brinkmanship

why do democrats keep a bipartisan approach when the republicans are recalcitrant and uncooperative, is unseating Obama more important than bringing default to US credibility.? Bachman and company insist that paying only the debt interest is acceptable and slash social programs in the next session. It is the most stupid position that any politician worth his/her salt can bring up, don't they know this is the same schema that wrought the sub prime rate debacle, or fascism and racism the main staple of the conservatives?

alan greenspan and the western world financial crisis

Greenspan in his tv interview has claimed that he could not understand why the brutes of Wall Street could not regulate itself effectively to protect the interests of its stock holders.Surprise! Surprise! You mean he cannot figure out that Wall Street has its own financial interests? Who makes up Wall Street? Are they not the full beneficiaries of the global financial manipulations by the likes of Reagan and Thatcher? When an old man who had designed globalization with the full cooperation of Wall Street, the sold out political and civic leaders and lobbyists  who are buddies with the World Bank and the IMF pretends confusion over his disciples' fraudulent  financial  ''products", it is pathetic. It is unmitigated  Banality of Evil.
What is the greatest disaster that hit industrialized nations like US and Canada? Outsourcing. Our government leaders [Canadian Mulroney Conservative and US Democratic Clinton administration} signed on the Free Trade Agreement, later Mexico] knowingly or unknowingly? created conditions that destroyed our manufacturing base and replaced it with the deskilling of massive numbers of workers through service industries like finance[nail clipping, hair doing, McD's] which is controlled by stock exchanges in cooperation with the banks. Generally, captains of industry are extinct species. Industry is mainly owned by banks with few exceptions.. This is how manufacturing was easily  moved to areas of cheap labour. Perhaps, we workers and middle classes have forgotten what the banks did to us in 1929, and it was not the first time either.
Those of us who thought globalization will not affect us had another think coming. Out sourcing relegated us and our children to slinging hash, fortune telling, gambling, drug addiction, unprecedented cyberspace perversions, gangsterism, drug trade, slave trade, mind boggling reality shows, religious fundamentalism, foxes'news with no relief in sight. Imagine rust belts, closed lumber mills, decaying infrastructures.When the market offers mostly low paying jobs[meaning grand corporate profits], workers are not inspired to transform themselves to greater heights because even lateral opportunities are scarce and mind numbing. Loss of social mobility after globalization has demoralized many.
Wall Street is nothing but more than inventive. Look at the junk bonds, the mother of all frauds which eventually landed us to the sub prime rate debacle. Owning a home has been every man's dream. It was the bait that hoodwinked us into swallowing hook line and sinker the notion that real estate will always rise for eternity? Because of need or greed, the impoverished clutch at this all too good a promise of private property  by the hundred thousands and promptly fell on the proverbial sword.
Financial crisis is not the specter, the unseen hand of the market; it is man made, as solid as  the people who own and operate Wall Street, the speculators, & the Banks who demand through their compradors that workers and middle class wealth bail them out, making profits hand over fist in the process.
If we continue to believe as gospel truth  the clear irresponsibility, the feigned confusion and the implicit threat of the elfin Greenspan, i.e. he is the only game in town, then we deserve whats coming to us: another financial meteor on the horizon with out our space cowboys. guys, why do we keep shooting ourselves in the foot?

TWO NATION STATE IN PALESTINE FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST

President Obama has reiterated the UN 242 resolution for a 2 state solution to the 63 yr. old problem of the diaspora of the Palestinians from their homeland. To see this problem with some clarity is to go back to the Balfour Declaration to create a homeland for the Jews after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WWI and the re division of the world was accomplished by the European powers for colonial markets and new investments for the financiers of London and Paris and perhaps New York, to mention a few.. The middle east was divided and called mandates, Palestine was a British Mandate.
Without any input from the people who had lived in Palestine for more than 2000 yrs, the British declared that Palestine is the Jewish homeland with " respect to the non-Jewish population" . How was that respect played in real life? Please note that the plight of the Jews from Europe was not instigated by the Palestinians. The pogroms and the injustice and the holocaust were inflected on the Jews by the Europeans, white people like the European Jews themselves. The Jews that grew up in Palestine[Jews that were allowed by the Ottoman Empire to move there after they were kicked out by the Catholic Philip and Isabella of Spain after 1492] lived with the Palestinians and were treated the same way by the Ottoman Empire rulers.
WWI re division of the spoils of war changed all that. The European Jews who were treated unjustly by the Europeans wished to go back to a place they can call their own but without any consideration for the people who had lived there all their lives. It is reminiscent of how the Europeans who came to America and were helped by the natives to survive the harsh climate and when they found how backward the local natives were, they eventually disenfranchised them with their modern arms and methods of government that were blessed by the renaissance and the industrial revolution, ideas that never inter the equation when the Palestinian-Jewish question is discussed.
It is wise to remember that the Palestinians did not inflict the Holocaust on the Jews and if the Europeans wished to salved their conscience at the expense of the Palestinians, what then is the meaning of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of the UN? Is this not hypocrisy?There were numerous UN resolutions against the intransigence of the European Jewish settlers in Palestine but the UN had been soundly ignored. Why? The Jews declared their independence in 1948, but from whom? The Palestinians were not dominating them, nor the British who held Palestine as its mandate.
In current terms of military strength, the assault rifles and rockets are no match to modern jets, warning systems, tanks, armoured vehicles, nuclear warheads held by the Jews.against the Palestinians whose lands had been dismembered and walled like concentration camps without the ovens.If this intransigence to UN resolution 242 is based on the design for the greater Israel as some people think,  then there will be no peace in the middle east. The dire situation of the Palestinians may not be a Warsaw ghetto, but how far does it have to go to attain comparison?
The Islamic population is an explosive one, eventually it will overtake the Jewish enclave. They proliferate in Afghanistan, Pakistan, China, The Balkans, Central Asia, Indonesia, Middle East as most poor people do. Their unceasing deprivation and frustration and spiritual suffering will eventually explode and the world at large cannot do anything about it. Nuclear weapons might be used by those who have them, so we destroy ourselves because we are vindictive and we pay lip service to Christianity.. Now that popular revolt against dictators are sprouting like mushrooms after the storm, perhaps we can consider to start a peaceful if imperfect resolution to the Palestinian question. When we push desperate people to the edge of the sword, we can never predict their reaction no matter how strong we are. Palestinians have nothing to lose, be aware of that fact. but if we act wisely, there is a chance to keep the peace in the middle east. Only people of genuine courage can make the necessary compromise to strike for peace in good faith no matter how tenuous the possibility.  If we venture nothing, we gain nothing and even lose everything.

THE SUICIDE BRIGADE: THE REPUBLICAN PARTY

The 26th District of New York election of a Democrat member of congress stunned the Newt's literati into back tracking their plan to  bludgeon to death the health care reform of the Obama Administration.. The Republicans spared no ammunition , fired and  reloaded at will attacking the health reform and grounded it to allow the  private insurance systems [the Patrone or the Godfather contributors to the Republican campaign treasury] to remain as the third party payer instead of having a single party payer which would have save trillion of dollars from duplication of the bureaucracy--
[ this financing method is so reminiscent of the fight for the crown by king John and Empress Mathilda in the 12 th century England--nothing has changed- except that this time one claimant to the throne is black].The Supreme court decision that private contributions to political parties are held in secret did not help, but exacerbated the injustice of the inequitably distributed health care planned by Republicans.[ Members of congress get excellent health care, freely funded by tax payer's money].
  The Democrats wanted a single payer arrangement but sans success. However, making the best of the situation Obama and his cohort adroitly staged the contention on the field of non partisanship which eluded the dim witted Republicans in the political chess game. They wanted everything and gave nothing. Now that their policy of insane cutbacks to save the goose of the very rich 2% of Americans at the expense of the working poor, children, the elderly and the vanishing middle class, the main stream are beginning to see the war plans of the Republicans against the vast majority of Americans. The Republicans are bending over backwards to cover their onerous designs  against those who cannot afford the prohibitive cost of private health care by their one shot voucher. Imagine  elderly people negotiating coverage with well endowed insurance agencies, good luck.
Now every Republican hopeful to regain their recalled governor's seat and those looking to 2012 should be on suicide watch. To fall promptly on one's sword might save you from the verdict of history, but i could never for the life of me imagine why the Republicans could not divine the response of the American people to Paul Ryan's budget.
Now that 40 Republican senators signed on to the Ryan's budget, some say they don't know what to do, others say 'do something bold" and others ''jumping off the bridge is bold". Harakiri and sepuko are military terms unknown in the Republican lexicon while they are on  record for their  fondness of martial words when attacking their quarry [lock and load, reload, crosshairs] it will be intriguing to look forward to the next move by the lemmings, one Pied Piper wanted.

