I am so tired of hearing about Iranian terrorists, Hamas terrorists, how poor little Israel is just defending itself when it shoots another starving Palestinian, Trump going on about how he should get the Nobel peace prize, about how he and his cohorts are just sooooo good trying to bring peace to the world with more bombs, more weapons. I want a world without fires, without bombs, without starving people being shot, without children losing their limbs. That must be the craziness in me coming out.
Remember Genocide Joe and Holocaust Harris? There is only one party in the US: the WAR PARTY, that funds the election campaigns, etc, and the Israel Lobby. AIPAC bragged last year about their high percentage of primary races bought and "won".
Since the '63 Coup, we've had puppets, red and blue.
The word is Duopoly. Relax I assumed the comment was aimed at the party in power considering during the Genocide Joe admin the same feelings were expressed. Remember the Duopoly is trying it's best to divide us. There are no stooges here. Would 70% agreement be OK : )
Given we have the Uniparty with two names, naming one part, as if they have different aims, especially with respect to military matters, is a serious misunderstanding of the underlying reality.
The Duopoly is fighting all of us. We get used to fighting the party in power and as we see in statements from the Duopoly they are in agreement. We fight together : )
If the brainiacs developing AI large language modules are to be successful at mimicking human linguistic behaviors, will they successfully teach the algorithms to lie as apparently slickly but grossly unsuccessfully like Trump, Hegseth, and the other losers in DC?
That's why teaching peole CRITICAL THINKING skills is even more important in the age of AI. Without these skills, people are often ill-equipped to know WHO to trust, WHAT to trust, how to separate FACT from FICTION, which narratives work against them (instead of for them), and more.
Many false 'belief systems' (including cultish thinking, etc.) and narratives propagate like mind-viruses precisely for this VERY SAME reason.
This 'lack of ability in critical thinking' is what leads Israelis to believe in narratives of 'Jewish Supremacy' just as it led many Nazis to believe in narratives of 'Aryan supremacy', and just as it CURRENTLY leads many Americans to believe in narratives of 'American supremacy/exceptionalism'.
I went to school for 8 years (Aged 5 to 13) and during that time I was fortunate to have two teachers who emphasised critical thinking (in 1965 and 1968). Is it possible that young people these days can go through their whole education without being shown how to see the narrative for what it is?
Yes, I fear for the future. Even billionaires and people in positions of power and authority lack adequate critical thinking skills. As an example of this, I present you with Donald Trump -> he is so moronic that he himself is aiding the destruction of the U.S. Empire through many of his actions and decisions (which he obviously doesn't realize). I'm not complaining...I recently heard a Chinese Government official say that 'Never interrupt your enemy when they are in the process of making mistakes and harming themselves'.
Unfortunately, too many people lack critical thinking skills. That is one reason for WHY our world is in the dystopian state that it is in currently. People often land up being their own enemies by supporting narratives that work against them (while thinking that these narratives work in their favor). An easy example of this is the 'narratives that Israelis hold' of 'Jewish supremacy'. Another example (from America) is that of 'White Supremacist' narratives.
Maybe this is the human condition. Maybe a more evolved humanoid species needs to come into existence after we (the homosapiens) annihilate ourselves with our technologies and pathologies.
I think the narratives of the power mongers and the gullibility of the general population have been the curse of humanity ever since we moved on from grunting and began to articulate ideas with spoken language. Those who could see through the trickery and treachery have usually been the outcasts of the group.
Chang, seems the last few months have sucked out the last vestiges of optimism you used to have about waking the masses up and making more people see reality and now you've slowly come to accept it might be far too late for the vast majority of humans especially westerners
While in your world (and mine) genocide is evil, why?
I cannot imagine a more moral man than Chris Hedges. Listen as he lists the many genocides of the past. How easily men can be convinced that murder is God's Will.
>>"I cannot imagine a more moral man than Chris Hedges"
Morality is subjective (not objective). YOU may consider Chris Hedges to be the most moral person in the world (or history), but other people will worship their own heroes and their qualities (such as morality or others).
>>"Whose story do you want to tell?"
I don't want to tell any stories. I want people to think critically ABOUT stories (told by others and themselves) regardless of the author/spreader of stories (i.e. narratives).
Whose stories/facts/fictions? EVERYONE's (throughout history). Ask "WHAT skills do I need to believe/prove the veracity of stories (i.e. narratives)?"
Does not seem to be Chang's point. I imagine Hedges would agree with the need for critical thinking. Dehumanization of a people is a first step toward genocide. Israelis have been brainwashed for decades (77 years) that Palestinians are their enemy. Many facets to the history, such as the Eastern European Jew treating Arab Jews as second class or worse. After WW2, the British Jews didn't want the poor Eastern European Jews. There was a classist element within the diaspora. BTW, Netanyahu's name was Milekowski, as all of the Israeli PMs changed their European names to West Asia-sounding names.
I just caught the documentary The Bibi Files. Check it out if you get a chance. Helps understand what happened in Israel the last few years with the corruption investigation. And YIKES on Smotrich and Ben Givr.
DEFUND THE ISRAELI HOLOCAUST IN GAZA PALESTINE. LET GAZA LIVE. FREE PALESTINE. PEACE
Is THAT what you got out of my comment? Maybe read my comment again. My comment does not mention a single thing about Israelis or Palestinians or Genocide.
Subjective morality is the view that moral judgments are based on personal preferences, feelings, or opinions rather than on objective facts or universal principles. It implies that there is no absolute right or wrong, but rather that morality is relative to each individual or culture. It can be contrasted with objective morality, which holds that moral judgments are grounded in some external reality or rationality that transcends human subjectivity.
For most of us, our personal moral codes are shaped by factors like:
(1) Our upbringing and life experiences: The moral values instilled in us by our parents and communities often stick with us.
(2) Cultural influences: The society and culture we live in significantly impact our views on moral. issues. What is acceptable in one culture may be taboo in another.
(3) Personal values: Things like compassion, fairness, and harm reduction are common moral values, but we don’t all prioritize them the same way.
(4) Context: Moral judgments are often highly dependent on context. For example, killing another person is usually considered wrong, but not if done in self-defense or during war.
The subjective view stands in contrast to moral objectivism,, which holds that certain moral truths are universal and unchanging. However, subjective morality does not mean “anything goes.” Most of us share some basic moral intuitions and principles in common. But there is no consensus on many moral issues, and reasonable people can disagree.
If you want to know my moral stances on Israel/Palestine/Genocide, you can either ASK me or read my comments on Caitlin's substack instead of JUMPING to conclusions and ASSUMING things based on your 'inadequate critical thinking skills'. This isn't a vitriolic statement, it is an observational assessment based on your comments and responses.
