₦airaland Forum

I know, sometimes one cannot resist the urge to stand by and read such nonsense from people that are intellectually bankrupt and yet in their imaginery world they see themselves as being fantastic people. What is the world turning into?

@Tornadoz,

Why worry, in a world where people hide behind computers to write whatever they want you don't need to bother yourself with claims made by people.

My take on his wonderful achievement is that considering the level of intellect he displays on this forum then I cannot but pity MTN and the company he currently works with.

I have been invited to seminars where you see CEOs of IT companies talk a whole load of nonsense even with their well made suits. After one such seminar I stopped wondering why Nigeria is not making real progress. I keep wondering if people actually get interviewed for jobs or they just get ID cards because of the language they speak.

Assuming his claim is not one of his many lies on this forum then MTN is a disappointment.

Enjoy!

As a minimum, get inverters with inbuilt chargers.

Buying off the shelf chargers (if not properly setup) may just fry your battery bank.

Mamajama:
What strike did he solved? didn't the NLC embark on the strike that paralyzed the nation for 4 days? The strike was never prevented, so what are you guys commending Yar Adua for? This administration in my view is very slow, but I am still optimistic and hopeful they will be successful. Are there still no kidnapping going on left and rights?

Yar'adua resolved the issues NLC brought before the FG and in my opinion the strike was completely meaningless.

The strike achieved nothing because the organizers ended up agreeing with what the FG came up with.

We should learn to give credit when it is necessary while condemning what needs to be condemned.

How much is N850M?

If you sell something as small as maggi cubes you can make that amount of money in one month.

Even if you make just N2.00 from every cube and in Nigeria today you have just 50M out of 140M using maggi to cook you will be making

N2.00 x 40M = N80M

And in 11 days you would have made N880M, more than what Yar'adua declared.

We must learn to look at issues critically and aspire to be successful in life.

Sometimes, I see nothing but a sense of hopelessness and impossibility in the way some of us look at issues here.

Making money is not difficult if you are honest, hardworking, dedicated and above all if you do not have blood on your hands, not the situation where the average businessman is looking for a head to donate so he can be guaranteed riches.

You can make all the money you want by providing services to people living in your area.

The average okada rider makes more money than the average banker (minus fraud).

@Denex,

I did promise to make Yar'adua hand over to OBJ if you could bring davidylan out of his ignorant world where he sees everything in black and white when people are seeing colors. You sees things in 2 dimensions when 3D is becoming ubiquitous.

Let the boy concentrate on his studies, you may be distracting him. I wonder the type of excuses he will be giving each time he fails an exam, he may claim the lecturer is ignorant or the lecturer doesn't like him.

When will Nigerians get the courage to accept responsibilities of their actions? Not knowing something is certainly not a crime so why do people prefer to do all they can to show that they know what they do not know? This is really dangerous.

@TayoD,

Credibility wise in this forum (based on your posts) you are no where and it will do you a whole lot of good to take some time off, read other peoples posts and try to read meaning into them. To post for hia no be by force.

Abi you wan dey like I-man/4Play wey dey hide hin face when everybody come sabi say he dey use multiple usernames for this forum to dey deceive people?

If this pictures are from Iraq then it makes sense to heap the blame on the doorsteps of the US because the current scenario wouldn't have existed but for the lies of Bush that led to the illegal invasion of that country.

Prevention they say is better than cure.

Why avoid discussing the root cause of the problem while dwelling on the effects?

Seems you are lost when personalities are not the issues here.

Free lawyer, your services are not needed, abi na by force?

Me? Provide facts to prove that Bush lied? Is your stay in the US based on an arrangement that you must defend Bush and the US regardless of what they do? Even Americans are pissed off with their president and here you have a Nigerian embarassing himself on a public forum by defending rubbish.

@TayoD,

Considering the fact that Denex clearly made it clear that I never insulted him and you insist I did you now appear as a laywer that is hell bent on defending someone that openly says he doesn't need your services.

Need I say more? Your tactics backfired and that is just one of many that did so.

Still maintaining that Bush did not lie about Iraq? Can someone wake this guy up from this slumber?

I know a lot of non muslims that go to Dubai to buy stuff and they all come back with their heads still on their shoulders.

Personally, I believe that peace and injustices cannot co-exist.

You cannot beat someone and at the same time ask the person not to cry.

The killing of anyone by anyone, group or nation is bad and until we begin to look at these issues with all sense of sincerity nothing much will come out of the current state of insecurity.

denex:
@TayoD

you are a true master of divide and conquer. Afam did not rain insults on me. In fact I was the one who rained insults on him.

I wonder why this man (TayoD) will manufacture a lie to prove a point. This is getting ridiculous and anyone with an iota of shame will even avoid the forum for a long long time or apologize to the users for trying to deceive people.

But he will come and try to justify the lie and even introduce new ones.

@Mckren,

Unfortunately, the onus lies on us to dispel the lies these Igbo haters keep spreading everywhere since there is a high probability that people will end up believing lies if they are told over and over again.

Thanks.

@ono,

You cannot even hide the hatred, it is stinking to high heavens.

Meanwhile, this forum cannot be used to fully educate you on what you seem not to understand ranging from military issues then to the spread of crude oil in the Niger Delta including majority of core Igbo states not to talk about the abundance of coal and other mineral resources.

Over 40% of electricity generated in the US comes from coal so that should tell you that left alone the Igbos will guarantee steady power supply in no time while making money from crude oil in Abia and Imo States.

Huge gas reserves in Anambra is another untapped resource and I hope you understand that gas reserves are more viable than crude oil reserves (try to understand this before you start challenging it, just get the facts right and everything will be just fine).

So stop blaming the 3 ethnic groups for any problems there. Having lived and worked in places like PH, Bonny Island, Eket and Warri I believe I have a fair understanding of what happens in the Niger Delta.

Do take this post as my last post to you as I do not have time for people that spread hate ideologies while masking same.

davidylan:
Unfortunately those issues also include refuting false allegations; such include your blatantly erroneous claim that 4000 jews were absent from work on 9-11 and denex's false claim that al qaeda is a farce.
It has nothing to do with personalities but more to do with ensuring that people do not continue misinforming the reading public.

For a student who finds it difficult to know his left from his right I don't expect much from you.

It seems that lies are part and parcel of your life otherwise why do you keep telling them without any shame?

I never stated anything about 4,000 jews but because you come here with a dangerous mindset based on hatred for a people based on race and religion you never even bother to think before you post anything. Face your studies for your own good.

I asked if it was true that none out of over 30,000 Jews working at WTC died on 911, a clear statement but until you force the statement to align with your pre-determined position you cannot read properly.

I guess you don't see anything wrong with lies and I pity people that are close to you because as far as I am concerned a liar can equally be a thief.

Stick to the facts, it won't kill you, it will only make you better as a human being.

Learn to accept responsibilities of your actions whether right or wrong.

@TayoD,

1. That you concluded that my statement directed at Denex was raining of abuses then it is safe to conclude that you are confused yourself. I made a precise comment because I was disappointed that he was asking for a link when it was clearly stated that the article was from my mail box, hence the question that followed what you have dubiously termed raining of abuses.

2. This thread has been doing well with comments from many people without anyone focusing on individuals but I guess you find it difficult to discuss issues without focusing on personalities.

3. It seems you spend a lot of time visiting Syria owned-newspaper because I did not have to visit any government owned newspaper to write anything anywhere. I asked a question anyway and if you think the answer is in the negative state your reasons. I did not ask anyone to explain where, why and when such statements were made and whether they were works of spin doctors or not. Stick to the issues abeg.

When the lies told by Bush were exposed for the first time there were allegations of spin doctors working round the clock, today we know better.

But I guess what I think on issues matters a whole lot to you otherwise I find it supremely difficult to understand why you have to divert attention to an individual on an otherwise interesting thread with different point of views.

Facts don't lie and like the author of the rubbish called article you have introduced yours and I will make them clear.

ono:
Afam,
But it is also true:

1. That Ironsi (of blessed memory) did not show any sign of seriousness, while he was CIC, at prosecuting the soldiers who executed the assasination acts on January 15, 1966, that took the lives of several senior government officials at the time, including the late Sardauna of Sokoto, and Prime Minister of Nigeria, Late Alhaji Sir, Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. The thinking in most circles at the time was that Ironsi did not want to prosecute these people because they were from his ethnic group.

I did not know that the Yoruba Major (1 out of the 5) was from Ironsi's tribe, please educate me on this fallacy.

ono:
2. That this singular act, led to the bloody counter-coup, championed by the angry northern military elements in July 29, 1966, that led to the death of General Aguiyi Ironsi, his aides and other senior military officials at Lalupon, Ibadan, at the time, and led to the emergence of Lt. Col Yakubu Gowon as military head of state and CIC.

Since this was a military uprising any soldier (let alone a higher officer) has the option to fight against the uprising or become part of it. Ojukwu chose to fight because he was not part of the coup and the coup was targeted at the Igbos so what's your point?

ono:
3. That at the time, the people of the Niger Delta were sorely displeased at the high handed way the majority Igbos, in the then Eastern Region of Nigeria administered the region from Enugu.

I am sure not every Igbo speaking part of the Eastern region was happy about the administration and by the way oil wasn't the main stay then, so get your facts right or are you referring to palm oil?

ono:
4. That there were reported cases of uprisings in the northern part of the country. Cases of what can be termed genocide today, were reported. The ethnic groups in the north were up in arms against the Igbos in particular, and other ethnic groups in general in the Northern cities of Kano, Kaduna, Zaria and Sokoto. Many people lost their lives in the ensuing violence, including Igbos, Yorubas, Hausas and other ethnic groups. No doubt, the Igbos were hard hit because of the ''political mood'' at the time in the Northern parts of the country.

As some other posters have queried - so the innocent Igbos living in the North had to die for what 4 out of 5 Majors did in the army?

ono:
5. That Ojukwu, leader of the secessionist group carved up the Niger Delta as part of the breakaway republic of Biafra, to seize federal powers in the Eastern region for himself, the most consequential of which was his decision to take control of all Federal Statutary Corporations in the region and to retain all revenues collected for his own government - including oil revenues from the non-Igbo Niger delta region, which while not yet great in scale, were expected to increase in the coming years, huge reserves having been discovered in the area in the mid-1960s.

You surely don't know the facts. Ojukwu was in charge of the Eastern region and that included the present Bayelsa, Rivers, Cross Rivers and Akwa Ibom states. Your analysis about crude oil story is not based on the reality on ground then abeg.

ono:
6. That Isaac Adaka Boro fought on the Federal troops sides largely to unite the country, and contribute his bit at reducing the influence of the Igbos on the people of the Niger Delta.

Thanks for the information. At least he achieved that task and we know better today.

ono:
7. That as soon as the oil rich areas of the SE region were secured by the Nigerian troops, access to food, water, and other munitions that would have helped Ojukwu and his armies was terminated. The bloody game was up.

The Biafran War was was largely an Oil War People with interests in controlling the oil deposits of the delta were at each others throat.

Put differently, the Igbos fought a noble war but Nigeria fought to secure the oil rich areas, little wonder a lot of Niger deltans today are shouting resource control.

Hear this - LOVE THE IGBOS OR HATE THEM, YOU CANNOT CERTAINLY IGNORE THEM

Still on 911, is it true that none out of the over 30,000.00 Jews working at the WTC died on that day? Maybe they were all on vacation or something assuming the answer to the question is in the affirmative.

Rather than dismiss claims that may appear as outrageous I guess the best line of action will be to try to find out if statements we may not like are actually true because the world will be a better place if we know for sure what is happening.

For example, the world is better off today since we knew Bush lied to the whole world just to illegally invade Iraq. Now, many people are not ready to swallow his lies any more as he has become the most ineffective US president one can remember.

At least the world understands that both John Major and George Bush Snr were board members of a company owned by the Bin ladens.

At least the world understands that Israel used cluster bombs against civilian populations when they were bombing Lebanon because Hezbollah kidnapped some soldiers.

initiator:
@ Afam, good one. For once i agree with u. However, the war was avoidable, but we can only say that in retrospect.

Why do you agree with me on this? Did I protect your interest here?

All my posts have certain things in common, fair play, honesty, justice, peace, truth, fact and racial and religous tolerance.

So if you agree with this post and disagree with others then you may be too subjective and in my world, subjectivity takes back seat.

I do not agree that lies, misinformation, misrepresentation etc will achieve anything so why waste time on them?

Truth shall always prevail over lies and from Iraq to this thread where the writer criminally attempted to rewrite history without any iota of shame it is evident.

Enjoy!

You ain't seen nothing yet, it seems people don't give a damn these days when they lie.

The newspapers? Investigating anything? When its not politics and rumours they are lost.

As for the website, soon they will understand that having 4 million hits per month mean nothing if they do not make money unless they are running some charity. A lesson a lot of website owners learn the hard way.

Na email you want make we send to the link abi na website address wey you want show?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/6292578.stm

Are they being arrested because they are corrupt or because they did not honor the invitation by the EFCC?

Meanwhile, does it now mean that the other governors are clean simply because they honored the invitation?

It seems it is now fashionable for people to make sometimes ridiculous attempts to rewrite history.

Without bothering to spend time on quite a load of rubbish put down by the writer one cannot dispute the following

1. That a yoruba man was among the 5 majors that spearheaded the coup
2. That Ironsi (being the most senior in the army) took over and locked up Nzeogwu and co
3. That Gowon led a counter coup 6 months later and proceeded to call himself the commander in chief
4. That a Brigadier General of yoruba extraction (Ogundipe) was the most senior surviving person in the army who should ordinarily take over government
5. That Ojukwu refused to see Gowon (a junior Col to him) as his CIC as that would mean retirement as his junior cannot be his CIC
6. That Ojukwu and the Eastern part of the nation maintained a position that even those who went to Aburi agreed upon for about a year before the war broke out
7. That Nigeria did not restrict its fighting of the war outside Eastern part of Nigeria so I wonder why someone in his right senses will question Biafra fighting outside Eastern part of the nation unless the writer's idea of war is for you to stay in your house and continue to defend while your enemy comes in with every type of amour

Put differently, Ojukwu insisted on equity and fairness and in reality fought a war that the yorubas would have fought if Ogundipe stood his ground as the most senior army officer in the Nigerian army then and not allow a junior Col (Gowon) to take over the mantle of leadership.

So, while I am not a fan of Ojukwu I dare say that as an Igbo man I am happy for the boldness he exhibited even though his family background meant he could have lived life to the fullest and lived a comfortable life.

Let the lies stop, let people stop trying to to rewrite histories because there is always a lesson for us to learn from past mistakes.

I read an article sometime ago where the relevance or otherwise of wikipedia was debated and the conclusion was that those who have more access to wikipedia will eventually define what people should believe regardless of whether it is wrong or right.

The same thing can be said about the media and the messages they make available to the public.

My take on this is this;

If you don't understand the creator of a message and the motive behind creating the message you may never understand the message no matter how hard you try.

People must learn to live together in peace because the price of war is way too much and unpredictable too as the planner may actually become the first victim.

I am of the view that people should be in the know about what happens around them.

I am not the type that believes in convincing anyone, I believe information should be made available for all and let the individuals decide for themselves as regards what to believe and what not to believe.

Unfortunately, many have already taken sides on this issue of Israel/Palestine (well just as so many other issues) even without taking time to understand the reality or facts on ground.

I have seen or read from people that practice religous extremism and fundamentalism even without their knowing it.

All in all, we cannot have peace until we are guaranteed justice, fairness and equity.

@Mariory,

You just confirmed my position.

You should know by now that I do not respond to individuals unless I read posts that have my name on them.

Go back and see the post you made and come back here to maintain the same position that you are maintaining now that you just replied to someone's post before I focused on your person.

I never deny any comments I make including insults because in 100% of the cases I do so by way of responses, I never initiate them so crying wolf won't help.

From my inbox (before person go say make dem post link) - GopherCentral.com, check viewpoint

NB; The article below is not meant to sway public opinion, we get better by having access to a lot of information even though how we assimilate them may be different from person to person.

Read, enjoy and be your own judge but don't attempt to force others to agree with your position, it only leads to frustration.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

A Declaration of Independence From Israel– by Chris Hedges

Israel, without the United States, would probably not
exist. The country came perilously close to extinction
during the October 1973 war when Egypt, trained and backed
by the Soviet Union, crossed the Suez and the Syrians
poured in over the Golan Heights. Huge American military
transport planes came to the rescue. They began landing
every half-hour to refit the battered Israeli army, which
had lost most of its heavy armor. By the time the war was
over, the United States had given Israel $2.2 billion in
emergency military aid.

The intervention, which enraged the Arab world, triggered
the OPEC oil embargo that for a time wreaked havoc on
Western economies. This was perhaps the most dramatic
example of the sustained life-support system the United
States has provided to the Jewish state.

