August 26, 2008
Elaine Meinel Supkis
The US militarized police state is in full flower. I remember how it was assembled. The US rulers are very strict about controlling pesky crowds. The only time they can't do this is when there are UNPLANNED reactions which we call 'riots.' I have lived through these in the past. Right on the heels of the US/NATO imperialists screeching like crazy about China not allowing separatists agitating at the Olympics, we have the media mostly ignoring the small handful of demonstrators who braved the massive suppressionary forces arrayed at Denver. Meanwhile, in the real world, the US condemns separatism in the Caucasus mountains. This is high lunacy!
U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich of Ohio brought the Democratic National Convention crowd to its feet today as he accused the Bush administration of losing track of the economy while focusing on the war in Iraq."Wake up America. The insurance companies took over health care," he said. "Wake up America. We went into Iraq for oil!"
Kucinich blamed the war in Iraq for "millions of Americans" losing their homes and jobs.
"Up with peace! Up with prosperity! Up with the Democratic Party! Up with Obama!," he shouted, pumping his arms. "Wake up America!"
His speech was the liveliest of the evening so far, causing delegates to jump out of their seats, wave their arms in the air and shout for the first time tonight.
Sigh. I remember the sixties. I was very, very active back then. I was at many conventions, demonstrations, riots, political action committees, I made many leaflets, banners, wrote newspaper stories, did cartoons, did tons of things no one wanted me to do. I talked about the CIA and how our nation was a nation haunted by spooks every bit as dangerous as the spooks in Russia and China. Frankly, most people didn't believe me when I talked about the way the CIA operates. Yet every time I had to face down the Secret Service, the FBI or the local police, they always ended up going away instead of beating me to death.
Well, now they would beat me to death, I guess. My father's influence is fading as he ages. But I suppose we have to forge ahead. This is because everything about politics today bugs the hell out of me. People wanting to understand 'conspiracies' annoy me because they can't figure out how they have been manipulated by DARPA's think tankers and their ability to toss off all sorts of goofy ideas. These are launched like scud missiles into the internet to see which attracts the most devotion from anxious readers seeking 'the hidden truth!' Rats. It works, alas.
Then there are 'reasonable people' who accept the propaganda pictures put into action by the media owners. The media owners work very closely with the CIA and the government. They are hardly much better or different than the crews that ran Pravda under communism. Most Americans live in this duck soup reality. They thrash about with the noodles and vegetable bits and try desperately to have a point of view. Only they are viewing a brick wall. And they have a choice: if they get out of this frying pan, they end up in the fire. And being able to see the world through sane eyes is nearly impossible.
Let's examine Kucinich's speech: he was allowed on the podium if he gave the 'right' speech. So he obliged. He didn't warn everyone that the DNC is the Police State. Nope. He didn't mention the suppression of dissent outside. He didn't compare Denver with Beijing. Nope. He said 'millions of Americans' are losing their homes and jobs because of the Iraq war????? WHAT THE HELL???? This is utterly senseless and obvious pandering. The US military/industrial complex is 85% of our manufacturing base these days! And has nothing to do with our housing bubble. Our housing bubble came about because Bush and Cheney couldn't go to war without bringing Santa Claus down the damn chimney.
This Federal Reserve Santa came with a huge bag of goodies. The US public LOVED this. True, the war caused oil prices to soar. But this was only 50% of the hike in oil prices. The other 50% was due to US over consumption coupled with excessive import consumption. The US trade deficit soared during the war years. But this was soaring, anyway. The US public can't all live in unaffordable McMansions. Nor can everyone get huge ATM loans from their little shacks, hovels or dumps. This bonanza of easy lending was the tail end of easy lending for US militarist actions on behalf of all the leeches who are our allies in Europe and Asia and a singular, very difficult little Middle Eastern country that tries very hard to never, never be examined or be in the news except with happy stories about happy US dual citizens settling in and making the desert bloom. After killing the natives.
Bush sent the economy off the tracks with the pre-9/11 tax cuts. These were popular. Then, after 9/11, all the war spending created massive jobs at home and abroad. This was extremely popular. The push for war was popular with our media and many a foolish American citizen. And when the illegal and ill-advised invasion happened, I was accosted by a number of people waving their arms, yelling, 'You are WRONG, Elaine! We will win and have CHEAP GAS.' I then explained that gas would not be cheaper but the opposite. This was because the oil was a bonus but not the point. The invasion was on behalf of US hegemony there. Saddam gave lots and lots of support and money to the Palestinians who were fighting the Jewish invaders. This ceased once we destroyed Iraq.
This scheme of ours is now up in flames as the invasion radicalized Islam to an amazing degree. The ancient battle between the Shi'a and the Sunni flared up again. But it didn't help us. It simply made the fires hotter. And they are burning merrily right where the majority of the world's oil reserves lie. This has certainly driven up the price of oil. The issue of Palestine will NOT be mentioned by ANYONE at the Democratic imperial crowning. Nor will the GOP talk about this. AIPAC's representatives are hard at work, behind the curtain, to insure this.
Note that Kucinich isn't demanding the DNC back off of Iran. I know that he wouldn't attack Iran. But he knows better than to talk about the VERBOTEN stuff when the real string pullers are out in full force.
Here is a picture from China, showing how even the smallest demonstrations are crushed....WAIT!!!! This is DENVER!!!! Oops.
Here is a video from Denver/Beijing:
Click here to see how the police trap peaceful protesters in Denver
American News Project: A calm political protest quickly turned chaotic as anxious Denver police surrounded protestors peacefully marching toward the Democratic National Convention Center. After trapping the crowd between two buildings, hundreds of officers used pepper spray, batons and unwarranted aggression. After being surrounded for 20 minutes, two ANP producers managed to escape after recording the whole affair.
Rightwingers are also arrested.
Protest, arrests on Speer downtown
A group of 75-100 anti-abortion protesters plopped down on Speer Boulevard by Market outside the Pepsi Center at about 2 p.m. and are facing arrest.Members of the group, who had promised in emails that they would do something to guarantee their arrest, appeared to be getting their wish as police arrived.
Traffic has been briefly disrupted.
There is no real 'fire in the belly' in these demonstrations. These are desperate attempts to have the semblance of 'in the street' democracy. But people are in a 'wait and see' mood right now. The chess pieces on the planetary board are rapidly moving. The US and Russia take each other's pawns and are pawning our future. The Chinese are done with proving all the anti-Chinese whiners who complained about nearly everything in this Olympics to be a bunch of ninnies. Now, China is giving our finances a very hard eyeball glare. And is snarling that we better pay our debts or else. And Russia is shoving us around while we lumber about with NATO and shove back. I keep saying, Europe has learned absolutely nothing from history. Nothing at all.
Anyone with a brain knows that 'shove Russia' and 'sneak attack Russia' always ends with Russians destroying everything in their path in return. And they can utterly annihilate Europe. Europe's fear is great. But the solution is to have the US fight off Russia. I suppose the deep plan is for Russia and America to destroy each other while the Europeans stand on the sidelines after the usual sneak attacks. Then they can pick up all the pieces and take over Russian resources a la Hitler.
This is STUPID. I bet most Europeans don't even mention this. They dare not think it, either. No, they are protecting themselves. But if Russia were vaporized, all the easier. Ech. Alas, Russia feels the same. They know that it will take only a few dozen MIRVs to blast most of Europe to eternity. When I was a child, I learned to treat rattlers with great care. If you poke at them with a stick, they fling themselves out of their coiled up position and fly through the air, jaws gaping wide, poison dripping. Only after they have extended themselves, can you pin the head down with a long stick. And lord help you, if you goof and nail too far down the slippery body! Running like hell is the best solution. Even shooting them: they don't die right away. And thrashing around, are still very dangerous. So I hope Europeans think about this more carefully.
Members of CodePINK, an organization opposed to the Iraq war, held aloft an effigy of civil-rights icon Rosa Parks as they marched along West Colfax Avenue today.
Members of the group sang "We shall not be moved," an anthem of the civil-rights movement, and chanted as they paraded on the second day of the Democratic National Convention.The group wants Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama to pledge to end the occupation of Iraq, said Renay Davis, 58, a Code Pink member from San Francisco.
"At this point, I will vote for him. He is our last hope for change, but the road to change begins with peace," she said.
I knew Dr. Spock. When he ran for President, I assisted him. It was rather amusing. He couldn't win anything, of course. But we did this in order to push the Democrats in the right direction. For LBJ was the one who upped the ante with the war! It is too late for anyone to think the DNC will 'bring peace' since the Democratic party leaders have all sworn to AIPAC, they will bring us wars and more wars. They were most emphatic about this and work ceaselessly to drive this particular nail home. They are openly egging on a war with Iran. And Iran will make Iraq look easy. We are losing many wars and our rulers don't care. They know that if we tie down Islamic nations, they can't rescue the Palestinians. And the entire US foreign policy direction is to increase the size and power of Israel even if this kills US power.
I better warn Europe, this means they come second. Maybe Europe and the US hope Israel will nuke Russia for us? Who knows. The Apocalypse will be very ugly. No oil reserves or religious centers will exist at the end of it. Antiwar demonstrators have to take this devil by the horns! If we think we can have peace while Palestine is ripped to pieces, this is insane. There will be no peace. And many antiwar people are pro-Tibet, pro-Darfur. They honestly believe that all nations should be ripped to shreds along all sorts of ethnic/religious configurations. The world then can have a million small countries that hate each other. This will sort of like being alive in the Dark Ages.
From Take Back Washington.com:
The US has sent the fleet to a really nasty cul-de-sac, the Black Sea:
Russia Backs Independence of Georgian Enclaves
Russia on Tuesday recognized the independence of two enclaves that have long sought to secede from neighboring Georgia. The action deepened strains with the West over the conflict in the economically vital crossroads of the Caucasus and roiled a broader debate over how to respond to separatist movements around the world.The Russian decision was intended to consolidate its political and military gains in the two and a half weeks since it invaded Georgia after hostilities flared over the breakaway territory of South Ossetia, an ally of Moscow.
