صفحات في دفتر مهاجر

CylentRebel

November 18, 2009

 

Leaked racism video of U.S. troops in Iraq

by Frank Joseph Smecker / November 17th, 2009

Genocide is always and everywhere a political occurrence.

– Irving Louis Horowitz, Genocide

As you’re reading this I’m sure your eyes are beginning to roll, indicating how peeved you’re probably getting over yet another tirade on the subject of health-care-overhaul. Fear not. To prevent this article from joining the all-embracing tautology of other recent health care polemics, a juxtaposition of statistics will suffice: according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 20 percent of the general population under the age of sixty-five is without health care coverage; one out of three, if not more, American Indians and Alaskan Natives, under the age of sixty-five, is either uninsured or dependent on the deficient services provided through the IHS (Indian Health Service).

As claimed by the Office of Minority Health, an adjunct of the Department of Health and Human Services, as of 2008 there were an estimated 4.9 million people who classified as American Indian and Alaskan Native alone or American Indian and Alaskan Native integrated with one or more other races [sic]: comprising only 1.6 percent of the U.S. population. The IHS, according to the Office of Minority Health, provides services to only 39 percent of American Indians and Alaskan Natives — that is approximately 1.9 million individuals out of 4.9 million who qualify for IHS services. This laggard expanse of services comes at a time when American Indians and Alaskan Natives are plighted by appalling conditions and afflictions such as:

• infant death rates 40 percent higher than the rates that exist for whites;
• death rates from alcoholism and tuberculosis approximately 650 percent higher than overall U.S. rates;
• a male population twice as likely as white men to have liver and IBD cancers;
• a male population 1.8 times more likely as white men to contract stomach cancer and, twice as likely to die from stomach cancer;
• a female population 2.4 times more likely as white females to contract, and die from, liver and IBD cancers;
• a female population 40 percent more prone than white females to get kidney/renal/pelvis cancers;
• 31 percent of the population will die before the age of 45; “…the overall adjusted death rate for American Indians is 35 percent greater than the U.S. rate…” (The age-adjusted death rate for those living in the Aberdeen area — a region that harbors most of the Lakota-Sioux reservations in South Dakota, has risen beyond 1,000 percent);¹
• higher rates of diabetes and obesity than the general population;
• an unemployment rate of 49 percent — approximately five times the national rate.                                                                More.........................

 

This starts out looking pretty bad...

But if you watch the whole thing there's a surprise.

There are still a lot of decent people out there...in spite of Bill O'Reilly and Fox News.

Gilad Atzmon

108morris108

November 13, 2009

 

Gilad argues (with harsh video examples) that it is the artists that are ahead of the politicos in reflecting and leading the public perception.

By

The Goldstone report, which accuses Israel of committing war crimes against civilians in Gaza, was not folded yet till a book for one of the Israeli rabbis was issued permitting the killing of children, women, the elderly and the innocent of non-Jews in the necessities of war.

The book also accuses all nations of non-Jews of shedding the blood of Israelis and thus dealing with them on the basis of this opinion, which allows the killing of their children, women and their elders.

Rabbi Yitzhak Shapira of the occupied West Bank settlement of Yitzhar released the book Monday.

Shapira, head of the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva, also said in “The King’s Torah” that it is permissible to kill children if they pose a threat.

In addition to his own opinions, Shapira claimed that the book is based on Biblical quotations.

“The King’s Torah” was released shortly after the announcement of the arrest of an Israeli terrorist who admitted to killing Palestinians and attacks on messianic Jews and left-wing Jews.

This is not at all surprising,seeing that in the May/June edition of Moment Magazine,a Jewish digest that covers an array of subjects,I came across an interesting comment in light of a question posed to a selection of Rabbis.
The question was: “How should Jews treat their Arab neighbors?”

The following is not an exaggeration,nothing has been added and I have taken the courtesy of linking you to the original source at the bottom of this post:

“I don’t believe in western morality, i.e. don’t kill civilians or children, don’t destroy holy sites, don’t fight during holiday seasons, don’t bomb cemeteries, don’t shoot until they shoot first because it is immoral.

The only way to fight a moral war is the Jewish way: Destroy their holy sites. Kill men, women and children (and cattle).

