold it for a price.

No election will change the facts that whomever the people vote in
power resides with others who make the decisions. The politicians
are just the ones who implement the decisions of those who own this
country lock, stock and barrel!

Only a revolution will change that fact; no election will.

Only millions of people in the streets chasing this corrupt order
out of power will change that. And, that includes a full accounting,
a seizing of the ledger books as it were...an looking over what's
transpired ov decades.

During those decades these politicians (those at the top) presided
over a system where children were sent to Catholic institutions and
beaten and raped. None of this could ever have happened without the
knowledge of the leaders who knew that many priests and above were
preying on the children of Ireland.

None of this could ever have happened without the knowledge of
some of the senior leaders of An Garda Síochána! I've no doubt that
the overwhelming majority are decent and would have done their upmost
to stop any such abuse had they become aware of it. The rot lies at the top:
political and other institutions.

Now without any investigation to determine if the bankers or speculators
were to blame and what share they should pay our politicians have sold the
future...place entire generations in debt to banking and financial interests.

Mr. Cowen was against any investigation.If his house were broken into, and
valuable items stolen would he accept it if the authorities did not want to investigate a major heist? No!

But, he did in regards to this crisis which is a man-made crisis! Over 50BILLION
was handed over to one of the most corrupt financial institutions on the planet:
The AIB!

I will not vote because democracy is a con by the moneyed interests. Every so
often they dangle a few faces in front of people, and say 'CHOOSE.' But, they
continue to run the show from behind.

They did it in America in 2008. Have the war policies changed despite all
the promises candidate Obama made?

No the same people run the show. Just as they did during the Vietnam war.
Lyndon Johnson was 'for peace' but he continued the war that profited his
friends in the armaments industry.

Then there was 'Tricky Dick' Nixon who in 1968 promised that he 'had a secret
plan to end the war; it continued for four more years. Then, he & the CIA
manipulated the American people, and got them to vote Nixon in again. Nixon
promised that 'peace was at hand' and to vote the other guy in would extend
the war. The war truly ended when Saigon was liberated on 30 April 1975.

Leaders lie, and central to a democracy is conning the people into the belief
that voting will bring change, or that voting is the way to bring change.

The only way at this point in Ireland's history is something else: Revolution

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

By Sherwood Ross: THE LARRY BIRD-MAGIC JOHNSON RIVALRY A TALE OF MUTUAL JEALOUSY AND RESPECT

Thank You Sherwood

I grew up outside of Boston, and from 1979-1987 I lived
in Boston. I feel blessed for many reasons in that Boston,
to me is a wonderful city.

But,I was there during the years when Larry Bird played
forward for the Boston Celtics. He wasn't the only amazing
player in Boston Celtic history; before Bird there was Bob
Cousy and Bill Russell. But, I was too young to appreciate
them.

I was amazed to watch Julius Winfield Erving II, 'Dr. J'.
His birthday is today, Happy Birthday, Dr. J.

What these people had in common is that they brought the
game to new heights, and showing the those of us were blessed
to see them, enormous feats of pushing the human body beyond
what many of us would imagine.

One of my favourite is the time Bird was running towards the end
of the court.He jumped up, took the ball from his right hand passed
it into his left hand...he was airborne just below the basket,and
tossed it in as he went into the people seated behind the basket.

Seeing Magic Johnson play was amazing, and the two of them playing
together was good enough reason to take off work:-


THE LARRY BIRD-MAGIC JOHNSON RIVALRY

A TALE OF MUTUAL JEALOUSY AND RESPECT

By Sherwood Ross


Larry Bird of the Boston Celtics and Magic Johnson of the Los Angeles Lakers, two pro basketball rivals who rank among the highest scorers ever, developed over the course of their careers a solid friendship based on mutual respect that trumped their competitive jealousies. Each regarded the other as a rival worthy of the highest admiration and each took inspiration from the other. As superstars who entered the league at the same time and became the leaders on two elite NBA teams, they were destined to be compared to each other. And although they played different positions, their individual accomplishments were remarkably similar. In addition to being in the Hall of Fame, each won the MVP award three times, each was named to the all-NBA First Team nine times, each is a 12-time All-Star, and each was co-captain of the Olympic team. Bird played 897 games in his career, and Magic played 906, and each played exactly the same number of minutes in his career: 34,443! Bird scored 21,791 points and Magic scored 17,707, ranking them among the top NBA performers of all time.

In an introduction to the book, “When the Game Was Ours,”(Houghton Mifflin Harcourt) by Jackie MacMullan, Bird writes that when he was growing up the only thing he cared about was “beating my (older) brothers,” both of whom were bigger, stronger and better at sports than he was. He wanted to beat them more than anyone “but I hadn't met Magic yet. Once I did, he was the one I had to beat. What I had with Magic went beyond my brothers. I never let on how much he dominated my thoughts during my playing days. I couldn't. But once we agreed to do this book, I knew it was finally time to let people in on my relationship with the person who motivated me like no other.” For his part, Johnson wrote that he and Bird played on the same all-star team in college and “I knew I'd see him again, and I did, everywhere.” Johnson recalled, “When I got to the NBA and played for the Lakers, I watched as many Celtics games as I could so I could keep track of what he (Bird) was doing. He became my measuring stick. The first time we played head-to-head in the finals, in 1984, Larry got the best of me. (Boston won in seven games.) It took me years to get over it. Actually, I'm not sure I am over it yet.” Johnson goes on to say, “I was surprised to hear Larry describe watching me win the NBA championship in my rookie season. He admitted he was jealous, which really shocked me, because he never, ever showed it back then.”

In an appearance on “Books of Our Time,” produced by the Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, on Comcast SportsNet, sportwriter Jackie MacMullan tells host Professor Holly Vietzke she was stunned to learn how jealous the NBA stars were of each other. “I know that Earvin (Magic) was a little obsessed with Larry, just from my conversations with him. (MacMullan was a sports columnist for the Boston Globe). He would ask me, “What's Larry been like this week? and “What kind of injuries does he have?” Indeed, Johnson was charting Bird very closely. By contrast, MacMullan said, Bird never let on what he was thinking to anyone so she was all the more surprised to learn “how jealous Larry was of Earvin.” During their rookie year in the NBA(1979) both players had great years but Johnson was playing with star Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and performed in a facilitator role in which he did not score many points. “Bird, on the other hand,” MacMullan writes, “is the rookie sensation, putting up numbers all over the place, so, not surprisingly, when the Rookie of the Year voting comes in, Bird's the winner. I think Johnson kind of knew that would happen.” That year the Celtics were eliminated by the Philadelphia Sixers. As the Lakers were about to play Philadelphia in game six with Kareem on crutches, Magic learned he lost the Rookie of The Year vote to Bird 63 to three. Magic “was so upset, so angry, and so jealous that everybody thought Larry Bird was that much better than him that he told everybody who would listen, 'You want to see who the best rookie is, you watch me tonight.' And of course he went out there and put on the most remarkable performance of any rookie in the history of NBA finals. (He played) 47 out of 48 minutes, dominated the game, played all five positions, won the MVP, and the Lakers won the championship,” MacMullan said.

