Beto isn't quite the progressive savior

https://twitter.com/RepBetoORourke/status/1037785305393373184?s=19

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Beto O’Rourke’s presidential flare reminds progressives of his fawning to AIPAC

https://mondoweiss.net/2018/11/orourkes-presidential-progressives/

I thought this guy was progressive! Some people call him the white Obama (which is a bit problematic) and are hoping he'll run for president one day. I followed that election with mild interest because after all, he ran against the Zodiac killer... and that is a joke explained HERE.

Admittedly, I don't know a lot about his positions - I only hoped that more candidates would have the courage to stand for progressive policy and saw a little of that in the way he talked about criminal justice reform, impeaching Trump, and ending the tax cut for the wealthy. But AIPAC?? Unacceptable. I know there are no perfect candidates, but this is a deal breaker should he do anything nationally. Of course, most of the charge of socialism was actually coming from Ted Cruz in that very old tactic of using communism and socialism to conjure the Cold War and McCarthyism of the good ole days when that was enough to scare people into voting for you

The dark roots of AIPAC, ‘America’s Pro-Israel Lobby’

 "The group was formed to spin positive PR after Israeli atrocities."

He says "both sides" a lot and readily acknowledges and sympathizes with Israeli fears of rockets. So far he has zero regard for context or history or for engaging with any Palestinians in any capacity that would bear out an actual care for "both sides," objectivity, or equal treatment, such as meeting with a pro-Palestinian or BDS lobby group (not J Street) equivalent to AIPAC and traveling to Palestine to hear Palestinian objections to being called a demographic threat or concerns about starvation, home and infrastructure demolition, checkpoints destroying lives, and indiscriminate and disproportionate violence for decades. "Both sides^" has nothing to do with Palestinians, though. It is a sorry attempt to dodge criticism that comes with taking an actual moral stand and in so doing, as the expression goes, he takes the side of the oppressor. Actually, that was DEsmond Tutu: "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse, and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality."

^Interesting discussion of false objectivity HERE.

https://www.commondreams.org/views/2012/10/25/objectivity-does-not-mean-neutrality-danger-false-equivalency-media

"The truth does not always lie in the center. In fact, it rarely does."

I don't know his thoughts on Black Lives Matter*, but Palestine is in their platform if I remember correctly. It seems like an accessible "in" for Americans coming to terms with police brutality. If you can understand racism and oppose it, then you should oppose oppression everywhere. Was it the Black Panthers who took that seriously and said that opposition to oppression anywhere advances your own struggle at home? Or maybe this is a Marxist idea. I can't recall, but it's one I agree with.

*Allegedly, Beto stood up for BLM, here, at least in the NFL kneeling controversy.
*Open letter by the Houston BLM to O-Rourke on Facebook

AIPAC 2010

AIPAC 2010 / Harsh messages wrapped in love
Wow. Look at those pictures. Are they going to kiss? So much love. The harshness had dissipated (from the settlement crisis) in the space of about 24 hours. It’s back to the same old love fest. Let the lovin’ begin. Here's my take.

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Some quotes from Secretary of State Clinton at the most recent AIPAC Conference:
Netanyahu's are below hers.

"And I'm very pleased that you will be hearing from a good friend of mine, Congressman Jim Langevin, a great champion for Israel. And let's hear it for Jim."

-- ??? Let it be known throughout the land we love Israel no matter how they spit on our faces or disregard law. We are proud of that? I have to look into Langevin to see what the deal is with the odd shout out...

"Petitioning your government, expressing your views, speaking up in the arena - this is what democracy is all about."

--Lobbying for the interests of a foreign government? There are debates (with good reason) that it should be registered as an agent of a foreign government…

"And therefore, we firmly believe that when we strengthen Israel's security, we strengthen America's security."

--Even if this is true, one has to ask- are things such as the Palestinian birth rate (just one example) something you want to support Israel in combating as a security threat??? Israel has a very broad definition of security and even a very broad and generous definition of Israel for that matter, as it often includes land the international community has defined as Occupied Territory. Even if our interests are close, we need to be clear and stand firm in where we deviate and choose international law over Israel’s hearts desires.

"So from its first day, the Obama Administration has worked to promote Israel's security and long-term success."

--What is success? Everything needs decoded in this conflict. For Israel to stay Jewish primarily or stay democratic? Which is more important- peace and democracy or keeping Israel Jewish? Sometimes I’m not sure where we are on that.

