BLM offers lessons to Indian Police 7-26-2020

 

 

26, July 2020               BLM offers lessons to Indian Police

The Black Live Matter movement is gaining resonance in many of the minority communities around the world. In Israel BLM has reenergized Palestinians, “Palestinian Lives Matter” are ubiquitous banners seen in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The horrific murder of George Floyd has renewed demands for ISRAEL GET YOUR LEG OFF PALESTINIANNECKS!

In India police violence against Muslim minorities following the highly unpopular “Citenship Law” created deep hostiles and mistrust. Disturbing accounts had emerged of gross mistreatment by police, and state officials in the town of Nagina. Police chased   young teenagers ranging in age from 13 to 17 and brutally tortured them. According to two of the boys, the officers laughed during beatings, saying, “You will die in this prison.” Witnesses said that police officers opened fire on demonstrators with live ammunition, broke into houses, stole money, and threatened to rape women. The BBC aired footage showing police officers knocking down security cameras in a Muslim neighborhood and shattering the windows of parked cars. Although these incidents occurred a year ago the situation has become worse with the pandemic as hundreds of poor low caste Hindus and Muslims flee to their villages often beaten mercilessly by police.

Harsh Mander, a human rights activist visited homes resembling “wastelands,” where the police have become a lunch mob.

Much like the US, none of the police officers were charged and continue to act with complete immunity buffeted by the right wing Modi government which seems to be in lockstep with President Trump. The overt discrimination towards Muslims threatens the very foundation of India as a secular and tolerant nation.  This is extremely distressing for a nation which often boasts of its spiritual heritage.  Donning religious garbs and chanting from scriptures is a waste of time if we do not imbibe the spiritual jewels into our everyday behavior to make as us kinder, gentler, honest and more compassionate people. Sadly, I have never come across an Indian family which has been not been fractured by financial entanglements rooted in dishonesty.

Lashing out against minorities and committing egregious acts of violence only demeans us.

The Odd Couple 7-23-2020

 

23, July 2020                      The Odd Couple

A fascinating battle is ensuing between the diminutive lightweight intellectual giant Dr. Fauci, and the heavyweight “genius” challenger, Donald Trump, who outsourced much of his academic work earning a MD (master of deceit) degree.

The good doctor follows the Hippocratic Oath (HO), “first do no harm,” and has an approval rating over 65% in spite of a chronic shortage of sleep because of demands on his time by round-the clock media interviews. His opinions are dictated by a close adherence to clinical data. On the hand the President flaunts the HO and continues to burden the American people with incoherent nixed messages which require an army of “cut and paste” specialists to interpret “Trump-Speak”. His most ardent admirer is the ultra-Christian VP Pence who regurgitates Trump’s words with dogged loyalty. Jesus would be so proud!

Trump follows the dictates of his reelection strategy and has shown his willingness to run roughshod over medical science. According to the NYT and other reliable media reports, the President rises at noon exhausted from late night tweets and haunted by FOX news reports and bizarre conspiracy theories.After a fractious week, the former reality-show star gleefully retweeted “we shouldn’t trust doctors about Covid-19”.  

In a further effort to blunt and undermine Fauci’s authority, Peter Navarro, Trump’s trade adviser, assailed Fauci as being Dr. Wrong, It is amazing that Fauci unlike other WH officials seems to have an impregnable integrity shield deflecting hurtful verbal jabs always staying on message. Bravo Dr. Fauci!

Dress Rehearsal following Trump’s election defeat 7-21-2020

 

21, July 2020                Dress Rehearsal following Trump’s election defeat

Using Federal troops in unmarked vans to arrest peaceful protestors was a deplorable action by the President whose clear intention was to intimidate protestors during a crucial election year. This might have been red meat to his declining base but has caused outrage by many Republicans and Democrats alike.  

Contrary to claims made by the acting homeland security secretary, Chad F. Wolf on orders from his boss, Portland was NOT convulsed by a “violent mob” of anarchists but were largely peaceful demonstrators exercising their First Amendment rights.

The local mayor and governor both demanded the immediate removal of federal troops. The shameful behavior was reminiscent of unmarked cars under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. The President seems to be watching too much television eager to mimic Clint “make my day” Eastwood.

The deployment of Federal troops might be a post-election dress rehearsal when the President refuses to accept the results of the election claiming it was “rigged” and calls out Federal troops (police and Bikers) to restore order.

