6.5.03
"George Bush has announced the end of the war. But try telling that to the Shias and the Badr Brigade"
After a bout of silence, Robert Fisk returns with a post-war piece on Iraq.
I actually noticed the article in The Independent where, to my surprise, you have to pay for it since it's 'an independent portfolio article'. Sure enough I found it on ZNet for free...
After a bout of silence, Robert Fisk returns with a post-war piece on Iraq.
I actually noticed the article in The Independent where, to my surprise, you have to pay for it since it's 'an independent portfolio article'. Sure enough I found it on ZNet for free...
** First news item that struck me today was that Jay Garner, responsible for post-war Iraq, is to be replaced with "L. Paul Bremer, ambassador-at-large for counterterrorism in the Reagan administration".
""In terms of finding someone to manage this process, which has not started out well, I do not believe that [the White House] could have done better than to select Bremer, said Robert Gelbard, a retired career diplomat who led post-conflict efforts in Haiti, Bosnia and East Timor.
** America: the failed experiment - fuel your anti-systemic attitude with this article.
"Today, it is the most powerful nation on Earth in every sense of the word, except moral. The moral authority of the United States comes from the barrel of a gun."
[...]
"America's Founding Fathers called their dream "the great experiment" and perhaps that is because they understood this was a gamble; it might be the last conceivable untried form of government. Perhaps they knew that the illusion of "people power" was just that, an illusion. Perhaps they also knew that if the great experiment failed, there was nothing left to try; mankind would have proved once and for all that it was incapable of governing itself in a manner that is worthy of being called "civilized."
Well, it is failing."
cf. Kristol: "unapologetic, idealistic, assertive America that will foment pro-democratic revolutions around the world, if necessary at the point of a gun."
Hang on - democratic at the point of a gun? Revolution? If a country produces people with actual power that start throwing incompletely understood words around in a reactionary manner then yes, the experiment looks a terrible failure to me. The PNAC must have forced just about every thinker, left or right, to turn in his grave.
Am sure, the spritual fathers of 'that great nation' wouldn't mind a twist either:
"In 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower, the former Supreme Allied Commander, dismissed the idea of a preventative war against the Soviet Union. "All of us have heard this term 'preventive war' since the earliest days of Hitler," he said. "I don't believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn't even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing."
** Also interesting is Monbiot's newest commentary on poverty ratings of the whole Bretton-Woods nonsense and what followed.
"The figures are compiled by the World Bank. It claims to know, to within the nearest 10,000, how many of the world's people are living below the international poverty line. The response of those who criticise the way the global economy works is to accept the bank's calculations, but to argue that there are more equitable and less destructive means of achieving the same results. But the figures are without foundation.
A new paper by the economist Sanjay Reddy and the philosopher Thomas Pogge demonstrates that the World Bank's methodology is so flawed that its calculations cannot possibly be correct. Not only does it appear wildly to underestimate the level of global poverty, but the downward trend it purports to show appears to be an artefact of the way in which it has been compiled. The World Bank's figures, against which the success or failure of the entire global economy is measured, are useless."
What a mediocre world! Shame on them all! We're being run by a hoard of morons.
""In terms of finding someone to manage this process, which has not started out well, I do not believe that [the White House] could have done better than to select Bremer, said Robert Gelbard, a retired career diplomat who led post-conflict efforts in Haiti, Bosnia and East Timor.
** America: the failed experiment - fuel your anti-systemic attitude with this article.
"Today, it is the most powerful nation on Earth in every sense of the word, except moral. The moral authority of the United States comes from the barrel of a gun."
[...]
"America's Founding Fathers called their dream "the great experiment" and perhaps that is because they understood this was a gamble; it might be the last conceivable untried form of government. Perhaps they knew that the illusion of "people power" was just that, an illusion. Perhaps they also knew that if the great experiment failed, there was nothing left to try; mankind would have proved once and for all that it was incapable of governing itself in a manner that is worthy of being called "civilized."
Well, it is failing."
cf. Kristol: "unapologetic, idealistic, assertive America that will foment pro-democratic revolutions around the world, if necessary at the point of a gun."
Hang on - democratic at the point of a gun? Revolution? If a country produces people with actual power that start throwing incompletely understood words around in a reactionary manner then yes, the experiment looks a terrible failure to me. The PNAC must have forced just about every thinker, left or right, to turn in his grave.
Am sure, the spritual fathers of 'that great nation' wouldn't mind a twist either:
"In 1953 President Dwight Eisenhower, the former Supreme Allied Commander, dismissed the idea of a preventative war against the Soviet Union. "All of us have heard this term 'preventive war' since the earliest days of Hitler," he said. "I don't believe there is such a thing; and, frankly, I wouldn't even listen to anyone seriously that came in and talked about such a thing."
** Also interesting is Monbiot's newest commentary on poverty ratings of the whole Bretton-Woods nonsense and what followed.
"The figures are compiled by the World Bank. It claims to know, to within the nearest 10,000, how many of the world's people are living below the international poverty line. The response of those who criticise the way the global economy works is to accept the bank's calculations, but to argue that there are more equitable and less destructive means of achieving the same results. But the figures are without foundation.
A new paper by the economist Sanjay Reddy and the philosopher Thomas Pogge demonstrates that the World Bank's methodology is so flawed that its calculations cannot possibly be correct. Not only does it appear wildly to underestimate the level of global poverty, but the downward trend it purports to show appears to be an artefact of the way in which it has been compiled. The World Bank's figures, against which the success or failure of the entire global economy is measured, are useless."
What a mediocre world! Shame on them all! We're being run by a hoard of morons.
5.5.03
bowling for columbine oscar speech:
"On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and Michael Donovan (from Canada), I would like to thank the Academy for this award. I have invited the other Documentary nominees on stage with me. They are here in solidarity because we like non-fiction. We like non-fiction because we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where fictitious election results give us a fictitious president. We are now fighting a war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the fictitious 'Orange Alerts,' we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And, whenever you've got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up."
"On behalf of our producers Kathleen Glynn and Michael Donovan (from Canada), I would like to thank the Academy for this award. I have invited the other Documentary nominees on stage with me. They are here in solidarity because we like non-fiction. We like non-fiction because we live in fictitious times. We live in a time where fictitious election results give us a fictitious president. We are now fighting a war for fictitious reasons. Whether it's the fiction of duct tape or the fictitious 'Orange Alerts,' we are against this war, Mr. Bush. Shame on you, Mr. Bush, shame on you. And, whenever you've got the Pope and the Dixie Chicks against you, your time is up."
Several important points today: firstly... the collective lounge is getting better and better... well done to whoever it is who is running this thing, mike?, phil? chief suspects.
