Sott Editors
Sott.netSun, 07 Sep 2008 15:15 UTC
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| ©Daryl Cagle
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As Sarah Palin's vice-presidential nomination continues to energize the religious right, the hypocrisy of right wing authoritarians becomes more apparent than ever.
According to psychologist Robert Altmeyer, authoritarian personalities are characterized by hierarchical submission to traditional authorities, aggression and conventionalism. Altmeyer has done extensive empirical research on the subject, which is summarized in his book, '
The Authoritarians'.
SOTT Focus
SOTT.netTue, 02 Sep 2008 04:55 UTC
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| ©Alexander Hassenstein / Getty Images
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"Take the pawn and I'll take your knight."
"Yeah, but the Middle East will be open for check."
"We'll see about that. Nice ceremony."
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While the world slept through the month-long cyclic dream of the Olympic Games, the Axis of Evil took the opportunity to move its pieces onto Russia's doorstep. The Eastern bear responded, and the US/UK/Israeli propaganda machine went into overdrive.
As usual, ordinary people paid a heavy price for this deadly game of global chess.
©2008 All Rights Reserved. Contact author for permission to repost or mirror
*Kakistocracy is government by the very worst, least principled, and most incompetent people. You will be forgiven for thinking that the word, kakistocracy, perhaps derives from the word, "caca", itself derived from the Latin, "cacare". In fact, kakistocracy derives from the Greek, kakos, meaning "bad".)
Let me make myself clear from the outset: I am not running for President of the United States, I just am *not doing* it, though I am constitutionally fully qualified, and, truth to tell, would be much better for the country in many ways, on many levels, than the current, thug occupant of the White House (notice that I do not refer to him as "President"). But, no, I really and truly do not aspire to be President of this godforsaken Kakistan masquerading as the USA.
Now that that crucial non-announcement is out of the way, permit me to set forth a couple of the many reasons for my subdued, cyberspace non-campaign for the Oval Office.
Joe Quinn
Sott.netSat, 30 Aug 2008 15:36 UTC
A few days ago, I received an email from a person named "Angus" who informed me that my article "
Racism not defence at the heart of Israeli politics" was causing "quite a stir" in the UK and that he would like some details about me as he was planning to write something in response. From the beginning it was pretty clear what "Angus'" agenda was, but I decided to give the benefit of the doubt, at least to begin with. The exchange that ensued has left us with a much better insight into the minds and methods of those
vociferous defenders of Israel that are doing so much in British academic circles to ensure that the Israeli government continues to enjoy immunity for its human rights abuses in Occupied Palestine.
Read on, it's a real trip!
Joe Quinn
Sott.netFri, 29 Aug 2008 14:04 UTC
Every year since 2002 the
University and College Union (UCU), the largest trade union and professional association for academics working in further and higher education throughout the UK, has attempted to implement some form of boycott of Israeli academic institutions that have been shown to be complicit in the ongoing persecution of the Palestinian people. And each year, amid much acrimony and cries of "anti-semitism", boycotters meet with significant resistance from pro-Israeli members of British academia, and other institutions.
This year however, lowly Sott.net has inadvertently become involved in the melee.
Comment: Update: Within a few hours of posting the link to the mailing list, Ms. Delich responded:
I didn't realise who David Duke was nor did I hear of him. I just looked at the article not the website where it appeared. Apologies for picking up that website as I personallly am strongly against any racists, anti-semitists and the likes of them. I just found the article quite powerful, and none are saying that Joe Quinn (the author of the article) is a racist or anti-semitist, and the article is quite interesting. So, perhaps we should focus on the article itself and not where it appeared (if we look at it in a broader sense, the website itself appeard on Google and so did the article)? Anyone can put anything on their website... Sincere apologies once again though for picking the wrong website, but it's the article that I found interesting as it gives some amazing facts and it was not written by David Duke (who, I most certainly agree, has no place in UCU but is the author of the website and not the article).
Mr. Hirsh at
Engage and all of the other "left-wing" anti-boycott, pro-Israeli government defamation artists were surely aware of Ms. Delich's response, yet they chose to pursue their opportunistic and scurrilous manipulation of Ms. Delich's simple mistake in their efforts to perpetuate the Israeli government's continued persecution of the Palestinian people.
By their fruits you shall know them.
SOTT Focus
Sott.netSat, 02 Aug 2008 08:27 UTC
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| ©Gary Varvel
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There is a well-known Chinese curse:
May you live in interesting times. Judging from the rapid unfoldment of "interesting" world events, it is clear that we ain't seen nothing yet and whatever providence has in store for us, it surely is going to become curiouser and curiouser.
So what went on this month, other than more bloodshed, cynical manipulation and overt war propaganda?
SOTT Focus
SOTT.netSun, 27 Jul 2008 15:52 UTC
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| ©Matan
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Beside the daily atrocities and ongoing Palestinian genocide, it seems that there are other curious things happening lately in the land of sour milk and poisoned honey. First we had a meteorite
sighting that caused quite a stir, raising hysteria that Iranians are
testing their missiles with the goal to finally eliminate the bravest sons and daughters of Yahweh. And this time we have a report about a mysterious 'simultaneous sighting' on a national scale.
Coincidently, there were quite a few similar mass sightings in
other areas of the world recently. But considering the history of this particular cursed place, we have to wonder what's going on and what will happen next.
The following text is a translation of the Hebrew
article in
Ynet describing the event.
Joe Quinn
Sott.netMon, 14 Jul 2008 17:16 UTC
That Sarkozy was always going to eviscerate France's tenuous military and political neutrality once he took office should have been obvious to all. Long before he somehow managed to win the 2007 French elections, he was already known as 'Sarko the American' not to mention 'President Bling Bling'. It seems it's just not possible for a French politician to truly admire the American empire builders (as Sarko seems to) and not grovel at their feet.
After all there are great personal advantages to be had from aligning oneself and one's nation (whether they like it or not) with the last great empire. There is the sense of being on the "winning side" (who now can stand up to the US juggernaut?). There is immediate access to the massive resources, influence and intelligence assets of the empire through which previously impossible goals become not just possible but a matter of policy.
Up until Sarkozy's nomination as President last year, France had a 40 year long history of staunch opposition to the type of US diplomacy that has brought us the ludicrous yet deadly "war on terror". As long as there was a major world power that was still relatively independent, there was still a third option - that if small yet strategically important nations weren't "with the US" they weren't by definition "with the terrorists". They could be "with France".
Comment: The above link contained within the text "those that so deftly shunted him into the Elysee Palace" has been removed from the original Quatar Penninsula site, but is still available on archive.org. In case it ever disappears completely from the web, here are two screen-shots of the article for a more secure archive experience:
Grover
Sott.netWed, 09 Jul 2008 11:40 UTC
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This citizen was Tasered for refusing to lie down, and then Tasered again for refusing to get back up.
Long live the Taser!
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I was asked to attend a Citizens Police School as part of our local police department's community outreach program. This program is held a couple times a year and lasts 12 weeks. Although this sort of thing wouldn't normally interest me, given the large amount of bad press the police are getting across the country I decided to sign up in order to learn more, in effect, to do some research. What I discovered left me with the strange urge to check if my passport was still valid.
SOTT Focus
Sott.netFri, 04 Jul 2008 18:45 UTC
Update: Dry weather, fires, spontaneous combustion? As it turns out the Taurid meteor event was not a complete bust, more like a
combustion:
1st of July 2008 - Witnesses across Southern California say they saw an object 'moving very fast across the northern sky' and falling near the San Bernardino Mountains. Officials have no firm answers on what it was.
From Hollywood Hills to the Nevada state line, people reported seeing a fireball streaking across the sky and falling near the San Bernardino Mountains this morning. But explanations of the mysterious object were scarce.
San Bernardino County Fire Dispatch reported receiving dozens of calls related to what was described as fireball moving at high speed and falling in northwest sky around 10:40 a.m.
"We got quite a few reports. It started with a gentlemen in the Lake Arrowhead reporting a fireball in the Meadow Bay area and then we started getting calls from all over," said San Bernardino County dispatch supervisor Tom Barnes. "Fire crews in Barstow and on I-15 near Stateline came up on the radio and reported an object in the sky moving very fast across the northern sky and described it as yellowish green in color with streaks of debris. It looked like it burned up before it hit the ground."
Now isn't it a "coincidence" that
California became engulfed, at its peak, in 1,783 fires across the state, scorching over 527,000 acres, including one
in the San Bernardino mountains. Firefighters are still battling over 300 fires. Yet, all the fires are being blamed on "
unusual early-summer lightning storms".
Comment: Update: Within a few hours of posting the link to the mailing list, Ms. Delich responded: Mr. Hirsh at Engage and all of the other "left-wing" anti-boycott, pro-Israeli government defamation artists were surely aware of Ms. Delich's response, yet they chose to pursue their opportunistic and scurrilous manipulation of Ms. Delich's simple mistake in their efforts to perpetuate the Israeli government's continued persecution of the Palestinian people.
By their fruits you shall know them.