The Weekly Watch

Round and Round We Go

or

Deja Vu All Over Again

This week I want to focus on the myriad of cycles in which we live and interact. When I first thought of this topic, my idea was the cycle of seasons, the carbon cycle and its balance of photosynthesis and respiration, the slow geologic gyre of the rock cycle and soil formation, the phase changes of the water cycle, the chemical cycles like nitrogen which orchestrate a dance between the atmosphere, soils, and biosphere, and so on...all natural processes on which we depend for stability of the ecosystem. However, as the week progressed I couldn't help but think back to my youth and the Vietnam war. I fear our immanent invasion of Venezuela will be like multiplying the Vietnam and Iraq fiascos...and then squaring it. With the appointment of Elliot Abrams it really is deja vu all over again.


So the US is about to start another illegal war...in our hemisphere. It is a bad idea....a very bad idea. Can you say unforeseen consequences? Not to mention the simple immorality of the situation. American demockracy...just declare our puppet to be the president of other countries and threaten any country which doesn't acquiesce with debilitating sanctions. Meanwhile we amass arms and troops in Columbia...now a NATO country. Brazil is applying to become a NATO member and Israel has already sent troops there to assist with Brazil's invasion of Venezuela. Additionally US troops and arms are being shipped into Puerto Rico and other locations in the Caribbean.

I heard several good recaps this week. One of the best was from Venezuela’s Foreign Minister Jorge Arreaza...“The US is in Front of the Coup Attempt, not Behind it”

This is the first time in the history of Latin America that the spokespersons of the United States government, from its highest levels, confess that they are in front of the coup, that they are leading it, not behind it. Usually you have to wait 50 years for documents to be declassified by the CIA, etc., which show that the United Stated was behind the coup all along. No, this time they are in front of it. They are giving order to the Venezuelan opposition. They are giving orders to the right-wing governments around the world, so that there would be a military coup in Venezuela.

https://therealnews.com/stories/venezuelas-foreign-minister-the-us-is-in... (video or text)

Venezuela’s foreign minister and his counterparts from 16 countries including China and Russia formed a group calling for self-determination, equality, and non-intervention at the UN
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mFEpsOGR1bo (3:45 min)

George Galloway had a righteous rant about the situation. He also warned against an Iraq invasion. Let's hope they listen this time. (23 min)


EDIT: freshly posted.

Jimmy and the gang take on the issue of Venezuela and media hypocrisy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duQ_oxPFIAA (20 min)

EDIT AGAIN
to add this newly posted interview with Jimmy and Aaron Mate who is in Venezuela
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq7ngZgzU-k (32 min)

Most EU countries have gone along with our coup, but there are efforts to stop the process. A recent study conducted by the German parliament’s independent scientific research service found that international recognition of the self-proclaimed “interim president” Juan Guaidó probably constitutes a violation of international law. We discuss the study’s implications with Andrej Hunko, who commissioned the study - (video or text)
https://therealnews.com/stories/does-recognition-of-parallel-govt-in-ven...

However to add insult to injury, Elliot Abrams convicted war criminal is to lead the coup.

Elliott Abrams is a right-wing hawk who was convicted in 1991 for lying to Congress during the Iran-Contra scandal, but he was later pardoned by President George H.W. Bush. Abrams defended Guatemalan dictator General Efraín Ríos Montt as he oversaw a campaign of mass murder and torture of indigenous people in Guatemala in the 1980s. Ríos Montt was later convicted of genocide. Abrams was also linked to the 2002 coup in Venezuela that attempted to topple Hugo Chávez. We look at Abrams’s track record with prize-winning investigative journalist Allan Nairn, who has closely tracked Abrams for over three decades.

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/1/30/allan_nairn_trump_s_venezuela_envoy

So, again, you have Elliott Abrams, somebody who’s a certifiable criminal against humanity, meeting with formerly visibly violent youth, who are now suited and tied, and meeting with Nancy Pelosi, meeting with Trump administration officials, meeting with presidents of Colombia, meeting in Europe, getting human rights prizes. I mean, this is—I teach at UCLA. I teach a class in media. And I’m just getting a cornucopia of manufactured consent, because I can’t think of a clear example, when you have Elliott Abrams talking about democracy with—in terms of youth that is known to be linked to extreme and even terrorist elements, if you’re talking about somebody like a young man named Lorent Saleh—S-A-L-E-H. You can see him on YouTube. Lorent Saleh is out there meeting with presidents, with—he just met with Álvaro Uribe, a man who’s—we don’t need to tell you, Amy—you know, 10,000 people were killed, according to a report, by Álvaro Uribe’s government in Colombia, but there was no invasion. So, Saleh is out there meeting. But if you look on YouTube, you can find videos where he was caught plotting assassination attempts, plotting bombings, plotting all manner of what we, in this context, would call a terrorist—terrorist actions. So, this is the kind of manufactured consent we have going on right now.

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2/14/roberto_lovato_elliott_abrams_is_...
(video or text)
For more about manufacturing consent see
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnrBQEAM3rE (2:47 full length film from 1992)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTBWfkE7BXU&pbjreload=10 (9 min excerpt)

So in the meantime it appears Elliot's old friends which helped with the Iran-Contra arms shipments, the very same company, is at it again in Venezuela

...he was lying to cover up the fact that the Reagan administration had an operation, which he was part of, an operation led by Oliver North, to supply arms to the U.S.-created Nicaraguan Contras to commit aggression against Nicaragua, to invade Nicaragua and go after those soft targets, what the U.S. General Galvin described as “soft targets.” But they were doing that illegally at the time, because Congress had prohibited the U.S. from doing that, but the Reagan administration and Abrams and his colleagues just decided to ignore the legal mandate of Congress and go underground.

The Boeing 767 is owned by a company called 21 Air based in Greensboro, North Carolina. The plane had made nearly 40 round-trip flights between Miami and spots in Venezuela and Colombia since January 11, the day after Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro was sworn in to a second term. The flights ended after McClatchy first reported on them.

McClatchy reports the chairman of 21 Air, Adolfo Moreno, as well as another employee at the company have ties to Gemini Air Cargo, which was involved in the CIA’s rendition program during the administration of George W. Bush. In 2006, Amnesty International identified Gemini as a front company that had authorization to land on U.S. military bases worldwide.

The CIA has a long history of running front companies for covert actions. Most famously, the CIA ran a front airline called Air America, which operated from 1950 to 1976. In the ’80s, a CIA front company called Southern Air Transport was used to send arms to the U.S.-backed Contras in Nicaragua.

https://www.democracynow.org/2019/2/13/venezuela_accuses_us_of_secretly_...
Like I said it really is deja vu all over again...

flag_1.jpg

War is Brewing

The Venezuelan government seems to be openly preparing to face a US military invasion.

On February 10, the country’s military kicked off large-scale military drills, which will run until February 15. According to President Nicolas Maduro, the drills are set to become the biggest ones the country has held in its 200-year history.

On the same day, multiple air defense systems, including Pechora-2M launchers, were spotted maneuvering in the area of San Cristobal, near the border with Columbia, an expected member of the US-led coalition in the event of invasion in Venezuela.

On February 7, Israel’s satellite company ImageSat International released a satellite image, allegedly showing that the Venezuelan military was releasing its S-300VN air defense system from mothballs in Captain Manuel Rios Airbase on February 4.

Separately, President Maduro announced the setting up of 50,000 “popular defence units” and promised that the US will get a South American “Vietnam War” if it decides to invade.

https://alethonews.com/2019/02/12/u-s-is-setting-ground-for-military-int... (includes a 4 min video)

Wouldn't it be nice if we really did care about what the Venezuelan people want?
Citizens of Venezuela wait in line to sign a petition denouncing U.S. imperialism.
https://therealnews.com/stories/in-caracas-ordinary-venezuelans-speak-to...

So as we leave the subject of Venezuela I think about all our foreign military successes in this century alone. Why there's Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Somalia and much of Africa, not to mention our coups in Brazil, Honduras, and coming soon in Venezuela and Nicaragua.

When you think about the way this litany of war was sold, it is pretty damning. The war in Vietnam was to keep communism from spreading. If Vietnam fell, there would be a domino effect (which of course did not happen). After 9-11 we had to get Al Qaeda and somehow they morphed into the Taliban to insure a forever war. Then there was Saddam and his non-existent WMDs, yet the real reason was he was selling his oil in euros and driving up its value against the dollar. And Qaddafi, he had the audacity of telling the Saudi royals they licked the boots of the US, plus he wanted to start an African gold based currency to challenge the dollar. He had to go! Libya worked out well because we were able to abscond with many weapons which we sent to Syria to foment that war (thanks $hill and Obomber). After all Assad wouldn't let the Kuwaiti-Saudi pipeline go through his country. We simply use profit to justify the catastrophe in Yemen. We're making lots of money selling all those weapons!

