People rag on Saddam, or Castro or Maduro — or Iran. How exactly is a country supposed to fight an insidious Empire? To ensure its freedom when reformers are easily struck down?
Re your important question "How exactly is a country supposed to fight an insidious Empire?" well, either through bloody revolution (lets say NO to violence) or a Gandhi sattyagraha non-violent approach that succeeded in removing British imperialism in India. Problem was, how to then put in place an economic system that is BOTH FREE AND FAIR. The US citizenry are deeply divided between polarizing Socialist and Capitalist views. To answer your question, we (values oriented intellectuals) need to articulate a clear Third Way that the majority can support and we need to be then standing along with military people who no longer wish to fight the "profits for the elites" wars. Would you like to explore this approach?
"Bernie Sanders in 2015 slammed Hugo Chavez as a “dead communist dictator."
For me one of the highlights in UN history is when Hugo Chavez stood at the podium where Dumbya had spoken - actually, blathered non sequiturs - only the day before, and Chavez said before the General Assembly, "“Yesterday, the devil came here. Yesterday, the devil was here, in this very place. This table where I have to speak still smells of sulfur.”
Thank you so much for this: "...anyone in the US criticizing those governments for being repressive is kind of criticizing themselves for their failure to protect governments that were less repressive."
I think about this all the time -- the U.S. and its proxies take out unions and union organizers (too many countries but I'll just mention El Salvador and Nicaragua in the '80s), Communist parties (Iraq), the legit, principled left opposition (CIA in Italy just after WWII, Iran before 1979, half the world in between and since) and then act surprised when right-wing I mean "democratic" groups like Al Quaeda, ISIS oops I mean Al Nusra -- wait; what are they called today? -- emerge and take over.
They do the same thing the Trump regime is now doing here in Minneapolis -- attack vulnerable people and first denounce them, then prosecute them as the aggressors.
Which Black people here know all about in their dealings with so-called "law enforcement."
But it's harder to detect overseas because the players are less known to us, so the narrative control here is more complete.
Your point is about the liberal interventionists, the so-called "pro-democracy" advocates here and abroad ('cuz who could be against "democracy?"), the R2P boosters, whatever they call themselves this year... THE DEMOCRATS who support subversion and military attack (whether they or their supposed opponents are perpetrating it) in the name of promoting democracy and protecting other people.
I call the Dems the War Party. It was Jimmy Carter who started covert support to the Salvadoran death-squad government! Bill Clinton bombed Iraq for years, holding the "no-fly zones" in what I call "the other Iraq war" (IMO there were three, not two).
Thank you also for including Haiti in 2004. I don't understand why Aristode's abduction is so soon forgotten, when it was similar in so many ways.
Sam - I love that cloverleaf map. Our New View podcast recently asked the question about the root of the power problem focused on the Middle East. A most interesting view was presented titled Domination: Where from? Where to?, see here: https://rumble.com/v73n26g-domination-where-from-where-to-ginger-channels-galexis.html
Re your important question "How exactly is a country supposed to fight an insidious Empire?" well, either through bloody revolution (lets say NO to violence) or a Gandhi sattyagraha non-violent approach that succeeded in removing British imperialism in India. Problem was, how to then put in place an economic system that is BOTH FREE AND FAIR. The US citizenry are deeply divided between polarizing Socialist and Capitalist views. To answer your question, we (values oriented intellectuals) need to articulate a clear Third Way that the majority can support and we need to be then standing along with military people who no longer wish to fight the "profits for the elites" wars. Would you like to explore this approach?
Typo alert: "Unsurprisingly, countries that stand against imperialism at the ones targeted by it:" Change 'at' to 'are,' and we're good to go.
Excellent analysis.
Thank you Joy.
"Bernie Sanders in 2015 slammed Hugo Chavez as a “dead communist dictator."
For me one of the highlights in UN history is when Hugo Chavez stood at the podium where Dumbya had spoken - actually, blathered non sequiturs - only the day before, and Chavez said before the General Assembly, "“Yesterday, the devil came here. Yesterday, the devil was here, in this very place. This table where I have to speak still smells of sulfur.”
Thank you so much for this: "...anyone in the US criticizing those governments for being repressive is kind of criticizing themselves for their failure to protect governments that were less repressive."
I think about this all the time -- the U.S. and its proxies take out unions and union organizers (too many countries but I'll just mention El Salvador and Nicaragua in the '80s), Communist parties (Iraq), the legit, principled left opposition (CIA in Italy just after WWII, Iran before 1979, half the world in between and since) and then act surprised when right-wing I mean "democratic" groups like Al Quaeda, ISIS oops I mean Al Nusra -- wait; what are they called today? -- emerge and take over.
They do the same thing the Trump regime is now doing here in Minneapolis -- attack vulnerable people and first denounce them, then prosecute them as the aggressors.
Which Black people here know all about in their dealings with so-called "law enforcement."
But it's harder to detect overseas because the players are less known to us, so the narrative control here is more complete.
Your point is about the liberal interventionists, the so-called "pro-democracy" advocates here and abroad ('cuz who could be against "democracy?"), the R2P boosters, whatever they call themselves this year... THE DEMOCRATS who support subversion and military attack (whether they or their supposed opponents are perpetrating it) in the name of promoting democracy and protecting other people.
I call the Dems the War Party. It was Jimmy Carter who started covert support to the Salvadoran death-squad government! Bill Clinton bombed Iraq for years, holding the "no-fly zones" in what I call "the other Iraq war" (IMO there were three, not two).
Thank you also for including Haiti in 2004. I don't understand why Aristode's abduction is so soon forgotten, when it was similar in so many ways.
Bernie Sanders and RFK Jr sealed the deal for me to truly follow George Carlin's advice and never vote again, at least in a national election.