Oakland Police Viciously Attack Another Veteran For Protesting

Apparently loyalty is a one-way street to the Establishment. Even people who put their bodies on the line fighting the rulers' wars for them are subject to maiming and even death if they dare to exercise "the freedoms they fought to defend." (What a piece of propaganda mythology that is!)

Not satisfied with damaging the brain of Marine vet Scott Olsen a week ago (2 tours in Iraq) and leaving him unable to speak, they just brutally clubbed another veteran so badly that his spleen is lacerated, reports the UK Guardian. He needs surgery to repair it and to staunch internal bleeding.
[Link to article on post title.]

The police imprisoned their victim, Kayvan Sabehgi,  for 19 hours afterward so they could sadistically enjoy his suffering, apparently, and "teach him a lesson" (don't get involved in protesting, being the Syrian-style lesson, as Sabehgi was walking away from the protest at the time he was attacked by a gang of state goons). Sabehgi, who was posted to Iraq and Afghanistan, was eventually transferred to a hospital, where he's in intensive care.

AThe Oakland PD Chief has justified his thugs' assaults in the name of "health and safety" concerns and the lack of medical care for protesters (!). Is the man a cynical connoisseur of perverse irony? A cruel man who enjoys being sarcastic? Perhaps his sick statements add a fillip of mental cruelty to his repression, sort of the icing on the cake for him? Who knows...all that is clear is that he's the gangster head of a criminal organization  trafficking in faux legitimacy as a "law enforcement agency."

Obama’s Latest Crime Against Humanity

46,000 parents with U.S. citizen children were deported in just the first 6 months of 2011. At LEAST 5100 children have been dumped into foster care limbo.

Hey all you liberals, still putting your “hope” for “change” in Obama? Figured him out yet?

Nah, you’re still pining for him to be your leader! (Cf. The Nation, e.g.) 

The GOP Double Standard On Adultery

It’s becoming more obvious that if he didn’t commit adultery as head of the Restaurant Trade Association in Washington, Herman Cain sure was angling to. He bluntly propositioned women and mad crude sexual comments in public places in front of witnesses that made them unconfortable. His family lived far away at the time.

But Republican extreme reactionaries apply a double standard, as they cynically do in all matters of “morality.” They go into a frenzy over adultery by a Democrat like Bill Clinton (personally I think his rape of Juanita Brodderick was a far graver offense, but for some reason no one ever talks about that, despite NBC airing a lengthy interview with her and her husband about the rape) or even a “liberal” Republican like Nelson “The Butcher of Attica” Rockefeller, who was despised by neofascists for being twice-married. By the way, Ronald Reagan was also twice married. How come it only counted against Rockefeller, but not against Reagan? No one even asks that question. The media always took it for granted that it was a handicap for Rockefeller, but not for Reagan, never pointing out the glaring contradiction. The corporate propaganda system always runs interference for the neofascists.

And now the neofascists are powerful enough to burn the establishment. Too bad they didn’t learn from Germany how badly wrong things can go when capitalist oligarchs try to use fascists. When the fascists get off the leash, it ends up badly. Because fascists aren’t so much attack dogs as rabid dogs. Which means those who think they are their masters can’t really control them.

Cain Victimized A Third Woman - AP Discovers

And who knows how many more. Since this victim is afraid of retaliation even now, she doesn't want to be identified.

Most people are cowards when it comes to speaking out against wrongdoing, especially when it involves challenging power. That's too bad, because it makes the world a terrible place.

Cain tried to lure this woman to his love-nest corporate apartment.

To show just how unchastened Cain was by the Restaurant Association being sued by his two prior victims, he made his moves on the third one at the same time the Association settled with and paid off the first two. Hey, why not? They were being muzzled, and it didn't cost him a dime. Apparently the Association's policy was to aid, abet, and protect sexual harassment by its head. Maybe he figured the third time's a charm. (Assuming that was the third, and not the 10th, or 20th.)

Cain says it's all just a "smear campaign." So the victims are liars. Thus does this lout victimize his victims yet again, smearing them, as he shamelessly pursues his political ambitions, stepping on anyone who gets in his way.

At least he shows he's callous and ruthless enough to be U.S. Emperor.

Typically of reactionaries, Cain displays a persecution complex, playing the victim, claiming darkly that "There are factions that are trying to destroy me personally, as well as this campaign." Another lame attempt to change the subject.

In (non)response to the latest revelation of Cain's loutishness,his campaign manager, Mark Block, stonewalled "No comment." He wouldn't even deny it. No doubt his aides aren't willing to destroy their own credibility by sticking their necks out for the constantly lying Cain at this point.