I asked all of my english classes to write a letter to Tony Blair on a subject of their choice... here is one of the best:
Mr Blair. I don´t like the war and I think that the war is useless.
Every day, in the war, many fanmilies die and the people aren´t happy.
Blair, the money aren´t very important. You are the war for mony but the people don´t want this money.
Every world say "no war" but you don´t listen off your country.
The manifestations are very important but you are the war.
You Bush and Aznar aren´t good persons.
You only think in money but you don´t think in the people of Irak.
In Irak every childrens die but they don´t do anythinkg.
You must talk with Bush, Aznar and Sadam and to be friends.
The people think that you are crazy.
You Aznar, Bush and Blair are crazy.
The people die and the people aren´t crazy, but you are crazy and you are happy.
Alicia Calvache (12)
Last night I went to see Bowling for Columbine, which I thought was excellent. It was moving, amusing without trivialising the subject matter, informative etc etc. Michael Moore is one of those clever men who come across as stupid to get into situations an obviously astute journalist couldn´t. I think we should award him an "Inquiry Award". There was some talk of stripping him of his oscar which is not surprising considering the nature of his film and of the state of the media and public opinion in the USA. Moores analysis of the culture of fear and suspicion that has been created in the US is fascinating and revealing. It also reveals the growing acceptance as truth that the US intervened in many Latin American, Asian and African countries with disasterous results, these types of comments were not as widely accepted and known a few years ago. It was not good practice to publish these kinds of "rumours" or "conspiracy theories" until very recently... now they have won an oscar. I have been looking for an interesting quote from Colin Powell who said to a journalist, when asked about Chile 1972 and Pinochet that that was not a part of America´s history that he was proud of... he was quickly rapped over the knuckles by Kissinger and co. who issued a number of statements denying any connection with the coup...
The "Sintel saga" continues in Spain. Sintel was a telecomunications company that was taken over by Telefonica, the State telecomunications corporation, 3 or 4 thousand workers were laid off in the process. They have been fighting for years to be reinstated. The unions reached a deal with Telfonica and the Government... who have failed to act on their promises in the deal. The unions in question, UGT and CCOO are two of the biggest and apparently most powerful in Spain have washed their hands of the whole affair, ignoring the failure by the company and government to fulfil their end of the bargain, the protesters having stopped an 8 month camping protest on one of Madrid´s central boulevards. Here is some background:
On the camp
On the dispute
On the 1st of May worker´s march, a former Sintel worker violently attacked the leader of one of the unions who had effectively abandoned this case and left the former sintel workers with nothing and their social security payments running out. (left on left conflict...). Here is a news article in Spanish about the incedent. (sorry, couldn´t find a better source)
I asked all of my english classes to write a letter to Tony Blair on a subject of their choice... here is one of the best:
Mr Blair. I don´t like the war and I think that the war is useless.
Every day, in the war, many fanmilies die and the people aren´t happy.
Blair, the money aren´t very important. You are the war for mony but the people don´t want this money.
Every world say "no war" but you don´t listen off your country.
The manifestations are very important but you are the war.
You Bush and Aznar aren´t good persons.
You only think in money but you don´t think in the people of Irak.
In Irak every childrens die but they don´t do anythinkg.
You must talk with Bush, Aznar and Sadam and to be friends.
The people think that you are crazy.
You Aznar, Bush and Blair are crazy.
The people die and the people aren´t crazy, but you are crazy and you are happy.
Alicia Calvache (12)
Last night I went to see Bowling for Columbine, which I thought was excellent. It was moving, amusing without trivialising the subject matter, informative etc etc. Michael Moore is one of those clever men who come across as stupid to get into situations an obviously astute journalist couldn´t. I think we should award him an "Inquiry Award". There was some talk of stripping him of his oscar which is not surprising considering the nature of his film and of the state of the media and public opinion in the USA. Moores analysis of the culture of fear and suspicion that has been created in the US is fascinating and revealing. It also reveals the growing acceptance as truth that the US intervened in many Latin American, Asian and African countries with disasterous results, these types of comments were not as widely accepted and known a few years ago. It was not good practice to publish these kinds of "rumours" or "conspiracy theories" until very recently... now they have won an oscar. I have been looking for an interesting quote from Colin Powell who said to a journalist, when asked about Chile 1972 and Pinochet that that was not a part of America´s history that he was proud of... he was quickly rapped over the knuckles by Kissinger and co. who issued a number of statements denying any connection with the coup...
The "Sintel saga" continues in Spain. Sintel was a telecomunications company that was taken over by Telefonica, the State telecomunications corporation, 3 or 4 thousand workers were laid off in the process. They have been fighting for years to be reinstated. The unions reached a deal with Telfonica and the Government... who have failed to act on their promises in the deal. The unions in question, UGT and CCOO are two of the biggest and apparently most powerful in Spain have washed their hands of the whole affair, ignoring the failure by the company and government to fulfil their end of the bargain, the protesters having stopped an 8 month camping protest on one of Madrid´s central boulevards. Here is some background:
On the camp
On the dispute
On the 1st of May worker´s march, a former Sintel worker violently attacked the leader of one of the unions who had effectively abandoned this case and left the former sintel workers with nothing and their social security payments running out. (left on left conflict...). Here is a news article in Spanish about the incedent. (sorry, couldn´t find a better source)
** The 'data scandal' - A data-gathering company that was embroiled in the Florida 2000 election fiasco is being paid millions of dollars by the Bush administration to collect detailed personal information on the populations of foreign countries, enraging several governments who say the records may have been illegally obtained. The controversy is not the first to engulf ChoicePoint. The company's subsidiary, Database Technologies, was responsible for bungling an overhaul of Florida's voter registration records, with the result that thousands of people, disproportionately black, were disenfranchised in the 2000 election. Had they been able to vote, they might have swung the state, and thus the presidency, for Al Gore, who lost in Florida by a few hundred votes.
Read full story.
** U.S., U.K. Waged War on Iraq Because of Oil, Blair Adviser Says
Bottom line: "I don't think the war would have happened if Iraq didn't have the second-largest oil reserves in the world."
** Another neo-con story, reactionary madness continues - "For seven long years, Bill Kristol agitated for a U.S. coup against Saddam Hussein, and argued that America should remake the world to serve its own interests. Few bothered to listen at the time.
