‹ Drop Charges Against Amy Goodman! •
John McCain performed a miracle tonight.
He made Bob Dole’s 1996 Republican presidential acceptance speech look downright eloquent.
Shizam, McCain’s performance - at least for the first 40 minutes of the speech - made Bob Dole sound like the combination of Daniel Webster, John F. Kennedy, and Cicero thrown in for good measure.
McCain seemed to be reciting lame lines - until he got to near the end, when he immersed himself and his groveling audience with the real reason why he is entitled to rule America and the world.
And his riff on Georgia? I hope the media and commentators focus on his falsehood that Russia initiated the conflict. How many American mothers and fathers are willing to sacrifice their sons and daughters to move a boundary line a few miles in the Caucasus? And what do McCain or his top aides expect to receive in return for risking American security for Georgia?
You deserve a medal for enduring McCrazy’s speech. I don’t have the stomach to watch this lunatic drone on. The thought of this maniac possessing the nuclear launch codes should give everyone reason to pause.
IT WAS A HORRIBLE SPEECH. IT REMINDED ME OF A MIDDLE SCHOOL CLASS PRESIDENT ELECTION. HE READS FROM CARDS AND PAUSES TO TELL YOU IT IS TIME TO CLAP. PLUS, HE MADE IT SOUND LIKE YOU SHOULD VOTE FOR HIM OUT OF PITY.
PLUS, HE WANTS TO BOMB EVERYONE! BOMBING IRAN WILL IGNITE WWIII, PLUS CRUSH OUR ENTIRE ECONOMY. HE DOESN’T CARE THOUGH?
Someone has a hyperactive SHIFT key.
Please American don,t put Sarch Palin in the White House.Can,t you see the trouble coming American we don,t need this at this time.There jest to much work to do. Like bring down the price of oil food and cost of living.
Nat
I think all he offered was hopes and prayers; Thank God, he could have offered to bomb them… the US should curb their expansionist agenda in the area.
Actually, I watched because I needed a pretext to have another beer.
It is always uplifting to see a mob repeatedly angrily chanting, USA USA USA!
Another damn hockey game, sounds like.
And so much for McCain not using his military experience as a rod to strike rocks and bring forth water.
“I fight for the family of Matthew Stanley of Wolfboro, N.H., who died serving our country in Iraq. I wear his bracelet and think of him every day. I intend to honor their sacrifice by making sure the country their son loved so well and never returned to remains safe from its enemies,” quoth the superannuated lunatic. If only he’d would have fought for my nephew, an Iraq war vet who accidentally died on a medicated night this past summer. If only he would have fought for America the beautiful instead of America the dictatress. If only…
Aw, nuts. Hand me that Mason jar of Pepto-Bismol.
Yeah. The ritualistic chanting of U.S.A spooked my cynical soul, scared the hell out of my wife, and reminded us both of Nazi Germany. Karl Rove is back, operating behind the scenes, he has people in place. Let the culture war begin. Willie Horton in 3,2,1…
When they were chanting USA! USA! USA!…It reminded me of the WWF wrestling when Hacksaw Jim Dugan would come out to the ring. Wrestling is acting, and fun/entertaining.
But last night was suppose to be real, serious and a representation of the republican party. It was a joke. When the people are worked up into a frenzy over lies, child-like slogans, it makes me wonder if there is any hope for America.
I always thought that pro wrestling was a sort of analogy of US politics. But who would want Hacksaw Jim running their country?
I’m not sure what kind of scenario McCain spoke of with Russia and Georgia as I missed the speech. However, I do suspect that Russia did indeed start this thing with Georgia. The timing of it (opening day of the Olympics) and the speed and organization got my spidey senses tingling like crazy. I have since read one account of people on the ground in Georgia stating that indeed, it was Russia initiated. That said, I think American and Georgian authorities have handled this whole thing extremely poorly.
You would suspect Russia because???
When in fact Russia entered the area because Georgia was bombing the hell out of their own people.
