Feb 8, 2023·edited Feb 10, 2023Liked by JoAnn Chateau
Socialism describes a government’s political /economic structure. Socialism is the public ownership and central control of the means-of-production and investment whether administered by self-appointed elites or administered democratically.
Socialism is not a large amount of services provided by the government nor the enforcement of law regulating a free-market.
Note: Regulation is not ownership. Means-of-production is defined as investment in and the mass-production of factory goods since the industrial revolution and not crafts, mercantilism, or trade.
Feb 8, 2023·edited Feb 8, 2023Liked by JoAnn Chateau
The trillions of dollars drained from American society over the years by the arms manufacturers and our wars of choice have already significantly reduced our standard of living. Social programs like Social Security and Medicare will be sacrificed next to keep the money flowing. Our enemy is not Russia or China. Our enemy is the military-industrial-congressional complex.
According to the group Social Security Works, "Republicans have told us over and over again that they want to cut Social Security and Medicare. One moment of applause doesn't change that." Sen. Rick Scott proposes to sunset all federal laws—including those authorizing Social Security and Medicare—every five years. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-applause-social-security
Republicans on the House Budget Committee offered a preview Wednesday of the programs they're looking to cut or overhaul as part of any agreement to lift the debt ceiling: food aid for low-income families, climate funding, student debt relief, and Affordable Care Act subsidies. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-austerity-targets
The standard of living of ordinary Americans will continue to be sacrificed for war and the war machine until the country is bankrupted.
Feb 9, 2023·edited Feb 9, 2023Liked by JoAnn Chateau
Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler explains it best.
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
"War like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit.
"I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
"I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
"There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.
"I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
"The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits - ah! that is another matter - twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent - the sky is the limit.
"If only more of today's military personnel would realize that they are being used by the owning elite's as a publicly subsidized capitalist goon squad.
"A few profit - and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war."
At the time of his death, Butler was the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. In 1935, he wrote a book entitled War Is a Racket from which the above quotes were taken. It's available on Amazon. The Business Plot inspired the 2022 mystery comedy, Amsterdam. The character General Gil Dillenbeck, played by Robert De Niro, is based on General Butler.
Russia started the war with Ukraine. The fact that profiteers make money during war secondary. The transgressions of the U.S. in foreign affairs is not relevant to the current war in Ukraine started by Russia. The ability to criticize the U.S. is proof of the superiority of the U.S. system, however flawed, over the CCP and Russia. The choice is one of the lesser-evil and not right over wrong.
Right, and native Americans started the Indian war when they attacked Custer at the Little Bighorn.
The inevitability of the Ukraine war began decades ago when the U.S. broke its promise to Gorbachev not to expand NATO after the fall of the Berlin wall. It culminated with the CIA sponsored overthrow of the elected government in Ukraine in 2014.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, who was personally involved in formulating American policy at the time, explains the West's false narrative which is stoking tensions with Russia and China.
Custer again is a false choice used by those who have no rational argument. The issue is not between the U.S. and Russia; it is between Ukraine and Russia. Who are you that we should take your fake logistical arguments as anything but bull shit???
Listen to experts like the former head of the Russia desk at the CIA, Ray McGovern, and renown scholar of international politics at the University of Chicago, Prof. John Mearsheimer:
I could provide a long list of atrocities committed by the CCP and Russia, but there is a much simpler way to illustrate my point - No one flees the U.S. to go to Mainland China or escapes to Russia.
The CCP is the Nazi Party of the 21st Century. The China Declaration summarizes the CCP's transgressions on its people and the world: The Chinese Communist Party must be defeated. https://www.thechinadeclaration.com/
Count the Logical Fallacies used by the "Anti-war leftist" How many do you find???
20 Common Logical Fallacies – Don’t Be a Victim!
1. Appeal to ignorance – Thinking a claim is true (or false) because it can’t be proven true (or false).
2. Ad hominem – Making a personal attack against the person saying the argument, rather than directly addressing the issue.
3. Strawman fallacy – Misrepresenting or exaggerating another person’s argument to make it easier to attack.
4. Bandwagon fallacy – Thinking an argument must be true because it’s popular.
5. Naturalistic fallacy – Believing something is good or beneficial just because it’s natural.
6. Cherry picking – Only choosing a few examples that support your argument, rather than looking at the full picture.
7. False dilemma – Thinking there are only two possibilities when there may be other alternatives you haven’t considered.
