Sadism Rules In Bahrain

Paul Krugman
Dana Milbank
Philip Shenom

"The whole budget debate, then, is a sham. House Republicans, in particular, are literally stealing food from the mouths of babes — nutritional aid to pregnant women and very young children is one of the items on their cutting block — so they can pose, falsely, as deficit hawks." - Paul Krugman

"That’s why I say that Mr. Obama gets too little credit. He has done more to rein in long-run deficits than any previous president. And if his opponents were serious about those deficits, they’d be backing his actions and calling for more; instead, they’ve been screaming about death panels." - Paul Krugman

"The bottom line, then, is that while the budget is all over the news, we’re not having a real debate; it’s all sound, fury, and posturing, telling us a lot about the cynicism of politicians but signifying nothing in terms of actual deficit reduction. And we shouldn’t indulge those politicians by pretending otherwise." - Paul Krugman

The dark, repressive side to the Middle East will not go down without a fight, exposure to the light alone won't kill it. Unfortunately, what has been exposed is very sick and very deadly. There's no other way to say it - the King of Bahrain is insane, one sadistic dude. I can only imagine how he has kept his fetish alive over the years, probably volunteering to run a rendition camp for the CIA that makes water-boarding look tame. Compound this with the fact that the Sunni rulers in this area will not allow any kind of Shia uprising, turning the conflict in Bahrain into a religious war. Tunisia and Egypt was a secular uprising, with people of all religions gathered together, clamoring for basic human rights and dignity.

In Bahrain, at first the King tried to deflect any organizing by announcing that some democratic reforms would be made. When a gathering assembled in the capitol's main square, the government welcomed them as long as they were non-violent. Then they attacked them, trying to overwhelm them by the amount of tear gas used, along with rubber bullets and buckshot. The King appeared on television, apologizing for the mishaps, and promised to investigate one man's death... All that did was to attract even more people, who set up tents and were ready for days of protest. At three o'clock in the morning, police raided the camp, firing real bullets, trying to herd everyone out of the square. The King then went on television again, apologizing for the brutality, but there were people who had weapons and were planning on attacking the police, whereupon the screen showed a couple of antique swords that were taken from a museum and placed on a sleeping bag... This morning, all apologies were off, and the police shot and killed over 20 protesters, how dare you defy your King? This is classic tribal warfare, inviting your enemy into an ambush, making them feel safe so they let their guard down, then closing in...

Bahrain is unique because the US has its Fifth Fleet stationed there. At what point does the King cross the line, killing too many that the US feels it has to intervene? Or will the US sit by and do nothing like the Egyptian Army supposedly had done? There are two Iranian warships attempting to enter the Suez Canal on their way to Syria to act as a naval counterweight, in solidarity to the Shiite Hezsbollah in syria and Lebanon. Already there are elements who would turn all gains made by peaceful demonstrations into war...

The Iranians are completely over the edge, gone frothing mad. They have taken one of the opposition leaders, Mir Moussavi, and put him away in a secret spot, he has been missing since Tuesday, and it's feared that the calls for hanging him have come to pass... Even crazier, was the piece of street theater the Iranian government tried to perform. First, they killed a student, then claimed that he wasn't really a protester, but he was a pro-government agent killed by the opposition protesters. Nobody was believing that story, especially the kid's family. Then, the government decided to have a funeral for the kid, complete with carrying the casket through the streets surrounded by ayatollahs and basij. Worst, they didn't allow any of the kid's family to participate or even go near the spectacle, which was filmed and shown of the state run TV...

These fake spectacles that everyone can see are so fake and false reminds me of our Republicans trying to make cuts in the budget. None of them are thought out, they just took scissors to the printed pages of the budget and let some five-year-old kids do the cutting. It makes as much sense as any reason I've heard by John Boehner or Paul Ryan. When, oh when, will the Republicans let Rand Paul become their spokesperson, let him ramble on and on without making one logical thought?.. Now, there's a debate for you, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the sadistic King of Bahrain, and Rand Paul, all on one stage, certainly more fun than CPAC was... Make sure to read the Paul Krugman column that is linked at the top of this page...