Booz Allen is watching you. Saving Private Snowden or Saving Public Manning? (Outsourcing intel in Patriot Act times - When Big Data meets Small Government)

So I received this email*, which is supposed to make me feel guilty:

"191,537 people have signed President Obama's birthday letter.

But you're not ONE OF THEM.

SIGN THE CARD."

 
Sorry, but I don't feel guilty. And this choice of picture... Barack Obama like Cary Grant carrying that glass of milk to Joan Fontaine in "Suspicion"...

Well. I'm still ONE OF THEM, them people who subscribe to Barack Obama newsletters. So the NSA didn't have to scan my profile to find out I didn't sign the darn card: I opted in 6 years ago. And yes, I still receive Karl Rove memos - you need a good laugh now and then.

Ah! Ah! Guantanamo, can't get tired of that old Bush-Cheney joke! Actually, Obama's America invented something even better than Guantanamo in Cuba: One-man-ammo in Russia! You're afraid to face unfair justice in the US? Uncle Vlad will be happy to provide tailored hospitality in his model democracy.

No, Eric Holder hasn't choked on a pretzel yet.

Frankly, I think Saving Private Snowden is less important than Saving Public Manning. I'm not talking about poor whistleblower Bradley Manning, but about national intelligence services.

Outsourcing intel at the core of NSA is already disturbing. To a Carlyle Group affiliate. As if Israel were outsourcing its strategy to the Boston Consulting Group. Sorry, wrong example.

Outsourcing intel in Patriot Act times, when Big Data meets Small Government.

Outsourcing intel means that the Big Brother who's watching you is not the NSA but Booz Allen Hamilton.

And don't think these contractors are very careful when they handle or man this most sensitive mission. Booz Allen CEO Ralph W. Shrader said "Mr. Snowden was on our payroll for a short period of time, but he was not a Booz Allen person and he did not share our values".

In other words: "Oh, you know, that mission you hired us for, spying for America? You can trust us: we gave the job to a most untrustworthy person. Anyway, we can't afford to keep the best ones, they sell their services to foreign companies and nations. Handling confidential NSA stuff, that's pretty good on a resume when you're looking for a job in Russia, in Pakistan, or at Facebook. Non Disclosure Agreements? We do those, but only to make sure the public doesn't know how much your Government is paying us. By the way, can we renegociate this contract of ours? We believe you need new servers and software to catch up with the competition. To build their own systems, they hired people who were trained on your obsolete material and knew all your weaknesses."

Talking about weaky leaks.

McLean, Va. 795,582,003,441,637,794 data burgers served across the world.





Outsourcing intel: - #ParriotAct + #BigData + small government = #BoozAllen is watching you - Saving private #Snowden or public #Manning?
twitter.com/stephanemot/status/363709151731388416
 
#Snowden: after #Guantanamo in #Cuba, the US created #OneManAmo in #Russia The moral hazards of outsourcing intel in #PatriotAct times
twitter.com/stephanemot/status/363710368557711362





blogules 2013
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!! and Twitter (@stephanemot, @blogules)

Romney's big night? A bitter sleeping pill

At long last! Surviving three long days of 2012 RNC on FoxNews was already a challenge, but this last one... To tell you the level of torture: even Dick Cheney skipped it, and only "Turd Blossom" Karl Rove seemed to enjoy the stench.

Consider this:

- The moto of the day: painting Obama as Carter, Romney as Reagan. But on this RNC propaganda video of Reagan, you see the difference with Romney. Romney's name may start the same way as Reagan's, all you can see is the rhyme with money.

- Newt and Callista Gingrich reciting a soulless script with the enthusiasm of Christopher Lee snoring in his coffin.

- Jeb Bush talked about a better, fairer education system for America, and in the same breath invited on stage Sean Duffy, a teacher who judges other teachers, and qualifies them as "good" or "bad". Jeb's ideas may sound nice, his vision of "higher learning" ended up in ballot fixing, and the "equal access" he's been promoting the most efficiently is the equal access to guns. When Jeb Bush makes a comparison between diversity in milk and education, he lists 'milk that doesn't even have milk in it': I presume he wants to see Intelligent Design taught in school, that's 'pseudo-science that doesn't even have science in it'.

- After that? Rick Perry spinning weather vane Romney: oops, a whirlwind of insHannity.

- US Olympians worshipping Saint Mitt, He Who Saved the IOC. Next thing we know: Romney will be walking on water (flic, floc, flip, flop). Only on FoxNews: "It doesn't get any more American than that" (Nikki Haley about US Olympians). Eluding taxes in the Cayman Islands maybe?

- Saint Sarah Palin playing the 2008 martyr of unfair attacks by the Democrats. The Palinism of the day? "Reverse discrimination stuff", about these Dems who shamelessly display African-American or Latino speakers during their conventions for electoral purposes (indeed, no decent GOP member would ever consider such an infamy).

- Sean Hannity mentioning "false narrative". Not about the 2012 Republican National Convention, but about the Democratic campaigns unveiling the true Mitt Romney.

- A video of Mitt Romney talking about his dad. "He was immovable". Obviously the quality skipped the next generation. The only moving moment was the testimony of people who were visited by Mitt when they were in despair, but that's only a sign of good marketing know-how from a profesionnal missionary.

- Clint Eastwood tried to make Romney's day, and instead made an embarrassment of himself. His apparition had something reaganesque to it: after all, Clint brought the only star power this dullest convention in ages would ever see. But he struggled with words, remembering only a few good punchlines in an inarticulate and confuse speech. Someone had to remind him to mention Romney. Clint refused, before realizing where he was. He eventually fired "a businessman, a stellar businessman", and "let'im go". Let'im go, really. Someone, have mercy: bring a wheelchair for poor ole Clint. Please.

- After that, we had to watch Marco Rubio deliver his address to a bay of P.I.G.s. Maybe this young man needs to learn that the USA are supposed to be a democracy, not a theocracy. Rubio pitched Romney so poorly the old man reached first base before he even threw the ball. - It was supposed to be his day, and Mitt Romney stretched his apparition to the fullest as well as to the foolest. His handshaking session across the floor was an embarrassing scene where a jimcarreyshy Tin Woodman struggled to make natural contact with actual human beings. This guy's obviously not used to shaking hands without signing a contract right after.

