The NBA Fixes Games? Say It Ain't So!

Former NBA referee Tim Donaghy's court briefs filed June 10, 2008 allege that NBA executives and certain referees manipulated games in order to foster more ticket sales and revenue. He specifically cites several instances - one of them a 2002 playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Sacramento Kings in which the Lakers were given favorable treatment that ultimately led to them winning game 6 and then the series in 7.

From today's NY Times article by Howard Beck:

"According to Lauro’s letter: 'Tim learned from Referee A that Referees A and F wanted to extend the series to seven games. Tim knew Referees A and F to be "company men," always acting in the interest of the N.B.A., and that night, it was in the N.B.A.’s interest to add another game to the series.' The game was refereed by three tenured veterans, Dick Bavetta, Ted Bernhardt and Bob Delaney.

"The Kings, their fans and many in the news media were outraged by the officiating that night. Ralph Nader, the consumer advocate, weighed in, urging Stern to conduct a review. [The Lakers shot 40 free throws — 27 in the fourth quarter — and beat Sacramento, 106-102. I'm a Lakers fan. I badly wanted them to beat the Kings. I saw that series and I have to say, at the time, it looked to me that the Kings' "was robbed."]

"Stern did not respond to specific allegations but said that the N.B.A. had fully cooperated with the government since last summer.

“'He turned on basically all of his colleagues in an attempt to demonstrate that he is not the only one who engaged in criminal activity,'” Stern said. “'The U.S. attorney’s office, the F.B.I. have fully investigated it, and Mr. Donaghy is the only one who is guilty of a crime.'"

The only one.

Who believes this?

There's only one ref who has been doing improper things.

Just like Lee Harvey Oswald was the only one.

And the soldiers caught on camera torturing Iraqis at Abu Ghaib were just rotten apples, acting on their own.

And the individuals caught in 2000 and 2004 fixing the votes by destroying registration forms for people registering as Democrats in the presidential race were acting alone. And so on.

Yep. They're all acting as individuals, all alone, nobody else.

The league doesn't respond to economic incentives and the gate and TV revenues for extra playoff games and the more storied and bigger market teams aren't an issue and these factors don't play into the picture at all.

Of course not!

* * *

At half time in the game last night between the Lakers and the Boston Celtics, part of the Donaghy story was covered and Commissioner David Stern and ex-Houston coach Jeff Van Gundy, who was fined $100k for his allegations about center Yao Ming being unfairly singled out in the 2005 playoffs between the Houston Rockets and the Dallas Mavericks, were interviewed. Van Gundy repeated his 2005 statements in essence, but carefully stated that he didn't want to lend credibility to Donaghy's overall allegations. In other words, what Donaghy alleged in specifics about the 2005 series was true, but Van Gundy, who is now doing color commentary for ABC, didn't want to say that Donaghy's general allegations were true.

I think Van Gundy likes his gig as a commentator.

* * *

I love sports and I love basketball and I am still a Lakers fan (although during the 1980s I was a "bad boys" Pistons' fan - loved their work ethic, their "D," and Dennis Rodman before he started coloring his hair). I love playing the game and I have done some coaching - no big deal, at the Y.

I badly want to see the Celtics beaten. Have always hated them and still do, even now that they've gone from being 80% white during Larry Bird's days (when the rest of the league was 80% black) to being mainly black. I like Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen, but there's something about seeing them in Celtic Green. I don't know. They don't look right.

But I have to say, I don't think that the refs are going to favor the Lakers this time.

If you've been watching any playoffs at all, during the early rounds especially, you will have seen one of those incessant Gatorade ads featuring the Celtics' Kevin Garnett. The ad looks like a coronation. And much as I love Bill Russell, I found those conversations between him and KG during the prior rounds hard to take. Russell, among other things, promised KG that if KG didn't win a ring this year, that he'd give him one of his. And this was supposed to make you feel all warm and rosy inside!

In game two of the current finals, the first two fouls called on the Lakers' Kobe Bryant were ridiculous. He had to sit out precious minutes and the game got away from them. The Lakers managed to put on a furious run in the fourth quarter and got within two points, after being down by big double digits, but ended up losing. In last night's game at least one other phantom foul was called on Kobe and he didn't get a number of "and one" foul shots while scoring that he and other Lakers should have. They still won the game and their play, especially that of Odom and Gasol, kinda stunk, with the exception of "the Machine" Sasha and clutch Kobe. But I have to say that the series doesn't have the appeal for me that it should, knowing that the end result seems foregone.

I know, for those of you who are students of the game, the Lakers' play hasn't been that good and the foul shot discrepancy in the first two games, and especially the second game in Boston, is in part due to a lack of aggressiveness by the Lakers.

The Lakers do have to find a solution to guarding Paul Pierce and Gasol has to be aggressive (he showed some signs of this in game two, but reverted back to form in game 3) and Lamar Odom has to stop barging into the lane horizontally and elevate.