Cain Victim Asks To Be Freed From Confidentiality Gag To Refute His Lies

One of Herman Cain's victims has asked through her lawyer that the permanent ban on her right to speak contained in the settlement agreement she had to sign to get compensation for Cain's mistreatment of her be lifted since Cain has been lying about what happened.

Oh, and Herman was slightly off about how many months of salary they paid his victim to go away. It wasn’t 3 months’ salary. It was 12 months. Only off by a factor of 4. But I’m sure his math on his “9-9-9” tax plan is right. After all, he carefully figured that one out on a napkin during a plane ride. Hey, you’re only talking about major tax and economic calculations for a $15 trillion economy there.

Now, do you pay a year’s salary to settle a nuisance suit? Hard-nosed blustery businessman Herman Cain, who “did nothing wrong” and “never harassed” anyone? (He was never even accused a couple of days ago, to hear him tell it then.)

Cain says he was “falsely accused” and the complaints were “baseless.” So the very pugnacious, aggressive Cain caved like a meek kitten and settled for a year’s pay!  

And contrary to disinformation put out by the Cain campaign and various reactionaries running interference for him, it wasn’t a one-time “incident” that was a “misunderstanding” because the gregarious Cain likes to put his arm around people. It was a pattern of harassing conduct over a period of time. Obviously. ONE INCIDENT is NO BASIS FOR A LAWSUIT.  There has to be a “hostile environment” created, or retaliation against the victim.

On the friendly forum of Murdoch’s Fox “News,” Cain hid behind his lawyers, saying he couldn’t comment about the woman’s lawyer’s contradiction of his account or the demand to unmuzzle his victim so she could speak [which would impinge on his freedom to lie], saying his campaign had to consult its lawyers. Ooh, decisive, bold leadership! Confident decision-maker! Hide behind your lawyers and handlers! (In fact he was on Fox TV both Monday and Tuesday. That I know of. He’s probably on every day.)

Meanwhile, the Restaurant Association’s chief flack (which Cain headed when the settlement for hush money was made in 1999) coyly says they would “respond as appropriate” if the victim’s lawyer requested they waive the lifetime speech ban on the woman designed to silence her unto the grave. Take a guess what their “appropriate” answer will be.

Cain is calling the whole imbroglio a “smear campaign.” What, there wasn’t a settlement? Cain has lied and said there wasn’t. In fact, he started off saying he knew nothing about even any accusations against him of harassment. He never harassed anyone, was one of his initial lies.

Like most reactionaries, Cain is an unethical, amoral sleazebag. Thus he never hesitates to lie. That sometimes trips up sociopaths- normal people hesitate before lying, and this hesitation saves them oftentimes from telling untenable lies. Cain changes lies like changing a shirt- just put on a new one every day, or even several a day. He’s so in love with himself, so narcissistic in his conviction that he’s a great salesman, he just wings it, figuring he can talk his way out of anything.

That’s only because in the past the people he lied to were either underlings who didn’t care contradict him, or people with no motivation to cross swords with him by letting him know they knew he was bullshitting.

But in terms of the GOP “grassroots,” this makes them support him even more strongly- because they are sexist dogs, for one thing, they hate “women’s lib,” which to them imposed the oppressive standard that one shouldn’t direct lewd comments at women or proposition employees, and they cynically have no moral standards, but just a permanent war standard- Us against Them. And “Us” are Good and “Them” (anyone not a Republican) is Evil. They think it’s fine to, say, Impeach Clinton because of a dailliance with Monica Lewinsky, or drive Anthony Weiner from office for tweeting saucy photos of himself to women recipients, but even MENTIONING Herman Cain’s sexual harassment is a “high tech lynching,” a plot, a conspiracy, an unconscionable assault by political enemies. They have  no moral or ethical standard they apply neutrally to people regardless of political affiliation. There’s the people on Their Side and there’s The Enemy. (Or Enemies, of which there are many: Democrats, gays generally, feminists, “liberals,” “bureaucrats” except police, Muslims, ecologists, and on and on.)

Herman Cain Squirming Like a Worm In Sex Scandal

Herman Cain is giving different stories and contradicting himself in his sexual harassment scandal in just a single day. He says:

-he was unaware of any settlement [“I’M NOT AWARE OF ANY SETTLEMENT.”]

-he signed a settlement

-he “recused” himself from the matter

-his legal counsel kept him informed

-there was no sexual harassment and he was vindicated

-they settled for 3 months severance pay, he thinks.

On the same day that he denied he knew of any settlement when he was CEO of the restaurant association, he verbally tap-danced around the question, saying there was an “agreement,” then he split hairs over semantics of whether “agreement” and “settlement” are the same. No man, you were SUED and you SETTLED the suit.

Well, gee, he’s a busy man, with more important things to think about, like saving the country. You can’t expect him to remember such nitpicking details, can you?

The New York Times, polite to a fault to all reactionaries, says Cain’s story “evolved” during the day. (Contrast the kid glove treatment rightists always get with how they savaged Keith Olbermann, for example, repeatedly running different versions of the same character assassination article over and over. Or their respectful treatment of the crackpot “conspiracy theories” of Newsmax, a rabidly deranged website. Said theories including that Vincent Foster was murdered, and that Clinton’s Commerce Secretary Ron Brown was shot in the head before his plane crashed, killing all on board. A suicide assassin, I guess. Otherwise “conspiracy theory” is a term of abuse applied to actual truths the Times wishes to discredit without having to actually disprove them.)

Predictably, Cain’s supporters shot the messenger, attacking the corporate media for its alleged “liberal bias,” as delusional reactionaries always do. (They live in an alternate universe, you see. Apparently physicists are right, there really are parallel universes. Either that, or we need to start building a lot more mental hospitals, pronto.)

As rightists always do when caught out in some scam/crime/scandal, Cain played the aggrieved victim, saying he was the victim of a “witchhunt.” (Ironic coming from these redbaiting witchhunting bastards, eh?) Fascist harridan Ann Coulter leapt in with both feet, as usual, screeching that “This is another high-tech lynching,” invoking the outrageous counterattack of that other black reactionary sexual harasser, Clarence Thomas, at his Supreme Court confirmation hearing. The Clarence Thomas who worked against victims of racial discrimination as head of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The Clarence Thomas who despises “quotas” and affirmative action, the Clarence Thomas who by his actions and ideology is the sworn enemy of blacks. He had the nerve to pose as a victim of racism. (Guess Anita Hill was secretly a KKK member or something.) This after the book on the Thomas confirmation by Jane Mayer and Jill Abramson [Strange Justice: The Selling of Clarence Thomas] proved definitively that Thomas was a serial masher. But like I said, reactionaries live in their own universe, where facts are, to quote Saint Reagan, “stupid things.” Hey, Thomas’ wife recently contacted Anita Hill to tell her to apologize! These people are shameless and without the capacity for guilt. Unrestrained by conscience or modesty, they are amoral and dangerous. They believe the ends (their self-aggrandizement and grabbing of power, for the imposition of their twisted ideological demands on the rest of us, a la the Taliban) justifies the means (any means necessary).

Herman Cain Another Clarence Thomas.

10/31/11

What is it with black male reactionaries? Why do they have to sexually harass women with crude and vulgar sexual comments and propositions? Don’t they have enough sex with their wives?

Herman Cain has been exposed as a sexual harasser. And hush money was paid to the women he victimized, on condition they take a vow of silence. Politico reporter Alexander Burns on NPR discussed the matter today. Asked Cain directly four times to his face if he’d ever been accused of sexual harassment, Cain refused to answer, then finally demanded of the reporter “Have YOU ever been accused of sexual harassment?!” What an asshole. Typical reactionary- they always attack, never defend. That’s one of the reasons for their success- they never go on the defensive. (Well, virtually never. We just saw the evil Murdoch Empire knocked back on its heels by the phone hacking and police bribery scandals in the U.K.)

Then AP falsely reported that Cain denied he’d been accused. And his campaign calls it ‘old news.” Old SECRET news, apparently.

So AP provides another example of how U.S. corp. media bends over backwards to protect and promote rightwing extremists.

Rene Montane interviewed Cokie Roberts, NPR’s resident political analyst, about it. [Morning Edition.] She made an excuse for Cain- “It’s very hard for [a non-politician] to survive scrutiny.” Hey Roberts, not everyone is a sexual harasser. Then Roberts changed the subject and they mostly talked about Perry and Romney.

Fascist harridan Ann Coulter threw in her lying two cents, screeching that Cain was precluded by the settlement from speaking about the case- an obvious lie. The accusers are the ones these settlements silence, for obvious reasons, not the culprit. The culprit needs no legal inducement to keep his mouth shut about his own sleazy behavior! 

And that’s another example of the extreme rightwing bias of the U.S. media- the constant presence of Ann Coulter! Like vicious crackpot commentary is respectable and edifying. This is a woman who slimed 9/11 widows- with impunity- and called for terrorists to bomb the NY Times, with no effect on her “respectability.” In fact, the NY Times keeps running puff pieces on this bitch who hates them!

