US-Contracted Ship Fires Toward Iranian Boat
A cargo ship hired by the U.S. military fired warning shots at boats suspected to be Iranian, the U.S. Navy said on Friday, underscoring tension in the Gulf as the Pentagon sharpened its warnings to Tehran.
According to American defense officials, the Westward Venture cargo ship chartered by the U.S. Defense Department was traveling in international waters when two unidentified small boats approached on Thursday.
After the boats failed to respond to radio queries and a warning flare, the cargo ship’s onboard security team fired “a few bursts” of machine gun and rifle warning shots, according to Cmdr. Lydia Robertson, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Navy’s Bahrain-based Fifth Fleet.
“The small boats left the area a short time later,” she said by telephone. “They were able to avoid a serious incident by following the procedures that we use.”
The news helped push oil prices up more than $3 to $119.50 a barrel — within striking distance of the record $119.90 hit earlier this week — as traders worried escalating tensions in the region could eventually disrupt crude shipments.
In Tehran, an Iranian navy source denied that any confrontation had occurred with a U.S. ship in the Gulf. But the source, quoted by a journalist for Iran’s state-owned Arabic Al-Alam TV channel, said any shooting that may have occurred could have targeted a non-Iranian vessel.
U.S. defense officials said they suspected the boats were Iranian. “We don’t have complete confirmation of that but we suspect it,” one official said.
The incident was reported as America’s top military officer charged Iran with increasing its support for Iraqi militias with weapons and training used to kill U.S. troops.
Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mullen said the United States would continue to rely on diplomatic and economic methods to encourage Iran to change, but stressed the Pentagon had military options.
“When I say I don’t want to take any military options off the table, that certainly more than implies that we have military options,” Mullen told reporters. “That kind of planning activity has been going on for a long time. I think it will go on for some time into the future.”
Tensions in the region have risen this year. In January, the United States said Iranian boats aggressively approached three U.S. Navy battle ships, warning them they would explode in minutes.
In March, another U.S. military-chartered ship preparing to cross the Suez Canal fired warning shots at a small boat, killing an Egyptian on board.
Reporting by Kristin Roberts and Andrew Gray, Editing by Chris Wilson
© 2008 Reuters
I’m sorry, did somebody just say “Gulf of Tonkin”?
And this is going to improve the world how?
The U.S. is a threat to world peace and to the survival of the planet. War is big business for the criminal war profiteers. There’s nothing more they love than making enemies for America since they don’t serve in the military anyway. Why aren’t they charged with war crimes and reined in??
The United States in January said Iranian boats threatened its warships on January 6 along a vital route for crude oil shipments. Lies and more lies! Does anyone know why the Iranian ship was fired on?
Experts agree: everything is fine.
Go on about your business.
Nothing to see, here.
War is peace.
Ignorance is strength.
Freedom is …
The shot fired round the beltway.
I like war.
The business of the United States is now war. Syrian nukes, manufactured naval crisis in the Straits, the firing of Adm. Fallon, are just the beginning of the pretext for action against Iran. The Hamas peace deal will evaporate and the Mahdi Army will declare war if the U.S. bombs Iran. Get ready, here comes the big one.
Its time to go off grid. Before all the lights go out.
The Reichstagg
The Gulf of Tonkin
9-11
The Straits: An Action Packed Movie For America Coming Soon! With a Ship Sinking! (Increased Military Budget!)
Then Oil hits $300.00 bl, Fuel is ten bucks a gallon,
And Amarikan Navy Personell Die (Forget the Liberty)
And The War On Islam/For Oil/Global hegemony gets hot.
STALINGRAD
Who really believes Russia and China will play no role in this?
America is a big bully and will taunt Iran to try to provoke them into an attack. My country is the greatest threat to peace in the world, and I am ashamed to call myself an American. Unless the rest of the world steps in to stop this, America will bomb Iran before Bush leaves office. His puppet is now in place as the head of Centcom.
With the will of the people buried six feet under by the White House and the consensual apathy of Congress, it seems it will take a New American Revolution to stop the Illuminati’s New American Century.
