Not This Time…

It’s difficult for me to stay angry these days. Not because there aren’t thousands of perfectly good reasons to be furious at any given moment, but because there are two very good reasons not to be. For one, anger ( in most cases ) is not productive, is self destructive, and is generally divisive. And two ( regardless of what you see on television ), this world is evolving rapidly and exponentially on a variety of levels.

In spite of the encouraging signs of progress however, the scope of American denial regarding issues of race still never ceases to amaze me. Time and time again we are presented with opportunities to face the real reasons for division, inequality, and strife on this planet, and time and time again we choose to ignore the truth and look the other way. As we commemorate forty years since the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, we find ourselves still facing the very same dilemmas.

First of all, let me make one thing clear. There is no situation on this planet that the populous faces that is not by design. Eons of effort have gone into creating this society ( and the burdens that control the people ) with great attention paid to every detail. The global / industry wide sub-prime “meltdown” ( or operation ) for instance, could not have occurred without a great deal of coordinated criminal effort and government complicity. No thinking individual could possibly be convinced that all of these banks ( worldwide ) coincidentally decided to give out all of these fraudulent mortgages - the majority to “minorities” - that just happed to balloon at the same time.

Nor could any reasonable person believe that all of these banks ( worldwide ) could have so outrageously lied about the actual “value” of these mortgages without the governments of the world ( particularly ours ) knowing all about it. They certainly managed to come up with 30 billion dollars in the blink of an eye ( the same amount that Bush vetoed for children’s healthcare for ten years ) to prevent the make-believe market from crashing for a few more days. Mind you, that was in addition to the ( no legislation necessary ) 200 billion the “Federal Reserve” pumped into the market only one week before.

The same reality applies to all of “society’s” dilemmas. The unending wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Palestine, Lebanon, Darfur, Somalia, etc, are equally intentional as is the death, disease, homelessness, and hopelessness that grip the majority of this planet. If someone is suffering anywhere in the world, the reason is because someone can profit from it. I’m continually amazed that there are so many places without food but none without bullets. One would be hard pressed to find a conflict anywhere in the world that the United States is not funding, arming, or inciting in some fashion or another… and I do mean all sides. After all, wars ( and the weapons to fight them ) have been the primary export of this country for quite some time.

The objective of the rulers is very simple. Prevent the populous from recognizing and demanding their God given human rights through a policy of dehumanization, enslavement, and fear. The people of this planet have been so consistently beaten down that most consider themselves “lucky” to have any wage or food at all, while their natural resources make billions for foreign corporations. This policy of theft, oppression, and deception has been the foundation of global commerce for about as long as “recorded” history, and the reasons it can continue should be apparent. If freedom, sovereignty, and equality were actualized things, the rulers wouldn’t be the rulers anymore and they would be faced with lifetimes’ of crimes against humanity.

Anywhere you look in our society ( if you actually open your eyes ) you will find the obvious truth of this. The power base in this country became so ( and remains so ) through it’s ability to take from those less powerful, conniving, or ruthless than they are. We live under a system of organized crime that has deemed itself “legal,” extorts protection money in the form of illegal taxation to fund its various, impediments, obstacles, and operations against the people, and demands that either we surrender our souls and “get with the program” or become the slave-fuel that feeds the machine. Take advantage, or be taken advantage of… It’s the American way.

“When you lie, cheat, and steal to get something you have to lie, cheat, and steal to keep something.” C-SPAN viewer.

The reality that this country was founded on genocide, ethnocide, and slavery ( which evolved into the institutionalized forms of racism at the core of our society ) is something that your “typical” American still refuses to accept. Of course, there’s a very “practical” reason for the refusal to recognize this unpleasant reality. If you recognize the reality of the formation of this country and the genocide of 12 - 112 million Native Americans, then you have to recognize that this land was stolen. If you recognize the enslavement of millions of Africans who had their lives, families, religions, and even their names stolen from them to create the wealth of this country, then you have to recognize that that wealth was stolen. The “White House” for instance, elicits an entirely different image when you consider the four hundred slaves that built it.

