Israeli Egg on Obama's Face

Other presidents have known that talk of "Middle East peace" is a charade. A magic show. A sleight of hand pacifier to bide time for Israel land grabbing. It's Zionist version of "Don't ask don't tell". Don't ask about their nuclear arsenal, Israel won't tell. Don't ask blah blah, you get the picture. In the upper echelons of US government, this must be common knowledge. That's why no US president engages Israel / Palestine conflict until they're heading out of the White House, and only then half-heartedly. That's until Barack Obama. He entered the White House promising to tackle Middle East peace early in his term. I applauded his enthusiasm, albeit naive. But for someone hailed as a pragmatist, he has no historical perspective on the Middle East conflict. His ineffective engagement to date has resulted only in Israeli egg on his face. As passively talks of peace, Israel remains defiant of his wishes and his credibility as world leader takes a hit every time Israel throws egg in his face.

A recent omlet landed in the Oval Office via Avigdor Lieberman. "Israel's Foreign Minister has ruled out any permanent peace deal for years to come, even as the US envoy to the region called for swift resumption of peace talks," says James Hider of TimesOnline. While castrating Obama's envoy but essentially nullifying any peace talks, Lieberman says "What is possible to reach is a long-term intermediate agreement ... that leaves the tough issues for a much later stage." Doublespeak. What is there besides contentious issues? The status of Jerusalem. National borders. Palestinian right of return. Settlers. These are all serious matter. But Lieberman is happy to ignore these issues, let hatred fester, meanwhile Palestine remains an illegally occupied bantustan. How long do we wait? Until Palestinians to have no land to call home. Or until the Palestinian people are no more.

Israel obviously has no respect for Obama. Since taking office, Obama's representatives have been completely ignored by Israel, usually leaving Tel Aviv utterly embarrassed. Obama inspired hope in the world with his "change we can believe in". Sadly, Israel neither believes in Obama's change nor wants change to the status quo. As a sovereign nation, that is Israel's prerogative. That does not allow the US, nor the world to watch as idle spectators.

Acutely, Israel is not to blame, Obama is. Israel has been defiant of any country or world body that doesn't agree with its zionist ambitions for decades. This is nothing new. The recent failures in Middle East peace belong to Obama. He has lacked the understanding, conviction, and fortitude to deal with his ally effectively. He lacks the courage to mete out reprimands, whether in economic, military, or diplomatic arenas. Since Israel will remain obstinate and Obama will likely remain impotent in Tel Aviv, he should at least tell them how he likes his eggs cooked.

Silencing of Sibel

Heard about Sibel Edmonds? She’s the FBI agent that discovered the treasonous connections between Bush government officials and foreign agents. She actually discovered that there is audio recorded proof that Washington and Downing St were dividing up before 911. When she attempted to expose this crime, then Attorney General Ashcroft issued a gag order on her citing States Secrets Privilege.

Secrets are interesting; a secret is leverage, its power. A magician uses this advantage to amaze us. When government holds secrets, it has leverage over its citizens. William Proxmire warned “Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous!” Even worse, what if the secret is knowledge of a crime? Well we must question a government that would protect said secret unless it were complicit in the crime.

What we know of John Ashcroft, this maneuver doesn’t surprise. He claims states secrets privilege. I say "No shit!" Most criminals want their crimes to remain a secret; America arms its traitors with legal ammunition to avoid justice. Fortunately, most of the world acknowledges the criminality of the Bush regime. Unfortunately most world citizens are not in a position bring that regime to justice. What does surprise me is that 8 years on, no major media outlet wants to touch this story.

We are all grateful for Ms. Edmonds bravery. She has spoken truth to power, sharing one more piece of evidence exposing the deception behind America’s illegal invasion of Iraq. Her story also warns us how a pathological lack of transparency is poisoning American democracy. For an insightful look at American government deception read A Nation of Secrets by Ted Gup.

Friendly Beer Summit

The notion that the Gates arrest was unrelated to race is preposterous. That it happened in Boston, a city with history of tense racial division, is not surprising. Sgt. Crowley’s response, although blurred with racism, reflects an underlying sentiment of police superiority, their contempt for those who question their authority, as if it didn’t come from the people they police. Our president recently remarked how he considers America exceptional among nations; untimely as it was, this incident is neither novel nor uncommon. And while talking heads debated who was to blame, I wondered why there wasn’t a 5th person at the White House Beer Summit, the 911 caller.

We are engaged in a war for the future of America. Distractingly the corporatist recruit your mind to sacrifice your child’s and grandchild’s earnings, and enlist your friends to fight on battlefields of blood and oil, the war will be won in your home, your neighborhood. The true battle for hearts and minds need be fought right outside your door.

How many of us know our neighbors? Introduced ourselves to the new family on the block? Look out for suspicious activity on the street? Do we consider our homes to be in neighborhoods anymore?

Most decisions in life aren’t black or white; we generally find a balance in life. We live in the gray. We are forced to choose between being watchful nosy neighbor or selfish uninvolved recluse. But even in this seemingly innocuous gray area, racism or perhaps unfamiliarity clouds our judgment, creates situations where a man gets arrested for entering his own home. I wasn’t with the 911 caller that Thursday in July. I don’t know if the voyeur’s line of sight was obscured by an errant leaf or untrimmed hedges. I do know that this all-seeing-eye doesn’t know his neighbor from Adam. And probably hasn’t apologized for their involvement in this situation. And this bothers me.

America is in trying times. The empire is imploding, slowly. Now is the time to build partnerships, alliances bigger than income, race, or color-state we were born. The future isn’t hopeful when we can’t introduce ourselves to our neighbors. Perhaps we can start being an exceptional nation by walking across the street and inviting the neighbor over for a Beer Summit.

"To love our neighbor as ourselves is such a truth for regulating human society, that by that alone one might determine all the cases in social morality."

-John Locke

And Then There Was One

The Multi-National Force, the official title of Bush’s “Coalition of the Willing”, is no more. Australian forces planned to leave by weeks end and UK forces did not get an agreement extension from the Iraqi parliament. Perplexing that the UK waited for an extension, though this is a great excuse for leaving without embarrassing the US.

Pointless that US military bureaucrats are hastily creating a new official title for US forces in Iraq. Then again, a name is important because the original seemed to have fooled most Americans. The Coalition of the Willing totaled 38 countries, not all participating simultaneously, and most volunteering less than 100 troops. Japan committed troops that weren’t allowed to engage in battle!

Amazingly geology and coalition building have something in common. Recent mysterious tectonic plate movements have created an Atlantic coast line for the once landlocked Afghanistan. That’s given NATO grounds to frighten together its Coalition of the Unwilling for another protracted quagmire.

Change That's More Of The Same

The Obama administration has underwhelmed us again. They’ve resorted to Bush warmongering lesson #1: fear as the greatest motivator. The latest target our ally New Zealand (NZ). This nation of only 4 million people is fiercely independent in the foreign policy arena. So staunchly antinuclear, it prohibits any nuclear armed or powered naval ships to dock in any of its ports. Why would the US think that it could pressure this nation into a war that is very unpopular amongst its citizens? Not sure myself, but Obama’s proxy gave it a go. The new US ambassador to NATO, Dr. Ivo Daalder, was quoted in the NZ Herald saying “God forbid there be a threat directly to New Zealand. Wouldn't it then be good for a country like Holland or Canada or Slovakia or the US to be there [for you]?”

Really? Is this the extent of Dr. Daalder’s diplomatic persuasion, scaring your ally into sending more troops to Afghanistan? Or is Obama hoping NZ’s politicians ignore the negative opinion its citizens have for the US War on Terror? Fortunately, the tiny island nation isn’t easily bullied. NZ Labour Party leader Phil Goff said "New Zealand's contributions to Afghanistan are purely a decision for New Zealand to take, and we should not make that decision on the basis of pressure from anyone else."

