Although the original truce deal between Hamas and Israel ended this morning, negotiations kept it going for another day. The extension was hard won after Hamas could not produce a list that had ten women and children on it, a condition of the deal. Israel rejected a list of seven living women and children and the bodies of three more Hamas claimed were killed by Israeli airstrikes. The Israeli government did agree to accept the two Israeli-Russian hostages who were released yesterday as part of Thursday’s list.
Many various headlines about Kissinger today, but this one from Rolling Stone caught my eye, "Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies."
Anne-Louise, agree 200%. We who have lived long enough know the facts. But we didn't know all of them. I was horrified at the man's deadly accomplishments that I didn’t know about--such as Kissinger being the one who brokered Nixon's extension of the Vietnam War, killing thousands more of my fellow soldiers and airmen. Americans!
best surgery ever. How I saw colors changed - everything was brighter. The cataracts make an ochre film which dulls everything. You'll be very happy to have it done.
I haven't. At my most recent eye app't, a year ago, my cadillacs were deemed relatively minor even though I've had 'em more than 20 years. (I'm very sensitive both to anything that's wrong with my body, and anything that's wrong with the engine in my car, the first symptom I ever perceived--at age 17--an ever so slight--would have been imperceptible to anyone else--loss of power after crossing the Mississippi at 2 in the morning, on my way from Cape Cod to Stanford, CA in the 8 year old '62 Falcon due to plaque buildup in the carburetor--a problem that came to a head towards the end of Wyoming, and had to be fixed in Salt Lake City. And that sensitivity has served me well.)
We both had cataract surgery some time ago. Since I didn't go for the expensive lenses, I still require glasses, but people should get the surgery as soon as the doctor says they need it.
Gus, I had Cataract surgery 13 months past should have done it couple years earlier. Easy recovery and great results. Mono vision lens implants are serving me well at age 79. Good luck and all best
My husband had lasic (spelling??) many years ago. Then he developed cataracts and had that surgery many years ago. Then about 3-4 years ago one of the retina lenses that they put in during the cataract surgery came loose and he couldn't see out of the eye. So then he had 2 TOTALLY unsuccessful surgeries to fix that. After that we went to a very good surgeon at the University of Michigan and he did another surgery to fix the problem caused by the first two unsuccessful ones. Unfortunately, about 6 months later his cornea started to deteriorate so he had a cornea transplant because he couldn't see. We knew it was a long shot and it didn't work. He is now blind in the eye, has unbelievably high pressure and often pain in the eye. After seeing a glaucoma specialist this week, and getting yet another set of drops to try, she suggested that if he continues to have the horrible pain in his eye, she would suggest removing the eye totally and replacing it with a glass eye...pick your doctor wisely. I think the first one my husband saw was clueless.
I had that surgery in both eyes 24 years ago ( at 54, one of Doc's youngest patients) and I've enjoyed perfect vision until just recently, and all I need are slightly corrective glasses - you will be so happy! And it was a relatively benign procedure. Blessings,
The surgery is not always easy. It’s not 100% perfect. Someone has to be in that small percentage. I’m one. I have dry eye and astigmatism. Evidently that combination can lead to complications. Do have the surgery by all means but also talk to your ophthamologist about what to do if you do have problems. Talk to your surgeon, too. Be prepared. I wish I had been forewarned.
I was one of those people who had problems. It took months to improve. I was still thrilled with the visual improvements. Now the pain is all gone and I can see. Since I have one eye that is far worse than the other, I was not a candidate for the bifocal lenses. I still need reading glasses. What I decided to do was have bifocal glasses with my reading prescription at the bottom and near clear at the top. With the top prescription, I can see better than 20/20.
Huh? I'm not sure what feed you're looking at because I'm seeing almost nothing but reports of "the human tragedies courtesy of the Israelis." What are you using for news?
Dr. Richardson's missive today, paragraph by paragraph, displays the seemingly unsolvable contradictions of this war -- regardless of any Israeli commitment to "minimizing civilian losses," so long as Palestinians wedded to violence embed themselves next to their neighbors while planning and launching attacks against Israel, those neighbors will have to die along with them when Israel counterattacks.
The bottom line is that the rocket, mortar, and terroristic attacks on Israelis must stop, permanently, and the Palestinians, hopefully with international help, will have to do the stopping without demanding prior conditions. Until that happens, Israel has little recourse but to thresh and concentrate those poor Palestinians, both the violent and their peaceful neighbors, into smaller and smaller areas.
Where is Palestinian leadership? Where is there a voice for these Palestinian victims? Obviously no one's listening to Blinken: “I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians.”
He also said that "They must avoid more displacement of citizens in Gaza and allow those already displaced to return as soon as conditions permit." Return to what?
The vast majority of Jews are against the Israeli government. IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first. Now we learn that Israeli Intelligence knew every detail of what Hamas was planning to do on October 7 and dismissed it as fantasy. Really? Could one of the most sophisticated Intelligence agencies in the world be so stupid? Or is it possible that they let it happen so they would have an excuse to destroy Hamas?
Likely that the vast majority of Palestinians are against the Palestinian (Hamas) government. Just like a majority of Americans don’t support chump. Elections are subject to all kinds of manipulation, it seems.
" IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first."
Hamas raped, tortured, murdered, and kidnapped civilians including babies, the elderly, and the disabled. Moreover, they did it gleefully, recorded it on their phones, bragged about it to their parents. They were so proud that they paraded their victims through the streets of Gaza--women with blood pouring out of their shorts--and the Gazans cheered.
And they said that they would do it again, and again, and again.
Israel was forced to strike back--needed to keep the pressure on so that they could force the return of their hostages. And it worked. Dozens of hostages have been returned so far.
Moreover is had to send a message to Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter Iran, all of whom boast that their mission is to kill all the Jews in Israel. If Israel is perceived to be weak, that would encourage Iran and its proxies to strike.
In addition, the Israeli Defense Force uses targeted strikes-- they dropped millions of leaflets, made phones calls, texts, used WhatsApp to warn civilians to flee. Of course this also warned Hamas fighters as well.
Had the IDF not used targeted strikes, they could have killed at the rate that the Allies did in Dresden, when 25,000 Germans, mainly civilians, were killed in 3 days. Or the bombing of Tokyo, when 100,000 Japanese were killed in a single night.
Hamas estimates the number of dead so far is 14,000. Likely many are their own terrorists (they are not soldiers-- they blend in with civilians-- wear no uniform). Likely they exaggerate the number. We know there are casualties from their own misfired rockets.
And I also have to say that reading your statement,
" IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first." makes me physically ill.
I am getting tired of this one sided narrative of what's really going on with this war. Scholars concur that the Israelis have perpetuated a pressure cooker atmosphere with the way they treat the Palestinians. I saw this with my own eyes in the West Bank. The Israeli army also engaged in indiscriminate killing. Based on eyewitness testimonies and analyses of photos and videos Amnesty International is already calling for investigations of war crimes by the Israelis:
I believe that Hamas is a bit more responsible for Israeli deaths and injuries than the Palestinian civilians. And civilian deaths are up over 10,000 - mostly women and children. Somehow I doubt they were all terrorists.
I'm absolutely sure you're right that the vast majority of the inhabitants ("citizens?") of Gaza are horrified by what Hamas has done. But I don't see how anyone from the outside can tell them apart. Somehow, the Palestinians themselves will have to find a way to differentiate the violent from the peaceful.
There are also people in Gaza who are forced to work for Hamas against their will. But it's also true that Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth, and it is physically impossible for Israel to avoid slaughtering innocent people while ostensibly aiming for Hamas - and both Israel and the US know it. To claim to care about Palestinian lives is sheer hypocrisy. Israelis are precious, but Palestinians are called cockroaches in Israel.
Sorry, i was too focussed on American news showing personal suffering by families of hostages taken by Hamas, endless interviews, didnt explain that in my initial comment. I can't say ive seen much of that kind of personal rendering of Palestinians in the media. If I'm wrong, mea culpa.
No worries. Trying to form a coherent opinion on this horrid situation is like a Zen exercise, holding 10 contradictory notions in your mind, all at once, without emphasizing any of them.
Uh, Frank Loomer, lets not forget who started this current Middle East war. Yes, in the past Palestinians have sometimes gotten short shrift, and Netanyahu is a dreadful human being, but this war started with an absolutely brutal attack on Israelis, including women and children, including rape used as a weapon by Hamas on Israelis.
(And thank heaven this happened under Biden's presidency!)
Your parenthesized final statement is of immense importance. Imagine the bloodbath that would have ensued had tfg been in office. Not to say it isn’t already one, but Palestinian genocide would have been the end game had the orange clown circus been running the show.
Thank you for the title. I looked up the article and beneath the title it says:
"The infamy of Nixon's foreign-policy architect sits, eternally, beside that of history's worst mass murderers. A deeper shame attaches to the country that celebrates him"
I guess that about sums it up for Kissinger and for US of A.
In other news, NY Times reports that Israel received a report from an Israeli agent (a woman) who had observed a mock attack by Hamas very similar to a war plan that Israeli intelligence had obtained detailing Hamas' ultimate actual attack. Israel received this intelligence well before the actual attack.
Of course, she was ignored by Bibi and company, in spite of her speaking up after she was ignored.
Nice. A smart woman speaks up in a way that could have saved thousands and thousands of lives and prevented a war and THEN observes the mock invasion by Hamas and THEN?
Is completely ignored by Bibi and his NitWits. gift link below. Unbelievable.
Just finished a book about the women of the CIA—same situation with a group of female analysts and Bin Laden. No one would listen. Hysterical women, you know.
It just occurred to me: Maybe NitWitYahoo ignored her ON PURPOSE to enable Hamas to attack so he could then prosecute the "Final Solution" to the Palestinian problem?? Which, he does appear to have begun the first stage of.
Now that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a blockbuster Conspiracy Theory for you!
And just might be true, especially given that N. may be out as soon as the end of the current conflict is near or there's another major SNAFU in the Israeli defense operation.
Mike, I wouldn't be surprised at all. He needs to keep things stirred up because that criminal wants power and doesn't want to be held responsible for his criminal activity.
Maybe conspiracy, but it sure sounds not just possible but probable. Sad to say. I have a young Jewish business colleague who years ago thought she was going to spend her whole life working in Israel, but returned to the US because the racism in Israel against the Palestinians was unbearable to her.
I read somewhere that Hamas was created by Israel to undermine formation of the Palestinian Authority. A search for deeper insight turned up the following articles ...:
*****
New York Times report says Israel knew about Hamas attack over a year in advance
For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it's blown up in our faces
The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from
The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.
ML, hysteria coming from the ancient Greeks where the women of Athens were never considered adults. It is really astounding what women were responsible for in terms of scientific studies, often to fall into oblivion, or have their work plagiarized by some male. And at age 80 with a reasonable intelligence, excellent education, and voracious reading, I still hear mansplaining.
Last year I spent the summer reading up on the history of misogyny, and it was quite an education especially when it still makes me see it all around me. "Hysteria" is an interesting term, it originates with the root word "hyster," which means womb or uterus.
Oh yes. It is an interesting word...we women are so emotional you know that we can't be leaders.... why is the image of Kavanaugh crying coming up for me. Unfortunately, most males are brought up to feel entitlement and we see the results of that all the time.
To this day, doctors (even female doctors) still treat women as being inclined toward hysteria and pat heads telling us our complaints are in our heads or just stress. It’s in their training as misogyny and sexism are passed down from their teachers. How many women have died from heart attacks and other diseases and disorders which could have been prevented if only the doctors listened without bias.
Women have it even worse in other cultures. Until recently, for example, women in Saudi Arabia went to prison for driving a car. In Iran, not wearing a headscarf will get you beaten up or even killed. And in many places, nobody will go to jail for killing a woman. Here in the US, there are still dinosaurs who call female college students "co-eds," a hoary old term for girls (and don't get me started on the persistent use of the term "girl" to describe adult women in western culture) in college and who were presumed to be there only to find a husband.
One of the worst aspects in misogyny is in health care. Here in the US we rank 55th in maternal deaths. Women are consistently the victims of income inequality because poverty is directly linked to sex, race and income. Poor Black and indigenous women are denied the care middle class white women take for granted.
I hope part of Blinken's conversation with Netanyahu includes plans for new elections in Israel asap. Bibi's endless - if occasionally interrupted - term as prime minister has proven disastrous for both Palestinians and Israelis and is a risk for the rest of us as well. And, it would not surprise me if Hamas's intentions - assuming he even knew what his intelligence services knew - were viewed by Netanyahu as an opportunity to enact a sort of "final solution" with regards to Hamas. Chilling to imagine such a scenario, reassuring that the US has influence enough to stop it if we aren't afraid to use it.
I hope it's not wishful thinking, but Blinken seems to be signalling that he knows all this and Netanyahu has no choice but to face election. If Blinken can pull that off...
He knows he will lose and he knows that clears the deck for his prosecution. Sound familiar? Millions must suffer so a megalomaniac can escape the punishment he so richly deserves? I hear echoes across the Atlantic.
How many years has his corruption conviction been around? will that be the same with trumpf? It has already been two years. Any of us would of been in jail and the key thrown away.
He won last time in spite of being under indictment, which is possibly where Trump came up with the same plan - Trump and Netanyahu have been friends for years. Here's the other Israeli criminal, Ehud Olmert, opining on the war:
Let's skip indulging in regional slurs. Not a good look, especially for someone from AZ. Trump is from New York, remember, and some of his most committed acolytes are from the NE as well.
They’re cut from the same cloth and are totally self-serving, thinking only of themselves and the risk of being held accountable for their crimes if out of office.
"the laws of war" . . . now there's an oxymoron for you. Thanks to Heather and the community she has built for the smart exchange of ideas that makes a difference to us all.
Look at all the smart women now warning us about Trump - Dr. Richardson, Liz Cheney, Cassidy Hutchinson, Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill - yes, and some men like Adam Kinziger too. Will our country stand by and ignore them too?
Recall, most of the terrorists who participated in the 9/11 attacks were known by intelligence sources to have entered the US but those sources lost track of them!!
They enrolled in my college's aviation program. I encountered them standing in a group outside of our library. They looked at me with hate. I greeted them, not knowing that they were terrorists. No answer, Muhammad Attah was among them, so I'm told by the Admissions Director. He was not admitted. They never enrolled. They just went to learn how not to land.
I recommend a fabulously entitled book, "Skating on Stilts" by Stewart Baker. Sure, some intelligence sources knew of the entry of the terrorists into the U.S., but were largely prevented from acting on the information by the barriers we have in place to protect U.S. citizens from government surveillance. The upshot is that in this country we don't trust our own government not to hurt us, so we don't want to give it the tools necessary to protect us.
Mike, it is clear that Hamas was training in plain sight. Bibi and his minions were too busy grabbing power for themselves and supporting far right Jews in the West Bank and allowing them to study and exempted them from military duties that all Israelis must do. Also a woman who would have no status with the far right in Israel.
Thank you Mike; very interesting. I see the gang of young men on the jeep and think of our gangs in the U.S. - groups of disenfranchised men without hope, jobs, or purpose; angry and alone, who feel the sense of belonging and comradery when they find each other to the point that they will seek vengence and do anything for their group and their common cause. Terrorizing on the playground, in the neighborhood, at other countries. Humans start out with no hate or bias, and they are formed by their world. If only we could harness that energy and intent into more constructive action.
I tried to ask my daughter to acknowledge the arch of history bending forward despite the hideous actions of Kissinger prolonging the Vietnam War, bombing Cambodia, empowering Pinochet, all while arrogantly basking his public image as a Renaissance Man and Don Juan.
Understandably, she was unwilling to excuse the personal carnage of so many for the future realization of the greater good and forwarded the Rolling Stone article to me.
Thank god for the the humanitarianism of the young that continually presses for the here and now.
