I Want to Go Home

This is what the US supported puppet regime in Kiev has done to their own citizens who live near the Russian border - in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.

How long do they have to suffer?  Russia has not invaded Ukraine - in fact it is the US that has a base in western Ukraine where US Army Special Forces from Ft. Carson, Colorado are presently stationed.  They train the Ukrainian National Guard (made up of Nazi death squads) who are then sent to the Donbass to kill the civilians. 

More war crimes but the world is silent.

It's Always About the Oil!

No THAAD in South Korea!

 

 

Global Network board member Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England) at US embassy in Seoul.

Sung-Hee Choi reports:

No THAAD! (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) 'Missile Defense'

Lindis Percy, a UK peace activist kept one person protest in front of the US embassy in Seoul, Korea, despite police interruption.

Thank you, Lindis, your persistent effort and solidarity is an inspiration and encouragement for us.

Lindis Percy is a co-founder of Campaign Accountability of American Bases (CAAB), former-co-representative of the CAAB. She has been arrested around 500 times for her anti-base struggles.

The People's Democratic Party hit its 347th day of one person protest in front of the US embassy as of June 29. The issues are: 'Immediately remove out THAAD, Stop war exercise against North Korea! Conclude a Peace Agreement between North Korea and United States! Remove all the US bases [from the alliance countries]!"

Lindis Percy, who is being invited by the People's Democratic Party to visit the various anti-base struggles in Korea from June 27 to July 9 has welcomed the People's Democratic Party to the struggle site against the US NSA base at Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire, England, several months ago.

Lindis visits Jeju from July 5 to 7 and Seongju on July 8.

(Photo by People's Democratic Party)

Testimony: The Lies of U.S. War Making

Very moving testimony by US soldier about the carnage created during the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq. 

Why doesn't the US ever get charged with war crimes?

Teaching Local Cops to Kill

"Conditioned Response", a short film by Craig Atkinson and Field of Vision. For the past 20 years, ex-Army Ranger and “killology” expert Dave Grossman has been traveling across the US to train police officers on his philosophy of killing.

Footage from one of Grossman’s seminars is juxtaposed with stark, brutal images of police brutality—including the shooting of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer.

Directed by Craig Atkinson and Laura Hartrick

See more from Field of Vision here: fieldofvision.org

Craig Atkinson also filmed "Do Not Resist", a documentary about the militarization of police: http://www.donotresistfilm.com/

Field of Vision YouTube: https://youtu.be/773T86dY7wU

Read an article about the film from The New Yorker: http://bit.ly/2smHg4P

Movement of Resistance & Love

But you also gotta connect the military budget to all this - that is where the $$$ is if you want to have a free and just society.

Stop Endless Wars

I began to seriously question the government's lies while in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  I went to the base exchange one day while stationed at Wheeler AFB, Hawaii and picked a copy of the Pentagon Papers off the book rack.  I started reading the book at my job site and would now and then read aloud one of the more egregious lies uncovered by the governments own 'secret history' of how the war in Vietnam came about.

Years before I had come to appreciate the phrase modus operandi (MO) while taking a pre-FBI agent correspondence course through the mail.  Every criminal has an MO - a way of repeating their crimes over and over again.  That is the perfect description of how the corporate criminal syndicate, that runs the US, acts at home and around the world - they keep doing the same bad shit and selling it to the public in the same way.

As a teenager I dreamed of fighting organized crime as my career.  Reading the Pentagon papers helped me see one prime example of Washington's MO happening right before my eyes.  So I feel like I achieved my goal of being a fighter of the mob but thankfully learned that the FBI was part of the problem.

When Washington started attacks (verbal and physical) on Panama, Granada, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, Russia, Congo, China and North Korea I saw the MO in action.

It is hard for many people to admit we are being played like a violin - they want to believe in the system because if they move to rejecting it then they have to act - and most folks don't want to act.  They want someone else to do the heavy lifting for them.

