The Largest Minority

June 19th, 2009 by Manila Ryce

Delivering a sermon during Friday prayers at Tehran University, Khamenei backed the re-election of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as the president after the June 12 election.

“Candidates were put forward into public eye, everyone could judge for themselves … they have identified the person they wanted,” he said.

Khamenei refuted accusations of vote rigging, and insisted the poll was an “absolute and definitive victory”.

Ruling out fraud behind Ahmadinejad’s victory, he said “the Islamic establishment will never manipulate people’s votes and commit treason.

“The legal structures and electoral regulations of this country do not allow vote rigging.”

He said that any doubts concerning the results must be investigated through legal channels and called on supporters of defeated candidates to cease street protests, adding, “otherwise they will be responsible for its consequences, and consequences of any chaos”.

Farzad Agha, an Iranian analyst, told Al Jazeera: “This clearly is a threat to the demonstrators and supporters of the opposition candidates … He is saying that if you continue we will deal with you.”

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June 14th, 2009 by Manila Ryce

June 9th, 2009 by Guest

A CNN headline, reporting Obama’s plans for his June 4 Cairo address, reads “Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.” Perhaps that captures his intent, but more significant is the content hidden in the rhetorical stance, or more accurately, omitted.

Keeping just to Israel-Palestine — there was nothing substantive about anything else — Obama called on Arabs and Israelis not to ‘point fingers’ at each other or to “see this conflict only from one side or the other.” There is, however, a third side, that of the United States, which has played a decisive role in sustaining the current conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change or even be considered.

Those familiar with the history will rationally conclude, then, that Obama will continue in the path of unilateral U.S. rejectionism.

Obama once again praised the Arab Peace Initiative, saying only that Arabs should see it as “an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities.” How should the Obama administration see it? Obama and his advisers are surely aware that the Initiative reiterates the long-standing international consensus calling for a two-state settlement on the international (pre-June ‘67) border, perhaps with “minor and mutual modifications,” to borrow U.S. government usage before it departed sharply from world opinion in the 1970s, vetoing a Security Council resolution backed by the Arab “confrontation states” (Egypt, Iran, Syria), and tacitly by the PLO, with the same essential content as the Arab Peace Initiative except that the latter goes beyond by calling on Arab states to normalize relations with Israel in the context of this political settlement. Obama has called on the Arab states to proceed with normalization, studiously ignoring, however, the crucial political settlement that is its precondition. The Initiative cannot be a “beginning” if the U.S. continues to refuse to accept its core principles, even to acknowledge them.

In the background is the Obama administration’s goal, enunciated most clearly by Senator John Kerry, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, to forge an alliance of Israel and the “moderate” Arab states against Iran. The term “moderate” has nothing to do with the character of the state, but rather signals its willingness to conform to U.S. demands.

What is Israel to do in return for Arab steps to normalize relations? The strongest position so far enunciated by the Obama administration is that Israel should conform to Phase I of the 2003 Road Map, which states: “Israel freezes all settlement activity (including natural growth of settlements).” All sides claim to accept the Road Map, overlooking the fact that Israel instantly added 14 reservations that render it inoperable.

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June 4th, 2009 by Manila Ryce

Perhaps it’s time to cut funding to Israel.

Obama is undeniably pro-Israeli, so you may be asking, “What more do the Jews in this video want?” Nothing short of complete eradication of all Muslims. Ironic isn’t it? Despite the overuse of Goldwin’s Law these days, comparisons between Zionists and Nazis are frighteningly valid.

Zionists frankly don’t want peace. They want all the land they think they’re entitled to (which extends far beyond Israel) and think any negotiation is unacceptable. Putting Libertarian conspiracy theories about 9/11 aside, Zionists actually do pose a huge threat to the President’s life and US security. If I were Obama I’d be keeping a close eye on Rahm Emanuel’s father, a former Irgun terrorist, and I’m only half-joking when I say that.

