Deja vu all over again! My, I’d forgotten how supportive the Very Serious People get when it’s time for another war. I wonder how enthusiastic they would be if it was their children on the front lines. Sis boom bah! How long until they put on their American flag pins again?
Secretary of State John Kerry made the round of Sunday shows this morning to condemn Russia’s “incredible act of aggression” in Ukraine, warning Prime Minister Vladimir Putin that the country faces harsh economic sanctions from the international community.
“It is really a stunning, willful choice by President Putin to invade another country,” Kerry said on Face the Nation.
But in the seriousness of the situation, the irony of Kerry’s next comments may have gone missed. ”You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext,” he said.
He went on to repeat the assertion on Meet the Press, keeping a straight face as he told host David Gregory: ”You just don’t invade another country on phony pretext in order to assert your interests.”
I’m still trying to figure out exactly what the U.S. is up to in the Ukraine. We’ve been funneling millions to the Ukraine opposition for a while, and we’ve selected the new prime minister. Also, late last year, the IMF demanded that Ukraine double prices for gas and electricity to industry and homes, that they lift a ban on private sale of Ukraine’s rich agriculture lands, make a major overhaul of their economic holdings, devalue the currency, slash state funds for school children and the elderly to “balance the budget.” In return Ukraine would get a paltry $4 billion.
Moscow, on the other hand, was prepared to buy $15 billion of Ukraine debt and to cut their gas prices by one-third. (I assume that deal’s off the table now.)
Joining the EU would allow the IMF to get their hooks into them good and tight. (Unless that’s the point.) I don’t know why the new Ukraine government is so eager to have that happen — unless they’re just trading one set of oligarchs for another.
I’ve been thinking the last 30 years or so about the question: Are our elected leaders really that stupid, vapid and clueless?
Well, Kerry has just answered the question. Yes, they are stupid, vapid and clueless. Not to mention hypocritical.
WATF.
Organizations such as the IMF are simply extortionists.
I think Kerry thinks you and I are that stupid, vapid, clueless, or hypocritical (in case of 0.1% status).
The year Kerry ran for president, I didn’t even bother to vote. I couldn’t see what difference it was going to make.
Has anybody looked deeply into Mr. Putin’s soul lately? That worked so well for “W”.
Anyway, ladies and gentlemen – relax. It’s all good. See, if the invasion is conducted by us, we are simply bringing a bunch of ignorant peasants the blessings of freedom, and democracy, and the wonders of the free market system.
Which always trumps a government elected by the unknowing ignorant peasants which needs undoing in places like Chile or Iran. Because they might miss out on all that great freedom, democracy, and the free market. And we must correct the error of their ways.
Guess we could add Viet Nam to that list, too.
Anyway, if some horrible country beats us to the task of invading some other country – not to worry!!
That just gins up the old propaganda mill about the overwhelming need to divert more resources into the military-industrial-spy-security-spy-on-everybody-all-the-time complex, instead of pukey little distractions like climate change and something for old people and unemployed people to eat other than cat food.
Because they caught us in a time of weakness – and St. Ronnie Raygun would never have let that happen – and by God neither will (………) !!! [Fill in the blank with the name of your favorite pro-military/pro-Corporate candidate(s)]. So, more $$$$ for Unending War!! Yea!!
See? It’s all good. For the 1%.
For the rest of us – not so much.
Russ, among the others things we bring to the heathens don’t forget the depleted uranium.