Organizing Notes

Bruce Gagnon is coordinator of the Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space. He offers his own reflections on organizing and the state of America's declining empire....

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Location: Brunswick, ME, United States

The collapsing US military & economic empire is making Washington & NATO even more dangerous. US could not beat the Taliban but thinks it can take on China-Russia-Iran...a sign of psychopathology for sure. We must all do more to help stop this western corporate arrogance that puts the future generations lives in despair. @BruceKGagnon

Thursday, May 31, 2018

A look inside North Korea



If we all can dispel with our previous indoctrination about who and what North Korea actually is - then maybe the coming 'negotiations' (and race for the Nobel Peace Prize) will go much smoother.

Each of us should make it a goal to not allow ourselves to fall for the steady spew of demonization that comes from Washington and the western media whenever Mr. Big (and his minions) don't get their way in the world.

I recall going to Cuba for the first-time back in the early 1990's and came home in tears when I stepped out of the Miami, Florida airport into the hustle and bustle of capitalist life.  Cuba was human - people on bikes, hitching rides, working with Oxen on farms, playing baseball, taking wonderful care of mentally ill people (unlike anything I'd seen before, or since), dancing, singing, and dancing some more.

The 'un-American' way means there is more spice and variety in the world.  It's wonderful to be in a country that is not homogenized and doesn't have a street full of 7-11, Pizza Hut, McDonald's, Burger King, Subway and more of the usual rot.

North Korea's crime is that it wants to survive as an independent socialist state.  Much like Cuba it has been blocked, militarily encircled, threatened, undermined, and disrupted since July 27, 1953 when the Armistice (ceasefire) was signed.   After nearly two years of negotiations, diplomats from the US, North Korea, and China reached agreement on an armistice to end the 'UN peace action' in Korea without a formal peace treaty.

Today North Korea demands a full peace treaty with the US, recognition of their sovereignty and full trading rights like any other nation.  When that day comes there can be peace and reunification on the Korean Peninsula.

Bruce

Wednesday, May 30, 2018

Who is John Bolton?



  • Bolton being appointed as Trump's National Security Adviser indicates to me that the neo-cons have taken near full control of his administration - particularly his foreign policy.  

  • The neo-cons are the ones who brought us 'shock and awe' in Iraq in 2003, the take down of Libya, and since 2011 the attempt to destroy the government in Syria.  It's all about chaos creation and a justification for expanded US-NATO-Israeli military boot print in the region.  The ultimate goal is to control fossil fuels, pipeline routes, and being able to impede China's progress on their 'One Belt and One Road' project that will span more than 68 countries (Eurasia and Africa) and reach 4.4 billion people and up to 40% of the global GDP.  Needless to say the US is not at all happy being left behind in the dust.  So Washington (and its foolish allies in NATO) do what they always do and that is to militarize the region.  It's the American way - take power at the end of a big gun.

  • These warmongers want regime change in Iran, Russia and China.  They are heating up the war fever in Ukraine again - likely to begin with a Blitzkrieg in the Donbass at just the moment 2018 FIFA World Cup soccer begins in Russia in mid-June  See more on the looming Ukrainian war here.  

  • The US is sending Reaper drones to Poland as US-NATO continues their cancerous expansion of military operations closer to the Russian border.  The drones would be stationed at the Mirosławiec Air Base, which is the Poland’s airbase dedicated to host the unmanned platforms.  Israel is also selling drones to Poland as it expands its military reach as a un-official 'partner' with NATO.   

Bruce

Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Trump: "We're getting very big in space"



By Will Park (Altamonte Springs, Florida)

A briefing on U.S. plans for space domination



Thanks to RT for recording this interview and new Global Network part-time social media consultant Will Griffin for adding the Trump bits to the start of the video. 

Will is undertaking the task to increase the GN's social media footprint and will also produce a space-related video each month for us. We are glad to have him working with us. Will is an Iraq & Afghan war veteran after serving in the Army and grew up in an Army family.

He presently lives in Philadelphia and is working closely with Korean-American activists (his mom is Korean) on those important issues.  He also serves on the GN's Board of Directors.

So we urge you to stay tuned for more of Will's video production - you can see all of his past work at the Peace Report here

Bruce

Monday, May 28, 2018

Memorial day: End all the wars




These Veterans Have a Different Message on Memorial Day. Produced by Chris Smiley

Swords to Plowshares Bell tower interactive memorial can be seen next to the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC this holiday weekend and around the country throughout the year delivering it's message. A project of Veterans For Peace.
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We had about 13 of us in the Topsham to Brunswick memorial day parade that began (late as usual) this morning at 9:30 am. Carrying the banners of our local group PeaceWorks and Maine Veterans For Peace we arrived at our appointed spot at 7:45 am as instructed.  The police closed the road down at 8:00 am and then we stood around for the next 90 minutes in the cold morning air.

Finally the march began with our slot (#'s 43 & 44) near the end of the long parade.  Behind us were two local Republicans carrying their banner and then several fire trucks.  So clearly the peaceniks were shunted to the end of the line.

The crowd was fairly thick this year throughout the parade route.  People would often clap for the PeaceWorks and VFP banners but then Mary Beth and I were in the rear of our group carrying our 'Convert the war economy' banner and we got some cold stares as we marched along.  (It's to be expected in a community that is addicted to military production.)  Now and then someone would say something nice and we got some favorable nods from folks who were not eager to be noticed by being too demonstrative.

MB and I in past years at the end of our peace delegation in the Topsham-Brunswick memorial day parade.  We carried the same banner again today.  Not everyone appreciated it.

All in all its a journey through the hard core working class looking for some free entertainment on a holiday weekend.  Many of them liked the two Republicans behind us so that gives you an idea where they were coming from.  Lots of Navy baseball caps were seen in the crowd and many veteran scrambled egg hats were visible as well.

So while the memorial day parade is not 'fun' - as an organizer whose job it is to reach beyond the choir - being in the parade gave us a chance to make our point to people that we don't normally have contact with.  It is also a way to reinforce the good spirit in the few diamonds in the rough that we saw along the march route.

My only real complaint from the day was why can't the marching bands from local public and church schools learn a few new songs besides 'Anchors away' and 'The Halls of Montezuma'?

Bruce

Sunday, May 27, 2018

Sunday song




Saturday, May 26, 2018

Water should not be for profit$



Nestle owns Poland Springs water company here in Maine.  It's the same story here - corporate domination of water is not acceptable.

For Russia, escalation is the enemy



Syria has won the war. Israeli missiles change nothing

The war against foreign-backed terrorist in Syria is all but over. Russia understands this – and has acted accordingly
 
By Edward Slavsquat

Authoritative and well-respected commentators on Russia and Syria are up-in-arms: Moscow has betrayed Damascus and Tehran by allowing the United States and Israel to strike Syria with impunity. To add insult to injury, Benjamin Netanyahu was Vladimir Putin’s guest at the Victory Day parade in Moscow on May 9. This can mean only one thing, or so we’ve been told: The Russians are two-faced and spineless, Putin is weak and indecisive – and so forth.

From my perch here in Moscow – and as someone who works in Russian media – I must confess that I don’t share the same grim interpretation of recent events. Incidentally, neither does Bashar Assad – and if anyone should feel betrayed by Russia’s lack of S-400-launching, or S-300-providing, or Netanyahu’s apostate presence on Red Square, it should probably be Syria’s president. After all, the Americans and Israelis are dreaming to put Assad’s head on a pike. Surely, Assad must feel at least a little bit betrayed by Russia?

Maybe. But in an interview conducted in the aftermath of Israel’s missile strikes against “Iranian” targets in Syria earlier this month, Assad used a different word to describe Moscow’s posturing: Wise.

Here’s the exchange:

               Q: Are you worried about a third world war starting here in Syria? I mean, you have the Israelis hitting the Iranians here in your own country. You have the Russians, you have the Americans. Are you concerned about that possibility?

           
Assad: No, for one reason: Because fortunately, you have a wise leadership in Russia, and they know that the agenda of the deep state in the United States is to create a conflict.



               Since Trump’s campaign, the main agenda was against Russia, create a conflict with Russia, humiliate Russia, undermine Russia, and so on. And we’re still in the same process under different titles or by different means. Because of the wisdom of the Russians, we can avoid this … And I hope we don’t see any direct conflict between these superpowers, because that is where things are going to get out of control for the rest of the world.


