Response to a NYT endorsement of Hillary Clinton 1-30-2016

The following is a response to a NYT endorsement of Hillary Clinton, 30, January 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/31/opinion/sunday/hillary-clinton-endorsement.html?comments#permid=17398601

Clinton has been playing defense in most of her political career; from Whitewater and the Rose Law Firm records straight through to Benghazi and the email server which according to recent revelations contained extremely “top SAP” emails (above top secret) . She hired an army of advisers to improve her failing image to increase her appeal to wealthy donors. Supports drone attacks, which have resulted in the death of 90% civilians and is a massive recruitment for ISIS and other terrorists; was a major supporter of the disastrous 2003 invasions of Iraq and Libya. Used her position to promote the interests of multinational corporations at the expense of the interests of working people in sharp contrast to Bernie Sanders.

Has been MIA on the $15 demand; She was on the board of Wal-Mart. Alice Walton has donated a huge amount of money to her super PAC; Wal-Mart has a notorious union-busting record. She and her husband were very close to Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, who orchestrated the radical deregulation of Wall Street. The Clinton’s signed on the collateralized debt obligation law which allowed all junk to be legal, the Commodity Futures Modernization Act, the Financial Services Modernization Act, the reverse Glass-Steagall, which opened the door to the Wall Street thieves that brought on the Great Recession. 

As Secretary of State racked up thousands of frequent flier miles but accomplished nothing in contrast to Kerry who has accomplished miracles in his short tenure.

Donald Trump 1-26-2016

26, January 2016                 Donald Trump

Donald Trump has started the new year with a big bang with his comment,“I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters, O.K.?” – meaning most of his supporters embrace anarchy and the rule of law?

In a race to the bottom, the Teflon Trump, spews his outrageous comments to the hungry media which repeatedly regurgitates them as entertainment value to its readers and viewers.  Thus, Trump gains free publicity and – yes, more support playing to a segment of an angry population frustrated that their American dream is rapidly fading.

Not surprisingly, the founder of Palintology, a new language harking from the  “paleontology era”, Sarah Pain, has endorsed her hero, shrieking “Trump’s candidacy, it has exposed not just that tragic ramifications of that betrayal of the transformation of our country, but too, he has exposed the complicity on both sides of the aisle that has enabled it, O.K.? Well, Trump, what he’s been able to do, which is really ticking people off, which I’m glad about, he’s going rogue left and right, man, that’s why he’s doing so well.” Small wonder that Stephen Colbert, preparing a rendition of Palin on The Late Show, had to first fry part of his brain that formulates sentence structure with a Taser gun.

Dark Money 1-24-2016

24, January 2016                     Dark Money

In her new book, “Dark Money”, New Yorker reporter, Jane Mayer, explores how the Koch brothers and their fellow right-wing billionaires have poured money to elect Republican ideologies to shape public policy. Mayer traces the history of the family fortune beginning with industrialist, Fred Koch, the Koch’s father who built an oil refinery in Nazi Germany which was personally approved by Adolf Hitler. The fuel from the refinery was used on German warplanes.

The Koch brothers expanded their family fortune amassing a combined aggregate of about $82 billion. They plan to spend nearly $900 million on the 2016 presidential and congressional races. Since the Supreme Court’s Citizen United landmark decision which removed limits on campaign spending, the Kochs and others such as Mellon banking and Gulf heir, Richard Mellon Scaife, chemical tycoon John M. Olin, electronics magnates Harry and Lynde Bradley have leveraged their business empires on candidates who will serve their corporate interests with the safe knowledge that the source of their donations will be kept secret. The “dark money” is also used to fund right-wing think tanks, university endowments, research to favor their right-wing agenda such as Americans for Prosperity, Citizens for a Sound Economy.  Koch Industries has recently been cited as the single biggest U.S. producer of toxic waste.

Funding from the corporate conglomerates, “The Kochtopus” is conditional on signing on to a pledge denying climate change. A staggering 156 members of Congress have already signed on to the pledge.

