Lies, Ignorance and “Useful Idiots”…
We all let old newspapers pile up, don’t we? For my peace of mind, I hope so. At what point does this activity become compulsive behavior? A few days ago, on the last day of 2007, I found myself rearranging stacks of unread national editions of the New York Times along with some weekend editions of the Financial Times thrown in. It took most of the day. What did I do with them? I transported them to another location in my apartment, and stacked them up again more neatly. Of course, I took the time to glance at a few, and absorb certain bits and pieces of information.
When you have newspapers going back months and sometimes years, you can compare the then with the now, on the spot. An exhilarating experience. At the moment, I am looking at page 4 of the Financial Times from September 2/3, 2006. A little section titled “Middle East & Africa”. There is an article with the headline: “Iran’s president proves a star turn”. Actually, I am not familiar with the term “star turn”. Remember, this is an English newspaper, and I don’t get out much. They talk and think differently over there on John Bull’s first island. A “star turn” is, according to Webster’s International Unabridged, ”chiefly Britain : the featured skit or number in a theatrical production; broadly : the most widely publicized person or item in a group”. So I have learned something already.
The article is about the Iranian president’s challenge to the American president for a debate. I do not recall G.W. Bush’s response to the challenge; probably on the sound advice of his brain, Karl Rove, Bush ignored it. (Bush may have considered it, on condition that he could bring Dick Cheney along as a co-debater. Remember that G.W. demanded something along these lines when Congress tried to get him to testify about 9/11.) Above the FT headline is a snappy photo-montage of our controversial president and the equally, or perhaps even more, controversial Iranian president, whose name the FT insists on spelling Ahmadi-Nejad, not Ahmadinejad. The FT must be right. Next to the two images, there are competing quotes regarding the then-bigger-than-life brouhaha over Iran’s “nuclear ambitions”, which comments, after you take the recent National Intelligence Estimate into account, make the Iranian president appear slightly less nuts than the dauphin.
President G.W. Bush: “The world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran...we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon...it is time for Iran to make a choice.”
President Mahmoud Ahmadi-Nejad: “Exploitation of peaceful nuclear energy is our obvious right...the west’s claim that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons is a sheer lie...the west basically opposes progress by Iran.”
You see what I mean? In the aftermath of the NIE on Iran’s nuclear portfolio, we have a problem. The credibility meter at the White House is hugging zero. As defense and foreign affairs analyst Eric Margolis put it in his column “Revenge of the Spooks” of December 10th, “Ironically, Iran’s leader, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was telling the truth all along when he said Iran was not working on nuclear arms, while Bush & Company was lying through its teeth, just as it did over Iraq and Afghanistan.”
It is a sad day in America when we find out that our Ivy League president has been more deceitful on a topic of international importance than the president of a country considered to be part of the developing “third world” and a member of the “axis of evil”. Why the lying and wholesale deception in Washington? Why bully Iran? What is the point? What are the White House and the politicians of both parties in Washington afraid of? Certainly not Iran. Could it be simple ignorance--maybe willful ignorance--instead of lying? Or something else?
It is not simply a question of explaining what makes G.W. tick and what is going on inside his head. The EU and the UN Security Council--most especially Germany’s Angela Merkel and France’s Nicolas Sarkozy--went along with this neocon-inspired, warmongering campaign. They are still going along with it, the NIE notwithstanding. Are Europe and a majority of the UNSC just paying lip service to the White House, to run out the clock on this bizarre Administration--or could EU leaders themselves and a majority of the UNSC be just as deceitful and high-handed as the soon-to-be-retired occupants of the White House?
In this regard, I am looking at page 10 of the January 12, 2007 edition of the FT, the “Leaders & Letters” section. There is a letter here from one Hamid Babaei, who is first secretary of the Iranian embassy in London. Here’s some of it:
“Sir, Your recent articles on US attempts to put pressure on Iran’s nuclear activities neglect one central fact. Measures such as last month’s United Nations Security Council resolution, which has been championed by Washington, are deeply unfair. Iran is a signatory to the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and as such has an inalienable right to the lawful use of nuclear energy. Yet it is facing an unprecedented hue and cry over its nuclear programme, while Israel, a wholly non-accountable nuclear power, has the full support of the US administration.