So how does he feel now? In his office the other day, he grinned without smirking. That's how most of the hawkish defense intellectuals - better known as neoconservatives - are behaving these days. Although they're sitting pretty in wartime Washington, they're trying not to preen. Kristol refuses to strut his stuff, because he knows how fast the high and mighty can be brought low in this town; after all, he was once Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff. Still, he can't resist contending that Sept. 11 made all the "neocons" look like prophets. [...] The neocons - think-tank warriors and commentators, all of whom cite Ronald Reagan's moral clarity - are hot these days because they emerged from the political wilderness to alter the course of American foreign policy. And Iraq is just the beginning, as Kristol cheerily contended: "President Bush is committed, pretty far down the road. The logic of events says you can't go halfway. You can't liberate Iraq, then quit." The neocons care little about domestic policy; they think globally. They don't believe in peaceful coexistence with hostile, undemocratic states; rather, they want an "unapologetic, idealistic, assertive" America (in Kristol's words) that will foment pro-democratic revolutions around the world, if necessary at the point of a gun."
** The truth about Bush's military record - His missing year.
And from our neighbours...
** The apostropher sent us a 2-part series of American history explained in terms of dialectic dynamics. Have only sped thru it, but looks highly interesting.
The Dao of American Politics Part 1, Part 2.
Also check out the author's site, The Whiskey Bar.
** Wood's lot hosts a collection of links about the May 4 1970 Kent State killings.
Read full story.
** U.S., U.K. Waged War on Iraq Because of Oil, Blair Adviser Says
Bottom line: "I don't think the war would have happened if Iraq didn't have the second-largest oil reserves in the world."
** Another neo-con story, reactionary madness continues - "For seven long years, Bill Kristol agitated for a U.S. coup against Saddam Hussein, and argued that America should remake the world to serve its own interests. Few bothered to listen at the time.
So how does he feel now? In his office the other day, he grinned without smirking. That's how most of the hawkish defense intellectuals - better known as neoconservatives - are behaving these days. Although they're sitting pretty in wartime Washington, they're trying not to preen. Kristol refuses to strut his stuff, because he knows how fast the high and mighty can be brought low in this town; after all, he was once Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff. Still, he can't resist contending that Sept. 11 made all the "neocons" look like prophets. [...] The neocons - think-tank warriors and commentators, all of whom cite Ronald Reagan's moral clarity - are hot these days because they emerged from the political wilderness to alter the course of American foreign policy. And Iraq is just the beginning, as Kristol cheerily contended: "President Bush is committed, pretty far down the road. The logic of events says you can't go halfway. You can't liberate Iraq, then quit." The neocons care little about domestic policy; they think globally. They don't believe in peaceful coexistence with hostile, undemocratic states; rather, they want an "unapologetic, idealistic, assertive" America (in Kristol's words) that will foment pro-democratic revolutions around the world, if necessary at the point of a gun."
** The truth about Bush's military record - His missing year.
And from our neighbours...
** The apostropher sent us a 2-part series of American history explained in terms of dialectic dynamics. Have only sped thru it, but looks highly interesting.
The Dao of American Politics Part 1, Part 2.
Also check out the author's site, The Whiskey Bar.
** Wood's lot hosts a collection of links about the May 4 1970 Kent State killings.
Der frühere US-Außenminister Henry Kissinger, in Fürth geboren, hält die Außenpolitik des Bundeskanzlers für verfehlt. Die Deutschen müssten mehr Verständnis für die "amerikanische Psyche" aufbringen - und dürften sich nicht einbilden, dass ihr Bündnis mit Frankreich und Russland Bestand haben könne.
Nobel Peace Laureate / war criminal telling of german executive for being cheeky
4.5.03
TOR WENNERBERG: One idea that I find extremely interesting and fascinating is the notion that just as our language capabilities are genetically determined, so is our capacity -- as human beings -- for moral judgment. What do you see as the implications of the idea that our moral capacity is innate?
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, for one thing, I don't think it can really be much of a question...
Of course, there are cultural and social and historical effects, but even for those to operate, they must be operating on something. If you look at this range of phenomena, there are only two possibilities: one is, it's a miracle, and the other is, it's rooted in our nature. It's rooted in our nature in the same sense in which language is, or for that matter, having arms and legs is. And it takes different forms depending on the circumstances, just as arms and legs depend on nutrition, and language depends on my not having heard Swedish when I was six months old and so on. But basically, it must be something that flows out of our nature, or otherwise we'd never use it in any systematic way, except just repeating what happened before. So, it's got to be there.
NC on top form.. mandatory reading- enjoy!
TOR WENNERBERG: I just reread the chapter Psychology and Ideology in The Chomsky Reader, your critique of Skinner. Behaviorism is much less influential today, but I wonder - you write this 2 or 3 decades ago -- what you think has happened in the time since with the theory of human malleability in a broader sense?
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, behaviorism was very popular among the managerial classes, for not surprising reasons. For one thing, it gave them a moral right to control and dominate people. If people have no nature, no intrinsic nature, then there is no moral barrier to control or manipulation of them -- in their own interest, of course. Somehow ‘we,’ the controllers, are immune from this human condition of infinite malleability, however. ‘We’ have a nature and ‘we’ understand what's good, that's kind of like a hidden premise. But for the rest of the slobs out there, they're just passive objects, and we can control and manage and organize them using the latest behavioral techniques, and they'll all be better off.
That's a strain of thought that runs right through the whole intellectual, managerial culture, from priesthoods up to Leninist commissars and to contemporary liberal theorists. And behaviorism gave the perfect intellectual justification for it; it didn't matter that the intellectual foundations were ridiculous. It served a function so it survived. And the parts of the society that need that, they still believe it -- in fact, believe it more than ever.
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, for one thing, I don't think it can really be much of a question...
Of course, there are cultural and social and historical effects, but even for those to operate, they must be operating on something. If you look at this range of phenomena, there are only two possibilities: one is, it's a miracle, and the other is, it's rooted in our nature. It's rooted in our nature in the same sense in which language is, or for that matter, having arms and legs is. And it takes different forms depending on the circumstances, just as arms and legs depend on nutrition, and language depends on my not having heard Swedish when I was six months old and so on. But basically, it must be something that flows out of our nature, or otherwise we'd never use it in any systematic way, except just repeating what happened before. So, it's got to be there.
NC on top form.. mandatory reading- enjoy!
TOR WENNERBERG: I just reread the chapter Psychology and Ideology in The Chomsky Reader, your critique of Skinner. Behaviorism is much less influential today, but I wonder - you write this 2 or 3 decades ago -- what you think has happened in the time since with the theory of human malleability in a broader sense?
NOAM CHOMSKY: Well, behaviorism was very popular among the managerial classes, for not surprising reasons. For one thing, it gave them a moral right to control and dominate people. If people have no nature, no intrinsic nature, then there is no moral barrier to control or manipulation of them -- in their own interest, of course. Somehow ‘we,’ the controllers, are immune from this human condition of infinite malleability, however. ‘We’ have a nature and ‘we’ understand what's good, that's kind of like a hidden premise. But for the rest of the slobs out there, they're just passive objects, and we can control and manage and organize them using the latest behavioral techniques, and they'll all be better off.
That's a strain of thought that runs right through the whole intellectual, managerial culture, from priesthoods up to Leninist commissars and to contemporary liberal theorists. And behaviorism gave the perfect intellectual justification for it; it didn't matter that the intellectual foundations were ridiculous. It served a function so it survived. And the parts of the society that need that, they still believe it -- in fact, believe it more than ever.
re: Orwell "left of left"
this article is thoroughly enlightening- cf chomsky on soviet socialism
anti-authoritarian strain vital- Trotzky!
published the text below before- can't find! but is interesting on "real orwell" discussion
"For some reason, the original introduction to the book (animal farm) was found to be ‘inappropriate’ in the U.S.A and the book was banned for a while before a new one was made":
"Yes, certainly there are counter-forces at work but unfortunately, the major effect is disciplinary. This is a point that Orwell notes in works of his that aren't read. Everyone has read Animal Farm, the satire about the Soviet Union. Not many people have read the introduction to Animal Farm, and one of the reasons they never read it is it wasn't published. The introduction to Animal Farm was called Literary Censorship in England. It wasn't published, it was found in his papers years later.
The point of the intended introduction is that the book is about this totalitarian monster society, but I want to talk about England, a free society, to talk about how opinions are suppressed here, because they're suppressed with remarkable efficiency. He doesn't go into the reasons in any great depth; actually he has two sentences about the reasons. One of them is that the press is owned by wealthy men who have every reason not to want certain thoughts to be expressed. And the other reason is that as you go through a good education -- Oxford, Cambridge, that sort of thing -- you have instilled into you, you sort of internalize the fact that there are some things it just wouldn't do to say. In fact, deeper: it wouldn't do to think. And you become aware that people who do think those things -- now, going beyond Orwell -- people who do think those things and do say them tend to elicit a negative reaction, either to be weeded out of the system or to be marginalized or to be punished in some fashion. And the long-term effect is that success is to some considerable extent contingent on subordination to institutions of power, and that that kind of socialization -- knowing what it wouldn't do to say -- is a good part of our education." (NC)
this article is thoroughly enlightening- cf chomsky on soviet socialism
anti-authoritarian strain vital- Trotzky!
published the text below before- can't find! but is interesting on "real orwell" discussion
"For some reason, the original introduction to the book (animal farm) was found to be ‘inappropriate’ in the U.S.A and the book was banned for a while before a new one was made":
"Yes, certainly there are counter-forces at work but unfortunately, the major effect is disciplinary. This is a point that Orwell notes in works of his that aren't read. Everyone has read Animal Farm, the satire about the Soviet Union. Not many people have read the introduction to Animal Farm, and one of the reasons they never read it is it wasn't published. The introduction to Animal Farm was called Literary Censorship in England. It wasn't published, it was found in his papers years later.
The point of the intended introduction is that the book is about this totalitarian monster society, but I want to talk about England, a free society, to talk about how opinions are suppressed here, because they're suppressed with remarkable efficiency. He doesn't go into the reasons in any great depth; actually he has two sentences about the reasons. One of them is that the press is owned by wealthy men who have every reason not to want certain thoughts to be expressed. And the other reason is that as you go through a good education -- Oxford, Cambridge, that sort of thing -- you have instilled into you, you sort of internalize the fact that there are some things it just wouldn't do to say. In fact, deeper: it wouldn't do to think. And you become aware that people who do think those things -- now, going beyond Orwell -- people who do think those things and do say them tend to elicit a negative reaction, either to be weeded out of the system or to be marginalized or to be punished in some fashion. And the long-term effect is that success is to some considerable extent contingent on subordination to institutions of power, and that that kind of socialization -- knowing what it wouldn't do to say -- is a good part of our education." (NC)
re: oppressor
** Progressive Response Vol. 7 No. 13 - Weekly newsletter from Foreign Policy in Focus. Usually sound critical analysis of US foreign policy.
** Condoleeza disputes Syria action
"UPI's report, published Friday afternoon, quoted unidentified administration officials as saying that a combination of Pentagon hawks and senior Israeli officials had been pressing the United States to expand the ground war to Syria. The officials spoke to UPI on condition of anonymity."
** Nukes - The whole idea was to have them, not to use them. NYT article on arms-control regimes.
re: oppressed
** The road to 1984 - George Orwell's final novel was seen as an anticommunist tract and many have claimed its grim vision of state control proved prophetic. But, argues Thomas Pynchon, Orwell - whose centenary is marked this year - had other targets in his sights and drew an unexpectedly optimistic conclusion.
** Ed Herman confirming that our instincts are correct - "I also mentioned the foreign press. On something like the Afghanistan war, even Britain-which is a close ally of the United States-even in Britain, you can read the Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, or even the Daily Herald, which are all better than the New York Times. The U.S. media system has become so closed to alternative materials on issues where the government has strong positions and where lobbies are important, like in the Middle East, that even mainstream media in our allied countries provide a real option.
There are some really strong dissident media. Probably the best journal in the world is a journal called Le Monde diplomatique, not the Le Mode newspaper, which is a mediocre French newspaper, but Le Monde diplomatique. It's a monthly that's very good. It comes out in French, but it's now available in English on-line. If you subscribe to the Manchester Guardian, you'll get a weekly dose of Le Monde diplomatique."
** U.S. warns Canada against easing pot laws - "A top White House drug policy official is threatening retaliation from the U.S. if Canada relaxes its laws against marijuana possession.
Murray said Canada's reputation in the global community would be forever altered if it decided to decriminalize pot. "It's not just Canada's relationship with the United States that would change; it's Canada's relationship with the world," he said."
[...]
""You can't wall this off saying, 'We're only talking about a little cannabis.' Our experience is they come together like the Four Horsemen," he said."
Always that same silly argument, a terrible inability to think. It would be just a little bit odd would it not, if every crack and smack addict didn't use cannabis? Cannabis invariably leading to hard drugs, is like saying that masturbation necessarily leads to child molesting. I suppose it requires some intelligence to logically differentiate between causality and correlation.
** Progressive Response Vol. 7 No. 13 - Weekly newsletter from Foreign Policy in Focus. Usually sound critical analysis of US foreign policy.
** Condoleeza disputes Syria action
"UPI's report, published Friday afternoon, quoted unidentified administration officials as saying that a combination of Pentagon hawks and senior Israeli officials had been pressing the United States to expand the ground war to Syria. The officials spoke to UPI on condition of anonymity."
** Nukes - The whole idea was to have them, not to use them. NYT article on arms-control regimes.
re: oppressed
** The road to 1984 - George Orwell's final novel was seen as an anticommunist tract and many have claimed its grim vision of state control proved prophetic. But, argues Thomas Pynchon, Orwell - whose centenary is marked this year - had other targets in his sights and drew an unexpectedly optimistic conclusion.
