The militarization of American democracy, by Neta Crawford
"The question, here, is why democratic institutions aren’t able to stop power-hungry elites who would concentrate power and economic resources.
"The question, here, is why democratic institutions aren’t able to stop power-hungry elites who would concentrate power and economic resources.
This war is about U.S. corporate domination and U.S. global hegemony to destroy Russian trade with its many resources (not just oil, but food and other resources) with the EU and China. Why is Russia targeted? Not a military or economic threat, but favorable trade with EU and China threatens U.S. corporate hegmony. The effect of this trade war is worldwide, in some cases severely limiting essential food sources for many countries, with Ukraine and Russia both being major bread baskets. for growing food that is then traded to other countries..
"The killing of Abu Akleh would have been treated very differently if she was killed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine. ...The 55-year-long fight for Palestinian freedom is no less just, no less worthy of our support. But Palestinians are occupied by our Israeli ally. They are not white. Most are not Christian, although Abu Akleh was Christian. They are not deemed worthy. They suffer and die alone."
"The Democratic Party’s hypocrisy and duplicity is the fertilizer for Christian fascism. Its exclusive focus on the culture wars and identity politics at the expense of economic, political, and social justice fueled a right-wing backlash and stoked the bigotry, racism, and sexism it sought to curtail."
Say No to U.S. Wars, No War with Russia, Wars abroad militarize society: Stop police violence, Funds for housing, health care, COVID relief, not the Pentagon,
The U.S. is censoring media, which affects our access to information. This outright censorship is a slippery slope could too easily lead directly to state censorship of media in the U.S. and is frightening in relation to freedom of the press/media/speech, the cornerstone of American democracy.
"...when Biden gave his two speeches the other week defending the pullout from Afghanistan, he made utterly clear that while giving up on failed counterinsurgency, he is turning to, and maybe will intensify himself, the real fruit of 9/11, which is kind of endless counterterror, no matter what the constraints of international law say, unless they require the drones to strike or the special forces to visit with care for the victims."
“Let us not become the evil we deplore.” And with those words, Oakland Congressmember Barbara Lee rocked the House, the Capitol, this country, the world, the lone voice of more than 400 congressmembers.
"Napoleon said that it's not necessary to censor the news. It's more efficient to delay it until it no longer matters. In terms of the dead, it no longer matters."
In a keynote address by Daniel Ellsberg and seven roundtable discussions, presenters explored the major issues that have engaged Ellsberg’s life: the Vietnam War, nuclear weapons, antiwar resistance, the Pentagon Papers, Watergate, whistleblowing, and the wars of the 21st century.