I woke up today to reporting that Netanyahu’s government knew of Hamas’ plans to attack Israel civilians, dismissed it and instead encouraged far-right extremists in the West Bank to act with a free hand so as to weaken the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, strengthening his coalition and weakening calls for a two-state solution. The cynicism is shocking.
At hone, Trump is off the rails with authoritarian aspirations while promising to use the military to enforce his whims.
Is it any wonder that narcissists like Trump and Netanyahu rise to power when guys like Kissinger are lionized.
Paul, so Bibi supported Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority and now he’s encouraging lawlessness on the West Bank to further weaken them. Maybe Blinken can discourage him from his actions to sabotage work towards a two-state solution.
“Supported Hamas” seems to be overstated based on the facts in evidence and reporting I have seen.
He understands that Hamas would not gain international support in a negotiated two-state solution but the Palestinian Authority possibly could so he likely was more focused on the West Bank, promoting the interests of settlers, and weakening the PA.
He was preoccupied with holding together his far-right coalition to hold on to power, and arrogantly dismissed a threat identified by Israeli intelligence.
I am hardly well versed in Middle East intelligence but that’s my lay understanding of the facts.
Paul, I am far from an expert on Bibi and Hamas. Here are two articles that inform my understanding.
“The agreement between Hamas and Netanyahu that, after each round of fighting, Israel would allow funds from Qatar and elsewhere to flow back to Hamas. This was against the recommendation of much of his own security establishment. As has been seen, those funds were used by Hamas to build tunnels and stockpile weapons rather than build internal infrastructure for the people of Gaza “
“ For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group.”
Robert Reich also wrote a detailed article about Kissinger and his war crimes. I knew some of it, but learned much more. I will read Rolling Stone’s article. Their headline is awesome.
I think Sec'y Blinken's comment on Kissinger, " “Few people were better students of history—even fewer people did more to shape history—than Henry Kissinger," was an example of masterful diplomacy. It sounds like a compliment...almost, and leaves it to the journalists to tell the details. Very different from his very specific telling of what is expected from Israel and Hamas. We are so blessed that it is he and President Biden in charge.
Terry, Kissinger passing is truly a world moment - ... full stop. His world history and political knowledge was unimpeachable. What was it, something like 12 U.S. presidents of different stripes sought his counsel; and how many others of various leadership positions; it would be a daunting task to enumerate, but shall be attempted and it shall be quite a number of tomes to come. However, you caught the same thing I did. I watched Blinken carefully when he delivered those remarks, both statements true. But he 'knew' more and had more within himself to say. I saw the small stutter pause, that I'm sure was "self restraint," though very brief, I caught it and said to myself, "Now that's diplomatic," and in the very next thought I heard my Dad's voice in my head saying, "Is it true, is it kind, and is it necessary," which was his test for truth telling that he tried often to imbue me with.
"Is it true, is it kind, and is it necessary,"...as a child welfare worker many years ago I saw this posted on many bulletin boards (yes, “bulletin boards”, that’s how old I am!)
I'm sure Dad didn't invent the thought, but he adopted it, and because of my nature to say whatever might cross my mind, he 'bulletin boarded' me, most often verbally, but alas sometimes with the bulletin board and handle, again owing to my nature. (lol)
Just as the ruling class celebrated Reagan, they celebrated Kissinger who seemed soulless and certainly valued some people's lives over others. Kissinger belongs in the ranks of warmongers and international criminals.
He was an "arms candy", kinda guy, though, in my opinion.
P.S., if you're wondering, and, I know that we're not related, but, I'd say that there's NO way that you should date a giant, POS, like that. No matter who he works for.
P.P.S., I, also, know that you punk kids don't listen. So, date, away, Babe. Date away.
We knew that when Nixon assumed office, it was the end of our revolution of progress most ushered in by LBJ who listened to his war hawks which ended with one term. The nation would surely have been better in a 2nd LBJ administration. The Chicago riots at the 1968 convention spelled doom for the democrats. A greater doom awaits in 2024.
What a different world if Reagan hadn’t also conspired with Iran to keep the hostages. Reagan was considered unelectable, much as Punkinhead was inconceivable. Both damaged this country profoundly.
I don’t think Jimmy Carter will survive to the new year, now that Rosalind is gone.
What a different world we might have had if he had stayed in office.
And how different a world may have developed if the US had not conspired to overthrow the Iranian government in 1953 I believe to install the Shah and the subsequent radical religious backlash which now follows into the present destruction of humans throughout the Middle East.
I'm gonna adopt! I have for years used "mutton head" and "chowder head" to use in place of more colorful metaphors when in either professional or polite company. Our housemate is from Maine, and self-identifies as a "chowdah head", so it's use as a sobriquet is now gone. Punkinhead it is, and it can either refer to a punk or a pumpkin.
Remember kennedy picked up Vietnam from the French, lbj continued with increasing the war effort, Nixon was left to pick up the pieces wanted bombing of Hanoi to force a peace, no chance of a win or breakeven by then. What would lbj have done? Moot point i bet. Vietnam tore American society apart.
And it sent many of our generation to the "left". I grew up in a "I like Ike" home. That was the last positive thought I ever had about Republicans. There's plenty of blame for Democrats, too. JFK was a naive victim of the Ridiculous Domino Theory. So was LBJ. But Nixon and Kissinger went so far into the dark side that their legacies of international progress and things like establishing the EPA are lost - in the dust of human incineration.
It is a testament to the human spirit that Vietnam and its neighbors have actually moved on from the horrors we perpetrated. Maybe someday the North and South of the US will figure that out.
I guess they thought if containment worked in Korea, Formosa, it would work in Vietnam too. Sadly, esp after WW2, Americans became indifferent to the huge scale of mortality and injury impressed upon local populations.
It’s documented that Nixon sent unofficial notice that he would offer better terms for peace to the North Vietnamese. Those dark, deceptive Shakespearian moments occur throughout human history and change such history for the worst. Yes LBJ inherited from Kennedy. They were all post-wwII generation who saw struggle purely between Communism verses the ‘Free World’ and how ignorant that seems today. Then in 2000, progressive hero Ralph Nader flush with self aggrandizement steps in as Green Party candidate for president and deprives Al Gore (remember President Gore?) and thereby changing the course of American history (Supreme Court appointments) for perhaps 50 years and maybe now permanently since we are hurtling toward right-wing authoritarian democracy if I may be so bold with new terminology. And as Plato once admonished: Tyranny follows Democracy.
Thanks, Bill. I often think of how different the world might be today, if the Supreme Court hadn't stopped the counting of the votes in Florida in 2000.
I think we can be sure that President Gore would have read his Presidential briefs - particularly the one reading "Bin Laden determined to strike the US."
And so the course of history might have been changed. No 9/11, no invasion of Afghanistan, no Iraq War......
Yes, I also often reflect on all those disasters that would have been averted with a Gore presidency. Additionally, with a president who understood the importance of maintaining environmental health, we might not be facing the current threat of catastrophic climate change.
At yes maybe no. All events are a continuum. All events influence each other. The golf war and stationing American troops on Saudi La d inspired bin Ladin. Our unmitigated support total green light support of the Jews of Israel inevitably lead to the catastrophe today. I don’t fault the Iranian supported Palestinians for sacrificing their own blood to turn the Middle East into an inferno. I gently very gently admonished an Israeli woman recently by noted that Isreal would win this battle but lose the war. No state ultimately care of loss of human life although they all make such claim. Although I am not Jewish per religious fanatics who tell me my mother wasn’t Jewish then neither am I and I say ‘Fuck You’ in reply.
Both the Democrats and Republicans teamed up against Nader to keep him from debating against Gore and Bush. I still contend Nader was the smartest person in my lifetime to run for President.
But, didn't the lady that died today have as much to do with Bush winning as Nader did.
Here's an academic article providing some detail on Operation Menu, the B52 saturation bombing of Cambodia for which Kissinger has been taking much heat here. You'd never get that impression from this story. I'm sure there's more out there on this though.
And this headline caught my eye at about 9 PM last night:
'Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago'
'A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.' (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
Why did HCR not include this in the Letter? I was not satisfied with the LFAA about Blinken's sermon to the world but, particularly to Israel, about the deaths and suffering of innocent
FERN, Mika & Joe of 'Morning Joe' (MJ) just interviewed author RONEN BERGMAN in segment A shortly after 7 am Eastern, while posting verbatim quotes from the devastating NYT article.
'MJ' previously interviewed EDWARD LUCE of the Financial Times who reported the IDF had their 'GAZA Brigade' deployed in the West Bank leaving the GAZA border unprotected. Luce also reported that Israeli "public trust" in their Prime Minister, Bibi, has sunk to 4%.
Right now, the HAMAS-Israel history over the last year is looking like one of the biggest intelligence failures since the Brits failed to uncover Kim Phelby in WWII & into the Cold War.
Bryan, your response prompted me to think of all the reasons for Israeli voters not to have reelected Netanyahu who '... has been serving as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is the chairman of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-tenured prime minister in the country's history, having served for a total of over 16 years.' How has Netanyahu effected Israel? My thoughts go to American voters who may or may not reelect Donald Trump and the many crucial reasons that be belongs behind bars.
Yes, Helen, beyond what we have seen and, otherwise, learned of the deaths and suffering on the part of both Israelis and Gazans, and that it may have been avoided! The word CULPABLE came to mind right away: 'deserving to be blamed or considered responsible for something bad'.
I read somewhere that Hamas was created by Israel to undermine formation of the Palestinian Authority. A search for deeper insight turned up the following articles ...:
*****
How and why Israel helped create Hamas?
Not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to PLO
For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it's blown up in our faces
The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from
The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.
Ah, Kathleen, it is so good to see you. Peter shared the material you sent him, and he is grateful to participate in the silent vigil for peace.
I have been familiar with Netanyahu's strategy through different sources but did see the PBS Newshour that you linked. I may share it with a few others. While fury at Israel was to be expected, and Netanyahu's response was written in his bones, foresight does not soften the suffering and the deaths of children and adults caught in the evil deathtrap made of Gaza. I do not want to think and write more of this now.
It is time to hug you and thank for keeping the spirit and the light glowing.
I hear you Fern. I posted these somewhere on the blog yesterday ... may well provide insight as to how this dynamic plays out here in America - and maybe how to approach healing here and now ... take care - be well, ka
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow returns to Chicago Humanities to expose the shocking truth behind subversive attempts to undermine democracy and the inspiring tales of those who rose to challenge the insurrectionists.
*****
Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angeles
Rachel Maddow discussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism," traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
Her response to the last question is deeply inspirational.
*****
Books:
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
Rachel Maddow (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher) – Oct. 17 2023
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
*****
Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross (Author)
October 24, 2017
The chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles, and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it.
When he tells Nitwityahoo that for every dime spent promoting more settlements in the West Bank they loose a dollar from their welfare check, then he'll be taking action. That's language Nitwityahoo will understand.
I've seen other reports of Israeli intentions to send its agents out now on a permanent assassination hunt for any and all Hamas operatives worldwide. Things will get much more complicated, much more murderously messy.
You saw the Stephen Spielberg film, "Munich"? How many-fold might we multiply the murders in it across how many more governments, families, and settings urban and rural?
And all for a cluster of very-far-right "settlers" forever covetous of more thefts of more land?
And --dooming us all the more -- no schools with any programs anywhere in the world for seeing anyone outside the tribal blinkers, no schools with any respect for communication with "others" as individuals in their cultures?
As if the billionaire games led by the 100-year-old mass murderer who died recently were the only games for our ruling vulgar and their eunuchs?
Sad and a bit frightening because I am realizing - more and more - that it’s never or not so much about them (the candidates) but it is really about us … the VOTERS!!!
You are 100% right …. The very best government is always vulnerable to those who hate authority of any kind and do everything in their power to destroy it.
More specifically, he’s referred to himself as either “Mr. Security” or “Bibi-Sitter”. Source: The Hill, Is Netanyahu ‘Mr. Security’? by Guy Ziv, 02/18/15 6:30 AM ET and “Such tough-talking helped Netanyahu win the election, and he has positioned himself ever since as “Mr Security” — the one leader who could ensure Israel’s safety in a hostile neighbourhood, without making painful concessions to the Palestinians.” Source: The Financial Times, James Shotter in Jerusalem and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv OCTOBER 15 2023.
And the president who appointed him. It's a team effort (despite recent reports of State Dept unease in the ranks), without a mercurial monster hogging the airtime. Imagine if this were not so...
Thank you for giving us a detailed report on what Blinken said. This is the kind of “tough love” the Israeli government needs from the USA now. My biggest concern is Netanyahu’s desire to stay in power ... to avoid having to call for an election. I’ve read that the most right wing members of his coalition government have threatened to quit if he doesn’t back their aggressive policies. I wonder how he will deal with them... and I wonder what Blinken and Biden will do if Netanyahu chooses political survival over the path to true peace ... which I do not think these people want him to follow.
As to Kissinger ... Robert Reich wrote yesterday about Kissinger’s disdain for State Department members who believed in human rights... quoting Kissinger as having said “They should be in a ministry instead of the State Department” (words to that effect). Kissinger was an evil man. He believed America should rule the world. Sadly, I believe a lot of people in our government still believe we should dominate the world rather than partner with the other member states. And until we learn partnership can produce more than domination, I fear the world will see more wars in the future.... and will never come together as one human family here on Spaceship Earth to solve the climate crisis and other challenges.
well said, Steve. So strange, to have lived thru the magical mystery tour of the 60's ... only to find ourselves now, plunging into an abyss of dystopian darkness ... whose seeds were sown while we were busy tripping out!
Yes and no. I think I and many others were often too self absorbed, but a lot of "counter-culture sorts wound up in underpaid service professions. The most popular college major these days tends to be "Business", not that business isn't needed, but we do not live by sales alone; and a lot is out of whack. Many 60s youth helped raise public awareness of racism, sexism, and the tragic futility of the Vietnam War, as well as care of the environment.
The seeds of dystopian darkness seem to reside in human DNA and exploitation and subjugation has a very long history. If you want to see where the current wave of US despotism hails from, follow the money.
I appreciate your view of the counter culture. Many of us once in the counter culture moved into the mainstream but with different views. We've made changes not only in those things you mentioned- racism, sexism, the environment- but in health, our bodies, medicine, the food we eat, local food production, energy use, recycling, composting, organizational structures, leadership models, citizen participation, urban design--ways in which we communicate and connect. Work that is far from done but hopefully will be pushed further by the next generation.
What do you think will result if we support them doing their work the way they define it?
There are ways in which the counter culture of our youth was naive and narcissistic. but there was an underlying conviction that other people count. The "MAGA" unrealistically culture is also self-congratulatory, but in aggressive, supremacist ways that make it very dangerous, and has already done great harm, which, on reflection, makes a long list. I am not accusing them of all of society's evils or exonerating myself, but indifference or even satisfaction to the suffering one imposes on others is genuinely evil, genuinely sociopathic. Perhaps we all have a touch of "Mr. Hyde", but free of moderation it is exploitation, persecution, and genocide. And, especially as the world gets "smaller", it could literally kill us all. The younger generations and those to come are already facing a tainted future, warped by selfishness. I would say that life in a predatory society tends to be nasty, brutish, and short, but that's mostly for the power deprived. Kissinger lived to 100 and overall, received deference throughout. Yet, we never left the Garden of Eden; we just have to grow up and be be responsible for what we do with it, and watch out for one another.
Lani, while it may be quite true that "money is the root of all evil" it can also be and has been the source of much good. The most effective use of money is as a track to where it goes and what it allows to happen, hence the need for requirements for more openness on where or from whom the money comes to support various politicians and especially PACS and organizations which prefer to stay "in the dark" (think Federalist Society, the Koch brothers and their ilk). As in health, bright light can reveal and heal a lot of what goes on in politics.
The "love" part is essential; money in and of itself is, in the words they taught me in school, "a medium of exchange", but from there it gets complicated. I noticed early on that we use the word "love" in at least two different ways; "I love ice cream" means "I really enjoy ice cream" but evinces no regard for the ice cream itself. "I love you, can mean that" but it's more profound application is "I care about you". You can still love someone who is giving you a very hard time, as any parent knows. Many uses of the word "love" don't actually mean this.
I find the phrase "love" of money confusing because I think it makes sense beyond enjoying money, but overlaps a deeper form of love only insofar as being what you value most. Not a sentient being, not even our physical planet, but the power of money to work ones will, whether it is to obtain a personal "yacht" the size of a mid-sized cruise ship, or financing wholesale changes to the laws of the nation to suit the pursuit of personal whims. In that respect it's the stuff that sociopathic dreams are made of, while also being useful for facilitating fair trade, or at least fairer trade. for many, many others.
Milton Friedman, the brain trust of "Reaganomics" was celebrated among the rich and powerful for declaring:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
Now, if a corporation is really an independent citizen and worthy of individual rights as such (but of not social responsibilities) what kind of citizen are we talking about?
Friedman made much of the fact that he found the word "fair" nowhere in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution; so phooey on fair. But Justice is prominently mentioned, what is "fair" that "justice" is not?
J L, yes our DNA contains many "seeds of darkness" yet our DNA also contains the seeds of hope, fairness, altruism and cooperation. It depends on individual decisions and actions as to which seeds flower most successfully.
"Nature" has a lot of rough edges, but cooperation can be found throughout nature, even at the unicellular level. Even inter-species; symbiosis. There would be no complex organisms, even a sponge, let alone us, without cooperation. We can see traits very similar to our own in other animals; even tenderness. We evolved with the "kit" we need, even our more primitive "reptile brain" in the cranial basement. Somehow we need to get a lot smarter about putting it all together.
The protests of the 60s are still thorns in the sides of the business interests that actually defeated them by turning "hippies" into a major income stream in the 70s.
Yup, so maybe the horses need to be smarter about it. Yes, we need leadership, collectively as individuals, and as those who are trusted (but under our supervision) to apply skills to organize our efforts; but in the end, no animal more equal than others.
Steven, I fear what Nixon and those in his cabinet liked about Kissinger's "pragmatic diplomacy" was that it proved to be a values-free kind of diplomacy, one that allowed all sorts of devious, insidious plotting and clandestine actions to keep USA pulling everyone else's strings as if we understood everything better than those living where our plotting had its worst effects. That Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize remains one of the supreme ironies of our country's history!
Crazy thing is: when you partner with the Bull Elephant (USA) and you are one of the lesser animals such as the Big Mouse (Canada) or the French Fly (France) or the Berlin Bär (Germany) you get dominated, no matter what is intended. Even as USA's intentions become more partner-ish, Europeans and maybe others are searching for ways to "stand independently", but they can't, even when the bankrupt Russian Snake (Russian Fed) attacks them in their sphere of influence. They need the Bull Elephant.
bruce, you make a very good point, as long as the bull elephant isn't frightened or alarmed by the mice of "socialism" or misapprehend that socialism as Communism which Kissinger and his cadre seemed to believe.
Steven, regarding "tough love" from the USA to Israel, let's see what happens. If that happens, which I doubt, it will be the first time since 1917 AND it might also mean that Trump wins the election.
Remember, Trump and "Bibi" are buddies. If the American Jewish vote goes to Trump AND the Jewish campaign donations go to Trump, it could unseat Biden easily. Remember, Trump is viewed very, very, very favorably by the Jewish community in the USA.
‘TFG is viewed very, very favorably by the Jewish community in the USA’?
Are you even Jewish, my dude? I am and no Jew that I know (and I know many) thinks of TFG as anything other than a fascist anti-Semite. There are a few who support him because of what he’s ’done for Israel’ . Whatever that is. Moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, which put the nail in the coffin of a two-state solution. Propped up Netanyahu, who is massively unpopular in Israel.
And don’t cite his ‘Jewish son-in-law’ and ‘Jewish grandchildren’. Window dressing.
I was thinking of posting the same thing! I'm not Jewish, but 4 of my best friends are, & they have all despised Bibi for years! They are also all strong Democrats. One of them is a woman who persuaded me to join Postcards to Voters.
A wonderful epithet and a fabulous sentiment. "Cocksplat" is just fabulous. "Religion is the root of all evil" is chillingly accurate. How much of human life has been extinguished in the name of God*?
as another Jewish American, I whole heartedly assert that TFG is NOT viewed favorably by American Jews. Think: Robert Reich, whose voice, IMHO, reflects how the Jews in my own community think and feel.
Mike, there ARE some very rich Jews who are part of the oligarch class who would support anyone except a Democrat who believes in a "regulated capitalism".
But speaking for the very large Jewish family that I was fortunate enough to marry into, Trump is viewed by them as a monster. I am talking about dozens and dozens of cousins and their mates and off spring. In fact, new cousins seem to emerge all the time. Why? DNA tracking, 23andMe, Facebooking, etc. This family was scattered all over the world starting in 1492 (and before) and of course as a result of the Holocaust. They are not going to vote for a racist bigot.
I count one or two Trumpers among them. They would be outnumbered one hundred to one. And I think by now they might be on board with Nikki (shape shifting lizard) Haley. Hope that assuages your concern, Mike.
Guess you haven’t met my 94 year old Jewish aunt. She can barely see anymore but listens well and is up on everything happening. Conversations with her are filled with her disgust and anger with our current far-right idiots. I might add as a footnote, since retirement from teaching she has single-handedly being working to save Yiddish as a living language (she lives in the Beltway and until recently really got around.)
Hi Mike, based on (MANY) discussions I've had with my (MANY) Jewish friends, the "stats" work out like this - approximately 90% view Trump as a liar, a fraud, a con, a coward, a traitor, a criminal, our country's "Presidential Accident" and "America's Disgrace." Which leaves 10% who support Trump. And, as to the 10% who support Trump, they support him solely because they like the tax cuts he put in place soon after he was elected President.
Two words, FASCISM and FASCIST, are nouns with unique meaning that must be used - with nihilism, Orwellian, prejudice, racism, intolerance and others to describe and discuss what’s sweeping America, mideastern, eastern and western culture and civilization, and the world tonight. US slavery, our Civil War, treatment of our indigenous, ongoing treatment of nonwhite, women, homosexuals, queer or gay, and migrants to come, are important to discuss, not to ignore.
... how do we live by the Golden Rule when (highly organized) lying, cheating, murderous, rapist, thieving thugs calling themselves superior seek to dominate the "free world" ...?!
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow returns to Chicago Humanities to expose the shocking truth behind subversive attempts to undermine democracy and the inspiring tales of those who rose to challenge the insurrectionists.
*****
Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angeles
Rachel Maddow discussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism," traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
Her response to the last question is deeply inspirational.
*****
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
Rachel Maddow (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher) – Oct. 17 2023
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
*****
Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross (Author)
October 24, 2017
The chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles, and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it.
*****
... giving thanks for a multi-dimensional universe ... we all are tested in this world - through these times ... choose well ....
Thank you ...poignant indeed ... yes, a downward spiral - such is the nature of the Kali Yuga era we currently must cycle through ... another 500 years or so to go (from what I hear) as gears of the cosmic clock grind on into another round of spirals (upward and downward concurrently?) ... what we do now impacts the blueprint of what will come ... giving thanks for a multidimensional universe - choosing to live by the Golden Rule, regardless of circumstance ... ready and willing to live and die with a smile on my face, a song in my heart ... and live on ....
Peace in one breath ... one breath at a time ... be well ....
Hi U.S.D. Dracula ... for all I know, your wish will be granted! Dragonflies are such mythical beings ... so, I don't really know - but do have a sense that life goes on - one way or another ... if one crisis passes within 100 years - likely, another will emerge, along with seeds of resolution and transcendence as the greater body continues to evolve through and beyond time ... I would not frame outcomes in time ... just know the river flows as life and the living come and go ... I see no endings - or beginnings - only a perpetual weave in process ... and who can say what will come ... taking it one breath at a time ... fly free dragonfly - peace and love through it all ...!! ka
Well said, I will not live long enough to see how this plays out but I hope that certain living actors on the international stage get what is coming to them . But history tells us that power corrupts even those who start out with good intentions. Those who lust for power and too many who gain leadership with good intentions become seduced by bright shiny things and become no better and sometimes worse than those they have pushed out of power.
I hope so. It’s past time for that. The Biden Administration continues to present a human face to the world, not the slick Willy bully face of extremism. This is complicated. We can’t afford to sit on our hands and watch the game. Democracy and decency are not spectator sports.
AND he has "good hair". maybe HE should run for president, if endorsed by Biden. Newsom may be too tied to the left-coast. i LOVE Biden, but am concerned that his age may impact how many votes he gets. Younger blood, if endorsed by Biden and committed to giving Biden a key role in his administration, might be what's needed to win the race.
Please people, let’s stop pointing out the obvious and leave that to trump, MAGA’s and others who have their own agenda. Our main objective should be and remain concentrated on getting the Biden/Harris administration along with as many responsible and honest democrats elected to office in 2024. When last I checked the only real blemish was the exit from Afghanistan, where the administration had been crippled by the actions of the TFG’s administration!
Getting a second term for the current administration is my personal first choice. Any blemishes are relatively minimal and i give the Biden Admin. flying colors and A++ for a GREAT job under impossible duress. However, electability is critical. My main objective is to see a moral, honorable, decent human (also capable and experienced) elected as our president. Someone who CAN defeat Trump. I don't know that Biden/Harris has a strong enough chance. I'm worried. I'm starting to wonder if a younger Democrat -- selected, endorsed and ultimately counseled by Biden -- might not have a better chance. might be a better bet. it's a question on my mind.
I'm interested in discussing the pros and cons of this line of thought. Part of my concern with Biden and Harris running together again is that -- given Biden's age and Kamala's apparent unpopularity (in addition to the challenges of being both black and female) -- may add up to a losing ticket. And this is one race none of us can afford to lose. I am afraid that Kamala is a serious liability for Biden in 2024. If HE ditches her for an alternate VP (which I don't think he'll ever do) he would incur the wrath of MANY. If Newsom or even Blinken were to run with Biden's endorsement, they'd be free to choose a VP that would help rather than hinder their chances of winning 2024.
Lani, the Biden/Harris team won three years ago with no team record of accomplishments … history will record Biden as one of the most successful presidents in terms of accomplishments under great odds - just ask MT-G, even she knows he’s successfully compared FDR, LBJ and if recall she also mentioned Clinton … hello!
YES!! And we must keep in mind that the people who are appointed by the President are the ones who really determine how good or bad an administration ends up being. Biden has been outstanding in appointing people who are competent, dedicated to serving the public good, who are helping our country. He knows how to delegate responsibility. I want to keep the current Cabinet members.
Trump is nearly as old as Biden, but he’s evil and crazy. I wish people would stop harping on Biden’s age...he keeps a schedule at home and abroad that I couldn’t have matched at 60 years old.
I am guardedly optimistic that Secretary Blinken's statement today, properly described as "extraordinarily strong" by Heather, will take deep root. A credible path toward the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for statehood is indeed a necessity.
The NYT broke a story tonight that the Netanyahu government was alerted to Hamas' plans for a "new raid, unprecedented in scope", i.e., the exact raid that took place on 10/7/23, more than a year ago, but that the intelligence higher ups put the kibosh on the conclusion of the veteran female analyst that promulgated the alert.
Incredible. Heads within the Israeli government (hopefully Netanyahu's), military and both Mossad and Shin Bet should roll as a result of this.
Combining this with the fact that Netanyahu's right-of-right Likud coalition had pulled troops from the Gaza border earlier this year so as to protect the fanatical Israeli settlers taking land from Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a major scandal has been launched for sure.
I think this is the most balanced description of the U.S. Administration's actions in this current Middle East crisis. Perhaps it's time to start putting Letters from an a American on a more public platform.
The glimpse at Henry Kissinger's implementation of American diplomacy which was rooted in "the ends justify the means" logic and the inevitable chaos and destruction that caused must be reckoned and we must resolve that U.S. diplomacy will be more thoughtful, more democratic, and more respectful of the goals of the peoples of a region as it seems to be now under Blinken's hand.
Biden and Blinken are a formidable leadership team of a marvelous unnamed Diplomatic corps. May they succeed and may the American people support their efforts by coming together in the streets not for one side or the other but for a unified future that includes peace, security, and prosperity for all. Signed Tiny Tim.
It seems to me that a lot of clandestine chess-playing (too bad for the pawns) has blown up in our faces, short term advantage turned to long term headaches, let alone a betrayal of our stated values, and of human rights.
Read: The Ugly American, a novel by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, published in 1958. I think I read it in 1968. It is a fictionalized account of Americans working in Southeast Asia, the book was notable chiefly for exposing many of the deficiencies in U.S. foreign-aid policy and for causing a furor in government circles.
And the book coined a term that should have enlightened us. But sadly, it became a characterization - the obnoxious American couple, he with a camera around his neck, talking too loud in the restaurant, she insulting the wait staff with her ignorance. We made a joke out of it.
But it was another example of American Arrogance - American Exceptionalism. Makes me want to vomit.
I recall the joke but did not know of the story. There are al kinds of ugly, but hubris and disregard especially so, whether in the form of presumed social entitlement in restaurant, or playing games with human lives. The camera part depends on whether it is used for keen observation or a "gotta catch 'em all" extension of ego.
It’s hard to be a ‘casual’ observer of this conflict anymore. The previous attitude about a “two-state” solution that was aspirational before, seems unlikely now. Bombing Gaza into the stone age seems to be a clear sign that Israel does not and will not support that.
Now that Gaza is a crater, it seems hard to imagine how the funds will be available to recreate Gaza anyway. It’s rubble.
I don’t see where a ‘state’ can even be created given this destruction. I don’t even know what the economic drivers were for the Palestinians in the best of times. Now…and going forward, ?.
The space the Palestinians have/had has been shrinking for decades. I won’t profess to understand the politics, but I can see the map. It’s harsh.
It would be great if space could be shared, and two ‘states’ could be created; but it seems less likely as time goes on. I understand the fight. America did it with ‘reservations’ in its handling of indigenous peoples, but this fight does not seem amenable to even that. Sad.
It is sad. Sadder still is the persistent belief , especially among extremists, that terrorism and war solve anything. They don’t. Tacitus had it right. “They create a devastation and call it peace.”
My recollection of the results of WWII is that much of Europe, certainly the major cities in Germany including the industrial and cultural centers of London, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne, Liverpool, Birmingham and Hamburg—had been partly or wholly destroyed yet with the support provided by the largely US-funded Marshall Plan, their reconstruction provided the basis not only for employment and commerce but resulted in some of the most vibrant economies in Europe. It would seem not beyond possibility that a similar kind of plan could be provided to Gaza.
Blinken answered: “Few people were better students of history—even fewer people did more to shape history—than Henry Kissinger.” --- spoken like a true diplomat!
I'm amazed even that slimebucket Herzog could still claim him after he was recorded saying in 1972 that if the Soviets set up a Holocaust like the Nazis had with Soviet Jews, that it wouldn't be an "American problem."
I say/hope the same thing, but I don't think it will ever come to pass. Even when I ask the question I get shredded from both sides. I have Palestinian relatives in the USA and elsewhere (wonderful people, family to me) who would sooner die than let that happen. The Orthodox and conservative Jewish folks I know have a promise from God, to them a two state is blasphemy. Never happen...
People with power who play games in which the harm to others is of no concern are sociopaths. Sometimes the best one can do is reduce harm, as Blinken's diplomacy seems to be doing, but it is a disservice to humanity to pussyfoot around Kissinger's sociopathy. I don't know if it was intentional on the part of scriptwriters,, but many people compared him to "Dr. Strangelove". If I recall correctly, Kissinger is supposed to have claimed that "power is the best aphrodisiac", which struck me as really creepy.
Guess that’s why chump thinks he’s the cat’s meow, and really hates that he let the ultimate power slip through his hands. Guess his money is not enough to get the babes, unless they are desperate MAGAts.
It's important to point out the obvious - events in other parts of the world impact the USA, AND the decisions of the USA influence the other countries of the world. These LFAM have been headlined by the Hamas/Israel/Qatar negotiations - no one should pretend "America First" means "America Only" nor "America Alone." It chills my soul to think of what might be playing out in the Middle East right now without the EXPERIENCED & WISE LEADERSHIP of President Joe Biden (and the apparently indefatigable SOS Anthony Blinken.) At SOME point, LEADERS must count the costs and consider the consequences - particularly in pursuing a war policy, and if there is a perceivable end to hostilities.
Thank you Professor for the clear & updated report on possible future hostage & prisoner exchanges. My question goes to the impact of the New York Times revelation today by authors, Ronen Bergman & Adam Goldberg that Israeli intelligence, primarily the work of a female analyst, of a 40 Page blueprint of the October 7th attack that contained facts in "shocking precision"to later events.
Bergman & Goldberg report that Netanyahu & other officials were aware of the document titled "JERICHO WALL" but, allegedly thought it to be "aspirational"or otherwise dismissed the plan. A former US National Security chief stated on MSNBC today that the CIA was not aware of the document nor was the US asked to vet any intelligence.
Can Netanyahu stay in power, continue with the Hamas war while avoiding criminal & fraud prosecution?
I recall that Bush and Cheney were warned that Al-Qaeda was up to something big. Oh well. Obama had plans in place for managing a pandemic, but Republicans dismissed them. Could this be a pattern of arrogance?
I imagine you have read Naomi Klein. I regard money as one of many forms of power, and of potentially coercive powers I see the big three (no doubt there are more) being money, social position, and violence, and the more corrupt the society, the more easily those powers are interchangeable. Despots capture all three. I once read in interview in which Trump gleefully bragged about suing a critic, knowing (or claiming to know) he could not win, but nevertheless severely harassing his target at trivial cost to himself. I have been unable to relocate the interview by Internet search because Trump is such a crapstorm of lawsuits. I his first prosecution, Jeffery Epstein got the deluxe package while a man whose "third strike" was life imprisonment for for a black man shoplifting some videos for his kids, and Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion, stated that imprisonment for any crime, no matter how trivial, was entirely just. Unalienable rights be damned.
Lord Acton famously said that power tends to corrupt, but was not the first to say so. Timothy of the Bible said that the love of money is the root of all evil; but I would broaden that to the "love" of power. Who and what would you discount or sell out to gain and maintain power? The devil is in the details. The classic devil's bargain? Souls for power.
J L Graham, yes, I read Shock Doctrine a long time ago and have listened to various interviews of Klein. She is outstanding.
I agree with you that money is just one form of power and so, I too extend the parameters of causation beyond the biblical saying that money is the root of all evil. Jimi Hendrix said it best, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (I always interpret that as harmony within individuals and between people everywhere in any and all configurations.)
It's all a package in authoritarianism; top-down subjugation. Lincoln, who helped create the frickin' Republican Party said:
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities."
As well as saying government ought not interfere with things that people can do for themselves, but imagine ANY Republican saying those words today? Reagan claimed that government was our problem, but only really attacked the of, by and for side of it, the common weal. His "Supply Side" was the very rich and what Republicans mean by "free market' is anti-antitrust; the monopolistic "Robber Barons" were the good guys all along. Freedom is essentially for all or it's not meaningful freedom. The latter is privilege for some and constraint for others. A Free Country is one of equal legal rights, equal protection, equal opportunity, and though more complex, equalized responsibility. It is not a place where people of bullied with impunity. So what is a genuine "Free Market"?
No, he cannot. If he had any decency, he would fall on his sword, but there can be no expectation of decency in a man who puts himself above all others and leads his country down a path of death and destruction in a vain attempt to stay out of jail, only compounding his guilt in the process.
...let alone his abject failure to protect Israeli citizens by failing to perceive and prepare for the attack he was warned would come as much as a year earlier!
The Rolling Stone article mentioned already in the comments, and the rundown of Kissinger's legacy in TCinLA's blog, were both excellent. I relief upon those, and and references about Kissinger in the books Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer, and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent, and submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Orange County Register the following, in response to the retrospective about Kissinger from AP journalist Nancy Benac <<<https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-former-secretary-of-state-dead-at-100/>>>:
Ms. Benac's article about the passing of Henry Kissinger exemplifies misleading both-sides-ism. It leaves the reader wondering why Mr. Kissinger was dogged by critics for decades. Non-controversial facts supported by primary documentation prove that Kissinger promoted the idea that World War III could be won. He expressed callous indifference to the violent repression of Jews in Russia. He directed secret carpet-bombing of Cambodia leading to the deaths of up to 500,000 civilians. He tacitly approved and even joked about Pakistani genocide of 300,000 Bengalis. He was deeply involved in the Chilean coup of 1970 in which the elected president Salvador Allende died, and he never distanced himself from the murderous Augusto Pinochet, who implemented a vicious, corrupt dictatorship. There are many additional examples in the Nov 29 Rolling Stone article by Spencer Ackerman (East Timor, Khmer Rouge, illegal wiretaps, etc.). Never turn away from the truth, which is its own justification.
Addendum, to the Editors: Sources of non-controversial facts about Kissinger are detailed in numerous highly-respected books, including Legacy of Ashes, by Tim Weiner, and The Price of Power, by Seymour Hersch, Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer, and the legendary Manufacturing Consent, by Noam Chomsky, which explained in granular detail how Kissinger misled the American public by engaging in “blatant deception” regarding the negotiations ending the Vietnam War, to protect Nixon’s reputation, which the traditional media in the U.S. accepted without scrutiny or challenge.
I encourage everyone writing passionate remarks in these comments sections to also send letters to the newpapers in response to articles you find lacking, and to the journalists who wrote them, letting them know about your outrage, as long as you remain accurate, and speak to a person's actions without stooping to name-calling or personalized attacks. To call Kissinger's actions tantamount to war crimes, and why you think so, is strong but justified, as opposed to tossing our some snarky phrase; much more persuasive to point out, as HCR did, that Kissinger's actions were largely responsible for hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.
Many various headlines about Kissinger today, but this one from Rolling Stone caught my eye, "Henry Kissinger, War Criminal Beloved by America's Ruling Class, Finally Dies."
Anne-Louise, agree 200%. We who have lived long enough know the facts. But we didn't know all of them. I was horrified at the man's deadly accomplishments that I didn’t know about--such as Kissinger being the one who brokered Nixon's extension of the Vietnam War, killing thousands more of my fellow soldiers and airmen. Americans!
I blamed Nixon alone for that all this time....
Excuse me, I was replying to Bonnie. Stage 4 cataracts, gotta have the surgery.
The surgery is life-changing. One of the best things I ever did.
Agree 100%. At 69, I am now seeing like a kid again, both near and far.
Me too, cataracts and cornea transplants! 78 here
Me too!
Gus, after surgery for stage 4 cataracts, you’ll be amazed at how bright the colors of your world will become.
best surgery ever. How I saw colors changed - everything was brighter. The cataracts make an ochre film which dulls everything. You'll be very happy to have it done.
Okay, you talked me into it! My opthalmologist has suggested it for years now.
Don’t put it off any longer!
Amazing how many of us have had cataract surgery! Me too!
I haven't. At my most recent eye app't, a year ago, my cadillacs were deemed relatively minor even though I've had 'em more than 20 years. (I'm very sensitive both to anything that's wrong with my body, and anything that's wrong with the engine in my car, the first symptom I ever perceived--at age 17--an ever so slight--would have been imperceptible to anyone else--loss of power after crossing the Mississippi at 2 in the morning, on my way from Cape Cod to Stanford, CA in the 8 year old '62 Falcon due to plaque buildup in the carburetor--a problem that came to a head towards the end of Wyoming, and had to be fixed in Salt Lake City. And that sensitivity has served me well.)
I had a 62 Falcon, bless you
Ha!
Mine was baby blue
We both had cataract surgery some time ago. Since I didn't go for the expensive lenses, I still require glasses, but people should get the surgery as soon as the doctor says they need it.
LOL
Get them taken care of and you will be able to see like you did when you were a child. Take it from one who had it done one year ago.
I can’t wait for mine. You go!
Gus, I had Cataract surgery 13 months past should have done it couple years earlier. Easy recovery and great results. Mono vision lens implants are serving me well at age 79. Good luck and all best
Ken, thanks for that encouraging word! Now I have to find a good local shop to do it, very soon....
My husband had lasic (spelling??) many years ago. Then he developed cataracts and had that surgery many years ago. Then about 3-4 years ago one of the retina lenses that they put in during the cataract surgery came loose and he couldn't see out of the eye. So then he had 2 TOTALLY unsuccessful surgeries to fix that. After that we went to a very good surgeon at the University of Michigan and he did another surgery to fix the problem caused by the first two unsuccessful ones. Unfortunately, about 6 months later his cornea started to deteriorate so he had a cornea transplant because he couldn't see. We knew it was a long shot and it didn't work. He is now blind in the eye, has unbelievably high pressure and often pain in the eye. After seeing a glaucoma specialist this week, and getting yet another set of drops to try, she suggested that if he continues to have the horrible pain in his eye, she would suggest removing the eye totally and replacing it with a glass eye...pick your doctor wisely. I think the first one my husband saw was clueless.
Collette, good advice--but scary!
I had that surgery in both eyes 24 years ago ( at 54, one of Doc's youngest patients) and I've enjoyed perfect vision until just recently, and all I need are slightly corrective glasses - you will be so happy! And it was a relatively benign procedure. Blessings,
All the best on the surgery, Gus Koch! I hope you're not driving until you've had it.
Still drive, maybe twice a week, only local and only during the day. Post office, drug store...
The surgery is not always easy. It’s not 100% perfect. Someone has to be in that small percentage. I’m one. I have dry eye and astigmatism. Evidently that combination can lead to complications. Do have the surgery by all means but also talk to your ophthamologist about what to do if you do have problems. Talk to your surgeon, too. Be prepared. I wish I had been forewarned.
I was one of those people who had problems. It took months to improve. I was still thrilled with the visual improvements. Now the pain is all gone and I can see. Since I have one eye that is far worse than the other, I was not a candidate for the bifocal lenses. I still need reading glasses. What I decided to do was have bifocal glasses with my reading prescription at the bottom and near clear at the top. With the top prescription, I can see better than 20/20.
Dont forget the far greater number of Vietnamese. You barely ifever hear the human Palestinian tragedies courtesy of the Israelis.
Huh? I'm not sure what feed you're looking at because I'm seeing almost nothing but reports of "the human tragedies courtesy of the Israelis." What are you using for news?
Dr. Richardson's missive today, paragraph by paragraph, displays the seemingly unsolvable contradictions of this war -- regardless of any Israeli commitment to "minimizing civilian losses," so long as Palestinians wedded to violence embed themselves next to their neighbors while planning and launching attacks against Israel, those neighbors will have to die along with them when Israel counterattacks.
The bottom line is that the rocket, mortar, and terroristic attacks on Israelis must stop, permanently, and the Palestinians, hopefully with international help, will have to do the stopping without demanding prior conditions. Until that happens, Israel has little recourse but to thresh and concentrate those poor Palestinians, both the violent and their peaceful neighbors, into smaller and smaller areas.
Where is Palestinian leadership? Where is there a voice for these Palestinian victims? Obviously no one's listening to Blinken: “I made clear that before Israel resumes major military operations, it must put in place humanitarian civilian protection plans that minimize further casualties of innocent Palestinians.”
He also said that "They must avoid more displacement of citizens in Gaza and allow those already displaced to return as soon as conditions permit." Return to what?
The vast majority of Jews are against the Israeli government. IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first. Now we learn that Israeli Intelligence knew every detail of what Hamas was planning to do on October 7 and dismissed it as fantasy. Really? Could one of the most sophisticated Intelligence agencies in the world be so stupid? Or is it possible that they let it happen so they would have an excuse to destroy Hamas?
Likely that the vast majority of Palestinians are against the Palestinian (Hamas) government. Just like a majority of Americans don’t support chump. Elections are subject to all kinds of manipulation, it seems.
" IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first."
Hamas raped, tortured, murdered, and kidnapped civilians including babies, the elderly, and the disabled. Moreover, they did it gleefully, recorded it on their phones, bragged about it to their parents. They were so proud that they paraded their victims through the streets of Gaza--women with blood pouring out of their shorts--and the Gazans cheered.
And they said that they would do it again, and again, and again.
Israel was forced to strike back--needed to keep the pressure on so that they could force the return of their hostages. And it worked. Dozens of hostages have been returned so far.
Moreover is had to send a message to Hezbollah, the Houthis, as well as their supporter Iran, all of whom boast that their mission is to kill all the Jews in Israel. If Israel is perceived to be weak, that would encourage Iran and its proxies to strike.
In addition, the Israeli Defense Force uses targeted strikes-- they dropped millions of leaflets, made phones calls, texts, used WhatsApp to warn civilians to flee. Of course this also warned Hamas fighters as well.
Had the IDF not used targeted strikes, they could have killed at the rate that the Allies did in Dresden, when 25,000 Germans, mainly civilians, were killed in 3 days. Or the bombing of Tokyo, when 100,000 Japanese were killed in a single night.
Hamas estimates the number of dead so far is 14,000. Likely many are their own terrorists (they are not soldiers-- they blend in with civilians-- wear no uniform). Likely they exaggerate the number. We know there are casualties from their own misfired rockets.
And I also have to say that reading your statement,
" IMO the only difference between it and Hamas is that Hamas struck first." makes me physically ill.
I am getting tired of this one sided narrative of what's really going on with this war. Scholars concur that the Israelis have perpetuated a pressure cooker atmosphere with the way they treat the Palestinians. I saw this with my own eyes in the West Bank. The Israeli army also engaged in indiscriminate killing. Based on eyewitness testimonies and analyses of photos and videos Amnesty International is already calling for investigations of war crimes by the Israelis:
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2023/10/damning-evidence-of-war-crimes-as-israeli-attacks-wipe-out-entire-families-in-gaza/
I believe that Hamas is a bit more responsible for Israeli deaths and injuries than the Palestinian civilians. And civilian deaths are up over 10,000 - mostly women and children. Somehow I doubt they were all terrorists.
I'm absolutely sure you're right that the vast majority of the inhabitants ("citizens?") of Gaza are horrified by what Hamas has done. But I don't see how anyone from the outside can tell them apart. Somehow, the Palestinians themselves will have to find a way to differentiate the violent from the peaceful.
There are also people in Gaza who are forced to work for Hamas against their will. But it's also true that Gaza is one of the most densely populated places on earth, and it is physically impossible for Israel to avoid slaughtering innocent people while ostensibly aiming for Hamas - and both Israel and the US know it. To claim to care about Palestinian lives is sheer hypocrisy. Israelis are precious, but Palestinians are called cockroaches in Israel.
Yes thats true. I'm thinking thats harder than it appears to us on the outside of the issue.
Agreed and I read that the Hamas who are actually in Gaza are now hiding out in southern Gaza.
Is it Southern or Northern Gaza where they are telling civilians to go? Not that it matters at this point.
Sorry, i was too focussed on American news showing personal suffering by families of hostages taken by Hamas, endless interviews, didnt explain that in my initial comment. I can't say ive seen much of that kind of personal rendering of Palestinians in the media. If I'm wrong, mea culpa.
No worries. Trying to form a coherent opinion on this horrid situation is like a Zen exercise, holding 10 contradictory notions in your mind, all at once, without emphasizing any of them.
Another post I wish I could like 100 times.
