Barack Obama's legacy: Top 10 achievements

Sat, 2016-12-31 13:01

Unionist

I mean really, ikosmos. Here's a paragraph from that last story you linked. Please tell me in a comradely way whether you actually believe this brain-dead apologia for colonialism and imperialism:

Quote:
When Russia is ruled by great leaders, she always attracts other countries to her sphere of influence. Under tsar Alexey I the Cossacks living under the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth became a key part of the Russian state. Under Alexander I an emergent Serbia sought support from Russia as did a young Greek state. Under Alexander III, Russia’s influence amongst the Slavic peoples of the Balkans grew immensely. Under Brezhnev half the world saw the Soviet Union as a beacon of liberation against the imperialist west.

You know that when Germany was ruled by Hitler, there was no shortage of anti-colonial organizations in various vassal states of Europe and elsewhere that looked to the Nazis to "liberate" them from their oppressors. I suppose that made Hitler a "beacon of liberation"?

Give me a serious break. Opposition to imperialism doesn't mean picking teams, no more than it means putting an equal sign between all enemies.

Sat, 2016-12-31 14:17

#103

NDPP

Exit Obama in a Cloud of Disillusion, Delusion and Deceit - by Craig Murray

http://craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2016/12/exit-obama-cloud-disillusion-...

"I had promised myself and my family that on this holiday I would do nothing but relax. However events have overtaken my good intentions. I find myself in the unusual position of having twice been in a position to know directly that governments were lying in globe-shaking events, firstly Iraqi WMD and now the 'Russia hacks'.

Of course Russian hackers exist. They attack this blog pretty well continually - as do hackers from the USA and many other countries. Of course there have been attempted Russian hacks of the DNC. But the report gives no evidence at all of the alleged successful hack that transmitted these particular emails, nor any evidence of the connection between the hackers and the Russian government, let alone Putin.

There could be no evidence because in reality these were leaks not hacks. The report is, frankly, a pile of complete and utter dross. To base grave accusations of election hacking on this report is ludicrous. Obama has been a severe disappointment to all progressive thinkers in virtually every possible way. He now goes out of power with absolutely no grace and in a storm of delusion and deceit.

His purpose is apparently to weaken Trump politically, but to achieve that at the expense of heightening tensions with Putin to Cold War levels, is shameful. The very pettiness of Obama's tongue-out to Putin - minor sanctions and expelling some diplomatic families - itself shows that Obama is lying about the pretext.

If he really believed that Russia had 'hacked the election', surely that would require a much less feeble response. By refusing to retaliate, Russia has shown the kind of polish that eludes Obama as he takes his empty charisma and presentational skills into a no doubt lucrative future in the private sector."

Craig Murray was a former Ambassador to Uzbekistan, and a Rector of the University of Dundee

Sat, 2016-12-31 15:57

#104

josh

So Murray said it wasn't a hack, and that he knows that it wasn't a hack, and that if Obama knew it was a hack he would have offered a stronger response. Therefore, if Obama dropped a bomb on Moscow, would that have convicted Murray that it did happen? Not only amazing how much Murray claims he knows, but how much he knows what Obama does and does not know.

Sat, 2016-12-31 16:19

#105

Unionist

Jeez josh, don't get so hung up on words. There's a huge difference between gaining access to a system in order to look at information (which Murray might well be calling a "leak") and gaining access to a system in order to alter information, sabotage the system, etc. - which I take it is what Murray means when he says "election hacking".

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:03

#106

ikosmos

Unionist wrote:
Yeah ikosmos, are you aware that it's possible to oppose U.S. imperialism and puncture the myth that Obama actually did anything to advance progress in this world, without framing it as pro-Russian propaganda? By doing so, you make it pretty simple for potential allies to dismiss it. If I actually thought I needed to like Putin and his regime and his policies in order to fight U.S. intervention and aggression in this world, I'd have the kind of tough choice to make which I don't have right now. Putin doesn't currently represent anything remotely near to the economic, political, and military danger that the U.S. imposes on the world's peoples. But that doesn't make him my friend.

The Putin regime deserves the opposition of the left in that country and, AFAIK, there is a left that's doing just that. Of course acknowledging the existence of a large, healthy, possibly growing Communist Party causes some people to choke on their dinner. I say too bad.

Foreign policy wise, however, the very same regime is possibly the most impressive on planet earth these days. Who the fukc knows why. The Syrian President attributes it to the moral character of Russians, generally, and doesn't give Putin any more credit than that of a figurehead.

