Noam Chomsky: “This Is The Most Remarkable Regional Uprising That I Can Remember”

Is the US loosing it's influence?

(CNN) -- Opening The New York Times on Friday morning, I blinked. The headline on its lead story, spread over two columns, blared out, "Obama's Economic View Is Rejected on World Stage."

Whether or not you like this president, the headline should make every American wince. Yes, other presidents have experienced setbacks, but it has been a long time since any of them has been so publicly rebuffed in a gathering of the world's major nations. Indeed, since World War II, our presidents have dominated the world's economic decision-making.

Deficits: Real Issue, Phony Debates

Deficits have now risen, yet again, to headline status. Conservatives inside and to the right of the Republican Party frame the national debates by attacking deficits. They want to reduce them by cutting government spending. Liberals respond, as usual, by insisting that overcoming the crisis requires big government spending (“stimulus”) and hence big deficits. Most Americans watch the politicians' conflicts with mixtures of confusion, disinterest, and disdain. Yet deficits pose a real issue for everyone, one that the debates among politicians and their economist advisors miss, ignore, or hide.

When the federal government raises less in taxes and other revenues than it spends, it must borrow the difference. Such annual borrowing is each year's deficit. The U.S. Treasury borrows that money by selling bonds, federal IOUs, to the lenders. The accumulation of annual deficits comprises the national debt, the total of outstanding U.S. treasury bonds. So the first and simplest questions about deficits are (1) why does the federal government choose to borrow rather than to raise taxes? and (2) why does it borrow rather than cut its expenditures? The twin answers are profoundly political. Elected officials are afraid to raise taxes on business and the rich because their profits and great personal wealth can then finance the defeat of officials who do that. Cutting government spending that benefits business and the rich is avoided for the same reason. As the tax burden shifted increasingly onto middle- and lower-income people in recent decades, elected officials have faced rising tax revolts coupled with demands for more government services and supports.

US accused of rigging Hatian elections.

2 Killed in Haiti Election Protests

Protests have erupted across Haiti over allegations of voter fraud in last month’s presidential election. At least two people were killed Wednesday as thousands of Haitians held demonstrations in the capital Port-au-Prince and other cities. This week Haiti’s election council announced a runoff vote between government-backed candidate Jude Celestin and former first lady Mirlande Manigat. On Wednesday, supporters of third-place candidate Michel Martelly erected barricades across Port-au-Prince to demand his inclusion in the second-round vote. One protester said the United States had helped advance Celestin’s bid.

Protester: "The Americans have elected Jude Celestin. They want to put him in power. If there is a second round, it is not for the people."

I see said the blind man as he picked up his hammer and saw - wolrd press freedom day event in the US?

The United States is pleased to announce that it will host UNESCO’s World Press Freedom Day event in 2011, from May 1 - May 3 in Washington, D.C. UNESCO is the only UN agency with the mandate to promote freedom of expression and its corollary, freedom of the press.
The theme for next year’s commemoration will be 21^st Century Media: New Frontiers, New Barriers. The United States places technology and innovation at the forefront of its diplomatic and development efforts. New media has empowered citizens around the world to report on their circumstances, express opinions on world events, and exchange information in environments sometimes hostile to such exercises of individuals’ right to freedom of expression. At the same time, we are concerned about the determination of some governments to censor and silence individuals, and to restrict the free flow of information. We mark events such as World Press Freedom Day in the context of our enduring commitment to support and expand press freedom and the free flow of information in this digital age.

I Pity The Nation That Needs To Jail Those Who Ask For Justice-- Arundhati Roy

For her talk on Kashmir (videos to the right), writer Arundhati Roy has come under the threat of “sedition” charges in India. These speeches are currently being analyzed by Delhi police. Her response to the threat is below and was issued from Srinagar:

See video of her speech on Kashmir here

I write this from Srinagar, Kashmir. This morning's papers say that I may be arrested on charges of sedition for what I have said at recent public meetings on Kashmir. I said what millions of people here say every day. I said what I, as well as other commentators have written and said for years. Anybody who cares to read the transcripts of my speeches will see that they were fundamentally a call for justice. I spoke about justice for the people of Kashmir who live under one of the most brutal military occupations in the world; for Kashmiri Pandits who live out the tragedy of having been driven out of their homeland; for Dalit soldiers killed in Kashmir whose graves I visited on garbage heaps in their villages in Cuddalore; for the Indian poor who pay the price of this occupation in material ways and who are now learning to live in the terror of what is becoming a police state.

Yesterday I traveled to Shopian, the apple-town in South Kashmir which had remained closed for 47 days last year in protest against the brutal rape and murder of Asiya and Nilofer, the young women whose bodies were found in a shallow stream near their homes and whose murderers have still not been brought to justice. I met Shakeel, who is Nilofer's husband and Asiya's brother. We sat in a circle of people crazed with grief and anger who had lost hope that they would ever get 'insaf'—justice—from India, and now believed that Azadi—freedom— was their only hope. I met young stone pelters who had been shot through their eyes. I traveled with a young man who told me how three of his friends, teenagers in Anantnag district, had been taken into custody and had their finger-nails pulled out as punishment for throwing stones.

In the papers some have accused me of giving 'hate-speeches', of wanting India to break up. On the contrary, what I say comes from love and pride. It comes from not wanting people to be killed, raped, imprisoned or have their finger-nails pulled out in order to force them to say they are Indians. It comes from wanting to live in a society that is striving to be a just one. Pity the nation that has to silence its writers for speaking their minds. Pity the nation that needs to jail those who ask for justice, while communal killers, mass murderers, corporate scamsters, looters, rapists, and those who prey on the poorest of the poor, roam free.

Arundhati Roy
October 26 2010

Catholic Bishops Call on Israel to End the Occupation

Tensions are rising between the Israeli government and the Catholic Church after a gathering of prominent Catholic bishops called on Israel to end the occupation of the Palestinian territories and to stop using the Bible to justify the occupation. The bishops issued the statement following a two-week special synod of bishops organized by the Vatican.

Archbishop Cyril Salim Bustros, head of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church in the United States: "This is clear for us. The concept of the promised land cannot be used as a base for the justification of the return of Jews to Israel and the displacement of Palestinians. Four to five million Jews have been brought in, and three to four million Palestinians have been chased out of their land, where they lived for 1,400 to 1,600 years. Therefore, what we want to say here, it is a political question, but the justification of Israel’s occupation of the land of Palestine cannot be based on sacred scriptures."

Israel responded to the Vatican conference by saying the bishops’ meeting was hijacked by an anti-Israel majority.

General: Israel Fired 308 Live Bullets during Siege of Gaza Aid Boat

In other news from the Middle East, Israel’s top general has revealed Israeli commandos fired 308 live bullets aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship in May, as well as some 350 beanbag rounds and non-lethal paintballs. Testifying on Sunday before Israeli’s state-appointed inquest, Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi justified the use of force and said Israel’s killing of eight Turks and one US citizen on the aid boat had been unavoidable.

US Confirms $60B Saudi Weapons Deal--- give capitalists guns!

YES SELL GUNS AND WAR PLANES TO THE MIDDLE EAST (but only the nice oil rich capitalist ones)....

The Obama administration has confirmed reaching a $60 billion deal to sell advanced military aircraft to Saudi Arabia. It would be the largest-ever single arms deal in US history. Under the agreement, Saudi Arabia could buy or upgrade over 150 F-15 fighters and purchase nearly 200 new helicopters. Andrew Shapiro, assistant secretary of state for political-military affairs, unveiled the deal in Washington.

Andrew Shapiro: "This proposed sale has tremendous significance from a strategic regional perspective. It will reinforce our longstanding security partnership with Saudi Arabia, as Ambassador Vershbow will briefly discuss after my comments. It will send a strong message to countries in the region that we are committed to support the security of our key partners and allies in the Arabian Gulf and broader Middle East."

How much did we give to Haiti....wait, wait....what was the total we gave to Pakistani flood victims? ooo. Well i guess homeless people are not a good market for the military industry....shoot maybe they want some corn, rice or soy?

Congress will have thirty days to review the deal before it can be finalized.

aid reform...... that's not what we meant

owing Foreign Aid Reform, Obama Pushes Foreign Investment

Earlier in the day, Obama appeared before the UN with a vow to reshape how the US delivers foreign aid. Obama criticized what he called an aid culture of "dependence" and said the US will encourage foreign investment as a means to spur development and sustainability.

President Obama: "Consider the millions of people who have relied on food assistance for decades. That’s not development, that’s dependence, and it’s a cycle we need to break. Instead of just managing poverty, we have to offer nations and peoples a path out of poverty. We know that countries are more likely to prosper when they encourage entrepreneurship, when they invest in their infrastructure, when they expand trade and welcome investment. So we will partner with countries like Sierra Leone to create business environments that are attractive to investment."

