Another Year Ends – Best To You And Me During The Next One

December 31, 2011

On this last day of the year, I took a walk through the last twelve monthly archives (linked in the left column of the homepage). I tried to decide which were the best pieces I wrote. I couldn't agree with myself on any of them. Most the stuff I wrote last year was rather mediocre with only a few (nano-)diamonds in a heap of rather lame stuff pointing out media inconsistencies and some re-reporting of collected news items. I'm not too happy with that.

You, dear reader, could help. Please point out which of last years posting at Moon of Alabama were good reads and/or useful. Which did you like in the realm of subject matter and which in the realm of style? Your judgement will hopefully help to make this a better site.

A safe, happy and peaceful 2012 to all of you. May the coming year be better than the last!

Posted by b on December 31, 2011 at 18:19 UTC | Permalink

Comments

b
this has been such a difficult year, a catastrophic one both personally in in terms of world events, it is difficult to filter the ‘best’ here, i use it as the principal filter of information
darker destinies are being played out in the middle east & north africa you have done well to try to define within the scope of what is available – what may be happening, & you say that honestly
i share copeland’s darker musing on what is happening with imperialism do the wonderful desire of insurrection everywhere is tempered by the presence of militarised states, especially in europe
corruption is nothing new but it has taken a breathtaking leap this year & our manner of viewing it has been made most clear, less by investigation than by the complete & utter stupidity of the elites

Posted by: remembereringgiap | Dec 31 2011 18:41 utc | 1

I wish you a very good rutsch B. I have fond memories of standing outside your door shooting fireworks into the rain all those years ago.
I am ever so glad you started posting again and hope you can continue to do so for a long long time.

Posted by: dan of steele | Dec 31 2011 18:41 utc | 2

This is a great blog – by far I think the nanodiamond exposure was the best investigative work with the greatest impact last year. It shredded the IAEA report.
I would suggest people post their forecasts for 2012 here on whatever topic they like (politics, sports, …). We can come back in a year and revisit them.
Paul

Posted by: Paul | Dec 31 2011 19:29 utc | 3

I’ve only recently discovered this site–I followed a link from Alethonews and shortly thereafter, you posted an article showing that the M5M had reported the death of some supposed Islamofascist four times over the years. MoA bookmarked! My favorite series of posts involved the downed drone in Iran… talk about building credibility! I also liked the nanodiamonds posts, but I have a slight antipathy towards certain whorium-infested media ‘inconsistencies’ that colors my judgement.
Take a bow, b! I also hope to be reading MoA for a long time to come.

Posted by: no6ody | Dec 31 2011 19:37 utc | 4

Rarely post but rarely miss reading your insightful comments, truly full of diamonds. So thank you, best wishes for the new year, and please keep up your efforts.

Posted by: not important | Dec 31 2011 20:29 utc | 5

I too, b, would like to congratulate you on your posts this year. There are a remarkable number of subjects where you’ve added a brilliantly original approach.
For me, having a bad memory (and probably forgotten others), the explanation of how the US RQ-170 drone was brought to ground stands out. Certainly right, and never equalled elsewhere.
The consequences of what you said in previous years about Afghanistan supplies are now working themselves out. If the Pakistan route is now closed, costs are doubled. Even if there’s no problem with the Uzbeks, shut-down is going to have to happen soon. Explained as victory, of course.

Posted by: alexno | Dec 31 2011 21:22 utc | 6

b, I relied almost exclusively on MoA during the Japanese nuclear crisis; it might have been highly technical information, much of it over my head, but it was invaluable to hear such well-informed perspectives from you and in the comments when the mainstream news sources were regurgitating official drivel.

Posted by: lizard | Dec 31 2011 21:26 utc | 7

b,
mediocre from you is excellent in comparison to other sources. However your coverage of Guttenberg sticks out in my mind as a favorite not so much for the subject matter or style but because your involvement helped shoot down that charlatan and reinforce my belief that involvement does not have to be futile.
Thanks for being there and especially for coming back out of your hiatus. And my wishes for fulfilling 2012 for you and of course all the other contributors at this bar. Wish I could share a drink with you all tonight.
John

Posted by: juannie | Dec 31 2011 21:57 utc | 8

Thanks for asking! Please don’t feel pressured to go out of the way of being yourself. b is the best when he is b. You pick, dissect, present. Thank you very much!
The most amazing is that events and views from the other side of the world can be commented upon/about without any presence there.
Boko haram and the way they got radicalised and the emergency in Nigeria …

Posted by: c | Dec 31 2011 23:00 utc | 9

Happy New Year to you too, b.
No need to be modest even top journalists get a scoop maybe once every couple of years. You had both the nano-Diamond story, and the first plausible analysis of how Iran captured the stealth drone. In the span of a month or so.
Outside of that, your coverage of the Egyptian uprising was top notch.
You returned to blogging at the perfect time. Don’t feel you have to write something new everyday. Take breaks when you need to so as not to get burnt out again.

