Congratulations to Liberia’s Pres. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first female president of Africa, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen.
The importance of women’s role around the world elevated, with the Nobel committee making a statement and headline news, offers another change in the status quo. This is truly something to celebrate.
The Nobel Peace Prize for 2011 was awarded on Friday to three campaigning women from Africa and the Arab world in acknowledgment of their nonviolent role in promoting peace, democracy and gender equality. The winners were President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia — Africa’s first elected female president — her compatriot, peace activist Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman of Yemen, a pro-democracy campaigner.
[...] Most of the recipients in the award’s 110-year history have been men and Friday’s decision seemed designed to give impetus to the cause for women’s rights around the world.
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee, and Tawakul Karman stand on their own courage, their own actions leading to the changes still evolving in their corners of the world. They certainly didn’t need Secy. Clinton to tell them their own passions and purpose.
However, it was Hillary Rodham Clinton who has tirelessly trumpeted to the world to wake up to what women’s contributions to their countries mean to the world and anyone wanting stability to rein in still developing, often troubled, regions.
As the Washington Post reported in January, 2010, the Hillary Effect was already in full swing around the world, because of Hillary’s presence, her footprint.
“Hillary Clinton is so visible” as secretary of state, said Amelia Matos Sumbana, who just arrived as ambassador from Mozambique. “She makes it easier for presidents to pick a woman for Washington.”
No one in the Obama administration has worked harder in the last few years to put women’s rights in the forefront of changing countries more than Secy. Clinton. No one has so relentlessly made the case that women can close the gap in stabilizing a troubled country, including setting a burgeoning economy on firmer ground.
It’s the case she began making when she was first lady and went to Beijing, China to give her now famous speech on “human rights are women’s rights.” It has been one of her main missions as secretary of state to bring focus to the roles of women in their government and the importance of their voices being heard. Clinton’s historic and very difficult visit to the Congo revealed the depths of her commitment.
The stability of countries depends on women being engaged in their government, as well as their voices heard and heeded.
Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to three women changing their worlds sends a message around the globe that has the potential to inspire more women to be brave, becoming the catalyst for even more progress.
Via TPM, there’s an ad blitz targeting the “let ‘em die” crowd converging for the Fox News channel debate tonight.
After what happened last night to Troy Davis, I’m beginning to believe the Tea Party pack has tapped into the American zeitgeist, with Rick Perry the perfect nominee for our lost times.
Obama’s first meeting after the speech was with Netanyahu, who praised his sometime-nemesis for his “principled position,” and for taking it “in this house, which has … automatic majorities against Israel.” It’s “a badge of honor,” Bibi said — adding, as he turned to Obama, “I want to thank you for wearing that badge of honor and also to express my hope that others will follow your example.” – O’s moment of glory is instantly tarnished by French diss
There are few people I respect more than Steve Clemons, though we’ve had our disagreements, whose foreign policy acumen is among the best on the progressive side. He proves again he’s a leading thinker, offering an unflinching take on the issue of Palestinians working for a sovereign state through UNGA, with a strong piece in The Atlantic that eviscerates Pres. Obama all the way to the bone.
President Obama’s UN General Assembly speech shows that the President has lost much of his groove since Cairo and amidst the Arab Spring is telling Palestine to be patient, to stay seated in the back of the bus, until Israel and Palestine leaders decide to be responsible. Obama fails to understand that Israel and Palestine can never sell a deal internally without blaming outside powers for compelling them to do what is in their long term interests. It’s time for Obama to read up on “gaiatsu” and understand the practice and utility of “foreign pressure”.
[...] If this was 2013, Obama might be in a different groove — but by then Palestinian and the broader Arab temperature may be such that they ultimately decide the two state track is folly — and much like Turkey giving up on its European identity aspirations — decides to pull back and subject a recalcitrant Israel to never-ending harassment and violence, assuring that Israel ultimately becomes a state of hard-edged, security-demanding Apartheid, all while the Palestinian demographic edge inside Israel’s borders booms while the Israeli Jewish population growth slows and perhaps even declines.
Obama is assuring the further emasculation and perhaps final demise of Palestine’s moderates. Obama is also treating the Israelis and Palestinians as if they are on equal footing, equally able to concede to each other’s demands. What Obama doesn’t get is that a substantial portion of Israel’s population loves not having a deal and never wants one. They are OK with a peace process to nowhere — but that is not acceptable for the less-endowed, less-powerful Palestinian side. Hamas is in the rejectionist corner as well, seeing its fortunes rise as earnest efforts at peace go nowhere.
Steve defies American conventional wisdom, that it would be catastrophic to allow a vote on statehood through the U.N. Security Council and that “no good can come from it,” to quote Richard Haas, who heads the Council of Foreign Relations, a dinosaur organization.
The world watched Barack Obama lose a battle in the last two years with Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over Israeli settlement expansion in contested and occupied territories. This is like the Soviet Union having lost a war of wills at the height of its power with Cuba.
The client state trumped the President of the United States — telegraphing to many around the world that President Obama ultimately didn’t have the courage of his convictions and wasn’t able to deploy power and statecraft to achieve the outlines of what he called for in his lofty rhetoric. …
George W. Bush aided the rise of Hamas and assured their legitimacy through pushing elections when the Palestinians warned they weren’t ready.
Barack Obama stood up against the building of more and more settlements, only to back down because of domestic pressures and reelection concerns. Pres. Obama, after having offered so much hope and lofty words and outreach towards the Arab world, empowering moderates with what his presidency would mean to the greater Middle East and U.S. influence in the region, has failed to deliver on any measurable scale.
The last American president to put his own skin in the Middle East peace game, working to the last day in office, was Pres. Bill Clinton. Arafat spit in his face.
It’s now finally clear the American era of diplomacy in the Middle East is over.
TM Note: I just want to add that the point of emphasizing Steve’s analysis is that it challenges everyone to think of the situation in a new way, because what were currently doing isn’t cutting it. I haven’t a clue how this serious situation resolves itself completely, but Israel needs Palestine as badly as the Palestinians.
The United Nations high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, gave a staggering death toll from the violence in Syria as she addressed the opening session of the human rights council in Geneva on Monday. “With regard to Syria, let me note that, according to reliable sources on the ground, the number of those killed since the onset of the unrest in mid-March 2011 in that country, has now reached at least 2,600,” she said.
[...] The death of a human rights activist, Ghiyath Mattar, while in custody last week came after that report was published and drew forceful condemnation from the United States.
… The State Department said of the detention and death of Mr. Mattar:
Ghiyath Mattar’s courage in the face of the Asad regime’s brutal repression is well known in his home of Daraya and across Syria. His brave commitment to confronting the regime’s despicable violence with peaceful protest serves as an example for the Syrian people and for all those who suffer under the yoke of oppression.
According to a statement from the Local Coordination Committees on his death, the 26-year-old “was waiting for two births: the birth of his daughter who won’t have the chance to lay on his arms, and the birth of the new free, just and democratic Syria.”
The United States must support the Palestinian bid for statehood at the United Nations this month or risk losing the little credibility it has in the Arab world. If it does not, American influence will decline further, Israeli security will be undermined and Iran will be empowered, increasing the chances of another war in the region.
