W. Niederhut

No big surprise here. Opposition to a Palestinian state is in the Likud Party charter. Netanyahu Opposes Palestinian State In Postwar Scenario | HuffPost Latest News

Jim, IMO, reducing Israel's Muslim neighbors to the status of "failed states" was the Neocon/PNAC agenda all along. It's one reason that Wolfowitz wanted to de-Baathify the Iraqi Army and government in 2003 -- against the advice of General Jay Garner. Garner told Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz in 2003 that "it would take 50 years to stabilize Iraq" if Paul Bremer disbanded the Iraqi Army and police. De-Baathification led directly to the outbreak of the civil war in Iraq-- between the Shiites and the deposed Sunni Baathists. It also led directly to the disastrous insurrection against the occupying U.S. Army. The related Neocon agenda in Syria was to engulf the country in civil war and chaos, by arming Sunni proxy militias to wage war against Assad's Alawite government.

So, a few thoughts about plutocrat Joe Lieberman... 1) He played an important role in sabotaging the "public option" for the Affordable Care Act in the 2009 Senate Finance Committee, insuring ACA profits for the for-profit health insurance industry. 2) He has been a member of UANI-- the Neocon group that has been working for 15+ years to draw the U.S. into a war with Iran. 3) He is a founding member the billionaire-funded "No Labels" group, to undermine the Democratic Party. No Labels Would Consider Putting Nikki Haley on Ticket January 18, 2024 at 12:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Former Sen. Joe Lieberman, the founding chairman of No Labels, said that the organization would give the “most serious consideration” to Nikki Haley if she were interested in joining the bipartisan unity ticket it is considering mounting for president in 2024, The Messenger reports.

Geez... Just when we're finally getting somewhere in exploring the largely untold history of the Neocons and post-JFK U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East, our Google "scholar" Ben Cole hijacks the thread with a deflective, retro-active reference to the early 60s. Terrific. 🙄 In any case, people interested in the history of the past half century, in relation to the current crisis in the Middle East, might be interested in studying the details of the well-funded Neocon UANI movement to start a U.S. war with Iran. A U.S. war with Iran was the final agenda item of the pre-9/11 Neocon Project for a New American Century. United Against Nuclear Iran, by Alan Macleod - The Unz Review

Paul, Ron Unz's site is a mixed bag of articles about history and current events, characterized by material that has been marginalized by the U.S. mainstream media. I, certainly, don't agree with all of the work published there. Unz, himself, is Jewish, and is, IMO, quite a brilliant man. He's a Harvard and Stanford grad who made a lot of money with a computer company, but has always been interested in history-- and "untold history," in particular. His signature articles at the Unz Review are his scholarly American Pravda series-- alluding to the "Pravda-esque" nature of U.S. corporate media censorship. As for your allusion to the Holocaust, I have been privileged to know and work with some Holocaust survivors in my lifetime, and have even lived and worked closely with adult children of Holocaust survivors since my medical school years. I know firsthand that there is an inter-generational legacy of WWII trauma that many of my peers and family members have experienced. (I have also known adult children of Russians who fought in WWII.) My own father fought the Nazis in Italy, France, and Germany-- from 1943 to 1945-- in the U.S. 753rd Tank Battalion. He survived the Battle of San Pietro, where the 753rd lost 17 tanks in a frontal assault on the German lines, and he was also a survivor of the Battle of Monte Cassino, and Operation Dragoon in southern France. HIs battalion liberated a Nazi concentration camp at Lohr, Germany, and he personally witnessed the emaciated condition of Nazi concentration camp survivors. Many of the founding fathers (and mothers) of Israel had family members who died in the Holocaust. And many prominent Neocons-- including, I believe, Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith-- also lost family members in the Holocaust. They have been, understandably, dedicated to the survival and prosperity of Israel, as a homeland and haven for Jewish people in an antisemitic world. As for the Neocons and the Project for a New American Century, they have played a major role in orchestrating the Bush-Cheney administration's so-called "War on Terror" since 9/11. The PNAC agenda, as I understand it, was largely based on the theories of Paul Wolfowitz and Douglas Feith-- using the U.S. military to overthrow Saddam Hussein and the Alawite regime in Damascus, then, later, overthrowing the Ayatollahs in Tehran. What do you make of General Wesley Clark being briefed in the Rumsfeld-Wolfowitz Pentagon, shortly after 9/11, about the Bush administration's plan to wage war on several Islamic nations in seven years-- beginning with Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Libya, and ending with Iran?

