Listen to a reading of this article: ❖ The Assange case is the most powerful government in the world defending its right to lie to you. ❖ Q: What's the difference between how the US deals with journalists it hates and how Saudi Arabia deals with journalists it hates?
Let's remember some history. The Global empires beginning in the 1500s -- Spain, France, England, overcome by US empire because of WWII were all hubristic, militaristic, bible-thumping, greedy land-stealing purveyors of genocide at home and throughout the globe. The differences were/are of scale and technology; not of fundamental values of authoritarian capitalist exploitation.
At least China, itself a colonialism victim of the British empire's opium wars, is attempting to accomplish its hegemony through trade and economic development, the belt and roads initiative (reject the Uighur fable). If China can supplant US empire with something more humane, we ought to celebrate that transition away from the world's greatest advancer of the Doomsday clock to midnight. Remember also that the US has impoverished its own, diminishing its middle class and its infrastructure with austerity to fund its insane military adventurism, while China has spent its time growing its middle class and strengthening its infrastructure. And yes I'm a US citizen, born and raised in NYC, who has long-shed his religious and political-propaganda brainwashing to arrive at the realization that my country is probably the greatest force for IN-humanity that the world has ever seen.
Remember how the CIA reacted in the 1960s to the Soviet presence in Cuba, 90 miles away, and then stop criticizing Russia and China for objecting to US military presence either right on their borders or a few nautical miles away. To label this nationalism is to soft-peddle it as the propaganda most of the MSM tries to force-feed us. This is sociopathic hypocrisy of the first order.
We condemn Russia for massing troops along their own western boarder, which has been violated twice in the last century at the cost of millions of lives, while Americans' response to 9/11 was to take a pair of scissors to the Bill of Rights and conduct depredations halfway around the globe.
It's worth noting that all the ignoramuses responsible for these policies are voted into office by other ignoramuses.
"Once we create a healthy world..." I love you for saying it. Yes, it takes great courage and a lot of get back up to dare to be happy in these times, with so much hopelessly cynical power so easily parasitizing our joy. In spite of it all, so far, we persist. I kinda like that about us.
Beautiful. And just tonight before I read this, I was quibbling with you in my head about the "nuclear war threat." I was thinking much more effective would be a cyber-attack because in this country (USA) at least, no need to blow things up and kill people, the whole empire would implode from within, in a matter of days. And my hunch is that even with instant retaliation the Chinese, for example, would be able to handle such a disruption pretty near to just fine.
Here too there's a housing "totem pole": the ultra rich, flush with neoliberal-economic-euphoria-cash from financial-engineering buy/overbid "the top tier properties". The next tier of rich who had a few less opportunities to financial engineer, are forced to take what they would've paid for the previously reachable "top tier" now have to blow their sums on the 1B properties. The next tier merely "wealthy", who could've normally afforded the 1B properties with their sums, now have to blow their stuff on rank 2 properties selling at same price as former 1B properties....So on and so forth. We ALL live through this.....it's INSANE.
Let's remember some history. The Global empires beginning in the 1500s -- Spain, France, England, overcome by US empire because of WWII were all hubristic, militaristic, bible-thumping, greedy land-stealing purveyors of genocide at home and throughout the globe. The differences were/are of scale and technology; not of fundamental values of authoritarian capitalist exploitation.
At least China, itself a colonialism victim of the British empire's opium wars, is attempting to accomplish its hegemony through trade and economic development, the belt and roads initiative (reject the Uighur fable). If China can supplant US empire with something more humane, we ought to celebrate that transition away from the world's greatest advancer of the Doomsday clock to midnight. Remember also that the US has impoverished its own, diminishing its middle class and its infrastructure with austerity to fund its insane military adventurism, while China has spent its time growing its middle class and strengthening its infrastructure. And yes I'm a US citizen, born and raised in NYC, who has long-shed his religious and political-propaganda brainwashing to arrive at the realization that my country is probably the greatest force for IN-humanity that the world has ever seen.
Remember how the CIA reacted in the 1960s to the Soviet presence in Cuba, 90 miles away, and then stop criticizing Russia and China for objecting to US military presence either right on their borders or a few nautical miles away. To label this nationalism is to soft-peddle it as the propaganda most of the MSM tries to force-feed us. This is sociopathic hypocrisy of the first order.
Damn; cogent points all.
We condemn Russia for massing troops along their own western boarder, which has been violated twice in the last century at the cost of millions of lives, while Americans' response to 9/11 was to take a pair of scissors to the Bill of Rights and conduct depredations halfway around the globe.
It's worth noting that all the ignoramuses responsible for these policies are voted into office by other ignoramuses.
"Once we create a healthy world..." I love you for saying it. Yes, it takes great courage and a lot of get back up to dare to be happy in these times, with so much hopelessly cynical power so easily parasitizing our joy. In spite of it all, so far, we persist. I kinda like that about us.
Beautiful. And just tonight before I read this, I was quibbling with you in my head about the "nuclear war threat." I was thinking much more effective would be a cyber-attack because in this country (USA) at least, no need to blow things up and kill people, the whole empire would implode from within, in a matter of days. And my hunch is that even with instant retaliation the Chinese, for example, would be able to handle such a disruption pretty near to just fine.
Re your last para, one should turn the common phrase "ignorance is sin" to :
"in sane times, ignorance is sin, in a time of universal deceit [Orson Welles], ignorance is bliss".
Here too there's a housing "totem pole": the ultra rich, flush with neoliberal-economic-euphoria-cash from financial-engineering buy/overbid "the top tier properties". The next tier of rich who had a few less opportunities to financial engineer, are forced to take what they would've paid for the previously reachable "top tier" now have to blow their sums on the 1B properties. The next tier merely "wealthy", who could've normally afforded the 1B properties with their sums, now have to blow their stuff on rank 2 properties selling at same price as former 1B properties....So on and so forth. We ALL live through this.....it's INSANE.
Beautiful
Thanks. Love your writing and perspective, especially on the empires flat inverted death spin of imperial collapse.
Good article
https://www.military.com/daily-news/2021/09/11/us-pulls-missile-defenses-saudi-arabia-amid-yemen-attacks.html
US pulls missile defense systems out of Mid-East to redeploy in Indo-Pacific.
Keeping us safe!
Pardon me Cait. I have been over using my privilege on your comment boxes. I have decided to spend less time on comment boxes in general.
However, you should note that it is becoming impossible for the US empire to keep secrets anymore.
Keep it up. I’ll happily pay to subscribe soon. Love reading you.