RANGER AGAINST WAR: Hypocrites are US <

Wednesday, August 13, 2008

Hypocrites are US


Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam
out of thine own eye;

and then shalt thou see clearly

to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye

--Matthew 7:5


Go, tell it on the mountain
Over the hills and everywhere
--Negro Spiritual

A rainy night in Georgia

Such a rainy night in Georgia

Lord, I believe it's rainin' all over the world

--Rainy Night in Georgia
, Tony Joe White

_______________

Do as we say, not as we do -- the new motto of the U.S.

At a news conference today, Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice admonished Russia in her shrilly yet flinty voice,


"This is not 1968 and the invasion of Czechoslovakia where Russia can threaten a neighbor, occupy a capital, overthrow a government and get away with it," Rice said just hours before leaving for France. "Things have changed" (Bush Demand Russia Remove Troops from Georgia.)"

Say what? You mean, you can't go about invading a democratically - elected, sovereign nation and overthrowing its government? OOPS! This is all a bit embarrassing. Tell it to George, why don't you?

I have a visual of high school football Coach Rudy Rolle, our 9th grade stand-in biology teacher, striding about with a hard pack of Kool Menthol Kings in shirt pocket, holding forth on how smoking was something we should not do. He would then step out on the back steps while we were occupied with busy work and light one up.


Rice told Russia it "had to end all military activities in the former Soviet republic and withdraw all its forces. Bush also said he would postpone a planned vacation to further deal with the crisis"
(Rice : Russia Must End Military Ops in Georgia.)

First golf, now the vacation. That's a hell of thing to forgo, and I can't imagine President Bush will feel like he is leaving the Office one day too soon what with all the sacrifices he has made during his term.

Hypocrisy, it's crawling all over thee. . .

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11 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Well, gee, FINALLY, after almost 8 years, at last we know what fabric the Chimperator's "new clothes" are made from...and the accessories are of pure, genuine irony.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 7:54:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger The Mad Dog said...

Hypocrites? Oh, yes...just look who we do business with (ahem, China). Now then, Chinese President Hu Jintao, Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, and President Bush all sat down to tea and cookies just last week...what do you think they were really cooking up? I'll hazard a guess it has much to do with the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline (which transports nearly one million barrels per day). Let's take a look at who owns significant interest in the BTC pipeline:

# BP (United Kingdom): 30.1%

# State Oil Company of Azerbaijan (SOCAR) (Azerbaijan): 25.00%
(SOCAR's V.P. happens to be the President of Azerbaijan...there are many around the world who are critical of his human rights record).

# Chevron (USA): 8.90% (George W. Bush is Chevron’s number two all-time recipient of campaign contributions, after former Republican Congressman Richard Pombo).

# StatoilHydro (Norway): 8.71%

# Türkiye Petrolleri Anonim Ortaklığı (TPAO) (Turkey): 6.53%

# Eni/Agip (Italy): 5.00%

# Total (France): 5.0%

# Itochu (Japan): 3.4%

# Inpex (Japan): 2.50%

# ConocoPhillips (USA): 2.50%

# Hess Corporation (USA) 2.36%

I don't believe the U.S., the E.U., the Russian Federation nor the Republic of Georgia have any interest in the "democratic rights" of S. Ossetia; I believe it has EVERYTHING to do with oil and strategic defense issues between the former Soviets and the West. Period. Old dog with a new leash...a leash being held by many different hands.

Incidentally...South Ossetia's President Eduard Kokoity (unrecognized by Georgia) is a Russian citzen.

Sources:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan_pipeline

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/country_profiles/3797729.stm

http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/cabs/Azerbaijan/Background.html

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/hess_corporation/index.html?offset=10&s=newest

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 8:47:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Lisa said...

mad celt,

Thank you for doing the heavy lifting and bringing these stats to bear on the issue. It is never about democracy, is it? It is always about resources, specifically petroleum in these days of dwindling dinosaur reservoirs.

"Democratization" sounds so much better than "exploitation and profiteering," eh?

labrys,

I would hate to even allow George Bush the skill of irony, which can be wielded so well by much more proficient artists. And yet, he is certainly not totally a bumbler. . .

I know the clothes that would suit him: the penitent's horsehair shirt and chains would be a beginning. Alternately, an orange jumpsuit would become him.

Wednesday, August 13, 2008 at 10:25:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger The Mad Dog said...

Lisa...horse-hair shirts and orange jumpsuits, are you poking fun at my wardrobe? Seriously, though, as long as you can pump "democracy" out of the ground, our current administration will be there!

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 4:50:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

The above posts are a good example of the kind of thing that will be deleted soon. Certainly, rumors abound on the Web about, "I will log your IP addresses send my goon squad to your houses to torture your pets," but one thing is for certain: we are addressing a serious problem that should not be debated.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 10:58:00 AM GMT-5  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Handsome...they better start digging some deep pits or confiscating EVERY sports arena then. Because there are a LOT of us out here.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 11:30:00 AM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Mad Celt, thanks for the scorecard roundup of all the players. jim

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 12:01:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

Handsome Hetero,
Your name has me excited but your comment is beyond my simple Ranger ability to comprehend.What exactly are you trying to say?Keep it simple for a poor old guy. jim

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 12:04:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Terrible said...

Oh Hell! This isn't going to mess up georgies setting a new Presidential vacation record is it? That'll really tick him off if it messes with his chance of getting in the Guinness Book of World Records! 'Course he's still got that worst President thing as a chance at the record books.

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 1:54:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger Terrible said...

"serious problem that should not be debated"

????? hmmmmmmmm Karl is that you?

Thursday, August 14, 2008 at 1:56:00 PM GMT-5  
Blogger rangeragainstwar said...

To all,
I try to comprehend the incomprehensible- yep-US foreign policy.
We've got 2 perfectly serviceable wars on the burner AND we continue to saber rattle in Iran- Then we keep pushing Nato's borders east and past the east. Now we're talking trash over Georgia.
Consider the implications of Russia/ Iran forming a defensive alliance . jim

Friday, August 15, 2008 at 10:50:00 AM GMT-5  

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