A Storm May Be Gathering in the East

Hello Papamoka Bloggers! Michael Jackson's death - may he rest in peace - came at a fascinating and highly uncertain time geopolitically, distracting us from a darkening political storm in the Middle East.

I'm talking about the clear rejection of religious fundamentalism in Iran - despite the government coup, which I will ignore to make a point. When you combine it with the anti-fundamentalist victory in Lebanon a few weeks ago, the two are very significant. Sadly, they may also represent bad news. Why? I have a theory.

President Obama's speech in Cairo went a long way to encourage moderates in both Lebanon and Iran to get off their backsides and vote against the mullahs. Of course, the Iranian government helped by giving it's electorate every indication their votes would count. They even held a few debates. Amazing, what were they thinking?

Those victories prove to many Middle East experts that people want more freedom, and that things may start to change even more - if Egypt begins to fracture, watch out. The problem is that whenever moderates stand up to extremists all kinds of bad things can happen, such as in Iran. Change that spins out of control can be disasterous, such as when the entrenched leadership begins to feel threatened. The way they are feeling today in Iran, and possibly even Eqypt.

Don't get me wrong, I realize the status quo doesn't work, and we all loved it when the Berlin Wall came tumbling down, but it's clear the Middle East is a powder keg and once ignited it could lead to worldwide conflict. One very dark sign is the growing Iranian-Russian-Chinese alliance - in various forms. Another is the possibility of a fundamentalist crack-down across the Middle East, igniting chaos. I'm convinced that's why more leaders aren't speaking-out. Nobody wants to be responsible for open conflict and mass murder.

Bush was the beginning. He lit the Middle East fuse with the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - two places ill-equipped to handle Western democracy and the freedoms that come with it. Nevertheless, his actions started the pieces moving across the board. Sadly, despite his potential for domestic success, Obama's legacy will most likely be seen through the same presidential prism of the Middle East. Did he control events in the Middle East after Bush, or did he allow them to spin out-of-control?

You see, there is one very hard-to-predict variable. He is the very hard-headed, right-wing Benjamin Netanyahu. I would like to think that he's a Nixon-China kind of guy, but my gut tells me he's more from the Bush-Iraq school. If I were to see the glass-as-half-empty, I would guess he's the George W II. That to me is a terrifying prospect.

He's already ignoring the significance of the Iranian-Russian-Chinese alliance (a typical neo-con), as well as Obama's request to control settlement construction and focus on the Road Map. Instead, he seems to be taking his marching orders from the Republicans and the far-right in America.

Personally, I think he's in bed with the Bush-Cheney branch of the GOP, who are all pushing Israel to bomb Iran before it has the chance to threaten the existence of Israel - no matter what Obama says about it.

If Israel bombs Iran, then President Obama and the Democrats will lose their entire agenda - both domestic and international. The Republicans would use the conflict to divide, conquer, win votes and take back power. Right or wrong, as usual they would maneuver to benefit from the chaos. Poor Obama would be forced to spend his time and energy cleaning-up another conflict created by an irresponsible, paranoid and pernicious far-right.

Of course, the scariest outcome is that America could be dragged into a regional or world conflict. One clear sign of chaos would be a potential threat to President Mubarak in Egypt. Don't scoff at the possibility. It may even be secretly supported by Russia and China; the two powers who would love to see America's primary African ally on the Nile fall to extremists - at least the kind they could do business with.

Despite all my hope for Obama and my glass-is-half-full mentality, I'm terrified of the uncompromising and paranoid extremists embodied by the neo-con Republicans, Netanyahu and Ahmadinejad. President Obama and Secretary Clinton must pull off a diplomatic miracle soon to make sure the international far-right doesn't get another war.

Netanyahu must be made to tow the line. Ahmadinejad must be undermined to prevent Israel from using him as an excuse. Obama must lead and control events in the Middle East to prevent more conflict.

I also think Obama needs to act quickly to fire most of the Bushies still in government - especially those within the DOD, STATE and INTELLIGENCE. He should not trust them. They represent a possible shadow government operating within his own Administration. Unless he acts quickly to make sure that he has full control, anything is possible. This is something that has been worrying me since he took office.