Moreover, Saudi Arabia would no longer be able to cooperate with America in the same way it historically has. With most of the Arab world in upheaval, the “special relationship” between Saudi Arabia and the United States would increasingly be seen as toxic by the vast majority of Arabs and Muslims, who demand justice for the Palestinian people.
Which “special relationship” is more special?
Strategic interests abound, domestic politics prominently weighing down the inevitable awkwardness and the predictable conclusion.
– Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner during an interview in April, discussing the risk of the U.S. debt being downgraded.
Some links to go with your morning coffee/tea:
~China, our banker, is angry at the U.S. about the downgrade. I guess more administration-China ass kissing diplomacy is in order.
~The Super Duper Debt Committee will just cause more problems than it solves, for obvious reasons.
~The biggest US single-episode loss of life in the Afghanistan War took place Friday as insurgents shot down a Chinook helicopter carrying 38 members of US special forces and 7 Afghan soldiers. More here.
~Also on Afghanistan- The International Crisis Group has issued a report which concludes that despite dumping billions of dollars into nation-building in Afghanistan, the U.S. and its allies have failed to stabilize the country. I think the billions of dollars they are talking about does not include the money spent on the actual war effort there-in other words, just the military and civil rebuilding and stabilization efforts.
~In today’s WaPo there is an article about the origins of the debt showdown and how Eric Cantor took advantage of the House’s new Tea Party recruits to turn the debt ceiling debate into a standoff over the role of government.
~The Wikipedia conference is currently taking place in Israel and the Wikipedia founder talked about how the community tries very hard to keep Wiki entries as neutral as possible. That’s not easy in an era where as soon as there is a political controversy, groups run to the site to get their version of the story out.
~Up to 12 million people’s lives are under direct threat in the Horn of Africa as drought, famine and war take their toll. Much of the world looked away when the predictions of an extreme famine were first put forth. However, the terror group al-Shabab claims there is no famine taking place in Somalia but of course, that could be because the group is preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the men, women and children who are currently starving to death and as a result, they bear direct responsibility.
~In much of the media’s coverage about the S&P downgrade, there seems to be a tendency to ignore the impact of the refusal to add ANY revenue-generating provisions in the debt deal. There was plenty of blame to spread around to both parties, but there are some interesting tidbits in the S&P statement about revenues. It would seem that the GOP is giddy about the downgrade because throwing a Molotov Cocktail into our already depressed economy was always the GOP plan leading up to 2012.
~While the S&P is certainly correct that Washington is completely dysfunctional and getting them to do anything constructive for the good of the nation is a bit like trying to herd cats, there is no denying the politics of what is taking place. Firedoglake has a good summary of some of the things that may have actually been behind S&P’s decision to downgrade the US credit rating.
~So, how is Saudi Arabia doing on the human rights front? Really, really well. [/sarcasm]
~Despite a lot of people giving Obama props about being willing to put defense cuts on the table, the truth of the matter is that the Obama administration shows no interest in curbing out-of-control defense spending as evidenced by his new Secretary of Defense, Leon Panetta, publicly complaining all last week about how disastrous defense cuts would be. Once again, fear trumps reason. Interestingly, when asked, Leon Panetta can’t seem to articulate any reason why any proposed cuts would be so dangerous to our nation’s security:
~Over 300,000 people took to the streets in Israel this weekend to protest the high cost of living. Good for them. We need to do that here in the U.S.
~The Obama administration will likely squander yet another opportunity to take a serious stand on environmental issues. The Alberta tar sands pipeline is currently being reviewed by the State Dept. and the review itself has been mired in controversy from the start. The pipeline’s chief lobbyist is a former Hillary Clinton deputy campaign director and Secretary Clinton made the none-too-subtle remark long before the review process even started, that she was “inclined to support” it. That made environmentalists and even many Congressional Democrats hopping mad. Of course, the buck doesn’t stop there and environmentalists and congressional democrats are urging the administration to not approve the project. Good luck with that, the fix is in.
~All eyes are on Wisconsin which is in the midst of the largest number of recall elections in U.S. history. Huge amounts of cash have been flooding in to the state via special interest groups from both the left and the right. Some see Wisconsin as a dry run of sorts for what may happen in 2012, ie. did the Tea Party types go too far?
~The repressive, human rights-abusing Communist Chinese government continues to throw fuel on the fire of religious freedom with respect to Buddhists in Tibet. Even if Americans know very little about this right now, it is a very big issue and could lead to bloodshed when the current Dalai Lama dies. And when that happens, Washington will be forced to take notice but by then it will be too late.
~The death toll in Syria continues to rise as government forces continue the siege on Hama. As Assad’s forces continue to slaughter his own people, the Syrian foreign minister comes out and makes the ludicrous statement that the Assad government will allow free legislative elections by the end of 2011. Yeah, and unicorns are real.
~Both Palestinian and Israeli security forces are frustrated with the politicians in Ramallah, Jerusalem and Washington DC. This is something I have heard over and over again. The Israeli and Palestinian security forces have been training and had unprecedented security cooperation over the past 8+ years, with impressive results, while the politicians piss away every opportunity for a reasonable solution to the conflict.
~Sean Hannity thinks it’s wrong to require insurers to cover birth control but guess what he thinks they should cover…Viagra. Indeed.
~Politico continues with its status quo hackery and prints an op-ed from GOP Representative Duncan Hunter, who fear-mongers about cutting defense spending. Ok, no problem there because people can write opinion pieces from various points of view. The problem is that a) he makes patently false claims about the role of defense spending in our current debt crisis and b) Politico knew, or should have known, that Hunter has a conflict of interest when it comes to defense spending given most of his top campaign contributions come from defense contractors. If Politico readers knew that, they might be a little bit more discerning when it comes to taking Hunter’s claims at face value.
~Some in Israel are concerned about a bill that is poised to pass the Knesset and which seeks to provide guidance to the courts such that they would be expected to privilege maintaining “the state as the Jewish nation state in ruling in situations in which the Jewish character of the state clashes with its democratic character.” Israeli journalist Noam Sheizaf and other critics of the pending legislation have argued that proponents of the bill seem to be saying that maintaining a Jewish state and upholding democracy are at odds. It’s an interesting debate.
~Donald Trump really embodies the corporate greed and entitled attitude that seems to have infected this nation. His most recent stunt is to vow to do everything in his power to prevent the building of an offshore wind farm in Scotland because it will obstruct the beautiful view from the golf course he is currently in the process of building.
~Whatever you do, don’t read Thomas Friedman’s silly editorial about the financial crisis in today’s NYT, it’s five minutes of your life that you’ll never get back which is why I read it for you. It’s loaded with dumb analogies and really obvious points like “[r]egarding growth, we surely need a much smarter long-term fiscal plan than the one that just came out of Washington.”
Joyce Arnold is a liberal Independent activist whose weekly column “Queer Talk” appears on Saturday.
Two events on Monday of this week added to the conversations about marriage equality. One was from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who talked about international LGBT rights as “human rights.” And one from White House press secretary Jay Carney – responding to questions about marriage between same-gender couples from The Wall Street Journal’s Laura Meckler and Bill Press from The Bill Press Show – who talked about “states’ right”. It’s worth noting, as does Metro Weekly’s Chris Geidner, that Meckler and Press are not among the “Five writers with LGBT outlets or known for their LGBT writing” who were at the briefing, but not called on by Carney.
