WHAT HAPPENED TO CHENEY’S AIRCRAFT?
February 25th, 2007Uhh… Something VERY weird happened here.
Via: Sky News:
A Reuters photographer at Sydney airport said Air Force 2 had proceeded towards the runway as normal and revved its engines before the engines appeared to decelerate.
A mobile staircase was sent out to the plane but a door in the plane opened and an unidentified figure appeared and waved the stairs off.
The door was then closed and the plane proceeded to the runway and took off.
De Facto U.S. Flat Tax: 40%
February 25th, 2007You godda problem wid dat?
Via: MSN:
Politicians… generally talk about only one tax: the federal income tax, which offers graduated rates from 10% to 35%.
Politicians rarely talk about what real people experience: the true maze of taxes and government benefits. If someone put them all together, we could see what our actual tax burden was. We could see who pays at the highest or lowest rates. Discussions of tax policy wouldn’t be a waste of time.
Well, two researchers did it.
In a study for the National Bureau of Economic Research, Boston University economists Laurence J. Kotlikoff and David Rapson have found that our all-in marginal tax rate is 40%, give or take a bit. Yes, you read that right: 40%.
U.S. Generals ‘Will Quit’ if Bush Orders Iran Attack
February 25th, 2007A couple of quick quotes from recent Cryptogon essays:
Brzezinski’s testimony indicates to me that the expansion of the conflict into Iran might not be allowed to happen. Don’t ask me how it will be stopped, but he is the mouthpiece of the people who run this show, not in appearance, but in fact. He didn’t say what would happen if Congress doesn’t stop the junk yard dogs.
—Zbigniew Brzezinski Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
And…
THE WAR WITH IRAN MUST BE STOPPED BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY.
Where does that leave us?
The full weight of this burden now rests squarely on the shoulders of the men and women of the U.S. military. Attempt to save America and the world from the diabolical lunatics who have subverted power, or parish in oblivion with the rest of us: Those are the options that every member of the U.S. armed forces must now consider.
—Bush Violation of FISA Law a Felony
Now, as you read the mainstream, British news article below about the “unprecedented” hostility between U.S. military and the White House, ask yourself what these generals are really talking about over whiskey?
I bet it’s not golf.
Via: Times Online:
SOME of America’s most senior military commanders are prepared to resign if the White House orders a military strike against Iran, according to highly placed defence and intelligence sources.
Tension in the Gulf region has raised fears that an attack on Iran is becoming increasingly likely before President George Bush leaves office. The Sunday Times has learnt that up to five generals and admirals are willing to resign rather than approve what they consider would be a reckless attack.
“There are four or five generals and admirals we know of who would resign if Bush ordered an attack on Iran,†a source with close ties to British intelligence said. “There is simply no stomach for it in the Pentagon, and a lot of people question whether such an attack would be effective or even possible.â€
A British defence source confirmed that there were deep misgivings inside the Pentagon about a military strike. “All the generals are perfectly clear that they don’t have the military capacity to take Iran on in any meaningful fashion. Nobody wants to do it and it would be a matter of conscience for them.
“There are enough people who feel this would be an error of judgment too far for there to be resignations.â€
A generals’ revolt on such a scale would be unprecedented. “American generals usually stay and fight until they get fired,†said a Pentagon source. Robert Gates, the defence secretary, has repeatedly warned against striking Iran and is believed to represent the view of his senior commanders.
The threat of a wave of resignations coincided with a warning by Vice-President Dick Cheney that all options, including military action, remained on the table. He was responding to a comment by Tony Blair that it would not “be right to take military action against Iranâ€.
…
General Peter Pace, chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, said recently there was “zero chance†of a war with Iran. He played down claims by US intelligence that the Iranian government was responsible for supplying insurgents in Iraq, forcing Bush on the defensive.
Pace’s view was backed up by British intelligence officials who said the extent of the Iranian government’s involvement in activities inside Iraq by a small number of Revolutionary Guards was “far from clearâ€.
Hillary Mann, the National Security Council’s main Iran expert until 2004, said Pace’s repudiation of the administration’s claims was a sign of grave discontent at the top.
“He is a very serious and a very loyal soldier,†she said. “It is extraordinary for him to have made these comments publicly, and it suggests there are serious problems between the White House, the National Security Council and the Pentagon.â€
Mann fears the administration is seeking to provoke Iran into a reaction that could be used as an excuse for an attack.
