Tea Party Protest Photos

I found some fun photos from the April Chicago demonstration I thought I'd share. While a majority of these people are truly freedom oriented, too many are just knee-jerk puppets of Rush, Newt and other neocon mind manipulators, and soon enough of the next hypocritical warmongering Republican presidential candidate. In the future, the good ones may waste their time working on reformist measures, loosing fights against special interests, like attempts to amend the constitution ala Randy Barnett's Federalism Amendment.

How many will be open to going straight for dissolution of the empire - preferably through peaceful secession of cities, counties, regions and smaller states? Time will tell. And if I got off my dead butt and did some writing or organizing I could do my part to influence activists to do the latter.

Photos from FoundingBloggers.com. Showing their photos doesn't mean I agree with everything they may put on their blogs, oh future nitpickers.

The Most Important Image Ever Taken

Of millions of galaxies millions of light years away. Heavy duty. Still would like to see a 1000 of the 3000 stars we can see from earth without a telescope.

Carol's Aura - circa 1993

Scanning an old photo scrap book I came across this "aura" photo taken in the spring of 1993 aT some new age festival. I believe it was a period when I was not actively involved with any local political groups (though I remember I was in some libertarian political dust up on line). Thus my aura is, as described below, relatively mellow, green and yellow. It's probably like that now, too. I'd like to see how RED it gets when I'm in some political battle. OI!!

Will Obama Follow JINSA's Lead on Iran, media?

The notorious pro-Israel think tank Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs (JINSA) which helped bring about the Iraq war and promotes war on Iran has published an article by a retired US army officer named Ralph Peters called Wishful Thinking and Indecisive Wars which calls on the US government to be willing to act as badly as the "enemy" (Islamic extremism) about whom he states: "The greatest advantage our opponents enjoy is an uncompromising strength of will, their readiness to “pay any price and bear any burden” to hurt and humble us."

He first recommends we fight them by instituting a military draft, by ending our namby pamby attitudes about massive daily troop losses and by expunging the "war is not the answer" philosophy and other Gandhian nonsense.

He reminds us we have the power to win any war, that the ruling class must regain its Judeo-Christian religious fervor, that we must worry about China's growing military - never forgetting that religion-driven Islamists are still the worst enemy. Ominously he writes: "The greatest advantage our opponents enjoy is an uncompromising strength of will, their readiness to 'pay any price and bear any burden' to hurt and humble us." (And of course and Israeli attack on Iran would turn into just such a war.)

He then takes on the "Killers without guns," the "hostile third party in the fight": the media. He charges "video cameras and biased reporting guaranteed that Hezbollah would survive the 2006 war with Israel and, as of this writing, they appear to have saved Hamas from destruction in Gaza."

Mr. Peters has a solution for the US military which JINSA probably heartily endorses:

"Although it seems unthinkable now, future wars may require censorship, news blackouts and, ultimately, military attacks on the partisan media. Perceiving themselves as superior beings, journalists have positioned themselves as protected-species combatants. But freedom of the press stops when its abuse kills our soldiers and strengthens our enemies. Such a view arouses disdain today, but a media establishment that has forgotten any sense of sober patriotism may find that it has become tomorrow’s conventional wisdom."

Where JINSA leads, will Barack Obama follow?? His infuriating recent reversals on torture photos and Military Commissions at Guantanamo must make one wonder.
This Latuff cartoon is mild compared to what Peters and JINSA recommend.

Video: We went to see the Beatles - 1964

The story of my seeing the Beatles twice in 1964, with photos and memorabilia and evocative background riff. (I'm not as brave as all the other videographers who use copyrighted works to back up their video efforts!) Enjoy!

Code Pink Protests Inside AIPAC Conference

I remember the bad old days when I was called an anti-Semite by some "peace activists" merely for helping organize protests at the annual AIPAC conference. Now a days mainstream groups like Code Pink not only protest outside - but go inside and unfurl banners in the middle of Israeli speeches. Photo and some of their press release which read in part:

During Israeli Pres. Shimon Peres’ speech today at the annual AIPAC (American Israeli Political Action Committee) policy conference at the Washington Convention Center, CODEPINK members raised banners saying “Want Peace? End the Occupation," “What About Gaza?," and “No Money for War Crimes."

As the six activists were forcibly dragged away from the stage, they shouted similar phrases including "Tikun olam (Heal the world) for Gaza, too!", all meant to draw attention to widespread opposition to AIPAC's policies lobbied to Congress that include unconditional support and financing for Israel’s militaristic policies including the recent devastating invasion of Gaza, building of illegal settlements in the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the separation wall, refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians’ democratically elected representatives, and threats to attack Iran.

“The brutal invasion of Gaza was a breaking point for me and many American Jews,” said CODEPINK co-founder Medea Benjamin, who recently led a 60-person delegation to Gaza. “I was appalled by the devastation and the suffering I saw, particularly among the children. As a mother, I feel compelled to speak out against Israel’s bombing of civilians and the ongoing siege that is so devastating to the lives of Gaza’s 1.5 million people—most of whom are under 18.”

While AIPAC claims to represent the U.S. Jewish community, its wholesale support of the Israel government goes against the majority opinions of the Jewish Americans. According to a recent survey by the Jewish lobby group J Street, 76 percent of American Jews support a two-state solution, 69 percent support negotiating with a Fatah-Hamas unity government, and 59 percent felt the Gaza invasion did not improve Israel’s security.
UPDATE:
Code Pink gets national media and photo of their banner here. Video of protest below.

Ron Paul on Secession

Ron Paul lays it on the line in a very libertarian way:
*Governor Perry was restating a principle long held - right to secession.
*After the civil war no one believes in that right but it's still a legitimate issue because all the states before the civil war believed they had a right to secede, including in New England.
*Liberals say it is treasonous. (Hey, Ron, find the ones who supported it when Bush won in 200 and 2004!)
*It's an American tradition - that’s how we came into being; 13 colonies seceded.
*The U.S. strongly supported republics seceding from Soviet Republic.
*If the right to secession had been admitted the federal government would have been restrained in it's growth over the years.
*Secession is voluntary; a free society means we can resolve the secession issue voluntarily.
*Wilson drove us into WWI so every country could have self-determination; Paul believes it is an American principle and we should discuss it here.
*We’ve been preached that republic is “indivisible” - but they don’t talk about who wrote the pledge - Francis Bellamy, an avowed socialist, in 1892.
*When the feds can’t deliver and the dollar collapses, then the independence of the states will come back and it won’t be unAmerican to decide what has to be done.

Prepare to be Overwhelmed by Secession

From my blog at Vermont Commons - points made at my web page Secession.Net

Today there are hundreds of news stories about Texas governor Rick Perry twice talking about the possibility that Texans will get so fed up with the federal government they will secede. Imagine how many stories there would be if it was 30 states and 50 big cities ready to secede. As a long time proponent of secession, my mind is already boggling. Even little Vermont might end up with its own smaller secession movements. Yet, right now a TV commentator is predicting violent anarchy and mass murder.

How do we keep the genuine desire for human freedom and self-determination from devolving into violent anarchy and mass murder? Only through clear, simple and workable principles that will quickly be absorbed and embraced by the vast majority of secessionists, even those who lust to take up guns and go to war! (Think Tom Paine's Common Sense!)
To repeat principles enunciated in this blog before:

* Nonviolent Strategies and Institutions: After racism, the greatest fear unionists promote is that secessionists will violently provoke “legitimate” central government violence that may harm innocent citizens. I recommend a thorough study of nonviolent action analyst Gene Sharp's 198 methods of nonviolent action and a very public commitment to practicing them. Creating institutions committed to using conflict resolution and nonviolent enforcement of laws and contracts should be an equally important goal. Read Gandhi on nonviolent police and armies. The urge by some to “prove their manhood” through revolutionary violence must be opposed firmly.

* Bills of Rights: We must ensure all secessionist political alternatives publicize widely their written guarantees for individuals of freedom of association; of movement in and out of political entities; of equal political rights of members to participate in community decision-making and have access to public information; of procedural rights of members and of visitors to trial – to due process, counsel, appeal, and to no cruel and unusual means of interrogation or punishment.

* Consensus-Oriented (or Super-Majority) Direct Democracy: Representative, majority rule decision-making, in small organizations and even more so in large ones and in government, leads inevitably to defacto minority rule by wealthy and/or well-organized elites and special interests who know who to elect, who to pressure, who to pay, to get their way. All the attempted and proposed tweaks couldn't fix the basic majoritarian/representative structural flaw, even if they could be enacted, which they cannot under current systems. Many libertarians dream of a society regulated by contract, but even such a society inevitably will encounter unexpected situations requiring democratic decision-making. And then there are the people who just love making decisions by committees, councils, congresses and parliaments. Learning and practicing direct, consensus-oriented democracy in our organizing will prepare us for creating them in our new political communities.

* Emphasizing voluntary nature of secessionist entities: Obviously, secessionists do not intend to wait for a super-majority of people in their communities or regions or states to decide they want to secede from the union. Most will be ready when they obtain a critical mass of 15 or 20%! Nevertheless, we must reassure the public that communities and new confederations will be created by voluntary alliances, not by driving off unwanted people and confiscating their property. We must assure non-secessionists that those who want to retain citizenship in the nation state, obey its laws and pay its taxes may do so, even if many or most of their neighbors secede.

