The tragic farce of the 'Summit for Democracy'

 

The art of war

By Manlio Dinucci (il manifesto, Italy)

On December 9-10, President Biden hosted the "Summit for Democracy" which brought together worldwide "leaders of government, civil society, and private sector." The online guest list included 111 countries. Among these guests are 28 of the 30 NATO members: Turkey and Hungary are missing but, on balance, there are Israel and Ukraine together with 26 of the 27 EU members except Hungary. 

The Summit was held to "provide them with a platform to defend democracy and human rights at home and abroad, to face through collective action the greatest threats facing democracies today". This will initiate "a year of action to make democracies more reactive and resilient", which will culminate with the second Summit  to "build a community of partners committed to global democratic renewal".

Joe Biden thus maintains what was announced in his electoral program, a global Summit of the "nations of the free world", first of all to "counter Russian aggression, keeping NATO's military capabilities sharpened and imposing on Russia the real costs for its violations of international norms" and, at the same time, for "building a united front against China's offensive actions and violations of human rights". In this way, the United States will once again "play the leading role in writing the rules. "The defense of democratic values - reiterated Biden as President - is stamped in our DNA as a nation".

What is imprinted in the DNA of the United States is demonstrated by approximately one hundred wars of conquest that have characterized its history. According to a documented study by James Lucas, only the series of wars and coups d'état - carried out by the USs from 1945 to the present day in over 30 Asian, African, European, and Latin American countries - has provoked 20-30 million deaths, hundreds of millions of injured people (many of them remained disabled), plus a polluted number of deaths, probably hundreds of millions, caused by the indirect effects of wars: famines, epidemics, forced migrations, slavery, and exploitation, environmental damage, subtraction of resources from vital needs to cover military expenses. 

In the bloodiest wars - Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq - US military forces were directly responsible for 10-15 million deaths. The bloodiest coup was organized in 1965 in Indonesia by the CIA: it provided the Indonesian death squads with the list of the first 5,000 Communists and others to kill. The number of people killed is estimated between half a million and 3 million.

 

Joe Biden himself, promoter of the "Summit for Democracy", had a leading role in part of this story. In 2001, as chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee, he supported President Bush's decision to attack and invade Afghanistan, and, in 2002, he promoted a bipartisan resolution authorizing President Bush to attack and invade Iraq. In 2007, he passed a plan to break up Iraq into three regions - Kurdish, Sunni, and Shiite - functional to US strategy. 

In 2009-2017, as vice president of the Obama administration, he participated in the planning and execution of the wars against Libya and Syria and the putsch in Ukraine, in which Biden played a direct and decisive role.

With regard to internal democracy, it is enough to remember that, according to official statistics, the police killed about 1,000 defenseless citizens every year in the US, mainly blacks and Hispanics. 

Suffice it to recall that the United States wants to sentence the journalist Julian Assange to 175 years in prison for bringing to light their war crimes. The British judiciary has approved his extradition to the USA. 

Meanwhile, on December 6, Britain co-hosted a preparatory event for the Summit, entitled "Defending Democracies from Disinformation", and focused on "best practices for promoting an open and transparent information system". 

Disposable populations or human interconnections?

 

Vandana Shiva is an Indian scholar, environmental activist, physicist, food sovereignty advocate, and anti-globalization author. 

Based in Delhi, Shiva has written more than 20 books. 

Shiva founded the Research Foundation for Science, Technology, and Natural Resource Policy (RFSTN), an organization devoted to developing sustainable methods of agriculture, in 1982. 

She has traveled the world spreading a powerful message of oneness and interconnectedness.

Human rights in the Donbass

 

I was asked to send a statement to the Donbass (eastern Ukraine along Russian border) for a December 9 event by my host, a labor leader, when I traveled there in late 2019. 

Here is the invite:

The public movement 'Peace for Lugansk region' invites you to participate in "the People's Forum", on 09 December. This is a discussion platform in the format of a talk show. The topic of the forum is 'Our struggle for rights, values, ideals'.

The main problem is that the international community ignores the fact of human rights violations during the war in Donbass. We would like to hear your point of view on this issue. You can record it in a video.

 

Best regards, 

Andrey 

Question time: Please define Mr. Big......

 

• OK. I've heard your questions about what I mean by Mr. Big. I use the expression frequently to share my feelings about the current corporate oligarchic takeover of the US and most nations around the globe. So feel free to pick one or more explanations below that work for you.

Big Pharma, Big Ag, Big Bottled Water, Big Oil, Big MIC, Big Box, Big Deal, Big Tech, Big Media, Big Hollywood, Big Sugar, Big Auto, Big Airlines, Big Banksters, Big Intel, Big Tobacco, Big Chemical, Big Sex, Big Courts, Big Corruption.... 

• One question that is quite current is this one: 'Biden might be half-asleep but he's not really that stupid is he to start a war with Russia? What is really going to happen in Ukraine?'

My guess is that Biden is not in charge. The CIA runs the show. Who is Secretary of State Antony Blinken anyway? Did you ever hear of him before he got plunked into his current post? Have you watched him smirk every time he talks with a Russian or Chinese diplomat? These people in Washington are not serious about calming tensions. They don't really negotiate anything. Hell, they want to ramp up chaos everywhere! 

OK, I'll get to your question. Will there be war? The CIA & State Department neo-cons know they can't beat Russia or China. They couldn't beat Afghanistan after 20 years. But they are good at the slow bleed and that is their goal with Russia. Washington though would not mind if Ukraine attacked Crimea for example - which would mean that Moscow would hit back hard. Then the US-NATO war machine would squeal like a pig and go running back to the UN and demand more sanctions on Moscow. Plus we'd see further expansion of NATO - not only along the Russian border but also into the Asia-Pacific to 'protect us from an aggressive China' as well. And of course Washington will squeal to the EU and pressure Germany to cancel the Nordstream-2 pipeline that is to deliver Russian natural gas.

 

Now that the Biden-Putin 'summit' took place I expect that nothing much will happen. Russia won't attack unless attacked. In late November the western media said Russia would attack Ukraine on December 1, 2 or 3. Didn't happen. Now the same media is saying it will happen in January or February. (They can drag this game out for months distracting us from all kinds of issues they don't want people to notice.) When the 'last deadline' passes with no Russia offensive we'll likely hear from the western media that Moscow didn't attack because of the 'tough threats' from Biden to Putin. This is the game Washington plays.

 

• Here is another question: 'Hey, what is going on with V-P Harris? Some of her top staff are quitting and not saying very nice things about her?'
  

My guess is that Harris was only put on the ticket to draw black votes during the last election. She has never had favorable ratings with the public so the word is out that she will be kicked-off the ticket in the next presidential election. Thus her staff are jumping ship. Biden will be gone as well. So it will be a clean slate for the Dems as they try to resurrect their flagging hold on Congress and the White House. 

It's too early to predict who the Dems will turn to - their stable is quite empty. One could guess the Dems will try Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg but he has no national base,  although the media could push him hard. Maybe they will bring back Hillary Clinton - ha, ha. It certainly won't be Tulsi Gabbard who is toying with the Republicans these days. Really I can't think of a single Dem national leader of any consequence. Can you? How about former Gov. Andrew Cuomo? Oops, not gonna be him either.....

 

• Another question: 'I'm not a religious person but is it possible for us to love one another instead of treating each other with disdain?'

I like your question. Yeah, can't we all get along? Actually I started out as a Young Republican in 1968 working on the Nixon campaign. What did I know at the time? Not much. My point though is I've found good, well meaning people in every turn during my life. As a young repub, in the military, in all my years as an organizer. I've even met some nice cops now and then. 

During the early 1990's, while organizing a protest at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, we forgot our big banner at the front gate. I called the head of security and asked if he had seen it. He said, 'Let me look around.' He called me right back and said, 'Meet me at Sonny's BBQ in Cocoa Beach and I'll give it to you.'  We became friendly over time. He respected what we were trying to do.

If you get past the surface you never know what you will find. Stay open, don't fall for the 'divide and conquer' BS,  treat everyone the same way you'd like to be treated. Love thy neighbor. Take the log out of your own eye. Turn the other cheek. 

Be a human being.

• Final question: 'How do you expect us to stop all the crazy crap I read about on this blog? What is the magic bullet?'

There is none. No full-page advert in the New York Times will solve our problems. No magical election of the perfect politician will do it. No hero riding in on a white horse is coming to save us. 

But if we want to move the public we need to create experiences where people can see things for themselves. That is the way most people learn and change - by having experiences that bring them a sense of reality.  Each of us have gifts - we need to honor them and use them for the greater good. We all need to be bolder - time is short.

Bruce 

North Korea war planning....

 

The US Wants South Korea to Help Take on the Chinese Military

 

By Dave DeCamp, Antiwar.com

The US and South Korea are preparing to update their plans for a potential war with North Korea to reflect what Washington says is an advance in Pyongyang’s military capabilities. But now that the US is so focused on China, the new war plans will also address countering the Chinese military in the region.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with his South Korean counterpart, Suh Wook, in Seoul on Thursday. In a joint statement, the two military leaders noted “the importance of preserving peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait,” marking the first time Taiwan was mentioned in a joint release from the defense chiefs of the US and South Korea.

In May, President Biden and South Korean President Moon Jae-in also mentioned Taiwan together for the first time. This reflects how the US has shifted its position towards Taiwan. Washington no longer views the island as an issue between US-China relations and now views it as an opportunity to counter Beijing.

“We see [South Korea] now as a net provider of security not just on the peninsula but across the region,” an unnamed Pentagon official told Voice of America. The official said the US and South Korea will be “looking at ways where we can coordinate our defense cooperation in the region, and specifically capacity building throughout the region.”

The US’s desire for South Korea to become more involved militarily in the region fits in with Seoul’s plans to develop new weapons. Earlier this year, the US lifted restrictions on South Korea’s ability to develop and possess long-range missiles.

Previously, South Korea could not develop missiles with a range greater than 800km (497 miles). Now, Seoul can develop any type of long-range ballistic missile, potentially putting China in range.

Who seeks security?

 

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov: 'No single state including Ukraine and Georgia has the right to seek security at the expense of others.'

Ukrainian refugee in Russia comments on possible war

 

I was on a Zoom call yesterday with some activists from around the globe led by GN advisory board member Leonid Ilderkin from Russia. We discussed the current Ukraine-Russia situation.

Leonid (a refugee in Russia from Ukraine since the 2014 US orchestrated coup d'etat in Kiev) said that last spring when these same tensions were happening that he did not believe war would start. He proved to be correct. Now, Leonid says, he is not so sure.

The principle reason Leonid said was that the Nordstream 2 pipeline from Russia to Germany, that will deliver natural gas, is a key factor. The US has always opposed the pipeline because Washington wishes to control the European energy market by shipping more expensive LNG (fracked) gas on ships from the US to Europe. Now that the pipeline is finished Germany just has to give their final approval to start it.

Another key point is the new German government has a Foreign Minister from the Green Party that dislikes Russia and China. She is more allied with Washington. The German business community supports the pipeline because Russian gas would be much cheaper for them.

As it turns out, if the US was to prevail then the LNG gas on ships would dock in Poland so that nation becomes a key player in all of this. Leonid suggested the question was who has the most influence with Poland? Germany or the US?

At the same time the United Kingdom is building naval bases in the Black Sea for Ukraine. So that adds another complicating dimension to the equation. In the meantime those on the call suggested that peace people worldwide should immediately be speaking out more directly opposing any Ukrainian or US-NATO military operations aimed at Russia.

Leonid felt confident that Russia would not likely initiate any such military operations unless the Donbass (eastern Ukraine) or Russian territory (particularly Crimea) was attacked first.

 In an email exchange after the call Leonid told me:

About the issue of the Ukrainian conflict, I can say again, I am not sure the clashes of bigger scale will not happen within the nearest 2 months. Number of factors give the ground of worries. Number one factor is the opportunity to stop the Northstream 2 if the conflict in Ukraine will sparkle. Number two is the general situation in European peninsula about the ongoing attempts of England to step into European continental affairs, using the support of Poland and Baltic countries against influence of Germany and France.

 

That is why, most likely, USA will not promote the provocative strike of Ukrainian forces against Russian. But English will (most likely in the entrance of Crimean peninsula). Most likely, Russian will respond with the missile and aviation strike. The probability of a strike on the ground is the list option. Nevertheless, the Russian air strikes in response will lead to some deeper split between Russia and EU, and that will be exactly the purpose of England and partially will support the war fraction in US.

 

Russian want to avoid this scenario by much of efforts. But most likely, they will not succeed. The attacking forces of Ukraine will strike not Donbass, but Crimea. The only force to stop it, can be US diplomacy that can break the English plan. Will US implement it is the question?

Bruce

Sounds like a war....

 

 

Truth being told here....

Sunday song