It's clear that President Obama is a change agent. Now we need to make sure the change is the right change. There are hot spots throughout history involving change - think the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, Kristallnacht and 9/11, and I think we may be witnessing another one about to hit - for good or bad.

Let's hope that while most Americans are spending this weekend mourning the death of the King of Pop, a potential Earth-shattering clash isn't brewing in the Middle East between East and West. Let's hope that President Obama can control the international far-right agenda led by the GOP and Netanyahu, and that angry religious fundamentalists don't light the world on fire.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Israel and Gaza Conflict

Outside observers like myself or you will probably never understand the conflict going on between Israel and Gaza simply because we do not live with the stress of two people not wanting to ever be neighbors. There is an extreme sense of hate between these people and yet when it comes to living and working they rely on not just one another business wise but also as people trying to earn a living and cohabitate. Then you toss in extremist opinions and outside influence that feeds weapons to both sides and you have one hell of a time bomb that someone will set off.

At times like these I wonder how the conflict between England and Northern Ireland would have ended up if people with weapons of mass destruction would have supplied both sides just to see how the weapons work. What is the kill factor on this missile? How does this weapon work? I’m not saying that people are experimenting where the fire is the hottest but it does make one wonder how the weapons that the people of Gaza are getting hold of to launch into Israel? These kinds of weapons do not grow on trees!

I grew up with a father that hated the English so bad he went to his grave with that hate instilled. He never met anyone from England or Great Britain, but he hated them anyway. That hatred was instilled in him from the time he was a child here in the United States by his own father. His father was a fighter in Ireland in the early 1900’s against the English and I can’t be sure of what acts he committed out of his hate but he immigrated to the United States the same year the Titanic sank. It was that or be caught and hanged. The hate managed to make the swim across the Atlantic. I thank God that my mother was not party to that same hatred and broke the cycle of unquestionable hate. Mind you, I am still very proud of my Irish heritage but that is a post for another day.

Personally, I am proud of my Irish heritage but I am more proud of the Irish back in my families homeland that managed to find peace. It isn’t something that can be stuffed down your throat, you have to want it, believe in it, and make it happen. The two sides in Northern Ireland found a common ground, worked out a treaty for long term peace, worked on that peace, are living that peace. Bombs are not going off killing innocent people, and troops are not forced to shoot to defend themselves against angry mobs. People and children are living a peace and surviving to smile and love another day. That is the desire that the people of Gaza and Israel need to come to realization with.

No outside influence can demand peace for Israel or the people of Gaza. It has to come from within and if it does not, then they will continue to war against one another. Neither Israel or Gaza is innocent in this latest altercation and battle. Each side sees their own reason for the fight but each side will fill graves because of the idiocy of pride. An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth will only go so far till everyone is blind and toothless but nobody is listening in the Middle East. Thus the battle continues full of hate.

It takes guts to fight, but it takes a stronger virtue to find peace. That virtue is within reach but they have to face the fact that no amount of graves will end this war between them.

I pray for peace between Israel and the Gaza Strip people. And yet I know that is truly up to them. No amount of diplomacy can end it till someone takes their damn fingers off of a trigger on a gun or missile.

Just if you were wondering, I am pro Israel for defending itself.

Papamoka

Bush's Final Days of Inaction, Meltdown and Destruction

Good Morning Papamoka Bloggers - We don't have much time left when it comes to the embarrassing debacle that is the Bush Administration, but almost as if to tweak us even more before leaving office, the so-called President has decided to pretty much ignore a new middle eastern war in favor of cutting brush at his Crawford Ranch. It seems there's no end to the joke that is George W. Bush.

My position is simple, I do believe that Israel has a right to defend itself, and the Gaza attacks were probably necessary, but I also feel that excessive force is unwarranted. That's what seems to be unfolding now. The danger of a wider, regional conflict is VERY serious, and now I'm terrified by what is unfolding in the Gaza Strip.

People, WE could be drawn into a larger conflict. That is something that we CANNOT AFFORD right now. The US has to get involved to calm the situation NOW! Instead, Bush refuses to leave his vacation, and Rice hasn't left her Washington office. They don't seem to be doing anything!

To give us some perspective, this is the very same President, the one who claims to honor his promises to the American people with a seriousness only Republicans can understand, who pledged to resolve the Middle East peace process from Annapolis just 13 months ago. Well, the White House quietly dismissed that promise last month. Now it's taken that breakdown one step further by IGNORING the Middle East all together.

George W. Bush, the narcissistic fool, who Republicans continue to defend for psychotic reasons few others understand, REFUSES to leave his final vacation to try and mitigate the disaster unfolding before our eyes. Just like Katrina, the man's inaction and incompetence will worsen a serious situation that might have been helped under normal leadership. It's almost as if he dares us to despise him even more.

We're facing the possibility of a larger WAR IN THE MIDDLE EAST. What is Bush doing? He has ABANDONED HIS POST, LEFT THE SINKING SHIP, and FLED THE FIELD OF BATTLE. Much like during Katrina, his desertion is leading to more death, more destruction. The Republican leadership should be demanding more action NOW to prevent increased cross-border conflict! Instead, they continue to defend him. Again, we must endure the bizarro world of the far right.

Again and again, the American people are left to wonder how we got into this nightmare. Once more, we are forced to watch our leaders DO NOTHING. Oh well, I guess if the war spreads, and the Middle East and other parts of the world IGNITE in conflict, then at least George W. Bush and his supporters will be far away from the action. That's justice for you, and more of the same if you ask me.

George W. Bush, you are either EVIL or inept, incompetent, and inadequate to do the job. You have been one or the other for a long time now. Like any soldier who is incapacitated, mentally like you or physically like most, you should be removed immediately! Unfortunately, we have to endure you for another 20+ days. But when that time comes, GOOD RIDDANCE TO BAD RUBBISH has never been more relevant. Oh yes, and God help the people of the Middle East, and the world.

Michael Boh
Papamoka's Left Coast Contributor
from Our Rants & Raves Blog

Biden - Palin Debate Winner

I’ll start off with just one reference from Governor Palin. Who the hell is this guy McClellan in charge of the military in Afghanistan? I think she meant to say General David McKiernan. That was a stumble on her part and one of many throughout the night and the debate. One thing was very clear was the fact that Governor Palin did not directly answer many of the questions she was asked. Biden did so with facts and figures and to some that may seem boring but this is not the television series “24”! It's politics that in this time in our nations path needs facts and figures to move forward.

Joe Biden spoke from facts and corrected many of the topics that Palin went off topic on. She was quoting voting records of Obama, Biden, and McCain and Joe Biden knew the facts behind each of the votes which Governor Palin was not privy too. Big mistake on her part on specifics.

It seemed that most of the questions coming to each of the Vice President candidates was answered more so on what the men actually running for President will do. Which is what you would expect in a VP debate. All but one, the role of Vice President and what it entails. Governor Palin sought the same stretch of executive privilege from the Bush administration where as Senator Biden stated the Constitution and the dangerous damage Cheney has morphed the Vice Presidency into.

Asked on what each of the Vice President candidates Achilles heal was, Governor Palin skipped the question entirely and offered just a stump speech of the McCain platform. Senator Biden listed several items that he is weak personally first then went on the Obama platform strengths.

All said and done, Governor Palin tried her best to hold her own but she was up against an encyclopedia of information on government and voting records. For every point she tried to make for McCain, Biden could recite several votes where McCain voted against it from health care, to taxes, to energy issues, and where she was wrong on Obama‘s votes in the Senate.

Two key phrases did come out, Bridge to Nowhere against Palin and a correction to Biden from Palin to get the phrase right? Drill baby Drill! That would be a drill here and everywhere in America point from the Governor. And of course Biden pointing out the fact that John McCain would not sit down with Spain, a NATO member becacuse he thought it was a hostile nation against America?

Biden pretty much linked McCain to Bush over and over again and that will be the mud that sticks to the wall of this debate. What also will stick to the wall is the fact that Governor Palin did not answer many of the questions thrown at her. She dodged the questions to go back to previous points that Biden had made. Gwen Eiffel had to ask the questions back to Governor Palin repeatedly.

On a scale of one to ten I would give Governor Palin a six overall and Senator Biden an eight.

Last thought, when the debate was over the two candidates families all came up on stage and stayed there for a long time interacting with one another. One of the things that warms my heart is children, Joe Biden bent almost all the way over to talk to the Palin family younger kids. Biden went beyond what is normal in a post debate format and introduced his wife, family and grandchildren to Governor Palin and her family, and talked with Governor Palin’s father for a good spell of time.

Update 10/03/08 and must see video from Rachel Maddow...

Video Link



Papamoka

Cross Posted at Bring It On!

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McCain POW Card Played

John McCain loves to play the POW card from the Vietnam era. I bare him no ill will in the torture he went through at the Hanoi Hilton. I feel compassion for him and the many other men that faced the same torture. Even his fellow POW's in the same situation feel his pain. In retrospect, one of them does not want a fellow POW in charge of America's nuclear weapons in a world gone terrorist. From one Veteran that has seen McCain in action you have to wonder what his reaction would be from a sniffle from the Middle East?



Make no mistake about it, John McCain has no problem starting the next hundred year war. Only this time he has nuclear weapons and the State of Israel is pretty damn close to the fall out of radiation from a McCain temper tantrum! McCain is not about diplomacy, he is about kill or be killed. Sorry Israel. Talking with your enemies is accepting defeat in the war on terror that Bush built up and there is no talking to sovereign nations in this war on terror.

Is that who regular American's want for President? I'm thinking thanks, but no thanks to that bridge on terror politics! Maybe we can find a better way to get past this.

Papamoka

W "Let Them Eat Cake"

Maybe President Bush is right, the world is a far safer place today. Terrorist attacks on America are down, terrorist attacks in England are somewhat down, terrorism is on the run simply because they just can’t afford to eat. W has saved us from the terrorists by stealing the vitality of the global economy off of our dinner tables. Way to go W! I think?

One of the things that most U.S. Presidents prior to W knew was that there is no solution to the Middle East quagmire. It’s been going on for thousands of years and it will still be going on thousands of years from now. In our nations quest for being safe we have opened the gates of hell when it comes to economics. Those that we thought were out to protect and defend our nations history and heritage masqueraded around in sheep’s clothing while they robbed the world of the innocent little Red Riding Hood. Adding the Constitution to it helped. It’s just a piece of paper that some drunken Deity believing King haters dreamed up so what is the big deal?

We are not alone in the world. The butterfly effect is in full force except now the butterfly is the size of Saudi Arabia and it fears not to beat its wings regardless of the consequences on the masses. That is how the world economy collapses. More on this over at Reuters…

By Alistair Lyon, Special Correspondent

BEIRUT (Reuters) - While Gulf Arab oil producers reap windfall earnings, their poorer cousins elsewhere in the Arab world are struggling with soaring energy and food bills.
Inflation has surged in Gulf countries, fuelled partly by lavish spending of record oil and gas revenues. This is also spurring demand for everything from housing to power and water.

Gulf states with currencies pegged to the dollar have also been hit by the global weakness of the U.S. currency, which is driving inflation by making some imports more expensive.
But wrestling with rising prices is a grimmer business in Arab capitals not cushioned by oil wealth. From Cairo in Egypt to Sanaa in Yemen, mostly authoritarian governments have to weigh the fiscal costs of subsidizing fuel and food against the explosive political risks of social discontent.

"Nothing's inexpensive any more," griped Jihad al-Amin, who owns a dry-cleaning store in Damascus, Syria. "Even parsley, which has been dirt cheap for as long as I can remember, has tripled."

Food price rises hit the poor hardest in the Middle East, as in other food-importing developing countries around the world, but any instability here could ripple far beyond the region. - Reuters

Maybe we should face the facts that Bush is right? If you give enough free rain on the market and trust the mega capitalist to trickle down the wealth then maybe those of us down on the bottom might get something. The key word in that last sentence was something. Exhaust fumes from a passing motorcade is something so stop your gripping.

It isn’t wrong to think that America may be on the verge of a coming revolution. Just as in the time period prior to the first American Revolution there was a King that imposed one tax after another that people stood up to and had said taxes repealed. Although we no longer have a King we have a President ignorant of his peoples needs, wishes and dreams. That is not acceptable.

If given the choice of thought processes I don’t think it is a far reach that the current President is no longer in charge of his nation. He has deregulated his authority as President to the brokers of business on Wall Street and sold out the office he swore to uphold. While he sat idle while millions lost there homes he staid the course. While his nations food prices erupted out of control, he staid the course. While our nations military begged for better equipment to defend themselves and fight with he staid the course. While his people went under he sipped his drink and looked the other way because those that lead him detracted him from his people.

