A worthy comment, Irwin and as you say, why is Bush walking the streets and being feted by Obama. Over here in the UK we have a similar situation with Bush's great friend and fellow war criminal, Tony Blair now strutting the streets of London saying we should go to war in Syria at once.
I see in paragraph four of your piece, professor, you refer to the Syrian government whereas hitherto you have called them a regime with the implication they have (had) no legitimacy? Its been obvious from the start that the Syrian catastrophe was engineered by the Saudi REGIME from the start who provided arms, money and logistics with a large dose of USA help together with my own US vassal state (UK).
Kozmo, the American public probably hardly notice these announcements and even if they do, they have absolutely no way of challenging it. If anyone had the temerity to ask a question such as yours they would be branded un-patriotic and completely ignored.
What I don't understand with regard to the Syria fiasco is where is the United Nations in all this? The US has illegally set up shop in Syria against international law without a peep from the UN. Other players are all in there as well. Now Turkey has decided to attack the country (all be it specifically the Kurds) and the international community has nothing to say. The UN has for some time been little more than a talking shop and now they don't even seem to be talking at all.
Hang on a minute, John, whilst the right wing press as you put it, obviously played a part in Brexit, it was former prime minister David Cameron who started the ball rolling and did so for his own selfish ends. I thought the broadcast media was if anything biased in favour of the remain point of view and seeing as far more people take their news from TV and radio, surely the result should have been to remain in the EU. The same thing could be said for the Trump debacle although for different reasons. Far be it for me to defend the right wing press and I'm not doing so here, but I think there was far more going on than just blaming the newspapers.
Your comments about the problem of house prices going down and the military being short of recruits, sounds to me like a bonus. The current military is bloated and out of control and the same can be said for the property market. The saying, "its an ill wind that blows no good" seems rather apt in this regard.
One thing which defines fascism for sure, is a large compliant military because without it, fascists are just foolish men dressed up in black shirts, stomping around the place making absurd salutes etc. Another thing that defines fascism is the desire for total control of people. The ever growing surveillance state, militarized police and complete control of the media and information all fit into the fascist agenda. It seems to me that the US together with numerous other Western nations are fascist states in all but name.
The real problem with American mid-East policy is that they have a policy at all. Perhaps if the Americans stopped interfering in the middle East and let the people there run their own affairs there would be less conflict in that part of the world. There is absolutely no reason why America, we British and others are barging around the world on regime change and for other nefarious reasons, causing death, destruction and terror. I suggest a policy of total war abstinence and give good relations a chance instead.
There is a theory out there that global warming will melt the arctic ice and cause the gulf stream to shut down and perversely, cause a mini ice age for we British and Northern Europe. Ironically, if this does happen we will actually have to burn more fossil fuels just to stay warm. We should not however, forget man's ingenuity to solve problems in the face of adversity. Its not that long ago in the UK that all power stations were run using filthy coal and at the same time many households used coal for heating causing terrible smog as it was called back then. Since then with the onset of North sea gas and the enforcement of smokeless zones the air in the cities has improved by a huge factor. CO2 producing transport has also been revolutionized with cleaner engines and now a projected abolition of diesel vehicles which cause greater pollution than was originally thought. Progress continues with the advent of wind and solar power together with electric vehicles. Solar power would have been the stuff of science fiction only twenty years ago. So, Juan, although the prognosis looks rather grim, I suspect that the temporary ravings of Trump and co are just a passing phase, and the human race may yet come up with a unique solution to our problems. In the short term, I think the more imminent danger to the planet in global war and this we really can control by exercising some common sense, goodwill and less greed.
I fear the last sentence of your excellent piece and the question it poses is a no brainer. Pontias Pilate wins out every time and always has. The very reasonable assertion you propose, which I basically interpret as: "do unto others as you would them do unto you" has no more traction today than it did at the time of Jesus. America doesn't have a monopoly of stateless people because there are millions of such people and many are fleeing from terror, starvation and religious persecution the world over. In almost every case of stateless and homeless people, its the leaders of our nations who are to blame. Its time we got rid of our modern day Pontius Pilate and elected people with some humanity and vision instead.
You are right about money being the essence of the 'class' system and its much the same over here in the UK. However, we do have a peculiar class who are at the top and they are almost a race in their own right. They even have their own 'cultured' accent and are mostly rich and associated with Royalty, Lords and Ladies, Knights and those in high office etc. They are a veritable living chess board and needless to say, they represent the white chess pieces. You mention the snow mountain in your blog, professor, but you forgot one class of people who get even more of the public purse than even the super rich individuals. This is of course, the military who devour trillion of dollars every year and their take is ever growing. The world could be a paradise if only the people would lay down their arms, put aside their religious and political dogma and work together to make mother earth a haven of beauty and contentment. They won't of course, man is too greedy for that kind of vision. So, instead of the earth being a jewel in the cosmos it will be just another barren planet or a man made shyte hole.
I not sure I follow entirely the argument that these militias are a separate entity. For instance: where do they get their funding and arms from? Further, who allocates them land and property to have a base etc. There is also the matter of communications and strategy they would need to operate effectively. Militias are essentially factional based and are usually employed in fighting those who are not part of their clan. More often than not, its resistance to the army (the government) that has brought about the formation of the militias in the first place. I suspect that as long as there is racial and religious intolerance in the middle East there will always be tension and conflict with militias being vital to the various factions.
You are of course correct, professor to highlight the wrong doings of both Turkey and Israel, but in essence the old proverb about the kettle calling the pot black sums up the positions of both parties. The real problem is that over used word "security" which is used the world over to justify terrible human rights abuses. I doubt there are many countries in the world that honestly say they have never, or aren't currently abusing human rights. Between the need for ever more resources, security and the curse of religion I doubt the abuse of peoples human rights is going to diminish or disappear any time soon.
I don't think most people regarded ISIS as a state in its own right because the territory they captured and held for a while wasn't recognized by anyone. I would suggest that for most of the American public and certainly we British, ISIS were regarded for what they were; terrorists who held ordinary citizens captive thus, making clearing theses murderers out of the areas they held very difficult. Whilst there has been a lot of hysteria in the US about this phenomenon, in reality, there have been few if any attacks in the US that can be directly blamed on ISIS. As for the demise of the bogey man of communism, I would suggest that its alive and well but has taken the form of Russia gate instead. Numerous surveys and polls have shown that there is 70% and more of American people who see Russia as a direct threat to the USA. Whether its Russia, communism, ISIS or whoever, there seems to be a need in the psyche of the American people (and most certainly in the minds of the military industrial war business), for a bogey man. When parents don't want their kids to go to certain places they tell the that, "the bogey man will get them" if they do. The trillions of dollars spent on the military are justified in exactly the same way. The benefit of ISIS and the war on terror, is that it is on going and pretty much permanent. As you say, professor, ISIS will re-group and morph into something else and will be used in war games elsewhere and become the catalyst for something much bigger.
And into this truly terrible mix of madness and horror the Americans and we British are pouring ever more arms. What is it with we humans that we want to slaughter each other on such a scale and expend our energies and wealth on ever more machines to kill each other? I really do despair and wonder if there will ever be a time when the world is at peace with itself.
The quote you mention in your blog from Woody Johnson reminds me of the hilarious Yossarian in Joseph Hellers wonderful book, 'catch 22' where Colonel Cathcart tries to persuade Yossarian to return to America and give speeches telling everyone how nice the top brass are and he says to Yossarian "like us, Yossarian and say good things about us"
I'm sure that if Trump does come to Britain there will be huge demonstrations. I think we Brits are always game for a demo but are nothing compared to our neigbours, the French, who are the undisputed masters when it comes to demonstrations. As for all 65 million British people in Britain being outraged by Trumps comments, Sadly I'm afraid that there is a large vocal minority of nutters in the UK who think otherwise and will not be least put out by Trumps inane tweets. One has to feel sorry for prime minister, Theresa May, because she really is between a rock and a hard place regarding Trump. She has to act like an international statesman yet at the same time try to reassure parliament and the public that she supports their concerns. What with Brexit and Trump this is not a good time to be prime minister of the UK.
