America's 'Mercenary' Military is a Failure

The idea, born in the Vietnam War, that the Pentagon could no longer control a military made up of 'Civilians' resulted in the abolishment of the Draft and the creation of an 'All Volunteer' military - A 'mercenary' Force made up of highly paid 'volunteers'.

In history, we see the results of such a move in Rome. Where a mercenary military preceded the collapse of the Roman Empire.

So, what is the difference between a 'Civilian' military and a 'Mercenary' one?

Simple: A civilian military is made up of citizens who are drafted and who are loyal to the Constitution. A mercenary military is made up of men who serve for money and who are loyal to those who pay them. A large percentage of which are contractors who work for the big corporations.

The military of the United States is no longer and instrument of the American people - it has become a tool of Corporate Capitalism!

The result:

An American soldier opened fire on villagers near his base in southern Afghanistan Sunday and killed 16 civilians, according to President Hamid Karzai who called it an "assassination" and furiously demanded an explanation from Washington. Nine children and three women were among the dead.

The killing spree deepened a crisis between U.S. forces and their Afghan hosts over Americans burning Muslim holy books on a base in Afghanistan. The burnings sparked weeks of violent protests and attacks that left some 30 people dead. Six U.S. service members have been killed by their Afghan colleagues since the Quran burnings came to light, but the violence had just started to calm down.

Four soldiers from a Stryker brigade out of Lewis-McChord, Washington, have been sent to prison in connection with the 2010 killings of three unarmed men during patrols in Kandahar province's Maiwand district, which is just northwest of Panjwai. They were accused of forming a "kill team" that murdered Afghan civilians for sport — slaughtering victims with grenades and powerful machine guns during patrols, then dropping weapons near their bodies to make them appear to have been combatants.

And in January, before the Quran burning incident, a video that purportedly showed U.S. Marines urinating on corpses of men they had killed sparked widespread outrage.

NATO officials apologized for the shootings.

The problem:

This is just the tip of the iceberg. Officers are losing control of their troops - obviously - the men have no respect for their leaders and the rule of law or common decency - obviously - and, who the fuck is NATO to apologize for the United States armed forces?

The other day, as the two F-15s that protect the city of Long Beach were scrambling, I had an epiphany. The United States has no defense against a real war. When the Chinese (or whoever) come they will come with thousands of fighters and blow those F-15s out of the sky... All of our shit is overseas (serving the interests of the big corporations and playing the part of the world's bully). And, what about nuclear weapons? Boom! The whole city goes up in flames. For what? Because the Government no longer serves the interests of the American people? Because the corporations are greedy, and cruel? Because the military is out of control?

The whole country is turning to shit. And, the politicians say we need to go to war with Iran because that's what Israel wants. Fuck Israel! The politicians have already bankrupted the United States and screwed the American people - while the Corporate Capitalists (the tiny 1%) have raked in record profits.

Ron Paul is right about one thing: We need to bring the troops home and quit playing 'Rambo' in the world. Because we are going to need every one of them to defend the United States.

And, that's the Truth!

Wyoming Prepares For Crisis

In the storm of economic crisis, all the arguments about the benefits of friendship, cooperation and integration get forgotten. As evident from the Western experience, only thriving together can be a good thing. When the dark days come, everyone tries to keep their stuff separate. The principle "every man for himself" becomes more popular, and people are ready to erect fences around each village.

It is one thing when France and Germany are making tremendous efforts to prevent the collapse of the still young euro area. It is quite a different story when the germs of centrifugal tendencies appear in a well-established country like the United States. Meanwhile, the state of Wyoming in all seriousness began preparations for autonomous navigation. The freedom-loving mountaineers nearly passed a bill providing for procedures in case of the collapse of the federal government. The State House of Representatives was short of just three votes to pass the bill.

The bill includes the introduction of domestic currency, creating its own army and even the possibility of acquiring an aircraft carrier. It was assumed that the final set of measures needed to start an independent life would be developed by a special parliamentary commission. However, according to the main initiators, the last two points about the army and navy were inserted in the bill by its secret enemies. Before considering these ideas in the House the ideas were crossed out along with the proposition of the state's own currency.

These lawmakers might have not thought it through as all sorts of regional currencies have proven quite effective in combating the financial crisis even during the Great Depression. Even today, this ersatz money is used successfully in some cities of Europe and the United States, and in many other parts of the world. Such regional currency is issued, as a rule, by local municipalities, is linked to the main currency of the country (euro or dollar) and sold to the population at a discount of 5-10 percent. Within the city or urban conglomerate they can pay for goods and services of local producers.

The point of the regional currencies is to support local business. The money cannot be spent in a local McDonald's or Wall Mart. Customers would have to go to a neighborhood store, and if there is no right product there to another one, even further away. The shopkeeper, in turn, will give the money to a local farmer; the farmer will spend it in a bar, at a barber, or would pay for municipal services.

For example, in the United States, in Ithaca New York, the local currency - hours - has been around for a long time. According to "Rossiyskaya Gazeta", the reason for its introduction was the observation that the residents of this agricultural region spend their money in supermarket chains, while the stores do not buy from local producers. With the introduction of "hours", a unit equated to labor per hour, the depressed region has received significant impetus for the development. The economist Friedrich Hayek in his time won the Nobel Prize, including for the theoretical basis of the effectiveness of such a system.

Hayek, who represented the ultra-liberal trend in the economy, offered to go further and abolish issuance of money by the state, giving this function to private corporations. In his view, the competition between different currencies, as well as goods, would lead eventually to a more stable and reliable payment. From the outside it looks great: regions and companies are exempt from the dictatorship of big corporations sucking the money out of them; are insured against the risk of mistakes by the federal financial management system; the municipalities receive funds for social programs based on the level of local economic development, and the small businesses thrive.

Local ersatz money is indeed good, but only on condition that it remains the only exotic currency used in compliance with a large number of strict rules and only when and where it is vitally important. If all regions of the country start recklessly printing their own money, as pointed out in "Rossiyskaya Gazeta" by president of the Moscow International Currency Association Alexey Mamontov, this would lead to their actual separation. At least, when Argentina tried to make the most of the ideas of Hayek, it was found that this only deepens the economic crisis, creating national economic risks. The Argentine experiment ended in 2001 with unprecedented social upheavals.

It looks like the mountain state will have to survive the economic storm in the same boat with other regions of the United States. Because, the bottom-line is: we are all in this together.

And, that's the Truth!