George Bush is guilty of ignoring his people and God help anyone that dares to follow in his footsteps. That path is laid with madness and betrayal of your people. Patriotism and starvation are something that American’s are not afraid of but they will fight and vote for one or the other, not both. George Bush has played his game out and divided his people so much that they are against one another fighting over being a patriot or starving. Meanwhile the record Billion Dollar profits are being talked about as if it is business as usual. That is how Revolutions start! You don’t flash mega bonuses to a man that’s family is broken, busted, down and out and can barely afford the weeks food bill. It all comes down to the masses and providing for their families. That is what W will never understand.

One thing is certain in the next President of the United States of America. You will have a broken nation to mend and that process does not start out thousands of miles from our shores. It starts out here at home. Americans do not just eat cake!

Papamoka

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Are all Fatwa Declarations Legitimate?

Picture courtesy of Guide Instanbul

Over the past few years we have herd of the term Fatwa from the Muslim people of the middle east and it intrigues me to learn what a Fatwa really is. Step in and correct me if I am wrong and please comment if I am wrong!

My former line of thought was that a Fatwa was similar to Jihad and yet now I find that they are two very different things. Seeing that we are at war with a nation and I presume an entire region I would think that it might be a good idea to educate ourselves as to what these terms that are thrown around by our so called enemies mean.

I don’t have anything against someone that chooses to be a Muslim or was born a Muslim. I don’t have a problem with someone born in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Saudi Arabia or any other Muslim based theocracy and nation. Reading up on the faith that is Islam it is a very proud and non violent faith. Much like the Christian Bible, the Koran can probably be interpreted ten ways to Sunday and none of the interpretations is correct.

Take for instance the first Commandment of the Christian faith. Thou Shall Not Kill. If America is a religious Christian Faith society then according to this Commandment we should not have an army to defend us? No offense to all of my friends in service to our nation in the military intended. No pink slips will be issued to those in the military based on this post… Trust me on that one. My interpretation is very wrong but could the same mistake be made with the Koran?

Over at the Washington Post they explain what a Fatwa is from someone that should know…

Sheikh Ali Gomaa: When each person's unqualified opinion is considered a fatwa we lose a tool for reigning in extremism and preserving balance of Islamic law.
Almost two years ago the citizens of London were victims of a great atrocity. Those who perpetrated those crimes would like you to believe that they were inspired by the religion of Islam. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There is nothing in Islam that could ever justify these blatant acts of aggression. Islam calls on Muslims to be productive members of whatever society they find themselves in. Islam embodies a flexibility that allows Muslims to do so without any internal or external conflict. This is why we see a vast variety of cultural, artistic and civilisational phenomena all of which can be described as Islamic, ranging from the Taj Mahal in India to the winding streets of Fez to the poetry composed by English converts that represents not only the rigor of English verse, but also encompasses the beauty of Islamic piety.

This flexibility is not just present in the cultural output of Muslims; it is an integral part of the Islamic legal tradition as well. In fact, you could say it is one of the defining characteristics of Islamic law. Islamic law is both a methodology and the collection of positions adopted by Muslim jurists over the last 1,400 years. Those centuries were witness to no less than 90 schools of legal thought, and the 21st century finds us in the providential position to look back on this tradition in order to find that which will benefit us today. This is one of the first steps in the issuing of a fatwa (religious opinion/ruling). - Washington Post

So I’m a little bit wiser today than yesterday. Fatwa is a religious opinion and or ruling on the religion of Islam. Islam is a religion that changes over the course of time and its history is relevant to the changes declared with a Fatwa.

So now I have to find out who is the equivalent of the Pope to find out how these Fatwa’s are issued and made part of the permanent Islamic law. Can anyone that is a Cleric issue a Fatwa? According to the article that is not the case. I’m wondering if the same rules apply as to all of those Jihad’s that everyone talks about in the Middle East?

My main point of this post is to think more about who we as a nation are as a target of Islamist misunderstanding of Americans as a people. If we can find the common links for change so two people can exist with understanding of one another then that is for the good of all people.

Papamoka

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