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Sunday, August 26, 2018

#JohnMcCain - ‘Patriot or warmonger?’ McCain’s track record comes under public scrutiny

The death of John McCain caused mixed feelings and triggered a heated debate over the American values represented by the Republican. While some commended McCain’s patriotism, others questioned his moral integrity.

Following the announcement of 81-year-old John McCain’s death, the public took to social media to express their condolences and share mixed feelings about the Republican’s life and deeds. Amid an endless outpouring of sympathies for the McCain family, some chose to challenge the massive praise McCain received posthumously.

In his 36 years of service in Congress, McCain had acquired a reputation as a maverick Republican who was not shy about throwing American troops in harm's way. Over the years, McCain advocated for military intervention in a number of countries including Bosnia, Kosovo, Georgia, North Korea, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, and Mali.

View image on Twitter

Ben Norton

✔@BenjaminNorton

This is a map from 2013 of the many countries where unrepentant warmonger John McCain had called for US military intervention:
- Syria
- Iraq
- Afghanistan
- Libya
- Kosovo
- Nigeria
- Bosnia
- North Korea
- Iran
- Russia
- Sudan
- Mali
- China https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/09/john-mccain-world-attack-map-syria/ …

10:19 PM - Aug 25, 2018

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McCain also adamantly lobbied against Russia and China – policies which some Twitter users found confrontational and potentially disastrous.

Calling him a ‘warmonger,’ some users recalled McCain’s rendezvous with Syrian militants and even accused him of conspiring “with Hillary and Obama to create ISIS.” Others directly accused the deceased senator of pursuing his ideals at the cost of entire nations and wanting “to wipe Syria, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, and Vietnam off the map.”

“If you are a non-interventionist, you should already know that McCain was a war monger, in the pocket of military industrial complex and is responsible for hundreds of thousands of dead. He meddled for war in the Middle East and Ukraine. He was an evil, entitled, heartless man,” one user tweeted.

Amid the torrent of praise from acting and former politicians as well as public figures, some people claimed that, while McCain was a useful “tool” of the GOP, his public image and policies nonetheless tarnished the entire Republican party’s reputation.

Video - #JohnMcCain - Watch John McCain defend Barack Obama against a racist voter in 2008

Sen. John McCain died on Saturday from brain cancer at the age of 81. His legacy is perhaps a complicated one, given the span of his life: he was a former Navy pilot, Vietnam prisoner of war, and Republican presidential nominee, and spent 30 years as a United States senator.

After news of McCain’s choosing to discontinue treatment on Friday, a video of his time on the campaign trail in 2008 resurfaced. In it he defended Barack Obama, his rival for the presidency, in the face of constituents spouting racist conspiracies about the then-senator from Illinois.

“I can’t trust Obama. I have read about him, and he’s not, um, he’s an Arab,” a woman said to McCain at a town hall meeting in Lakeville, Minnesota in October 2008.

McCain grabbed the microphone from her, cutting her off. “No, ma’m,” he said. “He’s a decent family man [and] citizen that just I just happen to have disagreements with on fundamental issues, and that’s what the campaign’s all about. He’s not [an Arab].”

Of course, being of Arab descent and a “decent family man” have nothing to do with one another, and are not mutually exclusive. McCain’s response could have been better — he could have pointed out that it does not matter whether someone is Muslim or Arab or anything else — but taking away the microphone from the woman and defending his opponent was a powerful moment.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/8/25/17782572/john-mccain-barack-obama-statement-2008-video

#JohnMcCain - Video Report - #Obama on McCain: We are all in his debt

Former President Barack Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama make a statement following the death of Arizona senator and former Republican presidential candidate John McCain.

#JohnMcCain - Clintons pay tribute to McCain

Former President Bill Clinton and 2016 Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton paid tribute to Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) on Saturday, following the announcement of the Republican lawmaker's death.

“Senator John McCain believed that every citizen has a responsibility to make something of the freedoms given by our Constitution, and from his heroic service in the Navy to his 35 years in Congress, he lived by his creed every day," the Clintons wrote in a statement.

"He was a skilled, tough politician, as well as a trusted colleague alongside whom Hillary was honored to serve in the Senate. He frequently put partisanship aside to do what he thought was best for the country, and was never afraid to break the mold if it was the right thing to do.”

Clinton also sent out a tweet of her own, saying McCain “lived a life of service to his country, from his heroism in the Navy to 35 years in Congress."

"He was a tough politician, a trusted colleague, and there will simply never be another like him. My thoughts and prayers are with Cindy and his entire family,” she continued.

McCain died Saturday at age 81 after battling an aggressive form of brain cancer.

Numerous colleagues and politicians took to social media to mourn McCain, who survived years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam before becoming a leading actor on the political stage for decades.

http://thehill.com/homenews/news/403631-clintons-pay-tribute-to-john-mccain

#JohnMcCain - John McCain Requested Obama & George W. Bush To Speak At Funeral

By Devin Ch

John McCain died Saturday afternoon in his Arizona home after a year of coping with a grossly destabilizing form of brain cancer for over a year. We have learned that before passing, McCain had requested that both Barack Obama and George W. Bush perform eulogies at his funeral when it comes to pass. Both men have agreed in principle to deliver remarks during a service at the National Cathedral in the nation's capital. Former VP Joe Biden will lead a separate honorarium in McCain's home state of Arizona.

McCain's body will lie in Arizona before being brought to Capitol where it awaits the due process of U.S. Senator. Afterwards McCain's body will be buried at a site of his choosing, in this case at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, where one of his oldest comrades is said to be entombed.

Obama who defeated McCain in 2008 presidential election, issued a statement shortly after news broke of his passing. "We shared, for all our differences, a fidelity to something higher — the ideals for which generations of Americans and immigrants alike have fought, marched, and sacrificed," Obama said of their dynamic. George W. Bush for his part shared some of his best verse for the occasion. "Some lives are so vivid, it is difficult to imagine them ended," Mr. Bush said. "Some voices are so vibrant, it is hard to think of them stilled." Both men will be asked to share a couple more anecdotes when the time comes.

https://www.hotnewhiphop.com/john-mccain-requested-obama-and-george-w-bush-to-perform-speeches-at-his-funeral-news.58260.html

The lesson of the Pakistan suicide attack: China will have to pay a high price for its infrastructure plan

By Raffaello Pantucci

China’s greatest security problem in strife-torn Pakistan is that it is increasingly becoming the focus of separatists’ attention, Raffaello Pantucci writes.

The attempted suicide bombing against a bus carrying Chinese engineers in Dalbandin, Balochistan highlights the complexity of the security problems China faces in Pakistan. The attack was a rare suicide bombing.

for the Balochistan Liberation Army and was specifically targeting China. It showed how Beijing is finding itself dragged into a clash whose answer lies in the resolution of fundamental issues within Pakistan.

In February this year, The Financial Times ran a story which claimed that Chinese officials had been negotiating for years with Baluchi separatists.

At around the same time, the Chinese ambassador to Islamabad gave an interview to BBC Urdu in which he proclaimed that Baluchi separatists “were not real Pakistanis” and did not pose a threat to the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).

The negotiations story was denied by senior Baluchi leaders as well as the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. BLA leader Aslam Baloch, whose son blew himself up at Dalbandin, dismissed the talks, stating: “Our people are [disappearing] every day. They are being killed. Their houses are being looted and burned. In such a situation, any dialogue with China is impossible. We reject such a proposal.”

None of this is that surprising, nor is it impossible that China (or Chinese entities) have been in contact with Baluchi groups.
Since the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor was announced, at least two publicised incidents have occurred in which Chinese nationals were almost killed by Baluchi separatists; other, similar occurrences likely have received less attention. Furthermore, many have taken place where Pakistanis have lost their lives.

In September 2016, the Pakistani government announced that at least 44 Pakistanis had lost their lives on CPEC projects. Since then, there have been many more reported incidents by the BLA specifically targeting CPEC projects – incidents they publicly link afterwards to CPEC –, leading mostly to the deaths of Pakistani guards or workers. Prior to the announcement of CPEC, at least seven Chinese workers had died at the hands of Baluchi separatists, as well as numerous Pakistanis.

The longer-term answer to the problems of separatism in these regions are to be found in political solutions

And China’s problems have expanded beyond Balochistan. Since CPEC’s announcement, the targeting of Chinese interests and nationals by Sindh separatist groups has increased noticeably. After one bombing that injured a Chinese worker and his companion in May 2016 in Karachi, a note was found stating that “we will oppose every anti-Sindh project, including the China-Pakistan economic corridor”.

Just over a year later, a bomb detonated after a Chinese convoy passed in Port Qasim. A message issued soon afterwards declared: “Sindhudesh Revolutionary Army claims the responsibility of the bomb attacks on Chinese engineers in Karachi today and warns the Chinese that they should not become the part of any project in Sindh which may be against the national interest of Sindhis.”

In fact, the specific threat to China seems to emanate more from separatists than Islamists. It is true that since CPEC’s announcement, four Chinese nationals have lost their lives in Pakistan to violent Islamists, but it is not clear that China was a target in the incidents. In contrast, Baluchi or Sindhi groups loudly state that they are targeting China.

There are obvious reasons for this. For separatist groups, the Pakistani state is the ultimate enemy. As Islamabad’s closest friend, Beijing becomes a target by association. And the people of these regions do not feel like they are getting their piece of the CPEC bounty.

At a conference in Islamabad shortly before the election, I listened as representatives from Gwadar complained publicly (before numerous security officials) to a Chinese official sitting on a panel about the issues they were having accessing fresh water.

This example illustrates a problem that Beijing faces in Pakistan and can be found in other BRI countries as well. The problems of separatism and central government anger in Balochistan and Sindh are not new. Violence in the country is not new (and is in fact in decline), but China is increasingly becoming the focus of attention as the biggest outside player who is focusing on supporting the central state.

And while the Pakistani government can provide some support and security for Chinese nationals sent to deliver CPEC in the hope that the economic prosperity it may generate will help alleviate these issues in the longer term, this is only part of the answer.

The longer-term answer to the problems of separatism in these regions are to be found in political solutions: issues that infrastructure and mining investment will not resolve, and may in fact be exacerbating.

As Rehan Baloch stated in his message before he tried to murder a busload of Chinese engineers: “Through this act, I want to make China and its people realise [that] whosoever will try to meddle in Baloch issues without Baloch nation’s consent, will face the wrath of Baloch nation.”

EDITORIAL - #Pakistan's Ahmadi Muslims - '' Ahmadi solidarity needed ''

One of the most urgent challenges confronting Naya Pakistan is the safeguarding of minorities; especially those from the Ahmadi community. A good place to start is offering demonstrations of solidarity that go beyond pledges of supporting rights for everyone. After all, the playing field in this regard is anything but level.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry has dismissed the latest spate of violence involving this beleaguered group as not being religiously motivated. He may be partly right. For towards the end of last week, an incident that resulted in six Ahmadi youths being (non-fatally) shot began, by all accounts, as a petty dispute over a dead chicken.

Yet when it comes to Muslim and non-Muslim minorities here in Pakistan the threat of communal violence is never far away. Indeed, Thursday evening’s clashes ended with the burning down of an Ahmadi place of worship. And almost inevitably there were conflicting reports as to whether or not the police stood idly by as tensions escalated. Nevertheless, one positive development is that more than 100 people have since been booked on charges including: “deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs” (295-A).

Be that as it may, the new government needs to stand up and speak out against anti-Ahmadi violence; wherever it may occur and whatever the original trigger may be. After all, this persecuted group remains the most vulnerable to blasphemy allegations. According to a 2017 annual report compiled by the community itself, at least 77 of its members were picked up under discriminatory religious laws for that year. At the time of publication, nine remained in custody on faith-related charges while four were killed in hate crimes.

Washing collective hands of responsibility therefore will simply not do. It was uncalled for in the run-up to the elections when an Ahmadi place of worship was deliberately targeted by a PTI member, among others. Back then the party’s top leadership claimed to be unaware of the individual’s status. Fast-forward to the present and the PTI, now in government, is offering similar equivocations. Even as failure to denounce communal violence ultimately serves to legitimise it.

We therefore stand with all Pakistan’s minorities. In the sincere hope that Naya Pakistan will prove to be considerably more than the local equivalent of “all lives matter”.