Sunday, March 18, 2012

Re: Obama agency rules Pepsi’s use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes ‘ordinary business operations’

what's next Solyent Green?

On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 8:49 AM, Travis <baconlard@gmail.com> wrote:


New post on ACGR's "News with Attitude"

Obama agency rules Pepsi's use of aborted fetal cells in soft drinks constitutes 'ordinary business operations'

by Harold

Ethan A. Huff, Natural News 3/17/2012 The Obama Administration has given its blessing to PepsiCo to continue utilizing the services of a company that produces flavor chemicals for the beverage giant using aborted human fetal tissue. LifeSiteNews.com reports that the Obama Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) has decided that PepsiCo's arrangement with San Diego, Cal.-based [...]

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Ireland - a short history

Ireland - a short history

Watch Here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jmJ-3p6MKs

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Have a great day,
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Re: OH, BOO HOO! “My comrades want to kill me,” says American Jihadi in Somalia

he sounds like a typical western kid. pampered and privileged. Who now has to face the real world and the consequences of his decisions. And the government and system he hates is not there to pick up the pieces for him.

Fear looks good on him.

Bear
an unsympathetic Bear today.




On 18 March 2012 09:48, Travis <baconlard@gmail.com> wrote:



New post on Bare Naked Islam

OH, BOO HOO! "My comrades want to kill me," says American Jihadi in Somalia

by barenakedislam

American-born jihadi Omar Hammami has released a new video in which he admits fearing for his life. Hammami, known as Abu Mansur al-Amriki, or 'the American', said that  members of his own Somali militia group may kill him over differences of opinion.

UK DAILY MAIL  He appears in a video saying he has disagreed with his comrades in the al-Qaida-linked al-Shabab militia on Islam's Sharia law and strategy. In it he says: 'To whom this may reach, I record this message today because I feel my life may be in danger.'

Sitting with an automatic rifle besides him, he identifies the group and says the threat is 'due to differences between us'. Hammami is the most visible of foreign fighters in the ranks of the al-Shabab, Somalia's most dangerous militant group.

The cell is trying to topple the country's weak U.N.-backed government. Al-Shabab has been designated a terror group by the U.S. government. Al-Qaida says it has merged with al-Shabab.

Hammami grew up in the middle-class town of Daphne, Alabama, before joining the militants in 2007. 

Background on al-Amriki (the American)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y7TGWncEmWs

barenakedislam | March 18, 2012 at 2:44 am | Categories: EnemyWithin-foreign | URL: http://wp.me/p276zM-GaD

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Irish Central: Will 2012 NYC St.Pat's parade be the last one to exclude gays?

Irish Central: Will 2012 NYC St.Pat's parade be the last one to exclude gays?

Article Here:
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/Will-2012-NYC-StPats-parade-be-the-last-one-to-exclude-gays-143038716.html


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Re: Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park

Scores of people?? Too bad it wasn't ALL the people.

On Mar 18, 8:18 am, Keith In Tampa <keithinta...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Good.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 10:08 AM, Tommy News <tommysn...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > Scores Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park
> > By COLIN MOYNIHAN
>
> > 1:09 a.m. | Updated Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters were
> > arrested on Saturday night as police officers swept Zuccotti Park in
> > Lower Manhattan and closed it.
>
> > Dozens of demonstrators sat down and locked arms as officers moved in
> > about 11:30 p.m. The protesters chanted "we are not afraid" as the
> > police began pulling people from the crowd, one by one, and leading
> > them out of the park in handcuffs.
>
> > The operation occurred after hundreds of people had gathered in the
> > financial district to observe the founding of Occupy Wall Street six
> > months ago. Earlier, protesters had embarked upon a winding march,
> > after which police officers made initial arrests of about a dozen
> > people near the park.
>
> > By 11:30 p.m., as police officers massed on Broadway, a commander
> > announced that the park was closed. Those inside shouted back that the
> > park was obliged through an agreement with the city to remain open.
> > The commander then announced that anyone who remained inside would be
> > arrested and charged with trespassing.
>
> > After clearing the park, police officers and private security guards
> > began placing a ring of metal barricades on the park's perimeter, as
> > those who had been arrested were placed inside a city bus.
>
> > At one point, a woman who appeared to be suffering from seizures
> > flopped on the ground in handcuffs as bystanders shouted for the
> > police to remove the cuffs and provide medical attention. For several
> > minutes the woman lay on the ground as onlookers made increasingly
> > agonized demands until an ambulance arrived and the woman was placed
> > inside.
>
> > By 12:20 a.m., a line of officers pushed against some of the remaining
> > protesters, forcing them south on Broadway, at times swinging batons
> > and shoving people to the ground.
>
> > Kobi Skolnick, 30, said that officers pushed him in several directions
> > and that as he tried to walk away, he was struck from behind in the
> > neck. "One of the police ran and hit me with a baton," he said.
>
> > Earlier that afternoon, as protesters gathered under blue skies while
> > carrying banners and signs, the day was in some ways reminiscent of
> > the first time the Occupy protesters gathered in mid-September. Just
> > after 1 p.m., brandishing placards with messages like "Take back
> > government from corporations," the crowd left Zuccotti Park headed
> > south on Broadway, chanting the now familiar slogan "We are the 99
> > percent."
>
> > When the first protesters set foot in the financial district six
> > months ago, few people imagined what would follow, including a
> > two-month encampment in Lower Manhattan, similar camps in cities
> > across the country and critiques of corporate greed becoming part of
> > the national dialogue.
>
> > The movement was mainly quiet during the winter, but organizers said
> > they were aiming for a springtime resurgence.
>
> > "It's just a reminder that we're here," Brendan Burke said, as the
> > crowd marched past the New York Stock Exchange. "It's an opportunity
> > to remind Wall Street that we aren't going anywhere."
>
> > In several respects, Saturday's march was similar to the inaugural
> > one. The crowd was small but spirited and marched past the bronze
> > sculpture of a bull at Bowling Green, which had served as a mustering
> > spot for the first march. Marchers were accompanied by police officers
> > on foot and on scooters who at one point blocked access to Wall
> > Street, just as they did on Sept. 17.
>
> > And, as they did that day, the marchers made sudden turns that
> > appeared to surprise the police and walked along Wall Street for at
> > least a brief time.
>
> > At one point, several demonstrators stood on the steep steps of
> > Federal Hall and chanted "1-2-3-4, I declare class war."
>
> > Later, members of the group ignored orders from the police to remain
> > on sidewalks and flowed onto parts of Exchange Place and Beaver
> > Street. Later, on Broad Street, a deputy inspector turned to a
> > sergeant and said, "We got to start collaring some."
>
> > For the next 30 minutes or so, things remained calm as marchers stuck
> > to the sidewalks and entered Zuccotti Park.
>
> > But then, just after 2 p.m., police officers began telling a large
> > group of protesters that they could not stand on the sidewalk on a
> > stretch of Liberty Street. Officers pushed the crowd until more than
> > 100 protesters on the sidewalk were pressed against a wall that
> > borders the park.
>
> > Then the police began grabbing and arresting people, taking into
> > custody at least half a dozen. Officers surged into the crowd,
> > dragging protesters toward the street, as people yelled objections.
>
> > "They were grabbing people randomly," Zachary Kamel said, adding that
> > his girlfriend, Lauren DiGoia, had been arrested while dancing on the
> > sidewalk.
>
> > One sergeant grabbed a woman wearing a green shirt by the bottom of
> > her throat and shoved her head against the hood of a car. A moment
> > later, another officer approached and forcefully pressed her head
> > against the car before placing her into the back of a police truck.
>
> > Over the next few hours, protesters conducted meetings inside Zuccotti
> > Park and held a dance party fueled by a saxophone and a battery of
> > drums. Sporadic moments of tension also arose.
>
> > At one point, the police arrested a handful of protesters on Cedar
> > Street near Trinity Place. A few moments later, near Cedar Street and
> > Broadway, a police captain pushed a man by the shoulders for almost a
> > block, then released him when a crowd loudly demanded to know whether
> > the man was under arrest.
>
> > The man, Charlie Gonzalez, 31, said that the captain had told him he
> > was not permitted to stand on the sidewalk.
>
> > About an hour later, the same captain pushed another man several
> > hundred feet east down Cedar Street, about a block from Zuccotti Park,
> > and briefly detained him.
>
> > That man, Yoni Miller, 19, said he was counting officers standing in
> > rows near Broadway when the captain forced him to walk around a corner
> > onto Cedar Street, then asked him if he was a terrorist or was
> > planning any crimes.
>
> > Paul Moore, 25, said that he was videotaping the encounter when the
> > captain asked him for identification and began pushing him away,
> > telling him he was not permitted to document what was happening.
>
> > After nightfall, the number of people inside the park swelled to more than
> > 500.
>
> > About 10 p.m., some of those in the park began a regimen of running
> > and dancing that they called "spring training," which they said was
> > meant to prepare for coming demonstrations.
>
> > At 10:30, protesters sprung up a green tarp, folded over a piece of
> > rope suspended from two trees near the center of Zuccotti Park.
> > Security and police officers looked on from the perimeter.
>
> > More:
>
> >http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=cdOHbQcFwieSwGnV/swc3pcO+JEZkG...
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy
>
> > --
> > Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
> > Have a great day,
> > Tommy
>
> > --
> > Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
> > For options & help seehttp://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
>
> > * Visit our other community athttp://www.PoliticalForum.com/
> > * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
> > * Read the latest breaking news, and more.

