Loyalty without truth
is a trail to tyranny.
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a middle-aged George Washington
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Sunday, 20 January 2008 at 8h 7m 49s | Martin Luther King and Lyndon Johnson | This is first hand history, from Bill Moyers.
Bill Moyers, who was Lyndon Johnson’s press secretary from 1965-1967, gives his perspective on
the “tempest in a teapot” of the Hillary vs. Obama media brawl over LBJ and MLK:
As the pressure intensified on each side, Johnson wanted King to wait a little longer and give him
a chance to bring Congress around by hook or crook. But Martin Luther King said his people had
already waited too long. He talked about the murders and lynchings, the churches set on fire,
children brutalized, the law defied, men and women humiliated, their lives exhausted, their hearts
broken. LBJ listened, as intently as I ever saw him listen. He listened, and then he put his hand
on Martin Luther King’s shoulder, and said, in effect: “OK. You go out there Dr. King and keep
doing what you’re doing, and make it possible for me to do the right thing.” Lyndon Johnson was no
racist but he had not been a civil rights hero, either. Now, as president, he came down on the side
of civil disobedience, believing it might quicken America’s conscience until the cry for justice
became irresistible, enabling him to turn Congress. So King marched and Johnson maneuvered and
Congress folded.
[SOURCE: Nicole Belle | CrooksandLiars.com | 19 January
2008]
[ORIGINAL
SOURCE: Bill Moyers Journal | 18 January 2008]
| Saturday, 19 January 2008 at 16h 34m 7s | How bad is the economic situation? |
The US stock market is off to one of its worst starts in history, credit is shrinking, and home prices are declining at rates
never seen before. The current credit and housing crises have been on the front pages of even non business newspapers since last
summer. It’s a mess out there. At the same time, our nation’s leaders in Washington are still assuring Americans that they are
monitoring the situation closely and will be ready to act in order to avoid any negative consequences of the current credit crisis.
What are they waiting for?
Several months into this episode, the lack of decisive action is unnerving and apparent to even the most casual investor. This is a
real crisis of confidence. No matter what your opinion of the proper steps, if any, that are needed, there is no denying the fact that
financial markets hate uncertainty. Unfortunately, that’s exactly what they are getting.
[SOURCE: | Bespoke Investments | 19 January 2008]
| Thursday, 17 January 2008 at 5h 24m 27s | Turkey | In case you don't know, Turkey has essentially occupied parts of Northern Iran. But fear not, according to Le Monde:
"NOTRE SEUL OBJECTIF EST D'ÉLIMINER LES TERRORISTES"
"Nous espérons que ce combat contre le terrorisme s'achèvera bientôt mais nous ne savons pas combien de temps il va encore
durer", a déclaré, lundi, le premier ministre turc, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, depuis Madrid, où il se trouve pour le premier forum de
l'Alliance des civilisations. Il a ajouté que le seul objectif de son pays était d'éliminer les 4 000 "terroristes" du Parti des
travailleurs du Kurdistan.
Depuis décembre, l'armée turque a mené contre le PKK quatre raids aériens avec l'aide des services de renseignement américain
et une opération terrestre d'ampleur limitée dans le nord de l'Irak.
[SOURCE: | Le Monde (Reuters) | 15 January 2008]
Here is my translation."Our sole objective is to eliminate the terrorists. We hope that the fight against terrorism will end soon
but we don't know how long we will remain here [in Iraq]," declared the Turkish Prime Minister on Monday from Madrid, where
the
Prime Minister attended a forum for the Alliance of civilizations. He added that the sole objective of his nation was to eliminate
some 4,000 "terroristes" of the Workers Party of Kurdistan.
Since December, the turkish army has made 4 aerial raids against the PKK with the assistance of American reconnaissance, and
also pursues an limited operation on land in Northern Iraq.
In other words, as soon as Turkey destroys the unfavorable Political Party and install a friendly (corruptible) government.
| Thursday, 17 January 2008 at 3h 34m 47s | The insane asylum | I was hanging out with a new friend of mine last night. She is pretty kookie, but also genuine and cool. A friend of mine named
Liam would say "Krazy Kool". She tends to talk about "Jesus" a little more often than I normally would, so I told her this ex tempore
while we sat talking at this restaurant.
"A long time ago God was in a mental asylum, because everyone misunderstood him. Then one day he escaped, and ever since then
he only reveals himself in small hints or clues. As soon as you reach for and try to isolate God, he's gone, because if he ever
revealed himself, they'd put him in an insane asylum again."
I really am not sure what that means exactly, but seeing as it came out of my mouth, I should know.
| Thursday, 17 January 2008 at 1h 15m 29s | Worst. President. Ever. | Bush returns from his Middle East trip. And everyone hates and
despises
him. So
much
for "liberation." Nothing was accomplished. At least he didn't mispronounce both the Israeli and
Palestinian's names again.
What was the real reason why Bush made the Middle East trip? How does the Arab World view this
trip?
From the Miami Herald (hint to San Francisco Chronicle : they frequently publish relevant and
thorough journalistic first-hand stories about something other than Miami and Florida politics
instead of frequently putting Political propaganda Analysts on the front page.)
Arab critics deemed Bush's peace efforts unrealistic, his anti-Iran tirades dangerous, his praise
of authoritarian governments disappointing and his defense of civil liberties ironic.
''There is no credibility to his words after what the region saw during his presidency,'' said
Mohamed Fayek, the Cairo, Egypt-based director of the nonprofit Arab Organization for Human Rights.
He cited the war in Iraq, the prison camp in Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, and the Abu Ghraib detainee
abuse scandal. ``American policy threw the region off-balance and destabilized it. The visit caused
deep disappointment. I don't see any results.''
...In Lebanon, an explosion targeting an armored U.S. embassy vehicle in Beirut killed four
Lebanese and injured others in the first assault on the U.S. diplomatic mission there since the
1980s.
...Meanwhile, Bush didn't back down on his warnings to Iran, which he has lambasted at nearly every
stop on his eight-day journey. He reiterated in Saudi Arabia that a military option wasn't out of
the question....However, many Gulf countries appear to be moving closer to Iran over Washington's
objections. Iran's firebrand president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appeared at an important Gulf summit
recently, and Iranian investors play vital roles in the economies of Bahrain, the United Arab
Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq.
"I guess the visit was just about making sure the Gulf doesn't slip away toward Iran,"
said Ghanim al Najjar, the director of the Center for Strategic and Future Studies at Kuwait
University. "All these issues will just stay on the surface because there is no environment to
support action against Iran. Everything will stay on the level of rhetoric rather than reality."
[SOURCE: HANNAH ALLAM
| Miami Herald (McClatchy News Service) | 16 January 2008]
Read that last paragraph again.
| Thursday, 17 January 2008 at 0h 23m 4s | A discourse on hypocrisy | We are all hypocrites. The world is too large and life is too vast and random for
us to be
otherwise. This is not a morality issue, nor it is it a denunciation of all mankind. Our
hypocrisy stems from the disjunction between two worlds : what we believe to be ourselves, and what
we believe to be the external world. When we converse with one another, we share these believe
systems and try to come to common universal understandings. When we do not converse, we cannot
know the belief systems of others and so form conjectures based upon our own beliefs that are
always inaccurate. At some point in time, there will be a contortion by the ego which sustains
this mechanism of selfdom, and this is where the hypocrisy arrises.
The ego is the justification which separates and distinguishes our self from everything else. This
ego is the decision-maker created between the two worlds of beliefs, making choices and explaining
the decisions. Sometimes the ego explains to the self, sometimes to everyone else, sometimes both,
and in the slew of chatter resides the real individual. We are all defined by our choice of words
but also by the distinct flavor of hypocrisy with which we brandish the words.
But that which distinguishes the wholesome person from the dissolute soul is the manner with which
an
individual handles their own hypocrisy. Being humble in one's potential for self-deception and
working arduously towards reducing the affectation thereof is the best of all possible occurences.
Good
luck.
| Tuesday, 15 January 2008 at 2h 10m 3s | There's still a war going on. | Click here
for the latest in US deaths and casualties. Almost 4,000 dead, 30,000 wounded. Official
statistics. Not including the soldiers who die due to complications off-field. Not including the
300,000 plus iraqi and afghani civilian deaths, nor the millions of refuges and orphans, nor the
destruction of crop-land and infrastructure.
And how many dictators and oligarchical dictatorships has the US supported and currently support?
Why was this one dictator so damn different? In the words of our fearless Vice President:
In Afghanistan you’ve got a nation without significant resources. In Iraq you’ve got a nation
that’s got the second-largest oil reserves in the world, second only to Saudi Arabia. It will
generate billions of dollars a year in cash flow if they get back to their production of roughly
three million barrels of oil a day, in the relatively near future.
[SOURCE: | Meet The Press | 16 March
2003]
Here's another lovely quote from the same "interview" (dissemination of propaganda):
MR. RUSSERT: If your analysis is not correct, and we’re not treated as liberators, but as
conquerors, and the Iraqis begin to resist, particularly in Baghdad, do you think the American
people are prepared for a long, costly, and bloody battle with significant American casualties?
VICE PRES. CHENEY: Well, I don’t think it’s likely to unfold that way, Tim, because I really do
believe that we will be greeted as liberators.
| Monday, 14 January 2008 at 3h 18m 48s | The Primary electors |
The pink states are the states that will hold their primaries on Super Tuesday, 5 February.
Keep in mind all of the talking heads have been filling the air waves with nonsense over 11 total
electors. That is only 20% of
California's electors. The corporate media frames the historical events, while screening out all
relevant evidence contrary to the
theme.
This year's voters are well informed however. A ground-swell of voters under 35 is surging against
the juvenile narratives the
media liars offer as substantive discourse.
Answer: turn off the media box and listen to your heart.
| Monday, 14 January 2008 at 1h 29m 52s | ex-Attorney General John Ashcroft |
Riches are raining down on the former attorney general's consulting firm, the Ashcroft Group, thanks to a former Justice
Department associate. The group has been handed an 18-month contract worth between $28-million and $52-million by
Christopher Christie, the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey - a man who used to work for Ashcroft. There was no competitive
bidding for this well-compensated work and, according to the New York Times, Christie has been using his position to direct
similar arrangements to other former department colleagues.
Ashcroft's contract has eye-popping numbers. For the sum of $750,000 per month plus between $150,000 and $250,000 per
month in expenses, his consulting group will monitor an out-of-court settlement the Justice Department reached with Zimmer
Holdings, a medical supply company in Indiana. That company was accused of paying kickbacks to doctors who used their knee
and hip implants.
Zimmer Holdings was directed to contract with Ashcroft's firm by Christie, who defends the action as just finding the best man
for the job. It is hard to believe that other firms wouldn't be as equally capable, and they would be without the appearance of
cronyism or rewarding friends.
Ashcroft's firm negotiated its fees directly with Zimmer Holdings in a way that raises questions about whether they might be too
generous in order to curry favor. The hourly billing rate for Ashcroft and his top staff is between $695 and $895. Nice work if you
can get it.
[SOURCE: | St. Petersburg Times | 11 January 2008]
This is why Republicans want to get government off your backs, because they got government in their back pockets.
| Monday, 14 January 2008 at 3h 22m 16s | America Has Spoken |
Thanks bartcop
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