Afghanistan Is A Bipartisan War - 2

In the first post of this series, in February of 2009, Dredd Blog commented on the problems of the Afghanistan war.

In that post we pointed out studies showing that weapons were going from Americans to the Taliban, and that the economy at home was being weakened by the war.

Since then a public verbal conflict has been going on between the U.S. and the Karzai Administration in Kabul, but that was not the end of the matter, because things are a lot worse now and growing worse by the day:

American and other coalition forces here are being killed in increasing numbers by the very Afghan soldiers they fight alongside and train, in attacks motivated by deep-seated animosity between the supposedly allied forces, according to American and Afghan officers and a classified coalition report obtained by The New York Times.

A decade into the war in Afghanistan, the report makes clear that these killings have become the most visible symptom of a far deeper ailment plaguing the war effort: the contempt each side holds for the other, never mind the Taliban. The ill will and mistrust run deep among civilians and militaries on both sides, raising questions about what future role the United States and its allies can expect to play in Afghanistan.

Underscoring the danger, four French service members were killed and a number were wounded on Friday when a gunman wearing an Afghan National Army uniform turned his weapon on them, according to an Afghan police official in Kapisa Province in eastern Afghanistan where the incident occurred and a Western official in Kabul, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press. The Afghan police official, Asdullah Hamidi, said the shooting happened in Tagab District, an area that is viewed as dangerous and dominated by insurgent forces.

(NY Times, emphasis added). Can anyone seriously make the case for the continuation of this war as is?

Diplomacy that brings several nations of that area together, so they can resolve their own region's tensions, is a better working strategy.

There is little wonder why many experts and other observers, including Dredd Blog, can't see any valid reason for its continuation, therefore concluding that the "canned" stated reasons for the continuation are not valid.

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An artist did his interpretation of the progress of the Afgan war:

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The Elections of Pontius Pilots - 2

One can't help but notice the similarities that exist when a comparison is made among politicians running for office this election cycle.

That comparison would be to compare them to the pilot captain of the Costa Concordia pictured in its place of unrest above left.

In the first post of this series Dredd Blog pointed out that none of them are really what they say they are, nor can they really do what they say they will do, thus the ship of state awaits an uncertain demise, a place of unrest.

Some of those who lie, cheat, steal, and beg for your vote, are not as competent as the captain of the ill fated ship in the photo above.

Yet, they promise you that they will be a heroic Sky Pilot In Chief, while commanding a vast armada of ships, planes, tanks, and nuclear WMD, spread around the world.

"Fake me to your leader" is an apt description of this phenomenon, which will be analyzed more deeply later in this post.

Some of you can experience what psychologists mean when they teach us that we "transfer" our emotional expectations and trust from our parents to our government, as we become adults.

Once that transference has taken place we tend to no longer look to our parents for such things, but rather we tend to look to "a greater power" for those things.

Some of you can experience the presence of the phenomenon, by realizing that you tend to think that your vote will elect a person, and will then propel that politician into the seat of Sky Pilot In Chief, who will then lead us to a promised land.

A land where the American Dream dwells in full force and effect still.

Or, you can remember your experience of that phenomenon, by noticing the absence of it.

That happens by remembering when you first thought that way, before you changed your mind upon a closer analysis, then comparing that old memory to the different understanding you now have.

The reason the tale they tell is no longer true now, whether it was ever true or not in the first place, is that our empire is in serious decline (Things Have Changed).

The Sky Pilots In Chief, whom we elect, are mere puppets of a demented fog of ideology held by a few, called by some "the 1%" realm.

They are the full embodiment of the captain of the sinking ship of state, yet who require that their carefully selected puppets dance their dance (not our dance).

The Carnival Cruise Company (nice metaphor for MOMCOM) is now offering a 30% discount (through IRS of course) to those who were on the ill fated liner, who survived, and who want to take another voyage with them.

This degree of being out of touch with the populace they interact with is only matched by Pontius Pilots.

If "Pontius Pilots" seems like a mysterious phrase to you, here is a clue: you will elect one or more of them in November.

The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.

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Wikipedia Down To Protest SOPA

Dredd Blog joins Wikipedia in protest of a congressional attack on free speech:

Imagine a World
Without Free Knowledge

For over a decade, we have spent millions of hours building the largest encyclopedia in human history. Right now, the U.S. Congress is considering legislation that could fatally damage the free and open Internet. For 24 hours, to raise awareness, we are blacking out Wikipedia ...

(Wikipedia). Please go there and send a message to your representatives.

The Virgin MOMCOM - 5

In the previous post of this series, regular readers know that we took a look at the Wartocracy.

Regular readers of Dredd Blog also know that "wartocracy" is the handle Dredd Blog has given to the militant, imperial institutions which the MOMCOM 1% use to rule the United States, and which they say they use to "keep the crazy animals around the world in their cages."

Today, let's take a look at what others, besides Dredd Blog, see and think concerning just one facet of the vast Wartocracy, just one facet of that global, empire entity, that one facet which is known as "the military":

By 1990, the value of the weapons, equipment, and factories devoted to the military was 83% of the value of all plants and equipment in American Manufacturing. From 1947-1990 the combined US military budget amounted to $8.7 trillion ... Military industries crowd out the civilian economy ... and lead to severe economic weakness.” Consider that the US military is now spending over $1 trillion per year including all black and related expenses, which is more than the entire rest of the world combined. The next biggest spender is China at $91.5 billion according to Chinese figures. Johnson summarizes, “Devotion to military Keynesianism is, in fact, a form of slow economic suicide ..."

(Dismantling the Empire, by Chalmers Johnson, emphasis added). The author of that book, a staunch republican conservative, also has this background:

Chalmers Ashby Johnson ... was an American author and professor emeritus of the University of California, San Diego. He served in the Korean War, was a consultant for the CIA from 1967–1973, and chaired the Center for Chinese Studies at the University of California, Berkeley from 1967 to 1972 ... He was also president and co-founder of the Japan Policy Research Institute ... an organization promoting public education about Japan and Asia ... He wrote numerous books including, most recently, three examinations of the consequences of American Empire: Blowback, The Sorrows of Empire, and Nemesis: The Last Days of the American Republic.

(Wikipedia). A few more reviews of his last book, and/or comments about the author, are available here, here, here, and here.

The next post in this series is here, the previous post is here.

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The Fugs, Virgin Forest ...

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State Crimes Against Democracy - 6

Dr. King

Democracy no longer has one meaning.

In this series we have been discussing the psychology, and other factors, involved with state crimes against democracy (SCAD).

The first post in the series is here, others may be looked up on the "Series Posts" tabs at the top of any Dredd Blog page.

The fact that conspiracies take place between members of government to carry out state crimes against democracy (against the people in other words) has been proven in courts of law.

One example it would be appropriate to mention on a day memorializing Dr. King, would be IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE FOR THE THIRTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT MEMPHIS, where a jury verdict stated that the government participated in a conspiracy to commit a SCAD:

THE COURT: In answer to the question did Loyd Jowers participate in a conspiracy to do harm to Dr. Martin Luther King, your answer is yes. Do you also find that others, including governmental agencies, were parties to this conspiracy as alleged by the defendant? Your answer to that one is also yes ... Is that your verdict?

THE JURY: Yes (In unison).

(King v. Jowers, emphasis added). The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a state crime against democracy.

Governments, including state governments of the United States, as well as the federal government, can and do commit crimes against the people.

As a nation degenerates these crimes are covered up and hidden, rather than being prosecuted as they are when a nation still has a healthy government.

The next post in this series is here, the previous post in this series is here.

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