Hoodwinked and bamboozled -- 50th Anniversary weekend rally and march nothin' but a "NAN" thing

 Left, March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963; right, 50th anniversary of the 1963 march on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington (AP Photo/File)

Well, the prosperity preacher and opportunist extraordinaire, finally came up with a way to try and steal some of Dr. King's thunder for himself last weekend.

Never having risen to King's level of leadership or inspirational prominence during his life or death, the Right Reverend Al, in cooperation with Martin Luther King III, leap-frogged all the other organizations with whom Dr. King collaborated in 1963 --  to be the first out of the gate with his, "Okay y'all, look at me now," rolling National Action Network (NAN) advertisement on Saturday.

Like many others, I mistakenly thought the Changeling would be speaking at the weekend event and despite the fact that I think he is the antithesis of everything for which Dr. King stood, and as much as hearing him speak feels like fingernails on a chalkboard for me (particularly when he tries to channel MLK in talking to Black folk), I spent an inordinate amount of time watching so I could hear the lies he would undoubtedly tell in order to honestly critique them (which now, doesn't seem that important).

Instead, in what I can only describe as a poorly prepared, "speed-dating" event, person after person came to the dais with only two minutes to speak, the majority of whom were cut-off by a band before they were finished -- played off the stage á la the Sandman at Showtime at the Apollo.  This was nothing more than a sideshow.

Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose...

Top, March on Washington on Aug. 28, 1963; bottom, 50th anniversary of the 1963 march on Saturday, Aug. 24, 2013, in Washington (AP Photo/File)

Yes, the more things change, the more they stay the same.  The 1963 crowd in the top photo and the 2013 crowd in the bottom, certainly bear that out.   Even though 50 years of "change" have occurred, the faces of the marchers, as well as the issues for which they marched -- remain the same, or worse.

Those who convened this event surely took their eyes off the prize a long time ago.  By embracing this "thing-oriented society" against which Dr. King railed (that corporate-sponsored statue of him being a case in point) and particularly, having the warmongering, Murderer-in-Chief participate as if he's some realization of "The Dream" -- makes that fact abundantly clear.

I dreaded the fact he'd be there.  I knew they'd invite him though.  They had to.  Why?  Because to the "faithful," symbolism  trumps jobs, homes, a living wage, food and even humanity  -- all so they can lay claim to the first, Black president.  The crowd, bathed in Obamalove, presented the perfect opportunity to distract from the issues, those who need to be paying attention to them the most.  And it worked like a charm.  As with the dedication of the statue, the "faithful" yet again, allowed themselves to be hoodwinked by an empty "commemoration" in service to white supremacy.

In his, President Obama should not be welcomed at March on Washington commemoration, Ajamu Baraka succinctly hit the many problems that made my jaw tight about his participation.  Here are a few:

The fact that Barack Obama will be standing in the shadow of Dr. King, his presence conveying the impression that he somehow represents the values and self-sacrificing lives of Dr. King, A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, Rosa Parks and many of the thousands gathered that afternoon on the national mall, should be taken as an insult by everyone who has struggled and continues to struggle for human rights, peace and social justice. (emphasis mine)

I don't know about you, but I'm sure insulted. Everybody always gets heir panties in a knot when folk like me say he hijacked the Black struggle for his own political expediency. Get over it, he did.

Surrendering to Barack Obama the podium that King stood before allows the State to close the circle of meaning on an important chapter of the African American story, and what is possible in that story.  Linking the demands and aspirations of African Americans in 1963 to the ascendency of Barack Obama as President of the United States within the still-dominant white supremacist structure, affirms a limitation that reflects the oppressive reality of African American life. It brings a clear message, even though it is not acknowledged on a conscious level, that the highest aspiration and possible achievement for an African American is to be able to serve white power – to be a servant. That is the “positive” role model for the new black leadership class. (emphasis mine)

Read that whole thing again, especially those of you who have problems with movies like The Help or The Butler and their portrayals of hard-working, honest Black folk with no choice in, nor necessarily, love for, the kind of work they had to do -- unlike the Changeling.

What those so-called Black leaders and even many progressives and radicals don’t understand is that, in ongoing ideological and cultural battles in which capitalism and its minions are systematically engaging to maintain their dominance, symbols have meaning. When Barack Obama delivers his speech that day, he will complete the process, starting with the King national holiday, of symbolically merging the civil rights struggle with the interests of the U.S. State and the capitalist order. The political and ideological consequence of this is that it effectively eliminates any substantive critique of the links between white supremacist, capitalist patriarchy and continued African American oppression, and reduces the range of acceptable discourse related to the plight of African Americans to reforms within the existing order.

But even more damning for the development of an oppositional consciousness and a movement of resistance among African Americans and progressive politics in the U.S. is the fact that Obama is the living negation of everything, from his domestic to foreign policy, that Dr. King and the movement stood for in 1963. (emphasis mine)

For those of you who count the "symbolism" of the little boy touching the Changeling's hair as something fantastically meaningful, kindly consider the "symbolism" about which Mr. Baraka spoke above and tell me which matters most for a people still struggling to realize even a small part of the "dream."  To my mind, they are mutually exclusive -- and intentionally engineered to be so.  The White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy's (WSCP) keeping the meaningfulness of the former in the forefront of the minds and souls of Black folk, makes the latter unrecognizable.  It is distraction pure and simple.

Do read Mr. Baraka's entire piece.  I'm sure you'll find much there with which to agree if you believe in truth, instead of the smoke and mirrors that is the Changeling. His point about the way in which substantive critique of the WSCP is eliminated in conjunction with a reduction of acceptable discourse related to the plight of Blacks, is beautifully made by Mychal Denzel Smith in his March on Washington at 50: Commemoration vs. Movement over at The Nation:

I had little interest in the March on Washington fiftieth-anniversary festivities. I have no problem with taking time out to honor those who came before us and struggled and fought for what gains we have made in terms of racial and economic justice. I’m all for it. But I also believe that the greatest way to honor those folks is by continuing the work to ensure that future generations will have the privilege of looking back into history in horror and not seeing any parallels to their present. However, after Saturday’s events, it was hard not to feel, as Brittney Cooper of Salon put it, that what took place was “eulogy for a bygone era, [rather] than a call to action.”

