- Signs of the Times for Wed, 08 Nov 2006 -

• Signs Editorials
• Demolish The Inhuman Zionist Entity
• Apologist For Zionism Becomes US House Speaker
• Electoral Effluent
• UnNatural Resources
• Iraq Still In Flames
• America Points The Way - Sheep Follow
• Is Science Insane?
• Mother Nature
• Around The World

So you think "the system worked", democracy has won out, and that yesterday's election is the first step to straightening out the mess Bush and the Neocons have made on the planet?

Think again. It's not that "the system" didn't work; it worked very well, but you have again been duped.

Nothing has changed. In fact, many of you have been put back to sleep by the staged Democratic victory which was set up just for that purpose; to make you think you still live in a democracy. The fact is, the Zionist halter is as firmly strapped on the head of American State policy as it ever was, and the American voter needs to realize that it is immaterial which party prevails at elections.

We read in one news item today:

Democrats Win House, On Brink of Senate Power

Democrats rolled up gains of about 30 seats in the House in Tuesday's elections, riding to a huge victory on a wave of public discontent with the Iraq war, corruption and Republican President George W. Bush's leadership.

Yeah, the public has been VERY discontented and the wave of resistance growing, what with all the activity on the internet working to expose Bush and the Zio-cons for the criminals they are. I'm sure that this was part of the reason to carry on this election farce.

Democratic control of the House will make outspoken liberal Rep. Nancy Pelosi the first female speaker and could slam the brakes on much of Bush's agenda and increase pressure for a change of course in Iraq. ...

Just slamming on the brakes? How about let's put things into reverse and go back a bit? I don't think that is what Pelosi has in mind, though.

"Tonight is a great victory for the American people," Pelosi told a Democratic rally on Capitol Hill. "Today the American people voted for change, and they voted for Democrats to take our country in a new direction." ...

Did they REALLY? Or is this just another manipulation? Is it a distraction to make the people think that changes really are on the way, when, in fact, it will be business as usual?

Early exit polls showed voters disapproved of the war in Iraq by a large margin, but voters said corruption and ethics were more important to their vote, CNN said.

Democrats hammered Republicans for spawning a "culture of corruption" in Washington, with four Republican House members resigning this year under an ethics cloud.

The party was hit by allegations about influence peddling, links to convicted lobbyists and a Capitol Hill sex scandal involving Republican Rep. Mark Foley's lewd messages to teenage male congressional assistants.

Hmmm... Pelosi is focusing on Iraq and not on the corruption issues. I think I remember some recent polls that suggested over half the people in the U.S. would support impeachment of Bush and even criminal charges. That's what people are really upset about, but is Pelosi on top of that issue? Or is she just handing the people a consolation prize?

Here's another from the Chicago Tribune:

American people sent 'unmistakable message'

After six years of near-total Republican domination, voters repudiated President Bush, the Iraq war and the GOP-led Congress on Tuesday, handing control of the House of Representatives to Democrats, placing Republican hold of the Senate in doubt and upending the balance of power in Washington. The election, which centered on war, scandal and an array of anxieties about illegal immigration, high gasoline prices and embryonic stem cell research, abruptly ended 12 years of Republican rule in the House, casting out incumbents in every region of the country. ...

Notice how the corruption issues mentioned in the article above as being the chief concern of the people in the exit polls are mentioned only briefly here - scandal - while the focus gets put on the war, (which is certainly an outgrowth of corruption in the Bush Administration), immigration, high prices, and - geeze, how did that get in there - "stem cell research"?? Did they miss the exit polls that said: "voters disapproved of the war in Iraq by a large margin, but voters said corruption and ethics were more important to their vote."

You know: corruption, lies about WMDs, corruption of the Media, criminal behavior that needs to be investigated and prosecuted criminally?! It's sounding more like a set-up all the time: "hey, we'll let you Dems take the elections so it gets the heat off of us from the people who are ranting that we are fascists, meanwhile, you just make sure that nobody gets called on the carpet and/or raked over the coals! We don't want any REAL truth and justice and the American Way in Washington, ya know!"

Tuesday's election results mean Bush enters his final two years in office without a Republican Congress willingly moving his agenda forward and refraining from asking hard questions about U.S. conduct of the war in Iraq. Instead, Democrats will confront him with an agenda of their own and a newfound power to issue subpoenas and launch investigations.

Hmmm... but will they investigate what really matters? That's the 64,000 $$ question.

"The American people have sent a resounding and unmistakable message of change and new direction for America," said an exhausted Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.), chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, who recruited and funded many of the challengers who won Tuesday. ...

Did they? Or is it all a farce to let off some steam, and take the heat off the criminals?