As for Moscow’s view on the brewing conflict between Iran/Hezbollah and Israel, I will defer to Russian statesman Konstantin Kosachev, who chairs the Federation Council’s International Affairs Committee:


            We are absolutely categorically against the strengthening of military activity in this area and   not only because our troops are now there. Any escalation would put an additional burden on the shoulders of the Syrian people (as well as everyone else in the region), will lead to new victims, and will hardly bring notable dividends to any of the sides. Only extremists (there are already media reports that militants tried to exploit the Israeli missile attacks and capture Syrian army positions near the city of Al-Ba’ath in the Golan Heights) and opponents of peace in the Middle East can win.


He then sums up Moscow’s position quite elegantly: “For Russia there is no enemy in the Iranian-Israeli confrontation, for the enemy is the confrontation itself.”

Not long ago I interviewed a Duma deputy about Russia’s stance on the current precarious situations in Syria and East Ukraine. He invoked a common saying here in Russia: “A bad peace is better than a good war.”

The Russian military is not an errand boy tasked with righting all the wrongs in the Middle East – however unjust and intolerable they may be. Moscow has only one objective in Syria: To end the conflict and restore regional stability. When necessary, this goal has been pursued through military means. But de-escalation is the goal, and Moscow has shown again and again that it prefers ceasefires and humanitarian corridors over air strikes. The reason for this is plain: Protracted war is destabilizing. So is needlessly escalating a war against foreign-backed jihadists that has been all but won.

Although your Facebook acquaintances may suggest otherwise, the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, space lizards, whoever – none of these foreign actors are currently in a position to fundamentally change the reality on the ground in Syria. Russia realizes this. So does Assad.

Russia will always have the threat of S-300 deliveries to Syria as a major bargaining chip. Why up the ante now? Is the occasional Israeli missile strike – although illegal and abhorrent – turning the tide of the war? Nein.

If we are to believe recent media reports, Russia has repeatedly given the Syrian military a heads-up about impending Israeli attacks inside Syria. The very fact that Israel has reportedly agreed to inform Russia ahead of such strikes shows that Tel Aviv understands that Moscow is showing restraint, not weakness, in Syria. If Israeli strikes ever pose an existential threat to Syria, rest assured that Russia will act accordingly.

But if you think that Russia is interested in helping Syria settle old scores with Israel – buckle up for a lifetime of disappointment. Even indirectly supporting Syria in a conflict against Israel would be like pouring water on grease fire that was nearly contained. Just … why? What purpose would it serve?

Yes, Netanyahu was Putin’s guest at the Victory Day parade; and yes, on a day which commemorates the 25 million Russians who died during the Great Patriotic War, the Israeli prime minister really did suggest that Iran is a modern-day Nazi Germany.

But are we really so thin-skinned? I sometimes wonder if westerners – Americans in particular – have forgotten what diplomacy looks like, and what it entails. If diplomacy always produced good optics for domestic or international consumption, more people would be doing it.

Critics will characterize Putin’s posturing as naive, and point out that the United States and Israel are hell-bent on prolonging and expanding the conflict. Okay, but doesn’t this mean that escalating the conflict would be a massive Hanukah present to Israel? Since when was the anti-war Left (or Right) so eager to “get it on”? To its credit, Russia isn’t rubbing its nipples in hot anticipation of a Middle East apocalypse. If war is inevitable – so be it. But in the meantime, we should be rooting for a bad peace – not a good war.

To those still fantasizing about Russian anti-air systems vaporizing US and Israeli jets over Syria: Let’s hope your wet dream never comes true – because it would snatch certain defeat from the jaws of imperfect victory.

Edward Slavsquat is an American journalist living in Moscow. He works for a Russian media outlet.

Friday, May 25, 2018

Trump pulls out....for now

Listen to "Trump Blows Up Summit with Kim as North Korea Blows Up Its Nuclear Site" on Spreaker.

I love this show 'Loud and Clear'.  Brian Becker and John Kiriakou (excellent hosts) are joined by Hyun Lee, a member of the Solidarity Committee for Democracy and Peace in Korea and writer for Zoominkorea.org, and Steve Gowans, a journalist and author of “Washington’s Long War on Syria.”

Hyun Lee is a good friend and long-time Korean-American activist.  She's one of the most articulate people around on this important subject.

Trump once again reveals to the world his unpredictability and instability as he pulls out of the planned June 12 talks with North Korea.  As it turns out North Korea yesterday brought international journalists to a series of explosions at its Punggye-ri site in the mountainous north of the country, where it has previously tested their nuclear weapons.

