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Total number of comments: 15769 (since 2009-07-30 20:11:08)

Annie Robbins

Mondoweiss.net supporter

Annie Robbins is Writer at Large for Mondoweiss, a mother, a human rights activist and a ceramic artist. She lives in the SF bay area.

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  • Aaron David Miller: After a short 'peace process,' look for war with Iran in 2013
    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 9:00 pm

      admit that I am influenced by the MSM, the doubts of the AIEA, and the declarations of Western officials. For instance, Catherine Ashton was quoted as a saying that the Baghdad round of talks would be the beginning of the end of Iran’s nuclear weapons program.

      well, not too many declarations by western officials. she shouldn't have said what she did, since our intel claims iran, thus far, is only 'keeping open the option'. fyi Ira, here's some responsible reporting from reuter's

      link to ca.reuters.com

      BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's foreign policy chief said on Friday she hoped upcoming talks with Iran would form the basis for Tehran to eventually abandon its alleged nuclear weapons program.

      .....

      Ashton's use of the term "nuclear weapons program" went beyond the language commonly used by Western officials, who usually describe Iran's efforts as an attempt to move towards a nuclear weapons capability.

      In January, U.S. Director of National Intelligence James Clapper said that Iran was keeping open the option to develop nuclear weapons, in part by developing various nuclear capabilities. But he said he did not know whether Iran would eventually decide to build nuclear weapons

      and thanks for your report!

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:32 am with 2 replies

      a few lines of miller's stand out: America wants an end to its [Iran’s] repression and brutality, freedom for the Iranian people

      hahahahaha, as if we care about repression/ brutality or freedom for muslims and/or arabs. what a joke.

      let's face it, nobody -- not the Iranians, the Europeans, the Obama administration, not even the Israelis, particularly if they have to do it alone -- wants a war.

      hogwash. there are people salivating for war.

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:17 am with 3 replies

      Ira, we know so little about the extent of the Iranian nuclear weapons program

      can we, at a minimum, reference it as an alleged Iranian nuclear weapons program? even the US says they have not found evidence of an Iranian nuclear weapons program.

      link to moonofalabama.org

      January 21, 2012
      On Iran NYT Introduces New False Propaganda Line

      Isabel Kershner, an Israeli reporter working for the New York Times, is introducing a new propaganda term about Iran's nuclear program. She writes:

      Though Iran continues to insist that its nuclear program is only for civilian purposes, Israel, the United States and much of the West are convinced that Iran is working to develop a weapons program.

      "Working to develop a weapons program"? What is that supposed to mean?

      Since the NYT ombudsman has admonished the paper for being to casual with references to the non existing Iranian nuclear weapon program, Kersher can no longer refer to it directly.

      Instead she now comes up with "is working to develop a weapons program." This phrase has, to my best knowledge, never been used in any official language and I have never seen this accusation before. What is the factual base for Kershner's assertion?

      U.S. and Israeli officials have loud and openly said that Iran does not have a nuclear weapons program. They have never said that it is "working to develop a weapons program." They say flat out that Iran has not taken any decision towards a nuclear weapon program.

      That is what U.S. defense secretary Panetta said on January 8 at CBS's "Face The Nation":

      Are they trying to develop a nuclear weapon? No. But we know that they're trying to develop a nuclear capability. And that's what concerns us. And our red line to Iran is do not develop a nuclear weapon. That's a red line for us.
      ...
      But the responsible thing to do right now is to keep putting diplomatic and economic pressure on them to force them to do the right thing. And to make sure that they do not make the decision to proceed with the development of a nuclear weapon.

      more at the link

  • Rafah's nicest tunnel: Siege meets surf in Gaza
  • American Zionist responses to Tel Aviv riots-- largely indifferent, but some outrage
    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:14 pm

      billmon wrote an excellent essay on the history of the scots-irish in america. not sure if it's still online. somewhere in archives i imagine.

  • US to differentiate between 'personally displaced' Palestinian refugees and their descendants
    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 9:21 am

      The Asian Jews I know would disagree with you about cultural ties, as would the black Jews, so would the white Jews. Outsiders don’t get to decide when someone else is a People.

      actions speak louder than words. why were ethiopean jews required to go thru some orthodox conversion process after immigrating to israel? white reform jews are not required to do that.

      how many jews in the world believe bibi is the leader of the jews vs how many who do not? jews are not even in agreement wrt if israel is there 'homeland'. the concept of ethnicity is not interchangeable with 'peoplehood' or 'nation'.

