Jacob's Politics

Claustrophobia - A new definition?

2009-07-04T05:38:00.000+02:00

(Posted on all my major blogs.)

Ever since the age of 12 or 13, when an uncle of mine taught me the art of relaxation using artificial stress inducement, I have never had a problem of going to sleep. Before my head is settled in the pillow, I am fast asleep. I do not wake up at night and toss and turn. I nod off as soon as the reason for waking up is attended to. I hardly ever dream. Sit in a car with a safe driver, and I can drop off into neverland within a couple of minutes.

I usually wake up fully relaxed, even if the sleep lasted only a few minutes.

I came back from the hospital on Thursday afternoon with my left hand in plaster from the forearm till the tips of my finger. The operation to repair the knuckle of my fourth finger in my left hand had been successful, but it meant that my arm would be in this plaster-cast for 5 weeks. Plenty of painkillers and a course of antibiotic for 5 days, so no real problem of pain.

When I went to bed on Thursday evening, I thought I was going to sleep in my usual fashion. However, when my head hit the pillow, and as recommended, I put my plastered arm in a suitable and comfortable position on a couple of raised pillows, I felt a tremendous and overpowering feeling of restlessness. Sleep was just not coming in the next few minutes. Each passing second was raising an anxiety within me. I was feeling claustrophobic, even though, bodily, I was not in any confined situation.

Then it dawned on me that my mind was reacting to the fact that my left hand had lost its freedom. It was caged, and the stress relaxation technique, which I have used for over 50 years to drop into my slumber, was blocked by an overpowering feeling of fear. My fingers and wrist had lost their freedom. They were confined and this feeling of confinement was causing my mind to say that I was totally confined. And the realisation that I would have to endure this confinement for 5 more weeks was mentally unbearable.

I jumped out of bed, feeling as if I could not stay put down. I walked into the kitchen and expressed my claustrophobic thoughts to Annikki.

She was cool and calm and told me that I should take each day as it came, and the 5 weeks would be over even before I knew it.

I went to the living room and plonked down in front of the tv, but my heart and soul were not into watching any of the programmes. I let tiredness possess me so much so that I allowed my body to react to a mentally created feeling of a body becoming tired. Then when I went to bed, it was not my relaxation that put me to sleep, but a feeling of great tiredness - quite different to my normal situation.

As soon as Annikki came to bed, I put my plastered arm around her, and that claustrophobic feeling suddenly lifted and I dropped quickly into my normal deep slumber.

When I woke up in the morning, although relaxed, I still had that feeling at the back of my mind that I was a caged person. My n degrees of freedom had been severely curtailed. I now understood how anyone who loses any degree of freedom, mental or physical, could suddenly feel claustrophobic.

In all my life I had never experienced this. It was indeed a major revelation to me about the sufferings of my fellow travellers on this earth who had lost their freedom, any part of it.

I will be glad when this hand is uncaged. I will value all the degrees of freedom that I enjoy much much more than I ever have! And I will appreciate the feelings of other men and women, and any animal, who are caged in any form.

I was certainly wrong

2009-05-16T11:48:00.000+02:00

(Also posted on Jacob's Blog and the Kooler Talk Blogs.)

I now realise how divorced I am from Indian Politics and especially the mentality of the Indian people.

This was just in:

Only a few results have been confirmed so far - they included a win for former UN diplomat Shashi Tharoor for Congress in Kerala's capital, Trivandrum.

In the old days, an outsider would never have got in this easily as Shashi did. I remember how K. T. Chandy, who had been Chairman of Hindustan Lever, tried and failed to get into Kerala Politics in the Seventies. He was called a "foreigner" by the Keralites!!

I do hope this change also ushers in a new form of Government, especially in Kerala, where the school final failed party members have dominated the Government.

Also the antiques who have dominated Kerala Politics for a couple of decades should now call it a day.

My suspicions now fully confirmed

2009-05-14T11:07:00.001+02:00

(Also posted on Jacob's Blog.)

When everybody was raving about Obama for President, I kept quiet, as I knew that he would sway with the powerful tide on several major matters. I kept up my support for Dennis Kucinich, as he was the only candidate which did not move from his committed policies.

Obama did not even bother to give this man a chance in his Government to show what could be done in the interest of peace.

I did not have to wait long to see what I believed would happen.

Obama's strategy in Iraq remains the same - keep forces there as long as possible. Give a picture of withdrawal when there is none. An image for the masses.

In Afghanistan, not only has he increased troop numbers, but he continues the policy of Bush. Obama's policy is even worse that that followed by Bush - increase forces and keep on killing innocent women and children as part of collateral damage!

Did you vote for CHANGE?

Now comes the latest - that the photographs of American forces abusing prisoners will not be released as "it would antagonize the enemy".

Any different from Abu Ghraib where it was leaked photographs that exposed the American behaviour!?

Obama, Any different from Bush.

Come on, Congressman Dennis - please speak up NOW.

Where am I going? What am I doing?

2009-03-31T21:56:00.001+02:00

(Also posted on all my major blogs.)

