Wednesday, September 23, 2015

All Republicans Cry "War!"  (For Whose Benefit? Cui Bono?)  The Wall Street Mentality — Unlimited Greed — Has Taken Over American Life and This Greed Has Been (Militarily) Exported to Europe  (Is U.S. Still Being Led by Spoiled, Ignorant Teenaged Boys?)  University Presidents Have Multimillionaire Incomes While Students Drown in Debt  (Fascist Solutions Arising)



A senior serving General of the British army said that the army would not allow the people to “put a maverick in charge of the country’s security. The Army just wouldn’t stand for it and would use whatever means possible, fair or foul, to prevent that.”

In other words, a democratic outcome unacceptable to the English military will be overthrown. Just like in Egypt.

Here we have the incongruity of Washington and London bringing democracy to others through what Vladimir Putin calls “airstrike democracy,” while tolerating a democracy deficit themselves. The safest conclusion is that democracy is a cloak for an aggressive agenda, not a value in itself to the US and UK elites, who rule and who intend to continue to rule these countries for their personal benefit.

Jonathan Cook reports that the use of “whatever means possible, fair or foul,” against Labour Prime Ministers who actually stood for the people rather than for the elites is not unique to Corbyn.

Labour Prime Minister Harald Wilson faced similar pressure and resigned. http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-09-20/army-plots-against-british-pms-are-not-new/


As far as I can tell, not only has democracy departed the Western world, but also compassion, empathy for others, morality, integrity, respect for truth, justice, faithfulness, and self-respect. Western civilization has become a hollow shell. There is nothing left but greed and coercion and the threat of coercion.

After reading that rather stunningly downplayed headline yesterday concerning the British General's threat to the British Government and its citizens should a political candidate choose a course not to the liking of the military, the following essay becomes a lot easier to swallow.


Democracy Has Departed The West

Paul Craig Roberts
September 22, 2015

Before the West spreads democracy abroad maybe it could get some for itself. The US is an oligarchy in which government is answerable to six powerful private interest groups. In Europe governments are answerable to the EU, Washington, and private bankers and not to their peoples. In the UK the military brass has declared its hold on the reins of power.

Jeremy Corbyn is the first Labourite to lead the Labour Party in a long time. Considering the stupidity and immorality of the Tories, Corbyn could become Prime Minister of Britain. Should this occur, Corbyn would shift the budget priorities away from supporting Washington’s wars toward refurbishing the social welfare state that made life for ordinary Britishers more secure and less stressful.

A senior serving General of the British army said that the army would not allow the people to “put a maverick in charge of the country’s security. The Army just wouldn’t stand for it and would use whatever means possible, fair or foul, to prevent that.”

In other words, a democratic outcome unacceptable to the English military will be overthrown. Just like in Egypt.

Here we have the incongruity of Washington and London bringing democracy to others through what Vladimir Putin calls “airstrike democracy,” while tolerating a democracy deficit themselves. The safest conclusion is that democracy is a cloak for an aggressive agenda, not a value in itself to the US and UK elites, who rule and who intend to continue to rule these countries for their personal benefit.

Jonathan Cook reports that the use of “whatever means possible, fair or foul,” against Labour Prime Ministers who actually stood for the people rather than for the elites is not unique to Corbyn.

Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson faced similar pressure and resigned. http://www.jonathan-cook.net/blog/2015-09-20/army-plots-against-british-pms-are-not-new/

As far as I can tell, not only has democracy departed the Western world, but also compassion, empathy for others, morality, integrity, respect for truth, justice, faithfulness, and self-respect. Western civilization has become a hollow shell.

There is nothing left but greed and coercion and the threat of coercion. When I read — hopefully incorrect reports — that Russia’s President Putin desires to be a partner of the West, I wonder why such a powerful country, which has emerged into light out of darkness, wants to be Satan’s partner. I assume that the reports are untrue or that Putin is acting in the interest of humankind to defuse the dangerous situation created by Washington and its NATO sock puppets.

Russia should not forget the courageous speech that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez gave to the UN on September 20, 2006. Standing at the podium, Chavez said that on the previous day George W. Bush stood here, “Satan himself, speaking as if he owned the world. You can still smell the sulfur.” The purpose of America, Chavez said, is “to preserve the pattern of domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world.”

Chavez’s words were too much truth for US politicians. Nancy Pelosi, the multimillionaire Speaker of the US House of Representatives, said that such a speech was to be expected from an “everyday thug.”

Elsewhere the response was different. Rafael Correa, currently President of Ecuador, said that Chavez had insulted Satan, because although Satan is evil like Washington, he is al least intelligent, and Washington is completely stupid.

The Western World is on its last legs. Unemployment is horrendous for European and American youth — primarily for the educated. Young American women, driven by student debt, advertise on Internet sites for “sugar daddies” to whom they will supply sex for financial support.