You say professor that millions of people should not be judged on what Trump says, but the truth is there are many many millions of people in the Britain and the US who absolutely believe that all Muslims are evil and they support Trump's sentiment in this regard at least. Even ardent Trump haters believe that Muslims are to blame for everything. In the UK I am ashamed to say, anti Muslim fever is rampant. What we have to ask ourselves is: where does this anti Muslim dogma come from? Whilst Trump can certainly be blamed for some of it, by far the most blame should be laid at the door of the media both print and broadcast. As far as Muslim phobia goes, we have our own version of Trump in the UK in the guise Nigel Farage. He, like the media, never openly says all Muslims are bad etc, its always the mantra that we must get control of our boarders to stop Muslim fanatics getting in etc, and as many people believe, its was this that lost it for the Brexit remain side.
There is no excuse for solar, wind and wave power not to be accelerating at a pace. China has built more solar power plants in the last six weeks that America has in the last year. Obviously, just about anything can be achieved " where there's a will there's a way" America has plenty of hot sunny deserts and plenty of windy areas plus a huge coast line for wave power. The way is there but the will is lacking.
The really worrying thing about this incident apart from the horror, injuries and loss of life, is how little coverage it has got in the media. Had this happened in a European country it would have been wall to wall coverage throughout the broadcast and print media and would have gone on for days. Further, had this happened in say, Syria which is about the same distance from the UK as Egypt and had it been caused by the Syrian government, it would have been a major news story. Sadly, the media base their reporting on what they call in the trade "good copy" and who's dead where and how is secondary to the worth of the story to their readership.
If only a a small proportion of the trillions of dollars the US spent on arms over say, the last two years could be diverted to alleviate the plight of the Puerto Rico's they could light up their state like a Xmas tree with the excess electricity they would have! I support the sentiment of we ordinary folk in being generous and giving what we can, but in reality we already have given trillions of dollars in taxes to the government and it has been misspent. Whilst the situation over here in the UK is nothing like as bad as the US for bad weather and storms etc, we too have homeless people and things like food banks where people can get food so they won't starve or have to go shop lifting. The poor and homeless have to rely on wonderful charitable organisations like the Salvation Army and others for help. There's always enough money to build the latest fighter jet or a new battleship, but never anything available for people in need.
That picture of the solar farm is really quite stunning and I would love to be able to visit it and see it up close. As for China's huge leap forward into the alternative energy field, perhaps their form of government has something to do with it. They don't have to go through endless bureaucracy in order to go ahead with any plan they come up with and Chinese government can allocate funds anywhere it likes. Whilst its not my idea of a fun government, they do get things done!
We hear almost nothing of Yemen over here in the UK from the media or newsprint outlets. The horror that is unfolding there is equal to if not worse than the hell that was Syria just a few short months ago. However, we had wall to wall saturation with news and graphic pictures of injured children and people in Syria, especially when they were injured by Syrian military munitions. Are dead and hideously maimed children in Yemen not just as important as those in Syria? May I respectfully suggest that maybe as its our friend and ally Saudi Arabia that's doing the killing and slaughter of the innocent, we are turning a blind eye.
I suspect that its not bigger news because the defeat is almost entirely by the Syrian army with the help of Russian strategic help and air power. The main stream media in most Western countries is against the Assad government, so reporting success that isn't entirely driven by the West does not fit in with the prescribed story. Anyway, the ISIS gangsters have managed to keep the Assad military at bay for over five years so I would never under estimate their ability to continue to keep the Syrian government on a war footing for a long time yet. ISIS hasn't so much been defeated as displaced to the deserts and other countries. we have by no means heard the last of these butchers yet, especially as the West through proxies keeps on providing them with the means to make war.
I would have thought it would be a no brainer that Trump is left out of the climate summit in Paris. He's no more entitlement to attend the Paris summit than the UK prime minister has to attend and European summit. They have both resigned from the club. More importantly, is what the rest of the world attending the summit comes up with. Will there be wrangling, back room deals and a lot of procrastination leading to the postponement of any real change until the next summit is convened? The only way America's absence can be countered is for the rest of the world to do even more to slow or halt climate change and perhaps shame the US to get on board. We can only hope.
This isn't really corruption in the sense that most people think of it. Seeing as Saudi Arabia is totally corrupt from top to bottom this is more like a mafia boss taking care of some of his subordinates who have been siphoning off some of the racketeering cash for themselves.
There is no qualification for being the president of the USA any more than there is any qualification for being a politician. You need lots of money and the MSM on your side, although ironically the media being so against Trump gave him undreamed of media exposure at no cost to him whatever.
You are right professor but you failed to ask the one most important question in this piece and that is: what's it got to do with Tillerson or America anyway? As you rightly point out, Iraq is a sovereign Country (even if the US doesn't think it is) so how they conduct their affairs is none of Tillerson's business. Iraq and Iran have already had a nine year war with each other thanks to Saddam Hussein who was backed to the hilt by the USA , so the last thing Iraq needs is any kind of bad relations with its neighbor simply to appease some fool from the white house.
I am surprised in this blog you fail to mention the hugely important contribution by the Russians and the Russian air force. Had Russia not intervened and come in on the side of Assad there would almost certainly be a black ISIL flag on the parliament building in Damascus today. ISIL would not be on the run in Raqqa or anywhere else. Whilst I understand here you are referring only to Raqqa, never-the-less, the SDF and the Kurds would long since have been swamped or amalgamated into the ISIL forces had not the Syrian military together with Russian help from the air and ground got most of the country under control first. I assume the Assad forces are Muslim, if so, then Muslims made a major contribution the ending the war but they wouldn't have without the help from their non Muslim partners, the Russians. One could say the same about the Kurds and the SDF etc. They too would not be on the winning side had it not been for the enormous help from the non Muslim Americans both on the ground and in the air. One thing is certain professor, its the Muslims who have done the most dying and suffering from terrible injuries as well as having their homes, towns and cities destroyed in this sorry affair.
The one thing you left out of your piece, prof, was the staggering cost of all this ironmongery. I read somewhere recently (maybe something of yours) that if the US spent all its war money on the people and infrastructure as well as getting rid of fossil fuels, America could be a virtual paradise. The waste is heart breaking and the results devastating for I fear some fool will one day use these terrible weapons in anger or a fit of petulance
I am sure world leaders understand the ramifications of global warming well enough and I am surprised you even think they might not. Presidents views on this matter or anything else are tempered by the views and needs of the corporate state and energy production by renewable sources is absolutely not in their interests. They don't want to hear about it or entertain any discussion about an energy source that will put them out of business. As you say, Prof, Atlantic wind and wave farms could produce huge amounts of clean energy and that's to say nothing of the pacific or other vast oceanic and sea areas. I believe China is one of the biggest users of coal and fossil fuels, but they have suddenly become one of the biggest investors in renewable energy sources as well. Perhaps the Chinese government has seen the light and not being chained by any corporations they will be world leaders in this vital technology. They don't need to burn coal for profit they just need the energy and if there is an alternative source (and there really is) they will go for it.
It seems almost inconceivable that one man's ego can bring about the deaths of millions of people and cause mass destruction on an unimaginable scale. I believe Trumps insanity, for that's what it really is, will be used by the military, arms dealers and manufactures together with the deep state, Israel and many other invested interests to attack North Korea. They will all but exterminate the population of North Korea and lay the country to waste. They will use this as an example to middle east countries and others as an example of what they can expect if they don't capitulate. I'm quite sure that had Clinton won, something similar would be happening. Presidents don't lead, they are managed and manipulated by dark forces behind facade of government. Trumps ego is the catalyst for the conflagration to come.
The five signs you mention professor are only a further conformation that Trump is a moron. Trump was clearly a moron before he took office on the campaign trail. He was probably a moron even before that. You use the verb "effing" to describe Trump quite reasonably. I just call him an rsole which though less polite, probably describes the man even better!
