Topic: WE'RE STUFFED!!!

[Michael]

I had been wondering the same thing as Peter Hartcher.
This is a weird indictment on human nature, plus a recognition that the Right have always had a good case for just being brutal - people don't get it any other way.

What I am wondering now is 'how long mister nice guy'?
Barack may be trying friendly persuasion, but he is a very clever guy, and when he decides to apply the screws, we may see a different side of him. The Israeli issue is definitely a problem, but then it always has been - current situation is nothing new.

Also, I have the idea that all this is just the business of state - it flows back and forth.

Obama holds out his hand, only to get it bitten

Barack Obama came to power ''extending an open hand'' to America's allies and enemies alike. He must be getting tired of having to wipe the spit off it. Sure, Obama still scores phenomenally well in opinion polls across most of the world outside the US. But popularity is not translating into power to enact the change he thought we should believe in.

First, the allies.

America not only befriended Afghanistan's Hamid Karzai, it installed him as President. In return, he has done a first-class job of discrediting himself and compromising his great ally.

True, Karzai grew angry at the US habit of mistakenly blowing up Afghan citizens. The Pentagon has been so single-minded in killing the enemy hiding among the Afghan people that it was all too ready to kill the Afghan people themselves as ''collateral damage''.

Far from diminishing the enemy, this policy has been strengthening it. Careless violence has been turning the entire country against the US.

But the new US policy recommended by General Stanley McChrystal is designed to change that. The top priority would be protecting the Afghan people, rather than killing the enemy.

At exactly the moment when Obama is weighing how to implement this new policy, Karzai has inflicted dreadful damage. By stealing the election he has demonstrated he is corrupt and illegitimate. He is no better than any other tinpot dictator.

The proposed election run-off on Saturday, cancelled late last night, Sydney time, was a joke. After the opposition leader, Abdullah Abdullah, withdrew his candidacy in protest at Karzai's refusal to sack his crony elections chief, Karzai has become the ruler of a one-party state. The entire enterprise is stripped of legitimacy. No number of troops can restore what Karzai has stolen.

Then there's Japan. Within the limitations of its pacifist post-war constitution, Japan has been a steadfast ally of America's for half a century.

It was America's ''unsinkable aircraft carrier'' in Asia, in the words of Yasuhiro Nakasone, Japan's prime minister from 1982 to 1987.

And Tokyo has gradually redefined its constitution to expand its armed forces and its global military role in support of the US.

After the US, Japan has the biggest and most sophisticated navy in the Asia-Pacific, a democratic counterweight to China. But the strength of the US-Japan alliance is suddenly in doubt. In the election in August the Liberal Democratic Party, the conservatives who had ruled Japan for all but one of the past 54 years, were removed.

The new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama of the centre-left Democratic Party, has chilled relations with the US. Indeed, he campaigned against ''US-led globalisation''.

Hatoyama is insisting on a fundamental review of US bases in Japan. The bases, host to about 40,000 US troops, are the centrepiece of US forward deployment in the Asia-Pacific. The US Defence Secretary, has warned if Tokyo reneges on its agreements with Washington "it would be immensely complicated and counterproductive''.

Further, Hatoyama has proposed a new East Asian community of countries with a common currency, a bloc to include China but not the US.

The Washington Post published this telling quote last month: ''A senior State Department official said the US had 'grown comfortable' thinking about Japan as a constant in US relations in Asia. It no longer is, he said, adding that 'the hardest thing right now is not China, it's Japan'.''

This is, potentially, a deep disturbance to the structures of US power and influence in the Asia-Pacific. It appears the US did not so much have an alliance with Japan as an alliance with the LDP. As China rises to rival US power, Japan is shrinking as a reliable US ally.

Then there is Israel. Obama set out a precondition for Middle East peace talks that Israel halt all settlement activity. But when the Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, defied his demand, Obama yielded.

Now Israel has offered a new policy of ''restraint'' in settlements, and the Obama Administration has agreed in order to get a start to negotiations over a peace settlement with the Palestinians. This piece of alliance mismanagement needlessly annoyed Israel and revealed American weakness.

Then there are America's rivals.