That night Bird watched the game live in a Boston restaurant with friends and became increasingly irritated as Magic dominated the game in points, assists and rebounding that he came home to his girlfriend, wakes her up, and says, “You know what? I've got to win something.” MacMullan said that on Bird's mental scoreboard Magic was ahead of him two to nothing and “He couldn't stand it. He couldn't stand it.” Johnson and Bird faced each other in the 1979 NCAA finals and in a total of three NBA championship competitions.

Not only were the two superstars driven to excel by each other's achievements but they could be stung by press criticism that drove them to excel. After starring in his second year at Michigan State when they won the national championship, Magic was under a lot of pressure to return for his third year but elected instead to turn pro. Upon learning of his decision, the savvy Detroit Free Press sports writer Joe Falls correctly, MacMullan says, pointed out that Magic was not ready, that he couldn't shoot and was too slow. “Talk about motivation!” the author said. “Those kind of criticisms weren't that far off the mark because, as a college player, Earvin really wasn't a good perimeter shooter. He had to turn himself into that, and his ball-handling skills weren't the best. That was something he had to work on. But he had all the motivation he needed from all those press reports.”

If Magic overcame his deficiencies on the court when he entered pro play, Bird overcame his infirmities. During the interval between the time he was drafted by the Boston Celtics but had not yet signed a contract, he shattered a knuckle playing softball that required surgery. When the Celtics team doctor and trainer examined him, they told General Manager Red Auerbach, “This guy's damaged goods.” MacMullan said Auerbach then had Bird suit up and watched him hit from “everywhere,” concluding, “You look fine to me, kid.” According to MacMullan, “Bird to this day will tell you he's never had the same feel for the basketball. Since he injured that finger he will say, 'I've never been able to feel the ball quite the same way again.' So as great as he was in the NBA...Bird might have even have been greater. It's kind of unbelievable.” Later, both superstars would play the game despite illnesses that would have incapacitated lesser men: Bird would play through severe back pain and Magic would play even though afflicted with HIV, news that electrified the sports world and made court opponents fear to play on the same court with him.

MacMullan said Bird's very first back injury was actually caused shoveling gravel in his back yard. He had put in a new basketball court at his home and he had asked his kid brother Eddie and some of his friends to spread the gravel around. When Eddie didn't do it “Bird was so angry he said the heck with it I'll do it myself and while he was shoveling gravel for the first time he felt extreme pain in his back.” MacMullan adds that Bird had “a congenital back problem” to begin with. “The canal that led the nerves through his spine was too small. He was going to end up with those back problems anyway but it was started in typical blue-collar lunch pail style with Bird shoveling his own gravel.” During the 1992 season, which he knew was going to be his last, Bird had to wear a fiberglass body brace much of the time he wasn't playing. Off the court, he couldn't drive more than ten feet, MacMullan said. “He'd have to get out of his car and stand up.” “He was having trouble practicing with the team and he didn't feel like he was going to be able to be a contributor to the team. His back was shot. He was really in a bad way” and he was headed for major back surgery. When Bird had back fusion surgery and knew he could never play again, so that it was easy for him to stick with his decision to stay retired. MacMullan says that for him “it was as final as final could be, and I think it was just a huge relief, after 12, 13 seasons just beating his body to a pulp.”

Thus, before his $7-million-a-year salary was to kick in, Bird told the Celtics “I'm not taking any money I'm not going to earn and I won't be earning that money so you can have it. I'm retiring right now, today.” MacMullan says she remembers covering the Bird press conference and that it was “that big and that sudden and it happened just like that. He went in that morning and that afternoon they had the press conference. He didn't want a lot of hoopla...a lot of advance notice. That was the way Larry wanted to go out.” Johnson's retirement announcement was far more dramatic. Upon learning that he tested positive for HIV he held a press conference Nov. 7, 1991, stating he would retire immediately to dedicate his life “to battle this deadly disease.” According to Wikipedia, Johnson initially said that he did not know how he contracted the disease but later conceded he had multiple sex partners during his playing career.

Where Bird was naturally reclusive, MacMullan says, Magic was the opposite: “It was very painful for Earvin for not only strangers to not want to touch him or shake his hand, but for his own teammates and even some of is friends. He would go to hug them, and they would stiffen up and back away. His own teammates wouldn't work out with him because they were afraid he would get his sweat on them. It just became a really difficult time in his life.” When his good friend Isiah Thomas, the Detroit Pistons point guard and the one person he thought he could count on, questioned his sexuality, “it was devastating to Magic,” MacMullan said. Johnson's wife, Cookie, said the pain didn't leave his face for a long time. One friend who did not desert him, however, was Larry Bird. Larry insisted on talking to Magic and cheered him up over the phone, sent him funny notes, and said positive things about him in the papers. “They were subtle little things but they were things that Earvin desperately needed,” MacMullan said. Today, there's no trace of the HIV virus in Magic's system, “which he's very excited about,” the sports reporter says, but he continues to take his medication to avoid a relapse. MacMullan notes that HIV is very different than AIDS. This was poorly understood by NBA players when Johnson attempted to make a comeback. MacMullan says, “They were nervous, frightened about him and, unbeknownst to him were going to the Lakers trainers behind his back and saying, 'I don't want to play with this guy. I don't want to be guarding him. I want you to pull me out of practice, say I have an ankle injury.'”

When Magic got scratched in an exhibition game against the Cleveland Caveliers, Gary Vidi, a trainer for the Lakers, considered putting on gloves when he bandaged the slight cut on Magic's hand. It was a little scratch but it was bleeding. “There was a collective gasp from the arena as everybody seemed very aware of this. New regulations had been put in place (to treat) HIV-positive people and that if a trainer was attending to a player with a cut or any blood, they needed to put on gloves to treat it,” MacMullan says. But Vidi thought to himself, “Privately, I've been telling these players they have nothing to worry about so if I put on these gloves how will they ever believe me?” Vidi reached for his gloves but then changed his mind. He cleaned the cut, put a Band-Aid on it and put Johnson back in the game.

Maybe it was the way Bird stood up for him when he tested HIV positive but Johnson later asked Bird to present him into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass. MacMullan points out that Johnson had a number of choices to do the honors. However, “he just felt a kinship with Larry that he couldn't explain to anybody else, and he felt, 'We've always been intertwined and I know who pushed me. I know who made me the player I am and it's you and I want you to present me.' It was one of the biggest honors of Larry Bird's life.”

MacMullan says Bird and Johnson first met in the summer of 1978 when they played on a team of college all-stars against international teams in the World Invitational Tournament. At the time, though, they barely spoke to each other. “Larry would get on the bus and say, 'Hello,” and nothing else. He was a guy that just wanted to play and (would think) 'leave me alone.' Earvin would get on the bus with his boom box, dancing.” The coach of the college all-stars was Joe B. Hall, whose Kentucky team had just won the national championship a few days earlier. He named five of his own team members to the all-stars and as he regarded them to be the best players in the country he started them. Even though Bird and Magic embarrassed the Kentucky players in practice, Hall relegated Bird and Magic to the bench. “And it used to really frost Larry in particular,” MacMullan recalls. “He was really ticked off but he figured, 'Well, you know, what the heck with this guy. I'm just going to have my fun in practice and that's what they had to settle for.”