More Clinton Revelations 1-21-2016

21, January 2016               More Clinton Revelations

During the last Democratic presidential debate the hawkish Hillary Clinton called for fresh sanctions against Iran over their missile tests. This irresponsible demand was made amidst sensitive negotiations over the release of American captives while the prisoners were still in Iran. American journalist and former Iran prisoner, Shane Bauer, severely castigated Clinton’s comments. Bauer accused Clinton of jeopardizing the lives of the prisoners, putting her presidential aspirations ahead of the safety of the captives. Bauer tweeted, "Seriously, why would Hillary call for more sanctions now? As far as we know, 4 of the Americans are still in Iran. Totally irresponsible” He further commented- “all she ever does with Iran is inflame tensions."

To add to Clinton woes, a further review of her email server revealed classified information at much higher levels than previously reported. Officials found information classified as “top secret SAP (Special Access Programs), a level above “top secret.” This is completely at odds were her earlier assertion that none of the emails she sent or received were classified.

Her prior admission that she regrets her support for the invasion of Iraq and the removal of Kaddafi in Libya, which plunged the Middle East into utter chaos, brings into serious question her much tooted foreign policy experience. 

Israeli Settlements 1-20-2016

20, January 2016                    Israeli Settlements

The world renowned human rights organization, Human Rights Watch, has called for all companies to cease doing business with Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank. The group’s new report, titled "Occupation, Inc.," also calls on countries like the United States to "withhold funding to the Israeli government in an amount equivalent to its expenditures and related infrastructure in the West Bank." The settlements have been declared illegal under international law. The report comes on the heels of a statement by the U.S. ambassador to Israel, Daniel Shapiro, in which he accused Israel of the abominable treatment of Palestinians. He stated that Israel “having two standards for adherence to the rule of law in the West Bank—one for Jews and one for Palestinians. He added "Too many attacks on Palestinians lack a vigorous investigation or response by Israeli authorities. Too much vigilantism goes unchecked. And at times there seem to be two standards of adherence to the rule of law—one for Israelis and another for Palestinians."

It is time the Obama administration stiffen their collective spines and take heed of the ambassador’s advice and stop supporting Israel’s disdain for international law and its appalling treatment of the Palestinians. To add insult to injury, the Obama administration has pledged to reward Israel for its bad behavior by diverting additional tax payer funds to the tune of $2 billion a year for the next ten years.

Israel’s Terror Groups 1-18-2016

18, January 2016                     Israel’s Terror Groups

Prime Minister Netanyahu policy of settlement expansion and the Obama’s weak opposition has given rise to more settler violence.

The Israel internal security agency, Shin Bet, voiced concerned of the growing Jewish terror groups who were responsible for the July arson attack that killed a Palestinian baby and his parents in the West Bank village of Duma. The terrorist network, known as REVOLT, has expanded dramatically establishing cells in the lawless unauthorized outposts encircling the West Bank. Shin Bet says the group poses a serious and a continuing danger of extreme violence. To reign in the growing menace, Israel has resorted to using draconian undemocratic measures hitherto reserved for the Palestinians such as indefinite administrative detention without trial. The “hard core” of the terrorists hail from the radical fringe known as hilltop youths. Working in small groups they have resorted to using firebombs and spray paint to terrorize Palestinians. At one site, Shin Bet found detailed instructions on how to set fire on mosques and Palestinian homes. Churches have also been firebombed and human right advocates threatened.

The manifesto seeks to bring about the collapse of the state of Israel and replacing it with a Jewish kingdom based on religious law, expelling all non-Jews. The Revolt has received support of some radical rabbis who collectively pioneered an aggressive doctrine known as Price Tag.

The attacks threatens to drive a new wedge into Israeli society, a sad testament to Prime Minister Netanyahu policy of pandering to Jewish extremists. 