Anything I forgot??

Bow, Obama, Bow!!

Considering that more than a million U.S. Iraqis died as a result of the 2003 U.S. invasion, not to mention a million during the 13 years of U.S. promoted UN sanctions, an American leader should be bowing to a lot of Arabs! Happily neither Obama bowed to the Queen of the fallen British Empire. The Russia Today video shows Prince Phillip's obviously racist remark to Obama about the Chinese. What does he say about Obama behind his back??

Feminist Wednesday - One down, six to go...

Just got added to a feminist blog list so thought I should hurry up and post something feminist - besides a link to my article WOMAN Vs. THE NATION STATE.

Found a Youtube video which doubtless is a twisted Irishman's mock on feminism, but I still like the concept of Feminist Wednesday. Followed by six more days of feminism until - one day at a time - patriarchy as a culture is expelled from human consciousness! Patriarchy will be taught in anthropology classes as a horrifically amusing past custom, like wearing cod pieces or chastity belts.

Bigglest Laugh of the Month - Sleeping Dog

Even if you don't have a dog that runs in its sleep, you'll laugh. No dogs were purposely hurt in this video. Seven million happy customers served.

Update: And the dog talks too!!

Who am I? Where do I live? How do I save the economy?

I thought I'd look through my copious photos and see which one suggested a blog entry first. This one did. One day our 15 year old dog decided he lived next door and kept trying to get up their steps and into their house. Thus this caption.

What did it remind me of? Prez Obama! He's only 47 but he doesn't know if he's a democrat or a socialist. If he should should raise taxes or print more money. If he's going to free the slaves or let the Israelis keep screwing the Palestinians. If he's Rahm Emanuels toy boy or vice versa. If Geitner should go or stay. He needs a good brisk read through a variety of free market books (not taking any talk of gold standards too seriously of course).

FREE THE SLAVES OF THE WORLD, BARACK! Stop trying to get into the wrong house where the oppressors live, come back home to liberty!!!

Chas Freeman on CNN - who'll stop war on Iran now?

Back to reality...the reason a lot of people in the know supported Charles Freeman as chair of the National Intelligence Council, despite allegations of some questionable comments about Chinese dissidents, is he wouldn't allow the kind of nonsensical lies that excused the war on Iraq pass by him to excuse war on Iran. Which of course is why the Israel lobby had to get him out. They want Israel's good dog the US to do that job for them, just like it did Iraq, to stop Saddam from paying off the families of suicide bombers. Lots of bloggers and even major media are saying something similar. Here's Freeman's interview on CNN with the always fascinating Fareed Zakaria...

Meditation on the gloriousness of the female...

After a few postings about the rotten state of the world, I like to put in some light and/or meditative fare. Here's today's entry, a meditation on the gloriousness of the female...

Protecting Zion Core of US History - BLEAAAAH

The New Republic's editor Marty Peretz was so enraged by the nomination of appointment of outspoken critic of Israel and US empire building in general Charles W. Freeman, Jr. as chief of the National Intelligence Council Peretz wrote in his column:

But Freeman's real offense (and the president's if he were to appoint him) is that he has questioned the loyalty and patriotism of not only Zionists and other friends of Israel, the great swath of American Jews and their Christian countrymen, who believed that the protection of Zion is at the core of our religious and secular history, from the Pilgrim fathers through Harry Truman and John F. Kennedy. And how has he offended this tradition? By publishing and peddling the unabridged John Mearsheimer and Stephen Walt book, The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy, with panegyric and hysteria.

Let's see, American was built on liberty, not Zionism; only a few million right-wing Chrisitian nut jobs would destroy the US to protect Israel; Truman was bullied into supporting the creation of Israel and Kennedy may have been assassinated by the Mossad for trying to stop Israel from getting the nuclear bomb.

Let's hope real traitors to the American people like Peretz will STOP driving the American people into the ground with billions of spending on wars that only are good for Israel. On the other hand, a ruined economy is a great way to recruit millions of American (and/or immigrant) soldiers willing to go over and attack and occupy Iran for the safety of Israel.

And they wonder why the secession movement is building - including being joined by many Christian Zionists who - when push comes to shove - are willing to let Israel go scratch if it means their own kids have a future. Just in case Jesus doesn't come back in next two weeks, kill all the noncoverting Jews and establish his kingdom in Israel.

