Have the ruling elite gotten lazy or stupid?

Submitted by gjohnsit on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 5:42pm

The Gulf of Credibility - I really cannot begin to fathom how stupid you would have to be to believe that Iran would attack a Japanese oil tanker at the very moment that the Japanese Prime Minister was sitting down to friendly, US-disapproved talks in https://t.co/P1wE1Y886i

— Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) June 14, 2019

When the ruling elite wanted a war with Iraq they invented incubator babies and WMD programs that didn't exist. Their inventions were far fetched, but not unbelievable.
However, the idea that the paranoid dictator Saddam was just going to hand over his most powerful weapons to religious fanatics that hated his guts, was laughably stupid.

When the ruling elite wanted a war with Libya they invented a genocidal, Viagra-fueled, rape army. Their invention was far fetched, and bit lazy, but you could be forgiven for believing that the Mandarins believed it.

This latest anti-Iran warmongering is just plain stupid. It's as if they don't really care if anyone believes the lies they are telling.
For starters, look at the shameless liar who is telling these lies.

You mean "Mr. We Lied, We Cheated, We Stole"? What a disgraceful character... pic.twitter.com/pMtAgKaZcG

— Brave New World (@ClubBayern) June 13, 2019

Then there are the many problems of their "proof".

Where is the video of the Iranians PLACING explosives & detonating them? Removal would be prudent by any Navy/CG. Also location of explosives is VERY high off waterline ...Weird. It’s not a limpet mine, it’s a demo charge. Had to be put on by fairly high boat w/ a long gaff/pole https://t.co/3qzB7TrrYv

— Malcolm Nance (@MalcolmNance) June 14, 2019

The distress call went out at 6 am. So, according to CENTCOM's analysis of this video, they're suggesting that 10 hours after the tanker was hit, the IRGC just casually pulled up to the tanker to remove unexploded limpet mine in broad daylight?!

— Rosalind Rogers راز (@Rrogerian) June 14, 2019

BREAKING: Owner says Kokuka Courageous tanker crew saw "flying objects" before attack, suggesting ship wasn't damaged by mines.

— The Associated Press (@AP) June 14, 2019

The Japanese company that owns the ship has refused to cooperate in this false flag mission.

But in remarks to Japanese media, the president of the company that owns the ship said the vessel wasn’t damaged by a mine. “A mine doesn’t damage a ship above sea level," said Yutaka Katada, president of Kokuka Sangyo, the owner and operator of the vessel. “We aren’t sure exactly what hit, but it was something flying towards the ship,” he said.

When the propaganda begins to fall apart and @realDonaldTrump tries to find another way to start a war to win an election. pic.twitter.com/r8Cp7BNQ7z

— Bamboozll (@bamboozll) June 14, 2019

Looking at this incident/narrative from any/every angle leaves one to conclude "false flag".

Finally, there is the question of "why"?
What would Iran hope to accomplish by this? I found one establishment source that tried to rationalize.

Iran denied responsibility, with Foreign Minister Javad Zarif descending to bazaar-level conspiracy theories involving a false-flag operation by Israel’s Mossad.
If you’re not inclined to believe the Trump administration – and such skepticism is entirely reasonable – most detectives would still tell you that the most obvious culprit is usually responsible for the crime.

To those seeking logic behind the attacks, though, it may be hard to see why Iran would do this – but that assumes that the regime in Tehran is a rational actor.

The Gulf of Oman attacks are especially hard to explain: targeting Japanese shipping on the very day that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was meeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on a well-publicized peace mission would seem extraordinarily counterproductive, even for a regime with an almost fanatical commitment to self-harm.

Have you ever noticed that everyone that we want to start a war with is crazy?
Regimes that stand solid for generations under hostile conditions are always run by maniacs.
You'd think that insanity would prevent them from taking power in the first place, but that seems to only be true with our allies.

As for the "most obvious culprit is usually responsible for the crime" that also happens to be "bazaar-level conspiracy theories involving a false-flag operation by Israel’s Mossad". Because Mossad actually does that.

Since the U.S.’s tightening of sanctions has squeezed Iranian oil exports, nobody else’s should be allowed to pass through waters within reach of the IRGC.

The Iranians know that these threats, if repeated, can lose their power if not followed with action. The attacks on the tankers, then, can be explained as a demonstration that Khamenei’s attack dogs have some teeth.

There is another rationale. If Iran does eventually agree to negotiate with the U.S., it will want to bring some bargaining chips to the table – something it can exchange for the removal of sanctions. In the negotiations over the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran was able to offer the suspension of its nuclear program. It doesn’t have that particular chip now, although Tehran has recently threatened to crank up the centrifuges again.

Meanwhile, the regime may have calculated that the only way to secure some kind of negotiating position is blackmail: End the sanctions, or we take out some more tankers, and send oil prices surging.

