Travelled to America last century and it certainly felt like stepping back in time . A totally rascist ,violent and uneducated lot totally ignorant of the outside world. It really was like travelling to the New World. They did want to know though with their question "What's on the Outside"
Well with the new uber nazi rules about tourists needing to provide DNA to visit the USA as well as all their social info for five years, there will be little of that pesky critical people.
I always wonder. Is our cause noble because it's sacred or sacred because it's noble. The theme song from Camelot plays in my head but offers little clarity on the issue.
What a joke. Empire of lies that was built on genocides and theft of land, resources, and property. Protecting "free" world. More like stealing and killing innocent people. What a crazy fucked up world we live in. As long as the Empire of lies is ZOG the humanity will be on the edge of extinction.
Well said Mr. Douglas. The empire certainly wasn't "defending" the free world for the last 80 years, quite the opposite in fact. Never knew the NYT were so pro-war, but considering their vehement support for, and defense of, the genocidal occupiers, it checks out. This world is indeed one grim, upside down place
I suspect that the NYT has always been an advocate for war, but "Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction" and their push to war with Iraq was the catalyst that caused me to cancel my subscription.
If more people would cancel their subscriptions to that rag (along with a few others), maybe we could find peace.
Will we do whatever the US interests in fossil fuels and arms say, including increasing our military spending to 5% of GDP on command by cutting social services, buying US weapons, buying LNG shipped across the ocean rather than Russian gas (now moot as the US blew up the pipelines), take the heat from Russia on the US's behalf, who name the UK and Europe as the aggressor because they can't directly call out the US and finally being prepared to be fed feet first into the meat grinder after the last Ukrainian.
The europeans are the ones begging the Americans not to leave them, making increasingly outrageous promises to Ukraine to keep them fighting, trying to psych themselves up to enter the war directly.
i think this 'disagreement' is probably all theater. european elites are using it to feed the populations the bs that their social safety nets have got to go, because they need to stand in their own jackboots now the us is leaving. the last vestiges of what was won with class struggle are brought down. europe will be remodelled in the face of its master.
but i suppose one can be pretty sure the european nor the american business elite in the end won't give a shit whose children are sacrificed. some americans seem to have changed tactics (a diversion for the russians, imo), but the endgoal remains the same (the total meltdown of social infrastructure and opening up of 'health-insurance', job- and 'security'-markets and deregulated, taxless entrepreneurship is an extremely nice extra. ultimately any kind of 'nationalism' (or tribalism), like religion, is totally alien to the ruling-class.
Extract: "This article, by Anne Morelli, is here translated for the first time complete. It is based on her monograph, Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre (utilisables en cas de guerre froide, chaude ou tiède) — The Basic Principles of War Propaganda (For Use in Case of War, cold, hot, or warm), which was first published in 2001 and then revised and republished in 2010 to include the war in Afghanistan and Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech.
Morelli's ten principles, or "commandments" are often accredited to Lord Arthur Ponsonby. Rather, Morelli summarized Ponsonby's work, Falsehood in War-Time to formulate them.
The current Russian-Ukrainian conflict is just the latest iteration of the immense reach of war propaganda to fashion consent, in the form of ready sacrifice of blood and treasure......."
A Strong America. There's the rub. Take a tour around the real America -- Dollar Generals and gigantic food desert wastelands of struggling people inured to their own dilemma because of excessive busyness fueled by survival anxiety, superimposed upon their lifelong brainwashing by media like the Times . . . punching away at social media on their phones as an unguent for a society that rips them off at every turn. There is no strong America. Only the excuse that more bombs will rectify a terribly weak and collapsing societal sub-structure.
These mother-humpers will not be satisfied until every dollar of tax revenue goes into the war machine--they can just cancel Social Security (not the tax--just the expenditures on recipients), Medicare, Medicaid and the VA, all agencies and the Post Office, all federal spending on schools, highway maintenance (they don't need highways, they can just use their private jets). They likely think it doesn't matter if a hefty chunk of the US population dies because they can replace us with AI and robots--but what about the need for spending by the middle class to keep the economy going? Maybe they have herculean dreams of a post-capitalist world where they just take whatever they want and money is obsolete.
We need to turn the Congressional buildings and the Money Capital on Wall street into hospitals for the criminally insane.
>>"These mother-humpers will not be satisfied until every dollar of tax revenue goes into the war machine--they can just cancel Social Security..."
That's NOT how taxes and taxation in the U.S. works (please take the time to understand MMT - which is the ACTUAL way monetary policy works in the U.S.).
This has NOTHING to do with taxes. The fact is - those in power in the US "JUST DON'T CARE" about ordinary citizens. Yes - it's a difficult TRUTH to swallow - but it is the REALITY.
The US could (without any tax dollars) spend/infuse enough money into fixing the health care system, educational system, housing, etc. starting TOMORROW (if it wanted to). But if it does "give the people what they want", WHO will do the dirty/necessary work that needs to be done to support "those in power"?
NOT spending/fixing the health care system, housing, education, poverty, food insecurity, etc. is a CONSCIOUS and VOLUNTARY choice (by those in POWER). It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with TAXES! Taxes are an EXCUSE used by them WHEN they want to avoid fixing the problems that need fixing!