“our commitment to Israel's security and Israel's future is rock solid, unwavering, enduring, and forever”

--We should never declare such a thing to anyone. This seems to strike a rather religious tone. You should only declare this sort of devotion to God. Sometimes people confuse modern Israel and God it seems. It’s sad.
Our diplomatic relations should be determined by how well our goals match up, mutual trust, mutual respect, etc; not by whatever is currently governing this relationship. In the trust and respect department, Israel is sorely lacking. I would argue we don't have goals either, but another time...

"Americans honor Israel as a homeland for a people too long oppressed and a democracy that has had to defend itself at every turn, a dream nurtured for generations and made real by men and women who refused to bow to the toughest of odds. In Israel's story, we see our own. We see, in fact, the story of all people who struggle for freedom and the right to chart their own destinies."

--Why, then, can we not see Palestinians struggle for a homeland?? This sounds like their current struggle. I guess we can't see the similarities because we share with Israel the bond of ruthless colonizer. Native Americans probably can see the Palestinian story as their own more easily than we. The bond of colonizers is apparently stronger than more noble values and peace, justice and human rights!


“desert bloom”- Yes, she used these words! Twice. This is one of the biggest lies people still believe is true in the history of the Middle East. This language refers to the big, fat, deliberate lie that the desert was uninhabited, devoid of people, structures, flora and fauna when Israel’s first terrorists turned statesmen arrived on the scene in the 40s and Israel is responsible for all that is good- all greenery, fruit trees, olive trees, industry, trade, culture, food, etc. ??? This is definitely not the case if you know anything about the history of the region.


She gives an account of meeting an IDF soldier, going to a graduation of first responders, visiting the sites of suicide bombings, seeing the faces of the Israeli victims. Though this administration has used the term Palestinian suffering, they don’t stand up and say these sorts of things in solidarity with Palestinians who want peace. Either Clinton hasn’t bothered to visit the sites and people affected by Israeli violence or Palestinian suffering is just words to them. Granted such imagery would not be well received at this engagement, I don't see her saying this anywhere. They constantly give a face to Israeli suffering, while just paying minimal lip service to the massive range of Palestinian suffering.

"Under President Obama's leadership, we have reinvigorated defense consultations, redoubled our efforts to ensure Israel's qualitative military edge, and provided nearly $3 billion in annual military assistance."

--She boasts about US military aid to Israel (even though Amnesty said Gaza-and probably other- attacks couldn’t have happened without it) ??? She should be reminding them that because of this, they owe us- at least to follow international law and our laws so we don't look like total idiots and funders of massacres for doing this!

--Finkelstein boils the Amnesty report, Fuelling Conflict down to 3 points:
1. US is the top supplier of weapons to Israel
2. Supplying weapons to Israel has proven illegal under international and US law
3. Gaza attack could not have happened were it not for US taxpayer money

"New construction in East Jerusalem or the West Bank undermines mutual trust and endangers the proximity talks that are the first step toward the full negotiations that both sides want and need."

--The much publicized tough talk and rebuke. We have again backed down in the face of Israeli pressure. They clearly have learned their lesson. Israel is going to do what it wants and there's nothing we can do about it.


She almost praised Arab leaders, but fell into a comfortable and familiar refrain:

"But their rhetoric must now be backed up by action."

--In the next breath she uses “momentum” toward peace to describe Netanyhu’s actions. ??? In what alternate universe is this remotely possible? He has only nominally accepted the two state solution. Official Israeli policies show disregard for international law and human life and rights. It is with him also that she should use such inflammatory language as “rhetoric” and backing words with actions!

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Some quotes from Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu at the most recent AIPAC Conference:

"In recent decades the hatred of the Jews has reemerged with increasing force, but with an insidious twist. It is not merely directed at the Jewish people but increasingly at the Jewish state."

--Criticism of Israel = anti-Semitism. Everyone's favorite way to avoid meaningful discussion.
--Also, many people think Israel is criticized and reviled becaues it is Jewish, but it is actually hated due to the murder and poverty of the Occupation, disregard for internaitonal law, other countries' allowing them to get away with breaking internaitonal law.

"But Israel should be judged by the same standards applied to all nations, and allegations against Israel must be grounded in fact. One allegation that is not is the attempt to describe the Jews as foreign colonialists in their own homeland, one of the great lies of modern times."

