[-V-]

The United States vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution on behalf of Arab states that called on Israel to immediately end its two-week military incursion in Gaza.

In a related diplomatic blunder Bush's response to Isreal's disproportionate bombing retaliation for the kidnapping of two of their soldiers was "Isreal has a right to defend herself".

Obviously, as the Iraq war taught us, he has no clue about the difference between offense and defense and it is this cowboy diplomacy that coninues to make us hated in the world and a target of the Arabs and Muslims.

At the same time he's looking for U.N. backup regarding North Korea and Iran and screwing that up too.

With every day Bush is in power and every word that comes out of his mouth on world affairs America becomes less safe.

[-V-]

President Bush refused to press Israel for a cease-fire in Mideast violence Friday,

I suspect tension in the Middle East is strategized as a plus for the GOP and their "War President" going into the midterm elections.

[cat's meow]

The past two days of the Israel/Lebanon stuff IS EXACTLY WHY I KNEW we were screwed when Dubya went to the Whitehouse. People just don't get it. We are the example to world is working toward peace and Clinton was quite good at trying to keep this stuff under control (at the very least). I would take ten more lies and the BJs to go with it over what is going on in the Middle East any day of the week. I cannot tell you how pissed off I am about Dubya and this State Department (Rice is an idiot, she has done nothing good in the Middle East).

[JamesP]

Israel, the "USA under Bush" and "radical Islam" all persist in the notion that it is possible to kill, bomb, maim & torture one's way to security. That such persistence endures in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary is a kind of madness.

The U.S. and Israel follow the path of violence because "we can"... because we are strong and others weak.... and because we, the people, are afraid. Exhibitions of our military strength make us less afraid... we are "soothed and awed" by our power to kill, destroy & dominate.

Radical Islam proceeds down this hellish path out of weakness, rage, frustration and vengeance.... vengeance, for them, diminishes the shame of their impotence in the face of American & Israeli power.

Of course, the cycle perpetuates itself. It can be interrupted only by leaders courageous enough to act and speak humanely... and to totally reject violence as a solution.

As for Americans, we know that violence doesn't work, but we'll allow no politician to speak this truth out loud.... Our unparallelled capacity for violence makes us dominant in the world and gives us "rights" we don't want to afford to others. Rejecting violence would render us only "equal" to other nations... this would offend our national arrogance and would be "much too high a price to pay for our American soul".

[MAGI]

The past two days of the Israel/Lebanon stuff IS EXACTLY WHY I KNEW we were screwed when Dubya went to the Whitehouse. People just don't get it. We are the example to world is working toward peace and Clinton was quite good at trying to keep this stuff under control (at the very least). I would take ten more lies and the BJs to go with it over what is going on in the Middle East any day of the week. I cannot tell you how pissed off I am about Dubya and this State Department (Rice is an idiot, she has done nothing good in the Middle East).

Hallelujah and amen!

[cat's meow]

I have neard several reports now (in the past two days) of middle east diplomats from several countries really hammering hard on the non- "plan for middle east peace" the Bushanostra has had. Here is the plan, three years and counting:

OIL PRICES UP=eh, we'll think about it, maybe bomb Iraq

OIL PRICES STAY THE SAME=no big deal. maybe bomb Iraq

OIL PRICES DOWN (never see this again)=who really gives a crap about the middle east, maybe bomb Iraq anyhow

[Jane of Arc]

If you want to know how absolutely CRAZED and INHUMANE and POWER HUNGRY these NeoCon Nazi's are read William Kristol's article in The Weekly Standard called "It's Our War." (See the link below.) Mr. Kristol is a brilliant man who makes convincing arguments ... except he forgets it's not the job of the United States to CONQUER AND CONTROL THE DAMN WORLD!!! These pasty, white NeoCon men like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Kristol, who never saw 1 minute of combat, have no problem with the senseless deaths of thousands and thousands more innocent civilians. The world is just a tactical chess game to them. And they intend to win. At any cost.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/433fwbvs.asp

[MAGI]

If you want to know how absolutely CRAZED and INHUMANE and POWER HUNGRY these NeoCon Nazi's are read William Kristol's article in The Weekly Standard called "It's Our War." (See the link below.) Mr. Kristol is a brilliant man who makes convincing arguments ... except he forgets it's not the job of the United States to CONQUER AND CONTROL THE DAMN WORLD!!! These pasty, white NeoCon men like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz and Kristol, who never saw 1 minute of combat, have no problem with the senseless deaths of thousands and thousands more innocent civilians. The world is just a tactical chess game to them. And they intend to win. At any cost.

http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/012/433fwbvs.asp

We have William Kristol & the rest of his PENACabal to THANK for the Iraqi Invasion and resultant devastation and turmoil in the Middle East, not to mention the financial mess we're in...............