I could not agree more my friend. I already see that happening and I don't blame them. I think it started when I was buying something with cash and the teller could not make change doing the simple math. I put that thought away as a one off, then it happened again : (
If a child is raised by psychopathic parents it is likely to develop a psychosis itself. If the 'brainiacs' constructing AIs development. are indeed liars and psychopaths the AI will be evil.
At our lab have had these discussions, Sci-Fi seems to have revealed the evil of machine language decades ago. I was having coffee, (Just Coffee worker owned) with students. I see the first rejection of AI via creative work. They made the statements about human creation over AI creation by preference. I asked if that was because of the human connection to the feeling of the creator. Interesting discussion.
We created an AI imagining sensor characterization program so students would not spend days ramping voltages and temperatures waiting for data, ramping, changing, over and over. The AI managed to do the work in one day. My worry, without students doing the work they lose the base knowledge of how the systems work and how to correct problems. We shall see my friend. Do me a favor check our the Vera Rubin first light images of the latest most powerful ground based telescope on Pachon in Chile. The first light party was amazing : )
You do raise some fundamental questions in science education, which I wonder how I'd deal with were I still in the trenches. I would have similar concerns to the ones you raise. Individual student learning styles and motivations will likely play a role here, and teachers will need to pay attention to this. Will they? is one concern.The images are beautiful, thanks.
I'll just give you the simple answer that there are some folks in this fucked up Western culture who attempt to stay as clear of Hollywood as guiding principle as possible, Instead I read Gary Marcus and other sources on AI. It's a far more reliable and nuanced way to get information. And the fact that someone would be shocked -- shocked, I tell you -- to learn I had not ever watched "The Matrix" series is a true commentary on where the fucking culture gleans its information. And as a biomedical scientist, I assure you that I'm painfully familiar with how that process in my area of expertise works, say pharmacology, where the public's understanding of the potent bio-active chemicals it puts into its bodies is laughable, derived largely from Pharma ad propaganda, which is to say Hollywood-level productions.
CJ>>"That’s the story. In real life, the most aggressive and unreasonable actor on the world stage by far is the empire-like power structure that is loosely centralized around Washington DC."
THIS! Readers, please INJECT this FACT into your DNA (especially important for Americans and those suffering from the disease of 'American Exceptionalism').
My apologies for interjecting this yet again. If you aren't following Aaron Good's research you aren't going to be able to "inject this (fact) into your DNA".
You won't understand who it is that is manipulating your thoughts and dreams.
I almost mentioned Four Died Trying, Devil's Chess Club and AARON GOOD'S American Exception pod, Substack, etc in above post. I appreciate his scholarship, and Bryce's contribution, the discussions with guests, such as Col Larry Wilkerson, etc.
Aron's latest Substack is quite something. I have Alfred McCoy's MASSIVE book on CIA complicity in the global drug trade, which I see Aaron referenced in the piece.
Learned about SCADS from Aaron, I believe. Kevin Ryan on recognizing State Crimes Against Democracy in real time... so informative. PEACE
That's YOUR opinion. Aaron Good seems to be one of your 'heroes'. He's not mine. I find him to possess WEAK critical thinking skills. That doesn't mean he's not right on some things. It means, he seems to arrive at conclusions (correct or incorrect ones) based on narratives and belief systems MORE than on evidence-based reasoning and scientific methodologies.
But sure, shill for Aaron Good and be his PR agent if that is what you wish (and seem to be doing) - as evidenced by the numerous times your comments reference 'Aaron Good' in Caitlin's substack as the solution to understanding the U.S. Empire.
>>"You won't understand who it is that is manipulating your thoughts and dreams."
Instead of "thoughts and dreams", focus on narratives (and how they are formed and spread), techniques of propaganda, argumentation strategies, psychological manipulation tactics (including gaslighting, indoctrination, etc.) and more.
And no, I don't need to read/reference anything Aaron Good (your hero) says to understand how the U.S. Empire works. There are many other excellent sources for that. But you do you.
Good provides a solid foundation for Caitlin's morality stories. He tells us who the men are that commit the crimes Caitlin chronicles.
She tells us the what. He tells us the who. If you don't know "who" (and the "why" [Hudson and Wolff] of those "who") then where do you direct your energies.
You never, ever name names. You never, ever provide a focus on what needs to be done to change things.
Here's where I will point out that while Caitlin tells us what is wrong, not once has she provided direction on what to do about it. Yeah, it is 'kind of obvious' -- except it's not. Are we suppose to be "Aaron Bushnell" or Luigi.
Surely, no one serious is going to fall for that bromide -- "vote".
I note you don't list your other "excellent sources".
The vitriol you express will garner a lot of followers. Evangelical preachers have shown you the way haven't they. Are donations to your church falling off?
I'll spread the response into multiple comments (for space reasons).
Part 1: Sources (incomplete list)
Here are only SOME of my sources (in no particular order) ->
(REMEMBER -> There is NO SUCH THING as 'unbiased news' or 'unbiased humans')
(1) Democracy Now
(2) MintPress News
(3) The Intercept
(4) Consortium News
(6) Al Jazeera (be aware of middle-east bias)
(7) BreakThrough News
(8) Democracy At Work (Richard Wolff)
(9) DW News (be aware of Western bias with this German news channel)
(10) Empire Files (Abby Martin)
(11) Frontline PBS (be aware of US/Western bias)
(12) Geopolitical Economy Report (Ben Norton - be aware of Russian/Chinese bias)
(13) Going Underground with RT (be aware of Russian bias)
(14) Jacobin
(15) Novara Media
(16) ProPublica (be aware of US bias)
(17) Robert Reich (be aware of Democratic party bias)
(18) The Breach (Canadian)
(19) The Real News Network
(20) The Institute of Art and Ideas
(21) UnHerd (be aware of right-wing/conservative bias)
(22) Vice News (be aware of liberal bias)
(23) Vox (be aware of liberal bias)
(24) Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
.....too many more to list.....
Other individuals: Katie Helper, Rania Khalek, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, Seymour Hersh, Chris Hedges, John Pilger, Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, Caitlin Johnstone, Peter Joseph, James Randi, John Mearsheimer, Vijay Prashad, Michael Hudson, ....again, too many more to list.... (again, be aware of each individual's biases)
Middle-Eastern News sources (for following the Israel-Palestine conflict AND Western hegemony in the Middle-East):
(1) Middle East Eye
(2) Al Jazeera
(3) Mondoweiss
(4) The Electronic Intifada
Some YouTube Channels ->
acTVism Munich, AJ+, Back to the Science (Susan Oliver), Bad Faith (Briahna Joy Gray), BadEmpanada, BettBeat Media, CNA Insider, Double Down News, Glenn Diesen, Go Meta with Oli Sharpe, India & Global Left, International Manifesto Group, Leeja Miller (be aware of liberal/Democratic party bias), Neutrality Studies, Peoples Dispatch, PoliticsJOE, Rachel Bevins, Real Progressives, Robert Reich (be aware of liberal/Democratic party bias), Samo Burja, Science is Dope, Second Thought, Skeptic (Michael Shermer - be aware of liberal/capitalism bias), The Burning Archive, The People's Forum NYC, The Swoletariat, The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, theAnalysis-news, uncivilized... again, too many to list.
I have to throw-in Daniel Davis' 'Deep Dive' on YouTube. Otherwise looks like a good list here. Many I've accessed for many years, some I've come to dismiss over time, others I'll have to check out. Thanks!
Yes, like I mentioned, my list is incomplete - I’d be here all night if I attempted to list EVERY source on EVERY subject/topic that I am interested in (and still not arrive at an exhaustive enough list).
Another person that I highly respect is David Harvey (economics and Marxism) and the husband-and-wife team of economists Prabhat Patnaik and Utsa Patnaik (if you like Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff).
Funny that your #1 resource is Democracy Now. Aaron Mate, who used to work for DN, has wondered out loud "Wha' happened". If you listen selectively to what Amy says, you can gain support for your goals from her reporting. But way too often, there's the "fingernails on the chalkboard" experience that is so dissonant with reality that one can't take her seriously. I confess I don't have an example because I stopped taking Amy seriously about a decade ago so I don't pay attention to her any longer.
I suppose such an experience happens with almost all news sources.
But what am I to do with this list? Put mine next to it and then what?
You don't like Aaron Good because you claim he has "Weak critical thinking".
It has been my experience that the people who criticize Good do so because of his Deep Dive into "The American Exception". They still hang on to this quaint idea that "America is a force for good", no matter how much you might criticize it, there's no recognition that it is rotten to the core.
That's where Norman Finkelstein comes in and explains the "Jewish Supremacists" who have infiltrated the US congress with the lone hero, Thomas Massie, explaining to us AIPAC control of our government, thus we can throw the "tail wags the dog" Israel conspiracy out the window.
It is the Deep State that makes these choices. Brian Berletic uses the "Deep State" products from Oligarchic financed "Think Tanks" to explain the "continuity of agenda" that overrides any elected political formulation of policy.
But this only makes sense because of Good's revelation of the nature of the "Deep State" which he says is a horrible label, but no other fits.
One has to endure Good's 24 hour YouTube series "Empire and the Deep State" to even begin to understand the breadth and depth of the true nature of the American economy and political system.
Lest one come away thinking this is just another "Anti-Semitic" screed, the "Deep State" arrived with the Puritans. The "Jewish Mafia" lead by Meyer Lansky was able to carve out representation in the Deep State and the "Boston Brahmins" are more than willing to let the Jews be the front that they hide behind.
It is quite unfortunate that many (probably most) reading this and coming across "Deep State" will immediately cover their ears and squeeze their eyes shut and scream "conspiracy theory".
(1) Let me start by saying that you seem to suffer from an 'inferiority complex' as you have LIKED your comment above - that is already a bad sign.
(2) >>"Evangelical preachers have shown you the way haven't they. Are donations to your church falling off?"
You see what I mean by your lack of 'critical thinking' skills? I'm an atheist btw, so religions, christians, evangelicals, etc. are irrelevant here. But it is interesting how you jumped to such conclusions. On what evidence?
Just based on the above statement alone by you, you have indicated that you lack evidence-based reasoning (amongst many other thinking flaws). So WHY should I trust you or your opinions? You've given me NO REASON to. Hence, why should I trust your opinions of ANYBODY? (Aaron Good or otherwise)
(3) It seems like you enjoy letting OTHERS do your thinking for you, and you ascribe to 'hero worship' and such mentalities. I have no heroes. I prefer to do my thinking based on my skills (which I'm constantly working on forever).
There are SO MANY logical fallacies, conflations, etc. that you make (including bad analogies) that I don't know where to start (or even if I should)
I'll end with this. I PREFER to think for MYSELF (rather than to believe whatever someone ELSE thinks I should believe). And I don't have any heroes (but I do respect many people for many different reasons).
So you go right on ahead and treat everything your hero 'Aaron Good' says as Gospel if you wish. I prefer to think critically about him (and all other sources).
How else are they supposed to convince people to justify their military actions? Through fear and something outlandish seems weird until you consider propaganda that creates irrational fear. This mental manipulation isn't just about our enemies, it is used to justify protecting Americans from these evil psychopaths, like the Patriot act. Sure Putin is going to take over Europe, he was very specific with the Ukraine he didn't attack a country in NATO...Sure China is going to take over the world...I mean they are just going to attack all their business partners? Oddly we constantly do business with China. Kim Jung Un of North Korea was turned to be a minor joke, still "crazy" but not worth noting "little rocket man" reference. The US empire does the same song and dance to justify military action and war, flag waving patriotism, intent protect, etc... I can't even say how ridiculous my country is with its hero trope, save the world from bad guys bullshit...Which country has bases in every part of the world? Who has the most military bases in other nations? Who pushes Australia around?
Get a load of this. As always the oligarchy corporations come together, their think tank is chosen to write the position paper, the lawyers draw up the legalities, the governments sign off on the plans, the public propaganda begins.
This is one of the most evil inhumane programs ever conceived by the US and Israel. And if it works there, it will work in anywhere.
Caitlin as excellent as ever, but let me propose a simple theory
Perhaps the USA (aided by its friends) is not really an empire at all, but just a bunch of financiers wanting to extort wealth through selling war, chaos and "protection", while clinging to the US-dollar printing press? Then of course the stories make perfect sense.
Imagine running the biggest organized crime syndicate on the planet, backed by a nuclear arsenal that could end humanity, and also having the ability to print your own money.
“Let’s hope someone finds a way to protect the world from the insanity of the western empire.”
Someone? I hope you’re being ironic, because that’s not the way it works. As we have seen in the last 3.5 years, the “someone” putting words into action are:
- Russia
- the Palestinian resistance
- Hezbollah
- Yemen / Ansar Allah
- China
- Iran
- a small number of actionists in empire-controlled countries
All of these parties have paid dearly for their efforts. None of them have given up. We all need to support them in whatever ways we can. The “someone” is us. Otherwise the oligarchs win.
Trump is a mountebank with a gift for self-promotion. He would do well as a carnival barker. Hegseth is a paranoiac, and if he is as unbalanced as I think he is, ought to be removed from office immediately. This is what government is. All governments are illegitimate and criminal.
