Egyptian Military Dictators Figure U.S. Doesn't Really Give A Shit About Democracy

The Egyptian military oligarchy simultaneously raided the offices of  at least 17 NGOs on December 29^th, stealing computers and other equipment and records. Human rights and democracy groups were targeted.

So far, the U.S. response has consisted of clearing its throat:

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland told reporters that  “We were very clear that this issue needs immediate attention and we look forward to hearing back from the Egypt government.” Nuland  called the raids “inconsistent with the bilateral cooperation we have had over many years.” Pointing out that Congress (for the first time ever) tied the massive military aid to democratic “progress,” Nuland admonished the Egyptian government that it “needs to be aware of this.”

Please give this your immediate attention and get back to us. And did you know, we could reduce your gravy train a bit?

Wow! That sounds tough! Look out, Egyptian military!

 Now we'll just have to see who calls whose bluff.

The U.S. Insisted that the military dictators provide an explanation, and return the stolen property. [Speaking of state thievery, “asset forfeiture” is an annual multi-billion dollar business for the Federal and State Governments in the U.S. There is no court procedure or due process, just a claim by the thieves that the asset is “tainted” by illegal activity. For example, Louisiana routinely steals cars of out-of-staters passing through- a story covered by CBS' 60 Minutes, so it's no secret or mere “accusation,” but established fact. The entire burden of proving innocence is on the victims, who must initiate court cases at their own expense- not viable given that the legal costs would be greater than the value of the stolen assets in most cases, plus in corrupt states like Louisiana the “judges” are part of the criminal political machine that rules the state. Excuse the necessary digression. I speak of things that are not spoken of, hence the title “Taboo Truths.”]

Here are the most important facts to focus on: the actual money.

For 2011, the U.S. is providing about $1.3 BILLION (i.e. one thousand three hundred millions) in military aid to the repressive Egyptian military machine.

To balance this, the U.S. is providing $65 MILLION in “democracy-building” funds.

In other words, a ratio of about 20 to 1 in favor of repression over civil society breathing space. Bolstering yet another military dictatorship is 20 times as important as aiding democracy.

That's consistent with U.S. history, starting in 1789.

The U.S. has long branded itself as having some kind of patent on democracy, freedom, and human rights, but that noisy boasting has always been just one of two things: the most mendacious propaganda, or a politico-ideological stick with which to beat official enemies like the Soviet Union, Cuba, Iran POST-Shah ONLY, etc. I believe that “actions speak louder than words.” Actual U.S. actions include coups that destroyed democracy in places like Iran (1953) and Guatemala (1954) which have never gotten it back, and Chile (1973) which has never recovered socially and whose people today suffer under a Milton Friedmanesque economic system. (Which American ideologues thinks is swell, of course.) Invasions to overthrow unwanted regimes. The establishment of mass-murdering death squad terror regimes in most of Latin America. And lots more.

Oh yes, on the other side of the ledger, as is frequently mentioned, after the Allies defeated the Axis powers in World War II, 66 years ago, electoral systems were established in Germany, Japan, and Italy. (Unmentioned: lots of fascists just changed their stripes to “democrats” and kept right on running things in those countries. Oh, and did I mention all the war criminals the U.S. hired/protected after the war? But there was a show trial of a tiny handful of surviving higher-ups in Nuremberg, good propaganda to this day. After the murder of tens of millions of people and the devastation of a continent, they could hardly let everyone off scot-free. Even S.S. murderers of American prisoners were cut loose, with the help of Joe McCarthy and other U.S. fascists.)

Taboo-truths.blogspot.com

Jasonzenith.blogspot.com

North Korean Cultists Stage Histrionic Display Of Hysterical Grief

They're really nuts there.

Of course, to be fair, Kim Jong-il was an amazing “human” being. This is a guy who was a superhuman genius at literally everything. And a great natural athlete, too. Did you know that the very first time he ever played golf, he got FIVE holes-in-one? You didn't? I guess you didn't get the news from the North Korean media. They're the only ones who tell the truth about the Dear (Departed) Leader, you know.

This was a guy who could control the weather- which might account for why “the sky itself is weeping,” as NK media reports. Birds have been spotted mourning. (It must be true; they reported it.)

A foreign (non-brainwashed) observer (speaking on the BBC), sees “competitive mourning” going on, with North Koreans trying to outdo one another in displays of “grief,” indicating fealty to the cult regime.

taboo-truths.blogspot.com

jasonzenith.blogspot.com

Cruel Hoax Of Arab League “Observers” Is Getting More Syrians Murdered

Like night follows day, the predictable happens.

You put a murderous war criminal in charge of checking up on the crimes of another bloodthirsty regime, and naturally he gives it a clean bill of health.

That’s already what’s happening with the charade of the Arab League “Observer Mission” in Syria.

