DEATHCOM: a deeply held American tradition dating at least back to the extermination of the Native people. I do not believe it ever transmuted, healed, or otherwise improved in character. DEATHCOM: call it what you will. It is what it is.
Nice one, Vin: 'DEATHCOM', perfect tag! Now, I know this is stretching things, not, but is it remotely possible that the IDF might have brought down the chopper? Would they ever stoop so low? Fucking oath. They have proven history in dirty deeds done cheap.
That I would believe in a second, even if they denied it - which is usual for them, and they have done it before to get the dumb Americans to do their fighting for them.
well said Mr. LoPresti. i believe deathcom is simply the underlying theme of all these other "COMs". I also don't believe it changed for the better either over time, just as you said
We arrive at the synthesis. Israel is not a rogue democratic ally. It is the vanguard of Western capitalism’s descent into naked fascism. It is the Polyglot of Evil made manifest, where the cross, the flag, the stock ticker, and the organized crime syndicate unite to sanction murder.
Israel is a strategic US military base for control of access to all of the fossil fuels of the Middle East and North Africa. Israel would cease to exist without the ongoing support of the USA. Israel is surrounded by too many enemies of its own making.
Thing is, we don't need that oil. Haven't for a while, America is the #1 exporter of fossil fuels, and it's all a global marketplace now.
But them Israelis, they certainly would like to get their hands on it, by rook or by crook, regardless of how many Arabs must die. The Greater Israel Project made manifest.
But it's not just Oil itself. It's about the power of PETRODOLLAR.
Remember, US dollar is only backed by the Oil (ever since the Gold standard was terminated in 1971 and the US/Wall St. made the Petrodollar deal with the Saudis in 1974)
The US dollar is also backed by the belief that US global military power makes the USA a reliable debtor and creditor, simultaneously.
The US defense contractors produce substantial quantities of weapons of many varieties. The USA trades weapons for oil and natural gas. The transactions may be convoluted to obscure transparency, but they are very real.
NATO member countries are obliged to buy US weapons via whatever currency is convenient for the USA, including petrodollars or resources or technologies that are not available in the USA.
Clean energy sources can eliminate the dependence upon fossil fuels, entirely. The US fossil fuels executives have known that for decades but continue to lobby Congress for more of the subsidies that those industries have been enjoying for more than a century.
Equivalent subsidies for clean energy, and eliminating fossil fuels subsidies, can change the game quickly. The government of China is making great progress in that direction.
The US strategic oil reserves are being depleted while the Trump regime is attempting to fulfill its promise to lower fuel prices for Americans. Concurrently, the US fossil fuels industries will sell their products to the highest bidders in the world.
Pumping oil from the declining volume of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We are at 310 million barrels and the minimum lower limit is 150 million barrels without the salt caves collapsing. It is suggested that a large fraction of that 300 million is of extremely low grade having sat in storage for decades as the solids settled out. The reason we import crude oil is our refineries. We import Jet Fuel and Diesel from Canada. The true story is access to those refined products, the world has little or no storage. In order to pump anything you have to have a system that is full.
These things are all true. The US is exporting large amounts of oil and gas, but must import some grades for diesel and for the refineries--refineries can't just work with anything, some are good for heavy oil, others for the light sweet crude--and it's also true that oil is sold on the world market so prices rise here even if we have a great deal of domestic supply; and it's also true that it's being extracted like there's no tomorrow, but will run low before too much longer. From the point of view of US politicians and capitalists, there IS no long-term tomorrow--what matters if the price of gas at the next election, the profits that can be made on that fossil fuel today. If assuring these things for this year means that in ten years, or twenty, Americans are struggling for survival in a heat-ravaged and polluted country with little access to advanced energy sources (including renewables since they successfully blocked most of the potential buildout of those)--shrug. The people with power care about the short-term interests of themselves, and nothing else.
Anyone who defends themselves is considered a terrorist. The word has lost all meaning, except for the US and Israel, who are the real terrorists here. Every accusation is a confession. Everything the US and Israel accuse others of, they themselves are guilty of: terrorism, war crimes, danger to world peace, rape of prisoner, torture, sadism...The fact that so many Americans are not seeing through this and really keep thinking they are the good guys is what is mind boggling here.
It can’t be any more in the open. Shit right now US legislators are going thru the process of military integration (technology, data, etc) with Israel. It’s should be a treasonable offense already. The other day the Pentagon issued a statement that the risk of Israel spying was at an all time high.
Make that make sense. They are definitely trying to overwhelm the zeitgeist.
Section 224 of the 2027 NDAA will lock the US and Israel together, and the NDAA will pass in the House and likely in the Senate. And the Senate has another bill in work (S-4615) that will make intelligence sharing between the US and Israel essentially mandatory. And there's the House bill that would give "US citizens" that served in the IDF the same veterans benefits as those who served in the US military.
I never agreed with his politics, but Pat Buchanan was correct when he called Congress "Israeli occupied territory."
You makes great points Chatter. I don’t dispute any of it. That being said when will the majority of the World say “Enough, we will not be your proxy?” Ukraine has refused obviously and continues to feed its citizens into the meat grinder from hell.
Our troops (esp the younger generations) are catching on I suspect. Hopefully they buckle before the Robot army replaces them.
For many of them, the Capitalist Ruling Class leaves no other choice.
Think about it, US has that huge PRIVATE Prison Industrial Complex, which is a modern form of slavery..
For example, the "UNICOR" Corp., being part of the Military Industrial Complex, has more than 150 private prison factories. In 2021, the inmates' hourly wage there was between $0.23 and $1.15, while the minimal wage of a "free" American was $7.25. How? Thanks to that nice little exclusion in the 13th Amendment that basically equates prisoners and slaves..
The Largest prison population on the planet. And the Largest arms expenditure.. Coincidence?
***
FYI - U.S. Spends more on "Defense" (now officially "The Department Of War") than the next 9 countries COMBINED -- none of whom want war with USA.
Since 1980, defense spending has risen by 62%, climbing from $506 billion to $820 billion by 2023, after adjusting for inflation.
All put on the taxpayer's credit card beginning with Reagan.
***
Trump Calls To Increase U.S. Military Spending to $1.5 Trillion Dollars:
Thanks for the precise info. Have heard it will be next to impossible to untangle. Initially I had also heard it was leaked. That made me assume the goal was to pass it quietly and then cut funding to Israel. The “Cut funding” idea has been planted and played by the ZioShills.
And then several days ago per NBC News “Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying to the highest level ever” (exact quote).
It’s truly hard to fathom what the point of this story is aside from smacking those paying attention across the face. It’s worked.
If it goes through, there's a built in lobby in the US - all the defense contractors who will get big money contracts.
It is confusing and makes me think it's all sleight of hand to get people to look here, look there. But I do believe there are people within the Pentagon (both civilian and military) who see what's coming and fearful for what it means for the US.
Might come a change in the air. Seems the far right and the actual left have something in common, a deep distrust of foreign intrusion in domestic affairs, carte blanche. No questions asked. And while the Tucker Carlsons of the world might be motivated by traditional racism and Jewish stereotypes, most of us can see clearly with out own eyes how absurd, immoral, and unjust this situation is, and the political landscape of America will slowly adjust to it. I, for one, am never voting for anyone that supports Israel, in any way. Most of my friends and acquaintances that vote feel the same way. So good luck, Chuck Schumer.
Good God, Luke! Only one thing that matters? What's that one thing? Stopping the US-Israel merger? Stopping the current US empire's wars? Preventing nuclear war, which is surely at the highest risk level since 1962? Fending off the combined threats of climate change and biodiversity loss and pollution by forever chemicals that threatens human survival? Stopping the burgeoning global police state fed by the new tech of surveillance and violence? Or have I missed the "one thing that matters" among all this trivia?
"The smart way to keep people passive & obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum"
***
You may debate weed, abortions and genders, but try serious discussion of military budget and see what happens..
"Basket of deplorables" is only allowed to discuss transgenderism, pronouns and UFO
I think there isn't a day where the USA is not in war. I include the all wars against it's own people: descendants of slaves, black people, Latino people, Mexicans, Asian Americans, indigenous people, women, the LGTBQ community, journalists, everyone with a conscious, non-fundie Christians, peace activities, college and university students, immigrants.
Yes, Thomas Massie told the story on the floor. I also learned there is a very small library in rural Wisconsin. I believe it was 1987 they named the library after the USS Library. The ADL and Co were on them from the start. They have been able to keep the name tho apparently. I only learned of this a couple years ago.
And it's all cynical expediency with the US. "Terrorists" become "allies", and "allies" become "terrorists". It all depends on when someone is useful to the empire.
Saddam Hussein was an ally when he attacked Iran in the 1980s, then he became a terrorist after attacking Kuwait, with recent reporting suggesting he was fearful that Kuwait was conspiring with the US and Israel to attack him.
Julani (now called al-Sharaa), the Al Qaeda head chopper was a terrorist, now he's an ally and the President of Syria, and was received at the White House by Trump.
It was also reported that before invading Iraq, Hussein asked the US ambassador and was told that the US wasn't interested in inter-Arab squabbles. So it looks like he was set up.
What kinds of warped and twisted minds call bombing a country on the other side of the world self defence when they started an unprovoked war against the country it's bombing?
Unfortunately, it's the war monger country in charge.
It is a laugh out loud statement from Centcom claiming self-defence. Iran is the innocent victim in this war. The USA and Israel attacked Iran and only Iran can legitimately claim self-defence. Gaza and Lebanon can also claim self-defence from the aggressors.
Words have no meaning when they can mean anything you want them to mean. Another greatly abused word is "ceasefire".
It's true that languages evolve but it's normally an organic process over time and not someone deliberating misusing a word to convey a lie as you point out.
When it comes to history and language it's a good idea to hold on to the old books that cannot be altered with keystrokes. IMO, that's a major reason student textbooks have gone digital. They can be updated to integrate the latest knowledge OR for propaganda purposes.
Until all wars are ended, all hostilities cease, all armies out of business forever, we will never have peace on this planet. It's our only option for survival: Shut down the war machine. Send the soldiers home. Lock up the war criminals who started this mess in the first place. Teach love and cooperation among peoples. Only then we will know peace.
Was watching Larry Johnson on Mario Nawfal's show today respond to this question. Larry was pretty adamant that if the Iranians had deliberately fired at the helicopter, the two pilots would not have survived - because the drop would be at least 1,000 feet or more, straight down, and there is no ejection seats in helicopters.
In addition, we know pretty well now that very little what the US announces can ever be trusted, while it is more likely the Iranians are telling the truth.
The two pilots surviving make it far more probable it was a collision with a drone, that allowed them to crash land in the water and miraculously survive.
Larry also went on to state that if Trump/US were actually seeking a peace deal, they would have also not made a big deal of the helicopter going down. Instead, it was used as an excuse for a significant retaliatory strike. Which implies: Trump really does have no intention of seeking peace right now - and the war will continue.