In 1991, Johnson created the Magic Johnson Foundation(JF) to support community-based organizations striving to improve the educational, health and social needs of urban communities. Fifteen years later, the Abbott Corp. and JF created the “We Stand With Magic” campaign to reduce the rate of HIV and AIDS in African-American communities. One line spoken by Magic in the TV commercial goes: “Get informed. Get tested. Early detection can save your life. If you test positive, seek treatment from a doctor.”

The Massachusetts School of Law at Andover, producers of “Books of Our Time,” was founded in 1988 to provide a rigorous, quality legal education to students from low-income, minority, and immigrant households who would otherwise be unable to enter the legal profession. Additionally, through its publications, conferences and televised nation-wide broadcasts, the law school presents information to the public on issues of national importance. Sherwood Ross is a media consultant to the law school. Reach him at sherwoodross10@gmail.com .

Friday, February 18, 2011

Empire, Brutality in Bahrain,and People's Revolutions

Up until the point when it became clear that President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak
would not be able to stay in power any longer the government of my country(of birth-I’ve not resided there since 1997) supported Mubarak regime, as it had
since he took power on October 14, 1981.

Mubarak was hailed in the US and western media as a moderate Arab Muslim leader (read cooperative with the US Empire and the illegal Apartheid state of Israel). Another word to describe such a person would be a traitor to his own people and nation, and one who turned his back on the Palestinian people.

Before the Mubarak regime (cut out the Mu from Mubarak and you have Barack…mmm)
the US backed the Sadat regime…years after the Yom Kippur War of 1973 War when
Sadat came to be seen as a moderate Arab Muslim leader. When Sadat signed the
Camp David Accords (1978) it effectively waived the ‘Right of Return’ of the Palestinian peoples. But, this right is enshrined in international law and is recognized under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (10 December 1948).

Article 13.2 states unequivocally ‘Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.’

Article 12.4 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) states ‘No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of the right to enter his own
country.’

This was done without consulting the Palestinian people, and it does not change
the fact that they have every right, legally, morally and ethically to return to
the homes, villages, towns, cities, farms, fields, businesses that were stolen
from them.

But, my purpose in this was to touch upon the situation in Bahrain, and reasons
for the brutal repression of the people’s protest. Bahrain hosts the Headquarters of the US navy's fifth fleet. The only reason for the Fifth fleet to be located in Bahrain, or the Gulf region is to maintain the constant flow of oil to the west.
The US military is the main user of the oil. It needs this oil to keep the Empires military machine running.

The other purpose is to monitor Iran, and to be ready to put down any threat to
its (the United States’)hegemony. So the response has been brutal, and I would
guess that every effort will be made to quash the demand for more freedom, and freedom and democracy really mean self-determination. That is, the right of the peoples of any country to determine their own destiny free from outside
interference or control.

The United States does not favour democracy because democracy can mean a country’s people telling the US to get its military bases out of their country. The people of Okinawa have been waging a determined effort to rid the US military from their soil since they were allegedly ‘liberated’ in 1945!

The Empire of the US has its hands stretched across the globe like an octopus,
but like an octopus the tentacles can be cut off one by one by sustained
resistance. And that is the weakness of the US Empire.

Secondly, the Empire can only be maintained as long as it has young men and
women willing to sacrifice their lives, and bodies as I once was willing to
do in Vietnam. But, the longer the people’s struggle for freedom goes on it
makes the troops necessary to maintain the brutal Empire question themselves
and ask themselves what are they doing.

All the weapons of war…every rifle, hand grenade, tear gas, machine guns,
planes and more are only good as long as some young man or woman are willing
to die for a lie. Without them the Empires comes crashing down…hence their development of drones.

Long live the People’s Revolution!

Fight non-violently until the end of this regime; the regime in Washington
which supports dictators all over the world whilst preaching human rights
out of the side of its mouth.

Viva La Revolucion until the people are successful

Paul Meuse

Thursday, February 17, 2011

From ICH:'Egypt: Social Movements, the CIA and Mossad'

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article27494.htm



http://bit.ly/h4N6Xb



Egypt: Social Movements, the CIA and Mossad



By James Petras



February 16, 2011 "Information Clearing House" -- The mass movements which forced the removal of Mubarak reveal both the strength and weaknesses of spontaneous uprisings. On the one hand, the social movements demonstrated their capacity to mobilize hundreds of thousands, if not millions, in a successful sustained struggle culminating in the overthrow of the dictator in a way that pre-existent opposition parties and personalities were unable or unwilling to do.



On the other hand, lacking any national political leadership, the movements were not able to take political power and realize their demands, allowing the Mubarak military high command to seize power and define the “post-Mubarak” process, ensuring the continuation of Egypt’s subordination to the US, the protection of the illicit wealth of the Mubarak clan ($70 billion), and the military elite’s numerous corporations and the protection of the upper class. The millions mobilized by the social movements to overthrow the dictatorship were effectively excluded by the new self-styled “revolutionary” military junta in defining the political institutions and policies, let along the socio-economic reforms needed to address their basic needs of the population (40% live on less than $2 USD a day, youth unemployment runs over 30%). Egypt, as in the case of the student and popular social movements against the dictatorships of South Korea, Taiwan, Philippines and Indonesia, demonstrate that the lack of a national political organization allows neo-liberal and conservative “opposition” personalities and parties to replace the regime .They proceed to set up an electoral regime which continues to serve imperial interests and to depend on and defend the existing state apparatus .In some cases they replace old crony capitalists with new ones. It is no accident that the mass media praise the ‘spontaneous’ nature of the struggles (not the socio-economic demands) and put a favorable spin on the role of military (slighting its 30 years as a bulwark of the dictatorship). The masses are praised for their “heroism”, the youth for their “idealism”, but are never proposed as central political actors in the new regime. Once the dictatorship fell, the military and the opposition electoralists “celebrated” the success of the revolution and moved swiftly to demobilize and dismantle the spontaneous movement, in order to make way for negotiations between the liberal electoral politicians, Washington and the ruling military elite.



While the White House may tolerate or even promote social movements in ousting (“sacrificing”) dictatorships, they have every intention in preserving the state .In the case of Egypt the main strategic ally of US imperialism was not Mubarak, it is the military, with whom Washington was in constant collaboration before, during and after the ouster of Mubarak, ensuring that the “transition” to democracy (sic) guarantees the continued subordination of Egypt to US and Israeli Middle East policy and interests.



The Revolt of the People: The Failures of the CIA and MOSSAD



The Arab revolt demonstrates once again several strategic failures in the much vaunted secret police, special forces and intelligence agencies of the US and Israeli state apparatus none of which anticipated, let along intervened, to preclude successful mobilization and influence their government’s policy toward the client rulers under attack.