Israel was born at midnight May 14, 1948. The U.S.
recognized the new state 11 minutes later. The two
countries have been locked in a deadly embrace ever since.

Washington, at the beginning of the relationship, was able
to be a moderating influence. An incensed President
Eisenhower demanded and got Israel's withdrawal after the
Israelis occupied Gaza in 1956. During the Six-Day War in
1967, Israeli warplanes bombed the USS Liberty. The ship,
flying the U.S. flag and stationed 15 miles off the Israeli
coast, was intercepting tactical and strategic
communications from both sides. The Israeli strikes killed
34 U.S. sailors and wounded 171. The deliberate attack
froze, for a while, Washington's enthusiasm for Israel.
But ruptures like this one proved to be only bumps, soon
smoothed out by an increasingly sophisticated and well-
financed Israel lobby that set out to merge Israeli and
American foreign policy in the Middle East.

Israel has reaped tremendous rewards from this alliance.
It has been given more than $140 billion in U.S. direct
economic and military assistance. It receives about $3
billion in direct assistance annually, roughly one-fifth
of the U.S. foreign aid budget. Although most American
foreign aid packages stipulate that related military
purchases have to be made in the United States, Israel
is allowed to use about 25 percent of the money to
subsidize its own growing and profitable defense industry.
It is exempt, unlike other nations, from accounting for
how it spends the aid money. And funds are routinely
siphoned off to build new Jewish settlements, bolster the
Israeli occupation in the Palestinian territories and
construct the security barrier, which costs an estimated
$1 million a mile.

The barrier weaves its way through the West Bank, creating
isolated pockets of impoverished Palestinians in ringed
ghettos. By the time the barrier is finished it will
probably in effect seize up to 40 percent of Palestinian
land. This is the largest land grab by Israel since the
1967 war. And although the United States officially
opposes settlement expansion and the barrier, it also
funds them.

The U.S. has provided Israel with nearly $3 billion to
develop weapons systems and given Israel access to some
of the most sophisticated items in its own military
arsenal, including Blackhawk attack helicopters and F-16
fighter jets. The United States also gives Israel access
to intelligence it denies to its NATO allies. And when
Israel refused to sign the nuclear nonproliferation
treaty, the United States stood by without a word of
protest as the Israelis built the region's first nuclear
weapons program.

U.S. foreign policy, especially under the current Bush
administration, has become little more than an extension
of Israeli foreign policy. The United States since 1982
has vetoed 32 Security Council resolutions critical of
Israel, more than the total number of vetoes cast by all
the other Security Council members. It refuses to enforce
the Security Council resolutions it claims to support.
These resolutions call on Israel to withdraw from the
occupied territories.

There is now volcanic anger and revulsion by Arabs at this
blatant favoritism. Few in the Middle East see any
distinction between Israeli and American policies, nor
should they. And when the Islamic radicals speak of U.S.
support of Israel as a prime reason for their hatred of the
United States, we should listen. The consequences of this
one-sided relationship are being played out in the
disastrous war in Iraq, growing tension with Iran, and the
humanitarian and political crisis in Gaza. It is being
played out in Lebanon, where Hezbollah is gearing up for
another war with Israel, one most Middle East analysts say
is inevitable. The U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East
is unraveling. And it is doing so because of this special
relationship. The eruption of a regional conflict would
usher in a nightmare of catastrophic proportions.

There were many in the American foreign policy establish-
ment and State Department who saw this situation coming.
The decision to throw our lot in with Israel in the Middle
East was not initially a popular one with an array of
foreign policy experts, including President Harry Truman's
secretary of state, Gen. George Marshall. They warned
there would be a backlash. They knew the cost the United
States would pay in the oil-rich region for this decision,
which they feared would be one of the greatest strategic
blunders of the postwar era. And they were right. The
decision has jeopardized American and Israeli security and
created the kindling for a regional conflagration.

The alliance, which makes no sense in geopolitical terms,
does makes sense when seen through the lens of domestic
politics. The Israel lobby has become a potent force in
the American political system. No major candidate,
Democrat or Republican, dares to challenge it. The lobby
successfully purged the State Department of Arab experts
who challenged the notion that Israeli and American
interests were identical. Backers of Israel have doled
out hundreds of millions of dollars to support U.S.
political candidates deemed favorable to Israel. They
have brutally punished those who strayed, including the
first President Bush, who they said was not vigorous
enough in his defense of Israeli interests. This was a
lesson the next Bush White House did not forget. George
W. Bush did not want to be a one-term president like his
father.