8. Begging the question – Making an argument that something is true by repeating the same thing in different words.
9. Appeal to tradition – Believing something is right just because it’s been done around for a really long time.
10. Appeal to emotions – Trying to persuade someone by manipulating their emotions – such as fear, anger, or ridicule – rather than making a rational case.
11. Shifting the burden of proof – Thinking instead of proving your claim is true, the other person has to prove it’s false. Continued...
"Zeihan is a huckster. Has no idea what he is talking about half the time."
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Prof. John Mearsheimer, and former CIA Russia expert Ray McGovern are real scholars. McGovern prepared the President's Daily Intelligence Brief for several presidents, including Ronald Reagan.
The sheer scale of China-linked information manipulation activities is remarkable. One study from May by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Associated Press documented 26,879 Twitter accounts that amplified posts from Chinese diplomats or state media nearly 200,000 times....
China’s Content Manipulation Reaches New Frontiers: The sheer scale of China-linked information manipulation activities is remarkable. One study from May by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Associated Press documented 26,879 Twitter accounts that amplified posts from Chinese diplomats or state media nearly 200,000 times....
Contrary to Russia and Mainland China we have pubic opinion. The sources that you cite criticizing the U.S. are allowed here, but not in Russia and China where you would go missing.
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is spending billions of dollars a year on its foreign propaganda and censorship efforts, including presenting state-owned outlets as independent journalism, according to a new report.
Beijing’s Global Megaphone, a new report from Freedom House published January 14, details how Beijing uses propaganda, censorship and content delivery systems to control global public opinion abroad.
Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world, previously named Beijing as having the least free internet in the world.
Socialism describes a government’s political /economic structure. Socialism is the public ownership and central control of the means-of-production and investment whether administered by self-appointed elites or administered democratically.
What is socialism? | Steve Keen and Lex Fridman - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXLKuFN5FBo&t=17s And see: XVIII Stockholm - Socialist International Congresses - Jun 22, 1989 https://www.socialistinternational.org
Socialism is not a large amount of services provided by the government nor the enforcement of law regulating a free-market.
Note: Regulation is not ownership. Means-of-production is defined as investment in and the mass-production of factory goods since the industrial revolution and not crafts, mercantilism, or trade.
The trillions of dollars drained from American society over the years by the arms manufacturers and our wars of choice have already significantly reduced our standard of living. Social programs like Social Security and Medicare will be sacrificed next to keep the money flowing. Our enemy is not Russia or China. Our enemy is the military-industrial-congressional complex.
Political choices are always one of the lesser-evil. Russia, the CCP or the U.S. military-industrial complex are your choices.
I know the MIC constantly lies to us and rips us off to the tune of almost a trillion dollars a year. Do I fear Russia or China will attack us? No.
The U.S. killed a peace deal early in the Ukraine conflict:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yma0LxyVVs
The biggest threat to peace in the world is America, not Russia or China.
Who are you??? All governments lie.
Who would want read your newsletter?
I have no newsletter. You again fail to ID yourself.
You make an excellent point!
The U.S. killed a peace deal early in the Ukraine conflict:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yma0LxyVVs
If there's no war, there's no windfall for the arms manufacturers.
Peter Zeihan - Why we are aiding Ukraine: https://youtu.be/5-r7z0lM5_k?t=97
Pure CIA propaganda.
As opposed to your propaganda. Who ever you are>
"They're coming for your Social Security money and they're going to get it too." https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sJeFrqBJF6E
According to the group Social Security Works, "Republicans have told us over and over again that they want to cut Social Security and Medicare. One moment of applause doesn't change that." Sen. Rick Scott proposes to sunset all federal laws—including those authorizing Social Security and Medicare—every five years. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-applause-social-security
Republicans on the House Budget Committee offered a preview Wednesday of the programs they're looking to cut or overhaul as part of any agreement to lift the debt ceiling: food aid for low-income families, climate funding, student debt relief, and Affordable Care Act subsidies. https://www.commondreams.org/news/gop-austerity-targets
The standard of living of ordinary Americans will continue to be sacrificed for war and the war machine until the country is bankrupted.
Not relevant to war.
Marine Corps Major General and two-time Medal of Honor recipient Smedley Butler explains it best.
"War is just a racket. A racket is best described, I believe, as something that is not what it seems to the majority of people. Only a small inside group knows what it is about. It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at the expense of the masses.