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Re: Is It the Illegality­or the Immigration?

MJ,

And what of the premise that the free movement of persons and goods
between the several states only applies to those persons that are
legal residents of one of the states to begin with or that the goods
were accepted for manufacture in or import into any particular state
to begin with? Granted the "persons" section is more rigid than the
"goods" but what the hell....

Your article ignores this important fact.

On Mar 18, 6:16 am, MJ <micha...@america.net> wrote:
> "Conservatives' support for labor protectionism leads them to support other big-government horribles as well -- such as requiring every U.S. resident to carry papers proving legal presence, should the police happen to pull you over. There is even a proposal to make all U.S. residents carry biometric ID cards.
> "This stands in sharp contrast to America's earlier days. The U.S. had essentially open borders until 1882. Consider it proof that liberals are wrong if they think change is identical with progress."Is It the Illegalityor the Immigration?You only have to scratch the debate to see the degree to which legal technicalities are orthogonal to the main issue.A. Barton Hinkle| March 13, 2012
>  "What part of ILLEGAL don't you understand?" has become the rallying cry -- the rallying cliché, even -- of immigration hawks across the land. Its point is to underscore what hawks incessantly insist: that they are not opposed to immigration per se. It's the law-breaking that yanks their chain.
> But that veneer is wearing thin. Take a video produced by the nation's largest immigration advocacy group, the Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR). "With 14 million Americans out of work, attention is finally turning to the millions of illegal workers in the country," says a man standing amid block letters that spell the world ILLEGAL. "It's about time. But what about these workers?" he asks, indicating the LEGAL. "Legal foreign workers: more than 1 million legal immigrants and temporary foreign workers our government admits every year. They take good jobs in places like Ohiono matter how many people are out of work, or how 'ILL' our economy gets. We need to slow legal immigration until Ohio is working again."
> You might chalk that up to opportunism in tough economic times. Just one problem: It's FAIR's long-standing policy. A 2000 report by the Anti-Defamation League noted then that FAIR's stated aims were to "end illegal immigration" and "to set legal immigration at the lowest feasible levels." Twelve years later, FAIR still describes its goals as promoting "immigration levels consistent with the national interest" and educating "the American people on the impacts of sustained high-volume immigration." Not illegal immigration, you'll note -- any immigration.
> Last week, FAIR took out after Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer and Republican Sen. Scott Brown for seeking to grant "an additional 10,500 work visas to Irish nationals in time for St. Patrick's Day." This is bad, FAIR claims, because it would "increase immigrationand competition for scarce jobs." Besides, "the bill lacks a requirement that employers seek legal U.S. workers before they can hire an E-3 visa holder."
> True, FAIR doesn't speak for every person who feels strongly about immigration, legal or otherwise -- any more than the Brady Campaign speaks for everyone who supports gun control. But it would hardly swing much weight if it spoke for just three unemployed slackers sipping beer in a garage in Perth Amboy.
> Besides, you only have to scratch the debate over illegal immigration a little to see the degree to which legal technicalities are orthogonal to the main issue. Take the bill this year in Virginia's General Assembly requiring a citizenship check of everyone taken into custody. Why citizenship? Plenty of resident aliens are present in the country lawfully. See also the widespread campaign to have English declared the official language -- a proposal that has nothing to do with legal entry and everything to do with feeling there are too many Latinos around, and people shouldn't need to press 1 for English because...well, just because.
> The notion that immigrants, legal or otherwise, are taking "our" jobs relies on the assumption that one person has more claim on an open position than another. This isn't so. The only person with a claim on the job is the one cutting the paycheck, and he should be able to hire whomever he wants.
> On the other hand, if FAIR is right that the job situation for Ohioans could be improved by keeping immigrants out, then why draw the line at foreign nationals? Why not require employers to hire only people who have lived in Ohio for at least five years? Or who were born there? For that matter, imagine all the work Ohioans would have if only the state would put up an electric fence along the border.
> If the aim simply is to maximize employment, then Ohio could do even more. It could outlaw technological innovation. Even President Obama thinks ATMs are a job-killing "structural issue." Imagine how many more jobs could be "created or saved" if we did away with backhoes and sewing machines.
> The hypotheticals highlight the foolishness of protectionism, which is what motivates anti-immigrant fervor when that fervor is not motivated by ethnic hostility. Many conservatives, who know better than to fall prey to the protectionist fallacy regarding manufactured goods, for some reason embrace it regarding labor. If they were right, then the state with the lowest immigrant population, a mere 1.3 percent of all residents, should be an economic powerhouse. That state – West Virginia – is certainly not.
> Conservatives' support for labor protectionism leads them to support other big-government horribles as well -- such as requiring every U.S. resident to carry papers proving legal presence, should the police happen to pull you over. There is even a proposal to make all U.S. residents carry biometric ID cards.
> This stands in sharp contrast to America's earlier days. The U.S. had essentially open borders until 1882. Consider it proof that liberals are wrong if they think change is identical with progress.A. Barton Hinkle is a columnist at the Richmond Times-Dispatch,where this column originally appeared.http://reason.com/archives/2012/03/13/is-it-the-illegalityor-the-immigration

