Showing posts with label oil wars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oil wars. Show all posts
September 17, 2014
June 11, 2014
Advice for those considering joining the military [3mins 2007 750000 views]
subjectandobject Youtube channel
Uploaded on Sep 4, 2007
'Retired Special Forces Master Sergeant Stan Goff explains what
military life really entails. Stan's website is feralscholar.org.'
August 01, 2012
Ron Paul speaks against Iranian sanctions - August 1st 2012
Iraq and Afghanistan went so well, let's fire up another war! Dr. Paul is a voice of reason in a hose of warmongers and over-reactive control freaks.
January 12, 2012
Justice Fairness War and Peace - It's All Black and White to Ron Paul
By Diane V. McLoughlin
January 12, 2012
The following essay has been revised and updated, adding discussion of issues such as the Martin Luther King Jr., holiday. Readers are most welcome to access it, here:
http://mcloughlinpost.com/Justice-Fairness-War-And-Peace-Black-And-White-To-Ron-Paul.html
_________________________
I came across this interesting investigative news clip regarding the Ron Paul newsletters, a few days ago:
Having watched the clip, I would say that the mystery of who wrote the offending lines in the newsletters is not completely solved, but it looks like progress has been made. One learns that out of approximately 240 newsletters only a small percentage contain the inflammatory bits being hammered away at to discredit Ron Paul, and that the time period in question succinctly coincides with the time period when a particular writer was writing for the newsletter. I hope somebody in the media with the resources picks up the trail to find out wherever it leads.
However, while the jury is still out on the letters and who wrote them, there are quite a few things we do know about Ron Paul. Ron Paul trained as an ob/gyn. He has helped to deliver 4,000 babies.
Dr. Paul would donate his time in a Catholic hospital, working for $3 an hour. The YouTube Superpac -produced ad, 'The Compassion of Dr. Ron Paul'
[over 500,000 views]:
Military service: When Ron Paul got married and started a family, he was called up, and he served during the Vietnam War.
The growing realization of the inequality and unfairness in American society: Ron Paul once believed in the death penalty. Living in Texas, this would hardly be surprising. But, he changed his mind when he realized that justice was meted out differently toward those from poor and ethnic communities. There were, in fact, two justice systems. One for the rich, or White (or both.) And, one for everybody else. Innocent people had been found guilty and been put to death - the worst injustice of all.
The War on Drugs is a war on people: It is Ron Paul's intention that, should he be elected President, he would pardon all non-violent drug offenders. Why? Because the justice system is biased, again, against people who are poor, Black or Hispanic. 14% of drug offenses are committed by Blacks or Hispanics. Yet, over 60% of those imprisoned for drug offenses are from poor or ethnic communities. He deplores the fact that the so-called War on Drugs is a war on young people, a war which is unnecessarily devastating lives, families and communities. Drug addiction is no different than alcohol addiction, according to Dr. Paul. They are diseases to be treated medically, not punished with incarceration.
'Dr. No': The establishment smears Ron Paul as an 'insider' - that's who they are talking about when you hear pundits argue the country does not need another 'Washington insider' leading the country - it's code. I could not disagree more. President Obama is a good man, I assume. But, he is relatively inexperienced even now on the devilishly intricate ways of politics; at least, that is my sense of things. I suspect that it is this lack of experience that, at least in part, has permitted those with ulterior motives other than what's best for the country to hold sway in the back rooms and corridors of power in Washington D.C. Ron Paul, by contrast, is a twelve-term congressman. His nickname in Washington is 'Dr. No'. He has proven himself to be a man of principle who can not be bought.
The quest for empire always destroys the nation that seeks it:
Republican Presidential candidate Ron Paul is adamant that these destructive, costly and unnecessary wars must end. They are ruining the lives, or taking the lives, of our young people - percentage-wise the poor, Black, and ethnic communities sacrifice more than their fair share. But no matter what community or strata of society they come from they are the best of us. How can we possibly count the cost of their loss to the nation? Yet, while they are willing to serve and sacrifice they have been lied to about the real purposes of these wars. Furthermore, these wars are ruining the economy, diminishing our security, and destroying our civil liberties here at home.