But you can't tell me that the calls are not favoring Boston!

Kucinich Introduces 35 Articles of Impeachment of George W. Bush

Text of the Articles of Impeachment are here.

Salem-News article on the suspicious tampering that caused Kucinich's webpage to crash within hours of his introducing the resolution for impeachment.

Statements on the Introduction of Congressman Dennis Kucinich's Articles of Impeachment Against President George W. Bush:

"More than two centuries ago, the Founders of this country set forth a procedure for Congress to follow in the event of grave abuse of power by the Chief Executive. That process is impeachment. In the face of the monumental deceit and disregard for the Constitution that we have witnessed on the part of the President over the past seven years, Congressman Kucinich's initiation of this process is neither fanciful nor futile, neither vengeful nor vindictive; it is the sober fulfillment of his sworn duty as a Congressman to follow the law without regard to personal consequence and misguided political stratagem. It is, quite simply, an act of patriotism."

Elizabeth de la Vega, Former Federal Prosecutor and Author of United States v. George W. Bush et. al.
_________

"This thick collection of impeachable offenses could be expanded dramatically and should be viewed as a sampling of the crimes and abuses of President George W. Bush and his subordinates. Bush has had many accomplices -- first and foremost Vice President Cheney. But our Founders created a single executive precisely so that we could hold that one person accountable for the actions of the executive branch. It is high time we did so, and millions of Americans will be urging their representatives to support the effort being led by Congressman Kucinich.

"These articles establish, and hearings would establish further, that President Bush was decidedly in the loop and effectively 'the decider' behind countless abuses of power. And, of course, his public comments have time and again advertised his indifference to the laws he is violating. Not only does overwhelming evidence show us that Bush knew his claims about WMDs to be false, but the president has shown us that he considers the question of truth or falsehood to be laughably irrelevant.

When Diane Sawyer asked Bush during a televised interview after the war was underway why he had claimed with such certainty that there were so many weapons in Iraq, he replied: "What's the difference? The possibility that [Saddam] could acquire weapons, If he were to acquire weapons, he would be the danger."

"What's the difference? Hundreds of thousands of corpses and a fatal blow to the rule of law among nations. That's the difference. Unless we remove impeachment from the Constitution by failing to exercise it, in which case truth will no longer matter any more than justice or peace."

David Swanson, creator of ImpeachCheney.org, Washington Director of Democrats.com and co-founder of the AfterDowningStreet.org coalition, a board member of Progressive Democrats of America, of the Backbone Campaign, and of Voters for Peace, serves on the legislative working group of United for Peace and Justice.
_________

"Overload is the main problem—I call it outrage fatigue. The sheer multitude, not to mention magnitude, of impeachable offenses tends to dull the senses. The opportunity to dig into just one or two provided some space and focused the mind.

"At the same time, the deeper one digs, the more unimaginable the dirt that comes up. Earlier, I had not taken the time to sift through the abundant evidence of the unconscionable ways in which George Bush and George Tenet teamed up—including, in Tenet’s case, lying under oath—to stave off charges of misfeasance/malfeasance before the attacks on 9/11.

"Since January 2003, my colleagues and I in Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity have felt duty-bound to turn our analytic skills onto the issue of how our country could have launched what the post-WWII Nuremberg Tribunal called the 'supreme international crime' — a war of aggression. 'Supreme,' said Nuremberg, because unlike other war crimes, this one 'contains the accumulated evil of the whole.' (Think torture, for example.)

"Intelligence officers take very seriously our Oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. Our country's Founders, keen observers of the ways of power and human nature, anticipated there would be a time when a president would attempt to act like a king, and so they wrote into the Constitution an orderly way to remove a president and/or other high officials for high crimes or misdemeanors—impeachment in the House, conviction in the Senate.

"The Founders pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor to create a system in which we could protect ourselves from unbridled power. Today, we cannot let a 21st Century string of abuses and usurpations stand without challenge.

"But the experience of the past several years shows that there is a very high hurdle in our way: no Common Sense. I refer, of course, to the courageous independent journalism of the likes of Tom Paine who stirred the innate dignity of Americans toward sacrifice for independence and freedom. Tom Paine would be horrified to see what has become of his profession today—with browbeaten journalists and former general officers doing the bidding of the corporations that own/pay them.

"In my view, impeachment proceedings are essential to:

--Reestablish the separation of powers in our Constitution as a check on the so-called “unitary executive;”
--Prevent a budding—and catastrophic—U.S. attack on Iran by exposing it as yet another war of aggression against a country posing no threat to the U.S.;
--Call attention to the blood already drained from our civil liberties and stanch the bleeding.

"Impeachment proceedings may be the only way to force the captive media to inform normal citizens about what has been going on in our country. Thomas Jefferson underscored the importance of this when he said: 'Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government.'"