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Re: The Time for Soul-Searching Has Arrived

Keith,

What, if anything makes you believe that the US has a long term
plan ?? I have seen NO evidence of one.

On Mar 18, 8:17 am, Keith In Tampa <keithinta...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Good Morning Michael,
>
> That's a bit of an extreme assessment don't ya think?
>
> And Jacob? Geesh!  Talk about revisionist history......
>
> Do you think the United States big big really big long term plan,  (as
> Hornberger
> alludes)  was to have, " *a wasteland of death, destruction, depression,
> and impoverishment. And it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing
> all the things that the Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people
> who resist the dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing
> them, and executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the
> interventionists, the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S."*
>
> I think not.
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 9:48 AM, MJ <micha...@america.net> wrote:
> >  *"The reality is that Iraq is not a paradise. It is an absolute
> > disaster. It is a wasteland of death, destruction, depression, and
> > impoverishment. And it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing all
> > the things that the Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people who
> > resist the dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing
> > them, and executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the
> > interventionists, the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S.
> > "It's no different in Afghanistan. That country is another wasteland of
> > death, destruction, impoverishment, and depression. The Karzai regime is
> > nothing but a crooked, corrupt, brutal pro-U.S. dictatorship."
>
> > *Tuesday, March 13, 2012
> > *The Time for Soul-Searching Has Arrived
> > *by Jacob G. Hornberger
>
> > How ironic. Countless American Christians supported the U.S. government's
> > war of aggression on Iraq, and now consider this headline from last
> > Sunday's *New York Times: *"Exodus from North Signals Iraqi Christians'
> > Slow Decline."
>
> > And now we learn that an American soldier went on a killing rampage in
> > Afghanistan, walking into people's homes in a brutal shoot-up that ended up
> > killing 16 people, including women and children.
>
> > How come so many Americans still can't recognize that the U.S. invasions
> > and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan have been disasters? Why must they
> > feel compelled to support some type of mythical, delusionary picture that
> > has nothing to do with reality?
>
> > Look at Iraq. At first U.S. officials convinced Americans to support an
> > invasion of the country under a principle of preventive self-defense.
> > Recall that U.S. officials said the same thing about Iraq that they're now
> > saying about Iran. Saddam Hussein is on the verge of producing a nuclear
> > weapon. He intends to attack the United States. We have to attack now. The
> > smoking gun might be a mushroom cloud rising over American cities.
>
> > All too many Americans simply deferred to authority, as they had been
> > taught to do in the government-approved schools they were forced to attend.
> > U.S. officials have access to information that we don't have, they said.
> > They would never lie to us. They don't want to go to war against Iraq.
> > They're just protecting national security.
>
> > How many Americans even considered the possibility that this was all a
> > charade, one designed to oust Saddam Hussein from power and replace him
> > with a pro-U.S. dictator? It wasn't that difficult to see. Don't forget
> > that that's what those 11 years of brutal sanctions were all about -- the
> > sanctions that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. The invasion
> > of Iraq was intended to achieve what the sanctions had not achieved. It
> > wasn't difficult to frighten Americans into falling for anything after
> > 9/11.
>
> > Indeed, what happened after it was determined that there were no WMDs in
> > Iraq? Did Americans feel bad about having supported a war in which
> > countless people had been killed and maimed, given that the U.S. government
> > was wrong in its WMD assessment? Did soldiers have crises of conscience for
> > having killed and maimed innocent people -- that is, people whose
> > government never intended to attack the United States with WMDs -- people
> > who were entirely innocent of the 9/11 attacks. Wouldn't that have been the
> > time for a massive congressional investigation into whether U.S. officials
> > had intentionally deceived the American people regarding those WMDs?
>
> > Nope. Instead, people simply deferred to authority when U.S. officials
> > shifted to the alternative justification for invading Iraq -- that U.S.
> > officials actually loved the Iraqi people so much that they wanted to bring
> > them freedom and democracy through a deadly military invasion and
> > occupation. And to prove their love of the Iraqi people, U.S. officials
> > made it clear that they were willing to kill and maim as many Iraqis as
> > necessary to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq.
>
> > What a crock. If they loved the Iraqi people so much, how come there was
> > never an upward limit on the number of Iraqis they were willing to kill and
> > maim to achieve regime change? How come they treated Iraqis in Abu Ghraib
> > prison the way that Saddam Hussein treated them? Is that the way you treat
> > people whom you love?
>
> > And look at the result in Iraq. U.S. officials, along with their loyal
> > interventionist supporters, continue to tell the American people that Iraq
> > is now a paradise of freedom, democracy, and prosperity.
>
> > Oh? If Iraq is now such a paradise, then why is there an exodus of
> > Christians from Iraq?
>
> > The reality is that Iraq is not a paradise. It is an absolute disaster. It
> > is a wasteland of death, destruction, depression, and impoverishment. And
> > it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing all the things that the
> > Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people who resist the
> > dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing them, and
> > executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the interventionists,
> > the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S.
>
> > It's no different in Afghanistan. That country is another wasteland of
> > death, destruction, impoverishment, and depression. The Karzai regime is
> > nothing but a crooked, corrupt, brutal pro-U.S. dictatorship.
>
> > Sure, it's horrible that that U.S. soldier killed those 16 people, but
> > that's what U.S. forces have been doing ever since they invaded the
> > country. Just think about all the wedding parties they've bombed and
> > killed. Think about that Wikileaks video showing that helicopter gunship
> > firing at people who were doing nothing more than rescuing people who had
> > been injured from a U.S. attack. Think of all the people who have been
> > killed, maimed, tortured, and incarcerated -- that is, people who had
> > nothing to do with 9/11 and whose worst crime wastrying to rid their nation
> > of an unlawful invader and occupier. Think about all the people who have
> > been languishing in Bagram prison for years without trial.
>
> > Oh, but we're not supposed to think about such things. We're supposed to
> > blindly accept the government's pronouncements. We're supposed to support
> > the troops. We're supposed to turn a blind eye to the reality of U.S.
> > foreign policy. We're supposed to suppress our consciences and simply look
> > down, remaining silent or, better yet, supportive of whatever the
> > government is doing.
>
> > Speaking of the law, where are the congressional declarations of war
> > against Iraq and Afghanistan that the U.S. Constitution requires?
> > Interventionists can rail against that requirement all they want, but the
> > law is the law. If they don't like the law, they have a remedy -- get it
> > changed through constitutional amendment. As long as it's the law, it is
> > supposed to be followed. If it's now, that makes the U.S. government the
> > law-breaker.
>
> > The law wasn't followed, not in Iraq and not in Afghanistan. That makes
> > both wars illegal under our form of government. The U.S. government is a
> > lawbreaker in both instances. The invasions and occupations of Iraq and
> > Afghanistan, which have killed and maimed so many people and destroyed both
> > countries, have both been conducted in violation of the highest law of our
> > land, the Constitution, the law that we the people have imposed on our
> > public officials.
>
> > And look at what these illegal wars, together with U.S. foreign policy
> > before 9/11, have done to freedom in our country. We now live under the
> > iron umbrella of a massive national security state, one that resembles that
> > of the Soviet Union. The U.S. government now wields the authority to
> > monitor and spy on Americans, in the name of national security and the war
> > on terrorism. That's what the KGB and, for that matter, the Gestapo did
> > too.
>
> > The government also now wields the authority to round up Americans,
> > incarcerate them for life without trial, torture them, and even execute
> > them. The Gestapo and the KGB had the same authority.
>
> > Indeed, the government now wields the omnipotent power to assassinate
> > Americans and everyone else in the world. Did the KGB and Gestapo have that
> > authority? I would assume so but I'm not sure.
>
> > Meanwhile, Americans continue singing about how free they are. They
> > continue praising the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for "defending our
> > freedoms." No people in history better exemplify the words of Johann Goethe
> > than the American people of our time: None are more hopelessly enslaved
> > than those who falsely believe they are free.
>
> > The endless question for "national security" has destroyed all sense of
> > morality and freedom in America. While the national security state
> > continues to plunge our nation into moral debauchery through its antics
> > overseas -- in the name of "national security" -- it continues to tighten
> > the noose here at home with respect to our freedom. The tighter the noose
> > is drawn, the more Americans sing about how free they are.
>
> > Meanwhile, the Empire is bankrupting us. Most Americans are struggling to
> > make ends meet. At the same time, federal spending and debt
>
> ...
>
> read more »

