It strikes me how little of George Bush's bullshit I can actually stomach as time goes on. It's a little bit like THC, which builds up in the bloodstream so that it takes less and less exposure to achieve the narcotic effect.

Or more like the Monty Python sketch, where the funniest joke imaginable was translated only one word at a time into German to be used as a secret weapon against the Nazis.

One translator accidentally translated an entire phrase and spent several months in hospital.

But it only takes a glimpse, or rather, a whiff, to get the full effect of the Mouthpiece of Empire's unschooled blather to see where this is all heading.   more »

I was scared to go to see the film “The Queen” since Helen Mirren is one of my favorite actresses. I was terrified that she would portray Queen Elizabeth in a positive light, and I would never be able to forgive her. The movie was outstanding and I do forgive her.

Mirren does an excellent job of portraying the arrogance of the ruling class, i.e. people of wealth, power and privilege. Her arrogance and that of her minions in dealing with the tragedy of the death of Princess Diana really hits you in the face.

The movie centers on the time of the election of Tony Blair to prime minister and the death of Diana. Many people point out that Tony Blair is the poodle dog of President Bush, and this movie makes it apparent that he is also the lapdog of the crown.

The queen reacted to Diana’s death with coldness and detachment. When the working people expressed their regard for the dead woman, who was the mother of the queen’s grandsons, Blair beseeched the queen to appear in public and pay her respects.   more »

King was right about a lot of things, including his prophecy that America was losing its soul. Violence of all types is epidemic, especially the violence of poverty and racism. Gun violence, from homicide to suicide, is also epidemic.

Those making obscene profits in the weapons industry have sabotaged even the most modest handgun and assault rifle controls—all the while flooding America and the world with increasingly lethal weapons. It may be too late now to stop the coming carnage.

Both the affluent and the poor have succumbed to the addictions of exploitive, corrupt capitalism - an economic system that has run so far amok that it may be about to crash.

Entertainment, gambling, shopping, drugs (both legal and illegal), sports and religious addictions have overwhelmed the lives of many Americans who then have no time or energy left to tend to the soul.   more »

America is a colonial society. This is reflected the brutal racism that was a major factor in the founding of modern America.

All capitalist colonial-settler societies, such as the USA, Canada and Israel as well as Australia, have been founded on such attitudes towards indigenous peoples.

Racist attitudes towards non-white immigrants have also been a central feature of the development of these societies.

Racism — treating and judging people on the basis of superficial physical attributes, particularly skin colour — is endemic to capitalism.   more »

Hadi Semati, an Iranian analyst in Washington, said Mr Bush was more aggressive and confrontational in his language towards Iran and clearly had no interest in engagement.

Still, Mr Semati believed that direct military action against Iran was unlikely, arguing that the Bush administration was playing the “blame game” to cover up its failures in Iraq.

Ian Lustick, professor of political science at Pennsylvania University, said Mr Bush in the absence of progress had to evoke catastrophic images “that touches the chords of American people that they are trained to respond to.”

“I sensed in his voice a pleading aspect, a desperation,” he added. He said Mr Bush’s accounts of foiled al-Qaeda plots in the US after the attacks of September 11 2001, were old discredited stories with no evidence.   more »

Some social conflicts are simply irreconcilable. The two sides cannot come to an agreement. The enemy cannot be won over, except as isolated individuals here and there.

In India and the U.S. South, there were political changes but capitalism was not challenged.

This was even true of South Africa. It was also true of the changes in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.

The rich mostly kept their wealth and power (Communist bureaucrats became private capitalists). They were willing, when it was necessary, to make changes which did not take away their control and ownership of the economy.

A socialist revolution would be quite different. The workers would take away the total wealth, power, and position of the ruling class. The capitalist class has educated itself that it stands for God and civilization.   more »