Thanks, comrade! If I owned a news outlet you'd be chief editor, main writer, free to remain true to yourself and humanity, and you'd write your own paycheck. Love, Florian
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
"Superheroes". Unbelievable. As in both "I can't believe he actually said that" and "I don't believe it actually happened."
The emphasis on the Khashoggi murder without acknowledgement of the Saudi massacres has bothered me for a long time. WWE justifiably gets a lot of flak for doing shows in Saudi Arabia, but every time a wrestling fan mentions it they seem to only say it's bad because the state killed a journalist and oppresses women. They never mention Yemen. I've sometimes commented "They're bombing and starving civilians in Yemen, too, and were doing that long before Khashoggi," but it doesn't seem to make a difference.
In full agreement. The narrative is being crafted to suit the PR needs of the Washington establishment. One word of caution, Yemen has been a regional cockpit for decades. It was at the heart of the so-called Arab Cold War between Cairo and Riyadh in the 50s and 60s. Today it is again playing a similar role in the struggle between Tehran and Riyadh. Peace in Yemen depends on outside regional powers settling their own disputes.
The Yemenis themselves are very deeply divided by tribe and sect and Yemeni tribes/movements at risk of being dominated by other Yemenis have (and probably always will) seek outside support. This problem never gets acknowledged, but it is a very real one.
The entire region is awash in weapons because the US and UK have used the arms market to manage the trade and financial relationships with the oil exporting countries of the Middle East. Peace in Yemen requires restructuring Western economies and the defence/aerospace sector.
Finally, Jamal Kashoggi's uncle Adnan made his first arms deal in connection with the Saudi/Egyptian conflict in Yemen in the 60s. Adnan Kashoggi helped pioneer the rise of the arms trade across Western Asia and was a key player in the sinister defence/intelligence networks that have destabilised the region (and beyond) ever since.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
True...but the whole point of understanding the Kashoggi case is to avoid being suckered into accepting the fantasy that the Muslim Brotherhood is a legitimate and worthy political movement and one deserving of any support. Kashoggi was as much a part of the problem as his friends in US intelligence. Revulsion at the injustices of Saudi politics does not necessarily confer credibility on their critics, especially when those critics are one degree removed from factions that would be even more ferocious and systemic in their cruelty. The very last thing any of the people of the region need is sentimental advocacy or political sloganeering on their behalf. Westerners have been projecting political fantasies onto other cultures from time immemorial. It is patronising, infantile and highly counterproductive. IMHO honesty and rigorous, unsentimental, analysis are needed as a precondition for any improvement.
The source of your quote (Einstein) adds to the urgency of what I am trying to get across. The Muslim Brotherhood were great fans of Adolf in their time and have worked vigorously to broadcast malicious conspiracy theories about Jews across the Islamic world. The number one source of financial and logistical support for Muslim fundamentalism in Europe for decades was from Swiss Nazi sympathisers like Ahmed Huber and Francois Genoud. It is grotesque to use Einstein's words as special pleading on behalf of Jamal Kashoggi.
The only thing I (like most) people know about Kashoggi is his gruesome murder by MBS followed by his hagiography in the Washington Post that elevated him to sainthood.
This should be contrasted with the Western Media's demonization of Putin.
Simple minds want to view the world as Black or White. It doesn't help that the MSM only reports in Black and White. [Ukraine Good/Putin Bad]
Exactly. We are being played non-stop by people who rely on never being held to account for the accuracy of what they are saying. Black/white thinking ensures that we remain vulnerable to manipulation. There is a lot to unpack over the Mid East and Ukraine and I do not seek or value solidarity with anyone here or there unless there are good reasons. Wars and conflicts of all sorts are not football matches...picking a side and cheering is just another form of vicarious experience. At the very least I do not want to compromise myself by backing monsters simply because they were popular with the 'right' people.
At the moment we are in very new territory geopolitically. We all need to be alert. Re Putin, the Russian government is tough and unpleasant but the alternative to Putin is a military regime wedded to truly hard-line Russian nationalism. Whatever else he has done, Putin has constrained the oligarchs and the Western multinationals and has fostered reforms, including anti-corruption measures. Russia has a flawed but stable state-capitalist system that has achieved political moderation, a fair degree of pluralism, social peace and ethnic co-existence. IMHO Moscow is not rebuilding an empire, but trying (with China and Iran) to stabilise Central Asia and foster sustainable economic development there. The greatest long-term threat to Russia comes from poverty, state-failure and over-population in Central Asia. Re Ukraine, the Russians would have been relieved to secure a compromise. They were not originally aiming to win back territory (apart from Crimea). Washington set Ukraine on fire, of that I am certain. They want another Afghanistan, this time in Ukraine in order to disrupt German integration into greater Eurasia. The cynicism and contempt for human life (including that of ordinary Ukrainian soldiers) simply defies belief.
