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POPSNidal Hasan Terrorist Threat 'Not That Big a Deal'....Matthew Yglesias
I think a pretty good case can be made that this kind of situation actually is the main face of the terrorist threat. Not a big well-thought-out plot centrally directed from a “safe haven” in South Asia and undertaken by brilliant covert operatives, but the desperate violent act of a clearly disturbed individual. It’s going to be very hard to prevent this sort of thing. As long as the United States remains a country in which firearms are widely available"for the foreseeable future, in other words"we’re going to be unusually vulnerable to mentally ill spree killers of various kinds, including spree killers who nod in the direction of Islamist thinking. But the larger point is that while these incidents are serious crimes and major tragedies for the victims, they hardly rise to the level of a major macro-level social crisis. They’re certainly not a first-order national security threat. And even put in the lower-stakes context of violent crime in America
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POPSSedition Act of 1918 U.S. citizens, including members of the Industrial Workers of the World union, were also imprisoned during World War I for their anti-war dissent under the provisions of the Sedition Act. Anti-war protesters were arrested by the hundreds as speaking out against the draft and the war became illegal under this law.
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POPS Tom Tancredo Walks Off MSNBC Set Because Of Markos Moulitas "You're not going to do that. You're not going to try to insult me that way and then pretend like we're just going on and talk about that. You either apologize ..." When Moulitas did not apologize, Tancredo simply took out his earpiece and walked away. As a Republican student activist, Tancredo spoke out in favor of the Vietnam War but did not serve. After graduating from college in June 1969, he became eligible to serve in Vietnam. Tancredo said he went for his physical, telling doctors he'd been treated for depression, and eventually got a deferment.
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POPSKeep the government out of the news business
Turning to Washington for help to save the declining news business says much about the mentality of mainstream journalism leaders, an attitude that we and the government are on the same side. This is the mentality that led to the news establishment’s acceptance of the Iraq War. Go to the clip to learn what happened to Mother Jones after becoming a tax exempt non-profit after it reported on lobbying in Washington. Once you allow the government or private corporation to have any controlling link to the media you lose independence. Editors become fearful of criticizing the hand that feeds it. Publishers and benefactors become cozy and unbiased reports become fewer and fewer. Journalism becomes a de facto advertisement for consumer products. We hope in the future we’ll see more I.F. Stones, more guerrilla warriors on the Web, in print and on the air. Because of them—and not because of a government handout—great reporting will survive, as it always has.
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POPSWe Don't Trust Your Country I'd be interested in those who do not live here in the US commenting how our country is viewed by other nations. It really concerns me.
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POPSThe Menorah As Mossad Symbol - an outraged Jew writes to Jeff Rense "(Note - This totally contradicts the Jewish ethics I learned at home, and reminds me precisely the "Protocols of the Elders of Zion") Bottom: "Ha'Mossad Le'modiein" Translation: "The institute for the collection of Information" As a Jew who supports Israel, I am deeply ashamed that the Mossad has chosen to use the symbol of the State of Israel in the middle of its logo. The Menora (lamp) and the leaves are also a part of our Jewish heritage around the world, but, now that the Mossad has been implicated so seriously with the 911, Lockerbie, ADL, Drugs, Foster, and today with the Mexican Government bombing, I will remove the Menora from my house. Sincerely yours, Shulamit Levy Florida "
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POPSReal men don't read D.C. pundits
Even worse than Krauthammer's column today, though, was David Brooks in the New York Times. Partly it's because Brooks likes to pretend to be open-minded and reasonable, while spouting neocon talking points, and occasionally liberals get pulled in by him. But today was trademark lazy ideological Brooks. As Glenn Greenwald notes, unbelievably he bragged about "doing what journalists are supposed to do" -- which he defined as talking to a handful of anonymous pro-war sources, who uniformly criticized Obama's inaction to date on McCrystal's troop request. That's some brave shit. Not quite David Rohde brave, but hey, he made the calls! If it was unanimous, that means he didn't call retired Marine Matthew Hoh, who resigned from a civilian post in Afghanistan this week because he said we can't win, and our presense is only fueling the insurgency. Hoh told the Washington Post's Karen de Young he's "not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love" and that he believes
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POPSCharles Krauthammer: The Three Envelopes I suppose, explain away his own, well, yearlong drift on Afghanistan. This compulsion to attack his predecessor is as stale as it is unseemly. Obama was elected a year ago. He became commander in chief two months later. He then solemnly announced his own "comprehensive new strategy" for Afghanistan seven months ago. Obama is obviously unhappy with the path he himself chose in March. Fine. He has every right -- indeed duty -- to reconsider. But what Obama is reacting to is the failure of his own strategy. There is nothing new here. The history of both the Afghanistan and Iraq wars is a considered readjustment of policies that have failed. In each war, quick initial low-casualty campaigns toppled enemy governments. In the subsequent occupation stage, two policy choices presented themselves: the light or heavy "footprint." In both Iraq and Afghanistan, we initially chose the light footprint. This was the considered judgment of our commanders at the time,
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POPSNow Pakistan - Sequential Destruction of Muslim Nations Many Western policymakers rarely see Muslim nations, including allies, with any inherent respect. Vice President Dick Cheney described the Muslim world as "brute and nasty." Obama advisers, though more guarded in their word choices, see Muslim nations no differently. The idea that Islam is inherently violent, openly expressed during the Bush administration, continues to animate foreign policy. The White House holds a new President but Congressional leadership and Washington policymakers are more or less the same. Anti-Islamic policies of warfare and destabilization are intact.