This almost sounds logical, except for one thing: Iran tried that in 1988 and it didn't work. It only caused the one thing the U.S. was itching for: to kill some Iranians.
Do you think that they've forgotten? Or that the U.S. is less warlike?
Oh wait. Iranians are crazy and can't be reasoned with, amirite?

US public radio @NPR does not mention it was Iranians who saved the crew. That's how terrible they are at journalism

— boomerWithaLandline (@Irene34799239) June 14, 2019

The only real question is, why such a transparent lie?
Has the ruling elite gotten lazy or stupid? Or do they think that we are that lazy and stupid?
I have an alternative theory.

For the last two years, as you’ve probably noticed, the corporate media have been not so subtly alternating between manufacturing Russia hysteria and Nazi hysteria, and sometimes whipping up both at once. Thus, I’ve dubbed the new Official Enemy of Freedom “the Putin-Nazis.” They don’t really make any sense, rationally, but let’s not get all hung up on that. Official enemies don’t have to make sense. The important thing is, they’re coming to get us, and to kill the Jews and destroy democracy … and something about Stalin, if memory serves. Putin is their leader, of course. Trump is his diabolical puppet. Julian Assange is … well, Goebbels, or something. Glenn Greenwald is also on the payroll, as are countless “useful idiots” like myself, whose job it is to sow division, discord, racism, anti-Semitism, anti-capitalism, anti-Hillaryism, collusion rejectionism, ontological skepticism, and any other horrible thing you can think of.

Their bullsh*t lies have gotten lazy and stupid because real effort isn't required to start a war and kill a lot of people.

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Comments

Submitted by WoodsDweller on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:18pm

I'm going to go with "desperate"

Something's happening to move up the time table, and it isn't the election, we're already in plenty of wars, another one won't help El Trumpo.

—

"The greatest shortcoming of the human race is our inability to understand the exponential function." -- Albert Bartlett
"A species that is hurtling toward extinction has no business promoting slow incremental change." -- Caitlin Johnstone

Submitted by Sirena on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:31pm

Who is playing who?

That is the question, I ask thee?

If El Trumpo was going to drain the swamp, why did he take these cretins, Bolton, Pompeo, Haspel, Abrams into his cabinet?

Is the tail, wagging the dog as usual?

Submitted by TheOtherMaven on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:31pm

All of the above

Lazy, stupid, and desperate.

—

There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Submitted by thanatokephaloides on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 7:00pm

I'd like to place a bet for the lady's proposal.

@TheOtherMaven

All of the above. Lazy, stupid, and desperate.

punctuation adjusted for format change

—

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:33pm

The answer to your title is YES

The elite are both lazy and stupid. Even the Orange Man will not be sucked into another Douma style false flag operation. The reasons why this is a basic false flag is obvious. If anybody reading about this doesn't understand the culprits responsible weren't Iranian, then they should be interviewed for mental competency.

My money, the little that I have, is on either the Saudis or the Israelis; maybe even both.

But Pompous Mike and Bolt-on Bolt-off need to be removed from any semblance of governmental authority. I could go on but this whole affair is making me tired...I'm going back to my swamp.

Submitted by Sirena on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:45pm

Not so fast!

@Alligator Ed

Unless of course you have some important cleanup business to do there?

Even swamps need a little CO2 to keep them nice and swampy and fit for scaly cold blooded creatures to lurk beneath in the deep.

Right?

Submitted by The Voice In th... on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 6:51pm

To use an old phrase, The Iranians are crazy but not stupid!

But Pompeo thinks the voters are. Maybe he's right (as well as Right wing).

—

I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Submitted by Linda Wood on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 9:54pm

Maybe they're desperate

over stuff like this:

Japan Blames F-35 Fighter Crash on Pilot Disorientation
Bloomberg‎ - 4 days ago
Japan Blames F-35 Fighter Crash on Pilot Disorientation ... many as 147 F-35s -- including some that cost 15.3 billion yen ($140 million) each.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/06/12/the-pentagon-is-battling-the-...

(one day ago)

WASHINGTON — Over the past several years, U.S. Defense Department leaders have gone from citing technical problems as their biggest concern for the F-35 program to bemoaning the expense of buying and sustaining the aircraft.

But the reality may be worse. According to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News, the F-35 continues to be marred by flaws and glitches that, if left unfixed, could create risks to pilot safety and call into question the fighter jet’s ability to accomplish key parts of its mission…

… the majority of these problems have not been publicly disclosed, exposing a lack of transparency about the limitations of the Defense Department’s most expensive and high-profile weapons system.

These problems impact far more operators than the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy customer base. Eleven countries — Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the United Kingdom — have all selected the aircraft as their future fighter of choice, and nine partner nations have contributed funds to the development of the F-35.

