Month: August 2017

The Day They Redrew Europe

Note:  This post was suppose to be on 23 August but I got side-tracked with the president’s speech in Phoenix that I let it slip my mind….sorry about that……a day late…..

History is the looking at facts and seeing how they could effect the future by studying the past.

78 years ago the countries of Germany and Russia came to a deal that would redraw the map of Europe…..the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact…..23Aug1939………

A world slipping ever closer toward war awoke on the morning of August 24, 1939 to the shocking news that Adolf Hitler’s Germany and Josef Stalin’s Soviet Union had signed a nonaggression pact.

Hitler was beaming when his foreign minister, Joachim von Ribbentrop, returned from Moscow with the agreements in hand.

“The name of party comrade von Ribbentrop, as [German] Reich foreign minister, will be forever associated with the political rise of the Germans and the German nation,” he declared.

Source: Molotov-Ribbentrop: The Night Stalin And Hitler Redrew The Map Of Europe

Just a few short days later…Germany invaded Poland to start World War 2.

Even 78 years later the legacy of that Pact still haunts Eastern Europe…..

Valentins Trojans remembers the marauding bands of Red Army soldiers going from farmhouse to farmhouse in his rural Latvia, looting watches, shoes, and clothing.

Harijs Ruks recalls being interrogated by a sadistic Soviet officer who kicked him brutally with steel-toed boots.

And Elza Burkite recollects how occupying Russian forces seized a young mother, whose son had vanished into the Latvian forests to join up with anti-Soviet partisans.

Source: Molotov-Ribbentrop: In Eastern Europe, Pact’s Bitter Legacy Remains

This Pact lead to the millions of deaths and the massive destruction of World War Two……

You would think after that war that civilization would have learned from their mistakes…..you would think then you would be wrong.

Class Dismissed!

How Can The Media Be Used?

Back in the early years of the 20th century there was an Italian socialist named Antonio Gramsci, who spent most of his adult life in prison as a political dissident, his main concern was that the younger mass media would be used by a government to control the population and drive the paradigm.

A few months ago the CIA de-classified then dump a wealth of documents on the public….CREST release (CIA Records Search Tool)…..now this is where the Gramsci thing come into play…..

A newly declassified CIA report unearthed by the FOIA investigative cooperative MuckRock contains some shocking commentary on how the intelligence community views and interacts with the media.

The CIA Inspector General [IG] was tasked by CIA Director Bill Casey to investigate and review CIA vulnerabilities to media scrutiny. One of Eloise Page’s suggestions involved CIA and agency friendly individuals gaining influence at universities and journalism schools in order to change and shape curriculum.

Source: Newly Declassified Documents Detail CIA’s Relationship With Media

The media is the perfect propaganda tool for the government to employ….worked well for Goebbels in Germany and it is working well here in the US.

They All Fall Down

It appears that we are once again ass deep in the civil rights thing from years ago….and as always we are re-fighting the Civil War….the thing now is that to ward off any possible source for protests governments are deciding to remove the statues of so-called “heroes” of the Civil War….you know people like Lee, Forrest, etc….

I read an article in the Federalist that made some goods points about this mash-up over monuments.

Initially well-intentioned, the movement for historical erasure is picking up steam and will soon be speeding out of control. We should use caution before sweeping too much of our history away from the public eye.

Source: If We Topple Every Statue Of An Imperfect Person They All Come Down

While  I agree that some of the statues should come down but not all of them…..history is history and even ugly history deserves its place.  There is a difference between history and heritage., although the PC crowd would have us believe they are one in the same.

If the monument celebrates a battle, a birthplace or a place of death then these should remain….but if it is a statue to celebrate a white guy that was pissed because he lost a war then it needs to go.

If the monument’s only purpose is hate then it needs to go down and soon.

Closing Thought–23Aug17

We humans love us some monuments.  Mostly they are to help us remember certain things.  War Memorials, Cemeteries, etc……we even have one for the veterans of the Cold war….

There is a move to establish a monument for the War on Terror….

The military campaign against international terrorism launched in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks may be far from over, but the fallen U.S. service members of the America’s Global War on Terror are already receiving a physical tribute to their sacrifice.

On Aug. 3, the Senate unanimously passed the Global War on Terrorism Memorial Act, paving the way for the establishment of the National Global War on Terrorism Memorial in Washington, D.C. The legislation now heads to the White House to receive President Donald Trump’s signature.

Source: The Global War On Terror Will Finally Get Its Own Monument In DC

DC is absolutely full of memorials….to wars….to people…..so it is the logical place to put one for the War on terrorism.

Most of the memorials are for people that are now dead or to wars that have been won or at least finished….I think it is a bit premature to build a memorial to a War that is still being fought with NO idea how it will wind up.

I am not saying I am against this memorial…just that right now may be a bit premature.

After writing this draft the president has signed into law the monument proposal…

President Donald Trump on Friday signed the Global War on Terrorism War Memorial Act, a move he documented by posting to his social media accounts a photo of the signing at Camp David while flanked by thirteen cabinet members and other staff.