Democrats have vowed to raise the minimum wage, allow Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices with pharmaceutical companies, make college tuition tax deductible and implement all of the recommendations of the Sept. 11 commission to secure the nation's borders and ports. They have also promised to expand federally funded embryonic stem cell research, which Bush gave his first, and only, veto to this year.

But wait a minnit! What about the exit polls that said: "voters disapproved of the war in Iraq by a large margin, but voters said corruption and ethics were more important to their vote."?? Sure, raising the minimum wage is a good idea, helping medicare and students out is all fine and good, but what about investigating the lies that led us into the Iraq War? What about investigating the complete lie of 9/11? What's this about "securing the nation's borders and ports"? That sounds like they are just going to continue the Bush Zio-con agenda while handing out candy to the crowd. And again, "stem-cell research"??!! Don't get me wrong, I'm all for stem-cell research if it is conducted ethically. I'm also pro-choice. But how did this become a "talking point" when what is really upsetting Americans is corruption and lack of ethics in government? We need some investigations - independent ones at that - and some arrests and prosecutions! We want Bush and the Zio-cons BEHIND BARS or in front of a firing squad! Geeze, Pelosi, they've murdered over 600,000 innocent people! Don't you get it?

On Iraq, Democrats have said they would begin a phased redeployment of U.S. forces and require Iraqis to take responsibility for their country. They have also promised to double the size of Special Forces in order to track down and destroy terrorist networks such as Al Qaeda. ...

In other words, they are just going to pursue the Bush-Zio-con agenda with different justifications. Nothing about bringing the criminals to trial, getting out of Iraq today, this minute or telling the truth to the American people that there never WAS a "terrorist threat" other than the ones created by the CIA and MOSSAD. And now that we've mentioned it, that's another thing that needs to be investigated, independently!!!

That unhappiness extended to conservatives who watched with dismay as Republicans shifted from the party of limited government, less spending and strong ethics to one of massive spending, more government and scandal.

And now it looks like the Dems are doing a similar metamorphosis ...

Voters across the political spectrum were also distressed as bribery and lobbying scandals tainted a host of Republicans, forcing House Majority Leader Tom DeLay to resign and sending Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham of California to prison. Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) pleaded guilty to accepting illegal gifts from lobbyists, resigned his seat and is headed to prison next year. "They went from being the party of conviction to the party of convictions," said Matt Bennett, a strategist for Third Way, a Democratic think tank. ...

And that's the main issue, if Pelosi and gang will just take notice. And the corruption goes all the way to the top.

On top of all that, sexually explicit electronic messages to congressional pages forced Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) to leave office and allowed a Democrat to win his seat. The ensuing scandal over who knew what when threatened to cause the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, New York Rep. Tom Reynolds, to lose his own previously secure Republican seat. Even so, Reynolds managed to win re-election.

Now, isn't that odd? We already know that the main thing that Americans are upset about it corruption, and here is a guy, at the center of a major scandal, who somehow managed to get re-elected?! Something isn't right with this picture. How much you want to bet that the guy running against him couldn't be bought, and the only Dems that did win in this whole election farce were the ones that could be relied upon to be "guided" by those special interests that are driving America to destruction?

Meanwhile, Rep. Don Sherwood (R-Pa.) lost his bid for re-election after acknowledging a long-running affair with a younger woman who alleged that Sherwood had assaulted her. He later reached an out-of-court settlement with the woman. And in New York, Rep. John Sweeney lost to Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand after it became public that police responded to a domestic violence call involving Sweeney and his wife last year. ...

I guess that Sherwood was expendable. Odd that he would lose for basically a "normal" scandal - at least it was adults involved - while Tom Reynolds, involved in the Foley pedophilia scandal kept his seat. Is it just me, or is anybody else seeing something wrong with this picture?

The country's sour mood and its unhappiness with the Bush administration were apparent in the final days and weeks of the campaign. As House and Senate races went down to the wire, many Republicans chose to distance themselves from the president. And the president was unwelcome in many states where Republicans were struggling to hold onto power.

And you can bet it was all planned that way. Now, let's look at Pelosi:

Pelosi set to become first woman to lead House

Under U.S. law, the speaker is second in the line of succession to the presidency, behind only the vice president.

That means that the controllers must be very sure of Pelosi. I would say that this almost guarantees that she is dirty.

Pelosi has said she will not try to end U.S. funding of the Iraq war but will pressure Bush to shift course, begin a phased redeployment of U.S. troops and require Iraqis to take greater responsibility for their own nation.

Oh, geeze, Nancy! How assertive of you! That would have probably happened anyway because even the Repubs admit it's a quagmire. You are doing anything special!

