Well, I just killed off a bit too much of the morning reading Bobby Fisher's increasingly bizarre biography. I think there's definitely a lot of his story I can relate to, although luckily I kept my mouth shut at least a little better than his truly brutal statement on 9/11: “I applaud the act. The U.S. and Israel have been slaughtering the Palestinians, just slaughtering them for years. Robbing them and slaughtering them. Nobody gave a shit. Now it's coming back to the U.S. Fuck the U.S. I want to see the U.S. wiped out.” (ack!)
But here's an interesting thing — everyone who made statements like that back then got skewered. Strip away the obvious hatred from Fisher's statement and you see “the attacks were a retaliatory strike”. That is, they were a response to US foreign policy (not “they hated us for our freedom” as was said so often). I wonder, will everyone who lost their job for saying it back then be re-hired now that it's getting to be “OK” to admit that the attacks were due to US foreign policy?
I'd like to start off by reminding you of the PNAC, founded in 1997 by folks such as Cheney, Rumsfield, Wolfowitz, Libby, Abrams, Bennett, Khalilzad, and other key Bush administration figures. I'd like to quote from a report they issued in 2000 (that is, before 9/11) titled “Rebuilding America's Defences: Strategy, Forces and Resources for a New Century”, based on an earlier Pentagon draft:
[The US must continue to] discourage 85 advanced industrial nations from challenging our leadership... [To achieve this the US] must retain the preeminent responsibility for addressing those wrongs which threaten not only our interests, but those of our allies or friends.
That is, the US military build up has the specific purpose of keeping other nations, including allies, from developing their own military forces. As far as Iraq,
The US has for decades sought to play a more permanent role in Gulf regional security. While the unresolved conflict with Iraq provides the immediate justification, the need for a substantial American force presence in the Gulf transcends the issue of the regime of Saddam Hussein.
That is, Iraq's “Weapons of Mass Destruction” and so on is just an excuse. However, there wasn't enough “threat” to proceed, so here's where it gets disturbing. In 2000, obviously before 9/11/01, the report recommended the following to the warmongers:
[The transformation would go more quickly if we had] some catastrophic and catalysing event — like a new Pearl Harbor.
Many writers have pointed out the connection between this document and the statements of these key politicians about 9/11. What do they call it? “A great opportunity for America”. That said, at this point I'm pretty sure that they could just come out and admit that they helped it happen, and no one would even care.
It is said that power corrupts, but actually it's more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.
- David Brin
Brief interlude: I shot some funny video last night of Jason's drunk friends (yes, I'll post it when I get a chance, but not for a while). One of them climbed up a tree and then jumped onto the barn roof, and then slid down the roof from the apex on a crazy carpet sled! Surprisingly he wasn't hurt… Then I shot them a few dozen times in the balls with paint balls. Don't ask me why, it was their idea and they seemed to like it (except the one cowardly guy who hid in the woods across the street for half an hour when he thought he might be next).
The greatest pleasure is to vanquish your enemies and chase them before you, to rob them of their wealth and see those dear to them bathed in tears, to ride their horses and clasp to your bosom their wives and daughters.
- Genghis Khan (and Conan)
Oh, and for my pilot friends, especially those in Oceania, you beat North America (maybe, and maybe a German pilot crossed the sound barrier during WWII… maybe)… Looks like the first airplane may actually be from New Zealand, care of New Zealander “Mad Pearse” (also known as “Bamboo Dick”).
Anyway, as you know the Iraq Weapons document (the 12,000 pager) is being released in a censored form. Part of what's being censored is the US firms that helped supply Iraq with chemical and bio-weapons precursors and supplies.
I was reading this article on how Bush keeps appointing criminals from the Iran-Contra scandal to his team, but what struck me is the following stat: 31% of the black voting-age population is barred from voting (due to being convicted of a felony). Anyway, the point the article makes is that if “normal people” with felonies can't even vote, why are these guys — Abrams, Poindexter, Reich, Negroponte, etc. — being put into power?
Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; to turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless!
- Isaiah 10:1-2
I mentioned this story yesterday as well, but the surveillance drones thing is really something that people ought to pay attention to. I can't believe the American public is going to allow potentially armed spy-kill-bots to fly over their neighbourhoods. It's pretty messed up to have the ever watchful eye — and missile — of Big Brother hovering over you at all times.
And here's the kicker: not only is Joe Sixpack expected to believe that this is about “war on terror”, but now the taxes for the rich are getting slashed again, and taxes for the poor are going way up to pay for all this war. Not just weapons, but also “aid” to Israel. Even though Israel is dramatically better off financially than the US is, with a stronger economy and a stronger military, Israel is now demanding another $14 billion.
The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or to impede their efforts to obtain it.
- John Stuart Mill
As a number of sources have been saying lately, OSI is back. Basically, this is a plan to covertly push pro-US propaganda into foreign media, in order to swing public opinion toward warmongering and other US government values. The American media is shockingly powerful — why not just have them do it? Why do American values — which presumably have universal truth and beauty — need to be covertly placed? If an idea is just, it doesn't have to be forced on people; it just has to be shown to them. Propaganda is about convincing people that lies are truths.
When the mass media in some foreign countries serve as megaphones for the rhetoric of their government, the result is ludicrous propaganda. When the mass media in our country serve as megaphones for the rhetoric of the U.S. government, the result is responsible journalism.
- Norman Solomon
…And I'm off!
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