Fwd: Terrible times . . .

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From: John H

As some of you may have noticed I have cut back on the number of missives being sent out of late.  It has become quite discouraging to daily watch just how far this nation has fallen into an open pit of political, military and economic slime.  It is all around us all the time and documenting it is an overwhelmingly frustrating task.  Many of the things now happening on a daily basis were simply unimaginable as little as two years ago – and things were desperately bad then.  The problem, as I see it, is that as bad as the Trump brigands are, the Democratic Party establishment brigands are not all that much better.  There is some glimmer of hope with the young, but that remains too nascent to count on right now.  Unfortunately, as Chris Hedges graphically points out in the attached article, things are going downhill at a much faster pace than almost anyone could have anticipated, even in the recent past, both nationally and internationally, and it may already be too late to rise up and stop the worst from happening.  It may well be that we will have to resort to small, tight community groupings for survival in the coming years – assuming Trump and his minions don't blow up the planet in the meantime.  These are terrible times indeed.

John

• Article, The coming collapse (PDF) 

Fwd: Panel discussion and good primer on neoliberalism

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From: John H

Attached is a very good and interesting panel discussion held at West Point involving a number of retired military personnel who are critical of the current state of endless war now engaged in by the United States all around the globe.  The panel is chaired by Andrew J. Bacevich, a retired Army Lt. Col. And military historian teaching at Boston College.  While the discussion is both interesting and important, it does fail to address what I believe is the core basis for this nation's otherwise inexplicable determination to wage war on just about every not already subservient to our military posture.  It now appears that our military interventions are completely out of political control and essentially operating on automatic pilot because so much of the U.S. economy is dependent upon military and security contracts and the sale of military hardware to other nations and terrorist groups around the world.  Furthermore, the areas of operation are largely determined by political submission to the will of Israeli Zionist radicals (including neocons here in the U.S.) who have essentially gained control of our political processes and are determined to have the U.S. wipe out any real or imagined adversaries in the Middle East and Northern Africa.

In this process the U.S. has intentionally created, supported and funneled weapons to a multitude of designated terrorist organizations which we simultaneously claim that we are determined to destroy.  The end result is a proliferation of terror groups which regularly attack military and civilian targets, thus further justifying the need for ever increasing military activities on our part and on the part of our NATO allies.  This results in an endless cycle of violence, mass casualties and refugees in those areas in which we intervene which quite naturally leads to the declared need for greater security measures and the concomitant loss of civil rights at home and abroad, as well as the rampant rise of right-wing nationalism in those nations (including ours) impacted by the refugee crisis. 

What is also often missed in this horrific assault on some of the poorest nations on earth, is how much of it is stoked by the simultaneous rise of neoliberalism as a political and ideological movement in lock-step with the militarization and the severe limitations on previously granted rights.  Neoliberalism, at its core, operates on the premise that only the "market" has rights; everyone is subject to market forces.  This leads to policies which effectively tie corporations which, under neoliberalism can do no wrong, directly into government which is charged with protecting the rights of corporations and those who manage them.  This leads to a situation where corporations become dependent upon government subsidies to prosper and survive and what better way to provide subsidies than through the Defense Department.  This, combined with the neoliberal financialization of virtually all aspects of economic life, leads to a situation where only the interests of powerful international corporations can be taken into consideration by government policy makers.  And so, war becomes the natural constraining force used to cow the populace into ultimate submission – because they convinced us that there is no alternative; or as Margaret Thatcher so cleverly put it, TINA.

This, as a result, is, almost without question, the single most dangerous time in human history…  Or, as the old Chinese curse is reputed to have augured, may you live in interesting times.  We surely seem to have found those times the curse referred to, and then some.   When combined with man-made climate change humanity is on a downward spiral which may well not be survivable during the lifespan of those now alive.