As a proponent of non-violence (I do not consider physical force to prevent or stop violence (aggressive action that violates human rights) to be violence, any more than surgery is a disease because it involves invasive cutting of the flesh), of which a major subset is my veganism, I have a particular perspective.
1. We inherit (through our DNA) traits of trust (mistrust must be learned, according to the neuroscientists), altruism, and empathy....and so to become evil and hurt people, we must override our inherited traits with learned reactions. In terms of the military, this isis done by stripping new boot campers of their identity, signified by cutting of their hair, and replacing their innate empathy and family taught values that "hitting is wrong." and taught how to become killers.
This process has 2 aspects: 1) reduce the new soldier to a nullity by destroying his existing identity and 2) indoctrinating him to believe that the enemy is not human but rather a monster, a savage, sub human, a human animal, a vermin, cockroach, or parasite, which is a category we have also been taught it is acceptable, indeed necessary, to exterminate.
2. This process follows the depersonalization rituals followed by the institutionalization of the deindiviualized person. With the old moral guardrails removed, a new motivation is introduced based on the duty to exterminate the dehumanized enemy.
This occurs in all militaries to get young men (mostly) whose brains have not yet matured (average age in Vietnam was 20, brain matures about 25) to become warriors eager or willing to kill total strangers about whom the know nothing but treat as non-human animals and thus, based on the general cultural acceptance of slaughtering animals, permits killing as moral act.
NOw here is where my perspective cuts to the quick: so long as we accept that it is ok to kill animals dehumanization will work. But when we no longer accept that slaughter of animals is acceptable, it cannot work. And that why over 2000 yrs ago, Pythagoras said ( or is believed to have said): “As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.”
— attributed to Pythagoras
This insight has been confirmed by many moderns, including Tolstoi, who wrote:
"“As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.”
And the Indian anti-guru, Krishnamurti said: "“If we can slaughter animals for our pleasure, we will slaughter humans for our ideologies.”
Now the vast majority, who eat meat without thinking about it, hate to hear this.
But it's true.
Until we generally reject the right of animals to live, we will have a way to justify slaughtering total strangers who have done nothing wrong to us but are described by the war mongers as animals.
When we stop killing animals as a normal daily thing, it will no longer be possible to turn young men with innate empathy into killers believing that those they kill are no better than animals.
And this we see in all wars, with the neo-Nazis in Ukraine calling the pro-Russian ethnic Russians cockroaches, cabinet ministers in Israel calling Gazans "human animals" and the criminal President Trump calling families coming into the US to find work and a better life, often fleeing violence, an infestation, a word that portrays them in a way that suggests extermination: "An infestation is when a large number of unwanted organisms—usually pests—invade and overrun a space, causing harm, discomfort, or disruption." And so when we stop normalizing slaughtering animals by the hundreds of billions, the psychological subversion of our innate empathy by portraying "the enemy" as an animal, a pest to be exterminated, will collapse. Dehumanization will no longer convert immature young men, raised not to hit, into killers. And at that point, the propaganda of war will no longer have an audience and the ranks of the military will be empty. And that is necessary to end the wars invented 12,000 yrs ago that today have made the most civilized nations the most murderous.
I have been saying something similar for 50 years and I have been told that I am an idiot or that I don't understand.
The ONLY way we will achieve world peace and cooperation between all of the world's people is by turning away from flesh eating which causes people to be warriors and becoming herbivorous.
Most, because eating meat is so ingrained and addictive, will either attack the concept of non-violence or avoid thinking about it. Addiction plus cognitive dissonance is a powerful defense against change to a non-violent and sustainable alternative, which has the bonus of making the requirements of war, dehumanization to justify slaughter, impossible. But all change begins with a small minority and so we persist.
Caitlin's ability and wisdom to put things in perspective is on full display here in today's Newsletter.
The US empire has been speeding ahead to the climax engulfing us today. It piggybacked on the violence of the old colonial powers to make a world in its image - one more lethal, more delusional - than ever before. One that lets its proxy the Israeli regime commit a genocide in real time. Almost as a lesson to countries that won't roll over.... ?
China, Russia, Iran, and a few more countries daring to resist have to be brought into its orbit of serfdom, failing that create forever wars to keep those countries unstable. It is an unintellectual, wicked, nightmarish world - ".... it was the worst of times; it was an age of darkness".
The spectacle at the NATO summit with "daddy" being flattered and cajoled so that he won't threaten to abandon them, spoke volumes about the ruling class of Europe.
The only silver lining was ( the Democratic socialist ) Zohran Mamdani's victory in the primary for New York mayor.
It is genuinely weird that the concept 'to avoid having enemies, it's best to behave decently' is so hard to understand. Israel has certainly never tried it. And the Americans who understand it would rather sacrifice their own citizens than a dime of the wealth they control.
Ouch!!!!
Very nice one, Caitlin.
These should be standard public service announcements.
Indeed
I am so tired of hearing about Iranian terrorists, Hamas terrorists, how poor little Israel is just defending itself when it shoots another starving Palestinian, Trump going on about how he should get the Nobel peace prize, about how he and his cohorts are just sooooo good trying to bring peace to the world with more bombs, more weapons. I want a world without fires, without bombs, without starving people being shot, without children losing their limbs. That must be the craziness in me coming out.
Stay "crazy" Susan. It's much better than the alternative.
We must ‘Turn OFF!’ The Republican war machine..’
Turn off ALL war machines.
Remember Genocide Joe and Holocaust Harris? There is only one party in the US: the WAR PARTY, that funds the election campaigns, etc, and the Israel Lobby. AIPAC bragged last year about their high percentage of primary races bought and "won".
Since the '63 Coup, we've had puppets, red and blue.
I think Musk had more to do with getting Drumpf in than AIPAC, he has the tech and a already declared that he gor Drumpf into the whitehouse.
War is not exclusive to Republicans
Ya know what?
As soon as any commentator identifies a specific party as the only one being evil, I find myself dismissing their argument.
Are you blaming the "Republican war Machine", when it was Obama that made the Ukraine war possible and Biden who escalated it?
Either you are ignorant, or you are a Democratic stooge.
Let me anticipate you accusing me of being MAGA.
'You disgust me.'
The word is Duopoly. Relax I assumed the comment was aimed at the party in power considering during the Genocide Joe admin the same feelings were expressed. Remember the Duopoly is trying it's best to divide us. There are no stooges here. Would 70% agreement be OK : )
Sure, I can accept that argument.
But the point remains, anyone who says "it is all Trump's fault" or "it is all Biden's fault", is diverting us from finding a solution.
Given we have the Uniparty with two names, naming one part, as if they have different aims, especially with respect to military matters, is a serious misunderstanding of the underlying reality.
Hm and the Democrats would be better????
