At a Holocaust Remembrance Day at the Capitol on Thursday, President Obama called for “fighting the silence that is evil’s greatest co-conspirator.”
On the same day, Obama decided to oppose creation of a truth commission to vigorously investigate and expose U.S. torture crimes.
This is another of those damn paradoxes of which Washington is full of.
Perhaps Obama believes that any atrocity with less than a million victims is merely a technical error.
Condemning a genocide committed by a foreign government cannot redeem Obama if he effectively pardons U.S. government officials guilty of barbaric practices.
Obama could reverse his opposition to a full disclosure. Or, perhaps more likely, the surge of events and the information already pried out of the government will create enough momentum that far more facts will become public.
Mr. Bovard,
For a supposedly “intelligent” person, Oh-bomb-them sure as hell looks pretty dumb to me.
He keeps saying we need to “look ahead” and stop this looking backwards. Well, how in the hell can you go forward if you don’t know where you have been?
Does he really think that we can just “sweep all these crimes under the rug”? How can any nation of laws do that? The world already has such a low view of America as things are, if we just allow these crimes to go unpunished, even un-investigated, how will this country ever be respected by anyone ever again? Do “our” so-called leaders have such an arrogant view of “our” place in the world? Other than the idiots who believe all they see at Faux Noise, who do they think they are fooling?
ALL the past crimes by “our” government must be investigated and prosecuted. The guilty must be punished. Our Constitution and laws demand this. Oh, wait, the Constitution is just a “goddamn piece of paper” according to W. Shrub any way. Well, it STILL means something to this old Vietnam veteran.
End the bullshit, investigate the crimes and prosecute to offenders.
semper fi,
charlie
damn straight!
For a supposedly “intelligent†person, Oh-bomb-them sure as hell looks pretty dumb to me.
But he (or at least the Establishment that pulls his strings) is clearly at least smart enough to know that the Amoricon sheeple majority have the attention spans of houseflies and the apathy of granite paperweights and that the MSM organs that report his every breath are firmly in that Establishment’s pocket. Hence he can get away with spewing hypocrisy and nonsense out of both sides of his piehole in public with an insouciance that no one else would ever dream of getting away with. There is nothing new under the sun here.
Funny how the U.S. remembers SOME genocides but not OTHERS. I guess the Armenians and the Ukranians need a better financed lobby.
True, but whoever heard of “the Yerevan money people” or “the Kiev money people”?
Who knows, given the impending collapse of the dollar (with its future value ranking somewhere below Monopoly[TM] money), the currencies of Armenia and the Ukraine just might rise in stature sufficiently to enable the birth of such entities.
I don’t know if you guys forgot about the big controversy from fall of ’07 when congress voted to declare the 1915 atrocities against the Armenians an official genocide. I think our government likes to remember atrocities when its convenient for them.
Congress was on the verge of voting to recognize that genocide but was swayed otherwise by Bush and vigorous lobbying by private groups…
Does it really matter if a government engages in mass murder and torture whether those crimes are called a genocide or not? Let us suppose the Nazis picked names at random from the phone book to murder and torture in the Concentration Camps. Would this supposition in any way diminish the the magnitude of the crime committed by the Nazis or diminish the suffering of the innocent victims of that crime? Even if the criminal acts of the Turkish government committed against Armenians is not labeled a genocide I do not see how this would diminish the magnitude of the crime. On the other hand, if those crimes are relabeled a genocide I do not see how this relableling will increase the severity of the crime. Mass murder is mass murder not matter what you call it.
murder is murder no matter what the number is.When the Lancet study stated that about 600,000 Iraqis were killed as result of the US led invasion,the Bush and Blair governments said the study was very flawed and the number was very much lower.But they were simply collateral damage not even human.
You overlook the hypocrisy involved in acknowledging some genocides while ignoring certain other ones.
Even if Obama goes ahead with whatever it takes to expose the torture crimes of America and perhaps punish a few “Washington bad apples” for it, the world can rest assured that America will use that regained credibility to go right ahead in a not too distant future and commit new crimes of even greater viciousness and villainy in the name of “law” and “freedom” and “human rights”. It is like the American newspapers. They apologize in the second page for the lie they told yesterday, and tell their bigger new lie on the third page.