Now he's talking bombing Iranian nuclear facilities! It's time to let him know We don't want his advise and to go to H***!

The conclusion of his above article:

"The right response is renewed strength--in supporting the governments of Iraq and Afghanistan, in standing with Israel, and in pursuing regime change in Syria and Iran. For that matter, we might consider countering this act of Iranian aggression with a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Why wait? Does anyone think a nuclear Iran can be contained? That the current regime will negotiate in good faith? It would be easier to act sooner rather than later. Yes, there would be repercussions--and they would be healthy ones, showing a strong America that has rejected further appeasement.

But such a military strike would take a while to organize. In the meantime, perhaps President Bush can fly from the silly G8 summit in St. Petersburg--a summit that will most likely convey a message of moral confusion and political indecision--to Jerusalem, the capital of a nation that stands with us, and is willing to fight with us, against our common enemies. This is our war, too."



- William Kristol

thumbs-down NOT MY "WAR" as Kristol says .......and I'm in agreement with Jane of Arc:

They are "absolutely CRAZED and INHUMANE and POWER HUNGRY" "NeoCon Nazi's"

[MAGI]

Well, I Never thought I'd see the day George Will & I would be of the SAME opinion........on anything! I do NOT, however, agree with all Will writes in this article. This administration should have continued to work diplomatically with the ENTIRE Arab world and Israel ......

but of course
the neoconservatives could not have tried their failed PNAC dream
if THIS ADMINISTRATION used DIPLOMACY!

See:

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/op_ed/hc-will0718.artjul18,0,5686936.story

Learning Limits Of Power
July 18, 2006

`Grotesque" was Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's characterization of the charge that the U.S. invasion of Iraq was responsible for the current Middle East conflagration. She is correct, up to a point. This point: Hezbollah and Hamas were alive and toxic long before March 2003. Still, it is not perverse to wonder whether the spectacle of America, currently learning a lesson - one that conservatives should not have to learn on the job - about the limits of power to subdue an unruly world, has emboldened many enemies.

Speaking on ABC's "This Week," Rice called it "short-sighted" to judge the success of the administration's transformational ambitions by a "snapshot" of progress "some couple of years" into the transformation. She seems to consider today's turmoil preferable to the Middle East's "false stability" of the last 60 years, during which U.S. policy "turned a blind eye to the absence of democratic forces."

There is, however, a sense in which that argument creates a blind eye: It makes instability, no matter how pandemic or lethal, necessarily a sign of progress. Violence is vindication: Hamas and Hezbollah have, Rice says, "determined that it is time now to try and arrest the move toward moderate democratic forces in the Middle East."

But there also is democratic movement toward extremism. America's intervention was supposed to democratize Iraq which, by benign infection, would transform the region. Early on in the Iraq occupation, Rice argued that democratic institutions do not just spring from a hospitable political culture, they also can help create such a culture. Perhaps.

But elections have transformed Hamas into the government of the Palestinian territories, and elections have turned Hezbollah into a significant faction in Lebanon's parliament, from which it operates as a state within the state. And as a possible harbinger of future horrors, last year's elections gave the Muslim Brotherhood 19 percent of the seats in Egypt's parliament.

The Bush administration has rightly refrained from criticizing the region's only democracy, Israel, for its forceful response to a thousand rockets fired at its population. U.S. reticence is seemly, considering that terrorism has been Israel's torment for decades, and that America responded to two hours of terrorism one September morning by toppling two regimes halfway around the world with wars that show no signs of ending.

The administration, justly criticized for its Iraq premises and their execution, is suddenly receiving some criticism so untethered from reality as to defy caricature. The national, ethnic and religious dynamics of the Middle East are opaque to most people, but to The Weekly Standard - voice of a spectacularly misnamed radicalism, "neoconservativism" - everything is crystal clear: Iran is the key to everything.

"No Islamic Republic of Iran, no Hezbollah. No Islamic Republic of Iran, no one to prop up the Assad regime in Syria. No Iranian support for Syria ... " You get the drift. So, The Weekly Standard says:

"We might consider countering this act of Iranian aggression with a military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities. Why wait? Does anyone think a nuclear Iran can be contained? That the current regime will negotiate in good faith? It would be easier to act sooner rather than later. Yes, there would be repercussions - and they would be healthy ones, showing a strong America that has rejected further appeasement."

