I think most people live their lives in this manner, not perfect, but they try, and to have the US help trigger a nuclear war with their insatiable need for world control that wipes out not only humanity but all of life which was millions of years in the making sickens me. It would be like the devil won. Interesting that the Biden administration is so rapt up in climate change, and it's not that I'm a non-believer by any means, but it would be ironic if it is his administration that destroys the planet completely, although it would not surprise me since this senile self serving man never gave a shit about anything other then himself throughout his career.
My background is in the biological sciences. Too bad the school system in NY and elsewhere pushed a curriculum from the college level down that never acknowledged the reality of climate change. That being said, Biden was never about climate change or the environment. Lowing carbon emissions and other elements and compounds that pose a threat have to be accomplished over decades, not a few years, because if you do you will destroy the lives of many. They are pushing an agenda that will go nowhere. Just more BS.
One of the interesting things about science is how much time PhD's spend in research and publishing so that others can pick their work to pieces. Do you have your complete CV on-line for inspection?
John climate change isn't a religion, it's scientific fact. Not a question of belief. They were talking about carbon emissions and the affect they would have on the environment since the industrial revolution. The 20th century was the century of the environment, Teddy Roosevelt and conservation, and then preservation of land in America and Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, yet in college, in HS and JHS it was never part of the curriculum, so it's no wonder people are not believers. I don't blame them, but look into it. Forget Biden and the way he is handling it, since it can't be handled in a rush. It takes decades for real change to happen. These political hacks made a lot of their money over ignoring it. This isn't their world. It's ours.
Sorry to say Fran, the climate change agenda has been framed by a kind of religious fervour and dividing the issue into believers and non believers. The morally correct ones are the believers and the bad guys are the non believers. Scinece by it's very nature can't be "settled", it is an ongoing process of investigation. The qualified scientists who have a different opinion are pilloried and many have lost their positions. This is a corruption of science driven by global elites who have no intention of "reducing their carbon footprint". Bill Gates wants climate lockdowns. Do you want more imprisonment? Enviromental concerns are a part of human evolution and have been changing quite dramatically over the past 70 years for the better. But putting these concerns in the hands of a sociopathic and corrupt political and financial elite is a recipe for disaster from the average individual.
Donald was a gas bag, and the verbiage is there for a reason. One known known is Donald expect people to use his comment without careful examination of what he was doing.
It seems the West is in need of a good old fashioned “Rectification of Terms.” In short, we can’t solve a problem if we can’t put a name on it. Unless we can name the real enemy (both within and without), and provide a genuine vision for humanity (humanity, not in-group/out-group nonsense), we’re wasting our times and others’.
To quote Confucius:
A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.
— Confucius, Analects, Book XIII, Chapter 3, verses 4–7, Analect 13.3, translated by James Legge[18]
It’s not enough to rail against the enemy’s evil system, a replacement must be offered, one that includes humanity, rather than a “rules based order” that actually only involves something like a billion people, what Putin refers to as the “golden billion.”
They claim WW2 started Sep 1 1939. That affected Poland, and supposedly Britain and France got "involved" - by talking tough. I wonder what constituted "total" on that date.
I don't think WW2 ended. The USA kept the fascist in power in Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Japan, because they were already in power in the USA. The "Cold War" was simply an ebb / lull in the fighting. (Subcommander, we've been in total war, but you don't use all your weapons all the time).
Caitlin’s double-edged sword: 1) Expose the illegitimate players who would entertain the possibility of a nuclear holocaust to grow their wealth; and 2) Educate and inspire the propagandized, alienated public who have been strategically encouraged to see personalities and individuals, often their neighbors, as the obstacles to be overcome.
We have been habituated to TV and church. Two venues that ring out the messages safe for mass manipulation and distraction. And two pronouncers of this message: We are all alone, all on our own. Hell, we don’t even see fit to fight for healthcare as a human right. We are a separated lot! So self-denying, so short-sighted, so sad.
I don’t know what happened to make you want make your stand on Covid. I know people who succumbed to it. The U.S. death count from Covid-19 and its variants is over one million. Feel free to believe it’s a grand hoax, but you won’t convince me. Infectious disease is real. Your comment is dripping with sarcastic allusions to conspiracy. Do you feel enlightened?
It is a fact that only six percent died from only Covid. All the others died with Covid according to tests that gave a lot of false positives, and they had on average 2.5 comorbidities. In addition about 78 percent were overweight (unhealthy)... Not to mention NO early treatment and isolation. Being a leftist all my life I am been disillusioned that so many on the left believed big pharma (known criminals) and our captured regulatory agencies.
