tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-70409837212240633872024-03-13T11:01:07.061-06:00ROBERTO ANTONIOA critical look and commentary on the news, especially on U.S. foreign policy.BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.comBlogger1264125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-66880950068949330862012-12-01T15:40:00.002-07:002012-12-01T15:40:44.985-07:00EGYPTIAN PRESIDENT MORSI DESTROYS GOOD WILL BY TAKING DICTATORIAL POWERS<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Egyptian President Morsi had built up a sense of trust in other countries for his calm handling of the Israeli-Palestinian cease fire.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">But then he foolishly destroyed the good will by trying to arrogate to himself powers of a dictator. Specifically, he said that his decisions could not be overturned by any Egyptian court.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Now we watch in disbelief, as Egypt goes through another political convulsion.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-91900203482134810062012-11-29T13:29:00.002-07:002012-11-29T13:29:19.965-07:00U.S. SHOULD SUPPORT PALESTINIANS REQUEST TO JOIN UNITED NATIONS<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I call upon Pres. Barack Obama, Sec. Hillary Clinton, and UN Ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, don't be on the wrong side of history and what is right and just. Support the request of the Palestinians for Palestine to become a member of the United Nations.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-48192807397272884502012-11-26T16:15:00.002-07:002012-11-26T16:15:44.251-07:00MY WISH LIST FOR SECOND TERM OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">What I wish for during President Barack Obama's second term:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">1. a push to make a pathway to citizenship for all the undocumented immigrants in the United States.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">2. an end to extra-judicial killings via American drones.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">3. support for the Palestinians effort to obtain statehood and membership in the United Nations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">4. an expansion of the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) to include a "single payor" system, where the government offers health insurance to all in return for paying income taxes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">5. an end to animosity to Iran. The United States should not have any "enemies." This includes Iran.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-32403490336030816762012-11-25T18:58:00.002-07:002012-11-25T18:58:42.883-07:00MR. OBAMA, STOP ISRAEL FROM ATTACKING IRAN AND STARTING NEW WORLD WAR!<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">There are reports out of Israel that an Iranian ship is sailing to Gaza, laden with arms. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">This seems a pretext for war monger Netanyahu and Lieberman to start a war with Iran by sinking one of their ships.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I call upon Pres. Barack Obama, do not let Israel attack Iran!</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-75338078127837048882012-11-22T13:57:00.000-07:002012-11-22T13:57:51.465-07:00PRES. OBAMA WORKS WITH EGYPTIAN PRES. MORSI IN BRINGING ABOUT GAZA CEASE FIRE<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">It was Pres. Barack Obama who was instrumental in bringing about a cease fire in Gaza. Obama worked closely with Egypt's president Morsi in arranging both sides to agree. He called Morsi six times on Monday and Tuesday this week.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Thanks go to Sec. Hillary Clinton, who went to Israel to tell Netanyahu in blunt terms that the United States wished him to agree, rather than continue Israel's immoral and illegal bombing of the Palestinian people.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">See the </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/22/world/middleeast/egypt-leader-and-obama-forge-link-in-gaza-deal.html?ref=todayspaper"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">key reporting</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> in today's <em>The New York Times</em> by Peter Baker and David D. Kirkpatrick.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-64798817821861508322012-11-18T16:06:00.000-07:002012-11-18T16:06:59.962-07:00COMPARE ASSAD OF SYRIA AND NETANYAHU OF ISRAEL<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Compare Bashar al Assad's procedures with those of Bib Netanyahu. Both claim they are fighting armed terrorists. Both order their war planes to bomb homes of civilians, killing scores of men, women and children. Both engage in collective punishment against their political opponents.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-25810850011512473792012-11-16T16:31:00.004-07:002012-11-16T16:32:41.675-07:00U.S. NEEDS TO RECOGNIZE PALESTINE AS MEMBER OF UNITED NATIONS<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here's what I want Pres. Barach Obama to do during his new term. Support the Palestinians in their just desire to achieve informal membership at the United Nations.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Perhaps the latest flare-up of fighting is a result of Bib Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, determined to stop the desire of the Palestinians to be recognized by the U.N. Perhaps he is afraid that the U.N. will then condemn Israel for its harsh and cruel treatment of Palestinians. Or for its use of collective punishment against civilians in Gaza for the acts of a few.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-27066978875214962222012-11-15T17:11:00.002-07:002012-11-15T17:11:44.133-07:00NETANYAHU SEEMS INTENT ON STARTING ANOTHER FOOLISH WAR<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Israeli prime minister, Bibi Netanyahu, seems intent on starting another conflagration in the Middle East. He ordered a targeted assassination of Hamas leader, Ahmad Jabari, last night. Now he is calling up 30,000 Israeli reservists. Can anyone be in doubt that he intends that Israel invade Gaza?