The first Israeli prime minister who declares that he will follow the Old Testament will finally bring peace to the Middle East. First, the Arabs will stop using children as shields. Second, they will stop taking hostages knowing that we will not be intimidated. Third, with their holy sites destroyed, they will stop believing that G-d is on their side. Result: no civilian casualties, no children in the line of fire, no false sense of righteousness, in fact, no war.

Zero tolerance for stone throwing, for rockets, for kidnapping will mean that the state has achieved sovereignty. Living by Torah values will make us a light unto the nations who suffer defeat because of a disastrous morality of human invention.“
Rabbi Manis Friedman
Bais Chana Institute of Jewish Studies
St. Paul, MN

“Chabad Hasidism” ,which is what Chabad Rabbis follow,is best summarized as “מוח שליט על הלב” (”mind ruling over the heart/emotions”).

Chabad philosophy incorporates the teachings of Kabbalah as a means to deal with one’s daily life and psyche. It teaches that every aspect of the world exists only through the intervention of God. Through an intellectual approach and meditations, Chabad teaches that one can attain complete control over one’s inclinations.

In terms of the Chabad influence on the United States and the Western world it is said that in recent years Chabad has greatly expanded its reach on university and college campuses. Chabad Student Centers are active on over 100 campuses, and Chabad offers varied activities at an additional 150 universities worldwide. Professor Alan Dershowitz has said that “Chabad’s presence on college campuses today is absolutely crucial”, and “We cannot rest until Chabad is on every major college campus in the world”

Here is the link to MomentMagazine and here is the original ‘Ask a Rabbi’ page for this particular question.

I refuse to publish the two words of that article's title on this blog. I provide the link so that those of you still capable of minimally rational, coherent and decent thought can see the depths to which many people eagerly descend.

I will observe that if one chooses to engage in this kind of demonization of huge groups of what are, in fact, individual human beings, individuals possessed of widely different convictions and exhibiting greatly variable behavior (as is true of all such broad designations), you might more profitably start with Christians. For much of human history, that is also where you can end. In that connection, I've written at length about the "apocalyptic crusader" psychology, one which has led to horrifying consequences in the foreign policy of the United States. Among my articles on that subject are: "The Apocalyptic Crusader: Redemption, Purification and a New World -- Through Sacred Violence and Death" and "The Apocalyptic Crusader, Continued: American Apocalypse."

In the column linked at the beginning of this post, there is the usual pretense of "even-handedness" and fairness, and the standard attempt to convince the reader that the author is merely being "objective." The writer seeks to assure us that he is proceeding with great care and with all due deliberation. But the fundamental dishonesty involved escapes the mask at a few points, as it almost always inevitably does. Note these sentences in particular: "How to address the threat posed by the fact that, of the hundreds of thousands of Muslims in our midst, there are a few (perhaps many more than a few) who are so radicalized that they would kill their fellow Americans?" Just how many more than "a few"? That sounds as if it might be a lot of Muslims. Are you scared yet? Are you even terrified? That's the purpose of this kind of formulation. If you're looking for a target to assuage your feelings of victimization and your terror, the writer has very thoughtfully provided one.

And consider this: "America differentiates itself on integration from Western European countries, which are far more cringing and guilt-driven in their approach. But can the American swagger persist if many Americans come genuinely to view Muslims as Fifth Columnists?" The sleight-of-hand here is deeply repellent, and I consider it close to impossible that it is not fully intentional. The author is arguing: "Now, I'm not saying Americans would be right to come to that conclusion. Of course, I don't think that Muslims are Fifth Columnists. But can't you see why many Americans might think that, and understandably so? After all, perhaps many more than a few Muslims will kill us, just like Hasan did!" And be very sure you appreciate the unstated, but necessarily implied, conclusion: "We'd better do something before it's too late!"

The pattern is one that should be horrifyingly familiar from history. I will assume I need not provide examples of where it can lead.

