Monday, February 8, 2021

File it under useless tool

lazy dog joe

 

Isaiah's THE WORLD TODAY JUST NUTS "Lazy Dog Joe" went up tonight.  

 

Now for the useless, Tom Engelhardt.  He's supposed to be a brave voice but he's just a useless tool.  He has a column at Information Clearing House that's useless and wants you to know that Joe Biden is a good person.  Ah, thanks, you useless piece of crap.


Much better than the garbage column are the comments:

Ray Comeau · 1 day ago

Joe Biden is far from a decent man. He is a miserable overbearing demagogue who will be glad to activate every crime that the "Deep State" demands of him. And he will probably die while in power or be shuttled to an asylum for people suffering from Alzheimer Disease.
The good citizens of thee USA deserve better!
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Charlotte Ruse's avatar

Charlotte Ruse · 1 day ago

"Trump’s presidency would certainly be the most bizarrely “imperial” of our time, as he and his team worked, executive act by executive act, to essentially burn the planet down, destroy the environment, lock Americans in and everyone else out, and dismantle the country’s global economic role. And in the end, in the most imperially incoherent way imaginable, with Republican congressional help, Trump would come at least reasonably close to rather literally destroying the American democratic system (“fake election“!) in the name of his own reelection."

The article initially seemed intriguing until it morphed into an MSNBC style hit piece about the "fascist buffoon" who single-handedly destroyed American democracy.
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3 replies · active 1 day ago
augustus blue's avatar

augustus blue · 1 day ago

this post is pure drivel. joe biden a decent man? trump inciting insurrection? america an imperial nation when it is under medical dictatororship and being crushed by unelected technocrats? not one mention of how trump fired kissinger and neutered the c.i.a.

this guy is delusional like the rest of the pundit class in this nation. they have nowhere near any sort of truly insightful narrative going. no honest discusiiln and appraisal of the facts under cultural marxism sponosred by the banking class.

america is OCCUPIED by the the city of london and fake jews! (just look at biden's cabinet and admin picks!). there is no truth telling in this country. it is not allowed.
there is only kool-aid drinking. america -real america- is a zombie with no voice. buggered and wimpering by the pedophiles that rule the entire world.
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1 reply · active 22 hours ago
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Mosaik · 1 day ago

Tom Englehardt is a nice guy, but he has nothing to offer. Very conventional in his thinking. After 9/11 he was the first out of the gate with "alternative" essays, etc., but since then he has become a standard neoliberal who swallows the mainstream Dem swill and regurgitates in a "thoughtful" tone.

His bromides regarding Joe Biden are nauseating. As someone upthread said: Has he done ANY homework on Biden? Was he A-OK with the pre-election suppression of Hunter's laptop? Is he playing dumb regarding Biden's boasted bribery in Ukraine? Tom apparently hasn't yet heard anything about Biden's role in the Iraq invasion, in the fateful legislation he sponsored during Clinton's administration re Glass-Steagall and for-profit prisons, not to mention consolidation of the media and other regressive legislation. As for Joe "Hair Sniffer/Golden Leg Hairs" Biden, I guess Tom hasn't bothered to wonder about that those weird Bidenacts. For Dems like Engelhardt, Trump is the gift that keeps on giving. Still blaming "the imperial presidency" on Repugs, and Trump.

Pathetic from an intelligent man. This is what we are up against in this country. Blind trying to lead the blind.

Tom, please don't make such a fool of yourself. Do some homework first.
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2 replies · active 1 day ago
Jim Delton's avatar

Jim Delton · 1 day ago

What a funny view of reality you have. As you go thru the presidencies you recite the war making of so many yet fail to take significant note that making war is NOT the domain of only one of the parties. You seem to be against war. Then you talk about Trump, the ONLY president in modern times who has NOT been driven by an incessant desire to blow up the real estate and people's of other countries. instead Trump has pushed policies guided by a "What's good for the USA" mindset. You claim he has been busy burning down the planet and destroying the environment and other imaginary ills. He's done none of that. The US LITTERALLY REMAINS THE LEADER of the planet in reducing it's emissions of CO2. No other nation comes close. France, center of the Paris Accords, failed to even meet the fairly easy targets that it said it would while the US exceeded those reduction targets even without being a signatory.

