WHO WE ARE .....

In the last few decades, and more so the last few years, one would be troubled by the thoughts that America in these years was letting go of all opportunities to resume a connection and a continuation with our most grand ideals ; respect for the dignity of the person, and a firm commitment to improve the justice of a society that looks to its own welfare and liberties.

We had our better moments of exemplary acts, internally and externally, manifested in genuine humanitarian help, in just wars, in compassion toward the needy. But unfortunately our unique mix of innocence and arrogance, our Evangelical and white feel of power and superiority have taken the upper hand in all our behavior and dealings with the other.

We constantly keep pretending that our violence is not violence, and claim that our violence is noble, that our conquests are not conquests, we don't even acknowledge our foulest adventures, while we keep pretending they were meant strictly for honest democratization, and helping the empowered. Advocates of the war on terror like always to speak of the presumed enemy as the "bad guy", with no further definition or clarification necessary. Our protests against injustice here at home, does not make us look or even consider the injustices and cruelty our country is doing and implanting abroad.

The poet Blake said ; "Resistance to cruelty and injustice begins with resistance to oneself." We all from presidents to the simplest citizens sin, but believe we can put it all off on Jesus and the divine, and end up blaming the system that did it. Using all types of ruses of philanthropy, enlightenment, conversion, economical pressure and wars. Who are we ?? and what gives us the right to do to others what we condemn ourselves. We destroy others to rebuild their lives according to our rules and visions and interests, or so we claim !!!

We firmly claim that religious wars are a thing of the past, but keep erupting almost full religious slogans leading to nasty possibilities. We continuously advocate the firm commitment of individuals, groups and nations' to their own history, culture and identity, but we constantly act and back up allies to ignore these basic features of human social life. We should learn to define and value who we are, and our real identities and our culture, by coming to know what others value and define us as people. Unfortunately we don't care in most instances, and we're loosing it entirely.

It is said, that good people do not need to believe in God, but most of us nowadays in America cherish divine beliefs, is it some type of keeping down or confining the viciousness of some of our leaders and their blind backers who are not so good. We constitute an amalgam of family, friends, business relations and country, but the love of our country has thus far in our short history, largely signified a love of domination, arrogance and selfish interests. Totally opposed to universal benevolence and compassion.

On a national level, as we wouldn't accept any outside forces to invade, humiliate, steel or destroy our country and harm our people, we should not accept to do the same to other people, and surely we shouldn't accept or allow our presumed allies to do the same. Lincoln once said ;"As I would not want to be a slave, I would not be a master of slaves as well." This constitute real democracy.
                                 As always my many thanks to all my good readers .....     

US AND THEM ......

It was Voltaire who practically coined the quote "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it." We are at a point in our planet's life where the quote could be accepted by individual people within a society, even if only partially in most instances, but for sure it is refuted totally by modern political leaders, their oligarchies and machines, dragging their countries and states with them blindly.

Everywhere, from the poorest societies to some of the most advanced industrial and cultured societies, blunt examples of the steady war on free speech, free expression of ideas, free opinions and criticism, with it as well a clear and total erosion of accountability to any false, fake or fabricated news, ideas or even an entire political system of governance. But the hope of us collectively correcting ourselves through some real democratic methods of elections is still available, at least in some parts of the world.

What we need in parallel is to strengthen the same degree of freedom of speech and ideas and fair accountability to countries and states around our shared globe. The same individual principle should be transcended to entire countries, and not having one or more exert forceful pressures and wars, invasions and mass or individual killings and destruction, over differences of perspectives or ideas, or political disputes and divergence. And surely not for hegemony or colonialism and imperialism, be it economical, territorial or religious. I don't see why if Venezuela decides to go socialist, or Iran and Saudi Muslim, the US or Israel should aim at their destruction.