"Why wait?" Perhaps because the U.S. military has enough on its plate, in the deteriorating wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, which both border Iran. And perhaps because containment, although of uncertain success, did work against Stalin and his successors, and might be preferable to a war against a nation much larger and more formidable than Iraq. And if Assad's regime does not fall after The Weekly Standard's hoped-for third war, with Iran, does the magazine hope for a fourth?

As for the "healthy" repercussions that The Weekly Standard is so eager to experience from yet another war: One envies that publication's powers of prophecy, but wishes it had exercised them on the nation's behalf before all of the surprises - all of them unpleasant - that Iraq has inflicted. And regarding the "appeasement" that The Weekly Standard decries: Does the magazine really wish the administration had heeded its earlier (Dec. 20, 2004) editorial advocating war with yet another nation - the bombing of Syria?

Neoconservatives have much to learn, even from Buddy Bell, manager of the Kansas City Royals. After his team lost its 10th consecutive game in April, Bell said, "I never say it can't get worse." In their next game, the Royals extended their losing streak to 11 and in May lost 13 in a row.

George Will is a syndicated writer in Washington.

[FDRfollower]

Well, I thought I had seen as much insanity from the administration as I could take, but, noooooooooo, they had to go top themselves this time. (hold on to your seats)

Now, not only does Cheney get Bibi Netanyahoo to launch a genocidal war, not only do the Israelis destroy 50 years worth of infrastructure in Lebanon, BUT, if you're an American citizen who's trying to get out of the area, you have to sign a CONTRACT :evil: that states that you are going to pay the government in full for evacuating you from a war that Cheney started. Else, you're on your own. :crazy2:

This Administration is F$#^*@& NUTS!!!!

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.

[MAGI]

Well, I thought I had seen as much insanity from the administration as I could take, but, noooooooooo, they had to go top themselves this time. (hold on to your seats)

Now, not only does Cheney get Bibi Netanyahoo to launch a genocidal war, not only do the Israelis destroy 50 years worth of infrastructure in Lebanon, BUT, if you're an American citizen who's trying to get out of the area, you have to sign a CONTRACT :evil: that states that you are going to pay the government in full for evacuating you from a war that Cheney started. Else, you're on your own. :crazy2:

This Administration is F$#^*@& NUTS!!!!

Sorry, I had to get that off my chest.

I caught a bit of Al Franken yesterday on Air America who spoke with a well known Rabbi.
They BOTH were furious about Israel's over reactive attacks!
The Rabbi spoke of all the Palestinians being held by Israel, at desert camps, without being charged!
It is legal to do so for 6 months!

I thought they said 1,000's of prisoners HELD without being charged.....sound familiar?
and,
who ARE being treated similiarly as the supposedly guilty (?) at Gitmo & Abu Ghraib, ect.!

The Rabbi said Areil Sharon NEVER would have done what the two in charge of Israel are doing!
Sharon would have negotiated a prisoner exchange!

I wish I could remember the Rabbi's name because he has a website and a complete plan for negotiating PEACE with the Palestinians, Lebanon & Syria, it goes back to the 1967 (?) borders...reparations..........a complete Plan for Peace!.!

Yep, little doubt Cheney, but I'm thinking the whole PNAC/bush/WHCabal/Blair/et all, in cahoots with some fanatical Israelites............(?)

WHAT ABSOLUTE STUPIDITY!

We give Israel 2.5 BILLION ANNUALLY and shake our finger at IRAN & SYRIA.............
What hypocrisy! Now we've created even MORE "ter ists" who ARE hostile to us!

EVIL, yes, and :twisted: !

[FDRfollower]

Hold on Magi. Don't overreact to the media :bs:. Israel isn't reacting to anything. Cheney gave Bibi Netanyahoo his (the administrations) full backing for this kind of chaos operation months ago in Colorado. Read the Washington Slimes and the Wall St. Urinal and it's pretty clear, unleash permanent war in the whole region. If Israel is destroyed in the process, eh! so what. That's what you get when you have an insane administration. The congress might as well be sitting in their offices stoned, from their non-response.

Oh! How the mighty have fallen.

[MAGI]

Hold on Magi. Don't overreact to the media :bs:. Israel isn't reacting to anything. Cheney gave Bibi Netanyahoo his (the administrations) full backing for this kind of chaos operation months ago in Colorado. Read the Washington Slimes and the Wall St. Urinal and it's pretty clear, unleash permanent war in the whole region. If Israel is destroyed in the process, eh! so what. That's what you get when you have an insane administration. The congress might as well be sitting in their offices stoned, from their non-response.

Oh! How the mighty have fallen.

FDRfollower, I have tremendous respect for you and am confused by what you say here.
I fully realise this administration wants total chaos in the Middle East. I see we are holding back negotiation and can feel this administration's glee. William Kristol & ilk are loving this.

I have read A few people in Israel (no doubt working with agents here) were just looking for a reason to attack Hamas & Hezbollah and the attack and kidnappings fit the bill.
and ,
yes, just fit the PNAC dream perfectly.

Are you saying Al Franken & his guest are wrong? Do we NOT want Israel and the Arab countries to come to a peacefull agreement? What am I NOT getting?



:confused:

[FDRfollower]

I have read A few people in Israel (no doubt working with agents here) were just looking for a reason to attack Hamas & Hezbollah and the attack and kidnappings fit the bill.
and, yes, just fit the PNAC dream perfectly.

Are you saying Al Franken & his guest are wrong? Do we NOT want Israel and the Arab countries to come to a peacefull agreement? What am I NOT getting?

Hi Magi. Sorry if I confused you there. No, Al's guest is correct, and there are jewish voices speaking out for moderation and a dialogue of civilizations (note my post in the religeon thread). There's no problem in that area. I'm sure that everyone here, and progressives everywhere are sick with worry about what's going on.

The larger issue is, the collapse of the global monetary system, and the G8 summit in Russia right now. Consequently, look at the India bombings in that light too. The Indian government is diplomatically complaining that the financiers of the bombing are "businessmen" in London. The Shanghai Cooperation Organization group of nations brought to the table at the G8 summit, that issue of the danger of the economy and solutions, but, with all the chaos, that discussion was sidelined around "security" issues.

But, the problems goes back a long way, around the issue of why the British created Israel in the first place. The way that the colonial powers divided up the entire area to ensure long term instablity, and the ease of creating conflicts for geopolitical purposes. Don't forget, Southwest Asia was smack dab in the middle of the competing British, French, Russian, and Ottoman empires. While those empires don't exist today (somewhat), don't forget also, the 1920-50's was the height of the British empire, you still have that mindset still in the British Oligarchy of playing the old "Great Game", in an updated version, along with their lackeys in the US who fanatically believe in that mindset, Kissinger, Bzrezinsky, Huntington, Daniel Pipes, and the other Neo-cons.

The popular book "The DaVinci Code" is a cheap plagarization of an old book called "Holy Blood, Holy Land" or some such name. That came off a study of Britains Edward the 7th (the guy who organized WW1) to "document" how the British Royal families are direct descendents of Jesus Christ himself.

In a longer view, you had the Venetian empire organizing (or better blackmailing) the stupid europeans into the insane "crusades" around "liberating" the holy land, when it was more around destroying economic rivals and simply creating chaos for the purposes of dominating the Meditteranean.

I guess this is kind of a rambling essay of a lot of history, but, I hope it gives you a larger view of what's going on. There are bigger forces at play here, and the outcome is going to determine if there are going to be nation states or global empire and an area of the world is a pawn in the larger fight. It's very sad that we still have oligarchies who have no compunction about sacrificing large numbers of humans for their evil plans. It's going to be long term problem for humanity, unless we purge them like a virus.

[MAGI]

I guess this is kind of a rambling essay of a lot of history, but, I hope it gives you a larger view of what's going on. There are bigger forces at play here, and the outcome is going to determine if there are going to be nation states or global empire and an area of the world is a pawn in the larger fight. It's very sad that we still have oligarchies who have no compunction about sacrificing large numbers of humans for their evil plans. It's going to be long term problem for humanity, unless we purge them like a virus.

FDRfollower,
I'd take your classes and would enjoy listening to the discussions..........:sunny:
There is SO MUCH for me to learn.................

and :
Power = Control
& The LOVE of......... MONEY IS the ROOT of ALL EVIL!

[FDRfollower]

Thanks Magi, I might give them sometime. I'll let you know when I'm out on the east coast.

These are some books that give some of the background on what I'm talking about.

Carroll Quigley - The Anglo-American Establishment
Barbara Tuchman - A Distant Mirror and The Guns Of August
Peter Hopkirk - The Great Game: The Struggle for Empire in Central Asia
Robert Dreyfus - Devil's Game: How the United States Helped Unleash Fundamentalist Islam

None of them are "liberal" really, but decent scholars nonetheless. Happy reading! :evil:

[FDRfollower]

FDRfollower,
I'd take your classes and would enjoy listening to the discussions..........
There is SO MUCH for me to learn.................