The context for both are the unhappy sounds from Queerdom and allies regarding the Obama administration’s spins on LGBT rights, at this moment, particularly marriage equality. To be clear, Clinton’s speech was not a response to the New York vote or a direct challenge to Obama, in whose cabinet she serves. But the contrast between LGBT equality framed as “human rights” and “states’ rights” is still relevant.
On Monday, Clinton spoke at an event co-hosted by the Department of State, and Gays and Lesbians in Foreign Affairs Agencies. The scheduled event was in celebration of LGBT Pride Month, and included a panel discussion lead by Under Sec. Maria Otero regarding the status of LGBT people around the world.
You can read the transcript of Clinton’s remarks here. Video here.
She began:
… this is an especially momentous and extraordinary time for us to meet for the State Department’s annual Pride celebration, the third event we’ve had here at State since I became Secretary, and the first following the historic vote in New York, which I think gives such visibility and credibility to everything that so many of you have done over so many years …
Later in the speech, she added this:
If you followed closely … the debate in New York, one of the key votes that was switched at the end was a Republican senator from the Buffalo area who became convinced that it was just not any longer fair for him to see one group of his constituents as different from another. Senators stood up and talked about nieces and nephews and grandchildren and others who are very dear to them, and they don’t want them being objectified or discriminated against. And from their own personal connections and relationships, they began to make the larger connection with somebody else’s niece or nephew or grandchild and what that family must feel like.
No, she doesn’t say, “I support marriage equality,” and yes, I wish she would. Of course, as long as she’s Sec. of State, it’s highly unlikely she will. We’ll see about later. But I think it’s worth noting who she singles out: “a Republican senator from Buffalo.” Obviously the focus should be at the state level, not DC. But I, at least, find it significant that there is no mention of the Obama administration’s position on marriage equality. The only way she could have done that, of course, would have been to follow the same strange story line coming out of the WH, which among other things, emphasizes the right of states to make such decisions.
As AmericaBlog’s Sudbay writes about the WH “sticking with the ‘it’s for the states to decide’ talking point”:
This is when we realize that the White House really is very insular. The people who work there must have no concept of how ridiculous their talking points on same-sex marriage sound in the real world … .
I’d just add, Insider and Access individuals and organizations who continue indefinite support of the administration which is using such “talking points” also appear “very insular.”
Clinton goes on to highlight some of the successful efforts toward LGBT human rights on the international scene, from Honduras to Slovakia, as well as steps taken in the UN, including by the Human Rights Council, two weeks ago, which passed “the first ever UN resolution recognizing the human rights of LGBT people worldwide.” She notes, however, that “all this progress is worth celebrating, but we cannot forget how much work lies ahead. Because let’s just face the facts: LGBT people in many places continue to endure threats, harassment, violence … in public and private.”
As for that Carey “states’ rights” press briefing, an excerpt, via Metro Weekly:
Meckler asked, ‘[L]ast week the President spoke about gay marriage when he was in New York and … talked about how this has been the province of the state … referring to what was happening in the debate in New York, he said that’s the power of democracy at work. Does that mean that he also respects the outcome of democracy at work in California where voters rejected the idea of gay marriage?’ …
MR. CARNEY: Well, I think as you saw in the decision we announced that we would no longer – this administration would no longer be participants defending the Defense of Marriage Act because we do not believe it’s constitutional, that it’s precisely because of his belief that this was a matter that needs to be decided by the states. So without commenting on a particular other state, I think he was making that clear with regard to the action in New York
Carney’s responses to follow-up questions from Meckler, and then from Press, didn’t get any better.
In addition to Clinton’s speech providing some comparison and context, Carey’s remarks also came as not only LGBTs and “progressives,” but mainstream media and conservatives, question Obama’s stance on marriage equality. From a column by Maureen Dowd in which she writes “Our president likes to be on both sides at once,” and an NY Times editorial, “Gay Marriage: Where’s Mr. Obama?,” to comments from former George W. Bush speechwriter David Frum in which he says, “I was wrong about same-sex marriage,” and the reports that, among other Republicans, Ken Melhman, former head of the RNC, “played a key role in the NY marriage victory” – it’s clear that a “states’ rights” framing isn’t working.
I’m not sure which is worse: If the WH doesn’t realize that, or if it does and continues with the spin anyway. Whatever, it’s certainly not an example of leading. Or even of very good politics.
(An earlier, “In the News” version of this piece has additional quotes from Secretary of State Clinton’s “The Human Rights of LGBT People and U.S. Foreign Policy” speech.)
Netanyahu said in a statement that the policy for journalists covering the flotilla should not be the same as against infiltrators and those who enter Israel illegally.
Members of the Israeli media and international journalists will be embedded in Israeli Navy vessels in contact with the flotilla “in order to create transparency and credible coverage of the events,” said a statement issued Monday from the Prime Minister’s Office.
“We are pleased to see that Israel has recognized the value of allowing reporters to cover an important news event, and understands that journalists should be treated differently from political activists. We urge the government to continue to do its utmost to promote freedom of the press as core values of a democratic society,” the Foreign Press Association said Monday in a statement. It had previously criticized the threats made to journalists covering the flotilla.
Max Blumenthal has written a piece over at Mondoweiss about the extremist Rev. Hagee funding the group Shurat Hadin, among others, trying to sabotage the mission of “The Audacity of Hope.” Max covers the story below in detail, complete with video exposing Hagee.
Sources in the Shurat Hadin (Israel Law Center) on Sunday took responsibility for lodging an anonymous civil complaint against the American-flagged ship, The Audacity of Hope, which is a part of the flotilla expected to sail towards Gaza later this week, Army Radio reported. The complaint, filed to Greek harbormasters, alleged that the boat was not seaworthy and accused the organizers sailing the ship of aiding terror, according to the report. – Group says its responsible for flotilla complaint
From the Christian Science Monitor:
This flotilla is attempting to reach Gaza in a dramatically changed regional context from May 2010, before the uprisings collectively known as the Arab spring. With the chance for real democratic change in Israeli neighbors like Egypt, organizers are hoping to press home their argument that the Palestinian residents of Gaza are as deserving of basic freedoms as any of their neighbors. “It’s even more relevant this year,” says Robert Naiman, a US activist waiting to board in Athens. “There’s a revolution of popular expectations and we’re playing out on a stage in which governments in the region feel more pressure to respond to public opinion.” – Intense Israeli lobbying stalls Gaza flotilla
One of the ships due to participate in the Gaza flotilla was deliberately tampered with while it was docked in Greece’s Piraeus port, Gaza flotilla activists told Haaretz on Monday. The ship, due to carry Greek, Norwegian, and Swedish passengers to Gaza, was found with its propeller shaft broken, the ship’s spokesman Israeli activist Dror Feiler told Haaretz.
Turkey has asked Israel to agree to a toned-down version of the UN Secretary-General’s report on last year’s flotilla to Gaza, according to a senior government official in Jerusalem.
According to the official, the Turks are “very worried” about the harsh criticism of Turkey they expect the report to contain, and want Israel to agree to a softened version as part of a package deal to end the crisis between the two countries over the flotilla, which took place in May 2010.
