From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 1 14:20:15 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2021 09:20:15 -0500 Subject: [Peace] The US leaving Afghanistan Message-ID: "There are a lot of warmongers rending their garments over the termination of a decades-long military occupation which accomplished nothing besides making war profiteers wealthy and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Almost as ridiculous are the countless pundits and politicians hailing this as some kind of major accomplishment that Americans should be proud of. Pride, praise and celebration are not the appropriate emotional response to the day. The appropriate response to a decades-overdue withdrawal from a war that should never have happened in the first place is rage. Unmitigated rage at an unforgivable atrocity which amassed a mountain of corpses for no legitimate reason, from which the region will probably not recover in our lifetime. Unmitigated rage at those responsible for starting and maintaining this horror all this time. This is not something that Biden should be applauded for. Nobody deserves praise or credit for ending a twenty-year disaster, especially one they helped start. Nobody applauds the mass shooter for finally setting down the rifle." - Caity Johnstone From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 1 14:20:15 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2021 09:20:15 -0500 Subject: [Peace] The US leaving Afghanistan Message-ID: "There are a lot of warmongers rending their garments over the termination of a decades-long military occupation which accomplished nothing besides making war profiteers wealthy and killing hundreds of thousands of people. Almost as ridiculous are the countless pundits and politicians hailing this as some kind of major accomplishment that Americans should be proud of. Pride, praise and celebration are not the appropriate emotional response to the day. The appropriate response to a decades-overdue withdrawal from a war that should never have happened in the first place is rage. Unmitigated rage at an unforgivable atrocity which amassed a mountain of corpses for no legitimate reason, from which the region will probably not recover in our lifetime. Unmitigated rage at those responsible for starting and maintaining this horror all this time. This is not something that Biden should be applauded for. Nobody deserves praise or credit for ending a twenty-year disaster, especially one they helped start. Nobody applauds the mass shooter for finally setting down the rifle." - Caity Johnstone From karenaram at hotmail.com Sat Sep 4 23:55:12 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2021 18:55:12 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: The Ludlow Bill or Agreement References: Message-ID: > Begin forwarded message: > > From: karen aram > Date: September 4, 2021 at 6:54:29 PM CDT > To: Karen Aram > Subject: The Ludlow Bill or Agreement > > I'm reminded of my support for a By-Law, I proposed when elected to the BOD of the International School of Bangkok in 1988. It wasn't my idea, but I liked it enough to propose it. It required a referendum by the parents who paid the private school fee's, when the BOD elected a huge increase in tuition or proposed a bond, etc. My proposal was put down by friends and foes alike as impinging on the duties and powers of the BOD. > > Later I had a chance though failed, to vote out a proposal to add to the BY-Law addressing Executive Session meetings by adding to "All matters of personnel, expulsion or negotiations," the addition of "all important matters." I criticized it as it was unclear, vague and open to interpretation. > > At the time I had been privy to information that it was a member of USAID, who met with the BOD in executive session and suggested the building of a new school. One can only guess where this led, lot's of money, lot's of real estate development, etc. Some people leaving the country and their jobs, as they couldn't afford the high fees. My opposition was struck down by the BOD, most of whom were corporate employee's, later profiting from real estate development. > > Now I'm reading of the Ludlow Bill promoted in the thirty's, rejected first by Roosevelt, later by Congress. Always the same excuse. "It infringes on the duty and powers of the USG. and/or Congress." Maybe it's time we do infringe on the powers of the government, since it has failed to represent the will of the people. > Maybe it's time to raise the Ludlow Bill again. Though I doubt it will pass, and/or it will be watered down like every other reform we attempt, it's worth a try. > See below from Wikipedia, the history of attempts over the years to reign in US war making. > > Wars and interventions > United States: > 1812 North America > House Federalists? Address > 1847 Mexican?American War > Spot Resolutions > 1917 World War I > Filibuster of the Armed Ship Bill > 1935?1939 > Neutrality Acts > 1935?1940 > Ludlow Amendment > 1970 Vietnam > McGovern?Hatfield Amendment > 1970 Southeast Asia > Cooper?Church Amendment > 1971 Vietnam > Repeal of Tonkin Gulf Resolution > 1973 Southeast Asia > Case?Church Amendment > 1973 > War Powers Resolution > 1974 > Hughes?Ryan Amendment > 1976 Angola > Clark Amendment > 1982 Nicaragua > Boland Amendment > 2007 Iraq > House Concurrent Resolution 63 > 2018?2019 Yemen > Yemen War Powers Resolution > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sat Sep 4 23:55:12 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sat, 4 Sep 2021 18:55:12 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: The Ludlow Bill or Agreement References: Message-ID: > Begin forwarded message: > > From: karen aram > Date: September 4, 2021 at 6:54:29 PM CDT > To: Karen Aram > Subject: The Ludlow Bill or Agreement > > I'm reminded of my support for a By-Law, I proposed when elected to the BOD of the International School of Bangkok in 1988. It wasn't my idea, but I liked it enough to propose it. It required a referendum by the parents who paid the private school fee's, when the BOD elected a huge increase in tuition or proposed a bond, etc. My proposal was put down by friends and foes alike as impinging on the duties and powers of the BOD. > > Later I had a chance though failed, to vote out a proposal to add to the BY-Law addressing Executive Session meetings by adding to "All matters of personnel, expulsion or negotiations," the addition of "all important matters." I criticized it as it was unclear, vague and open to interpretation. > > At the time I had been privy to information that it was a member of USAID, who met with the BOD in executive session and suggested the building of a new school. One can only guess where this led, lot's of money, lot's of real estate development, etc. Some people leaving the country and their jobs, as they couldn't afford the high fees. My opposition was struck down by the BOD, most of whom were corporate employee's, later profiting from real estate development. > > Now I'm reading of the Ludlow Bill promoted in the thirty's, rejected first by Roosevelt, later by Congress. Always the same excuse. "It infringes on the duty and powers of the USG. and/or Congress." Maybe it's time we do infringe on the powers of the government, since it has failed to represent the will of the people. > Maybe it's time to raise the Ludlow Bill again. Though I doubt it will pass, and/or it will be watered down like every other reform we attempt, it's worth a try. > See below from Wikipedia, the history of attempts over the years to reign in US war making. > > Wars and interventions > United States: > 1812 North America > House Federalists? Address > 1847 Mexican?American War > Spot Resolutions > 1917 World War I > Filibuster of the Armed Ship Bill > 1935?1939 > Neutrality Acts > 1935?1940 > Ludlow Amendment > 1970 Vietnam > McGovern?Hatfield Amendment > 1970 Southeast Asia > Cooper?Church Amendment > 1971 Vietnam > Repeal of Tonkin Gulf Resolution > 1973 Southeast Asia > Case?Church Amendment > 1973 > War Powers Resolution > 1974 > Hughes?Ryan Amendment > 1976 Angola > Clark Amendment > 1982 Nicaragua > Boland Amendment > 2007 Iraq > House Concurrent Resolution 63 > 2018?2019 Yemen > Yemen War Powers Resolution > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 5 23:30:46 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2021 18:30:46 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Leonard Peltiers birthday Message-ID: Gloria La Riva is with Dan Kovalik and 99 others. 