It's nice your hearts in the right place, too bad your brain is blinded by the usual leftist nonsense and lies. Here's one, tell me about how Trump is a dictator. Tell me how he's forced the whole country to do ANYTHING you are against thru his horrible dictator ways. Tell me which judicial rulings he, the dictator, refused to follow because dictators ignore what the other branches of gvt say. Please list those instances.
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aRbe's avatar

aRbe · 1 day ago

wow. "joe biden is a decent man?" sadly, I no longer trust anything engelhardt says. independent verification will be mandatory no matter how minor the issue (and that's IF I read anything else he's written, after almost two decades of being a fan). this turn of events was most definitely unexpected. who in their right mind considers joe biden "a decent man?!?"
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Sad but true, the writers of the comments are smarter and better writers than Tom Engelhardt.

 


This is C.I.'s "Iraq snapshot:"

 Monday, February 8, 20201.  More US troops leave today for Iraq while Joe Biden has no policy to offer on that country but does continue to lie about his own Iraq experience.


The war never ends.  Ben Rodgers (KTSP) reported on Friday:


Sixty soldiers from the Minnesota National Guard will be deployed to Iraq and Kuwait. 

The soldiers from B Company, First General Support Aviation Battalion, 171st Aviation Regiment based in St. Cloud will deploy Monday. 


Those troops are leaving today.  Iraq?  It's a country that continues to fail to serve its own citizens.  Sura Ali (RUDAW) reports:


Fresh protests broke out in several provinces across central and southern Iraq over the weekend, with several protesters wounded, activists told Rudaw English on Sunday.

Demonstrations broke out in the southern city of Nasiriyah on Friday. Clashes took place between demonstrators and riot police where three protesters were wounded, local activist Muhammad Khayat, told Rudaw on Sunday. 

Protesters blocked the Hadarat Bridge in the city centre before returning to Habboubi Square, the city’s protest hotspot that has witnessed some of the bloodiest crackdowns on demonstrators since popular protests began in October 2019, calling for basic services and an end to corruption. 

"We receive threats almost daily on social media, but this will not prevent us from continuing to sit-in in Haboubi until our demands are met." Khayat said.

Activist Maytham al-Mufadhal, also from Nasiriyah, told Rudaw English that they demand authorities reveal the fate of the activist Sajjad al-Iraqi, who was kidnapped by an unknown party in September. 

"We received many government promises to reveal Sajjad's fate, but several months passed and the results of the investigation were not released. The sit-in continues until the fate of Sajjad is revealed," Mufadhal said.

Activists are often threatened, kidnapped and killed for their involvement in the protest movement. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi sent counter-terror forces to Nasiriyah to find Iraqi in September, claiming to know of his location, but he is yet to be found. 


NRT Tweets:

Protesters in Kut call for removal of governor, deputies For mismanagement and corruption #NRTnews #Kut #alNasiriyah #Iraq #Protest #Wasit #DhiQar


IRAQ AND MIDDLE EAST UPDATES Tweets:


Protests return to Wasit as youth burn tyres on the streets
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US troops are being sent to Iraq and kept in Iraq to prop up a US-created government there that does not recognize the rights of the Iraqi people and does not serve the Iraqi people.  


Najaf saw other actions on Saturday.  The cult of Moqtada al-Sadr attacked the people of Najaf on Saturday.  RUDAW reports:


Militia forces affiliated with Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr raided a number of activists' houses in Iraq’s Najaf province on Saturday night, activists told Rudaw English. The raids came a day after a group of activists chanted slogans criticizing the cleric on the one year anniversary of the killing of tens of people by Sadr supporters. 

Activists on Friday held a ceremony to mark the one year anniversary of a massacre in Najaf’s Sadrayn square where Sadr supporters known as the "Blue Caps" stormed an anti-government protest camp. Twenty-three people were killed and more than 182 wounded, according to AFP.

Live rounds and petrol bombs were used against protesters during clashes, and their tents were burned or removed. Days later, Sadr announced the dissolution of the "Blue Caps" militia.

Video from the anniversary ceremony on Friday showed dozens of people gathered in the Writers Union Hall in Najaf, chanting slogans against the Sadrist movement and its leader. "No god but Allah. Muqtada is the enemy of Allah,” they shouted in clips that went viral on social media. 

The day after the ceremony, forces from the pro-Sadr Saraya al-Salam (the Peace Brigades) militia stormed the homes of four activists, terrorizing them and their families, according to Najaf activist Saif al-Mansoori. 


This follows Friday's action in Najaf.  Fadhel al-Nashmi (ASHARQ AL-AWSAT) reported, "Unidentified assailants attacked the headquarters of the Iraqi Communist Party in Najaf with Molotov cocktails, burning the offices despite causing no causalities."  It's related.  In the past the Communist Party partnered with Moqtada.  That partnership broke and last week they announced an alliance with the demonstrators.  Then their headquarters were bombed.


What's the plan, Joe, what's the plan?


There is none.  So he just avoids the topic.