Ray McGovern; former Army officer and CIA analyst; co-founder, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity; writer/speaker with Tell the Word, the publishing arm of the Church of the Saviour in inner-city Washington, D.C.
_________

"All of these Articles of Impeachment together are only the tip of the iceberg of the High Crimes committed by the Bush-Cheney administration. Yet this administration remains in power and immune from prosecution. Congress must impeach Bush and Cheney now - before they issue themselves full pardons for all of their crimes."

Bob Fertik, President of Democrats.com, Cofounder of AfterDowningstreet.org.
_________

"President Bush, Cheney and other U.S. officials have violated numerous domestic and international laws governing crime of aggression, war crime, torture, etc., and they should be not only impeached by the US Congress but also be prosecuted by a special prosecutor, to the full extent of the law before or after impeachment. That is the best way to uphold the US Constitution and the rule of law at home and abroad."

John Kim, Esq., Attorney; participated in the World Tribunal on Iraq; and author of The Crime of Aggression Against Iraq.
_________

"Americans are looking forward to an early end to the Bush administration, but unless we as a people force the current Congress to live up to its Constitutional duty to defend the Constitution against seven years of unremitting assault by President Bush, Vice President Cheney and the gang of 'mob lawyers' who have abetted their crimes, the next administration, and the next Congress will inherit a government that would be unrecognizable to the Founders. The only way to re-establish the concept of a tri-partite government of checks and balances, of, by and for the people, a free nation dedicated to the proposition that all people are created equal, and a country that again has the respect of the rest of the world, is to impeach those who have been trying to destroy those things."

Dave Lindorff, veteran investigative reporter from Philadelphia, co-author (with Barbara Olshansky) of The Case for Impeachment, working on a book about the Bush administration's war crimes.
_________

"Impeachment is necessary. It is not a matter of politics, of right versus left, Democrat versus Republican. Rather, it is a matter of law. The current administration has repeatedly violated the Constitution and civil law. If there is no accountability for these violations, then why have a Constitution? Why have laws? The Constitution cannot protect itself. Nor can the Rule of Law. It is up to 'We, the People,' to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States. I therefore urge the House and the Senate to do their sworn duty and impeach President Bush and Vice President Cheney for high crimes and misdemeanors."

Stephen Heller, formerly known as the "Diebold Whistle-blower," is an election integrity activist and a member of Velvet Revolution's Election Protection Strike Force team.
_________

"The breadth of impeachable offenses committed by the Bush/Cheney administration is likely unparalleled in our nation's history. Equally unparalleled, and in many cases even more alarming and outrageous, is the lack of accountability brought to the perpetrators of these High Crimes and Misdemeanors. It is the Constitutional duty of members of Congress -- members from any political party -- to bring such accountability, particularly when the list of crimes began with the very acts that brought this administration into office during their elections, and right up through today when the same sort of crimes continue, and are in place to try and affect our next Presidential Election.

"This is not about politics, it's about the Constitutional duty of Congress. If a line in the sand is not drawn immediately and clearly in the face of such corruption and disdain for our American values, such as the Rule of Law, the historical bar for criminality in our Executive Branch will have been forever lowered, no matter who happens to serve in the White House in the future."

Brad Friedman, investigative journalist, creator/ editor of The Brad Blog, an expert in election integrity issues, and co-founder of the non-partisan watchdog organization VelvetRevolution.us.
_________

"Our country was built upon the Constitution. It's the foundation of who we are as a free people. If Congress continues to disregard its relevance as a living document, and the Bush White House continues to shred it before they leave office, then we have lost everything precious that the Founders sacrificed and fought for. They fought for our future. They understood that there could be no peace without justice. They knew how fragile their republic would be without the Constitution as its anchor. Yet even with their farsighted wisdom, they couldn't have foreseen the numerous crimes that George W. Bush committed in just seven and a half years of his being in office.

"If we take our place in history seriously, if we want to heal our country and honor what the Constitution has given us, then the only prescribed remedy is impeachment of Bush and Cheney. In that way we will restore our nation to its rightful place in the world."

Sophie de Vries, National Impeachment Coordinator for Democrats.com and project manager for the articles of impeachment.
_________

"I fully support Rep. Kucinich's efforts to uphold the Constitutional basis of our Democratic Republic. Absent accountability, the rule of law, and the other underpinnings of our system, we'll devolve into tyranny. We're seeking to halt and reverse the dangerous trends outlined in the articles of impeachment. Hopefully it's not too late."

Mike Hersh, Progressive Democrats of America National Staff and Executive Director of HealthCareMaryland.org
_________

"In Ohio's 2004 election, we witnessed unprecedented partisan purging of voters from the rolls, suppression of minorities at the polls, and voting machine irregularities -- all favoring Bush. These new high-tech Jim Crow tactics embraced by Bush and his campaign are impeachable offenses."