They could fix a good part, if not all, of US infrastructure by just confiscating the kickbacks and associated overcharges on military contracts. The money sent to poke the bear in Ukraine and to genocide the Palestinians in Gaza could have been used to turn USA into a paradise. But where is the profit in that? Hungry workers are more obedient and cost less.
You're missing the point I'm trying to make. Just like they printed $6 trillion instantly to bail out the banks (during the 2008-2011 global financial crisis) and another $6+ trillion during Covid - they can do the same for ANY and ALL expidentures (like infrastructure, health care, homelessness, education, etc.).
This goes to show that 'MONEY is NOT the problem' - they always seem to manage a way to do it when they really want to (this is possible because of the way the US monetary system works - MMT - which 95+% of the people are clueless about).
The Federal U.S. Govt DOES NOT budget its balance sheet the way ordinary people (and businesses do). Hence, they don't need 'taxation revenue' to 'find the money' to fix all that needs fixing.
OK. We don't disagree that much. What I'm saying is that even if money was a problem there are many choices to work around that. Yes, instead of creating wars to fund the MIC, they could just print. They do not want to fix the problems that make life hard for working Americans. I think it is perfectly clear they want obedient dependent slaves as opposed to resilient and independent critical thinking citizens
Take a look at the now broken British Empire, then look at Europe.
Nothing lasts but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. What are these Oligarchs going to spend their money on when the world disintegrates and these same people who survive in their bunkers will be fighting each other for scraps.
I wonder why these eejits don't look at the future!
They are oligarchs and zionists. Not rocket scientists or even mildly smart. Evil, stupidity, and arrogance is the main feature of oligarchy and zionism. Facts, truth, reason, etc. will NEVER win the argument against Money and Power in this fucked up world.
The USA has been in an economic war with China for the past five decades. US multinationals including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, IBM, RCA, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and at least a thousand more have been supporting both sides of that war, for fun and profit— mostly profit — not for the benefit of poor and working class Americans.
The world currently (maybe always?) works on 'might-is-right' principles (as much as I wish it didn't). The anarchic nature of the international system compels great powers to seek dominance, leading to inevitable competition and conflict among them.
In an International System that LACKS a central authority, great powers are often driven to seek maximum power (preferably regional hegemony) because accumulation of power best guarantees survival.
States seek to maximize relative power, not just security; defensive measures are often insufficient. Fear and uncertainty push states toward preemption, balancing, and power acquisition. Great powers (U.S., China) prefer regional hegemony (dominate their own region) because oceans and distance make global hegemony nearly impossible. Cooperation is fragile and temporary; balancing and competition reassert as primary behavior. Even indirectly security-seeking states can end up in conflict (the “tragedy of great power politics”): structural pressures produce rivalry and war regardless of leaders’ intentions.
In such an environment/system, 'great powers' often use aggressive expansion when opportunities arise, formation of balancing coalitions, preemptive strikes, and persistent competition among rising and established powers. Hence, whether China (or anyone else) considers itself to be an 'enemy of America/Europe/West' or not is often less important than the realization that it becomes a DE-FACTO ENEMY of the West (and is treated as such) due to how 'great powers' think/strategize.
The population of the USA is less than 5% of the world’s human population. That of China is just under 20% — or 400% of that of the USA. In contest of labor Capital, China will win. In a military conflict, even if more than half of the Chinese are obliterated, China will still win.
The leaders of China understand that economic might is more significant than military might. They also understand the benefits of automation and advanced technologies and have been investing heavily into the development and production of such.
The so-called leaders of the USA seem to only understand the acquisition of the resources of others, with little effort or planning, other than military planning. Such shortsightedness proved disastrous to the British Empire and the USSR.
I'm not sure WHY you are digressing to a US vs. China hypothetical discussion (or predictions) here. This is not about X vs. Y, it is about why X and Y will be enemies of each other on the geopolitical world stage whether they wish it, want it, understand it, or not.
...imagine, having a country the size of the USA well informed, wow, Ponzi Washington. D.C. 'state scammers!, wouldn't have a chance, playing with American people!
The Big Lie here by the NY Times Editorial are these 4 words: "A more secure world"
Building up the US military even more beyond its now 1 trillion a year budget - while at the same time eschewing any kind of good faith diplomacy, in fact, being the world's playground bully, does not make the US more safe, or the world - it does the exact opposite. However, it does produce for the MIC and defense industry contractors near infinite profits, while impoverishing the rest of the nation.
jamenta, I agree with you that the big lie is the phrase "A more secure world". But in their delusional thinking, view, speech and action they are voicing their 'truth'. For what they mean by 'secure' is a secure world for themselves, more secure and profitable for the ruling classes, the oligarchs, the monarchs , the white supremacists and their hangers on.
The empire's mouthpiece the NY Times is doing its best of manufacturing consent to get the masses attuned to a war with China. China, in their deluded thinking - by developing far in excess of the US - is standing in the way of white supremacist fascist domination of the world.
When I read about the "Leader of the Free World" I want to find a place to throw up. Thanks Caitlin and Tim for another dose of reality which is becoming as scarce as a morning star in this world of lies and propaganda.
The phrase "Leader of the Free World" has surprised me a couple of times while I've been having coffee... and I've had to wipe the table. Sometimes it's impossible to suppress a fit of laughter.
America has enough Nuclear Weapons to destroy the whole world 5,000 time over yet the NY times thinks its not enough, How much more do America need o defend themselves from China, and the rest of the world would 10,000 times over Be enough???
The short answer is NO! Maybe Trillion Trillions times, but that is an optimistic estimate. The west has a right to "self-defense". Where did I hear that before?
Thank you for this report. Wonder how much the billionaire class paid for that war propaganda. I think like all empires, U$ has spread itself too thin and now crumbling. U$ can’t keep printing $ for the billionaires. The billionaire never has enough and their worshippers have stars in their eyes that they too will be billionaires one day and taken care of by the same billionaire who will drop them when they are no longer needed. Tech bros need the resources around the world for their brainless deadly ambitions. 800+ military bases around the world! Sorry not sorry to say that military personnel are only helping the billionaire class get richer. Why can they not see that and conscientiously object and leave the military??? Come home and help us get universal healthcare, affordable housing, and more. Wouldn’t it be better to fight for a better happier America than a billionaire who doesn’t give a shit if you live or die just get them the resources by protecting their corporations all around the world?
It seems the New York Times has read the writing on the wall, i.e., Trump's New "National Security Strategy" and wants the wars to continue to wreak havoc thousands of miles away and not close to home.
The Trumpster is pivoting from the China, China, China rhetoric to focusing on the Western Hemisphere with the desire to reign supreme in the Americas. The old Monroe Doctrine is being dusted off and re-invented to give the USA dominion and hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. In this doctrine, a doctrine that outlines the USA's geopolitical strategy, the USA aims to make stronger alliances with Russia. A smart move some would say as an attack on Russia or China would have the USA up against 2 nuclear powers. Instead, if the USA uses its muscle to intimidate, regime change and destabilize countries in its own back yard, it will become even more powerful than Russia and China combined. Just imagine, garnering the dominion over Greenland, Canada, central and South America.
So threatening Venezuela with a ground incursion, releasing Honduras' Ex-President, Hernandez from prison thus creating a strong ally in the region, threatening to bomb Mexico's drug cartels on Mexican soil, lobbying for military bases in pro-USA countries (Ecuador's referendum said no) destabilizing countries in Latin America will make the USA a regional power out of the Israel playbook. (Me sense a bit of jealous competition with Bibi who's doing just that). Just beat up your neighbors, destabilize their countries, bomb their fishermen, militarize the Caribbean, undermine elections and place USA puppets in the region and put that trillion dollar military budget to good use, right here at home.
No more wars thousands of miles away for oil, drugs and resources when all the oil, drugs and resources are right here for the picking. Hegseth wants "Americans" to sacrifice their sons and daughters to defeat the drug cartels who are killing them and their children.
Remember, Trump is a Capitalist. Most Capitalist want to turn a profit with the least amount of financial losses and the most amount of exploitation.
Some say the New "National Security Strategy" is just words on a paper and can only be implemented by Congress, but it does set the stage and turn the tide from foreign wars to domestic ones. It's obvious that the foreign wars, invasions and destabilizations, especially in West Asia, have been disastrous. Let Israel control the Middle East while the USA can strengthen its hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. The greatest military power in the Western Hemisphere is the United States of America. So it will be a cake walk to subdue all the countries in the region. And just like the mealy mouth Arab nations won't go up against Israel's military arsenal that contains nuclear warheads, the countries in the western hemisphere will be just as deterred to go up against the USA.
You have to take a walk through the Trumpster's brain to make any sense of his madness.
He's not wheeling and dealing with the Saudis for nothing. He's not undermining his agreements with Bibi because he wants Peace in the Middle East. He's not backing away from Ukraine because he wants Europe to show its muscle and take care of Russia on their own. He's salivating over the rare minerals, oil and gold that is right here. The countries in this region are an easier target and he can get "trillions" of dollars invested in the USA by the Saudis (which I am assuming he's getting a big slice of that pie behind closed doors). He's not promising them military security so as to deter Israel from its Greater Israel plan that includes a nice chunk of Saudi Arabia. Nope, nope and nope. He could care less. He's focusing on using the USA's military hegemony and the CIA to battle the "narco-terrorists" in the Western Hemisphere so he can keep his promise of "Making America Great Again". See? Easy, Peezy.
Does Trump's National Security Strategy Really Put America First? Glenn Reacts
Fine, but the other countries are not deaf or blind, they, too, can see this strategy, so we can be sure they are conferring on how best to deal with the Bully from the West and, building up their stockpile of armaments, knowing israhell they are probably busy ma,I guess nice little deals on the side for when the US collapses it gets to grab a few states for Israel II.
Interesting perspective, Davina. One thing about the Trumpster, every one is saying you never know from one day to the next what his next move will be or what he may say out of his mouth.
"[The NY Times] It’s been run by the same family since the late 1800s and it’s been advancing the information interests of rich and powerful imperialists ever since."
We can be more accurate than that. The family that owns The Times is Jewish, and the paper has always propagandized the US nation in favor of the Jewish Narrative. With this fact, we can gain insight into the true motivation behind the Times' editorials. Do I need to prove what I say? I don't to good students of history that have followed the Times and their decades'-long support for Israel, which illustrates the fanatical belief that Zionism/Israel is necessary for the salvation of Judaism. Such intentions throw traditional Judaism and its followers under the bus for selfish motives.
