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January 11, 2007

Wes Clark and the New York Money People - Why those who condemn Clark for his comment are reinforcing a stereotype and distracting from warnings on Iran!

There has been "much ado" about a single Wes Clark quote as he spoke hurriedly and according to Arianna Huffington herself "Steamingly" in reference to an article he had just read in the Israelite press. The article was about a push from Israel to influence the U.S. to partake in a possible attack on Iran. Wesley Clark, who is half Jewish, made this comment, according to Arianna Huffington.


Disclaimer: I am not Jewish, but I am sympathetic to my brothers and sisters in the Jewish community. One of my maternal aunt’s death was directly attributed to the Germans who invaded my country and city of birth (Paris, France) during the 2nd World War. Due to my interest in the history of WWII (caused by my French education and my family history), I have always been sensitive to Israel and to the hardship the Jewish people have endured over the centuries. In addition, I am also of African-American heritage (on my father’s side–Yes, I am an Obama) which goes to the point that I understand discrimination, have experienced prejudice in the first person, and recognize institutional and social racism in all of its forms, and that it is still very much among us–even among those who would label ourselves as "liberals".

HOWEVER, I did not interpret Wes Clark’s words as meaning what some are
reporting; that his comments were anti-semitic and has advanced the conspiracy theory that Israel "made" us attack Iraq. I will note that most who seem "offended" by his words, are also those that could be labeled partisans on the right. Those who aren’t aligned with the right seem to be having a much bigger problem with the "Attack Iran" part of what Wes Clark said.

To put Clark's comments in perspective, a glance at the Forbes list for New York`s top billionaires-- aka the "New York Money People"-- reveals a wide range of ethnicities and religions. Take a look at this sampling, representing collectively around $22 Billion of New York money:

Keith Murdoch, Donald Trump, David Rockefeller, Austin Hearst, Charles Dolan, Tom Golisano, Mario Gabelli, Michael Jaharis, Kenneth Langone, J. Flowers.

What do you know? Some hefty New York Money People... none of them Jewish.

In fact the number 1 and 2 wealthiest people in the world (Gates & Buffet) are also both non-Jews. (Thanks to mls at CCN for these stats!)

However, what is an undeniable truth is that those associated with Bibi Netanyahu as his biggest supporters, financially and otherwise are mainly Neo-Cons or Neo-Libs and many are clearly of the Christian faith.

Quote from DUer NV1962

"And isn't it a "coincidence" that Clark's angry concern (prompted by that article by de Borchgrave) and the Israeli formal "denial" of plans to nuke Iranian targets appear so close together...? "

Continue reading "Wes Clark and the New York Money People - Why those who condemn Clark for his comment are reinforcing a stereotype and distracting from warnings on Iran!" »

February 5, 2007

The New York SUN, AP, and The Forward confirms it- JONAH GOLDBERG is just Wrong or is in Denial or is just plain LYING!

An article by New York Sun proves that Goldberg is wrong in his latest column; The N.Y. Sun says some New York Money People are buying influence from Democratic Politicians; and Iran has everything to do with everything! The Forward and the Associated Press also confirms this

If you've read the Goldberg "opinion", know that Jonah Golberg's column of wrongness is syndicated....meaning it will be fanned across the nation and perpetuates nothing more than a lie. When you google, one can see where it is going; to every right leaning publication in the nation, and I guess the L.A. Times (they sure are a changin').

The N.Y. Sun published an article on Feb 1st which negates Goldberg's nasty column out to slam Wes Clark and Matthew Yglesias, in where he states that neither Clark nor Yglesias have proven that there is a connection between AIPAC, New York Contributions, and the Iran Stance taken by some Dem and GOP politicians.

Goldberg ignorantly states,
"there is zero evidence to back up Yglesias' statement that "major Jewish organizations are pushing the country into war" with Iran."
So Jonah Goldberg is accusing not only Gen. Clark and Mr. Yglesias of statements without evidence, but also the N.Y. Sun, AP and now The Forward of speaking and printing information that isn't true! Yeah....OK, what-E-ver! Who's next?