The hypocrisy is staggering. That’s why he gets to be president.
It is fine with the great majority of the American public.
The USA has a long tradition of not holding presidents accountable for their crimes–especially war crimes–and Obama does not want to break with that tradition. Change, schmange!
We have been and are under the thumb of the power elite for generations. We have a one party system, the fascist system. Nothing will “Change” until the sheeple wake up to the fact that they are slaves. We were well paid slaves but for not much longer.
I have been saying it for years, until the people lose their toys and over priced houses nothing will change. I don’t hope for the next depression and there truly is an answer. However, the answer will take sacrifice and knowledge. Free markets and constitutional government is the only viable choice. A Revolution of the mind is the only thing that can save us now. lets get back to what made the US great!
I will be protesting on the Fourth of July at my state capitol building. I don’t honestly believe that the protest itself will do one thing to change the minds of the people in charge (they are already bought and paid for). Thats not the point. The point is to get as much press (local) as possible. The only and last chance we have is to wake the sheeple.
We are not dealing with a stupid population. They honestly have the ability to learn. The sheeple are ignorant and have been retarded in thier mental growth. However, they do have the ability to learn. I know, I have personally gotten through to many of them. Just think about it, the time is right, we have not had this chance before. We can see it already with the Tea parties, people are pissed!
Let’s take the momentum we have and wake up the masses. If I can wake up a handfull of people can’t you wake up someone? We can and we must take control again, it’s that or the end.
Peace!
Best of luck with your protest. I think it was EB White who wrote something along the lines that “Even if one person knows the truth there is still hope. The contagion could spread.”
That is one of the reasons I think Dr. Paul’s campaign was such a great achievement. He managed to spread the word about liberty and peace to millions of people. He, more than any other person has put monetary policy and the Fed on the radar as legitimate issues to be debated. I believe his bill to audit the Fed has picked up 83 co-sponsors in the House. The Republicrats are correct to view Dr. Paul as a threat to thier power. He is a truth teller.
I disagree with you about the Tea Parties. I think they are just a vehicle to rob libertarians of the popular issues of taxes and smaller government. Where I live, in Nashville, those pimpimg the Tea Parties the loudest were the biggest supporters of Bush’s adventure in Iraq, and are the most responsible for spreading the lie that Obama is cutting military spending. Anyways, best of luck with your protest and continue to speak the truth to power.
Thanks for wishing me luck. I completely agree with you in regards to Ron Paul. He has done more for our country than anyone else in a long time. I actually agree with you about the Tea Parties as well. I was just using them as an example to show how restless people are right now. Of course if the Tea Parties had been anti-war as well they probably would have gotten little or no national press. I would like to see more people pick up and go to their state capitols this Fourth of July, 50 protests at 50 State Capitol buildings. We still might not get national coverage but we will get local news. Plus it’s much cheaper for everyone to stay in their own states rather than trying to fly or drive all the way to DC just to me ignored by the MSM.
peace!
Brad and Ira,
Better than staging some sort of a local protest or trying to wake a handful of people out of their stupor, I would suggest trying to figure out how to get the American populace to undertake a prolonged nationwide shopping = consumer boycott (except for necessities), i.e. by stopping its mindless and wildly excessive shopping, which is responsible in large part for the accumulation of unprecedented and unsustainable levels of creditcard and household debt (the weekend trip to the mall has unfortunately become a national pastime and addiction, much like Monday-night football). (The things we need — food, medicines, clothing — we would always be able to purchase at supermarkets, pharmacies and clothing outlets, since there is no real danger these segments of the retail sector would close down on account of a shopping boycott.)
Since roughly 70% of the U.S. economy is driven by consumer spending, a massive consumer boycott would bring the economy to a virtual halt and cause complete hysteria, to say the least, within the growth- and profit-obsessed gov’t, MSM, corporations and all other entities of the corrupt elite.
