Endless War category archive
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.
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*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.
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.
A Picture Is Worth 0
Take a look at it and decide whether you agree.
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.
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.
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:
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.
Plus ca Change 0
While on the subject, Victoria Hugo-Vidal reminds us that two wrongs don’t make a right.
The Endless Loop 0
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.)
Dominoes 0
My old Philly DL friend Noz has an inkling of a theory.
War and Mongers of War 0
Thom wonders just how many wars America has been lied into.
War and Mongers of War 0
Sam argues that no credibility should today be given to those who mongered the Great and Glorious Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq, regardless of how they in retrospect attempt to legitimatize their lies.
War and Mongers of War 0
It was two decades ago that U. S. started the Great and Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq. I remember standing outside in the smoking area at work. It was the same spot where we had stood and looked up at empty skies in the days following September 11. Though we were just a few miles east of Philadelphia International Airport under one of the approach routes, there were no planes for days . . . .
I was chatting with my boss (who was, by the way, one of the best bosses I ever had). He was opining that “Iraq will be sorry that we have a Texan for president.”
My response was simply, “Dave, I have a bad feeling out this.”
I take no comfort in my qualms having been justified.
That moment came to mind because of something my old friend Noz wrote yesterday about the run up to the Great and Patriotic War for a Lie in Iraq. Here’s a bit of his post:
The Blind Eye 0
Jason330 wonders why so many Republicans seem willing to turn a blind eye to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine.
Methinks his musings are worth a notice.
All or Nothing at All 0
Der Spiegel takes an in-depth and ominous look at Putin’s latest steps in his attempt to cast himself as the new Peter the Great.
I’m not going to try to summarize of excerpt the piece. Just go read it.
Inside the Bubble 0
A Der Spiegel correspondent who has lived in Moscow for 14 years describes how what he refers to as “my Moscow” has changed since the Putin the Wannabe Great’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is well worth a read.