I stepped away from reading about this a little bit because it's so horrific and draining and it seems like the worst is yet to come. Now with Rafa, I mean what does Israel think is going to be the end game here? Let's say they wipe out all the Palestinians. Do they really think the Arab world will accept this? And what happens if all the hostages are returned or killed or they're no longer a factor in this? However it was never about the hostages in the first place. It's allegedly about just ridding themselves of Hamas, so, hostages aside, they're still going to continue on this path. Watching videos on Instagram is absolutely heartwrenching. I saw a woman and a small child lying in the street and people were trying to rescue them as they had already been sniped and they did not survive. How is that anything against Hamas? It is clearly civilians they are targeting intentionally. So much evidence of that. Very disappointed in Joe Biden and everybody else. I start to feel guilty when I have a meal sometimes, or turn on water. Just a simple thing that all these people can't come close to doing. I might have to step back again because it's very hard. You write so well, Bill. Thank you. Stay on course. Xo
You will, of course, argue that voting for her is a vote for Trump. That's what all Democrats say. But so what? You, yourself, have admitted it doesn't matter which party wins, we get the same old shit regardless. It's the money, not the politicians, that control our government. And we don't get to vote on that.
When it doesn't matter which of the D or R parties wins, there's no point in worrying about your least favorite winning. So, go and register your protest at the polls by voting for an alternative. You can't lose.
Good, clear piece as per usual. One thing stands out starkly in this genocide. Israel has gone about its grisly business of slaughtering innocent Palestinians, destroying Gazan infrastructure, and leveling Palestinian cultural institutions in a highly systematic manner. So highly systematic, that it seems clear that this was a plan they had already drawn up. It was just sitting on the shelf ready for the opportune time to implement it.
I am not suggesting that Israel knew the October 7th. attack was coming or acquiesced in that attack. I am only suggesting that they were simply waiting for the cover of a war to implement their macabre plan to conquer all of Palestine, which has been the Israeli pattern from its modern inception.
Even if our evil politicians can't own the obvious term of genocide, can any US citizen in their right mind not see this horrific war as anything but crimes against humanity?! I do not understand how the President, Senators and Congressional Representatives can even remotely pretend to be representing the interests of the electorate with funding for Israel's war, our disastrous proxy war in Ukraine and saber rattling with more weapons for Taiwan.
The bigger Question, TomG, is: How can the American Peoples even remotely pretend that those politicians even remotely pretend to represent that Peoples' interests?
Reelected again and again and again. Senility isn't even a disqualifier these days. IT seems the only real qualifier is red team or blue team. All else is excused. I'm, what I shall call, a radical progressive conservative. Needless to say, I am a man without a party or a even candidate to support.
Exactly. And "Reelected again and again and again" by WHOM?
And why do the American Voters keep on doing that?
Because the people they keep re-electing have mastered the art and science of looting from the Federal Budget and sending the proceeds of that looting to the home State or Congressional District of the re-electee. And thus into the pockets of those Voters.
And thus the National, Sovereign Debt stands at $34.2 TRILLION and counting.
The Mom in Tennis shoes who was going to clean up WA DC.
She ran for the WA State Senate in 1988, and served one term before launching a campaign for the US Senate in 1992. She has been re-elected FIVE TIMES, most recently in 2022. Term limits anyone?
As a senator, Murray has been a part of party leadership since 2001, having served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Conference secretary, and assistant Democratic leader. She currently chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Murray now occupies the office of president pro tempore. As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
Never seen a war she does not like!
Guaranteed to do a "Dianne Feinstein".....
Fuckin hell! So much for the preschool teacher Mom in tennis shoes eh!
For Netanyahu and all the other fascist Israeli leaders, the word genocide only applies to killing Jews. They simply have re-defined the word, and since Biden and all the other Netanyahu sycophants in his regime (and it should henceforth be called a regime, not an "administration"), in particular Blinken, are making the slaughter of Palestinians possible, they are going along with this redefinition. Simply put, only one mass slaughter/genocide has taken place in history according to these butchers--the Nazi slaughter against Jews in WW II. All other historical occurrences of genocide, including the current one underway in Gaza, have been summarily disappeared.
There is considerable similarity between the war in Israel and the war in Ukraine. In Israel, the oppressors are the Zionists who govern the country and the oppressed are the Palestinians. In Ukraine, the oppressors are the right wing, nationalist Ukrainians who govern, and the oppressed are the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. In both cases, the U.S. is aiding the oppressors. The big difference is that the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine are being supported by Russia so they have a good chance of survival. Sadly, the Palestinians have no friends who are willing to step up and defend them.
As the cattle farmers in WA state say..."getting down to the nut cutting!"
Sadly, my US partner, who has a degree in Political Science, disagrees vehemently with you!
She insists "Putin is an asshole" - such language from a UC Berkeley graduate eh!
My two doctor daughters, with 24-years of tertiary education between them in the US's finest Universities, now both professors, are active supporters of the Democratic Party.
I have been excommunicated from the family for the crime of debating them on how the hell Genocide Joe can serve another 4-years as POTUS.
EDIT: They all REFUSE to even watch the Tucker/Putin debate! An extreme right-wing nut and an asshole dictator! Oh dear! Over educated.
As my old mentor in the Construction business would say to them.."A man with a paper ass knows better than you!" LOL
Speaking of over-educated, brings to mind a recent discussion I had with a friend about the exponential growth of human knowledge that is forcing us to specialize more and more in order to succeed in any given field. The result is over-education in one field at the expense of all the others resulting in failure to grasp broader issues facing humanity.
Of all the fields getting the shaft because we need to specialize, is history and the liberal arts. Failure to know the history of the Israeli state, Russia or Ukraine or the empires that preceded them is the chief cause of failure to understand the situation today.
The old saw that "those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it" was never truer than it is today.
Americans, today, are making two, possibly fatal mistakes. The first is not learning from the mistakes of the past, and the second is believing that they are smarter than their ancestors.
She gave him 15-minutes of instructions on how he was do it.
On the drive to the bank he turned to me...."Over-educated"....his only words!
The dumbest Engineers we employed in our Construction Company were those with PhD's. We joked that the Carpenter Foreman always knew better than those nitwits.
BSc - Bunch of shit. MSc - more of the same. PhD - piled higher and deeper!
Not being modest - I say I am an English educated Engineer mathematician data scientist! Wonder what subset I am in eh! LMAO
EDIT: I passed my WA state Structural Engineering exam to become a Registered Structural Engineer. I never had 1-hour of formal education in Structural Engineering. I learnt it all in the "School of Hard Knocks."*
*The term originated in the United States; its earliest documented use was in 1870 in the book The Men Who Advertise: "... his misfortunes were largely owing to the inexperience of youth. Trained, however, in the School of Hard Knocks, he now had learned the theory of success".
Dennis: I concur on the Degrees also too much book knowledge and not enough getting your fingernails dirty. Its a known fact it takes 10 years to make a Firefighter a Firefighter too, and people talking through "paper assholes"A Fave Firefighter's remark as well.-- I only have an "Associates" (possibly asshole) Degree in Fire Science glad I don't come under the B.S. bullshit, M.S. more shit, and P.H.D. degrees piled up higher, and deeper shit!!! lol
Dennis, I am in a somewhat similar situation except in my case I am the one responsible for the break. My only sibling went all in for Israel many years ago in accord with her spouse (lost family, but not parents, in the holocaust) who at a family dinner took my son aside to tell him that the Arabs are animals. My niece and nephews went all out for Israel.
Being familiar from before the turn of the 21st century with the situation of the Palestinians, I found it very difficult to sit at family dinners overflowing with food and chit-chat while knowing family members were supportive of the terrible oppression going on as we dined.
