Time to hatchet the Burris ?
So Roland Burris lied. He did have a chat with Rod Blagojevich's brother regarding Obama's seat in the US Senate.
Big deal.
As if anyone doubted there was anything fishy. Democrats badly needed someone ASAP to vote for the bailout-recovery-stimulus-hail-mary Obama plan, and they couldn't wait for impeachment. So be it.
This plan by no means perfect. Bullet trains make sense in California, but the LA-LV axis doesn't seem an environmental priority... unless you go all the way to Denver, Saint Louis and Chicago, that is (not to say hello to Burris, but to pave the way for a major nationwide network).
But even if it only manages to succeed halfway, this plan will have been worth it. Provided the political will to change remains strong ; I do hope the lack of details was only a trick to pass the bill quickly, and that the Obama Administration will seize the opportunity to set the pace for a new global framework, a more balanced order (see "This is not a financial crisis").
The Burris incident proves that change has not totally come to DC (not to mention Chicago). But when Politico's Arena raises the question : "Should the Constitution require elections to fill Senate vacancies?", I'm not sure that's the kind of changes needed.
French politics are president-driven. "Dissolving" the national assembly is a national pastime, and reducing the Presidential mandate from 7 to 5 years (same as a MP) undermined the balance between the executive and legislative powers. Chirac should have either picked 6 years or reducing national assembly cycles to 4 years.
American politics are calendar-driven. You do elect Vice-Presidents but not Vice Senators, and that's OK, untill you get a Governor with one Vice too many.
US politics have their flaws, but the priority seems to make sure federal elections are fair. One nation, one president, one process. And not one of the 305,833,705 members of the US population (05:16 GMT (EST+5) Feb 17, 2009) left behind*.
* BTW : I don't like the idea of Rahm Emanuel's Executive Office of the President controlling the US Census Bureau, but it didn't certainly belong to the Commerce Department in the first place. I would put it in the OMB (Office of Management and Budget).
Showing posts with label Washington. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Washington. Show all posts
20070712
Take me to the Moon, Daddy
George H. W. Bush will deliver a speech at the 25th anniversary party launched for The Washington Times by its owner, Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
The Washington Times is a lousy media losing a lot of money every year, but owning a newspaper in DC is more about influence than edition.
Herbie and Barbie already attended other anniversaries, of the birthday of the very sect leader, for instance. The thing is Moon is good at wedding people by batch, and 41 is good at faciliting meetings between bad and worse guys.
Moon Sun-myung for Senior and Billy Graham for Junior - the religion of money-making runs in the family blood.
The Washington Times is a lousy media losing a lot of money every year, but owning a newspaper in DC is more about influence than edition.
Herbie and Barbie already attended other anniversaries, of the birthday of the very sect leader, for instance. The thing is Moon is good at wedding people by batch, and 41 is good at faciliting meetings between bad and worse guys.
Moon Sun-myung for Senior and Billy Graham for Junior - the religion of money-making runs in the family blood.
20070315
"Kurdistan, the other Iraq"... or "Kurdistan, the other other Vietnam" ?
Iraq's Kurdistan region opened, through the Kurdistan Development Corporation, a lobbying office in Washington, DC*. Headed by Qubad al-Talabani, son of Jalal Talabani, the President of Iraq as a whole (a black hole some may say), this unit officially promotes investments and tourism in the region. Autonomy and independance could be part of the discussions.
I do feel some sympathy for Kurds in general and I do wish them a peaceful future. Yet, I'm not so sure this is the way everybody wants it and even if Talabani were honest, other players would join the lobbying frenzy.
I remember the intense Iraqi lobbying between the two wars. Who could forget Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress ? Among the different approaches for the liberation of Iraq, US theocons deliberately favored the factions that were bound to cause maximum damage. The parting of Iraq and the strengthening of fundamentalists across the region (especially and Iran and Israel) was not only expected but planned from the start.
If I were a US fundamentalist, I surely wouldn't want a democratic and peaceful Kurdistan to emerge in the dead middle of my playground.
A failed proof of concept Kurdistan could not only strengthen radicals in Iran but also infuriate and exacerbate fundamentalists in Turkey. To the contrary, I would seize the opportunity to bring chaos in this relatively protected part of the country, and to exacerbate radicalism everywhere. I would especially infuriate Turkish nationalists and fundamentalists, because as anybody can see these days, the radicalization of Turkey is key to the revival of Christian fundamentalism in Europe.
