There's two good articles on Sen. Obama making the rounds this weekend. There are links below to them on Dissident Voice.
One is from John Pilger. Mr. Pilger is an experienced journalist who always seems to have a true eye for what's going on in the world.
From Kennedy to Obama: Liberalism’s Last Fling, by John Pilger
The other is from Glen Ford.
Barack Obama vs Black Self-Determination, by Glen Ford
Both of these links goes to the www.dissidentvoice.org website. That's a good source of good reading of what's going around on the web.
Saturday, May 31, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
The Day Diplomacy Died
This is a great read!
The Day Diplomacy Died on the Foriegn Policy in Focus website.
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Of course, being a cynic, I'd suggest that it may have been Barack Obama's retreat from the notion of talking to our enemies that might have been the real death blow. In the last week or so, Mr. Obama has retreated from the idea of talking to either Mr. Castro or Mr. Ahmadinejad. In the case of Mr. Castro, by using the old trick of placing unacceptable pre-conditions on the conversation. This has of course been a favorite tactic of those who want to publicly proclaim a willingness to talk but who actually have no intention of ever talking.
Thus, it was at this point that poor old Diplomacy realized it was doomed no matter whether it was killed publicly by Sen. McCain or quietly behind the scenes by Sen. Obama. Diplomacy then lost its last will to live and slipped quietly into the great beyond.
The Day Diplomacy Died on the Foriegn Policy in Focus website.
"In our special Memorial Day edition, World Beat is publishing an obituary for Diplomacy, which died prematurely last week after an extended illness.
The last seven years or so were difficult ones for Diplomacy. According to press reports, the mainstay of foreign policy began complaining of chest pains and nausea in 2001. In the lead-up to the Iraq War, Diplomacy sustained several shocks to the system, went into intensive care, and very nearly succumbed. But it was last week that its heart and soul finally gave up after a double-barreled assault by President George W. Bush and his presumptive successor John McCain."
...
"The killing blow, however, came from John McCain. The Republican presidential candidate assailed Diplomacy in an effort to get at Democratic presidential hopeful Barack Obama. According to McCain, Obama doesn’t understand the “basic realities of international relations” because he favors sitting down and talking to people like Raul Castro in Cuba and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Iran. McCain’s words, and the possibility that he might bring such an attitude into the White House in 2009, were simply too much for Diplomacy"
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Of course, being a cynic, I'd suggest that it may have been Barack Obama's retreat from the notion of talking to our enemies that might have been the real death blow. In the last week or so, Mr. Obama has retreated from the idea of talking to either Mr. Castro or Mr. Ahmadinejad. In the case of Mr. Castro, by using the old trick of placing unacceptable pre-conditions on the conversation. This has of course been a favorite tactic of those who want to publicly proclaim a willingness to talk but who actually have no intention of ever talking.
Thus, it was at this point that poor old Diplomacy realized it was doomed no matter whether it was killed publicly by Sen. McCain or quietly behind the scenes by Sen. Obama. Diplomacy then lost its last will to live and slipped quietly into the great beyond.
Said it right .... again
There's an author out there named William Lind. I like reading his views on military policy, even if I don't always agree with his politics. But, I've got to give him kudos because for the second time in the short span for which I've been trying this, I've seen a quote from one of his pieces that says something so well that I've got to pull it out and put it here.
"The “Washington Game” is to create an image with the public that is a direct opposite to what the Senator or Congressman actually does behind closed doors"
and later in the same article ...
"Why do defense companies buy full-page ads in major newspapers? Not because anyone buys a fighter plane based on a newspaper ad, but because the six-figure price for a full page buys the newspaper."
From ... The Ancient History of Military Reform The article is a review of a book by Winslow Wheeler and Lawerence Korb titled "Military Reform: A Reference Handbook" that I suspect I'll have to go read.
Usually, I find Mr. Lind's writings at Defense and the National Interest
You can find Mr. Wheeler's writings at www.counterpunch.org You can search the site for his writings, including an excellent series on the true amounts we are spending on 'defense'. Search
"The “Washington Game” is to create an image with the public that is a direct opposite to what the Senator or Congressman actually does behind closed doors"
and later in the same article ...
"Why do defense companies buy full-page ads in major newspapers? Not because anyone buys a fighter plane based on a newspaper ad, but because the six-figure price for a full page buys the newspaper."
