How Dictators Prosper Part II

A few days ago I posted on the shocking pandering thats going on in Uzbekistan. Today the Washington Post has an article on the past generation of dictators from Latin America living out their "prison" terms in the lap of luxury of their personal estates.
Several weeks ago, a US Republican Congressman married the daughter of one "incarcerated" former dictator.
Facing Charges, Not Discomforts (washingtonpost.com)

Efrain Rios Montt, the former dictator who presided over one of the bloodiest eras in Guatemalan history, has been under house arrest in the capital since early last year. He is accused of inciting a riot, and he is being investigated for genocide in the killings of thousands during a 1980s military campaign against Marxist rebels. But several weeks ago, the retired general threw a grand bash for his daughter's wedding at his mansion in this colonial city at the foot of postcard-perfect volcanoes. Fine scotch flowed, and the guest list included both the U.S. ambassador and a member of the U.S. Congress, who happened to be the groom. The U.S. ambassador to Guatemala, John Hamilton, and his wife, Donna, were among 300 guests at the wedding of Zury Rios Sosa to U.S. Rep. Gerald C. Weller (R-Ill.), at her father's mansion in Antigua. Rios Montt is one of more than a dozen former Latin American leaders who are under investigation on criminal charges ranging from murder to embezzlement, yet who continue to enjoy the comforts of home and even high-profile social lives, arousing the ire of ordinary citizens and human rights groups across the country.

I can't help but wonder how a US Congressman spent enough time with the daughter of a former dictator accused of genocide to get married. Zury Rios Sosa has no permanent residency status in the United States. Weller was learning Spanish in the summer of 2003, apparently at taxpayers expense.
Weller is well known for his multi-million dollar pork for businesses in his district and well funded campaigns financed by major Republican funders like big drug companies. He's also expressed concern about tax dollars funding Medicaid shifting from the suburbs into the inner Cities. This guy is a extremist right-wing Republican and a darling of the Christian Coalition.
I wonder how many US politicians have financial and political ties to former dictators? I would guess quite a few. The Post blames the corrupt judiciary in the home country. I suspect the influence of the US is also involved, perhaps largely responsible.

White House bribed commentator to promote law

Bush has a consistent way to manipulate the media: Bribery. Greed is the most effective political motivator.

 [The Agonist]

White House paid commentator to promote law - Greg Toppo | January 7USAToday - Seeking to build support among black families for its education reform law, the Bush administration paid a prominent black pundit $240,000 to promote the law on his nationally syndicated television show and to urge other black journalists to do the same. The campaign, part of an effort to promote No Child Left Behind (NCLB), required commentator Armstrong Williams "to regularly comment on NCLB during the course of his broadcasts," and to interview Education Secretary Rod Paige for TV and radio spots that aired during the show in 2004. Williams said Thursday he understands that critics could find the arrangement unethical, but "I wanted to do it because it's something I believe in." Ummmm. OK.

 

Update January 8: A bipartisan group of lawmakers called for an investigation Friday into whether the Bush administration misused taxpayer funds by paying a prominent media pundit $240,000 to promote the president's controversial new education policy.

 

Misuse of funds? Well, duh!

Bush Paints His Goals As 'Crises'

Bush is up to his tricks again. The "create a crisis" game has worked exceedingly well for his agenda. Exaggerate the problem, create a false impression of impending doom and people are willing to sacrifice things they don't want to give up. An exaggeration is still a lie and especially egregious when its only purpose is to make his buddies on Wall Street rich.

[The Agonist]

Bush Paints His Goals As 'Crises' - Jim Vande Hei | January 8 - WaPo - President Bush had great success in his first term by defining crises that demanded decisive responses. Now, as he begins a second term, Bush is returning to the same tactic to accomplish three longtime conservative goals. This strategy helped Bush win support for the war in Iraq, tax cuts and education policies, as well as reclaim the White House. What is unclear is whether the same approach will work, given the battering to the administration's credibility over its Iraq claims and a new Democratic campaign accusing Bush of crying wolf. Painting a grim picture of problems is as old as politics itself. But Democrats and some presidential scholars say there is a danger for Bush if he appears to stoke fears for political gain.

[...]

In a Dec. 20 news conference, the president explained. "Many times, legislative bodies will not react unless the crisis is apparent, crisis is upon them," Bush said, discussing Social Security. "And so for a period of time, we're going to have to explain to members of Congress that crisis is here."

