"The extremists who are inflicting the real violence and abuse in our world are the ones committing genocide, starting wars, backing blockades, imposing starvation sanctions, arming proxy conflicts, circling the planet with hundreds of military bases, and flirting with nuclear armageddon."
So true. And those of us who want a peaceful, decent, civilized, liveable world are considered radical in the context these people create.
I'm glad she included the graph with the death tolls from sanctions. I knew it was going to be a grotesquely large number of people, but 38 million was still a surprise (and that's only through 2021). It's also very revealing that the Democratic administrations, the self-proclaimed "party of peace", are no better than Rethuglican ones.
Edit: I suspect the only reason why the death tolls in later years are not as high is because countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela have gone to the trouble of "sanction-proofing" their economies as much as possible. BRICS+ for the win!
The problem is that decent normal humans are very sensitive to being called terrorists, radicals, etc., and spend considerable time and effort defending themselves. The western fascists do not care. They just call "terrorists" and "radicals" whomever they don't like. West only wants to steal, plunder, enslave, submit, and genocide. Projections, double standards, fascism, zionism, and supremacism is the "way of the West". While all normal people want to live in peace, I doubt that the real peace and prosperity will ever exist on this sorry planet until the supremacist judeo-nazi western ideology is defeated. Integrity, truth and facts will never win over western supremacism, hate, and sense of exceptionalism. The sad fact is that this was all predictable 50+ years ago.
If anyone did to the United States what Ukrainians or Israelis do themselves at home and to others abroad, they would be screaming for an invasion or worse.
But since Ukraine and Israel are American pets, their actions are by definition laudable.
In the final analysis, it’s all about the power of money. If one has money, one has power. Money brings protection, and the ultimate protection are nuclear arsenals.
Israel controls a lot of money, and therefore controls most of the world .
Not everyone wants or desires to misuse power. Some people have integrity and honesty. Unfortunately, such humans will never gain real power in the rotten western culture. Only judeo-nazi a$$holes (israel and the greater "west") use power and money to subjugate, enslave, and genocide others.
This should come as NO surprise to anyone. I watched a recent interview between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald and Tucker Carlson said, he had US officials privately telling him that Israel runs the US Government.
No one in the US Government because they are bought off by the likes of Mossad or Miriam Adelson have the balls to place the State of Israel as a "foreign agent", thereby not allowing them to dictate US foreign policy.
Sure, blame everything on anyone BUT the U.S., why not? Haven't you yet realized that Tucker Carlson (and his ilk) are America First and all about 'American Exceptionalism'?
Too many people are STILL being fooled/conned into thinking that 'Israel controls the U.S.', etc. The U.S. Empire Managers love such 'false narratives', as it gives them cover to pretend that they are not the 'head of the snake', the uber-terrorists.
Utter bullshit. When you have members of Congress and the US Government visiting Israel and have their picture taken huddled around BeeBee Nutten-Yahoo. When you have BeeBee addressing Congress, that indicates that the US Government is beholden to Israel and does as it says. We have more than just Tucker saying that the US Government has been bought and comprised by Israel. We have gone into wars we shouldn't have because Israel needed the US to take out its enemies.
So Tucker is correct and you are wrong. Again, Israel operates as a fucking Mafia Crime Family.
Sorry, your explanation failed. But of course, you wouldn't be able to see it any other way. That's what 'american exceptionalism' does to Americans - similar to what 'Jewish Exceptionalism/Supremacy' does to Israeli Jews/Zionists.
Your WHOLE worldview revolves around your belief (just as an Israeli Zionist's worldview revolves around their beliefs). All the DATA POINTS you use in your analysis/opinion come from many of the following fallacies/biases - availability bias, survivorship bias, confirmation bias (look these up).
>>"Israel operates as a fucking Mafia Crime Family."
YES! And worse. Israel would put the mafia to shame.
What you (and many others) fail to realize is that TWO things can be TRUE at the same time. Just because Israel is EVIL does not automatically translate to 'Israel controls the U.S.'. If you studied World History, you would know that the U.S. Empire is magnitudes of EVIL worse than anyone else (did you read this current article by Caitlin and look at the graph provided by Jason Hickle? (https://x.com/jasonhickel/status/1967151376200544495))
38 Million deaths (upto 2021 - before the recent Genocide started). Think again!
Chang - or should that be Sam? - (btw.I agree with everything Caitlin says) - I do understand who the real bad guys are - it's the US Empire under the total control of Israel.
And there I thought the original Mafia was Italian, and Italians tend to be catholic. But who cares. That's just meaningless nitpicking and finger pointing.