17m ? In one week exactly it is Leonard Peltier's birthday, September 12. He will be 77 years. Please send him birthday greetings and love and solidarity. Remember he cannot receive cards or anything that is not just white paper and envelope. His address is: Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP Coleman I P.O. Box 1033 Coleman FL 33521 And let's keep working to get Leonard Free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 5 23:30:46 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sun, 5 Sep 2021 18:30:46 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Leonard Peltiers birthday Message-ID: Gloria La Riva is with Dan Kovalik and 99 others. 17m ? In one week exactly it is Leonard Peltier's birthday, September 12. He will be 77 years. Please send him birthday greetings and love and solidarity. Remember he cannot receive cards or anything that is not just white paper and envelope. His address is: Leonard Peltier #89637-132 USP Coleman I P.O. Box 1033 Coleman FL 33521 And let's keep working to get Leonard Free! -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Wed Sep 15 15:04:03 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Wed, 15 Sep 2021 11:04:03 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Joe Gould: "Khanna-Sanders NDAA amdmt wld end US aid to Saudi war in Yemen" In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: https://twitter.com/reporterjoe/status/1437842462559645701 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 431574 bytes Desc: not available URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Thu Sep 16 09:52:56 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2021 04:52:56 -0500 Subject: [Peace] From the Tehran Times 2008 Message-ID: The below is why many, like myself view issues related to foreign policy through a geo-political strategic lens, known as the ?Great Game." Iraq smoke screen Opinion November 20, 2008 - 0:0 All eyes are on Iraq, and that should tell you that?s where they want you to look. In military parlance, it?s called a diversion. It could also be called a smoke screen. Of course, the Iraq war is an important issue and warrants extensive analysis and media coverage, but it?s not the only issue in the world. And just what is the Iraq smoke screen supposed to be covering up? Many say the Iraq war is meant to divert attention from the fact that the powers that be have designs on Central Asia. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has said that he plans to withdraw forces from Iraq and transfer troops to Afghanistan, which would be a major shift of focus to Central Asia. And former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski is one of Obama?s foreign policy advisors. According to Brzezinski?s theory, control of the Eurasian landmass is the key to global domination and control of Central Asia is the key to control of the Eurasian landmass. It seems that Russia and China have been paying attention to Brzezinski?s theory, since they formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, ostensibly to curb extremism in the region and enhance border security, but most probably with the real objective of counterbalancing the activities of the United States and NATO in Central Asia. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are the other full members of the SCO, and the organization granted observer status to Mongolia in 2004 and to Iran, Pakistan, and India in 2005. Iran has expressed interest in becoming a full member, and its accession to the SCO would change the geopolitical equations in Central Asia. Central Asia is a key region of the globe, since it sits atop vast reserves of oil and gas and is at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. It will also be the main link in two major transport routes that are taking shape, the North-South Corridor between South Asia and Russia, and the New Silk Road, which is meant to be a recreation of the old trade route which ran from China to West Asia. Clearly, a number of global players are competing for influence in Central Asia in the New Great Game. South America is another area of concern for the global ruling class, especially since an Indigenous reawakening and a wave of anti-globalization sentiment have swept across the continent, leading to electoral victories in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador for presidents with a social justice agenda and a decidedly anti-imperialist bent. Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa are all opposed to neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. The winds of change are blowing across the continent, and there is a sense of hope in South America that has not been seen in 500 years. And over the past few years, South America has become the center of the anti-globalization movement. This development has upset the plans of the moguls of globalization, who have undoubtedly devised intrigues to reverse the trend. In South Asia, the people of Kashmir have risen up in a people power movement challenging Indian rule. However, the globalists will certainly try to undermine the Kashmir liberation movement and delay its inevitable victory as long as possible since they have used the conflict as a source of instability that has prevented India and Pakistan from realizing their full potential for over six decades, which has allowed the neocolonialists to exercise a degree of control over South Asia. Meanwhile, there is no end in sight to the horrific war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has left over five million people dead. Congo is a mineral-rich country that is the key to the development of Central Africa and all of sub-Saharan Africa. As long as Congo is down, Africa cannot rise up. And the extensive focus on the Iraq war could also be meant to divert attention from the impending collapse of the dollar, which will probably lead to an economic meltdown of unprecedented proportions and a great depression in the U.S. and possibly even the adoption of a new common currency, the amero, in the three countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Perhaps the Iraq war is also meant to divert attention from world hunger, which should be a major issue for all people of conscience. Today, 18,000 children died of hunger and hunger-related causes. And tomorrow 18,000 children will die, and the next day 18,000 children will die. And the next day and the next day will be the same if nothing is done. But somehow, media outlets do not cover this issue extensively, and proposals to end world hunger are not being seriously discussed in the corridors of power. Some say just the opposite is true, claiming there are efforts underway to increase hunger as part of a global depopulation program. And, incredible as it might seem, the Iraq war is even a diversion from the Iraq war itself. The superficial facts about the Iraq war -? how many U.S. soldiers and insurgents have been killed on a given day, another bombing, another kidnapping, etc., etc., etc. -? are actually meant to divert attention from the real issues and objectives of the Iraq