I made an attempt to get my sister to see things a bit differently and invited her to go with me to a meeting of the Students for Justice in Palestine where I had learned much at previous meetings filled with friendly people. My sister was adamant in her refusal to go saying, "I know all about those people!"
That was it for me, my sister had become unrecognizable as a bigot. I said I could no longer attend family dinners. And that was that more than a decade ago. No communication since. I have not regretted what I did, all the more so with what is happening now.
This horror asks all Americans, "who are you?" as aid to genocide flows freely from those who say they represent us. I have no difficulty on where I stand and have stood for some time now.
My daughters will humour me ~ if they can be bothered. Which is hurtful.
But my two son-in-law's think I am...well, bovine excrement.
With them I utilize what my Dale Carnegie courses taught me ...." Consider the source."
My youngest doctor daughter belongs to the AMA. The American Medical Association, which is a professional Association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students.
They crucified Putin and demanded a ceasefire as their official position.
But the same assholes refuse to take the same position on the Israeli genocide.
The only thing I can figure is that they are shit scared of AIPAC coming down on them!
Caitlin Johnstone’s 15 Feb 24 article “We Think This Dystopia Is Normal Like People In Abusive Relationships Think It's Normal” should be required reading for every American who thinks they are still capable of thinking for her or himself…[EMPHASES added]:
Westerners who don’t appreciate the extreme dysfunctionality of western civilization are like someone in an abusive marriage who hasn’t yet recognized that there’s a problem, or someone who had a violent and chaotic childhood who still thinks their home life was basically normal.
ALL OF US UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH OUR SOCIETY, AND MOST OF US UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF THOSE PROBLEMS ARE SEVERE. BUT FEW WESTERNERS REALLY GET JUST HOW BAD IT IS. HOW PERVASIVELY DISEASED IT IS.
IN REALITY, WE ARE LIVING IN A PROFOUNDLY SICK DYSTOPIA THAT IS BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF HUMAN CORPSES AND FUELED BY AN ENDLESS RIVER OF HUMAN BLOOD. OUR NEWS MEDIA ARE PROPAGANDA SERVICES, OUR ENTERTAINMENT IS BRAINWASHING, AND OUR MAINSTREAM CULTURE IS SOCIAL ENGINEERING, ALL BUILT TO KEEP US TURNING THE GEARS OF A VAST GLOBE-DOMINATING EMPIRE.
There’s a widespread assumption throughout the western world that while things might not be perfect our society is certainly much better than what people experience in a nation like China, smugly believing ourselves to be a free society full of free thinkers and free people in contrast with those unfortunate thought-controlled communist conformists. In fact WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS ONE GIANT THOUGHT-CONTROLLED CONFORMITY MACHINE WHERE PEOPLE’S MINDS ARE SHAPED BY MASS-SCALE PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION FAR MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, EXACTLY BECAUSE WESTERNERS DON’T KNOW THIS IS HAPPENING AND BELIEVE THEY ARE FREE.
Western minds don’t like to be told this, because it goes against everything they’ve been trained to believe about their nation, their society, and their world. Obviously we are much freer here than those poor saps to the east; here in the west we are free to choose between 197 flavors of frosted breakfast cereal and 20,000 different superhero movies. We are free to choose between voting for warmongering capitalist authoritarian Democrats or warmongering capitalist authoritarian Republicans. We are free to sell our labor at a fraction of the value it generates to any exploitative ecocidal employer of our choosing. We are free to think whatever thoughts we’ve been trained to think by our education systems, mass media, and Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation. We are free to speak our minds, which have been shaped and conditioned to serve the interests of the powerful and never to say anything that falls outside the Overton window of acceptable opinion.
Sure there are outliers in the margins, westerners who’ve slipped outside the matrix of thought control and have gained the ability to traffick in unauthorized opinions — if you’re reading this you’re probably one of them. But our numbers are deliberately kept too small to have any political consequence, and if those numbers start getting too big for comfort we immediately see influence ops to sow division and confusion and herd people back toward the mainstream flock. Sure we in our small numbers are free to voice unauthorized opinions on marginal platforms where we can’t have much impact — we’re free to dig a hole in the ground and whisper whatever we want into it, too.
THE SINGLE BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO OUR FREEDOM IN THE WEST IS OUR WIDESPREAD BELIEF THAT WE ARE FREE. UNTIL WE COLLECTIVELY REALIZE WE’RE HUMAN LIVESTOCK BEING CONTINUALLY HERDED INTO OUR RESPECTIVE GEAR-TURNING STATIONS TO KEEP THE IMPERIAL JUGGERNAUT TRUDGING EVER FORWARD ON THE WORLD STAGE, WE’VE GOT NO CHANCE TO BREAK FREE AND BRING THE WHOLE ABUSIVE SYSTEM CRASHING DOWN.
Until this is seen we’re like the wife who thinks it’s perfectly normal that her husband controls all her finances and dictates every aspect of her life, and who’d be shocked and angered if anyone tried to tell her that this is what an abusive relationship looks like. We’re like the man who insists he had a happy childhood despite remembering a lot of body trauma and screams.
The truth is all around us — we’re marinating in it 24/7/365. But we can’t see it, because it’s all we’ve ever known. We’ve been conditioned to think that this murderous ecocidal mind-controlled dystopia is normal, and we can’t imagine it being any other way. The prospect of ending it can actually feel scary and intimidating, just as it can for someone who’s thinking about fleeing an abusive relationship.
But REAL FREEDOM IS JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT FEAR. ALL WE’VE GOT TO DO IS BECOME SUFFICIENTLY CONSCIOUS OF WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE.
as brilliant, detailed, and comprehensive a scholium, jg, as it is heart-shattering, discouraging, and despoliating of one's cortical architecture. thank you for your exegetic synopsis of our long-deteriorating zeitgeist over which we complaining ciphers exercise exiguous control, except inside our own circumscribed ambits.
I think this was a standout comment by a poster in the comment section to the Caitlan Johnstone's article you have linked here, Jeff.
"Diagnosis-wise, this description may be somewhat accurate. I’ve read it all, and still am stuck at the “dystopia” catchword. Is it a proper word to use here? No.
According to Webster and common understanding, “dystopia” is “…an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives…”
Calling our life dystopian is a fear-mongering approach in pure form. Basically, it’s wrong and false. First, we don’t have this life. A few individuals or groups may live by these principles, especially pseudo-journalists who feed on human unhappiness. But the rest of us live pretty normal lives, with ups and downs, as it has always been the case all over the world, including the most evil terror wars. We have kids, send them to schools, play on weekends… is it a dehumanized life?
Some of us are addicted to anti-social networks or tv stations or empty podcasts, so what? Is it a wretched life?
We have the life which we have. Most of us are not so fortunate and cannot freely choose to be 9-figure politicians who have never worked an hour in their lifetime. So what? Does it make our life dystopian?
My point is: words carry meanings. If you use them wrongly, you harm people, and you harm them twice. First, when you diagnose them with a false disease. I’d say, we have no idea about the life other people have - simply because an average person “knows” (in a very ambitious meaning of this word) about 20-30 other people, including their own family. Politicians and journalists know even fewer people, because they meet a lot of them, and all their relations end up as superficial 1-second views. What authority do we have to sentence other people by diagnosing them with dystopian accusations?
The second harm comes when people surrender to such false statements and start to see “dystopian” whatever where it does not exist. Pushing them on a down-spiral to meaninglessness is not difficult. Making them turn back and see what they actually have - not so much. Words carry meanings."
His best sentence ~ "A few individuals or groups may live by these principles, especially pseudo-journalists who feed on human unhappiness."
All the rest of the comments to Caitlan's over-the-top article are typical of what's becoming very concerning in these alt-media sites. An echo chamber of sycophant doom and gloomer's. Pessimists, and naysayers. Casandra's (?). And of course, this poster was ripped a new asshole for having an alternative contrary opinion. The very thing all these hypocritical commenters are advocating for.
