Unfit for Duty

Dishonorable discharge

"Generally, the report makes it sound as though the Palins, especially Todd Palin, were just obsessed with Wooten, in a truly peculiar and creepy way."

Andrew Sullivan | "Truly Peculiar And Creepy"

Quoting Hilzoy, Andrew Sullivan tumbles to the Palins' potency, i.e. husband Todd.

The reason? Two words. Brad Hanson.

"I’ve been doing it for 10 years," Hanson said.

Any wonder Todd's pissed?

As the Palin—Wallace campaign totters inexorably towards its trailer trash origins and the ignominious defeat it so richly deserves, Barack Obama appears to be opening a lead capable of overcoming the naked racism to which he has been subject.

The Palins? They will return to Wasilla — by all accounts an ugly mess of gun shops, fundamentalist churches, strip malls, truck stops, brothels, bars and sex shops scattered beside the highway snaking across the frozen wastes of a now discredited Alaska — in disgrace.

"Never try to teach a pig to sing; it wastes your time and it annoys the pig."

Robert Heinlein

Note: It must be noted that Heinlein, an expert on the Palins, authored Starship Troopers, Stranger in a Strange Land, and the seminal work on Palin foreign policy, Red Planet. He is widely regarded as a Fair Witness.

Lekota shoots his bolt

A monster of my making ...

I was disappointed because this was a sad caricature of the Patrick Mosiuoa “Terror” Lekota I have known and respected from UDF days through to his days with the ANC’s southern Natal region, my stomping ground at the time.

We know Lekota’s conquests. He earned his stripes as a leader when Malema was still a (bad?) dream in his father’s mind.

The Lekota of the ’80s and ’90s, stationed as he was in volatile KwaZulu-Natal, could speak truth to power, crossing swords with Buthelezi et al, but with due consideration of what his utterances might do to the fragile relations between the ANC and IFP.

The ANC today is a fractured organisation, and to have a Malema in each faction is not going to help things at all.

I have to concur with Xolela Mangcu when he says: “Surely, there is something wrong with the violence and militarism of the new ANC. I am just not sure if a highly compromised Lekota is the person to swing the ANC against it.”

Fred Khumalo | Lekota and Malema: spot the difference

"We cannot allow elements that are reversing the revolution to destroy what we have built … if we think something is not right, we must say so to each other," he said.

And that's pretty much where Lekota is at now.

If there's a parapet, he's likely to be one of the first to stick his head over it - often in the role of flak-catcher or lightning rod. He may be performing the same role now.

Gaye Davis | Terror is not afraid

While I have enormous sympathy for Mosiuoa 'Terror' Lekota — unlike so many of our latter-day commentators, I do not regard him a 'lightweight', I tend to agree with Fred Khumalo's view of our former Defence Minister's divorce from the now gutless ANC (Pallo Jordan's been sitting on the fence so long, he's split his personality).

Let it be noted, however, that I do so through the words of Gaye Davis, a journalist who — having earned her stripes in the frontline of the 80s and 90s, commands my unreserved respect (I've yet to read or listen to Gaye and disagree with her). Respecting Lekota — and delivering unvarnished fact, she moves Khumalo's assessment a step forward, framing Lekota's role in its appropriate context.

No matter his faults, Terror knows no fear and continues 'speaking truth to power'. Solomon Mahlangu, Matthew Goniwe and generations of South Africans did not die so that we might one day see the Freedom Charter trampled into the mud of Polokwane.

Lekota reminded well over a thousand people of this in Langa yesterday. They raised high the roofbeams at his performance (for, let's not kid ourselves, that is what politicians deliver). It was vintage stuff and it was good. But it was not publicised and Terror did not have the decency to pick up the phone and give me a shout. For this reason alone, he has shot his bolt. In a country where the president of the ANC will meet one on one with a disaffected voter, I demand a personal apology.

"No one is bigger than the ANC."

Jacob Zuma

Bottoming out ...

Google's little joke...

I opened the browser, saw a 1,362-point drop and thought emotically. OMG! But yes, it was a glitch. Nevertheless, today appears to be little different to yesterday. My Chinese friend, Jim, reckons the market should find support at 7,180. Should it break through that, it will be (as Mr. Morrison put it) "...all over."

OK, you and I know there are millions of chartists out there and the best they can do is give us some indication of a probable event but, hey, this has to stop somewhere. Doesn't it?

I've a strong feeling we've seen the end of the capitulatory phase and, by Monday, much of the dust will have settled. Call this the Golby Fallout Shelter Method or something, but trust me on it. Recognising the return of the bull is a visceral thing and I have been watching the markets for several weeks now (well, it seems like several weeks). Never mind... I consider myself something of an expert in these matters.

Besides, I think Warren Buffett, taking a beating right now, is banking on my advice.

Highs and Lows

The Wall Street Journal records: "U.S. stocks have lost $7.5 trillion in market value since indexes hit a record on Oct. 9, 2007, one year ago. That exceeds the gross domestic products of China and Japan, and is in the same ballpark as the U.S. national debt."

The WSJ goes on to note that "... these figures are based on the DJ Wiltshire 5000 Index, which includes almost every U.S.-based company. The index's market value has fallen 39 percent, or $7.5 trillion, from its $19.2 trillion Oct. 9, 2007 record."

Coordinated interest-rate cuts around the world failed to reassure investors that the global financial crisis would end soon.

Stocks fell for the sixth consecutive day after a whipsaw session. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished down 189.01 points, or 2.0%, at 9258.10, its lowest close in more than five years. The blue-chip average moved higher in the morning, was down more than 250 points at its intraday low in the afternoon, and rose again before losing ground at the end of the day.

The Dow is now 35% below its record finish a year ago, on Oct. 9, 2007. It has fallen 15% over the past six trading days.

The inability to rebound after rate cuts by Federal Reserve, the European Central Bank, the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada and other central banks was taken as a sign that it will be hard for stocks to recover from their declines of the past year.

Wall Street Journal | Yes, Dow's Record Was Year Ago Today

Given today's new 'early low' of 9,045.76 and despite a volatile stability returning to the markets (sort of like Putin's head rearing over Alaska), I assume the chap who prompted my post of two days ago is toasting this particular anniversary with Kool-aid supplied by FEMA.



Holy crap! At 8,579.19 and 7.33 percent down at the close, it's turned to Chinese milk ... That's more than five years of funny money wiped out.

Following yesterday's 508 point bloodbath, President George Bush tried to calm jittery investors about the turmoil in the markets. He said, "I know that the days are dim right now for a lot of folks. But I firmly believe tomorrow is going to be brighter."

Mike Whitney | "To the Bunkers!"

Note: "Tomorrow" was today — and a 675-point cliff face awaited. Tomorrow (Friday) we face the prospect of yet another load of Bush's bullshit. Let's hope his people read the morning papers.

The consequences of Lehman’s fall were apparent within days, yet key policy players have largely wasted the past four weeks. Now they’ve reached a moment of truth: They’d better do something soon — in fact, they’d better announce a coordinated rescue plan this weekend — or the world economy may well experience its worst slump since the Great Depression.

Paul Krugman | Moment of Truth

Background: the First Brigade of the Third Infantry Division, three to four thousand soldiers, has been deployed in the United States as of October 1. Their stated mission is the form of crowd control they practiced in Iraq, subduing "unruly individuals," and the management of a national emergency.

Naomi Wolf | Thousands of Troops Are Deployed on U.S. Streets Ready to Carry Out "Crowd Control"

One has to ask the question. Having done all the spadework, is George W. Bush making provision for or planning martial law?

Dow Plummets to 9450 at Close

"I guess it's vodka with the Xanax tonight, eh?"

See post below.

US banks borrowed a record $367.8 billion (£208 billion) a day from the Federal Reserve in the week ended October 1. Data from the US central bank shows how much financial institutions are relying on the Fed in its role as lender of last resort as short-term funding becomes almost impossible to find elsewhere.

The Times | US banks borrow record amount from Fed

But so far, the myriad efforts by government regulators to shore up confidence have seemed to yield little relief among investors, some of whom believed the actions have taken on a haphazard air.

“People are slowly but surely coming to the realization that playing ‘Whack-a-Mole’ with each of these issues as they arise, on an ad hoc basis, doesn’t get the job done,” said Max Bublitz, chief strategist at SCM Advisors, an investment firm in San Francisco.

New York Times | Fed Announces Plan to Buy Short-Term Debt

Note: The Fed's decision to buy up commercial paper and lend directly to companies (many of which appear to be run by criminals), does not address the global liquidity crisis in the banking sector. Bank of America which — despite losing half its value — snapped up the failed Merrill Lynch and Countrywide, will be a key indicator Wednesday.

Palin—McCain Dream Team by Zina Sanders

Dow Crashes Through 10,000

Okay. Here is the breakdown for what we "toast" our new benchmarks in 100 point increments:

9999: Soup
9899: Beer
9799: Vodka
9699: Beer and Vodka
9599: Xanax
9499: Xanax and Vodka
9399: Methadone
9299: Lighter fluid and Methadone
9199: Soup made from ketchup and pondwater
9099: Kool-aid supplied by FEMA
8999: Milk from China

Google Finance discussion group

Good to see some people, no matter the situation (the largest intra-day drop in 20 years), retain their sense of humour. Others continue to pretend business as usual.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. said the U.S. economy will enter a recession "significantly deeper" than previously forecast, prompting the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates by at least 1 percentage point.

Bloomberg | U.S. Recession to Be 'Significantly Deeper,' Goldman Sachs Says

If such insights are considered money-market profundities, no wonder they had to be saved from themselves.

Note: Whoever made the crack about toasting benchmarks should sleep well on his or her Xanax tonight. For a while, and before a highly suspicious, hour-long, 475-point late-afternoon 'surge' to close on 9955,50 (all explanations happily considered), it looked as though they'd be washing it down with vodka.

USS Blunderbuss

USS Roosevelt, Cape Town 2008

"Recently there has been a lot of interest in what I read lately. Well I was reading today a copy of the New York Times, and I was really interested to read in there about Barack Obama’s friends from Chicago. Turns out one of his earliest supporters is a man who according to the New York Times, was a domestic terrorist and part of the group, part of the group that quote launched a campaign of bombings that would target the Pentagon and the US Capitol…No, this is not a man who sees America as you and I see America. We see America, as a force for good in this world. We see an America of exceptionalism — Yes USA! USA! — our opponent is someone who sees America as imperfect enough to pal around with terrorists who target their own country."

FoxNews | Palin: Obama Pals Around with Terrorists


USS Roosevelt, Cape Town 2008

What's not to detest about this vile creature? The Palin—McCain ticket blithely and, needless to say, unwittingly, continues its catastrophic 'surge', making Tina Fey a household name while boosting SNL's ratings. Were she not such a boon to the Democrats, Barack Obama would have sufficient grounds to launch a civil suit for slander against the moose-mouthed Alaskan Queen of Gaffe. It's much like accusing John McCain of consorting with Commies. Mind you, we know he did.

In The Choice, The New Yorker's editors offer a convincing, compelling, and well-written endorsement of Barack Obama. Given the candidates, U.S. election coverage over the past year, and Ms. Palin's continued debasement of language, the last quality is greatly appreciated. Mind you, words matter to magazines eschewing hallucinogenic notions of Manifest Destiny and American Exceptionalism.

Note: These pics are about as good as it gets with a straight digital, I'm afraid. The thing's anchored five kilometres off shore.

The Beggars' Banquet

"Do that again..."

"Give me the right to issue and control a nation’s money and I care not who governs the country.”

Meyer Amschel Rothschild

I've been watching the media fawning over the U.S. Congress, waiting for a couple of hundred four-chinned wonders to pay Goldman Sachs bagman Hank Paulson his $700 billion ransom and surrender the Republic to the banksters.

Because that's what's happening. Talk of nationalising the banks is bullshit. The banks have bought the state. What a joke. The problem, i.e. the U.S. economy, has had close on two trillion dollars thrown at it, a couple of mega-banks have cannibalised several others — compounding the problem, and government has been privatised. Simply put, the system has seized and has been seized.

And the media believe this to be a good thing?

It's as bad as coverage of the Palin-Palin debate. Actually, it's not as bad as that (most seem to believe Palin a resounding success), but its implications are far worse. The U.S. economy, after infecting just about every other financial system to which it's indebted, is unravelling.

The law of gravity and the second law of thermodynamics say it must.

You can't fill a balloon with air, let it go and expect it to behave itself. The market will eventually go batshit crazy before it crumples to nothing and disappears.


"Baling out..."

"History records that the money changers have used every form of abuse, intrigue, deceit, and violent means possible to maintain their control over governments by controlling the money and its issuance."

James Madison

Thing is, we can pretend we don't live in the real world and that's OK. But believing natural laws do not apply to us is a sign of serious emotional and mental disorder. What makes Americans believe they won't have to pony up for the fat cats' inflationary coup?

Look at it this way. More than twice as much has not yet stemmed the bleeding. Why should an additional $700 billion lend life to a corpse? Give it a week and these hoodlums will want more. Paulson will give them their 50-point cut. Already state governors are lining up because, from California to the New York island, massive budget deficits are threatening to close them down.

And foreign banks, pretending business as usual while holding toxic debt, are also supposed to benefit from the U.S. taxpayer's largesse? Ho ho. I doubt any central banker, already financing this charade, would stake his or her fat paycheck on the strength of a U.S. Treasury bill, the value of which continues to diminish. In fact, I bet they're sweating great big globs of grease right now. How large can they allow this debt to grow before their customer, in hock to the tune of ten or eleven trillion dollars, defaults and takes them out?

None of them want a Bridge to Nowhere.

It's a mess. And this Bankers' Bluff constitutes the smoke and mirrors legalising and legitimising the coup. In a couple of weeks, it'll all be over. All of it.

Sadly, and as the market mines a new 52-week low on news of the bill's passing, reality always bites.

"I have unwittingly ruined my country."

Woodrow Wilson

Sarah Palin: An African Perspective

All things considered ...

Goew. Sarah Palin, die Republikeinse Party se popster, het ‘n nasionale verleentheid vir die Amerikaners geword. Palinisme vervang Bush isme vinnig en haar antwoorde in onderhoude is so vreemd dat konserwatiewe vra dat sy haar “om haar land se onthalwe” as sen. John McCain se kandidaat as visepresident onttrek.

Die afwagting vir die debat tussen Palin en sen. Joe Biden dié week is enorm, maar nie net oor haar gewildheid nie – baie Amerikaners wil hoor wat sy volgende gaan kwytraak. Haar antwoord in net haar tweede onderhoud in Amerika op CBS oor hoekom Alaska se grens met Rusland haar enige kennis van dié land gee, het Amerika aan die giggel.

“As Poetin sy kop lig en die VSA se lugruim betree, waarheen gaan hulle? Na Alaska. Dit is reg oorkant die grens. Dit is van Alaska dat ons moet seker maak dat ‘n ogie gehou word op hierdie magtige nasie, Rusland, want hulle is reg daar en hulle is reg langs ons staat.”

CNN se kommentator Jack Cafferty het die onderhoud “'n ramp” genoem. Hy het ná Palin se antwoord oor die ekonomiese reddingspakket gesê: “As John Mc Cain wen, sal dié vrou een 72-jarige se hartklop weg daarvan wees om die president van die VSA te wees. En as dit jou nie ’n helse skrik op die lyf jaag nie, dan moet dit.”

Die Burger | Palin se onkunde laat VSA bloos

We may have political problems in Africa but, hell, at least we try to tackle them as adults.

OK, forget I said that.

On Tuesday, Die Burger's pre-debate billboards shouted Palin net 'n grap (Palin is just a joke), a pretty fair assessment of GOP VP-nominee Sarah Palin and the piss-poor U.S. electoral charade we've suffered so far.

The reason I'm using Die Burger's article is its proximate use of the word verleentheid, meaning — as I understand it, "embarrassment". Like it or not, Palin is both a joke and an international embarrassment.

"Cringeworthy" is the word used by the U.S. media, and it's appropriate. Who can wait for her to be returned, like an American Idol who's outlived its five minutes of fame, to hang in the props cupboard from which she was so unceremoniously pulled?

Reflecting a schizoid society, she and McCain do a good job resurrecting memories of both Leslie Nielsen and the ghastly Police Academy series.

There's a puerile side to this as well. Palin effortlessly evokes a sense of shame I suspect many kids experience when they suspect 'adults' deem them to have done 'wrong'. They, and those offended, seek their return to the closet as soon as possible.

So while the Alaskan governor remains a thoughtless, self-serving joke foisted by John McCain on an unsuspecting globe a month ago, Die Burger highlights and personalises Palin's transcendent "cringeworthiness".

In short, she evokes the infantile. And makes us squirm (especially as the media persists in pretending to take her seriously).

While that might not be an altogether bad thing, it's certainly no qualification for the position she seeks to fill. As Die Burger points out, the only solution is for her to step down.

Die konserwatiewe rubriekskrywer Kathleen Parker het in die National Review verklaar Palin is “uit haar liga”.

McCain kan nie haar onttrek nie, want dan gaan die konserwatiewe in opstand kom en sy oordeel bevraagteken word. Daar is net een oplossing en dit is dat sy self sal moet bedank.

Die Burger | Palin se onkunde laat VSA bloos

Postscript: You can find a transcript of the Biden—Palin debate here and succinct commentary here. Both reinforce the view espoused above.

The Crayfish Factory

"... salvage as much as possible ..."

As one Wall Street veteran explained to me, "I don't see one penny of that $700 billion ending up helping the broader economy. I see it being used to prop up share prices so the insiders can salvage as much as possible when dumping their shares".

Indeed, the $700 billion is just part of a massive "pump and dump" scheme engineered with the tacit approval of the US Treasury and the Federal Reserve. Once the banksters have offloaded their fraudulent securities and crappy paper on Uncle Sam, they will do whatever they need to do pad the bottom line and drive their stocks up.

That means they will shovel capital into hard assets, foreign currencies, gold, interest rate swaps, carry trade swindles, and Swiss bank accounts. The notion that they will recapitalize so they can provide loans to US consumers and businesses in a slumping economy is a pipedream.

Mike Whitney | Black Monday?


"History teaches us ..."

Even staunch conservatives with deep roots in Wall Street are alarmed at the possible political effects of the current economic policy. Paul Craig Roberts, former Reagan administration assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury, who is also a former associate editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page, sounded an economic and political alarm that echoed in the financial canyons around Wall Street when he wrote a column titled "Has Deregulation Sired Fascism?"

"The real issue is whether we, the people, allow powerful interests to use the economic collapse to create an even more unaccountable executive branch," he said during our interview. "History teaches us that it’s easier for government to give us our money back than it is for them to give us back the freedoms and civil liberties government takes."

Roberto Lavato | Economic 9-11: The Shrinking of Political Space


"... creating more money out of thin air ..."

Now we hear about taxpayer protections, about golden parachutes, and about other nuances that hardly cover up the fact that we would be creating more money out of thin air and further devaluing the dollar! The problem is not HOW the government is spending this money; it’s the fact that the government is spending this money.

We don’t have it. We are already nearly $10 trillion in debt, not including unfunded liabilities. We already spend about $1 trillion a year we don’t have on our overseas empire. Now nearly $1 trillion more is somehow supposed to magically appear and solve all our problems!

No — creating more money might delay the inevitable for some well-connected banks on Wall Street, but in a few weeks we will find ourselves right back in this same position, but much poorer.

Rep Ron Paul | Lipstick on a Bailout

"It's crazy. It's like we've lost our moorings."

Former US Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill

AFRICOM's Carrier Diplomacy

USS Theodore Roosevelt

"The United States military has become more involved in a range of activities that in the past were perceived to be the exclusive province of civilian agencies and organizations. This has led to concern ... about what's seen as a creeping "militarization" of some aspects of America's foreign policy. This is not an entirely unreasonable sentiment."

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert M. Gates

Today's launch of United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) sees Carrier Strike Group 2 blockading Cape Town from October 4, 2008 — reinforcing AFRICOM's mission, i.e. "... military operations as directed to promote a stable and secure African environment in support of U.S. foreign policy." [Mission statement May 2008]

Look, I've nothing against the group or its 7,300 complement, off on a six-month deployment to the Mediterranean "...in support of maritime security". I do have issues with them being used as banner ads for AFRICOM's commission — not that the time of their 'visit' and today's initiation of the US's invasion of Africa has been commented on by our dumber-than-deadwood media.

A year to the day after the USS Forest Sherman's visit to Cape Town — following that of NATO task force SNMG1 headed by the Triconderoga-class cruiser USS Normandy (CG60), the docking of the TR (CVN71) support-cruiser USS Monterey (CG61) and several other ships will send a signal my old friend Thomas PM Barnett would be proud to hear:

"The Americans have landed. For real"


Carrier Strike Group 2

And they will have done so in deed rather than — as is usually the case, in word. The strike group includes a 50,000-ton combat support ship, three Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers The Sullivans, Mason, and Nitze, as well as the nuclear attack submarine USS Springfield.

The media’s been silent on the last vessel. Staying out to sea (under cover, so to speak)?

Never mind. There are many more dangerous things hovering offshore. The USS Theodore Roosevelt's Carrier Air Wing Eight consists of strike fighter squadrons VFA-15, VFA-31, VFA-87 and VFA-213; tactical electronics warfare squadron VAQ-141; carrier airborne early warning squadron VAW-124; and helicopter anti-submarine squadron HS-3. That makes some 90 aircraft in all — about as many as we have in the South African Air Force.

Do we really need these people? I mean, what the hell are we doing with our frigates? This Strike Group, armed for Armageddon, is not out to hunt Somali pirates. It's positioning itself for a possible war with Iran.

So the contagion spreads. May the visiting Chilean tall ship Esmeralda restore us to sanity.

"In Africa, where the State Department and USAID are deeply involved in administering a range of major foreign assistance programs, the Defense Department is working to ensure that its new regional command, AFRICOM, supports and complements our civilian-led initiatives. We are pleased that DoD is giving senior leadership positions within AFRICOM to State Department officials, positioning them well to advise the command on appropriate courses of action."

John D. Negroponte

As CNN's Jack Cafferty observed after Sarah Palin's one on one with Katie Couric: "If that doesn't scare the hell out of you, it should."

Note: Three decades after the event, I stumbled on to Steve Dutch's amazing site. It boasts myriad photographs of 1976's Operation Sail, an armada of tall ships and military vessels packed into New York Bay to celebrate the U.S. Bicentennial.

If the bright light beneath those fireworks is Lady Liberty, that was our mooring. Back home, in Soweto and countless other places, schoolkids were being gunned down by the cops. At least 800 were to die.

At one stage during the ceremonial review, I got close enough to Dick Cheney to shoot him. If only I knew then what I now know.

As kids, we had a great time in New York, out-drinking all nationalities and visiting as many parts of Manhattan as possible — including the remarkable tall ships lining the Hudson. In fact, I remember the Dar Parmorza well, having been dragged down to visit it by a drunken Polack in the Marek J. Maybe Elvis mould.

I trust ... nay hope, given global antipathy to the U.S. military, those sailing with Carrier Strike Group 2 find Cape Town as welcoming, warm, and friendly as we found New Yorkers to be some thirty-two years ago.