A Second Look Rotating Header Image

January 15th, 2009:

A Second Look: Reject Admiral Blair for Director of National Intelligence because of East Timor massacres, A Tiny Cowboy Hat for a Very Small Man, and More

Jan 15th, 2009
by Tom.
No comments yet

Tom Chambless wrote:

RE: Reject Admiral Blair for Director of National Intelligence because of East Timor massacres, A Tiny Cowboy Hat for a Very Small Man, and More


From: tomc2322
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 3:28 PM
To: ‘theteam@peaceteam.net’
Subject: RE: Reject Admiral Blair for Director of National Intelligence because of East Timor massacres, A Tiny Cowboy Hat for a Very Small Man, and More

From: theteam@peaceteam.net [mailto:theteam@peaceteam.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 15, 2009 1:24 PM
To: activist.thepen@gmail.com
Subject: Reject Admiral Blair for Director of National Intelligence because of East Timor massacres, A Tiny Cowboy Hat for a Very Small Man, and More

The team@peaceteam.net wrote:

Tell The Senate To Reject Nominee Admiral Blair Who Greenlighted Genocide

True progressives have found various Obama appointments so far to leave much to be desired . . . even to the point of being disturbing. But the nomination of Admiral Dennis Blair for Director of National Intelligence cannot be permitted to pass under any circumstances.

As reported by Democracy Now, when genocidal monsters in the Indonesian military were committing massacres in East Timor, Admiral Blair DEFIED his orders to get them to stop, and instead gave them encouragement to continue. He then lied to Congress about it all. No such loose cannon with such blood on his hands can be allowed in the new administration. The links to both these video stories can be found on the Reject Blair Action Page below:

Reject Blair Action Page: http://www.usalone.com/reject_blair.php

My answer:

No. I will not reject Admiral Blair. Obama’s choice of Admiral Blair is sound. You must recall that the alleged genocide in Indonesia took place over a period of two decades, much longer than Admiral Blair’s tenure in the South Pacific. Those paramilitary groups in Indonesia responsible for the killings were sponsored by the Indonesian Army and were backed financially by the good-ole USA.

Obama spokeswoman Brooke Anderson said Blair was acting in accordance with U.S. policy.

“Admiral Blair condemned the conduct of Indonesian troops in East Timor, and he conveyed that if they behaved responsibly, the U.S. was prepared to resume normal relations. If they did not, they risked further negative consequences,” she said.

When Blair tried to lead a human rights delegation to Indonesia’s province of West Papua, his delegation was blocked by paramilitary forces.

Peace

Tom Chambless

Share

A Second Look: Federal Court Upholds Wiretap Law, Warrantless Eavesdropping On International Communication Within Bounds Of The Law, Appeals Court Rules – CBS News

Jan 15th, 2009
by Tom.
No comments yet

via Federal Court Upholds Wiretap Law, Warrantless Eavesdropping On International Communication Within Bounds Of The Law, Appeals Court Rules – CBS News.

(CBS) A U.S. Foreign Intelligence court released a ruling Thursday upholding the right of the president and Congress to wiretap private international phone conversations and intercept e-mail messages without a court-issued warrant.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Appeals Court released an unclassified version of an August 2008 ruling that seems to validate President George W. Bush’s claim that the government can act without court orders in gathering intelligence.

The Bush administration came under heated criticism three years ago when a National Security Agency’s program for warrantless eavesdropping was revealed. The FISA court ruled last year that Congress acted within its authority when it passed the Protect America Act, which authorized the Bush administration to eavesdrop on international communication.

This is all well and good until you consider just who is on the FISA Court and how they got there.

First of all, the number of FISA members have been expanded from seven to eleven, three of which must live no further than twenty miles from Washington, D.C. Secondly, all the members of the court are chosen by the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice Roberts - Bush hack

Herein lies the rub. As we discuss who is on the court we have to keep in mind that Chief Justice John Roberts is a neo-con, Bush hack who will appoint judges to do exactly as George W. Bush tells them to. Of course they are going to make rulings that it’s okay to wiretap without warrants. It is another Bush crime that they are still trying to make legal.

It would be difficult to find out the names of the judges currently appointed because of the secret nature of the court, but one thing is spiritually lifting. They will have to work closely with Eric Holder and the Obama administration. Holder’s office is down the hall from the judges chambers. Their ideologies will become moot during the next administration.

Share

A Second Look: Robert Creamer: The One Big Thing George W. Bush Did Right

Jan 15th, 2009
by Tom.
No comments yet

via Robert Creamer: The One Big Thing George W. Bush Did Right.

Robert Creamer is pointing out that actions speak louder than words. Throughout our history the policies that have had lasting effect has come after conservative dominance. Once again it is the conservative ideology itself that has spoken the loudest for progressive change.

By assuring that all of the fruits of the growth of productivity in our economy went to the wealthiest 2% of our population, the Bush administration set the stage for the current economic collapse.

By actually putting into practice the Neo-Conservative theories of pre-emptive war and unilateralism, George W. Bush demonstrated their failure more persuasively than could the most articulate progressive critic.

By abandoning our historic commitment to due process and sinking into the dark world of torture, George W. Bush and his partner Dick Cheney isolated themselves from the growing worldwide commitment to human rights.

Creamer has said it better  than I, or anyone, could say. By their own actions, they have proved themselves failures. The policies and ideologies of the neo-cons have been killed simple by their implementation. Creamer states that there is no such thing as “pendulum swing” back to the left because the most profound changes in our history and the ones that have had alasting effect are the policies from progressive eras such as the Bill of Rights, emancipation of enslaved peoples, and the New Deal.

Share
You are protected by wp-dephorm: