Monday, July 21, 2014


We are at war at home, we are at war abroad.  Why??

War at home

I was called communist the other day by a high school acquaintance.  It is probable that the fellow was not clear on the definition, but! words have meanings and this is the meaning of communism:


As previously mentioned I have also been labeled (cover your kid's ears) a liberal!  The accusation in this case purported 'liberal' to mean immoral and holding a hatred toward Christians.

Hopefully readers are aware that the above label of 'liberal' is a terrible falsehood.

The societal implications for these sorts of labels are important.

If you are community/politically minded, and I assume you are if you are reading this, you probably understand that it is important for individuals to have skills to function within a community.

the use of the word community
does not = communist (please see above definition)
...see the implications of exaggerated, false labels!  It impedes the important civil work of a democracy.  

1.  We cannot have a fruitful debate if we don't agree on the definitions of terms- debating being paramount 
      to organizing, collaborating, compromising and solving problems. 

...if the above adjectives are offensive to you, how do you suppose we live together at all?

2.  Labels can dehumanize our neighbors, leaving the door open for injustices

In any case here is a map some famous/infamous leaders' political standing, followed by mine. You can take the test too!

War with Russia

Did anyone watch the Sunday morning shows this past weekend?  It was all, Russia is a bully, Russia is a goon, Russia is a mobster.  OK.  This has been true for some time.

Then there was the hard pushing accusation, Russia is responsible for the plane being shot down in Ukraine.  OK.  Maybe they supplied the missile launcher (though it is not known).

And, Russia should be held accountable for the rebels' actions in Ukraine if they supplied the missile launcher.

Just Russia, right?  I mean, WE can't be held accountable for the terrible things countries have done with the weapons we have given THEM right?

Whew!  for a second there, I thought that integrity had something to do with international politics.  What an idealistic thought.  International politics...and all politics for that matter is simply a game of who is stronger- a bully

strong enough to control the resources and divy them out to their people....

...wait, or is that a mobster? 

strong enough to remove problems in the path of our Ally's interests...

...or is that a goon?

OK.  I agree that Russia is all these things, and they have taken their Bully, Goon, Mobster tactics to different extremes than we have

I noticed Putin taking more freedom with his tyrannical authoritarianism after the Bush Administration started clamping down on us here, in the US, after 9-11.  I am sure I will make more of this point in another post.

Putin has been off cameras for the past week.  Yes, the world has humiliated him- but he is more popular at home than ever.  We should possibly want to be more careful when humiliating such a Mobster-goon-bully....or are we looking to start WWIII again.    As if Iraq wasn't enough.

How is the fate of the Crimea so important to us in the US?  Is the Crimea important enough to US interests to start a war with Russia?  Can we guess who will ally with Russia?  Probably China, and many ME countries.

The alternative is to what?  Allow part of Ukraine to become part of Russia as a part of a course of self-determination by the people of that area?

If this is about the flow of oil again, I swear!!!   F*#!, Damn-it!!  Hell!  Giant!Pisser!  For the love of G*d!

Hmm...I vote WAR!!!   No, seriously, I don't.

Please read the stories below- about a fight for a self-determined future.  We can learn from all struggles toward freedom.  We cannot insert freedom anywhere, it belongs to the people who create it together.  By the people and for the people...

The Phony War, by Tim Judah from The New York Review on Books
Fascism, Russia and Ukraine, by Timothy Snyder from same source 

War in Israel

As previously outlined in another post the advent of the nation of Israel is part of the course of history which ensnares us all.

A group called the Zionist Congress formed in the early 1900's, with members from many countries.
They wanted to re-create the biblical land of Israel according to their religious texts.
They garnered members, money and political support from the British Empire.
The Zionist Congress bought land in the area of Palestine and called their city Tel-Aviv, some other Zionists moved to their newly acquired property.
The British Empire said they would exchange some Palestinian (under imperial control) land to the Congress to further The Zionist Congress' goals. 
Britian did not give them the land promised to them after WWI,
but did help to accept the new Israel as a nation after WWII as part of a UN resolution

Viola!  A new Israel

Sooooo, the Palestinians didn't like that, nor did many Middle Eastern states who supported Palestinian's authority over their own land....

However, as the most dominant forces in the world, Britian and US economic and political policies have kept Arab interests at bay, while we extract their most valuable resource- oil.

Can you glean a cause for resentment here on the part of the Arabs? 

In any case- the Israeli's are on a religious mission to fulfill some religious text.  They have chosen to try and take over a foreign country's territory- against all the rules of modern politics. 

---really, this is old school politics, not the modern civil politics of the Geneva Convention.

Did we support the creation of Israel?  Yes.  Do we have to keep supporting their religious mission?  No.

What is our national interest in Israel?

It is not our fault that Israeli's are there- the Zionist National Congress had this plan long before WWII.

Is this about oil? Because, if it is...F*#!, Damn-it!!  Hell!  Giant!Pisser!  For the love of G*d!

Is it because 'we' identify with 'them' religiously?
       time to exercise separation of Church and State
                ...A Christian friend of mine recently said Muslims need know who else doesn't have
                   Jesus?    The Jewish religion!  The Jewish religion sees Jesus as a dangerous and false prophet.
                ...just to reiterate- the USA should not be waging wars based on a Religion's goals.  

Is not the fact that the Jewish religion and the Christian religion can work as part of a team proof that differing, even contradictory religions can work together?

So,  why are we at war?

International intervention and possible war crimes.

"This is not war, this is annihilation," said 17-year-old Hamed Ayman. "I once dreamt of becoming a doctor. Today I am homeless. They should watch out for what I could become next."