Posted by: Lysander | Dec 31 2011 23:06 utc | 10

You’ve had many great posts, b, but perhaps one of your greatest was this open thread post from March:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2011/03/open-thread-march-25.html#comments
It was short, sweet and to the point. You didn’t beat around the bush and waste unnecessary time on frivolous details. If main stream reporters would use that very same model exhibited in the aforementioned post, we would all be better off.
Happy New Year of more Death & Destruction.

Posted by: Morocco Bama | Dec 31 2011 23:20 utc | 11

happy new year b!
i have to readjust my reality here for a moment reading moa and mediocre in the same sentence.
i highly object! and why isn’t that drone story up w/the nanodiamonds..you broke that too. hellllo

Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2011 23:24 utc | 12

and happy new year to everyone else too!

Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2011 23:24 utc | 13

oh, and since you asked…i liked U.S. Closing Down Its Logistics Through Pakistan.
off the top of my head. but then my head only goes back a couple days before it starts getting foggy.
😉

Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2011 23:41 utc | 14

also, without checking the archives..moon of alabama was the best place to read about the japan tsunami and subsequent nuclear disaster. for me anyway.

Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2011 23:44 utc | 15

morocco, that’s not even funny. if you like short and sweet you should have picked the next day march 26 A Laughable Comparison.

Posted by: annie | Dec 31 2011 23:48 utc | 16

A few months ago I made MoA my home page. I like the indepth analysis of key stories. Also a surprising number of commentors are quite good to excellent which is equally amazing considering anyone can leave any comment. Although many stories were excellent (Japan nuclear disaster, Euro crisis, much on Iraq and Afghanistan, piece on drone capture by Iranians) for me the best was the coverage of the Libyan insurgency/coup. There is one quibble I have in that at times shows a slight leftist bias in being a little soft when Russia or China are the culprits. But we all have our biases and the ‘reporting’ is always truthful/truth-seeking and all that added to make MoA my source for news, one that I recommend often to others. Very much appreciate all your hard work.

Posted by: Khalid Shah | Dec 31 2011 23:50 utc | 17

Hey B,
I’ve had my disagreements w/you, more then a few. And I think you got a lot of things wrong. And I don’t comment here anymore, because…
But I’ve been reading here a long time, and Still check in here almost everyday, and I still think that if most people would read MoA they’d have a more realistic picture of the world then reading most anything else.
And I know how much work you put into this thing. And I also, sincerely, think you’re among the smartest people I’ve never met.
So good for you, and thanks for doing this blog.

May the coming year be better than the last!

What… you’re Dear Abbie all of a sudden? 🙂

Posted by: jdmckay | Dec 31 2011 23:57 utc | 18

Happy New ~~Year~~ War!
President Obama Signs Indefinite Detention Into Law on New Years Eve…
Obama signs defense bill despite ‘reservations’
Two U.S. Four Star Generals Write a NYT Editorial Opposing the NDAA & Indefinite Detention, Saying “Due process would be a thing of the past.”
Welcome my friends, welcome to the machine.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 1 2012 1:09 utc | 19

Egypt, Japan, IAEA top my list. So do you b, and the rest of the MOAners..) I thank my lucky stars Siun pointed me towards the original bar all those years ago… and I cheered out loud when I discovered your return this year.
As an aside I do loathe paypal and I don’t have much… but put up a tip jar of some sort, bartender! You deserve it.
Happy New Year to all… hold on.. we’re in for another bumpy ride.

