Happy 90th birthday, Nelson Mandela

Happy 90th birthday to the world's greatest politician, leader EVER - Nelson Mandela. May he have very many more.

Copyright: Photograph from Dismantling Apartheid

He has taught mankind through his sincerity to his cause - the people of Africa.

Thank you Nelson Mandela.

Randi Rhodes quits AirAmerica

I was waiting for this move by the AirAmerica management as Randi's shows had become quite boring as she was over-stressed. In most shows, she would find one point and harp on it for several shows thereafter. I often wondered if anyone was listening to her. Her humour had vanished and there was no motivation in her programmes.

However, she had a devoted following and even her abusive manner to her callers and many of her guests, as she tended to overtalk them and continue to express her opinion and not allow the caller to get a word in edgeways, certainly made one mad. After all, the programme was hers and she could always give her opinion AFTER the caller had expressed his/her views.

I was quite surprised to hear from Greg Palast that it was he who had suggested Randi to the founders of AirAmerica. I remember that Randi had felt humiliated when he had called her to an event he was hosting in New York where he had not given her any prominence unlike other AirAmerica hosts. He had treated her like a stagehand!

Mike Malloy had, in a 45 minute rant in one of his programmes, paid tribute to his friend Randi and torn the present management of AirAmerica to bits. He revealed that, even as of today, they owed him $ 112000! Mike gave a very historical context of Talk Radio and AirAmerica. He had no hesitation in calling AirAmerica a tool of the right wing.

Mike was fired by AirAmerica by the Jewish cabal behind AirAmerica as they consider him anti-Semitic. He said the suspension of Randi was quite unforgivable. He gave news that Lionel was being axed (not that he was any favourite of mine) and that Thom Hartmann had lost prime time in New York to Ed Schulz, neither of whom are favourites of mine.

Randi was removed from my ratings in September 2007 and during the last 7 months I saw no reason to put her back in them.

Randi Rhodes is a survivor and when she lands on her feet you will find her ranting and raving on her plight.

The ratings remain about the same as Mike Malloy is undisputably the Number 1 Talk Show Host, with Peter Werbe a close second. The rest may scramble for minor places and with the right wing cabal having got rid of KIRO (Seattle, Washington) host Mike Webb (supposedly murdered) and Bernie Ward taken off the air (KGO, San Francisco, California)) on trumped up pedophile related issues, there is some shuffling. Rachel Maddow has continued to improve her style and is knocking around for top spot places. Sam Seder has managed to control a lot of his stuttering and stammering and should be able to get in the top ten if he can organise his programmes better. Ray Taliferro is still hilarious. Stephanie Miller could come back in the ratings as she has become a bit more serious, but she is not a Talk Show Host to be taken seriously.

I will post a half yearly analysis sometime in June 2008, so stay tuned for the next major ratings analysis.

Hopefully back on line

(Posted on all my major blogs)

Yesterday, after some 33 days of being without my internet connection, I was put back on line. Several errors were found at the connections outside our premises and also in the Gateway.

The first thing I did after getting back my connection was test my speed. I pay for a 8 M line, but I was shocked to find my upload and download speeds were less than 500 kbps.

Additionally, I have a fixed IP and I found that the IP that I was using was not mine.

Thirdly, all my computers are connected to the internet through a Router. i found that if I went on to connect my router, I lost the internet connection.

Lastly, during the last 7 years I have used DHCP to connect to the internet. I have not used PPPoE. I found that I was unable to connect using DHCP and my own Fixed IP but only through the PPPoE which was assigning me the random IP.

All these problems has made life continue to be difficult as I am using just a single computer to connect to the internet.

I have a backload of about 6 weeks of work. With this situation I will only be able to catch up by the end of April.

I have lodged my complaint with my ISP .- and hopefully I will get some action by the end of this week.

Please bear with me till I get back into full swing.

Through the eyes of an Arab Israeli human rights activist..."

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, Jacob's Politics Blog, the Move The UN Blog, and the Liberal Talk Show Ratings Blog.

