PR FOR DICTATORS
A New York Times' piece explores efforts by the world's worst dictator, Equatorial Guinea's Teodoro Obiang Nguema, to refashion his image.
OILY JUDGES
On January 20, 2009, most of America rejoiced at the end of the error that was the Bush/Cheney regime. However, the effects of the oil men's reign was always going to last far more than eight years. The BP/Gulf of Mexico oil cataclysm is the logical consequence of the Bush/Cheney/Tea Party ideology of letting industry regulate itself without the meddling of 'liberty snatching' government. An Associated Press analysis points out another consequence: the majority of federal judges in the Gulf coast have financial connections to the oil and gas industry. These are the judges that would hear lawsuits relating to the oil catastrophe.
PUNDITOCRCACY CONTINUES TO SUFFOCATE JOURNALISM
I've frequently commented on the manner in which the punditocracy suffocates the practice of journalism... specifically how polls, speculation and horse race crap is replacing the real news reporting. In defending this, corporate media types piously claim that it's not because the horse race crap is easy, lazy stuff but that they are just giving the people what they want. The Washington Post's excellent media critic Howard Kurtz gives lie to that claim. In a Tweet, he pointed out that 5 pct. of people were interested in last week's primaries but they got 18 pct. of the news coverage.
SHOULD HETEROSEXUALS BE ALLOWED TO ADOPT KIDS?
CNN reports on a quarter century long study published in the journal Pediatrics concluding that kids of lesbians have fewer behavioral problems than their powers. This will surely have no impact on the opinions of the far right, the Catholic Church and other groups who reject scientific analysis on principle. But it begs the question: should heterosexual adoption be banned? For the well-being of the children, of course.
WORLD CUP STARTS TODAY!
And the world's most important sport event in its most beloved sport starts today. From now until July 11, the soccer World Cup will be held in sites throughout South Africa. For one month out of every four years, soccer fans in America get to be as insufferable as fans of the boring pointyball are for the other 47 months. My predicted semifinalists are Argentina, Spain, the Netherlands and Nigeria (though watch out for dark horses Serbia, Uruguay and Cameroon), with Spain beating the Netherlands in the final. The US plays the hated England tomorrow at 2:30p ET, Slovenia next Friday and Algeria the following Wednesday. The full World Cup broadcast schedule can be found here. C'mon USA!
Showing posts with label George W. Bush. Show all posts
Showing posts with label George W. Bush. Show all posts
Friday, June 11, 2010
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
A truly lame lame duck ducks
"They say we're disturbing the peace. But what really disturbs them is that we're disturbing the war." -Howard Zinn
By now, most of you have probably heard that during a particularly patronizing press conference by President Bush in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at the American misleader as well as a number of verbal insults. It is the only accountability for this massive crime against humanity that Bush is likely to ever face.
Shoe throwing is one of the most serious insults in Arab culture. The journalist was wildly praised in the Arab media. An ironic reaction in a region that, Bush and his cronies claimed, was supposed to be magically transformed into a pro-American utopia after the invasion of Iraq.
The journalist's boss pointed out that the reporter was no disgruntled Saddamite and pointed out that "his family was arrested under Saddam's regime." The journalist ' his actions were for Iraqi widows and orphans,' according to the BBC.
Following the shoe 'assassination attempt,' some brain dead journalist actually asked Bush if he felt threatened by the incident. American soldiers are out there dodging IEDs. Iraqi civilians are being targeted by savage militias and homicide bombers. And someone had the gall to ask Bush if he felt threatened by a flying shoe?
Worse yet, Bush continued to pontificate about how the incident provided that the 'new' Iraq was so fantastic because a guy was free to throw shoes!
The journalist was arrested and hauled away. This shows how completely ignorant Bush is of any notions of what real freedom is all about. If you get arrested for doing something, then BY DEFINITION you are NOT really free to do that something. It doesn't take Einstein to understand this.
Worse yet are unconfirmed reports that the journalist is being tortured in US custody. He allegedly suffered a 'broken hand, ribs, suffered internal bleeding and sustained an eye injury.' I hope he enjoys his 'liberation.'
The rumors may or may not actually be true, though the charges were made by the journalist's brother. But it's a mark of how far America's reputation has fallen that the rumors are completely plausible. Do the delusional still think 'they hate us because we're free'?
This presumption of guilt what happens when you have an immoral administration allergic to the most fundamental notions of civilization deciding to essentially legalize a barbaric practice like torture... in the name of 'freedom.'
By now, most of you have probably heard that during a particularly patronizing press conference by President Bush in Baghdad, an Iraqi journalist threw his shoes at the American misleader as well as a number of verbal insults. It is the only accountability for this massive crime against humanity that Bush is likely to ever face.
Shoe throwing is one of the most serious insults in Arab culture. The journalist was wildly praised in the Arab media. An ironic reaction in a region that, Bush and his cronies claimed, was supposed to be magically transformed into a pro-American utopia after the invasion of Iraq.
The journalist's boss pointed out that the reporter was no disgruntled Saddamite and pointed out that "his family was arrested under Saddam's regime." The journalist ' his actions were for Iraqi widows and orphans,' according to the BBC.
Following the shoe 'assassination attempt,' some brain dead journalist actually asked Bush if he felt threatened by the incident. American soldiers are out there dodging IEDs. Iraqi civilians are being targeted by savage militias and homicide bombers. And someone had the gall to ask Bush if he felt threatened by a flying shoe?
Worse yet, Bush continued to pontificate about how the incident provided that the 'new' Iraq was so fantastic because a guy was free to throw shoes!
The journalist was arrested and hauled away. This shows how completely ignorant Bush is of any notions of what real freedom is all about. If you get arrested for doing something, then BY DEFINITION you are NOT really free to do that something. It doesn't take Einstein to understand this.