The image which most writers, academics and journalists project of the invincibility of the Israeli Mossad and of the omnipotent CIA have been severely tested by their admitted failure to recognize the scope, depth and intensity of the multi-million member movement to oust the Mubarak dictatorship. The Mossad, pride and joy of Hollywood producers, presented as a ‘model of efficiency’ by their organized Zionist colleagues, were not able to detect the growth of a mass movement in a country right next door. The Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu was shocked (and dismayed) by the precarious situation of Mubarak and the collapse of his most prominent Arab client – because of Mossad’s faulty intelligence. Likewise, Washington was totally unprepared by the 27 US intelligence agencies and the Pentagon, with their hundreds of thousands of paid operatives and multi-billion dollar budgets, of the forthcoming massive popular uprisings and emerging movements.



Several theoretical observations are in order. The notion that highly repressive rulers receiving billions of dollars of US military aid and with close to a million police, military and paramilitary forces are the best guarantors of imperial hegemony has been demonstrated to be false. The assumption that large scale, long term links with such dictatorial rulers, safeguards US imperial interests has been disproven.



Israeli arrogance and presumption of Jewish organizational, strategic and political superiority over “the Arabs”, has been severely deflated. The Israeli state, its experts, undercover operatives and Ivy League academics were blind to the unfolding realities, ignorant of the depth of disaffection and impotent to prevent the mass opposition to their most valued client. Israel’s publicists in the US, who scarcely resist the opportunity to promote the “brilliance” of Israel’s security forces, whether it’s assassinating an Arab leader in Lebanon or Dubai, or bombing a military facility in Syria, were temporarily speechless.



The fall of Mubarak and the possible emergence of an independent and democratic government would mean that Israel could lose its major ‘cop on the beat’. A democratic public will not cooperate with Israel in maintaining the blockade of Gaza – starving Palestinians to break their will to resist. Israel will not be able to count on a democratic government, to back its violent land seizures in the West Bank and its stooge Palestinian regime. Nor can the US count on a democratic Egypt to back its intrigues in Lebanon, its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, its sanctions against Iran. Moreover, the Egyptian uprising has served as an example for popular movements against other US client dictatorships in Jordan, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.For all these reasons,Washington backed the military takeover in order to shape a political transition according to its liking and imperial interests.



The weakening of the principle pillar of US imperial and Israeli colonial power in North Africa and the Middle East reveals the essential role of imperial collaborator regimes. The dictatorial character of these regimes is a direct result of the role they play in upholding imperial interests. And the major military aid packages which corrupt and enrich the ruling elites are the rewards for being willing collaborators of imperial and colonial states. Given the strategic importance of the Egyptian dictatorship, how do we explain the failure of the US and Israeli intelligence agencies to anticipate the uprisings?



Both the CIA and the Mossad worked closely with the Egyptian intelligence agencies and relied on them for their information, confiding in their self-serving reports that “everything was under control”: the opposition parties were weak, decimated by repression ad infiltration, their militants languishing in jail, or suffering fatal “heart attacks” because of harsh “interrogation techniques”. The elections were rigged to elect US and Israeli clients – no democratic surprises in the immediate or medium term horizon.



Egyptian intelligence agencies are trained and financed by Israeli and US operatives and are amenable to pursuing their masters will. They were so compliant in turning in reports which pleased their mentors, that they ignored any accounts of growing popular unrest or of internet agitation. The CIA and Mossad were so embedded in Mubarak’s vast security apparatus that they were incapable of securing any other information from the grassroots, decentralized, burgeoning movements which were independent of the “controlled” traditional electoral opposition.



When the extra-parliamentary mass movements burst forward, the Mossad and the CIA counted on the Mubarak state apparatus to take control via the typical carrot and stick operation: transient token concessions and calling out the army, police and death squads. As the movement grew from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands, to millions, the Mossad and leading US Congressional backers of Israel urged Mubarak to “hold on”. The CIA was reduced to presenting the White House with political profiles of reliable military officials and pliable “transitional” political personages, willing to follow in Mubarak’s footsteps. Once again the CIA and Mossad demonstrated their dependence on the Mubarak apparatus for intelligence of who might be a “viable” (pro-US/Israel) alternative, ignoring the elementary demands of the masses. The attempt to co-opt the old guard electoralist Muslim Brotherhood via negotiations with Vice-President Suleiman failed, in part because the Brotherhood was not in control of the movement and because Israel and their US backers objected. Moreover, the youth wing of the Brotherhood pressured them to withdraw from the negotiations.



The intelligence failure complicated Washington and Tel Aviv’s efforts to sacrifice the dictatorial regime to save the state: the CIA ad MOSSAD did not develop ties to any of the new emerging leaders. The Israeli’s could not find any ‘new face’ with a popular following willing to serve as a crass collaborator to colonial oppression. The CIA had been entirely engaged in using the Egyptian secret police for torturing terror suspects (“exceptional rendition”) and in policing neighboring Arab countries. As a result both Washington and Israel looked to and promoted the military takeover to preempt further radicalization.



Ultimately the failure of the CIA and MOSSAD to detect and prevent the rise of the popular democratic movement reveals the precarious bases of imperial and colonial power. Over the long-run it is not arms, billions of dollars, secret police and torture chambers that decide history. Democratic revolutions occur when the vast majority of a people arise and say “enough”, take the streets, paralyze the economy, dismantle the authoritarian state and demand freedom and democratic institutions without imperial tutelage and colonial subservience



James Petras is a former professor of Sociology at Binghamton University, New York, has a 50-year membership in the class struggle, the author is an advisor to the landless and jobless in Brazil and Argentina and is co - of Globalization Unmasked (Zed Books) and Zionism, Militarism and the Decline of U.S. Power (Clarity Press, 2008).He can be reached at: jpetras@binghamton.edu.

there is and has been an epidemic of RAPE within the US military-link below

If you are a woman in the US military you have a better chance
of coming back from Afghanistan, Iraq, or wherever alive than
you do of not being raped by your fellow soldiers, or your
commander.

And those women who report such incidents come under
increased harassment.

Few are prosecuted.


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357230/US-veterans-sue-Pentagon-rape-sexual-abuse-comrades.html

http://bit.ly/hwSu1I

http://on.msnbc.com/f367Zs


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357230/US-veterans-sue-Pentagon-rape-sexual-abuse-comrades.html



U.S. veterans sue Pentagon 'after they were raped and sexually abused by comrades'


By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 9:42 PM on 15th February 2011

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357230/US-veterans-sue-Pentagon-rape-sexual-abuse-comrades.html#ixzz1EG3AGTaF



* One commander allegedly told Army reservist she 'did not struggle enough or act like a rape victim'
* Another woman 'was told marines don't cry' and 'to suck it up'

Fourteen U.S. veterans who say they were raped and abused by their comrades today accused the Pentagon of ignoring their claims.

More than a dozen female and two male current or former service members will launch a legal action today, claiming that servicemen get away with rape and other sexual abuse.

One woman claimed that two male colleagues raped her in Iraq and videotaped the attack, circulating it around the base.

Scroll down for video report
Threatened: Kori Cioca, 25, speaks about how she was raped and physically abused while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, and told if she pursued allegations she would be court marshalled for lying

Threatened: Kori Cioca, 25, speaks about how she was raped and physically abused while serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, and told if she pursued allegations she would be court marshalled for lying

She was bruised from her shoulders to her elbows from being held down but charges were not filed as the commander said she 'did not struggle enough or act like a rape victim'.