Yesterday, Tuesday 2.10.2007, between 18:00 and 20:00 hours, at the Kirjakahvila Nispero, Pakkahuoneenkatu 5, Oulu, owned by Jarmo Stoor and his wife, I had the privilege and honour to listen to Israeli Palestinian Human Right Activist Najib Abu Rokaya from the B´Tselem Human Rights Group. This is the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories which was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members.

How would it feel if you got married to the person you love and are then told by your "Democratic" Government that you cannot bring your partner to your country but have to move away to another country where your partner lives and also give up your natural citizenship?

This is what happens in Palestine AND ALSO in Israel when it concerns Arab Israeli citizens!

No wonder that former US President Jimmy Carter addressed the present situation in Israel as being akin to the Apartheid that was prevalent in White South Africa!

But I digress.

Najib knows the effects of the Middle East conflict on the day to day life of those who live under it. His expertise has been used by the BBC (among others) in reporting on the situation there.

Najib Abu Rokaya is an Israeli Arab. He was one of the Palestinians who during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War stayed behind the green line (the internationally accepted border at the time between Israel and the planned Palestinian government) of what was to become the State of Israel. Today those Palestinians form about 18% of Israel's population.

Najib is a human asset in the position of Arabs inside Israel from his understanding of the law and personal experiences. He operates inside the internationally respected Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem.

The primary purpose of the group is to monitor the Israeli Army, Israeli governmental institutions and illegal West-Bank settlements in Palestinian areas. B'Tselem addresses its public reports to the Israeli political leadership as well as the general public.

Najib is the fieldwork coordinator of B'Tselem. Due to his position in B'Tselem and previous political activities, Najib has intimate details about the Arab minority question and the
current situation of the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

In his talk he started by drawing attention to the fact that the move to set up the State of Israel began as far back as 1890 and one of the locations suggested was Uganda! However, after the holocaust and World War II the United Nations gave Israel around 54% of Palestine.

After the various wars this increased to 70+% but when one considers the situation on the ground in Israel, Israel controls 100% of the territory.

However, clever politicking by Israeli "peace-brokers" and a feeling of absolute uselessness of the ability to stand and fight by the people of Palestine, Israel has transferred the international obligations of "the Occupier" on the Palestinians while continuing to occupy the whole territory.

As was rather strongly put by Najib, the Oslo Agreement was b------t! All it contained were paras which were to occur "God Willing", or in Arabisc "Inshallah"!

The wall / fence which has been built by Israel between "Palestine West Bank territory" on Palestinian land is another example of Israel usurping territory under the guise of "Security". The real border is about 320 km. But the wall / fence is over 700 km in length. Administration of the lands ursurped by the Israelis under this excuse is being integrated by a series of measures which makes it almost impossible for the Palestinians to even look after their own lands!

The absolute stranglehold by Israel over the Gaza is another example of how cleverly Israeli transferred "the obligations" onto the Palestinian Government while ensuring that they had absolutely no way of meeting those obligations.

There are two sides to every coin.

Najib was able, as an Arab Israeli, to put before the audience the side of not only the Palestinians living in "their" land of Palestine and of Arab Israelis, but also the 4 million refugees which have been packaged out of their land by this never ending conflict, most of whom are today stateless!

The stories given by Najib of the trigger-happy methods of the Israeli forces who have been ordered "not to take prisoners" as they infiltrate and murder the Palestinians was heart rending.

That is the other side of the story which is never told by the western media as the it has always been the Palestinians who have been accused of suicide bombings!

The Palestinians of all shades live in hope that they will once again be able to live in peace in their land. But it suits Israel to have a state of chaos prevailing as that way they will be able to draw on their superior public media presentation skills to highlight the Palestinians as the aggressors while they continue to enjoy and expand their hold of entire Palestine!

Many thanks to this outstanding personality for sharing his thoughts with us in Oulu.

Has the US already reached the Fascist Stage?