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 8:54 am

      I’m interested in what makes you feel qualified to determine the answer to convoluted questions of identity politics, especially those regarding a sect of people who have self-identified as a nation for several thousand years; especially considering that you do not belong to it or even know much about it.
      .....

      It’s actually pretty funny. The ancient question of “Who is a Jew?” has been argued for millenia amongst the most learned of Hebrew scholars without anyone ever reaching a satisfactory conclusion that defied further debate. Yet, here comes you, at long last, with the answer. You know, I gotta tell you… it takes a LOT of chutzpah to tell the members of a group (that you do not even belong to), who and what they are, which of their beliefs are not legitimate, and how to go about defining themselves from now on.

      well, here's what i think takes chutzpah..thinking you can speak for all jews in the very same comment you make abundantly clear all jews are not in agreement about it themselves.

      yes, it is very true many jews do think all jews are a people, and maybe there have been jews who have self-identified as a nation for several thousand years, but not all of them. in fact the concept of people as a nation is not thousands of years old.

      you're opinion about it is no more valid than anyone elses just because you're jewish. all the jews who do think all jews are a nation are basically placing that claim on all the ones who do not believe that. i respect the claim of peoplehood, but not more than respect the claim of those who don't buy into that concept. your claim has no more validity than anothers. the peoplehood claim only works for those who buy into it, and it's just not true an entire sect of people have self-identified as a nation for several thousand years. if that were the case the question of “Who is a Jew?”, argued for millenia amongst the most learned of Hebrew scholars would probably have been answered by now. maybe it's you who should check your chutzpa at the door before you start speaking on behalf what and who jews are wrt this whole 'nation' concept because there are lots of jews who are still jews and not part of your 'nation'.

  • Senate fight today over the number of Palestinian refugees
    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 12:39 pm

      Thirty U.S. senators will vote today over whether there really are 5 million Palestinian "refugees" or just around 30,000

      like some guy from tennessee defines who's a refugees. if this isn't gross what is? our senate is meaningless sitting around all day pretending they are the knesset.

      i am so over this

  • Day after pogroms, Likud MK calls for internment camp for African refugees
  • Munayyer in the 'NYT': 'For all the talk about shared values between Israel and the United States, democracy is sadly not one of them'
  • 'Obama will only go as far on Iran as AIPAC permits him to go'
  • Because of all my father and mother did to liberate Europe (I go to the West Bank)
    • Annie Robbins May 25, 2012 at 7:05 pm

      thanks for the links. one, about a speech by President Horst Köhler in 2005. the other , 2006, about an exhibit.

      not sure i would characterize either as evidence of a trend but at least it describes the sentiment. the wiki link was helpful also.

    • Annie Robbins May 25, 2012 at 7:01 pm

      thanks citizen..i think this segment best represents the article:

      Having lived in Germany and Austria for most of the last 28 years, I’ve watched a very gradual shift in the “guilt vs. responsibility” debate that has weighed on these two countries that have done much to atone for the unfathomable crimes of their parents and grandparents.

      Many of their neighbours might still harbour animosity with origins rooted in the war. But Germany has clearly become more and more a normal country in recent decades and less and less burdened by the guilt over its horrific past.

      FRANCE DDAYThere have been a few notable turning points on that long road. I remember standing close enough to former Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder at a ceremony in Normandy in 2004 marking the 60th anniversary of the D-Day landing to see him quietly wiping tears from his eyes. Schroeder, who was born in 1944 and whose father was killed fighting for a lost cause near the end of the war, was the first German leader to be invited to the regular gatherings of the leaders of the World War Two allies on the French coast where one of the major battles of the war was fought — something his predecessors had long hoped for in vain as a symbol of reconciliation. It had taken 60 years to invite the German leader and even that modest act nevertheless still managed to stir some resentment in Allied countries at the time.

