COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Behind Winston’s back the voice from the telescreen was still babbling away about pig-iron and the overfulfilment of the Ninth Three-Year Plan. The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard. There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork. It was even conceivable that they watched everybody all the time. But at any rate they could plug in your wire whenever they wanted to. You had to live–did live, from habit that became instinct–in the assumption that every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every movement scrutinized. - 1984


Snowden alone in calling out Empire as naked
Rick Falkvinge is the founder of the first Pirate Party and campaigns for sensible information policy.

Published time: June 27, 2013 10:11


The American Empire stands naked, called out by one man among a hundred thousand who knew its dirty secrets and systematic betrayal of the world's trust.
While international politics in the West has been leaping over each other to suck up to The Empire's New Clothes following September 11, 2001, the United States wasted no time in reinforcing the order of Pax Americana - that the US would establish peace in the world through superior firepower.
The world was turned into a simple black-and-white "You're with us, or you're against us." In the decade that followed, many countries that were inconvenient to Pax Americana were invaded, none of which had anything to do with the events on September 11. 
The rattling of sabers were reminiscent of a high school bully: "if you don't accept that we can do whatever we want, we might be mean to you, so behave." Or, as US Secretary of State John Kerry expressed that sentence in just slightly more diplomatic language recently: "Hand over Snowden, or there may be consequences."
Most people in the United States aren't aware that their country is acting like their hated high school bully to most of the rest of the world. The few who do tend to take it with humor: bumper stickers have been seen satirizing this as "Be nice to America, or we'll bring democracy to your country", playing on the media spin that every war of aggression to maintain Pax Americana is about "bringing democracy" somewhere.
So when one man, Edward Snowden, reveals to the world that the Empire stands naked and that it really has been behaving like a bully, wiretapping everybody wholesale, there are shockwaves. But that's where the similarities with the folklore tale ends. Where the naked emperor cringed and realized the game was up, the naked Empire instead chooses to keep rewarding sucking up, pretending that nothing has been revealed at all, and to punish the whistleblower at all costs as a warning to others.
Politicians in the United States have been quick to call Snowden this, that and the other thing. No wonder. The surveillance hawks who couldn't care less of the human rights of the world would much rather talk about Edward Snowden as an individual than about the fact that the world's trust in the United States has been systematically betrayed wholesale.
Take Microsoft software as an important example. As part of the NSA unravelings, it was uncovered that Microsoft gives security holes to the National Security Agency for exploiting before it sends out security repair patches to its users and customers - essentially betraying the trust of every customer worldwide, and making sure that no government, corporation, or media outlet can ever trust Microsoft products again: for Microsoft gave the master key to every customers' operations to the NSA. 
Without Snowden setting the ball rolling, we would not have known this, and we would continue to have been owned - in the hacker and literal sense of the word - by the United States. Now, we can at least see that any Microsoft-developed software, and probably any closed US-developed software, is a huge security risk that no nation outside the United States can afford to take.
Today, Snowden is said to be comfortable on the inside of Sheremetyevo Airport outside Moscow, pending new travel documents being issued by some friendly country. (You have to love the fact that he's enraging US bully hawks by planning his trip to China, Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela. The only thing missing would be a trip to Pyongyang with a stopover in Tehran - and we find ourselves rooting for the countries that shield him, those countries we have been told sternly are black-and-white evil.) 
What's really interesting is how other people who have had their doubts about the United States have started to come forward. There are now rumors that those who have been doubting the Empire's ability to pay back its enormous debts are starting to raise their voices about it. No wonder: the United States has long been bankrupt, but people have been... pretending... otherwise to make sure that a crash to the world economy doesn't happen on their watch. 
If the doubts in creditworthiness take hold, things can come crashing down quicker than you would expect. Compare with 1987, at what felt like the height of the Cold War - who would have guessed that the Soviet Union would be formally dissolved just four years later?
If history teaches us anything, it is that all empires come to an end. History books could theoretically point at Snowden's leak of conscience as the starting point of major, major changes to the geopolitical order. At least they ended a blind and naive trust in the United States' interest in doing good for anybody but itself. 

202 comments:

  1. What do your European friends think about this, Deuce?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. What do your socialist swamprat friends think about it?

      Delete
    2. Believe it or not, I try and avoid talk on politics as I see nothing defensible about US foreign policy. Italy was once very, very pro-American. That is no longer so. The US has gone from being respected and admired to being feared. Europeans in general are far more cynical about politics and politicians. Other than on government buildings, you will not see Italian flags on private buildings.

      Israel is loathed, and there is almost universal bewilderment over unquestioned US support for Israel. There is a fear that the US is out of control and no longer a country that can solve problems of its own nor anyone else’s. In many ways, they think the US is the problem.

      Delete
    3. There is universal outrage over NSA spying and no sympathy for US bullying around the world.

      Delete
    4. Israel is loathed, and there is almost universal bewilderment over unquestioned US support for Israel.


      Is that why we give Egypt cash and weapons, we fund UNRWA? We increased the billions to the Palestinians under Obama? We supplied the Lebanese 248 million in ammo, night vision equipment and machine guns that went to Hezbollah? Is that why we have not moved the Embassy to Jerusalem? is that why America slams the State of Israel's building in Jerusalem? Is that why America reneged on it's security agreement with Israel that led to the 1967 war? Is that why America FOECED Israel several times to stop kicking the ass of the aggressor arab nations in numerous wars?

      Delete
    5. "unquestioned support"

      PURE propaganda.

      Delete
    6. "Israel is loathed"

      Really?

      By whom?

      Islamists?

      The fact is that out of the entire world, including moslem nations, ONLY 13 dont trade with Israel.

      Israel maintains diplomatic ties with 156 countries.

      Now it is true that the "man" in the street might find Israel dirty, disgusting, vile. But that says more to the ignorance of the person. I'd bet those with low opinions of Israel have never been.

      Deuce, Rat, Rufus? Tell us of your visits?


      Delete
    7. DeuceWed Jul 03, 07:41:00 AM EDT
      There is universal outrage over NSA spying and no sympathy for US bullying around the world.

      I have no problem with NSA spying on other nations. Nor do I have a problem with much of the bullying around the world.

      That shoots to shit your statement....

      "universal outrage" hardly.

      Delete
    8. Fact is that the WORLD is full of bullies.

      to point the finger at America as the sole bully is propaganda the "occupy movement" would be proud of..

      Delete
    9. Now that we had the infantile and emotional tirade, let’s see what the reliable antisemitic Jerusalem Post has to say on the matter

      Poll: Israel viewed negatively around the world By JPOST.COM STAFF05/17/2012 02:46

      Select Language​▼
      BBC survey measures public opinion on 22 countries, places Israel in company of North Korea, ahead of only Iran, Pakistan.

      Israel retained its position as one of the world's most negatively-viewed countries, according to BBC's annual poll published Wednesday night.

      With 50 percent of respondents ranking Israel negatively, Israel keeps company with North Korea, and places ahead of only Iran (55% negative) and Pakistan (51% negative).

      The 2012 Country Ratings Poll was conducted among 24,090 people worldwide, and asked respondents to rate whether the influence of 22 countries was “mostly positive” or “mostly negative.”

      Evaluations of the Jewish state, already largely unfavorable in 2011, have worsened in 2012. Out of the 22 countries polled, the majority in 17 of them view Israel negatively, while only three (the US, Nigeria and Kenya) view Israel positively. In Kenya, negative ratings of Israel fell by 10 points to 31%, while the country experienced an even larger increase in positive ratings of Israel, rising 16 points to 45%.

      Negative perceptions of Israel in EU countries have continue to rise, reaching 74% in Spain (up 8%), 65% in France (up 9%), while in Germany and Britain the negative views remain high but stable (69% and 68% respectively). In other Anglo countries, perceptions of Israel are worsening, including in Australia (65%), and Canada (59%).

