IT’S BARACK!!!!!

Thank you America.  You have, with this election, restored the small flickering faith I had in the American people.  Even a cynic like me now can start to believe that anything is possible in America.

Countdown to November 4th

Only two more weeks until Nov 4^th. Things are moving at a lighting speed and it is hard to keep up. Below are some comments, observations and predictions on the election.

First, let me make a bold prediction. Now that it looks like Obama has all but wrapped this election up, I predict that the Neo-Cons, in a last attempt to cling to power, will create some kind of a national emergency, before Nov 4th election day, or January 20th, inauguration day. What do I base this on? Well, a couple of things.

Bush’s November surprise?

First, the Bush Administration has quietly signed several ‘Presidential Directives’ in the last 8 years, among which is , Directive 51 The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive, which basically suspends the US Constitution and the US government.

Here are some of the things that the Directive can do.

The National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directive (National Security Presidential Directive NSPD-51/Homeland Security Presidential Directive HSPD-20, sometimes called simply “Executive Directive 51″ for short), signed by United States President George W. Bush on May 4, 2007, is a Presidential Directive which specifies the procedures for continuity of the federal government in the event of a “catastrophic emergency”. Such an emergency is construed as “any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.

The directive specifies that, following such an emergency, an “Enduring Constitutional Government”, comprising “a cooperative effort among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches of the Federal Government,” coordinated by the President of the United States, will take the place of the nation’s regular government, presumably without the oversight of Congress.

The interesting phrase here is “any incident, regardless of location “. Curious, isn’t it? Why would Bush sign all these laws, if he is not intending to use them?

Second, did you also know that, as of Oct 1^st , for 12 months US combat troops, in a move that would effectively end the, Posse Comitatus Act of 1878,are now in charge of patrolling the streets in the United States? Their stated mission is the form of crowd control they practiced in Iraq, subduing “unruly individuals,”.

Are things starting to fall in place for you? Sounds like the Bush administration is lining its ducks in place.

Do Republicans like democracy?

I am sure you have probably heard of this much ado about nothing regarding ACORN, the community grassroots organization which played a huge part in registering minority voters for this election. So now ACORN is accused of voter fraud, to the point where, according to Grampy McCain “destroying the fabrics of Democracy”. The truth is, this is an old tactic by Republicans to keep poor folks from voting, since traditionally, minority voters support a Democratic candidate. Republicans do not want everyone to vote. You want proof? Ladies and gentlemen, may I present to you Paul Weyrich. Weyrich is a Republican activist and commentator who co-founded the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank and “The Moral Majority”, the evangelical Christian lobbying organization with the late Jerry Falwell. Weyrich has worked closely with Ronald Reagan’s and both Bush’s presidential campaigns. So, how does Paul Weyrich feel about representative democracy in America? Here is what he said at a church gathering in 1980.

“Now many of our Christians have what I call the goo-goo syndrome — good government. They want everybody to vote. I don’t want everybody to vote. Elections are not won by a majority of people, they never have been from the beginning of our country and they are not now. As a matter of fact, our leverage in the elections quite candidly goes up as the voting populace goes down.

Watch the video.

That’s right, all of you goo-goo syndrome suffering persons going ga-ga over this thing called democracy! What are you trying to pull here?

The Hypocracy of the West

The world economy is falling apart in the process revealing the hypocrisy and the fallacy of the West’s economic philosophy, unregulated Capitalism. Even capitalism King, the big bad US of A is borrowing money in the trillions from Communist China? I bet Ronald Reagan is spinning is his grave.

Are you as confused, perhaps even as nauseatingly worried as many people around the world are about this absurdity? Isn’t it ironic that in this new age ‘globalization’ when corporate profits around the world, especially in the US, are at an all time high, a time when physical and intellectual labor are cheaper than dirt, and when information you need to make the most intelligent and savvy business decisions is so readily available practically at the tip of your fingers that we have an economic calamity of this magnitude?

This is further proof that the so called trickle-down economics devised by the Milton Friedman’s of the world and executed, in every sense of the word, by Reagan and the Bushes, has been an abject failure. It just lays another stone at the tomb of this almost criminal economic ideology. Jay Bookman of the Atlanta Journal Constitution put it brilliantly in this article.

So what is the cause of this disaster? It is obviously one of 2 things - greed or incompetence. There is also a third possibility, both. When you put them both together, unadulterated greed and unmitigated unprecedented incompetence, you get this type of catastrophe.

What is interesting about this is that the so called “intellectuals” of the West have been contemptuously and arrogantly pontificating how there was little hope for what they call the third world because of the rampant corruption and greed that is so wide spread in the systems. Who says the politicians and political system are corrupt and rigged in the so called third world countries only?

Despite the incessant flow of propaganda to the rest of the world by the West, we are learning more and more everyday that politics here in the US is really not that different from the rest of the world including Africa, Asia and S America where corruption and cronyism are rampant. It is just that the US, and for the most part Europe, have a sophisticated way running their corrupt system and are able to sell their propaganda in a more palatable way to the masses.

Politically, we saw that elections can be rigged ‘legally’ and consummated by the highest of courts in the 2000 US presidential elections when the Supreme Court told Florida officials not to count the votes and declared G W Bush the winner.

Socially we saw how corruption and incompetence by government officials of the highest level can lead to a national catastrophe in which a major metropolitan city like New Orleans was left to drown and thousands of its citizens were left to die.

As we witnessed in Iraq illegal wars and occupations which result in the death of millions of innocent people can be waged with fictitious and manufactured lies for the purpose of enriching a few powerful elites.

We even saw how religion can be corrupted in a major way to advance a political agenda both domestically and internationally. There is no better proof for this than Bush’s ‘faith based initiative’ programs that are used to get votes for the Republican Party.

And the latest one? Well, let’s just call it for what it is. With the $700 billion - no, actually $850 billion when you count all the pork, we may have just witnessed the biggest bank heist in the world. $850billion!!! That is even hard for the mind to imagine. This is almost like Dr Evil’s cajillion, faffillion type of money! The getaway truck is parked at the back door of the treasury, the drivers are picked, the engine is running and the Bush gang is ready to run away with $700 billion dollars for the farewell party.

The US government, despite opposition to this plan showing a 9 to 1 ratio, basically gave the people its middle finger. So, how is this different from Meles telling Ethiopians to shut up and sit down, despite the fact that he lost the election or Mugabe refusing to relinquish power after losing the election?

And the capper on this caper? Both presidential candidates voted for this massive bailout. So, the obvious question is why did both candidates, who could have basically been assured of the presidency if they opposed this bill like 90% of the American people, vote for it? Could it be that they were told by the real Big Brother to support it or they would see their political career fly out the window? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it?

There was even a secret deal in Congress to divvy up the votes so no one party can be blamed for it. This is how the American system of government, which proudly declares, “a government of the people, for the people, by the people” works.

The question we in the Diaspora, who constantly put on our faith in the US government to save us from our dictators is, what gives us the confidence and faith that the US really cares about our people. I mean, if they don’t care about how their own people feel, what makes us think they care about ours? Don’t you think it is time to re-think our strategy?

And finally, for those of you who do not think art doesn’t imitate life, here is one for you. If you have a couple of hours to spare this weekend and want to get your mind off what is going on in the world, and still stay informed, this is the movie for you. The title is “NETWORK” which was made in 1978 and see how eerily similar the situation is to today. You will be amazed. Here is a scene from the movie.

My favorite line from this movie is from the main character Howard Beal speaking of the American people:

“Because this is no longer a nation of independent individuals, it’s a nation of two-hundred some-odd million transistorized, deodorized, whiter-that-white steel-belted bodies, totally unnecessary as human beings, and as replaceable as piston rods.”

Well, at least that is how the US government sees its citizens these days.

Chereka

Tim Wise is one of the most active and brilliant anti- racism voices in
America. He has written several books including “White Like Me” and gives lectures in many colleges around the country on topics like affirmative action and “white privilege” in America.  He is one of the most articulate and vocal advocates of racial equality. What is more interesting about Tim Wise is that he is a white man from the South. My first encounter with his work was during a fund drive for a local public radio station. 

The issue of ‘white privilege’ in America and its relationship to affirmative action is one topic Tim Wise often discusses in his lectures.  White privilege is one of several racial issues that raise great passion and often anger from both sides. Why is it that millions of minorities in America seem to be caught up in a circle of poverty while many whites seem to be doing better?   The answer to this question differs, of course, depending on which side of the debate a person is on.  Most minorities and proponents of affirmative action like Tim Wise say that racism that dates back to the days of slavery has given whites an overwhelming advantage and head start on life. They say that many whites today are the direct beneficiaries of slavery giving way to today’s institutionalized racism which has kept blacks and other minorities from achieving the same status as whites today.

                                                                   Tim Wise

People on the other side of the debate, including some blacks like Ward Connerly assert that white people today should not be responsible for what was done by their ancestors years ago. They claim that this is just an excuse by blacks to continue receiving government assistance programs like affirmative action.  They also ironically and perhaps shrewdly claim that affirmative action is a form of racism and often cite the words of, none other than Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I have a dream speech”.  

The standard answer from many white people to institutionalized racism is that today’s white people are not responsible for what happened years ago by their ancestors. However, what white most people fail to realize is that most of them have been direct beneficiaries of their ancestors’ status as white privileged citizens. That means they have had head start on life, than minorities because of their ancestors’ wealth which has helped them in one way or another. This is in addition to the outright racism minorities face during employment and other endeavors. In his speeches, Tim Wise explains how he himself benefitted  from white privilege.

So, the debate still rages on. In fact, several states have decided to put the affirmative action on their ballot to roll it back just like the state of California did in 1996.

In this brilliantly and humorously written article, Tim Wise is using the presidential race as a perfect metaphor, or even a macrocosm on how white privilege works in America.

Enjoy!

A BUZZFLASH GUEST CONTRIBUTION

by Tim Wise

For those who still can’t grasp the concept of white privilege, or who are constantly looking for some easy-to-understand examples of it, perhaps this list will help.

White privilege is when you can get pregnant at seventeen like Bristol Palin and everyone is quick to insist that your life and that of your family is a personal matter, and that no one has a right to judge you or your parents, because “every family has challenges,” even as black and Latino families with similar “challenges” are regularly typified as irresponsible, pathological and arbiters of social decay.

 White privilege is when you can call yourself a “fuckin’ redneck,” like Bristol Palin’s boyfriend does, and talk about how if anyone messes with you, you’ll “kick their fuckin’ ass,” and talk about how you like to “shoot shit” for fun, and still be viewed as a responsible, all-American boy (and a great son-in-law to be) rather than a thug.

 White privilege is when you can attend four different colleges in six years like Sarah Palin did (one of which you basically failed out of, then returned to after making up some coursework at a community college), and no one questions your intelligence or commitment to achievement, whereas a person of color who did this would be viewed as unfit for college, and probably someone who only got in in the first place because of affirmative action.

 White privilege is when you can claim that being mayor of a town smaller than most medium-sized colleges, and then Governor of a state with about the same number of people as the lower fifth of the island of Manhattan, makes you ready to potentially be president, and people don’t all piss on themselves with laughter, while being a black U.S. Senator, two-term state Senator, and constitutional law scholar, means you’re “untested.”

 White privilege is being able to say that you support the words “under God” in the pledge of allegiance because “if it was good enough for the founding fathers, it’s good enough for me,” and not be immediately disqualified from holding office–since, after all, the pledge was written in the late 1800s and the “under God” part wasn’t added until the 1950s–while believing that reading accused criminals and terrorists their rights (because, ya know, the Constitution, which you used to teach at a prestigious law school requires it), is a dangerous and silly idea only supported by mushy liberals.

 White privilege is being able to be a gun enthusiast and not make people immediately scared of you. White privilege is being able to have a husband who was a member of an extremist political party that wants your state to secede from the Union, and whose motto was “Alaska first,” and no one questions your patriotism or that of your family, while if you’re black and your spouse merely fails to come to a 9/11 memorial so she can be home with her kids on the first day of school, people immediately think she’s being disrespectful.

 White privilege is being able to make fun of community organizers and the work they do–like, among other things, fight for the right of women to vote, or for civil rights, or the 8-hour workday, or an end to child labor–and people think you’re being pithy and tough, but if you merely question the experience of a small town mayor and 18-month governor with no foreign policy expertise beyond a class she took in college–you’re somehow being mean, or even sexist.

 White privilege is being able to convince white women who don’t even agree with you on any substantive issue to vote for you and your running mate anyway, because all of a sudden your presence on the ticket has inspired confidence in these same white women, and made them give your party a “second look.”

 White privilege is being able to fire people who didn’t support your political campaigns and not be accused of abusing your power or being a typical politician who engages in favoritism, while being black and merely knowing some folks from the old-line political machines in Chicago means you must be corrupt.

 White privilege is being able to attend churches over the years whose pastors say that people who voted for John Kerry or merely criticize George W. Bush are going to hell, and that the U.S. is an explicitly Christian nation and the job of Christians is to bring Christian theological principles into government, and who bring in speakers who say the conflict in the Middle East is God’s punishment on Jews for rejecting Jesus, and everyone can still think you’re just a good church-going Christian, but if you’re black and friends with a black pastor who has noted (as have Colin Powell and the U.S. Department of Defense) that terrorist attacks are often the result of U.S. foreign policy and who talks about the history of racism and its effect on black people, you’re an extremist who probably hates America.

 White privilege is not knowing what the Bush Doctrine is when asked by a reporter, and then people get angry at the reporter for asking you such a “trick question,” while being black and merely refusing to give one-word answers to the queries of Bill O’Reilly means you’re dodging the question, or trying to seem overly intellectual and nuanced.

 White privilege is being able to claim your experience as a POW has anything at all to do with your fitness for president, while being black and experiencing racism is, as Sarah Palin has referred to it, a “light” burden.

 And finally, white privilege is the only thing that could possibly allow someone to become president when he has voted with George W. Bush 90 percent of the time, even as unemployment is skyrocketing, people are losing their homes, inflation is rising, and the U.S. is increasingly isolated from world opinion, just because white voters aren’t sure about that whole “change” thing. Ya know, it’s just too vague and ill-defined, unlike, say, four more years of the same, which is very concrete and certain.

 White privilege is, in short, the problem.

Before Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton and even Barack Obama, there was Malcolm X, one of the most brilliant political leaders and a great speaker.  Malcolm X is one of only 3 people whose speeches, still, stirs  every nerve in my body - the two others being Martin Luther King and John F Kennedy. Malcolm X knew how to talk to people in a language that is plain but yet very effective and thought provoking.  In addition, had charisma and a brilliant sense of humor. Today, he would have been 83 years old.

Below are a couple of short clips about Malcolm X.  The first one is an interview from 1963 at UC Berkeley, whcih is an interesting exchange between the interviewer and Malcolm.  What is even more interesting is the look of contempt the interviewer had for Malcolm and the confidence and self assuredness Malcolm answered the question.  

This second clip is a speech by Malcolm X explaining Black Nationalism.  

RIP Malcolm.

Commentary by Keith Olbermann

Keith Olbermann, the only real journalist left on TV today is at it again.  Here is another one of his brilliant commentaries about Bush’s recent comment on why he gave up golfing.  Yes, the shrub actually said that.  Just when you thought he had run out of stupid things to say, he reaches deep and pulls out a new one. 

Enjoy!!

PART I

PART II

…WAKE UP AMERICA!!!

About 10 years ago, a group of us at work were having a discussion about US politics which was spurred by something the US government did, (I think it was Bill Clinton’s ‘wag the dog’ attack on Sudan looking for Bin Laden or something) and the topic moved towards US’s behavior around the world. During the discussion, I made a comment about how the US has turned into an empire and that it would eventually fall just like all the other world empires in the past, only that in this case, given the advancement in technology and the nature of conflicts in the world, the US will make sure that the rest of the world will go down with it. Of course, the Americans in the group, except for one elderly gentleman, reacted to my comment with righteous indignation like any ‘true blue blooded American’ would. Thank God, it was only 1998! Comments like that can get you a one way ticket to Guantanamo these days. But, I still hold that belief.

It is looking more and more like the US is inching towards that possibility, whether we accept it or not. Militarily, the US is bogged down in Iraq and Afghanistan in an occupation that is costing it precious lives and treasure and at the same time is saber rattling against Iran threatening to attack with nuclear weapons. The resignation of Admiral William Fallon, the top commander for Iraq and Afghanistan, who has threatened to resign if US bombed Iran, has moved the possibility of an attack closer to reality. Economically, the new ruthless capitalism that is driven by globalization and privatization, is destroying the middle class in the US and moving the country towards a third world status in terms of its economy. Politically, the US is seen as one of the most dangerous and feared countries by the rest of the world and its politicians are getting caught with their pants down more often than a tourist with diarrhea. Socially, Americans would rather watch American Idol and Dancing With the Stars than watch what is being done in their name around the world and in front of their noses. And the president? Well, it seems like he has never been in a better mood. In the middle of all these crises, with oil prices at an all time high, the economy in recession, mortgage foreclosures at record pace, jobs being lost at record level, just to name a few, Mr Bush is tap dancing on the White House porch, singing about his screw-ups at a dinner with the wonderful ‘liberal media elite’, going around the world and dancing with the locals in Africa, and ‘ cracking jokes about his presidency at a press conference. Yes, Nero is fiddling while Rome is burning.

I was listening to a radio program recently and the host read an e-mail sent from Norway by a Norwegian listner, which described exactly the way I feel about America and Americans these days. Here is that what he wrote.

Elliot Spitzer another seemingly decent Democrat, what a joke! You f’n Americans! The Romans, British, French, Germans were bad, but they didn’t have nukes during their empire days. The USA has the potential to be the worst and the most lethal empire ever. Yeah yeah, I know, the Spitzer thing is ridiculously tiny compared to the war crimes and evil of the Republicans and most Democrats, but the Spitzer thing says so much. Who did he appear to be? Maybe not as principled and decent as Bernie Sanders and Dennis Kucinich, but I perceived his as pretty darn close, and a potential, with real chance to becoming president - and a good one. And even if this really is mostly a personal matter, it still speaks volumes. How much does he really care about his work for the people, this Spitzer? I don’t care whether it’s legal or not, immoral in itself or not, I care about what this tells us about the man. Buying expensive sex from luxury prostitutes, just keep those words in mind, if this guy ever tries telling you, what he’s really about. Money is what he is about; prosecuting crimes he himself is guilty of is what he is about. And by the way, I am withholding judgment of Hillary Clinton no more. She IS a monster - truly a monster. Why? It’s become so damn apparent to me what she’s doing. She knows she can’t get the nomination; this is a fact only idiots would debate this now, so why does she continue? She continues so that she can make sure she hurts Obama so much that, evil insane old man McCain wins in November setting the scene for her to run again in 2012. So, you well-meaning idiots who call in and complain that Malloy and Hartmann (the hosts) knock Hillary too much, you better wake up. She’s as bad as McCain. They will both say and do anything to become president. She and McCain do not care about the USA; they care about becoming president. There is still hope that the impressive Senator Obama is a pragmatic idealist, one who knows to tone the Liberalism down in order to win the presidency, but Hillary? No, not an idealist.

My tiny spec of optimism about the USA is now history. I’m back to expecting the worse from the USA. Show the world this November, again, that you have the most ignorant and stupid voting populous on the planet. Hear the call - important impoverished Christian peasants in Kansas and all over America, please bend over so that your rich Republican owners, mostly corporatist politicians and pedophile preachers can pick your pockets while they enjoy your posteriors. Bring your Bibles! Democrat voting common heads, who think you’re liberals, you’re nothing but Oprah Winfrey’s audience. Naive, middle class, well-meaning idiots. Democrats, you are so much worse than you think you are. The good, decent and informed Democratic voters are as rare as good, decent and principled Democratic politicians, maybe 1 in 30. Has it occurred to you that the reason Al Gore doesn’t run again is that he sees most of you Democrats as inferior and not worth his time? And all you militarists, you have any idea how pathetic you look to Europe and the world? Your pretense that any moron who has worn a uniform is by default a hero, your constant mindless whining about enemies abroad and at home - you don’t look brave, like you’re willing to fight any danger. What a joke! We see you for what you are. No people in the world are more scared of the world and its own shadow than the USA. You can catch Michael Moore in minor or even major factual errors easily, but his main point in “Bowling for Columbine” is spot on. The USA collectively is an illiterate scared of everything 8-year-old boy with an arsenal of weapons. You’re easily scared, poop in your pants about everything, and you’re dangerous and scary. That’s what you are military America. But like any 8-year-old boy, you think having guns and scaring people is cool, don’t you?

I’m just gonna sit here and shake my head as you all ‘f’ up again in November. To the remaining few good Americans who haven’t moved to Canada, Europe or New Zealand yet, I mourn with you.

Can’t add anything to that! Oh and we are looking up to the US to save our problems back home, right?

Incidentally, did I mention the writer lives in the most peaceful nation in the world? Way to rub it in! And where does US rank? 96th out of 121 countries, just before Iran.

Update on “An Ethiopian in Guantanamo”

Back in July, I wrote a post entitled ” An Ethiopian in Guantanamo” about an Ethiopian born ‘terror suspect’ Benyam Mohammed. It is a very tragic case which I think should have gotten more attention than it did. It is still a mystery to me why some of the more prominent Ethiopian Web-Sites have not picked up on this tragic story which seems to be getting more and more depressing.

Below is the article form “The Independent” of the UK.

UK Guantanamo detainee near suicide after years of torture, doctors warn

By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor

Published: 18 December 2007

I am sure many have heard the recent verbal skirmish between the two Democratic presidential candidates, Sen. Barack Obama and Sen. Hilary Clinton. Although it appears that the corporate media finally found the dirt it had been seeking for long in order to start a knock-down drag-out dirty fight between the candidates, it can be argued that the Hillary camp may have purposely started this race controversy in order to goad Obama, who, up until that point, had intentionally avoided talking about race for fear of being labeled “another black rebel” as others before him were.  Of course, this is my own opinion based on past observations of the Clintons’ skillful manipulation of the African American community, so much so that Bill Clinton was dubbed “the first black president of the US” by the African American community.

The Clintons are no saints when it comes to power.  Remember Ricky Ray Rector the mentally incompetent African American whose execution Mr. Clinton resided over in 1992 while he was governor of Arkansas and a Democratic presidential candidate? Mr. Clinton suspended his campaign to make sure that he was present during the execution just to make a political statement about the death penalty. How about the infamous ” Sister Souljah Moment ” when President Clinton compared her to David Duke, the white supremacist?  And how about the incarceration of 100,000 more African Americans under Bill Clinton than Ronald Reagan, and his inaction in the Rwanda genocide which he refused to get involved in until it was too late? There’s more, but who’s counting? In the last couple of weeks, the Clintons have shown that they are willing to go to any length, including the use of surrogates, to smear opponents whom they consider impediment to their ambition.  Some of these surrogates even included prominent African Americans like Bob Johnson, founder of BET and members of Mrs. Clinton’s staff.  

Here is the ” Beyond Vietnam ” speech.

Happy Birthday MLK!

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last few weeks, you probably have heard the horrible news from Pakistan about the assassination of the former twice Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.  It is not still clear as to who was behind this assassination, although the Bush Administration and the current president of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf were quick to point their fingers at the usual suspects Al Qaeda and Islamic extremists. As the Church Lady from Saturday Night Live would say, “hmmm, how conveeeeenient.”  Of course it is not beyond the realm of possibility that either one of these groups could have been the perpetrator, especially given Bhutto’s record in ‘opposing’ Islamic extremism and her attempt to bring in some form of ‘modernity’ to the country. But it is also not entirely inconceivable that Musharraf himself could have had a hand in it with some help from the US administration. After all, John Negroponte made a trip to Pakistan recently under the guise of a ‘diplomatic mission’. Of course, those who know Mr. Negroponte’s background  can deduce what that mission could have been about.  Strangely enough, a visit from Mr. Negroponte in any country is followed by a sudden taste for blood by some groups, emergence of death squads everywhere, assassination of political leaders, instability in the country etc…. very strange. Well, I guess the guy just has bad luck following him everywhere he goes.

It may not be an over statement to say that the repercussion of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination could very well be a catastrophic one the likes of which can be compared to the assassination of the Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria , which was the spark that lit the flames of World War I.  After all, Pakistan is one of the few countries that have nuclear weapons in one of the most volatile regions in the world and is also safe haven to some of the most militant Islamic extremists.

In the process of following Bhutto’s story last month, I came across an interview she did with ‘Sir’ David Frost, a well respected journalist on “Al Jazeera English”. In this 14 minute interview, Frost was asking Bhutto about the first assassination attempt on her life back in October and the former twice PM of Pakistan, who probably had solid and trustworthy sources in the region, made a rather startling…no wait…an earth shattering revelation.  About 5 minutes into the interview, Bhutto, in describing who she thought were behind the first assassination attempt, mentions the name Omar Sheik as the man who “murdered Osama Bin Lade”…WHAT????  Murdered Osama Bin Laden????   What was more interesting was that Frost does not even pause to ask a question about what Bhutto said. Was David Frost, whose program is ironically called “frost over the world”, putting the Osama story, which really is the bigger story here, on ice? Or better yet, is Osama’s body being kept on ice somewhere already to be brought out at the appropriate time by the ‘good guys’ who are fighting this so called ‘war on terror’?  The appropriate response from Frost at that point should have been, ‘Wait wait wait…one bloody second…back up a bit.  Did you just say the man who murdered Osama Bin Laden?’ Any sensible journalist would have asked that question, because the Osama murder story trumps all the other peripheral stories, including Bhutto’s assassination attempt and her bid to un-sit her opponent Musharraf, whose only reason for being in power is his ties with the US administration to fight the so called war on terror whose very symbol is none other than Osama Bin Laden. 
 
This also raises another question about the Western world and its media.  If David Frost, a well know and reputable journalist, lets this nugget of information go by without so much as a blink of an eye, how can we take what these journalists have to say about anything seriously? What could be more important than this?  Is Frost covering something up or does he think that this is a non-story?  And how about the US media?  Did anyone of the major US media outlets pick this up?  You would think this is would be a front-page news around the world.  It’s been over 2 months since the interview was conducted, but not one news outlet has even said a word about it.
 
And finally, is there any doubt that the Bush administration, and maybe perhaps even the British counter parts, with the help of their lap dog media, have been playing people around the world with this Emanuel Goldstein like face of terror which is Osama Bin Laden? And could Mrs. Bhutto let something slip out that the US administration did not want to get out? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? 

Well, watch the video and see for yourself.

Chereka