Robert Fitrakis, Ph.D., J.D., professor of political science, award-winning investigative journalist, editor of the Columbus Free Press and www.freepress.org, and an election rights attorney.
_________

"In the past four years, my academic research has touched on many troubling areas of what appears to be a shining democracy in its waning years. I have investigated issues regarding federal surveillance on civilians, arrogation of unrestrained executive power, use of the military as a posse comitatus, the withholding of public information, and the aggressive dismantling of the system of checks and balances that holds our fragile system together.

"My research has taken me through a clandestine labyrinth of maneuvers led by an executive branch that will go down famously in history for its numerous crimes, not the least of which is its attempt to dismantle our democracy. Without impeachment hearings, the full spectrum of the crimes of the Bush administration may never be known, and many of the incursions it has made on our democratic society will be hidden in the legal and bureaucratic structures they have developed. Without holding this administration accountable, many of the victims of this administration will forever be forgotten to history. For the sake of all those who have been its victims, for the sake of the maintenance of our democracy, we must impeach this administration."

Barbara Bowley, Associate Professor of Social Sciences and Information Literacy at Woodbury University in Burbank, California. She is author of "The Campaign for Unfettered Power: Executive Supremacy, Secrecy and Surveillance" in Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney, edited by Dennis Loo and Peter Phillips.
_________

"Using impeachment to get Bush out of office is not what is most important since he is going out anyway. I want to see him impeached even if it happens on his last day in office because we need to set a precedent that this abuse of power will never be considered acceptable."

Richard Mathews, alternate member of the Los Angeles County Democratic Central Committee.
_________

"Hundreds of innocent civilians die daily because of the US occupation of Iraq. Over a million have died since the US invasion and more will die if the Bush administration ignites a war with Iran. We cannot wait until January 2009 for a new president to decide to phase down the war. Impeachment is the only way to stop the on-going slaughter and end the war immediately. After Impeachment we must move to indict the US war criminals who lied us into this terrible period."

Peter Phillips, Professor of Sociology at Sonoma State University and Director of Project Censored, editor of 14 books including Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney, with Dennis Loo.
_________

"The situation today is more serious than the conditions that provoked the American Revolution. If we stand by now and allow this government to openly torture, abrogate habeas corpus, carry out unjust, illegal and immoral wars, and spy on all Americans, may we be damned by history."

Dr. Dennis Loo, co-editor/author of Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney, Associate Professor of Sociology at Cal Poly Pomona, serves on the National Steering Committee of the World Can’t Wait.
__________

"Impeachment is the most important item on the national agenda. This moment in history determines whether our nation will be governed by the rule of law or not. The people of Washington State are honored to be counted among those who stand now to defend the laws and principles established in our constitution."

Linda Boyd
Director, Washington For Impeachment
__________

"For the last year and a half, I have somehow managed to balance work and a full time college course load with impeachment advocacy because I believe that this administration’s subversion of the Constitution is the single most important issue facing this country. The founders of the Republic and architects of its democratic tripartite form of government clearly intended impeachment to serve as the legal means to address executive aggrandizement and violation of the rule of law. I have been dismayed at Congress’ unwillingness to fulfill its oath of office to "support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic”. It has been particularly upsetting when my Congressional representative, who is the Chairman of the House of Representatives Judiciary Sub-committee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties, has intransigently refused to support the call for impeachment hearings even while acknowledging that the Bush administration has committed “high crimes and misdemeanors” as specified in the Constitution. However, taking to heart former Congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman’s words that impeachment must come from the grassroots, I have steadfastly continued to lobby Congress to undertake impeachment hearings.

"I am deeply grateful to Congressman Kucinich for his admirable work to preserve and protect the Constitution and am honored to contribute to this effort. It is essential to the future of our country as a democracy that we hold a rogue executive in check and restore the balance of power. Only by putting this administration on notice through impeachment hearings will we reclaim our civil rights, restore the rule of law, extricate ourselves from the illegal occupation of Iraq, stop the killing, wounding and displacement of countless American and Iraqi lives, and prevent an illegitimate and unprovoked attack on Iran. Quite simply, without impeachment there is no democracy.

"Thank you, Congressman Kucinich, you are a true American hero."
Sharon Lynch, NY CD-08 Progressive Democrats of America Chapter Chair
__________

"I believe impeachment of Bush/Cheney is not only the right thing to do for our national well-being, but it must be done if we truly are a nation of laws. The Bush regime has shattered any moral authority America may have had, and we should never again claim superiority to any other nation. I am ashamed of our country's brutality and of its global arrogance and ignorance. I'm ashamed that our elected representatives have not yet impeached this administration. It is unthinkable to have a president who calls the Constitution, the same one he sends our young men and women to kill and die for, 'just a goddamned piece of paper.' When our veterans' pleas to impeach their commander in chief continue to be disregarded, how can we possibly claim we support our troops?