Ubi does not believe that I have writer's block. Naval is meticulously letting me of intrusions into my own cyberspace. People are calling me and telling me they are my fans!

And what am I doing?

With the explosion of networking sites - LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Orkut, Plaxo Pulse, My World in Flock, all my blogs, Google Groups, a plethora of calendars, I am getting terribly lost in Cyberspace.

Where should I do first thing in the morning? Which place should I update first to reach the widest spread of my audience. 80000 people worldwide is quite a reach!

What should I write about? Politics, the economy, nostalgic thoughts about school and college, life in Finland?

There certainly is an inexhaustible list of topics.

It is this explosion which is numbing my mind. Everything I want to do seems to be the wrong step - or is it the right step?

I am searching for someone out there with experience to guide me - but it appears that when you are the trend setter . no one wants to proffer their advice!

So I will have to work this out by myself.

All of you out there will continue to get angry with me as no one is satisfied going to a site which just refuses to be updated!

Maybe tomorrow morning the answer will hit me - but maybe not!!!

Happy 90th birthday, Nelson Mandela

2008-07-18T04:13:00.001+02:00

Happy 90th birthday to the world's greatest politician, leader EVER - Nelson Mandela. May he have very many more.

Copyright: Photograph from Dismantling Apartheid

He has taught mankind through his sincerity to his cause - the people of Africa.

Thank you Nelson Mandela.

Hopefully back on line

2008-03-26T23:00:00.001+02:00

(Posted on all my major blogs)

Yesterday, after some 33 days of being without my internet connection, I was put back on line. Several errors were found at the connections outside our premises and also in the Gateway.

The first thing I did after getting back my connection was test my speed. I pay for a 8 M line, but I was shocked to find my upload and download speeds were less than 500 kbps.

Additionally, I have a fixed IP and I found that the IP that I was using was not mine.

Thirdly, all my computers are connected to the internet through a Router. i found that if I went on to connect my router, I lost the internet connection.

Lastly, during the last 7 years I have used DHCP to connect to the internet. I have not used PPPoE. I found that I was unable to connect using DHCP and my own Fixed IP but only through the PPPoE which was assigning me the random IP.

All these problems has made life continue to be difficult as I am using just a single computer to connect to the internet.

I have a backload of about 6 weeks of work. With this situation I will only be able to catch up by the end of April.

I have lodged my complaint with my ISP .- and hopefully I will get some action by the end of this week.

Please bear with me till I get back into full swing.

BBC, why this CENSORSHIP?

2008-01-01T23:00:00.000+02:00

There are many theories about why Benazir Bhutto was assassinated. The most prominent was that she was just about to reveal how Pervez Musharaff, the illegal pResident of Pakistan, had organised to steal the up-coming election.

There is one theory however which implicates the Western Powers and its complicit midia rather than Musharaff.

In an interview on 2nd November 2007 with Sir David Frost aired on the Al Jazeera TV network, Benazir Bhutto, almost as an aside of something well known, states that one of the persons implicated in trying to assassinate her was the MAN WHO MURDERED Osama bin Laden.

Not a single major western media source picked up this statement and ran with it.

Of this were true, then the entire “War on Terror” of which Osama bin Laden is the centrepiece just evaporates and the whole Western attack on Afghanistan and Iraq just is meaningless.

What the hell is the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation _ NATO, doing outside its sphere of influence?

The entire western political spin has been about Osama bin Laden. And here is Benazir Bhutto stating in an interview with the world’s most renowned interviewer, Sir David Frost, that Osama is no more - and not one major news service picks it up.

BBC even went to the extent of editing this out of what they aired!

Why?

Conference Call, Democratic Underground Forum, Impeachment

2007-11-06T11:16:00.000+02:00

It is rare that I mix a political entry on our Jacob’s Blog as I usually reserve it for my Jacob’s Politics Blog.

Dennis Kucinich with his English wife, Elizabeth.

Today is different as Democrat Congressman Dennis Kucinich is presenting a privileged resolution, HR 333, in the US House of Representatives to impeach Dick Cheney. He has 21 co-sponsors. It is likely that besides the Republicans, most Democrat Congressman will throw their oath to uphold the US Constitution to the winds and not support this outstanding Congressman in his effort to save America and the world from a couple of madmen and their cohorts.

In a Conference Call today which was packed out to such an extend that even top Talk Show Host, Peter B. Collins, was unable to enter into the proceedings, Dennis Kucinich showed that even though his fellow Democrats may sabotage HR 333, he has many steps up his sleeve so as to keep this on the table and that it could also lead to his steps to Impeach Bush.

It was amazing that Senator Bernie Sanders, the Independent Senator from Vermont, was worried about what Bill O'Riley would say about impeachment rather than his constitutional responsibility. This is not a question about votes but following ones constitutional obligations.

Dennis Kucinich and his band of 21 are showing the way ahead.

