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AS THE WORLD SQUIRMS

 

Trenchant Political Comment, Videos and More…

 

~Note: Articles & commentaries contained herein may have hotlinks, emphasis and formatting added to afford an additional perspective.~

 

Tuesday - January 23, 2007

 

~Favorite Quotes~

 

ARCHIVE

 

As The World Squirms

 

Commentary Etc.

(Press ‘F11’ function key on keyboard to toggle back and forth between full-screen and regular viewing modes – sound on!)

 

 

Music/Music-Videos

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·         August 30, 2006

·         September 2, 2006

·         October 17, 2006

·         October 18, 2006

·         October 21, 2006

·         October 23, 2006

·         October 24, 2006

·         October 25, 2006

·         October 28, 2006

·         November 5, 2006

·         November 6, 2006

·         November 9, 2006

·         November 13, 2006

·         November 14, 2006

·         November 15, 2006

·         November 19, 2006

·         November 21, 2006

·         November 26, 2006

·         November 29, 2006

·         November 29, 2006 (SPECIAL: An open letter to the American People from Iranian President Ahmadinejad)

·         December 3, 2006

·         December 11, 2006

·         December 13, 2006

·         December 15, 2006

·         December 17, 2006

·         December 23, 2006

·         January 21, 2007

·         January 23, 2007

 

 

 

 

 

 

Israel Lobby

Video Commentary

 

·         Jimmy Carter on ‘Hardball’: 39th U.S. president speaks candidly on his new book condemning  Israeli imposed Palestinian ‘Apartheid’ (Video)

·         President Carter on Jay Leno: Israeli Crimes and Peace For Israel… (Video)

·         President Carter, Mearsheimer and WaIt and The Israel Lobby (Video)

·         Scott Ritter: Israel's influence of US policy & the Israel lobby (Video)

·         "Israel Lobby" authors Steven Walt and John Mearsheimer (Video)

·         Democracy Now: The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy(Video)

·         Israel Lobby - John Mearsheimer: Pro-Israel lobby has warped U.S. policy Pt.1 (Video)

·         Israel Lobby – John Mearsheimer: Pro-Israel lobby has warped U.S. policy Pt.2(Video)

 

 

General

·         September 9, 2006: “No More Lies! What Really Motivated The 9/11 Hijackers? (Video)

·         British MP George Galloway Speaks Out On Israel, Hezbollah And ‘Zionist State Terrorism’ (Video)

·         Palestine & Lebanon: Watch The Destruction! (Video)

·         Saddam Hussein: “Thanks For The Memories”, He Was Always Washington’s Man – Always! (Video)

·         Iraq, The Real Story – BBC Newsnight Report (Video)

·         9/11 - Selective Memory –Parody (Animation)

·         9/11 Vendetta – Past, Present & Future (Video)

·         Don’t Shut-Up, Stand-Up!  (Video)

·         Classic George Carlin Rant – Trenchant and Profane - Caution,  ‘colorful’ Use of Profanity and Much Truth (Spoken)

·         Keith Olbermann: The ‘Murder’ of Habeas Corpus (Video)

·         Bush's "Comma" Comment On Iraq (Video)

·         Keith Olbermann: Military Commissions Act, A Special Comment (Video)

 

·         “Bring ’Em Home” – Bruce Springsteen’s New Antiwar Anthem (Music-Video)

·         September 4, 2006:” John The Revelator”- Depeche Mode (Music-Video)

·         ‘Fascist Christ’ - Todd Rundgren (Music-Video)

·         ‘Right Now…’ (Music-Video)

·         Bush-Blair “Endless Love” –Parody (Music- Video)

·         Mamas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up To Be Pages” (Music)

·         ‘Whatever Happened To Peace On Earth’ – Willy Nelson’s New Antiwar Anthem  (Music)

 

 

 

 

 

SELECT ESSAYS

 

 

QUOTES

 

 

BREAKING THE SILENCE

John Pilger

(ITV Video Documentary)

Washingtons Run Amuck Foreign Policy - Inviting Terrorism

and Weapons of Mass Destruction to the American Homeland

 

 

 

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Bloody Monday: 158 Iraqis, 1 GI Killed; 226 Iraqis Wounded, 4 GIs Wounded

 

News & Comment

 

 

“Political language ... is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder

respectable, and to give an appearance of solidity to pure wind.”