Update: On February 26, 2009 the Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair named Freeman chair of the National Intelligence Council sending this letter praising Freeman to congress. Looks like Obama's starting to show some gumption. More details here.
Update: Three weeks of unrelenting Israel Lobby attacks finally made Freeman decide to throw in the towel - despite the support of his prospective boss, Director of National Intelligence Dennis C. Blair's given in a Senate Hearing under badgering from Israel firster - or spy? -Joe Lieberman. But Freeman used the opportunity to blast the Israel Lobby in the Wall Street Journal. Too bad he didn't quote Marty Peretz' disgusting comments above.
Bottom line: compared to the coming collapse of the economy and the need for cities and states to remove themselves from a defunct federal system, the Israel Lobby is a pimple on the puss pile of American government - assuming Israel doesn't use its Samson Option against Russia of course...

Holder's Trivial Example of Cowardice; Bamboozled

In early February 2009 the Washington Post featured an article called Holder Seen as a Chance To Right Racial Wrongs: With First Black Attorney General Come Expectations That Justice System Can Change. His first statement on race does not make one optimistic.

I didn't have a problem with Attorney General Eric Holder calling Americans a nation of cowards - I just had a problem with his examples. Sure, adult blacks and whites should talk about race more at lunch and socialize more outside of work. And there is sometimes a reluctance or reticence to do so by members of both groups that one could call cowardice. This is less true of many of the younger generation, though their parents' fear of letting children go to school with or socialize with poorer, less educated blacks (or in fewer cases whites) can foment current and future cowardice in their own kids.

But there is a far more important issues of cowardice - the refusal to discuss the continued persecution of black males in the justice system. A persecution which Holder himself defacto has engaged in as a prosecutor.

DOJ statistics show as of 2001: ever imprisoned included black males (16.6%), Hispanic males (7.7%), white males (2.6%); black females (1.7%), Hispanic females (0.7%), white females (0.3%); sixty-four percent of state prison inmates belonged to racial or ethnic minorities; 6 in 10 persons in local jails in 2002 were racial or ethnic minorities. Not surprisingly federal prison population only was not summarized and a brief search found more avoidance of that statistic. I think we can assume the worst, since half of federal prisoners are there for drug crimes. For lots of details on blacks convicted of drug crimes see drugwarfacts.org.

Sure, Obama - and doubtless Holder - has alluded to this here and there. But this speech was the time to talk about it. If he doesn't soon, he himself will be guilty of the cowardice he bemoans. Holder must know:

* Drug laws were created originally to permit persecution of blacks and Latinos and still are defacto used for that purpose and drugs perceived to be more commonly used by people of color tend to earn greater sentences. See Race and the Drug War.

* A psychological study showed police (and average people) more likely to shoot a black thought to be armed.

* Chronic police shootings and executions of unarmed blacks, including a couple noteworthy ones already in 2009 in California and Georgia. (Will link to comprehensive list when I find one.)

* Driving while black. Barack Obama and Eric Holder both know that once they lose their secret service or other protection, once they are a lone black man driving down a dark road late at night, they are more subject to the whims of any angry or sadistic police officer than the average white person. They know that a cop could shoot them and probably get away with it, if he told a good enough sob story.

* Impediments on street sellers nationwide. All these black men coming out of prison have a hard time getting employment. One of the prime means of self-employment and bootstrapping out of poverty worldwide is opening up your own shop on the street. Washington, DC allows this with the payment of a relativley small sale tax advance; most cities don't allow it. Lots of black men have those businesses in DC (many of them obviously unlicensed). Something for ex-prisoners and their allies to rally around and Obama and Holder should bully pulpit.

But as long as we're just discussing, here's a couple topics:

* Spike Lee's movie Bamboozled. Just saw the very funny and thought provoking movie and Lee makes fun of everyone, layering stereotypes on stereotypes. Or does he?

* And as of the New York Post Shooting-the-Ape-of-Stimulus cartoon... If the cartoon had been an Israeli soldier drinking the blood of dead Palestinian children, would there be any debate at all? Of course not, since both the Ape and the Blood Drinker are well known ethnic stereotypes rendered as slurs. Only a total ignoramus wouldn't know that. Does the Post hire total ignoramuses?

* And while we are at it, let's compare and contrast all this to private, public and "artistic" violence against and hatred of women of all colors.

Discuss amongst yourselves.

To end: Eric and Barack - start discussing the real violence done to black men, violence which you yourselves continue to perpetrate in your current political offices and which you may be subjected to someday, officially or unofficially, in this still cowardly and racist society...

The People Want Peace - But the Leaders Want War

That's a song I just put up as a short music video for this song contest, rewriting it slightly for the "create peace" theme, which just improved the final lyrics. Yes, I know my casio keyboard sounds corny and its limited range strains my voice. But hey, I'm a dilettante. Feel free to rate it after you listen!

