The Return of the Fool

Heeee's back! Yes, we were once again haranged by this serial war hustler who spewed his obligatory bile before a fawning Congress where members clapped like trained seals at nearly every turn of phrase which, quite naturally, included some variation of "Iran is six months away from destroying us all!".

Fortunately, the wonderful Mondoweiss.net has done all of the heavy lifting for us by providing a helpful annotated guide which fact checks the wild assertions and mad delusions of One Note Benjamin.

"Rage of the Dispossessed"

Much ink has been issued forth and even more breathless speeches about the vicious slaughter of a dozen victims at the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on 7 January 2015. Five more victims would perish during an apparent running gun battle/ hostage rescue operation between French authorities and the suspects in the immediate aftermath. In a rational world it wouldn't be necessary to qualify my response by acknowledging that what transpired in Paris was a savagely criminal act to which no human being should be subjected. Alas, we do not live in such a world so some will no doubt interpret the following criticism as an attack on decency and a rationalization for terrorist acts. Let them. A respectable amount of time has passed since the event so I feel the time for these words is appropriate.

I despise everything Charlie Hebdo stands for. Did you notice what happened there? One may condemn the crime yet still abhor the victim. In virtually every example when one encounters those who would erase this distinction a separate agenda is invariably at work.

My limited perusal of Charlie Hebdo's output has revealed this publication to have an apparent special interest in nakedly racist, Islamophobic attacks on a largely powerless immigrant minority. While many have identified satire as the weapon of the weak they often failed to notice how effectively it can be utilized by the powerful to intimidate and marginalize the designated Other. How "courageous" is it to follow the herd in ridiculing the belief systems of an ostracized population?  Furthermore, marginalized communities rarely have the resources to respond in kind with their own propaganda platforms. 

Charlie Hebdo was always playing with fire. Freedom of expression does not inoculate one from consequences. Again, this is not to justify this atrocity but merely an observation. There are laws in virtually every place where humans concentrate against physical violence and yet violence persists. Reckless provocations come with risks. Take any random group of people and subject them to relentless persecution and discrimination without recourse to effective political relief valves and the most unstable among them are certain to explode into violence.

Chris Hedges has written perhaps the definitive essay on this affair and is worth a read. For comic relief, note this cavalcade of opportunists and hypocrites claiming solidarity with the victims and for freedom of expression.

New Rules

Now that I intend to get back to posting regularly on this long-neglected blog I realize that due to persistent spam-bot posts in the comments section that I 'll have to institute comment moderation so that actual human beings may communicate with one another in that space.

Cannon Fodder Ukrainian Style

A battalion of America's latest batch of proxy warriors, in this example the neo-Nazi outfit Right Sector, which has been rampaging through eastern Ukraine committing atrocities ran into a bit of difficulty recently when a nest of these bastards were routed by self-defense forces. More of this please.

Ukrainian Imbroglio explained in under 30 minutes

So much democracy it hurts.

Profile in Mendacity

Take it away Mr. Lendman...

The Sole Democracy in the Middle East...

... But for US support this paradise, this Valhalla, this bastion of tolerance could not exist. Embrace it.

What else are you selling?

Hat tip: Common Dreams

Debate? To what end?

We all got to glimpse how a marginally functioning democratic republic functions when the British Parliament yesterday voted to stand down from participation in America's impending illegal attack, in fact an act of aggressive war--the supreme war crime, against Syria. MP George Galloway provides us by his example with a mirror with which to contemplate the pale reflection of our alleged "representatives" in Congress who've elected to sit on their hands and allow Obama to unilaterally commit the nation to yet another act of (undeclared) war without debate much less oversight as the Constitution demands. 

What Could Go Wrong?

Yes ladies and gentlemen, both neo-con war hawks and cruise missile liberals agree: the time has come to bomb Syria in order to save it. This rationale is impeccable given the historical record.

It's Worse Than You Imagine

I recently came across the following while passing what spare time I have of late reading up on wealth inequality in the good old US of A:

For May Day, for Joe Hill from my favorite American

Coming soon to Sesame Street?

I Seeeee You! All of YOU!

Rare sighting, a hasbarist being subjected to tough questioning

Impossible without US support

As you go about your day stop for a moment to reflect upon the Dalou family murdered by an Israeli air strike in Gaza utilizing weaponry supplied and subsidized by the US government. See here for relevant updates.

Great Minds and all that

The current election season has been just as predictably devoid of issues relevant to the public as I'd imagined it would be. How could it possibly be otherwise? Both "oppositional" political parties, or more accurately to borrow the memorable phrase of the late and sorely missed Gore Vidal, "the Business Party with two right wings" are of one voice on the matters of critical importance to the public. So, there will be no meaningful prosecutions of the Wall Street hustlers whose greed and fraud collapsed the world economy, a financial transaction tax on the Wall Street speculation that has replaced its original function of raising capital for productive enterprises is out of the question, in fact raising revenue via tax levees on the wealthy and their corporations to help the nation climb from the crater they dug for us is a non-starter, two thirds of tax revenues the government does receive will continue to flood the coffers of military contractors, and there will be no move to implement a national health insurance program along the lines of Medicare for All or a single payer system as in the the rest of the developed world. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the government will not step in to address the demand deficit caused by the deflation of the housing bubble and the 1.2 trillion dollars in lost GDP it represented. I short, Barrack Obama dares not run for re-election on his record.

The current White House occupant has managed to accomplish in just under four years what I'd imagined would have taken at least a dozen to accomplish. He has single-handedly resuscitated the Republican Party, that other wing of the Business Party which alone sets the parameters of the political spectrum in the United States. How, one wonders, was it at all possible after the Bush administration initiated two ruinous illegal wars, watched impassively as an American city drowned for five days following Hurricane Katrina, and stood by in dumbfounded amazement as the greatest financial collapse in eighty years wiped out eight trillion dollars of (admittedly faux) wealth could Obama have failed to the extent that he clearly has? Recall that the Obama administration entered office with a powerful mandate from the public for meaningful change, the control of both houses of Congress including a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate, and no expectation from the public for detente with the Republican Party that it had just overwhelmingly rejected. What went wrong?

These are intriguing questions on the surface, however, a moment's reflection provides the answer. Clearly this was the intended outcome of the Obama administration and its actual constituency---Capital and the corporate sector generally by which the .001% have commandeered the levers of power and virtually all wealth. The performance of the Obama administration has been a classic example of what has been called the Ratchet Effect in the American political system. I highly recommend that you follow the link above for all the interesting details but here's an illuminating excerpt:

Over time, the Democratic Party has assumed the role of ensuring that the countervailing pressure from the Left doesn't happen. The party contains and neutralizes the Left, or what there is of it. Left voters are supposed to support the Democrat, come what may -- and it's amazing how many of us have internalized this supposed obligation -- but they are not allowed to have any influence on the party's policies, either during the campaign or during the Republicans' infrequent holidays in opposition.

The key function of the Democratic Party in our nation is to preserve the system of power and privilege from the democratic impulses of the population in general, its primary victim. This explains Obama's "failures" and "cave-ins" to his "opposition" and all the play-acting that passes for political debate this election cycle. These efforts are geared towards the single goal of dissuading the public from considering any viable alternatives such as those proposed by this reasonable man.

Hey Mr. Dimon, mind if we trouble you for a sec?

Jon Stewart's take on the US Senate's groveling performance before the real boss:

The Daily Show
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The American Class System Revisited

Here Richard Wolff uses the mortgage crisis and the explosion in personal indebtedness here in the US as the vehicle by which a discussion on class may be explored...