The easy answer — “education is the solution” —  is a lie. Ph.Ds cannot get jobs, because university budgets are cut in order to save money for wars and bank bailouts and 75% of the remaining budget is used by administrations to pay themselves large salaries and perks. NYU, for example, provides its higher administrative personnel with expensive summer homes. University presidents in America have multimillion dollar incomes, while the students drown in debt.

The Wall Street Mentality — unlimited Greed — has taken over American life, and this greed has been exported to Europe, which had achieved a sharing relationship between labor and capital. Today Europe, like the US, is an opportunity wasteland for the young. Greece has been sacrificed for the private bankers, and Italy, Spain, and Portugal are waiting in the wings. In the place of independent European countries, a fascist centralized authority is rising.

As millions of refugees from Washington and its NATO enablers’ wars seek refuge in Europe, budgets for social welfare are further pressed.

In recent years we have witnessed that private bankers acting through the EU were able to appoint the governments of the allegedly democratic governments of Greece and Italy.

In the Western World the aristocracy of wealth is being re-established. If Russia and China join this “partnership,” then billions of peoples will be ruled by a handful of mega-rich elites.

The world is on the knife edge. The West is lost. Russia and China could go down with the West, because both Russia and China suffered tyranny and look to the West for the paths to freedom and liberty. But Western paths lead to “domination, exploitation and pillage of the peoples of the world.”

Will Russia and China participate in the pillage, or will they resist it, standing firm for humanity?

(Dr. Paul Craig Roberts was Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Economic Policy and associate editor of the "Wall Street Journal." He was columnist for "Business Week," Scripps Howard News Service, and Creators Syndicate. He has had many university appointments. His internet columns have attracted a worldwide following. Roberts' latest books are The Failure of Laissez Faire Capitalism and Economic Dissolution of the West and How America Was Lost.)


After watching recent TV shows featuring ranting Republican candidates' warlike performances one is left with the feeling that they are all just waiting to sign up for military service.

Not.

All Republican Presidential Candidates Stand For War

Paul Craig Roberts

September 20, 2015

Here is Carla Fiorina at the debate describing the way she will lead us to Armageddon. She won’t talk to Putin, but she will send him “the message” via military threats:

“Having met Vladimir Putin, I wouldn’t talk to him at all. We’ve talked way too much to him. What I would do, immediately, is begin rebuilding the Sixth Fleet, I would begin rebuilding the missile defense program in Poland, I would conduct regular, aggressive military exercises in the Baltic states. I’d probably send a few thousand more troops into Germany. Vladimir Putin would get the message. . . . Russia is a bad actor, but Vladimir Putin is someone we should not talk to, because the only way he will stop is to sense strength and resolve on the other side, and we have all of that within our control. We could rebuild the Sixth Fleet. I will. We haven’t. We could rebuild the missile defense program. We haven’t. I will.”
There is not a peaceful person among the Republican candidates. Even the female is heartless. Carly Fiorina positioned herself along side the macho men as a warmonger. She let the military/security complex know that she, too, was for sale. Send in the campaign donations, and she will see that the money flows back to the military/security complex in the buildup of fleets and armaments that will send the Russians a message.

Alas, the only message US politicians want to send to the Russians is a war message. The Pentagon has upgraded the newly orchestrated “Russian threat” to “potentially aggressive” and is updating its plans for war with Russia.

What has Russia done to cause Washington to plan war with Russia? Don’t you know? Russia invaded Ukraine, just like Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction and al-Qaeda connections.

If Russia invaded Ukraine, how come Ukraine is still there? If weak insignificant Ukraine fought off a Russian invasion, then how is it possible that Russia is a threat?

To deal with the “Russian threat” Washington has sent armed German jet fighters to patrol the skies over the Baltic oligarchies. Washington tells Russia that the fighters are not directed at Russia. So why the fighters? Perhaps they are there to protect the Baltics from Iran like that anti-ballistic missile system Washington placed in Poland to protect Europe from nonexistent Iranian nuclear ICBMs.

It is reckless for Washington to take provocative actions against Russia and to tell Russia that the actions are directed elsewhere. Russia knows full well that the actions are directed against Russia. What Washington is teaching Russia is that Washington can never be believed. As everything Washington says is a lie, Russia cannot risk making an agreement with Washington to end the orchestrated conflict, because Washington’s word is meaningless. A liar simply cannot be trusted.

Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, has often remarked that Washington’s provocations and propaganda are destroying trust between nuclear powers, thus raising the risk of nuclear war. But Washington is too full of arrogance and hubris to hear. Washington only hears itself.

In February 2012 President Putin made it clear that Russia rejects Washington’s policy known as “airstrike democracy” that overrides international law with military force. Putin said that Washington’s pursuit of hegemony makes every other country unsafe. Washington’s policy of violence, Putin said, might have extremely serious consequences for Washington. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article42890.htm

Three and one-half years later the morons competing for the Republican presidential nomination are making it even more clear that they have not heard what Russia has been telling them.

If any of the Republicans are elected, or for that matter any of the Democrats, war will be the result. There is no point worrying that both parties intend to take away your Social Security, Medicare, and private pensions, because you won’t be here to collect them.

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