Why do you think the FDA and Pfizer tried to hide their trial data for 75 years? Why, if the "pandemic" is over, are they still mandating vaccines? Why did they change the definitions of pandemic and vaccine recently? Why is the WHO trying to get a treaty signed to give them powers over all nations? And so much more..
Bio weapons are real. Medical tyranny is just as tyrannical, perhaps more so because if your body is not sovereign, what is?
So Carol, if Covid was targeting the weak and compromised, and those people represent 84% of the corpses attributed to Covid, how does that alter the death count, and why do you conclude that I believe in “big pharma?” I don’t. The CDC is not big pharma, and it isn’t a regulatory agency. If you have evidence that they have manufactured data to alarm us, bring it on.
The CDC was created and is funded by government, along with funds from a foundation. Data? I studied statistics and have done some research... the data manipulation has been astounding as I have partially shown. (And 94 not 84 percent)
Fauci has control of funding to 58,000 doctors and scientists. Jimmy Dore has an excellent video showing all the lies.
To what end? Data manipulation for what purpose? Countless Drs have independently endorsed the value of the vaccine, and so they were all misled or all lying? Why? Have we all been poisoned so we will comply with our corrupt leaders’ edicts? What is the grand truth that your findings expose?
The Great Barrington Declaration was signed by about a million people in 2020. Tens of thousands were doctors and scientists. You did not address any of my questions and I have a lot more. Kim Iversen has looked at some of the Pfizer trial data a judge ordered released.
Why am I not surprised? These morons really do live in a bubble in D.C.. If the unthinkable does indeed happen, I can only hope all of those stupid, vapid assholes are under the first strike at ground zero . My own evaporation aside, I'd give anything to see those bastards turn to toast.
Caitlin thank you as always for your incisive commentary, on a philosophical and human level so much of what you say resonates with me, and I am sure many others who read it. However, in as much of what you say makes sense, and is objectively true there is an element or undercurrent of inherent defeatism in them, i.e., as spectators watching the unthinkable unfold as a result of the collective inactions/actions and bellicose words of a relatively small group of mandated decision makers, very small relative to the populations of the countries they represent, and indeed infinitesimal in global population terms, i.e., if say there are a thousand of them involved in deliberately directing this cataclysmic opera, well then that would be 0,0000125000000% of the people on this planet, in other words a statistically wholly irrelevant number of individuals systematically directing us towards potential Armageddon, then perhaps rather than accepting the inevitable should we not be talking about trying to do something about it. For example there are +7billion smart phones on this planet, and a vast number of platforms that could be used to instantly aggregate opinions and/or sentiment in a well-constructed "We are the World" type of cogent plea to halt the madness, to those orchestrating this insanity, and perhaps the "professional" politicians, and their interconnected vassals and masters (and I use the word "professional" in the loosest possible terms), such that they are may be forced to think again about the trajectory of irreversible annihilation that they have set upon on our/the worlds behalf.
Clearly this maybe a facile idea, and I am sure there are a multitude, nay a myriad of far smarter, more creative people out the who could conceive a better plan and implement it, and I for one would suggest that it is completely premature to accept the inevitable, and at least attempt to take some form of cohesive global action to avoid this impending unconscionable self-inflicted disaster.
For the deeper fundamentals in my life - my own sense of meaning, I've relied primarily on my readings. Of late Carl Jung's work has formed a foundation on how I approach suffering and my own mortality (and those that I have loved). Other writings - James and his good friend Myers have proven a good foundation along with my own personal experiences and personal experiences of close friends.
Beyond that, I am mostly living my life as I have been. Not much is within my control, if the world is stupid enough to blow itself up.
I've done some reading but not a great deal. I find many of the traditional religions have been heavily influenced by politics within and without. It's often difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. I prefer Carl Jung's mythological, psychological approach to religion/spirituality - in the same vein as Joseph Campbell or someone like Alan Watts.
Thanks however for the suggestion. Have you read any of Jung's work?
To be quite honest, if you believe in an existential view of life, it is irrelevant how you live it because it is all an accident and if it randomly disappears then so so be it. Easy come easy go. The only relevance to the questions asked in this piece would be if we have a purpose, were purposely designed and put here...if we are not the product of random matter coming together and forming life (actually a scientifically proved impossibility) then we need to explore another possibility; the exquisitely complex interdependent purposefulness of nature, our bodies etc. cause us to ask why is there so much purposeful design?...then things, though appearing bleak might, in accordance with some sacred writings on this, indicate soon something 'is going to happen, something wonderful' as Dave Bowman said in Space Odyssey 2010..
So many people try to reiterate that which already has been described and likely experienced millenia ago. It's all happened before, happening now, and will happen again.
