CHUCK HAGEL IS RIGHT PERSON AT RIGHT TIME

Chuck Hagel is the right person at exactly the right time as Secretary of Defense, for his thinking is in concert with main street America ~ but not necessarily in agreement with our AIPAC dominated Congress: Allen L Roland

Chuck Hagel is a potential breath of fresh air in the corporate polluted and AIPAC dominated belt way which enjoys a good or excellent Congressional approval rating from a scant 9% of American voters ~ and where 53% of Americans still rightfully feel that neither party represents the American people.

Watch and listen to Hagel's opening statement and you'll witness a humble and plain speaking American patriot who has seen war and carnage first hand as an infantryman in Vietnam ~ and who is committed to this refreshing declaration "that our military policies must be worthy of the sacrifices of our military and their families."   20 Minute video

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/01/31/republican-hagel-faces-gop-critics-at-hearing/

At the end of these nomination hearings ~ the impact of the Hagel nomination could well be more about the future of the Republican Party.

Susan Eisenhower correctly writes on January 9th ~ " The Republican Party is now at a crossroads. Over the last decade moderate Republicans have felt increasingly out of place in its ranks. If the GOP confirms Hagel, it could bolster the idea of a “big tent” Republican Party. A GOP-led rejection of a Republican war hero with impeccable centrist credentials, however, could well be a fatal blow to that concept, along with some of the party’s longest and most successful traditions.." See article ~ http://susaneisenhower.com/2013/01/09/chuck-hagel-a-turning-point-for-the-gop/

Uri Avery in Israel, precisely summed up my feelings about the Hagel nomination on January 12, 2013 ~ " I FIND Chuck Hagel eminently likeable. I am not quite certain why… Perhaps it’s his war record. He was decorated for valor in the Vietnam War (which I detested). He was a mere sergeant. Since I was a mere corporal in our 1948 war, I find it elating to see a non-commissioned officer become Minister of Defense…. Like so many veterans who have seen war from close up (myself included), he has become an enemy of war. Wonderful… NOW Hagel is violently attacked by all the neocon warmongers, almost none of whom has ever heard a bullet whistle in the wars to which they sent others, and the combined political regiments of the American Jewish establishment….His main sin seems to be that he objects to war against Iran. To be against an attack on Iran means to be anti-Israeli, anti-Semitic, indeed to wish for the destruction of Israel if not all Jews. Never mind that almost all present and past chiefs of the Israeli army and intelligence community object to an attack on Iran, too. But Benyamin Netanyahu apparently knows better….. HOWEVER, HAGEL’S most heinous sin is not often mentioned. While serving as the Republican senator for Nebraska, he once uttered the unspeakable words: “I am an American senator, not an Israeli senator!”  That is really the crux of the matter."    See article ~ http://original.antiwar.com/avnery/2013/01/11/welcome-chuck/

Many Jewish groups and columnists are strongly supporting Hagel. It appears to be only AIPAC ( the American Israel Public Affairs Committee) and die hard neo-conservatives, like Senator Lindsey Graham and the Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol, who brought us and supported the past decade of wars and occupations ~ who obviously oppose him.

Lindsey Graham reading from his AIPAC script

Hagel is a ray of light in the darkness of our illegal and costly occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan as well as our current policy of thinly disguised Regime Change in Libya and Syria ~ so watching Hagel effectively duel with John 'Bomb, Bomb' McCain as well as Lindsey 'Israeli patriot' Graham gives me some hope for our immediate and long term future ~ that is if this truth teller is confirmed by the Senate.

Hagel's time has come and he is the right person at the right time for an over-extended American empire that is financially, morally and spiritually bankrupt.

"The bottom line is this: Peace will come to Israel and the Middle East only when the Israeli government is willing to comply with international law." - Jimmy Carter

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2013/02/chuck-hagel-is-right-person-at-right.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com ) 

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his web log and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

OBAMA 2012 / MAY THE FARCE BE WITH YOU

In four years, Nobel Peace Prize laureate Barack Obama, the agent of hope and change, has become the prince of darkness and his presidency has become a farce ~ an absurdly futile exercise in pretense and broken promises from a president who cloaks himself in armor and answers only to the global elite: Allen L Roland

I am a former progressive Democrat, now a proud member of a vast army of Independents, who are fed up with a president who was obviously selected by the global elite, and elected to maintain the status quo ~ and most certainly does not deserve another four years to deliver on the false promises he made four years ago.

I’m tired of being lied to, I’m tired of watching our liberties rapidly erode under the tattered banner of the War on Terror and I’m tired of watching and experiencing our constitutional right of public dissent being marginalized and suppressed in order to maintain an out of control and still unregulated Wall Street ~ as well as a rapidly expanding Prison Industrial complex and a growing militarized police state.

A recent Human Rights Watch report has revealed critical issues facing Americans today including severe poverty, child labor, overcrowded prisons and a flawed judicial system. Here are my recent brief comments on Press TV regarding these points along with US government tactics of suppressing citizen rights amid on going movements aimed at exposing the unequal distribution of wealth and power in government and business. And what does the establishment really fear? The answer is an empowered people armed with the truth!

3 minute video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LUB-DnlVcQQ

And here’s where it all started ~ When a carefully groomed President elect Obama renewed his allegiance to the establishment and status quo with not only the promise to not prosecute the numerous abuses of power by the Cheney/Bush administration but to continue those very same unconstitutional abuses under the banner of hope and change you can believe in.

Want an excellent example of the continued arrogance of the Obama administration regarding preemptive regime change and American exceptionalism ~ then look no further than an obviously triumphant Secretary of State Hillary Clinton sharing a laugh with a television news reporter moments after hearing deposed Libyan leader Muammar Qaddafi had been brutally killed and laughingly exclaiming "We Came, We Saw, He Died" 12 second video

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article29472.htm

So the farce of American exceptionalism continues but the moral fabric of America, along with its constitution, has been irreparably damaged. Frank Rich calls it the haunting ~ and writes that Obama’s original sin is failing to demand a reckoning for those who brought the economy down;

“What haunts the Obama administration is what still haunts the country: the stunning lack of accountability for the greed and misdeeds that brought America to its gravest financial crisis since the Great Depression. There has been no legal, moral, or financial reckoning for the most powerful wrongdoers. Nor have there been meaningful reforms that might prevent a repeat catastrophe. Time may heal most wounds, but not these. Chronic unemployment remains a constant, painful reminder of the havoc inflicted on the bust’s innocent victims. As the ghost of Hamlet’s father might have it, America will be stalked by its foul and unresolved crimes until they “are burnt and purged away.” See article ~ http://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/obama-economy/presidents-failure/index1.html

So President Obama has cloaked himself in armor, much as Cheney and Bush did, but Obama’s weapon of choice is Drones ~ because they can be used secretively and they avoid direct confrontation or accountability, which Obama obviously abhors.

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV's or drones) technology is advancing rapidly and they are now looking into making them autonomous, that is to say they will be able to choose targets and kill them without the use of a human operator thousands of miles away. It is estimated that close to 50 civilians are now killed per Drone strike ~ and the United States is the biggest perpetrator as with Internationally condemned cluster bombs and land mines.

Drones are Flying robots that kill... or Lethal Autonomy as revealed in (As The Drone Flies) by Ralph Nader.

6 minute Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/5188.html

And now it appears that Obama’s terror drones are targeting rescuers and funerals in Pakistan ~ according to Chris Woods and Christina Lamb in ICH; “Although the drone attacks were started under the Bush administration in 2004, they have been stepped up enormously under Obama. There have been 260 attacks by unmanned Predators or Reapers in Pakistan by Obama’s administration ~ averaging one every four days. Because the attacks are carried out by the CIA, no information is given on the numbers killed…. Speaking publicly for the first time on the controversial CIA drone strikes, Obama claimed last week they are used strictly to target terrorists, rejecting what he called ‘this perception we’re just sending in a whole bunch of strikes willy-nilly’.

‘Drones have not caused a huge number of civilian casualties’, Obama told a questioner at an on-line forum. ‘This is a targeted, focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists trying to go in and harm Americans’. But recent research has found that since Obama took office three years ago, between 282 and 535 civilians have been credibly reported as killed including more than 60 children. A three month investigation including eye witness reports has found evidence that at least 50 civilians were killed in follow-up strikes when they had gone to help victims. More than 20 civilians have also been attacked in deliberate strikes on funerals and mourners. The tactics have been condemned by leading legal experts.” See article ~ http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30449.htm

So our Nobel Peace Prize winning President has become the prince of darkness exploring the same ways and methods of the dark side as his predecessors ~ Dick Cheney and George W Bush.

And now get this ~ As were Sections 1021 and 1022 of the National Defense Authorization Act of 2012 ~ which despite Obama's signing statement and other claims to the contrary do in fact codify the indefinite detention without charge or trial of American citizens on American soil ~ tucked neatly away in H.R.658 (and likely never read by most of our legislators) is Section 320, officially summarized as follows:

"Requires the FAA Administrator to: (1) develop plans to accelerate the integration of unmanned aerial systems [drones] into the National Airspace System, and (2) report to Congress on progress made in establishing special use airspace for the DOD to develop detection techniques for small unmanned aerial vehicles and to validate sensor integration and operation of unmanned aerial systems. Directs the DOD Secretary to establish a process to develop certification and flight standards for military unmanned aerial systems at specified test sites."

According to USA Today, "Drones, perhaps best known for their combat missions in Afghanistan, are increasingly looking to share room in U.S. skies with passenger planes... Now, organizations from police forces searching for missing persons to academic researchers counting seals on the polar ice cap [are] eager to launch drones." In more specific and less candy-coated terms, once the Wide Area Aerial Surveillance System - or WAASS (think Skynet) - drone surveillance network enabled by H.R.658 is in place, privacy in real as well as virtual space will become a thing of the past as Big Brother will be able to spy on just about anyone doing just about anything just about anywhere in the United States or elsewhere.

As the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) stated: "The primary objective of WAASS is to provide persistent, long-term surveillance over urban and rural terrain at least the size of 16 km2. The surveillance system shall have an electro-optical capability for daylight missions but can have an infrared capability for day or night operations. The sensor shall integrate with an airborne platform for data gathering. The imagery data shall be displayed at a DHS operations center and have the capability for forensic analysis within 36 hours of the flight."

The war drums beat on, for the God Of War is still being worshiped in America and is still blessed by the holy fire of false patriotism as well as the farce of the War on Terror. President Obama is the latest commander in chief to wear that shiny helmet of evil ~ and only Presidential candidate Ron Paul raises his voice in opposition.

11 minute Must Watch Video

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article30450.htm

O Lord our God, ... help us to drown the thunder of the guns with the shrieks of their wounded, writhing in pain; help us to lay waste their humble homes with a hurricane of fire; help us to wring the hearts of their unoffending widows with unavailing grief; help us to turn them out roofless with little children to wander unfriended the wastes of their desolated land in rags and hunger and thirst, - Mark Twain ( The War Prayer )

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2012/02/obama-2012-may-farce-be-with-you.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net

WEST UNDERESTIMATES MORAL STRENGTH OF IRAN, AT ITS OWN PERIL

The west underestimates the true moral strength of Iran at its own peril for Iran’s character and ancient Persian roots will not cave in to demonization, fear and sanctions and are far more likely to follow the words of their greatest poet, Rumi ~ Everyone is so afraid of death, but the real Sufis just laugh: nothing tyrannizes their hearts. What strikes the oyster shell does not damage the pearl: Allen L Roland

The more I interact with Iranians, especially in my capacity as an online columnist and frequent interviews with Press TV, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9h1waKv8VBk
~ the more I realize how resilient Iranians are and unafraid of an obvious policy of forced Regime Change by the West in their quest for oil and natural gas to fuel their on going imperialistic agenda and war machine.

Obama’s own words during his recent State Of The Union pep rally demonstrate his on going efforts to demonize Iran for all the old and worn out political reasons ~ “ and we will safeguard America's own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran's nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent. Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.”( We’re still in control, so don’t rock the boat )

This is simply hot air and empty threats for the politically gullible and then Obama goes on to justify American imperialism and exceptionalness with these self-righteous words of bluster and hypocrisy ~ “ From the coalitions we've built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we've led against hunger and disease; from the blows we've dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back. Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn't know what they're talking about….. Yes, the world is changing; no, we can't control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs - and as long as I'm President, I intend to keep it that way.” ( In other words, it’s our way or the highway )

President Obama is now at the laughable stage of denial where he is drinking his own Kool-Aid and fails to see that the so called War on Terror has finally revealed the true culprit which is the West’s War of Terror, often operating under the guise of NATO, which is still committed to illegal preemptive regime change ~ and now has Iran in its sights.

Obama’s faux populism is brilliantly captured by Robert Scheer who wrote ~ “ l admit it: Listening to Barack Obama, I am ready to enlist in his campaign against the feed-the-rich Republicans ... until I recall that I once responded in the same way to Bill Clinton’s faux populism. And then I get angry because betrayal by the “good guys” for whom I have ended up voting has become the norm.” See article ~ http://www.commondreams.org/view/2012/01/26

With the desire to better understand the 70 million Iranian people as well as their rich culture and heritage ~ I recently watched Rich Steve’s outstanding presentation on Iran after he spent a few weeks there in 2008.

It verified that not everything we hear about Iran is true, nor is everything we hear false, but even the truth out of context can be misleading.

If you ask a politician about Iran they're likely to tell you what you already think you know, Iran is bad, they're working on nuclear weapons, they did some horrible thing in 1979, and they're all religious fanatics. If you ask John McCain, in particular, he might sing "Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran" again and make us all laugh or gasp in horror.

Turn to the main stream media for answers on Iran and you'll hear pretty much hear the same thing.

But ask an objective travel writer, like the personable Rich Steve, about Iran and he'll tell you about the people of Iran. He'll tell you about their character and the culture and the things we've never thought about as well as their deep fundamentalist faith ~ where they proudly see themselves as Persians, not Arabs.

With the war drums beating again against Iran, let us get to know a little something about the PEOPLE who will bear the brunt of that war, should it ever come to pass and remember Steve’s words when he says ~ “ Don’t underestimate the strength and unity of the Iranian people, if invaded or attacked, they will fight until the last person dies”

58 minute Video:

http://www.brasschecktv.com/page/3692.html

People of the world don't look at themselves, and so they blame one another: Rumi

Allen L Roland

http://allenlrolandsweblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/west-underestimates-moral-strength-of.html

Freelance Alternative Press Online columnist and psychotherapist Allen L Roland is available for comments, interviews, speaking engagements and private consultations ( allen@allenroland.com )

Allen L Roland is a practicing psychotherapist, author and lecturer who also shares a daily political and social commentary on his weblog and website allenroland.com He also guest hosts a monthly national radio show TRUTHTALK on www.conscioustalk.net