Last Sunday, Benjamin Netanyahu seemed confident no vote on Palestinian statehood would happen at the UN this week, and it looks like 2012 candidate Barack Obama is dutifully making sure both the American and Israeli governments are spared the humiliation of a recognition by the international community followed by a veto from a supposed promoter of Palestine's emergence as a state.
Mahmoud Abbas was right to push his luck in the wake of the Arab Spring. No dialog being possible between the two radical factions ruling over Gaza and Tel Aviv, moderates had to remind the public opinion of the need to stop an unacceptable injustice.
But these days, there's no justice to be seen in New York. The Dominique Strauss-Kahn jurisprudence ruled that a rape victim has no right to be considered by justice unless she's the Virgin Mary*, and that's exactly what's happening to Palestine.
It could be worse : if UN headquarters were in Georgia, Mahmoud Abbas could be sharing the fate of Troy Davis.
blogules 2011
* see "DSK is not 'not guilty' : US Justice's standards are poor"
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Barack Obama. Show all posts
20110728
US debt : Fools House
The debt-ceiling deadblock can be easily summed up this way : while Barack Obama is trying to prevent the economy from collapsing, John Boehner is trying to prevent the Republican party from imploding.
Of course, as we well know (see "GOP: time to split"), the said implosion started with the 2004 elections, but US voters are just beginning to understand the GOP dilemma : this party cannot at the same time win the 2012 elections and save its soul.
The only way of saving face without caving in would be to submit for vote an absurd proposal bound to crash, and to blame Democrats for the failure.
Well US voters proved that they could be fooled once (giving Newt Gingrich the right to torpedo the budget during the mid 90s), and even twice (giving GWB the right to nuke America's value and economy for four more years during the mid 2000s).
At least twice.
The other day I watched Tim Pawlenty trying to sell, on CNN's "State Of The Union", the idea that they'd been fooled one more time by Obama because the deficit tripled under his first term.
But Candy Crowley was not fooled. And she kindly reminded Pawlenty of the 2008 situation, when only he and the John McCain he campaigned for believed the US economy to be still "fundamentally sound".
Unlike Tim Pawlenty, John Boehner is not a fool.
Just a liar.
blogules 2011
Of course, as we well know (see "GOP: time to split"), the said implosion started with the 2004 elections, but US voters are just beginning to understand the GOP dilemma : this party cannot at the same time win the 2012 elections and save its soul.
The only way of saving face without caving in would be to submit for vote an absurd proposal bound to crash, and to blame Democrats for the failure.
Well US voters proved that they could be fooled once (giving Newt Gingrich the right to torpedo the budget during the mid 90s), and even twice (giving GWB the right to nuke America's value and economy for four more years during the mid 2000s).
At least twice.
The other day I watched Tim Pawlenty trying to sell, on CNN's "State Of The Union", the idea that they'd been fooled one more time by Obama because the deficit tripled under his first term.
But Candy Crowley was not fooled. And she kindly reminded Pawlenty of the 2008 situation, when only he and the John McCain he campaigned for believed the US economy to be still "fundamentally sound".
Unlike Tim Pawlenty, John Boehner is not a fool.
Just a liar.
blogules 2011
20110512
Truthers Part MMXI - Saving Private Bin Laden
Osama Bin Laden is not dead. Of course, the US confirmed his death*, and so did al Qaeda, not to mention Osama's daughter, an eye witness of the operation. But for Truthers**, Bin Laden is not dead.
To their credit, his elimination brought all the ingredients needed for a good conspiration theory with a stealth chopper parading next to a Pakistanese army base, a body discarded into the sea, and a final victory speech by Agent O from the Men In Black... But no. Osama is not dead. Truthers ask for pieces of evidence they will anyway never consider as true, as usual.
Because for a Truther, the truth lies somewhere else an preferably in some remote, hidden place. Those guys love the X-Files because you only catch a few subliminal glimpses of The Unbelievable. Not the classic B-movie where Godzilla shows his ugly plastic face on every frame, no. Here, everything is suggested, with here and there a 25th image stolen from an impossible angle, just to maintain the suspense and to help those nerds moving one nanoinch closer to their elusive orgasm. And above all, no final conclusion. Because a solved and close case means death. Their death.
So no, Bin Laden is not dead. Or maybe he'll resuscitate the third day. Anyway, bet on more sightings on video : as a Yeti up in the Himalayas, as a Dahu in the Swiss Alps, as Rick Astley in the Apple Store... it doesn't matter if, for the same lunatics, Bin Laden didn't exist in the first place. Just like September 11, 2001, that mythic, concealed, classified day when all cameras where simultaneously hacked by a clone of Kim Jong-il.
Navy Seals didn't assassinate Bin Laden : Americans got rid of the worst enemy of Islam***. Using methods (un)worthy of Mossad (when they don't imitate Borat, that is - see "Israel's Funniest Away Videos"), but also using a clear mandate against the criminal at the top of the world's most wanted list. Moderate Muslims applaud, but Truthers see a Zionist plot, a grotesque Photoshop forgery. The impostor who announced the death of their hero ? Michael Jackson. The old man watching the terrorist on his TV ? Elvis himself, barely recognizable after his opium diet in Afghanistan. Amateur work.
