Good Riddance

Hillary Clinton has given her farewell speech; she is to be replaced by another warmongering imperialist. Good riddance.

The one thing Hillary did do and Obama admitted, is try to keep his image as well as empire's intact abroad. The world expected something different than what they got.

Just as her husband compartmentalized his (sex) life, Hillary talked the peace talk and acted as arbitrator in world conflicts - but she promoted business with warmongers; Lockheed Martin, for one - the maker of F35's, the death machines that the governor, mayor, congressman and senators want to come to BTV.

There's a wonderful blog, Undernews, I've read for years. The blogger owner lived right in the midst of the DC scene for years, but now has retired to Maine. He's collected quite a dossier on the ex-Madam Secretary and her sleazeball husband. Take some time and look here.

BRADLEY MANNING

Bradley Manning's attorney David Coombs, 12/3/12:

"When I'm in the courtroom, I stand up and look to my right, and, I see the United States government. The United States government with all of its resources, all of its personnel, I see them standing against me and Brad. And I have to admit to you, that can be rather intimidating. And I was intimidated. Especially when the President of the Unit ed States says your client broke the law. Especially when congress members say your client deserves the death penalty. I want to tell you though today as I stand here I'm no longer intimidated. I am not intimidated because when I stand up I know I'm not standing alone. I know I'm not alone because I turn around and I see the support behind me. I see members here today in the audience that are there every time we have a court hearing. I see what I am not going to affectionately call the 'truth batallion,' those who wear a black shirt. It has the word 'truth' on it, and they are behind me. And when I look there, I know that I also have unlimited personnel and unlimited resources."

Go to www.bradleymanning.org to learn how you can join in the struggle for Bradley Manning.

She said it with a straight face.

REUTERS: 'Clinton warns against "new colonialism" in Africa'

Meanwhile...

Stan Freberg on Vietnam sounds familiar

On Dick Cavett, the brilliant Stan Freberg talks about radio ads he created in 1970 during the Vietnam-era for the McGovern-Hatfield amendment ("amendment to end the war"), which would have cut funding for Nixon's war. It was defeated in a vote 55-39. We can imagine what Freberg would have thought about the Obama wars...

Americans 'occupy' Haiti

"The US seems to be taking charge of the Haitian relief effort. Not to everybody’s liking."

Governor Douglas's hands are covered with blood

A letter-to-the-editor was published today (January 16, 2010) in the Barre-Montpelier Times Argus. [My emphasis in bold.]

Sanctimonious war talk

Several times this week we opened our papers to see pictures of teary-eyed families wishing their loved ones good luck as they embarked for the "war" in Afghanistan. We also read the words of our governor who sanctimoniously stated the sacrifices they were making were balanced out by the just cause they were pursuing.

Where is the just cause that has resulted in innocent civilians being killed? Where is the just cause that emboldens anger, outrage, and the growth of terrorism throughout the world? Where is the just cause that lines the pockets of the private contractors using war only for their profits?

Enough of the tears, enough of the loss, it is time our governor end his meaningless soliloquy and take action that will end this trail of tears. Gov. Douglas must say no to Washington's demands for more troops. By denying the machine its fuel, the machine will come to a halt.

Washington may respond by saying a governor can't do that, but Douglas must stand up to such bullying. If he is threatened by legal action, he must be willing to continue to stand up, behind bars if necessary.

To continue to pontificate about the noble cause does not serve well the citizen soldiers and the citizens of the state of Vermont. The only way Douglas can wash the blood off of his hands is by being willing to put himself on the line as well.

William Gay

Montpelier

More Haiti coverage and comment

Lenin's Tomb comments on shades-of-Katrina racist reporting that Haitians are making roadblocks with corpses.

Prog Gold writes that "Pat Robinson is right," but it's not what you think. Read it.

Al Jazeera has a series of photos of people waiting for aid.

Bill Quigley on Democracy Now! talks about US treatment of Haiti and its effects on the current situation there. So does Ashely Smith here, with particular emphasis on former US President Bill Clinton's past role in that country's "development," and now - never missing an opportunity to get in the limelight (shocker) - as the UN's special envoy to Haiti. In the same vein, a video broadcast by Al Jazeera, summarising the history of imperialist exploitation of Haiti and their connection to this "natural disaster."

