Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
The issues discussed on this blog are wide-ranging even though at base we are all about upholding the Constitution and ensuring civil liberties. The disputed election of a President began this millennium in controversy, underlined by a horrific terrorist attack and the prosecution of two unnecessary wars. These wars have lasted longer than any other American war save for the Viet Nam debacle. They have resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, more than eight thousand of our troops, tens of thousands of soldiers with crippling injuries and unprecedented suicide rates among both active and inactive members of our armed forces. Trillions of dollars have been wasted on these adventures in the imperialistic pursuit of empire and no end is in sight, although our complicit corporate media has ceased to find interest in coverage of the continuing devastation.
As we know the linchpin for these phony wars was the attack on 9/11 by a team of Saudi Arabians purportedly working for Osama Bin Laden and Al Qaeda. However, the blueprint for this endless quest for America Hegemony was made public in 1997 with the publishing of the manifesto for the Project for the New American Century (PNAC). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_for_the_New_American_Century . This conceptualization laid out plans for a putative American Empire and its’ signatories prominently included those who would become part of the administration of George W. Bush. A list of those signatories will continue after the page break, with the most prominent in bold links.
Project for the New American Century Signatories:
Name Position(s) held Elliott Abrams Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Democracy, Human Rights, and International Operations (2001–2002), Special Assistant to the President and Senior Director for Near East and North African Affairs (2002–2005), Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy National Security Advisor for Global Democracy Strategy (2005–2009) (all within the National Security Council) Richard Armitage Deputy Secretary of State (2001–2005) John R. Bolton Under-Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs (2001–2005), U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2005–2006) Dick Cheney Vice President (2001–2009) Eliot A. Cohen Member of the Defense Policy Advisory Board (2007–2009)[62] Seth Cropsey Director of the International Broadcasting Bureau (12/2002-12/2004) Paula Dobriansky Under-Secretary of State for Global Affairs (2001–2007) Aaron Friedberg Deputy Assistant for National Security Affairs and Director of Policy Planning, Office of the Vice President (2003–2005) Francis Fukuyama Member of The President’s Council on Bioethics (2001–2005) Zalmay Khalilzad U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan (11/2003 – 6/2005), U.S. Ambassador to Iraq (6/2005 – 3/2007) U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations (2007–2009) I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby Chief of Staff to the Vice President of the United States (2001–2005) Richard Perle Chairman of the Board, Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee (2001–2003) Peter W. Rodman Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security (2001–2007) Donald Rumsfeld Secretary of Defense (2001–2006) Randy Scheunemann Member of the U.S. Committee on NATO, Project on Transitional Democracies, International Republican Institute Paul Wolfowitz Deputy Secretary of Defense (2001–2005) 10th President of the World Bank (2005-2007) Dov S. Zakheim Department of Defense Comptroller (2001–2004) Robert B. Zoellick Office of the United States Trade Representative (2001–2005), Deputy Secretary of State (2005–2006), 11th President of the World Bank (2007–Present). And in addition: John Ellis “Jeb” Bush
Many of these people today are closely connected to the Romney Campaign as foreign policy advisors and indeed Romney’s foreign policy designs seem to dovetail nicely with those of the “now defunct” PNAC. Perhaps it is not surprising that the Romney websites’ section on foreign policy is titled: “An American Century” http://www.mittromney.com/collection/foreign-policy . If you follow the links for both PNAC and for the Romney Campaign you will see almost identical policy aims and an overlapping cast of characters.
Now it is well known on this blog that I personally support Barack Obama for President so I understand that some will call me to task for my hypocrisy in doing so, since I decry the similarities between Obama’s foreign policy, his predecessor’s and indeed PNAC. In this respect my views do not represent those of this blog, its proprietor and even other guest bloggers. To the hypocrisy charge I have two responses:
The first is that my concerns in this coming election focus primarily on domestic policy, women’s rights, gay rights, prejudice against non-whites and finally upon the inequality represented by the privileges of the 1% of our country and the economic oppression of the remaining 99%. In this respect I believe the chasm between the policies of the two candidates is immense. Secondly though, It has been my long time belief that since the “60’s” United States Foreign Policy has been under the control of the 1% as represented by the Military/Industrial/Corporate Complex and thus is out of the hands of any given President. With the George W. Bush Administration this power came to fruition via the response to 9/11 and in panicked legislation like the “Patriot Act”. I believe that President Obama’s power has been limited by the cabal that took charge of our country after JFK’s assassination and whose successors continue to wield power extra-legally. I made that clear in this guest blog from 3/17/12. http://jonathanturley.org/2012/03/17/a-real-history-of-the-last-sixty-two-years/#more-46802
Today the steady drumbeat to attack Iran and to replace the regime in Syria is played out by a press coverage that laps up the propaganda about these countries and our duty to intervene in them, fed by people considered being the “serious people” of US foreign policy. I hold no brief for either Iran or Syria, which are countries run by despots and where human rights simply don’t exist. However, the country that equals their human rights abuses and their despotism is to my mind our closest ally in the Middle East, namely Saudi Arabia. The horrific excesses in the Sudan and in Namibia recall The Shoah, yet we feel no compunction to intervene there. Please also don’t get me started on the North Korean despots and their nuclear weapons, which because of their poverty and lack of oil fall off the radar of those who would have the US be the “world’s policeman”.
What started me in the direction of this guest blog was a video supplied by Russ Baker’s superb investigative website WhoWhatWhy http://whowhatwhy.com/ The video is of former General Wesley Clark, from 2007. General Clark http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wesley_Clark_presidential_campaign,_2004 discusses the fact that his contacts in the Pentagon over a period of years beginning in 1999, told him that US Military Policy was the imposition of American Hegemony and the replacement of the governments of Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and other countries in the interests of US economic and military power. He connects this “secret” policy with PNAC and their belief that the US should become an Imperial Empire. I would urge you to spend the time to hear General Clark’s point of view and then comment on its validity.
My personal belief is that our country is heading towards becoming a feudalistic empire in the model of ancient Rome. The Romans were masters of warfare and of engineering. With the most powerful armed forces of their time they created an empire almost matchless in world history and imposed their pax romana on a vast geographical scale. While in high school this was taught as a “good thing” for the backward barbarians of the world, the reality was it was an empire built upon cruelty, venality, and oppression, whose citizens were distracted by bread and circuses. I despair at times when I see the similarity between the Roman Republic that Caesar turned to Empire and to the American Republic that those behind PNAC are trying to turn in the same direction. This is occurring as we citizens are caught up in sports, celebrities and TV reality shows, as we decry our dwindling economic power and the growing unimportance of our opinions influencing our government. In this guest blog I’ve tried to make available the foundation on which my opinions are built with the hope that if this topic is of interest to you that you will follow the links to see whether you agree, or disagree with me. As we count down to another important election, we see that this imperialism is an issue that gets almost no coverage, I present this blog lest we forget those whose lives have been coldly sacrificed in this despicable and unnecessary enterprise, whose ultimate aim is imperial power.
Submitted by: Mike Spindell, guest blogger
Bravo, Spindell! Please do not forget the “3 Warring Graces”: Hillary Clinton, Susan Grace, and Samantha Sunstein nee Power, and their influence on the foreign policy of our Republic (thanks to Pepe Escobar). As we note the 2000th American death in Afghanistan, always remember that when our current President took office in January 2009 less than 600 Americans had died in Afghanistan. According to the Department of Defense, since February 2009, over 1400 Americans have died. Pax Obama fell victim to the siren call of the 3 Warring Graces. Shame. Over and out.
BRAVO!!!!! on ALL points…
You touch on something I have long suspected….
” that President Obama’s power has been limited by the cabal that took charge of our country after JFK’s assassination and whose successors continue to wield power extra-legally.”
This could not be more obvious since Obama took office, and when he tried to close Gitmo… and other things….
There is just NO WAY he felt the way he did, talk that good of a game, then pulled the wool over our eyes…
There has GOT TO BE a reason that he did a 180 on what he campaigned on in 2008…. I TRULY suspect there are things we just do not know about, and are not privy to…. THO.. we should and should be….
The Thought of Romney becoming President does scare me…. it scares me a lot…. the secrecy that he is campaigning on… That is just beyond crazy…. and we know how Fringe RIGHT wing his party is….
Had they not had some rather frightening plans, they would have elected to run, a more moderate person… Instead, they got a man who really does flip flop, who stands for NOTHING…. shares NOTHING… and is EASILY LEAD by the powers that be….