I’ve been told Armageddon is just around the corner all my life. Now 58.
It has to be the greatest fear tactic of all the bogeyman in the tool box.
Could it happen? Of course. But it’s far more likely through error than intent, despite all the posturing.
And really, why sweat it? Yes, seek better solutions than the vomit that currently holds the reigns but it isn’t worth worrying over. If it happe, we’re fucked.
Quite, I'm three years your junior. I was an often terrified child, but I stopped worrying about it some time ago. Much of what went on in the Cold War was propaganda.
Everything about the world of which we are an outgrowth says it is here to be enjoyed, and we are here to enjoy it. True enjoyment is benign, is generous, wants to envelop everyone and everything. I only regret that I sometimes forgot that, but wishing something to have been different is not nothing, it is creative, it adds to reality in some way. The only prayer I ever say is a wish: may all things be made right.
Well we have seen it all before in 1938, when Hitler wanted to annex the Sudetenland... Hitler was not so ridiculous as to pretend that the Sudeten inhabitants were victims of a genocide at the hands of the Czechs. He proposed an annexation referendum, overseen by the German army, though. The Czeks refused, France mobilized, so Hitler proposed a peace conference, at Munich, during which a piece of Czechoslovakia was given to Germany.
The New York Times did its best to ignore Hitler’s exactions, even while the German dictator was notoriously killing millions of minorities, and occupied democracies.
The NYT, and pseudo-progressives paid by Putin, are at it again with the nuclear tyrant: "If [giving part of Ukraine to Putin] happens, a territorial settlement will be reached and the global rules-based international order will be re-established." This is criminal nonsense. Putin is obsessed with taking Ukraine. Any negotiated settlement will just give him time to re-arm and return with greater force and greater threats. He will come back. The only way to end the threat is to eliminate Putin. If not eliminated, he will come back.
We have an extremely similar situation now. However, many have learned this history. This is why 27 European countries, including traditional neutrals such as Sweden and Switzerland, are sending weapons to Ukraine. France is not taking orders from Biden, and yet, has switched to war production of many of its most sophisticated weapons, after sending 25% of its mobile high precision guns to Ukraine.
The way out in 1937 was to make a coup against Hitler. The German army asked the US and UK to stand officially against Hitler (thus supporting France, Hitler’s dedicated enemy). The German army leaders would then make a coup, arguing to the German Volk that Germany faced annihilation. Instead the US and UK warned Hitler that his general officers were plotting against him. Hitler gave his army a stern warning.
Now we have a similar situation. The Russian military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Russia would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The best course for peace is then, as horrible as it may sound, to prepare for nuclear war. There is simply no alternative. Any concession to Putin is a concession to a group of criminals who threatened this week to "use strategic nuclear weapons against the West for their occupation of Ukraine".
"Such a fine mind gone to waste." - is it somebody to know? Judging by its this and previous posts it's either an operative stacking up things in exactly reverse order, or a true idiot.
Thanks about the fine mind. I am happy then that, according to you, the establishment and TV stations (what's the difference?) are now regurgitating what I have said for decades, and which is indeed sickening. A job well done, then.
Regarding "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum Nuclei, it is interesting that you use the language of the Roman Empire to promote the actions of the American Empire.
It is also notable that the Roman writer Vegetius wrote the original dictum just prior to the fall of the Roman Empire.
Europe, population 600 millions, is united in opposing Putin, manu militari. Obsessing with the "American Empire" owning all European minds is itself imperialist, because it assumes, in a US obsessed way, that Europe is made of US puppets, with no minds of their own, and not revolted by Putin's thugs raping, torturing and killing children as young as 4, as the UN just found out.
Vegetius didn't write what I wrote, he wrote :"Igitur quī dēsīderat pācem, præparet bellum". The famous adage was much older, but its origins are unknown, like cave canem....
Vegetius' work is a thousand year old compilation of military science and, far from promoting what needed to be done in his time, total mobilization, he promoted very small military formations... So he worked for the oligarchy.
How the Roman state fell is directly traceable to the crushing of the Western Roman army of the Frank Arbogast by Alaric's GOTHS, front line forces of the Catholic fanatic Theodosius I and his obsession with heresy. Roman oligarchy prefered to ally itself with the invading Germans, rather than arming We The People. Fortunately, WTP is raising in Ukraine.
My use of the term “American Empire” was, admittedly, more literary than exhaustively descriptive. I sometimes call it the Western Empire in respect for its linage from Greek, Roman, and British empires. But I think it’s more accurate and it’s my preference to call it "The Empire", because there is currently no other active empire on the planet. It is composed mainly of the U.S. and U.K., along with European NATO/EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and various other financial havens. The U.S. is the military wing, and, via the world’s reserve currency, has the most financial power, but Imperial leadership is murky, though I have my theories.