      (my bold)

      i read about 1/2 the comments but it more reflected the opinions of non germans speaking about germany. but, i didn't read anything reflecting an trend of victim so much as younger germans not feeling responsible.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 8:35 pm with 3 replies

      klaus, any links? literature, anything. i googled it and nothing came up. something in german is fine i can translate it. thanks.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 7:47 pm with 5 replies

      klaus, can you direct us to any literature or articles referencing what oleg references and you imply is a 'trend'. or is this word of mouth. i've never heard it before. assuming by "us" you mean germans. it wouldn't have made sense for us to carpet bomb thousands of people at the end of the war if our intent was to liberate them.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 10:30 am

      fantastic article with photos. huge shout out to Caroline Pinder Cracraft for contributing. it's articles like this that make mondoweiss one of the best sites on the web! we're so lucky.

  • Video: Israeli mob demands all African refugees be deported from the country (and anyone who disagrees deserves to be raped)
  • Honest broker? Israeli consulate sponsors Obama's former Middle East peace adviser at Stanford talk!
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 5:27 pm

      We’ve been down this road before and so have you, which every time makes it a little harder to go down the road again.

      a biden classic, the more ross is with him the harder it gets.

  • Avigdor Lieberman to Jews worldwide: 'You must love me'
    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 9:10 am

      i was listening to that record yesterday. one of my favorites.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 5:22 pm

      i can't stop laughing. now, if only we could get lieberman to sing this song as israel's entry into eurovision! he's so madonna.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 5:18 pm

      Raise your hand if you love Avigdor Lieberman

      adam you are too funny! that's got to be original to MW!

      ok, i will read the rest of the post now. i translated something over @ his facebookpage yesterday..wonder if it's the same thing. i didn't really 'get' the translation..thought it was more like 'trust me'.

  • If Obama really has things under control, then why the loose talk from CentCom's Mattis?
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 3:00 pm with 2 replies

      i do not trust elilake as far as i could throw a stick and i think we are being taken for a ride.

      Mattis wanted to send a third aircraft-carrier group to the Persian Gulf earlier this year, The Daily Beast has exclusively learned, in what would have been a massive show of force at a time when Iranian military commanders were publicly threatening to sink American ships in the Strait of Hormuz....and Mattis was told a third carrier group was not available to be deployed to the Gulf.

      from the comment section over @ DB

      Uh, folks -- the Navy DID send a third carrier, this year, and after you say Obama nixed sending one. I have been following the carrier postings to the Persian gulf and the Fifth Fleet ever since the Bush Administration's first brush with attacking Iran in 2005. Precisely because a third carrier posting would be the crossing of a red line. For precisely that reason I was horrified to see three carriers showing as with the Fifth Fleet earlier this year. For all its faults, the Bush Administration never did that.

      The Navy's official website itself displays these assignments. It is something that is very easy to check. So, if the Daily Beast report is correct, that means the President said "no" to a third carrier and our military DEFIED him and sent one ANYWAY...

      well, to be perfectly clear..eli lake never really said "Obama nixed sending one"...it just implied as much..and that's how propaganda works.

      plus, there's this post: link to mondoweiss.net

      "Pentagon fears Israeli strike on Iran would drag US in" and who did they quote:
      Gen. James N. Mattis, who commands American forces in the Middle East, was said to be troubled by results of the war game...The results of the war game were particularly troubling to Gen. James N. Mattis, who commands all American forces in the Middle East, Persian Gulf and Southwest Asia....

      this article made israel furious.

      and source? "according to U.S. military officials familiar with his thinking..."

      but later he said: "Military sources close to the general..Those who have worked with Mattis "

      now note the article also references israeli military leaders who have worked w/mattis..iow, the second allegation (about "when it comes to Iran are more in line .. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu") could be referencing...you guessed it Israel Military sources who have worked with Mattis ...like the mentioned Maj. Gen. Gadi Shamni, the military attaché at the Israeli Embassy in Washington

      then lake says "rebuff ..odd man out"? he's the commander of central command! he could be a lot of things but 'odd man out' is not one of them.

      plus, notice "At a recent charity event for Spirit of America

      check out link to sourcewatch.org

      and link to rightweb.irc-online.org

      neocons all the way.

      this is a hatchet job from israel. i don't trust it. and this:

      Mattis declined to comment for this article.

      yeah, i bet he did. the article is setting up the mattis as being more aligned with israel than his the prez, that's a hatchet job screaming out for an official response meant to create internal strife. remember when israel has done that in the past?

      also remember when the Rolling stone wrote that article that happened to be true about mc crystal? he resigned almost immediately, that will not be true in this case.

      eli lake is a servant of the lobby.