Excellent article, Paul. Thanks for posting this. Incidentally, on the subject of the Neocon PNAC agenda, here's an interesting new article about some of the Neocons who have been working behind the scenes during the past 15+ years to start a U.S. war against Iran. We're currently on the brink. United Against Nuclear Iran, by Alan Macleod - The Unz Review

Inching Toward Armageddon - WhoWhatWhy

Well, here we are on the brink of another major U.S. war in the Middle East, and the Education Forum members are mainly obsessing about oft-repeated, 60+ year-old details in the life of Lee Harvey Oswald. I must say that I have long been amazed by the lack of intellectual curiosity on the forum about the history of the CIA and the U.S. military industrial complex during the past fifty years! Where's John Simkin, when we could use some intellectual curiosity? James DiEugenio recently mentioned CIA Operation Timber Sycamore in his essay about JFK and Gaza, but that was a rare exception to the pervasive forum silence about our multi-trillion dollar 21st century CIA and U.S. military ops in the Middle East. There has been a similar lack of intellectual curiosity, and discussion, about the 21st century history of Putin and the Russian Federation.

I noticed today that the Biden administration has now officially re-designated the Houthi Shiites in Yemen as "terrorists." * This raises the question that Sandy Larsen and I discussed earlier this month (at the Water Cooler) about how the U.S. government has used the term "terrorist," since the Bush-Cheney-Neocon-9/11 years, to describe any target of U.S. military ops in the Middle East. Some people have described Menachem Begin as the "Godfather of Modern Terrorism." Begin and his Israeli Irgun associates dressed up like Arabs in 1946 when they blew up the King David Hotel, killing 91 people, including many Brits. The Mossad later attempted a similar false flag "terrorist" bombing in Egypt, -- the Lavon Affair. Menachem Begin's King David Hotel example is what most of us have traditionally defined as "terrorism"-- shocking acts of blowing up buildings, killing civilians, etc., to terrorize a government and/or a people. But, in contrast to the Menachem Begin example, when the Pentagon has wanted to carpet bomb a people in the 21st century -- e.g., in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen, etc.-- they first define them as "terrorists." Then, bombs away. In the case of Afghanistan, the designated Pentagon "terrorist" was Osama Bin Laden, who was publicly accused on 9/11 by Henry Kissinger, Paul Bremer, Ehud Barak, and the Bush-Cheney-Neocon administration of attacking the (explosively demolished) World Trade Center and Pentagon. Osama Bin Laden publicly denied any involvement in 9/11, (and FBI translator Sibel Edmonds later reported that Bin Laden had actually been working for the CIA before, and even after, 9/11.) Like his CIA-affiliated predecessor, Lee Harvey Oswald, Osama Bin Laden declared in September of 2001 that he was a "patsy." That story was completely blacked out of the U.S. mainstream media. Then, the multi-trillion dollar U.S. military response to the alleged 9/11 "terrorist" op was prompt and extreme. We were told that Muslim terrorists had flown Boeing jetliners into the World Trade Center because they "resented our freedom." Few Americans, even today, know that the World Trade Center skyscrapers (WTC1, WTC2, and WTC7) were actually demolished by pre-planted thermitic explosives, or that the U.S. military had successfully-tested Raytheon GPS-guided technology, prior to 9/11, which could remotely-pilot Boeing jetliners with great precision. Fewer still know that Barbara Olson's alleged 9/11 phone calls from AA77, describing "Muslim hijackers with box cutters," never actually happened-- according to expert FBI testimony in the Moussaoui trial. There were similar anomalies about other alleged phone calls from "hijacked" Boeings on 9/11, which were foundational for the official U.S. government/M$M narrative blaming Muslim "terrorists" for 9/11. Incidentally, the Taliban government in Afghanistan asked the Bush-Cheney administration in September of 2001 for evidence that Osama Bin Laden and "Al Qaeda" were involved in the 9/11 attacks, but the Bush-Cheney administration offered the Taliban no evidence. (Noam Chomsky later declared that Bush gave the Taliban no evidence "because he didn't have any evidence.") FBI Director Robert Mueller later testified that the FBI 'never found a single scrap of paper" implicating Osama Bin Laden and "Al Qaeda" in the 9/11 attacks. Nevertheless, the U.S. government/M$M "Osama Bin Laden Did 9/11" narrative became promptly and permanently fixed in America's national consciousness, in a manner similar to the way the mass media psy op that Lee Harvey Oswald had assassinated JFK became fixed in the national consciousness after 11/22/63. And, of course, the carpet bombing and U.S./NATO military occupation of Afghanistan commenced-- resulting, ultimately in the longest war in American history. As for January of 2024, there have been numerous recent attacks on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Syria, and on Red Sea cargo ships, in response to Israel's carpet bombing of Gaza's civilian population. These Shiite Axis attacks on the U.S. have been reflexively defined in Washington as "terrorism." But, is military resistance to U.S./NATO/Israeli hegemony in the Middle East, really "terrorism," in any meaningful sense of the word? Muslims are angry that the U.S. has actively colluded in Israel's ethnic cleansing of Gaza-- even vetoing U.N. resolutions for a Gaza cease-fire. Who are the "terrorists" in the Middle East? Who are the people massacring civilians and blowing up buildings? * Biden administration re-designates Houthis as Specially Designated Global Terrorists | CNN Politics

Kirk, Louis CK told a funny joke on SNL some years ago, before his sex scandal. Q. Why did the chicken cross the road? A. Because he saw some black guys walking toward him. Meanwhile, more Iowa arithmetic. One third of Repubs still believe that Trump won the 2020 election. Trump won 51% of the Iowa vote. So, my estimate is that at least 60% of Iowa's Trump voters are the troglodytes who think Trump won the 2020 election.

The Republican candidates in Iowa spent $120 million on this caucus campaign. That averages out to about $1,100 dollars per vote cast.

How my day started... 😱 Me: "Alexa, what's the weather?" Alexa: "Currently, in Denver, it's -2 degrees. Today, you can expect snowy weather, with a high of -1 and a low of -14 degrees."

Kremlin Propagandist in U.K. Identified as Grand Nephew of Late Eleanor Rigby KGB-Linked Nephew Reportedly Did Not Attend Aunt's Liverpool Funeral She Died in the Church and Was Buried Along With Her Name, According to Father McKenzie Eleanor Rigby - Wikipedia January 14, 2024

Meme of the Day? 😂

It's been sub-zero here in Denver all weekend, Ron, and I always worry about our furnace breaking down under such conditions. I have a gas log fireplace as a back-up, but haven't needed it thus far. It sounds like Texas has changed some rules and regulations to prevent a replay of the crisis you experienced during your last deep freeze. Stay warm.

What utter nonsense--posted by the same forum member who has repeatedly denied Donald Trump's historic, unprecedented crimes against the United States. Nor is there anything "neutral" about a forum member starting multiple, redundant "Biden snuff job" threads on this forum-- in the guise of presenting new material related to the JFK assassination. It's not new. We've had multiple prior threads about the same material in recent months. As for Ben Cole's confused, oft-repeated false equivalence tropes about "Donks" and "Phants," does any serious American history scholar think that JFK, himself, would have a favorable opinion of the proto-fascist, right wing Trump/GOP cult in America today-- or of the blatant disinformation propagated by the right wing media-- Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart, et.al.? The notion is absurd. JFK and RFK would be utterly appalled to see an uneducated, racist demagogue and con man like Donald Trump ascend to the Presidency. They would be similarly appalled to see the systematic, Koch-funded GOP suppression of voting in recent years -- by the SCOTUS, (Shelby v. Holder) and by red state legislators. They would also be appalled, IMO, to see what has happened to the U.S. news media, following Reagan's abrogation of the Fairness Act. As for reality-based criticisms of Trump and his proto-fascist cult-- they are the precise opposite of "juvenalia," as Ben Cole suggests. On the contrary, they are a desperately needed reality check-- based on facts-- for America's shockingly prevalent Trump cult delusions. A shockingly high percentage of Republicans today still believe that Trump won the 2020 election, and that he was not responsible for organizing his violent J6 mob attack on the U.S. Congress. .

Great meme, Kirk. I have long believed that Social Democracy is the ideal system -- market capitalism regulated in the public interest. State controlled economies don't work, and unregulated, laissez faire capitalism damages the public good, through exploitation of workers, pollution, etc. IMO, a major looming crisis in the U.S. today is rents. Many working people can't afford the costs of privately-owned, for-profit housing.

Ben, This is now your third, redundant "Biden snuff job" post of the past week on this same topic-- with a podcast reference to material by Mark Adamcyzk that we have already discussed on the forum. How many "Biden snuff job" threads do we need? You have started at least 15+ new, redundant threads on the same topic in recent months-- usually with slight variations in references as pretexts for your daily or weekly "Biden snuff job" thread titles on the JFKA forum. Are you working for Breitbart's Department of Redundancy Department, or what, exactly? As for viewership, it looks like the mods saw fit to edit your latest redundant "Biden snuff job" trope out of your original thread title. Perhaps you're grossly overestimating favorable forum opinions about your redundant, "Biden snuff job" threads. They usually disappear rapidly from the front page of the board, before you post the next one. 🙄

