An act of love

 

A 33-year-old #hairdresser​ provides free haircuts to the elderly in remote villages in China's Hunan, taking photos for them and bringing warmth to their hearts.

 

Money ain't everything.... 

Raytheon kill chain

 

Raytheon is the 4th largest arms-producing contractor in the world. Recently, a former Raytheon board member, retired four-star general Lloyd Austin, was appointed as the Secretary of War under the Biden Administration.

This further highlights the revolving door between the Pentagon, the War Industry and Congress.

The Global Network has long opposed military operations by Raytheon. 

We must continue the fight against these warmongers....they are killing us.

Video produced by Will Griffin for the Global Network.  

Ukraine – Zelensky, the war and the propaganda trap

 

Ukraine's President Zelensky - a former comedian who has no experience leading a nation. He was made president by one of Ukraine's top oligarchs.

By Rostislav Ischenko

Not long ago, not more than six months ago, no adequate expert would have called the danger of Ukraine stepping up military action in the Donbass significant.

Today there is little doubt that Kiev will provoke war. The only dispute is whether it will happen already in the spring or later, and whether the Donbass can be considered the only place of possible provocation, or whether Crimea, Transnistria, the Ukrainian-Belarusian border, as well as the section of the Ukrainian-Russian border in the Kharkov, Sumy and Chernigov regions should also be considered as possible provocations.

What has happened to change assessments of the prospect of the Ukrainian crisis moving into a hot phase?

Firstly, it should be borne in mind that the provocation of conflict with Russia and/or China has been taken up by the US. Washington has come to the conclusion that within three to five years (i.e. by the end of the current US President’s rule) America will have lost any hope of success in case of a direct military conflict with either Beijing or Moscow (not to mention the high probability of their interaction). In the opinion of its own experts, the US has already lost the financial and economic competition. This opinion is confirmed by the fact that for the last five years Washington has not even tried to play by the rules in the financial-economic field, forcing its still allies into economic conflicts with Moscow and Beijing. Having lost the advantage (albeit a conditional one) of force, the United States is deprived of the last argument, after which its defeat goes from a state of high probability to a state of inevitability.

America sees a way out by dragging Russia and/or China into a full-scale conflict involving American allies, while the US itself will try to refrain from taking part in active hostilities at the first stage, providing moral and technical support to the allies. There are two scenarios in Washington. In the first one, hostilities take a protracted character, undermining the potential of Russia and China and allowing America in the final stage to throw its capabilities on the scales (not necessarily by going to war, but by threatening force) and reverse the political situation in the world in its favour. Roughly speaking, the US would not mind repeating the trick of World Wars I and II, in which everyone lost but America.

 

Ukraine's SBU (secret service) HQ in the capital Kiev. Note the flag of the nation that is really running the show inside Ukraine today.

In the second option, America’s allies would be defeated by Moscow and Beijing relatively quickly and with little effort, but the result should be a stalemate in which the victors destroy the very markets that should have given them an economic advantage over the United States. That is, the U.S. administration believes that war will allow Washington, at worst, to draw the current global crisis to a status quo, preserving the potential for the next round of the struggle for hegemony.

The US needs warmongers to implement this strategy, for it is clear that neither France, nor Germany, nor Japan, nor Australia would attack Russia or China on their own. Conditions must be created in which they cannot shy away from military action because of their alliance commitments and because a military conflict would affect their own interests.

The US is trying to use South Korea (by provoking conflict with the North Korea), Taiwan and, with less success, Vietnam and the Philippines (which have unresolved disputes over sovereignty over island groups in the South China Sea) as warmongers against China.

The incendiaries of the Russian border should be the Baltics and Poland, trying to blow up Belarus, and Georgia, where the Americans are trying to bring the opposition, which considers Saakashvili its leader, back to power. The use of Armenian-Azerbaijani contradictions to ignite a big war in Transcaucasia is not excluded, but after the deployment of Russian peacekeepers to Karabakh, this option has become much harder to implement. Attempts to rock Central Asia are continuing, but the United States needs to secure its rear in Afghanistan to use it fully, and Moscow is so far outplaying Washington, albeit not by much, in its negotiations with the Taliban.

As we can see, Ukraine is a key link in this strategy, providing a link between the Belarusian and Caucasian theatres of military operations. In addition, Kiev has the easiest way to turn frozen conflicts into a hot phase. The easiest way to do this is in the Donbass. Finally, the EU is already involved in the Ukraine crisis, so it will be more difficult for Paris and Berlin to dodge being dragged into a conflict with Russia over Ukraine. In addition, we can expect at least in western Ukraine Poland, which is an EU and NATO member state and whose problems will be even more difficult to ignore. Apart from Poland, there is a chance to involve the Baltics in the crisis (the deployment of American troops, which the Baltics together with the Poles have pushed so hard for, should be paid for, if not with money, then with participation in adventures).