  • Did Israeli Eurovision contestant watch too much Juliano Mer Khamis?
    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:26 pm

      whoa GL, check this out

      link to newsinenglish.no

      Norway not only wound up last in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest but also landed in a serious diplomatic dispute with authorities in the contest’s host country of Azerbaijan...

      Touraj "Tooji" Keshtkar had been favoured during the preliminaries to Saturday night's Eurovision final, but ended up in last place. Harassment of NRK workers in Baku also had nearly prompted NRK to pull Tooji out of the contest in protest. ....to protest the treatment that an NRK team received upon departure from Baku. NRK reported that they were detained at the airport, threatened and abused by Azerbaijani police, apparently because the Azerbaijani authorities were provoked by the content of material broadcast by the team, which included a Norwegian-Iranian comedian who works for NRK’s channel P3....

      Kalbakk and other top NRK officials including Charlo Halvorsen, who’s married to Norway’s Education Minister Kristin Halvorsen, called the conduct of the authorities at the airport in Azerbaijan “totally unacceptable.” They have contacted both Norway’s Foreign Ministry and EBU officials, and the foreign ministry has in turn demanded what it calls a “clarification” from both their counterparts in Azerbaijan and from Azerbaijan’s diplomatic mission to Norway.

      The threats and harassment experienced by the NRK team involved a series of comedy programs they aired from Baku. The programs featured Amir Asgharnejad, a comedian who pretended to be a reporter from an Iranian TV station and who conducted mock interviews with both people on the street and members of Norway’s delegation to Eurovision.

      With statements like “Don’t be fooled by these glass and gold buildings” in Baku and references to local attitudes against homosexuality, officials in Azerbaijan and local media reportedly found the NRK P3 team’s programs offensive and an insult to their country. When the NRK team was leaving the country, they were stopped by police at the airport security checkpoint.

      “We don’t know whether this was a real police action or whether this was a group of police who decided to act like thugs,” Halvorsen told NRK’s own website. “But for Amir, it was an extremely uncomfortable experience. He was taken to a hearing room, threatened and forced to remove his clothes.” Asgharnejad told NRK’s late-night national newscast that he also was harassed and forced to kick an Iranian flag on the ground, even though he resisted because he found that an offensive act. He said the police filmed their harassment of him.

      All four team members were on assignment for NRK and accredited to cover Eurovision. EBU had secured guarantees from the authorities in Azerbaijan, known for harassing their own journalists, that all journalists would be well-treated and be allowed to work freely.

      ouch. looks like norway got bruised. and it doesn't sound like iranians are not too welcome in Azerbaijan, even if they are norwegian.

      quick edit, Roman Lob is cute w/singing chops, he's got a future.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 12:45 am

      link to youtube.com

      elizabeth's goosepimples

      i can't really recall what music was hot in 1983, i was more into rickilee jones and aretha at the time.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 10:48 pm

      I hope I can forgive you Annie, for exposing me to this

      please don't sammy. and that is a talented palestinian girl/actress from jenin, not a black guy in drag.

      you can watch her playing a woman dressed as a man here: (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) link to youtube.com

      Published on Apr 27, 2012 by UdiAloni

      Those willing to take risks for the sake of art will be those who create the beginnings of a new art. For this reason I have followed my friend Juliano Mer Khamis to Jenin. At the Freedom Theatre in the Jenin Refugee Camp. And after his assassinetion his students and me where working on Waiting for Godot for that resoin
      Some might claim that at the core of Waiting for Godot lies a nihilistic repetition -- a representation of the meaninglessness of modern life. But our production focuses on the search for meaning, solidarity and friendship within the repetition itself. This search within the perpetual repetition is what creates an opening in a world where devotion may seem to be impossible. Through a kind of "weak energy," the two clowns, Didi and Gogo, act by Mariam and Batoul, fill their endless time with an intense creativity -- an act of devotion within a place where meaning is impossible to uncover. In a way, this production of Waiting for Godot is a reflection on the experience of the students of The Freedom Theatre after the recent murder of their beloved Trickster, Juliano Mer Khamis. The students' performance of the play is in itself an act of fidelity and healing after a meaningless and tragic loss.
      Udi Aloni

      and check out her little dance around 8 minutes! she's awesome!