In a straw poll that the Talk Show Host, Thom Hartman did on his programme at the end of last week, he held a rapid fire 10 minute caller poll and out of 73 callers, 41 supported John Edwards, 21 supported Dennis Kucinich, 7 supported Barrack Obama. there was 1 for each of Hilary Clinton, Chris Dodd, Bill Richardson and none for Joe Biden and Mike Gravel. One voted for Al Gore, even though Al Gore was not on the list.

Everyone thinks that Dennis Kucinich is not a serious contender for the post of US President. That is because the Corporate Lobby which provides 90% of the funding for Presidential Candidates and the Main Stream Media, which is owned by these Corporates, do not want to tell the Public of the tremendous grass roots supports that Dennis Kucinich enjoys.

Over the last six months, ever major Liberal Talk Show Host has been screaming that Dennis Kucinich is the only credible Presidential candidate who has stood consistently and in every respect against the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq and has promised to bring the troops home within 3 months of his Presidency.

Every vote he has made and every speech has given is consistent with this stand. There has been no flip-flopping, like every other Presidential Candidate, who are time servers and sycophants to their funding sources.

Democratic Underground (DU) is the largest forum the Democrat intelligentsia base. They have over 110000 committed Democrats who take part on this forum with over 32 million postings since 2001.

I am a registered member to this forum where I air my ideas and thoughts and take part in all things which non-subscribers are permitted to do, including partake in the various polls that frequently come on line.

Thursday before last, one of the members put up a poll regarding whom the members thought should be the Democrat Presidential candidate. In the media Hillary Clinton is the front runner with Barrack Obaam and John Edwards following close behind. This is in keeping with how much money they have raised (which translates to the media in their potential advertising earnings) from their Corporate base.

From the very beginning of this DU poll, Dennis Kucinich, who has just 1 to 2 % in media run polls, pulled away with 36% with his closest rival being John Edwards with 31%. As the poll went on this ratio did not change.

After almost a week of polling, with one of the highest polling rates in all DU Polls the final standing was as shown in the screen shot below.

I tracked the polls from the very beginning, but only stared taking the screen shots when over 900 votes were cast and the results show that Dennis Kucinich is the choice of the educated and informed Democrat.

I have been a Dennis Kucinich supporter because he is only one I can trust. He is the only one who can bring back the US from being a banana republic into the group of civilised nations who believe in the rule of law, international peace, diplomacy and true democracy, not Corporatocracy which is just short of fascism.

Trials and Tribulations of Riverbend

2007-10-27T10:23:00.001+02:00

For those of use who have been following what was happening in Iraq through the writings of the Girl Blogger from Baghdad, also known as Riverbend, the decision she and her family made in April 2007 to quit Iraq was good and bad news.

Good news, if this courageous lady was able to reach safety. Bad news, as we would stop receiving the real story of common people in Iraq and their day-to-day sufferings.

On September 6th 2007, Riverbend updated her blog to tell how she and her family had crossed over into Syria. She ended her blog with this note:

"I wonder at how the windows don’t rattle as the planes pass overhead. I’m trying to rid myself of the expectation that armed people in black will break through the door and into our lives. I’m trying to let my eyes grow accustomed to streets free of road blocks, hummers and pictures of Muqtada and the rest..."

Life has not been easy in Syria as they live on a hour-by-hour basis. On October 22nd 2007, Riverbend described the sad and sorry choice of having to go through a "leave and re-entry process" so as to get an extra couple of months of safety in their lives.

How long is this charade going to last before the Iraqis can get control of their lives so as live in peace without foreign forces tearing apart their nation, especially the Americans in their greed for OIL.?

Our hearts bleed for Riverbend and all Iraqis who are suffering this turmoil, over 4 million of them!

Blogged with Flock

Through the eyes of an Arab Israeli Human Rights Activist

2007-10-03T14:15:00.000+02:00

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, Jacob's Politics Blog, the Move The UN Blog, and the Liberal Talk Show Ratings Blog.

Yesterday, Tuesday 2.10.2007, between 18:00 and 20:00 hours, at the Kirjakahvila Nispero, Pakkahuoneenkatu 5, Oulu, owned by Jarmo Stoor and his wife, I had the privilege and honour to listen to Israeli Palestinian Human Right Activist Najib Abu Rokaya from the B´Tselem Human Rights Group. This is the Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories which was established in 1989 by a group of prominent academics, attorneys, journalists, and Knesset members.

How would it feel if you got married to the person you love and are then told by your "Democratic" Government that you cannot bring your partner to your country but have to move away to another country where your partner lives and also give up your natural citizenship?

This is what happens in Palestine AND ALSO in Israel when it concerns Arab Israeli citizens!

No wonder that former US President Jimmy Carter addressed the present situation in Israel as being akin to the Apartheid that was prevalent in White South Africa!

But I digress.

Najib knows the effects of the Middle East conflict on the day to day life of those who live under it. His expertise has been used by the BBC (among others) in reporting on the situation there.

Najib Abu Rokaya is an Israeli Arab. He was one of the Palestinians who during the 1948 Arab-Israeli War stayed behind the green line (the internationally accepted border at the time between Israel and the planned Palestinian government) of what was to become the State of Israel. Today those Palestinians form about 18% of Israel's population.