The Duopoly is fighting all of us. We get used to fighting the party in power and as we see in statements from the Duopoly they are in agreement. We fight together : )
Hell yes 👏🏼
Let me guess? 9/11? Nope, Sunni fanatics, sponsored and funded by Saudi Arabia and the Gulfie tyrannies.
Al Qaeda? Nope, Sunni fanatics, sponsored and funded by Saudi Arabia and the Gulfie tyrannies.
ISIS? Nope, Sunni fanatics, sponsored and funded by Saudi Arabia and the Gulfie tyrannies.
But go on, tell how bad Iran is.
I love you. I pray to the Universe your dreams come true.
"The greatest purveyor of violence in the world today: my own government.”
MLK, April 4, 1967
If the brainiacs developing AI large language modules are to be successful at mimicking human linguistic behaviors, will they successfully teach the algorithms to lie as apparently slickly but grossly unsuccessfully like Trump, Hegseth, and the other losers in DC?
That's why teaching peole CRITICAL THINKING skills is even more important in the age of AI. Without these skills, people are often ill-equipped to know WHO to trust, WHAT to trust, how to separate FACT from FICTION, which narratives work against them (instead of for them), and more.
Many false 'belief systems' (including cultish thinking, etc.) and narratives propagate like mind-viruses precisely for this VERY SAME reason.
This 'lack of ability in critical thinking' is what leads Israelis to believe in narratives of 'Jewish Supremacy' just as it led many Nazis to believe in narratives of 'Aryan supremacy', and just as it CURRENTLY leads many Americans to believe in narratives of 'American supremacy/exceptionalism'.
I went to school for 8 years (Aged 5 to 13) and during that time I was fortunate to have two teachers who emphasised critical thinking (in 1965 and 1968). Is it possible that young people these days can go through their whole education without being shown how to see the narrative for what it is?
Yes, I fear for the future. Even billionaires and people in positions of power and authority lack adequate critical thinking skills. As an example of this, I present you with Donald Trump -> he is so moronic that he himself is aiding the destruction of the U.S. Empire through many of his actions and decisions (which he obviously doesn't realize). I'm not complaining...I recently heard a Chinese Government official say that 'Never interrupt your enemy when they are in the process of making mistakes and harming themselves'.
Unfortunately, too many people lack critical thinking skills. That is one reason for WHY our world is in the dystopian state that it is in currently. People often land up being their own enemies by supporting narratives that work against them (while thinking that these narratives work in their favor). An easy example of this is the 'narratives that Israelis hold' of 'Jewish supremacy'. Another example (from America) is that of 'White Supremacist' narratives.
Maybe this is the human condition. Maybe a more evolved humanoid species needs to come into existence after we (the homosapiens) annihilate ourselves with our technologies and pathologies.
I think the narratives of the power mongers and the gullibility of the general population have been the curse of humanity ever since we moved on from grunting and began to articulate ideas with spoken language. Those who could see through the trickery and treachery have usually been the outcasts of the group.
So very true, Step O’Rafferty!
Have I ever disagreed with you my friend. If I did, please ignore me
: )
Chang, seems the last few months have sucked out the last vestiges of optimism you used to have about waking the masses up and making more people see reality and now you've slowly come to accept it might be far too late for the vast majority of humans especially westerners
Am I on the right track?
I agree with everything my friend Chang has said. I work with students all day.
Whose story do you want to tell?
Whose Facts?
Whose Fictions?
While in your world (and mine) genocide is evil, why?
I cannot imagine a more moral man than Chris Hedges. Listen as he lists the many genocides of the past. How easily men can be convinced that murder is God's Will.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QCgQ5pehHqg
>>"I cannot imagine a more moral man than Chris Hedges"
Morality is subjective (not objective). YOU may consider Chris Hedges to be the most moral person in the world (or history), but other people will worship their own heroes and their qualities (such as morality or others).
>>"Whose story do you want to tell?"
I don't want to tell any stories. I want people to think critically ABOUT stories (told by others and themselves) regardless of the author/spreader of stories (i.e. narratives).
Whose stories/facts/fictions? EVERYONE's (throughout history). Ask "WHAT skills do I need to believe/prove the veracity of stories (i.e. narratives)?"
"Morality is subjective"
Yep. The Israelis think genociding Palestinians is moral.
I didn't realize you supported that subjective position.
Does not seem to be Chang's point. I imagine Hedges would agree with the need for critical thinking. Dehumanization of a people is a first step toward genocide. Israelis have been brainwashed for decades (77 years) that Palestinians are their enemy. Many facets to the history, such as the Eastern European Jew treating Arab Jews as second class or worse. After WW2, the British Jews didn't want the poor Eastern European Jews. There was a classist element within the diaspora. BTW, Netanyahu's name was Milekowski, as all of the Israeli PMs changed their European names to West Asia-sounding names.
I just caught the documentary The Bibi Files. Check it out if you get a chance. Helps understand what happened in Israel the last few years with the corruption investigation. And YIKES on Smotrich and Ben Givr.
DEFUND THE ISRAELI HOLOCAUST IN GAZA PALESTINE. LET GAZA LIVE. FREE PALESTINE. PEACE
Is THAT what you got out of my comment? Maybe read my comment again. My comment does not mention a single thing about Israelis or Palestinians or Genocide.
Subjective morality is the view that moral judgments are based on personal preferences, feelings, or opinions rather than on objective facts or universal principles. It implies that there is no absolute right or wrong, but rather that morality is relative to each individual or culture. It can be contrasted with objective morality, which holds that moral judgments are grounded in some external reality or rationality that transcends human subjectivity.
For most of us, our personal moral codes are shaped by factors like:
(1) Our upbringing and life experiences: The moral values instilled in us by our parents and communities often stick with us.
(2) Cultural influences: The society and culture we live in significantly impact our views on moral. issues. What is acceptable in one culture may be taboo in another.
(3) Personal values: Things like compassion, fairness, and harm reduction are common moral values, but we don’t all prioritize them the same way.
(4) Context: Moral judgments are often highly dependent on context. For example, killing another person is usually considered wrong, but not if done in self-defense or during war.
The subjective view stands in contrast to moral objectivism,, which holds that certain moral truths are universal and unchanging. However, subjective morality does not mean “anything goes.” Most of us share some basic moral intuitions and principles in common. But there is no consensus on many moral issues, and reasonable people can disagree.
If you want to know my moral stances on Israel/Palestine/Genocide, you can either ASK me or read my comments on Caitlin's substack instead of JUMPING to conclusions and ASSUMING things based on your 'inadequate critical thinking skills'. This isn't a vitriolic statement, it is an observational assessment based on your comments and responses.
Hey, I get from your comments what I get from your comments.