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 3:38 pm

      the German commentator said that in his opinion the song would have deserved to make it to the final...ESC viewers vote for their favourite country rather than for their favourite song

      German commentators can do that too. either way, the proof is in the pudding. i expressed my initial reaction in the other thread, no need to go into detail here. ;)

      eljay mentioned ABBAS-esque..i sort of agree. i think there's a different pallet in europe for certain kinds of music vs the US. i could never figure out what people saw (or heard) in abba.

      that albania entry reminded me of bjork tho..cool hairdo and outfit!

      anyway, i know you liked it german lefty, i think we will have to part ways over pop music.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 12:41 pm

      thanks for the 2007 link amir, i liked it. much more interesting than pop. this is not so bad either

      link to youtube.com

      this post was not about their musical ability.

      juliano died just a little more than a year ago not too long after the alice video was released. it's about the choice of style, the swings, the costumes, the setting, the theatrics.

      you seem much more familiar with the band than me. maybe this is typical of their style. if so, then i will rethink my assessment.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 12:40 pm with 20 replies

      hmm, this isn't really my type of music. even worse was their live performance, which was probably why they got cut in the final 10.

      but hey, if it makes any difference to you i really wasn't thrilled with any of the eurovision entries i watched. i thought the woman from albania was impressive tho. but the entries as whole i found very unimpressive. israel didn't stand out in that regard, not in my mind.

  • The charmingest flashmob you ever did see
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 3:46 pm

      i love these videos, thanks you

      while i was checking out videos of the attack on the village of Asira last night on the AsiraAlqeblya youtube page link to youtube.com

      i ran into this AWESOME dabke..you have to watch it! i played it at least 5 times. it was downloaded in march..probably men from the village.

      link to youtube.com

  • U.S. and Israel coordinate-- and signal hard line in Iran talks
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 3:28 pm

      sabotaged well before the next five weeks elapse.

      they are doing their darndest right up to the last minute.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 1:16 pm

      thanks for your report Ira. i've been on p5+1 watch all morning, probably read about 15 articles, there's just not a lot there.

      frankly, it's boring. the most interesting aspect is the IAEA met w/iran and others in amman on tuesday to iron out some stuff and according to IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano :

      Amano announced yesterday that the agency had broken a five-year stalemate with Iran over wider inspector access to nuclear sites, including the Parchin military complex, where the Persian Gulf country may have worked on the trigger for an atomic bomb. The deal sent world oil prices lower.

      so, they entered the talk w/that under their belt.

      link to sfgate.com

      the talks are resuming tomorrow, they are not over yet. israel/DC announced last weekend, as i recall, they would not be lessoning sanctions at this round of talks in baghdad...then there's this:

      Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said he expects the negotiations to "bring good news."

      "We are optimistic and hope the other side also wants to make the Baghdad summit a success," he told reporters in Tehran today before the meeting, adding that imposing new sanctions on his country would be a "huge and strategic mistake."

      ...
      The sides remain far from an accord, according to Taleb Mahdi, an Iranian delegate who denied that the P5+1 had offered anything new. Iran presented its own step-by-step proposal to the P5+1 group that includes nuclear and non-nuclear issues, the state-run Islamic Republic News Agency reported, without citing anybody.

      "We did not receive any new proposal," Mahdi told reporters in Arabic after the sides adjourned. "Until now there is no indication of anything optimistic or of positive progress.

      and from china we get:

      Talib Mahdi, a member of the Iranian delegation in Baghdad, told China's official Xinhua news agency that Tehran wasn't offered any deal to cut back on uranium enrichment in exchange for a reduction in sanctions.

      "Such proposal could be accepted by Iran because it would be a clear international recognition that Iran has the right to obtain nuclear energy," he was quoted as saying.

      but things are not spinning out of control. nothings been signed yet but amano said all system go on signing. according to him. "According to the IAEA general director, there are some details still to be negotiated, but he told reporters that will not hinder the signing of the resolution." link to plenglish.com

  • Affirming a Judaism and Jewish identity without Zionism
    • Annie Robbins May 27, 2012 at 1:32 am

      "policies will continue and may only be counteracted by firmness on part of command [sic] governments there represented"

      it was true then and it's true now.

      the lie-myth comes forth so clear in his words, "Exodus primarily cause by aggression of Arab states."