Reading the comments myself I can see why it is not worth the effort! If only the Left spent more energy organising better wages and conditions for kids in the fast food industry or a decent education system.
"The cynicism and contempt for human life (including that of ordinary Ukrainian soldiers) simply defies belief."
I have to disagree with this conclusion. I wish it wasn't believable, but it it hardly even close to what I can imagine. I refer you to the (destroyed) Georgia Guidestones that promulgated the idea that there should be no more than 0.5B humans on this planet, a proposition I can agree with (after all humanity went from 3B to 8B in my lifetime).
Well, now we have 7.5B too many people. I believe the Oligarchy has a plan. It will be horrible. It is already horrible.
There is definitely a Malthusian character to the current dynamic across the world. I am not sure that there is a coherent plan, but the responses of the oligarchs are consistently hostile to the swelling number of people who they clearly consider expendable. Historically, surplus or expendable populations get killed off through war or food shortages that could have been alleviated. Ditto populations that stand in the way of economic modernisation or rationalisation.
....yep but true History , we can see and verify that an ORGANIZATION (does not matter which one,) who started as ''good'' with time become CRIMINAL!..... NO EXCEPTION !!..... so ..........no more coments!.......
...such a fresh and original thought, a will cut my ties with IQ 36 PEA BRAINS! ...such a shame , to waste a space between your ears!.... not necesary to reply !......I do get it!....hmm ?
A point about Ukraine. The weapons being sent to Kiev are part of a Lend-Lease agreement. The Ukraine is going into debt at an escalating rate, with the US taxpayer its principal creditor.
When the time comes the US will use the Russian cash reserves that it has seized to finance the reconstruction effort. Reconstruction itself will serve as an opportunity for yet more predatory lending, as well as to transfer money seized from Russia to pay for US weapons. Ultimately the war is being financed by plunder. Kiev is playing along by issuing war bonds. When it is defeated these will be sold at discounted prices and snapped up by patient insiders.
We all need to understand the finance of war. Without such an understanding, we are certain to be played for suckers.
The US taxpayers have liability for the loan. It was in that sense only that I used the term. The resort to monetary expansion (credit creation, monetised debt) in intergovernmental finance in no way reduces the liability to taxpayers, so it is very much their money even if it was not raised via taxation.
Further to my previous point there is real danger in taking the Democrat agenda on public finance at face value, as they do in the Splinter News story to which you linked.
Debt creates obligations and the problem with financing public spending by issuing bonds is that the bond-holders expect to be repaid. When any state or city is plunged into a debt crisis the bond-holders always come first. The idea that debt does not matter is being used to create conditions for a further round of austerity economics. Deficit financing has helped transfer wealth from ordinary taxpayers to the ultra-rich and is a major factor in increasing inequality. The cynicism of it all is breathtaking.
I am not trying to teach or score points. Professor Michael Hudson is a great expert on finance. This is a 30 min video that is worth watching. https://youtu.be/sJBi7sfTZuY
Your obsession with pointing out the obvious ignores history beyond your life time. Powerful dictators have dominated the world for thousands of years and you act as though the continuation of that domination is unthinkably shocking. Only recently has the technology achieved the ability to throughly dominate at the flip of a switch. Although I agree with your rants I fail to see how they will improve our dilemma. We need more electricity in an all electric future but not a priority for producing it, we need more transparency from our secret government but we accept redaction as justified from the CDC, we need more individual responsibility not more inept and self serving bureaucrats passing out money to compensate for their bad policies. Joe’s puppet masters are implementing Dr Evils plans to Reset society and we’re too busy living comfortable lives to worry. What could go wrong has gone wrong and it’s our fault voting for the same idiots over and over. NEVER VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENT.
While it may be obvious to you, it is hardly obvious to most Americans. Until Americans can accept (or at least acknowledge) Caitlin's criticism of current policy, they will not care about the "powerful dictators" of the Past.
You are right that Caitlin offers no (real) solutions (promoting Socialism is not a roadmap), but then neither do you.
Then you go on to repeat (is it your obsession?) the even more obvious about electricity; government transparency; and self-serving bureaucrats. Those "obvious" issues that most Americans don't talk about because they are tied up in putting Trump in jail or the abortion issue.
