Hillary Clinton is American, owned by financial interests to whom she is completely in thrall, a rabid neo-conservative warmonger, completely uncritical of Israel and focused for any claim to be progressive entirely on identity politics. Which is also a precise description of today’s Guardian newspaper. The once august and intellectual title is now a shrill cheerleader for far right Blairites and wealthy American feminists.
The Guardian is as unabashed in its support for Clinton as in its support for the Blairites. The stream of “feminist” articles about why it would advance the cause of women to have a deeply corrupt right winger in the White House is steadily growing into a torrent. It is a perfect example of what I wrote of a month ago, the cause of feminism being hijacked to neo-conservative ends.
Bernie Sanders is not perfect – nobody is. But he understands that obscene and still burgeoning wealth inequality is the greatest problem of western society, and that the state framework supporting crazed banking structures is the root cause of this. The support for him is a sign of the inevitable popular reaction to the extreme inequality of society. Sanders is channelling that reaction effectively.
The establishment therefore circles its wagons around Hillary Clinton. The hope is that women can be persuaded it is an act of misogyny simply to stand in her way. The other great establishment hope is that the Democrat party machinery is so strong in black communities, that black Americans can be in effect ordered to vote for a woman who epitomises the system which disadvantages them, rather than an apostle of genuine change in the economic order. I retain hope the establishment may find that black Americans are cleverer than that.
The machinery used to manipulate identity politics – racial and gender – is all that Clinton has. If Clinton beats Sanders, it will be the perfect demonstration of the fact that identity politics has become the enemy of progress in society.
In the field of identity, Bernie Sanders would be the first non-Christian President of the United States. Would that not be wonderful in a country whose politicians feel the need to genuflect to swarms of religious evolution-denying nutters who believe foreign wars are good because they presage the Rapture?
And would it not be great if the first President since Carter not in thrall to Israel were Jewish?
@RobG, I may be reading this wrong, but to me it’s looking like saner heads in the US have decided to leave Erdogan out to dry, his shelling of US funded, equipped & trained Kurds was probably the last straw.
@Glenn, re the continuing criminisation of dissent & activisn, especially iro of I/P;
https://theintercept.com/2016/02/16/greatest-threat-to-free-speech-in-the-west-criminalizing-activism-against-israeli-occupation/
Macky, I would suggest you are reading this wrong.
Ever since Turkey shot down a Russian warplane last October, US and Russian nuclear forces have been on the highest alert since the darkest days of the Cold War.
This means tens of thousands of nuclear weapons ready to fly at a moments notice.
If it happens it means the end of the world (not least because there are more than 400 nuclear power plants worldwide, which will all be destroyed).
Putin said last September that it’s unthinkable now for nuclear war between the major powers.
Compare that to the batshit crazies in America, most of whom are religious headcases who are eagerly awaiting the Rapture.
Turkish Gov spokesman: “We want a ground operation. If there is a consensus, Turkey will take part. Without a ground operation, it is impossible to stop this war… Turkey is not going to have a unilateral ground operation … We are discussing this with allies.”
No way the US, in an election year, is going to take part. That leaves Turkey and Saudi. The latter’s getting its arse kicked in Yemen.
The above quote means one thing: Game, set and match to the 4+1 – unless Erdogan really is barking mad and tries to invade northern Syria by himself.
The tosser Toynbee waxes lyrical about history repeating itself, but that is based on the fairytale stories passed as “historical events” that is written by the establishment for the establishment. The lessons learnt have little relevance to actuality hence the repetition of the “history” that the same mistakes are committed over and again.
As you are ware one definition of madness is to doing the same over and again with the hope of achieving a different outcome!! Therefore we can safely assume that the oligarchs, plutocrats and their charge hands are quite insane! Alas some of we the people still have not understood this basic and mundane fact.
Fedup, so how do we stop this madness?
(I wish I knew)
Habbabkuk: I’m genuinely puzzled – what on earth has got into you of late? You used to be a sensible sort of commenter, open to argument and responding in a measured way. Surely you do not still bear a grudge from the time when I had to rebuke you for a couple of posts (and it was quite a mild rebuke if memory serves)?
I’ll take your claim as genuine, at face value, and may I give you an honest answer: I don’t know, but I do feel different of late. My best friend, who was as a brother to me, died a few months back, and I arranged his funeral last December. My closest workmate of many years finally died of cancer a month back, I attended his funeral less than a fortnight ago. A meaningful conversation is no longer possible with my mother in law, who was highly endearing despite her fervently Catholic take on life (as a former Nun and Ward Matron), Alzheimer’s has reduced this intelligent, organised woman to a few stock phrases.
Perhaps my perception of life has changed, that’s all I can offer about why I might appear “different” now, if I’m to honestly lay any explanation to what I assume is an honest question, without apology, excuse, or retraction.
*
Anyway, to respond to your responses.
1/ My point was about right wingers in general, which you claimed to be unashamed to be counted of as one. It was not meant at you in particular, just the class we know you are here to represent.
2/ No – it’s not that abstract, really. It shows that the Israeli football team is welcome to come here and play a game. But if the Palestinians wanted to play here (at our invitation), if Wales invited them to come over to play a friendly, they could not do so – it would require the permission of the Israeli authorities. I’m very, very sorry for you that you are not able to admit that vast disparity.
The Israeli football team requires no permission to get training, visits, outside coaches coming in, training gear – et cetera – from the Palestinians. Can you imagine an Israeli official asking permission of a Palestinian official for anything, anything at all?
On the other hand, the Israelis control every last aspect of same for the Palestinians, down to the finest detail.
Those details now extend to foreign clubs (like Wales) having people thrown out if they dare to make reference to the people the Israelis oppress, by wearing something on the Israeli government ban-list – regardless that they happen to be doing so in their own country.
And you, Habbabkuk, are part of that process. Does that make you proud?
@Kempe 8.50PM
And to quote you Sir:” I came in here expecting to find widespread condemnation of the recent civilian casualties in Syria but can find none.”
What a vulgar, pig ignorant statement you have made. If you desire to see peace and a long lasting settlement in Syria it is necessary for the R+6 to swiftly win the ground offensive and obliterate all armed opposition to Assad. That Sir is the humanitarian response to the present predicament, and in war, any war civilians get killed. Just a great shame the West, and in particular, the USA does not understand this simple wisdom anymore.
Your propaganda and abuse of the majority posting on this thread is a disgrace. All death of any innocent is a tragedy, just a shame the USA and its machinations in the USA does not give a toss, unless it’s winning brownie points from fools like you.
Be off with you sir and take your nasty, ignorant accusations elsewhere.
“A football match is not the place for (geo)political protest.”
This was the line when South Africa came to play at Cardiff Arms Park. And it was massively ignored by the good people of South Wales who made their detestation of Apartheid clear.
Sporting boycotts and protests against South African teams were a small but important part of the international shaming which, together with the Cuban army, broke the racists’ will to persist. The same will happen in the case of Palestine, whose future as a nation state is assured by humanity’s love of justice.
As to this nonsense:
“When a Soviet football toured the UK after the war to play against various British teams, should that have been the occasion for Tories, emigré Poles and so on to protest against the USSR and Soviet communism? Of course not – and there were no such demonstrations.”
There were no such demonstrations when Moscow Dynamo, I believe that it was, toured England and played against Arsenal because the British people in 1945 were (for the best of reasons) in love with the Red Army which they regarded as their nation’s saviour and best ally. Anyone demonstrating against a Russian team in 1946 would have been howled down and thrown out of Highbury.
It took many years of lies and propaganda and false claims before most working people in Britain began to fall in with Cold War “Hate” sessions. I recall a troopship passing through Suez as late as 1953 in which thousands of soldiers bound for the east cheered and saluted (much to the anger of officers) the crew of a Soviet destroyer anchored in sweetwater lake as the southbound convoy passed.
I have long suspected that Habbakkuk is a teenaged algorithm from Cheltenham.
Memo to SIS troll wranglers: for best results feed some real facts into these bots, credibility is all in your line of work.