Oh yeah, the U.S. media is sooo liberal, eh, rightwing jackasses?

We need more verbal abuse of these idiots to delegitimize them.

http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/67194.html 

New York State Has Highest Income "Inequality" In U.S.: Governor Determined To Make It Worse

New statistics reveal that of all 50 U.S. States, New York has the greatest income "inequality." (That's a euphemism for the fact that a tiny class hogs most of the wealth in America while tens of millions struggle to eke out an existence.)

New York has a tiny surcharge on income tax for people in upper brackets. This tax is due to expire. DINO (Democrat In Name Only) Governor Andrew Cuomo, thuggish spawn of former Governor Mario "Maximum Unction" Cuomo, is determined to make sure this tax dies. Cuomo ran on a Republican platform of cutting taxes and slashing expenditures by attacking the economic interests of state employees.

The argument made against retaining this tax is that rich people will "flee" the state. Well, presumably those so inclined already have. We know of one millionaire who moved his domicile to Florida- Rush Limbaugh. To which any sane person can only say- Good Riddance to Bad (Reactionary) Rubbish!

Oakland Police Maim Iraq War Vet In Assault On Protest Camp

 The brutal Oakland, California, Police Department maimed an Iraq war veteran, Scott Olsen, shooting him in the head with a tear gas canister. He’s in critical condition with brain damage.

Using, with unintended irony, the excuse of “health and safety concerns,” the police launched a vicious, unprovoked assault to clear protesters, in the manner of the Bahrain "king," the dictator Saleh of Yemen, and the former dictator of Egypt, Mubarak. [I assume the irony is unintentional because the police are generally too crude and stupid to be ironic, which requires subtlety.]

The police left him lying on the ground, bleeding profusely from the head, several feet in front of them. When fellow protesters came to his aid, they were attacked and driven off by police thugs firing "flash-bang" grenades at them. It took several attempts, through clouds of tear gas and a fusillade of police "non-lethal" projectiles, to get him out of immediate harm's way.

The victim survived Iraq, where allegedly he was “defending our freedoms,” but he didn’t survive trying to exercise those alleged “freedoms” inside the U.S.A.

Rubber bullets, stun grenades, and tear gas were used by Oakland PD in the blitzkrieg-style assault. As always in these cases, the police claim that the protesters started it, of course. Lying state thugs claim no rubber bullets or stun grenades were used, that protesters “firecrackers” caused the explosions. BULLSHIT.

Video shows cops attacking those trying to aid the vet they maimed, viciously firing a stun grenade at them.

The chief cop says tear gas was only used to “protect officers and property.” Oh. Right. That’s always the story.

As the Israelis have demonstrated, "non-lethal" weapons are a great way to maim and kill protesters, as they have done with a number of Palestinians and international supporters in the West Bank. You just aim for the head or chest with a "rubber" (coated) bullet, a tear gas canister, etc., and voila, one less "troublemaker."

(Jews protesting with Palestinians can't expect an exemption, as a young woman artist from NYC discovered when the Israeli military put out her eye with a "rubber" bullet earlier this year. Cf. Village Voice.)

The protesters in Oakland didn’t attack the police. The police attacked the protesters, on the orders of their political masters.

The Oakland PD has a history of political repression as it is. They have long targeted activists for false arrests. Political repression is routine in Oakland.

People who risk life and limb fighting for the U.S. ruling class are always surprised by the ingratitude of that same ruling class. This happens after most every war. After the first Gulf War, poisoned veterans with Gulf War syndrome were slimed by the VA, government and media as malingerers, or as mental cases hallucinating their symptoms. After the Vietnam war, those damaged by Agent Orange were thrown in the trash heap.

World War I vets who tried to claim their promised bonuses during the Depression were forcibly dispersed by the U.S. Army troops under the command of Douglas MacArthur (second in command: Dwight D. Eisenhower). They never mention these things. The G.I. bill is all you ever hear about. That's a tad one-sided, bourgeoisie.

Then we've got the atomic veterans, servicemen deliberately exposed to bomb blast radiation to "test" if they'd obey insane orders to march into mushroom clouds. And the guinea pigs used by the military and CIA in drug experiments and other mind destruction operations. Guess how they fared?

To rephrase Santayana, Chumps who are ignorant of history are doomed to do the same dumb things again.

CIA Death Squads To Continue Operating In Iraq

Of course they don't call them that. They call them "counterterrorism commando teams."
See the article at

http://news.yahoo.com/cias-covert-iraq-mission-044800908.html