Worse yet are unconfirmed reports that the journalist is being tortured in US custody. He allegedly suffered a 'broken hand, ribs, suffered internal bleeding and sustained an eye injury.' I hope he enjoys his 'liberation.'
The rumors may or may not actually be true, though the charges were made by the journalist's brother. But it's a mark of how far America's reputation has fallen that the rumors are completely plausible. Do the delusional still think 'they hate us because we're free'?
This presumption of guilt what happens when you have an immoral administration allergic to the most fundamental notions of civilization deciding to essentially legalize a barbaric practice like torture... in the name of 'freedom.'
Friday, October 03, 2008
Bush's fraud, America's shame
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that President Bush's so-called Freedom Agenda has proven to be a massive fraud. It was pretty obvious even when it was being enunciated that it was nothing more than a smokescreen to launch our own wars of aggression (against Iraq, for example) and to support others (Ethiopia's against Somalia, for example). The only winner of these wars has been the military-industrial complex.
This piece in The New Republic shows how global authoritarianism has been skyrocketing the last several years despite, or more likely because, of the Bush administration's choices.
Even places that had been moving forward, like Lebanon, have now seen that progress disintegrate, if not worse. The Trotskyists in the White House said that once freedom bit Iraq, it would spread through the region like a plague. There's been a plague, to be sure, but it's been that of chaos and instability.
But some BushCheneyCo's actions have served as an inspiration for others.
The BBC reported on Africa's Guantanamo, located in Ethiopia. It's been reportedly used by the CIA to import kidnapees from all over and 'interrogate' them outside the jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court and those other pains in asses that demand, you know, things like legality and justice.
Just say the phrase: Africa's Guantanamo.
In past generations, when people wanted a shorthand for evil, they would use phrases like 'Auschwitz' or 'The Gulag.'
Now when they want an analogy for the unspeakable, they refer to something run in the name of those of us who claim to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
This is the legacy St. John McCain wants to continue.
Of the many legal and moral crimes of the BushCheneyCo administration, their jihad against American values, their dismantling of everything we say we hold sacred, is perhaps the most damning of all.
It shouldn't surprise anyone that President Bush's so-called Freedom Agenda has proven to be a massive fraud. It was pretty obvious even when it was being enunciated that it was nothing more than a smokescreen to launch our own wars of aggression (against Iraq, for example) and to support others (Ethiopia's against Somalia, for example). The only winner of these wars has been the military-industrial complex.
This piece in The New Republic shows how global authoritarianism has been skyrocketing the last several years despite, or more likely because, of the Bush administration's choices.
Even places that had been moving forward, like Lebanon, have now seen that progress disintegrate, if not worse. The Trotskyists in the White House said that once freedom bit Iraq, it would spread through the region like a plague. There's been a plague, to be sure, but it's been that of chaos and instability.
But some BushCheneyCo's actions have served as an inspiration for others.
The BBC reported on Africa's Guantanamo, located in Ethiopia. It's been reportedly used by the CIA to import kidnapees from all over and 'interrogate' them outside the jurisdiction of the US Supreme Court and those other pains in asses that demand, you know, things like legality and justice.
Just say the phrase: Africa's Guantanamo.
In past generations, when people wanted a shorthand for evil, they would use phrases like 'Auschwitz' or 'The Gulag.'
Now when they want an analogy for the unspeakable, they refer to something run in the name of those of us who claim to live in the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave.
This is the legacy St. John McCain wants to continue.
Of the many legal and moral crimes of the BushCheneyCo administration, their jihad against American values, their dismantling of everything we say we hold sacred, is perhaps the most damning of all.
Monday, August 18, 2008
Satire is impossible with reality like this
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
Launching an unprovoked aggression against a foreign country under the fake pretexts of protecting security and human rights with the real objectives of seizing the country's resources and imposing regime change on a defiant government.
According to the Bush administration, such behavior 'has no place in the 21st century.'
President Bush himself called such behavior “bullying and intimidation" and demanded the invaded country's sovereignty and territorial integrity 'be respected.' He also said that such actions damaged the invading country's credibility and international standing.
By all accounts, this was said with a straight face.
My guess is that the Bush administration uses the Ethiopian calendar.
Under that system, March 2003 was in the 20th century.
Launching an unprovoked aggression against a foreign country under the fake pretexts of protecting security and human rights with the real objectives of seizing the country's resources and imposing regime change on a defiant government.
According to the Bush administration, such behavior 'has no place in the 21st century.'
President Bush himself called such behavior “bullying and intimidation" and demanded the invaded country's sovereignty and territorial integrity 'be respected.' He also said that such actions damaged the invading country's credibility and international standing.
By all accounts, this was said with a straight face.
My guess is that the Bush administration uses the Ethiopian calendar.
Under that system, March 2003 was in the 20th century.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
The dingbat of the week award goes to...
... North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole for trying to name an HIV-AIDS relief bill after her predecessor, the late Jesse Helms.
Bear in mind, this was the same progressive-minded Sen. Helms who uttered such pearls of wisdom as "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy" and who opposed re-funding of an anti-AIDS program because they got sick via their "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct."
The "revolting conduct" committed by the 12 year old boy after whom the program was named was receiving a tainted blood transfusion.
This is the paragon of progressive thinking on AIDS that Sen. Dole wants to honor.
Then again, in a world where George W. Bush can be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize....
Bear in mind, this was the same progressive-minded Sen. Helms who uttered such pearls of wisdom as "There is not one single case of AIDS in this country that cannot be traced in origin to sodomy" and who opposed re-funding of an anti-AIDS program because they got sick via their "deliberate, disgusting, revolting conduct."