Yes the two things can be true at the same time. Israel, through the Zionist international bankers and their control of major western corporations, does control USA foreign policy as applies to Israel's genocidal expansion plans. It is almost (yes, there a few token gadflies) impossible to remain a member of US Congress and oppose Zionism. US intel agencies are linked with Mossad on anything involving West Asia. A similar situation exists within many NATO governments. I suspect, but cannot prove, they are involved in the Ukraine conflict as well for the purpose of distracting Russia while they expand in West Asia.
That said, it is unlikely the Zionists are involved in US hegemony in Central and South America, Africa and East Asia. Certainly Vietnam was not a Zionist project, for example. Nor the coup in Chile, or the regime change in Panama.
Yes. It is a symbiotic relationship - and a complicated one. But it goes much deeper than 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours'.
Israel carries out regime change operations and assassinations on the behest of the U.S. Empire (and for the interests of the U.S. Empire) throughout the world, and Israel manages and maintains U.S. interests and hegemony in the MENA region (there's quite a bit of history on this).
The following are books I would recommend reading to understand the complicated (sometimes antagonistic, often mutually beneficial) dalliance between Israel and the U.S. ->
(5) "Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58638638)
Couldn't agree more, Rodster. Zionista took control of the US by 1913 with the Federal Reserve Private Bank and the IRS. Shortly thereafter, they pushed for WW1 and WW2, culminating in the prepped creation of their home base, Israel, backed by the Ununited Nations. The Zios run pretty much everything including both sides of the Ukraine/Russia war, slaughtering Ukranians to soften it up in order to create TelAviv North. Only the blind can't see it.
Sweety, didn't you know that every US politician is forced to travel to Israel to be indoctrinated there before he is allowed to take office in the US?
And you apparently have been fooled/conned into thinking that Israel doesn't control the US. Just a coincidence that US congressmen have to visit Israel. And the US is not the only one. Thank God people are becoming more aware of what you tried to keep hidden for far too long.
There is a reason Americans are often considered 'not the brightest bulb' around - and you exemplify such characteristics. They are so easily fooled by American propaganda. As further proof of 'american stupidity', one has to look no further than to the election of Donald Trump (and for the 2nd time of all things). Need anyone say anything more? No wonder it has been so easy for Israeli Zionists to get American support for their Genocide.
Being from Europe (or from anywhere else in the world) or holding multiple PHDs (or nobel prizes) is no guarantee of 'critical thinking' skills. People often confuse these skills with 'education' or 'intelligence', etc.
I've come across people with no formal education still somehow having adequate critical thinking and media literacy skills, and I have also come across highly educated, accomplished, and intelligent people make simple errors in thinking due to their lack of adequate critical thinking skills.
(i.e. correlation between education/intelligence and thinking processes is not linear, though there is some positive correlation).
Sweetheart, anyone who knows anything must know by now that the US is under total control of Israel. Why else would US Congress have to swear alliance to Israel???? No one can swear obedience to two masters at the same time.
haha, you have fallen into the trap of plausible denialism. Israel controls the US just like the hand that types this message controls my entire body. Z1onism is another flavor of fascism that's using human shields of jewish identity to deflect criticism.
That would be an interesting paper. Is it even possible to have a system controlled by humans that works for all people. Marx/Engels tried and we didn't listen. We live in not so interesting times my friend. Peace and Love where you can find it : )
Free Palestine and all will be free? Control the narrative at this moment. Israel is a Terrorist Genociding Made Up State. Could canceling it help "We"? Help Wanted. Free Palestine and the world from the Colonizers.
Netanyahu once defined terrorism as killing or harming civilians for political gain. Now that is his admitted policy and yet he calls his victims terrorists.
You can’t fund a genocide, attack a sovereign country (Iran), threaten the people of another country (Russia and China), and try and use coercion (tariffs and sanctions) to manipulate the economies of the world and call yourself a “Democracy” and nation that stands by “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Well, the problem is that you can do that, and they do do that. It just isn't true, but for those that want to believe, or avoid the flack, they are more than happy to hear, and rely on, that story.
Agree but so called western "democracy" does not exclude fascist political system - in fact prefers it. And in which way is judeo-nazi west "democratic". Choose between war criminal A, B, or C.
I would call these freaks not only extremists, but also Nazis. They are the fulfillment of Adolf Hitler's dream. The United States, its colonies, and its followers are the worst thing that Hitler could have imagined.
Reading more about the Nazis, Hitler drew from our own colonization/purification in the u.s. in the destruction of the indigenous peoples. Our 1% was in contact with Hitler at his rise to power or so I have read.
I read that Hitler was brought to power and built his military industry by Western elites. Including the United States and Britain. Standard Oil used to refuel German submarines off the coast of Bermuda until 1944. For example, Henry Ford was a fan of Hitler. And Ford was very important to the U.S. industry.
