The Waste of War

Wars are largely created to enrich the elite at the expense of everyone else. The cost can be measured in lives, money, environmental destruction, social and mental health, and much more, as the oligarchs count their profits. Yesterday used to be Armistice Day, the end of the war to end all wars, but now we honor war and warriors, not peace.

This year we celebrate the 105th anniversary of the signing of the World War I armistice that ceased hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect on the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month" of 1918. With this instrument, nations still recovering from the dreadful nightmare of WWI, one of the deadliest conflicts in human history, collectively embraced peace as a universal principle and called for an end to all wars. Armistice Day was initially designated as “a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated."

(17 min)

Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone. It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some fifty miles of concrete pavement. We pay for a single fighter plane with a half million bushels of wheat. We pay for a single destroyer with new homes that could have housed more than 8,000 people. This is, I repeat, the best way of life to be found on the road the world has been taking. This is not a way of life at all, in any true sense. Under the cloud of threatening war, it is humanity hanging from a cross of iron. […] Is there no other way the world may live?

—Dwight David Eisenhower, “The Chance for Peace,” speech given to the American Society of Newspaper Editors, Apr. 16, 1953.

Matthew Hoh talks about some of the current waste of our wars, as public support wanes...

cued to the last 20 min
He discusses the opportunity lost because of war.

Michael Hudson is insightful. He explains the goal of the Ukraine war, and discusses the purposeful economic costs. The conversation is wide ranging touching on many geopolitical topics.
Highly recommended.

I'm posting the entire 75 min interview because I learned new things throughout the conversation.
Based on his view of the Ukraine war, we won, and achieved our goal of enslaving Europe to the US.

This contrast with the standard take that the purpose of the Ukraine war is to "weaken Russia" as Medea tells Chris during their interview this week. Most of their 35 min conversation is focused on Gaza and Israel, but begins by discussing Ukraine.

Is the purpose of the Palestinian genocide a canal?
Gita Pather's take on Ben Gurion Canal (7 min)

Richard Medhurst also discusses the canal (8 min)

Another deep thinker is Pepe Escobar, international geopolitical correspondent.

They discuss the latest developments in Gaza, Ukraine, the Belt and Road Initiative as the multipolar world faces unprecedented challenges.
Over 2 hours long. I listen in bits and pieces.
I found his comment that he considered the Yugoslavia war to be the beginning of the forever war interesting. He mentions that the US created their own statelet of Kosovo and that is where the US' largest air force base in Europe is located. He suggests it was used for drug running during the Afghan war.

Those who speak against war are censured...
House lawmakers on Tuesday censured Rep. Rashida Tlaib, the sole Palestinian American in Congress, over her remarks and actions in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (MI-12) delivered a speech on the House floor on the attempts to silence her:

I’m the only Palestinian American serving in Congress, Mr. Chair, and my perspective is needed here now more than ever. I will not be silenced, and I will not let you distort my words.
...
There are millions of people across our country who oppose Netanyahu’s extremism and are done watching our government support collective punishment and the use of white phosphorous bombs that melt flesh to the bone. They are done watching our government, Mr. Chair, supporting cutting off food, water, electricity, and medical care to millions of people with nowhere to go. Like me, Mr. Chair, they don’t believe the answer to war crimes is more war crimes. The refusal of Congress and the Administration to acknowledge Palestinian lives is chipping away at my soul. Over 10,000 Palestinians have been killed—majority, majority were children.
...
Speaking up to save lives, Mr. Chair, no matter of faith, no matter ethnicity, should not be controversial in this chamber. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don’t understand is why the cries of Palestinians sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity, Mr. Chair.
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71% of Michigan Democrats support a ceasefire. So you can try to censure me, but you can’t silence their voices. I urge my colleagues to join with the majority of Americans and support a ceasefire now to save as many lives as possible. President Biden must listen to and represent all of us, not just some of us. I urge the President to have the courage to call for a ceasefire and the end of killings.

Israel is 75 years old, Judaism is 2500 years old. Why are TPTB conflating the two? It is the same trope used to jettison Jeremy Corbin from his position in the UK parliament.

Journalist Katie Halper censored and fired for telling the truth about Israeli apartheid over a year ago. The Video That Got Me Fired: Israel IS An Apartheid State (12 min)

TPTB can't censor everyone...There's push back world wide.

‘No More Business As Usual’: 300+ cities Shut It Down For Palestine in Global Day of Action
The next day of action will be Nov 17, according to the initiating organizations at https://ShutItDown4Palestine.org

Hundreds of thousands of pro-Palestinian activists have descended on the UK capital on Armistice Day to call for a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict.

South Africa has called for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to issue a warrant of arrest for Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other key decision-makers in Tel Aviv for alleged contraventions of international law in the war in Gaza.

Minister Pandor (12 min)
"We know too well that our freedom is incomplete without the freedom of the Palestinians."
~ Nelson Mandela
Algeria and Columbia have also called for Netanyahu's arrest.

Is Israel committing the crime of Genocide against Palestinians in Gaza?