** Ed Herman confirming that our instincts are correct - "I also mentioned the foreign press. On something like the Afghanistan war, even Britain-which is a close ally of the United States-even in Britain, you can read the Guardian, The Independent, The Mirror, or even the Daily Herald, which are all better than the New York Times. The U.S. media system has become so closed to alternative materials on issues where the government has strong positions and where lobbies are important, like in the Middle East, that even mainstream media in our allied countries provide a real option.
There are some really strong dissident media. Probably the best journal in the world is a journal called Le Monde diplomatique, not the Le Mode newspaper, which is a mediocre French newspaper, but Le Monde diplomatique. It's a monthly that's very good. It comes out in French, but it's now available in English on-line. If you subscribe to the Manchester Guardian, you'll get a weekly dose of Le Monde diplomatique."
** U.S. warns Canada against easing pot laws - "A top White House drug policy official is threatening retaliation from the U.S. if Canada relaxes its laws against marijuana possession.
Murray said Canada's reputation in the global community would be forever altered if it decided to decriminalize pot. "It's not just Canada's relationship with the United States that would change; it's Canada's relationship with the world," he said."
[...]
""You can't wall this off saying, 'We're only talking about a little cannabis.' Our experience is they come together like the Four Horsemen," he said."
Always that same silly argument, a terrible inability to think. It would be just a little bit odd would it not, if every crack and smack addict didn't use cannabis? Cannabis invariably leading to hard drugs, is like saying that masturbation necessarily leads to child molesting. I suppose it requires some intelligence to logically differentiate between causality and correlation.
3.5.03
I am ready to meet my Maker and answer for those who have died as a result of my decisions'
TONY BLAIR believes that he will be called to account for the Iraq War before God, and can justify to his “Maker” decisions which led to hundreds of deaths. (this is sunday times magazine counting...)
The magazine charts Mr Blair’s actions from the inside over 30 days of war. His declaration of faith came on April 2, the day after seven Iraqi women and children were shot dead at a checkpoint.
Asked how he responded to deaths caused as a result of his own actions, Mr Blair admitted to feeling the strain, saying “it really gets to you".
He then cast aside his usual caution about discussing how his religious faith guides his political actions to tell the former Times Editor Peter Stothard that he was ready to meet his Maker and answer before God for “those who have died or have been horribly maimed as a result of my decisions”. Mr Blair nevertheless also accepted that many others who believe in “the same God” may assess that the final judgment will be against him.
The Prime Minister gives the most intimate glimpse yet into the strains of leadership, revealing how music and family help him to cope. But it is the role religion plays that will command the greatest attention. The Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was rebuked for asking the Prime Minister if he and Mr Bush prayed together before meetings, but the centrality of Mr Blair’s faith to his actons is apparent from the Magazine account.
Mr Blair had to be persuaded to drop the phrase “God Bless You” from his broadcast to the nation at the start of the war. One adviser told him that invoking God’s name would be a mistake because “you are talking to lots of people who don’t want chaplains pushing stuff down their throats”. Mr Blair responded by telling his aides that they were a “most ungodly lot” — but he was finally persuaded and closed his address with the words “thank you”.
god, should you exist, save my soul, should i then have one. wonder whether "maker" is aware of quest for oil?
TONY BLAIR believes that he will be called to account for the Iraq War before God, and can justify to his “Maker” decisions which led to hundreds of deaths. (this is sunday times magazine counting...)
The magazine charts Mr Blair’s actions from the inside over 30 days of war. His declaration of faith came on April 2, the day after seven Iraqi women and children were shot dead at a checkpoint.
Asked how he responded to deaths caused as a result of his own actions, Mr Blair admitted to feeling the strain, saying “it really gets to you".
He then cast aside his usual caution about discussing how his religious faith guides his political actions to tell the former Times Editor Peter Stothard that he was ready to meet his Maker and answer before God for “those who have died or have been horribly maimed as a result of my decisions”. Mr Blair nevertheless also accepted that many others who believe in “the same God” may assess that the final judgment will be against him.
The Prime Minister gives the most intimate glimpse yet into the strains of leadership, revealing how music and family help him to cope. But it is the role religion plays that will command the greatest attention. The Newsnight presenter Jeremy Paxman was rebuked for asking the Prime Minister if he and Mr Bush prayed together before meetings, but the centrality of Mr Blair’s faith to his actons is apparent from the Magazine account.
Mr Blair had to be persuaded to drop the phrase “God Bless You” from his broadcast to the nation at the start of the war. One adviser told him that invoking God’s name would be a mistake because “you are talking to lots of people who don’t want chaplains pushing stuff down their throats”. Mr Blair responded by telling his aides that they were a “most ungodly lot” — but he was finally persuaded and closed his address with the words “thank you”.
god, should you exist, save my soul, should i then have one. wonder whether "maker" is aware of quest for oil?
U.S. Continues Proud Tradition Of Diversity On Front Lines
CAMP COYOTE, KUWAIT—With blacks and Hispanics comprising more than 60 percent of the Army's ground forces in Iraq, the U.S. military is continuing its long, proud tradition of multiculturalism on the front lines of war. "Though racism and discrimination remain problems in society at large, in the military—especially in the lower ranks where you find the cannon fodder—a spirit of inclusiveness has prevailed for decades," Gen. Jim White said Monday. "When it comes to having your head blown off by enemy fire, America is truly colorblind."
CAMP COYOTE, KUWAIT—With blacks and Hispanics comprising more than 60 percent of the Army's ground forces in Iraq, the U.S. military is continuing its long, proud tradition of multiculturalism on the front lines of war. "Though racism and discrimination remain problems in society at large, in the military—especially in the lower ranks where you find the cannon fodder—a spirit of inclusiveness has prevailed for decades," Gen. Jim White said Monday. "When it comes to having your head blown off by enemy fire, America is truly colorblind."
Rumsfeld
** Rumsfeld I: ABB and North Korea
"In his final days in office, Clinton had been preparing a bold deal in which North Korea would give up its missile and nuclear programs in return for aid and normalized relations. But President Bush was skeptical of Pyongyang's intentions and called for a policy review in March 2001. Two months later the DOE, after consulting with Rumsfeld's Pentagon, renewed the authorization to send nuclear technology to North Korea. Groundbreaking ceremonies attended by Westinghouse and North Korean officials were held Sept. 14, 2001--three days after the worst terror attack on U.S. soil.