A sustained, nationwide shopping boycott in my opinion would also be the ONLY way to end the criminal wars in Iraq and Afghanistan: If the public stopped shopping (except for essentials), it — with the economy at a standstill — would have the Establishment by its throat and could pretty much demand anything it wanted IN EXCHANGE FOR a return to business = shopping as usual.
The trillion dollar question, of course, is: HOW does one get the masses to STOP shopping? Such a nationwide action would require, at the very least, a charismatic spokesperson – someone who’s a “household name†– first to suggest the idea and then to encourage and motivate the American populace so that it’s sustained and carried out nationwide…
sven, I could see boycotting certain corporations but not a full boycott of all. The first thing to boycott should be the MSM. However, many industries that produce “luxury” items are simply providing a service for people who want it and can afford it. They are also providing much needed jobs as well. For instance I buy and sell guitars for a living probably only 10% of which go to working musicians for the rest it’s just a hoby. However, I would not want the hard working employees of Gibson and Fender to be out of a job, possibly loose their houses etc. A free market is not the problem it’s the corporatism that is. Target the corporatists and I’ll be all for it.
Although I do believe that we will soon be in a position where people will only be buying essentials, if they can even get them. We will be seeing hyperinflation in around 18 months. It’s inevitable, you can’t “print” (as if the presses could keep up) the amount of money we have without it happening. We have already inflated the money supply to about double what it was a few years ago. Eventually this will double the cost of everything we buy. It could also get far worse if the rest of the world dumps the US dollar as the currency reserve.
I would suggest everyone have a plan to handle the coming economic collapse.
As for waking up the sheep a few at a time. It’s the multiplication effect that has a chance. 2 times 2 times 2 times 2 eventually it could wake up the entire nation. Ron Paul woke up millions how many will they wake up if they are motivated to at least try?
Peace!
Every four years, the DemoPublican Party puts up two hacks to run for President. In 2008, the Republican wing’s nominee was Mad Bomber McInsane, and the Democratic wing put up Saint Barack of Obama. You see, this preserves the fiction that there’s “choice” in our political “system.”
You still end up with the same shit: War, corruption, economic ruin, America heading toward the abyss. . . .
Right on, couldn’t agree with you more. Obama’s a phoney, and his bogus mantel of “Hope” and “Change We Can Believe In” are a total sham. He’s nothing more than a lackey who’s completely beholden to the military-industrial-corporate complex.
“The only difference I ever found between the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership is that one of them is skinning you from the ankle up and the other, from the neck down”. Huey Long.
Peace!
I suppose everyone on here who hates Bush and who thinks he is a war criminal for torturing hard-core Islamo terrorists who chop off people’s heads for fun, is also pushing for a Truth Commission in China and to bring President Hu Jintao up on charges for his torture and murder of thousands of peaceful, innocent Fulan Gong, not to mention anyone who disagrees with the Chinease Communist Party. I suppose you are also pushing for President Fidel Castro to be arrested and tried for his role in the torture, murder and continuing imprisonment of thousands of Cubans. You are probably just as angry that the Arab nations throughout the Middle East have rallied around President Bashir of Sudan (even though he has a warrant out of his arrest by the International Criminal Court for his role in 400,000 deaths in Sudan). Apparently his Arab allies see no problem in what he did and are encouraging him to just ignore the international community.
So you want to be outraged that President Bush committed torture upon wicked people in an (albeit ill advised) effort to protect America from future attacks? Ok, that is fair enough. I am against torture myself. But how come you are not outraged about the torture committed against truly innocent people by so many other world leaders? How come you are so selective in your righteous indignation?
Tim, bad sir, what positive evidence have you that those tortured were “hard core Islamo-terrorists” (pleased to note you’ve dropped the misleading and mendacious “fascist” designation). Moreover, what business have you bleating on about such banal and well-known subjects as the atrocities of official enemies when you yourself refuse to condemn Israel’s brutal quarantine of Gaza or its assault on Lebanon? Where is your moral outrage over, say, Ariel Sharon’s role in the Sabra and Shatila Massacre, or the brutality and indiscriminate aerial bombardment visited daily upon Iraq and Afghanistan? Get off your high horse, son, you haven’t a leg left to stand on.