For more on these issues, see Chris Floyd. I don't have much to add to what Floyd has said with regard to the Ft. Hood tragedy, and the "hateful echoes" it evokes. Via my tracking information, I was gratified to see that a few bloggers remembered a piece I wrote about certain relevant general issues in response to a similar tragedy a few years ago: "The United States as Cho Seung-Hui: How the State Sanctifies Murder." That essay is not short, and the argument I set forth is complex. But I hope some of you will find it worth the time. Among other subjects, I discussed the central mythology of the United States and of many Americans in detail. I concluded my reflections with these observations:

Iraq has not altered the fundamentals of our foreign policy in any significant way. Our ruling class continues to believe the United States is "the indispensable power," and that we have the "right" to direct events across the globe, and intervene whenever we deem it necessary for the protection of our "national interests." But those "interests" have long been defined in a manner which can justify almost any intervention, anywhere, any time. What we would vehemently condemn others for doing, including the invasion and occupation of a country that did not threaten them, is permitted to us, and to us alone. No action is prohibited to us, while only those actions are available to others that we choose to permit. At the end, Cho was enraged, megalomaniacal, and probably insane. What are we to say of the United States government?

But our nation's crimes are filtered through the State, which dissolves guilt and responsibility, as it sanctifies our sins. Cho is a monster. Our governing class and its unparalleled military commit crimes on a much vaster scale -- and our strongest criticisms are that the crimes were "incompetently managed," or that they represented "poor policy choices." If Cho had survived his massacre, our justice system would likely have killed him. Our State has done infinitely worse, and it has done so repeatedly over more than century.

Yet we do nothing. Our sleep is untroubled. Life goes on.

But not for everyone. No. Not for everyone.

By Stephen Lendman

November 9, 2009

Today's major media journalism is biased, irresponsible, sensationalist reporting that distorts, exaggerates or misstates the truth. It's misinformation or agitprop disinformation masquerading as fact to boost circulation, readership, viewers, or listeners, and on vital issues lie about or suppress uncomfortable truths to provide unqualified support for state and/or corporate interests - to the detriment of the greater good that's always sacrificed for profits and imperial aims.

As a result, major media sources produce a daily propaganda diet and what Project Censored calls "junk food news," and get most people to believe it. In their landmark book, Manufacturing Consent, Edward Herman and Noam Chomsky explained the "propaganda model" that controls the public message by "filter(ing)" disturbing truths, "leaving (behind) only the cleansed residue fit to print" or air.

Today the media is in crisis and a free and open society at risk at a time fiction substitutes for fact, news is carefully controlled, dissent marginalized, and on-air and print journalists support powerful interests as paid liars, or what famed journalist George Seldes (1890 - 1995) called "prostitutes of the press."

As a result, imperial wars are called liberating ones. Civil liberties are suppressed for our own good. Major topics go unaddressed or are misrepresented. Government and business interests are endorsed wholeheartedly. America is always called "beautiful." Beneficial social change is considered heresy. The market works best, we're told, so let it, and patriotism means supporting lawlessness and corporate outlaws by shopping till we drop.

The New York Times - Its Lead Role in Distorting and Suppressing Truth

For many decades, The Times has been the closest thing in America to an official ministry of information and propaganda masquerading as real news, commentary and analysis.

Its unmatched clout once got media critic Norman Solomon to call its front page "the most valuable square inches of media real estate in the USA;" most everywhere, in fact, because its reports are widely circulated and followed globally.

The Paper of Record has a long history of:

-- supporting the powerful;

-- backing corporate interests;

-- endorsing imperial wars;

-- supporting CIA efforts to topple elected governments, assassinate independent leaders, prop up friendly dictators, secretly fund and train paramilitary death squads, practice sophisticated forms of torture, and menace democratic freedoms at home and abroad. For decades, in fact, some Times' foreign correspondents were covert Agency assets. Others today likely are as well as other prominent fourth estate members.

The Times management is also comfortable with:

-- Washington and corporate lawlessness;

-- an unprecedented and growing wealth gap;

-- Wall Street banksters looting the federal treasury;

-- a private banking cartel controlling the nation's money;

-- unmet human needs and increasing poverty, hunger, homelessness, and despair for growing millions in a nation run by rogue politicians who don't give a damn as long as they're re-elected;

-- a de facto one-party state;

-- deep corruption at the highest government and corporate levels;

-- democracy for the select few alone;

-- sham elections; and

-- a deepening social decay symptomatic of a declining state, yet The Times management won't use its clout to expose and help reverse it.

Of course, the same applies throughout the corporate media, the only variance being audience size, the ability to influence it, and the special impact of TV news and talk radio to arouse their faithful. Plus their power of round-the-clock persuasive repetition.                 More...............