 

~George Orwell~

                                                                                                                                   

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It's The 'Foreign Policy' Stupid!

 

                                                                                          

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Arch Neocon Richard Perle: Bush Will Green Light Iran Attack…

KurtNimmo.com

Sunday January 21st 2007, 11:16 pm

 

(Excerpt)

 

Richard Perle, more accurately referred to by his moniker, the Prince of Darkness, tells us from Herzliya, Israel, that Bush will eventually give the order to kill Iranians.

 

If all options were exhausted in the attempt to stop the Iranian nuclear project, and US military involvement was needed for a successful strike on Tehran, US President George Bush would give the green light for the operation, former director of the US Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, Richard Perle, told the Herzliya Conference on Sunday evening, reports Yedioth Internet.

 

Perle may fool a few Israelis, even more than a few Americans, those who bother to notice, but for the rest of us, those who have followed this gang of criminals for nearly five years, he is simply blowing smoke out of a certain orifice.

 

Asked if Bush and the neocons would do it, that is engage in mass murder, Perle responded, I think that until the day he leaves office, this is a president that, if he is told, Mr. President, you are at the point of no return, I have very little doubt that this president would order the necessary military action.

 

The Prince of Darkness would have us believe the point of no return is Iran armed to the teeth with nukes, a demonstrable fairy tale. In fact, Bushs point of no return is the day he leaves office, failing to accomplish the neocon plan of sowing ruin and chaos in the Middle East.

More…

 

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«Babylon-2»: On US-Israeli Plans For a Nuclear War

 

Dmitriy Baklin

Global Research, Strategic Cultural Foundation, Russia

January 20, 2007

 

(Excerpt)

 

The operation planned by Washington and Tel Aviv is going to be the first use of nuclear weapons since 1945 when the US dropped nuclear bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, thus starting the first epoch of nuclear wars in the worlds history. And though the TNT equivalent of the bombs Israel plans to use is 15 times less than that of the bomb dropped on Hiroshima, the consequences of their use are going to be terrible.

The thing is not even that Iran may stop its 2.5 million barrels per day oil export or, say, block the Strait of Hormuz, through which 40% of the worlds oil exports is taken out on a daily basis. Even the bleak prospect of having Iranian anti-ship missiles turn the Persian Gulf into a mass grave for the US Navy group, which is currently deployed there and which may well participate in the strike against Iran, may seem only an overture to a greatest tragedy. Though, for the US, losing even a single aircraft carrier may be equal, in terms of its psychological effect, to the events of September 11, 2001.

It may not be ruled out that Iran the country which is not called anything but «terrorist 1» in both Israel and the US may make a retaliatory move, using its Shahab-3 missiles equipped with radiological warheads, better known as warheads of the so-called «dirty» type. Such a warhead may be equipped with 500-700 kg of semi-enriched dustlike uranium concentrate. Even a single missile launch may mean a dozen of Chernobyls for Israel and the US army group just as for other countries in the Middle East.

Would it not be advisable for «hot heads» in Israel and the US to heed the words of U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who referred to Irans desire to possess a nuclear potential as an attempt to establish a power balance in the region, noting that Iran needs a nuclear arsenal as deterrence against Israel?

By the way, this is not the first time that these opinions have been voiced in the US. On November 16, 2005, the US National Security Archive disclosed documents dating back to Richard Nixons presidential term, which indicate that the US Department of State during the Cold War was seriously concerned that its key Middle Eastern ally might launch a nuclear arms race in the region.