The Rule of Law and acts of Terror

Today, 9/5/11, Laura Flanders told the Ed Show at MSNBC that the legal course to have been  taken against OBL should have been to take him in custody and try him in the court of law [ the position of John Kerry.] An implicit secondary issue is the violation of the sovereignty of an independent nation state of Pakistan..

Ms. Flander's point is that this action reflects on how the US practice the principle of the rule of law... Ms.Flanders is the only criticism found in mainstream media not withstanding the fact that the Bush Clique is going ballistic about defending torture as the defining point of US policy that lead to the successful TWEP. The Republicans are at pains to defend their violation of the rule of law [torture] as the definitive tool against terror.
This is a very interesting score board. Let us hope that a deeper and comprehensive analysis is still coming out of the pipe line; it will be a revelation on the psyche of the American body politic.

On the same day,  two Imams were not allowed to fly to their destination to a religious tolerance conference after three checks because the pilot refused to fly with them on board in spite of the fact that there were no complaints from the passengers. The Ed show was outraged by this discrimination and the Imam described it as a Rosa Park type discrimination.. John Stewart got a joshing from Ed as the definer.

Death of Osama Bin Lafin: the aftermath.

Today, Laurence O'Donnell engaged Lawrence Wilkerson in a discussion about some aspects of the Bush presidency and one of the most egregious errors was the diversion to invade Iraq instead of focusing the resources on the perpetrators of 911. Three trillion dollars later, the US is embroiled on two fronts, the worst nightmare of any conquering nation with no end in sight. He suggested without sentimentality that the destruction of  Saddam's regime left the US without the counter force against Iran. Rice declared in the O'Donnell interview that Saddam was a danger to the world and the Middle East but refused to answer the question if Saddam was a danger to the people in New York and threatened to cut short the interview. if pushed. In that same interview, she stated that the US did not fight in [Fascist] Germany in WW II  to make it democratic. This is an important lead in to her next interview with a very relaxed  Anderson Cooper. Rice stated with out equivocation that the US [Obama] should thank Mr. Bush for putting in the infrastructure to TWEP Osama Bin Laden. Did he really? In fact Bush stated his regime was  not into nation building [ the infrastructure for democracy] and bluntly stated that Osama has been marginalised, and he is no longer interested in nabbing him as he promised after 911. By infrastructure, does Rice mean torture such as the Abu Gharib menu with water boarding as the night special? [This belief in the use of torture as a legitimate source of  intelligence violates the Geneva Accords and the Universal Declaration of Humans Rights. More importantly because the Americans by and large confess to their unstinting Christian Faith that believe in turning the other cheek and loving their enemies.] .Rice, smiling sweetly stated she did not know where Osama was, in some caves perhaps. She was less than  serious about the whereabouts of the uber  terrorist .She forgot the cost of the war in deficits, the dead and the maimed.  In fact she seems pleasantly  surprised to find out that Osama was setting pretty in what is the biggest mansion in that suburb, a stone's throw from the military academy and in the heart of retirement heaven for the military. How could they not know?  [Zardari and Musharaf included]. In the last several years it has been rumored that Osama was living in one of the densely populated cities of Pakistan, where it was impossible to tract  the comings and goings of individuals, even if you have a large entourage with AK-52's..The question now is how long the US will stay in Afghanistan. Rice thinks it should stay until the militias can replace the US and not before [another 10 YRS.?] Would it be correct to suggest that if the US were to  leave as fast as the Soviets did, [or is this blasphemy?] it might cut the US deficits by several trillion dollars, evade economic collapse  unlike the Soviets,  and the Taliban will have no reasons to get riled up and will shrivel on the vine. Perhaps just perhaps, Karzai will be the next Mubarak, an indicator of  how effective the US fight for the hearts and mind is.. Cue: solve the riddle of Schrodinger's Cat.