A long time ago, Russia saved Serbia from a slaughter. Ever since that time, Serbians do not forget; their brotherhood is unshakeable and the feelings of affinity, real affection, cannot be silenced.

Russia has just done the same thing for Syria. They have saved them, literally, from yet another barbarous Western-sponsered slaughter.

Too fukcing bad for Yanqui imperialism.

Now you explain it. Russia didn't want terrorists coming to their own country, true. And helping Syria furthered that end. A seaport on the Meditterranean is nothing to sneeze at- either. But just compare the disgusting and evil conduct of the US regime - and its supine minions like Canada - and Russia.

There's simply no comparison. Russia has done the right thing but, due to the unrelenting, frothing Russophobia we cannot say nice things about that country at any time.

What a lot of macho posturing.

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:12

#107

ikosmos

Unionist wrote:

I mean really, ikosmos. Here's a paragraph from that last story you linked. Please tell me in a comradely way whether you actually believe this brain-dead apologia for colonialism and imperialism:

Quote:
When Russia is ruled by great leaders, she always attracts other countries to her sphere of influence. Under tsar Alexey I the Cossacks living under the Polish-Lithuanian commonwealth became a key part of the Russian state. Under Alexander I an emergent Serbia sought support from Russia as did a young Greek state. Under Alexander III, Russia’s influence amongst the Slavic peoples of the Balkans grew immensely. Under Brezhnev half the world saw the Soviet Union as a beacon of liberation against the imperialist west.

You know that when Germany was ruled by Hitler, there was no shortage of anti-colonial organizations in various vassal states of Europe and elsewhere that looked to the Nazis to "liberate" them from their oppressors. I suppose that made Hitler a "beacon of liberation"?

Give me a serious break. Opposition to imperialism doesn't mean picking teams, no more than it means putting an equal sign between all enemies.

Russian look at their history and then note that they have had to, on more than one occassion, save planet earth from being overrun by some new, barbarous regime.

They survived Jenghiz Khan. The Great Horde had to retreat rather than face rebellion in their rear. They fought the Teutonic Knights on the ice, under the magnificent leadership of Alexander Nevsky, and prevailed. They stopped the first "fascist", Napoleon Bonaparte, and the Great Armee was defeated. Adolph Hitler tried next and failed.

Russians, I think, view their own history as one of saving humanity, over and over again, from slavery and tyranny. They have a kind of messianic view of themselves, which, given the history, one can hardly blame them for.

I think it's only venomous, selfish Western attitudes that prevents people from giving them their due.

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:16

#108

Mr. Magoo

Quote:
Russia has done the right thing but, due to the unrelenting, frothing Russophobia we cannot say nice things about that country at any time.

The real reason is because you evidently cannot say un-nice things about them at any time, either.

If I'm not mistaken, your harshest criticism of them in the last 15 years has been "their only crime is that they care TOO MUCH".

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:19

#109

Unionist

ikosmos wrote:

Now you explain it. Russia didn't want terrorists coming to their own country, true. And helping Syria furthered that end. A seaport on the Meditterranean is nothing to sneeze at- either. But just compare the disgusting and evil conduct of the US regime - and its supine minions like Canada - and Russia.

There's simply no comparison.

Did you notice where I criticized Russia's alliance with Assad or its actions in Syria? You didn't? Gee. Maybe that's because I never did. Maybe I'm still making up my mind about the role of various foreign powers.

And didn't I just get through saying I oppose placing an equal sign between all enemies? And that nothing Russia is doing in the world can compare with the dangers posed by the U.S.?

I might disagree with your enthusiastic emphasis. But please don't confuse me with your adversaries. I will not support Putin's regime to make you happy. But neither will I join in the chorus of those who condemn Russian actions in Syria (probably lawful under international law) without a peep about the crimes of the U.S. and Canada in those same arenas and others.

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:32

#110

ikosmos

That's just incoherent. Stop taking a position and just evaluate the actions of states on their own merit.

It's interesting what Assad said about Russia. There's a great element of truth there. Here in North American, most people, blithely, agree with their governments on the assumed right to stick their nose in any and every country they feel like, including supporting with arms, etc., so-called "opposition", bombing anyone they feel like, and lecturing others on how to govern themselves.

Russians have learned their lesson. The West has not.

Sat, 2016-12-31 18:33

#111

Unionist

ikosmos wrote:

Russians, I think, view their own history as one of saving humanity, over and over again, from slavery and tyranny. They have a kind of messianic view of themselves, which, given the history, one can hardly blame them for.

Yeah, the U.S. is quite similar in that respect. Same with the United Kingdom. And Israel. This is where you and I part company.

The Soviet Union saved the world from Nazism. The rest of your examples (or rather, the nutbar author you quoted) are bullshit. As for Syria, my jury is still out. I'm always astonished how people can take sides, instantly, based on their innate partisanship.

If you're incapable of opposing U.S. imperialism without heaping praise on the Tsars, then I question how profound your dedication to the liberty and sovereignty of the peoples of the world can be.

Sat, 2016-12-31 19:13

#112

ikosmos

Bullshit? Really. Ask a Serbian who isn't in the pay of the US regime. Or a Syrian, today, ditto.

I like that, your "jury is out". Must be nice, sitting comfortably, and "deciding the fate" of others.

I described North American hubris and you just gave me an example.

Sat, 2016-12-31 20:31

#113

Unionist

ikosmos wrote:

Bullshit? Really. Ask a Serbian who isn't in the pay of the US regime. Or a Syrian, today, ditto.

I like that, your "jury is out". Must be nice, sitting comfortably, and "deciding the fate" of others.

I described North American hubris and you just gave me an example.

Happy New Year, ikosmos! Hope 2017 brings you more nuance and improved reading skills. And a better appreciation for who are you allies.

Sat, 2016-12-31 21:57

#114

ikosmos

I don't really see where I'm "heaping praise" on Tsars anyway. I guess if I don't stand in line and denounce all Russians, including all those charged with speeding tickets, cruelty to Fido, raising their voice in a public place, not leaving the proper tip. and so on, then I must be a Russian stooge.

Damn. Im really missing out on all that Moscow gold.

Sat, 2016-12-31 22:17

#115

Unionist

ikosmos wrote:

I don't really see where I'm "heaping praise" on Tsars anyway.

Funny, that. I quoted from your own linked article.

Quote:
I guess if I don't stand in line and denounce all Russians, including all those charged with speeding tickets, cruelty to Fido, raising their voice in a public place, not leaving the proper tip. and so on, then I must be a Russian stooge.

Right. That's exactly what I said! A paid stooge at that!

Paranoia is the enemy of progress and rational thought.

Quote:
Damn. Im really missing out on all that Moscow gold.

Right!! You figured me out all right! All these years, I've been implicitly accusing you of being an unpaid stooge of Moscow! Very very proper method of political discussion and argument.

So given the time in this here Eastern time zone, I'm going to change the focus of this "I love/hate Russia" Manichean dichotomy which is plaguing you, and suggest that we look to 2017 - when the agenda for human beings will be peace, justice, unity, and love.

[youtube]sWEEaH3QZoI[/youtube]

Sat, 2016-12-31 22:38

#116

quizzical

Sat, 2016-12-31 22:38

#117

quizzical

Sat, 2016-12-31 22:56

#118

Rev Pesky

Unionist wrote:
...The only front where he acted resolutely, like his buddy Hillary Clinton, is to intensify the risk of conflict with Russia.

His name would go down in infamy - if in fact he had done anything resolute enough to merit that label.

Don't forget that Trump is at odds with his own party on the issue of relations with Russia. The postion of the Republican party has always been that Russia is a threat, and ruled by tyrants. That hasn't changed.

So whatever Trump thinks about Russia, he's going to have to come to some agreement with his party. Otherwise they can hold him more or less powerless.

Or to put it another way, this isn't just a Republican/Democrat issue. This is really a Trump vs US Congress issue.

Sat, 2016-12-31 23:23

#119

bekayne

Rev Pesky wrote:

Don't forget that Trump is at odds with his own party on the issue of relations with Russia. The postion of the Republican party has always been that Russia is a threat, and ruled by tyrants. That hasn't changed.

So whatever Trump thinks about Russia, he's going to have to come to some agreement with his party.

And that's where Iran comes in. "Go easy on Russia, and you'll get your war."

Sun, 2017-01-01 09:22

#120

NDPP

Kerry's Finest Hour: Obama's Team Labels Israel an Outlaw Nation

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/30/kerrys-finest-hour-obama-team-lab...

