This brings up two closely related things I know about myself.
The first is that I absolutely detest liars - especially those who lie to provoke, trigger, fund and/or maintain wars - whether direct or by proxy. (I'm thinking specifically of you, Messrs. Biden, Blinken, Ms. Nuland, and your partners in war crimes for the last decades.)
The second is that I really LOVE those truth-tellers who stick out like sore thumbs as they must always stand up against the flood of propaganda within their establishment order.
In the last few days there have been reports that some Ukranian troops are refusing to fight. They aren't deserting they just refuse to fight knowing they are outnumbered by Russians and will be killed. I wonder what this will lead to? And now that Zelensky is sort of no longer elected, what is going to happen there? Very curious times. Biden and co. will have a fun time sorting that out.. Kind of the opposite from 2014 and Maiden protests when we hired Azov members to shoot police and protestors to start the "revolution" we planned.
When the constitution was written a standing army was considered unnecessary and dangerous to a democracy and so the second amendment was written. Up until the Second World War the US was largely isolationist as the founders had intended. The constitution was intended as an experiment of a utopian form of government. World War 1 was supposedly "The war to end all wars" but with the rise of Nazism and fascism the US was forced into the Second World War which is what gave rise to the military industrial complex. Now rather than being isolationist, the US is bent on world dominance and exporting our particular model of "democracy". Leading by example is not enough. Democracy must be imposed upon others for their own good. This is hardly why the constitution was written or its intentions.
Wow. I must admit, I had never learned about / read of this memo. Perhaps that's unsurprising given that it was drafted in 1974 and successfully withheld from public eyes until the '90s.
This strikes me as an important document and it casts additional light on US foreign policy over the decades, as implemented in/ against many nations.
There it is in black-and-white: the clear direction that for the benefit of elites and U.S. hegemony, the US would use food scarcity / economic carrots and sticks, and other tactics to inhibit the growth of populations which might be inclined to resist the U.S.'s grabbing of minerals and other resources.
Many great writers have discussed the ways and hows and examples of U.S. imperialism from the latter half of the 20th Century on, but this memo removes any doubt about the why. It has NEVER been about improving the lives of people nor of spreading / preserving democracy!
And while most of the names, of people and official policies have changed, the MO still has not. NO WONDER the Biden Administration (for example) has unconditionally supported Israel's 'population reduction' of Palestine! No wonder that the US has been steadily trying to 'bleed' Russia via what it hoped would be a quagmire in Ukraine.
And along with Biden's, it is also NO WONDER, Roger, that the Trump, Obama, Cheney/Bush II, Clinton, Bush I/Reagan, and Carter administrations did what they did in all those places and against all those Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations over these past 50 years.
There are plenty of other memos that cast light on our current state. If you haven't read the Powel memo from the soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice back in the 1970s, it is worth a read.
i have read the Powell Memorandum, John, and it is very definitely worth a read.
And Truman may have "worried and warned about the CIA" on occasion or two, but as far as i know, there is no historical record of him doing anything to STOP what the CIA was doing when he was President.
My guess is that he was too busy helping the French attempt to recover their lost Colonies in Indochina, and establishing a permanent US military presence in Korea.
Thank You for bringing that up, John. i'd completely forgotten about NSSM 200.
For those unfamiliar with it, here's how Wiki introduces it:
"National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests (NSSM200), also known as the "Kissinger Report", was a national security directive completed on December 10, 1974 by the United States National Security Council under the direction of Henry Kissinger following initial orders from President of the United States Richard Nixon.
"NSSM200 was reworked and adopted as official United States policy through NSDM 314 by President Gerald Ford on November 26, 1975. It was initially classified for over a decade but was obtained by researchers in the early 1990s. T
The memorandum and subsequent policies developed from the report were observed as A WAY THE UNITED STATES COULD USE HUMAN POPULATION CONTROL TO LIMIT THE POLITICAL POWER OF UNDEVELOPED NATIONS, ENSURE THE EASY EXTRACTION OF FOREIGN NATURAL RESOURCES, PREVENT YOUNG ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT INDIVIDUALS FROM BEING BORN AND TO PROTECT AMERICAN BUSINESSES ABROAD FROM INTERFERENCE FROM NATIONS SEEKING TO SUPPORT THEIR GROWING POPULATIONS. [EMPHASIS added.]
It always sounds hyperbolic to say it, but I am convinced that modern society has been hijacked by criminals. As Bill Black wrote in his book, "The best way to rob a bank is to own it". He basically outlines how criminally minded people work their way to the top in order to get away with crimes. If you want to commit genocide and steal land, do anything you have to do in order to become the Prime Minister of Israel.
The end of the peace movement in the US was when Allen Dulles, after his rebuke for the Bay of Pigs disaster, decided that Kennedy and his peacenik friends had to go. It has been total war and crushing of all dissent ever since. Look at how the peace protesters are being beaten and arrested even now, well into the 21st century. It is still, apparently, a crime in the US to oppose war in public.
And what do You have to do to become the President of The United States so You get to do what America's Ruling Political Class orders You to do?
Also, i'm curious: What "peace movement in the US" about anything was in any form of existence before Kennedy was assassinated? And then, how long did it take for one to materialize after he was killed?
To become president you need to suck up to the billionaires, as Biden did when he was at single digits in the polls and Bernie Sanders was polling between 35 and 40% in 2019. Biden went to a room full of billionaires as said, "I really need you guys" and the rest is history.
Please read "JFK and the Unspeakable" by James Douglas for insight into Kennedy's peace overtures to Khrushchev and what the CIA decided to do about it. The peace movement after Kennedy was couped was mostly about the draft and it died out quickly after 75, and never rematerialized when the draft was eliminated. Now, without a draft, there is no peace movement against the war in Ukraine. There is a stop the genocide movement on college campuses, but that is getting the same treatment as all other protest movements from Occupy Wallstreet to BLM.
In addition to "sucking up to billionaires," a POTUS-Wannabe also has to get enough of the right Voters in the right Places to vote for You to give You an Electoral College victory.
And just as there is no Peace Movement against America's proxy War with Russia in Ukraine, so was there no Peace Movement during the entire span of "The Forever War" spawned on 9/11. Except for a brief flurry that went nowhere regarding Saddam's so-called "WMDs."
So is that the only reason Americans would go to War Against War? If they personally or their Sons and Daughters were subject to the threat or actuality of Conscription, aka Involuntary Servitude, aka Slavery?
How about if there was a raise in their Taxes because whatever War DC wanted to have must and will be paid for up front, and not put on Uncle Sam's tab, and added to the sovereign, national Debt?
Voting has become a total joke now that only about 3 or 4 states persistently act as the gatekeepers. None of the other votes in the country matter at all when it comes to the presidential election. The one thing they can never do is give us voting and elections by popular demand, where the wannabes might have to campaign in all 50 states, or at least in a lot more than 3 or 4. But since the primaries are totally controlled by two corporations (DNC and RNC) we will never get decent candidates anyway. I don't expect anyone like Bernie to ever even try to run again, since they know that the "news media" are ready to pounce on anyone to the left of Gangues Kahn.
Yes, that's interesting. It may be that her critique of Islam was driven by what she perceived as its repression of women. She strikes me as a determined woman who was not about to be put in her place by what she perceived as medieval religious fanatics, e.g. Khomeini in Iran.
I'm not defending her. Just trying to understand her POV.
Back in 2013, there was this guy who, in addition to being just this guy, was also in fact the Daniel Ellsberg of America’s so-called “War” Against so-called “Global“ so-called “Terrorism”: Edward Snowden.
Remember him?
The more cynical among us wonder: Why isn’t this man or his family dead yet? Given this nation’s self-proclaimed kill-effectiveness and cost-efficiency with drones, one only can wonder.
Conspiracy theories aside, and given the national and global response to Mr Snowden’s perfidies of state, one is left to wonder further: Is the problem that the government of the United States is bugging the entire planet, including its own citizens? Or is the problem that somebody has exposed this fact?
“History” will give us Edward Snowden’s meaning, significance, and footnote, in the grander scheme of things. For the moment, however, let us focus upon his words, and on what he has termed “A Manifesto For Truth.” And what they and it might and could mean to and for us all. Now.]
A MANIFESTO FOR TRUTH
“In a very short time, the world has learned much about unaccountable secret agencies and about sometimes illegal surveillance programs. Sometimes the agencies even deliberately try to hide their surveillance from high officials and the public. While the NSA and GCHQ seem to be the worst offenders - this is what the currently available documents suggest - we must not forget that mass surveillance is a global problem in need of global solutions.
“Such programs are not only a threat to privacy, they also threaten freedom of speech and open societies. The existence of spy technology should not determine policy. We have a moral duty to ensure that our laws and values limit monitoring programs and protect human rights.
“Society can only understand and control these problems through an open, unbiased and informed debate. At first, some governments feeling embarrassed by the revelations of mass surveillance initiated an unprecedented campaign of persecution to suppress this debate. They intimidated journalists and criminalized publishing the truth. At this point, the public was not yet able to evaluate the benefits of the revelations. They relied on their governments to decide correctly.
“Today we know that this was a mistake and that such action does not serve the public interest. The debate which they wanted to prevent will now take place in countries around the world. And instead of doing harm, the societal benefits of this new public knowledge is now clear, since reforms are now proposed in the form of increased oversight and new legislation.
“Citizens have to fight suppression of information on matters of vital public importance. TO TELL THE TRUTH IS NOT A CRIME.”
Note: This text was written by Edward Snowden on 01 November 2013, in Moscow. It was sent to the staff of the German news magazine DER SPIEGEL over an encrypted channel. Source: http://meriksson.net/snowden-a-manifesto-for-the-truth , accessed 9 Nov 13 and 24 May 24.
The “Display Until December 15 2013” issue [#110] of ADBUSTERS, headlined as “Political Islam vs. The West,” contained an article that every American and every citizen of every other nation on this Planet needs to read and ponder.
Entitled “Radical Transparency,” its core message is this:
“So long as elites and powerful forces are able to concoct wars and geopolitics in secret, we, the people, will never see a day of peace on Earth. Not even a single minute in fact … likely not even a second. Aggression, hatred, greed, jealousy and fear may be the ingredients of war, but secrecy is the heat that it needs to rise … the fuel that turns the disapproving into blind followers. So long as secrecy prevails as a fundamental right of states, peace, unity and brotherhood will always remain dreams … increasingly jaded ones.”
And, its conclusion is thus:
“If we are ever going to escape the 21st century with less bloodshed than the 20th century, we’re going to have to strip our governments of the right to lie to us citizens. In this information age, where gigatons of information zip around the globe each second, and where the geopolitical, financial, and ecological stakes are high, we need a new human right…. .”
In response, the article proposes the following “amendment to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to every constitution of every country in the world,” including, especially, The United States of America:
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT SECRETS.
THIS RIGHT INCLUDES FREEDOM FROM STATE DECEPTION, FREEDOM FROM CORPORATE MISINFORMATION, FREEDOM FROM FINANCIAL MANIPULATION AND THE RIGHT TO FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE ON ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO PEACE, SECURITY, ECOLOGY AND FINANCE.
A World without Secrets… . Can You imagine? Could You imagine? Dare You imagine?
Before rejecting it out of hand as naïvely immature, impractical, ignorant, and impossible [if only because inconceivable], consider first exactly WHY governments, corporations, financial institutions, and their media value, need, and thus demand and thereby get secrecy.
To consider just one tiny slice of the Secrecy Spectrum: Why is it that the only News we ever get is always about what our Leaders have been doing and/or are up to, as or after They have concealed Themselves in Their ECHELONS ABOVE TOP SECRET enclaves and meetings, behind ultra-secretly and -secured closed doors?
Why is it that what we do episodically get, such as it is, is then typically only under the very strictest condition of anonymity and non-attribution, thereby depriving us of the ability to judge, if nothing else, the probability of the truthfulness and usefulness of the information that we are fed? And not just having to take the Media’s word for it?
Why do our Leaders tell us Nothing about exactly what They are talking about and what they are actually, really doing? About what decisions they are making? And about how and why They are making them?
Why is Nothing [at least as it affects Us ~ We, them People] ever talked about in the open? Until, that is, the decisions have been made and all that We, them Folk, get [and get to do] is to deal with the attendant results thereof; ie, to suffer the consequences of those decisions?
Why ~ when it is time for our Leaders to consider and ultimately make a decision, are all the presentations, alternatives, negotiations, consultations, confrontations, accommodations, compromizations, and declared ameliorations [to say nothing of the amortizations]…. ~ why do they always, Always happen in “SECRET” ?
Why is EVERYTHING done in secret, until it’s released to and then sold by the Media for, and thus, ultimately and only ~ for our consumption, partial digestion, and excretion ~ as a means of perpetuation? And even then, Why are we only told only that which we are intended to know/think/believe and to thus act upon? But never Why it is needed, wanted, and thus intended that we know, think, believe, and act upon it?
Why all the Secrets? Well…; Obviously, if You’ve been paying attention, that is and can only be another Secret. And thus won’t get us anywhere but, ultimately, at best, into an eternal [as opposed to infinite] regress.
Thanks. Health and Happiness to you and yours, too.
Sorry about messing up the comment above. I tried to post a relevant verse composition, "Sordid Chancre" instead of "Solid Anchor" -- the ATSB where I languished for over a year (November 1970 to January 1972) -- but the site software just wouldn't allow proper formatting of the text line breaks. So, I'll just post a link for those who might find my homage to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan,"
if not scurrilous, then at least appropriate, given the subject at hand:
If You choose to read it, i strongly recommend that You keep a barf bag handy.
Particularly when You get to the part that goes:
“This Memorial Day, we honor the brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation’s freedom. We recommit to keeping our sacred obligation to their survivors, families, and caregivers. Together, we vow to honor their memories by carrying on their work to forge a more perfect Union.
“Since our Nation’s founding, members of our Armed Forces have been willing to lay down their lives — not for a person or a place but for an idea unlike any other in human history: the idea of the United States of America. We are the only Nation in the world founded on the idea that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our entire lives. Generations of America’s beloved daughters and sons have dared all, risked all, and given all for this idea. Today, as they lie in eternal peace, we continue to live by the light of liberty they kept burning bright.
“To all those grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, including our Gold Star Families, and to all those who have a loved one still missing or unaccounted for: Our country sees you and mourns with you. I know how painful this day can be — how it can bring you back to the day you lost a piece of your soul. It is overwhelming. No words can ease that grief. But I hope you find a small measure of solace in knowing that we will never forget the price your loved one paid for our freedom — and we will never stop trying to repay the debt of gratitude we owe you and them.
“That is our vow today — and that is our vow always. May God bless our fallen heroes. May God bring comfort to their families. May God protect our troops.”
................................................
The Very Best Way that America can remember and pay tribute to all those “fallen heroes” of Wars gone by is to remember and then act upon an old Memorial Day ditty that went like this:
“Memorial Day remembers America’s War Dead.
“However, unless and until Americans remember that there are Other War Dead [both military and, increasingly, civilian and non-combatant] besides just American, there will be new American War Dead to be remembered with every new Memorial Day.
IF I WERE DICTATOR, I’D …: A Thought Experiment in which You become The Dictator of The United States of America, and explain to the American Peoples and the World What You intend to Do. And How and Why You intend to do it.
“If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator.” - GW Bush
“If I were King of the Forest… “ - the Cowardly Lion
“If I only had a Brain… “ - the Scare Crow
And he, Bush, is, of course, absolutely correct. A dictatorship is ALWAYS a heck of lot easier......, especially for the dictator. There are, always have been, and always will be any number of people who could and would testify to this: particularly among those with first-hand experience as either a dictator or a dictator's functionary or beneficiary, from the highest to the lowest levels.
For the sake of exploring possibilities, then, let us pretend for a moment that OPERATION SMEDLEY BUTLER is a complete and total success: ie, that a military coup spearheaded by the Walter E Kurtz Brigade overthrows the government of the United States, placing the entire Legislative branch and the entire senior leadership of the Executive and Judicial branches of that government under arrest for, among other things beyond mere dereliction of duty: incompetence, corruption, collusion, duplicity, and complicity, among other “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including above all, breach of trust. The coup occurs very late one Friday nite, and is completely bloodless.
Early Saturday morning, a spokeswoman for The Coup, speaking from The White House, announces that: a temporary change in the government of this nation has indeed occurred; that the seizure of power by “The Walter E Kurtz Brigade” is total but temporary; and that the mission ~ and thus first order of business ~ of the new government is, quite simply, to fix the old one. Permanently.
She explains that the Coup has complete and total control of all strategic and tactical space, air, sea, and land global, national, state, and local defense, security, intelligence, communications, transportation, and law enforcement assets and agencies.
She explains further that all economic, social, financial, fiscal, and monetary policy and action agencies and offices of the Federal government [including all branches of The Federal Reserve] are also under Coup control.
Next, she says that she will be followed by the individual who will explain exactly What the new government is going to do [and un-do], and How and Why it is going to do [and un-do] it; and, that this person will detail all of the Executive Orders that You just finished signing. She then introduces You …….
AOC DEMANDS TO KNOW WHERE ALITO BOUGHT AN UPSIDE-DOWN U.S. FLAG 23 May 24
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As controversy continued to swirl around Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded to know where Alito bought an upside-down U.S. flag.
After reports surfaced that an inverted American flag had been spotted flying over Alito's home, AOC issued a statement calling for the source of Alito's offensive flag so that the vendor could be reprimanded appropriately.
"Where does someone even get an upside-down American flag, anyway?" Ocasio-Cortez asked reporters. "Every store that sells flags should know how offensive an inverted U.S. flag is and should never manufacture or sell them to anyone. I think we all deserve to know where Justice Alito was able to purchase an upside-down American flag, don't you?"
AOC even went as far as to threaten legislative action to hold Alito accountable. "Don't even think I won't get to the bottom of this," she said. "Anyone who is selling inverted American flags should be publicly outed as un-American and a threat to democracy itself! As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Alito must be held to a higher standard. If there is some type of black market for upside-down U.S. flags, the American people deserve to know about it."
AOC expressed concern that more people would begin purchasing upside-down American flags if they were made easily attainable. "The next thing you know," she warned, "everyone will be able to have an inverted flag."
At publishing time, AOC was unable to be reached for further comment due to getting her head stuck between the spindles of the U.S. Capitol staircase banister.
Thank you for the serious attitude pic! As for believing in your cause, imagine if Americans were sent into Gaza to defend the wretched victims of terror, the Israelis. Do Mike Johnson and Lindsay Graham think the US soldier would be motivated for such a war? Send them into Gaza so they can see for themselves what is going on.
... bringing to power electing-wrong-leadership, engaging-agenda-causes for unjust-wrong-wars... we know now there's talk of additional wars we could-should be fighting... bringing to power more of those individuals that will engage versus avoiding them is what we're not rightfully-fearful of doing as we must-be
That "recommendation" ~ for 3 days of food that doesn't require cooking [as in canned] and a minimum of 3 liters of potable water per person in the household ~ won't do much good in a "crisis" that lasts for any more than 4 or 5 days.
And my guess is that the British government ~ like the American government ~ is very hesitant to implement conscription.
That is one GUARANTEED way to kick serious anti-War and anti-Government activity in those nations into high gear.
On the other hand, both Governments seem to enjoy putting down anti-War/anti-Genocide sentiments of their Citizens, especially if it can be done violently.
This brings up two closely related things I know about myself.
The first is that I absolutely detest liars - especially those who lie to provoke, trigger, fund and/or maintain wars - whether direct or by proxy. (I'm thinking specifically of you, Messrs. Biden, Blinken, Ms. Nuland, and your partners in war crimes for the last decades.)
The second is that I really LOVE those truth-tellers who stick out like sore thumbs as they must always stand up against the flood of propaganda within their establishment order.
In the last few days there have been reports that some Ukranian troops are refusing to fight. They aren't deserting they just refuse to fight knowing they are outnumbered by Russians and will be killed. I wonder what this will lead to? And now that Zelensky is sort of no longer elected, what is going to happen there? Very curious times. Biden and co. will have a fun time sorting that out.. Kind of the opposite from 2014 and Maiden protests when we hired Azov members to shoot police and protestors to start the "revolution" we planned.
"Sort of not elected" is a symptom of most 'democracies'.
When the constitution was written a standing army was considered unnecessary and dangerous to a democracy and so the second amendment was written. Up until the Second World War the US was largely isolationist as the founders had intended. The constitution was intended as an experiment of a utopian form of government. World War 1 was supposedly "The war to end all wars" but with the rise of Nazism and fascism the US was forced into the Second World War which is what gave rise to the military industrial complex. Now rather than being isolationist, the US is bent on world dominance and exporting our particular model of "democracy". Leading by example is not enough. Democracy must be imposed upon others for their own good. This is hardly why the constitution was written or its intentions.
For some insight into why the US does the things it does, take a look at NSM 200.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Study_Memorandum_200
Wow. I must admit, I had never learned about / read of this memo. Perhaps that's unsurprising given that it was drafted in 1974 and successfully withheld from public eyes until the '90s.
This strikes me as an important document and it casts additional light on US foreign policy over the decades, as implemented in/ against many nations.
There it is in black-and-white: the clear direction that for the benefit of elites and U.S. hegemony, the US would use food scarcity / economic carrots and sticks, and other tactics to inhibit the growth of populations which might be inclined to resist the U.S.'s grabbing of minerals and other resources.
Many great writers have discussed the ways and hows and examples of U.S. imperialism from the latter half of the 20th Century on, but this memo removes any doubt about the why. It has NEVER been about improving the lives of people nor of spreading / preserving democracy!
And while most of the names, of people and official policies have changed, the MO still has not. NO WONDER the Biden Administration (for example) has unconditionally supported Israel's 'population reduction' of Palestine! No wonder that the US has been steadily trying to 'bleed' Russia via what it hoped would be a quagmire in Ukraine.
So thanks, John, for providing this link!
And along with Biden's, it is also NO WONDER, Roger, that the Trump, Obama, Cheney/Bush II, Clinton, Bush I/Reagan, and Carter administrations did what they did in all those places and against all those Peoples, Lands, Countries, and Nations over these past 50 years.
There are plenty of other memos that cast light on our current state. If you haven't read the Powel memo from the soon-to-be Supreme Court Justice back in the 1970s, it is worth a read.
https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/powellmemo/
Truman, who was the US's premier mass murderer, nonetheless worried about and warned about the CIA on more than one occassion, for example here:
http://www.maebrussell.com/Prouty/Harry%20Truman%27s%20CIA%20article.html
i have read the Powell Memorandum, John, and it is very definitely worth a read.
And Truman may have "worried and warned about the CIA" on occasion or two, but as far as i know, there is no historical record of him doing anything to STOP what the CIA was doing when he was President.
My guess is that he was too busy helping the French attempt to recover their lost Colonies in Indochina, and establishing a permanent US military presence in Korea.
Thank You for bringing that up, John. i'd completely forgotten about NSSM 200.
For those unfamiliar with it, here's how Wiki introduces it:
"National Security Study Memorandum 200: Implications of Worldwide Population Growth for U.S. Security and Overseas Interests (NSSM200), also known as the "Kissinger Report", was a national security directive completed on December 10, 1974 by the United States National Security Council under the direction of Henry Kissinger following initial orders from President of the United States Richard Nixon.
"NSSM200 was reworked and adopted as official United States policy through NSDM 314 by President Gerald Ford on November 26, 1975. It was initially classified for over a decade but was obtained by researchers in the early 1990s. T
The memorandum and subsequent policies developed from the report were observed as A WAY THE UNITED STATES COULD USE HUMAN POPULATION CONTROL TO LIMIT THE POLITICAL POWER OF UNDEVELOPED NATIONS, ENSURE THE EASY EXTRACTION OF FOREIGN NATURAL RESOURCES, PREVENT YOUNG ANTI-ESTABLISHMENT INDIVIDUALS FROM BEING BORN AND TO PROTECT AMERICAN BUSINESSES ABROAD FROM INTERFERENCE FROM NATIONS SEEKING TO SUPPORT THEIR GROWING POPULATIONS. [EMPHASIS added.]
It always sounds hyperbolic to say it, but I am convinced that modern society has been hijacked by criminals. As Bill Black wrote in his book, "The best way to rob a bank is to own it". He basically outlines how criminally minded people work their way to the top in order to get away with crimes. If you want to commit genocide and steal land, do anything you have to do in order to become the Prime Minister of Israel.
The end of the peace movement in the US was when Allen Dulles, after his rebuke for the Bay of Pigs disaster, decided that Kennedy and his peacenik friends had to go. It has been total war and crushing of all dissent ever since. Look at how the peace protesters are being beaten and arrested even now, well into the 21st century. It is still, apparently, a crime in the US to oppose war in public.
And what do You have to do to become the President of The United States so You get to do what America's Ruling Political Class orders You to do?
Also, i'm curious: What "peace movement in the US" about anything was in any form of existence before Kennedy was assassinated? And then, how long did it take for one to materialize after he was killed?
To become president you need to suck up to the billionaires, as Biden did when he was at single digits in the polls and Bernie Sanders was polling between 35 and 40% in 2019. Biden went to a room full of billionaires as said, "I really need you guys" and the rest is history.
Please read "JFK and the Unspeakable" by James Douglas for insight into Kennedy's peace overtures to Khrushchev and what the CIA decided to do about it. The peace movement after Kennedy was couped was mostly about the draft and it died out quickly after 75, and never rematerialized when the draft was eliminated. Now, without a draft, there is no peace movement against the war in Ukraine. There is a stop the genocide movement on college campuses, but that is getting the same treatment as all other protest movements from Occupy Wallstreet to BLM.
In addition to "sucking up to billionaires," a POTUS-Wannabe also has to get enough of the right Voters in the right Places to vote for You to give You an Electoral College victory.
And just as there is no Peace Movement against America's proxy War with Russia in Ukraine, so was there no Peace Movement during the entire span of "The Forever War" spawned on 9/11. Except for a brief flurry that went nowhere regarding Saddam's so-called "WMDs."
So is that the only reason Americans would go to War Against War? If they personally or their Sons and Daughters were subject to the threat or actuality of Conscription, aka Involuntary Servitude, aka Slavery?
How about if there was a raise in their Taxes because whatever War DC wanted to have must and will be paid for up front, and not put on Uncle Sam's tab, and added to the sovereign, national Debt?
Think that could have any effect?
Voting has become a total joke now that only about 3 or 4 states persistently act as the gatekeepers. None of the other votes in the country matter at all when it comes to the presidential election. The one thing they can never do is give us voting and elections by popular demand, where the wannabes might have to campaign in all 50 states, or at least in a lot more than 3 or 4. But since the primaries are totally controlled by two corporations (DNC and RNC) we will never get decent candidates anyway. I don't expect anyone like Bernie to ever even try to run again, since they know that the "news media" are ready to pounce on anyone to the left of Gangues Kahn.
Yes, I think it would, Jeff.
Thanks Bill! Wars; whether you believe in them or not; are an obsolete and barbaric method to resolve disputes between nations. I didn't know anything about Fallaci until I read your article so I looked her up. In the process, I found this: article.https://www.aljazeera.com/features/2019/8/14/the-resurgence-of-oriana-fallacis-anti-islam-message-in-italy
Yes, that's interesting. It may be that her critique of Islam was driven by what she perceived as its repression of women. She strikes me as a determined woman who was not about to be put in her place by what she perceived as medieval religious fanatics, e.g. Khomeini in Iran.
I'm not defending her. Just trying to understand her POV.
Speaking of “SECRETS”...:
Once upon a time… remember?
Back in 2013, there was this guy who, in addition to being just this guy, was also in fact the Daniel Ellsberg of America’s so-called “War” Against so-called “Global“ so-called “Terrorism”: Edward Snowden.
Remember him?
The more cynical among us wonder: Why isn’t this man or his family dead yet? Given this nation’s self-proclaimed kill-effectiveness and cost-efficiency with drones, one only can wonder.
Conspiracy theories aside, and given the national and global response to Mr Snowden’s perfidies of state, one is left to wonder further: Is the problem that the government of the United States is bugging the entire planet, including its own citizens? Or is the problem that somebody has exposed this fact?
“History” will give us Edward Snowden’s meaning, significance, and footnote, in the grander scheme of things. For the moment, however, let us focus upon his words, and on what he has termed “A Manifesto For Truth.” And what they and it might and could mean to and for us all. Now.]
A MANIFESTO FOR TRUTH
“In a very short time, the world has learned much about unaccountable secret agencies and about sometimes illegal surveillance programs. Sometimes the agencies even deliberately try to hide their surveillance from high officials and the public. While the NSA and GCHQ seem to be the worst offenders - this is what the currently available documents suggest - we must not forget that mass surveillance is a global problem in need of global solutions.
“Such programs are not only a threat to privacy, they also threaten freedom of speech and open societies. The existence of spy technology should not determine policy. We have a moral duty to ensure that our laws and values limit monitoring programs and protect human rights.
“Society can only understand and control these problems through an open, unbiased and informed debate. At first, some governments feeling embarrassed by the revelations of mass surveillance initiated an unprecedented campaign of persecution to suppress this debate. They intimidated journalists and criminalized publishing the truth. At this point, the public was not yet able to evaluate the benefits of the revelations. They relied on their governments to decide correctly.
“Today we know that this was a mistake and that such action does not serve the public interest. The debate which they wanted to prevent will now take place in countries around the world. And instead of doing harm, the societal benefits of this new public knowledge is now clear, since reforms are now proposed in the form of increased oversight and new legislation.
“Citizens have to fight suppression of information on matters of vital public importance. TO TELL THE TRUTH IS NOT A CRIME.”
Note: This text was written by Edward Snowden on 01 November 2013, in Moscow. It was sent to the staff of the German news magazine DER SPIEGEL over an encrypted channel. Source: http://meriksson.net/snowden-a-manifesto-for-the-truth , accessed 9 Nov 13 and 24 May 24.
Speaking of “SECRETS” ~ 2 ...:
The “Display Until December 15 2013” issue [#110] of ADBUSTERS, headlined as “Political Islam vs. The West,” contained an article that every American and every citizen of every other nation on this Planet needs to read and ponder.
Entitled “Radical Transparency,” its core message is this:
“So long as elites and powerful forces are able to concoct wars and geopolitics in secret, we, the people, will never see a day of peace on Earth. Not even a single minute in fact … likely not even a second. Aggression, hatred, greed, jealousy and fear may be the ingredients of war, but secrecy is the heat that it needs to rise … the fuel that turns the disapproving into blind followers. So long as secrecy prevails as a fundamental right of states, peace, unity and brotherhood will always remain dreams … increasingly jaded ones.”
And, its conclusion is thus:
“If we are ever going to escape the 21st century with less bloodshed than the 20th century, we’re going to have to strip our governments of the right to lie to us citizens. In this information age, where gigatons of information zip around the globe each second, and where the geopolitical, financial, and ecological stakes are high, we need a new human right…. .”
In response, the article proposes the following “amendment to the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and to every constitution of every country in the world,” including, especially, The United States of America:
EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN A WORLD WITHOUT SECRETS.
THIS RIGHT INCLUDES FREEDOM FROM STATE DECEPTION, FREEDOM FROM CORPORATE MISINFORMATION, FREEDOM FROM FINANCIAL MANIPULATION AND THE RIGHT TO FULL PUBLIC DISCLOSURE ON ALL MATTERS PERTAINING TO PEACE, SECURITY, ECOLOGY AND FINANCE.
A World without Secrets… . Can You imagine? Could You imagine? Dare You imagine?
Before rejecting it out of hand as naïvely immature, impractical, ignorant, and impossible [if only because inconceivable], consider first exactly WHY governments, corporations, financial institutions, and their media value, need, and thus demand and thereby get secrecy.
To consider just one tiny slice of the Secrecy Spectrum: Why is it that the only News we ever get is always about what our Leaders have been doing and/or are up to, as or after They have concealed Themselves in Their ECHELONS ABOVE TOP SECRET enclaves and meetings, behind ultra-secretly and -secured closed doors?
Why is it that what we do episodically get, such as it is, is then typically only under the very strictest condition of anonymity and non-attribution, thereby depriving us of the ability to judge, if nothing else, the probability of the truthfulness and usefulness of the information that we are fed? And not just having to take the Media’s word for it?
Why do our Leaders tell us Nothing about exactly what They are talking about and what they are actually, really doing? About what decisions they are making? And about how and why They are making them?
Why is Nothing [at least as it affects Us ~ We, them People] ever talked about in the open? Until, that is, the decisions have been made and all that We, them Folk, get [and get to do] is to deal with the attendant results thereof; ie, to suffer the consequences of those decisions?
Why ~ when it is time for our Leaders to consider and ultimately make a decision, are all the presentations, alternatives, negotiations, consultations, confrontations, accommodations, compromizations, and declared ameliorations [to say nothing of the amortizations]…. ~ why do they always, Always happen in “SECRET” ?
Why is EVERYTHING done in secret, until it’s released to and then sold by the Media for, and thus, ultimately and only ~ for our consumption, partial digestion, and excretion ~ as a means of perpetuation? And even then, Why are we only told only that which we are intended to know/think/believe and to thus act upon? But never Why it is needed, wanted, and thus intended that we know, think, believe, and act upon it?
Why all the Secrets? Well…; Obviously, if You’ve been paying attention, that is and can only be another Secret. And thus won’t get us anywhere but, ultimately, at best, into an eternal [as opposed to infinite] regress.
The ADBUSTER’s article explores all this and more. Check it out for Yourself at: https://subscribe.adbusters.org/collections/back-issues/products/ab110
I don't know how the Italians say "demoralized military," but I'll never forget living the English-language equivalent:
http://themisfortuneteller.com/index.html
Fascinating read. Appreciated the happy ending.
I thought of you before posting this piece, Mike. Hope all is well.
Thanks. Health and Happiness to you and yours, too.
Sorry about messing up the comment above. I tried to post a relevant verse composition, "Sordid Chancre" instead of "Solid Anchor" -- the ATSB where I languished for over a year (November 1970 to January 1972) -- but the site software just wouldn't allow proper formatting of the text line breaks. So, I'll just post a link for those who might find my homage to Samuel Taylor Coleridge's "Kubla Khan,"
if not scurrilous, then at least appropriate, given the subject at hand:
http://themisfortuneteller.com/Poetry/Sordid%20Chancre
And speaking of Upside-Down American Flags:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/usa-flag-with-text-overlay-stars-america-usa-flag-george-orwell-upside-down-108--578501514632288748/
The White House just released President Biden’s Memorial Day 2024 Message: “A Proclamation on Prayer for Peace, Memorial Day, 2024.” [Full text at https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2024/05/24/a-proclamation-on-prayer-for-peace-memorial-day-2024/ .]
If You choose to read it, i strongly recommend that You keep a barf bag handy.
Particularly when You get to the part that goes:
“This Memorial Day, we honor the brave women and men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our Nation’s freedom. We recommit to keeping our sacred obligation to their survivors, families, and caregivers. Together, we vow to honor their memories by carrying on their work to forge a more perfect Union.
“Since our Nation’s founding, members of our Armed Forces have been willing to lay down their lives — not for a person or a place but for an idea unlike any other in human history: the idea of the United States of America. We are the only Nation in the world founded on the idea that we are all created equal and deserve to be treated equally throughout our entire lives. Generations of America’s beloved daughters and sons have dared all, risked all, and given all for this idea. Today, as they lie in eternal peace, we continue to live by the light of liberty they kept burning bright.
“To all those grieving the loss of a loved one who wore the uniform, including our Gold Star Families, and to all those who have a loved one still missing or unaccounted for: Our country sees you and mourns with you. I know how painful this day can be — how it can bring you back to the day you lost a piece of your soul. It is overwhelming. No words can ease that grief. But I hope you find a small measure of solace in knowing that we will never forget the price your loved one paid for our freedom — and we will never stop trying to repay the debt of gratitude we owe you and them.
“That is our vow today — and that is our vow always. May God bless our fallen heroes. May God bring comfort to their families. May God protect our troops.”
................................................
The Very Best Way that America can remember and pay tribute to all those “fallen heroes” of Wars gone by is to remember and then act upon an old Memorial Day ditty that went like this:
“Memorial Day remembers America’s War Dead.
“However, unless and until Americans remember that there are Other War Dead [both military and, increasingly, civilian and non-combatant] besides just American, there will be new American War Dead to be remembered with every new Memorial Day.
“And more non-American War Dead to be forgotten.”
IF I WERE DICTATOR, I’D …: A Thought Experiment in which You become The Dictator of The United States of America, and explain to the American Peoples and the World What You intend to Do. And How and Why You intend to do it.
“If this were a dictatorship, it would be a heck of a lot easier... as long as I'm the dictator.” - GW Bush
“If I were King of the Forest… “ - the Cowardly Lion
“If I only had a Brain… “ - the Scare Crow
And he, Bush, is, of course, absolutely correct. A dictatorship is ALWAYS a heck of lot easier......, especially for the dictator. There are, always have been, and always will be any number of people who could and would testify to this: particularly among those with first-hand experience as either a dictator or a dictator's functionary or beneficiary, from the highest to the lowest levels.
For the sake of exploring possibilities, then, let us pretend for a moment that OPERATION SMEDLEY BUTLER is a complete and total success: ie, that a military coup spearheaded by the Walter E Kurtz Brigade overthrows the government of the United States, placing the entire Legislative branch and the entire senior leadership of the Executive and Judicial branches of that government under arrest for, among other things beyond mere dereliction of duty: incompetence, corruption, collusion, duplicity, and complicity, among other “high crimes and misdemeanors,” including above all, breach of trust. The coup occurs very late one Friday nite, and is completely bloodless.
Early Saturday morning, a spokeswoman for The Coup, speaking from The White House, announces that: a temporary change in the government of this nation has indeed occurred; that the seizure of power by “The Walter E Kurtz Brigade” is total but temporary; and that the mission ~ and thus first order of business ~ of the new government is, quite simply, to fix the old one. Permanently.
She explains that the Coup has complete and total control of all strategic and tactical space, air, sea, and land global, national, state, and local defense, security, intelligence, communications, transportation, and law enforcement assets and agencies.
She explains further that all economic, social, financial, fiscal, and monetary policy and action agencies and offices of the Federal government [including all branches of The Federal Reserve] are also under Coup control.
Next, she says that she will be followed by the individual who will explain exactly What the new government is going to do [and un-do], and How and Why it is going to do [and un-do] it; and, that this person will detail all of the Executive Orders that You just finished signing. She then introduces You …….
What do You say?
You’ve got 30 minutes.
Story of The Week from THE BABYLON BEE...:
AOC DEMANDS TO KNOW WHERE ALITO BOUGHT AN UPSIDE-DOWN U.S. FLAG 23 May 24
WASHINGTON, D.C. — As controversy continued to swirl around Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez demanded to know where Alito bought an upside-down U.S. flag.
After reports surfaced that an inverted American flag had been spotted flying over Alito's home, AOC issued a statement calling for the source of Alito's offensive flag so that the vendor could be reprimanded appropriately.
"Where does someone even get an upside-down American flag, anyway?" Ocasio-Cortez asked reporters. "Every store that sells flags should know how offensive an inverted U.S. flag is and should never manufacture or sell them to anyone. I think we all deserve to know where Justice Alito was able to purchase an upside-down American flag, don't you?"
AOC even went as far as to threaten legislative action to hold Alito accountable. "Don't even think I won't get to the bottom of this," she said. "Anyone who is selling inverted American flags should be publicly outed as un-American and a threat to democracy itself! As a Supreme Court judge, Justice Alito must be held to a higher standard. If there is some type of black market for upside-down U.S. flags, the American people deserve to know about it."
AOC expressed concern that more people would begin purchasing upside-down American flags if they were made easily attainable. "The next thing you know," she warned, "everyone will be able to have an inverted flag."
At publishing time, AOC was unable to be reached for further comment due to getting her head stuck between the spindles of the U.S. Capitol staircase banister.
Thank you for the serious attitude pic! As for believing in your cause, imagine if Americans were sent into Gaza to defend the wretched victims of terror, the Israelis. Do Mike Johnson and Lindsay Graham think the US soldier would be motivated for such a war? Send them into Gaza so they can see for themselves what is going on.
... bringing to power electing-wrong-leadership, engaging-agenda-causes for unjust-wrong-wars... we know now there's talk of additional wars we could-should be fighting... bringing to power more of those individuals that will engage versus avoiding them is what we're not rightfully-fearful of doing as we must-be
What does the News say about stocking up on toilet paper?
Haven't seen either of those folks' programs; will check them out. Thanks.
A ploy by the Tories to get more votes? Scare the pikers? Else they really want war ...
That "recommendation" ~ for 3 days of food that doesn't require cooking [as in canned] and a minimum of 3 liters of potable water per person in the household ~ won't do much good in a "crisis" that lasts for any more than 4 or 5 days.
And my guess is that the British government ~ like the American government ~ is very hesitant to implement conscription.
That is one GUARANTEED way to kick serious anti-War and anti-Government activity in those nations into high gear.
On the other hand, both Governments seem to enjoy putting down anti-War/anti-Genocide sentiments of their Citizens, especially if it can be done violently.