Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley): On Monday the US launched its eighth wave of airstrikes in its new war against Yemeni forces, which it has now formally titled “Operation Poseidon Archer”. The strikes are aimed at breaking a Red Sea
"Gaza should be stopping us in our tracks. Hell we should be disrupting the economy ourselves — we shouldn’t have to wait for impoverished Yemenis to do it for us. We should be holding general strikes and stopping ships and disrupting everything we can possibly disrupt in order to force western civilization to look at what it’s supporting in Gaza and bring this mass atrocity to a screeching halt."
If there's a way to war one can be sure the grand old USA will find it. War is good for all those that can gain power and wealth from it, and those that do are those that run things. Been like that forever. Not else much to say but again thank you Caitlin for your precise, no BS analysis that is always spot on and brave. It helps, even in these most distressing and depressing of times, to have you as the voice of sanity and reason.
US State Department: “... it is never acceptable for malign actors ... to target legitimate commerce. ... And we will always take appropriate steps to hold those accountable that put things like legitimate commerce, civilians, ...”
I'm on the side of the Houthis. I never heard of them 2 years ago, but now I respect their commitment to the people of Gaza. It's more than the West is willing to do.
Your article raised one point that I haven't thought about: why is impoverished Yemen fighting for the whole world? Or rather, why is the rest of the world not acting on such inhumane acts in Gaza? It seems like the answer is: the poor have nothing more to lose while the rich have everything to lose. This is the sad part. The whole world needs to come together to stop this. Since we know that US is on Israel's side, we can only rely on China being a force powerful and huge enough to intervene. But China knows it themselves and any military conflict will potentially escalate into a world war so it seems like they are moving extremely cautiously. The other force, of course, is Russia. Gaza is the place and the period where we can really define what "being human" means.
"An active genocide should be permitted to continue with zero economic repercussions of any kind, for Israel or anyone else."
Ah, this is one of those lovely US "Rules Based Order" rules, isn't it? Keep on shipping useless widgets around the world from the slave factories in the East no matter what! If anyone shuts that blessed commerce down for one "Western" country (that is, Israel), the US gets to start another war bombing a country that's seen its far share of bombing already... but is still brave enough to stand up for what is right and just. If only more countries could do what the Yemenis are doing and less of what the US and Israel is doing. We might actually have some kind of compassionate "order" instead of these death-dealing, capitalist "rules" that the oligarchy keeps pushing onto us, the working classes. #EndTheGenocide
Simply stop shopping for anything other than essentials. Food, clothes if absolutely needed and the like. The toaster breaks- do without. No widescreen TV. No new dinner ware. Just think, it would hit the elite where it would hurt them the most. In the piggy bank. Along with the government and banks. And it will save consumers money.
A national boycott of consumer goods. It would take no time, in fact it would save people time. No police brutality against protesters. No arrests for the judicial system to ruin protestors lives.
Unstoppable and effective. If only 25 to 30% of the people would do it.
But no one will do it. It's just too hard.
So is it really the government and the elite that are at fault? No, in a word.
The Yemeni bottleneck isn't actually international waters, as it's less than 24 miles wide...not that such legal niceties ever mattered to the US, UK, or Israel...But apparently the US lost two Navy Seals trying to capture a small Arab Dhow, so apparently there is no rhyme or reason to any of America's actions...
The US has no problems blowing up undersea gas pipelines, hijacking Iranian ships, shooting down an Iranian passenger jet (1988) over the Persian Gulf, mining the harbors of Nicaragua, staging military coups (about 60 since 1950), but don't mess with maritime shipping destined for Israel in the midst of its genocide in Gaza.
Under the Geneva Convention to Prevent Genocide, all signatories are OBLIGATED to prevent genocide. Verdict: Yemen* is in the right. The US is aiding and abetting the genocide in Gaza. (*It's irrelevant whether Yemen is a signatory or not.)
"it is never acceptable for malign actors to target international vessels, to target legitimate commerce that is flowing through the Red Sea,” Patel said. . . ."
The hilarious thing about that is that malign actors have targeted legitimate commerce in the area before. The Saudis, with American backing, did their best to ensure that legitimate commerce, bringing much needed supplies, to the people of Yemen, didn't get through.
And of course legitimate commerce flowing through the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza was simply not permitted by Israel in order to cause hardship to the people of Gaza.
Indeed, in May 2010, six civilian ships carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials to Gaza were attacked - yes, attacked! - in civilian waters, killing nine people (a lot more than the Houthis have killed) - and I don't remember America launching air strikes against the country that launched that attack on legitimate commerce.
The imperial propaganda has become so bad, so stupid, that I think we are going to have to supply them with new material. It's like when Art Buchwald noted that the US had run out of targets in Vietnam, and he suggested that the fans of the war contribute to building them some nice new bridges so the US would have something to bomb.
So I'm going to suggest in this case that the US declare that the whoevers wherever are forming an alliance with the Saturnian ant men to destroy the galaxy, and bomb the hell out of Saturn to prevent this threat from materializing, indeed, from even being imagined in the first place. Get those Saturnian ant men! Meanwhile we can think of something else to bomb until "we" run out of bombs. Note to the gobmutt: I'm out already, you can leave me alone.
"Gaza should be stopping us in our tracks. Hell we should be disrupting the economy ourselves — we shouldn’t have to wait for impoverished Yemenis to do it for us. We should be holding general strikes and stopping ships and disrupting everything we can possibly disrupt in order to force western civilization to look at what it’s supporting in Gaza and bring this mass atrocity to a screeching halt."
Damn right.
There is never anything to say after listening to your words, Caitlin. You speak to the depths of my mind and my heart. Thank you. Please never stop.
If there's a way to war one can be sure the grand old USA will find it. War is good for all those that can gain power and wealth from it, and those that do are those that run things. Been like that forever. Not else much to say but again thank you Caitlin for your precise, no BS analysis that is always spot on and brave. It helps, even in these most distressing and depressing of times, to have you as the voice of sanity and reason.
US State Department: “... it is never acceptable for malign actors ... to target legitimate commerce. ... And we will always take appropriate steps to hold those accountable that put things like legitimate commerce, civilians, ...”
Nord Stream pipeline? Civilians in Gaza? Bueller?
I'm on the side of the Houthis. I never heard of them 2 years ago, but now I respect their commitment to the people of Gaza. It's more than the West is willing to do.
Your article raised one point that I haven't thought about: why is impoverished Yemen fighting for the whole world? Or rather, why is the rest of the world not acting on such inhumane acts in Gaza? It seems like the answer is: the poor have nothing more to lose while the rich have everything to lose. This is the sad part. The whole world needs to come together to stop this. Since we know that US is on Israel's side, we can only rely on China being a force powerful and huge enough to intervene. But China knows it themselves and any military conflict will potentially escalate into a world war so it seems like they are moving extremely cautiously. The other force, of course, is Russia. Gaza is the place and the period where we can really define what "being human" means.
"An active genocide should be permitted to continue with zero economic repercussions of any kind, for Israel or anyone else."
Ah, this is one of those lovely US "Rules Based Order" rules, isn't it? Keep on shipping useless widgets around the world from the slave factories in the East no matter what! If anyone shuts that blessed commerce down for one "Western" country (that is, Israel), the US gets to start another war bombing a country that's seen its far share of bombing already... but is still brave enough to stand up for what is right and just. If only more countries could do what the Yemenis are doing and less of what the US and Israel is doing. We might actually have some kind of compassionate "order" instead of these death-dealing, capitalist "rules" that the oligarchy keeps pushing onto us, the working classes. #EndTheGenocide
The Empire of Lies will not go down without a Fight.
It will Kill, Maim, R*pe, Violate & Destroy till it is unable to do so.
The Resistance Forces in West Asia know this & will act accordingly.
Palestine will Live. Palestine will be Free & Prosperous, Inshallah!
The Genocidal, Apartheid entity will cease to exist...
& so will the Empire of Lies!
Where is congressional approval. What is this a dictatorship??
It should be so easy.
Simply stop shopping for anything other than essentials. Food, clothes if absolutely needed and the like. The toaster breaks- do without. No widescreen TV. No new dinner ware. Just think, it would hit the elite where it would hurt them the most. In the piggy bank. Along with the government and banks. And it will save consumers money.
A national boycott of consumer goods. It would take no time, in fact it would save people time. No police brutality against protesters. No arrests for the judicial system to ruin protestors lives.
Unstoppable and effective. If only 25 to 30% of the people would do it.
But no one will do it. It's just too hard.
So is it really the government and the elite that are at fault? No, in a word.
Global strike.
The Yemeni bottleneck isn't actually international waters, as it's less than 24 miles wide...not that such legal niceties ever mattered to the US, UK, or Israel...But apparently the US lost two Navy Seals trying to capture a small Arab Dhow, so apparently there is no rhyme or reason to any of America's actions...
The US has no problems blowing up undersea gas pipelines, hijacking Iranian ships, shooting down an Iranian passenger jet (1988) over the Persian Gulf, mining the harbors of Nicaragua, staging military coups (about 60 since 1950), but don't mess with maritime shipping destined for Israel in the midst of its genocide in Gaza.
Under the Geneva Convention to Prevent Genocide, all signatories are OBLIGATED to prevent genocide. Verdict: Yemen* is in the right. The US is aiding and abetting the genocide in Gaza. (*It's irrelevant whether Yemen is a signatory or not.)
"it is never acceptable for malign actors to target international vessels, to target legitimate commerce that is flowing through the Red Sea,” Patel said. . . ."
The hilarious thing about that is that malign actors have targeted legitimate commerce in the area before. The Saudis, with American backing, did their best to ensure that legitimate commerce, bringing much needed supplies, to the people of Yemen, didn't get through.
And of course legitimate commerce flowing through the Mediterranean Sea to Gaza was simply not permitted by Israel in order to cause hardship to the people of Gaza.
Indeed, in May 2010, six civilian ships carrying humanitarian aid and construction materials to Gaza were attacked - yes, attacked! - in civilian waters, killing nine people (a lot more than the Houthis have killed) - and I don't remember America launching air strikes against the country that launched that attack on legitimate commerce.
Thank you for your words that show my heart that I am not alone in this dark empire.
The imperial propaganda has become so bad, so stupid, that I think we are going to have to supply them with new material. It's like when Art Buchwald noted that the US had run out of targets in Vietnam, and he suggested that the fans of the war contribute to building them some nice new bridges so the US would have something to bomb.
So I'm going to suggest in this case that the US declare that the whoevers wherever are forming an alliance with the Saturnian ant men to destroy the galaxy, and bomb the hell out of Saturn to prevent this threat from materializing, indeed, from even being imagined in the first place. Get those Saturnian ant men! Meanwhile we can think of something else to bomb until "we" run out of bombs. Note to the gobmutt: I'm out already, you can leave me alone.