… The 13 deficiencies include:

The F-35’s logistics system currently has no way for foreign F-35 operators to keep their secret data from being sent to the United States.

The spare parts inventory shown by the F-35’s logistics system does not always reflect reality, causing occasional mission cancellations.

Cabin pressure spikes in the cockpit of the F-35 have been known to cause barotrauma, the word given to extreme ear and sinus pain.

In very cold conditions — defined as at or near minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit — the F-35 will erroneously report that one of its batteries have failed, sometimes prompting missions to be aborted.

Supersonic flight in excess of Mach 1.2 can cause structural damage and blistering to the stealth coating of the F-35B and F-35C.

After doing certain maneuvers, F-35B and F-35C pilots are not always able to completely control the aircraft’s pitch, roll and yaw.

If the F-35A and F-35B blows a tire upon landing, the impact could also take out both hydraulic lines and pose a loss-of-aircraft risk.

A “green glow” sometimes appears on the helmet-mounted display, washing out the imagery in the helmet and making it difficult to land the F-35C on an aircraft carrier.

On nights with little starlight, the night vision camera sometimes displays green striations that make it difficult for all variants to see the horizon or to land on ships.

The sea search mode of the F-35’s radar only illuminates a small slice of the sea’s surface.

When the F-35B vertically lands on very hot days, older engines may be unable to produce the required thrust to keep the jet airborne, resulting in a hard landing.

The Pentagon has identified four additional category 1 deficiencies since beginning operational tests in December 2018, mostly centered around weapons interfaces, Winter said.

… The recently retired aviator said some of the issues jumped off the page at him, including the cabin over-pressurization issue, given the rash of over-pressurization issues in other aircraft, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and F-22 Raptor.

But perhaps the most serious for aerial combat operations is the combination of maneuvering issues when the aircraft is operating above a 20-degree angle of attack and the issue of possible structural damage and damage to the low-observable coating when using the afterburner. That coating helps provide the F-35 a stealth capability.

"The one that stood out to me was, wait a minute, you're telling me that the latest, greatest aircraft — [a] $100 million aircraft — can't perform?" the retired fighter pilot said. "It has random oscillations, pitch and yaw issues above 20A?"

Submitted by snoopydawg on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 10:15pm

Good lord

@Linda Wood

Why is this turkey still being built? And how can a company that has been building planes for so long screw this up so badly? When will someone in congress get the guts to put it out of its misery? I posted another problem with this in tonight's EBs.

barotrauma.. I suffered from this once and still remember how painful it was. There is no way to describe how bad it is. Now imagine a pilot trying to land his jet whilst suffering from it.

over stuff like this: Japan Blames F-35 Fighter Crash on Pilot Disorientation Bloomberg‎ - 4 days ago Japan Blames F-35 Fighter Crash on Pilot Disorientation ... many as 147 F-35s -- including some that cost 15.3 billion yen ($140 million) each. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/06/12/the-pentagon-is-battling-the-... (one day ago) WASHINGTON — Over the past several years, U.S. Defense Department leaders have gone from citing technical problems as their biggest concern for the F-35 program to bemoaning the expense of buying and sustaining the aircraft. But the reality may be worse. According to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News, the F-35 continues to be marred by flaws and glitches that, if left unfixed, could create risks to pilot safety and call into question the fighter jet’s ability to accomplish key parts of its mission… … the majority of these problems have not been publicly disclosed, exposing a lack of transparency about the limitations of the Defense Department’s most expensive and high-profile weapons system. These problems impact far more operators than the U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy customer base. Eleven countries — Australia, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Israel, the Netherlands, Norway, Japan, South Korea, Turkey and the United Kingdom — have all selected the aircraft as their future fighter of choice, and nine partner nations have contributed funds to the development of the F-35. … The 13 deficiencies include: The F-35’s logistics system currently has no way for foreign F-35 operators to keep their secret data from being sent to the United States. The spare parts inventory shown by the F-35’s logistics system does not always reflect reality, causing occasional mission cancellations. Cabin pressure spikes in the cockpit of the F-35 have been known to cause barotrauma, the word given to extreme ear and sinus pain. In very cold conditions — defined as at or near minus 30 degrees Fahrenheit — the F-35 will erroneously report that one of its batteries have failed, sometimes prompting missions to be aborted. Supersonic flight in excess of Mach 1.2 can cause structural damage and blistering to the stealth coating of the F-35B and F-35C. After doing certain maneuvers, F-35B and F-35C pilots are not always able to completely control the aircraft’s pitch, roll and yaw. If the F-35A and F-35B blows a tire upon landing, the impact could also take out both hydraulic lines and pose a loss-of-aircraft risk. A “green glow” sometimes appears on the helmet-mounted display, washing out the imagery in the helmet and making it difficult to land the F-35C on an aircraft carrier. On nights with little starlight, the night vision camera sometimes displays green striations that make it difficult for all variants to see the horizon or to land on ships. The sea search mode of the F-35’s radar only illuminates a small slice of the sea’s surface. When the F-35B vertically lands on very hot days, older engines may be unable to produce the required thrust to keep the jet airborne, resulting in a hard landing. The Pentagon has identified four additional category 1 deficiencies since beginning operational tests in December 2018, mostly centered around weapons interfaces, Winter said. … The recently retired aviator said some of the issues jumped off the page at him, including the cabin over-pressurization issue, given the rash of over-pressurization issues in other aircraft, including the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, EA-18G Growler and F-22 Raptor. But perhaps the most serious for aerial combat operations is the combination of maneuvering issues when the aircraft is operating above a 20-degree angle of attack and the issue of possible structural damage and damage to the low-observable coating when using the afterburner. That coating helps provide the F-35 a stealth capability. "The one that stood out to me was, wait a minute, you're telling me that the latest, greatest aircraft — [a] $100 million aircraft — can't perform?" the retired fighter pilot said. "It has random oscillations, pitch and yaw issues above 20A?"

