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....
Tuesday, December 17, 2024
Who Gains From the Syrian Collapse?
Kevork Almassian, a Syrian of Armenian origin, runs a popular podcast.
He's been covering the Syrian calamity for many years.
Letter from the Hungarian Peace Forum to Viktor Orbán
Ukrainian SBU (secret services) HQ in Kiev |
Magyar Békekör Egyesület Hírek
The leaders of six Hungarian social and political organizations have written to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán suggesting that they use social-state cooperation to support the government’s peace policy against American, European and domestic circles committed to the war.
The leaders of the Forum for Peace movement, Hungarian Peace Circle, Hungarian Workers’ Party, Association for the Rule of Law, Hungarian Anti-Fascist League, Conquest 2000, Go Hungarians for a Better Future, are watching with concern the efforts of pro-war forces to undermine the position of the pro-peace Hungarian government.
They asked the Prime Minister for a personal meeting to come up with political proposals to secure a mass base essential for the success of peace policy amid the escalation of the conflict.
They see missile attacks on Russia, Russia’s response to them and plans to send NATO troops to Ukraine as warning signs.
The success of our international peace diplomacy depends largely on its domestic support. The peace of the country could be endangered if the pro-war parties succeeded in inciting the people against the policy of peace! In order to avoid this, measures are called for to alleviate the worsening livelihood problems and against the perversities that undermine people’s sense of justice.
In their letter, the leaders of the six organizations of the Peace Forum mention a joint socio-state peace demonstration and indicate their readiness to cooperate with the government to broaden the mass base of peace policy and to establish a just and lasting peace.
Reklámok
Monday, December 16, 2024
Impeach Yoon rally on Jeju Island
'Hammer and Blade' (by Cho Seong-il) at Yoon Seok-yeol Impeachment Rally on Jeju Island, South Korea
Romania: Coup d’État, Instigated by the EU
Europe is ever faster on a course of self-destruction
By Peter Koenig
Europe is on a fast, very fast descent into darkness, followed by disappearance. Europe, especially the European Union (EU), is a Washington construct. To be sure, the EU never was a European idea. That is a different story. But is a fact.
Presidential elections were held in Romania on 24 November 2024. A second round was to be held on 8 December 2024, as no candidate achieved an absolute majority. The top runner, Calin Georgescu’s made a surprise first round win, with almost 23%, compared to the leftist candidate, Elena Lasconi, with about 19.2%, while the current Social Democrat Prime Minister, Marcel Ciolacu, received 19.15%.
A run-off election was planned for Sunday 8 December.
But it did not happen. Because Romania’s Constitutional Court canceled the elections of 24 November 2025. A specific reason was not given, only that the elections were not fully held by the norms of Romanian legality, and citing the usual – “suspected Russian interference.”
Mr. Georgescu, highly popular with the people, is likely to have won the run-off. He is against Romania’s current pro-NATO position and against squandering more money for Ukraine, for more killing in an endless war – Romanian tax-money that Romania could put to much better internal use. Mr. Calin Georgescu’s position was also pro-Russian and against sanctioning Russia.
Obviously, this displeased Brussels, especially the WEF and Washington mandated unelected Madame Von der Leyen. So, very-very likely the EC coerced the Romanian Constitutional Court to annul the first election, ordering them to repeat the full election cycle, at a later date. Meaning, there will be time enough to prepare election manipulation (fraud), so that a pro-western, and pro-NATO candidate may win.
This may backfire, as this Constitution Court decision comes as a slap in the face of most of the Romanian people, even those who did not vote for Georgescu. They may go all out and vote for him in the next elections.
On Friday, 7, December, Georgescu, is quoted by Realitatea TV, as saying, “The corrupt system in Romania showed its true face by making a pact with the devil.” He added that the current Romanian government is afraid of losing power and facing revelations, which were not further elaborated on. But one can only guess in what direction such revelations may have gone.
Of course this was countered by well-prepared western media outlet lies, such as, “Declassified information from Romania’s intelligence agencies had alleged that the sudden rise of Georgescu in the first round of the election was “not a natural outcome.”
This was a clear Coup d’État, most likely by the very organization of which Romania is a member – the EU.
Understanding Europe’s corrupt and scandalous colonial and exploitational history, makes such non-ethical behavior even more understandable.
Europe has never confronted herself with her own history, to the contrary, by their, to this day assumed superiority, most Europeans have not even noticed, how they were being used as a tool for the US, to eventually dominating Russia. So far it has not worked. And it will never work. Russia and her riches, have never been dominated – and will never be dominated.