Najib is a human asset in the position of Arabs inside Israel from his understanding of the law and personal experiences. He operates inside the internationally respected Israeli human rights group, B'Tselem.

The primary purpose of the group is to monitor the Israeli Army, Israeli governmental institutions and illegal West-Bank settlements in Palestinian areas. B'Tselem addresses its public reports to the Israeli political leadership as well as the general public.

Najib is the fieldwork coordinator of B'Tselem. Due to his position in B'Tselem and previous political activities, Najib has intimate details about the Arab minority question and the
current situation of the Israel/Palestinian conflict.

In his talk he started by drawing attention to the fact that the move to set up the State of Israel began as far back as 1890 and one of the locations suggested was Uganda! However, after the holocaust and World War II the United Nations gave Israel around 54% of Palestine.

After the various wars this increased to 70+% but when one considers the situation on the ground in Israel, Israel controls 100% of the territory.

However, clever politicking by Israeli "peace-brokers" and a feeling of absolute uselessness of the ability to stand and fight by the people of Palestine, Israel has transferred the international obligations of "the Occupier" on the Palestinians while continuing to occupy the whole territory.

As was rather strongly put by Najib, the Oslo Agreement was b------t! All it contained were paras which were to occur "God Willing", or in Arabisc "Inshallah"!

The wall / fence which has been built by Israel between "Palestine West Bank territory" on Palestinian land is another example of Israel usurping territory under the guise of "Security". The real border is about 320 km. But the wall / fence is over 700 km in length. Administration of the lands ursurped by the Israelis under this excuse is being integrated by a series of measures which makes it almost impossible for the Palestinians to even look after their own lands!

The absolute stranglehold by Israel over the Gaza is another example of how cleverly Israeli transferred "the obligations" onto the Palestinian Government while ensuring that they had absolutely no way of meeting those obligations.

There are two sides to every coin.

Najib was able, as an Arab Israeli, to put before the audience the side of not only the Palestinians living in "their" land of Palestine and of Arab Israelis, but also the 4 million refugees which have been packaged out of their land by this never ending conflict, most of whom are today stateless!

The stories given by Najib of the trigger-happy methods of the Israeli forces who have been ordered "not to take prisoners" as they infiltrate and murder the Palestinians was heart rending.

That is the other side of the story which is never told by the western media as the it has always been the Palestinians who have been accused of suicide bombings!

The Palestinians of all shades live in hope that they will once again be able to live in peace in their land. But it suits Israel to have a state of chaos prevailing as that way they will be able to draw on their superior public media presentation skills to highlight the Palestinians as the aggressors while they continue to enjoy and expand their hold of entire Palestine!

Many thanks to this outstanding personality for sharing his thoughts with us in Oulu.

Has the US already reached the Fascist Stage?

2007-09-27T07:50:00.000+02:00

Posted on my Jacob's Blog, Jacob's Politics Blog, the Talk Show Ratings Blog and the Move the UN Blog.

Mike Malloy continues to head my ratings of Liberal Talk Show Hosts. Mike lives near Atlanta in Georgia and he and his wife, Kathy Bay, who is the Executive Producer of his show, put together their show every morning which airs on NovaM Radio, a liberal radio station from Phoenix, Arizona. I listen to him live, online, over the internet. Besides being a great host, Kathy is an outstanding producer, and boy, is she quick with suitable music and her comments.

I get up at 4 am every morning from Tuesday to Saturday to listen to Mike, as not only does he have a different view point from any other Talk Show Host, but in my seven years of listening to him, I have found him to be honest and in pursuit of the TRUTH.

His listeners are known as the TRUTHSEEKERS!

Many of us get together on the Democratic Underground Forum to share the experience of listening to Mike. It is a great community.

One caller to Mike's show today from New York really set my mind thinking.

Mike has been saying that America has already reached the Fascist State. Many disagree with him.

The caller said that, at this time of the year, there are many dignitaries attending the UN General Assembly, so security is normally at a height. However, what he experienced earlier this evening was totally unexpected.

The caller lives in a small suburban area of the New York where, in the back street, there is a good small restaurant. He had gone out for a walk in the evening. On his way home, several black limousines pulled up outside the restaurant.

Out of the last car jumped out several men in full riot gear, fully armed. They stepped all pedestrians even crossing the street. The people had to wait a full 10 minutes till the dignitary emerged from the car and was safely seated in the restaurant!

Does this happen in a democratic society?

I sincerely do not believe it can - not in any Scandinavian country.

Remember the killing of Olof Palme over 20 years ago. On February 28, 1986, the Swedish Prime Minister, leader of the Social Democratic Party was gunned down on a Stockholm street home from a cinema with his wife, Lisbet. as he and his wife were walking on the streets of Stockholm without any security personnel?

Has any such procedure as described by the New York caller been put into operation in any part of Sweden? NO!

I now tend to agree with Mike that the US, led by an imbecile, has entered the final phase of a Fascist State.

