The 12.8 trillion dollar bailout you never heard about...

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

Apparently the U.S. government spent a whole lot more than $700 billion to bail out the banks.  According to a team at Bloomberg News, at one point last year the U.S. had lent, spent or guaranteed as much as $12.8 trillion to rescue the economy.  This boils back to the broader question of the power of the printing press in the U.S. private central bank, dollar denominated global order.  The only reason this is possible is due to the nature of dollar dominance today. The people should be up in arms, but are busy protesting a mosque in Manhattan instead.

Some quotes to understand follow:

Sir Josiah Stamp, director of the Bank of England during the years 1928 ? 1941, stated:- “The modern banking system manufactures money out of nothing. The process is perhaps the most astounding piece of sleight of hand that was ever invented. Banking was conceived in iniquity and born in sin. Bankers own the Earth. Take it away from them, but leave them the power to create money, and with the flick of the pen they will create enough money to buy it back again... Take this great power away from them and all great fortunes like mine will disappear, and they ought to disappear, for then this would be a better and happier world to live in. But if you want to continue to be slaves of the banks and pay the cost of your own slavery, then let bankers continue to create money and control credit.”

 JK Galbraith said:? “The process by which banks create money is so simple that the mind is repelled……… It is, moreover, one that is almost breathtaking in its audacity." JK Galbraith (1975), Money: Whence it Came, Where it Went.

Apparently the original journalist that sued the Fed and won is dead. Age 52, heart attack....

Here is a short vid (music in intro) on his efforts....

It is really time people put an end to this inservitude.

Zakat - 3rd Pillar of Islam and Cornerstone of Islamic Policy

As Ramadan comes to an end, many Muslims choose to pay their Zakat, a tax levied on wealth and distributed to others each year. After believing in Allah and the Prophet Muhammad and offering 5 daily prayers, it is interesting to note that Zakah, an economic principle, forms the next most important pillar of Islam. No Muslim can be Muslim without believing it and it is a miraculous system that distributes excess wealth in a majestic way. Unfortunately, there is limited scholarship on this area in a contemporary world without a real, functioning Islam State. Because it has been that way for some time, it is hard to make sense of a contemporary economy in lieu of understandings shed by classical ulama writing before many modern industrial, technological and economic innovations. Nevertheless, studying zakah and elaborating on it in relation to a contemporary economy not only would help to explain to Muslims how to complete their obligations to Allah, but would also pose very real solutions to contemporary social and economic issues.

At- Tabarani (260-360A.H.) related in al-Awsat and As-Saghir, on the authority of Ali, that the Prophet (saws) said, "Allah has enjoined upon rich Muslims a due to be taken from their properties corresponding to the needs of the poor among them.  The poor will never suffer from starvation or lack of clothes unless the rich neglect their due. If they do so, Allah wi surely hold them accountable and punish them severely."  Accroding to at-Tabarani: "It was reported only by Thabit ibn Muhammad ibn Zahid." Of Thabit's credibility, al-Hafiz in turn says: "Thabit was honest and trustworthy. Al Bukhari and others related from him, and the rest of the narrators in the chain are considered as accepted authorities."

Alijah 'Ali Izetbegovic in his book Islam Between East and West relates,

Every social solution must include a human solution. It should change not only economic relations, but also the relations between men. It should bring about the just distribution of goods as well as proper upbringing, love, and sympathy.

Poverty is a problem, but it is also a social sin. It is not solved only through a shift in the ownership of goods, but also through personal striving, aim, and goodwill.  Nothing would be done in the true sense of the word if there were change in the ownership of goods, but hatred, exploitation, and subjugation remained in men's souls. This is the reason for the failure of Christian religious revolts and socialist revolutions. 

Today many millions are destitute while global wealth rests in the hands of a few.  Because the final ten days of Ramadan usually involve contemplation on lessons learned during the month, alongside plans to alter behavior and maintain improved worship into the future, not to mention a time when brothers and sisters sit down to calculate and determine zakat amounts owed (usually with great difficulty), we wanted offer a resource in English that does a great deal to connect the personal obligations of salat to the community and in a way that analyzes the contemporary reality. While many people do not agree with Shaikh Yusef Qaradawi in many issues, few would argue that his book Fiqh al-Zakah is superbly well researched and thought through. In order to facilitate and revive increased discussions around zakah and its implications on policy and society in general, we have posted Dr. Qaradawi's book in English below. Readers may use it to calculate their dues or read from a chapter or two in these final days of Ramadan in order to get a better grasp on the communal nature of worship in Islam.