There are some things that Obama has done that raise my eyebrows… and other things he promised that did not come about…. THO, That was more because he was blocked at EVERY TURN… and just smeared since day one….. the propaganda that comes from the right is not only scary, but just downright NASTY….. he not only has tried to fight to get the country back on track… he has had to endure something NO OTHER President in history has had to endure…. People questioning his actual Citizenship…
he has also had to face racism…. FAR MORE Threats to his life… the awakening of the Fringe Militia Racist Hate Groups….
then to ice the cake further… he is the one they are blaming for the economy…. How quick they forget…
It is funny how they blame him for the lack of jobs…. yet, any jobs bill the Democrats tried to pass, the right blocked them…. YET, they saw fit to put forth BILL after bill on abortion rights… and finding clever ways to limit a woman’s right to chose….
They blame him for all of the spending because of the stimulus… yet, 40% of that Stimulus was tax cuts that the Republicans insisted on for the stimulus to pass….
The Right wing not only want to continue the Culture war they have started…. and pass EVERY bit of Legislation they can while in power this time around….. they want to finish off the Trickle Down Economics that have failed this country, and remove MORE protections that keep the USA a civilized society….. Regulation… EPA….. it is all the Right wing ENEMY….
YES…. a Romney Presidency Scares the HELL out of me….
Powerfully put Mike, but you’re out of time. It’s the fifth stage of grief I think.
The US experiment is over. The neo-con’s and their Plutocrat masters declared victory as the Banks were bailed out.
When the motivated are truly the majority you might be able to clean house and start again. My suggestion is a Green party (Social Justice, Sustainability, Nonviolence and PARTICIPATORY Democracy).
Excellent Mike Spindell.
I think the talking head Bill (Shia Sunni no big deal) Crystal, is a 4th estate mouthpiece for PNAC. I am curious if there are /were/ many direct links from PNAC to the press.
I lean towards Zvyozdochka POV. However MikeS seeds land on well-tilled soil which I tend. I have cited Cheney’s speech calling for a “major event” to enable major advances in our armed forces capability, which was made two years in advance of 9/11.
I have recently mentioned the American policy moves and its implementation which suppport the idea of “Manifest Destiny”. And here comes a review of the modern version, plus names and links.
If we had a functioning leak system, there would be many supporting documents as well here to link and read.
A vote for Obama, indeed for any President, will not defeat the MI and surveillance phalanxes.
Societies must be built from the bottom, although they are deformed from the top.
Good work, Mike. Very important subject.
A look at the sentence with the word compunction might be necessary.
From what I have seen, Obama has had to walk on eggshells ever since taking office. He must have had the plot hatched up by Prescott Bush and others to overthrow FDR on his mind. That plot could very well have worked had General Smedley Butler not blown the whistle on them. That plot grew out of the fact FDR wanted to implement controls on big business and give money and wages directley to the people in such a way that the big bankers and investors could not make any money off WPA, CCC and TVA. The money was going directly to the employees, so they felt FDR had to go. Obama must be keenly aware of all the moles embedded in the Executive Branch by the Bush crime family, Karl Rove, Lee Atwater and their owners and enablers. Those were the political operatives who switched from being appointed “at the pleasure of the President” employees to the civil service where it is almost impossible do dislodge them.
I have a feeling Obama has been reading up on how FDR managed to thwart the threat to overthrow the government, as well as how Harry Truman started kicking butt and taking names AFTER he was safely re-elected in 1948. These are perilous times, as it were, and I am not optimistic for the future of the republic unless Obama is able to rein in the moles and those who would destroy it. Here is a very interesting old video about General Butler. It is well worth your time to watch it.
“These wars have lasted longer than any other American war save for the Viet Nam debacle.”
The magazine Vanity Fair supports your thesis even more by saying:
(Vanity Fair). There is a good piece by Ta-Nehisi Coates that may shed some light on why Obama could not (socially / politically) end the wars:
(Atlantic). The bulk of the population has been saying we are going in the wrong direction, as a nation, since early in the Bush II regime, inspired no doubt by some of the PNAC ideology you pointed out Mike.
Memo to Obummer: our Republic’s “original sin” is to, in general, the genocide of Indians, and specifically, the Pequot War (1634-1638)–those Pequots who weren’t killed were sold into slavery into the West Indies–mostly to Barbados, where the Slave Code of 1661 was enacted. The Barbados Slave Code of 1661 marked the beginning of the English legal codification of slavery–remember the Spanish (the colony of Mexico) beat the Brits by 25 years with chattel slavery for Africans in 1636. “Never forget”, that the first chattel slaves in the Americas were Indians. Over and out.
The United States began with the Declaration of Independence and following United States Constitution that was signed in September of 1787.
Prior to that, there were 13 colonies that operated much more loosely under the Articles of Confederation.
That is, “The United States” did not exist in the 1600′s.
The “original sin” was done when the United States was born in a manner that sanctioned liberty and slavery in the same dichotomy of breath, not even including women as part of the voting “free people.”
It was a sinful beginning, but a great deal of that has been cast out from our united states of mind.
A substantial portion of that striving for sanity was done in the wrong way, which was our second original sin, the Civil War.
Dredd, well said, my mistake was to attribute the genocide of Indians to the Republic. That is to say, methinks that our discourse tends to ignore the indigenous genocide of our hemisphere, which tends to, in an ahistorical manner, prioritize murder. The genocide of Indians continued fifty years after the Emancipation Proclamation (e.g. Wounded Knee, etc.), and like the effects of black slavery/genocide, the effects of Indian genocide/slavery continue today. Over and out.
Richard,
Yes, slavery is a form of bullying which we may have toned down as applied to Indian nations by the time we became the united states, however, we most certainly did not stop bullying them.
We simply focused our bullying on another nationality then perpetuated the slavery aspect of bullying.
And as you say, the bullying continues to the present day, but it has been toned down a lot, even though it is still background noise affecting the national music we have been trying to make.
Dredd, what you are missing is Faust’s deep, physiological need to dismiss Obama. This includes minimizing anything and everything he says or does as well as making illogical connections to reality and distortions of history that fit his goals.
As trolls go though he does a decent job of sounding reasonable and you did a reasonable job of responding. But don’t expect to get anywhere.
Oh, and under and in.
Dredd: thank you for the response; but it ain’t merely bullying. It was not “toned down as applied to Indian nations by the time we became the United States.” My ancestors (Norwegian/Swedes) participated in the Dakota War (misnomer: not Dakota, but Oglalla Lakota) of 1862. In the aftermath, Red Cloud and the Oglalla Lakota were exiled to Dakota Territory. Today, South Dakota has many of the poorest counties in America. Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse never lost a battle against the U.S. Army (btw, I have been to both Gettysburg-age 13- and the Little Big Horn-age 9-, at each spot I felt big medicine). The two great Lakota chiefs knew that no matter how many times they defeated the “blue coats”, every brave they lost could not be replaced, while after each battle another trainload of “blue coats” traveled west. In order to save their nation, they surrendered. Sitting Bull (Hunkpapa Lakota) traveled with “Buffalo Bill Cody’s” Wild West Show, while Crazy Horse (Oglalla Lakota) was murdered in U.S. Army custody. This is not bullying, it is genocide. Over and out.
Frankly, wuzzup? Wot’s yer point, mate? C’mon to the East Side, bro’ and see wot you dun! Yah mon”, where I live and work prioritizing persecution and prosecution serves to divide those who the receptors of both. That is my point, sir. Watching Asians vs. Latinos. vs. Blacks vs. Indians, etc., etc, etc., = divide and conquer. In a word, that’s frankly, me boy!
Mike S:
“My personal belief is that our country is heading towards becoming a feudalistic empire in the model of ancient Rome.”
********************
Timely article, Mike. The race to empire is usually fueled by the fear of the greater power over it’s own impotency in resolving the problems of its client states. (Glory seeking and plunder also play a role). Thus an insurrection Gaul requires Caesar to march republican troops to put down an uprising whose seeds remain intact after the conquest. Returning from the expedition after leaving a force to pacify the region, the powers that be realize a return will be inevitable, thus a standing army is required. An empire is now born. You can review the blueprint in Caesar’s Commentarii de Bello Gallico.
Everything evolves or devolves. Why should civilizations be any different?
Richard Faust 1, August 25, 2012 at 8:15 am
Dredd: thank you for the response; but it ain’t merely bullying …
====================================
Fair enough.
But please consider that my concept of bullying is that sense advanced by George Orwell which your are free to read in a series (Bully Worship: The Universal Religion – 4).
Anyway, as Mike S posted: “Lest We Forget”, remember that the essence of imperial empire is bullying.
That is the sense I intended.
I did not intend to offend you by minimizing virtual or actual genocide by referring to it as bullying.