Victims have also claimed that they are often ordered to serve alongside those they say attacked them.

So incensed are some of the victims about the way complaints were handled that several women have waived their anonymity to speak out
Veterans: Kori Cioca and Panayiota Bertzikis both say they were assaulted and raped while serving in the army and that their claims were dismissed

Veterans: Kori Cioca and Panayiota Bertzikis both say they were assaulted and raped while serving in the army and that their claims were dismissed

In a federal class-action lawsuit to be filed today, they want an objective third party to handle such complaints because individual commanders have too much say in how allegations are handled.

The alleged attackers in the lawsuit include an Army criminal investigator and an Army National Guard commander. The abuse alleged ranges from obscene verbal abuse to gang rape.

It also specifically names Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and his predecessor Donald Rumsfeld who they say both failed to take aggressive measures to protect women.
Ordeal: Panayiota Bertzikis, 29, has become executive director of the Military Rape Crisis Centre after she was sexually assaulted by an official and then called a whore by other comrades

Ordeal: Panayiota Bertzikis, 29, has become executive director of the Military Rape Crisis Centre after she was sexually assaulted and then called a whore by other comrades

In 2009, there were 3,200 sexual assaults reported in the military with fewer than a quarter of those prosecuted, many for lesser charges.

In fact statistics show it is more likely for a woman to be raped by a fellow soldier than killed by enemy fire.

Panayiota Bertzikis, who is a plaintiff in the lawsuit and claims she was raped in 2006, said: 'The problem of rape in the military is not only service members getting raped, but it's the entire way that the military as a whole is dealing with it.

'From survivors having to be involuntarily discharged from service, the constant verbal abuse, once a survivor does come forward your entire unit is known to turn their back on you. The entire culture needs to be changed.'

The 29-year-old, of Somerville, Massachusetts, is now executive director of the Military Rape Crisis Centre.

She says she was raped by a Coast Guard shipmate while out on a social hike with him in Burlington.

She complained to her commanding officer, but she said authorities did not take substantial steps to investigate the matter but instead forced her to live on the same floor as the man she had accused while others called her a 'liar' and 'whore'.

In many of the described cases, no charges were filed. In other cases, the alleged attackers faced lesser charges and were allowed to remain in the military, according to the lawsuit.

Kori Cioca, 25, of Wilmington, Ohio, described being hit in the face by a superior in one incident in 2005 and being raped by the same man in a second incident soon after.

Even though the man confessed to having sex with her, Cioca said in the lawsuit she was told if she pressed forward with reporting the sex as a rape, she would be court-martialed for lying.
Trauma: Sarah Albertson was raped and humiliated when she was a marine
After: Sarah Albertson gained 30 pounds through depression after she was raped by an army official

Traumatised: Sarah Albertson grew depressed and gained 30 pounds after she was raped by an army official, told to 'suck it up' and continue respecting him

She said the man pleaded guilty only to hitting her and his punishment was a minor loss of pay and being forced to stay on the base for 30 days. She said she was discharged from the military for a 'history of inappropriate relationships'.

She continues to suffer from numbness in her jaw and nightmares.

She said: 'My body hurts every day. My face hurts. I get the most horrible headaches. My body has been trespassed. The honour that I had was stripped from me.

'I'm no longer proud of myself. People tell me thank you for your service, but my service wasn't what it was supposed to be.'

Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith said the military had already planned to roll out a new hotline victims can call in April.

It has another initiative that encourages service members to help those who are assaulted or raped.

In 2005, the military created an office charged with preventing sexual assault. Victims can opt to file a 'restricted' or confidential report that allows them to get medical attention without an investigation being triggered.

She said: 'We are aggressively doing everything we can because one sexual assault is too many.'
U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Games said he will force the armed forces to make the allegations a priority
Former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld is being sued for not protecting veterans from sexual assault


U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Games said he will force the armed forces to make the allegations a priority
Former Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld is being sued for not protecting veterans from sexual assault

Lawsuit: Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, right, and the former secretary Donald Rumsfeld are accused of failing to take measures to protect women

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1357230/US-veterans-sue-Pentagon-rape-sexual-abuse-comrades.html#ixzz1EG3Zf2jl



Robert Gates has also come out and said he has been pressing the armed forces to make this a priority.

Sarah Albertson claims she was partying at the army barracks one night when a superior officer climbed into her bed and forced himself on her.

When she reported it she was told she had to continue working in the same office as him and told to 'suck it up' and 'treat him with the respect he deserved'.

Choking back tears she recalls: 'I was told marines don't cry and that I had to suck it up and continue working alongside him.'

Becoming depressed, Miss Albertson gained 30 pounds and was forced to go through a weigh-loss programme, under the accused officer.

She said: 'He was assigned to my case, and I had to go and report to him about my body.'

Anuradha Bhagwati, 35, executive director of the Service Women's Action Network, said the Defense Department's own statistics show that fewer than one in five of these cases are even referred for court martial.

She said unit commanders are the judge and the jury in these types of cases. Too often, she said, perpetrators are given non-judicial punishments.

She said: 'A lawsuit like this is needed because change cannot happen on the inside. The Department of Defense has had literally decades, perhaps more, to change the culture within the military.

'They've proven that they can't, and even the minor changes they've made the last few years are so superficial.'

Sunday, February 13, 2011

The Egyptian people: non-violence resistance won the hearts of the world, and brought down the regime

Sherwood Ross has written in 'Nations Should Consider Responding
Non-Violently To Future U.S. Aggression' that:

'People the world over must find non-violent ways to oppose American
military force lest they suffer the fate of the Vietnamese and the
Iraqis. In response to the menace of the U.S. military-industrial
complex, non-violent soul force needs to be considered in international
conflicts just as it was used by Mahatma Gandhi in India and by the
Reverend Martin Luther King in the U.S.

Nations faced with illegal physical assault by the U.S.---here Iran is
an example as the U.S. has even criminally threatened to use nuclear
weapons against it---could announce they will not fire back or oppose
an invasion. If this seems like a lot to ask, consider the alternative:
the futility of stopping U.S. “bunker busters” and “daisy cutters” or
missiles fired from offshore warships (as columnist George Will has
recommended the U.S. employ against Afghanistan).

It should be obvious the best way to fight fire is not with fire but
with water. And the best way to oppose violence is not with more
violence but with non-violence. While each situation is different,
a nation facing illegal assault might consider the following steps:

Declare before the United Nations and to the media that it will not
use force against any invader. In such cases, an invader that comes
in shooting will betray its criminal intent before the world.

Request that the invader submit its grievance to international
arbitration.

Request that spokespersons for religious groups and other public
figures take up vigils on the rooftops or inside likely targets of
U.S. attacks. Prominent clergy and leaders from other countries
could be invited to participate.

Nations opposed to aggression by the U.S. could be urged to shut
down their ports and airports to Americans. Its citizens could
organize sympathy rallies and marches.

A global boycott could be launched against American exports.

An aggressor state that is a member of the UN Security Council
could be removed from that body, which was, after all, created
to prevent wars.'


I found his words compelling. for I am a war veteran; a Marine
Corps rifleman in the Vietnam War. Since I came back I felt pulled
in both directions. I grew up watching the non-violent methods used
in the civil rights movement by African-Americans led by Rev. Dr.
Martin Luther King, and many others. It was very successful.