Well dsmith, over here in the UK 80% of the cost of fuel is government tax. The filling stations get only a few cents (pence uk money) per gallon and the producers get a bit more, but I don't know exactly how much. The filling stations make most of their money selling produce, sweets, newspapers etc. If it wasn't for government tax UK fuel would be very cheap. At least we gasoline users over here in England do contribute towards the county's needs. The car driver, smoker and drinker all heavily taxed, all but keep the UK economy going!!
Unfortunately, Farhang, people don't live happily together because its usually one or more factions living under the rule, or sometime jack boot of a tyrannical power which dominates the country. The European Union is a good case in point. We Brits have already broken away from this overpowering authority and I suspect others will follow eventually. Even Scotland here in the UK wanted to break away from the UK. The same goes for Ireland. Just as people like to run their own lives free from state interference, so tribes, if I can call them that, want to do their own thing as well. I get on quite well with my neighbour, but if he started telling me how I should do my garden or otherwise manage my home, our friendship would soon come to an end. Its all about that one most fundamental word we here so often quoted, "freedom" !!
I wonder where the Americans will stand in this business of banning air flights to and from the Kurdish territory? I seem to remember that the Kurds' were very friendly and cooperative the the USA when the Iraq war was in full swing and they were spared the ravages of bombing by the US and others in the coalition. If the Iraqi government forces do attack this province then there will be yet another civil war in Iraq. I would have thought Iraq had had enough bloodshed and destruction already and not be wanting to start yet another conflict. It will be interesting to see if Iraq calls on the US air force to carry out bombing raids and if they do, will the Americans oblige or perhaps remember the Kurdish cooperation in the previous fighting with Saddam Hussein?
I suspect this measure to let women drive is to stop the well known comment about Saudi Arabia not even allowing their women to drive as a clear criticism of how backward Saudi thinking really is. We will have to wait and see just how many women are actually able to get a license when they make an application. There is nothing about taking a driving test and will a man be the examiner. Presumably women will have to learn at some kind of driving school, especially if they have no male escort. One has to wonder why its necessary to wait until next June to implement this new law. What's wrong with now? Its one thing to say women are allowed to drive, but quite another in seeing women getting a driving license at the same level as men. I doubt if even 5% of women have a driving license ten years from now.
"Trump goes after everyone except the white supremacists and Putin" I don't quite see why you lump Putin with white supremacists as Trump doesn't go after the British prime minister Mrs May, the French president or the German president, the Australian prime minister etc etc. I agree with you That Trump clearly doesn't like brown people except of course if they live in Saudi Arabia. Its a pity that the great storms of recent times don't descend of Washington and vent their fury on the global warming denying brigade there. Perhaps then they would take the matter seriously.
The speech was bizarre by anyone's standards and was made all the more peculiar by the fixed approving smile on Nikki Haley's face like some kind of grotesque painted face on a puppet from a horror film. I think most people would agree with Safavi that the US has been, if not behind ISIL, then a major supporter of this terrorist organisation. If not the US, then who do you think is the driving force behind ISIL, professor?
You make an excellent point here Nicholas and I would add to this that Obama quite openly tried to influence the outcome of the referendum vote in England with regards to whether or not we should vote to stay in the European Union. If the Russian government really did try to influence the outcome of the presidential election, then they must be sorely disappointed, because Trump has turned out to be just as big a war monger as Clinton was likely to be.
ISIS or whatever name they go by these days is essentially an 'idea' as much as its a movement. Movements come and go, but the 'idea' remains for ever. whether its religion, communism, capitalism or any other ism the idea is always there waiting for a movement to come along.
The people can be brainwashed by the actual news but not by the lack of news as you suggest, and as Mr Cole points out, the media go overboard when a Muslim has targeted a 'Western Country, but has nothing to say about atrocities perpetrated by Muslims against Muslims or horrendous death and destruction by Western country's bombs. Indeed, its only when the perpetrator of death and destruction in chief (currently Assad) commits some heinous alleged war crime that the media gushes tears of feigned anguish and shows pictures of children caught up in the mayhem. The mass of the people watch only main stream news outlets and only a tiny tiny tiny fraction of people like you and me read well informed sites like this one. You may recall the rather comical speech by Donald Rumsfeld where he driveled on about you can't know what you don't know and an unknown is an unknown etc, well something like that.
Netanyahu like the Neocons, regards evidence in the same way as Count Dracula regards holy water, a religious cross and garlic, with fear and terror. These people never make any pretense at providing evidence and any evidence which might contradict their own mantra is derided and consigned to the dustbin of the conspiracy theorists.
America is not the slightest bit interested in any military contribution the Germans may make just as long as they are on side. This goes for any other European or world country. If other countries only supply a few men and some pots and pans then they are part of the all important "coalition" . Whenever there is a complaint that American or British bombs have blow a community of civilians to bits, it always said the coalition is looking in to it, or the coalition takes great care when it drops bombs etc. The term 'coalition' suggests there is a sense of world unity in making war on whatever country it happens to be this time. If Trump does attack North Korea you can be sure there will be a grand coalition of countries taking part even if they only have a population of a few million. It doesn't pay to be out of favour with America.
Reading this piece makes me wonder if America has a proper government at all as it seems to be being run by a few buffoons, louts, gangsters and a secret state who's place of operations isn't known!! This is a bit like our European union over the pond which has hundreds of elected EU members of parliament of which know one in any country can name or even tell how many there are or what they do. The whole outfit is run by a thing called the 'commission' who are unelected and unaccountable to anyone. I suppose its our version the American so called 'deep state' As far as I can see the only thing of any note the American government has done lately is to vote for ever more sanctions against Russia, which is going to do the American people about as much good as a hole in the head.
Unemployment, poor wages, exploitation, poor housing and insecurity are the breeding grounds for fascism and bit by bit this is now starting to occur in the USA. The never ending onward march of automation relieving workers of their jobs and lively hoods adds daily to the plight of the men and women who were once workers in society. people in this situation are easy prey for the merchants of fascism and who know just how to arouse race hatred among those without hope. Over here in Europe one might have thought that after Germany and world war two, that fascism had been stamped out for good, but I can assure you, fascism is alive and well and the breeding grounds for its revival are now just about everywhere. Although in the USA Trump and his side kicks can share some of the blame for the recent right wing disturbances, they are not the cause or the symptom as they inherited both. One has to ask why is it that Obama and others before him did little or nothing about the growing tide of depression and misery of the 'working class' ? Scapegoating Trump in the US or scapegoating the mass of immigrants?refugees etc in Europe is just passing the buck. Had previous administrations in the US not gone on a massively expensive war spree on a campaign of 'regime change' and spent that money instead on US infrastructure, things might be much better there today. Further, the nightmare now unfolding in Europe with a mass exodus of people from war torn countries would not have occurred either.
I don't know what films the US entertainment industry is showing on TV these days, but over here in the UK one can view a John Wayne film on most days of the week on TV. He is very well known and most young people can tell you who he is yet they couldn't give you the name of say, the Australian prime minister. Obviously, Trump's "lock and load" comment was a metaphor to indicate that the USA is ready to attack at a moments' notice should North Korea make any preemptive moves to attack US interests. I don't think the problem is Trump so much as the war machine industry. With the prospect of the war dollars from Syria now drying up and not much war expenditure going on elsewhere, Trump may well be goaded by the war lobby to actually attack North Korea on some pretext or other. Only people who are supremely delusional could think that the West's war enterprises have even the slightest connotations with any humanitarian purpose, because its always about war dollars.
election results of some of the countries you mention Professor are often of dubious validity, but a recent presidential election in the USA was hardly a paragon of virtue. Clinton won more votes than Trump, but Trump became president. Had this happened in any other country there would have been cries foul and fraud etc. Libya was a highly successful country before the West decided on regime change and had Saddam Hussein not been toppled and sanctioned half to death, Iraq would now be a highly successful country and a leader in middle East affairs. As it is they are both basket cases with no sign of anything changing any time soon.