North Korea's response to the open hand? It conducted its second nuclear test and conducted provocative missile firings. It tore up its armistice with South Korea, technically restoring the Korean War, and refused negotiations. And Iran, exposed as having built a secret new nuclear plant, is unapologetic and spurning Obama's hand.

The French President, Nicolas Sarkozy, voiced frustration with Obama in the United Nations Security Council in September. ''We live in a real world, not a virtual world, and the real world expects us to take decisions. President Obama dreams of a world without weapons … but right in front of us two countries are doing the exact opposite.

Since 2005 Iran has flouted five Security Council resolutions. North Korea has been defying council resolutions since 1993. I support the extended hand of the Americans, but what good have proposals for dialogue brought the international community? More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe a UN member state off the map,'' referring to Israel.

It's not all bad. Pakistan has yielded to Obama's pressure to pursue the Taliban seriously for the first time. But this was a response to US coercion, not to the open hand.

Obama's is truly the hardest job in the world. And despite all the goodwill in the world, he may as well use the open hand to wave goodbye to his early hopes of a happy transformation in world affairs.

Peter Hartcher is the Herald's international editor.

http://www.smh.com.au/opinion/politics/obama-holds-out-his-hand-only-to-get-it-bitten-20091102-htcp.html

[TIOTIT]

You don't even have to read between the lines with this guy...
at no time did anyone say anything about wiping off the map...
maybe Israel should relocate to Montana or Florida.....

Since 2005 Iran has flouted five Security Council resolutions. North Korea has been defying council resolutions since 1993. I support the extended hand of the Americans, but what good have proposals for dialogue brought the international community? More uranium enrichment and declarations by the leaders of Iran to wipe a UN member state off the map,'' referring to Israel.

[Angela]

H1N1

I like to keep an eye on this site ... http://www.flu.gov/whereyoulive/healthmap/

At first glance, it looks as if the entire country has the H1N1 flu, but it's just flu season ... early.

Has anyone taken into account the mental state of all these people? AND the climate change?

At the beginning of 2009, the economy basically went down the tubes ... jobs lost, homes lost, ect. I think that had a lot to do with people succumbing to sickness early in the year. And then it continued ... until the stock market started climbing ... then the cases of H1N1 went down! Hmmmm ... interesting.

Our mental state has so much to do with our physical wellness ... or sickness.

Now ... the weather patterns have been very sketchy ... extreme heat ... then extreme cold ... extreme heat ... on and on. It was well over 100 degrees here in Vegas and then the temperature dropped 30 degrees one day ... yikes! Then it climbed back up.

We have "Spring" upper respiratory problems here, and we also have a different "Fall" upper respiratory problem depending on which spores happen to be growing. Allergies run rampant here. People "Expect" to get sick here ... it's an interesting phenomena. They go to the doctor, get a Z-pac and feel better. When they could have probably used their bodies own immune system to fight off their illness and get through it themselves. We are a nation of druggies and the drugs we're being given are actually breaking down and destroying our immune systems.

I've never had a "seasonal flu shot" ... I think it's a money making racket for the health care industry.

1,000 people dead from the swine flu? Isn't that much lower than the CDC's yearly flu statistics of somewhere near 60,000 that they were touting last year? I think that was a little inflated, but I haven't heard anything about those statistics yet this year.

Our government makes rich people richer. When this all transpired in the early Spring, I'm sure contracts were signed and production quotas were designated by the powers that be. Money.

Have you checked out the stocks on these companies that are producing the H1N1 vaccine.  More Money.

The number of people being infected went down ... Uh Oh ... the government might be stuck with millions of doses of vaccine. So ... they hype it up again. Just like the pharmaceutical commercials we see at least 5 times during one show on TV, for viagra or ambience (or whatever that sleeping pill is) ... they feed us with brainwashing techniques to make us think we NEED something.  More Money.

Now ... I'm no rocket scientist, but just knowing a little bit about viruses and how they mutate, I would think that any vaccine cocktail made from the early Spring components would be ineffective with what's going to be our new Fall virus. I had my son get a "flu shot" last year ... he still got sick.

If people weren't getting sick ... millions, maybe billions of dollars would be lost. They are Counting on everyone getting sick. You can't make money on healthy people!