Ma'an News

November 9, 2009 Bethlehem – Ma'an – Marking the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, Palestinian demonstrators breached Israel's concrete barrier near the West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday. Reporting live from the scene, Ma'an's correspondent said the protesters, once they reached the other side, set fire to tires. Israeli forces also opened fire, the reporter said. Early reports said the demonstration was planned by the "popular committees" – local groups organized to oppose the construction of the wall – as well as the Fatah movement. Around 100 demonstrators waving Palestinian flags and wearing fluorescent jackets reading, "We are going to Jerusalem," broke through near the Qalandiya military checkpoint, one report said. Last Friday, protesters in the village of Ni'lin also managed to tear down a section of the wall.

By Khalid Amayreh

Hundreds of children were killed in Israel’s war on Gaza earlier this year. OCCUPIED JERUSALEM – A Jewish rabbi has issued a book giving Jews permission to murder non-Jews, including babies and children, who may pose an actual or potential threat to Jews or Israel. “It is permissible to kill the Righteous among non-Jews even if they are not responsible for the threatening situation,” Rabbi Yitzhak Shapiro, who heads the Od Yosef Chai Yeshiva in the Yitzhar settlement in the occupied West Bank, wrote in his book “The King’s Torah.” He argues that goyem (a derogatory epithet for non-Jews) may be killed if they threaten Israel. “If we kill a Gentile who has sinned or has violated one of the seven commandments – because we care about the commandments – there is nothing wrong with the murder.” Shapiro, who heads a small Talmudic school at the settlement of Yitzhar near Nablus, claims his edict “is fully justified by the Torah and the Talmud.” The anti-goyem edict seems to come in response to the arrest by Israeli police of a Jewish terrorist who has confessed to having murdered two Palestinian shepherds in the West Bank. The terrorist, an American-born immigrant named Yaakov Teitel, also confessed to have tried to assassinate leftist Jewish figures. Police considered the arrest an important achievement in combating Jewish terrorism, which experts contend thrives on religious edicts issued by rabbis affiliated with the religious-Zionist camp. Nearly 16 years ago, a Jewish terrorist named Yigal Amir assassinated then Israeli Premier Yitzhak Rabin. Moreover, numerous innocent Palestinians have also been murdered in cold blood by Jewish terrorists. In 1994, Baruch Goldstein, a notorious Jewish terrorist, murdered 29 Muslim worshipers inside Al-Ibrahimi Mosque in the West Bank town of al-Khalil. Non-Humans The controversial edict is backed by numerous rabbis affiliated with the so-called national-religious camp as well as the Talmudic seminary in West Jerusalem, known as Merkaz Ha’rav. Among the rabbis who have publicly supported the edict are Yitzhak Ginsburg and Ya’akov Yosef. Ginsburg had written a leaflet glorifying murderer Goldstein and called him a “saintly figure.” Shapiro’s views on how Palestinians and non-Jews in general ought to be treated according to Jewish religious law (halacha) are widely looked at as representing the mainstream not the exception in Israel. During the Israeli onslaught against Gaza earlier this year, Mordecahi Elyahu, one of the leading rabbinic figures in Israel, urged the army not to refrain from killing enemy children in order to save the lives of Israeli soldiers. He had even petitioned the Israeli government to carry out a series of carpet bombing of Palestinian population centers in Gaza. “If they don’t stop after we kill 100, then we must kill a thousand. And if they do not stop after we kill a thousand, then we must kill 10,000. If they still don’t stop, we must kill 100,000, even a million. Whatever it takes to stop them.” According to Israel Shahak, author of “Jewish History, Jewish Religion: the Weight of Three Thousand years,” the term “human beings” in Jewish law refers solely to Jews. Many Jewish orthodox rabbis, especially within the national-religious sector, view international conventions incriminating the deliberate killing of civilians and destruction of civilian homes and property as representing “Christian morals” not binding on Jews. In 2006, the Rabbinic Council of Jewish Settlements in the West Bank urged the army “to ignore Christian morals and exterminate the enemy in the north (Lebanon) and the south (Gaza Strip). Such manifestly racist and hateful edicts don’t raise many eyebrows in Israel, neither among the intelligentsia nor in the society at large.