As another caller said, on Mike's show, that as she was at an US Airport with her toddler, there was an announcement that the day's terrorism alert was ORANGE and she and her toddler had to go through security checks where even the toddler had to remove his shoes for checking.

Fear Rules the US - and that is what Fascism is about!

Turncoats in unexpected places

2007-09-25T22:45:00.000+02:00

Posted on Jacob's Politics and Talk Show Ratings.

Over the last four days I have heard what I always thought was the truth behind the political unsaid stand of certain individuals. I could not prove it till yesterday. Now it is time to share the facts with you.

General Wesley Clark.

When General Wesley Clark stood as a Democratic candidate to get the nomination for the 2004 presidential election, I was eager to see what were his views. There was one over-riding factor which was his stand. The American Army is composed of the greatest men that America has to offer.

I queried him, by email, several times on that.

He never provided me an answer. He was unable to say how this Army had lost almost every battle it had entered into! He was so blinded by his loyalty to his army, he was unable to see beyond the tip of nose. This Army has been and is led by a bunch of sycophants. The US army has been third rate as it has been and is run by third rate politically ambitious Generals.

This is the same Army that had run with its tail between its legs from Vietnam, it had run from Lebanon, it had run from Somalia and now it was causing an immense problem in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has been hammered out of existence almost everywhere it has shown its toothless open mouth.

It is easy for General Clark to spin all this problem on to the political leaders. However, if there are Generals in a well run Army, who know what they are supposed to do, then such situations would never arise.

As General Clark says in the Washington Post Op-Ed on 16th September "The Next War":

Any future U.S. wars will undoubtedly be shaped by the experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan, however painful that might be. Every military refights the last war, but good militaries learn lessons from the past. We'd better get them right, and soon. Here, the lesson from Iraq and Afghanistan couldn't be more clear: Don't ever, ever go to war unless you can describe and create a more desirable end state. And doing so takes a whole lot more than just the use of force.

[...]

In Iraq, President Bush approved war-fighting plans that hadn't incorporated any of the vital 1990s lessons from Haiti, Bosnia or Kosovo; worse, then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld fought doing so. Nation-building, however ideologically repulsive some may find it, is a capability that a superpower sometimes needs.

At the same time, the United States' top generals must understand that their duty is to win, not just to get along. They must have the insight and character to demand the resources necessary to succeed -- and have the guts to either obtain what they need or to resign. If they get their way and still don't emerge victorious, they must be replaced. That is the lot they accepted when they pinned on those four shiny silver stars.

Above all else, we Americans must understand that the goal of war is to achieve a specific purpose for the nation. In this respect, the military is simply a tool of statecraft, one that must work in tandem with diplomacy, economic suasion, intelligence and other instruments of U.S. power. How tragic it is to see old men who are unwilling to talk to potential adversaries but seem so ready to dispatch young people to fight and die.

So, steady as we go. We need to tweak our force structure, hone our leadership and learn everything we can about how to do everything better. But the big lesson is simply this: War is the last, last, last resort. It always brings tragedy and rarely brings glory. Take it from a general who won: The best war is the one that doesn't have to be fought, and the best military is the one capable and versatile enough to deter the next war in the first place.

We all know of the situation in 1962 when the then Defence Minister of India, Mr. V. K. Krishna Menon, had earlier put his war machinery to work building Expresso Coffee Machines in the Indian Ordinance Factories.

When the Chinese invaded, the Indian Army was routed.

The Generals who were serving their political masters had gone along with the policy which was to get another star on their shoulders rather than look at the best interests of the country!

So, when the US illegally invaded Iraq, the Generals who were worth their salt were left out of the equation. Those who strung along with the political policy, third rate Army Officers who had only got their stars because of the kowtowing with the politicians, were left to handle a war and its aftermath - something they were least capable of doing.

I was listening to the programme "Sam Seder on Sunday", a liberal Talk Show which runs on Air America Radio. His guest last Sunday was General Clark. As a forward to the interview, Sam was upbeat that General Clark would out the policy about the intentions to invade Iraq as being foolish, unwise, not good military science, etc. He was very expectant what General Clark would say about the politicised behaviour of General Petraeus.

General Clark, in quite nonmilitary behaviour, turned up late for the interview (with no apology) and within a few short minutes it became evident that the interview was not leading in the right direction as was obliging to the wishes of the US and Iraqi people.

First of all he indicated that the Saudis were arming the Sunni population in parts of Iraq. This he did not condemn. Then he went on to say that the major problem in Iraq was the Iranian interference.

His explanation was that the Iranians were providing health care to the Iraqis, providing electricity and clean water, and even educating Iraqis in the Universities in Iran.

To General Clark - this was the problem!

Something that the American Army could not do.

Here was a General pushing for war against a country which was helping to stablise the region in which THEY LIVE!

And to General Clark THIS WAS THE PROBLEM!

He was prepared to keep the US Army in the region indefinitely so as to ensure the resources of the region .- OIL!

This to me showed that this General, who had just a few days earlier come out in support of Hilary Clinton as the Democrat candidate for the next Presidential election, was laying the ground for the Defence Policy of this candidate in which he would either be the Vice Presidential candidate or be included as the Secretary of State or Defence.

It is important to remember that in 2004 the Clintons endorsed General Clark as the candidate for President, which nomination he lost to John Kerry. So this time, General Clark was putting his fortunes where he would be assured of his place in the Government.

To give Sam Seder his due, as he is not a particularly good Talk Show Host, for various reasons I have highlighted earlier on the my Talk Show Blog, he sensed something strange was going on.

But he just could not believe his ears. He wanted to go through the transcripts to analyse the words the General had used before he came to a conclusion as to where this was leading.

In keeping with this strategy, Hilary appeared on five Sunday Morning TV programmes. It was obvious that the campaign was going into full gear to throw the other Democratic candidates off balance as she stood for her beliefs and her war promotion strategy in keeping with the views of General Clark.

On Monday, Bill Clinton started to use the "fall out strategy". He used his goodwill standing with African leaders to get them to endorse Hilary as the next Presidential candidate by getting them to use their "social English" well wishing as international endorsement of Hilary!

And late on Monday, pResident Bush gave the mightiest blow of all, saying that he wanted Hilary to be the next Democratic party candidate so that the Republicans would win against her.

His endorsement of Hilary was given with the full consent of the Republican caucus as all of them know that no Republican can win this 2008 Presidential election with the Almighty Mess there is in Iraq and Afghanistan. Hence, they want an acceptable face in the White House who will cover their backside, and the only one who would be prepared to do that would be the Hilary / General Clark combination!

Bill Clinton was never a Democrat!

Any of you who listen to the top Liberal Talk Show Host in the US, Mike Malloy, will know that he has repeated this time and time again. And the agenda to carry on the Clinton / Bush hierarchy for another 8 years is tempting beyond all commitment to the Democratic Party!

Mandela dead? So says world's greatest ignoramus!

2007-09-21T11:45:00.000+02:00

Posted on my Jacob's Blog and my Jacob's Politics Blog.

Yesterday, George Bush, who was "elected" twice to the post of US pResident, stated that all the Mandelas were dead as Saddam Hussain had killed them all!

Referring to former South African president Nelson Mandela, who led the fight against apartheid to become a symbol of reconciliation and hope, Bush said of Iraq: "I heard somebody say, 'Now where's Mandela?'"

Is Nelson waiting for the Bush goons to disappear him in Guantanamo?
(Image copyright acknowledged.)

"Well, Mandela is dead. Because Saddam Hussein killed all the Mandelas."

I am glad to refute this as Nelson Mandela is fit and well and so is his former wife, Winnie Mandela, as well as his present wife Graça Machel née Simbine, widow of Samora Machel. His mental agility remains focused on solving the problems of the world. The number one problem must be this idiot in the US White House!

Only stupid and ignorant people can elect a man like this, twice, to rule them. They get what they deserve and as he happily organises to kill more of them, his base, which includes a large number in the American House and Senate, cheer him on and continue to give this war criminal their tax money to murder their relatives and lots of innocent people in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Now they are following his drum beat to start a shock and awe campaign against another country, Iran, and a programme to try and kill another lot of innocent poeople. He is not satisfied with the blood of a million innocent Iraqis on his hands.

Bush has said that he does not read newspapers but relies on people to brief him.

Wonder who briefed him that Nelson Mandela was dead?

Must be the same intelligence officers in the US who told him that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq!

Fake Sheik...

2007-09-18T07:00:00.000+02:00

Greg Palast gives the background of the marvellous work of investigative reporters and cameraman Rick Rowley and Dave Enders in his exposure of the "Fake Sheik" that shook the hand of George Bush and was then "terminated".

Greg Palast: Bush's Fake Sheik Whacked: The Surge and the Al Qaeda Bunny is a special investigative report from inside Iraq which is a MUST READ!

"Here's what you need to know that NPR won't tell you:
Sheik Abu Risha wasn't a sheik.

He wasn't killed by Al Qaeda.

The new alliance with former insurgents in Anbar is as fake as the sheik -- and a murderous deceit."

More....

"The sheik wasn't a sheik. He was a fake. While proclaiming to Rick that he was "the leader of all the Iraqi tribes," Abu led no one. But for a reported sum in millions in cash for so-called "reconstruction contracts," Abu Risha was willing to say he was Napoleon and Julius Caeser and do the hand-shake thing with Bush on camera."

More...

But why should we complain as the (fingers stuck in ears, blindfolded monkeys) US taxpayers are being screwed by their Administration and their non-professional and politically compliant "army". Let them pay with their money and their lives if they are not going to fight to end their illegal invasion and occupation!

One more reason to Move The UN

2007-09-17T20:15:00.000+02:00

One of the Republican candidates for the President of the US called on the UN to bar the President of Iran from addressing the UN next week.

Romney Calls On U.N. to Bar Iranian President By Michael Luo

Mitt Romney, a Republican presidential candidate, is sending a letter to the United Nations Secretary General tomorrow, calling for him to bar Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad from addressing the General Assembly next week and instead hand him an indictment under the Genocide Convention. More...

The person who should be barred from addressing the UN is the War Criminal, George Bush, pResident of the US!

Is this a surprise?

2007-09-16T11:45:00.000+02:00

Tomorrow will see the release of the memoirs of Alan Greenspan, a Republican, who for 18 years was at the helm of the US Federal Reserve.

His attack on the policies of George Bush is barbed.

In the book he exposes what we all know.

THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF IRAQ WAS ABOUT OIL!

In the book he says:"I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil."

The British and American Governments have insisted that the war had nothing to do with OIL.

The lies are finally exposed by a man who served Bush in the most powerful of positions.

It is time to bring these lying killers to justice by trying Bush, Cheney and Blair for WAR CRIMES.

Next US President, your action please

2007-09-15T16:30:00.001+02:00

Posted on my Jacob's Blog and Jacob's Politics Blog.

Please ask your American friends who have a vote to support this man for the post of the next US President.

Please watch this video till the end to know what is the real character of this amazing individual.

Dennis Kucinich won the Gandhi Peace Prize, has stood firmly against the invasion of Iraq from Day 1. He stands for a Department for Peace (not WAR).

On almost every major Liberal Talk Show, whenever there has been a straw poll amongst the listeners, Dennis Kucinich has topped all others.

But the Main Stream Media continues to discard him as they want their man in the White House who will promote WAR, not PEACE.

Almost every major Liberal Talk Show Host thinks Dennis Kucinch is the outstanding candidate for the post of President.

In a poll yesterday online, when asked who the readers wanted as the next US President, 54% voted for Dennis Kucinich. The next person trailed by over 30 percentage points.

70% of Americans are against the illegal invasion and occupation of Iraq. Over 90% of Iraqis are against the invasion and occupation of their country. Over 80% of the population of the world are against this form of unilateral action by the US in destroying another country and its people.

You can help shape the world by putting yourself forward to get the President of the US that the world needs.

Betrayal of Trust of the American People

2007-09-15T13:50:00.000+02:00

Posted on my Jacob's Politics Blog and Jacob's Blog.

This ad which will be aired in the US on Monday places the issue before the American people.

All we around the world can hope and pray for is the citizens of America will get rid of their, the Iraqi and our nightmare.

Philosophy behind my multiple entry blogging

2007-09-03T19:31:00.001+02:00

Posted on Jacob's Blog, the Oulu Best Buy Blog, the Oulu CHAFF Blog, the Cathedralite Seventh Heaven Blog, the Stephanian Kooler Talk Blog, the Jacob's Politics Blog, the Move the UN Blog, and the Talk Show Ratings Blog.

Many diverse groups of people with multiple interests are reading my blogs.

Some of you are reading more than one of my blogs.

It is very annoying to see the same posting on more than one blog.

I apologise.

I have, therefore, to introduce a strategy till such time as I can get all or most of my 120 000+ readers to install a policy of being updated whenever there is a new blog entry on the blogs of their specific interest.

If they do this registration, then I need only post any entry to a single blog. The blog info service should inform you if that particular blog has been updated.

If you subscribe to getting this info for three blogs, then I need not post an entry to all three blogs!

Till the recording service is fully operational, at the top of each entry I will include a list of the other blogs that the entry will be found.

For instance, this entry will be found on ALL my blogs.

If any of you have a better solution, I am all ears.

Remember, I am a computer idiot and know nothing about the art of designing things for the computer. :-) That's because I use a Mac!

Jacob's Blog

2007-08-12T03:24:00.001+02:00

Media driven DEMOCRACY?

2007-07-11T08:45:00.000+02:00

I posted this on The Washington Note in commenting on the entry "McCain Shakes Up and Giuliani Goes Off the Deep End":

The scarier part is not what Giuliani or anyone with such radical ideas says but that the media gives them full play of their space and time while giving people like Dennis Kucinich short shrift.

It is the media which is pushing the agenda (like the invasion of Iraq) - not what the candidates stand for!

And THAT is the fallacy of the US election system which is a far cry from DEMOCRACY!

Posted by Jacob Matthan at July 11, 2007 12:12 AM

American Style Democracy - certainly not for me!

Words, words, words...

2007-05-10T06:45:00.000+02:00

This comment was posted by me on The Washington Note.

Words, words, words...

How will it affect the use of vetos, votes concerning Israel regardless, issues regarding the visa policies of persona non grata attending the UN forum, stands on illegal invasion and occupation, actions against states violating international treaties, etc.,

Only when the UN is moved out of the US (http://movetheun.blogspot.com), veto powers are stripped to make it a "dermocratic" forum, member states who do not pay their dues on time are stripped of their voting rights, when the Security Council represents the ethnic mix of the earth, etc., will the UN become a legitimate body which can hold the "superpower(s)" accountable for their deeds.

Till then it will be words, words and more words.
Posted by: Jacob Matthan at May 9, 2007 11:38 PM

Riverbend is leaving

2007-04-26T19:15:00.000+02:00

The girl blogger from Baghdad, known around the world as Riverbend has been off-line since February 20th 2007.

Many prayed for her as she has provided many of us with the deep insight of a family caught up in the Iraqi turmoil.

Today, she was back at the blog with an excellent explanation into the cement wall in Baghdad, the American apologist politicians in her country and the dramatic news that she is planning to leave Baghdad and Iraq.

Of all the blogs operating out of Baghdad, hers has been the only one which had a true face of a faceless Iraqi.

I am sure that all of you will join me in praying that Riverbend and her family will find safe haven somewhere so as to be able to return to their beloved country, Iraq, when it is free from the illegal occupation, and so that Iraqis can start to rebuild their country in the way they want!

Keep safe Riverbend.

The wall in Baghdad

2007-04-25T23:00:00.000+02:00

I posted this on The Washington Note:

Could someone answer some simple questions.

The wall (first stage) is 5 km in length, 3.5 metres high and a average of 0.75 metres thick. (13125 cubic metres, Cement Density is 3120 kg per cubic metre = 41000 tonnes of cement!)

1. How much cement was used to produce this wall? (Theoretical value is 41000 tonnes)
2. Where did this cement come from?
3. Who transported this cement and from where to where?
3. Who was given the contract to produce each component?
4. How much was charged to build the components?
5. Who was given the contract to erect the wall?
6. How much was the value of this contract?
6. How many reconstruction projects suffered from this diversion of cement and steel?
7. From which budget was this money for this project obtained from?

Answers to these questions will lead you to what the US invasion and occupation of Iraq is all about!

Lastly - Did anyone think of those words uttered a few years ago which made all Americans feel so proud?

"Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbachev!"

Has that wall been rebuilt in Baghdad making all Americans feel so proud of their Administration?

Wow! That was fast!

2007-04-21T22:10:00.000+02:00

(Cross-posted on my Liberal Talk Show Ratings Blog.)
After listening to the Mike Malloy Show today, I stayed tuned to Nova M Radio and there is a show called the John Loftus Show.

While listening to it, I wrote an email to Mike and sent copies to several people including Anita and Shelby Drobny, the founders of Nova M Radio, as well a Mike Newcomb, the CEO of the station. (I had listened to this guy for several times and each time it was worse than the previous time.)

Subject: Some musings from Finland
From: "Jacob Matthan"
Date: 04/21/2007 5:05 AM

Dear Mike,

I think it was on Thursday, when you did that show about the Alberto Gonzales hearings, I was thinking how great it was that you had a producer who was really the very best - Kathy. She tuned in some of the best and appropriate music and that show, in my opinion, rates one of the very best in your many years on the air.

It was wonderful that you complimented her on air that evening. I am sure most of us listeners appreciated what a great team you make.

You have held the No. 1 Spot on my Liberal Talk Show Ratings. 50% of the credit, undoubtedly, goes to Kathy!

The reason I write is not to pay compliments only, but to respond to your question as to why some of us may not be Radio as Founders. (I do not know whether a non US citizen. non resident of the US can in fact contribute, but that is not the issue.)

When Nova M Radio airs the rabid one-sided conservative views of John Loftus, immediately after your show, although I support liberal radio, I do not support hate-mongering the way John Loftus does on his program.

So far I thought Bill Wartenburg of KGO was the most professional hate-monger on the air as he uses his intelligence in such a morbid manner. John Loftus does it more subtly than Dr. Bill.

The other day I heard him bring on air the "Chalabi of Iran"!

I realised that he does not have just one Chalabi, but "a Chalabi for every viewpoint that he holds".

Today, he was promoting how good setting up walls to separate people were - of course he did not mention Ronald Regan's cry "Tear down that wall, Mr. Gorbachov!"). Also, he has spent his time readying the world for Israel to launch another horrible attack on the innocent people of Lebanon!

The way, in my humble opinion, he promotes the "fascist Zionist" agenda certainly does not merit my supporting the radio station that pushes these views, even though that station gives you the airtime.

John Loftus is the Judith Miller of Talk Radio. It is a shame that he shares the same air space as you. The only thing missing from his programme these days is the "three cheers" for the war criminals, Bush and Blair.

I hope you understand my point of view. This may be part of the answer to your question why some of us have not supported Nova M Radio.

I have copied Mike Newcomb, Anita and Shelby Drobny and John Loftus on this email as also some major Liberal Talk Show Hosts (as Bccs).

Very best to Kathy, Molly and you.

--
Jacob Matthan
Oulu, Finland

Within five hours I had this email from Shelby Drobny.

The Loftus show will be cancelled. Tonight was his last show. Thanks for the feedback.

I do not know whether I was responsible, but I am glad Liberal Talk Radio listeners do not have to listen to fabricated hate-speech. I think the appreciation of listeners views is the reason Anita and Shelby Drobny are successful in launching truly Liberal Talk Radio. How I wish Air America would cast aside its ridiculous ways.

Thank you Mr. Drobny.