Pelosi has rejected calls to attempt to impeach Bush and drive him from office. But she has said Democrats would hold congressional oversight hearings, which could include such matters as whether he manipulated the facts to build early support for the Iraq war.

Wow! That says it all! Pelosi rejects calls to impeach Bush... but, just to make sure people think she is being straight-up, they'll investigate the "manipulation of facts." Can we say LYING, Pelosi? Can we say putting American lives in danger? Can we say TREASON?

Now, let's think about this for a minute: All the revelations mentioned above - the "culture of corruption" - came to us via the Media. We all know that the media is responsible for promoting the lies that Bush and the Neocons peddled about 9/11 and bin Laden and Saddam that got us into the war. We all know that the media colluded to protect the standing of G.W. Bush, a rapist, drunk driver, cocaine user, and deserter from the National Guard. Now, do you really think that the media (and its controllers) suddenly woke up and decided to become overseers of the Neocon ethics, to expose the corruption in the Bush Administration that has existed for all of the past six years?

Of course not.

Now, think back to the previous presidential election when it is a certainty, based on exit polls and the general feeling in the U.S., that G.W. Bush did not win that election - heck, he didn't win the first election - it was a fraudulent election, plain and simple. Take this to the next step: do you really think that if two elections could be stolen, that a third one could not? That the entire election of yesterday could not have gone to the Republicans IF that had been wanted by those who control the money, the media, and the voting machines?

But they knew that Americans were getting just a bit too hostile, that the climate in America was volatile, and another obviously "stolen" election could have been the spark to set off a powder keg. Not that they don't, ultimately, WANT to create a revolution in the U.S.; they just want it on their terms, and when they are certain that they can make it go the way they want it to go.

Besides, the crucial legislation that was needed to get and keep all the Democrats in line has already been passed.

Remember how many democrats voted to confirm Samuel Alito? What about Atty. General Gonzalez? How about the Patriot Act? The Torture Act? Remember how McCain showed his yellow spine?

So, do not, for an instant, let it escape your mind that the very media organs that ought to support accountability have been totally co-opted for a very long time. Israel - by way of Jews loyal to the Zionist agenda - controls the media. They control other things as well. Consider who controls the telephone system in the U.S.... Israel. In short, long before 911, they had the ways and means to blackmail anyone in this country, INCLUDING CONGRESS. Then consider what Paul Craig Roberts wrote about Bush's illegal spying...

Bush's acts of illegal domestic spying are gratuitous because there are no valid reasons for Bush to illegally spy. The Foreign Intelligence Services Act gives Bush all the power he needs to spy on terrorist suspects. All the administration is required to do is to apply to a secret FISA court for warrants. The Act permits the administration to spy first and then apply for a warrant, should time be of the essence. The problem is that Bush has totally ignored the law and the court.

Why would President Bush ignore the law and the FISA court? It is certainly not because the court in its three decades of existence was uncooperative. According to attorney Martin Garbus (New York Observer, 12-28-05), the secret court has issued more warrants than all federal district judges combined, only once denying a warrant.

Why, then, has the administration created another scandal for itself on top of the WMD, torture, hurricane, and illegal detention scandals?

There are two possible reasons.

One reason is that the Bush administration is being used to concentrate power in the executive. The old conservative movement, which honors the separation of powers, has been swept away. Its place has been taken by a neoconservative movement that worships executive power.

The other reason is that the Bush administration could not go to the FISA secret court for warrants because it was not spying for legitimate reasons and, therefore, had to keep the court in the dark about its activities.

What might these illegitimate reasons be? Could it be that the Bush administration used the spy apparatus of the US government in order to influence the outcome of the presidential election?

Could we attribute the feebleness of the Democrats as an opposition party to information obtained through illegal spying that would subject them to blackmail?

When Roberts suggests "What might these illegitimate reasons be? Could it be that the Bush administration used the spy apparatus of the US government in order to influence the outcome of the presidential election? "

... he doesn't really go the full distance. What if the illegal spying is to gain complete control of government and judiciary? Everybody has dirty laundry, and if you have that information, you can control about anything. The only people you can't control are those who are "clean" and we can guess from the way things are going in the U.S. and UK, just about everybody is "dirty."

Americans turned out in record numbers to vote in the last presidential election. They NEVER do that unless they are unhappy with the status quo. The exit polls and evidence of vote tampering suggests strongly that Bush did not win the election... (which is not to say that Kerry was any better choice!)

So, not only do they have control of congress and the judiciary so that they can control legislation, they also control the votes... As Stalin said, it's not who votes that counts, it's who counts the votes. And with control of congress and the judiciary AND the support of the Israeli owned media, there is NO possibility of them being made accountable for ANY of their crimes.