The destruction included two tunnels, a barracks and observation towers, according to South Korea's Yonhap, which said that American, British, Chinese and Russian journalists were all invited.

I've long felt that the hard-right, now in control of US foreign policy, would not ultimately allow this North Korea-US peace effort to flourish.  Maybe history will prove me wrong - I hope it does - but it seems clear that John Bolton is working overtime trying to ensure that this deal (like the Iran nuclear deal) is prematurely killed.

Why is it OK for the US and its allies to test and deploy nuclear weapons?  Why does the US get to decide that the nukes from Israel, England or France are acceptable but those in North Korea, China or Russia are not?  It's hypocrisy.

The media is reporting today that now Trump is saying the June 12 meeting in Singapore might be back on schedule.  Hang onto your hat!

Bruce

The puzzle is finished


With the good help of 19-year old friend/neighbor Leann yesterday we finished the stacking of 2 1/2 cords of wood.  There are three rows under this wood shed.

We get the wood delivered precut but quite often some of the pieces are way too large and we have to recut them so they can be handled and will fit into our two wood stoves in the house.  Leann had never swung an axe before but she quickly got the hang of it and was chopping away.  Was fun to watch her grow into the task.

Other housemates gave a hand one day last week for a bit as well.  I spent a total of eight hours on the job.

I love doing this although it is hard on the back.  But in my peace work it is rare that you see immediate results (if any at all) from your efforts.  Stacking wood (sort of like putting a big puzzle together) gives you fairly quick results and a real sense of accomplishment. 

After having lived in Florida for 30 years one of my great joys about being in Maine is sitting by the fire on a cold snowy day losing my mind in the dancing flames.  I was made to live in the cold country.

There is a great wood stacking story I love.  An old farmer hires a young man from the city to stack his wood one summer.  After working all day the young man asks how much wood should be stacked.  The farmer says, "Well, I'm not sure.  Why don't you go up the mountain and ask that old Indian what he thinks."

So the young man crawls up the mountain and asks the Indian.  The Indian says, "Well, I'm not sure but it might be a bad winter."  So the young man goes back down the mountain and stacks a bunch more wood.  He again asks the farmer if it is enough and he replies, "We'll I'm not sure.  Maybe check with that Indian again."

This goes on two or three more times and the young man is getting tired going up the mountain and stacking by now a massive wood pile.  So finally the young man musters up the courage to ask the Indian, "How is it that you know the weather is going to be bad this winter?"

The Indian looks to the sky and then down the mountain and points to a big wood pile in the farmer's field.  He says, "Well, I see that big wood pile down there so I figure it's going to be a bad one."

Bruce

U.S. peacenik in Russia



My friend Regis Tremblay from Maine just returned from a two week trip to Russia.  He went as a peace ambassador and filmmaker as he continues to create videos in order to dispel the insane notion that Russia is our enemy.

He went to Moscow, the Komi Republic, and Crimea during the trip.  This particular video is from his meeting with Russian Veterans For Peace members in the Komi Republic (which is up in the Arctic region of the country).

Because of the friends and connections Regis has made we are now working to formulate a proposal to hold the 2019 Global Network annual meeting in Russia.  More on that as things develop.

Thanks to Regis for being a good messenger for peaceniks in the US.

Bruce

Wednesday, May 23, 2018

Demand peace in Korea



Would Trump try to promote real peace on the Korean Peninsula? Here's four reasons why Trump will pledge for peace on the Korean Peninsula.

This video was made in collaboration with ZoominKorea, an online news organization that provides critical news and analysis of the Korean Peninsula. Be sure to check them out at:
http://www.zoominkorea.org


Video by Will Griffin 

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

War profiteers the new royalty


The tax collectors of old hit the villages at the bottom of the hill where the feudal Lord's castle oversaw their mini-empire.  The peasants were bludgeoned if necessary to maintain the way of life of their masters and support their greedy desires for imperial expansion.

Times have changed a bit.  Now even working people can own (mortgage) their home and have their tiny lawn in front - a postage stamp-sized pasture but psychologically important to those hoping to climb the ladder and break all ties to their hard past.  Corporate media helps even more to erase those memories of the toiling class.

But social progress is outmoded as the new ruling oligarchies of our age set their sights on taking control of the universe thanks to space technology advances.  Earth is now just a jump off spot for this very expensive desire to colonize the heavens.  It's a god-like vision.

Few of the 'modern peasants' have any notion what is in store for them.  A collapsing environment, due to human misunderstanding of our relationship to nature, and a failing economy mean that hard times are here.  There is no Plan B for the public - you are on your own.

The aerospace industry has long claimed that 'Star Wars' will be the largest industrial project in human history.  This means social programs that tried to level out society - to give the peasants a chance - are now needed to pay for the current imperial project - Pyramids to the Heavens.


One example of this corporate capital accumulation period we are currently in was the recent effort by General Dynamics to steal $60 million from the poor state of Maine.  They eventually got $45 million and are demanding $100 million from Connecticut and about $40 million from Rhode Island.  The people are told that if they don't give the corporate masters what they want the company just might have to cut jobs or even move.

The public is kept in check with public charades like the recent royal wedding in England.  Prince Harry (dressed ready for war) unveiled his new chic American wife making the multi-cultural unification between the US and its former colonial master relevant in the modern era.  The show (a theater production really) drew raves and hours of wasted attention as the royals drain the public purse and revive the dark periods of the past.

The message to the vast majority of humanity is either get on your knees and submit to corporate authority (enjoy the wedding) or face the harsh club that will keep you in place.

It seems appropriate to re-think the meaning of words like slavery, freedom, justice, liberty and connection to nature.

Bruce

Monday, May 21, 2018

May 26 Okinawa event in Brunswick


Hanging out with the Greens


  • Yesterday MB drove me to Augusta for the annual Maine Green Independent Party convention where I was the keynote speaker.  Also in attendance was State Representative Ralph Chapman (Brooksville) who left the Democratic Party two years ago and became the highest ranking Green Party elected official in the US.  Chapman was a big help to us during our recent General Dynamics corporate welfare bill campaign here in Maine. He is a very decent human being.
  • I was impressed with two of the young Greens that are running for state representative seats in a couple districts in Maine.  One from a wealthy coastal area in Falmouth and the other from the run-down urban Lewiston in the central part of the state.  Each of these two women candidates are doing great work at trying to educate and mobilize people.  They brought tears to my eyes.
  • It was great to see Bob Klotz at the Green Party meeting.  Bob served as one of my medical advisers during my hunger strike.  He is a Physician Assistant in the Portland area and is a strong campaigner on climate change issues.  Bob is a rare bird among that species of activists - he recognizes the deadly connections between US military operations and climate change.  He wanted to review my current medical condition and had some advice as I go forward with treatment for my current ailment.  MB and I love the guy.
Bruce

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Sunday Song




Friday, May 18, 2018

Global Network 26th annual space conference in England

Croughton USAF base near Oxford, England being upgraded for surveillance, communication, command and control and the planning and execution of endless wars.

The push for US global domination relies heavily on military satellites for surveillance, communication, command and control and the planning and execution of exercises and wars. However, military satellites require ground-based stations to send and receive information/commands - so a global military presence requires an extensive network of various bases and space centres.

The Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space has campaigned to raise awareness of these issues, to help coordinate actions at related ground-based installations and to “Keep Space for Peace” for 25 years.

The GN's 26th annual conference will be held from June 22-24, 2018 in Oxford, England.   This will also include a protest at the major US/NATO military space communications and control centre at nearby Croughton Air Force Base.

Croughton is an American military and intelligence communications base on the border of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. It is a major hub in the US global electronic communications, control and surveillance network which serves the interests of the US military and intelligence services regardless of the location and the mission objectives.



It handles a huge portion of US military communications in Europe, North Africa and the Middle East and is used to route vast amounts of data captured by Washington’s network of listening posts in diplomatic premises back to America for analysis by the CIA and the NSA. A secure fibre-optic link between Croughton and the US air base at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti helps to co-ordinate drone strikes over Yemen.

The US is now spending over £200m to transform the base into one of its largest intelligence hubs outside the US to become a new centre for counter-terrorism operations in Africa.

All are welcome to attend this important international conference.  Activists will be coming from South Korea, Japan, India, Germany, Mauritius, Vietnam, France, Sweden, US and throughout the UK. 

You can find the full schedule and registration information here

'We're learning these tactics from Israel - they're the best at population control'



IRAQ WAR VETERAN IN PALESTINE, new short documentary: "Seeing these Israeli soldiers doing the same, the violence against the people, the hate against the people, it's the same as what we were doing in Iraq and Afghanistan."

A film by Chris Smiley featuring Captain Matthew Hoh. Hoh has nearly twelve years experience with America's wars overseas with the United States Marine Corps, Department of Defense and State Department. In 2009, Matthew resigned in protest from his post in Afghanistan with the State Department over the American escalation of the war. He is now an activist with the organization Veterans For Peace and a Senior Fellow with the Center For International Policy.

What a day....


Yesterday MB took me to the Togus VA emergency room in Augusta.  I had been feeling bad for the last week - chills and fever, frequent urination, weakness and muscle pain and more.  We were in the ER four hours and they took lots of blood and urine samples.

Come to find out I have a prostate infection which is quite interesting since in early April I had been similarly diagnosed with a urinary tract infection - likely as a result of my hunger strike.  No telling if this latest infection also stems from the hunger strike as well.

I've always been blessed with good health so it is a real drag to be feeling run down and without any energy.  Last night my fever broke and I sweated up a storm - this morning my bed clothes and sheets and pillow were soaked.  Maybe I'm on my way to recovery now.

Many thanks to MB for her good care.

In the meantime I've much work to catch up on but my low energy level might just slow me down a bit.

Best wishes to all out there in TV land.

Bruce

Wednesday, May 16, 2018

Pax Americana and the weaponization of space



See the entire documentary where the above was taken from here

Also check out an excellent new article entitled: Trump and Corporate America Are Dead Serious About Plans to Conquer Outer Space. 

Like any military effort, the establishment of the U.S. Armed Forces in space is meant to ensure the expansion of capital, the protection of corporate property and investments on or off the globe

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Interview on Iranian PressTV about Nuclear Deal


I was interviewed for this Iranian produced news program about my reactions to Trump pulling the US out of the Iran Nuclear Deal.

It's a nicely produced video - watch just below.


Wood, garden, whales and Putin's military budget cuts


  • I started stacking wood yesterday - four hours virtually non-stop.  Got about half of the 2 1/2 cords of wood done.  My back was feeling it afterwards.  I love stacking wood - my chosen profession does not allow many 'victories' or 'solutions' to the complex reality of the US war machine.  But stacking wood gives me near instant results and it helps keep me reasonably fit.  Some of the wood that we get delivered cut into 14 inch pieces has to be additionally cut so I was swinging the ax some as well.


  • In addition I've been working in the garden and doing some early planting of peas, carrots, beets, parsley, garlic, and various kinds of lettuce.  In a couple more weeks the other veggies will go into the ground.  

  • Over the weekend MB and I went to Wells Beach in southern Maine.  We took long walks and during a beach walk on Sunday we saw an endangered right whale just off the shoreline.  We are told that it is a very rare experience to see these whales.  About 430 North Atlantic right whales remain, including just over 100 breeding females. In the past 11 months, 18 whales have been found dead. Scientists believe the right whale population will not be viable within 25 years unless something changes. For the first time on record, no right whale calves were born this winter. In past years, between 15 and 23 new calves have been reported.

A North Atlantic right whale swims along the surface Sunday near boaters off Long Sands Beach in York, Maine with Nubble Light in the distance. Right whales are one of the Earth’s most endangered marine mammals. Photo from Portland Press Herald.

  • While at Wells Beach we spent time with several of MB's cousins who have summer cottages on the beach.  They repeatedly expressed worry that global warming is causing the loss of shoreline as the water and sand advance on their beach homes.  Wells Beach is similar to a barrier island and it won't be long before it is covered with water.  Big changes are coming.
  • The Christian Science Monitor reports: With the tensions between Russia and the West so high – often being described as “a new cold war” – one might understandably assume that there is a corresponding arms race going on. But in fact, Russia's military spending is on the decline. In the first strategic program of his new and possibly final presidential term, Vladimir Putin announced plans for a relentless focus on domestic development, to be partially paid for by sharp cuts in defense spending.
  • Cuts to defense spending will go toward underwriting that agenda. But in fact, Russian defense spending has already started to decline. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), Russian military spending fell by 20 percent last year, the first major decrease in two decades. 
  • Wouldn't it be nice if Washington would similarly cut the Pentagon budget by 20% or more?  Which nation appears to be more responsive to public needs and demands?
Bruce

Monday, May 14, 2018

America has been at war with Iran for decades



Washington's been pushing for war with Tehran for decades. Will it happen under Trump?