Uh, Frank Loomer, lets not forget who started this current Middle East war. Yes, in the past Palestinians have sometimes gotten short shrift, and Netanyahu is a dreadful human being, but this war started with an absolutely brutal attack on Israelis, including women and children, including rape used as a weapon by Hamas on Israelis.
(And thank heaven this happened under Biden's presidency!)
Your parenthesized final statement is of immense importance. Imagine the bloodbath that would have ensued had tfg been in office. Not to say it isn’t already one, but Palestinian genocide would have been the end game had the orange clown circus been running the show.
Keep in mind what an Anti-semite tfg is.
Absolutely. Irony is his base is pro Israel but we all know he, personally, is not. One of 2,000 contradictions of the narcissistic hypocrite.
Exactly. We are just so damn lucky!!! Thank you.
I did think about the deaths of people in SE Asia as the result of the extension of the Vietnam War and also into neighboring countries.
Gus; Blaming Nixon primarily is appropriate because he was President, but it seems Kissinger was the awfulness architect.
That and so much more....
Bonnie,
Thank you for the title. I looked up the article and beneath the title it says:
"The infamy of Nixon's foreign-policy architect sits, eternally, beside that of history's worst mass murderers. A deeper shame attaches to the country that celebrates him"
I guess that about sums it up for Kissinger and for US of A.
In other news, NY Times reports that Israel received a report from an Israeli agent (a woman) who had observed a mock attack by Hamas very similar to a war plan that Israeli intelligence had obtained detailing Hamas' ultimate actual attack. Israel received this intelligence well before the actual attack.
Of course, she was ignored by Bibi and company, in spite of her speaking up after she was ignored.
Nice. A smart woman speaks up in a way that could have saved thousands and thousands of lives and prevented a war and THEN observes the mock invasion by Hamas and THEN?
Is completely ignored by Bibi and his NitWits. gift link below. Unbelievable.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck0.R_iH.Ee0NYLMVn544&smid=url-share
Just finished a book about the women of the CIA—same situation with a group of female analysts and Bin Laden. No one would listen. Hysterical women, you know.
It just occurred to me: Maybe NitWitYahoo ignored her ON PURPOSE to enable Hamas to attack so he could then prosecute the "Final Solution" to the Palestinian problem?? Which, he does appear to have begun the first stage of.
Now that, Ladies and Gentlemen, is a blockbuster Conspiracy Theory for you!
And just might be true, especially given that N. may be out as soon as the end of the current conflict is near or there's another major SNAFU in the Israeli defense operation.
Wouldn't surprise me, Mike.
Mike, I wouldn't be surprised at all. He needs to keep things stirred up because that criminal wants power and doesn't want to be held responsible for his criminal activity.
Maybe conspiracy, but it sure sounds not just possible but probable. Sad to say. I have a young Jewish business colleague who years ago thought she was going to spend her whole life working in Israel, but returned to the US because the racism in Israel against the Palestinians was unbearable to her.
I wish I were sure it weren't true, Mike S, but this is quite plausible. Thank heaven this happened during Biden's presidency.
Makes sense to me!
Where have you been. We all know Net. was warned by Jordan and Egypt.
I read somewhere that Hamas was created by Israel to undermine formation of the Palestinian Authority. A search for deeper insight turned up the following articles ...:
*****
New York Times report says Israel knew about Hamas attack over a year in advance
https://apnews.com/article/new-york-times-hamas-attack-israel-gaza-6088cad78f5e4153d671fe9b5b819308
*****
How and why Israel helped create Hamas?
Not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to PLO
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2302309/how-and-why-israel-helped-create-hamas
*****
For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it's blown up in our faces
The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
*****
What is Hamas? What to know about its origins, leaders and funding
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-is-hamas-what-to-know-about-its-origins-leaders-and-funding
*****
The Israeli Right's Campaign to Delegitimize the Palestinian Authority Is How Hamas Will Win
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-11-28/ty-article-opinion/.premium/the-israeli-rights-campaign-to-delegitimize-the-pa-is-how-hamas-will-win/0000018c-1294-dd2e-a5ae-d3dfde8c0000
*****
WHAT IS HAMAS?
The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas
*****
What are the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict?
Recent events are the culmination of a decades-long clash in the disputed region of the Middle East
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/09/why-israel-palestine-conflict-history
*****
What was Hamas thinking? For over three decades, it has had the same brutal idea of victory
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-conflict-endgame-1bfcc187d826596e78090ec6cbf6516c
*****
HOW NETANYAHU'S HAMAS POLICY CAME BACK TO HAUNT HIM - AND ISRAEL
The Israeli leader and Hamas are deadly enemies — and allies in opposing a 2-state solution
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/netanyahu-israel-gaza-hamas-1.7010035
*****
History Illustrated: The story of Hamas and its fight for Palestine
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/11/history-illustrated-the-story-of-hamas-and-its-fight-for-palestine
*****
Peace - be well, ka
My 1st thought.
ML, hysteria coming from the ancient Greeks where the women of Athens were never considered adults. It is really astounding what women were responsible for in terms of scientific studies, often to fall into oblivion, or have their work plagiarized by some male. And at age 80 with a reasonable intelligence, excellent education, and voracious reading, I still hear mansplaining.
Last year I spent the summer reading up on the history of misogyny, and it was quite an education especially when it still makes me see it all around me. "Hysteria" is an interesting term, it originates with the root word "hyster," which means womb or uterus.
Oh yes. It is an interesting word...we women are so emotional you know that we can't be leaders.... why is the image of Kavanaugh crying coming up for me. Unfortunately, most males are brought up to feel entitlement and we see the results of that all the time.
To this day, doctors (even female doctors) still treat women as being inclined toward hysteria and pat heads telling us our complaints are in our heads or just stress. It’s in their training as misogyny and sexism are passed down from their teachers. How many women have died from heart attacks and other diseases and disorders which could have been prevented if only the doctors listened without bias.
Women have it even worse in other cultures. Until recently, for example, women in Saudi Arabia went to prison for driving a car. In Iran, not wearing a headscarf will get you beaten up or even killed. And in many places, nobody will go to jail for killing a woman. Here in the US, there are still dinosaurs who call female college students "co-eds," a hoary old term for girls (and don't get me started on the persistent use of the term "girl" to describe adult women in western culture) in college and who were presumed to be there only to find a husband.
One of the worst aspects in misogyny is in health care. Here in the US we rank 55th in maternal deaths. Women are consistently the victims of income inequality because poverty is directly linked to sex, race and income. Poor Black and indigenous women are denied the care middle class white women take for granted.
Yes, a mental illness in a woman was explained as her having a "wandering uterus". And one reporting incest was clearly psychotic.
Infuriating- what’s the title of the book? I’d like to read it
See below.
Don't forget the oil.
Frankly, nobody gives a shit, what anybody says, as long as the "Texas tea" flows.
Cheney flew the Saudis out, on 9-11. NOT the next day, mind you. He got them OUT! FAST!
P.S., Ms. Plame is not an hysterical woman. She said Nah-thing. What happened, to her? Savvy?
May I ask what book?
MLMinET Perhaps it was "Black Flags" by Joby Warrick?
No. The Sisterhood: the secret history of women at the CIA by Liza Mundy
I hope part of Blinken's conversation with Netanyahu includes plans for new elections in Israel asap. Bibi's endless - if occasionally interrupted - term as prime minister has proven disastrous for both Palestinians and Israelis and is a risk for the rest of us as well. And, it would not surprise me if Hamas's intentions - assuming he even knew what his intelligence services knew - were viewed by Netanyahu as an opportunity to enact a sort of "final solution" with regards to Hamas. Chilling to imagine such a scenario, reassuring that the US has influence enough to stop it if we aren't afraid to use it.
I hope it's not wishful thinking, but Blinken seems to be signalling that he knows all this and Netanyahu has no choice but to face election. If Blinken can pull that off...
Here's hoping.
Netanyahu is avoiding an election at all costs; he knows he will lose.
He knows he will lose and he knows that clears the deck for his prosecution. Sound familiar? Millions must suffer so a megalomaniac can escape the punishment he so richly deserves? I hear echoes across the Atlantic.
How many years has his corruption conviction been around? will that be the same with trumpf? It has already been two years. Any of us would of been in jail and the key thrown away.
He won last time in spite of being under indictment, which is possibly where Trump came up with the same plan - Trump and Netanyahu have been friends for years. Here's the other Israeli criminal, Ehud Olmert, opining on the war:
https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2023/10/16/ehud-olmert-q-a-00121787
Interesting how Politico thought the opinions of a corrupt politician and convicted criminal would be worth publishing.
Dovetails back to Nixon, Kissinger and Vietnam. (Tho merely to win re-election, not avoid prosecution. I'd say that's worse).
The news that Israel had Hamas’ battle plan but ignored it may be—I hope—enough to drive him out.
Same reason if chump wins next year, we will never have another one.
May we/they say the same about Donald Trump--and soon.
Craig,
Half of Amurca is PROUD of Donald Trump and profoundly so. Haes a rael maen doncha know?
it is more like 35% of America not half. that kind of sounded like a lametreet media analysis.
Yuk
(turns on Southern accent) Yep, but the boy ain't right the heed.
Let's skip indulging in regional slurs. Not a good look, especially for someone from AZ. Trump is from New York, remember, and some of his most committed acolytes are from the NE as well.
(Should have said something yesterday, but folks were all about indulging fat slurs).
Yup - and the "problem" with melonhead isnt his accent!!
They’re cut from the same cloth and are totally self-serving, thinking only of themselves and the risk of being held accountable for their crimes if out of office.
"the laws of war" . . . now there's an oxymoron for you. Thanks to Heather and the community she has built for the smart exchange of ideas that makes a difference to us all.
Look at all the smart women now warning us about Trump - Dr. Richardson, Liz Cheney, Cassidy Hutchinson, Marie Yovanovitch, Fiona Hill - yes, and some men like Adam Kinziger too. Will our country stand by and ignore them too?
It appears that it already has, but thankfully, it’s beginning to catch on!
Recall, most of the terrorists who participated in the 9/11 attacks were known by intelligence sources to have entered the US but those sources lost track of them!!
Even though, during their flight training (in Florida, as I recall), they expressed NO interest, in learning how to land a plane.
They enrolled in my college's aviation program. I encountered them standing in a group outside of our library. They looked at me with hate. I greeted them, not knowing that they were terrorists. No answer, Muhammad Attah was among them, so I'm told by the Admissions Director. He was not admitted. They never enrolled. They just went to learn how not to land.
I recommend a fabulously entitled book, "Skating on Stilts" by Stewart Baker. Sure, some intelligence sources knew of the entry of the terrorists into the U.S., but were largely prevented from acting on the information by the barriers we have in place to protect U.S. citizens from government surveillance. The upshot is that in this country we don't trust our own government not to hurt us, so we don't want to give it the tools necessary to protect us.
Yeah, but now we have our phones listening to our every word so they can send us the best advertising!
Too late, now, Pal.
Mike, isn't that the plot of Alien? Smart woman ignored, everyone dies.
"Dubya", and, his crew, are comparable. Almost, the same, in fact. I guess that about sums it up for the US of A, as well.
P.S., I, allays, forget about Dubya's old man, and, Ronnie. That's how bad Dubya was.
Mike, it is clear that Hamas was training in plain sight. Bibi and his minions were too busy grabbing power for themselves and supporting far right Jews in the West Bank and allowing them to study and exempted them from military duties that all Israelis must do. Also a woman who would have no status with the far right in Israel.
Thank you Mike; very interesting. I see the gang of young men on the jeep and think of our gangs in the U.S. - groups of disenfranchised men without hope, jobs, or purpose; angry and alone, who feel the sense of belonging and comradery when they find each other to the point that they will seek vengence and do anything for their group and their common cause. Terrorizing on the playground, in the neighborhood, at other countries. Humans start out with no hate or bias, and they are formed by their world. If only we could harness that energy and intent into more constructive action.
Thank you Mike for gifting this article by the NYT. Tragedy beyond measure that this agent was not listened to.
not unbelievable at all, if the way he got into power was the fear and aggression of others.
I tried to ask my daughter to acknowledge the arch of history bending forward despite the hideous actions of Kissinger prolonging the Vietnam War, bombing Cambodia, empowering Pinochet, all while arrogantly basking his public image as a Renaissance Man and Don Juan.
Understandably, she was unwilling to excuse the personal carnage of so many for the future realization of the greater good and forwarded the Rolling Stone article to me.
Thank god for the the humanitarianism of the young that continually presses for the here and now.
I woke up today to reporting that Netanyahu’s government knew of Hamas’ plans to attack Israel civilians, dismissed it and instead encouraged far-right extremists in the West Bank to act with a free hand so as to weaken the legitimacy of the Palestinian Authority, strengthening his coalition and weakening calls for a two-state solution. The cynicism is shocking.
At hone, Trump is off the rails with authoritarian aspirations while promising to use the military to enforce his whims.
Is it any wonder that narcissists like Trump and Netanyahu rise to power when guys like Kissinger are lionized.
Paul, so Bibi supported Hamas to weaken the Palestinian Authority and now he’s encouraging lawlessness on the West Bank to further weaken them. Maybe Blinken can discourage him from his actions to sabotage work towards a two-state solution.
“Supported Hamas” seems to be overstated based on the facts in evidence and reporting I have seen.
He understands that Hamas would not gain international support in a negotiated two-state solution but the Palestinian Authority possibly could so he likely was more focused on the West Bank, promoting the interests of settlers, and weakening the PA.
He was preoccupied with holding together his far-right coalition to hold on to power, and arrogantly dismissed a threat identified by Israeli intelligence.
I am hardly well versed in Middle East intelligence but that’s my lay understanding of the facts.
Paul, I am far from an expert on Bibi and Hamas. Here are two articles that inform my understanding.
“The agreement between Hamas and Netanyahu that, after each round of fighting, Israel would allow funds from Qatar and elsewhere to flow back to Hamas. This was against the recommendation of much of his own security establishment. As has been seen, those funds were used by Hamas to build tunnels and stockpile weapons rather than build internal infrastructure for the people of Gaza “
https://thehill.com/opinion/international/4268794-the-symbiotic-relationship-between-netanyahu-and-hamas/amp/
“ For years, the various governments led by Benjamin Netanyahu took an approach that divided power between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank — bringing Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to his knees while making moves that propped up the Hamas terror group.”
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/amp/
Mary, thank you for posting these articles
You’re welcome.
I finally had a chance to read your link. Thank you.
You’re very welcome.
Perhaps BiBi’s neighbor, and like minded savage authoritarian, MBS can send some of his persuasive assistants to relive BIbi of his pain!!
Yikes.. "Beloved by America's Ruling Class"
D4N - I know, right? Rolling Stone tells it like it is. Maybe that's a phrase we should all be using.
Robert Reich also wrote a detailed article about Kissinger and his war crimes. I knew some of it, but learned much more. I will read Rolling Stone’s article. Their headline is awesome.
That's my dream. It's my nightmare: To be...beloved...by America's ruling class.
AKA: "military industrial complex" and their cousins - the oiligarchs.
Let's call them what they are--robber barons. No one has to look up that term.
I think Sec'y Blinken's comment on Kissinger, " “Few people were better students of history—even fewer people did more to shape history—than Henry Kissinger," was an example of masterful diplomacy. It sounds like a compliment...almost, and leaves it to the journalists to tell the details. Very different from his very specific telling of what is expected from Israel and Hamas. We are so blessed that it is he and President Biden in charge.
Terry, Kissinger passing is truly a world moment - ... full stop. His world history and political knowledge was unimpeachable. What was it, something like 12 U.S. presidents of different stripes sought his counsel; and how many others of various leadership positions; it would be a daunting task to enumerate, but shall be attempted and it shall be quite a number of tomes to come. However, you caught the same thing I did. I watched Blinken carefully when he delivered those remarks, both statements true. But he 'knew' more and had more within himself to say. I saw the small stutter pause, that I'm sure was "self restraint," though very brief, I caught it and said to myself, "Now that's diplomatic," and in the very next thought I heard my Dad's voice in my head saying, "Is it true, is it kind, and is it necessary," which was his test for truth telling that he tried often to imbue me with.