Few Americans are aware of the enormous political organization presented by the US Jewish political leaders. If you want to get a glimpse of this humongous political force, peruse through a list of over 550 world-wide Jewish political organizations devoted to government bribery and social brainwashing. It's by far the largest such single-purpose lobby in the world:
This list and the amounts of $$ funneled by these orgs is pretty stunning. I won't say eye-opening because I suspected as much. But it certainly validated my suspicions. Thanks for the link.
They don’t care about the people. Only about how it affects their pockets. And war is a very lucrative business. They probably think oh well it’s about time the world had another war anyway, the world’s population has grown so much
From a UK historian...at last a US citizen who admits that the US are warmongers..it keeps their country united and the arms manufacturers happy but the rest of the world reeling, poorer embattled and destroyed. And they wonder why we the man in the street do not say hurrah
If you're saying "at last an American who admits the US is warmongerer" you need to broaden your reading. Most of us oppose most of the wars, but our opposition has little effect as they learned from Vietnam to avoid a draft and use a poverty draft and automation, and endless propganda which convinces half of us to support these damn wars but is more effective at keeping us divided into two camps too busy fighting each other to look to our real enemy.
Mary but the problem is that both israel-controlled Rs and Ds pursue the same fascist and militaristic policies. Both parties are perfectly OK with theft, genocides, wars, etc. Defending "free world" you know!
What brought the War On Vietnam to an end (and the end to the peacetime draft) was the breakdown in army discipline and fears that it might spread further.
80 years ago these idiots were warned that it was only a matter of time before Asia would seek its place under the sun. Suffering its psychotic denialism/triumphalism the US set up an extortion racket in an attempt to rule the world. Even though then and now they speak for only 4% of the world's population.
Analysts have told us time and again the US no longer has the ability to wage war, especially a major war against China. With each passing the day this inability becomes greater. Dating back to the Korean war of the 1950's it has fought a succession of off-shore wars and lost every one.
Over 80 years the US has committed the greatest strategic blunder ever and refuses to live with the consequences.
Redemption is the only way forward and that is a closing window of opportunity.
Poor Trump and the imperialists. They just wanna live in a brutal, hierarchical culture, like Roman Imperators and corrupt Senators. While the rest of us cruel humans force our arduous, bleeding heart 21st century political correctness on their pure, brutal, ignorant, status-addicted mentalities. Where we keep refusing to engage with their absurd and dangerous lies and their insatiable appetite for violence, and instead view them in based disgust and fear. If only they could walk through a time machine and go back 2-3 milleniums, I think we'd all be happier. What used to be satire is now reality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan
hmm, fact!: communism, fascism, nazism concentration camps and all other "humane" torture, comes from so called "western civilization" I won't mention the inquisition ... I'll stop here...
and ...
guiding light of NYT's !! >>We have made the Reich by propaganda
Lord Posonby's Ten Commandments of War Propaganda:
1. We don’t want war, we are only defending ourselves.
2. Our adversary is solely responsible for this war.
3. Our adversary’s leader is inherently evil and resembles the devil.
4. We are defending a noble cause, not our particular interests.
5. The enemy is purposefully committing atrocities; if we are making mistakes this happens without intention.
6. The enemy makes use of illegal weapons.
7. We suffer few losses, the enemy’s losses are considerable.
8. Recognized intellectuals and artists support our cause.
9. Our cause is sacred.
10. Whoever casts doubt on our propaganda helps the enemy and is a traitor.
11. God is on our side.
Travelled to America last century and it certainly felt like stepping back in time . A totally rascist ,violent and uneducated lot totally ignorant of the outside world. It really was like travelling to the New World. They did want to know though with their question "What's on the Outside"
Well with the new uber nazi rules about tourists needing to provide DNA to visit the USA as well as all their social info for five years, there will be little of that pesky critical people.
See 9. "Our cause is sacred."
Wow, shocking that the NEW YORK TIMES, of all outlets, produces a war porn article.
NYT, you know, the outlet that disapproves of EVERYTHING done by the administration.
But then, maybe renaming it Department of War, they got all tingly in their naughty parts.
I always wonder. Is our cause noble because it's sacred or sacred because it's noble. The theme song from Camelot plays in my head but offers little clarity on the issue.
A law was made a distant moon ago here,
July and August cannot be too hot.
And there's a legal limit to the snow here--
In Camelot!
I have the whole soundtrack running in my head too often.
Far too often!
The key lines that best parallel America:
Camelot, I know it sounds a bit bizarre,
Camelot, that's how conditions are.
You missed one:
11. Victory is within our grasp.
Mission Accomplished
What a joke. Empire of lies that was built on genocides and theft of land, resources, and property. Protecting "free" world. More like stealing and killing innocent people. What a crazy fucked up world we live in. As long as the Empire of lies is ZOG the humanity will be on the edge of extinction.
Well said Mr. Douglas. The empire certainly wasn't "defending" the free world for the last 80 years, quite the opposite in fact. Never knew the NYT were so pro-war, but considering their vehement support for, and defense of, the genocidal occupiers, it checks out. This world is indeed one grim, upside down place
I suspect that the NYT has always been an advocate for war, but "Saddam Hussein's weapons of mass destruction" and their push to war with Iraq was the catalyst that caused me to cancel my subscription.
If more people would cancel their subscriptions to that rag (along with a few others), maybe we could find peace.
Nothing sells the news media like war. Profits soar when there's war.
......you might sub-title this as the low road to the cesspool of ruination.
