Film classics: JFK bits on the cutting room floor

 

These deleted scenes & extended parts are not in the theatrical or director's cut of the JFK assassination  film.

Director Oliver Stone narrates as he shows the scenes that landed on the cutting room floor. 

A priceless video.

Sunday song

 

Some snaps from Maine's coastline

 

 

 

A truly wonderful art gallery & tourist trap. Lots of great stuff - had to restrain myself.

Wild turkeys

One of our highlights was to take a 'Puffin watch cruise' to try to see the endangered seabird. Most of them have already left the small island where they summer but we got to see a couple of them. After the birds leave the island they don't touch land again for four months - living at sea the entire time. They are magical birds and I deeply appreciate the efforts underway to help them make a come back. But challenges still remain as their primary source of food, Atlantic herring, are declining due to over fishing.

MB and I went to New Harbor, Maine for a week get-a-way. It is about an hour from where we live in Bath and a lovely place.

We rented in a room inside a very old house within stone's throw of the harbor and a couple minutes walk to the rocky coastline.

We spent our time sleeping late, walking each day, visiting various sites and of course eating our share of seafood. We ran into a friend and her young son twice in different coastal villages which was quite remarkable. 

We both did alot of reading - I polished off one book entitled The Devil is in the Details: Alan Dale with Malcolm Blunt on the Assassination of President Kennedy.

If you are into the JFK story then I highly recommend this book.

Be sure to click on the photos above for a better view. Most of them were taken in the Pemaquid area.

Bruce

Protest Climate Crime at Blue Angels Air Show

 

 

Please join us in Brunswick, Maine to protest the climate-damaging Great State of Maine Air Show by the Navy's Blue Angels warplanes.

Date: Saturday, September 4 at 10:00 am

Location: Main gate, Bath Rd., Brunswick Executive Airport (former Brunswick Naval Air Station)

Event: Rally with live music and speakers re: climate impact of military

Sponsors: Maine Veterans for Peace, Maine Natural Guard, Peaceworks of Greater Brunswick, Global Network Against Weapons & Nuclear Power in Space, Peace Action Maine, Pax Christi Maine (additional sponsors welcome!)

This event is part of a long presence protesting Maine air shows, a major source of air pollution at a time when climate has reached a tipping point.

Generally understood to be a military recruiting event, this air show burned napalm on the runway for entertainment in 2012!

We hope you can join us to help thousands of Mainers connect the dots between militarism and climate crisis.

 

The Flight from Kabul and the Legacy of General Soleimani

 

By Seyed Mohammad Marandi

 Al Mayadeen

Iran has strong reason to believe that the sudden withdrawal of western forces was designed to create instability and chaos in Afghanistan.

Roughly 20 years ago, after the Taliban’s crushing defeat in Afghanistan and the complete withdrawal of support from Pakistan and Saudi Arabia under US pressure, the Quds Force began a dialogue with this seemingly diminished organization. At that time, many thought this to be a meaningless endeavor as the political landscape across the region was changing dramatically. The fact that the Taliban murdered 11 Iranian diplomats and a journalist inside the Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, would have made this new direction seem grossly inappropriate in the eyes of many in Tehran, if publicized.

The US invasion of Afghanistan, and subsequently Iraq, forced the Americans to stomach the presence and role of powerful Iranian allies in both countries. The US-led occupation forces lacked a coherent long-term strategy as well as allies, while important opposition leaders and military and political organizations were based in Tehran. In Afghanistan, the US had to turn to a coalition of political parties or the so-called Northern Alliance, which was struggling under tremendous pressure in their resistance against a foreign-backed brutal and ruthless Taliban.

Therefore, when the Taliban was defeated and remnant forces fled the country, Iranian allies took key positions in the Afghanistan government. There seemed to be no need or justification for dialogue with this seemingly spent force. However, General Qasem Soleimani believed that the Taliban continued to have popular support among a significant segment of the Pashtun tribes and populations in southern Afghanistan and parts of Pakistan, and he felt that the only path to long-term regional stability was for all the parties to engage in dialogue.

General Soleimani also believed that under such circumstances, the only force that was prepared to significantly drive up the cost of the US-led occupation, a key strategic Iranian objective, was the Taliban. He knew that under such circumstances the occupation of both Iraq and Afghanistan would gradually become extremely problematic and unpopular in western countries and that ultimately, such a huge burden would hit western economies hard and force them to withdraw their forces from both countries.

The objective of the Quds Force was to create mutual understanding and to encourage the more moderate factions within the fragmented Taliban to gain the upper hand. General Soleimani believed it was inevitable that foreign forces would at some point be forced to leave the country, and that following the country’s liberation, it was essential that Afghanistan isn’t pushed by the withdrawing occupation forces into another devastating civil war.

2011 was a significant turning point in the relationship, and high-ranking delegations began visiting Tehran. As time went by, the relationships became warmer and even personal, so much so that when General Soleimani, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandes and their companions were murdered at Baghdad International Airport by the Trump regime, a high ranking Taliban delegation traveled to Tehran and visited his house to pay condolences to his family.

While accusations of Iranian military support for the Taliban against Afghan government forces are completely baseless, there was one significant and revealing instance where the Taliban asked for Iranian assistance. Both Iranian intelligence and the Taliban knew that US-linked factions within the rapidly collapsing ISIS were extracted from Syria and inserted into Afghanistan. The Taliban asked the Quds Force to help it defeat what it saw to be an existential threat. Iran informed the Afghan government, which wasn’t particularly happy with such cooperation, but they didn’t object.

Ultimately, the Taliban made 4 commitments to the Quds Force. It would maintain stability on the border with Iran, it would not compromise on its opposition to the presence of any foreign forces, it would not target other ethnic groups or sects, and that “brothers wouldn't kill brothers.” While there are differing factions with very different views within the Taliban, the Iranian have assessed that during these years the current Taliban leadership has been committed to its promises.

This relationship has helped the Islamic Republic of Iran become an effective mediator in recent weeks and months, to ensure that the withdrawal of occupation forces doesn't lead to civil war, and to prod the new government to be inclusive of all Afghans. Iran has strong reason to believe that the sudden withdrawal of western forces was designed to create instability and chaos in Afghanistan. The US believes that if it can’t have Afghanistan, then the country should become a source of persistent trouble for Iran, China, Russia and even India. Meanwhile, significant sums of money are currently being sent by Saudi Arabia and 2 other regional counties to support extremist takfirist factions within the Taliban. Iran isn’t naive, but doing what it can to prevent tragedy is a responsibility. If that doesn’t work, the Quds Force will vehemently support those resisting extremism and terrorism.

Iran is constantly working and negotiating with the different parties inside Afghanistan as well with neighboring countries, plus China and Russia, to block the efforts of those who are pushing for a return to the dark past. Iran’s imminent membership of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization will enhance its capability to coordinate international efforts in this regard.

General Soleimani is no longer among us, but his legacy continues to inflict blows on the dying US Empire.  

~ Seyed Mohammad Marandi is Professor of English Literature and Orientalism; Head of the American Studies department at the University of Tehran

We need a new system based on justice....

 

American economist Professor, Jeffrey Sachs exposes how America, its Western allies, the CIA and the defence industry have rigged the system to keep Africa from being prosperous.  It is a stunning expose and rebuke to the present world order. 

Sachs is an American economist, academic, public policy analyst and former director of The Earth Institute at Columbia University, where he holds the title of University Professor. He is also a renowned leader in sustainable development, a senior UN advisor and a bestselling author.

The war money-go-round

 

RT America's Faran Fronczak breaks down the astronomical spending involved in the US invasion of Afghanistan before discussing the tremendous profits defense contractors reaped from the war and the interlock between the boards of these too-big-to-fail companies and the Defense Department.

A closer view of Vladimir Putin

 

Where does ideology end and culture begin? 

In this clip, Vladimir Putin covers an astounding amount of ground in 5 minutes; individualism/collectivism, the formation of the United States as a democracy, ethnic cleansing of native Americans, and the Stalin era of the Soviet regime. 

Putin is one of the most demonized leaders in the world. He is also one of the most misunderstood - particularly in the west as a result of the non-stop demonization.

For those who say they don't like Putin - just answer this one question? Where did you get the majority of the information 'you think you know' about him?

 This short video gives us one more view of the man - this interview with journalists from the RT network.

Film review: Who owns outer space?

 

 

Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space is a documentary film by Denis Delestrac with a music score by Amon Tobin. 

The film deals with the issue of space weapons and their politics, featuring interviews with several key United States military personal, academics such as Noam Chomsky and others, including Martin Sheen.

 The film won the Best Documentary award at the 2009 Whistler Film Festival and was selected in a number of international film festivals.

The film was also viewed on public TV in Canada and throughout Europe. Pax Americana was additionally seen in theaters throughout Latin America. 

Unfortunately filmmaker Delestrac could not get a distribution deal in the US (for obvious reasons) so most Americans had little chance of seeing this important documentary.

Please consider sharing this important film with others.

Surprise, surprise....

 

 

Check out this article The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan back with a bang

By Pepe Escobar 

 

 

Except we should not call it 'defense'. Because it has nothing to do with that.

Who decides who gets to play?

 

Power is shifting worldwide 

and the technologies

under development 

make real 'democratic' governance,

in any part of the world, 

subject to 

corporate domination of information. 

Mr. Big's new motto is

'Out with the old, 

in with the digital'.  

 

But who controls the digital? 

Who decides who gets to play? 

Who owns

the info flow?

 

Beware of 

the hollow promises

that big-tech

makes.

 

They claim,

Life,

and 'democracy',

will be

so much easier.

By now

we know

it's a rigged 

game.

Bruce

America is coming to an end....

 

Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman (Kangi Duta) shares the old Hopi Prophecy about the end of America, the big change that's coming and the ways to truly live on and with Mother Earth. 

Floyd 'Red Crow' Westerman (1936-2007)

Trailer: Climate crisis alert

 

Abby Martin's second feature film is an anti-imperialist environmental documentary.

Sunday song

 

Getting away

 

 

Mary Beth (MB) and I will be going away for a week. We both need a break.

MB is a social worker and works with the homeless in Portland. She loves her job. But it takes a toll.

I spend much of the time online doing my work for the Global Network. I love my job too. But U.S. foreign policy surely takes a toll.

We are going to enjoy a week on the rocky coast of Maine. We will rent a room in an old house by the ocean. We'll sleep late, walk, read and go on some side trips to various sea sites. Mostly we can clear our heads a bit.

The house has no WiFi but there is a spot nearby where I can get limited connection. I will likely post here everyday - I consider my blog my spiritual practice. It's my daily share and prayer. (I've got a bunch of posts already lined up so it won't take much effort.)

I'll let you know how it went when we get back.

Bruce

Why is there income inequality in the US?

 

The wages per hour is what the employer gives the employee. The productivity per hour is what the employee gives to the employer.

If what the workers gave the employer rose by 72 percent, whereas what the employer gave the worker on average rose by 17 percent over 40 years, there's your explanation for why there's great inequality in the United States.

~ Richard D. Wolff is Professor of Economics Emeritus, University of Massachusetts, Amherst where he taught economics from 1973 to 2008. He is currently a Visiting Professor in the Graduate Program in International Affairs of the New School University, New York City.

Ukraine to invite Pentagon to deploy troops/rockets?

 

A battery of the American Patriot air defense missiles deployed at the Polish town of Morag, some 60 km from the border on Russia's Kaliningrad Region.

 RT reported:

US invited to station troops & rocket systems in Ukraine in potential major escalation of tense standoff across border with Russia

 

A top Ukrainian politician has called on Washington to deploy its military, including army units and air defense systems, to the troubled Eastern European nation, in what would undoubtedly be seen by Moscow as a grave provocation.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Alexey Reznikov revealed he had made the request as part of a visit to the United States, during a meeting with the Jamestown Foundation, a think-tank which the Russian government has previously accused of spreading propaganda against the country.

“It is important to expand the security package for Ukraine,” Reznikov said. “First of all, with the stationing of air defense forces, and even by deploying American units.” The politician added that Ukrainian legislation already allows for foreign troops to be based in the country.

Russia has repeatedly said that the presence of US military personnel on its borders with Ukraine would be a major red line in the simmering political conflict between the two nations. In February, Kiev called on NATO to begin flying warplanes and troop transports near the disputed Crimean Peninsula. Moscow has insisted that such moves are “provocative” and increase the chances of a potentially catastrophic incident, undermining regional stability.

At the same time, Reznikov said that an increased presence of Western forces in his country was necessary because of Russian dominance over the Black Sea, the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, and Moscow’s “influence in the Balkans.”

In addition, the deputy prime minister repeated allegations that the Kremlin may be planning to station nuclear weapons in Crimea. Russian officials, including Yury Gempel, the head of the Crimean parliament’s diplomatic committee, have blasted the claims as “unsubstantiated.” State Duma member Andrey Kozenko went further, saying those pushing the purported conspiracy without evidence should see “a psychotherapist” rather than making appeals to the West.

'What did we get out of 20 years of war?'

 

Kabul remains tense and under a grip of fear as the Taliban continues to make rapid advances across several provinces within the country. 

On August 8, the Taliban militia took over the provinces of Takhar, Sar-e Pol and Kunduz even as the Afghan government forces continue to put up a fight.

Rocket lab protest in New Zealand

 

'STOP Militarisation of Space' New Zealand 'Rocket Lab' protest 21 June 2021 in Auckland. It asks government and Space Industry CEO to refuse US military Space Missile payloads for warfare combat targeting. Speakers also expose dangers to health and environment from the proposed 100,000 satellites for civilian/military dual purpose.

This public event reinforces NZ Nuclear Free Peacemaker policies and the Outer Space and High-altitude Activities Act. However, (OSHAA) regulations must be improved to keep 'Space for Peace Aotearoa'. This requires an amendment to prohibit rocket launches of military weapons and satellites contributing to warfare infrastructure.

In addition, the NZ government should actively pursue the UN PAROS Treaty (Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space) for protection of Heaven and Earth for humanity.

Comment corner: Has the U.S. begun its “great retreat”?

 

Below are several excellent comments that follow The Saker's interesting piece asking the question:  Has the US begun its “great retreat”? Where do you think Biden, and the American war machine, will head next?

 

Larchmonter445
No contraction, no retreat.

The US is shifting. They are creating a buffer of proxies to contain China, and then rebase out of range of China’s missiles. Vanuatu, Hawaii, Guam, Marshall Islands, the Philippines, and Australia, will get buildups, naval base-building and become airfields and logistic hubs for trying to contain China within the first chain of islands. The QUAD will become the Asian NATO if the US can keep demonizing China.

Biden cannot possibly be strategizing any of this. The US Navy has always dominated American policy and actions in the Asia Pacific region. They are changing the facts on the ground (and the seas).

The US versus Russia is Game Over. Putin has the technologies, weapons, and will against which the US and the West have no answer. Look closely. The best they can drum up is to try to take down Lukashenko in Belarus. and if they create a serious destabilization, Russian military and security forces would go in an keep order.

The US is not going to leave Afghanistan, Iraq or Syria. Such a vacuum would be a strategic gift to Russia, Iran and China. With little effort, the US can keep all three in turmoil for years more. There are plenty of ISIS and AQ fighters who work for peanuts (and some meth).

What will change is emphasis. We will see and hear a lot about Taiwan and the Philippine Sea instead of Iran and the Persian Gulf.

migueljose

I don’t know what is happening but here are a few thoughts. I think the U.S. knows that the axis of resistance is now formidable and that it cannot defeat it head to head. The U.S. is therefore cutting its losses and retreating (Afgahnistan, Iraq, Ukraine, Syria), while trying to cajole, pressure and blackmail allies/vassals into stepping up. Militarily the U.S. is attempting death by 1000 cuts which includes big time embargoes, lying, cheating, stealing and false flags, sowing destruction through as many whacko mercenary groups as possible: MEK, ISIS/Al Qaida, Asov, Uighurs, Miami Cubans, evangelical Christians, Zionists, Narcos. Oh, and NATO.

Meanwhile, Biden appears to be dusting off the Monroe Doctrine and ramping up hegemony in Latin America, more like a regional imperial power as opposed to a world imperial power. I look for hot wars on Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela within a year. Bolsonaro plans to become a king and will try and stage a coup with Biden’s help since Lula would not bow down to Biden. bottom line, hard times for everyone, no “soft landing”. Strengthen your life lines. Talk to neighbors more. Grow more food. Get stronger. Stop whining.

 Blackring
@Larchmonter445

” The US is shifting. They are creating a buffer of proxies to contain China, and then rebase out of range of China’s missiles.”

I agree that US is “shifting”. But the reasons are not some grand strategy ones. They are b.r.o.k.e.

Politicaly. Socially. Sexually. Health. Infrastructure. Cracks everywhere.

The western empire is in the final stage of its historical life cycle so its moves are erratic like those in old sclerotic men who stubbornly refuse to accept reality. Running up the stairs and falling again and again.

They can do a lot of damage here and there (and they surely will), but nothing can change their fate. The World will survive…

So, it is not contraction, nor retreat. It is last gasp for air.

Anglo-saxon civilisation had its time, and it shined bright. Now it is time to leave the stage, along with their proxies.

Gracefully, I hope.

Snow Leopard

A very worthwhile analysis Saker; As I see it the empire is collapsing rapidly and irretrievably. It is going to need all the resources it can muster to keep its most feared opponent from causing it real problems. That uber dangerous opponent (at least in the eyes of the empire) is, as always, the American people. So it is consolidating as well as retreating. It has no real political capital left with which to launch any serious aggression and Zone B is steadily increasing its gravitational pull on the rest of humanity. All the empire has left is propaganda and the ability to do weird shit with money. But they know they are riding a very dangerous tiger, which limits their operational room more than we might expect.

The understanding I hold to is that in terms of real power the empire died in December of 2012. It just takes a little time for the empire to realize it is stone dead and for its corpse to fall to the earth. When one is finally out of cosmic time that is it. When an entity runs out of cosmic time it no longer has any capacity for creative self construction, so I cannot see the empire regaining any consolidated capacity for sustaining itself.

However I share your expectation that the chaos will intensify and that will further the destruction. But I feel I have reason to be confident that it will not be allowed to take humanity down with it. There has been so much spiritual integrity built up amongst the people of the world over the last 40 years that there is no way that cannot have a positive salvatory influence. That fact alone holds opens the door to a survivable transition.

 

 

Charles Dunaway

For the first time in a very long time, we are seeing erstwhile establishment voices call for an end to US militarism in the Middle East. That is a welcome sign, but I doubt it is for the correct reasons. US exceptionalism is still the state religion on the shores of the Potomac.

Another important indicator is the intensification of US regime change and chaos-generation tactics in Asia, particularly Indochina. The National Endowment for Democracy and its local stooges are fomenting demonstrations and violence in virtually every country on China’s borders. The US is determined to undermine the Belt and Road Initiative and defeat China economically – something it cannot do by competition in the classic capitalist manner, but thinks it can do by subterfuge and threat. It could be that we are simply seeing a “Pivot to Asia” by “Biden”.

When considered alongside the ever-heightening level of threats, insults and sanctions against the Russian Federation, it makes sense that the US Military-Industrial Complex intends to justify additional trillions of dollars for weapons systems to fight a war against a major power. Fighting “terrorism”, particularly through proxies, simply doesn’t generate enough revenue. More major, technically complex, and expensive systems are very profitable, particularly when they don’t actually have to meet specifications or be delivered on time.

The only hope the world has at this point (and it’s a faint one) is that the people of the US will finally realize that the reason they have streets filled with homeless people in tents, millions without adequate health care, a crumbling infrastructure, and stagnant wages, is that all the fruits of their labor are going to the wealthy and the military. Given the captive media system in this country, it’s unlikely they will notice until it’s too late – if it isn’t already.