Its not a "war" Jeff. It's a Special Military Operation. (MSO)
Russia (Not "Putin". Putin is just the figurehead of a functional government) launched a MSO in 2022 to defend the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
The two separatist regions had been at war with Ukraine since 2014. Ukraine had been committing genocide against Russian speakers in the region. Killing 14,000 Russian speakers.
The Ukraine's government were neo-Nazi's under Western control. NATO was building up military infrastructure in Ukraine, which was a threat to Russia.
Putin said Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, with no plans to occupy Ukrainian land, and threatened severe consequences for any country that intervened.
And explained this all in detail to Tucker Carlson. Stating that the "war" could end tomorrow if the US stopped supplying the Neo-Nazi's weapons.
Tell that to the Ukrainians [and Russians] who have been killed or maimed, widowed or widowered, rendered childless or parentless, jobless, homeless, helpless, and hopeless.
"Not a 'war'," eh? i guess that means that America's "Forever War" wasn't really a "war" either. Just an "Overseas Contingency Operation," eh? What do You call America's [and New Zealand's] fun and games in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975? Tiddlywinks?
And Putin is a "figurehead," eh? You mean like Hitler was a figurehead? And that's some kind of "figurehead," being in power since 2000. i'm sure Trump would love to be that kind of "figurehead."
And trust me, Dennis: i know all about why Your "figurehead" launched his War. Er, sorry, his SMO [or is it an MSO?]
And if the War in Ukraine ended tomorrow, there would just be another one someplace else to take its place.
And finally, what does this have to do with Patti Smith's song "People Have The Power"? i missed the connection completely.
Tell that to the Iraqis for whom it was not war, because only congress can declare war.
Or the Afghans or the Libyans or the Vietnamese or the Syrians (and how many others) for that matter.
And speaking of figureheads, you think that Biden (or Trump or Obama or baby Bush) weren't just figureheads of a government controlled by others? You think all the war was just their idea?
Are You asking me if i think Biden [or Trump, or Obama, or Cheney/Bush the Lesser, or Clinrton, or Bozo and Bush the Elder, etc etc etc, and so forth ad nauseum] are and were "figureheads"?
The Yanks turned this into a "War". It did not have to be.
Just like they turned Vietnam into a war by not minding their own business!
And if the War in Ukraine ended tomorrow, there would just be another one someplace else to take its place. And one thing's for sure ~ started by the Yanks for their unquenchable thirst for full spectrum domination.
Seems your Trump Derangement Syndrome is causing Putin Derangement Syndrome also eh!
A new bombshell report by Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger shows that the Obama Administration intelligence agencies used their foreign counterparts to spy on the Trump campaign and its personnel. Why? They wanted the dirt on Trump, but it would have been illegal for the CIA to do the spying.
i don't particularly care whether You "trust" me or not, Dennis. Why should i?
And You have absolutely no idea what i think and feel about Putin; so do Yourself a favor, and do not presume that You do.
In any event, if i'm afflicted with TDS, Yours is a classic case of TWS: Trump Worship Syndrome.
But actually, my affliction is "Trump Is A Scumbag Draft Dodger," just like Clinton, Biden, Cheney, and a whole bunch of other Swamplanders. i just don't have a catchy acronym for it like You and Your "TDS." At least not yet.
Time to shut down chat-time with You on BV again, my friend. i have neither the time for nor the interest in playing Your word games. Adios and have a Great day.
Heh. Actually, i'd say that "Bobbleheads" is a more accurate description.
But to answer the question: Yes. But they are far, far more than mere figureheads.
And that's because they have virtually unlimited access to the financial, technological, and, above all, human resources necessary to effectively communicate to the Peoples of America exactly what it is that "The System" [aka "Deep State," etc] wants to do.
They are, in effect, America's Propagandist-In-Chief. Even when they no longer occupy the throne that is The Oval Office.
The Future of Freedom Foundation’s Jacob G. Hornberger today asks and answers one of the most Critical Questions any American still capable of thinking for her or himself can ask Themselves, their Families and Loved Ones, their Friends and Neighbors, and their Colleagues, Cohorts, and Compeers:
“How Can We Bring Down the National Security State?” … :
Upon reading my article of yesterday about master worrywart Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the retired head of the NSA, a longtime supporter of The Future of Freedom Foundation asked HOW IT WOULD EVER BE POSSIBLE TO BRING DOWN AN OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE LIKE A NATIONAL-SECURITY STATE AND REPLACE IT WITH OUR FOUNDING GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF A LIMITED-GOVERNMENT REPUBLIC.
It’s a great question. After all, NO ONE CAN EXPECT THE PENTAGON, THE CIA, THE NSA, AND THEIR MASSIVE ARMY OF WELL-HEELED “DEFENSE” CONTRACTORS TO VOLUNTARILY DISSOLVE AND GO PEACEFULLY INTO THE NIGHT.
Moreover, NO ONE WOULD EVER EXPECT THE THOUSANDS OF CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS AMERICA THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON MILITARY BASES AND MILITARY LARGESS TO EAGERLY GIVE UP THEIR MILITARY DOLE.
Also, A VIOLENT REVOLUTION IS OUT OF THE QUESTION, GIVEN THE MASSIVE, OVERWHELMING POWER OF THE MILITARY-INTELLIGENCE ESTABLISHMENT AND, EQUALLY IMPORTANT, THE WILLINGNESS TO USE THAT POWER AGAINST AMERICAN CITIZENS TO MAINTAIN ITSELF IN EXISTENCE.
Given all this, is the point that I have long made that we need to dismantle the national-security establishment and restore a limited-government republic in order to achieve a free society utterly futile? AM I ENGAGING IN NOTHING MORE THAN FANCIFUL THINKING? ARE WE CONSIGNED TO FOREVER LIVE OUR LIVES UNDER A TOTALITARIAN-LIKE GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE, ONE THAT WIELDS OMNIPOTENT, NON-REVIEWABLE POWERS LIKE ASSASSINATION, TORTURE, INDEFINITE DETENTION, INVASIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND WARS OF AGGRESSION, ONE THAT IS GETTING US EVER CLOSER TO THE PROSPECT OF ALL-OUT NUCLEAR WAR?
The answer to all those questions is: NO.
There is a reason why totalitarian dictatorships shut down people who publicly advocate liberty. Think North Korea or China. The regimes in those two countries wield omnipotent power, just as the U.S. national-security state does. One big difference between those two nations and the United States is that North Korean and Chinese citizens cannot own guns. Total gun control is built into the system, which ensures that the citizenry will never be able to violently revolt against their regime.
Therefore, from all appearances, the North Korean and Chinese regimes have absolutely nothing to worry about. Their hold on power is seemingly 100 percent secure.
Yet, notice something important: Neither regime will permit people to express the types of ideas I expressed yesterday in my article. If people in those two countries publicly expresses the notion that their own national-security state governmental structure should be dismantled in favor of a limited-government republic, they will be immediately arrested, incarcerated indefinitely, or even assassinated.
THE QUESTION THOUGH IS, WHY? Why do they feel the need to shut people down for expressing freedom ideas, given that the regimes have total power over the citizenry? What could they possibly fear, especially given that they have all the guns in society?
THEY FEAR THE POWER OF IDEAS ON LIBERTY. THEY KNOW THAT IDEAS ON LIBERTY CAN INFLAME THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF PEOPLE AND SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE ACROSS SOCIETY. THEY KNOW THAT THAT TYPE OF WILDFIRE, IF NOT CONTAINED, HAS THE POTENTIAL OF BRINGING DOWN EVEN REGIMES THAT WIELD OMNIPOTENT POWER OVER THE NATION.