On this day in history, June 19, 1862, slavery was outlawed in U.S. territories.
Here are some news stories from around the internets that you may or may not have seen:
~Barack Obama has pulled a GW Bush and is arguing he doesn’t need Congressional approval to use military force in Libya because what we are doing there doesn’t meet the definition of hostilities. I kid you not. I be the Libyans would beg to differ. So, while the White House is trying to convince all the good people at Netroots Nation that Obama actually gives a damn about the progressive base, the NYT has came out with an incredible story about how Obama, like Bush before him, ignored his top legal advisers about the need for Congressional approval prior to bombing Libya.
Maybe President Obama could have a debate with Senator Obama circa 2007 because this is what Senator Obama said about war powers:
The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.
As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.
~Speaking of Netroots Nation, the Obama administration is predictably buttering up the glbt vote. Once again the argument goes something like this “hey, we may be letting you down but just imagine how bad off you’d be if those other guys were in charge!” I give Obama credit where credit is do- for example on DADT- but I can’t help but get the sense that he has to be dragged kicking and screaming to do the right thing, and even then only after polls show that about 60% of Americans support it.
~So, it’s official, we’re alreadyin negotiations with the Taliban. I’ll repeat the question I posed in last weeks news round-up: If we can negotiate with the Taliban, a group that is killing American soldiers and Afghan civilians as we speak, why do we reject without any debate, the possibility of Mideast peace negotiations with Hamas? I have yet to get an answer to that question. If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comment section.
~Tim Pawlenty’s tax plan is a joke- almost 40% of the benefits of the plan would go to the top 1% of the richest Americans. I don’t care how much average Republican voters hate Barack Obama, do they realize that the GOP exists to line the pockets of big business at their expense? And no, the Democrats don’t get a pass on this either.
~A Bahraini blogger at Netroots Nation called out the State Dept. for their silence on the brutal crackdown in Bahrain despite their knowing all the gory details about what the government was/is doing. Inexcusable.
~In the wake of the “Gay Girl in Damascus”/Amina controversy (if you are not familiar with it you can read about it here) there has been quite an important discussion that has ensued about how the West has misrepresented the glbt community in Arab countries, purportedly for their [our] own selfish purposes. If anything good has come of the Amina hoax, it’s that glbt advocates in the U.S. and Europe are having an open dialogue with members of the glbt in the Arab world, many of whom feel that the West doesn’t really understand their real concerns, but instead are taking advantage of them in order to push a decidedly Western agenda. On a similar note, there’s now a long-time-coming controversy brewing about the popular blog Gay Middle East, the gist of which revolves around the question of“who gets to speak for glbt Arabs in the Middle East?” There’s also the controversial issue of Pinkwashing which you can read about here.
~President Obama isn’t polling well against an unnamed GOP opponent. That’s not so good.
~John McCain is upset that some of the GOP presidential candidates are listening to the electorate and expressing doubts about invading and bombing a new country each week. He calls this view “isolationist.” You see, McCain’s (and Lieberman and Lindsey Graham) definition of “patriotism” is threatening the use of force to deal with every situation. If one expresses doubt or questions aobut whether this is in the U.S.’ best interests, well, then you are relegated to the status of cheese-eating-surrender-monkey. Go sit in the corner!
~An excellent article about how Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad was put on a pedestal by the U.S. and other Western countries, all the while they ignored the reality of what was going on on the ground (in the territories). The unelected Fayyad could stay in Washington’s good graces only so long as he unquestioningly did their bidding and now that there is a new Hamas-Fatah unity deal in the works (it’s not a done deal yet) and a continued push for a declaration of statehood at the UN in September, Fayyad may find for the first time that his phone calls will not be returned by the State Dept. and White House.
~A comedian impersonating Obama was pulled off the stage at the Republican Leadership Conference for making racial jokes. Isn’t this the same guy Fox News uses for their fake Obama debates?
~Andrew Breitbart is pathetic. Question- did Breitbart call on Vitter or Ensign or Sanford to resign when they were caught with their pants down?
~It’s interesting how Islamaphobia is so mainstream that it’s actually used as a political tactic to get votes. There aren’t a lot of groups about which you can say that, except perhaps glbt folks, who of course are also used by the right as a political wedge issue.
~Ok, this guy is my new hero. This was very bad planning by British Prime Minister Cameron’s advance team. Watch the doctor come in the hospital room and kick Cameron out for using a patient’s room as the setting for a political photo op:
~I’m sorry but Justice Clarence Thomas has turned the Supreme Court into a joke. And it would be entirely appropriate for Chief Justice Roberts to rein him in. It has nothing to do with his conservative judicial philosophy but has everything to do with the way he conducts himself. There was a time in this country when the Supreme Court was actually respected. I know, go figure. There have always been controversies but the SCOTUS has weathered those storms by staying as far away from politics and the appearance of impropriety as possible. Not Clarence Thomas though (and Justice Scalia is guilty of this also).
~The perpetually angry neoconservative WaPo blogger Jennifer Rubin quotes John Woo, the author of the infamous torture memos in the Bush administration, for guidance on War Powers. Good grief.
Hamza al-Khateeb was 13 years-old. The details are horrifyingly shocking. From Al Jazeera and be prepared if you’re going to read on:
Arrested during a protest in Saida, 10km east of Daraa, on April 29, Hamza’s body was returned to his family on Tuesday 24th May, horribly mutilated.
The child had spent nearly a month in the custody of Syrian security, and when they finally returned his corpse it bore the scars of brutal torture: Lacerations, bruises and burns to his feet, elbows, face and knees, consistent with the use of electric shock devices and of being whipped with cable, both techniques of torture documented by Human Rights Watch as being used in Syrian prisons during the bloody three-month crackdown on protestors.
Hamza’s eyes were swollen and black and there were identical bullet wounds where he had apparently been shot through both arms, the bullets tearing a hole in his sides and lodging in his belly.
On Hamza’s chest was a deep, dark burn mark. His neck was broken and his penis cut off.
There is now a Facebook page simply dedicated to saying We are all Hamza Alkhateeb. The YouTube comes with login filter because of the graphic nature.
Obama’s intervention policy now lies in shambles. Libya was good enough for humanitarian reasons, but because of where Syria resides we do nothing. Now, I’m not for intervention in either country, because I’m against the U.S. being the world’s policeman alone. But Pres. Obama intervened militarily in Libya on human rights grounds, so what of Syria at this point? Interestingly, tomorrow Rep. Dennis Kucinich is going to get a floor vote that pulls the trigger on the War Powers Act of 1973. You have to admire the man’s idealism, as if anyone in Congress would challenge the Executive Branch fully.
While all this is going on the Assad regime is reportedly butchering children. The international community must not stand by while he does.
Chris Hedges ushered in 2011 by calling it a brave new dystopia. For a brief moment in time, the Egyptian and Wisconsin protests provided a glimmer of “there’s something happening here,” but then we were returned to our regularly scheduled dystopic nightmare. I don’t know about you, but lately I’m finding that the actual headlines these days sound more satirical than the ones in the Onion. They leave me either wanting to lolsob…or just sob. So, on that note…
This photo of sailboats at sunset has us yearning for the sea, which makes it an Editors’ Pick for week one of our 2011 Traveler Photo Contest in the category of Outdoor Scenes. The photographer Ken Michael Jon Taarup writes, “Boracay has never ceased to amaze many people from all over the world. With its white crystal sand, pristine blue waters, and beautiful sunsets, this place still tops the list of the most visited and beautiful resorts in the Philippines.”