Election Woes

Juan Cole has the latest on the election in Iraq. It certainly doesn't sound very favorable to the US or Iraqis since indications are that Sunnis will be disenfranchised because they are too afraid to vote or even participate in the government. Meanwhile, fundamentalist Shiite appears to be putting together enough influence to ensure puritanical laws imposed on Iraqi citizens. Presumably some of them will be directed towards women. I can't believe even the current government made up with largely secular exiles can't be very happy with the state of affairs.

[Informed Comment]

Election Woes

 

Nancy Yousef of Knight Ridder reports from Baghdad that campaigning for the January 30 elections has worsened ethnic tensions. Her interviews with university students reveal that the Shiites she talked to are determined to vote, where the Sunnis are afraid to do so, having received death threats.

Speaking of death threats, she reveals that 2 members of Nasser Chadirchi's 48-person Arab nationalist list have resigned on receiving such threats, and that the others are afraid to reveal their names. He estimates that each candidate needs 8 bodyguards if the person is to actively campaign.

Borzou Daragahi reports for AP that Sadr City, with ten percent of the country's population, has put up its own electoral list. Regionally-based lists should not do as well as national ones, given the way the electoral rules have been set up. But if Sadr City does give its list any significant number of votes, and if some Sadrists elsewhere vote for the list on ideological grounds, it could get 10 or 15 seats in the 227-member parliament. A similar number of at least vaguely pro-Sadr delegates is likely to be seated in the United Iraqi Alliance. So it is not impossible that Sadrist will form five to ten percent of the new parliament. On many religious issues they could form strong alliances with the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq and al-Dawa, the other major Shiite groupings, to put through puritanical laws.

On the other hand, initial opinion polling in Baghdad and the Shiite south suggests that the list of secular ex-Baathist Iyad Allawi, the current interim prime minister, may get as much as 22 percent of the vote. The United Iraqi Alliance, the list cobbled together at Grand Ayatollah Sistani's behest, comes in with 27% in the poll.

I very much doubt that when the elections actually come, Allawi's list will do that well, or the UIA that poorly. A lot of Iraqis will make up their minds at the last moment, and get good information only at that time. The Dawa Party alone had 18 percent support in one recent poll, and it is only one element of the United Iraqi Alliance.

The guerrilla insurgency is attempting to derail the elections with bombings and attacks. Air force Brig.-Gen. Erv Lessel, the deputy chief of staff for strategic communications in Iraq, predicted spectacular attacks in the period running up to the elections, but said he had no specific intelligence on that score.

Meanwhile, the big death tolls from single bombing instances in past weeks have lead the Pentagon to send a wideranging investigative team to Iraq with a charge to improve the way things are being done and to find ways of accelerating the training of Iraqi troops.

Does America Still Have a Working Democracy?

Today a glimmer of hope came from Washington DC. Democrats stood one after another to protest the certification of the Electoral College vote for President without an investigation. And activists and bloggers deserve at least some of the credit. Kevin at Pre-emptive Karma are pretty pessimistic about prospects and see America is effectively a one party state.
Yet there is a syntillating report from House Judiciary Committee Democrats reporting in bold terms the irregularities and illegal activities that lead to election fraud.
I try hard to balance my cynicism with an honest appraisal of possible positive outcomes. I think Democrats have lacked leadership, the kind of leadership that Dean could provide as Central Committee Chair. Few Democrats dare to stand up and question the status quo created by the Republicans. Perhaps we are witnessing the beginnings of change. There were some pretty loud and daring statements over the past couple days. Maybe we will see some courage from Democratic leaders.
Will Pitt at FYI did blog by blog coverage:
t r u t h o u t
Today was a good day
Thursday 06 January 2005 @ 06:05

I can't recall a day in the last several years when the efforts of citizens yielded fruit in the Senate. Didn't work with the Patriot Act vote. Didn't work with the Homeland Security Act vote. Sure as hell didn't work with the Iraq war vote. It worked today. Voices were heard, and something we haven't seen since 1877 took place today. This is what Congress exists for, and for once, they responded. The rest is up to the same people who got this ball rolling. Today was a beginning, an introduction into the national dialogue of the fact that lots and lots and lots and lots of Americans get jobbed out of their right to vote every election. We can fix that. We should fix that. Today, the task was well begun.

Sunni's Fear a "Shiite Crescent" Across the Middle East

Juan Cole is on top of the Sunni worries of the consequences of Iraq. What if Shiites controlled the entire northern flank of the Arab/Persian World? I don't understand their concern beyond some of the religious differences.

 [Informed Comment]

The Iraqi government formally requested that the Egyptian government encourage Iraqi Sunni Arabs to participate in the upcoming elections. Interim Defense Minister Hazem Shaalan is in Cairo for talks on this and other issues.
 
Since the neo-Baathists and Salafis who are leading the Iraqi Sunni Arab rebellion view the Mubarak government as a pharaonic dictatorship and servant of the United States, I very much doubt that Cairo has much influence with people in Mosul and Ramadi, on the face of it. But Shaalan is said by al-Hayat to also be inviting the Gulf Arab states to make the same appeal. I wonder if what Shaalan is really saying is that Egypt and the Arab Gulf should adopt Sunni Arab parties in Iraq as clients in the same way as Iran has some Shiite parties, to offset Tehran. This would require them to throw money and resources at specific personalities or groups.

Iran will not send full representation to the meeting of the foreign ministers of the six neighboring countries to Iraq scheduled for Thursday in Amman. It is miffed by the interview King Abdullah II gave to the Washington Post, where he forcefully accused Iranians of sending in a million stealth voters and trying to creat a Shiite crescent in the Near East that would stretch from Lebanon through Syria to Iraq and Iran.

[Informed Comment]

At a meeeting of foreign ministers, Iraq's Sunni-majority neighbors, including Jordan, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, joined Egypt in urging Sunni Arabs in Iraq to take part in the elections scheduled for January 30. Several Sunni-ruled countries in the region, including Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain, have significant Shiite populations that have largely been politically marginalized, and the Sunni Arab elites fear they will become more assertive if Iraq has an overwhelmingly Shiite government. The neighbors also fear that an Iraq where Sunni Arabs have no place at the table in government will continue to be a political, economic and security basket case.

For many Jordanians, for instance, Iraq's situation is extremely frustrating. They know that if the country came together and achieved basic stability, its oil revenues would allow it to get rich and it would provide a vast and rich market for Jordanian goods. Jordan would have an advantage over Iraq with regard to the price of labor, and coule act as a major engine of Jordanian economic growth. Jordanians thus see it as essential that their Sunni Arab counterparts (90% of Jordanians are Sunnis) join the new government and make it a success.

Religion and Politics Mixed Serves Fascism

The lessons of history are so compelling, it's hard to imagine why we dare not listen to them. Here an eminent Nazi expert warns us of a lurking threat: A growing link between religion and politics in the US.
The most shocking part of this is that I never heard of this before. This speech took place in November. Yet, a search at Google turns up no text of the speech. The speech honoring Stern can be found, but not his acceptance speech. Has the fear of retaliation by the Christian Right prevented the press from telling this critical story?
Warning From a Student of Democracy's Collapse" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/06/nyregion/06profile.html">The New York Times > Warning From a Student of Democracy's Collapse

FRITZ STERN, a refugee from Hitler's Germany and a leading scholar of European history, startled several of his listeners when he warned in a speech about the danger posed in this country by the rise of the Christian right. In his address in November, just after he received a prize presented by the German foreign minister, he told his audience that Hitler saw himself as "the instrument of providence" and fused his "racial dogma with a Germanic Christianity. Some people recognized the moral perils of mixing religion and politics," he said of prewar Germany, "but many more were seduced by it. It was the pseudo-religious transfiguration of politics that largely ensured his success, notably in Protestant areas."

[...]

HE warns of the danger in an open society of "mass
manipulation of public opinion, often mixed with mendacity
and forms of intimidation." He is a passionate defender of
liberalism as "manifested in the spirit of the
Enlightenment and the early years of the American
republic. The radical right and the radical left see liberalism's
appeal to reason and tolerance as the denial of their
uniform ideology," he said. "Every democracy needs a
liberal fundament, a Bill of Rights enshrined in law and
spirit, for this alone gives democracy the chance for
self-correction and reform. Without it, the survival of
democracy is at risk. Every genuine conservative knows
this."

How Dictators Prosper

Here is a story that is probably fairly typical of how dictators end up strengthened by nations who vie for their resources and their geopolitical significance. In this case, and I suspect in most others, the primary interest is acquiring a competitive edge. So in a way, its greed that inspires pandering to a dictator. The US complains about human rights only when its politically expedient. Our "friends" aren't held accountable to the same rules. Even this administration doesn't hold itself to the standards it expects of others.
The US has lost any credibility as a beacon of freedom and human rights.
Asia Times Online :: Uzbekistan courts the great powers

The "heart" of Central Asia - as its president, Islam Karimov, calls it - Uzbekistan has become an object of interest and contention for world and regional power centers due to its geostrategic significance. The major players are the United States, Russia and China, all of which covet access to its abundant energy and mineral resources, and view it as an essential element in their designs for dominant influence in the region. Bordering Kazakhstan on the north and west, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan on the south, and Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on the east, Uzbekistan is a post-Soviet state that has been ruled by Karimov since 1990, shortly before it declared independence in 1991 when the Soviet Union broke apart. Since then, Karimov has used the country's strategic importance to establish a dictatorship and to resist successfully domestic and foreign pressures for democratic and market reforms. Uzbekistan has been and continues to be perceived as too great a prize for interested powers to risk destabilizing Karimov's regime, which, through its repressive practices, has awakened widespread public discontent and armed opposition, some of which subscribes to Islamic revolution.

Mysterious US strike in Irbil Condemned by Kurds ...

 [Informed Comment]

Mysterious US strike in Irbil Condemned by Kurds

The US military appears to have become convinced that Ansar al-Sunnah, a breakaway group from the largely Kurdish terrorist group Ansar al-Islam, has been operating from dormitories at the Salahuddin University in the Kurdish stronghold of Irbil. US special forces accompanied by Kurdish fighters and helicopter gunships struck at the dormitory on Wednesday evening. There are rumors that the US captured a senior Ansar al-Islam leader. Seven persons were injured in the attack, and a number were captured.

The odd thing is that Irbil is under the control of Masoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party, a close ally of the United States. If the US wanted something done in Irbil, why wouldn't it just ask Barzani's peshmerga or paramilitary to do it? Had Ansar al-Islam terrified or bribed local Irbil officials into ignoring the AI cell in the city?

Some reports say the US was accompanied by Kurdish commandoes. But they weren't local peshmerga from Irbil.

Kurdistan Interior Minister Kerim Sinjari condemned the operation. Al-Zaman says he complained that several innocent civilians were killed by US forces in the course of it, including one woman. He said that such actions could jeopardize Kurdistan-US relations.

US news outlets continually blame Saddam for Ansar al-Islam, consisting of a few hundred Kurdish guerrillas, some of whom had fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. In fact, however, they operated from the de facto no-fly zone that was under US control, not that of Saddam.

South Korea's troops are stationed in the north, which may have contributed to the urgency of the US operation.

In my view, the threat of a serious conflict between the Kurdish paramilitary and the US is imminent. Once a new government is elected, if it can be, it may take decisions that the Kurds don't like. The US will then have a choice of supporting the Kurds or the government it itself had formed.

Clearly the Kurds are not the united force the news agencies refer to them as. There are multiple interest groups within the Kurdish area. Juan Cole makes a good point about their operating post in the middle of Irbil and the use of Kurdish forces from outside of the area, not the locals. I suspect they have more support within parts of the Kurdish area than anyone has spoken of before. And it seems likely that the Kurds would join any civil war in Iraq, and not necessarily on the side of the government. The Kurds want an independent state, but they also have a long history of in-fighting. If civil war does break out in Iraq, there will be many more than two sides to the conflict. If the Kurds were smart, they'd declare an independent state from Iraq as soon as the Shiites and Sunnis locked horns. Eventually, the Shiites which would likely eventually prevail against the Sunnis assuming other Arab countries stay out of it, they would have to decide to allow a partition of Iraq or fight them for the oil fields of the north.

 

The Dwindling Military Strength of the US

Newsday.com - National News

The Army Reserve, a force of 200,000 part-time soldiers that provides key support in Iraq and Afghanistan with medics, engineers and truck drivers, "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force," its top general told senior Army leaders. In a blunt memo, Lt. Gen. James R. "Ron" Helmly, chief of the Army Reserve, noted the demands of overseas commitments and the unwillingness of Army and Pentagon officials to change "dysfunctional" policies that hamper the Reserve on issues such as training, extension of service and the mobilization of his soldiers. The Dec. 20 memo, which was obtained by The Sun, says "current demands" in Iraq and Afghanistan put his command in "grave danger" of being unable to meet other potential Pentagon missions or help with domestic emergencies, and that the Army Reserve "is rapidly degenerating into a 'broken' force."

The Republicans claim they are strong on defense. So why is Rumsfeld single handedly destroying our military readiness? And why is Bush letting him? What is so dysfunctional about the Republican leadership that they don't hold the President accountable?

Downsides of Partitioning Iraq

A number of progressive bloggers have openly advocated for an immediate pull out of Iraq. I've always said that would irresponsible. Often I seem to be one of the only progressive bloggers who has this position. So I was gratified to find this article on Informed Comment. Juan Cole is a History professor and a Middle East Specialist. I read his blog daily. The outcome Cole describes would be similar if America just pulled out and a civil war ensued. Partition may well be the ultimate outcome of a civil war in Iraq. Hundreds of thousands of mostly innocents would die. On a moral basis alone, we simply can't allow this to happen. We broke Iraq, now we have to fix it. So far we aren't doing very well. But leaving would be worse.

 

 [Informed Comment]

 

Downsides of Partitioning Iraq

Some readers asked me why I was so against partitioning Iraq.

It is because it would cause a great deal of trouble to us all, not least Iraqis. Iraq is not divided neatly into three ethnic enclaves. It is all mixed up. There are a million Kurds in Baghdad, a million Sunnis in the Shiite deep south, and lots of mixed provinces (Ta'mim, Ninevah, Diyalah, Babil, Baghdad, etc.). There is a lot of intermarriage among various Iraqi groups. Look at President Ghazi Yawir. He is from the Sunni Arab branch of the Shamar tribe. But some Shamar are Shiites. One of his wives is Nasrin Barwari, a Kurdish cabinet minister. What would partition do to the Yawirs?

Then, how do you split up the resources? If the Sunni Arabs don't get Kirkuk, then they will be poorer than Jordan. Don't you think they will fight for it? The Kurds would fight to the last man for the oil-rich city of Kirkuk if it was a matter of determining in which country it ended up.

If the Kurds got Kirkuk and the Sunni Arabs became a poor cousin to Jordan, the Sunni Arabs would almost certainly turn to al-Qaeda in large numbers. Some Iraqi guerrillas are already talking about hitting back at the US mainland. And, Fallujah is not that far from Saudi Arabia, which Bin Laden wants to hit, as well, especially at the oil. Fallujah Salafis would hook up with those in Jordan and Gaza to establish a radical Sunni arc that would destabilize the entire region.

Divorced from the Sunnis, the Shiites of the south would no longer have any counterweight to religious currents like al-Dawa, the Supreme Council for Islamic Revolution in Iraq, and the Sadrists. The rump Shiite state would be rich, with the Rumayla and other fields, and might well declare a Shiite Islamic republic. It is being coupled with the Sunnis that mainly keeps them from going down that road. A Shiite South Iraq might make a claim on Shiite Eastern Arabia in Saudi Arabia, or stir up trouble there. The Eastern Province can pump as much as 11% of the world's petroleum.

Who's leaking here?

Bush seems to have lost is "magic". First it was significant disloyalty in the CIA, now its leaks from within the Administration that are not complimentary. With all the turnover in leadership, its not surprising there is disorganization. The interesting question is what happens after Congress convenes? Already he has Lugar on the attack about holding Guantanamo prisoners for life and rumors of flagging support for privatization of Social Security. I suspect the problem was his record in the first four years. An awful lot of Republicans were complaining about Iraq, violation of Civil Liberties, and influence of the Rightwing Christians on the Republican platform. I'm crossing my fingers that the Republicans will collapse in disarray and in fighting. Wishing never hurts!

 [The Agonist]

Who's leaking here?-Nick Hoover | January 3 The Agonist - In a New York Daily News article today, a "senior administration official" made several statements I find rather remarkable considering those made in the last few years.  I'm really wondering who it is... Included:  "It's been sloppy. ...People are off message." "It's the worst I've ever seen it." "The Kerik appointment was the worst of all." - too many White House staffers have been more concerned with trying to move up the career ladder than their day-to-day work. Although the rest of the article lacks any real substance, these statements strike me as coming from a disgruntled source.  Colin Powell? I wouldn't expect him to talk about message. Someone else? And the whole article seems to stand in stark contrast to this one from this morning's Washington Post.

The US Welcome Map Rolls Out

Another example of despicable mistreatment of a foreigner this time requesting asylum in the US. The man was sick and 81 years old and a Baptist Minister. But of course he was black and he was from Haiti, so I'm sure he got "special treatment".
Asylum Seeker's Death Sparks Outrage