war, such as the fact that it is a war on the past, present, and future since the occupiers have targeted the country?s cultural heritage and national cohesion and even the Iraqi people?s gene pool. In reality, the Iraq war is a genocidal war in which the U.S. military has used a mutagenic weapon, depleted uranium, which has given Iraqis genetic damage, caused a significant rise in birth defects, and irreversibly irradiated large swathes of Iraq; the occupiers are fanning the flames of sectarian and ethnic strife to pit the Sunnis against the Shias and the Arabs against the Kurds in order to destabilize the country and the region through managed chaos; and a program of cultural destruction is underway in which much of the world?s cultural heritage has been lost, as evidenced in the looting of the National Museum of Iraq after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 and the ongoing damage being inflicted on important archaeological sites like Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Nineveh, and Nippur. The world is going through dramatic changes and will probably be unrecognizable in a few years, so don?t let the Iraq smoke screen cloud your vision. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Thu Sep 16 09:52:56 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Thu, 16 Sep 2021 04:52:56 -0500 Subject: [Peace] From the Tehran Times 2008 Message-ID: The below is why many, like myself view issues related to foreign policy through a geo-political strategic lens, known as the ?Great Game." Iraq smoke screen Opinion November 20, 2008 - 0:0 All eyes are on Iraq, and that should tell you that?s where they want you to look. In military parlance, it?s called a diversion. It could also be called a smoke screen. Of course, the Iraq war is an important issue and warrants extensive analysis and media coverage, but it?s not the only issue in the world. And just what is the Iraq smoke screen supposed to be covering up? Many say the Iraq war is meant to divert attention from the fact that the powers that be have designs on Central Asia. U.S. President-elect Barack Obama has said that he plans to withdraw forces from Iraq and transfer troops to Afghanistan, which would be a major shift of focus to Central Asia. And former U.S. national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski is one of Obama?s foreign policy advisors. According to Brzezinski?s theory, control of the Eurasian landmass is the key to global domination and control of Central Asia is the key to control of the Eurasian landmass. It seems that Russia and China have been paying attention to Brzezinski?s theory, since they formed the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in 2001, ostensibly to curb extremism in the region and enhance border security, but most probably with the real objective of counterbalancing the activities of the United States and NATO in Central Asia. Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are the other full members of the SCO, and the organization granted observer status to Mongolia in 2004 and to Iran, Pakistan, and India in 2005. Iran has expressed interest in becoming a full member, and its accession to the SCO would change the geopolitical equations in Central Asia. Central Asia is a key region of the globe, since it sits atop vast reserves of oil and gas and is at the crossroads of Asia and Europe. It will also be the main link in two major transport routes that are taking shape, the North-South Corridor between South Asia and Russia, and the New Silk Road, which is meant to be a recreation of the old trade route which ran from China to West Asia. Clearly, a number of global players are competing for influence in Central Asia in the New Great Game. South America is another area of concern for the global ruling class, especially since an Indigenous reawakening and a wave of anti-globalization sentiment have swept across the continent, leading to electoral victories in Venezuela, Bolivia, and Ecuador for presidents with a social justice agenda and a decidedly anti-imperialist bent. Venezuela President Hugo Chavez, Bolivian President Evo Morales, and Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa are all opposed to neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. The winds of change are blowing across the continent, and there is a sense of hope in South America that has not been seen in 500 years. And over the past few years, South America has become the center of the anti-globalization movement. This development has upset the plans of the moguls of globalization, who have undoubtedly devised intrigues to reverse the trend. In South Asia, the people of Kashmir have risen up in a people power movement challenging Indian rule. However, the globalists will certainly try to undermine the Kashmir liberation movement and delay its inevitable victory as long as possible since they have used the conflict as a source of instability that has prevented India and Pakistan from realizing their full potential for over six decades, which has allowed the neocolonialists to exercise a degree of control over South Asia. Meanwhile, there is no end in sight to the horrific war in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has left over five million people dead. Congo is a mineral-rich country that is the key to the development of Central Africa and all of sub-Saharan Africa. As long as Congo is down, Africa cannot rise up. And the extensive focus on the Iraq war could also be meant to divert attention from the impending collapse of the dollar, which will probably lead to an economic meltdown of unprecedented proportions and a great depression in the U.S. and possibly even the adoption of a new common currency, the amero, in the three countries of the North American Free Trade Agreement, the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Perhaps the Iraq war is also meant to divert attention from world hunger, which should be a major issue for all people of conscience. Today, 18,000 children died of hunger and hunger-related causes. And tomorrow 18,000 children will die, and the next day 18,000 children will die. And the next day and the next day will be the same if nothing is done. But somehow, media outlets do not cover this issue extensively, and proposals to end world hunger are not being seriously discussed in the corridors of power. Some say just the opposite is true, claiming there are efforts underway to increase hunger as part of a global depopulation program. And, incredible as it might seem, the Iraq war is even a diversion from the Iraq war itself. The superficial facts about the Iraq war -? how many U.S. soldiers and insurgents have been killed on a given day, another bombing, another kidnapping, etc., etc., etc. -? are actually meant to divert attention from the real issues and objectives of the Iraq war, such as the fact that it is a war on the past, present, and future since the occupiers have targeted the country?s cultural heritage and national cohesion and even the Iraqi people?s gene pool. In reality, the Iraq war is a genocidal war in which the U.S. military has used a mutagenic weapon, depleted uranium, which has given Iraqis genetic damage, caused a significant rise in birth defects, and irreversibly irradiated large swathes of Iraq; the occupiers are fanning the flames of sectarian and ethnic strife to pit the Sunnis against the Shias and the Arabs against the Kurds in order to destabilize the country and the region through managed chaos; and a program of cultural destruction is underway in which much of the world?s cultural heritage has been lost, as evidenced in the looting of the National Museum of Iraq after the fall of Baghdad in 2003 and the ongoing damage being inflicted on important archaeological sites like Ur, Uruk, Babylon, Nineveh, and