Tuesday, September 30, 2014

USA conquers Afghanistan today, not leaving

Ashley Wells, Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; Sonali Kolhatkar (uprisingradio.org); Amy Goodman (democracy.now)
Bamiyan skateboarder, Afghanistan, once Sakastan now Skateistan (zeroanthropology.net)
The largest Buddha in the world is in Bamiyan, Afghanistan, but it is not the one detonated by the CIA/Taliban/OSI. Rather it is still underground, a massive reclining in nirvana figure National Geographic has investigated.
 
Afghanistan destroyed again
The world's largest Buddha (NatGeo)
USA/CIA installs new corrupt leaders more friendly to the West -- a former World Bank official for president, a Warlord for VP, and Abdullah Abduallah gets to be CEO, a new office set up to accommodate the defeated opposition candidate who assures US officials he would have been even more favorable to the West than the selected, installed, elected winner.

Giant Buddha of Bamiyan
Handpicking opposition officials is the best way to conquer and rule a country: killing by remote control with assassin-drones, taking over illegal drug production in the poppy fields to fund covert activities, keeping every in Washington DC in line and on point (talking points distributed to them), and cheating China (with its MCC) out of the mineral wealth and priceless Buddhist treasures sitting in the ground which it had planned to raze in Mes Aynak to get at the gold, copper, and rare earths.

Smaller Buddha of Bamiyan
Buddhism co-originated in Afghanistan, ancient Shakya-land of the Scythians/Shakyans. While the Buddha traveled east to India and began teaching in the suburbs of the holy city of Varanasi, his family awaited his return in Bamiyan-Mes Aynak-Kabul.

When he returned many converted to his new doctrine, relinquished their royal status as nomadic pastoralists from Central Asia (Greek "Scythia"), became monastics, and built the largest monasteries and statues and temples in the Buddhist world.

Only later did the Dharma and the magnificent architecture move around Asia reaching Cambodia (Angkor Wat) and Indonesia (Borobudur) and China, the walled empire. The world now has many dazzling Buddhist sites, some still hidden in the jungles between Cambodia and Thailand waiting to be discovered, much like the recent discovery at Siem Reap.

But Afghanistan is different because, as ancient Indo-Scythia/Gandhara running from modern Pakistan (which only came into existence in 1947 and was formerly the northwest frontier of "Greater India," Maha Bharat, a loose affiliation of kingdom, fiefdoms, republics, "clan footholds"/territories (janapadas). One of the seasonal Shakyan capitals, Kapilavastu, was at Bamiyan, a fabulously rich place thanks to the ancient Silk Route.
 
Bamiyan's big ancient Buddhas destroyed (news.nationalgeographic.com)

US (MIC) Empire finally conquers Afghanistan
What has the Military-Industrial Complex done now with its militant enforcement arm, the CIA?
 
Afghanistan has inaugurated its first new president in a decade, swearing in World Bank official Ashraf Ghani to head a power-sharing government. Joining him on stage Monday was Abdul Rashid Dostum, Afghanistan’s new vice president.
 
2014-0930_seg2_afghan-massacre-3
Afghan Massacre: Eyewitnesses testify U.S. troops complicit in war crimes killing POWs
 
Dostum is one of Afghanistan’s most notorious warlords, once described by Ghani himself as a "known killer." Dostum’s rise to the vice presidency comes despite his involvement in a 2001 massacre that killed up to 2,000 Taliban prisoners of war. The victims were allegedly shot to death or suffocated in sealed metal truck containers after they surrendered to Dostum and the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance.

The dead prisoners -- some of whom had been tortured -- were then buried in the northern Afghan desert. Dostum, who was on the CIA payroll, has been widely accused of orchestrating the massacre and tampering with evidence of the mass killing.
 
For more than a decade, human rights groups have called on the United States to conduct a full investigation into the massacre including the role of U.S. special forces and CIA operatives

Democracy Now! speaks to Jamie Doran, director of the 2002 documentary "Afghan Massacre: The Convoy of Death," and Susannah Sirkin, director of international policy at Physicians for Human Rights, the group that discovered the site of the mass graves of the Taliban POWs. More

New tremors raise concern at Japan's Mount Ontake Increased seismic activity raised concern Tuesday about the possibility of another eruption at a Japanese volcano where 36 people...