      Among Muslim countries, perceptions of Israel have continued to deteriorate. Of particular concern for Israel is the country sitting on its southern neighbor, Egypt, where 85% of the population views Israel negatively, up 7% since 2011.

      In Asian countries, public opinion on Israel is growing increasingly antagonistic. In China, just 23% of those surveyed view Israel positively compared with 45% negatively. In India, overall opinion has shifter from being divided in 2011 to leaning negatively. In South Korea, negative views of Israel rose a full 15% (to 69%), while positive views decreased 11% (to 20%)

      Delete
    10. Unsurprisingly, the most negative views of Israel are found in the predominantly Muslim countries in the Middle East, with very large majorities in Lebanon (85%), Egypt (78%), Turkey (76%), and the UAE (73%) having negative views.

      Large majorities also have negative views in Europe, including Germany (77%), Greece (68%) and France (66%). Indonesia (71%), Australia (68%) and South Korea (62%) are the most negative countries in the Asia/Pacific region. Brazilians (72%) are the most negative in Latin America.

      Delete
    11. China continues to enjoy mildly positive ratings worldwide, with 16 out of 26 countries polled this year (excluding China) having mainly positive views of its influence, nine having mainly negative views and one divided. On average, China received a positive rating from 42% and a negative rating of 32%. Following a sharp drop (8%) in the previous year, views of China on average have remained largely stable over the past year among the countries polled in all three years.

      Positive views of China remain highest in African and some Middle Eastern countries. Majorities in Kenya (70%), the United Arab Emirates (68%), Lebanon (66%), and Nigeria (66%) view China positively. Interestingly, a plurality in Turkey (39%) sees China's influence as negative. Latin Americans tend to view China somewhat positively, with a majority in Chile (62%), and pluralities in Brazil (46%) and Argentina (32%) having this view, though Mexicans remain divided in their views of China.

      Delete
    12. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    13. Evaluations of the Jewish state, already largely unfavorable in 2011, have worsened in 2012. Out of the 22 countries polled, the majority in 17 of them view Israel negatively, while only three (the US, Nigeria and Kenya) view Israel positively. In Kenya, negative ratings of Israel fell by 10 points to 31%, while the country experienced an even larger increase in positive ratings of Israel, rising 16 points to 45%.


      wow, deep science...

      Talk about bullshit...

      Delete
    14. DeuceWed Jul 03, 10:05:00 AM EDT
      Now that we had the infantile and emotional tirade......


      Israel is loathed, and there is almost universal bewilderment over unquestioned US support for Israel.


      Is that why we give Egypt cash and weapons, we fund UNRWA? We increased the billions to the Palestinians under Obama? We supplied the Lebanese 248 million in ammo, night vision equipment and machine guns that went to Hezbollah? Is that why we have not moved the Embassy to Jerusalem? is that why America slams the State of Israel's building in Jerusalem? Is that why America reneged on it's security agreement with Israel that led to the 1967 war? Is that why America FOECED Israel several times to stop kicking the ass of the aggressor arab nations in numerous wars?


      Please show how the above statement is " infantile or an emotional tirade"

      Cant?

      Delete
    15. "Israel is loathed" Really?

      By whom? Islamists?

      The fact is that out of the entire world, including moslem nations, ONLY 13 dont trade with Israel.

      Israel maintains diplomatic ties with 156 countries.

      Now it is true that the "man" in the street might find Israel dirty, disgusting, vile. But that says more to the ignorance of the person. I'd bet those with low opinions of Israel have never been.

      Deuce, Rat, Rufus? Tell us of your visits?




      I love how you attack me and cannot answer the points. infantile? emotional tirade?

      How about you answer the point.

      Ever BEEN to Israel Sparky?

      Since when is a sampling of 24 thousand people out of a planet of 3 billion mean anything?

      You are a propaganda mill.


      Fact is: Israel has more relations with more nations than at anytime in her modern history.

      Israel has trade relations with all nations on the planet except 13 nations (islamists)

      Tourism to Israel from people across the planet is at record highs.

      I am not impressed with the BBC, their poll or you for that matter....

      Delete
    16. tell us deuce of your visit to Israel?

      tell us of the vile nation IN YOUR OWN WORDS....

      Dont go scanning google for anti-Israel activists's words...

      Tell us of your 1st hand knowledge....


      Or is that infantile? Try not to allow my emotional tirade about your lack of actual knowledge stand in your way.

      Delete
    17. deuce: let’s see what the reliable antisemitic Jerusalem Post has to say on the matter



      Actually Sparky, the Jpost didnt have anything to say, it reposted a BBC article.

      Is that infantile to point that out?

      Delete
    18. Hey Sparky,

      Serious question, ever get tired of being a cunt?

      Delete
    19. Oh I am so sorry, English not being my 1st language.

      I meant to say " do you ever get tired of being a fucking cunt"

      that's better...

      Delete
    20. Now an anoni tells us that the JPost is an unreliable source.

      But provides nothing but an emotional tirade to refute the JPost reporting.

      Typical of a liberal, all feelings, no facts.

      Delete
    21. This is the AIPAC Israeli firster in his finest form, incapable of anything based on fact, the emotionally challenged runt of the litter.



      AnonymousWed Jul 03, 10:43:00 AM EDT
      Hey Sparky,

      Serious question, ever get tired of being a cunt?

      Delete

      AnonymousWed Jul 03, 10:44:00 AM EDT
      Oh I am so sorry, English not being my 1st language.

      I meant to say " do you ever get tired of being a fucking cunt"

      that's better...

      Delete

      Delete
    22. These I will leave up, but let it be known that it is typical of what the cheer leader for all things Israeli, all the time, puts on this blog.

      He claims to be from Aipac.

      I take them down but before he goes on about everyone hating him because he is a Jew. I have no way of knowing if he is or is not.

      I do know that he is a fool, a liar, not that bright and if I could make him vanish, I would because worse of all, he is boring.

      Delete
    23. .

      to point the finger at America as the sole bully is propaganda the "occupy movement" would be proud of..

      Propaganda?

      Sole bully?

      Occupy Movement?

      Either you have no knowledge of the Occupy Movement or you are merely taking the scattergun approach to pulling shit out of your ass and throwing it around.

      Please show me where the 'movement' has endorsed the proposition that the U.S. is the 'sole' bully in the world. The first demonstrations may have started here but they spread quickly around the world.

      They don't complain about countries per se but about the corrupt practices those countries employ and the fact that the countries, all of them, are controlled by a corrupt 1%, the same type of abuses we speak of here every day.

      The pricks on the left call them radicals, the sheeple on the right call them socialists, that's enough to make me think they are on to something.

      .

      Delete
    24. Israel is right there with the NorKs, the two of them have attacked ships of the US Navy on the high seas.

      The Israeli attacked the USS Liberty, the NorKs the USS Pueblo.

      Little wonder both regimes are held in low esteem, everywhere in the world that the US MSM does not hold sway. Those regimes are held to be equivalent around the globe.
      Both are nuclear outlaws that do not adhere to the standards of the civilized world.

      Well, the Guatemalan government supports Israel, as the Israeli assisted in the genocide that gave the Guatemalans their own form Lebensraum. Those Mayan indians were not using the land "productively", enough, so they died. Killed by the Guatemalans with military equipment, training and advisers from Israel.

      Delete
    25. desert ratWed Jul 03, 11:21:00 AM EDT
      Now an anoni tells us that the JPost is an unreliable source.

      No, please review the exact words I wrote.

      Oh that is right, you are incapable of reading and understanding the exact words people write.

      Delete
    26. DeuceWed Jul 03, 11:39:00 AM EDT
      These I will leave up, but let it be known that it is typical of what the cheer leader for all things Israeli, all the time, puts on this blog.

      He claims to be from Aipac.

