Comments on: Fun and Games: The Repercussions of Bringing the Threat of War to Russia’s Borders http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/05/fun-and-games-the-repercussions-of-bringing-the-threat-of-war-to-russia%e2%80%99s-borders/ a radical newsletter in the struggle for peace and social justice Sun, 22 Nov 2009 17:51:44 -0800 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Mulga Mumblebrain http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/05/fun-and-games-the-repercussions-of-bringing-the-threat-of-war-to-russia%e2%80%99s-borders/#comment-45828 Mulga Mumblebrain Thu, 14 May 2009 00:16:32 +0000 http://dissidentvoice.org/?p=8179#comment-45828 The incessant machinations of the Yankee Reich serve a number of purposes. First, of course, is the pursuit of a global empire, the aim of much of the US elite since 1776, certainly the vast bulk in the last 100 years. This is driven by quasi-religious delusions of God-ordained superiority, 'Manifest Destiny' and all that. There must be certain tensions as a result between the US elites and their increasingly demanding and controlling 'dear allies' the Israelis. After all, who really is most 'Chosen'?The US global empire has always been a matter of pillage, of looting the rest of the world to enrich the US. In recent decades the pretence that this loot ought to be shared about has disappeared, and the average Yankee has received nothing but the privilege of falling ever further into debt, and seeing his well-paying manufacturing jobs outsourced to China, to be replaced by hamburger flipping. Naturally there is a remote danger that the years of brainwashing that the average American is subjected to from infancy, in the verities of American exceptionalism, might one day fail to impress a rabble facing yet another generation of going nowhere, so militaristic jingoism and xenophobia are always kept at the ready. And who better than the evil Russian bear, and the even more insidious Chinese, who seem to have completely forgotten their role as the 'sick man of Asia'. One of Gorbachev's greatest errors was his belief, at least as he expressed it, that the Soviet would befuddle the US by 'taking away its enemy'. The US has proceeded as if nothing has changed, as if the Soviet still existed. After all that is the best way to ensure the subservience of Eurasia, that and making examples of the Serbs, the Iraqis, Palestinians, Pakistanis, Congolese, Lebanese and Somalis, to 'encourage the others'. It also keeps the billions flowing to the military-industrial complex, the last bastion of US 'comparative advantage', in the arts of increasingly cowardly, remotely-controlled, mass murder of women and children. Obama has now comprehensively revealed himself to be Bush 'with a good tan', as Berlusconi might have said. Naturally on the numbskull soft 'Left', and in the smugly self-satisfied 'Centre', both inside the US and without, the bien-pensants refuse to face reality. Their denialism reminds me of the reaction to Blair within the UK. After his landslide removal of the detested Tory regime, as, month after month, year after year, he revealed himself not only as a true Thatcherite but an hidden, now revealed, 'God-botherer' as well, the Left refused to face the grim reality. Similarly here in Australia we have Kevin Rudd, a clone, with hair, of John Howard, but adding a touch of purse-lipped sanctimony and unctuous religiosity that we had been spared under Howard. The capitalist pseudo-democratic system does not allow real reformers to exist, it does not countenance 'change' or 'hope' beyond the corridors of economic power. The whole process is a complete sham, as anyone with but meagre intellect could ascertain within a few months of observing the political process in action. But so great is the relentless brainwashing, so intense the media bias in misrepresenting life in the interests of the hereditary and tribal elites, that the average mug punter holds close every delirious implausibility, to the bitter end. I think the apotheosis of Obamaism, the real, definitive dropping of the veil, will not be his protection of torturers, continuance of rendition, or even NATO's increasing aggressiveness and the rising slaughter in Afghanistan. It may not even be the coming sell-out over climate change, where the imbecile dead-end of 'emissions trading' seems destined to fail in the Congress. I think his gravest betrayal, the one for which he was groomed, then allowed to win the Presidency as the Republicans ran dead, will be the sell-out of the poor, ie the blacks and Hispanics and lower class Whites, during the economic collapse. While trillions are transferred to the banksters who financed Obama's meteoric rise, the 'losers' will pay the bill for generations. Having a black man preside over the class war will have them chuckling in the private clubs. The incessant machinations of the Yankee Reich serve a number of purposes. First, of course, is the pursuit of a global empire, the aim of much of the US elite since 1776, certainly the vast bulk in the last 100 years. This is driven by quasi-religious delusions of God-ordained superiority, ‘Manifest Destiny’ and all that. There must be certain tensions as a result between the US elites and their increasingly demanding and controlling ‘dear allies’ the Israelis. After all, who really is most ‘Chosen’?The US global empire has always been a matter of pillage, of looting the rest of the world to enrich the US. In recent decades the pretence that this loot ought to be shared about has disappeared, and the average Yankee has received nothing but the privilege of falling ever further into debt, and seeing his well-paying manufacturing jobs outsourced to China, to be replaced by hamburger flipping. Naturally there is a remote danger that the years of brainwashing that the average American is subjected to from infancy, in the verities of American exceptionalism, might one day fail to impress a rabble facing yet another generation of going nowhere, so militaristic jingoism and xenophobia are always kept at the ready. And who better than the evil Russian bear, and the even more insidious Chinese, who seem to have completely forgotten their role as the ’sick man of Asia’. One of Gorbachev’s greatest errors was his belief, at least as he expressed it, that the Soviet would befuddle the US by ‘taking away its enemy’. The US has proceeded as if nothing has changed, as if the Soviet still existed. After all that is the best way to ensure the subservience of Eurasia, that and making examples of the Serbs, the Iraqis, Palestinians, Pakistanis, Congolese, Lebanese and Somalis, to ‘encourage the others’. It also keeps the billions flowing to the military-industrial complex, the last bastion of US ‘comparative advantage’, in the arts of increasingly cowardly, remotely-controlled, mass murder of women and children.
Obama has now comprehensively revealed himself to be Bush ‘with a good tan’, as Berlusconi might have said. Naturally on the numbskull soft ‘Left’, and in the smugly self-satisfied ‘Centre’, both inside the US and without, the bien-pensants refuse to face reality. Their denialism reminds me of the reaction to Blair within the UK. After his landslide removal of the detested Tory regime, as, month after month, year after year, he revealed himself not only as a true Thatcherite but an hidden, now revealed, ‘God-botherer’ as well, the Left refused to face the grim reality. Similarly here in Australia we have Kevin Rudd, a clone, with hair, of John Howard, but adding a touch of purse-lipped sanctimony and unctuous religiosity that we had been spared under Howard. The capitalist pseudo-democratic system does not allow real reformers to exist, it does not countenance ‘change’ or ‘hope’ beyond the corridors of economic power. The whole process is a complete sham, as anyone with but meagre intellect could ascertain within a few months of observing the political process in action. But so great is the relentless brainwashing, so intense the media bias in misrepresenting life in the interests of the hereditary and tribal elites, that the average mug punter holds close every delirious implausibility, to the bitter end. I think the apotheosis of Obamaism, the real, definitive dropping of the veil, will not be his protection of torturers, continuance of rendition, or even NATO’s increasing aggressiveness and the rising slaughter in Afghanistan. It may not even be the coming sell-out over climate change, where the imbecile dead-end of ‘emissions trading’ seems destined to fail in the Congress. I think his gravest betrayal, the one for which he was groomed, then allowed to win the Presidency as the Republicans ran dead, will be the sell-out of the poor, ie the blacks and Hispanics and lower class Whites, during the economic collapse. While trillions are transferred to the banksters who financed Obama’s meteoric rise, the ‘losers’ will pay the bill for generations. Having a black man preside over the class war will have them chuckling in the private clubs.