"Is it true, is it kind, and is it necessary,"...as a child welfare worker many years ago I saw this posted on many bulletin boards (yes, “bulletin boards”, that’s how old I am!)
I'm sure Dad didn't invent the thought, but he adopted it, and because of my nature to say whatever might cross my mind, he 'bulletin boarded' me, most often verbally, but alas sometimes with the bulletin board and handle, again owing to my nature. (lol)
Just as the ruling class celebrated Reagan, they celebrated Kissinger who seemed soulless and certainly valued some people's lives over others. Kissinger belongs in the ranks of warmongers and international criminals.
I didn't read a single eulogy about Kissinger that didn't mention some of the dastardly deeds he committed.
About time the old fart died. The world is a better place without him.
How many Americans died in Viet Nam and Cambodia because of him?
War criminal and traitor indeed.
Problem is...we don’t learn anything!
If that doesn’t capture the essence of Kissinger’s legacy. Good and evil. Are we all capable of both, I would hope not, but…….
Where's the good in his legacy> I see only evil...
Power brings pussy. Kissinger said that. That doesn't seem so evil, to me. Just sayin'...
Power brings "arm candy". Whether there is good sex is an unknown.
Too late, now, to aks Kissinger, don't ya think?
He was an "arms candy", kinda guy, though, in my opinion.
P.S., if you're wondering, and, I know that we're not related, but, I'd say that there's NO way that you should date a giant, POS, like that. No matter who he works for.
P.P.S., I, also, know that you punk kids don't listen. So, date, away, Babe. Date away.
Not sure if you are assuming I am a "punk kid". I'm a senior.
I think he chose to marry women with whom he could have intelligent dinner conversation.
We knew that when Nixon assumed office, it was the end of our revolution of progress most ushered in by LBJ who listened to his war hawks which ended with one term. The nation would surely have been better in a 2nd LBJ administration. The Chicago riots at the 1968 convention spelled doom for the democrats. A greater doom awaits in 2024.
What a different world if Reagan hadn’t also conspired with Iran to keep the hostages. Reagan was considered unelectable, much as Punkinhead was inconceivable. Both damaged this country profoundly.
I don’t think Jimmy Carter will survive to the new year, now that Rosalind is gone.
What a different world we might have had if he had stayed in office.
And how different a world may have developed if the US had not conspired to overthrow the Iranian government in 1953 I believe to install the Shah and the subsequent radical religious backlash which now follows into the present destruction of humans throughout the Middle East.
I'm gonna adopt! I have for years used "mutton head" and "chowder head" to use in place of more colorful metaphors when in either professional or polite company. Our housemate is from Maine, and self-identifies as a "chowdah head", so it's use as a sobriquet is now gone. Punkinhead it is, and it can either refer to a punk or a pumpkin.
Punkinhead! : ()
Remember kennedy picked up Vietnam from the French, lbj continued with increasing the war effort, Nixon was left to pick up the pieces wanted bombing of Hanoi to force a peace, no chance of a win or breakeven by then. What would lbj have done? Moot point i bet. Vietnam tore American society apart.
It certainly did.
And it sent many of our generation to the "left". I grew up in a "I like Ike" home. That was the last positive thought I ever had about Republicans. There's plenty of blame for Democrats, too. JFK was a naive victim of the Ridiculous Domino Theory. So was LBJ. But Nixon and Kissinger went so far into the dark side that their legacies of international progress and things like establishing the EPA are lost - in the dust of human incineration.
It is a testament to the human spirit that Vietnam and its neighbors have actually moved on from the horrors we perpetrated. Maybe someday the North and South of the US will figure that out.
I guess they thought if containment worked in Korea, Formosa, it would work in Vietnam too. Sadly, esp after WW2, Americans became indifferent to the huge scale of mortality and injury impressed upon local populations.
Most historical accounts of the Vietnam War focus a lot on the hubris that America showed from the start:
"- We're the USA. See what we did to Japan and Germany.
- See how many "wins" we've had in many other nations since.
- We can accomplish in Vietnam what the French couldn't.
- Little gooks are no match for our military might.
- It doesn't matter that this will be jungle warfare and our enemy is far more deeply experienced at it than we are.
- It doesn't matter that they are fighting for their vision of what's best for THEIR nation.
- It doesn't matter that we won't be able to tell the soldiers from the civilians."
- No one will know if we use extremely brutal tactics."
It went on and on.
Have they?
Last sentence gave me a laugh, or did I choke…
It’s documented that Nixon sent unofficial notice that he would offer better terms for peace to the North Vietnamese. Those dark, deceptive Shakespearian moments occur throughout human history and change such history for the worst. Yes LBJ inherited from Kennedy. They were all post-wwII generation who saw struggle purely between Communism verses the ‘Free World’ and how ignorant that seems today. Then in 2000, progressive hero Ralph Nader flush with self aggrandizement steps in as Green Party candidate for president and deprives Al Gore (remember President Gore?) and thereby changing the course of American history (Supreme Court appointments) for perhaps 50 years and maybe now permanently since we are hurtling toward right-wing authoritarian democracy if I may be so bold with new terminology. And as Plato once admonished: Tyranny follows Democracy.
Thanks, Bill. I often think of how different the world might be today, if the Supreme Court hadn't stopped the counting of the votes in Florida in 2000.
I think we can be sure that President Gore would have read his Presidential briefs - particularly the one reading "Bin Laden determined to strike the US."
And so the course of history might have been changed. No 9/11, no invasion of Afghanistan, no Iraq War......
Yes, I also often reflect on all those disasters that would have been averted with a Gore presidency. Additionally, with a president who understood the importance of maintaining environmental health, we might not be facing the current threat of catastrophic climate change.
At yes maybe no. All events are a continuum. All events influence each other. The golf war and stationing American troops on Saudi La d inspired bin Ladin. Our unmitigated support total green light support of the Jews of Israel inevitably lead to the catastrophe today. I don’t fault the Iranian supported Palestinians for sacrificing their own blood to turn the Middle East into an inferno. I gently very gently admonished an Israeli woman recently by noted that Isreal would win this battle but lose the war. No state ultimately care of loss of human life although they all make such claim. Although I am not Jewish per religious fanatics who tell me my mother wasn’t Jewish then neither am I and I say ‘Fuck You’ in reply.
Ahhh the imponderable what ifs....
Thank you for mentioning Nixon’s evil act that cost so many lives, and Nader’s ego insanity that screwed all of us in 2000. I am still beyond pissed.
Both the Democrats and Republicans teamed up against Nader to keep him from debating against Gore and Bush. I still contend Nader was the smartest person in my lifetime to run for President.
But, didn't the lady that died today have as much to do with Bush winning as Nader did.
People forget what a lousy campaign Gore ran. It should have been open and shut!
Yes he was stiff. He should have been schooled to loosen up and tell a joke once in awhile.
And don't forget. McNamara's admiting that the Turner Joy incident was a lie to justify expanding the war in Vietnam by LBJ.
Here's an academic article providing some detail on Operation Menu, the B52 saturation bombing of Cambodia for which Kissinger has been taking much heat here. You'd never get that impression from this story. I'm sure there's more out there on this though.
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://gsp.yale.edu/sites/default/files/walrus_cambodiabombing_oct06.pdf
And this headline caught my eye at about 9 PM last night:
'Israel Knew Hamas’s Attack Plan More Than a Year Ago'
'A blueprint reviewed by The Times laid out the attack in detail. Israeli officials dismissed it as aspirational and ignored specific warnings.' (NYTimes) See gifted link below.
Why did HCR not include this in the Letter? I was not satisfied with the LFAA about Blinken's sermon to the world but, particularly to Israel, about the deaths and suffering of innocent
children and adults in Gaza.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/30/world/middleeast/israel-hamas-attack-intelligence.html?unlocked_article_code=1.Ck0.gsV1.QhnPOA5p9VNz&smid=url-share
FERN, Mika & Joe of 'Morning Joe' (MJ) just interviewed author RONEN BERGMAN in segment A shortly after 7 am Eastern, while posting verbatim quotes from the devastating NYT article.
'MJ' previously interviewed EDWARD LUCE of the Financial Times who reported the IDF had their 'GAZA Brigade' deployed in the West Bank leaving the GAZA border unprotected. Luce also reported that Israeli "public trust" in their Prime Minister, Bibi, has sunk to 4%.
Right now, the HAMAS-Israel history over the last year is looking like one of the biggest intelligence failures since the Brits failed to uncover Kim Phelby in WWII & into the Cold War.
Bryan, your response prompted me to think of all the reasons for Israeli voters not to have reelected Netanyahu who '... has been serving as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and again from 2009 to 2021. He is the chairman of the Likud party. Netanyahu is the longest-tenured prime minister in the country's history, having served for a total of over 16 years.' How has Netanyahu effected Israel? My thoughts go to American voters who may or may not reelect Donald Trump and the many crucial reasons that be belongs behind bars.
Fern, this article is chilling.
Yes, Helen, beyond what we have seen and, otherwise, learned of the deaths and suffering on the part of both Israelis and Gazans, and that it may have been avoided! The word CULPABLE came to mind right away: 'deserving to be blamed or considered responsible for something bad'.
Good word. Can apply to many, many people.
Hi Fern, I hope and trust you are well ...
I read somewhere that Hamas was created by Israel to undermine formation of the Palestinian Authority. A search for deeper insight turned up the following articles ...:
*****
How and why Israel helped create Hamas?
Not many people are aware of the fact that it was Israel which had helped the creation of Hamas as a counter to PLO
https://tribune.com.pk/story/2302309/how-and-why-israel-helped-create-hamas
*****
For years, Netanyahu propped up Hamas. Now it's blown up in our faces
The premier’s policy of treating the terror group as a partner, at the expense of Abbas and Palestinian statehood, has resulted in wounds that will take Israel years to heal from
https://www.timesofisrael.com/for-years-netanyahu-propped-up-hamas-now-its-blown-up-in-our-faces/
*****
What is Hamas? What to know about its origins, leaders and funding
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/what-is-hamas-what-to-know-about-its-origins-leaders-and-funding
*****
The Israeli Right's Campaign to Delegitimize the Palestinian Authority Is How Hamas Will Win
https://www.haaretz.com/opinion/2023-11-28/ty-article-opinion/.premium/the-israeli-rights-campaign-to-delegitimize-the-pa-is-how-hamas-will-win/0000018c-1294-dd2e-a5ae-d3dfde8c0000
*****
WHAT IS HAMAS?
The Palestinian militant group has struggled to govern Gaza and remains committed to violently resisting Israel. Its surprise attack against Israel in 2023 threatens a wider conflagration in the Middle East.
https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-hamas
*****
What are the roots of the Israel-Palestine conflict?
Recent events are the culmination of a decades-long clash in the disputed region of the Middle East
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/nov/09/why-israel-palestine-conflict-history
*****
What was Hamas thinking? For over three decades, it has had the same brutal idea of victory
https://apnews.com/article/israel-palestinians-hamas-conflict-endgame-1bfcc187d826596e78090ec6cbf6516c
*****
HOW NETANYAHU'S HAMAS POLICY CAME BACK TO HAUNT HIM - AND ISRAEL
The Israeli leader and Hamas are deadly enemies — and allies in opposing a 2-state solution
https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/netanyahu-israel-gaza-hamas-1.7010035
*****
History Illustrated: The story of Hamas and its fight for Palestine
https://www.aljazeera.com/gallery/2023/10/11/history-illustrated-the-story-of-hamas-and-its-fight-for-palestine
*****
Ah, Kathleen, it is so good to see you. Peter shared the material you sent him, and he is grateful to participate in the silent vigil for peace.
I have been familiar with Netanyahu's strategy through different sources but did see the PBS Newshour that you linked. I may share it with a few others. While fury at Israel was to be expected, and Netanyahu's response was written in his bones, foresight does not soften the suffering and the deaths of children and adults caught in the evil deathtrap made of Gaza. I do not want to think and write more of this now.
It is time to hug you and thank for keeping the spirit and the light glowing.
Salud!
I hear you Fern. I posted these somewhere on the blog yesterday ... may well provide insight as to how this dynamic plays out here in America - and maybe how to approach healing here and now ... take care - be well, ka
Here are some perspectives from Rachel Maddow:
*****
Rachel Maddow in Conversation with Kathleen Belew
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wvyzRCIWfVI
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow returns to Chicago Humanities to expose the shocking truth behind subversive attempts to undermine democracy and the inspiring tales of those who rose to challenge the insurrectionists.
*****
Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angeles
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BffVswoyi7k
Rachel Maddow discussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism," traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
Her response to the last question is deeply inspirational.
*****
Books:
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
Rachel Maddow (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher) – Oct. 17 2023
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
*****
Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross (Author)
October 24, 2017
The chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles, and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it.
*****
That is extremely well put.
Yep!!
Written by Spencer Ackerman.
Scathing!
So many <<written about Kissinger.
Best simple analogy ever!
Did "Rolling Stone" specify Kissinger's war crimes?
Yes, in detail. Remember that it is an opinion piece; do your own fact-checking.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/opinion/henry-kissinger-war-criminal-beloved-by-americas-ruling-class-finally-dies/ar-AA1kKU6K
One's admiration of Blinken grows.
When he tells Nitwityahoo that for every dime spent promoting more settlements in the West Bank they loose a dollar from their welfare check, then he'll be taking action. That's language Nitwityahoo will understand.
I call bibi that also. what a monster he is!
I call him a murderer, plain and simple.
Not so plain and simple, though, Betsy.
I've seen other reports of Israeli intentions to send its agents out now on a permanent assassination hunt for any and all Hamas operatives worldwide. Things will get much more complicated, much more murderously messy.
You saw the Stephen Spielberg film, "Munich"? How many-fold might we multiply the murders in it across how many more governments, families, and settings urban and rural?
And all for a cluster of very-far-right "settlers" forever covetous of more thefts of more land?
And --dooming us all the more -- no schools with any programs anywhere in the world for seeing anyone outside the tribal blinkers, no schools with any respect for communication with "others" as individuals in their cultures?
As if the billionaire games led by the 100-year-old mass murderer who died recently were the only games for our ruling vulgar and their eunuchs?
He is Israel’s Trump.
I'd say he's one of Trump's role models.
It seems the Israeli ”keeper of the peace” has failed - royally - while trying to keep himself out of jail for his mistakes and misdeeds!!!
So many sociopathic a-holes out there in “leadership “ positions trying to keep out of jail...mind boggling.
That they (sociopathic a-holes) exist is not surprising. That people support, lionize, revere, and vote for them is simply astonishing.
Or revolting.
Sad and a bit frightening because I am realizing - more and more - that it’s never or not so much about them (the candidates) but it is really about us … the VOTERS!!!
You are 100% right …. The very best government is always vulnerable to those who hate authority of any kind and do everything in their power to destroy it.
Thoroughly mind-boggling, indeed. One wonders how they got into "leadership" positions.
More specifically, he’s referred to himself as either “Mr. Security” or “Bibi-Sitter”. Source: The Hill, Is Netanyahu ‘Mr. Security’? by Guy Ziv, 02/18/15 6:30 AM ET and “Such tough-talking helped Netanyahu win the election, and he has positioned himself ever since as “Mr Security” — the one leader who could ensure Israel’s safety in a hostile neighbourhood, without making painful concessions to the Palestinians.” Source: The Financial Times, James Shotter in Jerusalem and Neri Zilber in Tel Aviv OCTOBER 15 2023.
Ah. "I alone can do it"?
Excellent idea!
Mine does for sure. He's certainly a credit to Biden and our higher aspirations.
Thank goodness for A Blinken (pun intended).
