Susan here. In the UK, gays are about to gain marriage rights. While I’m happy about this, I’m not so happy that the British people are having austerity forced upon them at the same time. Social justice has to be implemented across the board, not just to one identity group. Why? Because divide-and-conquer is the basic technique which the Elite uses to rule, and giving rights to one group while depriving other groups sets the former up to be scapegoated. I think it’s imperative that gays orgs express their full condemnation of the forced impoverishment of the British people as a whole.
Guest Blogger Post: Don’t Blame Obama for Syria and Ukraine
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Susan here. There have been a lot of accusations about Obama being “weak” in not invading Syria or stopping the Russian “invasion” of Crimea. But the truth is, it’s not Obama who is “weak”, it’s the United States that’s weak.
The truth is, we are not living in the unipolar world of the 90s, or even the bipolar world of the Cold War. We are currently living in a multipolar world where both old superpowers and newer superpowers are emerging, and even imposing sanctions on a particular country doesn’t have the effect it once had. For instance, Iran is still chugging along quite nicely despite a Western embargo.
Where Obama is weak is in failing to recognize this basic fact. In this new world, you can’t go around making threats and “redlines” and promises you can’t keep. Because the truth is, Americans do not have the stomach for the sacrifices it would take to make war on other superpowers, and furthermore, we don’t have the money.
Much ado has been made about Obama’s non-attendance of a recent White House “security meeting” on Crimea, but in this instance, I think he’s doing the right thing, for once, by not attending. Crimea is 85% ethnic-Russian, so that’s like Russia invading itself. Not to mention she already has a naval base there. And despite the rhetoric from “transitional government” in Kiev, there is only so much western Ukraine can break away from Russia’s influence. As I said, a multipolar world.
Guest Blogger Post: “Rules for Radicals”
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Susan here. This is another bullshit article about Obama being a “lefty socialist”:
http://nypost.com/2014/02/15/barack-obama-makes-up-his-own-rules/
If Obama had intended to redistribute wealth to from the “haves” to the “have-nots”, then he would have done so on January 20, 2009. Executive orders are nothing new; past presidents have used them.
Frankly, Obama has had five years to deal with the problem of inequality, and hasn’t done so. He said he will raise the minimum wage to $10 an hour. We’re still waiting for that “stroke of his almighty executive pen”.
And waiting, and waiting, and waiting, and waiting . . . . . .
Guest Blogger Post: Sochi Fail
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To all the Western journalists complaining about your accomodations at the Sochi Olympic Games: Did it ever occur to you that Putin is doing this to you on purpose?
Sincerely,
Susan Stark
Guest Post: Who’s Behind the Shutdown?
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Susan here. It comes as no surprise to me that the Koch Brothers are one of the groups behind the government shutdown. The national parks have been closed to visitors, and there is no doubt in my mind that the brothers are trying to get federal lands sold to them at cut-rate prices.
How do I know this? Because they tried this stupid stunt in Wisconsin in 2011, when they tried to get the state-controlled properties sold to them. But they failed as soon as it became evident to the public how much Governor Scott Walker was in bed with them. In other words, they got caught with their pants down, and had to retreat.
Our national parks and other federal properties are not for sale either to the highest bidder or the lowest. And I can’t believe the brothers think they’re gonna get away wih this. But they might, if no one is paying attention.
Guest Post: Sinnead O’Connor is Lying
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Susan here. Sinnead O’Connor recently gave Miley Cyrus some “heartfelt” advice in the Guardian. But Sinnead is lying in two ways here:
1) She says that Cyrus has talent. If Sinnead really cared about her, she would tell Cyrus that she has no fucking talent whatsoever, and that she needs to get out of the entertainment business and do something else with her life.
2) Sinnead says Cyrus’ body belongs to “her and her boyfriend only”. Not true. Cyrus’ body belongs to her alone, to have sex with whomever she pleases. If she wants to “pimp herself”, that’s her choice. Sinnead needs to be more conscious of sex-workers’ rights, along with polyamorous people’s rights.
Sinnead O’Connor is still a kick-ass musician, but unfortunately, she’s no longer the radical truth-teller she once was.
http://www.theguardian.com/music/2013/oct/03/sinead-o-connor-open-letter-miley-cyrus
Guest Post: The Everlasting “Iranian Fatboy” Cartoon
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Susan here. There is a cartoon that I’ve seen played over and over again, for more than ten years now, and I’m sick of seeing it. And that’s a picture of Iranians working on a “Fatboy bomb”. And it always only one bomb, which they never seem to finish, even after ten years of working on it.
C’mon, cartoonists. This is getting old. If it takes Iranians ten years to make one Fatboy, and they’re still not finished with it, then they are not a credible threat to anybody.
Guest Post: Obama’s Speech.
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Susan here. This is a quote from Obama’s speech:
“To my friends on the left, I ask you to reconcile your belief in freedom and dignity for all people with those images of children writhing in pain, and going still on a cold hospital floor. For sometimes resolutions and statements of condemnation are simply not enough.”
My response is this:
Fuck you, Obama. Fuck you for trying to come to us on the Left when you need us, and then shitting on us when you don’t. You do NOT have my permission to bomb Syria, and you will NEVER get it. You will NOT get my permission to bomb Syria based upon a YouTube video that conveniently surfaced just as the UN weapons inspectors were checking into their Damascus hotel. There are hundreds of videos of the so-called Syrian opposition al-Qaeda “rebels” committing atrocities like beheading Christians, practicing cannibalism, and sawing a little girl’s arms and legs off while she is still alive. And yet, we are supposed to ignore these atrocities and focus on the one (conveniently-timed) atrocity that Assad would never actually be stupid enough to commit.
I am tired of your patronization. I am tired of your lies. I am tired of looking at your face. I am tired of hearing your voice. And I’m tired of you trying to soften up Syria for the kill, and slouching us inch by inch into World War III. Because unlike Libya in 2011 and Iraq in 2003, Syria has allies, allies who are likely to retaliate. If Iran retaliates, the price of oil will go sky high, and we will freeze in winter-time, and the price of just about every product will go up due to the higher cost of shipping. Because 50% of the world’s oil comes from the Persian Gulf. I shouldn’t have to tell you this, Mr. Obama. That’s what you pay that useless Cabinet of yours to do.
But since you did address Leftists such as myself in your speech, I will tell you this: The US used chemical weapons in Vietnam (Agent Orange), and used them again in Iraq and Afghanistan (White Phosphorus, Depleted Uranium). So we are in NO position to lecture others on the use of chemicals as weapons. People who live in glass houses shouldn’t throw stones.
Guest Post: Sometimes You Just Gotta Let It Out
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I think this lady deserves a hearing here at the Rallblog. Because it’s where we’re at right now. She’s reacting to Obama’s “Syria” speech.
Susan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XunOXRiOv0E
Guest Post: Bravo, Rush!
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Susan here. Rush Limbaugh has recently come out as against war on Syria, stating that the “damning” chemical weapons incident was staged by the so-called “rebels”. This is true, and I hope radical truth-telling on Rush’s part becomes a pattern in the future.
I’m not holding my breath, though.