Finally, never voting for the incumbent is a simplistic suggestion. I'd vote for Tulsi or Kucinich or Wellstone (I believe he was murdered in that airplane crash and nothing anyone can say will convince me otherwise).
I am not criticizing your rant. But I will ask why you believe it is any more valid than what you are accusing Caitlin of.
Solutions emerge readily enough when opportunity, organisation and mass mobilisation converge. There is not much point in stressing out theoretical possibilities before then...that sort of thing is coffee-shop politics at its worst.
Wellstone's death was a turning point. Had he been around to lead an opposition, or even formed an opposition all by himself, the 'forever wars' simply would not have been possible. I do not know enough about the accident to comment beyond stating that any suspicion of murder is perfectly reasonable.
My suggestion on incumbents should not be taken as an absolute since I do appreciate some politicians but so few that it would be worth losing a handful of the good to eliminate the cesspool of the majority. Electricity is more important to our current society and represents the biggest National Security treat we face and there is almost no discussion of what could go wrong. We are a defensive society waiting for the problem to affect us before we act. You are correct I admit my rant is even less worthy than Caitlin's since I put very little time into them and she makes part of her livelyhood from hers. I may have failed to mention I do like reading her insight.
" Electricity is more important to our current society and represents the biggest National Security treat we face and there is almost no discussion of what could go wrong"
True. Rather than rebuild our infrastructure, we ship out-dated weapons to Ukraine so that the MIC can demand they be replaced. Now, that's something to rant on about.
The contrast between the neglect of the US hinterland and the commitment to Kiev's war against Luhansk, Donetsk and Russia reveals that the US is not a nation-state, simply a territory governed by a gangster-state that functions as the hired gun of multinationals and global financial markets. Washington can afford to take the Rust Belt for granted and prioritise distant imperial projects.
The weapons may be outdated, but the Lend-Lease deal guarantees that they will be paid for (probably by the seized Russian cash reserves) and never forget that the transaction/brokerage fees for Ukrainian war bonds will contribute to the next quarter's profit for a Wall St investment bank. Where there is devastation, there is profit. BTW US made javelin missiles are now reportedly being offered on the black market in Europe for 30,000 US dollars a pop.
The book looks very good, shall chase it up. Shall watch the interview and get back to you.
A friend who knew a colossal amount about 19th c. US politics repeatedly told me that the Dems and Republicans in the Wild West were essentially fronts for what we would now call organised crime. My sense is that much of the intelligence sector is run by networks/mafias that are deeply criminal.
Agree with everything Caitlin, BUT, you'll lose people when you lead off with hyperbolic statements like "...entire economy is built on arms manufacturing...".
Listen, if you are trying to make a literal argument that the entire US economy relies on arms manufacturing then we have nothing to discuss. It is absurd on its face.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
The hawk is much too noble an animal as symbol for the US empire and its relationship to human and non-human life; even the vulture doesn't fit: it does not take more than it gives, but assumes its proper place in the scheme of things. Yes, Yemen is a terrible thing, an ignoble, inhuman thing, a large-scale atrocity, but the large picture usually escapes our small minds. That fact has been well-noted before this. We think in the miniature: therefore it works to associate the US and Biden and his kowtowing to MBS with an inhuman, disgusting, personal crime: the deliberate, thought out in advance murder of an American journalist who was still conscious as he was being dismembered. That is the sum of it. That is what we associate ourselves with by ignoring this geopolitical high jinks, sleight of mind move. Biden and the US in which he is encased have largely escaped the consequences of their stupidity and egregious crimes. But ignoring a personal proclivity to bump fists without barfing - in fact with a sly grin on the face - with the likes of MBS is a line we can't cross without losing what is left of the Western soul.
****Continuing the encirclement of China will likely lead to a nasty confrontation there. Etc.****
How about this one which is the most important of all.
****Continuing the enrichment of China's industrial base and output will lead and is leading to the destruction of the living planet.****
America is not an empire. Far from it. That being said, am I for America withdrawing its military footprint and reducing its military budget by 80% or more? Yes. Do I think if America ever did that things would be all rosy? Not by a long shot. If that's not done correctly, does it increase the chances of wider conflict and ultimately nuclear war? Absolutely.
A unified global response is necessary to mitigate the worst effects of the environmental armageddon that is unfolding and yet those who focus solely on the evisceration of the American empire preclude that possibility. They are trading one apocalypse for another. Net zero. Nothing gained and everything to lose.
A unified global response? The best thing to do is never respond. Everyone. Don't respond. Then they lose. Both World Wars, we responded and millions of people died, COVID? The world responded and made it worse.
