It's All Greek to Me and George Kennan Fooled Around!

Sure there may be neo-nazis in the new Greek government (see Naked Capitalism.com Nov. 23) but the real shocker was reading the NY Review of Books, Dec. 8th issue that outs George F. Kennan. The article by Frank Costigliola ties Kennan's extra-marital affairs to his frequent periods of illness over a long life. Christ, is nothing sacred! Did Dean Acheseson know? How come I didn't know? Well, honestly I couldn't care less. Still, I'm an old-fashioned guy who likes his WASP elite represenatives to be paragons of virtue. Okay, he wasn't born to the manor. Thus, he was the personification of the foreign policy intellectual, at a time when that actually meant something. So I'm just gob-smacked.
What about Hans Morganthau, Hermann Kahn (just gives me the creeps writing it down)Foster Dulles (nah)? Don't tell me. I can't live with the knowledge that Anne cheated on George Smiley. Sure, she was a fictiona character. What did LeCarre know and when did he know it? I mean about these other guys in the real world.
The above ravings are no more off the wall than the announcement by the police department of NYC , by a guy named Loeser, that the press were being protected when they were forcibly restrained from covering the police riots downtown.
The writers for the Daily Show need to catch up with the flacks for the cops...the true artful dodgers.

They're rioting in Africa, the Borough of Manhattan and...

Perhaps Staten Island will fall to the Huns in due course. I must read Niall Ferguson's latest fairy tale about Western civilization to steel myself for the dark age to come. It is wonderful to see that the New york Press Corps are getting their asses kicked along with everyone else. This will help them gain some perspective that they may share with their editorial board colleagues...fat chance. Still, it is fun to read Michael Powell piece in today's Times "Gotham Reporters Meet the Fists of the Law."(NYT Nov.22) The Times is overflowing with turds of meaning such as the story on the hard times for young Wall Street types. I thought Tom Wolfe did the best job on I-bankers in his "I'm Charlotte Simmons." Kevin Roose tries to get us to sympathize with the plight of under employed or laid off I-bankers. Sorry Kevin. Read Kevin's touching tale in NYT, Nov.22 "A Blow to Pinstripe Aspirations." Roose does end this piece with an observation from a young woman , ex I-banker, who sees herself as having some sympathy for the masses she has recently joined. That should scare the crap out of Lloyd and Gary at Goldman. If serious, well trained people turn their energies to exposing the system that turned them out....well, you can understand why there would be gnashing of teeth on Wall Street. One Yves Smith is bad enough; imagine a dozen or more. I almost feel sorry for GS and its flacks. Still, they have a lot to be grateful for on this Thanksgiving: the cops are loyal for the moment and there is always the National Guard, the Army and private armies we created and armed for war in Iraq.

Beware of Greeks Being Democratic

Why oh why would the Greek Prime Minister want the deal he just cut with the EU, ECB, IMF to go before the Greek people for a vote? Possibly because he doesn't want to be lynched in his country; possibly because he can't depend on the military unless he has the backing of the legislature and a referendum of support from the voters. Who wants to be the next il Duce, swinging from a lamp post in downtown Athens?
The horror that greeted Papandreou's plan for a people's vote on the conditions of the austerity program and "financial rescue package" raises a question about who the bankers and their political hacks think they are dealing with: Greece is not a Banana Republic. Of course, there are some who miss "The Colonels." It was during the military's take over of Greece in the late 1960's-early 70's that the tax system was finessed so that the rich could escape taxation...fall out that is still with the Greeks to this day.
The Germans are shaking their heads, " We thought we had a deal?" The poor Wolfgang just don't seem to be able to see the Greek political situation as a mirror image of Angela Merkel's situation just weeks ago. Consent of the people and their representatives trumps the elite bankers needs to get this snow job over on the public.
Satyajit Das as a post on the blog Naked Capitalism that puts the current moves by the EU banksters and their political puppets in perspective (http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/10/31/2011). Das has a witty title," Europe's Plan to End the Debt Crisis- Put the "Con" in "confidence" Part 1. Read it and weep or laugh if your a masochistic type.
Meanwhile everyone is looking at the Chinese to save Western civilization as we deludedly think we know it. The Chinese are fucked. How so? Well, they have close to a trillion Euros worth of public debt obligations from the Euro zone. If the EU craters into an uncontrolled meltdown and decade long depression, Chinese EU paper will be just that paper, good for burning. The Chinese are not worried about the moral hazard issues; they are very un-Germanic that way. They don't want to get stuck with putting hundreds of billions into a rescue plan that is not transparent. The EU has still not required the banks to put all their liabilities on the table. No way the Chinese want to show their hand too early. Makes everything so clear!
Would you want to be holding anyone's cards in this casino? The chinese remember what happened to the Japanes ewhen they bought into the American humilation of the 1990's. The assets sold to them lost value over night and the Japanese were taken to the cleaners when their economy went south. It this just plain fun or what!

Republicans Forcing Obama Win in 2012

It is just too strange watching the Republicans self-destruct as if they have been grabbed by a force field, powered by idiocy. Herman Cain has gotten so weird that it seems he is playing it for laughs. Perhaps he is hoping that he will be asked to appear on American Idol.
Romney continues to do the politico version of the Energizer Bunny. He just keeps on going and going, saying what needs to be said to keep him in touch with the untouchables on the candidate trail. How depressing is that?
Meanwhile Barack is watching CNN and hoping to god that Occupy Wall Street(OWS) does not morph into a primary challenge from a real democrat. If the labor movement becomes more involved, Barack will have less to fear from OWS. How tempting it would be ask Sherwood Brown or Ron Feingold to run against Obama for the nomination. It isn't going to happen...but we can dream.

The Oakland State of Mind

If you have been reading the blogospere about the Oakland vs Atlanta police conduct while dispersing supporters of Occupy Wall Street, you have to amazed at the differences...why? First, read NYTimes blog post by Mackey and Goldman. Nice work lads! Embedded with their commentery are video clips that show the contrast between Oakland and Atlanta polic eresponse to demonstrations (http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/10/26 ).
As I was posting my own comment on the boys blog, I came across an outstanding article on Oakland's police department: it's history of criminal behavior, cover-up of brutality complaints and multiple investigations into police department corruption. Sounds like James Ellroy is running the Oakland PD. (http://www.guardian.co.uk). A young chap by the name of Paul Harris wrote the piece. Of course it makes sense that a reporter in England would write the article contextualizing the brutality of the Oakland PD.
I am reminded of the famous statement by Eugene Debs about Utica New York, which applies equally to Oakland California, "If America were ever to need an enema, it would be inserted in [ Oakland]."
The Blogosphere is having a salutory effect upon the people who are the real potential for mass mobilizations after police brutality as in Oakland.

Oh my, MQ denied civil rights...perhaps.

I just don't get this, my favorite Yves Smith of the blog Naked Capitalism (http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/) is all in a lather over Colonel MQ getting offed by NATO and the overly enthusiastic local Libyans. The New York Times, Fahim and Goldstone(www.nytimes.com/2011/0ct.20/2011 ) seemed to pursue this story as if it were the execution of two members of the Black Panther Party in Chi-town in the 60's ( ask your parents about this reference). Anyway, what is going on here?
Of course, the United States and its NATO allies are happy MQ is resting in pieces. Can you imagine the stories he and his lawyers would have to tell if he were to be tried at The Hague? As it is, the ties among the various intelligence agencies over the last five years will sooner or later come out: depending on who's pensions (buys) off or eliminates MQs high level agents. . Amnesty International is calling for an independent investigation of MQs final days. Hell, why not wait for The History Channel's findings? Between History Channel and National Geographic, the whole story should out in no time.
One can only hope that MI-6 and French Intelligence don't shoot each other while trying to destroy evidence of each country's collusion with Libyan torturers under. The bigger story of MQs ties to his brother psychopaths in office in West Africa and beyond is still little analyzed in the Anglo-American media. One can only hope for someone to turn over that rock very soon. Of course, whomever does turn over that rock, will not be getting much sleep for a long time to come....
We await Amnesty International's call for MQs release from custody...oops to late. Perhaps the Mormons will retroactively save his soul. How much more fun can we have with MQ and the horror, the horror of his fate.... Give me a break.
Just do not get Yves Smith's going on about MQ, except from a fashion point of view. It will be interesting to see if the professors at The Fashion Institute of Technology have a take on the effects of MQs demise on dictator chic in the future....perhaps, more Kevlar in the pants and shirts?

Eating Children and Such

I may have dreamed this one up...it was several hours ago that I read on a news website that: witch doctors in Uganda were sacrificing children to guarantee prosperity for the businessman willing to pay to have the child killed (abcnews.go.com.2020/child-sacrifice-uganda-witch-doctor).
I must admit that Uganda has been off my list of places to visit for quite sometime. But this story got my attention. It seemed so grotesque as to be a parody. I thought that The Onion might have hacked the website of the news site. But no. Upon rereading the piece carefully, I let the full effect settle in.
I wonder what Swift would have said about this barbaric situation?
Then I began to think about whose children are being sacrificed to finance capital in my own dear country. Here we kill their self esteem by preaching "equality" of opportunity while making sure that formal equality is undermined by economic inequality. Tax bases are rigged so that schools in rich areas are able to provide extras for their pupils and wealthy parents can enrich their children's opportunities for success in academics and social climbing. A classic example of what i am alluding to is the systematic underfunding of the largest public school system in the nation, the New York City public schools. Generations of minority children, any already burdened by poverty, living in substandard housing, in neighborhoods with high crime and even higher unemployment go to schools that have been robbed of financial resources owed to them by the State of New York. No, it is not Uganda. Here we kill the child 's ambition and self-esteem....But, we let the children live on with fewer opportunities than their wealthy counterparts, poorer health prospects and shorter life spans. How civilized? How superior we are to our Ugandan businessmen.

The Lord Giveth and Taketh Away (eth)?

So, Kerry stomped Mayo in the semi-finals of the GAA Championships. I was suicidal until I read in the paper of record that Libya was about to be liberated from the devil we know :
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/22/world/africa/22libya.html?hp. The Spring and summer of rebellion continues, minus Bahrain, of course.
How long will it take for Rick Perry to start talking about going Libyan on the Federal Government? How many jeeps and four wheel drive vehicle do you think there are in Texas? Why one could see the dust cloud rising from the Washington Monument when the Perry Ferries ( as the armada would have to be called) made its way to Washington) What other state would have the brass to make them pay tolls, even if it is a state's right to tax vehicles crossing its' territory.
Would Perry go to the U.N.? Not likely. Rick Perry and Hugo Chavez have some personality traits in common....they see devils in the opposition. Wait, maybe Chavez would find this comparison libelous....only a satirical jab compadre. Perry must be asking himself, " How hard would it be to take Washington? Even Obama is running against Washington. Would the defenders of Washington just vanish as the government forces in Libya have disappeared?
Here are signs to look for: Rick Perry appoints one of his a not to smart relatives to be Commander of the Texas National Guard. Troy Aikeman sells Texas two thousand flat bed trucks with gun mounts. Not too suspicious in Texas. Military satellites can only get reruns of Dallas as they pass over Texas during the later months of Perry's losing presidential campaign.
Perry changes his name to Oliver. Why? He invites the U.S. Central Command General Staff over to Austin for a BBQ: bring only your side-arms please.
We will see if the Spring of liberation movements gets the patriot's juices moving. Can't wait.