There are hopes that Georgia will actively support the anti-Russian bloc politically (Tbilisi is unlikely to dare to take military actions after 2008), and also that Kazakhstan will take a full-scale conflict between Russia and Ukraine painfully as it will experiment the situation on itself. Northwest Kazakhstan is a former Cossack land, and when Putin spoke of Russia’s “gifts” to the dispersed republics, he clearly had not only Ukraine in mind.

Secondly, the Ukrainian leadership is in an extremely difficult situation. Zelensky has failed to secure continued lending from the IMF, and there is no way to plug the hole of a third of the budget. Moreover, as a result of the Ukrainian authorities’ failure to fight the coronavirus pandemic, this hole risks growing to 2/3 of the budget – businesses are going bankrupt, the tax base is shrinking, guest workers’ departure for work abroad has sharply decreased, and so is the inflow of foreign currency. The unpopular authorities are trying to consolidate their position by switching to an open dictatorship. Dictatorial rule and terror against the opposition is motivated by “war with Russia”. Opposition activists are massively declared “agents of the Kremlin” and accused of high treason.

As a result, the position of right-wing radicals, who have always advocated open war with Russia, has strengthened. The most foolish among them believed (some still do) that Ukraine could win such a war.

Most, on the other hand, believe that the West will definitely stand up for Kiev if war is officially declared on Moscow and help win the conflict (win the war for Ukraine). The only problem is to demonstrate unprovoked aggression from Russia.

To this end, since the beginning of the year Kiev has switched to the standard tactic of increasing shelling of the Donbass and organising clashes on the contact line. The bet was that sooner or later the Donbass defenders would lose their nerve and respond so vividly that it could be passed off as a Russian offensive.

 

At the same time, information and propaganda pumping into Ukrainian society began. The Ukrainian authorities have succeeded in getting 42 per cent of the population to support a military solution to the Donbass crisis. At the same time, only 25 per cent oppose it. Moreover, 37.4 per cent of Ukrainian citizens also support the return of Crimea by force. Only 27 per cent are against it. Kiev’s information and political preparations for war are practically over.

Thirdly, there have been a number of events that are unpleasant for Ukraine and the West, but unlikely to undo the war:

1. Russia pointed out to France and Germany Kiev’s unwillingness and inability to implement the Minsk agreements and invited them to provide a more constructive position for their wards. Paris and Berlin tacitly acknowledged their inability to change Kiev’s position.

2. Donbass, clearly with Moscow’s consent, claimed statehood within the borders of Donetsk and Lugansk regions.

3. The Donetsk and Lugansk authorities have instructed the Republic’s corps not just to respond to shelling, but to open fire on Ukrainian positions “pre-emptively”. Moscow, Paris and Berlin remained silent on this matter.

Kiev was thus caught in its own trap. Ukrainian volunteers began to regularly report casualties from “shrapnel and blast wounds”. In this connection, mine detonations are mentioned in exceptional cases, while the Ukrainian armed forces are mainly suffering losses from the republics’ artillery. So far, Kiev is not particularly focused on this because, as mentioned above, Russia has managed to get Paris and Berlin to remain silent on the Ukrainian issue.

But, firstly, the U.S. will obviously try to push its allies on anti-Russian statements at the ongoing NATO summit as much as possible. Secondly, Kiev cannot ignore the current situation for long. The Ukrainian armed forces are used to the fact that they shoot at Donbass with practically impunity. The current state of affairs is extremely unnerving for the personnel of the units that come under fire from the republican artillery. You have to understand that most of the servicemen are the same guest workers who have only decided that trench drinking and fun in the form of shelling residential areas is more interesting than picking strawberries in Poland. They signed a contract with the AFU in order to kill for money (if they are lucky, also to rob) and not to die at all.

Sitting in the trenches under fire finally degrades the Ukrainian army, already far from the heights of morale. If it is not sent on the offensive in time, it could spontaneously retreat into a fleeing retreat. In addition, Nazis and other radicalised citizens will not understand the authorities if they take a passive stance.

Thus, the overall diplomatic, military, political, financial and economic situation powerfully requires the Kiev authorities to intensify combat operations in Donbass. By the way, the Americans do not give a damn whether Ukraine will hold out for any time or whether it will be blown to pieces in an instant. They believe they stand to gain from either outcome. Only the personal indecisiveness of Zelensky and some of his advisers today keeps Kiev from quickly unfreezing the conflict in Donbass. But cowardice is a bad adviser. Today Zelensky is more afraid of war, and tomorrow he will be more afraid of the Nazis setting fire to his office door.

 

Furthermore, official Kiev is still living in a regime of provocations, not only on the Donbass contact line, but also on the border with Crimea, where provocative exercises are being held. Provocation is a double-edged weapon. During the military hysteria, events easily spiral out of control and begin to develop according to their own algorithm (not calculated by the provocateurs). The higher the tensions, the greater the danger of an accidental collision, igniting a major conflagration.

That is why most observers today speak of a high risk of Ukraine starting full-scale hostilities. As Barbara Tuckman wrote of the outbreak of World War I in The Guns of August, “no one wanted war. War was inevitable.”

After all, it has long been clear to everyone that the Ukrainian crisis cannot be resolved peacefully. Ukraine is not ready for this. Therefore, the question of war is only a matter of time and place chosen by the parties concerned.

