Think Again!

William S. Lind:  More Troops?  Think Again!  (Like that's going to happen.)

Titans square up for clash in Iraq.  Not all enemies are the same.

A Return of the Ba'athists?

Iraq's Sadr bloc in Bush protest. The beginning of the end of Iraq's so-called government?

Bury my heart in the Green Zone.  A return of the Ba'athists?

Powell: Iraq in civil war.  Too little too late, Mr. Powell.

Controversy Over Pentagon's War-Spending Plan. More war pork.

Definition of the Day: Urban.

Illusion of The State

 Uri Averney: An Evening in Jounieh.  "Kill Them! Kill Everyone! All of Them!"  More on the illusion of the state.

Bush rejects Iraq pull out.  More proof (as if it were needed) he's a fucking idiot.

Things Fall Apart

What is the Mission? Or, Russian Roulette. There is none. The "cluelessness" of the US government never ceases to amaze. Even though there would be less to ridicule, I wish it would. It's wearing a little thin...

It is strange how in Iraq slaughter soon seems to be part of normal life. Acceptance of insanity.  Excerpt:

Iraq may be getting close to what Americans call "the Saigon moment", the time when it becomes evident to all that the government is expiring. "They say that the killings and kidnappings are being carried out by men in police uniforms and with police vehicles," the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said to me with a despairing laugh this summer. "But everybody in Baghdad knows that the killers and kidnappers are real policemen."

Things Fall Apart on their Own.

Living Rich Fantasy Lives

TV Station Seized: Maliki Fights For Control Of Iraq.  As if anyone has control.  See also Angry Iraqis stone car of prime minister.  Perhaps, when the Iraqi Prime Minister goes to Jordon to meet Bush, he won't return?

See the Cost of Iraq War in Dollars.

See American Military Casualties in Iraq.

Iraq: The War of the Imagination (Part II).  Living rich fantasy lives.  Now it's time to point fingers.

Let Us Now Throw Rumsfeld Under the Bus.  It's not like he can help being stupid and incompotent.

Definition of the Day: Unflattering.

A Depressing Day

Juan Cole: Sunnis Set Afire, Mosques Attacked; Nearly 100 Killed in Reprisals; Muqtada Challenges Dhari.  A depressing day.  Cole also adds:

Members of Muqtada's bloc in Parliament, such as Faleh Hasan Shanshal, have threatened to pull out of the al-Maliki government if the prime minister follows through with his plans to meet US President George W. Bush in Amman on Wednesday. Bush's spokesman say that the meeting would be held nevertheless. Why US news services feel the need to report the rest of what the spokesman said, especially fairly high up in the article, is beyond me. Nonsense such as that Iraq is not in a civil war or that the violence will be "high on the agenda" at the Amman meeting is only worthy of being ignored or derided. If Bush was able to do anything about the violence in Iraq, he wouldn't have to meet al-Maliki in the neighboring country of . . . Jordan. I think the Pentagon has concluded that Baghdad is just too dangerous and unpredictable to allow Bush to go there anymore.

Reality seems to be slipping ever farther away.  The Bush Administration appears willing to potentially sacrifice everything for the sake of ego.  The delusional so-called leadership of the USA appears to be living in a state of absolute denial.  Their better so-called solutions are dated.  They cannot conceive of a vacuum (even if it does resemble their thick heads).  As noted Earlier this week, the Democrats are little better.  Voting is basically an exercise in picking dumb from dumber.  As a consequence, legitimacy is steadily eroding.  Where will it end?  The only question is whether this poor slope will experience total failure.  See also Factors in Our Colossal Mess.

Civil War

Baghdad hit by wave of attacks.  Let's start calling it by what it is: Civil War.  See also Al-Sadr group threatens to quit.  A meeting with Bush is all it will take for the pretense to end.

Lebanon death 'may presage coup.'  Another war brewing.

CIA analysis finds no Iranian nuclear weapons drive: report.  That never stopped anything.

Definition of the Day: Underemployed.

Trust The Democrats To Do Nothing

Head for the Exits, Now!  Trust the Democrats to do nothing.

Juan Cole: 233 Dead in Civil War Carnage; Health Ministry Besieged; 3,000 Widows Created Each Month. The point of no return?

Another Low

Iraqi deaths hit new high.  New high in another low.
  
Paul Craig Roberts: Bush's Lone Victory. Fascism marches onward and over civil liberties.

Robert Fisk: Civil war in Lebanon.  Who benefits?

Definition of the Day: Unconditional.