The legislation clears the way for construction of a memorial to U.S. service members who have fought in the war on terror.

Time to go down for a nap…..us old farts need our naps….see you guys tomorrow with a bag full of stuff.  chuq

And Then There Was Phoenix

On Monday night Pres. Trump had a good speech….although I do not agree with his proposal…..it was good….he made good points to lay out why he made his decision to act as he will.

Yes, I would even say that it was presidential.

The part that I appreciated was his call for peace in this country that we should come together and work as a nation (not all his words just my paraphrase)….it was good and it was presidential….but like I stated I do not think this is the best way forward for Afghanistan.

Then Tuesday night he, Trump,  goes on a campaign rally in Phoenix…..

After a brilliant speech that was very presidential and then we get the speech of a spoiled spiteful bully of a 12 year old…..he could not let his Monday speech have legs for a couple of days before he pisses on his success.

President Trump unleashed a new torrent of criticism on the media Tuesday night over the coverage of his Charlottesville remarks. At a political rally in Phoenix, Trump also stopped short of pardoning former Sheriff Joe Arpaio, but strongly he hinted he would do so soon, reports NBC News. “It’s time to expose the crooked-media deceptions and to challenge the media for their role in fomenting divisions,” Trump told about 10,000 supporters inside the Phoenix Convention Center, per the Arizona Republic. “For the most part, honestly, these are really, really dishonest people.” Trump rehashed his remarks after the Virginia violence, though the New York Times notes that he did not repeat his much-criticized theme that both sides were to blame, and he accused the media of distorting his comments.

“I hit ’em with neo-Nazi. I hit them with everything,” said the president. “I got the white supremacists, the neo-Nazi. I got them all in there. Let’s see. KKK, we have KKK,” said Trump, who had taken flak for waiting two days to condemn those groups. As for Arpaio, Trump drew a rousing response when he asked of the former Maricopa County sheriff, “Do the people in this room like Sheriff Joe?” and “Was Sheriff Joe convicted for doing his job?” He then added that he wouldn’t be pardoning Arpaio on Tuesday night in order to avoid controversy. But “I’ll make a prediction: I think he’s going to be just fine.” Outside, police arrested four protesters during the night, reports the AP. Things were mostly peaceful, but officers fired tear gas at the protesters after they say some began throwing objects as the rally was breaking up.

He does just what he blames others of….he hates anyone that will not bend over for him or kiss his ass.

After more than 7 months we have nothing positive in his win column.

This is what will pass as governing for the next 3 and half years.

Afghanistan–Ever Asked Why?

For almost 17 tears the US and its allies have been fighting and dying in Afghanistan.  In all that time has anyone actually asked the question……why?

In the beginning it was nothing but retaliation for the 9/11 attacks…..and then we slowly wound down into a “trench warfare” mindset….that is just do not lose this fight…..no matter how long it takes.

In 2010 a report about the mineral wealth of Afghanistan came out….

Untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan may be worth more than $1 trillion, a finding that could reshape the country’s economy and help U.S. efforts to bolster the war-battered government, Pentagon officials said on Monday.

Afghanistan has significant deposits of copper, iron ore, niobium, cobalt, gold, molybdenum, silver and aluminum as well as sources of fluorspar, beryllium and lithium, among others, a task force studying the country’s resources found

Source: Afghan mineral wealth could top $1 trillion: Pentagon

Some estimates have the figure at $3 trillion……

Once I read that report I then predicted here on IST that this war would never end until the last drop of wealth was pulled out of Afghanistan….

Source: Good News For Afghanistan? – In Saner Thought

A couple of days ago the prez made his now not so famous speech on what to do in Afghanistan and guess what came up in his deliberation?

Trump has his eye on valuable minerals under the Afghan soil, perhaps as much as $1 trillion worth of copper, iron, and other metals, reports Foreign Policy. He recently met personally with Michael Silver, CEO of American Elements, and heard the mining pitch. “Trump wants to be repaid,” says one source, referring to the billions that the US has spent in the nation. “He’s trying to see where the business deal is.”

And there is the real reason we remain….$$$$$$$$$

You Really Should Not Say That

After the riots in Virginia and the couple of occasions that Trump came to the microphones to give his take on them……some Americans are a bit upset about the why he handled the situation.

After Trump’s remarks there has been a growing cry for the president to be censured…

Censure?

A “censure” is commonly defined in modern parlance to mean: “The formal
resolution of a legislative, administrative, or other body reprimanding a person,
normally one of its own members, for specified conduct.” In Congress, censures
are most typically known as simple resolutions of the House or Senate formally
adopted by a vote of that body, and expressing some form of disapproval or other
term of rebuke or condemnation concerning a Member’s conduct which bears
generally on a “breach of the rights and privileges” of the institution. These
censures of Members are implemented under the express authority in the
Constitution, at Article I, Section 5, clause 2, for each House of Congress to “punish” one of its own Members.

USA Today reported…..