The head of that mission is a Sudanese General, Mustafa al-Dabi, a long-time accomplice to indicted war criminal “President” Omar al-Bashir. Al-Dabi was a military commander in Darfur in 1999, where he oversaw torture and murder. Apparently he did such a good job that he was made head of military “intelligence,” where he oversaw more torture and murder.  While in Darfur, he initiated the Janjaweed terrorist campaign, those Arab thugs on horseback who raided African villages to rape, plunder, and murder. (I define “terrorism” as deliberate violent attacks on civilians with political motivation. Not the U.S. Government and media definition, which is “people/countries we don’t like” such as Cuba, or “political dissidents” like environmental and peace activists, or “people protesting things we don’t want protested,” as the FBI has confidentally advised police around the nation the Occupy movement is.)

Al-Dabi says that things in Homs are “reassuring.” He added that he saw “nothing frightening.”

Well, why would he be frightened? His Syrian soulmates aren’t trying to murder him. So that’s probably literally true. Also he probably is “reassured” by how remorseless the Assad regime is in murdering anyone who makes a peep against its tyranny.

A video has circulated showing the body of a 5 year old boy murdered by Assad’s “security forces” (the universal euphemism for government goons) in Homs, being laid on the hood of the “observers’” car, so they could “observe” it, I guess. They couldn’t have cared less.

The besieged residents of Homs report that the attitude of the “observers” is indifference. They are unshockable.

Then again, remember who the head of the “Observer Team” is. No doubt he approves of Assad’s actions. Or maybe he thinks Assad isn’t “tough” enough. Nah, he said things are “reassuring.” Guess he means that Assad is in no danger of being overthrown. Too bad.

If a monstrous thug like al-Dabi is reassured, then I’m not.

The residents of Homs are being murdered, and indeed endangering themselves just by trying to contact the AL “Observers.” Thus this cruel hoax is getting more Syrians murdered, by luring them in their desperation to approach the Arab League’s hack apparatchiks. Would have been better if those assholes never came.

One torture victim who had his fingernails pulled out, an activist in Homs, told the BBC [12/29/11] that the regime changes names of neighborhoods in Homs to say to the “observers” “See? Everything is calm here.” Irresponsibly, the BBC gave his name, which is like signing his death warrant. (He even told the BBC on air that if he’s arrested again, he’ll be killed.)

That 5 year old boy? A human rights group member said that the “observers” had no camera, not even a pen and paper to take notes. Pretty unconvincing show the Arab poohbahs are putting on. Guess they meant “observing” literally.
Sudanese General "Reassured" By What He Sees In Syria

Assad Kills Boy While Arab League Visits Baba Amr 12-28-11 Homs

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Butcher Of Civilians To Give Clean Bill Of Health To Butcher Of Civilians?

That seems to be what's coming with the “Arab League Observer Team” in Syria.

You probably didn't hear, but the head of this “Observer Team” is a Sudanese general and ex-head of that murderous regime's military “intelligence.” Hmmm. If you rely on U.S. Media for your information, you probably haven't heard that. So far not much mention of it I've heard or read in that media- a passing mention buried deep in just one NY Times article about Syria- a week after the BBC had a Human Rights Watch man on who reported it, until today, where it comes up in a more extensive article about the “observers” and their critics and the situation in Syria.

The deaf, dumb and blind “observers” apparently can't see what everyone else in the world can see, for example the savage assault on Homs in the days before the “Observers” arrival, shelling the homes and attacking with tanks. Scores more killed, plus kidnappings of young men.

Despite tear gas attacks to drive them away, on Tuesday December 27 residents of Homs bravely approached the “observers” to inform these Blind Mice what is going on.

The Sudanese State Terrorist heading the “Observer Team” said things were calm in Homs, but some areas had problems. Perhaps he noticed the results of artillery shelling.

I wonder what the “observers” made of the fake pro-Assad “demos” staged by Assad's militia dressed in civvies in Homs, who were bused in for the purpose. Such a sick game.  

We can see where this is going. The sado-terrorist regime will point to its own pathetic political theater to say the people of Homs support the regime that is murdering them, and reiterate that the problem is “armed gangs” and “terrorists” and “Al-Qaeda.” (I liked the touch of setting off car bombs near their own secret police HQ in Damascus just as the “observers” arrived in-country, and then announcing 30 minutes later that “investigation” showed Al-Qaeda did it. With such super-efficiency, I wonder why they can't suppress some “armed gangs” for nine months.

Human Rights Watch says the regime has hidden hundreds of political prisoners on military bases, which the appeasement-minded Arab League agreed are off-limits to its “observers.” You can see what’s next: the Assad gangsters will avow that they met their “obligation” to release political prisoners because, hey, there aren’t any political prisoners! 

