No such people

Newt Gingrich recently asserted that the Palestinians are "an invented people," and that they are also "terrorists." Gingrich then offered this alleged history:

“Remember there was no Palestine as a state. It was part of the Ottoman Empire,” Gingrich told The Jewish Channel in an interview released on Friday. . . . [The] American Task Force on Palestine spokesman Hussein Ibish was quick to point out that “there was no Israel and no such thing as an ‘Israeli people’ before 1948,” when the Jewish state was established.
Glenn Greenwald has pointed out that the most damaging words tend to be those words like "terrorism," which have no clear meaning.

Continue ReadingNo such people

Larry Wilkerson discusses proposed military powers as “the road to tyranny.”

Larry Wilkerson, former Chief of Staff to Colin Powell, indicates that the National Defense Authorization Act (that passed the Senate) gives the military power for indefinite detention without trial is therefore a draconian violation of our rights. In this interview, it is pointed out that the highly offensive provision of the proposed new law that allows the U.S. military to detain and prosecute American citizens was inserted into the proposed legislation at the insistence of Barack Obama.

Continue ReadingLarry Wilkerson discusses proposed military powers as “the road to tyranny.”

Ron Paul’s view on American warmongering

I don't see eye-to-eye with Ron Paul on many things, but I do agree with the point he is making with this ad: My only regret is that Paul dragged the Chinese into this hypothetical. I'm sure this made the ad more effective for conservatives but I am concerned that it also stirred up more animosity toward the Chinese, which we need to avoid.

Continue ReadingRon Paul’s view on American warmongering

On defining “terrorism”

Glenn Greenwald once again finds that the United States defines its terms, in this case, "terrorism," in strangely specialized ways:

Few things better illustrate the utter meaninglessness of the word Terrorism than applying it to a citizen of an invaded country for fighting back against the invading army and aiming at purely military targets (this is far from the first time that Iraqis and others who were accused of fighting back against the invading U.S. military have been formally deemed to be Terrorists for having done so). To the extent the word means anything operationally, it is: he who effectively opposes the will of the U.S. and its allies. This topic is so vital because this meaningless, definition-free word — Terrorism — drives so many of our political debates and policies. Virtually every debate in which I ever participate quickly and prominently includes defenders of government policy invoking the word as some sort of debate-ending, magical elixir: of course President Obama has to assassinate U.S. citizens without due process: they’re Terrorists; of course we have to stay in Afghanistan: we have to stop The Terrorists; President Obama is not only right to kill people (including civilians) using drones, but is justified in boasting and even joking about it, because they’re Terrorists; of course some people should be held in prison without charges: they’re Terrorists, etc. etc. It’s a word that simultaneously means nothing and justifies everything.

Continue ReadingOn defining “terrorism”

What would Jesus think?

Never mind what Jesus would think about the Christmas decorations thief. What would he think about yard displays in general?

Ingrid Alemendarez had decorated her yard up in grand style. She had hundreds of dollars worth of decorations set up in her yard and, luckily, also had surveillance cameras set up. On Tuesday, the cameras caught two thieves making off with about $500 worth of the decorations. "This is what we would consider a grand theft," a Sweetwater Police detective told WSVN. "[They stole] Mickey Mouse on a horse, some hugging penguins, Snoopy on a dog house, and Santa on a sled."

Continue ReadingWhat would Jesus think?