Time and time again we are lied into war. Somehow they sell the opposite idea that we are spreading peace and demockracy around the world. Round and round...

...and so it's been since my youthful memories of Vietnam.


Though it isn't really war, We're sending fifty thousand more,
To help save Viet nam from Viet Namese.

There is an Emergency
So as our dictator declares a national Trumpergency, he accuses the elected president of Venezuela of being a dictator, and evidently sits ready to create war to obtain the national resources of another country. This was business as usual 100 years ago with America...and it still is...deja vu.

Now during most of human history, the US would just be another empire in decline...another iteration of civilization. However, the collapse of the climate adds urgency to the endless cycle of capital and war. Now this is an emergency, a global emergency...and kids have figured it out!

Thousands of school and university students have gone 'on strike' from school as part of a global movement calling for action on climate change. The Youth Strike 4 Climate protests, inspired by Swedish teen Greta Thunberg's solo demonstrations, took place in more than 60 towns and cities across the UK. Organisers said they want the Government to declare a climate emergency and take decisive steps to tackle the issue, including drastic reforms to environmental policy and education.
A second round of strikes is due to be held on March 15.

https://www.itv.com/news/2019-02-15/thousands-of-students-go-on-strike-f... (text and 2.5 min clip)

Until now 75% of the participants have been schoolchildren but increasing numbers of university students are joining. Luisa Neubauer, a 22-year-old, was among those invited to talk to senior cabinet officials. She told the German minister of economy that he was part of the problem because he was working for industry, rather than for people or the planet.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/feb/15/the-beginning-of-gre...

British PM says that the children on school strike are “wasting lesson time”. That may well be the case. But then again, political leaders have wasted 30 yrs of inaction. And that is slightly worse.

https://twitter.com/GretaThunberg/status/1096428372547260416

climate strike.jpg

It is not like we haven't abused the planet. Human history is a tale of use and abuse, but it is also a tale of stewardship by some societies and cultures. And the topic of caring for the land, each other, and our fellow creatures has been my primary focus of this column recently.

food forest web_0.jpg

Perhaps forests tell the story the best. John Perlin's book "A Forest Journey" is an excellent and thought provoking read....

As we proceed to demolish the last great forests on Earth in the tropics of both Africa and America, it is easy to believe this catastrophic event is a novelty. True enough, the global congruence of overpopulation, industrialism and deforestation are novel, but it is equally apparent that history has much to say about the symbiosis of civilization and its forests.

As difficult as it is to imagine today, most of what is now the "civilized world" was forest land prior to its conversion for human purposes. Dense stands of ancient Atlas cedar once blanketed the now-barren mountains and hills of northern Africa. Cedars of Lebanon--the source of timber for Solomon's ships--as well as oak and pine once forested the Holy Land and upper drainages of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; today these areas are mostly desert or scrub.

The dry, rocky, picturesque hills of Greece, Italy and Madeira, now barely productive enough for grape vines, were once blanketed not only with forests, but with fertile soils. Their rivers were deep and clear, flowing throughout the year, not the droughty arroyos seasonally inundated with silt-laden torrents that characterize the Mediterranean region today. Their very coastlines are altered. Soil washed from the slopes has come to rest in river deltas, extending once sharply defined shorelines far out into marshy shallows and destroying ancient harbors.

John Perlin's new book, "A Forest Journey," is like some Greek epic poem spanning 4,000 years of civilization. The refrain is inevitably tragic. It begins with the "Epic of Gilgamesh" about 2000 BC. Gilgamesh penetrated the primordial cedar forest in the mountains south of Mesopotamia to acquire timber necessary for building his city-state of Uruk. According to Perlin, the "Epic" recounts droughts that plagued southern Mesopotamia in the aftermath of deforestation. Subsequently, during the heyday of Sumerian civilization, ships carried oak from Arabia, cedar from Turkey, juniper and sycamore from Syria to the city-states of Lagash and Ur.

http://articles.latimes.com/1989-09-03/books/bk-2322_1_forest-journey

Here's a link with numerous excerpts -
http://energyskeptic.com/2018/perlin-a-forest-journey-the-story-of-wood-...

deforestation.jpg

Forest are the sponge absorbing rain and stabilizing soil. As we deforested our planet we have allowed soil to erode creating a water pollution problem and robbing its fertility in the process.

"Conquest of the Land through 7,000 Years" is Dr. Lowdermilk's personal report of a study he made in 1938 and 1939.Despite changes in names of countries, in political boundaries, and in conservation technology, the bulletin still has significance for all peoples concerned with maintaining and improving farm production.Dr. Lowdermilk studied the record of agriculture in countries where the land had been under cultivation for hundreds, even thousands, of years. His immediate mission was to find out if the experience of these older civilizations could help in solving the serious soil erosion and land use problems in the United States, then struggling with repair of the Dust Bowl and the Sullied South.He discovered that soil erosion, deforestation, overgrazing, neglect, and conflicts between cultivators and herdsman have helped topple empires and wipe out entire civilizations. At the same time, he learned that careful stewardship of the earth's resources, through terracing, crop rotation, and other soil conservation measures, has enabled other societies to flourish for centuries.

https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/stelprdb1043789.pdf
(full SCS pamphlet from the 40's)

Professor King's manuscript is the writing of a well−trained observer who went forth not to find diversion or to depict scenery and common wonders, but to study the actual conditions of life of agricultural peoples. We in North America are wont to think that we may instruct all the world in agriculture, because our agricultural wealth is great and our exports to less favored peoples have been heavy; but this wealth is great because our soil is fertile and new, and in large acreage for every person. We have really only begun to farm well. The first condition of farming is to maintain fertility. This condition the oriental peoples have met, and they have solved it in their way. We may never adopt particular methods, but we can profit vastly by their experience. With the increase of personal wants in recent time. the newer countries may never reach such density of population as have Japan and China; but we must nevertheless learn the first lesson in the conservation of natural resources, which are the resources of the land. This is the message that Professor King brought home from the East.

https://permaculturenews.org/files/farmers_of_forty_centuries.pdf (118 page book)

A major influence in my approach to agriculture comes from Japan.

This 1975 documentary shows interviews of the then 65 year old farmer-philosopher, who shares his techniques behind his farming success, and the philosophy that underpins it all. "The ultimate purpose of farming is not the cultivation of crops, but the cultivation and perfection of the human being"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HveaqQy9hUc (9.5 min)
...and another 9 min piece from '75
Masanobu Fukuoka wrote "The One Straw Revolution," about his philosophy and the Four Principles of Natural Farming: no cultivation; no chemical fertilizer or prepare compost; no weeding by tillage and herbicides; and no dependence on chemicals. Even though his methods require less labor, it can result in higher yields for your farm or garden. To learn more, visit www.onestrawrevolution.net.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSKSxLHMv9k (9 min)

Earth's various cycles are interlinked in a way so that the Earth, the planet itself, acts like a system...The Gaia Hypothesis.

The idea is to learn from natural cycles. That is also at the heart of permaculture.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOrW_SyDLpA (6 min)
Geoff discusses the design techniques they teach in their workshops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ctkh1nkwcE (3.5 min)

cycles.jpg

Once you get caught in the cycle it is difficult to escape. We seem caught in an endless cycle of war largely focused on extracting evermore fossil fuels that we burn into gases which have carried us to the edge of extinction. I caught this worthwhile TEDx talk about workers coops the other day. In his talk this systems engineer discusses upward versus downward cycles. He claimed if you can change the direction of just one component in the cycle it will spiral the other way. Let's hope young Greta represents that change in direction and we begin to flow in a constructive rather than destructive pattern.

I look forward to your ideas, stories, and comments below.

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I just want to change this extraction war cycle.

Thanks Lookout!

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Lookout's picture

@QMS

The war machine has us...ruling both parties.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
i don't need your war machines ...

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Lookout's picture

@UntimelyRippd

The Guess Who released the cuttingly sarcastic riff-rocker "American Woman," which, given its anti-American putdowns, ironically became their only U.S. chart-topper.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNnW719rQiU (5 min American woman)
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-guess-who-mn0000061480/biography

Glad you came by!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
perform at the White House (tricia nixon was a fan, and dick was a loving and indulgent father). though AW was their only US number 1, they were very commercially successful in the states, with several top 10 hits.

supposedly it originated as an onstage off-the-cuff jam that they came up with after returning from an american tour that had opened their eyes to the disturbing cultural differences between their home and the imperial power to the south.

