007 killers 3-30-2019

30, March 2019                                       007 killers

An army of CIA 007 license killers have been unleashed in many parts of the world under the radar of the media. There is no accountability of the number killed or maimed under the new Executive Order. Drone strikes have tripled under the Trump administration which have killed hundreds of civilians in Somalia, Yemen, Pakistan and many other parts of the world which is intensifying rage against the US. Reporting on civilian casualties is no longer required making the wars invisible. If the US Congress has the will they can halt these senseless drone strikes.

The Pentagon insists that no civilians have been killed in Somalia which is a bold face lie. Americans must speak out on the epidemic of mass murder being committed by our government. Moslems also need to speak out on the senseless killing by the Islamic fundamentalists like Al-Shabab in Somalia.

The Barr Report 3-27-2019

27, March 2019                    The Barr Report

Before the Republicans break out into a frenzy of back slapping and high fives, we must remember that we have not seen the Mueller Report only a brief summary from AG Barr, Let us also remember that following colossal business failures and facing an enormous liquidity crisis Trump chose to acquire loans from Deutsch Bank, the same bank used by numerous Russians to launder money. I wonder if Mueller’s team acquired Trump’s bank records. I wonder if there was a quid pro quo between Trump and Russian oligarchs who used the same bank to launder money. The House Intelligence Committee should investigate why Trump’s children and Jared Kushner had secret meetings with Russian intelligence and lied about these meetings. Kushner also met secretly with a former FSB case officer who was head of a Russian bank and sought a secret back channel from the Russian ambassador’s residence. No collusion?

Is Trump heading for a full blown Mental Breakdown? 3-25-2019

25 March 2019,              Is Trump heading for a full blown Mental Breakdown?

Donald Trump continues his non-stop ranting and twitter insults.

His latest victims? The husband of his close advisor, Kellyanne Conway and America’s war hero, John McCain. Disparaging McCain reminds me of the time when Trump received an exemption for a “painful bone spur” diagnosis from a shameless doctor which allowed him to escape from the Vietnam draft. This was a quid pro quo for the doctor receiving favorable rental arrangements from his landlord, Trump’s father. McCain’s family have challenged Trump to reveal the X-ray of his heal spur. Perhaps he should also dust off his hidden school grades to ensure the public he has nothing to hide.

His latest tiff with the deceased McCain has not stirred the slumbering Republicans to voice their outrage. The “bull in the china shop” Trump continues to flaunt international law “gifting the Golan Heights to Israel to help his friend Prime Minister Netanyahu’s reelection prospects. He ended a disastrous week by removing the latest round of sanctions against North Korea recommended by the State Department.

US denies visas to ICC judges 3-22-2019

22, March 2019                     US denies visas to ICC judges

Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, recently announced that the U.S. will start denying visas to members of the ICC who may be investigating alleged war crimes by the U.S. military in Afghanistan. War hawk, John Bolton went further threatening U.S. sanctions against the judges. The ICC has accused the U.S.  military of brutally torturing at least 61 prisoners in Afghanistan during the ongoing war, The report also leveled charges against the CIA accusing the agency of torture and rape in Afghanistan, and black sites in Poland, Romania, and Lithuania.

The visa restrictions were also issued to deter ICC efforts on investigating Israeli war crimes. Members of the court, particularly European countries, have strongly condemned the Trump administration’s actions. Crimes committed by the US military and the CIA have been well documented by US officials in the “torture memo” which successive US administrations have refused to make public. As further evidence of our increasing disdain for basic human rights, the current administration has withdrawn from the United Nations Human Rights Council and has ignored 20 requests by special rapporteurs of the United Nations. In essence, the US is saying “No one has a right to judge what we do abroad.”  This has established a dangerous precedent for other nations guilty of similar violations. Threatening ICC judges from doing their jobs makes a complete mockery of our claim to be a moral authority to the rest of the world.

College admissions “Upstairs –downstairs” 3-19-2019

19, March 2019             College admissions “Upstairs –downstairs”

The college admissions scandal continues to reverberate across the nation, the “upstairs” folks continue to game the system with their wealth and power to ensure their offspring gain admission to elite colleges while the “downstairs” oppressed folks are effectively shut out.

In his ground breaking book, “Winners Take All: . . .” Anand Giridharadas, examines how the elite class consolidates their power and wealth. He argues, America is rigged for the wealthy. The tax code favors the rich, the anti-trust enforcement favors the rich. Funding public schools favors the rich.  Those poor kids who studied hard from the inner city whose parents worked at multiple jobs will be denied admission because someone like Bill McGlashan, private equity baron, impact investing impresario, who had a $2 billion impact fund with Bono, has locked up that seat for his son. As Koch brothers have demonstrated, the conquest of power is done, is through charity and philanthropy.