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, Jacob's Politics Blog, the Talk Show Ratings Blog and the Move the UN Blog.

Mike Malloy continues to head my ratings of Liberal Talk Show Hosts. Mike lives near Atlanta in Georgia and he and his wife, Kathy Bay, who is the Executive Producer of his show, put together their show every morning which airs on NovaM Radio, a liberal radio station from Phoenix, Arizona. I listen to him live, online, over the internet. Besides being a great host, Kathy is an outstanding producer, and boy, is she quick with suitable music and her comments.

I get up at 4 am every morning from Tuesday to Saturday to listen to Mike, as not only does he have a different view point from any other Talk Show Host, but in my seven years of listening to him, I have found him to be honest and in pursuit of the TRUTH.

His listeners are known as the TRUTHSEEKERS!

Many of us get together on the Democratic Underground Forum to share the experience of listening to Mike. It is a great community.

One caller to Mike's show today from New York really set my mind thinking.

Mike has been saying that America has already reached the Fascist State. Many disagree with him.

The caller said that, at this time of the year, there are many dignitaries attending the UN General Assembly, so security is normally at a height. However, what he experienced earlier this evening was totally unexpected.

The caller lives in a small suburban area of the New York where, in the back street, there is a good small restaurant. He had gone out for a walk in the evening. On his way home, several black limousines pulled up outside the restaurant.

Out of the last car jumped out several men in full riot gear, fully armed. They stepped all pedestrians even crossing the street. The people had to wait a full 10 minutes till the dignitary emerged from the car and was safely seated in the restaurant!

Does this happen in a democratic society?

I sincerely do not believe it can - not in any Scandinavian country.

Remember the killing of Olof Palme over 20 years ago. On February 28, 1986, the Swedish Prime Minister, leader of the Social Democratic Party was gunned down on a Stockholm street home from a cinema with his wife, Lisbet. as he and his wife were walking on the streets of Stockholm without any security personnel?

Has any such procedure as described by the New York caller been put into operation in any part of Sweden? NO!

I now tend to agree with Mike that the US, led by an imbecile, has entered the final phase of a Fascist State.

As another caller said, on Mike's show, that as she was at an US Airport with her toddler, there was an announcement that the day's terrorism alert was ORANGE and she and her toddler had to go through security checks where even the toddler had to remove his shoes for checking.

Fear Rules the US - and that is what Fascism is about!

Turncoats in unexpected places

Posted on Jacob's Politics and Talk Show Ratings.

Over the last four days I have heard what I always thought was the truth behind the political unsaid stand of certain individuals. I could not prove it till yesterday. Now it is time to share the facts with you.

General Wesley Clark.

When General Wesley Clark stood as a Democratic candidate to get the nomination for the 2004 presidential election, I was eager to see what were his views. There was one over-riding factor which was his stand. The American Army is composed of the greatest men that America has to offer.

I queried him, by email, several times on that.

He never provided me an answer. He was unable to say how this Army had lost almost every battle it had entered into! He was so blinded by his loyalty to his army, he was unable to see beyond the tip of nose. This Army has been and is led by a bunch of sycophants. The US army has been third rate as it has been and is run by third rate politically ambitious Generals.

This is the same Army that had run with its tail between its legs from Vietnam, it had run from Lebanon, it had run from Somalia and now it was causing an immense problem in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has been hammered out of existence almost everywhere it has shown its toothless open mouth.

It is easy for General Clark to spin all this problem on to the political leaders. However, if there are Generals in a well run Army, who know what they are supposed to do, then such situations would never arise.

As General Clark says in the Washington Post Op-Ed on 16th September "The Next War":

Any future U.S. wars will undoubtedly be shaped by the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, however painful that might be. Every military refights the last war, but good militaries learn lessons from the past. We'd better get them right, and soon. Here, the lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan couldn't be more clear: Don't ever, ever go to war unless you can describe and create a more desirable end state. And doing so takes a whole lot more than just the use of force.

[...]