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The earth is a multibillion-year-old sphere.
The Nazis killed millions of Jews.
On 9/11/01 a Boeing 757 (AA77) flew into the Pentagon.
AGCC is happening.
If you cannot accept these facts, I cannot fake an interest in any of your opinions.

Lookout's picture

@UntimelyRippd

Thanks!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

While I am concerned about Venezuela and definitely don't want to see the USA fighting there or subverting their politics, I am much more concerned about Trump waving a magic wand and ruling by fiat, assuming the powers of Congress by chanting the magic incantation "emergency at the border" and riling as a dictator. Apparently we have gone down the path of the Imperial Presidency, that we don't even care and the Constitution is indeed as Bush II said "just a goddamned piece of paper."

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I've seen lots of changes. What doesn't change is people. Same old hairless apes.

Lookout's picture

@The Voice In the Wilderness @The Voice In the Wilderness

Appointing a puppet in another country and successfully pressuring other countries to support him? Compared to the wall, I find war a more serious problem.

T-rump is horrid, but the war machine that controls almost every politician of both parties seems worse to me. However I appreciate your point and it illustrates the fact that the constitution is not our guiding document...the dollar is.

Thanks for reading.

Edit to add...
you might appreciate this link in video or text
https://therealnews.com/stories/trump-declares-an-imperial-presidency-pa...

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout @Lookout @Lookout @Lookout
which speaks to that truth about those "machines" that never stop running no matter whomever is elected to the Presidency and considering his history with the CIA before his whistle blowing about the CIA waterboarding people got him two and a half years in prison by Obama (no torturers prosecuted) he is a good source for this observation.

"...Presidents Come and Go

I was a member of that “Deep State” throughout my 15 years at the CIA. I can tell you from first-hand experience that the CIA doesn’t care who the president is. Neither does the FBI. Senior CIA and FBI officers are there for decades, while presidents come and go. They know that they can outwait any president they don’t like. At the very least, at the CIA, they could made administrative decisions that would hamstring a president: Perhaps they don’t carry out that risky operation. Maybe they don’t target that well-placed source. Maybe they ignore the president’s orders knowing that in four years or eight years he or she will just go away.
Even worse, these same organizations—the FBI and the CIA—are the ones that have sought to undermine our democracy over the years. Don’t forget programs like COINTELPRO, the FBI’s operation to force Martin Luther King Jr. to commit suicide; the infiltration of peace groups; the CIA’s efforts to control the media with Operation Mockingbird; the CIA’s illegal spying on American citizens; the CIA hacking into the computers of the Senate Intelligence Committee; and the Agency’s extrajudicial assassination program; to name a few.

McCabe’s almost offhanded comments on “60 Minutes,” that the FBI actively considered deposing a sitting president should be cause for alarm. Set partisan politics aside for a moment. We’re talking about deposing a sitting president. We’re talking about wearing a wireto catch a sitting president saying something because you’re angry that he fired your boss. Even the idea of it is unprecedented in American history...."
https://consortiumnews.com/2019/02/16/the-fbi-came-close-to-staging-a-coup

One last point, when film maker and Vietnam vet, Oliver Stone interviewed Vladimir Putin and asked him about all the claims being made after the election of tRump that he "colluded with him" to help get him elected he got a slight chuckle in response before Putin said (paraphrasing)'it doesn't matter who gets elected because the President of the Country may change but the policies towards Russia never change.
That interview is well worth watching and it took some time to get it done because Putin has a very busy schedule every day so it took, if I remember it correctly, six visits starting well before the 2016 election and the last one afterwards.
However when I saw Oliver Stone was going to be on the Stephen Colbert nighttime talk show I found a clip of the interview online (I don't get that channel nor do I want it) and it was the epitome of faux liberalism, with Colbert making jokes attacking the interview and then asked Oliver Stone irrelevant rhetorical questions to which Stone asked one question of Colbert, did you watch the interview? "No" was the answer which was true with the (few) other msm channels that interviewed Oliver Stone over that interview with Putin.

One interview on RT was very good and the transcript is provided below the video.
SS: But if you say no one elected gets to change the system. Does it even matter who you vote for in the US?