Now Truthers, they're true professionals : field journalists who investigate beyond what official media say, but never far away from the Truthersphere... except when they dump tons of Trutherisms over the web, clogging up fora and even this excuse for a website.
Actually, the true Truther doesn't want to know for fear of facing his own reality.
blogules 2011 (see also on blogules VF : "Les Truthers veulent la peau de Geronimo")
* BTW loved that cartoon (I forgot by whom) where Obama proudly brandishes his birth certificate in one hand and Osama's death certificate in the other, in front of a 2012 campaign board.
** on this weird cult, see previous episodes :
- "ReOpenReOpenReOpen911 - the Pentagony continues" ("Truthers : la Pentagonnade continue")
- "9/11 Truthers Knockin' At Your Door" ("Baggy truthers")
- "11 Septembre français : l'incroyable vérité"
*** see "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims"
To their credit, his elimination brought all the ingredients needed for a good conspiration theory with a stealth chopper parading next to a Pakistanese army base, a body discarded into the sea, and a final victory speech by Agent O from the Men In Black... But no. Osama is not dead. Truthers ask for pieces of evidence they will anyway never consider as true, as usual.
Because for a Truther, the truth lies somewhere else an preferably in some remote, hidden place. Those guys love the X-Files because you only catch a few subliminal glimpses of The Unbelievable. Not the classic B-movie where Godzilla shows his ugly plastic face on every frame, no. Here, everything is suggested, with here and there a 25th image stolen from an impossible angle, just to maintain the suspense and to help those nerds moving one nanoinch closer to their elusive orgasm. And above all, no final conclusion. Because a solved and close case means death. Their death.
So no, Bin Laden is not dead. Or maybe he'll resuscitate the third day. Anyway, bet on more sightings on video : as a Yeti up in the Himalayas, as a Dahu in the Swiss Alps, as Rick Astley in the Apple Store... it doesn't matter if, for the same lunatics, Bin Laden didn't exist in the first place. Just like September 11, 2001, that mythic, concealed, classified day when all cameras where simultaneously hacked by a clone of Kim Jong-il.
Navy Seals didn't assassinate Bin Laden : Americans got rid of the worst enemy of Islam***. Using methods (un)worthy of Mossad (when they don't imitate Borat, that is - see "Israel's Funniest Away Videos"), but also using a clear mandate against the criminal at the top of the world's most wanted list. Moderate Muslims applaud, but Truthers see a Zionist plot, a grotesque Photoshop forgery. The impostor who announced the death of their hero ? Michael Jackson. The old man watching the terrorist on his TV ? Elvis himself, barely recognizable after his opium diet in Afghanistan. Amateur work.
Now Truthers, they're true professionals : field journalists who investigate beyond what official media say, but never far away from the Truthersphere... except when they dump tons of Trutherisms over the web, clogging up fora and even this excuse for a website.
Actually, the true Truther doesn't want to know for fear of facing his own reality.
blogules 2011 (see also on blogules VF : "Les Truthers veulent la peau de Geronimo")
* BTW loved that cartoon (I forgot by whom) where Obama proudly brandishes his birth certificate in one hand and Osama's death certificate in the other, in front of a 2012 campaign board.
** on this weird cult, see previous episodes :
- "ReOpenReOpenReOpen911 - the Pentagony continues" ("Truthers : la Pentagonnade continue")
- "9/11 Truthers Knockin' At Your Door" ("Baggy truthers")
- "11 Septembre français : l'incroyable vérité"
*** see "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims"
20110502
Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims
Another radical political leader falls : Bin Laden was a warlord and by no means a religious leader.
So thank you Mr President for reminding your national and international audience this evidence : Bin Laden was an imposter and the worst enemy of Islam, even before he was an enemy of the USA*.
Yes, "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims". But no, Justice has not fully be done : the man has been killed, not technically brought to justice.
Still, his death is the best case scenario : the terrorist has already been found guilty, and a public trial would have offered him one last moment to spread hatred in the spotlight.
The President's Speech (not the one broadcasted at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner) also timely stressed the need for national unity, to the point of mentioning Fundamentalist in Chief GWB in positive terms.
That imposter has yet to be brought to justice.
blogules 2011
* see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism"
So thank you Mr President for reminding your national and international audience this evidence : Bin Laden was an imposter and the worst enemy of Islam, even before he was an enemy of the USA*.
Yes, "Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader, he was a mass murderer of Muslims". But no, Justice has not fully be done : the man has been killed, not technically brought to justice.
Still, his death is the best case scenario : the terrorist has already been found guilty, and a public trial would have offered him one last moment to spread hatred in the spotlight.
The President's Speech (not the one broadcasted at the 2011 White House Correspondents' Dinner) also timely stressed the need for national unity, to the point of mentioning Fundamentalist in Chief GWB in positive terms.
That imposter has yet to be brought to justice.
blogules 2011
* see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism"
20110408
GOP better than TEPCO ?
A complete risk management failure, highly radioactive outputs, but ways quicker for shutdown : the Republican Party eventually outscored Fukushima Daiichi operators. To secure their victory, John Boehner's team already reached 9.1 on Getricher's scale.
Nevertheless, TEPCO execs proved beyond the shadow of a doubt their ability to do business the way the GOP sees it :
- privileging short term profits over security ? check.
- perverting notation systems and forging documents if needed ? check.
- dodging regulations and spreading corruption around ? check.