“Bear in mind that Iran has never attacked or threatened to use force against any United Nations member state. Iran gave the west assistance in removing the threat of Taliban terrorism in Afghanistan. It condemned Saddam Hussein’s invasion of Kuwait. But, instead of being rewarded for taking such sensible stances, Iran faces a reprimand--one that is wholly undeserved.
“Sadly, the injustice of Security Council resolution 1737 is nothing new for Iran. Ours is a great country and rich civilisation that has had to overcome many historic injustices during the past six decades. In the 1950s, after Iran nationalised the oil industry, the response was a military coup organised by two permanent Security Council members. In the 1980s, western powers failed even to call for Saddam Hussein’s invading forces to withdraw from Iranian territory. The architects of the recent Security Council resolution turned a blind eye to the extensive use of chemical weapons against Iranian civilians and soldiers. Tens of thousands of Iranians continue to suffer and perish as a result.
“In that light, it is clear that the decision to subject Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme to Security Council measures will not encourage negotiations or provide any kind of a solution. It is not intended to. Instead, it will only set a most unwelcome precedent: to deny countries their basic rights to use technology to provide clean sources of energy....”
Just one more straw in the wind from my stack of newspapers should suffice. I am referring to “Channeling Dick Cheney”, a meant-to-be-humorous column by Tom Friedman in the New York Times of November 18th, 2007. Friedman is the New York/Washington establishment point man for all things pertaining to the Middle East, as well as an enduring regular on the Charlie Rose show, another establishment stalwart. Friedman is treated reverently on the talk and interview shows, even when he has nothing but the most banal insights to offer and even though he generally swallows intact almost all the rotten chestnuts of American Mideast policy.
In “Channeling” we are informed that “After Iraq and Pakistan, the most vexing foreign policy issue that will face the next president will be how to handle Iran.” Indeed. Three exotic countries, and three difficult situations which U.S. policy-makers created. Friedman’s half serious suggestion is to put that wild and crazy guy, Dick Cheney, on the same ticket with the new wise man on the block, Barack Obama, should the latter end up with the Democratic nomination for president. “...Cheney is the hawk-eating hawk, who regularly swoops down and declares that the U.S. will not permit Iran to develop a nuclear weapon. Trust me, the Iranians take his threats seriously.” Check. Friedman’s idea is that Cheney’s insane hawkishness would balance Obama’s apparent dovishness, and thereby facilitate negotiations. Not for an instant does Friedman address the central issue of “What actually is the problem here and who is responsible for it?”
He is right about one thing, though--the Iranians pay attention to Dick Cheney’s threats. After all, Cheney continues to be the CEO or Regent of the Bush Administration, which may well be the most reckless Administration in U.S. history, if we throw out FDR. The fact is, Iran had no nuclear weapons to begin with, and its supreme Islamic leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has issued a Fatwa years ago prohibiting the acquisition of such weapons. In sum, the Iranian nuclear weaponry “threat” was a fraud and a fiction. Ergo, Cheney and his charge, the dauphin, POTUS 43, and their “neocon” wingnut associates had no business whatever threatening Iran. The stationing of a huge American armada in the Persian Gulf for months and years on end is madness. All of this was predictably lost on Tom Friedman. The last thing the world needs is another poisonous dose of Dick Cheney. “Hawk” is just a euphemism and camouflage for being a “useful idiot”.
Which brings me back to the efficacy of saving old newspapers. I suppose it is a good idea to read them when current. Then again, maybe it is a terrible idea, a waste of time, when one could be playing tennis, reading poetry, or taking a walk. Perhaps it is better not to read the establishment press at all, because with respect to politics and world affairs, the newspapers are invariably going to be jammed with remarkable misinformation generated by the-powers-that-be to advance their own sub rosa agendas. Wait, and read the newspapers later. It only later--by comparing what was reported, taken for granted, or made up back then with the reality now--that one can fully appreciate how bogus and dishonest it all is. This is certainly true of modern history.