It is all a lie. Not one government in this world has it`s citizens best interest at heart. Not one corporation gives a flying fuck about anyone.
Do you think they will ever stop lying?
Universal health care? How about we just grow real food and outlaw the shit they serve in a grocery store? There might be 3 aisles in a grocery store that serves real food.
China has not made COVFEFE-45 worse. It's done a hell of a job containing it thus far. There are other countries who have done the same. America and Russia are not on that list.
What are the effects of their lockdowns? Their containment measures, as draconian as they have been and are, if implemented globally could have contained COVFEFE-45 and it wouldn't be a "thing" any longer.
The effects are probably worse than ours since they were so much more severe. Are you not aware of all the negative effects here? Or of the studies showing lockdowns don't work?
China's containment cannot be compared to America's containment. China's containment has been and still is much more comprehensive and multi-faceted. America's containment was haphazard and inconsistent and certainly not comprehensive and now America has thrown in the towel and has allowed COVFEFE-45 to run entirely wild with no concern whatsoever.
How long China can keep it up is the question considering they are mostly alone in their effort to battle the pandemic. Like I said, had China's approach been the global approach from the get-go, there would have been no pandemic and it would have fizzled like SARS-CoV-1.
****It is all a lie. Not one government in this world has it`s citizens best interest at heart. Not one corporation gives a flying fuck about anyone.****
Not true, Kevin, or at least not true to the majority who comment at this venue. Only the West is comprised of nations that don't have their citizens' best interests at heart. China and Russia and the Arab states — they love their citizens dearly and the sole purpose of governance in those nations is to serve the people.
I'd like to ask Mearsheimer, Hudson too, since they're such brilliant men, do they believe growth can continue indefinitely? Apparently they do. It's the most important question there is. Everything else stems from it. It's the root of all else. Leaving each nation to its own devices ignores the question. Nations will therefore drive full speed into collapse as they are doing now versus preparing for it and managing the inevitable Great Contraction.
All of you who proselytize about love, where is your love when it comes to this most important issue? The oceans are no longer producing an adequate supply of oxygen and are no longer a CO2 sink. Same goes for the rainforests. Temperatures are soaring. Fresh water supplies are nearly tapped out and increasingly what remains is poisoned and yet your only concern is for Putin's feelings. Pathetic. That's not love. It's hatred and it's revolting to see it referred to as love.
What does love have to do with it? Those who love love all beings and all worlds. Since half of all species are extinct and the rest, including humans are unhealthy I think we will either come together or perish. If we perish the planet will probably heal itself. A stream will once the pollution ends.
it pains me to say this but I agree with your points...on the earths ecology...humans are the scourge of the planet....I believe the plandemic and the covid clot shots are part of their plan to help depopulate the planet....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE
Liberalism is idiocy and adherents are morons, I don’t disavow my statement. Alexander Solzhenitsyn would appear to agree: “astonishingly incorrect” in his words This speech was delivered at Harvard universities 1978 convocation so I think we can safely assume he would say our predicament has only gotten worse. I think we should heed his warning : “The pitiless crowbar of events.” Liberalism is driving us unto evil and then destruction, calling it moronic his but a pittance against the price it’s going to exact in the near future. There’s nothing to be positive about, these assholes are going to get a lot of people killed.
Thanks, comrade! If I owned a news outlet you'd be chief editor, main writer, free to remain true to yourself and humanity, and you'd write your own paycheck. Love, Florian
Completely agree on the odious Simon Tisdall, the warmongering sociopath from the Fraudian.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
"Superheroes". Unbelievable. As in both "I can't believe he actually said that" and "I don't believe it actually happened."
The emphasis on the Khashoggi murder without acknowledgement of the Saudi massacres has bothered me for a long time. WWE justifiably gets a lot of flak for doing shows in Saudi Arabia, but every time a wrestling fan mentions it they seem to only say it's bad because the state killed a journalist and oppresses women. They never mention Yemen. I've sometimes commented "They're bombing and starving civilians in Yemen, too, and were doing that long before Khashoggi," but it doesn't seem to make a difference.
In full agreement. The narrative is being crafted to suit the PR needs of the Washington establishment. One word of caution, Yemen has been a regional cockpit for decades. It was at the heart of the so-called Arab Cold War between Cairo and Riyadh in the 50s and 60s. Today it is again playing a similar role in the struggle between Tehran and Riyadh. Peace in Yemen depends on outside regional powers settling their own disputes.