By the way, the origin of the song? In the year 2000 a left wing "witch" who was a leader of the DC anti-globalization movement called me up one day to tell me I was a "peace nazi" for criticizing the black bloc for wanting to smash things and fight with cops. I knew how much she and her buddies had intimidated and bullied other pacifists who opposed this "war on the cops." And the song sprung full blown into my brain. I wrote a whole book on the topic called The Return of Street Fighting Man. One of these days I'll put it in paperback.

Update on Politically correct caveat: Speaking of promoting negative stereotypes - a topic explored in very next blog entry - I was waiting for someone to point out how negative the witch graphic is (even if it does look a lot like the face and soul of the individual female in question). Caught in the act! Let me dance around and see if I can find an excuse..."the witch made me do it"? "Oppressive personalities deserve to be ridiculed as long as the stereotype isn't too vicious. (And when was the last time a woman was burned as a witch?)" "So I'm a little bit of a hypocrite, my position as an oppressed female allows it." "Hell, it's funny!" I'll keep working on it...

Lincoln/Obama: Read State Sovereignty Resolutions

Thinking about how to "celebrate" Lincoln's birthday - since I'm still squelching my urges to go down to the White House employees' busy lunch time entrance and yell rude-TRUE things like I used to do at Bush employees.... I'll send this message to Lincoln - and to Barack Hussein Obama and his Obamaphiles.

First, on Lincoln - you known that president who took two whole years to free the slaves, and then only the ones in states that had seceded. Anyway that Lincoln is probably back in his second or even third re-incarnation since he died in 1865 - 50% plus chance he's a woman and a person of color and/or Latino. Wonder if s/he's currently calling for freedom for the Palestinian captives, the subject of my Inauguration week video.

Second, not much chance Obama's going to free the Palestinian captives:
* Obama made his chief of staff RahmEmanuel, the son of an Zionist Irgun terrorist who may have raped and murdered Arab women at Dier Yassin, and who himself has joked about being "central castings" idea of a terrorist. (Rahm wants to take the guns of anyone who happens to end up on the "no fly" list - or is put there by political enemies of Israel and oh, this country, whatever it is called?)
* Obama barely complained at all about Israel's murderous assault on Gaza
* Obama refused to admit Israel has hundreds of nuclear weapons when directly confronted by that great Arab truth teller Helen Thomas during his recent night time press conference (which I didn't bother to watch because I'm getting tired of his constant televised yapping; a regular yapping Bill Clinton - both are Leos like my yappy housemate).
* Obama's busy keeping the US in Iraq, Afghanistan and still threatening Iran, for the protection of Israel, of course, no matter how many trillions it costs US. He'll have to institute draft slavery to truly protect Israel, of course. * If Israel's leader interrupted Obama's speech and demanded he come to the phone like Bush did, would he?
* Obama hasn't sent a strong message to Israel to free the Palestinian captives because he wants the AIPAC-enslaved congress to push his socialist program for America - including Rahm Emanuel's great idea to refuse to let anyone on the government's no fly list to own a hand gun (no word on whether people will have the right to see their files on information that put them on that list.)
* But the good news is I keep getting messages on a Jewish libertarian list I lurk on that Obama wants to free the Arab victims of Israel - I mean destroy Israel, as they put it. (You can imagine what they say about me from time to time.)

Third, I think Obama's hatred of that government-created entity the corporation has made him hate free markets, just like Mr. Big Government Lincoln. (For free market purists, yes, I know corporations could be created by contract, with their liability only limited to those who contractually agreed to limit it with them, not by government as currently.)

Obama thinks 2 trillion dollars of government spending will help the economy - instead of leading to massive inflation and deeper depression. He thinks it is "ideological" to be for tax and spending cuts. He was fresh out of high school in 1978-80 when Jimmy Carter's inflation was out of control so probably has forgotten all about it. And that's when the national debt and spending was negligible compared to today! But experience is the great teacher...

By the way, you have heard that the "stimulating inflation/depression" bill includes demands doctors report every treatment they give patients so the government can monitor cost effectiveness and efficiency - plus possibly eventually make it illegal to prescribe expensive treatments for people deemed unworthy of it, even those paying themselves! Very Lincolnesque.

Well, nah nah, Mr. Lincoln and Mr. Obama, here's eight states whose representatives are starting to get uppity enough to pass various resolutions for state sovereignty, not all of which are exactly libertarian, may I add. At some point all those state employees who realize they'll never get their pensions unless their state secedes and keeps all federal proceeds will support secession too. At least til city employees push secessionism movements so they can get THEIR pensions. Ha ha ha. Then it will be the secessionist libertarians' job to make sure none of those blood suckers get their pensions at all. Ho ho ho.
Washington HJM 4009 - 2009-10 Claiming state sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment.
New Hampshire HCR 6 – as Introduced 2009 Session House Concurrent Resolution 6 - affirming States’ rights based on Jeffersonian principles.
Arizona A concurrent RESOLUTION claiming sovereignty under the tenth amendment to the constitution of the united states over certain powers, serving notice to the federal government to cease and desist certain mandates and providing that certain federal legislation be prohibited or repealed.
Montana 2009 Montana Legislature House Bill No. 246 A Bill for an Act Entitled: "An Act Exempting from Federal Regulation under the Commerce Clause of the Constitution of the United States a Firearm, a Firearm Accessory, or Ammunition Manufactured and Retained in Montana; Providing for the Duties of the Attorney General; and Providing an Applicability Date."
Michigan House Concurrent Resolution No. 4. A concurrent resolution to affirm Michigan’s sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States and to urge the federal government to halt its practice of imposing mandates upon the states for purposes not enumerated by the Constitution of the United States.
Missouri HR 212 Declares Missouri's sovereignty under the Tenth Amendment and urges the United States Congress to reject the passage of the federal Freedom of Choice Act which prohibits regulations on abortion
Oklahoma January 7, 2009 State legislator Charles Key Tenth Amendment Resolution
Hawaii Hawaiian Constitutional Convention

Well, the sunspot cycle is slowly rising out of its doldrums. The secession movement is getting ready to explode. And of course it will be the typical macho explosion of men with rocks and guns trying to prove their manhood. Can a few feminist pacifists stop them... time will tell. (Visit this site monthly for updates to the chart at left.)

Happy Groundhog Day - Deja Vu

See my long 2007 celebration of this great pagan holiday (six weeks after Winter Solstice; just like Halloween is six weeks after Fall Equinox and May Day six weeks after the Spring Equinox). And of course the movie Groundhog Day - trailer below - is a great reincarnation movie. Take that patriarchal, phallus-centered religions!

Barack - Honest or Just Playing Muslim's Worldwide?

A couple days after okaying the killing of dozens of Muslim alleged terrorists, President Barack Hussein Obama gave his first formal interview to Al-Arabiya (Saudi Arabian television, known to be less radical than Al-Jazeera). Obama made it clear he respected Muslims and only would kill "bad" ones. Meanwhile Obama has his envoy, half-Lebanese George Mitchell, flying about "listening" to all the parties. Nice touch. Maybe he's trying not to aggravate the Israelis before their increasingly right-wing and aggressive voting populace chooses between the murderous Kadima Party currently in power and the genocidal Likud Party. Once that election is over, it will be interesting to see if Obama will be willing to put the screws on Israel and its American lobby, as I've suggested below. Here's the interview.

Update:Justin Raimondo probably has it right when he writes in The Mailed Fist and the Velvet Glove: Even as he was speaking, American drones were snuffing out lives and his generals were planning a wider war. That seems to be the signature Obama style: cool, calm, and collected as he talks out of one side of his mouth, while he's giving the order to kill out of the other. If that doesn't scare you, then you've probably had a little too much of that sweet-tasting Obama-brand Kool-Aid.

Obama kills his first 10 Muslims

Suspected US missile strike kills 10 in Pakistan: ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Missiles fired from a suspected U.S. spy plane killed 10 people Friday in Pakistan just east of the Afghan border, a lawless region where al-Qaida militants are known to hide out, security officials said.

How many points does Obama loose out of a hundred for this one? Assuming he doesn't condemn it as unauthorized, 10, one for each death. Going down quick, Barack Hussein....

This January 20 hopeful protester whom I know very well is probably very disappointed. See more photos from this event here.

Giving the Washington Post hell for Bad Gaza Reporting!!

I guess I didn't get the email on this protest. Or maybe they didn't mention the fun part, throwing defective merchandise on the Washington Post steps because of its lousy coverage of Israel's murderous attacks on Gaza! Organized by ANSWER.

OBAMA! Free Palestine, Legalize Pot & Permit Secession

Update 1/22/09: I liked those themes so much I put them in my video of the inauguration - up about as close as you could get without a ticket!

PRESIDENT OBAMA, FREE THE PALESTINIAN CAPTIVES

It took Lincoln two whole years to declare the Emancipation Proclamation to free the slaves. Obama can free the Palestinians captive in ghettos and refugee camps much sooner. Set to Lincoln's favorite song, the video lists six ways to do that (below), and includes former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney speaking at a rally, as well as rally photos. Send this to Obama at Change.Gov and tell him that saving the Palestinians just might prevent nuclear destruction of America - as the video points out.


