From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sun Sep 1 18:43:58 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 13:43:58 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] R U More D or R ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum – even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.” [Noam Chomsky] > On Aug 8, 2019, at 6:04 PM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sun Sep 1 19:00:08 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 14:00:08 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Affection for the poorly educated In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <20B849A5-949D-471D-8E4C-4B8E011FD487@gmail.com> ...What was actually crucial to Trump’s 2016 success is that the larger group of poorer less-educated whites, which traditionally leans Democratic or splits its vote, went decisively Republican. And while this group was susceptible to Trump’s racist appeals, equally important (according to Edsall’s political scientist sources) was his “repeated campaign promise to protect Medicare and Social Security.” The false impression that Trump was a moderate Republican on economic issues “removed cognitive dissonance and inhibitions” that might deter such voters from supporting an economic conservative, leaving them free to be swayed by Trump’s appeal to a white racial identity. If that’s the truly crucial group, then Democrats will not win the 2020 election by embracing, as Edsall seems to suggest, an agnosticism on the issue of race (or “the issue of ‘race,'” as he puts it), but rather by advancing a strongly progressive, redistributionist economic message. It’s political common sense that if the voters who are up for grabs are those who are socially conservative and economically progressive, then Democrats should emphasize left-wing economics and Republicans should stress right-wing social policies—while crucially reassuring their bases that they maintain their commitments to a progressive social agenda or a conservative economic program, respectively. (See FAIR.org, 6/20/17.) But this common sense runs against the New York Times‘ historic role of guiding the Democratic Party away from positions that threaten the wealthy. This is why Adolph Ochs, great-great-grandfather of the current Times publisher, was bankrolled by bankers to buy the paper in 1896 (FAIR.org, 10/28/17), and it’s why the paper today has an editorial page editor who proudly declares, “The New York Times is in favor of capitalism” (FAIR.org, 3/1/18). Edsall, it seems, has the task of providing the intellectual arguments for why the Democrats should not adopt the progressive economic agenda that would benefit them electorally—a job that necessarily involves a great deal of doubletalk and hand-waving. ### > On Aug 28, 2019, at 11:38 AM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sun Sep 1 19:04:19 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 14:04:19 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: Affection for the poorly educated References: <20B849A5-949D-471D-8E4C-4B8E011FD487@gmail.com> Message-ID: > Begin forwarded message: > > From: C G Estabrook via Peace-discuss > Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Affection for the poorly educated > Date: September 1, 2019 at 2:00:08 PM CDT > To: Ron Szoke > Cc: "peace-discuss at anti-war.net" , peace-discuss > Reply-To: C G Estabrook > > > > ...What was actually crucial to Trump’s 2016 success is that the larger group of poorer less-educated whites, which traditionally leans Democratic or splits its vote, went decisively Republican. > > And while this group was susceptible to Trump’s racist appeals, equally important (according to Edsall’s political scientist sources) was his “repeated campaign promise to protect Medicare and Social Security.” The false impression that Trump was a moderate Republican on economic issues “removed cognitive dissonance and inhibitions” that might deter such voters from supporting an economic conservative, leaving them free to be swayed by Trump’s appeal to a white racial identity. > > If that’s the truly crucial group, then Democrats will not win the 2020 election by embracing, as Edsall seems to suggest, an agnosticism on the issue of race (or “the issue of ‘race,'” as he puts it), but rather by advancing a strongly progressive, redistributionist economic message. It’s political common sense that if the voters who are up for grabs are those who are socially conservative and economically progressive, then Democrats should emphasize left-wing economics and Republicans should stress right-wing social policies—while crucially reassuring their bases that they maintain their commitments to a progressive social agenda or a conservative economic program, respectively. (See FAIR.org, 6/20/17.) > > But this common sense runs against the New York Times‘ historic role of guiding the Democratic Party away from positions that threaten the wealthy. This is why Adolph Ochs, great-great-grandfather of the current Times publisher, was bankrolled by bankers to buy the paper in 1896 (FAIR.org, 10/28/17), and it’s why the paper today has an editorial page editor who proudly declares, “The New York Times is in favor of capitalism” (FAIR.org, 3/1/18). Edsall, it seems, has the task of providing the intellectual arguments for why the Democrats should not adopt the progressive economic agenda that would benefit them electorally—a job that necessarily involves a great deal of doubletalk and hand-waving. > > ### > >> On Aug 28, 2019, at 11:38 AM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Peace-discuss mailing list >> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net >> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sun Sep 1 19:34:53 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 14:34:53 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: R U More D or R ? References: Message-ID: <8D268040-EFFE-46A5-AD57-89DE712D6012@gmail.com> > Begin forwarded message: > > From: C G Estabrook via Peace-discuss > Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] R U More D or R ? > Date: September 1, 2019 at 1:43:58 PM CDT > To: Ron Szoke > Cc: "peace-discuss at anti-war.net" , peace-discuss > Reply-To: C G Estabrook > > "The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum – even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.” > [Noam Chomsky] > > >> On Aug 8, 2019, at 6:04 PM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Peace-discuss mailing list >> Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net >> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 1 21:57:16 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 21:57:16 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] LIBERAL CONFUSION ABOUT THE HONG KONG PROTESTS AND THE US ROLE, from Kevin Zeese Message-ID: Kevin Zeese 19 mins · There is confusion about Hong Kong in the US. I shared comments from various lists from KJ Noh from people who doubted or minimized the US role in Hong Kong or used the protests to go on an anti-China diatribe. KJ is an expert on China and Asia and brings some clarity to the debate. Here is the article that came from discussing the issues with him.LIBERAL CONFUSION ABOUT THE HONG KONG PROTESTS AND THE US ROLE By K. J. Noh, Popular Resistance September 1, 2019 | EDUCATE! Above: Protesters hold a placard featuring President Donald Trump and US flags as they take part in a march at Victoria Park in Hong Kong, July 21, 2019. By Vincent Yu for AP. Note: I shared comments about Hong Kong from people on liberal or left-leaning lists with K. J. Noh, a Korean-American who is an expert on China and other Asian countries. He has provided clear commentary on our podcast and other outlets about what is happening in Hong Kong. The comments I shared were from people who doubted or minimized the role of the United States in the uprising saying things like “how could the US get hundreds of thousands to protest?” or “There are a lot of things going on in Hong Kong, you can’t blame the US” or who go through long lists of criticism about China. I asked KJ for his response, which he provides after this introductory comment. It is a shame these protests are being used by some to put forward anti-China diatribes on left-leaning lists as doing so plays into the US national security strategy of “Great Power Conflict” with China and are helping to manufacture consent for US-China conflict. These comments create the same kind of confusion on the left as we have recently seen with US interventions in Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria, Iran, and Ukraine. It is easier for some people on the left to look back at similar US actions from the 1950s, 60s or 70s and understand them than it is for people to see what is going on while it is happening. This is understandable because we are given a lot of misinformation in the US media, from the bi-partisans in Washington, DC as well as from the national security apparatus in the US as well as some in left-leaning discussion groups. In every country there are divisions based on race, religion, ethnicity and class and every government makes mistakes, often serious mistakes. Imagine if Russia had been providing $1 million in funding annually for a protest movement in New York (NYC is a little larger than Hong Kong) since 1996, as well as training activists and funding polling and NGOs all to create a separatist movement in NY. After all, many small population Republican states have more Senators than large populated urban areas like NYC. The US “democracy” is unfair to New Yorkers. And, imagine there were wealthy people who had conflicts with the US government who decided to spend their fortune to support that anti-US/separatist movement in NYC in mass media they own. There are serious problems in the United States, e.g. mass incarceration, a racially unfair justice system, police violence and killings, violence against protesters, economic racism, the wealth divide, and the unfair economy to working people, especially against people of color. And, in two elections this century, candidates who did not win the most votes became president because of the Electoral College. When there were events like the Eric Garner killing, or the mass arrests around Occupy Wall Street or so many other incidents, Russia-funded groups could use those to encourage an uprising. There already were protests around some of these events, imagine how much bigger and more aggressive they would be if protesters had gas masks, armor, and weapons — all provided by the foreign power-funded protest movement. And, imagine how the foreign-funded groups could manipulate these protests for their agenda. With these kinds of uprisings, there would be a serious discussion of NYC separating from the US for “real democracy.” New York has a massive economy on its own, why should it suffer from a Senate and Electoral College dominated by low-population states? New Yorkers are not fairly represented in Washington, DC. Their tax dollars are being sent to low population states. It is a modern form of taxation without representation. It is unfair. New Yorkers should demand real democracy! It is easy to construct a US/NYC (or any other major city) version of the China/Hong Kong story. There are many problems in mainland China and there are many problems in Hong Kong. There are legitimate reasons for the people of Hong Kong to revolt, but would they be anti-China revolts rather than revolts against the unfair uber-capitalist economy created by UK colonization without more than two decades of US foreign funding, foreign training of protesters, and anti-China media in Hong Kong? Would protesters be waiving the US and UK flags? China and Hong Kong have to work out their relationship. It would be much better for both if the US and the UK stayed out of it and stopped intervening. This is not a pro-China position or an anti-Hong Kong position, it is a non-intervention, anti-imperialist position. As people in the US, our focus should be stopping the harm being done by the United States. There are many ways the US funds opposition groups and causes divisions in other countries. The US Agency for International Development ($16.8 billion annual funding) has been tied to such activities as has the Central Intelligence Agency (budget classified). Freedom House receives $25 million annually from the US government for its activities around the world. A major overt regime change organization is the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), which has played a large role in Hong Kong. According to the most recent published annual report of the NED for 2016 (published in 2019), the NED received $180 million from the US government, up from $153 million. The NED made more than 1,700 grants in more than 90 countries, in 2016. NED has four core projects it funds. These include the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute (controlled by leaders of the Democratic and Republican parties), the Center for International private Enterprise controlled by the Chamber of Commerce and the Solidarity Center controlled by the AFL-CIO. This allows NED to fund political and economic activity throughout the world. A major part of US foreign policy is creating opposition movements in countries the US is in competition with or that are perceived as enemies of US Empire. People in the US should not underestimate the impact of the United States in many protests around the world, whether it is manipulating them, as is often the case, or creating them. There are legitimate protests but when protests display some of the characteristics Noh describes below, people in the US should question them. Noh provides examples of why you know this is not a popular revolt, but one manipulated by US and oligarch interests and concludes with how people on the left who support popular movements should respond so they are not part of the “blind chorus” that enables US regime change. KZ The Banality Of Protest: Western “Progressives” Support Yet Another Color Revolution In Hong Kong Misinformed “progressive” western “activists” and pundits are putting down their remote controls and organic smoothies just long enough to tweet out that Hong Kong protesters need to be supported as paragons of virtue and justice. Some have even blogged and bloviated about the importance of these protests as a struggle for freedom against “dictatorship”. Most of these individuals never question why, out of the thousands of daily protests, or the 200-plus ongoing global independence movements, or the 50-plus ongoing violent conflicts, this particular struggle has been curated to penetrate the thick fog of their ignorance and their lightning-flash attention span. Most of these individuals wouldn’t be able to distinguish Hong Kong from Hokkaido, and couldn’t tell Putonghua from Toisanhua from Cantonese. Most have never seen or spent a day in China. In fact, you know it’s not a real color revolution until the stupid section of the western “progressive” blogosphere gets to cheerleading. This is what they are willfully missing: 1. It’s not a progressive popular uprising if the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) is involved. The NED is the soft-power coup arm of the US government, doing what the CIA used to do–regime change and dirty tricks–by other means. The NED is crawling all over this. This is an off-the-rack NED project. 2. It’s not a progressive popular uprising if the key funder and fluffer is a fascist media billionaire with close ties to the most reactionary elements of Western rightwing reaction: Hong Kong’s Rupert Murdoch, Jimmy Lai, the owner of the misogynist, racist, xenophobic, Next Media/Next Digital Corporation/Apple Daily is the driver of this. 3. It’s not a progressive popular uprising if the key leaders are racist, anti-immigrant, secessionists that court and consort with powerful rightwing extremists and regime change ideologues in the US (John Bolton, Paul Wolfowitz, Mike Pence, Mike Pompeo, Marco Rubio, Eliot Engel, Larry Diamond, etc). John Bolton, for God’s sake? 4. You know it’s not a progressive popular uprising when foreign powers (US Congress, State Dept) proclaim their ardent support for the protestors, write bills, make threats, and threaten consequences if the protests are not allowed by the government. When was the last time the US government actually supported a real populist movement? 5. You know it’s not a popular progressive uprising—at least one with a shred of sense– when the protesters make appeals for US intervention or want to go back to being a colony: a shamelessly white supremacist, colonial Apartheid state without a hint of democracy or representation. 6. Popular progressive uprisings don’t wave US flags, UK flags, chant colonial slogans, use swastikas and alt-right symbols, terrorize children, spew hate speech (“Chee Na”), or beat unconscious people with US flags. Fascists do. 7. Popular progressive movements for democracy and free speech don’t try to shut down free speech and terrorize all who disagree with them. Let’s say you missed all of these. Here are some other things to note: 1. Protest-in-a-box, for free: There has been incredible preparation, logistics, organization, and funding. Apologies to dear Rosa Luxembourg, revolutions in this era don’t just happen by themselves, and they certainly don’t fund themselves. Tens of thousands of protestors, prepared with a flush kit of hardhats, gas masks, filters, goggles, zip ties, staves, lasers, gloves, and body armor don’t just appear spontaneously. They don’t just improvisationally start creating complex logistics lines using predetermined hand signals while brandishing slick, corporate-designed banners, logos, animation, and soundbite-catchphrases in English. That requires incredible organization, training, and funding. See 1 & 2 above. 2. The Sudden Color of Violence: Note the Blitzkrieg-fast turn to violence. The Modus Operandi for color revolutions is to first instigate mass protests over a minor pretext (here, a carefully-crafted extradition bill, already suspended), followed by a very quick (prepared) escalation to violence: US-supported color revolutions need to escalate to violence quickly, the better to crowd out critical reflection, drown the mediascape with emotional images and riot porn, the better to “catapult the propaganda”, the better to create chaos and confusion, the better to bring down a government by shock, or to render it immobile, impotent, or trigger a crackdown, thereby delegitimating it. They need and rely on disruptive terror to intimidate and delegitimate; to create confusion for ongoing sabotage, to throw sand in the gears, and to create structural friction in the conditions of living that render ordinary existence intolerable. These are well-honed CIA regime change tactics, practiced and documented all over the world, designed to inflame more discontent, outrage, and protests. These tactics of geometric escalation are also designed to instigate an overreaction by the authorities, the better to use in propaganda and to trigger more agitation. This is happening as we speak: (The NY Times’ “Marginal Violence theory” is a red herring to distract you like the violence assaults the core, asymptotes shockingly towards total violence).Here are some of the specific tactics, right out of the color revolution template. * Mass Violence, including attacking police and bystanders with Molotov Cocktails, blinding lasers, air guns, grenade launchers, slingshots, bricks, steel pipes, sharpened steel bars, baseball bats, sledgehammers, knives, etc. Bombs and automatic weapons have also been found and confiscated. * Mass Terror Tactics: violent bullying and intimidation, of passers-by, Krystallnacht-style trashing of stores, Rodney King-type beat downs, “Pulp Fiction”-style torture (kidnapping, lynching, and torture of journalist (mass beatings/revival with water/further beatings)); Terrorizing of “opponents” and “non-sympathizers” through leaks, doxing, threats, cyber threats, and boycotts, and attacking families and their residences (the dorms where the children and wives of the police live). Open incitement on how to kill police., and attempted murder through ambush attacks. * Infrastructure Attacks: Attacks on buildings (police stations, legislative chambers, dorms), mass disruption of traffic and logistics (airports, metro, tollbooths, violent roadblocks, setting fires to barricade in the police, massive street fires, coordinated sabotage of traffic lights (to create accidents). If a tiny fraction of these types of actions had been unleashed in New York, DC, or London, western authorities would have let loose with lethal force 13 weeks ago. In fact, as a point of reference, in France, police have killed protestors, blinded 24, and injured 2200 in the Gilet Jaunes protests. 1. Fetishistic Demands: These are demands that don’t address the actual conditions that have created the discontent—rampant inequality and the festering structural violence of a financialized neoliberal state–but rather contentless, rhetorical, ad-campaign demands that can’t or won’t be met, all the better to justify continued chaos, outrage, and violence. 2. Intense, Hyper-coordinated Information Warfare: coordinated, directed, saturated messaging and censorship in the western press and media: * One-sided blasting of protest porn or decontextualized police violence, with non-stop pro-protestor commentary and editing; * Endless, mindless, China-bashing echo-chambering in the media; * Coordinated, mass white-washing, justification, and erasure of the protestors’ over-the-top violence; * Censorship and mass erasure of almost all voices critical of the protests on the MSM, YouTube, FB, and Twitter: over 200,000 twitter accounts pre-emptively and instantaneously suspended on grounds of supposed “coordination” and undermining “legitimacy and political positions of the protest movement on the ground”. This coordinated, mass censorship happened the exact moment some glimmers of truth started to come out and started to discredit the protests. If there was any doubt as to whether US social media companies function as the subcontracted perception management arms of the security-surveillance state, you have here your proof. Compare this saturated, single-message, biased coverage also with the minimal coverage of the current situations in: * Kashmir, in which Indian troops are currently blockading and violently occupying (where the independent special autonomous status of the region has been already revoked), * France’s Gilets Jaunes, an ongoing popular protest, where 24 people have been blinded, 2200 injured, and 11 have died, * West Papua & Papua, Indonesia, where Indonesian troops are currently on a murderous rampage, * Catalonia, where an independence movement successful at the ballots was violently put down, * South Korea’s Candlelight revolution, a massive populist uprising in South Korea (which over a similar timeframe was covered in three articles in the NY Times, as opposed to 78 articles current on Hong Kong) * Almost any other real popular protest around the world. To ask why this saturation coverage and support–out of all the other movements and struggles—you then understand what you’re up against. Full Spectrum Resistance: In the post-Soviet era, the Pentagon and its allies came up with the doctrine of “Full Spectrum Dominance“. This is a war doctrine that aims for total domination in all spheres and battle spaces: not just military battle, but also in the domains of civil disturbance, information warfare, and social perception, in particular, network “operational narrative dominance”. This is what’s going on here. Progressives–if you actually are that–you need to keep your eyes open, your minds alert, and think sharply, critically, objectively as you wander into this battlespace. Color revolutions and regime change operations simply can’t happen without you: they need you to become the blind chorus, the vapid echo chamber, the ditzy cheerleaders, and the jaundiced, prejudiced, ignorant umpires in this dirty game of information warfare. If you don’t want to become a vector of propaganda and a host of disinformation in this ugly viral warfare, you need to think critically, reflexively, dialectically before you tweet, blog, agitate, or speak out. Lives and nations rest in the balance. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 1 22:42:32 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Sun, 1 Sep 2019 22:42:32 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Chris Hedges interviews Danny Haiphong of the Black Agenda Report Message-ID: https://www.rt.com/shows/on-contact/467724-elite-legitimize-accumulation-inherited-wealth/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Mon Sep 2 11:59:32 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2019 11:59:32 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Cuba: U.S. government earmarks millions to hinder Cuban medical cooperation Message-ID: Cuba: U.S. government earmarks millions to hinder Cuban medical cooperation By Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs Aug 30, 2019 20316 Note: Following is a statement by the Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs on one of the increased blockade measures, including lawsuits against Cuba arising from the implementation of Title III of the Helms-Burton law.Originally posted on Radio Rebelde. The Cuban Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement strongly rejecting a USAID program against Cuban medical cooperation. Cuban News Agency reproduces the full text of the statement: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs strongly denounces and condemns the recent aggression against Cuba by the Government of the United States through a USAID program aimed at financing actions and the search for information to discredit and sabotage the international cooperation provided by Cuba in the area of health in dozens of countries and for the benefit of millions of people. It is an effort that adds to the gross pressures exerted against various governments to hinder Cuban cooperation and to previous efforts of the same purpose, such as the special parole program aimed at the theft of human resources trained in Cuba. The core of the immoral slander consists in alleging, without any foundation, that Cuba engages in human trafficking or the practice of slavery and in attempting to denigrate the meritorious work that hundreds of thousands of Cuban health professionals and technicians in various countries, particularly in the Third World, have voluntarily carried out throughout history. This is an insult to the bilateral and intergovernmental cooperation programs, all legitimately established between the Cuban government and the governments of dozens of countries, which have been consistent with the United Nations guidelines on South-South cooperation and have responded to the health requirements that those governments themselves have sovereignly defined. It is an attempt against a solidarity effort that has received the recognition of the international community and the specific praise of the highest executives of the United Nations, the World Health Organization and the Pan American Health Organization. These lies are revealing of the low moral standing of the U.S. government and the politicians who are in the business of aggression against Cuba. The campaign has millions of dollars in funds and the complicity of several major media outlets and, in particular, unscrupulous reporters who sacrifice their supposed impartiality and objectivity to serve the political interests of the U.S. government. For decades and even today, in those nations with the most unfavorable economic conditions, this cooperation has been and is being offered as a gesture of solidarity, whose expenses are covered almost entirely by Cuba. Similarly, and in line with the United Nations conceptions of cooperation among developing countries, it is offered in several nations on the basis of complementarity and partial compensation for services rendered. It consists of a totally fair and legitimate exchange among developing countries, many of which have natural wealth, economic dimensions or higher levels of industrial development than Cuba, but lack the human resources that our State has managed to generate; dedicated professionals and humanists willing to work in the most difficult conditions; and the concepts of health coverage that years of successful experience have allowed us to build. The Cuban technicians and professionals who participate in these programs do so absolutely freely and voluntarily. During the fulfillment of their mission, they continue to receive their full salary in Cuba and also have a stipend in the country of destination, along with other forms of compensation. In cases in which Cuba receives compensation for the cooperation provided, these collaborators have the merit of providing a highly valuable, fair and totally legitimate contribution to the financing, sustainability and development of the free and massive health system that is accessible to each and every Cuban, as well as to the cooperation programs that are deployed in many parts of the world. Access to health is a human right and the United States commits a crime by denying it or obstructing it with political motives or aggression. Havana, 29 August 2019 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Mon Sep 2 13:08:18 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Mon, 2 Sep 2019 13:08:18 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] Affection for the poorly educated In-Reply-To: <1307904532.1375917.1567429481968@mail.yahoo.com> References: <20B849A5-949D-471D-8E4C-4B8E011FD487@gmail.com> <342971321.1369558.1567429183779@mail.yahoo.com> <1307904532.1375917.1567429481968@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <341498516.1324894.1567429698110@mail.yahoo.com>   While global disasters heat up the oceans, Trump's tariff wars (among other things) seem to be driving global depression, leaving race his ace in the hole to consolidate his base (Edsall's "poorly educated") and divide them from the better educated, more affluent electorate.  As the storm gathers Trump appears to be more isolated from reality and going off his rocker as doomsday approaches. Midge       -----Original Message----- From: C G Estabrook via Peace-discuss To: Ron Szoke Cc: peace-discuss at anti-war.net ; peace-discuss Sent: Sun, Sep 1, 2019 2:00 pm Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Affection for the poorly educated ...What was actually crucial to Trump’s 2016 success is that the larger group of poorer less-educated whites, which traditionally leans Democratic or splits its vote, went decisively Republican. And while this group was susceptible to Trump’s racist appeals, equally important (according to Edsall’s political scientist sources) was his “repeated campaign promise to protect Medicare and Social Security.” The false impression that Trump was a moderate Republican on economic issues “removed cognitive dissonance and inhibitions” that might deter such voters from supporting an economic conservative, leaving them free to be swayed by Trump’s appeal to a white racial identity. If that’s the truly crucial group, then Democrats will not win the 2020 election by embracing, as Edsall seems to suggest, an agnosticism on the issue of race (or “the issue of ‘race,'” as he puts it), but rather by advancing a strongly progressive, redistributionist economic message. It’s political common sense that if the voters who are up for grabs are those who are socially conservative and economically progressive, then Democrats should emphasize left-wing economics and Republicans should stress right-wing social policies—while crucially reassuring their bases that they maintain their commitments to a progressive social agenda or a conservative economic program, respectively. (See FAIR.org, 6/20/17.) But this common sense runs against the New York Times‘ historic role of guiding the Democratic Party away from positions that threaten the wealthy. This is why Adolph Ochs, great-great-grandfather of the current Times publisher, was bankrolled by bankers to buy the paper in 1896 (FAIR.org, 10/28/17), and it’s why the paper today has an editorial page editor who proudly declares, “The New York Times is in favor of capitalism” (FAIR.org, 3/1/18). Edsall, it seems, has the task of providing the intellectual arguments for why the Democrats should not adopt the progressive economic agenda that would benefit them electorally—a job that necessarily involves a great deal of doubletalk and hand-waving. ### > On Aug 28, 2019, at 11:38 AM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 3 00:52:07 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 00:52:07 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] The Moderate Rebels podcasts/Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton Message-ID: Most recent two are in relation to Hong Kong. https://soundcloud.com/moderaterebels -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 3 12:10:57 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 12:10:57 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?_=22Hong_Kong=E2=80=99s_Enemy_Within=22?= =?utf-8?q?_from_Counterpunch?= Message-ID: Hong Kong’s Enemy Within by THOMAS HON WING POLIN FacebookTwitterRedditEmail[https://uziiw38pmyg1ai60732c4011-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/dropzone/2017/09/atoa-print-icon.png] The bedrock of any nation is its government — the manifestation of its sovereignty and protector of its people. But what if the personal loyalties of a substantial portion of civil servants do not lie with the sovereign? Worse, what if these allegiances are actually more to other powers — forces that are at odds with the sovereign and working to undermine its interests? Naturally, such a situation would never be tolerated in any normal jurisdiction. Hong Kong, under One Country, Two Systems (OCTS), is not a normal jurisdiction. Its sovereign is China, but large swathes of the special administrative region’s power structure are not only alienated from it, but also feel attached to the Western values and worldview of their former colonial masters. That’s because under OCTS, decolonization has been merely nominal. Under normal conditions, it would not be a problem if government officials maintained a strict, professional political neutrality, as they are required to do. But in times of extreme stress, like the present, the underlying tensions have burst forth with a vengeance. As the US Empire unleashes a full-spectrum war against China and a color revolution against Hong Kong, the local government has itself become arguably the biggest obstacle in the SAR to a resolution favorable to the sovereign. Over the past two months, it has been increasingly clear that many civil servants are actively or passively helping the very pro-”democracy” protesters and rioters that the administration is trying to curb. The sickness of Hong Kong’s 180,000-strong government starts at the top. The Carrie Lam administration remains flat on its back, after its knockout two months ago by the blackshirt shocktroops of local Beijing-haters and their Anglo-American allies. As the democracy thugs rampage throughout Hong Kong, terrorizing ordinary folk, disrupting their lives and trashing the economy, all Lam has done is to keep turning the other cheek, offer “dialogue” with de facto terrorists and try to bribe them with cash handouts. That might have made some sense two months ago, but are laughable amid the hugely escalated violence today. Essentially, top officers of the Hong Kong SAR government are neocolonial civil servants more conditioned to following and executing orders than providing bold, visionary leadership. As a veteran Hong Kong observer says: “Our government is dysfunctional. The top officers took decades to climb to where they are. Each is more concerned about retiring with a hefty pension than sticking their neck out, leaving a bad name in public … or with securing a final promotion. So don’t look for our government ‘leaders’ to calm this perfect storm.” The problem of neocolonials then extends to all major departments of the SAR administration. How serious is it? A preliminary estimate has been circulating online recently. It places the percentages of pro-”democracy,” anti-Beijing personnel at: + Legislators 40% + Judges 80% + + Department of Justice 50% + Medical & Health 30% + + Teachers 50% + + Education officials 70% + + Media (RTHK) 90% + Social welfare 95% + Environment & Public Health 50% + Customs 30% + Fire Services 20% + Police Nearly 20% If such figures are anywhere near the truth, they would help explain a phenomenon of fundamental importance: why Hong Kong, in the two decades since reunification with China, has drawn further away from its motherland rather than closer to it. Government leadership (or lack of it) directly impacts all aspects of life in Hong Kong. When the “Cockroach Revolution” is over, those in charge of a needed reform & rectification campaign to follow will have to do a proper, thorough job. Real decolonization will be essential, if Hong Kong is to have a sound, constructive future as a genuine part of China. Well-placed mainland friends have started to talk about a “second return to the motherland” for Hong Kong. Both Beijing and Hong Kong got key parts of the first return wrong — quite disastrously, as present events are proving. They must not repeat the mistake. The author is a veteran journalist based in Hong Kong. He contributes to 21SilkRd in Facebook. Join the debate on Facebook More articles by:THOMAS HON WING POLIN -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Tue Sep 3 14:40:32 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 14:40:32 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?=28no_subject=29?= References: <2017660769.1872577.1567521632010.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2017660769.1872577.1567521632010@mail.yahoo.com> I came across an interesting fact in the N-G's "International History On This Date" (August 31, 1935) blurb on Saturday that should concern anti-war/peace-makers:                         "President Franklin Roosevelt signed an act prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerents."  What is the duration of a Law?  Does legislation remain on the books until or unless repeal?  Of course the usual method  of violating law by opponents is to ignore it, as did Prescott Bush and others who profited from the Nazis, and the Reagan Administration when they defied (covertly) the Boland Amendments (1982 and 1984) prohibiting government funding of the Nicaraguan Contras.  Not until the plane carrying Eugene Hasenfus and CIA military supplies to the Contras was shot down over Nicaragua in 1986 were Oliver North, the Reagan Administration, NSC and CIA exposed violating the Boland law.  Hasenfus was convicted of terrorism in Nicaragua and sentenced to 30 years in prison but was pardoned by President Ortega a month later on humanitarian appeal by his wife; North was tried and convicted in U.S. Court for Iran-Contra and sentenced to three years (suspended).    We need binding laws to prohibit the export of U.S. arms today even more than in 1935! Midge -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Tue Sep 3 15:14:11 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 10:14:11 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] (no subject) In-Reply-To: <2017660769.1872577.1567521632010@mail.yahoo.com> References: <2017660769.1872577.1567521632010.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <2017660769.1872577.1567521632010@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: Laws stay on the books until they are repealed. Caveat: funding prohibitions often expire with the appropriation that they are attached to. If the form is, "no funding in this bill shall be used to..." then that expires when the appropriation expires and has to be done again the next year. Often there is a norm that those things are easily continued into the next year, but not always. The major challenge, of course, as you note, is to enforce the laws against the powerful. If we had enforced Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973 during the Obama-Biden Administration, then the wars in Libya, Syria, and Yemen wouldn't have happened. [We stopped the "uniformed" part of the Syria war, but not the CIA part.] This is the struggle we have been waging for the last three and a half years on ending U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen: to enforce Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973, because U.S. participation in the war was *never authorized by Congress, **as required by the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution*. [Also to enforce the Arms Export Control Act, which prohibits the export of U.S. weapons to attack civilians.] This is what's *hanging fire right now* on the Pentagon contractor funding bill [the "National Defense Authorization Act."] That's what the House-passed Smith-Khanna-Schiff-Jayapal amendment is all about: enforcing Article I of the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973. That's why we're agitating with Jack Reed, Chuck Schumer, Nancy Pelosi, Eliot Engel, Adam Smith, and Adam Schiff to make preserving the House-passed Smith-Khanna-Schiff-Jayapal amendment their *TOP *priority in the House-Senate negotiations on the "veto proof" NDAA that's sent to Trump. Of course there are many other examples. Under the Foreign Assistance Act, U.S. aid to the governments of Honduras and Egypt should have been cut off after the military coups there. The Leahy Law could be applied to Israel. To paraphrase the NRA: "We don't need to pass new laws to shut down the U.S. Empire. We need to enforce the laws we already have." See here: *Good news from Bernie, Avaaz & the Chamber on ending the Saudi regime's Yemen war!* *https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2019/9/2/1883005/-Good-news-from-Bernie-Avaaz-the-Chamber-on-ending-the-Saudi-regime-s-Yemen-war * === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1 On Tue, Sep 3, 2019 at 9:41 AM Mildred O'brien via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > I came across an interesting fact in the N-G's "International History On > This Date" (August 31, 1935) blurb on Saturday that should > concern anti-war/peace-makers: > > "President Franklin Roosevelt signed an act > prohibiting the export of U.S. arms to belligerents." > > What is the duration of a Law? Does legislation remain on the books until > or unless repeal? Of course the usual method of violating law by > opponents is to ignore it, as did Prescott Bush and others who profited > from the Nazis, and the Reagan Administration when they defied (covertly) > the Boland Amendments (1982 and 1984) prohibiting government funding of the > Nicaraguan Contras. Not until the plane carrying Eugene Hasenfus and CIA > military supplies to the Contras was shot down over Nicaragua in 1986 > were Oliver North, the Reagan Administration, NSC and CIA exposed violating > the Boland law. Hasenfus was convicted of terrorism in Nicaragua > and sentenced to 30 years in prison but was pardoned by President Ortega a > month later on humanitarian appeal by his wife; North was tried and > convicted in U.S. Court for Iran-Contra and sentenced to three years > (suspended). > > We need binding laws to prohibit the export of U.S. arms today even more > than in 1935! > > Midge > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Tue Sep 3 16:20:54 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 11:20:54 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Intercept: How much the DCCC charges to be on each House committee Message-ID: After we end the Yemen war on NDAA, let's do a campaign on the DCCC that members of the "national security" committees don't get any "points" from the DCCC for campaign contributions from the Pentagon industrial complex. They will *NEVER* agree, not in ten trillion years. But it will shed light on how the DCCC really works, and how that's a huge obstacle to ending and preventing wars. https://theintercept.com/2019/09/03/dccc-house-committees-dues/ === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 3 16:21:36 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 16:21:36 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: [recovery_human_face] The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8 References: Message-ID: Begin forwarded message: From: lara.merling at ituc-csi.org (Merling, Lara) Subject: [recovery_human_face] The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8 Date: September 3, 2019 at 08:15:40 PDT Dear friends, Under the leadership of Christine Lagarde, the IMF endorsed the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and portrayed itself as a champion of inclusive growth. However, little changed in IMF loan agreements, which continued to push the same harmful austerity and deregulation measures of the past. The next leader of the IMF needs to change the core operations of the institution to promote sustainable economic growth, full employment and decent work. The IMF has not meaningfully supported the SDGs, and its policies undermine the ability of countries to achieve the 2030 Agenda. To illustrate this point, let’s take a look at SDG 8: “promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work.” In a recent report, the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that the world is not on track to achieve SDG 8 by 2030. For that to change, a major shift in macroeconomic policies is needed. Orthodox economic policy models, like those promoted by the IMF, focus on supply-side measures and assume that growth will eventually trickle-down. Reality has shown that this is not the case. Furthermore, these models have failed to bring sustained growth the developing world. Under the guise of “efficiency” the IMF has worked at odds with a decent work growth agenda, often undermined labour market institutions, pushing for cuts in public wage bills, deregulation and weakening of workers’ rights. This approach, along with sharp spending cuts, lead to a downwards spiral in which the economy shrinks, unemployment grows, poverty soars, and aggregate demand in the economy collapses. The IMF itself admitted that most loan programmes fail to meet growth targets. As the ILO points out, an approach that puts decent work at the centre and supports productive investment can create a virtuous cycle of sustained and inclusive growth. The higher earnings for workers increase demand, which in turn boosts economic growth. The success of this approach can be seen in the case of Portugal, which cast aside the austerity policies of the IMF after exiting a loan. Portugal increased its social protection spending, minimum wages, and investment. These policies not only helped economic and social recovery but strengthened its finances too – the stated but elusive goal of austerity. Christine Lagarde understood that the IMF needed to change in order to maintain its credibility. However, new rhetoric without substantive action can only be a viable strategy for so long. There are alternatives to the IMF’s approach which have shown much greater promise in achieving inclusive growth and bringing the world closer to meeting the goals of the 2030 Agenda. The IMF’s new leader should listen to the ILO and change the macroeconomic policy model that is promoted through policy advice and lending. This means moving beyond talk about policies that benefit the many toward actually supporting economic policies for inclusive, job-rich growth. [This post originally appeared on imfboss.com on August 19] The IMF and inclusive growth: achieving SDG8 Lara Merling Economic Research Officer, ITUC/Global Unions Washington Office lara.merling at ituc-csi.org +1 202 974 8120 www.ituc-csi.org // www.global-unions.org/?lang=en From: recoveryhumanface-request at socpro.list.ilo.org > On Behalf Of Emma Burgisser Sent: Thursday, August 29, 2019 1:22 PM To: recoveryhumanface at socpro.list.ilo.org Subject: [recovery_human_face] BWP launches IMF Article IV Scanner Dear friends, *apologies for cross-posting* We are delighted to officially launch the Article IV Scanner. This tool is designed to enable CSOs, researchers and officials to search IMF Article IV documents (IMF country-level surveillance reports) dating back to the year 2000, for key words and phrases (without having to trawl through each document individually!), and was made possible thanks to the tireless efforts of our colleague, Ella Hopkins. You can search all countries, or specific particular countries and dates, depending on what you’re looking for. Further instructions can be found on the website itself. This tool aims to make IMF surveillance, one of the IMF’s three main activities, more transparent, accessible and open to critical perspectives, especially ahead of its Comprehensive Surveillance Review consultation which is expected to take place in Autumn of this year. It is kindly hosted by the IMF Monitor website, which also houses the first freely available, comprehensive and transparent database of IMF conditionality, and more general information about IMF surveillance. Please do share as widely as you can with your networks and let us know if there are any feedback or questions, Best, Emma Burgisser Gender Project Manager The Bretton Woods Project 33-39 Bowling Green Lane, London UK EC1R 0BJ Tel: +44 (0)20 3122 0723 skype: eburgisserbwp email: eburgisser at brettonwoodsproject.org The Bretton Woods Project: Critical voices on the World Bank and IMF www.brettonwoodsproject.org, Follow us on Twitter: @brettonwoodspr The Bretton Woods Project is an ActionAid-hosted project, UK registered charity No. 274467 England and Wales Charity No. 274467, Scottish Charity No. SC045476 _____________________ Please share your inputs by e-mailing: recoveryhumanface at socpro.list.ilo.org. To see earlier messages http://www.recoveryhumanface.org/. This e-discussion is intended to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and ideas; the views expressed by contributors do not reflect the policies of ILO. The discussion is moderated by Isabel Ortiz, contact at isabel.ortiz at ymail.com . Subscribe ¦ Unsubscribe -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 3 16:41:47 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 3 Sep 2019 16:41:47 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Young Noam Chomsky/1978 Message-ID: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QPVugDNDNIQ&fbclid=IwAR3YeqDcdTnvRlG7FDk91ITmBHpbUZuJuElSYgH47mH8eAO5_Vk17XPWHRE -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 4 01:37:15 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 01:37:15 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Newsletter September 2019 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Party for Socialism and Liberation - Carbondale September 2019 On Saturday, September 7th PSL Carbondale will be hosting an event titled "Socialism in the United States." There will be speakers on our vision for socialism and how to build it, followed by discussion open to everyone in attendance. It will be held at the Carbondale Township Center, 216 E. Monroe. There will be two sessions, one beginning at 3pm and another at 6pm. Refreshments will be provided, and donations welcomed. We strongly encourage you attend or watch the livestream, as this will be a comprehensive overview of PSL's political orientation. You can read more about, RSVP to, and watch the livestream video of the event on Facebook here: www.facebook.com/events/550408188828448/ We have been working with the Carbondale Spring, especially with it's Food Autonomy Initiative. Carbondale Spring is hosting a presentation about its progress Sunday, September 8th at 6pm: www.facebook.com/events/714237672334082/ - and you can read more about the project at www.CarbondaleSpring.org The Party for Socialism and Liberation is new to Carbondale and as such has a low number of membership and limited engagement. We are working to change this! If you are interested in joining PSL Carbondale as a member or as a friend in the struggle, please send an email to this address with anything you think we should know and we will be in contact with you shortly. We would love to hear from you. And as always, donations are very helpful no matter how much. You can receive emails like this one regarding our work at the national level and throughout the country by signing up here with PSL National: www.pslweb.org/sign_up We appreciate your interest! Solidarity, The Party for Socialism and Liberation - Carbondale -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Wed Sep 4 16:02:57 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 11:02:57 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Breaking_the_ProgDem_=E2=80=9Ctaboo?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=9D_on_talking_about_Obama=E2=80=99s_war_crimes?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10158599249977656 memo: Breaking the ProgDem “taboo” on talking about Obama’s war crimes There’s a kind of de facto unwritten agreement among “progressive Democrats” that we’re not going to talk about Obama’s war crimes. It is easy to recognize three pillars that sustain this taboo. Nonetheless, if we take our responsibilities in the next four months as literate and engaged human beings in America seriously, we must break this taboo. The first pillar that sustains the taboo is the uncritical reflex defensiveness and protectiveness towards Obama’s presidency among many Democrats, which means that anyone who tries to raise any criticism of Obama’s presidency at all among Democrats is likely to provoke a sharp, negative response. Some of this uncritical reflex defensiveness and protectiveness is “natural,” and some of it is “engineered,” but the consequences are largely the same. The second pillar is the fact that many “Democrats” who live inside the Washington Beltway don’t intrinsically care that much about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy, or even worse actively support U.S. atrocities. They care if a bunch of activists are pounding on their door, causing them unpleasantness that they care about – it’s the unpleasantness activists bring to them because of U.S. atrocities that they mostly care about, not so much the U.S. atrocities themselves. Otherwise, if there’s no activist unpleasantness to them caused by U.S. atrocities, they don’t care much – not nearly as much as they care about campaign donations, donations to “think tanks,” jobs or future jobs from the Pentagon-industrial complex. This is not the worldview of the majority of Democrats outside the Beltway. The majority of Democrats outside the Beltway do care about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy and do intrinsically oppose U.S. atrocities. But the minority of Democrats inside the Beltway who don’t intrinsically care about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy or actively support U.S. atrocities constitute a critical mass that are likely to sustain bad faith self-interested identity politics attacks on anyone who tries to raise criticisms of Obama’s war crimes. The first two pillars together guarantee unpleasant experiences for anyone who tries to raise criticisms among Democrats about Obama’s war crimes. The third pillar is an unconvertible fact: Obama isn’t president anymore. Given the first two pillars, why bring this up? Why bother? Why create discord for no reason? As a former Secretary of State said: “At this point, what difference does it make?” Do you walk into an Orthodox synagogue trashing Netanyahu? I don’t. What’s the point? What would it accomplish? How many Palestinian homes in Hebron would be spared from being demolished by IDF bulldozers as a result of this act? The three pillars together sustain the belief that talking about Obama’s war crimes would be discord without purpose, and that failing to talk about them produces comity without harm. But this belief is false. Failure to talk about Obama’s war crimes is a threat to peace, now and in the future. There are many reasons for this. But the most spectacular urgent reason in the next four months is this: Joe Biden is running for President, as the so-far favored candidate of the Democratic Establishment. And the principal “credential” that Joe Biden is running for President on – arguably the only one – is the fact that he was Obama’s Vice-President. There’s no way we can have an honest public conversation about this juncture if we’re not allowed to talk about Obama’s war crimes. Which is, of course, why the Biden supporters are the most adamant that we’re not allowed to talk about this. For example: Biden was a principal architect of the Iraq war. He didn’t just vote for the war. As the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate, he played a crucial role in ensuring that the Senate voted for the war. He actively helped the Bush Administration orchestrate the Senate vote for the war. If Dick Durbin had been chair of SFRC instead of Joe Biden, the Senate wouldn’t have voted for the war, and the war wouldn’t have happened, and American and Iraqi human beings who were killed in the war would be walking the Earth today. We know that this is true about Dick Durbin not only because Dick Durbin voted against the war, but because he later gave a speech on the Senate floor saying that he knew at the time of the vote as a member of the Senate intelligence committee that the Bush Administration’s public case for war did not match U.S. intelligence that was being given to Members of Congress. Of course, Dick Durbin didn’t know this by himself. Joe Biden knew it too. Does the fact that Biden was Obama’s Vice-President wash all that away? How? Why? For example: when Biden was Obama’s Vice-President in March 2015, the Obama-Biden Administration unconstitutionally began U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen, a war that had nothing to do with the values and interests of Americans outside the Beltway, a war that created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, driving millions of innocent human beings to the brink of famine; thereby breaking every promise Obama-Biden made while they were running for the White House about not starting unconstitutional wars and “ending the mindset that got us into war in the first place.” Does the fact that Biden was Obama’s Vice-President wash all that away? How? Why? The Democratic Establishment didn’t learn much from its role in the Iraq war. The human being most responsible for this Democratic Establishment failure to learn from the Iraq war was Barack Obama. Progressive Democrats are morally obligated to try to have a kind of “#metoo”-like open and honest public conversation about this if we want to end the endless war. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Wed Sep 4 16:46:09 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 11:46:09 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Breaking_the_ProgDem_=E2=80=9Ctaboo?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=9D_on_talking_about_Obama=E2=80=99s_war_crimes?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1C5A4511-21AC-46E1-9498-678E3C49362D@gmail.com> Excellent and timely advice. We should vote only for an anti-war candidate, in the primaries and the general election. —CGE > On Sep 4, 2019, at 11:02 AM, Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss wrote: > > > https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10158599249977656 > > memo: Breaking the ProgDem “taboo” on talking about Obama’s war crimes > > There’s a kind of de facto unwritten agreement among “progressive Democrats” that we’re not going to talk about Obama’s war crimes. It is easy to recognize three pillars that sustain this taboo. Nonetheless, if we take our responsibilities in the next four months as literate and engaged human beings in America seriously, we must break this taboo. > > The first pillar that sustains the taboo is the uncritical reflex defensiveness and protectiveness towards Obama’s presidency among many Democrats, which means that anyone who tries to raise any criticism of Obama’s presidency at all among Democrats is likely to provoke a sharp, negative response. Some of this uncritical reflex defensiveness and protectiveness is “natural,” and some of it is “engineered,” but the consequences are largely the same. > > The second pillar is the fact that many “Democrats” who live inside the Washington Beltway don’t intrinsically care that much about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy, or even worse actively support U.S. atrocities. They care if a bunch of activists are pounding on their door, causing them unpleasantness that they care about – it’s the unpleasantness activists bring to them because of U.S. atrocities that they mostly care about, not so much the U.S. atrocities themselves. Otherwise, if there’s no activist unpleasantness to them caused by U.S. atrocities, they don’t care much – not nearly as much as they care about campaign donations, donations to “think tanks,” jobs or future jobs from the Pentagon-industrial complex. This is not the worldview of the majority of Democrats outside the Beltway. The majority of Democrats outside the Beltway do care about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy and do intrinsically oppose U.S. atrocities. But the minority of Democrats inside the Beltway who don’t intrinsically care about the foreign victims of U.S. foreign policy or actively support U.S. atrocities constitute a critical mass that are likely to sustain bad faith self-interested identity politics attacks on anyone who tries to raise criticisms of Obama’s war crimes. > > The first two pillars together guarantee unpleasant experiences for anyone who tries to raise criticisms among Democrats about Obama’s war crimes. > > The third pillar is an unconvertible fact: Obama isn’t president anymore. Given the first two pillars, why bring this up? Why bother? Why create discord for no reason? As a former Secretary of State said: “At this point, what difference does it make?” Do you walk into an Orthodox synagogue trashing Netanyahu? I don’t. What’s the point? What would it accomplish? How many Palestinian homes in Hebron would be spared from being demolished by IDF bulldozers as a result of this act? > > The three pillars together sustain the belief that talking about Obama’s war crimes would be discord without purpose, and that failing to talk about them produces comity without harm. > > But this belief is false. Failure to talk about Obama’s war crimes is a threat to peace, now and in the future. There are many reasons for this. But the most spectacular urgent reason in the next four months is this: Joe Biden is running for President, as the so-far favored candidate of the Democratic Establishment. And the principal “credential” that Joe Biden is running for President on – arguably the only one – is the fact that he was Obama’s Vice-President. > > There’s no way we can have an honest public conversation about this juncture if we’re not allowed to talk about Obama’s war crimes. Which is, of course, why the Biden supporters are the most adamant that we’re not allowed to talk about this. > > For example: Biden was a principal architect of the Iraq war. He didn’t just vote for the war. As the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in the Democratic-controlled Senate, he played a crucial role in ensuring that the Senate voted for the war. He actively helped the Bush Administration orchestrate the Senate vote for the war. If Dick Durbin had been chair of SFRC instead of Joe Biden, the Senate wouldn’t have voted for the war, and the war wouldn’t have happened, and American and Iraqi human beings who were killed in the war would be walking the Earth today. We know that this is true about Dick Durbin not only because Dick Durbin voted against the war, but because he later gave a speech on the Senate floor saying that he knew at the time of the vote as a member of the Senate intelligence committee that the Bush Administration’s public case for war did not match U.S. intelligence that was being given to Members of Congress. Of course, Dick Durbin didn’t know this by himself. Joe Biden knew it too. > > Does the fact that Biden was Obama’s Vice-President wash all that away? How? Why? > > For example: when Biden was Obama’s Vice-President in March 2015, the Obama-Biden Administration unconstitutionally began U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen, a war that had nothing to do with the values and interests of Americans outside the Beltway, a war that created the worst humanitarian crisis in the world, driving millions of innocent human beings to the brink of famine; thereby breaking every promise Obama-Biden made while they were running for the White House about not starting unconstitutional wars and “ending the mindset that got us into war in the first place.” > > Does the fact that Biden was Obama’s Vice-President wash all that away? How? Why? > > The Democratic Establishment didn’t learn much from its role in the Iraq war. The human being most responsible for this Democratic Establishment failure to learn from the Iraq war was Barack Obama. Progressive Democrats are morally obligated to try to have a kind of “#metoo”-like open and honest public conversation about this if we want to end the endless war. > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Wed Sep 4 21:20:25 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Wed, 4 Sep 2019 16:20:25 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Let=E2=80=99s_bring_back_bipartisan_Ame?