- After robotting his way up the Calvary, Mitt read his prompt with a body language that screamed "get me out of here". Progressively, the carfully crafted script almost brought some humanity, and even actual emotion on this deadpan comedian's face, but he had to deliver at that precise moment his ultraconservative vision of women as mere mothers and housewives. Right there, Mitt lost for good the votes of independent women. Who needs a POTUS stuck in the 1950s with a vision from the XIXth century? Romney's speech was only inspiring to Bain Capital owners. It was so boring I felt like turning off the TV, until I remembered this guy was already completely disconnected.

- In the end, Mitt Romney was rescued by a sea of fellow helium balloons on stage. Paul Ryan threw in a couple of tea bags before both perfect families reunited in the usual final tableau.

Hey, Republicans, sorry to tell you that but this is not a remake of Carter-Reagan, folks: you're in for Obama-Biden vs Bob Dole-Dan Quayle, and for Obama 2012 vs Romney 1812.

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!!

* see "Total Un-Recall: RNC 2012 In Denial, Welcome to Tampa, FL (Fantasy Land)", followed by "Lies, damned lies, and RNCs"

Between balance and Ryan, Romney made his choice

Ever since Bush-Cheney-Rove destroyed the GOP from the inside, the party has lost its compass. And I've said it again, again, and again: if you're Republican, if you love your country, and if you like your party, fix the GOP before causing more damage to both*.

Until that happens, you're doomed, and bound to witness comical suicidal dashes every four years: a somewhat moderatish loser emerges from zooesques Primaries, but to achieve that he has to do things that negate his own self, and ultimately to pick a lunatic that suits the radical flavor of the month.

Four years ago, when theocons were setting the agenda, John McCain had to pay a visit to the infamous Discovery Institute and to select an ayatollah as a running mate to receive the official blessing from his old nemeses Dubya and Rove.

This time, with Tea Partiers the leading cult, Mitt Romney had to euthanize Romneycare, and to put a fiscal taliban on his ticket.

Like Palin, Ryan embodies the negation of America as a republic and as a democracy. Both politicians have a vision of politics that negates the "polis" itself, and ineluctably lead to the destruction of America as an ideal of nation.

Unless the whole country has become crazy, this sick Mitt Romney - Paul Ryan joke simply cannot go all the way to the White House.

Just like I said in 2004, just like I repeated in 2008, this GOP is bound to lose: either the elections, or its very soul.

Wake up.

blogules 2012
Since 2003, nonsensical posts about noncritical issues in nonenglish (get your blogules transfusion in French)
NEW: join blogules on Facebook!!!

* "Grand Old Parting: fix your party before causing more damage to your country"

2004 inverted

Justice !!! Rupert Murdoch the amoral Kingmaker drowning in his own slime, George W. Bush the amoral Chief Torture Officer about to be indicted by Human Rights Watch...

Of course, neither Murdoch nor Dubya are in jail yet (heck, even Alberto Gonzales is walking free !), but the 'winners' of the 2004 elections have definitely moved closer to the 'losers' category. Note that the GOP joined the said category even before those doomed elections*, torn between classic conservatism and a cocktail of theocons + free market ayatollahs willing to destroy the Republic itself...

Of course, the US of A remain in danger of bankrupcy or worse, of a relapse into moral bankrupcy. Of course, UK politics remain under "Dirty Digger"'s spell, David Cameron prolonging Tony Blair as Murdoch's Prime Puppet.

But at long last, some fingers are being pointed to the right direction (and when I write 'right' I don't necessarily mean it literally).

Now France too has significantly evolved since 2004. But certainly not in the right direction (except maybe literally).

Remember France, that longtime US ally crucified for mentioning the risks that Bush's crusade in Iraq might fuel worldwide terror instead of taming it (yeah, France, that good friend of African and Middle Eastern dictators) ? Remember France, that herald of mutual respect denouncing the clash of civilizations imposture (yeah, France, that place where only sportsmen and sportswomen can succeed if their skin is too dark) ? Remember France, that country where Murdoch's Weapons of Mass Disinformation couldn't strike except for a one shot French edition of the Sun making fun of Chirac, or the infamous 'cheese eating surrender monkey' uttered in an episode of the Simpsons (yeah, the less unsung France, that country where medias consider off limits the dirty secrets of their most respected politicians) ?

Well that France is passed on ! This France is no more ! It has ceased to be ! It's expired and gone to meet its maker ! This is a late France ! It's a stiff ! Bereft of life, it rests in peace ! If you hadn't nailed it to the UN Security Council it would be pushing up the daisies ! Its metabolical processes are of interest only to historians ! It's hopped the twig ! It's shuffled off this mortal coil ! It's run down the curtain and joined the choir invisible ! This is an ex-France !

Over the past few years, Nicolas Sarkozy has been dutifully** following Dubya The Perfect Fundamentalist's to do list :
- undermining the republic's safeguards ? check.
- extending the executive power's sphere against all other powers (legislative, media, justice...) ? check.
- pushing for an end to the separation between the state and religion and palling around with Ratzinger ? check.
- widening all national divides, starting with his own party ? check...

And now, Presidential Elections that have Karl Rove's fingerprints all over them.

Well. As far as Dominique Strauss-Kahn is concerned, Sarko's diggers didn't have to venture too deep into the pigsty : DSK knew perfectly that they were coming at him, but apparently the guy is too sick to control his own behavior...

But for Martine Aubry, an Angela Merkel wannabe and now their main target, here's their story : the socialist mayor of Lille would be a lesbian and an alcoholic (I thought they would save that last one for Jean-Louis Borloo, a center-right contender with a solid reputation in that field), and her husband would be a dangerous radical Islamist.

Of course, just like Bush in 2004, Sarkozy decently cannot win the elections in 2012 : that would be an insult to the Republic and a tragedy for the country, and bring absolute shame on French voters.

