gdp's Comments

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 12:53:15 +0000

In this video, Peled gives the whole story... so it's not a chicken-egg conundrum http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3 ... This is a highly credible narrative, brief enough to spend an hour on, and thorough enough to give a good historical background, that shouldn't be missed.

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 15:35:27 +0000

Some one in this conversation posted a link about Miko Peled, and I can't find it now... But I want to comment on the article/video: http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article3... This is a highly credible narrative, brief enough to spend an hour on, and thorough enough to give a good historical background, that shouldn't be missed.

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 14:18:54 +0000

You've posted a similar comment several times, and I still I have no idea what your comment means...

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 14:01:12 +0000

I didn't see your post, X-man, but judging from your next post, in answer to everlynburch, I can see why your post would have been deleted; just on the first line you call "everyone here" "cultural Marxists." Labeling and name calling get tagged in most forums. With initial sentence insulting the readers, you can be sure more than one person will feel like reporting your post, although most people are very tolerant, and are not trigger-happy to report everything. Second, this discussion is run by "Intense Debate" and not by ICH. ICH is probably a one man band who gathers news from many places.. etc.

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Sun, 25 Nov 2012 13:43:24 +0000

Mr. Guest: Whoever might want to get a link will do so in his/her post, and they will not stop because you call them hasbara, or whatver. Are you policing the quality of posts, Mr. Guest?

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:25:43 +0000

That's just the point in my question; I don't think Israel really disclosed the main purpose of going into Gaza, and it didn't need to agree to the cease fire, since it was obliterating Gaza. A few more days, and the place would be swarming with Israeli troops, and a physical conquest would have been a fait 'd acomplie. For Gaza it was a war; for Israel was a mere skirmish to draw out Gaza's (Iran's really) capabilities. Rockets that could reach Tel Aviv was apparently unknown to Israel, at least not proven conclusively. The NYT states in a recent article suggested as much: A practice run for upcoming attack on Iran.

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:31:51 +0000

Hamas had been shelling Israel for a long time on a regular basis, and Israel had been retaliating as well. . . every few days... and just as regularly the body count was always higher for Gaza... rarely did Israeli were harmed at all. Why would Israel suddenly take major moves to obliterate Gaza, and then stopping short of wiping Gaza out, consent to a cease fire?

Information Clearing House - News you won't find on CNN : Norman Finkelstein: Israel Suffered a Double Defeat

Fri, 23 Nov 2012 17:23:20 +0000

@Kratoklastes, you seem to have background not often heard around the Third Reich conversations. Have you found a book, "Politics of Assassination" (Not Murray Clark Havens, Prentice Hall) written, I believe before 1943, covering a period of Feudal Germany, when the Feudal Lords, (Yunkers), were being assassinated one after the other... their demise attributed to a group of elite Jews whose skills had been imported by the then Germany... year's earlier.... I saw the book once, but lost it, and it's been not only out of print, but seems to have disappear from the face of the planet... So, you might have some connection to the source, based on the level of information you present...

Change.gov : Inside the Transition: Technology, Innovation and Government Reform | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Tr

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 16:38:29 +0000

Even if you consider what is it used for, there are functionalities which are basic, such as sorting and searching. Design can be modified without affecting database information, and streamlined methods of accessing the data. Here are some simple examples: Post should have a heading that describes the post; Author should be able to tab for topics; Users should be able to search by topic, authors, date range, and key words inside the posts' text. User should be able to "go to page." At present topics are limited to the issues made available here, which leave out tons of topics of public concern. There are features which simply don't work. For example, when you go to page "Next," the system doesn't recognize if you're signed in, an one has to sign in again and again. And on, and on...

Change.gov : Inside the Transition: Technology, Innovation and Government Reform | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Tr

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:32:20 +0000

Gimmicks can build enthusiasm for a brief period, but the enthusiasm wears out quickly, and is followed by frustration when their functionality is as severely faulty, and amateurish as these systems have been so far; and then followed by restrained anger, when not a single comments asking for improvement is implemented. We have a) "Comments" on random topics (such as this one), b) "A Seat at the Table," c) "Question," the d) "Citizen Briefing Book," They are all nice gimmicks and good ideas, but their implementation have succeeded in leaving millions of people out of it because poor technical rendition, shortness of life, inability to access, narrow band width at their server, using canned system (such as "intensedebate") which isn't even design for a database of millions of users. The basic intent of these gimmicks are to make it easy for citizen's ideas to reach the appropriate administration personnel; thus all these different application with clever names can be made into a single one that properly organized can accomplish exactly what was intended. Another thing is that we have not receive feedback other then very generic, and congratulatory, but no real substance. Maybe that would be premature before the inauguration... Also, there is supposed to be a "directory" of transition member... but in fact, there was never a list of people with their jobs, and who to contact about this, that or the other. I'll grant that maybe all this has been an experiment to test out before going live... but even as an experiment I would have expected to have a higher professional product, with features which are standards practically everywhere in Internet, but are missing here. So, I can grade this experience so far with a hearty E for good effort; and let's see with what comes up next; particularly in the area of implementing improvement that are asked for in terms of functionality.