Mon, 2017-01-02 06:05

#121

NDPP

Cracking Down on Dissent: The US Govt Has Essentially Created a Ministry of Truth (and vid)

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:18039:Cracking-Down-On-Dissent%3A-the-U....

"Obama's recently signed NDAA includes a 'Countering Disinformation and Propaganda Act'. The Intercept's Alex Emmons explains..."

Mon, 2017-01-02 09:31

#122

ikosmos

Yeah, there's a 20 million US government slush fund for this Ministry of Truth (despite the noisy denial by at least one babbler).

Enthusiastic Russophobes take note; you could get paid for doing what you love.

Tue, 2017-01-03 04:50

#123

NDPP

Obama's Contribution to Ending the Occupation: 'Pointless Speeches' - by Norman Finkelstein

http://normanfinkelstein.com/2016/12/25/obamas-contribution-to-ending-th...

"Under the outgoing president, the US effort to end the Israeli occupation met its demise. His late support for the UN Security Council resolution, a moment before he packs up his bags and turns over the keys to the White House to Donald Trump, is typical of his presidency.

Upon completing his tenure, Obama is worthy of honorary membership in the Yesha Council, the Israeli settlement's organization, as well as the Likud Central Committee...

He laid the cornerstone for a single state."

Thu, 2017-01-05 10:47

#124

NDPP

Obama's Administration Sold More Weapons than Any Other Since WWII

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/obamas-administration-sold-more-weapons...

"President Barack Obama, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009, will leave office in a few weeks with the dubious honor of having sold more weapons than any other American president since World War II>"

Fri, 2017-01-06 20:02

#125

NDPP

The Legacy Of The 'Democrat'

http://www.voltairenet.org/article194826.html

"From the Democrat, Barack Obama, the Nobel Prize Winner for Peace, his final message on the State of the Union will linger on for posterity:

'America is the strongest nation on the Earth. We spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined and our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world."

Sat, 2017-01-07 03:42

#126

Bec.De.Corbin Bec.De.Corbin's picture

Ha Ha Ha... I can't wait for your President Trump thead in 4 years (I hope).

Have a great weekend.

Sun, 2017-01-08 09:24

#127

Unionist

Excellent 3-minute (or so) takedown of Obama this morning on CBC radio The Sunday Edition by Michael Enright - the best, quiet, consistent, gutsy commentator over the decades, IMHO. I'll look for the audio version and post it when it becomes available. He referred to Obama's complaints of a foreign power trying to undermine U.S. governance as "risible", given the U.S.'s own record. He used terms like "the definition of hypocrisy".

Michael Enright, Happy New Year, and long life!

Sun, 2017-01-08 09:27

#128

Unionist

Excellent 3-minute (or so) takedown of Obama this morning on CBC radio The Sunday Edition by Michael Enright - the best, quiet, consistent, gutsy commentator over the decades, IMHO. I'll look for the audio version and post it when it becomes available. He referred to Obama's complaints of a foreign power trying to undermine U.S. governance as "risible", given the U.S.'s own record. He used terms like "the definition of hypocrisy".

Michael Enright, Happy New Year, and long life!

EDITED: OH WAIT, it's already up!

[url=http://www.cbc.ca/radio/thesundayedition/american-hypocrisy-on-russian-h...'s hypocritical outrage over Russia's cyber-interference in its presidential election - Michael's essay[/url]

Bravo!!

Sun, 2017-01-08 10:02

#129

josh

Unionist wrote:

Excellent 3-minute (or so) takedown of Obama this morning on CBC radio The Sunday Edition by Michael Enright - the best, quiet, consistent, gutsy commentator over the decades, IMHO. I'll look for the audio version and post it when it becomes available. He referred to Obama's complaints of a foreign power trying to undermine U.S. governance as "risible", given the U.S.'s own record. He used terms like "the definition of hypocrisy".

Michael Enright, Happy New Year, and long life!

It may be "risible" given the U.S. record, but that has nothing to do with whether it happened.

Sun, 2017-01-08 11:12

#130

Unionist

josh wrote:
Unionist wrote:

Excellent 3-minute (or so) takedown of Obama this morning on CBC radio The Sunday Edition by Michael Enright - the best, quiet, consistent, gutsy commentator over the decades, IMHO. I'll look for the audio version and post it when it becomes available. He referred to Obama's complaints of a foreign power trying to undermine U.S. governance as "risible", given the U.S.'s own record. He used terms like "the definition of hypocrisy".