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Irish Queers and LGBT Community Protest Homophobic NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade

Irish Queers and LGBT Community Protest Homophobic NYC St. Patrick's Day Parade

-by Tommy News Thomas

The US Supreme Court decided that gays cannot march in the St.
Patrick's Day Parades in Boston or New York because they are "Private
Events", yet they are not private events at all. Thousands of Public
employess on and off duty, including Police, Firefighters, Military,
sanitation workers, government officials, etc. march on public
property in a public parade, sanctioning homophobic bigotry and
discrimination against the LGBT community. This is not a "Private
Event", it is government funded and sanctioned discrimination. This
sends a message of hatred and intolerance and must be loudly
condemned. Gays march proudly and openly in the Dublin, Ireland
Parade. The cities of New York and Boston, and all Americans, should
be deeply ashamed. "Traditional Family Values"? NO!
This parade represents homophobic discrimination!

The group "Irish Queers" again took up the call to arms this year in
another annual New York City protest, and I had the honor of
participating. Sidelined by the parade organizers, The Ancient Order
of Hibernians, "St. Patrick's Day Parade, Inc" and by police, we
organized gathered and spole out in protest.

Protest signs were provided by Irish Queers. I selected wisely and
chose to hold a sign aloft that read:
"Who is the Patron Saint of BIGOTRY?"
I held a rainbow flag with the sign, which garnered alot of
attention and was photographed by many. One female marcher screamed in
reply to my sign: "YOU ARE!" One male Marcher shouted "I AM!" and we
booed him. Many others applauded us and gave the thumbs up. We
chanted "Let Us
March! Let Us March!" Some looked and reacted in disgust and muttered
"Fags", etc. Others looked away. A group of young male thugs grabbed
many of our signs and ran off with them, but we chased them down the
street and recovered
most. Later cops tried to remove our signs, but I implored them to
please give them back to me, and they did.

We had a good turnout, and our parade protest was featured on the NBC
11 PM evening news. Our message was heard loud and clear.


I left near the end of the Parade, exhausted, and had a corned beef
and cabbage dinner and a well deserved cold Guinesss Stout beer
with a friend in on my way home.

Shame upon the St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Cities of New York and Boston.

Please join in the protest and take action:

New York City residents should call 311 and register a complaint
against city funded bigotry and exclusion.

Call, Email, Fax, and Write The Parade Organizers Here:

"Traditional Family Values"? NO!
This parade represents homophobic discrimination!

NYC SAINT PATRICK'S DAY PARADE

St Patrick's Day Parade & Celebration Committee

P.O. Box 295 Woodlawn Station,

Bronx, NY 10470

Phone Number: 718-231-4400 718-231-4400

Fax: 718-231-4401

Web Site: NYCStPatricksParade.Org

Web Site Information: HBeirne@NYCStPatricksParade.Org

General Info:Information@NYC-St-Patrick-Day-Parade.Org

Chairman: Chairman-NYC-St-Patrick-Day-Parade.Org

Scholarship: Scholarship@NYC-St-Patrick-Day-Parade.Org
Chairman of Bands: Band@NYC-St-Patrick-Day-Parade.Org

FAQ or Information requests
please contact
Hilary Beirne
HBeirne@NYCStPatricksParade.Org


New York City residents should call 311 and register a complaint.