To create a war and profit from it an enemy might be supported until it is strong enough to make a profitable participant It might also be provoked until it must respond. This does not make either side good, in fact both may be evil, but it is possible to pity the discarded tools and those with their backs against the wall.. Why exactly are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden not worse that Nazi labor camps. Why did Allied bombing often target the worker housing around German factories and spare the factories themselves?
I live in Russia. The National Socialists came to us with war. It is not propaganda that tells us about their atrocities, but historical science and archival documents. The atrocities committed by the Nazis are a historical fact.
"Russians" is not just a nationality, it is a community of the Russian World. By the way, Stalin called himself a "Russian of Georgian origin". My neighbor is a Buryat, but he is Russian!
So glad you called out the so-called “moderates” for the extremists they are, Caitlin. They’ve been hiding behind this label for far too long. It gives them legitimacy, when they should have none. Have you noticed that the application of “moderate” and “centrist” is mostly self-labeling. The Democrats are especially adept at this. You can find them on a regular basis in the comment sections of the NYT, complaining about the “extremists” and “leftists” in the party. There are no leftists in the Democratic Party, and, since the election of Clinton, it has absorbed right wing Republicans who call themselves Democrats (and “centrists”), who, as Chris Hedges has noted, have basically taken over the party.
I was recently called a Trump enabler by a self-labeled “communist” on Substack, Paul Street, who championed in a column the publication by talking head Rachel Maddow of a book on fascism. In the nearly two years of the genocide in Gaza, Maddow, and most of her cohorts on MSNBC have not once, that’s right, not even a single time, uttered the word Gaza, much less, “genocide.” If you don’t even acknowledge that a place exists (like the Israeli’s with respect to Palestine), you obviously don’t need to acknowledge a genocide.
Maddow has had a platform on MSNBC several times a week for the nearly two years since the atrocities began, but, as demonstrated by her total lack of coverage, they’re not worth mentioning. Yet they will spend days, not hours, discussing Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC and James Comey’s indictment — you know, the things that work up the base.
Street admonished the”left” for its failure to acknowledge the need to “work with” “moderates” like Maddow to fight fascism. When I commented that total silence about a genocide made one complicit in it and removed any claim to moderation, Street launched into a vitriolic attack on me and another commenter. I also pointed out in my comment that “working with” “centrist” Democrats like Maddow generally meant voting for the “centrist” Democrat of their choice (one who has consistently supported genocide) , that is, staying in line. That earned me Street’s label of Trump enabler, except that he created a semi-German word to label me, presumably comparing me to a Nazi.
It’s worth noting, too, that in her book (which I have not read, but did hear her describe in an interview) Maddow included “antisemitism” as an element of fascism. I don’t pretend to be an expert on fascism, but nothing I have read by scholars on the subject includes antisemitism as an element. Jews were of course the primary target of the Nazis, but more generally, fascism is defined among other things as including an oppressed, generally minority group, to be scapegoated and demonized. So, including antisemitism as an element conveniently excludes by definition Israel as a potential perpetrator of fascism, even though it meets all of the elements of the definition according to scholars of both genocide and fascism.
I think you have hit upon one of the most important challenges of our time — the misuse of language and labels to excuse extremists for their extremism. What’s more extreme than genocide, or enabling genocide by your silence? The problem is, genocide against the Palestinians has been normalized by these same people — the propagandists in the mainstream media, the politicians of both parties, and the people who vote for them. Thus, one of our most important challenges is calling them out, setting things straight. Otherwise, we’re accepting a truly Orwellian world.
Rachel Madcow is zionist jew. How else would you explain her "successful" career on MSM. There are many more smarter women, but they will never get the chance and resources. That is how jews are "successful" propaganda is made. It is all by design.
Paul Street is one of the reasons I stopped subscribing to Counterpunch. I'm not going to pay money to orgs that give such obvious establishments plants a platform.
Glad you got that, too. I was dismayed that in a Q. & A. on a recent Chris Hedges Substack, a questioner suggested that Hedges interview Street. Hedges replied that he had interviewed Street in the past, “liked” him, and would consider interviewing him again. I protested in a comment, but of course don’t know whether it took. I told Street that although he called himself a communist, he sounded more like an establishment Democrat. Although I have no evidence for it, I began to wonder about AIPAC funding, too. Truth Dig, which no longer exists, was infiltrated by a number of AIPAC plants whose ruse included being more “left” than thou, as if it were a competition.
Me too : ) Chris recently even though he has in the past differed commenting on his political position said he is a Socialist. I usually don't care what someones political position is if the work they do is useful in my life.
