Category Archives: Politics

National Myths

What really happened on September 11th, 2001?

Well, let’s just say this. The number of oddities and inconsistencies that occurred on that day are hard to chalk up as coincidence.

For those of you who have serious questions about the official story, you need to see:

Loose Change – 2nd Edition

This video documentary, available for free from Google Video, looks at the events of September 11th in a critical light. Although many of the assertions contained therein are agreed to be hoaxes, this effort to summarize the tragedy reads like a good first (or second) draft.

See it for yourself and then decide – what really happened?

Addendum: I have received a few emails regarding this post, most of which ask me to remove it because it is seen as an endorsement of a conspiracy theory. This post does not wholly endorse the film, but promotes it as worthy to be watched and contemplated. While the film itself does not offer a cut and dry answer to the official version of events, it does, in my opinion, raise some serious and important issues with that version. As is the case with any group of individuals attempting to prove a point, events and unknowns will be portrayed in a light suitable to achieve those ends. Just as Fahrenheit 9/11 can not be understood as an objective film, that does not completely discount its merit as an important piece of the record regarding the events of September 11th.

Therefore I offer this link to you with the question, “how do you feel about this?” If you wish to call it blatant propaganda, I see no issue with that whatsoever. And if, on the other hand, you find some of it compelling, then by all means continue the investigation as you see fit. To remove this post would be to silence an opinion that may indeed contain some clue to uncovering the sum of events which occurred up to and on that day. As a concerned citizen, it is my duty to question the official story, however that questioning may be turned against me. We live in very dangerous times, and if we continue to accept “the story,” we may find ourselves in a very ugly place very soon. So I again offer you, loyal reader, the chance to view this film and draw some conclusions. If you have any comments, please make them here – anonymous comments are of course welcome.

p.s. for an example of a more prosaic approach to this investigation, see David Ray Griffin’s article regarding the WTC senario. This work is available on other sites as well, and the entire 911review.com site deserves a through look through, espeically in regards to a critical reading of the above video! FYI, the site notes about the video that: “Loose Change… includes so many red herrings and transparently flawed arguments that it is unlikely to persuade anyone of its conclusions who is not already inclined to accept them. Because Loose Change is a mixture of true, false, and unverifiable claims, it suggests an exercise: read the film’s transcript and guess which claims are valid.” A point by point analysis of the film can be found here… So, as I again stress, understand this video as such and let the comments rip!

One Year Ago Today

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One year ago today, a series of events went down in Andijon, Uzbekistan. The details of the story vary widely depending on who you ask, but things boil down to two versions. The first is offered by the Uzbek Government: A group of radical Islamic militants, wishing to overthrow the Uzbek regime and establish a caliphate, took police and governmental officials hostage. During this protest, many people, including innocent civilians, were killed. The second version, offered by human rights organizations and most journalistic outfits, speaks of a popular protest against the government lead by a group of businessmen who had been singled out for spurious prosecution by the Uzbek state. In this scenario, it is claimed that the Uzbek authorities (police and military,) were guilty of killing hundreds of civilians in order to regain authority.

Recently, the Uzbek Embassy in Belgium released a video regarding these events. View the video by clicking here. What you will see is the first point articulated. My opinion of this video is that what you are seeing is the false confessions of otherwise innocent civilians garnered under duress (read, torture.) It is chilling. Also, near the end of the video, the logic of the “Western Expert Uzbek” is so flawed, it could be considered laughable were the situation not so grave. To see the other side of the story, the one which I am more inclined to believe, please view the BBC News article here.

This video must be understood within context. The Uzbek regime is a closed Soviet style system. Public dissent, though not non-existent, is rare. The few protests that have occurred within the country in recent years are related to economic grievances. Therefore, the unofficial version, in which the violent chain of events began with peaceful protests against unfair crackdowns on businessmen by the state, is believable. Since the Uzbek government is unwilling to entertain such protests, it is therefore given the task of spinning any such events in its favor. And, taking a cue from our dear leader (see top right of this website,) it uses the specter of terrorism. That is, any individuals with complaints against the state are accused of being radical Islamic terrorists, therefore justifying severe retribution by the government.