Elon's Gone to Mars

 

 

Tom Neilson lives in western Massachusetts and is a great singer/songwriter. He has done another excellent song - just in time for the virtual explosion of space issues into the global consciousness.

Tom just published 'Elon's Gone to Mars' and it is #1 on the Acoustic chart at Soundclick. 

Over the years Tom has done several songs that illustrated our work around Bath Iron Works here in Maine. He also wrote the campaign song for Lisa Savage's US Senate run last November against Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) who ended up being reelected. Lisa ran as an Independent and spoke out for all the issues that Tom sings about and the rest of us work so hard to deal with.

He's several times done concerts in Maine and before covid came along Tom was regularly touring the country doing what he loves - performing songs about the real things going on in our world.  His creative and courageous lyrics, and excellent voice, bring his stories to life every time.

Tom grew up on a dairy farm in New York.  He shoots hoops regularly and brags about his 3-point prowess. (I say that as a joke, it's really a point of pride for him to illustrate his recovery from a bad accident.) He knows hard work and understands the cycles of life.  He paints touching images with his lyrics and music. 

Thanks Tom for sharing the load.

Bruce

The loss

 

 

I still get sad

over the loss.

 

It descends

on me like a fog,

but I've learned

over the years

that if I just 

keep breathing,

the fog will lift

and the sun

will shine again.

 

At least

for awhile

anyway.... 

 

In the meantime

I tell myself

keep paddling

 

Bruce

'I want to live my life as a human person'

 

 

America is back!

As Biden (and his neo-con minions) strut around the world - lecturing China, Russia, Iran and others about following 'international rules" he might want to turn his head and heart toward the home base. Shame on him for his self-righteousness about 'human rights'.

The 'classy' residents around Echo Park in Los Angeles have signed a petition calling for the homeless tent city there to be removed.  Where will the people go? Who cares about them?  Who is next in line to be sleeping in a tent?

Fuck the upper class residents and their heartless greed.  They should be cooking for the homeless in their neighborhood. Housing is a human right.

This is America - every dog for themselves. Our corporate-run government does not need us anymore so we are cast to the four winds.

But fortunately the homeless and their supporters didn't go down without a fight.  The cops were called in to chase them out as they often are in our increasingly militarized country.

We are in for some tough days ahead. First them came for.....

Bruce

Sunday song

 

Bang, zoom to the Moon

 

NASA reports:

NASA has selected 14 American companies as partners to develop a range of technologies that will help forge a path to sustainable Artemis operations on the Moon by the end of the decade.

U.S. industry submitted the proposals to NASA’s fifth competitive Tipping Point solicitation, and the selections have an expected combined award value of more than $370 million. NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate will negotiate with the companies to issue milestone-based firm fixed-price contracts lasting for up to five years.

“NASA's significant investment in innovative technology demonstrations, led by small and large U.S. businesses across nine states, will expand what is possible in space and on the lunar surface,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine. “Together, NASA and industry are building up an array of mission-ready capabilities to support a sustainable presence on the Moon and future human missions to Mars.”

The selections and approximate award values across the three solicitation topic areas of cryogenic fluid management, lunar surface, and closed-loop descent and landing capability demonstrations, are:

·      Alpha Space Test and Research Alliance of Houston, $22.1 million

·      Astrobotic Technology of Pittsburgh, $5.8 million

·      Eta Space of Merritt Island, Florida, $27 million

·      Intuitive Machines of Houston, $41.6 million

·      Lockheed Martin of Littleton, Colorado, $89.7 million

·      Masten Space System of Mojave, California, $10 million, $2.8 million

·      Nokia of America Corporation of Sunnyvale, California, $14.1 million

·      pH Matter of Columbus, Ohio, $3.4 million

·      Precision Combustion Inc. of North Haven, Connecticut, $2.4 million

·      Sierra Nevada Corporation of Madison, Wisconsin, $2.4 million

·      SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, $53.2 million

·      SSL Robotics (Maxar Technologies) of Pasadena, California, $8.7 million

·      Teledyne Energy Systems of Hunt Valley, Maryland, $2.8 million

·      United Launch Alliance (ULA) of Centennial, Colorado, $86.2 million

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This all comes at a time when homelessness in the US is growing by leaps and bounds. More people are out of work than during the time on the Great Depression. How can the US (with its massive national debt - currently at $28 trillion) afford missions to the Moon and Mars as well as seven wars here on Earth?  The numbers just don't add up.

Notice above how they are shoveling money into various states in order to 'build a constituency' that will apply pressure to keep the gravy train flowing for the budding aerospace industry,

I'd venture to guess that most American citizens would prefer we spend our limited national resources first on taking care of the people, dealing with climate crisis, and of course ending all of the war$.

How about you?

Bruce

Meet Mr. & Mrs. Dollargrabber

 

 

A play about the 1% written by Bruce Gagnon, starring two Maine artists Natasha Mayers and Ed McCarten playing Constance and Herman Dollargrabber. 

Two snow birds who winter in Florida and summer in Maine.....

Recorded on Feb. 2012, in Harpswell, Maine Community TV station.

Off we go......

 

South Front

The brand-new space race is upon us.

It moves into two directions – who will reach Mars first, who will colonize the Moon, as it is nearby. Resources need to be extracted, and the US wants them to be available to it and its corporations.

The second aspect of the race comes down to who will be able to establish the most military and reconnaissance infrastructure in space to have the upper hand in harvesting resources.

Currently, if the United States is asked, Russia and Beijing are working rapidly to militarize the cosmos, while Washington is sitting idly.

After all, the first deployment of the US Space Force was to Qatar. The US is the party that keeps involving private companies in its space endeavors and changing its legislation to militarize formally ‘civil’ and ‘private’ space projects.

In order to compete, and live up to the constant accusations of Washington of “militarization of space”, Beijing and Moscow have joined forces to reach Mars.

Currently, the most reliable way of reaching space are Russian launch vehicles, and SpaceX is attempting to match it and provide its technology to the US government.

Elon Musk’s efforts are still short, as the latest test showed.

Another setback to US efforts is that as a result of the constant accusations and claims of militarization, Russia withdrew from the American lunar project Deep Space Gateway.

Washington has proven itself as a disloyal partner when it comes to sharing the glory and resources of space.

Shortly thereafter, Russia and China announced a project to create an international scientific lunar station. Not a Russian and Chinese one, but an international one – those who wish to cooperate are welcome.

Roskosmos Chief Dmitry Rogozin has spent no effort mocking the landing of the Mars rover, saying that when Washington is ready to land humans on the red planet, they would be greeted by Russians there.

Other countries such as India, Israel and others also wish to partake in the space race, but they are still far behind in terms of their capability.

While spreading the loudest claims of its adversaries militarizing space, the United States is attempting to do specifically that. Even if the US statements regarding numerous Russian attack satellites in orbit were true, and every nation’s space infrastructure is under threat, how can it even be considered that Washington is not moving in the same direction?

The United states actively attempts to take control and impose its “democratic will” across the globe, in Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan. How unlikely is it that it attempts to do the same in space?

The space race is yet another field in which Washington’s sanctions, accusations and antagonism have forced its competitors into partnership and closer relations. 

More destroyers to defend America?

 

 

Bath Iron Works here in Maine presently is working on six new destroyers at the shipyard. They have put a call out for even more workers. In their call they say, "Shipfitters and Pipefitters! Pipefitters are responsible for installing the 30 miles of pipe it takes to build an Arleigh Burke [Aegis] destroyer. If you have plumbing knowledge, experience reading a tape measure and basic math skills, join our team as a Pipefitter and help us build the ships that defend America!"

That's quite interesting - the defend America bit. Once these warships are sent to sea they are no where near American shores.  Right now two of them are harassing Russia in the Black Sea and they've lately been repeatedly bumping up against the Chinese coastline 'defending the right of passage in international waters'.  Yeah right...

Can't we just admit the truth here?  It is about profit$ for General Dynamics (which owns BIW) and also about a forward deployed aggressive US naval strategy.  These destroyers carry first-strike attack nuclear-capable Tomahawk cruise missiles onboard.  They also have SM-3 interceptor missiles that are the shield to pick-off Chinese or Russian nuclear retaliatory responses after a Pentagon first-strike attack. (Something that is annually war-gamed at the Space Command in Colorado.)

These warships are about offense not defense!

 

 

Just last week the Maine and Mississippi congressional delegations sent a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on Navy shipbuilding. (The two naval shipyards that build large surface warships are in Maine and Mississippi.)

In the letter the two congressional delegations said, "We write to express our strong support for a robust Navy shipbuilding budget, including funding for the continued procurement of Large Surface Combatants, and urge you to endorse unambiguously the long-standing and congressionally mandated requirement for a larger Navy fleet... China, which each of you identified during your recent Senate nomination hearings as the foremost national security challenge facing our nation, currently has the largest Navy in the world, including approximately 350 ships...  In the era of great-power competition, a stronger U.S. Navy capable of projecting power around the world [my emphasis] is necessary to ensure America’s national and economic security during peacetime as well as to defeat our adversaries should deterrence fail."

(At least they admit that the purpose of these warships is projecting power around the world and not the tired old excuse of 'defending America' as the young potential workers are misleadingly told by BIW.)

Among the signers of the letter was Maine's 'most liberal' representative in Washington, Rep. Chellie Pingree (Democrat from Maine's southern first district). Pingree claims to care about the poor and unemployed, climate crisis, and all the other hot-button issues that liberals usually demand more money to deal with.  But she always votes for more Pentagon spending and of course more warships for BIW.

Rep. Pingree is the classic liberal who talks a good game about the need for social spending but then turns around and ensures that there won't be enough money to deal with human, environmental and infrastructure needs because the Pentagon is sitting on the buried national treasure chest.  Typical pirate behavior.

Where do the Aegis go?

As the Pentagon accelerates deployment of US warships around the globe, they must have more ports to dock at for fuel and resupply.  So in places like the Philippines (where the US was kicked out of in 1992, but now back), South Korea (where a new Navy base was forced on Jeju Island that has ripped apart a 500-year old fishing and farming community), Japan, Guam, Australia, and Okinawa local residents oppose these increased deployments.  Why? Two basic reasons, first it makes them a prime target if a war starts and secondly, in every case, these toxic military bases destroy the local environment.

 

Do you think the 'good liberal' Rep. Pingree cares about the environmental damage that accompanies these destroyers as they port in these various nations? Obviously not. During the Obama administration his ambassador to Japan was Carolyn Kennedy (daughter of JFK). For years the people of Okinawa begged that 'good liberal' to meet and hear their pleas about expanding US bases on their island. Her answer? No meeting. 

That's just in the Pacific.  The warships that are sent to poke Russia with the nuclear-stick are similarly ported at US bases throughout the Mediterranean region and in the Nordic region where they are making aggressive maneuvers in the Barents Sea. As I noted above, right now these destroyers are in the Black Sea.

 

If we are honest about this situation, it is quite apparent just who the aggressor really is.  If China or Russia had military bases in Mexico, Canada or Cuba then Washington would be going ballistic! But when Washington does it in reverse, it is always sold to the public as 'defending democracy' and other claptrap like that.

It's no wonder much of the world hates the USA today.  Our blind arrogance rankles the people in these nations that see how the US is provoking WW III which will reduce their homelands to radioactive dust.

Isn't it time for the American people to wake up and stop swallowing the 'liberal' line about 'projecting power to defend the freedom of navigation'?

Bruce

Fallout from China-U.S. Alaska 'summit'

 

By Pepe Escobar

An inevitable historical process

Pre-Alaska, the Americans went on a charming offensive in Japan and South Korea for “consultations”. That’s irrelevant. What matters is post-Alaska, and the crucial Sergey Lavrov-Wang Yi meeting of Foreign Ministers in Guilin.

Lavrov, always unflappable, clarified in an interview with Chinese media how the Russia-China strategic partnership sees the current US diplomatic train wreck:

As a matter of fact, they have largely lost the skill of classical diplomacy. Diplomacy is about relations between people, the ability to listen to each other, to hear one another and to strike a balance between competing interests. These are exactly the values ​​that Russia and China are promoting in diplomacy.

The inevitable consequence is that Russia-China must “consolidate our independence: “The United States has declared limiting the advance of technology in Russia and China as its goal. So, we must reduce our exposure to sanctions by strengthening our technological independence and switching to settlements in national and international currencies other than the dollar. We need to move away from using Western-controlled international payment systems.”

Russia-China have clearly identified, as Lavrov pointed out, how the “Western partners” are “promoting their ideology-driven agenda aimed at preserving their dominance by holding back progress in other countries. Their policies run counter to the objective international developments and, as they used to say at some point, are on the wrong side of history. The historical process will come into its own, no matter what happens.”

As a stark presentation of an inevitable “historical process”, it doesn’t get more crystal clear than that. And predictably, it didn’t take time for the “Western partners” to fall back into – what else – their same old sanction bag of tricks.

Here we go again: a US, UK, EU, Canada “alliance” sanctioning selected Chinese officials because, in Blinken’s words, “the PRC [People’s Republic of China] continues to commit genocide and crimes against humanity in Xinjiang.”

The EU, UK, and Canada didn’t have the guts to sanction a key player: Xinjiang party chief Chen Quanguo, who’s a Politburo member. The Chinese response would have been – economically – devastating.

Still, Beijing counterpunched with its own sanctions – targeting, crucially, the German far-right evangelical nut posing as “scholar” who produced the bulk of the completely debunked “proof” of a million Uighurs held in concentration camps.

Once again, the “Western partners” are impermeable to logic. Adding to the already appalling state of EU-Russia relations, Brussels chooses to also antagonize China based on a single fake dossier, playing right into the Hegemon’s not exactly secret Divide and Rule agenda.

Mission (nearly) accomplished: Brussels diplomats tell me the EU Parliament is all but set to refuse to ratify the China-EU trade deal painstakingly negotiated by Merkel and Macron. The consequences will be immense.

So Blinken will have reasons to be cheerful when he meets assorted eurocrats and NATO bureaucrats this week, ahead of the NATO summit.

One has to applaud the gall of the “Western partners”. It’s 18 years since Shock and Awe – the start of the bombing, invasion and destruction of Iraq. It’s 10 years since the start of the total destruction of Libya by NATO and its GCC minions, with Obama-Biden “leading from behind”. It’s 10 years since the start of the savage destruction of Syria by proxy – complete with jihadis disguised as “moderate rebels”.

Yet now the “Western partners” are so mortified by the plight of Muslims in Western China.

At least there are some cracks within the EU illusionist circus. Last week, the French Armed Forces Joint Reflection Circle (CRI) – in fact an independent think tank of former high officers – wrote a startling open letter to cardboard NATO secretary-general Stoltenberg de facto accusing him of behaving as an American stooge with the implementation of NATO 2030 plan. The French officers drew the correct conclusion: the US/NATO combo is the main cause of appalling relations with Russia.

Cold War on Trial

 

 

COLD WAR TRUTH COMMISSION -  A Day of Education, Testimonials & Action

“THE COLD WAR ON TRIAL” 

Held on March 21, 2021

Bruce Gagnon's words begin at 4:34:20

There were many really great and interesting presentations during this long day of wisdom sharing.

U.S. Aggressiveness Will Accelerate Its Demise

 

 Moon of Alabama

The hostility the U.S., by its behavior and words, creates against itself is not restricted to Russia and China.

Last week the French "Armed Forces Joint Reflection Circle" CRI, an independent think tank of former generals and high officers of the French forces, issued an open letter to NATO General Secretary Jens Stoltenberg in which it accused him of having acting solely in the interest of the U.S. during the development of his NATO 2030 plan.

The letter details how Stoltenberg, NATO and the U.S. have caused the bad relations with Russia. It says that the U.S. is trying to use a fictional 'Russian threat' to pressure NATO countries into morphing into a global force, under U.S. command and independent of the United Nations, to then use it against China. This while the real threat to Europe is Islamic terrorism caused by the U.S. interferences in the Middle East and north Africa. The U.S. led NATO is thereby becoming a danger for Europe.

The accusations the French generals are launching against the U.S. go beyond anything one might hear from Moscow or Beijing.

The next 'allied' nation that will have sound reason to turn hostile towards the U.S. might well be Germany:

    The Biden administration Thursday stepped up its rhetoric against a gas pipeline between Russia and Germany, calling on all those involved in the project to “immediately abandon” their work.

    “The Department reiterates its warning that any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline risks US sanctions and should immediately abandon work on the pipeline,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.

Nord Stream 2 is of vital importance to Germany's energy security. The German public was rather hostile to President Trump and Biden's victory was seen with relief. But when it sees how Biden pursues the same policies, and with a similar tone, it will turn on him. A more general 'anti-Americanism' would then arise.

The uncompromising and ever aggressive behavior the U.S. shows towards competitors as well as friends will not lead to a stronger U.S. position in the world. People and nations will learn to work around it. [Or oppose it.]

These rushed attempts to prevent the ending of its unipolar moment will only accelerate the move towards a new multilateral global system.

Techno-feudal

 

Techno says

We create jobs

 

Techno says

We make life easier

 

Techno says 

We protect you

 

Techno says

We know best,

trust us 

Techno says

Ignore the critics

 

Techno says

We don't need you anymore

Techno lies 

 

Bruce

Today (Sunday) at 7:00 pm EST

 

COLD WAR TRUTH COMMISSION

A Day of Education, Testimonials & Action

Approximate Time - 4:00 PM PST (7:00 EST)

Chris Venn         The Housing Crisis, Land Accumulation and Cold War Ideology              
Carley Towne     The Co$t of U.S. Militarism in The U.S. Cold War to Today            
Bruce Gagnon    Weaponizing Space in The U.S. Cold War to Today                     
David Vine          There Was Nothing “COLD” about The Cold War                   
Kathy Kelly         War Resistance in the 1980’s as Foundation for 1991 Iraq War Resistance   
David Swanson    Combating The Lies of The U.S. Cold War Today                    
Jeff Cohen            U.S. News Media: The Enduring Cold War Legacy                
Ed Rampell           HUAC, The Hollywood Blacklist and McCarthyism: Cold War Cancel Culture    
Peter McLaren     The U.S. Cold War against Liberation Theology and the Ascendance of the Religious Right             

Get the Zoom code by registering here: https://www.codepink.org/03212021 

I think it’s a great idea! Ideologically, it's right on.”
–Oliver Stone on the Cold War Truth Commission 

Sunday song

 

What's in America's mind?

 

                Jimmy Carter's former national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski speaks in 2009 in Washington. He discovered Obama while teaching at Columbia University. Since Brzezinski was also likely CIA he was on the look out for young, bright, ambitious young people of color who appeared to be malleable. He found such a person in Obama and he was made president.  People of color will become the majority population very soon in the US and Wall Street understands they need candidates of color who will do the bidding for the elites.  Thus Obama, Harris, and a whole host of approved politicians of color are now being allowed to come carry water for the Deep State.

 

For Leviathan, it’s so cold in Alaska

Wang Yi and Yang Jiechi will seek to make shark's fin soup out of Antony Blinken and Jake Sullivan at the Anchorage summit
 

by Pepe Escobar

Leviathan seems to be positioning itself for a geopolitical Kill Bill rampage – yet brandishing a rusty samurai high-carbon-steel sword.

Predictably, US deep state masters have not factored in that they could eventually be neutralized by a geopolitical Five Point Palm Exploding Heart Technique.

In a searing, concise essay, Alastair Crooke pointed to the heart of the matter. These are the two key insights – including a nifty Orwellian allusion:

1. “Once control over the justifying myth of America was lost, the mask was off.”

2. “The US thinks to lead the maritime and rimland powers in imposing a searing psychological, technological and economic defeat on the Russia-China-Iran alliance. In the past, the outcome might have been predictable. This time Eurasia may very well stand solid against a weakened Oceania (and a faint-hearted Europe).”

And that brings us to two interconnected summits: the Quad and the China-US 2+2 in Alaska.

The virtual Quad last Friday came and went like a drifting cloud. When you had India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying the Quad is “a force for global good,” no wonder rows of eyebrows across the Global South were raised.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi remarked last year that the Quad was part of a drive to create an “Asian NATO.”

It is. But the hegemon, lording over India, Japan and Australia, mustn’t spell it out. Thus the vague rhetoric about “free and open Indo-Pacific,” “democratic values,” “territorial integrity” – all code to characterize containment of China, especially in the South China Sea.  

The exceptionalist wet dream – routinely expressed in US Thinktankland – is to position an array of missiles in the first island chain, pointing towards China like a weaponized porcupine. Beijing is very much aware of it.  

Apart from a meek joint statement, the Quad promised to deliver 1 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines throughout the “Indo-Pacific” by the end of 2022.

The vaccine would be produced by India and financed by the US and Japan, with the logistics of distribution coming from Australia.

That was predictably billed as “countering China’s influence in the region.” Too little, too late. The bottom line is: The hegemon is furious because China’s vaccine diplomacy is a huge success – not only across Asia but all across the Global South.

This ain’t no ‘strategic dialogue’

US Secretary of State Tony Blinken is a mere apparatchik who was an enthusiastic cheerleader for shock and awe against Iraq 18 years ago, in 2003. At the time he was staff director for the Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, then chaired by Senator Joe Biden.

Now Blinken is running US foreign policy for a senile cardboard entity who mutters, live, on camera, “I’ll do whatever you want me to do, Nance” – as in Nancy Pelosi; and who characterizes the Russian president as “a killer,” “without a soul,” who will “pay a price.”   

Paraphrasing Pulp Fiction: “Diplomacy’s dead, baby. Diplomacy’s dead.”

With that in mind, there’s little doubt that the formidable Yang Jiechi, director of the Office of the Foreign Affairs Commission of the CPC Central Committee, side by side with Foreign Minister Wang Yi, will make shark’s fin soup out of their interlocutors Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan at the 2+2 summit in Anchorage, Alaska.

Only two days before the start of the Two Sessions in Beijing, Blinken proclaimed that China is the “biggest geopolitical challenge of the 21st century.”   

According to Blinken, China is the “only country with the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to seriously challenge the stable and open international system – all the rules, values and relationships that make the world work the way we want it to, because it ultimately serves the interests and reflects the values of the American people.”

So Blinken tacitly admits what really matters is how the world works “the way we want it to” – “we” being the hegemon, which made those rules in the first place. And those rules serve the interests and reflect the values of the American people. As in: It’s our way or the highway.  

Blinken could be excused because he’s just a wide-eyed novice on the big stage. But it gets way more embarrassing.

Here’s his foreign policy in a nutshell (“his” because the hologram at the White House needs 24/7 instructions in his earpiece to even know what time it is):

Sanctions, sanctions everywhere; Cold War 2.0 against Russia and “killer” Putin; China guilty of “genocide” in Xinjiang; a notorious apartheid state getting a free pass to do anything; Iran must blink first or there’s no return to the JCPOA; Random Guaido recognized as President of Venezuela, with regime change still the priority.

There’s a curious kabuki in play here. Following the proverbial revolving door logic in DC, before literally crossing the street to have full access to the White House, Blinken was a founding partner of WestExec Advisors, whose main line of business is to offer “geopolitical and policy expertise” to American multinationals, the overwhelming majority of which are interested in – where else – China.  

So Alaska might point to some measure of trade-off on trade. The problem, though, seems insurmountable. Beijing does not want to eschew the profitable American market, while for Washington expansion of Chinese technology across the West is anathema.

Blinken himself pre-empted Alaska, saying this is no “strategic dialogue.” So we’re back to bolstering the Indo-Pacific racket; recriminations about the “loss of freedom” in Hong Kong – whose role of US/UK Fifth Column is now definitely over; Tibet; and the “invasion” of Taiwan, now on spin overdrive, with the Pentagon stating it is “probable” before 2027.    

“Strategic dialogue” it ain’t.

A junkie on a bum trip

Wang Yi, at a press conference linked to the 13th National People’s Congress and the announcement of the next Five-Year Plan, said: “We will set an example of strategic mutual trust, by firmly supporting each other in upholding core and major interests, jointly opposing ‘color revolution’ and countering disinformation, and safeguarding national sovereignty and political security.”

That’s a sharp contrast with the post-truth “highly likely” school of spin privileged by (failed) Russiagate peddlers and assorted Sinophobes.   

Top Chinese scholar Wang Jisi, who used to be close to the late Ezra Vogel, author of arguably the best Deng Xiaoping biography in English, has introduced an extra measure of sanity, recalling Vogel’s emphasis on the necessity of US and East Asia understanding each other’s culture.