Submitted by travelerxxx on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 11:06pm

$$$ x billions and billions

@snoopydawg

Why is this turkey still being built?

That's an easy one, Snoop. Same answer as always - it's about the Benjamins.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Fri, 06/14/2019 - 11:34pm

The F35 is a Rube Goldberg invention

@snoopydawg It's a piece of flying crap with too many parts and too many gadgets. The Russki's have much better fighters (not half-ass fighter bombers like the F35); examples being the SU 35 and SU 47.

Submitted by leveymg on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 11:44pm

The F35 is a 737 Max that can fly once or twice

@Alligator Ed @Alligator Ed before it has to be rebuilt or it crashes. The concept and design is essentially flawed in ways that require software "fixes" that add complexity and frailty. It's so expensive that only a handful will ever be built, only a small percentage of which are able to fly at any given time.

The product of End-stage capitalism in a crashing Empire. We can't even manage to destroy others cost-effectively, anymore, except to starve the poorest.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 5:52pm

So true

@leveymg As the USA slowly (or perhaps not so slowly) descends into Imperial oblivion, the appalling MIC waste (e.g., the flying shit bomb F35), we would be better served by nationalizing the defense industry just as Putin had the wisdom to do.

Oh, crap. I must be a Russian tool! Saying treasonous things like the Russkies do some things better than we do. You know, like diplomacy--a concept unknown to Pompous Mike or Bolt-on Bolt-off.

Submitted by Snode on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 6:44am

Lazy, stupid

I go with your conclusion in the last paragraph. In some ways what they say doesn't exactly matter. It's the contempt, lack of respect, they have for us that's leaking under the door.

Submitted by MrWebster on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 11:15am

No they are simply supremely confident

They are confident that any lie they tell will be repeated and believed. I suppose maybe lazy but lazy for good reason. Every lie they have told in the past has been believed. Hey, in fact in sites like TOP they one up the bullshit.

Submitted by irishking on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 3:04pm

this might come in handy

@MrWebster

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 6:21pm

This video should be required viewing for political junkies

@irishking Acceptance of lies knowingly means the acceptor is a co-dependent, and does not seek the truth. The body language tells listed are interesting. Look at the Swan's body language during his summation of his "report", staring down at the podium with loss of usual inflective emphases. Of course with Cheney, it was never difficult to spot a lie. Everything he said in public was a lie.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 11:42am

Lazy and Stupid, because there's no one to challenge them.

There's no labor movement. No anti-war movement. No unions that aren't in bed with the capitalists. Hell, union membership in this shithole is 11 percent. How can they resist anything? How can we? Striking and mass civil disobedience on a massive, long term scale would be a start, but here in Capitalist America, we're too busy paying the capitalists to work shittier jobs for less money than we pay them. In other words, it isn't possible.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Submitted by Big Al on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 12:38pm

There's an election going on Aspie.

@The Aspie Corner Can't bother people during an election, they have to decide on who their favorite democratic party politicians are and which presidential contender is going to save their asses from Trump.
And then there will be another one. It isn't impossible but somehow the din of the democratic party has to be drowned out.

Submitted by Alligator Ed on Sat, 06/15/2019 - 5:59pm

Demonratic din must be stifled

@Big Al I endorse the following humane method, being that I am a physician sworn to uphold the "first do no harm" precept. We should euthanize all political democrats, thus humanely ridding our planet of a dangerous menace. Think about the reduction in gaslighting and astroturfing that will result. This one measure alone should reduce global warming considerably.

Submitted by The Aspie Corner on Sun, 06/16/2019 - 6:40pm

Both capitalist factions must die.

@Alligator Ed Otherwise, we're still fucked.

—

Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.