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I say, stop this foolishness! Nothing permanent as to peace can be attained through Israeli guns and bombs.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-21811675285410170732012-11-05T16:04:00.001-07:002012-11-05T16:05:10.277-07:00MY PREDICTION—OBAMA WINS REELECTION TOMORROW WITH 320 ELECTORAL VOTES<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I hear reporters on NBC, CBS, BBC World News, Al Jazeera, and France 24 talk about the election as a virtual tie.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I disagree. President Barach Obama is going to win almost every state. Mitt Romney is going down to defeat.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">American presidential elections are decided on the number of electoral votes, with 270 needed to win. Each state is assigned so many electoral votes, based on population. Illinois, for example, has 20 electoral votes. If Obama wins in Illinois, he garners all of the state's 20 electoral votes.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">From what I see in state-by-state polls, I predict Pres. Barach Obama will win with 320 electoral votes.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-83499307912676098362012-10-31T15:11:00.001-06:002012-10-31T15:49:27.271-06:00WHEN WILL THE UNITED STATES OBJECT TO VIOLATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN BAHRAIN?<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I call upon Pres. Barach Obama and Sec. Hillary Clinton to condemn <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/30/bahrain-opposition-protests-ban">the decree in Bahrain, prohibiting public demonstrations</a>.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Why can't the United States government put pressure on the ruling Khalifas of Bahrain to extend human rights, such as free speech and the freedom to demonstrate, to the Shia in Bahrain?</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-81687062037840707382012-10-26T13:59:00.001-06:002012-10-26T14:00:12.996-06:00BBC MANAGERS SHOULD HAVE KNOWN ABOUT BEHAVIOUR OF JIMMY SAVILE<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">How could the managers at the BBC </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/27/world/europe/jimmy-savile-denied-sex-abuse-in-2006-interview.html?_r=1&ref=world"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">not have been aware of Jimmy Savile</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> and his pattern of sexual abuse of children over 30 or 40 years?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The New York Times </span><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/26/world/europe/savile-inquiry-widens-to-others-at-bbc-reports-say.html?ref=europe"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">should rethink hiring the BBC's managing director</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">, Mark Thompson, as new editor of the paper.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-52634008418185450432012-10-24T17:12:00.003-06:002012-10-24T17:13:43.222-06:00POLLS SHOW LEAD EXPANDING FOR BARACK OBAMA IN KEY STATES<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Good news! Pres. Barack Obama seems to be pulling ahead in the various key state polls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here's </span><a href="http://politicalwire.com/archives/2012/10/24/latest_swing_state_polls.html"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">a rundown</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> from <a href="http://politicalwire.com/">Taegan Goddard's <em>Political Wire</em></a>.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-74714976682178294812012-10-18T16:11:00.000-06:002012-10-18T16:11:29.152-06:00FEDERAL APPEALS COURT STRIKES DOWN AS DISCRIMINATORY FEDERAL DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The U.S. government is divided into three branches, the executive, the legislative, and the judiciary.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">While majority rule determines the makeup of the first two branches, the electorate does not select the federal judiciary. This means that the judicial branch is immune from majoritarian rule. One of its main purposes is to protect minority rights in the face of majority rule.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Today, we have another example of the integrity of the federal judiciary. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit upheld the right of two homosexual adults to marry and secure the same legal rights as heterosexuals when they marry.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Timothy Williams reports in <em>The New York Times</em> online that the court held today that the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which bars homosexual marriages, is unconstitutional.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Writes Timothy Williams:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"A federal appeals court in Manhattan ruled on Thursday
that the federal statute defining marriage as a union between a man and a woman
unlawfully discriminates against same-sex married couples by denying them equal
federal benefits."</span></em> </div>
BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-62282426423924905392012-10-17T16:06:00.003-06:002012-10-17T16:11:24.913-06:00REPUBLICANS CREATE FALSE CHARGE AGAINST PRES. BARACK OBAMA ON LIBYA<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The Romney campaign, and Republicans in general, seem to think that there is a smoking gun to be found in the administration's handling of the Benghazi tragedy. The story line appears to be that Obama is hiding his own incompetence in not immediately recognizing that the attack and killing of the American ambassador on September 11th was an act of terrorists that had nothing to do with the furor that erupted in the Islamic world over a perceived insult to the prophet Muhammad in a video made by an Egyptian-American in California.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/18/us/politics/questions-and-answers-on-the-benghazi-attack.html?hp"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">But Scott Shane reports</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> in <em>The New York Times</em> today that the administration at first did not have intelligence information that the attack was a jihadi attack, but rather one connected to protests over the anti-Muhammad film. Furthermore, intelligence reported that some of the attackers claimed to bystanders that they were angry because of the film.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Reports Shane:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"According to reporting by David D. Kirkpatrick and