I don't know what kind of "Communist" he is, but after reading a few articles by him, I'd say it's no further left than the "Momdani" type of "communist".
"I went on a march once as a teenager, and OHH look how fascist the Republicans are!!"
Dear Caitlin, you've summed it up in just a few lines. Those responsible are the money controllers who appoint governments and finance states and multinationals. Everything else is a consequence.
A "what the hell happened to my blue skies?" extremist.
A silence extremist. (I cannot stand pointless noise and will get irate at those who make it.)
A good poetry extremist. (I hate the vast majority of the dreck written by my worthy contemporaries.)
A fine art extremist. (I hate most contemporary art. I particularly dislike the commerce and institutions behind it.)
A medieval architecture extremist. (The myths of Christianity are silly, but the art and architecture are sublime. I'll take a thousand-year-old Romanesque country church over anything by Frank Gehry or I.M. Pei. The sober stone monuments will still be standing long after those houses of cards have fallen.)
A Technicolor extremist. (Cinema has been all downhill since celluloid was scrapped as too expensive in order to pay vast undeserved sums to untalented actors unworthy even to light Charles Boyer's cigarette.)
An analogue extremist. (Pop music has been all downhill since the onset of digital.)
A blogger-in-his-mother's-basement extremist. (I'll take the disinterested ravings of a self-styled commentator, however idiotic, over the corrupt, manipulative, prehensile fumes of anything in the New York Times or on TV.)
A truth extremist. (I've always relied on my lying eyes. And sense of smell.)
Very clear and incisive. Criminals exposed. As if we still believe in "creating peace through war", "Forced behaviour change" (WEF) and Forced Peace (i.e. silence).
60 years ago, when I was 20, Martin Luther King told us the USA was the #1 purveyor of violence in the world. We have failed to grow up significantly in those past 60 years.
Those who control the media and those that willingly spew the lies we are inundated with 24-7 are also violent extremists.. The US government was ' Fundamentally Transformed' into a fascist dictatorship, essentially a kleptocracy of Oligarchs predominantly Ultra Zionist extremists. An empire of lies few Americans accept as legitimate.
"The extremists who are inflicting the real violence and abuse in our world are the ones committing genocide, starting wars, backing blockades, imposing starvation sanctions, arming proxy conflicts, circling the planet with hundreds of military bases, and flirting with nuclear armageddon."
So true. And those of us who want a peaceful, decent, civilized, liveable world are considered radical in the context these people create.
I'm glad she included the graph with the death tolls from sanctions. I knew it was going to be a grotesquely large number of people, but 38 million was still a surprise (and that's only through 2021). It's also very revealing that the Democratic administrations, the self-proclaimed "party of peace", are no better than Rethuglican ones.
Edit: I suspect the only reason why the death tolls in later years are not as high is because countries like Russia, Iran, and Venezuela have gone to the trouble of "sanction-proofing" their economies as much as possible. BRICS+ for the win!
Well put.
I am grateful to share space in time with you : )
The problem is that decent normal humans are very sensitive to being called terrorists, radicals, etc., and spend considerable time and effort defending themselves. The western fascists do not care. They just call "terrorists" and "radicals" whomever they don't like. West only wants to steal, plunder, enslave, submit, and genocide. Projections, double standards, fascism, zionism, and supremacism is the "way of the West". While all normal people want to live in peace, I doubt that the real peace and prosperity will ever exist on this sorry planet until the supremacist judeo-nazi western ideology is defeated. Integrity, truth and facts will never win over western supremacism, hate, and sense of exceptionalism. The sad fact is that this was all predictable 50+ years ago.
Sure!
They are bad, We are good.
And you are a Violent Terrorist Extremist (R) if you don't agree!
My point is that they , the bad guys, are more often than not recruited from the ‘ good’ guys.
I.e., if the system is bad, and if one is well adjusted to the system, then it follows that the well- adjusted are bad.
I would say that it's a matter of perspective.
If anyone did to the United States what Ukrainians or Israelis do themselves at home and to others abroad, they would be screaming for an invasion or worse.
But since Ukraine and Israel are American pets, their actions are by definition laudable.
In the final analysis, it’s all about the power of money. If one has money, one has power. Money brings protection, and the ultimate protection are nuclear arsenals.
Israel controls a lot of money, and therefore controls most of the world .
Power is power. Otherwise the Saudis or Chinese would be more powerful than they are.
Not everyone wants or desires to misuse power. Some people have integrity and honesty. Unfortunately, such humans will never gain real power in the rotten western culture. Only judeo-nazi a$$holes (israel and the greater "west") use power and money to subjugate, enslave, and genocide others.
