I don't pretend to know which adjective is more appropriate for the direction the U.S. is trending. Fascist? Totalitarian? Someone with more education in government and politcal systems might comment. I do know a few dozen people in this administration need to hang for genocide, torture, wanton destruction of the infrastructure and enviroment of numerous nations and the trashing of the founding document of what was once a nation aspiring to greatness. Throw in robbery from the treasury and serious harm to the national and world economy and some gallows need erected.

Just keep telling yourself: the most business-friendly government in the world.

Nixonian State....

It bears repeating...January '09 can't possibly get here fast enough.

Why do you hate America Kevin? Why aren't your proud of her? We are infallible, don't you know that? Don't you know that you aid terrorists when you criticize America? Shame on you Kevin.

Just one more small push to speedup our downhill slide. I bet all kinds of furr-in-urs are now moving their business overseas. Yet more blow against Murrican business.

To those who think this isn't hurting our competitive edge, think again. I'm seeing more and more money moving overseas, and increasingly my counterparties, all sophisticated financial institutions, don't want to have anything to do with US law and US jurisdiction.

I think that most serious people around the world know enough not to blame America for this sort of thing: everybody has been aware for some years now that the joint has been largely in the hands of a nutbar cult -- and in recent elections the American electorate have been showing the good sense to pull their very large ship back toward a sane and decent course.

Still, we are all left with a very uncomfortable question: how is it possible for an apparently respectable political party, the Republicans, to shelter and win power for this bizarre collection of war criminals, torturers and thugs, slimy protectionists, members of weird religious cults, on top of an unusually large number of the usual thieves and con artists?

I was on Congressional staff in the late sixties and early seventies, so I knew a few Republicans -- and indeed most of them were not very bright. (They're not *all* stupid. Two of them, including my friend Dick Darman, have perfect scores on The World's Hardest IQ Test (tm.) For the record, I got one question wrong.) That, however, is the worst that could be said about most of them.

Donald Rumsfeld, then a junior Congressman, was one I knew and worked with, and he struck me as no more than a rather garrulous mediocrity. That he would become a war criminal (supplying poison-gas helicopters to Saddam Hussein for use, illegally, against Iran -- and then for an encore in ginning up a fraud-based war against that same Hussein) would never have occurred to me. This was a guy who might have been a potential candidate for Tail Twister in my father's Lions Club -- or might not have made the grade.

America has a very serious problem -- but it is not a problem of being American. It is an information problem, a problem of the people being fooled not all the time but just this once very very seriously.

Stefan - I'm seeing more and more money moving overseas, and increasingly my counterparties, all sophisticated financial institutions, don't want to have anything to do with US law and US jurisdiction.

Quite right. I'm a part-time consultant for an insurance company in Bermuda. Many US companies have re-established themselves there to avoid high taxes and burdensome regulations.

Don't worry, Kevin. I'm sure that guy is guilty of whatever it was he has never been accused of doing.

This is how we established a robust cryptography industry outside the US. Export controls made it too hard/tricky to do crypto work within the US, so it mostly moved offshore.

And ex-liberal, given that we've demonstrated how little we actually care for the international rule of law, don't you ever wonder what might happen to places like Bermuda? Once we've finished converting the US into a banana republic, you run the risk of a serious populist uprising -- imagine Chavez with aircraft carriers, nukes, and data-mining applied to all your funds transfers. You think Bermuda and the Bahamas would be safe?

You have to love the shiv from Liptak -- the very end of the piece is:

Curiously, the Treasury Department has not shut down all of Mr. Marshall�s .com sites. You can still find, for now, www.cuba-guantanamo.com.

Yet another Bush fatwa.

Well, now is not the time to be exposing Cuba to any of those liberal European ideas. With Castro fading, it's no time to get soft and try to re-engage the Cubans. Besides, we need a bogeyman off our southern coast. Gotta keep the people at threat level orange, doncha know? There are still a few civil liberties left to grab and so little time to do it...

@ David Lloyd Jones 11:00 who wrote: America has a very serious problem -- but it is not a problem of being American. It is an information problem, a problem of the people being fooled not all the time but just this once very very seriously.

Blame the governement. Blame the media. But at some point you're going to have to do what a lot of serious people have already done: blame the people.

While citizens of the globe are much better than Americans when it comes to seperating a person's networth from their nationality, it would be insulting to assume they forgot we elected George Bush AFTER the Abu Torture photos. Do you know of a first world nation that would have responded similarly. Right now, like it or not, exceptions aside, Americans are the problem.

"I think that most serious people around the world know enough not to blame America for this sort of thing: everybody has been aware for some years now that the joint has been largely in the hands of a nutbar cult -- and in recent elections the American electorate have been showing the good sense to pull their very large ship back toward a sane and decent course."

Right. Just keep telling yourself that.
You are aware that Bush was re-elected in 2004, and it's not like any of this was unknown back then.
To claim that Americans are repulsed by this sort of behavior (torture, hegemony, pointless wars, etc etc) is pure BS. What makes Americans unhappy is losing. If GWB had won his stupid Iraq War he'd be an American hero.

If the rest of the world has any sense, it will remain well aware that, even with Obama in power in 2009, this strain of fsck-the-world lunacy runs very deep in America and will persist. You think Obama's win is going to stop all the nonsense about abstinence-only sex education? About abortion? About hating Mexicans? About believing in the literal truth of the bible (including all the apocalyptic nonsense)?

"America has a very serious problem -- but it is not a problem of being American. It is an information problem, a problem of the people being fooled not all the time but just this once very very seriously."

This statement reminds me of the tragedy of Daniel Ellsberg.
Let's summarize Elberg's life. He wrote his dissertation on how to make decisions under conditions of risk, and has devoted his life to the idea that, once people have access to all the facts, they will make the right decisions.
He initially believed that the reason successive US presidents got involved in war was simply that they had been given wrong information, not that their morals were fscked up. When the Pentagon Papers revealed that these presidents knew exactly what they were doing, he then assumed that, well, the US people will do the right thing if they only know the truth, so he got the papers published. This fond hope proved as out of touch with reality as his earlier view of the US presidency --- while a few of the chattering classes found the Pentagon Papers reinforced what they already knew, it didn't change much otherwise.

And so we land up with David Lloyd-Jones. Believing in the "inherent goodness of the American people" might put you in the company of some very fine human beings, it doesn't change the fact that you're grossly out of touch with reality. From the first native-american wars through the Mexican war through the CIA's countless assassinations to the current treatment of Cuba, the US population doesn't give a damn about morality as long as the US is on the winning side. It only gets mad when the US loses.

I would like to correct a misunderstanding. The following top-level domains operate under charter from the United States Goverment: dot-com, dot-net, dot-us, dot-edu, dot-gov, dot-biz, and dot-mil. This would probably apply to the dot-org top-level domain as well, though the situation there is a bit more involved. If you are trading in dollars, a dollar is only worth something because the United States Government says so. If it so desires, it can declare all outstanding greenbacks null and void, and hear appeals for restitution on a case-by-case basis.

If you are not prepared to accept American law as binding, you can use some other top-level domain. An Englishman domiciled in Spain could presumably use dot-eu, dot-uk, or dot-es. In that case, he would have avenues of appeal to Brussels, London, or Madrid.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Generic_top-level_domain

As much as I dearly love my country and what it stands for, I am very upset in the direction that it has been heading lately. Our government has become far too involved in the economy, healthcare, and our personal lives, rather than sticking to its God-given rights to protect those who do good, and punish those who encroach upon others. I am willing to risk a little safety and hardship to know that I am not being scrutinized and controlled by the government and that my rights are not being jeopardized.

That being said, if the US government charters the generic TLDs, they do have the right to make decisions regarding them, and you should use a different TLD if you don't like that.

@John Stephen Lewise

Do you know of a first world nation that would have responded similarly?

Yes. The British re-elected Tony Blair depsite pretty compelling evidence that he had lied to take the country into a war which was both illegal and unnecessary.

"Sunny places like Cuba" is so funny. So it doesn't matter what US policy or laws are when a republican happens to be president, then? Sending business to a company that the US government has legally declared insupportable for their human rights abuses, true totalitarian government (try and leave Cuba if you were born there, I dare you, oh wait you don't have free internet access there).

So we should just let anyone set up websites for any criminal, shady despot, Nigerian businessmen with lots of money to dispose of, the laws be damned?

Thank you tolerant and compassionate lefties; enabling the worst of humanity since 1900!

Hey, Neo, it's not just "lefties" that reach out to Cuba. It's the rest of the world. Try that one on for size, dimwit. Even Canada gets along fine with Cuba. Look up Sherritt International, a fine Canadian company that does good business in Cuba, despite ridiculous effort by the US government to thwart it.

The US is more responsible for the abuses in Cuba than Castro ever was.

The Schizophrenic in Chief at last week's press conference:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080228-2.html

MICHAEL: . . . . this is a point of view that has been espoused, that we would be better off if we talked to our adversaries, in particular, Iran and Cuba, you know, without preconditions. And as President, you have obviously considered and rejected this approach. And I'm wondering if you can give us a little insight into your thinking about this, and just explain to the American people what is lost by talking with those when we disagree?

THE PRESIDENT: What's lost by embracing a tyrant who puts his people in prison because of their political beliefs? What's lost is it will send the wrong message. It will send a discouraging message to those who wonder whether America will continue to work for the freedom of prisoners. It will give great status to those who have suppressed human rights and human dignity....

Q No one is saying embrace him, they're just saying talk --

THE PRESIDENT: Well, talking to him is embracing. Excuse me. Let me use another word -- you're right, "embrace" is like big hug, right? .... Right, okay, good, thank you for reminding me to use a different word. Sitting down at the table, having your picture taken with a tyrant such as Raul Castro, for example, lends the status of the office and the status of our country to him. He gains a lot from it by saying, look at me, I'm now recognized by the President of the United States.

Now, somebody would say, well, I'm going to tell him to release the prisoners. Well, it's a theory that all you got to do is embrace and these tyrants act. That's not how they act....

And so that's the way I've conducted foreign policy, and will continue to conduct foreign policy. I just remind people that the decisions of the U.S. President to have discussions with certain international figures can be extremely counterproductive. It can send chilling signals and messages to our allies; it can send confusion about our foreign policy; it discourages reformers inside their own country. And in my judgment, it would be a mistake -- on the two countries you talked about.

A few questions later:

OLIVIER: Thank you, sir. In China a former factory worker who says that human rights are more important than the Olympics is being tried for subversion. What message does it send that you're going to the Olympics, and do you think athletes there should be allowed to publicly express their dissent?
THE PRESIDENT: Olivier, I have made it very clear, I'm going to the Olympics because it's a sporting event, and I'm looking forward to seeing the athletic competition. But that will not preclude me from meeting with the Chinese President, expressing my deep concerns about a variety of issues -- just like I do every time I meet with the President.
And maybe I'm in a little different position. Others don't have a chance to visit with Hu Jintao, but I do. And every time I meet with him I talk about religious freedom and the importance of China's society recognizing that if you're allowed to worship freely, it will benefit the society as a whole; that the Chinese government should not fear the idea of people praying to a god as they see fit. A whole society, a healthy society, a confident society is one that recognizes the value of religious freedom.
I talk about Darfur and Iran and Burma. And so I am not the least bit shy of bringing up the concerns expressed by this factory worker, and I believe that I'll have an opportunity to do so with the President and, at the same time, enjoy a great sporting event. I'm a sports fan. I'm looking forward to the competition. And each Olympic society will make its own decision as to how to deal with the athletes.

That's within one press conference. Basically Bush's policy is to stick with whatever, whether it makes sense or not.

Jan. 20, 2009 CANNOT come soon enough.

@Jeremy M
Yes, tourism is a shady enterprise responsible for the countless deaths of innocent children and puppies. Thank goodness the government stepped into to protect us from this atrocity because big government always knows best--when republicans are in charge, I wonder if you'll be singing the same tune a year from now.

All this company was doing was tourism so how does that equate to dictators, smugglers, and terrorists? The point of the article is that this stupidity is causing America to lose business prospects because we are forcing a right wing political litmus test upon them. The economy is global and it's very easy to set up ones business almost anywhere in the world and with draconian, regressive actions like this why would businesses in and outside of America incorporate or use any facet of American infrastructure if they don't have to use them? And you're right Maynard, this business doesn't have to use US domains and I am certain that it is setting up shop on another domain and there goes more money out of the American economy all because a business had the temerity to book trips to Cuba. I can understand kicking true villians off our domains but the tourism industry is absurd.

It is extrange.. :-(

I'm a part-time consultant for an insurance company in Bermuda. Many US companies have re-established themselves there to avoid high taxes and burdensome regulations.

If a company is doing business in the US, it cannot avoid "burdensome" (which ones? Anti-discrimination, fair labor practices, environmental?) regulations no matter where it is headquartered.

I'm not talking about US companies, though, I'm talking about the movement of capital, that is, companies that would be putting money into US investments seeking better opportunities for their money elsewhere, motivated from big things (uneasiness about the political direction, fears about the US economy) to the small (the hassle and humiliation of getting a visa and getting through airport security in the US for meetings, esp. when lots of international parties are involved, which has led to non-US locations being favored).

I am willing to risk a little safety and hardship to know that I am not being scrutinized and controlled by the government and that my rights are not being jeopardized.

For most of American history, this attitude would have made you an ordinary, mainstream, straight down the middle patriot. These days, it makes you a naive, unserious, frothing, Daily Kos-reading, America-hating lefty.

@Jeremy M who wrote, "...a first world nation that would have responded similarly? Yes. The British re-elected Tony Blair depsite (sic) pretty compelling evidence that he had lied to take the country into a war which was both illegal and unnecessary."

It doesn't make much sense to equate Blaire maintaining a generations-old strategic alliance with Bush implementing a policy of torture.

I doubt you'd find too many Britons who think otherwise.

Dan,

Our government has become far too involved in the economy, healthcare, and our personal lives, rather than sticking to its God-given rights to protect those who do good, and punish those who encroach upon others.

You seem to lean Libertarian but I apologize for calling you a bad name if you are not.

If you are Libertarian I'm surprised that you would say the US government has God given rights.

In the US it is we the people who have God-given rights and the power flows from us to the government. We have the rights. The government is here to serve us, not the other way around.

Granted I'm talking theory and in practice if our officials flaunt their oath to the Constitution and we let them get away with it then things are very different.

>Someone with more education in government and politcal systems might comment.

"Bat-shit-crazy" is the word you are looking for Steve.

Nixonian State.... Posted by: Jet

Hardly. Nixon opened relations with China and was always jawing with the Soviets. The Bush administration has taken the government into obvious totalitarian territory.

Impeach now! Throw the motherfuckers in prison.

America has a very serious problem -- but it is not a problem of being American. It is an information problem, a problem of the people being fooled not all the time but just this once very very seriously. Posted by: David Lloyd-Jones

Sir, of course it's an American problem because Americans, particularly the people we elected to run the country, are the one responsible for this shit. Sins of omission are just as bad as committing sin.

The fact that the general populace either doesn't know or can't be bothered with protesting this kind of thing shows that we've all become sheep. We're about two steps away from being just like the Germans who lived outside the camps claiming they had no idea what was going on. Well, once we get to that point, after our NATO allies have invaded us (think of it as an "intervention") to stop the nonsense, we'll all have to be re-educated, though with most Americans, you could just think of it being educated for the first time.

"Onward Christian soldier, marching as to war . . ."

We're about two steps away from being just like the Germans who lived outside the camps claiming they had no idea what was going on.

They didn't have photos of Buchenwald plastered all over their papers like we've had with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. We know what's going on.

totalitarian? fascist? torture? how about hyperbole. and what is a "citizen of the world" anyway? self-righteous silliness.

The US government's policies are driving business out of the US. Immigrants are prevented from working. Foreigners are hassled at custons. Domain names are scrubbed by federal judges.

Do not register a domain name with an American company.

Even though Americans know what is going on at Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, they still cannot stop it. So maybe we are three or four steps away from the Nazis.

They didn't have photos of Buchenwald plastered all over their papers like we've had with Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. We know what's going on. Posted by: Stefan

True. And that makes us even more reprehensible.

Why doesn't eNom Inc. just refuse to cooperate? Aren't there companies that would refuse?

The only country with trade sanctions against Cuba is the USA - *every* other country in the world allows trade (maybe one or two US-tied countries like "Liberia" - doesn't include Canada or Mexico though!!) It's only narrow-minded American parochialism that allows anyone to not understand the problem with this situation described in this article.

The American people *do* bear *full* moral responsibility for the government's bad deeds. As pointed out, ignorance or denial of what is widely known and proven is no excuse. The allies condemned (in spirit) Germans for not rising up and "doing something": we forced German citizens to "tour" local concentration camps for this reason. Expect at least the same some day for US citizens.

The comment about Neocon US invading Bermuda or Venezuela some day does give pause: it's "thinkable" for a PNAC imperialist regime. Someone expatriating should consider it even if it's still a long shot.

US corporations most definitely can avoid "burdensome regulations" through non-US incorporation. Just operate a US shell. Never repatriate profits (no taxes until you do). Put your money in the UAE or buy land in Paraguay. Everybody is doing it. ;-/

What do you think outsourcing and downsizing are about? Do you think the Fortune 100 are actually functioning, productive companies anymore? Do you think they actually "make" anything? Or do they simply push paper around, managing "outside" corporations that do the actual work? If they had to "pick-up-and-leave" how much grief or effort would be required? Note: laying of any or all line employees and 1st or 2nd level managers == no grief or effort at all! Something for you to think about at work today.

I can't believe someone would have the gall too write the name "Buchenwald" in the same paragraph as "Abu Ghraib" and "Guantanamo".

A few dozen naked criminals humiliated by drunk prison guards

If that does not compute to you... Seek help, seriously. Your brain has been crippled by your ideology.

Wow, funny comments here. Has anyone considered the fact that the US built the internet/web, developed the capability to even do something called "register domain names," etc? Globalization is the problem - being so interconnected is what allows the terrorists to easily penetrate and do what they want. Our govt, not including the do-nothing, useless Congress, is attempting to deal with this situation the best it can.

It's so easy to criticize, but so much harder to have an original thought. It's obvious there are a lot of liberals posting, they're all sharing the same brain. :)

Without the US embargo Castro would have been gone long ago. But with a high fence around them, Cubans were stuck with him.

Our govt, not including the do-nothing, useless Congress, is attempting to deal with this situation the best it can.Posted by: Eric

Sadly, you're right. They're doing the best they can, and it's all pretty much the opposite of what should be done.

Scurry on home, Concern Troll.

US corporations most definitely can avoid "burdensome regulations" through non-US incorporation. Just operate a US shell. Never repatriate profits (no taxes until you do). Put your money in the UAE or buy land in Paraguay. Everybody is doing it. ;-/

No, they can avoid some (not all) US taxation, but not regulation. If they operate a business within the confines of the United States, however, the operations of that business are subject to US regulation. (For example, Toyota, while a Japanese company, is subject to US laws regarding the operation of its auto plants within the US).

Globalization is the problem - being so interconnected is what allows the terrorists to easily penetrate and do what they want.

The terrorists are now running Spanish-based businesses booking English tourists on pleasure jaunts to Cuba? My god, the fiends, is there nothing they'll stop at to destroy Our Way of Life?

I can't believe someone would have the gall too write the name "Buchenwald" in the same paragraph as "Abu Ghraib" and "Guantanamo".

Yeah, comparisons to the Nazis are crazy, aren't they:

O'REILLY: I don't see any difference between [Arianna] Huffington and the Nazis. -- Bill O'Reilly, "The O'Reilly Factor."

Has anyone considered the fact that the US built the internet/web

They have a greater claim to building your asshole.

And 'ex-lib', does tax evasion pay well?

Do the research!

Do the math!

Do your duty!

Vote RON PAUL For President 2008!

Chris 12:11 wrote, "'citizen of the world' anyway? self-righteous silliness."

Sam 1:54 thumbnailed Abu Torture as "A few dozen naked criminals humiliated by drunk prison guards."

Exhibit A and B.

Homeschooling sucks.

I'm sure that guy is guilty of whatever it was he has never been accused of doing.

Pure genius.

"A few dozen naked criminals humiliated by drunk prison guards."

Maybe they were. Shame they were never allowed a trial so we'll never know, eh?

so the US built the web? ever heard of tim berners-lee? know where he's from? know where we was working when he did it?

not knocking the US, just pointing out an incorrect fact.