When the Rev. Joseph Dantica flew here from Haiti, his family said, he was seeking a momentary respite from the strife and violence convulsing his native land. Instead, the 81-year-old Baptist clergyman died in federal custody, separated from his family and medicine that he was carrying to treat his ailments. Dantica was pastor of the Church of the Redeemer in the lawless Bel-Air district of Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Dantica fled to the United States with his 55-year-old son, Maxo, after the church was pillaged and their lives threatened by an armed gang. On Oct. 24, the church had been used by U.N. peacekeepers and Haitian police who engaged in a running gun battle with gang members in the streets outside. Survivors reportedly told Dantica that 15 gang members had been killed, and threatened to behead him if he didn't hand over money to bury them. The minister and his son went into hiding, then departed for Miami. Dantica, who spoke through a voice box after surgical removal of his larynx, suffered from high blood pressure and an inflamed prostate. When detained along with his son by U.S. officials, the minister was carrying prescription and herbal remedies. The drugs were confiscated, said Danticat, who spoke by phone with her uncle after he was taken to the Krome Detention Center west of Miami. While awaiting an immigration hearing there, her uncle began vomiting and passed out, she said. He was taken to a hospital where family members were not permitted to see him and died the next day. "I think there is a strong connection with the way he was treated and the fact he died," his niece said. "They took his medicine and when he was in crisis, they didn't attend to him." Cheryl Little, executive director of the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center, said that because of Dantica's age and valid visa, U.S. officials had the option of quickly releasing him into the custody of family members. Instead, she said in an op ed piece published last month by the Miami Herald, they accused the minister of faking his illness, and he died alone, chained to a hospital bed.

The Army is Stretched Beyond Reason

Opinion > Editorial: The Army We Need" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/02/opinion/02sun1.html?ex=1262408400&en=d5be2c86e1c40abe&ei=5088&partner=rssnyt">The New York Times > Opinion > Editorial: The Army We Need

[Army] fortitude has allowed the Pentagon to sustain a situation that everyone recognizes cannot go on indefinitely, even though no end to the Iraqi conflict is yet in sight. The extended unplanned deployment of American forces is taking a heavy cumulative toll, especially on the Army and Army National Guard. It is undermining readiness and morale, and limiting America's ability to send substantial ground forces elsewhere to back up its diplomacy or respond to emerging threats. The Pentagon is beginning to resemble a desperate farmer who feeds his starving family the seed corn meant for sowing next year's crop. To keep enough boots on the ground now, it is sacrificing the ability to retain the leaders of tomorrow. As overdeployment has become chronic, promising young officers are opting not to re-enlist. When new crops of young people graduate from school, they will be less willing to combine their civilian careers with service in the Army National Guard; recruitment is already down almost 30 percent. The Regular Army is hurting too. Despite enlistment bonuses, it has had to speed up its reporting schedules, sending new recruits straight into basic training. [...] Rotations are being accelerated, with units that have already served in Iraq returning for second tours. These faster rotations are degrading readiness, wearing down equipment and leaving less time for normal training exercises. Reservists, including police, firefighters and other homeland defenders, are spending lengthy tours overseas. Four out of 10 Americans now serving in Iraq come from Reserve or National Guard units. [...] Many potential enemies overseas doubt that the public would have the appetite for that kind of sacrifice. As a result, America's diplomatic clout is being subtly undermined. Iranian mullahs weighing whether to give up their nuclear programs may conclude that Washington is in no position to face them down. North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Il, may also feel freer to proceed with his nuclear plans and move troops closer to the South Korean border. Chinese leaders may see this as an opportune time to escalate their bullying of Taiwan.

This country has a major problem seeing beyond the end of its nose. Short-term planning for long range problems is a set up for disaster. Yet, Bush and his Neo-cons are caught up in their grandiose vision of a US driven new world order, they just assumed the great Army would whether the storm.
What if the services can't turn around the falling recruitment? I can't say I'd be further enticed by promises of a higher salary and other benefits especially when the DOD has the history of canceling benefits whenever its expedient, such as VA medical coverage, a narrower definition of service related injury, etc.
I think this is the beginning of the US decline. The economy is anemic, growth is stutter step, and the middleclass is falling in increasing numbers into the underclass. The Underclass is showing signs of permanence because homelessness is so stressful and deprived, prolonged homelessness promises one's capabilities is never the same again.
Iran, North Korea, and China are growing more and more bellicose by the day. The US stretched beyond its means, is perceived as weak and weakening as the economy and its armed forces scavenges its reserves and spare parts just to maintain the effort in Iraq.

Life Detention Without Trial Sought for Some Terror Suspects

 [The Agonist]

Life Detention Without Trial Sought for Some Terror Suspects - Dana Priest | January 2 WaPo - Administration officials are preparing long-range plans for indefinitely imprisoning suspected terrorists whom they do not want to set free or turn over to courts in the United States or other countries, according to intelligence, defense and diplomatic officials. The Pentagon and the CIA have asked the White House to decide on a more permanent approach for potentially lifetime detentions, including for hundreds of people now in military and CIA custody whom the government does not have enough evidence to charge in courts.