- undermining the country's economy, ruining the company, and in the end getting a public bailout ? almost done.
Maybe I should update my old rant about the ineluctable implosion of the Grand Old ParTea : instead of "GOP : Time to Split", a final "GOP, Time to Meltdown".
blogules 2011
Nevertheless, TEPCO execs proved beyond the shadow of a doubt their ability to do business the way the GOP sees it :
- privileging short term profits over security ? check.
- perverting notation systems and forging documents if needed ? check.
- dodging regulations and spreading corruption around ? check.
- undermining the country's economy, ruining the company, and in the end getting a public bailout ? almost done.
Maybe I should update my old rant about the ineluctable implosion of the Grand Old ParTea : instead of "GOP : Time to Split", a final "GOP, Time to Meltdown".
blogules 2011
20110404
Obama 2012
Out of the blue, an e-mail from Barack, simply titled "2012"*, with a link to a YouTube video (is it "it starts with us" or "it starts with US" ?).Obama does remain the favorite for the next elections. In spite of the Mid-Term Elections disaster. In spite of the disappointment of his liberal democrat base (not very happy with the reforms' compromises and the Bush heritage (Gitmo and Iraq mess). In spite of the Republican revival (the party has split anyway, remember "GOP, time to split" ?). In spite of an army of potential opponents : Jon Huntsman, Tim Pawlenty, Donald Trump, Bobby Jindal, Mitt Romney...
Among key achievements : a Nobel Peace Prize, ambitious reforms, two moderates at the Supreme Court, diplomatic success in Tunisia, and a spectacularly improved image for the country overseas (even WikiLeaks failed to destroy it). All this while facing a major depression, the country's worst environmental disaster ever, and series of uprisings across the Muslim world...
Among key disappointments : a very poor communication for internal affairs (disconnected, maybe overprotected by Rahm Emanuel ?), and Israel for foreign affairs. The POTUS obviously spared AIPAC and finance lobbies to secure his reforms, and then to limit the damage at the mid-term elections.
Overall, Barack Hussein Obama governed from the center and rather well, even if he exposed some limits. In a perfect world, he would be easily reelected, then get rid of the Geithners and Summerses, and finally would focus on history and in particular the Israel-Palstine case. Once again thrashed, the GOP would at last start its own reforms, get rid of the Palins and Pauls, and push a moderate and pragmatic candidate for 2016.
In the worst case scenario, Americans would elect a pseudo-Republican populist impostor and irreversibly cut the country in two.
blogules 2011
* Stephane --
Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.
We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.
So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.
We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.
As we take this step, I'd like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:
In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.
We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.
This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.
There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:
http://my.barackobama.com/2012
Thank you,
Barack
20110204
Sand curtain
If protorevolutionary movements across the Arabo-Muslim world tend to remind me of the late eighties in Eastern Europe, this is completely different.
This time it's not about the regionwide collapse of a corrupt system and ideology with a top-down benediction from a pro-reform leader (Gorbachev), but about several grassroot movements challenging local dictators, corrupt regimes sans ideology.
Note that both Ben Ali and Mubarak were already ailing caids. Beyond their political deaths, what matters now is the removal of entourages controlling most of the power in each country.
Of course, nature abhors a vacuum, and fundamentalists would love to step in to fill the ideology void. At this defining moment, most people on the street seem to reject as false the choice between dictatorship and fundamentalism, but most people on the street prefer order to chaos, and uncertainty shouldn't last too long.
Israel nervously watches as Jordanian and Egyptian regimes falter under popular pressure. Muslim friends who could turn enemies, with the benediction of Iran, whose own corrupt regime postponed its ineluctable fall by a few years by crushing popular uprisings at home. Unfortunately, these days, Israeli leaders seem to position themselves as a corrupt regime with some ideology. Not a dictatorship, mind you, but not a bunch of nice guys either.
Barack Obama is a nice guy. Unfortunately, these days, the US leader doesn't seem to be in charge of foreign policy, so huge is the gap between what he says and what the US do. And the poor lad doesn't have one Gorbachev to call if he wants that sand curtain torn down...
So what's ahead ? Probably trouble and uncertainties, but somehow this transitional period has started after WWII and independence wars, and we're closer to the end than from the beginning. Something new will emerge and eventually, something positive. Societies freed from political and religious deviances. Hopefully, the time has come for a true Muslim renaissance.
Right now, most dictators across the globe must have gotten some kind of message. But even supposedly strong democracies should be thinking twice when they applaud successful local uprisings or self-determination processes like in South Sudan : what is a nation in this globalized world, what will be holding its members together in this networked millenium ?
More than ever, each individual will reach for the universal (as a human being), and the personal (identity).
blogules 2011
This time it's not about the regionwide collapse of a corrupt system and ideology with a top-down benediction from a pro-reform leader (Gorbachev), but about several grassroot movements challenging local dictators, corrupt regimes sans ideology.
Note that both Ben Ali and Mubarak were already ailing caids. Beyond their political deaths, what matters now is the removal of entourages controlling most of the power in each country.
Of course, nature abhors a vacuum, and fundamentalists would love to step in to fill the ideology void. At this defining moment, most people on the street seem to reject as false the choice between dictatorship and fundamentalism, but most people on the street prefer order to chaos, and uncertainty shouldn't last too long.
Israel nervously watches as Jordanian and Egyptian regimes falter under popular pressure. Muslim friends who could turn enemies, with the benediction of Iran, whose own corrupt regime postponed its ineluctable fall by a few years by crushing popular uprisings at home. Unfortunately, these days, Israeli leaders seem to position themselves as a corrupt regime with some ideology. Not a dictatorship, mind you, but not a bunch of nice guys either.
Barack Obama is a nice guy. Unfortunately, these days, the US leader doesn't seem to be in charge of foreign policy, so huge is the gap between what he says and what the US do. And the poor lad doesn't have one Gorbachev to call if he wants that sand curtain torn down...
So what's ahead ? Probably trouble and uncertainties, but somehow this transitional period has started after WWII and independence wars, and we're closer to the end than from the beginning. Something new will emerge and eventually, something positive. Societies freed from political and religious deviances. Hopefully, the time has come for a true Muslim renaissance.
Right now, most dictators across the globe must have gotten some kind of message. But even supposedly strong democracies should be thinking twice when they applaud successful local uprisings or self-determination processes like in South Sudan : what is a nation in this globalized world, what will be holding its members together in this networked millenium ?
More than ever, each individual will reach for the universal (as a human being), and the personal (identity).
blogules 2011
20110117
And now for something completely different
"It’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we’re talking with each other in a way that heals, not in a way that wounds".
With this, President Obama could let Sarah Palin drown in her own blood libelling pool if he weren't a truly compassionate leader : "we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other".
From Tucson, AZ to Tunis now: the great people of Tunisia managed to push dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his Trabelsi clique out. But some of their thugs remain loose on the street, and at the other end of the hate line, fundamentalists are more than ever eager to wedge their ways into the country. They obviously were not invited at the table for the national unity government : the unity they seek doesn't quite fit the democratic agenda.
From Tunis to Juba: here, the democratic agenda is set and a new country is about to emerge from the referendum. Complete with controversial borders, and strategic pipelines, Southern Sudan is also the perfect target for hatemongers.
From Tunis and Juba to Abidjan: these days, Laurent Gbagbo is probably paying some attention to what's happening in other African countries. To the Ben Ali scenario, I'm sure he'd prefer to see Ivory Coast split in two. Of course, without any democratic process.
From Tunis to Washington, DC : no need to wait for the next WikiLeaks batch to know that Ben Ali's quick retreat to Saudi Arabia owes something to US diplomacy. A small compromise, but an overall B+ for Secretary of State Clinton in this (at long last) booming region. Maybe Chinese diplomats contributed : all of a sudden, supporting local dictators in exchange for raw materials is not as politically correct as it used to be.
Cynics would say that after this African Yalta, the Chinese will keep nurturing their dictator in North Sudan, while Americans will start pumping oil in South Sudan.
Another victory for Africa yesterday ? The new Front National leader has African origins : like her dad Jean-Marie, Marine Le Pen shares her origins with all of us French, Americans, Chinese... you name it. But I don't think she's going to celebrate this politically and scientifically correct fact. In a way that heals.
blogules 2011
With this, President Obama could let Sarah Palin drown in her own blood libelling pool if he weren't a truly compassionate leader : "we cannot do is use this tragedy as one more occasion to turn on each other".
From Tucson, AZ to Tunis now: the great people of Tunisia managed to push dictator Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his Trabelsi clique out. But some of their thugs remain loose on the street, and at the other end of the hate line, fundamentalists are more than ever eager to wedge their ways into the country. They obviously were not invited at the table for the national unity government : the unity they seek doesn't quite fit the democratic agenda.
From Tunis to Juba: here, the democratic agenda is set and a new country is about to emerge from the referendum. Complete with controversial borders, and strategic pipelines, Southern Sudan is also the perfect target for hatemongers.
From Tunis and Juba to Abidjan: these days, Laurent Gbagbo is probably paying some attention to what's happening in other African countries. To the Ben Ali scenario, I'm sure he'd prefer to see Ivory Coast split in two. Of course, without any democratic process.
From Tunis to Washington, DC : no need to wait for the next WikiLeaks batch to know that Ben Ali's quick retreat to Saudi Arabia owes something to US diplomacy. A small compromise, but an overall B+ for Secretary of State Clinton in this (at long last) booming region. Maybe Chinese diplomats contributed : all of a sudden, supporting local dictators in exchange for raw materials is not as politically correct as it used to be.
Cynics would say that after this African Yalta, the Chinese will keep nurturing their dictator in North Sudan, while Americans will start pumping oil in South Sudan.
Another victory for Africa yesterday ? The new Front National leader has African origins : like her dad Jean-Marie, Marine Le Pen shares her origins with all of us French, Americans, Chinese... you name it. But I don't think she's going to celebrate this politically and scientifically correct fact. In a way that heals.
blogules 2011
20101031
Can America really afford a Republican Second Dip ?
Reunited they stand : Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert rocked a 'Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear' on the National Mall.
America can afford some sanity indeed these days, as the country is about to put back into power a party whose main objective for the next two years is officially to prevent a reelection of Barack Obama. Of course, to achieve such a goal, they need America to fail miserably and embrace a big fat second dip.
Republicans proved they were quite good at that : after all, Obama is essentially being blamed for taking too much time to clean their own mess (great depressions, environmental catastrophes, political divides...).
But the President's biggest mistake seems to have bet on US voters' intelligence : he sacrificed his popularity by passing courageous health and financial reforms, long term gains bound to be destroyed by a Red majority.
blogules 2010
America can afford some sanity indeed these days, as the country is about to put back into power a party whose main objective for the next two years is officially to prevent a reelection of Barack Obama. Of course, to achieve such a goal, they need America to fail miserably and embrace a big fat second dip.
Republicans proved they were quite good at that : after all, Obama is essentially being blamed for taking too much time to clean their own mess (great depressions, environmental catastrophes, political divides...).
But the President's biggest mistake seems to have bet on US voters' intelligence : he sacrificed his popularity by passing courageous health and financial reforms, long term gains bound to be destroyed by a Red majority.
blogules 2010
20100806
Mid-Term Elections : Sarah Palin to run in West Dakota
My dear fellow Amerikans,
Howdy lads and gals ?
As you know, my second book, "Amerika by Heart: reflections on family, faith, and flags", will be published after the mid-term elections, around November 23. Depending on the result, it will either be about my role in the victory, or a "toldya so" condemnation of the GOP's doomed campaign of 2010.
After working on two books in one, my head is swimming with words, but thank God I kept my eyes on the ball... which, by the way, was much easier to find than Obama's cojones (wink - wink) !
As you also know*, I will run in 2012. I got all the credentials as a top FOX News barker. And if the Reps dare not nominate me, I'll merge the Tea Party and my fundamentalist base into a "Libertarian, Gonads, Bible, Tea Party". Will that "LGBT Party" be the pride of our glorious nation ? You betcha !
For 2010, I needed to legitimitize my involvation in the electoric process. I badly hadda run for a seat, and not only because I had a mean chili con carne for lunch. I long hesitated between West Dakota and North Virginia, and settled for the former, 'cause it has a border with Saskatchewanistan : this winter, with Todd, we're gonna Skidoo hunt Bin Laden and his fellow thugs, smoke'im out, gut'im out, hang'im high, you nam'it.
But before that, during this whole year, I'll keep reminding US voters why they need to vote Republican this November : to fight against Obama's unfair policies that granted medical care to whiners and deprived Wall Street execs from well deserved impunities, to drill deeper into the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska (and while we're at it drill even deeper into our prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo - wink - wink), to restore Amerikan values (starting with waterboarding) and the positive image of Amerika overseas, plus, of course, to go back to our sound economy of 2008.
Yours Truly,
Sarah Louise Palin
blogules 2010
* "GOP - From Morale Building to Moral Damage Control Mode"
Howdy lads and gals ?
As you know, my second book, "Amerika by Heart: reflections on family, faith, and flags", will be published after the mid-term elections, around November 23. Depending on the result, it will either be about my role in the victory, or a "toldya so" condemnation of the GOP's doomed campaign of 2010.
After working on two books in one, my head is swimming with words, but thank God I kept my eyes on the ball... which, by the way, was much easier to find than Obama's cojones (wink - wink) !
As you also know*, I will run in 2012. I got all the credentials as a top FOX News barker. And if the Reps dare not nominate me, I'll merge the Tea Party and my fundamentalist base into a "Libertarian, Gonads, Bible, Tea Party". Will that "LGBT Party" be the pride of our glorious nation ? You betcha !
For 2010, I needed to legitimitize my involvation in the electoric process. I badly hadda run for a seat, and not only because I had a mean chili con carne for lunch. I long hesitated between West Dakota and North Virginia, and settled for the former, 'cause it has a border with Saskatchewanistan : this winter, with Todd, we're gonna Skidoo hunt Bin Laden and his fellow thugs, smoke'im out, gut'im out, hang'im high, you nam'it.
But before that, during this whole year, I'll keep reminding US voters why they need to vote Republican this November : to fight against Obama's unfair policies that granted medical care to whiners and deprived Wall Street execs from well deserved impunities, to drill deeper into the Gulf of Mexico and Alaska (and while we're at it drill even deeper into our prisoners in Abu Ghraib and Gitmo - wink - wink), to restore Amerikan values (starting with waterboarding) and the positive image of Amerika overseas, plus, of course, to go back to our sound economy of 2008.
Yours Truly,
Sarah Louise Palin
blogules 2010
* "GOP - From Morale Building to Moral Damage Control Mode"
20100713
Paul the Octopus
Again, that World Cup post-partum blues.
That sense of emptiness, the brain progressively training itself to intercept signals involving other things than soccer balls, the effort even tougher this time because of those damned vuvuzelas (time difference ? I kind of got used to it after my tenth World Cup).
The embarrassing realization that I've been outsmarted by a squid in my predictions.
The embarrassing realization that 2010, a great year for African soccer, started with shootings at Togolese players in Angola, and continues with the murder of fans in Uganda. A Christmas tree at the DRC Soccer Federation ? Thanks, but no thanks.
The embarrassing realization that, while players tried to understand the tricky aerodynamics of Jabulani, our small planet kept moving in its very predictable way :
- The First Scrabble Wars ended with a draw between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
- Again, Barack Obama welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu who, again the previous day, promised that this time, he would be a nice guy.
- As videos of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest rocked the web, Haiti's Daily Eating Challenge only got a few clicks.
- US citizens let Tony the Octopus spill as much ink as he could in the Gulf of Mexico. As if Tony Hayward had a clue about what was at stake if BP picked this well instead of that one.
blogules 2010
That sense of emptiness, the brain progressively training itself to intercept signals involving other things than soccer balls, the effort even tougher this time because of those damned vuvuzelas (time difference ? I kind of got used to it after my tenth World Cup).
The embarrassing realization that I've been outsmarted by a squid in my predictions.
The embarrassing realization that 2010, a great year for African soccer, started with shootings at Togolese players in Angola, and continues with the murder of fans in Uganda. A Christmas tree at the DRC Soccer Federation ? Thanks, but no thanks.
The embarrassing realization that, while players tried to understand the tricky aerodynamics of Jabulani, our small planet kept moving in its very predictable way :
- The First Scrabble Wars ended with a draw between Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.
- Again, Barack Obama welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu who, again the previous day, promised that this time, he would be a nice guy.
- As videos of Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest rocked the web, Haiti's Daily Eating Challenge only got a few clicks.
- US citizens let Tony the Octopus spill as much ink as he could in the Gulf of Mexico. As if Tony Hayward had a clue about what was at stake if BP picked this well instead of that one.
blogules 2010
20100428
Arizona Dream
On his way back from the inauguration of the Great Arizonian Iron Curtain, President McCain inspected the Louisiana oil mess from Marine One chopper : "What a waste ! All those gallons will stick to our Shouthern shores for decades instead of fueling our fundamentally sound economy... Believe me my friends, heads will roll at the FEMA : we said 'drill baby drill', not 'spill baby spill', for Chrysler's sake !"
Meanwhile...
- Veep Palin visited a Creationist School. "Onov'em kids made such a terrible mistake, I hadda get to the board rite-way to fix it by m'self. Lil'guy wrote 'when dinos roamed the Earth four thousand years ago, men used their bones to play baseball'. Can you believe it ? Did I add the e to "dinoes" ? You betcha !"
- Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Blankfein attended a pre-G20 summit. "I was taken abacus by the audacity of a brilliant young Frenchman : Fabulous Fab Tourre suggested to Jean-Claude Trichet that Greece be wrapped in toilet paper and sold to Abu Dhabi in a bundle with the Brooklyn Bridge. I suggested we that trew in the New York Mets as well, but Fab wisely noted that it could raise suspicions."
- In Mexico City, former First Lady Cindy McCain married former First Lady Carla Bruni.
- George W. Bush inaugurated his Presidential Library. "All the 10,000 books I've read so far are here. I never use twice the same copy of the Holy Book, and the West Wing is devoted to the only other book I read : 'My pet goat'. This year I intend to start page 5."
- Senator Obama attended a Milk Party : Michelle Obama's movement claims 10,000 new members every day and she remains in the polls the front runner for 2012.
blogules 2010
Meanwhile...
- Veep Palin visited a Creationist School. "Onov'em kids made such a terrible mistake, I hadda get to the board rite-way to fix it by m'self. Lil'guy wrote 'when dinos roamed the Earth four thousand years ago, men used their bones to play baseball'. Can you believe it ? Did I add the e to "dinoes" ? You betcha !"
- Secretary of the Treasury Lloyd Blankfein attended a pre-G20 summit. "I was taken abacus by the audacity of a brilliant young Frenchman : Fabulous Fab Tourre suggested to Jean-Claude Trichet that Greece be wrapped in toilet paper and sold to Abu Dhabi in a bundle with the Brooklyn Bridge. I suggested we that trew in the New York Mets as well, but Fab wisely noted that it could raise suspicions."
- In Mexico City, former First Lady Cindy McCain married former First Lady Carla Bruni.
- George W. Bush inaugurated his Presidential Library. "All the 10,000 books I've read so far are here. I never use twice the same copy of the Holy Book, and the West Wing is devoted to the only other book I read : 'My pet goat'. This year I intend to start page 5."
- Senator Obama attended a Milk Party : Michelle Obama's movement claims 10,000 new members every day and she remains in the polls the front runner for 2012.
blogules 2010
20100407
FCC : another hot potato for the Congress
2010 - A regulator that fails to regulate may need some fixing.
After being awarded the right to deregulate broadband by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005 on the ground that it would not be a telecom service but an information service, the FCC allowed broadband subs to plug whatever hardware or software they pleased to their access, but after that ordered ISPs to fight against peer-to-peer abuses. Comcast logically sued and won the case at a federal court.
That same FCC has also been working on a much advertised National Broadband Plan which now appears to be left to its own devices.
The only way out of this farcical situation would be for lawmakers to restore some regulatory power, a move that could prove unpopular for partisans of freedom on the liberal front (no regulation for the internet : that's fascism) as well as on the libertarian side (no regulation whatsoever : that's socialism). If Obama thought he was done with ideological battles between health care madness and financial reforms, here's yet another hot potato to catch before mid-term elections.
blogules 2010
After being awarded the right to deregulate broadband by a Supreme Court ruling in 2005 on the ground that it would not be a telecom service but an information service, the FCC allowed broadband subs to plug whatever hardware or software they pleased to their access, but after that ordered ISPs to fight against peer-to-peer abuses. Comcast logically sued and won the case at a federal court.
That same FCC has also been working on a much advertised National Broadband Plan which now appears to be left to its own devices.