The whole election was played out as a farce to reassure the American people that they still lived in a democracy and to quell the growing revolutionary agitation.

So, considering the cards that the Israelis are holding in terms of illegal spying, I think we need to be realistic and understand that this election is not going to change anything substantive. They made a big show of the Democratic Sweep of the House, and on and on. But with the controls this cabal has already, there is ZERO possibility of fundamental change in course.

That's the problem we are facing and 911 is the single best leverage we have to DO something about it IF it is utilized efficiently. People need to continue to demand accountability for 9/11 - a full and independent investigation that includes reviewers and overseers selected at random from a pool of qualified, INTERNATIONAL, experts. The real criminals need to be found and prosecuted.

Anything else is just farce, business as usual.

But that's the name of the game in American politics.

Original
Comment on this Editorial

Israel and America - bringing	the 'peace' to Palestine

Yay America! Democracy rulz! Doesn't it make ya feel good?! A 'sea change' in American politics no less! Democrats take control of Congress and the Senate, Nancy Pelosi, House Democratic leader is now House Majority leader, third in the power ranking in American politics behind the president and the white anti-Buddah Cheney. No more unchecked Republican and Presidential power, a new, bright future for everyone. I mean, how could it not be?

Well, here's one reason:

Israeli tank shells kill at least 18 Palestinians in sleep

Israeli tank shells killed at least 18 people in their sleep when they landed in Gaza early today, witnesses report. Eight children were said to be among the dead.

Khaled Radi, a health ministry official, said of the 18 dead, 13 were from the same family. He said at least 40 more were wounded, all civilians after the attack on a residential neighbourhood north of Beit Hanoun. [...]

Rahwi Hamad, 75, said he was awoken by the sound of explosions at about 5:15 a.m. and emerged from his home to find body parts and pools of blood in the streets.

"I saw people coming out of the house, bleeding and screaming. I carried a girl covered with blood," he said. "Inside the houses, we evacuated dismembered bodies. We saw legs, hands, parts of heads stuck to the wall. Everything was disgusting. this is the worst, bloody scene I have ever scene."

The shelling came after Israeli attacks in Gaza and the West Bank killed at least 15 people following a pullout from the northern Gaza town of Beit Hanoun at the end of a bloody weeklong sweep.

"Mr. Lantos, it's hard to capture the words to express the difficulty that Israel is facing now for all of us, but for you, it must be particularly difficult. I know that you are an idealist; I know that you are a realist. I thank you for your leadership; we could not be better served than by having you here at this difficult time.

"And at this difficult time for the state of Israel, this resolution reaffirms our unwavering support and commitment to Israel, and condemns the attacks by Hezbollah.

"I support this resolution because I believe that the seizure of Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah terrorists was an unprovoked attack and Israel has the right, and indeed the obligation, to respond. Hamas and Hezbollah are committed to the destruction of Israel, what more do you need to know? It is clear that Iranian and Syrian aid have helped the effort to achieve that goal. The United Nations Security Council has already spoken on the issue of dismantling Hezbollah; the Security Council's resolution must be enforced by the international community. Syria has repeatedly demonstrated it is a rogue state, which is why we passed Mr. Rangel's Syria Accountability Act more than two years ago. However, we must now fully implement all the sanctions spelled out in that legislation."

"Thank you, Amy Friedkin (former President of AIPAC), my dear friend for so many years. Californians, North and South, are proud of your great leadership at AIPAC. And to Bernice Manocherian, President of AIPAC, thank you. All who care about peace in the Middle East are grateful for your strength and wisdom in guiding AIPAC. As a native of Baltimore, I take special pride of your incoming President, Howard Friedman, who will continue in the tradition of outstanding leadership at AIPAC. [...]

"One thing, however is unchanged: America's commitment to the safety and security of the State of Israel is unwavering. America and Israel share an unbreakable bond: in peace and war; and in prosperity and in hardship.

"Prime Minister Sharon's leadership of Israel at this crucial time has been remarkable. He has brought Israel through an extremely challenging period, and now he has made the difficult decision that it is in Israel's national security interest to disengage from Gaza.

"In the next few months, Israeli settlers will be evacuated entirely from Gaza and from four settlements in the northern West Bank. This courageous decision is gut-wrenching for Israel.

"Israel's decision can be a decisive milestone on the road to peace. If the Palestinians agree to coordinate with Israel on the evacuation, establish the rule of law, and demonstrate a capacity to govern, the world may be convinced that finally there is a real partner for peace. [...]

