The best way to save Afghanistan is to get out. But who are we saving Afghanistan from? Al Qaeda? Al Qaeda left long ago. They are in Pakistan, our nuclear ally. We are fighting in the wrong country. One Afghan official has said that Afghans do not accept the notion that foreign invaders are “fighting for our freedom.” Bringing freedom and democracy to a country at the point of a gun does not gain supporters. All it does is make the people “mad as hell”. They will not be satisfied until they throw the invaders out. Meanwhile the U.S. is wasting blood and treasure in another losing battle. Viet Nam and Iraq are good examples of stupid political decisions.
The U.S. decision makers are claiming that we must save the Afghan people from the Taliban. Firstly, the Taliban is not Al Qaeda. They are not terrorists. Secondly, they traditionally ruled the country. In 2001 by overthrowing the Taliban, the largest ethnic group in the country, we put in power the Tajiks, a smaller ethnic group of the North. Now we have set up the country for a civil war as the Taliban takes back its control. Similarly, we brought about a civil war in Iraq by causing ethnic conflict that resulted in the deaths of a million Iraqis. So far does it sound as though we are helping the Afghans.
Next, the President of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, was put in place by the Bush-Cheney administration to form a central government in a country that has no longing for a national government. Karzai is a puppet and his government is weak, incompetent and corrupt. He has no influence outside the capitol. And in the recent election he stole the victory with obvious ballot stuffing. Do we really want to support this guy with the bodies of our soldiers? It is a total disgrace and an embarrassment to President Obama.
So far our occupation of Afghanistan has been a total failure. For once the American people are right and are opposed to sending more troops there. We are not bringing peace to that country nor are we making ourselves more secure. We should plan on getting out in less than a year. Cheney has criticized Obama publicly for “dithering” on sending more troops. Biden’s reaction to Cheney’s remark was “Who cares?” It is not right to kill more soldiers and civilians in order to parry right wing political attacks. There is a morality here that needs to be considered.
Remember when President Reagan, the Republican Party icon, introduced the term “freedom fighters” to the political scene in connection with the Nicaraguan Contras which we supported with American dollars. What Reagan did was illegal and he came very close to impeachment.
A well known comic satirist raised the following question: If crime fighters fight crime and fire fighters fight fires, what do freedom fighters fight? Think about it. Let’s get out of Afghanistan before we sink any deeper into the quagmire.
References:
George Carlin
Hightower Low Down
Znet
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Web of Fraud
Let’s bring the economic crises up to date with facts rather than the B.S. spread by the mainstream media. According to one report foreclosures are up 23% over last year. That may very well be, however, the actual foreclosures are low compared to the number of delinquencies. And there is a reason for that. The banks have a new gimmick. They are not foreclosing. Why? Because once they do that they have to report the loss. So the banks have dishonestly changed the accounting rules and got Congress to cooperate. Now in order to pay the huge bonuses ($700,000 per employee) coming up at the end of the year, the bank must show huge profits. If your losses are less, your profits are more and as a result your bonuses go through the roof. This may be temporarily beneficial to the delinquent borrower since he can stay a little bit longer in his home but come the first quarter of the new year, his furniture may be on the sidewalk. Besides this is taxpayer money being paid out by the bushel. So what we have here is a “web of fraud.” As long as it lasts the banks are getting fat at the trough.
Another gimmick that banks pulled involved the appraisers. If the lender did not like the appraisal that came in he would fire the appraiser. If the appraisal was not high enough, out he went. According to a survey done in 2007, 90% of the appraisers reported intimidation by the lender to increase appraisals. So it was the lenders who were committing widespread fraud not the borrowers. There is only one reason to “inflate appraisals” and that is to commit fraud, according to a former bank regulator. Also white collar criminologists state that the lender is responsible for 80% of “mortgage fraud losses”.
The financial sector of our economy is so large it acts as a parasite. It wastes a huge portion of the national income. It produces no products or services useful to the economy. It acts only as a gambling casino for the benefit of Wall St. And what is even worse, this parasitic financial sector produced a criminal environment that resulted in a destructive mortgage “bubble”. Until we can regulate the Wall St. scam, fraud and corruption will continue. In that case we will be headed for another “bubble.” Keep in mind that Wall St. plays a zero sum game. If someone profits, someone else has to lose. There is no contribution to the economy. It does not create goods and services. It is just outright gambling for large stakes.
However, as one observer commented, “it’s never just a game when you are winning”.
References:
George Carlin
Democracy Now: William Black
New Deal 2.0
Another gimmick that banks pulled involved the appraisers. If the lender did not like the appraisal that came in he would fire the appraiser. If the appraisal was not high enough, out he went. According to a survey done in 2007, 90% of the appraisers reported intimidation by the lender to increase appraisals. So it was the lenders who were committing widespread fraud not the borrowers. There is only one reason to “inflate appraisals” and that is to commit fraud, according to a former bank regulator. Also white collar criminologists state that the lender is responsible for 80% of “mortgage fraud losses”.
The financial sector of our economy is so large it acts as a parasite. It wastes a huge portion of the national income. It produces no products or services useful to the economy. It acts only as a gambling casino for the benefit of Wall St. And what is even worse, this parasitic financial sector produced a criminal environment that resulted in a destructive mortgage “bubble”. Until we can regulate the Wall St. scam, fraud and corruption will continue. In that case we will be headed for another “bubble.” Keep in mind that Wall St. plays a zero sum game. If someone profits, someone else has to lose. There is no contribution to the economy. It does not create goods and services. It is just outright gambling for large stakes.