This stuff would have never happened if LBJ was still president……
Thank you, Dredd. Over and out.
Mike
Great piece. Thank you.
Critically looking at this piece I wrote I must state that I touched on, but did not fully emphasize the point that we have unnecessarily killed and maimed so many in these wars for the worst reasons possible. Having only avoided service in Viet Nam due to high blood pressure, I knew far too many people whose lives were either lost, or badly disrupted by that senseless war. That doesn’t count the multitude of South East Asians who were brutally dealt with by invasions to their land. Our invasion in Viet Nam tried to halt an indigenous struggle against imperialist exploitation that had lasted decades.
I feel the same about these Mid-East wars in the sense that who are we to arbitrarily decide who is fit to govern in those lands? In Iraq we had Saddam, a monster who seized power, yet managed to hold together a relatively secular state that allowed women some independence. I Iran there was a history of the CIA having overthrown a legitimate, democratically elected government, in order to install a Shah of dubious legitimacy, but closely tied to
Big Oil. When the Shah’s brutal regime, so long supported by the US, was overthrown can we blame the Iranian’s for seeing us an an enemy? This doesn’t excuse their own brutality and religious zealotry, but at least it is home-grown. And so it goes as the PNAC players of the “Great Game” maneuver to obtain a world dominance, that as in the case of Ancient Rome, will not benefit a vast majority of its own people.
For me in the end it comes back to lives lost and disrupted in the service of greed and power. The illusion of the nobility of humanity has long ago fallen away from my world view. Yet I’m a person of empathy towards my fellow humans and have spent my life in the attempt to alleviate human suffering, albeit on a small basis. I cannot help but think of those young men lured by false premises and limited career expectations into serving in an unjust, unneeded war, for the greater purposes of ego-maniacal seekers of fortune and power. They die, they’re maimed, they are disillusioned to the point of dysfunction and some kill themselves in despair. My empathy and my work experience allows me to visualize the pain that they and their families suffer. For the Iraqi’s and the Afghan’s whose lives have been ended, or permanently damaged, it is difficult to personally imagine the effect these wars have had upon them. Yet I can project how they must feel and I sense that it is devastating. In human history the common method used for millennium to encouraged killing of the “other” has been to de-personalize them into a hated mass. We can enter into a discussion of the nuances of these conflicts, but in the rhetoric of debate, we can’t lose sight of the effects of this destruction on individuals such as ourselves, once we do, then the evil minds behind PNAC can delude us into supporting our own brand of terror.
General Wesley Clark When he ran for President in 2004, he was quite vocal about what Bush was doing … Richard Clark was also quite critical and backed up pretty much most of what General Clark had informed the public….
True to form, because these men came out against the Republicans plans of war and such…. the Republicans have gone about smearing BOTH of these men…..
of course this is NOT shocking, as that is what they do….
what gets me is that when you have a society that has such a wide wealth gap…. people have to know, that logically this will cause many problems….
I LOVE how they like to use catchy phrases like “Spread The Wealth” ….
well, fact is, if the wealth keeps going UP… and not out to the middle class pretty soon….. the USA will be DOOMED for sure….
Society can not run on Haves and Have NOT’S…..
also… the playing field is so out of whack, it will NEVER be close to being level again, in a very long time….
Lobbyists have made sure they stack the deck in favor of who has the most money…..
ONE thing that did disappoint me about Obama was the promise he made about Restricting Lobbyists from working in the White House … and restrict access….
Personally, I think that is one of the MAJOR issues today….
also, oil companies writing energy bills…. so that they can thwart regulation…. Banks writing their own rules…. and republicans blocking ANY FORM of regulation that would put forth some consumer protections, such as Payday loans…. not reinstating the Glas Stiegel Act…
Fact is….. there is SO much wrong and broken in the USA, and logic seems to be in the shortest supply…..
I grew up never knowing I was a libertarian, read books like 1984, always knowing I despised big govt. Then in 2007 I found Ron Paul and my life changed. Who would have believed a politician could have me reading great economists like Hayek, Rothbard, Block, Woods, Mises, etc. Since that time I grew to love & despair for the United States. I have watched professor Turley on tv many times, his thoughts on civil liberties I almost always agree with. So what has happened to your wonderful experiment with liberty? It has been systematically destroyed by despots like Lincoln, Hamilton, Wilson, FDR, Bush and egregiously Obama. I’m a Candadian and don’t consent to 90% of what my govt does either, but America had the most free founding in history and it has been wasted, by Imperialists, Marxists and the like. Individual freedom built America, and as the empire collapses (thank goodness) it’s disturbing to watch everyone turn to govt like a cornucopia, as if govt doesnt cause most problems in society. Remember those who give up liberty for security deserve neither. Neo-cons, socialist liberals and the like have removed all traces of a once great nation that now in all ways but few resembles fascist Italy, the USSR and in some ways Nazi Germany. Great people who want to restore freedom to people and rid the people of the Nanny State & Empire like Dr. Paul are shunned, and are libertarians perfect no, but you could be sure someone like Ron would have put the Empire to rest for four years. But alas, liberals love Obama, who will put people in jail without trial, assassinate Americans, or Romney who will likely be a bigger war monger than Obama, and is no more conservative than Woodrow Wilson was. The so called progressive era since Wilson and perhaps before has turned your bill of rights and constitution on its head, and the few that fight for it are ridiculed and shunned. I really hope Dr. Paul’s revolution rekindles the libertarian spirit in America more than it already has, the world needs liberty not the Nanny State.
Did anyone ever think of what CBS stands for? The Raging Grannies do.
Mike S.
That was BRILLIANTLY written….
and RIGHT on every point you made…..
when you put the 2 together… the Domestic and the Foreign policies…..
the last 20 years has seen LITTLE progress here and there…. and a LOT of downhill spiral…. people are MUCH less financially secure than they were 20 years ago, despite taxes being at an all time low…. LESS people are taking part in the (Myth of course) American Dream….
People are making less… and having to spend more, while Corporations are giving less to their employees and caring more about the CEO’s $50 million bonus’s and shareholders profits….
the bottom 50% of the USA is doing really poorly…. while the top 5% are doing really well….
It is injustice at it’s worst….
here in Sweden, we may have fewer millionaires…. BUT, the bottom 50% of the people here in Sweden, are living a MUCH higher standard of living, than the bottom 50% of the people in the USA….
Something has GOT to change…. and it has to happen QUICK….
I fear that if the Republicans get into the White House.. while the Democrats have a slim majority in the senate…. there will be NO way to stop the Republicans from deregulating more and dismantling the few protections that are in place…. opening up for fracking and drilling….
dismantling the EPA…..
This time around, they will go after Abortion Rights…. in the last 2 years they have put forth many many bills calling for restrictions on Abortion in quite a few states…. in fact they have been far more focused on that, rather than any jobs bills….
If they get in the White House…. that is the FIRST thing they will go after…. then it will be taxes…. MORE tax cuts….
and I have not even mentioned the wars…. and the defense budget that Paul Ryan wants to INCREASE….
Ohhhhhh…. it just scares me…. NOTHING GOOD can come of the Republicans winning in November…..
Dave S.
You wrote….
“it has been wasted, by Imperialists, Marxists and the like. ”
Can you explain what you mean.????
and what Marxists????
and HOW????
Otteray…. That is PRICELESS!!!!
LOVE these Grannies…
“The first” reason for supporting Obama “is that my concerns in this coming election focus primarily on domestic policy, women’s rights, gay rights, prejudice against non-whites and finally upon the inequality represented by the privileges of the 1% of our country and the economic oppression of the remaining 99%.”
And it doesn’t bother you that, before discussion of the laughably named “health care reform” discussion began he made a deal with the drug industry that Medicare price negotiation and drug reimportation would remain off the table? It doesn’t bother you that after saying that he would “stand shoulder to shoulder” with labor unions he avoided Wisconsin like it was infected with plague? It doesn’t bother you that he tried to pretend that “Occupy Wall Street” did not exist?
And I read your piece twice — you never gave a second reason. You went on to talk about the Military/Industrial/Corporate complex, which Obama supports with as much fervor as his predecessors did, and about how his powers have been limited by the JFK-era cabal. I hate to think how he would have acted had his powers not been limited, since he has expanded one war and started another without Congressional approval, is killing American citizens without charging them with crimes, and is ordering military missions and assasinations in a dozen countries world wide without oversight.
I love how you compare us to the Roman Emiire and the time of “pax romana,” a comparison which I find valid, and blithely suggest that we can somehow step back from that into civilized organization any better than Rome was able to do. What sort of nobility or intellect do we have that Rome lacked?
Imperialists like Chaney, FDR, The Rockefellars, Morgans who believe in American exceptiomalism, fund every excuse for war. Social Security, Medicare, The Federal Reserve are all tenants of Marxism, who would argue they are not. George Carlin said you average a major war every 20 years, it’s the only thing your good at. Obama is fascist/Marxist, forcing people to buy health care. Bush and Obama, even Clinton bailed out the banks, fascist. Prosecuting people like Assange for printing merely what embarrasses the state. Lincoln started a civil war, to ensure a strong central govt, many say because of slavery but if you read history he had no personal issue with slavery, he only wanted a strong central govt. There are far too many examples to list, but the root my point is big govt from both sides has ruined liberty in your country.
Seriously…. this becomes for frightening by the day….
here is a movie that some right wing whack job has put out…..
this is just a short trailer…..
OOOpppsss…. That was supposed to be MORE frightening…..
The anti-Obama documentary based on Dinesh D’Souza’s book “The Roots of Obama’s Rage” expanded nationwide on Friday — with early first-place showings in the domestic box office rankings, Deadline Hollywood reports.
As of late Friday afternoon, “2016: Obama’s America” had grossed $700,000 from 1,090 theaters. That compared with $300,000 for the new big-budget, Sylvester Stallone action flick “The Expendables 2,” which is playing in 3,355 theaters, Deadline Hollywood reports.
The early showing puts Obama’s America on track to gross $1.2 million to $1.7 million on Friday alone, with as much as $3.7 million to $5 this weekend, according to Deadline Hollywood. Its afternoon ranking will likely be eclipsed by “Expendables” and several new releases, including “Ride Like Hell,” starring Michael Shannon.
Exhibitors reported that busloads of filmgoers arriving at theaters to see Obama’s America in pre-organized trips, Deadline Hollywood reports.
continued….
In an exclusive interview with Newsmax last week, D’Souza said that Obama’s policies are unmaking the American Dream.
“Between 2007 and the present, Americans have lost about 40 percent of our wealth. Forty percent. If that happens again, if we lose another 40 percent in the second Obama term, if there is a second Obama term, Americans will be two thirds poorer than they were when Obama came to office,” he told Newsmax. “In a way, America will stop being a first-world country.”
So far, “2016” is the second-best gross of the year for a documentary after “Bully” ($3.2 million), but that list excludes the nature documentaries “Chimpanzee” ($29 million) and “To the Arctic” ($7.6 million), according to the Hollywood Reporter.
The documentary opened last month and is already the 12th-highest-grossing political documentary of all time. It also is the No. 2 conservative documentary after “Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed” ($7.7 million), according to the Reporter.
The aggressive expansion of Obama’s America, co-directed by D’Souza and John Sullivan, was set to coincide with next week’s Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla.
OK…. I am just going to quickly go over what you have written here….
First off…. the things you list,. are NOT Marxism…. for example… Social Security… Every working person pays into this…. so, when I am on Social Security… I will have paid into this…..
Loaning banks money/ Bailing them out, is NOT Fascist…..
and YOU actually said Marxist…. which is the OPPOSITE End from Fascist….
where communism is on the LEFT hand of the scale…..
Fascism is on the RIGHT end of the scale….
Assange was NEVER prosecuted by the USA….
he is wanted for questioning in Sweden… BUT, totally unrelated….
Medicare is more socialist than Marxist…..
and Europe PROVES that Socialism can go hand in hand with capitalism and needs to for the system to work…
I live in Sweden, and we have what is now called Socialist Democracy….
It is mainly capitalism, with a bit of socialism….
It works… Because pure capitalism will fail, because people can be greedy… and not everybody is going to do well… or even stay above water….
it does help to level the playing field just a BIT…
Here in Sweden, we don’t have the wealth gap, that exists in the USA…..
I am GLAD I pay taxes, so that others may have benefits that help them, such as health care…. and even with the high taxes… at NO TIME do I feel LESS free than I did in the USA….. I actually feel MORE free….. as the threat of a major family illness will not wipe out my family…. nor will we lose our home… which does happen to a LOT of people in the USA……
Right on, Sverige!
Re Obama capitulating. I have a friend angry with him, as I am truly, that he signed the defense act and has given into other issues regarding our rights and war and Gitmo, etc. She likes some of what he did but this gives her pause as to whether to vote for him or not .
I told her that given the congress he has and their stated goal of only obstructing, Obama has to pick his battles, a signing statement may not be the best but when you have the budget and debt ceiling tango coming up there has to be some negotiation and compromise so that not everything is stalled.
Okay, bailouts are fascist, social security while you “pay” into it, is forced taxation, aka socialist. Capitalism, which there is very little today means take care of yourself, medicare, Medicaid, the fed these are socialist/Marxist ideas that need to be quashed. Maybe you should read some literature on why socialism doesn’t work. It can’t calculate prices and becomes inherently corrupt, aka today.
So if I’ve mistakenly typed the wrong adjective forgive me, but don’t write off my point. Bailouts, aka fascism puts you, me and the rest of the world at fault for corporate interests. Again fascist. Where is the disagreement.
Secondly, how much money do programs like social security actually have? $0. Because the corrupt govt’s that forced us to pay for them spend the money and replace it with so called treasuries, it’s a ponzi scheme at best and socialist in a crude sense. These programs need to be abolished not quibbled about as if they are somehow moral, which they are not. I did not sign up for these programs, in Canada’s case Ohip, Canada pension, yet I have to pay for them. As Doug Casey said, democracy is mob rule in a sport coat, aka tryanny of the majority.
You are glad to pay taxes? This of course means the govt owns you which is not worth debating. Tariffs, maybe excise taxes are permissible, income tax is slavery, people help people all the time via charity we do not need govt to rob me to help others.
Okay Dave, lets not pay taxes. Are you and your buddies going to make roads, fix bridges, help the hungry and ill, the ill who may make others ill because contagious diseases are not taken care of (and I am not contagiousphobic but people forget this is why ewe have an epidemic of resistent strain TB), All of this does not just helo the “other” it helps you. When the country started and we had a few hundred then a few thousand even democracy and capitalism in a pure form might have been workable. 8 million no way, we must be our brother’s keeper to some extent because his keeping impacts us all.
Dave… People like you are so MIOPIC….
All you see is GREED and care less about anybody else…
well… let me break it down for you…
let me put it into term you might be able to understand…
when you have EVERYBODY living a DECENT standard of living…..
YOU have less, social unrest… meaning, LESS people going postal….
less people in actual poverty…. so less crime… there is a DIRECT link to poverty and crime…..
when you have an educated society…. people are MORE CIVIL…. and tend to think more about consequences…. so, they make better decisions….
when EVERYBODY only looks out for themselves….. that is what you get….
People only caring about themselves….. so then they start cheating people to get MORE…..
you have more inequality….. so more civil unrest…..
I have a strong feeling I am preaching to Ayn Rand……
and quite frankly… I think she was a sociopath…..
If you like countries that the people only care about themselves…. and have LOW taxes….
Russia comes to mind…. Ohhhh it is sooo great there…. people will do anything to GET OUT!!!!! even marry somebody they don’t know, just so they can come to Sweden, Norway….. Germany…. America….
Then there is Somalia…. they have LOW taxes…. and again… only care about themselves…..
If you hate Canada so much…. MOVE!!!!
It really is that easy…..
ONE thing I LOVE about Sweden… I LOVE that there is a standard of living that the government does NOT let its citizens drop below…. It makes for happier people… and healthier people….. and safer people…..
LeeJ Carol….
“help the hungry and ill, the ill who may make others ill ”
quite frankly….. he doesn’t care about OTHER people…. ONLY himself…..
YOU can see it in his rantings…..
he sees Marxism in EVERY corner…. Communism is just one politician away…..
It is HIS MONEY…. Screw anybody else…..
Ohhhhh he will NEED those roads….. but, he will count on the people like you and I and others here… we want to contribute… he wants the benefit of this LOVELY country that has shown to allow people success by having a strong infrastructure… and a protective government…. police when you need…. clean water and air….. clean hospitals…. nice roads….. etc….
he just does NOT want to contribute……
one thing is for sure….
Sweden, just like any other country, has its share of crazy’s…
we are just lucky, it is about 10% of the population, rather than 50% of it, like the USA has…. :-\
It was bad 4 years ago….
all I have seen in 4 years, is it getting MUCH worse…..
” Lincoln started a civil war, to ensure a strong central govt, many say because of slavery but if you read history he had no personal issue with slavery, he only wanted a strong central govt. ”
I’m not sure why you say this. Lincoln was personally opposed slavery, but he considered preserving the union to be more important. He had a choice of ignoring the secession of several states and the attack on Fort Sumter or not. He chose to not ignore the attack. Are you saying Lincoln should have ignored the attack and the secession, i.e. the breaking up of the union? btw, the southern states seceded because of slavery. They were afraid it would become illegal.
