W. Niederhut

Biden and the U.S. are in a real pickle now, as a result of Netanyahu's bombing of Gaza. Should Biden resume a U.S. war against the (Iranian-backed) governments in Baghdad and Damascus-- and the Houthis in Yemen, or should we get our unwelcome, post-war troops and bases out of Iraq and Syria? As I understand the situation, the Bush-Cheney-Neocon war to depose Saddam Hussein has, basically, resulted in the establishment of a Shiite Tehran-Baghdad-Damascus military axis in the Middle East. Saddam Hussein's Sunni Baathist government had served as a counter-balance to Tehran's potential hegemony in Iraq and Syria. Gary Hart was ridiculed by Bill O'Reilly on Fox News in March of 2003 for arguing that invading Iraq and deposing Saddam Hussein could destabilize the balance of power in the Persian Gulf. So, here we are.

Since these promotional forum threads about RFK, Jr.'s 2024 candidacy necessarily raise questions about the two major party 2024 candidates, public misperceptions about Trump and Biden are relevant to our discussion here. To the bizarre denial of Trump's J6 crimes by a substantial proportion of the electorate-- including at least one EF forum member-- we can add these bizarre public misperceptions about Trump's historically disastrous Presidential tenure. Too Many Americans Have Forgotten November 29, 2023 at 8:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Dan Pfeiffer: “The American attention span has shrunk since Al Gore invented the Internet, and the pandemic disrupted the time-space continuum. Our memories are foggy, but it’s still stunning that large swaths of the populace — including those who cover politics for a living — have forgotten what life was like with Donald J. Trump in the White House.” “Anyone who has listened to a focus group in the last couple of years knows that there is a real nostalgia for the pre-pandemic economy — even though that’s the economy Barack Obama and Joe Biden built and Donald Trump destroyed by mismanaging the pandemic. This sentiment may be misguided. Yet, it is understandable as people navigate higher prices and higher interest rates. The misplaced nostalgia doesn’t stop there. In a September Wall Street Journal poll, 52% of voters believe former president Trump ‘has a strong record of accomplishments’ compared to only 40% for Biden. Once again, this is an incorrect assessment of Trump’s presidency. This foggy memory helps explain the declining share of Americans with concerns about Trump’s mental fitness and temperament — two things that were top concerns only a few years ago.” “This forgetfulness is frustrating to the folks who continue to believe Trump is an existential threat.”

Ron, This reminds me of the apocalyptic U2 song from the Achtung, Baby album-- Until the End of the World -- which I have probably listened to a thousand times over the years while roller blading my 5 miles per day in our local park.

Speaking as a sentient lifeform on this forum, Matt, I agree with you entirely. The denial of Trump's historic crimes and anti-democratic agenda by some people on this forum never ceases to amaze. Good Lord, the man already incited an armed right-wing mob to attack the U.S. Congress in an attempt to remain in power! And Trump and his proto-fascist cult continue to pose a serious threat to the survival of American democracy and the rule of law. Have our local Biden bashers taken the time to study what happened to the Weimar Republic's constitutional democracy after 1932? The Nazi Party ascended to power that year with just 37% of the vote-- in a politically fragmented, multi-party election. Yet, by 1933, the Nazis had declared martial law, (after burning down the Reichstag) outlawed opposition parties, and began incarcerating opposition politicians at Dachau. This, more than anything, is what concerns me about third party candidates in 2024. Democrats need to remain united against the anti-democratic, proto-fascist Trump cult.

Yes, and Trump is suddenly denouncing "communists," while also bragging about his bromance with communist dictator, Kim Jong Un. Talk about your MAGA reductio ad absurdum. Meanwhile, Bibi Netanyahu is saying the quiet part out loud... Netanyahu Says He Is 'Only One Who Will Prevent a Palestinian State' (commondreams.org)

There are so many forensic JFKA details-- fabricated, suppressed, or otherwise-- that I have trouble keeping track of the bona fide facts. I was recently talking to a friend who asked me about the recent documentary in which the Parkland ER docs described the entry wound in JFK's throat, and threats they received to say nothing about the throat entry wound. My friend asked me if and where "they" ever found the bullet that caused the apparent neck entry wound. Does anyone know?

Geez... Mango Mussolini's latest, loony rant. Now Mango Unchained is vowing to "demolish the Deep State." 🤥

We could think of JFK assassination truth in the mainstream media in terms of a signal-to-noise ratio. The "signal" is the honest, accurate research out there. The "noise" is the disinformation. If the CIA-associated propagandists are focused on reducing the signal-to-noise ratio, they can use two general strategies; 1) Black out coverage of the "signal"-- e.g., JFK Revisited, and/or 2) Increase the "noise"-- promoting bogus articles and theories.

Sandy, Try reading this reference about Netanyahu's history with Hamas, which I posted a few days ago. * Are you aware that Haaretz, itself, blamed Netanyahu after October 7th for promoting Hamas? Hamas has boosted Netanyahu's popularity in Israel, and has also helped to sabotage a two-state peace plan. * How Netanyahu's Hamas policy came back to haunt him — and Israel | CBC News

C'mon, Matt. Have you studied any film-- including satellite photos-- of Gaza lately? The last time I checked, roughly one-half of all buildings in northern Gaza-- 56,000-- had been reduced to rubble, including multiple healthcare facilities and schools. Gaza in Ruins: Satellite Imagery Researchers Say Israel has Destroyed or Damaged 56,000 Buildings | Democracy Now!

Sandy, You're begging the question here. Israel's purported military objective is to destroy the Hamas militants that Netanyahu has been supporting for the past 20 years (in order to bolster his popularity and sabotage a two-state solution.) But his Rules of Engagement belie that alleged military objective. In reality, the IDF has been demolishing entire, densely-populated residential neighborhoods in Gaza -- including apartment buildings, schools, and hospitals. That isn't "collateral damage," unless entire residential communities--and civilian non-combatants-- are defined as "military targets." But such a definition is synonymous with ethnic cleansing and genocidal war crimes. It's analogous to a scenario where General William Tecumseh Sherman would have indiscriminately massacred women and children in South Carolina-- in response to the Confederate attack on Fort Sumter.

It's a tragic reflection on the state of the U.S. mainstream media when a loony rag like the Falun Gong's Epoch Times is reporting more accurately on an issue than our mainstream newspapers.

IMO, a glaring omission in the M$M's coverage of the 60th Anniversary of the JFK assassination has been the absence of mainstream media references to JFK Revisited/Destiny Betrayed. Overall, the M$M has continued to black out coverage of JFK Revisited. The coverage of the Parkland docs' story is helpful, but Oliver Stone and JFK Revisited should have been in some of the headlines-- instead of the references to Landis, Clint Hill, the Parkland docs, and less comprehensive histories.

Yeah, Steve, and you can't make this stuff up. While attacking the rule of law in the U.S., Trump is also determined to Make Fascism Great Again abroad. Trump to Visit Argentina November 23, 2023 at 12:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Donald Trump has told Argentina’s President-elect Javier Milei that he plans to travel to the South American country so the two can meet, the AP reports.

Sandy, Well, obviously, we must agree to disagree on this one. Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth, and 1 million of its 2.3 million citizens are children. The massive bombardment (over 25,000 tons of bombs) and demolition of residential buildings, schools, and hospitals, isn't "collateral damage," in any meaningful definition of the term. It's "collective punishment" of a denigrated civilian population-- a war crime. Netanyahu's goal is, apparently, to make Gaza uninhabitable, and ethnically cleanse the area of indigenous Palestinians.

I saw this article at Axios this morning. Inside JFK's historic meeting with Latino leaders one day before his murder (axios.com)

I decided over the weekend that I don't want to quarrel with my fellow liberals about U.S. foreign policy. IMO, it's more important for those of us who believe in liberal democracy to remain united, in the face of rising foreign and domestic fascism. But, I do have a question about definitions of "collateral damage" during military ops. As I understand it, definitions of "collateral damage" are based on military Rules of Engagement-- which may vary from war to war, and even from one Presidential administration to another. As an example, I recall reading in 2017 that the Trump administration killed more civilians in eight months (in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan) than the Obama administration had killed in eight years-- due to Trump's alterations of U.S. Rules of Engagement. Trump had even, reportedly, told his military advisors to kill family members--including women and children-- of alleged "terrorists." General Mattis said, "No, Mr. President, we don't do that," as I recall. As for the latest Gaza bombings, is there a meaningful sense in which this could be construed as "collateral damage?" I suppose that we-- like Bill Maher-- could define the bombing of residential buildings, schools, and hospitals as "collateral damage" if we defined all of these structures as military targets. In a sense, it's Hiroshima type "logic." Blow up everything. Having Vanquished Gaza's Hospitals, Israel Turns to bombing Schools, Killing Dozens (juancole.com)

Michaeleen, Question for you and the forum. Are people allowed to re-post copyrighted material on this forum for "educational" purposes?

Well, the article presents a lot of interesting details about the legacy of the JFK assassination and Dallas's conservative, right-wing culture but, unfortunately, it is also quite misleading about the fact that JFK was assassinated by a carefully orchestrated conspiracy. In fact, the author directly links "conspiracy theories" with Dallas's kooky, right-wing culture-- reinforcing the old CIA propaganda trope that conspiracy theories are monolithic and "kooky." And, needless to say, the general drift of the article is to deflect public attention away from the conspirators in the U.S. government who actually murdered JFK.

Israel hasn't taken any hostages, as Matt points out. Instead, they've simply opted to bury Palestinian bodies under piles of rubble. Thousands of bodies lie buried in rubble in Gaza. Families dig to retrieve them, often by hand apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-gaza-buried-rubble-airstrikes-89c0e8d0934d573d94d2fbfeba44d933 Updated 1:45 PM EST, November 17, 2023 DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — The wreckage goes on for block after devastated block. The smell is sickening. Every day, hundreds of people claw through tons of rubble with shovels and iron bars and their bare hands. They are looking for the bodies of their children. Their parents. Their neighbors. All of them killed in Israeli missile strikes. The corpses are there, somewhere in the endless acres of destruction. More than five weeks into Israel’s war against Hamas, some streets are more like graveyards. Officials in Gaza say they don’t have the equipment, manpower or fuel to search properly for the living, let alone the dead. Israel says its strikes target fighters and the infrastructure of Hamas, the militant group behind the deadly Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people in Israel. Hamas often operates in residential areas, and Israel accuses it of using the civilian population as human shields, though it does not explain specific targeting reasons for most strikes.

Sandy, 1) Netanyahu recently cited the genocidal Bible verse from 1 Samuel in which the Israelites were commanded by Yahweh to wipe out the Amaleks. Netanyahu declares a Holy War of Annihilation on Civilians of Gaza, Citing the Bible (juancole.com) 2) In his recent criticism of Obama, Bill Maher inaccurately referred to Israel's serious war crimes in Gaza as "collateral damage." The deliberate bombing of residential apartment buildings, schools, and hospitals-- and the mass murder of 11,000 Palestinians, including 4,000 children-- is not "collateral damage." It's a war crime. Maher is denying Netanyahu's war crimes. Bill Maher slams Obama's 'moral equivalency' on Israel-Hamas (nypost.com)

Matt, You need to read the scholarly references here that Douglas Caddy and I have posted during the past month-- including Ron Unz's debunking of the "beheaded babies" propaganda (above.) Netanyahu has now killed more than 4,000 children in Gaza, while bombing residential apartment buildings, schools, and numerous hospitals and healthcare facilities. These are blatant war crimes. Your modus operandi is to simply ignore the damning facts, while falsely accusing honest critics of Netanyahu's war crimes of "anti-Semitism." This is a common fallacy in the U.S. and Europe right now-- on Fox News, and even at Harvard and other universities. Basically, you're denying genocide and ethnic cleansing-- despite the fact that Netanyahu and some of his Likud Party associates have openly called for ethnic cleansing of Gaza and the West Bank. I noticed that you also completely ignored my reference (above) about Netanyahu's history of using Hamas to bolster his popularity and sabotage a two-state solution. Opinion | Israel, Gaza, and International Law:A Humanitarian Crisis Roils the Academy | Common Dreams

Matt, Please stop posting nonsense. I have condemned the Hamas attacks on Israel from the beginning. In recent weeks I have posted a series of accurate references about Netanyahu's serious war crimes in Gaza, and about my disappointment with Biden and Blinken for failing to prevent Netanyahu's war crimes-- including their veto of a UN cease-fire resolution. As for Netanyahu and Hamas, I suggest that you do some remedial reading about their perverse, longstanding alliance. Perhaps you are unaware that Netanyahu has promoted Hamas for years, in order to prevent the creation of a functional, unified Palestinian authority, and sabotage a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. How Netanyahu's Hamas policy came back to haunt him — and Israel | CBC News

Matt, If your frontal lobes are still sufficiently functional to maintain focus on relevant facts, I can suggest a number of scholarly books about the history of Palestine and Israel, for your remedial education. Meanwhile, your insinuation that I am "denying the Hamas attacks," or that I "don't care for Israel" is nonsense-- and, frankly, slanderous. You missed the point of my comments about the October 7th attacks and truth being a casualty of war. You also seem to have difficulty understanding that it's possible to be critical of Israel's LIkud Party hawks-- like Netanyahu, Ariel Sharon, and Menachem Begin, for instance -- without condoning Islamic violence against Israel. Nor is criticism of Israeli Likud Party hawks necessarily "anti-Semitic." Many Jewish people are critical of Netanyahu. One of the most accurate recent comments on the subject by an American statesman-- and fellow Harvardian-- was Barack Obama's statement that, "No one has clean hands," in the current Israeli-Palestinian crisis. I share Obama's opinion, as do many informed scholars. Yet, even Obama has been attacked by some Israeli-Americans in the media for having the audacity to make this honest, accurate statement. (Jimmy Carter has also been attacked for his understated attempts to advocate for an equitable two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.) Is Obama correct, or do Israel's Likud Party hawks have 'clean hands," in your opinion? Are you familiar with Menachem Begin's role in the bombing of the King David Hotel? How clean were those 96 Irgun terrorist murders? How "clean" was the Lavon Affair? How clean were Ariel Sharon's mass murders of civilians? How clean is Netanyahu's massacre of women and children in Gaza?

Matt, Do you have a good source about these Hamas "bombs?" As Aeschylus said, "Truth is the first casualty of war." It's difficult to know precisely what has been happening over there since October 6th-- aside from the internationally circulated videos and photos of Gaza being bombed back to the Stone Age. The initial Israeli reports about Hamas beheading babies have been debunked. And, evidently, some of the Israelis killed on October 7th were torched by IDF Hellfire missiles. * The strangest thing of all is that the world's pre-eminent intelligence agency failed to prevent the October 7th attacks-- which have subsequently served as a pretext for Netanyahu's ethnic cleansing of Gaza. Surely, the Mossad must have had intelligence agents infiltrating Hamas in Gaza. It's a head scratcher. ^ American Pravda: War Crimes and Atrocity-Hoaxes in the Israel/Gaza Conflict, by Ron Unz - The Unz Review