This might be his last hurrah before the “stable genius” exchanges his suit and beloved long dangling red tie for a yellow jump suit and ankle chains. President Biden, please no pardons!

 

America’s crimes from SOA to GITMO 7-20-2020

 

20, July 2020              America’s crimes from SOA to GITMO

There is growing concern that China may be omitting genocide against the Uigurs limiting their numbers by a systematic program of mass sterilization and incarceration. Pro-democracy activists are being targeted in Hong-Kong with dire threats of life-in-imprisonment. Stung by US criticism, the Chinese government has lashed out at US war crimes in Central and South America, Iraq and Afghanistan.

For decades the US military has engaged in brutish terror against many of the most vulnerable people of the world undermining democracy and the rule of law.  The notorious former “School of the Americas” trained many of its graduates in torture techniques to “discourage“ political dissent in their home countries. Massive grassroots efforts by US activists under the banner, ‘SOA Watch’ has finally closed the "School of Assassins" also known as the "School of Coups." Abuses SOA graduates have alleged to have committed include "the death or disappearance of 200,000 Guatemala…is one of many abuses.

 

Other crimes committed by the CIA  1 Iran (1953) 2 Dominican Republic (1961) 3 South Vietnam (1963) 4 Brazil (1964) 5 Chile (1973), Argentina (1976).

Political posturing is the art of launching terror  and mayhem disguised under the slogan “the war on terror” with grotesque slogans like “Iraqi Freedom” as a cover for the “shock and awe” mayhem that quickly followed. During the disastrous Bush-Cheney regime, black sites were quickly established far away from the American public. Capitalizing on the public anger following the 9/11 attacks, Bush (who conveniently “disappeared” from his National Guard duties)  told the nation “the gloves are coming off” with a Clint Eastwood “make my day” cowboy John Wayne swagger. Torture had now become an acceptable way to inflict “maximum pain and no gain” on mostly innocent victims caught in the “war on terror.” Following the invasion of Iraq on bogus WMD’s Bush declared victory.

American psychologists were paid tens of millions of tax dollars to craft  hideous stress positions, body slamming, water boarding, hanging from stressful positions for hours. The media watchdogs were silenced by Bush’s catch slogan, “you are either with us or against us” demanding unconditional fealty. The torture continued in notorious prisons at Abu Ghraib, G itmo and black sites under the watchful eyes of the current CIA director Gina Haspel who allegedly seemed to  enjoy the  screams from torture victims.

General Colin Powell admitted that providing cover for the invasion of Iraq with completely false intelligence at the UN was the low point of his career. Former PM Tony Blair readily embraced Bush’s fictional tale of WMDs committing British troops to participate in the illegal invasion. He now travels the world as a high priced consultant  unrepentant for his many crimes.

Following his “success in Iraq, Bush ordered the invasion of Afghanistan to find and punish the elusive Bin Laden (a former US ally). Under intense pressure from VP Cheney, hundreds of Afghanis were rounded up on bogus intelligence.  Tips from Afghanis who were anxious settle tribal scores were paid substantial sums of money. Many innocent men were caught up the massive dragnet. None of the prisoners have been charged of a crime. US taxpayers pay $13m per year to house each prisoners,  

Many were brutally tortured and many gave false information to stop the torture. Many are still languishing in US dungeons at Gitmo. Exhausting all available options, many of the prisoners have resigned to starting on a “hunger strike, to death”  demanding “ give me freedom or give me death.” This us sheer MADNESS. These prisoners MUST be released immediately and GITMO  closed.  The CIA has had a checkered history overthrowing  left leaning governments with mafia style interventions and leaving the “door wide open” allowing Russians Cyber interference during the 2016 election allowing the “most dangerous man on the planet” (Mary Trump’s words) to slither into the White House.  This continues to be a dark stain on America’s claim to be a nation rooted in justice and the rule of war.

Israel MUST EMBRACE SINGLE STATE WITH EQUAL RIGHTS 7-17-2020

 

17, July 2020  Israel MUST EMBRACE SINGLE STATE WITH EQUAL RIGHTS

The Balfour Declaratio17, July 2020 Israel MUST EMBRACE SINGLE STATE WITH EQUAL RIGHTS

The Balfour Declaration was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population and a significantly larger indigenous Palestinian population. The declaration was contained in a letter dated 2 November 1917 from the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. Fast forward to the global “Black Lives Matter” movement. Palestinians have eagerly embraced the symbolism with large banners “Palestinian Lives Matter’ on prominent display in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Since its birth Israel has displaced the local indigenous Palestinian population by brute force supported by $billions in US military and economic aid prodded by AIPAC and other powerful Jewish organizations.