Well fool me once...

blogules 2011 (see also in French blogules : "Un Novembre 2004 a l'envers")

* see "GOP - Time to split"
** see "Traître à la nation"

GOP meets Poujadism

When Karl Rove says the Tea Party should keep distances from the GOP*, what he actually means is that the GOP should stay away from this political dead end.

But if the Architect knows a few things about winning and losing elections, I don't think he is familiar with French Poujadism, the movement which inevitably comes up to my troubled French mind each time I hear about this laughingstock of a Tea Party.

During the early 1950s, Shop owner Pierre Poujade defied the French tax system and founded a party that surfed on a collapsed political system to claim 400,000 members and more than 50 seats in the National Assembly... where the absence of program of the movement became an embarassment for everyone. Charles de Gaulle's comeback put an end to the doomed IVth Republic, and Poujade's Union de Defense des Commercants et des Artisans left for ever the political centerstage.

Pathetic indeed. But one can worry a bit more about what could happen in a country where a certain Joseph Stack III just crashed his plane on an I.R.S. building in Austin, TX**... Furthermore, among UDCA's law"makers" was Jean-Marie Le Pen, who later founded the extreme right party Front National... I wouldn't be surprised to find this kind of "great democrats" within the Tea Party's dream team.

Hardcore taxophobes are not comfortable with the very concept of a state, and such platforms never bloom in healthy democracies because they are, fundamentally, anti-democracy.

Populism and tax breaks sell well in the short term, but only simple minds stick to it whatever happens. For instance : the same voters who followed G. W. Bush on that path are now mad at Obama because he doesn't know how to reduce Dubya's abyssal deficits with more tax reductions.

Unlike Poujadism, the Tea Party is purely grassroot and lacks a leader. Ron Paul might fit the job, but Sarah Palin proposed to take the helm at the inaugural National Convention in Nashville, TN, reading from her Palm Pilot (actually a low tech model counterfeited by John McCain). Sarah Tea Party Palin... what a match.

We already saw how Palin represented the no-future of the GOP ("Sarah Palin and the Segolene Royal Syndrome - The GOP on the same path as the French Socialist Party"). So a Tea Party Spin Off with Mrs Theocon on board would definitely leave some space for Republicans who actually respect the republic (see "GOP : time to split").

Anyway, instead of following the ones who yell and destroy, GOP leaders would better sit down and think. Even if it means losing the upcoming elections - actually, THAT could come as a blessing : they decently cannot postpone their own reforms any longer.

But Democrats shouldn't rejoice too soon : if the popular success of the Tea Party unmistakably corroborates the ideological collapse of the GOP, it also is a gorilla-sized canary in their own coalmine. And they must prevent the most liberal aisles to stretch beyond the limits of the republic. Obama took the blame and seems to be correcting communication to restore some of the truth : OK, I didn't deliver the goods, but I had a few bads to take care of first.

blogules 2010

* "Where the Tea Parties Should Go From Here" (WSJ 20100219)
** At least, a political crash of the GOP wouldn't cause much damage.

Fair & Balanced Sarah Palin to boost FOX News credibility (and audience gullibility)

Still high on her already cult classic performance at the Warnik's Woodstock, Sarah Palin joined FOX News dream team of political commentators*.

Program schedules : a comprehensive shake-up. Our own Agence Fausse Presse investigators can already bring you exclusive insights into future changes : the former Governor of Alaska may run her own shows on Fox News TV and radio channels, plus specials with each fellow star. That's according to random memos extracted from her most recently hacked email accounts (featuring Yahoo!, gmail, nra.org, and Discovery Institute) :

In duo with Glenn Beck : "for our 'Gore Rogues' routine, imagine his Guantanamo-style slapstick humor plus my pitbull-with-lipstick biting humor ! There will be blood and screams and will Alberto Gonzales be a regular guest ? You betcha ! But we'll try to reach across the aisle whenever possible. I heard Howard Dean made a pretty mean "yeehaw", but we need people with actual hatred in'em. Know what I meanie mean ?"

In duo with Karl Rove : "We'll welcome only people we like in a cosy, Barbara-Cartland-pink studio, and compose actual bouquets for them during the interviews. Dubya already said yes for the pilot and the first fifty episodes devoted to his Bush Legacy. He also promised to help us get the best possible cast to fill the first season of 'Flower Arrangements With Turd Blossom' up to the roof and over the top".

In duo with Bill O'Reilly : "We're gonna reach for Joe Six-Packs. I'll tend the saloon and he'll be our sheriff. 'Brewing Grog : an Irish life' is gonna knock unconscious the odd FOX regulars who have any trace of conscience, or trouble swallowing everything we say or scream. And I'm talking about real people, not about the 3-7% who always give the wrong answers to our live questions - that number is randomly generated by the Afghan polling software FOX got from the CIA."

In duo with Sean Hannity : "Our alternate reality show 'HealthScare : Losing Your S'Hannity' is already a commercial success. We had to auction our top sponsor slots to play fair with all Big Pharma members. Of course, lining up $10M was a pre-existing condition. They just loved the concept of Sean screaming 'you're fired' to patients recently diagnosed with lobstrosities."

In duo with Mike Huckabee : "OMG. I love'em all but I really have a special feeling for this show : "Anti-School With Sarah And Mike" will pump creationism into the most vulnerable minds, and our cute cartoons and puppets will teach'em how not to learn by themselves. In our M.O.U. with Hezbollah TV, we agreed to share some platforms, adapt a few concepts, trade worst practices, and foster exchanges between each other's most cunning writers."

Sarah Palin : "I intend to run my own edition of 'Real Amerikan Stories' doing the things I know best. Like international issues, starting with Russia, Canada, Mexiland, and Chinaware... The audience must see the world as I see it from my own windows, my own cupboards, my own gun racks. Plus of course economitics and all that stuff with Joe The Plumber - who else ? Every week I'll have a special talk show up in Alaska. Outdoors, on ski-doos, just small talk, chit-chat, shoot the moose, that kinda stuff. I expect 'Gun report, you decide' to make quite a bang."


blogules 2010

* "Palin to Join Fox News as Contributor" (Fox News 20100111)

Republican Appointed Judges : John Ashcroft "repugnant to the Constitution"

Message to Mrs BUSH, CHENEY, ROVE, RUMSFELD, GONZALES, ADDINGTON, YOO... : Justice is coming, and even Republican appointed judges are eager to set the record straight.