New World

Russia attacks the West's Achilles' heel.  Will Russia finally go for it, and take out the dollar?  What's stopping it?

William S. Lind: Davy Jones’s Locker. China will soon have a larger submarine fleet than the US, but is ultimately meaningless in the new world of 4GW.

Seinfeld's Kramer (Michael Richards) Racist Tirade.  Watch someone commit career suicide.

Definition of the Day: Ulcer.

The Next Act (in Stupidity) Draft #1

Draft #1

As this is one of my few diatribes that includes my actual line of work, but included as a sort of stream draft writing example.  I will be updating this entry until I get tired of it.

It starts with:

Seymour M. Hersh: The Next Act (in stupidity):  

A month before the November elections, Vice-President Dick Cheney was sitting in on a national-security discussion at the Executive Office Building. The talk took a political turn: what if the Democrats won both the Senate and the House? How would that affect policy toward Iran, which is believed to be on the verge of becoming a nuclear power? At that point, according to someone familiar with the discussion, Cheney began reminiscing about his job as a lineman, in the early nineteen-sixties, for a power company in Wyoming. Copper wire was expensive, and the linemen were instructed to return all unused pieces three feet or longer. No one wanted to deal with the paperwork that resulted, Cheney said, so he and his colleagues found a solution: putting "shorteners" on the wire - that is, cutting it into short pieces and tossing the leftovers at the end of the workday. If the Democrats won on November 7th, the Vice-President said, that victory would not stop the Administration from pursuing a military option with Iran. The White House would put "shorteners" on any legislative restrictions, Cheney said, and thus stop Congress from getting in its way.

See also the following:

Bush: I'd understand if Israel chose to attack Iran.

Of course, the lame-ass "impeachment is off the table" Congressional Democrats will do nothin to avert calamity.  As pointed out by others, I suspect they would rather play politics.  They would rather see the Republicans permanently self destruct.  They don't seem to care about consequences.  As a party, for a variety of reasons, at least on the coasts, the Democratic Party does more to stifle and neutralize third parties than the Republicans.  Nader's treatment in Oregon is a prime example.  Basically, I believe the party leaders, at the behest of their backing interests, have been told the instability of any sort will not be tolerated.  Their mission is stability (= stagnation) in all things.  The Republicans were becoming bad for business, and consequently lost their overwhelming corporate backing.  Besides ballots and money, rich people vote by their disapproval.  Record oil profits might please some vested interests, but severely impacts other.  For instance, construction costs are skyrocketing due to increased fuel and materials costs.  Short haul construction truck drivers have told me of paying $250 every other day for diesel.  Asphalt prices are basically double their traditional price per ton.  Projects are being killed or built in stages.  In addition, due to the financial black hole of the so-called War on Terror (whatever that means today), the Federal Government does not spend as much on infrastructure improvemets.  State and local entities are now forced to pay their own bills.  Although the bloated state and local governments is a drag, at least its a step away from the Federal Government.

The More Hated, The Cheaper

Blair accepts 'disaster' in Iraq. And it's the Bush Administration.  See also The Fall of Donald Rumsfeld.

Pakistan Tests Nuclear-Capable Missile.  One step closer into the hands of Islamic fundamentalists.

Left Business Observer: Bush and the price of gas.  The more hated, the cheaper gas needs to be.

Definition of the Day: Quiff.

That'll Teach You

Britains multiculturalism falters. That'll teach you to have had an empire.

Iran, Living in the Mullahs' Shadow. Don't make a big deal out of it, and you'll be left alone?

US house building at six-year low. But not in your area!

Blair: Iran could play a role. Yes, but why would they?

Rumsfeld Made Me Do It

Rumsfeld Made Me Do It.  (And He needs to pay!)

Analysis / Ehud Olmert pounds the drums of war over Iran.  Olmert is even more unpopular than Bush.  Nobody likes a loser.

House Passes "Terrorism" Act Against Animal Activists.  Gotta get that fascism in before heading out the door.

Deadly attack on Baghdad bakery.  Since changing their look, Al-Jazeera appears to be going for a market niche unoccupied by domestic and international US media coverage of the wars in the Islamic world.  Expect to see more photos like this:

Heck of a Job

Bush tries to damage nation as much as possible during lame-duck session.  Doing a heck of a job.

We do not want Democrats, we just hate the Republicans.  Got that right.

Al-Jazeera TV is now broadcasting in English.

Definition of the Day: Documentation.

Nothing Changes

William S. Lind: Lose a War, Lose an Election. And nothing changes.

Werther: A Sneak Peak at the Baker Commission Report. Hot Air.

