February 28, 2009 by Jay Taber.

In the aftermath of the complete destruction of Gaza, Electronic Intifada looks at the history of the Palestinian seaside city of Jaffa, the former cultural capitol of Palestine prior to the Zionist invasion of 1948. As the center of intellectual resistance within Israel proper, Jaffa’s Palestinian Israeli citizens today lead the way toward equal civil rights, uniting Palestinians and Israelis in demanding an end to Israeli apartheid.

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February 27, 2009 by Jay Taber.

One’s worldview depends on where one stands. Progressives view the modern state as the pinnacle of human achievement, while tribal societies view it as a corruption of governance. In his recent blog essay on social evolution, my colleague David Ronfeldt contributes what I consider a useful framework for discussion. In my comment there, I offer a perspective for modifying this framework to include an analysis of how tribal institutions and networks can lead the way in democratizing capital ownership—what I consider the most vital of human projects for a sustainable future.

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February 26, 2009 by Jay Taber.

While the collusion by Department of Interior officials with energy companies in embezzling Mineral Management Service royalties due American Indians is a national disgrace, the ongoing fraud at Interior is not limited to Native American accounts. The federal government controls 20% of the land in the United States, and the minerals extracted from that land belong to the American people; when Interior cooks the books and cuts backroom deals on these sales, the US Treasury is shortchanged. Think about that when politicians say we can’t afford healthcare or quality education for all.

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February 25, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Hillary’s Craven Debut

Secretary Clinton assures China that human rights are a secondary concern to making money for the Obama Administration. Amnesty International condemns US diplomatic mission for selling out democratic aspirations of Tibet and in China as a whole.

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February 24, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Running Interference

Leaving aside for the moment the white man’s burden assumptions behind the big business of foreign aid, Center for Global Development President Nancy Birdsall — speaking at the 2006 Hilton Humanitarian Prize Symposium on Democracy and Development — begins by stating that it’s hard to say whether democratic governance or market economics should be the starting point for social sustainability. Assuming this incoherence to be typical of the NGOs and institutional bureaucrats milking this industry, I can only respond that it’s no wonder that so many despots are dependent on the graft from this aid to purchase patronage and silence dissent. Her comment that better coordination of government aid with transnational social investment, by such notorious corporate criminals as Coca-Cola, demonstrates why innocents like Birdsall are promoted by the aristocratic class to run interference for criminal enterprises posing as humanitarian missions.

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February 23, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Controlling the Message

The White House snub of Native American media recently at a Department of Interior event was significant both for what they said and what they did not. The explanation that the White House is more comfortable with the (white) traditional press pool was bad enough, but the fact that Interior handles Bureau of Indian Affairs monies as well as Minerals Management Service royalties compounds the offense.

While we understand that President Obama might not want to have Native American journalists asking questions about the ongoing embezzling of Indian trust funds by Interior and the energy companies it colludes with, denying American Indian media access to Cabinet level officials is de facto censorship.

As Indigenous peoples worldwide develop their own media to cover world affairs from their perspective, gaining access to audiences poses a major challenge. Having controlled the message since mass communication was invented, the inheritors of colonial power are not going to cede ground without a fight; apparently, President Obama has already chosen sides.

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February 22, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Wag the Dog

For readers who enjoyed Secretary of State Colin Powell’s performance at the United Nations to manipulate America into a war in Iraq, Wampum looks at the Judith Miller syndrome still extant at the prime promoter of war, the New York Times.

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February 21, 2009 by Jay Taber.

US Model

Former Irish President and United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Mary Robinson “deplores collusion between liberal democracies and countries with very bad human rights records”. The International Commission of Jurists observes that many dictatorships around the world now justify tyranny by pointing to the US model.

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February 20, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Slobodan Milosevic, a former head of state, was indicted and tried by an international criminal tribunal for his crimes against humanity. Two hundred thousand citizens of the former Yugoslavia died because of his misdeeds. George Bush, a former head of state, has not been indicted for his crimes against humanity. One million citizens of occupied Iraq died because of his misdeeds.

Due to the unwillingness of the states of the former Yugoslavia to indict their war criminals, the UN Security Council established the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia to bring the perpetrators of evil to justice. The UN Security Council, due to its makeup, will not seek justice against former President Bush, but the UN General Assembly could.

An International Criminal Tribunal for Iraq would have no difficulty establishing the guilt of President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, Secretary of State Colin Powell and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld: the documentation has already been done. As for willingness to bring these criminals to justice domestically, the current President Barack Obama and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi have stated they will not do so. Now it is up to the international community to uphold the rule of law.

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February 19, 2009 by Jay Taber.

Looking at the layers of bumper stickers in my liberal neighborhood yesterday, I was contemplating the Deanie-babies cum Hopium smokers and their fixation on Internet-savvy politicians. I mean, hoping for change is one thing, but actually believing democracy can be achieved by clever slogans e-mailed to millions would seem to venture deep into the wishful thinking ether.

I suppose growing up on TV has something to do with the superficiality of progressive thought, but the false sense of belonging and participation fostered by political operatives is so obviously Orwellian you’d think literate people could see through the charade. Then again, living in a culture swarmed by marketing mania, perhaps a world of cliches is all they can imagine.

Of course, when the believers lose their jobs, homes and pensions, they’ll be looking to crucify the non-believers. After all, counseling sobriety is never a popular message.

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