A posted video showed residents of the besieged Baba Amr neighborhood of Homs begging the feckless observers to come see what was happening. “Go see what’s inside. They’re massacring us” a local man beseeched. But apparently the sight of a parked tank and some gunshots was enough to scare off the Arab League stooges, who refused to go farther.

The observers were barred entirely from the town of Dara'a, due to "security restrictions." God only knows what Assad's butchers are up to there.

Activists: Syrian Troops Kill More Protesters

After making a big noise about sending “500” observers, the League could only scrape together 60 mostly-unqualified representatives with no experience in human rights investigations or interviewing witnesses. It’s just a show to pretend to be doing something, to show “concern,” to pretend to be engaged, while Assad and his henchmen play their cynical game of stringing the other Arabs along.  But since all these regimes are brutal and repressive, it’s just a matter of degree. It’s like a block inhabited by wife-beaters, uncomfortable about one of their neighbors in the process of murdering his wife. It’s a bit farther than they would go, but on the same spectrum of violence.

What’s different now from when Assad’s tyrant daddy massacred ten to twenty thousand in an Islamic uprising is the Arab Spring. Populations are getting restive and coming alive to the possibility of changing the governments that rule them, maybe even creating democracies. So the various rulers have to put on a show of concern over gross atrocities as those in Syria.

taboo-truths.blogspot.com

jasonzenith.blogspot.com

100,000 Old, White Reactionaries Given Key Role In Determining Next President

A crucial determinant in choosing the next President of the United States and “Leader of The Free World” ^TM is 100,000 or so old, white reactionary Republicans in the state of Iowa. So decrees the corporate media.

Every four years the corporate propaganda system runs the same scam. They set this barrier to being President of having to gain the approval of white reactionaries in two tiny, virtually all-white, right wing states- Iowa and New Hampshire. This is presented as a fact of nature, just the way things are, because they’ve always been this way (which is pure bullshit of course).

118,000 is the approximate number of participants in the previous (2008) Iowa GOP Presidential caucuses, so-called. That was a record high. 


The caucus-goers don't even actually choose any delegates to the national convention.(Bet you didn't know that.) By tradition, the delegates feel "obligated" to follow the wishes of the caucus "voters." 


Here's a link to the 2008 results for both parties: 


Iowa Caucus Results 2008

Funny how with all the saturation coverage of minutiae over this horse race in Iowa, they carefully keep blacked out just how few people are “voting” in this thing.

And all the photos I’ve seen show a dozen or half dozen old or middle-aged white people (still haven’t seen a single non anglo-saxon type). The soundbites of these people confirm they are dementedly far-right, and pretty racist, like the guy I heard today complaining about Hispanics who “take and take welfare.” 

Of course, non-citizens can’t get “welfare.” In fact, they pay taxes and get nothing back, except a hunted existence living as peons, neo-serfs in the meat-packing industry in Iowa.

And Ron Paul being in the lead speaks volumes about these Republicans, if you’ve been following the reporting on the vile, racist, anti-Semitic articles he published for a decade or two in his crackpot “newsletters.”

This is the bar the bourgeois media sets to be President- have to start by doing well in Iowa!

taboo-truths.blogspot.com

jasonzenith.blogspot.com

Looks Like I Was Right About That Battle With The Pak Army Border Camp

More details are being dribbled out today about the “mistake” in November where Paki soldiers firing on a joint American-Afghan Special Forces task force conducting a midnight raid on an Afghan village that was a Taliban stronghold, got blown away by a helicopter gunship and a jet fighter.

According to the report of the U.S. military’s investigation, the media says, a “NATO” operations officer in Afghanistan waited 45 minutes to notify higher ups that the Pakis were whining that their fire base was under attack. That dovetails with my suspicion that the military forces on the ground knew what they were doing and drew outside the lines to shoot back at the Pakis. For years they’ve been under orders just to take fire from the Pakis and not shoot back. Furthermore, they were convinced, with good reason, that the Pakis were aiding and abetting the terrorists.

The Pakis made the “mistake” (so-called by the New York Times) of supplying an outdated location list of their positions- obviously deliberately.

Buried two-thirds of the way down in the NY Times article is the information that the U.S.-Afghan task force were raiding this particular village for the second time- the first raid, in October, having failed since the Pakis were told in advance, as per protocol, and tipped off the terrorists. Inexplicably, the NY Times calls the failure to give the Pakis advance notice of the second raid a “mistake.” No, it was necessary for a successful operation. The rules imposed from above put the soldiers on the ground in an impossible position- ordered to fight a war, while being ordered to in effect warn the enemy in advance of planned operations. Whatever you think of the war in Afghanistan, it’s unreasonable to handcuff the soldiers you send in to fight it.

[“U.S. Report on Fatal Strike on Pakistani SoldiersReveals Crucial NATO Delays,” NY Times,12/27/11 p. A4.]

Merry Christmas From The Islamofascists!

12/25/11 Xmas day: Islamofascist terrorists celebrate Xmas in their usual fashion, with terrorism against people they hate (which includes everyone NOT EXACTLY LIKE THEM, including other Muslims; i.e. most of the people on the earth). In Afghanistan, they suicide-bomb a funeral. For some reason, they particularly like to murder more people when people are grieving for people the Islamofascists have previously killed. This happens in Iraq a lot too. (But it’s a tactic not limited to Islamofascists. The sado-terrorist state of Bashir Assad in Syria is fond of gunning down people at funeral for their previous victims. There is a certain ruthless logic to it- you loved someone we thought worthy of death? Then so are you.)

Meanwhile, In Nigeria, the local excrescence of this global cancer, Boko Haram, (which means “Western or non-Islamic education is a sin”- catchy, eh?) made good on its threats to mark the Christian Holy Day in their typical style, bombing at least two churches, one the Roman Catholic Cathedral in the capital city, Abidjan, where a thousand Christians had the beginning of their services marked with an obviously-meticulously-timed explosion, killing, maiming, and wounding many. As of Xmas morning, the daily count of Boko Haram’s terrorist bombing is 5 bombs, so far, and a couple of dozen random lives of unlucky victims snuffed out.

The Nigerian state, being an oil kleptocracy, doesn’t provide even basic security, including when the terrorists openly boast of their murderous intentions in advance. And their “counterterrorism” strategy consists of going on killing sprees. That helps a lot. Of course, it provides more recruits for Boko Haram. Thus do private terrorism and state terrorism feed on each other. They have a pathological symbiotic relationship, in which each causes the other to grow. In that ironic sense, they are the best of enemies.

Speaking of symbiosis, no one has taken greater advantage of “Islamic terrorism” then the U.S. rulers and their repressive apparatus. Ten years on, domestic repression just keeps getting worse and worse, with no end in sight. Just like the “War on Drugs,” it is designed to never end, and to justify ever-more-oppressive measures. Under their latest horrible law, signed by Obama (breaking yet another veto vow) people like me will soon be packed off to indefinite military imprisonment without trial. As in their Latin America client military regimes, dissidents will be on the receiving end of a military “solution” in an internal “war.” (This is phrased in the U.S. as “the battlefield is everywhere.” And the “enemy combatants” on this “battlefield” are dissidents like environmental activists, peace activists, people who participate in demonstrations with unwanted political messages, and yours truly, all branded “terrorists,” the successor political epithet to “communist.” It translates to “devil subhuman worthy of death.” Again, see how U.S. did it in Latin America.)

The U.S. military has had plenty of experience in this sort of thing, having tutored and overseen their Latin students in political repression. There’s even a “school” for this at Fort Benning,Georgia, the “Western Hemisphere Institute For Security Cooperation,” nee “School of the Americas.” So pay no attention to the bullshit in the media (like the NY Times) claiming the military is flummoxed by their new powers, have no “experience” in this sort of thing, and don’t want it. (In fact as I write I hear an NPR reporter saying the military and “intelligence” orgs are concerned with domestic “terrorist attacks.” She refers to this as “wartime.”  Rachel Martin, NPR’s “National Security Correspondent,” i.e. NPR liaison to the Pentagon and secret police apparatus, 12/25/11 8:14 am EST.)

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Islamist militants explode five bombs in Nigeria- Reuters

Did Cynical Assad Regime Set Off Car Bombs In Damascus?

Just as Arab “observers” arrive in Syria, (literally the same day), car bombs conveniently go off in Damascus. The observers were immediately ushered to the scene by the Assad regime- “proof” that the Assad sadists are battling “terrorists.” The bombs went off “near” secret police headquarters- but not near enough to do much damage, apparently. The area is closely guarded, of course, another indication of sado-state complicity.

The regime is blaming Al-Qaeda. How would they know so soon?

A Syrian speaking to BBC says no emergency vehicles of ambulances on scene.

Syrian regime claims that their Lebanese stooges warned them of an “Al-Qaeda attack” coming. I’ll bet. Of course their Lebanese lackeys helped them set off a huge car bomb to murder Rafik Hariri.

A bomb was set off near an orphanage. Nice touch.

The regime spokesman from the sado-terrorism regime’s Foreign Ministry told the BBC “we don’t believe in conspiracy theories” to brush off a question about the “convenient timing” in the BBC’s words. Then the Syrian flack got excited and said “it’s not convenient to anyone to kill 40 people.” How about 5,000, asshole? “Syrian is not afraid of democracy. Those who do not condemn the attack are afraid of democracy.” And everything is peachy-keen in Syria too, except for terrorism. 

The Roots of Obama's Lust To Kill

To compensate for his partially self-inflicted domestic impotence, he indulges in the power to kill. His drone campaign and assassination lists for example.

