Some Logic, Please!

Submitted by Charles Knighton

President Obama was a member of the Choom Gang

The enigmatic intellectual acrobatics of Mr. Paul Kokoski (The right to life, Jan. 27 Advocate) always bemuse. If he is so positive in his belief that life is not only given by God but made in his image as well, what then are we to make of his visceral disgust, so evident in previous letters, for homosexuals, which scientific analysis has confirmed account for about 8 percent of all births? The right to life must include the right to live as one was created.

President Obama’s reelection seems to have deepened the beguilement which so entranced Barbadians when he was first elected, as evidenced by Sir Ronald Sanders in his glowing commentary, “President Obama: The man unveiled”, also appearing in the Jan. 27 Advocate. Prime Minister Stuart recently compared himself to Mr. Obama and I am sure many parents and teachers cite Mr. Obama as a model children should strive to emulate. And why not? Superb oratorical skills, Harvard Law graduate, senator at both state and federal levels, recipient of the Nobel Prize, two-term U.S. president who seems a decent and caring family man.

The Uselessness of Elections for the 99 Percent Everywhere

Submitted by Pachamama

Prime Minister Stuart and President Obama about to face the electorate

Bajans can’t wait to wade into the election euphoria now in its Christmas season in the United States and elsewhere. Not all Bajans though, for there are some of us who, in fact about 50% of us, have consistently NOT voted for either one of the two dominate parties in what are generally called western democracies. But this factoid has never alarmed the protectors of these pernicious political duopolies. We are told that the un-voted don’t count. Moreover, with the possible exception of Australia and a few other countries, where there are civil fines for choosing not to exercise a so-called democratic right, most people everywhere have acted with their feet and the determination that elections are merely window dressing to obscure the operational requirements of fascism as the dominate and underlying system of governance.

The American election system from at least the Reconstruction period has been synonymous with high-tech fraud. It is American which gave us the lexicon for election fraud whether to illegally overthrow a government or to maintain a compliant regime – at home or abroad. They gave us words such as ‘gerrymandering’, ‘redistricting’ and ‘robocalling’. A documentarian has remarked that when the American fossil is dug up our descendants will be left to wonder why so many people were running around talking about democracy when in fact few people benefited from the actions of party political actors operating across epochs. Strictly speaking the United States of America is not even a democracy. But you can’t tell that to the masses of the people who are enthralled by the religiously emotional diatribes of leading Democrats and Republicans. The political science literature tends to consider the American political system as a poliocracy. But very few would be aware of this. And even if they were, would it make a difference? Yet, for over a century the marketing of ‘democracy’ (as a political system) has intentionally misled several generations to view the Anglo-American political constructions as worthy of emulation.

Political Spin Masters: Barbados Advocate and Nation Unite

Austin

By way of an example yesterday I listened to the U.S anticipated Republican nominee Mitt Romney speak to Virginia voters on CNN, in the speech he stated that President Obama has weakened the U.S Navy and cited that the US Navy today has the same “number” of ships as it did in 1917 as why.  Now how in the “HELL” can a logical person compare the U.S Navy’s capabilities in 1917 to that of the U.S Navy in 2012.  One US Aircraft Carrier today carries  5,000 men onboard and enough weaponry to destroy entire nations, just one.  One nuclear submarine has enough weaponry to destroy large chucks of the earth, just one.

This kind of statement I call “Political Spin” and if politics was like Kung-fu folks like Romney would be considered “Shaolin Spin Masters”.  “Spin Masters” bank on the public not fact checking claims as the spin masters distort many realities and truths in favour of political agendas.

Zimbabwe: Spirited Back To Colonial Slavery

Reproduced from The Herald

Gaddafi meeting Obama

Africa has haplessly watched the insanity of NATO in Libya, the AU has passively watched French and English military jets being used as the air force for the rag tag rebels in Libya, and today Africa listens attentively as Westerners say they want to bring humanitarian aid to Libya, a country that owes no debt to anyone, a country whose US$70 billion has been illegally confiscated by Western powers, indeed a country that has been the AU’s major funder for years.

