Israel 6-28-14

28, June 2014

Dear Editor,   Israel

It’s a pity that more reporters and US government officials are not challenging Israel’s contention that Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping of three settler teenagers. There is not a scintilla of evidence to support Israel’s claims. Israel’s justice minister, Tzipi Livni’s, has been offering the same tired, unsubstantiated charges of Hamas’s guilt. One does not even know whether the three boys were even kidnapped. Repeating the mantra that Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping does not prove they had any involvement. Sadly, the Obama administration has not uttered one word critical of the Israeli government’s recent actions conducting raids in the Occupied Territories and the West Bank arresting over 360 Palestinians, and killing at least four. It is a horrific example of collective punishment. It is blatantly obvious that this action was taken to weaken Hamas and destroy the fragile unity government. People in Ramallah are experiencing Israeli raids for the first time. There is almost a complete lockdown in Hebron. This is a gross violation of international law; to subject over two million Palestinians in the West Bank that have nothing to do with the alleged kidnapping. Let us hope that Obama stiffens his spine and demands an immediate end to Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians.

Response to WSJ ‘Three Boys, One Terrorist 6-27-14

27, June 2014

Dear Editor,    Response to WSJ ‘Three Boys, one terrorist,   by Tzipi Livni

I am extremely disappointed that you would allow your fine newspaper to be used to propagate Israeli propaganda. Tzipi Livni’s article is replete with the same tired, unsubstantiated charges of Hamas’s guilt in kidnapping the three settler teenagers. There is not a shred of evidence of Hamas’s guilt. One does not even know whether the three boys were even kidnapped. Repeating the mantra that Hamas is responsible for the kidnapping does not prove they had any involvement.       

Sadly, the Obama administration has not uttered one word critical of the Israeli government’s recent actions conducting raids in the Occupied Territories and the West Bank arresting over 360 Palestinians, and killing at least four. It is a horrific example of collective punishment. It is blatantly obvious that this action was taken to weaken Hamas and destroy the fragile unity government. People in Ramallah are experiencing Israeli raids for the first time. There is almost a complete lockdown in Hebron. This is a gross violation of international law; to subject over two million Palestinians in the West Bank that have nothing to do with the alleged kidnapping. Let us hope that Obama stiffens his spine and demands an immediate end to Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians.

Tony Blair 06-25-14

25 June 2014    Commet to NYT op ed, June 25, 2014 

New Yorks Times op ed “You’ve got to admire Tony Blair’s tenacity. Despite his terrible failures in Iraq and with the Palestinian Authority, the former British prime minister continues to pontificate about the Middle East’s ills and cures.
Seven years after he was appointed as the special envoy for the so-called quartet of Middle East peacemakers (the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia), the occupied territories of Palestine are still under siege. And 11 years after he co-sponsored the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the country is falling apart.

Comment follows:
The soulless Tony Blair lives on intoxicated by the siren song of limitless wealth using his political connections to maximum advantage. He has not uttered one word critical of the Israeli government’s recent actions conducting raids in the Occupied Territories and the West Bank arresting over 360 Palestinians, and killing at least four. It is a horrific example of collective punishment. This action was taken in response to the alleged kidnapping of three settler teenagers. No one is even sure that they have been kidnapped but Israel accuses Hamas to be responsible – without a shred of evidence. It is blatantly obvious that this action was taken to weaken Hamas and destroy the fragile unity government. People in Ramallah are experiencing Israeli raids for the first time. There is almost a complete lockdown in Hebron. This is a gross violation of international law; to subject over two million Palestinians in the West Bank that have nothing to do with the alleged kidnapping which might not have even taken place. Predictably, Tony Blair, who has sold his soul to Israel, remains silent. Let us hope that Obama stiffens his spine and demands an immediate end to Israel’s collective punishment of the Palestinians

