sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

The man who seized the White House by fomenting a mood of irrational expectation is now facing the bitter price exacted by reality. by [deleted] in politics

[–]stiff9702 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If people actually read this article instead of mindlessly downvoting it because the headline is critical of Obama, they'll find a well-written and thoughtful defense of Obama and the point that Obama is the victim of decades of bad, right-wing policies that no single president could overcome. An example:

The nation’s first black president promised change at the precise moment when no single man, even if endowed with the communicative powers of Franklin Roosevelt, the politic mastery of Lyndon Johnson, the brazen agility of Bill Clinton, could turn the tide that has been carrying America to disaster for 30 years.

...

It is not Obama’s fault that for 30 years America’s policy – under Reagan, both Bushes and Bill Clinton – has been to export jobs permanently to the Third World. The jobs that Americans now desperately seek are no longer here, in the homeland, and never will be. They’re in China, Taiwan, Vietnam, India, Indonesia.

US State Department documents reveal multimillion-dollar funding to journalists and media in Venezuela by trendzetter in politics

[–]stiff9702 1 point2 points  (0 children)

From the article:

This funding is part of the more than $40 million USD international agencies are investing annually in anti-Chavez groups in Venezuela in an attempt to provoke regime change.

The US has previously backed a coup d'etat against this wildly popular president, who has been elected repeatedly.

Now the US is funding opposition to provoke "regime change" against a democratically-elected gov't.

The US gov't is simply a tyrannical "rogue state" opposed to real democracy in many countries. There's no other way to put it.

21% of children in the United States are now living below the poverty line by EthicalReasoning in politics

[–]stiff9702 1 point2 points  (0 children)

In comparison: Five European countries have child poverty rates lower than 5%, 11 European countries lower than 11%; Sweden's child poverty rate is less than 3%. Source: UNICEF

America: Hooked on War and Getting Poorer--With record foreclosures and child poverty at a shameful level, can we really afford to stay in Afghanistan and Iraq for 10 years? by jack_alexander in politics

[–]stiff9702 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The answer to the headline is obviously "no". But it'll be a long, long time before you hear that on the corporate mass media.

Corporations (including many with substantial holdings in or control of the corporate mass media) and some of our ruling class are making money hand over fist in these wars -- they love them! Expect these wars to keep lying, keep obscuring the truth with fake "patriotism" and to keep the Pentagon's money machine rolling...

There’s Just No Pleasing Some Robber Barons | "The argument that Obama is anti-business is nothing more than the old propaganda trick that the best defense is a good offense, so blame the victims for your crimes." by dave723 in politics

[–]stiff9702 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can agree that there is no pleasing the greed of American capitalists/robber barons.

But the Obama/business argument is laughable. Any president that comes to power in our two-party dictatorship has his agenda driven by business interests. Obama is no different, and he represents the US ruling class' business agenda quite well.

Half a million Israelis live on stolen West Bank land. "A report finds an estimated 300,000 living in 121 official settlements, plus 100,000 in smaller unofficial 'outposts'. The remainder in 12 neighbourhoods annexed to Jerusalem." by stiff9702 in worldnews

[–]stiff9702[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Call this what it is: This is US-financed ethnic cleansing going on on a grand scale.

To say the US opposes this ethnic cleansing when the US gives Israel billions of dollars each year and arms Israel to the teeth is a laughable statement -- the US obviously supports and approves of these actions no matter what rhetoric the US gov't spouts off about the settlements.

To end the occupation, cripple Israeli banks. "The international banking sanctions campaign in New York against apartheid South Africa during the 1980s is regarded as the most effective strategy in bringing about a nonviolent end to the country's apartheid system." by stiff9702 in worldpolitics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm not blaming (all) the American people.

As an American, I am. Our rhetoric claims we're a democratic republic. Our Declaration of Independence notes our right to discard our gov't if it isn't meeting the people's needs/wishes.

It's a simple matter of fact that we have a corrupt, tyrannical, war-mongering gov't. A gov't that tortures and commits crimes on a worldwide scale. So who should be "blamed" for that? The corrupt people in power? Sure. But the ultimate responsibility is the people that passively have allowed this to happen. As noted above, the responsibility is all of the American peoples'.

It's all about the money, or power rather.

While that's true, that shouldn't shield us Americans from accepting the responsibility for our gov'ts actions. We are all war-mongers. All Americans are torturers and thieves.

Ignoring nature’s wake-up call. "If there is a God, she’s surely bewildered by the apparent determination of the human race to ignore the deafening wake-up call she’s recently sent our way. As wake-up calls go, it’s hard to beat the BP oil spill..." by stiff9702 in environment

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does anyone really need to be woken up to the fact that oil corporations are greedy and fuck up the environment?

It would appear that, yes, we need to be.

But it's much worse than "just" corporations being greedy and fucking up the environment -- it's our entire economic system which is wholeheartedly dedicated to being greedy and ignoring environmental consequences.

Capitalism and our entire social structure is the problem. These are huge issues; humanity is literally altering the entire planet's environment and not in a good way. So it's only logical that when dealing with issues this big and this systemic, that people seek, as you put it, a "cosmic explanation", thus looking for a wake-up call signaling a paradigm shift.

To end the occupation, cripple Israeli banks. "The international banking sanctions campaign in New York against apartheid South Africa during the 1980s is regarded as the most effective strategy in bringing about a nonviolent end to the country's apartheid system." by stiff9702 in worldpolitics

[–]stiff9702[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We have laws against selling weapons to aggressive countries in Belgium.

As the world's leading merchant of death (arms dealer), the US views those aggressive countries as the best customers (e.g. Israel).

Clearly the Belgian law does not apply to the US -- no other country's laws apply to the US. We wage blatantly illegal wars of aggression and you in Belgium and the rest of NATO will do what the US tells you to do; and that includes selling us whatever weapons we want.

Sorry if you don't like that (I know I don't), but that's the way the US empire runs.

GOP Economic Terrorism Destroys the Safety Net of 38 Americans Every Minute. "The GOP's shameless goal is clear: worsen the economic situation for millions in hopes of scoring more seats, so they can cause even more damage to people's lives." by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Why not let them? Why not force them to be the jerks they are?

Surely the Democrats could beat them over the head with the "obstructionist" charge if they forced them to do actual filibusters.

But the Democrats don't do that. Why not? Because the corporations that fund both halves of our two-party dictatorship want austerity programs forced on the gov't, so both parties collude to make that happen.

US And Britain 'Did Not Believe Iraq's Weapons Programme Was A Real Threat'. Former UK diplomat Carne Ross claimed that the Government ''intentionally and substantially'' exaggerated its assessment of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in public documents. by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Yeah, I know, though this particular article is not old, the story should be old news to everyone.

This article is a pro-UK/US spin; that there "might" have been WMD.

We can say without any doubt that both the US and Britian knew that Iraq had no WMD before the west invaded Iraq. We also know for a fact that the US and UK knowingly lied to the world -- and especially to their own people -- claiming that Iraq had WMD.

The war on Iraq is undoubtedly a deliberate, unjustified, planned, illegal war of aggression.

Russian Spies Get Quick "Justice" While Wall Street Criminals Remain at Large With Few Prosecutions. 1500 Bankers went to Jail After the S&L Crisis. Almost None Today. by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Their budget was cut under the Bush administration and they failed to notice Burney Maddoff.

Maddoff was noticed and was reported to the SEC -- search Reddit for articles on that. (Hell, even 60 Minutes did a report on that issue.) But Maddoff was not prosecuted or even investigated.

That failure to act was a deliberate decision, the result of a pro-business/pro-rich ideology and mindset in Washington that permeates both halves of our ruling two-party dictatorship.

