Pres. Mubarak gives demonstrators ‘one finger salute’

In my opinion, desperate moves always exposes one’s Achilles heel.

Egyptian Pres. Mubarak has appointed CIA and Israeli point man Omar Suleiman as his Vice President. I can only imagine how thrilled the CIA and Israeli government are having their dirty laundry inspected and washed in public at this time and under these circumstances.

I hope eighty two year old Pres. Mubarak is right thinking this was a shrewd move on his part. I wish him well. (Mumble: Talk about adding fuel to a fire….)

As always,
BB

New Egyptian Vice President Ran Secret US Torture Program In Egypt
by Yashwanth Manjunath
Excerpt:
Curiously left out of these "five facts" is that Suleiman was responsible for running the United States' secret rendition program in Egypt. Rendition of course is the practice in which the United States government transferred suspected terrorists to foreign countries to escape the limitations of American anti-torture laws.

And
The fact that Suleiman was responsible for helping our government torture suspected terrorists, before his sudden appointment to Vice President, is most suspicious indeed. If Mubarak is overthrown, Suleiman is in a prime position to replace him as President of Egypt. If that happens, look for Suleiman to be nothing more than a US/Western puppet.

And
How long do you guys figure before the mainstream media actually reports any of this information about Suleiman? Let alone investigates the circumstances behind his appointment...
Read more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/29/939849/-New-Egyptian-Vice-President-Ran-Secret-US-Torture-Program-In-Egypt

“Like a bridge over troubled waters….” (Modified)

As this juncture, I focus my attention on the late, charming Benazir Bhutto, a Pakistanian who returned to her homeland in the midst of political and social unrest in 2007. Ms. Bhutto became the darling of Western media and the face of the opposition movement. She was sent by America to part the red sea and walk on water.

In Haiti, I witnessed earlier this year the return of Ex-Pres. Jean-Claude Duvalier aka Baby Doc. Mr. Duvalier was driven out of Haiti in 1986 by his own people. My suspicions are American interests are involved in his perplexing return and I note his strong posture to be a Western media darling regarding the daunting task of re-building Haiti.

There is presently un-rest in Egypt. Enter Mohamed El Baradei, a Nobel Peace Prize winning Egyptian who also worked for the United Nations. His credentials and his return to his homeland a few days ago has demanded the attention of Western media. Mr. El Baradei is already speaking for the Egyptian mass. Out of the tens of thousand demonstrators, Western media is poised to only find the pontification of Mr. El Baradei noteworthy in negotiating the rebuilding of a more peoples’ friendly Egypt.

I can not come to any conclusions regarding the actions of Benazir Bhutto, Jean-Claude Duvalier or Mohamed El Baradei. There are no positives nor negatives I can express regarding their patriotism. Those observations were not my intentions in writing this post. I can only say I find the situation in which they placed themselves 'interesting' and further note that no single hero emerged from the recent un-rest in Tunisia. Why was Tunisia of no interest to America? (*The industrial sector is mainly made up of clothing and footwear manufacturing, production of car parts, and electric machinery.) Why was no media darling sent there bathed in the strong diplomatic language of our President and Secretary of State as per Egypt? Would the message continue to be, “Don’t brutalize your citizens! Listen to them" when confronted with similar unrest in Yemen, Lebanon, Jordan and Israel? Interesting.

As always,
BB

* http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tunisia#Economy

The President and Sand Castles

While musing upon what author Alexander Woolcott observed of himself, "Everything I like is either illegal, immoral or fattening," and after listening to the Presidents’ State of the Union speech last night, I further mused everything the President wants to do requires honor, oversight and consequences.

In my opinion, this means putting honorable people in responsible positions. It means having an agency providing the oversight for which it was created and finally, it means leveling appropriate consequences for poor performances. Doing anything else is building sand castles at the waters’ edge, a wish list, a ‘Cabin in the sky’.

I was told long ago one sign of being bored is when your mind wanders and last evening listening to the President, my mind did a whole bunch of wandering. On one journey, it wandered to some breaking news I recently read:

Moscow (CNN) — Russian President Dmitry Medvedev fired top airport security officials Wednesday, two days after a blast killed 35 people at Moscow’s busiest airport.