Israel & the growing BDS movement 6-23-14

23, June 2014   Israel & the growing BDS movement

Throughout its short history Israel has adopted an extremely aggressive posture occupying more and more land displacing the indigenous population. The prospect for peace grows dimmer by the day. Many Jews and non-Jews are increasingly dismayed by Israel’s long standing intransigence to reach a peaceful accord with the Palestinians. Recently, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted in its general convention to divest from three companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions) that exports equipment to the occupied Palestinian territories. This is an effort to pressure Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to end the occupation; this comes on the heel of a much wider campaign known as B.D.S., for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Jewish activists from Jewish Voice for Peace wore black T-shirts with the slogan “Another Jew Supporting Divestment” at the Presbyterian convention. Rabbi Alissa Wise, director of Jewish Voice for Peace, stated that divestment can serve a constructive purpose. “To me, this helps Palestinians build their power, so that Israel is convinced, not by force, but by global consensus that something has to change.”  Other American churches have adopted similar strategies to protest Israeli policies: The Mennonite Central Committee, the Quakers and the United Methodist Church have sold stock in companies that conduct business with Israel. Religious groups were in the forefront to demolish the South Africa’s apartheid system. It must do no less to vigorously oppose current Israel policies. 

Response to TC Community 6-11-14

22, June 2014

Dear Editor,   Response to TC Community June 11

Nonie Darwish’s talk at the Conservative Forum of Silicon Valley on June 3, (Crier June 11) decrying the climate of fear of Islam raises some interesting issues that merit a strong response. She claims that the basic difference between Islam and Christianity is our relationship to God. Both faiths claim an abiding love of God - whether this be a slave-child relationship is completely irrelevant. Frankly, I prefer the Sikh belief system. Sikhs are self-proclaimed devotees of God and their livelong quest is to be of service to God by providing help and support to their fellow human beings (for example, free meals (langar) are offered at most Sikh temples throughout the world. Their faith can be summarized succinctly - daily prayers, honest work and share your good fortune with others.  There is complete equality of the sexes and the scriptures specifically state that God does not favor any religious group. God is only concerned with man’s purity of mind and his selfless actions. The founder of the religion forbade meaningless rituals. This was a major social transformation from traditional Hinduism which is heavily seeped in traditions and rituals. The founder of the Sikh religion, Guru Nanak was revered by Muslims and Hindus alike. All nine teachers that followed aggressively promoted human rights and peaceful coexistent. It is therefore puzzling to understand why Nonie Darwish is such an ardent supporter of the state of Israel. Throughout its short history Israel has adopted an extremely aggressive posture in its messianic zeal to establish the state of Israel. Many Jews are increasingly dismayed by Israel’s long standing intransigence to reach a peaceful accommodation with the Palestinians. A Jewish scholar who been on a long quest for social justice is the Rabbi Brant Rosen, who serves a Jewish Reconstructionist congregation in Evanston, Illinois. His blog called Shalom Rav, explores a broad range of social-justice issues. The focus of his writing-and his activism changed dramatically in December 2008, following Israel’s 23-day military attack against Gaza, causing him much anguish and questioning his lifelong liberal Zionism. Wrestling in the Daylight: A Rabbi's Path to Palestinian Solidarity is Rosen's compilation of these blog posts. More recently, The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) voted in its general convention to divest from three companies (Caterpillar, Hewlett-Packard and Motorola Solutions) that exports equipment to the occupied  Palestinian territories. This is an effort to pressure Israel to stop building settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem and to end the occupation; this comes on the heel of a much wider campaign known as B.D.S., for Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions. Jewish activists from Jewish Voice for Peace  wore black T-shirts with the slogan “Another Jew Supporting Divestment” at the Presbyterian convention. Rabbi Alissa Wise, director of Jewish Voice for Peace, stated that divestment can serve a constructive purpose. “To me, this helps Palestinians build their power, so that Israel is convinced, not by force, but by global consensus that something has to change.”  Other American churches have adopted similar strategies to protest Israeli policies: The Mennonite Central Committee, the Quakers and the United Methodist Church have sold stock in companies that conduct business with Israel. Religious groups were in the forefront with South Africa to demolish the aparthied system. Israel's behavior is morally indefensible and is incompatible with Jewish moral values.