The Bush administration still hasn't abandoned the project. Representative Edward Markey and other Congressmen have been sending letters to Bush and Rumsfeld, asking them to pull the plug on the reactors, which Markey calls "nuclear bomb factories." Nevertheless,
a concrete-pouring ceremony was held last August, and Westinghouse sponsored a training course for the North Koreans that concluded in October--shortly before Pyongyang confessed to having a secret uranium program, kicked inspectors out, and said it would start making plutonium. The Bush administration has suspended further transfers of nuclear technology, but in January it authorized $3.5 million to keep the project going."
** Rumsfeld II: Bechtel and Iraq
"In "Crude Vision: How Oil Interests Obscured US Government Focus On Chemical Weapons Use by Saddam Hussein" the Institute for Policy Studies reveals that the diplomatic pressure from Rumsfeld and the Reagan administration happened during and despite Hussein's use of chemical weapons. Behind the scenes, these officials worked for two years attempting to secure the billion dollar pipeline scheme for the Bechtel corporation. The Bush/Cheney administration now eyes Bechtel as a primary contractor for the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure.
Bechtel's pipeline would have carried a million barrels of Iraqi crude oil a day through Jordan to the Red Sea port of Aqaba."
** Rumsfeld I: ABB and North Korea
"In his final days in office, Clinton had been preparing a bold deal in which North Korea would give up its missile and nuclear programs in return for aid and normalized relations. But President Bush was skeptical of Pyongyang's intentions and called for a policy review in March 2001. Two months later the DOE, after consulting with Rumsfeld's Pentagon, renewed the authorization to send nuclear technology to North Korea. Groundbreaking ceremonies attended by Westinghouse and North Korean officials were held Sept. 14, 2001--three days after the worst terror attack on U.S. soil.
The Bush administration still hasn't abandoned the project. Representative Edward Markey and other Congressmen have been sending letters to Bush and Rumsfeld, asking them to pull the plug on the reactors, which Markey calls "nuclear bomb factories." Nevertheless,
a concrete-pouring ceremony was held last August, and Westinghouse sponsored a training course for the North Koreans that concluded in October--shortly before Pyongyang confessed to having a secret uranium program, kicked inspectors out, and said it would start making plutonium. The Bush administration has suspended further transfers of nuclear technology, but in January it authorized $3.5 million to keep the project going."
** Rumsfeld II: Bechtel and Iraq
"In "Crude Vision: How Oil Interests Obscured US Government Focus On Chemical Weapons Use by Saddam Hussein" the Institute for Policy Studies reveals that the diplomatic pressure from Rumsfeld and the Reagan administration happened during and despite Hussein's use of chemical weapons. Behind the scenes, these officials worked for two years attempting to secure the billion dollar pipeline scheme for the Bechtel corporation. The Bush/Cheney administration now eyes Bechtel as a primary contractor for the rebuilding of Iraq's infrastructure.
Bechtel's pipeline would have carried a million barrels of Iraqi crude oil a day through Jordan to the Red Sea port of Aqaba."
** FAIR.org: Media and the 2004 campaign
"Media-driven campaigns now dominate every presidential race, badly skewed in favor of big money. And while millions of progressive-minded Americans are eager to have an impact on the political process, they often face what appears to be a choice between severe compromise and marginalization."
** FoxNews in Arabic - "The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq. It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel. That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God."
Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes Randell. Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company."
"Media-driven campaigns now dominate every presidential race, badly skewed in favor of big money. And while millions of progressive-minded Americans are eager to have an impact on the political process, they often face what appears to be a choice between severe compromise and marginalization."
** FoxNews in Arabic - "The U.S. government this week launched its Arabic language satellite TV news station for Muslim Iraq. It is being produced in a studio -- Grace Digital Media -- controlled by fundamentalist Christians who are rabidly pro-Israel. That's Grace as in "by the Grace of God."
Grace Digital Media is controlled by a fundamentalist Christian millionaire, Cheryl Reagan, who last year wrested control of Federal News Service, a transcription news service, from its former owner, Cortes Randell. Randell says he met Reagan at a prayer meeting, brought her in as an investor in Federal News Service, and then she forced him out of his own company."
2.5.03
what was that about the merger of state/military with corporate power? presto: fascism! (benito mussolini)
For Bush -- who also spent the night aboard the carrier -- the whole day was devoted to linking his presidency to the aura of the U.S. military. When the Viking S-3B carrying Bush made its tailhook landing on the aircraft carrier off California yesterday, Bush emerged from the cockpit in full olive flight suit and combat boots, his helmet tucked jauntily under his left arm. As he exchanged salutes with the sailors, his ejection harness, hugging him tightly between the legs, gave him the bowlegged swagger of a top gun.
The carrier landing capped a recent period in which the president has tied himself to the military as never before. And that is no accident: Bush aides are planning to make his war leadership the focus of his 2004 reelection campaign, and yesterday's images are crucial in burning that impression into the national cornea.
"It has a huge visual impact," said an admiring Michael Deaver, who created such images for Ronald Reagan, including the Gipper's famous Normandy speech. "This is a powerful, powerful visual, not only of Bush as commander in chief, but of his strength as a world leader."
[...]
Before leaving for San Diego yesterday, Bush assembled about 150 military chaplains at the White House for a prayer breakfast. Last week, he climbed aboard a tank in Ohio and delivered a patriotic speech surrounded by five of the fighting machines. Earlier, he went to Ft. Hood in Texas and met with the Americans who had been prisoners of war in Iraq. Even the Easter Egg Roll at the White House took on a military theme; it was changed this year to focus on the children of servicemen and women.
If the theme weren't clear enough, Bush issued a proclamation declaring yesterday "Loyalty Day, 2003." Bush's proclamation urged Americans to "reaffirm our allegiance to our country" and heralded "America's men and women in uniform."
But yesterday's arrival on the carrier, followed by a speech to the nation and an overnight aboard, is without precedent among modern presidents, historians said. Harry Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson had their moments on battleships. But historians said they could not recall a president dressing in military gear since Teddy Roosevelt would strap on his old Rough Rider pistol before meeting with troops -- and that was before television could take the image into American homes.
[...]
Ralph Neas of the liberal group People for the American Way, cautioned: "Problems arise when a president uses patriotism and the flag not as unifying things but as political weapons. I believe they crossed the line in 2002 and am worried they'll do the same in 2004."
[...]
The image of Bush as victorious war leader is a complete turnaround from the 2000 campaign, when he dodged criticism of his light duty as pilot of an F-102 in the Texas National Guard. Yesterday, making his way to the Lincoln aboard a jet that can carry up to 3,958 pounds of missiles, torpedoes, rockets and bombs, the victorious commander in chief recalled his days in the Guard with fondness.
"I miss flying, I can tell you that," he said, telling reporters he was at the controls for a third of his flight to the carrier from the coast, which at times through the day was visible from the Lincoln. Later, wearing a white life-vest with "Commander in Chief" on the back and a helmet, he moved quickly along the deck, flashing a thumbs-up and shaking hands with sailors.
For Bush -- who also spent the night aboard the carrier -- the whole day was devoted to linking his presidency to the aura of the U.S. military. When the Viking S-3B carrying Bush made its tailhook landing on the aircraft carrier off California yesterday, Bush emerged from the cockpit in full olive flight suit and combat boots, his helmet tucked jauntily under his left arm. As he exchanged salutes with the sailors, his ejection harness, hugging him tightly between the legs, gave him the bowlegged swagger of a top gun.
The carrier landing capped a recent period in which the president has tied himself to the military as never before. And that is no accident: Bush aides are planning to make his war leadership the focus of his 2004 reelection campaign, and yesterday's images are crucial in burning that impression into the national cornea.
"It has a huge visual impact," said an admiring Michael Deaver, who created such images for Ronald Reagan, including the Gipper's famous Normandy speech. "This is a powerful, powerful visual, not only of Bush as commander in chief, but of his strength as a world leader."
[...]
Before leaving for San Diego yesterday, Bush assembled about 150 military chaplains at the White House for a prayer breakfast. Last week, he climbed aboard a tank in Ohio and delivered a patriotic speech surrounded by five of the fighting machines. Earlier, he went to Ft. Hood in Texas and met with the Americans who had been prisoners of war in Iraq. Even the Easter Egg Roll at the White House took on a military theme; it was changed this year to focus on the children of servicemen and women.
If the theme weren't clear enough, Bush issued a proclamation declaring yesterday "Loyalty Day, 2003." Bush's proclamation urged Americans to "reaffirm our allegiance to our country" and heralded "America's men and women in uniform."
But yesterday's arrival on the carrier, followed by a speech to the nation and an overnight aboard, is without precedent among modern presidents, historians said. Harry Truman, Franklin D. Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson had their moments on battleships. But historians said they could not recall a president dressing in military gear since Teddy Roosevelt would strap on his old Rough Rider pistol before meeting with troops -- and that was before television could take the image into American homes.
[...]
Ralph Neas of the liberal group People for the American Way, cautioned: "Problems arise when a president uses patriotism and the flag not as unifying things but as political weapons. I believe they crossed the line in 2002 and am worried they'll do the same in 2004."
[...]
The image of Bush as victorious war leader is a complete turnaround from the 2000 campaign, when he dodged criticism of his light duty as pilot of an F-102 in the Texas National Guard. Yesterday, making his way to the Lincoln aboard a jet that can carry up to 3,958 pounds of missiles, torpedoes, rockets and bombs, the victorious commander in chief recalled his days in the Guard with fondness.
"I miss flying, I can tell you that," he said, telling reporters he was at the controls for a third of his flight to the carrier from the coast, which at times through the day was visible from the Lincoln. Later, wearing a white life-vest with "Commander in Chief" on the back and a helmet, he moved quickly along the deck, flashing a thumbs-up and shaking hands with sailors.
CIA: Syria Harboring More Than 15 Million Known Arabs
"Reliable intelligence collected by our agency indicates that Syria has conspired to lend physical and economic support to a massive number of people belonging to this group," CIA director George J. Tenet said. "The shocking truth is, there are nearly as many Arabs in Syria as there are people in New York and Los Angeles combined. In fact, Syrians openly refer to their nation as the Syrian Arab Republic, despite knowing full well America's opinion on these matters."
Explaining the CIA's methods of gathering data on the rogue ethnicity's presence in Syria, Tenet said it relied on a combination of satellite imagery, computer-system infiltration, reports from Syrian covert operatives, intercepted radio and television transmissions, and The World Almanac And Book Of Facts 2003.
"It's practically an open secret these days," Tenet said.
"Reliable intelligence collected by our agency indicates that Syria has conspired to lend physical and economic support to a massive number of people belonging to this group," CIA director George J. Tenet said. "The shocking truth is, there are nearly as many Arabs in Syria as there are people in New York and Los Angeles combined. In fact, Syrians openly refer to their nation as the Syrian Arab Republic, despite knowing full well America's opinion on these matters."
Explaining the CIA's methods of gathering data on the rogue ethnicity's presence in Syria, Tenet said it relied on a combination of satellite imagery, computer-system infiltration, reports from Syrian covert operatives, intercepted radio and television transmissions, and The World Almanac And Book Of Facts 2003.
"It's practically an open secret these days," Tenet said.
'Profound symbolism' as U.N. hides Picasso's anti-war masterpiece for Colin Powell's call to arms
was just reminiscing re: powell's early february "historic speech".. if there are any gods out there, they must be crying.. ethics <-> aesthetic!
"A diplomat stated that it would not be an appropriate background if the ambassador of the United States at the U.N. John Negroponte, or Powell, talk about war surrounded with women, children and animals shouting with horror and showing the suffering of the bombings."
was just reminiscing re: powell's early february "historic speech".. if there are any gods out there, they must be crying.. ethics <-> aesthetic!
"A diplomat stated that it would not be an appropriate background if the ambassador of the United States at the U.N. John Negroponte, or Powell, talk about war surrounded with women, children and animals shouting with horror and showing the suffering of the bombings."
The Neoconservative-Conspiracy Theory: Pure Myth
giggle.. the truth is out there.. no need for verrenkung
Even in its less fevered forms, the neocon-conspiracy theory does not provide a coherent analysis of American foreign policy. More to the point, especially among the more extreme versions, there are conspicuous manifestations of classic anti-Semitism: claims that a small, all-powerful but little-known group or "cabal" of Jewish masterminds is secretly manipulating policy; that they have dual loyalty to a foreign power; that this cabal combines ideological opposites (right-wingers with a Trotskyist legacy, echoing classic anti-Semitic tropes linking Jews to both international capitalism and international communism); that our official leaders are too ignorant, weak, or naive to grasp what is happening; that the foreign policy upon which our country is now embarked runs counter to, or is even subversive of, American national interest; and that if readers only paid close attention to what the author is saying, they would share the same sense of alarm.
giggle.. the truth is out there.. no need for verrenkung
Even in its less fevered forms, the neocon-conspiracy theory does not provide a coherent analysis of American foreign policy. More to the point, especially among the more extreme versions, there are conspicuous manifestations of classic anti-Semitism: claims that a small, all-powerful but little-known group or "cabal" of Jewish masterminds is secretly manipulating policy; that they have dual loyalty to a foreign power; that this cabal combines ideological opposites (right-wingers with a Trotskyist legacy, echoing classic anti-Semitic tropes linking Jews to both international capitalism and international communism); that our official leaders are too ignorant, weak, or naive to grasp what is happening; that the foreign policy upon which our country is now embarked runs counter to, or is even subversive of, American national interest; and that if readers only paid close attention to what the author is saying, they would share the same sense of alarm.
