Copyright Stephane MOT 2008 - blogules.com
20080123
Billaryious
Billy the Comeback Kid is shooting on sight. He wants Barack Obama down one way or another to save Hillary and himself from humiliation.
But shooting at a MLK-RFK wannabe 40 years after the double murder of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy doesn't sound like a smart move. "Billary" could win South Carolina and sweep Florida clean, but what would they get at the end of the day ?
A ticket for the 2008 Superbowl for sure, but also big trouble within the Democratic party... not to mention yet another competitor from NY state (Mike Bloomberg).
America wants decency. America wants to get rid of win-ugly-presidents. America needs Obama.
But shooting at a MLK-RFK wannabe 40 years after the double murder of Martin Luther King and Bobby Kennedy doesn't sound like a smart move. "Billary" could win South Carolina and sweep Florida clean, but what would they get at the end of the day ?
A ticket for the 2008 Superbowl for sure, but also big trouble within the Democratic party... not to mention yet another competitor from NY state (Mike Bloomberg).
America wants decency. America wants to get rid of win-ugly-presidents. America needs Obama.
20080113
GOP : Time to Split
I warned Republican voters four years ago* : if Bush wins these elections, your party loses.
The divide seems everyday more obvious now, but the main decision remains to be taken : to separate US politics from religion.
As expected**, all 2008 candidates are compelled to prove how strong their belief is, and this sick competition turns into a caricature : Romney, faithful to his Mormon religion as well as to his wife, is criticized by a womanizer (Giuliani) and two more or less outspoken promoters of Intelligent Design (Huckabee and McCain - the latter even gave conferences at the infamous Liberty University and Discovery Institute***). It sounds almost normal to most Americans but this is not a political debate - at least not in a country supposed to be a model democracy.
It is time to make things clear to the audience at the National as well as at the International levels and to officialize the creation of The Theocratic Party. All candidates would then decide : do they put democracy and the republic first, or they believe politics should be ruled by religion ?
True democrats and true republicans will chose not to mix religion with politics. Those who want America to turn into a theocracy and away from its core values must be clear about it. They can keep competing on theological issues, but never more in the name of a Republican or a Democratic Party.
* see "Red Blogule to the Bush system - Prevent a New War of Secession" (20041101)
** see "Universal Declaration of Independence From Fundamentalism" (20070809)
*** if you didn't get the scoop from my French blogules ("Bonne année 2009" - 20080102) : both are casting Bruce K. Chapman as their VP
The divide seems everyday more obvious now, but the main decision remains to be taken : to separate US politics from religion.
As expected**, all 2008 candidates are compelled to prove how strong their belief is, and this sick competition turns into a caricature : Romney, faithful to his Mormon religion as well as to his wife, is criticized by a womanizer (Giuliani) and two more or less outspoken promoters of Intelligent Design (Huckabee and McCain - the latter even gave conferences at the infamous Liberty University and Discovery Institute***). It sounds almost normal to most Americans but this is not a political debate - at least not in a country supposed to be a model democracy.
It is time to make things clear to the audience at the National as well as at the International levels and to officialize the creation of The Theocratic Party. All candidates would then decide : do they put democracy and the republic first, or they believe politics should be ruled by religion ?
True democrats and true republicans will chose not to mix religion with politics. Those who want America to turn into a theocracy and away from its core values must be clear about it. They can keep competing on theological issues, but never more in the name of a Republican or a Democratic Party.
* see "Red Blogule to the Bush system - Prevent a New War of Secession" (20041101)
** see "Universal Declaration of Independence From Fundamentalism" (20070809)
*** if you didn't get the scoop from my French blogules ("Bonne année 2009" - 20080102) : both are casting Bruce K. Chapman as their VP
20080104
Jane Harman, save our soul
"I look forward to your response."
"Have enhanced techniques been authorized and approved by the President ?"
