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)

The Vladubyan summit : who gives a Heiligendamm ?

Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush are great democrats.
Vlad will have a puppet elected next year, change the constitution, and keep His seat warm till He returns as a perennial czar. Pharaoh may then rename the planets after Himself, ressuscite Gandhi to have a serious discussion with Himself, and shoot some journalists.
Dubya managed to get a nod from the Congress for his errands in Baghdad. Now pumped up to the max, Our Dear Compassionate Leader feels like spreading democracy in Iran (flame throwers, napalm, torture, pick your weapon).
God forbid, Persians won't have to wait for another earthquake to have Bam and other national treasures flattened to the ground. Fundamentalists are great and Bush is their prophet.
Vladimir Putin and George W. Bush are great environmentalists.
This G8 was supposed to tackle such issues as global warming or hedge funds ? Both leaders decided to change the agenda thanks to a clear and immediate threat of nuclear war. Ennemies come in handy when you are cornered by tricky questions...
Both XXth Century superpowers act as if nothing happened after the Cold War. The problem is they are not dictating the world's agenda anymore. Both Vlad and Dubya are mere dictators over their own countries, period.

Red blogule to Condi Rice - is war "worth the investment" ?

Each war has its purpose and the War in Iraq was sold as a war on terror. It proved to be a war in favor of it... and sold through bold lies.

Democracy ? Bush replaced a cruel dictatorship with an even more lethal chaos. Not to mention such collateral damages as the failure in Afghanistan, or the repeated insults to America's values.

I do hope democracy will prevail in Iraq but it will cost much more in time, money and lives than through the constructive ways of the international community, also crushed by this excuse for an Administration.

Let us consider the "investment" in American lives and dollars mentioned by USA's top "diplomat" (and not consider the losses in Iraqi lives, which Condoleeza Rice must consider yet another "wonderful opportunity") : "I don't think it's a matter of money - along the way there have been plenty of markers that show that this is a country that is worth the investment, because once it emerges as a country, that is a stabilizing factor you will have a very different kind of Middle East".

We'll have a very different kind of Middle East, all right. For a start, Iraq will not emerge as a country (as it used to do) but as several countries. Iran will emerge as the dominant player in the region, which could be considered "a stabilizing factor"... but for the nerves of some neocons / theocons.

Fundamentalism will emerge in Israel, Palestine and Turkey, new herds of terrorists will emerge in Jordan. As planned from the start, Christian fundamentalism will strengthen its base in the US and overseas.

I've been telling the same for years on these pages, Condi : this war in Iraq was definitely worth the investment for the fundamentalists who sold it to such a gullible audience.

Red blogule to W's preemptive counterstrikes

"43" said he was open to a debate over Iraq... provided it only did "bring credit to our democracy, not comfort to our adversaries".
So only he has a right to wage a dirty war at home, using all the illegal tools one dictator could dream of. And he denies politicians as well as medias the right to investigate, to use such terms as illegal eavesdroppings, abduction, torture or all of the above ?
This isn't what I call an open debate. Nor even a debate, for that matter. Actually, it rather looks like the denial of a genuine debate, the refusal to confront democracy, and once again, a shame for America.
I don't think history will "bring credit" to Dubya's democracy*. And I do think democracy's adversaries find a lot of "comfort" in seeing Amerika turn its back to its own values.


* Mercifully enough, Iraq will eventually move towards democracy. But this far, all major steps have been reached thanks to a lack of Bush doctrine : the UN made the first elections possible and the talks with insurgents are the only way of kicking Al Qaeda out of the country (yeah, those very foreign terrorists who came in after the US invasion).

White blogule to Katrina and Cindy

Katrina succeded where Cindy failed : in shortening Dubya's holiday and exposing the scandalous sun tan of a man who rested 20% of his time the first five years of his reign. Since the man sleeps 10 hours a day, W's been active less than 40% of his mandate. Let's consider ourselves happy : what if he'd done 2,5 times as much damage !
A natural catastrophy is all it takes to make dictators look more human and popular - ask Fidel : talking for hours about the weather is far easier than delivering a few words about failing policies - not to mention the most stupid war of our time. Today, Our Dear Compassionate Leader won't need Hurricane Jeb on his side : he will shine on his own, walk on the water like his favorite philosopher, try to surf on the 27 feet wave that devastated the cherished South of this New England brat pretending to be a Texas hunk.

Red blogules to hypocrisy - what Bush doctrine ?