      I take them down but before he goes on about everyone hating him because he is a Jew. I have no way of knowing if he is or is not.

      I do know that he is a fool, a liar, not that bright and if I could make him vanish, I would because worse of all, he is boring.




      I NEVER claimed to "be from AIPAC"

      Once again you distort and lie

      Delete
    27. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    28. Fuck you cunt.

      Delete
    29. It's amazing what a jew hating, israel bashing inbred sack of lying shit you are.

      But the good news?

      It aint me that needs to point it out.

      you are one paranoid, anti-semite.

      ALL who read your daily israel bashings see it.

      You prove my point on an hourly basis.

      Delete
    30. It's funnier than anything to see a Israel hating troll like Deuce get pissy when called out on it...

      Embrace reality.

      You hate Israel.

      You hate that it is.

      You have it's people and it's leadership.

      But you are not a anti-semite...

      lol

      You are just so full of shit.

      Most of the Jew hater's I know are at least HONEST about it....

      Delete
    31. DeuceWed Jul 03, 06:23:00 PM EDT
      Get used to that bitch.


      Nothing to "get used to" I have been deleted and cussed at by far better than you.

      You are just a cyber jew hating bully.

      Must be tough walking in your size 6 shoes...

      Eh Sparky?

      Delete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
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    1. This comment has been removed by the author.

      Delete
  3. In 'golden age' of surveillance, US has big edge

    LONDON (AP) — The saga of Edward Snowden and the NSA makes one thing clear: The United States' central role in developing the Internet and hosting its most powerful players has made it the global leader in the surveillance game.

    Other countries, from dictatorships to democracies, are also avid snoopers, tapping into the high-capacity fiber optic cables to intercept Internet traffic, scooping their citizens' data off domestic servers, and even launching cyberattacks to win access to foreign networks.

    But experts in the field say that Silicon Valley has made America a surveillance superpower, allowing its spies access to massive mountains of data being collected by the world's leading communications, social media, and online storage companies. That's on top of the United States' fiber optic infrastructure — responsible for just under a third of the world's international Internet capacity, according to telecom research firm TeleGeography — which allows it to act as a global postmaster, complete with the ability to peek at a big chunk of the world's messages in transit.

    "The sheer power of the U.S. infrastructure is that quite often data would be routed though the U.S. even if it didn't make geographical sense," Joss Wright, a researcher with the Oxford Internet Institute, said in a telephone interview. "The current status quo is a huge benefit to the U.S."

    The status quo is particularly favorable to America because online spying drills into people's private everyday lives in a way that other, more traditional forms of espionage can't match. So countries like Italy, where a culture of rampant wiretapping means that authorities regularly eavesdrop on private conversations, can't match the level of detail drawn from Internet searches or email traffic analysis.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cyber Superpower.

    Economic and Moral Basketcase.

    ReplyDelete
  5. .

    Regardless of what the European people think. the people running the countries in the EU, despite their faux umbrage and croc tears over being spied upon themselves, evidently seem willing to go along when Big Bro jerks their chains.

    Bolivian leader's plane rerouted on Snowden fear


    MOSCOW — Bolivian President Evo Morales’s plane, ferrying him home from Moscow, was redirected to Vienna late Tuesday after France and Portugal refused to allow it to enter their airspace because of the belief that the American fugitive Edward Snowden was aboard, said Bolivian and Venezuelan authorities.

    Snowden, who revealed secret U.S. surveillance programs and fled to Moscow to stay beyond American reach, was not aboard the plane, an irate David Choquehuanca, Bolivia’s foreign minister, told reporters after the Bolivian delegation landed in Vienna. “We don’t know who invented this lie,” he said from Bolivia’s capital, La Paz.

    Russian President Vladimir Putin said Edward Snowden will have to stop leaking U.S. secrets if he wants to stay in Russia.

    Choquehuanca said the plane was an hour from French airspace when it was told it could not enter. “Portugal has to explain to us,” he said. “France has to explain to us why they canceled” flight authorization.

    The allegation that the plane had been redirected for reasons related to Snowden could not be verified.

    The White House, CIA and State Department all declined to comment. But the latest twist seemed to signal that U.S. authorities have been able to marshal support from European countries in what has been a feverish pursuit of the former National Security Agency contractor. It also underscored how Snowden has settled still deeper into isolation as one country after another has rejected his appeals for asylum since his disclosure of a trove of highly secret documents.

    But the diverting of Morales’s plane is sure to fan anger against the United States, which is trying to play down new revelations of spying against European allies while trying to win support to corral Snowden even from countries such as Russia, Bolivia and Venezuela, which are sharply at odds with the Obama administration.

    Venezuelan Foreign Minister Elias Jaua called the incident over Austria “an attempt on Evo Morales’s life.” He said it was a sign of how far “the empire” — a reference to the United States — and its “lackeys” would go “to hunt down a young man who has only said the truth.”

    Bolivia’s defense minister, Ruben Saavedra, who was on the flight, also blamed the United States, telling Bolivian media that “this proves with clarity an attitude of sabotage and plotting by the United States, pressuring European government.” He said that Italy, too, had barred Morales’s plane from its airspace.


    http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/snowden-withdraws-request-for-asylum-in-russia/2013/07/02/c034c13c-e2f0-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ground the First Family in Kenya for three year.

      Bob will say justice has been served, and he was right all along.

      Obama's brother living in the hut will be upgraded to one of the security support aircraft.

      Delete
    2. heh

      Meanwhile, Doug, I was elated to hear from my niece today.

      She is over the 100 percent mark on the "Get Off Your Ass and Do Something" Index.

      bpos

      Delete
  6. A tourist in Vienna is going through a graveyard and all of a

    Sudden he hears music. No one is around, so he starts searching

    For the source. He finally locates the origin and finds it is coming

    From a grave with a headstone that reads "Ludwig van Beethoven, 1770-

    1827". Then he realizes that the music is the Ninth Symphony and it is

    Being played backward!

    Puzzled, he leaves the graveyard and persuades a friend to

    Return with him. By the time they arrive back at the grave, the music

    Has changed. This time it is the Seventh Symphony, but like the

    Previous piece, it is being played backward.

    Curious, the men agree to consult a music scholar. When they

    Return with the expert, the Fifth Symphony is playing, again backward.

    The expert notices that the symphonies are being played in the reverse

    Order in which they were composed, the 9th, then the 7th, then the

    5th.

    By the next day the word has spread and a crowd has gathered

    Around the grave. They are all listening to the Second Symphony being

    Played backward. Just then the graveyard's caretaker ambles up to the

    Group.

    Someone in the group asks him if he has an explanation for the

    Music.

    "I would have thought it was obvious" the caretaker says.

    "He's decomposing."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Having watched Redford's film,
      "An Indecent Proposal"

      In which the wife is paid a Million Dollars to have sex with another man, David Felman's wife asks him if he would let her have sex with another man for a million dollars.

      Feldman replied:
      "I don't think we could get a million, but maybe we could get 55 dollars 2 thousand times."

      Delete
  7. .

    Crucial Rule Is Delayed a Year for Obama’s Health Law

    WASHINGTON — In a significant setback for President Obama’s signature domestic initiative, the administration on Tuesday abruptly announced a one-year delay, until 2015, in his health care law’s mandate that larger employers provide coverage for their workers or pay penalties. The decision postpones the effective date beyond next year’s midterm elections...

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/03/us/politics/obama-administration-to-delay-health-law-requirement-until-2015.html?pagewanted=1&_r=0&hp

    .

    ReplyDelete
  8. Who is the terrorist ?

    At least 17 people have been killed in a suspected US drone strike on a compound in north-west Pakistan, Pakistani officials say.

    At least two missiles were fired at a house in North Waziristan tribal region early on Wednesday, the deadliest drone attack in Pakistan this year.