--I agree with that first sentence wholeheartedly. However, Bibi believes Israel is being judged more harshly than other nations when in fact it is catching more breaks than anyone ever has. Clearly, there is a disagreement on the facts vs. myths in the Israel-US relationship as well as the Israel-Palestine relationship. The second sentence is pretty subjective and against modern law and conventional wisdom.

"The connection between the Jewish people and the Land of Israel cannot be denied. The connection between the Jewish people and Jerusalem cannot be denied."

--And the Palestinian connection to the land? If the land was empty upon your arrival in 1948, then who, praytell, did you fight so valiantly against?? And what are the refugees in your area refugees of??

"This is what my government has done for peace. What has the Palestinian Authority done for peace? Well, they have placed preconditions on peace talks, waged a relentless international campaign to undermine Israel's legitimacy, and promoted the notorious Goldstone report that falsely accuses Israel of war crimes. In fact, they're doing right now in the UN in the grotesquely misnamed UN Human Rights Council."

--Ahhh. The old "we've done everything; they've done nothing" refrain. Gotta love 'em for trying. Preconditions. Ask that you follow international law? Is that really too much to ask? If so, who is really the problem, here? That must have been satisfying to slip in another swing at the meticulous Goldstone report and UN. It's international law. You don't have to like it. You have to obey it, though. Unless you deal with the US. Then, you can do whatever you want- provided you can deal with our Presidents' frownie face now and again.

"Regrettably, the Palestinian Authority has also continued incitement against Israel. A few days ago, a public square near Ramallah was named after a terrorist who murdered 37 Israeli civilians, including 13 children. The Palestinian Authority did nothing to prevent it."

--I wonder how many public squares and streets and buildings are named (renamed, that is) for Israelis who have killed, massacred, or ordered such on Palestinians?? Hmmm… Not only is nothing done, they are celebrated as patriots, not the terrorists they were known as before 1948.

Israel doesn't spy on us

Israel's espionage history
http://www.al-awda.org/israelsespionagehistory/

This appears to be a bad link, so here's something that may be similar.

A Long History: Israeli Espionage Against the US
http://www.counterpunch.org/husseini08302004.html

The author of this one also wrote a book that might be interesting:
Breaking the "Unwritten Rule" in Israeli Espionage
http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2008/04/22/couricandco/entry4035870.shtml



These are some older links below. You may remember the Israeli art student debacle where they got caught snoping in classified material and the New Zealand situation, among others.


From an old post on an old blog (of mine):

In this link from 2004, it says Lebanon busted an Israeli spy ring.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3726307.stm

AIPAC Espionage Case Dismissal Gambit Fails
http://www.antiwar.com/orig/gsmith.php?articleid=9517

FBI looks at Pentagon worker in Israel spy probe
http://cnn.org/2004/US/08/28/fbi.spy/index.html

Iran arrests 'spy' faking nuclear company
http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200412/s1256868.htm

Israeli Art Student Mystery
http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2002/05/07/students/index.html

Israeli Diplomat, Spy Suspect Met
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/08/27/national/main639143.shtml

'Mossad spies' jailed over New Zealand passport fraud
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1262362,00.html



Breaking the Taboo on Israel's Spying Efforts on the United States
http://www.alternet.org/story/130891

The Spy Who Loves Us
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article20065.htm



More links- mostly with the Franklin/Jane Harmon/ Rosen/ AIPAC stuff:

http://whatreallyhappened.com/WRHARTICLES/themorus.php?q=themorus.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Franklin_espionage_scandal


Justice Department Aborts Attempt to Hold AIPAC to U.S. Law
http://www.reuters.com/article/pressRelease/idUS147728+22-Apr-2009+PRN20090422

The AIPAC/Rosen spy issues continue to 2009:Why Steve Rosen is Suing AIPAC
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/04/why-steve-rosen-is-suing-aipac/



And a post already on this blog:
My post on last year’s Kadish arrest--
http://notanotherpoliticalblog-j.blogspot.com/2008/04/american-accused-of-giving-nuclear.html

AIPAC- imminent implosion? Dare to dream.

Read a rather encouraging article recently on AIPAC. Surprising, I know.

I already firmly believe we should get AIPAC listed as an agent of a foreign government. There is no question that's what it is. It seems this organization's members are caught time after time passing classified info to Israel. I wonder how many times they've done it and not been caught? Probably far more than they've been caught. Just a guess.

Justice Department Aborts Attempt to Hold AIPAC to U.S. Law
http://news.yahoo.com/s/usnw/20090422/pl_usnw/justice_department_aborts_attempt_to_hold_aipac_to_u_s__law


Hopefully, the organization will self destruct. That's really the best hope we have. Lawmakers are too concerned about being labeled anti-Semitic and not getting elected to go after these folks.