Oh, how close are you to Mystic CT? That's where my friend lives.

I would guess New Haven, am I right?

[-V-]

President Bush's uncompromising support for Israel in its battle with Hezbollah, a stance now backed by Congress, is threatening to isolate the United States even further from the international community.

It is also putting the administration at odds with fragile democratic governments in the Middle East that it is simultaneously trying to prop up, and sowing increasing anger across the Arab world.

the more they put America and the world in danger, the more secure the GOP feels

[FDRfollower]

the more they put America and the world in danger, the more secure the GOP feels

I'm not sure how "secure" your average political GOP hack is with the mess in the area, unless he's a wacko christian/zionist and is happy with Jews getting killed as they armageddon their way to rapture. :crazy2:

If you're talking about the George Shultz types, yes, the more chaos, the better. The more frightened you can make people, the closer you are towards dictatorship.

[MAGI]

Oh, how close are you to Mystic CT? That's where my friend lives.

I would guess New Haven, am I right?

Nope..............

within an hour of both though.........

[-V-]

and here it is, folks, right out of the horses' mouth/ass:

Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday pointed to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as fresh evidence of the ongoing battle against terrorism that underscores the need to keep President Bush's Republican allies in control of Congress.

"This conflict is a long way from over," Cheney said at a fundraising appearance for a GOP congressional candidate. "It's going to be a battle that will last for a very long time. It is absolutely essential that we stay the course."

[MAGI]

and here it is, folks, right out of the horses' mouth/ass

Quote:
Vice President Dick Cheney on Friday pointed to the fighting between Israel and Hezbollah as fresh evidence of the ongoing battle against terrorism that underscores the need to keep President Bush's Republican allies in control of Congress.

"This conflict is a long way from over," Cheney said at a fundraising appearance for a GOP congressional candidate. "It's going to be a battle that will last for a very long time. It is absolutely essential that we stay the course."

Yea-ahh,
Surprise
u
r
p
r
i
s
e

:rolleyes: :evil: :puke:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

NED! I want Ned Lamont!....... for so many other issues and reasons as well!

[FDRfollower]

If you missed it, here's a transcript.

(Source:cnn, 22.07.06)
LEBANESE PRESIDENT EMILE LAHOUD TOLD CNN IF THERE IS NO CEASEFIRE AND ISRAEL INVADES, THE LEBANESE ARMY WILL JOIN HEZBOLLAH. Lahoud began by detailing the "real massacre" taking place, and reiterated his call for a ceasefire. Asked about diplomatic efforts, he said they'vre brought nothing. Then he said: "Well, I think they are giving more time to Israel to hit, thinking that maybe Hezbollah will give up. Hezbollah will not give up. And because of that there will be more casualties, more destruction."
Asked why he didn't order the army to stop Hezbollah, he answered: "Well, if you knew the interior politics of Lebanon, you will understand that in 2000 Hezbollah was the main liberator of our land. And at the time, the Lebanese army was and still is with what is happening on the frontier. Because, you see, what was happening was Israel with airplanes ... but having the resistance, they think twice. And because of that there is no animosity between the army and the resistance. ... The resistance are Lebanese."
CNN, shocked, asked: "Do you mean the army supports Hezbollah at this time in their fight against Israel?" To which he replied that the Lebanese are united. CNN asked the stupid question: "If you were to call on the army now to stop Hezbollah from attacking Israel, to stop Israel therefore attacking Lebanon. Would that divide the army along sectarian lines? Would the Shi'ites in the army go with Hezbollah?"
Lahoud replied: "In the first place, I wouldn't give such an order. Believe me, Hezbollah has done a lot for Lebanon in liberating this land. ... Hezbollah is part of the government.
CNN: "Would you call upon the Lebanese army to join the fight if Israel invades on a land invasion in large numbers across the border?"
Lahoud: "Of course, the army is going to defend its land, and inside Lebanon they can do a lot. They cannot be strong enough to be against Israel on the frontier, because they have much more stronger materiel and weaponry. Inside [Lebanon] they know the land and, of course, they will fight the invading folks of Israel if it tries to come inside."
He flatly denied that the Israeli attacks had anything to do with the two soldiers' being taken. He said, regarding the demand to release the prisoners: "There were three in Lebanon that have been in prison since 30 years. And there were many, and there was an exchange. So why now, suddenly, after taking two soldiers they have done such a retaliation? Because I believe all was planned from before and, unfortunately, they were waiting for the moment. And when the moment came and these two soldiers were taken, they had the plan of attack. It's not for the reason that the soldiers were taken, it's for other reasons."