In the midst of the grinding Coronavirus and crippling economy more and more Americans, including Senator Bernie Sanders, are calling for a complete halt to further unconditional aid to Israel which enjoys a significantly higher standard of living than the US.

For decades, Israel has encouraged illegal settlers to occupy more and more Palestinian land and fulfill its dream of creating a “greater Israel,” closely resembling former apartheid South Africa.

About 640,000 illegal Jewish settlers now live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israeli and American governments now admit that a contiguous Palestinian state has lost any sense of reality. Even the leaders of Israel’s center-left parties no longer support such a fragmented Palestinian state.

The Trump-Kushner disastrous “peace plan” envisions an archipelago of Palestinian towns, scattered across as little as 70 percent of the West Bank, under tight Israeli military control, much like Bantustans of apartheid South Africa. This is a profoundly cruel “remedy” perpetrated by Netanyahu’s right wing government in close collaboration with the Trump administration.  The only practical, equitable way forward is ONE STATE where all Palestinians and Jews enjoy the SAME EQUAL RIGHTS otherwise Israel’s claim to be a Jewish democratic state is patently absurd.

Highly respected writers, Peter Beinart, Yousef Munayyer and Edward Said, have long argued that equality comes in the form of one state that includes Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Military checkpoints, special bypass roads for Jews and favored energy and water rates should be tossed into the dustbin of history. The siege of Gaza must be lifted and a peace initiative should be initiated by Israel and soon to be President Biden to support a single state initiative to heal the wounds of decades of horrific Israeli military occupation and multiple assaults on Gaza.

Recent history provides convincing examples where such remedies have been successfully implemented. A peace agreement between Protestant Northern Ireland and a Catholic South ended decades of strife. 

Another poignant example is the peaceful settlement between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. Rwanda is currently one of the most progressive states in the African subcontinent. Decades of foreign “divide and rule” mischief (Britain in Ireland), (Belgium in Rwanda) and the (US and Britain in Israel) was responsible for creating death and misery for many millions of innocent victims.

For more go to, http://callforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/

 n was a public statement issued by the British government in 1917 during the First World War announcing support for the establishment of a "national home for the Jewish people" in Palestine, then an Ottoman region with a small minority Jewish population and a significantly larger indigenous Palestinian population. The declaration was contained in a letter dated 2 November 1917 from the United Kingdom's Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour to Lord Rothschild, a leader of the British Jewish community, for transmission to the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland. Fast forward to the global “Black Lives Matter” movement. Palestinians have eagerly embraced the symbolism with large banners “Palestinian Lives Matter’ on prominent display in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Since its birth Israel has displaced the local indigenous Palestinian population by brute force supported by $billions in US military and economic aid prodded by AIPAC and other powerful Jewish organizations.

In the midst of the grinding Coronavirus and crippling economy more and more Americans, including Senator Bernie Sanders, are calling for a complete halt to further unconditional aid to Israel which enjoys a significantly higher standard of living than the US.

For decades, Israel has encouraged illegal settlers to occupy more and more Palestinian land and fulfill its dream of creating a “greater Israel,” closely resembling former apartheid South Africa.

About 640,000 illegal Jewish settlers now live in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Israeli and American governments now admit that a contiguous Palestinian state has lost any sense of reality. Even the leaders of Israel’s center-left parties no longer support such a fragmented Palestinian state.

The Trump-Kushner disastrous “peace plan” envisions an archipelago of Palestinian towns, scattered across as little as 70 percent of the West Bank, under tight Israeli military control, much like Bantustans of apartheid South Africa. This is a profoundly cruel “remedy” perpetrated by Netanyahu’s right wing government in close collaboration with the Trump administration.  The only practical, equitable way forward is ONE STATE where all Palestinians and Jews enjoy the SAME EQUAL RIGHTS otherwise Israel’s claim to be a Jewish democratic state is patently absurd.

Highly respected writers, Peter Beinart, Yousef Munayyer and Edward Said, have long argued that equality comes in the form of one state that includes Israel, the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem.