Classically it was the European colonizing half the world, plus their wars among each other, then came the Soviet Union total take-over of practically all its neighboring countries within Europe and Asia, later came Israel with its systematic destruction of everyone of its surrounding people, plus their illegal territorial grabbing of all Palestinian lands and wealth. It was a clear pattern that institutionalized and legitimized the process of hegemony.

For the past 60 or so years it became an American fixed role, with all our numerous very destructive adventures and endless wars to perpetuate this barbaric international situation under many names and headings and false pretenses, the U.S. nowadays is giving the clear signal worldwide that hegemony, invasions and killings and destruction are OK. and subduing other nations, entire populations, cultures and economies is rather the norm than not.

One with some optimism could have hoped that by the 21st century, humanity would have realized the absolute futility of these for ever wars. But G.W.Bush disastrous Iraqi adventure, more of it in Afghanistan, Syria, Libya, and Yemen, are all reminders of our continuous will and determination to subdue all and any non conforming entity. North Korea, Venezuela, Cuba and many in Latin America, as previously Vietnam and the cold war, are all but clear reminders to our super-villain attitude and that of our leaders, mostly for personal interests, elections and neocons and war machines affiliated to them. 

The present administration is backed by a base of armed racist, sexist homophobic and xenophobic white conservative, blending end times and rapture beliefs and politics, all protected by a bunch of partisan and selfish GOP members willing to do anything for safeguarding their wealth and positions. The Trump administration of Iraq-war architects and war mongers deliberately established a policy of hostility and antagonism toward Iran, violated the international nuclear agreement, imposed crushing sanctions on Iran's economy and people, and lately assassinated several top military personnel, putting us on a direct confrontational path with all of the Mid-East.

Now that we are on the brink of war, despite the limited responses of all sides, we are all refusing to accept blame or accountability. Mr. Trump rejects the idea that America could be held accountable for its actions, refusing even to recognize the international Criminal Court, embracing blatantly the doctrine of absolute patriotism. Again we are living in a time of dismissive demagoguery, promoting a know-nothing politics of swaggering arrogance and bravado, driven by scorn and spite and stupid smiles.

Our ability to have a respectful disagreement with our opponents, is being torn to shreds in deliberate acts of childish irresponsibility. covered  with very theatrical and pre-staged scenes, for totally other reasons than what appears on the ground. Mr. Trump's claim that he will not allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon as long as he's president, is cheap Israeli propaganda, he will not call for a nuclear-free zone, covering the entire Middle-East/North Africa, as the Arab league and many Arab states are calling for.

Last week events have made it clearer than ever that Mr. Trump has no Iran strategy, just a bundle of impulses and prejudices, his acts and comments and speeches are so light headed and only serving his personal reelection purposes and a diversion of his actual problems with impeachment and others.
                                           As always, my profound many thanks to all my good readers.                                       

NOT WORTHY OF AMERICA ....

After the announcement today of the cheap assassination of an Iranian general, Suleimani , and an Iraqi second in command of a pro Iran militia, at the Baghdad airport, using some drone, and following a series of politico/military advents in the past few days, behaving like we own that country and any local Iraqi opinion or sense of sovereignty doesn't exist at all , I expect that soon we will witness the total loss of that country as an Allie, they will ask us to leave with our troops and diplomats and special interests, and again Iran will be the biggest winner in the entire region.

When American politics, its might and its foreign policies and diplomacy, are run by little immature kids, who cannot believe or start understanding how they got these delicate and intricate jobs, these high responsibility jobs, or running the most powerful country in the world, these immature people who like to think and call themselves leaders, while they behave themselves as pure amateurs, and second class trainees .

The intentional killing of this Iranian general, no matter what we think of him, or how our official and private propaganda machines describe his acts, it was a foolish, reckless and childish decision and act, even cowardly in its essence. worthy of other third world tit for tat countries, and third world class little politicians, who can only conceptualize their policies around their reelection plans and their images in public opinion poles. Our own entire bunch of high administration officials, strategizing and reacting by assassination, is only inspired by our Idol in chief and our greatest inspiring manipulator Bibi Netanyahu of Zionist Israel.