...dear mr obama please consider:

• http://www.indiaplaza.com/power-politics-reincarnation-of-rumpelstiltskin-arundhati-roy/books/8126402776.htm

FAO Chief: Corporate Influence Undermining Development

Obama will again the address the UN with a speech before the General Assembly today. His comments on aid come as the head of the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has said that corporate influence is undermining sustainable development worldwide. Speaking at a farming summit in London, Dr. Samuel Jutzi said, "I have now been twenty years in a multilateral organization which tries to develop guidance and codes for good agricultural practice, but the real, true issues are not being addressed by the political process because of the influence of lobbyists, of the true powerful entities."

Bahrain Intensifies Crackdown on Opposition, Human Rights Groups

In Bahrain, a government crackdown on opposition and human rights activists has escalated with a new round of arrests. Over the weekend, twenty-three people were detained on charges of plotting the violent overthrow of the Bahraini government. The suspects include prominent members of the Shia opposition as well as human rights activists. As many as 250 people have been arrested in the crackdown in less than a month. Speaking to Democracy Now!, Nabeel Rajab of the Bahrain Center for Human Rights said he is facing arrest after being publicly named a terrorist in the Bahraini media.

Nabeel Rajab: "It’s getting very dangerous working on documentation of human rights. On a daily basis, you see my picture in the newspaper as a terrorist or supporting terrorism and all that; attacking me on the radio by a program just made an hour, an hour and a half, two hours, accusing us, accusing me of contacting international organization, giving false information to international organization to overthrow the government. If they arrest me, I’m not better than the others. I mean, I know this is also the cost of the work, the human rights work, the documentation, the reporting for international organizations that’s getting the government angry. And this is the cost of our work, and we are willing to pay for it."

Nabeel Rajab went on to discuss the US role in backing the Bahraini government.

Nabeel Rajab: "The] Bahrain government is a friend of the Western countries—and the European and the American. They are very influential in this part of the world. Unfortunately, for the past many years with all these violations against human rights, European Union and the United States government did not play a positive role. There, always economics and the flow of oil were a priority, and the rights of human—the last thing they would talk about [is] the rights of people here."

Warnings against Quran burning plan

US military commanders in Afghanistan have said that a small Florida church's plan to burn copies of the Quran on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks could endanger the lives of American troops.

Two senior US commanders in Afghanistan said on Monday the proposed burning of the Muslim holy book risked undermining President Barack Obama efforts to reach out to the world's 1.5 billion Muslims.

They said it could also trigger retaliation against US forces serving in Afghanistan.

The warnings come amid angry protests by several hundred people in the Afghan capital, Kabul, who chanted "Death to America" as they denounced the planned burning event by the Dove World Outreach Centre church in Gainesville, Florida.

The centre, calling itself a "New Testament, Charismatic, Non-Denominational Church", says it will go ahead with the torching of the Quran on Saturday to mark the ninth anniversary of the 2001 attacks against the US.

Gainesville authorities have said the event will contravene fire safety rules.

"It could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort," David Petraeus, the US and Nato commander in Afghanistan, said in a statement to US media organisations.

Direct talks ... let the countdown begin

Spend as much time in the Middle East following the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as I have over the years and you begin to notice a sad pattern.

The two-state solution based on the Israeli-Palestinian equation of 'land for peace' has brought neither land nor peace but violence.

Now that the direct talks between Israelis and Palestinians have begun, so too, many are afraid, has something else: the countdown to the next round of violence in the region.

God forbid it happens. Those of us who live in this part of the world know how much of a human toll this conflict has taken on the people of the region.

But there is a truth that must be said, and while most in the media, particularly the Western media, have failed to mention it, the reality of the violence that follows the failure of such talks always looms present.

The Right to food

Crooks and Liars have observed this typically dry press release from the United Nations. The short of it is that there was a vote on the right to food at the UN. In favour – 180 countries. Against: The United States.

Seriously. And in a related vote on the right to development, 177 countries voted for. Against: The United States. Abstaining: Canada, Israel.

It's not Ok to Bash Islam.

Anti-Mosque Rhetoric in US Reportedly Boosts Taliban Recruitment

Newsweek is reporting that Taliban operatives in Afghanistan say the backlash against the construction of an Islamic cultural center in Lower Manhattan has been a boost for the militant group. An operative named Zabihullah told the magazine, "By preventing this mosque from being built, America is doing us a big favor...It’s providing us with more recruits, donations, and popular support." Zabihullah’s comments mirror what many US terrorism analysts have been saying about the rise in anti-Muslim rhetoric in America.
Evan Kohlmann recently said, "We are handing al-Qaeda a propaganda coup, an absolute propaganda coup."

Candlelight Vigil in Tennessee Condemns Arson at Mosque Site

In Tennessee, more than 150 people gathered last night for a candlelight vigil in the city of Murfreesboro to protest the recent arson at the construction site for a new mosque and Islamic center. Andy Woloszyn of Middle Tennesseans for Religious Freedom helped organize the rally.

Andy Woloszyn: "We had a candlelight vigil condemning the arson and terrorism committed against the site of the future Islamic center, where they torched a construction vehicle down. And the very next day, when members of the board were out there, they heard several gunshots. So we came here today to support the Muslim community, to be here for them so they don’t feel alone, so they’re not the ones suffering by themselves." (Video courtesy of Seth Spuff Limbaugh / SethLimbaugh.com).

Attorney John Green spoke prior to the candlelight vigil in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

John Green: "It is my personal belief that to be here tonight evidences a respect for everything that we, as citizens of Murfreesboro and Rutherford County, hold dear: the integrity and dignity, respect with which we will treat our neighbors and our friends and our colleagues." (Video courtesy of Seth Spuff Limbaugh /SethLimbaugh.com).

A group of counter-protesters in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, gathered to openly oppose the construction of the mosque. One of the counter-protesters, Kimberly Kelly, expressed support for the use of arson to stop the mosque from being built. She told The Tennesseannewspaper, "I think it was a piece of their own medicine. They bombed our country."

US Grants itself Global Assassination Permit

Obama Administration Sued over Plan to Assassinate US Citizens

The American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Constitutional Rights have sued the Obama administration over its claim to have the authority to assassinate US citizens accused of terrorism links abroad. Earlier this year, the Obama administration added the US-born cleric Anwar al-Awlaki to a CIA list of targets for capture or killing. Al-Awlaki is currently living in Yemen.

Jameel Jaffer, Deputy Legal Director of the ACLU: "One of the dangers with this kind of program, a targeted killing program, is that we will end up killing the wrong people. Dozens of times we’ve detained people as terrorists only to find out later that the evidence was weak, nonexistent or wrong. At least with detention there’s the possibility of a court challenge or the possibility of appeal, but there’s no appeal from a drone. There’s no appeal from a death sentence after it’s imposed."

Vince Warren is executive director at the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Vince Warren: "If we were to set the precedent of going around the world and killing people that the United States thinks are suspects, that would be setting probably one of the most dangerous precedents out there, because there would be nothing to stop, for example, China from targeting its citizens in the United States.

Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and the Future of War

Obama to Declare End to Combat Operations in Iraq

President Obama is preparing to officially declare the end of US combat operations in Iraq seven-and-a-half years after the US invasion. Obama will make the announcement in a nationally televised speech tonight from the Oval Office. He gave a preview of his speech in his weekly radio address over the weekend.

President Obama: "On Tuesday, after more than seven years, the United States of America will end its combat mission in Iraq and take an important step forward in responsibly ending the Iraq war. As a candid ate for this office, I pledged I would end this war. As president, that’s what I’m doing." (bull shit)

Netanyahu in 2001: US "Won’t Get in the Way" of Israeli Expansionism

A newly revealed tape shows Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu once openly discussed his intent to attack the Palestinian government, undermine the Oslo peace accords, and manipulate the United States to ensure its approval. The 2001 recording shows Netanyahu meeting with Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank. Netanyahu was then out of government after serving his first stint in office. Apparently unaware he was being recorded, Netanyahu talks openly of a "broad attack" on the Palestinian government, saying, "The main thing, first of all, is to hit them. Not just one blow, but blows that are so painful that the price will be too heavy to be borne." Netanyahu also outlines how he would undermine the 1993 Oslo accords, he said, which established the basis for Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, by declaring any West Bank land that Israel wants to retain as "military" and "security zones." Addressing potential US opposition to Israeli expansionism, Netanyahu says, "I know what America is. America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won’t get in the way."

Support our Troops

Support our troops, watch this video

This should be no surprise to find out but U.S. Troops kill people.
Those that pay their taxes to the Untied States pay for people to kill people.
Support our troops, support murder.

If this was my country, and my people...
I would pick up an AK-47, or an RPG as well
I do not quite understand why we are so surprised with terrorism
when we are the same thing, just a well funded terrorist organization


The Transitive Property of Fighting
If...
People = Soldiers
Soldiers = Army
Army = Killing for own cause/justice
Killing for own Cause/justice= Terrorist
Terrorism = army
Army = Soldiers(terrorists)
Soldiers= people

People shouldn't become Soldiers nor terrorists

Killing = Killing

"dig America out of the many faults in its policy toward Haiti."