Iraq 6-19-14

19, June 2014     IRAQ

 

The multiple conflicts in the Middle East are raging out of control largely driven by our ill-fated intervention in Iraq in 2003. It is a pity that the architects of this foreign policy blunder- Tony Blair, Dick Cheney, Paul Bremer.  .  . have been granted air time and print media space to level charges of incompetence at the Obama administration.  This is a classic example of the ‘pot calling the kettle black”. VP Cheney who slithered away from active duty in Vietnam obtaining multiple deferments, made the false claim in 2002 that our former ally, Saddam Hussein, had weapons of mass destruction. He then boasted in 2005 that the Iraqi insurgency was in its “last throes”. It’s hard to believe that while the Bush underlings wrap themselves in the mantle of the American flag, seemingly oblivious of the chaos they have caused in the Middle East – first favoring Hussein with chemical weapons which he used against the Kurds and Iranians – then launching our shock and awe bombing in Iraq, disbanding the Iraqi Baathist stabilizing army (made up of Sunnis and Shiites) and then hastily boasting “mission accomplished” leaving a dangerous power vacuum led by Shiite Prime Minister Maliki. Prior to our departure from Iraq the US employed “death squads” to create ethnic strife using the El-Salvador model to create a US sponsored civil war. The political pundits, who should have been charged with war crimes, are now offering their ‘sage advice’ to a largely deaf audience.   

Iraq 6-15-14

15, June 2014 Iraq   

It is ironic that our intelligence agencies, who have been so vigilant prying into our phone calls and emails, had been caught off-guard and flat-footed by the speed of the Iraqi ISIS insurgents who conducted a shock and awe attack on 200,000 active-duty Iraqi soldiers, capturing the second-largest city, Mosul, the oil city of Baiji, a huge cache of American weaponry and $425 million cash from Mosul’s banks. It is perplexing how so few fighters, numbering only about 4,000 could route such a large army trained by US forces. Several divisions imploded and many Sunni soldiers’ defected casting off their uniforms and joining the Sunni insurgents. In retrospect, what did we accomplish by our highly destructive shock and awe invasion in 2003? We merely replaced one highly autocratic Sunni leader, Saddam Hussein, with another autocratic, Shiite leader, Prime Minister Maliki, slipping him $25 billion of our tax dollars to enable him to fortify his power and marginalize the Sunnis. Many were rounded up, beaten, tortured and killed unleashing a fierce sectarian backlash. Thus, Maliki created his own nemesis and is now in a desperate pickle appealing to his ‘rich’ US benefactor for help.  ‘Closing the barn door after the horse has escaped’ will not remedy the situation. There is little the US or Maliki can do to put ‘Humpty Dumpty’ together again. It is time to evacuate our personnel from the US embassy in Bagdad. Maybe the helicopter is already on the roof. 

Bring Justice to the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict 6-12-14

12, June 2014 sent to JVP

As a Sikh whose religion vigorously promotes human rights, I wholeheartedly support targeted divestment by the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) as an effective, nonviolent tool to bring about a peaceful settlement to the festering crisis in Israel. Furthermore, I implore Americans to demand an immediate cessation of economic and military aid to Israel and reject the pernicious influence of the US Jewish lobby whose allegiance is to the apartheid government of Israel and not the US.  The Palestinians are living in an extremely repressive military occupation in complete violation of international laws. Israel is a functioning democracy for Jews only but not for non-Jews. Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh of Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities exposes this myth in a recent letter to the Wall Street Journal (April 24, 2014).  Qumsiyeh, a US citizen echoes much of what was stated by Professor George Bisharat, at a recent NPR forum broadcast. Both charge Israel with systematically destroying churches, mosques and Palestinian homes to construct illegal Jewish settlements. Israel has over 50 Jim Crow type laws that discriminate over non-Jews and hundreds more in the occupied territories. Nationality rights only apply to Jews; for example, American Jews can immigrate to Israel and are accorded all the rights of citizenship – a right denied to non-Jews. Jews have exclusive use of bypass roads, land, privileged access to private and public employment, special educational loans, home mortgages, preferences for admission to universities, and a host of other privileges. Finally, I urge readers to listen to a speech given by a notable Israeli, Mike Peled, a highly respected son of a former Israeli general.  

World Soccer Games 6-11-14

11, June 2014

Dear Editor, World Soccer Games

The billions being spent on building gleaming stadiums and supporting infrastructure amidst grinding poverty in many countries like Brazil is insane and demonstrates the gross insensitivity of the corporate ruling elite such as the FIFA, more aptly called the FI$FA. The London Sunday Times recently blew the lid on the FIFA’s shading practices in its bidding process to nominate oil rich Qatar to host the 2022 World Soccer Cup - a most inappropriate location because of its sweltering heat. FIFA president, Sepp Blatter, boasts of a “shared sporting culture” which rakes in billions in lucrative advertising deals leaving the host country a mountain of debt, unused stadiums and other facilities, following the games.  The FIFA promised the Brazilian people they would not be asked to carry the financial burden but instead the tournament would be financed using private funds. In a stark betrayal, outraged Brazilians soon discovered they will be saddled with a staggering $11- 20 billion debt – funds critically needed to upgrade their education,  transportation and crumbling health care system. Despite the rivalry of the countries participating in the world cup, they all share their intense distrust and hostility of the FIFA. The FIFA has been engulfed in scandals during its long history and have been awarded numerous yellow cards; it is now time to issue a red card and abolish this redundant corporate albatross.  

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl 6-8-14

8, June 2014

Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl

Mr. flip-flop McCain is at it again. Four months ago he was willing to exchange five hard-core Taliban leaders for the release of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl. But the instant the Obama administration actually made that trade, Mr. McCain, as he has so often in the past, switched positions for maximum political advantage. Other hyperventilating Republicans, like Senator Lindsey Graham, now consider the prisoner release an impeachable offense. Oh really? Gov. Rick Perry postulated that the exchange was to distract the public from the Veterans Affairs scandals. Media pundits took aim at Sergeant Bergdahl father’s Taliban like beard.  Traumatized by the horrors of war, it is not unusual for soldiers to leave their posts: thousands of soldiers deserted during World War II, the Vietnam War and the Iraq War. I seem to recall the ‘decider’ (President George Bush) was MIA for an extended period of time during his supposedly National Guard duty – before he retired as a painter in Texas. If our national security depends locking up suspicious bearded guys in Afghanistan, indefinitely without the smidgen of due process, we are in deep trouble if we claim to be a nation of laws respecting international treaties. The people who should be on trial are the faceless politicians who sent these soldiers to war without a well-defined mission resulting in thousands of fatalities and horrific injuries. 

Veteran’s Care 6-5-14

5, June 2014

Veteran’s Care

General Shinseki’s departure is unlikely to solve the VA’s broader problems — a bloated bureaucracy that had been taught, over time, to hide its problems from Washington. The festering problem predates the Obama administration. No decisive action has been taken and President Obama continues to remains distant and aloof, periodically feigning outrage when the media reports frustrating delays encountered by veterans desperately seeking help. Even the high suicide rate of returning soldiers, haunted by the demons of war, failed to precipitate much action.  Layers of management grew in proportion to the growing patient load – it currently stands at a staggering 12-levels chain of command all the way to the bottom where the schedulers are assigned the critical tasks of matching veterans with the medical help they are seeking. That’s where the books were cooked – many appointments were simply deleted. Bonuses were awarded if the numbers looked good. The few employees burdened with a moral conscience were threatened with dismissal. This follows President Obama’s war on whistleblowers including New York Times reporter, Risen. Senior officials at the VA had little interest in their subordinate’s failings and felt safe behind the shield of ‘plausible deniability’. Other government departments suffer from the same inertia problems, most notably the department of Homeland Security and the Defense Intelligence Agency. What is also largely ignored is the failure to hold accountable those high government officials who made hasty decisions to send these young men and women to suffer the horrors of war.