So it gets real interesting that in recent days the 'RussiaGate' story is losing oxygen - like a balloon deflating in your hand.  CNN and now the New York Times are slowly creeping toward back tracking on their earlier claims about Russian interference in US elections.

Award winning reporter Robert Parry at Consortium News today writes:

The New York Times has finally admitted that one of the favorite Russia-gate canards – that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies concurred on the assessment of Russian hacking of Democratic emails – is false.

The reality of a more narrowly based Russia-gate assessment was admitted in May by President Obama’s Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan in sworn congressional testimony.

.... as any intelligence expert will tell you, if you “hand-pick” the analysts, you are really hand-picking the conclusion. For instance, if the analysts were known to be hard-liners on Russia or supporters of Hillary Clinton, they could be expected to deliver the one-sided report that they did.

In the history of U.S. intelligence, we have seen how this selective approach has worked, such as the phony determination of the Reagan administration pinning the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II and other acts of terror on the Soviet Union.

CIA Director William Casey and Deputy Director Robert Gates shepherded the desired findings through the process by putting the assessment under the control of pliable analysts and sidelining those who objected to this politicization of intelligence.

Since Clapper’s and Brennan’s testimony in May, the Times and other mainstream news outlets have avoided a direct contradiction of their earlier acceptance of the 17-intelligence-agencies canard by simply referring to a judgment by “the intelligence community.”

Most of us have learned to smell a rat and this cycle we are in of 'endless wars' is stinking up a storm.  Trusting the ruling elites is a foolhardy thing to do.  Trusting their media is even more foolhardy.  Sadly it is simply amazing how many 'progressives' still read and believe the New York Times and the Washington Post along with CNN and MSNBC.

The puzzle pieces are falling into place on the wall and a clearer picture has emerged for us to see if we are willing to look.  Democracy is gone - corporate oligarchic control is here and neo-feudalism is backed up with a militarized police.

They must lie to us about everything.  It's the only way Mr. Big can keep us distracted and under control.  We win the day we stop falling for their MO and begin to act against it.

Bruce

Who Actually Controls the Media?

Do you actually think the CIA, FBI and NSA can be trusted? Who do they work for? Put your ears to the railroad tracks and hear the train coming!!!

During the days of the former Soviet Union the story was that folks living there had to learn to read the newspaper up-side-down.  That meant they could not trust their media - it was state controlled.

Can we begin to imagine that the media in the US (and much of the world) is owned and run by the rich - corporate oligarchs?  By the CIA.

But having a media we can't trust is not a ticket out of the struggle.  I hear many say that, "Well, I don't know who to believe anymore.  I give up.  You can't beat city hall."

We can't just say we are beat and then quit.  Our children and grandchildren need us to put our asses in gear.  Our relatives in the plant and animal worlds need us to act now. We damn well know the problems - and we have a very good idea what many of the solutions are.

America has always been about fitting in - being accepted by the crowd - going along to get along.  That's all got to change now.  We are on the edge of the cliff and looking at a deep fall.  We've got to move hard and fast.  We've got to speak out more often - more publicly - and help push the real policies that are life giving.  The elite say that America has superfluous populations here now and the oligarchs are trying to thin the herd.  Some would call it genocide - they want to put most of us on the reservation.

Age is not a ticket out of the struggle either so everyone can do something.  Just last weekend 98-year-old activist Frances Crowe and seven others were arrested blockading construction of a Kinder Morgan gas pipeline in the Otis State Forest in western Massachusetts. Activists helped push Crowe to the construction site in her wheelchair, where they then held a mock funeral for fossil fuels. Crowe is a longtime peace and antinuclear activist. This is her third arrest since she turned 90 years old. When asked on Saturday how many times she’d been arrested throughout her lifetime, Francis Crowe answered, "Not Enough."  See the story here

Alot of people are using the word 'Resistance' these days but many groups are pushing an accommodationist strategy with those in power.  Many of these organizations are linked to the Democratic Party and thus their primary job is to herd newly active and enraged people into traditional safe corners where party operatives can control their anger.