“Death and Dying”

Fabius Maximus: Situation Report on the Expedition to Iraq.

Excerpt:

As many 4GW experts forecast, the western nations’ (largely US and UK) Expedition to Iraq was doomed before it began. As such the Kubler-Ross “Death and Dying” process offers the best metaphor for our conduct of the war. 1/

Shock & Denial: Initial paralysis at hearing the bad news: trying to avoid the inevitable.

Anger: Frustrated outpouring of bottled-up emotion.

Bargaining: Seeking in vain for a way out.

Depression: Final realization of the inevitable.

Testing and Acceptance: Seeking realistic solutions; finally finding a way forward.

America’s elites remained for a long period in Denial, and then moved into Anger. 2/ They directed their anger at anybody other then themselves: Bush/Hitler, Leftist traitors, “Neville Chamberlain’s” in the Democratic Party, Al Qaeda, various elements of the Iraq people, and Iran. There have been, of course, few mea culpa’s from our leaders, Democrat or Republican. 3/

Now we advance to bargaining.

Of course, the stupidity of the elites is what caused all of this mess in the first place. As I've said before, I find it ironic that hillbillies are looked down upon for inbreeding while the elites do it far more often. Even worse, in a process I call intellectual inbreeding, the elites all go to the same schools which teach the same thing to their dull-minded children. No wonder, they all think the same (when they think at all). As always, death to the stupid!

See Also.

1/ This summary and the graphic come from The Kübler-Ross grief cycle Here.
For more information see Here.

The Path of Least Resistance

"We Worry About Staying Alive, Not the U.S. Elections." Believe it or not.

Neocons dissolve into chaos after GOP defeat. Idiots.

When All Else Fails...

… Execute the dictator. It’s that simple. When American troops are being killed by the dozen, when the country you are occupying is threatening to break up into smaller countries, when you have militias and death squads roaming the streets and you’ve put a group of Mullahs in power- execute the dictator.

It's the path of least resistance.

Definition of the Day: Dittohead.

It's Greed, Stupid

Meditations on the coming collapse. It's greed, stupid.

Gringos turn tide crossing border; Boomer retirees invading Mexico. Like rats off a sinking ship via to herd or not to herd.

"F.A.R.C.'s Presence Outside Colombia has not Diminished." Another aspect of globalization.

Definition of the Day: Disgusting.

More Incompetence Likely

After Bush's midterm defeat, what now for Iraq? More incompetence likely.

Mubarak warns on Saddam execution. He is not stupid. It will be the start of the Iraqi Civil War?

Gaza hit was 'technical failure.' The response probably won't be.

Olmert in autumn. Losts of problems.

Anti-Bush mood reached down to our state races. Don't kid yourself - but you probably will. See Dead woman wins local US election. The not-Republicans did well.

Will the Demcrats Become Part of the Problem? You can bet on it.

The War of the Snipers. On sniper propaganda.

Definition of the Day: Disdain.

Ahh, The Good Life

William S. Lind: He'’s Tanned, Rested and Ready. Ahh, the good life.

Rumsfeld departure shakes Bush administration. Doesn't go nearly far enough.

Bomber kills 42 Pakistani troops. War goes on.

Definition of the Day: Dinner.

No Impeachment

Democrats 'take control of House.' Don't bet on impeachment.

Why no "Get out the don't vote?"

Why no "Get out the don't vote?"

"October Surprise"

Iraqi PM hails Saddam's sentence. The best "October Surprise" that the Republicans could get?

Talking Victory in Iraq, When There is Only Defeat. When Does Incompetence Become a Crime? Like smut, you know it when you see it.

Mediocre Way

A question of patriotism. Divide and conquer. It's the mediocre way.

Carnage on Capitol Hill: Iraq fatally wounds Republicans. Expect nothing.

Militia Mania

Chavez arms backers as election nears. Militia mania.

Can the West become the new South? I hope not!

Al Jazeera sets English launch date. Real news that might piss you off.

Definition of the Day: Desperation.

What An Idiot!

Embattled Kerry seeks low profile. If this guy is the best the Democrats could do, its no wonder Bush won. What an idiot! I recall Alexander Cockburn remarked that only the Democrats would pick someone who makes George W. Bush look like a man of the people. It's all a big joke, and unlike most everyone else, he voted for it. Laugh it up, motherfucker. See Also.

Meanwhile...

Revealed: US Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques.

NATO takes the fight to Pakistan.

On a lighter note: The Meatrix 2 1/2 (not really).

Definition of the Day: Dignity.