That feeling of ambivalence and mourning was only furthered yesterday, on the official anniversary of the march, when word came down that Philip Agnew of the Dream Defenders and Sofia Campos of United We Dream had been cut from the roster of speakers. The young people, my generation, were shut out.

The speeches that were given were generally fine speeches, as far as speeches go, but none came close to capturing the spirit of the times in which we live or setting a vision for where we need to go. That’s the purpose of youth voices and that’s what was lacking once Agnew and Campos were told there wouldn’t be enough time for their two-minute speeches. But it also made all the more clear what yesterday was and was not.

Yesterday was not about indicting America. It was a celebration. It was about paying lip service to the myriad forms of oppression that plague this country, without any specific agenda for how to eradicate them. Yesterday was about America patting itself on the back for finding one speech given by one black man to be important to its history. It was not about what brought more than 200,000 people to Washington, DC, that day, or the actual content of that speech, which was a radical call for justice, equality and freedom. Yesterday was not about updating the dream. It was about finding complacency in our progress. (emphasis mine)

This young brother hit the nail on its proverbial head and I agree with him 200 per cent!  Sharpton's NAN-a-thon wasn't about to let anybody get up there and tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.  Not only would it have spoiled his day in the sun in continued service to white supremacy, it may have even jeopardized his MSNBC hustle (and you know he wasn't having that!).

I even found myself talking back at the TV screen when John Lewis rose for his two minutes.  While he seemed energized as Tom Joyner introduced him, I could not stomach the hypocrisy of all his years spent in Congress against the backdrop of an unemployment rate for his state ranking 48 out of 51 (which includes the District of Columbia)  in August.  He was certainly not the John Lewis Julian Bond wrote about in that last "related" piece below but, it was obvious by his comments, he missed that guy.

I neither listened to, nor read the Changeling's speech and I refuse to be complicit in his hanging onto Dr. King by posting it here.  Instead, I think Philip Agnew's "Two Minutes" below should be shared with pride and respect for those younguns who are truly committed to the issues for which Dr. King lived and died:



I can't help but believe that A. Philip Randolph, Bayard Rustin, Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer and Dr. King would have been extremely proud of this young man.  It is obvious he understands what Mr. Randolph meant when he said:

"Justice is never given; it is exacted and the struggle must be continuous for freedom is never a final fact, but a continuing evolving process to higher and higher levels of human, social, economic, political and religious relationship."

Thank you my young brother -- very well done.  This old head totally believes you are ready!  I hope to see, and hear more from all of you Dream Defenders in the very near future.

Related:
- The Rev King didn't dream of better people; he dreamed of a better system
- Dr. King Was A Man, “The Dreamer” Is A Zombie
- March on Washington Anniversary: Great Reads on Racial Justice
- Marches won’t cut it anymore: Why this week’s feels like a funeral
- Remembering my time at the 1963 March on Washington
- Seeing 'New Jim Crow' Placards Seized by Police & More From the March on Washington
- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. v. Barack Obama
- This is the Day: The 1963 March on Washington by Julian Bond

No guilt this time: the Zionist, ethnic cleansing template, rubber-stamped by the West

I stumbled upon this documentary today and found the history lesson so clear and compelling, that I needed to repost it.  "The Zionist Story -- through the eyes of an Ex-Israeli Soldier," tells the powerful story of how a "European problem," led to land theft and the near erasure of the Palestinian people in Western Asia (fondly called the Middle East by those who prefer to geographically locate it in relation to Western Europe, rather than its actual position within Asia.)



And as BeelzObama the Changeling prepares for his second stroll to the throne in January, let us not forget that the road was paved with plenty of -- Palestinian blood, Israeli money and Americans, blinded by the "Audacity of Hope."

Related:
- Israel’'s Doomsday E-1 Settlement. Diabolical Encroachment to Prospective Palestinian State

As always -- the more things change, the more they stay the same

"John Pilger made the film 'Palestine Is Still The Issue' in 1977. It told how almost a million Palestinians had been forced off their land in 1948, and again in 1967. Twenty five years later, John Pilger returns to the West Bank of Jordan and Gaza, and to Israel, to ask why the Palestinians, whose right of return was affirmed by the United Nations more than half a century ago, are still caught in a terrible limbo - refugees in their own land, controlled by Israel in the longest military occupation in modern times." (emphasis mine)

-- from Palestine is Still the Issue

And now, it's 2012...

Israel's Gaza Rampage: It's Not Just War -- An Interview with John Pilger:

"...And as you've described, the sheer bias of television in the United States means that not even the names of people, of whole families annihilated or most of the families annihilated can be mentioned. You know, what is being stolen here is not just simply Palestine, yet again, but our own consciousness. If we allow this, then there is something of us that goes. That's really at stake here." (emphasis mine)

Quite the bitter taste that word "Occupy" leaves, no?

Not in my name, Mr. President (probably the last time I'll afford you even that titular respect)!!

Little "Chucky" Krauthammer's at it again. His commentary in, Why was there war in Gaza? -- is as ridiculous as his commentary on Glenn Beck's, ridiculous rally on the Mall.  And this is what passes for "clear and balanced journalism," informing we the people. {smdh}

Related:
-What's Missing from CBS's Gaza History?
-After Israel, Hamas reach Gaza cease-fire, both sides claim victory
-Bomb Iran? No. Bomb Gaza? Yes!

Close-ally murder -- guess we still don't have enough blood on our hands

UPDATE:  My learned Sister Carolyn shared these links with me in the comments, but once I watched, I had to add them here:





And let's not forget where Israel gets their shit (to include those nukes nobody but Mordechai Vanunu is willing to talk about)!  Gilad Shalit is home in Israel, safe and sound and Palestinians are still dying -- while the whole world watches.

~#~

Yesterday, while most Americans were caught up in another episode of "All My Generals," -- this is what Israel was doing in Gaza:



My, my, my.  Sure can't blame Julian Assange, Bradley Manning or WikiLeaks on "exposing" this targeted murder of Ahmed Jabri, the head of Hamas' military wing in the Gaza Strip.  This video is courtesy of the IDF, themselves (pretty sure Qaddaffi, wherever he is, knows exactly what this is all about).

Natasha Lennard's, "The latest from Gaza?" offers an interesting blow-by-blow of the continuing, "David and Goliath" struggle going on (no need to point out who's Goliath is there?).

If it weren't such a tragic piece of reality, I'd have to say h/t to Bibi for boxing the Changeling into that "pragmatic strategy" for which all you armchair enthusiasts (who think you're really a part of this damned game) like to pat his ass on the back. Lest we forget Bibi did support Romney:

But it is tragic, and we, here, should all be ashamed of the blood on our hands (particularly the, "I've got Israel's back" guy):

Israeli aircraft have bombed tunnels on Gaza’s border with Egypt through which basic civilian goods and arms destined for militant groups pass into the tightly blockaded region.

White House adviser Ben Rhodes said Thursday afternoon that the U.S. has asked countries that have contact with Hamas to urge the group to stop its rocket attacks.

Then he says this!

"We’ve … urged those that have a degree of influence with Hamas such as Turkey, and Egypt and some of our European partners to use that influence to urge Hamas to de-escalate." Meanwhile, Rhodes made clear that no such de-escalation requests were made by the U.S. to Israel. “Ultimately it’s up to the Israeli government to make determinations about how they’re going to carry out their military objectives” he told press. (emphasis mine)

What kind of schizophrenia is that??!

Update (Nov. 15, 11.00 a.m. EST): The death toll continued to rise in Gaza on the second day of Israel’s Operation Pillar of Defense — a full military assault which began yesterday with airstrikes that killed Hamas military leader Ahmad Jabari. Reuters, citing the Gaza health ministry, says the death toll in the blockaded region since the start of the Israeli operation has risen to 15, including eight civilians among them a pregnant woman with twins, an 11-month old boy and three infants. Meanwhile three Israelis have been killed since Wednesday by Palestinian rocket fire.

Please, do read all of Ms. Lennard's piece and then explain to me about "balance of power." And when you're done, watch, and think about this:

  

Related:
- Obama's kill list policy compels US support for Israeli attacks on Gaza
-Israel and Hamas Step Up Air Attacks in Gaza Clash
-Israel Escalates Gaza Attack With Assassination
-When Former CIA Chief David Petraeus Enraged the Israel Lobby

Update: "Tails to kites" -- America, Israel and the megalomania of exceptionalism

I'd initially incorporated this into the previous post as an update, but reading it again this morning, it felt buried.  I decided to dig it out because the connect-the-dots observation was one that shouldn't be overlooked.

~#~

There are layers of "dog-whistles"; some  too ridiculous to seriously consider (Republicans do this; Democrats do that -- as if there's any difference), some too serious not to (Zionist manipulation and decimation of a people; sanctions; fomenting rebellions; lying the country into wars).

But at the end of the day, they're all pretty much "dog whistles," intended to interrupt critical thinking and distract from the one thing, to never forget to remember about imperialism -- always follow the money.

Bro. Amenta's comment here, not only  reminded me not to forget, but to tell me a little something new:

Deb, this is an excellent post. It describes the wickedness with which Is-Ra-El operates in that region with the blessing of the U.S.

However, the attack on Iran has little to do with it's nuclear program, and by the way there is NO nuclear program in existance on this Earth that is soley for the purpose of "cheap" energy. The waste product is ALWAYS used for weaponry.

That aside, this bluffing of a combat attack on Iran is merely a veil for real war that is going on.

In Feb 2008 Iran began its Iranian Oil Bourse which began setting prices of oil on the French Stock Exchange. Prior to the advent of the Iranian Oil Bourse only the U.S. and her agencies set the price of oil each and every day. And, all oil bought and sold the world over had to be purchased with the U.S. Dollar aka the Petro Dollar. When Iran set in motion it's Oil Bourse the U.S. began sabre rattling even making plans to attack Iran with nuclear weapons.

At any rate, Iran began setting oil prices in 2008 and on top of that requested that whomever bought oil from them pay in other currencies than the U.S. Dollar aka the Petro Dollar. This caused countries to dump dollars, and those dollars come right back to circulate here in the good ole U.S. And, guess what? Our prices go UP. In other words the value of the USD goes down. The Fed stopped printing the M3 report that trackes how many bills dominated in 10's, 5's and 1's circulate in the country because they knew the flood of bill back in circulation here would alarm those who knew of the report.

(Photo courtesy of hawaiinewsdaily.com)

In retalliation, the U.S. cyber attacked Iran nearly shutting down the it's nuclear program yet, Iran persisted and cut a deal with China and Russia (I think it was early this year) in which both countries agreed to buy Iranian oil utilizing their own currencies and not the U.S. Dollar aka the Petro Dollar.

Another blow to the U.S. Dollar. Thus the seeminly stupid remark by Moron, sorry I mean Mormon Romney stating that Russia is our (his) greatest enemy right now. The Changeling (your great term for this dude) seized upon the ignorance of the voting public and joked Romney was living in the cold war age. No. Moron, there I go again, I mean Mormon Romney is living in this current currency war, but, most of us don't even know there is a war raging. So, The Changeling, sensing our stupidity, (one of the many reason I don't care for this fella, ok all of them would have done what The Changeling did)) jumped on it and many of us ate it up. Transparency for ya, huh? At any rate, both the U.S. and Is-Ra-El are using each other for the sake of their own ends. Is-Ra-El will allow U.S. planes with Iraeli marking go bomb places there and the U.S. lets Is-Ra-El run amuck over the Palestinians many of whom are black folk.

Peace!