And where did this H1N1 come from? What were they doing in Mexico? I did a little research and read this story just as the Mexico virus started ... http://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/21/us/genetic-material-of-virus-from-1918-flu-is-found.html

Then they put the 'puzzle pieces' together.  http://www.infowars.com/print/science/1918flu.htm

And they got paid for it ..

"The UW (University Of Washington) Received Part Of A $12.7 Million Grant, Funded Largely From Congress' $1.7 Billion Biodefense Appropriation To The National Institutes Of Health, To Collaborate On The 1918 Flu Study With Mount Sinai School Of Medicine In New York And The Armed Forces Institute Of Pathology In Washington, D.C."

Wow! ... that's A LOT of money.

I wonder how much of a profit the makers of Tamiflu and other anti-virus drug manufacturers are making this year?

Follow the money.



edited : broken link

[Angela]

Here's another interesting tidbit ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0

"Furthermore, One hundred and ninety nations are gathering in Copenhagen during December 14th -18th 2009 to sign a World Government Treaty. This World Government Treaty is under the guise of the 'UN Climate Change Treaty'. It is a 200 page document that states specifically a 'World Government' in the section of Annex One. Do some research you will find this to be true. Put in UN Climate Change Treaty on youtube and watch the video."

Are we getting closer to that "one world" government? Ready for your 'chip' insertion?

[Firestarter]

Here's another interesting tidbit ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LO2eh6f5Go0

"Furthermore, One hundred and ninety nations are gathering in Copenhagen during December 14th -18th 2009 to sign a World Government Treaty. This World Government Treaty is under the guise of the 'UN Climate Change Treaty'. It is a 200 page document that states specifically a 'World Government' in the section of Annex One. Do some research you will find this to be true. Put in UN Climate Change Treaty on youtube and watch the video."

Are we getting closer to that "one world" government? Ready for your 'chip' insertion?

Boy I hope not. Big brother watching... bad enough he's got all the tools if he did want to watch us 24/7.

[Angela]

Boy I hope not. Big brother watching... bad enough he's got all the tools if he did want to watch us 24/7.

OMG ... a friend just sent me this! 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDhDrFrs7as&annotation_id=annotation_930926&feature=iv

Heh! They can market ANYTHING, can't they   Something we all NEED, right? Ha! Ha!

I can see everyone lining up for this one, just like they're lining up for the swine flu vaccine. 

[Michael]

I've been looking forward to a World Government for a long time. It has to come, and seems the EU is the only place trialling the problems and the technicality. Americans seem to suffer badly from obsession with fear of their own government - I always thought Australians were a weird mod.

But at the same time it is being proven that de-centralisation is far more effective than centralisation.

Unfortunately I doubt World Governance will arrive in time to deal with a World Threat, so it's all academic. We're in for a fun ride.

[Firestarter]

I've been looking forward to a World Government for a long time. It has to come, and seems the EU is the only place trailing the problems and the technicality. Americans seem to suffer badly from obsession with fear of their own government - I always thought Australians were a weird mod.

But at the same time it is being proven that de-centralisation is far more effective than centralisation.

Unfortunately I doubt World Governance will arrive in time to deal with a World Threat, so it's all academic. We're in for a fun ride.

Oh no. I disagree with a world government. You have to understand you're speaking from soneone from the "United States." Each state has their own separate power, but yet united. This way there can be many elected officials, but the people rule. Though the elected officials try to get us to forget that part.

A one world government is very dangerous because if you get the wrong 'one leader' who could overthrow him? Plus if one is very hungry in their power position, they could lead an entire globe the wrong way. I may have to agree with the fundies for having a fear of a one world government, and then a bad guy taking over. This could give ammo for the whole world to be taken over in corruption. I like it better the way it is, even with its troubles.

And while 'unity' seems the way to go, and it is, not in 'government.' Not that way. Not with politicians being in charge of the whole planet and all of the people. There is already 'too much government' and not enough freedom in many places. I could see it, all falling under communism in one wave, another falling under democracy with an upheaval. Government can never get it right.

A UN council with a meeting of leaders to try to keep the peace on the globe is close enough. Anything beyond that spells destruction for the world to me. IMPO.

[Ke-ke wan]

 but the people rule.