With regard to the sovereignty of European NATO nations, they are indeed and irrefutably mostly minor client states of The Empire. The main exceptions are rogues like Turkey and Hungary, but the cracks are deepening elsewhere, especially in Italy. I would add France to the list of semi-sovereign Europeans if I were just talking about the people—those French!—but the government is deeply penetrated by Imperials, and still significantly maintains its own colonial/sub-imperial control in Africa.
Your claim that 600 million Europeans are united in opposing Putin and your rote recitation of MSM claims about torture and rape by Russians in Ukraine is, well, an unusual position for the critical thinkers who actually enjoys reading Caitlin Johnstone's posts. I take it you must be here for other reasons (and I note you ignored my comment about failing the Turing test--indeed, you took the Wikipedia Regurgitation bait and responded in kind, one of the tell-tale quirks of lower level 4 AI bots).
One of the consequences of the NATO war on Russia is that either NATO or Russia (or both) will not survive in their present forms. When the dust settles sometime after the current controlled demolition of Europe by its own governments, European nations—those that remain—will eventually find independence from the U.S. But for now, for European client states, winter is coming.
Who threatened China, Iran, North Korea, (North) Vietnam, etc. etc. with nuclear distruction? and who used nuclear weapons on civilians? You are a first class troll, but you're also a first class turd sinking up the world.
The US military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, USA would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The Canadian military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Canada would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The German military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Germany would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The Japanese military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Japan would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
I don't know anyone who threatened these countries you quote with nuclear destruction.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki terminated the war within one week., as Japan decided to lay down its arms 10,000 Chinese civilians were dying each day from Japanese military action. Many of the fanatics in the Japan military most connected to Japan war criminality committed suicide... For example the entire Kamikaze command. However that was not a higher percentage than how many top Nazis committed suicide.
We just need to arrest a gang of criminals in the Kremlin. Hopefully lower level officers will arrest their rogue leaders. Putin just named a notorious war criminal (in Syria) as deputy defense minister.
BTW, it cost a lot of money and expertise to keep nukes in working order. It's not clear how well Putin's nukes work.
"I don't know anyone who threatened these countries you quote with nuclear destruction. "
Easy enough not to see that with your head stuck well up your ass that instead of feces fabricates fabrications. Ignorance is no crime, but willful ignorance should be. BTW, neat trick, touch typing and otherwise making your way in life, the blind do it, but not with your tricked out anatomy.
I think that those questions should guide our lives, armageddon or not 💞. Thank you.
I think most people live their lives in this manner, not perfect, but they try, and to have the US help trigger a nuclear war with their insatiable need for world control that wipes out not only humanity but all of life which was millions of years in the making sickens me. It would be like the devil won. Interesting that the Biden administration is so rapt up in climate change, and it's not that I'm a non-believer by any means, but it would be ironic if it is his administration that destroys the planet completely, although it would not surprise me since this senile self serving man never gave a shit about anything other then himself throughout his career.
" it's not that I'm a non-believer by any means,"
Be one. It's not all as truthful as they'd like you to believable.
My background is in the biological sciences. Too bad the school system in NY and elsewhere pushed a curriculum from the college level down that never acknowledged the reality of climate change. That being said, Biden was never about climate change or the environment. Lowing carbon emissions and other elements and compounds that pose a threat have to be accomplished over decades, not a few years, because if you do you will destroy the lives of many. They are pushing an agenda that will go nowhere. Just more BS.
The climate changes over time to some extent and always has. I don't buy into the climate apocalypse narrative. I have a degree in Chemistry.
One of the interesting things about science is how much time PhD's spend in research and publishing so that others can pick their work to pieces. Do you have your complete CV on-line for inspection?
Yes. I'd just add: They are pushing an agenda that will go nowhere, but into their bank accounts.
You're right on the money, Fran.
I'm a non believer. That's okay.
John climate change isn't a religion, it's scientific fact. Not a question of belief. They were talking about carbon emissions and the affect they would have on the environment since the industrial revolution. The 20th century was the century of the environment, Teddy Roosevelt and conservation, and then preservation of land in America and Rachel Carson and Silent Spring, yet in college, in HS and JHS it was never part of the curriculum, so it's no wonder people are not believers. I don't blame them, but look into it. Forget Biden and the way he is handling it, since it can't be handled in a rush. It takes decades for real change to happen. These political hacks made a lot of their money over ignoring it. This isn't their world. It's ours.
Sorry to say Fran, the climate change agenda has been framed by a kind of religious fervour and dividing the issue into believers and non believers. The morally correct ones are the believers and the bad guys are the non believers. Scinece by it's very nature can't be "settled", it is an ongoing process of investigation. The qualified scientists who have a different opinion are pilloried and many have lost their positions. This is a corruption of science driven by global elites who have no intention of "reducing their carbon footprint". Bill Gates wants climate lockdowns. Do you want more imprisonment? Enviromental concerns are a part of human evolution and have been changing quite dramatically over the past 70 years for the better. But putting these concerns in the hands of a sociopathic and corrupt political and financial elite is a recipe for disaster from the average individual.
Just noticed. "for the average individual" should be the final wording!
And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
1 John 2:17
It would be nice if God actually helped.
old covenant "eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow you die"
new covenant "eat, drink, and be merry, for Christ died for you"
Interesting, You feel I'm to be eating, drinking and feel merry because someone died for me? That sounds so very American, an episode on the Sopranos.
Joe Biden will agree with you.
Me, I'm with Confucious about the unknowable. 知之爲知之，不知爲不知。
Sounds like a quote from Donald Rumsfeld:
< en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There_are_known_knowns >
Donald was a gas bag, and the verbiage is there for a reason. One known known is Donald expect people to use his comment without careful examination of what he was doing.
Of course, I was being sarcastic about the superficial resemblance of Confucius' words and Rumsfeld's [weasel] words.
In this age of warped language usage by the woke-ists, the ancient Chinese concept of 正名 desperately needs to be applied.
It seems the West is in need of a good old fashioned “Rectification of Terms.” In short, we can’t solve a problem if we can’t put a name on it. Unless we can name the real enemy (both within and without), and provide a genuine vision for humanity (humanity, not in-group/out-group nonsense), we’re wasting our times and others’.
To quote Confucius:
A superior man, in regard to what he does not know, shows a cautious reserve. If names be not correct, language is not in accordance with the truth of things. If language be not in accordance with the truth of things, affairs cannot be carried on to success. When affairs cannot be carried on to success, proprieties and music do not flourish. When proprieties and music do not flourish, punishments will not be properly awarded. When punishments are not properly awarded, the people do not know how to move hand or foot. Therefore a superior man considers it necessary that the names he uses may be spoken appropriately, and also that what he speaks may be carried out appropriately. What the superior man requires is just that in his words there may be nothing incorrect.
— Confucius, Analects, Book XIII, Chapter 3, verses 4–7, Analect 13.3, translated by James Legge[18]
It’s not enough to rail against the enemy’s evil system, a replacement must be offered, one that includes humanity, rather than a “rules based order” that actually only involves something like a billion people, what Putin refers to as the “golden billion.”
Pogo got it right: "We have met the enemy and he is us."
Wow, what a great quote! Really needed now in this day and age.
"As We Move Closer To WW3..." - we are in it already. It's just revving up.
WW3 requires total war. We're near it. It's coming for sure but not there yet.
They claim WW2 started Sep 1 1939. That affected Poland, and supposedly Britain and France got "involved" - by talking tough. I wonder what constituted "total" on that date.
I don't think WW2 ended. The USA kept the fascist in power in Germany, Greece, Italy, Spain, Japan, because they were already in power in the USA. The "Cold War" was simply an ebb / lull in the fighting. (Subcommander, we've been in total war, but you don't use all your weapons all the time).
my guess - that is when hitler stole the british monarchy/lords holdings in german banks.
It already started.
Caitlin’s double-edged sword: 1) Expose the illegitimate players who would entertain the possibility of a nuclear holocaust to grow their wealth; and 2) Educate and inspire the propagandized, alienated public who have been strategically encouraged to see personalities and individuals, often their neighbors, as the obstacles to be overcome.
We have been habituated to TV and church. Two venues that ring out the messages safe for mass manipulation and distraction. And two pronouncers of this message: We are all alone, all on our own. Hell, we don’t even see fit to fight for healthcare as a human right. We are a separated lot! So self-denying, so short-sighted, so sad.
American? I note your comment about healthcare.
Guilty.
I don’t know what happened to make you want make your stand on Covid. I know people who succumbed to it. The U.S. death count from Covid-19 and its variants is over one million. Feel free to believe it’s a grand hoax, but you won’t convince me. Infectious disease is real. Your comment is dripping with sarcastic allusions to conspiracy. Do you feel enlightened?
It is a fact that only six percent died from only Covid. All the others died with Covid according to tests that gave a lot of false positives, and they had on average 2.5 comorbidities. In addition about 78 percent were overweight (unhealthy)... Not to mention NO early treatment and isolation. Being a leftist all my life I am been disillusioned that so many on the left believed big pharma (known criminals) and our captured regulatory agencies.
Why do you think the FDA and Pfizer tried to hide their trial data for 75 years? Why, if the "pandemic" is over, are they still mandating vaccines? Why did they change the definitions of pandemic and vaccine recently? Why is the WHO trying to get a treaty signed to give them powers over all nations? And so much more..
Bio weapons are real. Medical tyranny is just as tyrannical, perhaps more so because if your body is not sovereign, what is?
So Carol, if Covid was targeting the weak and compromised, and those people represent 84% of the corpses attributed to Covid, how does that alter the death count, and why do you conclude that I believe in “big pharma?” I don’t. The CDC is not big pharma, and it isn’t a regulatory agency. If you have evidence that they have manufactured data to alarm us, bring it on.
The CDC was created and is funded by government, along with funds from a foundation. Data? I studied statistics and have done some research... the data manipulation has been astounding as I have partially shown. (And 94 not 84 percent)
Fauci has control of funding to 58,000 doctors and scientists. Jimmy Dore has an excellent video showing all the lies.
To what end? Data manipulation for what purpose? Countless Drs have independently endorsed the value of the vaccine, and so they were all misled or all lying? Why? Have we all been poisoned so we will comply with our corrupt leaders’ edicts? What is the grand truth that your findings expose?
The Great Barrington Declaration was signed by about a million people in 2020. Tens of thousands were doctors and scientists. You did not address any of my questions and I have a lot more. Kim Iversen has looked at some of the Pfizer trial data a judge ordered released.
Why am I not surprised? These morons really do live in a bubble in D.C.. If the unthinkable does indeed happen, I can only hope all of those stupid, vapid assholes are under the first strike at ground zero . My own evaporation aside, I'd give anything to see those bastards turn to toast.
Caitlin thank you as always for your incisive commentary, on a philosophical and human level so much of what you say resonates with me, and I am sure many others who read it. However, in as much of what you say makes sense, and is objectively true there is an element or undercurrent of inherent defeatism in them, i.e., as spectators watching the unthinkable unfold as a result of the collective inactions/actions and bellicose words of a relatively small group of mandated decision makers, very small relative to the populations of the countries they represent, and indeed infinitesimal in global population terms, i.e., if say there are a thousand of them involved in deliberately directing this cataclysmic opera, well then that would be 0,0000125000000% of the people on this planet, in other words a statistically wholly irrelevant number of individuals systematically directing us towards potential Armageddon, then perhaps rather than accepting the inevitable should we not be talking about trying to do something about it. For example there are +7billion smart phones on this planet, and a vast number of platforms that could be used to instantly aggregate opinions and/or sentiment in a well-constructed "We are the World" type of cogent plea to halt the madness, to those orchestrating this insanity, and perhaps the "professional" politicians, and their interconnected vassals and masters (and I use the word "professional" in the loosest possible terms), such that they are may be forced to think again about the trajectory of irreversible annihilation that they have set upon on our/the worlds behalf.
Clearly this maybe a facile idea, and I am sure there are a multitude, nay a myriad of far smarter, more creative people out the who could conceive a better plan and implement it, and I for one would suggest that it is completely premature to accept the inevitable, and at least attempt to take some form of cohesive global action to avoid this impending unconscionable self-inflicted disaster.
Can't stomach an escalating war? Militor® can help:
https://medium.com/slackjaw/militor-a-new-prescription-drug-from-the-makers-of-war-98b914d8ecd5?sk=e90bfe04921e09806ee8850c6c2ea1a9
For the deeper fundamentals in my life - my own sense of meaning, I've relied primarily on my readings. Of late Carl Jung's work has formed a foundation on how I approach suffering and my own mortality (and those that I have loved). Other writings - James and his good friend Myers have proven a good foundation along with my own personal experiences and personal experiences of close friends.
Beyond that, I am mostly living my life as I have been. Not much is within my control, if the world is stupid enough to blow itself up.
Sounds like you're on the right track. Have you read anything by or about the Buddha? Pema Chodron is a good place to start.
I've done some reading but not a great deal. I find many of the traditional religions have been heavily influenced by politics within and without. It's often difficult to separate the wheat from the chaff. I prefer Carl Jung's mythological, psychological approach to religion/spirituality - in the same vein as Joseph Campbell or someone like Alan Watts.
Thanks however for the suggestion. Have you read any of Jung's work?
Some, in my youth in the 1960s.
Buddhism hasn't been as much influenced by politics as the Abrahamic religions of the Middle East, which are organized religions.