And the president who appointed him. It's a team effort (despite recent reports of State Dept unease in the ranks), without a mercurial monster hogging the airtime. Imagine if this were not so...
Blinken’s was indeed an enigmatic, diplomatic reply.
As diplomatic replies are wont to be. Unlike certain perfect telephone calls...
🤣
Good one. I pissed myself, laughing. Bravo, Louden.
Thank you for giving us a detailed report on what Blinken said. This is the kind of “tough love” the Israeli government needs from the USA now. My biggest concern is Netanyahu’s desire to stay in power ... to avoid having to call for an election. I’ve read that the most right wing members of his coalition government have threatened to quit if he doesn’t back their aggressive policies. I wonder how he will deal with them... and I wonder what Blinken and Biden will do if Netanyahu chooses political survival over the path to true peace ... which I do not think these people want him to follow.
As to Kissinger ... Robert Reich wrote yesterday about Kissinger’s disdain for State Department members who believed in human rights... quoting Kissinger as having said “They should be in a ministry instead of the State Department” (words to that effect). Kissinger was an evil man. He believed America should rule the world. Sadly, I believe a lot of people in our government still believe we should dominate the world rather than partner with the other member states. And until we learn partnership can produce more than domination, I fear the world will see more wars in the future.... and will never come together as one human family here on Spaceship Earth to solve the climate crisis and other challenges.
well said, Steve. So strange, to have lived thru the magical mystery tour of the 60's ... only to find ourselves now, plunging into an abyss of dystopian darkness ... whose seeds were sown while we were busy tripping out!
Yes and no. I think I and many others were often too self absorbed, but a lot of "counter-culture sorts wound up in underpaid service professions. The most popular college major these days tends to be "Business", not that business isn't needed, but we do not live by sales alone; and a lot is out of whack. Many 60s youth helped raise public awareness of racism, sexism, and the tragic futility of the Vietnam War, as well as care of the environment.
The seeds of dystopian darkness seem to reside in human DNA and exploitation and subjugation has a very long history. If you want to see where the current wave of US despotism hails from, follow the money.
I appreciate your view of the counter culture. Many of us once in the counter culture moved into the mainstream but with different views. We've made changes not only in those things you mentioned- racism, sexism, the environment- but in health, our bodies, medicine, the food we eat, local food production, energy use, recycling, composting, organizational structures, leadership models, citizen participation, urban design--ways in which we communicate and connect. Work that is far from done but hopefully will be pushed further by the next generation.
What do you think will result if we support them doing their work the way they define it?
There are ways in which the counter culture of our youth was naive and narcissistic. but there was an underlying conviction that other people count. The "MAGA" unrealistically culture is also self-congratulatory, but in aggressive, supremacist ways that make it very dangerous, and has already done great harm, which, on reflection, makes a long list. I am not accusing them of all of society's evils or exonerating myself, but indifference or even satisfaction to the suffering one imposes on others is genuinely evil, genuinely sociopathic. Perhaps we all have a touch of "Mr. Hyde", but free of moderation it is exploitation, persecution, and genocide. And, especially as the world gets "smaller", it could literally kill us all. The younger generations and those to come are already facing a tainted future, warped by selfishness. I would say that life in a predatory society tends to be nasty, brutish, and short, but that's mostly for the power deprived. Kissinger lived to 100 and overall, received deference throughout. Yet, we never left the Garden of Eden; we just have to grow up and be be responsible for what we do with it, and watch out for one another.
you are correct, of course. i was #1, speaking mostly for myself and my ilk ... and #2, indulging in a glib reply.
That old saying about money being the root of all evil (or however it goes) is turning out to be truer and more impactful that ever i realized.
Lani, while it may be quite true that "money is the root of all evil" it can also be and has been the source of much good. The most effective use of money is as a track to where it goes and what it allows to happen, hence the need for requirements for more openness on where or from whom the money comes to support various politicians and especially PACS and organizations which prefer to stay "in the dark" (think Federalist Society, the Koch brothers and their ilk). As in health, bright light can reveal and heal a lot of what goes on in politics.
As my mom always says, it’s not money but the “love of” money, that’s evil.
The "love" part is essential; money in and of itself is, in the words they taught me in school, "a medium of exchange", but from there it gets complicated. I noticed early on that we use the word "love" in at least two different ways; "I love ice cream" means "I really enjoy ice cream" but evinces no regard for the ice cream itself. "I love you, can mean that" but it's more profound application is "I care about you". You can still love someone who is giving you a very hard time, as any parent knows. Many uses of the word "love" don't actually mean this.
I find the phrase "love" of money confusing because I think it makes sense beyond enjoying money, but overlaps a deeper form of love only insofar as being what you value most. Not a sentient being, not even our physical planet, but the power of money to work ones will, whether it is to obtain a personal "yacht" the size of a mid-sized cruise ship, or financing wholesale changes to the laws of the nation to suit the pursuit of personal whims. In that respect it's the stuff that sociopathic dreams are made of, while also being useful for facilitating fair trade, or at least fairer trade. for many, many others.
Milton Friedman, the brain trust of "Reaganomics" was celebrated among the rich and powerful for declaring:
"The only corporate social responsibility a company has is to maximize its profits."
Now, if a corporation is really an independent citizen and worthy of individual rights as such (but of not social responsibilities) what kind of citizen are we talking about?
Friedman made much of the fact that he found the word "fair" nowhere in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution; so phooey on fair. But Justice is prominently mentioned, what is "fair" that "justice" is not?
J L, yes our DNA contains many "seeds of darkness" yet our DNA also contains the seeds of hope, fairness, altruism and cooperation. It depends on individual decisions and actions as to which seeds flower most successfully.
"Nature" has a lot of rough edges, but cooperation can be found throughout nature, even at the unicellular level. Even inter-species; symbiosis. There would be no complex organisms, even a sponge, let alone us, without cooperation. We can see traits very similar to our own in other animals; even tenderness. We evolved with the "kit" we need, even our more primitive "reptile brain" in the cranial basement. Somehow we need to get a lot smarter about putting it all together.
JL Graham, I agree
What a looong strange trip it's been!
and if the thunder don't get you, the lightning will ...
The protests of the 60s are still thorns in the sides of the business interests that actually defeated them by turning "hippies" into a major income stream in the 70s.
Only humans turn on their own progeny.
Never bred guppies?
Guppies just eat them; humans blame them for change.
Fighting over who gets to hold the reins as the wagon tumbles over the cliff.
Ever felt like horse, J.L.?
Yup, so maybe the horses need to be smarter about it. Yes, we need leadership, collectively as individuals, and as those who are trusted (but under our supervision) to apply skills to organize our efforts; but in the end, no animal more equal than others.
Huh?
The wagon's over the cliff. That was YOUR metaphor, Buddy.
Even if there's a Van Helsing, out there, enjoy the fall, Bro.
Steven, I fear what Nixon and those in his cabinet liked about Kissinger's "pragmatic diplomacy" was that it proved to be a values-free kind of diplomacy, one that allowed all sorts of devious, insidious plotting and clandestine actions to keep USA pulling everyone else's strings as if we understood everything better than those living where our plotting had its worst effects. That Kissinger received the Nobel Peace Prize remains one of the supreme ironies of our country's history!
Crazy thing is: when you partner with the Bull Elephant (USA) and you are one of the lesser animals such as the Big Mouse (Canada) or the French Fly (France) or the Berlin Bär (Germany) you get dominated, no matter what is intended. Even as USA's intentions become more partner-ish, Europeans and maybe others are searching for ways to "stand independently", but they can't, even when the bankrupt Russian Snake (Russian Fed) attacks them in their sphere of influence. They need the Bull Elephant.
bruce, you make a very good point, as long as the bull elephant isn't frightened or alarmed by the mice of "socialism" or misapprehend that socialism as Communism which Kissinger and his cadre seemed to believe.
Steven, regarding "tough love" from the USA to Israel, let's see what happens. If that happens, which I doubt, it will be the first time since 1917 AND it might also mean that Trump wins the election.
Remember, Trump and "Bibi" are buddies. If the American Jewish vote goes to Trump AND the Jewish campaign donations go to Trump, it could unseat Biden easily. Remember, Trump is viewed very, very, very favorably by the Jewish community in the USA.
‘TFG is viewed very, very favorably by the Jewish community in the USA’?
Are you even Jewish, my dude? I am and no Jew that I know (and I know many) thinks of TFG as anything other than a fascist anti-Semite. There are a few who support him because of what he’s ’done for Israel’ . Whatever that is. Moved the US Embassy to Jerusalem, which put the nail in the coffin of a two-state solution. Propped up Netanyahu, who is massively unpopular in Israel.
And don’t cite his ‘Jewish son-in-law’ and ‘Jewish grandchildren’. Window dressing.
Window dressing indeed. This Jew too wants tfg gone already. Yesterday would not have been soon enough.
I was thinking of posting the same thing! I'm not Jewish, but 4 of my best friends are, & they have all despised Bibi for years! They are also all strong Democrats. One of them is a woman who persuaded me to join Postcards to Voters.
I was thinking of the slap moving the embassy to Jerusalem was, supported by the orange cocksplat.
Religion is the root of all evil. Embodies envy and greed with self-righteousness.
A wonderful epithet and a fabulous sentiment. "Cocksplat" is just fabulous. "Religion is the root of all evil" is chillingly accurate. How much of human life has been extinguished in the name of God*?
*God = figurehead for each religion de jure.
It's about who owns the LAND. Religion is used as a means to an end.
Religion is not the root of all evil. Human nature is. It infects everything, including but not exclusively religion.
as another Jewish American, I whole heartedly assert that TFG is NOT viewed favorably by American Jews. Think: Robert Reich, whose voice, IMHO, reflects how the Jews in my own community think and feel.
Mike, there ARE some very rich Jews who are part of the oligarch class who would support anyone except a Democrat who believes in a "regulated capitalism".
But speaking for the very large Jewish family that I was fortunate enough to marry into, Trump is viewed by them as a monster. I am talking about dozens and dozens of cousins and their mates and off spring. In fact, new cousins seem to emerge all the time. Why? DNA tracking, 23andMe, Facebooking, etc. This family was scattered all over the world starting in 1492 (and before) and of course as a result of the Holocaust. They are not going to vote for a racist bigot.
I count one or two Trumpers among them. They would be outnumbered one hundred to one. And I think by now they might be on board with Nikki (shape shifting lizard) Haley. Hope that assuages your concern, Mike.
Not from me
Only the right wing Jewish fanatics like trump. Unfortunately, every religion has their ‘sharia’ extremists.
Jewish supporters of Trump are a small subset of the Jewish community.
I don't understand how someone can be "embraced" by Nazis and Jews.
I think you underestimate American Jews.
Guess you haven’t met my 94 year old Jewish aunt. She can barely see anymore but listens well and is up on everything happening. Conversations with her are filled with her disgust and anger with our current far-right idiots. I might add as a footnote, since retirement from teaching she has single-handedly being working to save Yiddish as a living language (she lives in the Beltway and until recently really got around.)
Mike S, OH?! Seriously, where do you get your impression of trump's appeal to American Jews?
Hi Mike, based on (MANY) discussions I've had with my (MANY) Jewish friends, the "stats" work out like this - approximately 90% view Trump as a liar, a fraud, a con, a coward, a traitor, a criminal, our country's "Presidential Accident" and "America's Disgrace." Which leaves 10% who support Trump. And, as to the 10% who support Trump, they support him solely because they like the tax cuts he put in place soon after he was elected President.
Sure hope that last sentence is an exaggeration
Two words, FASCISM and FASCIST, are nouns with unique meaning that must be used - with nihilism, Orwellian, prejudice, racism, intolerance and others to describe and discuss what’s sweeping America, mideastern, eastern and western culture and civilization, and the world tonight. US slavery, our Civil War, treatment of our indigenous, ongoing treatment of nonwhite, women, homosexuals, queer or gay, and migrants to come, are important to discuss, not to ignore.
Thank you, Heather.
... how do we live by the Golden Rule when (highly organized) lying, cheating, murderous, rapist, thieving thugs calling themselves superior seek to dominate the "free world" ...?!
Here are some perspectives from Rachel Maddow:
*****
Rachel Maddow in Conversation with Kathleen Belew
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wvyzRCIWfVI
MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow returns to Chicago Humanities to expose the shocking truth behind subversive attempts to undermine democracy and the inspiring tales of those who rose to challenge the insurrectionists.
*****
Rachel Maddow in conversation with Jacob Soboroff at Live Talks Los Angeles
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=BffVswoyi7k
Rachel Maddow discussing her book, "Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism," traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
Her response to the last question is deeply inspirational.
*****
Prequel: An American Fight Against Fascism
Rachel Maddow (Author, Narrator), Random House Audio (Publisher) – Oct. 17 2023
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Rachel Maddow traces the fight to preserve American democracy back to World War II, when a handful of committed public servants and brave private citizens thwarted far-right plotters trying to steer our nation toward an alliance with the Nazis.
*****
Hitler in Los Angeles: How Jews Foiled Nazi Plots Against Hollywood and America by Steven J. Ross (Author)
October 24, 2017
The chilling, little-known story of the rise of Nazism in Los Angeles, and the Jewish leaders and spies they recruited who stopped it.
*****
... giving thanks for a multi-dimensional universe ... we all are tested in this world - through these times ... choose well ....
Peace and Love through it all,
ka
https://tahomahome.weebly.com/prayer-for-america.html
************************************************************
'til such a time
... we who wander
caught within
days passed
face saving
out of phase
must find
some incentive
even sense
to persevere
'til such a time
within closed minds
as tempests die
we lose our lies
and life's unholy
whirlwinds
unwind ....
https://tahomahome.weebly.com/til-such-a-time.html
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Poignant. I love it. It's, still, however, a downward spiral.
Thank you ...poignant indeed ... yes, a downward spiral - such is the nature of the Kali Yuga era we currently must cycle through ... another 500 years or so to go (from what I hear) as gears of the cosmic clock grind on into another round of spirals (upward and downward concurrently?) ... what we do now impacts the blueprint of what will come ... giving thanks for a multidimensional universe - choosing to live by the Golden Rule, regardless of circumstance ... ready and willing to live and die with a smile on my face, a song in my heart ... and live on ....
Peace in one breath ... one breath at a time ... be well ....
Just 500 years? That Kali Yuga dude is VERY optimistic.
It'll, all, be over, in a 100. IF, we're lucky. Who needs a blueprint?
P.S., I, allays wanted to come back as a dragon fly. Just sayin'...
Hi U.S.D. Dracula ... for all I know, your wish will be granted! Dragonflies are such mythical beings ... so, I don't really know - but do have a sense that life goes on - one way or another ... if one crisis passes within 100 years - likely, another will emerge, along with seeds of resolution and transcendence as the greater body continues to evolve through and beyond time ... I would not frame outcomes in time ... just know the river flows as life and the living come and go ... I see no endings - or beginnings - only a perpetual weave in process ... and who can say what will come ... taking it one breath at a time ... fly free dragonfly - peace and love through it all ...!! ka
Well said, I will not live long enough to see how this plays out but I hope that certain living actors on the international stage get what is coming to them . But history tells us that power corrupts even those who start out with good intentions. Those who lust for power and too many who gain leadership with good intentions become seduced by bright shiny things and become no better and sometimes worse than those they have pushed out of power.
Of course, these topics are banned in Republican CRT America.
They are not the only social currents active in America, but they are and have been very active and dangerous.
Damnnnn … History has its eyes on you Anthony Blinken!
He is a class act in every way-we are truly blessed by his willingness to serve.
Yessss. I am in constant awe of his service and diplomacy. He’s truly creating a new foreign policy legacy.
And he plays a mean guitar!
I hope so. It’s past time for that. The Biden Administration continues to present a human face to the world, not the slick Willy bully face of extremism. This is complicated. We can’t afford to sit on our hands and watch the game. Democracy and decency are not spectator sports.