He gave his 'big' speech on foreign relations last week.  Sheldon Richman (ANTIWAR.COM) observes:


Also among the no-mentions was Afghanistan. How can Biden give his first speech on foreign policy without discussing the country’s longest war? That is really remarkable. The names Iraq and Syria also do not appear in the speech. Amazing.



The 20 minute speech contained no mention of Iraq, as Dr. Abbas Kadhim pointed out in a Tweet:

 

There was no mention of #Iraq in President 's foreign policy today. The only Iraq-related policy was the decision to review the previous administration's plans for troops withdrawal from various AoRs. That will include Iraq and we'll see what the review result will be.



In 2002, Joe Biden voted for the Iraq War.  


On Oct. 16, 2002, President Bush signed the Authorization for the Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution Joe Biden supported it and happily posed for this photo
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All these years later he has to 'familiarize' himself on Iraq before he can figure out a policy?  He has nothing to offer because he chooses to have nothing to offer.  And if he truly had any regret over his Iraq War vote, he would be compelled to make up for it now.  He's doing nothing because he doesn't now -- and never did -- give a damn.  That's why, when he threw out the Iraqi votes of 2010 via The Erbil Agreement, he went to Baghdad and gave puzzled Iraqis a lecture about Ireland -- a lecture that had nothing to do with them.


It's not like Joe can't talk about Iraq at all.  He can lie about it.  And he's been lying yet again.  Rudy Takala  (MEDIAITE) explains:

President Joe Biden on Thursday repeated a claim to a gathering of State Department employees that he once came under fire abroad.

“You have great personal courage. I’ve been with some of you when we’ve been shot at,” Biden told staff, without detailing the incident in question.

It’s unclear what specific incident Biden was referring to in his remarks, but in the past he has faced scrutiny for similar comments. Biden previously made the claim at a Democratic presidential primary debate in July 2007. “Number one, you take all the troops out,” he said. “You better have helicopters ready to take those 3,000 civilians inside the Green Zone, where I have been seven times and shot at. You better make sure you have protection for them, or let them die.”

He later clarified those remarks to say he was inside a building in Iraq’s Green Zone with a contingent of visiting senators that “rattled” as a result from a blast in 2005, and suggested the “shot” that had been fired was akin to mortar fire. “I was near where a shot landed,” he said. “No one got up and ran from the room — it wasn’t that kind of thing. It’s not like I had someone holding a gun to my head.”


Steve Nelson (NY POST) adds:


Patrick Campbell, then legislative director for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, told The Hill at the time, “Veterans don’t like it when people mischaracterize their service, people who overstate what happens to them. We have names for them.”

George Washington University professor Stephen Hess said in 2007 that the claim “fits into [Biden’s] profile, and that’s exactly why he should be terribly careful about statements that may not quite parse out or deconstruct under scrutiny.”

Biden has a reputation for gaffes and stretching the truth. He said incorrectly in 2008 “I am a hard coal miner,” and was forced to drop out of the 1988 Democratic presidential primary for plagiarism of speeches and a law school paper.


So he can talk about Iraq, he just can't tell any truths about that country.  Then again, Joe has an estranged relationship with the truth:


Jan 6, 2020 Dem Pres. candidate Joe Biden lied saying he opposed the war in Iraq from the very beginning. Sept 12, 2020 Joe Biden lies about his son dying in Iraq. Jan 4, 2021 Biden told State Dept employees he was shot at overseas. nypost.com/207cac6f-25f2-



Caitlin Johnstone (ICH) observes:

When you oppose the horror that is western imperialism people try to paint you as a radical extremist who can’t just be reasonable and pragmatic about things, but really nothing could be further from the truth. There’s nothing “radical” or “extreme” about opposing the domination of the entire planet with relentless acts of mass slaughter to the detriment of the world’s most vulnerable populations, all because some sociopaths in DC decided that it is good and reasonable to inflict any amount of terror upon our world to preserve unipolar US hegemony. Opposing this is just basic human sanity.

People will act like you’re unreasonable and impossible if there’s not a single US politician you support.

“Not even Bernie?” they’ll ask. “Not even AOC?? What’s wrong with you?!”

If you are an anti-imperialist, being asked to choose a US politician you support is like being asked to pick a favorite Nazi. The US empire is the single most evil and destructive power on our planet right now and everyone on Capitol Hill is an imperialist facilitator of mass murder, yet you’ll be treated like an extremist moonbat if you don’t like any of them. The problem isn’t that an anti-imperialist has strange, impossible standards, it’s that they oppose an insane and murderous status quo which only elevates leaders who will advance that status quo.




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