A 1969 memorandum from Assistant Secretary of State Joseph J. Sisco refers to existing intelligence on «Israels rapidly developing a capability to produce and deploy nuclear weapons», despite its commitment not to be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the region.

Joseph J. Sisco asked Secretary of State William Rogers to try and curb Israeli ambitions before it is too late. «If this process continues, and it becomes generally assumed that Israel has the bomb, it will have far-reaching and even dangerous implications for the U.S.», the Assistant Secretary of State wrote. Speaking of the perilous consequences, he especially emphasized that «Israels possession of nuclear weapons would do nothing to deter Arab guerrilla warfare, on the contrary it would add a dangerous new element to Arab-Israel hostility ».

 

This gives added substance to the warning that came in Dmitry Sedovs article «2007 to open a new page in the worlds history», in which the author refers to motivations underlying Teherans aspirations for nuclear parity with Israel and the likelihood of a regional nuclear conflict.

Dmitry Sedov also refers to ways of avoiding this conflict. If the world community is genuinely interested in finding a solution for this problem, «there immediately emerges an option for establishing a regional nuclear-free zone in the Middle East. Under this option, Israel would get an official guarantee of military assistance from the US in the event of a military aggression and would destroy its bombs, whereas Iran would light-heartedly renounce uranium enrichment, buying finished fuel elements from Russia». In this case, however, one would need to «take a step towards settlement of the Middle Eastern problem on principles of equality, which appears unthinkable to the US and Israel. For the following step would mean radical concessions on the part of Israel, which would be the only way to peace, withdrawal from occupied territories to the boundaries defined by the UN, and establishment of an independent Palestinian state». And this is something to which Washington and Tel Aviv are adamantly opposed.

It should be unambiguously stated that, in the event of an Israeli nuclear attack against Iran, the US will automatically become an accessory of the aggressor in creating nuclear weapons, their proliferation in the Middle East and their use in an armed conflict that cannot help growing into a big nuclear war.

 

 

More…

 

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Will Bush Pull an LBJ?
Will he phony up an Iranian Gulf of Tonkin incident?

 

I am concerned, however, that a contrived Gulf of Tonkin–type incident may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran.”

 

Rep. Ron Paul ( R-TX)

1.11.07

 

(Excerpt)

Though weve been in Iraq nearly four years, the meager goal today simply is to secure Baghdad. This hardly shows that the mission is even partly accomplished.

Astonishingly, American taxpayers now will be forced to finance a multi-billion dollar jobs program in Iraq. Suddenly the war is about jobs! We export our manufacturing jobs to Asia, and now we plan to export our welfare jobs to Iraq all at the expense of the poor and middle class here at home.

Plans are being made to become more ruthless in achieving stability in Iraq. It appears Muqtada al Sadr will be on the receiving end of our military efforts, despite his overwhelming support among large segments of the Iraqi people.

Its interesting to note that one excuse given for our failure is leveled at the Iraqis themselves. They have not done enough, were told, and are difficult to train.

Yet no one complains that Mahdi or Kurdish militias or the Badr Brigade (the real Iraq government, not our appointed government) are not well trained. Our problems obviously have nothing to do with training Iraqis to fight, but instead with loyalties and motivations.

We claim to be spreading democracy in Iraq, but al Sadr has far more democratic support with the majority Shiites than our troops enjoy. The problem is not a lack of democratic consensus; it is the antipathy toward our presence among most Iraqis.

In real estate the three important considerations are location, location, location. In Iraq the three conditions are occupation, occupation, occupation. Nothing can improve in Iraq until we understand that our occupation is the primary source of the chaos and killing. We are a foreign occupying force, strongly resented by the majority of Iraqs citizens.

Our inability to adapt to the tactics of 4th-generation warfare compounds our military failure. Unless we understand this, even doubling our troop strength will not solve the problems created by our occupation.