In Iraq, President Bush approved war-fighting plans that hadn't incorporated any of the vital 1990s lessons from Haiti, Bosnia or Kosovo; worse, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld fought doing so. Nation-building, however ideologically repulsive some may find it, is a capability that a superpower sometimes needs.

At the same time, the United States' top generals must understand that their duty is to win, not just to get along. They must have the insight and character to demand the resources necessary to succeed -- and have the guts to either obtain what they need or to resign. If they get their way and still don't emerge victorious, they must be replaced. That is the lot they accepted when they pinned on those four shiny silver stars.

Above all else, we Americans must understand that the goal of war is to achieve a specific purpose for the nation. In this respect, the military is simply a tool of statecraft, one that must work in tandem with diplomacy, economic suasion, intelligence and other instruments of U.S. power. How tragic it is to see old men who are unwilling to talk to potential adversaries but seem so ready to dispatch young people to fight and die.

So, steady as we go. We need to tweak our force structure, hone our leadership and learn everything we can about how to do everything better. But the big lesson is simply this: War is the last, last, last resort. It always brings tragedy and rarely brings glory. Take it from a general who won: The best war is the one that doesn't have to be fought, and the best military is the one capable and versatile enough to deter the next war in the first place.

We all know of the situation in 1962 when the then Defence Minister of India, Mr. V. K. Krishna Menon, had earlier put his war machinery to work building Expresso Coffee Machines in the Indian Ordinance Factories.

When the Chinese invaded, the Indian Army was routed.

The Generals who were serving their political masters had gone along with the policy which was to get another star on their shoulders rather than look at the best interests of the country!

So, when the US illegally invaded Iraq, the Generals who were worth their salt were left out of the equation. Those who strung along with the political policy, third rate Army Officers who had only got their stars because of the kowtowing with the politicians, were left to handle a war and its aftermath - something they were least capable of doing.

I was listening to the programme "Sam Seder on Sunday", a liberal Talk Show which runs on Air America Radio. His guest last Sunday was General Clark. As a forward to the interview, Sam was upbeat that General Clark would out the policy about the intentions to invade Iraq as being foolish, unwise, not good military science, etc. He was very expectant what General Clark would say about the politicised behaviour of General Petraeus.

General Clark, in quite nonmilitary behaviour, turned up late for the interview (with no apology) and within a few short minutes it became evident that the interview was not leading in the right direction as was obliging to the wishes of the US and Iraqi people.

First of all he indicated that the Saudis were arming the Sunni population in parts of Iraq. This he did not condemn. Then he went on to say that the major problem in Iraq was the Iranian interference.

His explanation was that the Iranians were providing health care to the Iraqis, providing electricity and clean water, and even educating Iraqis in the Universities in Iran.

To General Clark - this was the problem!

Something that the American Army could not do.

Here was a General pushing for war against a country which was helping to stablise the region in which THEY LIVE!

And to General Clark THIS WAS THE PROBLEM!

He was prepared to keep the US Army in the region indefinitely so as to ensure the resources of the region .- OIL!

This to me showed that this General, who had just a few days earlier come out in support of Hilary Clinton as the Democrat candidate for the next Presidential election, was laying the ground for the Defence Policy of this candidate in which he would either be the Vice Presidential candidate or be included as the Secretary of State or Defence.

It is important to remember that in 2004 the Clintons endorsed General Clark as the candidate for President, which nomination he lost to John Kerry. So this time, General Clark was putting his fortunes where he would be assured of his place in the Government.

To give Sam Seder his due, as he is not a particularly good Talk Show Host, for various reasons I have highlighted earlier on the my Talk Show Blog, he sensed something strange was going on.

But he just could not believe his ears. He wanted to go through the transcripts to analyse the words the General had used before he came to a conclusion as to where this was leading.

In keeping with this strategy, Hilary appeared on five Sunday Morning TV programmes. It was obvious that the campaign was going into full gear to throw the other Democratic candidates off balance as she stood for her beliefs and her war promotion strategy in keeping with the views of General Clark.