Israel advocated removing Saddam Hussein from power and
currently advocates striking Iran to prevent it from
acquiring nuclear weapons. Direct Israeli involvement
in American military operations in the Middle East is
impossible. It would reignite a war between Arab states
and Israel. The United States, which during the Cold War
avoided direct military involvement in the region, now
does the direct bidding of Israel while Israel watches
from the sidelines. During the 1991 Gulf War, Israel was
a spectator, just as it is in the war with Iraq.

President Bush, facing dwindling support for the war in
Iraq, publicly holds Israel up as a model for what he would
like Iraq to become. Imagine how this idea plays out on
the Arab street, which views Israel as the Algerians viewed
the French colonizers during the war of liberation.

"In Israel," Bush said recently, "terrorists have taken
innocent human life for years in suicide attacks. The
difference is that Israel is a functioning democracy and
it's not prevented from carrying out its responsibilities.
And that's a good indicator of success that we're looking
for in Iraq."

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Americans are increasingly isolated and reviled in the
world. They remain blissfully ignorant of their own
culpability for this isolation. U.S. "spin" paints the
rest of the world as unreasonable, but Israel, Americans
are assured, will always be on our side.

Israel is reaping economic as well as political rewards
from its lock-down apartheid state. In the "gated
community" market it has begun to sell systems and
techniques that allow the nation to cope with terrorism.
Israel, in 2006, exported $3.4 billion in defense products—
well over a billion dollars more than it received in
American military aid. Israel has grown into the fourth
largest arms dealer in the world. Most of this growth has
come in the so-called homeland security sector.

"The key products and services," as Naomi Klein wrote in
The Nation, “are hi-tech fences, unmanned drones, biometric
IDs, video and audio surveillance gear, air passenger
profiling and prisoner interrogation systems—precisely the
tools and technologies Israel has used to lock in the
occupied territories. And that is why the chaos in Gaza
and the rest of the region doesn't threaten the bottom
line in Tel Aviv, and may actually boost it. Israel has
learned to turn endless war into a brand asset, pitching
its uprooting, occupation and containment of the
Palestinian people as a half-century head start in the
'global war on terror'."

The United States, at least officially, does not support
the occupation and calls for a viable Palestinian state.
It is a global player, with interests that stretch well
beyond the boundaries of the Middle East, and the equation
that Israel's enemies are our enemies is not that simple.

"Terrorism is not a single adversary," John Mearsheimer
and Stephen Walt wrote in The London Review of Books,
"but a tactic employed by a wide array of political groups.
The terrorist organizations that threaten Israel do not
threaten the United States, except when it intervenes
against them (as in Lebanon in 1982). Moreover,
Palestinian terrorism is not random violence directed
against Israel or 'the West'; it is largely a response to
Israel's prolonged campaign to colonize the West Bank and
Gaza Strip. More important, saying that Israel and the US
are united by a shared terrorist threat has the causal
relationship backwards: the US has a terrorism problem in
good part because it is so closely allied with Israel,
not the other way around."

Middle Eastern policy is shaped in the United States by
those with very close ties to the Israel lobby. Those
who attempt to counter the virulent Israeli position,
such as former Secretary of State Colin Powell, are
ruthlessly slapped down. This alliance was true also
during the Clinton administration, with its array of
Israel-first Middle East experts, including special Middle
East coordinator Dennis Ross and Martin Indyk, the former
deputy director of the American Israel Public Affairs
Committee, AIPAC, one of the most powerful Israel lobbying
groups in Washington. But at least people like Indyk and
Ross are sane, willing to consider a Palestinian state,
however unviable, as long as it is palatable to Israel.
The Bush administration turned to the far-right wing of
the Israel lobby, those who have not a shred of compassion
for the Palestinians or a word of criticism for Israel.
These new Middle East experts include Elliott Abrams, John
Bolton, Douglas Feith, the disgraced I. Lewis "Scooter"
Libby, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz and David Wurmser.

Washington was once willing to stay Israel's hand. It
intervened to thwart some of its most extreme violations
of human rights. This administration, however, has signed
on for every disastrous Israeli blunder, from building the
security barrier in the West Bank, to sealing off Gaza and
triggering a humanitarian crisis, to the ruinous invasion
and saturation bombing of Lebanon.