Bill Quigley also provides a list of "Ten Things the US Can and Should Do for Haiti."

Speaking of lists, Naomi Klein comments on Democracy Now yesterday, referencing what she wrote that afternoon on her website about the Heritage Foundation's Shock Doctrine opportunities in Haiti.

Phyllis Bennis on Obama's Afghan War Escalation

Here is excellent policy critique by Phyllis Bennis of Obama's escalation of troops in Afghanistan. 30% of all U.S. casualties in the 8-year war in Afghanistan have occurred during the 11 months of Obama's presidency. The cost of this war, with the new escalation, will be about $100 billion a year, or $2 billion every week, or more than $11 million every hour. I encourage you to read the whole Bennis piece, but here's an excerpt:

'Less than two days after his escalation speech, Obama will host a jobs summit at the White House. Whatever his official message, the millions of unemployed in the U.S. know that 30,000 more troops in Afghanistan adds $30 billion this year to the already out-of-control war budget — and means that the only jobs available will be in the military. What clearer example could there be of the Afghanistan war as a war against poor people — those who die in Afghanistan and those left jobless and desperate here at home? A week later, Obama travels to Norway to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Not even the best speechwriters will be able to portray sending thousands of young women and men across the world to kill and die as evidence of the newest Nobel laureate’s commitment to global peace.

'And the day of the speech itself was World AIDS Day. The UNAIDS noted that all of its country goals — treatment for 6–7 million people, screening 70 million pregnant women, providing preventive services to 37 million people — could be accomplished with just $25 billion. That’s what the United States will spend fighting in Afghanistan in just three months. Timing matters.

'The result was a speech that reflected Obama’s centrist-in-chief effort to please all his constituencies. Some will be quite satisfied. Mainstream Republicans were delighted. They were careful not to praise too much, but as Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss noted, President Obama’s escalation was “the right analysis, the right decision.” General McChrystal, Obama’s handpicked top commander in Afghanistan, was quite satisfied: He had asked for 40,000 new troops, and got 30,000 U.S. troops and a promise (we’ll see…) of 5,000 more from NATO and other allies. More significantly, he and Bush hold-over Secretary of Defense Robert Gates got the president’s endorsement of a full-scale counterinsurgency plan.

'Mainstream Democrats were likely delighted — assertion of their party’s military credentials, with talk of a “transition to Afghan responsibility” to soothe their constituents’ outrage. They may be uneasy about the additional costs, but could take solace in Obama’s promise to “work closely with Congress to address these costs as we work to bring down our deficit.” Just how anyone would “address” these spiraling billions remains unclear.

'The ones not happy — besides the young cadets in the audience, other soldiers facing new and endlessly renewed deployments, and their families — are the massive numbers of people who swept Obama into office on a mobilized tide of anti-war, anti-racist and anti-poverty commitments. Talk of beginning a “transition” 18 months down the line, with NO commitment for an actual troop withdrawal, isn't going to satisfy them.'

Protest Obama's Escalation Saturday December 12th Burlington, VT. Details to come.

The Voice in the Wilderness

Malalai Joya on Dear Leader's impending escalation of troops in her country:

After months of waiting, President Obama is about to announce the new US strategy for Afghanistan. His speech may be long awaited, but few are expecting any surprise: it seems clear he will herald a major escalation of the war. In doing so he will be making something worse than a mistake. It is a continuation of a war crime against the suffering people of my country.

I have said before that by installing warlords and drug traffickers in power in Kabul, the US and Nato have pushed us from the frying pan to the fire. Now Obama is pouring fuel on these flames, and this week's announcement of upwards of 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan will have tragic consequences.

Read all of Ms Joya's plea here.

H/T to RickB at Ten Percent.

Christian Avard interviews Dennis Perrin

Dennis Perrin, the author of Savage Mules: The Democrats and Endless War, chats with Christian Avard about Jon Stewart, The Nation magazine's turn to the center, the Palestine-Israel situation, and Dennis' assessment of the first 100 days of Dear Leader's administration. It's in P U L S E, and it's all here.

And while you're at it, Dennis Perrin's blog - http://dennisperrin.blogspot.com/ is also worth following for his commentary and humour.

More civilians bombed in Afghanistan (Updated with video)

Updated Thursday afternoon: Afghan villagers yesterday mourned relatives buried in mass graves after US-led airstrikes.

The mules pick it up after Bush and Co. It's been a record month for bombings in Afghanistan. A bombardment on Monday killed over 100 civilians. So, when the media headlines a report on the bombings by the Red Cross, we get hypocritical abject apologies from Clinton and Obama with the usual promise of an investigation.

Krystian Zimerman's Pro-Peace Speech

The world famous Polish pianist, Krystian Zimerman, last Sunday informed a California audience that he would no longer perform in the US.

"Get your hands off my country," Zimerman told the stunned crowd in a denunciation of US plans to install a missile defence shield on Polish soil. Some people cheered, others yelled at him to shut up and keep playing. A few dozen walked out, some of them shouting obscenities.

"Yes," Zimerman responded with derision, "some people when they hear the word military start marching."

When I initially saw this story, the Guardian's subheading read "anti-US rant." Probably after complaints, it has now changed it to "anti-US tirade," but has not acknowledged the change.

A nice principled, virtuoso stand from Zimerman against the Bush "missle defence" shield (now being implemented by Obama), but the writer of the Guardian article linked above clearly is not pleased and focuses on the audience's storming out of Disney Hall. He calls Zimerman's "ranting" personal: "Shortly after 9/11, his piano was confiscated by customs officials at New York's JFK airport, who thought the glue smelled funny. They subsequently destroyed the instrument." A trademark of Zimerman's tours is his own piano, which he takes to every concert venue.

N.S.A.’s Intercepts Exceed Limits Set by Congress

Erich Lichtblau and James Risen, writing in today's New York Times

The National Security Agency intercepted private e-mail messages and phone calls of Americans in recent months on a scale that went beyond the broad legal limits established by Congress last year, government officials said in recent interviews.

Several intelligence officials, as well as lawyers briefed about the matter, said the N.S.A. had been engaged in “overcollection” of domestic communications of Americans. They described the practice as significant and systemic, although one official said it was believed to have been unintentional.

The legal and operational problems surrounding the N.S.A.’s surveillance activities have come under scrutiny from the Obama administration, Congressional intelligence committees and a secret national security court, said the intelligence officials, who spoke only on the condition of anonymity because N.S.A. activities are classified. Classified government briefings have been held in recent weeks in response to a brewing controversy that some officials worry could damage the credibility of legitimate intelligence-gathering efforts.

The Justice Department, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, acknowledged Wednesday night that there had been problems with the N.S.A. surveillance operation, but said they had been resolved.

As part of a periodic review of the agency’s activities, the department “detected issues that raised concerns,” it said. Justice Department officials then “took comprehensive steps to correct the situation and bring the program into compliance” with the law and court orders, the statement said. It added that Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. went to the national security court to seek a renewal of the surveillance program only after new safeguards were put in place.

In a statement on Wednesday night, the N.S.A. said that its “intelligence operations, including programs for collection and analysis, are in strict accordance with U.S. laws and regulations.” The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, did not address specific aspects of the surveillance problems but said in a statement that “when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them.”

The questions may not be settled yet. Intelligence officials say they are still examining the scope of the N.S.A. practices, and Congressional investigators say they hope to determine if any violations of Americans’ privacy occurred. It is not clear to what extent the agency may have actively listened in on conversations or read e-mail messages of Americans without proper court authority, rather than simply obtained access to them.

Certainly, a lot more Americans have been wire-tapped than we know.

From the above Times article (my emphasis): The Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which oversees the intelligence community, did not address specific aspects of the surveillance problems but said in a statement that “when inadvertent mistakes are made, we take it very seriously and work immediately to correct them.”

I won't hold my breath. Telecoms being held accountable? Heh. These are abuses that have been continuing in the past months, not just during the Bush era. Richard Seymour/Lenin's Tomb:

Glenn Greenwald points out that Obama's position on state secrecy and torture not only adopts the most authoritarian and extreme positions of the Bush administration, but goes farther by claiming a radical kind of 'sovereign immunity' to ensure that torture victims get no redress and no one ever finds out about it. He also notes that the Department of Justice under Eric Holder now wants total immunity from wiretapping prosecutions.

Thomas Tamm, the whistleblower who exposed the warrantless wiretaps, and Glenn Greenwald are interviewed on Democracy Now! today - check the site mid-day for the video of the program.

The piracy problem

A good sum up from the Brattleboro Reformer's editorial, 14 April 2009

The story had a happy ending, but the problem remains.

The U.S. Navy was able to safely rescue Capt. Richard Phillips of Underhill on Sunday in a daring sniper attack, ending a five-day hostage drama off the Somali coast.

Phillips, who bravely gave himself up to save the lives of the 19 U.S. crew members on the container ship Maersk Alabama, is believed to have been the first U.S. citizen taken by pirates since 1804, when U.S. Navy Commodore Stephen Decatur battled the infamous Barbary pirates off the northern coast of what is now Libya.

But pirates are still holding about a dozen ships with more than 200 crew members, according to the Malaysia-based piracy watchdog International Maritime Bureau. Hostages are from Bulgaria, China, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, the Philippines, Russia, Taiwan, Tuvalu and Ukraine, among other countries.

Piracy is big business in Somalia right now. Attacks in the Gulf of Aden and along Somalia's coast have risen dramatically, from 41 in 2007 to 111 in 2008, according to the International Maritime Bureau. These pirates have earned between $30 million and $80 million in ransom through the seizure of 42 vessels in 2008. The average ransom per ship ranges between $1 million and $2 million.

Somalia hasn't had a real government for nearly 20 years. Anarchy has been the rule, with rival clans fighting for control. Now that these clans have discovered that around 25,000 ships -- most of them unarmed -- go through the Gulf of Aden each year, they see plenty of opportunities to pick up money.

Somalis say the piracy is payback for the more than $300 million worth of tuna, shrimp, and lobster they say is hauled in every year by illegal foreign trawlers off Somalia's coast, forcing the collapse of the local fishing industry. Also, since the collapse of the Somali government in 1991, Asian and European nations have been accused of using the nation's coastline as a dump for toxic and nuclear waste.

The pirates first emerged as a way to stop the foreign vessels, but that wasn't as lucrative as hijacking commercial vessels for ransom. The Somali coastline is the longest in Africa, about 1,900 miles long. And the pirates aren't ragtag amateurs. Operating with speedboats equipped with satellite phones, GPS equipment and weaponry such as machine guns and grenade launchers, they can quickly overwhelm a merchant ship.

In a country where the average life expectancy is 46 and about a quarter of all children die before the age of 5, piracy looks like a great option to the average Somali. In some of the coastal towns, the pirates have provided wealth and economic growth unknown in other parts of Somalia.

Until there is a functioning central government in Somalia, there is little that can be done to stop the piracy. There are two dozen international warships patrolling an area that's nearly five times the size of Texas.

More warships doing patrols and escorting vulnerable ships might help, but the international community needs to help Somalia get its act together and give its people another path to a decent life besides crime. This could be as simple as enforcing the fishing regulations to give the Somali fishing fleet a chance to recover.

So while we as Vermonters rejoice in seeing Capt. Phillips rescued, there are still many more hostages waiting for their freedom in what has become a very dangerous place for the world's seafarers.

Precisely because we're only being told half the story... read this from Ten Percent: Background Links On Somalia Beyond Pirate Tales & Black Hawk Down and recent posts on Somalia in Jeremy Scahill's new blog RebelReports

O Come, O Come, Emanuel the Enforcer

Rahm Emanuel's Think Tankers Enforce 'Message Discipline' Among 'Liberals'

The White House is ‘helping’ liberal groups to get their political messages in sync with the official line.
By Jeremy Scahill, RebelReports, April 9, 2009

Over the past several weeks, independent journalists and anti-war activists have tried to shine a spotlight on how groups like the Center for American Progress and MoveOn, which portrayed themselves as anti-war during the Bush-era, are now supporting the escalation and continuation of wars because their guy is now commander-in-chief. CAP has been actively pounding the pavement in support of the escalation in Afghanistan, the rebranding of the Iraq occupation and, more recently, Obama’s bloated military budget, which the group said was “on target.” MoveOn has been silent on the escalation in Afghanistan and has devoted substantial resources to promoting a federal budget that includes a $21 billion increase in military spending from the Bush-era.

What is clear here is that CAP and MoveOn are now basically psuedo-official PR flaks targeting “liberals” to support the White House agenda. This, though, should not come as a shock to those who have closely monitored these groups.

Continue reading Rahm Emanuel's Think Tankers Enforce 'Message Discipline' Among 'Liberals'

OBAMA DID NOT VISIT IRAQ TODAY

Craig Murray

Contrary to what the media are telling you, Barack Obama is not in any real sense visiting Iraq. He is visiting a US base which, under the Status of Forces Agreement, is US territory under US legal jurisdiction. He is not visiting Iraq any more than a vist to Guananamo Bay (Good Lord! Is that still open? What happened?) would be a visit to Cuba.

Which is a point worth making as he delivers an almighty snub to the Iraqi President and Prime Minister. For a visiting Head of State to come officially to your country and not meet the host President or host Government is an almighty breach of protocol, a gesture of supreme contempt. We are told he is going to telephone them.

The visit has the look and feel of an exercise in Imperial hubris, an entirely militaristic display. The Iraqis lost hundreds of thousands killed and saw the deliberate destruction of their water, electricity, sewerage and other civilian infrastructure. They are being visited by a new leader of their occupiers who made a virtue of opposing their invasion and their suffering. They might have expected him to walk on foot and say sorry to the Iraqi people, not glory in the power of his military and hand out medals.

AF/PAK: OBAMA'S THEATRE OF THE ABSURD

FROM THE REAL NEWS NETWORK...

As Pepe Escobar explains.. Most extra troops will be deployed to poppy-growing areas, not to fight al-Qaeda, the President's stated number one objective. The upshot is Obama ain't comin' clean with us.

The President talks about building trust - but as the US cannot trust the Pakistani ISI, the Pakistani people don't trust the US or even their own government.

REAL NEWS NETWORK: REPORT ON MARCH 21 PROTEST IN DC

STORIES OF OUR TIMES

"I was taken to another room where I was made to stand on tiptoes for about two hours during questioning. Approximately thirteen persons were in the room. These included the head interrogator (a man) and two female interrogators, plus about ten muscle guys wearing masks. I think they were all Americans. From time to time one of the muscle guys would punch me in the chest and stomach. Here cold water from buckets was thrown onto me for about forty minutes. Not constantly as it took time to refill the buckets. After which I would be taken back to the interrogation room.

"On one occasion during the interrogation I was offered water to drink, when I refused I was again taken to another room where I was made to lie [on] the floor with three persons holding me down. A tube was inserted into my anus and water poured inside. Afterwards I wanted to go to the toilet as I had a feeling as if I had diarrhoea. No toilet access was provided until four hours later when I was given a bucket to use. Whenever I was returned to my cell I was always kept in the standing position with my hands cuffed and chained to a bar above my head." — New York Review of Books- US Torture: Voices from the Black Sites
By Mark Danner
ICRC Report on the Treatment of Fourteen “High Value Detainees” in CIA Custody by the International Committee of the Red Cross

"We need to get to the bottom of what happened—and why—so we make sure it never happens again."
— Senator Patrick Leahy, Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee

THE COST OF EMPIRE: $663,000,000,000.00

While Obama has promised to increase troop recruitment levels, he has hinted that he wants to cut some spending on some as-yet-unidentified weaponry.

"We need to run an empire."

In the Real News Network video clip below, Miriam Pemberton, a Research Fellow at the Institute for Policy Studies, cites the demand of some in congress to keep the F-22 Raptor, despite escalating production expenses.

The major contractor for the F-22 is Lockheed Martin, but pieces of the program have been farmed out to companies in "44 of 50 states to create a political constiuency for the plane," says Pemberton. Burlington's General Dynamics Armament Systems is one of them, and they can thank Sen. Patrick Leahy for that prize.