Bevin
Of course the events of 1956 played no part whatsoever – just like Kempe’s reference to civilian casualties in Syria, the Holodomor, the Gulag etc. they can all be ignored in your alternative reality. I don’t disagree about what you said about the Moscow Dynamo and the gratitude felt to the Russian people in 1945 (not the Political leaders of the SU however who allied themselves to the Nazi for 2 years) but you do rather ignore the rest of the story.
Right time to repost this;
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CbXd_7BW4AA8Ho0.jpg
(@Kempe, https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/02/hillary-clinton-is-the-guardian/comment-page-6/#comment-578708)
https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2015/10/lesson-from-kunduz/#comments
So it seems that whilst the Americans are wrong to try and solve complex political problems with bombs and that resulting civilian casualties are unacceptable a diametrically opposite set of rules applies to Russian air power?
@Kempe 7.26 AM,
Given it was the USA and its numerous lackeys that stoked the crisis in Syria, a crisis that has resulted in a minimum 250,000 deaths and countless million’s of refugee’s, it is but propaganda to suggest that the R+6 assault on IS and other reactionary forces is but for fun, pleasure or some grand strategy. Quite the reverse, if you want peace and a reduction in casualties best support Russia and the R+6 to root our ISIS completely – these being the persons using civilians as human shields.
War, any war is terrible, as such could you please convey that to your masters, particularly as far as Syria is concerned it is very much the West that’s at fault and is well documented as such, whatever the Borg and pressitutes wish to offer us as fact, most of which is bollocks!
Chris Rogers; “What a vulgar, pig ignorant statement you have made.”
The problem with people like Kempe is that they have no idea how offensively inept they are at engaging, without even accounting for the wilful ignorance that constitues ther viewpoints; classic example here;
“whilst the Americans are wrong to try and solve complex political problems with bombs”
Can he really believe that is what the Amricans are doing ?! Or is “complex political problems” the new code for the looting, ransacking & destroying of countries ?! 😀
Macky,
I think Andrew Sachs summed it up well in his recent HuffPost attack on Clinton, the Borg and neoconservativism in general, if someone of Prof. Sachs standing and stature can see through the lies and tell it as it is, we too have a moral obligation to do likewise.
Most seem to think those who attack Israel or the USA are either anti-semites or paid Putin stooges, nothing could be further from the fact, but then telling the truth today is frowned upon by many as they live their lives in a bubble illusion created for them by our masters.
Some very good posts have appeared on SST in the past 24 hours and I urge you to read them, they too are amazed at Prof. Sachs attack on the Borg, that most who inhabit SST are on the right does give us hope, for at the end of the day freedom and truth must trump propaganda and lies. And what the MSM feeds on Syria is blatant lies indeed!!!!
Welsh Windbag
“@Kempe 8.50PM
And to quote you Sir:” I came in here expecting to find widespread condemnation of the recent civilian casualties in Syria but can find none.”
What a vulgar, pig ignorant statement you have made.”
_______________________
Why is it “pig ignorant”?
What Kempe write us fact – check it out for yourself.
Is it a consequence of your “trained mind” to call facts you disagree with “pig ignorant”?
I hope not because if it were so it would merely reveal you to be a fool.
Chris Roger; “they live their lives in a bubble illusion created for them by our masters.”
Yes they believe in the fantasy reality of their bubble world that their masters have created for them, as exemplified by this quote from Karl Rove,( former Aide to Bush);
“That’s not the way the World really works anymore,” he continued. “We’re an empire now, and when we act, we create our own reality. And while you’re studying that reality—judiciously, as you will—we’ll act again, creating other new realities, which you can study too, and that’s how things will sort out. We’re history’s actors…and you, all of you, will be left to just study what we do.” (Wiki)
This will eventually get them exactly as far as King Canute got when he tried to command the sea waves to halt and not wet his feet and robes, but of course his deluded pompous royal self got very wet instead. So reality keeps continually colliding with their fantasies, keeps confounding them, making them even more bat-shit crazy, and lurching them from one disaster to another. One obviously early example of this reality detached mindset meeting reality was the deluded expectation that the Iraqis would greet their “Liberators” with flowers & smiles ! Whereas anybody with an ounce of reality based commonsense knew this was preposterous.
@ Habbabkuk (A Non-Person Period)
To be accused of being a fool by you is an honour I shall wear with pride.
