A Brief Note on that Bernie Sanders Blip

Bernie Sanders is arguably a man of conscience.  And other than his rape-fantasies from the 'seventies, I've not seen much about the man to question his intentions, his good will.

The thing about Bernie is, attract massive crowds (of mostly older white folk it should be noted) as he  currently may, the vast majority of people in the US (Democratic Party-affiliated or otherwise), know nothing about his record.  Bernie right now is a purely symbolic representation of two things, both of which overlap:

a) Wishful-thinking for Elizabeth Warren as candidate for President

b) A half-hearted protest against the (not altogether inaccurately perceived): corporatism, cronyism, vested interests in established politics of Hillary Clinton.

Self-described Socialist Sanders may well have been speaking of issues that relate now in the twenty-first century for decades, but that's no guarantee that he can concoct a message that resonates across boundaries of race, class, gender, age.  He only has a place (as a protest against Hillary) in the primaries because Warren declined to run, and he hasn't really been tested politically in the past.  The more progressive elements of my makeup want to root for Bernie at least a little, but the fact is, he hasn't a chance.

Democrats are rallying around Sanders, in lieu of Warren, because they don't want to accept Hillary as a fait accompli, and because they hope (perhaps vainly) that his candidacy could draw her slightly to the left  (as if that would guarantee anything after the elections).

Meanwhile, something similar is going on with the Republican party with Donald Trump, the ultimate manifestation of right-wing Tea Party corporatist id, taking second place in leading polls, draining the oxygen from the campaign from more serious candidates who might lose their place in key debates due to Trump's presence, and his inevitable celebrity dominance in the attentions of the media.

The whole thing's a fucking circus.  Ultimately, Americans will be given the choice between a slightly less and slightly more-right-wing asshole Capitalistic Corporatist
scumbag to be President.  And those who choose to endorse the one or the other will see (as intended) their opposite fellows as radical anti-American extremists.  By design.


* Slightly less brief than I started out intending...

Wonder What (the Non-Ginger) Charles Johnson Thinks of the Latest Criticism of Obama from the Left

Uh huh.

I'm shocked.  Shocked, I say.  CJ in defence of the Obama admin. when a threat suddenly emerges from the left or on civil liberties.  When does that ever happen ?  Serendipitous posting I guess.

+1 for use of the word 'suddenly.'

TPP & TTIP

And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

Revelation 17:1-2

TPP & TTIP (the Trans-Pacific Partnership & the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership) don't seem to get much coverage in the media, despite their likely impact on so many countries, likely because a) the deals are complicated, and b) the deals are being worked in secret behind closed doors.  These are just 'trade deals' remember, not exactly a nuclear deal with Iran; Totally innocent stuff, and the reason the US, UK, and other governments don't want you to know about what's being discussed, is simply that it's so boring.  They'll tell you all about it eventually, such as...four years after the deals are already done and dusted.

In the meantime, you're just gonna have to trust them that the deals are in your best interest and will result in more jobs, more prosperity, and rising wages, just like...say NAFTA...or say...the MFN deal Clinton pushed with China.  Those worked out really well, didn't they ?  And the PRC is going to turn into a flourishing democracy with respect for the human rights and civil liberties of all its citizens any day now, right Bill ?

Basically, like all 'free trade' deals, the idea is to maximise corporate profits at the expense of labour costs (i.e. your paycheck), civil liberties, national sovereignty, safety, and the environment; to drag every nation slowly down to the lowest-common denominator.  To drag the EU standards down to those of the US, down to those of South America, down to those of east Asia, down ultimately one would imagine to those of Somalia.  And if any national government gets in the way of corporate profits by passing pesky laws to, say protect the safety & wellbeing of its citizens, well fuck 'em. !  They can just be sued, in trans-national arbitration tribunals, run by said corporations, and outside of national law.  Bye-bye national sovereignty.  And you think the EU is the threat, Ukippers ?


Here's a nice summary of the deals for the uninitiated (yes with Russell Brand, sorry):

Sounds good, huh ?

Remember this bit from Last Week Tonight ?  (Might want to skip to 8'05).  Think Philip Morris is the only corporation that does this stuff ?  Think making this shit even easier is a good idea ?

What to do, other than try to find some non-corporatist non-fascist non-cocksucker politicians to vote for ?  Well the first video has some suggestions towards the end.  I don't hold out much hope myself, but you never know.

For the American Sparkle-pony crowd, here's a bonus video, with not-going-to-be-the-Democratic-nominee-for-president-any-time-soon Elizabeth Warren on TPP and the ISDS tribunals back in February.

And if you really want lots more details on TPP, check out Gaius Publius' writings on the subject.  Don't know if Gaius has a dedicated page, but Hullabaloo & Americablog are probably good starting points.