To this question, and many other relevant ones regarding interrogation techniques used by the Agency, Scott W. Muller, CIA's general counsel, lyrically answered "I think it would be fair to assume that policy as well as legal matters have been addressed within the Executive Branch."
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), top Dem in the House Intelligence Committee, received no feed back regarding the most crucial issue of the destruction of the infamous videotapes either*. Her recommandation was pretty clear, though : "You discussed the fact that there is videotape of Abu Zubaydah following his capture that will be destroyed after the Inspector General finishes his inquiry. I would urge the Agency to reconsider that plan. Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future. The fact of destruction would reflect badly on the Agency."
"I look forward to your response."
In very deed.
* Harman fully disclosed her letter to Muller and his answer on her House.gov site. On the destruction of the tapes, see also "Faith, lies and videotapes" (20071207)
"Have enhanced techniques been authorized and approved by the President ?"
To this question, and many other relevant ones regarding interrogation techniques used by the Agency, Scott W. Muller, CIA's general counsel, lyrically answered "I think it would be fair to assume that policy as well as legal matters have been addressed within the Executive Branch."
Rep. Jane Harman (D-CA), top Dem in the House Intelligence Committee, received no feed back regarding the most crucial issue of the destruction of the infamous videotapes either*. Her recommandation was pretty clear, though : "You discussed the fact that there is videotape of Abu Zubaydah following his capture that will be destroyed after the Inspector General finishes his inquiry. I would urge the Agency to reconsider that plan. Even if the videotape does not constitute an official record that must be preserved under the law, the videotape would be the best proof that the written record is accurate, if such record is called into question in the future. The fact of destruction would reflect badly on the Agency."
Praise Jane Harman for restoring the image of the Democrats and beyond, the whole American people, in front of History.
Let's forget about Muller and even Gonzales. The President must answer by himself. In front of an Impeachment Commitee."I look forward to your response."
In very deed.
* Harman fully disclosed her letter to Muller and his answer on her House.gov site. On the destruction of the tapes, see also "Faith, lies and videotapes" (20071207)
20071219
Justice now
Alberto R. Gonzales, David S. Addington, Harriet E. Miers, John B. Bellinger III... the simple mention of those names reminds us the way justice has been disgraced under the Bush-Cheney rule (denial of justice, withdrawal from international conventions, promotion of torture, illegal abductions, the Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib messes... you name it).
These four Bush "law" experts discussed together the destruction of the CIA tapes at the core of the scandal the most likely to lead to some form of impeachment in the short term. We know they didn't issue any warning against the destruction, but we don't know if they pushed in favor of it - one can easily guess where their preferences lied.
We do know what John Negroponte, then the head of national security, recommended. He sent a memo to Goss, then the head of the Agency and thus a subordinate, warning against the destruction of the said tapes.
We do know that the CIA tapes have been destroyed.
Don't tell me a small fish turned the wrong button at the wrong time in a matter involving such big whales (nothing personal, Karl*).
Once again, we are not talking about a fling with an intern in the Oval Office but about the cover up of acts of torture condoned by both the President and his VP.
* see "Whale Hunt at the White House" (20070814)
These four Bush "law" experts discussed together the destruction of the CIA tapes at the core of the scandal the most likely to lead to some form of impeachment in the short term. We know they didn't issue any warning against the destruction, but we don't know if they pushed in favor of it - one can easily guess where their preferences lied.
We do know what John Negroponte, then the head of national security, recommended. He sent a memo to Goss, then the head of the Agency and thus a subordinate, warning against the destruction of the said tapes.
We do know that the CIA tapes have been destroyed.
Don't tell me a small fish turned the wrong button at the wrong time in a matter involving such big whales (nothing personal, Karl*).
Once again, we are not talking about a fling with an intern in the Oval Office but about the cover up of acts of torture condoned by both the President and his VP.
If the American people wants justice, it should demand impeachment right now.
* see "Whale Hunt at the White House" (20070814)
20071207
Faith, lies and videotapes
Mitt Romney may lose the primaries because he's a Mormon supporting religious diversity and mutual respect*. Mike Huckabee may win the primaries because he's a moron supporting creationism and ID.
Guess what : the case for Iran was forged, intel cooked** - and the CIA even destroyed evidencies of Amerika's other wrongdoings : videotapes of torture sessions that could have revealed the faces of CIA agents. Because in Amerika, denouncing torture is a crime... unlike giving names of such weaselish peacemongers as Valerie Plame.
After signing so many pacts with the Devil, George W. Bush decides to write a letter to Kim Jong-il. It starts with "Dear Mr. Chairman", as if North Korea's dictator were a member of his base of "the Haves and the Have-mores". Dubya is just buying time : let me have a cleaner sheet with this atheist "pigmy" - I don't care if I lose face in Asia, all I want is you to let me finish this little crusade of mine in the Middle East before my mandate is over.
This is Amerika all right : this country has lost its values to the point it cannot even consider impeaching its most dangerous criminal.
* this absurd witch hunt is still on, and the reverse burden of proof remains to be implemented. As I pleaded before (see "Universal Declaration of Independence From Fundamentalism " - 20070809) : "The aim is not to please atheists and condemn believers but to expose fundamentalists, especially among those who are supposed to defend justice, education or democracy. You don’t want to ignite a witch hunt the McCarthy way (are you or have you ever been a fundamentalist ?), but rather to promote transparency over the hypocrisy and confusion fundamentalists are feeding upon. I’m asking for a much needed reverse burden of proof : nowadays, lawmakers are terrorized by fundamentalists and it should be the other way round. Instead of harassing the bulk of the candidates with questions regarding their private life, we should be forcing fundamentalists to come out in the open, give democracy the lead over the theocratic agenda. Lawmakers shouldn’t be compelled to demonstrate confusingly why they are good believers, they just should clearly tell that they don’t support fundamentalism and that, whatever they believe in, religion should not mix with politics in this country. Ultimately, if some people want religion to rule politics, let them found their own party like they do in other countries."
** nothing new under the sun (see "Iran : who wants war and why" - 20070925)
Guess what : the case for Iran was forged, intel cooked** - and the CIA even destroyed evidencies of Amerika's other wrongdoings : videotapes of torture sessions that could have revealed the faces of CIA agents. Because in Amerika, denouncing torture is a crime... unlike giving names of such weaselish peacemongers as Valerie Plame.
After signing so many pacts with the Devil, George W. Bush decides to write a letter to Kim Jong-il. It starts with "Dear Mr. Chairman", as if North Korea's dictator were a member of his base of "the Haves and the Have-mores". Dubya is just buying time : let me have a cleaner sheet with this atheist "pigmy" - I don't care if I lose face in Asia, all I want is you to let me finish this little crusade of mine in the Middle East before my mandate is over.
This is Amerika all right : this country has lost its values to the point it cannot even consider impeaching its most dangerous criminal.
* this absurd witch hunt is still on, and the reverse burden of proof remains to be implemented. As I pleaded before (see "Universal Declaration of Independence From Fundamentalism " - 20070809) : "The aim is not to please atheists and condemn believers but to expose fundamentalists, especially among those who are supposed to defend justice, education or democracy. You don’t want to ignite a witch hunt the McCarthy way (are you or have you ever been a fundamentalist ?), but rather to promote transparency over the hypocrisy and confusion fundamentalists are feeding upon. I’m asking for a much needed reverse burden of proof : nowadays, lawmakers are terrorized by fundamentalists and it should be the other way round. Instead of harassing the bulk of the candidates with questions regarding their private life, we should be forcing fundamentalists to come out in the open, give democracy the lead over the theocratic agenda. Lawmakers shouldn’t be compelled to demonstrate confusingly why they are good believers, they just should clearly tell that they don’t support fundamentalism and that, whatever they believe in, religion should not mix with politics in this country. Ultimately, if some people want religion to rule politics, let them found their own party like they do in other countries."