Then there was the ghoulish, voyeuristic watching on live video feed the assassination of Osama bin Laden. Imagine if Eisenhower had watched a live video feed of the execution of the Rosenbergs for his personal delectation. That is the parallel. Personally witnessing the killing of a political enemy smacks of the sadism of medieval rulers. Why would he want to do this? It's truly sick.

Of course, he's not totally impotent domestically. He has the power to oppress people within the borders of the U.S. too, which he has increased compared to his predecessor, Bush (just as he has increased overseas assassinations both in number and geographical reach). He has ramped up deportations of non-citizens struggling to survive economically, economic refugees from the southern tier of the U.S. Empire, to record levels. He has smashed up thousands of families this way. In a cynical bid for Hispanic votes, he recently claimed that from now on, “non-criminal” illegals would be spared deportation, and only “criminals” would be targeted. That turned out to be another lie, as a subsequent NY Times examination discovered. (Not that that genteel organ of the bourgeoisie would ever call a U.S. President a liar. You have to add up 2+2 for yourself, easy enough to do.) But going back to Bush all deportees have been branded “criminals.” We're meant to believe that murderers and drug kingpins are the ones getting deported, not poor peons struggling to survive inside a ruthless empire, coming from murderous places in the U.S.' “backyard” like Mexico and Guatemala.

Obama has also increased the repression of dissidents, unleashing the FBI and grand jury star chambers on peace activists and others. Under Obama, the secret police have been ramping up domestic repression, aiming to crush protests and stifle unrest, as in the targeting of the Occupy Movement, which aims at Obama's number one constituency, big bankers. Obama has targeted environmental activists such as Tim DeChristopher. Obama keeps signing more and more repressive laws passed by Congress. (Both corporate parties are accomplices in this evil assault on human rights.) Obama has also set a record for persecuting whistleblowers, outdoing Nixon, Reagan, both Bushes, and all the rest. And government secrecy has arguably increased under Obama in other ways. Record numbers of documents (millions) are “classified“ each year. Natch, Obama pulled another double-cross here, after promising “transparency.” (Speaking of double-crosses, he also promised to make government decisions guided by science, yet his HHS Secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, vetoed FDA approval of over the counter sale of the morning after pill to teenagers in a futile attempt to curry favor with sex-hating “social conservatives.”)

The latest assault by Obama and the Congress on people's right to dissent or even to hold contrary opinions is the law attached to the Pentagon's yearly bloated budget allowing the President to imprison American “terrorists” (and remember, according to the FBI, peace activists and environmental protesters are “terrorists,” among others) indefinitely in the U.S.' military gulag archipelago. Non-U.S. citizen “terrorists” will automatically be so imprisoned for life, or until the U.S. dumps them in a foreign prison. A “terrorist” is of course anyone the U.S. Calls a “terrorist,” since there will no court proceeding, no judicial review, no need to present evidence. Mere assertion by the Government will suffice. There is no appeal and no escape.

This is far worse than Russia, or China, say, or even Iran, which still put political prisoners through  legal systems, however biased. Evidence has to be presented, and can be challenged to some degree. Observers can see what is happening in some cases, especially in Russia, and draw attention to it. So the U.S. situation is now far worse than in those countries. And of course torture is routine in the U.S.' military gulag.

As usual with this double-crossing sleazebag, Obama initially “vowed” to veto this vile legislation, and of course he didn't. The same scummy pattern he's repeated over and over with horrible laws attacking basic human rights dating back to when he was merely a candidate for President and still a Senator. At that time, everyone had fair warning what he is as a person and politician when he vowed to filibuster an upcoming law granting immunity from civil suits to the telecom corporations that cooperated in the secret, illegal, warrantless vacuuming up of all telephone and Internet traffic in this country by the NSA. In other words, no one could so much as sue the companies. Not only did he NOT filibuster, he voted FOR the immunizing legislation. This barring of victims from any right to try and get legal redress is what the system proudly proclaims as “rule of law.” I guess “rule” is really the operative word here. Their law is how they rule us, oppressively.

Obama has finally achieved his goal of being a made member of the political nomenklatura. That's all he ever wanted, starting with his service as a loyal member of the corrupt and venal Chicago political machine. (A system that oversaw the tortured confessions of numerous blacks picked up by Chicago police torture squad and railroaded into prison and even onto death row, a scandal mostly ignored by the U.$. media and about which the “black” Obama has had nothing to say. Need more be said about Obama's utter selfishness, amorality, and unethical character?)

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jasonzenith.blogspot.com

Pakis Used U.S. Weaponry To Fire On Americans

More details are being dribbled out about the killing of 26 (that's the latest number) Paki soldiers in November in a cross-border firefight. The New York Times, citing the report and the usual faceless officials and officers whispering from the shadows, says that the joint U.S./Afghan Special Forces contingent of 120 soldiers was conducting an operation in an Afghan village a mile from the border, when the Pakis opened fire on them with machine guns. (Mortars too, according to the Wall Street Journal.) For some reason, this is being called a "misunderstanding." Since when are the Pakis supposed to shoot at targets a mile inside Afghanistan?