Nippur. The world is going through dramatic changes and will probably be unrecognizable in a few years, so don?t let the Iraq smoke screen cloud your vision. -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Fri Sep 17 12:35:15 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:35:15 -0500 Subject: [Peace] The dangerous folly of the newly-announced #AUSUK military pact between the US, Britain and Australia - part of the US project to "strengthen and renew its Pivot to Asia through unashamedly militaristic means." Message-ID: https://socialistchina.org/2021/09/17/kate-hudson-why-we-say-no-to-ausuk/ From karenaram at hotmail.com Fri Sep 17 12:35:15 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2021 07:35:15 -0500 Subject: [Peace] The dangerous folly of the newly-announced #AUSUK military pact between the US, Britain and Australia - part of the US project to "strengthen and renew its Pivot to Asia through unashamedly militaristic means." Message-ID: https://socialistchina.org/2021/09/17/kate-hudson-why-we-say-no-to-ausuk/ From karenaram at hotmail.com Fri Sep 17 13:08:24 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2021 08:08:24 -0500 Subject: [Peace] "The Winner in Afghanistan is China." By Alfred McCoy Message-ID: One of the best articles, complying with that of Pepe Escobar, another expert on the area of Eurasia. https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/15/the-winner-in-afghanistan-china/ From karenaram at hotmail.com Fri Sep 17 13:08:24 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Fri, 17 Sep 2021 08:08:24 -0500 Subject: [Peace] "The Winner in Afghanistan is China." By Alfred McCoy Message-ID: One of the best articles, complying with that of Pepe Escobar, another expert on the area of Eurasia. https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/15/the-winner-in-afghanistan-china/ From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Sun Sep 19 20:31:35 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2021 16:31:35 -0400 Subject: [Peace] @RepBowman: "Our military presence in Syria must not continue w/o Congressional approval." In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: Please RT and spread the news. If past is prologue, "House Democratic leadership" might not be 100% jazzed about allowing a floor vote on whether unconstitutional war in Syria should stop or continue. If past is prologue, "House Democratic leadership" are inconstant friends on defending Article I war powers. Help make sure that our inconstant friends on War Powers Defense in the "House Democratic leadership" Do the Right Thing and allow a floor vote on the Bowman-DeFazio-Khanna NDAA amendment to end unconstitutional war in Syria by helping to make sure that lots of people know about this before Jim McGovern's Rules Committee meets at noon tomorrow. https://twitter.com/repbowman/status/1438963676225196034 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 178235 bytes Desc: not available URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 19 22:45:28 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2021 17:45:28 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: 9/26 - National Day of Action Against Evictions References: Message-ID: > > From: Party for Socialism and Liberation Champaign-Urbana > Date: September 19, 2021 at 4:07:31 PM CDT > > Subject: 9/26 - National Day of Action Against Evictions > > Hey all, > > We're holding a protest next Sunday (9/26) at 3PM, outside of the Sheriff's office (204 E. Main St., Urbana). The protest is part of a national day of action, called for by the Cancel the Rents movement. Here's the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/929583357656029/ > > Illinois' eviction moratorium is set to expire on October 3rd, but the Sheriff has the power to extend it by refusing to carry out evictions. We're calling on the Sheriff's office to refuse to carry out evictions, echoing the national demands for Congress to cancel rents and mortgages, and working to build a local network of tenants to ensure that there are no evictions in Champaign county. > > Please help us spread the word by sharing the Facebook event! We hope to see you there. > > Solidarity, > PSL-CU > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Sun Sep 19 22:45:28 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Sun, 19 Sep 2021 17:45:28 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: 9/26 - National Day of Action Against Evictions References: Message-ID: > > From: Party for Socialism and Liberation Champaign-Urbana > Date: September 19, 2021 at 4:07:31 PM CDT > > Subject: 9/26 - National Day of Action Against Evictions > > Hey all, > > We're holding a protest next Sunday (9/26) at 3PM, outside of the Sheriff's office (204 E. Main St., Urbana). The protest is part of a national day of action, called for by the Cancel the Rents movement. Here's the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/929583357656029/ > > Illinois' eviction moratorium is set to expire on October 3rd, but the Sheriff has the power to extend it by refusing to carry out evictions. We're calling on the Sheriff's office to refuse to carry out evictions, echoing the national demands for Congress to cancel rents and mortgages, and working to build a local network of tenants to ensure that there are no evictions in Champaign county. > > Please help us spread the word by sharing the Facebook event! We hope to see you there. > > Solidarity, > PSL-CU > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From kmedina67 at gmail.com Mon Sep 20 05:12:40 2021 From: kmedina67 at gmail.com (kmedina67) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2021 00:12:40 -0500 Subject: [Peace] [Peace-discuss] @RepBowman: "Our military presence in Syria must not continue w/o Congressional approval." In-Reply-To: Message-ID: <61481849.1c69fb81.d0d9b.7ec2@mx.google.com> ?> allow a floor vote [in the house of representatives] on the?Bowman-DeFazio-Khanna NDAA amendment to end unconstitutional war in SyriaThanks, Robert, for sharing this.?Sincerely,?Karen Medina -------- Original message --------From: Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss Date: 9/19/21 15:31 (GMT-06:00) To: peace , Peace Discuss Subject: [Peace-discuss] @RepBowman: "Our military presence in Syria must not continue w/o Congressional approval." Please read through and spread the news. If past is prologue, "House Democratic leadership" might not be 100% jazzed about allowing a floor vote on whether unconstitutional war in Syria should stop or continue. If past?is prologue, "House Democratic leadership"?are inconstant friends on defending Article I war powers. Help make sure that our inconstant friends on War Powers Defense in the "House Democratic leadership" Do the Right Thing and allow a floor vote on the?Bowman-DeFazio-Khanna NDAA amendment to end unconstitutional war in Syria by helping to make sure that lots of people know about this before Jim?McGovern's Rules Committee meets at noon tomorrow. ?https://twitter.com/repbowman/status/1438963676225196034 -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Mon Sep 20 11:15:32 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2021 07:15:32 -0400 Subject: [Peace] [Peace-discuss] @RepBowman: "Our military presence in Syria must not continue w/o Congressional approval." In-Reply-To: <61481849.1c69fb81.d0d9b.7ec2@mx.google.com> References: <61481849.1c69fb81.d0d9b.7ec2@mx.google.com> Message-ID: Here's the JFP petition pushing House Dem leadership to allow votes on the Bowman and Khanna amendments to end the Yemen and Syria wars. Tell Democratic leadership to support the Bowman/Khanna amendments to end endless wars in Yemen and Syria! Target: House Rules Chair Rep. Jim McGovern and HFAC Chair Rep. Greg Meeks