"Can Gaza become a pilot case for self-government for a Palestinian state? Or will it become a terrorist haven, a launching pad for rockets into Israel? President Abbas must act, for his own good, against those he must know are his enemies and are the enemies of the aspirations of the Palestinian people.

"There are those who contend that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is all about Israel's occupation of the West Bank and Gaza. This is absolute nonsense. In truth, the history of the conflict is not over occupation, and never has been: it is over the fundamental right of Israel to exist.

"The greatest threat to Israel's right to exist, with the prospect of devastating violence, now comes from Iran. For too long, leaders of both political parties in the United States have not done nearly enough to confront the Russians and the Chinese, who have supplied Iran as it has plowed ahead with its nuclear and missile technology.

"Proliferation represents a clear threat to Israel and to America. It must be confronted by an international coalition against proliferation, with a commitment and a coalition every bit as strong as our commitment to the war against terror.

"In the words of Isaiah, we will make ourselves to Israel 'as hiding places from the winds and shelters from the tempests; as rivers of water in dry places; as shadows of a great rock in a weary land.'

"The United States will stand with Israel now and forever. Now and forever."

Now, about that 'sea change' in American politics. There will be none. The US and Israeli government-sanctioned murder of Palestinians and Arabs will continue. So go ahead and enjoy your celebrations and feelings of a "new beginning".

They mean less than nothing.

Blood flows in Hamad Street in Beit Hanoun in the Gaza strip where at least 18 Palestinians, including 8 children, were blown to pieces in their sleep by the Israeli military

An Israeli tank shell tore this hole in the ceiling of a Palestinian house on Hamad Street in Beit hanoun in the Gaza strip where at least 18 Palestinians were massacred by Israeli troops early this morning

In fact, it is a safe bet to conclude that the vast majority of the winners, and indeed most of the losers, support the criminal state of Israel, infamous for using U.S. supplied weapons to kill Palestinian school children.

Israel's slaughter, fully supported by the neocons and most of our "representatives" sitting in Congress, is not even a campaign issue. Staunch support for Israel is a given. Pervert preachers may be paraded across the front page of newspapers and websites, but you will not see one photo of critically wounded children ushered into the hospital in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip.

"The bodies arrived one after another on the shoulders of a seemingly endless river of mourners," the Mercury News reported as I showed my ID to a volunteer at the senior citizens center where I voted earlier this afternoon.

"One was a small boy weighing no more than 60 pounds, tightly encased in a green Hamas flag. Another was only pieces, placed in a box and hustled down the street on a stretcher."

As I filled out my ballot, ignoring incumbents and concentrating on bond issues, "Palestinian agencies condemned the destruction of homes, orchards, water pipes and electricity cables during the raid, which was intended to curb militant rocket attacks.... When outsiders gained access yesterday they found the town's historic Nasr mosque almost flattened, except for one minaret.... Women queued at water trucks, afraid that the remaining water supply had been contaminated by sewage," explained the Times Online.

As I fed my ballot into an optical reader, wondering if my vote would be counted at all, the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee posted an urgent news release.

"The situation in Gaza is already desperate, approximately 40 percent of Gaza's residents live in poverty and unemployment is 55 percent. Now, many residents of Beit Hanun are without water and electricity during these winter months. A senior UN official, one of a few people given permission to enter Beit Hanun by the Israelis, described the atmosphere as one of death, destruction and despair. The European Union presidency, currently held by Finland, has issued a statement deploring 'the growing number of civilian casualties the Israeli military operation has caused.' Palestinian authorities have also confirmed a severe shortage of medical supplies, rendering hospitals unable to properly treat the growing number of victims."

Late last month, "Zogby International reported that, in the mid-term elections, 31% of likely voters believed that 'Israel must have all of the promised land, including Jerusalem, to facilitate the second coming of the messiah.' This is not an aberrant number. In 1987, a poll showed that 57% of American Protestants and 35% of American Catholics accepted 'a prophetic interpretation of the events of 1948,' namely, the founding of the state of Israel. In July 2006, the Pew Research Center found that 53% of Protestants 'believe that Israel was given by God to the Jews.' In August, they found that, among the total population, 52% said they sympathized more with Israel, and just 11% sympathized more with the Palestinians," writes Robert O. Smith for the National Interest.

According to a survey conducted by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, one out of every four Americans is an evangelical, or approximately 75 million people, and of this number 70 percent, well over 50 million people, support Israel, apparently as well its brutality toward civilians.

Earlier this week, David Brog, executive director of Christians United For Israel, told Yedioth Internet, an online version of the popular Israeli newspaper, that AIPAC "is very effective at what it does. Their influence stems mainly from the fact that they do good research, they have very convincing lobbies, and they have a lot of money that, without a direct connection, tends to flow toward those who support Israel. One thing AIPAC lacks is a massive grassroots presence.... We're talking about a constituency in America that would support doing what we need to do against radical Islam," or for that matter Palestinian women and children who are, according to Brog's boss, John Hagee, not entitled to live in Palestine.

"With its impressive contacts among Hill staffers, influential grassroots supporters and deep connections to wealthy donors, AIPAC is the lobby's key emissary to Congress," writes Ari Berman for the Nation. "But in many ways, AIPAC has become greater than just another lobby; its work has made unconditional support for Israel an accepted cost of doing business inside the halls of Congress. AIPAC's interest, Israel's interest and America's interest are today perceived by most elected leaders to be one and the same. Christian conservatives increasingly aligned with AIPAC demand unwavering support for Israel from their Republican leaders."

In March, AIPAC held its forty-seventh annual conference in Washington. During the celebration, AIPAC's executive director, Howard Kohr, spent twenty-seven minutes reading the "roll call" of dignitaries present at the gala dinner, including a majority of the Senate and a quarter of the House, along with dozens of Bush administration officials, no doubt most of them Israel First neocons.

In regard to AIPAC and the hijacking of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, it does not matter if politicos are Democrat or Republican. No matter who controls the House, Senate, or the White House, Israel will always be at the political forefront and the Palestinians will continue to be murdered in the shadows.

On October 26, the Mehr News Agency conducted a brief interview with Rabbi Michael Lerner, chief editor of Tikkun magazine and the national chairman of the anti-war organization the Network of Spiritual Progressives. "The Democratic Congress will be filled with AIPAC-influenced Democrats who want to protect Israel at all cost," Lerner explained. "Bush is unlikely to do anything dramatic to push Israel into ending the occupation of the West Bank or to creating a viable Palestinian state."

In other words, no matter who controls Congress, the situation "on the ground," as the talking heads like to say, will not change.

It will be more of the same in the Middle East, including Iraq, for as Philip Zelikow, dedicated Bushite and executive director of the nine eleven white wash commission, admitted in 2002, Iraq was invaded and occupied in the name of Israel. "Why would Iraq attack America or use nuclear weapons against us? I'll tell you what I think the real threat (is) and actually has been since 1990-it's the threat against Israel," Zelikow told a crowd at the University of Virginia. "And this is the threat that dare not speak its name, because the Europeans don't care deeply about that threat, I will tell you frankly. And the American government doesn't want to lean too hard on it rhetorically, because it is not a popular sell."

"As a result of the war on terror, the United States is now militantly opposed to the enemies of Israel, including the Palestinians," writes Steve Sniegoski. "Israel has now taken a free hand in dealing with the Palestinians. As a result of American pressure, Syria removed its military from Lebanon. Now the United States and Europe are pressuring Iran with respect to its nuclear policy-in essence we see a de facto international effort to guarantee Israel's nuclear monopoly in the Middle East, in view of the fact that there is no call for Israel to give up its potent nuclear arsenal."

Even though no attack against Iran materialized at the end of October, as surmised by many, this does not mean the threat has evaporated, or will it if the Democrats win the House and, per chance, the Senate. For as we know, if we pay attention, the Democrats, or at least the governing echelon of the Democrats, are as rabidly pro-Israel and thus anti-Palestinian as the neocon Republicans.

"[L]aunching some missile strikes into Iran is not the optimal position for us to be in" given the ongoing war in Iraq, Barack Obama, possibly the next VP candidate teamed up with the fanatically pro-Israel Hillary Clinton, told the neocon Chicago Tribune. "On the other hand, having a radical Muslim theocracy in possession of nuclear weapons is worse."

Joshua Frank elaborates:

Senator John Kerry echoed this sentiment on May 29, 2004, when he told the Washington Post that the Bush Administration has not "been tough on the [Iran] issue ... which is the issue of nuclear weaponry, and again just like I said with North Korea, you have to keep your eye on the target."

Even DNC chair hopeful Howard Dean, allegedly the liberal arm of the Democratic Party, concurs Bush has not been tough enough on Iran. The Forward quotes Dean as saying, "The United States has to ... take a much harder line on Iran and Saudi Arabia because they're funding terrorism."

In fact, while campaigning for president, Dean contended that President Bush had been far too soft on Iran. In a March appearance on CBS' Face The Nation, Dean even went so far as to say that "[President Bush] is beholden to the Saudis and the Iranians."

