Independence Day

Comments

[r whitman]

This morning, as they do every Fourth of July, the Houston Chronicle published the "Declaration of Independence" on its editorial page. It is worth reading.

[confusedponderer]

To all Americans at SST a happy 4th of July.

[Ryan]

A Happy and reflective Independence Day to all.

[Lord Curzon]

A toast - to those former Britons whose freedoms had been trampled on by a Hanoverian King, cherishing the particular liberties that had come down to them since Magna Carta and who asserted their rights in 1776, creating the finest Constitution on Earth.

[Ryan]

And here's one back to the folks who gave us the Magna Carta. Next year will be its 800th anniversary.

[Valissa]

Happy Birthday America!

Rare, Remarkable Maps Trace America’s Path to Independence http://www.wired.com/2014/07/maps-american-independence/

Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom, must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.
-Thomas Paine

[Tyler]

Men decided a few hundred years ago to show the world a new thing and were prepared to go to any lengths to do so.

Happy 4th.

[Charles I]

Happy Independence day to our host and correspondents.

[alba etie]

All --
And a toast to the French military forces at Yorktown, Bunker Hill and elsewhere that gained These United States our Independence !
( Too bad the French Revolution went so badly south .. )

[Jim Ticehurst]

"FREEDOMS FORGE" .. jim Ticehurst

They first Landed Upon the Atlantic Shores
Of a Brave New Land that Opened its Doors
To the Dreams of Those Who Would be Free
Seeking only Peace and Place of Liberty..

They Came Not Wanting a War or Fight
Only to Follow The Path of Freedoms Light
To Find a New Home and Make a Stand
As They Built a Nation and Made it Grand..

Pilgrims,Peasants,Poor or Rich they Came
In Gods Creation they Were All the Same
Creating a New Nation not Ruled by Hate
Following Destiny,Dreams and Unknown Fate..

Uniting As a People ..That Tyrrany might Fall
They Gathered in Numbers At Independence Hall
A Hand Written Document Would Soon Declare
Liberty and Justice Had Brought Them There
..
A Continental Army joined to Carry the Fight
At Valley Forge The Fires Burned Bright
That United Her States in a Just Revolution
Creating Her Freedom and a New Constitution..

The Banners Pass on from Brother to Brother
To Make this great Nation Unlike any Other
America Was Built on Blood..Sweat and Tears
Freedom Has Forged Her Through All the Years..

[confusedponderer]

There has been an arrest in Germany of a spy working for the US.

"In the latest turn in the yearlong tensions with Germany over American spying, a German man was arrested this week on suspicion of passing secret documents to a foreign power, believed to be the United States. The American ambassador, John B. Emerson, was summoned to the Foreign Office here and urged to help with what German officials called a swift clarification of the case.
...
The details of the latest case were murky. The news media reports suggested that the man, a midlevel employee of the Federal Intelligence Service, was originally arrested on suspicion of spying for Russia. The Kremlin has markedly stepped up recruitment of German informants since the uprisings in Ukraine and the resulting sanctions aimed at Russia’s economy.

But according to the news reports and the account of the American official, the man told his interrogators he had been working for the United States for some time.

German news reports said that his work included reporting on the investigations into the N.S.A.’s activities in Germany, which are the subject of a parliamentary inquiry
...
Mr. Ströbele, who traveled to Moscow last fall to meet with Mr. Snowden, said on Friday, “We must have patience and see whether information stands up to scrutiny.”

“It would be good to have a very quick reaction from across the Atlantic,” he added, though he noted that on the Fourth of July, Americans “have every reason to do something else.”

Like celebrating the independence from a king who in the eyes of the Colonists abused his power when he subjected them to warrantless searches and seizures.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/07/05/world/europe/german-arrested-on-suspicion-of-passing-secrets.html

[turcopolier]

CP

Are you Germans so naïve that you think we will not penetrate your government if we can? We want to know what you say to each other on issues important to us. American government should be a quick denial. This the game of nations. It is always thus. Do you think the BND would not want to penetrate the US government? pl

[Fred]

CP,

I think we have allot to fear from Europeans. So does Germany. Of course it a French citizen stirring things up this time:

www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-07-03/expropriation-back-christine-lagarde-most-dangerous-woman-world

[confusedponderer]

" Do you think the BND would not want to penetrate the US government?"

Oh I do. And I'd hope they are successful. For starters I'd want those Stasi files back that the US spirited out of the DDR for example. They should make for interesting reading. Early warning of what mischief people like Nuland are up to also would be something I'd be interested in.

But my point is rather that, irrespective of how realistic it is to not expect the US from spying, this is causing some real resentment here.

People here have not forgotten about the Stasi and their all invasive surveillance Here, privacy is a constitutional right. Of course, that only goes so far as the German state can protect it but anyway.

What I am saying is that the US by doing this is pissing goodwill away.

[turcopolier]

CP

"What I am saying is that the US by doing this is pissing goodwill away." You know very well that international relations are based on national interests, not on good will. I must say that the notion that Germans generally harbor widespread good will toward the United States is somewhat droll. pl

[confusedponderer]

Then let me be droll:

Of course national interst trumps. But I think that goodwill is an international currency in its own right. Even international relations are not purely transactional.

Goodwill is hard to measure though and it comes in many forms. That's for instance how goodwill may look like:

http://tinyurl.com/p4hr3v7

In contrast, the way the Izzies conduct themselves has resulted in them having little goodwill left with anybody but ardent Jewish and Christian Zionists, and to a lesser extent Gentiles with guilt complexes.