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POPS "dumb" Well, they’re falling down on that score in Afghanistan. Hang on, Gates gets it. USA Today: ABOARD A U.S. MILITARY JET (AP) " The Obama administration needs to decide on a war strategy for Afghanistan without waiting for a government there to be widely accepted as legitimate, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Monday. Gates’ comments put him at odds with top White House and NATO officials who are balking at ordering more troops and other resources to Afghanistan until the disputed election crisis there is resolved. The Pentagon chief called the Afghan elections " and the larger issues of curbing corruption in its government " “an evolving process.” “We’re not just going to sit on our hands, waiting for the outcome of this election and for the emergence of a government in Kabul,” he told reporters en route to Tokyo. That part of the O admin doesn’t sound as dumb as the other part.
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POPSUN War Crime Accusations called Anti-Semitic.
The first thing to point out is that the South African judge in charge of this UN report is Jewish. So calling the report "anti-Semetic," is bizarre. Secondly, all criticism of Israel gets called "anti-Semetic," and this is an extreme example of that. (Since the judge in charge of the report is Jewish). No? Third, Most people are making their judgements based on actions -- like the blockade genocide in the Gaza Strip. It's fair enough and in fact moral to condemn this blockade (and it has nothing to do with racism). If racist accusation were allowed to avoid any criticism then during the evil rule of Hitler in Germany, he should have deflected any criticism by calling it "anti-German racism." No? Distress at the genocide of the Palestinian people, the slow starvation of over a million and a half people in the Gaza strip, has nothing to do with racism. End the blockade and much criticism would also end. It's a shame this ploy distract from looking at the real issues
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POPSRemebering the roots of a REAL Civil War
More: After decades of mistrust and recrimination over the conflict between slavery and free labor, many in the North and South now found themselves even more fundamentally at odds. As Northerners increasingly hailed Brown as a hero, panicky Southerners execrated him as the devil himself. The tempest over John Brown appeared to shatter any hope of regional reconciliation. As one South Carolina editor put it, "The day of compromise is passed there is no peace for the South in the Union." It would be too much to claim that John Brown's raid made the Civil War inevitable. But it is fair to say that it helped to create an unbridgeable gap between the free states and the slave power that could only be, as Brown himself put it, "purged away with blood." There are many lessons that can be drawn from John Brown's raid, but the experience of the Civil War ought to stand as a permanent rebuke to the irresponsible incitement of contemporary political figures who trade so easily
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POPSUrge World Leaders: Vote No to Biased Goldstone Report I'm here at the emergency session of the U.N. Human Rights Council, facing a draft resolution by the Arab and Islamic blocs that seeks to endorse the biased Goldstone Report"a 500-page document that falsely accuses Israel of “deliberate attacks” against civilians during its defensive war against Hamas rocket attacks last January. (For details, see www.unwatch.org/goldstone.) Adoption of this dangerous text will trigger proceedings toward the indictment and prosecution of Israeli leaders and officers in the International Criminal Court. What’s at stake is the very survival of democratic societies under the assault of terrorists"enemies of human rights who cynically invoke its protective cover. The debate began yesterday and reaches its climax today. UN Watch will be there to address the assembled delegates. Representing us will be none other than Col. Richard Kemp, former commander of the British forces in Afghanistan,
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POPSU.S. Health Insurance Price Fixing! Like the bank scams on Wall St. and elsewhere much of it happen when lawmakers, like George Bush especially, removed rules and regulations that allowed banks to sell products that had no real value or sell default insurance when they didn't have the cash to pay off. Like a lot of politics it's not Left vs. Right -- it's the SuperRich exploiting the taxpayers and middle classes and getting special advantages for themselves. Now this has been revealed in the U.S. Health Care Insurance business. It's been revealed --- after months and months of discussion (and previous years of efforts) that this business has an exemption from laws about price fixing and other business collusions.! Dang! It took us this long to find out! It's been like this for all our lifetime! (most of us). They make the biggest bucks --- they make the greatest profit of any USA business -- and they have and keep this exemption to fair play rules that would require fair play competition! We need to restore f
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POPSAmreeka: The Movie As luck would have it, Muna has come to the US at the start of the Iraq War. Anti-Arab sentiment is raging in some quarters. Her brother-in-law, a doctor, has lost patients due to backlash, and her sister is quickly losing patience with the hatred and fear that mars their lives. Though educated and with experience in banking, Muna is unable to find work in her field, but knowing that she must become independent, continues to search for employment, finally finding a job at a local fast food restaurant. Tensions build as Muna, ashamed, tries to hide her place of work from her son and sister; as Fadi deals with bullying bigots at school; and as her sister's family begins to unravel in response to the pressures of the war, and the enormous hardships resulting from anti-Arab bias. Through it all, Muna not only survives, but remains hopeful and thankful for each kind gesture from strangers and new-found friends who come to her assistance in ways small and not so small.
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POPSWhat's Become of the Jewish-Zionist Press? Today it is precisely this realization that leads me to refuse to serve. I cannot recognize the humanity of Israelis but not that of Palestinians." The two women, both 19, were invited to campus by the Brandeis Students for Justice in Palestine. The same day the women will also appear at Harvard and Northeastern universities... Am I imagining that at one time two such people, brought to campus by such a group, would have been treated as a shameful matter? That perhaps a paper like The JEWISH Advocate would have provided the context for readers to understand this, rather than giving them a straight-up second page bit of publicity? Is shame dead? Are we supposed to admire these girls for standing up for the wrong values and spreading lies? Or have we no values any longer? Can we no longer call a lie for what it is? And look how this supposed Zionist newspaper treats anti-American and anti-Israeli leftist groups Code Pink and Jewish Voice for Peace:
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