1.5.03
Democracy = end of history consensus? - quite.
** Messianic Imperialism - Interesting.
"When Mr. Bush talks about “the axis of evil”, Christians take his phrase literally—and he knows it. For many decades Americans have been the most religious people of all western nations, as measured by
* their weekly attendance at worship services (about 46 percent, triple that of Europe);
* belief in God and an afterlife (four times that of Europe); and
* their stressing the importance of religion in their lives.
* The congregations on the margins of mainstream Christianity are growing vigorously: Jehovah's Witnesses by 162 percent; and the Pentecostal Assemblies of God by 267 percent (Vincent Parrillo, Strangers to These Shores 7th ed., Allyn & Bacon, 2003, pp.475-476 and pp. 510-511).
Is there any explanation why Americans are so much more religious than Europeans?"
Which reminds me that there was a Jehovah's Witness knocking at Martina's door the other day. After stating that she's not really interested in eternal life and staying young forever, he countered: "So you want to be old and sick?". The line of reasoning this guy was following was just terrible. Obviously, the premises didn't really put him in a favourable position, but brownie points for trying. He was accompanied by a younger 'disciple', who kept smiling in an embarrassed way every time she suppressed laughter... with a look saying: 'I know, but I was born into this nonsense...'.
** Newest Chomsky article - Wars on Terror. Enjoy!
"Another familiar way to evade rational standards is to dismiss the historical record as merely “the abuse of reality,” not “reality itself,” which is “the unachieved national purpose.” In this version of the traditional “city on a hill” conception, formulated by the founder of realist IR theory, America has a “transcendent purpose,” “the establishment of equality in freedom,” and American politics is designed to achieve this “national purpose,” however flawed it may be in execution. In a current version, published shortly before 9/11 by a prominent scholar, there is a guiding principle that “defines the parameters within which the policy debate occurs,” a spectrum that excludes only “tattered remnants” on the right and left and is “so authoritative as to be virtually immune to challenge.” The principle is that America is an “historical vanguard.” “History has a discernible direction and destination. Uniquely among all the nations of the world, the United States comprehends and manifests history’s purpose.” It follows that US “hegemony” is the realization of history’s purpose and its application is therefore for the common good, a truism that renders empirical evaluation irrelevant."
** via liberal arts mafia: "Fuck you." - Paul Wolfowitz to Al Franken after Franken said, "Clinton's military did pretty well in Iraq, huh?"
** Another comparison drawn between Iraq and Vietnam. Good American Revisionism
"Mr. McNamara and Johnson knew they were mistaken, but they were too spineless to face down an electorate made up largely of the same people who thought the Kent State killings were just fine.
Who was the "good American" in 1970? We may tell ourselves differently now, but the truth is it was someone who thought the cowards with blood on their hands in the White House were swell fellows."
** Condoleeza tries to explain where all the WMD went.
"According to Dr Rice, the weapons programs are "in bits and pieces" rather than assembled weapons. "You may find assembly lines, you may find pieces hidden here and there," she said. Ingredients or precursors, many non-lethal by themselves, could be embedded in dual-use facilities.
She had a new explanation too for Iraq's ability to launch these weapons that were not assembled. "Just-in-time assembly" and "just-in-time" inventory, as she put it."
They must have beaten Saddam "just-in-time" then. Laughable, like the counter-concealement story.
** Messianic Imperialism - Interesting.
"When Mr. Bush talks about “the axis of evil”, Christians take his phrase literally—and he knows it. For many decades Americans have been the most religious people of all western nations, as measured by
* their weekly attendance at worship services (about 46 percent, triple that of Europe);
* belief in God and an afterlife (four times that of Europe); and
* their stressing the importance of religion in their lives.
* The congregations on the margins of mainstream Christianity are growing vigorously: Jehovah's Witnesses by 162 percent; and the Pentecostal Assemblies of God by 267 percent (Vincent Parrillo, Strangers to These Shores 7th ed., Allyn & Bacon, 2003, pp.475-476 and pp. 510-511).
Is there any explanation why Americans are so much more religious than Europeans?"
Which reminds me that there was a Jehovah's Witness knocking at Martina's door the other day. After stating that she's not really interested in eternal life and staying young forever, he countered: "So you want to be old and sick?". The line of reasoning this guy was following was just terrible. Obviously, the premises didn't really put him in a favourable position, but brownie points for trying. He was accompanied by a younger 'disciple', who kept smiling in an embarrassed way every time she suppressed laughter... with a look saying: 'I know, but I was born into this nonsense...'.
** Newest Chomsky article - Wars on Terror. Enjoy!
"Another familiar way to evade rational standards is to dismiss the historical record as merely “the abuse of reality,” not “reality itself,” which is “the unachieved national purpose.” In this version of the traditional “city on a hill” conception, formulated by the founder of realist IR theory, America has a “transcendent purpose,” “the establishment of equality in freedom,” and American politics is designed to achieve this “national purpose,” however flawed it may be in execution. In a current version, published shortly before 9/11 by a prominent scholar, there is a guiding principle that “defines the parameters within which the policy debate occurs,” a spectrum that excludes only “tattered remnants” on the right and left and is “so authoritative as to be virtually immune to challenge.” The principle is that America is an “historical vanguard.” “History has a discernible direction and destination. Uniquely among all the nations of the world, the United States comprehends and manifests history’s purpose.” It follows that US “hegemony” is the realization of history’s purpose and its application is therefore for the common good, a truism that renders empirical evaluation irrelevant."
** via liberal arts mafia: "Fuck you." - Paul Wolfowitz to Al Franken after Franken said, "Clinton's military did pretty well in Iraq, huh?"
** Another comparison drawn between Iraq and Vietnam. Good American Revisionism
"Mr. McNamara and Johnson knew they were mistaken, but they were too spineless to face down an electorate made up largely of the same people who thought the Kent State killings were just fine.
Who was the "good American" in 1970? We may tell ourselves differently now, but the truth is it was someone who thought the cowards with blood on their hands in the White House were swell fellows."
** Condoleeza tries to explain where all the WMD went.
"According to Dr Rice, the weapons programs are "in bits and pieces" rather than assembled weapons. "You may find assembly lines, you may find pieces hidden here and there," she said. Ingredients or precursors, many non-lethal by themselves, could be embedded in dual-use facilities.
She had a new explanation too for Iraq's ability to launch these weapons that were not assembled. "Just-in-time assembly" and "just-in-time" inventory, as she put it."
They must have beaten Saddam "just-in-time" then. Laughable, like the counter-concealement story.
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