[FDRfollower]

U.S. IS RUSHING A SHIPMENT OF PRECISION-GUIDED BOMBS TO ISRAEL, at the request of the Israeli government. The expedited shipment is considered "unusual" by some U.S. military officers and is seen as an indication that Israel still has a long list of targets it wants to hit in Lebanon. The shipment is part of an arms-sale package approved last year that also happens to include a hundred 5,000-pound laser-guided bunker buster bombs. (NYT)

Now, let me get this.

The administration can't supply basic needs for reconstruction in areas such as New Orleans, can't deal with major black-outs in Cities like New York/St. Louis/Los Angeles, but, can expedite constructing and shipping weapons of destruction half-way around the world.

Think that their priorities are a little... screwy??:confused2:

[FDRfollower]

Oh, and let's not forget the solution. This worked to end a couple of centuries long war in Europe, so why not Southwest Asia?

Treaty of Westphalia; October 24, 1648

Peace Treaty between the Holy Roman Emperor and
the King of France and their respective Allies.

I.

That there shall be a Christian and Universal Peace, and a perpetual, true, and sincere Amity, between his Sacred Imperial Majesty, and his most Christian Majesty; as also, between all and each of the Allies, and Adherents of his said Imperial Majesty, the House of Austria, and its Heirs, and Successors; but chiefly between the Electors, Princes, and States of the Empire on the one side; and all and each of the Allies of his said Christian Majesty, and all their Heirs and Successors, chiefly between the most Serene Queen and Kingdom of Swedeland, the Electors respectively, the Princes and States of the Empire, on the other part. That this Peace and Amity be observ'd and cultivated with such a Sincerity and Zeal, that each Party shall endeavour to procure the Benefit, Honour and Advantage of the other; that thus on all sides they may see this Peace and Friendship in the Roman Empire, and the Kingdom of France flourish, by entertaining a good and faithful Neighbourhood.

II.

That there shall be on the one side and the other a perpetual Oblivion, Amnesty, or Pardon of all that has been committed since the beginning of these Troubles, in what place, or what manner soever the Hostilitys have been practis'd, in such a manner, that no body, under any pretext whatsoever, shall practice any Acts of Hostility, entertain any Enmity, or cause any Trouble to each other; neither as to Persons, Effects and Securitys, neither of themselves or by others, neither privately nor openly, neither directly nor indirectly, neither under the colour of Right, nor by the way of Deed, either within or without the extent of the Empire, notwithstanding all Covenants made before to the contrary: That they shall not act, or permit to be acted, any wrong or injury to any whatsoever; but that all that has pass'd on the one side, and the other, as well before as during the War, in Words, Writings, and Outrageous Actions, in Violences, Hostilitys, Damages and Expences, without any respect to Persons or Things, shall be entirely abolish'd in such a manner that all that might be demanded of, or pretended to, by each other on that behalf, shall be bury'd in eternal Oblivion.

III.

And that a reciprocal Amity between the Emperor, and the Most Christian King, the Electors, Princes and States of the Empire, may be maintain'd so much the more firm and sincere (to say nothing at present of the Article of Security, which will be mention'd hereafter) the one shall never assist the present or future Enemys of the other under any Title or Pretence whatsoever, either with Arms, Money, Soldiers, or any sort of Ammunition; nor no one, who is a Member of this Pacification, shall suffer any Enemys Troops to retire thro' or sojourn in his Country.

And so forth and so on. The rest you should read at the Avalon Project (http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/westphal.htm)

[JamesP]

The US rejects all calls for a cease-fire in the Middle-East.
"Cease-fire" = cessation of killing.
We are not in favor.
It is, instead, our view that there has not yet been enough. More is better.
And so, we expedite more special bombs to Israel to help them with the killing.

The "US under Bush" and Israel are, arguably amongst the most warlike nations on Earth, completely comfortable with violence as a solution.
We have so little respect for human life and so little responsibility in wielding ourr enormous military power that we reject calls for an "end to killing". We're not done yet, it seems.
3 policemen were kidnapped - we must bomb and destroy continuously - and dead civilians are perfectly acceptable as "collateral damage".

