The U.S. global military empire just keeps on a' truckin'

the u.s. is going to try to maintain its position as universal lord and master no matter how flimsy the house of cards, how empty the coffers, how hypocritical the posturing, or how bankrupt the system...

today's nyt...

The Obama administration plans to bolster the American military presence in the Persian Gulf after it withdraws the remaining troops from Iraq this year, according to officials and diplomats. That repositioning could include new combat forces in Kuwait able to respond to a collapse of security in Iraq or a military confrontation with Iran.

[...]

In addition to negotiations over maintaining a ground combat presence in Kuwait, the United States is considering sending more naval warships through international waters in the region.

With an eye on the threat of a belligerent Iran, the administration is also seeking to expand military ties with the six nations in the Gulf Cooperation Council — Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Oman. While the United States has close bilateral military relationships with each, the administration and the military are trying to foster a new “security architecture” for the Persian Gulf that would integrate air and naval patrols and missile defense.

when i look at what's going on in this world and then read shit like this, it feels like i'm reading something from the historical archives... i can't wait until it really IS in the historical archives...

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Very light posting

i've been so damn busy that i haven't had time to post... i'm following the news, of course, from the kabuki theater of the threatened u.s. government shutdown to the libyan farce to the news blackout on bahrain to the even more ominous virtually complete absence of news on julian assange, where the most recent news item is dated 24 february...

what i can't seem to escape is the feeling that the walls are crumbling, but FROM what TO what, i don't have a clue... complicating matters is that i'm seeing all of this from the perspective of kabul, afghanistan, where i'm in the thick of the insane intersection of the u.s. and afghanistan governments... thank god i've got a good sense of humor...!

p.s. oops... i take it back... i just found an article on assange from yesterday's guardian reporting on his recent appearance at a public debate...

The WikiLeaks founder, who is currently appealing against his extradition to Sweden to face allegations of sexual assault, told the audience at a packed debate organised by the New Statesman and the Frontline Club that whistleblowing was essential in a democracy because "the only way we can know whether information is legitimately kept secret is when it is revealed".

good... at least he hasn't been "disappeared"...

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A humanitarian military intervention in Libya...? Glenn: "Please."

glenn has the same visceral reaction to glaring hypocrisy that i do...

[W]hat I cannot understand at all is how people are willing to believe that the U.S. Government is deploying its military and fighting this war because, out of abundant humanitarianism, it simply cannot abide internal repression, tyranny and violence against one's own citizens. This is the same government that enthusiastically supports and props up regimes around the world that do exactly that, and that have done exactly that for decades.

By all accounts, one of the prime administration advocates for this war was Hillary Clinton; she's the same person who, just two years ago, said this about the torture-loving Egyptian dictator: "I really consider President and Mrs. Mubarak to be friends of my family." They're the same people overseeing multiple wars that routinely result in all sorts of atrocities. They are winking and nodding to their Yemeni, Bahraini and Saudi friends who are doing very similar things to what Gadaffi is doing, albeit (for now) on a smaller scale. They just all suddenly woke up one day and decided to wage war in an oil-rich Muslim nation because they just can't stand idly by and tolerate internal repression and violence against civilians? Please.

yep... where's our "humanitarian intervention" in gaza...? ivory coast...? equatorial guinea...? nothing like displaying our true colors for all the world to see and, believe me, they see them... here in the u.s., we may allow ourselves to be deluded by the constant barrage of media and government propaganda, but most of the rest of the world gets it and stands by in amazement that we don't - or won't...

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Fake Democracy - Noam Chomsky, March 13

great stuff from professor chomsky - as always...

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A third blast and damage to the containment vessel

holy crap...!

Japan’s nuclear crisis verged toward catastrophe on Tuesday, after an explosion at one crippled reactor damaged its crucial steel containment structure and a fire at another reactor spewed large amounts of radioactive material into the air, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.

After an emergency cabinet meeting, the Japanese government told people living within 30 kilometers, about 18 miles, of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station to stay indoors, keep their windows closed and stop using air-conditioning.

Officials said emergency efforts to pump seawater into three stricken reactors at the plant were continuing, but that most of the 800 workers at the Daiichi facility had been told to leave to avoid exposure to unhealthy levels of radiation at the plant. They said 50 workers would remain at the plant to pump seawater into three reactors and fight the fire at the fourth reactor.

Japan’s nuclear safety watchdog later said that the fire at the No. 4 reactor had been extinguished, The Associated Press reported.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan briefly addressed the nation on television at 11 a.m., pleading for calm as engineers struggled to bring the damaged reactors under control.

Mr. Kan said that radiation had spread from the crippled reactors and there was “a very high risk” of further leakages.

i'm getting nervous about checking the news... every time i do, there's more truly awful news and not just about japan... libya, bahrain, afghanistan, wisconsin, michigan, bradley manning... there's no end to it...

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Meanwhile, Egyptians are busy documenting their fallen government's use of torture

do you think we in the u.s. could take a lesson here...?

With Mubarak out of power, Egyptians turned today on the brutal State Security Services he used to cement his reign. Thousands of protestors stormed the agency's main headquarters in Cairo, ransacking offices and searching for evidence of Mubarak's wrongdoing among classified documents. This is basically like if Americans were given free reign at the FBI's HQ.

The State Security Services were responsible for some of the worst human rights abuses during Mubrarak's 30-year rule, according to the AP. "We all suffered and saw horrible torture at the hands of this agency," one protestor said. And many of those who raided the agency's offices today were victims of abuse.

not only did they raid the headquarters of the state security services, they also documented everything they found, posting it on social networking sites... NOW, it's getting really REAL...!

again, scott horton...

This weekend tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators in Egypt [flooded] the Internet with pictures of the cells and torture devices used there. Leaders of the effort said their raid was undertaken to preserve evidence of the mistreatment of prisoners so that appropriate measures could be taken for accountability in the future. Around the world, the outcry against this regime of torture and terror is rising and fueling massive public uprisings–as we see today in Bahrain, Egypt, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen.

here's a photo gallery... like scott says, what if the american people could do the same at fbi headquarters...

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