We are practically declaring war on Iran and all their proxies in the entire area. If we want war at any price , why don't we say so, or declare it openly with enough clear justifications, why are we denying it vehemently?? and playing cheap tricks inviting a sure war against us , our men and women, our interests and world stability. Netanyahu and his Israeli oligarchy will be the biggest beneficiaries from this cheap attack, followed by our own Mr. Trump and his bunch, but surely not America .

It was worthy of Israel to do such a trick, and follow such theatrical tactics, but we all know that when they can not involve American men and women directly in their adventures they run away.... they lick their wounds and keep their mouths shut. They wont hesitate a bit in pushing and involving America in a deadly, costly, with no end, into a very destructive war between us and a fanatic Iranian regime. Even if it means the annihilation of the entire area.

History has shown us time after time, how we, with our own forces did their adventures and for their sake, and their selfish tactics and political greed. But now we combine it all with our own political and electoral self serving interests, while Netanyahu is combating for his political survival , our Mr. Trump and family and oligarchy are in full electoral fervor, battling for their reelection and survivability.

We are adding to world greed and selfishness, our own election tactics and dirty politics and political survivability , even if we sacrifice few thousands of our good men and women in service, plus few trillions of Dollars added to our national dept, and who cares who will pay it all in the future. This is almost described as an intentional criminal act toward the entire country and its population, This is not wise or well planned foreign policy at all.

Again we are behaving like pretentious little kids, greedy and foolish, and not like responsible first nations. Let the other presumably allies of ours take responsibility for their own actions, tactics and hegemony. Be them Israel, Turkey or Saudi, or even theocratic Iran, and let's regain sanity and self composure, our respectability world wide, our dignity as a country means more than the reelection of Bibi or Donald and their bunch of stampers. We surely deserve better than these immature bunches of adventurist and greedy pseudo politicians.
               My usual many thanks to all, wishing you a hopefully safe and prosperous year ....                    

MODERN MANIPULATING TACTICS .....

I will borrow a thought from J. Bisnoff's insightful book "Fake Politics", In these turbulent times, two of the great threats to our democracy are money in politics and a certain weakening of the power of truth. At it's very essence a democratic system is reliant on the will of the people being the catalyzing force for the direction of the republic, so when there is a price tag on creating a "will of the people" that foundation requirement is eroded.

The fake news machine throughout the world, and more so in the U.S. is becoming a very serious hand, playing several sides of business, politics, elections, even enhancing personal and small town's images for a multitude of benefits and reasons. These are combined networks of 30 or 40 sites that publish fake-news stories. WTOE 5, news in America is a good example.

Some are smaller some are very large like Facebook, but they all share the same tactics for their own profits from two sources, either they get paid from direct ads, or get paid directly from from PR agencies serving big interests, like the tobacco industries, the Canadian oil-pipe line, the oil industries, armament manufacturers coal industries, political sides and big and smaller names ranging from presidents to congress members. Even state local politicians.

Some of these schemes, and even one time stories register over 100.000 comments, and some other did reach the 1 million mark, i.e. The Pope endorsement of D.Trump, or other similar stories on Facebook. More interference with fake-news during election campaigns paid by supporters or the candidates themselves, and or rich big interests and lobbies. That's when these sites peak in numbers while still being connected by shared bank accounts, or owned by one operator. Would we believe that some of these sites including Facebook reached a 16 billion hits !!! 

Before Donald Trump embraced the term "Fake news", it was used to describe downright false stories, from actually fake websites, like the Pope endorsement of Trump for president, but now it's definitely taking new proportions in election interference whereby some big and very big players are in the game.Those shady websites are alive and well, and mushrooming locally and across the world.  They continue to spread total garbage across Facebook and others, to the unsuspecting public.

