Imagine the following entry in a history book:
INDONESIA invaded East Timor on December 7, 1975, after receiving the green light from Soviet Prime Minister Leonid Brezhnev and KGB Chairman Yuri Vladimirovich Andropov, who visited Jakarta on the eve of the Indonesian invasion. Indonesia ruled the tiny half-island territory through terror and mass murder, killing some 200,000 Timorese, nearly a third of East Timor's population, thanks to several billion in military and economic support from the Soviet Union. This state of siege lasted until 1999, when a U.N.-organized plebiscite resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence. The Soviet Union under Boris Yeltsin continued to finance the Indonesian military as it committed more atrocities in a last-ditch attempt to stem Timorese independence. As the Soviet Ambassador to Jakarta told reporters at the time, "Indonesia matters, East Timor does not." International pressure and instability in the Politburo finally forced President Yeltsin to halt military aid on September 10, 1999. Yeltsin was replaced by Vladimir Putin on December 31, 1999.
During the 1980's, President Ronald Reagan doubtless would have engaged the U.S. Military in opposition to the Soviet Invasion of East Timor, just as he did the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan.
But it was not the USSR that promoted genocide in East Timor. It was the USA. Here is a more accurate entry for our history books:
INDONESIA invaded East Timor on December 7, 1975, after receiving the green light from then-U.S. President Gerald Ford and Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, who visited Jakarta on the eve of the Indonesian invasion. Indonesia ruled the tiny half-island territory through terror and mass murder, killing some 200,000 Timorese, nearly a third of East Timor's population, thanks to several billion in military and economic support from the United States. This state of siege lasted until 1999, when a U.N.-organized plebiscite resulted in an overwhelming vote for independence. The Clinton administration continued to finance the Indonesian military as it committed more atrocities in a last-ditch attempt to stem Timorese independence. As U.S. Ambassador to Jakarta, Stapleton Roy, told reporters at the time, 'Indonesia matters, East Timor does not.' International pressure and outrage in Congress finally forced President Clinton to halt military aid on September 10, 1999.
President Gerald R. Ford was a "moderate," as any fan of Ronald Reagan will tell you. "Moderates" are usually pawns of extremists; those with little passion are usually orchestrated by those with greater devotion and energy.
Jesus said:
"I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art luke-warm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit thee out of My mouth" (Revelation 3:15-16).
If anyone heard the Christmas story three days ago, they heard about the Wise Men and king Herod. Herod and the Wise Men were both "extremists." The Scholars made a long hard journey from the East to Bethlehem to worship the Babe, the True King, and gave Him expensive gifts of Frankincense, Gold, and the even more costly Myrrh. Everyone else in the East apparently stayed home and gave each other "Happy Holidays" cards from Hallmark. Herod, also an extremist, attempted to kill the Infant King, and wasn't afraid to murder thousands of innocent children in the attempt. Herod issued a royal request to the Wise Men to inform the false king of the True King's location, but the Wise Men -- those extremists -- defied the king's decree and emigrated without reporting to Homeland Security. (Read the account in Matthew 2.)
Herod, of course, didn't do all the murdering himself. Herod stayed in Washington D.C. Herod had helpers. These loyal assistants would be the "moderates." They were just doing their job. They had families to feed. "If I don't do it somebody else will."
Gerald R. Ford was no Herod. But neither was he a Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson, Geo. Washington, and Sam Adams were all "extremists." Gerald Ford was a "nice guy," and virtually no Democrats will have anything bad to say about Ford between now and his burial on Wednesday in Grand Rapids, MI. To be effective for the cause of good is often to receive the attacks of the architects of evil, so nobody will be attacking Gerald Ford.
I hope you'll join me during 2007 in trying to be an extremist that Sam Adams would be proud of.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Friday, December 22, 2006
Ramsey Clark: Three Reasons to Impeach
From: VoteToImpeach.org
There are three reasons why it is imperative for the American people to demand that their elected representatives impeach President George W. Bush and the officials of his administration responsible for the U.S. war of aggression against Iraq now.
The first reason is that President Bush and his cabal have committed an impeachable offense, indeed, “the Supreme international crime,” the war of aggression, for which they must be held accountable.
