Monday 29th of April 2024
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under the blood-spangled banner .....

under the blood-spangled banner .....

There is a sickness at the heart of American society. That sickness is the American ruling class, that one per cent who make 24 percent of the country's income; the same one percent who have received 4/5ths of the total increase in US income since 1980. The level of inequality in America puts the country on a par with Russia and Turkey.

The elite in America will do anything to protect their privileged position. Their strategy is twofold - to subdue enemies abroad and to attack those at home who might resist and so make the world safe for US capital.

The main external threat is China. The war on terror is the elite's attempts to contain and control China in ways that further their interests.

The US ruling class co-opts allies. Israel is the armed wing of the US in the Middle East - the most vital and strategic area for US imperialism. Israel, and the US dictators who rule the Arab nations in the region, are there to ensure the American Empire controls the flow of oil, in particular to its major long term competitor, China. $3 billion in aid to Israel is a cheap price to pay for that military watchdog.

Vanquishing or controlling the 'enemy' internationally involves invading country after country and killing and brutalising their inhabitants, spending as much on their killing machine as the next 16 countries combined, supporting Israel to the hilt and having bases in 134 countries around the world. In short the American elite terrorise the world to protect their privilege and profit.

As Thomas Friedman, a journalist with close connections to the US warmongers wrote:

'The hidden hand of the market will never work without the hidden fist. McDonald's cannot flourish without [giant arms company] McDonnell Douglas. The hidden fist that keeps the world safe for Silicon Valley's technologies is called the US army, air force, navy and Marine Corps.'

The Sickness At The Heart Of American Society

 

the stains of blood...

From Chris Floyd...

Americans showed their remarkable collective wisdom once again last week, when a shocking act of violence was met with a steady calm across the political spectrum. Indeed, it seemed the entire country was united in a steadfast effort to downplay any disturbing implications of the despicable act and to keep doggedly to business as usual.

We speak of course of Barack Obama's latest "surge" in Afghanistan: his third such escalation of the murderous militarist misadventure in that ravaged land, now heading toward its 10th year of American occupation. Yes, while everyone -- including our leading progressives -- were occupied first with the sight of the orange vulgarian John Boehner waggling the sacred Speaker's gavel then with the latest mass shooting by an American following what George Bush called "the path of action" (i.e., the pursuit of politics by deadly violence) -- the Nobel Peace Laureate was sending 1,400 more troops into the killing fields of Afghanistan.

This move guarantees that there will be an "uptick" in civilians deaths, to borrow the hideous argot of Vice President Joe Biden during the very first Obama "surge" -- which took place less than a monthfurther entrenching and consolidating with a brand-new HQ for "Special Ops." ("Wetwork Central," perhaps?)

But let us not, in this moment of national grief -- when the Laureate is linking hands across the aisle with the orange vulgarian, putting aside political vitriol in a new spirit of comity (which will doubtless culminate in the bipartisan gutting of Social Security and other such acts of "serious," savvy governance)-- be too critical of our leaders. For surely the main intent of this latest "surge" is not the increase in killing, corruption, chaos and sorrow in Afghanistan (although that will be the inevitable result). No, the primary goal of this act of violence by the Peace Laureate is to provide cover for his political posterior later this year, when he announces the beginning of the long-promised, much-vaunted "drawdown" of troops in the Bactrian satapry. after Obama's inauguration. More killing, more resistance, more extremism, more grief and hatred, more corruption and war-profiteering -- but what of that? These have been the results of every "surge" in the Terror War, from Afghanistan to Iraq to Somalia to Yemen to Pakistan -- and to the many other fronts in the "secret war" of death squads, bombings, kidnappings, gun-running and other terrorist acts that Obama has escalated to mind-boggling heights, and which he is now...

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Meanwhile at the forefront of hypocrisy, one of the leaders of the Jewish lobby in Australia said that the act of the Marrickville Council to stop any relationship with Israel was appalling and "ignored the complexity of the situation in Palestine"... From my narrow point of view, the complexity in Palestine is certainly complexed by the incessant construction of new jewish settlements in stolen territories... About 50 per cent of these territories are now under the boots of Jewish "settlers" or in many UN resolution terms are ILLEGAL robbers, stealers, etc...

Unfortunately the fate of Christians in Arab countries are also at the mercy of loopy muslims and the war of religious stupidity continues with vigor. God (in whatever format that he talks to the loonies and their moderate apologists) is guilty as hell for the ills of a rabid humanity.

I am an atheist and proud of it — humbly working for peace.