North Korea back to the 6 party talks ? Thank the very official US-NK meeting, a total renouncement to the Bush dogma : we don't talk to dictators (er... make that "this kind of dictators").
Iran and Irak restoring diplomatic links ? Thank the US-backed Iraqi government for initiating a meeting the US wouldn't want to be known as the actual initiator.
$500M for Iraq from the World Bank ? Thank the same US-backed Iraqi government for asking a favor which had been denied to the country since 1973. Thank also Paul Wolfowitz for making a priority of what we expected from him (outsourcing the US deficit created by the Iraqi quagmire) instead of what he said he would do (fighting against poverty in Africa).
The World is better when the US don't follow the Bush doctrine.
And the World would definitely be even a better place if the US didn't follow it in the first place.

White blogule to Park Chu-Young - take me to the ball, Park

As expected, Park Chu-Young and Park Ji-Sung led the Korean national soccer team to a qualification for the World Cup 2006. They even outscored another mediatic Park couple ; the former dictator Park Chung-Hee (strongly criticized in recently released books and movies) and his daughter Park Geun-Hye (now the successful ruler of the Grand National Party).
I wish Korean politicians were shining as brilliantly as the country's soccer players. Roh Moo-Hyun seems a fairly smart guy but he's been wasting opportunities with the same dedication as Jacques Chirac (whatever happened to the momentum following last year's failed impeachment / coup ?). Lee Myung-Bak, Seoul's Mayor and a former presidential favorite, is drowning in corruption scandals around his much acclaimed Cheonggyecheon project. The rest of the league looks like pre-Koizumi Japan's snake nest : conservative SIG representatives with dark blue suits.
Park Chu-Young will be 20 for Germany 2006, Park Ji-Sung was 21 during Korea-Japan 2002.
Bring us fresh blood in politics and, in order to motivate new candidates, get rid of this one-term-limit. The times of dictatorship are over in Korea. Let the new wave rule !

White blogule to impeachment

At last, someone like Carter dares demanding an end to the Guantanamo scandal and Amnesty International dares mentioning USA's network of legal-free but torture-laden prisons as a global gulag archipelago. Every day, the Bush Administration immorality makes the news and Clinton's Oral Offices performances sound relatively harmless compared to the deliberate use of propaganda and falsification (ie the recent NYT paper on the politically alteration of scientific reports on global warming by Philip Cooney, Mr Environment at the White House - yeah, I know it sounds weird but consider there ARE more than a couple of guys in charge of economy in the French government)...

Here is the closest thing to a dictator Amerika ever had, the biggest insult to the spirit of the US constitution, an almost farcical caricature of what a ruler shouldn't be. A notorious dodger, cheater and lyar. Unlike Nixon, Bush didn't have the other party's quarters taped, but he manipulated the total mediasphere of his country and people died for the wrong reasons.

Yet, no one ever mention impeachment.

What is wrong with the people of America ? What is wrong with the people of France ? What is wrong with democracy ?

Red blogule to the Department Of Justice - "Preserving life and liberty" or Propaganda 101

The Department Of Justice proposes a justification to the Patriot Act on its "Preserving life and liberty" website (http://www.lifeandliberty.gov), with a special focus on "dispelling the myths" because this is about providing truth to those who dare objecting to the Propaganda and refusing "the pursuit of Happiness" (ignorance).
Note the site's title : this Administration sure knows how to preserve liberty (at the cost of thousands of lives, the apology of torture and the negation of justice), and it just proved it knew how to preserve life (theotherapeutical harassment for Terri Shiavo, not one finger lifted for Columbine II).
Right under the title lies a quote from the Declaration of Independence : "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted..." And that's it. They don't go any further. "Governments are instituted" in this context means this is the right, self-evident unalienable and secure body which shall do the job. Yet, I'll complete the quote, just for the education of the masses (not for fun, alas) : "... among Men, deriving their JUST POWERS from the CONSENT OF THE GOVERNED, that WHENEVER ANY FORM OF GOVERNMENT BECOMES DESTRUCTIVE OF THESE ENDS, IT IS THE RIGHT OF THE PEOPLE TO ALTER OR TO ABOLISH IT, AND TO INSTITUTE NEW GOVERNMENT." This site is definitely a masterpiece in editing for the sake of Propaganda...
Their justifications are very clear : the Patriot act...
... "Allows law enforcement to use surveillance against more crimes of terror" ("courts could permit law enforcement to conduct electronic surveillance to investigate many ordinary, non-terrorism crimes"... translation : we decide who is a terrorist)
... "Allows federal agents to follow sophisticated terrorists trained to evade detection" (translation : federal agents can act as terrorists, kidnap anyone anywhere anytime and evade the detection of human right groups)
... "Allows law enforcement to conduct investigations without tipping off terrorists" (translation : get rid of all safeguards to democracy. tipping off journalists is just as dangerous as tipping off terrorists so lets get rid ov'em too)
..."Allows federal agents to ask a court for an order to obtain business records in national security terrorism cases" (strange : they care about legality only when corporate money is involved)
... "Enhanced the inadequate maximum penalties for various crimes likely to be committed by terrorists" (translation : illegal detention without any proof, torture or death for the luckiest. shall we consider "likely to be" as "not committed yet but with such a profile it's just as well" ?)
... "Enhanced a number of conspiracy penalties" ("conspiracy" as in "I wish Bush weren't reelected" ? "penalties" as in "torture" ?)
The propaganda goes on with the "support of the people" section where polls justify the Patriot Act :
=> These two questions were asked by USA Today/CNN/Gallup poll on August 29, 2003, at a time when the heat was not at its peak on the Patriot Act : "Do you think the Bush administration has gone too far, has been about right, or has not gone far enough in restricting people's civil liberties in order to fight terrorism?" and "Based on what you have read or heard, do you think the Patriot Act goes too far, is about right, or does not go far enough in restricting people's civil liberties in order to fight terrorism?".
=> These two questions were asked even earlier (July 31, 2003) by a very trustable propaganda tool (Fox News/Opinion Dynamics) : "After the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Congress passed the Patriot Act which, in part, gives federal officials wider authority to use wiretaps and other surveillance techniques. Some people say the Patriot Act is a necessary and effective tool in preventing terrorist attacks, while others say the act goes too far and could violate the civil liberties of average Americans. Which comes closer to your view - overall, would you say the Patriot Act is a good thing for America or a bad thing for America?" and "To the best of your knowledge have you or a member of your family had your civil rights affected by the Patriot Act?"
Now moving on to the "stories and articles" section : the first quote is an editorial from a very conservative magazine, National Review and the rest is a selection you would expect from a political brochure but not from a Government's official site.
This is a textbook example of a dictatorship justifying itself. Stephane MOT on a forum

