Politician's Weasel Promises

Japan Needs Help !

As is common with many disasters, official response is far too slow to Japan's earthquake / tsunami / nuclear explosion(s). And as government underestimates the scope of disaster and imminent dangers, suffering is magnified, deaths multiply needlessly.

Best wishes to those struggling. We pray for your quick recovery.

Fear the Law

The bailout of private interests by the United States Federal Government has undercut American society. Many of the favored mega-corporations use their leverage and funds to serve a few owners & top bosses, disregarding local communities. The richest people and their corporations are squeezing the remains of America into serfdom. Most Americans have lost their dignity.

Public workers in Wisconsin, Ohio and elsewhere are antagonized by legislation limiting their abilities to organize. But Republicans have gone a step too far. They've threatened the cops.

Police forces in America are fearsome, respected for their power and the resources they command (prisons, SWAT teams, brutal black & grey equipment of all sorts). Schools can't afford dodge balls, but police buy armored assault vehicles and reconnaissance helicopters. This may be changing.

Pushing police to the picket lines along with teachers and public employees of fire departments & hospitals, leads the American people to see those remaining on the other side: politicians, financiers, and a few judicial appointees. Weasels.

Corporate News

Corporate news is to news...
... As Muzak® is to music.

Think you're well informed?

Damaged by Brutality

US military belligerence has been brutalizing the world for over a century. US soldiers killed the "savage" native Americans, and operated free fire pacification in Vietnam and Southeast Asia. These and other wars continue to generate pain.

American citizens are led to believe US troops are "trying to help"

But American elites help themselves, leaving local peoples, and armed forces at home & abroad, dead or damaged.

US overseas adventurism is grotesque -- too costly & wrong.

Uprising !

American protesters in Wisconsin are demonstrating / rioting against their government. Many are public workers, calling for dignity, citing a critical need to fight against paycuts and destructive reductions in community services.

Unprecedented government meddling in collective bargaining practices promises to reduce workplace safety -- endangering schoolchildren, the elderly, and those in the wider community already most at risk.

At the problem's root are high costs from overseas US occupation forces in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere. Continued warmaking expenditures demand huge resources, draining the US domestic economy.

Working Democracy?

We live in complex times. Lawmakers & lawyers & lobbyists muddy our community environment, giant corporate media tells us what happened maybe.

Trying to keep informed is difficult... especially for working people struggling hard to barely survive.

High taxes pay for "national business" (wars) overseas. More money flows to police & prisons. No funds remain for local communities.

People elect a candidate who then breaks repeated promises. The dazzling party platform is deliberately covered in dust.

Many potential voters gave up long ago. Other voters are wrongly turned away by election officials. Ballots are designed to confuse, and votes handled improperly. Some votes are never counted.

  dupe   +   loser   +   schmuck   +   victim

Face fact - we're swindled. You live in a   Chumpocracy.

Take a Haiku

Gypped of a Nation
Too hurried Jubilation
Theft and Denial

Armed forces and Yank
Mubarak's last whoremasters
Spurt silver shekels...

Democracy & Denial

"People power" brought change of government in Egypt. Ideas for new democracy are spreading quickly.   To all concerned: Congratulations & Good Luck in constructing better lives.

Big media, now full of praise for democracy, is self-congratulatory for helping topple dictatorship. (Though most did nothing for 30 years).

U.S. media next should examine their own anti-democratic operations. During the 2008 campaign for U.S. presidency, candidates Barack Obama, John Edwards & Hillary Clinton collaborated with major corporations to deny fellow candidate U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich participation in debates. Such shameful recent tactics (link) are a dirty continuing stain, displaying democracy's narrow limits in America the beautiful.

Stop Our Wars

Poems

"Sad! But just a pet..."
Belittled lost companion
Shame embraces grief.

Governments in Denial?

After nearly 30 years of slavishly supporting Egypt's Mubarak dynasty, suddenly the USA and UK play up democratic rights... "the people of Egypt do have legitimate grievances"... "reform is absolutely critical"... "a need for free & fair elections" etc...