I seem to remember that the snake oil salesman, Tony Blair, was selling we British a similar story about Saddam Hussein being able to each us in 45 minutes with chemical weapons. Of course, it was a pack of lies just as the rubbish about North Korea being able nuke America is. However, North Korea may well be able to do some serious damage to South Korea, the capitol of which is only a few miles away. If the maniacs in the American military do blow up the nuclear weapons and reactors in the North, the radiation could smother the South if the wind is in the right direction. Much better to have talks, lift all sanctions and stop threatening North Korea. Countries without Nukes get beaten up and destroyed by the Americans, so who can blame the North Koreans for having nukes themselves.
If Trump and the gangster Neocons have their way and start a nuclear war with Russia which they seem hell bent on doing, global warming will be the least of our children's grand children's problems. There is also a report out there which suggests that a global rise in temperature may set off volcanic eruption (yellow stone) which will bring about sudden global cooling as happened many years ago in Krakatoa ? The future is indeed uncertain so console yourself professor, knowing that death and taxes will go on for ever!
Whilst I agree that renewable energy sources is the way to go, its worth bearing in mind that once the wind and solar panels are installed they require very little maintenance. Obviously the jobs created in building them are gone, whereas coal has to be produced and delivered on a daily basis, so people working in this industry are not going cheer on the green lobby. Turkeys don't vote for Xmas!!
It would seem that the 'deep state' are completely in control of America and the president is just an empty vassal. Trump is like our queen over here in the UK, a figure head without portfolio. At least the queen has the good grace to deport herself with dignity and gravitas, unlike Trump who just crashes around the white house like a hippo on steroids. Obama before him was also an empty vassal (remember how he was going to close Guantanamo bay?), but at least he looked and behaved like a president. The Americans seem to be willing on the demise of Trump, but they should be careful what they wish for. A country that is run by shadowy unelected people is not a democracy. America's democratic credentials don't look so robust from over here in the UK as they once did.
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No wonder the CEO of Alibaba expressed amazement at the crass waste of money the Americans have spend on war and continue to spend. Had the Americans spent all this money, time and effort helping the economies of other less fortunate countries they would probably be the most liked country in the world instead of the most hated.
Banning alternative news and comment is nothing new. Over here in the UK there are voices in high places who want to ban RT (Russian TV) and of course as we all know, the clamour to edit out 'fake news' and alternative comment with special algorithms is rampant. I believe legislation has already been passed to fine ISP's if they don't filter out 'undesirable content'. One way or another the MSM and their government handlers will silence alternative sources of information, you can bet on it!!
The notion that the rebels took over huge swathes of territory against heavily armed government forces with just 13 bullets a month per man, is fanciful to say the least. There are numerous pictures of the rebels with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks and this is to say nothing of RPG's shoulder mounted missile launchers, transport etc. The only time I ever heard of a shortage of ammunition was when defense minister Fallon mentioned it in a select committee in parliament.
As far as I can see Trump seems to going around the world trying to be friendly with everyone, including the Russians The only country his is hostile towards, is Iran and this for no good reason that I can see. I would suggest its the Neocons who are itching to start some kind of military conflict with Russia and bad weather isn't likely to stop them. Trump does indeed have lots of connections with the Russians which may well be his downfall, but it won't be for any military ambitions. Maybe Trump has an hotel on the Isle of Elba he can go to if he loses out to Russia gate! LOL
What this is really about is the wealthy not wanting to part with a single cent to help provide health care funds for the poor. As you know, professor, over here in the UK we have a free health care service at the point of need for everyone. However, we still have rich and very rich people over here and universal health care does not appeared to have dented the millions of pounds they have stashed away in the bank. Perhaps the super rich, the rich and the almost rich people in the USA should take a look at our system, because what they fear most is losing some of their money to a good cause. Clearly, universal health care doesn't mean the impoverishment of the rich and bizarrely, they get free health care as well !
You are indeed fortunate to have a monthly bill electricity bill for just $15 a month. Over here in the UK we pay that much for a 'standing charge' as they call it and this has to be paid even if you don't use any electricity at all !! For those of us who live in apartments in the cities, solar panels are not an option so when we get our extortionate bills we just have to grin and pay up.
This finding is rather odd to say the least. You don't say who conducted this poll and why. Further, you don't tell us what the question was that the pollsters asked. More importantly, who did the pollsters ask? Was this poll aimed just at party members or was it a random poll asked of the public in general. If so, one has to assume part of the question was asking about the political persuasion of the individual who might not have been frank about their own politics. I simply ask these questions because I would have thought the Republicans would have been most anxious for their off spring to go to university, so why would they denigrate this much sought after right of passage for their own children?
In Germany the government has passed a law forcing all internet search engines to take down what they call "fake news" Presumably this affair of Trump's video would qualify as fake news? I can't imagine how loud the screams and howls of censorship from the white house would be if they took down his video. Over here in the UK there are plans for forcing Google and others to take down "fake news". However, as yet fake news hasn't actually be defined. I wonder would the stuff CNN puts out qualify as fake news? They have after all, just sacked three of their staff for just this offence, as well as being caught on camera actually saying they put out all the Russia gate stuff for ratings.
The American government has just passed legislation seriously curtailing, if not actually shutting down, the Russian news channels, RT and Sputnic for the very same reasons as the Saudi government wants to close Al Jazeera. That is, they are putting out news and opinion that contradicts the state narrative and therefore has to be silenced. Free speech is only tolerated when it doesn't challenge the state. Curiously, Turkey's Erdogan supports Qatar yet he has silenced most of his critics at home by putting them in prison. Its a mad world.
As far as respect for the president is concerned, the American people treat stupidity as though it were a virtue! When Trump goes off on a bombing spree to Syria he is lauded by the media, congress, the republicans, the democrats and everyone else in the deep state as a hero. Yet when the novelty of the wizz bangs of missiles wears off, its back to mocking the president again. It looks like there is another chemical weapons attack brewing in Syria so Trump will probably bomb the hell out of the Syrian government this time and once again become everyone's darling.
This is just another example of the state wanting to shut down any form of alternative narrative, especially one that contradicts or exposes the state for lies and corruption. There are plenty of people out there who would like to shut down the RT (Russia today) TV station both in the US and over here in England. As for the internet and blogs like yours professor, the deep state and the main stream media are working over time to close down all this "fake news" as they call it and so stifle any alternative voice or opinion. Whilst TV station like Aljazeera and RT etc are a thorn in the side of middle East states and the West, its the net that poses the most dangerous threat to the power of the state, that's why its banned or under state control in many countries.
Comey admitted quite openly that he gave information to a friend so that the friend could get it out to the media. I would call this a leak if ever there was one. His excuse that he was then a private citizen just doesn't wash. If it does then Assange, who is not even a US citizen has no case to answer in an American court, because he too is a private citizen. The Russia gate thing is a complete farce and the notion it in any way influenced the voting American public is fanciful in the extreme. If anything influenced the voters, I would have thought it would have been the re-opening of the case against Hillary by comey just before the election.
There appear to be several captains running the good ship of the USA. Anyway, I would think Qatar might well be needing these planes as the countries around them are being hostile and belligerent .
Professor, in fact there was only one day over here in the UK when we actually produced as much electricity by solar and wind as by fossil fuels. It was a very rare day indeed when the sun actually appeared and stayed with us throughout the whole day and it was also very warm. Long day light hours means little electricity used for lighting and very warm weather means little electricity used in heating systems. As far as we Brits are concerned that was what we call 'freak' weather. Its usually cloudy, overcast or raining. Because of this, few people over here have air cooling conditioning systems so we wouldn't be using much electricity on this as you do in the states. Hence, the unique day when renewable energy came out on top. I don't know why countries in equatorial region with massive desert wastelands don't cover them with solar panels. They could even become exporters of electricity with this limitless natural energy source.
If Tillerson did say that the blockade of Qatar is hindering the ability of the USA to do business in region and causes difficulties for the American military stationed in the middle East, then perhaps the American air force should stop re-fueling Saudi planes on their way to unleash ever more bombs of death on the people of Qatar. Tillerson's statement suggests that the White House has no idea what the American military is up to?
A worthy comment, Irwin and as you say, why is Bush walking the streets and being feted by Obama. Over here in the UK we have a similar situation with Bush's great friend and fellow war criminal, Tony Blair now strutting the streets of London saying we should go to war in Syria at once.
I see in paragraph four of your piece, professor, you refer to the Syrian government whereas hitherto you have called them a regime with the implication they have (had) no legitimacy? Its been obvious from the start that the Syrian catastrophe was engineered by the Saudi REGIME from the start who provided arms, money and logistics with a large dose of USA help together with my own US vassal state (UK).
Kozmo, the American public probably hardly notice these announcements and even if they do, they have absolutely no way of challenging it. If anyone had the temerity to ask a question such as yours they would be branded un-patriotic and completely ignored.
What I don't understand with regard to the Syria fiasco is where is the United Nations in all this? The US has illegally set up shop in Syria against international law without a peep from the UN. Other players are all in there as well. Now Turkey has decided to attack the country (all be it specifically the Kurds) and the international community has nothing to say. The UN has for some time been little more than a talking shop and now they don't even seem to be talking at all.
Hang on a minute, John, whilst the right wing press as you put it, obviously played a part in Brexit, it was former prime minister David Cameron who started the ball rolling and did so for his own selfish ends. I thought the broadcast media was if anything biased in favour of the remain point of view and seeing as far more people take their news from TV and radio, surely the result should have been to remain in the EU. The same thing could be said for the Trump debacle although for different reasons. Far be it for me to defend the right wing press and I'm not doing so here, but I think there was far more going on than just blaming the newspapers.
Your comments about the problem of house prices going down and the military being short of recruits, sounds to me like a bonus. The current military is bloated and out of control and the same can be said for the property market. The saying, "its an ill wind that blows no good" seems rather apt in this regard.
One thing which defines fascism for sure, is a large compliant military because without it, fascists are just foolish men dressed up in black shirts, stomping around the place making absurd salutes etc. Another thing that defines fascism is the desire for total control of people. The ever growing surveillance state, militarized police and complete control of the media and information all fit into the fascist agenda. It seems to me that the US together with numerous other Western nations are fascist states in all but name.
The real problem with American mid-East policy is that they have a policy at all. Perhaps if the Americans stopped interfering in the middle East and let the people there run their own affairs there would be less conflict in that part of the world. There is absolutely no reason why America, we British and others are barging around the world on regime change and for other nefarious reasons, causing death, destruction and terror. I suggest a policy of total war abstinence and give good relations a chance instead.
There is a theory out there that global warming will melt the arctic ice and cause the gulf stream to shut down and perversely, cause a mini ice age for we British and Northern Europe. Ironically, if this does happen we will actually have to burn more fossil fuels just to stay warm. We should not however, forget man's ingenuity to solve problems in the face of adversity. Its not that long ago in the UK that all power stations were run using filthy coal and at the same time many households used coal for heating causing terrible smog as it was called back then. Since then with the onset of North sea gas and the enforcement of smokeless zones the air in the cities has improved by a huge factor. CO2 producing transport has also been revolutionized with cleaner engines and now a projected abolition of diesel vehicles which cause greater pollution than was originally thought. Progress continues with the advent of wind and solar power together with electric vehicles. Solar power would have been the stuff of science fiction only twenty years ago. So, Juan, although the prognosis looks rather grim, I suspect that the temporary ravings of Trump and co are just a passing phase, and the human race may yet come up with a unique solution to our problems. In the short term, I think the more imminent danger to the planet in global war and this we really can control by exercising some common sense, goodwill and less greed.
I fear the last sentence of your excellent piece and the question it poses is a no brainer. Pontias Pilate wins out every time and always has. The very reasonable assertion you propose, which I basically interpret as: "do unto others as you would them do unto you" has no more traction today than it did at the time of Jesus. America doesn't have a monopoly of stateless people because there are millions of such people and many are fleeing from terror, starvation and religious persecution the world over. In almost every case of stateless and homeless people, its the leaders of our nations who are to blame. Its time we got rid of our modern day Pontius Pilate and elected people with some humanity and vision instead.
You are right about money being the essence of the 'class' system and its much the same over here in the UK. However, we do have a peculiar class who are at the top and they are almost a race in their own right. They even have their own 'cultured' accent and are mostly rich and associated with Royalty, Lords and Ladies, Knights and those in high office etc. They are a veritable living chess board and needless to say, they represent the white chess pieces. You mention the snow mountain in your blog, professor, but you forgot one class of people who get even more of the public purse than even the super rich individuals. This is of course, the military who devour trillion of dollars every year and their take is ever growing. The world could be a paradise if only the people would lay down their arms, put aside their religious and political dogma and work together to make mother earth a haven of beauty and contentment. They won't of course, man is too greedy for that kind of vision. So, instead of the earth being a jewel in the cosmos it will be just another barren planet or a man made shyte hole.
I not sure I follow entirely the argument that these militias are a separate entity. For instance: where do they get their funding and arms from? Further, who allocates them land and property to have a base etc. There is also the matter of communications and strategy they would need to operate effectively. Militias are essentially factional based and are usually employed in fighting those who are not part of their clan. More often than not, its resistance to the army (the government) that has brought about the formation of the militias in the first place. I suspect that as long as there is racial and religious intolerance in the middle East there will always be tension and conflict with militias being vital to the various factions.
You are of course correct, professor to highlight the wrong doings of both Turkey and Israel, but in essence the old proverb about the kettle calling the pot black sums up the positions of both parties. The real problem is that over used word "security" which is used the world over to justify terrible human rights abuses. I doubt there are many countries in the world that honestly say they have never, or aren't currently abusing human rights. Between the need for ever more resources, security and the curse of religion I doubt the abuse of peoples human rights is going to diminish or disappear any time soon.
I don't think most people regarded ISIS as a state in its own right because the territory they captured and held for a while wasn't recognized by anyone. I would suggest that for most of the American public and certainly we British, ISIS were regarded for what they were; terrorists who held ordinary citizens captive thus, making clearing theses murderers out of the areas they held very difficult. Whilst there has been a lot of hysteria in the US about this phenomenon, in reality, there have been few if any attacks in the US that can be directly blamed on ISIS. As for the demise of the bogey man of communism, I would suggest that its alive and well but has taken the form of Russia gate instead. Numerous surveys and polls have shown that there is 70% and more of American people who see Russia as a direct threat to the USA. Whether its Russia, communism, ISIS or whoever, there seems to be a need in the psyche of the American people (and most certainly in the minds of the military industrial war business), for a bogey man. When parents don't want their kids to go to certain places they tell the that, "the bogey man will get them" if they do. The trillions of dollars spent on the military are justified in exactly the same way. The benefit of ISIS and the war on terror, is that it is on going and pretty much permanent. As you say, professor, ISIS will re-group and morph into something else and will be used in war games elsewhere and become the catalyst for something much bigger.
And into this truly terrible mix of madness and horror the Americans and we British are pouring ever more arms. What is it with we humans that we want to slaughter each other on such a scale and expend our energies and wealth on ever more machines to kill each other? I really do despair and wonder if there will ever be a time when the world is at peace with itself.
The quote you mention in your blog from Woody Johnson reminds me of the hilarious Yossarian in Joseph Hellers wonderful book, 'catch 22' where Colonel Cathcart tries to persuade Yossarian to return to America and give speeches telling everyone how nice the top brass are and he says to Yossarian "like us, Yossarian and say good things about us"
I'm sure that if Trump does come to Britain there will be huge demonstrations. I think we Brits are always game for a demo but are nothing compared to our neigbours, the French, who are the undisputed masters when it comes to demonstrations. As for all 65 million British people in Britain being outraged by Trumps comments, Sadly I'm afraid that there is a large vocal minority of nutters in the UK who think otherwise and will not be least put out by Trumps inane tweets. One has to feel sorry for prime minister, Theresa May, because she really is between a rock and a hard place regarding Trump. She has to act like an international statesman yet at the same time try to reassure parliament and the public that she supports their concerns. What with Brexit and Trump this is not a good time to be prime minister of the UK.
