Care for democratic elections? Go f*** yourself Ms. Rice

The people in the current US administration are truly the masters of hypocrisy. They denounce terrorism, yet they are the biggest and most powerful terrorists in the world. They call bombings of civilians barbaric, yet they are the ones with the highest record of bombing and killing civilians. They always talk about human prosperity, yet they are of the main causes of human misery. They keep talking about democracy and how much they value democracy, yet they are the ones who kill democracies by acting against some of the democratically elected governments.

US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice is planning to visit Haiti to "promote democracy". According to the State Department spokesman, "She wants to go down there and see what progress they [Haitians] have made and urge them to make continued progress".

They are obviously pretending to have forgotten that not long ago, they brought down a democratically elected president in, well, right where she is now going to "promote democracy"; Haiti. One must be absolutely stupid to buy the constant rhetoric from this administration claiming that they really care about democracy.

Insurgents or simply undercover British agents?

I've always wondered what benefit killing of the civilians in Iraq has for the Iraqi insurgents and why would they want to do so. I never really understood what the real reason for this could be. In fact, this would most likely benefit not the insurgents but the occupation forces. After all, it can easily create hostility in people towards the insurgents and as a result, it can potentially damage their cause. However, history; particularly in the Middle East, has repeatedly shown that imperialists in general and the Great Britain in particular have always used the "divide and rule" doctrine. Well, why not in Iraq? Why would they not try their dirty "tradition" in Iraq? How difficult, for an occupying power, would it be to blow up some cars packed with explosives and kill many, particularly Shias and blaim it on Sunnies? Perhaps not very difficult. They can easily do it, and perhaps benefit from it. The benefits? Well, as I said this can turn people against insurgency, and also it can easily create tension between Shias and Sunnies in Iraq and turn the fight against the occupation into an in-fight between the Iraqis. Who knows, may be this has been happening for quite some time and nobody noticed it, except this time when two British "Undercover Soldiers" were caught driving a booby-trapped car. Why would they need such car with such explosives? Why would they be dressed like Arabs (as they were)? Well, don't forget! Britain has done it before, may be with different methods matching the conditions and in different parts of the world but they have certainly done it before; and done it many times and have always benefitted from it. Their policies haven't changed, so there is no evidence indicating that their habit has changed.

Why Chavez is hated so much by Bu$hCo!

I had lots of respect for Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez before, but after watching this interview, I now have even more respect for the man (what? You thougth I was going to say otherwise?).

Just watch and compare him with dumb crooks such as, say, Bush and his gang. You'll see what I mean. But don't even try to compare his intellects with that of Bush, otherwise the comparison would seem awfully ridiculous.

Sooner or later, it will begin; it must begin.

Maj Gen Doron Almog escaped detention at Heathrow airport on Sunday after an Israeli official warned him he was facing arrest and should fly back home.

Yeah, sooner or later!

Read the rest here.

Update

"I would really like to visit Britain," the Yediot Aharonot newspaper quoted Mr Sharon as replying, jokingly. "The trouble is that I, like General Almog, also served in the IDF for many years. I too am a general. I have heard that the prisons in Britain are very tough. I wouldn't like to find myself in one."

This was the answer Sharon gave to Tony Blair's invitation to visit Britain during their sideline meeting at UN summit in New York.

I do believe that at least symbolically these developments are very meaningful. Especially since Sharon was one the main responsible elements behind the massacre of Sabra and Shatila in September of 1982.

"Taking responsibility" must have some real meaning and consequences

Everyday now, more bodies are being found in the hurricane hit Louisiana and Mississippi states. I realize that with a hurricane with the magnitude of Katrina some deaths might have been unavoidable but, I am also sure if it wasn't for the incompetence of the Bush administration in properly responding to the urgency of aid and rescue requirements, many lives could have been saved.

George Bush has now "accepted" the responsibility of the failure in properly responding to the disaster. I wonder what, in his paralyzed mind, does he think about this "taking responsibility". I wonder what it means to him. That, he can claim to be honest and courageous for doing this? Or what? really!

This is not the first time he and his big-business-dedicated friends have failed. Regardless of how we see the invasion of Iraq, there is one fact that is almost agreed by all and that is the fact that the US leaders, as the invaders of an independent country, had no plan to prevent chaos immediately after the fall of Baghdad. A chaos that to day is still continuing. This has cost lives; significant number of lives.

As I said, "taking responsibility" is not good enough. What next? What has to happen to the one/s who failed miserably in doing their job? What is the consequence of such failures? The failures which have resulted in the death of people. Are they not negligence? Yes, they are. In my opinion, they are negligence causing death in large magnitudes; they are criminal negligence and should be treated as such. And... Bush and his gang must be held accountable to that standard.

What? Pardon me! "The United States is no friend of Israel"???

Now, THIS is very interesting:

The United States is no friend of Israel. She is more dangerous to Israel now than an enemy, for she operates in the guise of a friend, all the while knowingly weakening Israel more and more until she will no longer be able to protect herself against the coming final Islamic onslaught. Arutz Sheva

That's not what you were saying when you took all that money from us, now totaling more than four times the entire cost of the Apollo Moon program. I have no problem if Israel wants to think of the US as their enemy. All I ask is a refund of all the money poured into Israel for the last half-century, and for Israel to send back all those weapons we gave them. Because frankly I have had it with Israel buying our politicians with our own money, spying on us, tricking us into their wars, then turning around and declaring we are their enemy because we didn't bow quite low enough to suit them.
Israel says that Israel and the US are enemies? Fine. So be it. Let us consider that the war began with the attack on the USS Liberty. Let us freeze Israel's assets in the US the way Palestinian and Arab assets have been frozen. Let us treat suspected Israeli spies and terrorists the way suspected Arab spies and terrorist are treated. If Israel wants to call the United States an enemy, let us treat them as enemies of the United States. I don't have any problem with that.

Found at What Really Happened via Finnagain.

Religion again

See, the idiocy of the religious conflicts and fighting is not exclusive to Islam. All religions which have become tools in the hands of the powerful, are bringing nothing by misery for human kind. Let us hope for a day when religion becomes only a personal matter and/or choice, if at all, without causing any interference in the lives of those who choose to have a different one or even none.

1973! That too, was a September 11

Two years ago, a day after the anniversary of the murderous attacks of September 11 which resulted in the death of thousands of innocent people, I posted the following which I think it is still relevant. Here it is:

To some, September 11 is not always September 11
September 11 came and passed. We continued hearing about the truly inhumane action against 3000 people. Everywhere the talk was about it; Moments of silence here and there, half raised flags. We heard and heard and heard. Yes, it was significant enough an event that no matter how much it is talked about, it is not enough. I heard on CBC radio the shivery voice of a father who was talking about his fire fighter son who was killed in New York two years ago. He was talking about his son with such a sorrow in his voice that could easily move the listener. "He was a wonderful young man": he said about his son. and after a few moments of silence, his voice was even more shivery: " I....I....I am not going to see him....again" he continued. and then you could easily picture his wet and teary face with shivery cheeks and lips. It was sad, truly sad. This can also be said about those children who lost their fathers or mothers that day and about many more people who are still truly devastated from their loss.

But,

why are we not human enough to feel that other fathers and mothers, other children, other wives feel no less devastated than this father? Why do we let the media bring tears on our eyes only for those they want us to cry for? Why do we subject ourselves and our emotions to whatever the media wants to do with them?

How many times in last 30 years have we heard about more than 3000, that is right 3000 victims, of the US-backed Chilean Coup d'etat in 1973? That's right, September 11, 1973. How many times have we dropped some tears for those victims many of whom died (not a quick death but) by some slow deaths under torture of General Pinochet's forces. How many times have we heard about the role Dr. Kissinger played in that crime against the humanity?

A letter: People helped out in Bombay floods

The following published letter was sent to Toronto Star's editor:

I was appalled to learn what is happening in New Orleans in the wake of the Katrina disaster. I recently returned from Bombay, India where I survived the worst floods to hit that city in 100 years. While not on the catastrophic scale of Katrina, the floods that hit Bombay on July 26 sent the city reeling under five metres of water in some places. Thousands died.
Yet, in the midst of this chaos this fragile city hung together by a slender thread that is the city's indomitable spirit and heart.
People dwelling in shanties and apartments came out in droves to feed the helpless stranded in their cars and buses for more than 16 hours.
With waters neck deep in some areas, the tall carried the short and the strong carried the weak on their shoulders. Women, children and the elderly were always first.
Passengers marooned in trains on the outskirts of the city were greeted by poor villagers bearing food and water — even though these villagers can barely scrape together one square meal a day!
Despite an utter breakdown of communication, law and order held. Not one women or child was attacked or harmed. Compare this with the mayhem, looting and rape in New Orleans. As a North American, I hang my head in shame.
Meyer Moses, Thornhill

I was reminded by a friend (Finnagain) that there is no link to the above letter; My apologies for that. Here it is. (It needs registration at Toronto Star's site)

Canada was there to help before the US was

BATON ROUGE, Louisiana (Reuters) - A Canadian search-and-rescue team reached a flooded New Orleans suburb to help save trapped residents five days before the U.S. military, a Louisiana state senator said on Wednesday.

Barvo Canada! Shame on you Bu$hCo.

The forgotten empire

I just kind of found this Guardian article interesting:

Cyrus and his successors, Xerxes and Darius, created the world's first superpower in 550BC, ruling territories from central Asia and the Indus valley to Arabia and north Africa. But the Persian kings appear to have had better luck in Iraq than President George Bush has had.
When Persian forces overran Babylonia (in modern Iraq - Faramin) in 539BC, the inhabitants surrendered peacefully. According to contemporary accounts, Cyrus was greeted as a liberator because of his just policies - and tough attitude to terrorists.
"When I entered Babylon I did not allow anyone to terrorise the land," a text known as the Cyrus Cylinder quotes him as saying. "I strove for peace in Babylon and all other sacred cities. I put an end to the inhabitants' misfortune."
John Curtis, the curator of the exhibition, Forgotten Empire: the World of Ancient Persia, said: "Cyrus was no despot, more an enlightened autocrat. He was surprisingly tolerant. He made no attempt to establish a state religion. He is said to have freed the Jews from captivity,
allowing them to return to Jerusalem..."

....There are other historical echoes for modern-day empires to ponder. Even the poorest subject had the right to a royal audience, Mr Curtis said. The Persians developed an early form of federalism, governing through client rulers and provincial governors, known as satraps. Darius built a canal linking the Nile to the Red Sea - a forerunner of the Suez canal; introduced the first dollar-like global currency, the darik, and tax and communications systems; and created an empire-wide postal service whose "we always deliver" motto and emblem were supposedly imitated more than 2,000 years later by the US Mail and Pony Express.
Technologically, the Persian military machine was state of the art. Its elite troops were known as the Immortals, equivalent to US special forces. And pre-emptive wars and regime change were all in a day's work for the great kings... .

Read the rest of US forces should take a lesson from the Persian kings .

Same arrogance and irresponsibility, but from two different regimes

When a devastating earthquake almost destroyed the entire ancient Iranian city of Bam and caused tens of thousands of deaths, the Iranian regime rejected the relief offer from Israel. Obviously, the rejection was nothing but the indication of the uncaring nature of the regime towards the sufferings of the earthquake survivors. It was an indication of their arrogance and their irresponsibility. That offer, just like any offers should have been accepted graciously.

Now, the same thing is happening. This time in North America, and by a different regime. The common denomination of both regimes is that they are both uncaring and irresponsible. They are both arrogant. After first rejecting Cuba's generous offer of sending 1100 Cuban doctors with plenty of the medical supplies to the affected areas, once again now the Washington regime has rejected another generous aid offer; this time from Venezuellan president, Hugo Chavez. Perhaps to the US leaders, what comes first is their arrogance, their dirty politics and agendas and... you name it. What is clearly not as important to them, is the fact that thousands of the victims of the hurricane are in critical need of such help.

An offer of aid from the Venezuelan president, Hugo Chávez, which included two mobile hospital units, 120 rescue and first aid experts and 50 tonnes of food, has been rejected, according to the civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson.
Mr Jackson said the offer from the Venezuelan leader, whom he recently met, included 10 water purification plants, 18 power generation plants and 20 tonnes of bottled water.

Have you noticed?

that
Vast majority of the dead in New Orleans are poor and/or black Americans?
that
Vast majority of the refugees are poor and/or black Americans?
that
...
That is a clear indication of what kind of "just" society the US is.

The rich don't care. YOU do. Please give generously:
American Red Cross Society
Canadian Red Cross Society

Not so fast! What's the rush?

Several of the ex-president's closest aides will also face trial with him, on charges relating to the massacre of 143 Shias in a town north of Baghdad... .
...But some government officials have suggested that if he (Saddam Hussein-Faramin) is convicted for the Dujail killings, subsequent trials for other crimes might be shelved to open the way for (the death-Faramin) sentence to be carried out quickly.

Quickly? Excuse me! Not so fast! I am not even commenting about the barbaric nature of the capital punishment here. But if capital punishment is going to be used against Saddam after his conviction, he has to be tried for all other crimes that he has committed. Quick execution? What is the rush? The masters in Washington don't want Saddam confess that in what he did, his American bodies were his co-criminals? Saddam's trial is not an Iraqis issue only. Saddam has done so much harm to countless non-Iraqi people. As a result, he has to be put on trial for every crime he committed, with or without the help of the western leaders, including the US leaders.

A diffrenece between Cuba and the US

Last September, a Category 5 hurricane battered the small island of Cuba with 160-mile-per-hour winds. More than 1.5 million Cubans were evacuated to higher ground ahead of the storm. Although the hurricane destroyed 20,000 houses, no one died.

What is Cuban President Fidel Castro's secret? According to Dr. Nelson Valdes, a sociology professor at the University of New Mexico, and specialist in Latin America, "the whole civil defense is embedded in the community to begin with. People know ahead of time where they are to go."

"Cuba's leaders go on TV and take charge," said Valdes. Contrast this with George W. Bush's reaction to Hurricane Katrina. The day after Katrina hit the Gulf Coast, Bush was playing golf.

Read more.

Nothing but true

Two women have shown us -- on national television -- pictures of what can happen if we allow corruption from within. It's time to clear our foundations of these termites. Their greedy crimes have cost us thousands of lives and hundreds of billions of dollars. It's time to call in the exterminators and get rid of these pests -- starting witn impeachment, asset impoundment and jail. To quote Bush himself on TV last night, "Looters should be treated with zero tolerance."

Read Cindy & Katrina: Two women who have exposed the Bush Republican corruption

Incompetence and arrogance that is costing lives

Some of them say "when the world needs help, America is there for them, but now that America needs help, nobody is there for America". I am not going to comment about "America being there when help needed", but right now there are all kind helps offered from the world and especially from Canada, but the incompetent and arrogant leadership of the US are not giving the green light for the help to come. And this is while tens, if not hundreds of thousands of the people in the hit areas are starving and there are bodies rotting in the streets.

Update on Hurricane's aftermath

American Red Cross is in need of volunteers for Hurricane help: Call (313) 494-2863 if you can help.
(Thanks to Desi at GreatScat for pointing this out)

Canadians can donate through Canadian Red Cross.