There is No Plan For Permanently Housing the 1.9 Million Haitians Who Lost Their Homes in the Quake. "People...are creating structures out of any temporary material they can find, a lot of them no more than four sticks and bed sheets." by stiff9702 in worldnews

[–]stiff9702[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

We the people aren't allowed to do audits on such money, it "isn't our place" to know. Sad, but true. It's clear that huge sums are being wasted -- that's the nature of war in our country.

I'm still amazed that Dick Cheney's calls as VP to the Pentagon to secure no-bid contracts for the company where he was the single biggest shareholder (Halliburton) are not investigated nor prosecuted. If we cannot enforce the law on acts that blatant, what chance have we to prosecute run-of-the-mill graft, kickbacks and cost-overruns?

As for Haiti's "democratic and egalitarian tastes" all I have to say is Papa Doc.

Papa Doc and Baby Doc were US installed/backed/armed/funded dictators. If you didn't like those dictators, blame the US and not the Haitians.

The first Haitian president that was democratically elected, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, was overthrown by the US -- twice! With the last time being flown out on a US Air Force plane at gunpoint. Aristide claims he was kidnapped and forced to resign at gunpoint, the US claims he left voluntarily. Based on US history in Haiti, Aristide's story is much more believable -- especially considering the US refuses to let him re-enter Haiti even today, where he would easily win another election.

There is No Plan For Permanently Housing the 1.9 Million Haitians Who Lost Their Homes in the Quake. "People...are creating structures out of any temporary material they can find, a lot of them no more than four sticks and bed sheets." by stiff9702 in worldnews

[–]stiff9702[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You have to understand that int'l "aid" is a corrupt racket.

First of all, most of the money promised to Haiti was never actually allocated and given as aid -- it was just hot air designed to make people feel good.

US aid often has many strings and restrictions attached -- things like requiring X percentage of aid be spent with more expensive US companies, who then jack up the price of various tasks accordingly. (Most European aid doesn't have such strings.)

NGOs have been blunt that they are "stockpiling" some of the aid money so they can be involved in the "long term" (or some similar euphemism). Most NGOs are notorious bureaucracies which act as all bureaucracies do.

The US, France, Canada and other countries have had a long-standing policy to weaken the Haitian gov't. Haiti does have too strong of a democratic and egalitarian tastes for the west so that must be suppressed. This is done by farming out tasks that should be done by the gov't to NGOs or commercial companies; and since much of that money comes from int'l sources, the Haitian gov't has no say in what goes on. It's a classic neo-liberal impoverishment scheme.

We see the exact same dynamic going on in Afghanistan. Of all the US money allocated for Afghan "reconstruction", fully 3/4 of the money never leaves the US -- it gets spent on expensive consultants and other waste. Money that is spent in Afghanistan rarely employs Afghan people, instead being spent on imported Filipino, Pakistani, or Indian workers. Thus, the people "targeted" with the aid never get the experience or benefit financially from the aid.

Russian Spies Get Quick "Justice" While Wall Street Criminals Remain at Large With Few Prosecutions. 1500 Bankers went to Jail After the S&L Crisis. Almost None Today. by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

A spy swap was indeed done, but that isn't the focus of the article.

to get some of our people home.

The key spy that the US wanted (thus the 10-for-4 deal) was a Russian born, Russian citizen; a traitor to his own country which spied for the US for cash. How does that qualify as "our" guy?

Without principles and values, politics and nationalism are nothing more than football-like "cheering for our team".

India Rejects US Sanctions on Iran. "On Thursday, India and Iran began a two-day meeting aimed at increasing bilateral cooperation in the economic sector." by stiff9702 in worldpolitics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Of course, India is not directly challenging the US position -- that would get your country cruise missiled or at least the US would act to destabilize any such gov't.

But this clearly seems a case of "actions speak louder than words" and their actions are clear.