https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/tell-dem-leadership-to-vote-yes-on-anti-war-syria-and-yemen-amendments/ On Mon, Sep 20, 2021 at 1:13 AM kmedina67 via Peace-discuss < peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> wrote: > > > allow a floor vote [in the house of representatives] on > the Bowman-DeFazio-Khanna NDAA amendment to end unconstitutional war in > Syria > > Thanks, Robert, for sharing this. > > Sincerely, > Karen Medina > > > > -------- Original message -------- > From: Robert Naiman via Peace-discuss > Date: 9/19/21 15:31 (GMT-06:00) > To: peace , Peace Discuss < > peace-discuss at anti-war.net> > Subject: [Peace-discuss] @RepBowman: "Our military presence in Syria must > not continue w/o Congressional approval." > > > Please read through and spread the news. If past is prologue, "House > Democratic leadership" might not be 100% jazzed about allowing a floor vote > on whether unconstitutional war in Syria should stop or continue. If > past is prologue, "House Democratic leadership" are inconstant friends on > defending Article I war powers. Help make sure that our inconstant friends > on War Powers Defense in the "House Democratic leadership" Do the Right > Thing and allow a floor vote on the Bowman-DeFazio-Khanna NDAA amendment to > end unconstitutional war in Syria by helping to make sure that lots of > people know about this before Jim McGovern's Rules Committee meets at noon > tomorrow. > > https://twitter.com/repbowman/status/1438963676225196034 > > [image: image.png] > _______________________________________________ > 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.uiuc at gmail.com Mon Sep 20 11:17:19 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2021 07:17:19 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: URGENT: Help Jamaal & Ro get us out of war in Yemen & Syria! In-Reply-To: <6147dd922fde3_cdf33f7e7b06627c141955ba@ip-10-0-0-100.mail> References: <6147dd922fde3_cdf33f7e7b06627c141955ba@ip-10-0-0-100.mail> Message-ID: ---------- Forwarded message --------- From: Just Foreign Policy Date: Sun, Sep 19, 2021 at 9:53 PM Subject: URGENT: Help Jamaal & Ro get us out of war in Yemen & Syria! To: We have two major opportunities to continue to roll back the endless wars this week and we need you to help make it a reality! Rep. Ro Khanna has introduced a critical amendment to the defense policy bill (known as the NDAA) that would finally end ALL U Dear Robert, We have two major opportunities to continue to roll back the endless wars this week and we need *you* to help make it a reality! *SIGN OUR PETITION HERE and then share it on Facebook and Twitter! *(You can also retweet Jamaal Bowman?s tweet here ). *Rep. Ro Khanna has introduced a critical **amendment* * to the defense policy bill (known as the NDAA) that would finally end ALL U.S. support for the Saudi-led coalition that has caused mass death in Yemen through their airstrikes and the **blockade* * of Yemen?s land, air, and sea ports. *Passing this amendment could finally stop the Saudi war planes ? which rely on ongoing U.S. support ? from continuing to bomb Yemen and enforce the blockade that is the leading cause of starvation in Yemen. The head of the World Food Program says 400,000 Yemeni children under 5 will die this year and has pleaded for the US to end the blockade, but the Biden administration has not kept its promise to end U.S. participation in the war. *Freshman Rep. Jamaal Bowman ? who defeated notorious **hawk Eliot Engel* * ? has introduced an **amendment* * that requires troops to be withdrawn from **Trump?s unauthorized mission in Syria* * unless Congress votes to authorize it, as required by the Constitution and the War Powers Resolution of 1973.* (The last time the White House wanted to go to war in Syria, Congress refused to support intervention in Syria after public opinion overwhelmingly opposed a new war.) The American people have a right to know whether their member of Congress supports war and occupation abroad or wants to focus on rebuilding at home. The U.S. occupation of the breadbasket of Syria is a major cause of the food crisis that the World Food Program says has left 12.4 million Syrians food insecure?nearly 60 percent of the population?an increase of 4.5 million people in just the last year and has resulted in dangerous confrontations with Russia and the Syrian government that risked spiraling into a wider war. *Two key members have a leading role in whether these amendments can pass the House of Representatives: Rep. Jim McGovern, a longtime progressive who now chairs the powerful Rules Committee, and Rep. Greg Meeks, who chairs the powerful House Foreign Affairs Committee. **We need them to co-sponsor these amendments and to ensure that they get a vote on the floor of the House.* If they don?t hear from people like you, there are some indications that Meeks and McGovern will quietly try to undermine or block these lifesaving amendments. *SIGN OUR PETITION HERE and then share it on Facebook and Twitter! *(You can also retweet Jamaal Bowman?s tweet here ). In peace and solidarity, Hadiya, Liz, Erik, Sarah, Bryan, and the whole team at Just Foreign Policy -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Tue Sep 21 00:25:33 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Mon, 20 Sep 2021 20:25:33 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Bowman Standing Firm on Syria War Powers in Rules Committee Showdown In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: The House Rules Committee has been "in recess" for the last three hours, by my count. Apparently "House Democratic leadership" is showing Jamaal Bowman the Instruments of Torture. But apparently Bowman is Standing Firm. https://twitter.com/RepBowman/status/1440092612564713476 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 292000 bytes Desc: not available URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Tue Sep 21 21:56:44 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2021 17:56:44 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Khanna, Bowman amendments allowed; House will vote on Yemen & Syria wars Message-ID: The Khanna Yemen war powers amendment and the Bowman Syria war powers amendment were made in order. Bowman's amendment was made in order after he threatened House Dem leadership that he would vote with Republicans to take down the rule if his amendment was not made in order. Here's the rule: https://rules.house.gov/sites/democrats.rules.house.gov/files/Rule_HR3755HR4350HR5305.pdf Here's Bowman's tweet: https://twitter.com/RepBowman/status/1440404544492503054 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 760714 bytes Desc: not available URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Thu Sep 23 10:39:06 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Thu, 23 Sep 2021 06:39:06 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Concerned Vets for America: We stand with Bowman on Syria. AUMF or GTFO In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: https://twitter.com/concernedvets/status/1440773172001865737 [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 144117 bytes Desc: not available URL: From naiman.uiuc at gmail.com Fri Sep 24 14:42:53 2021 From: naiman.uiuc at gmail.com (Robert Naiman) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2021 10:42:53 -0400 Subject: [Peace] Constitution-hating Warhawk Dem Cindy Axne nailed on undisclosed stock trades In-Reply-To: References: Message-ID: I guess it should be little surprise that a "Democrat" who hates the Constitution so much that she voted against the Khanna and Bowman amendments to end unconstitutional wars wouldn't follow the rules on disclosing stock trades. [Khanna roll call ] [Bowman roll call ] Let's spread this all around. They got Al Capone on tax evasion. U.S. Rep. Cindy Axne failed to disclose up to $645k in stock trades, government watchdog says Stephen Gruber-Miller Nick Coltrain Des Moines Register https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2021/09/23/watchdog-campaign-legal-center-wants-ethics-investigation-iowa-rep-cindy-axne-over-stock-trades/5827271001/ [image: image.png] -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: image.png Type: image/png Size: 200495 bytes Desc: not available URL: From carl at newsfromneptune.com Fri Sep 24 15:57:32 2021 From: carl at newsfromneptune.com (C. G. Estabrook) Date: Fri, 24 Sep 2021 10:57:32 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: Eurasia Takes Shape: How the SCO Just Flipped the World Order References: <20210923140132.1.8BB40266074D8394@mg.unz.com> Message-ID: <952B65F9-C6BF-4D42-8E6C-660CA57187D0@newsfromneptune.com> Eurasia Takes Shape: How the SCO Just Flipped the World Order > As a rudderless West watched on, the 20th anniversary meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization was laser-focused on two key deliverables: shaping up Afghanistan and kicking off a full-spectrum Eurasian integration. > Pepe Escobar ? September 22, 2021 ? 1,700 Words > The two defining moments of the historic 20th anniversary Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit in Dushanbe, Tajikistan had to come from the keynote speeches of ? who else ? the leaders of the Russia-China strategic partnership. > > Xi Jinping: ?Today we will launch procedures to admit Iran as a full member of the SCO.? > > Vladimir Putin: ?I would like to highlight the Memorandum of Understanding that was signed today between the SCO Secretariat and the Eurasian Economic Commission. It is clearly designed to further Russia?s idea of establishing a Greater Eurasia Partnership covering the SCO, the EAEU (Eurasian Economic Union), ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) and China?s Belt and Road initiative (BRI).? > > In short, over the weekend, Iran was enshrined in its rightful, prime Eurasian role, and all Eurasian integration paths converged toward a new global geopolitical ? and geoeconomic ? paradigm, with a sonic boom bound to echo for the rest of the century. > > That was the killer one-two punch immediately following the Atlantic alliance?s ignominious imperial retreat from Afghanistan. Right as the Taliban took control of Kabul on August 15, the redoubtable Nikolai Patrushev, secretary of Russia?s Security Council, told his Iranian colleague Admiral Ali Shamkhani that ?the Islamic Republic will become a full member of the SCO.? > > Dushanbe revealed itself as the ultimate diplomatic crossover. President Xi firmly rejected any ?condescending lecturing? and emphasized development paths and governance models compatible with national conditions. Just like Putin, he stressed the complementary focus of BRI and the EAEU, and in fact summarized a true multilateralist Manifesto for the Global South. > > Right on point, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan noted that the SCO should advance ?the development of a regional macro-economy.? This is reflected in the SCO?s drive to start using local currencies for trade, bypassing the US dollar. > > Watch that quadrilateral > > Dushanbe was not just a bed of roses. Tajikistan?s Emomali Rahmon, a staunch, secular Muslim and former member of the Communist Party of the USSR ? in power for no less than 29 years, reelected for the 5th time in 2020 with 90 percent of the vote ? right off the bat denounced the ?medieval sharia? of Taliban 2.0 and said they had already ?abandoned their previous promise to form an inclusive government.? > > Rahmon, who has never been caught smiling on camera, was already in power when the Taliban conquered Kabul in 1996. He was bound to publicly support his Tajik cousins against the ?expansion of extremist ideology? in Afghanistan ? which in fact worries all SCO member-states when it comes to smashing dodgy jihadi outfits of the ISIS-K mold . > > The meat of the matter in Dushanbe was in the bilaterals ? and one quadrilateral. > > Take the bilateral between Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar and Chinese FM Wang Yi. Jaishankar said that China should not view ?its relations with India through the lens of a third country,? and took pains to stress that India ?does not subscribe to any clash of civilizations theory.? > > That was quite a tough sell considering that the first in-person Quad summit takes place this week in Washington, DC, hosted by that ?third country? which is now knee deep in clash-of-civilizations mode against China. > > Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan was on a bilateral roll, meeting the presidents of Iran, Belarus, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The official Pakistani diplomatic position is that Afghanistan should not be abandoned, but engaged. > > That position added nuance to what Russian Special Presidential Envoy for SCO Affairs Bakhtiyer Khakimov had explained about Kabul?s absence at the SCO table: ?At this stage, all member states have an understanding that there are no reasons for an invitation until there is a legitimate, generally recognized government in Afghanistan.? > > And that, arguably, leads us to the key SCO meeting: a quadrilateral with the Foreign Ministers of Russia, China, Pakistan and Iran. > > Pakistani Foreign Minister Qureshi affirmed: ?We are monitoring whether all the groups are included in the government or not.? The heart of the matter is that, from now on, Islamabad coordinates the SCO strategy on Afghanistan, and will broker Taliban negotiations with senior Tajik, Uzbek and Hazara leaders. This will eventually lead the way towards an inclusive government regionally recognized by SCO member-nations. > > Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi was warmly received by all ? especially after his forceful keynote speech, an Axis of Resistance classic. His bilateral with Belarus president Aleksandr Lukashenko revolved around a discussion on ?sanctions confrontation.? According to Lukashenko: ?If the sanctions did any harm to Belarus, Iran, other countries, it was only because we ourselves are to blame for this. We were not always negotiable, we did not always find the path we had to take under the pressure of sanctions.? > > Considering Tehran is fully briefed on Islamabad?s SCO role in terms of Afghanistan, there will be no need to deploy the Fatemiyoun brigade ? informally known as the Afghan Hezbollah ? to defend the Hazaras. Fatemiyoun was formed in 2012 and was instrumental in Syria in the fight against Daesh, especially in Palmyra. But if ISIS-K does not go away, that?s a completely different story. > > Particular important for SCO members Iran and India will be the future of Chabahar port. That remains India?s crypto-Silk Road gambit to connect it to Afghanistan and Central Asia. The geoeconomic success of Chabahar more than ever depends on a stable Afghanistan ? and this is where Tehran?s interests fully converge with Russia-China?s SCO drive. > > What the 2021 SCO Dushanbe Declaration? spelled out about Afghanistan is quite revealing: > > 1. Afghanistan should be an independent, neutral, united, democratic and peaceful state, free of terrorism, war and drugs. > > 2. It is critical to have an inclusive government in Afghanistan, with representatives from all ethnic, religious and political groups of Afghan society. > > 3. SCO member states, emphasizing the significance of the many years of hospitality and effective assistance provided by regional and neighboring countries to Afghan refugees, consider it important for the international community to make active efforts to facilitate their dignified, safe and sustainable return to their homeland. > > As much as it may sound like an impossible dream, this is the unified message of Russia, China, Iran, India, Pakistan and the Central Asian ?stans.? One hopes that Pakistani PM Imran Khan is up to the task and ready for his SCO close-up. > > That troubled Western peninsula > > The New Silk Roads were officially launched eight years ago by Xi Jinping, first in Astana ? now Nur-Sultan ? and then in Jakarta. > > This is how I reported it at the time. > > The announcement came close to a SCO summit ? then in Bishkek. The SCO, widely dismissed in Washington and Brussels as a mere talk shop, was already surpassing its original mandate of fighting the ?three evil forces? ? terrorism, separatism and extremism ? and encompassing politics and geoeconomics. > > In 2013, there was a Xi-Putin-Rouhani trilateral. Beijing expressed full support for Iran?s peaceful nuclear program (remember, this was two years before the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the JCPOA). > > Despite many experts dismissing it at the time, there was indeed a common China-Russia-Iran front on Syria (Axis of Resistance in action). Xinjiang was being promoted as the key hub for the Eurasian Land Bridge. Pipelineistan was at the heart of the Chinese strategy ? from Kazakhstan oil to Turkmenistan gas. Some people may even remember when Hillary Clinton, as Secretary of State, was waxing lyrical about an American-propelled New Silk Road. > > Now compare it to Xi?s Multilateralism Manifesto in Dushanbe eight years later, reminiscing on how the SCO ?has proved to be an excellent example of multilateralism in the 21stcentury,? and ?has played an important role in enhancing the voice of developing countries.? > > The strategic importance of this SCO summit taking place right after the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF) in Vladivostok cannot be overstated enough. The EEF focuses of course on the Russian Far East ? and essentially advances interconnectivity between Russia and Asia. It is an absolutely key hub of Russia?s Greater Eurasian Partnership. > > A cornucopia of deals is on the horizon ? expanding from the Far East to the Arctic and the development of the Northern Sea Route, and involving everything from precious metals and green energy to digital sovereignty flowing through logistics corridors between Asia and Europe via Russia. > > As Putin hinted in his keynote speech, this is what the Greater Eurasia Partnership is all about: the Eurasia Economic Union (EAEU), BRI, India?s initiative, ASEAN, and now the SCO, developing in a harmonized network, crucially operated by ?sovereign decision-making centers.? > > So if the BRI proposes a very Taoist ?community of shared future for human kind,? the Russian project, conceptually, proposes a dialogue of civilizations (already evoked by the Khatami years in Iran) and sovereign economic-political projects. They are, indeed, complementary. > > Glenn Diesen, Professor at the University of South-Eastern Norway and an editor at the Russia in Global Affairs journal, is among the very few top scholars who are analyzing this process in depth. His latest book remarkably tells the whole story in its title: Europe as the Western Peninsula of Greater Eurasia: Geoeconomic Regions in a Multipolar World . It?s not clear whether Eurocrats in Brussels ? slaves of Atlanticism and incapable of grasping the potential of Greater Eurasia ? will end up exercising real strategic autonomy. > > Diesen evokes in detail the parallels between the Russian and the Chinese strategies. He notes how China ?is pursuing a three-pillared geoeconomic initiative by developing technological leadership via its China 2025 plan, new transportation corridors via its trillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative, and establishing new financial instruments such as banks, payment systems and the internationalization of the yuan. Russia is similarly pursuing technological sovereignty, both in the digital sphere and beyond, as well as new transportation corridors such as the Northern Sea Route through the Arctic, and, primarily, new financial instruments.? > > The whole Global South, stunned by the accelerated collapse of the western Empire and its unilateral ?rules-based order, now seems to be ready to embrace the new groove, fully displayed in Dushanbe: a multipolar Greater Eurasia of sovereign equals. > > > ### -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 29 13:52:42 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:52:42 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Tulsi Gabbard Message-ID: Beautiful, polished, excellent speaker always keeping her cool, saying the right things as a Democrat candidate for President. Tulsi appealed to those opposed to war. I've always seen her as a sheepherder for the Democrat Party. It was clear from the beginning she supported drone warfare, and AIPAC, thus her stand as "anti-war" was false. She is now revealing herself in her appearance on FOX. I know, I?m playing the ?told you so card,? not nice, but in doing so, I?m attempting to make the point that anyone running for President as a candidate for the Democrat Party can not be trusted no matter what they say. Please see below: https://www.foxnews.com/media/tulsi-gabbard-islamist-jihadists-wage-war From karenaram at hotmail.com Wed Sep 29 13:52:42 2021 From: karenaram at hotmail.com (karen aram) Date: Wed, 29 Sep 2021 08:52:42 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Tulsi Gabbard Message-ID: Beautiful, polished, excellent speaker always keeping her cool, saying the right things as a Democrat candidate for President. Tulsi appealed to those opposed to war. I've always seen her as a sheepherder for the Democrat Party. It was clear from the beginning she supported drone warfare, and AIPAC, thus her stand as "anti-war" was false. She is now revealing herself in her appearance on FOX. I know, I?m playing the ?told you so card,? not nice, but in doing so, I?m attempting to make the point that anyone running for President as a candidate for the Democrat Party can not be trusted no matter what they say. Please see below: https://www.foxnews.com/media/tulsi-gabbard-islamist-jihadists-wage-war From carl at newsfromneptune.com Thu Sep 30 14:21:57 2021 From: carl at newsfromneptune.com (C. G. Estabrook) Date: Thu, 30 Sep 2021 09:21:57 -0500 Subject: [Peace] Fwd: The Living Dead Pax Americana References: <20210930140131.1.D1D0E97F7DD97A7A@mg.unz.com> Message-ID: > Begin forwarded message: > > From: Pepe Escobar / The Unz Review > Subject: The Living Dead Pax Americana > Date: September 30, 2021 at 9:00:47 AM CDT > To: carl at newsfromneptune.com > > The Unz Review ? An Alternative Media Selection Subscribe > A Collection of Interesting, Important, and Controversial Perspectives Largely Excluded from the American Mainstream Media > The Living Dead Pax Americana Pepe Escobar ? September 29, 2021 ? 1,400 Words > > Pax Americana was always a minor character in a zombie apocalypse flick. > > Pax Americana is actually The Eternal Return of the Living Dead. ?Pax? was never in order; War Inc. rules. The end of WWII led directly to the Cold War. The unipolar moment was an arc from the First Gulf War to the bombing of Yugoslavia. 