WHAT WE NEED HERE IN THE UNITED STATES IS A CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO THE DISMANTLING OF THE NATIONAL-SECURITY STATE AND THE RESTORATION OF OUR FOUNDING GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF A LIMITED-GOVERNMENT REPUBLIC.
ONCE THAT CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT FREEDOM IS REACHED, THEY WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO BRING THE FREE SOCIETY INTO EXISTENCE. THEREFORE, WE SHOULD INSTEAD CONTINUE FOCUSING ON THE DISSEMINATION OF SOUND, PRINCIPLED IDEAS ON LIBERTY, WITH THE AIM OF ARRIVING AT THAT CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT FREEDOM.
The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer; Or, Who Do You Trust?
“Trust, a vital social lubricant, ensures the smooth functioning of modern society's many interconnected cogs, fostering cooperation, crucial to global stability.
“The annual Edelman Trust Barometer attempts to measure this trust by surveying more than 32,000 residents in 28 countries. Respondents are asked how much they trust their institutions—NGOs, the government, businesses, and the media—to ‘do the right thing.’”
KEY TAKEAWAYS from The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Report:
1) For 2024, the UK ranks last of the 28 countries on the trust index; with only 39% of those surveyed saying they trust their institutions; 7% lower than the U.S.
2) Meanwhile, 78% of all survey respondents—excluding those from China and Saudi Arabia—trust scientists to tell them the “truth” about new technology; this is compared to 47% for journalists and 45% for government leaders.
3) In 26 out of 28 countries, respondents felt that the government is not regulating emerging innovations well; across all of them, 59% believe the government “lacks the understanding” to execute regulation.
Let’s get the history right. Hamas attack on Oct 7 was misguided thuggery, young male jihadists out to prove what point exactly? But it was known to Israeli intelligence as much as a year ahead, that something was up. But, like 9/11 in USA, the intel agents were WOMEN thus discredited. Then the Israeli “silver-back,” sagging in popularity, launched into retaliation in hopes of becoming a “war president” and promptly established a “war cabinet.” But in actuality, “retaliation” was neither necessary nor beneficial by any measure. The reporting that I NEED to see is about exactly when the IDF’s war plans were drawn up, how many months in advance of Oct 7. The Israeli govt has joined the ranks of “MEN” (Most Exceptional Nations) and thus has no responsibilities at all, including being exempt from international nuclear inspections and now, apparently exempt from criticism of any kind, especially about genocide. Enough already! To the Enablers: the blood is on your hands and history will not look kindly on you ever again.
My guess is that all those "Enablers" of the Genocide in Gaza ~ be they from Israel, the US, the UK, and everywhere else ~ could care less about how "history" will view them.
By the time that history is actually recorded and written, they will all be dead.
The problem Israel is addressing right now was present from the beginning easily expressed in four words "we want them gone"
There was some hand wringing by some at the start but clearly the options were limited - chase them out or kill them off and in 1948 both were used. But the use of force was larded with BS like the idea that the Israeli soldiers were the most moral army and the phase "shoot and cry" was used to express the idea that the soldiers so hated what they "had to do" that if they killed someone with their weapons they would weep for having done so.
While these fairy tales are long disproven an echo comes from the top. I see today that a spokesperson for Biden has claimed that the IDF is more moral than the US Army. The US has, if it ever had one, lost its moral compass.
You conclude, Bill, with the statement "Stop the war in Gaza. Stop the genocide."
i'm not sure who that is directed to and at, but it SHOULD be aimed at The American Peoples.
So the real Question then becomes: "HOW? Exactly How are The American Peoples to stop the war and the genocide?"
At this stage of The Game, the primary useful idiots to Biden, Pelosi, Trump, Graham, and the rest of America's Ruling Political Class ARE those American Peoples. And that makes those Peoples useful idiots to America's MICC and Netanyahu, and thus direct accessories to the war and the genocide in Gaza.
Just like they were, have been, and still are accessories all thru "The Forever War" that followed 9/11.
Including Trump in your rant will prove to be misguided, Jeff.
The reason he is so reviled in the swamp is he is NOT a useful idiot.
Relying on the discredited Genocide Joe Biden, and the Democratic Party that is complicit with genocide in Gaza and threats of repression at home, and the confused RHINO's, is convincing more and more impartial analyst's that that tact will not be able to defeat the MAGA "threat".
The only reason Trump survived four years in DC is because he was ~ and is, and will ever be ~ the quintessential Useful Idiot.
Name one element of The Deep State that was not better off after Trump left office than it was when Obama left office. Can You name even ONE?
How'd those Defense/Security Budgets do on his watch?
And how'd the National, Sovereign Debt do while he was in charge?
And how many Ukrainians were killed by all those nasty Kyiv No-Nazis that Trump did nothing to reign in? Last i heard, it was 14,000 +/-. Thus setting the stage for Putin's little adventure two years ago next week.
The only reason Trump has even an outside chance of getting elected in 2024 [assuming, for the moment, that there will in fact be an election in November] is because he will still be the same Useful Idiot he was from 2017-2021.
Blah..Blah..Blah.....the same old one trick pony stuff ad nauseum Jeff!
"You give me the awful impression, I hate to have to say it, of someone who hasn't read any of the arguments against your position ever." - Christopher Hitchens.
So who is your choice to be the 47th POTUS, Jeff?
Oh, sorry I forgot..... NOBODY... pretty chicken shit eh!
You choose to have nothing to do with your country's future! Except moaning and whining about how screwed up it is!
I stepped away from reading about this a little bit because it's so horrific and draining and it seems like the worst is yet to come. Now with Rafa, I mean what does Israel think is going to be the end game here? Let's say they wipe out all the Palestinians. Do they really think the Arab world will accept this? And what happens if all the hostages are returned or killed or they're no longer a factor in this? However it was never about the hostages in the first place. It's allegedly about just ridding themselves of Hamas, so, hostages aside, they're still going to continue on this path. Watching videos on Instagram is absolutely heartwrenching. I saw a woman and a small child lying in the street and people were trying to rescue them as they had already been sniped and they did not survive. How is that anything against Hamas? It is clearly civilians they are targeting intentionally. So much evidence of that. Very disappointed in Joe Biden and everybody else. I start to feel guilty when I have a meal sometimes, or turn on water. Just a simple thing that all these people can't come close to doing. I might have to step back again because it's very hard. You write so well, Bill. Thank you. Stay on course. Xo
Voice texting and tried to edit spelling. Did not accomplish. Sorry if there's misspellings like Rafah. 😬
No regerts :-)
Don't worry about the misspelling Victoria.
Great comment.
I feel the same way as you. 4-months now of waking up hoping for a ceasefire.
And last week seeing the Al Jazeera report of the beautiful 4-year-old girl murdered by the IDF was gut wrenching for me thinking of my daughters.
"Very disappointed in Joe Biden and everybody else"....... is the understatement of the century.
And the million-dollar question is ~ since Genocide Joe is senile, who is pulling the strings?
And why do ALL those other countries act as merely vassals of the US?
Being a proud British Commonwealther - Rishi Sunak makes me ashamed!
Take care
TRUMP 2024 - can the world wait that long eh?
I don't think Trump is the answer, but Joe is certainly being told what to say. Two old white men is the best we have?
I'd rather have Juliette Lewis for president. Love her mug shot. :-)
Then vote for her.
You will, of course, argue that voting for her is a vote for Trump. That's what all Democrats say. But so what? You, yourself, have admitted it doesn't matter which party wins, we get the same old shit regardless. It's the money, not the politicians, that control our government. And we don't get to vote on that.
When it doesn't matter which of the D or R parties wins, there's no point in worrying about your least favorite winning. So, go and register your protest at the polls by voting for an alternative. You can't lose.
She's got my vote. Xo
Good, clear piece as per usual. One thing stands out starkly in this genocide. Israel has gone about its grisly business of slaughtering innocent Palestinians, destroying Gazan infrastructure, and leveling Palestinian cultural institutions in a highly systematic manner. So highly systematic, that it seems clear that this was a plan they had already drawn up. It was just sitting on the shelf ready for the opportune time to implement it.
I am not suggesting that Israel knew the October 7th. attack was coming or acquiesced in that attack. I am only suggesting that they were simply waiting for the cover of a war to implement their macabre plan to conquer all of Palestine, which has been the Israeli pattern from its modern inception.
Why NOT suggest that Israel and the United States knew the October 7 attack was coming?
In fact, why not suggest that the October 7 attack was actually planned and executed by the United States and Israel?
What is so unusual about a "False Flag" attack precipitating a desired War?
It certainly worked for the United States with 9/11.
See "A 'False Flag' Operation to Justify The Israel-U.S. Genocide against the People of Palestine" at https://www.globalresearch.ca/a-false-flag-attack-operation-to-justify-the-israel-u-s-genocide-against-the-people-of-palestine/5847958 .
Even if our evil politicians can't own the obvious term of genocide, can any US citizen in their right mind not see this horrific war as anything but crimes against humanity?! I do not understand how the President, Senators and Congressional Representatives can even remotely pretend to be representing the interests of the electorate with funding for Israel's war, our disastrous proxy war in Ukraine and saber rattling with more weapons for Taiwan.
The bigger Question, TomG, is: How can the American Peoples even remotely pretend that those politicians even remotely pretend to represent that Peoples' interests?
But somehow they do.
Reelected again and again and again. Senility isn't even a disqualifier these days. IT seems the only real qualifier is red team or blue team. All else is excused. I'm, what I shall call, a radical progressive conservative. Needless to say, I am a man without a party or a even candidate to support.
Exactly. And "Reelected again and again and again" by WHOM?
And why do the American Voters keep on doing that?
Because the people they keep re-electing have mastered the art and science of looting from the Federal Budget and sending the proceeds of that looting to the home State or Congressional District of the re-electee. And thus into the pockets of those Voters.
And thus the National, Sovereign Debt stands at $34.2 TRILLION and counting.
Senator Patty Murray(D). The Senator for Boeing.
The Mom in Tennis shoes who was going to clean up WA DC.
She ran for the WA State Senate in 1988, and served one term before launching a campaign for the US Senate in 1992. She has been re-elected FIVE TIMES, most recently in 2022. Term limits anyone?
As a senator, Murray has been a part of party leadership since 2001, having served as chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, Democratic Conference secretary, and assistant Democratic leader. She currently chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee.
Murray now occupies the office of president pro tempore. As president pro tempore, Murray is third in the line of succession to the U.S. presidency.
Never seen a war she does not like!
Guaranteed to do a "Dianne Feinstein".....
Fuckin hell! So much for the preschool teacher Mom in tennis shoes eh!
For Netanyahu and all the other fascist Israeli leaders, the word genocide only applies to killing Jews. They simply have re-defined the word, and since Biden and all the other Netanyahu sycophants in his regime (and it should henceforth be called a regime, not an "administration"), in particular Blinken, are making the slaughter of Palestinians possible, they are going along with this redefinition. Simply put, only one mass slaughter/genocide has taken place in history according to these butchers--the Nazi slaughter against Jews in WW II. All other historical occurrences of genocide, including the current one underway in Gaza, have been summarily disappeared.
There is considerable similarity between the war in Israel and the war in Ukraine. In Israel, the oppressors are the Zionists who govern the country and the oppressed are the Palestinians. In Ukraine, the oppressors are the right wing, nationalist Ukrainians who govern, and the oppressed are the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine. In both cases, the U.S. is aiding the oppressors. The big difference is that the ethnic Russians in eastern Ukraine are being supported by Russia so they have a good chance of survival. Sadly, the Palestinians have no friends who are willing to step up and defend them.
You nailed it wrk. Great simple analyses!
As the cattle farmers in WA state say..."getting down to the nut cutting!"
Sadly, my US partner, who has a degree in Political Science, disagrees vehemently with you!
She insists "Putin is an asshole" - such language from a UC Berkeley graduate eh!
My two doctor daughters, with 24-years of tertiary education between them in the US's finest Universities, now both professors, are active supporters of the Democratic Party.
I have been excommunicated from the family for the crime of debating them on how the hell Genocide Joe can serve another 4-years as POTUS.
EDIT: They all REFUSE to even watch the Tucker/Putin debate! An extreme right-wing nut and an asshole dictator! Oh dear! Over educated.
As my old mentor in the Construction business would say to them.."A man with a paper ass knows better than you!" LOL
TRUMP 2024 - can the world wait that long?
Excommunicated? Is your family a religious cult, Dennis?
Seriously, I hope you're not estranged over politics. People should be able to disagree without being disagreeable, petty, mean, and vindictive.
Sadly Jeff, my family has turned disagreeable, petty, mean, and vindictive.
The only emails and texts I am allowed to send now are about the weather.
All the rest are deleted without reading.
Over-educated folk sadly!
Speaking of over-educated, brings to mind a recent discussion I had with a friend about the exponential growth of human knowledge that is forcing us to specialize more and more in order to succeed in any given field. The result is over-education in one field at the expense of all the others resulting in failure to grasp broader issues facing humanity.
Of all the fields getting the shaft because we need to specialize, is history and the liberal arts. Failure to know the history of the Israeli state, Russia or Ukraine or the empires that preceded them is the chief cause of failure to understand the situation today.
The old saw that "those who don't know history are condemned to repeat it" was never truer than it is today.
Americans, today, are making two, possibly fatal mistakes. The first is not learning from the mistakes of the past, and the second is believing that they are smarter than their ancestors.
Unfortunately, education doesn't make us smart.
I had a mate who was married to a gal with a PHd.
He was to deposit a check in their local bank.
She gave him 15-minutes of instructions on how he was do it.
On the drive to the bank he turned to me...."Over-educated"....his only words!
The dumbest Engineers we employed in our Construction Company were those with PhD's. We joked that the Carpenter Foreman always knew better than those nitwits.
BSc - Bunch of shit. MSc - more of the same. PhD - piled higher and deeper!
Not being modest - I say I am an English educated Engineer mathematician data scientist! Wonder what subset I am in eh! LMAO
EDIT: I passed my WA state Structural Engineering exam to become a Registered Structural Engineer. I never had 1-hour of formal education in Structural Engineering. I learnt it all in the "School of Hard Knocks."*
*The term originated in the United States; its earliest documented use was in 1870 in the book The Men Who Advertise: "... his misfortunes were largely owing to the inexperience of youth. Trained, however, in the School of Hard Knocks, he now had learned the theory of success".
Dennis: I concur on the Degrees also too much book knowledge and not enough getting your fingernails dirty. Its a known fact it takes 10 years to make a Firefighter a Firefighter too, and people talking through "paper assholes"A Fave Firefighter's remark as well.-- I only have an "Associates" (possibly asshole) Degree in Fire Science glad I don't come under the B.S. bullshit, M.S. more shit, and P.H.D. degrees piled up higher, and deeper shit!!! lol
And Chris Hedges NEVER comes up with any solutions.
Dennis, I am in a somewhat similar situation except in my case I am the one responsible for the break. My only sibling went all in for Israel many years ago in accord with her spouse (lost family, but not parents, in the holocaust) who at a family dinner took my son aside to tell him that the Arabs are animals. My niece and nephews went all out for Israel.
Being familiar from before the turn of the 21st century with the situation of the Palestinians, I found it very difficult to sit at family dinners overflowing with food and chit-chat while knowing family members were supportive of the terrible oppression going on as we dined.
I made an attempt to get my sister to see things a bit differently and invited her to go with me to a meeting of the Students for Justice in Palestine where I had learned much at previous meetings filled with friendly people. My sister was adamant in her refusal to go saying, "I know all about those people!"
That was it for me, my sister had become unrecognizable as a bigot. I said I could no longer attend family dinners. And that was that more than a decade ago. No communication since. I have not regretted what I did, all the more so with what is happening now.
This horror asks all Americans, "who are you?" as aid to genocide flows freely from those who say they represent us. I have no difficulty on where I stand and have stood for some time now.
Great post Clif. I feel for you and admire you.
My daughters will humour me ~ if they can be bothered. Which is hurtful.
But my two son-in-law's think I am...well, bovine excrement.
With them I utilize what my Dale Carnegie courses taught me ...." Consider the source."
My youngest doctor daughter belongs to the AMA. The American Medical Association, which is a professional Association and lobbying group of physicians and medical students.
They crucified Putin and demanded a ceasefire as their official position.
But the same assholes refuse to take the same position on the Israeli genocide.
The only thing I can figure is that they are shit scared of AIPAC coming down on them!
Take care.
Caitlin Johnstone’s 15 Feb 24 article “We Think This Dystopia Is Normal Like People In Abusive Relationships Think It's Normal” should be required reading for every American who thinks they are still capable of thinking for her or himself…[EMPHASES added]:
Westerners who don’t appreciate the extreme dysfunctionality of western civilization are like someone in an abusive marriage who hasn’t yet recognized that there’s a problem, or someone who had a violent and chaotic childhood who still thinks their home life was basically normal.
ALL OF US UNDERSTAND THAT THERE ARE PROBLEMS WITH OUR SOCIETY, AND MOST OF US UNDERSTAND THAT A LOT OF THOSE PROBLEMS ARE SEVERE. BUT FEW WESTERNERS REALLY GET JUST HOW BAD IT IS. HOW PERVASIVELY DISEASED IT IS.
IN REALITY, WE ARE LIVING IN A PROFOUNDLY SICK DYSTOPIA THAT IS BUILT ON A FOUNDATION OF HUMAN CORPSES AND FUELED BY AN ENDLESS RIVER OF HUMAN BLOOD. OUR NEWS MEDIA ARE PROPAGANDA SERVICES, OUR ENTERTAINMENT IS BRAINWASHING, AND OUR MAINSTREAM CULTURE IS SOCIAL ENGINEERING, ALL BUILT TO KEEP US TURNING THE GEARS OF A VAST GLOBE-DOMINATING EMPIRE.
There’s a widespread assumption throughout the western world that while things might not be perfect our society is certainly much better than what people experience in a nation like China, smugly believing ourselves to be a free society full of free thinkers and free people in contrast with those unfortunate thought-controlled communist conformists. In fact WESTERN CIVILIZATION IS ONE GIANT THOUGHT-CONTROLLED CONFORMITY MACHINE WHERE PEOPLE’S MINDS ARE SHAPED BY MASS-SCALE PSYCHOLOGICAL MANIPULATION FAR MORE EFFECTIVELY THAN ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD, EXACTLY BECAUSE WESTERNERS DON’T KNOW THIS IS HAPPENING AND BELIEVE THEY ARE FREE.
Western minds don’t like to be told this, because it goes against everything they’ve been trained to believe about their nation, their society, and their world. Obviously we are much freer here than those poor saps to the east; here in the west we are free to choose between 197 flavors of frosted breakfast cereal and 20,000 different superhero movies. We are free to choose between voting for warmongering capitalist authoritarian Democrats or warmongering capitalist authoritarian Republicans. We are free to sell our labor at a fraction of the value it generates to any exploitative ecocidal employer of our choosing. We are free to think whatever thoughts we’ve been trained to think by our education systems, mass media, and Silicon Valley algorithm manipulation. We are free to speak our minds, which have been shaped and conditioned to serve the interests of the powerful and never to say anything that falls outside the Overton window of acceptable opinion.
Sure there are outliers in the margins, westerners who’ve slipped outside the matrix of thought control and have gained the ability to traffick in unauthorized opinions — if you’re reading this you’re probably one of them. But our numbers are deliberately kept too small to have any political consequence, and if those numbers start getting too big for comfort we immediately see influence ops to sow division and confusion and herd people back toward the mainstream flock. Sure we in our small numbers are free to voice unauthorized opinions on marginal platforms where we can’t have much impact — we’re free to dig a hole in the ground and whisper whatever we want into it, too.
THE SINGLE BIGGEST OBSTACLE TO OUR FREEDOM IN THE WEST IS OUR WIDESPREAD BELIEF THAT WE ARE FREE. UNTIL WE COLLECTIVELY REALIZE WE’RE HUMAN LIVESTOCK BEING CONTINUALLY HERDED INTO OUR RESPECTIVE GEAR-TURNING STATIONS TO KEEP THE IMPERIAL JUGGERNAUT TRUDGING EVER FORWARD ON THE WORLD STAGE, WE’VE GOT NO CHANCE TO BREAK FREE AND BRING THE WHOLE ABUSIVE SYSTEM CRASHING DOWN.
Until this is seen we’re like the wife who thinks it’s perfectly normal that her husband controls all her finances and dictates every aspect of her life, and who’d be shocked and angered if anyone tried to tell her that this is what an abusive relationship looks like. We’re like the man who insists he had a happy childhood despite remembering a lot of body trauma and screams.
The truth is all around us — we’re marinating in it 24/7/365. But we can’t see it, because it’s all we’ve ever known. We’ve been conditioned to think that this murderous ecocidal mind-controlled dystopia is normal, and we can’t imagine it being any other way. The prospect of ending it can actually feel scary and intimidating, just as it can for someone who’s thinking about fleeing an abusive relationship.
But REAL FREEDOM IS JUST ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THAT FEAR. ALL WE’VE GOT TO DO IS BECOME SUFFICIENTLY CONSCIOUS OF WHAT’S REALLY GOING ON HERE.
Source: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/we-think-this-dystopia-is-normal
as brilliant, detailed, and comprehensive a scholium, jg, as it is heart-shattering, discouraging, and despoliating of one's cortical architecture. thank you for your exegetic synopsis of our long-deteriorating zeitgeist over which we complaining ciphers exercise exiguous control, except inside our own circumscribed ambits.
I think this was a standout comment by a poster in the comment section to the Caitlan Johnstone's article you have linked here, Jeff.
"Diagnosis-wise, this description may be somewhat accurate. I’ve read it all, and still am stuck at the “dystopia” catchword. Is it a proper word to use here? No.
According to Webster and common understanding, “dystopia” is “…an imagined world or society in which people lead wretched, dehumanized, fearful lives…”
Calling our life dystopian is a fear-mongering approach in pure form. Basically, it’s wrong and false. First, we don’t have this life. A few individuals or groups may live by these principles, especially pseudo-journalists who feed on human unhappiness. But the rest of us live pretty normal lives, with ups and downs, as it has always been the case all over the world, including the most evil terror wars. We have kids, send them to schools, play on weekends… is it a dehumanized life?
Some of us are addicted to anti-social networks or tv stations or empty podcasts, so what? Is it a wretched life?
We have the life which we have. Most of us are not so fortunate and cannot freely choose to be 9-figure politicians who have never worked an hour in their lifetime. So what? Does it make our life dystopian?
My point is: words carry meanings. If you use them wrongly, you harm people, and you harm them twice. First, when you diagnose them with a false disease. I’d say, we have no idea about the life other people have - simply because an average person “knows” (in a very ambitious meaning of this word) about 20-30 other people, including their own family. Politicians and journalists know even fewer people, because they meet a lot of them, and all their relations end up as superficial 1-second views. What authority do we have to sentence other people by diagnosing them with dystopian accusations?
The second harm comes when people surrender to such false statements and start to see “dystopian” whatever where it does not exist. Pushing them on a down-spiral to meaninglessness is not difficult. Making them turn back and see what they actually have - not so much. Words carry meanings."
His best sentence ~ "A few individuals or groups may live by these principles, especially pseudo-journalists who feed on human unhappiness."
All the rest of the comments to Caitlan's over-the-top article are typical of what's becoming very concerning in these alt-media sites. An echo chamber of sycophant doom and gloomer's. Pessimists, and naysayers. Casandra's (?). And of course, this poster was ripped a new asshole for having an alternative contrary opinion. The very thing all these hypocritical commenters are advocating for.
See the e-mail i just sent You, Dennis.
It does not matter whether there is a war going on or not. All that matters is that there is clearly a genocide going on.
For that matter, we have a current example of a war WITHOUT genocide, and that's the one being waged by Russia.
In one way, this says it all. And in another, it doesn't say nearly enough:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKNLIilyn7s
As does this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn91L9goKfQ .
But this definitely says it all: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAUrab7mgmQ .
Its not a "war" Jeff. It's a Special Military Operation. (MSO)
Russia (Not "Putin". Putin is just the figurehead of a functional government) launched a MSO in 2022 to defend the Donetsk People's Republic and Luhansk People's Republic under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
The two separatist regions had been at war with Ukraine since 2014. Ukraine had been committing genocide against Russian speakers in the region. Killing 14,000 Russian speakers.
The Ukraine's government were neo-Nazi's under Western control. NATO was building up military infrastructure in Ukraine, which was a threat to Russia.
Putin said Russia sought the "demilitarization and denazification" of Ukraine, with no plans to occupy Ukrainian land, and threatened severe consequences for any country that intervened.
And explained this all in detail to Tucker Carlson. Stating that the "war" could end tomorrow if the US stopped supplying the Neo-Nazi's weapons.
I believe him.
It's not a "war," eh?
Tell that to the Ukrainians [and Russians] who have been killed or maimed, widowed or widowered, rendered childless or parentless, jobless, homeless, helpless, and hopeless.
"Not a 'war'," eh? i guess that means that America's "Forever War" wasn't really a "war" either. Just an "Overseas Contingency Operation," eh? What do You call America's [and New Zealand's] fun and games in Vietnam from 1955 to 1975? Tiddlywinks?
And Putin is a "figurehead," eh? You mean like Hitler was a figurehead? And that's some kind of "figurehead," being in power since 2000. i'm sure Trump would love to be that kind of "figurehead."
And trust me, Dennis: i know all about why Your "figurehead" launched his War. Er, sorry, his SMO [or is it an MSO?]
And if the War in Ukraine ended tomorrow, there would just be another one someplace else to take its place.
And finally, what does this have to do with Patti Smith's song "People Have The Power"? i missed the connection completely.
Tell that to the Iraqis for whom it was not war, because only congress can declare war.
Or the Afghans or the Libyans or the Vietnamese or the Syrians (and how many others) for that matter.
And speaking of figureheads, you think that Biden (or Trump or Obama or baby Bush) weren't just figureheads of a government controlled by others? You think all the war was just their idea?
Are You asking me if i think Biden [or Trump, or Obama, or Cheney/Bush the Lesser, or Clinrton, or Bozo and Bush the Elder, etc etc etc, and so forth ad nauseum] are and were "figureheads"?
Why should I trust you, Jeff?
And Putin is 100% correct.
The Yanks turned this into a "War". It did not have to be.
Just like they turned Vietnam into a war by not minding their own business!
And if the War in Ukraine ended tomorrow, there would just be another one someplace else to take its place. And one thing's for sure ~ started by the Yanks for their unquenchable thirst for full spectrum domination.
Seems your Trump Derangement Syndrome is causing Putin Derangement Syndrome also eh!
Both live rent free in your head!
A new bombshell report by Matt Taibbi and Michael Shellenberger shows that the Obama Administration intelligence agencies used their foreign counterparts to spy on the Trump campaign and its personnel. Why? They wanted the dirt on Trump, but it would have been illegal for the CIA to do the spying.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyiyDDntIe0
Thanks for your great work exposing the corruption, Dr. Ron Paul!
TRUMP 2024
i don't particularly care whether You "trust" me or not, Dennis. Why should i?
And You have absolutely no idea what i think and feel about Putin; so do Yourself a favor, and do not presume that You do.
In any event, if i'm afflicted with TDS, Yours is a classic case of TWS: Trump Worship Syndrome.
But actually, my affliction is "Trump Is A Scumbag Draft Dodger," just like Clinton, Biden, Cheney, and a whole bunch of other Swamplanders. i just don't have a catchy acronym for it like You and Your "TDS." At least not yet.
Time to shut down chat-time with You on BV again, my friend. i have neither the time for nor the interest in playing Your word games. Adios and have a Great day.
Another solid article, Bill. Agree with everything you've written.
Heh. Actually, i'd say that "Bobbleheads" is a more accurate description.
But to answer the question: Yes. But they are far, far more than mere figureheads.
And that's because they have virtually unlimited access to the financial, technological, and, above all, human resources necessary to effectively communicate to the Peoples of America exactly what it is that "The System" [aka "Deep State," etc] wants to do.
They are, in effect, America's Propagandist-In-Chief. Even when they no longer occupy the throne that is The Oval Office.
The Future of Freedom Foundation’s Jacob G. Hornberger today asks and answers one of the most Critical Questions any American still capable of thinking for her or himself can ask Themselves, their Families and Loved Ones, their Friends and Neighbors, and their Colleagues, Cohorts, and Compeers:
“How Can We Bring Down the National Security State?” … :
Upon reading my article of yesterday about master worrywart Gen. Paul M. Nakasone, the retired head of the NSA, a longtime supporter of The Future of Freedom Foundation asked HOW IT WOULD EVER BE POSSIBLE TO BRING DOWN AN OMNIPOTENT GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE LIKE A NATIONAL-SECURITY STATE AND REPLACE IT WITH OUR FOUNDING GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF A LIMITED-GOVERNMENT REPUBLIC.
It’s a great question. After all, NO ONE CAN EXPECT THE PENTAGON, THE CIA, THE NSA, AND THEIR MASSIVE ARMY OF WELL-HEELED “DEFENSE” CONTRACTORS TO VOLUNTARILY DISSOLVE AND GO PEACEFULLY INTO THE NIGHT.
Moreover, NO ONE WOULD EVER EXPECT THE THOUSANDS OF CITIES AND TOWNS ACROSS AMERICA THAT ARE DEPENDENT ON MILITARY BASES AND MILITARY LARGESS TO EAGERLY GIVE UP THEIR MILITARY DOLE.
Also, A VIOLENT REVOLUTION IS OUT OF THE QUESTION, GIVEN THE MASSIVE, OVERWHELMING POWER OF THE MILITARY-INTELLIGENCE ESTABLISHMENT AND, EQUALLY IMPORTANT, THE WILLINGNESS TO USE THAT POWER AGAINST AMERICAN CITIZENS TO MAINTAIN ITSELF IN EXISTENCE.
Given all this, is the point that I have long made that we need to dismantle the national-security establishment and restore a limited-government republic in order to achieve a free society utterly futile? AM I ENGAGING IN NOTHING MORE THAN FANCIFUL THINKING? ARE WE CONSIGNED TO FOREVER LIVE OUR LIVES UNDER A TOTALITARIAN-LIKE GOVERNMENTAL STRUCTURE, ONE THAT WIELDS OMNIPOTENT, NON-REVIEWABLE POWERS LIKE ASSASSINATION, TORTURE, INDEFINITE DETENTION, INVASIONS, OCCUPATIONS, AND WARS OF AGGRESSION, ONE THAT IS GETTING US EVER CLOSER TO THE PROSPECT OF ALL-OUT NUCLEAR WAR?