Now it seems the Bush Administration wants to hold prisoners at Guantanamo for life, even though there is not enough evidence to bring them to court. It appears their plan is to buy their detention in a friendly foreign country which will not try these people publicly and will hold them indefinitely.

 

So do you think Bush really wants to "export" democracy to the Middle East? Where would he keep his political prisoners if all the totalitarian regimes disappear? I'm sure he doesn't want that to happen. His actual intention is quite clear. He wants a fascistic government with the appearance of democracy with fixed elections, secret political prisoners, and quiet use of torture in CIA sponsored secret prisons. He wants to fool the average American and Iraqi into believing they live in a democracy.

Earthquake: Coincidence or a Corporate Oil Tragedy?

If true, this will be a shocking example of oil exploration run amok. Giving the proximity to the epicenter of an Indonesian quake, an investigation is in order.

[mousemusings] From independent-media.tv

 

Seismic surveys utilizing airguns have been taking place in mineral-rich areas of the world’s oceans since 1968. Among the areas that have experienced the most intense survey activity are the North Sea, the Beaufort Sea (off Alaska's North Slope), and the Gulf of Mexico; areas around Australia and South America are also current hot-spots of activity.

The impulses created by the release of air from arrays of up to 24 airguns create low frequency sound waves powerful enough to penetrate up to 40km below the seafloor. The "source level" of these sound waves is generally over 200dB (and often 230dB or more), roughly comparable to a sound of at least 140-170dB in air.

According to the Australian Conservation Foundation, these 200dB - 230dB shots from the airguns are fired every 10 seconds or so, from 10 meters below the surface, 24 hours a day, for 2 week periods of time, weather permitting.

These types of tests are known to affect whales and dolphins, whose acute hearing and use of sonar is very sensitive.

On December 24th there was a magnitude 8.1 earthquake more than 500 miles southeast of Tasmania near New Zealand, with a subsequent aftershock 6.1 a little later in the morning that same day.

On December 26th, the magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck at the intersection of the Australian tectonic plate and the Indian tectonic plate. This is the devastating tsunami tragedy that we have all heard about in the Indian Ocean. The death toll of this horrific event has reached 120,000 souls and continues to rise.

On December 27th, 20 whales beached themselves 110 miles west of Hobart on the southern island state of Tasmania.

What is interesting about this is that the same place where the whale beachings have been taking place over the last 30 days is the same general area where the 8.1 Australian earthquake took place, and this is the same area where they are doing these seismic tests. Then 2 days after the Australian tectonic plate shifted, the 9.0 earthquake shook the coast of Indonesia.

A great deal of interest and seismic testing has been taking place in this area, as the government of Australia has given
great tax breaks to encourage the oil exploration.

Two Geologists that I spoke to felt that it was highly unlikely that these seismic tests would have had enough energy to induce the Australian quake. On the other hand there is strong evidence that suggests that oil exploration activities have induced earthquakes in the past. read it all

 

A New Year's Resolution for International Business

Cyndy shared with us an idea contained a newly released book. The author has a very interesting idea for a New Years resolution for international business. Viewing the world as a profit center for the next 50 years, sustainability of earth and the development of the poor third world countries becomes a priority. Interestingly enough, this becomes a potential solution to Islamist terrorism. Create jobs and economic stability in Muslim countries, and remove the hotbed of despair, alienation, and hatred.

 [mousemusings]

According to author Stuart Hart, sustainable global enterprise holds the key to reducing poverty, reversing environmental destruction, and even counteracting terrorism.

SocialFunds.com -- Cornell and University of North Carolina Business Professor Stuart Hart's Capitalism at the Crossroads perfectly complements University of Michigan Business Professor C. K. Prahalad's The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid, perhaps even surpassing it in significance. The two professors collaborated from 1998 through 2002 on the seminal article that gave birth to the "bottom of the pyramid" (BOP) concept that Prof. Prahalad explains so eloquently in his book (see related book review). The BOP market theory holds that multinational corporations (MNCs) can simultaneously profit and help reduce global poverty by serving a market they have largely ignored until recently: the 4 billion people in the world living on less than $2 a day.

As good as Prof. Prahalad's book is, however, it leaves unanswered the question of how the BOP theory fits into the larger context of sustainability, particularly environmental sustainability. Prof. Hart's book not only answers this question, but also presents a comprehensive and compelling argument that capitalism cannot afford to ignore sustainability--indeed, that capitalism will thrive by embracing sustainability (and vice versa). continue reading

A New Year's Resolution for the US

At a time when we have lost our identity, its time for America to refind itself. Reviewing our values, our priorities, and our goals. What we truly need is a strategic planning process. We are making decisions now that address the short-term and the mid-term without regard to long-term outcomes. That is truly upside down thinking. We are squandering our children's future basically to keep inexpensive gasoline in our tanks. Just how does that make sense?
Time for an attitude change America!
Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: The Ends of the World as We Know Them" href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/01/01/opinion/01diamond.html?ei=5088&en=38bca49ee9859487&ex=1262322000&partner=rssnyt&pagewanted=all&position=">The New York Times > Opinion > Op-Ed Contributor: The Ends of the World as We Know Them

In this New Year, we Americans have our own painful reappraisals to face. Historically, we viewed the United States as a land of unlimited plenty, and so we practiced unrestrained consumerism, but that's no longer viable in a world of finite resources. We can't continue to deplete our own resources as well as those of much of the rest of the world. Historically, oceans protected us from external threats; we stepped back from our isolationism only temporarily during the crises of two world wars. Now, technology and global interconnectedness have robbed us of our protection. In recent years, we have responded to foreign threats largely by seeking short-term military solutions at the last minute. But how long can we keep this up? Though we are the richest nation on earth, there's simply no way we can afford (or muster the troops) to intervene in the dozens of countries where emerging threats lurk - particularly when each intervention these days can cost more than $100 billion and require more than 100,000 troops. A genuine reappraisal would require us to recognize that it will be far less expensive and far more effective to address the underlying problems of public health, population and environment that ultimately cause threats to us to emerge in poor countries. In the past, we have regarded foreign aid as either charity or as buying support; now, it's an act of self-interest to preserve our own economy and protect American lives. Do we have cause for hope? Many of my friends are pessimistic when they contemplate the world's growing population and human demands colliding with shrinking resources. But I draw hope from the knowledge that humanity's biggest problems today are ones entirely of our own making. Asteroids hurtling at us beyond our control don't figure high on our list of imminent dangers. To save ourselves, we don't need new technology: we just need the political will to face up to our problems of population and the environment. I also draw hope from a unique advantage that we enjoy. Unlike any previous society in history, our global society today is the first with the opportunity to learn from the mistakes of societies remote from us in space and in time. When the Maya and Mangarevans were cutting down their trees, there were no historians or archaeologists, no newspapers or television, to warn them of the consequences of their actions. We, on the other hand, have a detailed chronicle of human successes and failures at our disposal. Will we choose to use it?

Jesse Jackson Questions the Election Results

MSNBC - ‘We Will Not Faint’

Ohio Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell says that machines were allotted based on turnout in past years, and that he didn’t realize they’d need more machines until it was too late.

He had to know it because registration was up. Blackwell may have had to deliver for Bush and [Vice President Dick] Cheney and he got a lighter rap than [former Florida Secretary of State Katherine] Harris got. But Ohio may have been more stacked than Florida was.

So you think Blackwell stole the election for Bush?

It was under his domain to have enough machines; the machine calibration, tabulation issue. You could rig the machines. We have reason to believe it was rigged.

This is what I've been waiting for. Where have our Democratic leadership been? Both Clinton and Kerry conceded almost immediately, even though there was plenty of information around to suggest something was wrong. Now we have a Democratic leader who has put his credibility on the line. Its time for others to step up. Jimmy Carter, where are you?

Bishop Tutu: USA = Apartheid South Africa

Even Desmond Tutu can not believe what is happening in America. Here is a good example of how tarnished our image of being a beacon to freedom in the world has become.

[the Daily Irrelevant]

  [Quote:]

Look at the [detentions in] Guantanamo Bay. You say, why do you detain people without trial in the fashion that you have done? And when they give the answer security, you say no, no, no, this can't be America. This is what we used to hear in South Africa. It's unbelievable that a country that many of us have looked to as the bastion of true freedom could now have eroded so many of the liberties we believed were upheld almost religiously. [But] feeling as devastated in many ways as I am, it is wonderful to find that there are [also] Americans who have felt very strongly [about administration policies]-the people who turned out for rallies against the war. One always has to be very careful not to do what we used to do here, where you generalize very facilely, and one has to remember that there are very many Americans who are feeling deeply distressed about what has taken place in their country. We take our hats off to them.