Deb said...Bro. Amenta...Dammit! Dammit! Dammit! Why didn't I see it??!! -- probably because I slept the damned, Iranian Oil Bourse thing! This is the exact same reason Qadaffi was murdered and Libya damned-near destroyed! His plan for the introduction of one, African currency -- THE GOLD DINAR!!!...

Oh-h-h this shit is way more foul than I knew! I also didn't know this: "...and by the way there is NO nuclear program in existance on this Earth that is soley for the purpose of "cheap" energy. The waste product is ALWAYS used for weaponry."

~#~

Peace back at you, Brother!  I appreciate the knowledge and I won't forget to remember the next time (as I'm certain there'll be one).

Yes, I'd forgotten to remember why the murders of balking leaders, and the destruction of sovereign nations by America and the "usual suspects" had to take place in Iraq and Libya.  It was way more about those "euros and gold dinars," than it ever was about any pure, R2P "humanitarian concerns" for the people whose lives and countries have been, and remain destroyed.

Related:
- Iran presses ahead with dollar attack

"Tails to kites" -- America, Israel and the megalomania of exceptionalism

When W.E.B. Dubois wrote, "Why I won't vote" in October 1956, I was three months old.  As I read it this week at 56 however, it seemed he'd just written it today! If you don't believe me,  just take the time to read it.

But this post is not about elections (well, not exactly).  It is primarily about Israel's undue influence on, and blatant disregard for, America (except as its battering ram, of course) - and how that influence can be fashioned, into yet another "necessary war" by the Changeling and his handlers, if we don't step up and say loudly,"Never Again!"

Substituting  "Conservatives" for "A.D.A.'s," Dubois hit the nail on its proverbial head with his "kites and tails" analogy in the essay.  It seemed a perfect, and continuing description of the relationship between America and Israel -- "... they seek to act as tails to kites.  But since the kites are self-propelled and radar-controlled, tails are quite superfluous and rather silly."  After watching this newly revealed video, posted by Brother nomad at ironymous this week, there should be no doubt in your mind exactly who the "kite" is:




So, in 2001, any West Bank land that Israel wanted to retain was to be declared, "military and security zones."  And in 2012, we have this, Israel orders demolition of 8 Palestinian villages for IDF training sites; and this, Israel may revive illegal Palestinian home-razing policy -- all while those "quite superfluous and rather silly" tails (America and those other, neocolonial "usual suspects") -- stand by and do nothing.

Adding insult to injury, Bibi brags at the 1:04 click, "I know what America is.  America is a thing you can move very easily, move it in the right direction. They won't get in the way."

And nothing proves him more right, about how "very easily" America is to move, than this recent laugh-a-palooza at the DNC (Please, do look at the couple's faces at the 1:09, 2:43 and 3:15 - 3:25 clicks!):



Well Mr. Zogby, you can say, "I don't know" all you want, but according to this piece in the San Francisco Chronicle -- he most certainly did:  Obama Changes Platform to Back Jerusalem as Israeli Capital:

"The president yesterday “said put it back in,” said Robert Wexler, a former Florida Democratic congressman who is president of the S. Daniel Abraham Center for Middle East Peace.

The change was sought because “the president wanted certainty regarding his steadfast commitment to Israel,” said Wexler, who was part of the discussions among the White House and Democratic lawmakers."

Hm-m-m, seems Bibi really does know "what America is."

"People who treat other people as less than human, must not be surprised when the bread they have cast on the waters comes floating back to them, poisoned."

James Baldwin

With both, Israel and America -- Denying the Israeli Past, while continuing to ignore its present, I can't help but believe that, like America (given its ever-increasing spate of retaliatory incidents from without, as well as home-grown carnage from within), Israel should certainly consider Mr. Baldwin's prescient and wholly logical, admonition.

Fear can either be a great motivator -- or stop you dead in your tracks. And beneath all of Israel's drum-beating and chest-thumping for war with Iran -- I smell fear.

But it's not the, "We're just trying to live peacefully here in our (stolen) homeland, but the Muslim world just hates us and wants to wipe us out" kind of fear, necessarily (though it is that, in a revisionist history kind of way); it seems more like the "poisoned bread" kind of fear, about which Baldwin warned, that says, "Oh shit! Our continuing, foot-on-neck, ethnic cleansing-fueled, occupation will soon bite us in the ass if we don't hurry up and wipe them out" kind of fear -- particularly for the Zionists.

Haaretz writer, Amira Hass, addresses the latter pretty clearly in her, pot-meet-kettle, "Israel must understand it cannot be like America" piece (Yeah, I always like it when somebody other than me, calls "real Americans" out on their hardly, "exceptional" bullshit):

The labyrinth of interchanges and roads on the way to Jerusalem tells of planners, ministers, mayors and contractors who "think America." We have gotten used to dimensions that dwarf anything that is not asphalt - people and trees, for example. We have gotten used to "transportation solutions" that gobble up nature. Moreover it's as if, without meaning to, these so-called solutions are tearing apart the existing social fabric.

If it were only a matter of ministers, planners and asphalt, so be it. But thinking America has become a character trait. Thinking America guides Jewish-Israeli society in its policy toward our very own red Indians. Why should we be less successful than the United States, Canada or Australia, which, as they came into being and gained world eminence, wiped out - to differing degrees - the societies and communities that lived there before?

Now, when the remnants of the first peoples in those countries dare to demand rights, a share in resources and compensation, they no longer endanger whites and their hegemony. And this could be just as true for us...

Though I agree with her that, the "remnants of the first peoples" in the countries she listed, now can, and do "demand rights, a share in resources and compensation," that certainly doesn't mean they're getting anywhere near what they're owed (Now I could be wrong, and  If I am, I'd appreciate someone from those other two countries she mentioned offering their current, real-world experience).

And while they kinda sorta co-exist with their oppressors often in, or very close to, poverty conditions and definitely not equally -- it's obvious their mere existence still seems to threaten the "hegemony" of the alabaster brethren among whom they live.  It's abundantly clear in the way they continue to mistreat them, even down to the refusal of said brethren and sistren to stop using the word "our" when talking about "Others" -- as if they're nothing but personal property (i.e. "our very own red Indians," or Ann Coulter's, "our Blacks," in referring to Herman Cain).