      liars.infuriating. hundreds of thousands expelled prior to 5/24/48. "inhuman..at outset" and it remains so today.

      sometimes i have to separate myself (remind myself)..emotionally disengage..just to continue on in our mission/struggle. to allow oneself to fully comprehend the level of deceit and inhumanity contained in this ongoing agenda is, at times, enough to drive a person..almost insane..almost enough to loose faith in mankind, in humanity..that this level of deceit is allowed to go seemingly unchallenged is the disgrace of us all.

      i do not know when but i do know it will not last forever. i pray in my lifetime we will find a way, i want to see it, experience it, i want to live and breathe a free palestine. for so many years these lies have held. so very ugly, the other face of mankind, the inhumane.

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:56 pm

      pt 8. @ your link would be comical if it wasn't so devastating.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 8:53 pm

      WOW, what an awesome song!! who is steve earle? total

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 2:03 pm with 1 replies

      hebron: At that moment I broke down crying and made a pledge that I would never again censor myself. I didn’t know it then, but that was the moment when I crossed over.

      you made me cry Rabbi Walt. what a beautiful memorial to Hilda.

      May her soul live on in us.

      just tears

  • Israel Land Administration charged with race and gender discrimination
  • 'Where is my children’s democracy?' The Jilani family speaks out two years after the execution of Ziad
    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 5:01 pm

      Instead he went right up to Ziad stepped on his neck and shot him point blank in the face.

      the actions of a homicidal madman.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 1:09 am

      The picture of him with his youngest daughter breaks my heart into a thousand pieces.

      i know..that photo on our homepage..they look so much alike.so father and daughter..same spirit. he will live on in her. that is some grace right there. apple not falling far from tree with those two. beautiful they are..

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 8:54 am

      so when he entered my house, he asked me, "why did Bilal not bring you and your brother-in-law down to the headquarters?" And I said, “oh, you're Barry. Who the hell turns to somebody whose had chemotherapy, who has cancer, and says how’s your health? Only the mafioso says something like that.” He was kind of taken aback.

      .....

      And they tried to get my computer. I told them basically, take it. You will never find anything on my husband. I said go ahead and take it. But I’ll tell you something. If you bring back anything and you plant something, I said, you’ll be up against me, because you’ll be a liar. You will never find anything on my husband because my husband was not in any political organization or anything. So if you claim that there’s something, you’ll be up against me, because I will make you look like the liar you are. But they didn’t find anything on my husband on my computer.

      this is a really good interview.

  • Passive-aggressive George Bush namechecks neocons for getting us into that mess
    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 11:04 am

      i don't think cheneys come and go, i think he is uniquely ..i can't think of the word. i don't like using words like evil because it connotes the devil..but whatever secular word suffices in exchange for evil. i don't think cheneys come along with every generation. he was extremely talented. but i agree with you to an extent, he didn't have the ability to do it alone. think of it as a train moving to war. the engineer doesn't make the train move, the fuel does that. the engineer doesn't build the tracks either. there was only one direction for that train because the tracks were in place. but in the VP office he was in the drivers seat and he did engineer that war. he wasn't just a willing participant and he wasn't chosen for that position, he chose himself. him and the neocons chose eachother because they had the same goals albeit for different purposes. they were a team and he was a very powerful player, much more powerful than bush. there are no gop politicians i can think of as powerful as cheney. that's why the gop is floundering right now. the lobby would prop up anyone to do their bidding but there is no one who matches them in genuine intent and smarts the way cheney did. he was one of them. cantor perhaps but the american public is not likely to vote for a jewish gop prez. just not happening. cheneys do not come and go but i'm sure the neocons wish they were a dime a dozen.

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 10:39 am

      have you noticed how completely vacuous the statements of Bush and Cheney have been on the Iraq War and foreign policy in general? When they were not reading handouts provided them by neoconservatives from AEI (American Enterprise Institute) and other policymaking arms of the JINSA crowd, they were unable to discuss foreign policy in an informed and analytical way.

      cheney rarely addressed the american public, he had no interest in us. but thinking he was anything less than a prime mover is missing the mark. he was personally pounding a path over to the cia squeezing them day in and day out, forcing the results he wanted, contorting the info until it fit into the mold.same with those energy meetings, all that prep with the defense industries. that went on for months prior to 9/11 all in preparation to invade iraq. most of it private, unreleased to the american public with the exception of leaks like the maps of iraqs oil fields. he wasn't reading from a script at those meetings. he wasn't a puppet.