Its like a brick wall with some people, what creates wealth? People not govt, and empowering the political class to redistribute it is never fair, always corrupt and never succeeds in its aims. Name one govt agency that is not growing like cancer, and the more you allow the gov’t to do, the more it will until it bankrupts the country. Aka USA, America was built on freedom, to do as one pleases without govt intervention, people with your ideas are why there isn’t a gold standard, multiple wars, and tyranny virtually world wide. I didn’t say govt has no role, but roads, police, army should be the limit. We have allowed govt to become such a parasite that it is destroying the middle class via this disgusting redistribution of wealth you guys seem to be in favour of.
Obama cannot cross the Rubicon, no matter what the “3 Warring Graces” (Clinton, Rice, and Power) have to say! The Sirens (the aforementioned plus Valerie Jarrett & Michelle Obama nee Robinson) control the ever candidate. Over and out.
We have been fed a huge meal of propaganda. The country was initially populated by corporations, English and Dutch, with mostly indentured servants. The corporations provided the transportation, “gave” away land and animals that didn’t really belong to their “owners” until their passage bill was paid. A few came as “gentry” and actually owned what they received in the handouts.
Freedom and democracy was for the landed male population. Only men were able to declare that they were “freeman” and allowed to participate. This was true in the 17th century and was carried over into the 18th and 19th centuries, and even the 20th century for many African Americans who were not allowed to vote for various bogus reasons. The idea of the land being ruled by the elite was well grounded from the beginning. It’s only now that the middle class is being moved to the lower class that there is hew and cry.
One of the reasons we’re having such a hard time is that our CEO:avg worker pay is 475: 1. Most other countries are in the 20:1 range. Our country is leading the march to feudalism.
re: empire. We’ve fought in nearly every country. When have we really brought all the troops home? We have military bases all over the world. Once are military goes it, it really never comes out.
Why did Clinton beat GHWB? Might it be that TPTB really wanted NAFTA and GATT and GHWB couldn’t deliver? Clinton was able to twist the right arms to get it. Why didn’t McCain win? Well, the country was tired of Bush. He was “in your face” with what he was going to do. A change was needed to quiet folks down. Now we have Obama. He’s continued all the Bush policies. Do you think we’d have allowed Bush to sign the RTAA? How about the “kill” list? Obama did exactly what he said he would do in Iraq and Afghanistan – wind down Iraq to “only” 50,000 troops and escalate in Afghanistan and go into Pakistan. He didn’t tell us that he would be sending drones all over the middle east spreading death and destruction. The Republican war on women is, to some extent, a ploy. Obama will get another term, the Republicans will quiet down and reemerge in 4 years. But watch Obama make concessions toward privatizing social security and cutting back on medicare and medicaid. We’d scream bloody murder if the Republicans did it, but Obama, as he did with ACA, will “compromise” and we’ll gag but take it.
gee, this all sounds pretty cynical. guess i’ve been paying too much attention.
The Three Warring Graces: Clinton, Rice, and Power! Wake up, Amerika!
BettyKath, I’m with you, just never was able to express it as well as you have, thank you.
A former friend who is basically a T-Party lunatic who masqueraded in sheepherder’s clothing for a while said to me a couple of years ago that OBama turned out to be “not as bad as I expected,” and I laughed. I said, “You couldn’t have pulled off what he pulled off because you couldn’t talk a good enough game and somebody would cut your suit and let your belly fall out.” And he got mad at me, too.
“And I read your piece twice — you never gave a second reason. You went on to talk about the Military/Industrial/Corporate complex, which Obama supports with as much fervor as his predecessors did, and about how his powers have been limited by the JFK-era cabal.”
Bill H,
Perhaps the third reading will be the charm, or as an alternative you can look at the quote below.
“Secondly though, It has been my long time belief that since the “60’s” United States Foreign Policy has been under the control of the 1% as represented by the Military/Industrial/Corporate Complex and thus is out of the hands of any given President. With the George W. Bush Administration this power came to fruition via the response to 9/11 and in panicked legislation like the “Patriot Act”. I believe that President Obama’s power has been limited by the cabal that took charge of our country after JFK’s assassination and whose successors continue to wield power extra-legally. I made that clear in this guest blog from 3/17/12. http://jonathanturley.org/2012/03/17/a-real-history-of-the-last-sixty-two-years/#more-46802“
“I love how you compare us to the Roman Emiire and the time of “pax romana,” a comparison which I find valid, and blithely suggest that we can somehow step back from that into civilized organization any better than Rome was able to do.”
Bill H.,
Where did you read that I believe we can blithely step back from this nightmare of empire? I am really quite pessimistic about that possibility. However, should we just give up, or seek alternatives that will stave off total serfdom for most of us in a theocratic/corporate feudal state, for as long as possible. Buying time in the hope that somehow that which exists now can be overthrown in the future. Yet maybe for you the answer lies in being more comfortable in performing a grand gesture by voting for the Green Party and feeling self righteous. While I truly can understand that type of choice it is not one I’m personally willing to make.
Greetings from Stockholm.
It is the last weekend before school starts, in town the music events, out of doors, are a way to keep the youth who aren’t at a cottage from getting restless.
The cottage people, ca 30%, are preparing their crayfish or rotten fish parties.
Where are the crazies? Safely medicated. Where are the alcoholics?; safely with their bottles bought on
welfare money. Where are the elderly who have mobiility problems?: being shepherded by the young caretakers. Where are the crooks?; crooking quietly. Nobody steals handbags, at least not on the street.
Where are the “shoot’em up narcotic folks”, not in public toilets, the torlets are bluelighted so they can’t find a vein.
The child ombudsman got a prize at the “citizens’ square” this afternoon in a sponsored music festival.
It was the “rag doll” association that works to help children who are not believed in child abuse cases.
Are there no problems here. Yes, of course there are.
We have too little love here. Most of those left after the music stopped were in that category.
But the immigrants are teaching us, a slow process.
And we have our haves and have nots. But the have nots live comfortably. Our chief problems are junk food and junk culture, mainly TV series and the convenience of playing to your “needs”.
Best of all we don’t have a MI complex who dictate to the President here. “War in Iraq? You got it!”
Idealist….
Are you in Stockholm????
I am in Stockholm….
hahahaha…
“gee, this all sounds pretty cynical. guess i’ve been paying too much attention.”
Bettykath,
I share your cynicism.
Gurl,
Right on and welcome aboard.
Dave S.,
The only thing halfway decent about libertarian thought is for the most part a belief in the rights of people. However, Ron Paul is a libertarian who believes in taking away a women’s rights to her own body, theocracy and has allowed bigots to write under his masthead. As for the Austrian School, that is merely a bunch of crackpots engaging in wishful thinking with a hagiography of an economic system that has ever existed and never will.
bettykath,
“gee, this all sounds pretty cynical. guess i’ve been paying too much attention.”
I’d say you were very optimistic. After the RTAA, what will he do next in the persecution and control gambit?
Junk FOOD????
OK… REALLY????
This is the one thing I have found to be quite strange here….
I don’t see people on the street, like in the USA eating bags of crisps….
here I see people eat fruit, veggies…
Tho, A LOT OF THAI food….
are you really in Sweden???
if so, that would be rather coincidental…..
Do you come from the USA????
Or, are you a native Swede????
From article by M. Spindell: “Today the steady drumbeat to attack Iran…”
Actually we (and the Israelis) are at war with Iran by the Pentagon’s own definition and have been for quite some time. We have already attacked them. Weather more conventional methods will be used by the US and/or Israel is a looming question. Maybe the only question is “When?”.
TECHNOLOGY May 30, 2011, 10:30 p.m.
“Cyber Combat: Act of War
Pentagon Sets Stage for U.S. to Respond to Computer Sabotage With Military Force”
“WASHINGTON—The Pentagon has concluded that computer sabotage coming from another country can constitute an act of war, a finding that for the first time opens the door for the U.S. to respond using traditional military force”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304563104576355623135782718.html
“Obama Order Sped Up Wave of Cyberattacks Against Iran By DAVID E. SANGER
Published: June 1, 2012
WASHINGTON — From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran’s main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America’s first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program.” ….