You say professor that millions of people should not be judged on what Trump says, but the truth is there are many many millions of people in the Britain and the US who absolutely believe that all Muslims are evil and they support Trump's sentiment in this regard at least. Even ardent Trump haters believe that Muslims are to blame for everything. In the UK I am ashamed to say, anti Muslim fever is rampant. What we have to ask ourselves is: where does this anti Muslim dogma come from? Whilst Trump can certainly be blamed for some of it, by far the most blame should be laid at the door of the media both print and broadcast. As far as Muslim phobia goes, we have our own version of Trump in the UK in the guise Nigel Farage. He, like the media, never openly says all Muslims are bad etc, its always the mantra that we must get control of our boarders to stop Muslim fanatics getting in etc, and as many people believe, its was this that lost it for the Brexit remain side.
There is no excuse for solar, wind and wave power not to be accelerating at a pace. China has built more solar power plants in the last six weeks that America has in the last year. Obviously, just about anything can be achieved " where there's a will there's a way" America has plenty of hot sunny deserts and plenty of windy areas plus a huge coast line for wave power. The way is there but the will is lacking.
The really worrying thing about this incident apart from the horror, injuries and loss of life, is how little coverage it has got in the media. Had this happened in a European country it would have been wall to wall coverage throughout the broadcast and print media and would have gone on for days. Further, had this happened in say, Syria which is about the same distance from the UK as Egypt and had it been caused by the Syrian government, it would have been a major news story. Sadly, the media base their reporting on what they call in the trade "good copy" and who's dead where and how is secondary to the worth of the story to their readership.
If only a a small proportion of the trillions of dollars the US spent on arms over say, the last two years could be diverted to alleviate the plight of the Puerto Rico's they could light up their state like a Xmas tree with the excess electricity they would have! I support the sentiment of we ordinary folk in being generous and giving what we can, but in reality we already have given trillions of dollars in taxes to the government and it has been misspent. Whilst the situation over here in the UK is nothing like as bad as the US for bad weather and storms etc, we too have homeless people and things like food banks where people can get food so they won't starve or have to go shop lifting. The poor and homeless have to rely on wonderful charitable organisations like the Salvation Army and others for help. There's always enough money to build the latest fighter jet or a new battleship, but never anything available for people in need.
That picture of the solar farm is really quite stunning and I would love to be able to visit it and see it up close. As for China's huge leap forward into the alternative energy field, perhaps their form of government has something to do with it. They don't have to go through endless bureaucracy in order to go ahead with any plan they come up with and Chinese government can allocate funds anywhere it likes. Whilst its not my idea of a fun government, they do get things done!
We hear almost nothing of Yemen over here in the UK from the media or newsprint outlets. The horror that is unfolding there is equal to if not worse than the hell that was Syria just a few short months ago. However, we had wall to wall saturation with news and graphic pictures of injured children and people in Syria, especially when they were injured by Syrian military munitions. Are dead and hideously maimed children in Yemen not just as important as those in Syria? May I respectfully suggest that maybe as its our friend and ally Saudi Arabia that's doing the killing and slaughter of the innocent, we are turning a blind eye.
I suspect that its not bigger news because the defeat is almost entirely by the Syrian army with the help of Russian strategic help and air power. The main stream media in most Western countries is against the Assad government, so reporting success that isn't entirely driven by the West does not fit in with the prescribed story. Anyway, the ISIS gangsters have managed to keep the Assad military at bay for over five years so I would never under estimate their ability to continue to keep the Syrian government on a war footing for a long time yet. ISIS hasn't so much been defeated as displaced to the deserts and other countries. we have by no means heard the last of these butchers yet, especially as the West through proxies keeps on providing them with the means to make war.
I would have thought it would be a no brainer that Trump is left out of the climate summit in Paris. He's no more entitlement to attend the Paris summit than the UK prime minister has to attend and European summit. They have both resigned from the club. More importantly, is what the rest of the world attending the summit comes up with. Will there be wrangling, back room deals and a lot of procrastination leading to the postponement of any real change until the next summit is convened? The only way America's absence can be countered is for the rest of the world to do even more to slow or halt climate change and perhaps shame the US to get on board. We can only hope.
This isn't really corruption in the sense that most people think of it. Seeing as Saudi Arabia is totally corrupt from top to bottom this is more like a mafia boss taking care of some of his subordinates who have been siphoning off some of the racketeering cash for themselves.
There is no qualification for being the president of the USA any more than there is any qualification for being a politician. You need lots of money and the MSM on your side, although ironically the media being so against Trump gave him undreamed of media exposure at no cost to him whatever.
The only complaint I have with this piece of your professor is that you forgot to put in the right amount of zeros. A couple more at least, I think !
You are right professor but you failed to ask the one most important question in this piece and that is: what's it got to do with Tillerson or America anyway? As you rightly point out, Iraq is a sovereign Country (even if the US doesn't think it is) so how they conduct their affairs is none of Tillerson's business. Iraq and Iran have already had a nine year war with each other thanks to Saddam Hussein who was backed to the hilt by the USA , so the last thing Iraq needs is any kind of bad relations with its neighbor simply to appease some fool from the white house.
I am surprised in this blog you fail to mention the hugely important contribution by the Russians and the Russian air force. Had Russia not intervened and come in on the side of Assad there would almost certainly be a black ISIL flag on the parliament building in Damascus today. ISIL would not be on the run in Raqqa or anywhere else. Whilst I understand here you are referring only to Raqqa, never-the-less, the SDF and the Kurds would long since have been swamped or amalgamated into the ISIL forces had not the Syrian military together with Russian help from the air and ground got most of the country under control first. I assume the Assad forces are Muslim, if so, then Muslims made a major contribution the ending the war but they wouldn't have without the help from their non Muslim partners, the Russians. One could say the same about the Kurds and the SDF etc. They too would not be on the winning side had it not been for the enormous help from the non Muslim Americans both on the ground and in the air. One thing is certain professor, its the Muslims who have done the most dying and suffering from terrible injuries as well as having their homes, towns and cities destroyed in this sorry affair.
Actually, the UAE congratulated Trump as well. Not that it in any way bolsters the stupidity of Trump
The one thing you left out of your piece, prof, was the staggering cost of all this ironmongery. I read somewhere recently (maybe something of yours) that if the US spent all its war money on the people and infrastructure as well as getting rid of fossil fuels, America could be a virtual paradise. The waste is heart breaking and the results devastating for I fear some fool will one day use these terrible weapons in anger or a fit of petulance
I am sure world leaders understand the ramifications of global warming well enough and I am surprised you even think they might not. Presidents views on this matter or anything else are tempered by the views and needs of the corporate state and energy production by renewable sources is absolutely not in their interests. They don't want to hear about it or entertain any discussion about an energy source that will put them out of business. As you say, Prof, Atlantic wind and wave farms could produce huge amounts of clean energy and that's to say nothing of the pacific or other vast oceanic and sea areas. I believe China is one of the biggest users of coal and fossil fuels, but they have suddenly become one of the biggest investors in renewable energy sources as well. Perhaps the Chinese government has seen the light and not being chained by any corporations they will be world leaders in this vital technology. They don't need to burn coal for profit they just need the energy and if there is an alternative source (and there really is) they will go for it.
It seems almost inconceivable that one man's ego can bring about the deaths of millions of people and cause mass destruction on an unimaginable scale. I believe Trumps insanity, for that's what it really is, will be used by the military, arms dealers and manufactures together with the deep state, Israel and many other invested interests to attack North Korea. They will all but exterminate the population of North Korea and lay the country to waste. They will use this as an example to middle east countries and others as an example of what they can expect if they don't capitulate. I'm quite sure that had Clinton won, something similar would be happening. Presidents don't lead, they are managed and manipulated by dark forces behind facade of government. Trumps ego is the catalyst for the conflagration to come.
The five signs you mention professor are only a further conformation that Trump is a moron. Trump was clearly a moron before he took office on the campaign trail. He was probably a moron even before that. You use the verb "effing" to describe Trump quite reasonably. I just call him an rsole which though less polite, probably describes the man even better!
