Baffled European

Tag: giving in to China

  • All quiet on the western seaboard

    I doubt this was the plan, but it’s working. They sent a bunch of armed thugs out onto the streets of LA to bully and harass the population, provoking a riot (or something similar). In addition to the excitement of riot police, this gives them the pretext to activate the army, however illegal this might be.

    They are planning similar ICE operations in several other cities, all of them coincidentally controlled by the Democrats. This should cause mass civil unrest all over the place, all under the pretext of enforcing law and order. At the very least, it will feed the lust for violence that the far right crave. Best case would be some sort of martial law, where they can gain complete control over “enemy” areas. Helpful for the elections next year.

    There’s not much going on. The mayor of LA has ordered a partial curfew, which is being observed. So much for lawless chaos and disorder. The National Guard are out in force, surrounding federal buildings to protect them from… nobody.

    All those soldiers are there voluntarily. Commanding officers allow individuals to opt out of such duties. This is good. On the other hand, it means the army now has lists of soldiers who have no problems in going out and performing “police actions” among the general population. This could come in handy in the future.

    Meanwhile, the Commander-in-Chief is touring military bases, doing his campaign speeches, the usual. It’s going well.

  • It’s just not cricket

    Cricket has “laws” rather than rules, the terminology reflecting the 18th century when the game was codified. In order for a batter to be given “out”, two things must happen: the fielding side must appeal; and the umpire must give the batter out.

    In principle then, a batter can be cleanly bowled, stumps and bails strewn all over the place. But if the fielders simply pick up the wreckage and reassemble the wicket, play continues – whatever the umpire might think. It is also possible that they appeal, but the umpire smiles, hands in pocket. The captain of the fielding team can even be invited to withdraw an appeal.

    We find ourselves in such a position in the USA. The president has accepted a massive bribe from Qatar. A Boeing 747, laden with bling and listening devices, an estimated value of $400m. The constitution is clear on this point – it explicitly mentions bribery (alongside treason) as grounds for impeachment.

    The president himself doesn’t know if he is supposed to uphold the constitution. The Republicans in Congress won’t express an opinion on the matter either – they are too busy inventing pseudo-legalistic sophistry to excuse this blatant corruption. They will do nothing. Should it reach the Supreme Court, they will slice and dice the question, before dismissing it.

    I have criticised the US constitution as being no longer fit for its purpose. However, when all responsible people ignore every rule, law and limitation, no imaginable constitution can compensate. Game Over.