Obama announces that he's a complete fraud

President Obama, when he was running for office, made lots of promises. He came across as the great hope for a nation that was tired of a shameless and embarrassing right-wing administration.

One of the things he stated - in fact, built his platform upon - was his promise to tear down Guantanamo Bay as a prison-camp for uncharged & untried prisoners. The very place had become an affront to the idea that the U.S. was a bastion of freedom, where the rule of law and the ideals of democracy were paramount and somehow an example to the rest of the world.

In the last two years, Obama has followed in the footsteps of his Democrat predecessor, Bill Clinton, and become almost indistinguishable from the disgraceful Republican incumbant he had replaced. Today, President Obama has not only failed to close the prison at Guantanamo - he has now re-opened the disgusting military 'trials' that were once an embarrassment to the reputation of the U.S. worldwide. The man is a complete sell-out. In many ways, he is worse than the Rethuglicans he replaced. At least Bush was shameless about what he did. Instead, Obama claimed the moral high-ground. He has no excuse - other than his agenda to be re-elected. What use is power if you sell your soul in the process?

The U.S. is a sick nation. The american people have been swept away on their own propoganda. It is a nation of people who regularly vote against their own interests, who support laws and tax cuts that favour the rich at their own expense, all because they have been sold the myth that by doing so, they will somehow be 'protecting their freedoms'. Fools - almost each and every one of them.

Democracy should provide people with a choice. The myth of the american people is that they live in a democracy. The choice they have is no choice at all. Coke or Pepsi. Ketchup or Catsup. Blue on a red background or red on a blue background. All you end up with is purple.

The U.S. is every bit a dictatorship as any of the dictatorships they claim to decry. The trick they have perfected is to convince their people that it is a democracy. It doesn't matter who you vote for - you end up getting the same product in the end. And until the american people wake up and smell the roses, they will continue to create enemies across the world who can see that country for what it truly is - a thug, a bully, and anything but a democracy. If you are in any doubt about that, just read about how they have treated one of their own - the Wikileaks whistle-blower, Bradley Manning.

Bradley Manning - before his 'detention'

Innocent until proven guilty, he is in military custody in the U.S. in what have been described as inhuman conditions. Glenn Greenwald on the Salon website described it thus:

23-hour/day solitary confinement; barred even from exercising in his cell; one hour total outside his cell per day where he’s allowed to walk around in circles in a room alone while shackled, and is returned to his cell the minute he stops walking; forced to respond to guards’ inquiries literally every 5 minutes, all day, everyday; and awakened at night each time he is curled up in the corner of his bed or otherwise outside the guards’ full view. Is there anyone who doubts that these measures — and especially this prolonged forced nudity — are punitive and designed to further erode his mental health, physical health and will?

Many americans support the way he has been treated as he is seen as a traitor. However, the detention of this still untried man is a filthy stain on the reputation of the U.S. government.

Manning - 8 months into his detention - drained of his humanity

Obama, the great hope of so many, stands idly by and does nothing. He is a fraud, a charlatan and a disgrace. If he is the best they can elect, then it says a lot about what this nation really stands for. For some more on Bradley Manning, check out this news item recorded in December.