This should come as NO surprise to anyone. I watched a recent interview between Tucker Carlson and Glenn Greenwald and Tucker Carlson said, he had US officials privately telling him that Israel runs the US Government.
No one in the US Government because they are bought off by the likes of Mossad or Miriam Adelson have the balls to place the State of Israel as a "foreign agent", thereby not allowing them to dictate US foreign policy.
Nothing new about that. It's been like this since forever, it seems. The US is occupied territory.
Sure, blame everything on anyone BUT the U.S., why not? Haven't you yet realized that Tucker Carlson (and his ilk) are America First and all about 'American Exceptionalism'?
Too many people are STILL being fooled/conned into thinking that 'Israel controls the U.S.', etc. The U.S. Empire Managers love such 'false narratives', as it gives them cover to pretend that they are not the 'head of the snake', the uber-terrorists.
Utter bullshit. When you have members of Congress and the US Government visiting Israel and have their picture taken huddled around BeeBee Nutten-Yahoo. When you have BeeBee addressing Congress, that indicates that the US Government is beholden to Israel and does as it says. We have more than just Tucker saying that the US Government has been bought and comprised by Israel. We have gone into wars we shouldn't have because Israel needed the US to take out its enemies.
So Tucker is correct and you are wrong. Again, Israel operates as a fucking Mafia Crime Family.
Sorry, your explanation failed. But of course, you wouldn't be able to see it any other way. That's what 'american exceptionalism' does to Americans - similar to what 'Jewish Exceptionalism/Supremacy' does to Israeli Jews/Zionists.
Your WHOLE worldview revolves around your belief (just as an Israeli Zionist's worldview revolves around their beliefs). All the DATA POINTS you use in your analysis/opinion come from many of the following fallacies/biases - availability bias, survivorship bias, confirmation bias (look these up).
>>"Israel operates as a fucking Mafia Crime Family."
YES! And worse. Israel would put the mafia to shame.
What you (and many others) fail to realize is that TWO things can be TRUE at the same time. Just because Israel is EVIL does not automatically translate to 'Israel controls the U.S.'. If you studied World History, you would know that the U.S. Empire is magnitudes of EVIL worse than anyone else (did you read this current article by Caitlin and look at the graph provided by Jason Hickle? (https://x.com/jasonhickel/status/1967151376200544495))
38 Million deaths (upto 2021 - before the recent Genocide started). Think again!
The Mafia was Jewish.
There isn't just ONE mafia. There are many - from different nationalities, ethnicities, and more.
BTW, you should read Caitlin's article to understand who the REAL bad guys are - i.e. the bad guys behind the bad guys - the U.S. Empire.
I am referring the the “Italian” Mafia in the U.S.
Chang - or should that be Sam? - (btw.I agree with everything Caitlin says) - I do understand who the real bad guys are - it's the US Empire under the total control of Israel.
And there I thought the original Mafia was Italian, and Italians tend to be catholic. But who cares. That's just meaningless nitpicking and finger pointing.
Yes the two things can be true at the same time. Israel, through the Zionist international bankers and their control of major western corporations, does control USA foreign policy as applies to Israel's genocidal expansion plans. It is almost (yes, there a few token gadflies) impossible to remain a member of US Congress and oppose Zionism. US intel agencies are linked with Mossad on anything involving West Asia. A similar situation exists within many NATO governments. I suspect, but cannot prove, they are involved in the Ukraine conflict as well for the purpose of distracting Russia while they expand in West Asia.
That said, it is unlikely the Zionists are involved in US hegemony in Central and South America, Africa and East Asia. Certainly Vietnam was not a Zionist project, for example. Nor the coup in Chile, or the regime change in Panama.
Yes. It is a symbiotic relationship - and a complicated one. But it goes much deeper than 'you scratch my back, and I'll scratch yours'.
Israel carries out regime change operations and assassinations on the behest of the U.S. Empire (and for the interests of the U.S. Empire) throughout the world, and Israel manages and maintains U.S. interests and hegemony in the MENA region (there's quite a bit of history on this).
The following are books I would recommend reading to understand the complicated (sometimes antagonistic, often mutually beneficial) dalliance between Israel and the U.S. ->
(1) "Our American Israel: The Story of an Entangled Alliance" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/38926072)
(2) "Dark Crusade: Christian Zionism and US Foreign Policy" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/7021106)
(3) "We Are Not One: A History of America’s Fight Over Israel" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/60568258)
(4) "Brokers of Deceit: How the U.S. Has Undermined Peace in the Middle East" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18077896)
(5) "Architects of Repression: How Israel and Its Lobby Put Racism, Violence and Injustice at the Center of US Middle East Policy" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58638638)
(6) "The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World" (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/121075698)
There are dozens more, but this should be a good start to understanding the relationship...