This goes as far back as the two World Wars, both inspired by Washington with the same objective, overrunning and domineering Russia. WWII, engineered at the orders of Washington, was shamelessly financed by the Federal Reserve via the Bank for International Settlement (BIS), conveniently located in Basle, Switzerland, close to the border to Germany.
The first President of the BIS was Mr. Gates McGarrah. He was a former director of the FED New York, and later was appointed as FED New York Chairman of the Board, before he became President of the BIS. In 1924, he was appointed as the American director of the general Council of the German Reichsbank, i.e., German Central Bank.
There are no coincidences.
And again, as usual, Washington always dances on several weddings at once: Fighting against Hitler’s Germany as a Russian ally, and simultaneously funding Hitler’s war against Russia.
Today, the Rothschild controlled BIS is also called the Central Bank of Central Banks, controlling more than 90% of the worldwide monetary flow, and except for some minor central banks, is in control of them all, including the Chinese and the Russian central banks.
The colonial times of Europe have become part of the European culture. Even though African and Latin American colonies have been “liberated”, in Africa in the 1950s’and 1960’s, and in Latin America in the 19th Century – none of those so called “independent countries” is really free. They are all under modern financial and economic colonization, alias, exploitation, predominantly by Europe in Africa, and by the US (the former British Empire having moved across the Atlantic) in Latin America.
Case in point is France with the most shameless exploitation of their 14 former “official” French colonies, through the so-called Franc CFA (Communauté Financière Africaine, i.e. “African Financial Community” in English).
The currency is “guaranteed” (controlled) to the tune of some 80% by the Banque de France. So, these countries still do not have any autonomy of deciding over the economy by adjusting their currencies, as would be normal for most other countries (except for those attached to the Euro).
Many West African governments who have instigated movements for monetary independence, did not survive for long. [An example was] Thomas Sankara, former Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, who was assassinated in 1987, after serious attempts of achieving financial and monetary autonomy for all French colonies.
In some philosophies, the rapid descent of Europe into oblivion, would be called “karma”. The faster the EU collapses, the better off will be countries like Romania, Hungary, and many others, who so far do not dare pronouncing themselves, due to potential “consequences”.
Viva Neutrality and Sovereignty!
~ Peter Koenig is a geopolitical analyst and a former Senior Economist at the World Bank and the World Health Organization (WHO), where he worked for over 30 years around the world. He is the author of Implosion – An Economic Thriller about War, Environmental Destruction and Corporate Greed; and co-author of Cynthia McKinney’s book “When China Sneezes: From the Coronavirus Lockdown to the Global Politico-Economic Crisis”. Peter is a Research Associate of the Centre for Research on Globalization (CRG). He is also a non-resident Senior Fellow of the Chongyang Institute of Renmin University, Beijing.
Sunday, December 15, 2024
Big brave Army General has proxies do America's fighting.....
Major General Lawrence G. Ferguson (USA)
Commanding General
1st Special Forces Command (Airborne)
H-3531 9th Infantry Street (Stop A), Fort Liberty, North Carolina
The US trains, arms, directs foreign proxies to do its fighting. Then threatens nuclear war if anyone suggests these big bad Green Berets (who lost badly in Vietnam and Afghanistan) ought to do their own fighting.
Note how he says his troops have been inside Ukraine since the US orchestrated coup in 2014. What does that tell you?
Saturday, December 14, 2024
Fascist Prez Yoon impeached in South Korea
South Korea’s National Assembly voted to impeach President Yoon Suk Yeol on Saturday, suspending him from office after his stunning declaration of martial law earlier this month caused widespread outrage and plunged the country into a constitutional crisis.
With the impeachment vote, Mr. Yoon has been suspended from office. Under South Korea’s Constitution, Prime Minister Han Duck-soo will step in as interim leader.
The impeachment motion against Yoon passed 204-85, with three abstentions and eight invalid ballots, after all 300 members of the Assembly cast their votes.
K. J. Noh writes: Yoon's impeachment is simply the first step.Yoon could have resigned. That would have resulted in a new election in 90 days. That would mean the opposition DP would get into power, and it would likely dismantle most of the Obama-Biden plans to turn South Korea into a staging ground and war zone against China.First, the constitutional court, which will adjudicate Yoons' removal is vacant 3 of its 9 seats. It needs a quorum of 7 to even take the case, and 6 justices to vote in favor. 3 of the current judges are Yoon appointees.Second, even if the court can agree on new judges, it's unclear who would do the appointing (traditionally, the president approves the appointments).Then, once fully seated, it can take up to 180 days to deliberate. It could clear him of charges, or uphold them. That's a 50-50 proposition. If upheld, snap elections would be held in 90 days.
