Tag: war

And they do have oil

If anyone is looking for an excuse for another Middle Eastern war, it appears their casus belli is buried in a presidentially censored 2002 report.

President Bush inexplicably censored 28 full pages of the 800-page report. Text isn’t just blacked-out here and there in this critical-yet-missing middle section. The pages are completely blank, except for dotted lines where an estimated 7,200 words once stood (this story by comparison is about 1,000 words).

A pair of lawmakers who recently read the redacted portion say they are “absolutely shocked” at the level of foreign state involvement in the attacks.

Reps. Walter Jones (R-NC) and Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.) can’t reveal the nation identified by it without violating federal law. So they’ve proposed Congress pass a resolution asking President Obama to declassify the entire 2002 report, “Joint Inquiry Into Intelligence Community Activities Before and After the Terrorist Attacks of September 11, 2001.”

Some information already has leaked from the classified section, which is based on both CIA and FBI documents, and it points back to Saudi Arabia, a presumed ally.

The Saudis deny any role in 9/11, but the CIA in one memo reportedly found “incontrovertible evidence” that Saudi government officials — not just wealthy Saudi hardliners, but high-level diplomats and intelligence officers employed by the kingdom — helped the hijackers both financially and logistically. The intelligence files cited in the report directly implicate the Saudi embassy in Washington and consulate in Los Angeles in the attacks, making 9/11 not just an act of terrorism, but an act of war.

Of course, there could be other reasons to hide known Saudi involvement in the events of 9/11 besides a desire to invade Iraq. Once it is admitted that the Saudis were involved, this can’t help but raise the question of who else might have been involved as well.

The legacy of Mandela

This should suffice to settle the question of whether the Hero of Mandela’s Funeral actually knows how to sign or not. He knows no more ASL than he does Advanced Squad Leader. And have genocidal threats by a head of state ever been funnier?

I especially enjoyed the dancing soldiers. If the Boers ever do rise up against the ANC and establish an independent White South Africa , I suspect they’re not only going to win, but win easily.

And now it gets interesting

Nelson Mandela is dead at 95. It should be interesting to see how long his vision of a post-racial South Africa will survive him or if the Kill-the-Boer crowd will consider itself unleashed.

The parasites are fleeing the host

It would appear that the theory of the 21st Century belonging to China is rapidly going the way that the Japan that could say no did or there is war on the horizon:

It’s one of the largest and most rapid wealth migrations of our time: hundreds of billions of dollars, and waves of millionaires flowing out of China to overseas destinations. According to WealthInsight, the Chinese wealthy now have about $658 billion stashed in offshore assets. Boston Consulting Group puts the number lower, at around $450 billion, but says offshore investments are expected to double in the next three years. A study from Bain Consulting found that half of China’s ultrawealthy—those with $16 million or more in wealth—now have investments overseas.

And it’s not just the money that’s exiting the country. The wealthy are increasingly following their money overseas. A study by Hurun and Bank of China found that more than half of China’s millionaires are considering emigrating or have already taken steps to move overseas.

One wonders why? Mere internal unrest of the sort that has riddled Chinese history or it is something more serious? The sabres are already rattling over the Philippines and Abe is in the process of removing the peace planks from the Japanese constitution.

Things also look problematic for the USA, but there probably isn’t too much to worry about until the Wall Street bankers begin emigrating. If you want to know what is likely to happen in the near future, watch the rich.

Why Iran – and everyone else – needs nukes

Frankly, at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if countries like Switzerland and Sweden began thinking about developing or acquiring nuclear weapons, as apparently that is the only way to convince the USA and/or Israel to mind their own business:

During a panel at Yeshiva University on Tuesday evening, Sheldon Adelson, noted businessman and owner of the newspaper Israel Hayom, suggested that the US should use nuclear weapons on Iran to impose its demands from a position of strength.

Asked by moderator Rabbi Shmuley Boteach whether the US should negotiate with Iran if it were to cease its uranium enrichment program, Adelson retorted, “What are we going to negotiate about?”

Adelson then imagined what might happen if an American official were to call up an Iranian official, say “watch this,” and subsequently drop a nuclear bomb in the middle of the Iranian desert.

First of all, Iran is not an American problem. If Israel genuinely believes such an act is necessary and justified, they have their own nukes. Second, how can this sort of irresponsible talk not increase the determination of the Iranians to get their own nuclear devices operational as soon as possible?

It certainly makes one glad that the presidential candidate Adelson was almost single-handedly financing did not win. No matter how bad Obama is, there can be little question that McCain would have been worse.

How the Rabid Bat was born

Fred Reed tells us of the future history of America’s next generation air superiority fighter:

In early 2035, the thirty-fourth year of the war against Al Qaeda,
 the Pentagon issued a White Paper saying that the F22 Raptor, the
front-line fighter plane of the United States, was nearing the end of
its useful life and needed to be replaced. Not everyone agreed. Various
budget-cutting organizations argued that the Raptor had never been used
and thus no one could tell whether it had a useful life. Anyway, the
job of the Air Force, killing third-world peasants and their families,
had been co-opted by drones. America didn´t need a new fighter, said
the critics.

