The Fat Lady Prepares to Sing

Bush's god is a hungry one, and something so small as the truth is not to get in the way of a good blood sacrifice.
   —Catalytic Converter [a most excellent blogger]

It's been a horribly depressing week for news. The slippery slope just got a hell of a lot steeper and slicker. Soon things will be in free-fall.

I knew that when BushCo was going to be reselected things would happen quickly. The unspeakably evil fucks running the show are wasting no time implementing their apocalyptic plans. The clincher was seeing Ambassador Death-Squad, that villainous fuck Negroponte, getting the top intelligence spot. It's the first time in my life when I felt that it's really all over now. I don't know when I've ever felt such hatred. These bastards act with such complete impunity because they really do get away with everything, and there's nothing to stop them, and they know it. They're going to make the reign of Commodus look like a Rotary Club's sunday picnic.

Prescience is only a good thing if you can make pragmatic use of it, like moving to Canada before the shit hits the fan; otherwise it's a curse, 'cause when things unfold as predicted one has had that interim time to helplessly anticipate the unstoppable cataclysm. Ignorance, in this case, would be closer to bliss — being taken by surprise is often better than anticipation. (Eg: when I had my first bone-marrow biopsy I was a nervous wreck for days in anticipation of the procedure, which only made the whole experience far worse. If I hadn't known what was coming, I wouldn't have made myself miserable thinking about it.) Who wants to witness a pre-ordained, ineluctable tragedy come to fruition? I, for one, would far rather be wrong and laugh at my foolishness in retrospect.

Like my Googly-Eyes article: though being de-googled may be considered proof of my assertions that Google is a front-end for government surveillance, I consider it a pyrrhic victory: it proves a most unwelcome and unpleasant truth. I would have far preferred to be proved wrong. (Yeah, I know, Google is updating their algorithms. Pure coincidence that I was de-googled only a few days after my article.)

I've been very tempted to toss in my towel and focus on more prosaic concerns, like family, bills, and entertainment — you know, the kinds of unlived-life that most people live. Such a life, I imagine, would be so much easier to endure this way: to no longer know what was going on, nor to care about it; to finally embrace the notion of "the real world" I need to live in when "I grow up"; to serenely "accept the things I cannot change." Life is hard when you give a shit about things.

But a very wise Tutor sermonized to me that "Attitudes, particularly fear, or despair, are contagious. Hope is not an emotion, it is a decision to live in a certain way, help open to a better future, whether we get there or not."

Which reminded me of something another very intelligent and wise man once said: "I am not afflicted by optimism or pessimism. They are not in my lexicon. I'm not in the mood game, because moods affect your output, and the thing is, you must keep striving because there is no alternative to striving for greater justice." —Ralph Nader.

Thus I can't give up, for that would be handing a victory to the very forces I most despise. I may be a coward, but I hate losing even more.

All this is just a long introduction to a list of the headlines that were like whiplashes to my face. In addition to headlines indicating BushCo's joy in officially turning America into a Corporatist's Disneyland, while disaster movies come true in the background, the pieces on The Grand Chessboard are moving furiously during the middlegame. It's starting to feel a bit like a contemporary re-enactment of "Prelude to WWI" on fastforward.

Negroponte named 1st intelligence director

John D. Negroponte, a veteran of global hots spots in a diplomatic career that spans four decades, was nominated by President George W. Bush Thursday to be the nation's first director of national intelligence, or the supreme intelligence overlord.

["Supreme Intelligence Overlord"? WTF? I guess he can now join the "Drug Czar" in a mutual toss. Man these autocrats love the sound of tyrannical titles! Hey, how does this one sound for Alan Greenspan: "Exalted Economic Grand-Imperial Poobah"?]

Rove Gets Bigger Role at White House

Rove will continue to oversee White House strategy to advance Bush's agenda and will "make sure we have an open and fair process for the development of policy and to make sure the policy is complementary and consistent with the various councils," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said.

Bush Signs Class-Action Limitations Into Law

The president said he had just begun his case for legal reform. 'There's more to do,' Bush said. 'I'm confident that this bill will be the first of many bipartisan achievements in the year 2005.'

["Closing the doors of justice to the ruined and wrecked families of boardroom bad guys is nothing less than executive clemency for executive executioners." —Greg Palast]

'Global warming real' say new studies

The possible failure of the North Atlantic conveyor has been discussed for several years and was fictionalised last year in the film The Day After Tomorrow. Dr Curry said the accumulation of freshwater in the upper ocean layers since the 1990s meant that the risk should be taken seriously.

Dish Network Brings Pentagon Channel to Millions of Subscribers

Dish customers will be able to keep current with military news and information including DoD news briefings, military news, interviews with top defense officials and short stories about the work of military people.

Summary: Iraqi's Death During CIA Probe

WHO DIED: Manadel al-Jamadi, a suspect in a bombing in Iraq, died in 2003 during CIA interrogation in the Abu Ghraib prison shower room. A military pathologist ruled it a homicide.

HOW IT HAPPENED: Army guards found him suspended by his wrists, which were cuffed behind his back. The position, known as "Palestinian hanging," is condemned by human rights groups as torture.

WHAT IT MEANS: The death raises new questions about CIA interrogation practices.

Iran says nuclear fuel deal with Russia imminent

Russia will sign a deal with Iran next week to start nuclear fuel shipments for the Russian-built reactor there, an Iranian official said on Thursday.

The United States, which accuses Iran of secretly working to develop nuclear weapons, has long called on Russia to avoid supplying the Islamic state with nuclear fuel.

Assassinated Hariri's Funeral Becomes Massive Anti-Syria Protest

More than 200,000 Lebanese took to the streets of Beirut today in a demonstration of mourning for their former premier and an expression of hatred for Syria whom they accuse of being behind his assassination.

US recalls ambassador to Syria after Hariri assassination

The US does not know who assassinated Rafik Hariri, but White House spokesman Scott McClellan blames Syria for destabilising the region.

Iran, Syria form 'united front'

In the face of increasing US pressure on Syria following Monday's killing of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri in Beirut, Iran and Syria declared Thursday that they would form a "common front to face threats."

Russia to Sell Advanced Missiles to Syria

Russia said on Wednesday it wanted to supply Syria with advanced missile systems, a move certain to anger the United States which accuses Syria of having links to terrorism.

Syria reaffirms support for reunification of China

A senior Syrian official reaffirmed Saturday in Damascus that Syria firmly supports the peaceful reunification of China and does not recognize the legality of the Taiwan authority.

Russia, China Confirm Plans for Joint Military Exercises in 2005

Russia and China will conduct their first ever joint military exercises in August or September to better coordinate the fight against terrorism, the AFX news agency reported, citing an article in the China Daily newspaper.

Pakistan will be a failed state by 2015: CIA

Forecasting a "Yugoslavia-like fate" for Pakistan, the US National Intelligence Council (NIC) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) in a jointly prepared Global Futures Assessment Report have said "by year 2015 Pakistan would be a failed state, ripe with civil war, bloodshed, inter-provincial rivalries and a struggle for control of its nuclear weapons and complete Talibanisation".

CIA always hatched conspiracies against Pak: Former ISI Chief

A day after the CIA, in its report said that Pakistan would become a failed state by 2015, the former chief of Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), General (Retd) Hameed Gul has said, that though the US had always portrayed itself as a true friend of Pakistan, the truth was that the CIA had always hatched conspiracies against Pakistan.

Condi Desperate to Stop EU-China-Iran Chain Reaction

Chinese exports to Iran are certainly understandable. Once a net exporter of oil, China now imports 60 percent of its needs. It's oil imports have more than doubled over the past five years, growing by 7.5 percent per year, seven times faster than the US.

China's increasing reliance on Iranian energy - including a recent zillion-dollar oil and gas co-development deal - has certainly put a hitch in the neo-crazies' plan to destabilize - much less invade and occupy - Iran.

CIA issues warning on China's military efforts

The director of the US Central Intelligence Agency has warned that China's military modernisation is tilting the balance of power in the Taiwan Strait and increasing the threat to US forces in the region.

"May you live in interesting times" indeed.