And
“If people don’t understand how to work, we’ll find other people,” Medvedev said, according the RIA-Novosti news agency.
read more at:
http://8thai.com/panvimankohchang/2011/01/26/medvedev-fires-airport-security-officials/

This morning, I read this authors’ account of the speech:

Despite Their Unpunished Crimes, Obama Says, "I Don't Want to Punish the Banks"
By Mike Elk
Excerpt:
What the president should have done tonight, in addition to calling for tough financial reform, was to call for a special task force armed with thousands of investigators to look into crimes committed by the big banks.
Read more at:
http://www.ourfuture.org/blog-entry/2010010428/despite-thousands-crimes-unpunished-obama-says-i-dont-want-punish-banks

I find myself having difficulty saying what I want to say. I am trying to say you have to build things on solid foundations. I am trying to say sand castles are impermanent. I am trying to say reality is not a series of illusions. These things I am trying to say but lack the skills. However, in my own way, I have tried my best. There is some comfort from the song, “All you need is love”.
As always,
BB

Rahm Emanuel and Alan Keyes in Chicago

I am mindful of Republican Alan Keyes in great haste moving from Maryland to Chicago to run against Barack Obama for the U.S. Senate after Republican opponent Jack Ryan abruptly dropped out of the race.

I remember in August, 2004 and upon his arrival in Chicago, Mr. Keyes, in lightening speed, ran and rented an apartment in the city and afterwards was all geared up, pumped up, rearing to go have debates with Mr. Obama whenever, wherever and however they were going to be.

He didn’t worry about nuffin! He was hot stuff! He was a political Muhammad Ali! He was the great Black Republican hope and played the role to a ‘T’. It was so funny! I still laugh at the situation as I write these many years later.

However and in reference to the court ruling Monday regarding Rahm’s residency, I do not understand why “reside in” the municipality during adjacent year was not fully exploited and put to rest during that period of time of Alan Keyes. I wonder as I wander…..

State Senator Barack Obama won the Democratic primary, as Jack Ryan won the Republican primary, but three months later Ryan announced his withdrawal from the race — four days after the Chicago Tribune persuaded a California court to release child custody records. Six weeks later, the Illinois Republican State Central Committee chose former Diplomat Alan Keyes to replace Ryan as the Republican candidate.
Read more at:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Senate_election_in_Illinois,_2004

And
ALAN KEYES ACCEPTS REPUBLICAN APPOINTMENT TO FACE OBAMA
Read more at:
http://www.ilsenate.com/

As always,
BB

Rep. Charlie Rangel, Sen. Adam Clayton Powell and Paul Robeson (Update)

There is little left to the imagination to draw parallels between the House Committee on Un-American Activities stripping Paul Robeson of his dignity in the 1950’s, the House expulsion of Sen. Powell in 1967 and the House Ethics Committee stripping Rep. Charlie Rangel of his dignity in 2010.

Chairman of the committee confronting Mr. Robeson in 1950 was Rep. Francis E. Walter, D-Penn. The full House, with help from the House Democratic Caucus, expelled Mr. Powell from Congress in 1967. The chair of the committee censuring eighty year old Mr. Rangel in 2010 was Rep. Zoe Lofgren D-Cal.

This well written and well documented diary by JekyllnHyde re-kindled decades old feelings regarding my impatience with the Democratic Party.

Fighting for the dignity of my Ancestors,
God bless Bill Gates, WPFW, C-SPAN and the spirits of the unborn for the help,
BB
P.S. I am also mindful how Rep. Cynthia McKinney was treated by her peers.

"You Are the Un-Americans, and You Ought to be Ashamed of Yourselves"
by JekyllnHyde
Excerpt: (Paul Robeson)
Over the last three decades or so, you rarely, if ever, hear his name mentioned in the popular media. Once every few years, you might hear someone on PBS or C-Span remember him fondly and explain as to why he was one of the more important figures of the past century. In many respects, he had as much moral authority as Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Rosa Parks; he was as politically active as Dick Gregory, Harry Belafonte, John Lewis, and Randall Robinson; and, as befits many men and women motivated by moral considerations, he conducted himself with great dignity. For much of his life, not surprisingly and not unlike many of his worthy successors, he was marginalized and shunned by the political establishment of his time -- until events validated their 'radical' beliefs and resurrected their reputations.

And
What did this man do that propel so many to ignore his numerous contributions and conveniently forget the crucial role he played in our culture and politics? Or, a few others to remember him with deep reverence and respect? Who was this brilliant man? This article best summarizes the depth and breadth of his accomplishments...
Read more at:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2011/1/22/937399/-You-Are-the-Un-Americans,-and-You-Ought-to-be-Ashamed-of-Yourselves

(Update)
Democrats losing too many white voters, says civil rights leader
By Sean J. Miller -
Excerpt:
White voters preferred Republican candidates by almost two-to-one in the midterms last year. Their support helped the GOP win 22 seats in the states that make up the Old Confederacy. The Democrats' only pickup in the region was the New Orleans district where the party holds a registration advantage.

And
Since November, there have been a string of defections by Southern Democratic state lawmakers, which has prompted renewed speculation about the party’s future in the region. Former Alabama Rep. Artur Davis (D) said Democrats should even consider running as Independents if they want to succeed.
Read more at:
http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/house-races/138405-civil-rights-leader-democratic-party-losing-too-many-white-voter