Freedom

One must snicker at the spectacle of the most mentally enslaved, and almost the most physically enslaved population in the world clutching on to their guns to preserve their 'freedom'. The freedom to shoot oneself and each other is a curious conception of freedom, but there it is. Enjoy!

Adios, Santo Petraeus

With Generalissimo Petraeus riding off into the sunset, at least for now, we'd like to give our take on the matter, using the skimpy and manipulated facts we have on hand.

The FBI is the agent of his downfall. The launching of the wide ranging investigation that brought all the emails, etc. to light was in no way justified by the slightly abusing and non-threatening emails that Jill Kelly received from Broadwell. Despite the official narrative, I'm betting that FBI director Mueller knew about the investigation and had to have approved it. But Kelly was an excuse, all of the exchanges between Broadwell, Petraeus, Kelly and Allen must have been heard by the NSA. Someone at that level got the ball rolling.

It is very hard to understand who was the power that pushed this along. Factionalism in DC is extremely esoteric, the media reports are tissues of lies and half truths such that even the most assiduous sifting can rarely penetrate to the real reasons and motivations.

What it does remind me of is the fall of Scooter Libby, and thus Dick Cheney, not to mention Watergate. Following an election, changes at the most important levels of government take place though FBI or DoJ inquiries, selectively leaked to the press. One faction eases out another, often due to the overreaching of the ousted party.

Was Petraeus overreaching? And if so, in what way? Our best clues will be the replacements that are installed. Obama has never had the guts and gumption to install people loyal to him anywhere important. He kept Bush's National Security people (those installed post-Cheney), and since Gates left put in place-holders like Panetta. He's been even more cowardly at the DoJ, Holder is a joke, and the most evil and loyal of Rove's troops have been kept in US attorney positions. Mueller has already overstayed his term at the FBI, maybe Obama now regrets keeping him on.

Romney may have outdone Obama as a bad president, but it wouldn't have been easy, even for him.

Normalcy

It's becoming apparent, and hardly a surprise, that the main issue for the politicians and the media in New York is to present the image of normalcy. Thus Bloomberg's decision to run the NY marathon and have commuters jam the streets to get to office jobs places appearance above reality.

This is now the normal reaction to disasters in the US, paper them over as soon as possible and move on. The fraying infrastructure, exacerbated by climate change, will continue to be patched up to wait for the next disaster, but the possibility of confronting upcoming events before they happen will not even be discussed, at least seriously. The main issue, after all, as we're being constantly told, is debt.

Speaking of normalcy, Blog Simple hopes to resume normal operations, but that is not a promise.

UPDATE: Marathon cancelled! Considering it was starting on Staten Island, it was a no-brainer, even for Bloomberg.

Suggestion

With the support from the hand wringing press, Putin should free Pussy Riot, provided they agree to do their shtick in Mecca at the Kaaba. Our buddies the Saudis are bound to be very understanding and supportive of artistic freedom.

Leadership!

It is indicative of the times that the Republican presidential hopeful, in order to burnish his foreign policy leadership credentials, goes to Israel for the express purpose of grovelling to Bibi Netanyahu.

Perfection

The Vatican has hired a Fox News reporter to be their 'communications adviser'.

They should have done that years ago.

4th

…What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer: a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelly to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciations of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, with all your religious parade, and solemnity, are, to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy—a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices, more shocking and bloody, than are the people of these United States, at this very hour…

-Frederic Douglass, 1852

Things are not better now.

Sorry

So Hillary finally bit the bullet and apologized to Pakistan for killing 24 soldiers. That's after seven months and God knows how many billions spent for the other routes through Russia and Central Asia.

It's the kind of lose-lose scenario that the current administration seems to love. If the US had apologized at the beginning, it would have been less damaging to both the US and Pakistan. Apologizing now just makes the US look weak, and Pakistan gets more bad press in the US, something they most certainly don't need.

Obama, Clinton, Panetta, Geitner, bad policies (if there are policies) made worse by bad execution.

They say that there is always worse, but even a human disaster like Romney would be hard pressed to surpass this crew.

Ha ha!

The Supreme Court ruled that the individual mandate is legal because it is a tax.

That's even though it will be paid to private interests (and Obama said it wasn't a tax, but what the fuck does he know).

It is a tax on your existence, not on any other activity.

So we are now to pay private interests to exist. So what else is new?

It is, however, more blatant and in your face that ever. Eat shit and die, America. Ha ha!

Pakistan

While most of the headlines go to Syria and Iran, the train wreck in Afghanistan is moving the US towards a more confrontational pose with Pakistan. It's hard to see how that is good for anyone, except possibly China and Russia.

But the Obama administration, even while using the most vile means, continues to pretend that moral posing will lead to policy success. Sure, it enthralls the witless, shitless Europeans, and has the full drum pounding support of the press, but it accomplishes nothing with people who have to live with the reality of US policy, and see the lies in the moral rhetoric first hand.

The leadership of Pakistan is obviously corrupt and self-serving (who ain't?), but betting on their being willing to commit suicide to keep the US bribes rolling in defies logic. But that's why Obama is so dangerous, in his mind he is the moral party, no matter what actions he takes and their consequences. All must bow down before his holiness.

All elites practice double-think, the necessity to justify terrible actions is a common human trait. But this current crop in Washington, even more than the last (and believe me, I didn't think that possible), are reaching 1984 levels.

The escalation of the drone war in Pakistan aims to punish Pakistan's leadership with their people. The closing of the transit roots must be hurting more than they are letting on, but the only response can be more pressure, never accommodation, nor, God forbid, apologies.

US Assistant Secretary of Defence Peter Lavoy is in Islamabad asking for a meeting with Pakistan Chief of Staff Kiani, and not getting it. Meanwhile, Panetta says the US is running out of patience with Pakistan. But patience is a two way street.

Small world

A protester's sign in Cairo reads, "Down with the next President". Likewise here, bro. (h/t The Arabist)

Redefinition

Glenn Greenwald points again to the NYT article that explores (in the Times typically euphemistic, mealy-mouth way) the White House drone murder program. Any military aged male, what those ages are is undefined though I wouldn't doubt it's eight to eighty, is now considered a 'militant' and goes on the scoreboard as one. Women and children, who that White House claims have never been killed must be just too small to count.

While strafing Vietnamese from the air, a helicopter gunner in Full Metal Jacket was asked, "How can you shoot women, children?", he answered, "It's easy, you just don't lead them so far. Ha, ha ha.". We can see why Pres. Drone recently chastised Americans for not loving Vietnam vets sufficiently, their excesses were the same as his.

Drone-athon

The primary propaganda tool of the National Security State, the New York Times, has a lengthy article that is suppose to shed light on President Drone's favorite thing, his drone program. 

Apart from the usual heart clutching paragraphs about the moral difficulties in deciding who to murder, the main thrust of the article is obvious, making mundane the murder of people half a world away, based on faith based evidence and lacking any oversight beyond that of the Drone in Chief. Chris Floyd has a good take down of the article's moral bankruptcy.

The defeats in Iraq and Afghanistan have made clear that another way of warfare must be found. There is no clear policy objective in kill people in Pakistan, Yemen, Sudan, the Philippines, terrorism is just the excuse. The objective is to extract resources from the general economy and devote them to the National Security State. The shift from covert to overt fascism is taking place before our eyes, Barack Obama is our Benito Mussolini, but the election charade will at least put another murderous clown on our TV screens next year or in five.

The Obamadrone also climbed on his soapbox to chastise Americans for their shoddy treatment of Vietnam veterans. Apart from being a recycling of right wing canards, the speechifying is most notable as a veiled warning to protesters that might challenge his reign of terror in Charlotte this summer. Both here and in Europe, any challenge to the neo-liberal establishment will be put down forcefully and as much as possible off the record.

Expect there more of the same as in Chicago. Entrapment, provocations and a media orchestrated chorus/blackout will show protesters the futility of their ways 

Well, that's a relief

(Beyond even Blog Simple's return.)
President Drone has announced:

"As commander in chief, I can tell you that sending our troops into harm's way is the most wrenching decision that I have to make," Obama said shortly after laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

"I can promise you I will never do so unless it is absolutely necessary and that when we do, we must give our troops a clear mission and the full support of a grateful nation."

I guess it was absolutely necessary to 'surge' troops into Afghanistan and there was a clear mission. Why that was true must have been too secret for the grateful nation. We can expect that about the next war as well, but the requirement of full support without any political process or debate is unstated but unquestioned.

Oh yes, and bombing people is not 'war' any longer.

What an asshole.

Conspiracy theories

You know that when the media labels something a conspiracy theory, it is then forbidden to talk about in polite circles.

The latest episode of the excellent adventure in Afghanistan, the slaughter of sixteen civilians by a supposedly drunken US Staff Sergeant, has been given an official storyline from the get-go. It depends upon the 'single shooter' technique that has worked so well in the past (JFK, RFK, MLK).

It seems the Afghans are not convinced by the storyline. One man dragging gasoline to two different villages in the middle of the night, shooting and burning sixteen people seems to offend their primitive sense of logic, and they are now saying that perhaps as many as twenty US soldiers were involved. Can anyone say 'grassy knoll'?

More arcane questions, such as how one man can so easily leave a base for a night time saunter, have yet to be asked. In fact, the media is in full 'just repeat the official line' mode, and questions not quoting the official narrative are definitely in conspiracy theory territory. How long before the term will be used to label those questioning the official story?