It should be remembered that Dean was elected chairman of the Democratic National Committee in February 2005 and the DNC is the principal organ governing the Democratic Party and the DNC is responsible for promoting the Democratic political platform, as well as coordinating fundraising and election strategy-in short, you can bet the "bomb Iran" plan, as dictated by AIPAC, will figure prominently in campaign activity as 2008 draws close.

For AIPAC, essentially the puppet master of Congress, Iran is front and center. In fact, for AIPAC, so important is the art of greasing the skids for an Iran invasion, they went out of their way to filch a classified draft national-security presidential directive (NSPD) on Iran. As you may recall, an alleged Israeli mole burrowed in the office of Douglas Feith, Larry Franklin, was pinched by the FBI for passing the NSPD draft on to the Israelis.

"The classified document that Franklin allegedly passed to AIPAC concerned a controversial proposal by Pentagon hard-liners to destabilize Iran. The latest iteration of the national-security presidential directive was drafted by a Pentagon civilian and avid neocon, Michael Rubin, who hoped it would be adopted as official policy by the Bush administration. But in mid-June, Bush's national-security advisers canceled consideration of the draft, partly in response to resistance from some at the State Department and the National Security Council, according to a recent memo written by Rubin," Laura Rozen and Jason Vest reported in November, 2004, for the American Prospect. "Was it to this end that Franklin was allegedly observed by the FBI passing the draft NSPD on Iran to AIPAC? Was he trying to inform AIPAC, or Israel, about the contents of the draft NSPD? Or rather, and perhaps more plausibly, was he trying to enlist the powerful Washington lobbying organization in advocating for a Iran-destabilization policy? In other words, is the Franklin case really about espionage, or is it a glimpse into the ugly sausage-making process by which Middle East policy gets decided in Washington and, in particular, in the Bush administration?"

More likely, the "powerful Washington lobbying organization" decides not only who shall and who shall not be a Congress critter, but also drives "the ugly sausage-making process by which Middle East policy gets decided in Washington" at the behest of Israel, as Philip Zelikow intimated, although Zelikow's revelatory comments were assiduously ignored by the corporate media.

I thought about all of this as I walked across the parking lot toward my car. If the ballot I had cast a moment earlier had contained a single antiwar-or for that matter, even less likely, an anti-AIPAC candidate-I would have voted for him. As it stands, I voted on bond issues and amendments to the New Mexico state Constitution.

Come January, 2007, when the latest crop, and no doubt a staid number of incumbents, are sworn in, the Palestinians will bleed still.

So will a whole lot of Iraqis.

In fact, it is almost a sure bet a few million Iranians will suffer a likewise fate, as the neocon disease, the "clash of civilizations" contagion has infected far too many Democrats.

I know this is bleak, even cynical.

But we have allowed, due to inattention and apathy, our political system to suffer a hijacking by Machiavellian thugs.

I'm not sure a mere election will put it back together again.

It may take a revolution instead, as Jefferson apprised.

Comment on this Editorial

The experiment was a success: The Palestinians are killing each other. They are behaving as expected at the end of the extended experiment called "what happens when you imprison 1.3 million human beings [in Gaza, alone] in an enclosed space like battery hens."

These are the steps in the experiment: Imprison (since 1991); remove the prisoners' usual means of livelihood; seal off all outlets to the outside world, nearly hermetically; destroy existing means of livelihood by preventing the entry of raw materials and the marketing of goods and produce; prevent the regular entry of medicines and hospital supplies; do not bring in fresh food for weeks on end; prevent, for years, the entry of relatives, professionals, friends and others, and allow thousands of people - the sick, heads of families, professionals, children - to be stuck for weeks at the locked gates of the Gaza Strip's only entry/exit...

It is the good old Israeli experiment called "put them into a pressure cooker and see what happens," and this is one of the reasons why this [Palestinian factional violence] is not an internal Palestinian matter.

Various studies and statistics gathered by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) and Palestinian women's groups record high levels of violence perpetrated by family members and intimate partners, aggravated during times of political violence. Information obtained from social workers, academics, and police officials on the prevalence of domestic violence, incest, and actual or threatened "honor" crimes, also indicate that reported rates do not reflect the full extent of such violence...

This report is based on more than one hundred interviews conducted in Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Nablus, Hebron, Tulkarem, Jericho, and Gaza in November and December 2005; follow up communications with many of the same individuals by telephone and email as well as a handful of new interviews in June and July 2006; and examination of relevant laws, academic literature, policy analyses, surveys, and other published materials...

* end its promiscuous recourse to the use of lethal force,

* lift the illegal blocade it maintains on Gaza and on the institutions of the PA in general, and

* dismantle both the system of checkpoints and barricades it has erected deep inside the Palestinian West Bank and the network of (completely illegal, and very damaging) Israeli settlements in the West Bank.

