From Pine View Farm

Endless War category archive

“History Does Not Repeat Itself, but It Often Echoes”* 0

At the Portland Press-Herald, Victoria Hugo-Vidal looks at the conflict in Gaza and hears an echo.

______________________

*Mark Twain

Share

Gazing at Gaza 0

Der Spiegel takes a long and deep look at the situation in the Middle East and at the background. Christoph Reuter und Monika Bolliger, authors of the story, come to the disturbing conclusion that “the risk of escalation in the Middle East is growing.”

Given the often contradictory and frequently emotionally-charged reporting and commentary on events there, I think this article is well worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.

Share

The Fifth Column 0

In a letter to the editor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, self-described Republican Andrew Richardson says that he is fed up with Republican’s preventing the U. S. from aiding Ukraine to defend itself from Russia’s invasion.

I commend his arguments to your attentioin.

Share

Putin’s Fifth Column 0

Thomas Geoghegan offers a theory as to why the Trump and the Trumpettes are so hostile to the U. S. aiding Ukraine in its battle to defeat the Russian invaders. Here’s a tiny bit from his article:

Aid to Ukraine, as Biden and the Democrats have made it, requires a belief in the U.S. or at least a belief in electoral democracy, civility, and our constitution. But that is what the far right attacks. Biden frames support for Ukraine as bolstering democracy over authoritarianism and order versus expansionism. Aid to Ukraine is also an implicit judgment of Trump—the moral equivalent of denouncing January 6 here. And, of course, aid to Ukraine was the casus belli of Trump’s first impeachment when the 45th president threatened to make military aid to Ukraine dependent on Volodymyr Zelensky’s complicity in smearing the Bidens. For Trump and his allies, Kyiv’s comic actor turned wartime hero is a mortal enemy far more dangerous than Hunter Biden Liz Cheney. Zelensky’s integrity and self-sacrifice are antithetical to Trump’s disdain for public purpose. Trump does not even feign any interest other than private interest. Of course, aid to Ukraine is in trouble—it is a defense of democracy in which the Trumpian far right no longer believes.

The whole piece is worth the few minutes it will take you to read it.

Share

Gazing at Gaza 0

Der Spiegel takes a deep dive into the backstory of the conflict between Israel and Hamas.

It is a long read and one well-worth your while if you want to try to make some sense of the senseless.

Share

The Fifth Column, Reprise 0

Title:  Latest Border Crisis.  Image:  Train of GOP Elephants marching across a river from a bank labled

Click for the original image.

Share

Gazing at Gaza 0

I think this post from Lawyers, Guns, and Money goes a long way to helping me understand why I have so many mixed(-up) emotions about the conflict in Gaza. I commend it to your attention.

H/T Noz for bringing it to my attention.

Share

Freedom of Screech 0

No doubt you’ve been unable to avoid at least some coverage of the who-shot-john about the college presidents who were called to testify before the House Education Committee last week, testimony which led to the ouster of one of them.*

At Above the Law, Mark Herrmann offers a perspective on the issue raised by said who-shot-john.

I don’t know whether I agree with him, but I commend it as a worthwhile read.

____________________

*I have paid as little attention to it as possible, primarily because I think nobody who was involved was right, everybody was wrong, and, most especialliest, nobody was thinking clearly.

Share

And Round and Round They Go . . . . 0

Try as I might, I am having difficulty finding significant weaknesses in my old friend Noz’s observations about what’s going on in Gaza.

Share

A Picture Is Worth 0

Take a look at it and decide whether you agree.

Share

Extra-Special Bonus QOTD, Plus ca Change Dept. 0

John Viner, as narrator of The First World War: The War to End All Wars, at about the 16 minute mark of episode one (the paragraphing is my own, as closed captions are not, well, paragraphed):

. . . there was an ugly side to the popular zeal, a cruel xenophobia.

Hatred for Kaiser Bill the Bully was translated into outrage, as anyone with a foreign sounding name ran the gauntlet of looting mobs. The foreigner was the enemy. The role of propaganda as a weapon took on a focus and importance as never before. The development of the mass daily newspaper gave the propagandists a perfect vehicle to peddle their simplified, sensationalized, jingoistic, and rarely truthful message.

The image of the enemy as a monster was readily absorbed by a war thirsty public, while the idea of war as heroic and glorious was nurtured by economic (sic) use of the truth when it came to harsh realities.

And that was before “social” media, where lies are protected “free speech” and truth is libel.

Share

Gazing at Gaza 0

When I look at events in Gaza, I see a situation in which the issue is not who is right, but who is more (or less) wrong. I see no right, only might.

I haven’t talked about it in these electrons because I don’t know what to think, let alone what to say.

All I have is confusion, dread, and grief.

This is in preface to recommending this article by retired University of Idaho Professor Nick Gier, who offers some historical context to these current events.

It is well worth a read.

Aside:

What I do know is that attacking random innocent persons who appear to be Jewish or Palestinian (or Muslim) in the streets or maybe just in the vicinity of mosques or synagogues in American cities is wrong.

That is nothing more than haters seizing on a pretext to unleash their hate.

Share

The Deadly Duet 0

Death conducting a duet between two genies let out of their bottles by the Israel-Hamas conflict.  One genie is labeled

Click for the original image.

Share

Plus ca Change . . . .> 0

Title:  On the distant planet Glox, an intractable conflict rages.  Image:  Two creatures talking.  Creature One:  The militans governing your territory launched a surpise attack on our nation-state, committing horrific atrocities.  Creature Two:  The leaders of your nation state retaliated with a vicious onslaught against our territory, causing evem more atrocities--with no end in sight.  Creature One:  Our nation-state has a right to defend itself.  Creature Two:  You nation-state has brutally oppressed our nation-state for decades.  Creature One:  No diplomatic solution is possible.  Creature Two:  We will never see things eyestalk-to-eyestalk . . .  Both together:  . . . as long as your political caste is under the control of violent extremists.  Creature One:  Maybe another round of carnage and destruction will help resolve things.  Creature Two:  I guess we will all find out together.

Click for the original image.

Share

Dissecting Dissimulation 0

The Associated Press offers a round-up of dis- and misinformation about the conflict in between Israel and Hamas currently being “shared” (that’s another word for “spewed”) on “social” media.

I commend it to your attention, not only for the debunking, but also for the descriptions how the lies are crafted, from misrepresenting videos to mistranslating transcripts. Here’s one example:

CLAIM: A video shows a large number of U.S. Marines arriving at an airport in Israel amid the latest Israel-Hamas war.

THE FACTS: The video is from 2022 and shows soldiers from the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division arriving in Romania.

The footage shows soldiers dressed in fatigues getting off of a plane at night, carrying their belongings and walking across the tarmac.

One post with the video on X, formerly known as Twitter, had more than 9,000 likes with text that reads: “HAPPENING NOW: Thousands of U.S. Marines Just Landed in Israel WW3 HIGH ALERT”

However the video doesn’t show Marines nor Israel, and it isn’t recent.

The original can be found on the Defense Department’s media distribution website, which says it shows U.S. Army soldiers arriving in Romania in June last year. “101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) Soldiers arrive in Mihail Kogainiceani, Romania, June 28, 2022,” reads the video’s description.

The site says the unit was there “to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank” and conduct multinational exercises with allies across Europe.

One more time, “social” media isn’t.

And it especially isn’t a reliable source of factual news.

Share

(Yet Another) Neverending Story 0

Title:  The Bleedin' Obviouse:  The definition of insantiy is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.  Image;  Soldier labeled

Click to view the original image.

Share

Plus ca Change 0

Sparky says,

Click for the original image.

While on the subject, Victoria Hugo-Vidal reminds us that two wrongs don’t make a right.

Share

The Call to Arms 0

Title:  The Beginning and End of Full Disclosuer War.  Image:  Mounted knight stands on a drawbridge with a cohort of warriors behind him.  Knight says,

Click to view the original image.

Share

The Endless Loop 0

Title:  The Doom Spiral.  Long historical conflict leads to a nation confining a vast poor population in the name of security, then Militant group claiming to represent this population brutally attacks innocent people, then State responds with escalation that punishes civilians then Leader announces

Click for the original image.

At the Colorado Sun, Mike Littwin tries to make some sense out what’s going on. His article is worth your while.

(Syntax error fixed. In case you are interested, I included an arrow —> in the alt text and the > broke the image embed.)

Share

Dominoes 0

My old Philly DL friend Noz has an inkling of a theory.

Share