 John

Articles:

• Combat High, Panel Discussion on Military
• Yes, Neoliberalism is a Thing, PDF

Fwd: Water

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From: John H

If you think that water depletion and contamination by pollutants is not a world-wide problem, you're not thinking – you're dreaming.  Check out this article from today's Washington Post for some frightening information on depletion and then consider that a very high percentage of the water we drink, cook with and bathe in is being polluted by an unimaginable volume of pollutants, some visible and some not, injected legally and illegally by corporations and people on a daily basis.  Many of these chemical pollutants are not even acknowledged or identified.  But one strong indicator is the incredible spiking of the cancer rate in many areas of this nation.  It's long past time to stop this flagrant abuse of this critical resource for life. 

John

ARTILCLE: Humans are causing massive changes to the location of water all around the Earth

Fwd: Pittsburgh should be aware . . . Amazon

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From: John H

Pittsburghers should be very aware that becoming another Seattle could be incredibly damaging to the entire structure of the city and the region should they succeed in bribing Amazon to set up HQ2 in the 'burg.  Watch out what you wish for, since you may get more than what you want.

John

Link to article, Behind Seattle's Amazon Tax 

Fwd: Fast and furious

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From: John H

The media is having a field day with all of the rumors and disinformation flowing out of the administration, the special prosecutor, the pundits and then regurgitated and dissected endlessly on cable news.  However, no matter how much we may despise Trump and everything he stands for, we should be very cautious about what we wish for – particularly when it comes to the potential for prosecutorial misadventures and support from 'deep state' intelligence sources.  This article from naked capitalism discusses some of these problems and concerns.  As I sometimes do with naked capitalism, I have included some of the comments to the piece.

John

Article, setting a perjury trap for Trump

Fwd: Russia as pawn in the game of world power

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From: John H

Attached is an excellent must-read article offering some deep background on the current effort to demonize Russia and just how the neocons accomplished much of this.  What is missing is any companion discussion of how the neoliberal coterie utilized this movement to really jump-start their efforts to gain control of the world for corporate and financial interests.  And, while that would have made for a really interesting and comprehensive explanation of the situation in which we find ourselves today, it would have made for a very long book-length feature.  Do read this it is worth your time.

John

Article

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpSFBQUldRbFZPOTNmZ2hYNFF2MTdPSVMtZmtV

Fwd: Climate Denial by a Different Name

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From: John H. 

As another Earth Day fades into the sunset I offer an excellent article from The Intercept by Kate Aronoff on the topic of climate change focusing on a different aspect of climate denial than we usually hear.  I urge you to read this piece and to pay particular attention to Philip Mirowski's comments.  It addresses a truly critical aspect of climate policy which the left has essentially missed completely by buying into the general consensus.

John

Fwd: And the beat goes on as Israel kills more defenseless Palestinians

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From: John H

The criminal cabal that is the Israeli government continues its massacre of defenseless Palestinians who are peacefully protesting their continued confinement is the world's largest outdoor concentration camp known as Gaza, while the criminal cabal that is the United States continues to act as an aider and abettor of these continuing crimes against international law and human rights.  It is an ongoing outrage which we, the American people, are complicit.  It is a time to cry out in shame and anger until these criminals are brought to justice.   

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21627

As an aside, Donald Trump appears tonight to have accomplished something that no other American president has ever managed to do.  Kim Jong Un has agreed to end his missile testing and nuclear testing program and close his nuclear test site in exchange for a meeting with Trump and a commitment from South Korea to have two separate nations on the Korean Peninsula.  All this because an American president agreed to sit down and talk with him – something no other U.S. president has been willing to do.  It seems that all the North Koreans wanted all along was to be recognized as a nation and not to be threatened with destruction and extinction.  Much remains to be accomplished and it could all still blow up with Trump at the negotiation table, but it's a better start than we have ever had before.