Why Steve Rosen is Suing AIPAC
http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/04/why-steve-rosen-is-suing-aipac/

Israel and children

10-year-old subjected to torture by Israeli soldiers
http://www.dci-pal.org/english/display.cfm?DocId=811&CategoryId=1

How many times have you heard this story in the last week?? If this were an Israeli killed or injured by a homemade rocket, we'd hear it several times a day for several days.

We have very cozy relations with this country, one that we call the only democracy in the Middle East. WHY? It is debatable whether or not they have "democratic values" and respect for human rights. Ok, it's not debatable. They flout international law, continue to build settlements in defiance of international law and our restatement of international law on the subject, and think it's just fine to punish/torture a whole population for the crimes of a few.

McCain, Obama and Hillary Clinton all made appearances at the AIPAC, trying obsequeously to win them over. Obama even abandoned his diplomacy theme (which is something that drew me in) for tough talk on Iran. Our Senators and House members preface their comments in the chamber with prolific praise and examples of how their constituents are friends of Israel. This is disconcerting to say the least, but I'll bet you won't hear them reprimanding their "friend" for this abuse, people that have died at checkpoints, use of human shields, settlement building, etc any time soon.

Why not? We hear about every injury and the periodic death by homemade Palestinian rocket. The Palestinian injuries and deaths mount in almost total silence, though they are almost triple the Israeli deaths. Are there just so many, that people would or have gotten tired of hearing about it? Is it because Israelis look and dress like "us" and Palestinians are brown? Are the Territories just too dangerous to report in, so they look to Israel, which has some action, but not too much? Conspiracy, carelessness, desensitization?

Congress can't speak out or they will lose their AIPAC funding or AIPAC will fund their opponent to get a more pro Israel candidate. Where are the journalists? Journalists seem to love covering hurricanes. They will stand there until they themselves blow away and seem to love every second of it.

Dovi

The Strangulation of Gaza

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20080218/makdisi

Dov Weisglass, explained that

"the idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet but not to make them die of hunger."

This says so many things. This guy is full of ...well ...garbage. First, to have Weisglass saying this and that the disengagement from Gaza was to be political formaldehyde proves that Washington doesn't really listen (or care?) what Israel says/stands for. That's good because maybe we don't actually support apartheid and collective punishment, etc. That's bad because we are funding these horrible things and tacitly supporting them so that our elected officials can keep their grip on power, be it the presidency or congressional seat. Second, we have from the horse's mouth what Israel's intent really is. They don't hide their sinister motives, yet we in the US tend to cloud these issues in order to make Israel sound righteous and downtrodden so that we are justified in supporting them.

Maybe both things come down to the influence of the AIPAC, the Israel lobby, in the US or perhaps Christian Zionists. The latter are interesting. I have read and chatted online with regards them. I can tell you where they draw from the Bible and what their reasoning is for the most part, and I can tell you it's not Biblical and doesn't make a lick of sense.

Reading that quote just made my blood boil. Why do we Americans continue to think Israel has any real interest or intent in helping us? Saying "they are the only democracy in the Middle East" may be soup for the neoconservative soul, but isn't an answer. It doesn't justify the collective punishment they dish out and roadblock to peace they have become. It doesn't justify the illegal acts, extra-judicial assassinations, imprisonments on false or no charges, fake trials, "mistakes" that can either only be carefully planned or the result of an extremely careless, inefficient, inexperienced, inhumane military machine. Fire from homemade rockets which rarely does any real damage is not grounds for starving an entire population, imprisoning them in their homes, and knocking out power so they are in the dark in winter--especially for a military as well-funded and equipped and trained as they are. It is more like ethnic cleansing than a response to "provocation" (...then there's who provoked whom...).

http://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif

This is from one list I'm on. It mentions an interesting book where people detail their experiences with the Occupation, from 1948 or so to the present. It sounds really good. I like reading political stuff and stuff about the conflict, but this has the human interest aspect that I really really love.

“The U.S. president is not above international law”

Interview of Sam Bahour, Palestinian businessman and human-rights spokesperson
Mentions an interesting book…
http://www.michiganpeaceteam.org/LTT_Jan05_2008.htm

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This is from another list I'm on. I haven't gotten a chance to read most of this, but these are the highlights that sounded interesting and that I plan to read when I get a second.