the Obama nuanced tsunami unleashed on the Republicans

Has anyone wondered why Jeb Bush is  is not running, outclassed by the  contenders?The field of Republican runners on Fox's presidential primary was either a  comedic banality or exercise in futility.. The events of the last 6 days underscore the fact that Obama  is a statesman not withstanding the fact that the people to the right of the political spectrum see him as an upstart, an outsider, product of affirmative action and have no right to occupy the seat of the presidency thus their battle cry: "we will reclaim our country" but from whom? Obama in his prescience and  grasp of American politics measures his steps and his words with precision, quiet dignity, and intelligence. His hubris is not to show hubris but cloak it in carefully nuanced performance of a man aware of his place in history and aware of the damage that can emanate from half baked ideas to solve complex issues. His moderate behavior along with his immediate circle in the aftermath of the surgical strike suggests the temperament of a disciplined and analytical mind sensitive to the religious sensibilities of Christians and Muslims which can mitigate the influence of counter revolutionary Islam.However, the greatest challenge to this administration and the next is what to do with Pakistan not withstanding the fact that Francis Fukuyama asked  in jest in a comedy show that why are we so terrified by terrorists. He said something to the effect that we should be more afraid of China because it has missiles that can shot down satellites, enough said.. I

lawrence o'donnell tete a' tete with the dubya's sec. of state after OBL

The staunch defender of the Bush policy of Regime Change in Iraq, C. Rice refused to answer the question if in fact the Bush government have learned anything from their false premise that had been shown beyond the shadow of a doubt.to be full of holes. Interview showed the limitation and conceit of a partisan Republican to claim that one does not question the quality of intelligence that White House receives. Does it mean that the the most powerful people in the world do not question what intelligence tells them or are they incapable of analyzing the material presented to them and thus make the wrong conclusion? Instead of presenting a nuanced analysis with what was wrong with the intelligence material that lead them to the wrong path or was it a case of ignoring intelligence or better still, was it a case of manipulating intelligence to fit their not so hidden agenda, the control of Iraqi oil and at what cost of the lives of Iraqis, the destruction of of first relics of civilization, the destruction of what ever semblance of civil society. Saddam was as cruel as his competitors, in that nick of the woods,but his regime had no legal Saria laws, their was electricity, food on the table, homes, education especially for women, and it was a secular society to boot. What have we got now, there is  not even a government after years from election and no electricity and great profits for the oil corporations and US contractors and mercenaries at the expense of the US tax payers and several thousand dead soldiers, some of them Poles or Georgians.

elections 2011

The alarming apathy of Canadian electorate indicates:  serious malaise in the Canadian body politic. It signifies   lack of respect and high regard for the sanctity of our Rights and Freedoms which we casually take for granted, something denied to peoples in Africa, Burma, Tibet, religious fundamentalist states, rouge and failed states. Just look at how the Romas or gypsies are being treated in Europe, they are treated like dogs because they have no country or a charter to protect them from extermination. We allow the multimedia snippets to take the place of serious study of our political dynamics and serious discussions on how the various parties affect our future as a nation and as a people. We think that political life is on auto pilot while the ruling classes are nibbling away at our social programs, selling our business interest for cheap to foreigners because we do not want to invest on our destiny, reducing our sources of revenues and slowly dismantling our tradition of equitable distribution of wealth as envisioned by statesmen like Tommy Douglas. We rely on natural  resources as the ultimate insurance for our future, when in fact this is the delusion of our ruling classes who lull us into blind complacency. But as responsible citizens, , it is our job to inform ourselves how our ruling classes or government is operating and whose interest mainly do they serve. If we do not inform ourselves and ignore our duties as citizens, we deserve the abuse and exploitation that our rules inflect on us. By not participating actively and informing ourselves, we rightly deserve the corruption and lies perpetrated by our government whether it is the liberal, conservative, NDP. The idea of one man one vote is a right fought very hard to gain by heroes in the past, it was not granted without bloodshed. If we are so distracted by pornography, unbridled consumerism, drugs, alcohol, gambling, senseless cyberspace activity, then surely if we lose our fundamental rights and freedoms, we have only ourselves to blame. Political parties have their own agenda, and politicians tend to prevaricate to gain power and if we are willing dupes, then we are the losers. Politicians enjoy power, the citizens job is to take them into an accounting of their policies. Not all politicians are ugly people, but if we are supine in our attitude towards our government, then they will not conduct themselves honorably because we are not paying attention to their conduct.. knowledge of the workings of our government does not require academic credentials, just a commitment to be curious , access information and discuss these with fellow citizens. Together we can make Canada much better than we found it, taking our citizenship for granted leads to ignorance, prejudice, injustice and chaos.  The future of our children is at stake. Let us vote according to our thoughtful reflection and conscience. If we can go drinking, shopping ,gossiping,  golfing, fishing all year round, going to the polls once every 2-3 yrs. is not such a great deal of sacrifice. We need to give our children a good example in exemplary citizenship, it is our duty, not a choice. It is similar to arming ourselves to defend our country if we are invaded, it is similar to fighting in Europe to defend Democracy against Fascism.