Long lines have crippled a crowded Denver, Colorado polling place after the location ran out of provisional ballots almost three hours ago. Two hours later, the ballots had not yet appeared.

Update: A judge has ruled against a Democratic party request to extend polling hours in Denver.

Also in Colorado, Latino voters report receiving racially charged, intimidating phone calls warning them that, based on ethnicity, they are inelligible to vote.

Pennsylvania has suffered, too.

A non-partisan voter hotline-866-OUR-VOTE-has received more reports and complaints about voting irregularities from Pennsylvania than from any other state. Some of those problems are documented here.

Pennsylvania is an important battleground for Democrats, who were polling ahead in congressional races and looked well positioned to pick up a senate seat from Republican Rick Santorum going into today's election.

In Virginia, allegations of statewide voter intimidation are seen as more serious.

Reports have indicated that phone calls have been directed across the state from the fictitious "Virginia Elections Commision," threatening voters with arrest if they appear at polling places to vote. Voters are advised that, because of their out of state registrations, voting in Virginia is illegal. However, many of the voters who've been harassed have been registered instate for years.

Unlike in Pennsylvania-where polls showed Democrat Bob Casey with a large lead over incumbent Santorum-the Virginia senate race is tighter. Recent polls show incumbent Republican George Allen narrowly trailing Democratic challenger Jim Webb. However, the state is considered by many to be a valuable barometer of the national campaign for control of the Senate and the House of Representatives.

Missouri is another bellwether state, where Clare McCaskill is challenging incumbent Republican Jim Talent. There, reports have pointed to vote-flipping both at polling places today and in early voting before today.

Technical problems have plagued states across the Midwest, including Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Florida and Utah have suffered similar problems, mostly involving broken machinery, or poll-workers without the technical expertise to operate them.

In Kentucky, a voter is suing a poll worker, whose name has not been released, after the volunteer allegedly attacked and choked him before forcing him from the polling location.

Larger national media organizations including MSNBC, The Los Angeles Times, and USA Today are featuring stories about the extent of election troubles across the country.

-- Provision 1 under Article 14 states "All persons shall be equal before the courts and tribunals (and) everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law." The Bush administration was in complete violation of this provision.

-- Provision 2 guarantees "Everyone charged with a criminal offense....the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law." Saddam was pronounced guilty the moment George Bush signed off on going to war, invading and occupying Iraq.

-- Provision 3 guarantees the accused the following rights:

-- To be told clearly and promptly "of the nature and cause of the charge against him."

-- "To have adequate time and facilities (to prepare a) defence and to communicate with counsel of his choosing."

-- "To be tried without undue delay."

-- "To be tried in his presence, and to defend himself in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing....."

-- "To examine, or have examined, the witnesses against him (and those) on his behalf (under equal conditions)."

-- To have an interpreter if needed.

-- "Not to be compelled to testify against himself or confess guilt."

The US occupier denied Saddam his legal right to a proper defense according to most of the above provisions.

-- Provision 4 pertains to juveniles and was not pertinent to the trial.

-- Provision 5 guarantees "Everyone convicted of a crime....the right to his conviction and sentence being reviewed by a higher tribunal...." What pretense of a review process occurs from here guarantees only a continuation of more show trial theatrics if the proceeding is made public. If it isn't, it will merely be a sham made-in-Washington pro forma final sentencing staged-for-television hanging, even if visuals of Saddam on a rope aren't shown to a US audience.

-- Provision 6 pertains to those wrongfully convicted being entitled to proper compensation. Whatever Saddam's crimes were, and there's little doubt he committed many, what he was convicted of on November 5 would never hold up in a real tribunal. The Bush administration will never pay him damages, if so ordered, just as the Reagan administration ignored the World Court judgment against it in 1987 to pay Nicaragua $17 billion for losses that country sustained from US state terrorism committed against it during the Contra war years in the 1980s. Hegemons never pay for their crimes. They make their victims pay for them.

-- Provision 7 guarantees no one shall be subjected to double jeopardy. This hasn't yet come up in the proceedings that are continuing, but as long as this show trial goes on, the issue of "jeopardy" is not on the table, and the US authority will do as it pleases just as it has up to now.

Scientists are going too far in creating mixed human-animal organisms, a Scottish organization is warning.

The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics, a professional group based in Edinburgh, has published a report on the ethical implications of the practice in the journal Human Reproduction and Genetic Ethics. The report is online at www.schb.org.uk.

"Crossing the human species barrier is a procedure that has always fascinated humanity," noted the report, made public Tuesday and written in light of draft legislation on human embryology being prepared by the U.K. Department of Health, to be published this summer.