Why does it seem like I can already hear a voice saying, “I’m sorry but the world situation requires that I declare martial law, and remain in office during these troubled times. Nobody knows them better than me [sic]. We will resume democracy when I, or my Molochian Brother, Cheney, feel it’s necessary.”
War is now America’s biggest export. When is the world going to stop the US?
Impeachment is still off the table and Nancy Pelosi is going to open her Gucci bag and give BushCo 178 BILLION more dollars…more than enough for an escapade into Iran, I think.
And, they are beginning even more intense demonization of Syria, linking them to North Korea.
I know who the Axis of Evil are: Bush, Cheney and Pelosi.
Revolution is the Solution…
www.CindyforCongress.org
Love
Cindy
So now we have Blackwater type MERCENARY CARGO SHIPS! In fact, is it a Blackwater Cargo ship?
Amen, Cindy!
Go Cindy.
BETTER GO AND BUY RICE AND FLOUR AND BEANS AND WATER PURIFICATION TABLETS…AND GO TO THE LOCAL INDOOR GROW STORE AND BUY A 45 GALLON “POTABLE” WATER BARREL..”FOOD GRADE”…AND ALSO MIGHT WANT TO GO AND PICK UP SOME STAPLES FOR….TRADE..YEAH THAT’S RIGHT..DIAPERS, TAMPONS..ASPERIN, TYLENOL, ETC..ETC..ETC…A COLEMAN STOVE..AND ANYTHING THAT MIGHT WORK IN THE FIGHT AGAINST POST APOCALYPTIC GIANT RADIOACTIVE MUTANT INSECTS..BECAUSE THEIR WILL BE…GIANT INSECTS….GEORGE PEPPARD KNOWS..KNEW…THAT IS..AND YOU WILL TOO..
AND THEN OF OURSE THEIR ARE THE ZOMBIES…IN FACT THERE IS A GUY MAKING “ZOMBIE TARGETS”..I KID YOU NOT..
AMMO IS ALREADY REALLY EXPENSIVE..BUT…PICK UP..9MM, .45 CAL (200-24O GRAIN..SOFT TO HOT) AND .223..AND PROBABLY SOME 762 x 39 FOR ALL THE AK’S LAYIN AROUND..
YEAH..MIGHT WANT TO GET READY..BATTERIES ..ALL KINDS OF STUFF..AND REMEMBER..EVEN WHILE SOCIET IS CLINGING TO THE BRIM..AFTER THE “BIG FLUSH”..LIKE WES SAY’S…THERE WILL ALWAY’S BE..MAIL ORDER..
HUP! I JUST REALIZED WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT..IT IS AN ATTEMPT TO BOLSTER THE ECONOMY BY THE MASS CONSUMING OF SURVIVAL GOODS…THAT’S IT!…HOW..DASTARDLY!
DICK AND HIS PALS…WHAT A BUNCH OF WHACKY GUY’S..
SO…GET READY FOLKS..DUCK AN COVER…
Let’s not forget the planning by the US to provoke the Japanese to attack the US. In A. McCollum’s (Office of naval Intelligence) memo to FDR on Oct 7, 1940, he suggested:
It is not believed that in the present state of political opinion the United States government is capable of declaring war against Japan without more ado; and it is barely possible that vigorous action on our part might lead the Japanese to modify their attitude. Therefore, the following course of action is suggested:
A. Make an arrangement with Britain for the use of British bases in the Pacific, particularly Singapore.
B. Make an arrangement with Holland for the use of base facilities and acquisition of supplies in the Dutch East Indies.
C. Give all possible aid to the Chinese government of Chiang-Kai-Shek.
D. Send a division of long range heavy cruisers to the Orient, Philippines, or Singapore.
E. Send two divisions of submarines to the Orient.
F. Keep the main strength of the U.S. fleet now in the Pacific in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands.
G. Insist that the Dutch refuse to grant Japanese demands for undue economic concessions, particularly oil.
H. Completely embargo all U.S. trade with Japan, in collaboration with a similar embargo imposed by the British Empire.
If by these means Japan could be led to commit an overt act of war, so much the better. At all events we must be fully prepared to accept the threat of war.
All of which FDR promptly enacted.