Suliman Ali Zway of The New York Times, </span></em><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/16/world/africa/election-year-stakes-overshadow-nuances-of-benghazi-investigation.html"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">eyewitnesses
have said there was no peaceful demonstration</span></em></a><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><em> against the video outside the
compound before the attack, though a crowd of Benghazi residents soon gathered,
and some later looted the compound. But the attackers, recognized as members of
a local militant group called Ansar al-Shariah, did tell bystanders that they
were attacking the compound because they were angry about the video. They did
not mention the Sept. 11 anniversary. Intelligence officials believe that
planning for the attack probably began only a few hours before it took place."</em>
</span></span></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Given this information, it is no wonder that administration officials, like Susan Rice, announced that the attack was connected to the video film.</span></div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span> </div>
<div itemprop="articleBody">
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Republicans are seeking an indictment of Pres. Barack Obama, without any real evidence or basis. This shows their desperation, in their quest to win the presidential election coming up in three weeks.</span></div>
BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-12934132383388496072012-10-14T13:52:00.000-06:002012-10-14T13:52:02.293-06:00END DEATH PENALTY IN UNITED STATES<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Stop the death penalty in the United States!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Florida is preparing to execute a man diagnosed with schizophrenia next Thursday, </span><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/14/florida-inmate-executed-mental-illness"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Ed Pilkington of The Guardian reports</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> on-line:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"David Glant, a judge with Florida's eighth circuit, </span></em><a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/463301-order-finding-ferguson-sane-12-october-2012-1.html"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">has found</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> that John Ferguson, 64, can be given lethal injections next Thursday despite a </span></em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/us-supreme-court" title="More from guardian.co.uk on US supreme court"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">US supreme court</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> injunction that prohibits executions of the insane. In his concluding remarks, the judge agrees with the prisoner's defence lawyers that Ferguson is a paranoid schizophrenic who genuinely believes he is "Prince of God"."</span></em>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-91403107832757414442012-10-12T16:11:00.002-06:002012-10-12T16:11:28.448-06:00PAUL RYAN - THIS GUY MEANS TROUBLE IF ELECTED<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I watched some of the debate last night between V.P. Joseph Biden and Republican Cong. Paul Ryan.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">To think that there are a lot of American voters who might choose Ryan and Mitt Romney over Barack Obama and Biden is astounding! And even more surprising is that a majority of old geezers over 65 prefer Romney/Ryan!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Ryan and Romney want to lower takes on top earners, cut social programs, and, above all, do away with Social Security and Medicare. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">They claim that seniors over 55 will not be affected, but how about those between 45 and 55? Instead of health care from Medicare, Romney/Ryan will give them a voucher. If their health expenses exceed the face value of the voucher, well, too bad!</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-50238098011492867462012-10-11T16:01:00.002-06:002012-10-11T16:02:22.689-06:00SPEECH AND IDEAS ARE PROTECTED LIBERTIES<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Remember back in grade school, someone would say to you, your mother is a xxxx! And then you tried to beat him up!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Children naturally take words over-seriously, not knowing that freedom of speech allows a person to say almost anything he wants, including, your mother is a . . . . !</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Actually, freedom of speech flows out of freedom of ideas. This is a connection that the Catholic Church has never understood. It tries to make certain thoughts, "sinful." Maybe, the priests succeeded in convincing people that this was the case for the first 1700 years of Christianity, but then came the French Enlightenment, and the idea that ideas could be sinful or harmful was tossed on the dung heap of discredited belief.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">It is amazing to think that words still are the basis for hurting or killing people. Or that insults should be met with a gun or a sword, especially when the insults are imagined as being directed to a religious prophet.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-43923196057565694922012-10-10T16:19:00.000-06:002012-10-10T16:20:37.934-06:00LIFE ACCORDING TO THE TALIBAN - SHOOT 14-YEAR-OLD WHO INSULTS YOUR BELIEFS ON TREATMENT OF WOMEN<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/world/asia/pakistan-erupts-in-anger-over-talibans-shooting-of-malala-yousafzai.html?hp"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Declan Walsh covers</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> the story in <em>The New York Times</em> today of the school girl in Pakistan, shot in the head at close range by members of Pakistan's Taliban, because they objected to her campaign for universal education for girls.