"War like any other racket, pays high dividends to the very few. The cost of operations is always transferred to the people who do not profit.
"I served in all commissioned ranks from Second Lieutenant to Major-General. And during that period, I spent most of my time being a high class muscle-man for Big Business, for Wall Street and for the Bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism.
"I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefits of Wall Street. The record of racketeering is long. I helped purify Nicaragua for the international banking house of Brown Brothers in 1909-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for American sugar interests in 1916. In China I helped to see to it that Standard Oil went its way unmolested.
"There are only two things we should fight for. One is the defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights.
"I believe in adequate defense at the coastline and nothing else. If a nation comes over here to fight, then we'll fight. The trouble with America is that when the dollar only earns 6 percent over here, then it gets restless and goes overseas to get 100 percent. Then the flag follows the dollar and the soldiers follow the flag.
"The normal profits of a business concern in the United States are six, eight, ten, and sometimes twelve percent. But war-time profits - ah! that is another matter - twenty, sixty, one hundred, three hundred, and even eighteen hundred per cent - the sky is the limit.
"If only more of today's military personnel would realize that they are being used by the owning elite's as a publicly subsidized capitalist goon squad.
"A few profit - and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war."
Wow. Wow. Wow.
For readers who may not know, Gen. Smedley Butler blew the whistler on a coup plot (that tried to involve him) to take down FDR. An article about it: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/coup-jan6-fdr-new-deal-business-plot-1276709/
At the time of his death, Butler was the most decorated Marine in U.S. history. In 1935, he wrote a book entitled War Is a Racket from which the above quotes were taken. It's available on Amazon. The Business Plot inspired the 2022 mystery comedy, Amsterdam. The character General Gil Dillenbeck, played by Robert De Niro, is based on General Butler.
Thanks! I'll look for "Amsterdam."
War is a racket. What is your point???
Russia started the war with Ukraine. The fact that profiteers make money during war secondary. The transgressions of the U.S. in foreign affairs is not relevant to the current war in Ukraine started by Russia. The ability to criticize the U.S. is proof of the superiority of the U.S. system, however flawed, over the CCP and Russia. The choice is one of the lesser-evil and not right over wrong.
Right, and native Americans started the Indian war when they attacked Custer at the Little Bighorn.
The inevitability of the Ukraine war began decades ago when the U.S. broke its promise to Gorbachev not to expand NATO after the fall of the Berlin wall. It culminated with the CIA sponsored overthrow of the elected government in Ukraine in 2014.
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University, who was personally involved in formulating American policy at the time, explains the West's false narrative which is stoking tensions with Russia and China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOePNsNFw0
Custer again is a false choice used by those who have no rational argument. The issue is not between the U.S. and Russia; it is between Ukraine and Russia. Who are you that we should take your fake logistical arguments as anything but bull shit???
Listen to experts like the former head of the Russia desk at the CIA, Ray McGovern, and renown scholar of international politics at the University of Chicago, Prof. John Mearsheimer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppD_bhWODDc
A long list of what is wrong in the U.S. does not make the CCP or /and Russia therefore good.
BTW: There is no person or group ID for https://substack.com/profile/8994263-anti-war-leftist Who is this group??? Who are these people???
Anti-war leftist uses the tactic of “Whataboutism” and False Equivalencies Used To Distract/Deflect Criticism. https://www.state.gov/prc-efforts-to-manipulate-global-public-opinion-on-xinjiang/
I could provide a long list of atrocities committed by the CCP and Russia, but there is a much simpler way to illustrate my point - No one flees the U.S. to go to Mainland China or escapes to Russia.
The CCP is the Nazi Party of the 21st Century. The China Declaration summarizes the CCP's transgressions on its people and the world: The Chinese Communist Party must be defeated. https://www.thechinadeclaration.com/
Sure, let's have an all-out nuclear exchange with China and Russia. That'll show 'em.
Thanks for filling in that information!
Count the Logical Fallacies used by the "Anti-war leftist" How many do you find???
20 Common Logical Fallacies – Don’t Be a Victim!
1. Appeal to ignorance – Thinking a claim is true (or false) because it can’t be proven true (or false).
2. Ad hominem – Making a personal attack against the person saying the argument, rather than directly addressing the issue.