Then a U.S. jet did a low flyover the Paks, supposedly, and a helicopter dropped flares, to tell the Paks that they were shooting at Americans. (Since presumably the Pakis have enough brains to realize that the Taliban doesn't have jets and helicopters.)

But the hostile ("friendly") fire continued, so airstrikes were called in. The commandos then took fire from a second Paki position.

In the raid on the village, a large arms cache was found, along with a bomb-making factory. So the Pakis were in effect defending terrorist assets.

The commandos surmised from the accuracy of the fire they were taking that, since it was near midnight, the shooters had night-vision equipment. Of course, that would be a gift from the U.S.

Maybe the Americans figured the Pakis would only use it to kill Indians.

U.S. Says “Uncle” To Pakistan, Issues Mea Culpa For Bombing Paki Soldiers

Nothing like having someone’s foot on your windpipe to concentrate the mind. Having a key supply route for its expeditionary army in Afghanistan cut off by the Pakis for a month now has apparently prompted the U.S. to decide, You know, bombing your military outpost and killing two dozen Paki soldiers really was our fault, kind of. (Source: Wall Street Journal, 12/22/11, p 1, “U.S. Erred in Deadly Attack.”) The long and short of the new U.S. report on the incident is that a group of U.S. and Afghan commandos came under fire from a ridge. They called in airstrikes on the ridge, which killed 24 Paki soldiers (originally the Pakis were claiming 25, then 26.) The Pakis denied firing on the commandos, which is probably a lie. Also, according to the report, the Pakis have a history of warning the terrorists about upcoming NATO ops when the U.S. has given them heads ups in advance. And soldiers told the military investigators that terrorists are allowed to operate from unmanned Paki military posts at times.

The U.S. has had to change some of the particulars of their original story, which sought to place more blame on the Pakis. The Pakis themselves refused to cooperate in the investigation and spurned the U.S. invitation to participate and investigate jointly.

I don’t necessarily agree it was the U.S.’ fault. The Pak army has been supporting terrorists launching attacks from sanctuaries in Pakistan for years. Over the last few months Pakistani artillery has shelled Afghan villages, with a remarkably low-key response from the U.S. and the Karzai Kleptocracy, as reported in the NY Times recently. (I say Kleptocracy because it cannot be called a “government” with a straight face, unless one is a cynic, as are U.S. Government officials, media staff, and the bourgeois commentariat. They of course invert reality and say calling it by its right name is cynical. Au contraire.) Pakistan has sponsored terrorist attacks in Kabul, even on the American embassy according to the previous Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen. (Other U.S. officials have rushed to repudiate what he said, since they are desperate to preserve the “relationship” with Pakistan- i.e. the Paks have the U.S. by the balls because of that supply line through their country.)

U.S. soldiers on the ground, having to put up with the Pak army running interference for the terrorists attacking them, has them really cheesed off. I can imagine U.S. forces getting fed up with having their hands tied behind their backs, and going “out of bounds” and then dissembling about it to higher ups in the chain of command about what happened. I wouldn’t even blame them for it- they have a right to fight back against soldiers helping terrorists trying to kill them.

The U.S. gets one-third, or one-half, of its supplies in Afghanistan through Pakistan. (The media can’t seem to decide on the percentage- those are the two most commonly given numbers.) Critically, tens of thousands of tanker truckloads of fuel traverse Pakistan annually to supply U.S./NATO forces, of which a few score a year are allowed to be torched by Paki religious terrorists. Sometimes they gouge the eyes out of the drivers, or murder them outright.

Pakistan has been the world’s greatest proliferation of nuclear technology, both know-how and equipment. It is one of the top state sponsors of terrorism, the ISI having planned and controlled the massive terrorist assault on the Indian city of Mumbai (in which American Jews were deliberately targeted for murder- can you imagine the reaction if Iran, or Palestinians, say, had done that?), a terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament, and numerous other terrorist attacks over the years. By the U.S.’ definition of terrorism, Pakistan seems to be the number one state sponsor of terrorism in the world.

Yet the U.S. considers it an ally. Nor is it on the U.S. State Department’s list of State Sponsors of Terrorism (the politico-ideological Shit List) as is Iran and, get this, Cuba. (Huh?!)