The Yemenis themselves are very deeply divided by tribe and sect and Yemeni tribes/movements at risk of being dominated by other Yemenis have (and probably always will) seek outside support. This problem never gets acknowledged, but it is a very real one.
The entire region is awash in weapons because the US and UK have used the arms market to manage the trade and financial relationships with the oil exporting countries of the Middle East. Peace in Yemen requires restructuring Western economies and the defence/aerospace sector.
Finally, Jamal Kashoggi's uncle Adnan made his first arms deal in connection with the Saudi/Egyptian conflict in Yemen in the 60s. Adnan Kashoggi helped pioneer the rise of the arms trade across Western Asia and was a key player in the sinister defence/intelligence networks that have destabilised the region (and beyond) ever since.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
True...but the whole point of understanding the Kashoggi case is to avoid being suckered into accepting the fantasy that the Muslim Brotherhood is a legitimate and worthy political movement and one deserving of any support. Kashoggi was as much a part of the problem as his friends in US intelligence. Revulsion at the injustices of Saudi politics does not necessarily confer credibility on their critics, especially when those critics are one degree removed from factions that would be even more ferocious and systemic in their cruelty. The very last thing any of the people of the region need is sentimental advocacy or political sloganeering on their behalf. Westerners have been projecting political fantasies onto other cultures from time immemorial. It is patronising, infantile and highly counterproductive. IMHO honesty and rigorous, unsentimental, analysis are needed as a precondition for any improvement.
The source of your quote (Einstein) adds to the urgency of what I am trying to get across. The Muslim Brotherhood were great fans of Adolf in their time and have worked vigorously to broadcast malicious conspiracy theories about Jews across the Islamic world. The number one source of financial and logistical support for Muslim fundamentalism in Europe for decades was from Swiss Nazi sympathisers like Ahmed Huber and Francois Genoud. It is grotesque to use Einstein's words as special pleading on behalf of Jamal Kashoggi.
Very well said.
The only thing I (like most) people know about Kashoggi is his gruesome murder by MBS followed by his hagiography in the Washington Post that elevated him to sainthood.
This should be contrasted with the Western Media's demonization of Putin.
Simple minds want to view the world as Black or White. It doesn't help that the MSM only reports in Black and White. [Ukraine Good/Putin Bad]
Exactly. We are being played non-stop by people who rely on never being held to account for the accuracy of what they are saying. Black/white thinking ensures that we remain vulnerable to manipulation. There is a lot to unpack over the Mid East and Ukraine and I do not seek or value solidarity with anyone here or there unless there are good reasons. Wars and conflicts of all sorts are not football matches...picking a side and cheering is just another form of vicarious experience. At the very least I do not want to compromise myself by backing monsters simply because they were popular with the 'right' people.
At the moment we are in very new territory geopolitically. We all need to be alert. Re Putin, the Russian government is tough and unpleasant but the alternative to Putin is a military regime wedded to truly hard-line Russian nationalism. Whatever else he has done, Putin has constrained the oligarchs and the Western multinationals and has fostered reforms, including anti-corruption measures. Russia has a flawed but stable state-capitalist system that has achieved political moderation, a fair degree of pluralism, social peace and ethnic co-existence. IMHO Moscow is not rebuilding an empire, but trying (with China and Iran) to stabilise Central Asia and foster sustainable economic development there. The greatest long-term threat to Russia comes from poverty, state-failure and over-population in Central Asia. Re Ukraine, the Russians would have been relieved to secure a compromise. They were not originally aiming to win back territory (apart from Crimea). Washington set Ukraine on fire, of that I am certain. They want another Afghanistan, this time in Ukraine in order to disrupt German integration into greater Eurasia. The cynicism and contempt for human life (including that of ordinary Ukrainian soldiers) simply defies belief.
I posted your response here: https://www.opednews.com/articles/Russia-in-Ukraine-Champio-by-Mike-Rivage-Seul-NATO_Oppressed-Oppression-Oppressors_Proxy-War_Russia-220715-287.html#comment811835
I was too lazy perhaps to reinterpret it myself. I just thought it good in the context of the article I posted it to.
Reading the comments myself I can see why it is not worth the effort! If only the Left spent more energy organising better wages and conditions for kids in the fast food industry or a decent education system.
"The cynicism and contempt for human life (including that of ordinary Ukrainian soldiers) simply defies belief."
I have to disagree with this conclusion. I wish it wasn't believable, but it it hardly even close to what I can imagine. I refer you to the (destroyed) Georgia Guidestones that promulgated the idea that there should be no more than 0.5B humans on this planet, a proposition I can agree with (after all humanity went from 3B to 8B in my lifetime).
Well, now we have 7.5B too many people. I believe the Oligarchy has a plan. It will be horrible. It is already horrible.
There is definitely a Malthusian character to the current dynamic across the world. I am not sure that there is a coherent plan, but the responses of the oligarchs are consistently hostile to the swelling number of people who they clearly consider expendable. Historically, surplus or expendable populations get killed off through war or food shortages that could have been alleviated. Ditto populations that stand in the way of economic modernisation or rationalisation.
....yep but true History , we can see and verify that an ORGANIZATION (does not matter which one,) who started as ''good'' with time become CRIMINAL!..... NO EXCEPTION !!..... so ..........no more coments!.......
Once was revealing
Twice was maybe justified
But now it has become redundant.
If you haven't an original thought, perhaps you should consider retiring.
...such a fresh and original thought, a will cut my ties with IQ 36 PEA BRAINS! ...such a shame , to waste a space between your ears!.... not necesary to reply !......I do get it!....hmm ?
A point about Ukraine. The weapons being sent to Kiev are part of a Lend-Lease agreement. The Ukraine is going into debt at an escalating rate, with the US taxpayer its principal creditor.
When the time comes the US will use the Russian cash reserves that it has seized to finance the reconstruction effort. Reconstruction itself will serve as an opportunity for yet more predatory lending, as well as to transfer money seized from Russia to pay for US weapons. Ultimately the war is being financed by plunder. Kiev is playing along by issuing war bonds. When it is defeated these will be sold at discounted prices and snapped up by patient insiders.
We all need to understand the finance of war. Without such an understanding, we are certain to be played for suckers.
Russia today published a brilliant piece on the human background to the war that is very good re the class/industrial angle. https://www.rt.com/russia/559061-children-donbass-world-not-care/
The US taxpayers have liability for the loan. It was in that sense only that I used the term. The resort to monetary expansion (credit creation, monetised debt) in intergovernmental finance in no way reduces the liability to taxpayers, so it is very much their money even if it was not raised via taxation.
I read it. Thanks for the links, I shared it. Excellent.
Further to my previous point there is real danger in taking the Democrat agenda on public finance at face value, as they do in the Splinter News story to which you linked.
Debt creates obligations and the problem with financing public spending by issuing bonds is that the bond-holders expect to be repaid. When any state or city is plunged into a debt crisis the bond-holders always come first. The idea that debt does not matter is being used to create conditions for a further round of austerity economics. Deficit financing has helped transfer wealth from ordinary taxpayers to the ultra-rich and is a major factor in increasing inequality. The cynicism of it all is breathtaking.
I am not trying to teach or score points. Professor Michael Hudson is a great expert on finance. This is a 30 min video that is worth watching. https://youtu.be/sJBi7sfTZuY
Your obsession with pointing out the obvious ignores history beyond your life time. Powerful dictators have dominated the world for thousands of years and you act as though the continuation of that domination is unthinkably shocking. Only recently has the technology achieved the ability to throughly dominate at the flip of a switch. Although I agree with your rants I fail to see how they will improve our dilemma. We need more electricity in an all electric future but not a priority for producing it, we need more transparency from our secret government but we accept redaction as justified from the CDC, we need more individual responsibility not more inept and self serving bureaucrats passing out money to compensate for their bad policies. Joe’s puppet masters are implementing Dr Evils plans to Reset society and we’re too busy living comfortable lives to worry. What could go wrong has gone wrong and it’s our fault voting for the same idiots over and over. NEVER VOTE FOR THE INCUMBENT.
While it may be obvious to you, it is hardly obvious to most Americans. Until Americans can accept (or at least acknowledge) Caitlin's criticism of current policy, they will not care about the "powerful dictators" of the Past.
You are right that Caitlin offers no (real) solutions (promoting Socialism is not a roadmap), but then neither do you.
Then you go on to repeat (is it your obsession?) the even more obvious about electricity; government transparency; and self-serving bureaucrats. Those "obvious" issues that most Americans don't talk about because they are tied up in putting Trump in jail or the abortion issue.
Finally, never voting for the incumbent is a simplistic suggestion. I'd vote for Tulsi or Kucinich or Wellstone (I believe he was murdered in that airplane crash and nothing anyone can say will convince me otherwise).
I am not criticizing your rant. But I will ask why you believe it is any more valid than what you are accusing Caitlin of.
Solutions emerge readily enough when opportunity, organisation and mass mobilisation converge. There is not much point in stressing out theoretical possibilities before then...that sort of thing is coffee-shop politics at its worst.