Discussion (following "the invasion of the buddy snatchers")

(answering the question : how about the word "tyranny" ?) In very deed, "Tyranny" is their new flavor for 2005... seems like the "Weapons of Mass Destruction" series don't sell anymore. "T-Rex vs Godzilla" ? Now that would be a winner ! Don't you think "Godzilla" sounds like "God Zealot" ? A quick look at some definitions of "tyranny" :

• Wikipedia : "a tyrant (from Greek τυραννος) is a usurper of rightful power, possessing absolute power and ruling by tyranny. In the original Greek meaning "tyrant" carried no ethical censure, a tyrant was anyone who overturned the established government of a city-state, usually through the use of popular support, to establish himself as dictator, or the heir of such a person."
• Merriam-Webster : "Etymology: Middle English tyrannie, from Middle French, from Medieval Latin tyrannia, from Latin tyrannus tyrant1 : oppressive power ; especially : oppressive power exerted by government 2 a : a government in which absolute power is vested in a single ruler; especially : one characteristic of an ancient Greek city-state b : the office, authority, and administration of a tyrant3 : a rigorous condition imposed by some outside agency or force 4 : a tyrannical act

"Usurper" ? "absolute power" ? "no ethical censure" ? "popular support" ? "heir" ? "single ruler" ? "outside agency" ?... looks like tyranny could be summed up by "George W Bush". Stephane MOT on a forum

Red blogule to the Rotten Globe Awards - Invasion of the buddy snatchers

Hard to tell which flick will win the Terror movie category among this year's Rotten Globe Awards nominees :

• "The invasion of the buddy snatchers" : a remake of Romero's masterpiece directed by Karl "The Architect" Rove, "The invasion" turns Joe Sixpack into a zombie voting machine unable to utter any word but "freedom" or "terror", contaminating friends & neighbors across the county ("you're against Him ? You're not one of us").
• "Lara Whitchcraft" : in this sick parody of America's Funniest Home Videos, GI Jane becomes a shameless torturer. X rated. Explicit material and language. A tremendous success for director Gonzales - even the boldest piracy won't deter much awaited sequels.
• "Shock & Awe" : and you thought Godzilla was the only towering menace to civilization ? The trillion dollar deficit is back, baby : angry and hungry.
• "Donald's wonderful adventure" : thanks to a powerful lobbying, Disney's creatures won't fall into the public domain anytime soon. But Rummy is very much likely to fall back into the private sector after january the 30th (ballot in Iraq ? pentagone out of track). Money, power, greed, handshakes with dictators... expect the most gruesome moments of animated movie.
• "The exorcist - reloaded" : brother Jeb is plagued with floods and hurricanes, father Herb's running out of stamina but Saint George has the power to defeat the dragon once again with a double barrel tommy gun. Mel Gibson's brilliant (err... make that "enthusiastic" instead) impersonation of "never doubting dubya" brings tears to the audience and blood all across the Middle East.