The sentences below are taken directly from the New York Sun and negates Goldberg's assertions by making statements very matter of fact: http://www.nysun.com/article/47843 (see page 2)

"New York is the ATM for American politicians. Large amounts of money come from the Jewish community," he said. "If you're running for president and you want dollars from that group, you need to show that you're interested in the issue that matters most to them."

Mrs. Clinton, who has opted out of the public campaign financing system, has tapped into the circuit of influential Jewish donors for years and has strong support in the community. A spokesman for Aipac, Joshua Block, said yesterday that the senator and former first lady has "an extremely consistent and strong record of support on issues that are important to the pro- Israel community.

Indeed, how to deal with Iran is likely to be the next majority foreign policy conundrum the 2008 presidential candidates face. While Mr. Edwards and Mrs. Clinton have different positions on how to deal with the Iraq war, each has used harsh language on Iran.

The Neoconservative N.Y. Sun is very explicit in confirming connections that Mr. Goldberg maintain don't exist, (and certainly the N.Y. Sun says much more than anything Gen. Clark or Matthew Yglesias might have ever said which has been exaggerated to an absurd degree by the hate merchants passing the story from one to another). In fact, the N.Y. Sun leaves nothing to the imagination.

Someone needs to point this out to Mr. Goldberg's editors ASAP, because it appears that they are paying good money for trash liners. The New York Sun is a Neoconservative publication, and so if Wes Clark can have the ADL come after him, and the Republican Jewish Coalition take out an ad asking for an apology from Wes http://www.rjchq.org/News.asp?FormMode=Detail&ID=1204 , then the N.Y. Sun should be boycotted by ADL, RJC and everyone in between, OR it means that saying "Money People" is only harmful to those the media determines that it should harm.

So are Republican leaning publications like the New York SUN also Anti-Semite? Or is there is a double standard and this snowball rolling down the mountain towards Wes is nothing more than a smear campaign being ignited by the "Hate" merchants who are eager to sell anti-semitism at any price to quiet critics who speak against our march to war against Iran?

Here's a sharp analysis of my point written by Glenn Greenwald.... exposing the hypocrisy specifically of Wes' treatment: http://glenngreenwald.blogspot.com/2007/02/enforced-orthodoxies-and-iran.html

In addition, Goldberg and other distractors do not ever point out that the ADL accepted Wes' explanation, nor do they mention the letter that states this. http://jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=6382

Meanwhile, the New York Sun--hardly a hotbed of anti-Semitism--recently reported that leading Democratic presidential contenders have been reluctant to speak out against war with Iran for fear of angering "pro-Israel" lobbying groups in New York (even though the vast majority of Jewish-Americans don't appear to favor such a war). According to the New York Post, Hillary Clinton "drew grumbles" at an AIPAC dinner "when she encouraged 'engaging' with Iran before taking stronger action to keep it nuke-free." Of course, Wes Clark and Matt Yglesias were accused of anti-Semitism and compared to Charles Lindbergh when they pointed out this state of affairs. I wonder if the Sun will get the same treatment...

I'm also curious to know why it's always and everywhere considered "pro-Israel" to support military strikes that won't, in all likelihood, destroy Iran's nuclear program, but will, in all likelihood, destroy international support for sanctions on the country, entrench the more radical factions in Tehran, and make future conflicts in the Middle East more, rather than less, likely. As if opponents of such a thing are "anti-Israel.")
http://www.tnr.com/blog/theplank?pid=77751


and linking to the above is this:

Also see item by Jewschool-

The Jewschool weights with some details on the ongoing debate. The one that Goldberg believes there is no evidence of whatsoever!

by Mobius

February 5th, 2007

The AP reports:

Calling Iran a danger to the U.S. and one of Israel’s greatest threats, Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton said Thursday that “no option can be taken off the table” when dealing with that nation. “U.S. policy must be clear and unequivocal: We cannot, we should not, we must not permit Iran to build or acquire nuclear weapons,” Clinton told a crowd of Israel supporters. “In dealing with this threat … no option can be taken off the table.”

add this line that is in the AP article---and well...you get the picture!
"Clinton, D-N.Y., spoke at a Manhattan dinner held by the nation's largest pro-Israel lobbying group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee."