For me though 'Resistance' is that which directly non-violently confronts the power elite - from both major political parties.  I always carry in my heart the words of abolitionist and former slave Frederick Douglass who proclaimed:

Let's cut the bullshit and get to work while we still can.

Bruce

BIW Aegis 9 in Maine Court Today

Our Aegis 9  destroyer 'christening' crew appeared in court today for a 'Disposition' hearing before Judge Billings.  Our protest event took place at Bath Iron Works (BIW) here in Maine on April 1.  The nine of us have been charged with criminal Trespass.  Three of us in the group were arrested last year during a similar protest when the new Zumwalt 'steath' destroyer was 'christened'.

Things began today with the judge asking the state what they were offering the defendants in the way of sentencing if we settled the case without trial.  The prosecutor said that the state was offering a $250 fine for six of the folks who had not been previously arrested at BIW.  For the three of us (Jason Rawn, Russell Wray and myself) the state was asking for a three day jail sentence.

Attorney Logan Perkins was there to represent three of the people in our group and the rest of us are planning to represent ourselves (Pro Se).

Judge Billings said he would be inclined to have tighter restrictions on what he allowed during our upcoming trial testimonies because of the nature of our Trespass charge.  Our previous arrest in 2016 was for sitting down in the road in front of BIW and we were charged with Obstructing a Public Way.  That particular charge allowed us to argue during our trial the 'reasonableness' of our actions.  The Trespass charge does not allow the 'reasonableness' defense - thus the judge's statement that our testimony will have to be more restricted.  It will be interesting to see how all of this comes out in the wash.  Clearly we want to be able to convey to the 'jury of our peers' why we held our protest action on April 1.

An August 29 date was set for our next hearing at the West Bath District Court.  At that time the 'Docket Call' will move us one step closer toward jury selection and eventual trial that could happen either in September or November - depending on the court calendar.

The ‘Aegis 9’

1. Lisa Savage – Solon, 60 years, School teacher
2. Jason Rawn – Lincolnville, 45, War tax resister, house painter
3. Bruce Gagnon – Bath, 64, VFP (Veterans For Peace & Global Network)
4. Natasha Mayers – Whitefield, 70, Artist
5. Bob Dale – Brunswick, 92, VFP former Navy pilot
6. Mike Tork – Cape Cod, MA, 69, VFP former Navy Vietnam vet
7. Mark Roman – Solon, 69, Woodworker
8. Russell Wray – Hancock, 61, Artist
9. Jessica Stewart – Bass Harbor, 37, Catholic Worker activist

Noting Relationships: Military Space Control & Energy Domination

• The antimedia reports: 

There’s currently a push in the halls of Washington D.C., to establish a new branch of the military by 2019, one whose focus would be operations among the stars. Proposed legislation by House representatives would create a “Space Corps” that would serve “as a separate military service within the Department of the Air Force.” It would be the first branch added to the military since 1947 when the Air Force was officially established.

“There is bipartisan acknowledgement that the strategic advantages we derive from our national security space systems are eroding,” the bill's sponsors said in a joint statement. “We are convinced that the Department of Defense is unable to take the measures necessary to address these challenges effectively and decisively, or even recognize the nature and scale of its problems.”

Under the proposed legislation, the Space Corps would serve under the direction of the Air Force much like the Marine Corps serves under the direction of the Navy. Additionally, the Space Corps head would have a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson responded to the idea while speaking to reporters on Capitol Hill:

“The Pentagon is complicated enough. This will make it more complex, add more boxes to the organization chart, and cost more money. And if I had more money, I would put it into lethality, not bureaucracy…I don’t need another chief of staff and another six deputy chiefs of staff.”

