The Kinetics Of Metrics

On Neocon Propaganda Radiation's 'Morning Edition', Ga-Ga-Guy Raz-amataz gave a curious and semi-maddening/semi-interesting report today about the Baghdad base airport ('second busiest in the world'). On one side he was doing his typical gosh-golly-gee-whiz-drooling-
marveling over military hardware in action, and on the other, he was at least showing the extent of what is going on at this particular airport on a daily basis. It was actually informative! Also, in a few instances, Raz actually seemed to distance himself (for once) from the seduction of the military show-offs (i.e. stressing the quotes around the term 'surge'), and letting the one military man he interviews show his true colors. By that I mean: when the officer talks about bombing, he notes that innocent Iraqis are often killed or injured. When he says, 'and we're sorry about that', he does so with a smile and almost a chuckle, like a little kid who's been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Life is cheap in Iraq, especially for the non-combatant cannon fodder caught in 'kinetic' activities. In a roundabout way, I'm grateful to Raz for playing that brief interview. Even a contemptible enterprise such as war can have touches of humanity, but when you run a high-tech, mechanized machine where the principal product is industrial-strength bombing, and for every 'insurgent' you take out, 2-3 non-combatants are either killed or injured, humanity sinks to a new low.

And Furthermore...

Columbia's Bollinger didn't have to go into details regarding our relationship with Iran. His childish and churlish introduction was all about tone, not problem-solving. He was also catering to a certain constituency regarding Iran. I'm not talking about Jewish/Israeli protesters. There are many, many disaffected Iranians in this country who came over after 1979, who were part of the Shah's machine. They want 'their' Iran back. Just like the disaffected Cubans in Florida want 'their' Cuba back. Most of the media emphasis has been placed on the emotional Iran vs. Israel issues, but the real stakes in this game are who's going to 'get' Iran and its tremendous wealth. One of the chief reasons we invaded Iraq was to secure economic control of that nation's resources, and as a stepping stone in achieving the same with Iran. What better to approach this goal by taking cheap and over-obvious shots at an easy target, such as the current Iranian president, who we all know full well is no dictator because he does not have pure dictatorial powers. He is, however, a convenient target for a variety of reasons.

Also, we are not engaging Iran directly. Instead we engage in a coy and elusive game of teasing the Iranians on the premise that they are, as a nation, a terrorist organization. Nothing they say is to be believed anyway, so we will not dignify ourselves by talking with them. If Condi or Bush himself dared to fly to Teheran and engage in person, that could short-circuit a lot of the Iranian bravado. The Americans are purposefully timid because they don't WANT conciliatory gestures from Iran. They don't care what Khamenei says. They do, however, care very much about what Ahmadinejad says, the more outrageous and threatening the better. I have even thought that Ahmadinejad is on the CIA payroll, just to keep things stirred up. The neocon strategy requires keeping Iran hostile so that there will be high purpose in 'taking back Iran'. Even something so trivial as Lee Bollinger's rant against his guest is extremely valuable in sustaining this strategy. This situation has to be examined holistically. Getting hung up on the Iranian president's blather, meant to annoy, is as worthwhile as taking the utterances of 'Reverend' Fred Phelps as gospel. Ahmadinejad may be a head of state, but so is Bob Mugabe, and we all know what a creep he is. Ahmadinejad gets a lot of flak for smiling as he's being interviewed (e.g. white knight Scott Pelley's comment on '60 Minutes'), but how many times has Bush smirked his way through an interview? Americans who think they're right about everything usually cannot tolerate 'the pot calling the kettle black' when it might apply to them.

Yeah, I Don't Particularly Like Mr Ahmadinejad Either, But . . .

. . . Columbia U's prez Lee Bollinger's extreme egotism in attempting to Castro-ize Ahmadinejad was nothing short of the official Bush line of refusing to deal diplomatically with Iran. He obviously wants to be known as THE hero who told off the Iranian president, a bold and courageous act which could garner him the post of Sec'y of Education in the pathetic, waning months of the Bush Administration. Bollinger's trumped up tin-type righteousness was as laughable as his demi-Frank Luntz hair style.

Truly mature leaders would write off half of Ahmadinejad's pronouncements rather than getting all wigged-out about them. Leaders of all types constantly say stupid things. Talk is cheap. Adolescent snottiness has replaced dignified statesmanship.

Leave General Petraeus Alone AGAIN! Do You Hear??

I know you've probably seen this Special Heartbreaking Presentation many times, but give it another try. Because, people, it's time to LEAVE GENERAL PETRAEUS ALONE!

Randomness In This, The PETRÆVS EPOCH

We've had some time now to sullenly frolic in the sordid stew that is the sole detritus that remains from the epic of Petrævs Week recently wrapped. So, what about some 'here-and-there' thoughts to wobble forth with?

1. I am reminded of the many details of the important and scandalous story of Dubya The Dubious' dubious military record. And I rejoice at Dan Rather's lawsuit slammed at CBS and Viacom, and that sneaky fossil Sumner Redstone. I've read even at other progressive blogs, people bitching that 'what took Rather so long' to file a lawsuit. Egads, we should be grateful that somebody who was actually on the inside of the corporate press is now stepping up to the plate. Quite frankly, I'm happy to be in the 'Go, Dan, Go!' crowd. The mainstream media (MSM) and other assorted dimbulbs can continue to stew in their own sour grape juice, while others with guts outshine them.

2. A note about an NPR hack in old Baghdad, reporting on the recent toxic Blackwater puddle tragedy. I was sick of NPR's gal-in-Green-Zone-combat Anne Garrels long ago. I don't care what percentage of her reportage is valid. That affected 'tough' voice delivery betrays a person who's having the time of her life, diggin' every downbeat story like it's better than sex. She's like those journos that Robert Young Pelton talks about in 'The World's Most Dangerous Places', that's all fucked up from trying to be heroic and humanitarian at the same time. Pulizer-diggers, I'd call them.

You can tell she digs the Blackwater trip, too. I'm sure many of the embedded ones have huge crushes on those psycho Christian soldiers.

3. As my daily Neocon Propaganda Radiation exposure is less than 15 minutes per day, I greatly appreciate Mytwords at 'NPR Check' ignoring the Geiger-counter clicks and daring to do his insightful summaries.

As the broadcasts grind on, I might have to 'suit up' to keep myself protected, even at my minimal exposure level!

4. The Great American Appetite for B.S. came to a new high with the Petraeus 'crock' that was laid before the nation. As Bill Maher said to Wolf Blitzer, Petraeus 'is performing a political function for the White House.' I don't know why that concept is so hard for the media to grasp, other than that continual slurp of grade 'A' bullshit is just too savory to deny one's hungry gullet.

So you know what? I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to LEAVE GENERAL PETRAEUS ALONE. (See way above.)

Don Doesn't Do Regret But Don Does Taos

Well, I read that GQ interview with Donny Rummy, and it was a fine portrait of a professional two-dimensional personality. One of those guys who is, I guess, so ordinary and unpretentious in his real life so as to make us think he couldn't possibly be a high-level switch thrower and power-monger, let alone evil. He cares about calves and old dairy records, and he's got a canny and appealing wife whom he loves, so I guess, my goodness, he's human after all.

He doesn't even seem to be beholden to anybody, least of all, Dubya. As a Prime Neocon, Rummy would appear not overly loyal to the cause.

All these guys (e.g. the Neocon Concern) appear to be in cahoots with one another, but they're all essentially rivals, too. It can't be stressed too much that the main techniques in attaining and holding power in America are Mafia-style in their nature. That's what runs the show now. That's what we've evolved into. The stakes are so high that democracy, or attempts at it, is pushed aside by more powerful and scheming mafia or fascist forces. We have plenty of evidence of this.

Also, the public should be firmly aware that everything about Rummy and his kind is about performance. It is not possible, based on their deeds, to take them at face value. Falseness is part of their very being. Here's Rummy on the plane with the GQ reporter, acting like the genial, folksy, even sitcom-type grandad that you may not like, but by golly, he's so normal, how could you not respect him? That's why I call him two-dimensional. On the surface, he's a performer, as vacuous as a forgettable TV actor. His third dimension, where the action of his agenda is located, is totally occult, and he knows how to keep it hidden. What else can be said about somebody whose record is well-known, and whose responses, like 'I'm not gonna go there', are nothing short of implications in his crimes?

Like Petraeus, Rumsfeld is a machine. Part of the Bush Machine. They perform the needed job without too many complications. Others, like Wolfowitz and Perle, are even more hideous, for they pretend to be philosophers, so as to show the way ahead. Their attitudes of haughtiness and war profiteering lie at the very bottom of the human experience.

For Rummy, I think that this strict management of his third dimension has a lot to do with self-preservation, too. It isn't just a performance issue.
Don's just as two-dimensional as ever. But it's proof that he is indeed human. What could be more human than self-denial? If he ever actually examined his third dimension and truly appreciated the venality therein, he'd have to blow his own brains out.

The Passion Of Pet-Crock

I have never seen such a lifeless performance. Dainty congresspeople were so amazed at their stamina, but I have to say, the Dave Petraeus and Ry Crocker Show was a signal example of Bush Machines in action. Yes, machines. Audioanimatronics, pioneered by the Disney folks in that memorable 'It's a small world' show at the 1964 NY World's Fair, started it all.

Now, with Condi, Gonzo, and Miss Dana (Press Sec-in-waiting), the android art has reached a new apogee of perfection. Dave and Ry, the latest models, may only be capable of one expression - Dave's being mindless efficiency, and Ry's being George-H-W-Bush-before-he-vomited-on-the-Japanese-prime-minister, but the Spew Factor just goes and goes and goes, and in gentlemanly fashion, too!

How many times were they thanked for their service! How many times did they blankly respond! No passion to spend in the first place, they do not feel, they do not comprehend, they merely perform.

As purveyors of the Bush Machine's Hollow Optimism (TM), Dave and Ry can state, in their trademark dull tones, 'MISSION ACCOMPLISHED'.

He Speaks The Future

Indeed, a Triumph will be required! And a coronation, for we are, at this moment, listening, and seeing, through the miracle of the Internets, our future Leader and Teacher, our future Imperator. Wes Clark, Bowell Powell, and even Jebber, eat your hearts out!
HAIL PETRAEVS! NOW!

He will be our first President to be born in the 1950s.

I mean Emperor - Dave the First. Laurel leaves look good on generals.

He speaks of America's NEW Greatest Generation. And he will lead it.

Like, WHERE?

He Came And His Mike Didn't Work

If he were really a great general, his oration could be heard by all, mike-less, as Caesar did! He had booster amps in his balls.

And He Came, And They Hailed Him Like No Other

Have you not heard? Did you not know? PETRAEVS comes! He enters the Capitol, citizens! Hail! Tidings of Victory in our Eastern Provinces!

Never was news so eagerly anticipated! Never were the hearts of men so ready to plan the future, based on these few words from this simple but enlightened man, this general, this HERO, in which the flame of genius burns brightly!

Oh, where is Persia, General? Show us the way!

Keep your distance, ye Brutuses, ye Cassius-types, with your lean and hungry looks! Remain in the shadows, and gaze out to see what a real hero is: PETRAEVS MAXIMVS!

A Benchmark

Overarching this wacky week that was: the Larry Craig Saga! Larry gets the esteemed Michael Jackson-cum-Paris Hilton Award for Entertainer of the Week - in the midst of the surrounding carnage.