What's also prominent about the impeachment protests is that young women in their 20s and 30s take up a significant portion of the participation.
What's motivating them to take the lead in these street rallies?
Young women are stealing the spotlight at the protests calling for the impeachment of President Yoon Suk Yeol. A noticeably large number of female protesters can be seen in the crowds, many of them passionately waving their LED light sticks in the air.
"I do not want to see the country fall because of a few incompetent people."
Follow the blood money....
The global corporate mafia at work once again.
The western loaded gun is being pointed at many heads around the world as the desperate reigning oligarchs fear they are losing control and have reached for the only thing they really know - create chaos.
They don't care about the people, the land, the air, the water, or the sky above us. They are blinded with the sickness of the 'Green Frog Skin' which is the now fading dollar bill.
Beware where you get your information and keep paddling.
Bruce
Friday, December 13, 2024
Wolff & Hudson 'The end of the American empire'
Wolff is joined by prominent economist Michael Hudson for a deep dive into the economic impact of the Ukraine conflict and how BRICS & China have played a key role in reshaping the global balance of power.
What does it mean for the economic and geopolitical future of our world?
Richard Wolff is Professor Emeritus of Economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and a visiting professor at The New School, where he works on economics in the Marxist tradition.
Michael Hudson is President of The Institute for the Study of Long-Term Economic Trends (ISLET), a former Wall Street Financial Analyst, Distinguished Research Professor of Economics at the University of Missouri, Kansas City.
Thursday, December 12, 2024
Israel pushes further into Syria
Israel continues to expand its military operations in Syria as the new government, led by Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, struggles to stabilize the war-torn country.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) invaded Syria following the surprising fall of the Assad regime on December 8, advancing several kilometers in the governorates of al-Qunitra and Rif Dimashq and launching hundreds of strikes against bases and equipment of the now-dissolved Syrian Arab Army (SAA).
Meanwhile Israel’s Channel 12 reported that the IDF was ready to “deepen” its advance in Syria and approach Damascus. It also said that Israel was prepared to stay in the country for “a long time.”
So far, the new government in Syria has not made any move against the IDF or even condemned Israel’s military operations in the country. This may be a part of a pragmatic policy, as the government is now working to solidify control over all of Syria.
Aside from Israel’s recent actions, the situation in the country remains tense, especially in the northern and eastern region.
In the northern Aleppo countryside, a ceasefire between the Syrian National Army, which is backed by Turkey, and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) was reported. However, clashes are still being reported from time to time.
Time to step it up
By Tarak Kauff (New York)
We have marched in the streets in the millions already.
What we need are coordinated general strikes, blockades, mass boycotts of business’ – we need to stop business as usual, even for a few days to demonstrate the power of a desperate people united to save life on earth.
In short, if it doesn’t cause discomfort and pain to the capitalist war system and those who run it, it will not work.
None of that above is easy to coordinate and organize, especially given how technology has separated us from the direct human connection, but if it was easy, it would have happened already.
These are absolutely desperate times and everything, rotten health care, the economy, [decaying environment], wars are connected.
If we are not willing to organize and sacrifice, we are finished.
Sacrifice – swallow that pill. Nothing will happen without it.
Must check out this excellent analysis on Syria
The Jihadist take-over of Syria is first and foremost a tragedy for the people of Syria who might be in for the fate of Libya.
But for Russia this is an entirely different thing. Unlike Washington, Moscow does not try to over-extend and fight for 20 years for a lost cause.
Rather, it lets its enemies plant the seeds of their own future defeat.
If one thing is clear by now, it's that Al-Qaeda-run governments always come back to hunt the USA.
The guest is Graham Fuller, a former CIA intelligence officer and geo-strategist.
Wednesday, December 11, 2024
Remember the dark skies?
100 researchers call out FCC on Musk Starlink launches
By Sarah Fortinsky (The Hill)
Researchers are urging the federal government to pause further low-orbit internet satellite launches until a comprehensive review is conducted to determine the potential environmental damage that could result.
In a letter to Julie Kearney, chief of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Space Bureau, more than 100 researchers expressed concern about the rapid development of low-orbit satellites and urged international cooperation to determine the best path forward.
“The environmental harms of launching and burning up so many satellites aren’t clear. That’s because the federal government hasn’t conducted an environmental review to understand the impacts. What we do know is that more satellites and more launches lead to more damaging gasses and metals in our atmosphere,” the researchers wrote in the letter.
