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....

My Photo
Name:
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. @BruceKGagnon

Saturday, April 03, 2021

More US-NATO war games: who are they aimed at?

 

DEFENDER-Europe 21 operations begin this month across Europe and continue through June.

US Navy destroyer in the Black Sea

DEFENDER-Europe 21 is not only in Pacific region it is also in Europa, but not like in 2020 in the Baltic region, now it is in the Black Sea region.

 


DEFENDER-Europe is an annual large-scale U.S. Army-led, multinational, joint exercise designed to build readiness and interoperability between U.S., NATO and partners.

DEFENDER-Europe 21 includes a greater number of NATO ally and partner nations conducting activities over a wider area than what was planned for in 2020. More than 28,000 multinational forces from 26 nations will conduct nearly simultaneous operations across more than 30 training areas in a dozen countries.


This year, DEFENDER-Europe 21 will also include significant involvement of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Navy. The exercise will utilize key ground and maritime routes bridging Europe, Asia and Africa. The exercise will incorporate new or high-end capabilities including air and missile defense assets, as well as assets from the U.S. Army Security Force Assistance Brigades and the recently reactivated V Corps.


In March, equipment and personnel began moving from the United States. In April, participating units will draw Army Propositioned Stock from sites in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands. The bulk of training activities will occur in May and the exercise will conclude in June with the redeployment of U.S.-based forces and equipment. [The Pentagon moves military hardware from the US for the war games and then leaves it at weapons depot hubs set up in Poland and Norway - both very near the Russian border. Why?]


US Military weapons hub has been created at a base in Poland

Who are these war operations aimed at? 

NATO exercises Defender Europe 2021 are necessary to practice for war with Russia, said Oleksiy Arestovich, the representative of Ukraine in the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbass.

Washington deceptions: watch the magician's hands

 

 

Historically speaking, the Cold War was a great ideological confrontation - Western liberalism vs Soviet communism. 

According to Joe Biden the great geopolitical struggle of our time is democracy vs autocracy. For Biden we are in another great ideological struggle. 

But there is a difference: the west, particularly the U.S. is the only ideological actor.   

CrossTalking with Rick Rozoff, Bruce Gagnon, and David Swanson.

Friday, April 02, 2021

Countering the China propaganda

 


Daniel Dumbrill writes:

This is an excerpt from the "American/Canadian Propaganda - a Xinjiang "Genocide Panel" video.

I encourage you to watch the whole thing, including Max Blumenthal's part.

I've decided to subtitle this portion in both English and Chinese, as I know many overseas Chinese (and Asians in general) are suffering from the consequences of anti-China propaganda, and may even begin to believe it themselves.  

I'd like as many people as possible to understand this message encouraging people to think critically, dig deeper and do your own research.  Don't accept the anti-China propaganda for face value and equip yourself with facts.

What is really going on - anyone notice?

 

From left Mary Donnelly, Maureen Ostensen and the Polar bear (Cynthia Howard, her sign reads 'GD You're Killing ME') outside of a BIW gate just before workers poured out last Saturday. The vigil was part of the annual Lenten seasons peace vigils at the Bath, Maine Navy shipyard. The last Lenten vigil will be April 3 (Saturday). Plans are underway to organize a more regular presence at BIW, more on that later.


  “Those who can get you to believe absurdities can get you to commit atrocities”  ~ Voltaire

 

  • I'm watching closely Washington's moves in Ukraine. Many believe (and fear) that the US is setting in motion an attack on the Donbass by the Ukrainian neo-Nazis that will quickly be blamed on Russia. It appears likely that if the Kiev puppet regime does attack the Donbass, Moscow will quickly counter to defend the Russian-ethnic Ukrainian citizens who live near the Russian border. The US-NATO war juggernaut will cry out in indignation that 'Russia has invaded Ukraine. We need more money to defend Europe from an aggressive Moscow.'
  • At the same time US-NATO is extending the alliance into the Asia-Pacific region.  Already the war-lords have signed up Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Mongolia as 'NATO partners'. Why does US-NATO want to move into that part of the world? Washington, and the white EU ruling elites, are fed up with Russia and China having the power at the Security Council to block US resolutions that seek the UN's blessing for more war - like was done in Korea, Yugoslavia, Libya and many other nations that were taken apart for western banking interests. They want to replace the UN with a separate 'international organization' that can unilaterally make war - thus an expanded NATO that is essentially controlled by Washington.
  • Russia and China are over it. Enough is enough. Someone has to stand up to the bully and when they do they get demonized (non-stop) by western governments and media.  The present 'empire', made up of EU oligarchs and united with Washington, is losing control of the globe. Much of the Global South ain't having none of this US-NATO domination anymore either.

Gen. Curtis LeMay former commander of the Strategic Command (now called STRATCOM)

  • Washington is now preparing to build a new generation of nuclear weapons (this program first approved by Obama) and a much bigger Navy to challenge China and Russia. They know that in a war you lose lot$ of 'hardware' so stock up before the shooting starts.  We have the equivalent today of Gen. Curtis LeMay running the show in Congress, the White House and the Pentagon. We've been taken over by madmen. And we keep giving them more money. (LeMay bombed the living hell out of Japanese civilians and famously said, "If we'd lost the war, we'd all have been prosecuted as war criminals.")
  • So what the hell do we do about it?  This could be the end of 'the deal' as Biden might say....but American's are far too busy getting their jabs and boasting about it to all their friends to pay much attention.  The Covid shot is a relief and a socially 'correct' thing to do. So just join the party. War? What war? Why didn't somebody tell me!?
  • I've heard it said that America loves generals. I know America loves wars, so they must love generals too. We've had quite a number of presidents who were once generals. The American DNA is blood and guts. Watch commercial TV these days and see how kids are being programmed to be eager for the big war - good vs evil - the final solution. 

You become what you swallow.

Bruce

Thursday, April 01, 2021

China and Iran pushed closer together

 

A television report on the ‘historic, strategic’, 25-year agreement reached between Iran and China.

Iran and China are entering a new phase of bilateral relations. After years of talks and discussions, both sides are tying up loose ends within the framework of a strategic cooperation document covering all fields.

The two sides describe this document as the roadmap for the future of their bilateral relations, with its clauses encompassing trade, economic, military, and cultural cooperation.

SpaceX crashes another Starship prototype

 

 

Space News reports:

SpaceX launched its fourth Starship prototype in less than four months March 30, only to have the vehicle apparently crash once again.

The flight was the fourth of a Starship prototype to an altitude of 10 kilometers or more since early December. All four of those vehicles were lost either on landing or shortly thereafter. On the previous test, of Starship SN10 March 3, the vehicle appeared to land intact, only to explode less than 10 minutes later.

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

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.  


Tuesday, March 30, 2021

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

Monday, March 29, 2021

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, March 28, 2021

Sunday song