I didn't forget John Ashcroft in the list : the "soaring Eagle" was the main target yesterday. And according to US 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, former Attorney General is not only not protected by immunity and thus prosecutable (by Abdullah Kidd or any other victim), but very much likely to be sued since what happened under his watch as chief Destructor Of Justice was "repugnant to the Constitution, and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history" :

We are confident that, in light of the experience of the American colonists with the abuses of the British Crown, the Framers of our Constitution would have disapproved of the arrest, detention, and harsh confinement of a United States citizen as a “material witness” under the circumstances, and for the immediate purpose alleged, in al-Kidd’s complaint.
Sadly, however, even now, more than 217 years after the ratification of the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, some confidently assert that the government has the power to arrest and detain or restrict American citizens for months on end, in
sometimes primitive conditions, not because there is evidence that they have committed a crime, but merely because the government wishes to investigate them for possible wrongdoing, or to prevent them from having contact with others in the
outside world. We find this to be repugnant to the Constitution, and a painful reminder of some of the most ignominious chapters of our national history.
(AL-KIDD v. ASHCROFT / "ABDULLAH AL-KIDD, Plaintiff-Appellee vs JOHN ASHCROFT, Defendant-Appellant" - ca9.uscourts.gov 20090904)*

This document also tells us about the debate and dissents within the court (see "gotcha!"), but on the Judicial Richter's Scale, this is not exactly what I would call "word mincing".

Even Eric Holder and Barack Obama were less direct. They are politicians, but they don't have to speak for Justice. Here, Justice spoke, and rather loudly : this is not the crime of the century but a crime unseen for at least two centuries !

Aggravating circumstances : the crime was perpetrated by the very people in charge of promoting justice ! "It is only the misuse of the statute, resulting in the detention of a person without probable cause for purposes of criminal investigation, that is repugnant to the Fourth Amendment."

Actually, torture, Abu Ghraib, illegal abductions, and all other terrible abuses are nothing compared to this ultimate "misuse" / abuse of power.

This abuse of power has a name : TYRANNY. And the judges dared pronounce the word clear and lound : "the Fourth Amendment was written and ratified, in part, to deny the government of our then-new nation such an engine of potential tyranny.".**

I'm glad that these self evidences are eventually out in the open.

Coming from "not-GOP-unfriendly" judges, that's even greater news for democracy in the US.

Behold ! Change is coming !


* See also "Ashcroft can be sued over arrests, appeals court rules" (LA Times 20090905)

Memo : Al-Kidd v. Ashcrof claims :

"Al-Kidd asserts three independent claims against Ashcroft:
- First, he alleges that Ashcroft is responsible for a policy or practice under which the FBI and the DOJ sought material witness orders without sufficient evidence that the witness’s testimony was material to another proceeding, or that it was
impracticable to secure the witness’s testimony—in other words, in violation of the express terms of § 3144 itself—and that al-Kidd was arrested as a result of this policy (the § 3144 Claim).
- Second, al-Kidd alleges that Ashcroft designed and implemented a policy under which the FBI and DOJ would arrest individuals who may have met the facial statutory
requirements of § 3144, but with the ulterior and allegedly unconstitutional purpose of investigating or preemptively detaining them, in violation of the Fourth Amendment (the Fourth Amendment Claim).
- Finally, al-Kidd alleges that Ashcroft designed and implemented policies, or was aware of policies and practices that he failed to correct, under which material witnesses were subjected to unreasonably punitive conditions of confinement, in violation of the Fifth Amendment (the Conditions of Confinement Claim).
Ashcroft argues that he is entitled to absolute prosecutorial immunity as to the § 3144 and Fourth Amendment Claims. He concedes that no absolute immunity attaches with respect to the Conditions of Confinement Claim. He also argues that he is entitled to qualified immunity from liability for all three claims.
The complaint also quotes the public statements of a number of DOJ and White House officials implying or stating outright that suspects were being held under material witness warrants as an alternative means of investigative arrest or preventative
detention. In addition to this direct evidence, the complaint cites a number of press reports describing the detention of numerous Muslim individuals under material witness warrants.
The complaint further alleges that the policies designed and promulgated by Ashcroft have caused individuals to be “impermissibly arrested and detained as material witnesses even though there was no reason to believe it would have been impracticable to secure their testimony voluntarily or by subpoena,” in violation of the terms of § 3144."

** maybe as a compensation for their mention of "abuses of the British Crown", the judges summoned Sir William Blackstone, a British jurist who died in 1780 (between the US Independence and the US Constitution) : "To bereave a man of life, or by violence to confiscate his estate, without accusation or trial, would be so gross and notorious an act of despotism, as must at once convey the alarm of tyranny throughout the whole kingdom. But confinement of the person, by secretly hurrying him to gaol, where his sufferings are unknown or forgotten; is a less public, a less striking, and therefore a more dangerous engine of arbitrary government."

We reject as false the choice between our social security and our ideals

According to Karl Rove*, President Obama would be in "Permanent Campaign". That comes from someone who started campaigning for George W. Bush's 2004 election as soon as he stole the 2000 ballot, and who is still campaigning for his "Bush Legacy", a revisionist's take on one of the darkest periods in US History.

According to Karl Rove, "turning critics into enemies isn't presidential". That comes from a man who had attorneys fired because they were not able to invent proofs against critics of the Bush-Cheney Administration**. Remember those "us vs them" guys ? Were they "Presidential" when they called "axis of weasels" friends who advise you not to invade illegally a country because you may fuel terror worldwide instead of fighting against it ? Were they "Presidential" when they called "un-Americans" patriots who dared point out the possibility that torture, not only performed on innocent people, may not be consistent with American values.

So why is Karl Christian Rove***, a non-presidential individual in Permanent Campaign and turning critics into enemies if I ever saw one, making once again a fool of himself ?

Simply put, this man is scared. Yes, "Turd Blossom" is s..t scared. He knows his long overdue disgrace is coming : he's heading straight to prison, he won't pass go, he won't collect $200, and the few people who would actually like to pay this criminal a visit may turn out to be inmates themselves.