Change.gov : Inside the Transition: Technology, Innovation and Government Reform | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Tr

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 07:05:42 +0000

Yes. Even on fast systems this type of software moves like molasses. There are technical solutions which I hope will be implemented.

Change.gov : Inside the Transition: Technology, Innovation and Government Reform | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Tr

Tue, 20 Jan 2009 06:59:38 +0000

This is more a technical problem of sorting and segregating topics. For example, we've been asking that posts be given a place to enter a topic, so either user or administration can classify, and/or tag; and people can search by topic, date, user name, etc. Failure to do such, would reduce the users down to a few hundred who are indeed hijacking the entire blog for their private discussion. This should be OK, but it should have it's own "room" so to speak.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 16:25:23 +0000

Interestingly point that in fact the Declaration of Independence is NOT part of the constitution or law, and some legal minds have used it to limit citizen rights to what was explicitly written in the Articles and Amendments of the Constitution. My feeling is that the Declaration of Independence is the heart of the Constitution and should be used as the source of the intention of the Founding Fathers.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Sun, 18 Jan 2009 03:42:36 +0000

Freedom of and From Religion-Abolish 301 Tax Free Status It is clear that the Founding fathers, most of whom were either atheist Free Masons, Rosicrucian, or anti-church (organized religion) Christians, intended that individual rights of religious practice should be preserved. Conversely, the right to practice religions undisturbed already presumes the right to be free from the religions of others, and the freedom from being by them assaulted. It is a violation of the Constitution to confer upon any group or entity greater power than granted them by the governed people. Parishioners are governed by their religious leaders, but have no vote and no right of expression which is contrary to the religious organization, and have no control over church doctrine or policy. The 301 Status allows some organizations to enjoy tax exemptions on the notion that these groups promoted the general social welfare of the population. A condition for the status is that no profit or benefit can inure upon any individual or group of individuals within those associations. Religious groups in general violate this condition: With perhaps the exception of receipts which are strictly dedicated to charitable works, and not used as religious proselytizing, all income does in fact inure benefit to the top echelons of the hierarchy of religious organizations. Practice has clearly shown that tithes are extracted, and controlled by the high priests, and personal benefit does inure to them in the form of luxuries, and special treatment, which are not prescribed as a necessity to perform God’s works. There have been anecdotal incidents where, while they may at time benefit, their charitable works are reserved exclusively to their membership, which is tantamount to a type of insurance business. Religious groups do actually heavily influence their parishioners’ political ideology, and often advance religious dogmas and belief for injection into politics. The power achieved through these tax exemptions place religious organizations’ private agendas in greater status than citizens, and is expressly against constitutional intent. The Declaration of Independence is the senior legal ideology from which the Constitution was derived, which clearly establishes that Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed. Consequently, for these reasons, religious organizations must have their tax exemption status permanently revoked. This is just one step to make the separation between church and state more clear.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:49:47 +0000

Let me dare answer that conflicts refers to the fact that the major and most persistent wars are war due to conflicts in religious underpinnings, specifically the middle east, and to some extent what we call as war on terrorism. I had this notion that we must lock up all the religious leaders in a neutral temple or synagogue or church, and bring them food and sustenance while they all pray to God, which is in fact a common God, for a clarification on their respective holy books, so that they are all on the same page, and stop all the religious wars. When they come out, they should have a solution that would end religious conflicts forever, and we can get on to the business of humans working on living together with other humans. If they are all together, God won't be able to tell each sect a different story...

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:40:10 +0000

The reason the leadership, even in change.gov, has been embarrassed to talk up any official position on hemp (pot, marijuana, et al) is because of the stereotypical stigma of the substance, which for many years has been cast by the media as associated with the low lives, lazy, flower children, and hippies of the culture. Even the Hispanic name carries the south-of-the-border stigma of undesirables in many people's minds. It's a subtle association which people aren't likely to talk about. Yet today's retiring population are the flower children who became leaders and contributors to the society. I've seen pot used from the boardroom to the cloakroom, and it is the hypocrisy of our leadership that wont dare mention it, and brush it off as a secondary issue, not paramount to our economic woes. Pot kills brains cells; so does alcohol. But no human can use enough pot to where their brain activity will be permanently and visibly impaired. You can get there faster with alcohol. Hemp is the source of some of the most delicate and luxurious linen, and some of the toughest fibers. Up until sometime in the middle of the 20th century, hemp fiber was difficult to work because until the coring machine was created to separate the skin from the core of the plant, at which point the industrial applications would multiply significantly. As a potential bio-fuel, it has greater output, it can be grown faster and easier, and in arid regions, even mild desert areas. It doesn't require long lead time to harvest, and in mild regions it produces crops all year round. I don't use it for personal entertainment, and probably never will, as I find the smoke too pungent for my delicate sense of smell. But for a nation to ignore or brush aside the extraordinary industrial uses of this product is foolish to say the least; not to mention that it can very well contribute to economic recovery, as one of the many components of such a plan, since a VERY important part of any recovery package must include the rebuilding our industrial base, which is what in fact creates the wealth necessary to make any recovery stick.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 19:03:27 +0000