Yes. I follow Larry Johnson even when he's smoking a cigar. Don't know what it is about the guy - but he's apparently the IT pundit right now. He's on all the Independent youtube shows. Must be the Hawaiian shirts.
Could be. My understanding is that they wanted to eliminate witnesses to a war crime they were committing against Egypt. But yeah, if they eliminated all the witnesses they could then use that sinking as a false flag claim.
If you are not a US citizen, you have no idea how many millions of us feel tormented by the evil of the US Empire. It will take a political revolution, the replacement of the plutocracy with real democracy, and a strong democratic socialist movement (shockingly happening!) to even begin to change things. But in my 85 yrs, never has the possibility of change seemed more imaginable. Our most trusted and approved politician is a democratic socilialist leading the charge to stop the genocide in Israel by stopping the shipment of arms. The major of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world is a Muslim democratic socialist! Some try to demean these people but in fact, a real change is taking place that I never imagined was possible, and so I repeat as always, if you can't lend a hand, get out of the way.
i do not see my fellow Americans ( ie most of them) as evil accomplices in the crimes of the Empire but rather victims, just waking to the fact that they have been excluded from power while being told we are a democracy. Tho I am old, like Sanders...octogenarians, it is the young who are leading the charge, as always. They see Israel committing genocide, they see socialism as preferable to capitalism, and they have a vitality that is transorming the possibilities of change, significant change. Nothing is guaranteed; things could get worse, but it is my view, based on 65 yrs of study, reflection, and observtion, that the American people, ie the majority are sick and tired of the status quo, sick and tired of Trump's fake populism, sick and tired of wars, and eager to experiment with something that has always been a curse word. And so it maybe (a magical word) that the Empire is coming to an end (not without a violent reaction to loss) and that, at long last, the experiment with democracy, not the ake democracy of the slave owners or Wall St. plutocrats, but of the working class heros John Lennon sang about, Woodie Guthrie sang about, and today, even politicians are speaking about.......a democracy then of the people, a birthright betrayed for 250 years...maybe.
The power of money is in our minds. Money is a fiction, one we created, that now controls us, as do some of the other fictions mankind has come up with over the ages. The solution for the problems created by these fictions, at least in part, is most likely, also in the mind.
A friend, Luna, posted this comment this morning. She has no connection whatsoever with any forum that we know of.
She wrote: “How did the government get to own the Earth, and why do I have to pay to live here?”
As you suggest… it’s in our minds…. I once asked a government land agent if I could have a small piece of land somewhere in the country on which to build a home? Although I expected the answer, he didn’t disappoint when he answered: “you don’t think we are going to give you land for free do you?”
To this day it’s the pronoun ‘we ‘ that I remember the most.
Not sure I understand OTOH, and… what did the government do in the settler days? I assume you mean that the government gave land to settlers…
No matter, it’s what we, governments, do today that could change lots, but we don’t. If we’re the good guys, why don’t we change what needs to be changed, so that every person need not fear anyone to be sheltered?
Before money was invented (to fund wars), private property was invented to justify stealing the shared commons and fencing it off, creating a world once of equals now of haves and have nots. The solution is to reclaim the shared commons, starting with nationalizing AI to help in the process of taking bck what was stolen and then codified into law.
In a democracy, the government is us.. not them, not Him, not her, but us.
When WE are the government, in general, WE become the problem. What’s the saying that goes something like this….. Power corrupts, and corrupt absolutely.
Gandhi said it better…” be the change you want to see in the world”. Trouble is, when power comes rolling in, we become blind.
We will never have democratic rule until we realize we are not a democracy. We are not the government, which in Wash DC today is ruled by a bunch of billinairess and right wing stooges. We are the victims of a long fraud, under a Constitution written by slave owners who feared and despised democracy and created a firewall against it. Until we understand that fact, we will be victims of a Big Lie. And to be sure, power corrupts but so does lack of power. We need a political revolution to remove the Electoral College, the codification of a coup against the "consent of the governed" and the banning of money from the political process. Until that happens, we will have plutocracy, a system in which in the Senate, 94% of those who win have the most money. And we know who has the money, the rich, who rule by buying elections, the media, and laws and policies. Democracy is the goal, but until we realize it has been denied, we will never unite to fight for it.
‘They’. — the bad guys. —- are us. The “rich”, the ‘powerful’ and all the bad guys all come from one basic stock, Homo Sapiens. As far as I know , They are us.
Reduce or take away the power of wealth, and you can change the world. Otherwise, it’s the same old, same old.
Question … how can we remove the power of wealth, money?
I see a reaction being part of the explanation for the whole Trump phenomenon. It's because so many white people are attending Black Lives Matter protest, and Standing Rock, and using phrases like "white privilege"--and accepting gay marriage and even trans people--and talking about phasing out fossil fuels, and the rights of nature, and questioning human exceptionalism--that the Trump guys arrive as a backlash. Because a significant part of the population has advanced so farther in this direction that they felt the need to try to drag us back, not to the 1952 of Trump's first term, but to 1852. They are reaching for control over virtually all media, but the more they enshittify the likes of CBS, the more people reach for the likes of Caitlin, and a thousand podcasters. They are building concentration camps all over the US, initially filling them with immigrants, but you know they're coming for "terrorists" next, meaning anyone who isn't MAGA. And they're building data centers everywhere, one part of which is the Panopticon they plan to use to control us all. But these are being opposed everywhere, as people wake up very fast to the negatives of having one in your own backyard at least, if not to the need to stop allowing any more to be built anywhere.
For a fleeting moment I thought maybe DT had caved. Saw the clips of him not wanting to escalate again because that would keep the SoH closed for even longer. Turns out it was just another way to pull a sneak attack. Hope Iran wasn’t fooled.
USrael has no limits. I’m NOT confident that either of these 2 bullies won’t pull a nuclear attack. It’s a very unsettling dynamic. I believe too much is made about who controls who (IS vs US vs UK. Truth is the same Zionists rule the entirety of the West. Their goal of both world and regional domination is DOA if Iran walks away stronger.
"... In the negotiations, we are showing the world what America truly is and on what principles it actually operates. Simply exposing America’s real face, its repeated violation of agreements, breach of international law, and disregard for human rights, is in itself a victory for us."
Sorry, but the helicopter wasn’t “downed”. They are lying. It was likely attempting to shoot down a drone, but instead caught the drone in one of its rotors. But where was this supposed crash landing? The Strait of Hormuz is Omani or Iranian territorial waters.
Good question why have all these world wide commands if not to rule over the world?? The continental US has never been under threat since 1812 and no country has any desire to take over a nation with 400 million guns in civilian hands.
One of the reasons Hitler came to power is because the Social Democratic party in Germany was corrupt and weak. Same as the Democratic party here in the US today.
Disease is a function of two variables: power of resistance and strength of injurious stimulus.
In the case of Trump, he was easily beatable. Not a strong candidate by any measure. But the "power of resistance" - the Democratic party was nothing but a corporately run scam, offering Jack to the American people. A shadow of its former glory under someone like Roosevelt and his New Deal.
DEATHCOM: a deeply held American tradition dating at least back to the extermination of the Native people. I do not believe it ever transmuted, healed, or otherwise improved in character. DEATHCOM: call it what you will. It is what it is.
Nice one, Vin: 'DEATHCOM', perfect tag! Now, I know this is stretching things, not, but is it remotely possible that the IDF might have brought down the chopper? Would they ever stoop so low? Fucking oath. They have proven history in dirty deeds done cheap.
If the IDF could sink the USS Liberty--they could shoot down a helicopter.
Although to be fair, they only tried to sink the Liberty, it did not go down, no thanks to their trying.
That I would believe in a second, even if they denied it - which is usual for them, and they have done it before to get the dumb Americans to do their fighting for them.
Especially if they denied it.
There, fixed it for you.
Certainly they could have, but why doubt that Iran shot down a US helicopter overhead when the US is making war on them?
Damn hahaha, spot on. War for the 1%. The only way any of this makes sense is if the continued burn it down buy it back for 10% is in full force.
well said Mr. LoPresti. i believe deathcom is simply the underlying theme of all these other "COMs". I also don't believe it changed for the better either over time, just as you said
We arrive at the synthesis. Israel is not a rogue democratic ally. It is the vanguard of Western capitalism’s descent into naked fascism. It is the Polyglot of Evil made manifest, where the cross, the flag, the stock ticker, and the organized crime syndicate unite to sanction murder.
https://griobhtha1.substack.com/p/the-imperial-garrison-how-western
Israel is a strategic US military base for control of access to all of the fossil fuels of the Middle East and North Africa. Israel would cease to exist without the ongoing support of the USA. Israel is surrounded by too many enemies of its own making.
Thing is, we don't need that oil. Haven't for a while, America is the #1 exporter of fossil fuels, and it's all a global marketplace now.
But them Israelis, they certainly would like to get their hands on it, by rook or by crook, regardless of how many Arabs must die. The Greater Israel Project made manifest.
But it's not just Oil itself. It's about the power of PETRODOLLAR.
Remember, US dollar is only backed by the Oil (ever since the Gold standard was terminated in 1971 and the US/Wall St. made the Petrodollar deal with the Saudis in 1974)
youtu.be/3DEXReFGb24?t=1737
youtu.be/0nt1CgQsgpI?t=299
***
Dedollarization: How Iran challenges US dollar dominance and the petrodollar system:
youtube.com/watch?v=_ziGNmvOh6k&t=215s
The US dollar is also backed by the belief that US global military power makes the USA a reliable debtor and creditor, simultaneously.
The US defense contractors produce substantial quantities of weapons of many varieties. The USA trades weapons for oil and natural gas. The transactions may be convoluted to obscure transparency, but they are very real.
NATO member countries are obliged to buy US weapons via whatever currency is convenient for the USA, including petrodollars or resources or technologies that are not available in the USA.
Those 800+ overseas US military bases around the world provide constant export of Imperiali.. "democracy" and "freedom" ...
***
youtu.be/8w7MFJZA9_w?t=206
youtu.be/NpjDyhGyjNk?t=817
youtu.be/zHBYevzaNIE?t=707
The billionaires, mega-millionaires and Capitalist corporations who benefit from those bases don’t want to pay the necessary taxes to support them.
Clean energy sources can eliminate the dependence upon fossil fuels, entirely. The US fossil fuels executives have known that for decades but continue to lobby Congress for more of the subsidies that those industries have been enjoying for more than a century.
Equivalent subsidies for clean energy, and eliminating fossil fuels subsidies, can change the game quickly. The government of China is making great progress in that direction.
From what I have read American reserves are getting low.
The US strategic oil reserves are being depleted while the Trump regime is attempting to fulfill its promise to lower fuel prices for Americans. Concurrently, the US fossil fuels industries will sell their products to the highest bidders in the world.
New Mexico is pumping oil at record speed. “Surplus” is at an all time high…
Pumping oil from the declining volume of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. We are at 310 million barrels and the minimum lower limit is 150 million barrels without the salt caves collapsing. It is suggested that a large fraction of that 300 million is of extremely low grade having sat in storage for decades as the solids settled out. The reason we import crude oil is our refineries. We import Jet Fuel and Diesel from Canada. The true story is access to those refined products, the world has little or no storage. In order to pump anything you have to have a system that is full.
I guess it depends on what you read.
These things are all true. The US is exporting large amounts of oil and gas, but must import some grades for diesel and for the refineries--refineries can't just work with anything, some are good for heavy oil, others for the light sweet crude--and it's also true that oil is sold on the world market so prices rise here even if we have a great deal of domestic supply; and it's also true that it's being extracted like there's no tomorrow, but will run low before too much longer. From the point of view of US politicians and capitalists, there IS no long-term tomorrow--what matters if the price of gas at the next election, the profits that can be made on that fossil fuel today. If assuring these things for this year means that in ten years, or twenty, Americans are struggling for survival in a heat-ravaged and polluted country with little access to advanced energy sources (including renewables since they successfully blocked most of the potential buildout of those)--shrug. The people with power care about the short-term interests of themselves, and nothing else.
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/6/21/palestines-forgotten-oil-and-gas-resources
Israeli propaganda mills deny the existence of fossil fuels in Palestine. British geologists believed otherwise, a hundred years ago.
Excellent comment, Sean. Beautifully put.
"It is the Polyglot of Evil made manifest" Are you sure you don't mean the Polymarket of Evil?
Yes. It’s actually a separate essay.
https://griobhtha1.substack.com/p/the-polyglot-of-evil
Anyone who defends themselves is considered a terrorist. The word has lost all meaning, except for the US and Israel, who are the real terrorists here. Every accusation is a confession. Everything the US and Israel accuse others of, they themselves are guilty of: terrorism, war crimes, danger to world peace, rape of prisoner, torture, sadism...The fact that so many Americans are not seeing through this and really keep thinking they are the good guys is what is mind boggling here.
It can’t be any more in the open. Shit right now US legislators are going thru the process of military integration (technology, data, etc) with Israel. It’s should be a treasonable offense already. The other day the Pentagon issued a statement that the risk of Israel spying was at an all time high.
Make that make sense. They are definitely trying to overwhelm the zeitgeist.
Section 224 of the 2027 NDAA will lock the US and Israel together, and the NDAA will pass in the House and likely in the Senate. And the Senate has another bill in work (S-4615) that will make intelligence sharing between the US and Israel essentially mandatory. And there's the House bill that would give "US citizens" that served in the IDF the same veterans benefits as those who served in the US military.
I never agreed with his politics, but Pat Buchanan was correct when he called Congress "Israeli occupied territory."
And Australia through AUKUS Pillar 2, gets irretrievably locked into the US military and by extension, Israel's.
Shared values anyone?
Australia and Japan shall be used by US/NATO (AUKUS) as proxy against China just like Ukraine against Russia
youtube.com/watch?v=SvEBTV5V0TE
***
BTW When British captain Cook arrived in Australia, he proclaimed it to be "Terra nullius".
Does it remind you of the slogan "A land without people for people without a land"?
***
youtu.be/XhunR2o_mz0?t=961
youtube.com/shorts/gKovwFRnbpI
You makes great points Chatter. I don’t dispute any of it. That being said when will the majority of the World say “Enough, we will not be your proxy?” Ukraine has refused obviously and continues to feed its citizens into the meat grinder from hell.
Our troops (esp the younger generations) are catching on I suspect. Hopefully they buckle before the Robot army replaces them.
For many of them, the Capitalist Ruling Class leaves no other choice.
Think about it, US has that huge PRIVATE Prison Industrial Complex, which is a modern form of slavery..
For example, the "UNICOR" Corp., being part of the Military Industrial Complex, has more than 150 private prison factories. In 2021, the inmates' hourly wage there was between $0.23 and $1.15, while the minimal wage of a "free" American was $7.25. How? Thanks to that nice little exclusion in the 13th Amendment that basically equates prisoners and slaves..
The Largest prison population on the planet. And the Largest arms expenditure.. Coincidence?
***
FYI - U.S. Spends more on "Defense" (now officially "The Department Of War") than the next 9 countries COMBINED -- none of whom want war with USA.
Since 1980, defense spending has risen by 62%, climbing from $506 billion to $820 billion by 2023, after adjusting for inflation.
All put on the taxpayer's credit card beginning with Reagan.
***
Trump Calls To Increase U.S. Military Spending to $1.5 Trillion Dollars:
substack.com/home/post/p-183904816
Thanks for the precise info. Have heard it will be next to impossible to untangle. Initially I had also heard it was leaked. That made me assume the goal was to pass it quietly and then cut funding to Israel. The “Cut funding” idea has been planted and played by the ZioShills.
And then several days ago per NBC News “Pentagon raised threat of Israeli spying to the highest level ever” (exact quote).
It’s truly hard to fathom what the point of this story is aside from smacking those paying attention across the face. It’s worked.
If it goes through, there's a built in lobby in the US - all the defense contractors who will get big money contracts.
It is confusing and makes me think it's all sleight of hand to get people to look here, look there. But I do believe there are people within the Pentagon (both civilian and military) who see what's coming and fearful for what it means for the US.
Might come a change in the air. Seems the far right and the actual left have something in common, a deep distrust of foreign intrusion in domestic affairs, carte blanche. No questions asked. And while the Tucker Carlsons of the world might be motivated by traditional racism and Jewish stereotypes, most of us can see clearly with out own eyes how absurd, immoral, and unjust this situation is, and the political landscape of America will slowly adjust to it. I, for one, am never voting for anyone that supports Israel, in any way. Most of my friends and acquaintances that vote feel the same way. So good luck, Chuck Schumer.
I concur, there’s only one thing that matters and it must be stopped at all costs.
Good God, Luke! Only one thing that matters? What's that one thing? Stopping the US-Israel merger? Stopping the current US empire's wars? Preventing nuclear war, which is surely at the highest risk level since 1962? Fending off the combined threats of climate change and biodiversity loss and pollution by forever chemicals that threatens human survival? Stopping the burgeoning global police state fed by the new tech of surveillance and violence? Or have I missed the "one thing that matters" among all this trivia?
Perhaps there's a name for all of that combined? If so, I'd offer Pathocracy as my nominee.
This, and disclosures of alleged UFOs, is what the United States has. 250 years and this is all we have to show for it.
"The smart way to keep people passive & obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum"
***
You may debate weed, abortions and genders, but try serious discussion of military budget and see what happens..
"Basket of deplorables" is only allowed to discuss transgenderism, pronouns and UFO
Did you know that in 250 years of USA history it has been at war for 233 of them?
youtube.com/watch?v=ooMCvGlbbc4
***
Despite the US itself have never been invaded by a foreign military
***
US launched 253 military interventions since 1991, and 471 since 1798:
geopoliticaleconomy.com/2022/09/13/us-251-military-interventions-1991/
***
The US Wars killed up to 4 700 000 Humans since 2001:
https://costsofwar.watson.brown.edu/costs/human
https://www.thesouthasiatimes.com/story/US-WAR-2001
I think there isn't a day where the USA is not in war. I include the all wars against it's own people: descendants of slaves, black people, Latino people, Mexicans, Asian Americans, indigenous people, women, the LGTBQ community, journalists, everyone with a conscious, non-fundie Christians, peace activities, college and university students, immigrants.
"An Empire founded by war has to maintain itself by war"
-Montesquieu
***
substack.com/home/post/p-201348278
Plus israyhell KILLED 34 sailors/marines and wounded 171 more when they attacked the USS Liberty.
Yes, Thomas Massie told the story on the floor. I also learned there is a very small library in rural Wisconsin. I believe it was 1987 they named the library after the USS Library. The ADL and Co were on them from the start. They have been able to keep the name tho apparently. I only learned of this a couple years ago.
Apparently, per James LI, the library's name had a hard time getting approved as it was condemned as Hate speech.
AIPAC owns Congress. Mossad has a copy of Epsteins videos
Found this the other day. It’s still shocking to me. I wish the conspiracies were only still theories.
https://x.com/naasvzyl/status/2062855210486108427?s=46
And it's all cynical expediency with the US. "Terrorists" become "allies", and "allies" become "terrorists". It all depends on when someone is useful to the empire.
Saddam Hussein was an ally when he attacked Iran in the 1980s, then he became a terrorist after attacking Kuwait, with recent reporting suggesting he was fearful that Kuwait was conspiring with the US and Israel to attack him.
Julani (now called al-Sharaa), the Al Qaeda head chopper was a terrorist, now he's an ally and the President of Syria, and was received at the White House by Trump.
We are ruled by monsters.
Release the unrelated Epstein files.
Unrelated=unredacted.
It was also reported that before invading Iraq, Hussein asked the US ambassador and was told that the US wasn't interested in inter-Arab squabbles. So it looks like he was set up.
April Glaspie, a name that should live in infamy.
Your average Americsn believes what the telly news tells them. No need to dig deeper.
80 plus years of dumbing down and brainwashing will do it to you.
Fewer and fewer, though.
Big Satan and little Satan is the perspective from the east
What kinds of warped and twisted minds call bombing a country on the other side of the world self defence when they started an unprovoked war against the country it's bombing?
Unfortunately, it's the war monger country in charge.
Fortunately its power is diminishing rapidly.
"Fortunately its power is diminishing rapidly."
Not fast enough.
Concise and to the point!
Thank you
It is a laugh out loud statement from Centcom claiming self-defence. Iran is the innocent victim in this war. The USA and Israel attacked Iran and only Iran can legitimately claim self-defence. Gaza and Lebanon can also claim self-defence from the aggressors.
Words have no meaning when they can mean anything you want them to mean. Another greatly abused word is "ceasefire".
Like Humpty Dumpty said in Through the Looking Glass: Words mean exactly what I say they mean, nothing more, nothing less.
That could easily be Trump's motto. He said, "I decide what America First means".
Trump already has said as much.
But, surely the key phrase comes at the end of that speech: "‘The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master – that’s all.’"
Ceasefire: You cease and I'll keep firing.
In the United States, apparently dictionaries don't exist or completely outlawed.
Words that the right-wing and extreme Christian hacks redefined for their own purpose: woke, rainbow, ceasefire, intelligence. (any others?)
“ gay “ and “ marriage “ replying to Eddie.
“ gay “ and “ marriage “.
Replying to Eddie.
It's true that languages evolve but it's normally an organic process over time and not someone deliberating misusing a word to convey a lie as you point out.
When it comes to history and language it's a good idea to hold on to the old books that cannot be altered with keystrokes. IMO, that's a major reason student textbooks have gone digital. They can be updated to integrate the latest knowledge OR for propaganda purposes.
Start a war on a country; slaughter 165 little schoolgirls on day one with an illegal double-tap strike; blockade the "enemy"...
...then call their response, "unjustified".
Until all wars are ended, all hostilities cease, all armies out of business forever, we will never have peace on this planet. It's our only option for survival: Shut down the war machine. Send the soldiers home. Lock up the war criminals who started this mess in the first place. Teach love and cooperation among peoples. Only then we will know peace.
Shut down weapons manufacturers, who push for war for their profits.
Agreed! Start at the root of the problems…. I.e., the Power of Money .. cut the power of money, and the dragon will fall…
How? Make a suggestion please….
Kill the petrodollar first off... Capitalism will fall next.... Lock up the war criminals and the billionaires that profit from war...
Iran is claiming that it didn't shoot down the Blackhawk and that Israel were the ones who did it. Is this another false flag event?
I mean, it worked once before on the USS Liberty,so why not try it again.
Was watching Larry Johnson on Mario Nawfal's show today respond to this question. Larry was pretty adamant that if the Iranians had deliberately fired at the helicopter, the two pilots would not have survived - because the drop would be at least 1,000 feet or more, straight down, and there is no ejection seats in helicopters.
In addition, we know pretty well now that very little what the US announces can ever be trusted, while it is more likely the Iranians are telling the truth.
The two pilots surviving make it far more probable it was a collision with a drone, that allowed them to crash land in the water and miraculously survive.
Larry also went on to state that if Trump/US were actually seeking a peace deal, they would have also not made a big deal of the helicopter going down. Instead, it was used as an excuse for a significant retaliatory strike. Which implies: Trump really does have no intention of seeking peace right now - and the war will continue.
Exactly. Definitely has the signature of Mossad all over it.
Apache, not Blackhawk.
I wonder how Native Americans feel when their names are used for vehicles of death and empire?
Interesting update on the rescue of the US pilots. Unmanned drone boats (first I've heard of these) - a new face in modern warfare:
Unmanned drone boat rescues 2 US crew members after helicopter downed by Iranian drone: https://abcnews.com/Politics/unmanned-drone-boat-rescues-2-us-crew-members/story?id=133713326
See https://larrycjohnson.substack.com/p/battle-of-the-missiles-the-apache
Apparently, another news manipulation.
Yes. I follow Larry Johnson even when he's smoking a cigar. Don't know what it is about the guy - but he's apparently the IT pundit right now. He's on all the Independent youtube shows. Must be the Hawaiian shirts.
Never trust/believe “Israel”
Professional Victims Anonymous Inc.
CEO MAMMON. Any enemy of Israel is a friend of mine.
Once before? ha ha. I doubt it was only once--and the Liberty was not a false flag event but a covered up war crime.
But, the thinking goes that it was intended to be a false flag by completely destroying it, assuring no survivors, and blaming it on the UAR (Egypt).
Could be. My understanding is that they wanted to eliminate witnesses to a war crime they were committing against Egypt. But yeah, if they eliminated all the witnesses they could then use that sinking as a false flag claim.
Pearl harbour...9/11...October 7....on and on
It works everytime….
If you are not a US citizen, you have no idea how many millions of us feel tormented by the evil of the US Empire. It will take a political revolution, the replacement of the plutocracy with real democracy, and a strong democratic socialist movement (shockingly happening!) to even begin to change things. But in my 85 yrs, never has the possibility of change seemed more imaginable. Our most trusted and approved politician is a democratic socilialist leading the charge to stop the genocide in Israel by stopping the shipment of arms. The major of the city with the largest Jewish population in the world is a Muslim democratic socialist! Some try to demean these people but in fact, a real change is taking place that I never imagined was possible, and so I repeat as always, if you can't lend a hand, get out of the way.
i do not see my fellow Americans ( ie most of them) as evil accomplices in the crimes of the Empire but rather victims, just waking to the fact that they have been excluded from power while being told we are a democracy. Tho I am old, like Sanders...octogenarians, it is the young who are leading the charge, as always. They see Israel committing genocide, they see socialism as preferable to capitalism, and they have a vitality that is transorming the possibilities of change, significant change. Nothing is guaranteed; things could get worse, but it is my view, based on 65 yrs of study, reflection, and observtion, that the American people, ie the majority are sick and tired of the status quo, sick and tired of Trump's fake populism, sick and tired of wars, and eager to experiment with something that has always been a curse word. And so it maybe (a magical word) that the Empire is coming to an end (not without a violent reaction to loss) and that, at long last, the experiment with democracy, not the ake democracy of the slave owners or Wall St. plutocrats, but of the working class heros John Lennon sang about, Woodie Guthrie sang about, and today, even politicians are speaking about.......a democracy then of the people, a birthright betrayed for 250 years...maybe.
Remove the federal reserve easy fiat currency printing and return to real money and value.
With that the power to finance their endless wars comes to an end.
Good points Dale, but the centre of the problem is Money, or, better said The Power of Money.
Any ideas?
The power of money is in our minds. Money is a fiction, one we created, that now controls us, as do some of the other fictions mankind has come up with over the ages. The solution for the problems created by these fictions, at least in part, is most likely, also in the mind.
A friend, Luna, posted this comment this morning. She has no connection whatsoever with any forum that we know of.
She wrote: “How did the government get to own the Earth, and why do I have to pay to live here?”
As you suggest… it’s in our minds…. I once asked a government land agent if I could have a small piece of land somewhere in the country on which to build a home? Although I expected the answer, he didn’t disappoint when he answered: “you don’t think we are going to give you land for free do you?”
To this day it’s the pronoun ‘we ‘ that I remember the most.
OTOH, that's what the government did back in its settler days.
Not sure I understand OTOH, and… what did the government do in the settler days? I assume you mean that the government gave land to settlers…
No matter, it’s what we, governments, do today that could change lots, but we don’t. If we’re the good guys, why don’t we change what needs to be changed, so that every person need not fear anyone to be sheltered?
Can't say I disagree with you, but that's a big 'if'. OTOH = on the other hand.
Before money was invented (to fund wars), private property was invented to justify stealing the shared commons and fencing it off, creating a world once of equals now of haves and have nots. The solution is to reclaim the shared commons, starting with nationalizing AI to help in the process of taking bck what was stolen and then codified into law.
In a democracy, the government is us.. not them, not Him, not her, but us.
When WE are the government, in general, WE become the problem. What’s the saying that goes something like this….. Power corrupts, and corrupt absolutely.
Gandhi said it better…” be the change you want to see in the world”. Trouble is, when power comes rolling in, we become blind.
We will never have democratic rule until we realize we are not a democracy. We are not the government, which in Wash DC today is ruled by a bunch of billinairess and right wing stooges. We are the victims of a long fraud, under a Constitution written by slave owners who feared and despised democracy and created a firewall against it. Until we understand that fact, we will be victims of a Big Lie. And to be sure, power corrupts but so does lack of power. We need a political revolution to remove the Electoral College, the codification of a coup against the "consent of the governed" and the banning of money from the political process. Until that happens, we will have plutocracy, a system in which in the Senate, 94% of those who win have the most money. And we know who has the money, the rich, who rule by buying elections, the media, and laws and policies. Democracy is the goal, but until we realize it has been denied, we will never unite to fight for it.
But the constitutional was inspired by God. Written by the best available at the time. The rest of what you have written is correct. 😎
Dale,
‘They’. — the bad guys. —- are us. The “rich”, the ‘powerful’ and all the bad guys all come from one basic stock, Homo Sapiens. As far as I know , They are us.
Reduce or take away the power of wealth, and you can change the world. Otherwise, it’s the same old, same old.
Question … how can we remove the power of wealth, money?
I see a reaction being part of the explanation for the whole Trump phenomenon. It's because so many white people are attending Black Lives Matter protest, and Standing Rock, and using phrases like "white privilege"--and accepting gay marriage and even trans people--and talking about phasing out fossil fuels, and the rights of nature, and questioning human exceptionalism--that the Trump guys arrive as a backlash. Because a significant part of the population has advanced so farther in this direction that they felt the need to try to drag us back, not to the 1952 of Trump's first term, but to 1852. They are reaching for control over virtually all media, but the more they enshittify the likes of CBS, the more people reach for the likes of Caitlin, and a thousand podcasters. They are building concentration camps all over the US, initially filling them with immigrants, but you know they're coming for "terrorists" next, meaning anyone who isn't MAGA. And they're building data centers everywhere, one part of which is the Panopticon they plan to use to control us all. But these are being opposed everywhere, as people wake up very fast to the negatives of having one in your own backyard at least, if not to the need to stop allowing any more to be built anywhere.
For a fleeting moment I thought maybe DT had caved. Saw the clips of him not wanting to escalate again because that would keep the SoH closed for even longer. Turns out it was just another way to pull a sneak attack. Hope Iran wasn’t fooled.
USrael has no limits. I’m NOT confident that either of these 2 bullies won’t pull a nuclear attack. It’s a very unsettling dynamic. I believe too much is made about who controls who (IS vs US vs UK. Truth is the same Zionists rule the entirety of the West. Their goal of both world and regional domination is DOA if Iran walks away stronger.
Zionist billionaires wield more power than middle class Zionists.
Well I certainly can’t argue with that CK 🤭
🎯
The bell of truth rings harsh in lying ears:
Major General Mohsen Rezaei of Iran has stated:
"... In the negotiations, we are showing the world what America truly is and on what principles it actually operates. Simply exposing America’s real face, its repeated violation of agreements, breach of international law, and disregard for human rights, is in itself a victory for us."
Sorry, but the helicopter wasn’t “downed”. They are lying. It was likely attempting to shoot down a drone, but instead caught the drone in one of its rotors. But where was this supposed crash landing? The Strait of Hormuz is Omani or Iranian territorial waters.
Good question why have all these world wide commands if not to rule over the world?? The continental US has never been under threat since 1812 and no country has any desire to take over a nation with 400 million guns in civilian hands.
400 million guns and nobody using them to take down the Government
"Global Full spectrum Dominance".
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/329677589_Full_Spectrum_Dominance_US_National_Security_Doctrine_in_the_New_Global_Security_Environment
Yes, still living in the Bizarro World of Trump.
One of the reasons Hitler came to power is because the Social Democratic party in Germany was corrupt and weak. Same as the Democratic party here in the US today.
A very pertinent point, Jamenta.
Disease is a function of two variables: power of resistance and strength of injurious stimulus.
In the case of Trump, he was easily beatable. Not a strong candidate by any measure. But the "power of resistance" - the Democratic party was nothing but a corporately run scam, offering Jack to the American people. A shadow of its former glory under someone like Roosevelt and his New Deal.
The new deal was a scam too.
Yes indeed!