When we see a Mark Zuckerberg owner of Facebook, several times in private visits to Mr. Trump within the last few months, we suspect something of the sort, or the story targeting Nancy Pelosy diverting 2.4 million $ from social security to cover impeachment costs, Again on Facebook. It received a staggering 24.6 million views on Facebook. Most of these stories are disguised as news, but they're false. It's counterfeit news.

Everywhere in the world, and America as well, people used to live by a shared set of facts, people may disagree on certain policies or their prescriptions, but the facts they could at least agree on. Now in the social media age, disinformation campaigns are specializing in distorting the facts that a society accepts as truth. Russian interference with disinformation campaign in the 2016 presidential election giving a big boost to candidate Trump, was clearly identified and condemned .

The Middle-East nowadays is using lots of these tactics, Lebanon is a very fertile spot to all different sites producing and manipulating fake-news to further divide the population and stop the popular uprising. Israel's Netanyahu several attempts to cling to power, Turkey's Erdogan and British Brexit and lately the election of not too funny B. Johnson, are all well expressed examples of these tactics.

Not one spot in the world will have a fair election or an honest uprising, or fight selfish enrichment by politicians and greedy business conglomerates and the merchants of wars, if these sites big and small are not regulated and better monitored, they are misleading posts period. Using any version suiting their clients and fooling the electoral body by any means possible.We used to call them cheap  rumors, but now it's a serious scientific business, aiming to push rumors on the internet, and make it sound like truth and reality.
                           My usual thanks to all my readers and followers of the blog.                         
     

REALITIES OF OUR TIMES ......

Following the surprising and saddening decision of the Trump administration and his State Department secretary's simplistic and naive justifications and explanations, about the Jewish settlements, their illegality according to international law,  plus the ever going apartheid and brutal mistreatment of non Jews in Israel itself and its under illegal occupation territories, and their neighbors in Gaza, Syria and Lebanon, one has to look into the Zionist movement and its strategies, tactics and goals.

In today's Israel, Christianity and Islam have disappeared, Arabs and foreign nationals are not welcome to stay, live or work under any form. Blacks and Asians are totally unwanted and mistreated systematically. Only Jews are considered the legal inheritors of the lands everyone new and called   Palestine, all as promised by Elohim or whoever it was.

Since the latest Israeli major wars in 1967 and 73, Israel like most of its Western ardent defenders faces no real existential threat from anyone, surely not from any Arab state, not from Iran or Saudi or Turkey or any Islamic state. the scene was blown out of proportion by the Israeli war machine led by Zionists. But in Israel there is always this strong attraction to be magnetized to distant, even historical military glory and total supremacy, they stuck themselves with wars, brutality and their machines.

Richard Dawkins introduced one of his books with; "The God of the old Testament is arguably the most unpleasant character in all fiction: jealous and proud of it, a petty, unjust, unforgiving control-freak, a vindictive, bloodthirsty ethnic cleanser, a misogynistic, homophobic, racist, infanticidal, genocidal, filicidal, pestilential, megalomaniacal, sadomasochistic, capricious malevolent bully. These words could have been said by any of the Old Testament prophets. But unfortunately this old God lives, prospers and thrives fully in today's Zionist Israel. Among its politicians, soldiers, snipers and policemen, secret services, settlers, judiciary, youths and zealots, they all share this old and ugly God .... all venerate, idolize and adore him, all strive to be him.

World wide, all human groups, throughout history were defined by their progress, and evolution was the future of man, as long as it was progress and not merely a standstill or a degeneration. The human purpose and visions can only be formulated in terms of their evolution achieved by Sapiens in becoming better humans. The idea of humanism would be; human control by human efforts in accordance with evolving human ideals.

If we accept the conclusions of science, that mankind evolved from lower forms, to reach higher ethics within codes of behavior we all share on the basis of sane reason, law, honor, and an inborn sense of basic decency, even when some ascribe it to God's will. Sapiens evolved upwardly in body and brain size, in feeding and defending themselves, in their behavioral complexities, social organization, way better and farther than their simpler antecedents.