Fiqh al Zakah vol.1 Yusef al Qaradawi

Muhammad al-Amin Shanqeeti commentary on Baqara 2:168 "and follow not the footsteps of Shaytan"

From his tafsir Adwaa a-Bayaan - (beautiful mashallah!)

The saying of the Exalted, "and follow not the footsteps of Satan": There is no mention as to the resulting harm that would follow from following his footsteps but this is explained in Surah an-Nur with His words,

"And whosoever follows the footsteps of Satan then indeed he commands to indecent actions and evil." (24:21)

[It is not possible to encompass one of Ibleess evils let alone all of them. Since the evil of Iblees is of six types and Iblees remains behind the son of Adam until he gets him to do at least one of these evils:

1) The evil of disbelief and polytheism and enmity to Allaah and His Messenger (SAW). If he gains this from the son of Adam his moaning finds relief and he rests from his ordeal with this man. Further this is the first thing Iblees desires from the worshipper, if Iblees gains this, he makes this person part of his army, one of his soldiers and he appoints him as a deputy or agent against other human beings.

2)If he despairs of enticing him with this first evil, and if this is person is of those for whom it is written that he be Muslim in his mothers womb then Iblees tries the second class of evil. This is bidah (innovation). Iblees loves innovation more than debauchery and disobedience, this because the harm of innovation lies in the essence of the religion. Moreover, it is an unrepentable sin (because the person doing it believes that it is good and as such will not repent from it) and is against the call of the messengers and is a call to a message different from the one conveyed by the Messenger (SAW). Innovation is the gateway to disbelief and polytheism, therefore is Iblees gains the performance of innovation from a person and makes him from the People of Innovation then he also become one of his agents.

3) If Iblees fails and is unable to trap the servant at this class, and if this person is from those who were granted the gift of the Sunnah from Allaah and hatred of the People of Innovation and Error he proceeds to the third class of evil. This is the class of major sins in all their various forms. Iblees is very covetous of letting a person fall into major sin, especially if he is a scholar who commands a following. Iblees is very covetous of that, so that he may repel the people from the scholar and spread his sins and disobedience amongst the people. He uses some people as his agents to spread this persons sins amongst people under the false pretexts that this will help them get closer to Allaah. But in fact this person is the deputy of Iblees without knowing it. For those who would like abomination to be spread amongst the believers there is a great torment in this life and in the Hereafter especially if they take charge of spreading about enormities, not out of advice, but by obeying Iblees and being his agent. All this is to repel people from the scholar and from his benefit. Furthermore the sins of this person, even if they reach the sky, are less to Allaah than the sins of those who like to spread his sins about. The scholars sins are wrongdoing to himself. If he seeks forgiveness from Allaah and repents, Allaah will accept his repentance and He will change his evil deeds to good ones. However the sin of those who spread about abominations are doing wrong to the believers by looking for their mistakes and by intending to expose them. Allaah is in close observation and He Knows about this escapade. Nothing hidden in the chest or soul is hidden to Allaah.

4) If Iblees is unable to snare the servant at this class he move on to the fourth class. This is the class of minor sins. These sins may ruin a person if they accumulate. This is why the Messenger (SAW) said: "be aware of the minor sins, because the simile of the minor sins is like the people who went to a desert." Then he (SAW) mentioned that each one of them brought a stick of wood until they had kindled a huge fire. The person continues taking the matter of minor sins lightly until he considers them inconsequential. Therefore a person who commits major sins but fears their condition is in a better state than he is.

5) If the servant has prevented Iblees from trapping him at this level, he moves to the fifth class. This is the class of making the person occupied with the permissible things that bring about no reward or punishment. However the punishment of this level is caused by passing the reward missed by being occupied with these deeds.