Several prominent Republicans took to Twitter on Wednesday to denounce hatred and bigotry in the wake of President Trump’s shocking equivocations about the white-supremacist mayhem in Charlottesville, Va. That’s all well and good. But the curse of Twitter is its driveby nature, allowing leaders to dip their toes in controversy without really getting wet.

Expressing disapproval in 140 characters or fewer is insufficient when the president angrily asserts that there were some “very fine people” among the bigots waving Confederate battle flags and swastika banners; when torch-bearing marchers chanted “Jews will not replace us”; and when police said one Nazi sympathizer rammed a sports car into a crowd, killing an innocent counterprotester. The victim, 32-year-old Heather Heyer, was remembered Wednesday at a heartbreaking memorial service.

Source: After Charlottesville: Censure President Trump

The Dems want to take this situation to the Congress……

Three Democratic members of Congress have introduced a resolution to censure President Donald Trump over his “inadequate response” to the deadly white supremacist rally in Charlottesville this past weekend.

Reps. Jerrold Nadler, Bonnie Watson Coleman, and Pramila Jayapal introduced the bill on Friday during a brief session of the House, which is in recess until after Labor Day. The bill, first announced on Wednesday, now has the support of 75 other Democrats.

Source: Democrats Just Introduced A Bill To Censure Trump Over His Response To Charlottesville

How will this whole thing shake out?

Let’s Talk “Nazis”

NOTE:  I wrote this post a few days after the riots in Virginia but thought I would wait before I posted it to see if there were any other events that should be studied.

Before some Right winger has a stroke and chokes on his panties…I am not accusing anyone of being a Nazi….these are a couple of articles that I recently read and thought that they would make good discussion.

(Pause here and wait for the Godwin crowd to stumble in)

After the mash up in Virginia between the neo-Nazis and the Antifa and had some people asking question after the witnessed the throw down….

After seeing the amount of people that showed up to this “protest”and after witnessing these types of protests over the years the question has been asked….

Is the United States threatened by Nazism? The short answer is no, notwithstanding the frightening events in Charlottesville, Virginia, this past weekend.

In Charlottesville, the home of the University of Virginia, founded by Thomas Jefferson, white nationalists, separatists, neo-Nazis, members of the Ku Klux Klan, and other likeminded groups rallied behind Swastika banners and marched in a Nazi-style torchlight procession. By the end of the next day, there had also been thuggish violence. One white supremacist went so far as to drive a car into a crowd of counter-protestors, killing one and injuring 19 others.

The groups responsible for the violence in Charlottesville reveled in US President Donald Trump’s election last November. And Trump has often hesitated to disavow them; during the election campaign, when former KKK Grand Wizard David Duke publicly backed him, Trump was scandalously slow to reject Duke and his followers. Trump also repeatedly incited violence during the campaign, while evincing a bottomless affection for authoritarian leaders such as Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Source: Are Nazis as American as Apple Pie? by James Q. Whitman – Project Syndicate

Is it not time to start calling a Nazi a Nazi?  We have been pussy footing around this for a while now…….

With a president-backed “alt-right” holding torchlight parades and chanting “blood and soil,” could it finally be safe to disregard Godwin’s Law (with its caution against shark-jumping Hitler comparisons) and welcome “Nazi” full-on to the discourse?

Even Mike Godwin himself says we should call the Charlottesville marchers Nazis—“again and again.” Much as we prefer to fall back on our native mythology of a perennial civil war, Charlottesville seems less about Gettysburg 1863—or Birmingham 1963—than about Berlin 1932, when street skirmishes between fascists and anti-fascists were symptoms of a dying republic, not a fight to keep the union whole.

Source: It’s Time to Call Nazis ‘Nazis’

Now do I think that Trump is a Nazi?

No I do not!  I do not think that Trump has even considered the situation…..he is just being Trump…..he does not realize that their are brain words that should never leave the mouth.

So we can throw the Godwin Law around all we like….but appearances can be deceiving…..if it quakes like a duck…..Nazis and Klansmen are bad people….and so is anyone that attempts to justify them……period!

Closing Thought–22Aug17

Good CEO, Good President!

For decades the GOP has been pushing candidates that have been successful businessmen/women…there premise is that if one can run a business with all its intricacies then they should be a success as a president….I have NEVER thought that was an accurate statement….but low info voters buy into the BS every time.

The election of 2016 has pretty much put that BS line to bed…..

If you were wondering exactly how Anthony “The Mooch” Scaramucci was able to weasel his way into the White House, you have to recall that he wasn’t only a Donald Trump sycophant; he was also touted as a businessman who could “fix” problems career politicians couldn’t.

Source: How the Demise of the Trump Administration Could Finally Kill the White House CEO Fantasy | Alternet

Every day Trump proves just how inept he is at governing….he likes to think that he is a successful CEO and that government can be run like his businesses in NYC…..without some governmental experience then the job becomes overwhelming…..yews there have been successful business men that have made it as far as president….but each one has had some rudimentary experience in running a government.

Naivete…..amateurs cannot successfully run a government as complex as that of the United States.

Time to back off and start considering the direction for tomorrow’s posts….see you guys tomorrow with more stuff…….chuq