Congratulations to the people of Donetsk

[saxitoxin]

The despotic American puppet government in Tripoli has started its kangaroo trial of Dr. Saif al-Islam. It is incredible they can conduct this farce of justice with a straight face:

Saif al-Islam, the most high-profile of Gaddafi's seven sons, smiled and looked confident on the link-up from a jail in the western town of Zintan where he has been held since he was captured by former rebels.

The rebels refuse to hand Saif over, saying they do not trust the government to ensure he won't escape, but have agreed to have him tried in a government court.

http://af.reuters.com/article/libyaNews ... LT20140427

In other words, if he's convicted he'll be imprisoned, if he's acquitted he won't be released from prison. This is Kafka justice to the umpteenth degree. Only a government created by, and beholden to, the west could imagine such perversions.

FREE SAIF

[kuthoer]

The U.S. has probably been a totalitarian oligarchy since it was founded; former Wall Street Journal reporter Ferdinand Lundberg does a good chronicling the tyrannical nature of American civic life from 1776 to present, which was solidified during the gilded age. I recommend the following books by him in which he thoroughly eviscerates the very concept of the United States:

- Cracks in the Constitution
- The Myth of Democracy
- The Depravity of Mankind

Back in the 60s into the 70s 1/3 of the American workers were represented by unions. You could graduate High School and get a decent living wage. Once President Reagan took office the tide turned against the working class.

[saxitoxin]

Once William McKinley took office the tide turned against the working class.

fixed

[kuthoer]

Once William McKinley took office the tide turned against the working class.

fixed

Your history of economics is twisted. Please drop the bag of glue.

[saxitoxin]

Once William McKinley took office the tide turned against the working class.

fixed

Your history of economics is twisted. Please drop the bag of glue.

"I served in all commissioned ranks from a second Lieutenant to a Major General. I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested. And during that time, I spent most of my time being a high-class muscle man. In short, I was a racketeer for capitalism."

- GEN Smedley Butler, U.S. Marine Corps
1934

"These aren’t “color” revolutions—they’re banditry under the guise of democracy . . .this banditry is imposed and paid for from outside, is carried out to benefit individuals who don’t care about their countries and peoples, and interests only those who have imperialist ambitions and are trying to conquer new markets."

- President Alexander Luksahenko
2004

[Dukasaur]

Once William McKinley took office the tide turned against the working class.

fixed

Your history of economics is twisted. Please drop the bag of glue.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gabriel_Kolko

Kolko was considered a leading historian of the New Left,[7] joining William Appleman Williams and James Weinstein in advancing the corporate liberalism idea whereby the old Progressive historiography of the "interests" versus the "people" was reinterpreted as a collaboration of interests aiming towards stabilizing competition.[8] Kolko argued that big business turned to the government for support because of its inefficiency and inability to prevent the economy veering between boom and bust, which aroused fears that the concomitant discontent amongst the general public would lead to the imposition of popular constraints upon business. Its embrace of government led to their intertwinement, with business becoming the dominant strand.[9] Kolko, in particular, broke new ground with his critical history of the Progressive Era. He suggested that free enterprise and competition were vibrant and expanding during the first two decades of the 20th century; thereafter, however, "the corporate elite—the House of Morgan, for example—turned to government intervention when it realized in the waning 19th century that competition was too unruly to guarantee market share."[10] This behavior is known as corporatism, but Kolko dubbed it political capitalism, "the merger of the economic and political structures on behalf of the greater interests of capitalism".[11] Kolko's thesis "that businessmen favored government regulation because they feared competition and desired to forge a government–business coalition" is one that is echoed by many observers today.[9] Former Harvard professor Paul H. Weaver uncovered the same inefficient and bureaucratic behavior from corporations during his stint at Ford Motor Corporation.[12] Murray Rothbard thought highly of Kolko's work on the history of relations between big business and government.[13] As one profile put it:

[DoomYoshi]

I love quotations!

There is Hope for the future because God has a sense of humor and we are funny to God.

[Pope Joan]

It is funny how NYTimes had to back off about "Russian special forces":
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27104904
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/world/europe/scrutiny-over-photos-said-to-tie-russia-units-to-ukraine.html?action=click&contentCollection=Europe&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Another interesting fact is that "Doneck Republic" does not use the flag or symbols of cossacks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cossacks, although it is in the heart of the historic "Land of Vojsko Donskoe"...

Anyway, I am just amazed how quickly it is playing out. How will Putin respond to the new round of sanctions? So far the response was void: sanctions on McCain and such. IMHO, he has a couple of aces up his sleeve. He can order tax audits for all US businesses in Russia. He can also declare and enforce a no-fly-zone over Doneck and Luhansk...

[DoomYoshi]

He can order tax audits for all US businesses in Russia.

That's why I can't stand Putin. Why should the President have that ability? Imagine if every registered Republican was audited every year for 8 years because Obama was elected.

[Pope Joan]

Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet Union led by a Ukrainian president, not Russia! Plus, had it not been for Reagan supplying guns to the mujahadin, it would have been relatively bloodless (and perfectly legal as the intervention was requested by the Afghan government).

Interesting point but not entirely correct. The soviet president of the day Brezhnev, also a general secretary, was, indeed, Ukrainian. But he had his first stroke in 1973 and, according to US intelligence and anyone who could see , was totally out of his mind by 1977. My understanding that he was not even present at the meetings -- why do you need a mad sick person there ?

The country was mostly run by Suslov (Russian, head of foreign affairs committee of the politbureau) who was strongly against invasion of Afghanistan and required a lot of convincing. The pro-invasion lobby was Andropov (Russian, head of KGB), Gromyko (Belorussian, foreign mInister) and Ustinov (Russian, defence minister). The invasion went ahead after the trio managed to convince Suslov.

[Pope Joan]

He can order tax audits for all US businesses in Russia.

That's why I can't stand Putin. Why should the President have that ability? Imagine if every registered Republican was audited every year for 8 years because Obama was elected.

Dont get personal, at least on this issue. Putin has just inherited the system. This is a big difference in implementations of democracies in the US and Russia. You may slag US, but they maintain the separation of powers and they do count votes when they have elections. Russia more resembles Roman Empire: all democratic attributes are in place but the emperor holds all the important offices and can do whatever he likes.

More to this point, I was in Russia last week and saw a Sunday evening program with Peskov, Putin's press-secretary: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKFy66K5yDo , sorry, it is Russian. One amazing thing Peskov said was the answer to a question how they discussed annexation of Crimea. Apparently, they did not It was a single personal decision of Putin and his inner circle was simply informed, and started working on implementation...

[kuthoer]

It is funny how NYTimes had to back off about "Russian special forces":
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-27104904
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/23/world/europe/scrutiny-over-photos-said-to-tie-russia-units-to-ukraine.html?action=click&contentCollection=Europe&module=RelatedCoverage&region=Marginalia&pgtype=article

Another interesting fact is that "Doneck Republic" does not use the flag or symbols of cossacks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Don_Cossacks, although it is in the heart of the historic "Land of Vojsko Donskoe"...

Anyway, I am just amazed how quickly it is playing out. How will Putin respond to the new round of sanctions? So far the response was void: sanctions on McCain and such. IMHO, he has a couple of aces up his sleeve. He can order tax audits for all US businesses in Russia. He can also declare and enforce a no-fly-zone over Doneck and Luhansk...

Let Russia go ahead and chase all the foreign investment out of their shrinking economy. Let Russia invade Eastern Ukraine and lose even more rubles occupying this region. Putin will isolate his country from the West and his country will be slowly squeezed financially.

Putin will watch his popularity hit rock bottom in the next couple of years and the Russians will see their jobs disappear and incomes drop.

So...the only real income that Russia can draw on is oil and gas revenue, do the leaders hang themselves by shutting the valves off to the West? Gonna be interesting to see how all this plays out over the next several months.

[Qwert]

interesting how pro-west supporters notice Russian intervention in Chechnia, Afghanistan and Georgia, and forget how US intervene in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq.

Its will be good if anyone want to give a list how much US and Russia are responsible for civilian casualty in this conflict. Its not ok to be blind on US mas kill of civilian people and only blame Russia for killing civilian people.

Goranz and me are try to be objective in this situation, because like i write in previous post, Russia only do what US all ready doing in last 30-40 years=brake international law and attack weak countries.

So this its not surprise, and US government are behave strange when now talk about respect of international law, when then not respect same in 1999-2001-2003-2011.

[kuthoer]

interesting how pro-west supporters notice Russian intervention in Chechnia, Afghanistan and Georgia, and forget how US intervene in Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq.

