The Peace Press — Wednesday, April 10, 2024 edition
No amount of money or weapons can change the fact that Ukraine will lose the war. Ukraine will be defeated relatively soon. The Ukrainian military is already collapsing. They possess neither the manpower nor the ammunition stocks to counter the Russian juggernaut. The best way to achieve peace now is to negotiate with Russia on Russian terms which will mean that the coming land-locked rump state of Ukraine must be fully demilitarized. Ukraine will be barred from possessing a military whatsoever and must become an unaligned neutral state.
If House Speaker Mike Johnson tries to fund Ukraine and Israel, then I sincerely hope the GOP elects to eject Mike Johnson as House Speaker. Kudos to Marjorie Taylor Green and Rand Paul and others on promising to make good on that. Furthermore, I hope wiser heads and voices prevail to reject the cowardly, money-grubbing blowhards who slut themselves for the military-industrial-complex and the banks like British Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron or French President Emmanuel Macron. Hopefully, the French military resists or rebels against Macron’s threat to insert French troops soon in Ukraine before they most certainly will become French Fried troops in Ukraine. No other Western power, most especially the United States should aid the French. The best way to bring peace to Ukraine is to sue for peace now on Russian terms since the Russians are clearly and handily winning the war. Ukraine will lose. The war’s outcome is already known so how many more must die for nothing?
So far, nearly 600,000 Ukrainians have been killed in this war with well over a million wounded. So far, about 45,000 Russian troops have been killed with over 100,000 wounded according to recent estimates. This is a wide ratio favoring Russia who can far outlast Ukraine in any war of attrition. The Russian military has proven to be very adept on the battlefield and employed various military technologies that technologically surpass the West and are clearly superior weapons systems than anything the United States of NATO can field today. The Russian military has demonstrated its capacity for competence, professionalism, technological adeptness and dogged persistence. Ukraine will lose this war so end the war now on Russian terms. No more money or weapons to Ukraine!!!! Wage Peace and Persevere!!!!
“What we are now seeing — and it is evident in the polls as well as in speeches of our politicians — is a shift away from interventionism. The mood has changed, and more Americans are tired of being told they must sacrifice to save the rest of the world from itself.
Recently Col. Douglas Macgregor posted on Twitter, “We have lost $14 TRILLION over the last 20 year on dumb interventions in other countries. What good has it done?”
Many Republicans are asking that same question. What have we gotten for the first $100 billion to Ukraine? A victory for “freedom” like we were promised? No. We got rampaging inflation, decreasing standard of living, and demands for another $100 billion!”
https://original.antiwar.com/paul/2024/04/08/mcconnell-cannot-stop-the-non-interventionist-tide/
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“Robert Kagan is deaf to the timeless wisdom of Hamilton, Quincy Adams and Lincoln, envisioning the end of the free world if the U.S. neglects to stand with Ukraine whatever it takes, argues Bruce Fein.”
“Invincible self-defense from actual or imminent aggression is the optimal national security policy of the United States. That policy and its justification was best articulated by secretary of state John Quincy Adams in his July 4, 1821, address to Congress.
The secretary warned against military force to eliminate the crooked timber of mankind. Constant warfare would destroy liberty at home, he said, echoing Alexander Hamilton in the Federalist Papers. That truth has been more than amply vindicated by experience.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/04/08/kagans-latest-bugle-for-ruinous-empire/
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“The US military does not defend America. The last time it did this was in 1945, at the end of World War Two. Since then, American soldiers were sent for twenty years to Afghanistan. Is Afghanistan America? No. Was it, is it, important to America? No. Then Iraq, Syria, Iraq again,and Serbia, bombing helpless cities. Iraq isn’t America. In my day — I’m an old guy — it was Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, where 63,000 Americans died, and killed huge numbers of peasants who did nothing wrong–for no reason. Washington is now getting ready to start a war with China. China is on the other side of the world.
Let me tell you what the military does to young men, what Washington does. Long ago I was driving a truck near the Marine base in Danang, Vietnam. A bullet came through the windshield. The glass spatter went into my eyes, filling them with blood and blinding me for, as it turned out, several months. I lay for maybe an hour beside the road until a chopper finally came to take me to the Naval Support Activity hospital. For a couple of weeks a Viet nurse gave me a large injection of penicillin every few hours because if the blood got infected, that would be it for my vision.”
https://original.antiwar.com/reed/2024/04/08/enlisting-in-the-military-a-very-very-bad-idea/
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Edward Luttak: A journey of an American strategist from geostrategic analyst to pure idiocy and lunacy.