The integrity of constitutional government and the rule of law in the United States require We, the People, to assert our power, to assure accountability.
If George Bush were the most popular and honorable public figure in the country and the war in Iraq had been the most successful war in history, both militarily and in achieving peace and justice, impeachment would still be required, because criminal conduct of such deadly magnitude cannot be justified by any ends, however good the intentions and beneficial the results
The fact that President Bush is extremely unpopular and led us into war dishonorably by repeated and shifting proven deceptions reveals how impotent the American people have permitted themselves to become.
The second reason that impeachment is essential is that President Bush is still in office. The war in Iraq still rages. The illegal occupation of Iraq by 140,000 U.S. troops and a few others, remains a major cause and contributor of violence. The Iraq Study Group has found, “The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating.”
But George Bush, despite his crimes, remains, as he insists, the “decider.” And he intends to compound his prior wrongful conduct. At the Pentagon, on December 13, 2006, Bush said “I’ve heard some ideas that would lead to defeat, and I reject those ideas, ideas such as leaving before the job is done... We’re not going to give up.” Speaking about the troops in Iraq he declared his “unshakable commitment” to his goals in Iraq. “We’re going to give you the tools necessary to succeed, and a strategy to help you succeed... At the appropriate time, I will stand up in front of the nation and say, 'Here’s where we’re headed.'"
On December 16, 2006, the New York Times reported administration plans to send 20,000 or more additional soldiers to Iraq, a major “surge” in troop strength. More U.S. troops will cause greater violence, resentment and resistance.
President Bush acts outside the law, unilaterally, in defiance of the will of the American people and the world. He seeks to further dominate and exploit the earth and its people, to enrich the rich with the oil and other resources of the planet, while further impoverishing the poor at home and abroad. He ignores the international laws for peace, for fundamental human rights, the environment, health, to feed the hungry. He trashes basic protections of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, habeas corpus, authorizing secret arrests and detention, torture. At his direction, the U.S. invades individual privacy and restrains free speech. And now, after several years of outrage over torture and illegal detention focusing on Guantanamo, the press reports as Christmas nears, that the U.S. will take an even harsher stand against detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere. The crimes of the Bush Administration increase in reaction to intense criticism.
America is headed to even greater tragedy, more unbearable death and destruction, increased isolation of our country, more enemies, staggering costs and public debt, if the American people do not act now to remove President Bush and other officials responsible for these crimes.
Meanwhile, the Speaker elect of the new Congress to be in a major policy statement of plans for the “First Hundred Hours” of the Democratic Congress in which she will be backed by a majority of 33 votes from the November 2006 elections, which repudiated Bush’s war in Iraq, never mentioned Iraq! What can be hoped for from such leadership?
Our government behaves toward its President more like a Monarch than an elected leader in a free and democratic society. George III received less deference.
It is up to the People: You and Me. Impeachment, or two years of even greater criminal aggression against human rights and more violent occupation in Iraq with all it bodes for the future. And where and what else?
The third reason for impeachment now is the most important. The tragedy of America’s policies and crimes these past six years cannot be undone. These six years have been deadly enough. We can survive two more years of the misbegotten words and deeds of George W. Bush and his illusions of war and wealth. But our good people must recognize and reject the long term policies of militarism and exploitation of our government that have continued for generations now, and stop it.
George Bush’s policies are basically the same as those of the dominant economic powers that have guided U.S. policy since at least World War II. George W. Bush, as an individual, may be more arrogant, lack caution, be less competent and more deceitful than his predecessors, but in the main all have pursued the same policies if with greater caution and more restraint.
We must impeach George Bush to inform future Presidents of the price they too will pay for provoking war: impeachment. Presidents to be will continue the same policies of militarism and exploitation and war that George W. Bush has celebrated so destructively, unless the American people say, "No More." We must promise future officials that they will be impeached, as required by the Constitution and the conscience of its people, if they violate their oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
-- Ramsey Clark
December 18, 2006
There are three reasons why it is imperative for the American people to demand that their elected representatives impeach President George W. Bush and the officials of his administration responsible for the U.S. war of aggression against Iraq now.
The first reason is that President Bush and his cabal have committed an impeachable offense, indeed, “the Supreme international crime,” the war of aggression, for which they must be held accountable.