This attitude is not uniquely American of course, and you can find it anywhere in the “modern” world. The astonishingly racist behavior of the Israeli government is another stark example. The same denial that precludes the U.S. from acknowledging its origin precludes Israel from acknowledging the reality that their country is founded on the land and bodies of the Palestinian people, or that they have stolen their resources, or that they have imprisoned the Palestinians in their own country. We are all just supposed to forget there was ever a history before “they” arrived. The 60 years since that land was taken is the only time period we are allowed to recognize, and even then only if we accept the Nazi extermination of six million Jews as justification for oppressing the Palestinians.

There are any number of examples of this kind of oppression evident even in 2008. Our chocolate, coffee, precious metals, etc, have always come from slaves and do to this day. Over six million people have been killed in the last ten years during the continued pillaging of the Congo and I certainly don’t see the Israeli or American governments saying “never forget” that atrocity every ten minutes… And it didn’t happen over 60 years ago, it’s happening right now. The reality is that for centuries on this planet, every conceivable ( and inconceivable ) advantage has been engineered into a hierarchical society with white people at the top ( masters ) and black people at the bottom ( slaves ), whether white people are willing to accept that or not.

Unfortunately, most Americans suffer from a common problem. That problem is the selective memory that comes from being raised in American society and endlessly exposed to American media. Because of the utter denial regarding our origin the “history” that is taught often bares little resemblance to reality at all, and creates a great many false beliefs. This is why George Bush says “when history is written, Iraq will be viewed as a success.” He believes that just as it has been throughout our history, the “writer’s” will distort reality in the American white man’s favor and turn invasion into liberation.

“We have to make clear to the Iraqis that they have been given the greatest gift that a human being can give another human being - the gift of freedom. And it is up to them to decide how they will use that precious gift that has been paid for with the blood and sacrifice and treasure of the United States of America. And it is time for the Iraqis to demonstrate that they understand.” Hillary Clinton - Pittsburgh 03-16-08

Only an American white man ( or in this case woman ) could continue to make such an astonishingly arrogant, ignorant, and utterly racist statement after all that has been exposed about this horrendous war crime of an occupation. Only an American white man / woman could completely discount any civilization at all having existed before the “white man commeth” and bestowed the “gift of freedom.”

How “generous” of us it was to level their country, litter it with depleted uranium, kill a million and a half of them, displace four million of them, and appropriate ( at least ) 45% of their resources while forcing them to live in rubble without power, water, or employment. It’s the kind of “generosity” we have come to expect when “freedom” comes to your land. Hillary honoring the blood of thousands of Americans while dishonoring the blood of millions of Iraqis illustrates yet again the lesser value of “dark-skinned” life.

This is the same kind of awareness and sensitivity Barbara Bush demonstrated when confronted with the horrific Superdome conditions after Katrina.

“What I’m hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is ( chuckle ) working very well for them.”

Only an American white man ( or in this case, again a woman ) could make such a statement after seeing these desperate starving people ( who had lost everything ) jammed into a football stadium overflowing with feces, garbage, and bodies. Once again, we see that from this unique perspective “these people” are understood to be “doing well” in conditions worse than livestock receive.

“All Men are created equal, but not all men are treated equally.” C-SPAN viewer

So here we are, right where we’ve always been… Lying to ourselves about our origin, lying to ourselves about our behavior, lying to ourselves about our freedom, and lying to ourselves about our system of inequality. While we continue to falsely proclaim ourselves the self-appointed saviors of the world, we demonstrate repeatedly that we don’t have the courage to face the truth about ourselves.

Obviously, this is not the conversation about “race” that the rulers want us to have. The rulers would much rather ( as they have spent three weeks proving ) feign outrage over Barack Obama calling his grandmother a “typical” white person. Of all the crimes against humanity occurring at any given second on this planet, we are expected to accept the outrage of the white man over a black man calling a member of his own family “typical.” For weeks now, Morning Joe has found a new reason to be upset about this virtually every day.

They would rather loop the soundbytes of a preacher that tug at the hate strings of various parts of America, than face the daily atrocities committed by the rulers against man and God. In their endless endeavors to steal resources and bomb the rest of the world “back to the stone age”, the weapon’s makers that own our media would rather direct the mob with torches and pitchforks at the man of God who dares to suggest that America isn’t perfect.