1. cut off all United States government financial and military aid to Israel

2. stop defending Israel’s many crimes before the United Nations

3. support property rights world wide, including for Palestinians; they have the right to return to the lands and homes taken from them over 60 years

4. don’t prosecute Americans who boycott Israel; have that law repealed

5. register Israel lobbyists as Foreign Agents; they should not be bribing and bullying representatives who are supposed to put the safety of Americans first

6. work for nuclear disarmament. Israel’s “Samson Option” means 400 nukes are pointed at Arab and Muslim cities and oil wells and at Russia - which has 2500 nukes pointed at us.

Little Rockets Earn You Big Fat Bombs; 13 vs 1100 dead....

These photos are just a few of those at StopTheWarNow that compare the thousands of loud by largely ineffective homemade rockets Palestinians trapped in Gaza shoot out at Israel in foolish acts of defiance. All they earn is massive bombing and 75 plus deaths of men, women and children a day from Israelis intent on keeping every acre of land they've taken in 60 years; Israel intends to take more land, meanwhile making Gaza and the West Bank unlivable for Palestinians so they'll leave it. Hasn't worked yet, has it Israel?

SMALL ROCKETS VS. BIG BOMBS


MINOR V. MAJOR DESTRUCTION

13 DEATHS V. 1100 DEATHS
WILL OBAMA STOP THIS MADNESS?? FIVE MORE DAYS WILL TELL....

This is what Israeli massacres to support colonization look like....

Dead Palestinian mother and two children killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza December, 2008. More at Palestinian Mother's web site.

It's wrong to bomb refugees in ghettos and camps....

I think Israel supporters are naive to think that starving and then slaughtering people in Gaza will not lead to at least suspicion of Jews who support this attack, at least among the 99.5 percent of the world who isn't cheering on the killing of Arabs out of bigotry! And many people's rage against the attack will turn into bigotry against Jews. You don't need to be a psychiatrist to figure that out.

And it just becomes common sense after a while that the Israelis are acting like the Nazis, much as they hate that comparison. When you lay siege to a territory, effectively deny them the right to leave to work or seek medical attention (under threat of not being allowed to return), refuse to allow them to import adequate food and medical supplies, and fire indiscriminately at innocents under the slightest pretext, what do you call that territory? A ghetto, a camp - or even a concentration camp?

Above is a photo of ruins of Warsaw Ghetto after the Nazis blew it up block by block to destroy Jewish resistance. Nazis killed thirteen thousand Jews, mostly noncombatants, during the battle. The Nazis certainly did not allow them food, water or medical supplies.

How many noncombatant Palestinian men, women and children will die during this politically motivated attack on Gaza? Olmert's party knows it can't stop the HAMAS rockets - which HAMAS claims are defensive - without a decent settlement with the Palestinians. However, Olmert's Kadima party can use the attack to win the next election over the even more vicious Netanyahu!

The Israelis are averaging 50 kills a day - with 40 seeking shelter today killed by Israeli tank fire at a United Nations school. Certainly more than thirteen thousand have been killed during Israel's 60 years of aggressive land grabs and ethnic cleansing and 60 years of attacks on militants with little thought to the deaths of innocents.

I'll let the photos below from White House Protest express my disgust.

"Imagine No Countries" brings in a another Times Square New Year

Last year I reported on the Times Square 2009 ball drop: "The last song playing in the background over loud speakers in Times Square? John Lennon's "Imagine" - coincidentally (?) a theme of this blog..." Guess what? They did it again!! This time I caught part of it videotaping the television and made a fun short video! (Yes, that is views of the Dakota and "Strawberry Fields" in NYC in the beginning.)

Recycling 2008 Resolutions to 2009

Below are my 2008 New Years resolutions - OOPS! I barely held to even two of them. I got lots of good hugs and kisses from the dog and re-made two music videos from last year. I'm such a loser!!

No, I'm just an addict - "Hi, my name is Carol and I'm addicted to editing wikipeHaHa!" Restricting myself to 1000 calories and 1 hour of wikiHaHa a day should be my bottom line resolution. Otherwise, let's just re-up those resolutions from 2008 to 2009. Carol, don't make me do this again NEXT year!!
Sure, I can look as good as I did in 1989 - in my "Thank You for Pot Smoking" T-shirt. Well, at least I can try to fit into it again.

Protesting Israel's Savagery in Gaza at Obama's HQ ; Yes we can Free Palestine graphic

It took Israel being more savagely murderous than usual in bombing the hell out of Gaza to get me out to another protest. (Don't get me started on the smarmy little collection of opportunistic left-wing property smashers, women trashers, cheating married bi-guys and pedophile-wannabee(s) all-American males lurking on the periphery who I tried to avoid. I ended up getting to know too much about the guys who took over the peace group I dropped out of -- before they kicked me out for complaining too loudly about their obnoxious behavior. Yuk! Another reason in a short list I've avoided protests the last year or so!)