The integrity of constitutional government and the rule of law in the United States require We, the People, to assert our power, to assure accountability.
If George Bush were the most popular and honorable public figure in the country and the war in Iraq had been the most successful war in history, both militarily and in achieving peace and justice, impeachment would still be required, because criminal conduct of such deadly magnitude cannot be justified by any ends, however good the intentions and beneficial the results
The fact that President Bush is extremely unpopular and led us into war dishonorably by repeated and shifting proven deceptions reveals how impotent the American people have permitted themselves to become.
The second reason that impeachment is essential is that President Bush is still in office. The war in Iraq still rages. The illegal occupation of Iraq by 140,000 U.S. troops and a few others, remains a major cause and contributor of violence. The Iraq Study Group has found, “The situation in Iraq is grave and deteriorating.”
But George Bush, despite his crimes, remains, as he insists, the “decider.” And he intends to compound his prior wrongful conduct. At the Pentagon, on December 13, 2006, Bush said “I’ve heard some ideas that would lead to defeat, and I reject those ideas, ideas such as leaving before the job is done... We’re not going to give up.” Speaking about the troops in Iraq he declared his “unshakable commitment” to his goals in Iraq. “We’re going to give you the tools necessary to succeed, and a strategy to help you succeed... At the appropriate time, I will stand up in front of the nation and say, 'Here’s where we’re headed.'"
On December 16, 2006, the New York Times reported administration plans to send 20,000 or more additional soldiers to Iraq, a major “surge” in troop strength. More U.S. troops will cause greater violence, resentment and resistance.
President Bush acts outside the law, unilaterally, in defiance of the will of the American people and the world. He seeks to further dominate and exploit the earth and its people, to enrich the rich with the oil and other resources of the planet, while further impoverishing the poor at home and abroad. He ignores the international laws for peace, for fundamental human rights, the environment, health, to feed the hungry. He trashes basic protections of the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights, habeas corpus, authorizing secret arrests and detention, torture. At his direction, the U.S. invades individual privacy and restrains free speech. And now, after several years of outrage over torture and illegal detention focusing on Guantanamo, the press reports as Christmas nears, that the U.S. will take an even harsher stand against detainees at Guantanamo and elsewhere. The crimes of the Bush Administration increase in reaction to intense criticism.
America is headed to even greater tragedy, more unbearable death and destruction, increased isolation of our country, more enemies, staggering costs and public debt, if the American people do not act now to remove President Bush and other officials responsible for these crimes.
Meanwhile, the Speaker elect of the new Congress to be in a major policy statement of plans for the “First Hundred Hours” of the Democratic Congress in which she will be backed by a majority of 33 votes from the November 2006 elections, which repudiated Bush’s war in Iraq, never mentioned Iraq! What can be hoped for from such leadership?
Our government behaves toward its President more like a Monarch than an elected leader in a free and democratic society. George III received less deference.
It is up to the People: You and Me. Impeachment, or two years of even greater criminal aggression against human rights and more violent occupation in Iraq with all it bodes for the future. And where and what else?
The third reason for impeachment now is the most important. The tragedy of America’s policies and crimes these past six years cannot be undone. These six years have been deadly enough. We can survive two more years of the misbegotten words and deeds of George W. Bush and his illusions of war and wealth. But our good people must recognize and reject the long term policies of militarism and exploitation of our government that have continued for generations now, and stop it.
George Bush’s policies are basically the same as those of the dominant economic powers that have guided U.S. policy since at least World War II. George W. Bush, as an individual, may be more arrogant, lack caution, be less competent and more deceitful than his predecessors, but in the main all have pursued the same policies if with greater caution and more restraint.
We must impeach George Bush to inform future Presidents of the price they too will pay for provoking war: impeachment. Presidents to be will continue the same policies of militarism and exploitation and war that George W. Bush has celebrated so destructively, unless the American people say, "No More." We must promise future officials that they will be impeached, as required by the Constitution and the conscience of its people, if they violate their oath of office to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
-- Ramsey Clark
December 18, 2006
Monday, December 11, 2006
Libertarian Party Anniversary
The Libertarian Party was founded 35 years ago today. You should be able to view a video about the history of the LP (condensed into 10 minutes or so) directly below, or click here.