Well dsmith, over here in the UK 80% of the cost of fuel is government tax. The filling stations get only a few cents (pence uk money) per gallon and the producers get a bit more, but I don't know exactly how much. The filling stations make most of their money selling produce, sweets, newspapers etc. If it wasn't for government tax UK fuel would be very cheap. At least we gasoline users over here in England do contribute towards the county's needs. The car driver, smoker and drinker all heavily taxed, all but keep the UK economy going!!
Unfortunately, Farhang, people don't live happily together because its usually one or more factions living under the rule, or sometime jack boot of a tyrannical power which dominates the country. The European Union is a good case in point. We Brits have already broken away from this overpowering authority and I suspect others will follow eventually. Even Scotland here in the UK wanted to break away from the UK. The same goes for Ireland. Just as people like to run their own lives free from state interference, so tribes, if I can call them that, want to do their own thing as well. I get on quite well with my neighbour, but if he started telling me how I should do my garden or otherwise manage my home, our friendship would soon come to an end. Its all about that one most fundamental word we here so often quoted, "freedom" !!
I wonder where the Americans will stand in this business of banning air flights to and from the Kurdish territory? I seem to remember that the Kurds' were very friendly and cooperative the the USA when the Iraq war was in full swing and they were spared the ravages of bombing by the US and others in the coalition. If the Iraqi government forces do attack this province then there will be yet another civil war in Iraq. I would have thought Iraq had had enough bloodshed and destruction already and not be wanting to start yet another conflict. It will be interesting to see if Iraq calls on the US air force to carry out bombing raids and if they do, will the Americans oblige or perhaps remember the Kurdish cooperation in the previous fighting with Saddam Hussein?
I suspect this measure to let women drive is to stop the well known comment about Saudi Arabia not even allowing their women to drive as a clear criticism of how backward Saudi thinking really is. We will have to wait and see just how many women are actually able to get a license when they make an application. There is nothing about taking a driving test and will a man be the examiner. Presumably women will have to learn at some kind of driving school, especially if they have no male escort. One has to wonder why its necessary to wait until next June to implement this new law. What's wrong with now? Its one thing to say women are allowed to drive, but quite another in seeing women getting a driving license at the same level as men. I doubt if even 5% of women have a driving license ten years from now.
"Trump goes after everyone except the white supremacists and Putin" I don't quite see why you lump Putin with white supremacists as Trump doesn't go after the British prime minister Mrs May, the French president or the German president, the Australian prime minister etc etc. I agree with you That Trump clearly doesn't like brown people except of course if they live in Saudi Arabia. Its a pity that the great storms of recent times don't descend of Washington and vent their fury on the global warming denying brigade there. Perhaps then they would take the matter seriously.
The speech was bizarre by anyone's standards and was made all the more peculiar by the fixed approving smile on Nikki Haley's face like some kind of grotesque painted face on a puppet from a horror film. I think most people would agree with Safavi that the US has been, if not behind ISIL, then a major supporter of this terrorist organisation. If not the US, then who do you think is the driving force behind ISIL, professor?
You make an excellent point here Nicholas and I would add to this that Obama quite openly tried to influence the outcome of the referendum vote in England with regards to whether or not we should vote to stay in the European Union. If the Russian government really did try to influence the outcome of the presidential election, then they must be sorely disappointed, because Trump has turned out to be just as big a war monger as Clinton was likely to be.
ISIS or whatever name they go by these days is essentially an 'idea' as much as its a movement. Movements come and go, but the 'idea' remains for ever. whether its religion, communism, capitalism or any other ism the idea is always there waiting for a movement to come along.
The people can be brainwashed by the actual news but not by the lack of news as you suggest, and as Mr Cole points out, the media go overboard when a Muslim has targeted a 'Western Country, but has nothing to say about atrocities perpetrated by Muslims against Muslims or horrendous death and destruction by Western country's bombs. Indeed, its only when the perpetrator of death and destruction in chief (currently Assad) commits some heinous alleged war crime that the media gushes tears of feigned anguish and shows pictures of children caught up in the mayhem. The mass of the people watch only main stream news outlets and only a tiny tiny tiny fraction of people like you and me read well informed sites like this one. You may recall the rather comical speech by Donald Rumsfeld where he driveled on about you can't know what you don't know and an unknown is an unknown etc, well something like that.
Netanyahu like the Neocons, regards evidence in the same way as Count Dracula regards holy water, a religious cross and garlic, with fear and terror. These people never make any pretense at providing evidence and any evidence which might contradict their own mantra is derided and consigned to the dustbin of the conspiracy theorists.
America is not the slightest bit interested in any military contribution the Germans may make just as long as they are on side. This goes for any other European or world country. If other countries only supply a few men and some pots and pans then they are part of the all important "coalition" . Whenever there is a complaint that American or British bombs have blow a community of civilians to bits, it always said the coalition is looking in to it, or the coalition takes great care when it drops bombs etc. The term 'coalition' suggests there is a sense of world unity in making war on whatever country it happens to be this time. If Trump does attack North Korea you can be sure there will be a grand coalition of countries taking part even if they only have a population of a few million. It doesn't pay to be out of favour with America.
Reading this piece makes me wonder if America has a proper government at all as it seems to be being run by a few buffoons, louts, gangsters and a secret state who's place of operations isn't known!! This is a bit like our European union over the pond which has hundreds of elected EU members of parliament of which know one in any country can name or even tell how many there are or what they do. The whole outfit is run by a thing called the 'commission' who are unelected and unaccountable to anyone. I suppose its our version the American so called 'deep state' As far as I can see the only thing of any note the American government has done lately is to vote for ever more sanctions against Russia, which is going to do the American people about as much good as a hole in the head.
Unemployment, poor wages, exploitation, poor housing and insecurity are the breeding grounds for fascism and bit by bit this is now starting to occur in the USA. The never ending onward march of automation relieving workers of their jobs and lively hoods adds daily to the plight of the men and women who were once workers in society. people in this situation are easy prey for the merchants of fascism and who know just how to arouse race hatred among those without hope. Over here in Europe one might have thought that after Germany and world war two, that fascism had been stamped out for good, but I can assure you, fascism is alive and well and the breeding grounds for its revival are now just about everywhere. Although in the USA Trump and his side kicks can share some of the blame for the recent right wing disturbances, they are not the cause or the symptom as they inherited both. One has to ask why is it that Obama and others before him did little or nothing about the growing tide of depression and misery of the 'working class' ? Scapegoating Trump in the US or scapegoating the mass of immigrants?refugees etc in Europe is just passing the buck. Had previous administrations in the US not gone on a massively expensive war spree on a campaign of 'regime change' and spent that money instead on US infrastructure, things might be much better there today. Further, the nightmare now unfolding in Europe with a mass exodus of people from war torn countries would not have occurred either.
I don't know what films the US entertainment industry is showing on TV these days, but over here in the UK one can view a John Wayne film on most days of the week on TV. He is very well known and most young people can tell you who he is yet they couldn't give you the name of say, the Australian prime minister. Obviously, Trump's "lock and load" comment was a metaphor to indicate that the USA is ready to attack at a moments' notice should North Korea make any preemptive moves to attack US interests. I don't think the problem is Trump so much as the war machine industry. With the prospect of the war dollars from Syria now drying up and not much war expenditure going on elsewhere, Trump may well be goaded by the war lobby to actually attack North Korea on some pretext or other. Only people who are supremely delusional could think that the West's war enterprises have even the slightest connotations with any humanitarian purpose, because its always about war dollars.
election results of some of the countries you mention Professor are often of dubious validity, but a recent presidential election in the USA was hardly a paragon of virtue. Clinton won more votes than Trump, but Trump became president. Had this happened in any other country there would have been cries foul and fraud etc. Libya was a highly successful country before the West decided on regime change and had Saddam Hussein not been toppled and sanctioned half to death, Iraq would now be a highly successful country and a leader in middle East affairs. As it is they are both basket cases with no sign of anything changing any time soon.
I seem to remember that the snake oil salesman, Tony Blair, was selling we British a similar story about Saddam Hussein being able to each us in 45 minutes with chemical weapons. Of course, it was a pack of lies just as the rubbish about North Korea being able nuke America is. However, North Korea may well be able to do some serious damage to South Korea, the capitol of which is only a few miles away. If the maniacs in the American military do blow up the nuclear weapons and reactors in the North, the radiation could smother the South if the wind is in the right direction. Much better to have talks, lift all sanctions and stop threatening North Korea. Countries without Nukes get beaten up and destroyed by the Americans, so who can blame the North Koreans for having nukes themselves.
If Trump and the gangster Neocons have their way and start a nuclear war with Russia which they seem hell bent on doing, global warming will be the least of our children's grand children's problems. There is also a report out there which suggests that a global rise in temperature may set off volcanic eruption (yellow stone) which will bring about sudden global cooling as happened many years ago in Krakatoa ? The future is indeed uncertain so console yourself professor, knowing that death and taxes will go on for ever!
Whilst I agree that renewable energy sources is the way to go, its worth bearing in mind that once the wind and solar panels are installed they require very little maintenance. Obviously the jobs created in building them are gone, whereas coal has to be produced and delivered on a daily basis, so people working in this industry are not going cheer on the green lobby. Turkeys don't vote for Xmas!!
It would seem that the 'deep state' are completely in control of America and the president is just an empty vassal. Trump is like our queen over here in the UK, a figure head without portfolio. At least the queen has the good grace to deport herself with dignity and gravitas, unlike Trump who just crashes around the white house like a hippo on steroids. Obama before him was also an empty vassal (remember how he was going to close Guantanamo bay?), but at least he looked and behaved like a president. The Americans seem to be willing on the demise of Trump, but they should be careful what they wish for. A country that is run by shadowy unelected people is not a democracy. America's democratic credentials don't look so robust from over here in the UK as they once did.
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No wonder the CEO of Alibaba expressed amazement at the crass waste of money the Americans have spend on war and continue to spend. Had the Americans spent all this money, time and effort helping the economies of other less fortunate countries they would probably be the most liked country in the world instead of the most hated.
Banning alternative news and comment is nothing new. Over here in the UK there are voices in high places who want to ban RT (Russian TV) and of course as we all know, the clamour to edit out 'fake news' and alternative comment with special algorithms is rampant. I believe legislation has already been passed to fine ISP's if they don't filter out 'undesirable content'. One way or another the MSM and their government handlers will silence alternative sources of information, you can bet on it!!
The notion that the rebels took over huge swathes of territory against heavily armed government forces with just 13 bullets a month per man, is fanciful to say the least. There are numerous pictures of the rebels with heavy machine guns mounted on pickup trucks and this is to say nothing of RPG's shoulder mounted missile launchers, transport etc. The only time I ever heard of a shortage of ammunition was when defense minister Fallon mentioned it in a select committee in parliament.
As far as I can see Trump seems to going around the world trying to be friendly with everyone, including the Russians The only country his is hostile towards, is Iran and this for no good reason that I can see. I would suggest its the Neocons who are itching to start some kind of military conflict with Russia and bad weather isn't likely to stop them. Trump does indeed have lots of connections with the Russians which may well be his downfall, but it won't be for any military ambitions. Maybe Trump has an hotel on the Isle of Elba he can go to if he loses out to Russia gate! LOL
What this is really about is the wealthy not wanting to part with a single cent to help provide health care funds for the poor. As you know, professor, over here in the UK we have a free health care service at the point of need for everyone. However, we still have rich and very rich people over here and universal health care does not appeared to have dented the millions of pounds they have stashed away in the bank. Perhaps the super rich, the rich and the almost rich people in the USA should take a look at our system, because what they fear most is losing some of their money to a good cause. Clearly, universal health care doesn't mean the impoverishment of the rich and bizarrely, they get free health care as well !
You are indeed fortunate to have a monthly bill electricity bill for just $15 a month. Over here in the UK we pay that much for a 'standing charge' as they call it and this has to be paid even if you don't use any electricity at all !! For those of us who live in apartments in the cities, solar panels are not an option so when we get our extortionate bills we just have to grin and pay up.
This finding is rather odd to say the least. You don't say who conducted this poll and why. Further, you don't tell us what the question was that the pollsters asked. More importantly, who did the pollsters ask? Was this poll aimed just at party members or was it a random poll asked of the public in general. If so, one has to assume part of the question was asking about the political persuasion of the individual who might not have been frank about their own politics. I simply ask these questions because I would have thought the Republicans would have been most anxious for their off spring to go to university, so why would they denigrate this much sought after right of passage for their own children?
In Germany the government has passed a law forcing all internet search engines to take down what they call "fake news" Presumably this affair of Trump's video would qualify as fake news? I can't imagine how loud the screams and howls of censorship from the white house would be if they took down his video. Over here in the UK there are plans for forcing Google and others to take down "fake news". However, as yet fake news hasn't actually be defined. I wonder would the stuff CNN puts out qualify as fake news? They have after all, just sacked three of their staff for just this offence, as well as being caught on camera actually saying they put out all the Russia gate stuff for ratings.
The American government has just passed legislation seriously curtailing, if not actually shutting down, the Russian news channels, RT and Sputnic for the very same reasons as the Saudi government wants to close Al Jazeera. That is, they are putting out news and opinion that contradicts the state narrative and therefore has to be silenced. Free speech is only tolerated when it doesn't challenge the state. Curiously, Turkey's Erdogan supports Qatar yet he has silenced most of his critics at home by putting them in prison. Its a mad world.
As far as respect for the president is concerned, the American people treat stupidity as though it were a virtue! When Trump goes off on a bombing spree to Syria he is lauded by the media, congress, the republicans, the democrats and everyone else in the deep state as a hero. Yet when the novelty of the wizz bangs of missiles wears off, its back to mocking the president again. It looks like there is another chemical weapons attack brewing in Syria so Trump will probably bomb the hell out of the Syrian government this time and once again become everyone's darling.
This is just another example of the state wanting to shut down any form of alternative narrative, especially one that contradicts or exposes the state for lies and corruption. There are plenty of people out there who would like to shut down the RT (Russia today) TV station both in the US and over here in England. As for the internet and blogs like yours professor, the deep state and the main stream media are working over time to close down all this "fake news" as they call it and so stifle any alternative voice or opinion. Whilst TV station like Aljazeera and RT etc are a thorn in the side of middle East states and the West, its the net that poses the most dangerous threat to the power of the state, that's why its banned or under state control in many countries.
Comey admitted quite openly that he gave information to a friend so that the friend could get it out to the media. I would call this a leak if ever there was one. His excuse that he was then a private citizen just doesn't wash. If it does then Assange, who is not even a US citizen has no case to answer in an American court, because he too is a private citizen. The Russia gate thing is a complete farce and the notion it in any way influenced the voting American public is fanciful in the extreme. If anything influenced the voters, I would have thought it would have been the re-opening of the case against Hillary by comey just before the election.
There appear to be several captains running the good ship of the USA. Anyway, I would think Qatar might well be needing these planes as the countries around them are being hostile and belligerent .
Professor, in fact there was only one day over here in the UK when we actually produced as much electricity by solar and wind as by fossil fuels. It was a very rare day indeed when the sun actually appeared and stayed with us throughout the whole day and it was also very warm. Long day light hours means little electricity used for lighting and very warm weather means little electricity used in heating systems. As far as we Brits are concerned that was what we call 'freak' weather. Its usually cloudy, overcast or raining. Because of this, few people over here have air cooling conditioning systems so we wouldn't be using much electricity on this as you do in the states. Hence, the unique day when renewable energy came out on top. I don't know why countries in equatorial region with massive desert wastelands don't cover them with solar panels. They could even become exporters of electricity with this limitless natural energy source.
If Tillerson did say that the blockade of Qatar is hindering the ability of the USA to do business in region and causes difficulties for the American military stationed in the middle East, then perhaps the American air force should stop re-fueling Saudi planes on their way to unleash ever more bombs of death on the people of Qatar. Tillerson's statement suggests that the White House has no idea what the American military is up to?