Like a lot of people I've been weighing Obama's various appointments to see if he's likely to stop Israel's attempts to ethnically cleanse most of Gaza and the West Bank - and get the U.S. into a 5 trillion dollar war against Iran. Appointing Rahm Emanuel, son of an Irgun terrorist who jokes about being central casting's idea of a terrorist, was the bad news. His Cabinet seems to lack rabid Israel-firsters, depending on whether Hillary wants to make nice with all Bill's big Arab contributors. His personal advisers are more iffy.

But Obama's refusal to condemn Israel's "war criminal" attacks collectively punishing and killing Gaza civilians for the crimes of a few is a huge negative. It will have to be offset by his firing Emanuel the week after Emanuel resigns his House of Representative seat and forcing all those dozens of Israel lobbies to register as foreign agents to even start to make up for it. (Wearing button to right wouldn't hurt either!)

Which is what 75 or so of us were effectively telling Obama as we protested his headquarters in Washington DC yesterday. And there's another one at State Department today, hopefully ending up at Obama's again!

I got two good photos before my camera went dead. See all the cops protecting the building? Lots of great photos at the White House Protest site.

Bush gets shoed out.... Need Constitutional Amendment on Pardons

Code Pink had fun at the White House. Dang, even a good shoeing can't get me out to demonstrations these days! But the excellent point was made that Bush will be pardoning all sorts of felons on his last days in office. Will the American people finally be pissed off enough to push through a constitutional amendment limited the president's power to do so if there is any chance it's one of his cronies? Or someone who committed a crime at his behest?

Wish YOU A Merry Solstice Video

Traditional holiday songs with solstice celebration lyrics. Carol's voice and video...

November's Secessionist Developments

Continuing with the theme of the graphic I left up on my blog for most of November - with a new graphic at the left.

Frankly, there are so many secession google alerts coming in, I'd have to give up my wikipYupYup editing addiction to keep track of them. (Yes, I'm trying to develop a secession addiction.) But I cover the three that seemed of special interest to me: the 3rd Secession Convention and two high profile predictions of coming chaos and even the break up of the United States

First, fifty-five people attended the mid-November 2008 Third North American Secessionist Convention in Manchester, New Hampshire. That number hardly reflects the growing number of people looking at secession as the way of dealing with a bankrupt government that has destroyed the economy and still spends taxpayers trillions more into debt to try to exert military control over the world. Secession and break up of the United States is a movement (or a bunch of movements!) whose time is on the near horizon. My main concern is to keep it focused on tolerance, good democratic processes and nonviolence, and not become just another battle between macho men over who can prove his manhood with the most bloody violence!

Below is the first of 3 videos at the Middlebury Institute YouTube page. Below that are some excerpts convention reports.

Given that the convention happened just after the 2008 presidential elections, only the Associated Press carried a short story, unlike the longer stories carried by a number of publications in 2006 and 2007. The Burlington Free Press wrote: "We have lame policies. We have a lame president. We have a lame Congress. And we can expect lame results," said speaker Gerald Celente of Rhinebeck, N.Y., founder of the Trends Research Institute. "We envision America breaking up the way the former Soviet Union broke up." (More below.) Thomas Naylor of the Vermont Republic secession group said that the separation would mean Vermonters could "disengage from the Wall Street global economy" and "cease contributing tax dollars to the federal government's $700 billion bailout and its military operations."... "Naylor called on U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., to resign, run for governor of Vermont, and lead the state to independence. The senator Thursday declined the offer, saying through his spokesman thanks, but no thanks. 'Obviously I do not believe in secession,' Sanders said in an e-mail."

The libertarian Free State Observer noted that "Kirkpatrick Sale, director of the Middlebury Institute and organizer of the annual event, makes a point of referring to it as a convention, not a conference, because its attendees are delegates of various organizations, just as the First and Second Constitutional Conventions of what would become the USA were attended by representatives of various states and territories." Its report included a long detailed description of the speakers. The convention issued the Manchester Declaration which repeated many of the themes mentioned above.

However, radical political decentralization and secession made it into the news anyway. In November a lot was written in mainstream news articles and varous blogs about Gerald Celente's predictions that by 2012 America will become an undeveloped nation, that there will be a revolution marked by food riots, squatter rebellions, tax revolts and job marches, and that holidays will be more about obtaining food, not gifts. Linda Moulton Howe interviews Celente, including on that topic, here. In the video below Celente says government has to shrink, but doesn't mention the U.S. breaking up -- or maybe FoxNews edited that part out!


Russian professor of economics Igor Panarin also got a lot of mainstream news coverage, including on CNN and/or MSNBC cable news, for saying that because of the coming economic depression the United States will break up into six separate states in the near future. This video is from Russia Today.