** nothing new under the sun (see "Iran : who wants war and why" - 20070925)
20071117
Between reforms and indulgences - Blair and Sarkozy
I'd like to point out two key moves made by Tony Blair during his life. Two decisive acts of allegiance that may well explain a third one ; the most famous - allegiance to Bush and his suicidal crusade in Iraq. These two events didn't happen during his PM mandates but set a perfect frame around them :
- the first act of allegiance ? before taking power, and actually in order to take it : Blair made a pact with a curious devil named Ruppert Murdoch
- the second act of allegiance ? not long after leaving power : Blair clinched a deal with the most controversial Pope since WWII, to embrace the ultraconservative Roman Catholicism Benedict XVI dreams of restoring fundamentalism
As far as economy is concerned, Blair and Murdoch symbolise reforms and conservatism, but what strikes me most about Blair is the gap between his very pragmatic sense of reform and his very utopic mysticism... and Murdoch is not only obsessed by money but by the success of candidates with a messianic touch. This Citizen Kane didn't succeed with Pat Robertson in the late 80s, but earned his reputation of serial kingmaker with Tony and Dubya.
You want to keep an eye on Nicolas Sarkozy, a great admirer of Tony Blair the Reformer and Murdoch the Entrepreneur, a great friend of George W. Bush the Leader, a great echo to Ratzinger's theories about genetic determination or Europe's Christian heritage...
- the first act of allegiance ? before taking power, and actually in order to take it : Blair made a pact with a curious devil named Ruppert Murdoch
- the second act of allegiance ? not long after leaving power : Blair clinched a deal with the most controversial Pope since WWII, to embrace the ultraconservative Roman Catholicism Benedict XVI dreams of restoring fundamentalism
As far as economy is concerned, Blair and Murdoch symbolise reforms and conservatism, but what strikes me most about Blair is the gap between his very pragmatic sense of reform and his very utopic mysticism... and Murdoch is not only obsessed by money but by the success of candidates with a messianic touch. This Citizen Kane didn't succeed with Pat Robertson in the late 80s, but earned his reputation of serial kingmaker with Tony and Dubya.
You want to keep an eye on Nicolas Sarkozy, a great admirer of Tony Blair the Reformer and Murdoch the Entrepreneur, a great friend of George W. Bush the Leader, a great echo to Ratzinger's theories about genetic determination or Europe's Christian heritage...
20071113
Hillary vs anyone = Bloomberg 2008 ?
Over one year ago, I predicted a candidacy of Segolene Royal in France would be the best opportunity for center hopeful Francois Bayrou. Sego eventually did get her chance, but Bayrou blew his own.
I've been telling the same about Michael Bloomberg for a while : should Hillary Clinton prevail in the Primaries and run without Obama, the mayor of New York could win as an independent. Except this time, the man would deliver.
Don't get me wrong. I'm mentioning "the man" and not "the male", and the fact that both Royal and Clinton are female is a pure coincidence. There was clearly a question of character and competence for Royal*, whilst Clinton mainly suffers, more or less unfairly, from a popularity problem.
I'm quite sure Bloomberg waits for the outcome of the Democratic race. Should he bring a new, disruptive face as a Veep**, he would gain momentum within weeks. Heck : for all you know, he could hire the best team. Not as a candidate, but as the head of a non partisan administration.
The US are ripe for a telluric change in politics. This is no more about Elephants vs Donkeys but about forward looking and humanists vs conservative and determinists. And consider "conservative" and "determinist" at the literal sense of the term : a hardcore liberal can be ultra conservative and an ayatollah of free trade as determinist as a radical Hegelian.
Bloomberg is by no means the perfect man. Yet he does stand a chance and he could make a change.
Anyway, I believe both Obama and Hillary can deliver great presidencies. And I sincerely hope whoever wins will actually reach across the aisles to make a sustainable difference.
What America needs now is not alternance from Reps to Dems but from offside politics to noble politics, from the negation of the republic and of democracy to the essence of republic and democracy.
* see my not so kind blogules on her in French.
** I mean someone coming out of the blue, not out of the Grand Old Blue Party.
I've been telling the same about Michael Bloomberg for a while : should Hillary Clinton prevail in the Primaries and run without Obama, the mayor of New York could win as an independent. Except this time, the man would deliver.
Don't get me wrong. I'm mentioning "the man" and not "the male", and the fact that both Royal and Clinton are female is a pure coincidence. There was clearly a question of character and competence for Royal*, whilst Clinton mainly suffers, more or less unfairly, from a popularity problem.
I'm quite sure Bloomberg waits for the outcome of the Democratic race. Should he bring a new, disruptive face as a Veep**, he would gain momentum within weeks. Heck : for all you know, he could hire the best team. Not as a candidate, but as the head of a non partisan administration.
The US are ripe for a telluric change in politics. This is no more about Elephants vs Donkeys but about forward looking and humanists vs conservative and determinists. And consider "conservative" and "determinist" at the literal sense of the term : a hardcore liberal can be ultra conservative and an ayatollah of free trade as determinist as a radical Hegelian.
Bloomberg is by no means the perfect man. Yet he does stand a chance and he could make a change.
Anyway, I believe both Obama and Hillary can deliver great presidencies. And I sincerely hope whoever wins will actually reach across the aisles to make a sustainable difference.
What America needs now is not alternance from Reps to Dems but from offside politics to noble politics, from the negation of the republic and of democracy to the essence of republic and democracy.
* see my not so kind blogules on her in French.
** I mean someone coming out of the blue, not out of the Grand Old Blue Party.
20071109
From Sim City to Sin City
I haven't been precisely kind to Dubai lately*, but things keep turning uglier in this tiny Emirate where - I hate to say this - everything tends to take biblical proportions.
Building the tallest Babel Towers (Burj Dubai) is one thing, competing with Sodom and Gomorrah quite another. The rape of 15 year old Alexandre Robert by 3 Emirati (2 former convicts including one H.I.V. positive) recently made the international headlines only because he was a Westerner and because his family decided to fight ; to overcome the humiliation ; to help all the silent victims, and to prevent more crimes from happening in the future.
This tragedy could become a turning point for Dubai's rulers. This time, it's too late for your usual cover up, you can't hide the dark sides of your wonderful mirage anymore. You can make a few bucks out of a Disneyland Resort, not out of a Mickael Jackson's Neverland. Either you stick to denial or you decide to take measures.
This Emirate is led by people who do have a strategic vision, people who should understand that firing a few people won't be considered as measures, that scaring away a few potential customers is much less serious than building a social bomb at home, or alienating the global Muslim community. Dubai could thrive as a neutral heaven in the middle of the Middle East, where sailors meet pirates, raiders traders, fundamentalists infidels. Dubai will collapse if it doesn't come to its senses.
This is no more about luxurious condos but about that most valuable ressource : human beings. This is no more about concrete but about the cement of a nation.
* to mention a few :
- blogules in English : "Red blogule to the DP World - P&O deal's Architects and winners"(20060224), "Halliburton and the 40 thieves (continued) - Dubai, we have a problem" (20070312)
- blogule in French "Dubai - de Sim City à Sin City" (20071101), later published on Agoravox.
- one letter published in Newsweek (20070810 - following their Dubai Rising article last summer) : "I wonder if your writer went behind the scenes in Dubai. The bulk of its population is poor Muslim foreigners from the East living in ghettos, workers building a dream world they cannot afford and which is denied to them anyway because even longtime residents cannot become citizens. I saw Dubai rising, all right. But I also saw the seeds of unfairness, injustice and anger being sown ; these are the kind of things that breed fundamentalism. And I saw wealthy Westerners all over the place, enjoying this Middle Eastern Vegas. Let's keep a watch on what may rise from that."
Building the tallest Babel Towers (Burj Dubai) is one thing, competing with Sodom and Gomorrah quite another. The rape of 15 year old Alexandre Robert by 3 Emirati (2 former convicts including one H.I.V. positive) recently made the international headlines only because he was a Westerner and because his family decided to fight ; to overcome the humiliation ; to help all the silent victims, and to prevent more crimes from happening in the future.
This tragedy could become a turning point for Dubai's rulers. This time, it's too late for your usual cover up, you can't hide the dark sides of your wonderful mirage anymore. You can make a few bucks out of a Disneyland Resort, not out of a Mickael Jackson's Neverland. Either you stick to denial or you decide to take measures.
This Emirate is led by people who do have a strategic vision, people who should understand that firing a few people won't be considered as measures, that scaring away a few potential customers is much less serious than building a social bomb at home, or alienating the global Muslim community. Dubai could thrive as a neutral heaven in the middle of the Middle East, where sailors meet pirates, raiders traders, fundamentalists infidels. Dubai will collapse if it doesn't come to its senses.
This is no more about luxurious condos but about that most valuable ressource : human beings. This is no more about concrete but about the cement of a nation.
* to mention a few :
- blogules in English : "Red blogule to the DP World - P&O deal's Architects and winners"(20060224), "Halliburton and the 40 thieves (continued) - Dubai, we have a problem" (20070312)
- blogule in French "Dubai - de Sim City à Sin City" (20071101), later published on Agoravox.
- one letter published in Newsweek (20070810 - following their Dubai Rising article last summer) : "I wonder if your writer went behind the scenes in Dubai. The bulk of its population is poor Muslim foreigners from the East living in ghettos, workers building a dream world they cannot afford and which is denied to them anyway because even longtime residents cannot become citizens. I saw Dubai rising, all right. But I also saw the seeds of unfairness, injustice and anger being sown ; these are the kind of things that breed fundamentalism. And I saw wealthy Westerners all over the place, enjoying this Middle Eastern Vegas. Let's keep a watch on what may rise from that."
20071029
Laura 44, Prescott 45, Propaganda 101
Senator Cristina Fernandez De Kirchner became President in Argentina and Senator Hillary Clinton must have paid some attention*. Laura Bush too. The incumbent First Lady has been campaining the last few weeks in the Middle East and across the US. As if she intended to run for Top Job #44 instead of Jeb or even George Bush The Third (Prescott, son of Jeb - a Latino Pete Sampras lookalike).
Is the "Desperate Housewife" that desperate ? We generally see her when her husband needs some PR rescue. Dubya was recently outspinned by Gubernator in the California bonfires of vanities... but this kind of unfortunate events (the outspinning, not the environmental tragedy no politician cares about) shouldn't trigger Laura's mediatic Pop-up, the ultimate Weapon of Mass Distraction.
Laura is about values. Family. Morality. The war in Iran will be about the negation of values. Infamy. Mortality.
Laura Bush is not running for Presidency. She isn't even running for the President. The President is running away from sanity and he just needs a nicer face for the display.
Is the "Desperate Housewife" that desperate ? We generally see her when her husband needs some PR rescue. Dubya was recently outspinned by Gubernator in the California bonfires of vanities... but this kind of unfortunate events (the outspinning, not the environmental tragedy no politician cares about) shouldn't trigger Laura's mediatic Pop-up, the ultimate Weapon of Mass Distraction.
Laura is about values. Family. Morality. The war in Iran will be about the negation of values. Infamy. Mortality.
Laura Bush is not running for Presidency. She isn't even running for the President. The President is running away from sanity and he just needs a nicer face for the display.
The President of The United States may be the husband of Laura Bush, that doesn't make him suitable for the job.
* Nevermind the pink joker parading next to the hero of the day : Segolene Royal, still desperately trying to catch the capacities of stateswomen like Kirchner or Bachelet, as if it were flu... but France's former "socialist" Presidential candidate only managed to grow her flamboyant Foot in Mouth disease.
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