Well, if the article is true (my goodness how cynical of me) then the us military is now looking for any excuse to begin firing on Iranian targets. But of course in the msm of the usa that act will be described as one of self-defence; for the rest of the world it’ll be the usa firing the first shots of another war.
Does the NATO alliance require those countries to come to the aid of a member that’s launched the war? I doubt it, hopefully if you do launch a war against Iran the rest of the world will not join in.
It’s time for AL GORE or someone of his stature to stand up now and lead massive street demonstrations against war with Iran. Where are the writers? Where are the actors? Where are the religious leaders? The gawd awful congress is cowering in the worst way while the Bush-cons take us to war again. Economic shocks will reverberate throughout this economy resulting in gas, food, and medicine shortages. I CHALLENGE THE REAL LEADER TO STAND UP AND LEAD.
Sounds like Hitler moving into Poland…fake excuses, proraganda to hype up the media and people.
Those guys will NOT be happy until a war with Iran is started.
Shame on them.
The details in this Reuters article are not tremendously specific: “in international waters” means what exactly? How close was the Westward Venture to Iranian waters? Were these alleged Iranian boats also in international waters and, if so, how close were they to the Westward Venture? “Approached”? Were the boats within inches? Feet? Yards? Miles?
What leads the US to believe the boats were Iranian? [U.S. defense officials said they suspected the boats were Iranian. “We don’t have complete confirmation of that but we suspect it,” one official said.] Absolutely nothing in the article suggests the US defense officials were even asked why they suspected they were Iranian boats. Apparently the US government can now make any claim it wants, either with or without merit, and place the burden of proof on the accused.
Tensions in the region have risen this year. In January, the United States said Iranian boats aggressively approached three U.S. Navy battle ships, warning them they would explode in minutes.
This has been thoroughly debunked, even by the US Navy. And here we have Reuters propagating what is now known to be outright lies.
The End of America
http://carolynbaker.net/site/content/view/135/
William Odom is a retired US Army three-star general, and former Director of the National Security Agency, under President Ronald Reagan. He testified on April 2, 2008, before Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Iraq. His statements are devastating to Bush’s failed war policy and the arguments for prolonging the war.
Here is the full text of his testimony
http://forums.military.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/2341971921/m/3640008771001
B L A C K W A T E R __ has _ a __ N A V Y ?
@namaste
Why not? They have a larger air force (lots of helicopters) than the Iraqis.
Unlike the Gulf of Tonkin, this vessel is not part of the US Navy. It is a private contractor.With the possible exception of namaste’s “Blackwater has a navy?” no one has commented on this. What legal authority does a private business have to shoot at people? Imagine if this happened on our coast, an Exxon tanker shoots at a Greenpeace speedboat. There would be an uproar, even if Exxon got off.
The military even in the case of the Gulf of Tonkin incident has to have some sort of plausible (albeit fabricated) story and paper trial. A contractor (a private business) can do or say anything they want, they are not accountable to the public (even if it’s only a dog and pony show as in the US military).
It seems Neo-cons will try anything.
The article on the Reuters site doesn’t use the words “Iranian boat” in its title. So, in effect, the Common Dreams editors have distorted the story and made it seem more inflammatory.
RE: Tom Larsen April 25th, 2008 4:01 pm
“Unlike the Gulf of Tonkin, this vessel is not part of the US Navy.”
Was the Lusitania? And look what that did to relationships between the US & another country.
Jxj261 asked:
“War is now America’s biggest export. When is the world going to stop the US?”
Good question, but those SOBs in congress could stop it immeadiately; but they continue pumping $$$$$ into it.
I’m wondering the same thing as Tom Larsen. Do we now just contract, and send ships around the world and say “fire at will?” I’m new to this website. May I recommend to those who post here that, at your convenience you read a blog called Pen and Sword, written by Jeff Huber. He’s done an excellent analysis on the possible outcome of any Naval warfare in the Persian Gulf. The absolute stupidity of this action, by a private contractor, is mind boggling.
If this incident won’t lead to a ‘Gulf of Tonkin’ type resolution, don’t worry. Maybe the next one will, or the one after that. But eventually we’ll be there. Fighting for what? Weapons of Mass Distractions, a tyrant, or ‘fill in the blank ______’. They is no excuse, no matter how lame, untrruthful or irrational, that won’t be used.