Your racism though shows how morally degraded you are – now fuck off!
Glenn, one can empathise with the way you are feeling with the loss of loved ones, illness etc.
Perhaps the winter, albeit a relatively mild one, has exaggerated perceptions.
At any rate, underlying all that the world is going through presently, the content of human consciousness is pretty horrific and violent, the gross being pretty obvious. But, including in all its subtle forms; which does not leave much space for love and goodness.
Wonder if I’m making sense.
Q: If the super delegates system is so loaded, what chance does Sanders have?
Also, any analysts here who can describe how Obama surmounted this in his battle with Clinton?
Although very easy but it is a generational effort; start disseminating the real true actualities past. There are enough material and there is the medium of the Internet and before it is curtailed and made into an offence to propagate the true version of the realities of the past, get on with doing a good job by shining the light into every foetid and dark corner of the fairytale they call history.
Just note the dissembling that is taking place with respect to Syria, Iraq, and Libya. The same is true of every other past disastrous wars that have culled millions of human beings in the name of a “just war”.
If ISIS were the only problem in Syria you might be talking some sense but Putin’s primary objective seems to be keeping his buddy Assad in power if necessary at the cost of those Syrians who want some liberalising reforms.
By the way in a 2012 interview in Rolling Stone Julian Assange was happy to claim credit on behalf of Wikileaks for instigating the Arab Spring. Now that the current consensus around here is that the whole thing was a CIA plot I suppose that means that Julian is also a CIA asset?
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/julian-assange-the-rolling-stone-interview-20120118
Or a liar.
@Kempe,
Could you please take you neoconservative clap trap elsewhere – may I suggest The Guardian.
Further, may I suggest you read Andrew Sachs on Syria on HuffPost.
Further, why don’t you try posting your crud on Syria on Sic Semper Tyrannis: http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/
Do be warned though that the Blog host of SST eats propagandists like you for breakfast.
Fact: UN states Assad is legitimate leader of Syria.
Fact: The legitimate government of Syria has invited Russia to render assistance in defeating ISIS and the other maniacs.
Fact: A majority of Syrians support Assad
Fact: Assad open to reforms
Fact: USA/Israel/Saudi Arabia/Turkey want to impose regime change – a nice word that – in a sovereign nation.
Lets hope the USA engages in regime change in the UK, who’s government was elected on 24% of the electorate, or 36.9% of the electorate that could be arsed to vote.
I detest Cameron, I do not take up arms, if I did the UK police and military would kill me – Now, what is your point again, apart from a 100% support of regime change, which means you go against all international law, against the UN, but are a lackey of your neocon friends.
You are on a loser, the facts are out, regardless of hard hard you spin it.
Now go propagandise elsewhere and you’ll have a lovely reception on CIF, not so on SST, where you’ll be eviscerated for your spin, which is something I’d dearly like to see happen.
“Putin’s primary objective seems to be keeping his buddy Assad in power if necessary at the cost of those Syrians who want some liberalising reforms”
I think his main objective might be to maintain the integrity of the Syrian state, if necessary at the cost of those who wish to see it smashed to pieces (like Iraq and Libya) for their own economic and political objectives. Assad enjoys the broad support of the great majority of Syrians. An uncomfortable fact for some but nevertheless an important one to remember.
I find it very hypocritical, but not surprising that the Western press has continuously carried the ‘so called’ Russian bombing of a hospital in Syria.
According to straplines of Western propaganda news rags the Russian’s bombed the hospital on Monday. Yet when you dig into the stories the word alleged replaces bombed.
The authenticity of the bombing is further compounded by the the UK based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights blaming Russian bombers for the attack in Idlib province.
If ISIS were the only problem in Syria you might be talking some sense but Putin’s primary objective seems to be keeping his buddy Assad in power if necessary at the cost of those Syrians who want some liberalising reforms.
Yeah. Remind me what the legitimate government of Syria was before this kicked off, will you? To which the US was not too proud to render jihadis for special treatment? Do we have an assurance those Syrians who want liberalising reforms wouldn’t (even before this) have cheerfully slaughtered the entire Ba’ath party to get their way, and then instituted sharia law a la Saud? That the Saudis aren’t playing this as part of their eternal pissing contest with Iran – if necessary at the cost of anyone not actually resident in Saudi Arabia? That most of the ‘nice’ rebels would switch sides at the drop of a dirhan (and many have)? That a good number of them aren’t Syrian at all, and that number is likely to increase enormously as the UAE and Saudi buy proxies?