“The weekend’s standout story comes by way of Edward Luttwak, one of the so-called ‘premier military theorists’ in the West, openly calling for NATO intervention in Ukraine, lest the West suffer a “catastrophic defeat”:
Interestingly, he frames everything around the urgency of an imminent Chinese attack on Taiwan, which further adduces his poor analytical abilities. This snippet from a previous article on Luttwak tells you everything you need to know about him:”
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/edward-luttwak-time-to-send-nato
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“Though many spoke on the condition of anonymity to “discuss intelligence matters and sensitive diplomacy,” they do not even create the pretense that this is a story that the CIA doesn’t want the public to know. The clear purpose, stated almost explicitly near the end of the article, is to guilt the Republicans in Congress into supporting Ukraine aid, with the argument that we are “in too deep” and cannot abandon them like our erstwhile allies in Afghanistan. The impact of the article was muted and it was barely discussed outside of those critical of Ukraine aid, because neither the CIA nor the Times seem to have realized the implications of these admissions: it shows that the post-Maidan government of Ukraine pro-actively made itself the base of a hostile conspiracy against Russia.”
https://libertarianinstitute.org/articles/the-cia-admits-its-long-time-presence-in-ukraine/
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“While Antony Blinken insists that “Russia is militarily, economically and diplomatically weaker,” a top State Dept. official acknowledges that “Russia has almost completely reconstituted militarily.””
https://www.aaronmate.net/p/top-us-official-admits-failure-in
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“NATO is less a defensive alliance than it is a provocative alliance. A quarter of a century ago, the Soviet Union dismantled itself by its own will. With that titanic change, NATO’s sole purpose dissolved. Created to defend its members from a Soviet threat, NATO now self-perpetuated its extinct purpose by provoking the very threat it was meant to defend against. It did that by expanding east toward Russia’s borders and then, finally, toward Russia’s red line by filling Ukraine with NATO weapons and promising Ukraine NATO membership in a way that was seen as existentially threatening by Russia.”
https://original.antiwar.com/Ted_Snider/2024/04/08/ukraine-in-nato-what-blinken-says-versus-what-blinken-means/
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“A uniquely Ukrainian strain of Neo-Nazism is spreading throughout Europe, which openly advocates violence against minorities while seeking new recruits. With Kiev’s army collapsing and a narrative of Western betrayal gaining currency, the horror inflicted on residents of Donbas for a decade could very soon be coming to a city near you.”
https://thegrayzone.com/2024/04/07/centuria-ukraines-western-neo-nazi-army/
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“This year $5,109 of the average American’s taxpayer dollars went to fund the military and its support systems,” said the co-author of a new analysis.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/us-taxpayers-funding-militarism
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“It is not too early to change course and seek to end the second cold war as rapidly as the first. The main difference is that this time the United States and the Western powers are primarily responsible for generating the hostile relations and most of the concessions will have to come from the West. The United States and the West is the faction intruding into Russia’s core security zone, not the other way around. The Ukraine war highlighted the arrogance or ineptitude of the Western powers. Repairing the damage will take a major sustained effort and it is never too soon to start.”
https://original.antiwar.com/Ted_Galen_Carpenter/2024/04/09/ending-the-second-cold-war/
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Former Army Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis on the Global War Update:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ya-ST87l1g
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Former Army Lt. Colonel Daniel Davis with former Army Colonel Douglas MacGregor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OxSNPbAF9js
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The Duran on France and Macron want a conflict freeze:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-rEeCcngAs
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The Duran: Battle for Chasav Yar begins:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IMd3Bi_JlD4
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The Duran: Macron teams up with Cameron for Russia conflict
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXxaBZ01DlM
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The Duran with former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfHlV3EeGsM&t=3972s
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Brian Berletic on Ukraine: Ukraine’s Ammunition Crisis Persists as Western Desperation Grows
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IjQRF_QcQk4
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Garland Nixon on an Empire of Imbeciles:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8GkwN9nxuK0
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Danny Haiphong with Scott Ritter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3DD_J0O6nE
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Danny Haiphong with Scott Ritter and Garland Nixon:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QEWKCzZ780c
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Judge Napolitano with former British diplomat Alastair Crooke:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdE4lzerbSI.