According to Wang Jisi, “In my own experiences, I find one difference between the two countries most illuminating. We in China like the idea of “seeking common ground while reserving our differences.” We state that the common interests between our two countries far exceed our differences. We define common ground by a set of principles like mutual respect and cooperation. Americans, in contrast, tend to focus on hard issues like tensions over Taiwan and the South China Sea. It looks that the Chinese want to set up principles before trying to solve specific problems, but the Americans are eager to deal with problems before they are ready to improve the relationship.”

 

The real problem is that the hegemon seems congenitally incapable of trying to understand the Other. It always harks back to that notorious formulation by Zbigniew Brzezinski, with trademark imperial arrogance, in his 1997 magnum opus The Grand Chessboard:

“To put it in a terminology that harkens back to the more brutal age of ancient empires, the three grand imperatives of imperial geostrategy are to prevent collusion and maintain security dependence among the vassals, to keep tributaries pliant and protected and to keep the barbarians from coming together.”

Dr Zbig was referring, of course, to Eurasia. “Security dependence among vassals” applied mostly to Germany and Japan, key hubs in the Rimland.  “Tributaries pliant and protected” applied mostly to the Middle East.

And crucially, “keep the barbarians from coming together” applied to Russia, China and Iran. That was Pax Americana in a nutshell. And that’s what’s totally unraveling now.

Hence the Kill Bill logic. It goes back a long way. Less than two months after the collapse of the USSR, the 1992 Defense Planning Guidance preached total global dominance and, following Dr Zbig, the absolute imperative of preventing the emergence of any future peer competitor.

Especially Russia, defined as “the only power in the world with the capacity of destroying the United States.”

Then, in 2002, at the start of the “axis of evil” era, came the full spectrum dominance doctrine as the bedrock of the US National Security Strategy. Domination, domination everywhere: terrestrial, aerial, maritime, subterranean, cosmic, psychological, biological, cyber-technological.

And, not by accident, the Indo-Pacific strategy – which guides the Quad – is all about “how to maintain US strategic primacy.”

This mindset is what enables US Think Tankland to formulate risible “analyses” in which the only “win” for the US imperatively requires a failed Chinese “regime.”

After all, Leviathan is congenitally incapable of accepting a “win-win”; it only runs on “zero-sum,” based on divide and rule.   

And that’s what’s leading the Russia-China strategic partnership to progressively establish a wide-ranging, comprehensive security environment, spanning everything from high-tech weaponry to banking and finance, energy supplies and the flow of information.  

To evoke yet another pop culture gem, a discombobulated Leviathan now is like Caroline, the junkie depicted in Lou Reed’s Berlin:

But she’s not afraid to die / All of her friends call her Alaska / When she takes speed / They laugh and ask her / What is in her mind / What is in her mind / She put her fist through the window pane / It was such a / funny feeling / It’s so cold / in Alaska.

 

China & Russia respond after Washington pompously lectures them

 

The US argues for a 'rules-based international order'. That is a real joke.  What rules does the US want?

How about the 2003 'shock and awe' invasion and long occupation of Iraq that was clearly a violation of international law?  Or maybe the 2011 US effort (still underway) to overthrow the elected government in Syria.

Or how about the 2008 US orchestrated coup in Ukraine? Or the attempted recent coup in Venezuela? Then there is Libya and the US-NATO destruction of Yugoslavia.  Vietnam, Afghanistan....one could go on for days making such a list.

It is clear that China and Russia are over it - they are not going to let Washington's 'exceptional hypocrisy' go by without responding.

It's about time....

Bruce

Solidarity message for California Space X protest

 

 

Solidarity message for Space X (Elon Musk) protest

It is a great honor to share words of solidarity with those assembled today in protest of the dangerous and deadly efforts by Elon Musk to contaminate the heavens and Earth with thousands of satellites for 5G. Congratulations to all for speaking out in this crucial moment.

The Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space was created in 1992 to protect space from a new arms race and from the rush by the nuclear industry to position nuclear power on the planetary bodies. Our members around the world proudly stand with you today.

In order for Musk, and other greedy power mongers, to launch the massive numbers of satellites for their new 5G Empire, they need more spaceports.  And thus our members are working around the planet to oppose the construction of these new launch facilities. 

The more launches that happen the greater the impacts will be on the Earth’s ozone layer – thus making an already bad climate crisis even worse. Putting tens of thousands of new satellites in Earth orbit will also dramatically worsen the already huge problem of space junk.

We too have deep concerns about Musk’s arrogant plans to ‘Nuke Mars’ and ‘Occupy Mars’ and to explode 10,000 nuclear bombs over the dusty red planet in order to turn it green.  Talk about insanity!

And finally Space X has signed contracts to launch satellites for the Pentagon’s new ‘Space Force’ which means he is directly helping to further militarize space.  War in space is the last thing we need!

Most in the public know little about these issues.  We look forward to working with each of you in the future to shut down 5G operations and to Keep Space for Peace!

Best wishes always,

Bruce K. Gagnon  

This message was read at the rally today in southern California outside the HQ of Elom Musk's SpaceX