Its will be good if anyone want to give a list how much US and Russia are responsible for civilian casualty in this conflict. Its not ok to be blind on US mas kill of civilian people and only blame Russia for killing civilian people.

Goranz and me are try to be objective in this situation, because like i write in previous post, Russia only do what US all ready doing in last 30-40 years=brake international law and attack weak countries.

So this its not surprise, and US government are behave strange when now talk about respect of international law, when then not respect same in 1999-2001-2003-2011.

We Americans are free to criticize American policies, as we have strongly during the Vietnam War.

In Russia you may get harassed or even lose your job if you personally insult Putin. Many news outlets have been shutdown for being critics of Putin's policies.

[saxitoxin]

We Americans are free to criticize American policies, as we have strongly during the Vietnam War.

LOL. That's why there are so many American dissidents who have to flee the U.S. and are living abroad as political refugees, like Bob Avakian, Edward Snowden, etc. And, even then, the U.S. sometimes manages to execute them without trial, like Anwar al-Awlaki - and his 16 year old son.

In any case, Russia's main trading partners - Brazil, India and China - have all rejected the sanctions talk nonsense. This is a dog and pony show that will quietly end when winter hits Europe. The U.S. is incapable of doing anything but braying from its yard like a belligerent mule. It is a nation hated around the world for its bellicose policies and that maintains its weakening grip on power only through bomb and bullet. The historic bloc of the plutocracy is fading fast, a new age is approaching and a counter-hegemon emerging.

[kuthoer]

We Americans are free to criticize American policies, as we have strongly during the Vietnam War.

LOL. That's why there are so many American dissidents who have to flee the U.S. and are living abroad as political refugees, like Bob Avakian, Edward Snowden, etc. And, even then, the U.S. sometimes manages to execute them without trial, like Anwar al-Awlaki - and his 16 year old son.

In any case, Russia's main trading partners - Brazil, India and China - have all rejected the sanctions talk nonsense. This is a dog and pony show that will quietly end when winter hits Europe. The U.S. is incapable of doing anything but braying from its yard like a belligerent mule. It is a nation hated around the world for its bellicose policies and that maintains its weakening grip on power only through bomb and bullet. The historic bloc of the plutocracy is fading fast, a new age is approaching and a counter-hegemon emerging.

Your tongue in cheek nonsense is that. Snowden did a treasonous act, since he worked for the government via contract work.

Funny you listed China, ha-ha-ha, that's hilarious, especially considering their human rights record.

[saxitoxin]

Your tongue in cheek nonsense is that. Snowden did a treasonous act, since he worked for the government via contract work.

Frequently in dictatorships, one observes, political dissidents are denounced as "treasonous," "unpatriotic," and so forth. The rulers whip their populations into a frenzy with the hysterical call that traitors must be uprooted.

Let Us Never Forget America's Victims: Abdul al-Awlaki - 16 year old U.S. citizen burned to death by American Hellfire missiles because his father dared criticized U.S. regime's foreign policy. The message: "Keep your place or this will happen to your family, too."

[saxitoxin]

This is a big difference in implementations of democracies in the US and Russia. You may slag US, but they maintain the separation of powers and they do count votes when they have elections.

In the U.S. only candidates sanctioned by the two state-approved political parties are allowed to even run. They let a few nonsense candidates in to create the appearance of pluralism, but no serious candidates that are not state-approved are allowed access to the ballot. (For instance, in 2000 and 2004 elections officials blocked Ralph Nader from even registering as a candidate, using methods that were in violation of international elections norms [in the case of Pennsylvania, some low level flunkies were jailed, but not until 4 years after the election].) So, when you're running with no opposition, why not count the votes? You have nothing to lose.

[kuthoer]

Your tongue in cheek nonsense is that. Snowden did a treasonous act, since he worked for the government via contract work.

Frequently in dictatorships, one observes, political dissidents are denounced as "treasonous," "unpatriotic," and so forth. The rulers whip their populations into a frenzy with the hysterical call that traitors must be uprooted.

Let Us Never Forget America's Victims: Abdul al-Awlaki - 16 year old U.S. citizen burned to death by American Hellfire missiles because his father dared criticized U.S. regime's foreign policy. The message: "Keep your place or this will happen to your family, too."

His dad is responsible for his son's death. He knew that his son was at risk for hanging out with this terrorist organization. This group has made attempts at hitting US interests.

[kuthoer]

This is a big difference in implementations of democracies in the US and Russia. You may slag US, but they maintain the separation of powers and they do count votes when they have elections.

In the U.S. only candidates sanctioned by the two state-approved political parties are allowed to even run. They let a few nonsense candidates in to create the appearance of pluralism, but no serious candidates that are not state-approved are allowed access to the ballot. (For instance, in 2000 and 2004 elections officials blocked Ralph Nader from even registering as a candidate, using methods that were in violation of international elections norms [in the case of Pennsylvania, some low level flunkies were jailed, but not until 4 years after the election].) So, when you're running with no opposition, why not count the votes? You have nothing to lose.

Yet you believe China and Russia have democracies? Americans one day soon will wake up from their slumber and stop Corporate America from buying legislators. Until then, America will continue enriching the top 1%

[mrswdk]

I wouldn't cheer China's military ascent too hard. China's so fucking prickly it makes Bush invading Afghanistan because of 9/11 look like the calm, considered reaction of a spiritual leader. All it takes is a photo of Obama shaking hands with Abe and people are hopping up and down like fleas, demanding that the Senkaku/Diaoyu Islands be invaded, Okinawa be blitzed, Japan be pillaged ad nauseum. It's unreal.

Whatever shit you hear coming out of American flag wavers' mouths, at least you don't hear calls for Iranian businesses in the US to be looted or for the indiscriminate raping of Afghan women.

[saxitoxin]

Your tongue in cheek nonsense is that. Snowden did a treasonous act, since he worked for the government via contract work.

Frequently in dictatorships, one observes, political dissidents are denounced as "treasonous," "unpatriotic," and so forth. The rulers whip their populations into a frenzy with the hysterical call that traitors must be uprooted.

Let Us Never Forget America's Victims: Abdul al-Awlaki - 16 year old U.S. citizen burned to death by American Hellfire missiles because his father dared criticized U.S. regime's foreign policy. The message: "Keep your place or this will happen to your family, too."

His dad is responsible for his son's death. He knew that his son was at risk for hanging out with this terrorist organization. This group has made attempts at hitting US interests.

His father was never accused of a violent act. He was executed without trial for engaging in speech the U.S. government prohibited. Only in the most backwards nations are entire families, including children, murdered by the regime to send a message. This is one reason the U.S. and its thug leadership is despised around the world.

Yet you believe China and Russia have democracies?

In the view of Antonio Gramsci, class liberation can't occur through economic forces alone. The people must forge an historic bloc with a variety of social forces; any force dedicated to the destruction of the status quo should be supported as a potential ally.

Americans one day soon will wake up from their slumber and stop Corporate America from buying legislators. Until then, America will continue enriching the top 1%

LMAO. The U.S. and its extreme right wing, murderous ruling dynasties like the Clintons, Bushes, Kennedys, etc. own and manage the U.S. as their personal property. You're running to catch a train that pulled out of the station a century ago. Good luck with all that.

[Baron Von PWN]

I realy enjoy it when saxi hits his stride. Sometime I think he has a stock of old KGB propaganda books for material.

[saxitoxin]

Afghanistan was invaded by the Soviet Union led by a Ukrainian president, not Russia! Plus, had it not been for Reagan supplying guns to the mujahadin, it would have been relatively bloodless (and perfectly legal as the intervention was requested by the Afghan government).

Interesting point but not entirely correct. The soviet president of the day Brezhnev, also a general secretary, was, indeed, Ukrainian. But he had his first stroke in 1973 and, according to US intelligence and anyone who could see , was totally out of his mind by 1977. My understanding that he was not even present at the meetings -- why do you need a mad sick person there ?

The country was mostly run by Suslov (Russian, head of foreign affairs committee of the politbureau) who was strongly against invasion of Afghanistan and required a lot of convincing. The pro-invasion lobby was Andropov (Russian, head of KGB), Gromyko (Belorussian, foreign mInister) and Ustinov (Russian, defence minister). The invasion went ahead after the trio managed to convince Suslov.

Hairs can be split but, ultimately, if you're going to say the USSR invaded Afghanistan you should also say the U.S. invaded South Korea in 1950. The legal government of Afghanistan sent a formal request to the USSR for fraternal military aid. The USSR responded to that request by sending troops in a spirit of international socialist solidarity.

[kuthoer]

I realy enjoy it when saxi hits his stride. Sometime I think he has a stock of old KGB propaganda books for material.

He drinks his own Kool Aid.