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Judge Napolitano with former CIA Analyst Ray McGovern:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNEePK-THtA
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Judge Napolitano with former CIA Analyst Larry Johnson:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5YySe2rsl4&t=1524s
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Judge Napolitano with Kyle Anzalone:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ejnH4KZnPA
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Judge Napolitano with former State Department Official and USMC Captain Matthew Hoh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__KPptqwpDo
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Judge Napolitano with former Air Force Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6B-FcSNwxI
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Judge Napolitano with former Army Colonel Douglas MacGregor:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DSSSuhF64s
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Judge Napolitano with former weapons inspector and USMC Major Scott Ritter:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBIllJ-oKc0
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“Real life is better than the movies. No doubt. Today’s surprise comes out of Moscow, with an announcement from the State organization charged with investigating major crimes that the Ukrainian company Burisma was involved with financing terrorists:”
https://sonar21.com/is-there-a-cia-link-to-the-crocus-city-center-terrorist-attack/
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“Whoever lies FIRST, wins.” How explain the US instant denial that Ukraine responsible for the March 22 terrorist act in Moscow? As a top US official admitted to US lying about Russia deliberately downing PASSENGER plane KAL-007, “the key is to lie first.”
https://raymcgovern.com/2024/04/09/whoever-lies-first-wins/
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“Israel is losing because it has failed, after six months of lopsided combat, to defeat Hamas and free the hostages. Israel has proved itself to be quite skilled in killing unarmed women, children and elderly. The Izzies sure know how to bomb hospitals, medical clinics, schools, churches, mosques, universities and UN refugee centers. Instead of fortifying the myth of Israel as David fighting the colossus Muslim Goliath, Israel’s military campaign has been an unmitigated public relations disaster. Early claims of beheaded children and mass rapes turned out to be fabrications by a determined Israeli psyops campaign. Public opinion around the world views Israel as a murderous thug. There was a time that Israel could count on having a majority of Western nations in its corner. That time is over.”
https://sonar21.com/is-israel-winning-losing-or-about-to-commit-suicide/
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“Netanyahu must know Tehran will respond militarily to the attack on its embassy in Syria, the question is whether American troops will be a target”
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/iran-israel-war/
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The greatest threat of autocracy rising in the world is from the United States, not from Russia or China:
“Even though a growing number of Western elites are awakening to the reality that Ukraine is headed for defeat and will drag NATO along with it, the so-called intellectual cognoscenti of foreign policy, like the editorial board of the NY Times, continue to indulge fantasies and delusions.
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The Washington and New York establishments continue to insist that Vladimir Putin is an “authoritarian strongman.” I have one word of advice — look in the damn mirror and pay attention to what is happening in the United States before you mount your moral high horse and gallop off to lecture other countries on democracy and human rights.”
https://sonar21.com/americas-hypocrisy-as-an-authoritarian-state-being-exposed-as-ukraine-founders/
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“Condemning “war crimes” is nothing more than a shrug; it’s war itself that must be not simply “condemned,” but transcended.”
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/war-problem-in-gaza
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“Opposition to the slaughter in Gaza appears to be getting more mainstream, which is obviously great, but when political impulses go mainstream it means there’s going to be a massive and concerted effort to funnel public sentiment in a direction that doesn’t damage the interests of the empire.
They’re going to try to blame this all on Netanyahu.
They’re going to insist that Israel itself is fine and the only thing that went wrong was a fluke incident in which an aberrational right wing faction briefly got into power.
They’re going to try to wash the western empire’s hands of the mass atrocities it directly facilitated in Gaza.”
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/as-support-for-gaza-goes-mainstream
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“The decades since then have seen a consistent Israeli refusal to compromise with the people whose land they took and whose livelihoods they control. Gaza has been under siege for decades and a concentration camp since 2007. The West Bank and Jerusalem are not much better with ever tightening restrictions, checkpoints and arrests.”
https://original.antiwar.com/Rick_Sterling/2024/04/09/israeli-milestones-from-six-day-victory-to-six-month-failure/
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“Prof. John Mearsheimer: Israel Wants to Drag the US Into WAR With Iran, Ukraine Proxy War is LOST”
https://rumble.com/v4npq8r-prof.-john-mearsheimer-israel-wants-to-drag-the-us-into-war-with-iran-ukrai.html
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“In a very real way, the destruction of Gaza appears to be a moment in history where humanity is collectively mulling over whether it wants to keep behaving in a crazy, self-destructive way and continue along its trajectory into dystopia and toward self-inflicted extinction, or abandon this madness and push for something better. Whether it wants to keep buying into the lies and propaganda and tacitly consenting to the psychopathic murderousness of the powerful, or let the light of truth shine in.
A live-streamed genocide happening right out in the open forces a civilization to start asking questions about itself. If something like this can happen in plain view of everyone, and the people in charge not only do nothing but actively facilitate it, then you have to start wondering if everything about your entire nation is deranged, and if everything you’ve been told about the world is a lie.”
https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/gaza-asks-us-a-question-about-what
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“The IDF is increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence to mark Palestinians for death — innocent or not.”
https://original.antiwar.com/Will_Porter/2024/04/07/israel-lets-ai-decide-who-dies-in-gaza/
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“U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres reiterated his call for an “immediate humanitarian cease-fire, the unconditional release of all hostages, the protection of civilians, and the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid.””
https://www.commondreams.org/news/gaza-genocide-2667714326
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While it is compassionate and right and just to help free the Israeli hostages, we should also strive to mention and remind people of all the hostages that Israel has taken over the years including large numbers of children held in indefinite detention. When Hamas takes hostages, it is wrong. When Israel takes hostages and places them in indefinite detention, that is equally wrong.
One should remember that hostage taking is something both sides are very guilty of doing.
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/05/idf-admits-to-killing-elderly-hostage-on-october-7/
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“Surveys by two top news outlets find half of Israelis want early elections, most think government not doing enough to bring hostages back from Gaza”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/poll-71-think-netanyahu-should-resign-either-immediately-or-right-after-war/
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“Sunday is the six-month anniversary, and it seems this won’t be the war’s last six-month milestone; no one in Israel has any idea how to end the worst war in its history, whose costs are piling up at an alarming rate and whose benefits are negligible, nonexistent in fact. That is why we must muster the courage to say, after six months of calamities, that it would have been better had it not broken out.”
https://archive.is/5e4QI
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“After six months of apocalyptic war, Gaza today is a bunch of ‘kill zones’ within a larger kill zone.”
https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2024/4/5/gaza-is-one-big-kill-zone
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“Last week the Israelis scored a bloody “hat trick” — slaughtering seven international food aid workers, demolishing the last major hospital operating in Gaza, and — perhaps most dangerous — attacking an Iranian diplomatic facility in Damascus, Syria, in which several senior Iranian military figures were killed.”
https://original.antiwar.com/daniel-mcadams/2024/04/09/israel-is-crossing-all-boundaries-as-america-tires-of-its-endless-wars/
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“Historically, wars unite Israelis. Not anymore.
Not that Israelis do not agree with Benjamin Netanyahu’s war; they simply do not believe that the prime minister is the man who could win this supposedly existential fight.
But Netanyahu’s war remains unwinnable simply because liberation wars, often conducted through guerrilla warfare tactics, are far more complicated than traditional combat. Nearly six months after the Israeli attack on Gaza, it has become clear that Palestinian Resistance groups are durable and well-prepared for a much longer fight.
Netanyahu, supported by far-right ministers and an equally hardline Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, insists that more firepower is the answer. Though the unprecedented amount of explosives, used by Israel in Gaza, killed and wounded over 100,000 Palestinians, an Israeli victory, however it is defined, remains elusive.
So, what do Israelis want and, more precisely, what is their prime minister’s end-game in Gaza, anyway?”
https://original.antiwar.com/ramzy-baroud/2024/04/07/irremediable-defeat-on-israels-other-unwinnable-war/
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“I do not believe in coincidence. At a minimum it is unusual that for Special Operations Force veterans are running around working with humanitarian aid organizations. Were they doing intel collection using their WCK job as cover? That is what it looks like to me.”
https://sonar21.com/why-is-israel-trying-to-provoke-a-war-with-iran/
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Ignore the stories about what President Biden “feels,” be he angry or upset or sad — — — — this is all nonsense intended to distract and earn your sympathy. Instead judge him only on what he does.
“President Biden said on Friday that Israel was doing what he asked, signaling he has no plans to alter his policy of full-throated support for the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza despite the killing of an American citizen and six other workers for the World Central Kitchen.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/07/biden-says-israel-is-doing-what-he-asked-signaling-no-change-in-us-support/
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“More than half a million people have cast protest votes against President Biden’s support for the Israeli slaughter of Palestinians in Gaza in Democratic primaries across the country.”
https://news.antiwar.com/2024/04/08/more-than-500000-democratic-voters-protest-bidens-support-of-gaza-slaughter/
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“After the Israeli strike on Iran’s consulate in Syria, a ceasefire would go a long way at mitigating potential escalation points.”
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/biden-gaza-ceasefire/
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“Despite allegations of international law violations, administration keeps sending weapons to Tel Aviv.”