This writer broke in tears listening to a rebel in Libya saying “we built this entire infrastructure with Gaddafi, and we will build it again. We are capable of building our country.” He had been asked by a journalist why he was wantonly shooting at buildings and smashing windows. To me this was a sad sight of a young African being spirited back to colonial domination, being used by Western powers to destroy what took forty years for Libya to build, and totally lacking consciousness over the meaning of national independence.

We have a sad reality where the destructive acts of Libyan rebels are celebrated as freedom fighting; while we are told to ignore the threat the continent is facing by allowing Western war planes to rampage our cities at will. I feel so powerless to stop it, yet so powerful to fight it all. This is a time when one feels like doing anything possible to hit back, anything thinkable or imaginable. This aggression by Westerners can be for long but it won’t be forever. The current African Union is a bunch of cowardly bucolic boofheads totally mesmerised by Western donor funding. They look pretty scared as they seem all determined to avoid angering the Westerners. What an unthinking lot of hopeless traitors!

The Politics Of “Never Again”: The White Backlash In Post-Racial “OBAMA’S America” – How the Evils Of Structural And Institutional Racism Is At The Foundations of Modern Socio-Geopolitics

Submitted by Terence Blackett

“If man hasn’t discovered something that he will die for, he isn’t fit to live.” – Martin Luther King’s Speech in Detroit 23^rd June 1963

 

On June 14^th, 2001, George W. Bush in what was meant to be a snide remark to Swedish PM Goran Perrson (though unaware of television cameras still rolling) facetiously opined – “It’s amazing I won. I was running against peace, prosperity and incumbency.”

Since Bush’s disastrous two-term tenure as president – is anyone really laughing? Where are the LOL’s folks? What did George Bush and his Religious Rights friends do to the American moral landscape – touting the virtues of democracy to the known world while at the same time, living a hypocritical lie immersed in the politics of greed, corruption and destabilization?

As I sat to write this article having imbibed and digested Deepak Chopra’s book – “The Third Jesus”: The Christ We Cannot Ignore, I became even more conscious of how the religious politics and ruminations in American society at this present moment raise sinister challenges which few are truly aware of. Religious voices are muttering everywhere but none of them seem to be making any real sense – especially within the establishment of the Religious Right.

Christianophobia v Islamophobia: Two Sides of the Same Coin – The Misguided Indoctrination of Domineering Fascists Christian Zionism and the Fractious Nature of Islamic Fundamentalists in Stymieing Religious Freedom

Submitted by Terence Blackett

The planet earth is under siege. The ravages of war and conflict precipitate. The colossus of negative political and religious spin ferments as the hearts and minds of men suffers from information fallout fatigue. The time honoured traditions of decadent, myopic socio-religious politics continues to meander through a maze of fractiousness, intolerance, instability and controversy.

Today, Tony Blair’s autobiography hits the book shelves describing his justification for starting the modern-day “CRUSADE” between what he and George Bush* calls radical Islam and Zionist Christianity. Jewry, Islam and Christianity continue to merge and feud at historical crossroads in an apocalyptic battle for supremacy. The sinister forces which have brewed this religious and political alchemy seek to exacerbate a clash of civilizations which will result in a doomsday nuclear holocaust where the embers will burn across the Middle East consuming everything in its path.

But is this blind arrogance on man’s part – or the manipulation of invisible forces outside the reach of cognitive human understanding?

Whatever the reason, moves are afoot to add fuel to that emerging fire, where a few weeks ago, (in the form of a resolution by Republicans in the USA House of Representatives) resolution, H.Res.1553 was tabled which provides unequivocal support for a surgical military strike against Iran according to the Huffington Post.

Commander-In-Chief Barack Obama Poised In History – Avoiding World War III At All Cost

Mother of All Bombs (MOAB)

There has been much debate regarding the role of Israel in initiating an attack against Iran. Israel is part of a military alliance. Tel Aviv is not a prime mover. It does not have a separate and distinct military agenda.