However, as one observer commented, “it’s never just a game when you are winning”.
References:
George Carlin
Democracy Now: William Black
New Deal 2.0
Thursday, October 08, 2009
Corporate Capitalism
Perhaps you have noticed that we are no longer living in a democracy. But rather we are living under a system that is really corporate capitalism. Corporations are not democracies. Instead they are totalitarian in structure and control. Corporations are run from the top without regulation and workers have no say in their operation. Furthermore, corporations control legislature so that our vote counts for nothing. We voted for Obama and the democratic platform and they have been unable to pass any legislation of consequence.
Moreover if you think the administration is helping the economy, think again. Their antics are creating another bubble. The money that has been spent to save these mercenary corporations has been totally wasted. We will see more fraud and corruption. It is happening already. Foreclosures are continuing. The banks are not lending the money that we the taxpayers gave them. Instead they used the money to pay bonuses and dividends and/or to acquire other corporations. The banks are paying practically nothing in interest to its depositors. The FDIC that protects your deposits is in trouble because the banks are refusing to pay for it. In addition, no one has gone to jail for the perpetration of fraud and corruption. The corporations have bought off the Congress and the politicians either are refusing to help the poor and middle class or are totally powerless to pass legislation that might help. Thus corporate capitalism will bankrupt the country. If the banks fail again there will not be sufficient funds to bail them out.
In the meantime the corporatists and their lackeys will continue to slice and dice you and me while the 1% run off to their private, rich and splendid shelters with 99% of the gold. Someone once said, “politicians are like talking dogs in a circus, it is impressive that they exist, but no sane person would believe anything they say.”
Let’s look at some of the lies emanating from our representatives to make the economy look better when it is really getting worse. For example, do not count the workers who are unemployed but have stopped looking. Then there are those who want full time employment but can only get part-time work that doesn’t pay them a living wage. These are not counted either as unemployed. The unemployment rate looks quite a bit different when you include those people. It jumps from 10% to 20% and we are continuing to lose jobs.
Another lie is the CPI (Consumer Price Index). The government lowers the inflation rate by excluding certain products that tend to inflate and replacing them with products that do not change much. If the government ceased lying to us, the inflation rate would be 10%.
However there is hope. But don’t bet your unemployment check on it. Instead of waiting for the collapse there is something that the Federal government can do providing we can get the Democratic Congress to act. The government can create jobs in order to improve the infra-structure of the country in the same way that FDR did in the 30’s. Building and improving roads, parks, bridges, schools, sewer systems and anything else that is needed, will provide employment for the unemployed. Then as the tax revenues increase the debt will eventually become smaller and the economy will begin to flourish. In short, do not be concerned about increasing the debt temporarily because it will be paid down in the future providing workers are back to work.
Here’s a thought for the day: Would you say that by and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth? Check out Sarah Palin’s new book “Going Rogue”. The book is coming out in November. There are excerpts available but you might want to wait for the English edition.
References:
George Carlin
Chris Hedges
Robert Reich
Moreover if you think the administration is helping the economy, think again. Their antics are creating another bubble. The money that has been spent to save these mercenary corporations has been totally wasted. We will see more fraud and corruption. It is happening already. Foreclosures are continuing. The banks are not lending the money that we the taxpayers gave them. Instead they used the money to pay bonuses and dividends and/or to acquire other corporations. The banks are paying practically nothing in interest to its depositors. The FDIC that protects your deposits is in trouble because the banks are refusing to pay for it. In addition, no one has gone to jail for the perpetration of fraud and corruption. The corporations have bought off the Congress and the politicians either are refusing to help the poor and middle class or are totally powerless to pass legislation that might help. Thus corporate capitalism will bankrupt the country. If the banks fail again there will not be sufficient funds to bail them out.
In the meantime the corporatists and their lackeys will continue to slice and dice you and me while the 1% run off to their private, rich and splendid shelters with 99% of the gold. Someone once said, “politicians are like talking dogs in a circus, it is impressive that they exist, but no sane person would believe anything they say.”
Let’s look at some of the lies emanating from our representatives to make the economy look better when it is really getting worse. For example, do not count the workers who are unemployed but have stopped looking. Then there are those who want full time employment but can only get part-time work that doesn’t pay them a living wage. These are not counted either as unemployed. The unemployment rate looks quite a bit different when you include those people. It jumps from 10% to 20% and we are continuing to lose jobs.
Another lie is the CPI (Consumer Price Index). The government lowers the inflation rate by excluding certain products that tend to inflate and replacing them with products that do not change much. If the government ceased lying to us, the inflation rate would be 10%.
However there is hope. But don’t bet your unemployment check on it. Instead of waiting for the collapse there is something that the Federal government can do providing we can get the Democratic Congress to act. The government can create jobs in order to improve the infra-structure of the country in the same way that FDR did in the 30’s. Building and improving roads, parks, bridges, schools, sewer systems and anything else that is needed, will provide employment for the unemployed. Then as the tax revenues increase the debt will eventually become smaller and the economy will begin to flourish. In short, do not be concerned about increasing the debt temporarily because it will be paid down in the future providing workers are back to work.
Here’s a thought for the day: Would you say that by and large, language is a tool for concealing the truth? Check out Sarah Palin’s new book “Going Rogue”. The book is coming out in November. There are excerpts available but you might want to wait for the English edition.
References:
George Carlin
Chris Hedges
Robert Reich
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