And The Forward:

While Jewish communal leaders focus most of their current lobbying efforts on pressing the United States to take a tough line against Iran and its nuclear program, some are privately voicing fears that they will be accused of driving America into a war with the regime in Tehran. […] In warning of possible scapegoating, insiders point to the experience of the Iraq War. Since the initial invasion in 2003, antiwar groups have charged, with growing vehemence, that the war was promoted by Jewish groups acting in Israel’s interest — even though the invasion enjoyed bipartisan backing and popular support, and was not at the top of most Jewish organizations’ agendas. The Iraq backlash prompted former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon to order in 2005 that his ministers keep a low profile on Iran. Now, however, Jewish groups are indeed playing a lead role in pressing for a hard line on Iran.

BINGO!

read more here

A comment I picked up online tells it better than I do!
Submitted by Nick Kelly on February 5, 2007 - 10:25pm.

"That quote in The Sun is attributed to"...a former Clinton Democratic political consultant who worked on President Clinton's re-election campaign, Hank Sheinkopf, noted that the Aipac dinner always draws a parade of politicians.

"New York is the ATM for American politicians. Large amounts of money come from the Jewish community," he said. "If you're running for president and you want dollars from that group, you need to show that you're interested in the issue that matters most to them."

http://www.nysun.com/article/47843?page_no=2

I googled Mr. Sheinkopf. I suppose those who know him will consider it an understatement to observe that it doesn't appear likely that he is an anti-semite.
So, the substance of what Wes said is now confirmed by a very knowledgeable source who is not likely to be anti-semitic, and Wes was previously said not to be anti-semitic himself by none other than Abe Foxman, the President of the anti-defamation league.

Therefore, all the articles, newspapers and blogs that are insinuating that Wes Clark is anti-semitic are --- I do hope Jonah Goldberg won't mind me borrowing his expression --- "blowhards"-Nick Kelly

Interestesting debate here.

So here's your chance to walk point for the General Write multiple letters to the Editors for each google hit you find Contact info of some of the Hate Merchants selling politics of personal destruction

Rosner - rosner@haaretz.co.il

Goldberg - JonahNRO@aol.com

National Review LTE - letters@nationalreview.com

L.A. Times - letters@latimes.com

Salt Lake Tribune - letters@sltrib.com


We need letters to go out NOW in response to the Goldberg column!

SO LET'S DROP WHAT WE ARE DOING, LET'S GET SETTLED IN , AND LET'S WALK POINTS FOR THE GENERAL - I BELIEVE THAT HE DESERVES IT -

DEBATE IS DEMOCRATIC, DISSENT IS PATRIOTIC AND SILENCE IS BETRAYAL!

 

 


March 19, 2007

How "They" Tried to Smear Wes Clark and how it didn't Work!

This is a follow post on a story that I have followed since January of this year on the attempted smear against Wes Clark by the "Powers that Be". We should recall that Wes Clark dared to discuss those uncomfortable issues that are deemed "Taboo", i.e., "Third Rail" in our politics; the powerful affects of the AIPAC lobby on our politics extending to both sides of the aisle.

Read the three articles at the links that I have posted below to find out how Wesley Clark changed the dialogue for the better with some steadfast courage, sacrifice, and a little help from some likemind bloggers.

Bloggers vs. the Lobby
Israel’s propaganda fortress faces a surprising new challenge.
March 12, 2007 Issue

Who Is More Pro Israel?
Taylor Marsh 3/17/07

Iraq, Iran, and the Lobby
Four years after the invasion of Iraq, and the War Party is still in the driver's seat
March 17, 2007

Also see my previous post and this one as well for a full accounting of the events as they happened.

About Swiftboats at Work!

This page contains an archive of all entries posted to RAPID FIRE - Silver Bullets in the Swiftboats at Work! category. They are listed from oldest to newest.

08 Primary Press Smears is the previous category.

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