    It is the third such attack since new PM Nawaz Sharif won elections in May. He has demanded an end to such attacks.

    A government statement said the strike violated Pakistan's sovereignty.

    "Pakistan has repeatedly emphasised the importance of bringing an immediate end to drone strikes," a foreign ministry spokesman said.

    "They are counter-productive, entail loss of innocent civilian lives and have human rights and humanitarian implications."

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Wow, 6000 miles away from home, America blows up people with rockets.

      It must be Israel's fault....

      Delete
  9. Good luck with those Nato supply convoys through Pakistan.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. And WHY is America still there?

      Delete
    2. Protecting the heroin supply chain to Russia.

      Delete
  10. India and Israel should be included in NATO.

    bpos



    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. According to my niece, in the one political discussion we had.

      She has no particular love for Pakistan nor any hatred at all for Israel.

      :)

      bpos

      Delete
    2. Bright girl!

      bpos

      Delete
    3. Just another 'third world opinion' from a wonderful Lady north of Mumbai.

      bpos

      Delete
  11. Global oil production, the first 3 months of the year, is running about 400,000 bbls/day below the same period last year.

    For what it's worth.

    ReplyDelete
  12. boobie, neither Israel nor India are anywhere near the North Atlantic.

    No reason for any polity that has not signed into the civilized world of the NPT to be given mutually obligatory treaty benefits or responsibilities, either.

    The US should not provide type of aid, economic or military to any nation that is not signatory to and operating under the structure of the NPT.

    Since before the Reagan Administration the US has been concerned with nuclear weapons proliferation. It is oxymoronic for the US to support regimes that reject joining the civilized world.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. The US should not provide any type of aid ...

      mea culpa, gotta get me an editor

      Delete
    2. Her opinion, rat.

      And if nomenclature is a big deal, change the name of the organization.

      bpos

      Delete
    3. heh

      How close are Hawaii, Alaska, California to the north Atlantic?

      bpos

      Delete
    4. We be global village now dude!

      bpos

      Delete
    5. .

      The US should not provide type of aid, economic or military to any nation that is not signatory to and operating under the structure of the NPT

      I disagree. The NPT is a farce instigated onto the rest of the world by the big players so as to maintain the current balance of power. The treaty offers incentives for those willing to commit to not obtain the bomb. What has that commitment meant for Iran?

      If you are not on their list of friends they will stick you with sanctions and threats of war.
      If you are on their list, they will aid you regardless as to whether you are a party to the treaty, not mentioning any names.

      The U.S. has violated the terms of the treaty before, one example being India, where despite India not being a treaty participant and actually having bombs, the U.S. offered a technology transfer treaty to them.

      The only really effective treaties have been bi-lateral ones like those between the U.S. and Russia/Soviet Union were the number of weapons was significantly reduced.

      .

      Delete
    6. The NPT has not performed the way it was intended, Q, no doubt of that.
      There can be little argument to your critique of how the US has ignored the NPT.

      If the US were to begin to honor the terms of the Treaty, well, that would be an improvement over the present state of affairs.

      That the US has violated the spirit, and perhaps the letter, of the NPT since its inception there is also no doubt.

      The US has the power to change its own policies, it should come into compliance with the NPT, immediately.

      Delete
    7. Hawaii, Alaska, California ...
      None are signatory to the NATO Treaty.

      Delete
  13. .

    Wisdom from on high.

    The UN Secretary General states, "the Snowden case is something I consider to be misuse." When questioned, he stated, "Access can be for the greater good, but sometimes it creates bigger problems through misuse by individuals."

    When asked about the USA spying on the EU at their UN offices in NY, Moon said,

    "I hope this will be resolved through dialogue so that the case will not affect existing friendly, cooperative relationships among the parties concerned."

    Translation:

    "Don't rock the boat. Can't we all just get along?"

    GET OUT OF THE UN!!!!

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/03/edward-snowden-digital-misuse-ban-ki-moon

    .

    ReplyDelete
  14. .

    When lying liars lie.

    Oh, what tangled webs we weave when first we practice to deceive.

    Clapper is a complete embarrassment, not only to the U.S. but to himself.

    Initially, when asked if the US had a program to collect info on millions of Americans, he responded "No."

    When the Snowden revelations broke, he said that his comment the "least untruthful" response possible. That is OZ-speak for "I lied".

    His staff at ODNI admitted to Sen. Wyden that the testimony was erroneous but refused to correct the public record.

    Then, about a week ago he came back and explained he hadn't understood the question.

    Now he comes back and says, that he forgot about Sec 215 of the Patriot Act and also the NSA metadata collection effort.

    The man is the Director of National Intelligence and he just forgot about the NSA and the Patriot Act.

    How credulous does he think the American people are?

    Or maybe he actually knows.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/02/james-clapper-senate-erroneous

    .

    ReplyDelete
  15. .

    Defending the Obama administration, Paul Krugman pronounced that "the NSA stuff is a policy dispute, not the kind of scandal the right wing wants." Really? In what conceivable sense is this not a serious scandal? If you, as an American citizen, let alone a journalist, don't find it deeply objectionable when top national security officials systematically mislead your representatives in Congress about how the government is spying on you, and repeatedly lie publicly about resulting political controversies over that spying, what is objectionable? If having the NSA engage in secret, indiscriminate domestic spying that warps if not outright violates legal limits isn't a "scandal", then what is?

    For many media and political elites, the answer to that question seems clear: what's truly objectionable to them is when powerless individuals blow the whistle on deceitful national security state officials. Hence the endless fixation on Edward Snowden's tone and choice of asylum providers, the flamboyant denunciations of this "29-year-old hacker" for the crime of exposing what our government leaders are doing in the dark, and all sorts of mockery over the drama that resulted from the due-process-free revocation of his passport. This is what our media stars and progressive columnists, pundits and bloggers are obsessing over in the hope of distracting attention away from the surveillance misconduct of top-level Obama officials and their serial deceit about it.

    What kind of journalist - or citizen - would focus more on Edward Snowden's tonal oddities and travel drama than on the fact that top US officials have been deceitfully concealing a massive, worldwide spying apparatus being constructed with virtually no accountability or oversight? Just ponder what it says about someone who cares more about, and is angrier about, Edward Snowden's exposure of these facts than they are about James Clapper's falsehoods and the NSA's excesses.


    Paul Krugman is representative of the butt-boy press and the D.C. elite sycophants who along with guys like Ban ki Moon are trying to wash the abuses of the US intelligence establishment under the rug by 'shooting the messenger'.

    Someone above slurred the Occupy Movement but it was them who publically called out the Munchkins of OZ along with the pricks on Wall Street that control them and the MSM hacks that abet them.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jul/03/clapper-lying-snowden-eu-bolivia

    .

    ReplyDelete
  16. The events in Egypt are, as the saying goes, "extremely interesting".

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Chinese curse:

      May you live in interesting times.

      .

      Delete
    2. >>>>All times are interesting, especially when nothing happens.<<<<


      from Sayings of Bpos

      bpos

      Delete
    3. As I have said from the beginning, back in 2011, the Egyptian Army was and still is in charge of Egypt.

      The President of Egypt serves at the pleasure of the military of Egypt.
      The Egyptian military is a Security Partner of the United States.

      Those who thought the Muslim Brotherhood was in charge of Egypt, have been proven wrong in their assessment of the reality of the political situation in Egypt.

      Tally Ho!

      Delete
    4. Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is a personality disorder[1] in which the individual is described as being excessively preoccupied with issues of personal adequacy, power, prestige and vanity.

      Persons diagnosed with a Narcissistic Personality Disorder are characterized by unwarranted feelings of self-importance. They have a sense of entitlement and demonstrate grandiosity in their beliefs and behavior. They have a strong need for admiration, but lack feelings of empathy for others. These qualities are usually defenses against a deep feeling of inferiority and of being unloved.