Just as IBM thought the mainframe would be the permanent computing environment, just as the oil companies think oil will be the fuel for all time, the rulers also think that American racism is a permanent and reliable part of this country and the world. Easily exploitable at any time to play to the fears of the mal-educated, under-exposed, poor and middle classes of America.

Fortunately, these old and tired methods of diversion are rapidly loosing there effectiveness. A new generation and a new information medium ( the internet ) has broken the hold of the mainstream media, and allowed people to find the truth on their own. More and more, the old world pundits are finding that they are only talking to themselves, and that no one is jumping when they say “boo.” This morning, even Joe had to recognize that “the revolution will not be televised.” At least not while he and his clan are the ones deciding what gets televised.

The mainstream media chose to only show Barack Obama’s powerful ( but lenient ) speech one time during the middle of the day, yet they have played the misleading Reverend Wright clips literally hundreds of times over the last three weeks. For one or two days, they managed to play a couple of ten second clips from the speech and then it was never to be heard from again. All of that tremendous effort exerted by Barack Obama to respond to the unwarranted and vile media attacks, and these white commentators just dismissed it out of hand without any critical analysis.

It didn’t stop millions of people however, from going to the various postings and watching the forty minute speech ( A More Perfect Union ) for themselves, or watching the Reverend Wright sermon in its entirety - you know… to actually decide for themselves what these men were saying. That may be a foreign concept for the “soundbyte” aficionados, but it’s the future of information acquisition nonetheless.

In a glorious demonstration of evolution in action, people of all ages, shapes, colors, and sizes have been flocking to the Obama camp despite the color of his skin or the efforts to demonize him. Although the mainstream media ( owned and operated by the beneficiaries of hopelessness ) has continued its campaign to paint Barack Obama as the “black man” that “typical” white people have historically feared, there efforts have proven largely ineffective. The people of this country and this planet are “growing up” and the rulers can’t just scare them into being stupid anymore.

Bear in mind, igniting racial hatred is their only option… pathetic as that may sound. It is their only perceived chance to maintain the status quo and to stop an irreversible change in American and Global consciousness that would elect a black man to the highest ( public ) seat of power.

“I think what America feels about a woman becoming president takes a very secondary place to Obama’s campaign - to a kind of campaign that it would be hard for anyone to run against,” she said. “For one thing, you have the press, which has been uniquely hard on her. It’s been a very sexist media. Some just don’t like her. The others have gotten caught up in the Obama campaign.

“If Obama was a white man, he would not be in this position,” she continued. “And if he was a woman (of any color) he would not be in this position. He happens to be very lucky to be who he is. And the country is caught up in the concept.” Ferraro does not buy the notion of Obama as the great reconciler.

“I was reading an article that said young Republicans are out there campaigning for Obama because they believe he’s going to be able to put an end to partisanship,” Ferraro said, clearly annoyed. “Dear God! Anyone that has worked in the Congress knows that for over 200 years this country has had partisanship - that’s the way our country is.”

Yes, that’s the way our country is, isn’t it. And it is exactly that kind of old-world ignorance that this country desperately needs and wants to get away from. I couldn’t be anymore ecstatic about Republicans ( young and old ) having the same desire to see a new path for America. “Partisanship” is division… Republican against Democrat… Rich against Poor… White against Black… That period of this country’s history is drawing to a close and we would be hard pressed to find a better representation of that than a half-black / half-white president of the United States.

So obviously we should be prepared for the barrage of racially motivated commentary designed to appeal to the most primitive aspects of humanity. If Pat Buchanan has the audacity to question whether “nature or nurture” is responsible for Obama’s ability to relate to “white” people, we can surely expect uglier aspects of the racist core elements to surface. The unfortunate people of Trinity church are already receiving bomb threats, so ask yourself just how far we have come from the days when they bombed Martin Luther King house.

But like I said at the beginning of this writing… this world is changing. The behavior of the rulers and their surrogates just continues to produce mountains of evidence of their obvious deception and malicious intent. No longer do they control the dispensation of “truth” and their days of controlling the Mind of Man are quite obviously coming to an end. Because of this, I couldn’t be happier. The population of the world - that has been anesthetized for so very long - is finally waking up. The same old ploys will not work this time, and we can finally begin the task of building the world that God truly intends.

 

Proxy Wars

I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised.  The last seven years of this administration have created and exposed so many global problems that it is virtually impossible to keep track.  The mainstream media is still demonstrating complicity by not reporting the truth of the horrific violence we are witnessing all over the world, and it’s very easy for critical events to escape our notice.

 

The primary reason for this of course is our global preoccupation with Iraq.  For most of the world, this is the central point of focus.  The ongoing atrocities, continuous stream of deceptions, and endless efforts to stop the madness can be all consuming and leave little time for other issues.  The magnitude of this problem eclipses the Sun, and it can be difficult to notice anything else.

 

However, nothing in this society is actually what it seems.  What we see occur on this planet on a daily basis are merely the symptoms of a problem and not the problem itself.  Our diligent efforts to ease the numerous sufferings of the world are essentially topical, and never address the root of the disease.  Our desperate attempts to end the pain only last as long as the Band-Aid stays on, or the meal stays in the belly.

 

The same is true about how we address the problem of Iraq.  While most have primarily focused on ending that particular conflict, it too is just a symptom. The disease that caused it however has since metastasized and now infects a large portion of the planet.  Open war, starvation, and genocide are raging in Darfur, Somalia, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Palestine, Lebanon, Afghanistan, Iraq, etc…  And there aren’t enough Band-Aids in the box. 

 

Understand this very clearly.  We do not live in a Civilization, just the illusion of one.  An illusion created by those who wish to enslave your mind, body, and soul.  An illusion created to prevent you from seeing the chains around your ankles, the bag over your head, or the gag-ball in your mouth.  The intent of the creators of this illusion is now and always has been the domination of mankind through fear and death.

 

Because of the totality of the illusion, it’s very difficult and painful to find reality.  Layers upon layers of illusion must be removed to find the source of any one event or problem.  Mankind has existed in this illusion for so very long that it is actually all he knows, and removing the illusion is like removing his skin.  The truth is very painful for him, and as a result he avoids it at all costs.

 

However, due to the complexity and dominance of the illusion and its creators, truth has rarely gotten to the masses anyway.  Seemingly infinite control measures - “vetting” I suppose - prevent any reality from escaping its confines, and generally what we are left with is what the image makers tell us.  The internet is obviously changing that, and more and more glimpses of reality are finding their way to the rest of the world.

 

A friend of mine recently provided another such example.  Mainstream media has understandably spent very little time on the growing crisis in Lebanon.  The most they’ve been willing to reveal is that a group of ( apparently quite heavily ) armed men robbed a bank and fled into the Palestinian refugee camp Narh al-Bared. Since then, we have witnessed something akin to ten days of war.

 

This past week we have been treated to the footage of American C-130s delivering munitions and armaments to the Lebanese army in an overt demonstration of unity in the struggle against the “terrorists”.  As usual, the only explanation we get for their existence are one-word answers like “Al-Qaeda” and “Syria”, and the masses are supposed to - as George Bush says - “Go about your business.”

 

This is of course another illusion and nowhere in these “news reports” do they explain a variety of critical factors.  How could these mere “bank robbers” be so heavily armed?  How could they possibly have existed for any period of time in such numbers and force without the knowledge of the government?  How could it be that part of the rush shipments was for urgently needed night-vision goggles that Fatah al-Islam had but the army didn’t?

 

However, one anonymous email sent from an individual inside the camp explains these things in great detail.  This same email has now been posted in an article by Dr Franklin Lamb ( link below ).  It explains quite clearly who is responsible for the creation of this heavily armed militia and who they serve, and rest assured - it isn’t Syria.  The following is a compilation of that information.

 

Fatah-al-Islam ( in reality ) is a creation of the “Welch Club”.  This club is named for its godfather David Welch - the current assistant to the Secretary of State Condolezza Rice.  He is the “point man” for the Bush administration and is guided by Eliot Abrams.  Key Lebanese members of the Welch Club ( aka: the “Club” ) include:

• The Lebanese civil war veteran, warlord, feudalist and mercurial Walid Jumblatt of the Druze party ( the Progressive Socialist Party or PSP )
• The extremist Phalange party and its Lebanese Forces ( LF ) - The group that conducted the Israel organized massacre at Sabra-Shatilla ( although led by Elie Hobeika, once Geagea’s mentor, Geagea did not take part in the Sept. 1982 slaughter of 1,700 Palestinian and Lebanese ).
• The billionaire, Saudi Sheikh and Club president Saad Hariri - Leader of the Sunni Future Movement ( FM ). 