Michael Enright, Happy New Year, and long life!

It may be "risible" given the U.S. record, but that has nothing to do with whether it happened.

Josh. Enright (and I) don't care that much whether it happened. Enright doesn't even comment on whether or not it happened. It was your country that elected and tolerated Reagan and Clinton and 2 Bushes and Obama and Trump, and their vicious bloody crimes against the peoples of the world (admittedly, Trump's will begin only after his inauguration). To blame outside interference for the outcome of the recent election is chauvinistic, xenophobic, and self-denying - even if it's true.

Enright's point is that for the U.S. to complain about someone interfering in its affairs is risible and hypocritical. Do you actually deny that? If so, we'll have to agree to disagree.

If U.S. "democracy" can be undermined by someone leaking real emails of its oligarchs, then U.S. democracy deserves to crumble and die, hopefully to be replaced by something that doesn't oppress and murder its own people and people everywhere.

ETA: Oh wait. This thread is about Obama's legacy. His last acts, of punishing Russia for throwing Hillary Clinton on the trash heap, will definitely go down as one of his defining characteristics - whining childish spite, and putting his narrow little partisan interests in command of maintaining peaceful relations whenever possible between nations. Good riddance to Barack Obama.

Sun, 2017-01-08 12:39

#131

Michael Moriarity

Enright is an excellent wordsmith, and this is a fine example of his best work. He also has a great voice for this sort of thing. Thanks for the link.

Sun, 2017-01-08 23:25

#132

ikosmos

OK, for the time being, I don't wish for the Ceeb to burn to the ground.

But I'm listening!!

Mon, 2017-01-09 00:07

#133

6079_Smith_W

Nice piece for the history books. And a more than fair call when it comes to government hypocrisy.

Not so accurate when it comes to the question of who is going to pay the price for that interference. In the U.S. and elsewhere. Enright doesn't touch on that at all. And this isn't just the CIA's word. This is of central concern to European governments as well. and all indications are it is just the beginning.

And really, whatever the U.S. does justifies nothing, as Tu quoque is a pretty basic logical fallacy.

I know some of you here honestly think you are looking at the big picture, and to a degree I respect that opinion. But I really think you are too busy looking at the global chessboard to see how these actions affect people, in particular those who are most vulnerable, and most at risk of discrimination.

Mon, 2017-01-09 12:12

#134

ikosmos

Pity the sad legacy of Barack Obama: Cornel West

"Our hope and change candidate fell short time and time again. Obama cheerleaders who refused to make him accountable bear some responsibility."

Mon, 2017-01-09 12:48

#135

NDPP

Future Crimes - by John Steppling

http://counterpunch.org/2017/01/09/future-crimes

"The point is that I am coming to feel that almost any focus on Trump feels misplaced. Certainly now it does since he isn't even president yet. The deconstruction of liberal Obama is far from complete and the propaganda apparatus is working overtime to rewrite not just recent history but the present.

But the anti-Russian propaganda is so absurd, so transparent, that this feels far more important than the predictable stupidity of Trump. I mean Obama is massing troops near the Russian border. Obama is ramping up the building of naval bases near China. Obama is still looking to prosecute Chelsea Manning and every other whistleblower.

And he is still signing draconian legislation [NDAA] to curb free speech and institutionalize legitimacy for the new McCarthyism. Talking about Trump is a form of forgetting..."

Sun, 2017-01-15 15:24

#136

ikosmos

The Beatification of Barak Obama

Quote:
For the sake of balance, here is a list of Saint Obama’s unique achievements:

Obama is the first President in American history to be at war for every single day of an 8 year presidency.

Obama has carried out 10x more drone strikes than Bush ever did. Every Tuesday a military aide presents Obama with a “kill list”, and the “decent, gracious” Obama picks a few names off a list…and kills them. And their families. And their neighbours. These illegal acts of state-sanctioned murder have killed hundreds of civilians in 5 different countries in 2016 alone. The only reason that number isn’t higher, is that the Obama administration re-classified all males over 18 as combatants, regardless of occupation.

After declaring he wanted to build a “nuclear free world”, Obama committed to spending $1 TRILLION dollars on rebuilding America’s nuclear weapons.

Under Obama, the NSA et al. were able to spy on, essentially, the whole world. When this was revealed, not a single intelligence officer or government official was prosecuted. Instead…

Obama’s administration declared a “war on whistleblowers”, enacting new laws and initiating what they call the “Insider Threat Program”. Manning was prosecuted, Snowden sent into exile and Assange was set-up, discredited and (they hoped) extradited. It has never been more dangerous to be a government whistle-blower, than under Barack Obama

In terms of foreign policy, despite his press-created and non-sensical reputation as a non-interventionist, American Special Forces are currently operating in over 70% of the world’s 195 countries. The great lie is that, where Bush was a warmonger, Obama has sought to avoid conflict. The truth is that Obama, in the grand tradition of the CIA and American Imperial power, has simply turned all America’s wars into covert wars.

Before Obama came into office, Libya was the richest and most developed nation in Africa. It is now a hell-hole. Destroyed by war, hollowed-out by corruption. The “liberal” press allow him to agonise over this as his “greatest mistake”, and then gently pardon him for his good intentions. The truth is that Libya was not a mistake, or a misjudgment, or an unforeseen consequence. Libya is exactly what America wanted it to become. A failed state where everything is for sale, a base to pour illegal CIA weapons south into Africa and east into the ME. When war is your economy, chaos is good for business. When secrecy is your weapon, anarchy is ammunition. Libya went according to plan. A brutal plan that killed 100,000s and destroyed the lives of millions more. Libya, like Iraq, is a neocon success story. Syria on the other hand…

Syria, probably the word that will follow Obama out of office as “Iraq” did his predecessor, is a total failure. Both of stated intent and covert goals. Where the press will mourn Obama’s “indecisive nature” and wish he’d “used his big stick”, the real story is one of evil incompetence, so great that it would be almost comical…if it hadn’t destroyed an ancient seat of civilisation and killed 100,000s of people. Syria (along with Libya, Iraq, Somalia, Iran and Sudan) was on the list of the 7 countries America intended to destroy, famously “leaked” by General Wesley Clark. After the fall of Libya, Syria was (essentially) surrounded by American military on all sides. Iraq, Israel, Turkey and America operating out of Libya could pour “freedom fighters” into Syria to bring down “the regime”. When that didn’t work they deployed the trusty “WMD” method, to demand “humanitarian intervention”…the Russians saw that off. Then “ISIS” was created by the CIA, as al-Qaida were before them, and their manufactured barbarism was used as a pretext for invasion. The Russians, again, saw to it that this would not happen.

Perhaps in the hope of distracting Russia from the ME, or perhaps merely as a short-sighted punitive measure, the Obama’s administration next foreign policy target was Ukraine. Victoria Nuland’s own voice proves how much that “color revolution” was an American creation. Ukraine is broke, even more broke than it was, its people starve and freeze through the winter. The new “democratic government” has shelled 10,000 people to death in the East of the country….using American weapons.

In Yemen, the poorest country in the ME is being bombed to shreds by the richest….again, using American (and British) weapons. Obama’s “defense of democracy” doesn’t extend to criticising, or even discussing, the abhorrent Human Rights record of America’s Saudi Arabian allies, and in an act of brazen hypocrisy, even supported their chairing of the Human Rights Council of the UN.

That's 10/10 for Saint Obama.

Mon, 2017-01-16 13:55

#137

ikosmos

John Pilger wrote:

“Obama has been one of the most violent presidents. He initiated a worldwide terrorist campaign with Hellfire missiles being fired by drones at so called terrorists…certainly at weddings and funerals…in some of the poorest countries in the world.”

“What I find personally some of the most anxious and almost shameful descriptions are those from so called intellectuals in the west…writers, journalists, people in the liberal establishment who have had all the privilege that they ought to know better, fawning in sycophancy to this man who has done what he was meant to do.”

“He served the power…He was meant to serve.”

Pilger - see YouTube

Sat, 2017-01-21 04:36

#138

NDPP

Obama's Exit

https://www.rt.com/shows/crosstalk/374329-obana-presidency-policy-results/

And Horowitz too..

Sat, 2017-01-21 08:03

#139

josh

David Horowitz? Really? Sink any lower?

Sat, 2017-01-21 08:06

#140

josh

Obama leaves office with his highest approval ratings since his first months in office.

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/president_obama_job_approv...

Sat, 2017-01-21 15:05

#141

bekayne

josh wrote:
David Horowitz? Really? Sink any lower?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrv0OfsUdE

Sat, 2017-01-21 15:39

#142

ikosmos

In fairness to Peter Lavelle, who loathes the neo cons, he invited Howowitz to get a contrary view on his show. I don't think I could have done that and I am still trying to muster the courage to even watch the episode.

Sat, 2017-01-21 15:43

#143

NDPP

In Final Acts of Bloodletting, Obama Orders Bombings in Libya, Syria

https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2017/01/21/liby-j21-1.html

"In the final acts of bloodletting before relinquishing the White House to Donald Trump, outgoing US President Barack Obama ordered deadly bombing raids in the two countries where his administration initiated new and devastating wars, Syria and Libya..."

Sat, 2017-01-21 15:58

#144

josh

bekayne wrote:

josh wrote:
David Horowitz? Really? Sink any lower?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrv0OfsUdE

LOL.

Sat, 2017-01-21 16:18

#145

NDPP

What could be better than to have a Zio POS like Horowitz, the epitome of the contemporary pro Israel US right, to have to debate a lib-left progressive perspective? Besides, his rancid Russophobia is not all that far removed from your own.

Sat, 2017-01-21 16:28

#146

josh

What you call Russiaphobia, as applied to me, I call anti-fascism. Opposing the Putin-Trump-Netanyahu axis.

Sat, 2017-01-21 18:45

#147

kropotkin1951

josh wrote:

What you call Russiaphobia, as applied to me, I call anti-fascism. Opposing the Putin-Trump-Netanyahu axis.

Great I love Axis of Evil stories. I am not sure I agree that Russia has actually replaced the Saudi's in the evil axis of the US, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Tell me Josh since you believe that the US has become fascist would it have made a difference to the form of government if Hillary had been elected to lead the fascist regime or are all of America's democratic deficit problems Trump's fault.

Sat, 2017-01-21 19:42

#148

bekayne

Would you prefer the word "triptych"?

Sun, 2017-01-22 03:06

#149

NDPP

ON CONTACT: President Obama's Legacy (and vid)

https://www.rt.com/shows/on-contact/374680-obama-wars-corporate-interests/

Chris Hedges looks back on Obama's legacy with Black Agenda Report's Glen Ford

Must Watch!

Mon, 2017-01-23 13:45

#150

kropotkin1951

bekayne wrote:

Would you prefer the word "triptych"?

Two of these three have been elected leader of their countries. The other is a French politician who seems to be more interested in meeting with other Western European parties than being part of a three way with Trump and Putin. I see no evidence that she and the other right wing parties are somehow being mind controlled from the Kremlin but if you have some evidence from the NY Times or other US faux news sites please lets see it.

Quote:

The French presidential hopeful Marine Le Pen is to headline a European gathering of Eurosceptic and far-right leaders in Germany on Saturday as they seek to present a united front in a year of high-stakes elections.

Organisers of the conference in Koblenz, billed as a “counter-summit”, said participants would set out their joint “vision for a Europe of freedom”.

Authorities in the central German city are bracing for a large protest later on Saturday by a coalition of leftwing groups, mainstream political parties and unions. More than 1,000 police officers have been deployed to keep the demos peaceful.

...

Le Pen, the leader of France’s Front National, will share the stage with Frauke Petry, of the anti-immigration Alternative for Germany (AfD), Geert Wilders, of the Dutch anti-Islam Freedom party, and Matteo Salvini, of Italy’s anti-EU Northern League.

AfD politician says Germany should stop atoning for Nazi crimes Read more

All are members of the Europe of Nations and Freedom group in the European parliament, which has 40 members from nine countries.

Wilders announced his attendance at the conference on his Twitter feed using the hashtag #WeWillMakeOurCountriesGreatAgain, a play on the new US president Donald Trump’s slogan “Make America great again”.

Wilders’ party could win the largest percentage of the vote in the Dutch parliamentary election on 15 March. Le Pen is among the top contenders in France’s presidential vote in April, and AfD hopes to enter the German parliament in September.

“The aim is to outline the Europe of tomorrow,” Le Pen told the French radio station Classique on Friday. “Each of us is strongly attached to sovereignty and freedom in general. I believe that is what also brings us together is a rejection of the European Union’s laissez-faire policies.”

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/21/marine-le-pen-leads-gather...

Mon, 2017-01-23 13:54

#151

6079_Smith_W

Well she met with Trump in his hotel, and she iis funded by Putin. Maybe they have the wrong one at the centre.

Barack Obama's legacy: Top 10 achievements

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