What is the Green party’s position on attacking Iran?
What is also maddening about this incident, is that it was used, by the oil companies, as just another excuse to once again raise the price of oil, and by extension will cost us even more dollars at the gas pump.
Naomi Klein’s book, “Shock Doctrine” was a very timely publication; it really does a great job of laying out the Disaster Capitalist routine that the Cheney/Bush regime is fololowing almost to the letter. I’m just sorry that Nancy Pelosi said early on after the 2006 elections that impeachment is off the table and that the weak-kneed House has seen fit to take her advice, because that inaction is paving the way for the neo-cons to create another crisis that will give the Cheney/Bush neo-con club cause to declare a national emergency that will postpone the national elections in November indefinitely and give them an excuse to “obliterate Iran” as Hillary (their wolf in sheep’s clothing) has suggested.
So “cargo ships” are permitted to “fire” on anything that gets “too close?”
Greenpeace, are you listening? The gloves are off, baby. And laws no longer apply, unless you’re WSnipes…
I worked on container vessels for US Lines 25 years ago. We stacked our containers 5 and 6 high above the main deck. Today, they are stacked even higher. The reason for stacking the containers so high was that it was not profitable to NOT stack them so far above the main deck. From the photo, I see the containers not stacked at all. That means that ship is operating at a HUGE loss; if it is a legitimate cargo vessel.
CONCLUSION: The S.S. Westward Venture is NOT a bonafide cargo vessel. It’s sole purpose is to instigate a situation which will start a war. One other thing. When containers are stacked high, the ship becomes top-heavy and manuvers badly. The Westward Venture is very trim and looks like she can perform minimal battle manuvers.
Bush, Cheney, Rice, Clinton and the rest of you assholes. Why don’t you just start your friggin’ war and stop pussy-footin’ around.
Doom n Gloom April 25th, 2008 1:29 pm …There are NO TRUE LEADERS…therein lies the main problem. The POWER is with the people, but there is no one to say, NOW!..Now is the time to march to DC and demand these CRIMINALS be placed in handcuffs. Without any real leader, WE the PEOPLE are talking trash and chasing our own tails. The idea of a mass spontaneous march will not happen until there’s no food on the shelves and no gas in our tanks. Psyops, my friend. We have been conditioned and bred to believe it will get better. By the time the average American realizes it’s all been a scam from day one, it will likely be too late. We are no different than the addict who must hit rock bottom before ANY CHANGE IS POSSIBLE.
How about everyone who possibly can donate their STIMULUS check to Cindy’s campaign to unseat Pelosi? I would love to shave Pelosi’s hair off like the French did after WW II to prostitutes who consorted with the Nazis.
Of course, top priority is to get rid of those Nazis. But they couldn’t exist without massive complicity.
“Monsters exist. But they are too few in number to be truly dangerous. More dangerous are the functionaries ready to believe and to act without asking questions.” - Primo Levi
Seaweed:
You make an important observation. Note, however, that the photo above shows the SS Westward Venture “bound for Alaska in Puget Sound” in Washington State. It would be useful to see a photo of the same ship at the time of the “incident”.
To paraphrase William Blum (author of “Rogue State”): As sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, you know they will be up to something.
We love you Cindy
Okay, now. Back in January, three little plastic motorboats attacked several US warships, whose skippers were so scared because those bad ass little plastic boats said nasty things to them. Ohmigodinheaven [or wherever]. What happened to the men who used to run our navies? Got old, I guess. Left us with a whole passel of candiasses who are scared of their own shadows [like the rest of the Amerikan population]. Then in the Suez, a ship contracted to us [yeah, its probably Blackwater’s] shot at a suspected boat [in the Suez, right, which is how far from Iran?] and killed some poor frigging Egyptian. Why didn’t Mubarak come unglued? Anwar Sadat would have had somebody’s ass, but they killed him because he was a statesman. And this time an Amerikan contracted ship fired on a couple of boats that they thought - they thought - were Iranian. And my fellow Amerikans believe this shit? Do you wonder why I have a ‘Kill your Television’ bumbersticker? As long as there is a propaganda machine in every living room, those of us who can still think are left out of the decision making process. I am a member of Veterans for Peace, but I am seriously rethinking the peace part. And some of Cindy’s campaign money should go to buying her some body armor. Barak’s too.