The answer to all those questions is: NO.
There is a reason why totalitarian dictatorships shut down people who publicly advocate liberty. Think North Korea or China. The regimes in those two countries wield omnipotent power, just as the U.S. national-security state does. One big difference between those two nations and the United States is that North Korean and Chinese citizens cannot own guns. Total gun control is built into the system, which ensures that the citizenry will never be able to violently revolt against their regime.
Therefore, from all appearances, the North Korean and Chinese regimes have absolutely nothing to worry about. Their hold on power is seemingly 100 percent secure.
Yet, notice something important: Neither regime will permit people to express the types of ideas I expressed yesterday in my article. If people in those two countries publicly expresses the notion that their own national-security state governmental structure should be dismantled in favor of a limited-government republic, they will be immediately arrested, incarcerated indefinitely, or even assassinated.
THE QUESTION THOUGH IS, WHY? Why do they feel the need to shut people down for expressing freedom ideas, given that the regimes have total power over the citizenry? What could they possibly fear, especially given that they have all the guns in society?
THEY FEAR THE POWER OF IDEAS ON LIBERTY. THEY KNOW THAT IDEAS ON LIBERTY CAN INFLAME THE HEARTS AND MINDS OF PEOPLE AND SPREAD LIKE WILDFIRE ACROSS SOCIETY. THEY KNOW THAT THAT TYPE OF WILDFIRE, IF NOT CONTAINED, HAS THE POTENTIAL OF BRINGING DOWN EVEN REGIMES THAT WIELD OMNIPOTENT POWER OVER THE NATION.
WHAT WE NEED HERE IN THE UNITED STATES IS A CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE PASSIONATELY COMMITTED TO THE DISMANTLING OF THE NATIONAL-SECURITY STATE AND THE RESTORATION OF OUR FOUNDING GOVERNMENTAL SYSTEM OF A LIMITED-GOVERNMENT REPUBLIC.
ONCE THAT CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT FREEDOM IS REACHED, THEY WILL FIGURE OUT HOW TO BRING THE FREE SOCIETY INTO EXISTENCE. THEREFORE, WE SHOULD INSTEAD CONTINUE FOCUSING ON THE DISSEMINATION OF SOUND, PRINCIPLED IDEAS ON LIBERTY, WITH THE AIM OF ARRIVING AT THAT CRITICAL MASS OF PEOPLE WHO WANT FREEDOM.
Source: https://www.fff.org/2024/02/15/how-can-we-bring-down-the-national-security-state/ ; EMPHASES added for Emphasis.
The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer; Or, Who Do You Trust?
“Trust, a vital social lubricant, ensures the smooth functioning of modern society's many interconnected cogs, fostering cooperation, crucial to global stability.
“The annual Edelman Trust Barometer attempts to measure this trust by surveying more than 32,000 residents in 28 countries. Respondents are asked how much they trust their institutions—NGOs, the government, businesses, and the media—to ‘do the right thing.’”
KEY TAKEAWAYS from The 2024 Edelman Trust Barometer Report:
1) For 2024, the UK ranks last of the 28 countries on the trust index; with only 39% of those surveyed saying they trust their institutions; 7% lower than the U.S.
2) Meanwhile, 78% of all survey respondents—excluding those from China and Saudi Arabia—trust scientists to tell them the “truth” about new technology; this is compared to 47% for journalists and 45% for government leaders.
3) In 26 out of 28 countries, respondents felt that the government is not regulating emerging innovations well; across all of them, 59% believe the government “lacks the understanding” to execute regulation.
The full Report is available at https://www.edelman.com/sites/g/files/aatuss191/files/2024-01/2024%20Edelman%20Trust%20Barometer%20Global%20Report_FINAL_1.pdf .
Thank you, Prof. Astore, great column again.
Let’s get the history right. Hamas attack on Oct 7 was misguided thuggery, young male jihadists out to prove what point exactly? But it was known to Israeli intelligence as much as a year ahead, that something was up. But, like 9/11 in USA, the intel agents were WOMEN thus discredited. Then the Israeli “silver-back,” sagging in popularity, launched into retaliation in hopes of becoming a “war president” and promptly established a “war cabinet.” But in actuality, “retaliation” was neither necessary nor beneficial by any measure. The reporting that I NEED to see is about exactly when the IDF’s war plans were drawn up, how many months in advance of Oct 7. The Israeli govt has joined the ranks of “MEN” (Most Exceptional Nations) and thus has no responsibilities at all, including being exempt from international nuclear inspections and now, apparently exempt from criticism of any kind, especially about genocide. Enough already! To the Enablers: the blood is on your hands and history will not look kindly on you ever again.
My guess is that all those "Enablers" of the Genocide in Gaza ~ be they from Israel, the US, the UK, and everywhere else ~ could care less about how "history" will view them.
By the time that history is actually recorded and written, they will all be dead.
The problem Israel is addressing right now was present from the beginning easily expressed in four words "we want them gone"
There was some hand wringing by some at the start but clearly the options were limited - chase them out or kill them off and in 1948 both were used. But the use of force was larded with BS like the idea that the Israeli soldiers were the most moral army and the phase "shoot and cry" was used to express the idea that the soldiers so hated what they "had to do" that if they killed someone with their weapons they would weep for having done so.
While these fairy tales are long disproven an echo comes from the top. I see today that a spokesperson for Biden has claimed that the IDF is more moral than the US Army. The US has, if it ever had one, lost its moral compass.
Well done and sad.
You conclude, Bill, with the statement "Stop the war in Gaza. Stop the genocide."
i'm not sure who that is directed to and at, but it SHOULD be aimed at The American Peoples.
So the real Question then becomes: "HOW? Exactly How are The American Peoples to stop the war and the genocide?"
At this stage of The Game, the primary useful idiots to Biden, Pelosi, Trump, Graham, and the rest of America's Ruling Political Class ARE those American Peoples. And that makes those Peoples useful idiots to America's MICC and Netanyahu, and thus direct accessories to the war and the genocide in Gaza.
Just like they were, have been, and still are accessories all thru "The Forever War" that followed 9/11.
Including Trump in your rant will prove to be misguided, Jeff.
The reason he is so reviled in the swamp is he is NOT a useful idiot.
Relying on the discredited Genocide Joe Biden, and the Democratic Party that is complicit with genocide in Gaza and threats of repression at home, and the confused RHINO's, is convincing more and more impartial analyst's that that tact will not be able to defeat the MAGA "threat".
TRUMP 2024
The only reason Trump survived four years in DC is because he was ~ and is, and will ever be ~ the quintessential Useful Idiot.
Name one element of The Deep State that was not better off after Trump left office than it was when Obama left office. Can You name even ONE?
How'd those Defense/Security Budgets do on his watch?
And how'd the National, Sovereign Debt do while he was in charge?
And how many Ukrainians were killed by all those nasty Kyiv No-Nazis that Trump did nothing to reign in? Last i heard, it was 14,000 +/-. Thus setting the stage for Putin's little adventure two years ago next week.
The only reason Trump has even an outside chance of getting elected in 2024 [assuming, for the moment, that there will in fact be an election in November] is because he will still be the same Useful Idiot he was from 2017-2021.
Upon that You may bet Your farm.
Blah..Blah..Blah.....the same old one trick pony stuff ad nauseum Jeff!
"You give me the awful impression, I hate to have to say it, of someone who hasn't read any of the arguments against your position ever." - Christopher Hitchens.
So who is your choice to be the 47th POTUS, Jeff?
Oh, sorry I forgot..... NOBODY... pretty chicken shit eh!
You choose to have nothing to do with your country's future! Except moaning and whining about how screwed up it is!
Convince us otherwise!