A militant Israeli state served our imperial interests for decades, but now that we can no longer sustain our empire we face perhaps the largest example of “blowback” we have ever seen. So how do we quell a Zionist monster we’ve been feeding for decades? Backing international law regarding Israel would be a good start. Supporting the Palestinian Right of Return would turn Israel from a right-wing “Jewish State” which breeds extremism into a democratic one which respects human rights.

h/t Allison Kilkenny who also has a great piece on why Obama’s Cairo speech was a failure.

July 31st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Monica Goodling, a graduate of the ever-prestigious Bible study group called Messiah College, is being crucified for simply answering to a higher power – the president. Rather than deny that she repeatedly broke the law, Goodling employs Bush’s own strategy of claiming to be completely ignorant and incompetent in order to dodge blame and responsibility. Stewart also has a little something to say to Blitzer and the bickering children holding this hearing.

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July 18th, 2008 by Manila Ryce

Jon Stewart takes on the hypocrisy of the corporate media and their obsession over such non-issues in a rather brilliant fashion.

June 20th, 2008 by D.C.

Dan Brown’s prequel to ‘The DaVinci Code,’ entitled ‘Angels & Demons,’ is now in production. The movie however, has ran into a bit of a snag. While filming in Rome the cast and crew were denied entry into two churches by the Catholic Church. The two chruches in question are Santa Maria del Popolo and Santa Maria della Vittoria, which are integral to the storyline of the movie.

Msgr. Marco Fibbi, a spokesperson for the Catholic Church, said the filming was denied because:

the movie “does not conform to our views,” “This is a prequel to ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and it’s clear that the theme is similar.”

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June 1st, 2008 by Manila Ryce

I know I’ve said it before but Barack Obama is a pussy. A big fucking pussy.

How can you tell that Obama is a Democrat? Because he caters to every interest with the exception of his own base. The people that hold the most influence over Obama are corporations, war-mongers, bigots, and your general mouth-breathing Fox News conservatives. When has Obama stood up for any liberal critical of American society or foreign policy?

This is the “change candidate”? This spineless coward is the one who’s going to bring change after 8 years of George W. Bush? I’m not impressed.

The Democrats told us they were the party of change in 2006 and would bring an end to the war if we gave them a majority in Congress. Most Americans believed in that promise of change, and it never came. Now we’re looking forward to another election, a war with Iran, and the Democrats are telling us that they need a Democratic president to bring about the change they promised two years ago.

Are voters really that fucking stupid to believe that we need a Democratic president to deliver us from Democratic stagnation? Yes we’ve had 8 horrible years of Bush, but we’ve also had a Democratic majority in Congress during those last two years which has done nothing but capitulate to everyone but us. Obama himself has said he won’t have all troops out of Iraq by the end of his first term, so where exactly is this “change” when all of his actions and positions support the status quo?

It’s actually seemed to me that Obama and Senator Clinton have been in a race for the Republican nomination, reminiscing about the good ol’ days of Reagan, denouncing Carter for engaging in diplomacy, and persecuting some uppity black preacher who dared to suggest that America is not God’s favorite nation. And that’s the problem isn’t it? Trinity United Church of Christ represents a real Christian community in which the illegitimate rule of immoral institutions are recognized as going against the true message of Christianity. How dare they!

True Christianity teaches its followers to find liberation from tyranny, and that’s the kind of message that is simply unacceptable in an American Empire. All we have room for is fundamentalist Protestant cults which pledge allegiance to the president as if he and God are the same person. Religion is a hobby in America, meant to further your indoctrination as a non-thinking consumer who submits to authority. It’s not actually supposed to encourage people to ask questions, raise controversy, or spark debate. When it does, then it collides with those in government and business who make their living off of immorality.

Obama has shown that he lacks the spine to change anything in this miserable country, conceding to tyranny and ignorance even before stepping into office. To paraphrase the good Reverend Wright, God damn America and God damn Barack Obama. May God have more mercy on you than we will.

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