If only the Europeans had the same moral fortitude of the New Zealanders, there may have enough voices of reason in 2003 to prevent the US from creating the quandaries of Iraq and Afghanistan.

Iranian Frenzy

What can be more hypocritical than for one nation stained with two consecutive presidential election scandals to accuse another nation of the same wrong doing? Perhaps a free press executing propaganda duties worthy of state-run media.

But unlike the Colin Powell cartoon-talcum powder presentation or the Mushroom cloud-WMD fear mongering, the US media was correct this time! The Iranian election was a fraud. We didn’t need to peruse poll results or get tweeted from Tehran. The election was sham before the polls were open. This election was rigged back in 1979 when the current constitution was implemented during the Islamic Revolution.

Iran is not a democracy and doesn’t pretend to be. It is a theocratic dictatorship run by a Supreme Leader (the name says it all!), who personally appoints the heads of the judiciary, police, military, radio, TV etc. He appoints 6 of the 12 member Council of Guardians whose duties include selecting candidates to run in the presidential election. A country run by a dictator, and his hand picked cronies cannot masquerade as a democracy.
As contrary to political freedom this regime may be, it is not unusual for the region. A few seconds into an internet query would return the details of Iran’s government structure; I guess corporate news channels don't have time to do research. Another apparent omission; none of our allies in the region are democracies, not Jordan, Saudi Arabia, nor Israel, so why the fuss? I find the media coverage and hysteria misplaced and frightening. Not because the story is misleading but because the facts are so obvious. I have this strange feeling of deja vu. Didn’t the media help mislead us into the Iraq War? What are they trying to sell us this time? The Obama administration recently stated there is no ceiling to troop levels in Afghanistan. Will the extra troops use Afghanistan as a base to attack Iran?
Free elections are essential in a democracy. And so is a press free from government influence.

Man In The Mirror

The world mourns Michael Jackson; I’m amazed at how Michael captivated us. He created the most popular music worldwide for decades and may be the greatest entertainer the world will ever know.

Michael accomplished through music what the great empires in history could not; he united the world. Not with sword, gun, or smart bomb, but with music. Music is an amorphous art, not easily described, with meaning dependent on person, culture, and time, yet he used this art to conquer the world. This tormented child was able to meld dance and song into something people from every corner of our planet embraced. This may blasphemy to some, but he was bigger than religion! He reached beyond, touching the hearts of adults and children everywhere. No use of mythology, no fear of hell, he didn’t scare us into believing in his music, we just did.

But there was some darkness around him as well. His childhood is tainted with allegations of abusive from father as well as other mentors. The media constantly hounded the impressionable teenager about his sexuality. He responded by manipulating the media and controlling our perceptions of him by leaking bizarre rumors about himself to the press. He spent years abusing myriads of controlled substances in an attempt to self medicate undiagnosed mental anguish. Obvious self contempt drove him to bleach his skin and scar his face until unrecognizable. And we are all familiar with the sexual abuse allegations that followed him in recent years.

Even though he became the star attraction of a bizarre media circus, we still loved him. He created music that transcended culture, nation, continents; his music united our world. Sadly, the man was a creation of our world, shaped by the many forces within modern society. A society where antidepressants are the most common prescribed medications while our society scorns mental illness. Pain and malaise are the most common complaints we make to our doctors who respond by giving narcotics away like candy. Those of us living outside the mainstream medicate ourselves with alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs trying to cope with past abuse, broken childhoods, abandonment, or grief. Our media glorifies unworthy personalities who undergo plastic surgery on a regular basis. Hypocritical politicians persecute homosexuality yet privately have same sex lovers. Internationally, governments espouse democracy and freedom but oppress their citizens and ally with tyrannies. Our world is confusing and duplicitous. There exists a dissonance between what we aspire for and the reality in which we live.

And we acted the same toward Michael. We found hope in his music. And as we judged and scorned his public antics, secretly we could relate to his obvious, yet unspoken torment. The world's greatest entertainer encapsulated all the hope we strive for and the demons we wish to exorcise; he was society's Man In The Mirror.