Timeless
I'd don't see:
Will we do whatever the US interests in fossil fuels and arms say, including increasing our military spending to 5% of GDP on command by cutting social services, buying US weapons, buying LNG shipped across the ocean rather than Russian gas (now moot as the US blew up the pipelines), take the heat from Russia on the US's behalf, who name the UK and Europe as the aggressor because they can't directly call out the US and finally being prepared to be fed feet first into the meat grinder after the last Ukrainian.
The europeans are the ones begging the Americans not to leave them, making increasingly outrageous promises to Ukraine to keep them fighting, trying to psych themselves up to enter the war directly.
i think this 'disagreement' is probably all theater. european elites are using it to feed the populations the bs that their social safety nets have got to go, because they need to stand in their own jackboots now the us is leaving. the last vestiges of what was won with class struggle are brought down. europe will be remodelled in the face of its master.
Since it's european rulers that are openly saying that europeans must be prepared to sacrifice their children, I wouldn't be so sure.
but i suppose one can be pretty sure the european nor the american business elite in the end won't give a shit whose children are sacrificed. some americans seem to have changed tactics (a diversion for the russians, imo), but the endgoal remains the same (the total meltdown of social infrastructure and opening up of 'health-insurance', job- and 'security'-markets and deregulated, taxless entrepreneurship is an extremely nice extra. ultimately any kind of 'nationalism' (or tribalism), like religion, is totally alien to the ruling-class.
I have seen no evidence that Americans in general or the CEO class in particular care one way or the other about european welfare states.
That euroelites would like to see the end of the welfare state is granted, but that isn't the fault of the Americans.
Crazy, isn't it? The west is corrupt and dysfunctional beyond belief. They hate their own citizens.
https://www.sott.net/article/467508-Propaganda-during-times-of-war-Ponsonbys-ten-commandments
Extract: "This article, by Anne Morelli, is here translated for the first time complete. It is based on her monograph, Principes élémentaires de propagande de guerre (utilisables en cas de guerre froide, chaude ou tiède) — The Basic Principles of War Propaganda (For Use in Case of War, cold, hot, or warm), which was first published in 2001 and then revised and republished in 2010 to include the war in Afghanistan and Obama's Nobel Peace Prize speech.
Morelli's ten principles, or "commandments" are often accredited to Lord Arthur Ponsonby. Rather, Morelli summarized Ponsonby's work, Falsehood in War-Time to formulate them.
The current Russian-Ukrainian conflict is just the latest iteration of the immense reach of war propaganda to fashion consent, in the form of ready sacrifice of blood and treasure......."
—> Ponsonby
A Strong America. There's the rub. Take a tour around the real America -- Dollar Generals and gigantic food desert wastelands of struggling people inured to their own dilemma because of excessive busyness fueled by survival anxiety, superimposed upon their lifelong brainwashing by media like the Times . . . punching away at social media on their phones as an unguent for a society that rips them off at every turn. There is no strong America. Only the excuse that more bombs will rectify a terribly weak and collapsing societal sub-structure.
These mother-humpers will not be satisfied until every dollar of tax revenue goes into the war machine--they can just cancel Social Security (not the tax--just the expenditures on recipients), Medicare, Medicaid and the VA, all agencies and the Post Office, all federal spending on schools, highway maintenance (they don't need highways, they can just use their private jets). They likely think it doesn't matter if a hefty chunk of the US population dies because they can replace us with AI and robots--but what about the need for spending by the middle class to keep the economy going? Maybe they have herculean dreams of a post-capitalist world where they just take whatever they want and money is obsolete.
We need to turn the Congressional buildings and the Money Capital on Wall street into hospitals for the criminally insane.
They already are.😊
>>"These mother-humpers will not be satisfied until every dollar of tax revenue goes into the war machine--they can just cancel Social Security..."
That's NOT how taxes and taxation in the U.S. works (please take the time to understand MMT - which is the ACTUAL way monetary policy works in the U.S.).
This has NOTHING to do with taxes. The fact is - those in power in the US "JUST DON'T CARE" about ordinary citizens. Yes - it's a difficult TRUTH to swallow - but it is the REALITY.
The US could (without any tax dollars) spend/infuse enough money into fixing the health care system, educational system, housing, etc. starting TOMORROW (if it wanted to). But if it does "give the people what they want", WHO will do the dirty/necessary work that needs to be done to support "those in power"?
NOT spending/fixing the health care system, housing, education, poverty, food insecurity, etc. is a CONSCIOUS and VOLUNTARY choice (by those in POWER). It has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to do with TAXES! Taxes are an EXCUSE used by them WHEN they want to avoid fixing the problems that need fixing!
They could fix a good part, if not all, of US infrastructure by just confiscating the kickbacks and associated overcharges on military contracts. The money sent to poke the bear in Ukraine and to genocide the Palestinians in Gaza could have been used to turn USA into a paradise. But where is the profit in that? Hungry workers are more obedient and cost less.
You're missing the point I'm trying to make. Just like they printed $6 trillion instantly to bail out the banks (during the 2008-2011 global financial crisis) and another $6+ trillion during Covid - they can do the same for ANY and ALL expidentures (like infrastructure, health care, homelessness, education, etc.).
This goes to show that 'MONEY is NOT the problem' - they always seem to manage a way to do it when they really want to (this is possible because of the way the US monetary system works - MMT - which 95+% of the people are clueless about).
The Federal U.S. Govt DOES NOT budget its balance sheet the way ordinary people (and businesses do). Hence, they don't need 'taxation revenue' to 'find the money' to fix all that needs fixing.
OK. We don't disagree that much. What I'm saying is that even if money was a problem there are many choices to work around that. Yes, instead of creating wars to fund the MIC, they could just print. They do not want to fix the problems that make life hard for working Americans. I think it is perfectly clear they want obedient dependent slaves as opposed to resilient and independent critical thinking citizens
You mean prisons for criminally insane.
No, they are running the asylum.
Take a look at the now broken British Empire, then look at Europe.
Nothing lasts but there is always light at the end of the tunnel. What are these Oligarchs going to spend their money on when the world disintegrates and these same people who survive in their bunkers will be fighting each other for scraps.
I wonder why these eejits don't look at the future!
They are oligarchs and zionists. Not rocket scientists or even mildly smart. Evil, stupidity, and arrogance is the main feature of oligarchy and zionism. Facts, truth, reason, etc. will NEVER win the argument against Money and Power in this fucked up world.
Because the rulers are still doing just fine. As for the peons, why should they care?
Reminiscent of the last days of the old Soviet Union.
The USA has been in an economic war with China for the past five decades. US multinationals including General Motors, Ford, Chrysler, IBM, RCA, Boeing, Pratt & Whitney and at least a thousand more have been supporting both sides of that war, for fun and profit— mostly profit — not for the benefit of poor and working class Americans.
🎯💯👍
China and its people are not enemies of the USA, Europe or any other part of the world.
The world currently (maybe always?) works on 'might-is-right' principles (as much as I wish it didn't). The anarchic nature of the international system compels great powers to seek dominance, leading to inevitable competition and conflict among them.
In an International System that LACKS a central authority, great powers are often driven to seek maximum power (preferably regional hegemony) because accumulation of power best guarantees survival.
States seek to maximize relative power, not just security; defensive measures are often insufficient. Fear and uncertainty push states toward preemption, balancing, and power acquisition. Great powers (U.S., China) prefer regional hegemony (dominate their own region) because oceans and distance make global hegemony nearly impossible. Cooperation is fragile and temporary; balancing and competition reassert as primary behavior. Even indirectly security-seeking states can end up in conflict (the “tragedy of great power politics”): structural pressures produce rivalry and war regardless of leaders’ intentions.
In such an environment/system, 'great powers' often use aggressive expansion when opportunities arise, formation of balancing coalitions, preemptive strikes, and persistent competition among rising and established powers. Hence, whether China (or anyone else) considers itself to be an 'enemy of America/Europe/West' or not is often less important than the realization that it becomes a DE-FACTO ENEMY of the West (and is treated as such) due to how 'great powers' think/strategize.
The population of the USA is less than 5% of the world’s human population. That of China is just under 20% — or 400% of that of the USA. In contest of labor Capital, China will win. In a military conflict, even if more than half of the Chinese are obliterated, China will still win.
The leaders of China understand that economic might is more significant than military might. They also understand the benefits of automation and advanced technologies and have been investing heavily into the development and production of such.
The so-called leaders of the USA seem to only understand the acquisition of the resources of others, with little effort or planning, other than military planning. Such shortsightedness proved disastrous to the British Empire and the USSR.
I'm not sure WHY you are digressing to a US vs. China hypothetical discussion (or predictions) here. This is not about X vs. Y, it is about why X and Y will be enemies of each other on the geopolitical world stage whether they wish it, want it, understand it, or not.
The oligarchs are happy and that is all that matters.
Oi, you mean . . . you mean that whole strength in numbers, that democracy thinggie . . . was all bollocks?
Yep, has been right from the start.
IF the people do no make a stand............forget living a life with healthcare etc.
I have NO idea where we are going but 'chaos' is always good for a short time.
It enables 'US the people' to do what we can?
IF you do not take up this challenge then do not whine and moan.
...imagine, having a country the size of the USA well informed, wow, Ponzi Washington. D.C. 'state scammers!, wouldn't have a chance, playing with American people!
Seems like a hallucination.
Well expressed Vin!
Very well put!
They are a strong, in that they can impose their will when they want, and mete out consequences to those who resist.
Moral strength never comes into it, any more than it does for tiger seeking prey to eat.
I am on the periphery here Feral.
I do know that the people can bring down Governments (by deciding not to work for the Elite) for instance.
BUT I also think we are too far gone and I am interested in seeing the West dissolved.
The Big Lie here by the NY Times Editorial are these 4 words: "A more secure world"
Building up the US military even more beyond its now 1 trillion a year budget - while at the same time eschewing any kind of good faith diplomacy, in fact, being the world's playground bully, does not make the US more safe, or the world - it does the exact opposite. However, it does produce for the MIC and defense industry contractors near infinite profits, while impoverishing the rest of the nation.
More secure world= one dominated by the white US based patriarchy.
jamenta, I agree with you that the big lie is the phrase "A more secure world". But in their delusional thinking, view, speech and action they are voicing their 'truth'. For what they mean by 'secure' is a secure world for themselves, more secure and profitable for the ruling classes, the oligarchs, the monarchs , the white supremacists and their hangers on.
The empire's mouthpiece the NY Times is doing its best of manufacturing consent to get the masses attuned to a war with China. China, in their deluded thinking - by developing far in excess of the US - is standing in the way of white supremacist fascist domination of the world.
Yes, it is delusional thinking. I agree Indu.
100%
Shocking that this was the NYT with the war-porniest of war porn.
Might be a sign of either the fix is in, or the end times. Maybe both.
Occam, The NYT editorial is not shocking at all. It is what it is there for...
But I think it's a sign of the end times when the NYT agrees with the administration.
Might be a first since inauguration, actually.
I love you friend.
When I read about the "Leader of the Free World" I want to find a place to throw up. Thanks Caitlin and Tim for another dose of reality which is becoming as scarce as a morning star in this world of lies and propaganda.
The phrase "Leader of the Free World" has surprised me a couple of times while I've been having coffee... and I've had to wipe the table. Sometimes it's impossible to suppress a fit of laughter.
In my case, it's more like spewing.
It's almost as if Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan are on their editorial board. Wait. Are they?
Why do we search for sanity within obviously insane policies? As John Lenon said " the world is run by insane people for insane purposes"!
It's time to call them out!
America has enough Nuclear Weapons to destroy the whole world 5,000 time over yet the NY times thinks its not enough, How much more do America need o defend themselves from China, and the rest of the world would 10,000 times over Be enough???
CREAM: Cash Rules Everything Around Me.
The short answer is NO! Maybe Trillion Trillions times, but that is an optimistic estimate. The west has a right to "self-defense". Where did I hear that before?
By 2050 we can turn earth into a new Sun
Thank you for this report. Wonder how much the billionaire class paid for that war propaganda. I think like all empires, U$ has spread itself too thin and now crumbling. U$ can’t keep printing $ for the billionaires. The billionaire never has enough and their worshippers have stars in their eyes that they too will be billionaires one day and taken care of by the same billionaire who will drop them when they are no longer needed. Tech bros need the resources around the world for their brainless deadly ambitions. 800+ military bases around the world! Sorry not sorry to say that military personnel are only helping the billionaire class get richer. Why can they not see that and conscientiously object and leave the military??? Come home and help us get universal healthcare, affordable housing, and more. Wouldn’t it be better to fight for a better happier America than a billionaire who doesn’t give a shit if you live or die just get them the resources by protecting their corporations all around the world?
Mike Benz just posted a 3 hour video on Moldova. It gives good insights.
It seems the New York Times has read the writing on the wall, i.e., Trump's New "National Security Strategy" and wants the wars to continue to wreak havoc thousands of miles away and not close to home.
The Trumpster is pivoting from the China, China, China rhetoric to focusing on the Western Hemisphere with the desire to reign supreme in the Americas. The old Monroe Doctrine is being dusted off and re-invented to give the USA dominion and hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. In this doctrine, a doctrine that outlines the USA's geopolitical strategy, the USA aims to make stronger alliances with Russia. A smart move some would say as an attack on Russia or China would have the USA up against 2 nuclear powers. Instead, if the USA uses its muscle to intimidate, regime change and destabilize countries in its own back yard, it will become even more powerful than Russia and China combined. Just imagine, garnering the dominion over Greenland, Canada, central and South America.
So threatening Venezuela with a ground incursion, releasing Honduras' Ex-President, Hernandez from prison thus creating a strong ally in the region, threatening to bomb Mexico's drug cartels on Mexican soil, lobbying for military bases in pro-USA countries (Ecuador's referendum said no) destabilizing countries in Latin America will make the USA a regional power out of the Israel playbook. (Me sense a bit of jealous competition with Bibi who's doing just that). Just beat up your neighbors, destabilize their countries, bomb their fishermen, militarize the Caribbean, undermine elections and place USA puppets in the region and put that trillion dollar military budget to good use, right here at home.
No more wars thousands of miles away for oil, drugs and resources when all the oil, drugs and resources are right here for the picking. Hegseth wants "Americans" to sacrifice their sons and daughters to defeat the drug cartels who are killing them and their children.
Remember, Trump is a Capitalist. Most Capitalist want to turn a profit with the least amount of financial losses and the most amount of exploitation.
Some say the New "National Security Strategy" is just words on a paper and can only be implemented by Congress, but it does set the stage and turn the tide from foreign wars to domestic ones. It's obvious that the foreign wars, invasions and destabilizations, especially in West Asia, have been disastrous. Let Israel control the Middle East while the USA can strengthen its hegemony in the Western Hemisphere. The greatest military power in the Western Hemisphere is the United States of America. So it will be a cake walk to subdue all the countries in the region. And just like the mealy mouth Arab nations won't go up against Israel's military arsenal that contains nuclear warheads, the countries in the western hemisphere will be just as deterred to go up against the USA.
You have to take a walk through the Trumpster's brain to make any sense of his madness.
He's not wheeling and dealing with the Saudis for nothing. He's not undermining his agreements with Bibi because he wants Peace in the Middle East. He's not backing away from Ukraine because he wants Europe to show its muscle and take care of Russia on their own. He's salivating over the rare minerals, oil and gold that is right here. The countries in this region are an easier target and he can get "trillions" of dollars invested in the USA by the Saudis (which I am assuming he's getting a big slice of that pie behind closed doors). He's not promising them military security so as to deter Israel from its Greater Israel plan that includes a nice chunk of Saudi Arabia. Nope, nope and nope. He could care less. He's focusing on using the USA's military hegemony and the CIA to battle the "narco-terrorists" in the Western Hemisphere so he can keep his promise of "Making America Great Again". See? Easy, Peezy.
Does Trump's National Security Strategy Really Put America First? Glenn Reacts
https://rumble.com/v72sxa8-does-trumps-national-security-strategy-really-put-america-first-glenn-react.html?e9s=src_v1_cbl%2Csrc_v1_ucp_a
Congress Prepares To Pass NDAA That Will Give Trump His $1 Trillion Military Budget
The NDAA is worth about $901 billion and will be added to a $156 billion supplemental bill to bring the total US military budget to over $1 trillion
by Dave DeCamp | December 8, 2025 at 7:37 pm ET | ndaa
https://news.antiwar.com/2025/12/08/congress-prepares-to-pass-ndaa-that-will-give-trump-his-1-trillion-military-budget/
Fine, but the other countries are not deaf or blind, they, too, can see this strategy, so we can be sure they are conferring on how best to deal with the Bully from the West and, building up their stockpile of armaments, knowing israhell they are probably busy ma,I guess nice little deals on the side for when the US collapses it gets to grab a few states for Israel II.
Interesting perspective, Davina. One thing about the Trumpster, every one is saying you never know from one day to the next what his next move will be or what he may say out of his mouth.
"[The NY Times] It’s been run by the same family since the late 1800s and it’s been advancing the information interests of rich and powerful imperialists ever since."
We can be more accurate than that. The family that owns The Times is Jewish, and the paper has always propagandized the US nation in favor of the Jewish Narrative. With this fact, we can gain insight into the true motivation behind the Times' editorials. Do I need to prove what I say? I don't to good students of history that have followed the Times and their decades'-long support for Israel, which illustrates the fanatical belief that Zionism/Israel is necessary for the salvation of Judaism. Such intentions throw traditional Judaism and its followers under the bus for selfish motives.
Few Americans are aware of the enormous political organization presented by the US Jewish political leaders. If you want to get a glimpse of this humongous political force, peruse through a list of over 550 world-wide Jewish political organizations devoted to government bribery and social brainwashing. It's by far the largest such single-purpose lobby in the world:
https://iwasathought.substack.com/p/the-jewish-lobby
This list and the amounts of $$ funneled by these orgs is pretty stunning. I won't say eye-opening because I suspected as much. But it certainly validated my suspicions. Thanks for the link.
They don’t care about the people. Only about how it affects their pockets. And war is a very lucrative business. They probably think oh well it’s about time the world had another war anyway, the world’s population has grown so much
War also offers employment to those who can’t see another way out.
The military recruits disproportionately in poorer states.
Sad but true; and oh so relevant to those economically trapped families.
From a UK historian...at last a US citizen who admits that the US are warmongers..it keeps their country united and the arms manufacturers happy but the rest of the world reeling, poorer embattled and destroyed. And they wonder why we the man in the street do not say hurrah
If you're saying "at last an American who admits the US is warmongerer" you need to broaden your reading. Most of us oppose most of the wars, but our opposition has little effect as they learned from Vietnam to avoid a draft and use a poverty draft and automation, and endless propganda which convinces half of us to support these damn wars but is more effective at keeping us divided into two camps too busy fighting each other to look to our real enemy.
Mary but the problem is that both israel-controlled Rs and Ds pursue the same fascist and militaristic policies. Both parties are perfectly OK with theft, genocides, wars, etc. Defending "free world" you know!
This is true but "the problem" goes way deeper than the current US parties.
What brought the War On Vietnam to an end (and the end to the peacetime draft) was the breakdown in army discipline and fears that it might spread further.
Absolutely! People say it was protest, but it wasn't. It was fragging. When the officers couldn't turn their backs on their own men it was over.
80 years ago these idiots were warned that it was only a matter of time before Asia would seek its place under the sun. Suffering its psychotic denialism/triumphalism the US set up an extortion racket in an attempt to rule the world. Even though then and now they speak for only 4% of the world's population.
Analysts have told us time and again the US no longer has the ability to wage war, especially a major war against China. With each passing the day this inability becomes greater. Dating back to the Korean war of the 1950's it has fought a succession of off-shore wars and lost every one.
Over 80 years the US has committed the greatest strategic blunder ever and refuses to live with the consequences.
Redemption is the only way forward and that is a closing window of opportunity.
Poor Trump and the imperialists. They just wanna live in a brutal, hierarchical culture, like Roman Imperators and corrupt Senators. While the rest of us cruel humans force our arduous, bleeding heart 21st century political correctness on their pure, brutal, ignorant, status-addicted mentalities. Where we keep refusing to engage with their absurd and dangerous lies and their insatiable appetite for violence, and instead view them in based disgust and fear. If only they could walk through a time machine and go back 2-3 milleniums, I think we'd all be happier. What used to be satire is now reality: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmetropolitan
This phrase above bears repeating -> "What used to be satire is now reality". 💯
War. Like Viagra for Congress critters. Make your children die for their wealth and hard-on. Pretty disgusting. Totally unworthy of respect.
hmm, fact!: communism, fascism, nazism concentration camps and all other "humane" torture, comes from so called "western civilization" I won't mention the inquisition ... I'll stop here...
and ...
guiding light of NYT's !! >>We have made the Reich by propaganda
Joseph Goebbels