Israel is integrated into the “war plan for major combat operations” against Iran formulated in 2006 by US Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM). In the context of large scale military operations, an uncoordinated unilateral military action by one coalition partner, namely Israel, is from a military and strategic point almost an impossibility. Israel is a de facto member of NATO. Any action by Israel would require a “green light” from Washington.

An attack by Israel could, however, be used as “the trigger mechanism” which would unleash an all out war against Iran, as well retaliation by Iran directed against Israel – Michael Chossudovsky

President Barack Obama’s arrival at the White House signalled hope to many in the USA and around the world. On that unforgettable night his victory speech resonated around the theme ‘Change Has Come To America’. How quickly we have forgotten the emotional scenes which were highlighted by the global media  on the night of 4 November 2008. The fact that he was the first African-American to assume the presidency no doubt made it special given the history of Blacks which is forever embedded in world history.

Almost 2 years later Obama can list of his significant achievements,  the stabilization of the US economy after the Bush handover. When he got to sit in the Oval Office he had inherited an economy which was tottering on the brink of disaster. Although some financial analysts have warned of a double dip on the horizon, most agree there has been stabilization. Obama has reason to list the healthcare legislation which was ramrod through the US legislature. It is not what he wanted (watered down version) but it is an achievement which not even former President Bill Clinton was able to achieve as one of USA most popular presidents. Another proud moment is his success at depositing 2 relatively young women on the bench of the US Supreme Court.  His selections will influence US law agenda for decades to come.

US Poll: Many Still See Obama As Muslim

Submitted by Austin

President Barack Obama

A recent poll in the US reported that 43% of Americans when asked “What is Obama’s religion?” still are unsure, with many still thinking he is a Muslim.  Let me keep it real for a moment, I’m not a betting man but it would not surprised me if we discovered that many of the unsure and still confused about Obama’s religion are those who have not gotten over the nation electing the first African-American President.

Many of these same folks who believe this nonsense of Obama being a Muslim which he has said repeatedly he is not, interestingly enough also blast him for being associated with the controversial Christian Reverend Wright as one of his followers. OK confused people which one is it?

Racism and religious bigotry in the US in recent years has had to find new ways to spew its venom, and from time to time raises it’s ugly head in very creative ways. What is also puzzling to me is that despite religious freedom being a founding principle in the US constitution, somehow its core meaning often gets marginalized.

Thompson, Obama And The Dealing Of Bad Hands

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

Dear Madame Secretary of State, welcome to my beautiful island home. Please convey to your distinguished President our very best wishes for continued good health, wisdom and success in his endeavors to improve the lot of the American people.

In Barbados we have a saying that “So and So like they kill a priest”. What this essentially means is that the person appears to be on the receiving end of a strain of bad luck; brought on as recompense for an act most dastardly. In most instances, however, as is the case with President Obama, the streak of misfortune is not so easily explained and is often times surmised as continuously “pulling a bad hand”.

How else, Madam Secretary, could one explain misfortunes, one after the other, in Mr. Obama’s mere 18 month presidency? History shows that a succession of crises can sink confidence in a leader. Yet, somewhat reassuringly, President Obama prevails. It’s as if he is being put through the hottest fires, to prove his true metal.

Matt Bai, writing in the New York Times of Sunday, June 6^th, commented that President Obama is that rare politician who is also a gifted writer, and that he understands the power of a good metaphor. Bai asserts that Obama could therefore appreciate the poetic significance of that cloud of oil, ubiquitous on cable television all last week, spewing endlessly from a 5, 000-foot-deep puncture in the Gulf of Mexico.