The self-destructive, fratricidal world wars of the 20th century are worth considering, reevaluating and putting into perspective. We can now step back and calmly contemplate them with archival information, which was kept under wraps. True, honest men did not have that luxury at the time. They could sense what was happening, however, even if they were powerless to stop the mountebanks who were in the saddle. More recently, there is Vietnam and Iraq. These more recent disasters are less of a problem to comprehend, it seems to me, because the deceit, failure and idiocy are self-evident. Is there a pattern beginning to emerge here, starting in 1914 up until the present moment?
Comments
“Remember, this is an English newspaper, and I don’t get out much. They talk and think differently over there on John Bull’s first island.”
Heh. From Lukacs’ “Thread of Years”, the chapter titled “1962”, about an English journalist visiting New York:
“He also recounts to his wife two phrases (or rather, definitions) he learned in New York: John Kennedy is surrounded by an Irish mafia, and literary life in New York is ruled by a Jewish mafia (the latter told to him late one night in a Third Avenue bar by an Irish writer who kept drinking nothing but pints of Irish lager, one after another.)”
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Since most newspapers in the U.S. have turned into Neocon rags (a few like L.A. Times excepted), I often turn to Asia Times online, where you can still get some news analysis worth reading.
Predictions:
1.No attack on Iran, infact lots of grovelling on the path to establishing good relations.
2. Pakistan and Iran in secret consultations will develop joint startegy to find a way to get the U.S. out of Afghanistan.
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Why Iran was targeted with all the Venom the Neocons could spit out.
The real reason, as we all know is that Iran frustrated the Zionist plan to colonize Lebanon. Iran’s support to Hizbollah and Syria turned the Zionist dream of turning Lebanon into Czecoslovakia into dead zionists and smashed zionist tanks, and north Israel evacuated in 2006. That is why Iran was number one the target list. The fact that they knew Iran had no nukes made Iran all the more tempting a target.
That is why if I were the Iranian head of state I would negotiate a joint defence pact with Pakistan and locate some nukes close to Tel Aviv. That is the only language these hyenas will understand.
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@SS Ball (Squire Square Ball)
Albion’s Seed: The great grandson (Nicholas Jake Barton) of your idol Sir “Winnie” Churchill was sentenced to three years in prison (12/07) in Australia for his involvement in an ecstasy drug racket. Or so a local newspaper reported. Sadly, his mother died on the same day. Happy New Year! J Ball.
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Dear Mr FoSquare,
My great-grandson deserves to rot in prison
for breaking the laws of the Sovereign, just like all Fenian terrorists deserve as well. Your news has made my admirer, John Ball, proud to be an Australian. If only Joe Kennedy and Tyler Kent could have been deported to Australia in 1940, to be beaten senseless by Australian patriots upon arrival, then the world would be a cleaner place today.
But please keep Mr Foy over there. Australia has strived too hard to clean itself up, to become tainted by any more admirers of and apologists for Fenian criminality and Nazi Fifth-Columnists such as Mr Foy. He and my great-grandson have a lot in common in their mutual lack of basic decency, from which Australia has for the most part purged itself. Keep it over there, please.
Sincerely yours,
Sir Winston Churchill
(Channeled by John Ball)
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Personally I feel one of the benefits to the world of Global Warming may be that England will get the watery burial it has deserved for so long.
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Dear Good Ole Winnie,
It’s so typical of you, Sir Winnie, to bequeath to your progeny your infirmities, and then betray him in his time of need, just as you betrayed the Eastern Europeans and the Russian Freedom Fighters in the aftermath of your vanity war. A tuppence of credit should be given to your chivalrous idolater, however, for standing by his dopplegänger. If only you had done as much for your great-grandson and the others you forsook. Cheers! down there old boy.