On the individual level I have been involved in many fights...probably
hundreds; most were when younger. In the last twenty years almost all
fights I have been involved in have been in the course of defending
someone else who was being bullied. Other times I was attacked.

I had hardly any regret over damaged that I caused. Yet as time went
by there was a change; I knew that my ways were not right. They helped
me survive, but I did not feel good hurting someone as I did when younger
and just out of the war zone. And I struggle with trying to be non-violent.

But, I have always told my closest friends that there was one situation
that prevented me from responding violently as I might otherwise, and
that was where the other individual refused to fight and remained passive.
I felt bad if I struck such a person, and restrained by something deeper
inside that I could not understand.

It didn't matter what that person had done to me beforehand; if they
refused to fight, then I felt it was a great wrong to hurt them if
they remained passive.

The Egyptian people met every act of violence with non-violence.
They stood firm, principled, disciplined and did not strike back
violently to the many provocations that the Mubarak regime hurled
at it. And, they won the respect, love and the hearts of the world's
peoples.

I was reminded of the words of the prophet Jesus, (Peace and Blessings
Be Upon Him), who said “Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
bless those who curse you, and pray for those who abuse you” (Luke 6:27-28).

And "Put your sword back into its sheath, for all who take the sword will
perish by the sword."

And the Prophet Muhammad (peace and blessings upon him) "Faith is a
restraint against all violence, let no Muslim commit violence."
I am beginning the Fourth Chapter of The Holy Quran; I am not sure of
the quote I had to search the internet, and I hope it is right. I'm changing.

I have thought that if if I were in the military now, and called out
to put down protesters, say in Egypt; I could not if they were non-violent.
And, I believe that if the world's people in their quest for freedom,
democracy, human rights, and for a new order which lifts humanity to a
highler spiritual level non-violence must be the means by which we attain
the change.

For sure, it will make many more soldiers reluctant to use force when
they are called out to put the people down.

And, it will make it much harder for governments to use violence when the
'whole world is watching.' twas a chant from the anti-war protest during
the Vietnam war.

The power of non-violent means was shown by Gandhi, Martin Luther King and
many more...and mosr recently those brave and courageous Egyptian people all throughout Egypt. They have taught the rest of us a lesson.

"Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God."

By Sherwood Ross 'Nations Should Consider Responding Non-Violently To Future U.S. Aggression'

This is an excellent article, and in light
of the events in Egypt it raises important points
about the usefulness of meeting violence with
non-violent responses.





Nations Should Consider Responding

Non-Violently To Future U.S. Aggression

By Sherwood Ross

People the world over must find non-violent ways to oppose American military force lest they suffer the fate of the Vietnamese and the Iraqis. In response to the menace of the U.S. military-industrial complex, non-violent soul force needs to be considered in international conflicts just as it was used by Mahatma Gandhi in India and by the Reverend Martin Luther King in the U.S.

The Vietnamese lost four million civilians and the Iraqis to date have lost perhaps one million or more civilians as a result of U.S. aggression. Such losses---mainly of unarmed women and children---are unacceptable, as is the horrific physical destruction inflicted on those nations. Viet Nam has yet to recover from Pentagon bombing and the spread of Agent Orange. And Iraq may be centuries recovering from the ravages of U.S. radioactive ammunition, euphemistically called “depleted uranium.”

To this day, some Americans believe the U.S. “lost” the Viet Nam war when the U.S. in fact emerged physically undamaged with no civilian deaths while its military lost but a fraction of the combatants lost by the Vietnamese. Still, the losses suffered by American families were devastating and those by Vietnamese families more so. In the future, a non-violent response by other nations could spare them the fate of the Viet Namese and save the lives of U.S. soldiers as well.

Ominously, the Pentagon has spent over a trillion dollars in recent years on the refinement of deadlier killing instruments and the militarization of space from which it can control the planet with even greater authority than from its 800 foreign military bases.

In an interview recorded in 2003 and published in “Imperial Ambitions”(Metropolitan Books), MIT philosopher Noam Chomsky says the U.S. is arguing “the only way we can have security is by expanding into and ultimately owning space.” And he further points out, “The militarization of space means, in effect, placing the entire world at risk of instant annihilation with no warning.”

Referring to the doctrine of former President George W. Bush, Chomsky said it means plainly “the United States will rule the world by force, and if there is any challenge to its domination---whether it is perceived in the distance, invented, imagined, or whatever---then the United States will have the right to destroy that challenge before it becomes a threat.” This, he said, is “preventive war.”

And this shameful, “preventive war” doctrine is being carried forward in Afghanistan by President Obama, who is widening the conflict into Pakistan.

In response to the menace of the U.S. military-industrial complex, non-violent soul force needs to be considered. Satyagraha needs to be brought to bear in international conflicts just as it was used by Mahatma Gandhi in India and by the Reverend Martin Luther King in the U.S.

Nations faced with illegal physical assault by the U.S.---here Iran is an example as the U.S. has even criminally threatened to use nuclear weapons against it---could announce they will not fire back or oppose an invasion. If this seems like a lot to ask, consider the alternative: the futility of stopping U.S. “bunker busters” and “daisy cutters” or missiles fired from offshore warships (as columnist George Will has recommended the U.S. employ against Afghanistan).

It should be obvious the best way to fight fire is not with fire but with water. And the best way to oppose violence is not with more violence but with non-violence. While each situation is different, a nation facing illegal assault might consider the following steps:

Declare before the United Nations and to the media that it will not use force against any invader. In such cases, an invader that comes in shooting will betray its criminal intent before the world.

Request that the invader submit its grievance to international arbitration.

Request that spokespersons for religious groups and other public figures take up vigils on the rooftops or inside likely targets of U.S. attacks. Prominent clergy and leaders from other countries could be invited to participate.

Nations opposed to aggression by the U.S. could be urged to shut down their ports and airports to Americans. Its citizens could organize sympathy rallies and marches.

A global boycott could be launched against American exports.

An aggressor state that is a member of the UN Security Council could be removed from that body, which was, after all, created to prevent wars.

Surely, there are other, and probably even more effective, steps that could be considered but these suggestions are made to convey the idea of how soul force might be put to work in a global setting.

(Sherwood Ross formerly worked as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News and as a wire service columnist. During the Sixties he worked in an executive capacity in a national civil rights organization and served as press coordinator for the non-violent James Meredith March Against Fear in Mississippi in June, 1966. The Rev. Martin Luther King praised him in public for all his work in the non-violent civil rights struggle. Reach him at sherwoodross10@gmail.com) #
- Show quoted text -

Monday, February 7, 2011

A Letter to American Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen RE: Egypt

A Letter to American Marines, Soldiers, Sailors, and Airmen

RE: Egypt

I am speaking to you as a war veteran. I was in the U. S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. I was a rifleman, a ‘grunt’ and a radio operator, and it is only by the Grace of God that I am alive today. When I went to Vietnam I sincerely believed that I was helping to free the Vietnamese people from oppression. I was wrong. I was 18 and went twice.