Of course, as the old slogan of those U.S. cutthroat commandos, the Special Forces, goes, When You’ve Got ‘Em By The Ball, Their Hearts And Minds Will Follow. The Pakis have the U.S. by the balls, so the U.S. plays along with absurd, lying-through-their-teeth-denials by the Pakis. Oh, Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan? Is the U.S. mad at the Pakis for harboring U.S. Enemy Number One all these years? No, the Pakis are enraged at the U.S. for violating their sovereignty and “embarrassing” them! (The “embarrassment” being that the Paks weren’t able to shoot down the SEALs helicopters!)

Once again, the Pakis prove: He who gets Madder, Wins. Since the bin Laden assassination, it’s been the U.S. trying to appease the Pakis, not vice versa. That big scary U.S. that was gonna tear a new asshole in any nation that didn’t line up on its side in the never-ending “War On Terrorism” has mostly rolled over. Sure, some Congressmen growl, for effect. And the U.S. is holding back some portion of the billions in military aid that feeds the problem, namely Paki militarism and the rule over that country by the Pak army. But mostly the Pakis continue to roll the U.S., as they have done ever since 9/11/01.

Pakistan has been clearly signaling for years by its behavior that their plan is to reinstall the Taliban in power in Afghanistan after the U.S. and its lackeys leave that country. They’ve arrested Taliban members involved  in negotiations. Most recently, they refuse to show up at the international conference in Europe staged to plan Afghanistan’s future. As nothing can work in Afghanistan if the Pakis decide to sabotage things, this shows they plan on yanking the rug from under the Karzai Kleptocracy as soon as U.S. forces exit. (They used their snit-fit over the deaths of those measly 24 Paki soldiers as an excuse to snub the nations at the conference. But the Paks claim to have lost 4,000 soldiers fighting internal jihadist fanatics, which only seems to make them mad at America. The Paki media and public think that’s “fighting America’s war.” Terrorists murdering Paki civilians is hailed by the Paki public, somehow. And the Paki military keeps supporting the violent Islamic fundamentalist movement. Of course that is a movement founded by the Pak military, under dictator General Zia Ul-Haq, a favorite of Reagan and his regime, who started the system of madrassas, the brainwashing centers/terrorist preparatory schools which generates the bodies for these fanatics.)

I want to close on an irony of history. The U.S. did everything it could to keep the Soviet Union bogged down in Afghanistan, including rebuffing overtures by Gorbachev, who was trying to extricate their forces. The U.S. wanted to bleed the Soviets as much as possible. Now, with the shoe on the other gfoot, the U.S. is increasingly dependent on supply routes through Russia and the –stan nations in Russia’s orbit. The Russians have been awfully nice about helping out the U.S., which is more than the U.S. deserves.

But hey, the U.S. is the “exceptional” nation, so it’s come to expect exceptional treatment.

Taboo-truths.blogspot.com

Jasonzenith.blogspot.com

Dynastic Dictator Dies: Corpulent Son Inherits Cult

North Korea, a combination nation/mass mind control cult, is a dynastic dictatorship. Founded by Kim Il-sung, and passed on to his son Kim Jong-il, we are now entering the third generation of this pathological system with the 20-something grandson Kim Jong-un inheriting the cultship.

The whole enterprise will rank as one of the most bizarre societies in history.

Latest Fascist Terrorism

 In Florence, Italy, a rightwing racist (linked to a rightist group) attacked Senegalese street vendors, killing 2 and wounding 3, before killing the only person who deserved to die, himself. The BBC and the New York Times (cribbing from a wire service report in a brief item) both used the phrase “extreme right winger.” This lets them avoid the word “fascist.” Which is what “an extreme right winger is.” [Unfortunately that Norwegian fascist insect Brevik didn’t kill himself, so he’ll never get what he deserves for murdering 77 Norwegians to “save” Norway from Islamicization, or something or other.]       

None dare call it terrorism. That’s a word usually reserved for Muslims, leftists, environmentalists, and peace activists. [That’s not an exaggeration. The FBI and its subordinate political police forces label environmentalists and peace activists “terrorists.” Every now  and then that fact gets a media mention and is quickly swept back under the rug.] That’s because of the political biases of those in power, who control most of the media.

Speaking of terrorism, remember the 1980 Bologna railway station bombing that killed 85 people and wounded over 200? That was done by fascists in the Italian secret police who wanted to create a “strategy of tension” to justify a military coup. The CIA was deeply involved with those creeps. You don’t remember? (Did you ever even know about it?)

Or how about when CIA-sponsored Cuban exile terrorists bombed JFK airport? You probably don’t remember that either. Because the U.S. media never mentions these things.

Some leftist revolutionaries kill a cop or two robbing an armored car, and they never let it go. Or a guy in a wheelchair gets thrown off an ocean liner by Palestinians (Leon Klinghoffer- bet you remember the name!) and that’s a crime to live in infamy forever. (How many Americans can name a single one of the tens of thousands of Palestinians killed over the years by Israelis? Not that I’m defending throwing guys in wheelchairs into the ocean. Just saying, there’s a grotesque double standard for juiced up moral outrage in the U.S. and western media generally. Not to mention some very obvious ideological and political propaganda agendas. They want you to hate certain peoples, groups, nations, and support others, especially reactionary and fascist ones. Nice.)

The Irrational Mexican Standoff Over Climate Change

The different nations act like they’re not living on the same planet with each other. They treat unilateral emissions reduction as if it’s unilateral disarmament, something that will leave them vulnerable and at a disadvantage to the other nations. Instead of each acting on their own to head off impending irreversible crisis. Not waiting for someone else to go first is what’s in everyone’s interest. Unless they really believe separate countries are on separate planets.

Meanwhile in the U.S., fanatical ideologues deny the science- i.e. deny reality. They are politically dominant in the U.S. Weak leader Obama just goes with the flow, while occasionally emitting an insincere verbal ejaculation about the issue, to keep chump liberals with environmental concerns on his political boat. (An example of a demented fanatic is U.S. Senator James Inhofe. He regards truth as a commie plot and is so full of hate he would kill environmental activists and climate scientists if he could.)

Fortunately some are behaving more rationally. Europe has mandated itself to both increase energy efficiency and continue to roll out more non-petroleum-based energy production such as windmill and solar. Europeans already use much less energy per capita than Americans.

The Chinese rulers are having it both ways, going whole hog building coal-fired power plants (and nuclear ones, which have the problem of radioactive waste and risk of accidents) on one hand, while investing in alternative energy production and technology, especially solar.

China now emits more warming gases than the U.S., although less in per capita terms, as China’s population is over four times the U.S.’ (1.3 billion people vs. 300 million in U.S.).

But China is playing a spoiler role at the latest international climate change conference. (You might have been deceived by their seeming offer at the conference, but that was just for show; the “offer” –actually a PR ploy- is filled with deal-killing fine print.)

Speaking of air pollution, maybe the “Communist” Party bosses should look out their palace windows in Beijing at the foul-colored, unbreatheable air. Smog, and microparticulates, which the Government refuses to measure, are the big problems. (Data from the 1980s shows that living in Beijing shaves 5 years off life expectancy versus living in southern Chinese cities. The air is worse now, but the differential in life expectancy may be the same or less depending on what happened to the air in the comparison cities since. Source- NPR Morning Edition, 12/7/11.)

India, like China, is whining that it’s “unfair” that the U.S. and Europe got to burn a lot of fossil fuels for the past century and a half and develop economically, so India and China, with two and a half billion people, have to develop in exactly the same way. Environmental consequences be damned. (Are these people detached from reality? We are biologically entities dependent on our environment.) Hey man, sometimes Life is Unfair. Get over it. Cut a deal for technology transfers or subsidy payments or whatever, develop alternate energy production, whatever you have to do.

Brazil is boasting that the loss of Amazon rain forest is the lowest in years. That still means the Amazon rain forest (a carbon sink that absorbs carbon from the atmosphere, offsetting carbon spewed into the sky by burning fossil fuels and other activities) is shrinking. Plus land barons and ranchers continue to murder pesky activists who get in their way, with impunity.

Two bright spots and one dark one:

Australia passed a law mandating emissions controls, over the howls of certain business interests.

California is moving ahead under state law mandating emission reductions or purchase of offsets, despite economic distress. (One propaganda trope of global warming deniers- who are mislabeled “skeptics” by the corporate media, as if they are thought, rational critics, not ideologues with a selfish and destructive economic agenda- is that any restrictions on carbon dioxide emissions is economic death. In fact it is economically stimulating as it creates new activity, new technology, new business. The usual technofetishists who hail new technology as economic manna from heaven have a weird double standard when it comes to green technology. Maybe iPods will save us, or empty chatter on Twitter & Facebook.)

Canada, under its current reactionary regime, has instituted highly destructive policies, tearing up its land to get at filthy oil shale deposits, contributing disproportionately to carbon emissions in the exploitation, refining, and burning of that inefficient fuel. More coal-burning power plants are on the way. In every way, the Harper regime is hostile to ameliorating global warming. (Among its other crimes.)

The U.S. likes to beat its chest and bray that it’s the Leader of the World, or at least of the so-called “Free World.” (Ask the persecuted 11 million “illegal aliens” cowering in the U.S. how “free” that world is. You can’t even live where you want to, unless you’re rich, of course. Then you have “rights,” i.e. privileges of wealth.) A nation that leads would be setting an example for the world by cutting greenhouse gas emission. Especially the richest nation, with the worst record of emissions and wasteful energy consumption.

12/11/11 6 am BBC news- Climate change conference “agrees” to agree in 2020 on binding limits.

So if all goes according to plan, in nine more years they’ll agree to limit emissions. Inexplicably, BBC calls this a “breakthrough.”

taboo-truths.blogspot,com

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