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Not to distract from the current cross-fire between the Brits and her progeny, but the dystopic pattern pre-dates 1914 by at least 50 years...to the Civil War era and its’ aftermath, Reconstruction. Regardless of one’s position on slavery, the dysfunctions of an unleashed Federalism received its baptism by fire in the blast furnaces of the artillery and train-rich Civil War. The Bankers and Industrialists won the civil war then were winged by antitrust law by Teddy only to blast themselves in the Depression (not unlike what is unfolding today). After a brief bruising, they were again Federally supported in the Roosevelt New Deal only to see the military Industrial Complex make it a permanent arrangement in the 50’s. At least the New Dealers had the good form to house their government muscle building in temporary quonsut huts along the Mall, built shoddily so that they would automatically have a termination date certain. Even New Dealers were uncertain about the eficacy of Federalist expansion. Now, they have abandoned the pretensions of quonsut huts .......building permanently, all over the world and embracing their kith and kin on K Street who dispense incentive pay to both Big Government Republicans and Big Government Democrats. For their part, the Corporations have replaced the production of widgets and jobs with the creation of paper pushing and propaganda to a level that would make the Bolsheviks gleam red with desire. Media has replaced religion as the opiate of the masses.
As much as I might disagree with Southern Exceptionalism and rabidly White Supremacist rhetoric, I think it safe to say that the first shots on Fort Sumter by the Confederacy inadvertently bombarded individual craft and self-determining labor as much as they did the idea of Union and Federalist hegemony.
It is no wonder, with the the triumvirate of; Excessive Federalism, the Financialization of the economy and the consolidation of Corporate Socialism that the Rebel Flag remains a potent symbol of stubborn individuality in the modern lapsed Republic.
I prefer the old Anarch yellow rag, the Gadsden Flag myself with it’s rattlesnake, about which Franklin said in defense of it as a national symbol over the carrion eating Eagle:
It is native to the U.S. and it is hesitant to strike, only striking in self defense and when doing so, it is deadly.
There is a straight short line between the Civil War and todays bloated and overweening Federalist sow.
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Patric,
One benefit of your survey of old newspapers: the wisdom of hindsight makes it easy to notice which source of information has been in touch with external reality, which has not. This may explain why The New York Times is declining in circulation, while Finacial Times in growing. Readers have drawn the obvious conclusion and are voting with their vallets.
Similarly, compare FT with the Wall Street Journal. The only consolation here is that the fears about Murdoch’s takeover leading to WSJ’s tablodization are unfounded; there is no need to worry about this development because it has already happened. The detached, reflective consideration of all possible views—including the perspectives of one’s opponents—which is FT’s hallmark, has for years been almost totally missing from WSJ. Following the style common to tabloids, that journal is intellectually all black and white.
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“and Nazi Fifth-Columnists such as Mr Foy”
More crap from Little Balls
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@Sabin:
While wholeheartedly agreeing with your historical analysis, I wonder how we are going to deal with the Frankenstein we have unleashed on the world.
As an economist it seems to me that global corporations like say Walmart are mutating in ways we have not yet confronted. For example is Walmart loyal to the U.S. or to China. It would seem it is far more concerned about job creation in China than in the U.S. It certainly pays its workers in China higher real wages than it does in the U.S. So while Walmart shareholders do great the U.S taxpayer is not so lucky as he finances the burdens of carrying the “bloated sow” while walmart is able to shield its earnings overseas. The same applies to each and every one of the fortune 500.
The options are bad or worse for us.
On the suject of Lies, Ignorance, and Useful Idiots, and the recent demise of our feudal princess, now that Scotland Yard is turning up we are guaranteed the truth will be buried along with the princess.