On Monday, Bill Clinton started to use the "fall out strategy". He used his goodwill standing with African leaders to get them to endorse Hilary as the next Presidential candidate by getting them to use their "social English" well wishing as international endorsement of Hilary!

And late on Monday, pResident Bush gave the mightiest blow of all, saying that he wanted Hilary to be the next Democratic party candidate so that the Republicans would win against her.

His endorsement of Hilary was given with the full consent of the Republican caucus as all of them know that no Republican can win this 2008 Presidential election with the Almighty Mess there is in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hence, they want an acceptable face in the White House who will cover their backside, and the only one who would be prepared to do that would be the Hilary / General Clark combination!

Bill Clinton was never a Democrat!

Any of you who listen to the top Liberal Talk Show Host in the US, Mike Malloy, will know that he has repeated this time and time again. And the agenda to carry on the Clinton / Bush hierarchy for another 8 years is tempting beyond all commitment to the Democratic Party!

Unprofessional Lady Liberal Talk Show Hosts

The last week has made me remove to the two most popular lady Liberal Talk Show Hosts off the ratings lists because of their totally unprofessional broadcasting performances.

The first to go is Stephanie Miller and her couple of sidekicks. On the day of the Tasering of the University Student in Florida at the John Kerry event, the three of them completely went out of their senses and started to make it a laughing stock matter. They called the student an "Ass", time and time again. Then they claimed that he was "annoying". Hence, they came to the conclusion that it was his fault he was treated as he was.

The three of them kept repeating the same thing over and over again. I thought they were asses and annoying. Should the three of them have been Tasered?

The next day, from the emails they received, Stephanie Miller realised that she had done something wrong and started to be apologetic by excusing her behaviour as her having been through a psychotic phase. But the sidekicks continued their "ass and annoying" calling phase as they just could not come to acknowledging that they had misread the situation.

Such pedantism and stupidity has made me remove the Stephanie Miller Show from my ratings list. When they come back on, if at all, they will be at the bottom of the list until they show some maturity on their programme.

The second unstable individual that I removed from the ratings is Randi Rhodes. She has been for years promoting herself as the Goddess of Liberal Talk Radio. Such puerile histrionics that I heard last Friday was so amazing, that I just felt she could not be kept in the ratings.

If anyone disagrees with "her" reasoning, then they are usually to be shouted at, talked over or screamed at.

When she is in the company of a big wig, she is a gushing gal, almost sycophantic.

On Friday, just because a few people expressed their dissatisfaction with the Democrats who voted for the non-binding resolution which was put up by the Republicans because of the MoveOn ad, she went ballistic, throwing a tantrum totally unbecoming of a sane Talk Show Host.

Her stand was that the listeners should be glad of the different pieces that the Democrats put up for vote (all killed by the Republicans).

Why should anyone be glad for that - that is their job.

But to allow that time wasting resolution to be even brought up in the Senate was the stupidity that the audience were going on about. The Leader of the Senate should have just refused to bring it to the floor!

The crying, the sobbing, the so called deeply moving feeling that she experienced did not convince me of her sincerity of calling Democrats to task when they do something that their base does not want them to do.

Mike Malloy and Peter Werbe stay at the top of the ratings. Bernie Ward, Ray Taliaferro and Peter B. Collins are close behind. The irregular Guy James is still in the reckoning. I like Bill Press, who now makes it into the Top 10. The Young Turks are making a strong showing. Thom Hartman has gone down in the ratings but still stays in the Top 10. Nate Clay with his Sunday morning show is still up there.

The new format of Ring of Fire is good. Laura Flanders continues to impress. The Greens (Mark and Richard) who bought Air America to get their voices on the air, should get off just as soon as they got on. They are only exploiting their moneyed contacts. They can hardly be judged to be good Talk Show Hosts.

Along with Ed Schulz, Lionel, should be taken off the air. They irritate more than entertain!

There is much to be desired in the Liberal Talk Show area, but the two leaders - Mike and Peter show by example how it should be done.