I was part of an army of occupation- the American military-that brutalized a very kind people; for every Vietnamese person I met was good to me. In turn, our War in Vietnam killed three million people in South East Asia. Untold numbers of people were wounded, families destroyed, the land and water poisoned by deadly toxins like Agent Orange.

To this day dioxin, the deadly ingredient of Agent Orange causes the same type of birth defects in Vietnamese children and the children of veterans who fought in that war. Our government denies this. Millions of mines and cluster bombs were left, killing many children and farmers yearly. Our government refused to help locate and defuse them.

In time I realized that we, the American’s, were the only ones who stood in the way of the
freedom and liberation of the Vietnamese people. We, the Americans, were the ‘Redcoats’ in Vietnam.

Today, our government is losing another dictator to an uprising of an oppressed people. I am speaking of Egypt; the country where the CIA sends most of those to be tortured. I am writing to you, especially those in the Marine Corps as you may be called upon-ordered into Egypt. The Marine Corps has always been sent to rescue dictators, and restore their power.

The people of Egypt have stood up and shown the world the greatest of courage. Those
who stand in Tahrir Square and all across Egypt are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles. They are also grandparents, and grandchildren, cousins and neighbours.

They are asking for and demanding an end to this brutal regime that has served the interests of the United States (the country of my birth) for 30 years. The Mubarak regime
also serves the interests of the Zionist regime in Palestine who daily and hourly brutalize
and oppress the Palestinian people who had their land stolen from them in 1948; they were ‘ethnically cleansed’ from their land by those who came from Europe.

Mubarak’s regime of brutality and oppression would not last a day if the soldiers, sailors and airmen refused to ever again be used to oppress, and murder the heroic Egyptian people. But the US will try to save him if possible. The new Vice-President of Egypt, appointed by Mubarak is Omar Suleiman, the Torturer in Chief of Egypt. Suleiman ran the torture program for those detained in the CIA’s rendition program.

To save Mubarak’s regime the US may have to send in US troops. You will be lied to as I was before I went to Vietnam. You may be told you are fighting Muslim fundamentalist, or whatever. When you are in the military reading history is not encouraged for obvious reasons.
But, I say this to you:

Your enemies are not in Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, Somalia or Egypt. Your enemies are those terrorist cells in the CIA, White House, and Pentagon who plan great violence against innocent peoples who are at peace with America.

On 9/11 a small handful of terrorist from the CIA, Mossad (google: The Five Dancing Israelis), and rogue elements within the US military (General Richard B. Meyers et al) perpetrated a ‘False Flag’ attack on American soil and blamed Muslims. Before 9/11 the air defense system of the US, particularly the East Coast was deliberately neutralized for 9/11. This was done by sending almost all fighter interceptor jets away from the East Coast to Canada, Alaska, Iceland, and other states.

The events of 9/11 were ‘False Flag’ attacks conducted from within to give a pretext for wars of aggression. This is treason of the highest order, and the treason continues with the lies and cover up and the blaming of innocent people by calling them Muslim extremist.

At this critical juncture one of the most ruthless dictators, supported by America’s rulers, President Mubarak is under siege from his people who have risen up and demand his removal. Our own rulers may send you the troops in under a pretext…to save American Embassy staff (the Egyptian Army is well capable of this). Or, you may be told it is to restore ‘law and order.’ It is not our, or your affair; it is the fundamental right of the Egyptian peoples and all people to determine what type of government they wish to have, and to do it without outside interference.

In 1935 Major General Smedley D. Butler USMC, Retired (Two-Time Congressional Medal of Honor Recipient) had this to say: ‘WAR is a racket. It always has been.

‘A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of the people. Only a small "inside" group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few, at the expense of the very many.

There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag that the military gang is blind to. It has its "finger men" to point out enemies, its "muscle men" to destroy enemies, its "brain men" to plan war preparations, and a "Big Boss" Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism.

It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty- three years and four months in active military service as a member of this country's most agile military force, the Marine Corps. I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle- man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.

I suspected I was just part of a racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all the members of the military profession…I obeyed the orders of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service.


I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.’

What can you do?

The same thing that the soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen came to do during the Vietnam War: refuse to be used to oppress another people, or be used to put down their revolution. To do so takes a higher form of courage than going into combat out of fear of the consequences of doing the right thing. If you are ordered into Egypt tell your officers that you, will not go, and will not serve to oppress the Egyptian people.


Ask yourself this: how long will it be before these wars end. It is almost ten years now that our troops have been in Afghanistan, and seven in Iraq. None of these wars could be conducted if the troops refused to be used.

How many of Bush’s, Cheney’s children have rushed up to enlist since 9/11? 0!

May God guide you to do good. It is a hard decision. I know. If it were not for the US military many of the world’s people would be free

Peace Unto You

Thursday, February 3, 2011

A Letter to the Egyptian Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen from a Vietnam veteran

A Letter to the Egyptian Soldiers, Sailors and Airmen from a Vietnam veteran

The people of Egypt have stood up and shown the world the greatest of
courage. Theirs is a greater struggle than that of their Tunisian brothers and sisters. It is bloodier.

Those who stand in Tahrir Square and all across Egypt are your mothers,
fathers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters, aunts and uncles. They are also
your grandparents,and your grandchildren, cousins and neighbours.

They are asking for and demanding an end to this brutal regime that serves
the interests of the United States (the country of my birth), and the interests of the Zionist regime in Palestine that daily and hourly brutalizes and oppresses the Palestinian people.

I am speaking to you as a war veteran. As a boy of 18 I was in the U. S. Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. I was a rifleman and a radio operator, and it is only by the Grace of Allah that I am alive. I went to Vietnam twice, and sincerely believed that I was on the side of truth and justice. I believed that I was helping to free the Vietnamese people from oppression. I was wrong.

I was an instrument of the oppressor! Cannon fodder.
I was part of the oppressor’s army of occupation, that brutalized, wounded and murdered innocent people.
In time I realized that we, the American’s were the only ones who stood
in the way of the freedom and liberation of the Vietnamese people.
I was part of an armed force that prevented the Vietnamese people from determining their own destiny. Self-Determination. They won, and I am glad.
They got their freedom to determine their own destiny.

I changed as a result of my war experiences, and seeing wounded and maimed Vietnamese children, and adults, and dead and wounded on our side. I am only glad that I did not kill a Vietnamese civilian for the Vietnamese people I met were kind, generous and wonderful people. They were peaceful; we were warriors. We were wrong.

When I returned from the war zone my friends and I had many, many discussions, and we decided that we would not allow ourselves to be used to put down anti-war protests, or riots in the cities against the racial oppression of African-Americans.

I would never turn my gun on my own people. I would not let my rulers use me ever again!

President Mubarak’s regime of brutality and oppression would not last a day if the soldiers, sailors and airmen refused to be used to oppress, brutalized and murder the heroic Egyptian people.

I implore you to become one with the people.
Protect and defend them from Mubarak’s thugs, or CIA or Mossad paid agent provocateurs.
Arrest them when they commit criminal acts against the people.

May you become the army that arrests Mubarak, and Suleiman, who has been the Chief Torturer of your people, and also for the CIA’s ‘Rendition’ program.

