Biden wanders offstage or walks like a geriatric robot. Yet we are meant to believe he's carefully navigating us through the nuclear tripwires of the West's serial wars
Fortunately the Scottish electorate has an opportunity to drive a wedge into the unhealthy Westminster two-horse race and expose the complicity of Tory/Labour fearmongering, xenophobia and corruption dominating British politics.
The devolved Scottish Parliament has shown how social policies can and should benefit society, unlike the greed driving London-centric government and the SNP momentum can pave the way for a fairer electoral system based on Proportional Representation.
Thank you very much for your very good, interesting and honest text. It is very depressing as soon as you realise the connections. I grew up in the GDR and after 1989 I was very happy and full of hope. Now I have to realise that the world is moving in a similar direction again and with today's possibilities of control and surveillance, resistance seems even more difficult, if not impossible. The only thing that saves me is the thought that we can do something on a small scale. The capacity to see the other as like oneself and worthy of the same mercy and charity. Respect, charity and decency.
I think I'm really starting to believe that my family (including 1 sister who showed a little interest) will never question the mainstream narratives in the West--at least, not about the "big issues" like foreign policy. They just blindly believe what our leaders and media tell us about other states doing wrong, being terrorists, etc., even though even a quick review of history shows that the US-led West are serial liars and criminals trying to run a global empire to profit corporations of rich elites. It seems insane that all the evidence can be completely ignored, and people still believe the silly lies that the West "leads the world" culturally, championining international law, human rights, progressive values, etc. But I now think these believers can never be dissuaded simply because they don't want to be. They have no interest in learning what's true. They've lived their whole lives believing the myths about the West's cultural superiority, often working in jobs profiting from all the normal unethical or corrupt practices of corporations (some in the Alberta oil industry, insisting the tar sands be called "oil sands" and boasting our industries have the best environmental standards). They're perfectly fine with the system as it is. Why would they question anything or look in closets for skeletons? They might recognize that "bad things" happen, but they're "unintended" and/or just regrettably "unavoidable"--a fact of life that "realists" accept. It reminds me of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in which Jesus sings, "There will be poor always, pathetically suffering. Look at the good things you've got!" I'm not religious, but that message didn't seem to me to befit a great moral leader, also famous for the Golden Rule. It was suspiciously convenient. I just think of it now because it seems relevant to the mentality of willing self-delusion that I think prevails in the West.
Why are we talking to marionettes when we address issues? Biden is certainly no more than a puppet. Most of our senators and representatives are on financial leashes. They follow their marching orders or lose their cushy positions.
Who pulls the strings that control the political process. We know the corporations, but who are the human faces behind them that we don't see.
There is a significant difference between Ukraine and Gaza, in the case of Gaza, a serial aggressor is going after freedom fighters, in the case of Ukraine, a serial aggressor, the US/NATO is getting pushback from someone they thought could not fight back. On second thought, they are remarkably similar, it's just that Cook just chooses to see them differently.
Wow. Thank you for this piece.
they are like parasites creating inflammation but tricking the body into focussing on symptoms and regimes.
Every single point true.
Fortunately the Scottish electorate has an opportunity to drive a wedge into the unhealthy Westminster two-horse race and expose the complicity of Tory/Labour fearmongering, xenophobia and corruption dominating British politics.
The devolved Scottish Parliament has shown how social policies can and should benefit society, unlike the greed driving London-centric government and the SNP momentum can pave the way for a fairer electoral system based on Proportional Representation.
Thank you very much for your very good, interesting and honest text. It is very depressing as soon as you realise the connections. I grew up in the GDR and after 1989 I was very happy and full of hope. Now I have to realise that the world is moving in a similar direction again and with today's possibilities of control and surveillance, resistance seems even more difficult, if not impossible. The only thing that saves me is the thought that we can do something on a small scale. The capacity to see the other as like oneself and worthy of the same mercy and charity. Respect, charity and decency.
Keep up the good work!
I think I'm really starting to believe that my family (including 1 sister who showed a little interest) will never question the mainstream narratives in the West--at least, not about the "big issues" like foreign policy. They just blindly believe what our leaders and media tell us about other states doing wrong, being terrorists, etc., even though even a quick review of history shows that the US-led West are serial liars and criminals trying to run a global empire to profit corporations of rich elites. It seems insane that all the evidence can be completely ignored, and people still believe the silly lies that the West "leads the world" culturally, championining international law, human rights, progressive values, etc. But I now think these believers can never be dissuaded simply because they don't want to be. They have no interest in learning what's true. They've lived their whole lives believing the myths about the West's cultural superiority, often working in jobs profiting from all the normal unethical or corrupt practices of corporations (some in the Alberta oil industry, insisting the tar sands be called "oil sands" and boasting our industries have the best environmental standards). They're perfectly fine with the system as it is. Why would they question anything or look in closets for skeletons? They might recognize that "bad things" happen, but they're "unintended" and/or just regrettably "unavoidable"--a fact of life that "realists" accept. It reminds me of the rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar in which Jesus sings, "There will be poor always, pathetically suffering. Look at the good things you've got!" I'm not religious, but that message didn't seem to me to befit a great moral leader, also famous for the Golden Rule. It was suspiciously convenient. I just think of it now because it seems relevant to the mentality of willing self-delusion that I think prevails in the West.
He is a symptom of a rotten political system for sure.
Matt Orf has a great video showing Biden's blunders. https://www.youtube.com/@Orf
Why are we talking to marionettes when we address issues? Biden is certainly no more than a puppet. Most of our senators and representatives are on financial leashes. They follow their marching orders or lose their cushy positions.
Who pulls the strings that control the political process. We know the corporations, but who are the human faces behind them that we don't see.
Thank you, as always, for helping some of maintain sanity...
This photo was cropped to not show the group he was addressing. Fake news.
Excellent piece! Thank you!
It’s shadow dancing.
So its a choice between an old man whose administation is making radical change in direction in policies or an insane old prick who wants to be dictator . https://www.investopedia.com/joe-biden-s-economic-plan-save-the-middle-class-4769869—known as Bidenomics—is centered on the pillars of public investment, empowering middle-class workers, and promoting business competition. This approach is positioned in opposition to https://www.investopedia.com/terms/t/trickledowntheory.asp, which holds that reduced taxes for wealthy individuals and corporations will result in benefits for other participants in the https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/economy.asp as well.
There is a significant difference between Ukraine and Gaza, in the case of Gaza, a serial aggressor is going after freedom fighters, in the case of Ukraine, a serial aggressor, the US/NATO is getting pushback from someone they thought could not fight back. On second thought, they are remarkably similar, it's just that Cook just chooses to see them differently.
Brilliant
👏👏👏
Thank You Johnathan
Best article I’ve read in a while. In fact it’s a great speech. Love the actionistic uptick at the end. 👏