We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, January 9, 2020

As the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire crumbles, we will see increasing chaos

By Ron Horn

The recent assassination of Suleiman, a beloved leader of Iran, by the US continues the desperate coping by the Empire confronted by its own disintegration. There are so many indications that the capitalist Empire is threatened by a myriad of problems. Among these are the European countries which are seeking and implementing cheaper Russian energy and lucrative trade with China, the indebtedness and the problematic economy of the US as depicted by numerous honest articles on the internet (see, for example, Wall Street on Parade), the ongoing conflicts between the Deep State and the Trump administration, the continuing subversion of Bolivia by US agents, the revelations of fake reports by US commanders in Afghanistan as reported by The Washington Post, the ongoing imprisonment and torture of truth-tellers (Assange and Manning), extreme weather events, etc. 

Things could very easily spiral into a nuclear war conflagration. Even if we avert this nightmarish scenario, the Earth's habitat that supports our human species and most others is being destroyed by capitalist ruling classes and their obsession with profits and power.

While enduring all this, most Americans are firming sticking their heads in the sand by mostly believing what their told by media corporations (I include so-called public media corporations like PBS and NPR) and diverting their attention to sport events. In the days ahead we shall see increasing chaos in our lives.   

How the U.S. Created the Cold War (A re-post of an error ridden commentary on 12/22/2019)

(Note on this commentary: I feel it is necessary to re-post an important article and my commentary which I posted on 12/22/2019--since corrected--that included inappropriate links and a confusing explanation. On that date I inadvertently found a link to another version on his article posted on Washington's Blog (Sept. 9, 2019) that was also posted on Strategic Culture Foundation earlier in May. The latter article edited out some of his statements about capitalism which are included in this post.)

How the US Created the Cold War

Click here to access article by Eric Zuesse from Washington's Blog.

Unfortunately, the false history of WWII has been written by the ruling classes of the current US/Anglo/Zionist Empire through their well-paid propaganda agents throughout institutions of the Empire. In contrast, Zuesse offers a valuable source of the real truth, but his insights are limited by his social-democratic political orientation. 

This article (not the article posted in Strategic Culture Foundation) cleared up a number of questions I had about Eric Zuesse, the author. I have written several (at least) commentaries complaining about his use of the feudal term "aristocracy" instead of "ruling class" in his numerous articles. I saw this as reflecting his indoctrination in capitalist views mostly influenced by many years of education in US schools that he obviously had experienced. I was not wrong. In this article he clearly defines himself as a "progressive" by which he means his commitment to social democracy, a subset of capitalist ideologies, as illustrated by what has existed in the Scandinavian countries particularly after WWII when they had elaborate social welfare programs constructed on top of capitalist economies. Also, he is an admirer of FDR who saw the necessity of more elaborate welfare programs to preserve capitalism through the Great Depression. I gathered this from several paragraphs in the article such as:
Even other parts of that post-FDR system, such as the IMF, have served as siphons from publics around the world into the bank-accounts of the U.S. aristocracy and of its allied aristocracies. That’s not what capitalism was supposed to be. [Really?]
 And another quote:
Those weren’t “socialist” countries; they were dictatorial socialist (i.e., communist) countries, as opposed to democratic socialist (i.e., progressive) countries such as in Scandinavia — the proper term for what the Soviet alliance was is “communist,” not “socialist” — and there was a very big difference between the Scandinavian countries, versus the communist countries (though the U.S. regime wants to slur one by the other so as to sucker fools against democratic socialism — progressivism).
In other words, his "progressivism" is social democratic. He evidently believes that capitalism could be compatible with a sustainable Earth and that it could remain peaceful and just in spite of abundant contrary evidence throughout the relatively short history of capitalism.

Of further interest to me was a link in this article that brought me to an article in a publication that is followed by a section of the ruling class. This was published in Foreign Policy and entitled "The Bomb Didn’t Beat Japan … Stalin Did" that added a great deal of clarity regarding the use of atomic bombs on Japan as well as the budding Empire's intentions toward the Soviet Union.

Zuesse's contributions to the geopolitical realities of our world are essential, but what isn't essential is his left-liberal views (capitalism can be reformed, his use of "aristocracy" instead of "ruling class", etc.) about these realities.

Tuesday, January 7, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Tuesday, January 7, 2020

  • In Redux of Iraq War Run Up, Media Cheers on Assassination of Soleimani by Alan Macleod from Mint Press News. (Note: I can't agree that corporate media was uniform in its approval of the assassination. What I saw is the core of the ruling class--Council on Foreign Relations and their media, the NY Times, Washington Post, etc, and the Democratic Party--as reporting this event as narrowly tied to Trump thereby adding fuel to their drive of ousting Trump. To be sure, they always falsely painted Suleimani as a prime terrorist who is guilty of many deaths.) 

Monday, January 6, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Monday, January 6, 2020

Trump seems to be "losing his marbles"--maybe as a result of the Deep State's impeachment proceedings--as reflected in his assassination of Iran's number two beloved leader while he was visiting Iraq as illustrated by his recent threats toward both Iraq and Iran.
Informed commentaries on the assassination of Suleiman:
And the growing climate crisis:

Sunday, January 5, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Sunday, January 5, 2020

Parliament voted on a five-point action plan that would require the Iraqi government to end the presence of foreign troops in the country, and withdraw its request for assistance from the anti-ISIS global coalition. This would require new legislation to cancel the existing agreement.

Parliament also called on the government to ban the use of Iraqi airspace by any foreign power.

The Iraqi foreign minister has been directed to head to the UN to lodge an official complaint against the US strike.