Seaweed: Great info! I used to haul containers down to the piers and understand what you’ve said. Parenti, Zinn, Chomsky, Vidal and others have written about the “false” attacks on the US since the end of the 19th Century.
Americans fall for it every time! Ignorance IS bliss for the war profiteers. They sure aren’t! Too bad the ones to be killed and crippled haven’t caught on to them.
Next Thursday, May !st, the ILWU will shut down for one day, the ports on the west coast, from the Mexican to the Canadian border. It is a worker’s solidarity movement to protest our involvement in Iraq and all working people, are needed to help the movement by not working for the day. WE, THE PEOPLE, have the POWER to correct the wrongs this administration has unleashed on America and the world, ONLY if WE stick together as ONE, with a sense of purpose. It doesn’t matter where you live, take the day off if you are working in solidarity and be part of the active movement.
It’s one of those container ships of global trade - what we need fewer of. Their numbers are a good indicator of the level of class war aggression. The capitalist’s plan is to increase the number of these ships, and expand the Pentagon’s role securing them. This requires remote controlled drones in the air and under the sea. The drones above land will enforce the export production, cotton, coffee, etc. No local production for local markets will be allowed. Any state that tries to protect its economy from global trade will be “Iranned” by the Pentagon.
Two possibilities on the Merc ‘cargo ship’:
1) It is actually a privateer with letters of marque from the whitehouse.
2) More likely, a ‘Q-ship’, that is, a ship that was originally a cargo ship, but has undergone modifications to make it a covert war vessel with concealed weapons capable of commerce raiding (piracy) and attacking and possibly sinking smaller warships like destroyers and coastal defense cutters. Nazi Germany had many of these things prowling the Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean.
Could be the unmanned Hammerhead target drone boats built by a Nova Scotia company for all we know.
No bouncy shaky grainy file movies this time?
Please, tell me no one on board has a digital cam or cell phone w/cam.
Jeeze, its obvious they want war with Iran one way or another.
They just won’t fucking quit will they…
Soon we will just be radioactive ashes in the wind…
So…they “suspect” they were Iranian…aren’t these the same guys who “suspected” Saddam had nuclear technology? Despite 81% of the citizens
thinking the country is going in the wrong direction…50% are seroiusly considering voting republican in the next election!!!! These people are so damn dumb you could tell them its snowing in Miami and they’d put on a coat without looking outside first!
Its all about money and greed. If we ceased to export arms at a greater rate then the next five exporters combined, most conflicts would cease overnight. Amerikkka only pretends to have peaceful intentions…and like most things our politicians say, that is a lie.
If the USA attacks Iran, then the world’s future will depend upon how the American public reacts.
We can not acquiesce to anything more from this crazy criminal theo-fascist illegitimate regime.
Perhaps, if cities and towns across America look like Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Berlin, Hamberg, Dresden, Warsaw, Stalingrad, Tokyo, etc. in mid August of 1945, is it possible, knowing the American appetite for violence, that the survivors in the US would reconsider and abide by peaceful coexistence with the rest of the world? It worked for Japan and Germany. Must we learn the hard way?
What’s the best way to stop the empire?
My idea is to show them how many we are. That way we also know how many of “us” there are.
Join the bandana revolution.
Wear one, wave one, tie one on your car or your purse or your backpack.
Moves like this psych ops boat incident is imperial rule using the power of our money threatening and/or using force to dominate the rest of us.
This will stop when they see that there are more of us than there are the few of them.
Remember this is rule by the few over the many. Until we show who we are, we are nobody. Their wars for dominion are working because we don’t know who stands wiht “us”. Dig out that bandana and start showing it.
It’s time we let them know our numbers.