Thus, as the end of tyranny is a stone's throw away, slaveowners seek to salvage influence.

The glib leaders of morally bankrupt Western powers can't even calm their own skeptical, desperate citizens. Secretaries Hague & Clinton can't be quiet, and as they spin new stories, anything they say fuels anger. Meanwhile their governments remain tough & active behind the scenes, continuing to provide Egyptian police & armed forces with weapons and counter-insurgency support.

Egyptians are far beyond platitudes, recognizing via street demonstrations that the squeaky wheel gets the grease. It's time the Egyptian people cleanse away their dirt into the Nile.

PS - Thank Mark Twain for "Denial ain't just a river in Egypt"...

Davos efficiency...

We struggle for crumbs
World rulers dine in Davos
Hail Democracy

Dictator, Strongman, Friend

Too many people are ruled by brutal governments. Tunisia's fallen government was backed-up by the USA, and Washington may have orchestrated their deposed president's sanctuary in Saudi Arabia.

When US Secretary of State Colin Powell visited Tunisia in 2003, he declared: "Our bilateral relationship is very, very strong. We are great admirers of Tunisia and the progress that has been achieved under President Ben Ali's leadership."

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited in 2006, and warmly praised Tunisia's government: "They have demonstrated, if one looks at this successful country...the ability to create an environment that's hospitable to investment, to enterprise, and to opportunity for their people."

But too many Tunisian people in fact hated & feared their government.

Now Egypt's government is under threat. And for 30 years the USA has invested heavily in the Mubarak family - which has ruled Egypt since 1981 under a "State of Emergency."

Secretary of State Clinton's statement today is thus much too little, far too late: "We believe strongly that the Egyptian government has an important opportunity at this moment in time to implement political, economic and social reforms to respond to the legitimate needs and interests of the Egyptian people." Unrest in Egypt will not be easily stemmed. No doubt our silent operatives offer violent help to government. These are critical moments.

http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2011/01/20-3

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20110126/wl_nm/us_egypt_protest_usa

Stop Wars & Overseas Occupation

Tonight U.S. President Obama will give an important speech to the people of the USA and the world. His State of the Union Address offers the opportunity to promise (again) to wind-down U.S. wars and bring U.S. troops home. He could boldly propose redirecting those huge often-wasted resources; he could withdraw tens of thousands of occupying soldiers from overseas postings in Asia, Europe, Hawaii, and elsewhere. He could further renew his pledge to uphold the rule of law, stop torture, and end "indefinite detention without legal arraignment" (continued state-sponsored kidnapping). Let's see what happens.

Power "in the Raw"

Wikileaks offers everyone rare glimpses of people & procedures usually kept hidden behind the curtain in our deceptive world. The State cables reveal a reality of informal agreements that deliberately & explicitly bypass national democratic parliaments. Many cables describe espionage, others portray a contemptuous juggernaut gathering bureaucratic information. Not much seems for the good of all America, and we see a cabal crafting deceit for the 95% non-USA global population.

These scum repeatedly concoct lies & myths for illegal wars.

Cablegate also shows media unveiled. Neither Mr. Assange nor Wikileaks created the cables; other big news organizations have received the raw material; many separate reporters are publishing excerpts. Yet a large percentage of mainstream reports focus on Wikileaks or Assange. Nutty & telling. Just now a similar slant is on BBC headlines: "Wikileaks banker found guilty" leads to details of a man fined 6000 Swiss francs (a small sum) for breaking bank secrecy laws by releasing tax evader details (valued many ten thousand times greater). He passed documentation to Wikileaks, which has not released any contents. He's not the banker for Wikileaks, but the "Wikileaks banker" label suggests financial intimacy, now linking to "guilty" -- an unreasonable BBC summary headline. "Minor fine for whistleblower banker" is more appropriate. The BBC lead is deceptively constructed.

Those arrogating authority are inconvenienced by Cablegate. But most of the embarrassed are hired staff; minions in service for a few years. A more major unraveling would come if the unredacted cables (or similar documentation) were suddenly released -- sneakiness uncensored. This is promised if Mr. Assange is severely attacked. He's thus protected by friend & foe; the rest of us impatiently wait for information, to learn what's really going on in the haunts of power.

Winter Options: Heat or Eat

In his quest for the Presidency, Barack Obama offered visions of HOPE. In electing Obama, we were led to believe costly wars in Iraq and Afghanistan would end. We were promised Guantanamo's limitless incarceration and abuse would stop. People hoped for government in service to the wider community, not a government serving the wealthiest. For most Americans, however, conditions have gone from bad to worse.

Failed States

Those using violence and intimidation are corrupt.

I Am Spartacus

Saw ten minutes of the classic film Spartacus a few nights ago on TV. Slaves are being asked to betray Spartacus on offer of reward, but instead the many proclaim "I am Spartacus!"

Struggle against Empire continues through the centuries...

Today the secret mechanics of our governments are slightly open to view via Wikileaks, assisted by major media channels throughout the world. At this moment, the authenticity of leaked official cables has not been denied; the process was condemned as "dangerous" but Wikileaks is not yet a banned organization. As we struggle against our rulers, each of us individually quite powerless in the face of behemoth government wielding illegal kidnapping, torture & assassination, please remember:   "I am Spartacus!"
== "I am Wikileaks"

Provocation or Peace

The Republic of Korea (ROK) and USA plan to continue military exercises and naval drills in a disputed area bordering the DPRK (North Korea).

Heavy-handed military operations are a provocation; knuckleheaded "war games" can quickly lead to war.

I've no opinion on where the border is or should be. But the huge South Korea coastlines (east, south & west) offer many alternative venues. Focusing live-fire operations in the northwest border area adjoining the DPRK invites trouble. How important are these military exercises? Why provoke hostility?

We common folk can't know what's up or why. Published maps differ & mislead; we're forced to think them others are evil...

Thanks for Rot?

Thanksgiving is a special time for reflecting on good fortune, family, community, and our wider world. Some helpers volunteer to feed the homeless or disadvantaged. It's likely few Americans consider our untried tortured captives at Guantanamo, or the treacherous autocrats we fund around the world (at the cost of human rights & basic investment in US domestic infrastructure & education).

I know that my blogging and talking about political problems is unlikely to make much positive impact. On the contrary, I lived in Japan long enough to wholly understand "the nail that sticks up gets pounded down" (出る杭は打たれる).

Yet perhaps perversely, I also feel it's important to speak up, not to accept bullying or quietly acquiesce to antisocial chauvinism. Perhaps my persistent interest could be labeled a hobby; more importantly, I hope when the smoke clears to have stood on the side of justice, and have worked for integrity.

After WWII, many emerged from the rubble of defeat wondering how they'd been fooled; blaming their leaders or the military for excess, ignorance, cruelty & genocide. Some falsely claimed to have always been anti-fascist (some weasels claimed active resistance when instead they'd prospered as toadying sycophants). As many ignore horrors, we all suffer escalating indignities. I believe it's important to work for peace, with our God(s) & ourselves.

University: Who Pays?

Many parts of Europe are "reforming" their educational fees systems; seeking to assess higher tuition fees for university. (In Sweden, where I live, university students still pay no tuition fees). Educational access to all who are qualified, regardless of family wealth, is a worthy goal threatened by high tuition fees.

There are assorted good arguments for raising tuition, but good arguments against the practice are often unheard. Many functions of university, most university costs and investments, have little or nothing to do with undergraduate education. Why should prospective students pay?

The people making the decisions, politicians and others throughout society, have already received heavily subsidized education. Many of their arguments for "students paying their way" are also relevant to their own educational backgrounds. Why not consider retroactive cost assessment? Noisy proponents of higher fees can themselves "pay their way" - reducing higher education costs for teenagers.

[When I submitted this letter to The Independent, they cut out the last paragraph - perhaps guiltily unwilling to advocate repaying the educational benefits editors had themselves received.]