ACTION 3: Racist Zionist says: “The Quran is a book of Hate”
Write to advertisers to stop advertising at this Islamophobe and racist show of Michael Savage. See this link for audio and action item details/contact information for advertisers:
http://nosavage.org?utm_source=rgemail
In the New York Times article on the subject of Savage and his background, we find:
“At one point Mr. Savage — who was born Michael Weiner, and who still is, legally, Michael Weiner — led a visitor to a glass case that included a photo of him as a boy wearing a tallit, or Jewish prayer shawl.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/17/arts/17sava.html
Jews especially need to disassociate themselves from bigots and racists like Weiner/aka Savage and David Frum. Their racism and bigotry if unchallenged by fellow Jews encourages anti-Semitism and hatred
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Must see debate between Zionist Neocon David Frum and George Galloway
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article19099.htm
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Zionist Jews attack Barak Obama. See this vitriolic article that equates calling for an end to the occupation and balanced US foreign policy with “Anti-Semitism”. Bizarre but relevant to understand and to challenge.
http://www.americanthinker.com/2008/01/barack_obama_and_israel.html
The reality is that Obama has gone out of his way to ignore human rights to satisfy the political need to get the Israel-First Lobby
For a an article "How Obama Learned to Love Israel" http://www.electronicintifada.net/v2/article6619.shtml
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These links are from a mailing list I'm on, but I've posted my own comments about the articles below them.

Candidates’ Unconditional Support Isn’t Right for Jewish State by John J. Mearsheimer
http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2008/01/13/6349/
This really is the heart of the matter, the problem/puzzle in this country regarding Israel. It isn’t so much that our lawmakers love Israel; they love power and don’t want to lose their seat in Congress or other government post. He also puts his finger on a relatively new idea for me and that is that such unconditional support for Israel in foreign policy is detrimental to Israel. I hadn’t really thought about it that way until recently, but he’s correct. This is one of the guys at Chicago who wrote that controversial paper on the Israel Lobby in the US.

The Hands of Esau by Uri Avnery (also on Bush’s visit)
http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1200227323/
A very perceptive article on Bushs visit to the region. Avnery agrees with me that it looks as though Bush is trying to overshadow all the bad stuff he and his associates did while in power and how this is a ridiculous notion considering how he has no real clout his last year in office. The whole trip was a sad, sad joke (is there a word for when something is so hopeless and sad that you have to laugh…is that irony?) to me when I heard about it. What can they hope to accomplish in this last year after having neglected theses issues for the first 7 years in office, the parties knowing they won’t be dealing with Bush next year??

Mike Huckabee, Christian Zionist http://www.jewsonfirst.org/08a/huckabee_christian_zionist.html
A very good article that identifies the whole rapture, tribulation 100 year reign Tim LaHaye Left Behind doctrine for what it is: Premillennialism; error according to the Bible. He says Huckabee is a believer in this, which is not suprising since he’s a Baptist preacher, however, it is disturbing that he could be in the White House soon. I don’t know that I agree with the author’s last statement, though! Well, maybe I do in that Romney maybe wouldn’t be as inclined to use this pseudo Biblical principle as a guiding principle for the presidency and foreign policy of this country.

Must Read Gulf News Editorial addressed as a "Letter to George W. Bush"
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/08/01/11/10180995.html
This is a pretty good list of all the things that have really infuriated me about Bush, some of which I have blogged about. It is a seemingly never-ending list.

Israel Lobby Unrelenting in Efforts to Stifle Speech It Doesn’t Want Americans to Hear By Ron David
http://www.washington-report.org/archives/December_2007/0712023.html
Less interesting and more specific-it deals with 3 examples-2 of institutions bowing to Israeli lobby influence and coming to their senses and one of Dershowitz’s fear of debating Finklestein.

Good article in the financial times: Of ordinariness and occupation
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/d631e05e-c0b0-11dc-b0b7-0000779fd2ac.html

Ron Paul Reggae Song http://ronpaulvoterbomb.blogspot.com/

The Arab vote in Michigan (there are half a million Arabs and Muslims in Michigan; their vote can be critical) See this CNN video:
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.6/popup/index.php?cl=5954167

ACTION: Peter Shulman's art exhibit on Palestine will be at Cyclorama at the Boston Center for the Arts between 4 and 10 February. The exhibit is available on loan for the price of shipping. If you are interested please email Linda Elbow at breadpup@together.net
more details at http://breadandpuppet.org/uofmajd.html