A Question Of Rebalancing The Barbados Economy

Prime Minister of Barbados, David Thompson

President Barack Obama has set tongues wagging by ordering federal agencies to zero in on export promotion, expanding trade-finance opportunities for small- and medium-sized businesses, and moving to overhaul an outdated export-control system. The US economy remains the world’s largest but the global recession which was engineered by the stupidity on Wall Street continues to be an albatross. The initiative by the Obama  Administration to double exports in five years will require a reformatting of the relationship with China. Obama has called for China to move to a more market-based currency as part of the Group of 20′s drive to rebalance the world economy.

During his confirmation hearing last year Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner signalled a more confrontational approach toward China, bluntly stating that the new administration thinks Beijing is “manipulating” its currency and it will act “aggressively” using “all the diplomatic avenues” to change China’s currency practices. It will be interesting to watch the response of China to the pressure from Washington to label it a currency manipulator. According to a report in the Financial Times the USA will announce its position on this matter April 15.

President Obama seems to be serious in his dream to rebalance the US economy. The US Department of Energy granted a US$1.37 billion loan guarantee to Brightsource Energy last week which could help clear the way for over 15 gigawatts of solar thermal power projects in California. It seems Obama’s failure to introduce the healthcare reform he envisioned on the political campaign has spurred him to focus on some other more relatively achievable objectives. Whether Obama succeeds to rebalance the US economy it is interesting to note he sees the need to do so.

Former President Jimmy Carter Fingers The USA For Racism

Less than one year after the world basked in the euphoria of the USA electing a Black President, it now confronts the spectre of racism rearing its head across the country. BU has read with interest the Obama taunts of the cartoonists, Rush Limbaugh and his wide right wing buffoons et al vitriolic behaviour. What about the gross disrespect shown by a congressman Joe Wilson to President Barack Obama as he addressed  a joint session of Congress last week? How can we ignore the extreme reaction of America to President Obama’s Healthcare Plan? Let us not forget the tea part protest by a group of Americans who believe President Obama is turning America towards socialism.

What has provoked such extreme and hysterical behaviour on the part of Americans?

So Much Like America!!

Hartley Henry - DLP Political Strategist

News top lines on leading United States television networks this past week brought home quite forcibly the similarities of the latter day Barbados and America experience. Take for example, the fight by Democrats to upgrade and modernize national health services. It is costing a pretty penny and there are questions as to whether the timing is right, given the reality of the global economic meltdown. Nonetheless the importance and necessity of the reforms cannot be questioned.

While Democrats are closing ranks and signing onto the bigger picture, inspite of individual misgivings, Republicans are opposing for reasons yet to be outlined. No opposition spokesperson has as yet advanced a reasoned argument as to why health reforms should not be pursued, but what is clear is that those who sit across from Obama and his colleagues on the government benches will not support the measure in any form. Sounds familiar?

I visited South Florida two weeks ago and the price of regular fuel at the pump was about US$2.37 a gallon. Monday of this week, fuel at the pump in South Florida was US$2.56 a gallon at the same stations. Local authorities made clear that they could not absorb fluctuating movements in the price of crude and by extension, fuel. They advanced the theory that it was more prudent at this point to institute a flexible pricing structure where daily movements are reflected in the price to the consumer. The plausibility of this theory is borne out in the fact that Tuesday of this week, the price for a barrel of crude had soared to US$74 a barrel and projections were that it would continue to climb.

The Race Card

Barbados Underground (BU) is thankful for all the complaining we hear about our blog because it means we have freedom of speech. Thanks to Nancie .J Carmody who made the following quote famous: “I am thankful for all the complaining I hear about our government because it means we have freedom of speech.”

The evergreen race debate like immigration, homosexuality and topics of this tenor which BU is driven to blog about will always evoke passion. It is the nature of the beast. How can we debate the issue of race in a manner which is acceptable given the strong views likely to be provoked? The fact that we have people from different backgrounds whether influenced by race, education, socialization among other factors will make the race dialogue interesting.

BU finds it difficult for a Black person to be accused of being racist. It is our belief the word racist is often used interchangeable for ‘bigot’ or ‘prejudice’ by some. The BU household is always willing to learn from the BU family and welcomes feedback on our position.