“We shouldn’t rush forward with launching satellites at this scale without making sure the benefits justify the potential consequences of these new mega-constellations being launched, and then re-entering our atmosphere to burn up and or create debris,” they continued. “This is a new frontier, and we should save ourselves a lot of trouble by making sure we move forward in a way that doesn’t cause major problems for our future.”
The researchers noted that, in just more than five years, tech billionaire Elon Musk’s Starlink service has launched more than 6,000 units that now make up 60 percent of all satellites.
“The new space race took off faster than governments were able to act,” they wrote, adding that regulatory agencies now lack the policies to make fair assessments about “the total effects of all proposed mega constellations.”
They criticized the FCC for granting licenses on a “first-come, first-served basis,” noting orbital space and the broadcast spectrum are not limitless and they require an “unprecedented system of cooperation” with international regulators “to share the commons of our final frontier.”
“Until extensive coordination is in place, we shouldn’t let the commercial interests first to launch determine the rules,” they wrote.
The researchers also encouraged the FCC to end the “categorical exclusion of satellites” from environmental review, writing, “that launching 30,000 to 500,000 satellites into low earth orbit doesn’t even warrant an environmental review offends common sense.”
The new look CIA operatives
Due to a desire to confuse the public, CIA is now providing standard uniforms to all employees.
This is the new look that all leadership in Washington DC will soon be required to conform to as the so-called 'democracy' there publicly pivots toward its neo-nazi jihadist program.
GlobalSouth writes: We are in the throes of One War, an Omniwar, a new Full Spectrum Dominance from a falling empire, with one objective : the weaponization of everything. When an empire falls, one cannot make agreement with it. A different figurehead is but a temporary phenomenon as the operations and philosophy of empire is systemic.
See Syria after 13 years of U.S. state terrorism… what do you expect? by Finian Cunningham here
And Pepe Escobar's article Syria’s post-mortem: Terror, occupation, and Palestine here
Tuesday, December 10, 2024
South Korean officer confesses
The commander of Korea's special forces says he had been ordered to block lawmakers from access to the National Assembly on the night of martial law.
Addressing members of the media on this Monday Colonel Kim Hyun-tae commander of the 707 Special Task Force revealed that he had been told to drag lawmakers out of the parliament building to ensure that their number did not surpass 150.
Calling himself an "incompetent" commander he apologized for ordering his soldiers to storm the parliament adding that he had put his troops in "danger" and that they were the most tragic victims.
He also said that he had been acting under the command of former Defense Minister Kim Yong-hyun.
Separately, amid the political turmoil over governance, the Defense Ministry earlier today confirmed that under the country's law President Yoon Suk Yeol remains the commander in chief.
Syria: The Return to the Scene of Obama’s Crime
Syrian rebels entering Aleppo |
The U.S. Must Stop Supporting Right-Wing Forces to Advance
Its’ Geopolitical Agenda
Around the world, many hoped that the Russia-negotiated agreement in 2020 between the Syrian, government and the coterie of right-wing Jihadist forces, common criminals and other forces against the government of President Bashar Al-Assad, would finally end the nightmare of war, displacement, torture, and mindless destruction suffered by the Syrian people – victims of U.S. plans to overthrow all the major nations in the Middle-East that might challenge continued U.S. domination. However, just a few days ago, like cancer, the disease of U.S. imperialism has suddenly metastasized.
The Black Alliance for Peace argues that current U.S. imperialist actions in Syria need to be placed in a historical context. It is important to remember that the vicious subversion of Syria, which began in earnest in 2011, was only one of the two criminal assaults that year on nations perceived to be obstacles to U.S. regional hegemony. The other under U.S. assault was Libya. In Libya, however, the Western-orchestrated assault resulted in not only the overthrow of the government but the country’s leader, Muammar Gaddafi, being raped and murdered by the right-wing Jihadist friends of the U.S.
Linking
the U.S. imperialist assault on Syria to that of Libya is important
because it informs how the few authentic anti-imperialist forces that
still exist in the U.S. understand and articulate opposition to the
moves being made by U.S. and Western imperialism in their desperate
attempts to avoid the inevitable end of white world dominance. Our
positionality in relationship to the Pan-European white supremacist
colonial/capitalist patriarchy compels us to remind our friends and
sometimes allies, that they cannot pretend to be in solidarity with
Palestine and then cheer on the overthrow of one of the few states in
the world that has never turned its back on Palestinian people, no
matter what one might think of the internal politics of the Syrian
state.
Such
concerns about the nature of the Syrian state became a cover for
defending U.S. imperialism and were expressed by dishonest actors or
those who were politically naive. Now that the U.S.-backed jihadists
have emerged triumphant, hope for authentic self-determination for the
Syrian people has once again been delayed.
Trump’s absurd claim that the U.S. does not have anything to do with Syria is only a reflection of why he will never gain full control over the state and non-state apparatus that is directing U.S. foreign policy. The notion that whoever is sitting in the white house represents the final and only power of the U.S. state is dangerously naive. Just recall when Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated a ceasefire with Russia in Deir Ezzor, Syria only to have it ignored by his generals and CIA.
Reigniting the war in Syria will prolong the tragedy experienced by the people of Syria since 2011. The Black Alliance for Peace will continue to monitor the situation and will not hesitate to reveal the facts as we find them.
Monday, December 09, 2024
Update on Syria debacle
Alastair Crooke reviews the current chaos in Syria and the roles played by Israel, US, Turkey and more.
Is this a replay of Libya which was turned into a failed state by the US-NATO?
What comes next?
Alastair Crooke is a former British diplomat, founder and director of the Beirut-based Conflicts Forum.
See his most recent article on Syria here
- Moon of Alabama writes:
https://www.moonofalabama.org/
The U.S. is bombing the central desert of Syria. It claims to strike ISIS but the real target is any local (Arab) resistance which could prevent a connection between the U.S. controlled east of Syria with the Israel controlled south-west. There may well be plans to further build this connection into an Eretz Israel, a Zionist controlled state "from the river to the sea".
What game is the US-Israel-NATO playing in Syria?
U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced on December 8 that it had conducted a significant wave of airstrikes in central Syria, targeting over 75 known ISIS camps, leaders, and operatives.
The operation deployed multiple U.S. Air Force assets, including B-52 bombers, F-15 fighter jets, and A-10 attack aircraft, as part of ongoing efforts to disrupt and degrade ISIS’s operational capabilities.
The strikes are a key element of CENTCOM’s mission to prevent ISIS from reconstituting amid the volatile situation in Syria. The campaign aims to ensure the terrorist group cannot leverage regional instability to plan external operations.
CENTCOM reported that early battle damage assessments revealed no indications of civilian casualties, demonstrating the precision and planning involved in the mission.
In a statement, CENTCOM reinforced its commitment to countering ISIS in collaboration with allies and regional partners:
“There should be no doubt – we will not allow ISIS to reconstitute and take advantage of the current situation in Syria,” said General Michael Erik Kurilla. “All organizations in Syria should know that we will hold them accountable if they partner with or support ISIS in any way.”
The airstrikes highlight the U.S.’s focus on maintaining regional security and disrupting terrorist networks. CENTCOM reiterated its resolve to continue such operations even amid dynamic developments in Syria, working closely with its partners to ensure the effectiveness of these efforts.
This operation marks a significant blow to ISIS, as the coalition intensifies its efforts to stabilise the region and dismantle remaining elements of the terrorist group.
Sunday, December 08, 2024
Palestine solidarity action at White House Xmas tree lighting
December 5, 2024.
On the eve of Christmas as thousands of Americans file towards the White House to watch the Christmas tree lights turned on, Christians come together to witness for Peace against the horror currently taking place in Gaza and the West Bank. Palestine.
A captive nation which has lived under Israeli occupation for 75 years.
Saturday, December 07, 2024
Escalation against Syria by US, Salafi-jihadist, Israel, Turkey, UK, Ukraine, NATO
In this video, renowned geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar provides a deep dive into Russia’s next moves in Syria as Turkey and Israel escalate their proxy war in Aleppo and beyond.
We examine the secret meetings held by Turkey in preparation for this operation, shedding light on the broader implications for the region.
From the shifting dynamics between Ankara, Tel Aviv, and Moscow to the potential fallout of this covert strategy, Pepe Escobar unpacks the latest developments and what they mean for Syria’s future.
Subjects covered:
• Erdogan's betrayal: what will be Putin's response?
• Who is really behind the Syria war?
• Will Russia rescue Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad?
~ Read more on this story here and here
Coke, Drugs, Pickup Trucks & War
and Pentagon horrors,
Americans
by half
say CIA
cruelty is
justified.
How could
that be a surprise?
We are a war
addicted nation,
our economy
is fueled with
blood money.
The signs
are everywhere.
We are proud
to plant flags
(made in China)
in cemeteries
honoring
those formerly
jobless,
working class
servants
who
'sacrificed'
their lives
on behalf
of Mr. Big.
We uncritically
salute the flag,
Hitler would
have been
impressed
by how
our 'blitzkrieg'
has seeped
deeper into
our culture
than
'Sieg Heil'
did into his.
We are
arrogant,
we fabricate,
embellish,
lie,
and then
deny it all
before god
and the
devil.
We've been
trained
like rats
to take
the cheese.
It's time
to spit out
the poison
that eats
away at
our souls.
Friday, December 06, 2024
Dec 21 protest in Freeport, Maine
Our demands:
Peace in Ukraine - No weapons, no money for the Ukraine War
Abolish NATO – End U.S. militarism & sanctions!
Fund people’s needs, not the war machine!
No war with China!
Protect Earth's environment from the deadly insult of war!
End U.S. aid to racist apartheid Israel!
Fight racism & bigotry not war!
U.S. hands off Haiti!
End AFRICOM
Co-sponsors: Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Maine Natural Guard, PeaceWorks of Greater Brunswick, Communist Party of Maine, Maine Green Independent Party, Citizens Opposing Active Sonar Threats (COAST), Party for Socialism & Liberation Maine, Libertarian Party of Maine, People’s Party of Maine, Peace & Justice Center of Eastern Maine, Veterans for Peace - National, United National Antiwar Coalition (UNAC), and Maine Voices for Palestinian Rights (MVPR).
Thursday, December 05, 2024
South Koreans Defy Biden's Man in Seoul
"The D.C. establishment backed Yoon because he was what they have wanted for decades"
By Tim Shorrock
In a shocking turn of events, South Koreans went to bed Monday night to the news that their unpopular president, Yoon Suk Yeol, had declared martial law over the country, only to awake on Tuesday to discover that the National Assembly—backed by crowds of citizens gathering in protest—had overruled Yoon and restored their hard-won democratic system.
By Wednesday, an uneasy calm had settled over Seoul. Yoon, who has been praised as a diplomatic wonder and staunch ally by President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken, appeared to be on his way out. All of Yoon's senior aides, including his chief of staff, have resigned their posts even though the president had accepted the parliamentary demands and lifted his martial law order. Opposition parties in South Korea led by the left-liberal Democratic Party (DP) are now seeking to impeach Yoon over his actions, with the first votes scheduled for Thursday.
Yet even as the coup unravelled in full public view, the close ties between the Pentagon and Yoon's military could present a dilemma for Biden and the next Trump administration. The United States stations 28,500 troops in South Korea and a U.S. general holds operational control over the Korean Army and the U.S.-South Korean Combined Forces Command during times of war. That has led to serious strains in the bilateral alliance over the years.
The brief, almost comical military takeover in Seoul brought back dark memories of South Korea's last experience with martial law in May 1980, when the renegade general Chun Doo-hwan seized power in a rolling coup and sent airborne special forces to the city of Gwangju to quell the last outburst of demonstrations. His paratroopers massacred hundreds of pro-democracy demonstrators, sparking South Korea's first armed uprising since the Korean War and a six-day standoff between Gwangju’s citizens and the U.S.-backed South Korean military.
“Everyone thought that such an event could never happen in South Korea again,” Lee Jae-eui, who witnessed the Gwangju massacre and participated in the uprising, told Drop Site News just after learning of Yoon's action. “Now, exactly 44 years later, an unbelievable ‘martial law declaration’ was heard in a democratized South Korea,” he said. “I thought, what kind of joke is this?” The shadow of Gwangju was also noted in South Korean press coverage of the public’s anger at Yoon. “This feels like we are going through the May 18, 1980, Gwangju uprising again,” one woman at the scene in downtown Seoul told the JoongAng Daily. “You call this a country?”
Similar sentiments were heard throughout the country, from conservatives and progressives alike. Many recalled that former President Park Geun-hye, the daughter of the former dictator, had attempted in 2017 to use the Defense Security Command to declare martial law to forestall her impeachment by the National Assembly (she was thrown out of office and later convicted of corruption). But the generals held back, and several were later prosecuted when the plot was discovered.
Yoon, too, was facing impeachment. He is a former prosecutor who was elected in 2022 by a narrow margin (of 0.8 percentage points) in a vote partly determined by young men furious with the gains made by women in Korea's patriarchal society. Once in power, he sought to reform and improve the country’s export economy by cracking down on South Korea’s powerful labor unions. He attacked opponents of his economic and national security policies as “communists” and pro-North Korean agents. For months, his popularity has dropped to historic lows of just over 10 percent.
Yoon's gambit began at 11:00 pm on Monday night, when Army Chief of Staff General Park An-su, a four-star general, issued a decree of martial law. It sounded much like the 18 years of authoritarian rule under Park Chung-hee, who took power in a military coup in 1961 and ruled with an iron hand until he was assassinated in 1979.
“All political activities, including those related to the National Assembly, regional assemblies, political parties, the forming of political organizations, rallies and protests are banned,” Park stated. “The act of denying free democracy or attempting a subversion is banned; fake news, manipulating public opinion and false instigation is banned.” He added: “Those who violate martial law can be arrested or raided without a warrant.”
Yoon followed with an address to the public. “At the moment, the Republic of Korea is like a candle before the wind—it could plausibly collapse at any time,” he said in a live broadcast. “I declare martial law to protect the [ROK] from the threats of North Korean communist forces, to immediately eradicate the shameless pro-North Korean anti-state forces that are plundering the freedom and happiness of our people, and to protect our free constitutional order.”
Read the rest of this important article here
~ Tim Shorrock is an investigative journalist based in Washington, D.C. and the author of Spies for Hire: The Secret World of Intelligence Outsourcing. He was raised in Japan and South Korea and has been writing about the Korean Peninsula since the late 1970s. In 2015 he was made an honorary citizen of Gwangju for his reporting on the previously unknown US role in the 1980 coup. His work can be found at his website, timshorrock.com
Rise & fall of fascism in Vietnam
This video discusses the rise and fall of the fascist puppet regime which occupied and brutalized the South of Vietnam from 1954 until 1975.
We learn how Vietnamese communists resisted, protested, and struggled against fascism under desperate and dangerous conditions and ultimately overthrew fascism and imperialism once and for all.
Wednesday, December 04, 2024
Biden's desperation: B-52's inching up toward Russia (Comment from Finland)
In a significant military encounter, Russian jets intercepted U.S. B-52H Stratofortress bombers near the Baltic Sea on November 25, 2024.
The incident occurred during a NATO training exercise known as Exercise Apex Jet, which involved the B-52s conducting simulated weapons drops in collaboration with Finnish and Swedish fighter aircraft.
The interception was deemed safe and professional by a U.S. defense official, allowing the bombers to continue their planned flight without incident.
The problem is that US and Finland has signed an agreement that allows fully the US to operate in Finland without even informing our officials. The cars the US troops and their families use are registered in a way which is impossible to check, so if they provoke, it is impossible to reveal.
US troops and their agents can provoke war without the Finnish government and parliament knowing it. We resisted and tried to inform our parliament members what it is about, but they did not even respond or if they responded they disqualified our worries and tried to explain to us why it is just something that is in line with the NATO membership.
We had no referendum about NATO either and according to Defense Cooperation Agreement (DCA) there was a possibility to announce about it and the majority of the more than 1000 comments that were made were suggesting rejecting the DCA-"agreement" (=dictatorship).
Only one member of the parliament, Anna Kontula, suggested rejection of DCA, but was not supported, so the "agreement" (dictate) was accepted without voting about it. And now they claim it was an unanimous decision. Against the NATO membership 8 parliament members voted earlier, but there was merely no discussion and our resisting comments were neglected as well.
We really have a very bad spiritual situation- those who knows and try to spread information are labeled and disqualified. The peace movement is weak. I suggested we should demand referendum about NATO but others said we are in minority and we cannot demand referendum. But I think it depends where we live. I live in the North, in a Finnish speaking area and I cannot see the amount of Russia-phobia that those in the Swedish speaking surroundings experience in the south of this country.
I think that if we would have had referendum about NATO membership there would have been better possibility to discuss, and even if we, who resisted, would have lost - we would have known what the people wish and thus it would be easier to accept.
Now we don´t know what is the real opinion because the polls were not made right. They did not choose samples from the population but a very small sample (about 1,300 persons) from some kind of internet panel. And they neglected to ask elders - saying it could upset their families - although we who are born just after the WWII or even under the war or before the war, have seen the cold war but also the detente with open borders to Russia and cooperation and interaction between the peoples of our countries and we have been enriched and benefiting in many ways from it.
So I think that is why they did not ask persons of our age and older in the polls. So you see it is worse than I thought when I said that were NATO and USA is in, there is democracy and safety kicked out - but it has been seen before.