Those who insist "on being white and other lies," are all afraid because of what they've done to other human beings.  They're clearly afraid of the possible vengeance those deeds might one day provoke -- hence the need for all the guns; the police state apparatus; mass incarceration of those to which they've done all these horribly, inhumane things, occupation and yes, war.



In this piece from RT News, Bibi's fear is showing.  And despite Panetta's, Deputy Dawg posturing -- it's evident that this Israeli piece of "bread," which Americans have "cast on the waters," has definitely come "floating back to them poisoned" in the person of one, Benjamin Netanyahu.

(Interesting that Panetta met with Ehud Barak in Ashkelon, the city in which whistle-blowing, nuclear scientist, Mordechai Vanunu was imprisoned for 18 years, because he told the truth about Israel's secret proliferation of nuclear weapons in Dimona.  Kindly allow me this brief, non-revisionist history interlude in the service of that truth):




Back to the afore-mentioned, RT News piece:

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said sanctions were not curbing Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. He waved off the visiting Pentagon chief’s advice to stick to a diplomatic resolution of the crisis.

At a Wednesday meeting with US Defense Secretary Leon Panetta in Jerusalem, Netanyahu suggested that Israel’s patience with Iran was reaching the end of its tenure.

"Right now the Iranian regime believes that the international community does not have the will to stop its nuclear program," he noted. "This must change, and it must change quickly because time to resolve this issue peacefully is running out."

He stressed that while the sanctions were hurting Iran’s economy, they were failing to force it to abandon its nuclear program.

“Neither sanctions nor diplomacy has yet had any impact on Iran's nuclear weapons program,” Netanyahu said.

Seems the American, Dr. Frankenstein is being backed into a corner by its "monster" -- a corner from which, it will not emerge unscathed.

Sanctions

The Changeling, like his predecessors, is aggressively peddling sanctions as a "soft" approach to stop Iran's alleged, nuclear weapons program, even though Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, has the "inalienable right," under Article IV, "to develop research, production and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. . .” (something no one has yet been able to dispute they are doing).  Israel on the other hand, as a non-signatory, can pretty much do whatever the hell it wants.

Sanctions are just another bullying, rather than diplomatic attempt to make the Iranians "heel," while covering up the non-partisan greed of America and those "quite superfluous and rather silly" other tails in the Western world. Hold onto your heart, as John Pilger documents the continued fall-out from another of America's "soft" approaches -- sanctions in Iraq:



This is what "American exceptionalism" looks like.  And since, "America is a thing you can move very easily..." -- it seems there'll be plenty more of it. {smdh}

I think I'll end this with some sage words from Noam Chomsky with which I agree: "The US and Israel, Not Iran, Threaten Peace."


Related:
- The Truth About Obama and Israel
- Sukant on Latest Zionist Massacre in Gaza, and Relation to 'Arab Spring'
- The liberal way to run the world - "improve" or we'll kill you
- Iran Call for Nuclear Abolition by 2025 is Unreported by New York Times
- On the verge of an Israeli Spring?
- The Elephant in the map room

♬ The wheels on the white supremacy bus go round and round...all through the world ♬ (Part 2)

(Edited & Updated below)
On his Racism in France post, Asabanga commented, “Black/African people all over the world face a struggle for dignity.”  He's absolutely right and it's no secret, that those who are clearly a part of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy (definition at the 4:27 click) play a continuous role in the indignities visited upon us.  It is, after all, right out there for all who truly give a damn to see.

And for nearly a month now, I've been waiting to see just who truly gives a damn about the Black/African people struggling for their dignity in Israel. As it turns out, there aren't many--particularly in the Western mainstream media. This from RT News:



Having watched a glut of coverage about the "People of the Sand" from various places in the Middle East, during various phases of imperialist maneuverings by the "usual suspects" (Syria now being the target du jour), I said to myself:

"Self, now you would think, with all this Hitlerism being perpetrated against Africans in Israel, the Fourth Estate would be doing a better job of covering this!  I mean really now.  They're all, already right there, right?  I mean, far as I can see, there's no shortage of stories being churned out by major "news" outlets about all the carnage the Syrian government's been perpetrating.  Israel's been doing the exact same thing--and crickets?!" (smdh)

I don't know why I even asked myself a question whose answer is so obvious.  Both Israel and the Western, mainstream media are a part of that same white supremacy, neither of whom, see Blacks/Africans--as people.  And with media control here, resting squarely in the lap of American Jews, I suspect most of the country will hear little, if anything about Israel's wanton cruelty.

But, young sister, Yvette Carnell, writing at both KultureKritic and Your Black World, has been loudly and faithfully sounding the alarm about yet another, Black holocaust, this one, perpetrated by the European, "Never Again" survivors of similarly abhorrent treatment by the Nazis.  Here's a small sampling:

5/25 - Israeli Mob Attacks Black Immigrants, Netanyahu Vows to Send Blacks 'Home':  Mobs in Tel-Aviv, Israel have taken to the streets to demand that African immigrants be sent home. More than 1,000 angry Israeli citizens took to the streets of the poor and mostly black neighborhood of Hatikva to demand that the African immigrants be made to leave. White nationalist organizations also reportedly ransacked the neighborhood. The protesters claimed that blacks are responsible for an increase in crime rates. (emphasis mine)

Sound familiar?

5/28 - Israeli Parliament Member Apologizes For Calling African Migrants a "Cancer" to Society:  Regev was accused of inflaming the mob, many of whom went out and attacked African migrants, reportedly pulling them off bicycles and beating them, and pelting them with rocks.

In her apology to Israeli news outlets, Regev apologized to holocaust survivors and cancer patients, but not to the African immigrants she called a cancer.

“When I compared the migrant worker phenomenon to cancer I was referring to the way the phenomenon had spread, and not anything else. If anyone took it otherwise and was consequently offended, I apologize and I surely did not intend to hurt either Holocaust survivors or cancer patients,” she said.

...Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to put a fence around the African migrants and then begin the process of sending them to their home countries. (emphasis mine)

A fence?  Like they're cattle?  I gotta say--no "visions of sugarplums danced in my head" on that one!  Felt more like shades of the renamed,  Kunta Kinte Island in The Gambia (formerly James Island); Japanese internment camps in America; GITMO; Krome Detention Center in Miami--and extraordinary rendition jumping around up there!

(Political cartoon courtesy of leonkuhn.org.uk)

6/04 - Israel to Jail African Migrants for up to three years: Yishai, of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party...“The infiltrators along with the Palestinians will quickly bring us to the end of the Zionist dream,” Yishai said. “We do not need to import more problems from Africa.

Aryeh Eldad, another conservative leader asked, says that Israeli troops should shoot any Africans who breached its borders. (emphasis mine)

My, My, My!  Leon Kuhn really hit the nail on the head with this cartoon didn't he?  For sure, as long as Zionism keeps hacking away at the olive-branched hand; there will never be peace in the Middle East.

6/10 - Israel Begins Deportation of African Migrant Workers: Interior Minister Eli Yishai said the round-up will continue until Israel is migrant-free. The government has also increased penalties for Israeli business owners who employ illegal immigrants, up from a two year sentence to up to five years in jail. (emphasis mine)

Round-up?  They really think they're cattle, don't they?  ::rolls eyes in disgust::  Would interpreting "migrant-free" as "extermination through expulsion" be a bit much?

~#~

While "giving a damn," is without a doubt, important--equally important, is to critically examine what one sees, hears, and are told to think.  To wit, the Changeling's March 4, 2012, "when the chips are down, I have Israel's back" AIPAC speech.

Kindly bear with me as I try, with the help of Dr. John Henrik Clarke, to address some of the bullshit the Changeling put out there for AIPAC's amusement (and cash of course).

During the speech, Israel's latest, U.S. government shabbos goy said:

Shimon was born a world away from here, in a shtetl in what was then Poland, a few years after the end of the first world war. But his heart was always in Israel, the historic homeland of the Jewish people. And when he was just a boy he made his journey across land and sea - toward home. (emphasis mine)

Now I'm pretty sure Israel's been having the doubly, distinct pleasure, of using the hell out of this guy (What?  Why doubly?  Well, 1:  He is the figurehead of their most generous client-state, and 2:  He's a society-identified Black man, born of an African father.  Given the topic herein, I suspect jerking his chain is quite entertaining for them)  but, when it comes to historical fact--I'd trust the wisdom and research of the late, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, before I'd listen to anything the Changeling had to say (part of that, "critically examine what one sees, hears, and is told to think" thing).

Dr. Clarke's work, with all of its easily documented truths, affords us an opportunity of a lifetime, to learn the truth about our place in this world (the one everybody keeps trying to convince us we never had).  Alongside that, there's the collateral, and wonderfully useful benefit--of being able to set the record straight whenever other people lie.  Regarding the Changeling's "historic homeland" assertion, I think it'd  be best, in this instance, for Dr. Clarke to do just that, in his own words:



Okay, despite the fact that there is historical (not folkloric or mythological) evidence, that the word Jew is a European invention, pasted on a religion that existed wa-a-ay before they came up with the word--means nothing. Now that I think about it though, historical evidence has never meant much when it comes to adherents of white supremacy. They just appropriate, revise, spew; appropriate, revise, spew--until they've taken over the narratives of everyone else's lives, while running from their own.

Moving on...



Please hang in there through the glitches in the video, it's worth it. I guess if you're "white," or acting like you are (see first related article below), it just sticks in your craw--FOREVER--when you know your entrance "into human history" was predicated on the benevolence of Black folk, whom you thought you were better than, but you later found out, were head-and-shoulders above anything you brought to the table and who, because you showed neither respect nor gratitude for either their humanity or generosity, told you to get the hell out of their country.

Dr. Clarke from the 6:57 - 7:34 click: "Sometime ago, someone was arguing about who, is our friend...and I said that, "I would not be surprised, if the day would come, when I would see the Jews and the Arabs in the same political bed against the African people." (emphasis his)

When you think about Libya, you have to admit he was pretty prescient, no?

From the 8:06 - 9:06 click:  "Competent historians, do the same thing, to prove their cases as competent lawyers--they cite a precedent. They point where it has already happened.  There has already been, a relationship between Africans, and Jews, and Arabs--in Spain, for 800 years, when the African was the military arm, that held Spain in the Mediterranean.  And when they lost the power,  the Arabs and the Jews came together, turned on the Africans, and began to enslave them. The Jews went to Holland, and found the Dutch East India and the Dutch West India Company and subsequently, helped to find (sic) South Africa." (emphasis his)

(A brief aside: Dr. Clarke's mention of the East India Company, reminds me of how "media ignoring the truth" is taught here. During my one-year stint in DC at a journalism grad school, our "Ethics" class was divided into groups, with each assigned a philosopher about whom, a presentation was to be made later on in the semester.  The group assigned John Stuart Mill, gave a blatantly disingenuous presentation, dealing mostly with his, "On Liberty"--but they totally left out his more than 30-year career in the slave trade with Britain's, East India Trading Company.  During the Q & A after, I asked them about their omission (which to my mind, negated all the " on liberty" talk). To a person, they all said they knew about it, but thought it best to leave that part out!  I immediately blurted out, "And you find that to be ethical?"  Nothin' but "crickets," even from the teacher.)

Stay with me, he's not done:



Dr. Clarke, from the 2:54 - 3:34 click: "But the European, tries to dominate, everything he is a part of.  And nothing came from the European mind, that did not have, as its intention, the facilitation, of the European domination of the world. This is the essential mission of every European, whether he is a Capitalist, or Communist, or, Christian, or Holy-Roller."(emphasis his)

All we need do, is look around--wherever we are--to see that what he says is so. Europeans, in collusion with those others who are a part of the White Supremacist Capitalist Patriarchy (based on bell's definition), have been on that "essential mission" since time immemorial.