AND he has "good hair". maybe HE should run for president, if endorsed by Biden. Newsom may be too tied to the left-coast. i LOVE Biden, but am concerned that his age may impact how many votes he gets. Younger blood, if endorsed by Biden and committed to giving Biden a key role in his administration, might be what's needed to win the race.
Please people, let’s stop pointing out the obvious and leave that to trump, MAGA’s and others who have their own agenda. Our main objective should be and remain concentrated on getting the Biden/Harris administration along with as many responsible and honest democrats elected to office in 2024. When last I checked the only real blemish was the exit from Afghanistan, where the administration had been crippled by the actions of the TFG’s administration!
Getting a second term for the current administration is my personal first choice. Any blemishes are relatively minimal and i give the Biden Admin. flying colors and A++ for a GREAT job under impossible duress. However, electability is critical. My main objective is to see a moral, honorable, decent human (also capable and experienced) elected as our president. Someone who CAN defeat Trump. I don't know that Biden/Harris has a strong enough chance. I'm worried. I'm starting to wonder if a younger Democrat -- selected, endorsed and ultimately counseled by Biden -- might not have a better chance. might be a better bet. it's a question on my mind.
I'm interested in discussing the pros and cons of this line of thought. Part of my concern with Biden and Harris running together again is that -- given Biden's age and Kamala's apparent unpopularity (in addition to the challenges of being both black and female) -- may add up to a losing ticket. And this is one race none of us can afford to lose. I am afraid that Kamala is a serious liability for Biden in 2024. If HE ditches her for an alternate VP (which I don't think he'll ever do) he would incur the wrath of MANY. If Newsom or even Blinken were to run with Biden's endorsement, they'd be free to choose a VP that would help rather than hinder their chances of winning 2024.
Lani, the Biden/Harris team won three years ago with no team record of accomplishments … history will record Biden as one of the most successful presidents in terms of accomplishments under great odds - just ask MT-G, even she knows he’s successfully compared FDR, LBJ and if recall she also mentioned Clinton … hello!
YES!! And we must keep in mind that the people who are appointed by the President are the ones who really determine how good or bad an administration ends up being. Biden has been outstanding in appointing people who are competent, dedicated to serving the public good, who are helping our country. He knows how to delegate responsibility. I want to keep the current Cabinet members.
Trump is nearly as old as Biden, but he’s evil and crazy. I wish people would stop harping on Biden’s age...he keeps a schedule at home and abroad that I couldn’t have matched at 60 years old.
Next time Blinken for president. We need him in the role he is playing today.
I am guardedly optimistic that Secretary Blinken's statement today, properly described as "extraordinarily strong" by Heather, will take deep root. A credible path toward the legitimate Palestinian aspiration for statehood is indeed a necessity.
The NYT broke a story tonight that the Netanyahu government was alerted to Hamas' plans for a "new raid, unprecedented in scope", i.e., the exact raid that took place on 10/7/23, more than a year ago, but that the intelligence higher ups put the kibosh on the conclusion of the veteran female analyst that promulgated the alert.
Incredible. Heads within the Israeli government (hopefully Netanyahu's), military and both Mossad and Shin Bet should roll as a result of this.
Combining this with the fact that Netanyahu's right-of-right Likud coalition had pulled troops from the Gaza border earlier this year so as to protect the fanatical Israeli settlers taking land from Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, a major scandal has been launched for sure.
Don't let the door hit you on the way out, Bibi
I think this is the most balanced description of the U.S. Administration's actions in this current Middle East crisis. Perhaps it's time to start putting Letters from an a American on a more public platform.
The glimpse at Henry Kissinger's implementation of American diplomacy which was rooted in "the ends justify the means" logic and the inevitable chaos and destruction that caused must be reckoned and we must resolve that U.S. diplomacy will be more thoughtful, more democratic, and more respectful of the goals of the peoples of a region as it seems to be now under Blinken's hand.
Biden and Blinken are a formidable leadership team of a marvelous unnamed Diplomatic corps. May they succeed and may the American people support their efforts by coming together in the streets not for one side or the other but for a unified future that includes peace, security, and prosperity for all. Signed Tiny Tim.
It seems to me that a lot of clandestine chess-playing (too bad for the pawns) has blown up in our faces, short term advantage turned to long term headaches, let alone a betrayal of our stated values, and of human rights.
Read: The Ugly American, a novel by William J. Lederer and Eugene Burdick, published in 1958. I think I read it in 1968. It is a fictionalized account of Americans working in Southeast Asia, the book was notable chiefly for exposing many of the deficiencies in U.S. foreign-aid policy and for causing a furor in government circles.
A true classic.
And the book coined a term that should have enlightened us. But sadly, it became a characterization - the obnoxious American couple, he with a camera around his neck, talking too loud in the restaurant, she insulting the wait staff with her ignorance. We made a joke out of it.
But it was another example of American Arrogance - American Exceptionalism. Makes me want to vomit.
I recall the joke but did not know of the story. There are al kinds of ugly, but hubris and disregard especially so, whether in the form of presumed social entitlement in restaurant, or playing games with human lives. The camera part depends on whether it is used for keen observation or a "gotta catch 'em all" extension of ego.
I saw the movie, and it has stayed with me for more decades than I want to admit to.
It’s hard to be a ‘casual’ observer of this conflict anymore. The previous attitude about a “two-state” solution that was aspirational before, seems unlikely now. Bombing Gaza into the stone age seems to be a clear sign that Israel does not and will not support that.
Now that Gaza is a crater, it seems hard to imagine how the funds will be available to recreate Gaza anyway. It’s rubble.
I don’t see where a ‘state’ can even be created given this destruction. I don’t even know what the economic drivers were for the Palestinians in the best of times. Now…and going forward, ?.
The space the Palestinians have/had has been shrinking for decades. I won’t profess to understand the politics, but I can see the map. It’s harsh.
It would be great if space could be shared, and two ‘states’ could be created; but it seems less likely as time goes on. I understand the fight. America did it with ‘reservations’ in its handling of indigenous peoples, but this fight does not seem amenable to even that. Sad.
It is sad. Sadder still is the persistent belief , especially among extremists, that terrorism and war solve anything. They don’t. Tacitus had it right. “They create a devastation and call it peace.”
My recollection of the results of WWII is that much of Europe, certainly the major cities in Germany including the industrial and cultural centers of London, Dresden, Berlin, Cologne, Liverpool, Birmingham and Hamburg—had been partly or wholly destroyed yet with the support provided by the largely US-funded Marshall Plan, their reconstruction provided the basis not only for employment and commerce but resulted in some of the most vibrant economies in Europe. It would seem not beyond possibility that a similar kind of plan could be provided to Gaza.
sadly, what you say rings true ...
Blinken answered: “Few people were better students of history—even fewer people did more to shape history—than Henry Kissinger.” --- spoken like a true diplomat!
Mussolini reached back to the Roman Empire for the image of fascism.
That is such a great line. I saw him try to keep a straight face when he said this.
I don't think I could have done that. I'da tipped my hand.
If Henry Kissinger was an actual student of history, he wouldn't have been Henry Kissinger.
For those unfamiliar with why the majority of the world is happy the old pissant sonofabitch is dead, you can read this:
https://tcinla757.substack.com/p/the-crimes-of-henry-kissinger
I'm amazed even that slimebucket Herzog could still claim him after he was recorded saying in 1972 that if the Soviets set up a Holocaust like the Nazis had with Soviet Jews, that it wouldn't be an "American problem."
Thanks for the Kissinger review. What a pompous jerk.
WOW …
Quite a dossier.
Thank you for passing this on
Kissinger is from another era.
He epitomises the very worst of American imperialist heavy handedness and brutality.
Unfortunately it is what the world remembers.
The evil that men do lives after them.
History has already judged Kissinger!
Another era? What date did you set, when you entered your time machine?
Unfortunately, probably related to his German ancestry - and my statement is not intended to paint Germans and Germany in a negative light?
May a two state solution FINALLY come to pass. May Peace be realized after so much waste and suffering.
As always, I am Hopeful.
I say/hope the same thing, but I don't think it will ever come to pass. Even when I ask the question I get shredded from both sides. I have Palestinian relatives in the USA and elsewhere (wonderful people, family to me) who would sooner die than let that happen. The Orthodox and conservative Jewish folks I know have a promise from God, to them a two state is blasphemy. Never happen...
religious fundamentalists (fanatics) of all flavors are an impediment to CO-existence. and without co-existence, we will all perish.
That is so incredibly sad. We humans cling to our selfish divisions at our peril.
People with power who play games in which the harm to others is of no concern are sociopaths. Sometimes the best one can do is reduce harm, as Blinken's diplomacy seems to be doing, but it is a disservice to humanity to pussyfoot around Kissinger's sociopathy. I don't know if it was intentional on the part of scriptwriters,, but many people compared him to "Dr. Strangelove". If I recall correctly, Kissinger is supposed to have claimed that "power is the best aphrodisiac", which struck me as really creepy.
He did say that and I also thought it was really creepy myself.
Guess that’s why chump thinks he’s the cat’s meow, and really hates that he let the ultimate power slip through his hands. Guess his money is not enough to get the babes, unless they are desperate MAGAts.
It's important to point out the obvious - events in other parts of the world impact the USA, AND the decisions of the USA influence the other countries of the world. These LFAM have been headlined by the Hamas/Israel/Qatar negotiations - no one should pretend "America First" means "America Only" nor "America Alone." It chills my soul to think of what might be playing out in the Middle East right now without the EXPERIENCED & WISE LEADERSHIP of President Joe Biden (and the apparently indefatigable SOS Anthony Blinken.) At SOME point, LEADERS must count the costs and consider the consequences - particularly in pursuing a war policy, and if there is a perceivable end to hostilities.
"An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind."
Thank you Professor for the clear & updated report on possible future hostage & prisoner exchanges. My question goes to the impact of the New York Times revelation today by authors, Ronen Bergman & Adam Goldberg that Israeli intelligence, primarily the work of a female analyst, of a 40 Page blueprint of the October 7th attack that contained facts in "shocking precision"to later events.
Bergman & Goldberg report that Netanyahu & other officials were aware of the document titled "JERICHO WALL" but, allegedly thought it to be "aspirational"or otherwise dismissed the plan. A former US National Security chief stated on MSNBC today that the CIA was not aware of the document nor was the US asked to vet any intelligence.
Can Netanyahu stay in power, continue with the Hamas war while avoiding criminal & fraud prosecution?
I recall that Bush and Cheney were warned that Al-Qaeda was up to something big. Oh well. Obama had plans in place for managing a pandemic, but Republicans dismissed them. Could this be a pattern of arrogance?
J L Graham, or a pattern of strategy to get or keep power? There's always money or power to be made off a crisis.
I imagine you have read Naomi Klein. I regard money as one of many forms of power, and of potentially coercive powers I see the big three (no doubt there are more) being money, social position, and violence, and the more corrupt the society, the more easily those powers are interchangeable. Despots capture all three. I once read in interview in which Trump gleefully bragged about suing a critic, knowing (or claiming to know) he could not win, but nevertheless severely harassing his target at trivial cost to himself. I have been unable to relocate the interview by Internet search because Trump is such a crapstorm of lawsuits. I his first prosecution, Jeffery Epstein got the deluxe package while a man whose "third strike" was life imprisonment for for a black man shoplifting some videos for his kids, and Clarence Thomas, who wrote the majority opinion, stated that imprisonment for any crime, no matter how trivial, was entirely just. Unalienable rights be damned.
Lord Acton famously said that power tends to corrupt, but was not the first to say so. Timothy of the Bible said that the love of money is the root of all evil; but I would broaden that to the "love" of power. Who and what would you discount or sell out to gain and maintain power? The devil is in the details. The classic devil's bargain? Souls for power.
J L Graham, yes, I read Shock Doctrine a long time ago and have listened to various interviews of Klein. She is outstanding.
I agree with you that money is just one form of power and so, I too extend the parameters of causation beyond the biblical saying that money is the root of all evil. Jimi Hendrix said it best, "When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace." (I always interpret that as harmony within individuals and between people everywhere in any and all configurations.)
Hmmmm … I wonder too?
Good question. Either that or the obscene belief that government can’t do anything right, only business and the “free market “ can.
It's all a package in authoritarianism; top-down subjugation. Lincoln, who helped create the frickin' Republican Party said:
"The legitimate object of government, is to do for a community of people, whatever they need to have done, but can not do, at all, or can not, so well do, for themselves -- in their separate, and individual capacities."
As well as saying government ought not interfere with things that people can do for themselves, but imagine ANY Republican saying those words today? Reagan claimed that government was our problem, but only really attacked the of, by and for side of it, the common weal. His "Supply Side" was the very rich and what Republicans mean by "free market' is anti-antitrust; the monopolistic "Robber Barons" were the good guys all along. Freedom is essentially for all or it's not meaningful freedom. The latter is privilege for some and constraint for others. A Free Country is one of equal legal rights, equal protection, equal opportunity, and though more complex, equalized responsibility. It is not a place where people of bullied with impunity. So what is a genuine "Free Market"?
For every day of my long life.
No, he cannot. If he had any decency, he would fall on his sword, but there can be no expectation of decency in a man who puts himself above all others and leads his country down a path of death and destruction in a vain attempt to stay out of jail, only compounding his guilt in the process.
Falling on a sword would hurt, but decency would step aside when it's clear that one blew it.
...let alone his abject failure to protect Israeli citizens by failing to perceive and prepare for the attack he was warned would come as much as a year earlier!
The Rolling Stone article mentioned already in the comments, and the rundown of Kissinger's legacy in TCinLA's blog, were both excellent. I relief upon those, and and references about Kissinger in the books Overthrow, by Stephen Kinzer, and Noam Chomsky's Manufacturing Consent, and submitted a Letter to the Editor to the Orange County Register the following, in response to the retrospective about Kissinger from AP journalist Nancy Benac <<<https://www.ocregister.com/2023/11/29/henry-kissinger-former-secretary-of-state-dead-at-100/>>>:
Ms. Benac's article about the passing of Henry Kissinger exemplifies misleading both-sides-ism. It leaves the reader wondering why Mr. Kissinger was dogged by critics for decades. Non-controversial facts supported by primary documentation prove that Kissinger promoted the idea that World War III could be won. He expressed callous indifference to the violent repression of Jews in Russia. He directed secret carpet-bombing of Cambodia leading to the deaths of up to 500,000 civilians. He tacitly approved and even joked about Pakistani genocide of 300,000 Bengalis. He was deeply involved in the Chilean coup of 1970 in which the elected president Salvador Allende died, and he never distanced himself from the murderous Augusto Pinochet, who implemented a vicious, corrupt dictatorship. There are many additional examples in the Nov 29 Rolling Stone article by Spencer Ackerman (East Timor, Khmer Rouge, illegal wiretaps, etc.). Never turn away from the truth, which is its own justification.
Addendum, to the Editors: Sources of non-controversial facts about Kissinger are detailed in numerous highly-respected books, including Legacy of Ashes, by Tim Weiner, and The Price of Power, by Seymour Hersch, Overthrow by Stephen Kinzer, and the legendary Manufacturing Consent, by Noam Chomsky, which explained in granular detail how Kissinger misled the American public by engaging in “blatant deception” regarding the negotiations ending the Vietnam War, to protect Nixon’s reputation, which the traditional media in the U.S. accepted without scrutiny or challenge.
I encourage everyone writing passionate remarks in these comments sections to also send letters to the newpapers in response to articles you find lacking, and to the journalists who wrote them, letting them know about your outrage, as long as you remain accurate, and speak to a person's actions without stooping to name-calling or personalized attacks. To call Kissinger's actions tantamount to war crimes, and why you think so, is strong but justified, as opposed to tossing our some snarky phrase; much more persuasive to point out, as HCR did, that Kissinger's actions were largely responsible for hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths.