The horrible leadership at Veterans For Peace literally put out a statement that said, “We know that one demonstration in Washington won’t end capitalism and imperialism” etc.

I was there but my old butt couldn't make it 'til the end. I think Jimmy Dore got the most applause.

About 3,000 people seems a decent estimate...a spark, as you say Caitlin, perhaps as it warms up, literally and figuratively, it will then turn into a barbeque fire, then local forest fires and then the kind conflagrations that consumed Paradise, CA.  Could become pretty sweaty as the lies of consent are revealed by the perps, aka, like war lover Pal Joey and his comment re Nord Stream that it can be done way before the event actually happened.  A criminal can't help acknowledging his/hers own efforts; which is laudable in its disaffection!  Bravissimo, Joey.  Yes, a spark yesterday, collect your tinder and let's ignite the lies.

thanks so for keeping hope alive for the protestor who really feel frustrated that absolutely nothing is working.

Being labeled a Russian propagandist all day every day for criticizing US foreign policy is really weird, but one advantage it comes with is a useful perspective on what people have really been talking about all these years when they warn of the dangers of "Russian propaganda".

Reading by Tim Foley.

They're Not Worried About "Russian Influence", They're Worried About Dissent

Days after the war in Ukraine began it was reported by The New York Times that "President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has asked the Israeli prime minister, Naftali Bennett, to mediate negotiations in Jerusalem between Ukraine and Russia." In a recent interview, Bennett made some very interesting comments about what happened during those negotiations in the early days of the war. 

Reading by Tim Foley.

More Evidence That The West Sabotaged Peace In Ukraine

The US government is permitted to have nuclear weapons in Australia. What's more, Australians are not permitted to know whether or not this is happening. What's more, not even Australia's elected senators are permitted to know whether this is happening. It's assumed to be none of Australia's business whether there are foreign nuclear weapons in Australia.

This was clarified during a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday, when Greens senators were condescendingly admonished by the Australian foreign minister for the very normal and appropriate attempt to clarify the government's policy regarding the presence of US armageddon weapons on Australian soil.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Australians Aren't Allowed To Know If There Are American Nukes In Australia

You know, everyone's always talking about how the US military is only ever used to kill foreigners for resource control and generate profits for the military-industrial complex, but that's not entirely true. Turns out the US military is also used for shooting down party balloons.

Reading by Tim Foley.

What We Know About The US Air Force's Balloon Party So Far

If anti-war protests made no difference, the US empire wouldn't have completely abandoned full-scale ground invasions after 2003 and switched to sneakier, less effective means of warfare while launching unprecedented narrative management systems to suppress anti-war sentiments. They abandoned Bush-era Hulk Smash ground invasions in favor of drones, proxy warfare, covert ops and sanctions because enough people rose up and said "NO" to make them afraid of the masses beginning to wake up and begin turning against them and their institutions.

And now people are even beginning to protest the proxy warfare. I  guarantee you that's making our rulers nervous about the possibility of losing the ability to effectively dominate the world with violence and coercion, and even losing the ability to continue to rule us.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The Power-Serving Myth That Anti-War Protests Make No Difference

Humans, interestingly, fall somewhere between tiny-brained hive insects and the larger-brained mammals and birds in terms of self-preservation impulses involving violence, despite having the most advanced brains in the animal kingdom. We have the same instinctive aversions to putting ourselves at risk as those other animals, but that instinct can be overridden by putting a bunch of stories in our heads about how the enemy must be destroyed for this or that reason. A few false narratives about God and glory had humans marching off to fight and die in the Crusades like a bunch of mindless insects.

This is because the capacity for abstract thought that our recently evolved brains have given us can be exploited by clever humans with a predisposition toward manipulation. Because we're often finding our way around in the world by thoughts and language rather than instinct, we can be manipulated into acting far more foolishly than a pigeon or a squirrel or a tiger ever would.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Narrative Is Used To Override Healthy Human Self-Interest

A recent US Chamber of Commerce InSTEP program hosted three empire managers to talk about Washington's top three enemies, with the US ambassador to China Nicholas Burns discussing the PRC, the odious Victoria Nuland discussing Russia, and the US ambassador to Israel Tom Nides talking about Iran. Toward the end of the hour-long discussion, Burns made the very interesting comment that Beijing must accept that the United States is "the leader" in the region and isn't going anywhere.

Reading by Tim Foley.

US Ambassador To China: "We're The Leader" Of The Indo-Pacific

Australian media are awash with reporting on the war-with-China propaganda series by The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age that I've been writing about for the last few days. Which is really quite extraordinary, because it's not an actual news story.

Reading by Tim Foley.

They Work So Hard To Manufacture Our Consent Because They Absolutely Require It

Deciding to enter the military is only morally justifiable if your country's military is used in a moral and just way. There's a weird, power-serving taboo against saying this which is born of the idea that it's more important to protect the feelings of "our troops" than to discourage people from enlisting in the most murderous war machine on earth, but it's true.

Reading by Tim Foley.

It's Immoral To Serve In An Immoral Military

The use of the phrase "journalism is not a crime" is an interesting choice since the most common individual case you'll hear it used in reference to is surely that of Julian Assange, who has been locked in a maximum security prison for four years while the US government works to extradite him for the crime of good journalism. Every pro-Assange demonstration I've ever been to has featured signs with some variation of the phrase "journalism is not a crime," and any Assange supporter will be intimately familiar with that refrain.

So as an Assange supporter it sounds a bit odd to hear that slogan rolled out by two DC swamp monsters who have both enthusiastically supported the persecution of the world's most famous journalist.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Washington Says "Journalism Is Not A Crime" While Working To Criminalize Journalism

The single dumbest thing the US-centralized empire asks us to believe is that the military encirclement of its top two geopolitical rivals is a defensive action, rather than an act of extreme aggression.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The Single Dumbest Thing The Empire Asks Us To Believe

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.

The Power-Serving Myth That Anti-War Protests Make No Difference

Caitlin Johnstone

Recent comments

Veterans for Peace THE HECTOR BLACK CHAPTER

Nick

Bill Paci

Toujours Pret

Related tracks