Don't mistake this initiative as an attempt to put a lock on Kirkuk oil fields : the aim of the game is to get rid of secularism in Turkey.
* see CMD's "The "Other Iraq" Opens a DC Lobbying Office" (20070302)
I do feel some sympathy for Kurds in general and I do wish them a peaceful future. Yet, I'm not so sure this is the way everybody wants it and even if Talabani were honest, other players would join the lobbying frenzy.
I remember the intense Iraqi lobbying between the two wars. Who could forget Ahmed Chalabi and his Iraqi National Congress ? Among the different approaches for the liberation of Iraq, US theocons deliberately favored the factions that were bound to cause maximum damage. The parting of Iraq and the strengthening of fundamentalists across the region (especially and Iran and Israel) was not only expected but planned from the start.
If I were a US fundamentalist, I surely wouldn't want a democratic and peaceful Kurdistan to emerge in the dead middle of my playground.
A failed proof of concept Kurdistan could not only strengthen radicals in Iran but also infuriate and exacerbate fundamentalists in Turkey. To the contrary, I would seize the opportunity to bring chaos in this relatively protected part of the country, and to exacerbate radicalism everywhere. I would especially infuriate Turkish nationalists and fundamentalists, because as anybody can see these days, the radicalization of Turkey is key to the revival of Christian fundamentalism in Europe.
Don't mistake this initiative as an attempt to put a lock on Kirkuk oil fields : the aim of the game is to get rid of secularism in Turkey.
* see CMD's "The "Other Iraq" Opens a DC Lobbying Office" (20070302)
20070307
There is a cloud over the Vice President - Red blogule to criminal liars
As prosecutor Patrick J. Fitzgerald put it, “There is a cloud over the vice president".
A cloud all right. I can even read the tags : abuse of power, treason, lies, lies, lies.
I. Lewis Libby Jr, aka Scooter Libby, lied.
The Vice President lied.
The President lied.
Thousands of US troups and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died.
More are dying everyday than in the 7/7 London bombings.
Terrorists, absent from Iraq before the US invasion, are now learning their skills and kills in this huge training camp. Abductions, beheadings, chemical attacks... you name it. Coming soon to a theatre near you.
As Scott Reed put it, "The trial has been death by 1,000 cuts for Cheney".
But not for this guy, I'm afraid : from the Nam to Bagram*, this Washington Dodger has a thing for avoiding combat and letting other people catch the bullets.
* see "Red blogule to intel kept inside - Cheney caused 23 more deaths" (20070301)
A cloud all right. I can even read the tags : abuse of power, treason, lies, lies, lies.
I. Lewis Libby Jr, aka Scooter Libby, lied.
The Vice President lied.
The President lied.
Thousands of US troups and hundreds of thousands of Iraqi civilians died.
More are dying everyday than in the 7/7 London bombings.
Terrorists, absent from Iraq before the US invasion, are now learning their skills and kills in this huge training camp. Abductions, beheadings, chemical attacks... you name it. Coming soon to a theatre near you.
As Scott Reed put it, "The trial has been death by 1,000 cuts for Cheney".
But not for this guy, I'm afraid : from the Nam to Bagram*, this Washington Dodger has a thing for avoiding combat and letting other people catch the bullets.
* see "Red blogule to intel kept inside - Cheney caused 23 more deaths" (20070301)
20061019
Red blogule to the President who "saves American lives"
President Bush proudly signed the death certificate of Habeas Corpus over a "Protecting Amerika" billboard Joseph Goebbels would have been proud of.
Dubya even dared add this was "a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill he knows will save American lives".
Tell that to the relatives of the 2,783 Americans "saved" from life in Iraq (3,020 overall for what's left of the pretended coalition, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count*). Not to mention non-lethal US casualties (somewhere between 30 and 50,000) and of course the 43,937 to 48,783 Iraqis civilians killed because of the US invasion**. So far.
The fact is Bush has never had any occasion of actually saving American lives. Beyond his own, that is, for instance during the Vietnam War as an outfielder Washington Dodger.
I'll tell you what Dubya : not only American lives are not saved, America's soul his being repeatedly tortured and raped by your abject Administration.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't know if I should visit the US again. I love the country but I don't feel secure under a fascist regime where anyone can be abducted anytime anywhere, deprived from any justice, tortured, and even supersized (in Amerika, even Guantanamo residents are overfed with junk food).