Chalmers Johnson, RIP

Chalmers Johnson is dead at 79. The world has lost a great voice. He was a person who thought & fought prolifically, a modern Thomas Paine. This note is not eulogy or panegyric - I didn't know Chal well enough; he was a brilliant policy analyst; he was hard-working, inspired & pugnacious; he was a great mentor; and he regularly irritated the petty powerful. If only our world had hundreds such!

Life as an Outsider

I never liked the Bush Declaration: "You're either with us - or against us."

The 1987 film "Wall Street" (rewatched last night) had one early takeaway line: "If you're not inside, you are outside."

In the USA now, the top 1% hold 34% of the nation’s wealth; the bottom 40% own nothing (and the bottom 50% hold just 2.5%)...

Too many in America fail to recognize: they have become outsiders. A feeding frenzy is going on; they're not invited - they are obedient servants or in danger of being consumed.

Social services insure the rich by maintaining civilization. Hoodlum society has high costs and terrible dangers for the wealthy. Social investments are important!

Validation & Fellowship

It feels good to receive dozens of birthday greetings. Small niceties can be valuable. I've lived thirty years as a foreigner, and appreciate smiles and greetings and hospitality as many others can't. I've been fortunate, cultivating good lifestyle & integrity. The process of achieving many personal goals has developed composure to wholeheartedly delight with others at their joys. My family has been fundamentally healthy. Challenges, pain & perplexities are always near at hand; such is life. Yumbo!

Paying for Corporate Crime

Collusion in the airline industry led today to fines of over US$1 billion. Airlines have already been fined more than US$1.5 billion by the USA for fixing fuel surcharges.

This problem has many dimensions, but a key facet is who should pay. Corporate bonuses and salaries have been "earned" (and paid) based on fraud & illegal activity.

Governments can shake down corporations: fishing for revenues, overcharging for licenses, reinterpreting rules & changing laws to bolster treasuries or aggrandize crusading individuals. Arrogant corporations & government both can gouge consumer-citizens. We little people seem pawns in a bigger game.

Corporate executives & bankers enjoy a system where "white collar crime" brings great personal reward at little personal risk. This stinking system must change.

Savage

"The Muslims are the new Redskin. We Americans occupy, subjugate and take responsibility for their lands & resources. We're working to help them. It's criminal that our brave men & women doing military service are being injured and killed."
        -- Millennium meme of Right America

Just Government

"Just government has nothing to hide."
      -- Dr. Bruce Henry Lambert

Watching Civility Burn

Firefighters from South Fulton (Tennessee, USA) recently watched Gene Cranick's home burn down; they refused to assist since the owner hadn't paid $75 protection money.

The city requires rural residents to pay in advance for protection. Attempts on the spot to pay - after the fire began - were refused. Fire crews only responded to limit the fire's wider spread, the neighbor next door had paid the protection fee.

Is this proper? Many Americans side with the fire services, with comments such as: "Dude should have paid; otherwise it ain't fair for those who did pay." or "Isn't his family worth $6.25 a month." and also "When firemen are busy saving the home of a freeloader, they can't protect those properly contracted for services."

While this case may be otherwise, many libertarians proclaim individualism, fighting against taxation, yet eagerly use social services if they're allowed. Those who turn their backs on society & civility shoulder risk. But Darwin's dog-eat-dog world is harsh; when misfortune appears, it's best to have help.

Rick Sanchez - RIP

CNN anchorman Rick Sanchez was fired today from his network after Pete Dominick's satellite radio interview labeled Jon Stewart a minority:

RS: "C'mon. How is he a minority?"

PD: "He's Jewish."

RS: "Yeah, very powerless people." [laughs]

PD: "Whoa."

RS: "You're such a minority. I mean, you know. Please. What? Are you kidding?"

PD: "You're telling me that -- "

RS: "I'm telling you that everybody who runs CNN is a lot like Stewart. And a lot of people who run all the other networks are a lot like Stewart. And to imply that somehow they, the people in this country who are Jewish are oppressed minorities? Yeah."

---------------
Revolting comment! Bye Rick. Anyhow, your reports ran too right-wing for my taste.