Jay Janson

"What are we doing in Iraq? Invade Pakistan! YEEE-HAW!"

[URUKNET] Would rather like to point out Obama mistakes as one still hopeful for better future Obama executive orders and leadership, than to complain.

Closing Guantanamo, ending torture policies, restoring Executive Order 12667, directing federal regulators to grant states the right to set strict automobile emissions and fuel efficiency standards, are all positives.

As the news rolls in, we who wait patiently, and hope Obama will eventually be an exception to the frightful imperialism of corporate governance in spite of knowing that it was the backing of the banks and corporations that allowed for his election success, we must, especially if we want to give Obama the benefit of the doubt, help him by reacting loudly to aberrations, if that is what these following notated points be:

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Ramzy Baroud

When former President George W. Bush departed for his final trip home, that very moment represented an end of a long and unbearable nightmare, one that Bush epitomized until his last day in office.

Americans may decry what we can finally dub as the ‘Bush legacy’, for it brought economic ruin, but also pushed the country into avoidable, if not completely preventable wars, disgracing the collective history of a nation that for far too long imposed its sense of moral authority on the world.

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Kevin MacDonald

It is something of an axiom of Jewish life that “Is it good for the Jews?” remains the litmus test of Jewish communal activity — in other words, interest over principles. A good example is free speech. There can be little doubt that the organized Jewish community sees free speech as a problem because it may be used to criticize the behavior of Jewish organizations and especially Israel.

In Canada the response of the organized Jewish community to recent demonstrations against Israel was to attempt to invoke Canada’s restrictions on free speech in order to silence their critics. The Canadian Jewish Congress complained that protests against Israel’s incursion into Gaza contained images that were "uncivil, un-Canadian, that demonize Jews and Israelis." They are asking the police to investigate the matter for referral to the Canadian Human Rights Commission which is in charge of enforcing laws that infringe on free speech. Although the organized Jewish community in Canada has strongly supported the thought crime legislation (see below), Bernie Farber, the head of the CJC, stated “we are firm supporters and believers in the need to be able to demonstrate passionately in free and democratic societies.”

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Palestinian Archive

Israel's highly publicised war in Gaza has drawn sharp condemnation from the UN and human rights groups, with UN officials now calling for a war crimes investigation. With the death toll of over 1300 (one-third of whom are children)

In the face of new media technology, the internet, and citizen journalism, it has been impossible for Israel's powerful PR machine to compete with the gory images of strewn Palestinian bodies, many of them children, plastered all over the web.

Israel's actions have been caught on camera. The indiscriminate bombing of a UN school, a university, government buildings, police stations, and residential complexes all constitute serious breaches of the Geneva Conventions. The most recent controversy is over allegations that the Israeli Defence Force (IDF) is using white phosphorus and cluster bombs.

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Paul Craig Roberts

In the Museum of War Crimes in Ho-Chi-
Minh-City. A medical preparation from
a region which has been attacked by de-
foliants.

"The evidence is sitting on the table. There is no avoiding the fact that this was torture.”

These are the words of Manfred Nowak, the UN official appointed by the Commission on Human Rights to examine cases of torture. Nowak has concluded that President Obama is legally obligated to prosecute former President George W. Bush and former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

If President Obama’s bankster economic team finishes off what remains of the US economy, Obama, to deflect the public’s attention from his own failures and Americans’ growing hardships, might fulfill his responsibility to prosecute Bush and Rumsfeld. But for now the interesting question is why did the US military succumb to illegal orders?

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Stuart Littlewood

A pre-meditated and carefully planned slaughter binge resulting in 1330 dead, 5450 wounded and the whole place reduced to rubble; and what did the European Union's 27 foreign ministers just do?

They sat down to dinner in Brussels with Tzipi Livni.

This must have come as a slap in the face for the millions of justice-loving EU citizens who were expecting to see Ms. Livni arrested for crimes against humanity the minute she set foot outside Israel.

All is forgiven. Right now Israel's helpmates in Europe are lining up to pay with our tax money for the humanitarian mess and the economic wreckage, and to offer Israel the services of EU member states in helping to turn the screw yet again in the subjugation of a people Israel has terrorized, abused and dispossessed for 60 years.

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Chuck Baldwin

It is hard to believe, but a majority of Americans (including Christians and conservatives) seem oblivious to the fact that there is a very real, very legitimate New World Order (NWO) unfolding. In the face of overwhelming evidence, most Americans not only seem totally unaware of this reality, they seem unwilling to even remotely entertain the notion.

On one hand, it is understandable that so many Americans would be ignorant of the emerging New World Order. After all, the mainstream media refuses to report, or even acknowledge, the NWO. Even "conservative" commentators and talk show hosts such as Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Michael Savage, or Joe Scarborough refuse to discuss it. And when listeners call these respective programs, these "conservative" hosts usually resort to insulting the caller as being some kind of "conspiracy kook." One host even railed that if anyone questions the government line on 9/11, we should "lock them up and throw away the key." So much for freedom of speech!

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Stephen Lendman

In November/December 2006, Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting's (FAIR) Steve Rendall explained that "Hugo Chavez never had a chance with the US press." It's been a constant since his December 1998 election, and hasn't let up to this day, with language all too familiar:

-- a "would-be-dictator;

-- an autocratic demagogue;

-- a modern caudillo;

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Steve Amsel

Can you think of a better way to honour the memory of Rachel Corrie? I’m not talking about writing a check…. I’m talkng about going to Gaza as a part of a team that will rebuild the hundreds of homes destroyed during the Israeli blitzkrieg. I’m talking about honouring the blessed memory of Rachel Corrie who was murdered on March 16, 2003 by the same monsters that destroyed those homes. I am proposing an ‘army’ of volunteers to contact the International Solidarity Committee to see what you can do….

Let’s call it the Rachel Corrie Solidarity Brigade. What better way is there to spend your winter breaks?

Join Us in Palestine

Thank you for your interest in joing us in Palestine in the nonviolent resistance to end the Israeli occupation! This is a big decision and commitment and it is greatly appreciated.

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Mohannad El-Khairy

Picture this scene.

A demonstration somewhere in the West Bank against occupation and Apartheid. The red, green, black and white colors flying in unison above the heads of hundreds gathered for a cause, as the heavily equipped riot-police form a barricade in a soul-less, mechanistic order, the chanting slogans for justice, freedom, and peace become louder as emotions run high; and frustrations run even higher. Then, suddenly, the beatings begin.

You would expect the attackers to be from the so-called Israeli Defense Forces. Alas, ladies and gentlemen, you would be mistaken. Welcome everyone to the Palestinian Zionist.

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