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/democrats-congress-israel-weapons/
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“If you want to do it as an application of law, I believe that they’ll find that it is genocide, and they have ample evidence to do so,” Warren said of the case before the ICJ.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/08/israel-gaza-war-elizabeth-warren-00151120
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“The Israeli government’s use of starvation as a weapon of war has proven deadly for children in Gaza.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/israel-starving-gaza-children
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“INTERNATIONAL — CODEPINK’s Ann Wright, Medea Benjamin and hundreds of other human rights activists with the Freedom Flotilla Coalition are due to set sail on multiple vessels in mid-April to carry 5,500 tons of aid for Gaza. Their mission, aside from delivering the much-needed humanitarian aid, is to challenge Israel’s illegal blockade of Gaza amid dire conditions, including widespread hunger and lack of medical attention intentionally caused by Israeli policies. Time is running out for many in Gaza as Israel threatens an all-out attack on Rafah and experts warn hunger and disease could soon surpass casualties from bombings.”
https://www.commondreams.org/newswire/codepinks-ann-wright-and-medea-benjamin-join-a-coalition-of-human-rights-activists-on-international-civilian-aid-flotilla-to-break-the-siege-of-gaza
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“The Palestinian people — not just Hamas — have been Israel’s intended targets all along."
https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/self-defense-genocide-gaza
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“The Central American nation laid formal charges against the Federal Republic at the International Court of Justice in The Hague on Monday, demanding Berlin stop arming Israel.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/04/08/watch-nicaragua-v-germany-on-genocide-complicity/
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“The U.S. defense secretary’s remarks came after Sen. Elizabeth Warren and other law experts around the world asserted that Israel’s Gaza onslaught meets the legal definition of genocide.”
https://www.commondreams.org/news/lloyd-austin-israel
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“From coast to coast, CODEPINK delegations protested at German diplomatic missions in support of Nicaragua’s case against Germany at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for complicity in Israel’s genocide that has killed or maimed over 100,000 Palestinians in Gaza.
On the first day of ICJ proceedings, April 8, 2024, in Nicaragua v. Germany, pickets and letter deliveries took place in DC, NYC, LA, Chicago, Boston, San Francisco, Houston, Miami and Seattle. Demonstrators echoed Nicaragua’s requests of the World Court to order Germany and the United States to stop supplying weapons to Israel. According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, the US supplies 69% of Israel’s arsenal; Germany supplies 30% of the weaponry.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/10/stop-us-german-arms-for-israels-genocide/
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“The United Nations has reported that 28 children have died of malnutrition and dehydration in Gaza thus far. The real total is likely much higher. More than one million people in Gaza face “catastrophic food insecurity,” and more than 50,000 children are acutely malnourished. In other words, the people of Gaza are starving. Without a dramatic influx of food, water, and medicine, many thousands more innocent men, women, and children will perish. This is morally unacceptable and must end NOW.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/10/aid-into-gaza-is-long-overdue-now-end-the-weapons-sales/
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“The anti-Arab racism that pervades modern Israel can be traced back to attitudes of old European imperialism, argued Lawrence Davidson in 2012, in this prescient forecast of today’s Israeli genocide.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/04/09/origins-of-israels-anti-arab-racism-2/
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Again, judge them by what they do not by what they say. Until a resolution with teeth passes, this is all just political hot air and showboating.
https://english.elpais.com/usa/2024-04-08/calls-to-suspend-military-aid-to-israel-gather-strength-among-us-democrats.html
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“The appeal to boycott the April 27 event says the White House’s support for Israel’s genocidal policies implicates it directly in the relentless targeting and massacring of journalists in Gaza.”
https://consortiumnews.com/2024/04/08/palestinian-journalists-urge-boycott-of-white-house-correspondents-dinner/
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“Of the many savvy media lies about Russia, the murky cases of Evan Gershkovich and Alsu Kurmasheva are exceptional in their dishonesty and deception. The goal is to incite more hatred of Russia.”
https://john365.substack.com/p/false-narratives-mislead-the-public
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“Western perceptions of Russia are based on propaganda wrapped in lies, inside mounds of disinformation. So, what’s the real Russia like? I went there to find out. The results were shocking.”
https://john365.substack.com/p/why-biden-doesnt-want-americans-to
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“Australia’s Defence Department has refused a Freedom of Information request about the details of an arms deal with Israel on the grounds that such information “could harm Australia’s international standing and reputation,” which suggests the details must be pretty damning. Equally as scandalous, this refusal was reportedly made in consultation with the Israeli government.”