Sunday, May 13, 2018

Navy sonar kills

Though we don't usually see it, Navy sonar needlessly continues to do great harm to life in our oceans. I say needlessly, because there are many measures the U.S. Navy could take to reduce that harm if it wished to, but with the arrogance of its upper level decision-makers, it simply refuses, and the harm continues on.... My just-finished relief sculpture on that subject.

 "Collateral Damage" poplar wood, casein paint 14" h. x 26" w. x 2 1/8" d.

By Russell Wray from Hancock, Maine

Sunday Song

 

Uncle Son

Written by: Ray Davies

He was just a workin' man,
Simple rules and simple plans,
Fancy words he didn't understand,
He loved with his heart,
He worked with his hands.

Liberals dream of equal rights,
Conservatives live in a world gone by,
Socialists preach of a promised land,
But old Uncle Son was an ordinary man.

Bless you Uncle Son,
They won't forget you when the revolution comes.

Unionists tell you when to strike,
Generals tell you when to fight,
Preachers teach you wrong from right,
They'll feed you when you're born,
And use you all your life.

Bless you Uncle Son,
They won't forget you when the revolution comes.

Saturday, May 12, 2018

Report from Russia


By Regis Tremblay

Six days in Moscow. Watching the news from over here. Very discouraging. From the EU comes news how they are angry that Trump (US neocons) pulled out of the Iran nuclear agreement. They are figuring out 1) they can't trust their American masters, 2) they must take their own interests first, 3) they have to avoid war. 4) because of US wars of regime change in Iraq, Libya, and Syria, millions of "immigrants" have flooded the EU and are causing havoc and chaos. In Sweden they are experiencing a 160% increase in violent crime over one year. The same is true in Germany, Italy, France, and the UK.

Things are very bad in the EU politically, economically, and militarily. It seems they have been forced to recalculate the relationship with the US and what is best for each country. The Transatlantic Partnership is being torn apart....thanks be to whomever for that.

Trump is being portrayed as a fool, clown, moron, and unstable. America's actions with Trump center stage makes one embarrassed to be associated with it.

Here in Russia, people are carefully watching the election in Iraq today, Iran's reaction to the US pullout of the nuclear agreement, Israel's bombing of Gaza and Syria and the attacks on Israeli positions in the Golan Heights.

From what I can tell, Russia wishes to avoid war at all costs. Being here for the second time, I can understand why. Russians seem to believe that President Putin will not take the country to war unless the Motherland is attacked.

Westerners claim that Putin is weak and has backed down to the US and Israel. Russians insist that he is not weak, but strong and insisting on international law and the UN Charter.

I learned today that Russia's "relationship" with Israel is almost purely the history of Russian Jews who migrated to and formed the (illegal - my judgment) 1948 formation of Israel. There are still millions of Russian Jews here in Russia.

Russia is a friend of Syria and has offered military and economic assistance to the Assad government. There, Russia will "bend" but not "break."


In relation to Iran, Russia "doesn't have a dog in the fight" except for being a partner in the Nuclear Agreement. Her interests in the Middle East are not oil, but 1) a pipeline for gas and oil to Europe, and 2) the completion of the New Silk Road connecting far east Asia with Europe, all the way to Portugal. I point out in my film, Thirty Seconds to Midnight, that America will never let this happen without risking all-out war. A united Eurasia would represent the most powerful economic, political, and military bloc in the world and a new world order not based on American interests.

I have also learned, from some, that there are indeed thousands of Russian troops in Donbass to protect Russians and Russian speakers there from the attacks of the Ukrainian army.

Putin has made it clear, in spite of thousands of NATO/US troops and bases along Russia's borders, that Russia's line in the sand is any invasion or attack on Russia itself.

The feeling of the people I have met is that tensions are very high and the worst ever. Many are afraid of war and some are afraid of nuclear war...because of America's aggression and attempts to subjugate the entire world.

I often quote Henry David Thoreau who said in the late 19th century, "How does it become a man to behave towards the American government today? I answer, that he cannot without disgrace be associated with it."

When people ask me where I am from (they really know before asking) I say "North America." I then explain that the American government does not represent me and I am ashamed to be associated with it. I tell them, I come as friend and a citizen of Mother Earth...and I come in peace and solidarity.

They get it.

Je Suis Russia!

Regis Tremblay
Brunswick, Maine