That’s so you have something calming to visualize while you read my Saturday picks.
Alright, grab your morning cuppa if you haven’t already, and read on.
Let’s just get the biggest distraction out of the way first…
Being pro-choice means understanding that self-determination for women regarding sex, sexuality, reproduction and motherhood is a fundamental precursor to womens’ ability to achieve their own educational, economic and familial aspirations, a fundamental precursor to the health and well-being of individuals and families, and a core condition of the long-term stability and health of society. It therefore also means understanding the profound connections for women–supported by more than ample evidence–between economic and educational status and unfettered access to comprehensive sexual health education, contraception, family planning services, and abortion care.
The War on Unions… now brought to you by Dems in MA?
The bill will take a month before coming to the state Senate, but the overwhelming vote in the House, and [Gov.] Patrick’s kinder, gentler rights-stripping plan, make it look like something’s going to happen in Massachusetts. Time to get out in the streets in another blue state.
“I’ve played at hundreds of protests and demonstrations, and this was really unique,” he said. “It was every segment of society. It was radical students and cops on the same side, and I’d never seen that before.”
Hillaryland
The otherwise serious and reliable Laura Rozen overreacted a bit to Hillary taking a few days of Easter R&R time off with her family. There’s a reason Hill was dubbed the “Energizer Secretary.” The woman works non-stop. She has a personal life that she’s entitled to attend to and/or just recharge every few years or so.
Sean Penn spotted at Foggy Bottom on Thursday. Rozen says one reason for his visit to the State Department might be his recent humanitarian work in Haiti.
First of all, I didn’t have modest experience in management. Managing Stanford University is not so easy. But I don’t know what Don was trying to say, and it really doesn’t matter. Don can be a grumpy guy. We all know that.
As always, Black Agenda Report tells it like it is…
This is an instant classic! Please read and disseminate. Bruce A. Dixon’s Top Ten Answers To Excuses For Obama’s Betrayals and Failures. Note Number 9 — it’s for all the Obamaphiles who won’t accept that Obama is the third Bush-Cheney term. And, to quote a snippet from Numero Uno (Re: “It’s our fault the Obama presidency hasn’t kept its commitments. We need to ‘make him do it.’”):
You cannot make a US president do what he fundamentally doesn’t want to. Michelle Obama is nice to look at, but she is no Eleanor Roosevelt. Franklin Roosevelt used to publicly bask in the hatred of wealthy banksters. Barack Obama’s dream is mostly not to piss off rich people.
For more on the atrocities of Bush-Cheney III, give BAR’s April 25th podcasta listen. In the first segment BAR’s Glen Ford interviews Labor Notes editor Mark Brenner, who sees no growth and no jobs on the horizon and says:
“Absolute disaster for working folks. If we follow the Ryan plan or if we follow the Obama plan, none of it spells good news for the rest of us.”
In another segment, Clarence Thomas, former Local 10 union secretary-treasury, says “what one needs to understand is that this is not simply an attack on public sector workers, it is also an attack on public services.”Thomas says the goal is to put labor back where it was before the New Deal, noting that it is a corporate and rightwing agenda in which“the Democratic party is complicit.”
In response to the brutality of the crackdown, President Barack Obama signed an executive order today instituting sanctions against the Syrian intelligence agency and two of Assad’s brothers, a White House official confirmed. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council voted in Geneva today to condemn the Syrian crackdown.
“The [Executive Order] is a watershed,” Andrew Tabler, a Syria expert with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told The Envoy.“This is the first time an Assad has been designated by the [U.S. government], and the first time the USG has issued an EO on human rights in Syria. Until a few months ago Human Rights was a distant fifth on our list of issues with Syria. Now it’s emerged as the center of our policy.”
Ms. Cheng was arrested on what was supposed to have been her wedding day last fall for sending a single sarcastic Twitter message that included the words “charge, angry youth.” The government, lacking a sense of humor, sentenced her to a year in labor camp.
Security forces in Syria met thousands of demonstrators with fusillades of live ammunition after noon prayers on Friday, killing at least 81 people in the bloodiest day of the five-week-old Syrian uprising, according to protesters, witnesses and accounts on social networking sites. – Security Forces Kill Dozens in Uprisings Around Syria
Welcome to another edition of America’s amateur foreign policy hour.
Having Sen. McCain say in Libya that “for the United States to withdraw our unique offensive capabilities at this time would send the wrong signal” is not only inappropriate, but reenforces the notion of an empire nation, which is the biggest reason our country hangs in continual economic limbo, something conservatives never consider when thinking of national security that must include our economic health.
The BBC is reporting that NATO has utilized armed Predator drones, with Pres. Obama approving the action earlier, which now have struck inside Libya for the first time. Unarmed drones have been used for intelligence and reconnaissance missions.
Pres. Obama could not have approved the use of anything that is a worse symbol of American imperialism than a hell fire missile coming from a Predator. This type of action has already proved counterproductive in Pakistan, but then U.S. policy has been in a perpetual state of chaos for over 10 years.
As an aside, I don’t watch Chris Matthews much anymore, but took a moment yesterday to do so only to hear him trip over himself opining that Predator drones might signify a way out of Libya, something that made him sound so incredibly ignorant I wanted to immediately turn off the TV, but curiosity stopped me, because I wanted to see how he was going to get out of this mess. As he interviewed Richard Engel, he asked the significance of the armed drones being utilized instead of an AC-130, with Engel saying the armed drones were like “a kite” in comparison, something Matthews didn’t know. What’s worse is that he didn’t bother to find out before he went on the air or do any homework on the matter, at least none that was evident. It’s no wonder people are stupid on foreign policy with the likes of Chris Matthews dispensing opinions that armed drone attacks might be the end, instead of simply positing questions and letting the experts tell you what is and is not true.
It seems to me the American people have to get reacquainted with a new thought, which war hawks and neocons are not going to like and neither are humanitarians.
Our standard for bombing or becoming militarily involved in another country that has not attacked us must have at its core that a clear and present danger to the United States must exist.
Unless genocide or ethnic cleansing are happening we stay out, with the ugly reality in geopolitics that you also need proof that it is. We shouldn’t bomb countries before something has happened, preemptively involving ourselves in something that is only a threat.
It’s horrific to read and hear about the carnage erupting throughout the Middle East, but we simply cannot be involved in every skirmish, no matter how gut wrenching the reports. The founding of our own American freedom came through a lot of bloodshed and chaos, with the result of fighting for your own country part of what rebuilds a nation’s character. New American discipline needs to be instilled in our leaders to engage with the world community to bring thugs to justice, without everyone expecting U.S. military involvement for which taxpayers are on the hook.
I’d start with George W. Bush for Iraq, but then I’m a liberal, not one of the mealy-mouthed Democratic elite.
Released last night, Pres. Obama’s statement on Syria:
The United States condemns in the strongest possible terms the use of force by the Syrian government against demonstrators. This outrageous use of violence to quell protests must come to an end now. We regret the loss of life and our thoughts are with the families and loved ones of the victims, and with the Syrian people in this challenging time.
