I'm not religious --- I'm a Unitarian Universalist --- but I still pray for the Iranian children (and the world's children) with regard to the looming plans of this disguised and violent post-nation-state global 'Vichy Empire'.

Best luck and love to the "Occupy Empire" educational and revolutionary movement.

Liberty, democracy, justice, and equality
Over
Violent/Vichy
Empire,

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

You would be absolutely correct to say that the corporatist Empire's media is not up-setting the rubes with ANY information about a looming WWIII.

Miss America info, yes. Golden Globe info, of course. Patriots and Broncos game, full coverage. But the little matter of half the population of the world possibly being incinerated by thermo-nuclear war, "not so much"!

Of course our former country, which has been 'captured' and 'Occupied' by a disguised corporate/financial/militarist global EMPIRE, by hiding behind the facade of the empire's bought and owned, modern, TWO-Party 'Vichy' sham of faux-democratic and totally illegitimate government --- just as surely as the Nazi Empire 'captured' and 'Occupied' France under its crude, first generation, and single-party 'Vichy' facade --- doesn't deserve to be discussed by the media at all, as it might get the citizens; thinking, too curious, up-set, engaged, even agitated to the point of "civil unrest".

You would also be dead-right that the average, honest, empathetic, and hard working citizens of Israel and the US are vastly in favor of world peace, fair economics, justice, real democracy, equality, etc, etc., but they are far more likely to be headed to the slaughter-house of unending imperialist wars, domestic looting, tyranny, and injustice by the multiple phony 'Vichy' parties that front for the global 'Vichy Empire' in the US, Israel, UK, Germany, France, and most other former countries in this post-nation-state world in which the NWO's disguised “Vichy Empire” uses racism, nationalism, fundamentalist religion, and big big LIES to deceive and screw all citizens of the world.

The global Empire, thinking that it is God, enforces a message much different and less empathetic than WWII POW and witness to the fire bombing of Dresden, black-humorist author, skeptic, freethinker, Unitarian Universalist, agnostic, atheist, and former honorary president of the American Humanist Association, Kurt Vonnegut, who famously and frequently repeated his comment from "God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater" which comes as part of a baptismal speech the protagonist says he's planning for his neighbors' twins: "Hello, babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies—God damn it, you've got to be kind."

No, this God damn global Empire is certainly not kind. And this God damn Empire will precipitate war through either of these phony shills auditioning for president.

Obama is not being 'lured into war' by Mittens.

Both these shills of the global corporate/financial/militarist (and media) Empire are merely auditioning for the roll of faux-Emperor/president, and both of these whores of Empire will carry-out the exact same pro-war, pro-tyranny, pro-looting, and pro-Empire policies, with the only difference being their relative skills at deceiving citizens/voters into passively acceding to the Empire's will.

If a "business-like" and "no-nonsense" approach is of more value to the underLYING Empire, then Romney will be made into the next faux-Emperor/president.

But if the more emotive, "we're in this together" but phony empathetic lip-biting act is judged more beneficial to the Empire, then Obama will be retained as the faux-Emperor/president.

Only an alternative third-party overtly anti-war, anti-looting, anti-tyranny, and publicly anti-EMPIRE candidate could change the arc of Empire by one bit.

The principled anti-war, anti-looting, anti-tyranny, and anti-Empire libertarian right has the guts to forward such a serious candidate (Ron Paul) --- who will mount a third party run beyond the phony Republican dog and pony show.

Hopefully, the principled anti-war, anti-looting, anti-tyranny, and anti-Empire social/economic democracy left will also forward a serious candidate to challenge Obama in the phony Democrat dog and pony show --- who will then mount a third party run, perhaps even in concert with the libertarian "Against Empire".

Best luck and love to the “Occupy Empire” educational movement.

Liberty, democracy, justice, and equality
Over
Violent/Vichy
Empire,

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

How symbolic and hopefully prescient a warning it could be that a Mr. Brown, wearing a shirt, came to Washington on the same day that 'our' supreme court made a ruling which will surely allow ‘brown shirts’ of Empire.

One can not overstate the assault on democracy that has been launched in this pre-planned attack that will "live in infamy" from the ruling-elite's Global corporate/financial/militarist Empire ---- which until now has been only guilefully controlling 'our' country by hiding behind the facade of its two-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy (aided by much of the equally 'Vichy' corporatist MSM).

Yes, there are significant differences between the events in Germany of the 1930’s and America today:

1. The evolving Empire in Germany was nationalist in scope, though global in appetite and claims (“Thousand Year Reich”), while the evolving Empire, only currently headquartered here, is overtly global in scope from the get go (since Empire is a pathology of economics first and politics only second, and must be global if planned by any but a mad-man). This economic primacy reflects Sheldon Wolin’s critique of modern Empire toward ‘inverted fascism’, where economic power is senior partner in the merger of corporate and state.

2. The fast evolving Empire HQ in America is following a far more modern, sophisticated, long-term and guileful path than a Blitzkrieg and occupation of another country (competing national empire) with a crude first-generation, one-party ‘Vichy’ thin-veil of disguise. This Empire is “Friendly Fascism” (Bertram Gross), so far --- although only in the U.S. However, Hannah Arendt’s prescient truth about empire must be taken very seriously now, “Empire abroad (always) entails tyranny at home”.

3. Naturally, given the superior long term planning and non-human corporatist nature of this modern beast, there are many structural differences in the political manipulations, modern ‘shock doctrine’ pseudo-events, and infinitely more polished (softer) propaganda techniques that have been employed in the current global Empire take-over than were common to the Nazi path to power. No single human Chancellor was overtly appointed. There was no thin-veiled Reichstag fire used. The rein of Gleichschaltung, and other extra-judicial rulings have not so obviously been applied.

4. There’s possibly a bit more time (and willingness) for the U.S. citizens (and a Global People’s Movement) to confront this Global corporatist Empire --- as I wrote before the supreme court ruling:

“We are not quite yet in a situation like those trapped in Belzec, Majdanek, Sobibor, Treblinka, Dachau, and Auschwitz-Birkenau, where the only choice was between the "least worst" of the Nazis or their non-German guards.

However, we do not have the luxury that any formerly comfortable population might have enjoyed, of depending on their robust civil freedoms in a stable Republic, calling on their normal financial resources, and support of democracy in a Republic sliding down-hill fast on a slippery slope. The surprise can come quicker than the population of such a country senses, as it did in the 1930’s in Germany --- until it is too late --- and today, there is no boat to the freedom and safety of a by-gone America that even one as smart as Einstein can take.

Everyone in America needs to put all their best efforts, financial resources, and the "good will of men" (as Kennedy said during the Cuban Missile Crisis) to the task of saving democracy and our 'shared' world from Global Empire. It is only through the solidarity of a Global People's Movement that we can mutually survive the coming Holocaust.

As was presciently and poetically said by Martin Neimoller:

“First they came for the communists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a communist;
Then they came for the trade unionists, and I did not speak out—because I was not a trade unionist;
Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out—because I was not a Jew;
Then they came for me—and there was no one left to speak out.”

Remember this, like it was itched by a laser in your brain:

Today, those freely speaking of liberalism in America are already gone ---
Those who speak in America of the kind of sustainable ‘social democracy’ that all of Europe and Japan adopted after their Empire experience of WWII are gone ---
Those who dare to openly call for socialism are gone --- and prevented from even using that nasty word in their Senate title are silenced.
The unions have been decimated without a whisper of resistance.
The blacks, and immigrants, and poor, and working poor, and now even the supposed American invented ‘middle-class’ are disenfranchised without a whimper.
Then they will come for you --- and your choice now (but NOT THEN) will only be, “Are you for democracy or EMPIRE” --- so make your choice for inclusiveness and democracy smartly and strongly, or accept your fate to Global Empire foolishly.”

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Justin, you ask, "Who Will Protest Obama’s War?"

And the answer is that nobody should protest Obama's escalation of war in Afghanistan -- if Obama does his typical great job of salesmanship next Tuesday night.

IN fact, the rumor is that Obama is going to meld the best of the hopeful 1960's Vietnam anti-war generation with a timeless reprising of cultural and social icons --- wrap it all together with the production skills of a Hollywood extravaganza and throw in some lyrical highlights to have everyone dreaming the same dream and sharing the same 'hope'.

The title of his speech will reportedly be: "All I am saying, --- is give War a Chance".

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Gorbachev recognizes that he should have said nyet sooner. But the 'next to the last' Empire dithered, and was bled to death by the 'last empire on earth'.

Now that last Empire on earth ---- the global ruling-elite corporate/financial Empire, that controls our country by hinding behind the facade of its tow-party 'Vichy' sham of democracy ---- is continuing downthe same path of self-destruction.

Whether Obama has the courage and brains to take an 'off ramp' or not, the outcome will be the same ---- Empire will end as a form of ideology and control ---- the only difference is whether there will be a sustainable, democratic, and populated world left for us. But that's a pretty big difference.

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Justin is right in noting that those 'Winds of Change have Died Down" both 'at home' and 'abroad'. He is also right that this is caused by the pathology of Empire, and quotes Garet Garrett:

"We can have an empire, or we can have our old republic back. We cannot have both."

We could quote Hannah Arendt that this dying effect of Empire also kills domestically and abroad:

"Empire abroad entails tyranny at home".

It's certainly abundantly clear today that when Obama told us, before the election, that Bill Ayers of SDS (Students for a Democratic Society) had absolutely no influence on him, that he was telling the truth ---- because Obama has 'sure as hell' not been doing anything to fight for a 'democratic society' (against economic oppression, racism, imperialist wars, etc. etc.).

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

I think we just had a little bit of that "ol' okie dokie", that Obama warned about during his campaign, played on us with this non-transparent troop escalation ---- and the non-transparenter and champion okie dokier was the O man himself.

Alan MacDonald

Justin excellent article.

The 'divine powers' of our 'imperial' president are not surprising given that our country has been taken over by a ruling-elite corporate/financial EMPIRE, which controls all socio-political-economic power by hiding behind the facade of its 'owned' two-party (monopoly) 'Vichy' sham of a democratic republic.

Dylan Ratigan the host of MSNBC's "Morning Meeting" is beginning a campaign to expose and name this corporatist EMPIRE, by tagging it with the catchy phrase, "Corporate Communism".

All principled progressives and those who believe in Liberty should repeat this phrase "Corporate Communism" and help the campaign to expose this corporatist EMPIRE hiding in our kitchen of democracy.

Here's why this battle of 'contested concepts' against the corporatist Empire WILL work:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did...

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

Ira and Tom rightly state, "The Israeli nuclear arsenal has begun creeping toward the light of day. Soon enough, to everyone’s surprise, it may become part of the conversation even in the United States."

While this is good news for reality based policies in the U.S. (and the world) a similar, and related truth is also "creeping toward the light of day, (and) soon enough, to everyone’s surprise, it may (also) become part of the conversation even in the United States." --- and that related reality is that 'our' country is controlled by a guileful ruling-elite corporate/financial Empire that hides behind the facade of its two-party, 'Vichy' sham of democracy (aided by an equally 'Vichy' corporatist MSM ---that hides this truth).

Dylan Ratigan the host of MSNBC's "Morning Meeting" is beginning a campaign to expose and name this corporatist EMPIRE, by tagging it with the catchy phrase, "Corporate Communism".

All principled progressives and those who believe in Liberty should repeat this phrase "Corporate Communism" and help the campaign to expose this corporatist EMPIRE hiding in our kitchen of democracy.

Here's why this battle of 'contested concepts' against the corporatist Empire WILL work:

http://www.opednews.com/populum/diarypage.php?did...

Alan MacDonald
Sanford, Maine

OldVet73, actually it has been rumored by some media reporters that the last time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was visiting the White House, Obama started a little (SNL-style) joke with Bibi about the admission of Israel's nuclear weapons.

When Netanyahu knocked on Oval Office door Obama asked, "Who's there?"

And Bibi supplied the punch-line when he replied, "It's not the nuclear armed 'land-sharkl'" ---- and they both had a hell of a laugh!