I’m wondering how long it will take for a Republican government in the US to ban the book 1984. I read that book in 9th grade English class. Loved it at the time. But here’s a partial list of its sins:
– Mentions sex, fornication, numerous times, without opposing either. Republicans do not believe children (which they will soon define as anyone under the age of 25) should know about sex, except that it should only be done for the purpose of procreation.
– Derides conservative family values. One of the protagonists is a member of a group called the “Junior Anti-Sex League.” This clearly satirizes the values of the Christian right, who would earnestly start such a group.
– Encourages critical thinking and disobedience towards authority. Conservatives have long pushed to stop children from learning how to think critically. The Texas GOP has included bans on teaching critical thinking skills in school in its platform for more than a decade, and this book clearly intends to impart a critical attitude to social authority on the part of the reader. Children who read this book might start to demand a rational justification for the authoritarian actions of their parents, clergy, and state which constrain their individuality.
– Orwell was himself a socialist, Trotskyite, and self-identified democratic socialist. Is this the type of person who conservatives think your kids should be reading? Probably not.
Conservatives have a strong case, according to their own criteria at least, to ban Orwell’s 1984, which (for conservatives) is clearly not appropriate for the youth insofar as it exposes children to sex and sexual thoughts, and insofar as it encourages children to question authority and practice critical thinking. I’m sure my fellow bar flies can think of other ways Orwell’s book or life story conflict with conservative family values, and thus how it would fall under the bans against lasciviscious and dangerous books that conservative governments are instituting. FTR, the number of books banned by US governments (including school boards) by year has increased by almost a factor of 10, from an average of 300 annual library removals to over 2,000 this year. Conservatives, who once pretended that they cared about the first amendment in schools and universities, are now leading the charge against freedom of speech and free expression, all in the name of imposing their “moral values” on the rest of us sinners.

Posted by: fnord | Apr 26 2023 15:26 utc | 4

I’ve completed the process of reading, translating and posting Lavrov’s post-UNSC Meeting Presser transcript, which can be read here or in Russian here. Russia’s MFA does have an English version, but it’s not complete yet. I made some general remarks and a specific response to the citation I posted last night from Sputnik since it didn’t quite get it correct. Lavrov’s discussion about the current state of dedollarization was informative and from my POV promising. The presser was about an hour long, and it took me about that amount of time to digest the transcript. There were a few revelations for me, and many for those at the presser.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 16:15 utc | 6

@fnord
The progressive Alinsky tactic of accusing others what you are doing has worn thin from overuse.

Posted by: Fred777 | Apr 26 2023 16:26 utc | 8

@bevin #3
Very useful link and an interesting German philosopher … be neat to see him up with Habermas and Streeck
https://strategic-culture.org/news/2023/04/25/how-german-chancellor-angela-merkel-subjected-germany-to-us/
The Fed prints and prints and then Blackrock/Private Equity buys up buys up …
… whatever about industry – the move into plebian real estate has been disastrous
Germany in a sorry state …

Posted by: Don Firineach | Apr 26 2023 17:06 utc | 10

“Tucker Carlson Could No Longer Be Tolerated by Corrupt US Media, Political Elite” isn’t the judgment of Sputnik but from the man it interviewed, Scott Bennett, a former US Army psychological warfare officer. What he has to say needs to be consumed by readers within the Outlaw US Empire, the emphasis is original:

Tucker Carlson posed a “threat” to those powers and institutions in the US that didn’t want Americans to be transformed into “researchers and thinkers” by his broadcasts, according to US counter-terror expert Scott Bennett.
Tucker Carlson’s ouster spells “the death of American media,” Scott Bennett, a former US Army psychological warfare officer told Sputnik.
With his raw honesty, Carlson has been a leading conservative voice for Americans, bringing to cable news an “intellectualism, truthfulness, and an analytical depth that no other news personality has ever done in the history of the United States as far back as I can remember,” Bennett stated.
As such, the seasoned journalist had become a tremendous threat to the “powers and principalities, institutions and agendas that seek an unenlightened uninformed semi lobotomized quasi retarded population that do not question, do not research, do not analyze but simply digest and follow instructions,” and, accordingly, needed to be “silenced.”

And there’s more at the link.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 17:46 utc | 12

since RFKj has already made clear he plans to continue WW3 (“maintain territorial integrity of the Ukraine;” “UN peacekeepers in the East;” etc.) and like Trump, Bojo, etc., he just lies his ass off about covid and himself does the exact opposite of what he prescribes for others,
since neither of these things matter for those still holding out for a hero, a hero from the ruling class no less,
what’s RFKj’s position on Israel?
oh why bother asking.

Posted by: rjb1.5 | Apr 26 2023 17:54 utc | 14

It is immediately clear that RFK Jr. is fatally flawed in a number of ways. The mere fact he is trying to run as a democrat should immediately be a big red flag to anyone with eyes to see. For all his many good traits and while not an outright fraud like Bernie Sanders or AOC, he is a lame horse….

Posted by: JustAMaverick | Apr 26 2023 18:03 utc | 16

I see we already have people misrepresenting RFKjr’s positions. Here’s RFKjr’s position as stated at his campaign website:
“In Ukraine, the most important priority is to end the suffering of the Ukrainian people, victims of a brutal Russian invasion, and also victims of American geopolitical machinations going back at least to 2014. We must first get clear: Is our mission to help the brave Ukrainians defend their sovereignty? Or is it to use Ukraine as a pawn to weaken Russia? Robert F. Kennedy will choose the first. He will find a diplomatic solution that brings peace to Ukraine and brings our resources back where they belong. We will offer to withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia’s borders. Russia will withdraw its troops from Ukraine and guarantee its freedom and independence. UN peacekeepers will guarantee peace to the Russian-speaking eastern regions. We will put an end to this war. We will put an end to the suffering of the Ukranian people. That will be the start of a broader program of demilitarization of all countries.”
Now, how hard was it for me to copy/paste what is his actual position as opposed to formulating something that misrepresents it?! Is his proposal perfect or in line with what Russia stated in December 2021? No on both counts. Is it better than anything team Biden has said? Yes. There more paragraphs follow the one cited above. Here’s the fourth:
“America was once an inspiration to the world, a beacon of freedom and democracy. Our priority will be nothing less than to restore our moral leadership. We will lead by example. When a warlike imperial nation disarms of its own accord, it sets a template for peace everywhere. It is not too late for us to voluntarily let go of empire and serve peace instead, as a strong and healthy nation.” [My Emphasis]
For decades, myself and millions-billions of others have asked for the rollback and end of the Outlaw US Empire so peace can prevail on our planet. And look at what’s bolded above: A POTUS candidate who implies that’s precisely what’s needed to be done. Yes, his Ukraine proposal’s imperfect; but RFKjr will negotiate, and IMO the Russians will deem him credible. That’s a sea change in attitude since 1989.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 18:24 utc | 18

Posted by: bevin | Apr 26 2023 15:22 utc | 3
And who has become chairman of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) after Mutti? BlackRock Germany’s Friedrich Merz.

Posted by: v | Apr 26 2023 18:31 utc | 20

malenkov @21–
So, you’re going to treat every politician’s utterance as a lie until proven otherwise?! You judge RFKjr to have zero credibility then?

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 18:51 utc | 22

karlof1:
To your first question: Well, duh!
To your second: Credibility should never be imputed on the basis of faith.

Posted by: malenkov | Apr 26 2023 18:59 utc | 24

Goshdarn it, too many negatives and not enough text editor:
*if he were the only Dim Party politician
(and yes, our brave Muslim congresscritters have learned how to pay Israel the deference it demands)

Posted by: malenkov | Apr 26 2023 19:10 utc | 26

Deutsche Soldaten in den Sudan

Ich glaub ich spinne, die deutschen behaupten sudanesische Fuehrung hätte sie eingeladen.
Klasse! So wie der Donbass die Russen, LOL
Hier absolut nach Voelkerrecht. Der CIA unterstützt den Aufstandsgeneral, die Deutschen den herrschenden General.
Erklaer mir die Welt,

Posted by: Raaalph | Apr 26 2023 19:14 utc | 28

Wie seriös ist vz. ru, ich finde sonst nichts.

Posted by: Raaalph | Apr 26 2023 19:25 utc | 30

#15
shakespeare, the imagery
the allegorical thought
nice bit to read.