Walking on the Wild Side

It is almost too much to post anything without feeling that something really stupid will happen and I'll be at it once again. But, I have time and stupid, venal and corrupt are words that get my juices flowing. Sometimes we get all three at once: the Mike Taibbi report in Rolling Stone Magazine on the destruction of thousands of SEC records of past investigations. The article reads like a triple winner: stupid, venal and corrupt government regulators . We will see or, maybe, not. The national attention span is a nano-second long. Plus, we have the terror of the economy and stock market imploding before our very eyes. Tyler, Bertha, Bob and Maria (MSNBC) are in the trenches with the ugly news of the obvious...the gimmicks are not working and U.S. and global economies are sinking.
Speaking of ugly, Rick Perry wants to "ugly" gentle Ben of the Fed. Like most loud mouths, Perry is all hot air. I would love Perry to have to debate gentle Ben on the economy. Still, it is amazing to see the press taking this Perry moron seriously; his creditability on planet earth sinks every time he opens his mouth. Perhaps a more gaseous planet wold be more to his liking...Jupiter?

The Trouble with Reading

It is not that we have an information overload. Nor, do we have a lack of contextualizers to give us the scoop. It is what Jack Friday was talking about in the black and white dazes of TV: the facts, mam, just the facts.
It is just stupefying to read that Rick Perry is talking trash about GW. That is akin to the anus calling the sphincter something dirty. It's right up there with criticizing Charles Manson for having bad grooming and weird tats. Perry is a blatant, hypocritical moron; for him to dis bubba is like eating one's young. Former Bush aids are upset at Rick. But surely they must know how craven and opportunistic Perry is.... They worked for the master of craven and raving himself....Mr. Mission Accomplished.
On the Republican zoological chart of candidates for 2012, Perry is not the craziest yet. He sees the advantage, at this moment, to move to the right: so he disses bubba on immigration and big government. You just gotta love it when the mad dogs start chasing their own tails. I'm hoping that Perry will catch his and take a big bite out of it. Where is Hunter S. Thompson, now that we need him? There was a man who could appreciate a surfeit of assholes.

Rockets Red Glare Indeed!

Hey,
Is it me or have you noticed that the rockets are really flying in Iraq and Afghanistan...not the D.C. Mall? The ten billion a month for the wars are producing some damned impressive fireworks displays e.g., the Intercontinental Hotel in Kabul. Sort of reminded me of the Soviet- style Intercontinental in Prague. I would suggest you try the Prague version at this point, even if reservations would be easier to get in Kabul this summer.

Yves Smith's latest post on Greek debt is priceless "Look What You Can Buy in the Greek Liquidation Sale." http://www.nakedcapitalism.com/2011/07/look-what-you-can-buy-in-the-greek-liquidation-sale.html. Smith observes that the plan for Greece laid out by its new masters at the IMF and ECB call for Greece to sell off it many of its strategic infrastructure assets e.g., water systems, electrical plants, defense industries. It is the Chilean experience, short of a fascist coup.... But there is always time for that later. What about the Greek Army? Guess, they're staring at the Turks, who are staring at the Syrians and the Kurds.

Smith makes an aside about what we in the United States can look forward to if the Republicans can manage a financial collapse....The last time people spoke about selling off our water rights to investors people just revolted against the idea....Create a crisis now and perhaps opportunity will knock again for the boys at BlackRock and Goldman. Obama can't seem to see the benefits of Chaos in the national debt limits crisis; his fear is one the Republicans don't even think about...a mass revolt by the peasants across the political landscape. Obama is correct to worry that there can always be unintended political consequences to cratering the economy. The real threat is the political reawakening of a brain dead electorate. This is something that both political parties should be in agreement about.

Pack Up All Your Cares and Wows

It's election time and Obama is trying to keep the left off balance in order to avoid a primary challenge. To this end, he is floating stories about troop withdrawals in both theaters of war, Iraq and Afghanistan. The NYTimes has had a half dozen stories in the past several days concerning the possible implications of a speed up in withdrawals from the combat zones.
The point is that Obama could care less about the in-theater consequences of the withdrawals. He is doing what he has to in order to make it palatable for the liberals and independent voters to not actively oppose him in the primaries and the nominating convention. Only the weak of mind, could possibly believe that once Congress cuts off the money to these "governments" that the United Sates will have any influence beyond its judicious use of Predator drones.
Obama still has the Republicans to help scare the voters. With Bin Laden out of the picture Michele Bachmann is the threat he will use to frighten the voters into conformity with his failed administration. If the economy continues to limp along and the Greeks play along with their own tragic-comic role, the financial markets will pretend that things are just fine....until they are not. The Republicans are already talking about 2016 as their year for their comeback. In the mean time, they can further cripple the pathetic attempts of the current administration to manage the Japanese like economic slump that will last a decade. Can't wait to read Obama's memoirs.

Seal Team Six and GS Downtown

It's just a thought. All the training and nothing to do....Seal Team could do some side stuff to keep interested in the work sort off. Say, like kidnapping the executive committee of Goldman Sachs an delivering them to Syria...wait, Jordon. We aren't talking to Syria right now. Unlike the SEC and the non Justice Department, the Jordanians have ways of doing depositions. One of those fantasies that one has when one sees justice being done 9 or ten thousand miles away from home.
I could see it working like this: 85 Broad Street and a bunch of bicycle cabs mossy on up to the building. With the fleet of limos, who's going to notice the guys with the rocket launchers, M-60 machine guns, bags of claymore mines and Balance Bars. Simultaneously with the role up of the biker cabs are the para-glider guys landing on the roof of 85 Broad Street. you don't want to mistake the Federal Reserve for 85 Broad...as understandable as that may be. The real power resides at Broad Street....
Then the glitches....What does Lloyd Blankfine look like? and his buddy Gary and other boys and girls of the E-Committee. No girls, okay. Even with pictures of Blankfine nobody would be able to pinpoint him in a crowd....he is power without a shadow. Can Seal Team 6 capture this guy and his fellow mischief makers. This is as far as I got before I woke up. Osama is gone but the guys who could really bring the whole thing down are still here and the lights are on.

Look at the Bright Side of Japan's Disaster

Japanese capitalism has been stuck in a holding pattern for decades. The earthquake now will allow the government to mobilize the country into a virtual state of war to revitalize the economy and rebuild the affected areas of the island nation. Qaddafi should give the Japanese some billions for taking North Africa off the web pages for a couple of days. I call this Goldman Sachs Mojo. Remember, of course you don't, that GS was on the ropes when the Haitian quake hit and GS disappeared from the front pages for a bit. There are always silver linings in those clouds; maybe, not so much silver if the clouds are radioactive...but still , some people will benefit from the chaos created by mother nature. GS, Qaddafi and many construction supply firms are about to have a good day.
Of course, if a nuclear plants goes critical and blows, we will need to shift our winners and losers lists a bit. Consult your map for wind patterns and iodine supplies in your area. Perhaps the retiring of the space shuttle is a bit premature. Those who can afford it (GS types) might want to pay for orbit time while the planet cools off from an extra does of you know what.
I just hope the horror of horrors does not happen...William and Kate must marry and honeymoon with Habitat for Humanity in Japan....I'm just such a romantic. Sleep well and cover your reproductive areas if you must.

NPR: What Were They Thinking?

The flap over NPR fund raiser Ron Schiller's absolutely accurate characterization of Republican and Tea Party activists raises the question of "objectivity." NPR reports more real news in 15 minutes than Fox does in 24 hours...excepting the weather and traffic reports. This recent display of false humility and falling upon the sword by NPR executives makes you wonder: are these people in touch with reality?
The really obscene part of the secret tape by the Republican scam artist, O'Keeffe was what Schiller had to do to raise money for such a worthy organization. What he said about the trolls on the right-wing of the political spectrum were uninspiring; he was doing his best not to call them crypto-fascists. The thing that he really got in trouble for was the obvious truth of his observation that NPR would be better off without government money. There really isn't a good argument for government funding of the news....especially if the government can't manipulate it.
So, if the liberal community wants NPR, it should pay for it. Once freed of government interference, NPR can make its' professional judgements without fear of political reprisals....maybe. Or, when the reprisals come, NPR can be proud of them.

Moammar, Sheen and Wisconsin

Great minds do think alike! The NY Times March 1 has a brilliant insightful piece on Chuck Sheen and Moammar Gadhafi, http:// www.nytimes.com It is not true that Charles is the son of President Bartlett. He is the spiritual love child of Moammar. It seems both took public speaking lessons from "Crazy Eddy." Anyway, check out Alessandra Stanley's piece in the Times today. The child has a flair for global thinking, sort of a Zizek like connectedness to the Zeitlice. She nailed Charles and his spiritual dad. Oh, in the mean time, the Cheese Head in Chief, Gov. Walker has gotten the unions off their knees and fighting mad....Thanks gov. and Kock brothers for doing what Obama and the Democratic Party would not do...put the fight back into the labor unions....Should we be concerned that Wisconsin could be our Egypt? Nah, we can shop all we want and swear at the meter maids; we are free, right? As Hillery chides Moammar about a lack of legitimacy of his government, she had better be careful. The war crimes of her predecessor and the gangsterism of our allies in Iraq and Afghanistan are, well, embarrassing.

Tah

They are rioting,well everywhere.

While we were all asleep, the Tunisians (Barberry Pirates) set about having their own version of a Prague Spring. Let's hope the Tunisian version lasts longer than the Czech rebellion of 1968. But, the Tunisians did not reckon with the shock wave that they have sent across the Middle East.
It is obvious that the local conditions in the individual country dictates the shape of the expression that protest will take. Still, it is just plain fun to watch the people take to the streets and express their grievances in a mostly peaceful way: remarkable given the brutality of the regimes themselves.
The United States has been supportive of corrupt regimes in the region for most of the post WWII era. Together with the French and British, we have played the divide and rule game ; now we find ourselves looking for some way of getting on the side of the people in the streets. Wonder what our friends in Mossad are thinking?
We should not be naive and think that Egypt will go the way of a western style democracy. Remember, the best organized political force in the country besides the military is the Muslim Brotherhood. They are keeping a low profile. However, when the smoke clears the Brothers will be a major force in any government. Lots of luck to our State Department buddies working the crowds in Cairo!

Violence There's Violence in America?

Dear Blogosphere:
I came out of my trance the other day to find the media chimps up in arms over the senseless shootings in Arizona. So, I sat back and turned the tube off and saved myself thousands of dollars by not putting my foot through the flat screen. There was also the consideration of the NFL playoffs coming along.
I guess I just asked myself about the "sensible" violence" that national leadership is dispensing around the world, the two wars in progress, the many covert operations going on in Africa, Latin America and the Middle East. to say that politicians are self-serving and deluded is too obvious; the more entertaining spectacle is the media asking soul searching questions about the rhetorical climate of hate filled political speech...bla, bla, bla.
This country is at war with tens of millions of people around the world; our Congress funds a machine of violence to the tune of 600 plus billions of dollars a year: not counting the spooks, the additional monies for wars in supplemental appropriations and other monies disguised as foreign aid.
The chattering class is having a field day; after all, the Arizona shooting came at a low point in the weekly news cycle. There is a god for low ratings. So, we will be faced with the media condemning bad speech by bad politicians while the media virtually ignores Iraq and the other little wars we are in around the world. What utter self serving hypocrisy. The United States is the most violent advanced industrial society on earth. Have a nice day. Go Jets.