Contact New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg here and register a
complaint against city funded bigotry and exclusion.


www.MikeBloomberg.com

Phone: (212) 639-9675
Fax: (212) 788-2460

City of New York City
1 Centre Street
New York City, NY 10007-1200

Contact New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo here:

http://www.congress.org/

Albany Office:

State Capitol
Albany, New York 12224
Phone: (518) 486-4623
Fax: (518) 486-4170

Contact NBC and other Media here:

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/?command=org_pages&org_id=559

Website: www.msnbc.com/news
Phone: (212) 664-4444
Fax: (201) 583-5453
Address: 30 Rockefeller Plaza New York, NY 10112

Contact the Ancient Order of Hibernians Here:

Greater Gospel Temple Aoh
2408 E 83rd St
Cleveland, OH 44104
(216) 231-6068

http://www.aoh.com/officers.html

New York City residents should call 311 and register a complaint.


Contact and Boycott the Parade Sponsors register a complaint against
sponsoring bigotry and exclusion:


Quinnipiac University

275 Mount Carmel Ave.
Hamden, CT 06518-1908
Telephone 203-582-8200 203-582-8200
Admissions and Financial Aid: 800-462-1944 800-462-1944
www.quinnipiac.edu

Manhattan College

Visa

Irish Connections Visa

Empire City Yonkers Raceway

www.yonkersraceway.com

FORD MOTOR COMPANY

MANHATTAN COLLEGE

Group Photos, Inc.

Ireland Calls Radio Show

Pride of Irish Heritage

The Irish Examiner

Tourism Ireland

Turtle Wax

Budweiser

Sponsor links here:

http://nyc-st-patrick-day-parade.org/links.aspx


--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

: Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park

Scores Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park
By COLIN MOYNIHAN


1:09 a.m. | Updated Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters were
arrested on Saturday night as police officers swept Zuccotti Park in
Lower Manhattan and closed it.

Dozens of demonstrators sat down and locked arms as officers moved in
about 11:30 p.m. The protesters chanted "we are not afraid" as the
police began pulling people from the crowd, one by one, and leading
them out of the park in handcuffs.

The operation occurred after hundreds of people had gathered in the
financial district to observe the founding of Occupy Wall Street six
months ago. Earlier, protesters had embarked upon a winding march,
after which police officers made initial arrests of about a dozen
people near the park.

By 11:30 p.m., as police officers massed on Broadway, a commander
announced that the park was closed. Those inside shouted back that the
park was obliged through an agreement with the city to remain open.
The commander then announced that anyone who remained inside would be
arrested and charged with trespassing.

After clearing the park, police officers and private security guards
began placing a ring of metal barricades on the park's perimeter, as
those who had been arrested were placed inside a city bus.

At one point, a woman who appeared to be suffering from seizures
flopped on the ground in handcuffs as bystanders shouted for the
police to remove the cuffs and provide medical attention. For several
minutes the woman lay on the ground as onlookers made increasingly
agonized demands until an ambulance arrived and the woman was placed
inside.

By 12:20 a.m., a line of officers pushed against some of the remaining
protesters, forcing them south on Broadway, at times swinging batons
and shoving people to the ground.

Kobi Skolnick, 30, said that officers pushed him in several directions
and that as he tried to walk away, he was struck from behind in the
neck. "One of the police ran and hit me with a baton," he said.

Earlier that afternoon, as protesters gathered under blue skies while
carrying banners and signs, the day was in some ways reminiscent of
the first time the Occupy protesters gathered in mid-September. Just
after 1 p.m., brandishing placards with messages like "Take back
government from corporations," the crowd left Zuccotti Park headed
south on Broadway, chanting the now familiar slogan "We are the 99
percent."

When the first protesters set foot in the financial district six
months ago, few people imagined what would follow, including a
two-month encampment in Lower Manhattan, similar camps in cities
across the country and critiques of corporate greed becoming part of
the national dialogue.

The movement was mainly quiet during the winter, but organizers said
they were aiming for a springtime resurgence.

"It's just a reminder that we're here," Brendan Burke said, as the
crowd marched past the New York Stock Exchange. "It's an opportunity
to remind Wall Street that we aren't going anywhere."

In several respects, Saturday's march was similar to the inaugural
one. The crowd was small but spirited and marched past the bronze
sculpture of a bull at Bowling Green, which had served as a mustering
spot for the first march. Marchers were accompanied by police officers
on foot and on scooters who at one point blocked access to Wall
Street, just as they did on Sept. 17.

And, as they did that day, the marchers made sudden turns that
appeared to surprise the police and walked along Wall Street for at
least a brief time.

At one point, several demonstrators stood on the steep steps of
Federal Hall and chanted "1-2-3-4, I declare class war."

Later, members of the group ignored orders from the police to remain
on sidewalks and flowed onto parts of Exchange Place and Beaver
Street. Later, on Broad Street, a deputy inspector turned to a
sergeant and said, "We got to start collaring some."

For the next 30 minutes or so, things remained calm as marchers stuck
to the sidewalks and entered Zuccotti Park.

But then, just after 2 p.m., police officers began telling a large
group of protesters that they could not stand on the sidewalk on a
stretch of Liberty Street. Officers pushed the crowd until more than
100 protesters on the sidewalk were pressed against a wall that
borders the park.

Then the police began grabbing and arresting people, taking into
custody at least half a dozen. Officers surged into the crowd,
dragging protesters toward the street, as people yelled objections.

"They were grabbing people randomly," Zachary Kamel said, adding that
his girlfriend, Lauren DiGoia, had been arrested while dancing on the
sidewalk.

One sergeant grabbed a woman wearing a green shirt by the bottom of
her throat and shoved her head against the hood of a car. A moment
later, another officer approached and forcefully pressed her head
against the car before placing her into the back of a police truck.

Over the next few hours, protesters conducted meetings inside Zuccotti
Park and held a dance party fueled by a saxophone and a battery of
drums. Sporadic moments of tension also arose.

At one point, the police arrested a handful of protesters on Cedar
Street near Trinity Place. A few moments later, near Cedar Street and
Broadway, a police captain pushed a man by the shoulders for almost a
block, then released him when a crowd loudly demanded to know whether
the man was under arrest.

The man, Charlie Gonzalez, 31, said that the captain had told him he
was not permitted to stand on the sidewalk.