It takes a level of complacency to ignore that 8% unemployment means millions of people who aren't able to have a decent life. Also, the 8% doesn't include those who ran out of unemployment benefits and haven't been able to find work for years. That is intolerable irresponsibility on the part of government or economist. Full employment is 100%; any less is an intolerable failure; and people ought not to buy into the clever explanations of experts that are design to lull the population into a false sense of security.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:17:20 +0000

Oligopolies are a market condition in which sellers are so few that the actions of any one of them will materially affect price and have a measurable impact on competitors. Monopolies have more exclusivity over markets. I'm in fact referring to both, where the buyer has no alternatives, or the few alternatives they have offer no real advantage. For example, how many banks can you choose from, and how different are their fees and services from others? Very few choices, and very little if any differences in prices and services. It's a take it or leave it, i.e.: non-negotiable contract. You either buy fuel at the posted price or you don't buy. The prices across the street are no big difference to your monthly fuel bill. Exactly how people will use their tax reduction depends on what they see and feel the near future will be like. Some may go back to buying better quality food which they stopped buying when the prices made it unworkable. Some may travel a little more (buy more gas). There are things people consider absolute necessities, and may reduce how much they buy, but still buy it, such as fuel or food. If there are no price controls on staples sold by monopolies and oligopolies, these entities will drive their marketing and behavior to absorb any growth in liquidity they feel they can absorb, whether through visible price increases or hidden ones. Usually the latter, which can easily be done with misleading advertising, where you think you are buying something, but they will find a reason where you don't fit in that special plan. The concept applies regionally. For example, how many cable or phone, or power companies exist in a given community? In other words, choices are extremely limited or non-existent, and service quality is minimal, or non-existent, and prices are the same or nearly the same in the case of oligopolies. In some cases where there are monopolies, they fall under the regulation of some state Public Utilities Commission. These agencies used to work in behalf of the consumer some years ago, but these days, the phone company can make an error on your bill, and no appeal to a Public Utilities agency will do any good. You pay or the service is cut off.

Change.gov : The President-elect\'s plan | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Fri, 16 Jan 2009 03:50:28 +0000

Stimulus package Deployment: As the government gets ready to deploy relief to Main Street, with tax cuts and direct assistance to businesses, some still want to filter bailout cash through the financial community. We must continue to look at the financial community with suspicion, as they have been the engineers of our financial woes. The Fed has recently refused to release information on how and to whom bailout funds have been given, and for what use. AIG, despite the direct intent of the public that funds were not to be used for executive bonuses, have wasted no time in rewarding themselves lavishly. They'll have us spends years in court challenging them, until the population forgets. Special attention has to be paid on how the financial community reacts to the deployment of the Stimulus Packages. One must realize that "liquidity--money" hasn't simply disappeared, and as the government deploys funds, so will the financial community, forcing thereby a sudden increase in liquidity which will force inflation, which will be blamed on the Administration. The Administration must monitor closely what the financial community does, and if inflationary lending starts up, it should force an increase of reserve requirements, or some other means to curb it. Monopolies will raise their prices to absorb tax relief which may represent just a few dollars a week for the poorer members of the population. The tax relief alone for this group will merely bring them back to the level of being able to again purchase things they had to give up due to recent inflation. This may call for price controls of monopolies. There's a difference between price increases which are declared because they can, or because there's a rational need for it. Profits that are merely the result of price increases by monopolies should be restricted or forbidden. Really earned profits must come from increased production and services, not from mere price increases. Most of us don't want price controls; in a competitive environment, with many companies offering variations of the same product, the prices are controlled by competition. Monopolies do not experience any pressure against their desire to increase profits by price increases which in fact have not added any real wealth to the society.

Change.gov : New challenges, new opportunities | Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

Sat, 3 Jan 2009 13:22:09 +0000

My hopes for the coming year are to continue my childhood drive to improve my life, and that of others around me. I’m supporting my entrepreneurial dream with my retirement now; building on a shoe-string if you will. While now past 65, I will also build for my newborn son, so that he will have many of the opportunities I did NOT. I also hope that before the end of the year, the then President of the United States, will say in one of is national messages, “Nick, (Mike, Frank, Joe, Ken, Ofelia); I’ve read many of the messages you have sent, and I want to let you know that your views are neither unknown nor ignored.” At the same time, I want to watch things change in ways that while they may not match my ideas structurally, will at least parallel them in the intended results to the benefit of our people, and the people of the world. I like to see radical changes in two areas: one, economic democracy, with full financial community transparency, and greater ability for participation; and two, our political and international relations from our hawkish attitudes, more towards peace and reconciliation with nations and groups of the world, so that all can have a place they can call home, and feel safe therein; having then the time to focus on our human creativity applied towards the prosperity of the planet, and its survival.