* see Icasualties.org.
** see IraqBodyCount.net. President Bush declared The Lancet "not credible" when it announced over 650,000 Iraqi deaths, but The Lancet already was "not credible" for supporting science over creationism, intelligent design and other revisionist theories.
Dubya even dared add this was "a rare occasion when a president can sign a bill he knows will save American lives".
Tell that to the relatives of the 2,783 Americans "saved" from life in Iraq (3,020 overall for what's left of the pretended coalition, according to Iraq Coalition Casualty Count*). Not to mention non-lethal US casualties (somewhere between 30 and 50,000) and of course the 43,937 to 48,783 Iraqis civilians killed because of the US invasion**. So far.
The fact is Bush has never had any occasion of actually saving American lives. Beyond his own, that is, for instance during the Vietnam War as an outfielder Washington Dodger.
I'll tell you what Dubya : not only American lives are not saved, America's soul his being repeatedly tortured and raped by your abject Administration.
As far as I'm concerned, I don't know if I should visit the US again. I love the country but I don't feel secure under a fascist regime where anyone can be abducted anytime anywhere, deprived from any justice, tortured, and even supersized (in Amerika, even Guantanamo residents are overfed with junk food).
* see Icasualties.org.
** see IraqBodyCount.net. President Bush declared The Lancet "not credible" when it announced over 650,000 Iraqi deaths, but The Lancet already was "not credible" for supporting science over creationism, intelligent design and other revisionist theories.
20051221
White blogule to unconstitutional ID and illegal eavesdropping
In Seattle, WA, the Discovery Institute receives $9.5M from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That's a charity supposed to eradicate evil bugs from all children of the world. I mean the B&MGF, not the Discovery Institute, a known promoter of Intelligent Design.
In New York, NY, Fox intelligently designs new films fit for the fundamentalist audiences (FoxFaith.com). Next time, they won't let Mel Gibson take all the risks on his own (nor grab all the benefits).
In Washington, DC, President George W. Bush, still waging his intelligently designed war in Iraq,maintains illegal eavesdropping is not only legally but morally OK.
In Dover, PA, U.S. District Judge John Jones rules Intelligent Design teaching illegal. At last, somebody is waking up this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
In New York, NY, Fox intelligently designs new films fit for the fundamentalist audiences (FoxFaith.com). Next time, they won't let Mel Gibson take all the risks on his own (nor grab all the benefits).
In Washington, DC, President George W. Bush, still waging his intelligently designed war in Iraq,maintains illegal eavesdropping is not only legally but morally OK.
In Dover, PA, U.S. District Judge John Jones rules Intelligent Design teaching illegal. At last, somebody is waking up this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
20051117
White blogule to Bob Woodward - Blowing another fuse
Going for another impeachment ? With an exquisite sense of timing, Bob Woodward revealed I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby wasn't his Plame-Wilson deep throat. The Bush Administration may have to blow another fuse and look for another scapegoat.
They easily replaced Scooter with another hawk : the only specie to avoid the laws of evolution does breed by entire flocks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, USA (watch out : herd flu hazards). David Addington is already at work to please his masters Lobby Dick and King Dubya, revising the U.S. Army Field Manual in order to allow torture and escape such un-american and un-patriotic documents as the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture or the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.
If he were to chose, W could pick Rummy instead of Dick or even Alberto. He would then please a great part of the Army and even find an alibi to change strategies in Iraq, "his" Rep majority pushing harder than ever for a clear withdrawal agenda before 2006 elections.
They easily replaced Scooter with another hawk : the only specie to avoid the laws of evolution does breed by entire flocks at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington DC, USA (watch out : herd flu hazards). David Addington is already at work to please his masters Lobby Dick and King Dubya, revising the U.S. Army Field Manual in order to allow torture and escape such un-american and un-patriotic documents as the Geneva Convention, the UN Convention Against Torture or the Universal Declaration Of Human Rights.
If he were to chose, W could pick Rummy instead of Dick or even Alberto. He would then please a great part of the Army and even find an alibi to change strategies in Iraq, "his" Rep majority pushing harder than ever for a clear withdrawal agenda before 2006 elections.
20050919
White blogule to South Korea's diplomacy
It ain't over till it's over but at least North Korea declared they would cease their nuclear weapon program. The US envoy, former Ambassador to Seoul Christopher Hill, eventually accepted South Korea's proposal : light water is better than heavy fuel.
The Seoul-Beijing team defeated the Washington-Tokyo axis. Beyond nationalities, doves won over hawks in a most crucial part of the world.
Let's see what Karen Hughes can spin out of this new insult to the Bush doctrine.
Furthermore, let's see how far Seoul can go : pleasing Pyongyang was an easy job, tackling the human rights issue a much tougher challenge.
The Seoul-Beijing team defeated the Washington-Tokyo axis. Beyond nationalities, doves won over hawks in a most crucial part of the world.
Let's see what Karen Hughes can spin out of this new insult to the Bush doctrine.
Furthermore, let's see how far Seoul can go : pleasing Pyongyang was an easy job, tackling the human rights issue a much tougher challenge.
20050327
Red blogule to the "Bush doctrine"
The big question nowadays is : was Bush right ? Is the man responsible for democracy's tidal wave in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Kyrgyzstan...?
The answer is yes, the US did play a major role, but not the way they dreamed it.
Washington did invest in the opposition in former soviet republics, and keeps laying greenbacks over Iraq (even watering them with the blood of honorable marines and local citizens, but I'm not sure it will help them grow). But the US also made their point in revealing their own weaknesses : here is an allmighty warlord getting humiliated, losing face (faith ?), uniting the international community against this negation of respect. Bush even managed to pass for the bad boy while fighting Bin Laden and Saddam. This man did everything he could to crush the Palestinian side during his first mandate. And when his top aides dare say about Lebanon elections cannot be considered democratical when held in an occupied country, how do you think Iraqis should take it ?
The world knows well the US are not likely to repeat their Iraqi failure that soon, that their military forces are far too stretched to allow one more "shock & awe" mission right now. The world knows the US are no more the center of the world, the only economical superpower. The world knows the US are weaker than ever.
But the world knows the world is watching. Not necessarily with enough strength to avoid the abuses of a Bush or a Putin, but with enough intensity to make it count.
The answer is yes, the US did play a major role, but not the way they dreamed it.
Washington did invest in the opposition in former soviet republics, and keeps laying greenbacks over Iraq (even watering them with the blood of honorable marines and local citizens, but I'm not sure it will help them grow). But the US also made their point in revealing their own weaknesses : here is an allmighty warlord getting humiliated, losing face (faith ?), uniting the international community against this negation of respect. Bush even managed to pass for the bad boy while fighting Bin Laden and Saddam. This man did everything he could to crush the Palestinian side during his first mandate. And when his top aides dare say about Lebanon elections cannot be considered democratical when held in an occupied country, how do you think Iraqis should take it ?
The world knows well the US are not likely to repeat their Iraqi failure that soon, that their military forces are far too stretched to allow one more "shock & awe" mission right now. The world knows the US are no more the center of the world, the only economical superpower. The world knows the US are weaker than ever.
But the world knows the world is watching. Not necessarily with enough strength to avoid the abuses of a Bush or a Putin, but with enough intensity to make it count.
20050113
Red blogule to propaganda - How much for a journalist ?
How to tell the difference of wealth between an American and an Iraqi ? The price of a Big Mac ? You'd better check the value of the journalist in the commodities section :
. in DC and in the heat of the Presidential campaign, the Bush administration paid columnist Armstrong Williams $240,000 to have him praise the successes of educational reforms on the TV
. in Baghdad and in the heat of the campaign, Allawi offered $100 to all journalists showing up at a campaign press conference (read FT's Allawi group slips cash to reporters)
A 2,400:1 ratio ??? Keep working on it if you want to catch up with your model democracy, King Dubya's banana republic of the divided states of america. Stephane MOT
. in DC and in the heat of the Presidential campaign, the Bush administration paid columnist Armstrong Williams $240,000 to have him praise the successes of educational reforms on the TV
. in Baghdad and in the heat of the campaign, Allawi offered $100 to all journalists showing up at a campaign press conference (read FT's Allawi group slips cash to reporters)
A 2,400:1 ratio ??? Keep working on it if you want to catch up with your model democracy, King Dubya's banana republic of the divided states of america. Stephane MOT
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