= =?utf-8?q?rican_anti-imperialism?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10158599995862656 Let’s bring back bipartisan American anti-imperialism If I were to assert that women have the same rights as men to walk the Earth and organize their affairs, nobody here would bat an eye. If I were to assert that black people have the same rights as white people to walk the Earth and organize their affairs, nobody here would bat an eye. If I were to assert that gay people have the same rights as straight people to walk the Earth and organize their affairs, nobody here would bat an eye. Surely it follows “trivially,” as we used to say when I studied math, that people who live in other countries in any purported “U.S. sphere of influence” have the same rights to walk the Earth and organize their affairs as people who live in the United States do. Prior to the Cold War and the McCarthy period – which arguably should be called the Truman period, because Truman started it - it was a commonplace bipartisan idea in the United States that people who live in other countries have the same rights to walk the Earth and organize their affairs as people who live in the United States do, regardless of any imperial aspirations of the people who run America. It was a principal domestic propaganda objective of the Cold War and the McCarthy period to drive this idea to the margins of American political life, so it wouldn’t interfere with the imperial aspirations of the people then running the United States. The movement to end the Vietnam War substantially but far from completely reduced the political marginalization of this view. As vocal public opposition to the war grew, it became increasingly commonplace for Americans to assert not only that the war was too costly to America, not only that the war involved too many atrocities, but that the war was fundamentally immoral because a fundamental goal of the war was to prevent people in Vietnam from enjoying the same rights to walk the Earth and organize their affairs as Americans in America enjoy. The high-water mark of the positive impact in Washington of this American popular reaction to the Cold War and the Vietnam War was the early to mid-1970s. Congress cut off funding for the Vietnam War, passed the War Powers Resolution of 1973 to facilitate preventing and ending unauthorized wars in the future, passed the Arms Export Control Act in 1976 to stop U.S. weapons from being used to target civilians, investigated and exposed the atrocities of the CIA in other people’s countries. Reagan and subsequent presidents pushed with substantial success to reverse these gains. Now we are engaged in a historic struggle to restore these gains. Congress has invoked the War Powers Resolution and the Arms Export Control Act as it never has before, in order to end unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen. We’re living through a period where the post-World War II assumptions of U.S. politics are being tested in both directions – both in the direction of greater democracy and greater public accountability of government institutions, and in the direction of less democracy and less public accountability of government institutions. In this crucial period of questioning post-World War II assumptions of U.S. politics, let’s raise the bar for “reforming U.S. foreign policy.” Let’s assert that people living in countries in any purported “U.S. sphere of influence” have the same right as Americans living in America to walk the Earth and organize their affairs. For now, I’m going to call this idea “the new bipartisan American anti-imperialism.” If anybody here thinks they have a more felicitous phrase to describe this idea now, the floor is open. === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 5 15:52:54 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 10:52:54 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #434 notes In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> What I said was that it was regrettable that Gabbard, the only anti-war contender for the Democratic nomination for president, said that she would support the Democratic nominee, whoever that turned out to be. It looks as though those opposed to the Obama-Trump wars will have to vote for a third party, probably the Greens. > On Aug 31, 2019, at 3:15 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss wrote: > > I take it back, a worthwhile listen, if only to hear Carl say he was wrong about Tulsi Gabbard and JB Nicholson has been right. Which by extension includes me, as I have been saying for some time, Tulsi is a sheepherder for the DNC focusing on anti-war activists... > > > > >> On Aug 30, 2019, at 16:45, J.B. Nicholson via Peace wrote: >> >> News from Neptune #434 >> Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdeGjETKXE >> A "What the 2020 Election Is About" edition >> >> A list of links to items referenced on the show. >> >> >> >> Recent Joe Biden talk (and talk of those speaking on his behalf) courtesy of the Jimmy Dore program >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5xb4llOhgU -- Biden's Press Secretary's "word salad" on how climate change debate is a bad idea and the time for it was in the past (when the Democrats also said it was a bad idea to have that debate) >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbV3l5j3S4E -- Jill Biden admitting her husband is a horrible choice but somehow 'electable' and ultimately we must give up everything to "defeat Trump", right? >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbE2E9dvGg -- Biden attacking Mexicans in secret video. >> >> Rep. Tulsi Gabbard interviewed by CBS >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI -- "Defeating Trump" is Rep. Gabbard's goal even if it means supporting whatever Democrat gets the nomination. >> https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ -- a brief video ending with Rep. Gabbard conceding that she'll endorse any Democrat, even one who holds values ostensibly opposite to hers. >> >> Related: >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaH2rSgQzLE -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Biden in 2020 if Biden is the nominee. >> >> J.B. Nicholson on "Is Tulsi Gabbard really anti-war? No, she’s pro-drone and for “surgical strikes”" >> https://digitalcitizen.info/2019/02/13/is-tulsi-gabbard-really-anti-war-no-shes-pro-drone-and-for-surgical-strikes/ >> >> B.B. King >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King >> >> B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oica5jG7FpU >> >> Tulsi Gabbard with The Intercept in January 2018 >> https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ >> >> Primo Nutmeg interview >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GyqD0t2t8 -- video >> http://audio.voxnest.com/stream/9417a19f73964ff599a9cb7b84a5d268/www.buzzsprout.com/205226/1016930-171-tulsi-gabbard.mp3?blob_id=2161843 -- audio >> >> David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette >> https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html >> >> Donald Trump on Jewish "great disloyalty" for voting Democrat >> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-jewish-voters.html -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis on "Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’" >> https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459219-most-voters-disapprove-of-trumps-jewish-loyalty-comment-poll -- Rachel Frazin on "Most voters disapprove of Trump's Jewish 'loyalty' comment: poll" >> >> >> Long Stephen Miller articles from The New York Times >> >> Rasputin >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin >> >> Jason DeParle on "How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration" (from 2019-08-17) >> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html >> >> Michelle Cottle on "Stephen Miller Can’t Act Alone" (from 2019-04-09) >> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/opinion/stephen-miller-trump-immigration.html >> >> Matt Flegenheimer on "Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President’s Right Flank" (from 2017-10-09) >> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html >> >> >> >> >> Norman Finkelstein on Israel being an "alt-right country" >> >> https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e2uhX4QfJw -- Norman Finkelstein Q&A >> >> Peter Bolton on "Norman Finkelstein tells The Canary that anti-Corbyn smears have ‘nothing whatever to do with antisemitism’" >> https://www.thecanary.co/exclusive/2019/08/15/norman-finkelstein-tells-the-canary-that-anti-corbyn-smears-have-nothing-whatever-to-do-with-antisemitism/ >> >> DaysOfPalestine.com on "Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein says ‘Israel is a nation of murderers’ loved by the far right" >> https://daysofpalestine.com/post/12616/jewish-scholar-norman-finkelstein-says-%E2%80%98israel-is-a-nation-of-murderers%E2%80%99-loved-by-the-far-right >> >> >> >> Patrick Cockburn articles on independent.co.uk >> https://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn >> "Patrick Cockburn is an award-winning Independent columnist who specialises in analysis of Iraq, Syria and wars in the Middle East. He has been with The Independent since 1990." >> >> Lily Puckett on "Trump administration considering blocking $250m in military assistance to Ukraine" >> https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-ukraine-military-funding-john-bolton-russia-pentagon-latest-a9084291.html >> >> Continuity of policy: US administrations supporting Nazis >> https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html -- contains pointer to a 600-page Justice Department report (http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1) about how Nazis were given "safe haven" in US >> https://www.stpete4peace.org/Ukraine -- including criticism of "Progressive media provides cover for US intentions in Ukraine" >> https://www.rt.com/news/450740-ukraine-radio-nazi-article/ -- "US-funded Ukrainian radio defends neo-Nazi group, deletes article when called out" >> >> >> >> Jimmy Dore on New York Times editorial board's "pathetic apology for Russiagate coverage failure" >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivCPmU3tjo >> >> >> >> David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles >> https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/ >> RSS feed: https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/rss >> >> David Harvey interview in Jacobin >> https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ >> >> "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey >> ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 >> ISBN-10: 0199283273 >> >> "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty >> ISBN-10: 0674979850 >> ISBN-13: 978-0674979857 >> Complete book: https://dowbor.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14Thomas-Piketty.pdf >> >> Michael Roberts' blog "The Next Recession" >> https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ >> >> Recent Dean Baker articles on Trump's trade war with China >> https://fair.org/home/dean-baker-on-trumps-trade-war-leo-fitzpatrick-on-wireless-merger/ >> https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-trade-war-with-china-is-waged-to-make-the-rich-richer/ >> >> >> >> Moderate Rebels (Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton) on "Hong Kong's real colonial history, and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism - with Carl Zha" >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- video >> https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 -- audio >> >> Doug Henwood interviews Brian Hioe on Hong Kong protests >> http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2019/19_08_22.mp3 >> >> >> >> >> >> Noam Chomsky on reading business press >> >> https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c >> "My impression in general is that the business press is more open, ... get the facts right..." (used as part of an ad for Financial Times) >> >> https://chomsky.info/20081010/ >> http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html -- October 10, 2008 Der Spiegel interview of Chomsky includes: >>> SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, >>> eats a lot and goes shopping a lot? > >>> Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own >>> population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The >>> business press has been quite explicit about this goal. >> https://chomsky.info/20101101/ >> http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267553 -- November 1, 2010 Outlook magazine (from India) interview of Chomsky includes: >>> What has to be done is not really specific to the media. It is to >>> develop a more functional democratic society, a more democratic culture. >>> As far as the elites are concerned they want the public to be >>> disciplined, passive, obedient and directed to other things. Take a look >>> at the history of the huge public relations and advertising industry >>> that we have today. It developed in the freest countries in the world — >>> England and the US — around the time of the First World War. >>> Incidentally, that was the time Lippmann was writing. It was developed >>> very consciously, out of the understanding that enough freedom had been >>> won by popular struggle and the population could not be controlled by >>> force. Therefore, it was thought necessary to control attitudes and >>> beliefs. In the business press of the 1920s, you can read very openly >>> about the need to divert people to what they call the superficial thing >>> in life like fashionable consumption. If we can direct people to that, >>> they will keep out of our hair, we can run things. You see that in >>> India, certainly. >> >> Business Insider >> https://www.businessinsider.com/ >> >> Sonam Sheth on "US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin" >> https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8 >> >> -J >> _______________________________________________ >> Peace mailing list >> Peace at lists.chambana.net >> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace > From karenaram at hotmail.com Thu Sep 5 16:21:53 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 16:21:53 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: If in SF this Sat. 9/14 - Forum "Hong Kong: Workers' Uprising or Imperialist Meddling?" References: <5d7131342ad5f_80a5fbef5021944@asgworker-qmb3-9.nbuild.prd.useast1.3dna.io.mail> Message-ID: [Party for Socialism and Liberation] Home About Join Us Support Sign up Sat. Sept. 14, 6pm 2969 Mission St., SF Socialist Analysis and Discussion Hong Kong Protests - Workers' Uprising or Imperialist Meddling? [Share on Facebook] [Share on Twitter] [https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/psl/mailings/3917/attachments/original/HongKong-graphic-091419.jpg?1567698902] Ignited by a proposed extradition bill, the ongoing protests in Hong Kong have taken on a new character with clear evidence of backing by U.S. "pro-democracy" NGOs and calls for a return to mythical democratic freedoms from the days of British colonial rule. Special guest speaker Sheila Xiao, a Los Angeles-based organizer with the PSL, will discuss the legacy of British colonialism in Hong Kong, the origins of today's protests, the corporate media's pro-West narrative and the complete blackout of massive pro-China counter-demonstrations. $3-10 donation, no one turned away for lack of funds. Refreshments provided. Wheelchair accessible. More info: sf at pslweb.org, 415-821-6171, www.PSLweb.org Questions? Comments? Contact us. Created with NationBuilder, the essential toolkit for leaders. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Thu Sep 5 16:51:38 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 16:51:38 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #434 notes In-Reply-To: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> References: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> Message-ID: Carl Yes, you did, as you accepted defeat, in your argument with J.B. over Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. Loyalty to the Party comes first, that means whether Democrat or Republican, the candidate no matter what they say as a candidate, is not really anti-war. > On Sep 5, 2019, at 08:52, C G Estabrook wrote: > > What I said was that it was regrettable that Gabbard, the only anti-war contender for the Democratic nomination for president, said that she would support the Democratic nominee, whoever that turned out to be. > > It looks as though those opposed to the Obama-Trump wars will have to vote for a third party, probably the Greens. > > >> On Aug 31, 2019, at 3:15 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss wrote: >> >> I take it back, a worthwhile listen, if only to hear Carl say he was wrong about Tulsi Gabbard and JB Nicholson has been right. Which by extension includes me, as I have been saying for some time, Tulsi is a sheepherder for the DNC focusing on anti-war activists... >> >> >> >> >>> On Aug 30, 2019, at 16:45, J.B. Nicholson via Peace wrote: >>> >>> News from Neptune #434 >>> Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdeGjETKXE >>> A "What the 2020 Election Is About" edition >>> >>> A list of links to items referenced on the show. >>> >>> >>> >>> Recent Joe Biden talk (and talk of those speaking on his behalf) courtesy of the Jimmy Dore program >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5xb4llOhgU -- Biden's Press Secretary's "word salad" on how climate change debate is a bad idea and the time for it was in the past (when the Democrats also said it was a bad idea to have that debate) >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbV3l5j3S4E -- Jill Biden admitting her husband is a horrible choice but somehow 'electable' and ultimately we must give up everything to "defeat Trump", right? >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbE2E9dvGg -- Biden attacking Mexicans in secret video. >>> >>> Rep. Tulsi Gabbard interviewed by CBS >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI -- "Defeating Trump" is Rep. Gabbard's goal even if it means supporting whatever Democrat gets the nomination. >>> https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ -- a brief video ending with Rep. Gabbard conceding that she'll endorse any Democrat, even one who holds values ostensibly opposite to hers. >>> >>> Related: >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaH2rSgQzLE -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Biden in 2020 if Biden is the nominee. >>> >>> J.B. Nicholson on "Is Tulsi Gabbard really anti-war? No, she’s pro-drone and for “surgical strikes”" >>> https://digitalcitizen.info/2019/02/13/is-tulsi-gabbard-really-anti-war-no-shes-pro-drone-and-for-surgical-strikes/ >>> >>> B.B. King >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King >>> >>> B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oica5jG7FpU >>> >>> Tulsi Gabbard with The Intercept in January 2018 >>> https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ >>> >>> Primo Nutmeg interview >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GyqD0t2t8 -- video >>> http://audio.voxnest.com/stream/9417a19f73964ff599a9cb7b84a5d268/www.buzzsprout.com/205226/1016930-171-tulsi-gabbard.mp3?blob_id=2161843 -- audio >>> >>> David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette >>> https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html >>> >>> Donald Trump on Jewish "great disloyalty" for voting Democrat >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-jewish-voters.html -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis on "Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’" >>> https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459219-most-voters-disapprove-of-trumps-jewish-loyalty-comment-poll -- Rachel Frazin on "Most voters disapprove of Trump's Jewish 'loyalty' comment: poll" >>> >>> >>> Long Stephen Miller articles from The New York Times >>> >>> Rasputin >>> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin >>> >>> Jason DeParle on "How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration" (from 2019-08-17) >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html >>> >>> Michelle Cottle on "Stephen Miller Can’t Act Alone" (from 2019-04-09) >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/opinion/stephen-miller-trump-immigration.html >>> >>> Matt Flegenheimer on "Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President’s Right Flank" (from 2017-10-09) >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Norman Finkelstein on Israel being an "alt-right country" >>> >>> https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e2uhX4QfJw -- Norman Finkelstein Q&A >>> >>> Peter Bolton on "Norman Finkelstein tells The Canary that anti-Corbyn smears have ‘nothing whatever to do with antisemitism’" >>> https://www.thecanary.co/exclusive/2019/08/15/norman-finkelstein-tells-the-canary-that-anti-corbyn-smears-have-nothing-whatever-to-do-with-antisemitism/ >>> >>> DaysOfPalestine.com on "Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein says ‘Israel is a nation of murderers’ loved by the far right" >>> https://daysofpalestine.com/post/12616/jewish-scholar-norman-finkelstein-says-%E2%80%98israel-is-a-nation-of-murderers%E2%80%99-loved-by-the-far-right >>> >>> >>> >>> Patrick Cockburn articles on independent.co.uk >>> https://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn >>> "Patrick Cockburn is an award-winning Independent columnist who specialises in analysis of Iraq, Syria and wars in the Middle East. He has been with The Independent since 1990." >>> >>> Lily Puckett on "Trump administration considering blocking $250m in military assistance to Ukraine" >>> https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-ukraine-military-funding-john-bolton-russia-pentagon-latest-a9084291.html >>> >>> Continuity of policy: US administrations supporting Nazis >>> https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html -- contains pointer to a 600-page Justice Department report (http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1) about how Nazis were given "safe haven" in US >>> https://www.stpete4peace.org/Ukraine -- including criticism of "Progressive media provides cover for US intentions in Ukraine" >>> https://www.rt.com/news/450740-ukraine-radio-nazi-article/ -- "US-funded Ukrainian radio defends neo-Nazi group, deletes article when called out" >>> >>> >>> >>> Jimmy Dore on New York Times editorial board's "pathetic apology for Russiagate coverage failure" >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivCPmU3tjo >>> >>> >>> >>> David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles >>> https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/ >>> RSS feed: https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/rss >>> >>> David Harvey interview in Jacobin >>> https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ >>> >>> "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey >>> ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 >>> ISBN-10: 0199283273 >>> >>> "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty >>> ISBN-10: 0674979850 >>> ISBN-13: 978-0674979857 >>> Complete book: https://dowbor.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14Thomas-Piketty.pdf >>> >>> Michael Roberts' blog "The Next Recession" >>> https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ >>> >>> Recent Dean Baker articles on Trump's trade war with China >>> https://fair.org/home/dean-baker-on-trumps-trade-war-leo-fitzpatrick-on-wireless-merger/ >>> https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-trade-war-with-china-is-waged-to-make-the-rich-richer/ >>> >>> >>> >>> Moderate Rebels (Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton) on "Hong Kong's real colonial history, and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism - with Carl Zha" >>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- video >>> https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 -- audio >>> >>> Doug Henwood interviews Brian Hioe on Hong Kong protests >>> http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2019/19_08_22.mp3 >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> Noam Chomsky on reading business press >>> >>> https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c >>> "My impression in general is that the business press is more open, ... get the facts right..." (used as part of an ad for Financial Times) >>> >>> https://chomsky.info/20081010/ >>> http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html -- October 10, 2008 Der Spiegel interview of Chomsky includes: >>>> SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, >>>> eats a lot and goes shopping a lot? > >>>> Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own >>>> population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The >>>> business press has been quite explicit about this goal. >>> https://chomsky.info/20101101/ >>> http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267553 -- November 1, 2010 Outlook magazine (from India) interview of Chomsky includes: >>>> What has to be done is not really specific to the media. It is to >>>> develop a more functional democratic society, a more democratic culture. >>>> As far as the elites are concerned they want the public to be >>>> disciplined, passive, obedient and directed to other things. Take a look >>>> at the history of the huge public relations and advertising industry >>>> that we have today. It developed in the freest countries in the world — >>>> England and the US — around the time of the First World War. >>>> Incidentally, that was the time Lippmann was writing. It was developed >>>> very consciously, out of the understanding that enough freedom had been >>>> won by popular struggle and the population could not be controlled by >>>> force. Therefore, it was thought necessary to control attitudes and >>>> beliefs. In the business press of the 1920s, you can read very openly >>>> about the need to divert people to what they call the superficial thing >>>> in life like fashionable consumption. If we can direct people to that, >>>> they will keep out of our hair, we can run things. You see that in >>>> India, certainly. >>> >>> Business Insider >>> https://www.businessinsider.com/ >>> >>> Sonam Sheth on "US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin" >>> https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8 >>> >>> -J >>> _______________________________________________ >>> Peace mailing list >>> Peace at lists.chambana.net >>> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace >> > From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Thu Sep 5 17:43:50 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 12:43:50 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Beltway_liberals_who_support_U=2ES=2E_i?= =?utf-8?q?mperialism=3A_it=E2=80=99s_time_to_check_your_=E2=80=9CA?= =?utf-8?q?merican_Privilege=E2=80=9D?= In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: https://www.facebook.com/robert.naiman/posts/10158602425482656 Beltway liberals who support U.S. imperialism: it’s time to check your “American Privilege” As part of our campaign to revive bipartisan American anti-imperialism, we’re going to adopt some of the language and tactics associated with “identity politics” movements and deploy them against the Beltway liberals who support U.S. imperialism. Of course, Beltway liberals who support U.S. imperialism are not the _root_ cause of U.S. imperialism. But they are crucial _enablers_ of U.S. imperialism. They enable U.S. imperialism by helping to peddle claims that U.S. government interference in other people’s countries is somehow motivated by concern for democracy and human rights. These “humanitarian war” justifications are generally trotted out before U.S. wars to confuse and disrupt potential opponents. The “humanitarian war” claims are then discarded when they are no longer useful to U.S. imperialism. Recall: the “national security” justification given to the U.S. public prior to the October 2002 Congressional vote to invade Iraq – supported by Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, and Dick Gephardt - was that the Iraqi government was developing “weapons of mass destruction” they would use to attack America. But this was not the only justification given. Also, we were told, we were going to bring democracy and freedom to Iraq and the new Iraq would be a shining example of democracy and human rights which would transform the Middle East. Remember? The world now knows that the U.S. government claim that Iraq was building weapons of mass destruction to attack America was not true. After the U.S. military invaded and occupied Iraq, the U.S. military looked for the alleged Iraqi “WMD.” They didn’t find them. They didn’t find them, because they weren’t there to find. The contradiction between the national security justification given for the war beforehand and what turned out to be true afterwards was attributed to “bad intelligence.” But this was a lie. The truth is that the Bush Administration lied to the American people, and that Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton participated in the lie. We know this because Dick Durbin, who voted against the war, subsequently gave a speech on the Senate floor saying that he knew at the time of the vote that the public case the Bush Administration was making for the war didn’t match U.S. intelligence being given to Members of Congress. Of course, if Dick Durbin knew this at the time, then Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton knew it at the time. They weren’t tricked by the Bush Administration, as they later claimed. They were eager accomplices. There was never any real accountability for this in terms of anyone being punished. But at least there was accountability in terms of acknowledging what the truth was. Everybody now admits that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction and was not threatening America. The U.S. military checked. The “national security” justification given for the war was not true. How about the “humanitarian war” justifications for the war? Is the story better there? The story there is worse. Why is it worse? Because nobody who’s anybody even bothered to check, because nobody who’s anybody in Washington really cares what the truth about that is. Today nobody who’s anybody in Washington really cares how democracy and human rights are doing in Iraq, or in Libya, or Syria, or Yemen, or Afghanistan, or in any other country that U.S. imperialism has destroyed. The state of human rights in a country is a five alarm emergency when it’s perceived to be a justification for war or economic sanctions on civilians. Otherwise nobody who’s anybody in Washington cares about these things very much, if feigning concern about these things isn’t useful as an excuse for U.S. intervention. At the root of “humanitarian war” narratives is an unexamined attachment among Beltway liberals to the idea that Beltway liberals know better how to run other people’s countries than the people who live in those countries do. And this is something that we should try to stamp out: this unexamined attachment among Beltway liberals to the belief that they know better how to run other people’s countries than the people in those countries do. Recall that when Barack Obama was running for President in 2008, he promised to “end the mindset that got us into war in the first place.” This is part of the mindset that got us into war in the first place: the unexamined attachment among Beltway liberals to the belief that they know better how to run other people’s countries than the people who live in those countries do. So, let’s end that mindset. And here’s how we’re going to start. Any time a Beltway liberal indicates that they believe that they know how to run somebody else’s country better than people in that country do, we’re going to say the following sentence to them: “It’s time to check your American privilege.” === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Thu Sep 5 20:01:01 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 15:01:01 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Stephen Cohen: What We Still Do Not Know About Russiagate In-Reply-To: References: <7BEEABD9-255D-48C9-8C53-BC9ECDF2C1FD@nyu.edu> Message-ID: https://www.thenation.com/article/what-we-still-do-not-know-about-russiagate/ *What We Still Do Not Know About Russiagate* *Vital questions about perhaps the worst alleged presidential scandal in US history remain unanswered.* By Stephen F. Cohen SEPTEMBER 4, 2019 It must again be emphasized: It is hard, if not impossible, to think of a more toxic allegation in American presidential history than the one leveled against candidate, and then president, Donald Trump that he “colluded” with the Kremlin in order to win the 2016 presidential election—and, still more, that Vladimir Putin’s regime, “America’s No. 1 threat,” had compromising material on Trump that made him its “puppet.” Or a more fraudulent accusation. Even leaving aside the misperception that Russia is the primary threat to America in world affairs , no aspect of this allegation has turned out to be true, as should have been evident from the outset. Major aspects of the now infamous Steele Dossier, on which much of the allegation was based, were themselves not merely “unverified” but plainly implausible. Was it plausible, for example, that Trump, a longtime owner and operator of international hotels, would commit an indiscreet act in a Moscow hotel that he did not own or control? Or that, as Steele also claimed, high-level Kremlin sources had fed him damning anti-Trump information even though their vigilant boss, Putin, wanted Trump to win the election? Nonetheless, the American mainstream media and other important elements of the US political establishment relied on Steele’s allegations for nearly three years, even heroizing him—and some still do, explicitly or implicitly. Not surprisingly, former special counsel Robert Mueller found no evidence of “collusion” between the Trump campaign and the Kremlin. No credible evidence has been produced that Russia’s “interference” affected the result of the 2016 presidential election in any significant way. Nor was Russian “meddling” in the election anything akin to a “digital Pearl Harbor,” as widely asserted, and certainly far less and less intrusive than President Bill Clinton’s political and financial “interference” undertaken to assure the re-election of Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1996. Nonetheless, Russiagate’s core allegation persists, like a legend, in American political life—in media commentary, in financial solicitations by some Democratic candidates for Congress, and, as is clear from my own discussions, in the minds of otherwise well-informed people. The only way to dispel, to excoriate, such a legend is to learn and expose how it began—by whom, when, and why. Officially, at least in the FBI’s version, its operation “Crossfire Hurricane,” the counter-intelligence investigation of the Trump campaign that began in mid-2016 was due to suspicious remarks made to visitors by a young and lowly Trump aide, George Papadopoulos. This too is not believable, as I pointed out previously . Most of those visitors themselves had ties to Western intelligence agencies. That is, the young Trump aide was being enticed, possibly entrapped, as part of a larger intelligence operation against Trump. (Papadopoulos wasn’t the only Trump associate targeted, Carter Page being another.) But the question remains: why did Western intelligence agencies, prompted, it seems clear, by US ones, seek to undermine Trump’s presidential campaign? A reflexive answer might be because candidate Trump promised to “cooperate with Russia,” to pursue a pro-détente foreign policy, but this was hardly a startling, still less subversive, advocacy by a would-be Republican president. All of the major pro-détente episodes in the twentieth century had been initiated by Republican presidents: Eisenhower, Nixon, and Reagan. So, again, what was it about Trump that so spooked the spooks so far off their rightful reservation and so intrusively into American presidential politics? Investigations being overseen by Attorney General William Barr may provide answers—or not. Barr has already leveled procedural charges against James Comey, head of the FBI under President Obama and briefly under President Trump, but the repeatedly hapless Comey seems incapable of having initiated such an audacious operation against a presidential candidate, still less a president-elect. As I have long suggested, John Brennan and James Clapper, head of the CIA and Office of National Intelligence under Obama respectively, are the more likely culprits. The FBI is no longer the fearsome organization it once was and thus not hard to investigate, as Barr has already shown. The others, particularly the CIA, are a different matter, and Barr has suggested they are resisting. To investigate them, particularly the CIA, it seems, he has brought in a veteran prosecutor-investigator, John Durham. Which raises other questions. Are Barr and Durham, whose own careers include associations with US intelligence agencies, determined to uncover the truth about the origins of Russiagate? And can they really do so fully, given the resistance already apparent? Even if so, will Barr make public their findings, however damning of the intelligence agencies they may be, or will he classify them? And if the latter, will President Trump use his authority to declassify the findings as the 2020 presidential election approaches in order to discredit the role of Obama’s presidency and its would-be heirs? Equally important perhaps, how will mainstream media treat the Barr-Durham investigation and its findings? Having driven the Russiagate narrative for so long and so misleadingly—and with liberals perhaps finding themselves in the incongruous position of defending rogue intelligence agencies—will they credit or seek to discredit the findings? It is true, of course, that Barr and Durham, as Trump appointees, are not the ideal investigators of Intel misdeeds in the Russiagate saga. Much better would be a truly bipartisan, independent investigation based in the senate, as was the Church Committee of the mid-1970s, which exposed and reformed (it thought at the time) serious abuses by US intelligence agencies. That would require, however, a sizable core of non-partisan, honorable, and courageous senators of both parties, who thus far seem to be lacking. There are also, however, the ongoing and upcoming Democratic presidential debates. First and foremost, Russiagate is about the present and future of the American political system, not about Russia. (Indeed, as I have repeatedly argued, there is very little, if any, Russia in Russiagate.) At every “debate” or comparable forum, all of the Democratic candidates should be asked about this grave threat to American democracy—what they think about what happened and would do about it if elected president. Consider it health care for our democracy. *This commentary is based on Stephen F. Cohen’s most recent weekly discussion with the host of *The John Batchelor Show .* Now in their sixth year, previous installments are at *TheNation.com . -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Fri Sep 6 02:31:47 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C. G. Estabrook ) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 21:31:47 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_=5BNew_post=5D_Meditations_On_Tw?= =?utf-8?q?itter=E2=80=99s_Silencing_Of_Daniel_McAdams?= References: <139971992.7103.0@wordpress.com> Message-ID: <06CD420A-2A68-4188-B7CE-825A630428BE@gmail.com> Begin forwarded message: > From: Caitlin Johnstone > Date: September 5, 2019 at 6:48:24 PM CDT > To: cgestabrook at gmail.com > Subject: [New post] Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel McAdams > > > New post on Caitlin Johnstone > > > Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel McAdams > by Caitlin Johnstone > Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, was banned from Twitter last week. Officially, it was because he used the word "retarded" to describe the odious establishment propagandist Sean Hannity after noting the hilarious fact that the Fox News host had been wearing a CIA lapel pin while "challenging the deep state". Unofficially, it was because McAdams has been operating for years at the apex of one of the most effective antiwar movements in the United States. > > An article from Liberty Conservative News about McAdams' encounter with the business end of the Twitter censorship hammer reports that the outspoken foreign policy critic received a notification that his account "has been suspended and will not be restored because it was found to be violating Twitter’s Terms of Service, specifically the Twitter Rules against hateful conduct." > > "It is against our rules to promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease," the notification reads. "Additionally, if we determine that the primary purpose of an account is to incite harm towards others on the basis of these categories, that account may be suspended without prior warning." > > Now, unless Sean Hannity does in fact have some literal mental handicap we don't know about, it's not accurate to say that he was attacked or threatened on that or any other basis; rather, he was merely insulted with a common pejorative that is not widely considered to be politically correct. It is also certainly not accurate to say that the primary purpose of McAdams' now-defunct Twitter account was to incite harm toward others based on the aforementioned categories. Indeed, the article notes, the word "retarded" is used constantly on Twitter by users all around the world who never suffer any consequences for it; a quick Twitter search easily confirms that the word is used as an insult multiple times per minute. The reasons given for McAdams' suspension can therefore be regarded as bogus. > > wow. Guess they didn’t like his foreign policy views?https://t.co/1NdOxK1AjQ > > — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 4, 2019 > > In reality, McAdams was suspended because there are people on Twitter who, either due to profession or obsession, make it their business to report any effective opponent of western imperialism at every opportunity to Twitter admins, many of whom apparently have a clear pro-establishment bias of their own. It's happened to me on more than one occasion, and we may be sure that it happened to Daniel McAdams last week as well. > > Which is annoying. It's annoying to know that at some point I'll probably slip up and say something imperfectly in an increasingly restrictive speech environment which gets me permanently banned from that platform. I like Twitter. I'm good at it. I've recently concluded that it's pretty much useless for dialogue, but it is a great way for one person to get unauthorized ideas seen millions of times per month by people who might not feel like reading an entire article. I'll be very put off when the banhammer finds my pretty face. > > But you know what's even more annoying? What's even more annoying is that we live in a society where insulting a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity gets you silenced and marginalized, but being a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity does not. Being a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity gets you rewarded with fame and fortune at every turn. > > > > I'd like us to reverse this, please. > > I'd like to live in a society where promoting mass military slaughter is the thing that gets someone de-platformed and shunned, not using a rude word to insult someone who promotes mass military slaughter. > > A society where a US president killing mountains of people around the world attracts more media attention than his rude tweets. > > A society where being a warmonger is just as taboo and reviled as being a serial killer or a child rapist. > > A society where people get their news from reporters who tell the truth about what's happening, not from veterans of depraved intelligence agencies whose entire professions have been devoted to deceit and disinformation. > > A society so sensitive to the horrors of war and the realities of its power dynamics that black bloc protesters would put more energy into disrupting appearances by people like Henry Kissinger and John Bolton than people like Milo Yiannopoulos. > > A society so emotionally awake and empathetic in the way it operates that sociopathy and psychopathy become more of a disabling handicap than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. > > A society so healthy that we no longer spend our creative energy figuring out ways to kill and exploit and manipulate each other and instead spend it figuring out ways to collaborate with each other and with our ecosystem for the benefit of everyone. > > A natural society, the kind we imagined as small children that we would be inheriting, instead of this insane stew of oligarchic psyops and cultural mind viruses which rewards sociopathy and elevates social cannibals. > > > > That society is already here in embryonic form, only hidden beneath a fog of confusion about what we are and where the stable ground of sanity is. Some of that fog was created accidentally, as the result of a species suddenly evolving extra brain matter at an unprecedented speed and stumbling out of the trees into a world of WiFi and processed meats. Most of the fog has been created deliberately, with countless generations of powerful humans inflicting narratives upon their subjects which further advantage the powerful and further disadvantage the powerless. > > But sanity is right there, patiently waiting underneath the insanity. Waiting for us to open our eyelids and part the fog and remember our natural state. It's right here, closer to us than our own breath, so simple and obvious that we can spend our whole lives overlooking it. > > It's that comfy homely chair where you can let your bum nestle into the folds of the earth, the vantage point from which you truly don't mind what happens, you're just curious as to what you'll do next. > > It's that quiet still place from where inspiration bubbles up, just below the babble of the unreliable narrator of our patterned thinking mind. > > It's that place between sleep and at rest, right before the clamor of thoughts bustle in. > > It's where ideas spring from in the middle of the night or in the middle of a shower, from that relaxed, happy state that peeks through when you forget yourself for a moment. > > It's right here, just below the surface of the made-up matrix of mind gunk. > > This is the place from which our sane society will be birthed into the world. > > Sink in and live from here whenever you remember to. > > Let it be birthed through you. > > ________________________ > > The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I'm trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge. > > > > Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2 > > Caitlin Johnstone | September 5, 2019 at 11:48 pm | Tags: censorship, Daniel McAdams, peace, Politics, Ron Paul, Twitter | Categories: Article, News | URL: https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1Qz > Comment See all comments > Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Caitlin Johnstone. > Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. > > Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/05/meditations-on-twitters-silencing-of-daniel-mcadams/ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Fri Sep 6 02:58:12 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Thu, 5 Sep 2019 21:58:12 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_=5BNew_post=5D_Meditations_On_T?= =?utf-8?q?witter=E2=80=99s_Silencing_Of_Daniel_McAdams?= In-Reply-To: <06CD420A-2A68-4188-B7CE-825A630428BE@gmail.com> References: <139971992.7103.0@wordpress.com> <06CD420A-2A68-4188-B7CE-825A630428BE@gmail.com> Message-ID: I know Daniel McAdams a bit. He helped us get Republicans on board with challenging unconstitutional U.S. participation in the Saudi war in Yemen by invoking the War Powers Resolution, among other contributions to peace. I agree that this is sad and annoying - sad that this happened, sad that Twitter management has this kind of unaccountable control over who can participate in what has become a very influential platform for discussing war and peace. I get why some people find the epithet "retarded" very offensive. It was commonplace when I was in high school, and I had to work at removing its use from my active vocabulary. But this kind of ad hoc banning policy is not the right way to deal with this issue - it's a dangerous threat to important free speech, as documented here. === Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (202) 448-2898 x1 On Thu, Sep 5, 2019 at 9:32 PM C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > > > > Begin forwarded message: > > *From:* Caitlin Johnstone > *Date:* September 5, 2019 at 6:48:24 PM CDT > *To:* cgestabrook at gmail.com > *Subject:* *[New post] Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel > McAdams* > > Caitlin Johnstone posted: "Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the > Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, was banned from Twitter last > week. Officially, it was because he used the word "retarded" to describe > the odious establishment propagandist Sean Hannity after notin" > > New post on *Caitlin Johnstone* > Meditations On Twitter’s > Silencing Of Daniel McAdams > by > Caitlin Johnstone > > Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for > Peace and Prosperity , was banned from > Twitter last week. Officially, it was because he used the word "retarded" > to describe the odious establishment propagandist Sean Hannity after noting > the hilarious fact > that the > Fox News host had been wearing a CIA lapel pin while "challenging the deep > state". Unofficially, it was because McAdams has been operating for years > at the apex of one of the most effective antiwar movements in the United > States. > > An article from *Liberty Conservative News* > > about McAdams' encounter with the business end of the Twitter censorship > hammer reports that the outspoken foreign policy critic received a > notification that his account "has been suspended and will not be restored > because it was found to be violating Twitter’s Terms of Service, > specifically the Twitter Rules against hateful conduct." > > "It is against our rules to promote violence against or directly attack or > threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, > sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, > disability, or disease," the notification reads. "Additionally, if we > determine that the primary purpose of an account is to incite harm towards > others on the basis of these categories, that account may be suspended > without prior warning." > > Now, unless Sean Hannity does in fact have some literal mental handicap we > don't know about, it's not accurate to say that he was attacked or > threatened on that or any other basis; rather, he was merely insulted with > a common pejorative that is not widely considered to be politically > correct. It is also certainly not accurate to say that the primary purpose > of McAdams' now-defunct Twitter account was to incite harm toward others > based on the aforementioned categories. Indeed, the article notes, the word > "retarded" is used constantly on Twitter by users all around the world who > never suffer any consequences for it; a quick Twitter search easily > confirms > that the word is used as an insult multiple times per minute. The reasons > given for McAdams' suspension can therefore be regarded as bogus. > > wow. Guess they didn’t like his foreign policy views? > https://t.co/1NdOxK1AjQ > > — Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 4, 2019 > > > In reality, McAdams was suspended because there are people on Twitter who, > either due to profession or obsession, make it their business to report any > effective opponent of western imperialism at every opportunity to Twitter > admins, many of whom apparently have a clear pro-establishment bias of > their own. It's happened to me on more > > than one occasion > , > and we may be sure that it happened to Daniel McAdams last week as well. > > Which is annoying. It's annoying to know that at some point I'll probably > slip up and say something imperfectly in an increasingly restrictive speech > environment which gets me permanently banned from that platform. I like > Twitter. I'm good at it. I've recently concluded that it's pretty much > useless for dialogue, but it is a great way for one person to get > unauthorized ideas seen millions of times per month by people who might not > feel like reading an entire article. I'll be very put off when the > banhammer finds my pretty face. > > But you know what's even more annoying? What's even more annoying is that > we live in a society where insulting a murderous war propagandist like Sean > Hannity gets you silenced and marginalized, but *being* a murderous war > propagandist like Sean Hannity does not. *Being* a murderous war > propagandist like Sean Hannity gets you rewarded with fame and fortune at > every turn. > > I'd like us to reverse this, please. > > I'd like to live in a society where promoting mass military slaughter is > the thing that gets someone de-platformed and shunned, not using a rude > word to insult someone who promotes mass military slaughter. > > A society where a US president killing mountains of people around the > world > > attracts more media attention than his rude tweets. > > A society where being a warmonger is just as taboo and reviled as being a > serial killer or a child rapist. > > A society where people get their news from reporters who tell the truth > about what's happening, not from veterans of depraved intelligence > agencies > whose entire professions have been devoted to deceit and disinformation. > > A society so sensitive to the horrors of war and the realities of its > power dynamics that black bloc protesters would put more energy into > disrupting appearances by people like Henry Kissinger and John Bolton than > people like Milo Yiannopoulos. > > A society so emotionally awake and empathetic in the way it operates that > sociopathy and psychopathy become more of a disabling handicap than > schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. > > A society so healthy that we no longer spend our creative energy figuring > out ways to kill and exploit and manipulate each other and instead spend it > figuring out ways to collaborate with each other and with our ecosystem for > the benefit of everyone. > > A natural society, the kind we imagined as small children that we would be > inheriting, instead of this insane stew of oligarchic psyops and cultural > mind viruses which rewards sociopathy and elevates social cannibals. > > > > That society is already here in embryonic form, only hidden beneath a fog > of confusion about what we are and where the stable ground of sanity is. > Some of that fog was created accidentally, as the result of a species > suddenly evolving extra brain matter at an unprecedented speed and > stumbling out of the trees into a world of WiFi and processed meats. Most > of the fog has been created deliberately, with countless generations of > powerful humans inflicting narratives upon their subjects which further > advantage the powerful and further disadvantage the powerless. > > But sanity is right there, patiently waiting underneath the insanity. > Waiting for us to open our eyelids and part the fog and remember our > natural state. It's right here, closer to us than our own breath, so simple > and obvious that we can spend our whole lives overlooking it. > > It's that comfy homely chair where you can let your bum nestle into the > folds of the earth, the vantage point from which you truly don't mind what > happens, you're just curious as to what you'll do next. > > It's that quiet still place from where inspiration bubbles up, just below > the babble of the unreliable narrator of our patterned thinking mind. > > It's that place between sleep and at rest, right before the clamor of > thoughts bustle in. > > It's where ideas spring from in the middle of the night or in the middle > of a shower, from that relaxed, happy state that peeks through when you > forget yourself for a moment. > > It's right here, just below the surface of the made-up matrix of mind gunk. > > This is the place from which our sane society will be birthed into the > world. > > Sink in and live from here whenever you remember to. > > Let it be birthed through you. > > ________________________ > > *The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the > stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website > , which will get you an email notification > for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported > , > so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me > on **Facebook* *, following > my antics on* *Twitter* *, **throwing some > money into my hat on **Patreon* > * or* *Paypal* , *purchasing some of > my sweet merchandise > , **buying > my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone > , or my previous book **Woke: A Field > Guide for Utopia Preppers* > *. > For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I'm trying to do with > this platform, click here > . > Everyone, racist platforms excluded, **has my permission* > * to > republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in > any way they like free of charge.* > > *Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2* > *Caitlin Johnstone * | September > 5, 2019 at 11:48 pm | Tags: censorship > , Daniel > McAdams > , > peace , > Politics , Ron > Paul , > Twitter | > Categories: Article > , News > | URL: > https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1Qz > > Comment > > See all comments > > > Unsubscribe > > to no longer receive posts from Caitlin Johnstone. > Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions > . > > > *Trouble clicking?* Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > > https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/05/meditations-on-twitters-silencing-of-daniel-mcadams/ > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brussel at illinois.edu Fri Sep 6 03:08:30 2019 From: brussel at illinois.edu (Brussel, Morton K) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 03:08:30 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #434 notes In-Reply-To: References: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> Message-ID: <49AF27AC-80A5-4346-8C1F-E3DBB8A33664@illinois.edu> …"Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. …" This conclusion does not logically follow. She would like to be the Dem candidate. Hence, she is not likely to disavow the party, and she may still be against U.S. war policies. On Sep 5, 2019, at 11:51 AM, Karen Aram via Peace > wrote: Carl Yes, you did, as you accepted defeat, in your argument with J.B. over Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. Loyalty to the Party comes first, that means whether Democrat or Republican, the candidate no matter what they say as a candidate, is not really anti-war. On Sep 5, 2019, at 08:52, C G Estabrook > wrote: What I said was that it was regrettable that Gabbard, the only anti-war contender for the Democratic nomination for president, said that she would support the Democratic nominee, whoever that turned out to be. It looks as though those opposed to the Obama-Trump wars will have to vote for a third party, probably the Greens. On Aug 31, 2019, at 3:15 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss > wrote: I take it back, a worthwhile listen, if only to hear Carl say he was wrong about Tulsi Gabbard and JB Nicholson has been right. Which by extension includes me, as I have been saying for some time, Tulsi is a sheepherder for the DNC focusing on anti-war activists... On Aug 30, 2019, at 16:45, J.B. Nicholson via Peace > wrote: News from Neptune #434 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdeGjETKXE A "What the 2020 Election Is About" edition A list of links to items referenced on the show. Recent Joe Biden talk (and talk of those speaking on his behalf) courtesy of the Jimmy Dore program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5xb4llOhgU -- Biden's Press Secretary's "word salad" on how climate change debate is a bad idea and the time for it was in the past (when the Democrats also said it was a bad idea to have that debate) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbV3l5j3S4E -- Jill Biden admitting her husband is a horrible choice but somehow 'electable' and ultimately we must give up everything to "defeat Trump", right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbE2E9dvGg -- Biden attacking Mexicans in secret video. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard interviewed by CBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI -- "Defeating Trump" is Rep. Gabbard's goal even if it means supporting whatever Democrat gets the nomination. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ -- a brief video ending with Rep. Gabbard conceding that she'll endorse any Democrat, even one who holds values ostensibly opposite to hers. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaH2rSgQzLE -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Biden in 2020 if Biden is the nominee. J.B. Nicholson on "Is Tulsi Gabbard really anti-war? No, she’s pro-drone and for “surgical strikes”" https://digitalcitizen.info/2019/02/13/is-tulsi-gabbard-really-anti-war-no-shes-pro-drone-and-for-surgical-strikes/ B.B. King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oica5jG7FpU Tulsi Gabbard with The Intercept in January 2018 https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ Primo Nutmeg interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GyqD0t2t8 -- video http://audio.voxnest.com/stream/9417a19f73964ff599a9cb7b84a5d268/www.buzzsprout.com/205226/1016930-171-tulsi-gabbard.mp3?blob_id=2161843 -- audio David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html Donald Trump on Jewish "great disloyalty" for voting Democrat https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-jewish-voters.html -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis on "Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’" https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459219-most-voters-disapprove-of-trumps-jewish-loyalty-comment-poll -- Rachel Frazin on "Most voters disapprove of Trump's Jewish 'loyalty' comment: poll" Long Stephen Miller articles from The New York Times Rasputin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin Jason DeParle on "How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration" (from 2019-08-17) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html Michelle Cottle on "Stephen Miller Can’t Act Alone" (from 2019-04-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/opinion/stephen-miller-trump-immigration.html Matt Flegenheimer on "Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President’s Right Flank" (from 2017-10-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html Norman Finkelstein on Israel being an "alt-right country" https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e2uhX4QfJw -- Norman Finkelstein Q&A Peter Bolton on "Norman Finkelstein tells The Canary that anti-Corbyn smears have ‘nothing whatever to do with antisemitism’" https://www.thecanary.co/exclusive/2019/08/15/norman-finkelstein-tells-the-canary-that-anti-corbyn-smears-have-nothing-whatever-to-do-with-antisemitism/ DaysOfPalestine.com on "Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein says ‘Israel is a nation of murderers’ loved by the far right" https://daysofpalestine.com/post/12616/jewish-scholar-norman-finkelstein-says-%E2%80%98israel-is-a-nation-of-murderers%E2%80%99-loved-by-the-far-right Patrick Cockburn articles on independent.co.uk https://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn "Patrick Cockburn is an award-winning Independent columnist who specialises in analysis of Iraq, Syria and wars in the Middle East. He has been with The Independent since 1990." Lily Puckett on "Trump administration considering blocking $250m in military assistance to Ukraine" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-ukraine-military-funding-john-bolton-russia-pentagon-latest-a9084291.html Continuity of policy: US administrations supporting Nazis https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html -- contains pointer to a 600-page Justice Department report (http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1) about how Nazis were given "safe haven" in US https://www.stpete4peace.org/Ukraine -- including criticism of "Progressive media provides cover for US intentions in Ukraine" https://www.rt.com/news/450740-ukraine-radio-nazi-article/ -- "US-funded Ukrainian radio defends neo-Nazi group, deletes article when called out" Jimmy Dore on New York Times editorial board's "pathetic apology for Russiagate coverage failure" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivCPmU3tjo David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/ RSS feed: https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/rss David Harvey interview in Jacobin https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty ISBN-10: 0674979850 ISBN-13: 978-0674979857 Complete book: https://dowbor.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14Thomas-Piketty.pdf Michael Roberts' blog "The Next Recession" https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ Recent Dean Baker articles on Trump's trade war with China https://fair.org/home/dean-baker-on-trumps-trade-war-leo-fitzpatrick-on-wireless-merger/ https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-trade-war-with-china-is-waged-to-make-the-rich-richer/ Moderate Rebels (Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton) on "Hong Kong's real colonial history, and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism - with Carl Zha" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- video https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 -- audio Doug Henwood interviews Brian Hioe on Hong Kong protests http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2019/19_08_22.mp3 Noam Chomsky on reading business press https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c "My impression in general is that the business press is more open, ... get the facts right..." (used as part of an ad for Financial Times) https://chomsky.info/20081010/ http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html -- October 10, 2008 Der Spiegel interview of Chomsky includes: SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, eats a lot and goes shopping a lot? > Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The business press has been quite explicit about this goal. https://chomsky.info/20101101/ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267553 -- November 1, 2010 Outlook magazine (from India) interview of Chomsky includes: What has to be done is not really specific to the media. It is to develop a more functional democratic society, a more democratic culture. As far as the elites are concerned they want the public to be disciplined, passive, obedient and directed to other things. Take a look at the history of the huge public relations and advertising industry that we have today. It developed in the freest countries in the world — England and the US — around the time of the First World War. Incidentally, that was the time Lippmann was writing. It was developed very consciously, out of the understanding that enough freedom had been won by popular struggle and the population could not be controlled by force. Therefore, it was thought necessary to control attitudes and beliefs. In the business press of the 1920s, you can read very openly about the need to divert people to what they call the superficial thing in life like fashionable consumption. If we can direct people to that, they will keep out of our hair, we can run things. You see that in India, certainly. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/ Sonam Sheth on "US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin" https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8 -J _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Fri Sep 6 11:49:19 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 11:49:19 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #434 notes In-Reply-To: <49AF27AC-80A5-4346-8C1F-E3DBB8A33664@illinois.edu> References: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> <49AF27AC-80A5-4346-8C1F-E3DBB8A33664@illinois.edu> Message-ID: I’m sorry Mort, but what doesn’t logically follow is anyone assuming we can end war with a Democrat or Republican President in the White House as if they are all powerful, they are owned by those who put them there. Both Party’s are owned by the corporate elites, and all those who profit from war. By war I mean, interventions, sanctions, and our use of proxy’s. A Bernie or Tulsi in the WH would be better than Trump on domestic issues which is a reason to support them. Though many of us thought that of Obama. On Sep 5, 2019, at 20:08, Brussel, Morton K > wrote: …"Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. …" This conclusion does not logically follow. She would like to be the Dem candidate. Hence, she is not likely to disavow the party, and she may still be against U.S. war policies. On Sep 5, 2019, at 11:51 AM, Karen Aram via Peace > wrote: Carl Yes, you did, as you accepted defeat, in your argument with J.B. over Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. Loyalty to the Party comes first, that means whether Democrat or Republican, the candidate no matter what they say as a candidate, is not really anti-war. On Sep 5, 2019, at 08:52, C G Estabrook > wrote: What I said was that it was regrettable that Gabbard, the only anti-war contender for the Democratic nomination for president, said that she would support the Democratic nominee, whoever that turned out to be. It looks as though those opposed to the Obama-Trump wars will have to vote for a third party, probably the Greens. On Aug 31, 2019, at 3:15 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss > wrote: I take it back, a worthwhile listen, if only to hear Carl say he was wrong about Tulsi Gabbard and JB Nicholson has been right. Which by extension includes me, as I have been saying for some time, Tulsi is a sheepherder for the DNC focusing on anti-war activists... On Aug 30, 2019, at 16:45, J.B. Nicholson via Peace > wrote: News from Neptune #434 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdeGjETKXE A "What the 2020 Election Is About" edition A list of links to items referenced on the show. Recent Joe Biden talk (and talk of those speaking on his behalf) courtesy of the Jimmy Dore program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5xb4llOhgU -- Biden's Press Secretary's "word salad" on how climate change debate is a bad idea and the time for it was in the past (when the Democrats also said it was a bad idea to have that debate) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbV3l5j3S4E -- Jill Biden admitting her husband is a horrible choice but somehow 'electable' and ultimately we must give up everything to "defeat Trump", right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbE2E9dvGg -- Biden attacking Mexicans in secret video. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard interviewed by CBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI -- "Defeating Trump" is Rep. Gabbard's goal even if it means supporting whatever Democrat gets the nomination. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ -- a brief video ending with Rep. Gabbard conceding that she'll endorse any Democrat, even one who holds values ostensibly opposite to hers. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaH2rSgQzLE -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Biden in 2020 if Biden is the nominee. J.B. Nicholson on "Is Tulsi Gabbard really anti-war? No, she’s pro-drone and for “surgical strikes”" https://digitalcitizen.info/2019/02/13/is-tulsi-gabbard-really-anti-war-no-shes-pro-drone-and-for-surgical-strikes/ B.B. King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oica5jG7FpU Tulsi Gabbard with The Intercept in January 2018 https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ Primo Nutmeg interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GyqD0t2t8 -- video http://audio.voxnest.com/stream/9417a19f73964ff599a9cb7b84a5d268/www.buzzsprout.com/205226/1016930-171-tulsi-gabbard.mp3?blob_id=2161843 -- audio David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html Donald Trump on Jewish "great disloyalty" for voting Democrat https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-jewish-voters.html -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis on "Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’" https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459219-most-voters-disapprove-of-trumps-jewish-loyalty-comment-poll -- Rachel Frazin on "Most voters disapprove of Trump's Jewish 'loyalty' comment: poll" Long Stephen Miller articles from The New York Times Rasputin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin Jason DeParle on "How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration" (from 2019-08-17) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html Michelle Cottle on "Stephen Miller Can’t Act Alone" (from 2019-04-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/opinion/stephen-miller-trump-immigration.html Matt Flegenheimer on "Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President’s Right Flank" (from 2017-10-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html Norman Finkelstein on Israel being an "alt-right country" https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e2uhX4QfJw -- Norman Finkelstein Q&A Peter Bolton on "Norman Finkelstein tells The Canary that anti-Corbyn smears have ‘nothing whatever to do with antisemitism’" https://www.thecanary.co/exclusive/2019/08/15/norman-finkelstein-tells-the-canary-that-anti-corbyn-smears-have-nothing-whatever-to-do-with-antisemitism/ DaysOfPalestine.com on "Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein says ‘Israel is a nation of murderers’ loved by the far right" https://daysofpalestine.com/post/12616/jewish-scholar-norman-finkelstein-says-%E2%80%98israel-is-a-nation-of-murderers%E2%80%99-loved-by-the-far-right Patrick Cockburn articles on independent.co.uk https://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn "Patrick Cockburn is an award-winning Independent columnist who specialises in analysis of Iraq, Syria and wars in the Middle East. He has been with The Independent since 1990." Lily Puckett on "Trump administration considering blocking $250m in military assistance to Ukraine" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-ukraine-military-funding-john-bolton-russia-pentagon-latest-a9084291.html Continuity of policy: US administrations supporting Nazis https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html -- contains pointer to a 600-page Justice Department report (http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1) about how Nazis were given "safe haven" in US https://www.stpete4peace.org/Ukraine -- including criticism of "Progressive media provides cover for US intentions in Ukraine" https://www.rt.com/news/450740-ukraine-radio-nazi-article/ -- "US-funded Ukrainian radio defends neo-Nazi group, deletes article when called out" Jimmy Dore on New York Times editorial board's "pathetic apology for Russiagate coverage failure" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivCPmU3tjo David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/ RSS feed: https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/rss David Harvey interview in Jacobin https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty ISBN-10: 0674979850 ISBN-13: 978-0674979857 Complete book: https://dowbor.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14Thomas-Piketty.pdf Michael Roberts' blog "The Next Recession" https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ Recent Dean Baker articles on Trump's trade war with China https://fair.org/home/dean-baker-on-trumps-trade-war-leo-fitzpatrick-on-wireless-merger/ https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-trade-war-with-china-is-waged-to-make-the-rich-richer/ Moderate Rebels (Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton) on "Hong Kong's real colonial history, and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism - with Carl Zha" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- video https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 -- audio Doug Henwood interviews Brian Hioe on Hong Kong protests http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2019/19_08_22.mp3 Noam Chomsky on reading business press https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c "My impression in general is that the business press is more open, ... get the facts right..." (used as part of an ad for Financial Times) https://chomsky.info/20081010/ http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html -- October 10, 2008 Der Spiegel interview of Chomsky includes: SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, eats a lot and goes shopping a lot? > Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The business press has been quite explicit about this goal. https://chomsky.info/20101101/ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267553 -- November 1, 2010 Outlook magazine (from India) interview of Chomsky includes: What has to be done is not really specific to the media. It is to develop a more functional democratic society, a more democratic culture. As far as the elites are concerned they want the public to be disciplined, passive, obedient and directed to other things. Take a look at the history of the huge public relations and advertising industry that we have today. It developed in the freest countries in the world — England and the US — around the time of the First World War. Incidentally, that was the time Lippmann was writing. It was developed very consciously, out of the understanding that enough freedom had been won by popular struggle and the population could not be controlled by force. Therefore, it was thought necessary to control attitudes and beliefs. In the business press of the 1920s, you can read very openly about the need to divert people to what they call the superficial thing in life like fashionable consumption. If we can direct people to that, they will keep out of our hair, we can run things. You see that in India, certainly. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/ Sonam Sheth on "US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin" https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8 -J _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Fri Sep 6 13:29:24 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 13:29:24 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #434 notes In-Reply-To: <49AF27AC-80A5-4346-8C1F-E3DBB8A33664@illinois.edu> References: <343A77BC-116E-47C9-8951-EADE95FF34B1@gmail.com> <49AF27AC-80A5-4346-8C1F-E3DBB8A33664@illinois.edu> Message-ID: <49422800.3638207.1567776564196@mail.yahoo.com> But what would/will she do as president?  Cave to Deep State pressures (as all the other Dems did/would do)?  I'm sure the rewards are great...  -----Original Message----- From: Brussel, Morton K via Peace To: Karen Aram Cc: Brussel, Morton K ; J.B. Nicholson ; Peace ; Peace Discuss Sent: Thu, Sep 5, 2019 10:09 pm Subject: Re: [Peace] [Peace-discuss] News from Neptune #434 notes …"Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with,is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. …"  This conclusion does not logically follow.  She would like to be the Dem candidate. Hence, she is not likely to disavow the party, and she may still be against U.S. war policies.  On Sep 5, 2019, at 11:51 AM, Karen Aram via Peace wrote: Carl Yes, you did, as you accepted defeat, in your argument with J.B. over Tulsi. Her statement that she would support any candidate the DNC comes up with, is to acknowledge she is not really anti-war. Loyalty to the Party comes first, that means whether Democrat or Republican, the candidate no matter what they say as a candidate, is not really anti-war. On Sep 5, 2019, at 08:52, C G Estabrook wrote: What I said was that it was regrettable that Gabbard, the only anti-war contender for the Democratic nomination for president, said that she would support the Democratic nominee, whoever that turned out to be. It looks as though those opposed to the Obama-Trump wars will have to vote for a third party, probably the Greens. On Aug 31, 2019, at 3:15 PM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss wrote: I take it back, a worthwhile listen, if only to hear Carl say he was wrong about Tulsi Gabbard and JB Nicholson has been right. Which by extension includes me, as I have been saying for some time, Tulsi is a sheepherder for the DNC focusing on anti-war activists... On Aug 30, 2019, at 16:45, J.B. Nicholson via Peace wrote: News from Neptune #434 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFdeGjETKXE A "What the 2020 Election Is About" edition A list of links to items referenced on the show. Recent Joe Biden talk (and talk of those speaking on his behalf) courtesy of the Jimmy Dore program https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5xb4llOhgU -- Biden's Press Secretary's "word salad" on how climate change debate is a bad idea and the time for it was in the past (when the Democrats also said it was a bad idea to have that debate) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbV3l5j3S4E -- Jill Biden admitting her husband is a horrible choice but somehow 'electable' and ultimately we must give up everything to "defeat Trump", right? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYbE2E9dvGg -- Biden attacking Mexicans in secret video. Rep. Tulsi Gabbard interviewed by CBS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI -- "Defeating Trump" is Rep. Gabbard's goal even if it means supporting whatever Democrat gets the nomination. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ -- a brief video ending with Rep. Gabbard conceding that she'll endorse any Democrat, even one who holds values ostensibly opposite to hers. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YaH2rSgQzLE -- Bernie Sanders said he'll vote for Biden in 2020 if Biden is the nominee. J.B. Nicholson on "Is Tulsi Gabbard really anti-war? No, she’s pro-drone and for “surgical strikes”" https://digitalcitizen.info/2019/02/13/is-tulsi-gabbard-really-anti-war-no-shes-pro-drone-and-for-surgical-strikes/ B.B. King https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/B.B._King B.B. King's "The Thrill is Gone" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oica5jG7FpU Tulsi Gabbard with The Intercept in January 2018 https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ Primo Nutmeg interview https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0GyqD0t2t8 -- video http://audio.voxnest.com/stream/9417a19f73964ff599a9cb7b84a5d268/www.buzzsprout.com/205226/1016930-171-tulsi-gabbard.mp3?blob_id=2161843 -- audio David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html Donald Trump on Jewish "great disloyalty" for voting Democrat https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/20/us/politics/trump-jewish-voters.html -- Julie Hirschfeld Davis on "Trump Accuses Jewish Democrats of ‘Great Disloyalty’" https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/459219-most-voters-disapprove-of-trumps-jewish-loyalty-comment-poll -- Rachel Frazin on "Most voters disapprove of Trump's Jewish 'loyalty' comment: poll" Long Stephen Miller articles from The New York Times Rasputin https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grigori_Rasputin Jason DeParle on "How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration" (from 2019-08-17) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html Michelle Cottle on "Stephen Miller Can’t Act Alone" (from 2019-04-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/09/opinion/stephen-miller-trump-immigration.html Matt Flegenheimer on "Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President’s Right Flank" (from 2017-10-09) https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html Norman Finkelstein on Israel being an "alt-right country" https://www.youtube.com/embed/8e2uhX4QfJw -- Norman Finkelstein Q&A Peter Bolton on "Norman Finkelstein tells The Canary that anti-Corbyn smears have ‘nothing whatever to do with antisemitism’" https://www.thecanary.co/exclusive/2019/08/15/norman-finkelstein-tells-the-canary-that-anti-corbyn-smears-have-nothing-whatever-to-do-with-antisemitism/ DaysOfPalestine.com on "Jewish scholar Norman Finkelstein says ‘Israel is a nation of murderers’ loved by the far right" https://daysofpalestine.com/post/12616/jewish-scholar-norman-finkelstein-says-%E2%80%98israel-is-a-nation-of-murderers%E2%80%99-loved-by-the-far-right Patrick Cockburn articles on independent.co.uk https://www.independent.co.uk/author/patrick-cockburn "Patrick Cockburn is an award-winning Independent columnist who specialises in analysis of Iraq, Syria and wars in the Middle East. He has been with The Independent since 1990." Lily Puckett on "Trump administration considering blocking $250m in military assistance to Ukraine" https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/trump-ukraine-military-funding-john-bolton-russia-pentagon-latest-a9084291.html Continuity of policy: US administrations supporting Nazis https://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/us/14nazis.html -- contains pointer to a 600-page Justice Department report (http://documents.nytimes.com/confidential-report-provides-new-evidence-of-notorious-nazi-cases?ref=us#p=1) about how Nazis were given "safe haven" in US https://www.stpete4peace.org/Ukraine -- including criticism of "Progressive media provides cover for US intentions in Ukraine" https://www.rt.com/news/450740-ukraine-radio-nazi-article/ -- "US-funded Ukrainian radio defends neo-Nazi group, deletes article when called out" Jimmy Dore on New York Times editorial board's "pathetic apology for Russiagate coverage failure" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BivCPmU3tjo David Harvey's Anti-Capitalist Chronicles https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/ RSS feed: https://anticapitalistchronicles.libsyn.com/rss David Harvey interview in Jacobin https://www.jacobinmag.com/2016/07/david-harvey-neoliberalism-capitalism-labor-crisis-resistance/ "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 "Capital in the Twenty-first Century" by Thomas Piketty ISBN-10: 0674979850 ISBN-13: 978-0674979857 Complete book: https://dowbor.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/14Thomas-Piketty.pdf Michael Roberts' blog "The Next Recession" https://thenextrecession.wordpress.com/ Recent Dean Baker articles on Trump's trade war with China https://fair.org/home/dean-baker-on-trumps-trade-war-leo-fitzpatrick-on-wireless-merger/ https://truthout.org/articles/trumps-trade-war-with-china-is-waged-to-make-the-rich-richer/ Moderate Rebels (Max Blumenthal & Ben Norton) on "Hong Kong's real colonial history, and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism - with Carl Zha" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- video https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 -- audio Doug Henwood interviews Brian Hioe on Hong Kong protests http://shout.lbo-talk.org/lbo/RadioArchive/2019/19_08_22.mp3 Noam Chomsky on reading business press https://www.ft.com/content/bcdefd38-3beb-3506-b24c-82285ac87f6c "My impression in general is that the business press is more open, ... get the facts right..." (used as part of an ad for Financial Times) https://chomsky.info/20081010/ http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,583454,00.html -- October 10, 2008 Der Spiegel interview of Chomsky includes: SPIEGEL: How does it benefit politicians when the populace drives a lot, eats a lot and goes shopping a lot? > Chomsky: Consumption distracts people. You cannot control your own population by force, but it can be distracted by consumption. The business press has been quite explicit about this goal. https://chomsky.info/20101101/ http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?267553 -- November 1, 2010 Outlook magazine (from India) interview of Chomsky includes: What has to be done is not really specific to the media. It is to develop a more functional democratic society, a more democratic culture. As far as the elites are concerned they want the public to be disciplined, passive, obedient and directed to other things. Take a look at the history of the huge public relations and advertising industry that we have today. It developed in the freest countries in the world — England and the US — around the time of the First World War. Incidentally, that was the time Lippmann was writing. It was developed very consciously, out of the understanding that enough freedom had been won by popular struggle and the population could not be controlled by force. Therefore, it was thought necessary to control attitudes and beliefs. In the business press of the 1920s, you can read very openly about the need to divert people to what they call the superficial thing in life like fashionable consumption. If we can direct people to that, they will keep out of our hair, we can run things. You see that in India, certainly. Business Insider https://www.businessinsider.com/ Sonam Sheth on "US spies say Trump's G7 performance suggests he's either a 'Russian asset' or a 'useful idiot' for Putin" https://www.businessinsider.com/spies-react-trump-g7-summit-russian-asset-2019-8 -J _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Fri Sep 6 13:44:06 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 13:44:06 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_=5BNew_post=5D_Meditations_On_T?= =?utf-8?q?witter=E2=80=99s_Silencing_Of_Daniel_McAdams?= In-Reply-To: <06CD420A-2A68-4188-B7CE-825A630428BE@gmail.com> References: <139971992.7103.0@wordpress.com> <06CD420A-2A68-4188-B7CE-825A630428BE@gmail.com> Message-ID: <444438811.3609037.1567777446216@mail.yahoo.com> Caitlin did it again.  She outdoes herself.  This time a GRAND SLAM!Thanks, Carl MO'B  -----Original Message----- From: C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss To: peace-discuss Sent: Thu, Sep 5, 2019 9:32 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: [New post] Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel McAdams Begin forwarded message: From: Caitlin Johnstone Date: September 5, 2019 at 6:48:24 PM CDT To: cgestabrook at gmail.com Subject: [New post] Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel McAdams | Caitlin Johnstone posted: "Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, was banned from Twitter last week. Officially, it was because he used the word "retarded" to describe the odious establishment propagandist Sean Hannity after notin" | | | | | New post on Caitlin Johnstone | | | | | | Meditations On Twitter’s Silencing Of Daniel McAdams by Caitlin Johnstone | Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, was banned from Twitter last week. Officially, it was because he used the word "retarded" to describe the odious establishment propagandist Sean Hannity after noting the hilarious fact that the Fox News host had been wearing a CIA lapel pin while "challenging the deep state". Unofficially, it was because McAdams has been operating for years at the apex of one of the most effective antiwar movements in the United States.An article from Liberty Conservative News about McAdams' encounter with the business end of the Twitter censorship hammer reports that the outspoken foreign policy critic received a notification that his account "has been suspended and will not be restored because it was found to be violating Twitter’s Terms of Service, specifically the Twitter Rules against hateful conduct.""It is against our rules to promote violence against or directly attack or threaten other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or disease," the notification reads. "Additionally, if we determine that the primary purpose of an account is to incite harm towards others on the basis of these categories, that account may be suspended without prior warning."Now, unless Sean Hannity does in fact have some literal mental handicap we don't know about, it's not accurate to say that he was attacked or threatened on that or any other basis; rather, he was merely insulted with a common pejorative that is not widely considered to be politically correct. It is also certainly not accurate to say that the primary purpose of McAdams' now-defunct Twitter account was to incite harm toward others based on the aforementioned categories. Indeed, the article notes, the word "retarded" is used constantly on Twitter by users all around the world who never suffer any consequences for it; a quick Twitter search easily confirms that the word is used as an insult multiple times per minute. The reasons given for McAdams' suspension can therefore be regarded as bogus. wow. Guess they didn’t like his foreign policy views?https://t.co/1NdOxK1AjQ— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) September 4, 2019 In reality, McAdams was suspended because there are people on Twitter who, either due to profession or obsession, make it their business to report any effective opponent of western imperialism at every opportunity to Twitter admins, many of whom apparently have a clear pro-establishment bias of their own. It's happened to me on more than one occasion, and we may be sure that it happened to Daniel McAdams last week as well.Which is annoying. It's annoying to know that at some point I'll probably slip up and say something imperfectly in an increasingly restrictive speech environment which gets me permanently banned from that platform. I like Twitter. I'm good at it. I've recently concluded that it's pretty much useless for dialogue, but it is a great way for one person to get unauthorized ideas seen millions of times per month by people who might not feel like reading an entire article. I'll be very put off when the banhammer finds my pretty face.But you know what's even more annoying? What's even more annoying is that we live in a society where insulting a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity gets you silenced and marginalized, but being a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity does not. Being a murderous war propagandist like Sean Hannity gets you rewarded with fame and fortune at every turn.I'd like us to reverse this, please.I'd like to live in a society where promoting mass military slaughter is the thing that gets someone de-platformed and shunned, not using a rude word to insult someone who promotes mass military slaughter.A society where a US president killing mountains of people around the world attracts more media attention than his rude tweets.A society where being a warmonger is just as taboo and reviled as being a serial killer or a child rapist.A society where people get their news from reporters who tell the truth about what's happening, not from veterans of depraved intelligence agencies whose entire professions have been devoted to deceit and disinformation.A society so sensitive to the horrors of war and the realities of its power dynamics that black bloc protesters would put more energy into disrupting appearances by people like Henry Kissinger and John Bolton than people like Milo Yiannopoulos.A society so emotionally awake and empathetic in the way it operates that sociopathy and psychopathy become more of a disabling handicap than schizophrenia or bipolar disorder.A society so healthy that we no longer spend our creative energy figuring out ways to kill and exploit and manipulate each other and instead spend it figuring out ways to collaborate with each other and with our ecosystem for the benefit of everyone.A natural society, the kind we imagined as small children that we would be inheriting, instead of this insane stew of oligarchic psyops and cultural mind viruses which rewards sociopathy and elevates social cannibals. That society is already here in embryonic form, only hidden beneath a fog of confusion about what we are and where the stable ground of sanity is. Some of that fog was created accidentally, as the result of a species suddenly evolving extra brain matter at an unprecedented speed and stumbling out of the trees into a world of WiFi and processed meats. Most of the fog has been created deliberately, with countless generations of powerful humans inflicting narratives upon their subjects which further advantage the powerful and further disadvantage the powerless.But sanity is right there, patiently waiting underneath the insanity. Waiting for us to open our eyelids and part the fog and remember our natural state. It's right here, closer to us than our own breath, so simple and obvious that we can spend our whole lives overlooking it.It's that comfy homely chair where you can let your bum nestle into the folds of the earth, the vantage point from which you truly don't mind what happens, you're just curious as to what you'll do next.It's that quiet still place from where inspiration bubbles up, just below the babble of the unreliable narrator of our patterned thinking mind.It's that place between sleep and at rest, right before the clamor of thoughts bustle in.It's where ideas spring from in the middle of the night or in the middle of a shower, from that relaxed, happy state that peeks through when you forget yourself for a moment.It's right here, just below the surface of the made-up matrix of mind gunk.This is the place from which our sane society will be birthed into the world.Sink in and live from here whenever you remember to.Let it be birthed through you.________________________The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I'm trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permission to republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I’ve written) in any way they like free of charge.Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2 Caitlin Johnstone | September 5, 2019 at 11:48 pm | Tags: censorship, Daniel McAdams, peace, Politics, Ron Paul, Twitter | Categories: Article, News | URL: https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1Qz | Comment |    See all comments | | | | Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Caitlin Johnstone. Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/05/meditations-on-twitters-silencing-of-daniel-mcadams/ | | | | | | _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Fri Sep 6 16:57:48 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Fri, 6 Sep 2019 11:57:48 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Historical rhymes Message-ID: THE FARMER VERSUS THE ELITE -- 8/29/19 - 0 COMMENTS *Today's encores election -- from The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln by Sean Wilentz. *Acrimony and bloodshed between American yeomen-farmers and American elite in pre- and post-Revolutionary America, culminating in the infamous 'Shays' Rebellion': "Contrary to still-persistent American myths of rural rugged individualism, the yeoman households were tightly connected to each other -- and, increasingly, the outside world. ... But all was not flourishing tranquility. Especially in backcountry areas, conflicts between and among yeomen, would-be yeomen, great proprietors and government officials, as well as combat with Indians, led to continual wrangling and sporadic violence, all of which worsened after the revolution. "Much of the conflict concerned access to the land, as farmers seeking independent land titles found themselves squeezed out by gentlemen who had exploited their political connections to gain large (sometimes huge), loosely defined land grants. ... *British Royal Governor William Tryon confronts* *the North Carolina regulators in 1771.* "Yeomen battled back, with a vehemence born of fear, prejudice, and insular hatreds -- as well as an admixture of egalitarian ideals. The largest of the yeoman rebellions before the Revolution, the so-called North Carolina Regulation, began in 1764. ... The uprising turned into full-scale war against autocratic eastern gentry rule that ended only when the rebels were crushed by combined colonial and British forces at the Battle of Alamance (near present-day Burlington) in 1771. Earlier, New Jersey yeomen defied land laws that favored their proprietors, and New York settlers rebelled unsuccessfully to gain rights over land that, as one of them put it, they had worked 'for nearly 30 years past and had manured and cultivated.' ... In central Pennsylvania, the 'Paxton Boys,' furious at the lack of military backing from the colonial assembly against Indian raids, massacred some government-protected Indians and undertook a menacing march on Philadelphia. (Government officials led by Benjamin Franklin met with the protestors and quelled the unrest.) After the Revolution 'Liberty Men' in central Maine, 'Wild Yankees' in northeastern Pennsylvania, and 'Green Mountain Boys' in western Vermont all challenged local landlords and the courts. The most notorious of these struggles culminated in the New England Regulation of 1786-87 associated with Daniel Shays. ... "Evangelical religion added a spiritual basis to these fearful egalitarian politics. Out of the postmillenialist stirrings of New England's Great Awakening ... came a growing cultural divide between the backcountry and the seaboard, where more staid, rationalist Anglicans (later Episcopalians) ... held sway. Converts to the evangelical gospel found themselves in a new direct and individual relation with God that sliced across hierarchies of wealth and standing but insisted on humankind's utter dependence on the Lord. By contrast, the gentry and urban mercantile elite were apt to regard the evangelical effusions of the countryside, ... as ignorant, degraded, and dangerous to civic order." ------------------------------ [image: | www.delanceyplace.com] author: Sean Wilentz title: *The Rise of American Democracy: Jefferson to Lincoln* publisher: W.W. Norton & Company date: Copyright 2005 by Sean Wilentz pages: 15-19 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sat Sep 7 15:32:48 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2019 10:32:48 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Dialing diversity for global hegemonic dollars Message-ID: "Federal funding for programs that study specific areas of the world grew out of the *Cold War era, when emphasis was placed on understanding other societies, cultures and histories*, Davila said." UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS *Diverse *programs coming together 10 global studies units will merge as Illinois Global Institute By JULIE WURTH jwurth at news-gazette.com URBANA — From Southeast Asia to Africa, from Latin American to Russia, from arms control to international security, few universities have built broader expertise across *diverse *areas of the world than the University of Illinois, says UI Professor Jerry Davila. The Brazilian history specialist says the “tremendous” reach of the UI’s global studies and area studies programs gives students almost unlimited ability to ask questions about their world and develop the tools, including specialized language training, to pursue them. Now the university is launching the Illinois Global Institute, pulling together those units under one academic roof in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences to support work that fosters understanding of cultures around the world. Launched in August, and headed by Davila, the UI’s newest institute will pull together 10 different programs: the Center for African Studies; the Center for East Asian and Pacific Studies; the Center for Latin Please see INSTITUTE, A-8 ------------------------------ INSTITUTE Continued from A-*1* American and Caribbean Studies; the Lemann Institute for Brazilian Studies; the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies; the Russian, East European and Eurasian Center; the Center for Global Studies; the European Union Center; the Program in Arms Control and Domestic and International Security; and the Women and Gender in Global Perspectives Program. Bringing the units together will give them visibility, foster collaboration across campus on international programs, provide more organizational support and could lead to new fundraising opportunities, UI officials said. “This is a really exciting step for the centers and for international teaching and research on campus,” Davila said. The centers and programs are home to academic programs themselves but also support work across campus, raising more than $2.5 million in grants, gifts and endowment income that funds faculty research, academic and cultural experiences for students, outreach, scholarships and fellowships, according to the UI. Four are Department of Education National Resource Centers. They bring together faculty and students from different departments who might have a shared interest in a particular region of the world or global topic. A professor in East Asian Studies, for example, might work with a researcher in a different field who has a connection to that region — say, a crop scientist who collaborates with a colleague in China. The centers also support students and professors who want to add an international component to their work in agriculture, economics, engineering or another field. Many students have received funding to study a language over the summer, such as Korean or Wolof, a West African language, to help prepare for their doctoral research on those regions, Davila said. The centers also bring speakers to campus, organize symposia and support course development and teaching. The idea is to provide an environment where people can develop expertise in regions of the world that are “frequently under-studied on American university campuses,” Davila said. Scholars in almost every part of campus do work that has an international dimension to it, Davila said. They may collaborate with researchers in other countries, have a formal relationship with a lab or foundation overseas, or supervise students who come from other parts of the world. The UI is also known for fostering interdisciplinary collaborations between scholars in different fields. Both approaches bring new perspectives to their work, new ways of approaching problems and “a fresh set of eyes, and our work is enriched by that,” Davila said. The institute will help strengthen those connections and give the programs more visibility, Davila said. Federal funding for programs that study specific areas of the world grew out of the Cold War era, when emphasis was placed on understanding other societies, cultures and histories, Davila said. That work “is as relevant today as it’s always been,” he said. Interpreting things that happen around the world is “a really critical role for a public university to play,” he said, and “I think we do it really well.” A 2018 task force recommended that the 10 units be brought together. Feng Sheng Hu, dean of the College of LAS, said the new institute will help promote cultural awareness and support the UI’s mission to “create and educate global citizens.” -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sat Sep 7 17:30:37 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2019 12:30:37 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour Message-ID: David J., Gus, and Bill made some interesting comments regarding the conservatism of firefighters and their identification with police. Since 9/11, "first responders", including fire fighters and emergency first aid workers, etc., have been dumped into the same militarized bucket with the armed forces, police, etc. The respect and gratitude that is demanded of the public in support of these has become an aspect of hegemonic ideology. The intimidation, bullying, and silencing aspect of these campaigns are hardly subtle. (The anti-breast cancer promotions at NFL etc. sports events, also mentioned on the program, are related to this in interesting ways) This trend is manifested in the News-Gazette's covrage, and in various aspects of sports events at local and national levels. The latter is obvious to those of us who are both antiwar and watch sports. The ruling class demands that the citizenry view all armed and uniformed individuals as standing in the breach between order and anarchy. However, they have somehow (so far) excluded school crossing guards. DG -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sat Sep 7 19:02:02 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2019 14:02:02 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Demo Message-ID: Doug & I are in the usual place -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Sat Sep 7 21:27:20 2019 From: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net (David Johnson) Date: Sat, 7 Sep 2019 16:27:20 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <004b01d565c3$085899b0$1909cd10$@comcast.net> “ However, they have somehow (so far) excluded school crossing guards. “ Classic David Green humor strikes again. Great analogy ! David J. From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of David Green via Peace-discuss Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2019 12:31 PM To: Peace-discuss Subject: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour David J., Gus, and Bill made some interesting comments regarding the conservatism of firefighters and their identification with police. Since 9/11, "first responders", including fire fighters and emergency first aid workers, etc., have been dumped into the same militarized bucket with the armed forces, police, etc. The respect and gratitude that is demanded of the public in support of these has become an aspect of hegemonic ideology. The intimidation, bullying, and silencing aspect of these campaigns are hardly subtle. (The anti-breast cancer promotions at NFL etc. sports events, also mentioned on the program, are related to this in interesting ways) This trend is manifested in the News-Gazette's covrage, and in various aspects of sports events at local and national levels. The latter is obvious to those of us who are both antiwar and watch sports. The ruling class demands that the citizenry view all armed and uniformed individuals as standing in the breach between order and anarchy. However, they have somehow (so far) excluded school crossing guards. DG -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Sun Sep 8 12:53:03 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 12:53:03 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour References: <641916214.4303114.1567947183732.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <641916214.4303114.1567947183732@mail.yahoo.com> Following with sports, did any one else watch the ABC (Channel 15--unfortunately a Sinclair-owned TV station) Packers-Bears game Thursday night (GB won, yeah) and see the long commercial graphic war trailer for a movie (TV or theatre, I couldn't determine) showing a very realistic and violent invasion of Venezuela (named up front) with Guiado & Maduro imitators that appeared so realistic that it had the markings of you-know-who all over it.  At first it looked like a "breaking news" interruption of the football game until its announced showing zdate (I was so astonished that I couldn't remember all the details).  Is the Deep State staging a reality show or something?  Maybe they just don't want the rowdy sports crowd to forget about Venezuela and the glories of victory...   Midge P.S.  To Dave Green:  thank you for your service!   -----Original Message----- From: David Johnson via Peace-discuss To: 'David Green' ; peace-discuss Sent: Sat, Sep 7, 2019 4:27 pm Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour #yiv3506780307 #yiv3506780307 -- _filtered #yiv3506780307 {panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;} _filtered #yiv3506780307 {font-family:Calibri;panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} _filtered #yiv3506780307 {font-family:Tahoma;panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} #yiv3506780307 #yiv3506780307 p.yiv3506780307MsoNormal, #yiv3506780307 li.yiv3506780307MsoNormal, #yiv3506780307 div.yiv3506780307MsoNormal {margin:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;font-size:12.0pt;font-family:New;} #yiv3506780307 a:link, #yiv3506780307 span.yiv3506780307MsoHyperlink {color:blue;text-decoration:underline;} #yiv3506780307 a:visited, #yiv3506780307 span.yiv3506780307MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple;text-decoration:underline;} #yiv3506780307 span.yiv3506780307EmailStyle17 {color:#1F497D;} #yiv3506780307 .yiv3506780307MsoChpDefault {} #yiv3506780307 .yiv3506780307MsoPapDefault {text-align:justify;} _filtered #yiv3506780307 {margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;} #yiv3506780307 div.yiv3506780307WordSection1 {} #yiv3506780307 “ However, they have somehow (so far) excluded school crossing guards. “  Classic David Green humor strikes again. Great analogy !  David J.      From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of David Green via Peace-discuss Sent: Saturday, September 07, 2019 12:31 PM To: Peace-discuss Subject: [Peace-discuss] First Responders & World Labor Hour  David J., Gus, and Bill made some interesting comments regarding the conservatism of firefighters and their identification with police.  Since 9/11, "first responders", including fire fighters and emergency first aid workers, etc., have been dumped into the same militarized bucket with the armed forces, police, etc. The respect and gratitude that is demanded of the public in support of these has become an aspect of hegemonic ideology. The intimidation, bullying, and silencing aspect of these campaigns are hardly subtle.  (The anti-breast cancer promotions at NFL etc. sports events, also mentioned on the program, are related to this in interesting ways)  This trend is manifested in the News-Gazette's covrage, and in various aspects of sports events at local and national levels. The latter is obvious to those of us who are both antiwar and watch sports. The ruling class demands that the citizenry view all armed and uniformed individuals as standing in the breach between order and anarchy. However, they have somehow (so far) excluded school crossing guards.  DG_______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From moboct1 at aim.com Sun Sep 8 12:54:48 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 12:54:48 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] Demo In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1039687905.4323332.1567947288225@mail.yahoo.com> And with their own props!  Hurray for the old faithfuls!    -----Original Message----- From: David Green via Peace-discuss To: Peace-discuss Sent: Sat, Sep 7, 2019 2:02 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] Demo Doug & I are in the usual place _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 8 13:20:31 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 13:20:31 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Chris Hedges with Prof. Derber Message-ID: Chris Hedges opening statement is most important: https://www.rt.com/shows/on-contact/468331-racism-tool-controlling-people/ -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Sun Sep 8 20:52:32 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Sun, 8 Sep 2019 20:52:32 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Pentagon, on the job ! Message-ID: A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: fake news.rtfd.zip Type: application/zip Size: 156800 bytes Desc: fake news.rtfd.zip URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Mon Sep 9 08:59:54 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2019 04:59:54 -0400 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Demo In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2ADEE64F-DC24-4BFB-82DC-135F1726D757@gmail.com> Sorry I wasn’t able to join you. Great that you showed the flag. > On Sep 7, 2019, at 3:02 PM, David Green via Peace-discuss wrote: > > Doug & I are in the usual place > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Mon Sep 9 17:01:36 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Mon, 9 Sep 2019 12:01:36 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Militarization of First Responders Message-ID: 9/11 ANNIVERSARY They’ll be taking steps in tribute By TIM MITCHELL tmitchel at news-gazette.com CHAMPAIGN — ROTC students at the University of Illinois will join first responders and law enforcement in climbing the Memorial Stadium stairs Wednesday morning to mark the deadliest terrorist attack in history. Wednesday marks the 18th anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, an event where nearly 3,000 lives were lost at the World Trade Center and Pentagon. “We are doing this as a way to spread awareness and let people know we will never forget,” said Midshipman Dylan Neil Lim. Members of the Naval, Army, Air Force and Marine Corps ROTC units will gather at the stadium at 5:30 a.m. for muster. They’ll be joined there by police, firefighters and FBI representatives. At 6, they’ll begin climbing — 1,980 steps up, 1,980 steps down. “The event is a way to honor and remember the firefighters who selflessly climbed the 1,980 steps of the twin towers, as well as all others who perished on 9/11,” Lim said. Among other area 9/11-themed events: ➜ An 8:46 a.m. Wednesday ceremony at West Side Park will feature speakers, a Champaign Fire Department bell ceremony and a Champaign Police Department firing detail. ➜ Urbana city employees, firefighters, police officers and first responders will gather outside the city building at 7:30 a.m., with a moment of silence observed at 7:46 a.m. ➜ The I & I Firefighters Association 9-11 Memorial Ride will leave Danville’s Village Mall at 10 a.m. Sunday and travel through several area towns. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From brussel at illinois.edu Tue Sep 10 04:02:34 2019 From: brussel at illinois.edu (Brussel, Morton K) Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 04:02:34 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Michael Parenti 1986 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Try this as well, about class and capitalism and? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZqwlNpXelg On Aug 29, 2019, at 7:58 AM, Karen Aram via Peace > wrote: Clear, concise and precise. One of the best ??.. https://youtu.be/t1ld-1K-yJ0 _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 10 13:38:35 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 13:38:35 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?US_Media_Propaganda=2E_Drawing_?= =?utf-8?b?4oCcTGliZXJhbHPigJ0gYW5kIOKAnExlZnRpc3Rz4oCdIGludG8gdGhlIENJ?= =?utf-8?q?A=E2=80=99s_Orbit=2E_NPR?= Message-ID: * US Nato War * Economy * Civil Rights * Environment * Poverty * Media * Justice * 9/11 * War Crimes * Militarization * History * Science US Media Propaganda. Drawing ?Liberals? and ?Leftists? into the CIA?s Orbit. NPR Will NPR Now Officially Change Its Name to National Propaganda Radio? By Edward Curtin Global Research, September 08, 2019 Region: USA Theme: Intelligence, Media Disinformation [https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/plugins/print-me/images/printme.png] 93 19 2 115 [https://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Npr_headquarters-2-400x295.jpg] Back in the 1960s, the CIA official Cord Meyer said the agency needed to ?court the compatible left.? He knew that drawing liberals and leftists into the CIA?s orbit was the key to efficient propaganda. Right-wing and left-wing collaborators were needed to create a powerful propaganda apparatus that would be capable of hypnotizing audiences into believing the myth of American exceptionalism and its divine right to rule the world. The CIA therefore secretly worked to influence American and world opinion through the literary and intellectual elites. Frances Stonor Saunders comprehensively covers this in her 1999 book, The Cultural Cold War: The CIA And The World Of Arts And Letters, and Joel Whitney followed this up in 2016 with Finks: How the CIA Tricked the World?s Best Writers, with particular emphasis on the complicity between the CIA and the famous literary journal, The Paris Review. By the mid-1970s, as a result of the Church Committee hearings, it seemed as if the CIA, NSA, FBI, etc. had been caught in flagrante delicto and disgraced, confessed their sins, and resolved to go and sin no more. Then in 1977, Carl Bernstein wrote a long piece for Esquire? ?The CIA and the Media? ? naming names of journalists and media (The New York Times, CBS, etc.) that worked hand-in-glove with the CIA, propagandizing the American people and the rest of the world. It seemed as if all would be hunky-dory now with the bad boys purged from the American ?free? press. Seemed to the most na?ve, that is, by which I mean the vast numbers of people who wanted to re-stick their heads in the sand and believe, as Ronald Reagan?s team of truthtellers would announce, that it was ?Morning in America? again with the free press reigning and the neo-conservatives, many of whom had been ?converted? from their leftist views, running things in Washington. So again it is morning in America this September 6, 2019, and the headline from National Public Radio announces the glad tidings that NPR has named a new CEO. His name is John Lansing, and the headline says he is a ?veteran media executive.? We are meant to be reassured. It goes on to say that Mr. Lansing, 62, is currently the chief executive of the government agency, The U.S. Agency for Global Media, that oversees Voice of America, Radio and Television Marti, and Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, among others. We are furthermore reassured by NPR that Lansing ?made his mark in his current job with stirring defenses of journalism, free from government interference.?The announcement goes on to say: America?s ?Righteous? Russia-gate Censorship. ?Russia Bashing All the Time? Lansing has earned an advanced degree in political agility. At the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Lansing championed a free press even as leaders of many nations move against it. ?Governments around the world are increasingly cracking down on the free flow of information; silencing dialogue and dissent; and distorting reality,? Lansing said in a speech he delivered in May to the Media for Democracy Forum. ?The result, I believe, is a war on truth.? He continued: ?Citizens in countries from Russia to China, from Iran to North Korea, have been victimized for decades. But now we?re seeing authoritarian regimes expanding around the globe, with media repression in places like Turkey and Venezuela, Cambodia and Vietnam.? So we are reassured that the new head of NPR, the chief of all U.S. propaganda, is a champion of a free press. Perhaps NPR will soon enlighten the American public by interviewing its new head honcho and asking him if he thinks Julian Assange and Chelsea Manning, by exposing America?s war crimes, and Edward Snowden, by exposing the U.S. government?s vast electronic surveillance programs of its own citizens, deserve to be jailed and exiled for doing the job the American mainstream ?free press? failed to do. What NPR failed to do. Perhaps they will ask him if he objects to the way his own government ?interfered? in the lives of these three courageous people who revealed truths that every citizen of a free country is entitled to. Perhaps they will ask him if the U.S. government?s persecution of these truthtellers is what he means by there being ?a war on truth.? Perhaps they will ask him if he thinks the Obama and Trump administrations have been ?distorting reality? and waging a war on truth. Perhaps not. Of course not. Don?t laugh, for the joke will be on you if you listen to NPR and its sly appeal to ?liberal? sensibilities. If you are wondering why we have had the Russia-gate hoax and who was responsible (see/hear Russia expert Prof. Stephen Cohen here) and are now involved in a new Cold War and a highly dangerous nuclear confrontation with Russia, read Lansing?s July 10, 2019 testimony before the House Appropriations Sub-Committee on State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs: ?United Sates Efforts to Counter Russian Disinformation and Malign Influence.? Here is an excerpt: USAGM provides consistently accurate and compelling journalism that reflects the values of our society: freedom, openness, democracy, and hope. Our guiding principles?enshrined in law?are to provide a reliable, authoritative, and independent source of news that adheres to the strictest standards of journalism?. Russian Disinformation. And make no mistake, we are living through a global explosion of disinformation, state propaganda, and lies generated by multiple authoritarian regimes around the world. The weaponization of information we are seeing today is real. The Russian government and other authoritarian regimes engage in far-reaching malign influence campaigns across national boundaries and language barriers. The Kremlin?s propaganda and disinformation machine is being unleashed via new platforms and continues to grow in Russia and internationally. Russia seeks to destroy the very idea of an objective, verifiable set of facts as it attempts to influence opinions about the United States and its allies. It is not an understatement to say that this new form of combat on the information battlefield may be the fight of the 21st century. Then research the history of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, the Voice of America, Radio and Television Marti, etc. You will be reassured that Lansing?s July testimony was his job interview to head National Propaganda Radio. Then sit back, relax, and tune into NPR?s Morning Edition. It will be comforting to know that it is ?Morning in America? once again. * Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. Distinguished author and sociologist Edward Curtin is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization. Featured image is from Wikimedia Commons The original source of this article is Global Research Copyright ? Edward Curtin, Global Research, 2019 ________________________________ Comment on Global Research Articles on our Facebook page Become a Member of Global Research -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 10 14:04:53 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 14:04:53 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Michael Parenti 1986 In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Yes, also a very good one, I?ve been binging on his podcasts since the first referred to below. On Sep 9, 2019, at 21:02, Brussel, Morton K > wrote: Try this as well, about class and capitalism and? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FZqwlNpXelg On Aug 29, 2019, at 7:58 AM, Karen Aram via Peace > wrote: Clear, concise and precise. One of the best ??.. https://youtu.be/t1ld-1K-yJ0 _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 10 18:37:49 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 18:37:49 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?BREAKING=3A_US_Behind_Hong_Kong_Protes?= =?utf-8?q?ts_=E2=80=93_Admits_US_Policymaker?= Message-ID: [https://36s81n24kn0c1i9se62v6acw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/1-Hong-Kong.jpg] Tony Caralucci 21st Century Wire The US continues to deny any involvement in ongoing unrest in China?s special administrative region of Hong Kong. However, even a casual look at US headlines or comments made by US officials and policymakers ? makes it clear the unrest not only suits US interests, but is spurred-on almost exclusively by them. The paradoxical duality of nearly open support of the unrest and denial of that support has led to headlines like the South China Morning Post?s, ?Mike Pompeo rebukes China?s ?ludicrous? claim US is behind Hong Kong protests.? The article claims: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said it is ?ludicrous? for China to claim the United States is behind the escalating protests in Hong Kong. Pompeo rebuked Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying, who had claimed violent clashes in the city prompted by opposition to the Hong Kong government?s controversial extradition bill were ?the work of the US?. However, even US policymakers have all but admitted that the US is funneling millions of dollars into Hong Kong specifically to support ?programs? there. The Hudson Institute in an article titled, ?China Tries to Blame US for Hong Kong Protests,? would admit: A Chinese state-run newspaper?s claim that the United States is helping pro-democracy protesters in Hong Kong is only partially inaccurate, a top foreign policy expert said Monday. Michael Pillsbury, senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, told Fox News National Security Analyst KT McFarland the U.S. holds some influence over political matters in the region. The article would then quote Pillsbury as saying: We have a large consulate there that?s in charge of taking care of the Hong Kong Policy Act passed by Congress to ensure democracy in Hong Kong, and we have also funded millions of dollars of programs through the National Endowment for Democracy [NED] ? so in that sense the Chinese accusation is not totally false. A visit to the NED?s website reveals an entire section of declared funding for Hong Kong specifically. The wording for program titles and their descriptions is intentionally ambiguous to give those like US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo plausible deniability. However, deeper research reveals NED recipients are literally leading the protests. The South China Morning Post in its article, ?Hong Kong protests: heavy jail sentences for rioting will not solve city?s political crisis, former Civil Human Rights Front convenor says,? would report: Johnson Yeung Ching-yin, from the Civil Human Rights Front, was among 49 people arrested during Sunday?s protest ? deemed illegal as it had not received police approval ? in Central and Western district on Hong Kong Island. The article would omit mention of Johnson Yeung Ching-yin?s status as an NED fellow. His profile is ? at the time of this writing ? still accessible on the NED?s official website, and the supposed NGO he works for in turn works hand-in-hand with US and UK-based fronts involved in supporting Hong Kong?s current unrest and a much wider anti-Beijing political agenda. Johnson Yeung Ching-yin also co-authored an op-ed in the Washington Post with Joshua Wong titled, ?As you read this, Hong Kong has locked one of us away.? [https://36s81n24kn0c1i9se62v6acw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Ching_Yin_Johnson_Yeung_FellowNED-1024x646.jpg] Wong has travelled to Washington DC multiple times, including to receive ?honors? from NED-subsidiary Freedom House for his role in leading unrest in 2014 and to meet with serial regime-change advocate Senator Marco Rubio. It should also be noted that the Washington Post?s Anne Applebaum also sits on the NED board of directors. [https://36s81n24kn0c1i9se62v6acw-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/NED_AnneApplebaum-1024x758.jpg] This evidence, along with extensively documented ties between the United States government and other prominent leaders of the Hong Kong unrest reveals US denial of involvement in Hong Kong as yet another willful lie told upon the international stage ? a lie told even as the remnants of other victims of US interference and intervention smolder in the background. The direct ties and extreme conflicts of interest found under virtually every rock overturned when critically examining the leadership of Hong Kong?s ongoing unrest all lead to Washington. They also once again reveal the Western media as involved in a coordinated campaign of disinformation ? where proper investigative journalism is purposefully side-stepped and narratives shamelessly spun instead to frame Hong Kong?s ongoing conflict in whatever light best suits US interests. What?s worse is big-tech giants like Facebook, Twitter, and Google purging thousands of accounts attempting to reveal the truth behind Hong Kong?s unrest and the true nature of those leading it. If this is the level of lying, censorship, and authoritarianism Washington is willing to resort to in order for Hong Kong?s opposition to succeed, it begs one to wonder what this so-called opposition is even fighting for. Certainly not ?democracy? or ?freedom.? *** Author Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher, writer and special contributor to 21st Century Wire. Over the last decade, his work has been published on a number of popular news and analysis websites, and also on the online magazine ?New Eastern Outlook?. See Tony?s work at his 21WIRE archive. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 10 18:41:02 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 10 Sep 2019 18:41:02 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: The Mustache is out! References: <5d77eb6e47190_e021b2af5c9190@asgworker-qmb3-10.nbuild.prd.useast1.3dna.io.mail> Message-ID: [CODEPINK.ORG] [Bolton] Dear Karen? Four months ago in May, we cajoled Donald Trump into sending out the email below about firing John Bolton. We collected around close to 5,000 signatures and traveled to Bolton?s home in Maryland to deliver them--and carry out a citizens arrest of the warhawk! Though Bolton refused to come to the door and accept our citizens' arrest, we knew we were on the right track. Today the wonderful news came in: Bolton has been fired! Bolton?s position in Trump?s cabinet was contrary to Trump?s campaign promises to bring troops home and to have a less interventionist foreign policy than his predecessors. Bolton played a key role in the collapse of Trump?s North Korea talks with Kim Jong-Un and was determined to see the US carry out regime change in Venezuela and war with Iran. Now, as he is leaving, peace lovers around the world are emitting a sigh of relief. As we celebrate Bolton?s departure, we are also aware of all the work ahead of us to turn around the dangerous and destructive policies that Bolton--and Trump--champion. Send a message now to Senators Reed and Schumer, Rep. Adam Smith, and Speaker Pelosi to make sure the amendments to prevent and end wars make it into the final version of the National Security Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The people of Yemen, Iran, Korea, Afghanistan, and more can?t wait. The best way to celebrate Bolton?s department is by working for peace, Ann, Ariel, Caroline, Carley, Clara, Jodie, Maya, Mark, Medea, Megan, Nancy, Paki, Ryan, Rose, Teri, Tighe, Ursula, and Zena ________________________________ May 19, 2019 from Donald Trump (via CODEPINK): Dear Karen? For once the fake news is reporting the truth: I am pissed at The Mustache, aka John Bolton. For months he has been telling me it would be easy to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, but Maduro turned out to be a tough cookie and this Guaido guy turned out to be a dud. The only coup Guaido and The Mustache have actually pulled off is right here in Washington DC, where we sent in some cops to raid the Venezuelan Embassy and arrest four ?I-don?t-like-war? protestors so we could hand the place over to the coup guys. But in Venezuela, the coup is nothing, nada, and now The Mustache and the South Florida crazies want me to do it all for them by sending in the Marines? Uh, I don?t think so. The Mustache is not just gunning for war in Venezuela; he seems to be working overtime to push me into a war with Iran. He?s talking nonsense about sending 120,000 troops to the Middle East!!! Is he crazy? After all, I?ve said about getting us out of stupid wars? I know my buddies in the Middle East ? Brass Balls Bibi and Prince Bone Saw Bin Salman ? would like me to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, but my generals tell me that would be a VERY BAD idea. You know what else I don?t like about The Mustache? He?s getting too much publicity. He acts like he?s the President and I don?t like that one bit. You know I love to fire people and The Mustache has been hanging around too long for my taste but I need your opinion: Is it time for me to say, John Bolton, You're Fired? Click here and CODEPINK will deliver his pink slip. I?ve been told countless times by U.S. intelligence that Iran isn?t a threat, but The Mustache has been whispering all kinds of crap in my ear: Iran has a nuclear weapons program, Iran sabotaged Saudi oil ships, Iran is responsible for the war in Yemen, Iran is ready to attack us. Does he think that just because I don?t read intelligence briefings, I?ll be so stupid as to believe him? I keep telling him and Mr. Boeing at the Pentagon, Patrick Shanahan, that I really don?t want to go to war with Iran. But The Mustache is not listening. I don?t mind being a tough guy. I was happy to tear up Obama?s disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal. I?ve been imposing all the sanctions The Mustache says I should ? on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and probably on countries I don?t even know about. But I?m starting to think The Mustache is implementing his own agenda ? his cockamamie Project for the New American Century instead of my ?Make America Great Again.? Even with North Korea, whenever I try to talk with my pal Kim Jong Un, he steps in to sabotage it. So whadda you think? Should I fire his ass? Click here if you want me to fire Bolton and CODEPINK will deliver his pink slip. Even I know that the war in Iraq was a HUUUGE mistake, the single worst decision ever made. I?m not gonna be the same dummy George Bush was, letting The Mustache and his chickenhawks take me to war ? especially not in an election year. But he could very well stage a false flag incident that would force my hand. What do you think? Is it time for The Mustache to get the boot? From the best president this country (and world) has ever had, President Donald Trump [Donate Now!] [http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/57bdd4fd79bffa57d0000008/attachments/original/1511733600/Twitter.png?1511733600] [http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/57bdd4fd79bffa57d0000008/attachments/original/1511733600/Facebook.png?1511733600] [http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/57bdd4fd79bffa57d0000008/attachments/original/1511733600/Instagram.png?1511733600] [http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/57bdd4fd79bffa57d0000008/attachments/original/1511733718/YouTube.png?1511733718] [http://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/themes/57bdd4fd79bffa57d0000008/attachments/original/1511733600/Flickr.png?1511733600] This email was sent to karenaram at hotmail.com. To stop receiving emails, click here. To update your email subscription, contact info at codepink.org. ? Copyright 2019 | www.codepink.org Created with NationBuilder -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 11 14:02:31 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 14:02:31 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Article related to film regarding majority African refugees and the hell they suffer in Paris due to western imperialism Message-ID: * Print * Leaflet * Feedback * Share ? Toronto International Film Festival 2019: Part 1 Paris Stalingrad: The plight of refugees in the French capital, once ?one of the best cities? By David Walsh 11 September 2019 This is the first in a series of articles devoted to the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival (September 5-15). This year?s Toronto International Film Festival, now more than half over, includes some 330 feature and short films from 84 countries. At this point it already seems possible to assert that the most interesting and serious films at this year?s event concern immigrants and refugees and conditions in the Middle East and North Africa. This is not accidental. The refugee crisis is a gaping wound that humanity has suffered. [https://www.wsws.org/asset/32514375-286e-495a-a604-e6f0ff316ecN/image.jpg?rendition=image480]Refugees in Paris Stalingrad As the WSWS reported recently, there are now more refugees than at any time since World War II. The number of people forcibly displaced around the world nearly doubled from 43.3 million in 2009 to 70.8 million in 2018. Vast numbers of men, women and children have been forced to leave their homes in the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa by a quarter century of wars waged?or manipulated?by the US and the European powers. Millions more have been forced to flee unspeakable poverty produced by imperialist domination in Central America and Mexico. Perhaps reflecting as well the emergence of mass opposition to the misery, in Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Sudan and Algeria, in the ?yellow vest? [gilets jaunes] movement in France, several films suggest that retribution is coming for those in authority. In Atlantics (Mati Diop), unpaid workers in Dakar, Senegal, forced to cross the sea by boat in search of opportunity, return to haunt their exploiter. In Les Mis?rables (Ladj Ly), oppressed and tormented youth in the eastern suburbs of Paris seek to exact revenge. Hearts and Bones (Ben Lawrence) from Australia and Love Child (Eva Mulvad) from Denmark, each in its own way, treat those in flight from atrocities or traumas at home. In My English Cousin (Karim Sayad), an Algerian man who moved to England?s northeast in 2001 contemplates returning home. Rabah Ameur-Za?meche?s South Terminal frighteningly captures the reality of Algeria?s civil war. One of the most intriguing works at the festival, Ibrahim: A Fate to Define (Lina Al Abed), concerns the filmmaker?s father, a Palestinian militant, perhaps executed by his own organization. In one of the early sequences in Paris Stalingrad (directed by Hind Meddeb), about the plight of asylum seekers on the streets of the French capital, a young man addresses the camera: ?Historically, Paris is one of the best cities?now we are sleeping in the streets.? The title of the film refers to the area near the Stalingrad M?tro station in Paris, located at a square named for the Battle of Stalingrad (1942-43) in World War II. Many refugees gathered in the area before being pushed out by the police and city authorities. The filmmaker, a Paris native, begins her film at dawn, as the police conduct another raid. ?I decided to take my camera and shoot.? We see lines of unfortunate people, people who have been on the move for years in some cases, shunted around by bureaucrats, pointlessly. A well-fed official loses his temper. It must be very stressful to treat people so heartlessly. [https://www.wsws.org/asset/dd60698d-5353-45ba-820a-93b75ece202I/image.jpg?rendition=image480]?The police erased our lives? There is an informal refugee camp on the boulevard. The police destroy it, carting everything off, including tents, mattresses, blankets. Someone says, ?The police erased our lives.? The immigrants lead ?a life without rest.? One kid says, ?A single night [on the streets] is horrible.? And these people, from Africa and Asia, spend months and even years like that. Hind Meddeb, the director, introduces us to Souleymane, a young man from Darfur in Sudan. His father was a farmer. Both his father and brother were killed. ?Our country is beautiful, but war is everywhere.? He has spent five years on the road, from 13 to 18. Paris, he says, is ?cold.? But it?s only autumn. We meet a 14-year-old from Bangladesh. It is heart-breaking. The police harass a distraught pregnant woman. They prevent a local woman from helping, pushing her away. Generosity is illegal. Article continues below the form Souleymane walks around Paris reciting poems. He also sings love songs. Human beings are very resilient. He has seen awful things. He and a friend explain that in Libya, ?we were like sheep, locked up in pens.? Souleymane adds, ?They didn?t care if you died.? He worked in a gold mine near the border of Chad and Libya. ?You?re a slave. They?d just kill you.? [https://www.wsws.org/asset/67f4fcf5-4a7f-4a3b-8f31-45c6d103cf7F/image.jpg?rendition=image480]Souleymane in Paris Stalingrad Another local woman helps two 16-year-olds from Guinea in West Africa. It?s kind of her, but these are temporary, band-aid solutions. The police launch another raid. The repression and pressure are constant. The authorities decide to place 4,000 people around Paris. They take them by bus, but hundreds have to wait all day. It?s a ?humiliating, degrading? process. In the rain, in the midst of this terrible situation, Souleymane and others recite the verses of Al-Saddiq Al-Raddi, a Sudanese poet. The filmmaker explains in her narration that ?defending our borders is now taking place in the heart of our cities.? ?What a system,? someone comments. ?What can we do?? We see the boulders the city of Paris placed under the Porte de la Chapelle bridge in February 2017 to prevent refugees setting up camp there. When Pia Klemp, the former captain of the refugee rescue ship Juventa, who with her crew saved thousands of refugees in the Mediterranean, rejected an honorary award bestowed by the Socialist Party mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, she referred to this cruel act. The French government begins sending people back to Somalia, Sudan and Afghanistan, as though those countries were now safe. They put lives in danger. Fortunately, Souleymane receives his papers. He begins an apprenticeship in an auto repair shop. He now has a coat. But only 27 percent of asylum requests were granted in France in 2018. Many of those rejected ?didn?t have their paperwork in order,? as one media report explains. Meddeb?s Paris Stalingrad is an indictment of the French and Paris governments and the official political spectrum in France, from the ?far left? to the right. All the parties and the trade unions are complicit in this process. The WSWS recently noted, ?Every night in Paris, in sprawling tent encampments under highway overpasses, in local playgrounds and parks, thousands of refugees go to sleep on the street. They receive no government housing, no money, no food and have no legal right to work. They are the victims of a criminal anti-immigrant regime overseen by the French state and the European Union and supported by the entire French political establishment.? If artists are beginning to open their eyes, it is a welcome development. Subsequent articles will discuss the complexities and contradictions of this process. To be continued The WSWS.ORG -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From galliher at illinois.edu Wed Sep 11 16:57:16 2019 From: galliher at illinois.edu (C. G. Estabrook) Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 11:57:16 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: [Marxism] Study Shows Income Gap Between Rich and Poor Keeps Growing, With Deadly Effects Message-ID: <28C3FD4F-09CF-4237-9F40-EB2ADD1DC1A1@illinois.edu> From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Wed Sep 11 18:36:27 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Wed, 11 Sep 2019 13:36:27 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: [Marxism] Study Shows Income Gap Between Rich and Poor Keeps Growing, With Deadly Effects In-Reply-To: <28C3FD4F-09CF-4237-9F40-EB2ADD1DC1A1@illinois.edu> References: <28C3FD4F-09CF-4237-9F40-EB2ADD1DC1A1@illinois.edu> Message-ID: NY Times, Sept. 11, 2019 Study Shows Income Gap Between Rich and Poor Keeps Growing, With Deadly Effects By Lola Fadulu WASHINGTON ? The expanding gap between rich and poor is not only widening the gulf in incomes and wealth in America. It is helping the rich lead longer lives, while cutting short the lives of those who are struggling, according to a study released this week by the Government Accountability Office. Almost three-quarters of rich Americans who were in their 50s and 60s in 1992 were still alive in 2014. Just over half of poor Americans in their 50s and 60s in 1992 made it to 2014. ?It?s not only that rich people are living longer but some people?s life expectancy is actually shrinking compared to their parents, for some groups of people,? said Kathleen Romig, a senior policy analyst at the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Income inequality has roiled American society and politics for years, animating the rise of Barack Obama out of the collapse of the financial system in 2008, energizing right-wing populism and the emergence of nationalist leaders like Donald J. Trump, and pushing the Democratic Party leftward. Senator Bernie Sanders, a self-described democratic socialist who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, commissioned the report from the Government Accountability Office, Congress?s independent watchdog, and seized on its findings. ?Poverty is a life-threatening issue for millions of people in this country, and this report confirms it,? Mr. Sanders said in a statement. The Census Bureau reported on Tuesday that the poverty rate declined last year to 11.8 percent, the lowest level since 2001. But median household income was $63,200 in 2018, essentially unchanged from a year earlier, and income gains slowed last year from the increases posted in 2015 and 2016. The accountability office?s study looked more broadly at the relationship between income, wealth and longevity ? and how wealth and income are distributed among older Americans over time. It found that while more older Americans were living into their 70s and 80s, not everyone was living longer. Greater levels of income and wealth were associated with greater longevity. The report looked at the population of Americans born between 1931 and 1941. Just 52 percent of that group who had incomes in the bottom 20 percent of midcareer earnings were alive in 2014, compared with nearly 75 percent of people in the top 20 percent. The study found similar results when zeroing in on accumulated wealth instead of annual income. The accountability office found that demographic characteristics were also associated with longevity. Women in the group tended to live longer than men: Almost 70 percent of women were living in 2014, compared with almost 60 percent of men. But, Ms. Romig noted, ?the poorest 40 percent of women actually have lower life expectancies than their mothers did.? Non-Hispanic whites and Hispanics tended to live longer than blacks: 68 percent of Hispanics and 65 percent of non-Hispanic whites lived to at least 2014, compared with 52 percent of non-Hispanic blacks. Advocates have long pointed to racism in the health care system, for example, as a culprit for the high black maternal mortality rate. Of the group born between 1931 and 1941, 75 percent who graduated from college were alive in 2014, compared with 65 percent of those who graduated from high school and 50 percent of those who had less than a high school diploma or an equivalency diploma. This is in part because people with a college education generally have higher incomes and wealth accumulation than those who did not attend college. ?We don?t want groups of people moving backward,? Ms. Romig said, adding: ?We don?t just want some people to be healthier and longer lived; we want everyone to equally share in these gains.? The study notes that a significant portion of the original group was alive in 2014. ?Taken all together,? it said, ?individuals may live a long time, even individuals with factors associated with lower longevity, such as low income or education.? But even though Americans may live a long time, they are struggling. The portion of Americans aged 55 or older who are still working increased from 30 percent in 1989 to 40 percent in 2018, in part because stagnating wages are hindering savings and wealth accumulation. When older Americans do finally retire, most are depending on Social Security and other safety net programs. This is alarming because Social Security is ?facing financial difficulties that, if not addressed, will affect its long-term stability,? the study said. ?If no changes are made, current projections indicate that by 2034, the retirement program trust fund will only be sufficient to pay 77 percent of scheduled benefits,? the study said. That finding could help conservatives resurrect efforts to overhaul Social Security ? and cut the growth of benefits for some. Rachel Greszler, a research fellow at the conservative Heritage Foundation, said Social Security needed ?immediate reforms.? She suggested that policymakers ?bring benefits up and maintain them for lower-income individuals? while ?reducing benefits for upper-income earners who don?t need it as much and have retirement accounts they can rely on.? Presidential candidates, including Mr. Sanders, are not likely to embrace that conclusion, but they will press the issue of growing inequality. ?We must put an end to the obscene income and wealth inequality in our country, and ensure living wages, quality health care and retirement security for our seniors as human rights,? Mr. Sanders said. ?If we do not urgently act to solve the economic distress of millions of Americans,? he added, ?a whole generation will be condemned to early death.? On Wed, Sep 11, 2019 at 1:20 PM C. G. Estabrook via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Fri Sep 13 20:15:44 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 20:15:44 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] "Inclusive ownership" Message-ID: Workers would get dividends and voting power under this radical profit sharing idea By Jonathan Burton WSJ Sept 13, 2019 Dividend-paying ?inclusive ownership fund? offers employees a leg up as the pay gap widens Americans are working hard, but employers aren?t necessarily working for them. Now a radical idea to guarantee U.S. workers a cut of their company?s profits could one day force employers to cough up more of the wealth. While established profit-sharing and equity-ownership programs already give a financial boost to many American workers, and enjoy bipartisan support in Washington, some advocates for workers? rights believe more must be done. They want lawmakers to order U.S. companies to pay workers a cash dividend tied to profits, just like any shareholder receives. Call it profit sharing 2.0. Its supporters envision a day when large privately owned and publicly traded U.S. companies would be required by law to transfer newly issued shares into a collective fund for their workers. Employees wouldn?t individually own the shares, which would wield voting power and be held in a worker-controlled trust, but would receive regular dividends. The fund would be optional for small companies. . . . From r-szoke at illinois.edu Fri Sep 13 20:15:52 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Fri, 13 Sep 2019 20:15:52 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] "Inclusive ownership" Message-ID: Workers would get dividends and voting power under this radical profit sharing idea By Jonathan Burton WSJ Sept 13, 2019 Dividend-paying ?inclusive ownership fund? offers employees a leg up as the pay gap widens Americans are working hard, but employers aren?t necessarily working for them. Now a radical idea to guarantee U.S. workers a cut of their company?s profits could one day force employers to cough up more of the wealth. While established profit-sharing and equity-ownership programs already give a financial boost to many American workers, and enjoy bipartisan support in Washington, some advocates for workers? rights believe more must be done. They want lawmakers to order U.S. companies to pay workers a cash dividend tied to profits, just like any shareholder receives. Call it profit sharing 2.0. Its supporters envision a day when large privately owned and publicly traded U.S. companies would be required by law to transfer newly issued shares into a collective fund for their workers. Employees wouldn?t individually own the shares, which would wield voting power and be held in a worker-controlled trust, but would receive regular dividends. The fund would be optional for small companies. . . . From moboct1 at aim.com Sat Sep 14 12:38:06 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Sat, 14 Sep 2019 12:38:06 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] "Inclusive ownership" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <1928914597.7331503.1568464686042@mail.yahoo.com> Sounds like just another capitalist plot to me.?Midge??-----Original Message----- From: Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discuss Sent: Fri, Sep 13, 2019 3:16 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] "Inclusive ownership" Workers would get dividends and voting power under this radical profit sharing idea By Jonathan Burton WSJ Sept 13, 2019 Dividend-paying ?inclusive ownership fund? offers employees a leg up as the pay gap widens Americans are working hard, but employers aren?t necessarily working for them. Now a radical idea to guarantee U.S. workers a cut of their company?s profits could one day force employers to cough up more of the wealth. While established profit-sharing and equity-ownership programs already give a financial boost to many American workers, and enjoy bipartisan support in Washington, some advocates for workers? rights believe more must be done. They want lawmakers to order U.S. companies to pay workers a cash dividend tied to profits, just like any shareholder receives. Call it profit sharing 2.0. Its supporters envision a day when large privately owned and publicly traded U.S. companies would be required by law to transfer newly issued shares into a collective fund for their workers. Employees wouldn?t individually own the shares, which would wield voting power and be held in a worker-controlled trust, but would receive regular dividends. The fund would be optional for small companies. ??? .??? ??? .??? ??? .? _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Sun Sep 15 20:08:42 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Sun, 15 Sep 2019 20:08:42 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Ending the Endless War Message-ID: First, America has to give up its pursuit of global dominance. By Stephen Wertheim Dr. Wertheim is a historian who writes about American foreign policy. NYT Sept. 14, 2019 ?We have got to put an end to endless war,? declared Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend, Ind., during the Democratic presidential primary debate on Thursday. It was a surefire applause line: Many people consider ?endless war? to be the central problem for American foreign policy. Even President Trump, the target of Mr. Buttigieg?s attack, seems to agree. ?Great nations do not fight endless wars,? he announced in his latest State of the Union. But vowing to end America?s interminable military adventures doesn?t make it so. Four years ago, President Barack Obama denounced ?the idea of endless war? even as he announced that ground troops would remain in Afghanistan. In his last year in office, the United States dropped an estimated 26,172 bombs on seven countries. President Trump, despite criticizing Middle East wars, has intensified existing interventions and threatened to start new ones. He has abetted the Saudi-led war in Yemen, in defiance of Congress. He has put America perpetually on the brink with Iran. And he has lavished billions extra on a Pentagon that already outspends the world?s seven next largest militaries combined. WHAT WOULD IT MEAN TO ACTUALLY BRING ENDLESS WAR TO A CLOSE? LIKE THE DEMAND TO TAME THE 1 PERCENT, OR THE INSISTENCE THAT BLACK LIVES MATTER, ENDING ENDLESS WAR SOUNDS COMMONSENSICAL BUT ITS IMPLICATIONS ARE TRANSFORMATIONAL. IT REQUIRES MORE THAN BRINGING GROUND TROOPS HOME FROM AFGHANISTAN, IRAQ AND SYRIA. AMERICAN WAR-MAKING WILL PERSIST SO LONG AS THE UNITED STATES CONTINUES TO SEEK MILITARY DOMINANCE ACROSS THE GLOBE. DOMINANCE, ASSUMED TO ENSURE PEACE, IN FACT GUARANTEES WAR. TO GET SERIOUS ABOUT STOPPING ENDLESS WAR, AMERICAN LEADERS MUST DO WHAT THEY MOST RESIST: END AMERICA?S COMMITMENT TO ARMED SUPREMACY AND EMBRACE A WORLD OF PLURALISM AND PEACE. IN THEORY, ARMED SUPREMACY COULD FOSTER PEACE. FACING OVERWHELMING FORCE, WHO WOULD DARE TO DEFY AMERICAN WISHES? IN MAY, VICE PRESIDENT MIKE PENCE TOLD GRADUATING CADETS AT WEST POINT: ?IT IS A VIRTUAL CERTAINTY THAT YOU WILL FIGHT ON A BATTLEFIELD FOR AMERICA AT SOME POINT IN YOUR LIFE. YOU WILL LEAD SOLDIERS IN COMBAT. IT WILL HAPPEN.? MR. PENCE ENUMERATED THE POTENTIAL FRONTS: THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST, THE INDO- PACIFIC, EUROPE, THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE. HE HAD A POINT. SO LONG AS THE UNITED STATES SEEKS MILITARY DOMINATION EVERYWHERE, IT WILL FIGHT SOMEWHERE. IN THEORY, ARMED SUPREMACY COULD FOSTER PEACE. FACING OVERWHELMING FORCE, WHO WOULD DARE TO DEFY AMERICAN WISHES? THAT WAS THE HOPE OF PENTAGON PLANNERS IN 1992; THEY REACTED TO THE COLLAPSE OF AMERICA?S COLD WAR ADVERSARY NOT BY PULLING BACK BUT BY PURSUING EVEN GREATER MILITARY PRE- EMINENCE. BUT THE QUARTER-CENTURY THAT FOLLOWED SHOWED THE OPPOSITE TO PREVAIL IN PRACTICE. FREED FROM ONE BIG ENEMY, THE UNITED STATES FOUND MANY SMALLER ENEMIES: IT HAS LAUNCHED FAR MORE MILITARY INTERVENTIONS SINCE THE COLD WAR THAN DURING THE ?TWILIGHT STRUGGLE? ITSELF. OF ALL ITS INTERVENTIONS SINCE 1946, ROUGHLY 80 PERCENT HAVE TAKEN PLACE AFTER 1991. Why have interventions proliferated as challengers have shrunk? The basic cause is America?s infatuation with military force. Its political class imagines that force will advance any aim, limiting debate to what that aim should be. Continued gains by the Taliban, 18 years after the United States initially toppled it, suggest a different principle: The profligate deployment of force creates new and unnecessary objectives more than it realizes existing and worthy ones. In the Middle East, endless war began when the United States first stationed troops permanently in the region after winning the Persian Gulf war in 1991. A circular logic took hold. The United States created its own dependence on allies that hosted and assisted American forces. It provoked states, terrorists and militias that opposed its presence. Among the results: The United States has bombed Iraq almost every year since 1991 and spent an estimated $6 trillion on post-9/11 wars. An even deadlier phase may be dawning. Because the United States pursues armed dominance as a self-evident good, the establishment feels threatened by a rising China and an assertive Russia. ?Some of you will join the fight on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific,? Mr. Pence told the cadets, noting that ?an increasingly militarized China challenges our presence in the region.? But China?s rise invalidates primacy?s rationale of deterrence, and shows that other powers have ambitions of their own. Addressing the rise of China responsibly will require abandoning nostalgia for the pre-eminence that America enjoyed during the 1990s. Despite Mr. Trump?s rhetoric about ending endless wars, the president insists that ?our military dominance must be unquestioned? ? even though no one believes he has a strategy to use power or a theory to bring peace. Armed domination has become an end in itself. Which means Americans face a choice: Either they should openly espouse endless war, or they should chart a new course. As an American and an internationalist, I choose the latter. Rather than chase an illusory dominance, the United States should pursue the safety and welfare of its people while respecting the rights and dignity of all. In the 21st century, finally rid of colonial empires and Cold War antagonism, America has the opportunity to practice responsible statecraft, directed toward the promotion of peace. Responsible statecraft will oppose the war- making of others, but it will make sure, first and foremost, that America is not fueling violence. Shrinking the military?s footprint will deprive presidents of the temptation to answer every problem with a military solution. But it is for the people to decide who we are, guided by the best of what we have been. America ?goes not abroad in search of monsters to destroy,? Secretary of State John Quincy Adams said in 1821. ?She might become the dictatress of the world. She would be no longer the ruler of her own spirit.? Two centuries later, in the age of Trump, endless war has come home. Cease this folly, and America can begin to take responsibility in the world and reclaim its civic peace. Stephen Wertheim (@stephenwertheim), a research scholar at the Saltzman Institute of War and Peace Studies at Columbia University, is a co-founder and research director of the Quincy Institute. The Times is committed to publishing a diversity of letters to the editor. We?d like to hear what you think about this or any of our articles. Here are some tips. And here?s our email: letters at nytimes.com. Follow The New York Times Opinion section on Facebook, Twitter (@NYTopinion) and Instagram. A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 14, 2019, Section SR, Page 7 of the New York edition with the headline: The Only Way to End ?Endless War? From moboct1 at aim.com Mon Sep 16 14:41:08 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 14:41:08 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Fwd: The Mustache is out! References: <336431199.8015425.1568644868058.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <336431199.8015425.1568644868058@mail.yahoo.com> Well maybe the Mustache is gone in body, but not yet in spirit?? I'd almost stake a wager that the "Saudi refinery?explosion" was a??Bolton?caper (how could he be blamed now that he's not around to kick anymore) to possibly self-destruct?surplus Saudi petrol, boosting sagging?oil prices for an ailing industry,?and at the same time why not make it count against the Great Satan? ?(One little drone could do the job and be consumed?without trace).? It has all the fingerprints of a cynical?former?manipulator?(am I reading too much Caitlin Johnston of late...)?Midge??-----Original Message----- From: Karen Aram via Peace To: Peace Discuss ; Peace Sent: Tue, Sep 10, 2019 1:41 pm Subject: [Peace] Fwd: The Mustache is out! | | | Dear Karen??Four months ago in May, we cajoled Donald Trump into sending out the email below about firing John Bolton. We collected around close to 5,000 signatures and traveled to Bolton?s home in Maryland to deliver them--and carry out a citizens arrest of the warhawk! Though Bolton refused to come to the door and accept our citizens' arrest, we knew we were on the right track.?Today the wonderful news came in: Bolton has been fired!?Bolton?s position in Trump?s cabinet was contrary to Trump?s campaign promises to bring troops home and to have a less interventionist foreign policy than his predecessors.?Bolton played a key role in the collapse of Trump?s North Korea talks with Kim Jong-Un and was determined to see the US carry out regime change in Venezuela and war with Iran. Now, as he is leaving, peace lovers around the world are emitting a sigh of relief.?As we celebrate Bolton?s departure, we are also aware of all the work ahead of us to turn around the dangerous and destructive policies that Bolton--and Trump--champion.?Send a message now to Senators Reed and Schumer, Rep. Adam Smith, and Speaker Pelosi to make sure the amendments to prevent and end wars make it into the final version of the National Security Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The people of Yemen, Iran, Korea, Afghanistan, and more can?t wait.?The best way to celebrate Bolton?s department is by working for peace, Ann, Ariel, Caroline, Carley, Clara, Jodie, Maya, Mark, Medea, Megan, Nancy, Paki, Ryan, Rose, Teri, Tighe, Ursula, and ZenaMay 19, 2019 from Donald Trump (via CODEPINK):Dear Karen?For once the fake news is reporting the truth:?I am?pissed?at?The Mustache, aka John Bolton. For months he has been telling me it would be easy to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, but?Maduro turned out to be a tough cookie?and this?Guaido guy turned out to be a dud. The only coup Guaido and The Mustache have actually pulled off is right here in Washington DC, where we sent in some cops to raid the Venezuelan Embassy and arrest four ?I-don?t-like-war? protestors so we could hand the place over to the coup guys. But in Venezuela, the coup is nothing, nada, and now The Mustache and the South Florida crazies want me to do it all for them by sending in the Marines??Uh, I don?t think so.The Mustache is not just gunning for war in Venezuela; he seems to be working overtime to push me into a?war with Iran. He?s talking nonsense about sending 120,000 troops to the Middle East!!! Is he crazy? After all, I?ve said about getting us out of stupid wars? I know my buddies in the Middle East ? Brass Balls Bibi and Prince Bone Saw Bin Salman ? would like me to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, but my generals tell me that would be a VERY BAD idea.You know what else I don?t like about The Mustache??He?s getting too much publicity. He acts like he?s the President and I don?t like that one bit. You know I love to fire people and The Mustache has been hanging around too long for my taste but I need your opinion:?Is it time for me to say, John Bolton, You're Fired? Click here and CODEPINK will deliver his pink slip.I?ve been told countless times by U.S. intelligence that Iran isn?t a threat, but The Mustache has been whispering all kinds of crap in my ear: Iran has a nuclear weapons program, Iran sabotaged Saudi oil ships, Iran is responsible for the war in Yemen, Iran is ready to attack us. Does he think that just because I don?t read intelligence briefings, I?ll be so stupid as to believe him? I keep telling him and Mr. Boeing at the Pentagon, Patrick Shanahan, that I really don?t want to go to war with Iran. But The Mustache is not listening.I don?t mind being a tough guy. I was happy to tear up Obama?s disastrous Iran Nuclear Deal. I?ve been imposing all the sanctions The Mustache says I should ? on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and probably on countries I don?t even know about. But I?m starting to think The Mustache is implementing his own agenda ? his cockamamie Project for the New American Century instead of my ?Make America Great Again.? Even with North Korea, whenever I try to talk with my pal Kim Jong Un, he steps in to sabotage it.?So whadda you think? Should I fire his ass??Click here if you want me to fire Bolton and CODEPINK will deliver his pink slip.Even I know that the war in Iraq was a HUUUGE mistake, the single worst decision ever made. I?m not gonna be the same dummy George Bush was, letting The Mustache and his chickenhawks take me to war ? especially not in an election year. But he could very well stage a false flag incident that would force my hand.?What do you think? Is it time for The Mustache to get the boot?From the best president this country (and world) has ever had, President Donald Trump | | ???? | | This email was sent to?karenaram at hotmail.com.To stop receiving emails,??click here.?To update your email subscription, contact?info at codepink.org.? | | ? Copyright 2019 |??www.codepink.org? Created with?NationBuilder | ? _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman at justforeignpolicy.org Mon Sep 16 15:11:54 2019 From: naiman at justforeignpolicy.org (Robert Naiman) Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 10:11:54 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] Fwd: The Mustache is out! In-Reply-To: <336431199.8015425.1568644868058@mail.yahoo.com> References: <336431199.8015425.1568644868058.ref@mail.yahoo.com> <336431199.8015425.1568644868058@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: No conspiracy theory is necessary here. The Houthis claimed responsibility. They have the means and the motive. Or, as some who believe in just war theory might say, they have the means and the moral justification. On Mon, Sep 16, 2019 at 9:41 AM Mildred O'brien via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > Well maybe the Mustache is gone in body, but not yet in spirit? I'd > almost stake a wager that the "Saudi refinery explosion" was > a Bolton caper (how could he be blamed now that he's not around to kick > anymore) to possibly self-destruct surplus Saudi petrol, boosting > sagging oil prices for an ailing industry, and at the same time why not > make it count against the Great Satan? (One little drone could do the job > and be consumed without trace). It has all the fingerprints of a > cynical former manipulator (am I reading too much Caitlin Johnston of > late...) > > Midge > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Karen Aram via Peace > To: Peace Discuss ; Peace > Sent: Tue, Sep 10, 2019 1:41 pm > Subject: [Peace] Fwd: The Mustache is out! > > > > > [image: CODEPINK.ORG] > > > [image: Bolton] > > Dear Karen? Four months ago in May, we cajoled Donald Trump into sending > out the email below about firing John Bolton. We collected around close to > 5,000 signatures and traveled to Bolton?s home in Maryland to deliver > them--and carry out a citizens arrest of the warhawk! Though Bolton refused > to come to the door and accept our citizens' arrest, we knew we were on the > right track. *Today the wonderful news came in: Bolton has been fired! * > Bolton?s position in Trump?s cabinet was contrary to Trump?s campaign > promises to bring troops home and to have a less interventionist foreign > policy than his predecessors. *Bolton played a key role in the collapse > of Trump?s North Korea talks with Kim Jong-Un and was determined to see the > US carry out regime change in Venezuela and war with Iran. Now, as he is > leaving, peace lovers around the world are emitting a sigh of relief*. > As we celebrate Bolton?s departure, we are also aware of all the work > ahead of us to turn around the dangerous and destructive policies that > Bolton--and Trump--champion. *Send a message now to Senators Reed and > Schumer, Rep. Adam Smith, and Speaker Pelosi to make sure the amendments to > prevent and end wars make it into the final version of the National > Security Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)* > . > The people of Yemen, Iran, Korea, Afghanistan, and more can?t wait. > *The best way to celebrate Bolton?s department is by working for peace,* > *Ann, Ariel, Caroline, Carley, Clara, Jodie, Maya, Mark, Medea, Megan, > Nancy, Paki, Ryan, Rose, Teri, Tighe, Ursula, and Zena* > ------------------------------ > *May 19, 2019 from Donald Trump (via CODEPINK):* > Dear Karen? > *For once the fake news is reporting the truth:* I am *pissed* at *The > Mustache, aka John Bolton*. For months he has been telling me it would be > easy to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro, but *Maduro turned out > to be a tough cookie* and this *Guaido guy turned out to be a dud*. The > only coup Guaido and The Mustache have actually pulled off is right here in > Washington DC, where we sent in some cops to raid the Venezuelan Embassy > and arrest four ?I-don?t-like-war? protestors so we could hand the place > over to the coup guys. But in Venezuela, the coup is nothing, nada, and now > The Mustache and the South Florida crazies want me to do it all for them by > sending in the Marines?* Uh, I don?t think so.* > The Mustache is not just gunning for war in Venezuela; he seems to be > working overtime to push me into a *war with Iran*. He?s talking nonsense > about sending 120,000 troops to the Middle East!!! Is he crazy? After all, > I?ve said about getting us out of stupid wars? I know my buddies in the > Middle East ? Brass Balls Bibi and Prince Bone Saw Bin Salman ? would like > me to bomb, bomb, bomb Iran, but my generals tell me that would be a VERY > BAD idea. > *You know what else I don?t like about The Mustache?* He?s getting too > much publicity. He acts like he?s the President and I don?t like that one > bit. You know I love to fire people and The Mustache has been hanging > around too long for my taste but I need your opinion: *Is it time for me > to say, John Bolton, You're Fired? Click here and CODEPINK will deliver his > pink slip. > * > I?ve been told countless times by U.S. intelligence that Iran isn?t a > threat, but The Mustache has been whispering all kinds of crap in my ear: > Iran has a nuclear weapons program, Iran sabotaged Saudi oil ships, Iran is > responsible for the war in Yemen, Iran is ready to attack us. Does he think > that just because I don?t read intelligence briefings, I?ll be so stupid as > to believe him? I keep telling him and Mr. Boeing at the Pentagon, Patrick > Shanahan, that I really don?t want to go to war with Iran. But The Mustache > is not listening. > I don?t mind being a tough guy. I was happy to tear up Obama?s disastrous > Iran Nuclear Deal. I?ve been imposing all the sanctions The Mustache says I > should ? on Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, North Korea and probably on countries I > don?t even know about. But I?m starting to think The Mustache is > implementing his own agenda ? his cockamamie Project for the New American > Century instead of my ?Make America Great Again.? Even with North Korea, > whenever I try to talk with my pal Kim Jong Un, he steps in to sabotage it. > *So whadda you think? Should I fire his ass?* *Click here if you want me > to fire Bolton and CODEPINK will deliver his pink slip. > * > *Even I know that the war in Iraq was a HUUUGE mistake*, the single worst > decision ever made. I?m not gonna be the same dummy George Bush was, > letting The Mustache and his chickenhawks take me to war ? especially not > in an election year. But he could very well stage a false flag incident > that would force my hand. *What do you think? Is it time for The Mustache > to get the boot? > * > From the best president this country (and world) has ever had, > *President Donald Trump* > [image: Donate Now!] > > > > > > > > > > > > This email was sent to karenaram at hotmail.com. > To stop receiving emails, click here > > . > To update your email subscription, contact info at codepink.org. > > ? Copyright 2019 | www.codepink.org > > > Created with NationBuilder > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Peace mailing list > Peace at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Mon Sep 16 20:33:47 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Mon, 16 Sep 2019 20:33:47 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Another nest of geopolitical experts Message-ID: The Koch Foundation Is Trying to Reshape Foreign Policy. With Liberal Allies. Charles Koch has spent a fortune pushing the American government to the right. Now his foundation is promoting a vision of U.S. power shared by many progressives: restraint. By BEVERLY GAGE NYT SEPT. 10, 2019 Last year, the new Project on Grand Strategy, Security, and Statecraft quietly opened its doors in Cambridge, Mass. A joint venture between Harvard and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the program, thus far, has hosted only a modest level of activity, barely noticeable in the thrum of the Boston-area academic scene. Last year, the program supported two visiting scholars. This year, the number is up to four, all with specialties in some aspect of United States foreign relations. If the program?s current scale may as yet be unremarkable, the ambitions of its founding donor are not. Created with $3.7 million in grants from the Charles Koch Foundation, the program is part of an expansive but little-noticed Koch-sponsored effort to influence American foreign policy by investing in the infrastructure of ideas: scholars, academic centers, Washington think tanks. So-called Koch money ? the billions under the control of Charles and his brother David, who died in August ? has already transformed countless other areas of American political life, from tax policy to environmental regulation to campaign finance, all in the service of a radically free-market vision that has made the Koch name an epithet among progressives. When it comes to foreign policy, though, the agenda of the foundation ? which supports education and research and constitutes a relatively small part of the Koch network ? does not line up quite so neatly with partisan politics. In keeping with Charles Koch?s libertarian shrink-the-state imperative, the foundation has set out to bring an end to America?s age of endless wars and to reduce the nation?s military footprint around the world ? a vision shared by many progressives, some of whom count themselves among the Koch grantees. Since 2015, the foundation has committed more than $25 million to this effort. It has seeded academic programs at universities like Tufts, Notre Dame, the Catholic University of America, Texas A&M and the University of California, San Diego, in addition to Harvard and M.I.T. This summer, it also granted $460,000 ? about a quarter of the start-up budget ? to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, a new think tank that intends to challenge the ?intellectual lethargy and dysfunction? of the foreign-policy establishment and to argue on behalf of greater military restraint. The left-leaning billionaire George Soros gave money through his foundation to the Quincy Institute as well, a strange-bedfellows arrangement much emphasized during the think tank?s rollout in late June ? and a sign of how seriously the Trump presidency has shaken up traditional enmities and alliances. Within the grand scheme of Koch-affiliated spending, the foundation?s foreign-policy investments are still pocket change; donors like Michael Bloomberg have given far more to similar projects. They are a tiny fraction of the $889 million the Koch network initially pledged for the 2016 election cycle ? a sum comparable to that of the two major political parties ? or the $400 million it pledged in 2018. ?Elite consensus within the United States has collapsed on a whole set of different issues,? Parsi says. The question is what will replace it. But the Koch Foundation sees great promise in its targeted investments. With growing public disillusionment toward foreign intervention and a Beltway elite in chaos, ?there really is an opportunity for the United States to rethink its approach to American foreign policy,? says William Ruger, who leads the Koch network?s foreign-policy initiative. ?And people are open to doing that.? The dream that an ambitious, self-conscious coalition of foreign-policy thinkers might reshape the country?s direction is an enduring one. In the early 1920s, a group of diplomats, financiers, generals and lawyers founded the Council on Foreign Relations to develop ideas about America?s responsibilities and decision making in world affairs. It was an extraordinary success: Into the 21st century, the council functioned as the high temple of the foreign-policy establishment, providing consecration to countless White House staff members, scholars and pundits. Unlike domestic policy, foreign policy is often highly responsive to top-down strategy: It generally involves a small group of players, concentrated in or near the executive branch, many of whom attended the same handful of schools and share the same professional language. Witness what happened in the late 1990s, when the neoconservative Project for the New American Century first laid out its expansive vision for ?American global leadership.? Within a few years, its basic ideas were framing the Bush administration?s response to Sept. 11, including the drive toward war in Iraq. Foreign policy?s tendency to follow elites? thinking, or groupthink, has long infuriated critics on both the left and the right. The Obama adviser Ben Rhodes famously labeled that world ?the Blob,? a single misshapen entity whose conventional wisdom seems to keep coming back to life no matter how many times it is discredited. President Trump, too, loves to rail against the know-nothing experts and overcredentialed busybodies of the foreign-policy establishment. - - - (more) From davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Tue Sep 17 16:14:20 2019 From: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net (David Johnson) Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 11:14:20 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] FW: I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy conference In-Reply-To: <5d80e98d2e58e_5f303faab0d824cc223534bd@ip-10-0-0-177.mail> References: <5d80e98d2e58e_5f303faab0d824cc223534bd@ip-10-0-0-177.mail> Message-ID: <005b01d56d72$f6ddfba0$e499f2e0$@comcast.net> This is so hilariously disgusting that I just had to send it to the list. For those who don?t know, Randi Weingarten is the national President of the AFT Teachers Union. She also owns stocks in corporate charter school companies. Albert Shanker, for those who don?t know was the national President of the AFT Teachers Union from the 1960?s ? 1980?s. He was very right-wing and extremely pro-war. Even to the point of supporting Reagan?s Contra terrorists based in Honduras, who were carrying out terrorist attacks inside Nicaragua. And he supported the death squad governments in El Salvador and Guatemala. The death squads and the Contra terrorists often targeted schools and Teachers. David J. From: Randi Weingarten [mailto:E-activist at action.aft.org] Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9:11 AM To: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Subject: I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy conference Image removed by sender. AFT David, Democracies can die, and many have. The question is: Will we in America work to safeguard ours? That?s why this summer I asked educators to be guardians of democracy, and it?s why on Tuesday the Albert Shanker Institute, in partnership with the AFT and Onward Together, is hosting a daylong conference on defending democracy. The stakes are higher than ever, and no one can sit on the sidelines in 2020. At 9 a.m. Eastern time, I will be introducing Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as the opening keynote speaker at the ?In Defense of Democracy? conference in Washington, D.C. The Shanker Institute, the AFT and Onward Together are hosting this conference, and we have a lineup of incredible speakers. I?m proud that we?re a part of this conversation. We?re livestreaming the entire conference, and I wanted to make sure you had the link. Watch the livestream of the morning session live on the AFT?s Facebook page. We?re at a turning point in America. With white supremacy, white nationalism and hatred on the rise, it?s up to us to show up and protect our democracy and defend decency. I hope you?ll watch and join the conversation online. After Clinton?s keynote, I will be moderating a panel titled ?Civic Participation in an Age of Democratic Peril.? I?ll be joined by Amanda Terkel, Washington bureau chief at HuffPost; Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible; Joy Reid, MCNBC host; and Gara LaMarche, president of Democracy Alliance, to have an open and honest conversation about how to interact with a democracy that is under attack. Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, we?ll have a panel on voting rights with Andrew Gillum, chair of Forward Florida, former mayor of Tallahassee and 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Florida; Eric Holder, former U.S. attorney general and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee; Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino and MSNBC commentator; and Ari Berman, author and senior reporter for Mother Jones. The panel will be moderated by Shanker Institute Executive Director Leo Casey. Follow and engage on social media using the hashtag #DefenseOfDemocracy. We?ll be live soon. You don?t want to miss this! In unity, Randi Weingarten AFT President Image removed by sender. Newsletters Image removed by sender. Facebook Image removed by sender. Twitter Image removed by sender. Youtube Randi Weingarten, President Lorretta Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer | Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President ? American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. All rights reserved. Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT. Contact Us | 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from AFT Activist, please click here. Image removed by sender. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ~WRD000.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 823 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 344 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 332 bytes Desc: not available URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Tue Sep 17 16:20:28 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 11:20:28 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] FW: I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy conference In-Reply-To: <005b01d56d72$f6ddfba0$e499f2e0$@comcast.net> References: <5d80e98d2e58e_5f303faab0d824cc223534bd@ip-10-0-0-177.mail> <005b01d56d72$f6ddfba0$e499f2e0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: It is indeed beyond disgusting. And Ari Berman of the Nation will continue to be invited by Amy Goodman to discuss voting rights on her program. On Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 11:14 AM David Johnson via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > This is so hilariously disgusting that I just had to send it to the list. > > > > For those who don?t know, Randi Weingarten is the national President of > the AFT Teachers Union. > > She also owns stocks in corporate charter school companies. > > > > Albert Shanker, for those who don?t know was the national President of the > AFT Teachers Union from the 1960?s ? 1980?s. He was very right-wing and > extremely pro-war. Even to the point of supporting Reagan?s Contra > terrorists based in Honduras, who were carrying out terrorist attacks > inside Nicaragua. And he supported the death squad governments in El > Salvador and Guatemala. The death squads and the Contra terrorists often > targeted schools and Teachers. > > > > David J. > > > > *From:* Randi Weingarten [mailto:E-activist at action.aft.org] > *Sent:* Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9:11 AM > *To:* davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net > *Subject:* I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy > conference > > > > [image: Image removed by sender. AFT] > > David, > > Democracies can die, and many have. The question is: Will we in America > work to safeguard ours? That?s why this summer I asked educators to be > guardians of democracy, and it?s why on Tuesday the Albert Shanker > Institute, in partnership with the AFT and Onward Together, is hosting a > daylong conference on defending democracy. > > The stakes are higher than ever, and no one can sit on the sidelines in > 2020. > > At 9 a.m. Eastern time, I will be introducing Secretary Hillary Rodham > Clinton as the opening keynote speaker at the ?In Defense of Democracy? > conference in Washington, D.C. The Shanker Institute, the AFT and Onward > Together are hosting this conference, and we have a lineup of incredible > speakers. I?m proud that we?re a part of this conversation. > > *We?re livestreaming the entire conference, and I wanted to make sure you > had the link. Watch the livestream of the morning session live on the AFT?s > Facebook page. > * > > We?re at a turning point in America. With white supremacy, white > nationalism and hatred on the rise, it?s up to us to show up and protect > our democracy and defend decency. I hope you?ll watch and join the > conversation online. > > After Clinton?s keynote, I will be moderating a panel titled ?Civic > Participation in an Age of Democratic Peril.? I?ll be joined by Amanda > Terkel, Washington bureau chief at HuffPost; Leah Greenberg, co-executive > director of Indivisible; Joy Reid, MCNBC host; and Gara LaMarche, president > of Democracy Alliance, to have an open and honest conversation about how to > interact with a democracy that is under attack. > > Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, we?ll have a panel on voting rights with > Andrew Gillum, chair of Forward Florida, former mayor of Tallahassee and > 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Florida; Eric Holder, former U.S. > attorney general and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting > Committee; Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino and MSNBC > commentator; and Ari Berman, author and senior reporter for *Mother Jones*. > The panel will be moderated by Shanker Institute Executive Director Leo > Casey. > > *Follow and engage on social media using the hashtag #DefenseOfDemocracy.* > > We?ll be live soon. You don?t want to miss this! > > In unity, > > Randi Weingarten > AFT President > > [image: Image removed by sender. Newsletters] > > > [image: Image removed by sender. Facebook] > > > [image: Image removed by sender. Twitter] > > > [image: Image removed by sender. Youtube] > > > Randi Weingarten, President > Lorretta Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer | Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice > President > > ? American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. All rights reserved. > Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without > permission from the AFT. > > Contact Us > > | 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 > > Sent via ActionNetwork.org > . > To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop > receiving emails from AFT Activist, please click here > . > > > > > [image: Image removed by sender.] > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: ~WRD000.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 823 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image001.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 344 bytes Desc: not available URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image002.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 332 bytes Desc: not available URL: From brussel at illinois.edu Tue Sep 17 18:10:16 2019 From: brussel at illinois.edu (Brussel, Morton K) Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 18:10:16 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] FW: I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy conference In-Reply-To: References: <5d80e98d2e58e_5f303faab0d824cc223534bd@ip-10-0-0-177.mail> <005b01d56d72$f6ddfba0$e499f2e0$@comcast.net> Message-ID: <660AC31D-D989-4E96-910C-D25ECEED6A7B@illinois.edu> Amen! One of the reasons I?ve resisted any association with the Teacher?s Union. On Sep 17, 2019, at 11:20 AM, David Green via Peace-discuss > wrote: It is indeed beyond disgusting. And Ari Berman of the Nation will continue to be invited by Amy Goodman to discuss voting rights on her program. On Tue, Sep 17, 2019 at 11:14 AM David Johnson via Peace-discuss > wrote: This is so hilariously disgusting that I just had to send it to the list. For those who don?t know, Randi Weingarten is the national President of the AFT Teachers Union. She also owns stocks in corporate charter school companies. Albert Shanker, for those who don?t know was the national President of the AFT Teachers Union from the 1960?s ? 1980?s. He was very right-wing and extremely pro-war. Even to the point of supporting Reagan?s Contra terrorists based in Honduras, who were carrying out terrorist attacks inside Nicaragua. And he supported the death squad governments in El Salvador and Guatemala. The death squads and the Contra terrorists often targeted schools and Teachers. David J. From: Randi Weingarten [mailto:E-activist at action.aft.org] Sent: Tuesday, September 17, 2019 9:11 AM To: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Subject: I'm in Washington, D.C. for the In Defense of Democracy conference <~WRD000.jpg> David, Democracies can die, and many have. The question is: Will we in America work to safeguard ours? That?s why this summer I asked educators to be guardians of democracy, and it?s why on Tuesday the Albert Shanker Institute, in partnership with the AFT and Onward Together, is hosting a daylong conference on defending democracy. The stakes are higher than ever, and no one can sit on the sidelines in 2020. At 9 a.m. Eastern time, I will be introducing Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as the opening keynote speaker at the ?In Defense of Democracy? conference in Washington, D.C. The Shanker Institute, the AFT and Onward Together are hosting this conference, and we have a lineup of incredible speakers. I?m proud that we?re a part of this conversation. We?re livestreaming the entire conference, and I wanted to make sure you had the link. Watch the livestream of the morning session live on the AFT?s Facebook page. We?re at a turning point in America. With white supremacy, white nationalism and hatred on the rise, it?s up to us to show up and protect our democracy and defend decency. I hope you?ll watch and join the conversation online. After Clinton?s keynote, I will be moderating a panel titled ?Civic Participation in an Age of Democratic Peril.? I?ll be joined by Amanda Terkel, Washington bureau chief at HuffPost; Leah Greenberg, co-executive director of Indivisible; Joy Reid, MCNBC host; and Gara LaMarche, president of Democracy Alliance, to have an open and honest conversation about how to interact with a democracy that is under attack. Around 1:30 p.m. Eastern time, we?ll have a panel on voting rights with Andrew Gillum, chair of Forward Florida, former mayor of Tallahassee and 2018 Democratic nominee for governor of Florida; Eric Holder, former U.S. attorney general and chairman of the National Democratic Redistricting Committee; Maria Teresa Kumar, president and CEO of Voto Latino and MSNBC commentator; and Ari Berman, author and senior reporter for Mother Jones. The panel will be moderated by Shanker Institute Executive Director Leo Casey. Follow and engage on social media using the hashtag #DefenseOfDemocracy. We?ll be live soon. You don?t want to miss this! In unity, Randi Weingarten AFT President Randi Weingarten, President Lorretta Johnson, Secretary-Treasurer | Evelyn DeJesus, Executive Vice President ? American Federation of Teachers, AFL-CIO. All rights reserved. Photographs and illustrations, as well as text, cannot be used without permission from the AFT. Contact Us | 555 New Jersey Ave., N.W., Washington, DC 20001 Sent via ActionNetwork.org. To update your email address, change your name or address, or to stop receiving emails from AFT Activist, please click here. _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Wed Sep 18 01:27:06 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Tue, 17 Sep 2019 20:27:06 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] AWARE on the Air #492 notes Message-ID: AWARE on the Air #492 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALV6b86YoXk A list of links to items mentioned on the show. CBS interviews Tulsi Gabbard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ Joel B. Pollak on "Tulsi Gabbard to Trump: ?We Are Not Your Prostitutes. You Are Not Our Pimp?" https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/09/16/tulsi-gabbard-to-trump-we-are-not-your-prostitutes-you-are-not-our-pimp/ Tulsi Gabbard tweets: "Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia?s bitch is not ?America First.?" https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1065289231977738240 ". at realDonaldTrump Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country?Saudi Arabia?is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp." https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1173723701373591552 Picture included in post: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EEnnOBoUEAAMXLZ.jpg Theodore Postol on Tulsi Gabbard in interview with Aaron Mat? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyKHBPvlCFw Netanyahu in Israel elections https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49735963 -- "Israel election result too close to call - exit polls" Gary Brecher's (pseudonym of John Dolan) Radio War Nerd https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6qV1M0aujeZ582k4gaD9wA/videos Related: The War Nerd articles across multiple archives http://pando.com/author/garybrecher/ -- PandoDaily (November 2013 - November 2015) https://www.nsfwcorp.com/desk/war-nerd/ -- NSFWCorp (September 2012-November 2013) http://www.exile.ru/articles/list.php?IBLOCK_ID=35&SECTION_ID=156 -- The Exile (April 2002 - May 2008) http://exiledonline.com/cat/war-nerd/ -- The Exiled Online (April 2011-September 2012) https://www.patreon.com/radiowarnerd/posts -- Current posts available behind paywall Caitlin Johnstone on "The Trump Administration Is Losing The Narrative Battle Over Iran" https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-trump-administration-is-losing-the-narrative-battle-over-iran-e903fdd179fb Dwight Eisenhower's warning of "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address -J From r-szoke at illinois.edu Wed Sep 18 19:04:26 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2019 19:04:26 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? Message-ID: [ To me, it's a relief to read an account of actual real-world empirical data rather than just another blast of sloganeering & ideological opinion. ~ RSz. ] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/opinion/trump-fundraising-donors.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage The Changing Shape of the Parties Is Changing Where They Get Their Money By Thomas B. Edsall NYT Sept. 18, 2019 Money is the mother?s milk of politics, as the old saying goes, and the slow motion realignment of our two major political parties has changed who raises more money from the rich and who raises more from small donors. A pair of major developments give us a hint about how future trends will develop on the partisan battleground. First: Heading into the 2020 election, President Trump is on track to far surpass President Barack Obama?s record in collecting small donor contributions ? those under $200 ? lending weight to his claim of populist legitimacy. Second: Democratic candidates and their party committees are making inroads in gathering contributions from the wealthiest of the wealthy, the Forbes 400, a once solid Republican constituency. Democrats are also pulling ahead in contributions from highly educated professionals ? doctors, lawyers, tech executives, software engineers, architects, scientists, teachers and so on. . . . (more) From davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Wed Sep 18 21:52:39 2019 From: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net (David Johnson) Date: Wed, 18 Sep 2019 16:52:39 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <014101d56e6b$6420e0d0$2c62a270$@comcast.net> Good article Ron, The take away is that the Democrats are becoming increasingly the party of the financial elites ( ruling class ) and that the increase in the number of small donations being made to candidates ( thanks to the internet ) has been eroding the once dominant power in elections of the ruling class ( the large donors ). Most of us have been seeing this phenomena for some time now, but you are correct that the article provides some quantitative info to back that perception up. However, to me this phenomena also means that the ruling class ( in particular the Democratic party during the primary elections and the Republicans in the general election ) will resort more often to voter disenfranchisement and outright voter fraud as time moves forward. The genie has been let out of the bottle so to speak in regards to people's rising expectations - demands for Medicare for All, free post high school education and student debt forgiveness, higher wages and income, etc. Which the ruling class will not be able to put that proverbial genie back in the bottle. People are not just going to accept whatever rigged outcome occurs, like cheating Sanders ( again ). This situation which will increase in intensity over time, because the ruling class are not willing to give up any of their wealth and privilege, will inevitably lead to what is called a " revolutionary situation ". In one form or another. Especially if you add the negative effects of climate change and increasing number and intensity of regime change wars. David J. -----Original Message----- From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss Sent: Wednesday, September 18, 2019 2:04 PM To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discuss Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? [ To me, it's a relief to read an account of actual real-world empirical data rather than just another blast of sloganeering & ideological opinion. ~ RSz. ] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/opinion/trump-fundraising-donors.html?act ion=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage The Changing Shape of the Parties Is Changing Where They Get Their Money By Thomas B. Edsall NYT Sept. 18, 2019 Money is the mother's milk of politics, as the old saying goes, and the slow motion realignment of our two major political parties has changed who raises more money from the rich and who raises more from small donors. A pair of major developments give us a hint about how future trends will develop on the partisan battleground. First: Heading into the 2020 election, President Trump is on track to far surpass President Barack Obama's record in collecting small donor contributions - those under $200 - lending weight to his claim of populist legitimacy. Second: Democratic candidates and their party committees are making inroads in gathering contributions from the wealthiest of the wealthy, the Forbes 400, a once solid Republican constituency. Democrats are also pulling ahead in contributions from highly educated professionals - doctors, lawyers, tech executives, software engineers, architects, scientists, teachers and so on. . . . (more) _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From brussel at illinois.edu Thu Sep 19 02:33:55 2019 From: brussel at illinois.edu (Brussel, Morton K) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 02:33:55 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: The Danger of Inspiration: A Review of On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal References: <201909181040.x8IAehxn008837@relays-agent10.techservices.illinois.edu> Message-ID: <4B440498-638E-4E9F-85AA-964B5FEA16E2@illinois.edu> Dear friends, I am much impressed by Robert Jensen?s review of Naomi Klein's new book. Perhaps you will be too. (During AWARE?s heyday, Robert Jensen came to Urbana-Champaign to deliver a talk. ) From: "Robert Jensen Updates" > Subject: The Danger of Inspiration: A Review of On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal Date: September 18, 2019 at 5:40:18 AM CDT To: brussel at illinois.edu Reply-To: "Robert Jensen Updates" > https://www.commondreams.org/views/2019/09/17/danger-inspiration-review-fire-burning-case-green-new-deal (There are links in the wevsite version. ) The Danger of Inspiration: A Review of On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal by Robert Jensen Naomi Klein?s new book, On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal, has one crippling flaw?it?s inspiring. At this moment in history, inspiring talk about solutions to multiple, cascading ecological crises is dangerous. At the conclusion of these 18 essays that bluntly outline the crises and explain a Green New Deal response, Klein bolsters readers searching for hope: ?[W]hen the future of life is at stake, there is nothing we cannot achieve.? It is tempting to embrace that claim, especially after nearly 300 pages of Klein?s eloquent writing that weaves insightful analysis together with honest personal reflection. The problem, of course, is that the statement is not even close to being true. With nearly 8 billion people living within a severely degraded ecosphere, there are many things we cannot, and will not, achieve. A decent human future?perhaps any human future at all?depends on our ability to come to terms with these limits. That is not a celebration of cynicism or a rationalization for nihilism, but rather the starting point for rational planning that takes seriously not only our potential but also the planet?s biophysical constraints. Klein?s essays in this volume make it clear that she is well aware of those limits, but the book?s subtitle suggests that she is writing not only to inform but also to mobilize support for Green New Deal proposals. This tension runs throughout the book?when Klein reports on and analyzes the state of the world, the prose challenges readers to face difficult realities, but when making the case for those policy proposals, she sounds more like an organizer rallying supporters. That?s not a dig?Klein is a writer who doesn?t sit on the sidelines but gets involved with movements and political projects. Her commitment to activism and organizing is admirable, but it can pull a writer in conflicting directions. This critique should not lead anyone to ignore On Fire, which is an excellent book that should be read cover to cover, without skipping chapters that had been previously published. Collections of essays can fall flat because of faded timeliness or unnecessary repetition, but neither is a problem here. As always, Klein?s sharp eye for detail makes her reporting on events compelling, whether she?s describing disasters (natural and unnatural) or assessing political trends. And, despite the grim realities we face, the book is a pleasure to read. Before explaining concerns with the book?s inspirational tone, I want to emphasize key points Klein makes that I agree are essential to a left/progressive analysis of the ecological crises: ? First-World levels of consumption are unsustainable; ? capitalism is incompatible with a livable human future; ? the modern industrial world has undermined people?s connections to each other and the non-human world; and ? we face not only climate disruption but a host of other crises, including, but not limited to, species extinction, chemical contamination, and soil erosion and degradation. In other words, business-as-usual is a dead end, which Klein states forthrightly: I feel confident in saying that a climate-disrupted future is a bleak and an austere future, one capable of turning all our material possessions into rubble or ash with terrifying speed. We can pretend that extending the status quo into the future, unchanged, is one of the options available to us. But that is a fantasy. Change is coming one way or another. Our choice is whether we try to shape that change to the maximum benefit of all or wait passively as the forces of climate disaster, scarcity, and fear of the ?other? fundamentally reshape us. On Fire focuses primarily on the climate crisis and the Green New Deal?s vision, which is widely assailed as too radical by the two different kinds of climate-change deniers in the United States today?one that denies the conclusions of climate science and another that denies the implications of that science. The first, based in the Republican Party, is committed to a full-throated defense of our pathological economic system. The second, articulated by the few remaining moderate Republicans and most mainstream Democrats, imagines that market-based tinkering to mitigate the pathology is adequate. Thankfully, other approaches exist. The most prominent in the United States is the Green New Deal?s call for legislation that recognizes the severity of the ecological crises while advocating economic equality and social justice. Supporters come from varied backgrounds, but all are happy to critique and modify, or even scrap, capitalism. Avoiding dogmatic slogans or revolutionary rhetoric, Klein writes realistically about moving toward a socialist (or, perhaps, socialist-like) future, using available tools involving ?public infrastructure, economic planning, corporate regulation, international trade, consumption, and taxation? to steer out of the existing debacle. One of the strengths of Klein?s blunt talk about the social and ecological problems in the context of real-world policy proposals is that she speaks of motion forward in a long struggle rather than pretending the Green New Deal is the solution for all our problems. On Fire makes it clear that there are no magic wands to wave, no magic bullets to fire. The problem is that the Green New Deal does rely on one bit of magical thinking?the techno-optimism that emerges from the modern world?s underlying technological fundamentalism, defined as the faith that the use of evermore advanced technology is always a good thing. Extreme technological fundamentalists argue that any problems caused by the unintended consequences of such technology eventually can be remedied by more technology. (If anyone thinks this definition a caricature, read ?An Ecomodernist Manifesto.?) Klein does not advocate such fundamentalism, but that faith hides just below the surface of the Green New Deal, jumping out in ?A Message from the Future with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez,? which Klein champions in On Fire. Written by U.S. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (the most prominent legislator advancing the Green New Deal) and Avi Lewis (Klein?s husband and collaborator), the seven-and-a-half minute video elegantly combines political analysis with engaging storytelling and beautiful visuals. But one sentence in that video reveals the fatal flaw of the analysis: ?We knew that we needed to save the planet and that we had all the technology to do it [in 2019].? First, talk of saving the planet is misguided. As many have pointed out in response to that rhetoric, the Earth will continue with or without humans. Charitably, we can interpret that phrase to mean, ?reducing the damage that humans do to the ecosphere and creating a livable future for humans.? The problem is, we don?t have all technology to do that, and if we insist that better gadgets can accomplish that, we are guaranteed to fail. Reasonable people can, and do, disagree about this claim. (For example, ?The science is in,? proclaims the Nature Conservancy, and we can have a ?future in which catastrophic climate change is kept at bay while we still power our developing world? and ?feed 10 billion people.?) But even accepting overly optimistic assessments of renewable energy and energy-saving technologies, we have to face that we don?t have the means to maintain the lifestyle that ?A Message from the Future? promises for the United States, let alone the entire world. The problem is not just that the concentration of wealth leads to so much wasteful consumption and wasted resources, but that the infrastructure of our world was built by the dense energy of fossil fuels that renewables cannot replace. Without that dense energy, a smaller human population is going to live in dramatically different fashion. Welcome to the third rail of contemporary political life. The question that the multiple, cascading ecological crises put squarely in front of us is, ?What is a sustainable human population?? That question has to be split in two: ?How many people? Consuming how much?? It?s no surprise that political candidates ignore these questions, but progressive writers and activists should not back away. Honestly engaging these issues takes us well beyond the Green New Deal. On the second of those questions??consuming how much???Klein frequently highlights the problem, but with a focus on ?profligate consumption.? She stresses the need to: ? ?scale back overconsumption?; ? identify categories in which we must contract, ?including air travel, meat consumption, and profligate energy use?; ? end ?the high-carbon lifestyle of suburban sprawl and disposable consumption?; ? reject capitalism?s faith in ?limitless consumption? that locks us in ?the endless consumption cycle?; and ? make deep changes ?not just to our energy consumption but to the underlying logic of our economic system.? No argument with any of those statements, especially because Klein rejects the notion that simply improving efficiency will solve our problems, a common assumption of the techno-optimists. But challenging ?overconsumption by the comparatively wealthy? focuses on the easy target: ?The bottom line is that an ecological crisis that has its roots in the overconsumption of natural resources must be addressed not just by improving the efficiency of our economies, but also by reducing the amount of material stuff that the wealthiest 20 percent of people on the planet consume.? My goal is not to defend rich people or their consumption habits. However, constraining the lifestyles of the rich and famous is a necessary but not sufficient condition for sustainability. Here we have to deal with the sticky question of human nature. Klein rightly rejects capitalism?s ideological claim that people?s capacity to act out of greed and short-term self-interest (which all of us certainly are capable of doing) is the dominant human trait. Human nature also includes the capacity to act out of compassion in solidarity with others, of course, and different systems reward different parts of our nature. Capitalism encourages the greed and discourages the compassion, to the detriment of people and planet. But we are organic creatures, and that means there is a human nature, or what we might more accurately call our human-carbon nature. As Wes Jackson of The Land Institute puts it, life on Earth is ?the scramble for energy-rich carbon,? and humans have gotten exceedingly good at grabbing lots of carbon. Not all cultures go after it with the same intensity, of course, but that scramble predates capitalism and will continue after capitalism. This doesn?t mean we are condemned to make the planet unlivable for ourselves and other creatures, but public policy has to recognize that we not only need carbon to survive but that most people?including most environmentalists?like the work that carbon can do for us when we burn those fossil fuels. And once we get a taste of what that carbon can do, it?s not easy to give it up. As Klein points out, curbing our carbon-seeking is not merely a test of will power and matter of individual virtue; collective action through public policy is needed. I believe that requires a hard cap on carbon?limits that we can encourage people to accept through cultural advocacy but in the end must be imposed through law. A sensible approach, called ?cap and adapt,? has been proposed by Larry Edwards and Stan Cox. In a forthcoming book, Cox will expand on a cap-and-ration strategy that could help in ?drawing the human economy back within necessary ecological limits,? a follow-up to, and expansion of, his earlier book that made a compelling case for a rationing. There?s no simple answer to how much energy and material resources we can consume without undermining the ecosystems on which our own lives depend, but I?m confident in saying that it?s dramatically less that we consume today, and that reducing aggregate consumption?even if we could create equitable societies?will be difficult. But that?s the easy part. Much more difficult is the first question??how many people?? On the question of population, On Fire is silent, and it?s not hard to understand, for several reasons. First, the Earth has a carrying capacity for any species but it?s impossible to predict when we will reach it (or did reach it), and failed attempts at prediction in the past have made people wary. Second, some of the most vocal supporters of population control also espouse white supremacy, which has tainted even asking the question. Third, while we know that raising the status of women and educating girls reduces birth rates, it?s difficult to imagine a non-coercive strategy for serious population reduction on the scale necessary. Still, we should acknowledge ecological carrying capacity while pursuing social justice and rejecting anti-immigration projects. Progressives? unwillingness to address the issue cedes the terrain to ?eco-fascists,? those who want to use ecological crises to pursue a reactionary agenda. There?s no specific number to offer for a sustainable human population, but I?m confident in saying that it?s fewer than 8 billion and that finding a humane and democratic path to that lower number is difficult to imagine. The fact that these questions are troubling and/or impossible to answer does not mean the questions do not matter. For now, my answer?a lot fewer people and a lot less stuff?is adequate to start a conversation: ?A sustainable human presence on the planet will mean fewer people consuming less.? Agree or disagree? Why or why not? Two responses are possible from Green New Deal supporters: (1) I?m nuts, or (2) I?m not nuts, but what I?m suggesting is politically impossible because people can?t handle all this bad news. If I am nuts, critics have to demonstrate what is unsound about the argument, without resorting to the clich? that ?necessity is the mother of invention? and the faith-based claims of the technological fundamentalists. If I am not, then those Green supporters face a quandary. When mainstream Democrats tell progressive folks that the Green New Deal is doomed to fail because it is not politically viable at this moment, supporters counter, appropriately, by saying that anything less is inadequate in the face of the crises. Those supporters argue, appropriately, that the real failure is supporting policies that don?t do enough to create sustainable human societies and that we need to build a movement for the needed change. I agree, but by that logic, if the Green New Deal itself is inadequate to create sustainability, then we must push further. The Green New Deal is a start, insufficiently radical but with the potential to move the conversation forward?if we can be clear about the initiative?s limitations. That presents a problem for organizers, who seek to rally support without uncomfortable caveats??Support this plan! But remember that it?s just a start, and it gets a lot rougher up ahead, and whatever we do may not be enough to stave off unimaginable suffering? is, admittedly, not a winning slogan. Back to what I think Klein is right about, and eloquent in expressing: Because while it is true that climate change is a crisis produced by an excess of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, it is also, in a more profound sense, a crisis produced by an extractive mind-set, by a way of viewing both the natural world and the majority of its inhabitants as resources to use up and then discard. I call it the ?gig and dig? economy and firmly believe that we will not emerge from this crisis without a shift in worldview at every level, a transformation to an ethos of care and repair. The domination/subordination dynamic that creates so much suffering within the human family also defines the modern world?s destructive relationship to the larger living world. Throughout the book, Klein presses the importance of telling a new story about all those relationships. Scientific data and policy proposals matter, but they don?t get us far without a story for people to embrace. Klein is right, and On Fire helps us imagine a new story for a human future. I offer a friendly amendment to the story she is constructing: Our challenge is to highlight not only what we can but also what we cannot accomplish, to build our moral capacity to face a frightening future but continue to fight for what can be achieved, even when we know that won?t be enough. One story I would tell is of the growing gatherings of people, admittedly small in number today, who take comfort in saying forthrightly what they believe, no matter how painful?people who do not want to suppress their grief, yet do not let their grief overwhelm them. What kind of person wants to live like that? I can offer a real-life example, my late friend Jim Koplin. He once told me, in a conversation about those multiple, cascading ecological crises (a term I stole from him, with his blessing), ?I wake up every morning in a state of profound grief.? He was neither depressed nor irrational but simply honest. Jim, a Depression-era farm boy who had been permanently radicalized in the 1960s, felt that grief more deeply than anyone I have known, yet every day he got up to work in his garden and then offer his time and energy to a variety of political, community, and arts groups that were fighting for a better world. Klein speaks of this grief in On Fire, in what for me were the most moving passages, often involving her young son?s future in the face of this ?planetary death spiral?: There is no question that the strongest emotions I have about the climate crisis have to do with [Toma] and his generation?the tremendous intergenerational theft under way. I have flashes of sheer panic about the extreme weather we have already locked in for these kids. Even more intense than this fear is the sadness about what they won?t ever know. They are growing up in a mass extinction, robbed of the cacophonous company of so many fast-disappearing life forms. It feels so desperately lonely. The escape from loneliness, for me, starts with recognizing that Jim?s ?state of profound grief? was not only wholly rational but also emotionally healthy. When told that even if this harsh assessment is correct, people can?t handle it, I agree. No one can handle all this. Jim couldn?t handle it every waking minute. I don?t handle it as well as he did. At best, we struggle to come to terms with a ?bleak and austere? future. But that?s exactly why we need to engage rather than avoid the distressing realities of our time. If we are afraid to speak honestly, we suffer alone. Better that we tell the truth and accept the consequences, together. https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/On-Fire/Naomi-Klein/9781982129910 On Fire: The (Burning) Case for a Green New Deal By Naomi Klein ------------------------- Robert Jensen, an emeritus professor in the School of Journalism at the University of Texas at Austin, collaborates with Ecosphere Studies at The Land Institute. He is the author of several books, including The End of Patriarchy: Radical Feminism for Men and Plain Radical: Living, Loving, and Learning to Leave the Planet Gracefully. He can be reached at rjensen at austin.utexas.edu or online at http://robertwjensen.org/. ................................................................ To unsubscribe, visit http://www.thirdcoastactivist.org/jensenupdates-info.html and click the "unsubscribe" button. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 19 05:05:39 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C. G. Estabrook ) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 00:05:39 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_=5BNew_post=5D_Satirical_?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=98Onion=E2=80=99_Headline_About_Saudi_Oil_Now_Just_A_Reg?= =?utf-8?q?ular_News_Report?= References: <139971992.7169.0@wordpress.com> Message-ID: <7297C08E-5A86-4797-82F2-5909AD69E8C3@gmail.com> Begin forwarded message: > From: Caitlin Johnstone > Date: September 18, 2019 at 8:32:51 PM CDT > To: cgestabrook at gmail.com > Subject: [New post] Satirical ?Onion? Headline About Saudi Oil Now Just A Regular News Report > > > New post on Caitlin Johnstone > > > Satirical ?Onion? Headline About Saudi Oil Now Just A Regular News Report > by Caitlin Johnstone > Four months ago the satirical news site The Onion posted the headline, "John Bolton: ?An Attack On Two Saudi Oil Tankers Is An Attack On All Americans?". > > I remember the post because it cracked me up a the time. Like many Onion headlines, the joke came from a cartoonish exaggeration of something that we all kind of know to be basically true but which no official would actually say, in this case the fact that the drivers of the US war machine are always trying to spin their imperialist resource control agendas as something which protects ordinary Americans instead of plutocratic investments and geostrategic hegemony. It was quite clever, and it was very clearly satirical. > > At the time. > > John Bolton: ?An Attack On Two Saudi Oil Tankers Is An Attack On All Americans? https://t.co/Dgny7ss6pJ pic.twitter.com/nvxyCtNCVh > > ? The Onion (@TheOnion) May 15, 2019 > > . at SecPompeo: An attack on Saudi oil is NOT an attack on America. If you want a war, come to Congress to make your case. We will not let you drag the American people into another catastrophe in the Middle East. > > Your job is to use diplomacy to resolve conflict?not incite more war. https://t.co/GcpacxodOd > > ? Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) September 18, 2019 > > Speaking to reporters on Wednesday about an attack on a Saudi Aramco oil refinery last weekend, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo proclaimed that not only was the attack definitely perpetrated by Iran, but that it was an "act of war" and a threat to American lives. > > ?This was an Iranian attack,? Pompeo claimed without evidence. ?We were blessed there were no Americans killed in this attack, but anytime you have an act of war of this nature, there?s always a risk that could happen.? > > Indeed, despite the Saudi government hilariously labeling the wounding of an Aramco facility "their 9/11", nobody was killed in the incident at all. The most significant casualty of the attack was Saudi oil export capacity, which has reportedly been cut in half for the few weeks it will likely take to repair the damage. Yet Pompeo is rendering the art of satire obsolete by claiming it was an "act of war" against which Americans must be defended. > > The government-owned Saudi Aramco is reportedly the single most profitable corporation in the world, and while it's difficult to know for certain behind the veils of government opacity it may be worth trillions of dollars. If you've ever wondered how the Saudi royals can afford extravagances like arming violent extremist militias in rival governments and a relentless genocide in Yemen, that's how. This blood-soaked Saudi corporation is the thing that the US government is attempting to conflate with "America" right now. > > Which is refreshingly honest, in a way. The idea that we're in a corporate global empire where the lines between nations mean nothing to the elites who actually run things was once broadly considered the purview of hoarse-voiced Infowars tirades; now they're just coming right out and saying it. As I've said before, in some ways the Trump administration is the most honest presidency of all time. > > And now I will begin exploring ways to cut off ties with #SolomonIslands including potentially ending financial assistance & restricting access to U.S. dollars & banking. https://t.co/1l7YdmhWNK > > ? Marco Rubio (@marcorubio) September 16, 2019 > > We're seeing the same kind of startlingly frank admission that Washington, DC is the capital of a globe-spanning empire in the way US officials are reacting to the decision of the Solomon Islands to shift its diplomatic ties from Taiwan to China. Based on what you were taught in school about what nations are and how the world works, you would assume that a sovereign state on the other side of the planet pivoting diplomatically from Taipei to Beijing would have nothing to do with the United States, yet we're seeing a hostile reaction from the US government of the sort you'd expect to see if Alaska or Hawaii seceded from the union. > > "U.S. Vice President Mike Pence has canceled plans to meet with the leader of the Solomon Islands to discuss development partnerships after the Pacific island cut ties with Taiwan in favor of China this week," a senior US official told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that "the decision by the Solomon Islands to change its diplomatic recognition from Taiwan to the People?s Republic of China has consequences." > > "And now I will begin exploring ways to cut off ties with #SolomonIslands including potentially ending financial assistance and restricting access to U.S. dollars and banking," tweeted Senator Marco Rubio in response to the news. > > "The senator is threatening to penalize a small country for switching their diplomatic ties from Taiwan to the People?s Republic of China," wrote The American Conservative's Daniel Larison of Rubio's reaction. "Not only is this a heavy-handed and stupid response to growing Chinese influence, since it would guarantee that the Solomons become even more dependent on China, but it is utter hypocrisy for an American politician to berate another government for doing what our government did forty years ago. It is also a good example of how many hawks view the sovereignty and independence of small states. As long as small states take the 'right' foreign policy positions, the hawks say they have every right to make their own foreign policy without interference, but as soon as they do something that hawks don?t like they will be targeted for punishment. It is crude bullying against one of the poorest countries in the world, and Floridians should be embarrassed to be represented by someone who engages in it." > > "You could hardly ask for a better demonstration of how mindless and knee-jerk the addiction to sanctions is than Rubio's threat against this small Pacific nation." https://t.co/OjrxQ23JQH > > ? Daniel Larison (@DanielLarison) September 17, 2019 > > Things are becoming more transparent, and the gears of the empire are becoming easier to point to. It's scary, it's bizarre, and it will put the satirists right out of business. But ultimately, I think, it will wake people up. > > __________________ > > Thanks for reading! The best way to get around the internet censors and make sure you see the stuff I publish is to subscribe to the mailing list for my website, which will get you an email notification for everything I publish. My work is entirely reader-supported, so if you enjoyed this piece please consider sharing it around, liking me on Facebook, following my antics on Twitter, checking out my podcast on either Youtube, soundcloud, Apple podcasts or Spotify, throwing some money into my hat on Patreon or Paypal, purchasing some of my sweet merchandise, buying my new book Rogue Nation: Psychonautical Adventures With Caitlin Johnstone, or my previous book Woke: A Field Guide for Utopia Preppers. For more info on who I am, where I stand, and what I'm trying to do with this platform, click here. Everyone, racist platforms excluded, has my permissionto republish or use any part of this work (or anything else I?ve written) in any way they like free of charge. > > > > Bitcoin donations:1Ac7PCQXoQoLA9Sh8fhAgiU3PHA2EX5Zm2 > > Caitlin Johnstone | September 19, 2019 at 1:32 am | Tags: aramco, Iran, oil, Politics, Saudi Arabia, The Onion, war | Categories: Article, News | URL: https://wp.me/p9tj6M-1RD > Comment See all comments > Unsubscribe to no longer receive posts from Caitlin Johnstone. > Change your email settings at Manage Subscriptions. > > Trouble clicking? Copy and paste this URL into your browser: > https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/19/satirical-onion-headline-about-saudi-oil-now-just-a-regular-news-report/ > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 19 10:01:09 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 05:01:09 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] AWARE on the Air - the only anti-war candidate? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: In a video released on Twitter, Gabbard declared, ?Yesterday President Trump offered to place our military, my brothers and sisters in uniform, under the command of Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the dictator of the islamist kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Trump said, '[We] are locked and loaded, but are waiting to hear from the Kingdom as to who they believe was the cause of this attack, and under what terms we would proceed!' Mr. President, as you know, I have never engaged in hateful rhetoric against you or your family, and I never will, but your offering our military assets to the dictator of Saudi Arabia to use as he sees fit, is a betrayal of my brothers and sisters in uniform who are ready to give our lives for our country, not for the Islamist dictator of Saudi Arabia. For you to think that you can pimp out our proud servicemen and women to the Prince of Saudi Arabia is disgraceful, and it once again shows that you are unfit to serve as our commander in chief. As a member of Congress, and as a soldier, I and all of my brothers and sisters in uniform have taken an oath to protect and defend the American people and the Constitution of the United States of America. There is nothing in our Constitution that gives you the power to go to war without the express consent of Congress, but to speak of giving you the power to offer our military to a foreign power like the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to use as they wish ? President Trump, your words and actions are a betrayal of my brothers and sisters in uniform, the American people, and our Constitution. My fellow servicemembers and I ? we are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp.? > On Sep 17, 2019, at 8:27 PM, J.B. Nicholson via Peace wrote: > > AWARE on the Air #492 > Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALV6b86YoXk > > A list of links to items mentioned on the show. > > CBS interviews Tulsi Gabbard > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LzVSYBNgOeI > https://www.cbsnews.com/video/tulsi-gabbard-on-her-political-future/ > > Joel B. Pollak on "Tulsi Gabbard to Trump: ?We Are Not Your Prostitutes. You Are Not Our Pimp?" > https://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2019/09/16/tulsi-gabbard-to-trump-we-are-not-your-prostitutes-you-are-not-our-pimp/ > > Tulsi Gabbard tweets: > "Hey @realdonaldtrump: being Saudi Arabia?s bitch is not ?America First.?" > https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1065289231977738240 > > ". at realDonaldTrump Despicable. Offering to place our military assets under the command of a foreign country?Saudi Arabia?is a disgrace and betrayal of my patriotic brothers and sisters in uniform and to our Constitution. We are not your prostitutes. You are not our pimp." > https://twitter.com/TulsiGabbard/status/1173723701373591552 > Picture included in post: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EEnnOBoUEAAMXLZ.jpg > > Theodore Postol on Tulsi Gabbard in interview with Aaron Mat? > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HyKHBPvlCFw > > > > Netanyahu in Israel elections > https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-49735963 -- "Israel election result too close to call - exit polls" > > > > Gary Brecher's (pseudonym of John Dolan) Radio War Nerd > https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6qV1M0aujeZ582k4gaD9wA/videos > > Related: The War Nerd articles across multiple archives > http://pando.com/author/garybrecher/ -- PandoDaily (November 2013 - November 2015) > https://www.nsfwcorp.com/desk/war-nerd/ -- NSFWCorp (September 2012-November 2013) > http://www.exile.ru/articles/list.php?IBLOCK_ID=35&SECTION_ID=156 -- The Exile (April 2002 - May 2008) > http://exiledonline.com/cat/war-nerd/ -- The Exiled Online (April 2011-September 2012) > https://www.patreon.com/radiowarnerd/posts -- Current posts available behind paywall > > > > Caitlin Johnstone on "The Trump Administration Is Losing The Narrative Battle Over Iran" > https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-trump-administration-is-losing-the-narrative-battle-over-iran-e903fdd179fb > > Dwight Eisenhower's warning of "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex" > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eisenhower%27s_farewell_address > > -J > _______________________________________________ > Peace mailing list > Peace at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace From moboct1 at aim.com Thu Sep 19 13:42:58 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 13:42:58 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <836131720.9697117.1568900578218@mail.yahoo.com> The Establishment (duly represented by and in the NYT)?misses the "money in politics" problem.? First off, campaign contributions?ARE the problem, whether private, political party?or PAC (corporate).??Public funding needs to replace?special interest revenue sources of?informed campaign communication.?The big winners of campaign big money are?media advertising (and of course ultimately the corporations/donors whose investments in?their chosen elected candidates eventually pay big dividends).? The enormous media profits?peak?especially during presidential election years (which lately seem like every other year), that's why the "airwaves" that (supposedly) belong to the people must be returned to the people in the interest of informing the public of candidate positions?with well regulated?free?time provided?by communication corporations, and not just a repeat of the so-called "Debate" circus played out by select-biased media representatives. ?Of course this would require a detailed and no doubt?hotly discussed Congressional topic, finally to be?submitted?as a referendum for approval.??This could take years to negotiate and would be possibly not achievable in?such a capitalist economy that dominates almost all aspects of life in the U.S.A., but like the urgency of?wise?climate decisions, it should at least be publicly considered and discussed NOW, not "changing?patterns of finding new campaign funding."??Midge?-----Original Message----- From: Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discuss Sent: Wed, Sep 18, 2019 2:04 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? [ To me, it's a relief to read an account of actual real-world empirical data rather than just another blast of sloganeering? & ideological opinion.? ~ RSz. ] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/opinion/trump-fundraising-donors.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage The Changing Shape of the Parties Is Changing Where They Get Their Money By Thomas B. Edsall? NYT? Sept. 18, 2019 Money is the mother?s milk of politics, as the old saying goes, and the slow motion realignment of our two major political parties has changed who raises more money from the rich and who raises more from small donors. A pair of major developments give us a hint about how future trends will develop on the partisan battleground. First: Heading into the 2020 election, President Trump is on track to far surpass President Barack Obama?s record in collecting small donor contributions ? those under $200 ? lending weight to his claim of populist legitimacy. Second: Democratic candidates and their party committees are making inroads in gathering contributions from the wealthiest of the wealthy, the Forbes 400, a once solid Republican constituency. Democrats are also pulling ahead in contributions from highly educated professionals ? doctors, lawyers, tech executives, software engineers, architects, scientists, teachers and so on. . . . (more) _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 19 16:31:26 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C. G. Estabrook ) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 11:31:26 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: The failed effort to silence Edward Snowden References: <43fc0c0fce9292d8bed09ca27.683927b593.20190919161353.93c654bcb5.c9f3f473@mail214.sea51.mcsv.net> Message-ID: <3518EF6B-7639-4C06-AE8C-1D7D426B2F04@gmail.com> Begin forwarded message: > From: Glenn Greenwald > Date: September 19, 2019 at 11:14:22 AM CDT > To: > Subject: The failed effort to silence Edward Snowden > Reply-To: > > > > The U.S. government is once again trying to silence Edward Snowden ? this time with a lawsuit arguing that he should have allowed the CIA and NSA to censor his new memoir before publication. > > The book doesn?t contain any secrets that haven?t already been made public; the government simply doesn?t want more discussion and debate of the mass surveillance systems he revealed. > > The good news is that the six-year attempt to silence Snowden has so far failed spectacularly, in no small part because of The Intercept?s coverage. Our team spent years combing through the Snowden archive, publishing over 100 stories and partnering with major news organizations, and we continue to fearlessly report on spying by governments and corporations across the globe. > > This new lawsuit shows that the government remains determined to silence whistleblowers and journalists. As attacks on press freedom continue to mount, The Intercept increasingly depends on the financial support of our readers. > > > Will you be the next person to support our fierce, adversarial journalism? > > BECOME A MEMBER ? > > At The Intercept, we take pride in pursuing fierce, adversarial investigative journalism that holds the powerful accountable. > > We know that a lot of people in power don?t like our journalism ? and that?s a big part of what makes it so time-consuming and expensive. Because lives and livelihoods are at stake, we have to take legal, security, and technological precautions far beyond those of many other news organizations. > > Over the last few months, the threats to our reporting have only grown. Our team here in Brazil has received death threats, and the president himself has publicly threatened to imprison me. Meanwhile, sources have recently told us that a team including ex-NSA operatives discussed hacking The Intercept?s computer systems on behalf of the government of the United Arab Emirates. > > We don?t run ads at The Intercept. We?re a nonprofit. Our goal is to be supported by as many of our readers as possible, because we know that the best way to have truly independent journalism is to depend on those who read it. > > > Donate to The Intercept. > > BECOME A MEMBER ? > > > Glenn Greenwald > Co-founding Editor of The Intercept > First Look Media Works is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization (tax ID number 80-0951255). > > The Intercept?s mailing address is: > First Look Media > P.O. Box 27442 > Washington, DC 20038 > > The Intercept is an award-winning nonprofit news organization dedicated to holding the powerful accountable through fearless, adversarial journalism. Our in-depth investigations and unflinching analysis focus on surveillance, war, corruption, the environment, technology, criminal justice, the media and more. Email is an important way for us to communicate with The Intercept?s readers, but if you?d like to stop hearing from us, click here to unsubscribe from all communications. You can also update your subscription preferences to change the kind of emails you want to get from The Intercept. Protecting freedom of the press has never been more important. Become a member of The Intercept today and support our independent journalism. > > BECOME A MEMBER ? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net Thu Sep 19 16:37:55 2019 From: davidjohnson1451 at comcast.net (David Johnson) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 11:37:55 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? In-Reply-To: <836131720.9697117.1568900578218@mail.yahoo.com> References: <836131720.9697117.1568900578218@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <005d01d56f08$96f667d0$c4e33770$@comcast.net> Absolutely Midge, The debates should be broadcast on C-Span and the debate moderators need to be the League of Women Voters, divided into several specifically focused topic episodes and a last general issues not covered episode, asking questions submitted by citizens with 20-30 selected questions asked during each episode. That would make a huge difference. But you are right, other things need to happen as well. Campaign contributions should be illegal ( only an equal amount of public money to each candidate ). The purchase of political advertising should be illegal as well. Paper ballots need to be a federal requirement in all elections. A federal voting rights act needs to be passed where ALL American citizens are guaranteed the right to vote ( nobody can be disenfranchised ) and election fraud needs to be made a class X Felony. David J. From: Peace-discuss [mailto:peace-discuss-bounces at lists.chambana.net] On Behalf Of Mildred O'brien via Peace-discuss Sent: Thursday, September 19, 2019 8:43 AM To: r-szoke at illinois.edu; peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discusss at lists.chambana.net Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? The Establishment (duly represented by and in the NYT) misses the "money in politics" problem. First off, campaign contributions ARE the problem, whether private, political party or PAC (corporate). Public funding needs to replace special interest revenue sources of informed campaign communication. The big winners of campaign big money are media advertising (and of course ultimately the corporations/donors whose investments in their chosen elected candidates eventually pay big dividends). The enormous media profits peak especially during presidential election years (which lately seem like every other year), that's why the "airwaves" that (supposedly) belong to the people must be returned to the people in the interest of informing the public of candidate positions with well regulated free time provided by communication corporations, and not just a repeat of the so-called "Debate" circus played out by select-biased media representatives. Of course this would require a detailed and no doubt hotly discussed Congressional topic, finally to be submitted as a referendum for approval. This could take years to negotiate and would be possibly not achievable in such a capitalist economy that dominates almost all aspects of life in the U.S.A., but like the urgency of wise climate decisions, it should at least be publicly considered and discussed NOW, not "changing patterns of finding new campaign funding." Midge -----Original Message----- From: Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discuss Sent: Wed, Sep 18, 2019 2:04 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] An inversion on money in politics ? [ To me, it's a relief to read an account of actual real-world empirical data rather than just another blast of sloganeering & ideological opinion. ~ RSz. ] https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/18/opinion/trump-fundraising-donors.html?action=click &module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage The Changing Shape of the Parties Is Changing Where They Get Their Money By Thomas B. Edsall NYT Sept. 18, 2019 Money is the mother?s milk of politics, as the old saying goes, and the slow motion realignment of our two major political parties has changed who raises more money from the rich and who raises more from small donors. A pair of major developments give us a hint about how future trends will develop on the partisan battleground. First: Heading into the 2020 election, President Trump is on track to far surpass President Barack Obama?s record in collecting small donor contributions ? those under $200 ? lending weight to his claim of populist legitimacy. Second: Democratic candidates and their party committees are making inroads in gathering contributions from the wealthiest of the wealthy, the Forbes 400, a once solid Republican constituency. Democrats are also pulling ahead in contributions from highly educated professionals ? doctors, lawyers, tech executives, software engineers, architects, scientists, teachers and so on. . . . (more) _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Sep 19 23:58:09 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 19 Sep 2019 18:58:09 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Notes Message-ID: Carl & David, It'll be good to see you guys back on-air! Here are some topics for consideration in your next discussion. Questioning the Democrats: Dems claim they want to ban fracking but should we believe them? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zq4xRTBFECs -- Democrats say they want a fracking ban. Sen. Bernie Sanders posted https://twitter.com/BernieSanders/status/1169319241876721671: > Any proposal to avert the climate crisis must include a full fracking > ban on public and private lands. Yet according to OpenSecrets.org: Bernie Sanders took $5,019 in individual contributions from oil & gas-connected sources in his 2018 campaign (https://www.opensecrets.org/members-of-congress/industries?cid=N00000528&cycle=2018&recs=0&type=I), and he did in 2016 as well (https://theintercept.com/2016/04/01/bernie-sanders-took-money-from-the-fossil-fuel-lobby-too-just-not-much/). Sen. Elizabeth Warren: > On my first day as president, I will sign an executive order that puts a > total moratorium on all new fossil fuel leases for drilling offshore and > on public lands. And I will ban fracking?everywhere. But is this really going to challenge the power of federal law? http://forestpolicypub.com/2019/04/20/can-she-do-that-elizabeth-warrens-campaign-goals-and-oil-and-gas-on-public-lands/ asks "[Can] an Executive Order [...] override federal laws that allow activities on public lands?" and one respondent, Jon Haber, replied: http://forestpolicypub.com/2019/04/20/can-she-do-that-elizabeth-warrens-campaign-goals-and-oil-and-gas-on-public-lands/#comment-452966 > An executive order can certainly prohibit agencies from doing what they > would otherwise be ?allowed? to do, but not what they are required to do > by law. The quoted article refers to ?federally mandated quarterly lease > sales.? That seems to be a reference to the Mineral Leasing Act > requirement for quarterly sales of parcels that are ?available? for > lease. That presumably refers to the leasing availability/suitability > decision we have discussed previously, and an executive order could > probably stop further designations. It might take more to redesignate > currently available but unleased lands (if there are such things) as > unavailable. Sen. Kamala Harris said: > There's no question I'm in favor of banning fracking. but she has a mixed record on working in the public's interest against oil companies. She claimed at the recent CNN climate town hall (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbFyFv1u_vU) that she "sued Exxon Mobil" but there's no evidence she filed a lawsuit. Kassie Siegel, climate director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund said > She [Kamala Harris] opened an investigation into Exxon for lying about > climate change. But she didn?t take it further. She could have and she > should have filed a lawsuit like the attorney general of New York. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/05/us/politics/kamala-harris-exxon.html concurs: > ?What would you do?? Erin Burnett, a CNN moderator, asked. ?Would you > sue them? Would you sue Exxon Mobil?? > > ?I have sued Exxon Mobil,? Ms. Harris replied. > > Not quite. > > An investigation, yes. A lawsuit, no. In 2016, The Los Angeles Times > reported that Ms. Harris, then California?s attorney general, had begun > an investigation into ?whether Exxon Mobil Corp. repeatedly lied to the > public and its shareholders about the risk to its business from climate > change ? and whether such actions could amount to securities fraud and > violations of environmental laws.? > > The New York Times reported the existence of the investigation the next > day. Both articles cited people with knowledge of the inquiry, though > Ms. Harris?s office did not confirm it. > > But after that, no progress came to light, and no case was ever filed; > eventually, the purported inquiry passed on to Ms. Harris?s successor, > Xavier Becerra, who has also not brought a suit. Harris' campaign spokesman Ian Sams wrote to Politifact.com an email that Harris "obtained $50 million in settlements from oil companies she took on like BP, Chevron, ConocoPhillips and Phillips 66. She also announced criminal indictments against Plains Pipeline for the massive oil spill they caused off the coast (of) Santa Barbara. The case continued after Harris left the AG's office and resulted in conviction[2].". [1] https://oag.ca.gov/news/press-releases/attorney-general-kamala-d-harris-announces-indictment-plains-all-american [2] https://www.apnews.com/98c6da87a0f8469a8d401ace5196ff12 In light of previous interaction with oil companies, how seriously should we take these claims to ban fracking? Ecology: Microplastics render soil unusable to worms, and we depend on worms to thrive in normal soil. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/12/worms-fail-to-thrive-in-soil-containing-microplastics-study > Worms fail to thrive in earth containing microplastics, new research has > shown, adding to the growing body of evidence of impacts from the > increasingly widespread contaminants on the natural world. > > The rosy-tipped earthworm, Aporrectodea rosea, is one of the most common > found in farmland in temperate regions. Scientists found that worms > placed in soil loaded with high density polyethylene (HDPE) ? a common > plastic used for bags and bottles ? for 30 days lost about 3% of their > body weight, compared with a control sample of similar worms placed in > similar soil without HDPE, which put on 5% in body weight over the same > period. > > Bas Boots, lecturer in biology at Anglia Ruskin University, and lead > author of the study, said the specific reasons for the observed weight > loss were not yet clear, but could be owing to the effects of > microplastics on the worms? digestion. ?These effects include the > obstruction and irritation of the digestive tract, limiting the > absorption of nutrients and reducing growth,? he said. > > If the presence of microplastics inhibits earthworm growth on a wide > scale, it could have implications for soil health and farming, as worms > are vital part of the farmland soil ecosystem. [...] > Microplastics have now been found in tapwater, the seas around the > world, human stools, in the air and a wide variety of other > environments. > > Soils in many places are likely to harbour large numbers of > microplastics, deposited there from their presence in sewage, in water > and in the air. However, the extent of contamination is largely unknown, > though there are European studies reporting anything between 700 and > 4,000 plastic particles per kilogram of soil in some agricultural land. War: Drones are gaining a special place in warmaking https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/16/middle-east-drones-signal-end-to-era-of-fast-jet-air-supremacy -- "Middle East drones signal end to era of fast jet air supremacy" This is particularly interesting in light of anyone who might question a focus on drones in particular over any other kind of bombing. Drones possess a unique economic and size advantage traditional bombers don't. Also consider the supportive rhetoric and choices of recent administrations on drones: G.W. Bush used them, Obama scaled up their use sharply (and caught the attention of Noam Chomsky who called Obama's drone program "The Most Extreme Terrorist Campaign of Modern Times"), and Trump has followed suit scaling up their use even further. > In the history of modern warfare, ?own the skies, win the war? has been > a constant maxim. Countries with the best technology and biggest budgets > have devoted tens of billions to building modern air forces, confident > they will continue to give their militaries primacy in almost any > conflict. > > Tiny, cheap, unmanned aircraft have changed that, especially over the > battlefields of the Middle East. In the past three months alone, drones > have made quite an impact in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and possibly now Saudi > Arabia, where half the country?s oil production - and up to 7% of the > world?s global supply ? has been taken offline by a blitz that caused no > air raid sirens and seems to have eluded the region?s most advanced air > warning systems. > > Drones are now an integral part of the inventory of the region?s most > advanced militaries, and the also-rans. Non state actors have been > clamouring to secure them as well ? convinced by the utility of > hard-to-detect, dispensable flying toys to be used as weapons of war. > > The Israeli military is armed with the latest fast jets and precision > weaponry, yet it has turned to its fleet of drones to hit targets in > Syria. Deniability has played a big factor ? the ability of drones to > elude radar and therefore keep targets guessing about who actually > bombed them is playing well for Israeli leaders who are trying to > prevent an increasingly lethal shadow war with Iran from developing into > an open conflict. Sen. Bernie Sanders supported killer drones in his "Meet the Press" interview from 2016 -- https://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/video/bernie-sanders-would-use-drones-to-fight-terror-542522435844 > Chuck Todd: What does counterterrorism look like in a Sanders > administration? Drones? Special forces? Or what does it look like? > > Bernie Sanders: All of that and more. > > Chuck Todd: You're okay with the drone, using drones-- > > Bernie Sanders: Look, drone is a weapon. When it works badly, it is > terrible and it is counterproductive. When you blow up a facility or a > building which kills women and children, you know what? Not only > doesn't do us any -- it's terrible. > > Chuck Todd: But you're comfortable with the idea of using drones if you > think you've isolated an important terrorist? > > Bernie Sanders: Yes. > > Chuck Todd: So that continues? > > Bernie Sanders: Yes. So did Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (often referred to by supporters and critics alike as "anti-war") in her 2018 Intercept interview -- https://theintercept.com/2018/01/17/intercepted-podcast-white-mirror/ > Jeremy Scahill: I?m wondering what your position, I know that in the > past you have said that you favor a small footprint approach with strike > forces and limited use of weaponized drones. Is that still your position > that you think that?s the ? to the extent that you believe the U.S. > military should be used around the world for counterterrorism, is that > still your position? > > Rep. Tulsi Gabbard: Well, when we?re dealing with the unconventional > threat of terrorist groups like ISIS, al Qaeda and some of these other > groups that are affiliated with them, we should not be using basically > what has been and continues to be the current policy of these mass > mobilization of troops, these long occupations and trillions of dollars > going in, really abusing the Authorization to Use Military Force and > taking action that expands far beyond the legal limitations of those > current AUMFs. > > So, with these terrorist cells, for example, yes, I do still believe > that the right approach to take is these quick strike forces, surgical > strikes, in and out, very quickly, no long-term deployment, no long-term > occupation to be able to get rid of the threat that exists and then get > out and the very limited use of drones in those situations where our > military is not able to get in without creating an unacceptable level of > risk, and where you can make sure that you?re not causing, you know, a > large amount of civilian casualties. Environmentalism: Dunkirk, France residents give up their cars and enjoy gratis bus rides https://www.france24.com/en/20190831-france-dunkirk-free-transportation-bus-success-climate-cities > The city of Dunkirk in northern France launched a revamped bus system > last year with a twist ? it?s completely free. A new study shows that > the programme is not only revitalising the city center but also helping > the environment. [...] > [T]he city (population 90,000) seeks to become a beacon of a greener > economy, by building infrastructure such as a large-scale wind farm off > the coast and transforming its city center to be more > pedestrian-friendly. Key to this effort is its free bus system, > inaugurated on 1 September, 2018. The network connects Dunkirk to a > cluster of neighbouring towns, with five express lines running every > ten minutes throughout the day, and a dozen other lines serving less > dense areas. Altogether, it serves some 200,000 residents. > > For many, the effect has been nothing short of liberating, says Vanessa > Delevoye, editor of Urbis, a magazine of urban politics published by > the local government. To get around town, you no longer need to look at > the schedules, buy tickets or worry about parking, she says. You just > hop on the bus. > > ?It?s become a synonym of freedom,? she says, attracting those who > might not otherwise have used public transport. In this largely > working-class city, ?people of limited means say they?ve rediscovered > transport? ? a prerequisite to finding a job, maintaining friendships or > participating in local arts and culture. But it?s not only disadvantaged > or working-class people who take the bus. It is also attracting > white-collar workers, students and pensioners, according to Delevoye. Environment: A region of Australia is close to running out of water completely. https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2019/sep/15/parts-of-regional-nsw-set-to-run-out-of-water-by-november > WaterNSW warns without significant rain, Macquarie River will run dry, > wiping out supply to Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine [...] > Parts of regional New South Wales could run out of water as early as > November with data showing the worst-case scenario for the state if > there?s no rain or government intervention. > > The projections from NSW?s river operator and bulk water supplier > WaterNSW show without significant rain the first towns to lose water > supply will be Dubbo, Cobar, Nyngan and Narromine with the Macquarie > River forecast to run dry by November. > > The Macquarie River experiences an average inflow of 1,448GL annually > but in the past two years has seen just 97GL enter the river system, the > data shows. > > It has been described as a ?critical? situation by the NSW water > minister, Melinda Pavey, who told reporters in Canberra on Sunday the > government is doing ?everything humanly possible? to make sure the state > gets through this devastating drought. > > The NSW government has committed $130m for extra bores and pipelines to > reduce water lost in transmission, she said, citing a pipeline to extend > Tamworth?s water supply by 18 months and $30m for bores in Dubbo. > > Australia?s longest river, the Murray, has been severely affected with > 901GL of water entering the system in the past 12 months compared with > its annual average of 5000GL. Labor: GM strike "Your healthcare hinges on the good nature, at the whim of your capitalist employer." -- Jimmy Dore on one of the points raised in the GM strike: healthcare is being taken away for 50,000 striking workers. The same is true at other jobs too, which is why Dore & co. repeatedly (and rightly) endorse Medicare for All. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mXfQzm_iWt4 -- good coverage from Jimmy Dore & co. on the GM strike (1st GM strike in 12 years). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SxELjIUjqLE -- the referenced explanation of why GM workers are on strike including the following: At midnight Monday, 49,000 United Auto Workers walked off their jobs at 33 GM plants across the country. The strike is organized action against a new 4-year contract which: - doesn't cover the worker's healthcare. - classifies some workers as temporary so those workers don't qualify for the same salary and benefits as full-time workers. - lowers pay & benefits for new hires under GM's two-tier wage scale despite that as GM employee Juan Gonzalez pointed out, "Everybody does the same work and everybody should be getting the same pay and there should be no inequality here.". Also: - pay raises were not paid for almost 11 years after the GM bankruptcy (by workers' choice because the workers were trying to help GM stay in business). But GM has been making lots of profit since the bailout (which handed GM back to the same managers who bankrupted it) and not paying raises to the workers. - 4 GM plants are closing including Warren and Hamtramck (pronounced ham-TRAM-ik) (a city in Wayne County, Michigan, population 22,423, which is mostly surrounded by Detroit). These closures come despite that GM says it has offered more than $7 billion in investments. GM alleges "solutions" for some of the plants to close (we don't know what those are). Meanwhile, UAW contracts at Ford and Chrysler have been extended. The strike costs GM about $400 million per day according to AP, but workers get $250/week in strike wages. Labor/exploitation: Kickstarter workers fired for unionizing. User "Not the Mama" (user @taylordotbiz) wrote a series of posts to his Twitter account: https://twitter.com/taylordotbiz/status/1172257828473573377 > This morning, after six years of pouring my life into the mission, the > staff, and the creators of @kickstarter, I was fired for organizing a > union. They offered me no real reasons, but one month's severance for > signing an NDA [non-disclosure agreement]. I will not be signing it. https://twitter.com/taylordotbiz/status/1172260257613123608 > Last week another member of the organizing committee, @ClarissaRedwine > was also fired, and today a third prominent member of the union was > told there is no place for him at the company. I stand firm in > solidarity with my friends and colleagues. https://twitter.com/taylordotbiz/status/1172260258770751496 > The union busting campaign that Kickstarter management is engaging in > is illegal and wrong. It is an unforgivable abandonment of the values of > an organization that I have loved and served with my whole heart. jbn: Tech workers, in my experience, are unwisely leery of unionization because they (broadly speaking) take a strong Libertarian view which includes believing that the market will somehow see to their collective needs if they're good enough tech workers (job mobility will allow them to move to a better job which might come with healthcare, for example). But history has shown that collective bargaining puts workers in a better position to get what they need and deserve from their extant jobs. It's also sad that young tech workers aren't spending more energy politically organizing for Medicare for All which would remove the issue of healthcare from employment entirely. I'll try to find the exact quote and URL, but I recall reading Doug Henwood (Behind the News, Left Business Observer) on why American companies oppose Medicare for All: these companies stand to benefit from Medicare for All because Medicare for All would simplify their bookkeeping and reduce costs for the workers who get healthcare through their jobs. But these same companies object to Medicare for All because they see it as the government taking away a field of work and those businesses fear that the same could happen in their field if they don't resist Medicare for All now. Environment/Labor: Farming subsidies are "destroying the world" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/16/1m-a-minute-the-farming-subsidies-destroying-the-world > The public is providing more than $1m per minute in global farm > subsidies, much of which is driving the climate crisis and destruction > of wildlife, according to a new report. > > Just 1% of the $700bn (?560bn) a year given to farmers is used to > benefit the environment, the analysis found. Much of the total instead > promotes high-emission cattle production, forest destruction and > pollution from the overuse of fertiliser. > > The security of humanity is at risk without reform to these subsidies, a > big reduction in meat eating in rich nations and other damaging uses of > land, the report says. But redirecting the subsidies to storing carbon > in soil, producing healthier food, cutting waste and growing trees is a > huge opportunity, it says. > > The report rejects the idea that subsidies are needed to supply cheap > food. It found that the cost of the damage currently caused by > agriculture is greater than the value of the food produced. New > assessments in the report found producing healthy, sustainable food > would actually cut food prices, as the condition of the land improves. > > ?There is incredibly small direct targeting of [subsidies at] positive > environment outcomes, which is insane,? said Jeremy Oppenheim, principal > at the Food and Land Use Coalition (Folu), the collaboration of food, > farming and green research groups that produced the new report. ?We have > got to switch these subsidies into explicitly positive measures.? > > He said the true global total was likely to be $1tn a year, as some > subsidies are difficult to quantify precisely: ?That trillion dollars of > public funding is available and is a massive, massive lever to > incentivise the farming community across the world to act differently.? [...] > Benefits from reforming subsidies has been seen in some places. Farmers > in the European Union have reduced greenhouse gas emissions from > fertiliser by 17% while yields rose, and China is phasing out support > for fertilisers. > > The ?remarkable? return of forests in Costa Rica, the report says, > followed the eliminating of cattle subsidies and payments for improving > nature. ?But there is a long way to go,? the report concludes. ?Perverse > subsidies need to be rapidly redirected or phased out.? -J From jbn at forestfield.org Sat Sep 21 01:32:35 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Fri, 20 Sep 2019 20:32:35 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] News from Neptune #435 notes Message-ID: <722246bc-43fb-06b8-96e3-06a372178f3a@forestfield.org> News from Neptune #435 A "Five Little PEPpers and How They Grew" edition Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLCa6gi0Gkw A list of links to items referenced on the show. David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html Belden Fields on "Bend the Arc is doing good work" replying to David Green https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-bend-the-arc-is-doing-good/article_3b4b1742-1232-5f64-b2da-7c4d5d88a1d6.html Sherry Steigmann on "I reject group?s image of America" https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-i-reject-group-s-image-of/article_a276c4c0-d26f-58db-99d3-68b0581ec4ea.html Steven Salaita on "Except for Palestine" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/02/except-for-palestine/ Marjorie Cohn on "The ?Progressive Except Palestine? Problem" https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/06/the-progressive-except-palestine-problem/ Donna Nevel on "There is no such thing as ?Progressive Except Palestine?" https://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/progressive-except-palestine/ Jeffrey St. Clair on "Roaming Charges: Pompeo and Circumstance" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/roaming-charges-pompeo-and-circumstance/ which includes a quote from Eric Draitser David Brooks on "A Brief History of the Warren Presidency" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/opinion/elizabeth-warren.html Katie Halper on "Sydney Ember?s Secret Sources" https://fair.org/home/sidney-embers-secret-sources/ Jimmy Dore interviews Katie Halper on Sydney Ember https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26Ff_KTlD4 Katie Halper & Matt Taibbi's show: Useful Idiots https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0ooGQ0asg4upSXzZA1Oinn3ALqVCndA Katie Halper on "Unauthorized Disclosure" http://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/s6-episode-27-katie-halper-returns "Unauthorized Disclosure" RSS feed https://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/rss Sydney Ember on "Young Voters Still ?Feel the Bern,? but Not Just for Bernie Sanders Anymore" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/us/politics/bernie-sanders-young-voters.html Megan Flowers on "Protesters rally at Drury Inn, call to shut down ICE" http://www.smilepolitely.com/culture/protesters_rally_at_drury_inn_call_to_shut_down_ice/ Adalberto Toledo on "UPDATE: 200 protest at Champaign hotel where ICE agents said to stay" https://www.news-gazette.com/news/update-protest-at-champaign-hotel-where-ice-agents-said-to/article_bfbc3103-a0fa-5a5e-b69b-29bae4aae7fa.html "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 Mike Doyle and Craig Rost on "Building a Welcoming Economy" https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary-building-a-welcoming-economy/article_859ff35b-cbd6-546f-97c5-1862fc43ab4c.html Belt and Road Initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative Zaid Jilani on "As Democrats Shift Left on Palestine, 2020 Contender Kamala Harris Gives Off-the-Record Address to AIPAC" https://theintercept.com/2018/03/07/kamala-harris-israel-aipac/ Maxwell Strachan on "Kamala Harris Releases Off-The-Record AIPAC Comments" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-aipac-off-the-record_n_5c734f6ae4b06cf6bb27892d Philip Weiss on "Kamala Harris skips AIPAC conference ? but AIPAC comes to her!" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/03/kamala-harris-conference/ Jonathan Cook on "Israelis Have Shown Netanyahu the Door. Can He Inflict More Damage Before He Exits?" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/israelis-have-shown-netanyahu-the-door-can-he-inflict-more-damage-before-he-exits/ Gideon Levy's Haaretz articles https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968119 Gideon Levy on "Israel's Election Results Prove the Center Has Won and Ideology Is Dead" https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-israel-s-election-results-prove-that-the-center-has-won-and-ideology-is-dead-1.7863169 Democracy Now interview with Diana Buttu on "Israel?s Election Outcome Remains Unclear, But the ?Ultimate Loser? Will Be Palestinians" https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/18/israeli_election_results_netanyahu_gantz Caitlin Johnstone on "The Trump Administration Is Losing The Narrative Battle Over Iran" https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-trump-administration-is-losing-the-narrative-battle-over-iran-e903fdd179fb The Real News on "Documentary ?Blowout? Follows Climate Cost of Oil Boom from Fracking to Exports" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSOgaODVWE -- video https://therealnews.com/stories/documentary-blowout-follows-climate-cost-of-oil-boom-from-fracking-to-exports -- transcript RT: "Saudis say oil refinery attacks ?unquestionably sponsored by Iran?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ--l2oTCtY Related: https://on.rt.com/a23k -- "We stop, you stop! Houthis offer Saudi Arabia mutual halt to strikes in wake of devastating oil-plant attacks" https://on.rt.com/a21h -- "Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen?s Hodeidah in wake of refinery attacks claimed by Houthis" Martin Chulov on "Middle East drones signal end to era of fast jet air supremacy" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/16/middle-east-drones-signal-end-to-era-of-fast-jet-air-supremacy Pepe Escobar on "Houthi rebels overturned the chessboard" https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/09/article/how-the-houthis-overturned-the-chessboard/ Jonathan Cook on "Netanyahu Risks Triggering an Unwinnable War to Avoid Losing Election" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/12/netanyahu-risks-triggering-an-unwinnable-war-to-avoid-losing-election/ Julie Wurth on "UI trustees OK Killeen's bonus, urge quick action on sexual-misconduct reforms" https://www.news-gazette.com/news/ui-trustees-ok-killeen-s-bonus-urge-quick-action-on/article_9449a888-db07-11e9-99f4-ab89088eb260.html Justine Coleman on "Trump administration says joint UNC, Duke program portrays Islam too positively" https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/462202-trump-admin-say-unc-duke-programs-portray-islam-too-positively Collin Binkley on "Feds cite Islam focus in review of Duke-UNC language grant" https://www.apnews.com/430e62044dba43daa3f2332792cd97b2 Margaret Sidney's "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2770 Five Little Peppers series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Little_Peppers The Peppers: Mrs. Pepper ("Mamsie"), Ben (Ebenezer), Polly (Mary), Joel, Davie (David), and Phronsie (Sophronia) J.B. Nicholson's notes https://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/2019-September/051263.html -J From stephenf1113 at yahoo.com Sat Sep 21 12:23:24 2019 From: stephenf1113 at yahoo.com (Stephen Francis) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 12:23:24 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] Holocaust Hoax / Draq Queen Story Hour Seminar --Urbana Free Library -- References: <2016777138.4671491.1569068604691.ref@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: <2016777138.4671491.1569068604691@mail.yahoo.com> Location and date:?The Lewis Auditorium on Sunday, November 17, 2:00PM - 4:00PMTitle: From the Holocaust Hoax to Drag Queen Story Hours - A SeminarPresenter: Stephen FrancisThere are no affiliations whatsoever with NeoNazi or White Supremacists groups.In an era of the global and rapidly expanding specter of so-called 'anti-Semitism', this seminar seeks to clarify a limited number of aspects of this phenomenon.See related protest actions at?NewsFollowUp.com UIUC protestsSee Celeste Shoate, director of the Urbana Free Libray, about the approval process and decision about this seminar.? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sat Sep 21 14:29:43 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 09:29:43 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] There goes another one. In-Reply-To: <4041705625.13283249@org2.org2DB.reply.salsalabs.com> References: <4041705625.13283249@org2.org2DB.reply.salsalabs.com> Message-ID: Alex Cockburn dubbed it ?Truth left out.? And wasn?t CAP always a Clinton front? > On Sep 21, 2019, at 9:23 AM, Anna Sutton wrote: > > > > Another day, another loss for progressive news. > Last month it was The Pacific Standard, this month it's ThinkProgress. When their owner and primary funder, the Center for American Progress (CAP), decided to stop funding the site, it was put up for sale. When it failed to sell, the unionized staff were laid off, and CAP announced plans to run the site with scabs. After an outcry from the union, CAP backtracked and opted to archive the site. That was it; that was the end. > For those working to grow and strengthen independent media, it can feel like an uphill battle against union-busting, closures and downsizing. In our 18 years, we've seen innumerable outlets collapse under these pressures. > So how has Truthout avoided the fate of so many others? Because with support from our readers, we're setting an example of what non-corporate, people-powered media can look like. We'll never trade our integrity for corporate owners or advertisers. Our passion is empowering our readers with information, and our only obligation is to you. > To keep up this work, we need to raise $40,000 more in the next five days. If you're able to support Truthout?s work at this critical time, please make a tax-deductible one-time or monthly donation to help! > > Click here to make a donation > (Truthout is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. EIN: 20-0031641) > Yours, > > Anna Sutton, Development Director > PS: We need 62 people to make a sustaining, monthly gift to Truthout. Will you be one? The full amount is tax-deductible and any amount helps! It takes just 30 seconds to set up using a card, PayPal or bank transfer. > Subscribe | Email Preferences | Privacy Policy > > > > > > > > From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sat Sep 21 15:27:54 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 10:27:54 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #435 notes In-Reply-To: <722246bc-43fb-06b8-96e3-06a372178f3a@forestfield.org> References: <722246bc-43fb-06b8-96e3-06a372178f3a@forestfield.org> Message-ID: Thank you Jeff, especially in regard to the PEP links. These inspire me to make a very firm response to BtA, and to Belden's criticism of me. On Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 8:33 PM J.B. Nicholson via Peace < peace at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > > News from Neptune #435 > A "Five Little PEPpers and How They Grew" edition > Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLCa6gi0Gkw > > A list of links to items referenced on the show. > > > > David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the > News-Gazette > > https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html > > Belden Fields on "Bend the Arc is doing good work" replying to David Green > > https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-bend-the-arc-is-doing-good/article_3b4b1742-1232-5f64-b2da-7c4d5d88a1d6.html > > Sherry Steigmann on "I reject group?s image of America" > > https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-i-reject-group-s-image-of/article_a276c4c0-d26f-58db-99d3-68b0581ec4ea.html > > > > > Steven Salaita on "Except for Palestine" > https://mondoweiss.net/2019/02/except-for-palestine/ > > Marjorie Cohn on "The ?Progressive Except Palestine? Problem" > > https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/06/the-progressive-except-palestine-problem/ > > Donna Nevel on "There is no such thing as ?Progressive Except Palestine?" > https://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/progressive-except-palestine/ > > > > > Jeffrey St. Clair on "Roaming Charges: Pompeo and Circumstance" > > https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/roaming-charges-pompeo-and-circumstance/ > which includes a quote from Eric Draitser > > David Brooks on "A Brief History of the Warren Presidency" > https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/opinion/elizabeth-warren.html > > Katie Halper on "Sydney Ember?s Secret Sources" > https://fair.org/home/sidney-embers-secret-sources/ > > Jimmy Dore interviews Katie Halper on Sydney Ember > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26Ff_KTlD4 > > Katie Halper & Matt Taibbi's show: Useful Idiots > https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0ooGQ0asg4upSXzZA1Oinn3ALqVCndA > > Katie Halper on "Unauthorized Disclosure" > http://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/s6-episode-27-katie-halper-returns > > "Unauthorized Disclosure" RSS feed > https://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/rss > > Sydney Ember on "Young Voters Still ?Feel the Bern,? but Not Just for > Bernie Sanders Anymore" > > https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/us/politics/bernie-sanders-young-voters.html > > > > > Megan Flowers on "Protesters rally at Drury Inn, call to shut down ICE" > > http://www.smilepolitely.com/culture/protesters_rally_at_drury_inn_call_to_shut_down_ice/ > > Adalberto Toledo on "UPDATE: 200 protest at Champaign hotel where ICE > agents said to stay" > > https://www.news-gazette.com/news/update-protest-at-champaign-hotel-where-ice-agents-said-to/article_bfbc3103-a0fa-5a5e-b69b-29bae4aae7fa.html > > > > > "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey > ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 > ISBN-10: 0199283273 > > Mike Doyle and Craig Rost on "Building a Welcoming Economy" > > https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary-building-a-welcoming-economy/article_859ff35b-cbd6-546f-97c5-1862fc43ab4c.html > > Belt and Road Initiative > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative > > > > > Zaid Jilani on "As Democrats Shift Left on Palestine, 2020 Contender > Kamala > Harris Gives Off-the-Record Address to AIPAC" > https://theintercept.com/2018/03/07/kamala-harris-israel-aipac/ > > Maxwell Strachan on "Kamala Harris Releases Off-The-Record AIPAC Comments" > > https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-aipac-off-the-record_n_5c734f6ae4b06cf6bb27892d > > Philip Weiss on "Kamala Harris skips AIPAC conference ? but AIPAC comes to > her!" > https://mondoweiss.net/2019/03/kamala-harris-conference/ > > Jonathan Cook on "Israelis Have Shown Netanyahu the Door. Can He Inflict > More Damage Before He Exits?" > > https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/israelis-have-shown-netanyahu-the-door-can-he-inflict-more-damage-before-he-exits/ > > Gideon Levy's Haaretz articles > https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968119 > > Gideon Levy on "Israel's Election Results Prove the Center Has Won and > Ideology Is Dead" > > https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-israel-s-election-results-prove-that-the-center-has-won-and-ideology-is-dead-1.7863169 > > Democracy Now interview with Diana Buttu on "Israel?s Election Outcome > Remains Unclear, But the ?Ultimate Loser? Will Be Palestinians" > > https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/18/israeli_election_results_netanyahu_gantz > > > > > Caitlin Johnstone on "The Trump Administration Is Losing The Narrative > Battle Over Iran" > > https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-trump-administration-is-losing-the-narrative-battle-over-iran-e903fdd179fb > > The Real News on "Documentary ?Blowout? Follows Climate Cost of Oil Boom > from Fracking to Exports" > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSOgaODVWE -- video > > https://therealnews.com/stories/documentary-blowout-follows-climate-cost-of-oil-boom-from-fracking-to-exports > -- transcript > > RT: "Saudis say oil refinery attacks ?unquestionably sponsored by Iran?" > https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ--l2oTCtY > > Related: > https://on.rt.com/a23k -- "We stop, you stop! Houthis offer Saudi Arabia > mutual halt to strikes in wake of devastating oil-plant attacks" > https://on.rt.com/a21h -- "Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen?s Hodeidah > in > wake of refinery attacks claimed by Houthis" > > Martin Chulov on "Middle East drones signal end to era of fast jet air > supremacy" > > https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/16/middle-east-drones-signal-end-to-era-of-fast-jet-air-supremacy > > Pepe Escobar on "Houthi rebels overturned the chessboard" > > https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/09/article/how-the-houthis-overturned-the-chessboard/ > > Jonathan Cook on "Netanyahu Risks Triggering an Unwinnable War to Avoid > Losing Election" > > https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/12/netanyahu-risks-triggering-an-unwinnable-war-to-avoid-losing-election/ > > > > > > Julie Wurth on "UI trustees OK Killeen's bonus, urge quick action on > sexual-misconduct reforms" > > https://www.news-gazette.com/news/ui-trustees-ok-killeen-s-bonus-urge-quick-action-on/article_9449a888-db07-11e9-99f4-ab89088eb260.html > > Justine Coleman on "Trump administration says joint UNC, Duke program > portrays Islam too positively" > > https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/462202-trump-admin-say-unc-duke-programs-portray-islam-too-positively > > Collin Binkley on "Feds cite Islam focus in review of Duke-UNC language > grant" > https://www.apnews.com/430e62044dba43daa3f2332792cd97b2 > > > > Margaret Sidney's "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" > https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2770 > > Five Little Peppers series > https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Little_Peppers > > The Peppers: Mrs. Pepper ("Mamsie"), Ben (Ebenezer), Polly (Mary), Joel, > Davie (David), and Phronsie (Sophronia) > > > > J.B. Nicholson's notes > > https://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/2019-September/051263.html > > -J > _______________________________________________ > Peace mailing list > Peace at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sat Sep 21 15:33:01 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 10:33:01 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Fwd=3A_Bodies_of_thousands_of_preborn_?= =?utf-8?q?babies_discovered_in_deceased_abortionist=E2=80=99s_home?= References: <1569078370432.928710de-9517-4002-a488-341897d8fd47@bf10a.hubspotemail.net> Message-ID: > > > > > Bodies of thousands of preborn babies discovered in deceased abortionist's home > Abortionist Ulrich Klopfer, who practiced abortion in South Bend, Indiana, passed away on September 3, and as is common practice, his family went through his belongings. What they found was horrifying: the remains of 2,246 deceased preborn children. Read more > MORE PRO-LIFE NEWS > > > > Former nurse recalls 'comfort room' where abortion survivors were taken to die > Former nurse Jill Stanek testified during a Congressional hearing that a hospital she worked for in Illinois installed a ?comfort room? where babies that survived abortions were left to die. Read more > > > U.S. abortion rate hits lowest point since Roe v. Wade > According to a new report published by the Guttmacher Institute, the U.S. abortion rate has fallen by over 53% since it peaked in 1980. Read more > > > Former Planned Parenthood president says corporation is threatening her into silence > Planned Parenthood has a history of discrimination and mistreatment toward its pregnant employees; now, it seems the abortion corporation may be mistreating its pregnant former president by blackmailing her into silence. Read more > > > David Daleiden reveals to court what led to undercover sting exposing baby body parts trafficking > Daleiden gave heart-wrenching and disturbing testimony of the events that led to his decision to go undercover to expose the grotesque underbelly of the abortion industry. Read more > > > 'They cannot speak': 20,000 Northern Ireland pro-lifers protest in silence against abortion laws > Pro-lifers in Northern Ireland gathered earlier this month for two demonstrations protesting the recent forced liberalization of the country?s abortion laws by UK lawmakers. Read more > > > NYC Planned Parenthood hospitalizes ninth abortion patient in eight months > The notoriously dangerous Margaret Sanger Planned Parenthood abortion facility in New York City has hospitalized its ninth patient in just eight months, reports pro-life watchdog organization Operation Rescue. Read more > > > Two more Texas cities pass ordinances to become 'sanctuary cities for the unborn' > Five southern cities in Texas, New Mexico, and Utah have passed either resolutions or ordinances outlawing the presence of abortion facilities within their cities just this year. And on Monday, September 9th, the two latest ? the cities of Omaha and Naples in Texas ? each passed ordinances making their pro-life stance on abortion crystal clear. Read more > > > Former New Zealand abortionist's revelation: I was exactly like the Nazis > As New Zealand moves to decriminalize abortion, two videos by a former abortionist are gaining a lot of attention. In one of the videos, he explains the second-trimester surgical abortion known as a D&E. In the other, he shares his pro-life conversion story, in which he had a realization about the Holocaust and abortion. Read more > > > Pro-lifer's jewelry cleverly strikes a blow to Selena Gomez's '1973' abortion necklace > Culture of Life 1972, founded by Carla D?Addesi, a pro-life author, radio broadcaster, and political commentator, is offering four different styles of necklaces showcasing the year ?1972? in silver or gold. The year 1972 is meant to represent the protection and value our society gave to preborn human beings before the deadly Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision. Read more > Live Action News is the publishing arm of Live Action > > Live Action 2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 102 PMB 111 Arlington VA 22201 > > You received this email because you are subscribed to Live Action News Weekly Updates from Live Action. > > Update your email preferences to choose the types of emails you receive. > > Unsubscribe from all future emails > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sat Sep 21 17:36:01 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 12:36:01 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Bend the Arc Message-ID: *Elaboration of my comments on News from Neptune, submitted to Mondoweiss but not accepted for publication:* This article addresses the activities of and responses to the self-described Jewish ?progressive? group Bend the Arc, a national advocacy group and ?Jewish PAC,? which during the Trump Era has been increasingly visible in my community, receiving extensive coverage in the local right-wing newspaper. BtA claims to ?advocate exclusively for progressive policies in the U.S.??which might as well read ?progressive except Palestine.? This group has been covered on Mondoweiss, here and here . I submit these comments and references both as a firm political statement against any sort of coalition of pro-Palestinian or antiwar activists with BtA, including regarding the refugee/migrant/immigrant issue which has been its focus; and as a way of documenting BtA?s PEP/Democratic Party agenda in my local community, which is likely not unique in terms of this disturbing but predictable political phenomenon. Mondoweiss commenter Keith summarized BtA succinctly over a year ago: ?Based upon the article, I suspect that ?Bend the Arc? is a partisan organization aligned with the Democratic Party appealing to Jews who self-identify as ?progressive.? The Trump administration is part of the SYSTEM of elite control, current policies more-or-less a continuation of the Clinton/Bush/Obama policies. The struggle for power is becoming increasingly desperate as the system teeters on the brink.? My letter to the editor appeared in the Urbana-Champaign daily newspaper this past July: This responds to the recent article regarding the local chapter of the Jewish ?progressive? group Bend the Arc, which claims, in its efforts to support migrants, to be opposing alleged ?white nationalism? in our community. Regrettably, I find Bend the Arc, at national and local levels, politically repellent on any number of counts that go beyond self-righteous proclamations claiming to represent the moral legacy of Judaism and Jews. At a general level, they wash their hands of concerns about U.S. imperialism, which represents the basis for the migrant crisis they claim to address. They pointedly avoid addressing the convolutedly perverse relationships among ?white nationalism? and Jewish nationalism (Zionism), the racist manifestations of which have pervaded Jewish-American institutions (and academia) for over a half-century. Concretely, they demonize Donald Trump while avoiding criticism of his (and their own) rabid support for Israeli occupation and apartheid, support shared by the leadership of both parties. Indeed, they are unaware that the notion of a ?great replacement? of white people is partly rooted in the Islamophobic views of a Jewish-European woman, Bat Ye?or: a fake historian, rabid conspiracy theorist, and author of *Eurabia *(2005). They are unaware that her views are rooted in her previous Zionist propaganda regarding the historical status of Jews in the Arab and Muslim worlds, propaganda weaponized to retroactively justify the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians. The transparent agenda of Bend the Arc is to support whomever the Democratic Party nominates, however Zionist, militarist, or imperialist. As ?progress,? that simply won?t do. In response to my letter, a local retired political science professor (and friend) submitted the following, published this morning (9/16): This is a response to the letters by Republican Sherry Steigmann and leftist David Green on Bend the Arc. I probably have nothing in common with Steigmann, except being Jewish. I have that in common with David Green, and I also am on the left of the political spectrum and share his concern over the plight of the Palestinians. But I think that David?s attack on Bend the Arc is unfortunate. He attacks this Jewish-led group for what they do not do rather than for what they do, which is oppose Trump?s far-right, inhumane policies. They have done particularly valuable work in this community by mobilizing against his demonic immigration policies and supporting immigrants in our community. They are very inclusive. The last event of theirs that I attended was in the local mosque. What Bend the Arc does not do that so angers David is oppose Zionism or the policies of the Israeli government. If they did, they would likely fragment into nonexistence because those issues are so divisive within the Jewish community, as seen in the Steigmann-Green polarity. I value the work of Bend the Arc and would not want that to happen, even though I, myself, am very critical of the U.S.-supported Israeli government and its treatment of the Palestinians. Fortunately, within our pluralistic society, there are many groups that focus on specific issues. So, I can simultaneously participate in the events of Bend the Arc and be a member of Jewish Voice for Peace that supports Palestinian rights. Thank you Bend the Arc for what you are doing for our community. BELDEN FIELDS Urbana Nevertheless, my criticism of Bend the Arc is based on nearly 21 years as an antiwar and pro-Palestine activist in this community, including the Jewish community. I know these people, I know this Midwest/academic (within a Republican congressional district) political landscape, from left to right and top to bottom. This is not a close or difficult call, whether in relation to Palestine, U.S. foreign policy in general, or any meaningful notion of movement building, political activism, and social progress. BtA is fake resistance, pure and simple. This is not ?whataboutism? on my part, nor was it with previous critics on Mondoweiss. BtA represents a particularly obnoxious and indeed reactionary form of liberal (and neoliberal) Jewish identity politics. These privileged people are virtue-mongers and self-aggrandizers. They are self-pitying, especially in relation to their exaggerated and maudlin claims of anti-semitism. Their claims to speak for Jews are obviously baseless. They care nothing about class conflict, wealth inequality, war, militarism, climate change, or any other fundamental material or social issue. And as ?proud Jews? (which they constantly proclaim themselves to be) they of course care nothing about the ongoing and worsening depredations of the Jewish State. But you would think that they were all born in the Warsaw Ghetto and marched with Dr. King. These people were not part of the broad post 9/11 antiwar movement in this community; of course not. They did not visit the local mosque at that time. They did not oppose the destruction of Steven Salaita?s career as it played out very publicly in this community and state; of course not. They were nowhere to be heard regarding immigration issues prior to the rise and election of Trump. Nevertheless, they promote themselves, with almost laughable presumption, as the personification of Jewish warriors against hate. Just as Obama was seductive and ultimately destructive to any genuinely left progressive and antiwar movement, including regarding Palestine, so has anti-Trumpism become a means of co-optation and pacification?again, including those who claim to support the Palestinians but have now taken to referencing the Anti-Defamation League?s ridiculous data. All of this is to the benefit of the (still Zionist) Democratic Party establishment, and to the detriment of Palestinians among many others. Those who want to devote their energies to the protection of refugees, migrants, and immigrants along our southern border should not compromise themselves by allying with groups whose political commitments are so transparently opportunistic, self-serving, and ultimately elitist and reactionary. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sat Sep 21 20:04:53 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 20:04:53 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] News from Neptune #435 notes In-Reply-To: References: <722246bc-43fb-06b8-96e3-06a372178f3a@forestfield.org> Message-ID: Excellent and informative episode. Thank you Jeff, for the many links provided, of valuable articles and programs. On Sep 21, 2019, at 08:27, David Green via Peace > wrote: Thank you Jeff, especially in regard to the PEP links. These inspire me to make a very firm response to BtA, and to Belden's criticism of me. On Fri, Sep 20, 2019 at 8:33 PM J.B. Nicholson via Peace > wrote: News from Neptune #435 A "Five Little PEPpers and How They Grew" edition Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLCa6gi0Gkw A list of links to items referenced on the show. David Green on "Concerns voiced about Bend the Arc" letter to the News-Gazette https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-concerns-voiced-about-bend-the-arc/article_99b2ac36-4279-5cad-8b60-892ca30dde6e.html Belden Fields on "Bend the Arc is doing good work" replying to David Green https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-bend-the-arc-is-doing-good/article_3b4b1742-1232-5f64-b2da-7c4d5d88a1d6.html Sherry Steigmann on "I reject group?s image of America" https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/letter-to-the-editor-i-reject-group-s-image-of/article_a276c4c0-d26f-58db-99d3-68b0581ec4ea.html Steven Salaita on "Except for Palestine" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/02/except-for-palestine/ Marjorie Cohn on "The ?Progressive Except Palestine? Problem" https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/06/the-progressive-except-palestine-problem/ Donna Nevel on "There is no such thing as ?Progressive Except Palestine?" https://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/progressive-except-palestine/ Jeffrey St. Clair on "Roaming Charges: Pompeo and Circumstance" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/roaming-charges-pompeo-and-circumstance/ which includes a quote from Eric Draitser David Brooks on "A Brief History of the Warren Presidency" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/19/opinion/elizabeth-warren.html Katie Halper on "Sydney Ember?s Secret Sources" https://fair.org/home/sidney-embers-secret-sources/ Jimmy Dore interviews Katie Halper on Sydney Ember https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u26Ff_KTlD4 Katie Halper & Matt Taibbi's show: Useful Idiots https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLL0ooGQ0asg4upSXzZA1Oinn3ALqVCndA Katie Halper on "Unauthorized Disclosure" http://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/s6-episode-27-katie-halper-returns "Unauthorized Disclosure" RSS feed https://unauthorizeddisclosure.libsyn.com/rss Sydney Ember on "Young Voters Still ?Feel the Bern,? but Not Just for Bernie Sanders Anymore" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/20/us/politics/bernie-sanders-young-voters.html Megan Flowers on "Protesters rally at Drury Inn, call to shut down ICE" http://www.smilepolitely.com/culture/protesters_rally_at_drury_inn_call_to_shut_down_ice/ Adalberto Toledo on "UPDATE: 200 protest at Champaign hotel where ICE agents said to stay" https://www.news-gazette.com/news/update-protest-at-champaign-hotel-where-ice-agents-said-to/article_bfbc3103-a0fa-5a5e-b69b-29bae4aae7fa.html "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 Mike Doyle and Craig Rost on "Building a Welcoming Economy" https://www.news-gazette.com/opinion/guest-commentary-building-a-welcoming-economy/article_859ff35b-cbd6-546f-97c5-1862fc43ab4c.html Belt and Road Initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative Zaid Jilani on "As Democrats Shift Left on Palestine, 2020 Contender Kamala Harris Gives Off-the-Record Address to AIPAC" https://theintercept.com/2018/03/07/kamala-harris-israel-aipac/ Maxwell Strachan on "Kamala Harris Releases Off-The-Record AIPAC Comments" https://www.huffpost.com/entry/kamala-harris-aipac-off-the-record_n_5c734f6ae4b06cf6bb27892d Philip Weiss on "Kamala Harris skips AIPAC conference ? but AIPAC comes to her!" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/03/kamala-harris-conference/ Jonathan Cook on "Israelis Have Shown Netanyahu the Door. Can He Inflict More Damage Before He Exits?" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/israelis-have-shown-netanyahu-the-door-can-he-inflict-more-damage-before-he-exits/ Gideon Levy's Haaretz articles https://www.haaretz.com/misc/writers/WRITER-1.4968119 Gideon Levy on "Israel's Election Results Prove the Center Has Won and Ideology Is Dead" https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/elections/.premium-israel-s-election-results-prove-that-the-center-has-won-and-ideology-is-dead-1.7863169 Democracy Now interview with Diana Buttu on "Israel?s Election Outcome Remains Unclear, But the ?Ultimate Loser? Will Be Palestinians" https://www.democracynow.org/2019/9/18/israeli_election_results_netanyahu_gantz Caitlin Johnstone on "The Trump Administration Is Losing The Narrative Battle Over Iran" https://medium.com/@caityjohnstone/the-trump-administration-is-losing-the-narrative-battle-over-iran-e903fdd179fb The Real News on "Documentary ?Blowout? Follows Climate Cost of Oil Boom from Fracking to Exports" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BSOgaODVWE -- video https://therealnews.com/stories/documentary-blowout-follows-climate-cost-of-oil-boom-from-fracking-to-exports -- transcript RT: "Saudis say oil refinery attacks ?unquestionably sponsored by Iran?" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ--l2oTCtY Related: https://on.rt.com/a23k -- "We stop, you stop! Houthis offer Saudi Arabia mutual halt to strikes in wake of devastating oil-plant attacks" https://on.rt.com/a21h -- "Saudi-led coalition strikes Yemen?s Hodeidah in wake of refinery attacks claimed by Houthis" Martin Chulov on "Middle East drones signal end to era of fast jet air supremacy" https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/sep/16/middle-east-drones-signal-end-to-era-of-fast-jet-air-supremacy Pepe Escobar on "Houthi rebels overturned the chessboard" https://www.asiatimes.com/2019/09/article/how-the-houthis-overturned-the-chessboard/ Jonathan Cook on "Netanyahu Risks Triggering an Unwinnable War to Avoid Losing Election" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/12/netanyahu-risks-triggering-an-unwinnable-war-to-avoid-losing-election/ Julie Wurth on "UI trustees OK Killeen's bonus, urge quick action on sexual-misconduct reforms" https://www.news-gazette.com/news/ui-trustees-ok-killeen-s-bonus-urge-quick-action-on/article_9449a888-db07-11e9-99f4-ab89088eb260.html Justine Coleman on "Trump administration says joint UNC, Duke program portrays Islam too positively" https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/462202-trump-admin-say-unc-duke-programs-portray-islam-too-positively Collin Binkley on "Feds cite Islam focus in review of Duke-UNC language grant" https://www.apnews.com/430e62044dba43daa3f2332792cd97b2 Margaret Sidney's "Five Little Peppers and How They Grew" https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/2770 Five Little Peppers series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Five_Little_Peppers The Peppers: Mrs. Pepper ("Mamsie"), Ben (Ebenezer), Polly (Mary), Joel, Davie (David), and Phronsie (Sophronia) J.B. Nicholson's notes https://lists.chambana.net/pipermail/peace-discuss/2019-September/051263.html -J _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Sat Sep 21 20:24:01 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Sat, 21 Sep 2019 20:24:01 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] ACADEMIC COMMISSARS CRACKING DOWN? Message-ID: ACADEMIC COMMISSARS CRACKING DOWN? THE TRUMP WHITE HOUSE By Erica L. Green NYT Sept. 19, 2019 WASHINGTON ? The Education Department has ordered Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill to remake the Middle East studies program run jointly by the two schools after concluding that it was offering students a biased curriculum that, among other complaints, did not present enough ?positive? imagery of Judaism and Christianity in the region. In a rare instance of federal intervention in college course content, the department asserted that the universities? Middle East program violated the standards of a federal program that awards funding to international studies and foreign language programs. The inquiry was part of a far- reaching investigation into the program by the department, which under Betsy DeVos, the education secretary, has become increasingly aggressive in going after perceived anti-Israel bias in higher education. That focus appears to reflect the views of an agency leadership that includes a civil rights chief, Kenneth L. Marcus, who has made a career of pro-Israel advocacy and has waged a yearslong campaign to delegitimize and defund Middle East studies programs that he has criticized as rife with anti-Israel bias. In this case, the department homed in on what officials saw as a program that focused on the region?s Muslim population at the expense of its religious minorities. In the North Carolina program?s outreach to elementary and secondary school students, the department said, there was ?a considerable emphasis placed on the understanding the positive aspects of Islam, while there is an absolute absence of any similar focus on the positive aspects of Christianity, Judaism or any other religion or belief system in the Middle East.? TOO FEW OF THE DUKE-U.N.C. PROGRAMS FOCUSED ON ?THE HISTORIC DISCRIMINATION FACED BY, AND CURRENT CIRCUMSTANCES OF, RELIGIOUS MINORITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST, INCLUDING CHRISTIANS, JEWS, BAHA?IS, YAZIDIS, KURDS, DRUZE AND OTHERS,? THE DEPARTMENT SAID. WITH ITS ACTIONS, THE DEPARTMENT ENTERED THE DEBATE OVER ISRAEL AND PALESTINIANS THAT HAS ROILED CAMPUSES AROUND THE COUNTRY. THE DEPARTMENT?S ACTION ?SHOULD BE A WAKE-UP CALL,? SAID MIRIAM ELMAN, AN ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR AT SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY AND THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT NETWORK, WHICH OPPOSES THE BOYCOTT-ISRAEL MOVEMENT THAT HAS ANIMATED CAMPUS ACTIVISM ACROSS THE COUNTRY. SHE ADDED, ?WHAT THEY?RE SAYING IS, ?IF YOU WANT TO BE BIASED AND SHOW AN UNBALANCED VIEW OF THE MIDDLE EAST, YOU CAN DO THAT, BUT YOU?RE NOT GOING TO GET FEDERAL AND TAXPAYER MONEY.?? PALESTINIAN RIGHTS GROUPS ACCUSED THE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF INTIMIDATION AND INFRINGING ON ACADEMIC FREEDOM. ?THEY REALLY WANT TO SEND THE MESSAGE THAT IF YOU WANT TO CRITICIZE ISRAEL, THEN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IS GOING TO LOOK VERY CLOSELY AT YOUR ENTIRE PROGRAM AND MICROMANAGE IT TO DEATH,? SAID ZOHA KHALILI, A STAFF LAWYER AT PALESTINE LEGAL, ONE SUCH GROUP. THE DEPARTMENT?S INTERVENTION, SHE ADDED, ?SENDS A MESSAGE TO MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES PROGRAMS THAT THEIR CONTINUED EXISTENCE DEPENDS ON THEIR WILLINGNESS TO TOE THE GOVERNMENT LINE ON ISRAEL.? In a letter to university officials, the assistant secretary for postsecondary education, Robert King, wrote that programs run by the Duke-U.N.C. Consortium for Middle East Studies appeared to be misaligned with the federal grant they had received. Title VI of the Higher Education Act awards funding to colleges ?establishing, strengthening and operating a diverse network of undergraduate foreign language and area or international studies centers and programs.? The Education Department ?believes? the Middle Eastern studies consortium ?has failed to carefully distinguish between activities lawfully funded under Title VI and other activities? that are ?plainly unqualified for taxpayer support,? Mr. King wrote. The letter, published this week in the Federal Register, said that the consortium?s records on the number of students it had enrolled in foreign language studies ? a cornerstone of the federal grant program ? were unclear, and that ?it seems clear foreign language instruction and area studies advancing the security and economic stability of the United States have taken ?a back seat? to other priorities.? Mr. King wrote that the department believed other offerings, like a conference focused on ?love and desire in modern Iran? and another focused on Middle East film criticism, ?have little or no relevance to Title VI.? The department wrote the consortium?s programming also ?appears to lack balance.? The department also criticized the consortium?s teacher training programs for focusing on issues like ?unconscious bias, serving L.G.B.T.I.Q. youth in schools, culture and the media, diverse books for the classroom and more.? They said that it had a ?startling lack of focus on geography, geopolitical issues, history and language.? The administration ordered the consortium to submit a revised schedule of events it planned to support and a full list of the courses it offers and the professors working in its Middle East studies program. The department also directed the consortium to demonstrate that it had ?effective institutional controls? to stay compliant with the administration?s interpretation of the Higher Education Act. The universities were given until Sept. 22, only days before the department is scheduled to approve funding on Sept. 30. A spokesman for Duke declined to comment, referring questions to the University of North Carolina. A spokeswoman for the U.N.C. acknowledged receipt of the letter. But Ms. Elman, the professor at Syracuse, said the department?s scrutiny of the programs was long overdue. ?To get Title VI, you really have to strive for viewpoint diversity,? she said. ?This is what our students want. They don?t want to be indoctrinated. They want both sides. It?s possible to do that and still make people uncomfortable.? Before joining the Education Department, Mr. Marcus had aggressively lobbied for the Higher Education Act to crack down on Middle East studies programs, and criticized both the Education Department and Congress for failing to hold institutions accountable for violating the law?s ?diverse perspectives? requirement. In 2014, he wrote an opinion article that assailed the Title VI program for ?being used to support biased and academically worthless programming on college campuses,? leaving students and faculty with opposing views ?ostracized and threatened.? ?Aside from their intellectual vapidity,? Mr. Marcus wrote, ?many of these programs poison the atmosphere on campus.? He called on the department to establish a complaint process that would prompt extensive reviews of entire programs like the one being undertaken into U.N.C. and Duke. A version of this article appears in print on Sept. 19, 2019, Section A, Page 1 of the New York edition with the headline: U.S. Demands Colleges Recast Mideast Focus From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Sun Sep 22 21:35:50 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Sun, 22 Sep 2019 16:35:50 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Michigan City, IN Message-ID: Small Town Values Posted By Vincent Emanuele On September 20, 2019 Well I was born in a small town And I live in a small town Probably die in a small town Oh, those small communities? ? John Mellencamp A few weeks ago, another young man was shot to death in Michigan City, Indiana. He was the fourth or fifth in the past several months (no on really keeps count, especially when the victim is black). Here, in the shadow of the nation?s third-largest city, poor and working class people slave away at low-paying service sector jobs that provide no benefits, seasonal wages (at best), and no future. The ghosts of Neoliberalism and Deindustrialization continue to haunt our small town. Those pesky shootings, however, haven?t deterred the tourists, or our glorious mayor. Oh no. They love the ?low-cost of living,? minimal taxes, and scant regulation the state of Indiana and the Michigan City municipal government provides. The mayor openly talks about gentrifying the city on the front pages of the local newspaper (who?s more than happy to showcase his classist vision), and gloats about the corporate subsidies and tax abatements the city dolls out to multinational corporations who provide $10 an hour-non-unionized jobs, mostly to non-Michigan City residents. Some of the better paying jobs can be found at the Blue Chip Casino, a landmark to the hypocrisy, corruption, and horrors of Neoliberalism. Forty-plus years of tax cuts for the rich and corporations have put states like Indiana in an impossible situation. State law prohibits localities from raising the minimum wage above the federal average. Municipalities are also prohibited from raising income taxes or corporate taxes. Hence, cities like Michigan City are held hostage by decades of Reaganism and Trickle Down economic ideology and practice. In order to raise funds for even the most basic city functions, Michigan City has sold its soul to Boyd Gaming, a legal loan shark. As Chris Hedges writes: Americans in 2013 lost $119 billion gambling, with an additional $70 billion?or $300 for every adult in the country?spent on lottery tickets. Federal and state governments, reliant on tax revenues from legal gambling and on lottery ticket sales, will do nothing to halt the expansion of the industry or the economic and psychological toll it exacts on those in financial distress. State-run lottery games had sales of $73.9 billion in 2015, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. This revenue is vital to budgets beset by declining incomes, deindustrialization and austerity. ?State lotteries provided more revenue than state corporate-income taxes in 11 of the 43 states where they were legal, including Delaware, Rhode Island, and South Dakota,? Derek Thompson wrote in The Atlantic. ?The poorest third of households buy half of all lotto tickets,? he noted. Gambling is a stealth tax on poor people hoping to beat the nearly impossible odds. Governmental income from gambling is an effort to make up for the taxes the rich and corporations no longer pay. Our local politicians, either too dumb to realize the error of their ways or too connected to want to know, speak only in glowing terms about Blue Chip. Anyone who brings up the ills of gambling culture is called a ?naysayer? or ?cynic.? Meanwhile, the casino workers, at least some of them, are fighting back. While portions of the casino are unionized, others are not. Workers have no control over their scheduling, hours, or work conditions. If they speak-up, they risk being fired. In Michigan City, where service sector jobs are as abundant as the local heroin supply, working at the casino is a step-up from the ?Mom & Pop? restaurant gigs, where sleazy business owners get away with illegal labor practices and sexual harassment, and routinely take advantage of illegal immigrants and migrant workers. *** Last year, a local bar owner was arrested for assault after he called a young woman a ?nigger? before hurling a beer bottle and splitting open her lip. Those in power go out of their way not to talk about race relations in the city. Dealing with the issue of systemic racism, if it?s even understood by those in power, is totally out of the question. In a city that has experienced multiple race riots since the 1980s, it?s clear that the social and economic ingredients for another violent uprising remain potent. The question isn?t ?if,? but ?when?? According to a study by the United Way (none of the regional universities or local governments fund studies of the sort in our town), 53% of Michigan City residents can?t make ends meet. That means people can?t afford the basics: rent, car note, phone bill, medical expenses, etc. NPR reports that less than 25% of Americans have $500 in their savings account to deal with an emergency. In Michigan City, that number is probably around 10%. In yesterday?s paper, the mayor and the city received a glowing report ($13.6 million in revenue for the county) about the ?Grand Prix Boat Races? that took place in August on the shores of Lake Michigan, where ArcelorMittal (a Luxembourg-based steel company) was recently busted dumping over 175 lbs of cyanide into the Little Calumet River, which streams into Lake Michigan, killing over 3,000 fish and shutting down portions of the beach. Local officials, IDEM, the DNR, and EPA talked about how this recent ?incident? would hurt the local tourist industry and the newly designated ?Dunes National Park.? They ranted and raved about the tens of thousands of tourist dollars lost. Of course, no one mentioned the fish. Several local officials virtue-signaled in the local press, but no one takes them seriously. In the end, they can?t do anything anyway. They?re peons on the ladder of power in the state of Indiana. The Republicans downstate will never allow the legislature to kneecap industry, and the Democrats who dominate politics in Northwest Indiana, the most industrialized portion of the state, would never push the issue for fear that the local unions would stop supporting them. And of course the local unions won?t do much because their leadership is in bed with industry and the local politicians who facilitate whatever industry wants. The steel mills, oil refineries (BP operates the largest tar sands refinery in the Western Hemisphere about 40 miles down the road in East Chicago), and casinos devote hundreds of thousands of dollars to corporate philanthropy. Their pittance is enough to buy off environmental organizations, local unions, state politicians, and regional art institutes and artists whose foundation dollars come from the very entities that have destroyed the natural environment and entire communities. Turns out, absent actual communities, it?s tough to build an ?art scene.? The regulatory agencies are almost as bad as the corporations they?re supposed to police. In Northwest Indiana, IDEM and the EPA are virtually useless. ArcelorMittal, whose annual revenue in the year 2018 was $96 billion, will pay a minuscule fine (maybe $10,000). This latest ecological disaster is a case study in why no one in The Region trusts corporations or the government that?s supposed to regulate them. Again, why would they? *** Back to those shootings. Our mayor, city council, and local police chief say that no one should be worried. The crime statistics are going down, they say. Our city is primed for ?development.? Local government has created a ?friendly business climate.? That pesky ?Big Government? is finally neutered. One of our city council members, a Democrat and middle-aged black professional who thinks very highly of himself, once told me at a community BBQ that ?black people in our city are poor because they buy Air Jordans and Cadillacs.? Try talking to the white politicians. The local churches and NGOs are equally reactionary and impotent. The local chapter of the NAACP regularly holds ?financial literacy? courses for low-income communities, hoping to teach those irresponsible poor folk to better spend their monthly $900 social security check. Even worse, the NAACP supported a Republican in the last state-wide elections. You know, the party dedicated to making life a living hell for anyone who?s not a white male making over $250,000 a year (if you think the national GOP is nuts, you should meet some of the Republicans in downstate Indiana). The local black churches, for the most part, preach the prosperity gospel. They tell their overwhelmingly poor congregations that if they just work hard, get right with God, and invest their money properly, they too will eventually drive a BMW and wear shiny suits. Justice of any sort ? environmental, social, economic, or otherwise, is never mentioned. The Cult of Entrepreneurship abound. *** Ah yes, a local mayoral election is coming up, but no one really cares. For those in power, the key is to keep voter turnout as low as possible. That means we?re lucky to get 20% of the city to vote in municipal elections. And why should they? After all, none of the people running for local office express any willingness to deal with the decades-long injustices that have plagued Michigan City. For them, running for office is akin to a high school popularity contest. The lack of substance, superficial pageantry, and hollow gossip that dominates our presidential elections has seeped into local politics. Perhaps it?s always been this way. Who knows. What we do know is that the planet and our lives are being destroyed and no one in our local or state government has any clue what to do (not that we expect them to). In fact, quite the opposite: they actively support policies that will further catapult the planet into ecological despair. The topic of climate change isn?t even discussed. Instead, local environmental NGOs hold workshops on gardening techniques and native species while the planet is murdered by the fossil fuel industry. Other than a few dedicated groups of community organizers and activists (none of whom are paid), virtually no one is fighting back. Opioid addiction and alcoholism is rampant. The horrors of addiction are compounded by systemic poverty, an increasingly militarized police department, social alienation, an eroded welfare state, and political nihilism. Everyone knows that things are completely fucked (that?s why they?re drunk and high), but people remain unconvinced that fighting back will do much. Sometimes, I don?t blame them. Other times, I get angry, or sad, or both. Persuading people that they have a voice and power (if they collectively organize), is a monumental task. *** Earlier today, I went to the gas station and a young gentleman who couldn?t stop scratching the oozing scabs on his weathered face (Meth or Crack) was telling the cashier that she?s gotta watch out for the ?niggers? because ?they?re? starting to ?take over Midtown.? She nodded her head, and smiled. On my way home, I ran into my buddy Mike, an older black guy from down the street, who, after telling me about a local stabbing, was happy to inform me that his nephew is being transferred to Indiana State Prison, which is located in, you guessed it, Michigan City. Outside my window, there?s a cascade of sirens pouring down Franklin St. While NIPSCO spews pollution from its coal fired plant (located on the shores of Lake Michigan), there?s a homeless man walking down the street. He?s looking through trash cans and between cracks on the sidewalk for half-smoked cigarettes. Just beyond him, there?s a couple screaming at each other in the Walgreens parking lot. They must be in their early 20s. My neighbor, Rick, is sitting in his car on the side of the road, drinking a beer. His wife kicked him out of the house because he ?pissed off that fat bitch? (she?s 8 months pregnant with their third child). You know, those Small Town Values. Article printed from CounterPunch.org: *https://www.counterpunch.org * URL to article: *https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/20/small-town-values/ * -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Mon Sep 23 17:06:29 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2019 12:06:29 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Story of an AWARE comrade Message-ID: THOSE WHO SERVED ?Fear and isolation ... the real corroding elements? Mechanic was torn between who she was and formal policies By PAUL WOOD pwood at news-gazette.com MANSFIELD ? Meg Miner served during the Persian Gulf War, but she later had some doubts about her country?s actions. The technical sergeant was raised near the small town of Oswego, but she found a home in the service. ?In a very real sense, I grew up in the Air Force,? she said. ?After graduation, there was an expectation that I would go to college, find a husband and start a family, in that order. Joining the Air Force was a purely economic decision; no lofty ideals about patriotism. I got a ticket out of my small town and a guarantee of training for a job.? That training surprised her. Recruiters said she scored high in mechanics, though she had no background in mechanics. The recruiter told her one of the jobs she was qualified for was jet engine mechanic, and ?I just thought that sounded so cool? that she chose that field. Please see POLICIES, A-8 Meg Miner was an Air Force mechanic in the Persian Gulf War. Photos provided A SALUTE to those who served ------------------------------ POLICIES Continued from A-*1* Part of her experience was working with the Thunderbirds precision air team. Her other assignments involved extensive travels in the U.S., Germany and Tunisia? plus Poland, for the first East-West air show after the thaw of the Cold War. At Spangdahlem AB in Germany, she was a crew chief on an F-16, the person responsible for the maintenance of the aircraft and safety of the pilot. ?A typical day was 12 hours ? excluding shift change formations, which included informational briefings,? she said. ?We had frequent ?mobility exercises? (war deployment practices) that would extend shifts to 14 hours.? Miner had been in the Air Force a dozen years before the Gulf War. ?It was my last night in the U.S. before being sent to my next duty assignment in Germany,? Miner recalled. ?I was out to dinner with family and friends, and the TV in the restaurant bar showed that our attack on Baghdad had started. My family was worried, but I knew enough about the bureaucracy at this point to reassure them I wouldn?t be sent to the Gulf immediately.? In Turkey, she was in Operation Provide Comfort. ?Provide Comfort is a phrase I think of with some irony today,? she said. ?The U.S. presence was also meant as an aid in protecting the Kurds, but I quickly learned that the Kurds on the Turkish side of the border were considered enemies of Turkey and our commitment to them was not the same,? she said. ?I recall thinking how crazy this was, that an entire segment of the same type of people could be considered fair game simply due to a boundary that had no relevance to their history or cultural heritage.? Miner was serious about furthering her education by this time. ?College degrees are one element in being able to advance in rank. I actually did a lot of homework in my aircraft?s shelter in Germany. There was a lot of waiting on those shifts,? she said. In Germany, she realized it was time for her to go. ?This was the era of ?Don?t Ask, Don?t Tell,? and I?d realized I was gay just a few years before, so the potential to lose all the time I had put into my career was real,? she said. ?You know, there was a lot of talk about unit cohesion being lost if gays were in the military, but working in fear and isolation are the real corroding elements. Luckily, the next year the Air Force started offering early retirements. I put in my request to do so, and a year after that, I was a civilian.? By the time she left the Air Force in 1995, she had an associate degree. After leaving the Air Force, she had qualms. ?When our leaders decided Iraq had something to do with the September 11th attack on our country, I reflected on my time there and was convinced that what we were hearing about Iraq?s culpability and weapons of mass destruction could not be true,? Miner said. ?I knew we had denied Iraq opportunities to rebuild after the Gulf War, to the detriment of much of their civilian population. I mean, we had even bombed their water supply systems.? The way she thinks of this now? ?Hell hath no fury like a patriot scorned.? Miner contributed to a federal education savings program and used that and the Illinois Veterans Education Grant program to complete a degree in English from Northern Illinois University, then a graduate degree in library and information science from the University of Illinois. She now works in the library at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Mon Sep 23 17:33:39 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2019 17:33:39 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Department_of_Homeland_Security_counte?= =?utf-8?q?rterrorism_strategy_targets_left-wing_politics_as_=E2=80=9Cviol?= =?utf-8?q?ent_extremism=E2=80=9D?= Message-ID: * Print * Leaflet * Feedback * Share ? Department of Homeland Security counterterrorism strategy targets left-wing politics as ?violent extremism? By Kevin Reed 23 September 2019 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a new strategy document entitled, ?Framework for Countering Terrorism and Targeted Violence? which expands the definition of terrorism to include what it calls ?domestic actors inspired by violent extremist ideologies.? The document was released by acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin K. McAleenan on September 20 during an event to announce the strategy that was cohosted by two important think-tanks of the American ruling establishment, the Brookings Institution and the Heritage Foundation. Although the document references recent right-wing violence and mass shootings in the United States, it does so in order to arrive at a key conclusion: the state apparatus previously erected after the attacks of September 11, 2001 in the name of the ?war on terror? is now being redirected against domestic social and political opposition in the name of fighting ?anti-authority and anti-government violent extremism.? The attempt to identify left-wing and socialist political organizations with ?violent extremism? is spelled out in relationship to opponents of US immigration policy. The DHS document gives the example of an event in July 2019 where ?an anarchist claiming affiliation with the ?antifa? movement? allegedly attempted to firebomb a US Immigrations and Customs Enforcement facility in Tacoma, Washington and threatened to shoot law enforcement officers as evidence of its claims. [https://www.wsws.org/asset/4c910404-25ca-41de-bc3f-4442a7f66aaH/image.png?rendition=image480]Kevin K MacAleenan being sworn in a Acting DHS Secretary The document then goes on to state, ?In recent years, adherents to particular violent extremist ideologies have sometimes abandoned them for other ideologies with similar sets of perceived enemies.? In other words, workers and young people who go through political experiences and begin to draw broader socialist revolutionary conclusions from their struggles should be identified as ?domestic terrorists.? That the purpose of the updated DHS strategy is to connect political opposition with violent extremism was articulated by acting Secretary McAleenan in releasing the 34-page document. ?While the threat posed by foreign terrorist organizations like the Islamic State and al-Qaeda persists,? he said, ?we are acutely aware of the growing threat from enemies, both foreign and domestic, who seek to incite violence in our Nation?s youth, disenfranchised, and disaffected, in order to attack their fellow citizens and fray at the seams of our diverse social fabric.? McAleenan?s reference to the danger that the youth, disenfranchised and disaffected can cause the ?social fabric? of American society to ?fray at the seams? is highly significant. The most conscious elements within the state?who are entrusted by the ruling elite with protecting and defending the capitalist ?homeland??have concluded that the US is on the brink of significant social and political struggles and that preparations must be made to suppress them. Above all, this means identifying left-wing and socialist political organizations and groups with ?violent extremism.? Permeating the DHS strategy is the conception that the methods deployed outside the country in the aftermath of 9/11 must now be used to confront the growth of mass social and political struggle within the US. For example, the document states in the Executive Summary, ?In an age of online radicalization to violent extremism and disparate threats, we must not only counter foreign enemies trying to strike us from abroad, but also those enemies, foreign and domestic, that seek to spur to violence our youth and our disaffected?encouraging them to strike in the heart of our Nation, and attack the unity of our vibrant, diverse American society.? Taken to its logical conclusion this means that the military-intelligence apparatus is preparing to use the methods pioneered under the ?war on terror? against anyone seeking to demonstrate the class character of American society and expose the fraudulent national unity between the working class and the ruling class. Article continues below the form Furthermore, in footnote, the DHS provides a definition of ?domestic terrorism? that ties ?unlawful violence, or a threat of force of violence? to efforts to ?effect societal, political, or other change, committed by a group or person based and operating entirely within the United States or its territories.? It says that the Federal Government?s conventional definition of a domestic terrorist?known as Homegrown Violent Extremists (HVEs) who have been inspired by Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs)?no longer applies in the present situation. The footnote states, ?It should be noted that many groups and individuals defined as ?domestic terrorists? are becoming increasingly transnational in outlook and activities.? Clearly, the DHS is seeking to identify socialist international political affiliation with ?violent extremism.? The shift in strategy by the DHS confirms that warnings made by the World Socialist Web Site over the past eighteen years that the dispensing with democratic and international laws in the course of the ?war on terror? would, sooner or later, be directed against American citizens especially those who oppose government policies. As is clear from the DHS statement, measures such as the declaration that ?enemy combatants? are exempt from the provisions of the Geneva Conventions or that endless detention without trial at the military detention camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba in violation of the US Constitution are now being prepared against American citizens. The DHS?s identification of left-wing and oppositional political movements with violent extremism in the US is part of a growing international trend. The German Secret Service (Verfassungsschutz) has maintained a list of ?left-wing extremist? groups as ?objects of observation? by the state. As is also the case in the US, all of the major parties of Germany?s ruling establishment have encouraged the development of extreme right-wing and neo-fascist political parties, the primary preoccupation of the state is the growth of support for socialist politics within the working class and among students. While US President Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged violence by the extreme right-wing elements among his supporters, the Democrats as well as the corporate media have sought to downplay the connection between the White House and fascistic political tendencies. Above all, it is the emergence of an independent political movement of the working class based on the principles of socialist internationalism that is recognized by the state as a grave threat to the capitalist system. WSWS.ORG -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Tue Sep 24 00:17:55 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Mon, 23 Sep 2019 19:17:55 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: C. G., this will make your day References: <1569281771049.17553a9e-2d01-43ea-bd0b-742b3338f100@bf10a.hubspotemail.net> Message-ID: <40F5B1BD-6F9A-4FFF-A555-0B63F997E887@gmail.com> > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Lila Rose > Subject: C. G., this will make your day > Date: September 23, 2019 at 6:59:11 PM CDT > To: cgestabrook at gmail.com > Reply-To: lila.rose at liveaction.org > > > Hi C. G., > > I am sharing this message I received from a young mother - it?s so heartwarming: > > > > You made it possible to save this little life! > > I hope this encourages you in our fight to end the killing of preborn children - and renews your spirit and dedication. > > This little one?s mother could have listened to the lies the abortion industry tries to sell to so many young women in her position...that she would have to give up on her hopes and dreams...that her baby was just a ?clump of cells?... > > She could have been overwhelmed by the fear so many young women feel when they face an unexpected pregnancy and chose abortion... > > Instead, because of the pro-life individuals like you who support Live Action, this mother found our videos and other pro-life content online that exposes the true violence abortion inflicts upon preborn children. > > She realized she could never do that to her own innocent little baby girl and chose LIFE! > > C. G., I want you to know that you can and ARE making a true difference in this fight. > > This baby girl is alive today for one reason: because of the pro-life individuals like you who selflessly support Live Action?s work financially, or share our videos, articles, and graphics online and on social media. > > You make it possible for more pregnant moms who were considering abortion to choose life...just like this young mother. > > You are the reason our videos have been watched by tens of millions of Americans, forever changing the way they view the killing of preborn babies. > > Together, we will put an end to this killing and make abortion unthinkable. We will build a world where these precious babies are loved and their mothers are encouraged and empowered to choose life. > > C. G., we are so grateful for your support and your activism. Thank you for all you do to end this grave human rights abuse - and to save more innocent children! > > > For life, > > Lila Rose > President & Founder > Live Action > > P.S. This baby isn?t the only child our videos have saved. Several young mothers or their friends and family have contacted Live Action to tell us they were going to have an abortion, but changed their minds after seeing one of our videos or reading an article on Live Action News. > > None of this would be possible without our generous pro-life supporters, just like you. > > C. G., you can reach more people with the truth that transforms hearts, changes minds, and makes abortion unthinkable by becoming a committed monthly donor with Live Action. Please consider making your first gift today to support our life-saving work by clicking here or below: > > > Live Action 2200 Wilson Blvd. Suite 102 PMB 111, Arlington, VA 22201 > > You received this message because you are subscribed to Requests for Support from Live Action. > If you would rather not receive this type of email, you can update your email preferences here or unsubscribe from all future emails. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Tue Sep 24 14:41:28 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 09:41:28 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?q?Trump_May_Get_Much_of_the_World?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99s_Manufacturing_Out_of_China=2C_But_It_Won?= =?utf-8?q?=E2=80=99t_Be_Coming_Back_to_the_U=2ES=2E?= Message-ID: *- CounterPunch.org - https://www.counterpunch.org -*Trump May Get Much of the World?s Manufacturing Out of China, But It Won?t Be Coming Back to the U.S.Posted By Marshall Auerback On September 24, 2019 @ 1:59 am In articles 2015,Leading Article | Comments Disabled Photograph Source: The White House from Washington, DC ? Public Domain ?Chimerica? is a term originally coined by the historian Niall Ferguson and economist Moritz Schularick to describe the growing economic relationship between the U.S. and China since the latter?s entry into the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2001. In the words of Ferguson : ?The Chinese did the saving, the Americans the spending. The Chinese did the exporting, the Americans the importing. The Chinese did the lending, the Americans the borrowing.? Much of the pre-crisis boom in global trade was driven by this economic symbiosis, which is why successive American presidents tolerated this marriage of convenience despite the increasing costs to the U.S. economy . The net benefits calculation, however, began to change after 2008, and the conflict has intensified further after the 2016 presidential election result. Today, the cumulative stress of Donald Trump?s escalating trade war is leading to if not an irreparable breach between the two countries, then certainly a significant fraying. The imminent resumption of trade talks notwithstanding, the rising cost of the tariffs is already inducing some U.S. manufacturers to exit China. But in most instances, they are not returning to home shores. It may have taken Trump to point out the pitfalls of the Chimerica link, but coming up with a coherent strategy to replace it is clearly beyond the president?s abilities. America is likely to remain a relative manufacturing wasteland, as barren as Trump?s own ill-conceived ideas on trade. At the same time, it?s not going to be an unmitigated victory for China either, as Beijing is increasingly suffering from a large confluence of internal and external pressures. Chimerica helped to launch China as a global trade power. To the extent that this marriage helped the U.S. economy, it skewed toward the largely blue state coastal regions. Wall Street banks located on the East Coast happily collected lucrative commissions and investment banking fees, as China?s export proceeds were recycled into U.S. treasuries, stocks, and high-end real estate while the capital markets boomed; on the West Coast, ?new economy? companies thrived, their growth and profitability unhindered by the onslaught of Chinese manufactured exports. By contrast, facilitated by technological advances that permitted large-scale outsourcing by U.S. manufacturers, Chimerica laid waste to much of what was left of America?s Rust Belt, and the politics of many of the displaced workers mutated to the extent that Donald Trump became an appealing alternative to the establishment in 2016. The major legacy of Chimerica, then, is that too many American workers have been semi-permanently replaced by low-cost offshored labor. Prior to great advances in technology, along with globalization, displacement of the current labor force could only have occurred through immigration of workers into the country. Historically, displacement by immigrants generally began at the menial level of the labor force, and became more restrictive as when it became correlated with significant unemployment. Given the rise of globalization and the corresponding liberalization of immigration in the past few decades, however, policy no longer arrests the displacement of American workers. The policy backlash has consequently manifested itself more via trade protectionism. Trump has sought to consolidate his Rust Belt base of supporters by launching a trade war, especially versus Beijing, the ultimate effects of which he hoped would be to re-domicile supply chains that had earlier migrated to China. Early on in his presidency, there was some hope that Trump?s protectionism was at best a bluff or, at worst, an aberration, and that the return of a Democrat to the White House in 2020 would eventually reestablish the status quo ante. But the president still can?t get a wall, and his protectionism has become more pronounced almost as if to compensate. The problem today is that even if Trump is voted out of office in 2020, corporate America is becoming less inclined to wait out the end of his presidency to return to the pre-Trump status quo of parking the bulk of their manufacturing in China. There is too much risk in putting all of one?s eggs in the China basket, especially given growing national security concerns . Hence, U.S. companies are taking action. In spite of decades of investment in these China-domiciled supply chains, a number of American companies are pulling out: toy manufacturer Hasbro , Illinois-based phone accessories manufacturer Xentris Wireless, and lifestyle clothing company PacSun are a few of the operators who are exiting the country. But they are not coming back to the U.S., relocating instead to places like Vietnam, Bangladesh, Mexico, the Philippines and Taiwan. The chief financial officer of Xentris, Ben Buttolph, says that the company will never return to China: ?We are trying to have multiple locations certified for all of our products, so that if all of a sudden there?s an issue with one of the locations, we just flip the switch.? Likewise, the CEO of Hasbro, Brian Goldner, recently spoke of ?great opportunities in Vietnam, India and other territories like Mexico.? All is not lost for the U.S., however, as Goldner did celebrate the success of Hasbro?s facility in East Longmeadow, Massachusetts, which has resumed production of Play-Doh in the U.S. for the first time since 2004 . It is doubtful, however, that this represents the recapturing of the high value-added supply chains that Trump envisaged when he first launched his trade assault on Beijing. In general, as Julius Krein , editor of *American Affairs*, writes: ?United States industry is losing ground to foreign competitors on price, quality and technology. In many areas, our manufacturing capacity cannot compete with what exists in Asia.? These are not isolated examples. *Defense One* also notes the following development: ?It came without a breaking news alert or presidential tweet, but the technological competition with China entered a new phase last month. Several developments quietly heralded this shift: Cross-border investments between the United States and China plunged to their lowest levels since 2014, with the tech sector suffering the most precipitous drop. U.S. chip giants Intel and AMD abruptly ended or declined to extend important partnerships with Chinese entities. The Department of Commerce halved the number of licenses that let U.S. companies assign Chinese nationals to sensitive technology and engineering projects.? This development consequently makes it hard to proclaim Beijing a winner in this dispute either. The country still needs access to U.S. high tech. The government announced yet another fiscal stimulus to the economy earlier this month in response to a cluster of weakening economic data, much of which is related to the trade shock. It is also the case that China is being buffeted politically, both externally and internally: externally, in addition to the escalating trade war, China?s own efforts to counter the effects of rising protectionism by creating a ?reverse Marshall Plan ? via the Belt and Road Initiative is floundering . China?s ?iron brother,? Pakistan, is increasingly being victimized by India?s aggressive Hindu-centric nationalism . It is hard to imagine the Modi government opportunistically taking the step of annexing Kashmir and undermining Pakistan, had it not sensed Beijing?s increasing vulnerability. Internally, Beijing is finding it increasingly challenging as it seeks to enforce its ?One China? policy in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The withdrawal of the controversial extradition law that first precipitated widespread demonstrations in Hong Kong has not alleviated the political pressures in the territory, but simply allowed an even bigger protest culture to take root and strengthen an independent political mindset. Similarly, Taiwan has also openly supported the Hong Kong protesters, pledging help to those seeking asylum . Both regions now constitute both a huge humiliation and challenge to the primacy of China?s ruling Communist Party. And now on top of that, foreign manufacturers are leaving the country, weakening a totally leveraged manufacturing complex. The implications of this divorce go well beyond the U.S. and China. They constitute another step toward regionalization, another step away from a quaint ideological ?post-history? construct that saw Washington, D.C., as the head office and the rest of the world as a bunch of branch plants for ?America, Inc.? It?s hardly comforting to contemplate that the last time we reached this historic juncture was the early 1900s, when a similarly globalized economy broke down, followed by the Great War. As Niall Ferguson points out , ?a high level of economic integration does not necessarily prevent the growth of strategic rivalry and, ultimately, conflict.? There?s no doubt that both Washington and Beijing will likely making soothing noises to the markets in order to create favorable conditions for the trade talks in October, but their actions suggest that they are both digging in for a longer struggle . Today?s trade wars, therefore, are likely to morph into something more destructive, which is a lose-lose in an era where human advancement depends on greater integration between economic powers. *This article was produced by **Economy for All* *, a project of the Independent Media Institute.* Article printed from CounterPunch.org: *https://www.counterpunch.org * URL to article: *https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/24/trump-may-get-much-of-the-worlds-manufacturing-out-of-china-but-it-wont-be-coming-back-to-the-u-s/ * Click here to print. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From davidgreen50 at gmail.com Tue Sep 24 14:45:30 2019 From: davidgreen50 at gmail.com (David Green) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 09:45:30 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] The Collapse of the East Asian Order Message-ID: *- CounterPunch.org - https://www.counterpunch.org -*The Collapse of the East Asian OrderPosted By John Feffer On September 24, 2019 @ 1:58 am In articles 2015 | Comments Disabled Photograph Source: Man Ng ? CC BY 2.0 The United States is losing its status as a Pacific power. It can no longer control developments in East Asia. It still maintains a large military footprint in the region. But that military presence no longer translates into an ability to achieve the outcomes that Washington wants. For better or worse, the post-World War II order in East Asia is coming to an end. China has become the dominant economic player in East Asia, and it?s acquiring a military commensurate with its economic strength. Japan has been breaking out of the restraints of its ?peace constitution? to build up its own military power. South Korea recently canceled its intelligence-sharing agreement with Japan, a cornerstone of the trilateral cooperation that Washington has urged on its two East Asian allies. In a last-ditch effort, the Obama administration tried with its much-hyped Pacific pivot to reinsert the United States into the economic and security environment of East Asia. But the pivot didn?t happen. The U.S. military remained enmeshed in the conflicts of the greater Middle East. And the Trump administration immediately canceled U.S. participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the free-trade agreement that was supposed to hitch the United States to the powerful economies of the east. Donald Trump has further hastened the end of the post-war order with his pursuit of three primary goals in East Asia. He initiated a trade war with China to force the country to accede to U.S. demands regarding market access and other features of the Chinese economy. Beijing has not backed down. Trump?s second imperative is to press U.S. allies to pay more for hosting U.S. troops. In early 2019, the United States and South Korea signed a one-year agreement ? rather than the usual five-year agreement ? in which Seoul agreed to raise its contribution by around 8 percent. Last month, a new round of negotiations began. On his visit to Korea in August, National Security Advisor John Bolton reportedly demanded that Korea up its contributions to an astonishing $5 billion a year, a quintupling of the current amount. Meanwhile, Trump is pushing the Abe government to increase military spending, in part to pay more for U.S. troops at bases in Japan but also for Tokyo to buy even more high-priced U.S. weapons. Finally, Trump wants a deal with North Korea. But such a deal is not connected to any larger East Asian purpose. Trump simply wants to demonstrate that he can achieve something that his predecessors couldn?t. None of these goals ? confronting China, more allied burdensharing, a deal with North Korea ? is new. All three policies have roots that go back to the 1990s. But Trump is taking more risks to achieve these goals. He is also paying little attention to the potentially high price of his actions. The economic relationship between Beijing and Washington, for instance, may not recover, as China looks for other sources of key imports like soybeans and other markets for its exports. South Korea is not happy about the increased monetary demands from the United States. One recent sign of that unhappiness was the Blue House?s desire to expedite the return of 26 U.S. military bases to Korea. And Trump?s on-again, off-again approach to North Korea has also complicated relations between Washington and Seoul. The cancellation of joint exercises has reduced military cooperation while the lack of sanctions relief for Pyongyang has blocked greater economic cooperation between north and south. The United States always billed itself as a stabilizing influence in East Asia. In a region beset by longstanding rivalries, the United States intended to contain Japan by restricting it to a largely defensive military posture. Washington also worked hard to align the policies of Japan and South Korea, despite the unresolved territorial and historical disputes between the two countries. The U.S. military presence in the region was designed to prevent the rise of another hegemon. The U.S. military remains in the region, but it no longer fulfills those goals. So, for instance, a full-blown arms race is taking place in the region. Xi Jinping, determined to build a world-class military, will increase Chinese military spending by 7.5 percent next year. Combined with close trade relationships with the region, this improved military capacity means that China has emerged as precisely the hegemonic power that U.S. policy was intended to prevent. Meanwhile, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute , South Korea is now the tenth biggest military spender in the world, with Japan at number nine and China number two. Under Moon Jae-in, an otherwise progressive leader, South Korea increased its military budget by 8.2 percent in 2019, the largest increase since 2008 , and plans increases of over 7 percent for 2020-2024. Under Shinzo Abe, Japanese military spending has increased by 13 percent since 2013. With the military budget likely to set a new record next year , Japan is devoting a huge chunk of expenditures on U.S. weapons systems, like six new F35b, which each costs more than $130 million. The United States, too, is increasing its military budget. But Trump seems determined to draw down U.S. forces overseas. The current burdensharing disputes may lead to a reduction of U.S. forces in Japan and South Korea. True, the East Asian order that the United States helped build after World War II was not peaceful. It was founded on two wars ? the Korean War and the Vietnam War. It relied on hundreds of military bases that increased the amount of violence in the host communities. It maintained a Cold War divide that is still strong and still justifies enormous outlays on the military. But this order, for all of its obvious flaws, managed to keep a lid on the worst excesses of nationalism (just as the internationalist Communist order attempted to do the same on the other side of the Cold War divide). The waning of U.S. influence in the region coincides with a powerful resurgence in nationalism. The most obvious example is Japan, where what had once been extremist views on Japan?s wartime conduct are now, thanks to Shinzo Abe, in the very mainstream. China, too, has become a much more explicitly nationalist country under Xi Jinping. South Korean nationalism has largely been subsumed under the project of reunification. A case in point is Moon Jae-in?s assertion last month that a united North and South Korean economy could leapfrog over Japan in ?one burst.? Donald Trump?s ?America first? policies are perhaps the most explicitly nationalistic of them all. There wasn?t much any president could do to prevent the loss of U.S. power in the Pacific. But Trump?s approach has kindled nationalism and accelerated the arms race in the region. As with Europe, U.S. withdrawal from Asia could have been accompanied by a strengthening of regional institutions of peace and cooperation. Instead, the collapse of the East Asian order has generated increased rivalry and conflict. Europe has largely transcended its twentieth-century history of war. Thanks in part to the short-sighted policies of the United States, East Asia is on the verge of repeating some very unfortunate history. *This article first appeared in Hankyoreh .* Article printed from CounterPunch.org: *https://www.counterpunch.org * URL to article: *https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/24/the-collapse-of-the-east-asian-order/ * Click here to print. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Tue Sep 24 14:47:06 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 14:47:06 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] =?utf-8?b?RndkOiBBbWVyaWNh4oCZcyDigJxIeWJyaWQg?= =?utf-8?q?War=E2=80=9D_against_China_has_Entered_a_New_Phase?= References: <60943479.11765078.1569333710747@mail.yahoo.com> Message-ID: A good article in relation to China/Hong Kong detailing the agreement etc., from a legal perspective. View this email in your browser [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2cc48fb30f331d97157a65aa2/images/34ba081c-8f2e-4693-9ae9-cea33fc210c3.jpg] [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2cc48fb30f331d97157a65aa2/images/e71b4ed1-393a-4604-b910-78ab0fa0b7e2.png] [Share] Share [Tweet] Tweet [Forward] Forward America?s ?Hybrid War? against China has Entered a New Phase China and the Zombies of the Past By Christopher Black Global Research New Eastern Outlook Click to read this article in your browser. [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2cc48fb30f331d97157a65aa2/images/35cfaf69-aee4-409b-b54e-b4a618515ae0.jpg]The hybrid war, being conducted against China by the United States and its gaggle of puppet states from the UK to Canada to Australia, has entered a new phase. The first stage involved the massive shift of US air and naval forces to the Pacific and constant provocations against China in the South China Sea and the Taiwan Strait. The second stage was the creation of disinformation about China?s treatment of minority groups, especially in Tibet and west China. That this propaganda campaign has been carried out by nations such as the US, Canada and Australia who have the worst human rights records in the world with respect to their indigenous peoples, subjected to centuries of cultural and physical genocide by those governments, and who refuse to protect their minority peoples from physical attacks and discrimination despite their human rights laws, shocks the conscience of any objective observer. But not content with that, the propaganda was extended to China?s economic development, its international trade, the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, its Silk and Belt Road Initiative, its development bank, and other facilities and trade initiatives, through which China is accused of trying to control the world; an accusation made by the very nation that threatens economic embargo or worse, nuclear annihilation, to anyone, friend or foe, who resists its attempt to control the world. The fourth phase is the US attempt to degrade the Chinese economy with punitive ?tariffs,?essentially an embargo on Chinese goods. That the objective is not better trade deals but to bring China to its knees is the fact that the negative effect of these tariffs on American consumers, farmers and manufacturers is considered secondary to the principal objective. Last year it moved to a fifth phase, the kidnapping and illegal detention of Meng Wanzhou, the Chief Financial Officer of China?s leading technology company Huawei, in synchronicity with a massive campaign by the USA to force its puppets to drop any dealings with that company. Meng Wanzhou is still held against her will in Canada on US orders. Chinese have been harassed in the US, Australia and Canada. The latest phase in this hybrid warfare is the insurrection being provoked by the US, UK, Canada and the rest in Hong Kong, using tactics designed to provoke China into suppressing the rioters with force to amplify the anti-Chinese propaganda, or pushing the ?protestors? into declaring Hong Kong independent of China and then using force to support them. Mitch McConnell, an important US senator implicitly threatened just such a scenario in a statement on August 12th stating that the US is warning China not to block the protests and that if they are suppressed trouble will follow. In other words the US is claiming that it will protect the thugs in black shirts, the shirts of fascists. This new phase is very dangerous, as the Chinese government has time and again stated, and has to be handled with intelligence and the strength of the Chinese people. There is now abundant evidence that the UK and US are the black hand behind the events in Hong Kong. When the Hong Kong Bar association joined in the protests the west claimed that even the lawyers were supporting the protests in an attempt to bring justice to the people. But the leaders of that association are all either UK lawyers or members of law firms based in London, such as Jimmy Chan, head of the so-called Human Civil Rights Front, formed in 2002 with the objective of breaking Honk Kong away from China, such as Kevin Lam, a partner in another London based law firm, and Steve Kwok and Alvin Yeung, members of the anti-China Civic Party who are going to meet with US officials next week. Kwok has called for the independence of Hong Kong in other visits, some sponsored by the US National Security Council and has called for the US to invoke its Hong Kong Policy Act, which, among other things mandates the US president to issue an order suspending its treatment of Hong Kong as a separate territory in trade matters. The effect of this would be to damage China?s overall trade since a lot of its revenue comes through Hong Kong. The president can invoke the Act if it decides that Hong Kong ?is not sufficiently autonomous to justify it being treated separately from China.? In tandem with Kwok?s call for the use of that Act, US Senator Ted Cruz has filed a Bill titled the Hong Kong Revaluation Act requiring the president to report on ?how China exploits Hong Kong to circumvent the laws of the United States.? But it seems the anti-Chinese propaganda campaign is not having the effect they hoped. The New York Times ran a piece on August 13 stating, ?China is waging a disinformation war against the protestors.? Embarrassed by US consular officials being caught red-handed meeting with protest leaders in a hotel in Hong Kong last week and blatant statements of support for the protestors from the US, Canada and UK as well attempts to treat Hong Kong as an independent state, the US intelligence services have now been forced to try to counter China?s accounts of the facts by declaring anything China says as disinformation. The US and UK objectives are revealed in this statement from the article, ?Hong Kong, which Britain returned to Chinese rule in 1997, remains outside China?s firewall, and thus is sitting along one of the world?s most profound online divides. Preserving the city?s freedom to live without the mainland?s controls has become one of the causes now motivating the protests.? This statement flies in the face of the Basic Law, expressing the agreement between the UK and China when the UK finally agreed to leave Hong Kong. We need to be aware of what the Basic Law says. Promulgated in April 4 1990 but put into effect on July 1, 1997, the date of the hand over of the territory to China, the Preamble states: ?Hong Kong has been part of the territory of China since ancient times; it was occupied by Britain after the Opium War in 1840. On 19 December 1984, the Chinese and British Governments signed the Joint Declaration on the Question of Hong Kong, affirming that the Government of the People?s Republic of China will resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong with effect from 1 July 1997, thus fulfilling the long-cherished common aspiration of the Chinese people for the recovery of Hong Kong. Upholding national unity and territorial integrity, maintaining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong, and taking account of its history and realities, the People?s Republic of China has decided that upon China?s resumption of the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong, a Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will be established in accordance with the provisions of Article 31 of the Constitution of the People?s Republic of China, and that under the principle of ?one country, two systems?, the socialist system and policies will not be practised in Hong Kong. The basic policies of the People?s Republic of China regarding Hong Kong have been elaborated by the Chinese Government in the Sino-British Joint Declaration. In accordance with the Constitution of the People?s Republic of China, the National People?s Congress hereby enacts the Basic Law of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People?s Republic of China, prescribing the systems to be practised in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, in order to ensure the implementation of the basic policies of the People?s Republic of China regarding Hong Kong.? Hong Kong is a part of China. That is the essential fact set out in the Basic Law agreed to by the UK as well as China. It is an administrative region of China. It is not an independent state and never was when Britain seized it through force and occupied it. So the claim that the protestors are trying to preserve something that never existed, freedom from China?s control, since Hong Kong is subject to China?s control, is bogus. The fact that China permitted Hong Kong to retain its capitalist system confirms this. The fact that China can impose socialism 50 years after or sooner if certain conditions are met, also confirms this. The pretexts for the riots, the first being a proposed extradition law between the mainland and Hong Kong which is similar to those that exist between provinces in Canada and states in the USA, the second being the claim that China?s insistence on its sovereignty over the territory somehow overrides the limited autonomy granted Hong Kong and threatens that autonomy, are without any foundation. One could easily split Canada into pieces based on such bogus arguments or again split up the USA, or even the UK as London sees its rule of Ireland, Wales and Scotland being challenged by nationalist groups. And we know very well what violent protests will bring in swift suppression of such forces if the central governments feel threatened, especially by the violence we see used by the black shirts in Hong Kong. We saw what happened in Spain when the Catalans attempted to split from Spain. The leaders of the movement are now in exile. We saw what the US is capable of against demonstrators when it shot them down at Kent State when students were demonstrating peacefully. These things are not forgotten. We know how the British will react to renewed attempts for a united Ireland. China is facing attacks on several fronts at once and it will require wisdom, endurance and the strength of the Chinese people to defend their revolution and rid themselves of colonial and imperialist domination, once and for all. Those who carry British and American flags in the protests in Hong Kong, reveal who they are. They are not the future of China. They are the living embodiment of a dead history and dead ideas, zombies of the past. * Note to readers: please click the share buttons above or below. Forward this article to your email lists. Crosspost on your blog site, internet forums. etc. Christopher Black is an international criminal lawyer based in Toronto. He is known for a number of high-profile war crimes cases and recently published his novel ?Beneath the Clouds. He writes essays on international law, politics and world events, especially for the online magazine ?New Eastern Outlook.? He is a frequent contributor to Global Research. Featured image is from NEO [https://gallery.mailchimp.com/2cc48fb30f331d97157a65aa2/images/5d629581-fa65-4649-a1eb-65715b85953b.png] [Visit our website] Visit our website [Follow us on Facebook] Follow us on Facebook [Folow us on Twitter] Folow us on Twitter [Global Research TV] Global Research TV Copyright ? 2019 Centre for Research on Globalization, All rights reserved. You are receiving this e-mail because you signed up for our newsletter Our mailing address is: Centre for Research on Globalization P.O. Box 55019 11 Notre-Dame Ouest Montreal, Qc H2Y 4A7 Canada Add us to your address book Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Tue Sep 24 19:19:33 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 19:19:33 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] On false equivalences Message-ID: Looking at ?Bothsidesing? When equal coverage leads to uneven results Merriam-Webster 23 Sep 2019 Bothsidesing is a critique leveled at the media and public personas referring to the practice of finding a second angle on a story in an attempt at appearing "fair" to each side, which can often be seen as lending credibility to a side or objectionable idea that has none. There are two sides to every story, or so we are told. Two people in an argument aren?t going to see an issue the same way. And people on different ends of the political spectrum are going to have different opinions about the events that take place in the news. Getting more than one point of view to the story is part and parcel of journalism, but sometimes that means taking pains to look for a second angle to a subject merely for the sake of argument. And that is how we have come to see use of bothsidesing. 'Bothsidesing' is thought to have much in common with 'whataboutism.' The state of our nation and the state of our president have all but passed the point of rescue, but the press, in misguided pursuit of objectivity and led by the New York Times, still ?bothsides? its coverage. Make no mistake: This too is bias, and though it?s not nearly as corrosive to democracy as the Trump administration, it distorts and accelerates that corrosion?all in the name of neutrality, no less. ? Roger Sollenberger, Paste, 27 Dec. 2018 Conservatives who spent decades railing against Kennedy, calling him a murderer and a scoundrel and screaming about the left's silence, are right to be annoyed by the bothsidesing of this event. ? Sonny Bunch, The Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2018 Bothsidesing and its related noun bothsidesism turn up in critiques of the news media when a journalist or pundit seems to give extra credence to a cause, action, or idea that on the surface seems objectionable, thereby establishing a sort of moral equivalence that allows said cause, action, or idea to be weighed seriously. By giving credence to the other side, the media gives an impression of being fair to its subject, but in doing so often provides credibility to an idea that most might view as unmerited. What really makes this the Tapper Moment, though, is not his growing fame and viral interviews. It's the breadth of the respect he's earned, and how he's wielding it in the age of Trump. Because while he's tough on conservatives and liberals alike, he doesn't engage in bothsidesism. As Tapper said to Maher, "I've never really seen this level of falsehood, just quantitatively." ? Graham Vyse, The New Republic, 9 Mar. 2018 'Bothsidesing' in Politics It?s not just the media that gets accused of bothsidesing. The term also arises whenever a public official?or anyone with a large listening audience?equivocates about a seemingly condemnable action by saying that the people on either side of that action are equally responsible for it having taken place. Bothsidesing happens prominently during times of mass protest?as protests are met with counterprotests and violent clashes erupt, turning to bothsidesism prevents one from explicitly identifying which is in the wrong, thereby avoiding any incisive comment on the discord that led to the protests in the first place. Calling this action bothsidesing might be a deliberate echo of Trump?s own language. In August 2017 he responded to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying that there were ?very fine people on both sides? at the rally, language that was viewed by many as a deliberate attempt to avoid singling out white supremacist activity. It?s probably not a coincidence that use of the term has increased in the months since Trump uttered the line?much of it on Twitter, sometimes as a hashtag. Similarities to 'Whataboutism' Bothsidesing has a lot in common with whataboutism?the rhetorical tactic of defending against an accusation by alerting others to a different accusation against an opponent. Both tactics rely on making false equivalences. While whataboutism comes with an element of diversion? look at what the guy over there did?bothsidesing tries to minimize what would often be deemed objectionable by heightening actions of other groups so that they will be deemed comparably objectionable. Some might argue that bothsidesing exposes a paradox about journalism: that sometimes, when both sides are treated fairly and equally, neither ends up shown in a true light. From jbn at forestfield.org Wed Sep 25 02:10:46 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Tue, 24 Sep 2019 21:10:46 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] AWARE on the Air #493 notes Message-ID: <8ed4d540-6df2-fb1b-156a-bf266bced9a2@forestfield.org> AWARE on the Air #493 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RTcmB1Raw A list of links to items referenced on the show. Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" Complete book: https://cleaves.zapto.org/news/attachments/dec2009/grandchessboard__brzezinski.pdf or get a copy from the CIA: https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/36/36669B7894E857AC4F3445EA646BFFE1_Zbigniew_Brzezinski_-_The_Grand_ChessBoard.doc.pdf British government's "imposition of trade of opium upon China" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars James Bradley's "The China Mirage" Complete book: http://www.kropfpolisci.com/china.us.liberalism.bradley.pdf Regarding people noticing similarities in fomenting war: Jimmy Dore's take on CBS's propaganda pushing war with Iran including feedback from multiple YouTube respondents who point out how CBS's coverage is "Total BS, we are being lied to just like we were with Iraq" and "'Fired from Iran, sources say'. Yes, the same sources that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, same sources that said Gulf of Tonkin was 100% the fault of the north vietnamese" [sic] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKfYQU5NNCk Licia Flynn's "Firm Denial" ISBN-10: 1732277737 ISBN-13: 978-1732277731 Licia Flynn's "Firm Resolve" ISBN-10: 1732277710 ISBN-13: 978-1732277717 Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record" ISBN-10: 1250237238 ISBN-13: 978-1250237231 Read an excerpt: https://theintercept.com/2019/09/21/edward-snowden-permanent-record-book/ Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers on "Hong Kong In The Crosshairs Of Global Power And Ideological Struggles" https://popularresistance.org/hong-kong-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-power-and-ideological-struggles/ Redacted Tonight's Lee Camp interview with Michelle Greenstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklaIcDvAsU Collapse of the American Empire lecture by Chris Hedges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csI8JLJ15Ak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg -- Steve Paikin's related interview with Hedges Louis Proyect on "China, Saudia Arabia and the Fate of the Uyghurs" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/01/china-saudia-arabia-and-the-fate-of-the-uyghurs/ Belt and Road Initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative Pres. Trump speech at the UN General Assembly https://www.c-span.org/video/?463700-1/president-trump-calls-global-trade-reform-un-speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJWvDyUCHPY "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 Related to distracting people: https://bennorton.com/adolph-reed-identity-politics-is-neoliberalism/ -- Adolph Reed on "Identity Politics Is Neoliberalism" World Labor Hour archive http://stream.wrfu.net/wrfu-recordings/World%20Labor%20Hour/ "Moderate Rebels" channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNiXhsI4QtmQaeICpT-k7BQ/videos "Grayzone Project" channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEXR8pRTkE2vFeJePNe9UcQ/videos https://thegrayzone.com/ Max Blumenthal's "Goliath" ISBN-10: 1568586345 ISBN-13: 978-1568586342 "Goliath" Review by Steven Salaita https://www.palestine-studies.org/jps/fulltext/164378 "Moderate Rebels" shows on Hong Kong and China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcIWrkUFGic -- "US meddling in Hong Kong's protests and the new cold war on China with Carl Zha" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- "Hong Kong's real colonial history and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism with Carl Zha" https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/ Audio of two-part interview with Carl Zha Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_2.mp3?dest-id=553365 "Moderate Rebels" RSS feed https://moderaterebels.libsyn.com/rss -J From moboct1 at aim.com Wed Sep 25 13:55:30 2019 From: moboct1 at aim.com (Mildred O'brien) Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2019 13:55:30 +0000 (UTC) Subject: [Peace-discuss] On false equivalences In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <2058858142.12303770.1569419730371@mail.yahoo.com> Really, Ron.? Okay, so you subscribe to NYT.? Not interested in Establishment POV...??-----Original Message----- From: Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss To: peace-discuss at anti-war.net Cc: peace-discuss Sent: Tue, Sep 24, 2019 2:20 pm Subject: [Peace-discuss] On false equivalences Looking at ?Bothsidesing? When equal coverage leads to uneven results Merriam-Webster? 23 Sep 2019 Bothsidesing is a critique leveled at the media and public personas referring to the practice of finding a second angle on a story in an attempt at appearing "fair" to each side, which can often be seen as lending credibility to a side or objectionable idea that has none. There are two sides to every story, or so we are told. Two people in an argument aren?t going to see an issue the same way. And people on different ends of the political spectrum are going to have different opinions about the events that take place in the news. Getting more than one point of view to the story is part and parcel of journalism, but sometimes that means taking pains to look for a second angle to a subject merely for the sake of argument. And that is how we have come to see use of bothsidesing. 'Bothsidesing' is thought to have much in common with 'whataboutism.' The state of our nation and the state of our president have all but passed the point of rescue, but the press, in misguided pursuit of objectivity and led by the New York Times, still ?bothsides? its coverage. Make no mistake: This too is bias, and though it?s not nearly as corrosive to democracy as the Trump administration, it distorts and accelerates that corrosion?all in the name of neutrality, no less. ? Roger Sollenberger, Paste, 27 Dec. 2018 Conservatives who spent decades railing against Kennedy, calling him a murderer and a scoundrel and screaming about the left's silence, are right to be annoyed by the bothsidesing of this event. ? Sonny Bunch, The Washington Post, 19 Apr. 2018 Bothsidesing and its related noun bothsidesism turn up in critiques of the news media when a journalist or pundit seems to give extra credence to a cause, action, or idea that on the surface seems objectionable, thereby establishing a sort of moral equivalence that allows said cause, action, or idea to be weighed seriously. By giving credence to the other side, the media gives an impression of being fair to its subject, but in doing so often provides credibility to an idea that most might view as unmerited. What really makes this the Tapper Moment, though, is not his growing fame and viral interviews. It's the breadth of the respect he's earned, and how he's wielding it in the age of Trump. Because while he's tough on conservatives and liberals alike, he doesn't engage in bothsidesism. As Tapper said to Maher, "I've never really seen this level of falsehood, just quantitatively." ? Graham Vyse, The New Republic, 9 Mar. 2018 'Bothsidesing' in Politics It?s not just the media that gets accused of bothsidesing. The term also arises whenever a public official?or anyone with a large listening audience?equivocates about a seemingly condemnable action by saying that the people on either side of that action are equally responsible for it having taken place. Bothsidesing happens prominently during times of mass protest?as protests are met with counterprotests and violent clashes erupt, turning to bothsidesism prevents one from explicitly identifying which is in the wrong, thereby avoiding any incisive comment on the discord that led to the protests in the first place. Calling this action bothsidesing might be a deliberate echo of Trump?s own language. In August 2017 he responded to the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, saying that there were ?very fine people on both sides? at the rally, language that was viewed by many as a deliberate attempt to avoid singling out white supremacist activity. It?s probably not a coincidence that use of the term has increased in the months since Trump uttered the line?much of it on Twitter, sometimes as a hashtag. Similarities to 'Whataboutism' Bothsidesing has a lot in common with whataboutism?the rhetorical tactic of defending against an accusation by alerting others to a different accusation against an opponent. Both tactics rely on making false equivalences. While whataboutism comes with an element of diversion? look at what the guy over there did?bothsidesing tries to minimize what would often be deemed objectionable by heightening actions of other groups so that they will be deemed comparably objectionable. Some might argue that bothsidesing exposes a paradox about journalism: that sometimes, when both sides are treated fairly and equally, neither ends up shown in a true light. _______________________________________________ Peace-discuss mailing list Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 25 15:21:47 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2019 15:21:47 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] AWARE on the Air #493 notes In-Reply-To: <8ed4d540-6df2-fb1b-156a-bf266bced9a2@forestfield.org> References: <8ed4d540-6df2-fb1b-156a-bf266bced9a2@forestfield.org> Message-ID: Upon review. I made two major errors in speech: 1) I said the British exported opium to India, what I should have said is the British exported opium from India, to China. This was in reference to the US exporting opium to China, and I should have explained they imported the opium from Turkey to China. 2) I said something in reference to Chinese real estate billionaires raising prices and profiting, immediately after the handover, that is incorrect. They had been profiting from the rising prices of real estate long before the handover, under British colonialism, and continued to do so after the handover as Beijing does not control the economy of Hong Kong. I do question the insertion of the article in Counterpunch, by Louis Proyect, given he positions himself as a Marxist, while tearing down most Socialist organizations, individuals while supporting US war and interventions, primarily our covert ones. It?s true the Chinese did hire or attempted to hire, Erik Prince, company Frontier to work in Xinjiang province. Many overseas Chinese were complaining about this move. I can only assume its the ancient proverb of ?keep your friends close, your enemy?s closer, in practice.? If you have your friends on your payroll you can trust them, if you have your enemy?s on your payroll, you own them. I?m not sure that contract went through, because shortly thereafter Erik was meeting with Donald Trump in the Whitehouse in an attempt to set up what amounts to a ?paramilitary? in the US. On Sep 24, 2019, at 19:10, J.B. Nicholson via Peace > wrote: AWARE on the Air #493 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RTcmB1Raw A list of links to items referenced on the show. Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" Complete book: https://cleaves.zapto.org/news/attachments/dec2009/grandchessboard__brzezinski.pdf or get a copy from the CIA: https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/36/36669B7894E857AC4F3445EA646BFFE1_Zbigniew_Brzezinski_-_The_Grand_ChessBoard.doc.pdf British government's "imposition of trade of opium upon China" https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars James Bradley's "The China Mirage" Complete book: http://www.kropfpolisci.com/china.us.liberalism.bradley.pdf Regarding people noticing similarities in fomenting war: Jimmy Dore's take on CBS's propaganda pushing war with Iran including feedback from multiple YouTube respondents who point out how CBS's coverage is "Total BS, we are being lied to just like we were with Iraq" and "'Fired from Iran, sources say'. Yes, the same sources that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, same sources that said Gulf of Tonkin was 100% the fault of the north vietnamese" [sic] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKfYQU5NNCk Licia Flynn's "Firm Denial" ISBN-10: 1732277737 ISBN-13: 978-1732277731 Licia Flynn's "Firm Resolve" ISBN-10: 1732277710 ISBN-13: 978-1732277717 Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record" ISBN-10: 1250237238 ISBN-13: 978-1250237231 Read an excerpt: https://theintercept.com/2019/09/21/edward-snowden-permanent-record-book/ Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers on "Hong Kong In The Crosshairs Of Global Power And Ideological Struggles" https://popularresistance.org/hong-kong-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-power-and-ideological-struggles/ Redacted Tonight's Lee Camp interview with Michelle Greenstein https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklaIcDvAsU Collapse of the American Empire lecture by Chris Hedges https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csI8JLJ15Ak https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg -- Steve Paikin's related interview with Hedges Louis Proyect on "China, Saudia Arabia and the Fate of the Uyghurs" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/01/china-saudia-arabia-and-the-fate-of-the-uyghurs/ Belt and Road Initiative https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative Pres. Trump speech at the UN General Assembly https://www.c-span.org/video/?463700-1/president-trump-calls-global-trade-reform-un-speech https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJWvDyUCHPY "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 ISBN-10: 0199283273 Related to distracting people: https://bennorton.com/adolph-reed-identity-politics-is-neoliberalism/ -- Adolph Reed on "Identity Politics Is Neoliberalism" World Labor Hour archive http://stream.wrfu.net/wrfu-recordings/World%20Labor%20Hour/ "Moderate Rebels" channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNiXhsI4QtmQaeICpT-k7BQ/videos "Grayzone Project" channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEXR8pRTkE2vFeJePNe9UcQ/videos https://thegrayzone.com/ Max Blumenthal's "Goliath" ISBN-10: 1568586345 ISBN-13: 978-1568586342 "Goliath" Review by Steven Salaita https://www.palestine-studies.org/jps/fulltext/164378 "Moderate Rebels" shows on Hong Kong and China https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcIWrkUFGic -- "US meddling in Hong Kong's protests and the new cold war on China with Carl Zha" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- "Hong Kong's real colonial history and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism with Carl Zha" https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/ Audio of two-part interview with Carl Zha Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_2.mp3?dest-id=553365 "Moderate Rebels" RSS feed https://moderaterebels.libsyn.com/rss -J _______________________________________________ Peace mailing list Peace at lists.chambana.net https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Wed Sep 25 15:32:04 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Wed, 25 Sep 2019 10:32:04 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] [Peace] AWARE on the Air #493 notes In-Reply-To: References: <8ed4d540-6df2-fb1b-156a-bf266bced9a2@forestfield.org> Message-ID: The question is not about Louis Proyect?s general political views or personal habits, but whether his account of Chinese policy toward the Uyghurs is correct: Louis Proyect on "China, Saudia Arabia and the Fate of the Uyghurs" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/01/china-saudia-arabia-and-the-fate-of-the-uyghurs/ ?CGE > On Sep 25, 2019, at 10:21 AM, Karen Aram via Peace-discuss wrote: > > > Upon review. I made two major errors in speech: > > 1) I said the British exported opium to India, what I should have said is the British exported opium from India, to China. This was in reference to the US exporting opium to China, and I should have explained they imported the opium from Turkey to China. > > 2) I said something in reference to Chinese real estate billionaires raising prices and profiting, immediately after the handover, that is incorrect. They had been profiting from the rising prices of real estate long before the handover, under British colonialism, and continued to do so after the handover as Beijing does not control the economy of Hong Kong. > > I do question the insertion of the article in Counterpunch, by Louis Proyect, given he positions himself as a Marxist, while tearing down most Socialist organizations, individuals while supporting US war and interventions, primarily our covert ones. > > It?s true the Chinese did hire or attempted to hire, Erik Prince, company Frontier to work in Xinjiang province. Many overseas Chinese were complaining about this move. I can only assume its the ancient proverb of ?keep your friends close, your enemy?s closer, in practice.? > If you have your friends on your payroll you can trust them, if you have your enemy?s on your payroll, you own them. > > I?m not sure that contract went through, because shortly thereafter Erik was meeting with Donald Trump in the Whitehouse in an attempt to set up what amounts to a ?paramilitary? in the US. > > > > >> On Sep 24, 2019, at 19:10, J.B. Nicholson via Peace wrote: >> >> AWARE on the Air #493 >> Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t4RTcmB1Raw >> >> A list of links to items referenced on the show. >> >> Zbigniew Brzezinski's "The Grand Chessboard" >> Complete book: https://cleaves.zapto.org/news/attachments/dec2009/grandchessboard__brzezinski.pdf >> >> or get a copy from the CIA: >> >> https://www.cia.gov/library/abbottabad-compound/36/36669B7894E857AC4F3445EA646BFFE1_Zbigniew_Brzezinski_-_The_Grand_ChessBoard.doc.pdf >> >> British government's "imposition of trade of opium upon China" >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opium_Wars >> >> James Bradley's "The China Mirage" >> Complete book: http://www.kropfpolisci.com/china.us.liberalism.bradley.pdf >> >> Regarding people noticing similarities in fomenting war: Jimmy Dore's take on CBS's propaganda pushing war with Iran including feedback from multiple YouTube respondents who point out how CBS's coverage is "Total BS, we are being lied to just like we were with Iraq" and "'Fired from Iran, sources say'. Yes, the same sources that said Iraq had weapons of mass destruction, same sources that said Gulf of Tonkin was 100% the fault of the north vietnamese" [sic] >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sKfYQU5NNCk >> >> Licia Flynn's "Firm Denial" >> ISBN-10: 1732277737 >> ISBN-13: 978-1732277731 >> >> Licia Flynn's "Firm Resolve" >> ISBN-10: 1732277710 >> ISBN-13: 978-1732277717 >> >> Edward Snowden's "Permanent Record" >> ISBN-10: 1250237238 >> ISBN-13: 978-1250237231 >> Read an excerpt: https://theintercept.com/2019/09/21/edward-snowden-permanent-record-book/ >> >> Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers on "Hong Kong In The Crosshairs Of Global Power And Ideological Struggles" >> https://popularresistance.org/hong-kong-in-the-crosshairs-of-global-power-and-ideological-struggles/ >> >> Redacted Tonight's Lee Camp interview with Michelle Greenstein >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AklaIcDvAsU >> >> Collapse of the American Empire lecture by Chris Hedges >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=csI8JLJ15Ak >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPk9HSLagVg -- Steve Paikin's related interview with Hedges >> >> Louis Proyect on "China, Saudia Arabia and the Fate of the Uyghurs" >> https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/03/01/china-saudia-arabia-and-the-fate-of-the-uyghurs/ >> >> Belt and Road Initiative >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belt_and_Road_Initiative >> >> Pres. Trump speech at the UN General Assembly >> https://www.c-span.org/video/?463700-1/president-trump-calls-global-trade-reform-un-speech >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJWvDyUCHPY >> >> "A Brief History of Neoliberalism" by David Harvey >> ISBN-13: 978-0199283279 >> ISBN-10: 0199283273 >> >> Related to distracting people: >> https://bennorton.com/adolph-reed-identity-politics-is-neoliberalism/ -- Adolph Reed on "Identity Politics Is Neoliberalism" >> >> World Labor Hour archive >> http://stream.wrfu.net/wrfu-recordings/World%20Labor%20Hour/ >> >> "Moderate Rebels" channel >> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCNiXhsI4QtmQaeICpT-k7BQ/videos >> >> "Grayzone Project" channel >> https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCEXR8pRTkE2vFeJePNe9UcQ/videos >> https://thegrayzone.com/ >> >> Max Blumenthal's "Goliath" >> ISBN-10: 1568586345 >> ISBN-13: 978-1568586342 >> >> "Goliath" Review by Steven Salaita >> https://www.palestine-studies.org/jps/fulltext/164378 >> >> "Moderate Rebels" shows on Hong Kong and China >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcIWrkUFGic -- "US meddling in Hong Kong's protests and the new cold war on China with Carl Zha" >> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a38bOtUEXcc -- "Hong Kong's real colonial history and the protests' anti-China right-wing nativism with Carl Zha" >> https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/moderaterebels/ >> >> Audio of two-part interview with Carl Zha >> Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_1.mp3?dest-id=553365 >> Moderate_Rebels_Hong_Kong_Carl_Zha_part_2.mp3?dest-id=553365 >> >> "Moderate Rebels" RSS feed >> https://moderaterebels.libsyn.com/rss >> >> -J >> _______________________________________________ >> Peace mailing list >> Peace at lists.chambana.net >> https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace > From brussel at illinois.edu Thu Sep 26 04:07:23 2019 From: brussel at illinois.edu (Brussel, Morton K) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 04:07:23 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again Message-ID: What do you disagree with? https://www.truthdig.com/articles/saving-the-planet-means-overthrowing-the-ruling-elites/ ?"We have to let go of our relentless positivism, our absurd mania for hope, our naive belief that with grit and determination we can solve all problems. We have to face the bleakness before us. We live in a world already heavily damaged by global warming, which will inevitably get worse. Refusal to participate in the further destruction of the planet means a rupture with traditional politics. It means noncooperation with authority. It means defying in every nonviolent way possible consumer capitalism, militarism and imperialism. It means adjusting our lifestyle, including becoming vegans, to thwart the forces bent upon our annihilation. And it means waves of sustained civil disobedience until the machine is broken.? I?m not sure about the vegans requirement? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 26 08:55:26 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 03:55:26 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] China & US FP Message-ID: Discussed on AWARE ON THE AIR this week. https://mondediplo.com/2019/10/01editorial From cgestabrook at gmail.com Thu Sep 26 08:55:26 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 03:55:26 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] China & US FP Message-ID: Discussed on AWARE ON THE AIR this week. https://mondediplo.com/2019/10/01editorial From kmedina67 at gmail.com Thu Sep 26 12:35:05 2019 From: kmedina67 at gmail.com (kmedina67) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 07:35:05 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <5d8cb07a.1c69fb81.1b401.3237@mx.google.com> Livestock farming has a vast?environmental?footprint. It contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration and deforestation. Nowhere is this impact more apparent than climate change ? livestock farming contributes 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. -------- Original message --------From: "Brussel, Morton K via Peace-discuss" Date: 9/25/19 23:07 (GMT-06:00) To: Peace Discuss Cc: "Brussel, Morton K" Subject: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again What do you disagree with? https://www.truthdig.com/articles/saving-the-planet-means-overthrowing-the-ruling-elites/ ?"We have to let go of our relentless positivism, our absurd mania for hope, our naive belief that with grit and determination we can solve all problems. We have to face the bleakness before us. We live in a world already heavily damaged by global warming, which will inevitably get worse. Refusal to participate in the further destruction of the planet means a rupture with traditional politics. It means noncooperation with authority. It means defying in every nonviolent way possible consumer capitalism, militarism and imperialism. It means adjusting our lifestyle, including becoming vegans, to thwart the forces bent upon our annihilation. And it means waves of sustained civil disobedience until the machine is broken.? I?m not sure about the vegans requirement? -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From r-szoke at illinois.edu Thu Sep 26 21:43:32 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 21:43:32 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again In-Reply-To: <5d8cb07a.1c69fb81.1b401.3237@mx.google.com> References: , <5d8cb07a.1c69fb81.1b401.3237@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Suggest that everyone interested in this discussion take a look at an article in the current (Sept. 30) issue of the New Yorker, titled "Value Meal," written by Tad Friend. It's mostly about the currently popular vegetarian/vegan beef substitutes Impossible Burger & Beyond Meat, which most people find fully equal or superior to actual meat in every way (taste, appearance, nutrition, etc.) -- but most especially in the aspect of a lower burden than animal agriculture on the environment. ~~ Ron ________________________________________ From: Peace-discuss on behalf of kmedina67 via Peace-discuss Sent: Thursday, September 26, 2019 7:35 AM To: Brussel, Morton K; Peace Discuss Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again Livestock farming has a vast environmental footprint. It contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration and deforestation. Nowhere is this impact more apparent than climate change ? livestock farming contributes 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. -------- Original message -------- From: "Brussel, Morton K via Peace-discuss" Date: 9/25/19 23:07 (GMT-06:00) To: Peace Discuss Cc: "Brussel, Morton K" Subject: [Peace-discuss] Hedges, again What do you disagree with? https://www.truthdig.com/articles/saving-the-planet-means-overthrowing-the-ruling-elites/ ?"We have to let go of our relentless positivism, our absurd mania for hope, our naive belief that with grit and determination we can solve all problems. We have to face the bleakness before us. We live in a world already heavily damaged by global warming, which will inevitably get worse. Refusal to participate in the further destruction of the planet means a rupture with traditional politics. It means noncooperation with authority. It means defying in every nonviolent way possible consumer capitalism, militarism and imperialism. It means adjusting our lifestyle, including becoming vegans, to thwart the forces bent upon our annihilation. And it means waves of sustained civil disobedience until the machine is broken.? I?m not sure about the vegans requirement? From jbn at forestfield.org Thu Sep 26 23:29:17 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 18:29:17 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Notes Message-ID: <6e762298-cead-4ad7-7f6d-b1f18fe520df@forestfield.org> Russiagate: Russiagate pivots to Biden-Ukraine corruption but DLC is still chasing a new losing proposition https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1BsWtp1d6w -- Jimmy Dore interviews Aaron Mat?. Here's an excerpt: > Jimmy Dore: The whole thing going on with Trump, Ukraine, and Biden: of > course, just like with Russiagate, the Democrats are finding a bullshit > issue to distract everybody from the stuff they should be screaming > about. But they're not screaming about the stuff they're supposed to be > screaming about or opposing Trump on the stuff they're supposed to be > opposing him on. Why? Because they agree with him. Like what? Like how > about his policy sending troops to Saudi Arabia: right now Trump is > sending troops to Saudi Arabia. No one is asking 'Why are you doing > that? Didn't we just sell them $110 billion worth of weapons? First of > all, why do we give a shit? Don't we have more energy than we know what > to do with now? Aren't we exporting energy now from the United States? > Why do we care?'. And here's what I said: I'm offering $1 million to the > first corporate news reader to mention the Petrodollar while reporting > that we are sending Americans to protect Saudi oil. Now if you know why > we're doing that, why we are in bed with Saudi Arabia? It's because when > we went off the gold standard they promised to make everybody when they > bought their oil to do it in American dollars which is called the > Petrodollar which props up our economy and keeps our interest rate low. > So if we ever go off the Petrodollar that's gonna be bad for our > economy. And that's one of the big reasons why we're in bed with Saudi > Arabia, why we're doing Yemen with them -- we're committing genocide, > we're helping a dictator, a theocratic, oppressive, murderous > dictatorship commit a genocide in Yemen. We're doing that right now. > That's the real scandal that no one will talk about. What are they > talking about [instead]? He [Trump] asked someone to look into the > corruption of Joe Biden's kid who is corrupt. That's it. Did I get it > right Aaron? How am I doing so far? > > Aaron Mat?: I totally agree and it's so symbolic that this is the issue > that leads them [the Democrats] to finally coalesce around impeachment > because it shows you can do anything: you can cause, as you say Jimmy, > genocide in Yemen but you can not go after another member of the > establishment. And so Democrats and the Democratic partisans who > identify with them in the media this now is the impeachment-worthy > scandal, not committing mass murder in Yemen, not pulling out of the > Iran deal, the Paris climate accords, and locking up kids in cages and > subjecting immigrants to even more cruelty than they were under Obama > where it was already pretty cruel. No, you cannot go after Joe Biden. > And this is what we're gonna get you for. And this is endemic: Richard > Nixon, what was he impeached for? He wasn't impeached for mass murder > and bombing Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. He was impeached for going > after the other factor of the establishment. The Democratic Party was > broken into, Nixon covered that up, he lied about it, you can't do that. > You can't go after the other faction of the elite. Or else that faction, > plus their partisans in the media, will go after you. And so that's what > is unfolding now and in the process the Democrats and their media > partisans are enrolling who is legitimately aggrieved by Trump's > existence as president but they're enrolling them in this kind of narrow > and backward grievance that is not gonna catch on. [...] This is trying > to get him [Trump] on something so minuscule in the scale of his actual > crimes. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_TUkRkVVVo -- RT's review of Joe Biden's corruption. Transcript follows including more of Joe Biden's bragging to the Council on Foreign Relations talk in which he bragged about using his status and power to get a Ukrainian prosecutor fired: RT: In 2014, [Joe] Biden was in charge of Washington's policy stance for Ukraine. And for some reason his son [Hunter Biden] was put on a Ukrainian oil company's board of directors around that same time. When a prosecutor launched an inquiry into that weird coincidence, Biden had this to say: > Joe Biden: I went over, I guess the 12th 13th time to Kiev and I was > supposed to announce that there was another billion dollar loan > guarantee. And I had gotten a commitment from Poroshenko and from > Yatsenyuk that they would take action against a state prosecutor and > they didn't. So they said they're walking out to the press conference. I > said 'nah, I'm not gonna--we're not gonna give you the billion dollars'. > They said, 'You have no authority, you're not the President. The > President said--' I said, 'Call him.'. I said 'I'm tellin ya' you're not > getting the billion dollars.'. I said 'You're not getting the billion; > I'm gonna be leaving here and I think in what, six hours', and I said, > 'Look, I'm leaving in six hours. If the prosecutor's not fired you're > not getting the money.'. RT: Shortly after the prosecutor was fired and the inquiry dropped. Biden said neither had to do with one another, just another coincidence. RT: Let's go back to Biden's 2013 trip to China for talks with President Xi Jinping. Ten days after that a subsidiary of the Bank of China cut a deal with Joe's son, Hunter, to form a $1 billion joint investment fund. Another billion dollar coincidence. RT: Then there was 2011 when he [Joe Biden] oversaw US troop withdrawal from Iraq. That same year, Joe's younger brother [James Biden] sealed a $1.5 billion deal to build homes in, you guessed it, Iraq. Irvin Richter, Chief Executive of Hill International, is quoted as saying "There's plenty of money for everyone if this project goes through.". And that mountain of Benjamins too is only a coincidence. It seems that when you're related to the former Vice President things just tend to work out. Afghanistan war: "U.S. drone strike kills 30 pine nut farm workers in Afghanistan" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XgWAQ3Gv2jc -- Jimmy Dore & co. on this topic. As good as Dore is on war in the abstract, he never pointed out that drone war always extrajudicially kills innocents and therefore anyone who thinks drone killing is okay is also endorsing extrajudicially killing innocent people. Dore can't bring this up because he's in the tank for a Democrat who is on record endorsing drone war -- Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard -- despite being called "anti-war" and "anti-establishment" (including by Jimmy Dore). This is the reason why Dore won't cover Gabbard's "Primo Nutmeg" interview or her 2018 "Intercept" interview in which she clearly lays out her support for drone killing. Related: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PNe2R7vgjXs -- 100 countries now have killer drones. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-attack-drones/u-s-drone-strike-kills-30-pine-nut-farm-workers-in-afghanistan-idUSKBN1W40NW > JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - A U.S. drone strike intended to hit > an Islamic State (IS) hideout in Afghanistan killed at least 30 > civilians resting after a day?s labor in the fields, officials said on > Thursday. > > The attack on Wednesday night also injured 40 people after accidentally > targeting farmers and laborers who had just finished collecting pine > nuts at mountainous Wazir Tangi in eastern Nangarhar province, three > Afghan officials told Reuters. > > ?The workers had lit a bonfire and were sitting together when a drone > targeted them,? tribal elder Malik Rahat Gul told Reuters by telephone > from Wazir Tangi. > > Afghanistan?s Defence Ministry and a senior U.S official in Kabul > confirmed the drone strike, but did not share details of civilian > casualties. https://graphics.reuters.com/USA-AFGHANISTAN/0100B28R18Q/afg-civilian-casualties.jpg -- A map of civilian casualties in Afghanistan Democrats: "Progressives must begin heading for the democratic party exits now." -- BlackAgendaReport.com https://www.blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-wfp-phony-outrage-and-black-misleaders -- Why the WFP is not a party and should only be considered a reliable shill for the DLC. > The co-founder of Black Lives Matter has struck a cynical deal with > corporate Democrats to boost Elizabeth Warren by attacking Bernie > Sanders forces as racist. > > The black misleadership class and their friends are preparing for the > 2016 presidential election in a predictably shameful manner. In an > effort to do the bidding of the Democratic Party establishment they are > cynically using claims of racism in an effort to prop up Elizabeth > Warren as the faux progressive choice. In the process they have > relegated black voter concerns to the whims of the group whose corrupt > and inept machinations put Donald Trump in the White House. > > This sad story begins with the Working Families Party (WFP). Despite its > well chosen name it is merely a front group for the Democratic Party. > The word party in their title is a misnomer. WFP rarely runs its own > slate of candidates, instead Democrats run with WFP endorsements in an > effort to appear progressive. The sleight of hand often succeeds in > giving leftist Democratic voters hope that their center right party may > actually do something they would like. > > In 2016 the WFP membership endorsed Bernie Sanders with 80% of their > votes. The WFP recently endorsed Elizabeth Warren but the leadership > have declined to say by how much or if the vote of members differed from > that of the leadership. > > For good measure they gave great attention to self-identified Sanders > supporters who made racist and sexist statements online. Sanders and > his team quickly decried the offensive statements but to no avail. The > political theater culminated with an open letter signed by more than > 100 people who were on board with the attempt to discredit legitimate > inquiry and use black people as their justification. > > black leaders are joined at the hip with the Democratic Party, whose > sole mission through the 2016 convention is to stop Bernie Sanders. They > know that Sanders speaks to people?s needs and would win the nomination > and election absent any interference from donors, the party or its > operatives. The WFP is a perfect partner for the fraud because it exists > only as a cover for the Democrats. Who better to give the impression > that progressives prefer Warren to Sanders? [...] > Hopefully the chicanery will result in the end of progressive illusions > about the democrats. But no one has to wait until next year to give up > on wishful thinking. Every four years progressives engage in hope that > the democrats will actually permit their candidate of choice to be > nominated. > > We have seen this movie and we know the ending. Progressives must begin > heading for the democratic party exits now. Overlooking Sanders support > for U.S. aggression in exchange for an increased minimum wage is to sell > one?s soul for nothing. There is no hope for justice at home or peace > abroad within the confines of the democratic party. > > If the election is rigged badly enough there won?t even be a chance for > a democratic party president. A replay of a Trump victory may be in the > offing if the misleaders aren?t called to account right now. Democrats: Why Elizabeth Warren will likely lose to Donald Trump. jbn: Warren is the DLC's new favorite after Biden failed to gain public interest despite corporate media's supportive distractions and half-truths. Now Biden is the subject of a new scandal which conflicts with the DLC's continued push for Russiagate conspiring and their failure to prove Russian collusion and make good on oft-repeated promises to impeach Pres. Trump. Russiagate now pivots to Ukraine and the DLC turns their attention to support neocon and neoliberal Elizabeth Warren. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJyVTPX5F_c -- Jimmy Dore & co. on "Bogus 'Working Families Party' endorsement of Warren" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LeFbqK2Pf8 -- Jimmy Dore & co. on "Everything That's Wrong with Elizabeth Warren" jbn: Despite the Washington Post's claim that Sen. Warren "support[s Senator] Sanders's Medicare-for-all plan to nationalize the health insurance industry" (https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2018/12/31/warrens-agenda-break-up-monopolies-give-workers-control-over-corporations-fight-big-pharma/) she also took HMO money. jbn: California Senator Kamala Harris gave a talk at Kaiser Hospital on Labor Day about health care justice without mentioning 'health care' or 'Kaiser' once. It turns out that Harris is a recipient of Kaiser's money ($13,220). But who makes slightly more -- $15,059 -- Elizabeth Warren. jbn: Also, when the Democrats had control of the House and Senate and Pres. Obama in the White House they did not bring up HR676 (Michigan's Rep. John Conyers' Medicare for All bill) for a vote. jbn: I think these points tell us how much we can trust Democrats to push for Medicare for All now. For anyone who buys into the notion that we need to "get big money out of politics" and Warren's finger-wagging show hearings against bankers is evidence she agrees with this notion, consider what she told host Cenk Uygur of "The Young Turks" when they discussed "refusing fundraising from events with big donors" (which I believe they refer to as "unilateral disarmament"). This language ("refusing fundraising...") was also the subtitle of their talk as they said the following): > Cenk Uygur: You mentioned that earlier that you don't believe in > unilateral disarmament so does this only apply in the primaries or will > you carry this over to the general election or any other election you'll > have going forward? > > Sen. Elizabeth Warren: So this is for primaries. Look, I do not believe > in unilateral disarmament. We need to win. We need to win in 2020. And > when we hit 2020 and we're in a race against Donald Trump, or we're in a > race for control of the Senate, and control of the House, and in control > of the State Houses, and the Governors' mansions, in all of those the > Republicans are gonna be bringin' a lot of money, a lot of power, a lot > of dark money, a lot of Super PACs all to the fight. We play by the same > rules. And in that one I say we gotta be all in. Jimmy Dore's live show crowd booed Sen. Warren and called her a "sellout". To which Jimmy Dore aptly replied: > Jimmy Dore: But you guys, don't you understand she only wants to take > the dark money when it comes to the White House, the Senate, the House, > the Governorships, State Houses, so when we do the dog catcher election > [he vigorously shakes his head 'no'] no dark money. It'll be okay. What > the fuck is she talking about? Every election is for the White House, > and the Senate, and the House, and Governorships, and State > legislatures, when do we have an election that doesn't involve those > people? What the fuck kind of bullshit are you slinging? "All in" means > we're gonna take big money, corporate money, dark money, that's > bullshit. Right? I don't think that's right. As Bernie [Sanders] says, > "You can't change a corrupt system by taking its money.". > > Malcolm Fleschner: Are you sure the full quote isn't "You can't change a > corrupt system by taking its money IN THE PRIMARIES?" And then points out some articles showing who Sen. Warren is in the tank for: https://time.com/3695581/elizabeth-warren-medical-device-lobbyists-obamacare/ -- "Elizabeth Warren Goes to Bat for Medical Device Industry" where she tried to lower taxes for medical industry companies: > Warren took to the floor of the Senate on Jan. 29 to unveil a bill she > said would act as a kind of multi-million dollar ?swear jar? for > pharmaceutical companies that break the law, penalizing them when they > get caught and using the funds to supplement scientific research. With > the folksy delivery that has made her a favorite of progressives across > the country, she said that powerful, moneyed lobbyists had opposed the > bill, but that her message to them and their big business bosses was, > ?If they don?t want to put a dollar in the swear jar, then stop > swearing.? > > What Warren didn?t say was that her bill has a loophole in it for > medical device manufacturers. Those companies, which make everything > from latex gloves to Magnetic Resonance Imaging machines, would be > exempt from her proposed penalties unless they also make drugs. At the > same time, her bill explicitly ensures that the so-called ?medtech? > companies would benefit from the research dollars that her ?swear jar? > would generate. https://freebeacon.com/issues/elizabeth-warren-attends-marthas-vineyard-dinner-hosted-by-big-bank-executive/ -- "Elizabeth Warren Attends Martha?s Vineyard Dinner Hosted by Big Bank Executive" > Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.), one of the Senate's fiercest Wall > Street critics, attended a Democratic donor retreat over the weekend > hosted by former UBS bank executive Robert Wolf, who last year lashed > out against politicians that target Wall Street for political gain. > > Wolf hosted Warren as part of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign > Committee's annual donor retreat in Martha's Vineyard. He wrote on > Twitter that he was "honored" to host Warren, who was joined by other > Democratic senators at the fundraiser. Exploitation/War: Army Times: "Student loan crisis, not Mideast wars, helped Army leaders exceed recruiting goals this year" jbn: More poor young people + lower recruitment expectations = exceeding recruitment quotas (also known as more exploitation). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YMU5qVATP0A -- Jimmy Dore & co. on the following article from Army Times. Also footage of Mike Prysner (of Empire Files) from his talk in "Winter Soldier" talking about his experiences in the US military -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6L9NTpkYnI (10m55s) https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/09/17/student-loan-crisis-not-mideast-wars-helped-army-leaders-exceed-recruiting-goals-this-year/ > Army leadership gathered Tuesday to announce that they surpassed their > recruiting goal for 2019, signing up more than 68,000 active duty > soldiers before the end of the fiscal year, but the long wars in the > Middle East weren?t exactly part of the sales pitch. > > Based on his experience visiting 30 to 40 recruiting stations this year, > the eventual outcomes of wars abroad are ?not really part of the > discussion? between potential soldiers and their recruiters, Maj. Gen. > Frank Muth, head of Army Recruiting Command, told reporters at the > Pentagon Tuesday. > > ?One of the national crises right now is student loans, so $31,000 is > [about] the average,? Muth said. ?You can get out [of the Army] after > four years, 100 percent paid for state college anywhere in the United > States." > > A significant part of the recruiting push has been showing that the Army > serves as a pathway to America?s middle class, with several service > leaders noting that their children used GI Bill benefits and ROTC > scholarships. [...] > Last year, the service set its sights on enlisting 80,000 soldiers, but > adjusted its goal in the middle of the year to about 76,500, only to > fall short at roughly 70,000 in the end. This fiscal year?s recruitment > push was much more modest. > > ?We made our recruiting mission, so we made 68,000,? McConville said. > ?Our retention mission ... we?ve retained a lot more than we thought and > our attrition has gone down.? > > The service had a retention goal of about 50,000 and managed to retain > 51,000 soldiers, Grinston said. ?Once soldiers join the Army, they want > to stay in, even when there is a very healthy economy,? he added. > > The low unemployment rate and booming economy make recruiting difficult, > especially when compared to past recruiting pushes during the Iraq and > Afghanistan wars that lined up closer to a major global recession. > > Also unlike the surge years, the Army didn?t rely on increases in > waivers. In fact, this year, the Army issued 3.4 percent fewer waivers, > the bulk of which are ?moral? waivers that deal with issues like > marijuana possession, Muth said [...] > McCarthy credited changes to how the Army spends its advertising dollars > as a potential game-changer for the service?s recruiting efforts going > forward. > > ?We task organized the entire Army Marketing Research Group differently > so that we put branding in control of the secretary and the chief," > McCarthy said. > > "We moved more uniformed personnel into the marketing organization so > that we could try to get control of the messaging.? > > The Army recently established a new Chicago-based marketing team stocked > with uniformed officers to be closer to its new advertising firm, DDB > Chicago, which won a $4 billion contract to serve as the Army?s > full-service ad agency until 2028. > > ?Two years ago, we were spending 50 percent of our advertising dollars > on television advertising, and we?ve shifted about upwards of 90 percent > to the digital side," McCarthy added. jbn: So doesn't this mean that the military draft is still on, but the details of how it is carried out have changed? -J From cgestabrook at gmail.com Fri Sep 27 03:37:57 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Thu, 26 Sep 2019 22:37:57 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] MSM defends CIA's 'whistleblower' but ignores actual whistleblowers Message-ID: <931AFB4E-3238-4035-8B01-6E7E3C79978D@gmail.com> https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/27/msm-defends-cias-whistleblower-ignores-actual-whistleblowers/ From r-szoke at illinois.edu Fri Sep 27 23:50:05 2019 From: r-szoke at illinois.edu (Szoke, Ron) Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 23:50:05 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Put the whistleblower on trial? Message-ID: A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Ukr whistlebrower.rtfd.zip Type: application/zip Size: 3931 bytes Desc: Ukr whistlebrower.rtfd.zip URL: From jbn at forestfield.org Fri Sep 27 23:50:05 2019 From: jbn at forestfield.org (J.B. Nicholson) Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 18:50:05 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] News from Neptune #436 notes Message-ID: <05a776b1-4bbf-6ae8-6d6a-d47f59410ead@forestfield.org> News from Neptune #436 Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oorczb4qSzo A "UKRAINE YOUR NECKS & YOU STILL CAN?T SEE / U.S. FOREIGN POLICY" edition A list of links to items referenced on the show. Jeffrey St. Clair on "Roaming Charges: Rough Trade Transcript" https://www.counterpunch.org/2019/09/27/roaming-charges-rough-trade-transcript/ Peter Strzok/Lisa Page texts are referred to in many articles: https://www.cnbc.com/2018/06/14/fbi-agents-text-reportedly-disclosed-by-justice-watchdog-well-stop-trump-from-becoming-president.html https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/14/us/politics/fbi-texts-trump.html https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/report-fbi-agent-peter-strzok-fired-for-anti-trump-texts Nicholas Kristof on "Thousands More Jeffrey Epsteins Are Still Out There" https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/14/opinion/sunday/human-trafficking-jeffrey-epstein.html The International Centre for Missing and Exploited Children in "Ernie Allen Statement in Response to President Obama?s Speech Launching a New Effort to Combat Human Trafficking at the Clinton Global Initiative in New York." press release https://www.icmec.org/press/ernie-allen-statement-in-response-to-president-obamas-speech-launching-a-new-effort-to-combat-human-trafficking-at-the-clinton-global-initiative-in-new-york/ Ellis E. Conklin, Martin Cizmar and Kristen Hinman on "Real Men Get Their Facts Straight" https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/06/29/real-men-get-their-facts-straight/ Jose D. Duran on "Ashton Kutcher and Demi Moore Get Their Facts Wrong About Underage Sex Trafficking" https://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/ashton-kutcher-and-demi-moore-get-their-facts-wrong-about-underage-sex-trafficking-6519454 points to https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/06/29/real-men-get-their-facts-straight-sex-trafficking-ashton-kutcher-demi-moore/ which appears to be unavailable. Use the above link instead. Alexander Cockburn on "COLUMN LEFT : Day Care, Satanism and ?Therapy? : Another case of secretive experts and vague indictments involving children in day care." https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1991-09-05-me-2148-story.html Related: Alexander Cockburn on "Katha?s Silence" https://www.counterpunch.org/1999/10/26/katha-s-silence/ Related: Debbie Nathan & Michael Snedeker's "Satan?s Silence: Ritual Abuse and the Making of a Modern American Witch Hunt" Jimmy Dore interviews Aaron Mat? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1BsWtp1d6w About 'Solidarity Sundays' https://www.solidaritysundays.org/about/our-story Kimberley A. Strassel on "Taking Out Joe Biden" https://www.wsj.com/articles/taking-out-joe-biden-11569538710 Related: "Whistleblower in Ukrainegate is a career CIA officer" -- Tucker Carlson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F3sU6ngvuAM Related: "Ukraine has become the next Russia hoax" -- Tucker Carlson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qU9aH4ia32w Related: "Democrats pin their hopes on flimsy 'evidence'" -- Tucker Carlson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nKrZCipdx5s Adam Goldman, Michael S. Schmidt and Julian E. Barnes on "Whistle-Blower Is a C.I.A. Officer Who Was Detailed to the White House" Related: http://archive.is/OPbJX Related: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/26/us/politics/who-is-whistleblower.html Caitlin Johnstone on "MSM Defends CIA?s ?Whistleblower?, Ignores Actual Whistleblowers" https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/27/msm-defends-cias-whistleblower-ignores-actual-whistleblowers/ Tim Weiner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Weiner https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Weiner#Books -- his bibliography Alexander Cockburn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cockburn https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Cockburn#Bibliography -- his bibliography Michael Arria on "Women?s March cuts ties with another board member following ?Islamophobic smear campaign?" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/09/following-islamophobic-campaign/ Steven Salaita on "Except for Palestine" https://mondoweiss.net/2019/02/except-for-palestine/ Related: Marjorie Cohn on "The ?Progressive Except Palestine? Problem" https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/06/the-progressive-except-palestine-problem/ Related: Donna Nevel on "There is no such thing as ?Progressive Except Palestine?" https://mondoweiss.net/2017/01/progressive-except-palestine/ Margaret Kimberley on "Freedom Rider: The WFP, Phony Outrage and Black Misleaders" https://www.blackagendareport.com/freedom-rider-wfp-phony-outrage-and-black-misleaders -J From cgestabrook at gmail.com Fri Sep 27 23:55:08 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C G Estabrook) Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 18:55:08 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Put the whistleblower on trial? In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: <7C5A4DF5-5D96-49DD-8127-810464B5BB75@gmail.com> https://caitlinjohnstone.com/2019/09/27/msm-defends-cias-whistleblower-ignores-actual-whistleblowers/ > On Sep 27, 2019, at 6:50 PM, Szoke, Ron via Peace-discuss wrote: > > _______________________________________________ > Peace-discuss mailing list > Peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net > https://lists.chambana.net/mailman/listinfo/peace-discuss From cgestabrook at gmail.com Sat Sep 28 01:21:26 2019 From: cgestabrook at gmail.com (C. G. Estabrook ) Date: Fri, 27 Sep 2019 20:21:26 -0500 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Fwd: An inferno of a war References: Message-ID: <69B59496-F7DC-4BBF-8965-FC3C33DFB6E4@gmail.com> Begin forwarded message: > From: "TULSI2020" > Date: September 27, 2019 at 8:12:39 PM CDT > To: "C.G. Estabrook" > Subject: An inferno of a war > Reply-To: info at tulsi2020.com > > > > C.G. ? > > Honoring our servicemen and women means only sending them on missions that are truly worthy of the great sacrifices that they and their families are making. > > On CNN this week, Tulsi made it clear that Trump?s decision to send 200 troops to Saudi Arabia, a country that continues to provide both direct and indirect support to al-Qaeda, is an outright betrayal of every single servicemember who wears the uniform and of the survivors of the attack on 9/11. > > 200 troops is 200 troops too many. Click here to watch Tulsi?s answer whether our troops should put their lives on the line for Saudi Arabia and share it with your friends. > > Asked what she would do as president, Tulsi responded with a clear-eyed analysis and plan of action, affirming again that we cannot continue a cycle of retaliation that can only lead to ?an all out inferno of a war? with Iran. > > Tulsi is committed to end our engagement in regime change wars and stop the new Cold War and nuclear arms race because she understands the cost of war on our servicemembers and their families as well as our nation as a whole. > > Click here to stand with Tulsi to honor our servicemen and women and ensure we are not pawning them off to the highest bidder in countries like Saudi Arabia that are allied with our enemy. > > Thank you for standing with our troops, > > The TULSI2020 team > > > > DONATE ? > > > > PAID FOR BY TULSI NOW > PO Box 75255 Kapolei HI 96707 > > The truth is that email is one of the most important tools we have to update supporters like you. It is one way we come together as a community of progressives to make change in this world. > > If you would like to receive less emails like this one, you can update your email preferences here. Should you want to unsubscribe?and we would hate to see you leave?go here. > > Finally, if you believe we need to end the culture of corruption and greed in Washington, then now is the time to make a contribution to TULSI 2020. If you'd like to make a recurring contribution to TULSI 2020, please click here. > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sat Sep 28 20:14:52 2019 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (Karen Aram) Date: Sat, 28 Sep 2019 20:14:52 +0000 Subject: [Peace-discuss] Oct. 2 A Socialist Perspective on Climate Change Message-ID: OCT2 A Socialist Perspective on Climate Change Public ? Hosted by Party for Socialism and Liberation - Champaign-Urbana * clock Wednesday, October 2, 2019 at 6:30 PM ? 8:30 PM CDT Next Week ? 63?84?F Partly Cloudy * pin Urbana-Champaign Independent Media Center 202 S Broadway Ave Ste 1, Urbana, Illinois 61801 [Image may contain: 3 people, people standing and outdoor] "With demonstrations taking place across the country, the people are demanding systematic change. The planet is already dying, with the effects being felt disproportionally in the Global South. If we wait until it affects us personally it will be too late. Land should not be for profit, but capitalism requires exploitation of natural resources to function. Join us for a reading group and to discuss the forward through socialism, a system that preserves and protects the Earth and all people on it. " -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: