Lobotomy for all! - International Imperialism

What does it take to arouse a justifiable RESPONSE to brazen corruption, mind-numbing INCOMPETENCE and the offensive ARROGANCE of corporate elites? Current job losses in America dwarf that of the RBS but still no CEOs or Executives can be seen hanging from light poles!

The ‘impartial’ ICC at the Hague is currently prosecuting a former Pol Pot henchman for war crimes YET NOT A SINGLE ISRAELI OR AMERICAN has been accused by the court; an astounding 'oversight' considering the track record of America in Iraq -- over one million innocent civilian deaths and an infamous torture record!

Former VP, Dick Cheney, ADMITTED ON NATIONAL TV that he authorised and condoned torture but not the slightest move to arrest the self-confessed war criminal and psychopath – jellyfish Americans in ‘action!’

Israel’s murder record in Lebanon and Gaza is known to the world, as is their admission that international media and protest organisers would be targeted by the IDF; but no move by the ICC to apprehend Israeli war criminals!

The flagrant bias exhibited by ICC leaves no doubt as to its status as a COURT OF POLITICAL CONVENIENCE – LET IT BE KNOWN and BROADCAST, the people have had enough of these double standards, glaring hypocrisies and gross biases – the credibility (if it ever had any) of the ICC is in the minuses and its reputation is in the gutter, where it belongs!

It wasn’t too long ago that democratically elected governments actually GOVERNED in the interests of the majority. Today, however, politicians are bought by big business and TAKE ORDERS from those they are forced to protect – is it clear now why policies (bailouts/stimulus etc) favouring minority elites are pursued rather than policies designed to benefit the nation and its people as a whole!

Everything has a limit or ‘tipping point;’ it appears that public patience is wearing very thin indeed. Unless a new equitable solution is implemented soon the thoroughly unfair and inequitable system known as capitalism -- wealth for the few – will be permanently rejected, notwithstanding it is currently in its death throes!

Today the media informs us that we are “losing the war in Afghanistan” -- even my senile old grandmother laughed at that radio report! Since before written history no foreign invader has ever succeeded in conquering Afghanistan, a fact lost on Americans it would seem. The simple fact is America is attempting to do exactly what Russia, Britain and countless other invaders ALL failed to accomplish – tame the fiercely independent tribes of Afghanistan. It cannot be done for a number of reasons!

The world has failed to learn from WWII American president, FDR -- a man who loathed Imperialism but particularly Imperial Britain. FDR tactically delayed his/America’s active involvement in WWII in order to ensure that Britain would be permanently ‘crippled.’ FDR also insisted that Britain relinquish its colonies in exchange for assistance. Lend Lease (astronomical war debt) was the cherry on the cake, Britain never fully recovered from WWII and America took the ascendant. FDR, a superb tactician and astute politician, almost singlehandedly eliminated Imperial Britain; at the very least he reduced the British Empire to a tiny island nation in the North Atlantic, well done, Franklin!

Today, it is America that requires MASSIVE assistance – militarily and economically! What goes around comes around, we all dare say! Let’s not waste a golden opportunity or look a gift horse in the mouth, comrades. Applying a little of FDR’s tactics on America NOW would see it bankrupt and unviable for decades to come – it could also force that criminal empire to start a war, one that would make it the obvious enemy of the entire world, Israel excepted of course!

Hillary’s first official trip to ASIA betrays America’s plight – China and Japan hold the greatest reserves of US currency; either nation could ruin America simply by dumping their US currency reserves and bonds, which they would be forced to do if America attempted to print its way out of recession -- the greenback is already bordering on a wallpaper status! Hillary will either succeed in her begging mission and go back home without lipstick on her lips or the very sharp Asians would have manoeuvred her in the same way FDR manoeuvred Britain. At the very least Asia would come out of it holding ALL the trump cards.

The US population will be the last to know, as usual, that America would have become a fifth rate nation -- how sweet it is! Personally I prefer the ‘light pole’ option, it has real flair, but I am not averse to backroom dealings with Foreign Secretaries that come begging (on their knees!) How ever you look at it, America loses; the question is by how much? O, just in on the newswire, NATO has rejected America’s plea for more troops in Afghanistan – read MY lips or your own history, Uncle!

Astute politicians and smart nations are easily able to learn from FDR – and Stalin to a lesser extent – and reduce America to a broken, bankrupt, debtor state – too fuckin’ easy, mate; even servile Australia has rejected calls for more combat troops; how does it feel, Bob?

We wonder why it took so long for the world to add 2+2; by tactically denying America military and economic assistance/support when it needs it most, America is forced to suffer the same fate as post WWII, Britain – the nation that is rumoured to soon go begging to the IMF for lifesaving funds! You didn’t know your own strength, Franklin!

In the face of hard reality Western powers continue to pursue tired and tedious rhetorical tricks and transparent propaganda lines utilised by WWII Nazis – someone should inform Western politicians that few are buying, but that would spoil the BIG surprise, wouldn’t it?

See also:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5c4a8b04-fef0-11dd-b19a-000077b07658.html

Since he took office, President Obama has instituted many changes that break with the policies of the Bush administration. The new president has ordered that no government agency will be allowed to torture, that the U.S. prison at Guantánamo will be shuttered, and that the CIA’s secret black sites will be closed down. But Obama is non-committal when asked whether he will seek investigation and prosecution of Bush officials who broke the law. “My view is also that nobody's above the law and, if there are clear instances of wrongdoing, that people should be prosecuted just like any ordinary citizen,” Obama said. “But,” he added, “generally speaking, I'm more interested in looking forward than I am in looking backwards.” Obama fears that holding Team Bush to account will risk alienating Republicans whom he still seeks to win over.

Obama may be off the hook, at least with respect to investigating the lawyers who advised the White House on how to torture and get away with it. The Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) has written a draft report that apparently excoriates former Justice Department lawyers John Yoo and Jay Bybee, authors of the infamous torture memos, according to Newsweek’s Michael Isikoff. OPR can report these lawyers to their state bar associations for possible discipline, or even refer them for criminal investigation. Obama doesn’t have to initiate investigations; the OPR has already launched them, on Bush’s watch.

The smoking gun that may incriminate George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, et al., is the email traffic that passed between the lawyers and the White House. Isikoff revealed the existence of these emails on The Rachel Maddow Show. Some maintain that Bush officials are innocent because they relied in good faith on legal advice from their lawyers. But if the president and vice president told the lawyers to manipulate the law to allow them to commit torture, then that defense won’t fly.

A bipartisan report of the Senate Armed Services Committee found that “senior officials in the United States government solicited information on how to use aggressive techniques, redefined the law to create the appearance of their legality, and authorized their use against detainees.”

Cheney recently admitted to authorizing waterboarding, which has long been considered torture under U.S. law. Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, George Tenet, Colin Powell, and John Ashcroft met with Cheney in the White House basement and authorized harsh interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, according to an ABC News report. When asked, Bush said he knew about it and approved.

John Yoo wrote in a Wall Street Journal oped that Bush “could even authorize waterboarding, which he did three times in the years after 9/11.”

A representative of the Justice Department promised that OPR’s report would be released sometime last November. But Bush's attorney general Michael Mukasey objected to the draft. A final version will be presented to Attorney General Eric Holder. The administration will then have to decide whether to make it, and the emails, public and then how to proceed.

When the United States ratified the Convention Against Torture, we promised to extradite or prosecute those who commit, or are complicit in the commission, of torture. We have two federal criminal statutes for torture prosecutions – the Torture Statute and the War Crimes Act (torture is considered a war crime under U.S. law). The Torture Convention is unequivocal: nothing, including a state of war, can be invoked as a justification for torture.

Yoo redefined torture much more narrowly than U.S. law provides, and counseled the White House that it could evade prosecution under the War Crimes Act by claiming self-defense or necessity. Yoo knew or should have known of the Torture Convention’s absolute prohibition of torture.

There is precedent for holding lawyers criminally liable for giving legally erroneous advice that resulted in great physical or mental harm or death. In U.S. v. Altstoetter, Nazi lawyers were convicted of war crimes and crimes against humanity for advising Hitler on how to “legally” disappear political suspects to special detention camps.

Almost two-thirds of respondents to a USA Today/Gallup Poll favor investigations of the Bush team for torture and warrantless wiretapping. Nearly four in 10 favor criminal investigations. Cong. John Conyers has introduced legislation to establish a National Commission on Presidential War Powers and Civil Liberties. Sen. Patrick Leahy advocates for a Truth and Reconciliation Commission; but this is insufficient. TRC’s are used for nascent democracies in transition. By giving immunity to those who testify before them, it would ensure that those responsible for torture, abuse and illegal spying will never be brought to justice.

Attorney General Eric Holder should appoint a Special Prosecutor to investigate and prosecute high Bush officials including lawyers like John Yoo who gave them “legal” cover. Obama is correct when he said that no one is above the law. Accountability is critical to ensuring that our leaders never again torture and abuse people.

© 2009 Marjorie Cohn, Global Research

[Is anyone surprised? Ed.]

STATE security agents put dozens of dissidents under virtual house arrest yesterday to silence support for Charter 08 – a new manifesto for Chinese democracy – as Hillary Clinton made her first visit to Beijing as US secretary of state.

The crackdown emerged as Amnesty International condemned Clinton for saying that human rights could not interfere with talks on the financial crisis, global warming and North Korea.

As foreign minister Yang Jiechi welcomed her with a broad smile, he observed that it was “a bit chilly” in Beijing but promised Clinton she would see “the biggest number of smiling faces”.

Yang told the British press last year that Chinese police would “offer a cup of tea” to any protesters at the Beijing Olympics, yet dozens of Chinese were jailed for trying to protest.

Clinton told a joint news conference that the two would have “frank discussions” on human rights, Tibet, religious freedom and freedom of expression. She thanked China for continuing to invest in US government debt. Yang responded that China would allocate its $20 trillion of foreign currency reserves as it saw fit. [Emphasis added.]

Outside in the snow, security agents in Beijing surrounded the homes of writers and thinkers behind Charter 08, the boldest public petition for Chinese freedom in 20 years. Some contacted reporters by text message to say they could not go out.

Amnesty International said Clinton had sent the wrong signal to the Chinese regime because the US was one of the few countries strong enough to stand up to China on human rights.

“Half a million people are currently in labour camps,” it said in a statement. “Women face forced abortion and sterili-sation as part of China’s enforcement of its one-child policy.”

Human Rights Watch said Clinton’s strategy seemed to play into the hands of the Chinese government by “segregating human rights issues into a deadend dialogue of the deaf”.

The criticism gave Clinton a rough ride on her first excursion abroad to present the new face of American foreign policy under President Barack Obama.

Up to her arrival in China, the secretary of state had displayed a virtuoso command of her dual roles as icy diplomat and global celebrity.

In the first role, she issued a warning to North Korea to cease its warlike threats in language no cold warrior could have faulted.

In the second, she charmed young audiences in Seoul, Tokyo and Jakarta with her political savvy and common-sense talk about how women everywhere strive to balance work and family.

In China, however, a government nervous of the Obama administration’s worldwide approval ratings did not offer its distinguished visitor a chance to shine. Clinton’s schedule included the standard stiff poses with Chinese leaders and a visit to a power plant, and she was due to head home today.

© 2009 Times Newspapers Ltd

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