Day: August 29, 2016

Please Vote for the Lying Neoliberal Warmonger

The plea of the worthless Democrats…..they have caved on the idea of limited interventionism…..this will NOT make America safer!

Normally I do not pay much attention to the US elections….they are so boring and mundane that it is just a waste of my time….but this year, 2016, has been a completely different horse all together….as the general creeps closer and closer….there are a couple of things that need to be considered.

Our choices are a divisive candidate and a war hawk which is more neocon than Dem……fascinating choices indeed….

I have read many opinion pieces both pro and con….as an anti-war person I can safey say that neither of these two candidates will get my vote but beyond that many are seeing it as a necessity to elect the war hawk over the…..I’m not sure what to call the other…..

An explanation for why defeating Donald Trump—despite what we know about Hillary Clinton—should be the left’s primary national electoral objective this November

In 1991, former Klansman and American Nazi Party functionary David Duke ran for governor of Louisiana and made the runoff election against Democrat Edwin Edwards, the popular but scandal-plagued three-term former governor. Duke had made the runoff between the two top vote-getters since no one received a majority in the first primary. Duke had received just over 31% of the vote in the first primary, and Edwards had just over 33% in a twelve-person field.

Source: Vote for the Lying Neoliberal Warmonger: It’s Important | Common Dreams | Breaking News & Views for the Progressive Community

I do not agree…..that is just a long way of saying “vote for the best of two evils”…..I will not do that……She is not acceptable to me for one good reason……

The modern Democratic Party has had a potent anti-war wing since Eugene McCarthy called for a swift withdrawal from Vietnam during the 1968 primary. Democratic anti-war highlights in this millennium include California Rep. Barbara Lee’s opposition to the 2001 Afghanistan invasion, the 126 House Democratic votes against the Iraq War resolution in 2002 and Howard Dean’s 2004 campaign.

Unfortunately, Hillary Clinton does not follow in this tradition, leaving Democrats who want to “give peace a chance” a difficult choice in November.

Source: Clinton’s Foreign Policy Would Be More Like Bush’s Than Obama’s | The Fiscal Times

Just what this country needs another GW war hawk running foreign policy.  (Sarcasm intended)

And to show where her, Clinton, mind will be if elected…..

In an interview, Paul Wolfowitz, 72, an advisor to former President Bush, discusses the dangers of a Donald Trump presidency, why he will likely vote for the Democrat’s candidate this year and mistakes made during the Iraq war.

Source: Paul Wolfowitz Says He Will Likely Vote for Clinton – SPIEGEL ONLINE

You should remember this warwonger for he and Cheney and Rumsfield were the cheerleaders that convinced GW into the 2003 Iraq invasion and we know that turned out….now don’t we?

I will NOT vote for this woman…….I will search for an alternative……….I’m thinking Green!

How Can Terrorism Be Stopped?

There has not been a media event in terrorism for some time now….so the subject has sort of gone the way of the Dodo that is until the next one and then all the bobble heads will start their usual ranting about refugees and such….that is until their sources dry up until the next attack…..and the cycle begins again….

An excellent question that has many answers……ranging from the ever popular “make the sand glow” to more realistic approaches…..some of which I shall attempt to record here in this post…..

I have been helping a professor friend with his class on national security….he needed someone to assist in the terrorism bloc of the course….he asked and I agreed…….

First from a white paper from the Center for the Research of Globalization…..

I. Stop Overthrowing the Moderates and Arming the Crazies

We know it’s a difficult concept to grasp, but if we want to stop terrorism we should – wait for it – stopsupporting terrorists.

Specifically, we’re arming the most violent radicals in the Middle East, as part of a really stupidgeopolitical strategy to overthrow leaders we don’t like (more details below). And see this, this, this, thisand this. And – strangely – we’re overthrowing the moderate Arabs who stabilized the region and deniedjihadis a foothold.

Source: Nine Ways to Stop Terrorism | Global Research – Centre for Research on Globalization

Second comes a post on the Washington Blog….

The 7 Ways to Stop Terrorism In the wake of the barbaric Paris terror attack, everyone is debating how to stop further terrorism. Some say we need more war against Islamic countries … or more…

Source: How to Beat Terrorism: Stop Making the Same 7 Mistakes

The act will always be with us….we can only try to stop those that intend to use the act to make whatever perverted point they choose…..the defeat of terrorism is only a dream…..for it is a tactic not an entity.

Now You See ‘Em….Now You Don’t

I would like to state something that I have been saying for several years….that the American care little about the plight of our troops fighting these useless wars…..last week I posted a piece about the recent combat death of a US soldier in Afghanistan….sadly very few read it or commented on the post….it was disappointing but it kinda proved my point……I had to get that off my chest.

We have been up to our fat ass in the Middle East for 13 years….and there is NO evidence that it will ever be over…..EVER!

Stuff sent to Iraq has a tendency to disappear down some rabbit hole……like after our invasion and subsequent occupation of Iraq the Pentagon sent millions of dollars to Iraq to pay for the “reconstruction” on palettes and somewhere down the line some of it disappeared…..and now news has come out that we are sending weapons to Iraq to help arm the Iraqi military…..and other allies……

The Pentagon has spent billions of dollars since 2001 funneling roughly more than a million assault rifles, pistols, shotguns, and machine guns into Iraq and Afghanistan, helping to fuel lasting conflict there, according to a new report by a London-based nonprofit research and advocacy group Action on Armed Violence.

At least 949,582 of these small arms were given to security forces in Iraq, and at least 503,328 small arms were given to local forces in Afghanistan, the group said. They called this an “under-estimate” based on the information they were able to acquire.

Source: The Pentagon has shipped more than a million small arms to Iraq and Afghanistan’s defense forces | Center for Public Integrity

To be fair some of these weapons are bound for Afghanistan as well….

But now news has come out that some of these weapons are missing in action (sorry for the pun)…….

More than 190,000 AK-47 assault rifles and pistols distributed to Iraqi forces by the US are missing, feared fallen into the hands of insurgents, a congressional watchdog warned today.

The highest previous estimate of missing weapons was 14,000, but a new report from the government accountability office (GAO) said US military officials did not know what had happened to 30% of the weapons the US had given to Iraqi forces since 2004.

“They really have no idea where they are,” Rachel Stohl, a senior analyst at the Centre for Defence Information, told the Washington Post, which reported the GAO’s findings. “It likely means that the United States is unintentionally providing weapons to bad actors.”

Source: 190,000 US weapons reported missing in Iraq | World news | The Guardian

All this is NOTHING new….the US is notorious for their shoddy practices….

Should not the people, the taxpayer, demand more accountability in our practices?

This government keeps pissing money away and keeps slicing budgets…….does anyone else see the stupidity in all this?

The people that worry about the so-called “fraud” of welfare recipients should be more worried about the sloppy practices of the Pentagon….don’t you think?

CRAP! A New Label!

American politics has boiled down to labels that we attach to different things…..like political correct or apologist or bleeding heart or ……..yada……

Well 2016 is NO different……

Some have described the liberal policies as being “race traitor”….but that is not the best…..the newest label that someone has attached to the white people that are angry with the “establishment” as a philosophy of “alt-Right”…..and it is all the rage in the media….

Suddenly, “alt-right” is the political phrase of the moment. Hillary Clinton on Thursday called out Donald Trump for being linked to what she calls a racist, “paranoid fringe” movement, while Trump denied even knowing what the phrase means. Coverage:

  • What Clinton said, per Gothamist: “These are race-baiting ideas, anti-Muslim and anti-immigrant ideas, anti-woman—all key tenets making up an emerging racist ideology known as the ‘alt-right.’… The names may have changed. Racists now call themselves ‘racialists.’ White supremacists now call themselves ‘white nationalists.’ The paranoid fringe now calls itself ‘alt-right.’ But the hate burns just as bright.”
  • What Trump said, per the Hill, on CNN: “Nobody even knows what it is, and she didn’t know what it was. There’s no alt-right or alt-left. All that I’m embracing is common sense.”
  • Trump campaign CEO Steve Bannon, formerly of Breitbart Media, told Mother Jones last week that Breitbart is the “platform for the alt-right.” Read the interview here. (Asked about it on CNN, Trump responded, “I don’t know what Steve said. I can only speak for myself.”)
  • CNN’s Brian Stelter has an explainer video on the movement here.
  • The Washington Post‘s Dave Weigel has a primer here.
  • At Breitbart, editor Milo Yiannopoulos says Clinton herself is responsible for the rise of the alt-right. Earlier this year, he wrote “An Establishment Conservative’s Guide to the Alt-Right.” Read it here.
  • A USA Today columnist offers a definition: “It’s an online movement of white people—young white guys, mostly—including white supremacists, nationalists, nativists and plain ol’ racists. They’re anxious. They’re afraid. They worry whites are losing power and influence in America, and so they generally oppose immigration and multiculturalism.”
  • This video blogger and alt-right supporter says the movement is “about us having a home, a place where we can be with people like ourselves.”
  • When Clinton called out the alt-right movement, the alt-right loved it. See tweets rounded up by Slate.

I am sorry but I do not appreciate labels…no matter who they are attached to…..and I truly despise dog whistle slogans that are solely for the applause they generate….

I believe that any campaign or political program should be driven by dialog and not these labels and slogans….this is why our political system has become a huge joke….there is NO substance any longer to political campaigns…..(there are so few of us idealists left)

We on the Left have been living with labels of a century…I guess it is only fair that the wealth get spread…..

In closing a few words about fanaticism…….

“Fanaticism obliterates the feelings of humanity”

“Fanaticism comes from any form of chosen blindness accompanying the pursuit of a single dogma.”

“The tendency to claim God as an ally for our partisan value and ends is the source of all religious fanaticism.”

“Fanaticism consists of redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim.”

Time to move on……and that’s the name of that tune!

Chinese presence in Africa shows global ambition

While everyone is playing Pokemon (off topic observation–could NSA be using Pokemon to gain entry into your system?) the world is getting more polarized………

Every body that watches international situations will know about the Chinese build-up in the South China Sea…..a build-up that got the US attention to the point of dispatching a flotilla to the region for….”just in case”…..

But while they were freaking out over the South China Sea the country, China, was quietly establishing itself in East Africa….that is establishing itself militarily in East Africa…..

China has begun construction for a military post at a key location in eastern Africa, right next door to a US one. A 90-acre plot which is due for completion next year, the the naval outpost is expected to feature weapons stores, ship and helicopter maintenance facilities and possibly a small contingent of Chinese marines or special forces, according to foreign officers and experts monitoring its development.

China has invested huge amounts in East Africa, especially in Ethiopia, one of the world’s fastest growing economies — wants to be able to protect its interests and investments throughout sub-Saharan Africa.

Source: Chinese presence in Africa shows global ambition | Africa | Worldbulletin News

Chinese presence in Africa shows global ambition

I thought I had heard this before and may have written about it so I checked my archives and there it is……..about 2 years ago I wrote on this situation here on IST……..(in case you missed the original)

Source: While You Were Otherwise Distracted – In Saner Thought

But that aside the US is watching this situation I am sure ….but if we have any troops in the region it may be a good idea to put them on some sort of alert or watch or whatever they do these with potentially dangerous situations….

How Slaves Built American Capitalism

My regulars will know that I am a bit of a history buff….there is so much fascinating stuff in our history that there is just no end to the stories……

Slavery was a dark hour in the history of this country….but thanx to the practice American capitalism flourished….

Today marks the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery in America and contrary to popular belief, slavery is not a product of Western capitalism; Western capitalism is a product of slavery.

The expansion of slavery in the first eight decades after American Independence drove the evolution and modernization of the United States.

Historian Edward Baptist illustrates how in the span of a single lifetime, the South grew from a narrow coastal strip of worn-out tobacco plantations to a continental cotton empire, and the United States grew into a modern, industrial, and capitalist economy.

Source: How Slaves Built American Capitalism

This ought to get the juices flowing in my “alt-Right” (new media term) brethren flowing……

“Alt-Right”?  What the Hell is that?

Does that answer the question?

GOOD!