The entire House Armed Services Committee will have to approve the subcommittee’s additions to the NDAA before they can go any further. If that happens, the debate will move to the House floor, where the NDAA is expected to be voted on sometime after the Fourth of July. 

• Sputnik reports:

The new anti-Russian sanctions are outlined in an amendment to a bill imposing sanctions against Iran. It was overwhelmingly approved by the US Senate on Thursday by a majority of 98 to 2, but still needs to pass the House of Representatives and be signed by President Trump to become law.

In a joint statement, Germany’s Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Austria's Chancellor Christian Kern said that Wednesday’s decision by the US Senate to slap new sanctions on Moscow over its alleged meddling in US presidential election and the Ukrainian conflict would make the European energy industry less competitive and would put thousands of jobs on the line.

Germany and Austria suspect that Senate's anti-Russian bill is an attempt to "occupy" the European energy market on the part of US corporations.

"Germany and Austria went one step further, too — accusing the US of looking to promote the role of US LNG in Europe at the expense of Russian gas," the S&P Global Platts writer [Ivan Danilov, a Russian economist] underscored, adding that the US apparently wants to kill two birds with one stone by exerting sanctions on Nord Stream 2: to "punish" Moscow and promote US LNG supplies in Europe, "which would have the knock-on effect of supporting domestic US gas industry."

Listen to Your Heart

Space Mine Field

Voice: Bruce Gagnon, Coordinator of the Global Network. Listen to Bruce's entire talk: https://youtu.be/oerbJKbjpRs

Animation by Stuart Grey: https://youtu.be/O64KM4GuRPk

Thanks to Will Griffin for this important video.

Get Up Off Your Knees

We are talking
serfs
vassals
slaves
here

the return
of feudalism
21st century
corporate style
 
Mental slaves
all around us
go any place
where people meet
the joint
is crawling
with them

Whining about Trump
dreaming
of the good old days
when Obama
'respected'
the rule of law
ran a 'clean' government
only got us into
7 wars
Drone executions
Expanding NATO
Health care
was a corporate subsidy
but allowed
for pre-existing
conditions
yeah the glory days

Saw an invite
from a liberal group
'Join the resistance'
was the headline
the fine print
told the real story
come learn how to lobby

Resistance redefined
as accommodation
and horse trading
from a position
of weakness
and servitude

Putin
is on the west's
shit list
because he won't
submit
won't get on his knees
like vassals

resists being
another Yeltsin
won't bow
to the banksters
dares talk of
sovereignty

The fightback
is half-stepping
reading the
Post and Times
falling for the lies
another 'shock and awe'
Syria
Iran is next

Folks know better
but running scared
don't want
to get
outside their
comfort zones

Liberals
demonizing
Russia
trying
to change
the script
off their
big loss
to the 'Donald'
gotta blame
the evil bear

There's
no fight
in the bones

Speak out
get accused
of being violent
or too radical
blacklisted

Liberals
run and hide
wait for next election

Been determined
by some
that
on your knees
is the safest
position
to face
coming
high tide

Bruce

South Koreans Encircle U.S. Embassy

Thousands of demonstrators formed a human chain around the American embassy in the South Korean capital, Seoul, to register their disapproval of the US-built THAAD missile defense system in their country.

South Korea’s President Moon Jae-in and Trump are due to meet for the first time in Washington next week, with THAAD expected to dominate the agenda.

Moon, a center-left politician, who was sworn in last month after a corruption scandal brought down the previous right-wing administration, has been a critic of the way in which the sophisticated defense system has been deployed and has ordered a full investigation.

"We got a fuckin‘ problem"

From Seymour Hersch
Printed by WELT (Germany)

Intelligence officials doubted the alleged Sarin gas attack at Khan Sheikhoun. WELT AM SONNTAG presents a chat protocol of a security advisor and an active American soldier on duty at a key base in the region.

This conversation was provided to [award winning journalist] Seymour Hersh. It is between a security adviser and an active US American soldier on duty on a key operational base about the events in Khan Sheikhoun. We have made abbreviations: American soldier (AS) and Security Advisor (SA). WELT AM SONNTAG is aware of the location of the deployment. For security reasons, certain details of military operations have been omitted.

April 6, 2017

American Soldier: We got a fuckin‘ problem

Security-Adviser: What happened? Is it the Trump ignoring the Intel and going to try to hit the Syrians? And that we’re pissing on the Russians?

AS: This is bad...Things are spooling up.

SA: You may not have seen trumps press conference yesterday. He's bought into the media story without asking to see the Intel.  We are likely to get our asses kicked by the Russians.  Fucking dangerous.  Where are the goddamn adults? The failure of the chain of command to tell the President the truth, whether he wants to hear it or not, will go down in history as one of our worst moments.

AS: I don't know. None of this makes any sense. We KNOW that there was no chemical attack. The Syrians struck a weapons cache (a legitimate military target) and there was collateral damage. That's it. They did not conduct any sort of a chemical attack.

AS: And now we’re shoving a shit load of TLAMs (tomahawks) up their ass.

SA: There has been a hidden agenda all along. This is about trying to ultimately go after Iran. What the people around Trump do not understand is that the Russians are not a paper tiger and that they have more robust military capability than we do.

AS:  I don't know what the Russians are going to do. They might hang back and let the Syrians defend their own borders, or they might provide some sort of tepid support, or they might blow us the fuck out of the airspace and back into Iraq. I honestly don't know what to expect right now. I feel like anything is possible.  The Russian air defense system is capable of taking out our TLAMs.  this is a big fucking deal...we are still all systems go...

SA:  You are so right. Russia is not going to take this lying down

SA: Who is pushing this? Is it coming from Votel (General Joseph L. Votel, Commander of United States Central Command, editor‘s note) ?                 

AS: I don't know. It's from someone big though. . . . This is a big fucking deal.                      

AS: It has to be POTUS.      

AS:  They [the Russians] are weighing their options.  Indications are they are going to be passive supporters of Syria and not engage their systems unless their own assets are threatened..in other words, the sky is fucking blue.'         
        
April 7, 2017

SA: What are the Russians doing or saying  Am I correct that we did little real damage to Russia or Syria?                       

AS: We didn't hit a damn thing, thankfully. They retrograded all their aircraft and personnel. We basically gave them a very expensive fireworks display.                      

AS: They knew where ships were and watched the entire strike from launch to end game.                      

AS: The Russians are furious. Claiming we have the real Intel and know the truth about the weapons depot strike.                      

AS: They are correct.                      

AS: I guess it really didn't matter whether we elected Clinton or Trump. Fuck.                      

AS: No one is talking about the entire reason we're in Iraq and Syria in the first place. That mission is fucked now.

SA: Are any of your colleagues pissed or is everyone going along with it and saying this is OK                      

AS: It's a mad house. . . .Hell we even told the Russians an hour before impact                      

SA: But they clearly knew it was coming                      

AS: Oh of course                      

AS: Now Fox is saying we chose to hit the Syrian airfield because it is where the chemical attacks were launched from. Wow. Can't make this shit up.                      

SA: They are. I mean, making it up                      

AS: It's so fuckin evil                      

SA: Amen!!!      

April 8, 2017

AS: Russians are being extremely reasonable.  Despite what the news is reporting they are still trying to deconflict and coordinate the air campaign.

SA: I don't think the Russia yet understands how crazy Trump is over this.  And i don't think we appreciate how much damage the Russians can do to us.

AS: They're showing amazing restraint and been unbelievably calm.  They seem mostly interested in de-escalating everything.  They don't want to lose our support in the help with destroying Isis.

SA: But I get the get the feeling are simply trying this approach for as long as they feel it might work.  If we keep pushing this current aggressive stance they're going to hit back.'

Sunday Song