    • Annie Robbins May 26, 2012 at 10:27 am

      I wouldn’t want to be accused of trying to provoke you. It really was not my intention to piss you off.

      ok. i will try to suspend my incomprehension wrt how anyone could be unaware 'prime mover' has multiple applications. somehow the idea any of us here (sean)would push the idea the israel lobby is god just put me over the top.

      personally, i give cheney more credit than sean. i do think the lobby was the main force driving the engine to war and i have no illusion the parties involved were not in cahoots. there were trillions of fed dollars on the table and i believe there was intent to flip that money into the private sector/war industry which was cheney's field..not just oil money. he made it clear he wanted not only a private military, but mercenaries working at the behest of private industry removed from the burdens of geneva. the bush family was heavily invested in private militias in the ME. there's simply nothing that compares to the fed defense budget, so flipping it and privatizing the military is what they did. it was the first war in US history where such a large percentage of the force was privatized including the privatization of jobs normally performed by soldiers everything from menial labor to specialized professions.

      but, that being said..those interests segued and cheney is relatively uniquely demented imho. trillions of dollars funneled into kbr/halliburton. he was a force in himself, as opposed to an organized lobby and the neocons fit hand in glove with his agenda. the neocons sold the war to the american people with little exception. cheney was one of them, he was a neocon and he surrounded himself with neocons. but i think he did that because it served his purpose, they fed off eachother. they cut out the middlemen and stovepiped (seymore hersh) the lies and information with the intent of harnessing the ME.

      i absolutely do not place bush and cheney in the same category. the reason cheney didn't run for office is he has no charisma and never could have won. but from the get go americas FP was directed out of the VP office during bush's term. libby was cheney's main neocon conduit and after the plame investigation began it clogged the channels. it was after that bush started putting some breaks on, otherwise we would have probably attacked iran, well, if israel had not been such a massive failure in lebanon. what a joke that was in terms of incompetence. after 06 the neocons were such failures in everything they tried to do it really woke up the american public (imho). that was when the mask came off the lobby and i don't think it is possible for it ever to fit back on securely. it's exposed. cheney is gone but what remains is the lobby. we can't get them out of office because they are embedded in all the offices via politicians. it's so ugly.

    • Annie Robbins May 25, 2012 at 4:16 am

      No sweat. Time for horseshoes!

      i love you phil weiss. have i told you that lately?

      ;)

    • Annie Robbins May 25, 2012 at 4:07 am

      As for Powell, I can believe he would say something like that. That a well-read and more scholarly person such as you would echo his thinking and even repeat his words is a little surprising.

      "Colin Powell Blamed Iraq War Plans on ‘Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs’"

      In that book, Powell also twice refers to the Iraq war as being the product of Donald Rumsfeld's absorption in the "JINSA crowd," the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs. In a word: Defense Under Secretary Douglas Feith, neocon, son of a Holocaust survivor, who helped cofound One Jerusalem, and whose former law partner is living in a settlement in the West Bank.

      link to mondoweiss.net

      That a well-read and scholarly person would cite Colin Powell who, according to you, is worthless..because..because he led the country to war based on jinsa lies..and therefore jinsa is clean and powell is the liar. makes perfect Seauton clusterf*ck sense now don't it?

      and you ask sean to explain himself? you're the one w/the xplainin' to do.

    • Annie Robbins May 25, 2012 at 3:47 am

      The prime mover argument, as I’m sure you know, is one of the arguments for the existence of God. God is the prime mover, according to this argument. So basically, by equating the “JINSA crowd” with the “prime mover,”

      what kind of filler crap is this G. Seauton? i'm using a mouse on my computer, as I’m sure you know, a mouse is a rodent. So basically, by equating the "computer" with a "rodent"....Is this really what you’re saying? ..Wouldn’t this be hyperbolic, to put it mildly? Please explain what you mean here.

      gag me with a spoon. obviously he was not saying the “JINSA crowd” is god. or maybe you are unaware "prime mover" has other common applications.

      link to en.wikipedia.org

      Regarding socio-political complexity, the term Prime Mover describes any influence upon a social group that leads to a higher degree of societal complexity.

      duh

      link to mondoweiss.net

      6. No trolling. Wikipedia defines trolling as "someone who posts inflammatory, extraneous, or off-topic messages in an online community, such as an online discussion forum, chat room, or blog, with the primary intent of provoking other users into a desired emotional response." That definition is good enough for us. We hope our comment section can feature an engaged and free flowing debate, but we are not interested in commenters whose only aim is to disrupt or sabotage the discussion.

      so G. Seauton, we're you implying sean was implying powell was implying jinsa was god? Please explain what you mean here.