OS: Well, that’s what Mr. Putin says at the end of the interview. He says he’s been through four [American] presidents. And I asked him “what’s changed?” and he said “basically, nothing”. So he’s indicating that there’s a bureaucracy. He called it a bureaucracy, in America they call it a ‘deep state’. A bureaucracy that has been resistant to change. Certainly, the policies towards Russia in the United States have for the most part been highly negative since 1917, since the revolution, when President Wilson sent American troops to Siberia to join the British expeditionary force. "

https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/411832-putin-interview-stone-russia/

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Lookout's picture

@aliasalias

Kiriakou, Binny, McGovern, Snowden, Assange ... these are the heroes of our day.

Oliver Stone's Putin interview is well worth the time....as is his untold history of the US

I also like the comic book "Addicted to War" (where you can read the 2004 edition)

I think you made many excellent points....thanks for the Kiriakou article.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout @Lookout @Lookout is among my bookmarks because I've shared them so many times I don't want to look them up each time.
Fwiw I thought I'd add a link to the interview of Putin itself which I find has so many particularly interesting parts like Putin's comments about Ed Snowden as they are going down the road with Putin driving (he likes to drive) but another jewel is when Putin is asked about the film "Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb".
Vladimir had never seen it, then Oliver Stone produces a dvd of it and as they watched it the camera quite often went to Putin's face as he watched it which was interesting in itself and after it's over Oliver Stone gives him film, which turns into a funny incident.
As Putin was leaving the room he stopped at the door and turns around with a smile as he calls it "a typical American present", a nice shiny package " but empty" when you open it. Oliver had apparently forgotten to put the DVD in the case, for which he quickly apologized.
That drew a laugh from everyone.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvlKSbYkTXI

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travelerxxx's picture

@aliasalias

... when film maker and Vietnam vet, Oliver Stone interviewed Vladimir Putin and asked him about all the claims being made after the election of tRump that he "colluded with him" to help get him elected he got a slight chuckle in response before Putin said (paraphrasing) it doesn't matter who gets elected because the President of the Country may change but the policies towards Russia never change.

When I watched Oliver Stone's Showtime "The Putin Interviews," the segment I remember most clearly is when Stone questioned him regarding his preference in the (then) upcoming U.S. presidential election. The essence of a "deep state," or whatever you want to call it suddenly became crystal clear to me when Putin answered Stone's presidential choice query, "It doesn't matter. Nothing changes." For some reason - maybe just the sad look on Putin's face when he said it - it finally sank in. Putin was right; completely right.

Anyone who missed "The Putin Interviews" when Showtime originally aired them needs to do themselves a favor and go find them and watch them. If you have to, purchase them. I suspect the day is coming when they may be unavailable ... at the rate we're going with the neo-McCarthyism, possibly even illegal to possess.

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Lookout's picture

....at the UN security council. (9 min)

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9rFd1RvncI]

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Deja's picture

@Lookout
As I read your excellent essay, I wondered when we'd get around to spreading peace and demockracy to Bolivia. They have lithium, and are icky socialists, supposedly.

They also have a 4th branch of government for elections that should make any politician here shudder. No electronic machines with executable code in order to manipulate. Our own Alex O(?), explained that the paper ballots are all counted on site, in public view, by citizens determined by lottery. Regular citizens do the management and counting. Everyone participates.

Yeah, gotta knock that type of above board, inclusive, transparency nonsense out! Bonus: lithium.

Side note: We're going to destroy more forests in our bloodlust in Venezuela, like in Central America. Water too.

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Deja's picture

@Deja
But of course they are. I guess we'll get the same bullshit lie that they are allowed to defend themselves from rockets? Because we know they never, ever are the aggressors. /s

[Forgot to mention this in my original comment.]

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Lookout's picture

@Deja

Like Bolton's line "the troika of tyranny".

And your right about the forest. Bolsonaro, the CIA assisted fascist in Brazil has already announced the Amazon is open for exploit.

Good to "see" you this Sunday. Hope all is well.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

detroitmechworks's picture

Sometimes I wish I could just buy a nice greek island that nobody cares about and start planting trees.

Speaking of cycles, I've always found it interesting that Empires always think they are the one that will unite the world and rule for all time... Right up to the point when they're begging the barbarians to join them because they need the labor and troops...

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CHatn3_UxEU]

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I do not pretend I know what I do not know.