9/11 launched the Global War on Terror (GWOT), renamed Overseas Contingency Operations (OCO) by Team Obama. We are now entering Cold War 2.0 against China. > > What former CIA analyst Ray McGovern memorably describes as the MICIMATT (military-industrial-congressional-intelligence-media-academia-think tank complex) never did ?Pax?. They do War, in unison, like The Knights Who Say ?Ni!? ? minus the comic flair. > > Take this Knight for the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) , the heart of the establishment matrix. CFR specializes in Kissingerian Divide and Rule. Now that applies, in spades, to the Russia-China strategic partnership. > > Knights overwhelmingly state the obvious: ?Chinese power must be contained? . They sell the current, serial imperial debacle as ?grand strategic moves?, in a quirky, lost in translation mixed salad of Gramsci and Lampedusa: a ?new order? (engineered by the Empire) is being born via ?everything must change so everything may remain the same? ? privileging the Empire. > > Other Knights even propose the ludicrous notion that the current POTUS, an actual zombie remote-controlled by a teleprompter, is capable of conceiving a ?foreign policy for the middle class? , as if the MICIMATT would ever approve a scheme to ?advance prosperity in the free world as a whole?. The ?free world? has just been stunned by the ?prosperity? offered to Afghanistan during 20 ?bombing to democracy? years. > > And then there are British Knights, who at least should have known their Monty Python by heart, carping about illiberalism and the ?regimes created by Xi and Putin? , which will ?crumble? and be succeeded by ?anarchy and new despotisms.? Same old Anglo haughtiness mixed with piercing ignorance. Oh, those Asiatic ?tyrannies? threatening the White Man?s civilizational drive. > > We all live in an Aussie submarine > > Now it?s all about AUKUS ? actually U SUK A. Until recently, only the P5 ? the five permanent UNSC members ? possessed nuclear-powered submarines. India joined the club, and later rather than sooner, Australia. > > Every major player knows the next American war will not be about remote Pacific islands. Taiwan, though, is a completely different ball game. U SUK A is mostly about Taiwan. > > U SUK A was finalized at the G7 summit in Carbis Bay last June. That was an Anglo Boys Club affair, discussed exclusively by the Biden-BoJo-Morrison troika ? and duly excluding Japan, even as Tokyo all but drew a samurai sword yelling its intent of supporting Taiwan. > > The problem is there have been no leaks of the fine print contained in U SUK A. Only spin. Yet it?s already clear that U SUK A goes way beyond building Aussie nuclear subs. Canberra will also have access to Tomahawks, Hornets and even become part of American hypersonic missile research. > > But then, in a slip, Australian Defense Minister Peter Dutton gave away the game: U SUK A will allow the upgrading of ?the infrastructure in Perth, that will be necessary for the operation of these submarines. I expect we will see?lease arrangements or greater joint operations between our navies in the future.? > > Translation: Perth will be a forward base for nuclear-powered and nuclear weapon-carrying American subs. > > Why U SUK A now? Let?s go back to WWII ? and the same old cartoonish geopolitics of benign Anglo maritime island powers pitted against the ?evil? Eurasian heartland. > > WWII was the solution to simultaneously prevent Germany from dominating the Atlantic and Japan from dominating the Asia-Pacific (by the way, that?s the correct terminology: ?Indo-Pacific? is Empire-speak). > > Germany-Japan was all about an alliance that would be predominant across the Eurasian heartland. Now, the Empire of Chaos is being slowly but surely expelled from the Eurasian heartland ? this time by the Russia-China strategic partnership. > > Those with technical knowledge across the Beltway ? not, not the Knights ? are aware the US is not a match for hypersonic Russia. Yet the Americans believe they can make life unbearable for Beijing. The US establishment will allow China to control the Western Pacific over their dead bodies. Enter the instrumentalization of Australia. > > A big question is what will be the new role of the Five Eyes. With U SUK A, the Anglo Club has already stepped beyond mere intel sharing and spying on communications. This is a military pact between Three Eyes. > > Depending on the composition of its new government, Germany could become a Sixth Eye ? yet in a subordinate role. With U SUK A, NATO as a whole, fresh from its spectacular Afghan debacle, becomes little else than a semi-relevant vassal. This is all about maritime power. > > U SUK A in effect is a Quad Plus, with India and Japan, the Fifth Columnist Asians, only allowed to play the role of, once again, mere vassals. > > War before 2040 > > Not surprisingly, the first, concise technical and strategic assessment of U SUK A is Russian, written by Alexander Timokhin and published in Vzglyad , closely linked to GRU intelligence. Here, provided by John Helmer, is an essential English translation . > > The key points: > > The extra subs will create a serious, additional threat; ?the problem of combating enemy submarine forces will become quite acute for China.? > Geographically, ?Australia can completely block the connection between China and the Indian Ocean.? > Australia will meet the deadlines only if it lays ?more submarines a year than the Americans.? > It is ?possible to quickly make Australia a country with a submarine fleet.? These ?gigantic investments and sharp political turns are not carried out just like that. The hegemony of the Anglo-Saxons in the world is seriously shaken.? > And that brings us to the inevitable conclusion: ?It is worth recognizing that the world is on the verge of war.? > > Even before the Vzglyad strategic assessment, I had submitted the ravings of yet another Beltway Knight ? widely praised as a sage ? to an old school, dissident Deep State intel analyst. His assessment was merciless. > > He wrote me, ?the geopolitical logic is that the China-Russia alliance was determined to be against US interests, much as the Mao-Stalin alliance. SEATO and NATO are being replicated. The treaty between England, Australia and the US is part of the Pacific rebalancing, or a new SEATO. NATO is part of the offset against Russia-China in Europe.? > > On what might lie ahead, he noted that ?the coup against the US, Australia, England and NATO would be a French-Russian alliance to break up NATO and isolate Germany. Russia has unsuccessfully approached Germany, and now may approach France. The loss of France would effectively end NATO.? > > He sees U SUK A all dressed up with nowhere to go: ?As it stands now, China is in command of the Pacific and Australia and Britain mean nothing. Russia can overrun NATO in two weeks, our adversaries? hypersonic missiles can destroy all NATO airfields within five to ten minutes and the battle for Europe would be over.? > > He?s adamant that ?the US cannot project power into the Pacific. Chinese submarine missiles would finish off the US fleet in short order. The Australian submarine issue is really irrelevant; if the CIA had an organization that was worth anything they would know that our adversaries already can spot and destroy our nuclear submarines without the slightest difficulty. The entire US Navy is obsolete and defenseless against Russian missiles.? > > And it gets worse ? at least for the cheerleading Knights: ?The F-35 is obsolete. The Air Force is largely worthless, as Russian and Chinese missiles can finish off their airfields or aircraft carriers in short order. The woke US Army is more worthless than the French Army with their Maginot Line. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are paid less than 200k a year, and are second or third rate talent. The US is a sinking ship.? > > Assuming that?s really the case, the ? nuclear ? war against China in the Western Pacific, projected in the Beltway to happen in the second half of the 2030s, would be over even before it started. Taiwan may even be part of China by then ? an offshoot of Beijing always proposing economic exchanges to all, while Washington always ?proposes? war. > > One thing though will never change: The Knights Who Say ?Ni!? singin? the praise of Pax Americana to the utter indifference of the unruly plebs. > > > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: