The malignant influence of the Kochtopus

Via Montreal Simon and Alison at Creekside, this little gem:

Our F-35 fighter jets won't have engines

And people say they're wasting our tax dollars! Don't you just feel stupid now?

Canada's F-35s: Engines not included, says the Ottawa Citizen.

And think about what a great recruiting tool they'll be! They can sit there and look shiny, they can be towed anywhere they're needed, and just think of the money we'll save on maintenance! A little brass polish, a couple of cases of Armor-All, and we're good.

What magicians these Conservatives are, and what sly foxes!

The Harper Goverment^TM: keeping its eye on the ball and getting value for our money. And making sure our brave men and women in uniform aren't going into harm's way.

I'm sorry, was someone saying something about competent government? Well, if by "competent" you mean "unable to take a step in any direction without tripping over their own dicks," then yes. This list off the top of pogge's head comes to mind ...

Related posts:

• Nobody could possibly be this dumb ... 
• The Harper Government's tipping point
• Supporting the troops, my ass

Libya yes, Bahrain no

So the Western war machine is revving up to go to work in Libya because it's a clearcut situation of humanitarian intervention.

It's obvious, isn't it? An entrenched autocratic regime, enriched by oil revenue, brutally repressing the popular aspirations of its own people.

About those shiny flying probes ...

Speaking of big shiny flying metallic probing objects (h/t deBeauxOs) ...

Air-show flyboys rattling the rafters yesterday with their displays of testosterone-sodden militarism. Just like Gaza or Beirut, perhaps, except without the explosions and hundreds of deaths. I've always loved their sensitive and nuanced community outreach, too; yeah, we know it's louder than hell and causes permanent hearing damage, but it brings in the tourist dollars, so fuck you.

Is it unseemly to watch, on the off chance that one of the silly bastards might crash?

Noteworthy, though, is how they cancelled it the day before. Was it too cloudy? Were they afraid it might rain? Dear lord, if they can't stand up to a little rain, how will they stand up to al-Qaeda? How much did they say they're spending on the F-35 again?

Best part, though, is this little item about increased military cooperation between Russia and Israel. Heh. Does this mean Israeli jets will be providing fighter escort next time Russian bombers attempt to violate our pristine northern sovereignty? I'd pay to watch Dmitri spin that one ...