      Symptoms of this disorder, as defined by the DSM-IV-TR include:[1]
      Takes advantage of others to reach own goals
      Expects to be recognized as superior and special, without superior accomplishments
      Expects constant attention, admiration and positive reinforcement from others
      Envies others and believes others envy him/her
      Is preoccupied with thoughts and fantasies of great success, enormous attractiveness, power, intelligence
      Lacks the ability to empathize with the feelings or desires of others
      Is arrogant in attitudes and behavior
      Has expectations of special treatment that are unrealistic

      Delete
    5. .

      The President of Egypt serves at the pleasure of the military of Egypt.
      The Egyptian military is a Security Partner of the United States.


      True enough. And they will remain such as long as the US continues to bribe them to keep the peace with Israel.

      However, in the end they will do what it takes to support their own interests. They control 40% of the Egyptian economy and they aren't likely to risk that to support the US or the Israelis. They will proceed along whatever path they view as more profitable.

      Some have suggested that what is happening in Egypt us all part of the US's master plan, a key part of their ME policy. I disagree. I see what is going on there as just one more sign of the US' incoherent foreign policy, one more clusterfuck among many, the ongoing comedy staring US clowns such as Clinton and Kerry.

      Now, if you consider having a super majority of Egyptians from every political persuasion disliking, even hating, the US administration and its policies, well...

      .

      Delete
    6. The Federals do not care what the people of the US think of them, Q, why in the world would they give a hoot about the feelings of the Egyptian people towards US.

      The permanent Federal government, men like Mr Clapper, don't give a hoot in hell about how people view the Federal government. Whether those people are in Michigan or Egypt.

      I find it interesting that the TWA Flight 800 was back in the news. With the admonition from the Federals that the folk should trust the report from the National Transportation Safety Board.
      Why the people of the United States should trust the National Transportation Safety Board more than the ATF, IRS or the NSA goes unmentioned.

      People have died, the Federals have lied, the two go hand in hand, when it comes to trusting proclamations by the government.

      Delete
  17. .

    We have seen stories on how upset the EU is about the U.S. spying on them and how dire consequences could ensue. Utter bullshit.

    Countries willing to allow U.S. rendition flights through their airspace now are unwilling to let their airspace be used for transporting a political prisoner in pursuit of his right under international law to seek asylum. Germany perhaps the biggest critic of the spying on EU members refuses asylum for Snowden who exposed that spying.

    Do they do this out of some perverted interpretation of the law or, more likely, do they do it because of what they may lose in their relationship with the U.S.

    We already know Britain shares much of the information gleaned by the NSA and in addition does as much spying on enemies and allies alike as the U.S. does.

    They are all corrupt.

    Yet, people still treat movements like Occupy with contempt, concentrating their invective on the messenger as they do with Snowden. To the sheeple and the MSM enablers he is a young 'hacker', narcissistic and self-serving, trying to expand his fifteen minutes of fame. Occupy is a dirty bunch of loafers, hippies, and drug addicts, anti-American socialists.

    In all of this, they concentrate on the messenger rather than the message. Through their blather and their bullshit they ignore the issues raised, issues that make the Eloi uncomfortable, issues that hacks like Krugman wish would just go away, issues the illiterati in the U.S. and around the world haven't a clue about since they fail to learn the facts as they live from day to day trying to make ends meet.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  18. Quirk, from your quote: . . . not the kind of scandal the right wing wants."

    Krugman didn't seem to be saying that it wasn't a scandal - just that it wasn't the "kind" of scandal the right wingers wanted.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      Krugman has tried to equate (and diminish) the issue of the U.S. spying on its citizens with some 'policy dispute' between right and left. While some may try to make out that this is a political issue, it's not. It's been going on for years under both Democrats and Republicans.

      These jerks (the munchkins in OZ, the MSM elites, the pundits, et al) try to change the subject and blame it on the other party, or blame it on the messenger, or do anything to get the public's mind off the real issue. This is not a political issue, it's a civil rights issue.

      .

      Delete
    2. Data mining violates civil rights how?

      Delete
    3. .

      Civil rights as defined by the Constitution, yes, IMO.

      .

      Delete
    4. Your opinion is worth shit in a court of law. Make an argument fool
      . What personal papers are seized? What right is violated by a government perusing data?

      Delete
    5. .

      Well, well, another anonymous anonymi asshole, and this one with a law degree.

      I would love to give my opinion in a court of law, dipshit, as would numerous senators if you can believe them, as would the ACLU and other NGO's, as would a number of journalist who have been targeted and have brought forward lawsuits, as would various citizens who think they have been targeted, as would at least one accused person on trial for terrorism, as would Rand Paul who is trying to organize a drive to get this reviewed by SCOTUS.

      But you know how this thing goes, or you should.

      If you are unawares of how these programs are conducted, how they are conducted in secrecy with no one being allowed to talk about them, not the courts that are supposed to police them (they are not even able to keep records), or the few in Congress that are allowed to review general, non-specific info on them (info they are not even allowed to take notes on), or Congress in general who have been denied access to documents that explain the administration's interpretations of the laws Congress passes, or the corporations, libraries, e-mail services, telcon companies that are forced to provide the info but not allowed to make that public or notify the people who are targeted or listened in on, or the people that are listed in on who even if they want to bring a law suit can't because they have no standing due to the fact that the government won't officially admit the programs exist thus making it impossible for anyone to make the case they have been harmed, if you are not aware of any of this shit then you waste my time. You are too fucking dumb for a response.

      However, if you know all this stuff and still believe you can 'trust' this government to tell you the truth after all the lies, after all the scandals you have seen over the last few months then you are truly felony stupid and way too credulous to even bother arguing with.

      Make an argument?

      I have been making arguments here on these subjects for years, since Bush started abusing the law. If you are a regular on the blog, and just don't have the balls to sign in except under Anonymous then you know my arguments. If you are merely a troll, one who was formally asked to leave because they were such an asshole for instance, then I suggest you go back through the archives. I can't waste my time on you.

      What personal papers were seized?

      Personal papers? I thought I was a technical illiterate. Try to keep up. These days we use things like cell phones, e-mail, twitter feeds, and Skype. The US captures all of these things and more. The only ones who wouldn't know that are members of the Illiterati.

      What right is violated by a government perusing data?

      Try reading the Constitution. It's a short read. I would suggest you start with the Fourth Amendment, then the First, and then, well...

      What right was violated.

      Lord, you are dense.

      .

      Delete
  19. Watching Fox, it looks like the Fourth of July in Egypt!

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies


    1. Deuce

      I am seeking an opinion on this subject from my niece. Will report back.

      bpos

      Delete
    2. Can you not think for yourself?

      Delete
  20. Marx's contention was that all of history was just a one-sided contest between the wealthy, and (most importantly) Powerful, and the masses.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't believe Marx would have drawn much of a distinction between Barack Obama, Vladimir Putin, and Francois Hollande, nor between the power structures that back them up.

      Delete
    2. A Marxian viewpoint would be that an awakening of the hoi polloi in the U.S. would be almost as frightening to the Russian power structure as it would be to the American Privileged Elites.

      Delete
    3. Marx was full of shit.

      bpos

      Delete
    4. He didn't even get the economics of his own time right. Much less real thought.

      Rufus, move to Cuba.

      bpos

      Delete
    5. Or Cambodia.

      bpos

      Delete
    6. North Korea.

      bpos

      Delete
    7. Even the Russians don't believe that line of crap anymore.

      Putin said don't try that.

      bpos

      Delete
    8. Bob, go away; you're a dumbfuck.

      Marx actually got a Lot of things right (including the economics of "his" time, and many of the economics of "ours.")

      Delete
    9. Rufus is back to cursing, like Caliban.

      bpos

      Delete
    10. Betcha a doughnut to an Amero that boobie has never read a word Marx wrote.

      He just regurgitates what he was taught as a child.
      The mindless repetition of old propaganda lines never ceases to amaze.

      Marx did not foresee the benefits of technology or the rise of effectively organized labor.

      But the decline of the US middle class, the destruction of broad based wealth in the crony capitalist system that has developed in the US does follow Engels/Marx predictions and projections.

      They just missed a couple of chapters in the middle of the story.

      Delete
    11. Very good, Rat. :)

      Marx made one mistake. After a most likely correct prediction that Germany could Not go directly from Aristocracy to Socialism (without, first going through the Democratic/Capitalist stage,) he convinced himself, in his old age, that it might possibly be achieved in Russia.

      Delete
    12. Rat googles...


      ha ha ha ha ha ha

      Delete
    13. Actually, the opinion was formed from ...
      The Great Ideas of Philosophy, 2nd Edition
      taught by Professor Daniel N Robinson of oxford University.
      Part 4 of 5, Lecture 44: Marxism - Dead But Not Forgotten.

      The set of 5 disks put out by "The Teaching Company" is an interesting listen.
      Doc Robinson is associated with Georgetown University and Colombia, along with Oxford.

      A little post graduate learning never hurts. Never had much of a reason to study Philosophy in school, but the 45 hours of lectures were worth listening to, as the heat waved through.

      Delete
    14. haHAHAHhaha

      It is time to expropriate the expropriators like rat and redistribute his stolen rich bottom land!

      This however is true:>>
      Marx did not foresee the benefits of technology or the rise of effectively organized labor.<<

      But is only part of Karl's failures.

      bpos

      Delete
    15. None of the nations on boobie's list were Marxist.
      The Communists used Marx as an ideological figure head, but never instituted Marxism.

      No one ever did, or I think, could have.

      No more than anyone instituted the "Plan" put forth in Plato's "Republic".

      Delete
    16. Karl didn't even have close to correct figures on the economics he was trying to talk about. How could he, sitting in a library with no help?

      bpos

      Delete
    17. Then where is the Marxist nation?

      One would think someone would have stumbled upon the correct formula by now.

      Sweden?

      Abolish private property now! Steal rat's land!

      Where is the 'withering away of the state'?

      Arizona?

      The outlines of Marxism are like a myth....battle of good and evil.....end times.....a chicken in every pot forever....

      bpos

      Delete
    18. Rufus wants the state to 'wither away' by knowing what is going on in your bedroom via NSA.

      bpos

      Delete
    19. That bottom land is owned by a Nevada Trust or a Panamanian Corporation, I do not even know which, boobie.
      I do not own it.
      Would not want to. I am not that materialistic.

      I am sure that in reality no one owns the land, but the government.
      The property taxes you complain of give proof that you do not own the lands that you believe to be yours.
      If you do not pay, annually, for the right to "own" that land, the government will give title to the person or corporation that does pay the fee, after three years of you not paying.
      The government will strip you of any property "rights" and give title to the land to another.

      The government retains "Eminent Domain" over all the land in the country.

      That is ultimate "ownership" and it does not reside with any individual, but in the government.

      That's the way it really is, little matter the propaganda they taught you in the public schools. Much like your ignorance of Fleming v Nestor and your idea that you "earned" your Federal welfare benefits. Your "education" has failed you, in so far a public policy is concerned.

      Delete
    20. I figure Marx was starting to hear (although he was afflicted with a condition that might have made him deaf before it killed him) the footsteps of mortality, and becoming impatient when he convinced himself that it might be possible to develop a Communist State based on the "Mir" villages.

      Mir communes

      Delete
    21. "sitting in a library, with No help?"

      Man, you need to do some reading before you start writing.

      Delete
  21. >>>>Bob,

    Good for the military! They will handle things well till a President can be elected that the majority will approve of. My Egyptian girlfriend concurred.

    Advice from Vegas and Egypt.<<<<

    Some of these women are, unbelievably, for, of all things, some rights for women!

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  22. That Egyptian military statement was interesting in the emphasis it put on youth.

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. boobie, you and your supposed expert, the quot, have been shown to be wrong about Middle East politics, again.

      That you had to introduce a new character to your cast, to tell us you've been wrong all along, timely to be sure.

      Delete
    2. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

      Delete
    3. 66.6% of Egyptians are age 29, or younger.

      The Military understand their customers. :)

      Delete
    4. Our Foreign Aid to Egypt should be to re-establish Tourism as the number 1 wealth generator.

      Brotherhood backers need not apply.

      Delete
  23. Even tho the Military was already in control, today they had a coup celebrated by a massive public display of support for their plan to have new elections.

    ---

    15 Photos From the Tahrir Square Protests You’ll Never See In Legacy Media.

    A massive wave of anti-Obama sentiment in Egypt has been utterly ignored by vintage media, even though the protests may be the largest in all of human history.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Probly won't have enthusiastic agreement from Socialist Rufie that Obama could possibly be less than perfect.

    Still not to late to blame Bush, after all.

    ReplyDelete
  25. Immigrants account for all job gains since 2000: native-born workers’ employment has fallen

    The Center for Immigration Studies report, which is being released Wednesday, says 22.4 million immigrants of working age held jobs at the beginning of this year, up 5.3 million over the total in 2000. But native-born workers with jobs dropped 1.3 million over that same period, from 114.8 million to 113.5 million.

    Meanwhile, the number of Americans who aren’t in the labor force at all has jumped by almost 13 million to reach 48.6 million — a finding the report’s authors say signals profound changes in the American job market and challenges conventional wisdom that immigration is good for the economy.

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    SEE RELATED: Senate bill won’t stop illegal immigration

    --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Glad Socialist Rufie's hero has done so much to reduce inequality over the past 4 plus years, and his tireless effort in support of Amnesty will further render this country easy fodder for blaming capitalism and wealth inequality for all our woes.

      Couldn't be that Government Policies have fostered and encouraged the Balkanization of Society and Cultures, replacing the melting pot with a Socialist Subnation of Victims ruled by their Elite "Betters"

      (Non-Ivy League Plebes Not Welcome)

      Delete
  26. The vast majority of the poor health outcomes that result in the statistics that Rufie loves to quote to "Prove" the superioriy of Socialism come from the victim classes that result from our Welfare state.

    Send a population of these victims proportionate to Sweden's population to Sweden, and watch the percentage of successful outcomes plummet.

    ReplyDelete
  27. "Extreme Socialism" e.g. Communism is an idiot idea.

    "Pure Laissez-Faire Capitalism," also, can't last. It's just too tough on the working class.

    A long-term, workable solution has to entail some mix of the two. The only reasonable argument would have to be about the exactly correct mixture.

    ReplyDelete
  28. This country is further from "Pure Laissez-Faire Capitalism," than it's ever been,

    ...and the outcomes of team Welfare and Government Industrial Crony Capitalism, along with immigration targeted massively toward losers eager to become Welfare Victims, along with populations ripe with "domestic terrorists" are bringing about the rapid demise of this once great Country, economically and culturally.

    But our Socialist Friend says more Socialism is The Answer.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hope you get to feeling better, Doug.

      Delete
    2. Highly Educational and Enlightening Response.

      Delete
  29. You continue to ignore and avoid all the negative outcomes of Welfare Government Programs and insane Immigration Policies on our Economy, Culture, and Social Fabric.

    ...It's just too tough on the working class.

    No Shit

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I don't ignore anything. However, I do support Obamacare, and that outrages you. Too bad.

      Delete
    2. I also support strict border enforcement.

      Delete
    3. I've written about previously enacted policies more than Obamacare for days, you've never had a sustantive response.

      Easier to say "I'm Enraged" by Obamacare.

      Also silly.

      ...as it is to contend that more Socialism is the answer to what ills this country.

      Delete
    4. I usually don't respond to you, Doug; and, I don't intend to very often in the future.

      Delete
    5. Big Surprise.
      Can't even address the facts of the matter ONCE.

      I could say I hope you get better, but since you say you won't even try, not likely.

      You're far above mere factual discourse.

      Hope and Change

      Delete
    6. You insult me, call me names, and then profess a desire for "factual discourse." meh.

      Delete
    7. Why shouldn't he insult you? You are insulting.

      Doug has never asked me to suck his dick.

      bpos

      Delete
    8. Demanded, actually is the word I should have used.

      bpos

      Delete
    9. Stay out of my business, dumbshit.


      And, oh yeah, blow me.

      Delete
    10. You don't even have a business.

      And if you did I would not want any part of it.

      bpos

      Delete
    11. I described him:
      Resident Socialist and Obamaphile.

      The Truth Hurts.

      Delete
  30. That the politicos cannot even come to terms with how many of the residents of the United States are undocumented does make the idea of providing them all a "Pathway to Citizenship" a bit outlandish.

    But that all of those undocumented residents, whether there be 11 million or 22 million, should become documented goes without saying.

    The government should know who those people are.
    Not allow them to live in an underground society, within our midst.

    If the US were to withdraw its military forces from Korea, Japan, Germany, England and Italy we would have enough troops to patrol the borders of the United States.
    Close the frontier to unauthorized crossings tighter than a barrel of South Dakota oil.

    We can secure the borders of the United States, rather than those of foreign lands, without any added costs to the taxpayers of the US.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Would have been the compassionate thing for W to do.
      Rove, exploitative businesses, and other factors outweighed compassion in the final analysis.

      Not only did they not fix the Temporary Visa problems after 9-11, but now they propose to make it worse as part of "comprehensive reform."

      Boston was not the begining, nor will it be the end of newly-imported "Domestic Terrorism"

      Delete
  31. We all here are good Marxists and wish for the withering away of the state, especially at tax time or when someone gets arrested for DUI.

    "Work is the curse of drinking man."

    Right, mates?


    hoho


    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  32. On this day in 1985, the science-fiction hit movie “Back to the Future” was released in movie theaters.

    ReplyDelete
  33. Another big National Security Agency scoop is coming soon, Glenn Greenwald said on Tuesday.

    “I will say that there are vast programs, both domestic and international spying, that the world will be shocked to learn about, that the NSA is engaged in with no democratic accountability and that’s what driving our reporting,” Greenwald said.

    Greenwald also said President Barack Obama’s administration is using leaker Edward Snowden as an example to prevent future whistleblowers from coming forward.

    “I think what the Obama administration wants, and has been trying to establish for the last almost five years now with the unprecedented war on whistleblowers that it is waging, and to make it so that everybody is petrified of coming forward with information about what our political officials are doing in the dark that is deceitful, illegal or corrupt,” Greenwald said.

    ReplyDelete
  34. As Egyptians celebrated their removal of Mr. Morsi, they also turned their eyes toward Syria. Many in the cheering crowds said that the removal of the Muslim Brotherhood party in Egypt will be a blow to Brotherhood-linked fighters in Syria, who have joined Syrian rebels fighting against Bashar al-Assad's regime.

    ...

    The military's Monday ultimatum came after millions of Egyptians flooded into the streets to demand that the Islamist president resign and call early elections. The conflict exploded into fighting on Tuesday night, when 18 people died in clashes between Mr. Morsi's supporters and his opponents outside Cairo University in the suburb of Giza, according to the spokesman of Egypt's ministry of health.

    The U.S. State Department, which closed its embassy near Cairo's Tahrir Square on Tuesday, warned Americans to defer travel to Egypt and advised U.S. citizens living in Egypt to depart "because of the continuing political and social unrest." The U.K.'s Foreign Secretary also advised British citizens to avoid nonessential travel to Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I have defered my travel plans until John Kerry declares that I will be safe in the land of the Pyramids.

      Why haven't those Pyramids gone the way of the twin Buddahs by now?

      Too much of a task even for hot-headed Islamists, I guess.

      Delete
  35. What is going on in Egypt is totally fascinating. I can't take my eyes off of this doings. I may be all wrong but this seems really important for the mid east. If the Egyptian people are finally sick of the MB can this be anything other than good news?

    One question: where'd they get the fireworks?

    :)

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  36. The US is on the wrong side of history in Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I'm not so sure that it's so much "being on the wrong side," as it is "unable to keep up." :)

      Delete
  37. Snowden should be given political amnesty on a US university campus, Kent State comes to mind.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. They could then ruin his life with continual harassment by the IRS and FBI as if he was a conservative activist.

      Delete
  38. Obama the Discredited :

    President Obama said Wednesday the U.S. is “deeply concerned” about the Egyptian military’s overthrow of President Mohammed Morsi, and he called on Egypt’s armed forces to return power to civilian authorities rapidly.
    “I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsi and his supporters,” Mr. Obama said in a statement.


    Read more: http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/jul/3/obama-deeply-concerned-over-egypt-calls-civilian-r/#ixzz2Y2iL7sUF
    Follow us: @washtimes on Twitter

    ReplyDelete
  39. For the record, I am deeply pleased; I would be more pleased to see millions of Americans doing this to Mordor on The Po.

    ReplyDelete
  40. Okay, Am I the only one that's getting a funny feeling about all this?

    The Iran election, the protests in Turkey (over a "park?") the protests in Brazil, Egypt.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Snowden is a fun story, and Syria is what it is . . . . but, these other stories are pure grass roots democracy . . . . or, something like it. :)

      Delete
  41. You could thank the Federal Reserve for exporting inflation.

    On the plus side 17 MILLION peacefully protested today in Egypt. SEVENTEEN MILLION!

    Imagine that in DC.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The Press is doing all it can to stoke race riots here when and if the innocent white hispanic, Mr. Zimmerman is found not guilty in the shooting of Obama's Son, Travon.
      So sad to think they would have been able to share some blow and weed together in 3 years when Obama gets out of the Prison that Michelle described.
      Now they'll have to wait until he takes his place as the Supreme Sovereign in Heaven.
      Blessed be his name, and...

      PBOH

      Delete
  42. Well, they weren’t all peaceful. Give or take a hundred or two.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. No, but overall . . . . pretty danged peaceful.

      My two cents is: Young people, and cell phones.

      They Young are, actually, the Majority in many of these countries.

      Delete
    2. The statement by the Egyptian military spoke directly to the young, supporting them.

      Maybe the young don' want no mosq no mo'.

      bpos

      Delete
    3. 2/3rds of Egyptians are under the age of 30. 2/3rds.

      Delete
  43. Almost sounds like the dreaded Egyptian Tea Party.

    Put them all on the Rufian Security State Watch List.

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  44. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  45. .

    My opinion of CNN remains pretty low but I have to admit they have balls. Today they were broadcasting from on top of a mosque in the MB section of that huge crowd.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Shades of those Glory Days when Bernard and that other guy braved US Bombardment of Iraq in their Hotel Room in Baghdad.

      I was a daily viewer, then.

      The First Name in News, or whatever they called it.

      Same stirring Dramatic Music over and over too.

      A welcome change from watching Biden Lynch Thomas electronically.

      Did cut a handsome figure when he had real hair tho.

      And a Pube to stand on for factual backup.

      Delete
    2. I left out the Traitorous Aussie and the Scud Stud.

      For Shame.

      Delete
  46. Still no word from my niece concerning these events, Deuce.

    Will report ASAP.

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  47. .

    The military moved in after four days of huge demonstrations against Morsi. Much of the anger grew from the country’s dismal economic situation and the ever-growing burden it projects on already strapped Egyptians.

    Analysts said Egypt could be moving toward a worst-case scenario economically — from increasing fuel shortages and blackouts, a sudden and sharp depreciation of the currency that will make everything more expensive, and a depletion of foreign currency reserves so severe it could make importing critical oil and food items difficult.

    “I think they are sort of entering uncharted territory,” said Caroline Freund, an analyst at the Peterson Institute for International Economics in Washington.

    “Without political stability and policy predictability, investors and tourists are not going to come back,” Freund said.


    http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130703/NATION/307030119#ixzz2Y39wQ6QR

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. .

      “Fighting unemployment and poverty is one of the essential aims of the new wave of revolution.”

      Egypt has relied on tens of billions of dollars of loans from wealthy Gulf countries such as Qatar and even oil-rich neighbor Libya to shore up fast-depleting foreign currency reserves, used to pay for imports and to prop up the value of the local currency.

      An Associated Press compilation in April found that Egypt had sought or was in talks for more than $30 billion in cash injections from other countries since the fall of Mubarak — the vast majority since Morsi was inaugurated in June 2012.

      Freund said those cash injections may have bought Egypt some time. But in the end, they probably did the country more harm than good, because the money came with no strings attached, and Egypt did not use the time it bought to fundamentally fix the economy...


      http://www.detroitnews.com/article/20130703/NATION/307030119#ixzz2Y3B8p7IP

      .

      Delete
  48. .

    Just saw this in the following article. If true, it makes me wonder about the legality of providing aid to the Syrian rebels.

    Obama said he has directed his staff to review U.S. assistance to Egypt. American law forbids aid to countries that remove democratic leaders via a military coup, though Obama did not use that term in his carefully worded statement.

    http://www.freep.com/usatoday/article/2486925

    I'm sure the administration would say that the Syrian election was a sham and not legitimate.

    In 2007, Assad was the unanimous choice of the Syrian Assembly. The Syrian Assembly was elected earlier the same year in an election boycotted by the opposition.

    Over 95% of eligible voters voted and Assad got
    over 97% of the vote.

    The US says the election was fixed. However, in 2007 Syria was doing pretty good. It was before the recession and the droughts that hit there. You would have to wonder why 95% of eligible voters would bother to turn out if things were so bad and Assad was the only candidate.

    Would Assad's government qualify as democratically elected?

    Evidently not according to the Big O.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  49. .

    Pull up the online WaPo.

    They have a series of pictures of Egyptians celebrating.

    The first picture is of a group of women.

    Woof!!!

    .

    ReplyDelete
  50. .

    Once again, the US has been able to get both sides in the Egyptian situation pissed at us.

    Perception is everything.

    The only thing consistent about US policy is its inconsistency. Patterson, Hillary, Kerry. When will they shut the door on that little clown car?

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-quiet-after-egypt-military-ousts-democratically-elected-president-morsi/2013/07/03/28c11da2-e41f-11e2-aef3-339619eab080_story.html?hpid=z2

    As an aside

    A year ago, U.S. officials hailed the country’s presidential election as a milestone in the Arab world’s most populous country. Just two weeks ago, the U.S. ambassador in Cairo said Washington supported the Muslim ­Brotherhood-led government and felt it would be unwise for Egyptians to think “street action will produce better results than elections.”

    We now support the MB in Egypt as well as Syria. Or, at least, we did until today.

    With today's actions we please Saudi Arabia and piss off Qatar.

    .

    ReplyDelete
  51. .

    Interesting.

    The US has been force feeding prisoners in Gitmo since over 100 of them went on hunger strike.

    Now they say the force feeding will continue through Ramadan despite a lawsuit by four of the prisoners.

    However, this is the part I find interesting,

    US government lawyers also argued that the detainees bringing the case, Shaker Aamer, Nabil Hadjarab, Ahmed Belbacha and Abu Wa'el Dhiab, are not "persons" under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and are therefore not protected under it.

    Damn, stripped of their personhood.

    Jon Eisenberg, US counsel for the men, said: "The Obama administration argues here that 'the public interest lies with maintaining the status quo'. The status quo is that these men are being held indefinitely without any sort of trial, even though they were cleared for release years ago."

    "Consider the irony of the Obama administration arguing here that the Guantánamo Bay detainees are not 'persons' within the scope of US law guaranteeing religious freedom, in a post-Citizens United world where even corporations are endowed with legal personhood."


    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/03/guantanamo-bay-hunger-strike-detainees-ramadan

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies

    1. US government lawyers also argued that the detainees bringing the case, Shaker Aamer, Nabil Hadjarab, Ahmed Belbacha and Abu Wa’el Dhiab, are not “persons” under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and are therefore not protected under it.


      That just about squares the circle of Orwellian speech, “Religious Freedom Restoration Act.” Everyone of these statist shitbirds always purchase an indulgence from the US government lawyer cesspool.

      Delete
  52. .

    Occupy protesters awarded $1 million in damages due to police violence during protests.

    http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jul/03/occupy-oakland-protesters-1m-police

    .

    ReplyDelete
  53. The Washington State Liquor Control Board announced on Wednesday proposed rules to govern recreational marijuana. The rules come after voters approved Initiative 502 in November.

    ...

    The board says marijuana has the potential to be a $1.5 billion industry in the state.

    ReplyDelete
  54. Laboratory tests released today by the Center for Science in the Public Interest show that Long John Silver's Big Catch meal, when comprised of fried fish, Hushpuppies, and Onion Rings, has an astonishing 33 grams of trans fat—the most powerful promoter of heart disease in the food supply. On top of that, the meal has another 19 grams of saturated fat, which also promotes heart disease, and nearly 3,700 milligrams of sodium, which promotes high blood pressure and stroke.

    ...

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    The FDA quickly rejected the second petition, but has not approved or denied the call for a ban.

    ReplyDelete
  55. Happy Fourth of July everyone and Independence Day.

    May Independence come to Egyptian Women and Women everywhere.

    bpos

    ReplyDelete
  56. The only remaining element of Independence Day is the “Dependence” part.

    ReplyDelete
  57. We are now in dependence. I look forward to when we can celebrate independence again.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. :)

      It's not that bad yet, Commander Deuce.

      And we can fix it.

      My niece doesn't feel that way. To her it is a brand new life.

      What I am becoming concerned about is being in "Depends".

      :)

      bpos

      Delete
    2. : ) Happy Fourth, B positive.

      Delete
  58. There must be one nervous asshole sitting in Istanbul.

    ReplyDelete
  59. Fuck the Empire, humbling the “F” in FUKUS

    France has apologised to Bolivia for refusing to allow President Evo Morales’ jet into its airspace, blaming “conflicting information”.

    Bolivia accused France, Italy, Spain and Portugal of blocking the plane.

    It said some wrongly believed US fugitive Edward Snowden was on board.

    Speaking in Berlin, French President Francois Hollande said he granted permission as soon as he knew it was Mr Morales' plane.

    President Morales was flying back to Bolivia from Moscow when the plane was forced to stop in Vienna.

    Angry reactions

    The French foreign ministry issued a statement on the incident.

    Ministry spokesman Philippe Lalliot said: "The foreign minister called his Bolivian counterpart to tell him about France's regrets after the incident caused by the late confirmation of permission for President Morales' plane to fly over [French] territory."

    Footage shows Bolivian President Evo Morales waiting inside Vienna airport, as Steve Rosenberg reports
    The episode sparked angry reactions from heads of state across Latin America.

    Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner referred to “not only the humiliation of a sister country, but of the South American continent".

    Venezuela’s President Nicolas Maduro said on Twitter: "I reaffirm all our solidarity with Evo [Morales] and from Venezuela, with dignity, we will respond to this dangerous, disproportionate, and unacceptable aggression"

    Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa tweeted: "We express our solidarity with Evo [Morales] and the brave Bolivian people."

    A statement by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff said: "The embarrassment to President Morales hits not only Bolivia, but all of Latin America."

    ReplyDelete
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