Lookout's picture

@detroitmechworks

...but given Greece's economic situation your might get one cheap.

Thanks for the talking heads, and dropping by. Hope the collar bone is healing well!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mimi's picture

I wanted the lyrics.
[video:https://youtu.be/NczfHFX5vCc]

Best teacher evah... you ... so grateful ... off to continue reading more.
Hope you are well and your garden soil is happy.
Enjoy the Sunday.

PS ... may be a couple of thousands come your way to save America from the Americans. It looks like 50000 wouldn't be necessary. A few good men would do and you have them among yourself. I just wait and see and hope, but they'll come. I am sure of it. The kids won't allow anything else, but saving their future.

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Lookout's picture

@mimi

I thought about posting the lyrics but the essay seemed a little long as is. Thanks for your inclusion of them.

Hope all is well on your side of the pond. Saw where Merkel intends to pursue the pipeline from Russia...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnXbcYKEdYk (4 min)

I hope she will reject the Venezuelan coup which she presently supports.

All the best on your side of the pond!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mimi's picture

@Lookout @Lookout @Lookout @Lookout
to Venezuela It is not one of her priorities on her to-do list, hm hmm /s... Heiko Maas, Minister of Foreign Affairs, voiced support for Guiado. Lame, lamer, lamest Social Democrats over here as well.

Everybody is talking about the withdrawal from the INF treaty. The Munich Security Conference has brought the new world disorder on the stage for all clear to see. I think Germans feel very insecure these days. And fear is never a good guide. Latest polls in Germany say that over 70 percent of Germans are very critical against the US. No suprise. The Americans like Pence now dictate what the Germans have to do. Not so fast... commander Pence.

I think there is a deal being negotiated behind the curtains about the pipeline: It's the Minister of Commerce and Trade, Peter Altmaier, who is behind dealings with the American US-Vize-Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette, not only about the pipeline but also about LNG liquid gas deliveries to Germany (the terminals where these cargo ships will dock on near Hamburg are in the process of being built (sigh)). So no worries, we are always the Good Germans and know how to behave and please Uncle Sam...

Actually I think Germans are a bit upset these days.

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Lookout's picture

@mimi

Tulsi is taking it on too
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCwAAqBWWiI (6 min)

The risk of nuclear catastrophe is greater than ever before, and Trump’s decision to pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty heightens the danger of a nuclear holocaust. It will spark a new nuclear arms race, undermine our national security and divert precious resources away from the domestic programs to serve our people and communities. This INF Treaty Compliance Act (H.R. 1249) will ensure that our country remains compliant with the INF Treaty and prevent a single taxpayer dollar from being used for weapons that would breach the treaty. This is one step Congress can and must take now toward national security and peace. More from Tulsi Gabbard: https://www.tulsi2020.com

Thanks for the update!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

mimi's picture

@Lookout

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magiamma's picture

Thanks for the news. Viet Nam all over again. Indeed.

From Democracy Now interview with Allen Nairn...

And this is done in the context of a deeply corrupt Guatemalan government that is, at that moment, trying to amend the laws of Guatemala so that all the convicted war criminals can be freed from jail. With the support of President Trump at this moment and with key outside support from President Netanyahu of Israel, who is lobbying the Trump administration on their behalf, and with Mike Pence acting as the point man, the current Guatemalan government is trying not only to free the war criminals from jail, but also to shut down all of the prosecutors within Guatemala, some of them U.N.-backed prosecutors with an institution called CICIG, who have been prosecuting President Morales of Guatemala himself and other oligarchs and military people for corruption. They’re trying to throw the—in some cases, throw the prosecutors out of the country; in other cases, fire them; and in all cases, strip away their police protection so they are standing there defenseless in the face of the mafias and drug dealers and corrupt politicians and oligarchs they’re trying to prosecute—all of this now being backed by Trump.

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Stop Climate Change Silence - Start the Conversation

Hot Air Website, Twitter, Facebook

Lookout's picture

@magiamma

...has to do with destabilizing Central and South American countries and creating a massive migrant problem. Then, T-rump plans to use a page out of Israel's playbook and shoot them through the fence...

Friday marked the 46th consecutive week of the Great March of Return protests, which began late last March with a call for Palestinians to be allowed to return to the ancestral homes they were displaced from during Israel's creation in 1948.

Israeli forces killed 254 Palestinians, including 47 children, in the Gaza protests in 2018, the United Nations office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that came out in late January.

