Thursday, February 22, 2007

The real David Brooks

New York Times’ columnist, David Brooks, is as well a philosopher and psychiatrist for the White House, surely without pay. In the last three years, he has distorted events in order to justify the un-justifiable accumulation of mistakes by our leaders. Recently, he explained how brilliant was Hillary Clinton by refusing to disavow her vote for invading Iraq.
Anthropologist, psychiatrist, historian, visionary, nothing will stop Mr. Brooks for trying to convince his readers how great is our Dear President.
In his article: “Human Nature”, Mr. Brooks has no qualms to present a one-sided opinion about the evolutionary biology. According to him, it shows human being as selfish, nasty and competitive by nature.
Mr. Brooks goes even further: men are warriors. Surely, another justification for our Great Leaders to invade Iraq, and be arrogant with almost the rest of the world.
According to the weekly The Week, Mr. Brooks is convinced that the US hegemony will survive, even after the end of the war in Iraq. His justifications:
1- in 1975, when Vietnam War ended in disaster (he admits that?), America embraced an isolationist stance. But not for long.
2- Vietnam syndrome is not occurring now, and it’s not likely to occur, no matter how Iraq ends.
3- among the 2008 presidential candidates, McCain and Giuliani are both aggressive internationalists. Clinton is from the Democrat party’s hawkish wing; Edwards, is looking for tougher action against Iran.
4- in the post-Bush world, the new president will try to exert its will through negotiation and strategic alliances. To the credit of Mr. Brooks, he confirms that we will be slower to launch wars. Oops! Is he recognizing a tiny mistake from his protégés (Bush-Cheney-Rumsfeld-Rice)?

Surprisingly, for a professional journalist of New York Times, Mr. Brooks, who should be non-partisan, ignores (or prefers to evade) the following:
a) we have lost our credibility with the real world
b) European Union is much stronger than never before (politics, economy, business)
c) we are not a player anymore in the Middle East
d) China and Russia are working together for a powerful military force, to Cheney's displeasure
e) most Asian countries have developed a stronger economy than us
f) closer to home, we have neglected Latin America to the point that we are losing a market of 500 million people
g) we have accumulated a series of faux pas in our disastrous foreign policy
h) because of our invasion in Iraq, several countries including Iran and North Korea have pursued a strong desire to develop nuclear weapons for their own protection
i) we have stimulated the cloning of terrorists
j) we have been naïve to believe certain minority groups of Iraq, Pakistan, and ex-Cubans
k) in spite of all our failures, we still stay the course in Latin American, Middle East and with the Arab world.
l) our spineless Congress is still ignorant about the real world
m) we are still sending abroad non-diplomat ambassadors
n) we are still lecturing the world, and creating more enemies
o) how about our alarming budget deficit and trade deficit
p) half of our total debt is owned by a few foreign countries, China being the main actor
q) for generations to come, our children will pay an astronomical price.
s) we have shown the world that our democratic system is a joke
t) we have democratically elected a dictatorial machine (Cheney via Bush)
u) communist countries (China, Vietnam) are doing quite well economically, thank you
v) more restricted societies (Singapore, Malaysia) have progressed much faster than us
w) materially poor Cubans enjoy better healthcare service, cultural and educational system
x) we have almost 50 million people who can not afford to be sick
y) we have million others in major cities with no place to sleep
z) at the international level, our students do not compete anymore: 17th out of 22 countries

Mr. Brooks, how can you justify a future American hegemony ? Your own children will probably write about “The Rise and Fall of the American Regime”. We are not the democratic society we used to be. And, what happened to the values we were so well recognized, and admired for?
The world is not the same. We are not the same. Mr. Brooks, did you change?
It seems that you are as disconnected with reality as your idols.
You, and most of your colleagues, so far, did a good job in protecting the President. Not sure if the next generation will appreciate it?
The Facilitator

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

U.S. Credibility: chose du passé

We have reached such a low level of respect from the real world, that the latest White House machination (1) against Iran, has been received as another laughing matter by other countries. More than 90% of readers of major newspapers in Canada, Britain, Europe and Asia have, once more, denigrated our irresponsible leaders, and unfortunately, our country.
The real world has so much disregard for us that people will believe anyone who confront us, either Putin, Ahmadinejad, Chavez, "bring them on".
It was another major mistake from the White House to name John Negroponte to assist our non-diplomat Secretary of State, via a spineless Congress and Senate. Contrary to her shortsighted view of the real world, Iran is not getting isolated. We are. Iran is building strategic alliances in Middle East, UAE, certain parts of Asia and Europe, and in Latin America. Us, we are losing more and more friends, and creating more and more enemies.
Our so-called expert in Russian affairs does not even realize that Russia is building important liaisons with China, at strategic levels (military, business, exchange programs). She prefers to lecture others about democracy, human rights, while ignoring our own shameful behaviour and wasting hundreds of millions on ex-Cubans in Miami.
The recent agreement with North Korea (whatever time it lasts) reveals how shortsighted is John Bolton, another of our non-diplomat ambassadors. According to Mr. Bolton, the said accord is rewarding countries who stand up long enough against us. Mr. Bolton, à la Dick Cheney, does not have the intellectual capacity to understand the energy and goodwill we have lost in the last five years.
To the credit of Ms Rice, she finally dares to stand up, and respond to Bolton. She could get a few more credits, by having the guts and courage to confront the Vice-President, to the benefits of the whole country. We can not rely upon the Congress nor the Senate. "Go Condi, Go. You are the only hope, so far".
In addition to losing face with North Korea, we have succeeded to antagonize 500 million Europeans. The European Community Parliament has approved a damning report on secret CIA flights (1,200) of terrorist suspects to states where they could face torture. The resolution condemned member states who accepted or ignored the practice, mostly Italy, Germany and Poland.
We desperately need a President (the next one, too late for this one) who will understand the importance of restoring our disastrous foreign policy, and the urgent need to install a sound program of Foreign Affairs. Unfortunately, so far, there is only one candidate with such a clairvoyance: Governor Bill Richardson.
The Facilitator
(1) Are Uranians using the same type of numbers than US? Or, our non-identified experts (are we still free?) forgot about that, as previously, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld did not have the decent knowledge about the different sects in Iraq.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

A meaningless National Anthem?

" Land of the free….Home of the brave ".
No meaning, anymore? Are we still the United States of America, in the eyes of the Real World? Where are the values we have been recognized for?
The land of the free? Our votes have no input anymore (counted or not), because our leaders do their own short-sighted way.
Home of the brave? Who is the Brave in the 110th Congress?
We disregard results of elections in communist, or totalitarian countries, because the voters have no choice, but to vote for one nomination, or between two candidates of the same party.
Is there any difference here? Irresponsible leaders who ignored the will of the majority, and a Congress with no Brave to stand up to defend the Constitution. No Brave to work for “we, the people”.
Our children, when they face the real story, and/or be reminded by the rest of the world, will be ashamed of us. Unfortunately, they will pay a heavy price via deteriorating living conditions, and quality of life. Our economic and military supremacies are dangerously becoming “chose du passé”
What a great heritage? The Rise and Fall of United States.
The New Congress must immediately concentrate to fix our Foreign Affairs, and restore our Foreign Policy with Latin America, before we reach a zone of no-return.
As we have seen in a previous article “What are we boycotting, now” – January Archive, New York is no more the financial market of the world. More than 40 million Americans can not afford a decent health program. The well being of our middle class is gone with the wind.
We have never been so insecure (ports, airlines, future economic expectations). We now require a passport for everyone entering or coming back into United States, but at the same time, the border with Mexico is in a free for all state. We even jail those who are paid to protect us.
We have been brainwashed that we were more secure, but we live in panicked mania (shoes at airports, bugging bedrooms, advertsing devices in Boston) .
A quote from President Eisenhower is more than appropriate here, especially coming from a respected General:
“Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired represents, in the final analysis, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, who are cold and are not clothed "
With $600 billion, and counting, we could have done quite a lot for our healthcare services, education system, and initiate jobs/services of tomorrow's world.
We do not dare to put a dollar value for the trust and credibility we have lost, and the disastrous image, for generations to come, at the international level.
The Congress has the duty, responsibility, and power to save United States. Time is running short. We will never recover, if we limit ourselves to timid efforts. Fearful resolutions will not liberate us.
So far, we have seen embryonic brave gestures from:
Russell Feingold, Wisconsin; Ted Kennedy, Massachusetts; John Edwards, former Senator; Richard Durbin, Illinois; Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania; Jos Biden, Delaware; Carl Levin, Michigan; Chuck Hagel, Nebraska; Susan Collins, Maine; John Warner, Virginia; Ben Nelson, Nebraska.
We need more than 11 courageous and brave soldiers, to save our Constitution, and our Country.
What kind of message are we sending abroad?
We are spineles, with no stomach, no guts, no courage, to defend our country...at home?
Where are the Braves that made America so great?
Destroying others will not provide us with a strong future. Efficiency in our Foreign Affairs will assure us a long lasting and willing relationship with the Real World. We need Braves with "savoir faire" and clairvoyance.
Spending billions for an Intelligence who is telling us (wrongly, once more) that Castro will die in a few weeks, just show how incompetent, immature and ignorant we are. By the way, is Castro a threat to United States or to a certain enclave in Miami? Should the taxpayers continue to support such a disgrace to our nation?
Where are the Braves?
The Facilitator