Your inability to concisely, coherently and explicitly express yourself is not my problem.
Very good points
I could not agree more my friend. I already see that happening and I don't blame them. I think it started when I was buying something with cash and the teller could not make change doing the simple math. I put that thought away as a one off, then it happened again : (
If a child is raised by psychopathic parents it is likely to develop a psychosis itself. If the 'brainiacs' constructing AIs development. are indeed liars and psychopaths the AI will be evil.
At our lab have had these discussions, Sci-Fi seems to have revealed the evil of machine language decades ago. I was having coffee, (Just Coffee worker owned) with students. I see the first rejection of AI via creative work. They made the statements about human creation over AI creation by preference. I asked if that was because of the human connection to the feeling of the creator. Interesting discussion.
We created an AI imagining sensor characterization program so students would not spend days ramping voltages and temperatures waiting for data, ramping, changing, over and over. The AI managed to do the work in one day. My worry, without students doing the work they lose the base knowledge of how the systems work and how to correct problems. We shall see my friend. Do me a favor check our the Vera Rubin first light images of the latest most powerful ground based telescope on Pachon in Chile. The first light party was amazing : )
https://rubinobservatory.org/news/rubin-first-look/cosmic-treasure-chest
My DNA is there : )
You do raise some fundamental questions in science education, which I wonder how I'd deal with were I still in the trenches. I would have similar concerns to the ones you raise. Individual student learning styles and motivations will likely play a role here, and teachers will need to pay attention to this. Will they? is one concern.The images are beautiful, thanks.
Just hope not
Did you miss the "Terminator" movies?
Did you miss "The Matrix" series?
Surely you wouldn't suggest that they are "just fiction".
I'll just give you the simple answer that there are some folks in this fucked up Western culture who attempt to stay as clear of Hollywood as guiding principle as possible, Instead I read Gary Marcus and other sources on AI. It's a far more reliable and nuanced way to get information. And the fact that someone would be shocked -- shocked, I tell you -- to learn I had not ever watched "The Matrix" series is a true commentary on where the fucking culture gleans its information. And as a biomedical scientist, I assure you that I'm painfully familiar with how that process in my area of expertise works, say pharmacology, where the public's understanding of the potent bio-active chemicals it puts into its bodies is laughable, derived largely from Pharma ad propaganda, which is to say Hollywood-level productions.
Good question ⬆️ Anything is possible with AI 🤖
CJ>>"That’s the story. In real life, the most aggressive and unreasonable actor on the world stage by far is the empire-like power structure that is loosely centralized around Washington DC."
THIS! Readers, please INJECT this FACT into your DNA (especially important for Americans and those suffering from the disease of 'American Exceptionalism').
Thank you Caitlin!
My apologies for interjecting this yet again. If you aren't following Aaron Good's research you aren't going to be able to "inject this (fact) into your DNA".
You won't understand who it is that is manipulating your thoughts and dreams.
I almost mentioned Four Died Trying, Devil's Chess Club and AARON GOOD'S American Exception pod, Substack, etc in above post. I appreciate his scholarship, and Bryce's contribution, the discussions with guests, such as Col Larry Wilkerson, etc.
Aron's latest Substack is quite something. I have Alfred McCoy's MASSIVE book on CIA complicity in the global drug trade, which I see Aaron referenced in the piece.
Learned about SCADS from Aaron, I believe. Kevin Ryan on recognizing State Crimes Against Democracy in real time... so informative. PEACE
Good doesn't preach. He just provides facts. And then he asks you to make sense of those facts.
The inevitable conclusion dovetails precisely with Wolff and Hudson's critique of Capitalism.
That's YOUR opinion. Aaron Good seems to be one of your 'heroes'. He's not mine. I find him to possess WEAK critical thinking skills. That doesn't mean he's not right on some things. It means, he seems to arrive at conclusions (correct or incorrect ones) based on narratives and belief systems MORE than on evidence-based reasoning and scientific methodologies.
But sure, shill for Aaron Good and be his PR agent if that is what you wish (and seem to be doing) - as evidenced by the numerous times your comments reference 'Aaron Good' in Caitlin's substack as the solution to understanding the U.S. Empire.
>>"You won't understand who it is that is manipulating your thoughts and dreams."
Instead of "thoughts and dreams", focus on narratives (and how they are formed and spread), techniques of propaganda, argumentation strategies, psychological manipulation tactics (including gaslighting, indoctrination, etc.) and more.
And no, I don't need to read/reference anything Aaron Good (your hero) says to understand how the U.S. Empire works. There are many other excellent sources for that. But you do you.
Wow....
I mean Wow, Wow, Wow...
Good provides a solid foundation for Caitlin's morality stories. He tells us who the men are that commit the crimes Caitlin chronicles.
She tells us the what. He tells us the who. If you don't know "who" (and the "why" [Hudson and Wolff] of those "who") then where do you direct your energies.
You never, ever name names. You never, ever provide a focus on what needs to be done to change things.
Here's where I will point out that while Caitlin tells us what is wrong, not once has she provided direction on what to do about it. Yeah, it is 'kind of obvious' -- except it's not. Are we suppose to be "Aaron Bushnell" or Luigi.
Surely, no one serious is going to fall for that bromide -- "vote".
I note you don't list your other "excellent sources".
The vitriol you express will garner a lot of followers. Evangelical preachers have shown you the way haven't they. Are donations to your church falling off?
I'll spread the response into multiple comments (for space reasons).
Part 1: Sources (incomplete list)
Here are only SOME of my sources (in no particular order) ->
(REMEMBER -> There is NO SUCH THING as 'unbiased news' or 'unbiased humans')
(1) Democracy Now
(2) MintPress News
(3) The Intercept
(4) Consortium News
(6) Al Jazeera (be aware of middle-east bias)
(7) BreakThrough News
(8) Democracy At Work (Richard Wolff)
(9) DW News (be aware of Western bias with this German news channel)
(10) Empire Files (Abby Martin)
(11) Frontline PBS (be aware of US/Western bias)
(12) Geopolitical Economy Report (Ben Norton - be aware of Russian/Chinese bias)
(13) Going Underground with RT (be aware of Russian bias)
(14) Jacobin
(15) Novara Media
(16) ProPublica (be aware of US bias)
(17) Robert Reich (be aware of Democratic party bias)
(18) The Breach (Canadian)
(19) The Real News Network
(20) The Institute of Art and Ideas
(21) UnHerd (be aware of right-wing/conservative bias)
(22) Vice News (be aware of liberal bias)
(23) Vox (be aware of liberal bias)
(24) Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft
.....too many more to list.....