The "revolting conduct" committed by the 12 year old boy after whom the program was named was receiving a tainted blood transfusion.
This is the paragon of progressive thinking on AIDS that Sen. Dole wants to honor.
Then again, in a world where George W. Bush can be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize....
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Bush’s new climate change policy
“Goodbye from the world's biggest polluter” –Pres. Bush (source)
I suppose the only saving grace is that the rest of the world takes him about as seriously as most Americans don’t.
I suppose the only saving grace is that the rest of the world takes him about as seriously as most Americans don’t.
Monday, June 02, 2008
‘Kill them all’
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
I’d never considered George W. Bush to be a bloodthirsty savage, just callous and indifferent to human life... at least the non-fetal kind.
This piece on the memoirs of former Iraq commander Gen. Ricardo Sanchez certainly made me rethink my position.
I’d never considered George W. Bush to be a bloodthirsty savage, just callous and indifferent to human life... at least the non-fetal kind.
This piece on the memoirs of former Iraq commander Gen. Ricardo Sanchez certainly made me rethink my position.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Where are today’s war bonds?
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
When President Bush says something that’s merely galling, it no longer merits a story. No one takes him seriously any more so why not reserve outrage for actions instead of mere words? But sometimes, his words are so revealing that you have to comment.
Recently, The Decider compared the current US aggressions to World War II.
"After World War II we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies. These efforts took time and patience, and as a result Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity and are now allies of the United States,” Bush puffed.
Now that the two countries are merely in a rebuilding phase, perhaps he can cease his heroic sacrifice of giving up golf!
The US has occupied Iraq for over five years.
Five years into US occupation, both Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany were more or less stable countries with stable governments.
The US occupied Japan for a total of seven years and West Germany for eight. Does anyone seriously think we’ll be even close to out of Iraq by 2010 or 2011?
A real comparison with World War II would reveal far more than Bush would like. It would show exactly how illegitimate and immoral the current wars* are.
(*-By 'current wars,' I'm referring to the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and terror)
During World War II, the entire nation was mobilized. Every man, woman and child was asked to sacrifice. Families were expected to plant Victory Gardens. Everything was recycled to avoid waste. Women left the home (which was considered a sacrifice back then) to work in factories were re-tooled to become part of the war effort.
Perhaps most tellingly, people bought war bonds. In a time when few were affluent, they made a voluntary choice to spend their money for something that they believed very important. They did this because most Americans believed that success in World War II was essential to the nation’s freedom.
Where are today’s war bonds?
Aside from intoning politically correct catchphrases ‘Never forget’ and ‘Freedom isn’t free,’ Americans today are asked to do nothing more than slap a yellow ribbon bumper sticker on their SUV before they go to the Gap and send a message to the America-hating Evildoers with their credit card.
This sentiment was echoed by President Bush’s own former spokespuppet Scott McClellan, who said, "What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary” and that "One of the worst disasters in our nation's history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency.”
One can certainly question McClellan’s motives. One can assume that he’s merely trying to clear what’s left of his conscience regarding a once-popular war that’s now seen as a disaster; it’s funny how many sleazeballs suddenly gain a moral code once the poll numbers collapse. One can doubt his sincerity for not resigning rather than being complicit in what he himself calls a ‘Culture of Deception.’ But the comments are revealing nonetheless.
This casual attitude, the refusal to ask for sacrifice, the lust for force as a first option rather than a last, illustrates how the current wars have never had anything to do with our nation’s freedom.
And given the way both have been mismanaged, I think every American should all be grateful they have nothing to do with our freedom. Every American except for few hundred thousand who are risking their lives because of this ‘Culture of Deception’ and their families.
If it really mattered, we’d ALL be asked to make sacrifices. Not just the soldiers and their families.
If it really mattered, we’d all be asked to make real sacrifices. We’d be asked to make sacrifices more significant than a moment of silence here or an hour-long ceremony on Memorial Day there. We'd be asked to make sacrifices more significant than giving up golf.
If it really mattered, we’d be asked to take action, not merely engage in symbolism.
That we expect young kids to bear the entirety of the burden we know to be unnecessary and for the exclusive benefit of a small oligarchy of huge corporations, shows the hollowness not only of the current wars, not only of our nation’s so-called leaders, but of our whole society for meekly accepting this disgraceful state of affairs without questioning why.
When President Bush says something that’s merely galling, it no longer merits a story. No one takes him seriously any more so why not reserve outrage for actions instead of mere words? But sometimes, his words are so revealing that you have to comment.
Recently, The Decider compared the current US aggressions to World War II.
"After World War II we helped Germany and Japan build free societies and strong economies. These efforts took time and patience, and as a result Germany and Japan grew in freedom and prosperity and are now allies of the United States,” Bush puffed.
Now that the two countries are merely in a rebuilding phase, perhaps he can cease his heroic sacrifice of giving up golf!
The US has occupied Iraq for over five years.
Five years into US occupation, both Japan and the Federal Republic of Germany were more or less stable countries with stable governments.
The US occupied Japan for a total of seven years and West Germany for eight. Does anyone seriously think we’ll be even close to out of Iraq by 2010 or 2011?
A real comparison with World War II would reveal far more than Bush would like. It would show exactly how illegitimate and immoral the current wars* are.
(*-By 'current wars,' I'm referring to the wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and terror)
During World War II, the entire nation was mobilized. Every man, woman and child was asked to sacrifice. Families were expected to plant Victory Gardens. Everything was recycled to avoid waste. Women left the home (which was considered a sacrifice back then) to work in factories were re-tooled to become part of the war effort.