“Previous cyberattacks had effects limited to other computers,” Michael V. Hayden, the former chief of the C.I.A., said, declining to describe what he knew of these attacks when he was in office. “This is the first attack of a major nature in which a cyberattack was used to effect physical destruction,” rather than just slow another computer, or hack into it to steal data.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/world/middleeast/obama-ordered-wave-of-cyberattacks-against-iran.html?_r=2&pagewanted=2&seid=auto&smid=tw-nytimespolitics&pagewanted=all
From Wikipedia:
“Stuxnet is a highly sophisticated, US-Israeli[1] computer worm. Discovered in June 2010, Stuxnet initially spreads via Microsoft Windows, and targets Siemens industrial software and equipment. While it is not the first time that hackers have targeted industrial systems,[2] it is the first discovered malware that spies on and subverts industrial systems,[3] and the first to include a programmable logic controller (PLC) rootkit.”
Gurl,
I, in my 44 years here, have not associated with Americans routinely. But due to your postings here would be delighted to have a coffee someplace on Södermalm, or…..?
I am 75 and not an eligible choice in that regard.
But spry for my age. Some say I look 60. And that’s a compliment???
At any rate please satisfy my curiousity. How long have you been here?
How about Assange? My ancestors fled the Norwegian colony of Sweden in the 1850s and settled in the black dirt of south central Minnesota. It is very simple my Scandinavian brothers/sisters” allow Assange to go to Sweden. At that point, allow due process to occur. If not, Sweden, besides their hockey expertise, continues to harbor Nazi gold, etc. etc. . .
Gurl,
“here I see people eat fruit, veggies…
Tho, A LOT OF THAI food….
are you really in Sweden???
if so, that would be rather coincidental…..
Do you come from the USA????
Or, are you a native Swede????”
Yeah, am American still. Raised in NC and never lived there since ’59. Was outside USA 2 years before coming here in ’68.
Well, the chances of another American living in Stockholm popping up at this blog is not likely.
Must be something serendipitous. I like to believe in serendipity.
Can you hear the music coming from the youth events around town. Here on Ringvägen the park behind is full of kids and the light metal is boomin’.
The pre-thirty guys and the post-thirty girls with “tires” around their bellies worry me.
Will write a bit about US food stats some other time.
Now we are here at MikeS thread, in mourning for the imminent death of America, and the middle and poor classes. That saddens me also, as it does you.
Hi Idealist…
That would be a WONDERFUL date…
I must admit, I too, do not associate with Americans often…
sounds like you moved here, when I was BORN….
OK… I lied about my age there… I was actually 1 ok… maybe, almost 2….
and NO.. nobody tells me I look 60….
also, It looks like I am in luck… Södermalm could NOT be more
perfect…. as, that is where I reside….
I moved here back in 2007…
Been here 5 years now….
PS… I can hear the music…. it is EVERYWHERE here on Söder….
I was wondering what all the noise and racket was outside…
It is not the typical Drunk Swede sounds outside tonight….
also, my daughter is practicing guitar in the other room…
she is learning a Pink Floyd song for me…
ID and Gurl, May I be stale and say, “Small World?”
Nick, welcome to our world.
Gurl,
I live at Ringvägen near Götgatan.
At this hour is kinda late. So another time is fine.
Glad you came. I need to know some amiable Americans here. Feels like the time is ripe. I was deeply immersed in Swedish culture before.
Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon is one of my favorites. Have several of their albums.
You’re in a good age, in case I may say so, looking back as I can.
It is indeed…
WOW!!! that is something else….
we are only about a mile apart…..
This is the last thing I had expected…
and a pleasant surprise, it is…..
yes… It is late..
But this next week would be perfect…. I don’t work…
So, during the week, I am pretty open….
Dark Side of the moon is my favorite as well…
I’ve seen them in concert 3 times…. and ALWAYS AMAZING….
I know exactly where you live….
I live in Bondegatan…. Right behind the Sofia Church….
as for Swedish Culture…. I have yet to catch that bug….
Gurl and other Sweden interested folks,
An example of Swedish problem solving.
!0 years ago and for some summers in a row, the last weekend before school re-commencing was marked by youth riots, big black market ecstasy parties, drunkenness, etc.
So the authorities have now for some years now sponsored music events all over during the whole of the weekend.
The kids are happy and have places to go and have fun.
And no nannies or signs anywhere. Tough music groups. The kids can not be fooled here.
Gurl,
We could just say Monday at 12PM at Medborgarplatsen sitting near the Greek food kiosk. Coffee at one of the open air places there.
Look for a long drink of water with big black sunglasses.
Richard Faust: “How about Assange? … allow Assange to go to Sweden. At that point, allow due process to occur.”
__________
It’s not about Sweden and rape, it’s about extradition to the U.S. and a sealed indictment for espionage. The Ecuadorians now have two people in their embassy of interest, one that the British want to get their hands on (Andrea Davidson, a nom de guerre or nom de plume) and one the U.S. wants (Assange):
http://beforeitsnews.com/beyond-science/2012/08/andrea-davison-modern-day-mata-hari-2439256.html
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2012/08/01/uk-intel-andrea-davidson-dr-david-kelly-julian-assange-and-other-key-stories/
Sweden is not a judicial paradise. Far from it. So many corrupt things happen here. And not laughable.
If you are political problem, then it is politics that count. In Assange’s case Sweden’s position under the USA foot.
Been that way since WW2. Sweden needed and needs USA protection from USSR/Russia. Simple.
And delivery of Swedish nationals has been done before, although 2 were also Egyptian citizens.
Delivery of Assange would be easily done. Australia has already taken their hand from him. Poor man. Poor us.
Darkness descends again. Who will provide NYTimes any real news until a new Ellsberg gets the courage.
At this point in time the outlook is very black indeed.
Gurl,
Sorry, my bad…..
You can email me at fallingpetals@hushmail.com.
Assange should more accurately be compared to the NYTimes and similar media, not Ellsburg. Ellsburg lifted from the DoD. Someone else did the lifting deed and delivered to Wikileaks/Assange.
And I don’t see how Bradley Manning could have lifted all those cables. The slaughter of the civilians video may have been Manning but I don’t believe he took the cables. Someone else did that.
Obama has had a zero tolerance policy for all whistle blowers. The whistle blowers get prison, sometimes on trumped up charges, or their lives otherwise ruined while those who do the corrupt stuff just go on without punishment.
Hi Ideal…
I just tried to email you, it did not work out so well…. unless the mail is in some code….
Gurl,
I have handled this like a 12 year old from the beginning. Sorry for that.
Let me check and will get back to you. Will simply email myself and see if it works.
Can’t spell. It is falllingpetals@hushmail.com.
Three l’s. FA L L L INGPETALS.
Please try again.
Praise the Lard and pass the ammunition.
LK
since cyber attacks constitute an act of war i wonder when we are going to attack. http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2008/05/did-chinese-hackers-cause-us-blackouts/53331/
BettyKath,
You are correct in comparing Assange to a newspaper publisher, and he did didtribute his news via NYTimes, etc. My mention of Ellsberg is too a corroboration of the need for a “leaker”. Ellsberg had his way, and but for clumsy prosecutorial moves would probably be in prison today.
If Wikileaks dsappears, new ones should spring from the movement if they don’t break Assanges silence through torture to take out those experienced in running such an organization.
Pete, From the reports available China and Russia usually goes after information that can help them economically and we use attacks (Iran, Afghanistan, contemplated use in Libya) for military actions. As to a US counter attack, well, there is either a big carrot or stick in play (2nd link) and we may already be counter-attacking. If so, the Chinese aren’t going to say anything and neither is the US IMO.
If the blackouts were of Chinese origin I think between that and Stuxnex there may have been an attempt to communicate the relative levels of potential threat between the parties since Iraq is a Chinese and Russian ally. Stuxnex and the blackouts happened about the same time as I recall and the later water plant incident looks like a ‘we can do hat kind of thing too’ message since a method similar to the workings of Stuxnet burned out the pumps at the water station. If an attack even happened.
It’s a strange new world out there,
“FBI and Homeland Security launch probe as foreign cyber attackers target U.S. water supply”
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2063444/Cyber-attack-US-water-supply-traced-Russia-FBI-Homeland-Security-launch-probe.html
“US and China Team Up to Stop Cyberattacks”
http://mashable.com/2012/05/08/us-china-cyberattacks/
Idealist707 and Gurl,
Get a woom …
M.S.
You really should learn something about 9/11 before you buy into the official hoax hook line and sinker. Or do you just pretend to believe the 9/11 fairy tale for fear that if you don’t pretend to believe it, you’ll stop being invited to post your own long-winded sermons here?
Dredd….
HAHAHA…
Great article Mike. The Romney foreign policy “team” is Bush part Two.
Bill McW,
Where did I say I believed in 9/11?
LK
spent the last 5 hrs wandering down the yellow brick road from your links. a lot more to that than i realized.
I couldn’t agree more with Spindell’s article. It’s also important to note how extreme the lengths our government has gone through to ensure our “safety.” So far, all their work has done is make it unnecessarily difficult to fly to freaking New York. Now both the TSA and airline staffers have become so intoxicated by their power that stories like this one have become the norm instead of the exception: http://lawblog.legalmatch.com/2012/08/24/delta-airlines-tsa-tolerance-policy-joke-t-shirts/
pete,
give us a 3-line resumé please. you know, politician screws citizen……type. is there a shorter trip. Don’t have money to pay for 5 hours…..maybe an hour.
Was it worth it?
Hussein had spent the best part of the decade (since his invasion of Kuwait) obfuscating every single attempt by nuclear watchdogs to try and make sure he wasn’t building a nuclear arsenal.
Iran is no longer even working with the inspectors.
The prospect of either these gaining nuclear weapons was and should be simply terrifying to any sane, rational person.
We already have two totally mad states armed with nuclear weapons (Pakistan and NK). We must do everything in our power to stop the spread of these weapons and especially so to theocratic regimes like Iran.
I hereby challenge you, MikeS, to come up with a strategem that will effect the desired outcome. How will you achieve what so many experts have failed to over the many decades of dialogue with Iran?
Simon, omg, you drank the koolaid. Saddam Hussein got rid of all his WMD (most furnished by the US, Carlyle Group specifically) and was cooperating with the inspectors.
Since the Iranians overthrew the US installed shah, that country has been in the cross hairs of the US and some of its allies. Woe be to any country that lifts its middle finger to the US, the only country to ever use nuclear weapons against an enemy. My suggestion would be to let Iran alone and stop threatening. The US could stop implementing the neo-con strategy for a global empire.
Your constructive criticism of my book …MidEast ChessBoard..
on Amazon
This book is an overview of the major events that have
contributed to the history of three major countries in the
mideast: Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. From the coup d’etat
that brought about the downfall of Mossadeq and the rise
to power of the Shah of Iran; to the arming of the Shah and
his final downfall(with Iranian Air Force General Rabii telling his
Judges…;General Huyser threw the Shah out of the country
like a dead mouse;); the hostage crisis in Iran and the use
of this event by both Republican and Democratic groups in
what became known as the October Surprise; the rise and
arming of Saddam Hussein and the part played by western
interests; the US support of the mujahadeen in Afghanistan
and the role played by Bin Laden and other Islamists culminating
in the breakup of the Soviet Union; the Islamist group on
the periphery of the Alkifah Refugee center in New York and
the 1993 World Trade Center bombing; the events leading up
to 911 and the evidence suggesting the Intelligence agencies
had advanced knowledge of this event; And the evidence that
US forces have had the opportunity to eliinate top al Qaeda
and Taliban forces in Afghanistan and Iraq but for whatever
reason have failed to do this…
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=woody+voinche&x=14&y=18
Woody,
Assuming it is true what you say here and write in your book, how did you research all this? And why haven’t you been taken out?
I can generally assume you may be right, just from knowing that the simple stories we are told are always lies.
Pete, You know how movies that include time travel generally have some special effect to denote the end of a time-jump, something to visually cue the moviegoer that the action now resumes in real time regardless of what that time frame is? Having spent most of my life reading Sci-Fi and being a great fan of William Gibson, Bruce Stirling, John Brunner, John Varley et al, I sometime feel as if that effect is actually happening all around me. An article here, a TV report there, then more articles and reports until they become commonplace and viola! the future (as speculated) is now, anticipation merges with actuality. It’s enough to give one the vapors.
Simon,
Your premise is false as Bettykath explained.
Thanks Idealist…every paragraph is documented by citing Newsweek, Time,
the NYT, Wall Street Journal, etc and various books have been cited on each page, Yes i have been harrassed by the FBI and/or other governmental agencies…the bugging of phones and my home and have tried to bring false charges and i have filed a number of FOIA, Privacy Act , FRA, constitutional lawsuits on this and have tried to get Mr. Turleys advice…
The book is on … http://www.amazon.com … type in my name and sample pages are available citing sources….Thanks
US FUNDS THE TALIBAN????
One of the most important issues today is the war in Afghanistan-Pakistan and the fact that US
Military Aid to Pakistan is being used to fund the Pakistani ISI which is in turn funding Taliban
and Al Quada fighters. While this has been reported sporadically in the media for whatever
reason political pundits on the left and right have effectively ignored this issue.
Joe Klein in an article for Time, August 9, 2010, p. 19, has written an article that every American
citizen should go to their library and read, he writes,
“The commanders are unanimous in their belief that the ISI is running the show….And so,
despite professions of alliance with the US by Pakistan’s then dictator Pervez Musharraf, a
decision was made to keep the Taliban alive. A spigot of untargeted military aid from the George
W. Bush Administration helped fund the effort. A commander of the vicious Haqqani Taliban
network tells Waldman that their funding comes from ‘the Americans–from them to the
Pakistani military, and then to us.’ Waldman reports that the commander receives from the
Pakistanis ‘a reward for killing foreign soldiers, usually $4000 to $5000 for each soldier killed’”.
American tax dollars if not directly, then indirectly are being used to fund the Taliban and put
a bounty on American boys and girls head… Makes one wonder why the establishment right
or left is not reporting on this? If the right is covering for
the mistakes of the Bush administration…why is the establishment left not reporting on this???
…this is the most important issue of the day…we will never win a war where if not directly then
indirectly the US is funding the opposition!!!!
woody voinche
M.S. said:
“Bill McW,
Where did I say I believed in 9/11?”
Who said that you BELIEVE in 9/11? Not me, but it does sound like you believe the Official 9/11 conspiracy theory. You pretty much SAID you do.
BillMcW,
I think you project your own suppositions onto me. I’ve been consistent in not believing the “official positions” on anything. That PNAC in 1997 seemed to foreordain 9/11 is highly suspicious. If you followed the links in this piece you would have seen why I suspect the official story. However, I laid it out for you, but if you don’t want to do the legwork I suggested then that is your problem.
lotta,
Years ago I read The Persistence of Vision, then stumbled onto PRESS Return. Read one of his stories last night. “Options”. Have you read it?
Woody,
Had already put it into my cart to save for thumbing through it before purchase. Style, facts, choice of areas, readability (ability to tell a yarn) are important. But then I might read Chomsky anyway, even if he is hard to chew. Thanks for the effort anyway.
What’s your take on Ellsberg’s “Secrets”?
What is PNAC? Ís that “Northwood” or some conference where Cheney blew the neocon script line, as the story is told? Or???? Or do I have to re-read the whole blog?
Yeah, I know, I might learn something new. Said with self-irony. BTW, thanks for the links. Did not reslize that we readers might gain from reading them.
Lots to learn.
No Win War???
The New American for November 9, 2009, has an interesting article on General Barry McCaffrey’s statement that the US “faces 10 more years of war in Afghanistan” and that the US should “focus upon a long and expensive nation-building process for Afghanistan’s tribal culture.” There seems to be a mindset in the establishment for the US to maintain a long term presence in the MidEast.
For a long time, the US has operated in the region through hidden agendas. In his book, The New World Order, Mr. Pat Robertson, states that George Bush 1 suggested that the fate of Kuwait was not the main issue, “launching the New World Order was the main thing.” Mr. Robertson further writes, “By words and by silence, the United States flashed Saddam Hussein a green light” … to move into Kuwait and suggests this was used as a pretext for the 1st Gulf War…the implication is that Saddam was entraped with Green Light Diplomacy but there was a much larger agenda(hidden) for moving against Hussein………..
For the situation in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the evidence suggests that the US and its allies are not doing all that can be done to win this war and there is some agenda for prolonging this conflict.
The Advocate quotes Hillary Clinton(Dec. 7, 2009, p. 5A), stating it is “hard to believe” that no one in Islamabad knows where the al-Qaida leaders are hiding and couldn’t get them “if they really wanted to.”
