Black Lives do Matter 4-28-2016

28, April 2016                      Black Lives do Matter

President Obama displayed uncharacteristic insensitivity in criticizing the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement. He urged African-Americans to ‘work within the system and cease shouting’. Perhaps, this admonition came when one prominent member encountered the Clintons and demanded an apology for using the derogatory term ‘super predators’. That term could more aptly describe rogue cops that prey on poor African-Americans hurling racial epithets with guns blazing. Every 36 hours, a black person is killed by a police officer. This year a staggering 1136 blacks have been killed by police officers. Comprising only 2% of the total US population, African American males between the ages of 15 and 34 accounts for than 15% of all deaths logged this year by an ongoing investigation into the use of deadly force by police. The rate of police-involved deaths was five times higher than for white men of the same age. Specific examples are too numerous to mention. However, the tragic death of Tamir Rice, a 12 year old African-American fatally shot by police within two seconds on arrival, is especially disturbing. When Tamir’s 14-year-old sister rushed to her brother’s side she was thrown to the ground and handcuffed. No effort was made to administer first aid to Tamir. African-Americans have tried to seek justice within the system to no avail. President Obama’s high office has insulated his family from the harsh realities confronting his brothers and sisters. He owes Black Lives Matter an unconditional apology.

Dennis Hastert 4-28-2016

28, April 2016                           Dennis Hastert

The delayed punishment of Dennis Hastert whose unusual rise to political fame, becoming the longest speaker of the House of Representatives - two heartbeats from the presidency – raises some troubling aspects of our current justice system. He was not charged with sexual abusing young members of his wrestling team, successfully stonewalling until the statute of limitations of 3 years had long passed which seems odd given the publicity and travails of Bill Cosby who is fighting charges of sexual abuse filed by his victims’ decades after the alleged abuses occurred. Then again, Anita Hill’s, charges of sexual harassment against Supreme Court Clarence Thomas seems to be a never ending saga.

In a flimsy attempt to punish Hastert, the justice department sentenced him to 15 months for illegally restructuring his bank transactions to pay off his victims. But how can he be punished for restructuring his own bank funds? Surely the money belonged to him and he should be at liberty to manage his own money without federal interference.

This case is full of anomalies the most egregious of which is the short statute of limitations period on sexual abuse whose revelations often only comes to light decades later. Remember the movie classic ‘The Boys of St. Vincent’ based a real story of horrific child abuse? Apparently, efforts to eliminate the statute of limitations have encountered strong opposition from an extremely powerful special interest group, the Catholic Church!

Israel’s Chief Speaks Out 4-27-2016

27, April 2016                      Israel’s Chief Speaks Out

In a recent public statement, Lieutenant General Gadi Eisenkot, Israeli chief of staff, made the following startling defense assessments. He observed, “two existential threats to Israel are declining – non-conventional weaponry, including Iran’s nuclear program and Syrian chemical weapons. Israel faces no existential threat because of the Iranian nuclear accord has removed Israel’s greatest threat.” Prime Minister, Netanyahu earlier inflammatory statements denouncing the Iranian accord should pay more attention to his own highest military officer. He owes President Obama and the American people an unconditional apology for fearmongering and sowing the seeds of discord between our two countries based on an erroneous threat from Iran. Hillary Clinton, who made no effort to challenge Netanyahu on his public statements, once again exposes her own poor judgment of foreign affairs. In order to ingratiate herself to the Jewish lobby and pandering for votes, she declared the first foreign dignitary she would invite to the White House, is Prime Minister of Israel, Netanyahu. Clinton is not the only war hawk seeking high office. Lindsey Graham, earlier statement - “the Iranian nuclear deal is akin to declaring war on Sunni Arabs and the P5 + 1” (China, France, Russia, Britain, U.S. and Germany).

Goldman Sachs 4-24-2016

24, April 206                       Goldman Sachs

In a perverse game of smoke and mirrors reminiscent of the great magician, Houdini, Goldman Sachs will pay considerably less than the original fine of $5.1 billion to settle accusations of wrong-doing which led to the financial crisis in 2008. Buried in the terms of the settlement, Goldman will be able to write down a minimum of $1 billion through a combination of tax credits and government incentives. For example, the Government has called for Goldman to spend $240 million on affordable housing but will only have to spend 30 percent to fulfill the terms of the agreement through generous tax credits for each dollar it spends on affordable housing. The fines were a concerted effort on the part of the Justice Department to mute simmering public outrage over the shenanigans and outright fraud of Wall Street Banks. This is precisely why  Bernie Sanders has galvanized the youth of the country. His distrust of the titans of Wall Street and backroom deals was echoed by Dennis Kelleher, the founder of the advocacy organization “Better Markets”, who commented “the settlement amount was grossly inflated for P.R. purposes to mislead the public, while the fine print, enabled Goldman Sachs to pay 50 to 75 percent less.”  Other Wall Street banks received similar fine print incentives to lessen the severity of the penalties. With huge speaking fees she has garnered from Wall Street Banks, there appears little hope that much will change under a Clinton administration. 

Dark Money 4-24-2016

24, April 2016                              Dark Money

According to the Intercept, there appears to be a pervasive intersection of money and politics. For example, many of the Democrats’ super delegates work as lobbyists for banks, oil companies, foreign companies and payday lenders. In a close race these super delegates could determine the party's nominee. Many of these groups, such as fossil fuel companies and Wall Street Banks are pouring huge sums of money to the Clinton companies in mortal fear that a Sanders presidency could severely impact their bottom line. What is largely ignored is the influence of foreign money on our domestic politics. The pro-TPP op eds appearing in many of the media often bears a strong resemblance to draft reports from foreign governments.  For example, one such article promoting TPP was lifted verbatim from a draft report by the Japanese government. Citizens United is only one insidious component of the influence of dark money into politics. PR consultants or think tanks can easily be paid off to place articles favorable to TPP or mute criticism of foreign governments. Witness the brilliant PR conducted by Pakistan’s General Yaya Khan to tilt US support in its favor during the genocide in 1971; or witness how Saudi’s Prince Bandar cultivated close chummy relationships with the Bush’s to mute criticism of their human rights abuses and seek favorable treatment following 9/11.

Saudi Arabia & 9/11 4-22-2016

22, April 2016                 Saudi Arabia & 9/11

President Obama would do well to listen to human rights organizations and block further arms sales to the Saudi Kingdom in the wake of their military strikes in Yemen. The United Nations estimates more than 3,000 civilians have died since the Saudi’s began bombing last March. As William Hartung, senior adviser to the Security Assistance Monitor opinioned “We should not be trading Saudi friendship for cluster bombs (banned by international law).”

Hartung latest book, "Prophets of War: Lockheed Martin and the Making of the Military-Industrial Complex" describes the incestuous relationship between our current and past governments, war profiteers, and the kings of Saudi Arabia.  Successive Saudi monarchs have contributed to the destabilization of the Middle East and much of the world by promoting their austere brand of Islam (Wahhabism), indoctrinating your children in religious schools. They have failed to resist the growing menace of ISIS and ignored the plight of refugees, the majority of whom are Muslims. Obama is wrong to oppose lawsuits of victims of 9/11 seeking compensation of possible Saudi involvement. 28 pages of the 9/11 report have still not been released. Perhaps readers will recall how special permission was granted to Saudi officials to leave the US while all other transport was grounded following 9/11.

The U.S. should not be intimidated by Saudi threats to sell off U.S. assets.  Let Senator Schumer’s proposed legislation holding Saudi Arabia for possible involvement in 9/11 go forward. If they were not involved they have nothing to fear.

Pakistan’s blasphemy law 4-18-2016

18, April 2016                      Pakistan’s blasphemy law

Last Monday, the Islamic scholar, Arafat Mazhar, gave an interesting talk at Stanford University to clarify Pakistan’s blasphemy law.

Mazhar has been on a personal crusade to educate the public on how the law has been hijacked and misinterpreted by self-styled imams to suit their own political agendas. Much to his amazement he discovered that the much revered imam in Pakistan who is responsible for the current interpretation of blasphemy, is not versed in Arabic, and could not therefore accurately interpret the original texts. It appears that in an effort to encourage group thought and create mortal fear for doubters or ‘apostates (non-believers),’ Pakistan deems a just punishment for insulting the prophet and apostates is death. Simply stated, – you blaspheme, you die. The option of life imprisonment was made defunct after a 1991 Federal Shariat Court judgement. According to Mazhar, the law’s original text forbade such punishment. Junaid Jamshed, a pop icon and widely heard Islamic evangelist, went viral on the Internet, in which his remarks were perceived as blasphemy against the Prophet Muhammad and his wife, Ayesha. He was sentenced to death but in spite of recanting in public and re-affirming his faith his death sentence has not been overturned. If this climate of intolerance continues, there is little hope of Pakistan surviving as a democratic society. 

Sanders & Clinton Clash over Israel 4-17-2016

17, April 2016              Sanders & Clinton Clash over Israel

Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton clashed over U.S. policy towards Israel.

While Clinton parrots much of the traditional narrative, namely, unconditional support to Israel irrespective of its behavior, Sanders offers a more balanced approach vehemently opposing illegal settlements and the continuation of decades of military occupation which has devastated the lives of Palestinians.

In a recent interview he stated “peace will mean ending what amounts to the occupation of Palestinian territory, establishing mutually agreed-upon borders, and pulling back settlements in the West Bank.” He echoed the sentiments of  the international community, including the U.S. State Department and the European Union, in voicing his concern that Israel’s recent expropriation of an additional 579 acres of land in the West Bank undermines the peace process and, ultimately, Israeli security.

In a recent interview, Professor Joel Beinin of Stanford University was extremely critical of Clinton’s false narrative blaming the Palestinians for the violence in Israel. Beinin alleged that on balance Israel has been the aggressor throughout its history. For example, Israel has aggressively attacked its neighbors in 1956, 1967, and 1982. Beinin also stated that the occupation and settlements are illegal under international law and expressed profound disappointment with Clinton’s lack of concern for the aspirations of the Palestinians. He was also critical of the Clintons’ cozying up to the brutal Egyptian dictator, Mubarak who repressed the democratic aspirations of the Egyptian people for decades.

Fracking – Clinton’s legacy 4-14-2016

14, April 2016                      Fracking – Clinton’s legacy

What has largely escaped media attention is Hillary Clinton’s close ties to the fracking industry. As Secretary of State, her legacy is indelibly linked to this industry which contributes significantly to global warming, drinking water contamination and land destabilization (earthquakes). She travelled the world promoting American-style fracking. She established a new bureau with a staff of 60 plus promoting energy resources with a special focus on fracking. As a surrogate of American companies like Chevron, she sought to encourage countries like Bangladesh, Papua New Guinea, and Bulgaria to partner with American companies to purchase fracking technology.

Sensing the winds of change, Clinton has said she would now defer to some states and municipal governments that might ban fracking and hoped for fracking that is environmentally sound and well regulated. Sadly, Clinton ignores the inconvenient truth that no such regulation exists. The federal government doesn’t even know how the extremely toxic, environmentally damaging methane is leaked from these fracked gas well sites.

The contrast with Bernie Sanders could not be starker. He has called for a national ban on fracking.

Egypt’s Repressive Policies 4-12-2016

12, April 2016                   Egypt’s Repressive Policies

We are paying a heavy price for coddling repressive regimes in the Middle East. Prior to General Sisi’s rule, we delivered $1.3 billion of military hardware to prop up decades of repressive rule of Hosni Mubarak. Since Sisi rose to power, a climate of terror has been unleashed; the country’s top human rights defenders are languishing in jail and have their bank accounts frozen.

Unconcerned with gross human rights abuses we continue to sell billions of weapons to all the Gulf States. Israel has also been the beneficiary of billions of economic and military aid in spite of its decades of harsh occupation and settlement expansion.

Outraged by the escalating repression, leading American Middle East experts — including two who served in the Obama administration —urged President Obama to confront President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. They condemned the  arbitrary imprisonment of tens of thousands of Egyptians and the use of torture and extrajudicial killings, including the brutal slaying of an Italian student believed to have been carried out by state security. There is little doubt that Egypt’s scorched earth policies are fueling much of the opposition. Tamara  Wittes, a fellow at the Brookings Institution was more forthright stating “Egypt is neither an anchor of stability nor a reliable partner.” Obama should heed these collective voices and call an immediate halt to military aid to such a repressive regime that has shown total disregard for human rights.

Drones strikes fueling more rage 4-12-2016

12, April 2016                Drones strikes fueling more rage

Yet another drone carnage occurred just over a week ago. Afghan officials say at least 17 civilians were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan. The first strike hit the truck of a local elder killing the elder and 11 others. The second drone struck killed two people who were collecting their bodies. A third drone strike killed three more villagers who had rushed to see what had happened. Predictably, the Pentagon claimed there were no civilian casualties. This latest tragedy comes on the heels of a U.S. oversight office report which issued a damning indictment of Pentagon wastage. The report indicates that since 2002 $113 billion to reconstruct Afghanistan has largely been wasted. The report provides details of shoddily built structures, unsafe roads and hundreds of empty schools. U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who was responsible for the report, said, "Fifteen years into an unfinished work of funding and fighting, we must indeed ask, 'What went wrong?'" The $113 billion exceeds more than the total the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

It is time to call a halt to our Afghanistan misadventure which has costs precious Afghan and American lives, and squandered billions. We are paying a heavy price for giving a blank check to the Pentagon in the mistaken belief that they are keeping us safe and winning the nebulous ‘war on terror’. Civilian deaths are fueling much of the insurgency. 

Drones strikes fueling more rage 4-12-2016

12, April 2016           Drones strikes fueling more rage

Yet another drone carnage occurred just over a week ago. Afghan officials say at least 17 civilians were killed by U.S. drone strikes in Afghanistan. The first strike hit the truck of a local elder killing the elder and 11 others. The second drone struck killed two people who were collecting their bodies. A third drone strike killed three more villagers who had rushed to see what had happened. Predictably, the Pentagon claimed there were no civilian casualties. This latest tragedy comes on the heels of a U.S. oversight office report which issued a damning indictment of Pentagon wastage. The report indicates that since 2002 $113 billion to reconstruct Afghanistan has largely been wasted. The report provides details of shoddily built structures, unsafe roads and hundreds of empty schools. U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction John Sopko, who was responsible for the report, said, "Fifteen years into an unfinished work of funding and fighting, we must indeed ask, 'What went wrong?'" The $113 billion exceeds more than the total the U.S. spent on the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.

It is time to call a halt to our Afghanistan misadventure which has costs precious Afghan and American lives, and squandered billions. We are paying a heavy price for giving a blank check to the Pentagon in the mistaken belief that they are keeping us safe and winning the nebulous ‘war on terror’. Civilian deaths are fueling much of the insurgency. 

The Panama Papers 4-5-2016

5, April 2016               The Panama Papers

A document known as the “Panama Papers” has exposed the sordid details of how the rich and powerful hide their wealth by using tax havens to avoid paying taxes. It’s by far the largest leak in journalism history.  The world’s fourth largest offshore Panama based law firm, Mossack Fonseca, set up a massive global nefarious scheme to service their clients. Last Sunday, journalists released 11.5 million secret files from Fonseca’s database.

Thus far, the revelations have incriminated 12 heads of state and a number of other politicians, their family members and close associates, including friends of Russian President Vladimir Putin, relatives of the prime ministers of Britain, Iceland and Pakistan, the son of Malaysian prime minister, the Saudi monarchy and the president of Ukraine. The prime minister of Iceland has already resigned and more heads are sure to follow. Relatives of at least eight current or former members of China’s top ruling body are also mentioned. In a desperate effort of damage control, Chinese news groups were ordered to purge all references  of the Panama Papers. Panama’s “Snowden,” responsible for the leak, has not been identified, and has used an encrypted chat to communicate with the Munich-based Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper, the prime recipient of the leak. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists spanning many countries set aside their usual competitive nature by printing their stories on the same day. This is journalism at its finest.

Nuclear Weapons 4-1-2016

1, April 206                             Nuclear Weapons

Hosting a nuclear security forum of world leaders on Friday, April 1 2016, offers President Obama a rare opportunity to follow through on his earlier pledge to reduce the stockpile of nuclear weapons.

Thus far, his efforts have been disappointing. According to the Federation of American Scientists, Obama’s record has been abysmal compared to other cold-war war presidents.

Surprisingly, President George Bush achieved a 50% nuclear stockpile reduction during his tenure, a percentage higher than all other presidents since 1945. Comparatively, Obama has achieved a disappointing 10% reduction of 507 warheads.

In his 2009 foreign policy address in Prague, Obama pledged to seek a world without nuclear weapons.

In 2011 he achieved a groundbreaking New START Treaty with Russia which mandated significant nuclear weapons stockpile reductions and inspection verification protocols. Since taking office Obama has persuaded the international community to reduce their stockpiles but following the 2011 treaty, the momentum has been lost.

For example, his administration has slashed the National Nuclear Security Administration non-proliferation budget by $339 million. To appease a Congress hostile to the New START Treaty he pledged a significant increase in weapons modernization to the tune of $1 trillion over 30 years. This is a tragic mistake. Obama could do far more to fulfill his Prague promise before his term expires.