3. Strawman fallacy – Misrepresenting or exaggerating another person’s argument to make it easier to attack.
4. Bandwagon fallacy – Thinking an argument must be true because it’s popular.
5. Naturalistic fallacy – Believing something is good or beneficial just because it’s natural.
6. Cherry picking – Only choosing a few examples that support your argument, rather than looking at the full picture.
7. False dilemma – Thinking there are only two possibilities when there may be other alternatives you haven’t considered.
8. Begging the question – Making an argument that something is true by repeating the same thing in different words.
9. Appeal to tradition – Believing something is right just because it’s been done around for a really long time.
10. Appeal to emotions – Trying to persuade someone by manipulating their emotions – such as fear, anger, or ridicule – rather than making a rational case.
11. Shifting the burden of proof – Thinking instead of proving your claim is true, the other person has to prove it’s false. Continued...
Continued:
12. Appeal to authority – Believing just because an authority or “expert” believes something than it must be true.
13. Red herring – When you change the subject to a topic that’s easier to attack.
14. Slippery slope – Taking an argument to an exaggerated extreme. “If we let A happen, then Z will happen.”
15. Correlation proves causation – Believing that just because two things happen at the same time, that one must have caused the other.
16. Anecdotal evidence – Thinking that just because something applies toyou that it must be true for most people.
17. Equivocation – Using two different meanings of a word to prove your argument.
18. Non sequitur – Implying a logical connection between two things that doesn’t exist. “It doesn’t follow…”
19. Ecological fallacy – Making an assumption about a specific person based on general tendencies within a group they belong to.
20. Fallacy fallacy – Thinking just because a claim follows a logical fallacy that it must be false.
And two more used by "Anti-war leftist" and also a technique perfected by the CCP.
21. Whataboutism - https://madeinchinajournal.com/2020/07/07/what-about-whataboutism/
22. Racism - A common tactic used by the government of Israel and the CCP to stifle criticism.
https://agileforall.com/20-common-logical-fallacies-dont-be-a-victim/
https://library.fvtc.edu/Thinking/Traps
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/thoughts-thinking/201708/18-common-logical-fallacies-and-persuasion-techniques
Again in the U.S. this news is allowed. Wherever you come from or represent you would go missing.
Peter Zeihan - Why we are aiding Ukraine: https://youtu.be/5-r7z0lM5_k?t=97
"Zeihan is a huckster. Has no idea what he is talking about half the time."
Prof. Jeffrey Sachs, Prof. John Mearsheimer, and former CIA Russia expert Ray McGovern are real scholars. McGovern prepared the President's Daily Intelligence Brief for several presidents, including Ronald Reagan.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppD_bhWODDc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmOePNsNFw0&t=229s
Peter Zeihan - Why we are aiding Ukraine: https://youtu.be/5-r7z0lM5_k?t=97
Do you have to repeat your posts?
Not relevant.
RE: Anti-war activist on SubStack.
The sheer scale of China-linked information manipulation activities is remarkable. One study from May by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Associated Press documented 26,879 Twitter accounts that amplified posts from Chinese diplomats or state media nearly 200,000 times....
https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/chinas-content-manipulation-reaches-new-frontiers/
RE: Anti-war leftist.
China’s Content Manipulation Reaches New Frontiers: The sheer scale of China-linked information manipulation activities is remarkable. One study from May by the Oxford Internet Institute and the Associated Press documented 26,879 Twitter accounts that amplified posts from Chinese diplomats or state media nearly 200,000 times....
https://thediplomat.com/2021/11/chinas-content-manipulation-reaches-new-frontiers/
No one manipulates American public opinion more than our own oligarchy. We are the most propagandized people on earth.
In a corporatist state, corporate media is state media.
Contrary to Russia and Mainland China we have pubic opinion. The sources that you cite criticizing the U.S. are allowed here, but not in Russia and China where you would go missing.
RE: Anti-war leftist - Who are these people???
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) is spending billions of dollars a year on its foreign propaganda and censorship efforts, including presenting state-owned outlets as independent journalism, according to a new report.
Beijing’s Global Megaphone, a new report from Freedom House published January 14, details how Beijing uses propaganda, censorship and content delivery systems to control global public opinion abroad.
Freedom House, an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom and democracy around the world, previously named Beijing as having the least free internet in the world.
https://share.america.gov/report-outlines-beijings-global-media-manipulation/
Freedom House is a CIA cutout.
https://consortiumnews.com/2015/01/08/cias-hidden-hand-in-democracy-groups/