Gang(s) of Seven(s), More or Less

Gang 1: Seven countries from which travel, immigration, refugees are banned by executive order
           
Iraq, Iran, Syria, Somalia, Sudan, Libya, Yemen

Gang 2: Number of nationals from those seven countries convicted of terrorist related crimes in the US, 2001-2014 as reported to senator Jefferson Beauregard Sessions by the US Department of Justice

 Libya (1), Iran (3), Sudan (3), Syria (7), Iraq (17), Yemen (19), Somalia (21)

Gang 3:  Other countries with the number of  convicted nationals equal to or slightly greater than the number from the countries in 1 Gang, according to the same DOJ report:

Libya (1): Australia, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Guatemala, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Yugoslavia, Greece, Mexico, Uzbekistan, Chile, Brazil, Vietnam, Israel, Malaysia, Denmark, Germany, South Korea, France, Nigeria, Uzbekistan, Eritrea, Kosovo, Venezuela, Dominican Republic, Tanzania, Singapore, Haiti, Senegal, Ethiopia, Philippines, Bosnia, Nigeria, South Africa, Cambodia, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, Panama, Senegal, Algeria

Iran, Sudan (3): Canada, Guyana, Turkey, Albania, El Salvador, Mali, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Tunisia, Turkey, Morocco, Indonesia, Kuwait, United Kingdom

Syria (7):  India, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan

Iraq (17): Jordan,  Egypt

Yemen (19): Colombia, Palestine (includes West Bank and Gaza)

Somalia (21): Pakistan (55),  Lebanon (25)

Gang 4:  Terrorists involved in drafting Trump's executive order

Rudy "Death Squads" Giuliani, Michael "Waterboarding isn't torture...unless it's done to me" Mukasey,  Peter T. "Gerry Adams is a swell guy.  The whole IRA is a bunch of swell guys" King, Steve "It's so exciting-- like the 1930s; like Kristalnacht" Bannon.  Donald J. "Does not stand for 'Jew' " Trump.


In other news, Christian Krönes announced the death of Brunhilde Pomsel, personal stenographer to Joseph Goebbels, the Third Reich's Minister of Propaganda, Ms. Pomsel was 106 at the time of her death.  With the passing of Ms. Pomsel, only Kellyanne Conway remains from the group gathered in Hitler's Berlin bunker in order to organize Germany's final victory over the Red Army, having lured the Red Army 1800 kilometers into an ambush.

Ms. Conway has retained her wartime rank of Wechselwirkungen-Oberst-Gruppenführer and receives a pension from ExxonMobil for her diligence protecting  royalties due Standard Oil of New Jersey (a predecessor company) for Germany's use of the oil company's patents during the war.

A remarkably spry and youthful 96 years old, Kellyanne continues her career as special counsel to Donald J. Trump.  "I'm sorry to hear of Brunhilde's passing," said Ms. Conway.  "She was like a mother to me."  Reminiscing out loud she said "and Joseph.. well Herr Goebbels was a very special person. Sometimes I think he's in the room with me.  And sometimes, I even think he's speaking through me."

January 30, 2017

In The Beginning

This is how it starts.   The capitalist economy on the global platform, is so burdened with  overproduction, by the accumulation of capital itself, that circulation slows.  Rates of growth in global trade slow, followed by absolute declines in volumes and values. Trade pacts, alliances, partnerships fail to generate returns necessary to offset the protectionist impulses spun off by the breakdown in circulation, by the big slowdown.

Declines in market-shares and in approval ratings, inspire the bourgeoisie and their agents to extreme, and bizarre measures.  The "irrational" nature of the US withdrawing from trade pacts structured, negotiated, pursued by the US,  because the pacts are "bad deals for US workers" is precisely paralleled by the issuance of an executive order  restricting immigration and  refugee admissions because "hundreds of foreign-born individuals have been convicted or implicated in terrorism-related crimes since September 11, 2001, including foreign nationals who entered the United States after claiming asylum; after receiving visitor, student, or employment visas; or through the US refugee resettlement programs." It's all about the other; it's always about the other, the "foreigner," the enemy.

Nothing fulfills the narcissistic disorder like an enemy, except more enemies.

Full article at Anti-Capital,   HERE

Even Cuter

Trump... even cuter than Obama and the "intelligence" community whining about Russian hacks,  is the spectacle of Trump complaining about the "fake news" that Vladimir & Co. own his sorry ass, having captured it on video or audio or Photoshop sploshing on a king size bed in a king size hotel with sex workers.

Right, the man whose public coming-out into politics was the assertion that Barack Obama lacked a US birth certificate;  the man who says multiple bankruptcies prove what a good businessman he is;  the man who is now the Swift Boater/Bed-Wetter-In-Chief, whose transition team included a person or persons, proclaiming that a pizza restaurant in DC was the front for a a ring of pedophiles made up, of course, of Democrats-- Republicans confining their perversions to men's restrooms and the opportunistic groping of unsuspecting women-- is complaining about "fake news."

You can't make this stuff up, literally.  Or you can. Ask Kellyanne Conway.  Channeling Joseph Goebbels, she makes this shit up all the time.  It's all fake news, all the fake time. But...  she looks the part, meaning she's white, with blonde hair, toned, an smiling.  She wouldn't say those things if they weren't true because, after all, she's white, blonde, a mother. toned, and smiling. She's snapshot America, the snapshot being a selfie, the selfie being air-brushed, cropped, edited.

That's what counts.  John Lewis?  He's black. You know you can't believe him.  Really, what has he ever done?  Oh, SNCC?  What's that?   Oh, Selma?  I knew a Selma once, wink wink nod nod.

Dissing John Lewis? Are you kidding me? Hey rich white boy-- while you were busy being a toy soldier spoiled brat, John Lewis risked his life battling the "alt-right" of  those years, which on occasion dressed up in bed sheets, but more often that not looked just like any other white racist. Like today.

If there was a shred of decency in any capitalist, any capitalism, anywhere.... forget it.  I know there's no such thing.

To all those who think/thought  Trump's victory wasn't a victory of reaction, of racism; to all those who thought that this vote represented a rejection of "establishment politics;" that this was the stirrings of populism; that this was the rebellion of  "poor whites"-- devastated by layoffs, outsourcing, Wal-Mart-ization; that they weren't casting their lot with reaction in voting for Trump-- you have no idea of how bad this shit really is, and how much worse it's going to get.

You have no idea what you are talking about.

S. Artesian
January 16, 2017

Worse than Imagined

Hulk Hogan in the White House, although it's not quite clear if Hogan is quite as malicious, petty, mean-spirited as Donald Trump.

After today's press conference, here's a (chilling) thought:  Team Trump-- Hulk Donald, son-in-law Thing Kushner, Spidey Reince Priebus, Rex the Wonder Dog Tillerson, Not Black Not Widow Ivanka--, an anti-brain trust for the ages, huddles around the office copy of the Erdogan Playbook For Dummies 

"Look at this," says Not Black Not Widow, pointing to the "How to Stage A Coup" chapter.

"That's what we need to do," says Spidey Priebus, "stage a coup."

"I don't get it," says Hulk, "we won the election.  We don't need to stage a coup."

"Not us," barks Rex, "we don't actually make a coup.  We stage a coup, against us, as if  there's a conspiracy in the "deep state" to overthrow the will of the people.  Then we get to purge the military of anyone a bit too concerned with the Atlantic Alliance, not up to speed on the glory of Putin-ism; we get to purge the intelligence agencies of the untrustworthy sorts--"

"Well, wouldn't that be all of them?" offers Hulk.  "Isn't 'untrustworthy' supposed to be what they do?'

"Point taken," woofs Rex. "We get rid of all of them and reach out to Murdoch and Bannon and Stormfront to build a reliable intelligence service."

"Right," says Not Black Not Widow.  "Then we can get rid of the judges; then the  professors we don't like. We can get rid of the congressional representatives not on board with our message and/or staying at the Sheraton chain; and that's just the beginning.  All with one little staged, and defeated special coup."

"Brilliant," says Thing, "that's my girl!"

"Uh...no," say Hulk, "that's my girl."


January 11, 2017

Kinda Kute

Ya make a guy feel humble
I make a fool of myself again
Ya make me trip and stumble
Just go dance by yourself again....

And you're kinda kute baby, kinda kute baby
See you dance in your satin suit baby
When you move gotta sit right down
No competition with
This kinda kutie around

--Joe Jackson, "Kinda Kute" 1979, from the album I'm the Man

Kinda Kute, isn't it, watching the president of the United States whimper and moan about Russian "intervention" in the 2016 election?  Kinda precious, isn't it, watching the titular head of a government that has intervened before, during, and after elections, and with lawyers, guns, money, and drugs, in countries around the world and across decades,  whine about the treacherous, nefarious, outrageous actions of the Putin government which violated the gentleman's code of coup plotting....by hacking and releasing emails?  

Are you putting me on?  The US which overthrows elected governments in Iran, Guatemala, the Dominican Republic, Chile; invades Vietnam rather than abide by the terms of the 1954 Geneva accords; blockades Cuba and launches numerous assassination attempts against Fidel Castro; funds an army of death squads against the revolution in Nicaragua; that prepared the right wing forces in Italy for civil war, if and when the communists gained elected power; is complaining about the Russians exposing thousands of emails written by members of the Democratic Party National Committee, and the Clinton campaign?

For twelve years, various amalgams of the right-- Tea Parties, conservatives, racists, fascists neo and/or plain and simple-- have been working diligently to suppress voting in states throughout the union, and the chief executive makes a big deal out of hacked emails?  

Did the president demand an end to these attempts to restore Plessy v. Ferguson, making the public accommodation of voting separate and unequal?

Did the president make a big deal about the North Carolina election officials reducing polling places in counties where African-American turnout could prove critical?   Nope.   Did he make a big deal out of Wisconsin's voter ID requirements?  Nope.  

In 2013, did he introduce new legislation immediately after the US Supreme Court invalidated Section 4 of the Voting Rights Act, in order to preserve Section 5 that was left without any statutory power?  Nope.  No legislation introduced. 

But Russia hacks the emails of the Clinton campaign chairperson and...?  It's sabotage?  An act of war?  Reason to expel 35 Russian government employees?  

What?  They're spying?  No shit, Sherlock/Barack, you should have been a detective.  That's what they're supposed to do.  That's what they all, meaning yours, theirs, every country's agents, do in each other countries.

It's like Obama saying Trump represents a vicious threat to immigrants-- not that Trump doesn't, but Obama saying it?  Obama who has deported more people in the last 8 years than any president in US history?  Just good at his job, you think? 

Calling this display of "outrage"  sanctimonious, self-righteous, noxious hypocrisy is a gross understatement.

This isn't sabotage; this isn't a scandal.  That the Congress of the United States wants to investigate this supposed intervention when it has supported lock, stock, and barrel disenfranchising voters throughout its own existence, save for the brief period of Congressional Reconstruction after the Civil War, tells us all what it really is: a circus.  The clowns have already assembled.

S.Artesian

January 1, 2017