Other individuals: Katie Helper, Rania Khalek, Matt Taibbi, Glenn Greenwald, Aaron Mate, Max Blumenthal, Seymour Hersh, Chris Hedges, John Pilger, Michael Parenti, Noam Chomsky, Yanis Varoufakis, Caitlin Johnstone, Peter Joseph, James Randi, John Mearsheimer, Vijay Prashad, Michael Hudson, ....again, too many more to list.... (again, be aware of each individual's biases)
Middle-Eastern News sources (for following the Israel-Palestine conflict AND Western hegemony in the Middle-East):
(1) Middle East Eye
(2) Al Jazeera
(3) Mondoweiss
(4) The Electronic Intifada
Some YouTube Channels ->
acTVism Munich, AJ+, Back to the Science (Susan Oliver), Bad Faith (Briahna Joy Gray), BadEmpanada, BettBeat Media, CNA Insider, Double Down News, Glenn Diesen, Go Meta with Oli Sharpe, India & Global Left, International Manifesto Group, Leeja Miller (be aware of liberal/Democratic party bias), Neutrality Studies, Peoples Dispatch, PoliticsJOE, Rachel Bevins, Real Progressives, Robert Reich (be aware of liberal/Democratic party bias), Samo Burja, Science is Dope, Second Thought, Skeptic (Michael Shermer - be aware of liberal/capitalism bias), The Burning Archive, The People's Forum NYC, The Swoletariat, The Zero Hour with RJ Eskow, theAnalysis-news, uncivilized... again, too many to list.
I have to throw-in Daniel Davis' 'Deep Dive' on YouTube. Otherwise looks like a good list here. Many I've accessed for many years, some I've come to dismiss over time, others I'll have to check out. Thanks!
Yes, like I mentioned, my list is incomplete - I’d be here all night if I attempted to list EVERY source on EVERY subject/topic that I am interested in (and still not arrive at an exhaustive enough list).
Another person that I highly respect is David Harvey (economics and Marxism) and the husband-and-wife team of economists Prabhat Patnaik and Utsa Patnaik (if you like Michael Hudson and Richard Wolff).
Funny that your #1 resource is Democracy Now. Aaron Mate, who used to work for DN, has wondered out loud "Wha' happened". If you listen selectively to what Amy says, you can gain support for your goals from her reporting. But way too often, there's the "fingernails on the chalkboard" experience that is so dissonant with reality that one can't take her seriously. I confess I don't have an example because I stopped taking Amy seriously about a decade ago so I don't pay attention to her any longer.
I suppose such an experience happens with almost all news sources.
But what am I to do with this list? Put mine next to it and then what?
You don't like Aaron Good because you claim he has "Weak critical thinking".
Jeffrey Sachs likes him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXvuOG33zLs&
It has been my experience that the people who criticize Good do so because of his Deep Dive into "The American Exception". They still hang on to this quaint idea that "America is a force for good", no matter how much you might criticize it, there's no recognition that it is rotten to the core.
That's where Norman Finkelstein comes in and explains the "Jewish Supremacists" who have infiltrated the US congress with the lone hero, Thomas Massie, explaining to us AIPAC control of our government, thus we can throw the "tail wags the dog" Israel conspiracy out the window.
It is the Deep State that makes these choices. Brian Berletic uses the "Deep State" products from Oligarchic financed "Think Tanks" to explain the "continuity of agenda" that overrides any elected political formulation of policy.
But this only makes sense because of Good's revelation of the nature of the "Deep State" which he says is a horrible label, but no other fits.
One has to endure Good's 24 hour YouTube series "Empire and the Deep State" to even begin to understand the breadth and depth of the true nature of the American economy and political system.
Lest one come away thinking this is just another "Anti-Semitic" screed, the "Deep State" arrived with the Puritans. The "Jewish Mafia" lead by Meyer Lansky was able to carve out representation in the Deep State and the "Boston Brahmins" are more than willing to let the Jews be the front that they hide behind.
It is quite unfortunate that many (probably most) reading this and coming across "Deep State" will immediately cover their ears and squeeze their eyes shut and scream "conspiracy theory".
Part 2: Response to your UNHINGED comment
(1) Let me start by saying that you seem to suffer from an 'inferiority complex' as you have LIKED your comment above - that is already a bad sign.
(2) >>"Evangelical preachers have shown you the way haven't they. Are donations to your church falling off?"
You see what I mean by your lack of 'critical thinking' skills? I'm an atheist btw, so religions, christians, evangelicals, etc. are irrelevant here. But it is interesting how you jumped to such conclusions. On what evidence?
Just based on the above statement alone by you, you have indicated that you lack evidence-based reasoning (amongst many other thinking flaws). So WHY should I trust you or your opinions? You've given me NO REASON to. Hence, why should I trust your opinions of ANYBODY? (Aaron Good or otherwise)
(3) It seems like you enjoy letting OTHERS do your thinking for you, and you ascribe to 'hero worship' and such mentalities. I have no heroes. I prefer to do my thinking based on my skills (which I'm constantly working on forever).
There are SO MANY logical fallacies, conflations, etc. that you make (including bad analogies) that I don't know where to start (or even if I should)
I'll end with this. I PREFER to think for MYSELF (rather than to believe whatever someone ELSE thinks I should believe). And I don't have any heroes (but I do respect many people for many different reasons).
So you go right on ahead and treat everything your hero 'Aaron Good' says as Gospel if you wish. I prefer to think critically about him (and all other sources).
Damn Chang 😳😳
You brought the Bazooka and Airstrike to this fight while your "opponent" was wielding a blunt and end of the ropes knife that can only tickle 🤣🤣
So you're an atheist?
The scam of the evangelical preacher knows no religion.
That you ignore the "Deep State" and pretend it doesn't exist is the cause of your failure to accomplish anything.
How else are they supposed to convince people to justify their military actions? Through fear and something outlandish seems weird until you consider propaganda that creates irrational fear. This mental manipulation isn't just about our enemies, it is used to justify protecting Americans from these evil psychopaths, like the Patriot act. Sure Putin is going to take over Europe, he was very specific with the Ukraine he didn't attack a country in NATO...Sure China is going to take over the world...I mean they are just going to attack all their business partners? Oddly we constantly do business with China. Kim Jung Un of North Korea was turned to be a minor joke, still "crazy" but not worth noting "little rocket man" reference. The US empire does the same song and dance to justify military action and war, flag waving patriotism, intent protect, etc... I can't even say how ridiculous my country is with its hero trope, save the world from bad guys bullshit...Which country has bases in every part of the world? Who has the most military bases in other nations? Who pushes Australia around?
Get a load of this. As always the oligarchy corporations come together, their think tank is chosen to write the position paper, the lawyers draw up the legalities, the governments sign off on the plans, the public propaganda begins.