Another 23,603 Palestinians have been wounded over that same period of time, OCHA said. Two Israeli soldiers have also been killed since then.

https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/palestinian-teenager-shot-tear-gas-ca...

I'm not entirely joking either. On a positive note I hope the March 15 Climate protest is a massive one in the US!

I appreciate you coming by.

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dystopian's picture

I gotta run but, thanks... always some great gems or tools in the box. Yeah man, the forests. Lungs of the earth and we are removing them a piece at a time, hundreds of acres each day. Still, man hasn't learned what many 'primitive' or 'uncivilized' societies knew hundreds of years ago all over the planet: you destroy not just yourself but the future of your people when you destroy the environment.

I love a ton of the old sayings from the Native Americans. One is something to the effect of 'only when the last buffalo is gone and the last tree is cut will the white man learn he
cannot eat his money'. Man those dudes had amazing powers of perception.

The environment will make or break us. Without it we literally have nothing. If you don't have clean air, water, and usable soil, what have you? If people knew what many Native Americans, Asians, or Africans, knew about the environment 500 years ago we would not be staring complete catastrophic environmental meltdown in the face right now.

Interesting how the 'conservatives' are the ones that refuse to conserve our environment. They are the great extractors and exploiters. The conservatives are against conservation as much as the democratic party is against running things democratically.

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We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.
Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.
both - Albert Einstein

Lookout's picture

@dystopian

Interesting how the 'conservatives' are the ones that refuse to conserve our environment. They are the great extractors and exploiters. The conservatives are against conservation as much as the democratic party is against running things democratically.

Mell of a hess ain't it?

Thanks for your insights!

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TheOtherMaven's picture

@dystopian

from their mistakes - and yes they started out making mistakes that contributed to the extinction of the megafauna. But eventually they wised up (generally speaking).

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There is no justice. There can be no peace.

Lookout's picture

@TheOtherMaven

The first nations view of our place in the scheme...as a part, not the supreme...offers modern culture a model. They tried again to teach us during Standing Rock. Maybe the high school kids will promote the awakening?

Good to "see" you today.

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The Aspie Corner's picture

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Modern education is little more than toeing the line for the capitalist pigs.

Guerrilla Liberalism won't liberate the US or the world from the iron fist of capital.

Lookout's picture

@The Aspie Corner

I added it to the essay but it is a very subtle link. Jimmy does a great job making the same point as this essay. The gang is pretty funny too. The guy that plays he republican, I've seen him in other clips of Jimmy's, he can be really funny.

Well thanks again. Hope school is tolerable and you are getting some promising offers. Wishing you the best!

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

Lookout's picture

@DonMidwest

Thanks for the links. Abrams reminds me of Homer Simpson's boss, Mr Burns. They look alike to me and have similar attitudes...

Mr_Burns.png

The notion that he would be back "in charge" of any policy or negotiation merely indicates the degree of corruption which we face in the US.

Glad you came by!

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He wrote an opinion on the LA abortion case recently at Supreme Court

WHAT BRETT KAVANAUGH’S DISHONEST ANTI-ABORTION DISSENT REVEALS ABOUT HIS SUPREME COURT AGENDA

THE MOST OBVIOUS thing about the Supreme Court’s decision to stay a Louisiana law that would have shuttered two of the state’s three remaining abortion clinics is that it was Chief Justice John Roberts who stopped that from happening. Roberts joined the court’s four more liberal justices to deliver a 5-4 majority that maintains the status quo, for now, and keeps the clinics open.

What is perhaps less obvious, at least at first glance, is the level of intellectual dishonesty baked into a four-page dissent penned by the court’s newest justice, Brett Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh voted along with Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, and Neil Gorsuch to deny the stay, but was the only justice to try to explain his thinking in writing. If he wanted to maintain the fidelity-to-precedent fiction he peddled at his confirmation hearings, it probably would have been better if he had stayed silent. The document is a mess of omissions and misrepresentations dressed up to appear anodyne.

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Lookout's picture

@DonMidwest

He is well suited to denying women choice about their bodies in many regards. Easy for him to justify doncha think?

Ironically his voting record on the circuit court concurs with Obomber nominee Gorsuch 93% of the time ... but probably not this time.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

@Lookout
live by a different set of rules
than the rest of us
in these times
first
state the obvious

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