Karl Rove keeps going at "Obama(s)care" because he knows perfectly that once this last major bipartisan effort is over, Eric Holder is free to unleash justice and fix the moral collapse of the Bush-Cheney era.

"Healthscare" is the last throes of Bush-Cheney politics of fear. But this time, the fear is on THEM. And this time, it's not "us vs them" as in "us vs our critics", but "U.S. vs Them" as in "America vs Amerika". This isn't the politics of fear where a corrupt Administration decides who's guilty, but the politics of justice where a sound Administration lets justice do its job independently. Once again, Barack Obama is not pointing the finger at anyone : he is simply showing the direction for Justice ****.

Some think Obama is crazy to tackle health care now, but he doesn't have much choice : it's now or never. You can't mobilize the nation on such a daunting task in the middle of an L or W shaped "recovery". And now, he still needs all aisles of the Congress to work with him.

If you have any doubt about Obama's sense of priorities, just remember the most important words in his inauguration speech ("We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals") and his first decision as a President (closing Guantanamo).

Change is coming, and the most vocal opponents are those who have the most to fear from justice.

This isn't socialism they're fearing but justice.

Justice against torture and fascism.

Justice against criminals who disgraced American values.

Justice against Nazis who parade freely in a land that defeated Nazism*****.

The time as come to restore American values.

So with hope, we reject as false the choice between our social security and our ideals.


* see "Obama and the Permanent Campaign" (WSJ - 20090813)
** see on NYT "E-Mail Reveals Rove’s Key Role in ’06 Dismissals" (NYT - 20090811)
*** don't get fooled by the middle name : Karl is of the medieval, crusade prone variety - not the "peace and love" kind.
**** see "'Insects placed in a confinement box' (Welcome on Waterboard)"
***** I've often denounced hate groups in America, but they keep coming out crazier than ever as they fear for their own relevance in post-racial America. Depicting Obama as Hitler is typical Goebbels-style propaganda from extremists. On the surrealistic recent developments of the US gun gap, you want to read "

Rove v. Pelosi v. Rove v. America

In his latest biweekly piece of revisionism*, Karl Rove pointed his bloody finger at Nancy Pelosi : YOU supported waterboarding and EIT ("Enhanced Interrogation Techniques"). YOU supported what you liberals call 'torture'.

First thing, Karl : whatever Pelosi did or said, waterboarding IS torture. Not 'torture'. And certainly not your edulcorated "EIT".

Second : many Americans (including some Democrats) supported the Patriot Act, the invasion of Iraq, and even voted for George W. Bush in 2004.

Which doesn't mean they were in favor of torture, Abu Ghraib, or that dangerous fundamentalist who wrecked world peace and for whom you used to work for as "The Architect" (or more intimately as "Turd Blossom").

This only shows how powerful was your system of bold lies, wild propaganda, and indecent Weapons of Mass Disinformation. Pelosi was lied to and misled, like all Americans.

But I'm actually glad you raise this issue, Karl.

We are not only about to expose what that infamous administration of yours did, but also the propaganda machine that made it easier to swallow by a people who was supposed to live in a model democracy.

I'm having great fun listening to you giving lectures on torture Karl, but I'm also keeping my eye on the ball. And it's time for you to give some answers to Justice about those attorney firings...


* "Congress and Waterboarding" - Wall Street Journal (20090504)

Lobby Dick Tries To Retire, Fails To Retract

As the newly reformed League of Justice (D.C. Serious Comics) consider putting behind bars the Supervillains who disgraced America over the past 8 years, one of their most abject leaders resurfaces.

Last time we saw The Evil Doctor Cheney, he was pitifully escaping with his master Victor von Dumb in an helicopter. Their lair had just been raided by Captain America, who even humiliated von Dumb in public with his most powerful weapon ; a loud and concise X-ray speech exposing the imposter. The hero then threw this protective shield over the nation : "We reject as false the choice between our safety and our ideals".

It's hard to tell whether von Dumb will ever recover from his wounds. Somewhere deep into the darkest swamps of Amerika, The Rover is probably trying to revive his creature. D.C. Serious Comics declined to comment, but a sequel could be in the making under the title "Amerika Doomed : The Legacy".

We do know for sure the man known as Lobby Dick is still alive. Yesterday, he even rose from his armchair to deliver a "State of the Union with John King" address on CNN.

The Anchorman's hulk of a body was protected by a 8-inch adamantium-reinforced glass table, but for good measure King cast a few spells on The Creepy Veep, using quick hand gestures on his Magic Screen : as some of the Supervillain's most shameless moments were instantly brought back to life, there was no chance anyone in the audience could misinterpret his snarl for a friendly smile.

King first asked Doc Dick what he thought about Captain America's first weeks in power :
- "This League of Justice is dangerous : they are changing the very definitions of democracy, justice, freedom, science... cancelling all the much needed reforms we brought to the dictionnary over the last eight years. Next thing you know, even listening to Rush Limbaugh will be considered cruel and unusual punishment".
- "Well... isn't it already, I mean technically ? And what do you think about the use or abuse of the new superpower called Stimulus ?"
- "You sometimes do need a stimulus to get things going. For instance, when I don't get an answer or when I get an answer that I don't like, electroshocks can prove useful. But this Stimulus is a joke. Let's be clear : this country needs bullets, not bullet trains. Tax cuts for the rich, ax cuts for the poor. And a nationwide pipeline network".
- "... connected with new oil fields in Alaska, I presume ?"
- "Nah... oil should keep circulating on trucks, gas-guzzling trucks doing circles, virtuous circles. This country needs pipelines for water."
- "Pardon me... did I hear "water" ?"
- "You did. Getting water all across the nation is a major challenge for this millenium : we want to democratize waterboarding - no child left behind."
- "But that's insane !"
- "Yeah. Look how poor John McCain lost his bearings... I'm sure he refuses to promote waterboarding because Arizona is too dry."
- "Wasn't it because he was tortured in Vietnam ?"
- "That's a question of vocabulary. There was no CNN at the Hanoi Hilton back then, talk about cruel and unusual punishment..."

King offered the criminal an opportunity to redeem himself : "come on, Doc, now that your ruling days are behind you, now that you have nothing to lose... why not confess that you could have done or said things a better way ?"

Hissing and shrugging, von Dumb's sidekick refused to retract :
- the collapse of the Twin Towers ? "The DemoTeam did it, we tried to save Freddie and Fannie, but this infamous gang deliberately refused to strip them from their most dangerous powers when it was still possible"
- the Deficit ? "yet another creature from the DemoTeam - we found the fingerprints of The Dude all over it. Plus we had to reprint all procedure manuals... and by the way, do you know how much it costs to build a soundproof torture chamber ?"
- the Big Bang ? "We were caught in a global tempest and had to cope with the same crisis as our allies - rumors that the crisis originated from our own labs, our very homes, are bold lies"
- Shock and Awe ? "My only regret : the CIA didn't do their job and provided us with poor intel... but luckily enough, I was there to correct them and forge the case for the invasion of Iraq. Going at a Supervillain was the right thing to do. Everybody is definitely better off now, don't you think ? Iraq has ceased to exist as a united nation, Persia has recovered its Superpower status, new enemies keep popping up from all over the planet... more than ever, this World needs Amerika."

- "And how about The Scoot ?"

The Dark Lord's face turned even more somber as The Anchorman mentioned the case that almost tore the Doc Cheney - von Dumb couple apart in the last throes of their assault on democracy : "Victor and I slightly disagreed on that one, granted. I think it has something to do with my partner's hypocrisy. That's probably the reason why he keeps hiding his true fundamentalist face behind a mask of compassion. But make no mistake : he is as dangerous as I am."

Yoo Got Mail - The Prince's Diary

The USDOJ released on monday confidential OLC memos ¹ confirming what everybody already knew : the Bush administration had rather strange ways of defining such concepts as democracy, freedom, justice, or law. To name a not so happy few.

I'm afraid my title may be perceived as too kind for the infamous psychopath who used to run (and disgrace the very name of) the Office of Legal Counsel at the time when those memos were crafted : John Yoo is neither Niccolò Machiavelli, nor even Karl Rove (at least, The Architect did have some competence, some florentine know-how, and a few neurons to spare).

And John Yoo was not an advisor to "Il Principe" : Lorenzo il Magnifico offered Renaissance to the World. George W. Bush ? A sick Medieval revival.

Indeed, W. seems closer to Girolamo Savonarola than to Lorenzo de' Medici : his glorious "acts of faith" will be remembered as the destructive crimes of a dangerous fundamentalist, the same way "auto de fe" / "auto-da-fé" now echoes Spanish Inquisition delicacies, or bonfires of good books or people.

At least, the Bush Administration did embrace innovation in that field, and not only in the torture section : compared to Yoo's 9 memos, a Library of Alexandria of confidential documents has disappeared in the shredding machine feeding frenzy meant to save Dick Cheney from Justice (see "Justice now").

But change has come to America and guess what ? Justice, the real thing, is back.

Exit Yoo. Exeunt Addington, Ashcroft, Gonzales.

Enter Eric Holder. Enter Dawn Johnsen, and the new OLC boss has a long history of sound statements against the mob that used to rule the nation ².

Other relevent comments ? From Jack Balkin (Yale), who sees in Yoo's memos a "theory of presidential dictatorship". "This was a period of panic, and panic creates an opportunity for patriotic politicians to abuse their power" ³.

I guess "patriotic politicians" abusing their power could pose a problem.

But I know for sure what happens when it's a bunch of "fascist theocons" ⁴.


1 http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/documents/olc-memos.htm
2 "Obama's impressive new OLC chief" (Glenn Greenwald - Salon 20090105)
3 "Bush administration memos on presidential powers stun legal experts" - David G. Savage - LA Times 20090303)
4 see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism" and "Let's Face It They're Fascists" (archives 2004)

Bush's Farewell : Mission Accomplished... as Fundamentalist in Chief

"There is legitimate debate about many of these decisions, but there can be little debate about the results".

Well. The least one could say is that George W. Bush was not very open to debate before nor during these decisions, but I agree with him on this : "there can be little debate about the results". Thanks to him, Muslim, Christian and Jewish fundamantalists are far better off than before 9/11.

Because George W. Bush never acted as a POTUS for the good of his country,
and George W. Bush never even acted as a Republican for the good of his party
George W. Bush always acted as a Fundamentalist for the good of fundamentalism.

So Mission Accomplished, Mr Fundamentalist in Chief.

Now, let History do its job and put "The Bush Legacy" into perspective.

Justice in America, No Democracy in Israel ?

Yesterday, Eric Holder confirmed that waterboarding was torture, and that "Adherence to the rule of law strengthens security by depriving terrorist organizations of their prime recruiting tools". In other words : yes, the Bush-Cheney Administration fueled terrorism by disgracing the very values they were supposed to defend. No wonder Karl Rove wants Holder's head before he get yours, Dubya.

Once again (see "Universal Declaration of Independence from Fundamentalism"), the only way of fighting against terror and fundamentalism is at their roots : poverty, unjustice, and wrongdoings of supposedly model democracies.

Once again (see "The Stolen Election"), America has only gone halfway towards redemption by electing Barack Obama, and will finish the job by bringing actual justice to the people who insulted her. Gonzales must pay, Cheney must pay, Rumsfeld must pay, Bush must pay. Their desperate attempts of rewriting History are bold revisionism (see "The Bush Legacy").

Meanwhile, Israel confirms its wrong choices (cf "Come Feb. 10th, Will Israel Embrace History Or Vote Bush-Cheney 2004 ?") : by banning two Arab parties from upcoming elections, the Government clearly stated its poor consideration of democracy and its will to exclude from the Nation its non-Jewish citizens.

Muslim Israelis (about 16% of the population) were already asking themselves questions : they pay taxes but don't think the money is well spent in the Gaza invasion. Actually, extremists from both sides would love to see them turn into radicals.

At this stage, the Hamas alibi doesn't stand. It's not about Israel v. Hamas but about Israel v. Israel. Like Amerika v. America. Israeli voters are entitled to know where this Government actually wants to go. Keeping digging deeper and deeper as if there were no limits is totally suicidal.

Israel cannot postpone an official declaration about how it defines itself in the XXIst Century, its nature, its values, its political project.

Presented at birth as the State of the Jewish People, this country chose democracy and republic, and Non-Jews represent 20% of its population.

But the 1948 project of Constitution failed because of disagreements between fundamentalists and partisans of secularism, and nothing has really changed ever since.

It's time to stop kidding and play out in the open : does Israel want to become a democracy among peers or a Jewish sidekick to Iran-style Islamic Republics ?

If Israel prefers the latter, it only has to keep insulting fundamental values and rights, refusing international law, and of course giving terrorists "prime recruiting tools" by multiplying illegal exactions and usages of WMDs...

But the USA may not keep using their veto rights to absolve them much longer...

Obama pledged to close Guantanamo et restore Justice and Democracy at home. I sincerely hope he will help democracy in Israel even quicklier.

---
PS: "Six Days Seven Nights" - Jon Stewart on W.'s farewell speech, mistakes, disappointments, and soul sales :

The Daily Show With Jon StewartM - Th 11p / 10c

Six Days Seven Nights

Barack Obama Interview
John McCain Interview

Sarah Palin Video
Funny Election Video

The Bush Legacy

When former French President François Mitterrand died in January 1996, his closest followers started working on his legacy, so that History recalls his great moments (peaking with the abolition of death penalty), and forgets his less glorious ones (where to start : Vichy ? Rwanda ? illegal eavesdropping... ?).

George Walker Bush is not dead yet, but The Bush Legacy project seems to be the priority of an administration in its last throes (nevermind those minor wars and crises). Former eminent members are also taking part, and Ks are welcome. Not necessarily of the triple nor financial kind but yes, Karen Hughes and Karl Rove are doing their shares.

"The Architect" is not only indulging into revisionism but also threatening to reveal, in a book, the names of political figures who never considered Lord Dubya "a legitimate president" : "I'm going to name names and show examples"¹.

"I'm going to name names and show examples". I guess many of us obscure bloggers wish we were political figures instead of pathetical buffoons, just to have the pleasure to receive this supreme honor from a man who, ironically, owes his "Turd Blossom" nickname to the very person of whom, over the past decades, he's been devotedly licking the fleshiest parts other beers cannot reach.

"I'm going to name names and show examples". This sentence is probably the ultimate tribute to the actual Bush Legacy, the most vibrant homage to the darkest moments in the Bush-Cheney era. Amerika decided to show such examples as Guantanamo or Abu Ghraib, and History will need names to go along with these.

History has just started its work on the Bush Legacy, Karl²... And your own name has been named for a legitimate residency in jail, remember ?

I guess Hollywood can milk out of your project something like "The Bourne Again Christian" trilogy : The Bush Legacy = The Fundamentalist Supremacy + The Fascist Identity.

One last time, Bush was successful only as a Fundamentalist in Chief : he never acted as a President for the good of his country, nor even as a Republican for the good of his party, but as a Fundamentalism for the good of fundamentalism. And in that field, he was only one Supreme Justice short of a perfect record.


1 - "Rove planning to 'name names' of Bush haters in his new book" (Amanda Terkel - Think Progress 20081207)

2 - Including from Iran, with love : "Bush: A disgraceful legacy" (Linda S. Heard - Tehran Times 20081207) "You have to admire President George W. Bush, who on January 20 will leave behind him what is arguably the worst U.S. presidential legacy ever. No sleepless nights over a global economy in freefall for him. No conscience haunted by the millions of souls, whose lives have been ruined for ever due to his misadventures in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Big 3's Slim Fast solution

US automotive industry is dead because, in spite of decades of decay, it decided to stick to "US automotive industry" instead of switching to "global mobility services".

Ford being Ford, only GM and Chrysler are openly talking about bankruptcy* in what looks like a slim-fast solution before a merger of equals (obese couch potato dummies lacking a vision for the future) : "just give us some cash, we'll deliver green cars as soon as we can and oh... if you don't mind we'll deliver a few pink slips even sooner".

Flint survivor Michael Moore wants**, like most Americans, the US to put money in sustainable transportation infrastructures, and to pull the plug for dumb, dumber and dumberer, to which I answer "which plug, Mike ? Isn't it time to install one ?"


* see for instance "GM, Chrysler Said to Consider Bankruptcy to Get U.S. Bailout" (Bloomberg 20081204)
** see my e-mail box, in the spam section : "Saving the Big 3 for You and Me ...a message from Michael Moore" (20081203), somewhere between an ad for blue chips (take a blue pill and recover your lost highs on Wall Street) and a message from a desperate whitehousewife ("take my advice, O Great Bama, and please pardon my sins for I don't want to go to jail. Yours Truly, Karl Rove").

Change for Bush ? Thanks, but no thanks, John McCain

Indy John, raider of the lost Arch-rival ?

I'm John McCain and I approved this mess-up.

Obama answers 3 A.M. phony calls

If you think the 2004 campaign was nasty, sit down and watch the rivers of lies pouring down the screens.

I dubbed McCain's campaign manager Steve Schmidt "The Infratect" because he truly is Karl Rove's Mini-me and because McCain won't build anything good if he keeps working with such designers*, but everybody knows his nickname "The Bullet" and his prowess in Weapons of Mass Disinformation.

Schmidt's nasty jabs often strike below the belt, and even when the referee (independent media) cry foul, he keeps on trying new ugly tricks.

No, Obama is not a Muslim. But boy, does he have the Muhammad Ali mojo and punch on that one* :



This man won't let someone who spat on him dictate him what to say and what to do.

This man won't let "some member of his staff get back to you" when you ask him a tricky question.

And yes, this man can take any 3 AM phone call. We now the truly phony ones won't work.

Between 2001 and 2003, with bold lies, they managed to forge a case for a war that costs billions of dollars and hundreds of thousands casualties.

Between 2003 and 2004, with bold lies, they managed to get George W. Bush and Dick Cheney elected in spite of all the evidences likely to get the both of them impeached.

Between 2005 and 2007, with bold lies, they managed to make you believe their strategy was working, but all they did was to build walls of hatred all over the Middle East and even at home.

And now, with bold lies, they are painting Obama as un-American and McCain as un-Bush in order to get an extra 4 years and finish their work of destruction.

As the latest polls show, their bold lies seem to be working once again, but once again the loser will be America.


* Rove and Schmidt are better at destruction, as McCain himself could testify eight years ago. Now this guy is reshaping a Maverick into a carpet.
** CNN footage about the so-called "lipstickgate"

"Change is coming" and Mac "will fight", but for whom and for what ?

What a disgrace for such a great man.

A "Maverick" ?

McCain sold his soul to Bush and other theocons in order to clinch the nomination, and even accepted the humiliation of a Karl Rove sidekick leading his own campaign, 8 years after being thrashed by the same team.

"Change" ?

What do you think McCain had to pledge to these madhatters in order to get their nods ? Over the last few years, he has repeatedly pleaded allegiance to theocons, Intelligent Design advocates and extremists who expect only one thing from him : to put one more ultraconservative justice in the Supreme Court.

George seems to trust John, to be sure he won't take any maverick initiative. And he told it clearly to his fellow fundamentalists at the RNC : "John is a leader who knows that human life is fragile … that human life is precious … that human life must be defended". The message is clear : this guy will destroy Roe vs Wade. And John knows something : his new friends have put a born again ayatollah one heartbeat away from his job... so he'd better enjoy his eighth house quietly, and paint it black without asking too many questions. Sarah Palin is not only a pitbull with lipsync (see her stand-alone gig reading o'reillishly partisan jokes from a prompter), but some kind of "pro-life insurance" for hardcore fundamentalists.

How dare John McCain claim at the same time his independent heritage, the Bush heritage, and the theocon leadership ?

"Change is coming" all right : voting for McCain means voting against America and for Amerika, against democracy and for theocracy. I saw McCain change over the years and I wouldn't like all his fellow Americans to follow the same path.

Will America be fooled once more, or will America wake up on time and declare its independence from theocons ?

Play it again, Uncle Sam ?

So McCain is leading the polls and some people want to make you think the Democratic National Convention will be a failure for Obama ?

What's happening now is pure 2004 Redux : Steve "The Infratect" Schmidt and Co. are using the same strategy as they did when they served "Turd Blossom" and his protege.

The key ? attacking the opponent on his strongest points :

- Kerry was a war hero and Bush-Cheney coward dodgers / AWOL ? Let's swiftboat him and forge a tale to destroy the myth.
- Kerry was denouncing the fallacious, simplistic and pro-war propaganda ? Let's caricature him as a pompous professor and an un-American weasel sold to the French.

Here's today's sales pitch :

- Obama is a young and charismatic leader drawing crowds and McCain a boring white haired dude drawing yawns ? Let's caricature him as a dull celeb pretending to be Moses.
- Obama is the most favored candidate and the most likely to bring together people from all horizons ? Let's tell stories about doubts within his own camp and let's mock at his aura of inevitability.
- Obama tries to restore the values that made America respected by proposing more balanced views on a World that needs to abandon the us-vs-them, black-vs-white Bush rethorics ? Let's laugh at his complex sentences and let's train McCain as a Dubya look-alike down to the monosyllabic brawl.

I'm sick and tired of repeating the same mantra for over 5 years but damnit, it's high time to wake up, America. It's time to turn your back to those who want to destroy your country, to get rid of the Bushes, Cheneys and Roves (and of the pityful me-too nobody who used to be John McCain), and to vote for the good of your country, and for the good of the world.

Yes, you can and yes, you should vote Obama.

Riding The Bullet

"Where Have You Gone, John ?"

Good question and excellent answers by Jonathan Atler*.

McCain 2008 is definitely becoming a caricature of Bush 2004, and doesn't have much left in common with McCain 2000.

Already swiftboated in muddy waters by 527 Groups**, Barack Obama is now being parishiltoned by John's own Nightmare Team of campaigners, headed by The Bullet himself, Steve Schmidt, the ant behind The Architect in Karl Rove's masterpiece : George W. Bush 2004 election (remember ? Dubya lost in 2000 but Jeb won Florida for him).

How low can it go indeed ? Back in 2003, The Dixie Chicks would clearly denounce Bush's invasion of Iraq. Five years later, Paris Hilton is actually campaigning for John McCain. No wonder : compared to Nathalie Maines, this perfab rehab celeb has the IQ of a fencepost. Ever the superficial caricature of herself, she is not criticizing the Republican candidate for his program or character but for his age, the only field where she can outscore him (Mac also underwent cosmetic surgery, but for serious reasons - and no, I never considered dumbness a sexy attribute).

The air is almost getting fouler in pre-election America than in pre-olympic Beijing. Yet, even under this blanket of slime and mud, a serious debate seems to be emerging on energy issues. Obama knows the quickest way to curb emissions is to change behaviors, and McCain knows nuclear power should remain a major option.

Even nowadays, after the World's leader in percentage of electricity generated by nuclear plants disclosed series of embarassing incidents involving its beloved plants.

After all, there's been some improvement since 2004 : if France is still not really helping the GOP champion, at least Paris joined the Party.



* see his latest column (Newsweek 20080811) - and my previous blogules on this tragic Mac Drive : "The McCainistan War" (20080718), and "Values Question Marks" (20080512)
** see "The Case Against Barack Obama ? More propaganda from mud loving PIGs" (20080703)

Obama-Pelosi vs Operation Chaos

Rush Limbaugh delivered Indiana to the Clinton camp just like he did for Texas*.

I told you Hillary would either win ugly or lose uglier, but mercifully this time may be the end of this sick race were Hillary outroved bad cop Karl and Barack outkerried good cop John.

I hope Superdelegates will flock in tomorrow and end this mess. I've been longing for the Obama-Pelosi ticket for too long.

And I hope Billary will have the decency to give up before May the 31st their claim for delegates from Florida and Michigan (their campaign team actually did vote for the 2025 mark before they voted against it and started mentioning a 2029 "magic number").


* see "Les conservateurs poussent Clinton" (20080317)