Facebook 10/27/2019

27, October 2019                             Facebook  

Facebook is the new religion. Its “megachurch” spans a third of the globe with 2.4 billion users tuning in many times a day to receive their daily dose of social tidbits and fake news. Pastor Zuckerberg overseas its vast empire. Facts are rarely checked. Billions of dollars are made intentionally peddling false news which gets people so riled up they inadvertently expose themselves to slick advertising which ensures rivers of money land up in Facebook’s coffers.  Real news sources are often ignored in favor of media blitzes of unadulterated sludge.

Zuckerberg’s charm offensive before Congress turned out to be not so charming. He falsely anointed himself as a custodian of free expression in the global marketplace of ideas. His favorite response to fix Facebook has always been "we have more work to do."

He was unable to respond to a barrage of questions directed at Facebook’s inability or unwillingness to monitor content stating “I think people should be able to hear for themselves what politicians are saying.” This dishonest response ignores the simple fact that large segments of the population, especially older Americans, do not have the technical expertise to sort the wheat from the chaff.

The company’s algorithms amplify the echo chamber of user’s inherent bias. The more outlandish the lie, the more like-minded users are attracted like moths to a flame.

The Trump administration recently inserted a particularly cruel virus into America’s bloodstream vilifying Joe Biden making it nearly impossible to refute such innuendos.

Censored by the British BBC 10/25/2019

25, October 2019                        Censored by the British BBC

Islamophobia has taken hold in the UK. My brother, Lord Indarjit of Wimbledon recent broadcast was censored by the BBC. Here is the background of historical facts that were deemed too sensitive for British Muslims.

It is an historical fact that the ninth Guru of the Sikhs, Guru Tegh Bahadur, was martyred by Mughal emperor Jahangir for refusing to embrace Islam.

Tyranny and religious persecution of Hindus and Sikhs reached its peak when Aurangzeb ascended to the throne in Delhi. He had long cherished converting India to Islam and vigorously started destroying temples and forcing Hindus to embrace Islam or face death.

Fearing the imminent destruction of their religion, a group of Kashmiri Brahmins visited Amarnath, the abode of Hindu Lord Shiva, to invoke his mercy. At Amarnath Lord Shiva visited the Brahmins in their dream and asked them to go to Guru Tegh Bahadur and plead for his help in saving the Hindu religion.

Tegh Bahadur agreed to visit Aurangzeb in Delhi to ask him to stop the persecution and slaughter of Hindus. He was arrested on the way and brought in chains to Delhi. Aurangzeb demanded Tegh Bahadur embrace Islam. When Tegh Bahadur refused he was executed with three of his companions. Many saints, sages and heroes have died for the sake of their own convictions, but rarely has someone died in defense of another faith.

Lord Singh, has been a broadcaster for the BBC in the UK for more than 35 years. It was therefore most disturbing when a scheduled broadcast, called “Thought for the Day” was censored by the BBC out of fear of offending Muslim sentiments. The following is a copy of the censored broadcast.

Thought for the day 28-11-18

Last weekend was, for Sikhs, a bit like Christmas and Easter rolled into one. Celebration of the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak who taught the need for responsible living centred on the rights and concerns of others, was followed next day by the commemoration of the martyrdom of the 9^th Guru, Guru Teg Bahadhur who in 1675 gave his life in the defence of human rights.



The Mughal ruler Aurangzeb, in his determination to extend Islam to the whole of the sub-continent, was forcibly converting large numbers of Hindus in Kashmir. In desperation the Hindu leaders asked Guru Teg Bahadhur to intercede on their behalf. They said, we know that you and earlier Sikh Gurus have always stood up for the rights of all people, will you appeal to the Mughal Emperor to stop this forced conversion? 

 

The Guru knew that such an appeal would almost certainly cost him his life. But true to Sikh teachings on freedom of belief he set off for Delhi. The Emperor refused to change his policy and instead offered rich gifts to the Guru to convert to Islam. When Guru Teg Bahadhur refused, he was publicly beheaded in the centre of Delhi. His crime, defending the right to freedom of belief of those of a different religion to his own.



The universal right to freedom of belief is emphasised in the UN Declaration of Human Rights, written in the aftermath of the Second World War. We all applaud its lofty sentiments, but all too often put these below trade and economic interest. For example, questions have been recently asked about the selling of arms to Saudi Arabia in the light of the killing of the prominent journalist Jamal Khashoggi and the on-going conflict in Yemen.