I hope still that reason and humanity will win in the end, that we will start cooperation about the big questions about survival of the mankind.
US-NATO plan to keep Ukraine war going
Russian Intel Warns NATO Plans to Freeze Conflict and Occupy Ukraine Under Peacekeeping Pretext
NATO is increasingly drifting towards the need to freeze the conflict in Ukraine in order to restore the Ukrainian armed forces' combat capability for a retaliation attempt, Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR) recently said.
"According to the information at the SVR’s disposal, in light of the apparent lack of prospects for a strategic defeat for Russia on the battlefield, NATO has become increasingly inclined towards the need to freeze the conflict in Ukraine. The West sees the implementation of this scenario as an opportunity to rebuild the combat capabilities of the Ukrainian armed forces and thoroughly prepare Kiev for a potential retaliation. NATO is already setting up training centers in Ukraine, through which it plans to train at least one million mobilized Ukrainian soldiers," the SVR said in a statement.
NATO is actively working with Western military-industrial companies, such as Germany's Rheinmetall, demanding investments from them, as well as sending specialists and equipment to Ukraine, the SVR said. NATO is expected to focus on the restoration of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex during the truce, the statement added.
The SVR also mentioned that the West would deploy "peacekeeping forces" about 100,000 strong to restore Ukraine's combat capability.
"To solve these tasks, the West will have to actually occupy Ukraine. Naturally, this will be done under the guise of deploying a 'peacekeeping contingent' in the country ... A total of 100,000 so-called peacekeepers are planned to be introduced into Ukraine," the statement said.
According to the SVR's data, the territories proposed to be divided among the occupying powers are defined as follows: the Black Sea coast will be given to the Romanian "peacekeepers," the western regions of Ukraine will be controlled by Poland, the central and eastern parts of the country will be ceded to Germany, and the northern regions, including the capital, will be given to the United Kingdom.
Western countries have ramped up their military and financial aid to Kiev since the start of Russia's military operation in Ukraine in February 2022. Russia has repeatedly said that arms supplies to Ukraine hinder the conflict settlement and directly involve NATO countries in the conflict.
Tuesday, December 03, 2024
Analysis of Trump's economic strategy
Look for the boomerang effect if Trump goes after BRICS + nations.
Just his threats of heavy tariffs on competitors has already forced China to cut-back on corn and soybean imports from America. Going to really hit the producers across the Midwest. Alot more of this would happen if Trump declares a tariff war with the whole BRICS bloc.
It's all about sovereignty. The US thinks it can manipulate others as it has done for much of its history.
But those days are over.
Ukraine military confronts a reluctant 'draftee'
An 'inspiring speech' of Ukraine recruitment officer was filmed and widely shared online. The incident reportedly took place in Poltava, but in fact, the motivation methods are pretty much the same all around Ukraine.
Threatening a young man, whose health prohibits military service, the officer revealed interesting statistics. There are a lot of Ukrainian men captured on the streets dying in the training centers before they even get to the front. According to the Ukrainian officer, there are about 30% of non-combat losses in the training centers.
Jeju: One of the longest running protests in the world
Catholic mass is held every day followed by protest (that includes singing and dancing) at the navy base gate in Gangjeong village on Jeju Island, South Korea. (Base military housing can be seen nearby in both videos. The land, previous to the destruction of the local farms, used to grow tangerines.)
The people have fought heroically to save their small 500 year old fishing and farming community that is still being torn asunder in order to continually expand the base.
And now the US Space Force is working with South Korean aerospace corporation Hanwha to build a satellite construction facility on Jeju. And just offshore there have already been satellite launches from oil rig-type platforms.
Because of Jeju's proximity to China the U.S. sees the island as an ideal 'military operations center'.
Navy Aegis destroyers (built in Bath, Maine) along with submarines and aircraft carriers from the US-NATO regularly port at the base in Gangjeong village. Each time they arrive they are met with protests.
Peace groups around the world could learn alot about stick-to-it-ive-ness from the folks on Jeju Island when it comes to sustaining a protest movement thru thick and thin.
They use prayer, song, dance, art, a community kitchen and much more to keep their activities alive.
I've had the great fortune to travel to Gangjeong village many times over the years. I have wonderful friends there and they continue to inspire me every day. My heart goes out to them always.
See this excellent film about the early resistance in Gangjeong village made by former Mainer Regis Tremblay (now living in Crimea) called the Ghosts of Jeju. The documentary film will be shown on December 4 at the Archangel Film Festival in northern Russia.
All love and peace to the people of Jeju Island!
Bruce