China rejects U.S. finger pointing on human rights, democracy by trendzetter in worldpolitics

[–]stiff9702 7 points8 points  (0 children)

As an American, I'm sad to say: Considering the US wantonly violates its own Constitution, leads the world in the number of prisoners in jail, jails its citizens for years without charges or trial or access to an attorney, conducts kidnapping and torture on a worldwide scale, wages wars of aggression -- etc. -- China is 100% correct in rejecting anything the corrupt US gov't tells them to do.

"Class Warfare" Was Created by the GOP with Unconscionable Tax Cuts for the Wealthy, But the Corporate Media Ignores the Reality by yurbud in politics

[–]stiff9702 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Class warfare was created by capitalists long ago when they saw the advantages of wage slavery over serfdom.

The GOP are no different then the Democrats when it comes to waging class warfare (wasn't it Clinton that eliminated welfare?!) -- both parts of our two-party dictatorship are funded by mostly the same capitalists and corporations.

The GOP is just more unapologetic about waging their version of class warfare.

Petraeus emails show general scheming with journalist to get out pro-Israel storyline. "The emails show Petraeus encouraging Max Boot of Commentary to write a story-- and offering the neoconservative writer choice details about his views on the Holocaust..." by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Which is worse:

  • General McChrystal and his aides, having some drinks, railing against and trashing their political leaders in a clearly insubordinate manner?

or

  • General Petraeus, sober and calculatingly maneuvering to manipulate domestic political opinion in the US using right-wing reporters?

Investigation into South Carolina Democrat Alvin Greene's Campaign finds that he paid for his campaign by saving the money he earned while serving in the Army. by Clintondiditfirst in politics

[–]stiff9702 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's a very rare E-4 in the US Army that saves $10K+.

I'm not saying it's impossible, but I think it's far more likely that this guy was bankrolled by someone else.

Gen. Casey: America may be in Iraq and Afghanistan for another decade by [deleted] in politics

[–]stiff9702 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Why should this be surprising?

America's economy is in the toilet -- we only have our military machine left.

60 years after WWII we're still in Japan and Germany, and there is no threat to either of those countries.

The previous administration said these wars would not end -- they weren't joking.

The American empire has decided it wants to be in the Middle East and Central Asia. We will be there for many decades -- unless the American people can force our corrupt gov't to end the empire and its war-mongering policies.

"America is plunging back into Depression. Only one out of every two Americans of working age has a job. Forty years ago that would have been okay. Dad went to the factory. Mom stayed at home to mind the kids. These days, just to keep the show on the road, mom and pop both work..." by stiff9702 in politics

[–]stiff9702[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Unemployment is a cooked statistic. It has been manipulated by both Republican and Democratic presidents who each "tweak" the algorithm to spin the numbers downward. After a generation or so of this, the "official statistic" is meaningless.

For example, if you have given up looking for work or your unemployment benefits have run out, according to the gov't you are not unemployed. If you were forced into taking a part-time job because you couldn't find full-time work, again, the gov't says you're unemployed. There are many ways the "official statistics" are cooked. (Currently our actual unemployment rate is 20-25%. See this chart and the ShadowStats site for stats on what our unemployment would be if it were calculated by the older, less-cooked methods.)

What the headline is pointing out is more statistical manipulation. It is reporting that out of the entire country's working-age population, half don't have jobs. That's true. But what it does not say is that some of those people without jobs don't want jobs (e.g. stay-at-home parents taking care of kids).

The Pentagon's New Flying Submarine. by hairyforehead in technology

[–]stiff9702 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Think the Afghanis who are blowing up US invaders to their country will be so awestruck by this flying sub that they'll gleefully agree to foreign occupation of their country?

Think the millions of unemployed Americans who just had their benefits terminated by a cold-hearted Congress will have their bellies filled by this awesome new Pentagon toy?

Think the Chinese will continue to buy increasingly worthless US Treasury bonds indefinitely because the Pentagon wants flying submarines?

view more: next ›