I am deeply ashamed of my country under this administration... and of the press that repeats the goverment line over and over 24 hours daily.... and of so many of my countrymen who have "bought in" to the violence or closed their eyes to it. We have lost our moral compass as a nation.

[JamesP]

Why is it so difficult for civilized people & nations to agree on a simple and obvious fact:

Actions resulting in dead & burned civilian children can not be justified under the general heading of "defending yourself".

We have created a new immoral standard for modern conflicts that makes "dead babies" perfectly acceptable as a consequence of our "defensive" actions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------


Four children and the cost of war
By Cal Perry
CNN

Monday, July 24, 2006; Posted: 2:42 a.m. EDT (06:42 GMT)


TYRE, Lebanon (CNN)

Standing in front of this 8-year-old boy lying in a hospital bed, the "conflict in the Middle East" and the "cost of war" seem endless and suffocating. His pain cannot possibly be imagined as he shakes uncontrollably in and out of shock. He has blood coming from his eyes.

His name is Mahmood Monsoor and he is horribly burned. In the hospital bed next to him is his 8-month-old sister, Maria -- also burned. Screaming at the top of her lungs is the children's mother, Nuhader Monsoor. She is standing over her baby, looking at her son -- and probably thinking of her dead husband. The smell of burned flesh is overwhelming.

This story, for the Monsoor family, started out as a typical one, probably one that most of us have experienced. They had simply gone on a family vacation to some lovely sunny beaches, but these beaches were in southern Lebanon.

The six of them, like thousands of others, were fleeing the fighting -- trying to get north, waving white flags, when an Israeli bomb or missile slammed into their car. (Watch how the littlest victims are suffering -- 2:54. Viewer discretion is advised.)

The father, Mohammed Monsoor, was killed instantly. His children all were wounded. His wife, who is now crying over two of the wounded children, was in the best physical condition. But as would be the case for any mother and wife, her life, in many ways, ended the minute the car exploded into flames.

The other two Monsoor children, Ahmed, 15, and Ali, 13, are in surgery. Doctors can't tell me if they will make it. They walk away, their heads shaking. Optimism is not a word that breathes truth in this place.

There are more than enough stories like this, in hospitals across southern Lebanon.

[JamesP]

Israel Drops White Phosphorus Bombs, Littlest Victims Suffer

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/072506A.shtml

Jawad Najem, a surgeon at the hospital, said patients admitted Sunday had burns from phosphorous incendiary weapons used by Israel. The Geneva Conventions ban using white phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas.

[JamesP]

34 children killed today by Israeli air strike as Israel continues to
"defend itself".

One can only imagine the feelings of "peace & love" that will be felt by the Arab world as they bury these children and view the news photos of their broken bodies.

Given the present foreign policy of this US administration, we must ask again:
Who benefits if we create an endless supply of terrorists and "war without end"?

[FDRfollower]

I don't know if any of you watch Kevin Sites' reports from war zones around the world, but a few reports he's filmed in Lebanon really give a gut-wrenching up-close view of why the US and Israel are in trouble. Watch his reports from Tyre "Precise Destruction" since he was at the location of a building that got bombed only 15 minutes before he got there. I had difficulty in watching some of the scenes. The people there have no difficulty in naming the US as the instigator.

watch the horror (http://hotzone.yahoo.com/)

[JamesP]

Iran, Syrian leaders laud Hezbollah ‘victory’

Khaled al-Hariri / Reuters

TEHRAN, Iran - A day after Hezbollah and Israel agreed and so far maintained a fragile cease-fire, leaders around the world found reasons to celebrate the outcome.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Hezbollah has “hoisted the banner of victory” over Israel and toppled U.S.-led plans for the Middle East.

Hezbollah’s main backers — Iran and Syria — struck nearly identical notes: heaping praise on the guerrillas as perceived victors for the Islamic world and claiming that Western influence in the region was dealt a serious blow.

“God’s promises have come true,” Ahmadinejad told a huge crowd in Arbadil in northwestern Iran. “On one side, it’s corrupt powers of the criminal U.S. and Britain and the Zionists ... with modern bombs and planes. And on the other side is a group of pious youth relying on God.”
------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, the Bush administration policy of supporting and perpetrating violence against the Arab world (including civilians) has empowered and emboldened America's enemies.

The only question is whether the persistence of this policy is:

- the result of "incompetence, blunder and moral bankruptcy"
or
- an intentional plan to fuel "war without end" and it's hand-maiden: the continued enrichment of "friends of the Bush administration".

[FDRfollower]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Once again, the Bush administration policy of supporting and perpetrating violence against the Arab world (including civilians) has empowered and emboldened America's enemies.

The only question is whether the persistence of this policy is:

- the result of "incompetence, blunder and moral bankruptcy"
or
- an intentional plan to fuel "war without end" and it's hand-maiden: the continued enrichment of "friends of the Bush administration".

According to Cheney's boss, George Shultz and Bernard Lewis, it's the latter.

[FDRfollower]

From Baghdad

to Beruit

Democracy marches on!!

George "Nero" Bush

[-V-]

FDR, I had to delete the photo you linked to at zharov.com at the request of site owner due to copyright violation.

[MAGI]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/03/AR2006110301619.html?nav=rss_politics

Cheney Vows 'Full Speed Ahead' on Iraq War

By Michael A. Fletcher
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, November 4, 2006; Page A08

COLORADO SPRINGS, Nov. 3 -- The Bush administration is determined to continue "full speed ahead" with its policy in Iraq, regardless of Tuesday's midterm elections, Vice President Cheney said Friday.

Cheney said in an interview with ABC News that the administration is convinced that it is pursuing the right path in Iraq.




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"It may not be popular with the public. It doesn't matter, in the sense that we have to continue what we think is right," Cheney said. "That's exactly what we're doing. We're not running for office. We're doing what we think is right."

************************************************** ********************************

And Is this the way they're going to do it?
:confused:

on

http://articles.news.aol.com/news/_a/cameras-show-army-recruiters-misleading/20061103145309990002?ncid=NWS00010000000001

Updated: 05:27 PM EST

Cameras Show Army Recruiters Misleading Students
Colonel Says Incidents Are the Exception, Not the Rule


(Nov. 3) — An ABC News undercover investigation showed Army recruiters telling students that the war in Iraq was over, in an effort to get them to enlist.


Col. Robert Manning said that new recruits were likely to go to Iraq.

Watch Video:
Uncle Sam's Enlistment Lies

ABC News and New York affiliate WABC equipped students with hidden video cameras before they visited 10 Army recruitment offices in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

"Nobody is going over to Iraq anymore?" one student asks a recruiter.

"No, we're bringing people back," he replies.

"We're not at war. War ended a long time ago," another recruiter says.

Last year, the Army suspended recruiting nationwide to retrain recruiters following hundreds of allegations of improprieties.

One Colorado student taped a recruiting session posing as a drug-addicted dropout.

"You mean I'm not going to get in trouble?" the student asked.

The recruiters told him no, and helped him cheat to sign up.

During the ABC News sessions, some recruiters told our students if they enlisted, there would be little chance they'd to go Iraq.

But Col. Robert Manning, who is in charge of U.S. Army recruiting for the entire Northeast, said that new recruits were likely to go to Iraq.

"I would not disagree with that," Manning said. "We are a nation and Army at war still."

Manning looked at the ABC News video of his recruiters.


Most Popular Stories


"It's hard to believe some of things they are telling prospective applicants," Manning said. "I still believe that this is the exception more than the norm. … I've visited many stations myself, and I know that we have many wonderful Americans serving in uniform as recruiters."

Yet ABC News found one recruiter who even claimed if you didn't like the Army, you could just quit.

"It's called a 'Failure to Adapt' discharge," the recruiter said. "It's an entry-level discharge so it won't affect anything on your record. It'll just be like it never happened."

Manning, however, disagrees with the ease the recruiter describes.

"I would believe it's not as easy as he would lead you to believe it is," he said.

Sue Niederer, whose son, Seth, joined the Army in 2002, said she was all too familiar with recruiters' lies.

"They need to do anything they possibly can to get recruits," Niederer said.

Seth was sent to Iraq and was killed by a roadside bomb.

Niederer said she was not surprised by what ABC News had found. She believes it's still a widespread problem. She said that recruiters told Seth he wouldn't be put into combat.

"Ninety percent [are] going to be putting their lives on the line for our country," she said. "Tell them the truth. That's all. Just tell them the truth."

Vote Nov. 7th to protect our young folk and end this manipulated murderous war!



http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=136253

BLOG | Posted 11/03/2006 @ 3:14pm
The Peace Race (Continued)

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Last November, when the falsehoods and deceptions that led our nation into the Iraq War were already clear, as were the staggering human and economic costs, The Nation made this pledge in its lead editorial: "We will not support any candidate for national office who does not make a speedy end to the war in Iraq a major issue of his or her campaign."

Read who's at stake in particular :........

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=136253

[FDRfollower]

No problem -V-, it did its job.