(August 25, 2008)
[If you want your letters to be published, you must include your first and last names and your city and state of residence. Also, please, enter in the subject line of your e-mail "letter to the editor," and specify the article or the subject on which you are commenting.] Reclaim Democracy: Gilles d'Aymery's Blips #72 To the Editor: I have been reading A Peoples' History of the United States by Howard Zinn for the second time, for if any portion of the text is true, then not only should there be a case for national shame on the historical content, but also a template for political/corporate collusion permitted by our collective ignorance, the widespread distraction, that is committed by these powers, which we are currently witnessing. The social and economic products of this ignorance, distraction, is apparent in both political and corporate scandals that are experienced daily, nationwide. We need to provide an example of honesty and integrity not only to the world, but to ourselves, to rise from the muck of greed, of pious, pompous, self righteous behavior, to seek just, fair, and equitable standing for the citizens of this nation, and once we have achieved this end, reach out to other peoples. In this second reading, this has become an example of the redundant behavior of politics and industry to profit from, and control most aspects of society. Our culture has been through these processes numerous times since the establishment of the Constitution, but following that came the development of corporations. Originally an instrument to benefit the will of the people, it has become a behemoth to control the people, and not in a beneficial way. Ralph Nader has been trying to call attention to this development for the past forty years. He has always put forth that the citizenry of this nation, the Constitution, the Will of the People, should direct the evolution of this democracy, not the corpocracy that is trying to control the direction of our country. I came upon an interesting Web site, reclaimdemocracy.org, which is a good educational source in the development of the corporation, and the development into the monster it has become. I also advise readers of this letter to buy or view "Ralph Nader: An Unreasonable Man" -- an honest example of the development of politics in this country, and the reasons for a change in direction. Tim Matthews Blue Lake, California, USA - August 11, 2008 ********** Russia-Bashing To the Editor: The online publication Avaaz sent me an e-mail asking me to add my voice to the present outrageous Russia-bashing. I wrote them the following and I hope you will reprint it: Dear Avaaz: You are among the few news-dispensing organizations to report the fact that it was Georgia's invasion of South Ossetia that precipitated this whole inflammatory event. I find the omitting this fact by the usual media outrageous and war-provoking. I find this Russia-bashing as particularly hypocritical and deleterious to our US interests in the light of the fact that Slobodan Milosevic was indicted as a war criminal when he pulled a similar attack on Kosovo, a similar breakaway republic whose independence was recognized by us and most of Europe. Not to mention NATO's attack on Serbia as a result of their genocidal operations in that region. Why is Saakashvili not being brought up on similar charges and why is it OK for us to invade Serbia but not OK for Russia to attack Georgia for trying to suppress Ossetian independence a la Kosovo? Like it or not we and the Europeans have to get along with the Russians and we have to take their interests into mind when we form our policies. We both certainly see eye-to-eye on terrorism in Chechnya. This reminds me of when the Cold War started back in the 1940s with a similar demonizing of Russia (Greece, Eastern Europe) instead of recognizing our WWII ally's need to keep its borders and interests in order after losing 20,000,000 citizens in the fight against Hitler. Had Wallace instead of Truman won in 1948 we might have avoided 40 years of Cold War. We and Russia (and Europe) have so many interests in common that it makes me sick to see all that thrown away by demagogic media coverage and opportunistic political responses at the highest level. By the way, I read recently that part of Reagan's accommodation with Gorbachev back in the 1980s included the promise by Reagan and later the 1st Bush that NATO would never reach Russia's borders. (Ukraine, Georgia, anybody?) Another US commitment thrown into the mud leading us to where we are today. Isidor Saslav Overton, Texas, USA - August 15, 2008 [ed. Glad to oblige with three short rectifications: 1) All the "genocide" charges against President Milosevic were dropped as they held no water whatsoever. 2) No genocide ever occurred in Kosovo. 3) Kosovo has been an integral part of Serbia for centuries while South Ossetia has not been an historical part of Georgia and has been consistently refusing to be a part of it since the Soviet Union dissolved.] ********** The Bureau of Public Secrets Web site is 10 years old! To the Editor: Inaugurated 22 August 1998, the site now includes over 600 Web pages in 13 languages, and has received over 5,000,000 visits from people in more than 220 countries. For this 10th anniversary, I have posted a brief account of the development of the site, along with a few remarks on the radical potentials and limits of the Internet. See, http://www.bopsecrets.org/recent/website.htm Ken Knabb "Making petrified conditions dance by singing them their own tune." Berkeley, California, USA - August 21, 2008 ********** We appreciate and welcome your comments. Please, enter in the subject line of your e-mail "letter to the editor," and specify the article or the subject you are commenting on at the beginning of your e-mail. Also, ***PLEASE,*** sign your e-mail with your name ***AND*** add your city, state, country, address, and phone number. If we publish your opinion we will only include your name, city, state, and country. Send your comments to the Editor. (Letters may be shortened and edited.) |