Perhaps most tellingly, people bought war bonds. In a time when few were affluent, they made a voluntary choice to spend their money for something that they believed very important. They did this because most Americans believed that success in World War II was essential to the nation’s freedom.
Where are today’s war bonds?
Aside from intoning politically correct catchphrases ‘Never forget’ and ‘Freedom isn’t free,’ Americans today are asked to do nothing more than slap a yellow ribbon bumper sticker on their SUV before they go to the Gap and send a message to the America-hating Evildoers with their credit card.
This sentiment was echoed by President Bush’s own former spokespuppet Scott McClellan, who said, "What I do know is that war should only be waged when necessary, and the Iraq war was not necessary” and that "One of the worst disasters in our nation's history became one of the biggest disasters in Bush's presidency.”
One can certainly question McClellan’s motives. One can assume that he’s merely trying to clear what’s left of his conscience regarding a once-popular war that’s now seen as a disaster; it’s funny how many sleazeballs suddenly gain a moral code once the poll numbers collapse. One can doubt his sincerity for not resigning rather than being complicit in what he himself calls a ‘Culture of Deception.’ But the comments are revealing nonetheless.
This casual attitude, the refusal to ask for sacrifice, the lust for force as a first option rather than a last, illustrates how the current wars have never had anything to do with our nation’s freedom.
And given the way both have been mismanaged, I think every American should all be grateful they have nothing to do with our freedom. Every American except for few hundred thousand who are risking their lives because of this ‘Culture of Deception’ and their families.
If it really mattered, we’d ALL be asked to make sacrifices. Not just the soldiers and their families.
If it really mattered, we’d all be asked to make real sacrifices. We’d be asked to make sacrifices more significant than a moment of silence here or an hour-long ceremony on Memorial Day there. We'd be asked to make sacrifices more significant than giving up golf.
If it really mattered, we’d be asked to take action, not merely engage in symbolism.
That we expect young kids to bear the entirety of the burden we know to be unnecessary and for the exclusive benefit of a small oligarchy of huge corporations, shows the hollowness not only of the current wars, not only of our nation’s so-called leaders, but of our whole society for meekly accepting this disgraceful state of affairs without questioning why.
Saturday, May 17, 2008
But at least he wears an American flag lapel pin so it must be all good
If you support a progressive agenda, then support a progressive candidate.
To say that President Bush is astoundingly arrogant and elitist to point of complete cluelessness would be to state blindingly obvious.
But he seems committed to rubbing people's noses on a daily basis in his complete detachment from the reality of the decent, ordinary Americans he's shipping into the hellhole that is 'liberated' Iraq.
Last week, The Decider bragged about how he was selflessly showing solidarity with the young soldiers dodging roadside bombs in 120 degree heat. His munificient sacrifice? He gave up golf.
Suffice it to say, many families of troops killed in Iraq were irate at the president's contemptuous mockery of their relatives who made a real sacrifice, the utlimate one, in the name of Bush's destructive war of aggression.
Comments like this are something you'd expect from The Colbert Report. That this is judgment and perspective of a real human being who has complete control over the lives of well-intentioned young Americans is a terrifying prospect.
To say that President Bush is astoundingly arrogant and elitist to point of complete cluelessness would be to state blindingly obvious.
But he seems committed to rubbing people's noses on a daily basis in his complete detachment from the reality of the decent, ordinary Americans he's shipping into the hellhole that is 'liberated' Iraq.
Last week, The Decider bragged about how he was selflessly showing solidarity with the young soldiers dodging roadside bombs in 120 degree heat. His munificient sacrifice? He gave up golf.
Suffice it to say, many families of troops killed in Iraq were irate at the president's contemptuous mockery of their relatives who made a real sacrifice, the utlimate one, in the name of Bush's destructive war of aggression.
Comments like this are something you'd expect from The Colbert Report. That this is judgment and perspective of a real human being who has complete control over the lives of well-intentioned young Americans is a terrifying prospect.
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Humor of the week
You know, I'm really not interested in policies that are long on rhetoric and short on results. I think the taxpayers, as well as the people we're trying to help, need to know our strategy is well-defined, with clear goals, and we hold people accountable. -President Bush
No need to shoot fish in a barrel on this one.
No need to shoot fish in a barrel on this one.
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
World's most prominent pro-war and pro-peace advocates meet
So I see there is going to be a meeting between President Bush and one of the most prominent critics of the Iraq Aggression in particular and US imperialism in general. I know Bush is far too arrogant to open his mind to anyone, let alone the world's most influential Christian. But I still wouldn't mind being a fly on the wall there...
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Only 290 more days to go
Wow, it's amazing how the impending end of the Bush nightmare is enough make everyone a little happier.
Sunday, March 16, 2008
And the winner of the Iraq Aggression is...
What does it say that every time G. Walker Bush or R. Bruce Cheney or J. Sidney McCain or the War Secretary of the day goes to Iraq, it's secretive, unannounced and cocooned by a massive security detail.
But when the nutjob in charge of Iran pays a visit to Baghdad, it's a very public, grandiose state visit.
How is this possible?
According to some, the "Surge" has made the country a near paradise. One has to ask: the country or the Green Zone?
Those who actually risk their lives to go to Iraq see a different picture than the ideologues.
So not only has this Aggression been disastrous in human terms (mostly Iraqi, of course), in terms of the physical destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and in terms of the defraying of Iraqi society, but the Aggression has destroyed our own influence and credibility (even in the eyes those we claim to have 'liberated') while dramatically increasing the influence and credibility of those we call not just the Enemy, but Evil.
Anyone with an ounce of understanding of human nature knew this was always going to be the case. But such people have not been running this country for some time.
Ahmadinejad can have a grandiose state visit. Bush has to slink in and out under cover of darkness. Does this sound anything like the portrait of a 2008 Iraq that the militarists presented us back in the day? I thought they'd be giving Bush flowers and kissing his feet.
5 years.
Over 500,000,000,000 of our tax dollars wasted.
Nearly 4000 American soldiers have lost their lives to help accomplish all of the above.
And oh by the way, an estimated 150,000 Iraqi civilians have died during the "Liberation." Some estimates are much higher. But there are at least 80,000 that have actually been documented.
What have the results been?
-The myth of a Saddam-al Qaeda link has been discredited;
-Saddam never had weapons of mass destruction, just like pre-war critics such as the much-smeared Scott Ritter and Hans Blix insisted. (You'll remember that all the 'evidence' of the WMD program presented by the militarists in 2003 dated from 1998 and earlier);
-The Middle East is now far more unstable because of the refugee crisis provoked by the Aggression;
-The number of acts of and deaths from terrorism has skyrocketed since the Aggression was launched in 2003. In fact, the rate of deaths due to terrorism has gone up ten-fold since the Aggression was launched;
-The massive flow of refugees out of Iraq into countries like Jordan and Syria demonstrates that living conditions in Iraq are more desperate than even under a genocidal autocrat.
And ultimately, this is the most damning fact of all because it represents the decisions made by people who are most affected by what the US government has done, by the forces it's unleashed. It represents decisions made by people whose lives we claimed we wanted to improve.
Millions of Iraqis have made the agonizing decision to leave their homeland because of the mess we've created.
Despite the b.s. coming out of some people's mouthes, many hundreds of thousands of people have concluded that they feel safer in an Outpost of Tyranny than in 'Liberated' Iraq.
After all this, it's clear that aside from this country's biggest welfare recipients ("defense" contractors), the biggest winner of the Aggression has clearly been Iran.
And it's even clearer who the losers have been.
But when the nutjob in charge of Iran pays a visit to Baghdad, it's a very public, grandiose state visit.
How is this possible?
According to some, the "Surge" has made the country a near paradise. One has to ask: the country or the Green Zone?
Those who actually risk their lives to go to Iraq see a different picture than the ideologues.
So not only has this Aggression been disastrous in human terms (mostly Iraqi, of course), in terms of the physical destruction of Iraq's infrastructure and in terms of the defraying of Iraqi society, but the Aggression has destroyed our own influence and credibility (even in the eyes those we claim to have 'liberated') while dramatically increasing the influence and credibility of those we call not just the Enemy, but Evil.
Anyone with an ounce of understanding of human nature knew this was always going to be the case. But such people have not been running this country for some time.
Ahmadinejad can have a grandiose state visit. Bush has to slink in and out under cover of darkness. Does this sound anything like the portrait of a 2008 Iraq that the militarists presented us back in the day? I thought they'd be giving Bush flowers and kissing his feet.
5 years.
Over 500,000,000,000 of our tax dollars wasted.
Nearly 4000 American soldiers have lost their lives to help accomplish all of the above.
And oh by the way, an estimated 150,000 Iraqi civilians have died during the "Liberation." Some estimates are much higher. But there are at least 80,000 that have actually been documented.
What have the results been?
-The myth of a Saddam-al Qaeda link has been discredited;
-Saddam never had weapons of mass destruction, just like pre-war critics such as the much-smeared Scott Ritter and Hans Blix insisted. (You'll remember that all the 'evidence' of the WMD program presented by the militarists in 2003 dated from 1998 and earlier);
-The Middle East is now far more unstable because of the refugee crisis provoked by the Aggression;
-The number of acts of and deaths from terrorism has skyrocketed since the Aggression was launched in 2003. In fact, the rate of deaths due to terrorism has gone up ten-fold since the Aggression was launched;
-The massive flow of refugees out of Iraq into countries like Jordan and Syria demonstrates that living conditions in Iraq are more desperate than even under a genocidal autocrat.
And ultimately, this is the most damning fact of all because it represents the decisions made by people who are most affected by what the US government has done, by the forces it's unleashed. It represents decisions made by people whose lives we claimed we wanted to improve.
Millions of Iraqis have made the agonizing decision to leave their homeland because of the mess we've created.
Despite the b.s. coming out of some people's mouthes, many hundreds of thousands of people have concluded that they feel safer in an Outpost of Tyranny than in 'Liberated' Iraq.
After all this, it's clear that aside from this country's biggest welfare recipients ("defense" contractors), the biggest winner of the Aggression has clearly been Iran.
And it's even clearer who the losers have been.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
The astonishing arrogance of the clueless privileged
I'm pretty sure I've never used this blog to refer to President Bush as a 'twat' but it seems the most appropriate word that came to mind. Or at least the most appropriate that I'd publish here.
Our esteemed Leader has expressed his jealousy of the soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
"I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed," puffed the Decider.
It's hard to imagine how much unmitigated gall you'd have to say that. But at least he had the guts to look them in the eye and say it to their faces.
Well, not really.
He said it via video link.
England's King Richard I was a fairly old* 41 years when he rode off to personally lead his troops into battle during one of the Crusades.
(*-The life expectancy in England in the late 1200s was 35 years. And Richard died three-quarters of a century earlier.)
Instead of being 'envious,' maybe Bush ought to prove how Lionhearted he is and follow Richard's example. After Bush's jet landing during the now infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo op, we know the military has a uniform that fits him!
Salon.com seems to remember a war Bush supported and that he could have participated in if he finds war so romantic. We also seem to remember him avoiding that particular war. But then, maybe that's just us.
I suspect a few of the soldiers on the other end of the video link probably wondered the same thing.
Our esteemed Leader has expressed his jealousy of the soldiers serving in Afghanistan.