6) If the servant has kept Iblees from succeeding at this level Iblees transfers him to the sixth class. This is the class of making the person occupied with deeds of less reward to keep virtue away from him and to keep him away from attaining the reward of the better deed. Therefore he entices him to do a good action with less reward if that includes leaving a better action. Very few people are aware of this because if a person feels a string urge to some kind of obedience he does not doubt that it is true obedience and that he is getting closer to Allaah. He never thinks that this call is from Iblees because he believes that Iblees never calls one to good and therefore thinks that this call is from Allaah. Actually he is excused because he never knew that Iblees would call one to seventy doors of good deeds either to get him to one door of evil or to let a better deed pass.

This cannot be known except by a light from Allaah, a light that He instils in the heart of the servant. The source of this type of knowledge lies in following the way of the Messenger (SAW) and taking care of the levels of deeds with Allaah, the deeds of His favoured ones, the deeds more pleasing to Him and those more beneficial to the servant. No one has this type of knowledge except the inheritors of the Messenger (SAW), his deputies in the Muslim nation and his successors on earth. In addition, most of the creation is screened from this. This call does not come to the hearts but Allaah gives His favour to whomsoever He Wills from amongst His worshippers.

If the servant prevents Iblees from trapping him at any of these six levels he empowers his party of jinn and human beings with different kinds of harm: imputing disbelief to him, calling him misguided and an innovator, warning people against him, and intending to weaken him and disturb his heart. Iblees, by using this method, tries to confuse this persons thinking and tries to prevent people from benefiting from him. 

Therefore Iblees expends his utmost efforts to empower the defenders of falsehood from human beings and from the jinn against him. Then the believer is at war until death, whenever he gives up or falters he is hurt or taken captive. Hence the believer is in Jihaad until he meets with Allaah.

Asharq Al-Awsat Talks with Taliban Spokesman Mullah Qari Yousef Ahmadi

Recently published interview sheds light on the recent wave of propaganda against the Taliban, their vision for society after occupation, and other important statements.  Entire interview is here, highlights below:

[Asharq Al-Awsat] What is your opinion on Aisha, the Afghan girl whose face was mutilated and whose picture appeared on the cover of publications around the world?

[Ahmadi] These are examples of the psychological war that the US occupation is waging against the successful resistance movement that the Islamic Emirate is leading. It is a war that started when the Taliban movement came to power in 1996 and when the United States lost hope in transforming it into a subservient movement ruling by other than God's laws and promoting their schemes in Afghanistan and the region. Whenever the military actions of the United States and its allies fail they intensify the psychological war that relies on rumors in order to pit the various sects of the people against one another. The creation of lies is part of this policy, and so are the claims that the Taliban are committing acts with which they are not connected at all, such as the incident of "Aisha the Afghan" about which you are inquiring. Aisha admitted that it was her husband and his brother that disfigured her nose. We pointed out the ambiguities of the incident and of what happened to her in a detailed special statement. We said that it is a family affair and the Emirate has nothing to do with it. We condemned it in a statement and said that the culprit deserves a harsh sentence for his odious act. The incitement of the world press against us is not something new. It has been going on before the aggression on us and the occupation of our homeland. In fact, it paved the way for that aggression. The majority of the western media outlets have been constantly attacking us by propagating lies against us in order to cover up for the crimes that their armies are committing on our land and against our people.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] Commentators in the west say that you are a state from the 15th century or from the Medieval Ages, what are thoughts on that?

[Ahmadi] By saying so they want to malign Islam itself. They describe Islam and its rules in a way to repel people against it and to keep them away from Islam as they claim that its laws are primitive and backward and clash against their civilization and what they claim to be human rights. The majority of the Muslims have discovered these allegations. We governed Afghanistan before the Karzai government. The Americans and their ilk admit that security prevailed then. No one was tortured by dogs; there were no secret prisons and no night raids of the homes of the innocent. They were not shelled or burned with phosphorous bombs. I do not know what the US government calls such criminal deeds in the 21st century. Our people insist on applying the laws of Islam in governance and in all aspects of life. We will not be deterred by the poisons vented by the lying media outlets that are financed by the Jews and the colonialist enemies of Islam.

[Asharq Al-Awsat] If you return to power, do you have economic, social, and development plans to raise the standard of living of the Afghan people? How will you co-exist with the outside world?

[Ahmadi] Anyone examining the official statements released by the emirate and the remarks of its officials can see that we have four goals that we seek to accomplish after expelling the occupation: First, we want to establish an independent Shariaa-based government that can run the country and representing all the components of the Muslim Afghan people. Second, we want to achieve national unity and civic peace among all the components of the people. Third, we want to rebuild a strong and prosperous Afghanistan. Fourth, we want to establish a system of relations based on justice, equality, and parity with all the neighboring countries as well as in the region and the rest of the world, primarily, of course, with the Muslim world based on the rules of Shariaa. The people of Afghanistan are active, innovative, and capable of reconstructing their country. Moreover, our natural resources are sufficient to turn our people into one of the richest nations on earth if the United States and others would stop interfering in our internal affairs.

Israeli-Palestinian "Peace Talks", Brand Obama and the Failure of Politics Present

The rhetoric of Israeli-Palestinian "peace talks" was inaugurated today with constant referrals to the "terrorism" in the West Bank over the last few days and no recognition of the ongoing process of colonialist terrorism that is the perpetual nightmare of Palestinians. It is important to recognize the nature of politics today, the timeliness of these negotiations on the eve of elections in the U.S., just off the false victory calls in Iraq, alongside continuous efforts to shape and mold the Muslim world in ways that appease the U.S. master, and the inclusion of political representatives that do not represent the consensus opinions of their populations, alongside countless other hypocrisies. The reality is that the whole "Peace Talk" show is really only a means by which these governments can attempt to portray and thereby reclaim a piece of legitimacy in a world full of discontent with the status quo, complete frustration and disregard for so-called political representatives, but a world lacking any better alternatives. 


Remarking on the rhetoric that accompanies these efforts is really a waste of time, but for those watching the opening remarks it should become apparent this is all just a game, albeit a game that verges on full fledge war and potential disintegration of the entire Middle East region. It should signify the birth of complete rejection for everything establishment today, the realization that absolutely nothing good can come from these camps or any of the present political parties that claim to represent their people. This is as true in the Western world as it is in the Middle East. While people dance the rhetorical tune of traditional political plays and manipulations for the press and pundits, the real world slips closer to hell. Rejection by conscious people of the latest example of this charade must lead to creating alternatives outside the realities we know and have grown accustomed to. It must not lead to political withdrawal and silent submission, that is exactly what they desire.  

While the press will portray the Palestinians as the party unwilling to make the necessary sacrifices for peace, it must be recognized minimally that the political elite of Israel truly considers any clearly defined and lasting borders as non-conducive to Israeli interests in reestablishing greater Israel and protecting the gains of occupation despite the reality that a large portion of its populace demands concessions and the discontinuation of occupation.  

One proof that these negotiations are a fraud can be found in  the recently released but largely unpublicized remarks of Binyamin Netanyahu with regard to the first Oslo Accords. In the tape he clearly reveals that he does not see negotiations as anything other than theatrics and is little interested in "peace," claiming as well, "I know what America is. America is something that can be moved easily. (see clip)" Certainly the AIPAC lobby representing this same ideology at the expense of American taxpayers would agree.

And so the reality that these negotiations have nothing to do with creating a lasting settlement should be evident.  The real cause of this soap opera is the falling public support each of the parties involved has on the home front. Obama's polls are slipping across the globe, whether it is the widespread hatred for U.S. influence in the Middle East, radical Israelis who view him as a threat to their continued colonization, or the neglected domestic population suffering through unemployment and lack of social services at home due to the the American Empire's militarism abroad, these talks represent is an opportunity for him to revive the benefit of the doubt that gave him a clear pass to do whatever he wanted during his first year in office.  


Israel and Netanyahu have been utterly embarrassed by the failure of their surge on Gaza and widespread global animosities and awareness that they are running a terrorist, apartheid state. His participation is to simultaneously give him and his government the benefit of the doubt that they truly desire peace. And finally, the Palestinian Authority's so-called President, Mahmoud Abbas was disgraced in 2006 by contributing to the election of Hamas and the subsequent exposure of his betrayal of the Palestinians in numerous areas including preventing investigation by the United Nations assembly into war crimes during Israeli's war on Gaza and numerous intimate backings and partnership to both the United States and Israel that make him look like the puppet he is.  His only real objective is to get Palestinians and the international community to grant him some legitimacy and yet more benefit of the doubt to see if he can etch out yet another agreement that spells complete disaster for Palestinians while U.S., Israel and the PLO all plot the destruction of Hamas in Gaza. 


With public opinion in every nation directly opposed to the politics of each camp, it is safe to say that these discussions are more a political, propaganda campaign than true negotiations. In reality, it may be more sinister than that, an effort to pass blame on an inevitable, recognized and perhaps even planned systemic breakdown away from the leadership and political parties and onto the populations they claim to represent. With such lack of congruence between population and politician, it is hardly likely that respective constituencies will accept whatever becomes of these plans. And perhaps this is truly the point; after all, if you know there is going to be an all out catastrophe, it is much better to meet and pretend to have tried to mediate that catastrophe so that people cannot accuse you of doing nothing at all. Instead, speaking of peace while planning for war, seems a much more probable purpose for holding such a facade at a time when agreement and common lines seem at a substantial low. 

Al Jazeera reported after the opening remarks that Palestinians in Jerusalem weren't even watching the initial statements of Clinton, Netanyahu, and Abbas. Instead they were more concerned with breaking their Ramadan fast and getting to a location where they could watch their favorite Ramadan television series. A recent poll showed that less than 25% of Palestinians believe the talks will yield results.  This is yet the latest sign that the politics of rhetoric, exasperbated by Brand Obama and his teleprompter reading flare and vigor,  has worn out its usefulness and continues to deceive only true believers. 


The rhetorical manipulation intended by Brand Obama, coming into power during the biggest international crisis since the depression and the World Wars, has not worked to deceive the mass. For that reason, so-called "peace talks" are also going to fail. The table-sitters are delegitimized in the eyes of their populations so even if a settlement is reached the likelihood of it ever being implemented by real people on the ground is nil.  Negotiations will certainly not remark on the process of occupation in the West Bank, discuss relocation of settlers, the subjugation of water-rich land, the strategic settlement development that will prevent any form of contiguous and cohesive Palestinian State.  Likewise, the U.S. will offer no real force in its positions by, for example, threatening to remove some of the $3 billion per year in military aid or by allowing, Hamas, the democratically elected choice of Palestinians, to participate. Therefore, the entire process is completely divorced from reality. 


In order to delegitimize this sudden desire for peace talks, the military of wing of Hamas, responded by carrying out two attacks against civilians in the West Bank. Were they themselves really concerned with anything other than maintaining their own political control, they would realize that these peace talks were destined to fail regardless and that such a response was unnecessary. Instead they would  have worked to implement a much needed form of politics that speaks to constituents not as though they are cattle needing to be lead to yet another trough of cud, but as human beings capable of seeing through lies and deceit.  Unfortunately, even the opposition is encumbered by  this reality today. 

In confirmation that these talks are being held in complete disconnect from reality on the ground it was reported in Israel press that,  

Hours before peace talks were set to begin in Washington, Jewish settlers defiantly announced plans on Thursday to launch new construction in their West Bank enclaves in a test of strength with Palestinian Islamists.

Naftali Bennett, director of the settlers' Yesha council, said settlers would begin building homes and public structures in at least 80 settlements, breaking a partial government freeze on building that ends on September 26. 

Elsewhere Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri vowed,

 "Operations of resistance will continue and the measures by the occupation and Fatah will not block them," 

Political processes and democratic participation have been utterly destroyed by the form of political sophistry of the modern era. Brand Obama is the final nail in the coffin, and quite possibly indicative of the death knell for democracy, representing the folly that plagues the decline of all eras. Today, planners write the political news as if they are scripting a soap opera and politicians serve as population control, directors attempting to guarantee that everyone plays their part. However, people have recognized that political speech has nothing to do with reality, and they realize that they are living in a disconnected reality. Unfortunately, in response, they too often withdrawal altogether from a political process that continues to exert great influence on their everyday lives. This is exactly what the power elite desire with regard to the Palestinian situation, the complete delegitimization of politics rather than lead to the development of alternative avenues will more than likely lead to the passive acceptance of whatever is decided.


In this realization lie the actual intention of the talks, not to bring peace, but to certify division and chaos. What better way to usher in an era of authoritarianism and austerity at the expense of the general population, than by pinning the blame on failed peace efforts to those on the ground? The enemy of states has become their own populations; this is true in the Europe where states suffering fiscal crisis are implementing austerity policies rather than calling for radical reform, in America where the population is being sacrificed for the sake of banks and corporations, and in the Middle East and Israel where populations vie for greater rights and actual alteration of political course, only to be deceived by their governments and the powers that control them time and time again.  


Holding these talks now with the parties involved is therefore essentially a slap in the face of humanity, blatant disregard for the role of the people in the so-called democratic process and further proof that governments today could care less about the people they represent.  People try hard through counter-narratives, boycotts, humanitarian relief and other forms of mobilization, but they do so working inside a system that is designed to allow advocates and activists to address only manifestations and not a core disease. 


The truth is that there will be no peace, not in Palestine, not in America, and not in the world until people reject, boycott and replace the entire contemporary order. In order for that to occur, complete alternative paradigms must be developed. Unfortunately, whether it be leftist parties in Europe, tea- partiers in the U.S. or Islamists in the Middle East, presently existing alternative parties represent a change in face and name but essentially more of the same. Were a new platform formulated, sensible, and based in the simple universal principles of justice, honesty, and a belief that people can see through rhetorical politicians, people would be less concerned with their favorite television series and motivated to participate in real change. Because an alternative does not exist, people are forced to go along with the status quo or drop out of political participation altogether, passively accepting whatever comes their way, forced to give legitimacy where it is completely unwarranted or declining to care one way or the other. Unfortunately, that is exactly the plan. Here is to complete new alternatives. 

John Walker Lindh challenges US on Solitary Detention

John Walker Lindh, so-called American Taliban, has put forth a lawsuit via ACLU that will challenge the present US federal prison policy of isolation for Muslims. Walker Lindh is presently detained in a a Communication Management Unit, or CMU, a form of detention designed to severely restrict prisoner communication with family members, the media and the outside world.  The AP reports, 

Praying in his cell is not appropriate, he said, because the Quran requires a ritually clean place for prayer and he is forced to kneel "in close proximity to my toilet."

Lindh wrote that Muslims in the unit are currently being allowed to pray together once a day during Ramadan. At other times, the group prayers had been limited to once a week, court documents said.

The suit seeks class action status.  24 of the 41 CMU inmates are Muslim and the program is criticized as a form of repressive punishment largely discriminatory against political activists. Here is a clip form last year about CMU's from democracynow.org:



In a separate case, five CMU prisoners and two of their wives complain that the units place draconian restrictions on inmates' contact with the outside world and even their own families without offering any reason. They also say inmates can be placed in the CMU without being told why, and have no way to earn their way out.

The government contends that conditions at the CMU_ where inmates are free to leave their cells to watch television or play basketball, but not to hug their loved ones when they come to visit — don't violate prisoners' civil rights .

The Root of Western Common Law is Islamic Shariah?

This is a well researched article that convincingly attributes some of the developing principles of British Common Law to practices that were common in Islamic Society. I posted it because I have found most of its content hardly referenced, yet the quality of its scholarship superb and the implications of what it is saying relevant to contemporary discussions around East and West, legal influences, and history of legislative difference. It is full of some fascinating tidbits. For example:

"where did we get the idea that contract transfers property ownership by words and not by delivery or that possession is a form of property ownership? Even more importantly, where did we get the idea that every person is entitled to trial by jury? ... The royal English contract protected by the action of debt is identified with the Islamic [su'c']aqd, the English assize of novel disseisin is identified with the Islamic istihqaq, and the English jury is identified with the Islamic lafif. ... Thus, in Glanvill's passage the obligation on the seller to deliver the goods, as well as the obligation on the buyer to deliver the price, both of which arose upon their agreement, was based on the grant of property that took place at that time. ... From this identification of the Islamic istihqaq with the English assize of novel disseisin, it appears that the concept of possession was important in both legal systems for establishing proof of ownership for one party in the absence of proof for the other. ... It appeared in the twelfth century in conjunction with the assize of novel disseisin, which introduced a new concept of possession as a presumption of ownership."


LINK TO DOCUMENT HERE

The Islamic Origins of the Common Law