This position is troublesome for a number of reasons. The first is that the Uzbek government is able to take a fear which has some basis of truth and exaggerate it for its own means. From all accounts there are some movements which would like to establish an Islamic state in the region; such theocrats would view the secular (and morally corrupt) Karimov regime as a target. So to dismiss the fact that there exist some terrorists is naÃ¯ve. The same is true regarding those who would wish to destroy the United States, and so on… Like he who shall not be named, Karimov has taken this fear, which is grounded in some measure of truth, and used it to his political advantage. Therefore, while claiming to protect the Uzbeks from Islamic terrorists, he is also stifling any form of protest directed against the state. However, with Andijon, things got out of hand, and the damage control has been extensive: expulsion of international civil society NGOs, expulsion of US forces from the Karshi-Khanabad air force base in the south of the country, an anti-Western media blitz in state run media, and the strengthening of ties with Russia and China.

And this brings me to my second point which is that Karimovâ€™s playbook was, until this boiling point, supported by the US government. Although his regime was guilty of gross violations of basic human rights, the US provided Uzbekistan with economic and humanitarian aid. Since we needed the Karshi base for operations in the region post 9/11, we were willing to look the other way. Karimov understandably took this and ran with it; as long as we had our base he would be able to maintain, indeed intensify his crackdown against all dissent.

Such was the situation when I, and over 60 other volunteers, touched down in Tashkent one cold morning in January 2005. My time in Uzbekistan revealed that these troubles were far from the daily worries of average citizens. Although they all knew that something was not right, and lamented that their formerly eminent culture had become a mere shadow of what it once was, their main concerns were providing for their families and getting by. The tragedy of this drama is poignant, representing yet another failure of moral leadership by our government with far reaching consequences. And although Andijon may be out of mind for most Americans, as Uzbeks in the area today mourn in silence, it couldnâ€™t be closer to home.

The Power of Dissent

Abortion and the Radical Christian Right

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** Warning – The Following Audio is Graphic – Listener Discretion Advised **

I do my best to keep up with the state of affairs back home, a feat that is largely aided by the internet. One of my most enjoyable means of doing this is via. the Mike Malloy Show, which I download from The White Rose Society. Mike is a talk show host who is dead on, and amazingly unabashed. His anger and analysis highlight everything that has gone wrong in our country while reminding us that rational thought is still possible. Tonight, while eating dinner (roasted chicken, white rice and cauliflower with garlic sour cream dip,) I was listening to his program. For the first two hours he kept mentioning a controversial statement he was going to read from “a blog.” Well, at about the time I was finishing up my food, thankfully, he got around to the reading. Please listen:

Mike Malloy Reads “My Heartfelt Apology to South Dakota.” – MP3

Sources:

Blog – “Come Armageddon”
Statement – South Dakota Republican State Senator Bill Napoli
Reading – Mike Malloy
Archive – White Rose Society

Wise Words

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In my American History class, we are currently looking at the Civil Rights Movement. As part of my research for class materials, I pulled up Dr. King’s “Letter from Birmingham Jail.” Although I had known about this document, I had never actually read it. I would like to share a part of it with you:

I must make two honest confessions to you, my Christian and Jewish brothers. First, I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says: “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action”; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.

As an individual who believes in progressive causes, this hits home. I remember that before the 2004 election I decided to give $50 to the DNC and canvass for Kerry one afternoon in New Hampshire. At that point, I believed that by actively assisting the Democratic cause, I could help bring about positive change. However, as time has progressed, the true color of our current Democrats has emerged, and if I may say so, it is Nantucket Red; aaah yes, but a shade off! Such is the state of things these days; with Democrats who enable reactionary Supreme Court justices and Democrats who support the Patriot Act, one wonders how we’ve been duped into supporting such characters.

And it it just as Dr. King laments; the majority of current Democrats are – moderates. They are “not now” people, they are “in time” people, and worst of all, they are “we’re on your side” people. Yes, this is the sad truth. If the Republican party is a rabid rottweiler rampaging through the backyard, then the Democrats are cardinals watching from the branches above; lacking wit or courage, all they can do is twitter as the destruction continues. So to all you Democrats who do little more than enable this mad dog, shame on you.