Gee, “Shots fired at “suspected” Iranian boats.” Doesn’t anybody know that Iran is on the Persian Gulf, too? I understand that us Americans are behind on geography. I suppose it’s anti-american to know any geography at all. Our military just invades the area and the occupied folks are all “enemy combatants.” Gee, I guess we live in “the land of the free” and all others live in “freedom from land.” American “manifest destiny” applied to the whole goddamn world.
….how likely it can be predicted that the masses living within the borders of this here: ‘United States of Amnesia’ will so eagerly buy at fact value, whatever the next far fetched manufactured pretext the Power Brokers offer us as their justifications to attack Iran?! Of course, the Disinformation networks (aka Media) will be right there to only parrot these lies and deceit with such skill and effectiveness over and over and over again until the Bewildered Heard here at home goes into their typical, predictable mind-numbing slumber again and watches all the nonsense happen…..AGAIN!!!…..What do we REALLY know about IRAN????….ah, not much, that’s for sure. This whole scheme to attack and break into Iran’s oil fields has been a plan in the making since the end of WWII. And since then, what we Bewilders have seen here at home on our tele- screens has been a very carefully, tightly controlled narrow view of Iran, of its culture of its way of living and for good reason….if you don’t know something that well, the natural inclination (of someone who does not take time to think critically) is to fear that foreign thing and to easily accept the demonization and marginalization cast against it by the Higher-ups. The Power Elites have been planting this ’seed’ to attack Iran for decades and obviously it is about to come to fruition. If only the Masses could ‘connect the dots’ and see things for what they are, but of course, our modern day educational system won’t allow us to naturally develop our critical thinking skills when going through school, as that is most certainly not something the ones at the top are interested in allowing….too dangerous and would serve as a major threat to their grand schemes and greedy ambitions….remember what Bob Marley said:…’only the fool is thirsty in the abundance of water’….those at the top will ALWAYS be thirsty while we ‘below’ will only suffer and wale from all their misdeeds….
This link says it all:
“Ten False Flags that Changed the World”
http://infowars.wordpress.com/2007/05/09/10-false-flags-that-changed-the-world/
PaulMagillSmith — This aught to be part of history, while of course it IS the REAL underpinnings of what ACTUALLY happened — which hardly appeals to easy understanding or rapid subjective war mongering REACTIONS ( as it intends to drive ).
Very nice link, thank you
Namaste
Are you people blind? Iran is an evil nation,,,
How is it I don’t hear you complaining about the way Iran deals with its women? Or it’s Homosexuals…. for cryin out loud.
You should all move there. Yeah, I know….fat chance of that.
As for me, next time they start their shit around any of our ships…1st shot=warning
2nd shot? Blow the stupid bastards out of the water to Kingdom Come. Then see if ‘Iran’ starts a war with ‘us’…
It’ll never happen..
Tell me why you don’t complain about Iran!!!!
Come’on TELL ME!!!!
yep….that’s what I thought
your friend banjoman
Compared to the USA policies and rulers,
Somebody might consider TUNING up their _m u s i c a l _ a p p a r t u s,
as it sounds to me much _o u t - o f - k e y_ and _d i s h a r m o n i o u s_
and it is getting so tiring to be _s t r u n g_ along while you continue to _h a r p_ with vigorous
strumming of your _ O R G A N _ of choice.
Give it a break ( even MONKEYS do )
If you hate it so much, why aren’t you on a plane to Calcutta?……me thinks thou protest a bit much there pal…..banjoman
This is how it will start (the Iranian War, Marshall Law, etc). A US ship will claim to be in international waters (when it was probably in Iranian waters), an Iranian ship will tell the US to get out of its territory, the US will bully the Iranian ship, there will be a confrontation, shots will be fired by us, the Iranian ship will fire back, we will claim they fired on us first, other ships will come to the scene…, cheney’s self-fullfilling prophecy will come true. We will forget about Iraq and that other country (Afghanistan).
banjoman, you’re a fool. Iran hasn’t attacked any country in over 200 years, but can the USA say the same.
You must be very young or you would know the Iranian PEOPLE bear us no ill will, just like the Russian PEOPLE didn’t during the cold war. They want basically what most PEOPLE around the world want, peace & security in their own home/country, food, good health, a family of loved ones & friends, freedom to worship how they please, unrestricted travel, and the feeling their kids have a chance at a better life.
