Imperial Hubris

Egypt orders arrest of ousted Brotherhood leaders after army kills 53 protesters

"Washington, treading a careful line, has neither welcomed Mursi's removal nor denounced it as a 'coup', which would require it to halt aid, including the $1.3 billion it gives the army each year. The Brotherhood's downfall has, however, been warmly welcomed by three of the rich Arab monarchies of the Gulf. Kuwait promised Egypt $4 billion in cash, loans and fuel on Wednesday, a day after Saudi Arabia pledged $5 billion and the United Arab Emirates offered $3 billion. Mohamed ElBaradei, a former U.N. agency chief, has been named vice president and supports a stalled $4.8 billion loan deal with the International Monetary Fund." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEgypt orders arrest of ousted Brotherhood leaders after army kills 53 protesters

Accelerate a Complete Withdrawal From Afghanistan

"Isn’t it shocking that Obama has threatened to change American policy just because Karzai is being difficult? Should a policy that allegedly has fulfilled US vital security interests be drastically altered because of mere personal animosity? Yet we have been down this erratic policy road before. The Obama administration argued that keeping a residual postwar US military force in Iraq was vitally necessary, only to nix a settlement when the Iraqi government refused to exempt US soldiers from Iraqi law in the event they committed crimes—a rather imperial request to say the least. We can thus surmise that perhaps such residual occupation forces were never very vital to US security." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAccelerate a Complete Withdrawal From Afghanistan

Biden urges end to hacking, human rights abuses by China

"'We both will benefit from an open, secure, reliable Internet. Outright cyber-enabling theft that US companies are experiencing now must be viewed as out of bounds and needs to stop,' Biden said. A recent US study said that corporate America was losing hundreds of billions of dollars a year through a vast, organized hacking campaign to steal US trade, government and military secrets. Biden also raised concerns about human rights, days after Chinese troops reportedly opened fire on Tibetans celebrating the birthday of their exiled spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBiden urges end to hacking, human rights abuses by China

Latin America demands answers from U.S. on spying

"Governments voiced a mix of outrage and concern after the Brazilian daily O Globo, citing documents leaked by fugitive former US intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, said several nations were targets of US electronic surveillance. The snooping included lifting data on leftist Venezuela’s oil and military purchases and Mexico’s drug war and energy sector as well as mapping the movements of a Marxist guerrilla group in Colombia, the newspaper said. The Mexican daily Excelsior reported Wednesday that Pena Nieto’s predecessor had allowed the United States to install a system to intercept phone calls and Internet chatter." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLatin America demands answers from U.S. on spying

Bill would establish U.S. national park on the Moon

"The site where astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin first landed on the Moon in July 1969 could receive the same federal protection as Yellowstone. In a press release, Edwards explained the Apollo Lunar Landing Legacy Act would ensure the scientific data and cultural significance of the Apollo artifacts remains unharmed by future lunar landings by endowing the artifacts as a National Historic Park. The bill would also direct the Secretary of the Interior to nominate the Apollo landing site as a UNESCO World Heritage Site." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBill would establish U.S. national park on the Moon

Pepe Escobar: Towards a Snowden endgame

"The US Ambassador in Austria, William Eacho, was responsible for spreading the (false) information about Snowden being on board Bolivia President Evo Morales' Falcon - leading to the denial of overflying rights in France, Spain, Portugal an Italy. Eacho - a former CEO of a food distribution company with no diplomatic experience whatsoever - was appointed by Obama in June 2009. Why? Because he was a top Obama fundraiser. Eacho did little to disprove those who sustain that the NSA really needs to 'analyze' every phone call, email and tweet on the planet - otherwise they could never obtain such pearls of intelligence as pinpointing Snowden on Evo's plane." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPepe Escobar: Towards a Snowden endgame

Support the Egyptian Uprising and Go to Jail

"Lynne Stewart read a note to the press that was construed as exhorting Egyptian radicals to rise up and violently overthrow the Egyptian military dictatorship under Hosni Mubarak. She is now living the rest of her life in a federal penitentiary. Thus, the state of U.S. law is this: In principle, it’s okay to support the right of people to use force to resist tyranny. After all, that’s what the Declaration of Independence says, a document that Americans just celebrated on the Fourth of July. But in the minds of U.S. officials, by exhorting Egyptians to violently overthrow their tyrannical, U.S.-supported regime, Stewart was guilty of being a supporter of terrorism." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSupport the Egyptian Uprising and Go to Jail

Obama (Scut Farkus), Europe (Grover Dill), and Snowden (Ralphie)

"It is obvious that nobody in the highest levels of government thought through the implications of the bonehead decision of the advisor who decided that the government was going to get Edward Snowden off that plane. It never occurred to him that Snowden was not on the plane. It never occurred to him that toadies in Western Europe would resent the fact that they were exposed as toadies. Finally, he never figured out that this would enable two near-communists and the anti-American President of the number-four oil-exporting nation to the United States the opportunity to offer asylum to Snowden, when they had not had the courage to do this prior." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama (Scut Farkus), Europe (Grover Dill), and Snowden (Ralphie)

Russian lawmaker: Snowden agrees to Venezuela offer of asylum

"NSA leaker Edward Snowden has accepted Venezuela's offer of asylum, a key Russian lawmaker tweeted Tuesday. Alexei Pushkov, the chairman of Russian Duma's international affairs panel, tweeted that Snowden had accepted the offer from Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. 'Predictably, Snowden has agreed to Maduro’s offer of political asylum,' Pushkov tweeted in Russian, according to Russia Today. 'Apparently, this option appeared most reliable to Snowden.' Pushkov later tweeted that his information came from a Russian newcast. State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki warned Monday of consequences after Maduro made his offer." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussian lawmaker: Snowden agrees to Venezuela offer of asylum

U.S. considering speeding up Afghanistan pullout

"The United States is seriously considering speeding up the withdrawal of its forces from Afghanistan because of frustration with President Hamid Karzai, the New York Times reported. Obama’s relationship with Karzai has been deteriorating and suffered a big and new blow last month with an effort by the United States to open peace talks with the Taliban in Qatar. Karzai opposed the talks, and halted negotiations with the Americans on a long-term security deal needed to keep US forces in Afghanistan after 2014, the Times said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingU.S. considering speeding up Afghanistan pullout