 

Sorry,  that's funny to me!

[Firestarter]

Sorry,  that's funny to me!

It is funny but its technically what the constitution says. Like I said, its just our elected officials try to get us to forget that part, of the constitution, and who is 'really' in charge. Its the people.

[Michael]

I confess America does give the rest of us considerable humour.

One thing I really like: US government is corrupted by the influence of big business, and in order to protect that influence what does big business do? It tells all the people that you can't trust the government because it's corrupted by big business. This works really well, as the people become disaffected with their government, allowing big business to get on with the job of influencing the government. Nice trick.

[Ke-ke wan]

and who is 'really' in charge. Its the people.

I suppose that's what they'd like you to believe.....

[daphne]

We already have a one-government-of-sorts in place. The big corporates. They just let the politicians and the people think that they have a say in anything. Look what happened with the "bank crisis" last year. Everyone goes up and down, like ring-a-ring-a-roses and in the end, it makes no difference what "the people" say or do; not as long as money rules.

[Michael]

How is one to interpret the latest Republican victories in the US? Is this the end of Obama?

I hear a few comments - Barack's supporters didn't turn out, local issues, quantities of money, personalities and so forth.

I have another idea to throw into the mix.

I've just heard on the radio, a comment of a trend that I have been observing myself for a long time now. I first noticed this when Fish and Chip shops began to use frozen potato chips instead of fresh-cut chips. I was initially horrified at the demise of quality, but then I began hearing people speak highly of shops who sold the frozen version. Now, you can't get anything but the frozen version.

What I realised was that once we were served the lesser quality, without choice, we soon began to prefer it, because it has perceptual memory-familiarity.

I see now that many people prefer tea bags to leaf tea, and instant coffee to real coffee.

On the radio they mentioned a University Prof who at the start of every year, presented his new music students with a demonstration of a range of quality sound music - from very high fidelity down to MP3. What he has discovered that progressively each year, more students say they prefer the MP3 quality, despite it lower quality sound. Because that is the sound they have grow up with.

My point is that for many years now, the public has been presented with lower and lower quality 'sound bites' of political info, but much more importantly, they have been force-fed a political diet of simplistic, emotive and outrageous messages, which create an entertainment effect of excitation - the more outrageous the better.

The Republican party have used this neurological channel, and although many got tired of it and voted for Obama, who offers a more complex and higher quality fare, the Republicans knew if they just keep pushing the old barrel, people would eventually come back to what they have become familiar with.

It would be a mistake to see this as an American thing. This is across the whole globe - it is human nature. This is why people like me enter healing and social development as a personal task, not with any illusions as to the possibility of humanity achieving its potential.

I do barrack for Barack's vision and he's not done yet by any means, but in the end, I won't be surprised if its all relentlessly down hill.

[Michael]

Afghan update.

Reading some interesting assessments. These could easily turn out wrong, but they seem pretty astute to me.

US is never going to get anywhere in Afghanistan. No one has before. The national structure is riven with corruption and opium-funded war lords. Even Hamid Karzai’s own brother is one. To rebuild the entire structure of government is a massive task - George Bush could have done it had he not gone into Iraq. But the time is past for that. So forget winning the 'hearts and minds' of the people - they can see very clearly thank you. As far as rectitude goes - the Taliban have it all.

US could go after the really bad terrorists and forget the state. Not likely, but this would push all the Taliban into neighbouring countries, who would then have serious problems. Which they will have even if Taliban win in Afghan, so that's no big deal. But without a viable authentic state in Afghanistan, all the US can do is waste money and lives on a corrupt leadership, and still not win against Taliban.

What the US have to do is to get out of Afghanistan. Obama cannot afford to be bogged down in that hell hole by the next elections in 2012. What to do?

Answer? Pakistan. If Pakistan can win their current war against the home Taliban, they are in a good position to help the US out of Afghanistan. And their pay off- control of Afghanistan.

Who else? Iran? Russia? Not bloody likely. And India is a bit too removed although they are trying desperately to get a foothold there, which is all the more reason for Pakistan to grab it.

The whole thing is a bloody mess. Pakistan, the near collapsed nation, near overtaken by Islamists nation, is the only straw of hope for the US to clear out. Thanks George.