Marco Lambertini
Wildlife populations plummet for 3,000 species
About 3,000 species of wildlife around the world have seen their numbers plummet far worse than previously thought, according to a new study by one of the world's biggest ...

George Clooney, Amal Alamuddin

They did. They do. Clooney wedding

The NAZI "War on [Some] Drugs"

DADD: Dads Against Daughters on Drugs: Shoot the first [hypodermic] and the word will spread, that way we can grow into a full fledged organization, pumpkin (badidea.com).
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Bush_nazi
I love Reegin and Nancy, too! But Dick loves Adolf
It wasn't former first lady, and possible Nazi sympathizer, Nancy Reagan with her "Just Say No" campaign that created the failed U.S. War on Drugs, nor was it her hubby, former hated California Governor beloved former Pres. Ronnie Reagan, whose hagiographies have made him a Republican darling. Nor was it his predecessor's, nor his...
  
THE CHRONOLOGY
Neal Smith, Occupied America: A Chronology of Nazi Infiltration and the War on Some Drugs
Seig, uh, Howdy! G.W. was the Nazi!
1820 — Rothschilds established as the leading bank in Europe. Bankers who allied themselves with the Rothschilds, and those who supported the Masonic order, found themselves well off. Those who didn't had a rough way to go.
1840 — During an attempt at alcohol prohibition, then-attorney Abraham Lincoln states: "Prohibition makes a crime out of things that are not crimes ... A prohibition law strikes a blow at the very principles upon which our government was founded."
1842 — Cannabis makes up about half of all medicines sold in America. No one reports serious problems with use.
1850 — Cannabis prescribed as the prime medicine for more than 100 separate illnesses or diseases in U.S. Pharmacopoeia.
1865 — Northern Industrialists win War Between the States. Now have power base over agricultural South, influences westward expansion of U.S, location of railroads. Mary Todd Lincoln prescribed cannabis for the nervous breakdown she suffered following husband (President) Lincoln's assassination.
1875 — California, in a blatant act of racism, bans opium smoking by Chinese. Large, well-run opium houses ran out of business, replaced by smaller, less reputable houses. Usage increases.
1876 — Turkish hashish exhibition at Philadelphia's Centennial Exhibition was most popular. Fairgoers encouraged to return again and again to "enhance" their enjoyment of the fair.
1883 — First federal law against drugs. Congress heavily taxed smoking opium. First time taxation was used to legislate morality, instead of raise revenues. Controlled by Treasury Department.
1884 — Supreme Court decision making corporations artificial persons. Gives corporations 14th Amendment protections.
1888 — Using 1883 Opium Taxation Law as precedent, federal government banned certain types of opium from being imported, and banned Chinese from importing opium at all. Government now surrenders revenue raising in favor of controlling "morality."
1890 — Standard Oil of Ohio is refining 90% of America's oil, thanks to Rothschild financing.
1894 — Indian Hemp Drugs Commission report released to British. Study done in India. Judged the physical, mental, moral effects of smoking cannabis, urges against any prohibition based on "no appreciable physical injury of any kind, ... no injurious effects on the mind, ... (and) no moral injury whatever."

Ghost of Pres. Reagan: NSA spying
Cora Currier and Ryan Devereaux (firstlook.org/theintercept, 9-29-14)
Featured photo - The Ghost of Ronald Reagan Authorizes Most NSA Spying
The beloved, racist, right wing conservative
U.S. intelligence agents have broad authority to spy on U.S. companies as long as they are “believed to have some relationship with foreign organizations or persons” -- a description that could conceivably apply to ANY company with foreign shareholders, subsidiaries, or even employees -- according to newly released government documents published recently by the ACLU. The trove, which includes documents from the NSA, Department of Justice, and the Defense Intelligence Agency, confirms long-standing suspicions that the bulk of U.S. foreign surveillance operations are governed not by acts of Congress, but by a [ridiculous] 33-year-old executive order issued unilaterally by President Ronald Reagan. More
1895 — Rothschilds begin to finance American business. They do so primarily through the Warburgs of Germany who were partners of Kuhn, Loeb, and Company of New York. Both Warburgs and Kuhn/Loeb would be principals of Federal Reserve Board. Rothschilds would finance Rockefeller's Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel, and the Harriman Railroad system.
1896 — McKinley elected president. Marcus Alonzo Hannah from Standard Oil of Ohio raised 16 million dollars for campaign, otherwise unheard of until 1960's.
1898 — Spanish American War starts, with William Randolph Hearst's "Yellow Journalism" fueling the fires. Hearst begins his long campaign of racism against Hispanics, "Orientals," and Africans, and the things they do in their cultures.
1900 — Mellon Bank, sixth largest in America, finances very successful oil "gusher" in Spindletop, Texas. Eli Lilly and Parke Davis, in a joint venture, develops strain of cannabis called "Cannabis Americana." Strain is a very potent Cannabis Indica, to be used in their medicines.
1906 — Pure Food and Drug Act (Wiley Act) passed. Opens door for government intervention into food and medicine production.
1911 — Standard Oil of New Jersey found in violation of Sherman Anti-Trust Act. Forced to diversify, though all companies they split into, John D. Rockefeller had at least 25% of stock. Therefore, spirit of Sherman Anti-Trust violated.
1912 — Wiley Act amended, giving government right to determine if a substance is "harmful."...
Krugman_The_Great_Unraveling2000 — The annual budget for the War On Some Drugs request is the highest ever: $17.7 billion dollars...some claim $19 billion. It's not known as of this writing how much will actually be spent. As of this writing, Congress is debating spending up to nine billion additional dollars to arm the nation of Columbia in the War On Some Drugs. Many fear a repeat of the Vietnam fiasco. As of February 15, two million people are behind bars in America. With approximately [5%] of the world's population, we now incarcerate 25% of the world's prisoners. Of the two million, approximately 61% are jailed on drug charges. Of that group, approximately 82% are in on Marijuana charges. Of that subset, 65% are for mere possession cases. Reports begin to surface on the overuse of drugs like Prozac and Ritalin on preschool children. Amnesty International reports a continuation of abuses in the former Yugoslavia. The Kosovar Liberation Army, which the U.S. State Department claims is disbanded, still rules the streets of Kosovo. Twenty-eight thousand NATO troops remain as "Peacekeepers." The Miami Herald releases a document signed by an imprisoned Chilean Military Officer that directly implicates Chilean former President Augusto Pinochet. Pinochet was put into power in the 70's after U.S. President Richard Nixon's CIA provided assistance to overthrow popularly-elected Salvador Allende. According to the Herald, the document reveals Pinochet's involvement in a 1976 operation that assassinated Chilean exile leader Orlando Letelier. The bombing occurred in Washington, D.C. and is still considered the most serious act of international terrorism to date on U.S. soil. The Herald quotes Espinoza saying that "... by order of the President, we must begin an investigation of Orlando Letelier, who is threatening the stability of the Chilean Government." Espinoza was never extradited to the U.S. to face bombing charges, but he and one other were convicted of the bombing in Chile in 1995. More

Police State: cops keep killing

Stay on the sidewalk, mofo! - I am on the sidewalk, sir! - And don't talk back, n-word, or I'll blow your motherf'n head off like your boi Charlie Brown! - His name is Michael, sir. - Arrest this mofo, kill him if he "resists"! Fergistan, MO (Josh P/pactenboy/twitter).


LAPD: Kill first, evade Q's later (scpr.org)
NORTH AUGUSTA, South Carolina - Ernest Satterwhite was a laid-back former mechanic with a habit of ignoring police officers who tried to pull him over -- an act of [indifference] that ultimately got him [murdered by police who will not stand for being disrespected, certainly not by blacks].

[What is the name of the shooter, the killer who committed murder under color of law.] The 68-year-old black great-grandfather was shot to death after a slow-speed chase as he parked in his own driveway, by a 25-year-old white police officer who repeatedly fired through the driver's side door.

Dangerous young black man in his driveway
Investigators determined that North Augusta Public Safety Officer Justin Craven broke the law. A prosecutor, in a rare action against a police officer, sought to charge him with voluntary manslaughter, punishable by up to 30 years in prison. But the [hand selected] grand jury [of prominent, mostly white conservative citizens] disagreed, indicting him on a misdemeanor.
 
The debate over how police use force against unarmed people has become a national issue since an unarmed 18-year-old black [teen named Michael Brown] was shot to death in August by a white police officer in Ferguson, Missouri, where unrest still lingers.

Let's keep paramilitary busy abroad killing noncitizens by remote control?

Police misconduct, Ferguson, Missouri (thenation.com/George Zornick)
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But most police shootings make only local headlines, and just for a day or two. The refusal of authorities to release public information about these on-duty actions by taxpayer-paid officials is a big reason why. As with many such killings, Satterwhite's death in February remains shrouded in mystery.

Video can make a difference [in prosecuting citizens and exonerating officials who viciously beat Rodney King on video yet were nevertheless went unconvicted]: South Carolina gained the national spotlight last week after a dashboard camera showed how in just a few seconds Trooper Sean Groubert went from asking motorist Levar Jones for his license for a supposed seat belt violation, to shooting at him repeatedly without provocation, even as Jones put his hands in the air. Jones was hit once and is recovering.

State Public Safety Director Leroy Smith called that shooting "disturbing," and Groubert was promptly fired and charged with felony assault. More

Police State?

World leaders and activists from around the world once gathered for the G20 Summit in a police state. With over 19,000 police and security personnel on hand, the results lead to over 1,100 arrests, martial law in downtown Toronto, and the largest violation of civil liberties in Canadian history. (Directed by Dan Dicks, produced by Steven Davies, Bryan Law, and Dan Dicks; music by Dan Dicks). More

ZEN of living on atomic, volcanic faultlines

CC Liu, Pat Macpherson, Wisdom Quarterly; Mari Yamaguchi, Ken Moritsugu, Tokyo (AP)
Volcano post eruption: In Japan firefighters and Japan Self-Defense Forces conduct a rescue search on Mount Ontake, Central Japan, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014 (Associated Press)



Scenes broadcast live on Japanese TV station TBS showed soldiers carrying yellow body bags one-by-one to a camouflage military helicopter that had landed in a relatively wide-open area of the now bleak landscape, its rotors still spinning.

The bodies were flown to a nearby athletic field, its green grass and surrounding forested hills contrasting with Mt. Ontake's ash-gray peak in the background, a reduced plume still emerging from its crater.

The bodies were then taken to a small, two-story wooden elementary school in the nearby town of Kiso, where they were being examined in the gymnasium. Family members of the missing waited at a nearby municipal hall.

More than 200 soldiers and firefighters, including units with gas-detection equipment, were part of the search mission near the peak, said Katsunori Morimoto, an official in the village of Otaki. The effort was halted because of an increase in toxic gas and ash as the volcano continued to spew fumes, he said. "It sounds like there is enormous ashfall up there." More

Sunday, September 28, 2014

Pursuing Happiness with the Dalai Lama (video)

Dhr. Seven and Ashley Wells, Wisdom Quarterly; Krista Tippett (onbeing.org, 9-25-14)
"Then in that sense it can be said that all of Buddhism is jihad" - Dalai Lama
The Dalai Lama, Krista Tippett, etc. (Bryan Meltz/Emory Photo/Onbeing.org/NPR, 9-25-14)
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We can choose happiness (S-A)
The Dalai Lama XIV seems to many to embody happiness -- happiness against the odds [Chinese oppression, invasion, genocide, and propaganda], a virtue that is acquired and practiced.

Religion = a daily practice.
Before a live audience in Atlanta, Georgia, On Being/Speaking of Faith's Krista Tippett had a rare opportunity to mull over the meaning of happiness in contemporary life with the head prelate [a kind of "pope"] of Tibetan Vajrayana Buddhism, the 14th Dalai Lama (Tenzin Gyatso) who now lives in exile in Dharamsala, India. Assisting is Thupten Jinpa, the Dalai Lama's English translator.

14th Dalai Lama on Al Jazeera America
Also contributing to the conversation are three global spiritual leaders: Muslim scholar Seyyed Hossein Nasr (George Washington Univ., D.C.), former chief Jewish rabbi Prof. Johnathan Sacks (King's College, London), and presiding Episcopalian Bishop and Primate (yes, primate) the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori (Episcopal Church Center, NY). An invigorating and unpredictable discussion ensues exploring the themes of suffering (dukkha), beauty, and the nature of the human body. More
 

The 14th Dalai Lama with his government-in-exile in India has a website: dalailama.com

Can different religions date and marry?
(NBC/Today Show/naomiriley.com) Naomi Schaefer Riley, author of Got Religion? and New York Post journalist, talks about the rise of interfaith relationships and marriage in the USA.
 
Actor Emma Watson, Feminist, Activist
(OB/9-26-14) Emma Watson's challenging and inspirational speech creates an opening for On Being's senior producer Lily Percy to reflect, reframe, and reclaim her sense of feminism.

Math is a Religion (Calvin and Hobbes/onbeing.org)

China fights HK pro-democracy demonstrations

Pat Macpherson, Pfc. Sandoval, Wisdom Quarterly; AP writers Elaine Kurtenbach, Louise Watt, Joanna Chiu contributed, Kelvin Chan (chanman) Associated Press
Riot police pepper spray peaceful demonstrators after thousands block the main road to the financial center district outside government HQ in Hong Kong, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Hong Kong activists kicked off a long-threatened mass civil disobedience protest today to challenge Beijing over restrictions on democracy, voting reforms, escalating the political battle in the former British colony after police arrested dozens of student demonstrators (AP).

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Police assault peaceful demonstrators (AP)
HONG KONG, China - Hong Kong police blasted pro-democracy protesters with tear gas and used vans with flashing lights in renewed efforts overnight to force demonstrators from streets near the government headquarters, as the city's top leader early Monday urged them to go home.

Hong Kong's top leader, Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying, reassured the public that rumors the Chinese army might intervene were untrue. "I hope the public will keep calm. Don't be misled by the rumors. Police will strive to maintain social order, including ensuring smooth traffic and ensuring the public safety," said the Beijing-backed Leung, who is deeply unpopular. He added, "When they carry out their duties, they will use their maximum discretion."
 
As sit-ins spread to other areas of Hong Kong in the strongest challenge yet to Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms for the semi-autonomous city, Leung urged everyone to go home and avoid causing trouble.

Demonstrators walk through tear gas used by riot police against them after thousands blocked a main road at the financial central district in Hong Kong, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Authorities launched a crackdown that spiraled into an extraordinary scene of chaos as the crowd jammed a busy road and resisted officers wielding pepper spray (AP).
 
Say no to police state
"We don't want Hong Kong to be messy," Leung said as he read a statement aloud early Monday on TV. After spending hours holding protesters at bay, police lobbed canisters of tear gas into the crowd on Sunday evening. The searing fumes sent demonstrators fleeing, though many came right back to continue their protest. The government said 26 people were taken to hospitals; some carried away on stretchers.

As the protest dragged past midnight, police began pushing the crowds back with their vans. Meanwhile, some protesters began occupying other downtown areas. Some protesters pulled back, fearing police might move more aggressively to end the protests, which began with sit-ins over a week earlier by students calling for Beijing to grant genuine democratic reforms to the former British colony. More

Demonstrators gather in Hong Kong financial district after riot police use tear gas on them after thousands blocked road, Sunday, Sept. 28, 2014. Police threatened further violent measures as they tried to clear thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators gathered outside government HQ in a challenge to Beijing over its decision to restrict democratic reforms for the city (AP).