Related: Retired U.S. Officers: Iran Attack Would Be a Disaster
A Fascist for Every Occasion
February 25th, 2007Honestly, I haven’t looked too closely at the Neoconservative literature. Why? I read The Prince when I was eighteen years old. The whole Neocon thing just seems like a Machiavelli fan club/psychopath cult to me; a rehash, in other words.
So, why do the Neocons appear to be in control?
Politics, for most of the history of civilization, has been about weaponizing religions and superstitions to swindle people who were too stupid to know what was happening to them. “God” is less of a factor in the politics of some countries now, but pages from that old playbook still work very well in the U.S. It’s a bit like customizing the crime to fit the victim. What’s even more desirable is to turn the victims into accomplices. The U.S. is packed with tens of millions of zombie, idiot “Christians.” If you wanted to rob them blind and kill lots of other people in far away lands and steal their resources, what’s the easiest way to get results?
“God told me….” <--- Fill in the blank. Imagine that, instead of tens of millions of zombie, idiot Christians dominating the public façade of American politics, the pendulum swung toward the zombie, idiot environmentalists, militant vegans or some other form of crackpot Left fascism. The elite wouldn't play the "Christian" religious card. Again, they would customize the crime for the victim-accomplices. You'd see a charismatic black lesbian vegan U.S. President, driving her armored hybrid Subaru station wagon, talking about how anyone who eats meat is destroying the environment and contributing to global warming. Obviously, theft of other peoples' resources and raiding the public treasury are the goals, no matter what line of bullshit is spewing from the lips of politicians. (See the Note at the end.) What's the easiest way to go about reaching those goals? Animate some puppet that mumbles things related to the inane messages contained on the stickers that the majority of people are slapping on the ass ends of their vehicles. Simple. If most vehicles have "God" stickers, go with a "God told me..." candidate. A majority of Save the Environment-type stickers would see the rise of some candidate touting Clean Green Walmarts and carbon offsets for cat farts. Charles Mansion stickers? Get Chucky into office. A convicted murderer for President? Chuck is responsible for far fewer murders than any past U.S. President, so why not? Maybe most cars wind up with professional wresting bumper stickers. Well, in that case, Idiocracy should be seen as a prescient glimpse into the future, and not just grim satire.
Absurd? Not as absurd as thinking that Dick Cheney is a Christian, and supporting his diabolical policies while calling them God’s will.
Indeed, be careful about thinking that the Neocons are the root of the problems we’re facing. Jeff Wells actually picked the meat from this carcass back in 2005. In, The Lone Conmen, he wrote:
The neocons are the Lone Gunmen of Iraq. They’re the patsies who’ll eventually take the fall for its failure, which will actually mean success to the real players who’ve allowed them the liberty to play their hand. Like Oswald, these patsies aren’t innocents, but neither should perfect blame be laid at their feet. And like Oswald, when their heads are offered to the public the public will be expected to sigh with relief that the beast has been slain and all is right again in the land.
To modify slightly one of the many great lines from the film Apocalypse Now: Neocons are errand boys, sent by grocery clerks, to collect a bill.
While the patsies and errand boys of the day might change, the focus belongs on fascism and humanity’s seemingly insatiable desire to be trodden upon by jackboots.
Via: High Clearing:
As many who have read me for any significant time would by now know, I am convinced that neoconservatism is a deeply pernicious, even evil political ideology; I further believe that many neoconservative individuals are lying purveyors of wickedness. To continue in my endeavors to support these positions (alas, prior such efforts remain in unretrieved Inactivist archives), I turn to Shadia B. Drury, a scholar of the former University of Chicago philosopher Leo Strauss; Drury recently wrote in Free Inquiry of the enormous influence the unusual and controversial Strauss has had in shaping the views of neoconservatives.
First, as Drury notes neoconservatives regard religion much as Marx did — except they eagerly embrace it as a means of manipulating hoi polloi:
There is a certain irony in the fact that the chief guru of the neoconservatives is a thinker who regarded religion merely as a political tool intended for the masses but not for the superior few. Leo Strauss, the German Jewish émigré who taught at the University of Chicago almost until his death in 1973, did not dissent from Marx’s view that religion is the opium of the people; but he believed that the people need their opium. He therefore taught that those in power must invent noble lies and pious frauds to keep the people in the stupor for which they are supremely fit.
Note: Yes, I’ve linked to Ron Paul speeches, and what he says isn’t bullshit. The problem, though, is that Ron Paul has no power. I’m sorry, but he doesn’t. But let’s imagine, by some miracle, that Ron Paul becomes President and actually wanted to abolish the Federal Reserve…
Oh come on. I can’t do this.
This is la-la land stuff.
I’d rather spend my time trying to fly through the air by flapping my arms and running around the cow paddock than fantasizing about some alternate reality in which the President of the United States isn’t a psychopath. I might not reach too high of an altitude, but I’d get some good exercise with all that running and arm-flapping.
White House Rehearses for a Domestic Attack
February 24th, 2007The same IEDs that the British taught the IRA how to build?
Tell me another one.
Via: MSNBC:
The White House is staging a high-level exercise Saturday to test responses to the prospect of a massive domestic terrorist attack involving IEDs (improvised explosive devices)—the same deadly roadside bombs that have been used by insurgents against the U.S. military in Iraq.
White House homeland security adviser Fran Townsend will preside over a group of senior officials—including Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff, FBI Director Robert Mueller and Director of National Intelligence John (Mike) McConnell—as they attempt to deal with the latest nightmarish scenario cooked up by government counterterrorism planners.
As part of the exercise, the officials will be handed a thick binder which lays out a scenario involving simultaneous terror attacks by “sleeper cells†of 20 to 25 individuals each dispersed in five cities across the country: New York, Washington, Chicago, Houston and Los Angeles. The officials will then be tested on how they direct their respective agencies to respond. “We’ve designed this to overtax the system, to push the system beyond the breaking point,†said one senior administration official familiar with planning for the event, who declined to be identified talking about it before it takes place.
While planning for domestic terror attacks is not new, the focus on IEDs in this weekend’s exercise seems at least tacit recognition that the wave of such attacks that have been killing soldiers and civilians in Iraq and to a lesser extent Afghanistan could spread to the United States.
Going to Canada? Check Your Past
February 24th, 2007Via: San Francisco Chronicle:
There was a time not long ago when a trip across the border from the United States to Canada was accomplished with a wink and a wave of a driver’s license. Those days are over.
Take the case of 55-year-old Lake Tahoe resident Greg Felsch. Stopped at the border in Vancouver this month at the start of a planned five-day ski trip, he was sent back to the United States because of a DUI conviction seven years ago. Not that he had any idea what was going on when he was told at customs: “Your next stop is immigration.”
Felsch was ushered into a room. “There must have been 75 people in line,” he says. “We were there for three hours. One woman was in tears. A guy was sent back for having a medical marijuana card. I felt like a felon with an ankle bracelet.”
Or ask the well-to-do East Bay couple who flew to British Columbia this month for an eight-day ski vacation at the famed Whistler Chateau, where rooms run to $500 a night. They’d made the trip many times, but were surprised at the border to be told that the husband would have to report to “secondary” immigration.
There, in a room he estimates was filled with 60 other concerned travelers, he was told he was “a person who was inadmissible to Canada.” The problem? A conviction for marijuana possession.
In 1975.
Welcome to the new world of border security. Unsuspecting Americans are turning up at the Canadian border expecting clear sailing, only to find that their past — sometimes their distant past — is suddenly an issue.
While Canada officially has barred travelers convicted of criminal offenses for years, attorneys say post-9/11 information-gathering, combined with a sweeping agreement between Canada and the United States to share data, has resulted in a spike in phone calls from concerned travelers.
They are shocked to hear that the sins of their youth might keep them out of Canada. But what they don’t know is that this is just the beginning. Soon other nations will be able to look into your past when you want to travel there.
Related: Staying Off the “Electronic Plantation”
Air, the Best Clean Vehicle Battery We’ve Got for Now
February 24th, 2007If you’ve got the electricity, why not? Until the Eestor thing moves out of the vaporware phase, this looks simple and viable.
Hmm, well, the MDI aircar is still pretty much in the vaporware phase too.
An aircar in vaporware phase. Ha. Thank you, I’ll be here all week, please tip your waitress.
And for the hybrid version, why not go with the the corncob carbon natural gas cell?
But in the meantime, enjoy the allowed-to-happen-by-design energy crisis.
Oil Over $61 On Iran, Supply Concerns
February 23rd, 2007Did anyone buy some March call options on the NYMEX Light Sweet Crude, along with the insiders, gamblers and lunatics back in mid January?
Via: Reuters:
Oil climbed above $61 to a 2007 high on Friday following a sharp drop in fuel stocks in the United States and as tensions over Iran’s nuclear program stoked supply concerns.
Russia Warns U.S. On Iran Moves
February 23rd, 2007Zbigniew Brzezinski Before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee should be kept in mind here.
Via: UPI:
Russia’s foreign minister Wednesday warned the United States not to take military action against Iran.
“The Russian foreign minister said Wednesday U.S.-led multinational foreign forces in Iraq must not conduct military operations outside the country, including against Iran,” the RIA Novosti news agency reported.
“The multinational force in Iraq should abide strictly by the UN Security Council’s mandate, which does not provide for any operations outside the country,” Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told the Lebanese magazine Al-Watan Al-Arabi in an interview.
“The escalation of the conflict and its possible spread beyond the Iraqi borders will inevitably result in catastrophic consequences and not for the Middle East alone,” Lavrov said according to the report. “I believe Washington understands this.”
Nichols: Timothy McVeigh’s Handler Was a High Ranking FBI Official
February 23rd, 2007Via: Salt Lake Tribune:
Oklahoma City bombing conspirator Terry Nichols says a high-ranking FBI official “apparently” was directing Timothy McVeigh in the plot to blow up a government building and might have changed the original target of the attack, according to a new affidavit filed in U.S. District Court in Utah.
The official and other conspirators are being protected by the federal government “in a cover-up to escape its responsibility for the loss of life in Oklahoma,” Nichols claims in a Feb. 9 affidavit.
Documents that supposedly help back up his allegations have been sealed to protect information in them, such as Social Security numbers and dates of birth.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Utah had no comment on the allegations. The FBI and Justice Department in Washington, D.C., also declined comment.
Nichols does not say what motive the government would have to be involved in the bombing.
The affidavit was filed in a lawsuit brought by Salt Lake City attorney Jesse Trentadue, who believes his brother’s death in a federal prison was linked to the Oklahoma City bombing. The suit, which seeks documents from the FBI under the federal Freedom of Information Act, alleges that authorities mistook Kenneth Trentadue for a bombing conspirator and that guards killed him in an interrogation that got out of hand.
Trentadue’s death a few months after the April 19, 1995, bombingwas ruled a suicide after several investigations. The government has adamantly denied any wrongdoing in the death.
In his affidavit, Nichols says he wants to bring closure to the survivors and families of the attack on the Alfred B. Murrah Federal Building, which took 168 lives. He alleges he wrote then-Attorney General John Ashcroft in 2004, offering to help identify all parties who played a role in the bombing but never got a reply.
Nichols is serving a life sentence at the U.S. Penitentiary Administrative Maximum Facility in Florence, Colo. McVeigh, who carried out the bombing, was executed in 2001.
McVeigh and Nichols were the only defendants indicted in the bombing. However, Nichols alleges others were involved.
McVeigh told him he was recruited for undercover missions while serving in the military, according to Nichols. He says he learned sometime in 1995 that there had been a change in bombing target and that McVeigh was upset by that.
“There, in what I believe was an accidental slip of the tongue, McVeigh revealed the identity of a high-ranking FBI official who was apparently directing McVeigh in the bomb plot,” Nichols says in the affidavit.
Nichols also says that McVeigh threatened him and his family to force him to rob Roger Moore, an Arkansas gun dealer, of weapons and explosives. He later learned the robbery was staged so Moore, who was in on the phony heist, could deny any knowledge of the bombing plot if the stolen items were traced back to him, Nichols claims.
He adds that Moore allegedly told his attorney that he would not be prosecuted in connection with the bombing because he was a “protected witness.”
Moore could not be reached for comment Tuesday.
In addition, Nichols says McVeigh must have had help building the bomb. The device he and McVeigh built the day before the bombing did not resemble the one that ultimately was used, Nichols says, and “displayed a level of expertise and sophistication” that neither man had.
In Other News: Neo-Nazi Rally Was Organized by FBI Informant