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Members of the Taliban give the impression of being from an age of unenlightenment, hundreds of years ago, where, if you don't like what someone else says or thinks, you kill him or her, in this case, a 14-year-old schoolgirl, Malala Yousafzai.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-18012206848777846282012-10-07T15:58:00.001-06:002012-10-07T16:06:12.886-06:00KICK OUT ALL POLITICIANS WHO VOTE TO CUT PENSIONS IN QUEST FOR AUSTERITY<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">I call upon all those older people in Spain, Greece and Portugal, who have had their pensions unjustly reduced in the pursuit of austerity, don't accept this immoral penalty. Vote out all those politicians, who have meekly surrendered your basic rights. Reject all tributes to the Germanic austerity zealots behind Angela Merkel.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;">I commend the citizens of Athens <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-10-07/merkel-arrival-in-athens-to-be-met-by-anti-austerity-protesters.html">for protesting the arrival of Angela Merkel in Greece</a>.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-86459385433640140662012-10-05T17:11:00.001-06:002012-10-05T17:15:28.658-06:00POMPOUS MITT ROMNEY CALLS IT IMMORAL FOR U.S. GOVERNMENT TO INCUR INDEBTEDNESS, BUT WHY DID BAIN CAPITAL INCUR MILLIONS IN DEBT TO RUN ITS BUSINESS?<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Okay, Barack Obama was not up to his usual high quality in the first debate with Mitt Romney. Romney won, but who cares? The victory will be short-lived.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">In the meanwhile, consider Romney's pompous and self-righteous statement that leaving government indebtedness for our children and grandchildren to pay off is downright immoral.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If going into debt is highly immoral, how come Romney's own firm, Bain Capital, borrows millions of dollars on each deal that it does, so that it can buy a controlling interest in the company's stock?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The answer is, Romney's firm is a business, and it operates according to business principles. If it borrows money or if it sells bonds, it has a pretty good idea how and when it will pay back.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">The same principle applies to the biggest corporation, the government of the United States. The government borrows money, so that it can invest in creating jobs, providing for the common welfare, e.g., for the costs of Medicare, building highways and infrastructure. These are necessary to foster a prosperous and healthy society. The notion that Romney's Bain Capital may go into indebtedness, but the U.S. government may not borrow money more than its current income is ridiculous, sophomoric and dumb.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Furthermore, when Romney says it is immoral for the government to incur indebtedness, how about if the indebtedness is earmarked to create well-paying jobs for our children's fathers and mothers? How "immoral" would it really be if the U.S. government did nothing to make sure today's children and tomorrow's grandchildren went hungry because the government failed to invest in their future and their welfare?</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-6703679936064612972012-10-02T16:43:00.001-06:002012-10-02T16:43:16.867-06:00ECONOMIC SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN ARE WARFARE AGAINST IRANIAN PEOPLE<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Economic sanctions against Iran and Iranians are really a form of warfare. Instead of guns to kill Iranians, the United States and European Union use economic tools to reduce the living standard of ordinary Iranians to a state of penury.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-2359160447194515912012-09-29T19:21:00.000-06:002012-09-29T19:22:11.141-06:00PRES. OBAMA, DO WHAT IS RIGHT, CONDEMN KING KHALIFA OF BAHRAIN FOR TYRANNICAL SUPPRESSION OF PRO-DEMOCRACY PROTESTERS<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">More violent protests in Bahrain as a result of the killing of a 15-year old protesting the harsh rule of the Sunnis and King Khalifa.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Why does the United States refuse to condemn the suppression of a democratic wave in Bahrain?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Two answers:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">1. the protests are Shia-led. Iran, predominantly Shia, is just across the bay from Bahrain; and</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">2. the U.S. bases its naval Fifth Fleet in Bahrain and doesn't want to be kicked out.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Pres. Obama, condemn the suppression in Bahrain. To heck with the Fifth Fleet. To hell with American dislike of Iran and Iranians. Do what is right!</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-56668222827567503522012-09-28T15:33:00.001-06:002012-09-28T15:34:56.158-06:00HOW CAN ANY WOMAN IN THE U.S. VOTE REPUBLICAN?<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">How could any woman in the U.S. vote for someone like Republican Todd Akin, running for U.S. Senate in Missouri?</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">First, he defines some rapes as "legitimate," casting doubt on all other violent assaults on women which are not "legitimate."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Then, a few days ago, he says that his female opponent, Claire McCaskill, has not acted 'ladylike."