The Justice Department has put off prosecuting more than fifty companies suspected of wrongdoing over the last three years. The decline in prosecutions is seen as a deliberate and dramatic shift in policy. While the news reported in a front-page article in the New York Times surprised many, the Justice Department’s use of so called “deferred prosecution agreements” is nothing new. Back in 2005, a report released by the Corporate Crime Reporter profiled dozens of these cases and warned against their use. We speak with Russell Mokhiber, editor of the Corporate Crime Reporter. [includes rush transcript]
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Is Mainstream Media Biased Towards Israel?
There seems to be such a taboo in the media about anyone or any story that is critical of Israel. Witness the recent attacks on the Obama campaign via activities by his ex-pastor that was considered "Anti-Israel". Remember the vicious treatment that Jimmy Carter got for mentioning the words "Apartheid" and Israel in his book title? Candidate after candidate has to pay lip service and claim his blind allegiance to that state... and why? why is it the "kiss of death" to be critical of Israel.
There seems to be such a taboo in the media about anyone or any story that is critical of Israel. Witness the recent attacks on the Obama campaign via activities by his ex-pastor that was considered "Anti-Israel". Remember the vicious treatment that Jimmy Carter got for mentioning the words "Apartheid" and Israel in his book title? Candidate after candidate has to pay lip service and claim his blind allegiance to that state... and why? why is it the "kiss of death" to be critical of Israel.
Israel is by far the largest recipient of our tax dollar funded foreign aid, shouldn't we able to question the actions of that state? A lot of damage has been done in our name (and at our expense), yet we can't seem to questions anything in public without being castrated as social pariahs... Why is it much easier to criticize Israel in Tel Aviv then it is in Washington DC?
Here is what I know:
- Israel has maintained one of the longest occupations in modern history controlling the fate of over 2 million palestinians
- Israel is the only nuclear country in the area with no open access to their inventory and no signatures on any non-proliferation agreements
- Israel maintains one of the largest concentration camp style prison in the world known as Gaza. And yes, that's exactly what it is if you look at the living conditions of people there.
- Israel maintains an apartheid style system in the West Bank with separate roads and services for different groups.
- Israel continues to deny the right of return to over 2 million refugees spread all over the world for more than 50 years... can you imagine living in shanty towns and tents for over 50 years??
- Israel maintains a racial based system of government based on the failed ideology of Zionism. An ideology that at heart is based on racist nationalism granting rights to one "ethnic" (or is it religious?) group only
- While Israel claims to be living in the constant fear of terrorism, the death ratio of Palestinians vs. Israeli is roughly 13 to 1. Yet, somehow, they are the victims, and our media pushes that notion on us (and we wonder why the world hates us).
- Israel has TWICE invaded its northern neighbor, Lebanon and continues daily violations of its air space. Complaints to the UN are constantly blocked by, guess who?, the USA.
This list can go on longer, but I think I made my point.
So why, knowing all that, it is still a major faux pas for anyone to question our relation with Israel. And please don't give me the "You're an anti-semite" line... Being critical of Israel does not make one an anti-semite or a self hating Jew. Why is it that at a time when the US is heavily involved in a huge mess in the middle east, that our politicians, thinkers, activists, do not dare discussing the issue that is at the heart of the conflict?
So, Is Mainstream Media Biased Towards Israel? Yes
Florida lawmakers pass "take your guns to work" law
By Michael Peltier
TALLAHASSEE, Florida (Reuters) - Most Florida residents would be allowed to take guns to work under a measure passed by Florida lawmakers on Wednesday.
The bill, allowing workers to keep guns in their cars for self-protection, was approved by the Florida Senate by a vote of 26-13. It now goes to Republican Gov. Charlie Crist to sign into law.
Backed by the National Rifle Association and some labor unions, the so-called "take-your-guns-to-work" measure would prohibit business owners from banning guns kept locked in motor vehicles on their private property.
The measure applies to employees, customers and those invited to the business establishment as long as they have a permit to carry the weapon.
Backers say the measure upholds the vision of the authors of the U.S. Constitution, who made the right to bear arms part of the Bill of Rights.
"The second thing they wrote about in that constitution was the right to bear arms," said Sen. Durell Peaden, a Republican from Crestview, Florida. "It was what was dear in their hearts."
The measure exempts a number of workplaces including nuclear power plants, prisons, schools and companies whose business involves homeland security.
Critics say the measure usurps business owners' rights to determine what happens on their property and puts workers and managers at risk from disgruntled employees.