"I must say, I'm a little envious. If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed," puffed the Decider.
It's hard to imagine how much unmitigated gall you'd have to say that. But at least he had the guts to look them in the eye and say it to their faces.
Well, not really.
He said it via video link.
England's King Richard I was a fairly old* 41 years when he rode off to personally lead his troops into battle during one of the Crusades.
(*-The life expectancy in England in the late 1200s was 35 years. And Richard died three-quarters of a century earlier.)
Instead of being 'envious,' maybe Bush ought to prove how Lionhearted he is and follow Richard's example. After Bush's jet landing during the now infamous "Mission Accomplished" photo op, we know the military has a uniform that fits him!
Salon.com seems to remember a war Bush supported and that he could have participated in if he finds war so romantic. We also seem to remember him avoiding that particular war. But then, maybe that's just us.
I suspect a few of the soldiers on the other end of the video link probably wondered the same thing.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Bush's pro-war crimes stance disgraces America
"Rebellion to tyrants is obedience to God." -Thomas Jefferson
Waterboarding, according to Human Rights Watch, dates back to at least the Spanish Inquisition, and has been used some of the world's cruelest dictatorships, including the Chadian regime of Hissène Habré, the genocidal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the imperial Japanese during World War II.
Hissène Habré is facing charges for war crimes, something the Bush administration applauded.
The US government sought war crimes trials for senior Khmer Rouge members.
US military commissions prosecuted several Japanese soldiers for war crimes for waterboarding American troops during World War II.
In fact, these Japanese soldiers were EXECUTED by US officials after their conviction for waterboarding.
US soldiers were court martialed for waterboarding prisoners during the Vietnam War and during the guerilla war in the Philippines in the early 20th century.
This means that waterboarding has been considered a war crime not only by international standards, but by US standards as well.
Now, President Bush decides to overtly support the use of waterboarding torture.
Bush officially supports a form of torture used by Spanish Inquisitioners, Axis of Evil North Korea and Pol Pot's minions. He supports a form of torture that the most evil regimes of our time have used.
It can be unambiguously stated that the supposed beacon of civilization has a president who is officially on record as supporting actions that several generations of Americans have considered torture.
We have a president who is officially on record as supporting war crimes.
Maybe the Vermont towns of Brattleboro and Marlboro have it right.
Just click your heels and intone, "They hate us because we're free."
Waterboarding, according to Human Rights Watch, dates back to at least the Spanish Inquisition, and has been used some of the world's cruelest dictatorships, including the Chadian regime of Hissène Habré, the genocidal Khmer Rouge in Cambodia and the imperial Japanese during World War II.
Hissène Habré is facing charges for war crimes, something the Bush administration applauded.
The US government sought war crimes trials for senior Khmer Rouge members.
US military commissions prosecuted several Japanese soldiers for war crimes for waterboarding American troops during World War II.
In fact, these Japanese soldiers were EXECUTED by US officials after their conviction for waterboarding.
US soldiers were court martialed for waterboarding prisoners during the Vietnam War and during the guerilla war in the Philippines in the early 20th century.
This means that waterboarding has been considered a war crime not only by international standards, but by US standards as well.
Now, President Bush decides to overtly support the use of waterboarding torture.
Bush officially supports a form of torture used by Spanish Inquisitioners, Axis of Evil North Korea and Pol Pot's minions. He supports a form of torture that the most evil regimes of our time have used.
It can be unambiguously stated that the supposed beacon of civilization has a president who is officially on record as supporting actions that several generations of Americans have considered torture.
We have a president who is officially on record as supporting war crimes.
Maybe the Vermont towns of Brattleboro and Marlboro have it right.
Just click your heels and intone, "They hate us because we're free."
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
Bush adminstration claims right to kidnap British bankers
"To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public." -Theodore Roosevelt
From denying the most basic freedom of western civilization to denying other fundamental tenets of justice to supporting torture (and repeatedly so) to the maintenance of a kidnapee camp in violation of all norms of decency, the Bush administration has repeatedly shown beyond any shadow that it is pathologically unable or unwilling to follow the law, either American or international.
Some people will be upset at my reference to Guantanamo Bay as a kidnapee camp, even though it clearly fits the commonly accepted definition of the word. (Though I'd accept 'abduct' as a suitable alternative)
Despite all evidence to the contrary, some may indignantly deny that the US government kidnaps people but the Bush administration is quite open about this reality. Its war against civilization is quite overt. Recently, Bush administration lawyers told a Court of Appeal in London that it has the right to kidnap British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the US.
This is despite the fact that the UK is allegedly Bush's strongest ally in the so-called war on terror, despite the fact that there is already an extradition treaty between the two countries and despite the fact that the men sought by Washington are not evil Muslim terrorists but bankers.
Bankers: a true national security threat! I know communists might argue this but I know expected this of neo-con corporatists.
Bush apologists claim that the fate of the free world depends on his and his administration's good judgement. If the future of freedom depends on a government who claims the inalienable right to abduct bankers off the streets of countries with whom it has good relations and an extradition treaty, then we really are screwed.
Bush and Cheney should not be impeached for his war against Iraq. A simple war crimes trial will do. What they should be impeached for is their almost non-stop assault on the rule of law and the most basic tenets of American values. Although you may have forgotten, they did twice put their hand on the Christian Bible and swear an oath of office. And although you may not have forgotten this, they clearly have.
Update: Now the head of the most secretive US administration in history is deamdning transparency of the Iranian regime. Mind-blowing hypocrisy is nothing new with these folks. The amusing/terrifying part is that they still seem to be under the delusion that they have any credibility left.
From denying the most basic freedom of western civilization to denying other fundamental tenets of justice to supporting torture (and repeatedly so) to the maintenance of a kidnapee camp in violation of all norms of decency, the Bush administration has repeatedly shown beyond any shadow that it is pathologically unable or unwilling to follow the law, either American or international.
Some people will be upset at my reference to Guantanamo Bay as a kidnapee camp, even though it clearly fits the commonly accepted definition of the word. (Though I'd accept 'abduct' as a suitable alternative)
Despite all evidence to the contrary, some may indignantly deny that the US government kidnaps people but the Bush administration is quite open about this reality. Its war against civilization is quite overt. Recently, Bush administration lawyers told a Court of Appeal in London that it has the right to kidnap British citizens if they are wanted for crimes in the US.
This is despite the fact that the UK is allegedly Bush's strongest ally in the so-called war on terror, despite the fact that there is already an extradition treaty between the two countries and despite the fact that the men sought by Washington are not evil Muslim terrorists but bankers.
Bankers: a true national security threat! I know communists might argue this but I know expected this of neo-con corporatists.
Bush apologists claim that the fate of the free world depends on his and his administration's good judgement. If the future of freedom depends on a government who claims the inalienable right to abduct bankers off the streets of countries with whom it has good relations and an extradition treaty, then we really are screwed.
Bush and Cheney should not be impeached for his war against Iraq. A simple war crimes trial will do. What they should be impeached for is their almost non-stop assault on the rule of law and the most basic tenets of American values. Although you may have forgotten, they did twice put their hand on the Christian Bible and swear an oath of office. And although you may not have forgotten this, they clearly have.
Update: Now the head of the most secretive US administration in history is deamdning transparency of the Iranian regime. Mind-blowing hypocrisy is nothing new with these folks. The amusing/terrifying part is that they still seem to be under the delusion that they have any credibility left.
Friday, October 05, 2007
A war criminal in the White House?
Andrew Sullivan thinks so, in the wake of revelations that the Bush administration had secretly authorized torture... despite public declarations to the contrary. Sullivan compared the tactics to those used by the Gestapo.
Sadly, the torture along with the arbitrary arrests and detention without trial or charge of the Guantanamo kidnapees destroys the Bush administration's moral credibility when faced with similar crimes against humanity in Burma.
Read his piece for yourself. You be The Decider.
Sadly, the torture along with the arbitrary arrests and detention without trial or charge of the Guantanamo kidnapees destroys the Bush administration's moral credibility when faced with similar crimes against humanity in Burma.
Read his piece for yourself. You be The Decider.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Bush: the modern-day Sakharov
I know presidents have to make a thousand decisions every day. I certainly don't expect President Bush to remember what he had for dessert after lunch on January 12, 2004. I don't expect him to remember the name of the captain of the 2005 WNBA champions who visited the White House after the victory. But when it comes to why he made probably the most momentous/disastrous decision he's taken on Iraq besides the invasion itself, I do expect him to have some clue about why he did that.
Yet apparently, he can't recall why he made the critical decision to disband the Iraqi army following the US invasion.
Bush may gallingly try to pass himself off as a courageous dissident against a State Department that realizes that when militarists make a mess, diplomats are the ones stuck with the task of cleaning it up. But the president's disgraceful attempt to compare himself to courageous dissidents risking their very life against US-sponsored autocrats recalls Rudy Giuliani's pathetic efforts to equate his preening before the cameras with the truly heroic efforts of the 9/11 rescue workers
That he can't recall the reason for one of the biggest decisions of his presidency is still more fodder for those who believe that Bush isn't actually making any key decisions. But perhaps his judgement in comparing himself to gutsy human rights advocates should make us glad if he isn't.
Yet apparently, he can't recall why he made the critical decision to disband the Iraqi army following the US invasion.
Bush may gallingly try to pass himself off as a courageous dissident against a State Department that realizes that when militarists make a mess, diplomats are the ones stuck with the task of cleaning it up. But the president's disgraceful attempt to compare himself to courageous dissidents risking their very life against US-sponsored autocrats recalls Rudy Giuliani's pathetic efforts to equate his preening before the cameras with the truly heroic efforts of the 9/11 rescue workers
That he can't recall the reason for one of the biggest decisions of his presidency is still more fodder for those who believe that Bush isn't actually making any key decisions. But perhaps his judgement in comparing himself to gutsy human rights advocates should make us glad if he isn't.
Friday, August 24, 2007
What if Iraq becomes another Vietnam?
While most pro-war folks (of the few who remain) attack anyone who makes the slightest hint at an Iraq-Vietnam analogy, President Bush has embraced such comparisons. He warned that a precipitous withdrawal would trigger the kind of upheaval seen after the departure of the US forces who were propping up the South Vietnamese dictatorship.
"Many argued that if we pulled out, there would be no consequences for the Vietnamese people," he said. "The world would learn just how costly these misimpressions would be. Three decades later, there is a legitimate debate about how we got into the Vietnam War and how we left. Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens."
Of course, this is pure deceit on the president's part. No one argued this. The main argument was that continued US participation in the Vietnamese civil war was having worse consequences than withdrawal would. And this argument was vindicated by the course of events.
The Vietnamese civil war lasted for 16 years. Some 4 million Vietnamese civilians were killed and countless more injured, orphaned and displaced. Only a small fraction of these occured in the year and a half following the withdrawal of US forces when the South Vietnamese army (numerically much larger than the North's) was fighting for its own country.
The US political leadership of the time tried to make the public swallow hysterical predictions of chaos and menace to American security should the Vietnamese civil war be decided by... the Vietnamese. They also peddled the delusion that military might could settle a fundamentally political conflict.
The UK Independent also has a good piece addressing Bush's pap.
And what if Iraq does become another Vietnam, as Bush warns?
What Bush doesn't mention is that while Communist Vietnam became a totalitarian state, its regime didn't murder anywhere close to the 4 million civilians who were "collateral damage" in the war to save them.
What Bush doesn't mention is the politically incorrect fact that while it's hardly paradise on Earth, Vietnam is a less horrific, more stable place in 2007 than it was when US troops withdrew.
What Bush doesn't mention is how many times has communist Vietnam attacked or threatened America since 1975: zero.
"Many argued that if we pulled out, there would be no consequences for the Vietnamese people," he said. "The world would learn just how costly these misimpressions would be. Three decades later, there is a legitimate debate about how we got into the Vietnam War and how we left. Whatever your position in that debate, one unmistakable legacy of Vietnam is that the price of America's withdrawal was paid by millions of innocent citizens."
Of course, this is pure deceit on the president's part. No one argued this. The main argument was that continued US participation in the Vietnamese civil war was having worse consequences than withdrawal would. And this argument was vindicated by the course of events.
The Vietnamese civil war lasted for 16 years. Some 4 million Vietnamese civilians were killed and countless more injured, orphaned and displaced. Only a small fraction of these occured in the year and a half following the withdrawal of US forces when the South Vietnamese army (numerically much larger than the North's) was fighting for its own country.
The US political leadership of the time tried to make the public swallow hysterical predictions of chaos and menace to American security should the Vietnamese civil war be decided by... the Vietnamese. They also peddled the delusion that military might could settle a fundamentally political conflict.
The UK Independent also has a good piece addressing Bush's pap.
And what if Iraq does become another Vietnam, as Bush warns?
What Bush doesn't mention is that while Communist Vietnam became a totalitarian state, its regime didn't murder anywhere close to the 4 million civilians who were "collateral damage" in the war to save them.
What Bush doesn't mention is the politically incorrect fact that while it's hardly paradise on Earth, Vietnam is a less horrific, more stable place in 2007 than it was when US troops withdrew.
What Bush doesn't mention is how many times has communist Vietnam attacked or threatened America since 1975: zero.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Bush threatens Iraqi leader, grovels to UN
Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki caused waves recently when he took an opportunity to praise Iran. He said discussions with Iran's loudmouth president had been positive and that that, "Even in security issues there is no barrier in the way of co-operation" between the two countries.
This politically incorrect comment infuriated Iraq's American overlords. President Bush threatened that if the Iraqi prime minister dared disagree with his declaration of Iran's inherent Evilness, then the US leader would be forced to have a 'heart to heart' talk with him. If the prospect of having to listen to president's voice for an hour doesn't bring Maliki into obedience, then nothing will.
The US president might finally be realizing how disastrous the situation in Iraq is. Despite being right about Saddam's mythical weapons of mass destruction, the UN went into Iraq to help rebuild the country following the US aggression. This decision, by then secretary-general Kofi Annan (one of the few truly great world figures of our time), was extremely controversial among UN staff but gained him no favor with a US administration determined to whip up anti-UN fervor. It's a sad example of doing the right thing and pissing everyone off anyway. The UN withdrew its staff from Iraq's Eden when a car bomb killed 22 staff members at its Baghdad headquarters in 2003.
But after spending most of the last five years attacking and undermining the international body at every turn (and then blaming it for everything else), Bush is now on his hands and knees grovelling to the United Nations to return to the country. Washington got the Security Council to approve an expanded UN presence in the country.
The UN actually knows something about the difficult and complicated task of nation building, having successfully contributed to such efforts in places like Mozambique. This is a lot harder than the task of nation destroying, so perfected by the Bush administration. The neo-cons have struggled with nation building because it's not something that can be achieved with belligerent rhetoric, religious fervor and dropping random bombs.
In crawling back to the only body (however flawed) with any real international legitimacy, perhaps the White House has finally realized how discredited America is in Iraq, how that discredit is paralyzing progress and that only the UN has even a marginal hope of helping to clean up the gargantuan mess it created.
Perhaps.
This politically incorrect comment infuriated Iraq's American overlords. President Bush threatened that if the Iraqi prime minister dared disagree with his declaration of Iran's inherent Evilness, then the US leader would be forced to have a 'heart to heart' talk with him. If the prospect of having to listen to president's voice for an hour doesn't bring Maliki into obedience, then nothing will.
The US president might finally be realizing how disastrous the situation in Iraq is. Despite being right about Saddam's mythical weapons of mass destruction, the UN went into Iraq to help rebuild the country following the US aggression. This decision, by then secretary-general Kofi Annan (one of the few truly great world figures of our time), was extremely controversial among UN staff but gained him no favor with a US administration determined to whip up anti-UN fervor. It's a sad example of doing the right thing and pissing everyone off anyway. The UN withdrew its staff from Iraq's Eden when a car bomb killed 22 staff members at its Baghdad headquarters in 2003.
But after spending most of the last five years attacking and undermining the international body at every turn (and then blaming it for everything else), Bush is now on his hands and knees grovelling to the United Nations to return to the country. Washington got the Security Council to approve an expanded UN presence in the country.
The UN actually knows something about the difficult and complicated task of nation building, having successfully contributed to such efforts in places like Mozambique. This is a lot harder than the task of nation destroying, so perfected by the Bush administration. The neo-cons have struggled with nation building because it's not something that can be achieved with belligerent rhetoric, religious fervor and dropping random bombs.
In crawling back to the only body (however flawed) with any real international legitimacy, perhaps the White House has finally realized how discredited America is in Iraq, how that discredit is paralyzing progress and that only the UN has even a marginal hope of helping to clean up the gargantuan mess it created.
Perhaps.
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