Total number of comments: 51 (since 2013-11-28 15:36:26)
Simon
Medical student. Social democrat.
Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion
Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion
Total number of comments: 51 (since 2013-11-28 15:36:26)
Medical student. Social democrat.
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I think it is wrong of you to say that they just wanted them to protest in a more quiet place. Reports indicate that no alternative was suggested in St Petersberg, but regardless, other countries seem to manage unplanned protests without arresting hundred of people. Also, while Navalny may be a nationalist, and maybe even an unpalatable one, he is also a liberal in that he supports limiting the power of the executive, restoring the independence of the judiciary, and ending media censorship and discriminatory application of the laws. He has opposed the Crimea annexation. Other, centre-left groups participated in the protest as well.
Not to mention overwhelming Jewish American support for the deal.
How do the foreign fighters get to Syria Juan? Do they fly directly or...? Is there not a record that might raise suspicion upon return?
This is indeed a great risk. If Le Pen came to power and convinced France to leave NATO, they could align with Russia in a "traditional values" block which has little concern for many of the human rights the EU has established.
I would then think that this fact would lead credence to the idea that the arming of the moderate rebels might have been productive. If the extremists were getting armed and there was no way to stop the resulting war between them and the Assad government, what would be a better option....interesting. Thanks!
Question for you Juan: do you know if there was a way that the United States could have stopped the flow of money and arms from private Gulf billionaire sources to extremist Syrian rebels? I would say my view on what the US should do would be influenced by this.
“Zionists: transforming ‘anti-Semitism’ from something horrible into something honorable since 1948″
Would you support this statement if it contained "African Americans" and "Racism" instead of "Zionists" and "Antisemtism." Defending this man is morally obtuse.
Excellent piece juan. Great political sociology.
The unsaid premise here and in all broadsides against campaign finance is that voters are stupid. Money just buys candidates and the rubes of the voting public have no ability to discriminate whether candidates positions match their own in the face of ads and campaign donations. I don't thmk this is really true Juan, and it actually betrays a lack of faith in democracy rather than a concern for it.
This has been an idea of Russian state leaders for a long time Juan. Wikipedia " The Foundation of a Geopolitics" a book still used in foreign policy academies there. It is chilling for any who wish to see the spread of liberal democracy.
The buden of evidence is on you. You are implicitly assuming that if "Obama didn't want a confrontation" that he could've just told the opposition and the millions of people who supported them to just back off after being attacked by police? Total nonsense.
Umm....Yatsenyuk was head of the largest opposition group in Ukraine, so yes it is no surprise. But you obviously know nothing about Ukraine, right? The orange revolution was not sabotage against an elected government. Kuchma's government had committed massive fraud in the 2004 election, as documented by numerous international observers. You can continue your Kremlin propaganda as long as Juan gives you a platform, but it's total nonsense. I guess the neo-cons also told Obama to try and push for a strike on Syria too right?
If by best explanation you mean most conspiratorial and demeaning to the Ukranian people you would be correct. Color revolutions have happened in multiple post soviet countries over the past fifteen years. Every time the US is accused and the same non-evidence is presented. Now, because Victoria Nuland was in the neighborhood it is actually a "Neo-con" plot rather than just imperialism or whatever. I guess it's also a. Glenn Greenwald plot because. Pierre Omidyar donated money to the opposition? Besides this borderline anti-semitism (and that's what it is Juan) it's an absolutely ludicrous theory with No basis in reality. It requires one to ignore actual Ukranian politics (Orange revolution, Jailing of Tymoshenko, Media Consolidation, West vs East) and see everything through the eyes of the West. It's self righteous and narcissistic and simply wrong.
I think what it indicates is more that the neocons share the goal of successive US administrations. The neocons and the US have played no different a role here than it has in all past color revolutions. There has always been consistent support for EU accession for post soviet countries, regardless of whether Obama was trying to cooperate with Russia or not. This is really quite obvious. Where was Victoria Nuland in the Rose Revolution in Georgia or even in Ukraine in 2004s Orange Revolution? The whole idea strikes me as conspiratorial. You stayed away when these exact same people tried to say Assad gassed his own people, I urge similar caution now.
There is absolutely no evidence in this piece to prove causation. Furthermore, If the "coup" was spearheaded by Neo-Nazis, why is a Jew the new prime minister ?
This is absurd. Let me get this straight. The neocons orchestrated this coup to drive a wedge between Russia and the US? The almost million people In the streets in Ukraine were because of that? You should know better juan.
Juan: the fairness doctrine would not have applied to Fox, because cable is not a limited spectrum.
Hey Juan. About how fast is your volt? Does it have good pick up for changing lanes etc?
I'm not saying RT has nothing good to say, but it's a little suspicious when a country with a human rights record as horrible as Russia is saying it.
Why when it comes to Israel do we only get screeds like this from Juan. No where is evidence presented to support the title, namely that the idea was always to invade Iran then get it to stop its nuclear program with tough sanctions, which now have been seen to work.
That is what I'm getting at. Juan seems to be implying that the sanctions shouldn't be used to extract concessions (because they are ineffective (?)" but he does seem to have another bargaining chip in mind to get the Iranians to submit to inspections...I just wanted a post saying what it was.