Dozens of workplace shootings occur every year in the United States and studies have shown that job sites where guns are permitted are more likely to suffer workplace homicides than those where guns are prohibited.
"This is an attempt to trample upon the property rights of property owners and attempt to make it more difficult to protect the workers in a workplace and those who visit our retail establishments," said Sen. Ted Deutch, a Boca Raton Democrat.
Oklahoma, Alaska, Kentucky, and Mississippi have similar laws, although in Oklahoma, an appellate court barred the state from enforcing the legislation on grounds that it was unconstitutional.
Florida business groups are urging the governor to veto the measure, saying owners should be allowed to determine what happens on their property.
"We are disappointed that politics clearly won over good policy," Mark Wilson, president and chief executive of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, said in a statement.
IMF says US crisis is 'largest financial shock since Great Depression'
America's mortgage crisis has spiralled into "the largest financial shock since the Great Depression" and there is now a one-in-four chance of a full-blown global recession over the next 12 months, the International Monetary Fund warned today.
The US is already sliding into what the IMF predicts will be a "mild recession" but there is mounting pessimism about the ability of the rest of the world to escape unscathed, the IMF said in its twice-yearly World Economic Outlook. Britain is particularly vulnerable, it warned, as it slashed its growth targets for both the US and the UK.
The report made it clear that there will be no early resolution to the global financial crisis.
"The financial shock that erupted in August 2007, as the US sub-prime mortgage market was derailed by the reversal of the housing boom, has spread quickly and unpredictably to inflict extensive damage on markets and institutions at the heart of the financial system," it said.
After warning earlier this week that the world's financial firms could end up shouldering $1 trillion (£500bn) worth of losses from the credit crunch, the IMF said it expects the US to achieve GDP growth of just 0.5% this year, and 0.6% in 2008, with the housing crash getting even worse.
Simon Johnson, the IMF's director of research, said later the key risk to the forecasts was the danger of a vicious circle emerging, as house prices continue to fall, dealing a fresh blow to the banks, and exacerbating the problems in the markets. "Sentiment in financial markets has improved in recent weeks since the Federal Reserve's strong actions with regard to investment banks. But we have seen how strains in markets can quickly become reinforcing, and the possibility of a negative spiral or 'financial decelerator' remains a possibility."
President George Bush has already signed off a $150bn tax rebate package to kick-start the economy, and the Federal Reserve has backed an emergency buyout of investment bank Bear Stearns, but the IMF said this may still not be enough: "Room may need to be found for some additional support for housing and financial markets."
In the UK, the chancellor has repeatedly insisted that the economy is "better-placed" to weather the storm, because of its flexible labour market and low unemployment, but the IMF calculated that the British housing market is overvalued by up to 30%, and could be destined for a damaging correction.
Alistair Darling is due to fly to Washington tomorrow to discuss the turmoil with fellow G7 finance ministers.
Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England, will also be in Washington this weekend to discuss the ramifications of the credit crunch with central bankers from around the world.
The Rise of the Jewish Empire: The Jewish Conquest of America
by Bob Finch
America may have lost the war against vietnam but it has never been invaded or conquered by external forces since its declaration of independence. But since the second world war and, in particular the establishment of the terrorist state refered to as Israel, it has been conquered from within. Wasps no longer have any significant control over american politics or its foreign policies
The israelis in america control the republican party and the democratic party and even the green party. They control the left wing of american politics (noam chomsky, stephen zunes) almost as much as they control the extreme right wing. They control congress. Jack abramoff apparently had in the region of 60 members of congress on his payroll. And these were not insignificant members of congress either since he funded tom delay who provided dick cheney’s power base. This israeli was not only funding american goys but terrorists in the jews-only state. And this is the political influence of just one jewish billionaire. When aipac and all the other jewish lobbying groups in america, whose prime loyalties are to the jews-only state in palestine, are taken into consideration, the jews are financing virtually all members of congress. These days when american politicians talk about the need to defend their country from external threats what they mean is any challenge to the jews-only state in palestine.
The israelis control vast slabs of the bush administration. "The neoconservatives … control the Office of the President, the Office of the Vice President, the Department of State, the Department of Defense, and the police-state apparatus known as "Homeland Security." (Paul Craig Roberts ‘Outfoxed by bin Laden’ http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=4898). Wayne madsen has suggested they’re aiming to take control of the super secret National Security Agency (NSA) - America's premier electronic surveillance body. "What has some NSA officials worried is that with pro-Israeli neocons now engrained within the CIA, Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), State Department, and National Security Council, NSA is ripe for penetration by Israeli intelligence. With outside contractors now permeating NSA and a major Israeli espionage operation being discovered inside the Pentagon, once again there is a fear within NSA that foreign intelligence services such as the Mossad could make another attempt to penetrate America's virtual "Fort Knox" of intelligence treasures and secrets." (Wayne Madsen ‘The neocon power grab at NSA and an attempt to stifle the press’ http://www.onlinejournal.com/Special_Reports/052405Madsen/052405
madsen.html).
Israelis own and control the american media. They compose the largest group of billionaires in america who fund a vast network of political research organizations which determine the views of america’s jewish owned media and america’s jewish funded politicians.
In 1950s america, as in many other western countries, there were taboos preventing people from talking about a range of social issues such as homosexuality, incest, male rape, etc, etc. These days nobody would think twice about discussing these issues. The only taboos in the western world these days have to do with jews. There is a taboo about jewish funding of political parties (in america and britain). There is a taboo against the influence of the jewish lobby on american politicians. There is a taboo about jewish attempts to take over the russian economic and political system. There is a taboo about the tribute payments that america makes to its jewish masters in the jews-only state in palestine. "The Congress, the Executive branch, state and local governments, and national and local media have all come under the influence of the Jewish "lobby’s" pro-Israel agenda to the point that none or few dare to criticize Israel or its US representatives." (James Petras ‘The meaning of war: A heterodox perspective’ http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=12606).
The israelis have even transformed christianity in america. There are now tens of millions of so-called christian zionists who have come to believe in the zionist god of vengeance rather than the christian god of forgiveness. They no longer live on a god given planet but focus solely on the god given land of palestine. The devotion of these dechristianized zionists to the sacred jewish land of palestine and jews-only state in palestine is such that one of them blurted out at a major conference the logical outcome of their beliefs. 'I love America,' Arthur said, her voice quivering with emotion. 'But if it came to a choice between Israel and America, I would stand with Israel.'" (Christian Zionist author, Kay Arthur of Precepts Ministries quoted in Justin Raimondo ‘Putting Israel First’ http://www.antiwar.com/blog/index.php?id=0).
There is not the slightest doubt that the american military is by far and away the most formidable military power in the world. But who controls that military is an entirely different matter. The american politicians who dictate military policy are not wasps but israelis - agents of the jews-only state in palestine. So, in effect the jews-only state controls american politicians who control the american military which wages war for the sake of jewish world domination.
There is no such thing as an american empire. America does not have an empire. On the contrary, america has become part of the jewish empire which dictates america’s domestic and foreign policies. The policies that america is pursuing in the middle east have nothing to do with america’s national interests – on the contrary, over the last four decades it has been forced to fight the wars on behalf of its jewish master. In the so-called yom kippur war of 1973 the americans were forced to back the jews-only state against the encircling arab armies which resulted in an arab oil boycott that pushed america and the world economy into a recession which lasted nearly a decade. If america had sided with the arabs it would have enjoyed an economic bonanza selling american goods to secular arab consumer societies. If the jews-only state did not exist there would have been peace and stability in the middle east which would have boosted global prosperity. Instead, america’s jewish masters have cost america vast economic losses, the losses of many american troops, and the enmity of the arab and islamic world. "The passionate attachment to Israel, the dual loyalty felt by many Americans -whereby Israel's interests are put on the same or higher level than U.S. interests - has come back to haunt the United States through the agency of a President willing to adopt the most extravagant dreams of right wing Israelis and pro-Israeli hawks. The result is that the full might of the world's only super power has been dragged into Israel's service despite the costs, and the dangers and the folly of such a policy. Attachment to Israel has come back to haunt America by enabling a decisive shift in U..S. policy away from helping to preserve the peace and security of the world and turning the U.S. into an aggressor nation, just as Israel has been and continues to be." (Ronald Bleier ‘Invading Iraq: Converging u.s. and Israeli Agendas’ http://desip.igc.org/ConvergingAgendas.html).
Iran’s so-called acquisition of nuclear weapons is a non-issue. And yet the jewish empire has managed to coerce america, and thus the security council, into believing the utter fantasy that it is a dire threat to world peace which must be placed at the top of the global political agenda. Iran poses no military threat whatsoever to america, china, russia or europe and yet they have all made this issue their most important foreign policy. Watching america, china, russia, and europe, dancing to the paranoid fantasies of the jews-only state in palestine is proof of jewish world domination.
There may be those who argue that just because america implements the foreign policies of another state doesn’t mean to say that there isn’t an american empire which pursues american interests around the rest of the world. But this is not the case. America’s zionist foreign policy has drained american military resources so they cannot be used in other places around the world. The jews in american politics and their shabbat goy colleagues have become so focused on the middle east to protect the sacred judaic headquarters of the jewish empire that they have ignored, or been unable to combat, the rise of democratic forces in south america from where america imports a substantial amount of its oil. Why is american foreign policy and military intervention focussed almost solely on the middle east when countries on its own doorstep which provide it with vast amounts of oil are being allowed to drift out of american control?
America’s policies towards russia have been shaped for the last forty years by neocons originating from the office of the right wing democratic senator henry jackson. They managed to abolish nixon’s détente with russia which could have resulted in a vast, mutually beneficial, economic boom between the two countries. The neocons, however, didn’t want any american rapproachment with the russians because russia poses the danger of nuclear obliteration to the jews-only state in palestine. Once again, jewish interests predominated over american interests and americans carried out the orders of their jewish masters.
Israeli traitors control the american media, the republican and democratic parties, congress, the pentagon, the office of homeland security, the cia, the defence intelligence agency, the state department, the national security council, and the presidency. The american military is implementing the foreign policies of the jews-only state in palestine. There is nothing american left about america. Is it not true that, "The neoconservatives are the greatest threat America has ever faced .." (Paul Craig Roberts ‘Outfoxed by bin Laden’ http://www.antiwar.com/roberts/?articleid=4898). The battle for american independence was lost before most americans realized they were under attack. America is now the biggest and most powerful colony in the jewish empire. "The conventional wisdom which perceives world imperial powers dictating policy to lesser regional powers clearly fails to deal with the US Middle East Wars. The reason why this common sense notion is inadequate is because it fails to deal with a series of unique (at least in modern history) phenomena affecting the policy-making structure of the US Empire – the active role of a privileged and influential minority deeply embedded in the decision-making structure and whose primary loyalty is to another state. It is as if the State of Israel has ‘colonized’ the main spheres of political power in the imperial state. These ‘colons’ however are not exactly transplants or emigrants from their "mother country". Rather they have mostly grown up and have been educated in the imperial center, they have pursued lucrative careers in the US and have, in most instances, been strong supporters of US imperial expansion and militarism. They have risen to and influenced the highest spheres of political power. They have not been discriminated against, nor have they suffered any economic, social or political exclusion. They have not been marginalized - they are integrated in the centers of power. Yet they have set themselves apart from the rest of the US citizens and conceive of themselves as having a special mission - of being first Jews who unconditionally support the State of Israel and all of its international projections of power. How can we explain this irrational embrace of a militarist state by a set of individuals who only vicariously share its life and destiny?" (James Petras ‘The meaning of war: A heterodox perspective’ http://www.rebelion.org/noticia.php?id=12606).
American slaves need to fight back against the jewish empire rather than pretending they have an empire that acts in their name. They should see the palestinians as the leaders in the fight against the world’s jewish oppressors. "The fact leftists bust a gut to ignore -is that The Big Corporations would be far, far better off if the US switched sides completely, and supported the Palestinians to the hilt. It is difficult to argue this just because it is so screamingly obvious. The Big Corporations want oil: Israel pisses off the oil producers, bigtime. Israel does not, contrary to leftist orthodoxy, help the US control the oil." (Michael Neumann ‘A Study in Dogma: The Palestinians and the Party Line’ http://www.counterpunch.org/neumann11182005.html).
Americans need to liberate themselves before they start helping to liberate the rest of the world, "Regardless of the particular causes or principles that most move us, that are closest to our hearts, no issue is of greater urgency than breaking the Jewish-Zionist grip on American political, social and cultural life. As long as this power remains entrenched, there will be no end to the systematic Jewish distortion of history and current affairs, the Jewish-Zionist domination of the US political system, Zionist oppression of Palestinians, the bloody conflict between Jews and non-Jews in the Middle East, and the Israeli threat to peace." (Mark Weber ‘The Challenge of Jewish-Zionist Power in an Era of Global Struggle’ http://www.ihr.org/other/thechallenge.html); "As we draw closer to a major confrontation with Iran and Israeli officials set short-term deadlines for igniting a Middle East conflagration, it seems that we are doomed to learn from future catastrophic losses that Americans must organize to defeat political lobbies based on overseas allegiances." (James Petras ‘Israel's War Deadline: Iran in the Crosshairs’ http://www.counterpunch.org/petras12242005.html).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