Thursday, December 07, 2006
Pearl Harbor and 9-11
December 7 is the day Americans annually fail to observe the bombing of Pearl Harbor 65 years ago, and fail to learn any lessons.
Robert B. Stinnett, author of Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor
(Free Press, 2000), teaches us the following:
Immediately after the successful Japanese raid, the Hawaiian military commanders, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter Short, were relieved of their commands, blamed for failing to ward off the attack, and demoted in rank.
On October 30, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law, with the support of a bipartisan Congress, the National Defense Authorization Act. Amidst its omnibus provisions, the Act reverses the findings of nine previous Pearl Harbor investigations and finds that both Kimmel and Short were denied crucial military intelligence that tracked the Japanese forces toward Hawaii and obtained by the Roosevelt Administration in the weeks before the attack.
Roosevelt believed that provoking Japan into an attack on Hawaii was the only option he had in 1941 to overcome the powerful "America First" non-interventionist movement led by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh. These anti-war views were shared by 80 percent of the American public from 1940 to 1941.
more: December 7, 1941 . . . a Day of Deceit by Robert B. Stinnett
There are many writers who admit that FDR lied in order to bring about the Japanese attack, but they praise FDR for being so "bold" because it was necessary to get America into World War II. Still, probably a majority of Americans would rather believe that FDR was actually surprised by the attack.
The truth concerning FDR and Pearl Harbor, as every TV-watching American knows, "is out there" (see links below). But Americans would rather ignore the truth and believe that war is "inevitable" rather than accept the fact that war is planned by politicians for the benefit of politicians -- the same politicians that Americans themselves elected at the ballot box.
Sixty years from now, there will undoubtedly be a widespread agreement -- even a Congressional declaration -- that 9-11 could have been prevented, or was directly and intentionally permitted to happen, or was "an inside job." When 9-11 is admitted to have been deliberately precipitated by the government, America will consider herself to be "open-minded" and "willing to face the facts" about 9-11, just as growing numbers of Americans in 2006 were quietly admitting the facts about FDR and Pearl Harbor.
But by that time America will be facing a new war which politicians will tell us "cannot be avoided," and must be met "responsibly" and "realistically." Only a few "nuts" and other "conspiracy theorists" will be alleging that this new war was also planned by the government.
The mainstream media in 60 years will admit that Pearl Harbor could have been prevented. They will boast of their openness to the facts about 9-11. But the most basic fact will continue to be ignored. It is a fact about all wars.
Butler Marine Base is a United States Marine Corps base located in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. It was named for legendary Marine Smedley D. Butler. General Butler wrote a book admitting that War is a Racket.
This is the truth that America will not face.
Pearl Harbor Articles from Do Freedom of Information Act Files Prove FDR Had Foreknowledge of Pearl Harbor?: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
December 7, 1941: A Setup from the Beginning: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
December 7, 1941: Whose Day of Infamy?
Pearl Harbor Historiography: A Lesson in Academic Housecleaning by Gary North
The Conspiracies of Empire by H. Arthur Scott Trask
A Speech That Will Live in Infamy Gary North on FDR on Pearl Harbor.
WHY LIE ABOUT PEARL HARBOR? The truth is more interesting - Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor - Mother of All Conspiracies
The Pearl Harbor Deception, by Robert Stinnett
Articles from The Independent Institute
THE MYTH OF PEARL HARBOR Memorial Day Propaganda Blitz by Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor: Official Lies in an American War Tragedy?: The Independent Policy Forum on C-SPAN
THE SECRET OF PEARL HARBOR FDR's Role Exposed – in 1944 - Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor: The Facts Behind the Fiction
Pearl Harbor: Motives Behind the Betrayal
Scapegoating Kimmel and Short
9/11 and Pearl Harbor
The New Pearl Harbor Morgan Reynolds on 9/11 as 80 minutes of unilateral disarmament.
Robert B. Stinnett, author of Day of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor
(Free Press, 2000), teaches us the following:Immediately after the successful Japanese raid, the Hawaiian military commanders, Admiral Husband E. Kimmel and Lieutenant General Walter Short, were relieved of their commands, blamed for failing to ward off the attack, and demoted in rank.