Iran is now on the radar: Russia and China have both indicated that they will not be able to remain on the sidelines if we attack Iran. Meanwhile, President Obama has just signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) which includes the right to detain American citizens without charge or trial, indefinitely.
President Obama did not start us down this wide path. But he has chosen, for whatever the reason, to continue taking the nation, and the Constitution, down a dark and perrilous road.
The attacks on Ron Paul are well-done and seemingly compelling. But they all look like a house of cards. All guilt by association, or somebody said something about him, or claim they know something. I don't see any bullseyes that connect him to anything except love for his fellow man, love for liberty and a higher truth, and a fervent wish for peace, freedom and prosperity for his countrymen. He is a man with the moral courage to propose forming friendly alliances, rather than waging endless war. One might find it surprising to realize that not everybody in Washington D. C. or the media necessarily share his views, as can be seen in this YouTube (which will have the final word here) from the 2007 Republican leadership campaign [2,120,612 views]:
July 29, 2010
June 30, 2010
Global Jihad - Attack? Or Counter-attack? What Osama bin Laden Wrote
by Diane V. McLoughlin
June 30, 2010: I would take up a New Yorker's challenge to explain the motivation behind the World Trade Center bombings, who asks, rhetorically, what did we do to deserve those attacks? I've got unhappy news for him - we did plenty. For openers, under Presidents Bush I and Clinton, we deliberately killed hundreds of thousands of Iraq's children - 'worth it', according to Secretary of State M. Albright.
Osama bin Laden wrote clearly in his 'Letter to America' why the Muslim world fights against the machinations of the United States; it should be read by every American citizen. To the eternal discredit of the mainstream American press, most Americans have never even heard of it. For the sake of brevity I have shortened the letter to its most central points, adding a few brief comments of my own in square brackets. (The full text of the letter can be viewed here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver)
The crimes against humanity that the U.S. and the West are complicit in committing against the oppressed Palestinian people is Exhibit A in bin Laden's Letter:
'a) You attacked us in Palestine.'
[The U.S. donates in value three billion dollars to Israel each and every year - most of it in the form of military hardware used against the Palestinian people (and also Lebanon), who in truth have languished for fifty years under Israel's racist, barbed-wire Apartheid regime.
[Bin Laden seems less sanguine than Iran's Ahmadinajad on this issue: Ahmadinajad calls for a referendum to be held in Palestine by the people - both Jews and Palestinians - for them to determine democratically for themselves a structure for a just and fair society; bin Laden says that the creation of Israel was a crime that must be erased. I have no idea whether bin Laden would respond positively to Ahmadinajad's democratic proposal.]
'b) You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon.
'(c) Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis;
'(d) You steal our wealth and oil at paltry prices because of your international influence and military threats. This theft is indeed the biggest theft ever witnessed by mankind in the history of the world.
'(e) Your forces occupy our countries; you spread your military bases throughout them; you corrupt our lands, and you besiege our sanctities, to protect the security of the Jews and to ensure the continuity of your pillage of our treasures.
'(f) You have starved the Muslims of Iraq, where children die every day. It is a wonder that more than 1.5 million Iraqi children have died as a result of your sanctions, and you did not show concern. Yet when 3000 of your people died, the entire world rises and has not yet sat down.
'(g) You have supported the Jews in their idea that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy there. With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque...[for brevity, skipped text...]
'(3) You may...dispute that all the above does not justify aggression against civilians, for crimes they did not commit and offenses in which they did not partake:
'(a) This argument contradicts your continuous repetition that America is the land of freedom, and its leaders in this world. Therefore, the American people are the ones who choose their government by way of their own free will; a choice which stems from their agreement to its policies. Thus the American people have chosen, consented to, and affirmed their support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, the occupation and usurpation of their land, and its continuous killing, torture, punishment and expulsion of the Palestinians. The American people have the ability and choice to refuse the policies of their Government and even to change it if they want.
'(b) The American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq...
'...if we are attacked, then we have the right to attack back...That which you are singled out for in the history of mankind, is that you have used your force to destroy mankind more than any other nation in history; not to defend principles and values, but to hasten to secure your interests and profits. You who dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan, even though Japan was ready to negotiate an end to the war. How many acts of oppression, tyranny and injustice have you carried out, O callers to freedom?'