Although the media has trotted out the usual bunch of suspects, I fear one possibility may have been overlooked, that this was a family affair, here’s a short list of additional suspects:
1. Asif Zardari who may have prepared a will nominating himself as successor.
2. Friends of Murtaza Bhutto looking for revenge.
3. PPP “supporters” fearful of the inquisition to come over “misdeeds” committed while the princess was exiled.
4. Cousins of the Bhutto’s…
5. PPP supporters who felt that this was a national political party and nobody’s private fiefdom.
Lets keep in mind that in addition to the police escort BB was surrounded by armed “PPP” supporters that had apparently not been backgound checked by the Police.
Just thinking outside the BOX :)
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Who will tell the people:
We don’t live in a republic, and we don’t live in a democracy, we live in Walmart’s Parking lot (sorry Walmart nothing personal I could thingk of quite a few other names).
For thos still curious enough to know what’s going on on any given day, there are plenty of news sources worldwide you can access on the internet.
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Allen. Your post got me thinking and wondering just what sites others read. I am sure many of us read such places as the FT but I think it’d be interesting to see a link or two to sites we may not be aware of.
For instance, I find this site interesting and helpful…
http://www.dailyreckoning.com/
I’d appreciate others posting a link or two to some sites others may find of interest.
It prolly goes without saying I read The Holy See’s site where I can read L’OSSERVATORE ROMANO and even sign-up to get the VIS delivered to my email, etc
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I am not Sparacus:
Based on some of your recent neocon postings I suggest you check out this website for possible future habitat sharing rights:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hyena
and follow that with a quick trip to: The jureuselum Post,
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Mr FoSquare. Your reference to WW2 as Winnie’s “vanity war” is just delicious.
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Hmmm. A hyena, huh? Ok, let’s see…
<I>… moderately large ... of equal intelligence to certain apes… a demi-penis… female total sexual control.... latrines far from the main denning area...powerful jaws and digestive systems...efficient eater… hunt for themselves… efficient scavenger.. strong jaws in relation to their body size and have a very powerful digestive system with highly acidic fluids, making them capable of eating and digesting their entire prey… digestive system deals very well with bacteria...gluttony… haunting laughter… call victims by name...sometimes thought of as tools of demons and witches.... inedible and greedy...quite obsessed with sexual intercourse...<I>
It is surprising how many characteristics I share with brother hyena.
But, I must say that many of the observations sound more like exact quotes from The Bride.
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@I amnot Spartacus
“It is surprising how many characteristics I share with brother hyena.”
I am glad you agree, now if you could get the rest of the neocon zionists to see your wisdom and move them to the serengetti, they would be equally matched with “brother Hyena” and the Party could begin.
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Thank you Patrick for an interesting article with an important message. For me, your article reiterates just how low the standards of accountability are in so many important areas of western societies.
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Just two afterthoughts:
1. I tend to agree with Mr Foy about most things, and that’s why I always say he’s being counter-productive whenever (as usual) he confuses the current war in Iraq with his own grievances against England. To my mind, Mr Foy (whom I know ONLY from what he posts on this site) personifies the tragedy of many Irish-Americans whose bog-fogged blinders about “England” prevent them from seeing a much bigger picture. What a loss, what a terrible waste of so many great Irish-American minds and hearts.
2. Mr “FoSquare”, your unctuous, effete, supercilious attempts at sarcasm often remind me of the character, “Anthony Patch” in “Brideshead Revisited”, a flaming homosexual whose voluptuous fascination with effete “wit” made him, in the end, a mixture of pathos and ludicrousness, whose attempts at humour end (as Anthony Patch liked to quote Eliot) not with a bang but a whimper.
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I am not easily flattered, old boy. Poor mimicry, though. You left out the stutter. You could have added Ch-Ch-Churchill’s stammer and lisp and you would have had Anthony [Blanche] spot on. “Effete”? Wasn’t it your “warrior-king” Churchill who was cuckolded? – by an American plutocrat no less. No, Ball. You’re the “Wandering Jew” – the “nomad of no nationality,” to quote directly from Waugh’s Brideshead (Chapter 2). Not me. Cheers, mate!
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