Jim, I am familiar with the Adamcyzk material you have published at K & K-- and extremely disappointed about Biden's conduct in suppressing the JFK Records. In fact, like other Education Forum members, I wrote a letter to Biden in 2021 requesting that he release the JFK records. My objection to these numerous, redundant forum threads about the "Biden snuff job" on the JFK records has to do with the larger picture of contemporary U.S. politics. Surely, American history scholars recognize that the country is now facing a serious, historic threat to the future of our democracy and the rule of law. We have a former POTUS, and 2024 Republican frontrunner, who orchestrated and incited a violent attack on the U.S. Congress in 2021, to remain in power. There is also substantial circumstantial evidence that the man is a Kremlin asset who confiscated and mishandled highly classified intelligence. The mystery of the missing binder: How a collection of raw Russian intelligence disappeared under Trump - CNN When has that ever happened in American history? The Trump political crisis is aggravated by the existence of media corporations-- Fox, Newsmax, Breitbart, et.al.-- who have actively promoted his innumerable false narratives about policy issues and his serious criminal conduct. Under the circumstances, any alternative to Trump-- including Biden-- is the lesser evil, as even Republicans like Mitt Romney have opined.

Ron, Remember last summer's Texas heat wave, when you wanted to escape to the Colorado Rockies? The forecast in Denver this weekend is for wind chill temps of -20 to -30 F. I'd rather be in the Yucatan. Meanwhile, here's more damning circumstantial evidence that Trump is a Kremlin asset. How a collection of raw Russian intelligence disappeared under Trump A binder containing highly classified information related to Russian election interference went missing at the end of Donald Trump’s presidency, raising alarms among intelligence officials that some of the most closely guarded national security secrets from the US and its allies could be exposed, sources familiar with the matter told CNN. Its disappearance, which has not been previously reported, was so concerning that intelligence officials briefed Senate Intelligence Committee leaders last year about the missing materials and the government’s efforts to retrieve them, the sources said. In the two-plus years since Trump left office, the missing intelligence does not appear to have been found. https://edition.cnn.com/interactive/2023/12/politics/missing-russia-intelligence-trump-dg/

C'mon, Jim. This is entirely disingenuous. Dis-Eugenious? Partisan cudgels? Anti-Trump mania? Don't you mean anti-Biden mania? I think we all know who has been wielding a moronic "partisan cudgel" on this forum during the past two years. It's the closet Trumpster who has repeatedly dismissed J6 as a "scrum," and started multiple, redundant "Biden snuff job" threads in recent months. You, yourself, advised Ben Cole to step out of his MAGA bubble to watch the J6 Congressional hearings in 2022, which he adamantly refused to do.

What ignorant nonsense. It's true that Biden has been led by the nose on Gaza, "like a stupid mule," by Netanyahu, (to use Zbigniew Bzrezinski's phrase) but there is no meaningful equivalence between Biden's domestic politics and Donald Trump's right wing, neo-Confederate demagoguery. None. It's a shame that people (or chat bots?) with literary skills are publishing this kind of horse manure.

Ben Cole is trying to render his latest redundant anti-Biden spam thread acceptable by referencing James DiEugenio's colleague, Mark Adamcyzk, on the subject of the JFK records. He has used variations on this method ad nauseum. My hunch is that most of us have already read Mark Adamcyzk's excellent JFK Records commentaries on Kennedys and King. So, is there any salient, new JFKA material presented here in Ben's latest redundant Education Forum "Biden snuff job" thread that hasn't already been presented and discussed on previous Ben threads during the past year? I agree with Denny Zartman that MAGA Ben is mainly interested in using the forum to publicly bash Joe Biden-- in the guise of discussing the JFK Records--just as Ben used the forum, for months in 2022, to deny that Donald Trump incited a violent mob attack on the U.S. Congress for the purpose of obstructing the certification of Biden's election. Basta per Dio... 🙄

I had the same reaction, Matt. I think the Saudi Royals are worried about incurring the wrath of Muslims who are angry about Gaza. If I understand it correctly, the Houthis in Yemen have, essentially, declared a jihad on Red Sea cargo ships, in response to the bombing of Gaza.

Ron, When it comes to Lauren Boebert making Colorado a laughingstock, that ship has f-ing sailed. 🙄 I'm still wondering how the lady ever got elected to Congress. There are rumors that Boebert was working as an escort in Garfield County, (i.e., Aspen) where she met Ted Cruz and some other Koch-affiliated heavy Republican rollers. Perhaps, some day, we'll get the true story.