Flint, Michigan 1-12-2016

12, January 2016             Flint, Michigan

There has been growing concern in Flint Michigan of lead contamination in the drinking water. The poisoning of the water began after an unelected emergency manager appointed by Governor Snyder switched the city’s water source to the heavily polluted Flint River in a bid to save money. Lead is an extremely hazardless contaminant that can cause permanent health damage including memory loss and developmental impairment. Tests at Virginia Tech reported that the water could have been treated for as little as $100 a day. The mayor of Flint revealed that it would cost $1.5 billion to fix the city’s crumbling water infrastructure. State officials have ignored residents’ complaints for over a year. Last February, tests showed alarming levels of lead but officials told residents there was no cause for concern.

Numerous emails from the EPA were ignored. Governor Snyder’s chief of staff, Dennis Muchmore, email sent to health officials admitted Flint residents were, "basically getting blown off by us."

In a futile effort at damage control, Governor Snyder declared a state of emergency after learning federal prosecutors had opened an investigation into Flint’s drinking water. The scandal reeks of bureaucratic ineptness and there have been growing calls for Governor Snyder to resign or face impeachment.

Saudi Arabia 1-10-2016

10, January 2016                 Saudi Arabia

In yet another blatant attempt to stifle free speech, Saudi Arabia executed a much revered Shia cleric, Sheikh Nimr and 46 other dissidents. Nimr had been arrested multiple times, including his involvement in protests after the Arab Spring uprising. His activism dates back to his grandfather who long stood in opposition to Saudi oppression of the Shia minority. Nimr promoted a rare new democratic model calling for the support of the oppressed against the oppressor, no matter their religion, their sect and their ethnicity. He was a unifying voice who won the admiration of many young Sunni men and women.

In contrast with the grotesque ISIS head chopping spectacles that have stirred the wrath of Washington and much of the Western world the Saudi’s who engage in similar acts have been greeted with deafening silence.

With declining oil prices the Saudi government has had to cut back on spending on a population who have long been pampered and insulated from that dreaded 4-letter word, WORK, importing large numbers of foreign workers to perform menial labor. Unconcerned about human rights violations by the Saudis, the US has supplied close to $100 billion in weapons sales during the past five years, including banned cluster bombs which have been used against a largely civilian population in neighboring Yemen. Rivers of Saudi money and weapons have also flowed to the demonic ISIS. Furthermore, the Saudis have exported their harsh brand of Islam, Wahhabism and funded Madrassas (religious schools) to ensure a steady stream of new terrorist recruits willing to commit egregious acts against infidels to ensure a coveted place in the afterlife

Myanmar 1-10-2016

10, January 2016                 Myanmar

In flip/flop movements, the arc of the universe seems to be bending towards and away from social justice.

Much like the other unsung hero, Nelson Mandela, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has languished in jail for decades only to emerge from the shadows helping her party win the November election by a landslide. Unfortunately, the rise of democracy has been accompanied by a racist and xenophobic demagoguery against the Rohingya (Muslim) minority.

According to a Yale study the appalling abuse of more than one million Rohingya may amount to genocide whose conclusions are reinforced by a United Nations report to the Security Council which accuses Myanmar “of committing crimes against humanity under international criminal law.” Aung San Suu Kyi is unable or unwilling to oppose the popular Buddhist sentiment of oppressing the Rohingya. Her willingness to sacrifice principle for political expediency, is deeply disappointing.

Sadly, our own Nobel Peace Prize winner, President Obama, continues to remain silent in the wake of the Rohingya genocide of 67 concentration camps where the unfortunate Muslims languish.

The global and UN response has been hugely disappointing and the plight of the Rohingya has been ignored by most Muslim countries. The few unsung heroes are aid groups like Save the Children, Fortify Watch, Doctors without Borders and Human Rights Watch. In a cringing capitulation, the US embassy in Myanmar, scrupulously avoids all references to the World’s forgotten stateless people. 