We are, by all rules of existence, to make for better societies for all and each. We should have the abilities to understand, judge and act with our own power of choice how to decide between good and evil. Otherwise and to conserve the rise of the history of life, people have a right and duty to crush, stop and put an end to the wrong and dangerous exceptions, who clearly disturb the progress of civilization and humanity.
                                              As always, my many thanks to all my good readers all over.   

               

THE CONTRACT ON CORBYN ....

As the British general elections, scheduled for the 12 of December of this year are coming soon, the game is increasingly played in dirtier ways and being manipulated by various sides for different goals. I'm copying an article by a famous and courageous Israeli columnist and political annalist, Gideon Levy, initially published by Haaretz, a leading Israeli newspaper, the article comes at a crucial time in the game of fake news and manipulating the voters, it's self explanatory.

Corbyn is not an anti-Semite. His real sin is to fight against injustice in the world, including the version Israel perpetrates. The Jewish establishment in Britain and the Israeli propaganda machine have taken out a contract on the leader of the British Labor Party, Jeremy Corbyn, the contract was taken out a long time ago, and it was clear that the closer Corbyn came to being elected prime minister, the harsher the conflict would get.

On Tuesday it reached its climax, in an article by the chief rabbi of Britain, Ephraim Mirvis in the Times, Mirvis decided that the anxiety of British Jews over Corbyn is justified and he is not fit to be prime minister. He called on Jews not to vote for Labor in the coming election on Dec. 12.

Born in South Africa and a graduate of Har Etzion Yeshiva in the settlement of Alon Shvut, Mirvis is the voice of British Jewry. In Capetown, Johannesburg and Har Etzion, he should have learned what apartheid was and why one should fight it, his parents did so, but one doubts that he learned the moral lesson from the regions of disenfranchisement in which he lived in South Africa and the West Bank.

As opposed to the horrid Corbyn, Mirvis sees nothing wrong with the continued occupation; he does not identify with the struggle for Palestinian freedom, and he doesn't sense the similarity between the South Africa of his childhood, Har Etzion of his youth and Israel of 2019. That is the real reason that he rejects Corbyn. The Jews of Britain also want a prime minister who supports Israel, that is who support the occupation. A prime minister who is critical of Israel is to them an exemplar of the new anti-Semitism.

Corbyn is not an anti-semite, he never was. Today any criticism of Israel politics and tactics and brutality is anti-semitism. The Hungarian Victor Orban, the Austrian freedom party and the extreme right in Europe are not the danger to Jews, Corbyn is the enemy. The new and efficient strategy of Israel and the Zionist establishment, brands every seeker of justice as an anti-Semite, and any criticism of Israel as hatred of Jews. Corbyn is a victim of this strategy, which threatens to paralyze and silence Europe with regard to Israel.

British Jewry might not be faking its anxiety, but it is certainly magnifying the danger. There is anti-semitism, though less than what is presented, about half of British Jews are considering fleeing if Corbyn is elected. Let them flee. Are the Jews of Britain conditionally British? to whom is their loyalty. The future of all British Jews is much more secure than the future of any and all Palestinian living under the occupation, and even more secure than that of any Arab living in Israel. Jews are persecuted and are victims of discrimination and racism less so than the Palestinian in Israel. Moreover Islamophobia in Europe is more common than anti-Semitism, but people talk about it less.

Corbyn is indeed a very harsh critic of the occupation, supports the boycott and compares the closure of Gaza with the siege of Stalingrad and Leningrad. These are anti-Israeli positions, but not necessarily anti-Semitic, the Jews of Britain and the entire world are blurring these differences intentionally. One can and should be a harsh critic of Israel without being anti-Semitic.