Tell your officers that you, the Egyptian Armed forces will not serve to oppress the Egyptian people for a corrupt regime.

Say, we will not turn our guns on our own people. We will point our guns at those thugs and any others who try to harm our great and courageous people.

The Prophet Muhammad Peace Be Upon Him said "A Muslim is a brother of another Muslim, so he should not oppress him, nor should he hand him over to an oppressor.

"مسلم هو أخ مسلم آخر، لذلك يجب ان لا يظلمه، ولا يجب عليه تسليمه إلى الظالم.”

No one should oppress another. This regime's rule is based on oppression. The same for America's.

May God guide you to do good. It is a hard decision. I know. But, it is right to support the people as one. It is the only way for it would end the oppression of your people, and send a great cry of joy that which will be heard across Egypt, and the world.

Peace Unto You

Paul Meuse

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

A Rebuttal to Obama's remarks about Egypt

Below I have made comments to President Obama's speech-propaganda
on Egypt.

I have interspersed them throughout the text as appropriate

Transcript of Obama’s Remarks on Egypt

Here is the White House transcript of President Barack Obama’s remarks on the antigovernment unrest in Egypt.


http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/02/01/transcript-of-obamas-remarks-on-egypt-2/

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT
ON THE SITUATION IN EGYPT

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening, everybody. Over the past few days, the American people have watched the situation unfolding in Egypt. We’ve seen enormous demonstrations by the Egyptian people. We’ve borne witness to the beginning of a new chapter in the history of a great country, and a long-time partner of the United States.


[Yes, Mubarak has been a very good friend of the US government, CIA, Pentagon and Ruling Class...]


And my administration has been in close contact with our Egyptian counterparts and a broad range of the Egyptian people, as well as others across the region and across the globe. And throughout this period, we’ve stood for a set of core principles.

First, we oppose violence. [ that's bullshit. the USA, as you well know Mr. Obama uses violence everday, and has since it's inception to achieve it's domination of other peoples. From Afghanistan and Iraq where the USA is committing GENOCIDE by the use of WMD's-Depleted Uranium, White Phosphorous, and other weapons which it does not want to disclose. Mubarak's regime was predicated on violence, and the USA supplied him the weapons to be used against his people]. And I want to commend the Egyptian military for the professionalism and patriotism that it has shown thus far in allowing peaceful protests while protecting the Egyptian people. We’ve seen tanks covered with banners, and soldiers and protesters embracing in the streets. And going forward, I urge the military to continue its efforts to help ensure that this time of change is peaceful.

[Mr. Obama, you don't praise the protesters for their incredible patience in the face of thirty years of US sponsored violence. You commend those who kill protesters as they have for 30+ years]

Second, we stand for universal values, including the rights of the Egyptian people to freedom of assembly, freedom of speech, and the freedom to access information.
President Obama you conveniently left out some of the most important human rights as recognized by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights


Article 3.'Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person.'

Article 5. 'No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.'

President Obama, does the word 'Rendition' ring a bell. Egypt under Mubarak has been the main place where the US sends people to be tortured. But, even before that the Mubarak regime was known for the torture of it's own people, and during that time Egypt under Mubarak was 'long-time partner of the United States' as you say.

Article 6.'Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law.' that's a joke when secret police drag people off in the middle of the night, or day to torture dungeons where they disappear for good!

Article 13.'(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state.'
(2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country.'
That is the right of the Palestinian peoples to return to their homes, towns, cities, farms and fields from which they were ethnically cleansed from in 1948...and continuing till this day

One of the most important rights that you left out is located within the UN Charter, that is the 'Right of Self-Determination. You know...the right of peoples everywhere to determine their own destiny. That is what the Egyptian people are doing, and an important way for the people of the US to help the Egyptian people is to guarantee that the US does not give military aid or supplies to the dictatorial regime of Mubarak!!
Once more, we’ve seen the incredible potential for technology to empower citizens and the dignity of those who stand up for a better future. And going forward, the United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Egypt and around the world.

Third, we have spoken out on behalf of the need for change. After his speech tonight, I spoke directly to President Mubarak. He recognizes that the status quo is not sustainable and that a change must take place. [question Mr. Obama, why isn’t the status quo sustainable???? is it because it is utterly corrupt? and now his chosen replacement is Omar Suleiman the 'Torturer in Chief of Egypt' is that what you call change?? ] Indeed, all of us who are privileged to serve in positions of political power do so at the will of our people. [yes and you should remember that!!!] Through thousands of years, Egypt has known many moments of transformation. The voices of the Egyptian people tell us that this is one of those moments; this is one of those times.
[Yes, even if you do not wish it were so!!]

Now, it is not the role of any other country to determine Egypt’s leaders. Only the Egyptian people can do that. What is clear — and what I indicated tonight to President Mubarak — is my belief that an orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now.

Peaceful. Do you mean like the 'peaceful change trhat the US brought to Afghanistan and Iraq...Vietnam et al?

[How did Mr. Mubarak come to power??? Was it orderly and peaceful???)


Furthermore, the process must include a broad spectrum of Egyptian voices and opposition parties. It should lead to elections that are free and fair. And it should result in a government that’s not only grounded in democratic principles, but is also responsive to the aspirations of the Egyptian people.

Prez Obama this is not for you to say; it is a matter solely for the Egyptian people to determine. Not you, nor the CIA, or Mossad, the UK, or MI5 or MI6 or the French governments et al]


Throughout this process, the United States will continue to extend the hand of partnership and friendship to Egypt. [which Egypt Mr Pres the Egyptian Army, their secret police and torturers which are the main destination for those kidnapped in the CIA Rendition and torture program? Or the Egyptian masses?] And we stand ready to provide any assistance that is necessary to help the Egyptian people as they manage the aftermath of these protests.

[So far the main form of assistance you and your government has provided is the same as that that has been given to every dictator ‘Made in the USA’ tear gas, bullets…]


Over the last few days, the passion and the dignity that has been demonstrated by the people of Egypt has been an inspiration to people around the world, including here in the United States, [and I’m just as sure that it has not been an inspiration but a terrifying nightmare to the rulers of the USA, UK, FR, GER, Russia, China et al…in short wherever there is oppression and to all those who believe in the inevitability of human freedom].
[the latter is something that the leaders say with their lips, but in their hearts do not believe is good---but that change will come and sweep unjust status quo off the face of the globe in every country

To the people of Egypt, particularly the young people of Egypt, I want to be clear: We hear your voices. I have an unyielding belief that you will determine your own destiny and seize the promise of a better future for your children and your grandchildren. And I say that as someone who is committed to a partnership between the United States and Egypt.

There will be difficult days ahead. Many questions about Egypt’s future remain unanswered. But I am confident that the people of Egypt will find those answers. That truth can be seen in the sense of community in the streets. It can be seen in the mothers and fathers embracing soldiers. And it can be seen in the Egyptians who linked arms to protect the national museum — a new generation protecting the treasures of antiquity; a human chain connecting a great and ancient civilization to the promise of a new day.

Thank you very much.

END 6:49 P.M. EST

back. i've been sick..back now

back. i've been sick..back now

you read it. what are you looking for more?
get back to work;-