This is one of the most evil inhumane programs ever conceived by the US and Israel. And if it works there, it will work in anywhere.
https://open.substack.com/pub/ddgeopolitics/p/the-abraham-shield-israels-new-blueprint
WELL SAID! T S M
Caitlin as excellent as ever, but let me propose a simple theory
Perhaps the USA (aided by its friends) is not really an empire at all, but just a bunch of financiers wanting to extort wealth through selling war, chaos and "protection", while clinging to the US-dollar printing press? Then of course the stories make perfect sense.
Imagine running the biggest organized crime syndicate on the planet, backed by a nuclear arsenal that could end humanity, and also having the ability to print your own money.
It doesn't get any more gangster than that.
“Let’s hope someone finds a way to protect the world from the insanity of the western empire.”
Someone? I hope you’re being ironic, because that’s not the way it works. As we have seen in the last 3.5 years, the “someone” putting words into action are:
- Russia
- the Palestinian resistance
- Hezbollah
- Yemen / Ansar Allah
- China
- Iran
- a small number of actionists in empire-controlled countries
All of these parties have paid dearly for their efforts. None of them have given up. We all need to support them in whatever ways we can. The “someone” is us. Otherwise the oligarchs win.
"You are crazy if you don’t believe what the world’s craziest power structure says about its enemies being crazy."
I'd rather be called "crazy" than a "warmongering, nuclear bomb dropping, genocide-supporting capitalist-fascist dictatorship." Wouldn't you?
Who knew that all along the world was protecting themselves from US !!!
Trump is a mountebank with a gift for self-promotion. He would do well as a carnival barker. Hegseth is a paranoiac, and if he is as unbalanced as I think he is, ought to be removed from office immediately. This is what government is. All governments are illegitimate and criminal.
As a proponent of non-violence (I do not consider physical force to prevent or stop violence (aggressive action that violates human rights) to be violence, any more than surgery is a disease because it involves invasive cutting of the flesh), of which a major subset is my veganism, I have a particular perspective.
1. We inherit (through our DNA) traits of trust (mistrust must be learned, according to the neuroscientists), altruism, and empathy....and so to become evil and hurt people, we must override our inherited traits with learned reactions. In terms of the military, this isis done by stripping new boot campers of their identity, signified by cutting of their hair, and replacing their innate empathy and family taught values that "hitting is wrong." and taught how to become killers.
This process has 2 aspects: 1) reduce the new soldier to a nullity by destroying his existing identity and 2) indoctrinating him to believe that the enemy is not human but rather a monster, a savage, sub human, a human animal, a vermin, cockroach, or parasite, which is a category we have also been taught it is acceptable, indeed necessary, to exterminate.
2. This process follows the depersonalization rituals followed by the institutionalization of the deindiviualized person. With the old moral guardrails removed, a new motivation is introduced based on the duty to exterminate the dehumanized enemy.
This occurs in all militaries to get young men (mostly) whose brains have not yet matured (average age in Vietnam was 20, brain matures about 25) to become warriors eager or willing to kill total strangers about whom the know nothing but treat as non-human animals and thus, based on the general cultural acceptance of slaughtering animals, permits killing as moral act.
NOw here is where my perspective cuts to the quick: so long as we accept that it is ok to kill animals dehumanization will work. But when we no longer accept that slaughter of animals is acceptable, it cannot work. And that why over 2000 yrs ago, Pythagoras said ( or is believed to have said): “As long as men massacre animals, they will kill each other. Indeed, he who sows the seed of murder and pain cannot reap joy and love.”
— attributed to Pythagoras
This insight has been confirmed by many moderns, including Tolstoi, who wrote:
"“As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.”
And the Indian anti-guru, Krishnamurti said: "“If we can slaughter animals for our pleasure, we will slaughter humans for our ideologies.”
Now the vast majority, who eat meat without thinking about it, hate to hear this.
But it's true.
Until we generally reject the right of animals to live, we will have a way to justify slaughtering total strangers who have done nothing wrong to us but are described by the war mongers as animals.
When we stop killing animals as a normal daily thing, it will no longer be possible to turn young men with innate empathy into killers believing that those they kill are no better than animals.
And this we see in all wars, with the neo-Nazis in Ukraine calling the pro-Russian ethnic Russians cockroaches, cabinet ministers in Israel calling Gazans "human animals" and the criminal President Trump calling families coming into the US to find work and a better life, often fleeing violence, an infestation, a word that portrays them in a way that suggests extermination: "An infestation is when a large number of unwanted organisms—usually pests—invade and overrun a space, causing harm, discomfort, or disruption." And so when we stop normalizing slaughtering animals by the hundreds of billions, the psychological subversion of our innate empathy by portraying "the enemy" as an animal, a pest to be exterminated, will collapse. Dehumanization will no longer convert immature young men, raised not to hit, into killers. And at that point, the propaganda of war will no longer have an audience and the ranks of the military will be empty. And that is necessary to end the wars invented 12,000 yrs ago that today have made the most civilized nations the most murderous.
1
I have been saying something similar for 50 years and I have been told that I am an idiot or that I don't understand.
The ONLY way we will achieve world peace and cooperation between all of the world's people is by turning away from flesh eating which causes people to be warriors and becoming herbivorous.
Most, because eating meat is so ingrained and addictive, will either attack the concept of non-violence or avoid thinking about it. Addiction plus cognitive dissonance is a powerful defense against change to a non-violent and sustainable alternative, which has the bonus of making the requirements of war, dehumanization to justify slaughter, impossible. But all change begins with a small minority and so we persist.
Caitlin's ability and wisdom to put things in perspective is on full display here in today's Newsletter.
The US empire has been speeding ahead to the climax engulfing us today. It piggybacked on the violence of the old colonial powers to make a world in its image - one more lethal, more delusional - than ever before. One that lets its proxy the Israeli regime commit a genocide in real time. Almost as a lesson to countries that won't roll over.... ?
China, Russia, Iran, and a few more countries daring to resist have to be brought into its orbit of serfdom, failing that create forever wars to keep those countries unstable. It is an unintellectual, wicked, nightmarish world - ".... it was the worst of times; it was an age of darkness".
The spectacle at the NATO summit with "daddy" being flattered and cajoled so that he won't threaten to abandon them, spoke volumes about the ruling class of Europe.
The only silver lining was ( the Democratic socialist ) Zohran Mamdani's victory in the primary for New York mayor.
This only rational actor happens to be the only one to have dropped atom bombs on civilian populations!
It is genuinely weird that the concept 'to avoid having enemies, it's best to behave decently' is so hard to understand. Israel has certainly never tried it. And the Americans who understand it would rather sacrifice their own citizens than a dime of the wealth they control.