I’m not saying Russia is a Saint, not at all. They have a great deal of repression of their own people as well as the press. But in this case, they were not the first to draw blood in Georgia.
To understand what is going on in that region, you must first know who the players are and why they have aligned themselves before you raise your suspicions.
US Georgian Israel oil interests:
http://www.google.com/search?q=US+Georgian+Israel+oil interests&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
None of this is about repression of people that is a given. It is really about who gets to control the oil that will come out of the Caspian oil and gas pipelines and where it is placed and what currency it is traded in.
IN RUSSIA, PUTIN HAS AROUND A 70% APPROVAL RATING. OUR LEADERS HAVE AROUND A 15-20% APPROVAL RATING, YET GET RE-ELECTED 95% OF THE TIME. WHY IS THAT? WHO HAS THE CURRUPTION? THE AVERAGE WORKERS INCOME IN RUSSIA HAS ROSE OVER 600% IN THE PUTIN YEARS. THEY HAVE MORE OIL THEN THEY CAN EVER USE AND THEY ARE NOT IN DEBT LIKE THE US. THEY SPEND ONLY A FRACTION ON THIER MILITARY COMPARED TO THE US.
WE SPEND (WASTE) AROUND 700 BILLION, PLUS THE WARS ARE A SEPERATE COST. WE SPEND MORE THEN THE ENTIRE WORLD COMBINED. NO I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE IN MOSCOW, I LOVE MY HOME IN NORTH CAROLINA. MY POINT IS, WE ARE THE MOST HYPOCRITICAL PEOPLE ON THE FACE OF THE EARTH. THE DO AS I SAY, NOT AS I DO, IS OUR THEME. JUST THINK IF WE MADE PEACE WITH PEOPLE? BUT THERE ARE NO PROFITS IN PEACE.
HOW DO WE HAVE A WAR ON TERROR, YET HAVE OPEN BORDERS? IT IS LIKE LEAVING YOUR HOUSE DOORS AND WINDOWS WIDE OPEN, BUT GO OUT AND SEARCH THE STATE TO FIND PEOPLE WHO MIGHT WANT TO BREAK IN! IT IS CRAZY. ALSO, THE TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS MISSING FROM THE PENTAGON IS A NON ISSUE TO MOST PEOPLE. GOOGLE IT! I AM A RON PAUL SUPPORTER AND HAVE BEEN FOR MANY YEARS. I AM JUST SO FRUSTRATED WITH WHAT MARK TWAIN CALLED “THE GREAT DULL BULK” OF PEOPLE, THEY ARE SO UNINFORMED AND BRAIN-WASHED. YET WITH THE INTERNET THERE IS NO EXCUSE FOR SUCH IGNORANCE TO ISSUES.
You look closely and will find out that two major players are not happy with status
quo, as Isral Prez Peres just complained that they “can’t rule the world because of some religious fanatics”, always forgetting to look first in the mirror. feelgood.
Why this nonsense about Russia again? Yes, Russia is NO SAINT - but there is zero “repression” on people - in fact less then in the US - I mean if you grow cannabis in Russia you’re only risking 2 years of jail, and 99% of these cases are resulting in parole, and on top of that, due to famous Russian “corruption” having a $2000 to pay immediately to the drug enforcement agents (thanks US a lot for even having separate agency for that) solves the problem.
Contrast that to the US situation. And we’re talking about some basic freedom to grow a weed in your backyard.
Now - speaking of freedom of press - yes, I see less bullshit and lies about Russia lately. That is good.
There are other reasons why Russia is not saint, i.e. since cannabis is not decriminalized (thank you the US), since our taxes are high (thank you US/IMF), since “intellectual property rights” violation is a criminal offense (thank you US/WTO many times), because they adopted harassment rules for airplane security - we’re now deprived of one VERY BASIC RIGHT to have our own fresh WATER on board the plane (thank you US/Bush/”War on terror”).