Military checkpoints, special bypass roads for Jews and favored energy and water rates should be tossed into the dustbin of history. The siege of Gaza must be lifted and a peace initiative should be initiated by Israel and soon to be President Biden to support a single state initiative to heal the wounds of decades of horrific Israeli military occupation and multiple assaults on Gaza.

Recent history provides convincing examples where such remedies have been successfully implemented. A peace agreement between Protestant Northern Ireland and a Catholic South ended decades of strife. 

Another poignant example is the peaceful settlement between Hutus and Tutsis in Rwanda. Rwanda is currently one of the most progressive states in the African subcontinent. Decades of foreign “divide and rule” mischief (Britain in Ireland), (Belgium in Rwanda) and the (US and Britain in Israel) was responsible for creating death and misery for many millions of innocent victims.

For more go to, http://callforsocialjustice.blogspot.com/

 

Trump’s Cognition Test 7-13-2020

 

13, July 2020                          Trump’s Cognition Test

Move over Shapiro (the ace test tacker hired by Trump to take his SAT test). DJT is ready to retake the SAT test he avoided many years ago before he achieved a “stable genius” status.  But much like his other claims he remains coy about the results of the cognitive test. Unlike a SAT test, a cognition test is a simple test to measure your mental decline and not a test on how smart you are.

A few examples on the Mini-Mental Status Exam or MMSE:

What is today’s date?

Spell TRUMP backwards.

What is the meaning of CHEAT?

Spell RACIST and explain its meaning.

 Make up a simple sentence, must contain a subject, verb and object.

Riding in a golf cart, playing a few rounds of golf and gorging on hamburgers and tacos  – watching FOX news and relentless tweeting into the wee hours of the morning does bode for a healthy life style. Your recent unsteady descent from a ramp should be of concern to your adoring fans.

Your prefrontal cortex, the ability to think strategically, the ability to sort out all the possibilities of your actions and control impulses are also in serious decline given your stubborn refusal to accept the dual impact of the Coronavirus and sagging economy.

Sadly, your synaptic connectivity that correlates with memory loss also seems to be in decline. Mr. Trump your war with the English language is legendry and a source of great amusement with late night comedians.

A few examples for the history books - pointing to gains in the stock market -“Your 409’Ks (meaning 401K’s) are doing great.” "covfefe" to "bigly. Confused 9/11 attacks with 7/11, muddled the wrong city of a major shooting in Dayton with Toledo.

Trevor Noah’s team at the Daily Show put together a montage of the president’s embarrassing verbal moments.

“Tim Apple” to “slock rocket.” to "120 million" COVID-19 deaths when he meant "120 thousand.

The winning entry in Trevor Noah quiz was Trump demanding to know the ORANGE of Mueller’s investigation.

Trump’s daily aversion to reading his daily intelligence briefings does not bode well. He has trashed our treasured Atlantic alliance, our northern and southern neighbors, China, WHO.    . .and even trashed the nation’s preeminent infectious specialist, Dr. Tony Fauci. He ended his former infatuation with the leader of North Korea, Kim Jong-Un with angry words.

His only remaining infatuation is with the crafty Vladimir Putin. And that will remain a mystery until perhaps, we elect a new President.

Systemic racism in Palo Alto 7-9-2020

 

9, July 2020                   Systemic racism in Palo Alto

 

Published in PA Weekly

 was extremely saddened to read of the appalling racism and police brutality experienced by highly respected African-Americans, Loretta Green and former Superior Court Judge LaDoris Cordell in a “liberal and progressive” city like Palo Alto.
It is apparent that the Palo Alto Police Department perceived African-Americas to be the  “enemy and intruders, guilty until proven innocent.” I was appalled these model citizens were humiliated on multiple occasions based on their skin color. At a minimum, the PAPD and the City of Palo Alto should offer a collective apology to these unfortunate victims.
The police should be tightly vetted and trigger-happy “John Wayne types” should get the boot. Every effort should be made to atone for the sins of the past and ensure African-Americans are treated with the utmost respect.
A society should always be judged on how it treats its most vulnerable citizens. African-Americans continue to suffer disproportionately to the pandemic, systemic racism and gut wrenching police brutality. These appalling crimes have been exposed time and time again and it is heartening to finally see white Americans protesting alongside Blacks and Asian-Americans to demand change.