The Russian president, Dmitri A. Medvedev, declared in a nationally televised address that South Ossetia and the other pro-Russian enclave, Abkhazia, would never again have to endure what he described as oppressive Georgian rule.
“This is not an easy choice, but it is the only way to save the lives of people,” Mr. Medvedev said.
With Russia’s image and financial markets suffering in recent days, Mr. Medvedev took the unusual step of giving a series of interviews to foreign media on Tuesday to explain the move. He said Russia had abided by international law in recognizing the two enclaves, but he left no doubt that the decision was in part retaliation for the West’s support earlier this year for the independence of Kosovo from Serbia, which Russia had opposed.
Like England in 1933, the US merrily tootles about the planet with its extremely expensive naval forces. They sail in and out of ports. While on the ground, all the knives of those who hate the British empire are sharpened. Whenever there is a true confrontation, England lost. Ditto, the US. We win ONLY if the UN disarms those we wish to terrorize. This is still nearly impossible for us! We bind up our victims and they still bite our nose off while we waterboard them.
When the European right wing governments gave Kosovo nation status, they thought this pop on Russia's nose would tame Russia. Instead, it enraged Russia. So did they stop? No! The sneak attack on Russian soldiers was next on the agenda. And this will end as it always ends: Berlin filled with Russians. Paris filled with Cossacks. Where is Napoleon? Can any of the weaklings running the EU find some suitable military hero to turn them into a Grand Armee? I just got the entire 'War and Peace' movie made in Russia. It is a must-watch.
Here is the German language version of this great movie:
Up until that battle, no European leader was able to keep fighting to resist the Grande Armee. Even though the French won this battle, the Russians simply pulled back and then returned, with a vengeance. An unstoppable force. So I would imagine, European people should be out in the streets, demanding this new Cold War cease? Well, not.
They too, are waiting to see if Obama can pull a rabbit and not a nuclear skunk out of his hat.
Iraq, U.S. clash over timetable for U.S. troop withdrawal
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki said Monday there would be no security agreement between the United States and Iraq without an unconditional timetable for withdrawal— a direct challenge to the Bush administration, which insists that the timing for troop departure would be based on conditions on the ground.
*snip*
Maliki said that the United States and Iraq had agreed that all foreign troops would be off Iraqi soil by the end of 2011. "There is an agreement actually reached, reached between the two parties on a fixed date, which is the end of 2011, to end any foreign presence on Iraqi soil," Maliki said.But the White House disputed Maliki's statement and made clear the two countries are still at odds over the terms of a U.S. withdrawal.
"Any decisions on troops will be based on conditions on the ground in Iraq ," White House spokesman Tony Fratto said in Crawford, Tex. , where President Bush is vacationing. "That has always been our position. It continues to be our position."
Maliki gives a chance to get our leg out of the Iraq bear trap. Only Bush and our other rulers WANT us there. To keep the Shi'ites in our grip. We know that the day we get kicked out, Iraq and Iran will be on the same page, reading the same script. Romeo and Juliette. Well, we want both dead as that pair of lovers. This pretty much wipes out any talk about 'ending the war' since the Shi'a are ending it. No matter what we do. I suppose we could have another two or three thousand soldiers die or go insane? Seems OK with our rulers. But it isn't OK with me. Moving our soldiers to Afghanistan isn't a hot idea, either. We hope a second surge will save our Reich.
Western forces poised to halt Taliban tide
Western special forces are poised to increase their clandestine military operations in Pakistan to stop the flood of Taliban fighters pouring into Afghanistan, amid concerns that the militants are "winning the war".As fears grow that the Taliban's strength has been underestimated and not enough is being done to stop militants crossing Afghanistan's porous border, Western forces are considering taking the controversial step of carrying out more missions in Pakistan.
In recent weeks, increased attacks by Taliban fighters on Western and Afghan targets, including the killing of 10 French soldiers and the attempted storming of an American base, have been linked by Nato officials to peace deals struck between the militants and Pakistan's government and an unwillingness in some parts of the Islamabad establishment to |confront extremists.
Gads. A FLOOD of Taliban are pouring into Afghanistan? And we are the Great White Whale, thrashing about the place, killing everyone. And they move back while we kill our allies. Then come in with more harpoons! This is why the Great White Whale ends up dead! This is how our distant ancestors killed mastodons. Those giant, shaggy elephants had huge tusks! And our ancestors killed cave bears, too. Using stone weapons.
The US ruling class prides itself on luring Russia into Afghanistan. Then using the CIA to pay bin Laden to fight the Russians. And paying the Taliban to fight the Russians! And have we learned a thing since then? Perish the thought. So back to the conventions! I'm certain, the Chinese are watching with grim amusement.
While I could quibble with a few details, that, my lady, is a very righteous rant.
Keep spreading the word.
Posted by: Warren Bonesteel | August 27, 2008 at 01:17 AM