Guru Teg Bahadur set the bar high when on a cold winter’s day, he gave his life in the defence of human rights and gave stark reality to Voltaire’s, famous words: ‘I may not believe in what you say but will defend to the death your right to say it.  Yet, in the Sikh view, fundamental human rights will continue to be ignored unless those in power and authority are prepared to put these rights well above the false lure of short term economic gain.

Mattis fires back, with grace & humor 10-23-2019

 

23, October 2019                   Mattis fires back, with grace & humor

Donald Trump has a long history using the bully pulpit to silence his critics.  At the Golden Globes award he insulted movie super star Meryl Streep as one of “one of the most over-rated actresses in Hollywood after she rebuked him. He mocked “a Hillary flunky who lost big.” He then mocked a disabled New York Times reporter.

More recently, he insulted General Mattis as an overrated general. 

But Mattis fired back, reminding Trump that he “earned his his spurs at the battlefield, while Trump “earned his spurs from a letter from the doctor – a jab at his former boss who escaped the Vietnam draft from “a friendly doctor’s” letter. He further ridiculed the president’s adoration of Colonel Sanders,” the founder of the Kentucky Fried Chicken fast food restaurant chain.

General Mattis resigned with dignity and grace after he cited irreconcilable policy differences with the president’s erratic foreign policy blunders.

The former defense secretary’s comments Thursday night come as Trump faces bipartisan criticism over his decision to withdraw US troops from Syria. Last Wednesday, the House overwhelmingly passed a resolution opposing Trump’s troop withdrawal.

Earlier in the day, retired four-star Admiral William McRaven, the architect of the raid that killed Osama bin Laden said Trump was working to “destroy” the country from “within” and “without.”

We are all waiting with bated breath for the next barrage of nasty tweets.

“Get over it Mulvaney” 10/21/2019

21, October 2019                  “Get over it Mulvaney” 


After weeks of prevarication, bobbing, weaving and stonewalling White House chief of staff, Mick Mulvaney finally nailed it, admitting there was a quid pro quo in its dealings with Ukraine.


Diving into the black hole he just dug Mulvaney stated unequivocally, “We do that all the time with foreign policy, adding: "I have news for everybody: Get over it. There’s going to be political influence in foreign policy.”  Compounding Trump’s cruel policies, Mulvaney admitted that aid was withheld to the Northern Triangle countries in Central America to stem the tide of immigrants.   


“This is the ordinary course of foreign policy.” He added with great pride.

 “Get over it Mulvaney” – you just sank the presidency. If you are looking for another job after you leave the White House in disgrace, I suggest you contact a Rudy Giulianiwho has many shady contacts in faraway places. “Don’t say anything stupid big guy, call ya later.”

Meltdown 10/18/2019

October 18, 2019             Meltdown

Incensed at being challenged over his “brilliant Syrian policy”, thin skinned President Trump lashed out at his critics calling Speaker Pelosi a “third-rate politician” and former Defense Secretary James Mattis “the world’s most overrated general.” He then sent a warning to President Erdoğan of Turkey “Don’t be a tough guy. Don’t be a fool!” Americans should be most concerned of Trump’s rapidly declining mental state. He is behaving more and more like a purulent child than the leader of a powerful country. 

In a desperate effort at damage control to counter fierce criticism from House Democrats and Republicans, Trump dispatched Vice-President Pence and Secretary of State, Pompeo to Turkey and threatened to 'totally destroy and obliterate' Turkey's economy. Pelosi described Trumps’ temper tantrums as “a serious meltdown”. 

Trump's prior refusal to confront President Erdoğan and Vladimir Putin raises serious concerns of his massive conflicts of interest. If Democrats are able to force him to release his tax returns it would expose his business interests in Turkey and possibly Russia. This might complete the missing pieces of the puzzle of his deference to President Erdoğan and Putin who helped get him elected. For more, go to http://callforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/

American patriots where art thou? 10/15/2019

15, October 2019                  American patriots where art thou? 

American foreign policy continues to sink into a bottomless pit of policy blunders.

In 2003 President GW Bush, his hawkish Vice-President Cheney and British Prime Minister, Tony Blair (Bush’s poodle) crafted a fictitious tale of WMD’s, to justify the invasion of Iraq.