The talk of a troop surge and jobs program in Iraq only distracts Americans from the very real possibility of an attack on Iran. Our growing naval presence in the region and our harsh rhetoric toward Iran are unsettling. Securing the Horn of Africa and sending Ethiopian troops into Somalia do not bode well for world peace. Yet these developments are almost totally ignored by Congress.

Rumors are flying about when, not if, Iran will be bombed by either Israel or the U.S. possibly with nuclear weapons. Our CIA says Iran is ten years away from producing a nuclear bomb and has no delivery system, but this does not impede our plans to keep everything on the table when dealing with Iran.

We should remember that Iran, like Iraq, is a third-world nation without a significant military. Nothing in history hints that she is likely to invade a neighboring country, let alone do anything to America or Israel. I am concerned, however, that a contrived Gulf of Tonkintype incident may occur to gain popular support for an attack on Iran.

Even if such an attack is carried out by Israel over U.S. objections, we will be politically and morally culpable since we provided the weapons and dollars to make it possible.

Mr. Speaker, lets hope Im wrong about this one.

 

 

 

More…

 

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Bush Poll Ratings Before Speech Fall to Nixon's Level

 

Nadine Elsibai

Bloomberg (Update 2)

1.22.07

 

Jan. 22 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush's approval ratings are now the lowest for any president the day before a State of the Union speech since Richard Nixon in 1974, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll.

 

Sixty-five percent of those surveyed said they disapprove of how Bush is handling his job as president while 33 percent approve. The rating matches Bush's career low in a May 2006 poll.

 

Seventy-one percent of Americans said the country is on the wrong track, up from 46 percent in an April 2003 poll, the month after the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. A majority of those polled this month don't approve of how Bush is handling the Iraq war, terrorism or the economy.

 

More…

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View of US's global role 'worse'

The view of the US's role in the world has deteriorated both internationally and domestically, a BBC poll suggests.

BBC – UK

1.23.07

 

The World Service survey, conducted in 25 nations including the US, found that three in four respondents disapproved of how Washington had dealt with Iraq.

 

The majority of the 26,381 respondents also disapproved of the way five other foreign policy areas had been handled.

 

The poll, released ahead of President Bush's State of the Union speech, was conducted between November and January.

 

The number of those who said the US was a positive influence in the world fell in 18 nations polled in previous years.

 

In those countries, 29% of people said the US had a positive influence, down from 36% last year and 40% two years ago.

Across the 25 countries polled, 49% of respondents said the US played a mainly negative role in the world.

 

In Kenya, Nigeria, the Philippines and the US most of those polled said they thought America had a positive role.

 

But among Americans, the number of those who viewed their country's role positively fell to 57% - six percentage points down from last year and 14 percentage points down from two years ago.

 

More…

 

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FASCISM

 THE FASCIST’S DEFINITION

 

“Fascism is an extreme right-wing ideology which embraces nationalism as the transcendent value of society. The rise of Fascism relies upon the manipulation of populist sentiment in times of national crisis. Based on fundamentalist revolutionary ideas, Fascism defines itself through intense xenophobia, militarism, and supremacist ideals. Although secular in nature, Fascism's emphasis on mythic beliefs such as divine mandates, racial imperatives, and violent struggle places highly concentrated power in the hands of a self-selected elite from whom all authority flows to lesser elites, such as law enforcement, intellectuals, and the media.”

 

“...The Fascist State organizes the nation, but leaves a sufficient margin of liberty to the individual; the latter is deprived of all useless and possibly harmful freedom, but retains what is essential; the deciding power in this question cannot be the individual, but the State alone....”

 

Benito Mussolini

 

 

 

 

 

 

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An extraordinarily prescient TV interview with General Norman Schwarzkopf and Robert Gates - Deputy National Security Advisor to Former President George Bush Sr.

 

Why Invading Iraq Was A Very Stupid Idea…

 

(Click on blinking dot above for video)