Here is how the tax payers get ripped off. Rich guys donate to fake charities or foundations such as Singer, Key’s Worldwide Foundation or the Trump Foundation and take a fat deduction from their taxes. The non-profit foundation pays no taxes. The donation then gets passed on the “Stanford Boating Club” or university who are registered  non-profit and pay no taxes. Many of the pedigree “grads” then get high paying jobs in consulting and finance taking advantage of their alum status to complete the cycle creating a deeply entrenched upstairs-downstairs system!

NZ Massacre & Donald Trump 3-17-2019

17, March 2019                 NZ Massacre & Donald Trump

The terror attack by a white supremacist Australian slaughtering forty nine Muslims at two mosques in Christchurch New Zealand is an affront to all humanity, and to our common Creator.  Muslim worshipers are not jihadists bent on doing harm.

Photos of the attack and the hate drenched manifesto circulated around the world amplifying its gruesome message.

It is telling that the shooter named President Trump as his white savior who gained power by stoking hate and fear to galvanize his base. He warned that his wall was to protect America from a “caravan” of Central American (brown) migrants seeking asylum. He tossed in bogus stories of “Middle Easterners” in the caravan. He warned that Britain was “losing its culture” and that uncontrolled immigration was changing the fabric of Europe. Digging into his bottomless bag of hate speech he falsely accused Muslims of celebrating the Sept.11 attacks and introduced his travel ban on mainly Muslim countries.   Republicans who failed to condemn his rambling diatribes against immigrants are complicit in his ongoing hate crimes.

The cancer of white nationalism is not limited to the US; its tentacles have spread world-wide threatening immigrant communities desperately escaping conflicts in their home countries.

Muslims could help neutralize white nationalism by condemning all acts of violence committed by Islamic jihadists and fully embracing the laws and Constitution of their host countries. All religious communities should demonstrate their allegiance to God by acts of kindness, compassion and good deeds – not hate.

Iranian saint sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes 3-15-2019

15, March 2019             Iranian saint sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes

An Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was sentenced to 38 years in prison and 148 lashes. Her crime? Defending women’s right to remove their head scarves. Why do Iran’s male dominated theocratic leaders feel so threatened by a women’s right to remove their hijab’s? Wearing a head scarf or a suffocating burka has nothing to do with Islam. The founder of Islam only advised Muslim women to dress modestly to avoid undue attention. Arch enemies, Iran and Saudi Arabia, have much in common when it comes to their appalling attitude to independent minded women who put their lives on the line in a determined effort to resist “stone age” insufferable demands imposed by their male dominated rulers.

Human rights lawyer, Nasrin Sotoudeh, was charged with “colluding against the system” and “insulting” the thin skinned supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.  Nasrin had already been convicted, of “stoking “corruption and prostitution” stemming from her defense of women choosing to remove the Muslim head scarf and a few years earlier of “activities against national security” and “propaganda against the regime.” There are no such restrictions on males who can choose to be bare headed and are not obliged to adhere to any dress code. I urge readers to express solidarity with Nasrin by emailing Gholamali Khoshroo, Permanent Mission of the Islamic Republic of Iran at ran@un.int or tweet at @Iran_UN and demand Nasrin Sotoudeh’s immediate release.

Rep. Ilhan Omar 3-10-2019

10, March 2019                            Rep. Ilhan Omar

Rep. Ilhan Omar has been falsely singled out as the face of anti-Semitism to silence her growing voice on foreign policy issues, more especially our lopsided support for Israel which is committing unspeakable atrocities against the Palestinians. 

Let us remember Israel is not a democracy.  A true democracy ensures all its citizens, Jews, Christians and Palestinians enjoy equal rights. Let us also remember that the UN censured Israel for possible war crimes in Gaza gunning down killing and maiming men women and even children. Recently the far right Jewish Power party, embraced by Prime Minster Netanyahu, has gained a strong foothold in Israeli politics advocating for the expulsion of all non-Jews. It has been designated a terrorist group by the FBI.

Omar is right to question the massive stranglehold that lobbyists have on Congress — calling out the special interest groups that protect unquestioning U.S. alliances, from Israel to Saudi Arabia.

The AIPAC lobby uses enormous to pressure and intimidate members of Congress. Until now, these methods have largely accomplished their goal: an almost total and unconditional refusal in Congress to question Israel’s human rights violations against Palestinians or the $3.8 billion in military aid we give to Israel each year. Let us demand this money be diverted to lift poor Americans out of poverty and to rebuild communities severely impacted by climate change.

Stephon Clark 3-6-2019

6, March 2019                             Stephon Clark

On March 18^th, African-American, Stephon Clark was brutally gunned down by Sacramento police in a hail of 20 bullets. The police justification followed a familiar theme. They claimed Stephan was holding a gun which turned out to be a cellphone. They failed to issue any warning or use nonlethal weapons. In a clear effort to suppress incriminating evidence, the police officers shut off the audio of the video cam after killing Stephon Clark. And now we are told that the county’s district attorney will not file criminal charges against the two police officers who shot and killed him. Contrast how police responded to white domestic terrorists such as Nikolas Cruz, the mass shooter in Florida or Dylann Storm Roof, who gunned down the parishioners at the Mother Emanuel Church. In both cases they escaped being killed by police.

Let us hope a federal investigation will remedy this grave injustice.

Netanyahu of Israel embraces terror group 3/4/2019

4, March 2019                     Netanyahu of Israel embraces terror group

In a desperate attempt to cling to power, Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu, has aligned himself to the “Jewish Power party”, designated a terrorist group by the FBI. While much of the attention in the US media is focused on the rise of anti-Semitism, little attention has been paid to the rise of hate crimes against Christians and Arabs in Israel.

In 1994 Baruch Goldstein, a JP party member, massacred 29 Muslims as they prayed in Hebron but this atrocity only increased the power and influence of the JP.

It calls Christians“bloodsucking vampires”, declaring that Christians should be outlawed and 2.2 million Arabs expelled from Israel and its occupied territories.

Its leader, Benzi Gopstein, runs Lehava, an Israeli organization that opposes inter marriage, discourages intermixing between Jews, Christians and Muslims and condemns Palestinians as a “dangerous cancer” that “has metastasized everywhere.” It warmly embraces the “hilltop youth” – wild gangs of Jewish thugs who continue to terrorize and demolish Palestinian homes, all with a wink and a nod from the Israeli Government.

The Israel human right newspaper, Ha’aretz describes its members as Jewish extremists whose client list reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of suspects in Jewish terror cases and hate crimes in Israel.”  

Netanyahu, who is engulfed in serious ethical violations, continues to use anti-Semitism as a shield to deflect worldwide criticism of Israel. In a major flip-flop, Netanyahu who previously condemned the JP has now warmly embraced its leaders signing an agreement promising it two ministerial posts and two seats in the Security Cabinet. This new coalition was described by Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, as the political equivalent of “a U.S. president cutting a political deal with a leader of the KKK.” It’s a pity the ‘fair and balanced’ US media never covers the sad plight of Christians and Palestinians in Israel and its occupied territories.

Meanwhile, US taxpayers suffering from chronic economic insecurity, the severe impact of climate change, crumbling fracture sends Israel $10 million per day.

Netanyahu of Israel embraces terror group 3-4-2019

4, March 2019                Netanyahu of Israel embraces terror group

In a desperate attempt to cling to power, Prime Minister of Israel Netanyahu, has aligned himself to the “Jewish Power party”, designated a terrorist group by the FBI. While much of the attention in the US media is focused on the rise of anti-Semitism, little attention has been paid to the rise of hate crimes against Christians and Arabs in Israel.

In 1994 Baruch Goldstein, a JP party member, massacred 29 Muslims as they prayed in Hebron but this atrocity only increased the power and influence of the JP.

It calls Christians“bloodsucking vampires”, declaring that Christians should be outlawed and 2.2 million Arabs expelled from Israel and its occupied territories.

Its leader, Benzi Gopstein, runs Lehava, an Israeli organization that opposes inter marriage, discourages intermixing between Jews, Christians and Muslims and condemns Palestinians as a “dangerous cancer” that “has metastasized everywhere.” It warmly embraces the “hilltop youth” – wild gangs of Jewish thugs who continue to terrorize and demolish Palestinian homes, all with a wink and a nod from the Israeli Government.

The Israel human right newspaper, Ha’aretz describes its members as Jewish extremists whose client list reads like a ‘Who’s Who’ of suspects in Jewish terror cases and hate crimes in Israel.”  

Netanyahu, who is engulfed in serious ethical violations, continues to use anti-Semitism as a shield to deflect worldwide criticism of Israel. In a major flip-flop, Netanyahu who previously condemned the JP has now warmly embraced its leaders signing an agreement promising it two ministerial posts and two seats in the Security Cabinet. This new coalition was described by Israeli journalist, Barak Ravid, as the political equivalent of “a U.S. president cutting a political deal with a leader of the KKK.” It’s a pity the ‘fair and balanced’ US media never covers the sad plight of Christians and Palestinians in Israel and its occupied territories.

Meanwhile, US taxpayers suffering from chronic economic insecurity, the severe impact of climate change, crumbling fracture sends Israel $10 million per day.