https://substack.com/inbox/post/143404243
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“The occasional burst of candour from US diplomats provides a striking, air clearing difference to their Australian and British counterparts. Official statements about the AUKUS security pact between Washington, London and Canberra, rarely mention the target in so many words, except on the gossiping fringes. Commentators and think tankers are essentially given free rein to speculate, masticating over such streaky and light terms as “new strategic environment”, “great power competition”, “rules-based order”.”
https://www.counterpunch.org/2024/04/09/aukusing-for-war-the-real-target-is-china/
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“The U.S.’ growing urgency in ‘containing’ China’s development was thrown in sharp relief this week as Janet Yellen arrived in Beijing for what turned out to be an execrable beggar’s tour. Just days prior to her arrival, she had buzzed the punditry with her historically memorable exclamation that China was now operating at “overcapacity”(!!).”
https://simplicius76.substack.com/p/yellen-dispatched-to-beg-china-for
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“Promising reforms is the easiest way to perpetuate abuses in Washington.
For more than a decade, illegal federal-surveillance scandals have rocked the nation.
Unfortunately, the House of Representatives will likely vote this week to continue letting the feds secretly spy on American citizens for another five years.
Whistleblower Edward Snowden revealed in 2013 that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act had unleashed federal agencies to snoop on anyone they pleased, including anyone “searching the web for suspicious stuff.””
https://nypost.com/2024/04/08/opinion/congress-puts-more-nails-in-the-constitutional-coffin-as-its-set-to-renew-fisa/
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“A major reason for the delay is that al-Nashiri, like so many captives at Guantanamo, was subjected to secret imprisonment by the CIA as well as waterboarding, rectal abuse, and prolonged sleep deprivation. A previous judge at Guantanamo excluded the confessions of al-Nashiri and others because of CIA’s torture and abuse. U.S. prosecutors have asked the Court of Military Commissions to reinstate the confessions, and the rest of this year will be taken up with this issue at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. The new judge, Colonel Matthew Fitzgerald, is the fourth to preside in this case, and he was still in law school when the U.S.S. Cole was attacked and 9/11 took place.
The al-Nashiri case was particularly egregious because his interrogators found him to be compliant, but a senior CIA official ordered the reinstatement of torture and abuse to include waterboarding. The official also ordered the field operatives not to make “sweeping statements” in their cable traffic regarding compliance, which pointed to an effort at CIA headquarters to cover-up its misdeeds. “
Frederick Douglass: “I would unite with anybody to do right and with nobody to do wrong.”
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“In the past, in the interest of building a broad-based movement united for peace and non-interventionism, I have allied with everyone and anyone who also expressed a genuine interest in peacemaking and non-interventionism. This includes past antiwar alliances with everyone from pinkos to proud boys and anyone in between — — both groups I have allied with in the past — -not because I agreed with their ideologies because I don’t agree with either of them — -I do not approve of racism or Marxism, but I united with each solely in the interest of unity for peace and non-interventionism as a national policy. Ideology is not the point, unity is the point. Anyone who doesn’t like that I choose unity over ideology can kiss my mother-loving, big, chubby gay-bear, fat ass. Anyone can talk the talk about unity, but the real principled test is: can you walk the walk? My boots were made for walking, girl !!! <finger-snap with attitude>
Unite, Left and Right against the wars!!!
Wage Peace and Persevere!!!”
-Eric E. Johansson, Veterans for Peace, California
(also, please understand that although I have united with extremist-idealist factions in the past in the interest of unity against war, I am much more of a middle-of-the-road-realist as I think the economic class system represents the civilizational natural order for our species, although the gap between rich and poor should probably be narrowed through aggressive taxation upon corporations and individual persons too. Also, I do not have one racist or hateful bone in my body as my Asian husband, who is of half-Filipino and half-Chinese descent can attest. I don’t hate immigrants; I married one. He, like my Swedish grandfather, emigrated to the United States legally through the legal immigration channels that every person seeking to emigrate to this country should pursue. All those who simply violate the law by jumping the border, thus opting for not following the legal channels to obtain entry into the U.S., should be promptly arrested and deported, and treated more harshly with every repeat offense. Why should the U.S. honor the wishes of those who desire to emigrate if their very first act of entering the country is to first break the law by circumventing the legal guidelines for officially emigrating? One standard for all. Rule of Law. That is not racist, it is respectful of the Rule of Law. Prior to meeting my husband, I was most definitely an equal-opportunity sex lover who gleefully had fabulous sex with members of every race, color and creed — — hundreds of them, mostly men but not exclusively. My husband and I love to watch RuPaul’s Drag Race TV show too. I also play on a fabulous softball team as the pitcher in the very diverse, accepting and welcoming San Francisco Gay Softball League. I share all of this only to illustrate that who I am willing to unite in common cause with, does not in any way represent who I am as a person. Widespread, mass unity against perpetual war, against Empire and against growing national security state oppression is essential to preserve our commonly shared liberty and peace. We are all in this together so let’s get past the immature, ideological bullshit, come together and unite in common cause for our shared future together.)