]]> By: Michael Kenny http://dissidentvoice.org/2009/05/fun-and-games-the-repercussions-of-bringing-the-threat-of-war-to-russia%e2%80%99s-borders/#comment-45812 Michael Kenny Wed, 13 May 2009 19:12:37 +0000 http://dissidentvoice.org/?p=8179#comment-45812 Humpty Dumpty sat on the Berlin Wall. And the wall came tumbling down (20 years ago!). If you click on Sergei Abeltsev's Duma webpage (via Wikipedia), you'll see that he looks just like Humpty Dumpty! A member of the ridiculous Zhirinovsky's far right party, Wikipedia informs us that: "He is also known for physically assaulting other members of the Russian Duma on numerous occasions". That sounds like a very authoritative source! The logic of the Georgia exercises is that Obama came to Europe to ask for combat troops for Afghanistan. He didn't get them, nor did he get any progress on Georgian and Ukrainian membership of NATO, but Europe didn't want to send him away empty-handed, so they threw him a crumb in the form of the NATO exercises in Georgia. The Russians understand all of this, so they just made the usual ritualistic protests. The European members of NATO understand that, so they don't get excited about it and everybody lives happily ever after. That's the way Europe works! As for Saakashvili, the Georgian opposition have very cleverly exploited the situation and made a laughing stock of him. Instead of bolstering him, the exercises have once again discredited him. The idea that he might himself have stirred things up is therefore improbable. He must be aware that anything that causes trouble with Russia will damage him with NATO. Moreover, there is no conflict between membership of NATO and the CSTO. All the countries Mr Walberg lists are already members of NATO's Partnership for Peace, as are Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Uzbekistan and, for that matter Switzerland! As for the European Partnership, its purpose is probably to head off the US and prevent it setting up a counter-power to the EU (fifth generation war!). I'm sure the Russians know that too and are probably very glad it's happening. Thus, the intent of the exercises was not to make Russia "mad" nor have they had that effect! The Canadian diplomats were, expelled in classic tit-for-tat retaliation for the expulsion of two Russian diplomats accredited to NATO. No link whatsoever to Georgia. Clever, though, to expel Canadians. Doesn't annoy the European members of NATO and doesn't annoy the US! Does anybody realise just how useless the Czech air force is? All those ex-Warsaw Pact military forces (Georgia!) are a joke. No, Mr Walberg, you're not going to be able to hype up a dispute that isn't there! Humpty Dumpty sat on the Berlin Wall. And the wall came tumbling down (20 years ago!). If you click on Sergei Abeltsev’s Duma webpage (via Wikipedia), you’ll see that he looks just like Humpty Dumpty! A member of the ridiculous Zhirinovsky’s far right party, Wikipedia informs us that: “He is also known for physically assaulting other members of the Russian Duma on numerous occasions”. That sounds like a very authoritative source!