The problem is a small group of mostly men in the various governments, with control issues, warped ideologies, who covet the resources of others, and being the bullies they are believe might makes right. The reason I call you a fool (something I rarely do with people BTW) is you seem not to realize, after almost 8 interminable years of Bush/Cheney screw ups they are about as trustworthy in matters of international relationships as a mad hare, yet you seem to have bought into their fiction/propaganda hook, line & sinker.
And don’t give me any of that ‘love it or leave it’ or ‘with us or against us’ crap either. With my family having lived within less than 200 miles of where I live (100 miles south of DC) since 1634 I’ll wager you are the newer immigrant, so maybe it is YOU who should exit so we can clean up the mess (national & international) these sick warmongering f**ks have made of our country & world.
PaulMagillSmith — ditto
Oh fellow JAMESTOWNEAN
IF it is TO BE — IT IS UP TO ME
— NO MORE O’ROAKEAN slaughters and demise of CHANCES —
PaulMagillSmith: Excellent 1;14pm post! My ancestors came over at the end of the 19th century so you got me there.
I second your comment on banjoman. The Bush faithful! But whether anybody’s ancestors came over on the Mayflower (stealing the native peoples’ land, among other things) or just got off the boat this morning, right is right and wrong is wrong in any geographical location in the world. It’s irrelevant, but when did the Bush/Walker family arrive on these shores or the Dulles family? John Foster and Allen were no angels. Emma Goldman (a greenhorn) did much to help American men and women and was deported for it.
Paul, I attack everybody (verbally) who does wrong. My only allegiance is to the truth and justice for all.
Thanks, peaceman (you, too, namaste), I also only swear allegiance to truth & justice, because they are universal terms without respect to nation, or time, only the noble ideals of the better more socially evolved humans. Unfortunately, we are currently beset by legions of demonic people (small in number though) who have no concept of reason, truth, conscience, logic, morals, or ethics. They only worship at the temple built by greed for filthy lucre, and are motivated by an insatiable desire to enslave & dominate. Should we lose in this struggle against such self-centered really bad people it is a confirmation the brainwashing we have all endured for the past few thousand years, about a just merciful god, is only myth. I’ll manipulate my own self, thankyou, and I need no self-appointed religioso preying on me demanding I pray in their fashion. I’m certain there are a goodly number of stalwart Iranians who feel the same way about having the bootheel of Islamic fundamentalism constantly on their throat (as well as a like number of their Jewish counterparts who reject the insidious constant deceit of the Zionists only intent on discord, and their Catholic & protestant counterparts as similarly). All these ‘false flag’ attempts to sway public opinion must cease if the goal of world peace is to be more than just a forgotten dream. No person in America, in their right, mind wants issue with Iran, but that’s exactly the problem, the ones who do wish war with Iran exhibit traits of the criminally insane, and lunatics now run the asylum.
I think I need to clear the air about my previous post. My family arrived on these shores centuries ago, but I take no credit (I’m not THAT old
). None I know of ever accumulated any great wealth, or owned slaves; just hard working people that helped build this country from pretty much the trees up. It’s not a matter of who came first, but what the people who came here did. Since even the Indians came here from elsewhere, and the only difference between them & me is a longer time frame it is probably just as appropriate for me to consider myself a ‘Native American’ as they are. ‘Earthling’ for all of us is probably the correct term, but I’ll settle for being included as a member of the only race on this planet…human. The sooner we collectively learn we are all in this boat together, the sooner we will all sit down, shut the hell up about artificially created divisiveness, and start rowing into a brighter future. This whole neo-CON attempt to incite a violent confrontation with Iran is just one more case of a slacker dragging an oar in the water to slow us down because of an anti-social ulterior motive. It’s gotten to the point we need to chuck these suckers overboard, and move on. Nancy Pelosi wake up! You’ve been sleeping through your most important class.
PaulMagillSmith; You summed it up very well. No need for me to add anything.
Nancy Pelosi has been a disapointment since becoming majority leader. letting the country down. She had a fairly solid record as a plain Congresswoman. Keep the faith, Paul. We’re going to win this battle yet!