About an hour later, the same captain pushed another man several
hundred feet east down Cedar Street, about a block from Zuccotti Park,
and briefly detained him.

That man, Yoni Miller, 19, said he was counting officers standing in
rows near Broadway when the captain forced him to walk around a corner
onto Cedar Street, then asked him if he was a terrorist or was
planning any crimes.

Paul Moore, 25, said that he was videotaping the encounter when the
captain asked him for identification and began pushing him away,
telling him he was not permitted to document what was happening.

After nightfall, the number of people inside the park swelled to more than 500.

About 10 p.m., some of those in the park began a regimen of running
and dancing that they called "spring training," which they said was
meant to prepare for coming demonstrations.

At 10:30, protesters sprung up a green tarp, folded over a piece of
rope suspended from two trees near the center of Zuccotti Park.
Security and police officers looked on from the perimeter.

More:
http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=cdOHbQcFwieSwGnV/swc3pcO+JEZkG243empz0btCl3fhL9Sj+ybfQBKp500oW0MXvEnhqRPAPsLcncxVN6ruJIfRogi+WdDUs6P59TO4Vyge0UshVb4vCOB1nQZENetCAqaxVqYejzIwr4Sd91tuSV5bfqj7AWY/Pb8SgUE1MCZuc7zuVoSlYXtUlb+33yfNm0iwP2OQ6o=&campaign_id=61&instance_id=13750&segment_id=31060&user_id=306f04b20902c4fa5735282b605fa80b

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

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* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

Who Decided That It Would Be A Good Idea….




 


Who decided that it would be a good idea for the Federal Reserve to pay banks not to lend money to U.S. businesses and U.S. consumers?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to become so dependent on foreign oil?  The average price of a gallon of gasoline in the United States is now $3.80.
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the United States to have the highest incarceration rate in the entire world?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to allow private companies to run many of our prisons?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to put large amounts of "pink slime" into the school lunches of America's school children?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to require barbers and beauticians in Iowa to receive 2,100 hours of education before they are allowed to cut hair?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the United States to have the most lawyers per capita in the entire world?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to allow the notional value of the global derivatives market to grow to more than 20 times the size of the entire global economy?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the U.S. to produce more pornography than any other nation on the planet?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for Americans to take more prescription drugs than anyone else in the world?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the Republicans to try to defeat Barack Obama with the man who came up withthe blueprint that Obamacare was based on?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to arrest people that are just trying to feed the homeless?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for police to drag women around by their hair and shoot pepper spray directly into their faces?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to allow our scientists to create "spider-goats" and other really weird genetically-modified creatures?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for Hillary Clinton to be Secretary of State?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to unilaterally slash the size of the U.S. nuclear arsenal by another 80 percent?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the Department of Homeland Security to help arrest prostitutes?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to sell off our highways, water treatment plants, libraries, parking meters, airports and power plants to foreigners?
Who decided that it would be a good idea persecute farmers for selling raw milk?  The following is how Natural Newsdescribed the hell that 65-year-old farmer James Stewart was put through recently….
65-year-old senior citizen James Stewart, a raw milk farmer with no criminal history, was nearly tortured to death in the LA County jail this past week. He survived a "week of torturous Hell" at the hands of LA County jail keepers who subjected him to starvation, sleep deprivation, hypothermia, loss of blood circulation to extremities, verbal intimidation, involuntary medical testing and even subjected him to over 30 hours of raw biological sewage filth containing dangerous pathogens.
Who decided that it would be a good idea to put an ingredient derived from human hair into our bread?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to run a 560 billion dollar trade deficit with the rest of the globe in 2011?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the federal government to put thousands of guns into the hands of Mexican drug gangs?
Who decided that it would be a good idea "to accelerate fertility decline in the least developed countries"?
Who decided that it would be a good idea to put the Federal Reserve in charge of our money supply?  Since the Federal Reserve took over, the U.S. dollar has lost more than 95 percent of its value.
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the U.S. government to spend so much money?  If the U.S. government taxed corporate profits at 100% and taxed all income above $250,000 at a 100% tax rate it would still not even come close to covering all of the government spending that is going on.
Who decided that it would be a good idea to run up yet another federal budget deficit well in excess of a trillion dollars in 2012?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the U.S. government to spend $175,587 "to determine if cocaine makes Japanese quail engage in sexually risky behavior"?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for the U.S. government to spend $750,000 on a new soccer field for detainees held at Guantanamo Bay?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for Americans to spend more money on elections than anyone else does in the world by a very wide margin?
Who decided that it would be a good idea for TSA agents to strip-search elderly women and grope their private parts in the name of airport security?  Does seeing and feeling the private parts of elderly women actually make us all safer?


--
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For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
 
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* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

Re: Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park

Good.
 


 
On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 10:08 AM, Tommy News <tommysnews@gmail.com> wrote:
Scores Arrested as the Police Clear Zuccotti Park
By COLIN MOYNIHAN


1:09 a.m. | Updated Scores of Occupy Wall Street protesters were
arrested on Saturday night as police officers swept Zuccotti Park in
Lower Manhattan and closed it.

Dozens of demonstrators sat down and locked arms as officers moved in
about 11:30 p.m. The protesters chanted "we are not afraid" as the
police began pulling people from the crowd, one by one, and leading
them out of the park in handcuffs.

The operation occurred after hundreds of people had gathered in the
financial district to observe the founding of Occupy Wall Street six
months ago. Earlier, protesters had embarked upon a winding march,
after which police officers made initial arrests of about a dozen
people near the park.

By 11:30 p.m., as police officers massed on Broadway, a commander
announced that the park was closed. Those inside shouted back that the
park was obliged through an agreement with the city to remain open.
The commander then announced that anyone who remained inside would be
arrested and charged with trespassing.

After clearing the park, police officers and private security guards
began placing a ring of metal barricades on the park's perimeter, as
those who had been arrested were placed inside a city bus.

At one point, a woman who appeared to be suffering from seizures
flopped on the ground in handcuffs as bystanders shouted for the
police to remove the cuffs and provide medical attention. For several
minutes the woman lay on the ground as onlookers made increasingly
agonized demands until an ambulance arrived and the woman was placed
inside.

By 12:20 a.m., a line of officers pushed against some of the remaining
protesters, forcing them south on Broadway, at times swinging batons
and shoving people to the ground.

Kobi Skolnick, 30, said that officers pushed him in several directions
and that as he tried to walk away, he was struck from behind in the
neck. "One of the police ran and hit me with a baton," he said.