"If this administration is allowed to leave office without answering for its illegal and immoral activities, America will forever forfeit its standing in the world, and citizens will never again be able to take pride in their country."

Tobi Dragert, Director
Los Angeles Area Impeachment Center
_________

"In light of the illegal war in Iraq, the systematic torture of prisoners in US custody, the illegal surveillance of Americans, and George W. Bush's refusal to carry out his constitutional duty to faithfully execute the laws, impeachment proceedings should be initiated immediately and a criminal investigation launched against the President of the United States."

Marjorie Cohn, President, National Lawyers Guild
_________

"Good government requires constant maintenance. We must notice problems when they occur and to try to fix them. That is how we can best express our love for our country. We are at a critical time as a nation. The system of government brilliantly conceived by our Founding Fathers is crumbling. The Executive Branch is expanding its powers far beyond its Constitutional role and at the expense of Congress and the American people. Other nations, who once admired America, now watch with horror as we start preemptive wars and torture prisoners who are held without charge.

"According to the Constitution, the House of Representatives has the sole power to impeach. The House must, therefore, fully investigate the various charges, well known to the public, and then fulfill their oath to protect the Constitution by impeaching President Bush and Vice President Cheney. It is critical that this be done before Bush and Cheney leave office. Otherwise future Presidents will inherit these awful powers and the bar will have been set so high that it will be nearly impossible to impeach them."

Phil Burk, http://www.impeachbush.tv
"because we love America"

Comments from Readers on "Threats on Iran and the 'Batterer's Defense'"

I have received a number of messages about the above-entitled essay posted yesterday at Counterpunch and will repost some of them here (with the authors' permission). I will be adding to this as time permits over the course of the next couple days or so. Newer adds are at the end.

Floyd wrote me this after reading the initial posted note from the 54 yo black man:

"The letter from the Detroit man was very poignant. He, and probably others, can see the inevitable consequences of the war with Iraq and more war with Iran. And there is nothing locally that he individually can do to prevent the inevitable. That feeling has probably been around in other wars. Today is 1937 in Europe."

So true about the parallel to 1937. I do believe, however, that there is something that each of us can do locally to prevent the "inevitable." The rise of Hitler and all of the horrid consequences that flowed from that weren't inevitable. The triumph of Bush and Cheney's will isn't inevitable.

A majority feel fundamentally at odds with and deeply disturbed by what is going on. They need a vehicle to show this and they need to act in individual ways and in collective ways.

Of these two, at this point, the individual acts, small or large, are most important because collective action doesn't occur without first being sparked by individual actions.

We cannot succeed absent very large collective action. We don't need everyone to act. We only need a fraction - as has been true in every other revolution - but we do need millions. We cannot get to that level of collective action unless individuals on the individual level act.

All too many people are waiting for someone else to do something; all too many are feeling that there is nothing that they can do.

As I have written in different essays and from different angles, making the decision to do something that shows publicly how you feel and that actually contributes to spurring others to act in ways that help to unfold and eventually unleash the independent actions of the people, not pleading or hoping for "saviors" such as Obama or easy and useless or worse than useless answers such as simply voting, CAN and WILL make a difference.

You will also find, by the way, an interesting - and rather extensive - dialogue/debate triggered by my "Change We Can Believe In?" essay at OpEd News.

* * *

Hello and Thanks

I am a 54 yo black man, single and taking care of a 93 yo mother with Alzheimer's. I can now clearly see the day when I lose the house because the cost of necessities like house and car insurance, utilites etc exceed our income and eats into our savings. Obama used every excuse not to come to Detroit and yet so many Blacks here are voting for him just because he's Black. When the US attacks Iran, I know for a fact I will be homeless. Mom's still got benefits and can be placed in a home but for me it's bleak. Gangs here are getting bolder and using the economy as an excuse for what they were doing when things were better.

Everytime one of these political whores opens his mouth about war with Iran oil spikes and there goes hundreds of thousands of more Americans into bankruptcies and homelessness.

I don't want to be homeless, especially now I don't have the energy of youth anymore, but why should I be different than thousands or millions of others? One thing might have to happen is for more Whites with the delusions of middle-class status bolstered by easy credit to become homeless for them to understand how their bigotry got the best of them. I say that because White men are always commenting about gas prices at the pump until I say 'well what would one expect when they elect oilmen as President and VP twice?'

That's always the end of the small-talk. I wonder who buys those oil futures when one of these demagogues rattles the saber at Iran? Anyway, sorry for the rant but the future is not rosy for me and few other people I know and many I don't know.

We are being squeezed by thugs in the White House and on Wall Street as well as on the street corners of urban America. This country's had it and maybe that's the proper karma considering the way it was created and all the BS about a 'shining light on the hill' that covers dead Injun nations.

Again, thanks

*

Good afternoon,

Thank you for the essay. I teach psychology in a university in Arctic Norway. Your essay has reached the ends of the Earth, or one of them.

During the lead up to the 2003 attack on Iraq, I gave one public anti-war speech, and for that I made bar graphs comparing the USA and Iraq on military spending, size of economy, national population, etc. For all of these, Iraq was barely above the base line of the graphs; whereas, the USA was 2/3s or more up the scale. Iraq did not and could not threaten the USA. The war was a bully beating up on a weaker nation, for the pleasure of strutting power before an international audience.

Now we are in the lead up to an attack on Iran. It, too, is a modest country on measures of military spending, size of economy, etc. But it has geared its military for defense, which means that offensive forces might take more losses than they are used to, including a couple of sunk aircraft carriers. Obama has promised negotiations with Iran. That is good. But he might feel compelled to show some macho manliness by making more war. That is an old US tradition, unfortunately.

Sincerely,

Floyd Rudmin

*
Thanks for that very pungent and sensible article! I was amazed I had never thought of the analogy you make in the title before. It's one of those very clever perceptions that seems utterly obvious - after you hear it.

Tom Welsh
England

*
There is something sinister and sick about both U.S. and Israeli politics, trouble is, I don`t know what, or what to do about it.
Now I hear that Kurdish Northern Iraq is leaning more toward Islam, in which case, they too should look out, Bush, Cheney and the Zionists aren`t finished yet and there may be "just as bad," or "worse" to come.

regards, Ingrid B. Norway.

*

Professor Loo,

Sir, I want to thank you for this outstanding commentary at the Counterpunch web site today.

This old, former US Marine/Vietnam veteran is so damn sick of these idiot wars of choice. These war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes against international law, crimes against the United States Constitution that have been already started and those in the "planning" stages. I am also very damn sick of pandering politicians like McCrazy and Obama (or is it now Oh, bomb 'em?). Of course any human over the age of 8 with a functioning brain knew that Obama would crawl to AIPAC and suck up to the Zionists. No surprise at all there. Hi-Larry had done so many times already as well. Such is the way of the donkey gang in America.

That the guy from the elephant gang has done so, is also no surprise.

We NEED a real president who will stand for America and OUR national interests. Someone like Ms. McKinney or Mr. Nader. In short a real American president. Not some puppet of a foreign country as we have had since the end of World War Two, not counting Ike, who was probably our last TRUE American president.

I have no children, so these wars do not affect me in that manner. I DO however, resent that OUR young people who have joined the military, for many the employer of last resort, are being used and abused by this criminal administration. They do not get the proper equipment, training, nor other needed things. They are given substandard medical care when they return to the states after being wounded. Their psychological needs are not being met in the least. The suicide rate among the troops is appalling, yet nothing other than very cheap talk is done about it.

Our news media (a national joke) will not even admit that it has failed us, instead they rant on about how their job is not to challenge the powers that be! And all these years, stupid me, thought the job of a real journalist was to question everything! Well, I guess that all my schooling and out of school learning was totally inadequate. Damn me anyhow. Well, stupid is as stupid does. Guess my votes for Mr. Nader and when I still lived in California for the "Peace and Freedom Party" were just idiot "mistakes".

Yes sir, I am highly pissed off at our so-called "leaders" in this country today.

America now is certainly NOT the America of the old high school civics text books. It IS, however, the America that sent me and tens of thousands (hundreds of thousands actually) of American young men and women off on another imperial war in Southeast Asia during the 1960's and 70's.

We are a nation of idiot sheep if we continue to allow this crap to be pulled on us again.

Yet, we do not seem to even be aware that we are in a sorry assed state of things right here at home. How much more dumb can we get?

Thank you sir, for your excellent commentary. Thank you also for your valuable time reading the rants of an old disabled veteran.

semper fi,
charlie ehlen
Glenmora, LA

No people can be both ignorant and free......
Thomas Jefferson
http://bear47.blogspot.com

Threats on Iran and the "Batterer's Defense"

See my essay at Counterpunch.

"Change We Can Believe In"

See below Obama's remarks, excerpted, before AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) on June 4, 2008, his first major remarks after wrapping up enough pledged delegates to secure the Democratic Party nomination.

For those who continue to hope that Obama can be believed when he promises "change," note what kind of change he means.

Obama makes indisputably clear below (after all, he was auditioning before AIPAC) that he accepts in their entirety the Bush White House's fraudulent claims that Iran is building a nuclear program, that this constitutes a justification for military attack upon Iran, that Israel's attack on Syria's alleged nuclear facility was fully justified, and that Iran's military constitutes a terrorist organization.

Where in any of this is there any glimmer of a difference between Obama's views and that of Sen. Joseph Lieberman, John McCain, or George W. Bush, except the color of Obama's skin, and the fact that Obama can write books?

Where in any of this can one find an acknowledgment that, according to international law, attacking another country that has not attacked us - or Israel for that matter - constitutes the gravest war crime of all?

"In 1946, in Nuremberg, an American Judge wrote: 'To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.'” (Dahr Jamail, "The 'Free Fire Zone' of Iraq," p. 76, in Impeach the President: the Case Against Bush and Cheney. The quote from the American Judge comes from Judgment of the International Military Tribunal for the Trial of German Major War Criminals—Nuremberg, Germany 1946.)

Claiming that another country poses a threat to you, or that it pursues - Bush claims that even the knowledge of how to make a nuke is verboten for the Iranians - or possesses WMD, therefore represents nothing but the sabre rattling that precedes the commission of war crimes.

Obama: "That is the change we need in our foreign policy. Change that restores American power and influence."

This is as clearly and cogently as anyone can state it. What Obama means by change is that which "restores American power and influence."

His problem with Bush and Cheney, as he has repeatedly stated as a senator and presidential candidate, isn't that they launched an unjust, illegal and immoral war on Iraq.

His problem is that they have done things to harm "American power and influence."

What is the actual content of that power and influence? What does Obama mean by that?

He makes this crystal clear: he supports military attacks on countries that pose no real threat to us in order to "restore American power and influence."

Obama is preparing American and Israeli public opinion for more war crimes committed upon people who have done us no harm.

Is this a change that YOU believe in? Is this the kind of power and influence that you have in mind?

If it isn't, then think again about supporting and voting for this man.

Think again about whether or not this man represents any kind of change.

Think again about whether voting is really worth anything.

Think again about whether, if you really mean it that you want change, you need to do something yourself and support the actions of others who are acting directly to influence public opinion by publicly declaring their views - speaking out, writing letters and OpEds, wearing and spreading orange, doing everything you can to prosecute war criminals such as Bush, Cheney and John Yoo, everything you can to stop the military recruiters, everything you can to expose the fact that the Democratic candidates are not the solution.

Here's Obama:

"...today I’ll be speaking from my heart, and as a true friend of Israel. And I know that when I visit with AIPAC, I am among friends. Good friends. Friends who share my strong commitment to make sure that the bond between the United States and Israel is unbreakable today, tomorrow, and forever.

Syria continues its support for terror and meddling in Lebanon. And Syria has taken dangerous steps in pursuit of weapons of mass destruction, which is why Israeli action was justified to end that threat.

We know that the establishment of Israel was just and necessary, rooted in centuries of struggle, and decades of patient work. But 60 years later, we know that we cannot relent, we cannot yield, and as President I will never compromise when it comes to Israel’s security.

That starts with ensuring Israel’s qualitative military advantage. I will ensure that Israel can defend itself from any threat – from Gaza to Tehran. Defense cooperation between the United States and Israel is a model of success, and must be deepened. As President, I will implement a Memorandum of Understanding that provides $30 billion in assistance to Israel over the next decade – investments to Israel’s security that will not be tied to any other nation.

Let me be clear. Israel’s security is sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. The Palestinians need a state that is contiguous and cohesive, and that allows them to prosper – but any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel’s identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized and defensible borders. Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel, and it must remain undivided.

There is no greater threat to Israel – or to the peace and stability of the region – than Iran.

The Iranian regime supports violent extremists and challenges us across the region. It pursues a nuclear capability that could spark a dangerous arms race, and raise the prospect of a transfer of nuclear know-how to terrorists. Its President denies the Holocaust and threatens to wipe Israel off the map. The danger from Iran is grave, it is real, and my goal will be to eliminate this threat.

We knew, in 2002, that Iran supported terrorism. We knew Iran had an illicit nuclear program. We knew Iran posed a grave threat to Israel.

We will finally pressure Iraq’s leaders to take meaningful responsibility for their own future.

...the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, whose Quds force has rightly been labeled a terrorist organization.

Finally, let there be no doubt: I will always keep the threat of military action on the table to defend our security and our ally Israel.

That is the change we need in our foreign policy. Change that restores American power and influence." [boldfacing added: DL]

"Banners Across America:" Hundreds of Religious Organizations Take the Moral High Ground

[This is of tremendous importance and an exceedingly welcome development.]

Friends Meeting Jackson, Wyoming
St Thomas Aquinas Palo Alto CA
Nassau Presbyterian Princeton NJ
North Broadway UMC Columbus OH
Grace St Paul Episcopal -- Tuscon AZ

Dear NRCAT Friends:

Appended below is the press release that was just sent to our press contacts detailing the launch of our Banners Across America project in a press telephone conference call that took place earlier today. Check our website (http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=198&Itemid=157) tomorrow, June 6, to download the MP3 file to listen to the press conference.

NRCAT still has banners available for purchase on our website (http://www.nrcat.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=152&Itemid=151) for congregations who want to join the "nearly" 300 congregations displaying anti-torture banners during June.

Thank you again for your efforts to end U.S.-sponsored torture..
Rev. Richard Killmer
Executive Director, NRCAT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2008

Contact: Rev. Richard Killmer (202) 547-1920; (207) 450-7242 cell
John Humphries (860) 216-7972 cell; jhumphries@nrcat.org

Nearly 300 Congregations Across the United States - Representing All 50 States and the District of Columbia - Display Anti-Torture Banners in June

National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) introduces and describes "Banners Across America" initiative in June 5 telephone press conference

WASHINGTON, DC - Today, the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) launched its Banners Across America initiative in a telephone press conference describing the nationwide anti-torture banner campaign taking place during the month of June. Hundreds of congregations across the United States have joined this campaign in an effort to mobilize the American faith community in opposition to U.S.-sponsored torture. The "Banners Across America" initiative, organized by NRCAT, is timed to allow local congregations to participate in a nationwide, interfaith public witness during Torture Awareness Month.

To date, 298 congregations, located in all 50 states and the District of Columbia, are participating in this effort by displaying anti-torture banners during the month of June. Most of the large, vinyl banners are black-and-white and have anti-torture messages: "Torture is Wrong" and "Torture is a Moral Issue."

The Rev. Richard Killmer, NRCAT's Executive Director, opened the press conference. "We are thrilled that almost 300 congregations have made a significant and courageous witness in their community by displaying an anti-torture banner on the exterior of their building. In a public way these congregations are stating clearly that torture is always wrong - without any exceptions. These powerful witnesses may hasten the day when we see the end of U.S.-sponsored torture," he said.

Linda Gustitus, NRCAT's President highlighted the following organizational goals:

Stop the use of torture techniques by the CIA.
Close secret prisons
Stop rendition for torture
Hold our government accountable for what we have done. NRCAT has called for a Select Committee of Congress to investigate all aspects of U.S. sponsored torture post 9/11.

"Torture is not a political issue," emphasized Ms. Gustitus. "Whether you're for or against torture shouldn't depend upon whether you're for or against the President, the war or a particular party. Torture is a moral issue. It is immoral to use torture, and it is immoral to condone it -- affirmatively or silently. Torture destroys the very soul of our nation and it must be stopped."

Rev. Chris Grapentine, Pastor of Northside Community Church in Ann Arbor, MI, described the successful efforts in that city to engage a diverse group of congregations in this public witness. The 13 participating groups include churches of several denominations, a Jewish group, and a Buddhist temple.

"The banner will show our neighbors that we stand against the inhumane treatment of all people, even our enemies, because Jesus calls us to love our enemies," said Rev. Grapentine, whose congregation is an American Baptist Church.
Hattiesburg UU Fellowship MS

Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster of Rabbis for Human Rights North America noted that 27 Jewish congregations across the country are participating in the banner project, displaying a special banner that features the message "Honor the Image of God: Stop Torture Now."

"The strong response of the Jewish community to the banner project demonstrates that we believe that stopping torture is a Jewish religious imperative," stated Rabbi Kahn-Troster. "As a community who has historically been a victim of torture and oppression, we are compelled by our values to identify with the plight of the stranger and work to ensure k'vod habriot, the dignity of every human being. Torture denies that every person is created b'tzelem elohim, in the image of God. The synagogues hanging the banner are sending a message to our government that Jews regard torture as an affront to their Jewish values."

Participants on today's telephone press conference included:

Rev. Richard Killmer. Executive Director, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Linda Gustitus, President, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
John Humphries, Director for Program Coordination, National Religious Campaign Against Torture
Mohamed Elsanousi, Director of Communications & Community Outreach, Islamic Society of North America and NRCAT Board Member
Rabbi Rachel Kahn-Troster, Director of Education and Outreach, Rabbis for Human Rights North America
Rev. Chris Grapentine, Pastor, Northside Community Church, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Follow this link to see a list of participating congregations:
http://www.nrcat.org/storage/nrcat/documents/banner_list_6-5-08.pdf

Follow this link to see a photo gallery of more than 50 of the anti-torture banners in place:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nrcat-banners

A recording of today's press conference is available on the NRCAT website.
[For specific details about the location(s) of the banners and local contact information, please contact John Humphries using the phone and e-mail information above.]

For more information about the campaign Click "Banners Across America" at www.tortureisamoralissue.org

# # #

The National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT) is a growing membership organization committed to ending U.S.-sponsored torture, and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. Since its formation in January 2006, more than 190 religious groups have joined NRCAT, including representatives from the Roman Catholic, evangelical Christian, mainline Protestant, Unitarian, Quaker, Orthodox Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, and Sikh communities. Members include national denominations and faith groups, regional organizations and local congregations

Storm's a Comin': Racism, Ruling Class Fights, and Assassinations

See my essay at OpEd News.