Category: Politics

Barak Obama Tries to Prove His Imperialist Creds

On By JonathanIn Politics, Satire, War4 Comments

Poor Mr Obama, having been assailed by Madame Clinton recently and accused of being “soft” or something on terrorism or rogue states or whatever, wants the world to know he is just as ready and willing to carry out destructive military policies as anyone else running around Washington:

Obama warns over Pakistan strike

In his speech at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, in Washington, Mr Obama said General Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan’s president, must do more to end terrorist operations in his country.

If not, Pakistan would risk a troop invasion and the loss of hundreds of millions of dollars of US aid during an Obama presidency, the candidate said.

Silly Musharraf- why can’t he just press a button and kick all those nasty Al-Qaeda people out- I mean, look at how quickly the US expelled them from Iraq! But since he clearly doesn’t want to anything construtctive, a new war (a new war would be fun, and an opportunity for new choices and new leaders and just general newness, which Mr Obama knows a great deal about) is probably in order. Of course, an invasion of Pakistan would go far better than the invasion of Iraq, because there aren’t that many people in Pakistan, right? And they don’t have any of those Shia people there, surely? Well, at any rate, they DO have WMD’s, and we should probably do something about that. And those madrasas- we should close them and teach them to love and drive eco-friendly vehicles.

Sigh…

Real Ale, Distributivism, & Ron Paul

On By JonathanIn Culture, PoliticsLeave a comment

Via The Ochlophobist:

From the Campaign for Real Ale, a most worthy British organization devoted to some very distributist-amiable ends:

Second, via The ChestorBelloc Mandate, a newish (no pun intended here) distributist site: The New Distributist League.

Finally, via Arts & Letters, a pretty sympathetic look at Ron Paul: The Antiwar, Anti-Abortion, Anti-Drug-Enforcement-Administration, Anti-Medicare Candidacy of Dr. Ron Paul : 

Whatever the campaign purports to be about, the main thing it has done thus far is to serve as a clearinghouse for voters who feel unrepresented by mainstream Republicans and Democrats. The antigovernment activists of the right and the antiwar activists of the left have many differences, maybe irreconcilable ones. But they have a lot of common beliefs too, and their numbers — and anger — are of a considerable magnitude. Ron Paul will not be the next president of the United States. But his candidacy gives us a good hint about the country the next president is going to have to knit back together.

Last night I noticed that the Myspace page of Hattiesburg’s finest pub/music venue, and one of the few places in Mississippi where hearing klezmer or Celtic punk or other diverse musical styles is fairly common, The Thirsty Hippo has Ron Paul up on the top tier of top friends. The Hippo’s patrons probably don’t include too many card-carrying Republicans; but then that is, as the article above notes, exactly Dr Paul’s appeal.

Doublethink in Iraq

On By JonathanIn Politics, War1 Comment

Something I’ve noticed lately: there is a newish and rather important instance of US doublethink going in regard to the war in Iraq. I’m refering to the labeling of the ‘true enemy’ in the ongoing occupation of the country. On the one hand, we hear continually of the presence of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and that it is the true enemy. Invariably in both official press releases and in mainstream media coverage, ‘insurgent’ translates into Al-Qaeda. A truck bomb, a roadside bomb, anything of the sort is blamed on Al-Qaeda. Yet, as various commentators have pointed out, Al-Qaeda in Iraq is only responsible for some of these things: the conflict is terribly complex. However, blaming a group that bears the name ‘Al-Qaeda’ is on one level necessary for the Administration- it lends weight to the widely broadcast fear that ‘they will follow us home if we leave,’ and that surely fighting Al-Qaeda is something we should be doing, what with September 11 and all that- right?

 Yet at the same time the Administration is committed to blaming its troubles on an entirely different actor: Iran (and to a lesser extent, Syria, but even then mainly as some sort of vector for Iran, the true enemy). Resolutions are passed, condemnations issued, indignant press releases released- Iran is supplying the insurgents with all manner of perdiferous armaments, and it is these arms that are killing US troops! Such an allegation is a tacit admission that perhaps other groups than Al-Qaeda are involved, including, say, Shi’a militias. But the focus is upon Iran: Iran is in essence killing US troops. If Iran could be eliminated as a threat in Iraq, all would be well in Iraq. 

Yet this is an immediate contradiction: Al-Qaeda and Iran cannot both be ‘the true enemy,’ the prime cause of all that ails the US in Iraq (and elsewhere: Al-Qaeda is the global threat; Iran seeks regional if not world domination). A possible resolution might be that in fact Iran is supplying Al-Qaeda, and there are signs that this tack is being taken- witness allegations that Iran is arming the Taliban (something strenuously denied by military personel on the ground in Afghanistan). There is still the problem that no one can, right now anyway, seriously deny that the bulk of alleged Iranian support, military and otherwise, is going to Shi’a groups, not Al-Qaeda (a group that likes to kill Shi’a). Hence two Enemies Number One, both of which must be sustained in their current narrative positions- not for the sake of understanding the actual situation, but for the sake of fielding justifications for the Administration.

A Man With A Plan

On By JonathanIn History, PoliticsLeave a comment

For really getting the American Empire up and running:

Maybe we have to start thinking about some kind of hybrid organization of our military and our civilian agencies of the government. There’s a lot here that the Justice Department can bring to bear in places like Iraq and if we have to do another Iraq in the future. There’s a lot of skills that the Commerce Department can bring to bear, the Treasury Department, and a lot of our private businesses. This nation needs to get started again. Maybe we didn’t see that because this idea of nation-building is not one you want to undertake lightly. But whether we wanted to or not, it’s now our responsibity. We’ve got to get it done right.

Via Reason Mag. The sad thing is Mr Giuliani no doubt thinks his plan is new and innovative in the world.

In the event that Mr Giuliani, God forbid, does ascend to the helm of the Empire, I would fancy some sort of colonial post, just a middling one in the high country (doesn’t really matter what high country), well away from the thick of insurgency. I am sure I could lend a much needed cultural flair to our enterprise: when one shoulders the White Man’s Burden, one should do it in decent style, after all.

How It Works

On By JonathanIn Culture, PoliticsLeave a comment

If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them. But this is gain for a land in every way: a king committed to cultivated fields.

Ecclesiastes 5:8-9

Anti-War Baptists and Ale For Freedom

On By JonathanIn Culture, Gospel, History, Politics, WarLeave a comment

In keeping with Pope Benedict’s Easter message today on peace, here are a couple of quotations from early 19th century British Baptists on war, that offer a valuable counterpoint to the unfortunate support of many contemporary Evangelicals for militarism and imperial adventures:

 “If I had money to purchase a commission for Peter, I could not do so conscientiously. Thinking as I do that War is one of the greatest plagues with which a righteous God scourges a wicked world, and that in perhaps nine instances out of ten, it is unlawful, also that every person who gets a commission in the Army does actually sell himself for the purpose of killing men wheresoever he may be sent for that purpose, and that his will must be wholly under the control of another, from whom he recieves orders, so that he is not in that instance a free agent; I cannot be accessory to Peter’s gaining a commission by my means as purchaser.”

Rev. William Carey, Letter to His Sisters, 1809

“Detesting war, considered as a trade or profession, and conceiving conquerors to be the enemies of the species, it appears to me that nothing is more suitable to the office of a Christian minister, than an attempt, however feeble, to take off the colours from false greatness, and to show the deformity which its delusive splendour too often conceals. This is perhaps one of the best services religion can do to society. Nor is there any more necessary. For, dominion affording a plain and palpable distinction, and every man feeling the effects of power, however incompetent he may be to judge of wisdom and goodness, the character of a hero, there is reason to fear, will always be too dazzling. The sense of his injustice will be too often lost in the admiration of his success.”

Rev. Robert Hall, Sermon On War, 1802

In a related vein, sort of, is the following item: William Wilberforce Freedom Ale, brewed by Westerham Brewery in Britain. They offer this description:

“Traditionally floor-malted Maris Otter pale ale malt, crystal malt and Kentish hops combine with Fairtrade Demerara sugar to produce deep gold ale, characterised by its mellow bitterness and long hoppy finish.

“The beer commemorates the 200th anniversary of the abolition of the slave trade. On 25th March 1807, the British Parliament voted in favour of the abolition of the slave trade. This act of legislation was one of the most humanitarian pieces of legislation ever enacted in parliament; slaves could no longer be traded in British ships.”

So it’s a little kitschy, but it’s ale, it commemorates William Wilberforce, and part of the profits go to stop human trafficking. The brewers, besides being Evangelicals and including Bible verses on their website and products, also support fair trade and local food economy, which is also pretty nifty. I suspect Rev. Carey would have approved. 

A Contemporary Litany (In Traditional Language)

On By JonathanIn Culture, Politics, SatireLeave a comment

Oh _____ (Insert name(s) of Deity(ies) of choice), we concede
That verily mistakes,
Most grievous mistakes even, were made:
Let it not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That, through no fault of our own
Our intelligence sources were, alas, misleading:
Let it not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That there were cetain failures in forecasting:
Let in not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That regretable logistical errors were made:
Let in not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That admininistrative incidents, verily,
Might have been handled with greater discretion:
Let it not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That things were said that perhaps
Should have been said differently
As befit the situation:
Let it not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

We concede
That there were apparently (slight) discrepancies
Between the things said
And the things as they may have transpired:
Let it not effect our approval ratings, we beseech Thee.

Verily, regretable mistakes were made,
Though responsibility is,
As befits the inscruitable cosmic causality,
Attributable to No One in particular,
Still we concede most heartily:
Mistakes were made-
Wherefore we say
Let it not effect our approval numbers, we beseech Thee.

Another Somalia

On By JonathanIn Culture, Politics1 Comment

Coming from the former British Somililand is a surprisingly encouraging story of local people rebuilding their lives, renouncing war, embracing decentralised government, and generally improving economic and social conditions:

 When the sun rises over the craggy hills of Hargeysa, it sheds light on a different kind of Somalia.

Ice cream trucks hit the streets. Money changers, unarmed and unguarded, push cash through the market in wheelbarrows. Politicians from three distinct parties get ready for another day of debate, which recently included animated discussion on registering nomadic voters.

It is all part of a Somali puzzle: how one area of the country, the northwest, also known as Somaliland, can seem so peaceful and functional — so normal, in fact — while the rest continues to be such a violent, chaotic mess.

‘Somaliland is an overlooked African success story‘

All of this has been done, as the article notes, largely without any outside intervention or interference. Instead, local people- many of whom are rural and illiterate- have been crafting governance and an economy with a combination of traditional cultural forms and elements of Western democracy. All without contingents of Western troops or bucketloads of Western aid, or even legions of specialists and advisors. Imagine!