      DFWU

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 9:21 am

      american, that sites down..thanks for the link tho.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 9:19 am

      i take it that would be a no, you cannot support that statement.

      i didn't ask because i didn't believe it. i ask because i hadn't heard it before, which is unusual for a common refrain. thanks for confirming my hunch.

    • Annie Robbins May 24, 2012 at 12:56 am

      back in the mid-90s it was a common refrain among right-wingers and jingoists in general that we needed to finish the job in Iraq

      game on, got links?

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 10:39 am with 1 replies

      bush was hand picked by cheney&co to do their bidding.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 12:36 am with 1 replies

      agreed. cheney was is evil.

  • 'Foreign Policy' peddles productive Iranian war theory
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 9:23 am

      thank you ira.

      Bibi is the same as always. Why should he change?

      i know..that's what i meant when i wrote hows that for drinking koolaid?

    • Annie Robbins May 22, 2012 at 5:04 pm with 2 replies

      ira, funny you should say that. i followed your link and registered and starting reading it. my eyes and mind started to blur over. i couldn't even finish it. i had thought about writing him but i can't. i wouldn't know what to say..other than..what are you thinking? i skipped to the very end..something about netanyahu having faith in himself or something.i can't even recall.

      the only thing i can concieve of that might change netanyahu is maybe his father dying..all of a sudden he changes course in midstream and becomes the man he always wanted to be? hows that for drinking koolaid? no, i am not writing burston over this article..i would be required to reread it..too painful.

    • Annie Robbins May 22, 2012 at 4:29 pm with 5 replies

      what a bunch of utter hogwash! do they think people will swallow anything? jeez louise!!!

  • Palestinian Authority and Israel on an arresting spree, children and activists detained
  • Google is partnering with Technion and Cornell in NY
  • Israeli judge to issue verdict in Rachel Corrie case
    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 4:13 pm

      slide samples? do you have any supporting links?

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 4:06 pm with 2 replies

      lol, i just noticed in the comments over @ wapo

      dangh
      3:32 AM PDT
      Could it be the infamous Dr. Hiss again?

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 3:59 pm with 3 replies

      here's the cnn story: Refugees face organ theft in the Sinai

      link to cnn.com

      link to 972mag.com

      but nothing about 10 Israeli citizens arrested for membership in the organ trafficking gang related to that story. but there is this

      Wednesday, 05.23.12

      Police: 10 Israelis arrested for organ-trafficking

      The Associated Press

      JERUSALEM -- Police say they have arrested 10 Israelis over the past few weeks on suspicion they trafficked in organs.

      Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld says one of the suspects is a doctor affiliated with a Tel Aviv-area hospital.

      He says the alleged organ-trafficking operation was international, but didn't immediately have details about the countries involved.

      He says the names of the suspects will not be released before they appear before an Israeli court.

      Rosenfeld spoke on Wednesday. He did not have a date for the court appearance or any further details.

      link to miamiherald.com

      link to washingtonpost.com
      Published: May 22

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 1:13 am

      what's so common? hiss stealing body parts?

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 1:08 am

      hiss is a freak organ thief. he kept warehouse of spare stolen body parts. anthony hannibal lecter hopkins should act the part but the movie will not be made in time for that. possibly an older depp. some great actor. pitty so many great scripts are held back due to the zio hollywood situation. we can thank Dr. Haim Buzaglo...such a rude awakening.the broomsticks and rags stuffed in corpses. gross. and here's fred and sammy defending them.

    • Annie Robbins May 23, 2012 at 1:00 am

      oh sammy, you're nothing if not predictable.

    • Annie Robbins May 22, 2012 at 10:46 am with 2 replies

      for testing. testing what? data collection for the future? really sick.

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