Wellstone's death was a turning point. Had he been around to lead an opposition, or even formed an opposition all by himself, the 'forever wars' simply would not have been possible. I do not know enough about the accident to comment beyond stating that any suspicion of murder is perfectly reasonable.
My suggestion on incumbents should not be taken as an absolute since I do appreciate some politicians but so few that it would be worth losing a handful of the good to eliminate the cesspool of the majority. Electricity is more important to our current society and represents the biggest National Security treat we face and there is almost no discussion of what could go wrong. We are a defensive society waiting for the problem to affect us before we act. You are correct I admit my rant is even less worthy than Caitlin's since I put very little time into them and she makes part of her livelyhood from hers. I may have failed to mention I do like reading her insight.
" Electricity is more important to our current society and represents the biggest National Security treat we face and there is almost no discussion of what could go wrong"
True. Rather than rebuild our infrastructure, we ship out-dated weapons to Ukraine so that the MIC can demand they be replaced. Now, that's something to rant on about.
The contrast between the neglect of the US hinterland and the commitment to Kiev's war against Luhansk, Donetsk and Russia reveals that the US is not a nation-state, simply a territory governed by a gangster-state that functions as the hired gun of multinationals and global financial markets. Washington can afford to take the Rust Belt for granted and prioritise distant imperial projects.
The weapons may be outdated, but the Lend-Lease deal guarantees that they will be paid for (probably by the seized Russian cash reserves) and never forget that the transaction/brokerage fees for Ukrainian war bonds will contribute to the next quarter's profit for a Wall St investment bank. Where there is devastation, there is profit. BTW US made javelin missiles are now reportedly being offered on the black market in Europe for 30,000 US dollars a pop.
Absolutely.
You remind me that I had a web page set up I needed to look at.
Ah, here's the link to the book: https://www.amazon.com/American-Exception-Empire-Deep-State/dp/1510769137
And the interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1FlXcwhsp4
The thesis is that America is run by criminals and it has always been run by criminals.
The book looks very good, shall chase it up. Shall watch the interview and get back to you.
A friend who knew a colossal amount about 19th c. US politics repeatedly told me that the Dems and Republicans in the Wild West were essentially fronts for what we would now call organised crime. My sense is that much of the intelligence sector is run by networks/mafias that are deeply criminal.
You are absolutely right. I laughed so hard about disposing of our outdated weapons. Makes me think about the billions left in Iraq too. Thanks
Only pain, and alot of it, will get the attention of the public. It's coming.
Actually, the pain is already here.
It is why the Oligarchy wants us to concentrate on Ukraine so we feel noble in our sacrifice.
Hear, hear.
Caitlin... Good job!!! You really got the trolls out with your latest! Keep up the fight...
Re the celebrities paragraph - here's the latest prank from Vovan and Lexus: "Zelensky" talks to Stephen King. Just hear the old motherfucker out: https://rutube.ru/video/25bf0cf40fc40814843e34c58379ec1e/
"On the whole, I think Bandera is a great man, you're a great man, and viva Ukraine!"
He was open to the idea to help create fake atrocity shit.
Agree with everything Caitlin, BUT, you'll lose people when you lead off with hyperbolic statements like "...entire economy is built on arms manufacturing...".
Perhaps 'relies' on arms manufacturing entirely...as it indeed does.
Listen, if you are trying to make a literal argument that the entire US economy relies on arms manufacturing then we have nothing to discuss. It is absurd on its face.
“The world is a dangerous place to live, not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” - Albert Einstein
FWIW, it seems that Gerashchenko took down the Tweet after people laughed at his claims.
The hawk is much too noble an animal as symbol for the US empire and its relationship to human and non-human life; even the vulture doesn't fit: it does not take more than it gives, but assumes its proper place in the scheme of things. Yes, Yemen is a terrible thing, an ignoble, inhuman thing, a large-scale atrocity, but the large picture usually escapes our small minds. That fact has been well-noted before this. We think in the miniature: therefore it works to associate the US and Biden and his kowtowing to MBS with an inhuman, disgusting, personal crime: the deliberate, thought out in advance murder of an American journalist who was still conscious as he was being dismembered. That is the sum of it. That is what we associate ourselves with by ignoring this geopolitical high jinks, sleight of mind move. Biden and the US in which he is encased have largely escaped the consequences of their stupidity and egregious crimes. But ignoring a personal proclivity to bump fists without barfing - in fact with a sly grin on the face - with the likes of MBS is a line we can't cross without losing what is left of the Western soul.