Bin Laden held out a hand of reconciliation: 'We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefit.'
---------------------------------------
- mildly edited from my original comment No. 76 on New York Times blogger Robert Wright's excellent opinion piece: 'The Myth of Modern Jihad'; June 29, 2010
June 30, 2010: I would take up a New Yorker's challenge to explain the motivation behind the World Trade Center bombings, who asks, rhetorically, what did we do to deserve those attacks? I've got unhappy news for him - we did plenty. For openers, under Presidents Bush I and Clinton, we deliberately killed hundreds of thousands of Iraq's children - 'worth it', according to Secretary of State M. Albright.
Osama bin Laden wrote clearly in his 'Letter to America' why the Muslim world fights against the machinations of the United States; it should be read by every American citizen. To the eternal discredit of the mainstream American press, most Americans have never even heard of it. For the sake of brevity I have shortened the letter to its most central points, adding a few brief comments of my own in square brackets. (The full text of the letter can be viewed here: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2002/nov/24/theobserver)
The crimes against humanity that the U.S. and the West are complicit in committing against the oppressed Palestinian people is Exhibit A in bin Laden's Letter:
'a) You attacked us in Palestine.'
[The U.S. donates in value three billion dollars to Israel each and every year - most of it in the form of military hardware used against the Palestinian people (and also Lebanon), who in truth have languished for fifty years under Israel's racist, barbed-wire Apartheid regime.
[Bin Laden seems less sanguine than Iran's Ahmadinajad on this issue: Ahmadinajad calls for a referendum to be held in Palestine by the people - both Jews and Palestinians - for them to determine democratically for themselves a structure for a just and fair society; bin Laden says that the creation of Israel was a crime that must be erased. I have no idea whether bin Laden would respond positively to Ahmadinajad's democratic proposal.]
'b) You attacked us in Somalia; you supported the Russian atrocities against us in Chechnya, the Indian oppression against us in Kashmir, and the Jewish aggression against us in Lebanon.
'(c) Under your supervision, consent and orders, the governments of our countries which act as your agents, attack us on a daily basis;
'(d) You steal our wealth and oil at paltry prices because of your international influence and military threats. This theft is indeed the biggest theft ever witnessed by mankind in the history of the world.
'(e) Your forces occupy our countries; you spread your military bases throughout them; you corrupt our lands, and you besiege our sanctities, to protect the security of the Jews and to ensure the continuity of your pillage of our treasures.
'(f) You have starved the Muslims of Iraq, where children die every day. It is a wonder that more than 1.5 million Iraqi children have died as a result of your sanctions, and you did not show concern. Yet when 3000 of your people died, the entire world rises and has not yet sat down.
'(g) You have supported the Jews in their idea that Jerusalem is their eternal capital, and agreed to move your embassy there. With your help and under your protection, the Israelis are planning to destroy the Al-Aqsa mosque...[for brevity, skipped text...]
'(3) You may...dispute that all the above does not justify aggression against civilians, for crimes they did not commit and offenses in which they did not partake:
'(a) This argument contradicts your continuous repetition that America is the land of freedom, and its leaders in this world. Therefore, the American people are the ones who choose their government by way of their own free will; a choice which stems from their agreement to its policies. Thus the American people have chosen, consented to, and affirmed their support for the Israeli oppression of the Palestinians, the occupation and usurpation of their land, and its continuous killing, torture, punishment and expulsion of the Palestinians. The American people have the ability and choice to refuse the policies of their Government and even to change it if they want.
'(b) The American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq...
'...if we are attacked, then we have the right to attack back...That which you are singled out for in the history of mankind, is that you have used your force to destroy mankind more than any other nation in history; not to defend principles and values, but to hasten to secure your interests and profits. You who dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan, even though Japan was ready to negotiate an end to the war. How many acts of oppression, tyranny and injustice have you carried out, O callers to freedom?'
Bin Laden held out a hand of reconciliation: 'We also call you to deal with us and interact with us on the basis of mutual interests and benefit.'
---------------------------------------
- mildly edited from my original comment No. 76 on New York Times blogger Robert Wright's excellent opinion piece: 'The Myth of Modern Jihad'; June 29, 2010
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