3 Sunni-Led States Join Saudi Arabia’s Diplomatic Feud Against Iran 1-5-2016

Comment in response to NYT op ed, 3 Sunni-Led States Join Saudi Arabia’s Diplomatic Feud Against Iran http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/world/middleeast/bahrain-sudan-united-arab-emirates-join-diplomatic-feud-against-iran.html?comments#permid=17116303

Israel’s Assault on Free Speech 1-5-2016

5, January 2016       Israel’s Assault on Free Speech

Israel’s fragile democracy is once again under fierce attack. Last month, an Israeli ultranationalist group released a video containing the mug shots of four Israeli human rights activists, depicting them as terrorists, ‘moles of foreign powers.’  Prime minister, Netanyahu and his fellow right wing ideologues failed to condemn the video for its outright slander and incitement to violence. Equally troubling, is the growing effort by the government, led by Justice Minister, Ayelet Shaked, to stifle free speech.  

Last month, Shaked, introduced a bill that would force human rights groups to identify themselves as “funded by foreign entities,” and carry identifying badges in a blatant effort to further stigmatize such groups. This is the government’s latest effort to silence activists who oppose Israel’s decades occupation of Palestinian territories, its illegal settlement policy and systematic abuse of Palestinian rights. The government dragnet includes, Breaking the Silence, a group of military veterans who oppose the occupation. This group has been smeared as anti-Israeli and banned from speaking to military schools. Anti-democratic reforms have intensified under successive Netanyahu led governments. These include the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movements, and slashing funding for institutions that commemorate the “Nakba” (Arabic word for “catastrophe” used to describe the forced removal of Palestinians from their homes during the founding of Israel in 1948). By its actions, Israel is in complete violation of The United Nations’ 1999 Declaration of Human Rights Defenders which obligates states to take proactive measures against the stigmatization of rights advocates.

Israel’s Donald Trump 1-2-2016

2, January 2015         Israel’s Donald Trump

In a highly controversial move, Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, picked his new chief of public diplomacy, Ran Baratz whose outspoken comments reflects closely with our own beloved Donald Trump. Baratz began his tenure by accusing President Obama of being anti-Semitic and compared Secretary of State John Kerry’s “mental age” to that of a preteen.

He further alienated Palestinians by expressing his wish to see the building of a third Jewish temple on a contested Old City compound and then went on to insult Israel’s president, Reuven Rivlin, calling him “a marginal figure” unworthy of assassination, and suggesting that he “could be sent in a paraglider” into Syria, where the Islamic State would retreat if only Israel would take him back. Incensed Israeli politicians called for Baratz’s nomination to be rescinded, while commentators said the decision reflected extremely sloppy work on the part of Netanyahu’s staff. 

Mitchel Barak, a political consultant in Jerusalem accused Netanyahu of sending a negative message to the world - “I don’t care about public diplomacy, I have a right-wing government, I have a right-wing policy, and I’m going to send people who are offensive by appointing only hard-core ideologues,” the rest of the world be damned! Baratz’s nomination joins a number of right-wing appointments much to the dismay of Washington and other Western capitals. Ms. Schneider, a prominent blogger, reflected that while some of Mr. Baratz’s statements might be shocking to Americans, his views were supported by Netanyahu and a majority of Israelis. To compound Netanyahu’s problems, deputy foreign minister, Tzipi Hotovely, told an interviewer that she dreamed of raising the Israeli flag atop the Temple Mount, the Old City site known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary.

A clearly embarrassed Netanyahu retracted his own earlier statement that it was Palestinian cleric, not Hitler, who came up with the idea to annihilate Europe’s Jews — a statement that was declared to be completely false by Holocaust historians. Responding to the U.S. nuclear accord with Iran, Baratz accused Obama of “throwing us under the wheels of the bus, even if he did this with a winning smile, while he supplied us with plenty of Band-Aids.” According to the Congressional Research Service, these Band-Aids have cost U.S. taxpayer $121 billion since its founding in 1948 (adjusting for inflation, $233.7 billion as of March 2013). A growing number of Americans are incensed at Israel’s insults, biting the hand that feeds it billions of dollars a year. It is time to call a halt to such aid to an Israeli government that has nothing but disdain for our president and members of his staff.