The few tepid attempts by the Bush White House to criticize
Israeli actions have all ended in hasty and humiliating
retreats in the face of Israeli pressure. When the Israel
Defense Forces in April 2002 reoccupied the West Bank,
President Bush called on then-Prime Minister Ariel Sharon
to "halt the incursions and begin withdrawal." It never
happened. After a week of heavy pressure from the Israel
lobby and Israel's allies in Congress, meaning just about
everyone in Congress, the president gave up, calling Sharon
"a man of peace." It was a humiliating moment for the
United States, a clear sign of who pulled the strings.

There were several reasons for the war in Iraq. The desire
for American control of oil, the belief that Washington
could build puppet states in the region, and a real, if
misplaced, fear of Saddam Hussein played a part in the
current disaster. But it was also strongly shaped by the
notion that what is good for Israel is good for the United
States. Israel wanted Iraq neutralized. Israeli
intelligence, in the lead-up to the war, gave faulty
information to the U.S. about Iraq's alleged arsenal of
weapons of mass destruction. And when Baghdad was taken
in April 2003, the Israeli government immediately began
to push for an attack on Syria. The lust for this attack
has waned, in no small part because the Americans don't
have enough troops to hang on in Iraq, much less launch a
new occupation.

Israel is currently lobbying the United States to launch
aerial strikes on Iran, despite the debacle in Lebanon.
Israel's iron determination to forcibly prevent a nuclear
Iran makes it probable that before the end of the Bush
administration an attack on Iran will take place. The
efforts to halt nuclear development through diplomatic
means have failed. It does not matter that Iran poses
no threat to the United States. It does not matter that
it does not even pose a threat to Israel, which has
several hundred nuclear weapons in its arsenal. It
matters only that Israel demands total military domination
of the Middle East.

The alliance between Israel and the United States has
culminated after 50 years in direct U.S. military involve-
ment in the Middle East. This involvement, which is not
furthering American interests, is unleashing a geopolitical
nightmare. American soldiers and Marines are dying in
droves in a useless war. The impotence of the United
States in the face of Israeli pressure is complete. The
White House and the Congress have become, for perhaps the
first time, a direct extension of Israeli interests. There
is no longer any debate within the United States. This is
evidenced by the obsequious nods to Israel by all the
current presidential candidates with the exception of
Dennis Kucinich. The political cost for those who
challenge Israel is too high.

This means there will be no peaceful resolution of the
Palestinian-Israeli conflict. It means the incidents of
Islamic terrorism against the U.S. and Israel will grow.
It means that American power and prestige are on a steep,
irreversible decline. And I fear it also means the
ultimate end of the Jewish experiment in the Middle East.

The weakening of the United States, economically and
militarily, is giving rise to new centers of power. The
U.S. economy, mismanaged and drained by the Iraq war, is
increasingly dependent on Chinese trade imports and on
Chinese holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. China holds
dollar reserves worth $825 billion. If Beijing decides to
abandon the U.S. bond market, even in part, it would cause
a free fall by the dollar. It would lead to the collapse
of the $7-trillion U.S. real estate market. There would
be a wave of U.S. bank failures and huge unemployment.
The growing dependence on China has been accompanied by
aggressive work by the Chinese to build alliances with
many of the world's major exporters of oil, such as Iran,
Nigeria, Sudan and Venezuela. The Chinese are preparing
for the looming worldwide clash over dwindling resources.

The future is ominous. Not only do Israel's foreign policy
objectives not coincide with American interests, they
actively hurt them. The growing belligerence in the Middle
East, the calls for an attack against Iran, the collapse of
the imperial project in Iraq have all given an opening,
where there was none before, to America's rivals. It is
not in Israel's interests to ignite a regional conflict.
It is not in ours. But those who have their hands on
the wheel seem determined, in the name of freedom and
democracy, to keep the American ship of state headed at
breakneck speed into the cliffs before us.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Can we honestly dismiss some of these statements even when a lot of them are evident today?

What bothers me on this forum (politics section) is that those who will first insult will scream the most when they are responded to in kind, those who will spread misinformation will claim that others are responsible, those who will lie and expect everyone to disprove the lies will be the ones accusing others of lying, those who will call a spade a spoon will be the first to scream lets call a spade a spade. Why is the world filled with hypocrites and sycophants?

