Tokens

Y'all know I support and read BAR (Black Agenda Report) but I have to argue with this piece Obama, the Phony Anti-War Candidate: Kucinich is the Real Deal.

I'll agree Obama is a phony anti-war candidate.

And once upon a time I gave Dennis Kucinich the benefit of the doubt but I can no longer do that. DK is the token "leftist" embedded in and by the Democratic party to draw the votes of those who detest the other cheek of the corporate ass, i.e. Hillary and Obama. As the story always ends - when Dennis loses the nomination – most of his followers shrug, sigh, hold their nose and vote Democrat.

Remember how well Dennis played the 2004 role of "extreme left of the democratic party" and then threw his support behind the ridiculous bones-man John Kerry and Johnny VP, who Kerry would tutor on how to become an aristocrat – Little Lord Fauntleroy Edwards.

KUCINICH: "The next critical step we must take is to help elect John Kerry as the next president of the United States," Kucinich told reporters. "The word is unity. That is the operative word."

Operative is the word all right. Unity of the Dem Party. Phaaaaaaattttt, raspberry on you Dennis.

Kucinich is not the real deal peace candidate – he just plays one in the House, otherwise, the democratic party would have discarded him long ago.

DK's "peace" proposal is to use a "UN peacekeeping force" and to "provide funding for reconstruction, jobs, and reparations." So although the monetary and human cost of imperialism will not drop a helluva lot, we can parcel out 40 acres and a camel, and call it international peacekeeping and feel better.

And then there was this statement in the BAR article : "The U.S. maintains 730 military installations in 50 countries around the globe!"

This figure has been spinning for years. What is not said is that liberal spin can make a single guard shack outside Camp Humphreys in S. Korea a "military installation".

As previously blogged here, the US does not have 730 installations around the globe. The number is closer to half that, or approximately 300 or so. This 730+ figure comes from spinning the DOD's "Base Structure Report" of real estate/real property. Here's the official base list from military.com, which adds up to about 233 worldwide, with two-thirds of those in the US. Not included on the list are "installations" such as in Honduras, Joint Task Force-Bravo located at Soto Cano Air Base. Or Pine Gap "joint reconnaissance" in Australia. Such "installations" usually have 500 or fewer US personnel, who are considered guests, "renters" on the installation/base of that particular country. Guests who operate with the approval of that nation's ruling elite, "guests" who bring in big bucks for certain sectors of the host economy. It's not cheap to rent the ruling class in other countries ya know.

I suppose the US could leave these "jointly run" bases and let Russia or China befriend and spend more on renting those countries. Surely Putin would be more than happy to rent Palmerola and the People's Republic of China could find some use for joint reconnaissance here and there after the US leaves. No reason why the US should hog all the global installations.

I think what I'm trying to say is the New World Order is here. There's just some disagreement on who will rule it. The new bosses, or the old bosses. And for anyone who doesn't get it - the new boss is the same as the old boss.