On October 30, 2000, President Bill Clinton signed into law, with the support of a bipartisan Congress, the National Defense Authorization Act. Amidst its omnibus provisions, the Act reverses the findings of nine previous Pearl Harbor investigations and finds that both Kimmel and Short were denied crucial military intelligence that tracked the Japanese forces toward Hawaii and obtained by the Roosevelt Administration in the weeks before the attack.
Roosevelt believed that provoking Japan into an attack on Hawaii was the only option he had in 1941 to overcome the powerful "America First" non-interventionist movement led by aviation hero Charles Lindbergh. These anti-war views were shared by 80 percent of the American public from 1940 to 1941.
more: December 7, 1941 . . . a Day of Deceit by Robert B. Stinnett
There are many writers who admit that FDR lied in order to bring about the Japanese attack, but they praise FDR for being so "bold" because it was necessary to get America into World War II. Still, probably a majority of Americans would rather believe that FDR was actually surprised by the attack.
The truth concerning FDR and Pearl Harbor, as every TV-watching American knows, "is out there" (see links below). But Americans would rather ignore the truth and believe that war is "inevitable" rather than accept the fact that war is planned by politicians for the benefit of politicians -- the same politicians that Americans themselves elected at the ballot box.
Sixty years from now, there will undoubtedly be a widespread agreement -- even a Congressional declaration -- that 9-11 could have been prevented, or was directly and intentionally permitted to happen, or was "an inside job." When 9-11 is admitted to have been deliberately precipitated by the government, America will consider herself to be "open-minded" and "willing to face the facts" about 9-11, just as growing numbers of Americans in 2006 were quietly admitting the facts about FDR and Pearl Harbor.
But by that time America will be facing a new war which politicians will tell us "cannot be avoided," and must be met "responsibly" and "realistically." Only a few "nuts" and other "conspiracy theorists" will be alleging that this new war was also planned by the government.
The mainstream media in 60 years will admit that Pearl Harbor could have been prevented. They will boast of their openness to the facts about 9-11. But the most basic fact will continue to be ignored. It is a fact about all wars.
Butler Marine Base is a United States Marine Corps base located in the Japanese prefecture of Okinawa. It was named for legendary Marine Smedley D. Butler. General Butler wrote a book admitting that War is a Racket.
This is the truth that America will not face.
Pearl Harbor Articles from Do Freedom of Information Act Files Prove FDR Had Foreknowledge of Pearl Harbor?: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
December 7, 1941: A Setup from the Beginning: Newsroom: The Independent Institute
December 7, 1941: Whose Day of Infamy?
Pearl Harbor Historiography: A Lesson in Academic Housecleaning by Gary North
The Conspiracies of Empire by H. Arthur Scott Trask
A Speech That Will Live in Infamy Gary North on FDR on Pearl Harbor.
WHY LIE ABOUT PEARL HARBOR? The truth is more interesting - Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor - Mother of All Conspiracies
The Pearl Harbor Deception, by Robert Stinnett
Articles from The Independent Institute
THE MYTH OF PEARL HARBOR Memorial Day Propaganda Blitz by Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor: Official Lies in an American War Tragedy?: The Independent Policy Forum on C-SPAN
THE SECRET OF PEARL HARBOR FDR's Role Exposed – in 1944 - Justin Raimondo
Pearl Harbor: The Facts Behind the Fiction
Pearl Harbor: Motives Behind the Betrayal
Scapegoating Kimmel and Short
9/11 and Pearl Harbor
The New Pearl Harbor Morgan Reynolds on 9/11 as 80 minutes of unilateral disarmament.
Monday, December 04, 2006
Rendition
The Guardian has Full coverage on CIA "rendition" flights, that is, the Bush Administration practice of kidnapping political opponents and shipping them off to totalitarian regimes for torture.
Just reading the headlines is terrifying.
For more horrifying coverage, check out Will Grigg's blog for Monday, December 4, 2006.
Unbelievable.
The Constitution is dead meat.
Just reading the headlines is terrifying.
For more horrifying coverage, check out Will Grigg's blog for Monday, December 4, 2006.
Unbelievable.
The Constitution is dead meat.
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