@chidichris/dog,

How many times have I stated that posting on a public forum is not compulsory? With your comments on the bilbe and israel I dare state that you are the perfect candidate for suicide bombing - no brains, blind follower and religious bigot.

Na wah ooo.

With petroldollar the US may be getting free crude oil anyway, just print more notes and ship in more crude.

If euro is used toady the US will be in deep trouble, little wonder Saddam had to leave the scene because he was a strong proponent of currency shift.

ezines are subscribed to, maybe it is new to you but that is what it means.

However, if what you are doing now makes you feel cool then go ahead.

No one is asking you to believe the thread, so do not feel too important on this issue.

denex:
@Afam

where is your link? Because it was you who first mentioned me in this Robert Fisk matter where is the quote that begin admitted attacking Egypt for the sake of it. Post it so I can go and compare both.

Don't tell me that your level of reasoning has become this low. Did you miss out the very first statement on this thread or what?

Inbox means from my email box.

Send an email to Viewpoint <ezine@gophercentral.com>. Or do people now provide links to messages in their mail boxes? Wonders shall never end.

It seems that we are now using the word liar anyhow simply because some of us here lie a lot, not so for everyone.

Davidylan, I pointed out 2 clear lies some couple of minutes ago and your justification was that I should contribute my own and leave you in peace.

I don't have any reason to lie about anything on this forum and would promptly admit any mistakes I may make, I don't avoid them, I don't ignore them, I don't justify them.

So for Mariory who posts as a man even when someone had earlier challenged her identity which she shamefully ignored to be talking about liars is another wonder of the world. I don't deal with hermaphrodites (I hope say na the spelling sha).

davidylan:
Please read your history books before coming to argue next time.

GBAM!!!! Abeg wetin be the names of the history books wey you get? I go like read them if I get time.

How can you discuss the issue of crude oil without discussing volume? I made it clear from day 1 that volume of crude oil is the main issue.

Your mathematics is indeed very correct but was that the impression you were trying to create when you stated that OPEC does not make sense since 60% of nations were not part of it?

If OPEC control over 80% of the crude oil export whether you have 200 countries sharing the other 20% or not is immaterial.

No vex, your maths correct but the point has been made that OPEC calls the shots and there is nothing the US can do about it.

Over to the other issues you raised.

davidylan:
@ Afam are you here to respond to threads or just to harass me all over the forum? It the latter is the case you are doing a very poor job.
Dont worry i know some schools have called off the strike but message is passed. While ASUU was on strike, teens here were busying themselves working in full paid employments!

As for Japan please maybe it would be good if you did not hypocritically and deliberately fail to mention that the US maintains over 90 full millitary bases in Okinawa and mainland Japan!

And please respond to the threads and leave me in peace!

Don't chase anyone around, I try as much as possible to correct misinformation, lies and half truths.

Glad you are now clear that some of your statements are indeed flat wrong.

It is far better to make sure of what you are saying than making these mistakes here and there.

Good luck, the forum is meant for the benefit of all and as such we should all endeavor to make the information flow as accurate as possible.

@denex,

Don't do this to this boy, help him abeg.

davidylan:
Japan - has no army and relies 100% on the USA for territorial defence.

Really? See what browsing without understanding does to people?

Choosing not to run any nuclear weapons program is not the same thing as asking as relying 100% on the US for territorial defence, in fact no sane nation will depend completely on another nation for defence.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Today, Japan's Self-Defense Force is one of the most capable militaries in the world. In 2005, Tokyo spent $44.7 billion on defense - just slightly less than Britain, which finds itself heavily deployed in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Japan has one of the world's best navies, with 18 submarines, 55 destroyers, frigates and other ships, and a robust contingent of antisubmarine aircraft. The increasingly capable Air Self-Defense Force has seven combat wings, which deploy 150 F-15s, among other aircraft.

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/06/15/opinion/edcronin.php
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

davidylan:
My brother you are very right. But i made a mental note of one other basic difference between both countries today. ASUU is still on strike and our university students are busy roaming about providing the devil with many willing and capable hands.

Is ASUU still on strike? Which is easier, to confirm information before stating them as facts or to google and come up with very wrong statements that lead to nowhere?

@davidylan,

Try to be in the know, try to understand issues you dabble into so that you don't end up making clearly avoidable mistakes which by the way you will never acknowledge.