You: 💯
Couldn't agree more, Rodster. Zionista took control of the US by 1913 with the Federal Reserve Private Bank and the IRS. Shortly thereafter, they pushed for WW1 and WW2, culminating in the prepped creation of their home base, Israel, backed by the Ununited Nations. The Zios run pretty much everything including both sides of the Ukraine/Russia war, slaughtering Ukranians to soften it up in order to create TelAviv North. Only the blind can't see it.
You: 💯
There is also huge support among the 80 million Christian Zionists in the US for the "Israel Project".
The power of their votes and money has to be taken into account in the influence that a small piece of sand has.
But I think it goes even further. Remember the "in God we trust"? Here we are getting closer, IMO, to to the root of evil.
Religion.
The unquestioning belief of humans in a god, and belief that whatever is done in his name is good.
USA and israel just two (evil) sides of the same evil coin. They both compete who can be worse and eviller.
Sweety, didn't you know that every US politician is forced to travel to Israel to be indoctrinated there before he is allowed to take office in the US?
Duh! If I was corrupt and immoral, and I had a lot to gain (for me and my friends), I too would travel to Israel (or wherever else I needed to).
And you apparently have been fooled/conned into thinking that Israel doesn't control the US. Just a coincidence that US congressmen have to visit Israel. And the US is not the only one. Thank God people are becoming more aware of what you tried to keep hidden for far too long.
There is a reason Americans are often considered 'not the brightest bulb' around - and you exemplify such characteristics. They are so easily fooled by American propaganda. As further proof of 'american stupidity', one has to look no further than to the election of Donald Trump (and for the 2nd time of all things). Need anyone say anything more? No wonder it has been so easy for Israeli Zionists to get American support for their Genocide.
I have to agree on some of that. Thank the Lord I am a European and well educated, BA, MA, Ph.D.
Being from Europe (or from anywhere else in the world) or holding multiple PHDs (or nobel prizes) is no guarantee of 'critical thinking' skills. People often confuse these skills with 'education' or 'intelligence', etc.
I've come across people with no formal education still somehow having adequate critical thinking and media literacy skills, and I have also come across highly educated, accomplished, and intelligent people make simple errors in thinking due to their lack of adequate critical thinking skills.
(i.e. correlation between education/intelligence and thinking processes is not linear, though there is some positive correlation).
Please go away and leave me in peace. The world is full of hate and cruelty. I don't need you and your hatred and insults
Sweetheart, anyone who knows anything must know by now that the US is under total control of Israel. Why else would US Congress have to swear alliance to Israel???? No one can swear obedience to two masters at the same time.
haha, you have fallen into the trap of plausible denialism. Israel controls the US just like the hand that types this message controls my entire body. Z1onism is another flavor of fascism that's using human shields of jewish identity to deflect criticism.
Hear ya, Do average Amerikans have the brain power to decide for themselves...Because the real problem is at "Home" it's called AIPAC.....Got it
"Extremist" simply means "anyone who opposes the existing power structure".
"Terrorist" means "freedom fighter for a cause I don't like".
Power to the People.
All systems eventually become oligarchies.
That would be an interesting paper. Is it even possible to have a system controlled by humans that works for all people. Marx/Engels tried and we didn't listen. We live in not so interesting times my friend. Peace and Love where you can find it : )
Off to listen to the Who "We Won't Be Fooled Again" and then Wolfe Zio Blitzer Happening Now CNN update.
“Power to the people”
Yes, but that is the problem isn’t it? “The people” are you and me. Yet, look at the messes We have created.
Free Palestine and all will be free? Control the narrative at this moment. Israel is a Terrorist Genociding Made Up State. Could canceling it help "We"? Help Wanted. Free Palestine and the world from the Colonizers.
Chuck..
Thanks for the reply, although I’m not quite certain about your point.
On another note, freedom is a very tenuous commodity these days…
Netanyahu once defined terrorism as killing or harming civilians for political gain. Now that is his admitted policy and yet he calls his victims terrorists.
Yes, and he knows full well that he is a hypocrite, and it bothers him not a whit.
During his latest appearance at the UN calling for Hamas to either surrender or die, he looked very stressed out.
Control over the narrative has been lost, the world is turning against him and his fascist shithole, he's becoming desperate.
As long as the Americans stand by him, he has nothing to fear.
You can’t fund a genocide, attack a sovereign country (Iran), threaten the people of another country (Russia and China), and try and use coercion (tariffs and sanctions) to manipulate the economies of the world and call yourself a “Democracy” and nation that stands by “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of happiness.”
Well, the problem is that you can do that, and they do do that. It just isn't true, but for those that want to believe, or avoid the flack, they are more than happy to hear, and rely on, that story.
Excellent summary, TT
Agree but so called western "democracy" does not exclude fascist political system - in fact prefers it. And in which way is judeo-nazi west "democratic". Choose between war criminal A, B, or C.
The West is the axis of applied, long-tern evil.
But it's hegemony will end.
It's not the 18th century.
FREE PALESTINE
DESTROY FASCISM
I would call these freaks not only extremists, but also Nazis. They are the fulfillment of Adolf Hitler's dream. The United States, its colonies, and its followers are the worst thing that Hitler could have imagined.
Actually, the German Nazis simply copied the US for apartheid and domestic repression, and the British Empire for overseas colonies/resources.
The Germans were not punished for Nazism, but for losing the war against the USSR.
Reading more about the Nazis, Hitler drew from our own colonization/purification in the u.s. in the destruction of the indigenous peoples. Our 1% was in contact with Hitler at his rise to power or so I have read.
I read that Hitler was brought to power and built his military industry by Western elites. Including the United States and Britain. Standard Oil used to refuel German submarines off the coast of Bermuda until 1944. For example, Henry Ford was a fan of Hitler. And Ford was very important to the U.S. industry.
What about it do YOU fail to understand? You praise the Nazis and you are a Nazi.
To create a war and profit from it an enemy might be supported until it is strong enough to make a profitable participant It might also be provoked until it must respond. This does not make either side good, in fact both may be evil, but it is possible to pity the discarded tools and those with their backs against the wall.. Why exactly are Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Dresden not worse that Nazi labor camps. Why did Allied bombing often target the worker housing around German factories and spare the factories themselves?
hiroshima, nagasaki, dresden and the nazi 'labor' camps were perpetrated by the same class (those who owned the factories).
the ruling class lied about opposing the nazis who were (are) their 'useful idiots'.
I live in Russia. The National Socialists came to us with war. It is not propaganda that tells us about their atrocities, but historical science and archival documents. The atrocities committed by the Nazis are a historical fact.
"Russians" is not just a nationality, it is a community of the Russian World. By the way, Stalin called himself a "Russian of Georgian origin". My neighbor is a Buryat, but he is Russian!
Who do you think writes archival documents?
No one edits anything in the archives. You can see for yourself by looking at the original documents. And Solzhenitsyn is a traitor and a liar.
So glad you called out the so-called “moderates” for the extremists they are, Caitlin. They’ve been hiding behind this label for far too long. It gives them legitimacy, when they should have none. Have you noticed that the application of “moderate” and “centrist” is mostly self-labeling. The Democrats are especially adept at this. You can find them on a regular basis in the comment sections of the NYT, complaining about the “extremists” and “leftists” in the party. There are no leftists in the Democratic Party, and, since the election of Clinton, it has absorbed right wing Republicans who call themselves Democrats (and “centrists”), who, as Chris Hedges has noted, have basically taken over the party.
I was recently called a Trump enabler by a self-labeled “communist” on Substack, Paul Street, who championed in a column the publication by talking head Rachel Maddow of a book on fascism. In the nearly two years of the genocide in Gaza, Maddow, and most of her cohorts on MSNBC have not once, that’s right, not even a single time, uttered the word Gaza, much less, “genocide.” If you don’t even acknowledge that a place exists (like the Israeli’s with respect to Palestine), you obviously don’t need to acknowledge a genocide.
Maddow has had a platform on MSNBC several times a week for the nearly two years since the atrocities began, but, as demonstrated by her total lack of coverage, they’re not worth mentioning. Yet they will spend days, not hours, discussing Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension from ABC and James Comey’s indictment — you know, the things that work up the base.
Street admonished the”left” for its failure to acknowledge the need to “work with” “moderates” like Maddow to fight fascism. When I commented that total silence about a genocide made one complicit in it and removed any claim to moderation, Street launched into a vitriolic attack on me and another commenter. I also pointed out in my comment that “working with” “centrist” Democrats like Maddow generally meant voting for the “centrist” Democrat of their choice (one who has consistently supported genocide) , that is, staying in line. That earned me Street’s label of Trump enabler, except that he created a semi-German word to label me, presumably comparing me to a Nazi.
It’s worth noting, too, that in her book (which I have not read, but did hear her describe in an interview) Maddow included “antisemitism” as an element of fascism. I don’t pretend to be an expert on fascism, but nothing I have read by scholars on the subject includes antisemitism as an element. Jews were of course the primary target of the Nazis, but more generally, fascism is defined among other things as including an oppressed, generally minority group, to be scapegoated and demonized. So, including antisemitism as an element conveniently excludes by definition Israel as a potential perpetrator of fascism, even though it meets all of the elements of the definition according to scholars of both genocide and fascism.
I think you have hit upon one of the most important challenges of our time — the misuse of language and labels to excuse extremists for their extremism. What’s more extreme than genocide, or enabling genocide by your silence? The problem is, genocide against the Palestinians has been normalized by these same people — the propagandists in the mainstream media, the politicians of both parties, and the people who vote for them. Thus, one of our most important challenges is calling them out, setting things straight. Otherwise, we’re accepting a truly Orwellian world.
Anyone who listens to ( or reads) Rachel Madcow is a fool.
Rachel Madcow is zionist jew. How else would you explain her "successful" career on MSM. There are many more smarter women, but they will never get the chance and resources. That is how jews are "successful" propaganda is made. It is all by design.
It's a form of wishful thinking, pretending that Team D luminaries really really deep down inside are on our side.
They are not.
I love you.
Meeow?
Paul Street is one of the reasons I stopped subscribing to Counterpunch. I'm not going to pay money to orgs that give such obvious establishments plants a platform.
Glad you got that, too. I was dismayed that in a Q. & A. on a recent Chris Hedges Substack, a questioner suggested that Hedges interview Street. Hedges replied that he had interviewed Street in the past, “liked” him, and would consider interviewing him again. I protested in a comment, but of course don’t know whether it took. I told Street that although he called himself a communist, he sounded more like an establishment Democrat. Although I have no evidence for it, I began to wonder about AIPAC funding, too. Truth Dig, which no longer exists, was infiltrated by a number of AIPAC plants whose ruse included being more “left” than thou, as if it were a competition.
Still I consider Chris Hedges a kind, and caring person. Anyone who teaches in a prison is a positive contribution to us all.
I subscribe to Hedges’ Substack site, even though he makes it available for free. He’s a voice of sanity in the wilderness. I trust his integrity.
Me too : ) Chris recently even though he has in the past differed commenting on his political position said he is a Socialist. I usually don't care what someones political position is if the work they do is useful in my life.
Agree.
I don't know what kind of "Communist" he is, but after reading a few articles by him, I'd say it's no further left than the "Momdani" type of "communist".
"I went on a march once as a teenager, and OHH look how fascist the Republicans are!!"
👏👏
Dear Caitlin, you've summed it up in just a few lines. Those responsible are the money controllers who appoint governments and finance states and multinationals. Everything else is a consequence.
The Extremist
I am a fine vintage wine extremist.
A (former) Cleveland Indians extremist.
A late-to-bed, late-to-rise extremist.
A "what the hell happened to my blue skies?" extremist.
A silence extremist. (I cannot stand pointless noise and will get irate at those who make it.)
A good poetry extremist. (I hate the vast majority of the dreck written by my worthy contemporaries.)
A fine art extremist. (I hate most contemporary art. I particularly dislike the commerce and institutions behind it.)
A medieval architecture extremist. (The myths of Christianity are silly, but the art and architecture are sublime. I'll take a thousand-year-old Romanesque country church over anything by Frank Gehry or I.M. Pei. The sober stone monuments will still be standing long after those houses of cards have fallen.)
A Technicolor extremist. (Cinema has been all downhill since celluloid was scrapped as too expensive in order to pay vast undeserved sums to untalented actors unworthy even to light Charles Boyer's cigarette.)
An analogue extremist. (Pop music has been all downhill since the onset of digital.)
A blogger-in-his-mother's-basement extremist. (I'll take the disinterested ravings of a self-styled commentator, however idiotic, over the corrupt, manipulative, prehensile fumes of anything in the New York Times or on TV.)
A truth extremist. (I've always relied on my lying eyes. And sense of smell.)
Very clear and incisive. Criminals exposed. As if we still believe in "creating peace through war", "Forced behaviour change" (WEF) and Forced Peace (i.e. silence).
The fog is lifting.
Entirely correct! Thank you.
60 years ago, when I was 20, Martin Luther King told us the USA was the #1 purveyor of violence in the world. We have failed to grow up significantly in those past 60 years.
That was true then, and it may still be true today, although Israel is bucking for pointman.
Exactly!
One could even make the case that we (the US) have regressed...
At the U.N. Pakistan brings up Hind Rajab !
TY all for Palestine. Cancel Israel. Thank you Caitlin and Tim.
Like Supertramp’s song from 1974 - You’re both “Bloody Well Right”.
Those who control the media and those that willingly spew the lies we are inundated with 24-7 are also violent extremists.. The US government was ' Fundamentally Transformed' into a fascist dictatorship, essentially a kleptocracy of Oligarchs predominantly Ultra Zionist extremists. An empire of lies few Americans accept as legitimate.