The Syrian Government’s moves yesterday to repeal Syria’s decades-old Emergency Law and allow for peaceful demonstrations were not serious given the continued violent repression against protesters today. Over the course of two months since protests in Syria began, the United States has repeatedly encouraged President Assad and the Syrian Government to implement meaningful reforms, but they refuse to respect the rights of the Syrian people or be responsive to their aspirations. The Syrian people have called for the freedoms that all individuals around the world should enjoy: freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and the ability to freely choose their leaders. President Assad and the Syrian authorities have repeatedly rejected their calls and chosen the path of repression. They have placed their personal interests ahead of the interests of the Syrian people, resorting to the use of force and outrageous human rights abuses to compound the already oppressive security measures in place before these demonstrations erupted. Instead of listening to their own people, President Assad is blaming outsiders while seeking Iranian assistance in repressing Syria’s citizens through the same brutal tactics that have been used by his Iranian allies. We call on President Assad to change course now, and heed the calls of his own people.
We strongly oppose the Syrian government’s treatment of its citizens and we continue to oppose its continued destabilizing behavior more generally, including support for terrorism and terrorist groups. The United States will continue to stand up for democracy and the universal rights that all human beings deserve, in Syria and around the world.
I used to say about George W. Bush and the neocons that if they’d been around during the Cuban Missile Crisis we’d have wasted Cuba. But after Libya, I’m not so sure if Barack Obama doesn’t deserve his own sub-category, even as Sec. Clinton has already said we will not become engaged in Syria. The inconvenient geography of Syria renders it absolutely impossible, making a mockery out of the “humanitarian” angle of Libya, which never should have been uttered, let alone engaged militarily.
The problem with all of this is that Pres. Obama’s foreign policy makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Why Libya and not Syria? It’s not about “inaction” in Syria as much as it is irreconcilable stupidity for going into Libya, a decision that looks like the height of hypocrisy when reading, watching or hearing about the carnage in Bahrain.
Pres. Obama doesn’t have a Middle East strategy, policy or anything resembling a foreign policy road map, which is now nakedly exposed.
What these valiant war correspondents, conflict photographers and other journalists in dangerous lands do and the dangers they go to when bringing news cannot be overstated.
“This is a devastating loss to many of us personally,” said Kenneth Roth, the executive director of Human Rights Watch, which was examining options to recover his remains. “But it is also a devastating loss to the human rights community. His work has raised the visibility of many of the world’s forgotten conflicts. May the legacy of his exceptional photographs serve to inspire future generations.” – The New York Times
“For my friends and colleagues, this is a factual statement — current law already prevents federal money from paying for abortions,” she said, referring to the Hyde Amendment, the perpetual rider that’s been in place since 1976. “This has been the law of the land for over 30 years.”
Gillibrand seems to have gotten a little more aggressive over the past few months, emboldened maybe by having been elected to the upper chamber, but more likely just stirred up by the Republican House, which has made a particular point of going after women’s issues.
However, despite President Obama’s speech to the nation explaining the justifications for military engagement last Monday, an increasing percentage say that the military action lacks a clear goal – 57% today, up from 50% a week ago. And by an overwhelming 66% to 25% margin, most say they would oppose the U.S. and its allies sending arms and military supplies to the anti-government groups in Libya. – Goal of Libyan Operation Less Clear to Public
Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd has urged the international community to maintain its resolve over the deadly conflict in Libya, as NATO vowed to do everything possible to protect civilians. Libyan rebel leaders have accused NATO of standing idly by while government forces kill people in the besieged western city of Misrata. – ABC News
Libyan rebels ripped NATO “inaction” in Gadhafi-held portions of the country, proving that no good deed goes unpunished, especially if it’s as haphazardly initiated as this one was by the West.
War brings with it its own humanitarian crises; you can’t wage it without killing civilians. That’s just a fact.
For Pres. Obama and his neoconservative friends, along with a lot of Democrats, deciding to go into Libya is proving to be a very bad war of choice. From the Washington Post:
“One Libya, with Tripoli as its capital” is spray-painted on walls around this rebel city and glides off the tongues of opposition leaders. Moammar Gaddafi will fall in a week, they predict, two at the most, and they’ll build a new country then.
But as weeks stretch into months and progress on the battlefield stalls, this rebel-held area of Libya is settling into its status as a de facto separate state.
[...] …on Monday a facility that feeds oil to Tobruk was sabotaged, presumably by Gaddafi’s forces. The damage to production has not yet been assessed, but the attack underscored the east’s fragility. For now its leaders live in semi-hiding, with bodyguards and safe houses, and the east is dependent on NATO airstrikes to keep Gaddafi’s forces at bay.
Libya was never going to be Rwanda, with the ghosts of that catastrophe inspiring an emotional decision by Obama and other leaders, including Sec. Clinton, Samantha Power and Susan Rice, among others. It’s truly remarkable how seasoned foreign policy hands can ignore the history of intervention and the predictable outcome of half-measures.
The only way to have a positive outcome in Libya was to go all in. You can’t wage half a war successfully.
Afghanistan proved that after Bush left for the Iraq preemption misadventure, with Pres. Obama still trying to make right in that country something that cannot be corrected from the outside.
In reversing one of its last principled positions—that American courts are sufficiently nimble, fair, and transparent to try Mohammed and his confederates—the administration surrendered to the bullying, fear-mongering, and demagoguery of those seeking to create two separate kinds of American law. This isn’t just about the administration allowing itself to be bullied out of its commitment to the rule of law. It’s about the president and his Justice Department conceding that the system of justice in the United States will have multiple tiers—first-class law for some and junk law for others. – Dahlia Lithwick
“You cannot say that a man is ‘evil’ and ‘anti-American’ in effect and then adopt his policies.” – Joe Scarborough
After a rousing discussion, Joe Scarborough agreed with the decision to keep the trial of KSM at Gitmo. His main concern was that candidate Obama had pronounced these policies of Bush-Cheney “evil” and “un-American.” Meanwhile, Mika Brzezinski and John Heilemann made the ludicrous argument that Obama’s moral compass remains on course while taking issue with Scarborough over whether Obama ever said anything close to what Joe was claiming. Evidently it’s not enough to adopt the very Bush-Cheney policies you railed against and said you’d change.
Being as aware as anymore who covered the ’08 election cycle, including the “Game Change” author(s) John Heilemann, there is no doubt that candidate Obama implied that Bush-Cheney policies on Gitmo were in fact “evil” and “un-American.” It was the wink and nod between Obama and his die hard fans, as well as skeptical progressives who voted for him, including myself, as Obama pledged that he’d have a different type of presidency.
Mika then turned the subject away from Obama’s responsibility to do better by asking whether Obama would have opened Gitmo in the first place. It reveals the bankruptcy of his apologists on KSM’s trial, because this has absolutely nothing to do with the cowardice of the Obama administration to rubber stamp Bush-Cheney policies where the rule of law is concerned.
Of course, Joe Scarborough has no problem in theory with these same policies, mind you, he just wants Obama supporters to eat it and admit what Obama channeling Bush means looking backward.