The only way out of this farcical situation would be for lawmakers to restore some regulatory power, a move that could prove unpopular for partisans of freedom on the liberal front (no regulation for the internet : that's fascism) as well as on the libertarian side (no regulation whatsoever : that's socialism). If Obama thought he was done with ideological battles between health care madness and financial reforms, here's yet another hot potato to catch before mid-term elections.
blogules 2010
20100323
J Street : It's Time
It's time for moderates to speak up and denounce impostors.It's time for Palestinian and Israeli democrats to say no to radicals who keep torpedoeing peace and undermining their own camps.
J Street is running a full page ad in the NYT to remind opinion leaders that a majority of Jews in the US think "it's time for Israel to stop allowing extremist settlers and their sympathizers to endanger not only the friendship of the United States, but also the very future of Israel"*.
J Street also sends a message to AIPAC : now that Obama's healthcare reforms have passed, the politics of fear cannot rule the agenda until next elections. Change must come to the Middle East, with full support from the US, but also from Israeli citizens who reject as false the choice between their security and their ideals**.
blogules 2010
* see "Our Full-Page Ad in the New York Times"
** see "Israel accepted as true the choice between its security and its ideals"
20100318
Barack "No Crisis" Obama
Joe Biden publicly humiliated by Bibi Netanyahu* ?
Israeli hardliners pushing provocations to new standards, embarrassing even their "regular hawk" followers ?
General David Petraeus confirming the impossibility to support at the same time this clique of warmongers and peace ?
"No Crisis", answers Barack No Drama Obama.
The POTUS doesn't mean that there is no crisis between the US of A and Israel : he simply doesn't want a crisis between his healthcare reform agenda and AIPAC ahead of US mid-term elections.
So be it. No Crisis, then.
As planned by Netanyahu & co, Salam Fayyad and Fatah reformers will lose to radicals, the Palestinian Authority collapse for good, and even if Bibi doesn't get the intifada he wants**, Tel Aviv extremists will strengthten their grip on the Israeli democracy without even the weakest reaction from the Israeli people (I won't even mention Israeli opposition parties : they either joined or condoned this infamous coalition, and Amir Perez is not my idea of a peace maker).
No Crisis, Oby wan Kennedy said.
Barack Hussein Obama also said these few words, during his inaugural address : "to those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy". Netanyahu obviously took it as an encouragement : "great ! I will destroy peace, and I'll be rewarded for the illegal colonies I build."
No Crisis, I'm telling you : all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
blogules 2010
* maybe, instead of Joe The Biden, the Israeli PM expected Joe The Plumber, who would have more cheerfully given a hand for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem ("Home Improvement" after "Israel's Funniest Away Videos" ?)
** see "Netanyahu's al Aqsa intifada"
Israeli hardliners pushing provocations to new standards, embarrassing even their "regular hawk" followers ?
General David Petraeus confirming the impossibility to support at the same time this clique of warmongers and peace ?
"No Crisis", answers Barack No Drama Obama.
The POTUS doesn't mean that there is no crisis between the US of A and Israel : he simply doesn't want a crisis between his healthcare reform agenda and AIPAC ahead of US mid-term elections.
So be it. No Crisis, then.
As planned by Netanyahu & co, Salam Fayyad and Fatah reformers will lose to radicals, the Palestinian Authority collapse for good, and even if Bibi doesn't get the intifada he wants**, Tel Aviv extremists will strengthten their grip on the Israeli democracy without even the weakest reaction from the Israeli people (I won't even mention Israeli opposition parties : they either joined or condoned this infamous coalition, and Amir Perez is not my idea of a peace maker).
No Crisis, Oby wan Kennedy said.
Barack Hussein Obama also said these few words, during his inaugural address : "to those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West: know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not what you destroy". Netanyahu obviously took it as an encouragement : "great ! I will destroy peace, and I'll be rewarded for the illegal colonies I build."
No Crisis, I'm telling you : all is for the best in the best of all possible worlds.
blogules 2010
* maybe, instead of Joe The Biden, the Israeli PM expected Joe The Plumber, who would have more cheerfully given a hand for new Jewish settlements in East Jerusalem ("Home Improvement" after "Israel's Funniest Away Videos" ?)
** see "Netanyahu's al Aqsa intifada"
20100129
Is Obama considering purchasing an iPad ?
That's what I gathered listening to his State Of The Union speech : the POTUS said he wanted to focus on Jobs and to help the country cruise safely through this painful iPeriod.
blogules 2010
blogules 2010
20100120
The unlosable race
Martha Coakley just conceded Massachusetts senate race to Scott Brown. Big Pharma stocks anticipated the "good news".
Democrats lose their filibuster-proof 60 seat majority ahead of the mid-term elections, lose face big time, and lose Ted Kennedy for good.
MA is now a laughingstock next to Lieberman's CT. BTW now that we don't need Joe The Switcher that badly, let's leave him palling around with fellow theocons.
Obama, who campaigned for Coakley*, will have a tough time carrying healthcare reforms now. But least he is allowed to make a difference in Haiti.
Who knows ? US voters committed so many political suicides before, it could make sense for them to blame the firemen and long for the arsonists... and we may not have seen all of it ! Maybe they miss Cheney and company.
If you can't cast a ballot correctly, at least donate for Haiti.
blogules 2010
* and probably dreamed of a more kennedyesque "happy birthday, Mr President"
Democrats lose their filibuster-proof 60 seat majority ahead of the mid-term elections, lose face big time, and lose Ted Kennedy for good.
MA is now a laughingstock next to Lieberman's CT. BTW now that we don't need Joe The Switcher that badly, let's leave him palling around with fellow theocons.
Obama, who campaigned for Coakley*, will have a tough time carrying healthcare reforms now. But least he is allowed to make a difference in Haiti.
Who knows ? US voters committed so many political suicides before, it could make sense for them to blame the firemen and long for the arsonists... and we may not have seen all of it ! Maybe they miss Cheney and company.
If you can't cast a ballot correctly, at least donate for Haiti.
blogules 2010
* and probably dreamed of a more kennedyesque "happy birthday, Mr President"
20091218
Obama plays good COP - bad COP15
If Barack Obama can deliver powerful speeches, this one was definitely not one of them.
In Copenhagen, the POTUS mainly recycled an address already served to billions over the past year :
I give him a C+ because he had a good excuse or two : Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, the US economy, the healthcare reform, a stopover in Oslo... Plus FOX News are probably trying to crash the Xmas party at the White House with a blonde Mrs Tiger Woods #547.
blogules 2009
In Copenhagen, the POTUS mainly recycled an address already served to billions over the past year :
I give him a C+ because he had a good excuse or two : Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, North Korea, the US economy, the healthcare reform, a stopover in Oslo... Plus FOX News are probably trying to crash the Xmas party at the White House with a blonde Mrs Tiger Woods #547.
blogules 2009
20091116
The end of Japanese imperialism
Change has definitely come to Japan. As expected*, Yukio Hatoyama is trying to do the right thing by puting an end to all sick nationalist revivals. And the new P.M. seems to be willing to act quickly, going at the root.
Imperialist nostalgists claim Kuril Islands and Dokdo as theirs ? "An unidentified senior Japanese government official" releases the proof that they don't belong to Japan**.
In the midst of an APEC summit, Japan decides to set the record straight and lead the region the most noble way.
As Barack Obama tours the continent, Japan rejects as false the choice between its own History and its own ideals.
blogules
2009 - initially published on Seoul Village : "According to Japanese law, Dokdo is not Japanese".
* see "A Common History", a dramatic change since "Claiming Dokdo as Takeshima equals claiming Seoul as Gyeongseong"
** see "Japanese Document Shows Dokdo as Foreign Territory" (Chosun Ilbo 20091116) : "Japan's Ministry of Finance issued a notice document numbered 654 on Aug. 15, 1946, a year after Korean independence, that says Dokdo is foreign soil along with Korea, Taiwan, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the South Sea Islands".
Imperialist nostalgists claim Kuril Islands and Dokdo as theirs ? "An unidentified senior Japanese government official" releases the proof that they don't belong to Japan**.
In the midst of an APEC summit, Japan decides to set the record straight and lead the region the most noble way.
As Barack Obama tours the continent, Japan rejects as false the choice between its own History and its own ideals.
blogules
2009 - initially published on Seoul Village : "According to Japanese law, Dokdo is not Japanese".
* see "A Common History", a dramatic change since "Claiming Dokdo as Takeshima equals claiming Seoul as Gyeongseong"
** see "Japanese Document Shows Dokdo as Foreign Territory" (Chosun Ilbo 20091116) : "Japan's Ministry of Finance issued a notice document numbered 654 on Aug. 15, 1946, a year after Korean independence, that says Dokdo is foreign soil along with Korea, Taiwan, Sakhalin, the Kuril Islands and the South Sea Islands".
20091114
al Qaeda and Amerika on trial
Khalid Sheikh Mohammed goes on trial in NYC, and GOP hardliners are angry.
Make that "scared". Because this is the kind of justice they don't feel comfortable with : fair justice, public justice... Justice, period.
What will be exposed is the process that leads to abomination : on one hand terror, on the other torture.
Because Mr. Mohammed is now more famous for surviving over a hundred waterboarding sessions than for his responsibility in 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration added insult to murder, betrayed the families of 9/11 victims, disgraced America and the very values they were supposed to defend.
That administration was recently confirmed as "repugnant to the Constitution" by Republican appointed judges.
Obama, who rejected as false the choice between security and ideals, appointed Eric Holder to clean the mess. Both share the same vision of justice* : not the twisted tool of a corrupt administration, but an independent power able to reach any other power, particularly administrations going rogue.
blogules 2009
* see previous episodes, including "We reject as false the choice between our social security and our ideals"
Make that "scared". Because this is the kind of justice they don't feel comfortable with : fair justice, public justice... Justice, period.
What will be exposed is the process that leads to abomination : on one hand terror, on the other torture.
Because Mr. Mohammed is now more famous for surviving over a hundred waterboarding sessions than for his responsibility in 9/11 attacks. The Bush administration added insult to murder, betrayed the families of 9/11 victims, disgraced America and the very values they were supposed to defend.
That administration was recently confirmed as "repugnant to the Constitution" by Republican appointed judges.
Obama, who rejected as false the choice between security and ideals, appointed Eric Holder to clean the mess. Both share the same vision of justice* : not the twisted tool of a corrupt administration, but an independent power able to reach any other power, particularly administrations going rogue.
blogules 2009
* see previous episodes, including "We reject as false the choice between our social security and our ideals"
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