Over a year ago Hariri’s Future Movement started setting up Sunni Islamist terrorist cells ( the PSP and LF already had their own militia since the civil war and - despite the Taif Accords requiring militia to disarm - they are now rearmed, itching for action, and trying diligently to provoke Hezbollah ).

The FM created Sunni Islamist “terrorist” cells were meant to serve as a cover for ( anti-Hezbollah ) Welch Club projects.  The plan was that actions taken by these cells - of which Fatah el-Islam is one - could be blamed on al Qaeda, or Syria, or anyone but the Club.  To staff the new militias, FM rounded up remnants of previous extremists in the Palestinian Refugee camps that had been subdued, marginalized, and diminished during the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. Each fighter got $700 per month, which is not bad in today’s Lebanon.

The first Welch Club funded militia set up by FM is known locally as Jund-al-Sham ( Soldiers of Sham - where “Sham” in Arabic denotes Syria, Lebanon, Palestine & Jordan ) was created in Ain-el-Hilwa Palestinian refugee camp, near Sidon. This group is also referred to in the Camps as Jund-el-Sitt ( Soldiers of the Sitt, where “Sitt” in Sidon, Ain-el-Hilwa and the outskirts pertain to Bahia Hariri, the sister of Rafiq Hariri - aunt of Saad and Member of Parliament ).

The second was Fateh-al-Islam ( The name cleverly put together, joining “Fateh” as in Palestinian and the word “Islam” as in Qaeda  ). FM set this Club cell up in Nahr-al-Bared refugee camp north of Tripoli for geographical balance.

Fatah el-Islam had about 400 well paid fighters until three days ago. Today they may have more or fewer - plus volunteers. The leaders were provided with ocean view luxury apartments in Tripoli, where they stored arms and “chilled” when not in Nahr-al-Bared. Guess who owns the apartments?

According to members of both Fatah el-Islam and Jund-al-Sham their groups acted on the directive of the Club president, Saad Hariri.  So what went so terribly wrong? Why the “bank robbery” and the slaughter at Nahr el-Baled?

According to operatives of Fatah el-Islam, the Bush administration got cold feet with people like Seymour Hersh snooping around and the White House post-Iraq discipline in free fall. Moreover, Hezbollah intelligence knew all about the Clubs activities and was in a position to flip the two groups - who were supposed to ignite a Sunni ­Shia civil war, which Hezbollah vows to prevent.

Things started to go very wrong quickly for the Club last week.  FM “stopped” the payroll of Fateh el-Islam’s account at the Hariri family owned bank.

Fateh-al-Islam tried to negotiate “severance pay” at least with no luck, and they felt betrayed. Bear in mind many of their fighters are easily frustrated teenagers, and their pay supports their families. Militia members knocked off the bank which issued their worthless checks. They were doubly angry when they learned FM is claiming in the media a loss much greater than they actually snatched, and that the Club is going to stiff the insurance company to make a huge profit.

Lebanon’s Internal Security Forces ( newly recruited to serve the bidding of the Club and the Future Movement ) assaulted the apartments of Fatah-al-Islam in Tripoli. They didn’t have much luck, and were forced to call in the Lebanese army.

Within the hour Fatah-al-Islam retaliated against Lebanese Army posts, checkpoints, and unarmed off-duty Lebanese soldiers in civilian clothing, and committed outrageous killings - including severing at least four heads.

Up to this point Fatah-al-Islam did not retaliate against the Internal Security forces in Tripoli because the ISF is pro-Hariri and some are friends.  Fatah al-Islam also still hoped to get paid by Hariri.  Therefore, Fatah al Islam went after the Army instead.

The Seniora cabinet convened and asked the Lebanese Army to enter the refugee camp to  silence ( permanently ) Fatah-al-Islam. Since entrance into the Camps is forbidden by the 1969 Arab league agreement, the Army refused after realizing the extent of the conspiracy against it by the Welch Club. The army knows that entering a refugee camp in force will open a front against the Army in all twelve Palestinian refugee camps, and tear the army apart along sectarian cracks.