Following the “shock and awe” invasion resulting in the death of hundreds of thousands of Iraqis and scores of Americans, Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority d unilaterally disbanded the Iraqi military and began a process of de-Ba’athification of the Iraqi government and police forces which coalesced into the armed ISIS insurgency.  They went on to loot, rampage and torture non-believing infidels and the Yezidi minority. Whole families were slaughtered and young girls were forced to become sex slaves. Driven from Iraq, ISIS fighters moved to Syria where they encountered fierce opposition from Kurdish fighters supported by US airpower. Thousands of ISIS fighters were captured and the movement all but vanished until one fateful “off-script moment” phone call between President Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey. Putting his political ambitions ahead of the welfare of our Kurdish allies, Trump ordered the immediate withdrawal of US troops effectively giving a green light to Turkey to attack the Kurds. Scores of Kurds perished in the brutal Turkish aerial onslaught.  Left unguarded, hundreds of ISIS fighters escaped. 1,000 Americans troops still remain in Syria. Abandoned by the US, the Kurds switched sides hoping the messianic Assad forces and Russians would protect them. To add to America’s woes, 50 U.S tactical nuclear weapons are stored at Incirlik Air Base in Turkey, about 250 miles from the Syrian border.

In another bizarre twist, President Trump ordered 2,000 US troops to Saudi Arabia to protect the heavily armed Saudis.  In an act of “magnanimous Christian gesture” Trump forgave “bone saw (BS) Salman” for the murder and chilling dismemberment of Washington Post Koshoggi.  Trump’s gut is leading us to perdition. Oh, America patriots where art thou? 

Afghanistan 10/9/2019

9, October 2019                     Afghanistan

Anger is mounting over the large number of civilians being killed by heavy-handed CIA trained Afghan Forces and misdirected US aerial strikes.

According to the United Nations, more civilians were killed by Afghan and international coalition forces in Afghanistan in the first half of this year than by the Taliban and other militants.

No longer are Americans regarded as saviors but enemies or infidels.

Some Afghans are calling for Americans to be tried in Afghan courts.

After a number of US military strikes resulting in the death of hundreds of civilians, more and more Afghans were heard chanting, “Death to Ashraf Ghani, death to America.”

Following 18 years of U.S. military operations against Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, the war is still a meat grinder. The Taliban control much of the terrain. The insurgency continues to operate in much of the country including the capital, Kabul. While President Trump equivocates on his peace initiatives with the Taliban and is desperately trying to defend his role in Ukrainegate, Afghanistan is burning. Perhaps many Americans have forgotten that we supported Osama Bin Laden and the Taliban fighters as a counterbalance to the Soviet invasion.  Americans should understand that religious affiliations will always trump foreign alliances. Long after all American troops leave left Afghanistan the warring tribes will eventually settle their differences. Let us not compound the mistakes we made in our earlier interventions in Iraq and Libya. The time to leave Afghanistan is NOW.

Trump, the mafia don lashes out 10/2/2019

2, October 2019                    Trump, the mafia don lashes out


Sensing the walls collapsing around his presidency, President Trump lashed out at the whistleblower, Adam Schiff and the Democrats calling his critics “savages”. He described the whistleblower as a “spy” and hinted that he should be executed. 


His latest barrage of insults was intended to intimidate those investigating his criminal behavior, silence the whistleblower and a “call to arms” to his supporters fanning the flames of violence. Trump is in serious meltdown. Secretary Pompeo is falling in line behind his boss putting his own ambitions and survival ahead of the welfare of the State. The FBI, the Intelligence Agencies should remove the nuclear access codes lest he start a war as a desperate distraction to the impeachment investigation. 


He claimed impeachment is “unlawful”; and he reposted a message from a supporter warning impeachment could lead to a “Civil War like fracture in this Nation.”Republican Congress member Adam Kinzinger of Illinois tweeted that Trump’s civil war retweet was “beyond repugnant.” Kinzinger wrote, “I have visited nations ravaged by civil war. 

@realDonaldTrump I have never imagined such a quote to be repeated by a President.” His actions exhibit those of a mafia boss threatening his opponents with terror and violence or an autocratic ruler who “disappears” his critics. Little wonder he calls General el-Sisi of Egypt his favorite dictator.


This is an extremely serious situation which requires immediate action from a president exhibiting increasing erratic behavior. He should undergo an immediate health evaluation to assess his declining mental health.