Now - let’s go deeper - where did the person named Karl Marx created his delusional theories? Was not that London? Where did Lenin and his comrades stay for years before the 1917 revolution - was not that Europe?
So - I can trace each and every problem Russia has and had - to the West. Certainly, Russia is no saint, but please find the real reasons for that statement, not jailing Khodorkovsky - when was the last time power obsessive oil billionaire of Jewish heritage sentenced in the US? I guess the answer is - never.
drivin98,
Georgia initiated the hostilities, three hours before the start of the Beijing Olympics. It started an artillery barrage on Tskhinvali, the capital of South Osetia, killing more than a thousand people sleeping in their homes. Then the Georgian troops entered the city and shot people at will. That drove out half the population of Tskhinvali out of the city and into the North Osetia. The Georgian troops also attacked the Russian peace keepers and killed fifteen of them. It was only after all of this that the Russian army sprang into action. George Bush and his European allies have accused Russia of unproportionate reaction to the Georgian aggression. However, the Georgian government led by Mr. Sakashvili knew what they were doing. Their goal was to drive out the Osetians from Tskhinvali. Numbering around 70,000, they are not a large population by any standard. The Georgians drove out about half of them in their first assault. They knew that the Russians would do something about this. However, what they did not count on was that this little something includes routing the Georgian military and a push by the Russian military into Georgian territory. Mr. Sakashvili had hoped the Olympics would give him a cover and a chance to regroup and carry out a second assault on the South Osetian population and driving the rest of the South Osetians out of their lands. That would make it totally possible for the Georgian government to exert complete control over South Osetia, and deprive Russia of any justification for maintaining a peace keeping force in the region. This planned second assault is the sole reason behind Russia’s recognition of South Osetia. Even if Sakashvili and Dickilieu manage to rebuild the Georgian military and carry out a second assault on Tskhinvali, driving the rest of the population out, they will not get what they wanted, because South Osetia is now an independent country. With or without an Osetian population, it is a country, separate and independent from Georgia now. And so is Abkhazia. All in all, Russia called the Israeli-Sakashvili-Cheney bluff and raised it to a level that they cannot call it now, to the point that the best course of action for America and Israel is to send Sakashvili a planeload of neck ties for the misbegotten little man to chew on while contemplating his fate. He liked to think of himself as the ben Gorion of the Caucuses, but now he is truly the Saddam Hussein of the Caucuses; as both were the recipient of the most generous support of the American government and CIA, yet both lost everything in their criminally conceived adventures.
Outstanding synopsis of the events in Georgia. Although I am not in a position to confirm this, it is my understanding that the Bush administration was informed about the attack upon Tskhinvali by Shakasvili prior to its occurance.
Well, I must thank the weather god and CLECO (the local electric utility here in central Louisiana) We did NOT have power for this speech of McCrazy. Thank you CLECO, you spared me the wasted time. Of course it helps that I do not even own a TV set, but I imagine it was available on radio also.
McCrazy expects kickbacks from the Georgia deal, remember he was involved up to his eyeballs in the savings and loan mess back some years ago. Politics, kickbacks, it is how D.C. is run.
Just my 2 cents worth on a post Gustav downer.
As Justin Raimondo makes clear, America’s foreign policy always and above all serves Israeli interests, even when it seems to be serving other interests. The business with Georgia is no exception.
Israel was cultivating Georgia’s ethno-nationalist expansionist ambitions, brazenly using dual-loyalty Israeli/Jewish members of the Georgian government, in order to get Georgia to allow Israel to launch an aerial attack against Iran from Georgia - making credible an Israeli threat which in turn could be used by the Israel lobby to force the US to do for dear little Israel instead.
Not only that, but the US government is giving the Georgian government money to buy Israeli arms in the bargain. With “normal” military aid, the recipient buys arms from the US, in effect subsidizing the US military-industrial complex — but not when it comes to Israel. The money is used to subsidize Israel’s military-industrial complex. So we don’t even get the bomb factory jobs. The Holy State gets them.
Once again, it’s our puppetmaster Israel pulling the strings.
Israel needs Georgian air fields to launch an attack on Iran. The distance from southern Georgia to Tehran is shorter than from Israel.
I believe you are exaggerating the importance of Israel to American foreign policy. I read almost all of Justin’s columns, and I don’t think he would go that far. Yes, there are people and organizations who have influence who do think that way. Please take in the larger scope. Why would Dick Cheney, for example, care that much about Israel? He sees Israel as a tool of the American empire, not the other way around.
For the neo-cons, the Cold War never ended. They are angling to turn it into a hot war eventually. That is what the Iraq war, the coming war against Iran, the expansion of NATO, and missile “defense” (a.k.a. Star Wars) are all about: the ever-tightening encirclement and presumed vanquishment of the American Empire’s biggest obstacle to complete, unchallenged global hegemony, Russia. Next on their list: our largest creditor China.
One of the most enduring fallacies is that the Republicans are ultimate realists - people who let the facts and their brains control their hearts. This GOP Convention killed that notion.
McCain’s speech last night was as emotional an event as a bridesmaids revolt two hours before the ceremony. Mawkish patriotism must have been knee deep on the Convention floor. When you combine that with the elevation of a “hockey Mom” to the sainthood at the Joan of Arc level, I realized that conservatism has taken flight from this gritty world of cold logic to a new land run by “magic thinking”.
I mean McCain never used numbers (as in statistics, expenditures, etc). Heaven forbid, he should use a pie chart. He did point out his silver-haired mother in the audience. It was just one long spiel of how much he wants to protect us, how much he has suffered on our behalf, how great this country is, how much we need to fight, fight, fight. It made “All my Children” look like an accountant’s report in comparison.
Repubs may have been rational once upon a time. For the last 20-30 years they have been, in effect, a religious cult. Their very weird leaders are supposedly chosen and guided by God and their goal is to speed up the battle of Armeggedon, the Rapture, etc. In the meantime, they hope to make a lot of money off stolen oil and selling weapons.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China
What’s wrong with you people? Fight for America, Fight for Baghdad, Fight for Georgia, Fight for Israel…Fight, Fight, Fight!
Oh but, my friends, I do love peace.
Americans believe in peace like the Palins believe in abstinence until marriage.
(Sarah eloped and gave birth less than eight months later.)
Well, as the Hockey Mom said to the Hockey Daughter, “Puck happens”.
Its become the standard chant for the neocons and seems to be its own justification,simply the need to fight for something and work out what reason it was for afterwards.Its great to see that not all Americans are taken in by the Foreign follies that have replaced foreign policy too often from the US and especially since Sept 11.As an Australian(in Oz not the USA) we have the yahoo news message boards but seem to only attract the right wing view from Americans that post on it,it does give a slanted view that some interpret to mean that all Americans feel that way,its a shame more of those with views like yours commenting here don’t visit them to combat the neocon version of the US thats portrayed too often.
there is a reason mcain’s camapign was at deaths door before new hampshire. the reason: mcain. he revisited his lows yesterday along with the DOW.
That so any people are confused about who started what in the Caucasus - the misconception that Russia initiated the military conflict in Georgia for example - stands as a tribute to the ongoing power of the War Pigs in the US ‘media’. LMAO, so what if the claim that Russians were the aggressor is the exact opposite of the truth? Spreading falsehoods about Russia promotes the dreams of Chimp & Co., so that immediately becomes entrenched ‘truth’, repeated in endless news cycles all across America. Unbelievable.
God Bless America.
And to make all prospects from the outcome of this election exciting, Obama now tells us that he believes that the “surge” worked! Isn’t that just scintillating from the ostensible “opposition” candidate? The “surge has succeeded beyond our wildest dreams”, Obama now reports! Oy, gevald!
Well… we certainly know what Randy Scheunemann expects to receive. He’s already gotten some of it: Hundreds of thousands of dollars in lobbying fees from Georgia. And he’s McCain’s top foreign-policy advisor, so we can expect he’ll be high in the State Department or Pentagon apparatus of a McCain administration. For draining the blood and fortune of this country - once again - these corrupt chickenhawks expect riches and power. It’s just that simple. Scheunemann is a neocon; Georgia is linked with Israel; money can be made - all the necessary components are there for another blood-drenched disaster. Why, at this point, does this disgusting formula surprise us?
McCain who? I’ve caught the Palin fever. As a proud non-voter I wouldn’t dream of wasting so much as twenty minutes on such a fruitless activity. America will continue her sink into a bottomless swamp of imperial hubris no matter who is in charge. That being said, at least Dame Palin provides a mighty piece of eye candy for the fall.
You must be really hard up! Just got back from 60 days at sea or something. There are loads of better looking women almost anywhere in the world!
Lester Ness
Kunming
China
Bovard…rhymes with “blow-hard”.
Another person that “liberty Jim” has censored, perhaps?
I’m convinced that they want to use both Georgia and Azerbaijan in an attack on Iran. Azerbaijan has a large population of Azeris in the northwest section. Georgia would have to go through Azerbaijan to get to Iran. Azerbaijan may also use that to initiate another war with Armenia.
For those who have forgotten or those too young to remember, the Vietnam War was a war of choice and a war of agression just like the War in Iraq.
North Vietnam never posed any threat to this country and most certainly never posed any threat to John McCain.
That being the case, I often wonder why some news reporter or newscaster cannot summon up the balls to ask John McCain how and where he obtained the moral right to drop bombs on the people of North Vietnam, and remind him that he was in the act of committing a war crime when shot down over Hanoi.
The fact that the North Vietnamese did not automatically execute John McCain on the spot tells me they held a far more humane view of their fellow man than John McCain now holds or has ever held.
Except for the idiots on the far right who wear the silly little military caps and insignia, John McCain is a war criminal, not a hero.
Robert Parry’s article on today’s antiwar home page reveals that a reporter back in the 60s did talk to McCain about the horrors of war and McCain questioned the morality of what he was doing in bombing North Vietnam.
Now, McCain claims he was misquoted.
I agree with a lot of what you wrote, but our involvement there predated the division into North and South Vietnam.
We created South Vietnam out of whole cloth in the wake of the Geneva conference that wrapped up the French-Indochinese War. (NB: The US was paying for 75% of the French war effort by the end.) Despite the fact that the Geneva peace accords specifically mentioned that the north/south division the accords referred to were for military regrouping purposes etc and most definitely not a political division. (NB: The US was not a signatory to the accords.)
McCain will never admit he was wrong to take part in the Viet Nam War. Almost no one does.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China
Without television (by choice) I rely on video clips. From what I saw Cindy McCain was the star of the show:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=92K4y9Nr2qY
Am I imagining things or is there peculiar stress and cadence in the way she says “MotherehFFFFFFFFFFuh-five” describing Palin?
The ambiguity was delightful–directed at Palin as MILF or at McCain as, well….say, Muffick, as in the hood?
How long will it take, does one suppose, McCain, Man of Righteous Anger, to call Palin a trollop or–how does Chaucer spell what was once a completely lovely, inoffensive and useful word in Middle English–”queynte”?
Whoops, I meant Robert Dreyfuss’s article on today’s antiwar homepage — I always get him and Robert Parry mixed-up.
Thank you Jim Bovard and all the commentators, except for the crude anonymous Abraham.
McCain’s new campaign slogan: “LET 1,000 MUSHROOM CLOUDS BLOOM!”
When Obama selected Biden, he made it clear he was in the same camp as McCain.
Watching the Republican convention only brought one thought to my mind - 21st century fascism. All that glorification of war, glorification of the corporate state, exalting of the hero’s of war, the constant chants of USA USA USA etc.
Canada is going into another election season right now and it is important to compare Canada’s political system to the US - we are the closest thing to being Americans without actually being. But on closer inspection you will not see the same slathering to far-right elements in this country. The Conservatives may pull off another minority government but they won’t use fear, false patriotism and constant chants of Canada, Canada, Canada to get it done. There won’t be the constant reminders that Canadians are fighting and dying in Afghanistan, there will be no mention of 9/11 even though Canadians died on that day, and you won’t see Canadian politicians wearing flag pins and surrounding themselves with Canadian flags. Maybe we are just more comfortable with who we are we don’t need to constantly reinforce patriotism with jingo.
But most of all you won’t hear that terrible line, “only in Canada can (insert some inane platitude)”.
Democracy Is Leavin
It’s leavin in free speech cages
From the board rooms to the catacombs
From mount Rushmore to Dubai
Democracy is leavin lots of places
using excusing phrases
to trade freedom for security
to feed non stop wars
and prop up corporate welfare scores
It’s leavin with devil prophesy
on John the fallen angel
as dead sea revelations scroll on
for all the monopolies of truth to ride on
from Jerusalem to Mecca to Lhasa
Democracy is leavin
It’s leavin with flowin black robed judges
On the bankers twin towers dust
the nine eleven shredder of epic proportions
with spores and anthrax scares
and preemptive false flagged wars
Democracy is leavin from the US of A
and lots of other places
most with US bases
in the suited empire of pen twisting plunder
from the occupation in the holy land
to broken Babylon in the fertile valley
and all those poppied stan lands
where joy or sorrow hides in burkas
and the body tally of the Taliban
bleeding as in culture wars
so markets rule while profit is no fool
as the corporate divide and conquer whores
look for more marks on further shores
Democracy is leavin
It’s leavin for the War of our bread and butter
as it writes the history for it’s end
say…
Is that ‘the end of history’ or the triumph of ‘the man’?
or is it free like masons justice
or just us … the puppeteers for Uncle Sam?
and…
will end timers rejoice
from the new age corporate inquisition
can you be put to the question?
or will it be extraordinary rendition?
From Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo
Democracy is leavin
It’s leavin belly down on Enron towers
like an early frost on flowers
as more walls get built
for powers like the status quo
while the dust of olive branches
compliments depleted U and
Zionist atrocities
in the land that’s Holy
Democracy is leavin the US of A
and that ain’t all…. aeh
It’s leavin the maple leafed empire lite
and lots of other places
as trash talking media faces
speak between the spaces with bites
so trite we fail to note the bite was bought
So I guess Democracy is leavin.
Yah It’s leavin
but did it ever really get here?
I take it, Glendon Wayne, that you composed “Democracy is Leavin”, a poem for this age. Thanks for your submission.
The most penetrating presidential endorsement to date:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvoZeJ_LdmY
I say we just go ahead and vote Mccain and Palin in, drop any pursuit to hold Bush and Co. responsible for anything, and go ahead and just start bonbing everyone we can think of, and get it over with…Not enough people in America care enough to do anything about anything…Obama-McCain….the end results will be the same…Decisions that should be made wont be…decission that shouldnt will..we will continue to be lied to and manipulated…the real issues ignored…and what ever does get done will be done from one extreme or the other..The middle ground where results and action lie will be ignored…Patriotism will be used as the toolit is, fear will be created and exploited, mis and dis information will be used to confuse and exhaust the people that will suffer in the end (if they arent already). If we cannot rally and set aside part of our lives, and make some sacrifices, agree to disagree and take action…Then the bombs might as well start falling…
One seconds the motion–in lieu of just standing around–bring back Freedom Fries and bomb France. “Out-Neo-Con” the Neo-Cons–it’s the Straussian thing to do. Write-in Bush and Cheney in 2008.
Write in Richard “the Impaler” Sharkey.
Lester Ness
Kunming
China