Can We Escape the War Economy?

Yes, but we would have to want to change. This week we see a chance for peace on the Korean peninsula, so quick start a war with Iran and boost the market! The irony that Iran is the terrorist nation as Israel bombs them ...while Israel shoots children and journalists for marching against the conditions of their open air interment camp. Then consider the repressive kingdom of Saud and the horrors of the US-Saudi war in Yemen. But Iran is the terrorist nation? Looks like our allies are the biggest terrorists in the region to me. This echoes Iraq's WMD. We're gonna have our war like it or not. What citizens want no longer plays a role in our faux democracy. The oligarchs will have their way. Is it possible to escape this insanity? It would take a new system. This week let's look and listen to some forward thinking economists and consider other approaches as we look at the weeks events.

Defense Secretary Jim Mattis recently said, “We do look toward a victory in Afghanistan.”
Last week's official report says the opposite.

If you thought Europe was onboard with Washington's efforts to isolate Russia, think again.

Israel has been bombing Syria for years. They've struck both Syrian and Iranian forces at least 100 times.
During all that time, Iran never struck back.

With the rebel's evacuation from Homs province, and the last rebel-held Damascus suburb, Assad's regime is now stable.

Happy Birthday Karl!

Karl Marx has been proven accurate with his predictions on capitalism...
Marx believed the coming crisis would result from contradictions within the capitalist system itself, and predicted that these contradictions would become more and more acute as the capitalist system evolved. Over time, Marx writes, capital takes control over the handcraft production processes and later manufacture where the workers were in control of the work process, centralizing the workers into workshops and factories. Through the process of competing for markets, some firms win and others lose, capital becomes enlarged and centralized; science and technology are consciously used to improve the productivity of the workplace, thus throwing many out of work while creating new jobs in service to the machines. In the process of competing for markets, unsuccessful capitalists fall into the proletariat and all productive labor, worldwide, come ultimately within the capitalist system
...
In addition to the booms and busts of capitalism that swing wider as capitalism evolves there is a constant churning of employment as machines replace men in one industry after another, throwing thousands out of work, thus swamping the labor market and lowering the cost of labor. In all of this the labourers suffer. Mass production, machine technology, and economies of scale will increasingly be applied to all economic activities; unemployment and misery for many men and women results . As capitalism develops the system must necessarily create enormous differences in wealth and power. The social problems it creates in its wake of boom and bust—of unemployment and under employment, of poverty amidst affluence will continue to mount. The vast majority of people will fall into the lower classes; the wealthy will become richer but ever fewer in number.
http://www.faculty.rsu.edu/users/f/felwell/www/Theorists/Essays/Marx5.htm

Coincidence? There are no coincidences in politics or war. There is a fog of war, true. The plan of battle disappears with the first shot. But certain things are just to large to be ignored. Last week in Syria (this should be the title of a soap opera if it weren't so tragic).

The news media seems unhappy that the bombing of Syria is already over.
I've read some smirking comments about Putin's threat of "consequences" that never happened.
But the real story may be that we came dangerously close to an ugly situation - with Iran.

As the news media asks the question, "Why aren't we already bombing Syria?" it's easy to forget that we only invaded Syria because of Iraq.
Plus, while there is lots of talk about our humanitarian bombing, and our inevitable slaughter of innocent civilians in the process that "no one could have predicted", we've already forgotten why we are currently in Syria.

I'm not sure this is 100% true, but it sounds believable.

Turkey's invasion of the Kurdish areas of Syria was always going to be a threat for the region. Yesterday it happened.

A week ago we bombed Syrian government forces near Deir Ezzor, killing around a hundred troops. Some of them were mercenaries from Russia.
The clash has been framed as "we acted in self-defense".

With all the sh*thole kerfuffle, it was easy to not notice a Senate Foreign Relations Committee meeting going on yesterday.
During that meeting something very ominous was said.

A New Year
but the Same Old Hypocrisy

What irony as T-rump's inauguration protesters (and those who were simply in the area) face years in prison for exercising their rights that old “tiny hands” wants to protect the rights of Iranian protesters. In Saudi Arabia protests are not tolerated, but they are our allies. In Israel they treat Palestinians (especially those that protest) inhumanely, but they are our ally and seemingly our foreign policy directors. Meanwhile, we circle North Korea with aircraft carriers and line up missiles on their border and then holler about their aggressiveness? And perhaps the biggest hypocrisy, T-rump calls for more global warming as cold weather descends (largely due to climate chaos). All the while the news media misleads and distracts.