Posted by: Dingo | Apr 26 2023 20:32 utc | 32

On Words and Deeds: Biden and the DNC/D-party have a long record of deeds that are Anti-Human and totalitarian. Here’s a link to the incomplete list of RFKjr’s deeds, About RFKjr. From that narrative, one ought to conclude the RFKjr is Pro-Human and a small d democrat whose record shows he’s unafraid to take on centers of power, which would be anti-totalitarian.
One interesting fact I discovered when I visited the Federal Election Commission’s website is that 804 people have filed as candidates for the 2024 POTUS election, which includes the not yet listed RFKjr since he hasn’t yet had to provide any reports to the FEC, which will change with the coming of May. I also noted when visiting the D-Party website that it has zero info on any other D-party members who have filed to challenge Biden., which is in line with what we all know as DNC bias. Admittedly, it’s impossible to have free and fair elections when the party election committees have zero credibility in allowing such proceedings to occur as we learned from the outcome of the class action lawsuit lodged against the DNC. Thus, the Jan 6 protesters where correct in the rationale for their protest–the election was a fraud because the candidates weren’t freely chosen. The issue of fair elections isn’t what I aimed at discussing as that’s another deeply conflicted discussion.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 26 2023 21:00 utc | 34

An interesting new bit up at Covert Action Magazine today. Compares the Watergate scandal that brought down Richard Millhouse Nixon to Russia/Ukrainegate as they pertain to Trump.
https://covertactionmagazine.com/2023/04/26/ruling-class-faction-mounts-coup-against-nixon-and-trump-should-progressives-support-such-efforts/
IMO Kuzmarov soft pedals Trump’s giveaways to the FIRE sector (or “high finance”), but gets most of the rest of it right.
Also:

More recently, Trump offered a stinging rebuke to the Biden administration’s foreign policy, stating in a February 28th speech that “for decades, we’ve had the very same people, such as Victoria Nuland and many others just like her, obsessed with pushing Ukraine towards NATO, not to mention the State Department support for uprisings in Ukraine. These people have been seeking confrontation for a long time, much like in the case in Iraq and other parts of the world and now we’re teetering on the brink of World War III.”

Which, to me doesn’t necessarily signal Trump’s true philosophy on foreign policy as much as it signals his ability to “read the room” (aka a “Duh!” statement at this point), but it’s still saying the right thing.
The article provides a pretty comprehensive rundown of what’s been done to Trump by the people in the overlapping portions of the Venn diagram containing the “ruling class” and Democrats and offers the following (also kind of “Duh!” advice):

What Should Progressives Do?
While we do not know for sure that Bragg’s prosecution is over-zealous as he could be withholding some smoking gun, it appears to be a continuation of the illegal six-year campaign—orchestrated covertly by the intelligence community and reinforced overtly by newspapers, TV stations, cable networks and the social media giants they long ago infiltrated and now control—to undermine Trump, whose main effect so far has been largely to bolster Trump’s popularity since he can present himself as a victim.
The question for progressives is whether to support such a campaign when we know Trump to be a dangerous and loathsome figure who aspires to be an American Mussolini.
Good people may have different answers to this question, and if Trump truly is a fascist, one can justify an attitude of anything goes.
However, by aligning with the dominant faction of the ruling class that is against Trump, one is aligning with the forces that have tried to exploit liberal anger about Trump’s election to drum up Russophobia and trigger a war in Ukraine with Russia that could easily escalate into a nuclear war.
History shows furthermore that by removing one cancer (Dick Nixon), the ruling elite can produce an even worse malignancy (Ronald Reagan) and empower dark forces that have taken us to the horrible point that we’re at today—and are not the ones capable of taking us out of it.
The latter can best be done through the traditional formula of grassroots organizing and movement building in regions of the country where Trump draws his political support.

I don’t think the (actual) American left is strong and united enough to mobilize sufficiently, but perhaps it’s time to become incrementalists? Meanwhile the Democrats and the Lepht will continue to pander to identity politics and use the levers of government to suppress any real competition or countervailing narratives while they drive us to the next Reagan and possibly WWIII.

Posted by: Tom_Q_Collins | Apr 26 2023 22:11 utc | 36

This business of RFK Jr.
John Kennedy was actually before my time a little – I was alive but not significantly conscious, certainly not of politics. It was some years before his death sank in on me.
I’m glad that I was never an adult while he was in office, to where I might have argued with his politics, might even have not liked him, who can say? Same with Bobby too.
So it was only ever the myth, after the two killings, and the others, of King and Hampton, and Kent State and all the rest. It was only ever about the void left, and the way the void was created, blowing a man’s face off in front of his wife and the world. The ultimate disrespect.
I don’t look for Robert Kennedy to make it even past the primaries, let alone to the presidency. But as I’ve said, I don’t think that matters much.
What the USA has for a polity now is a wasteland. The nation has been stripped of its last spoon, melted for scrap, and the moral compass is as bereft as its economy.
Into this comes Kennedy. There is the shadow of a myth that trails him, just over his shoulder. This is the faintest reminder, to a country almost completely lost, that there still endures the notion of goodness, and a policy of correctness.
It’s a meta message, I guess I should have made plain, not even a message, and more to do with the lineage of messengers. As if a torch is being passed – and my only hope is that it is passed, and is caught by the younger generations. Kennedy is the only wisp of decency in this entire political landscape leading up to the ’24 election.
I happen to have admired and approved of Kennedy for some years prior to this time, and I have no reason to change that view. It’s based not on faith but on his record, as I have experienced it, and as I have benefited from its results.
I feel like, when I speak of Kennedy the man, I know of whom I speak. But let that pass, because I’m not trying to persuade anyone of anything, merely bearing witness to the record. I’m not really even speaking to any of the valued commenters here. Simply that one must speak one’s truth, even if no one hears the tree fall.
There will be plenty of bad things said about Robert Kennedy during the months to come. Underneath it all, will be the man who knew it would be this way, and came on anyway.

Posted by: Grieved | Apr 26 2023 23:45 utc | 38

Looks like Russia is moving to ‘get its money back’.
My reading of the english-language text ‘suggests’ to me that the provisions to seize Russia-based assets of unfriendly could be construed to include any asset of a country involved in endangering a Russian entity that is acting in the realm of security. i.e. the west providing weapons to be used against the Russian army.
Maybe I’m over-reading it, maybe not. Time will tell.
https://www.lauriemeadows.info/conflict_security/The-West's-Apartheid-Trading-System.html#Russia_puts_the_west_in_check

Posted by: powerandpeople | Apr 27 2023 0:08 utc | 40

Don Bacon-
RFK appears to either be a fool insofar as geopolitical realities are concerned, or perhaps could be playing a deeper game. Whatever the case may be, the guy clearly will not be allowed anywhere near fair exposure to the public, and I expect the psychopath mk ultra females will be unleashed, screaming rape, soon enough as well.
Kennedy is great on vaccines and pharma in general
100% will not become POTUS.

Posted by: Robert Hope | Apr 27 2023 0:19 utc | 42

bevin @37 & Grieved @38–
Beginning with Sanders POTUS run in 2016, the key was altering the narrative to get We the People to clear the sand and sleep from our hypnotized eyes; and we shouldn’t forget Trump either. To get what they wanted, the DNC’s donors had to finally undermine the idea that the USA conducts free and fair elections, for as the court ruled the DNC can nominate whoever it wants as it has no duty to follow any votes from anyone; and the same would be true for the RNC. Unfortunately, this MASSIVE FACT isn’t very well known at all for the usual reasons. Same can be said of the content of RFKjr’s books and his many other deeds. The problem I have is with people who are so cynical that they trash any attempt to change the status quo–they’re eeyores. As I’ve pointed out, the campaign narrative at RFKjr’s site was written by a staffer as is very clear from the prose. But people don’t read critically, and thus they miss things.
Given 2016 and 2020, the DNC will place Biden and Harris on the D-Party ballot regardless what voters vote; the only exception would be if Biden’s health radically worsens, which is what I’m hoping for, although his replacement will be just as bad. What I hope Trump and RFKjr can do is to further energize the public’s ire to the point where a Critical Mass can be obtained, hopefully prior to the DNC & RNC Conventions, that forces the donors to capitulate and allow others onto the ballot. An even better case would be for the Critical Mass to completely take over the parties and oust the committees. I don’t see any one politico as being a savior at this moment in time as the Establishment has too much power. But IMO, a match was lit in 2016, and it remains lit, and there’s a huge mass of explosives (the public) to which a fuse is attached. I’m certain we’ll discuss this further. We all share the same goal–liberation–just not from life yet.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 0:29 utc | 44

Again, here’s the controversial paragraph. I’ve bolded the evidence that RFKjr didn’t write it:
“In Ukraine, the most important priority is to end the suffering of the Ukrainian people, victims of a brutal Russian invasion, and also victims of American geopolitical machinations going back at least to 2014. We must first get clear: Is our mission to help the brave Ukrainians defend their sovereignty? Or is it to use Ukraine as a pawn to weaken Russia? Robert F. Kennedy will choose the first. He will find a diplomatic solution that brings peace to Ukraine and brings our resources back where they belong. We will offer to withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia’s borders. Russia will withdraw its troops from Ukraine and guarantee its freedom and independence. UN peacekeepers will guarantee peace to the Russian-speaking eastern regions. We will put an end to this war. We will put an end to the suffering of the Ukranian people. That will be the start of a broader program of demilitarization of all countries.”
And there are other markers. Understand how such websites are put together and read critically.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 0:38 utc | 46

@PeterAu…a follow on from a comment of yours a thread or two (or three) back…

Australia has released all-cause mortality data for 2022 and the results are the worst since WWII with 13% excess mortality.
Australia vaccinated their entire vulnerable population in 2021 and boosted them all in 2022.
At best, Australia is proof of vaccine failure.

PLC @Humble_Analysis
https://twitter.com/Humble_Analysis/status/1641631007664402433
>>…”While there were 10K covid deaths recorded in Australia in 2022, 3K of those covid deaths merely displaced other expected respiratory disease deaths.
In other words, 67% of excess deaths in Australia can not be blamed on covid.
So, why are so many Australians dying?””
(Mind you, I don’t know anyone who’s died of covid, or the vex, so….. )
(Plenty have “ailments”, but are these related, old age, or “poor lifestyle choices” )?

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 0:46 utc | 48

Underneath it all, will be the man who knew it would be this way, and came on anyway.
Posted by: Grieved | Apr 26 2023 23:45 utc | 38
I, too, anticipate the full force of The Borge to descend on RKennedyJr.
Already for me, this is a man of superhuman courage.
The very embodiment of courage.
He knows first hand he can be killed
He knows first hand the lies and character assassinations awaiting.
And yet, here he stands. Speaking truth as he believes it.
Maybe he can be educated on Ukraine.
Especially if he can be shown the irrefutable evidence of Ukraine- Biden-biolabs-c19 research….
I have a fondness for metaphor. And it is ironic to me that a man attempting to speak truth so loudly in the U$ and across the world, is afflicted with a voice handicap….

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 0:58 utc | 50

More metaphor! What a treat today is!

– UK’s broken-down £3bn warship *HMS Prince of Wales stripped for parts
§_ UK’s broken down £monarch(y) stripped apart…
LightYearsFromHome | Apr 26 2023 18:22 utc | 17
“… Charles III is also the Prince of Wales, just pointing out that little congruence.”
Err. No. Charlie WAS the Prince of Wales. He’s now King. His son, William is now Prince of Wales…

Posted by: Melaleuca | Apr 27 2023 1:12 utc | 52

dh | Apr 27 2023 1:10 utc | 49 & 51–
He wrote a book about that aspect of himself. What he needs to do is edit what’s drafted, then approve the final draft for publication. He’s a writer, so he ought to know that. I really don’t like listening to speeches as I’d rather read their texts, but it looks like I’ll need to listen to the several he’s given to get policy specifics. Again, it’s clear he didn’t write this but few are saying anything about it and focusing on Ukraine:
“As President, Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. will start the process of unwinding empire. We will bring the troops home. We will stop racking up unpayable debt to fight one war after another. The military will return to its proper role of defending our country. We will end the proxy wars, bombing campaigns, covert operations, coups, paramilitaries, and everything else that has become so normal most people don’t know it’s happening. But it is happening, a constant drain on our strength. It’s time to come home and restore this country.”
Sure, he could be writing in the third person, but why? As POTUS I’ll… is what most expect to read.
malenkov | Apr 27 2023 0:46 utc | 47–
Thanks for your reply. IMO, we want the same outcome, but we know how hard it will be to attain it. Many root for Russia and China because they so badly want to see the Outlaw US Empire defeated and driven back to its shores. I understand that desire as I want it too.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 1:30 utc | 54

karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 1:30 utc | 54
I have no idea how that message will resonate with the American people. For sure it won’t be well received by the MIC.

Posted by: dh | Apr 27 2023 1:44 utc | 56

Tucker Carlson has broken his silence, “Carlson in First Post-Fox Commentary Claims Those in Power ‘Resort to Force’ to Kill Debate”, with the lead paragraph saying:
“Tucker Carlson in his first extensive public comments after leaving Fox News said the people in charge are resorting to ‘force’ to stifle conversations in the media that do not benefit the interests of both political parties.”
Do read the entire piece. Him and Hudson are on the same page regarding Donor Control.

Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 2:06 utc | 58

Re. Tucker C
Lots of schadenfreude and name-calling over this, but in spite of some questionable and sometimes loathsome opinions, he did the public a great service with his honest criticisms of US foreign policy.
Worthwhile takes on his contributions can be found at The American Conservative here: https://www.theamericanconservative.com/the-courage-of-tucker-carlson/
and by Gonzalo Lira here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0rdFcslfT30
and here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Admbn2ciKDk

Posted by: farm ecologist | Apr 27 2023 2:43 utc | 60

Posted by: Deplorable Commissar | Apr 26 2023 22:08 utc | 35
————–
Misdirection agent alert !
The perps had already claimed credit and
ran a victory lap so to speak !
https://tinyurl.com/54bzunhe

Posted by: denk | Apr 27 2023 3:10 utc | 62

RFK JR just totally seriously pissed off his base with his most recent tweet wherein he said: We need to avoid the toxic guagmire of retribution and blame for the covid lock downs and mandates and focus on cleaning up the regulatory agencies.
The replies to this tweet are 95% vehemently in disagreement with him.
Also, on the Megan Kelly show, he said that Putin is a thug, a gangster, homicidal, one of the worst human beings on the planet.

Posted by: Anton Gorbatow | Apr 27 2023 3:45 utc | 64

karlof1@28….’brutal invasion by Russia’, that’s f’n disingenuous on his part. Whats his position on the 14k+ Ukrainians killed by…….hmmm, thought so. The guys a dick playing to the crowd, wait, that seems to be a faux politician thing these days, anyway, even Trump is still calling it like it is….a fuck up of ginormous proportions.
Cheers M

Posted by: sean the leprechaun | Apr 27 2023 4:14 utc | 66

@uncle tungsten | Apr 27 2023 4:39 utc | 67
I just looked at Daily Kos the mighty Dem website and Junior wasn’t even mentioned.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 27 2023 4:44 utc | 68

#66
politician’s one of the top
parasitical professions
since time immemorial.
they have a long legacy
to uphold.

Posted by: Dingo | Apr 27 2023 5:31 utc | 70

John Helmer is sowing the seed of hope.

The war and US war sanctions have reversed the destruction of the Russian farm economy forced during the 1990s by the US “reformers” in the Yeltsin administration led by the recently exiled Anatoly Chubais.
Now, however, under government orders for self-sufficiency in food production, protection from US biochemical warfare against the Russian food chain, and revival of Soviet seed breeding centres, the American, German, French and Dutch agro-industry exporters which have profited in Russia for thirty years are being locked out.
Not only in Russia and in the Ukraine – the Axis faces long-term competition in Europe, Asia and Africa in the future.
“We are defeating the Americans and Germans on the battlefield,” observes a veteran farm industry source in Moscow. “We are going to do the same on the farm field. Do you remember what Nikita Sergeyevich [Khrushchev] said a long time ago – ‘we will bury you’. And you have been saying that’s what you are going to do to us.”

Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 27 2023 5:39 utc | 72

Gosh humans born after 1965 could be forgiven for imagining that between 1961 and late 1963 amerika had put the kybosh on imperialism. That no one in Latin America, Asia, the ME or Africa was slaughtered to favour the interests of amerika, but sadly that is simply not correct.
JFK continued shit stirring in the name of the amerikan empire by cranking up West Germans’ hatred of their friends & family in East Germany with facile lies about East Germany’s socialism, really kicking off the cold war.
Kennedy’s drama queen hysteria over Cuba’s invitation to allow the USSR to do as amerika had done by planting nuclear missiles in Turkey raised so-called cold war temperatures to boiling point. It would have been so much easier if less likely to cause the dehumanising hatred of the USSR, if a Kennedy led amerika had ignored the USSR’s move to equalise the nuclear balance publically, then organised negotiators to sit down with soviet negotiators on the QT who would have reached the same agreement which Kennedy’s hysterics impelled; that is the Soviet Union withdrew missiles from Cuba & amerika pulled its missiles outta Turkey.
That would have been the same result with much less fear driven hysteria and paranoia – Hmm that wouldn’t have suited those amerikan war-mongers who unthinking people are currently blaming for Kennedy’s death – despite evidence such as this to the contrary.
IMO the lowest act of imperialism by the Kennedy administration (judging by numbers of innocents killed and/or had their lives destroyed) was the Kennedy administration’s follow up to the amerikan slaughter of Patrice Lumumba – this was that administrations unfortunately successful work to destroy the “Simba Rebellion” whilst it is correct that the slaughter of Lumumba’s supporters reached its peak in 1964 after Kennedy’s death the preparation planning & arming which included Cuban pilot graduates of the Bay of Pigs actually began a coupla years before when Kennedy was prez.
In fact while y’all sledging Johnson over Vietnam yer forgetting that it was your ‘hero’ john f kennedy who appointed Robert McNamara ( the bomb by the numbers man at the heart of Heller’s ‘Catch 22’ as Secretary of defense, Dean Rusk (he who was a former president of the Rockefeller Foundation & insisted on escalation in Vietnam), McGeorge Bundy a forceful advocate of expanding the United States’ involvement in the Vietnam War plus of course fascist rethug warmonger Henry Cabot Lodge as amerikan ambassador to Vietnam.
All the big time advocates of war in Vietnam were the carefully chosen picks of john f kennedy, yet we are asked to believe that this mob of ‘jfk’ selected warmongers had ‘gone of reservation’ just because a politician made a couple of distracting speeches? If Kennedy didn’t want war in Vietnam wahy was it he appointed so many who did to the positions most capable of ensuring that war?
Johnson a domestic policy man through and through trusted those arseholes to mind the foreign affairs store. That is why he was so mad at them all when he resigned.
If you wish to believe in fairy stories do so, but don’t be acting all surprised if rfk jnr wins election then behaves exactly as his uncle did, a somewhat photogenic, entitled member of the elite who on occasion pretends to take notice of the ‘little people’.
THe slaughter of Dr King Fred Hampton & Malcolm X were blatant lynching by the Federal government, completed unconnected to the ‘chickens come home to roost’ deaths of kennedy’s, it belittles King, Hampton’s & X’s murders when they are tossed into the same basket.
ps why is it that so much of the whine underneath rfk’s croak reminds me of the vocal intonations of a methadone addict?

Posted by: Debsisdead | Apr 27 2023 9:08 utc | 74

So, are we going to have another election between the the love child of Foghorn Leghorn and Yosemite Sam, and the love child of Elmer Fudd and Mr Magoo? Look, squirrel! At this point, does it matter who steers the ship onto the rocks?

Posted by: Immaculate deception | Apr 27 2023 10:23 utc | 76

Stupid, stupid woman:
“EU’s ‘Israeli independence’ message rebuked in Palestine”
Palestinian leaders and social media users alike criticise the European Commission president for comments saying Israel makes ‘the desert bloom’ when marking its 75th ‘independence’ day.
Aljazeera today.

Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Apr 27 2023 12:56 utc | 78

matt taibbi has a good article up from the past couple of days on the cic – censorship intelligence complex, under racket news…. others might wish to follow it and seek it out..

Posted by: james | Apr 27 2023 13:29 utc | 80

These will make it clear as to whether he is absolutely sincere or just another wannabe. Right now he is clearly intending to be endorsed by a party that is one of the enemies of the people. While his words might be alluring, they will need to be precise.
Time will tell.
Posted by: uncle tungsten | Apr 27 2023 3:09 utc | 61
RE RFK Jr.: I share your skepticism about him. He might be a useful anti-permanent-bureaucracy tool, but we can do a lot better.

Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 27 2023 14:51 utc | 82

European Commission president for comments saying Israel makes ‘the desert bloom’ when marking its 75th ‘independence’ day.
Aljazeera today.
Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Apr 27 2023 12:56 utc | 78
Worth no notice that the irrigation mania of Israel (a) takes water away from Palestinians, brutally enforced (b) risks turning Dead Sea into an empty salt desert, the process in ongoing.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Apr 27 2023 15:03 utc | 84

Posted by: Grieved | Apr 27 2023 1:40 utc | 55
“I, Claudius” is a great piece of work on every level. As a lifelong stutterer
I will testify that it carries the ring of truth. Stutterers are chronically underestimated as depicted in Claudius. Your post got me to search for RFK Jr speaking on the the internet, not all that easy to find. I am listening to him now and my view is this man is a largely recovered stutterer. I would bet money he is left handed as 3/4 of all stutterers are left handed males. Spasmodic dysphonia seems to be new woke words for stuttering (a known bad rap). Anyway his fans can take heart that stutterers tend to be smarter than average and have massive tells when they are lying!

Posted by: SwissArmyMan | Apr 27 2023 15:16 utc | 86

@Bruised Northerner | Apr 27 2023 15:15 utc | 85
a nice change (in my completely unbiased opinion) from state receptions . .
At the opposite end of the spectrum, “White House Releases State Dinner Guest List ” . . .here . .warning: This requires a lot of downward scrolling.

Posted by: Don Bacon | Apr 27 2023 15:58 utc | 88

Okay, who do you suggest?
Posted by: karlof1 | Apr 27 2023 16:16 utc | 89
A good point, to which I have no answer. Good people don’t stay in politics here.
I would prefer someone not a scion of wealth, it is very limiting to grow up that way.
In real life, with the right partner, I might vote for him, we’ll have to see. Got to be pragmatic.
Thank you for your comment.

Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 27 2023 16:26 utc | 90

Bemildred | Apr 27 2023 16:26 utc | 90–
Thanks for your reply. As I point out, the issue isn’t with who we might pick as a candidate but the stranglehold the Duopoly has on the POTUS election machinery. Ralph Nader was an excellent choice for a candidate, but he was effectively locked-out of having an equal opportunity to win. I’ve voted Third Party since 1992 because they offered better choices. Perhaps the complete ruination of the nation will be required to rebuild it anew, although that will create strife for our progeny.

Posted by: Karl Sanchez | Apr 27 2023 16:38 utc | 92

Thanks for your reply. As I point out, the issue isn’t with who we might pick as a candidate but the stranglehold the Duopoly has on the POTUS election machinery. Ralph Nader was an excellent choice for a candidate, but he was effectively locked-out of having an equal opportunity to win. I’ve voted Third Party since 1992 because they offered better choices. Perhaps the complete ruination of the nation will be required to rebuild it anew, although that will create strife for our progeny.
Posted by: Karl Sanchez | Apr 27 2023 16:38 utc | 92
Yes. Sound thinking. I voted for 1st Obama, hoping a veto-proof majority might work this time, not since.
Trump was tempting as a wrecking ball, such a walking talking airhead.
At this point I think the only way out is through. I can think of lots of reforms, but first the oligarchs and all their works must be defenestrated. As long as the big old piles of money exist, they will try to interfere in our politics to preserve themselves.

Posted by: Bemildred | Apr 27 2023 16:53 utc | 94

Type: “soME watch about USD remaining “the king”.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Apr 27 2023 17:08 utc | 96

Piotr Berman no. 84
Water is already being pumped into the dead sea.

Posted by: ThusspakeZarathustra | Apr 27 2023 17:29 utc | 98

Hello Deb
Jfk emboldened Nehru’s challenge on China in 1962.
When things turned sour for the jawans, Kennedy dispatched the carrier Enterprise to back up India, except PLA had already wrapped up the battle and withdrew., mission accomplished.
Kennedy even contemplated nuking China for India. !!!
PS
Perhaps one day the JUDIcial Watch might wanna FOIA the skinny on JFK execution. !
😉

Posted by: denk | Apr 27 2023 17:36 utc | 100