If the Jews of Britain and their chief rabbi were more honest and courageous, they would ask themselves: Isn't Israel's brutal occupation policy the strongest motive for anti-Semitism today?? There is anti-Semitism, it must be fought, but it must also be recognized that Israel supplies it an abundance of excuses and motives.

The Jews and Israel's true friends should hope that Corbyn is elected. He is a statesman who can change international discourse about the occupation and the struggle against it, he is a ray of hope for a different world and a different Israel, and what more could we want.
                                                 My usual thanks to all for following the blog.                       

SUBDUING THE LEVANT ......

Three major forces are nowadays competing at destroying the Levant, its people, wealth and stability.The U.S., Israel and Iran. I may add a forth, who just lately took advantage of a loophole in the game and imposed itself as a forth player; Russia. The game is destructive as much as funny, as the Iranians believe the Russians will end American and Israeli meddling in Syria, the American/Israeli side believe the Russians will limit Iran's influence in Syria, and the Russians will play the two camps and take over Syria to itself and eventually the entire Levant .

The US State Department, and the Pentagon, concerned mostly in securing the US bases out of which thousands of US troops continue to operate in Iraq, as well as Syria. They have all along kept total silence on the very bloody suppression of young Iraqi protesters against the puppet and very corrupt regime in Baghdad, remaining in power only by playing and bribing both dominant forces reigning in Iraq, the US and Iran.

Ironically, both Washington, with its administration and Tehran and its Ayatollahs are in concert and fair agreement to oppose the demands of the demonstrators for the expulsion of the present Iraqi regime. Both the US and Iran are playing the same cards with the Mahdi administration, both are pursuing practically the same corrupt agenda, while defending their interests and steeling Iraq's oil wealth.

The situation in Lebanon is basically the same, or at least very similar to its Iraqi counterpart in most aspects, the big players are the same ones, the US, Israel and Iran. In Lebanon the scenario of public protest against a very corrupt bunch of political thieves, playing the external cards as well as internal sectarian and ethnic divisions of all religious groups of the Lebanese mosaic under their warlords and their descendants.

Syria had its similarities to both neighbors, and already paid a high price and is still paying in total carnage, desolation, destruction, killings and mass displacement of millions. lately an impression of victory to one side under the absolute tutelage of Russia, contrary to the exclusivity of the America/Iranian in the other two.

While the Trump administration and Israel and their Saudi allies pursue their regional war aims, and suppression over the entire Middle-East, and in the three mentioned countries, Iran Ayatollahs and their local allies and forces strive to suppress social unrest in all three countries by using direct forces or proxies on the ground, suppressing any form of public protest for fear of having them spread across its own borders, a situation that already started and is being harshly repressed.

The US is obviously sacrificing and maybe even purposely destroying two or possibly more of its presumably steady allies, Iraq and Lebanon, Jordan might be the next victim of the same planning, of trying to subdue Iran and kill any chance of independent thinking in any of the Levant mosaics. With a total complicity of Israel, all Arab states, a satisfied Russia, and a bought and threatened Turkey, the game might have a serious chance of success.

After deciding and for various reasons, the Trump administration, and against the declared wishes of Israel's Netanyahu, that an actual war with American troops on the ground is undesirable and not popular in America, and it could be detrimental to Trump's hopes of a second term in office, the game was switched to an economical pressure and sectarian divide tactics to pressure Iran in total submission, resulting in many, indeed many people, from all concerned countries, including the under the brutal illegal occupation Palestinians, who will all pay a very dear price in lives and welfare.

Like the Biblical Samson, who brought down the house upon all the people that were there, the Zionist leadership and their lobbyists, are applying all their pressure on the US political machine to destroy one country after the other, all for their hegemonic dreams, and total vain and egoistical supremacy. The sad part is the US believing them blindly, and maybe not so blindly, but executing to the letter their wishes and narrow selfish interests .
                                          My usual many thanks to all good readers around the world .