Ted Rall: Nuke 'Em All!

It is so very depressing watching Americans especially, but Westerners generally collectively freak-out over ISIS & the infinitesimal chance that they might be killed in a terrorist-attack.  Many of whom were around on the 11th September 2001, did see how we rushed then to surrender our hard-fought freedoms and abandon our liberal values, should have learned from that awful experience.

Last time I held out any smidgen of hope that we had learned, and that the post-9/11 madness had finally subsided, was with the election to the US presidency of one Barack Hussein Obama.  I was quickly disabused of that quaint notion.  And almost eight years later, we've still learned...nothing.

Well I say, we.  Donald J Trump learned.   Our political leaders learned.  Learned how easy it is to cow the masses with the simple suggestion of fear.  Be afraid.  Be VERY AFRAID !!!

Our Allies and Enemies

From an article in the Graun. on the continuing disarray (never mind possible first step towards dissolution) of the European Union over the 'refugee crisis'.*

Merkel singled out Turkey as the key to a crisis management strategy and Juncker said the fund-raising would include a billion euros for Ankara.

But Tusk, just returned from Turkey, said money “is not the big problem. It is not as easy as expected.”

Ahmet Davutoğlu, the Turkish prime minister, wrote to the EU leaders on Wednesday demanding bold concessions from the Europeans as the price for Turkey’s possible cooperation. He proposed EU and US support for a buffer and no-fly zone in northern Syria by the Turkish border, measuring 80km by 40km.

This would stymy the Kurdish militias fighting Islamic State in northern Syria and would also enable Ankara to start repatriating some of the estimated 2 million Syrian refugees it is hosting. The militias are allied with the Kurdistan workers’ party (PKK) guerrillas at war with the Turkish state for most of the past 30 years. Ankara reignited the conflict in July after the ruling Justice and Development party (AKP) lost its parliamentary majority in a general election.

“There are many people who doubt the sincerity of their motives,” said a senior EU official. “They’re not offering too much.”

Ah, our good friends in Turkey.  Not ones they to let a crisis go to waste.  Why not use the situation with the refugees as an excuse to further their military-campaign against the Kurds, to date, one of our few effective allies in the fight against ISIS ?  It's not as if the warzone in question were the source of most of the refugees in the first place, after all...Not as if undermining the Kurds would strengthen ISIS and help prolong the fucking war.  And a chance to bully the members of the union they so desperately want to one day join themselves into the bargain ?  Genius.

Er, we did check with the Russians didn't we about where they are operating in the country ?**  Might be good to know before we start trying to enforce a no-fly zone.  Oh, that's right.  We're not talking with Russia...or Iran...or Assad.  'Cos we don't like them.  They not nice.

Fucking grow up already.  Okay, so we have to work with Turkey, because they're 'our ally'...supposedly...not that that should extend to militarily supporting their ongoing efforts to deny the Kurds an independent state.  But just how many countries and factions are fighting in Syria now ?  Just how much more complicated is this likely to become ?  And whilst we are flinging bombs back and forth with abandon, then feigning surprise when vast swaths of the country become depopulated, who are the players on the ground here ?

• Pro-government forces ('Our Enemy')
• ISIS & related jihadist groups ('Our Enemy')
• Iran ('Our Enemy')
• Russia ('Our Enemy')
• The Kurds (Would-be allies, except that we'll sell them out to Turkey)
• Some random rag-tag non-jihadi anti-govt. forces.

No-one see a problem here ?  Not even a little bit ?

Psst...Kerry & Co...So this strategy of yours of not talking to forces we don't like...I'm not sure it's working out so well.  I'm not sure in the context of the current conflict that it isn't in fact totally fucking insane.

Ask yourself these questions: Is getting rid of Assad more important than defeating ISIS ?  Is constraining Russian or Iranian influence more important than defeating ISIS ?  What are our priorities here amidst the rise of this incredibly radical violent group that wants to establish an Islamic Caliphate, and amidst the biggest refugee-crisis since the Second World War ?  And would you not acknowledge that an end to this bloody war in which somehow you a) Limit Iranian & Russian influence in the region, b) Forcibly remove Assad, and c) Defeat ISIS, whilst d) Avoiding US so-called 'boots on the ground' is ever so slightly un-fucking-likely ?

Never mind the inherent lunacy of having the US & Russia acting in the same theatre of war without the strictest cooperation, without clear shared goals.

Admit you fucked up already.  Then get over it...and get serious.  We need pragmatism here, not pride.

* Not to say that there isn't a refugee-crisis, just that what European countries refer to with that phrase, is more to do with the hundreds of thousands crossing European borders, as opposed to the overall crisis to which everyone simply turned a blind eye, so long as it was occurring somewhere else.

** Rhetorical question

*** Feel obligated to include an image of some kind, if only for the mobile version of Blogger.  And that 'toon is Rall at his edgiest best.

Ted Rall on his Favourite* Subject

* For obvious reasons, may not actually be his favourite subject.

Cartoonist Ted Rall's Firing from the LA Times: How You Can Help (Even if you don't personally like Ted Rall)

Links to petitions & letters to the LAT, links to encourage various media-outlets to cover the story, or to just buy Ted's books or donate directly here.

Update: So apparently, Ted is reviewing his legal options, but perhaps more importantly whether he can afford the costs of what could be a difficult legal battle.  So if you'd be willing to support him with that, you could let him know so in the comments here.

Rall on the GOP's Deep Field

Horsey on Amazon

His editorial on the NYT piece here: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/topoftheticket/la-na-tt-amazon-brutal-workplace-20150818-story.html*

Meanwhile, Ted Rall's book on Snowden is coming out this month: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2489393,00.asp


* Would it make a difference writing about that subject if he still worked for a paper in Seattle I wonder.

Ted Rall v. the LAPD/LA Times, Continuing

Slowly, slowly, media-outlets are coming around to covering Rall's apparent vindication in his firing by the LAPDLA Times.  Boing Boing above.

They really shouldn't have fired* Ted without an appropriate investigation in the first place, but...that window's come and gone.  And, I'd guess that any legal advice the LA Times may be getting at this point probably goes basically along the lines of  'Keep your mouth closed and shut the fuck up whatever you do.'  There's a lawsuit coming here, and my guess is we won't hear one word further from the LAT** till that result is concluded.  After which exercise, perhaps a retraction...on page 54 or so.

Here's hoping Ted's got some damn good lawyers lined up.

And as for apologies from the various right-wing outlets that convicted Ted online immediately, well we may be waiting a while there also.

Meanwhile, Ted has this, er, on-topic piece on his site from South African cartoonist John Curtis, who does a pretty decent imitation of Ted's style at that:

Damn.  I'd go for a legal disclaimer there myself, but then, I ain't Ted...by a long shot.


* IANAL, but I suspect the definitions/rules regarding termination of employment may vary with freelance-work.

** Whose last word on the subject currently remains this note from 28 July: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-oe-rall-20150728-story.html

*** Multiple things I'd change about my own previous coverage of this subject (including the damned title), but for honesty's sake, here it is: http://nofarhorizons.blogspot.com/2015/07/welcome-to-modern-day-fascist-reality.html

Welcome to Modern-Day Fascist Reality

In which Ted Rall is apparently fired by the LA Times over a question with the LAPD of jaywalking, a decade and a half ago.

A lot of folk in the US don't like Ted Rall.  The man's earned himself a lot of enemies by daring to question the establishment...on every level.  I don't agree with any of such assholes, whilst questioning the wisdom in such fascistic times as we find ourselves, of openly and repeatedly calling as a public figure, as Rall has done, for revolution again the capitalistic order of the day.

Ted knows the odds, knows the consequences, knows that he could be setting himself up here as a future martyr.  He's far braver than I would be in his shoes.

Politics aside, as if that were ever possible, the man is one of the sharpest minds of his generation, and, crude drawing-style aside, would probably be one of the pre-eminent (and perhaps even, most profitable) cartoonists of this age, were it not for the enemies he earned during the Afghan & Iraq Wars.  Think now, when it comes to voting for Auntie Hillary, Jeb, Uncle Marco, or Leader Walker, what kind of future you want for the US, and how such a leader, more democratic, or utterly un-democratic would treat such a voice as Ted's.

Ted doesn't ask for any particular action here, that I can see, and I have my own suspicions about where he's likely to end up.  I'd guess, that he'd want you to just act on your own conscience.  We're all, as we ever were, on our own in this shitty modern world.


Update:

Here's the LA Times' official statement: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/opinion-la/la-oe-rall-20150728-story.html
And Ted's full statement on the matter: http://anewdomain.net/2015/07/27/ted-rall-lapd-convinced-la-times-fire-criticized-cops-exclusive/

The more I review this, I have to say, while the evidence provided, which is entirely under the control of the LAPD, doesn't prove anything, it doesn't really look good for Ted either.  Although he mentions, and then rejects, the idea of conflating different events, I do have to wonder about that, given than this incident took place a full fourteen years ago.

Not that he wouldn't likely still be canned, were that the case, given the treatment of Brian Williams, who was the news-anchor of a prominent national network, never mind a freelance cartoonist commenting on local stories.

I do also wonder about the timing, given that Ted has mentioned this story several times previously over the years.  Is it the fact that he wrote about it in the Times that finally got the LAPD's attention, or the detail of his accusations, or something else entirely ?

All this over a charge on the victimless crime of jaywalking, almost fifteen years ago...


Update (2nd):

Guess Ted was right to push for people to listen to the audio.  An 'enhanced' version he received, and posted online, seems to strengthen his version of events, with the woman in the background appearing to be protesting his treatment over jaywalking, though I still can't quite tell myself if that's the word 'handcuff' she says.  And it does sound like the cop's whistling may have been intended to obscure those sections of the recording.

Plus that sound at 5'42...And the bizarre statement at the end about not knowing any local eateries, suddenly sounding less like a question to the cop, and maybe an answer...to a question from one of the onlookers, wanting to discuss the case ?

Next step, Ted takes legal action ?  And if he wins ?  Maybe a settlement by the LA Times and/or the LAPD ?  A slap on the wrist perhaps for a certain one-time 'officer of the year' ?  And Ted's career, his reputation meanwhile ?...

Auntie Hill Gets Burned By Ted

Someone...really, really hates Hillary.  Not complaining, but ouch...http://rall.com/comic/hillary-instagram.  Tell us what you really think, Ted ?...

Ted Rall: Best System Ever

Ted Rall, commenting on the oh-so imminent...American elections, obviously.