Tomorrow always comes. It
is not always a blessing.
Irrelevant: Looking at what's going on in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Gaza, Egypt, Ukraine, Libya and so on, it seems the US has become a bystander, cheering on this or that side, but mostly irrelevant to the outcome. Makes one question the usefulness of all that money we give the Pentagon.
Self-Medicating: US drug makers and medical device manufacturers are buying smaller overseas competitors, merging with them, shifting their joint headquarters outside the reach of US tax collectors and profiting happily ever after. That's what's behind the rash of billion-dollar mergers in those industries. It's called 'inversion', which sounds better than “hiding profits”.
Fingerprints: Examination of the sources of entries on social media sites shows that the Defense Department and various intelligence agencies repeatedly try to manipulate the Internet, injecting propaganda and stifling dissent. Elgin Air Force Base, for example, seems to specialize in messing with Reddit.
Beneath Contempt: The NYTimes reports Israelis are holding bomb-run parties, chomping on popcorn while watching the IDF kill Palestinians.
Quoted: "First, for anyone who thinks that the concept of intentionally crashing the stock market is the stuff of conspiracy theorists, that notion is now dead and buried. It’s extremely clear from the BIS’ language, that the concept of initiating a collapse is openly discussed as a policy measure."
Inside Knowledge: Former Utah Attorneys General John Swallow and Mark Shurleff have been arrested and charged with a total of 23 counts of soliciting bribes, tampering with evidence and such. If convicted, each could spend the next 30 years among friends in prison.
Magic Kingdom! A six-month investigation has found that 35 staffers at Walt Disney World, five from Universal Studios Orlando and two from Sea World Orlando have been arrested in child sex stings or on child porn charges since 2006. You have to be shorter than this to go on this ride, the sign says.
A Burning World: For decades Washington has looked the other way while the Saudis have financed the spread of the most repressive form of fundamental Islam. This coupled with the decades of Israeli influence in formulating America's policies in the Near East, the chickens coming home to roost throughout the area are ours. What is responsible for the disasters now occurring? The US thirst for oil, the Saudi desire to kill the Shia, and the Israeli desire to kill nearly everyone not wearing a yarmulke, not necessarily in that order.
Don't Do This At Home: Anti-intellectualism takes many forms, from the Texas GOP platform stating, " We oppose teaching of Higher order Thinking Skills [because they] have the purpose of challenging the student's fixed beliefs and undermining parental control" to a Tennessee bill that "allows the teaching of creationism in state's classrooms." And there's always Kansas.
4 comments:
re Quoted i'm convinced about crashing the stock market as a possible policy move - the "moving the downward leg forward" terminology is pretty unambiguous - i just wonder how it is done
Oh, let's not find out, okay? some theories are better left untested.
Regarding the US becoming a bystander in various wars: Many of us cheer this as a positive development rather than a sign of our irrelevance.
Matte - I rather think the point is that - even when we get involved [and our involvement in Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, Israel vs. everybody, Libya, Egypt and Ukraine is well known] our involvement turns out to be beside the point. Thus irrelevant.
I'm all for the US not getting involved in these Great Adventures. I'm even in favor of the US being irrelevant (given history's large sweep) when it does get involved. Maybe the lesson will eventually seep in that the US is not the star of every movie.
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