Ranting, Raving, and Rocking by Sal Canzonieri

This was my sixteenth column in AMP magazine. This one Rants on rumors of war with Iran and so on, Raves about network buying club Team National, and Rocks on about Memphis' Jay Reatard!

Welcome to my sixteenth column for AMP magazine.

This month’s Rant:

As Mark Twain once said, "the American flag should be replaced with the Jolly Roger, the skull and crossbones, because we bring murder wherever we go." Think about EVERY war the US has been in and who has suffered and died the most in every one of them? The common people, the general public, who had not much to do with their government's war. Civilians have died needlessly though out history in every battle the US has fought, for example, Dresden in WWII Germany; Hiroshima/Nagasaki in WWII Japan; etc., go and look, you'll see. So who triggered the genocide that is happening in Iraq? Name one part of the occupation of Iraq that has succeeded? From the shortage of soldiers, to de-Ba'athification, to the disbanding the Iraqi military, to the lack of body-armor, to leaving the ammo-dumps unprotected, to Falluja, to Abu Ghraib, to Haditha, to the stage-managed, to the public relations Jessica Lynch thing ( later exposed as a sham), every facet of Iraqi fiasco has been a complete and utter failure. Or has it?

The mayflower mafia is there NOT to grab Iraq's oil as many people have been saying, but to STOP Iraq's oil from getting on the world market. Why? Cause Iraq has more oil underground that even its neighbors, and if Saddam let it loose on the market (why do you think there was that bullshit embargo that did nothing except kill kids?) it would make the prices of oil drop fast. AND, being a loose cannon and not part of OPEC, that other mafia, he was unpredictable. Do you really think they were worrying about Saddam unleashing WMDs? No, the real WMD the Oil companies that run this country were worried about was Iraq's sudden dumping of oil on the market, and then POOF there go the mega-profits!

So, it behooves the evil empire to have civil war in Iraq, it keeps them from focusing on their oil fields and from rebuilding the country. Why do you think that there STILL is no regular electricity and other facilities there on a daily basis? Surely you don't think that with all those contractors there that they couldn't find any company capable of getting the infrastructure being at full capacity? In September 2005, British SAS were caught attempting to stage a terror attack by disguising themselves as Arabs and attacking Iraqi police. The soldiers were arrested and taken to a nearby jail where they were confronted and interrogated by an Iraqi judge. The initial demand from the puppet authorities that the soldiers be released was rejected by the Basra government. At that point tanks were sent in to 'rescue' the terrorists and the 'liberated' Iraqis started to riot, firebombing and pelting stones at the vehicles injuring British troops. Its obvious who is putting out false statements by fake Jihad groups to try and maintain the facade that the resistance is run by brutal terrorists under the direction of Al-Qaeda/Iran/Syria or whoever else they want to bomb next. No, common sense says everything in Iraq today is exactly the way the mayflower mafia wants it to be. It is clear from the very start that the policy was to deliberately allow the country to descend into chaos and encourage Muslim to kill Muslim. What's really sad is that the Moslems there in the middle east would rather hate and fight each faction not like their own then unite and get the place cleaned up once and for all. Thanks to their own selfish stupidity, they are doing exactly the childish things that the New World Order wanted them to do, exactly as planned. We might have pulled the trigger, but religion supplied the bullet, as usual!

Case in point, look at the Palestinians. How more can they do exactly as evil Israel wants them to do then to keep flinging bombs over the border! Perfect, that give's Israel all the excuse they need to NEVER budge and say "look at how they are, how can we give them their own land when they do such things".  People blowing them selves up, ha! NOBODY anywhere in the world except in stupid backwater places could feel ANY sympathy for people that do that. ALL the Palestinians had to do, years ago, to have their own country RIGHT NOW THIS MINUTE, and they can still do it if they would just wise up, is to simply the whole population to essentially go on strike. The whole place does a mass demonstration, just like people did in the Ukraine, and stay there in mass to show the whole world that they are peacefully able to make their demands. They media coverage they would get if they did this would be enormous, the whole world would feel sorry for them. And they should stay there in mass, protesting until the rest of the world demands that Israel do something now. Can they wise up and realize that killing themselves and others has do NOTHING but disgust the rest of the world? IF they had protested in mass like this, many years ago, they would have had their own country by now. IT'S COMMON SENSE, which most people in the middle east seem to not have.

But, Palestine's neighbors DON'T want them to have their own country. They know that as soon as Palestine exists as a full sovereign nation that tons of money will pour in to the place in investment money. Palestine will have shore on the Mediterranean sea that's why! It would have a thriving port. It would become a prosperous nation. Do you think that the brother hating countries there want to see that? No, cause they fear them becoming rich and powerful. Think about it.

Meanwhile, the big thing on people's minds here is WHO is going to run for president next? Kerry was the worst candidate that the Democrats could have run, to the point that it seemed it was really working for the other side, saying one dufus thing after the other. Really, would you want that guy for president? If he doesn't even have the presence of mind to watch what he says and to think before he talks, throughout his whole campaign and still today, would he have been the right person for the job. I say no.

And, Hillary Clinton, don't make me gag, the Clintons and the Bushes, what's the difference? They travel in the same social circles, they share the same lawyers, they are the same crooked mayflower mafia families. We just don't want more of the same old shit, this country needs  a clean sweep, an inspirational person for president. People are so fed up that they just don't give a shit about anything anymore. Plus, they can barely pay their bills, so their mind is on making extra money cause their 2 paychecks aren't enough to run the family household. We need someone who cares about this country from the bottom up. Not another King or Queen looking down on us like ants on the sidewalk. 

And the Republicans! Are they seriously even going to give McCain a chance to run? What insanity is that? He's out to lunch. I don't see how it would be humanly possible for him to be the right leader for our country right now. Because a real leader is what we need, not another politician that lives in the dreamworld of Washington. I doubt McCain would ever think about us first when making a decision. He's another demagogue that puts ideology first above humanity. More people that would have our kids die for a long lost cause that no one really gives a shit about. What a cross party ticket it would make: the McCain monster for Prez and his own Igor henchmen Lieberman, the shill hiding amongst the Democrats. McCain has proven himself to be a bigger traitor than Bush even against the American people in all the evil anti-Bill of Rights laws that he has sposored in congress. It's thanks to him that Bush was able to pass the new Military law that expands his ability to make martial law and makes it possible for anyone to be arrested and held with charge and without being able to appeal to a court at the whim of the president. And it's thanks to McCain that another law is being pushed that would help to curtail the first amendment, introducing legislation "that would fine blogs up to $300,000 for offensive statements, photos and videos posted by visitors on comment boards", effectively nixing the open exchange of ideas on the Internet, providing a lethal injection for unrestrained opinion, and acting as the latest attack tool to chill freedom of speech on the world wide web. The law, Section 220 of S. 1, of a lobbying reform bill will "require grassroots causes, even bloggers, who communicate to 500 or more members of the public on policy matters, to register and report quarterly to Congress the same as the big K Street lobbyists". Section 220 would amend existing lobbying reporting law by creating the most expansive intrusion on First Amendment rights ever. For the first time in history, critics of Congress will need to register and report with Congress itself.

Nope, not for my middle class America, none of them. Who would be good for middle class America. Hmm, Giuliani is obviously a great choice, regardless if you are a democrat or a republican, he would be a fair and thoughtful president, especially if he had Elliott Spitzer as vice-president. But I seriously doubt that the republican party could suddenly became a party of integrity and would run them. Boy, did Rudy sure get used by the Republican party! Soon as they got his endorsement for Bush, they promised him everything, and then turned their back on him. Rudy is no dummy, you could see it in his face after that they he knew that he had been had. And, for the Democrats, there is no other obvious candidate besides Barak Obama. Why is he getting so popular so fast? Simple, the people want someone different who will be a real leader and an inspiration to the nation. Has the average person even heard of any of the other Democrats or Republicans they appear to be interested in running? No, and that is the real problem, do you think if these people had ever given a shit about us, the people who live and work in America day to day, that they wouldn't have come out and talked to the people and made their ideas and solutions known. Solutions? What solutions do these stuffed suits have? They are all bankrupt of ideas, let alone solutions. They are part of the problem, not part of the solution. Plus, doesn't it feel like things have sunk SO LOW in this country that no one is really that into the idea of being the next president? It really doesn't feel like it. Clinton or McCain, either one of them would bring back the draft, it's so obvious. And, then watch the fun start, just like it did 40 years ago in the late 1960s, people would be rioting in the streets if there was another draft, especially if they dare to attack Iran and stretch the military even thinner than it is now. Nope, neither one of them looks good for a rejuvenated America.

That's assuming that there will be another president if Sir Lord George doesn't pull a fast one and exercises all those martial law clauses he's put into the recent laws that he's passed. He's a traitor to the former ideals of America, a traitor to the fiscal conservatives, a traitor to the people, a traitor to our security. If we had people of real backbone in Congress the laws would have never have passed, but we don't we have anything but lapdogs, cowards, perverts, and thieves, as obviously been the case in Congress for the last 8 years. Congress is basically a whorehouse of corporate and political special interests, they spend tax-payer money to pay for their pet projects and they take money for voting as their bribe payers want them to. Iraq can only end in a tragic civil war that so many innocent people will die in, all for a bunch of ultra-rich people who have so much contempt for the real people of America. I still don't know who we are at"war" with in Iraq? Did 'we' destroy the place because we were at "war" with the Sunnis? The Shiites?

There we have it: WHO benefits the most from all the unrest in the world right now, besides the oil companies? Simple: Patrick Buchanan succinctly put it: "For whose benefit are these endless wars in a region that holds nothing vital to America save oil, which the Arabs MUST sell us to survive? Who would benefit from a war of civilizations between the West and Islam? Answer: one nation, one party. Israel, the Likud. They ruined Lebanon and gained nothing from it. "The Israelis told us it would be a cheap war with many benefits," a U.S. government consultant with close ties to Israel said."Why oppose it? We'll be able to hunt down and bomb missiles, tunnels, and bunkers from the air. It would be a demo for Iran." Well, ha ha, you lost. According to Richard Armitage, who served as Deputy Secretary of State in Bush's first term, Israel's campaign in Lebanon, which has faced unexpected difficulties and widespread criticism, may, in the end, serve as a warning to the White House about Iran. "If the most dominant military force in the region-the Israel Defense Forces-can't pacify a country like Lebanon, with a population of four million, you should think carefully about taking that template to Iran, with strategic depth and a population of seventy million," Armitage said. "The only thing that the bombing has achieved so far is to unite the population against the Israelis." The marriage between the Pro-Isreal lobby in the United States and Christian extremists in Washington is an unholy union, bent on bringing on the end of the world as a consquence of their delusional worldviews. According to the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, total contributions to Congressional candidates by pro-Israel groups between 1978 and 2000 amounted to about $34 million. Only the gun lobby gave more. I thought that was called "BRIBES".

All fingers point to the now-famous white paper written in 1996 for the then Israeli prime minister, rightist Benjamin Netanyahu, titled "A Clean Break: A New Strategy for Securing the Realm." The paper, which opposes the Palestinian struggle for a state, was written by neo-conservative hawks affiliated with pro-Israeli organizations, some of whom hold influential posts in the Bush administration. Prominent among them is the former Pentagon Defense Policy Board chair Richard Perle, who resigned over conflict-of-interest charges. Another author was Douglas Feith, presently under-secretary of defense at the Pentagon, and a member of the Zionist Organization of America. The 1996 white paper, published by Israel's Institute for Advanced Strategic and Political Studies, laid out ideas for remodeling the region starting with Iraq. "Israel can shape its strategic environment, in co-operation with Turkey and Jordan, by weakening, containing, and even rolling back Syria," it said. More importantly, it added: "This effort can focus on removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq, an important Israeli strategic objective in its own right, as a means of foiling Syria's regional ambitions." Thus, Iraq and Saddam were important in the reformulation of the Middle East as a region of perpetual war. The paper writer's David Wurmser, Richard Perle, and Douglas Feith also predicted that a post-Saddam Iraq would likely be "ripped apart" by sectarianism and other divisions but called on the United States to "expedite" such a collapse anyway. Says Stephen Zunes, professor of Politics and chair of the Peace & Justice Studies Program at the University of San Francisco: "One of the long-standing goals of such neoconservative intellectuals has been to see the Middle East broken up into smaller ethnic or sectarian mini-states, which would include not only large stateless nationalities like the Kurds, but Maronite Christians, Druze, Arab Shi'ites, and others. Such a policy comes not out of respect for the right of self-determination - indeed, the neocons have been steadfast opponents of the Palestinians' desire for statehood, even alongside a secure Israel - but out of an imperial quest for divide-and-rule. The division of the Middle East has long been seen as a means of countering the threat of pan-Arab nationalism and, more recently, pan-Islamist movements."

Israel's now-dead demonic recent Prime Minister Ariel Sharon laid out the road map, with Iran, Libya and Syria next on the list: "These are irresponsible states, which must be disarmed of weapons mass destruction," he told visiting U.S. congressmen, "and a successful American move in Iraq as a model will make that easier to achieve." Well, we failed in Iraq and they failed in Lebanon, so now they are more disparate than ever, foaming at the mouth along with dear old grandpa Cheney to destroy Iran too, despite national opinion polls conducted there that show that a large majority of the people there favor normalizing relations with the US. Nevertheless, Isreal's Generals talk about how it is imperative to get the new Democrat congress onboard about the threat of Iran. Brigadier General Oded Tira observed, "President Bush lacks the political power to attack Iran. As an American strike in Iran is essential for our existence, we must help him pave the way by lobbying the Democratic Party (which is conducting itself foolishly) and US newspaper editors. We need to do this in order to turn the Iranian issue to a bipartisan one and unrelated to the Iraq failure." Because of the dramatic loss of political power of the Bush-Cheney administration, General Tira urges the Israel Lobby to, "turn to Hillary Clinton and other potential presidential candidates in the Democratic Party so that they support immediate action by Bush against Iran." As if all of that Israel-lobbying in America and Europe were not enough, General Tira proposes an even more aggressive political tactic, "We must clandestinely cooperate with Saudi Arabia so that it also persuades the US to strike Iran. For our part, we must prepare an independent military strike by coordinating flights in Iraqi airspace with the US. We should also coordinate with Azerbaijan the use of airbases in its territory and also enlist the support of the Azeri minority in Iran. In addition, we must immediately start preparing for an Iranian response to an attack." How much more blatantly can they say it? To these people it's a done deal! Our government is being run by traitors if they are doing whatever Israel's government wants.  Says Michael Carmichael, of Global Research: "Apparently, General Tira did not realize that President Bush has become the most deeply unpopular president in American history and that it was his subservience to the dictates of the Israel Lobby and its demands for wars against Iraq and Iran that led him into the political prison where he now finds himself isolated and impotent."

This month's Raving:

Team National! Yeah, I joined this amazing buying club with over 500,000 members where I get a full package of 30 different amazing benefits! Part of that includes getting high quality furniture, cars, motorcycles, jewelry, and other stuff for wholesale prices. Man, I got a $1,200 leather couch for $484!!! You can't beat that! You also get group rates for insurance of all types, medical benefits, and so on. In the first 15 minutes of joining I got $600 off the price of my current home insurance rate! AND, they gave me a website www.bign.com/salvatore  where I and anyone that wants to can get a big discount on prices from a load of the most well known department stores AND then I get from 5 to 30% BACK on anything that was bought using the site! AND, if I anyone I know also joins, I get a giant commission check and so can they if they know anyone that joins. Man! This is THE PERFECT thing for people in bands! It's an amazing way to save a BIG LOAD of money and also to make a lot of money and not have to work a steady job for someone else! Freedom! This benefits package is so good it sells itself, what's the worse that can happen? You save a lot of money! I sure wish I knew about this years ago, we all could have quit our jobs by now, like my friends did that could me into the program. By the way, they don't advertise, you can only get in if you are invited! If you are interested, let me know!


This month's Rocking:

I'd say the coolest record I've heard all year is long-time Oblivan's fan Jay Reatard's new solo album: "Blood Visions" on the always amazing In the Red record label. When he was sixteen years old, Jay founded the infamous seminal Memphis punk outfit The Reatards. In the '90s The Reatards turned the Memphis underground rock scene upside down with a legendary live show so over-the-top that they were banned in a number of European countries. The Reatards were young kids that were inspirational to see and hear, playing the kind of full abandon that hasn't been seen since the early days of '70s Punk Rock. Not only that, but Jay also co-led the synth-punk Lost Sounds with Alicja Trout, plays drums for The Final Solutions, co-fronts The Angry Angles, plays in Nervous Patterns, and so many other pick-up bands, and runs his own label Shattered Records. What's really fun and cool about Jay's new album is that, after holing himself up in a hotel room for a few weeks, he created a new "New-Wave Garage" kind of Punk Rock & Roll music that combines the aggressive approach of The Reatards with a melodic '80s pop sensibility, and production that was influenced by classic '80s UK punk records -- The Adverts (who are covered here), Siouxsie & the Banshees, ATV, etc. The lyrics are great, the music is outstanding in its arrangements, totally fun and still exciting, and it ROCKS! Check it out at: http://www.myspace.com/jayreatard


That's it for this issue! Click here to read column #17 (not existing yet)

Sal Canzonieri - www.electricfrankenstein.com / www.myspace.com/electricfrankenstein
salcanzonieri@att.net