From the 7:52  - 9:03 click:  "But they drew the idea of a state, from mythology.  Because, they never had a state, that wasn't stolen property.  The "homeland" of the European Jew is Europe! Now they can go back into folklore and mythology, and tell you about a god named, "Yahweh," who told them to get thee to Palestine and get their homeland.  But who told, you, that God was ever in the Real Estate business?  And who told, the God, that Palestine was unoccupied?  Always "occupying" something that's already, occupied, and throwing out, somebody else." (emphasis his)

That last sentence, is the main reason those now, near-defunct, "Occupy" movements didn't sit well with me (too much bad history attached to that word).

Moving on...



Dr. Clarke, from the 00:29 - 1:50 click:  "Look at, Palestine, geographically.  It's a door that swings, three ways:  It's at the back door of Europe, the side door of western Asia, and the front door of Africa.  Strategically, it is well-located.  It never, absolutely never, belonged to any, European people.  And this is another thing that might, shock some of our Moslem friends, in all honesty, in early history, it never, it wasn't (sic) belong to the any Arabs either.  It was an African country.  The Arabs didn't get there in any appreciable number til about 1600 AD.  I'm not saying they shouldn't live there, but as a matter of historical fact, it's not the original home of the Arabs either.  But people don't even ask questions about the Arabs."

From the 6:57 - 7:06 click:  "My main point is that Zionism, and the spread of colonialism, walk side-by-side. (emphasis his)

And anyone with eyes to see, has to know that walk continues to this day--in Israel.

So, believe the Changeling's "historic homeland" foolishness if you need to, or, you can get some of those books Dr. Clarke referenced in the videos and learn about the rich legacy of African people all over the world, and be able to set people who lie--straight; as James Baldwin said, "...know whence you came."

Back to that speech:

In his life, he has fought for Israel’s independence, and he has fought for peace and security...But beyond these extraordinary achievements, he has also been a powerful moral voice that reminds us that right makes might - not the other way around.

Shimon once described the story of the Jewish people by saying it proved that, “slings, arrows and gas chambers can annihilate man, but cannot destroy human values, dignity, and freedom.” And he has lived those values. He has taught us to ask more of ourselves and to empathize more with our fellow human beings. I am grateful for his life’s work and his moral example.

Say what?!  Is he talking about the same Shimon and Jewish people that this "Report for the African Refugee Development Center (ARDC) to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) - submitted January 30, 2012" is talking about??:



I can't begin to express, how painfully enraged I am by all the white supremacist hypocrisy in this video--so much so, that I won't do my usual blow-by-blow this time.  There just isn't enough space.  I know it's a little long, but please do watch the whole thing (even if you have to break it up).  I'm sure after you do, your blow-by-blow list will absolutely rival mine.

But, there is one thing I just have to say.  Given the report date and the period it covered, it's evident that, up to and even during the time that the Changeling stood before AIPAC, jiggin' for Jewish dollars--"Bibi" and his Zionist, colonialists-cum-neocolonialists henchmen, had been acting like run-of-the-mill, neo-Nazis toward Africans, in what they call "their" country.

Pardon me if "moral, Jewish people" seems like an oxymoron, given their behavior toward Africans and Palestinians over all these years.  And the fact, that the Changeling "is grateful" for Shimon's "life's work" and "moral example" speaks volumes--or it should.

He goes on to say:

This isn’t just about numbers on a balance sheet. As a senator, I spoke to Israeli troops on the Lebanese border. I visited with families who’ve known the terror of rocket fire in Sderot. And that’s why, as president, I have provided critical funding to deploy the Iron Dome system that has intercepted rockets that might have hit homes and hospitals and schools in that town and in others. Now our assistance is expanding Israel’s defensive capabilities, so that more Israelis can live free from the fear of rockets and ballistic missiles. Because no family, no citizen, should live in fear. (emphasis mine)

Unless they're African of course.

And just as we’ve been there with our security assistance, we’ve been there through our diplomacy. When the Goldstone report unfairly singled out Israel for criticism, we challenged it. When Israel was isolated in the aftermath of the flotilla incident, we supported them. When the Durban conference was commemorated, we boycotted it, and we will always reject the notion that Zionism is racism. (emphasis mine)

Speak for yourself, Man.  I'll let Dr. Clarke speak for me with the following:

From the 1:05 - 5:38 click/Part 2: "They have never, been our friends when we needed them.  And the concept of a historical alliance, between African people and people called Jews is a lie and a myth, and a misconception.  They overplayed every event in history when they came in contact with us.  Anytime it was to their benefit, they have walked away from us.  We are one, of the most politically naive people in history, we have never made a good alliance with anybody.  Everybody that has come among us, have shown, that they would betray us, anytime it was to their benefit.  There is no exception, right or left.  That's true of every religion, it's true of every politics.  And it's true of every, single, ethnic group.  Now you wanna play a whole lot of, ethnic-partner games; I think you should make alliance with other ethnic groups--but watch the alliance.  You should be partners, but when people break the alliance, you should be in a position to punish them.  And don't depend too much, on the alliance..."I'm tryin' to show you where we related to the humanity of all people, but all people have not related to our humanity." (emphasis his)

Israel's ongoing and unfettered abuse of Africans and Palestinians, along with those three emphasized incidents in that last excerpt from the Changeling's speech above (Goldstone, the attack on the flotilla and Durban)--all keep me singing: ♬ The wheels on the white supremacy bus go round and round...all through the world. ♬

And they will continue, unless and until, we take Dr. Clarke's intellectually astute advice and shed our political naiveté; coalesce with each other worldwide; make only mutually beneficial alliances (reserving the right to punish--in one way, or another--those who break them) and say our own...

(Took this  photo on Juffureh, during my first trip to The Gambia)

...and this time--mean it!

UPDATE:  Russell Simmons calls for truce with ADL's Foxman

I just read this piece on JewishJournal.com and when I was done, Dr. Clarke's, "We have illusions about people" statement at the 6:56 click in Part 2 of his videos immediately came to mind. Russell Simmons has, without a doubt, some serious illusions.

Simmons, a co-founder with Rabbi Marc Schneier of the Foundation for Ethnic Understanding, said that he was proud to have worked to strengthen the relationship between the African-American and Jewish communities. He said his comments at the conference were undermining the work he has done on behalf of the Jewish community to build synagogues and promote tolerance.

“Rabbi Marc Schneier and I had a remarkable week in Israel where we met and convened with some of the most important religious leaders in the country, including the Chief Rabbi of Israel and the Grand Mufti of the Palestinian people,” Simmons wrote. “We had difficult conversations that have not happened before, and we are determined to break through barriers that have been in existence for decades.”

Now if this isn't an excellent example of some of that political naiveté to which Dr. Clarke referred, I don't know what is.  Not only has he stepped in to "strengthen" this mythological alliance building synagogues with his "dolla', dolla' bills y'all" (they're not crazy, they know just who to target), they've got him apologizing for saying something that was almost true (I say almost, because I don't see any "leaders" in the Black community)!  You're just another shabbos goy, Russell.

And while Simmons boasts about his "remarkable week," meeting and convening with the Chief Rabbi and Grand Mufti--I wonder, did he stop to meet-and-greet any of those Black-like-him Africans being attacked, rounded up like cattle and deported?  Oh, and note to Russell:  Those barriers?  They've existed for way more than decades--use some of that cash you've got to buy a damned clue. (smdh)



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"Jews," the Changeling and nuclear weaponry

I've really been trying not to write about this circus we call "politics" in this country.  But given the Changeling's recent, begging "...when the chips are down, I have Israel’s back" speech to AIPAC, I thought I'd jump back in for a minute, turning back to the Master Teacher, Dr. John Henrik Clarke to share some history about the "Jews" and their less-than-reciprocal behavior toward Black folk first (as you listen to the following, you'll see the reason for the quotation marks):









"Nothin' beats a lie like the truth" is what my grandmother always said.  And given all that went before (and continues to this day), the Changeling's unwavering fealty to the state of Israel should be, at the very least, questionable to discerning Black folk, and at most - a gross miscarriage of justice to anyone with eyes to see (though, if you heard the speech, or read the transcript linked above - you'll have to admit, he's a helluva strategic beggar!).

Secondly, I'd like to share the following, just to give some context for America's and Israel's absolute hypocrisy regarding Iran and their right, as a sovereign nation, to develop nuclear weapons either as a deterrent to, or to protect themselves from, Israel in particular, if they so choose (let me just note though, after the U.S. devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, I am in no way a proponent of nuclear weapons):  "An Illegal Interview with Mordechai Vanunu," a former Israeli nuclear technician who, in 1986, blew the whistle on Israel's nuclear weapons development program in Dimona, garnering him 18 years in Ashkelon Prison (more than 11 1/2 of which he spent in solitary confinement.  Bradley Manning has nothing on Dr. Vanunu - yet!):







And the Changeling was the one who got a Nobel "Peace" Prize??!! (:serious eyeroll:)

Check out why the above interview was illegal at this site, which thoroughly covers Dr. Vanunu's whistle-blowing experience - and the consequences:  The U.S. Campaign to Free Mordechai Vanunu.

While I've never had anything for the Changeling, I've always thought he was pretty intelligent.  But, given Dr. Clarke's excellent historical rendering of the "Jews" and Israel, Dr. Vanunu's view of Shimon Peres, and Prime Minister Netanyahu's banging of the war drums, I find this portion of the Changeling's "Can I have more, Sir?" speech quite indicative that either, he isn't as intelligent as I thought (particularly regarding who he is, as a society-identified Black man), or he's as disingenuous as they come:

Shimon was born a world away from here, in a shtetl in what was then Poland, a few years after the end of the first world war. But his heart was always in Israel, the historic homeland of the Jewish people. And when he was just a boy he made his journey across land and sea - toward home.

In his life, he has fought for Israel’s independence, and he has fought for peace and security. As a member of the Haganah and a member of the Knesset, as a minister of defense and foreign affairs, as a prime minister and as president - Shimon helped build the nation that thrives today: the Jewish state of Israel. But beyond these extraordinary achievements, he has also been a powerful moral voice that reminds us that right makes might - not the other way around.

Shimon once described the story of the Jewish people by saying it proved that, “slings, arrows and gas chambers can annihilate man, but cannot destroy human values, dignity, and freedom.” And he has lived those values. He has taught us to ask more of ourselves and to empathize more with our fellow human beings. I am grateful for his life’s work and his moral example. And I’m proud to announce that later this spring, I will invite Shimon Peres to the White House to present him with America’s highest civilian honor - the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In many ways, this award is a symbol of the broader ties that bind our nations. The United States and Israel share interests, but we also share those human values that Shimon spoke about: a commitment to human dignity. A belief that freedom is a right that is given to all of God’s children. An experience that shows us that democracy is the one and only form of government that can truly respond to the aspirations of citizens.

America’s Founding Fathers understood this truth, just as Israel’s founding generation did. President Truman put it well, describing his decision to formally recognize Israel only minutes after it declared independence. He said, “I had faith in Israel before it was established. I believe it has a glorious future before it - as not just another sovereign nation, but as an embodiment of the great ideals of our civilization.”

For over six decades, the American people have kept that faith. Yes, we are bound to Israel because of the interests that we share - in security for our communities, prosperity for our people, the new frontiers of science that can light the world. But ultimately it is our common ideals that provide the true foundation for our relationship. That is why America’s commitment to Israel has endured under Democratic and Republican presidents, and congressional leaders of both parties. In the United States, our support for Israel is bipartisan, and that is how it should stay. (emphasis mine)

We've got so much work to do family - in alliance with, or without, any-damned-body else!

Interesting update: Is Bibi the Bully wagging the American dog? - Pepe Escobar