Posted by: Eureka Springs | Jan 1 2012 1:41 utc | 20

b, Happy New Year……

Posted by: georgeg | Jan 1 2012 2:00 utc | 21

my pick is the incredible coverage of Fukushima’s disaster; but let’s not forget the best “off-topic”, “The Liberation Of The MV Suez And Its Bitter End – An Incredible Pirate Story”
happy new year to you and to this wonderful community of posters, whose comments and links constitute 90% of my internet experience

Posted by: claudio | Jan 1 2012 2:46 utc | 22

Your coverage of Fukushima was very welcome. That was the story of the year, and it will be an even bigger story in years to come. There was something obscenely symbolic in the facts of Fukushima and the fictions of the IAEA, which ought to have been watching, but which was headed by a member of the corrupt Japanese Nuclear Village and misled the public over the real disaster while issuing frightening lies about Iran. Memo to the world: US puppets are bad for your health.
All you need to do is to tell the truth, in an era like ours in which all the energies of the capitalist media, and most of its critics, are devoted to spinning out propaganda, simply monitoring the lies is revolutionary. All around the world there are people desperately struggling to cleanse their senses of the filth which the imperialists manufacture. Among them, and no doubt among your most regular readers, will be young soldiers and others disillusioned by the death cult employing them.

Posted by: bevin | Jan 1 2012 3:03 utc | 23

Interesting, the universally stated interest in Fukushima. A pity the media doesn’t exhibit the same degree of interest. Sincerely sorry I missed b’s coverage.
Energy related, I see that fuel is now our number 1 export, (L.A Times, today, front page). So, uh, if we are shipping our gasoline out, doesn’t that mean we gotta import more crude in order to keep up with domestic demand, AND MAKE UP FOR THE SHORTFALL OF REFINED PRODUCT THAT IS BEING SHIPPED OFFSHORE?????
“Energy independence”, MY ASS. These criminal sacks of shit, and their talking points and buzzwords. And, uuhhhm, just call me an idiot, but aren’t these lyin’ fucks in DC telling us we don’t have enough refineries to keep up with DOMESTIC demand?
Lets make Washington DC politicians our number one export in the coming year. Ship the fuckin’ snakes to ground zero of one of their drone playgrounds.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 1 2012 3:19 utc | 24

The feeling of comradeship, friendship that has built over time, brings me back here every day, and makes MOA feel very much like home.
And b has nurtured the environment in which we find ourselves, even if we have felt burdened more in 2011, under the weight of this year’s history. As far as the high points are concerned, I wouldn’t have missed b’s coverage of the uprising in Egypt, and the commentary here.
This has been a rough year, and I think my friend r’giap understands how the declension of empire can go, when in the end it begins to feed on its own. I hope 2012 is somehow a better year. Let us hope the determination of oppressed people and their spirit of justice and solidarity grows stronger.

Posted by: Copeland | Jan 1 2012 4:52 utc | 25

B, what you call mediocre is still head and shoulders above most of the rest. Your write ups are always informative and critical thinking a watermark of everyone of your pieces. So thanks for another year of deep journalism and analysis.
One of my favorite posts was Iran: No Sorcery But A Constitutional Struggle. It clearly showcases your ability to read between the lines and your thorough research.
Apart from your posts, what elevates this site to the top of the political blogosphere for me are the well written and reasoned comments the barflies append to each thread. Very much appreciated. The community here is genuinely interested in each others opinions and like Copeland said, adds to MoA an almost family like dimension.
All the Best for 2012 to you b and MoA readers. Wouldn’t wanna face this upcoming year with anyone else.

Posted by: Juan Moment | Jan 1 2012 8:17 utc | 26

Ditto Copeland on everything you shared above, #25. Though I fear worse is coming. I appreciate Bernhard, he is a theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker, and great writer, often pithy and this place has been a safe harbor for us refugee’s. I just wish b would broach the topic of what (if anything) we can do for a contingency plan if Moon becomes a target of SOPA.
I’m sure it’s just a matter of time. Before the clamp comes down. It’d be nice to be able to network and communicate with fellows mooners when shit gets thick.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 1 2012 8:24 utc | 27

Thanks again b. I think it’s all been cited above. I want to apologize for pissing off anyone with a few of my comments but we’re always hardest on friends and family. Pace yourself and don’t get too burned out, we need you in the year ahead.

Posted by: Biklett | Jan 1 2012 9:30 utc | 28

I’ll admit to a very real happy feeling when i found you blogging again, you are my daily real news source. Your insight is fascinating, yet as with both Fukushima and the drone (and others), you’re spot on, 100% correct before any of the rest have opened the morning papers. Even when you don’t predict, you have a great way of saying “look there”.
Your writing style is not mainstream in any way, you’re gonzo, and that’s a compliment! But in the muddy waters of “news” it’s awesome to have someone who is sure of what he does and what he doesn’t know.
WRT media inconsistencies, it feels good to see big brother at work, makes it easier to dismiss the other nonsense they write. That’s important too, in this media war on our minds.
Keep it up please, just go with your own interests, you got a knack with that 😉
peace

Posted by: david | Jan 1 2012 10:37 utc | 29

b,
I only discovered your site in Sept. 2011, and I am glad I did!
The most important posts in my opinion was the Danylenko affair which thrashed the IAEA report and shut the (pro-war) wonks, up, over at ACW. They have been very silent about it since! So well done matey!
The second important post was, the one you made over at AWC, about the al-Hasaka cotton factoryin Syria which certain individuals in in intelligence community, IAEA, and certain wonks (at ACW) believed it to be a secret nuclear factory. Thanks to your post, a German journalist confirmed it was a cotton factory! Thereby stopping another casus-beli for military strikes by eithet Isreal or USA.
This episode showed how the suspicions of IC and so called “experts” can put the security and safety of millions of people at stake in the belief of protecting “intetnational security” – which is a cover to protect Isreali regional hegemony.
For 2012, these are the things to watch out for (in my pov):
– Iran (nuclear issue, parliamentary election, sanctions)
– The struggle for Iraq
– inter Arab tensions esp. between Qatar-KSA
– Syria
– the Russian presidential election
– An US backed UAE grab for the islands of Abu Musa and the Tumbs island.
– Pakistan (revolution?, relations with US, Iran-Pakistan pipelune)
– Sudan
Anyway happy new year to everybody!

Posted by: Irshad | Jan 1 2012 14:34 utc | 30

Happy New Year, b and MOAers. Haven’t commented much this year but have really appreciated the posting and all the work that goes into it. Egypt, Libya, warmongering against Iran, I really can’t say there is a “best”, but the writing and commenting on these and on Fukushima have been so helpful in sorting through the torrent of electrons purporting to be information, news, or analysis out there.
Hope this is a good year for you, b. Let us know if you need financial support. And everyone will understand if you take breaks from time to time. It is hard to keep one’s equilibrium in a world with so many troubles.

Posted by: Maxcrat | Jan 1 2012 14:54 utc | 31

Happy new Year to b – and everyone. Toast for b.
I appreciate everything so can’t pick an choose. This past year has been very hard to understand because despite many seemingly new, extravagant or extraordinary events we are seeing only rumblings before the storm – a placeholder year. The next one will most likely be very similar.

Posted by: Noirette | Jan 1 2012 15:32 utc | 32

Stop being so hard on yourself, Bernhard! You’re one of the best bloggers in the business. What makes you stand out from the crowd is your ability to not just find and analyze newsworthy information, but decipher new meaning from it, particularly within the context of the bigger picture. If I could blog a fraction as well as you do, I’d consider myself to be very blessed.
Not to start an argument with you David, but I wouldn’t describe Bernhard’s writing style as gonzo-like — something Matt Taibbi is uniquely gifted at doing. Bernhard’s writing is second to none in terms of being crisp, clean and to the point. I don’t know if his special brand of pithiness has something to due with him being German. But whatever the reason may be, it makes a very refreshing read to me as a consumer of blogs.

Posted by: Cynthia | Jan 1 2012 16:43 utc | 33

I’d like to second Cynthia’s comment above. One of the best blogs there is. Certainly the best I’ve come across in analyzing reportage and exposing the truth behind the MSM’s twisted tales. The breadth of coverage is excellent. For 2012 I’d say: Just keep it up!
Happy New Year to you, Bernhard, and all!

Posted by: FB Ali | Jan 1 2012 17:18 utc | 34

Happy New Year to all of you Moonbats.
Peace.

Posted by: beq | Jan 1 2012 18:18 utc | 35

actually Morocco Bama, I agree :-))
same procedure as every year, to you all.
b. maybe you should reread, watch “Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, (German: Furcht und Elend des Dritten Reiches), also known as The Private Life of the Master Race”
everybody can be the Master Race, it is a virus, it spreads …

Posted by: somebody | Jan 1 2012 20:05 utc | 36

Obama’s statement about signing the NDAA is really funny:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/12/31/statement-president-hr-1540
For me the most laughable sentence is: “The fact that I support this bill as a whole does not mean I agree with everything in it.”
It is something I can compare to: “Yes, I have taken that loan, but it does not mean I agree on interest rate” 🙂 🙂

Posted by: Martin | Jan 1 2012 20:13 utc | 37

I stumbled in only a few months ago knocking over chairs and falling on my ass in my haste to butt heads with strangers whose opinions offended me. Thank gawd I’ve stopped taking the medication responsible! LOL
Thanks to b and everyone for your contributions to the MOA dialogue.
Let’s hope this new year is the beginning of the end for our dangerously ideological opponents.

Posted by: arthurdecco | Jan 2 2012 0:51 utc | 38

A big thank you to b.
The Fukushima and drone stories typify b’s brilliance, using his knowledge, instincts, and hard work to dig out the real story.
Happy New Year to everyone.

Posted by: Watson | Jan 2 2012 3:33 utc | 39

A hearty thanks to b, and everyone who posts here, for continuing my daily education. The links and opinions found here are second to none.

Posted by: ben | Jan 2 2012 14:49 utc | 40

Well, the old year ended with this fuckin’ idiot Bachman sayin’ she’d close an Iranian embassy that hasn’t existed in decades.
And now, the new year rings in with the asshole Santorum demanding that Iran do what it already HAS, and IS doing, (namely let IAEA inspecters into its nuclear facilities), or we’re gonna bomb ’em.
And we wonder why Iran would seek nukes?
I guess that racist little shithole country “Israel” is the only middle eastern country that “has a right to defend itself”, and conceal its nuclear programs and capabilities from the international community.

Posted by: PissedOffAmerican | Jan 2 2012 15:53 utc | 41

I’m also a new reader of MoA’s blog. I agree with the other’s votes listed here, but it really isn’t easy to select out particular articles in retrospect. The imperial political configuration is continually changing so that it is hard to know in advance what’s going to have a big impact a few days later except in certain spectacular cases like the Iranian drone capture.
In general, the blogs of b, M.K. Bhadrakumar and Pepe Escobar are always my first reads. Keep at it b.

Posted by: JohnE | Jan 2 2012 17:20 utc | 42

For rating your best work – what interested me the most –
#1 all the stories related to flow of US supplies into Afghanistan
#2 the accounts of how the Iranians got the US drone
#3 the nanodiamonds – you blew that one of the water, hit it out of the ballpark 🙂 – reporters who get paid should all be hanging their heads in shame
#4 Fukushima reactor
Best OLD work, yes, I know you didn’t ask that, but I am saying anyway. Quite a while back – the series about Tibetans, their history, and the role of the Chinese
Worst – that can be a very relative word. I guess misunderstanding of your question about US infrastructure deteriorating. I recalled seeing the pails in the corridor of St. Louis International airport – put there to catch rain from the roof. I got angry at how anybody could ALLOW such a thing, did they have no shame, no self-respect? Seeing this decay distresses me. And I went on a little rant.
I am very grateful that you are keeping up this blog, and I hope you will be able to continue.
All the best for 2012 to you and the regular commentators here.

Posted by: Northern Night Owl | Jan 3 2012 8:54 utc | 43

Brace yourself. The American Empire is over. And the descent is going to be horrifying. Chris Hedges: Brace yourself. The American Empire is over. And the descent is going to be horrifying. Long, incredibly intelligent, insightful and pessimistic discussion of the current state of American politics and society, among other topics.
worth the two hours time…

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Jan 3 2012 14:13 utc | 44

Thank you very much for that reference, Uncle $cam
I am going to listen to that VERY carefully. Again again. And think. And listen again.
– but first – the latest satellite tech is getting more important. Currently -satellites able to see more and more. See –
http://cluborlov.blogspot.com/ –
the latest post talks about US, Russian, and Chinese satellites.
In older posts @ Club Orlov – there has been much discussion about the future downfall of the US, comparing it to the shattering of the USSR. The USSR had inefficiencies, huge redundancies – which were very useful, they cushioned the THUMP when things hit the ground
However, one piece of news giving me optimism, via Moon of Alabama – how much Germany is becoming self-sufficient in energy. Moon of Alabama has discussed this, wrt German farmers, solar power panels, wind power, incremental improvements …..
I would like to know more about such progress in Germany and elsewhere, like the latest about the “Green City” in China. But I will wait patiently, when and if, b decides to discuss such news about Germany and other parts of Europe, gas pipelines from Centraia Asian counties, German self-sufficiency, agriculture …

Posted by: Northern Night Owl | Jan 3 2012 18:02 utc | 45

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