John

Article

Fwd: There was no gas attack in Douma, Syria

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From: John H

Robert Fisk is perhaps the best and most knowledgeable journalist operating in the Middle East in this or any other time.  His incredible coverage of the Iran-Iraq War, documented in his masterpiece of on-the-scene journalism, The Great War for Civilization:  The Conquest of the Middle East, 2005, Alfred A. Knopf, stands alone in the annals of wartime journalism.  He lives in Lebanon and speaks fluent Arabic and Hebrew.  Fisk was one of the few Western journalists to have travelled to Douma following the alleged gas attack where he interviewed a doctor who was there at the time and numerous residents who were also there all of whom said that there was no gas attack as reported by the New York Ad agency funded 'White Helmets' which is a group notorious for spreading anti-Assad propaganda in league with the U.S. and Britain.

Attached are two articles, the first by Robert Fisk and the second concerning his article, please read them both, they are not long.  It is high time that Americans recognize that it has been our government, in league with the government of Britain, which has been fomenting and expanding efforts to spread anti-Assad propaganda as part of our demonization of Russia project.  There is little doubt that Assad is not a particularly nice guy, but his government has been fighting a civil war against terrorists, most of whom are not Syrian nationals, who have been funded and directly supported by the U.S., Britain and France at the behest of Israel.  We in the West are the ones consistently violating international laws and norms far more grievously than Assad and the Russians have ever done in Syria.  Under longstanding international law, Syria, Russia and Iran are acting lawfully in Syria.  We are the ones spreading terror, horror and devastation across the Syrian nation – and the time has come for the American people to stand up and reject what is and has been done in our names in that devastated nation.

John 

Articles in one PDF

https://drive.google.com/open?id=0ByN94c3Pp4BpMkx5N29UM28zaGtrSm5nMThxaTdZSnh1TTd3

Re: More damning information about Israeli government abominations

On Wed, Apr 11, 2018 at 8:44 PM John H wrote:

Below are links to a three-part discussion on The Real News Network concerning the newly released movie The Occupation of the American Mind made by Sut Jhally and Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame).  This film deals with the massive propaganda effort employed by the Israeli government to convince the world, and particularly Americans, that Israel is the victim in dealings with Palestinians.  In this country at least, their efforts have been enormously successful largely because of the full blown complicity of virtually all major media outlets as well as official governments pronouncements and policies.  The results of this are disheartening and disturbing, but there is some hope as many young university students (including a large number of Jewish students) have awakened to what the Israeli policies and practices relative to the Palestinians really are.  Increasingly large numbers of older Jewish Americans are also becoming concerned that these policies are not only wrong, but actually endanger the survival of Israel as a state within the community of nations.  These are excellent discussions and I encourage each of you receiving this to watch all of them.  They each run around 20 minutes or so.

The last link, I just received from a friend, concerns a video interview with Max Blumenthal conducted by Abby Martin on The Empire Files in 2015 and since published on YouTube.  The interview was titled A Jewish American of Israeli Fascism and has now been blocked in 28 different nations.  It has not as yet been blocked in the U.S. and a link to the interview is in the article.  Do take the time to watch it before it disappears here also.  Blumenthal, the author of Goliath: Life and Loathing in Greater Israel, is a highly respected author and well-known Israeli critic.  He believes that the YouTube ban was instigated by the Anti-Defamation League since it showed light on policies and practices that Israel would like to keep in the shadows.

Part One:

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:16286:The-Occupation-of-the-American-Mind---RAI-with-Pink-Floyd%27s-%0D%0ARoger-Waters-%2813%29

Part Two:

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:16375:The-Occupation-of-the-American-Mind---RAI-with-Pink-Floyd%27s-Roger-Waters-%2823%29

Part Three:

http://therealnews.com/t2/story:16377:The-Occupation-of-the-American-Mind---RAI-with-Pink-Floyd%27s-Roger-Waters-%2833%29

www.occupationmovie.com

https://www.truthdig.com/articles/youtube-blocks-journalists-views-on-israeli-militarism/ 

  John

Fwd: The more things change . . .

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From: John H

The more things change . . .  well, let me rephrase that, with the Democratic Party things really don't seem to change much at all.  Oh, there's a great deal of rhetoric about change and a "new" liberal vision and a big tent and all . . . but really, nothing much has changed since the Party totally botched the last presidential election by pushing out the worst possible anti-change candidate when the nation was ready for some real change.  Instead we inherited a fake change con-artist and now have to live (or die) with the results.

John

Links

• Hill and Don's onduran Caravan
• Two Dogmas of Liberals Nowadays

Fwd: Want to know where the economy is headed?

--- From John H

If you are interested/concerned about where the economy is headed watch the Laura Flanders interview with economist Michael Hudson linked below. This portion of the interview is 17 minutes and well worth your time. The rest of the interview is also very good if you are concerned about Amazon.

http://michael-hudson.com/2018/04/high-cost-economy/


John

Fwd: And the crazies just keep on coming . . .

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From: John H

Well folks, things just aren't getting better as we move deeper and deeper into the muck of empire gone berserk!

John

Links:

• Lunatic Loose in the West Wing
• The Legacy of Iraq War 

Fwd: Another disgusting subservient action by the U.S. regarding Israel

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From: John H

This is sadly depressing, but entirely expectable.  We are the evil force in the world puppeteered and controlled by an Israeli fascist government.  The Real News Network is one of the few media outlets which will document these vile actions with full detail.  They deserve our support.

http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=74&jumival=21489%27%20style=%27color:#000; 

John

Fwd: The coming nuclear war with Russia

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From: John H

Ready or not we Americans are facing an imminent possibility of nuclear war.  This should not be an idle fear for this nation as forces in our national security, military and political institutions are racing headlong in an effort to both demonize Russia and to force it into an untenable corner both politically and militarily.  Russia has very clearly spelled out that it will only be pushed so far before it has no choice but to retaliate with the only military option it has to compete with the U.S. and NATO – that is nuclear weapons.  This is made clear in the two attachments to this e-mail.  The first is another excellent analysis by Jim Kavanagh (The Polemicist) which I heartedly encourage everyone to read in full.  The second by Brian Cloughley is also highly pertinent to what is now very much on our collective doorstep. 

John

Links

• Russiamania at the Boiling Point - a PDF
• Getting Ready for Nuclear War - a PDF

Fwd: Fracking and its consequences

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From: John H. 

The attached op-ed from the Washington Observer-Reporter contains more confirming information about the dilatory effects of fracking on the health of all of us living in this region.  Western Pennsylvania is now a hot-spot for many different types of cancer.  Washington and Greene Counties now have the highest incidence of air pollution in the state by a factor of almost six, most of which is directly from fracking.  It's time we begin raising our voices in protest to the powers that be in Harrisburg to get some real and effective regulations and controls in place to control this noxious pollution.  Yes, these types of controls will increase the cost of fracking production, but that is a very small price to pay for reducing the health consequences we all now have to live (and die) with.

John

Link

Fwd: Two excellent articles

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From: John H

Attached are two excellent and very different articles on two critical subjects for all Americans to consider with all seriousness.  They each, in their own way, discuss 'elephant in the room' issues to which the national media give only scant attention; and, when attention is paid, it is usually focused on the wrong aspects of the issues. 

The first, by Andrew J. Bacevich, offers a telling look at The New York Times negative coverage of all things Russian to the exclusion of coverage of U.S. military and political machinations all around the globe which impacted millions and millions, unseating multiple governments and creating an unimaginable refugee crisis in many of these same areas.  If you happen to be in the Pittsburgh area on Friday evening, labor lawyer and peace activist Dan Kovalik will be discussing many of these issues in a book presentation at the UU Church of the South Hills in Mt. Lebanon, 1240 Washington Road at 7:00 p.m.  This should be an interesting and important event to attend.

The second article from my favorite alternative news site, naked capitalism, concerns what is almost certainly the greatest existential threat to humankind in all of recorded history, global climate change.  It argues that unless we begin to attack climate change from the perspective of supply limitations all of our efforts will be for naught.  This is an important and oft neglected aspect of many activists efforts on this issue.  I have to admit that while I am a long-term cynic about the prospects for stopping or even significantly limiting global climate change, I strongly believe that it is absolutely real and the dangers it poses to humankind (and most other life on the planet as well) are not at all understated and need to be addressed with all due urgency.  However, I hold serious doubts that we humans, ensconced as we are in the comforts of carbon-based energy, really will be willing to make the changes necessary to have a significant impact upon the climate.  As I occasionally do, because they are usually excellent, I have included the comments to the article.

Please do check out these two excellent articles.

  John

 Links

• On Seeing America's Wars Whole
• Why Climate Activists Must Include ..

Fwd: Two for the price of one

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From: John H

Two excellent articles on the politics of our time!  You won't see this information on the national news.

John

Links

• It is Us, PDF
• Time is Running Out

Fwd: Dan Kovalik book Discussion

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From: John H

Don't forget Dan Kovalik's discussion of his book The Plot to Scapegoat Russia next Friday:

BOOK PRESENTATION AND DISCUSSION:

Friday, March 23, 2018

7:00 p.m.

Unitarian-Universalist Church of the South Hills

1240 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon, PA  15228

THE PLOT TO SCAPEGOAT RUSSIA

by Dan Kovalik

How the CIA and the Deep State use fear of Russia as a diversion to continue their policy of permanent war

"A powerful contradiction to the present US narrative of the world…  As shown here, fake news is thriving in Washington, DC." — OLIVER STONE

Dan Kovalik is a highly respected international labor lawyer with the United Steel Workers Union and law professor at Pitt.  An internationally-recognized Human rights activist, Dan has travelled more than 30 times to Colombia and Venezuela, as well as many other areas in Central and South America, the Congo, Iran and other critical hotspots. His firsthand accounts and union perspective are critical contributions to Americans' understanding of US military and intelligence activities around the world.  Dan will discuss why the current saber-rattling and threats of nuclear war towards North Korea and Iran should be of concern to us all!

Dan's latest book, The Plot to Attack Iran, will be available soon from Amazon

Anyone involved in important domestic fights, such as healthcare, the environment, labor rights and union drives, immigration, discrimination, upcoming elections, etc., should be interested in this presentation.  US military wars and fronts around the world, as well as how the yearly increasing already bloated military budget for these adventures will greatly impact budgets here at home.  Available funds for domestic programs and every struggle down to the local and community level will be affected.  Please attend this important event.

THIS EVENT IS FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC

  John

Fwd: Neoliberalism described

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From: John H

This evening I was planning on sending out another missive on some new or revived outrage threatening all which most of us hold near and dear.  However, I was looking through my latest copy of The Baffler, No. 38 (an excellent periodical, by the way) and came across this really well-done article on neoliberalism.  This immediately caused me to change my mind.  This is unusual in that neoliberalism, while pervasive in this nation and throughout much of the rest of the developed world, is an extremely difficult ideology to pin down in less than two or three hundred pages of dense text.  Though the author, Eugene McCarraher, certainly does not capture all of the many nuances of neoliberalism in these nine pages, he does fairly well describe some of its most salient features.  In particular, the critical nature of neoliberalism as a quasi-religious theology with significant differences in the rules pertaining to the neoliberal priesthood and those the rest of us are forced to obey.  I heartedly encourage you to take a few minutes and read this piece.  It will be well worth your time.  And, if it piques your interest, get a copy of Philip Mirowski's wonderful book on neoliberalism Never Let a Serious Crisis Go To Waste and read it.

John

Link

• The World is a Business article in PDF