Perhaps I should just ask you more clearly (and this is not rhetorical I value your opinion). If we remove the threat and reality of sanctions what negotiating chips do we have to make sure Iran only enriches fuel for civilian purposes and has only a breakout capacity. You said before that a "comprehensive security agreement" would be something that could be offered. Could you elaborate further, perhaps in another post?
I don't understand. Are you saying that Carney's desire not to impose further sanctions is "outrageous" or that war is a possibility if they fail? The wording is very unclear. I also don't understand if you believe Iran should just be able to do whatever they want with their weapons. Sanctions are the only tool we have to get them to negotiate outside the threat of military force? Am I wrong?
Juan,
You calling Likud far far right reveals a shallow understanding of Israeli politics. The far right in Israel is Habayit Hayeudi. Research further and tell me if I'm wrong?
-Simon
Juan I'm no fan of Netanhayu, but to say Likud is based on fascist idealogically is ridiculous, and contradicted later in your piece when you note that they have pursued neoliberal economic policies. A hallmark of fascism is cooperation between the economy and the state; Netanyahu is a free market capitalist in the mold of Mitt Romney. I hope you can correct this in your piece.
This basically makes sense to me. As Mark Kleiman, an impeccable liberal has shown, it's not so much a ban as enforcing laws that are already on the books, as well as limiting clip sizes, that can really make a difference. The NRA, of course, has basically made both of these things impossible.
My personal preference would be that if you want to shoot semi-automatic weapons outside the home that they should be stored at a state or federal facility or range. THat seems to make the most sense.
What do you make of the fact that neocon Elliot Abrams supports the statehood bid (see his blog at the council for foreign relations). Outgoing defense minister Barak supports it as well.
Charley what would you do if Rockets were raining down on your home? Why, if Palestinians want peace so badly, do they not renounce the right of return and agree to Israel as a Jewish state. Indeed, they refused to sit down with Netanyahu in 2009.
Furthermore this is exactly your worst case scenario "targeted anti terrorism." As even a cursory glance at the operation would show. This is not an indiscriminate campaign. What if rockets were falling on your house every day?
I'm suspicious about Maher being very loyal to Judaism. He has only dated African American and Hispanic Women, who are by and large not in the faith.
As a Jew, I am obviously disgusted with the video that Bacile made and his use of epidemiological language to condemn Islams. Obviously, I am not alone amongst my co-religionists. That being said, the same kind of material is regularly shown on STATE media networks in Arab countries, not just by some loon totally unaffiliated with the government. Juan may call what I'm saying playground ethics, but I think the attempt to somehow pin this on Jews/Israel is mistaken and inciduous.
"Reid has not accused Romney of any wrongdoing. McCarthy called Americans traitors and ruined their careers."
I fully approve of what Reid is doing, but this sentence is inaccurate. Reid IS accusing Romney of wrong doing in an attempt to ruin his presidential career.
Here here.
link to motherjones.com
This is excellent. Thanks Doug.
If we ever did need to overthrow our government (and it might be necessary the way things are going) we would stand no chance without the military on the side of the people. As it stands the militia fantasy is just an excuse to do nothing on this terrible problem.
Teddy Roosevelt was a racist and imperialist scumbag, but he was right on healthcare!
The problem with this poster is that this was most likely said in jest. Mencken was no fan of democracy, referring to the masses as the Booboosie. He had a great wit, but he was no man of the people.
Yes. Our propensity to "other" is our biggest problem!
Amen to this. Extremely well written.
The most recent May Day list of demands from the Occupy movement (posted at Guardian) includes a request for a full transition to renewable. We're on it!
This is the first thought I had when I saw the story as well.
Here's the thing. White working class voters feel increasingly isolated from the Democratic party because they are largely socially conservative. Astute critics such as Christopher Lasch have noted this. How to get them back into the fold is an important question.
And they were perfect angels, right?
Is that a bad thing?
As a Jew, I'm inclined to agree with you here. One need only search the web briefly to see that plenty of people are still quite fine with another final solution, and many of my co-religionist know it. Since I'm not a believer, I vote for one giant self abnegation of the religion in order to avoid more suffering, but thats just a dream. Curious for your alls thoughts.
@Mega. What do you expect will happen? I know the far right is becoming quite active.
Yes I think you're right. I think many people don't understand the socialization of the Jewish community. The constant wonder of whether your gentile friends would save you in the case of another Hitler, making sure passports are always updated etc. Maybe its neurosis, but it is what it is.
As Juan says a lot of this is just baseless stereotyping mixed with self fulfilling prophecy. I wish you would think about how you would feel if someone said that about your friends or family.
The far right is freaked that because of intermarriage there will eventually be less or no "white" people (whatever that construct means). I figure by then we'll either all be dead by global warming or genetically engineering or children, and it wouldn't matter anyway unless your superstitious.
Juan I really enjoyed this post and love your other writings as well. You have also displayed an admirable ability to police your comments and posts from racist statements, which you concisely define as negative generalizations about large groups of people. Thats why as an Ashkenazi American Jew (although not observant) I was offended by your remark that "we" have to get used to not being in power all the time. I am not in power, nor are my parents, friends or extended family. We're normal American citizens-doctors, social workers, and school teachers who want nothing more than to live our lives. Thanks.