I’m having a job finding the moral high ground, here. About the only external player who has a legitimate stake in Syria is Putin, I’m sorry to say. He wants to retain, and retain free access to, his Mediterranean naval base. Even I can’t blame him for that. And his approach isn’t any rougher than the locals have demonstrated, often. The crafty thing to do is to let him get on with it, win, and negotiate afterwards for commercial contracts. Meanwhile, Iraq, very definitely our responsibility, remains a disaster.
I see, incidentally, that Albania’s putting up refugee MKO terrorists, with the democratic West’s blessing. These were hired as US/Israeli proxies to stir the shit on the Iranian border with Iraq…and encourage a Persian Spring.
http://rudaw.net/english/middleeast/iraq/230620152
No-one’s hands are clean.
On a more sombre note ex-UN Secretary General Boutrous Boutrous-Ghali has died at the ripe old age of 93.
The USA under the Clinton administration wanted Mr Ghali replaced. Clinton claimed Mr Ghali wasn’t reforming the UN quick enough for members liking, what he really mean’t was, not to the USA’s liking.
Clinton sent his attack dog Madeline Albright to challenge Mr Ghali. Albright infamously said on the deaths of 250,000 Iraqi children by British and US forces, when asked was the sacrifice worth it Albright replied. “It was worth it we think so.”
“If ISIS were the only problem in Syria you might be talking some sense but Putin’s primary objective seems to be keeping his buddy Assad in power if necessary at the cost of those Syrians who want some liberalising reforms.”
____________
Kempe.
I agree, but it’s a two-way street, the US/Britain/Saudi/Israel/Turkey, want the exact opposite, they want to replace Assad with a compliant puppet who’ll pander to the rebels and let them use Syria’s assets of which Turkey and Israel are already stealing.
I’m not saying Assad is a good and proper leader of Syria, he isn’t, but that doesn’t give the coalition forces any right to charge into Syria, under the pretence of bringing peace and democracy, albeit through proxy armies for now.
If that were the case and Nato had any real honour, (unlikely) they would’ve charged into Israel and Saudi Arabia years ago.
Both sides are at fault and Syria, is fast becoming the new Angola.
“I came in here expecting to find widespread condemnation of the recent civilian casualties in Syria but can find none.”
______________
Kempe.
And if your were not such a hypocrite, you may well have found it. But I don’t recall you posting widespread condemnation, when the US bombed and killed over 30 civilians and medics in a hospital in Kunduz Afghanistan.
http://m.democracynow.org/stories/15635
However Kempe if proof is found that Russia did bomb the hospital in Syria I will condemn that vile action whole heartedly.
“But I don’t recall you posting widespread condemnation, when the US bombed and killed over 30 civilians and medics in a hospital in Kunduz Afghanistan”
On the other hand I doubt that anyone was foolish enough to come here expecting to find such a thing.
From a couple of different sources take your pick…( I have enormous respect for both of them especially Thierry Meyssan ) as he wrote about the Russian Intervention in Syria at least 4 weeks before anyone else, when even The Saker was stating absolutely categorically – no way (I have enormous respect for him too)
“The USA and Russia become allies in Syria by Thierry Meyssan”
http://www.voltairenet.org/article190282.html
“Are Green Berets Leading The YPG In Taking The Azaz Pocket?”
http://www.moonofalabama.org/
A quick summary is that different proxy factions of The USA (Pentagon, White House, Neocons etc) are at war with each other in Syria.
Some of them (the crazies (Neocons/CIA/Israel who currently have massive influence and control over The UK Government) are trying to kick off WWIII – which will go Nuclear..
And The Pentagon / Military Industrial Complex have just told Obama – Look – its like this…If we kill nearly every bugger in The Northern Hemisphere – there will be no one left to flog our Weapons of Mass Destruction too…So Cool it.
Its getting too hot too quick.
Tony