There you have it, folks. In a nutshell, this is why we don’t do the brave thing, the right thing, the moral thing and stand up for what this country represents. But we sure are good at paying lip service to American principles when we don’t have anything to lose, like when a candidate for president runs for office. Just don’t let the test of the meaning of American values come inside your own neighborhood.
We are only as strong as our most fearful link. That link was exposed on “Morning Joe” today, but they have a lot of company.
A.G. Eric Holder whined that Congress made him cancel civilian trial plans for Khalid Shaikh Mohammed.
The Obama administration says they had no choice, when in fact Pres. Obama simply wouldn’t make the case and take on Congress, with the President’s loyalists sticking up for him.
The New York Times whines about Senators Chuck Schumer and Joe Lieberman, also saying “the final blow came from Mayor Michael Bloomberg” on why the public trial of KSM had to finally be moved.
America is now a pass the buck society.
It’s always the fault of someone else when we choose to do the un-American thing.
We don’t have anyone willing to stand up and do what’s right regardless of how uncomfortable it makes us or the expense of doing it.
That is not a leading quality of the American spirit, but it has become our driving force.
~In yet another shift away from the values and themes he championed as a candidate in 2008, Obama’s reelection campaign will focus more on big-money donors unrestrained by spending limits, as opposed to focusing on the type of small donor, grassroots fund raising he bragged about in 2008.
~So how does the Côte d’Ivoire fit into the Obama administration’s claim that “we are not just going to sit back and watch a government slaughter their own people”? Whether one agrees or disagrees with our military engagement in Libya, I don’t think there is any denying that both liberals and conservatives are scratching their heads looking for some sort of over-arching foreign policy theme. Secretary Clinton called for Laurent Gbagbo to “step down immediately”- this is the strongest condemnation from the administration to date.
~Arianna Huffington announces what has been obvious for some time now- the HuffPo is not a progressive site anymore. I don’t know how I’d describe it- another corporate news experiment, shameless Search Engine Optimizer, ad revenue generator?
~Did the U.S. get Saudi and Bahraini support for military action in Libya by agreeing to not speak out against Saudi troops going into Bahrain to quash democracy protesters?
~If this is true then the military is moving pretty quickly on repealing DADT. That’s good because if the GOP makes more gains in 2012 (or should I say “when”), things could get tricky.
~Israeli President Shimon Peres will be in Washington this upcoming week to work with President Obama to try to find a way to prevent the UN from recognizing a Palestinian state in September. You know, because this conflict hasn’t gone on long enough, we want to draw it out a bit longer.
~Speaking of Israel and Palestine, the International Crisis Group (ICC)released a report last week that details the rise of extremism in Gaza and how it has been influenced, in part, by rival factions within Palestinian politics but also, notably, the Gaza blockade itself has not only not stemmed the militant tide in Gaza but may actually have increased it. We tend to view Palestinian politics through the lens of Hamas and Fatah but the report details the rise of Salafi-Jihadi groups who are more extremist than Hamas. Given that Hamas did not claim responsibility for the recent murder of the Fogel family and the bombing in Jerusalem, it is actually possible that they in fact weren’t responsible, but rather some of these more extremist groups were. The ICC argues that the situation in Gaza makes it more important than ever to reach a quick, just resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict- in other words, the recent violence should not be seen as a reason to not make peace.
~The pointless, provocative burning of the Koran by that malcontent Pastor Jones in Florida continues to reverberate around the Muslim world, not just in Afghanistan. Some believe Afghan President Hamid Karzai may have added fuel to the fire on Thursday when he openly condemned the burning and called on the U.S. to arrest Jones. Then on Friday during morning prayers, various Imans and Mullahs urged people take action in response to the Koran burning, which clearly was taken to mean “do violence,” whether or not that was the original intent (and it may have been). It was on Friday that the worst violence took place, with nine killed and over 80 wounded at the United Nations headquarters in Afghanistan.
~Our attention has been diverted away from Egypt, but there is trouble brewing as this article makes clear. Pretty soon the U.S. is going to have to pressure the Egyptian military to stop the torture, detentions and repression that continues to take place to this day. The U.S. has a very close relationship with the Egyptian military and in my view, we’ve been giving them a bit too much credit for their “restraint” when in fact, the same repressive system that existed under Mubarak continues to hold [and abuse] power. It’s difficult to see them voluntarily giving up all the power and the perks that go along with military dictatorship.
~So, is the Capitulator In Chief going to allow the GOP another huge victory by agreeing to over $70 billion in budget cuts, much of it targeted at social programs and the usual stuff that the GOP hates. Naturally, the Defense Department gets a pass on this one. You know, because there is no waste, fraud and abuse there. Maybe Obama should stand up for something and allow the GOP to shut down the government? Oh wait, but he doesn’t stand for anything. Does Obama want to help the average middle class American or does he just want to be liked by the GOP and moderates? Because at this point, his military and economic policies are anything but “progressive” and they still can’t stand him. It’s time for Barack Obama to accept that no matter what he does, the GOP will say “no.” Apparently Obama thinks that “compromise” means giving the GOP almost everything they want and getting little to nothing in return. The compromising of late has been rather one-sided.
~Glenn Greenwald does a nice job illustrating why Obama is totally willing to take the progressive vote for granted- because some Obama supporters, just like the G.W. Bush supporters of yore, will rationalize everything Barack Obama does, even if they don’t agree with it. In another recent post, Glenn Greenwald exposes Obama’s hypocrisy and total about-face on the limits (or lackthereof) of Executive Power, particularly as it relates to war and national security.
~Senators have sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton demanding she insist the Palestinians cease their incitement against Jews and Israel in their media, schools etc. No argument there. Incitement by definition throws fuel on an already-smoldering file. But over at Foreign Policy, Mathew Berkman argues that BOTH Palestinians and Israelis should be urged to cease incitement and that Congress, and Israel, tend to have a double standard on this issue.
~Fox News lowers the bar. Again. They have given The Donald a regular Monday segment where he say outrageous things without having to explain them while promoting himself as a potential Presidential candidate. They are rationalizing that this ok because he’s not a paid contributor like some of their other Presidential candidates.
~Speaking of The Donald, Glenn Beck has…get this…dismissed Donald Trump as a “showboat” candidate. Hahahahaha. And what would Glenn know about showboating?
~More fun with Fox News- A Fox News executive admits he lied on air about candidate Obama during the 2008 election. Now, if this were any other “news” agency heads would roll. But this is Fox, a place where such biased nonsense is not only encouraged, but rewarded.
~The National Organization for Marriage is warning Virginians and whoever else that will listen, that pretty soon Virginia will have “mandatory gay adoptions” whatever the hell that means. Does that mean gay people will be mandated to adopt? Or does it mean straight people in Virginia will have to adopt gay people? Apparently what it actually means is that there shouldn’t be discrimination in the adoption process. The problem is that the religious right and anti-gay groups have mobilized around this issue and could tilt the balance against what appears to be an entirely reasonable regulation.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrives for the funeral mass for former vice presidential candidate Geraldine Ferraro, Thursday, March 31, 2011 in New York.
Morning, news junkies. Note: You’ll have to read all the way to the bottom of this one for the tie-in to “Jeannette” and “Perditta.” There’s also some comic relief from the Onion waiting there at the end as a reward for making it through. My Saturday reads are often on the ‘heavy’ side I know, and this weekend is no exception.