Earlier that afternoon, as protesters gathered under blue skies while
carrying banners and signs, the day was in some ways reminiscent of
the first time the Occupy protesters gathered in mid-September. Just
after 1 p.m., brandishing placards with messages like "Take back
government from corporations," the crowd left Zuccotti Park headed
south on Broadway, chanting the now familiar slogan "We are the 99
percent."

When the first protesters set foot in the financial district six
months ago, few people imagined what would follow, including a
two-month encampment in Lower Manhattan, similar camps in cities
across the country and critiques of corporate greed becoming part of
the national dialogue.

The movement was mainly quiet during the winter, but organizers said
they were aiming for a springtime resurgence.

"It's just a reminder that we're here," Brendan Burke said, as the
crowd marched past the New York Stock Exchange. "It's an opportunity
to remind Wall Street that we aren't going anywhere."

In several respects, Saturday's march was similar to the inaugural
one. The crowd was small but spirited and marched past the bronze
sculpture of a bull at Bowling Green, which had served as a mustering
spot for the first march. Marchers were accompanied by police officers
on foot and on scooters who at one point blocked access to Wall
Street, just as they did on Sept. 17.

And, as they did that day, the marchers made sudden turns that
appeared to surprise the police and walked along Wall Street for at
least a brief time.

At one point, several demonstrators stood on the steep steps of
Federal Hall and chanted "1-2-3-4, I declare class war."

Later, members of the group ignored orders from the police to remain
on sidewalks and flowed onto parts of Exchange Place and Beaver
Street. Later, on Broad Street, a deputy inspector turned to a
sergeant and said, "We got to start collaring some."

For the next 30 minutes or so, things remained calm as marchers stuck
to the sidewalks and entered Zuccotti Park.

But then, just after 2 p.m., police officers began telling a large
group of protesters that they could not stand on the sidewalk on a
stretch of Liberty Street. Officers pushed the crowd until more than
100 protesters on the sidewalk were pressed against a wall that
borders the park.

Then the police began grabbing and arresting people, taking into
custody at least half a dozen. Officers surged into the crowd,
dragging protesters toward the street, as people yelled objections.

"They were grabbing people randomly," Zachary Kamel said, adding that
his girlfriend, Lauren DiGoia, had been arrested while dancing on the
sidewalk.

One sergeant grabbed a woman wearing a green shirt by the bottom of
her throat and shoved her head against the hood of a car. A moment
later, another officer approached and forcefully pressed her head
against the car before placing her into the back of a police truck.

Over the next few hours, protesters conducted meetings inside Zuccotti
Park and held a dance party fueled by a saxophone and a battery of
drums. Sporadic moments of tension also arose.

At one point, the police arrested a handful of protesters on Cedar
Street near Trinity Place. A few moments later, near Cedar Street and
Broadway, a police captain pushed a man by the shoulders for almost a
block, then released him when a crowd loudly demanded to know whether
the man was under arrest.

The man, Charlie Gonzalez, 31, said that the captain had told him he
was not permitted to stand on the sidewalk.

About an hour later, the same captain pushed another man several
hundred feet east down Cedar Street, about a block from Zuccotti Park,
and briefly detained him.

That man, Yoni Miller, 19, said he was counting officers standing in
rows near Broadway when the captain forced him to walk around a corner
onto Cedar Street, then asked him if he was a terrorist or was
planning any crimes.

Paul Moore, 25, said that he was videotaping the encounter when the
captain asked him for identification and began pushing him away,
telling him he was not permitted to document what was happening.

After nightfall, the number of people inside the park swelled to more than 500.

About 10 p.m., some of those in the park began a regimen of running
and dancing that they called "spring training," which they said was
meant to prepare for coming demonstrations.

At 10:30, protesters sprung up a green tarp, folded over a piece of
rope suspended from two trees near the center of Zuccotti Park.
Security and police officers looked on from the perimeter.

More:
http://p.nytimes.com/email/re?location=cdOHbQcFwieSwGnV/swc3pcO+JEZkG243empz0btCl3fhL9Sj+ybfQBKp500oW0MXvEnhqRPAPsLcncxVN6ruJIfRogi+WdDUs6P59TO4Vyge0UshVb4vCOB1nQZENetCAqaxVqYejzIwr4Sd91tuSV5bfqj7AWY/Pb8SgUE1MCZuc7zuVoSlYXtUlb+33yfNm0iwP2OQ6o=&campaign_id=61&instance_id=13750&segment_id=31060&user_id=306f04b20902c4fa5735282b605fa80b

--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy



--
Together, we can change the world, one mind at a time.
Have a great day,
Tommy

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum

* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

--
Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups.
For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum
 
* Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/
* It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls.
* Read the latest breaking news, and more.

Re: The Time for Soul-Searching Has Arrived

Good Morning Michael,
 
That's a bit of an extreme assessment don't ya think?
 
And Jacob? Geesh!  Talk about revisionist history......
 
Do you think the United States big big really big long term plan,  (as Hornberger alludes)  was to have, " a wasteland of death, destruction, depression, and impoverishment. And it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing all the things that the Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people who resist the dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing them, and executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the interventionists, the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S."
 
I think not.



On Sun, Mar 18, 2012 at 9:48 AM, MJ <michaelj@america.net> wrote:
"The reality is that Iraq is not a paradise. It is an absolute disaster. It is a wasteland of death, destruction, depression, and impoverishment. And it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing all the things that the Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people who resist the dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing them, and executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the interventionists, the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S.
"It's no different in Afghanistan. That country is another wasteland of death, destruction, impoverishment, and depression. The Karzai regime is nothing but a crooked, corrupt, brutal pro-U.S. dictatorship."

Tuesday, March 13, 2012
The Time for Soul-Searching Has Arrived
by Jacob G. Hornberger

How ironic. Countless American Christians supported the U.S. government's war of aggression on Iraq, and now consider this headline from last Sunday's New York Times: "Exodus from North Signals Iraqi Christians' Slow Decline."

And now we learn that an American soldier went on a killing rampage in Afghanistan, walking into people's homes in a brutal shoot-up that ended up killing 16 people, including women and children.

How come so many Americans still can't recognize that the U.S. invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan have been disasters? Why must they feel compelled to support some type of mythical, delusionary picture that has nothing to do with reality?

Look at Iraq. At first U.S. officials convinced Americans to support an invasion of the country under a principle of preventive self-defense. Recall that U.S. officials said the same thing about Iraq that they're now saying about Iran. Saddam Hussein is on the verge of producing a nuclear weapon. He intends to attack the United States. We have to attack now. The smoking gun might be a mushroom cloud rising over American cities.

All too many Americans simply deferred to authority, as they had been taught to do in the government-approved schools they were forced to attend. U.S. officials have access to information that we don't have, they said. They would never lie to us. They don't want to go to war against Iraq. They're just protecting national security.

How many Americans even considered the possibility that this was all a charade, one designed to oust Saddam Hussein from power and replace him with a pro-U.S. dictator? It wasn't that difficult to see. Don't forget that that's what those 11 years of brutal sanctions were all about -- the sanctions that killed hundreds of thousands of Iraqi children. The invasion of Iraq was intended to achieve what the sanctions had not achieved. It wasn't difficult to frighten Americans into falling for anything after 9/11.

Indeed, what happened after it was determined that there were no WMDs in Iraq? Did Americans feel bad about having supported a war in which countless people had been killed and maimed, given that the U.S. government was wrong in its WMD assessment? Did soldiers have crises of conscience for having killed and maimed innocent people -- that is, people whose government never intended to attack the United States with WMDs -- people who were entirely innocent of the 9/11 attacks. Wouldn't that have been the time for a massive congressional investigation into whether U.S. officials had intentionally deceived the American people regarding those WMDs?

Nope. Instead, people simply deferred to authority when U.S. officials shifted to the alternative justification for invading Iraq -- that U.S. officials actually loved the Iraqi people so much that they wanted to bring them freedom and democracy through a deadly military invasion and occupation. And to prove their love of the Iraqi people, U.S. officials made it clear that they were willing to kill and maim as many Iraqis as necessary to bring freedom and democracy to Iraq.

What a crock. If they loved the Iraqi people so much, how come there was never an upward limit on the number of Iraqis they were willing to kill and maim to achieve regime change? How come they treated Iraqis in Abu Ghraib prison the way that Saddam Hussein treated them? Is that the way you treat people whom you love?

And look at the result in Iraq. U.S. officials, along with their loyal interventionist supporters, continue to tell the American people that Iraq is now a paradise of freedom, democracy, and prosperity.

Oh? If Iraq is now such a paradise, then why is there an exodus of Christians from Iraq?

The reality is that Iraq is not a paradise. It is an absolute disaster. It is a wasteland of death, destruction, depression, and impoverishment. And it is headed by a dictatorial regime that is doing all the things that the Saddam Hussein regime was doing -- killing people who resist the dictatorship, incarcerating people without trial, torturing them, and executing them. Worst of all, from the standpoint of the interventionists, the regime is more pro-Iran than it is pro-U.S.

It's no different in Afghanistan. That country is another wasteland of death, destruction, impoverishment, and depression. The Karzai regime is nothing but a crooked, corrupt, brutal pro-U.S. dictatorship.

Sure, it's horrible that that U.S. soldier killed those 16 people, but that's what U.S. forces have been doing ever since they invaded the country. Just think about all the wedding parties they've bombed and killed. Think about that Wikileaks video showing that helicopter gunship firing at people who were doing nothing more than rescuing people who had been injured from a U.S. attack. Think of all the people who have been killed, maimed, tortured, and incarcerated -- that is, people who had nothing to do with 9/11 and whose worst crime wastrying to rid their nation of an unlawful invader and occupier. Think about all the people who have been languishing in Bagram prison for years without trial.

Oh, but we're not supposed to think about such things. We're supposed to blindly accept the government's pronouncements. We're supposed to support the troops. We're supposed to turn a blind eye to the reality of U.S. foreign policy. We're supposed to suppress our consciences and simply look down, remaining silent or, better yet, supportive of whatever the government is doing.

Speaking of the law, where are the congressional declarations of war against Iraq and Afghanistan that the U.S. Constitution requires? Interventionists can rail against that requirement all they want, but the law is the law. If they don't like the law, they have a remedy -- get it changed through constitutional amendment. As long as it's the law, it is supposed to be followed. If it's now, that makes the U.S. government the law-breaker.

The law wasn't followed, not in Iraq and not in Afghanistan. That makes both wars illegal under our form of government. The U.S. government is a lawbreaker in both instances. The invasions and occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan, which have killed and maimed so many people and destroyed both countries, have both been conducted in violation of the highest law of our land, the Constitution, the law that we the people have imposed on our public officials.

And look at what these illegal wars, together with U.S. foreign policy before 9/11, have done to freedom in our country. We now live under the iron umbrella of a massive national security state, one that resembles that of the Soviet Union. The U.S. government now wields the authority to monitor and spy on Americans, in the name of national security and the war on terrorism. That's what the KGB and, for that matter, the Gestapo did too.

The government also now wields the authority to round up Americans, incarcerate them for life without trial, torture them, and even execute them. The Gestapo and the KGB had the same authority.

Indeed, the government now wields the omnipotent power to assassinate Americans and everyone else in the world. Did the KGB and Gestapo have that authority? I would assume so but I'm not sure.

Meanwhile, Americans continue singing about how free they are. They continue praising the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for "defending our freedoms." No people in history better exemplify the words of Johann Goethe than the American people of our time: None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.

The endless question for "national security" has destroyed all sense of morality and freedom in America. While the national security state continues to plunge our nation into moral debauchery through its antics overseas -- in the name of "national security" -- it continues to tighten the noose here at home with respect to our freedom. The tighter the noose is drawn, the more Americans sing about how free they are.

Meanwhile, the Empire is bankrupting us. Most Americans are struggling to make ends meet. At the same time, federal spending and debt continue to soar, with the Federal Reserve doing what it's done since its founding in 1913 ­ printing the money to pay off the government's ever-increasing debt -- the decades-long process of monetary debasement. Nonetheless, while Americans lament the spending and debt, they continue celebrating the warfare state, which is in large part responsible for America's fiscal problems.

How long will the American people permit this to go on without finally putting a stop to it? How many more Afghans must be killed before Americans say enough is enough? How many more infringements on our freedom at home must be implemented before Americans say enough is enough? How many angry, murderous rampages by U.S. troops must U.S. soldiers undertake before Americans say enough is enough? How many more suicides of U.S. troops before American say enough is enough. How many Christians must exit Iraq before American say enough is enough.

It's time for Americans to do some serious soul-searching. It's time they look deep within themselves for answers rather than to the supercilious pronouncements of their government officials. It's time for Americans to challenge what their government is doing to people over there and what it's doing to Americans here at home. It's what genuine patriotism is all about. It's what genuine morality is all about. It's what individual responsibility is all about. It's what conscience is all about. It's what a free society is all about.

http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2012-03-13.asp

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