I don't know as rejection of either/or logic is what's in the best interest of those driving the current perception; it might encourage communication and foster a new sense of community that could improve not only international relations but domestic policy as well.
What are you trying to do? Undermine the death cult that the US government has become?
[FWIW, I might be appearing at PunishmentPark in the future, and if we happen to be in the same hunted group schlepping across the desert without water of food, I hope you aren't bothered by sarcasm.]
I've been reading a biography of Stalin. So many times I have thought "why WJA could almost be a party member, he loves Russia so much!" And now you've confessed.
Thanks, tovarisch, for clearing that up. It twists and mutates an old adage, but my reading of the Zodiac says you've just set a rather conspicuous dove among the hawks.
Suggesting diplomacy implies acknowledging the American perceived failure.
For as long as there's no understanding that the United States already milked everything it could from this conflict and continuing fueling it means diminishing the gains, the calls for diplomatic resolution will keep falling on deaf ears.
Only when the last American artillery shell has been fired in The Ukraine, only when the last Ukrainian soldier has been killed in The Ukraine and only when the last of Ukrainian state territory has been irretrievably lost from The Ukraine will The Americans and Europeans finally realize that God Favours Russia . . . https://les7eb.substack.com
The only way to stop NATO and the US from doing this again and again is for Ukraine to lose dramatically. If the US gets its way, then this is only the beginning. If Russia wins decisively, then the US will have to rethink its hyper-belligerency. So if you prefer long term peace, you definitely don't want Ukraine to win this war.
America’s heavyweight anti-war, pro-peace outfits Veterans For Peace and Code Pink will not participate in the February 19 RAGE AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE ANTI-WAR RALLY in Washington, DC for what can only be termed as ideological reasons [details below].
It amounts to a Citizens Declaration of War Against War and The War Machine that makes it possible and thus necessary. This could very easily serve as a foundational start point for a national political movement that directly challenges that Machine in Election2024.
And Chris Hedges ~ who will be speaking ~ begins THERE ARE NO PERMANENT ALLIES, ONLY PERMANENT POWER:
On Sunday, February 19, I will be at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington at noon to speak at the anti-war rally, Rage Against the War Machine. There, I will be joined by Jimmy Dore, Dennis Kucinich, Ann Wright, Jill Stein, Max Blumenthal, Cynthia McKinney, Anya Parampil, David Swanson and other left-wing, anti-war activists I have shared platforms with for many years.
I will also be joined by Ron Paul, Scott Horton and right-libertarian, anti-war figures whose political and cultural opinions I often disagree with. The inclusion of the right-wing has seen anti-war groups I respect, such as Veterans for Peace (VFP), refuse to join the rally. VFP issued a statement sent to me on Friday saying that “to endorse this event would have caused a huge disruption in VFP and had little effect on the outcome of the demonstration.” The board of Code Pink asked its co-founder, Medea Benjamin, one of the nation’s most important and effective left-wing and anti-war activists, to cancel her scheduled talk at the rally.
“The left has become largely irrelevant in the U.S. because it is incapable of working with the right,” said Nick Brana, chair of The People’s Party, which organized the rally with libertarians. “It clings to identity politics over jobs, health care, wages and war, and condemns half the country as deplorables.”
WE WILL NOT TOPPLE CORPORATE POWER AND THE WAR MACHINE ALONE. THERE HAS TO BE A LEFT-RIGHT COALITION, WHICH WILL INCLUDE PEOPLE WHOSE OPINIONS ARE NOT ONLY UNPALATABLE BUT EVEN REPUGNANT, OR WE WILL REMAIN MARGINALIZED AND INEFFECTUAL. This is a fact of political life. Alliances are built around particular issues, in this case permanent war, which often fall apart when confronting other concerns… .
After sharing Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin’s and then Ralph Nader’s views on the whole matter, Hedges concludes as follows:
“If you want to prevail on Congress to fulfill its duties under the Constitution and never engage in wars or become co-belligerents without a declaration of war by Congress — the last war that was declared by Congress was World War II, and we’ve engaged in many wars since then and are continuing to do so — you must have a left-right coalition,” Nader said.
Because there is no coalition in Congress, BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ARE WAR PARTIES. THEY SUPPORT A PENTAGON BUDGET THAT GIVES THE GENERALS MORE THAN THEY ASK FOR. THEY HAVE DONE THIS FOR ALMOST EIGHT YEARS, MOST RECENTLY GIVING THE PENTAGON $48 BILLION MORE THAN THE GENERALS AND PRESIDENT BIDEN REQUESTED, INSTEAD OF GIVING THAT MONEY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH TO PREVENT PANDEMICS, DEATH, INJURY AND DISEASE.”
THOSE WHO WILL PAY THE STEEPEST PRICE FOR THIS PARALYSIS ARE THOSE KILLED, WOUNDED AND DISPLACED BY THE WAR MACHINE, INCLUDING THE OVER 900,000 CIVILIANS KILLED DIRECTLY, AND MILLIONS MORE INDIRECTLY, AS A RESULT IN THE POST-9/11 U.S. WARS IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, YEMEN, SYRIA, LIBYA, SOMALIA AND PAKISTAN.
BUT THE LEFT, MESMERIZED BY A SELF-DEFEATING BOUTIQUE ACTIVISM, ALSO PAYS A PRICE. AS THE EMPIRE UNRAVELS, THE WOKE LEFT, DEMANDING MORAL ABSOLUTISM, MARGINALIZES AND DISCREDITS ITSELF AT A MOMENT OF CRISIS. THIS MYOPIA IS A GIFT TO THE OLIGARCHS, MILITARISTS AND CHRISTIAN FASCISTS WE MUST DEFEAT.
You're not really pro-Russia until they accuse you of accepting rubles for your postings. I think rubles are those furry Russian animals they make into cold weather hats.
Highly recommend this new article by Andrew Bacevich on the Russia-Ukraine War:
https://tomdispatch.com/tanks-for-nuttin/
I don't know as rejection of either/or logic is what's in the best interest of those driving the current perception; it might encourage communication and foster a new sense of community that could improve not only international relations but domestic policy as well.
What are you trying to do? Undermine the death cult that the US government has become?
[FWIW, I might be appearing at PunishmentPark in the future, and if we happen to be in the same hunted group schlepping across the desert without water of food, I hope you aren't bothered by sarcasm.]
Brilliant. As always. Keep it up, Comrade-in-arguments!
Peace & Love,
Chris
Unfortunately, the Western WAR-PIGS wanted this, even deliberately scuttling talks that could have brought peace.
Our governments are criminals.
Vladimir gave the West every opportunity to avoid this war.
Bill, you might want to add this to your mix of reasons: from TM 4:00, https://geopoliticaleconomy.substack.com/p/ukraine-zelensky-peace-russia?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email
I've been reading a biography of Stalin. So many times I have thought "why WJA could almost be a party member, he loves Russia so much!" And now you've confessed.
i have been often and on varied sites been called a putin bot.
my sin is not lock step with bill kristol, the swamp and the empire.
my offensive [free] thinking is: ruining millions of lives for greedy empire is evil.
my cold warrior creds start in 1972 and run to 2019 last form as a contractor.... we may have had some moral grounds up to 1990.
Thanks, tovarisch, for clearing that up. It twists and mutates an old adage, but my reading of the Zodiac says you've just set a rather conspicuous dove among the hawks.
Suggesting diplomacy implies acknowledging the American perceived failure.
For as long as there's no understanding that the United States already milked everything it could from this conflict and continuing fueling it means diminishing the gains, the calls for diplomatic resolution will keep falling on deaf ears.
Only when the last American artillery shell has been fired in The Ukraine, only when the last Ukrainian soldier has been killed in The Ukraine and only when the last of Ukrainian state territory has been irretrievably lost from The Ukraine will The Americans and Europeans finally realize that God Favours Russia . . . https://les7eb.substack.com
The only way to stop NATO and the US from doing this again and again is for Ukraine to lose dramatically. If the US gets its way, then this is only the beginning. If Russia wins decisively, then the US will have to rethink its hyper-belligerency. So if you prefer long term peace, you definitely don't want Ukraine to win this war.
America’s heavyweight anti-war, pro-peace outfits Veterans For Peace and Code Pink will not participate in the February 19 RAGE AGAINST THE WAR MACHINE ANTI-WAR RALLY in Washington, DC for what can only be termed as ideological reasons [details below].
Scott Ritter has pulled out as well for personal reasons, and offers the speech he was planning to deliver at the rally at https://www.scottritterextra.com/p/the-best-speech-i-never-gave .
It amounts to a Citizens Declaration of War Against War and The War Machine that makes it possible and thus necessary. This could very easily serve as a foundational start point for a national political movement that directly challenges that Machine in Election2024.
And Chris Hedges ~ who will be speaking ~ begins THERE ARE NO PERMANENT ALLIES, ONLY PERMANENT POWER:
On Sunday, February 19, I will be at the Lincoln Memorial in Washington at noon to speak at the anti-war rally, Rage Against the War Machine. There, I will be joined by Jimmy Dore, Dennis Kucinich, Ann Wright, Jill Stein, Max Blumenthal, Cynthia McKinney, Anya Parampil, David Swanson and other left-wing, anti-war activists I have shared platforms with for many years.
I will also be joined by Ron Paul, Scott Horton and right-libertarian, anti-war figures whose political and cultural opinions I often disagree with. The inclusion of the right-wing has seen anti-war groups I respect, such as Veterans for Peace (VFP), refuse to join the rally. VFP issued a statement sent to me on Friday saying that “to endorse this event would have caused a huge disruption in VFP and had little effect on the outcome of the demonstration.” The board of Code Pink asked its co-founder, Medea Benjamin, one of the nation’s most important and effective left-wing and anti-war activists, to cancel her scheduled talk at the rally.
“The left has become largely irrelevant in the U.S. because it is incapable of working with the right,” said Nick Brana, chair of The People’s Party, which organized the rally with libertarians. “It clings to identity politics over jobs, health care, wages and war, and condemns half the country as deplorables.”
WE WILL NOT TOPPLE CORPORATE POWER AND THE WAR MACHINE ALONE. THERE HAS TO BE A LEFT-RIGHT COALITION, WHICH WILL INCLUDE PEOPLE WHOSE OPINIONS ARE NOT ONLY UNPALATABLE BUT EVEN REPUGNANT, OR WE WILL REMAIN MARGINALIZED AND INEFFECTUAL. This is a fact of political life. Alliances are built around particular issues, in this case permanent war, which often fall apart when confronting other concerns… .
After sharing Code Pink’s Medea Benjamin’s and then Ralph Nader’s views on the whole matter, Hedges concludes as follows:
“If you want to prevail on Congress to fulfill its duties under the Constitution and never engage in wars or become co-belligerents without a declaration of war by Congress — the last war that was declared by Congress was World War II, and we’ve engaged in many wars since then and are continuing to do so — you must have a left-right coalition,” Nader said.
Because there is no coalition in Congress, BOTH REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ARE WAR PARTIES. THEY SUPPORT A PENTAGON BUDGET THAT GIVES THE GENERALS MORE THAN THEY ASK FOR. THEY HAVE DONE THIS FOR ALMOST EIGHT YEARS, MOST RECENTLY GIVING THE PENTAGON $48 BILLION MORE THAN THE GENERALS AND PRESIDENT BIDEN REQUESTED, INSTEAD OF GIVING THAT MONEY FOR PUBLIC HEALTH TO PREVENT PANDEMICS, DEATH, INJURY AND DISEASE.”
THOSE WHO WILL PAY THE STEEPEST PRICE FOR THIS PARALYSIS ARE THOSE KILLED, WOUNDED AND DISPLACED BY THE WAR MACHINE, INCLUDING THE OVER 900,000 CIVILIANS KILLED DIRECTLY, AND MILLIONS MORE INDIRECTLY, AS A RESULT IN THE POST-9/11 U.S. WARS IN IRAQ, AFGHANISTAN, YEMEN, SYRIA, LIBYA, SOMALIA AND PAKISTAN.
BUT THE LEFT, MESMERIZED BY A SELF-DEFEATING BOUTIQUE ACTIVISM, ALSO PAYS A PRICE. AS THE EMPIRE UNRAVELS, THE WOKE LEFT, DEMANDING MORAL ABSOLUTISM, MARGINALIZES AND DISCREDITS ITSELF AT A MOMENT OF CRISIS. THIS MYOPIA IS A GIFT TO THE OLIGARCHS, MILITARISTS AND CHRISTIAN FASCISTS WE MUST DEFEAT.
Full article at https://scheerpost.com/2023/02/12/chris-hedges-there-are-no-permanent-allies-only-permanent-power/ EMPHASES added.
You're not really pro-Russia until they accuse you of accepting rubles for your postings. I think rubles are those furry Russian animals they make into cold weather hats.