This is so beautiful, bless your heart. I feel a big shift inside me. Bless you!
To be quite honest, if you believe in an existential view of life, it is irrelevant how you live it because it is all an accident and if it randomly disappears then so so be it. Easy come easy go. The only relevance to the questions asked in this piece would be if we have a purpose, were purposely designed and put here...if we are not the product of random matter coming together and forming life (actually a scientifically proved impossibility) then we need to explore another possibility; the exquisitely complex interdependent purposefulness of nature, our bodies etc. cause us to ask why is there so much purposeful design?...then things, though appearing bleak might, in accordance with some sacred writings on this, indicate soon something 'is going to happen, something wonderful' as Dave Bowman said in Space Odyssey 2010..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmCMIJsYvZM
So many people try to reiterate that which already has been described and likely experienced millenia ago. It's all happened before, happening now, and will happen again.
For those inclined to read here's another take on the eternal problem: https://www.amazon.com/War-Christianity-Conversations-Vladimir-Solovyov/dp/1597312533
Also read Dostoyevsky's "The Possessed" (Constance Garnett's translation) and see if you recognize the patterns.
I'm disappointed you find al Jazeera credible.
I’ve been told Armageddon is just around the corner all my life. Now 58.
It has to be the greatest fear tactic of all the bogeyman in the tool box.
Could it happen? Of course. But it’s far more likely through error than intent, despite all the posturing.
And really, why sweat it? Yes, seek better solutions than the vomit that currently holds the reigns but it isn’t worth worrying over. If it happe, we’re fucked.
Quite, I'm three years your junior. I was an often terrified child, but I stopped worrying about it some time ago. Much of what went on in the Cold War was propaganda.
Everything about the world of which we are an outgrowth says it is here to be enjoyed, and we are here to enjoy it. True enjoyment is benign, is generous, wants to envelop everyone and everything. I only regret that I sometimes forgot that, but wishing something to have been different is not nothing, it is creative, it adds to reality in some way. The only prayer I ever say is a wish: may all things be made right.
If You Want Peace, Prepare For Nuclear War
Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum Nuclei
Well we have seen it all before in 1938, when Hitler wanted to annex the Sudetenland... Hitler was not so ridiculous as to pretend that the Sudeten inhabitants were victims of a genocide at the hands of the Czechs. He proposed an annexation referendum, overseen by the German army, though. The Czeks refused, France mobilized, so Hitler proposed a peace conference, at Munich, during which a piece of Czechoslovakia was given to Germany.
The New York Times did its best to ignore Hitler’s exactions, even while the German dictator was notoriously killing millions of minorities, and occupied democracies.
The NYT, and pseudo-progressives paid by Putin, are at it again with the nuclear tyrant: "If [giving part of Ukraine to Putin] happens, a territorial settlement will be reached and the global rules-based international order will be re-established." This is criminal nonsense. Putin is obsessed with taking Ukraine. Any negotiated settlement will just give him time to re-arm and return with greater force and greater threats. He will come back. The only way to end the threat is to eliminate Putin. If not eliminated, he will come back.
We have an extremely similar situation now. However, many have learned this history. This is why 27 European countries, including traditional neutrals such as Sweden and Switzerland, are sending weapons to Ukraine. France is not taking orders from Biden, and yet, has switched to war production of many of its most sophisticated weapons, after sending 25% of its mobile high precision guns to Ukraine.
The way out in 1937 was to make a coup against Hitler. The German army asked the US and UK to stand officially against Hitler (thus supporting France, Hitler’s dedicated enemy). The German army leaders would then make a coup, arguing to the German Volk that Germany faced annihilation. Instead the US and UK warned Hitler that his general officers were plotting against him. Hitler gave his army a stern warning.
Now we have a similar situation. The Russian military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Russia would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The best course for peace is then, as horrible as it may sound, to prepare for nuclear war. There is simply no alternative. Any concession to Putin is a concession to a group of criminals who threatened this week to "use strategic nuclear weapons against the West for their occupation of Ukraine".
I'm sorry, but reading your regurgitation of the establishment propaganda, brought to you by your friendly local TV station newsroom, is sickening.
Such a fine mind gone to waste.
"Such a fine mind gone to waste." - is it somebody to know? Judging by its this and previous posts it's either an operative stacking up things in exactly reverse order, or a true idiot.
Thanks about the fine mind. I am happy then that, according to you, the establishment and TV stations (what's the difference?) are now regurgitating what I have said for decades, and which is indeed sickening. A job well done, then.
Only a full class victim of the Dunning-Kruger effect would think dumping here would not expose their flaccid intellect, but otherwise spot on.
Regarding "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum Nuclei, it is interesting that you use the language of the Roman Empire to promote the actions of the American Empire.
It is also notable that the Roman writer Vegetius wrote the original dictum just prior to the fall of the Roman Empire.
(BTW, you do not pass the Turing test.)
Europe, population 600 millions, is united in opposing Putin, manu militari. Obsessing with the "American Empire" owning all European minds is itself imperialist, because it assumes, in a US obsessed way, that Europe is made of US puppets, with no minds of their own, and not revolted by Putin's thugs raping, torturing and killing children as young as 4, as the UN just found out.
Vegetius didn't write what I wrote, he wrote :"Igitur quī dēsīderat pācem, præparet bellum". The famous adage was much older, but its origins are unknown, like cave canem....
Vegetius' work is a thousand year old compilation of military science and, far from promoting what needed to be done in his time, total mobilization, he promoted very small military formations... So he worked for the oligarchy.
How the Roman state fell is directly traceable to the crushing of the Western Roman army of the Frank Arbogast by Alaric's GOTHS, front line forces of the Catholic fanatic Theodosius I and his obsession with heresy. Roman oligarchy prefered to ally itself with the invading Germans, rather than arming We The People. Fortunately, WTP is raising in Ukraine.
My use of the term “American Empire” was, admittedly, more literary than exhaustively descriptive. I sometimes call it the Western Empire in respect for its linage from Greek, Roman, and British empires. But I think it’s more accurate and it’s my preference to call it "The Empire", because there is currently no other active empire on the planet. It is composed mainly of the U.S. and U.K., along with European NATO/EU countries, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Israel, and various other financial havens. The U.S. is the military wing, and, via the world’s reserve currency, has the most financial power, but Imperial leadership is murky, though I have my theories.
With regard to the sovereignty of European NATO nations, they are indeed and irrefutably mostly minor client states of The Empire. The main exceptions are rogues like Turkey and Hungary, but the cracks are deepening elsewhere, especially in Italy. I would add France to the list of semi-sovereign Europeans if I were just talking about the people—those French!—but the government is deeply penetrated by Imperials, and still significantly maintains its own colonial/sub-imperial control in Africa.
Your claim that 600 million Europeans are united in opposing Putin and your rote recitation of MSM claims about torture and rape by Russians in Ukraine is, well, an unusual position for the critical thinkers who actually enjoys reading Caitlin Johnstone's posts. I take it you must be here for other reasons (and I note you ignored my comment about failing the Turing test--indeed, you took the Wikipedia Regurgitation bait and responded in kind, one of the tell-tale quirks of lower level 4 AI bots).
One of the consequences of the NATO war on Russia is that either NATO or Russia (or both) will not survive in their present forms. When the dust settles sometime after the current controlled demolition of Europe by its own governments, European nations—those that remain—will eventually find independence from the U.S. But for now, for European client states, winter is coming.
Who threatened China, Iran, North Korea, (North) Vietnam, etc. etc. with nuclear distruction? and who used nuclear weapons on civilians? You are a first class troll, but you're also a first class turd sinking up the world.
The US military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, USA would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The Canadian military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Canada would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The German military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Germany would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
The Japanese military has to be told that, in case of nuclear exchange, Japan would face annihilation. Their duty is then to arrest their rogue leaders.
etc. etc. ad nauseum...
I don't know anyone who threatened these countries you quote with nuclear destruction.
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki terminated the war within one week., as Japan decided to lay down its arms 10,000 Chinese civilians were dying each day from Japanese military action. Many of the fanatics in the Japan military most connected to Japan war criminality committed suicide... For example the entire Kamikaze command. However that was not a higher percentage than how many top Nazis committed suicide.
We just need to arrest a gang of criminals in the Kremlin. Hopefully lower level officers will arrest their rogue leaders. Putin just named a notorious war criminal (in Syria) as deputy defense minister.
BTW, it cost a lot of money and expertise to keep nukes in working order. It's not clear how well Putin's nukes work.
"I don't know anyone who threatened these countries you quote with nuclear destruction. "
Easy enough not to see that with your head stuck well up your ass that instead of feces fabricates fabrications. Ignorance is no crime, but willful ignorance should be. BTW, neat trick, touch typing and otherwise making your way in life, the blind do it, but not with your tricked out anatomy.
Aside from your scatologically obsessed imagination, head-ass person, where are your facts? Not even interested on faking them?
You could not possibly see them even if you were not so lazy as to remove your ass from your buttocks and search for them, you are blind.
「子曰：’不憤不啟。不悱不發。舉一隅不以三隅反，則不復也。’」