The Air Force countered that the new plane would look feral
and make loud, exciting noises. To this, critics could find no
rejoinder. Design studies began.

An early question was what to call the new fighter. By
tradition, aircraft were named after aggressive but unintelligent birds
(F-15 Eagle, F16 Fighting Falcon), unpleasant animals (AH-1 Cobra,
F-18 Hornet) ghosts (F-4 Phantom, AC-130 Spectre) or Stone Age nomads
(AH-64 Apache). However, something with more pizzazz was needed to get
funding through Congress.

Discussion ensued. Suggestions were solicited from The
Building, as the Pentagon calls itself. These ran from “F-40 Screaming
Kerblam” to the politically marginal “Horrendous Dyke,” whose author
believed that it would depress enemy fliers. Going with zoological
tradition, the Air Force wanted to call it the Rabid Bat. A
congressional wag weary of military price tags  suggested “Priscilla,”
because that no pilot would then go near it and the country would be
spared the expense of wars.  (His idea of painting it in floral
patterns was not taken seriously.)

A national transgender- advocacy  group favored “Susan B.
Anthony,” but this was held to be disrespectful of Ebonics, and in any
event Anthony might be Susan. It was hard to tell about these things.

The Air Force prevailed. The Rabid Bat was born.

Loud exciting noises! You can’t front on that. The sad thing is that it isn’t any sillier than putting female combat troops on the front lines.

Fascist “anti-fascists”

The government has taken several steps toward open civil war in Greece by attempting to criminalize the political opposition:

Nikos Michaloliakos, 56, was arrested on Saturday morning on charges of
founding a criminal organisation, with arrest warrants issued for dozens
more party members and lawmakers, officials said.  The arrest of Michaloliakos, along with 13 other party members including
spokesman Ilias Kasidiaris, comes as part of a wider crackdown on the
far-right group following the murder of anti-fascist rapper Pavlos Fyssas by
an alleged Golden Dawn member, which sparked riots across the country.

Pavlos Fyssas – known by his stage name of Killah P – was stabbed to death in
an Athens commuter town on September 17, triggering violent anti-fascist
protests across the country.

At least 10,000 people demonstrated in Athens on Wednesday in a protest
organised by left-wing political parties and unions. Golden Dawn has denied it had anything to do with the killing, but he was
stabbed to death by a self-proclaimed supporter.

The so-called “anti-fascist” protests are tiny compared to the general strike with which the Greeks have been protesting the government. To put it in perspective, this is as if Bill Clinton and twelve Congressional Republicans were arrested because Tupac’s killer was a self-proclaimed Democrat.

Both the Egyptian and the Greek governments are making the mistake of forcing their populist political opposition to turn to violence. The popularity of Golden Dawn and the Muslim Brotherhood are only going to increase as a result of this shamelessly political stunt, especially in contrast with openly anti-democratic governments that are shamelessly robbing the people on behalf of the IMF, the EU, and other globalist institutions.

The irony is that the Eurofascists are attacking their critics as fascists while operating in an observably fascist manner in cooperation with the international corporate megabanks. Meanwhile, in Italy, the resignation of Berlusconi’s alllies appear to have brought the Letta government down and made it likely that the anti-Euro Movimento 5 Stelle will soon come to power.

All five ministers from Silvio Berlusconi‘s centre-right party said on Saturday night they were resigning from Italy‘s
grand coalition government in a dramatic move that plunged the country
back into political uncertainty and raised the possibility of fresh
elections.

Note that Berlusconi’s action was the direct and predictable consequence of prosecutorial actions directed against him by his political foes.

Greek military union challenges government

A statement released by the Special Forces Reserve Union demands the resignation of the government. From Zerohedge:

Greek government authorities are on alert after a union of Greek army reservists of Special Forces issued a statement urging the Greek administration to step down and make way for a national unity government. As Keep Talking Greece notes, the statement on the union’ website included 15 demands – including the resignation of the Greek President – and urged people to gather at the infamous Syntagma Square on Saturday. The statement was interpreted by some as a call to a “coup d’etat” – denied by the union – but prompted Greece’s Supreme Court to meet to discuss it.

The 15 Demands…


“OUR PRIMARY PURPOSE DEFENSE OF OUR COUNTRY.
Reservists Special Forces and the Greek people to implementation of Article 120 of the Constitution requires:

1. IMMEDIATE RESIGNATION OF GOVERNMENT of the impossibility of
providing the people as provided in the Constitution at Work (Article
22), health, education, justice, security.
Two. ESTABLISHING A NATIONAL GOVERNMENT PLANS chaired by Supreme
Court of personalities on proven outside politics and consultants from
the Academy of Athens.
Three. SUSPENSION OF APPLICATION NOTICE MNIMONIAKON laws and within
two months, with a ban on participation of all citizens who participated
in the governments responsible for the current economic situation.
4. EXAMINING BOARD of the supreme court and accountability for the
HOW and WHO led us to Catastrophic Agreement Memorandum. Establishment
of Constitutional Court Effective power impose its will.
5. Immediate suspension of dismissal from the State.
6. SUSPENSION further TAX for Family Income up to 25.000 €.
7. SUSPENSION auctions and bank claims until the Completion Audit of Banks of Certified Public Accountants and accountability.
8. Complaint EPACHTHOUS DEBT.
9. PROHIBITION OF SALE PUBLIC PROPERTY, Resume Defence Industries.
10. DIRECT confiscation German (Retail / Business / Office) FULL
COMPENSATION until the Greek government for war reparations and
occupation loan.
11. BREAK THE LAW ON LIABILITY minister and VOULEFTIKIS ASYLIAS.
Regardless of all “THE GREEKS ARE EQUAL BEFORE THE LAW” (Article 4).
12. CONTROL assets of those involved in economic positions of
government, prosecute illicit enrichment and Efficiency to the State.
13. OPERATIONAL CONTROL – LICENSING LEGALITY broadcasters and immediate return to the Greek government debts.
14. Protection from Hostile Elongation at AEGEAN, Macedonia, Epirus,
Thrace and Cyprus, while suppressing the various groups that see inside.
15. REMOVE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS with a similar promotion in European
countries and the server. EXPORT BAN MONEY Over 20% of the taxable
income of such.
• The KK PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC INVITED WAIVED as an appropriate time to facilitate desired development of the Greek people.
• THESMOS WARRANTOR all of the above may be the ARMED FORCES OF THE COUNTRY AS POWERFUL ANIDIOTELIS ENTITY TO ANY THREAT.
• Bodies SECURITY REQUIRED TO SECURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
ABOVE AND SMOOTH MIGRATION IN ACTUAL constitutional legality. ”

It should be fascinating to see the High Officials of the EU babbling about the need to respect democracy after they initiated post-democratic coups in Greece and Italy. There is no reason why the various national militaries shouldn’t follow their example… and they’ve got the guns.

There isn’t much question that nationalist military governments would be vastly preferable to unelected Eurofascist rule. It is looking like the government’s attempt to crack down on the increasingly popular Golden Dawn was a very, very bad idea that is likely to backfire.

An astonishing coincidence

It’s still so easy. Golf Pro, aka Tad, mocks the idea that Minnesotans have anything to worry about from the Somali jihadists in Minnesota:

I’m positive that comparing Minneapolis to Kenya is a bad idea. They
aren’t really the same place, same culture, same institutions, same
history. Really, there is no similarity. The good folks in Minneapolis
have nothing to worry about.

Meanwhile, back on Planet Reason, the Mall of America has jacked up its security measures. For, we can assume, no particular reason at all.

BLOOMINGTON, Minn.—The Mall of
America has stepped up security after the deadly attack by the Somali
militant group al-Shabab at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya. Officials at the Bloomington mall say some of the extra security
precautions will be noticeable and some won’t. Millions of people visit
the mall and its 500 stores each year. Mall of America says the safety
of its guests, tenants and employees is top priority. Minnesota is home to the largest Somali community in the United
States. At least 22 young men have traveled to Somalia since 2007 to
join al-Shabaab and the FBI says its investigation of the terror group’s
recruiting remains a priority.

Mailvox: the dead horse quivers

SV digs up, from the past, a certain blast:

I read your Sept 6, 2004 review of Michele Malkin’s book supporting internment and I was wondering if you remember or noted where you found the information for this paragraph:

“In January 1942, prior to both Executive Order 9066 and the battle of Midway, the Imperial Japanese Navy possessed 717 carrier-borne planes and 176 ships, of which 15 were troop transports. The IJN’s troop-bearing capacity was about 42,000 men. Reinforcement and resupply required a roundtrip transit of 11,000 miles to a coastline only 1,359 miles long.”

Less important are the facts here, but just in case you have it:

“The Overlord invasion required 4,600 ships to travel 100 miles under the air cover of 12,000 planes to land 156,000 troops on a French coastline 3,437 miles long. Over the next three weeks, the Allies brought in another 850,000 men, 148,000 vehicles, and 570,000 tons of supplies.”

If I recall correctly, I worked out the IJN numbers from Tony Tully’s excellent The Imperial Japanese Navy Page.  I don’t remember where I looked up the statistics related to the invasion of Normandy, but they’re readily available.

It is a little amusing to look back and recall that some people actually took Me So Michelle’s book seriously at the time. It’s largely forgotten now, but it didn’t escaped my attention how she quickly stopped talking about it in public after I exposed her complete lack of research in support of her attempt to manufacture a retroactive military justification for the historical internment of Japanese-Americans.

One thing I didn’t mention in that article was that the former Marine Commandant’s first reaction, when asked about the viability of a Japanese invasion of the U.S. West Coast, was an instinctive snort of disdain. I mean, the hypothetical invasion is the sort of thing you have to be a complete military ignoramus to even contemplate for a millesecond. Forget Anzio. An IJN invasion of California would have made the Bay of Pigs invasion look sane and conservative by comparison.