Haiti:
On Wednesday, the United Nations and U.S. aid officials announced that "urgent" relief operations in Haiti have ended and that "aid deliveries are now meeting the most immediate needs." Nonetheless, the needs of those who survived the earthquake have not diminished. Haitian Prime Minister Jean-Max Bellerive told delegates at a conference aimed at securing long-term aid for the devastated nation that Haiti "will need to be helped to face this colossal work of reconstruction." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper warned that rebuilding Haiti could take "at least 10 years of hard work." Vice President Joe Biden has also acknowledged that the relief effort "will still be on our radar screen long after it's off the crawler at CNN. This is going to be a long slog.'' Meanwhile, a recent poll shows that six out of 10 Americans support the U.S. playing a continued long-term role in Haiti's relief effort. Yet, exactly what form, if any, America's continued efforts should take is still a matter of public debate.

BEYOND URGENT RELIEF: As of last Friday, the U.S. had already contributed $130 million in aid, 12,000 military personnel, 265 government medical personnel, 18 Navy and Coast Guard ships, 49 helicopters and seven cargo planes to assist in aid delivery, support, and evacuations. The American Red Cross has received over $137 million in Haiti-inspired donations, and last weekend's "Hope for Haiti Now" telethon raised more than $61 million. However, the vice president for public policy at the U.N. Foundation has stated that President Obama must develop a strategy for making sure Congress is "on board" for the additional aid Haiti will need in the long run. Homi Kharas at the Brookings Institution advises Western countries to play an integral role in providing technical expertise during the reconstruction of Haiti's infrastructure. Many have further pointed out that the quake has provided an opportunity for the international community to shift away from policies that have perpetuated Haiti's development challenges. More specifically, Derrick Jackson of the Boston Globe writes that Obama has a chance to "dig America out of the many faults in its policy toward Haiti." Despite an outpouring of generous donations, Haiti remains saddled by $1 billion in international debt it accumulated before the quake. This week, the U.S. looked at plans outlined by international lenders to forgive Haiti's debt, which Secretary of State Hillary Clinton optimistically describes as "feasible." Yesterday, the Dodd-Lugar bill was introduced to forgive Haiti's foreign debt, increase trade, and create an infrastructure fund to help the quake-hit country rebuild. While some have suggested further liberalizing trade policies towards Haiti, critics have pointed out that trade liberalization decimated Haiti's sugar and rice industries and that a shift in U.S. agricultural policies would be more appropriate.

HARD-HEARTED RIGHT: Despite the generosity of the majority of the American people, some right-wingers aren't feeling very charitable. Radio host Rush Limbaugh argued against government aid for Haiti and crudely predicted that Obama was going to try to use the devastating earthquake to boost his credibility with the "light-skinned and dark-skinned black community" in the U.S. Fox News host Glenn Beck accused Obama of "dividing the nation" by reacting "so rapidly to Haiti"; conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt argued that Obama had "invaded Haiti." Rep. Steve King (R-IA) described those calling for Haitian TPS as "open borders advocates exercising the Rahm Emanuel axiom: 'Never let a crisis go to waste.'" King further suggested undocumented Haitians living in the U.S. should instead be deported back to their country to serve as much-needed "relief workers." The anti-immigrant Center for Immigration Studies (CIS) has taken the lead in opposing further Haitian immigration. CIS Fellow David North has attacked the idea of waiving TPS fees for poor Haitian "illegals" and suggested that Haitian refugees would be best culturally absorbed by other Caribbean countries. Any refugees accepted by the U.S., according to North, should be directed to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, which "have never lifted a finger to help America to resettle refugees." CIS director Mark Krikorian further remarked that the reason Haiti is "so screwed up" is because it's home to a "progress-resistant culture" that simply "wasn't colonized long enough." Right-wing criticisms aside, the nation's capacity to rebuild Haiti is limited and the U.S. does ultimately have an obligation to clearly "assure [the Haitian] people we will do what we can, but we cannot do what we can't."

(Article courtesy of the Progress Report)

Think Haiti

Haiti: NGOs and Relief Groups call for immediate and Widespread Distribution of Water and Other Aid upplies.

Doctor: Misinformation and Racism Have Frozen Recovery Effort at General Hospital in Port-au-Prince

https://secure.avaaz.org/en/stand_with_haiti/