Unite, Left and Right against the wars!!!
Unite, from pinkos to proud boys and everyone in between against the wars and against the Empire!! If peace is your priority, this should be no problem for you but if ideology is your priority, then the kind of unity I propose could be a problem for you. Drop the ideological bullshit and UNITE!!!
Wage Peace and Persevere!!!
https://www.unitedforpeace.org/
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“How could a weak, toothless central government that possessed no military largesse wage war or command a global Empire? It couldn’t, could it? Doesn’t having a smaller, more limited government also get us to a non-Imperialist, non-military interventionist place? Can people unite around non-interventionism alone? Just imagine for a moment the vast people power of a mass movement that could be harnessed by achieving a Left-Right loose alliance against war and Empire. Oh, the immense power it would wield.”
~Eric E. Johansson
(Is it arrogant to put my name next to some great people? Not really, they were just human beings and so am I, but please understand that I am actually much more middle-of-the-road because I find both sides (the more public services argument or the limited government argument) to both be legitimate arguments worthy of consideration and that is why I ask the question above because I think it is a question that more Progressives should ask. But as for myself, my inner stars shine brightly Progressive yet I still bear strong Libertarian stripes. This rather nationalist, flag-oriented reference may sound silly to some but it perfectly encapsulates how I see myself as a principled patriot realist doing my duty to my country and to our world.
Unite, Left and Right against the wars!!!
Wage Peace and Persevere!!!
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“Overgrown military establishments are under any form of government inauspicious to liberty, and are to be regarded as particularly hostile to republican liberty.”
~George Washington
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“Of all the evils to public liberty, war is perhaps the most to be dreaded, because it comprises and develops every other. War is the patent of armies; from these proceed debts and taxes. And armies, and debts, and taxes, are the known instruments for bringing the many under the dominion of the few. In war, too, the discretionary power of the executive is extended; its influence in dealing out offices, honors, and emoluments is multiplied; and all the means of seducing the minds are added to those of subduing the force of the people! No nation could preserve its freedom in the midst of continual warfare.”
~James Madison
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“It is the responsibility of intellectuals to speak the truth and expose lies.”
— Noam Chomsky
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https://honeste.wordpress.com/2011/01/09/websites-to-help-you-stay-informed/
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Daily news podcasts to help you stay informed:
Alexander Mercouris
https://www.youtube.com/c/AlexanderMercourisReal?app=desktop
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The Duran on YouTube with Alexander Christoforou and Alexander Mercouris:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdeMVChrumySxV9N1w0Au-w
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Brian Berletic at The New Atlas on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/c/thenewatlas
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Scott Ritter on Substack:
https://substack.com/profile/96369147-scott-ritter
https://www.scottritterextra.com/
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Danny Haiphong:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOxLhz6B_elvLflntSEfnzA
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Colonel Douglass MacGregor on Youtube:
(He has many meaningful, insightful, analytical things to say based on a deep understanding of military matters from his many years of experience in the military — — -but just prepare to dismiss a few of his other dog-whistle comments that he offers which he utters to appeal to a particular Conservative base — — just as the Liberals do to rally their base too — — -so just roll your eyeballs and ignore those few silly comments — — — because most of his analysis and insights and experiences are rich in detail, in fact-based analysis and said bluntly and directly.