3.5 min

Chris Hedges: The Horror, The Horror

Israel's genocidal attacks, which are killing hundreds of Palestinians a day, including some 160 children, have expanded to shelling the remaining hospitals in Gaza.
...
The indifference of Europe is bad enough. The active complicity by the United States is unfathomable. Nothing justifies this. Nothing. And Joe Biden will go down in history as an accomplice to genocide. May the ghosts of the thousands of children he has participated in murdering haunt him for the rest of his life.
...
Israel’s orgy of death will not crush Hamas. Hamas is an idea. This idea is fed on the blood of martyrs. Israel is giving Hamas an abundant supply.

We just got the report from Shifa Hospital that the Israeli attack forces have placed snipers around the hospital, these snipers are shooting through the windows of the hospital, killing, targeting, damaging health care workers trying to save lives inside.

Alastair Crooke : Israel vs Gaza: The elephant in the room. (24 min) The first 6 min deal with Ukraine.

Prof. John J. Mearsheimer: Ukraine/Israel: How China benefits.
He addresses the idea of war crimes in the Gaza. (15 min) The previous 8 min focuses on Ukraine.
US Military has Overextended Itself - John Mearsheimer, Alexander Mercouris and Glenn Diesen (1.5 hours)

Prof. Jeffrey Sachs: The dangers of unbridled war.

Excellent interview with Ray. (85 min)

Dima, the host, is an excellent interviewer... allowing his guest to complete their thoughts.
Ray recounts the history he experienced in the ME. Ray suggest a one state solution as does Larry Wilkerson. One person one vote in a state of Jews, Muslim, and Christian as Palestine existed for centuries. Very informative.

SCOTT RITTER LIVE : ISRAEL PALESTINE , UKRAINE CHINA WAR | End oF Gaza?
The Israel-Palestine conflict has captured the world's attention for decades, and understanding its intricacies is crucial. Scott Ritter, a seasoned expert in international relations and geopolitical analysis, will offer his insights into the historical, political, and social dynamics that shape this ongoing dispute. (2.2 hours)
Scott discusses the environmental impacts of bombardment, and much more.

The Israel campaign has united the ME.

Arab and Muslim leaders meeting in the Saudi capital Saturday roundly condemned Israel’s actions in its war against Hamas in Gaza, as fears mount the conflict could draw in other countries.
...
Syria’s Bashar Al Assad, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad, and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi are among those who are attending the combined extraordinary summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League. The joint summit replaces two separate gatherings which were scheduled earlier this month.
...
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the summit that “it is a shame that Western countries, which always talk about human rights and freedoms, remain silent in the face of the ongoing massacres in Palestine.”

The culture/society is divided. Division is created on purpose in order to maintain the status quo. This conversation (20 min) exposes some of the hypocrisy of the Trump haters. Last April, upon the occasion of Donald Trump’s indictment in Lower Manhattan on charges relating to his hush money payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels, anti-Trump protesters came out to celebrate the event. Also visiting the site was Due Dissidence host Russell Dobular, who asked rallygoers whether they felt that George Bush should similarly be charged for his crimes.

Speaking of hypocrisy...

Max Blumenthal challenges the US State Department on the contradictions between its accusations of genocide against official enemies like Russia and China, and its diplomatic support for Israel in the midst of its unprecedented slaughter of civilians in the besieged Gaza Strip. (4 min)

Larry Johnson is sick of US hypocrisy...(45 min)

I must admit I'm sick of US hypocrisy too.

Ukraine Proxy War & Gaza Genocide Fatally Expose Western Hypocrisy and Moral Bankruptcy

The whole world, including Russia and China and the vast majority of the United Nations, is demanding an immediate end to the mass murder of innocent people. Not meaningless “pauses” for rearming and further cycles of killing. There is a renewed, strenuous call across the globe for historic justice for the Palestinian people who have endured decades of vile occupation and aggression from the Zionist regime enabled by Western governments.
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Now that Russia has largely defeated the NATO-backed Kiev regime there is hardly a mention of the war in Western media or by Western governments. Nevertheless, what is astounding is the absence of any genuine concern among Western leaders about actual war crimes on a massive scale in Palestine. Biden and his Western accomplices talk about “mourning innocent deaths” while weaponizing and supporting Israeli state terrorism.
The barbarity that is happening in Gaza and the West Bank is shocking. What is all the more repugnant is the explicit guilt of Western states in enabling the genocide.

Neil Oliver: No good deed goes unpunished, but lying for the Establishment is a path to success (9 min)

Repeating the Establishment’s lies, cheerleading for them, pushing and supporting whatever lies the Establishment tells, carries no damaging consequences for the liars.'

Western leaders are liars. Perhaps they believe their own lies? The protests make it obvious they don't want to listen to the people. Lies are the basis for war....from WMD to unprovoked attacks. These are volatile times, and only time will reveal the outcomes. Like John, I can imagine a world of peace, but given Western leadership I have no idea how we might get there. None the less I wish you all peace and look forward to your stories, thoughts, and insights below.