The logic of the Georgia exercises is that Obama came to Europe to ask for combat troops for Afghanistan. He didn’t get them, nor did he get any progress on Georgian and Ukrainian membership of NATO, but Europe didn’t want to send him away empty-handed, so they threw him a crumb in the form of the NATO exercises in Georgia. The Russians understand all of this, so they just made the usual ritualistic protests. The European members of NATO understand that, so they don’t get excited about it and everybody lives happily ever after. That’s the way Europe works!

As for Saakashvili, the Georgian opposition have very cleverly exploited the situation and made a laughing stock of him. Instead of bolstering him, the exercises have once again discredited him. The idea that he might himself have stirred things up is therefore improbable. He must be aware that anything that causes trouble with Russia will damage him with NATO.

Moreover, there is no conflict between membership of NATO and the CSTO. All the countries Mr Walberg lists are already members of NATO’s Partnership for Peace, as are Russia, Ukraine, Georgia, Moldova, Uzbekistan and, for that matter Switzerland! As for the European Partnership, its purpose is probably to head off the US and prevent it setting up a counter-power to the EU (fifth generation war!). I’m sure the Russians know that too and are probably very glad it’s happening. Thus, the intent of the exercises was not to make Russia “mad” nor have they had that effect!

The Canadian diplomats were, expelled in classic tit-for-tat retaliation for the expulsion of two Russian diplomats accredited to NATO. No link whatsoever to Georgia. Clever, though, to expel Canadians. Doesn’t annoy the European members of NATO and doesn’t annoy the US!

Does anybody realise just how useless the Czech air force is? All those ex-Warsaw Pact military forces (Georgia!) are a joke.

No, Mr Walberg, you’re not going to be able to hype up a dispute that isn’t there!

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