</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/28/todd-akin-missouri-women"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Here's a report by Karen McVeigh</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> in <em>The Guardian</em> online. Writes McVeigh:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"The furore caused by Akin's now infamous and much-criticised "legitimate </span></em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/rape" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Rape"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">rape</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">" comments – suggesting that victims of rape can "shut down' potential pregnancies – shows little sign of abating. </span></em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/26/gop-todd-akin-missouri-senate"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Despite signs of a U-turn from the Republican party</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> who abandoned him over the comments, Akin, who believes abortion should be banned even in cases of rape, has become associated with bad science and an anti-woman agenda.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Akin did nothing to overcome that perception on Thursday, when he said that his Democratic opponent Claire McCaskill had not acted "ladylike" during a recent debate. Patty Murray, chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, described the remark as "demeaning to women and offensive to all".</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Let me ask the question again, but this time extend it to all Republican candidates, including Mitt Romney. How could any woman in the U.S. vote for any Republican candidate anywhere in the country?</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-43435316763725580312012-09-27T14:07:00.000-06:002012-09-27T14:09:14.398-06:00NETANYAHU CLAIMS PALESTINIAN CHARGE OF ETHNIC CLEANSING IS WITHOUT BASIS, YET AT THE SAME TIME ACCUSES IRANIANS OF TRYING TO BUILD NUCLEAR BOMBS<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">For sheer exaggeration and hyperbole, Bibi Netanyahu has outdone Ahmadinejad of Iran and Morsi of Egypt. Bibi claims the end is near. Any nuclear bombs made by Iran will be equivalent to nuclear weapons in the hands of Al Qaeda.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Forget for a minute that Al Qaeda and the Shiites of Iran have nothing in common. Al Qaeda is Sunni, Iranians are Shia. Even more importantly, the Arabs of Al Qaeda despise the Iranians for being Persian, not Arabic.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Bibi's statements are inflammatory and wild.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/27/netanyahu-abbas-un-general-assembly-live"><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Tom Clancy reports</span></a><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> on Netanyahu's speech today in The Guardian online. Writes Clancy:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"Netanyahu's bomb drawing was like a crude, almost a spoof, version of Colin Powell's notorious presentation of Iraqi WMD in 2003, but for all its crudity and questionable assumptions, it without doubt succeeded in distracting almost all attention from Mahmoud Abbas's plaintive description of 'ethnic cleansing' in occupied Palestinian territories. The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has for decades been centre stage at the UN General Assembly, but not this year, in the febrile atmosphere around the Iranian nuclear programme."</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Note that, as Tom Clancy reports, Mahmoud Abbas charges Israel and Netanyahu with "ethnic cleansing," and Bibi facilely dismisses the objection, <a href="http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2012/09/27/bibi-nuclear-iran-is-nuclear-al-qaeda.html">according to The Daily Beast,</a> "<em>We won't solve our conflict with libelous speeches</em>." The irony is thick. Bibi accuses Iran of making nuclear weapons, contrary to the evidence and the protestations of the Iranians. Yet he tries to avoid the charge by the Palestinians by claiming that the objection is without basis.</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7040983721224063387.post-38467360295981193912012-09-26T14:36:00.002-06:002012-09-26T14:36:49.469-06:00SUPPORT PEOPLE OF GREECE AND SPAIN IN REJECTING BANKRUPT POLICY OF AUSTERITY<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">If I were in Spain or Greece today, I would be joining the protesters against any further implementation of the crazy and discredited Germanic-inspired economic policy of "austerity." </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/sep/26/thousands-greeks-march-against-austerity">Helena Smith reports</a> on Greek demonstrations for <em>The Guardian</em> online. Writes Smith:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">"Hundreds of thousands of anti-austerity protesters took to the streets of </span></em><a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/greece" title="More from guardian.co.uk on Greece"><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Greece</span></em></a><em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"> on Wednesday as the country was paralysed by a general strike in the first mass confrontation with Athens's three-month-old coalition government.</span></em><br />
<em><span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">In one of the biggest demonstrations in the capital in recent years, as many as 200,000 marched on the Greek parliament, according to unions in the public and private sector, which called the strike to oppose new wage and pension cuts – the price of further rescue funds from international lenders."</span></em><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">No economists, other than maybe crazy Republicans in the U.S., would subscribe to a policy of cutting government jobs and pensions in an attempt to foster economic growth and prosperity. Spain and Greece are mired in a deep recession, maybe even a depression. Now is <strong>not</strong> the time to impose cuts on people's salaries and benefits. Now is <strong>not</strong> the time to put government workers out of their jobs.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: large;">Stop this insane and cruel policy of austerity. Enough of this madness!</span>BOB EDERhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04589667737878822653noreply@blogger.com0