Day: December 17, 2018

The Treaty of 1955

Closing Thought–17Dec18

Our Dear Leader and his minions are making goddamn sure that the US must stand alone against most of the world….the games they are playing internationally benefits no one but the M-IC….the latest game being played by the “God Squad”…….

Three years ago, as Americans debated the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran—popularly known as “the Iran deal”—I highlighted a troubling media trend on FAIR.org (8/20/15): “For nearly all commentators, regardless of their position, war is the only alternative to that position.”

In the months since US President Donald Trump tore up the JCPOA agreement, his administration has been trying to make good on corporate media’s collective prediction. Last week, John Bolton (BBC, 9/26/18), Trump’s national security advisor and chief warmonger, told Iran’s leaders and the world that there would be “hell to pay” if they dare to “cross us.”

https://fair.org/home/trump-admin-follows-corporate-media-playbook-for-war-with-iran/

Keep in mind how many countries we have taken to deciding who could lead…Iran, Guatemala and Chile come quickly to mind….these countries were chosen because corporate America wanted them to change.

In response to a UN court order that the US lift sanctions on Iran, the Trump administration said Wednesday it was terminating a decades-old treaty affirming friendly relations between the two countries. The move is a largely symbolic gesture that highlights deteriorating relations between Washington and Tehran, the AP reports. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said withdrawing from the 1955 Treaty of Amity was long overdue and followed Iran “groundlessly” bringing a complaint with the International Court of Justice challenging US sanctions on the basis that they were a violation of the pact. Meanwhile, national security adviser John Bolton said the administration also was pulling out of an amendment to the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations that Iran or others, notably the Palestinians, could use to sue the US at The Hague-based tribunal. Bolton told reporters at the White House that the provision violates US sovereignty.

“The United States will not sit idly by as baseless politicized claims are brought against us,” Bolton said. He cited a case brought to the court by the “so-called state of Palestine” challenging the move of the US Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem as the main reason for withdrawing. Bolton, who last month unleashed a torrent of criticism against the International Criminal Court, noted that previous Republican administrations had pulled out of various international agreements and bodies over “politicized cases.” He said the administration would review all accords that might subject the US to prosecution by international courts or panels. Earlier, Pompeo denounced the Iranian case before the UN court as “meritless” and said the Treaty of Amity was meaningless and absurd. “The Iranians have been ignoring it for an awfully long time, we ought to have pulled out of it decades ago,” he told reporters at the State Department. Click for more on the little-known treaty and the UN ruling.

This is just yet another game being played by Trump’s Neocon butt boys….this will cost American lives in the long run.

But why?  For what purpose?

We had a treaty with Iran…Our Dear Leader decided he would drop out of it and then decided to push for a nuke treaty….

The United States is seeking to negotiate a treaty with Iran to include Tehran’s ballistic missile programme and regional activity, the US special envoy for Iran said on Wednesday, ahead of UN meetings in New York next week.

Iran has rejected US attempts to hold high-level talks since President Donald Trump tore up a nuclear deal between Tehran and six world powers earlier this year.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo listed a dozen demands in May that he said could make up a new agreement, although envoy Brian Hook’s reference to a treaty, which would have to be approved by the US Senate, appears to be a new focus.

https://theantimedia.com/washington-new-nuclear-deal-iran/

Seriously?  Iran will probably tell the US and Trumpy to go crap in one hand and wish in the other and see which fills first.

This is just another pathetic game being played by a pathetic leader.

This is what we get for an uninformed electorate that turn over foreign policy to warmongering toads.

A closing thought——

Americans are right to want more prudent, realistic foreign policy. Such a policy would not sacrifice U.S. blood and treasure on wars intended to spread democracy and reorder societies rather than focus on defending Americans. It would not attempt to impose an external military solution on the internal political problems of other nations. It would not burden America’s military with tasks for which it is not designed and to which it is not suited.

But not happening as long as we have this batch of neocon zombies in control…..

Let me reiterate……Corporate America calling the shots….some things never change…they called the shots in Guatemala and Iran in the 50’s and Chile in the 70’s…..and they are still making decisions that involve our troops that will face death in their behalf.  Time for that to change….permanently!

“Making America Great Again”–Part 23

The latest part of Maj. Sjursen series on the history of this great land….if you missed my posting the previous 22 parts of his history and would like to read his take on American history then the series and the author will be pleased…..

Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5; Part 6; Part 7; Part 8; Part 9; Part 10; Part 11; Part 12; Part 13; Part 14; Part 15; Part 16; Part 17; Part 18; Part 19; Part 20; Part 21; Part 22.

Now for the latest installment…..the country has been through a devastating war and now the nation is healing itself…enter into the Jazz Age and our march to the future…..

The Jazz Age. The Roaring ’20s. The Flapper Generation. The Harlem Renaissance. These are the terms most often used to describe America’s supposedly booming culture and economy during the 1920s. No doubt there is some truth in the depiction. Real wages did rise in this period, and the styles and independence of certain women and African-Americans did blossom in the 1920s—at least in urban centers. Still, the prevailing visions and assumptions of this era mask layers of reaction, racism and retrenchment just below the social surface. For if the 1920s was a time of jazz music, stylishly dressed “flappers” and lavishly wealthy Wall Street tycoons, it was also one infused with Protestant fundamentalism, fierce nativism, lynching and the rise of the “new” Ku Klux Klan. How, then, should historians and the lay public frame this time of contradictions? Perhaps as an age of culture wars—vicious battles for the soul of America waged between black and white, man and woman, believer and secularist, urbanites and rural folks.

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/american-history-for-truthdiggers-the-decade-that-roared-and-wept/

A well written history of this country and a look into some of the parts that we wish to forgot…..

I will post the series as the new parts become available…..

Learn Stuff!

Class Dismissed!

The New “Spineless in Charge”

Joy to the world for Our Dear Supreme Leader has named a new Chief of Staff……another spineless toad that will crap all over his reputation to be at the center of power in the Trump White House…..

Who is this masked man?

President Trump on Friday picked budget director Mick Mulvaney to be his next chief of staff, the AP reports, ending a chaotic search for a new chief of staff that had been inching forward with the feel of an unfolding reality TV show. Trump tweeted that Mulvaney “will be named Acting White House Chief of Staff, replacing General John Kelly, who has served our Country with distinction.” In another tweet, Trump said: “Mick has done an outstanding job while in the Administration,” Trump posted. “I look forward to working with him in this new capacity as we continue to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN! John will be staying until the end of the year. He is a GREAT PATRIOT and I want to personally thank him for his service!”

The humor is another spineless toad in a leadership role…..

Kosovo–Balkans Back In The News

The small Balkan nation of Kosovo is been making big news lately…..they want an standing army in case of emergency…..but what of Kosovo?

More information……

NATO is not so keen on an army for Kosovo…..but the US breaks with NATO on this issue…..

Just days after NATO issued a statement expressing opposition to Kosovo’s plan to create a national army, warning of the threat that could pose to regional stability, the United States has issued its own statement endorsing the idea.

US officials say they view the creation of a Kosovar military as a “positive step,” and proof of Kosovo’s status as an independent country. They also emphasized how much aid the US has invested in Kosovo.

Kosovo is not universally recognized as independent, however, and for decades NATO has provided for its security as a de facto state. Serbia has warned they may intervene if a Kosovo Army is created, as they would view it as a challenge to their own claims to the region.

NATO’s concerns center on regional stability, and they also warn that if such an army was created, they may no longer elect to keep NATO troops in Kosovo to provide direct security. US officials are downplaying the matter, saying it would take “many years” to create an army at any rate.

(antiwar.com)

But keeping with the greed of the M-IC the US has issued a statement and Kosovo has decided it will create a grand army of the republic (is that a Star Wars reference?)…….

…the Kosovar parliament voted in favor of the creation of a 5,000-man standing army. The plan has been deeply criticized by NATO, which has warned it will force them to reexamine their own military presence.

The plan has been discussed for a few weeks, with NATO opposing the idea. The US endorsed the plan, saying it was an “historic” move for Kosovo. Serbia, which still views Kosovo as part of its territory, has warned they may have to react militarily to the new army.

The issue, from the Serbian perspective, is that the Western-backed Kosovo government is Albanian-dominated, and prone to violent crackdowns on the region’s ethnic Serbian minority. The concern is that the military will just be used to escalate this, and to try to expel what’s left of the Serbs from northern Kosovo.

NATO forcibly separated Kosovo from Serbia, and has continued to back their independence. The split left a number of Serbs who opposed separation on the Kosovo side of the NATO-imposed border, and Kosovo has been trying to prevent them trading and traveling across the border.

(antiwar.com)

If I had to guess I would say that the M-IC is jerking off at the prospects of massive profits coming to them with the decision of Kosovo…..

Just A Thought!