The article states:“Because mercenaries from Chad and Mali are presumed to be fighting for him [Gaddafi], the lives of a million African refugees and thousands of African migrants are at risk. A Turkish construction worker told the British radio station BBC: ‘We had seventy to eighty people from Chad working for our company. They were massacred with pruning shears and axes, accused by the attackers of being Gaddafi’s troops. The Sudanese people were massacred. We saw it for ourselves.’ ”
The zombie in place of the fourth estate, our corporate US media, has either glossed over or omitted the massacre altogether. Meanwhile, Al Jazeera, unsurprisingly, has had more to say on the killings than I’ve seen from CNN or Fox over the last few months combined. Again, from the WSWS link:
On February 28, the Arab TV station Al Jazeera reported the racist massacre of black African workers by so-called “freedom fighters” as follows: “Dozens of workers from sub-Saharan Africa, it is feared, have been killed and hundreds are hiding because angry opponents of the government are hunting down black African mercenaries, witnesses reported…. According to official reports, about 90 Kenyans and 64 people from southern Sudan, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Zambia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sierra Leone and Burundi landed in Nairobi today.
One of them, Julius Kiluu, a 60-year-old construction manager, told Reuters: ‘We were attacked by people from the village. They accused us of being murderous mercenaries. But in reality they simply refuse to tolerate us. Our camp was burnt down. Our company and our embassy helped us get to the airport.’“Hundreds of black immigrants from the poorest African countries, who work mainly as low-wage day labourers in Libya, have been wounded by the rebels. From fear of being killed, some of them have refrained from going to a doctor.”
“But why is nobody concerned about the plight of sub-Saharan African migrants in Libya? As victims of racism and ruthless exploitation, they are Libya’s most vulnerable immigrant population, and their home country governments do not give them any support,” Hein de Haas, a senior fellow with the International Migration Institute, writes in his blog.
Even Al-Jazeera TV has based most of its news coverage of bands of marauding savage Africans on information posted via tweeter, facebook, and other social networks. That there may be African mercenaries operating in Libya is very possible but there are also credible reports from Serbian military sources as well as other Western agencies that Serbian mercenaries are fighting to protect Muammar Gaddafi. Yet nothing has been said about Gaddafi’s Serbian and Russian mercenaries.
Black Africans have always been a ‘visible’ and persecuted minority in Libya. By giving credence to potentially dangerous and unverified reports and rumours posted on social networks without taking into consideration the racial context of Libyan society Al-Jazeera and other foreign media outlets are complicit in the latest vilification and scapegoating of Libya’s Black minorities and its African migrant workers.
I don’t claim to be an expert on what’s happening on the ground in Libya, but I would like some answers on the deaths of these migrant workers. I would really love to hear someone put this humanitarian issue to Madame President Hillary Clinton for comment.
Switching gears now… because yep, you heard me correctly…
I just called her Madame President Hillary Clinton.
Nothing new there, of course, except for the part about everyone knowing it. If Obama is the Where’s Waldo president, our media was the Where’s Waldo fourth estate in 2008, as well as during the entire past decade. That Where’s Waldo media, by the way, very much included left blogistan, guilty of its own version of the “Village” insularity and hegemony in the traditional media that the prog blogs cut their teeth railing against.
In 2008, access was more important than our country’s future to journalists and bloggers, and I have no reason to believe in 2012, the story will be any different.
Pres. Obama got one thing correct last night in his speech. Just because we can’t help all countries doesn’t mean we can’t intervene where it’s really needed. Unfortunately, his judgment for what this means in American foreign policy sucks.
You want humanitarian crises as a rationalization for choosing to wage war one place and not another? Hundreds of thousands of women have been raped in the Congo.
Pres. Obama still hasn’t responded to the outcries to appoint a special envoy there. I guess Ben Affleck doesn’t have the juice of George Clooney.
There is no law in the Republic of Congo, beyond forcing young girls to marry her rapist.
We are now responsible for the Libyan rebels’ forward progress, which would stop the second the West would end the bombing, arms embargo and all other tools we’re using.
Whatever progressive leftists once were to the Democratic Party, those supporting Pres. Obama’s flawed rationale for choosing war in Libya has reduced them to drooling incoherence on Libya.
If you want to know Pres. Obama’s job tonight, this is it. Make Americans understand the United States has a clear goal in Libya, which is also attainable. He’ll make the case by saying a humanitarian catastrophe has already been prevented, which isn’t a bad thing to bring to the table on his first speech on Libya to a national audience.
After several days of airstrikes on Libya by the United States and its allies, the public has mixed reactions to the military operation. Nearly half of Americans (47%) say the United States made the right decision in conducting air strikes in Libya while 36% say it was the wrong decision. Fully one-in-six (17%) express no opinion.
If Obama can move those 17% he’ll be in much better shape, regardless of the fact that his Libyan mission has been incoherent from the start.
I doubt, however, Pres. Obama will answer Justin Elliott’s question, which is a good one: Will Obama violate the arms embargo in Libya? The WSJ reported that Egypt is already arming the “rebels,” though it remains unconfirmed.
It’s also good news that when Pres. Obama sits down tonight he can say NATO is in charge of a greater portion of what’s going on.
I can’t count how many articles I’ve read on Libya, from all sides of the political spectrum, mostly concentrating on foreign policy experts. Few can explain any backing of Obama’s war of choice in Libya with any clarity where American priorities are concerned. I don’t think anyone ever will.
One view from Canada is harsh, calling what’s been done in Libya as “humanitarian imperialism.”
This doctrine is known as the “responsibility to protect” (R2P for short) and was endorsed by the United Nations in 2005. It mandates that the “international community” is morally obliged to defend people who are in danger of massive human-rights violations. It’s rooted in Western guilt over the failure to prevent genocide in Rwanda. R2P is the moral underpinning of the war in Libya…
[...] We have entered a new age – the age of humanitarian imperialism. Humanitarian imperialists are besotted with fantasies of the West’s inherent goodness. As American writer David Rieff puts it, they have promised that, from now on, all wars will “noble wars of altruism.” To them, the facts on the ground don’t matter much. What really matters is their good intentions.
There is no equivalent between Rwanda and Libya, but that’s the trouble with humanitarian missions that aren’t in a country’s vital interests. What’s the death toll or atrocity trigger that pushes countries to action?
Ms. Wente goes on to talk about Clinton, Rice and Power, as well as France’s Bernard-Henri Lévy.
Pres. Obama will make his case tonight, but will he address his “Gadhafi has to go” doctrine in terms of strategic interests, as well as how this all ends? He can’t, because it doesn’t fit that framing, and no one knows.
Capitalism Out of the Closet **UPDATED** Would we be any worse off with Stephen Colbert as president? I doubt it. Politifact has watched the video [...]
Not Disappointed in Pres. Obama **Postscript added** President Obama is now neck and neck with a generic Republican challenger in the latest Real Clear Politics [...]
Fan Politics Despite rising public concern about the federal budget deficit, Americans favor keeping Social Security and Medicare benefits as they are [...]
Good morning and welcome to Sunday!
Good morning and welcome to Sunday.
