Karzai and Diem and Election Fraud

Thanks to Ten Percent Blog for steering me to some statistics on the vote fraud in Afghanistan (about 25% of the votes cast for Karzai are questionable). More on the election fraud.

It's really bad if Iran does it. We have to be pragmatic if Afghanistan does it. And the US doesn't do it (wink).

A senior UN official, Peter Galbraith, has been pulled out of Afghanistan after making too much noise about a full recount... I guess the establishment didn't want a recount. Ten Percent also provided a link to the BBC Reporting on the demise of Galbratih.

Karzai has probably studied history ... and knows that the US's puppet in Vietnam, Diem, ended up in a pool of his own blood. With the risks involved, it's no wonder Karzai is seeking to enrich himself through corruption. He just needs to know when to pull out of the game.


Looks like I'm not the only one thinking this nor is it new.

Sources:

Ten Percent Blog, Stopwar Blog

GDAE Podcast - Episode 19

Episode 19 - September 27, 2009 Human Exceptionalism

"Reality Sucks" might be the subtitle for Episode 19... Our exploration of "exceptionalism" leads to a realization that Americans are literally out of touch with reality... in part, because they know reality sucks and, in part, because many Americans believe that America is exceptional; They believe that our colonial founding was a stroke of genius unmatchable elsewhere in the world, and that this, and our uniquely American "can do" attitude, set us apart from other nations. We are bred to believe we are "the best," which means we must lead and we must have special rights to perform that noble mission. That is, the US must have special latitude to carry out it's leadership role. This invokes a pattern of questionable behavior by the US in which the "means justify the ends," because the "ends" are the ends of the exceptional, democratic United States.

This is just one chain of logic that emerges from exploring the concept of American exceptionalism. This exploration also steers us to observe the deep-rooted similarities between American conservatives and liberals who have the same breeding on American exceptionalism. Traditional exploration of the subject is strongly oriented toward foreign policy matters rather than domestic, in part because the subject is "the nation" and nations tend to interact with other nations.

However, a broader exploration sees the impact at home. American's in-grained cultural belief that they and their nation are "exceptional" is reflected in basic behaviors that some would say are unhealthy. One example is a "resting-on-laurels" orientation; "We're great by definition. We don't have to try to be great." In not trying to be great, many take on an attitude of... not trying in life in general. The daily world around is complicated. But there's an attitude that, "I'm an American; I don't need to worry about those complications." Chris Hedges observes that American's prolonged exceptional attitude has left many unequipped to function in society... for example illiterate and thus dependent on television and radio for their information... media that are corporate and right-wing celebrity dominated. You can see where this is going... now you can listen.

This subject was introduced in GDAE Podcast Episode 18 (see below). Episode 19 is a continuation.

• Human Exceptionalism: Insights from the book "Ishmael" by Daniel Quinn. Rickback Bookbock joins for a reading.
• MUSIC: 6th Avenue Heartache by the Wallflowers... CSN "In My Dreams" Excerpt.
  
• American Exceptionalism: Andrew Bacevich on false notions of military power and living beyond our means... Chris Hedges on Americans being out-of-touch with reality.
• Prosecute Bush: The Supreme International Crime by Nuremberg Trial Judge Robert Jackson.

Play GDAE Podcast Episode 18 from this page.

Previous Episodes & 60-Sec Promo:

GDAE Podcast 60-Second Promo

GDAE Podcast Episode 18 September 16, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 17 August 31, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 16 July 30, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 15 June 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 14 June 10, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 13 May 22, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 12May 5, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 11 April 24, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 10 April 9, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 9March 28, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 8 March 15, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 7 March 1, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 6 February 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 5 February 6, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 4 January 24, 2009


Sources:

Changing Seasons

Sources:

I took that picture ;-)

Will the People Prevail or Plutocrats?

Al Giordano, The Field Blog, provides the latest....

Honduras Counter Coup by The People and Zelaya

"The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice" and the people of Honduras are bending it despite totalitarian coup leaders and golpistas.

Old news by now, with the coup leader communications blackout hopefully outflanked, "President Zelaya Has Returned to Honduras" reports Al Giordano on The Field Blog. Read more and smile.

At about 1:00pm local time, TeleSur broadcast that The Spaniard news agency EFE reports that President Zelaya was in the Brazilian Embassy in Tegucigalpa, sovereign territory that is off limits to the coup regime. Zelaya says he is there to seek dialogue.

President Zelaya and his Cabinet
in the Brazilian Embassy, Tegucigalpa.

According to the Field Blog, The US State Department said today:

Of course, we believe that he’s the democratic – democratically elected and constitutional leader of Honduras.

Sources:

Narco News

Thanks to Ten Percent Blog for tipping me off to this story.

GDAE Podcast - Episode 18

American Exceptionalism

• Exploring "American Exceptionalism" with journalism professor Robert Jensen
• MUSIC: "If I had a Rocket Launcher," by Ryan Harvey
• Recession Vs Depression
• Worse than 1930s Depression? Insights from Nixon advisor Kevin Phillips
• Prosecuting Bush Officials: Rogue CIA Agents who went beyond the torture memos.

Play GDAE Podcast Episode 18 from this page.