****Continuing the encirclement of China will likely lead to a nasty confrontation there. Etc.****
How about this one which is the most important of all.
****Continuing the enrichment of China's industrial base and output will lead and is leading to the destruction of the living planet.****
America is not an empire. Far from it. That being said, am I for America withdrawing its military footprint and reducing its military budget by 80% or more? Yes. Do I think if America ever did that things would be all rosy? Not by a long shot. If that's not done correctly, does it increase the chances of wider conflict and ultimately nuclear war? Absolutely.
A unified global response is necessary to mitigate the worst effects of the environmental armageddon that is unfolding and yet those who focus solely on the evisceration of the American empire preclude that possibility. They are trading one apocalypse for another. Net zero. Nothing gained and everything to lose.
A unified global response? The best thing to do is never respond. Everyone. Don't respond. Then they lose. Both World Wars, we responded and millions of people died, COVID? The world responded and made it worse.
It is all a lie. Not one government in this world has it`s citizens best interest at heart. Not one corporation gives a flying fuck about anyone.
Do you think they will ever stop lying?
Universal health care? How about we just grow real food and outlaw the shit they serve in a grocery store? There might be 3 aisles in a grocery store that serves real food.
The lies will never end.
China has not made COVFEFE-45 worse. It's done a hell of a job containing it thus far. There are other countries who have done the same. America and Russia are not on that list.
I beg to differ. Its Draconian measures only postponed the GMO virus and the effects of their lockdowns may be just as bad or worse.
What are the effects of their lockdowns? Their containment measures, as draconian as they have been and are, if implemented globally could have contained COVFEFE-45 and it wouldn't be a "thing" any longer.
The effects are probably worse than ours since they were so much more severe. Are you not aware of all the negative effects here? Or of the studies showing lockdowns don't work?
China's containment cannot be compared to America's containment. China's containment has been and still is much more comprehensive and multi-faceted. America's containment was haphazard and inconsistent and certainly not comprehensive and now America has thrown in the towel and has allowed COVFEFE-45 to run entirely wild with no concern whatsoever.
How long China can keep it up is the question considering they are mostly alone in their effort to battle the pandemic. Like I said, had China's approach been the global approach from the get-go, there would have been no pandemic and it would have fizzled like SARS-CoV-1.
Then again they may know more about the long-term effects of both the jabs and the virus... why they are desperate to control it?
****It is all a lie. Not one government in this world has it`s citizens best interest at heart. Not one corporation gives a flying fuck about anyone.****
Not true, Kevin, or at least not true to the majority who comment at this venue. Only the West is comprised of nations that don't have their citizens' best interests at heart. China and Russia and the Arab states — they love their citizens dearly and the sole purpose of governance in those nations is to serve the people.
I'd like to ask Mearsheimer, Hudson too, since they're such brilliant men, do they believe growth can continue indefinitely? Apparently they do. It's the most important question there is. Everything else stems from it. It's the root of all else. Leaving each nation to its own devices ignores the question. Nations will therefore drive full speed into collapse as they are doing now versus preparing for it and managing the inevitable Great Contraction.
All of you who proselytize about love, where is your love when it comes to this most important issue? The oceans are no longer producing an adequate supply of oxygen and are no longer a CO2 sink. Same goes for the rainforests. Temperatures are soaring. Fresh water supplies are nearly tapped out and increasingly what remains is poisoned and yet your only concern is for Putin's feelings. Pathetic. That's not love. It's hatred and it's revolting to see it referred to as love.
What does love have to do with it? Those who love love all beings and all worlds. Since half of all species are extinct and the rest, including humans are unhealthy I think we will either come together or perish. If we perish the planet will probably heal itself. A stream will once the pollution ends.
it pains me to say this but I agree with your points...on the earths ecology...humans are the scourge of the planet....I believe the plandemic and the covid clot shots are part of their plan to help depopulate the planet....https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE
Liberalism is idiocy and adherents are morons, I don’t disavow my statement. Alexander Solzhenitsyn would appear to agree: “astonishingly incorrect” in his words This speech was delivered at Harvard universities 1978 convocation so I think we can safely assume he would say our predicament has only gotten worse. I think we should heed his warning : “The pitiless crowbar of events.” Liberalism is driving us unto evil and then destruction, calling it moronic his but a pittance against the price it’s going to exact in the near future. There’s nothing to be positive about, these assholes are going to get a lot of people killed.
I call russian troll, go live in Russia and see how you like it.
Thank you for the truth Caitlin.🙂☮
must watch documentary.... nuclear armageddon or ecological holocaust...take your pick... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk11vI-7czE