In the aftermath of 9.11, the bombing of the wrong escape route out of Afghanistan into Pakistan and the nighttime airlift by the US of the Taliban and Al Qaeda operatives that were allowed to escape(The New Yorker, Jan 28, 2002, p. 36); Gary Berntsen, the head of the CIAs team at Tora Bora said they tracked bin Laden and (he) “…could have been caught.”(Newsweek, Aug 15, 2005, p. 5); There is evidence that the Pakistani ISI is funding the Taliban and knows where they live but dont arrest them.(Time, Nov. 29, 2004, p. 44)
There is a strategy by the Pakistani government “…which pays tribes and insurgent networks to attack each other with a goal of preventing any one group from getting too strong”.(US News, Oct 13/Oct 20, 2008, p. 24)(a strategy used by the Brits) Pakistani Ambassador, Haqqani presents evidence in his book that the Pakistani military and ISI make “…the pretense of arresting militants in order to get funds from Washinton. But it never shut down the networks.”(Newsweek, May 11/May 18, 2009, p. 29)
The CIA never takes a junior partner role with any of these groups and we have to assume wants this to continue. The New York Times(Oct. 27, 2009) reports that Karzai’s brother is on the CIAs payroll and is a suspected player in the opium trade which finances the Taliban.
All of this only contributes to a more chaotic situation which feeds a hidden agenda for a “no win war” and prolonged conflict at the expense of American boys and girls lives!!
woody voinche
So we get our eternal war against the internal and the eternam suspicion of internal terrorists.
When do we get our 10 minute hate periods?
I borrow this of course. Thanks to the loaner, you know who you are.
Woody,
We share some similar thoughts regarding a hidden agenda of warfare.
M.S.
Saying you have questions about 9/11 is meaningless. If you have studied the case, then you would know that the official story is a lie. C’mon. your
place at the pulpit isn’t likely at risk for calling a lie a lie.
Bill McW,
I’m certain enough to know that you are trying to bait me. I’ll choose to let my words stand on their own even if your reading comprehension is awash with self referenced smugness and rife with disingenuous views disingenuous questions.
LOVELY!!!
this just in from the RNC….
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/08/29/1125643/-CNN-Goes-On-Air-With-RNC-Attendees-Taunting-African-Americans-As-Zoo-Animals
On air this evening, CNN’s Wolf Blitzer called attention to the network’s earlier report on two Republican National Convention attendees throwing nuts at a black CNN camerawoman and saying, “This is how we feed animals.” The attendees were removed from the Tampa Bay Times Forum after the exchange.
Blitzer called the incident “truly shocking” and said it “hit home” for everyone at the network. CNN political analyst Donna Brazile said during the segment she hopes the two attendees have their convention credentials revoked.
there is video of the CNN News Cast reporting this at the link I posted…..
This is TRULY shameful….
PLEASE read this…. and get this OUT there…. http://www.harpers.org/archive/2012/08/hbc-90008805 A Troubling Chant on the Convention Floor
An unscripted moment happened late this afternoon that caused the assembled mainstream media to turn away in the hope that it would disappear. As I was standing in line for a sandwich next to an Italian and a Puerto Rican correspondent, a controversy was unfolding on the floor. The RonPaulites, whose furious devotion to a single idea have made them the Ellen Jamesians of the right, were protesting a decision by RNC officials not to seat members of the Maine delegation, which was split between Paul and Romney supporters following rule changes made just prior to the convention. There were energetic shouts of “Aye!” and “Nay!” as a Puerto Rican party functionary—Zoraida Fonalledas, the chairwoman of the Committee on Permanent Organization—took her turn at the main-stage lectern. As she began speaking in her accented English, some in the crowd started shouting “U.S.A.! U.S.A.!”
The chanting carried on for nearly a minute while most of the other delegates and the media stood by in stunned silence. The Puerto Rican correspondent turned to me and asked, “Is this happening?” I said I honestly didn’t know what was happening—it was astonishing to see all the brittle work of narrative construction that is a modern political convention suddenly crack before our eyes. None of us could quite believe what we were seeing: A sea of twentysomething bowties and cowboy hats morphing into frat bros apparently shrieking over (or at) a Latina. RNC chairman Reince Priebus quickly stepped up and asked for order and respect for the speaker, suggesting that, yeah, what we had just seen might well have been an ugly outburst of nativism.
At least half a dozen respected Latino pols are scheduled to talk later on at the convention. I doubt any of them will generate a clip like the one that might be playing wall-to-wall tonight in San Juan and southern Florida.
PLEASE…. any liberal that reads this…. Post it EVERYWHERE….. I mean PLASTER it all over …. Facebook… Twitter…. Email… send it to your local TV station….
If this happened at the DNC…. YOU BET it would be plastered ALL over Fox news by now….. the Republicans would NOT let this go…. and NEITHER should we…..
If they deny it….. they are full of it…. YOU can tell at the end of the video EXACTLY what this was…. and Priebus looked MAD….. you could see he was feeling awkward over what he was seeing…..
he had to REMIND them…. and TELL them to treat her with respect…..
To treat a PERSON like this…. is just inexcusable…..
and they claim to have so much more class….
YEAH… they are proving just how much class they have…..
Do the Republicans own this place? Or is everybody still sleeping? There is no activity at the “funny, ha ha” blogs from yesterday on the comment list.
I just posted this as part of a comment at the SA princess blog. Had ho other place appropriate, as
though it was dead here at “lest we…”. So wrong.
———————-
“Just to inject a new subject. The expression of American democracy, if the Republican convention can be called that, is a revolting proof that America has gone over the line. Bssing this on viewing two relatively short segments, with no speechs.
The interesting part is the after analysis and predictions by the columnists in the press.
Of many colors.
The press is a whore, just as Chomney wrote and I have linked here.
Nauseam eternum. And this is how America is and works?” (edited)
There was this disclaimer to the side of the article: Editor’s Note: After this post was written, it was reported on Buzzfeed and elsewhere that the “U.S.A.” chant on the convention floor began as a response to chants of “Point of Order” by Ron Paul supporters. An RNC spokesperson denied to Fox News Latino that the chanting was related to Zoraida Fonalledas’s nationality.
Let’s say that is correct then the Paul supporters were chanting because, one has to assume, they were being denied their right of dissent so no matter how you look at it it is disgusting.
YOu know what just IRKS me.????
If this Faux pax happened at the DNC…. the RIGHT wing would be all over it….. it would not matter what we said and how innocent it was… vs how bad it looked….
If it LOOKS bad, they will use it…..
and here we are NOT using it….
Funny thing is tho, you look at her face…. she could have been having fun with it…… she LOOKED upset…. as did Priebus when he addressed the people to get them to settle down…..
WHY did he have to remind them to give her respect????
my point is…. had this happened at the DNC…. the RIGHT would RUN WITH IT…. they don’t care about TRUTH….
They are just better at being VILE and disgusting, than the Democrats are…..
A fellow I knew in HS, we were best buds, can;t imagine how he tunred into a right wing conservative (fill in your own word here) posted a day or so ago about an actress Ellin Barkin, tweeting that she wanted the antichoicrers and maybe repubs to be killed in the hurricane. That was awful I agreed but that she was an actress ini whom no one had much interest and she had no power.
I posted about the peanut throwing and these cries of USA and strangely that evidently does not bother him as he made no reply.
This kid was smart, a military academy graduate. How he has turned into a non thinking neanderthal I cannot imagine (That does not mean he has to agree with me, it does mean he never gives a thinking response but will quote or provide links only to right wing like liumbaugh beck, etc.)
LJC
If military academy, that will do it. If you meant West Point, that is a quadruple down, IMHO.
Ever seen a left wing colonel, much less General. The higher up they get the nuttier they are. Truman took home McArthur because he wanted to nuke the Chinese border.
And there are thousands of such tales.
And some of them are alright, but they get all the bad jobs. Like fall guy if the Kuwait war failed. Interesting man. One of principle.
Your post made me happy to see it. Intelligent women here.
No not west point ((*_*)) but I guess it took the smart out of him.
leejcaroll,
hope you see this. it’s Chomsky. An article he wrote about MSM, but most important how people are “trained” and selected in this society. Even up to the Harvard level. After that it is occupationaal !thereapy.2. But not more…
Read it if you wish.
http://www.chomsky.info/articles/199710–.htm
And of course for the academies (it was annapolis by the way) you go through rigorous testing to make sure you weed out those who are not doctrinally suited to living the military way (I guess I never saw it being a teenager but even then I was a hippie liberal… Guess when youre young friendship can transcend a lot, he had to have had this in him somewhere.) Thanks for the link
Label Insanity! Obama can’t do ANYTHING against those mean ole nasty Repugs. Whatever! The PNAC has never been happier and more alive. “Lest We Forget” that Dems of today ONLY fight for civil liberties once the label changes and so that may well be the only fitting reason to change the label.
I wonder why hasn’t anyone noticed the dismal poll numbers of either candidate? It is actually quite historic, two extremely unpopluar men running for president. More than half the country has no vested stake in either candidate. Only the label people will be involved in the next election. A vast cult of mutual, agreed upon, label fetish devoid of meaningful content, merely only vast hate for each other.