From ... The Ancient History of Military Reform The article is a review of a book by Winslow Wheeler and Lawerence Korb titled "Military Reform: A Reference Handbook" that I suspect I'll have to go read.
Usually, I find Mr. Lind's writings at Defense and the National Interest
You can find Mr. Wheeler's writings at www.counterpunch.org You can search the site for his writings, including an excellent series on the true amounts we are spending on 'defense'. Search
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Don't get whiplash trying to follow him
Every four years, usually a bit earlier in the season than this, we all get to watch the spectacle of watching the Democratic Presidential candidates turn hard to the right. Up till now, they lie to the Democratic base about what a wonderful lefty President they'll be. They do this get the base of the Democratic Party, which is far to the left of the candidates, to give them the nomination.
But, by this time in every cycle, we get to watch the Democratic Presidential candidate, with their nomination secured, turn hard to the right, never to be seen again on the left side of the political spectrum.
Is Obama turning Right?
Its like watching Lucy con Charlie Brown into trying to kick the football. Same result every time.
But, by this time in every cycle, we get to watch the Democratic Presidential candidate, with their nomination secured, turn hard to the right, never to be seen again on the left side of the political spectrum.
Is Obama turning Right?
Its like watching Lucy con Charlie Brown into trying to kick the football. Same result every time.
Monday, May 26, 2008
Memorial Day
The holiday we celebrate as Memorial Day originated in the years immediately following the American Civil War. The American Civil War was a long, bloody and destructive affair. Like most wars it began with dreams of it being a quick and victorious war. Like with most wars, both sides thought they'd quickly vanquish their enemies. But it turned into a long four year struggle, ending with battles in Virginia that approached World War II trench warfare. It ended with waves of soldiers dying attempt to assault entrenchments at Cold Harbor, and with a long siege of the trenches at Petersberg.
After the war, people tried to make sense of the slaughter. In the north, people had to believe it was all worth it. That the ideals for which the north fought the war had been worth all the sons and brothers and fathers who were now missing or crippled. In the south, the myth of the 'Lost Cause' quickly sprang up to give meaning to their own deaths and injuries.
But, another deep feeling in the country in those early Memorial Days had to be a questioning of whether it had all been worth it. A looking at the horrendous cost of war, and questioning as to whether or not there had been another way to resolve the issues without so much death and destruction.
Today, Memorial Day has become simply a second Veterans Day. We are all told to stand and salute the soldiers and sailors and airmen who are in lands far, far away performing the Orwellian phrase of 'defending America'. What we aren't supposed to do at all is to question whether or not it is worth it? Nor even to question whether America is being defended by invading countries on the far side of the world. And certainly not ever to look at the caskets with the flags, which we no longer see, and ask whether or not this was all necessary. Nor to think about how violence always seems to beget more violence, and usually makes the original problems worse.
I can't help but to think that some of the survivors of the American Civil War must have been asking some of the same questions as they decorated the fresh graves on the first 'Decoration Days'.
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From the Libertarian Right, Sheldon Richman seems to think the holiday needs a different name.
Happy Revisionist History Day
After the war, people tried to make sense of the slaughter. In the north, people had to believe it was all worth it. That the ideals for which the north fought the war had been worth all the sons and brothers and fathers who were now missing or crippled. In the south, the myth of the 'Lost Cause' quickly sprang up to give meaning to their own deaths and injuries.
But, another deep feeling in the country in those early Memorial Days had to be a questioning of whether it had all been worth it. A looking at the horrendous cost of war, and questioning as to whether or not there had been another way to resolve the issues without so much death and destruction.
Today, Memorial Day has become simply a second Veterans Day. We are all told to stand and salute the soldiers and sailors and airmen who are in lands far, far away performing the Orwellian phrase of 'defending America'. What we aren't supposed to do at all is to question whether or not it is worth it? Nor even to question whether America is being defended by invading countries on the far side of the world. And certainly not ever to look at the caskets with the flags, which we no longer see, and ask whether or not this was all necessary. Nor to think about how violence always seems to beget more violence, and usually makes the original problems worse.
I can't help but to think that some of the survivors of the American Civil War must have been asking some of the same questions as they decorated the fresh graves on the first 'Decoration Days'.
-------------------
From the Libertarian Right, Sheldon Richman seems to think the holiday needs a different name.
Happy Revisionist History Day