The army felt set up by the Club’s Internal Security Forces which did not coordinate with the Lebanese Army - as required by Lebanese law - and they did not even make them aware of the “inter-family operation” the ISF carried out against Fatah-al-Islam safe houses in Tripoli.

Today, tensions are high between the Lebanese army and the Welch Club. Some mention the phrase “army coup”.

The Club is trying to run Parliament and is prepared to go all the way not to “lose” Lebanon.  It still holds 70 seats in the house of parliament while the Hezbollah-led opposition holds 58 seats. The Club has a dutiful PM in Fouad Siniora.

The Club tried to seize control of the presidency and when that failed, they marginalized it. Last year they tried to gain control of the Parliamentary Constitutional Committee - which audits the government’s policies, laws, and watch-dogs their actions. When the Club failed to control it they simply abolished the Constitutional Committee. As a result, this key committee no longer exists in Lebanon’s government.

The Welch Club’s major error was when it attempted to influence the Lebanese Army into disarming the Lebanese Resistance led by Hezbollah. When the Army wisely refused, the Club coordinated with the Bush Administration to pressure Israel to dramatically intensify its retaliation ( to the capture of the two soldiers by Hezbollah ) and to “’break the rules” regarding their historically more limited response.  This led to Israel’s attempted destruction of Hezbollah during the July 2006 war.

The Welch Club now considers the Lebanese Army a serious problem. The Bush administration is trying to undermine and marginalize it to eliminate one of the last two obstacles to implementing Israel’s agenda in Lebanon.  If the army is weakened, it cannot protect over 70% of the Christians in Lebanon - who support General Aoun’s Free Patriotic Movement. The F.P.M. is mainly constituted of well educated, middle class, and unarmed Lebanese civilians. The only protection they have is the Lebanese Army - which aids in maintaining their presence on the political scene.  15% of Christians in Lebanon associate with Geagea’s Lebanese Forces - who are purely militia.

If the Club can weaken the Army even more than it already is, then this Phalange minority will be the only relatively strong force on the Christian scene and become the “army” of the Club.  Another reason the Club wants to weaken the Lebanese Army is that the Army is nationalistic, and is a safety valve for Lebanon - to ensure the Palestinian right of return to Palestine, Lebanese nationhood, and the resistance culture led by Hezbollah ( with which is has excellent relations ).

For their part, the Welch Club wants to keep some Palestinians in Lebanon for cheap labor, ship others to countries willing to take them ( and be paid handsomely to do so by American taxpayers ), and allow - at most - a few thousand to return to Palestine to settle the ‘right of return’ issue.  This while simultaneously signing a May 17th 1983-type treaty ( with Israel ) which enriches the Club members and gives Israel Lebanon’s water along with much of Lebanon’s sovereignty.

From the Club’s perspective, Fatah el-Islam must be silenced at all costs. Their tale, if told, is poison for the Club and its sponsors.  Hezbollah is watching and is in support the Lebanese army but has no interest in seeing this conflict develop.  I suspect Hassan Nasrallah will make that point well known.

 

It is time for this country ( and the world ) to stop accepting the word “Al-Qaeda” as an explanation for all the violence on this planet, and to look to the real creators of terror.  We cannot allow these politically and economically motivated conflicts to be sold as the “Fight for Freedom” and we must hold the creators responsible for the death and destruction they have unleashed.

 

Dr. Lamb’s complete text: http://www.counterpunch.org/lamb05242007.html

Dr. Lamb can be reached at fplamb@gmail.com.

 

Franklin Lamb’s recent book, The Price We Pay: A Quarter Century of Israel’s use of American Weapon’s against Lebanon (1978-2006) is available at www.Amazon.com.uk. Hezbollah: A Brief Guide for Beginners is expected in early summer.  

 

 

Bill Noxid: http://billnoxid.wordpress.com

Proxy War Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=kERllcE2ANE

Stop Bloodshed in Lebanon Video: http://youtube.com/watch?v=z1oT4j_EIsM 

This article is also posted on Information Clearing House: Proxy Wars