It’s people like you that scare the shit out of me even more than Muslim fanatics. And you’ve been coming out of the woodwork since 9-11 to spew your idiotic rants about how everything America stands for is evil and everything our enemies stand for is misunderstood.
Man-o-man, Kenneth, you have a seriously twisted grasp on reality. Move to Venezuela or anywhere outside our borders. It’s obvious you hate this country and all of your hatred will never bring the justice you think it deserves. So give up. You’re not going to win anything or change anything.
Mike Blankenship
USArmy vet
As it happens, I live in Canada and I regard the Islamists as little more than reactionary thugs representative of a social layer that would lack significant mass support but for the presence of such foreign occupants as the US military. So, Mike, do you suppose it’s a shade presumptuous to claim that I believe the Islamists are “misunderstood” or that I live within America? For that matter, do you think hollow didacticism of the sort you practice, wherein you never proffer a scintilla of empirical support for any of the sweeping assertions you make, is liable to place you in the unenviable intellectual position of having to retreat from your previous argument when the facts of the matter are presented? Could it be that your stereotyped thinking precludes any rational evaluation? As a concluding remark, “America” is a mental construction that does not correspond to any concrete reality. The State apparatus is controlled by a narrow group of plutocrats who pursue their own interests, independently of what their subjects think and share no common identity with the latter. If you think such types embody your interests, you’re a sight beyond “deluded”, chief.
Kenneth, Good Sir, okay I offcially condemn the deliberate and/or reckless killing of innocent civilians, any time and in any place. I condemn Sharon’s role in Sabra and Shatila. I condemn the aerial assualt on Lebannon (to the extent that it recklessy killed civilians) and I similary condemn any aerial assaults on any country that recklessy kill civilians. (although keep in mind, in a war, any war, sometimes innocent people get killed) I further condemn Israel’s quarentine of Gaza ( althought keep in mind the reason they had to seal it off is because of all the weapons being smuggled in from Egypt and used to attack Israel with rockets on a daily basis.) Nevertheless, I condemn it because I don’t believe in collective punishment (even if it is basically done in Israel’s self defense.)
OK, so now that I have condemned all those things. When are you going to start condeming the Islamo Terrorists who, not recklessly or negligently, but WILLFULLY and PURPOSEFULLY kill and maim innocent civilians on a daily basis, believing that the more innocent people they kill the higher their place in paradise. When will you condemn Hamas for WILLFULLY killing innocent women and children and who still to this day do not recognize Israel’s right to exist in ANY borders. When will you start condeming Saudi Arabia for having legalized pedophelia in that nation? Where a 47 year old can “marry” an 11 year old? When will you condemn the Taliban for killing innocent people and pushing for a law that says a women MUST have sex with her husband every four days and needs his permission to leave the house?
By the way, I submit to you that an Arab woman, living in Israel and with Israeli citizenship has MORE RIGHTS, I repeat, MORE RIGHTS than an Arab woman living in ANY Muslim country with the possible exception of Turkey. And the same goes for gay people living in ANY muslim country. When will you start condeming the widespread, and often brutal, oppression and persecution of women and gays in most Mulim countries? When will you condemn the entire Arab-Leauge for supporing President Bashir of Sudan for his war crimes resulting in 400,000 innnocent pepeople being killed, raped, and tortured? He has a warrant out for his arrest by the international criminal court and yet all the Arab Muslim nations in the area have come to his defense. Do you condemn that Kenneth?
I condemn Hamas, the Israeli governments who financially underwrote it, the despotic Arab regimes who crush their labouring classes, their women, and their minorities, religious, sexual, and otherwise, the Islamist terrorists, and the massive infusions of pecuniary and military aid and armaments the lot of them regularly receive(d) from the West. Content now, are we? The key distinction, though, is this: unlike you, I don’t ally myself with any state or government anywhere in the world. I’m not a partisan of anything or anyone, and I happily stand above the cesspool that is ruling class politics. You, on the other hand, are quite happy to wear the taint of NATO and Israeli expansionism.
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