State measure a step in the wrong direction

May 22, 2008

STATE REPRESENTATIVE Antonio Cabral and Senator Joan Menard get it wrong on Iran divestment legislation ("Iran investments are a bad deal for Mass.," Op-ed, May 17). If we are concerned with the soaring price of oil, we should look at the instability created by the disastrous and destabilizing Middle East policies of the Bush administration, not blame the Iranians. Using sanctions to limit Iranian oil production would worsen the problem, and help promote an even more dangerous climate of confrontation in the region.

Of course, there is plenty to criticize about Iran, but the idea that we have to take urgent measures to defend ourselves from a looming Iranian threat stands reality on its head. Iran is 6,000 miles away; it is surrounded by US armies and military bases; a giant nuclear-armed US fleet cruises just off its coast in the Persian Gulf. Just who is threatening who?

Iran divestment also comes with a significant price tag. Analysts for the Commonwealth pension funds estimate that it would cost up to $5 million in transaction fees and as much as $40,000 in annual administrative expenses. This could pay the annual pension of 200 state employees and teachers, money that might otherwise have to be made up from general tax revenues.

An ethical investment policy is a good idea, but not if it selectively promotes a pro-war agenda. Most Americans rightly favor a diplomatic approach to settling our differences with Iran. Passage of this legislation would be a step in the wrong direction.

JEFF KLEIN
Dorchester
The writer is a retired local president of the National Association of Government Employees.

The Good and the Bad in DPP

DPP has done some good work in educating the Dorchester public about the nature of Bush policies, but like most such progressive organizations it was infiltrated by a Jewish racist. In this case her name is Judith Baker, and she has acted as a gatekeeper to prevent any discussion of Jewish, Zionist, or Neocon manipulation of US policy. She also tried to thwart any discussion of the involvement of the Organized Jewish Community (OJC) in the attack on the Roxbury Mosque. (We later found out that The David Project was not only working with mainstream Boston Jewish communal organizations and with some of the most prominent Jewish philanthropists, but it was also collaborating with the NE Israeli Consulate.)

In an online Washington Post discussion with David Ignatius and Fareed Zakaria, Baker provides a classic example of shilling on behalf of the OJC by feigning humanitarian goals in Darfur in order distract popular attention from Neocon/Israel Lobby-instigated US aggression in Iraq while she simultaneously claims moral superiority and also casts doubt on anyone that might reject the OJC version of the Darfur conflict.

My analysis in Scientific Method and Studying Judaism suggests that Baker probably believes her lies and may even desire the best for Darfurians.

How to Get UN Troops into Darfur?

Should regional solidarity be allowed to trump human rights needs? What could be done to pull away support from the Sudanese regime and enable UN troops to enter?

Posted by Amar C. Bakshi on September 22, 2006 12:10 AM

Judith Baker Boston US :

If you know where one can volunteer to actually do something to help the people of Darfur [not donation - work, organizing, etc], please tell us.
Also, I find it very helpful when people talk directly to the point - ie how to prevent the bombing, killing, rape, dispossession. We can doubt the motives of many - and the US govt's invasion of Iraq and China's desire for Sudanese oil certainly make their motives suspect - but this can be a real diversion from the matter at hand. How do WE and others help the Darfurians without making the overall situation worse and without causing more conflict in the long run?

September 24, 2006 6:21 PM

How can anyone possibly take seriously the concern of a hypocrite like Baker that refuses to condemn Zionist genocidalism in stolen and occupied Palestine?

To learn more about Darfur or the Roxbury Mosque check out the following blog entries.