Previous Episodes & 60-Sec Promo:

GDAE Podcast 60-Second Promo

GDAE Podcast Episode 17 August 31, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 16 July 30, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 15 June 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 14 June 10, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 13 May 22, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 12May 5, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 11 April 24, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 10 April 9, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 9 March 28, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 8 March 15, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 7 March 1, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 6 February 17, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 5 February 6, 2009
GDAE Podcast Episode 4 January 24, 2009

American Exceptionalism

The next episode of GDAE Podcast, #18, addresses the issue of American Exceptionalism. The following excerpt from the podcast is motivated by a blog post by Lance Stegall, the Seminal:

The idea represented by the term American Exceptionalism, first coined by Alexis de Tocqueville, views the United States of America as superior among nations almost as if god-given. The "Gods" were the "founding fathers," and the US form of democracy is viewed as not only the best, but unsurpassable. This station in the world of all nations justifies the actions of the United States, with Manifest Destiny being one of the more compelling historical proofs, in addition to the genocide of native americans, the Vietnam war and the Southern and Central American dirty wars of the 1970s and 1980s. Slavery was just "a mistake," as was the fact that my grandmother was nearly 20 years old before women gained the right to vote in this "exceptional" nation of ours.

GDAE Podcast #18 explores the implications of the American myth, including its effect on the liberal mindset, the US media and the prospect for our democracy. If "only the truth will set you free," then Americans need to grapple with the false mythology embodied by the notion of American Exceptionalism.

Fall Coming

Not the "fall of the US Empire"... yet. Just another autumn.

BTW, now is the time to contact our representatives, again, about real health care reform... we need to counter-balance the vocal right.

For Your Convenience:

• Contact the US Senate
  
• Contact the House of Representatives

Sources:

Photo Credit: ~like-textas

Hammer on Joe Wilson

This is my effort to support progressive echo chamber.... We know the right-wingers are great at being vocal. Here's an easy opportunity.

If you want to help hammer Congressman Joe Wilson for screaming, "You Lie!" during Obama's joint address to Congress on health care...

CLICK HERE TO HELP AN IRAQ VET BEAT JOE WILSON

Former Marine Rob Miller is taking on Wilson, after coming relatively close to beating him in this conservative district in 2008. To win it this time, and send Joe Wilson packing, it’s going to take money.

Sources:

VoteVets.org

Krugman on "Math in Economics"

I guess Paul Krugman has done a little math in his career. He responds to critics who have painted him with the broad brush as an opponent of mathematical modeling in economics.

Kurgman Blog Post

What I objected to in the mag article was the tendency to identify good math with good work.

Sources:

Paul Krugman blog, September 11, 2009.

Thanks to Advertisers who Quit FOX/Beck

This is just a quick "Thank You" to the advertisers who have decided to no longer run adds either on Fox News or Fox's Glenn Beck:

Cancellations [Beck/FOX]
Allergan
Ally Bank (GMAC)
Ancestry.com
Applebees
AT&T
Bank of America
Bell & Howell
Best Buy
Binder & Binder [Beck]
Blaine Labs
Brez (Airware)
Broadview Security
Campbell’s Soup
Capital One [Beck]
Clorox
Closing.com [Beck]
CLR Cleaner (Jelmar) [Beck]
CVS
Dannon [Beck]
Diabetes Care Club (Simplex) [Beck]
DirecTV
Discover [Beck]
DITECH.com
Farmers Insurance
FreeCreditReport.com
Geico
General Mills
Healthy Choice (Conagra)
HSBC [Beck]
ICAN Benefit Group [Beck]
Infiniti [Beck]
Johnson & Johnson
Jordan McKenna Debt Counseling [Beck]
Kraft Foods
Lawyers.com
Lowe's
Mens Wearhouse
Mercedes-Benz USA [Beck]
Nutrisystem
Proctor & Gamble
Progressive Insurance
Radio Shack
Re-Bath
Regions
Roche
S.C. Johnson
SAM (Store and Move)
Sanof-Aventis
SpendOnLife.com [FOX]
Sprint
State Farm
Sargento Cheese
TheElationsCo
Travelers Insurance
Travelocity
Tylenol
UPS
Verizon Wireless
Vonage
Walmart

Sign the Petition to urge other advertisers to quit Fox too.

You might also be able to click on the active links above and thank the companies individually.... can't let the right wing be the only voice heard by these companies.

Sources:

Thanks to "Democrats.com" who are anything but weak kneed Democratic Party types.

Beating the Drum on Bush Prosecution

It's encouraging to see Antemedus beating the drum on seeking the investigation and criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials. I feel strongly about this because failure to prosecute the crimes of high officials creates a sense of impunity that unravels the fabric of civil society.

For that reason, I beat the drum on the prosecution of Bush administration officials in every episode of my GDAE Podcast. As I've done so, I've noticed a growing level of activity on the subject. This is a hopeful sign, because there truly is power in numbers.

Below is a rough transcript of the drum beat in Episode 17 of GDAE Podcast:

The increase in the volume of emails the I'm receiving on the prosecution of Bush and other for serious crimes is increasing, with titles like "Criminal Prosecution and Accountability," "Bush Tortured," "50 Top war criminals who need to be prosecuted," and "Holder Warned that Limited Investigation and Selective Prosecution would Violate the Law."

This last email explains that the Convention Against Torture (CAT), signed by President Reagan, requires him to investigate and hold accountable all those involved in torture. A letter signed by 150 organizations has been sent to Attorney General Holder. The Justice Department's credibility, and thus its legitimacy, is on the line. The list goes on, and the momentum builds....