Very refreshing indeed!! Bravo, Colonel !!!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCFqPvxUg163ZEz1vyxhVDXw
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“Our Country Our Choice is more than just a people’s movement; it’s a media platform as well. My vision was straightforward: identify over 10 million like-minded Americans and create the most extensive group of American activists ever assembled. Our mission is to inform every American about the importance of choosing decision-makers who will put an end to the intentional sabotage of our beloved nation and start serving us, the American people.”
https://ourcountryourchoice.com/
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Andy Boreham
“China is a complicated place, and there is definitely a lot of content out there that I don’t think accurately or fairly represents this huge country of 1.4 billion.
https://www.youtube.com/c/reportsonchina/about
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Dong Sheng news on China:
https://dongshengnews.org/en/news-on-china/
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Garland Nixon:
https://www.youtube.com/@garlandn
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Seymour Hersh on Substack
https://seymourhersh.substack.com/
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Chris Hedges on Substack:
https://chrishedges.substack.com/
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Niko House on Rokfin
https://rokfin.com/Niko?content=NEW
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Caitlin Johnstone on Substack:
https://substack.com/profile/14779628-caitlin-johnstone
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Aaron Mate on Substack:
https://mate.substack.com/
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David Sacks:
https://twitter.com/DavidSacks
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Lee Fang on Substack:
https://leefang.substack.com/
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Patrick Lawrence on Substack
https://thescrum.substack.com/
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Jeffrey Sachs:
https://www.jeffsachs.org/
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Former Army Colonel Daniel Davis:
https://www.youtube.com/@DanielDavisDeepDive/videos
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Breaking points with Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti
https://www.youtube.com/c/breakingpoints
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“But she goes not abroad, in search of monsters to destroy.
She is the well-wisher to the freedom and independence of all”
~John Quincy Adams
https://responsiblestatecraft.org/
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Lev Golinkin on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFhqe9nwfA4
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Matt Tabibi on Substack (Racket News):
https://www.racket.news/
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Big Serge on Substack:
https://bigserge.substack.com/
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Simplicius on Substack:
https://simplicius76.substack.com/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=substack_profile
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Larry Johnson, former CIA Analyst at Sonar21:
https://sonar21.com/
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Ray McGovern, former CIA Analyst:
https://raymcgovern.com/
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Mark Sleboda:
https://substack.com/profile/38224488-mark-sleboda
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Richard Medhurst on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCB1u_wJThc3_e5J4VVj7hQQ
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Nick Cruse of the Revolutionary Blackout Network:
https://www.youtube.com/@socialistmma8321/videos
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George Galloway on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/@GeorgeGallowayOfficial
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Mikael Valtersson
~Former officer Swedish Armed Forces/Air Defence, former defence politician and chief of staff Sweden Democrats. Current political and military analyst.
https://twitter.com/MikaelValterss1?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor
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Alex Reporterfy
https://www.youtube.com/c/reporterfymedia
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Although I typically shy away and generally distrust most, if not all, televised corporate media, I must admit that recently on foreign policy issues, Tucker Carlson of Fox has been tickling my fancy. Now that Fox has fired him, I encourage everyone to stop watching Fox altogether. But Tucker’s past range of guests included figures from the anti-Establishment Left and Right and many voices in between giving access and airtime to a wider audience which only helps spread our message of peace and justice to a broader audience more quickly so kudos to Tucker for that. It is good to see some of our anti-Establisment views find a venue in the public space even one decidedly more to the Right.
You can now find Tucker Carlson on Twitter, see link below. — — Great job Tucker, keep socking it to them. I hope you and your attorneys keep fighting like hell against the Establishment. I hope your attorneys fight to allow you to speak freely until at least the year 2025 and hopefully much longer than that too.
https://twitter.com/TuckerCarlson
https://tuckercarlson.com/
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On Tucker’s eventual return, so kudos to him and to Elon Musk backing him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NFxBWu5A114&feature=youtu.be
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Glenn Greenwald on Rumble: (Listening to Glenn Greenwald is quite an enthralling experience. I can’t figure out what moves faster, his brain or his mouth as he delivers rich, detailed analysis replete with razor-sharp logic on topics of substance and depth, delivered with perfect spoken diction, colorful language and mesmerizing eloquence. I am left flabbergasted in sheer delight every time I listen to him speak. Utterly dazzling!!! And he is a fellow sister with a heritage in the tribe too which I also find endearing.
https://rumble.com/c/GGreenwald
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“The remedy for speech that is false is speech that is true. This is the ordinary course in a free society. The response to the unreasoned is the rational; to the uninformed, the enlightened; to the straight-out lie, the simple truth … If there be time to expose through discussion the falsehood and fallacies, to avert the evil by the processes of education, the remedy to be applied is more speech, not enforced silence. The theory of our Constitution is that the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market . . . The First Amendment itself ensures the right to respond to speech we do not like, and for good reason. Freedom of speech and thought flows not from the beneficence of the state but from the inalienable rights of the person … Society has the right and civic duty to engage in open, dynamic, rational discourse.”
– United States v. Alvarez, 567 U.S. 709, 724 (2012).
