America’s Macro-Hypocrisy: Our colossal collective calamity

 

By John L Otto

We Americans are currently living through some Globally Historic Times in regards to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. All Americans both Rep and Dem, all the Politicians, the Corporations, News Media, Everyone around the World…Stands with Ukraine! Many declare that they unequivocally and in no uncertain terms do NOT condone the illegal invasion of a Sovereign Nation but we do condone it according to the actions of our own gov’t that we support. The US knowingly used WMD in deceit to justify an illegal war (unconstitutional) and convinced half the Globe (mostly Europe) to join them. The US Invaded Iraq, overthrew the military and gov’t, hanged their leader, bombed and drone striked civilians, decimated their infrastructure, homes and population, grabbed citizens off the street, threw them in prison indefinitely without trial, tortured them (extra-ordinary rendition).

AND the US is still occupying Iraq nearly two decades later. If that wasn’t bad enough the US did the same thing to Afghanistan. In fact the US has or had troops in several Middle Eastern and African countries while supporting other country’s illegal wars and humanitarian atrocities monetarily or through proxy including Yemen Syria Libya and many more. No one wants their refugees, no outcry for the mom and child that have to say goodbye to their father because he has to go fight the invaders and we have destroyed millions of lives and decimated every country we molested. Everything said and done in support of Ukraine and their people by every politician, news entertainment and internet outlet echoed all over the world and every criticism, boycott, condemnation, sentiment and action heaped upon Russia and its people including every accusation of inhumanity, war crimes, being dictatorial or tyrannical…

MUST be said about the U.S. and is in a shameful and revealingly stark contrast to any comparison between Ukraine and Iraq, Afghanistan or the other countries the US has decimated. Why do news outlets keep pushing for involvement even so far as to say: aren’t we bluffing, if this humanitarian crisis doesn’t justify the risk of nuclear war what does? We are witnessing a profoundly ugly hypocrisy so macro in size few realize it’s there or that they are guilty of participating in it. Look at the fear, criticisms and treatment of refugees from the Middle East, African Asian or South American countries in contrast to the Ukrainians which are predominantly white people that look exactly like the civilized Euro-US society in civilized cars and cities with white picket fences and normal clothes. They are not dirty rag headed, robe wearing Muslim, brown, camel riding weirdoes…

Hiding their IEDs in the baby’s crib in a house, in a city that looks like it’s from ancient Bible times. Oh no I am not playing the race card, I’m playing every card in the hand Including how this so called Christian Nation treats people from Christ’s old stomping grounds compared to European souls…

Imagine Jesus returning and witnessing how horribly the US has treated the people of His home land. Strangely there is a bizarre twist and perhaps evidence that all peoples are cable of racism as many African Americans and other people of color are culpable in the enthusiastic participation of the racial hypocrisy. Now let the excuses and apologists begin…They’re all terrorists, their leader was a dictator, we did it to free the people of Iraq and protect the world from Saddam Hussein, we were invited and their people begged us to invade. Any argument in defense of US foreign atrocities will likely be laden with classic western propaganda points, emphatic denial and non sequitur stretches of the imagination.

The ridiculous ease with which the American Media orchestrated this conveniently profitable distraction from the economy problems, Biden’s failures and low ratings and the Media ratings slump that resulted when Trump lost the presidency and left the Sh*t Show spotlight. Both political parties and the media are handling this horribly. They are drumming for war and escalation also there is a bipartisan budget past with a 10 percent increase to the military budget ALL while Americans are struggling after a pandemic and an economic disaster with price gouging greed causing crippling inflation. No cries of “How Are We Going To Pay For It!!!” When it comes to feeding the insatiable apatite of our nation’s war profiteering industries. We are in serious danger of destroying any legitimacy to our claim of peace, justice or righteousness by our blatant disregard and indifference to our own cruelness. The United States of America is bereft of integrity and is in danger and deserving of the world’s retaliation. Our indifference and Empire of belligerence won’t be tolerated forever. Good luck and best wishes to all.

Ukraine War pix.

Kansas Legislature approves a "parents' 'bill of rights' that is sure to wreck havoc and fear on our teachers

 By Steve Otto

In their efforts to placate their supporters, the Kansas Legislature approved a parents' 'bill of rights.' This allows a parent to challenge materials that teachers use in our class rooms. This is a very dangerous law that, if enacted, might run some teachers off the schools entirely.

So far Gov. Laura Kelly will probably veto this bill. If it does pass it will wreck havoc on our educational systems.

There are some parents out there with very strange ideas and to challenge everything their children are tough could reap some real problems.

According to The Kansas City Star:

"Speaking to reporters last week, Kelly called the parents' bill of rights the “teacher demoralization act.”

And:

"Republican candidates statewide have based campaigns in the past year on parental anger over COVID-19 restrictions and a wave of conservative criticism over how schools teach children about difficult issues including race and sexual orientation."

So Republicans here in Kansas and across the country, want schools to reflect THEIR values ​​on COVID-19 paranoia, they want to cover up this country's racist past and they want to prevent any kind of discussion on homosexuality or related issues. In a nutshell they want to control what teachers say and how they teach. They are trying to prevent any liberal views. They want their far right values ​​taught. Again from The Kansas Citystars:

"Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, the presumptive GOP nominee for Governor, has already focused much of his campaign on the issue. In a Twitter post last week the Republican Governor's Association called Kelly's statement evidence she would side with “the liberal teacher's unions funding her campaign"rather than parents."

He makes no attempt to hide the fact that he is against liberal teachers and he is anti-union. He complains that Kelly gets support from teacher unions. He overlooks how much money he and other Republicans get from conservative groups and businesses. He attacks corruption on the left, while ignoring it on the right.

Y no! most parents do not have the money to support his campaign, but many businesses and organizations do.

According to The Kansas City Star , there are some serious dangers in the bill:

"Sen. David Haley, a Kansas City Democrat, said he worried the legislation opened the door to the removal of important context for the uglier parts ofUShistory, like racism and segregation, from classrooms. “I just hope we don't reach the point where we allow the involvement or cancel culture where we allow those 1 or 2, or 10 or 15 parents who are inspecting and being informed and able to have removed materials and discussions from within curriculum . .. limit the ability of children to really grow into a world citizen,”

We have reached a place in our times when arrogant right-wing politicians can dictate what all of us can learn in schools.

Some of the school complaints get from parents become absurd. A few years ago, a parent made the news by being outraged over a topless woman on a beach in Where's Waldo on the Beach?" At first it looked like she was angry over outright pornographic images. But later I saw that picture. The woman is on her stomach and nothing shows. She has her top undone, as many women do, to get a tan without the lines. It is less than an inch long and is almost completely unnoticeable. According to The Journal Times:

"It's very small, but the woman was definitely sunbathing topless," said Doug Rogers, operations manager at BJ's Wholesale Club, which pulled the Waldo puzzles from its shelves. "We responded seriously to the complaint."

Her complaint was ridiculous. The picture was completely innocent and removing that book was an outrage. The are all kinds of whack jobs who can come into a school and wreck havoc over some ridiculous argument over the kinds of materials students looked at.

We have reached a place in our times when arrogant right-wing politicians can dictate what all of us can learn in schools.

Pix (a blow up of a much smaller) from Reddit.

Pix from Photos.com.

Sexuality is nothing wrong—suppressing it is

 

By Steve Otto

Just today, I met up with a woman I hope to get to know. This is a good time to remind myself that the women I meet in real life are never like the women I see in porno movies.

So I’ve decided to muse on the subject of porno films.  I have argued in the past with people about pornography. Despite all the objections from guys, as well as women, I still think most guys look at sexually explicit materials at least some of their time. And among some of the opponents of my views there is the agreement that there is a difference between straight out porn and erotica. Anti-porn people vary on where they draw the line. But most of the Marxist-Leninists (and MLM) activist I know are against most sexually explicit photos and films.

As my brother pointed out to me the other day, the people in those films don’t talk like, or act like real women (or men) that we know. It is important not to make the mistake of talking to women about what a guy sees on such films and forgetting that the dialog with real women is far different. Forget that and a guy can offend a woman really bad. And the results can be terrible. I actually know a guy who made a bad impression on a woman I knew who dated him. She said he talked about moves he learned watching porno films. She was not impressed—the very opposite.

Still I wonder what motivates a man or woman to expose their private parts in a movie, doing personal things that most people would never do in public? Are they just out to make money? Do they enjoy what they do? One anti-porn woman I talked to said she read an interview of a porn star who said they often had her doing things that were painful. I don’t doubt that. I’m sure there are forms of pornography that no one should really do.  It can be painful and unnecessary. I have watch some films, in the past, and wondered how a woman could tolerate such treatment. I’m not in favor of just anything. Abusive films need not be made.

It is easy to see that porn film stars are doing things that look good on the cameras, but most of us would not have those types of sex for fun. Most men in those films ejaculate (the money shot as they call it) out of the vagina, not in as most people would do. There are many angles that a person would use for sex only so the camera can see what they are doing. In some ways it is hard to distinguish between people who simply want to film their sex life and those who are professional porn stars.

So why do people do this for a living? Money would be a big reason. Some people might find the activities they are in as exciting adventures. Some may be rebelling against the puritanical society we live in.

At times there are only pictures of nude people. Some are tasteful, some look candid as in a person who just happens to be out naked in their yard or on a beach. Others may be demonstrating crude poses that most normal people would never do. Again, what is their motive? For example some women like being photographed while they are peeing. These photos are not intended to be tasteful.

Then there is all the non-sense I have seen on line about pornography. Some of the claims are just plain idiotic. For example consider this piece I found on pornography Addiction:

"How Can You Spot A Pornography Addiction?

Many seek sexual stimulation outside of the bounds of ‘normal’ intercourse. In most cases, people can keep this urge under control, but serious problems arise when people (especially young people) use porn as an educational rather than a recreational tool, and attempt to apply the fictitious (and often damaging) mores of porn to their real-life sexual encounters."

Many of the articles I found treat pornography as a drug or on par with gambling addictions. Of course there are always those who become compulsive addicts to an activity, such as gambling or pornography or some other activity.

Another absurdity I found was "7 Negative Effects of Porn,"

by BJ Stockman. He claims that pornography causes:  

"PORN CONTRIBUTES TO SOCIAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL PROBLEMS WITHIN MEN."

2. PORN REWIRES THE MALE BRAIN

Struthers elaborates,

1. As men fall deeper into the mental habit of fixating on [pornographic images], the exposure to them creates neural pathways. Like a path is created in the woods with each successive hiker, so do the neural paths set the course for the next time an erotic image is viewed. Over time these neural paths become wider as they are repeatedly traveled with each exposure to pornography. They become the automatic pathway through which interactions with woman are routed….They have unknowingly created a neurological circuit that imprisons their ability to see women rightly as created in God’s image (Wired For Intimacy, 85)."
2.  

*This is real pseudo science. This guy writes this crap to make a name for himself. These claims are ridiculous.

 

3. PORN TURNS SEX INTO MASTURBATION

Sex becomes self-serving. It becomes about your pleasure and not the self-giving, mutually reciprocating intimacy that it was designed for. 

 

So no one in normal society masturbates? How absurd it that?

 

"4. PORN DEMEANS AND OBJECTIFIES WOMEN."

 

We see this on both the left and the right. Porn can objectify anyone male or female. Again, it is a weak argument. It also says a lot that a woman is objectified, demeaned or humiliated by sex and her sexuality. Why is sex humiliating.

 

"5. PORN SQUASHES THE BEAUTY OF A REAL NAKED WOMAN

Wolf, in her own blunt way, confirms this,

1. For most of human history, the erotic images have been reflections of, or celebrations of, or substitutes for, real naked women. For the first time in history, the images’ power and allure have supplanted that of real naked women. Today, real naked women are just bad porn (Quoted in Wired for Intimacy, 38).

6. PORN HAS A NUMBING EFFECT UPON REALITY.

7. PORN LIES ABOUT WHAT IT MEANS TO BE MALE AND FEMALE

Dines records how porn tells a false story about men and women. In the story of porn, women are “one-dimensional”–they never say no, never get pregnant, and can’t wait to have sex with any man and please them in whatever way imaginable (or even unimaginable). On the other hand, the story porn tells about men is that they are “soulless, unfeeling, amoral life-support systems for erect penises who are entitled to use women in any way they want. These men demonstrated zero empathy, respect, or love for the women they have sex with…(Pornland, xxiv).”

Most of this is just a lot of absurd crap. Some of these things may really happen in extreme cases, but rewiring a persons brain about sex does not happen that easily. Any person has to be able to distinguish between fantasy and reality. For example the early, 1 AD writer, Titus Lucretius Carus mused:

"Hot pitch, executioners, torture, and all those ghastly diversions the judges impose on felons scare us and let us imagine an eternity of whips, firebrands, and scourges, the effect of which is to make life on this earth a hell for those fools who cannot distinguish dreams from the truth.”  

And there are those people who work really hard at repressing their own sexual desires:

From Pure Life Ministries:

"has been a pioneer in dealing with sexual addiction and its consequences for over 35 years. During that span of time thousands of people have found freedom through our counseling programs and teaching materials....

....Residential

Our 9-month Residential Program, located in a beautiful rural Kentucky setting, is the ideal solution for any man in sexual sin."

Here we see an example of someone who uses religion to try and destroy their sexual desires. I have seen this before. Many religious people treat sex as a sin...pure and simple. They treat it as a curse. Sexuality is a normal part of most people's lives. Sex is not wrong. In some forms it can be wrong. Rape is wrong. We must treat others with respect—regardless of their own sexual practices. We don't want to force ourselves on others. All sex must be consensual. We have no right to force ourselves on anyone.

But sexuality in itself is a normal part of life. It should be treated as such. Some pornography does cross that line. For example it is not normal to watch a women being gang banged. Regardless of the background for making such films, no women should be portrayed as a victim. That is not normal sex. There is nothing wrong with pictures of nude people. Some portrayed sex acts cross the line between what is normal and what is not. But to put blank labels on all porn, as something evil and destructive, is simplistic and stupid. We live in a world were some sexuality is a normal part of life. To deny this is to deny humanity. It is absurd to say the least.

 

To be left-wing is to oppose imperialism—all imperialism!

 By Steve Otto

The one problem I have with most "Western Style Marxist" or Western leftist is that they buckle under quick to US imperialism when they feel there is a different foreign power doing bad things.

I saw this during the crisis in Syria, when a bourgeois rebellion sprang up against the Syrian leader President Bashar al-Assad.[1] They want to support the US effort against that country. I have seen leftists muse that we should support US imperialism because North Korea's[2] Kim Jong Un[3] is such a bad leader we should let US fighters bring him down. From Open Democracy:

"A letter to the Western Left from Kyiv

The ‘anti-imperialism of idiots’ meant people turned a blind eye to Russia’s actions.

British-Syrian author and activist Leila Al-Shami gave it a stronger name: the “anti-imperialism of idiots”. Read her wonderful 2018 essay if you haven’t done so yet. I will repeat only the main thesis here: the activity of a large part of the Western ‘anti-war’ Left over the war in Syria had nothing to do with stopping the war. It only opposed Western interference, while ignoring, or even supporting, the engagement of Russia and Iran, to say nothing of their attitude to the ‘legitimately elected’ Assad regime in Syria."

 I don't know how many times I've heard leftists say: "The enemy of my enemy is not always my friend." While there may be truth to that, I would ad that we as members of the left, oppose US imperialism. For us they are the main enemy. We can oppose the Russian invasion of Ukraine, but not to go so far as to endorse NATO[4]

From my point of view, NATO[5] is not necessary. It is more about controlling of allies and servant states of the US, in that part of the world. Many of those post East European countries have adopted near fascist governments. I don't see why people like me should have to support near Nazis simply because they fear the Soviet Union. Let them form their own alliance. I don't like Russia, but I don't like those crappy little Eastern countries either. They should fight their own wars.

People like me take a lot of crap from leftists who hate not only Putin, but Kim in Korea and Assad of Syria. But I will not support the proxies of the US and Europe in their fight against him. Those proxies are not revolutionary at all. And while I'm not a big fan of Kim, I can admire his government's rejection of military threats and sanctions from the US and its allies trying to take him over and smear him in a propaganda campaign. That is a campaign I oppose.

Another example of such leftist can be found at Quorum:

'Is Noam Chomsky's comment that "NATO should not have moved an inch east of Germany" ignoring the desires of the eastern European states?"

From my point of view, Chomsky does not go far enough. NATO is a sham and should be dismantled. Then from Tadeusz M.:

"I must admit that being both left-leaning and from Poland is a surreal experience right now. 

There is a quote by George Orwell that comes to my mind: “First of all, a message to English left-wing journalists and intellectuals generally: ‘Do remember that dishonesty and cowardice always have to be paid for. Don’t imagine that for years on end you can make yourself the boot-licking propagandist of the Soviet régime, or any other régime, and then suddenly return to mental decency. Once a whore, always a whore.’” Funnily enough, it was written in the context of Poland. When Poles were fighting Nazis during the Warsaw Uprising, Soviets disallowed allied planes to use their airports to bring supplies to Polish freedom fighters. They also chose to watch Poles die, despite having forces literally on the other bank of the river. The Western left tried to defend this position. 200 000 thousand people died.

How many will die in Ukraine?"

This guy claims to be left. But what does he mean. He is not an anti-imperialist. He seems to put Russia on par with Nazis. My guess is that he probably does the same thing with the Soviet Union. He goes on to say:

Balance of power. An idea you learn as a freshman while studying international relations. Or as a full-grown adult after Russia invades Ukraine.

There are literally dozens of pages of essays (or answers on Quora) full of cherry-picking facts showing that those people never really followed the politics of our region - they just bought into the recent narrative.

There is not the tiniest sense of modesty or decency in people who are giving themselves the right to explain to the world and us the politics of our region despite becoming interested in it two weeks ago.

Honestly, I think I know now how Africans feel when some random Western intellectuals speak about conflicts in their countries they know nothing about. And I can’t even imagine how Ukrainian people must feel.

Basically, people by whose intellectual circles I felt inspired many times in the past are now defending the idea that my fellow countrymen never should have had anything to say about the fate of our countries. Because “Russia feels threatened”.

He may know more about Ukraine and its problems than I do, but to expect the rest of the word to take up arms in his defense is a request that we have a right to ignore. I will not support NATO, US or its allies of imperialism, even though he said I don't understand his country's conflict. We are not Ukrainians and we have no obligation to go there and fight on his behalf.

Then there are the usual comments such as:

Robert Maxwel

 · March 10

These past two weeks have been a time of savage culling in my follows and in who I pay attention to, and for the very reasons you bring up. Too often, the “Western leftist" really just turned out to have meant “I have a hobby horse of about three different causes, mostly centering around being a contrarian anti-American.”

And as a Westerner that sees themselves as leftist, there's nothing wrong with opposing American foreign policy! But apparently some people made it so foundational to their calculus that the only way they can square that circle is by either engaging in weak distraction or just outright simping for autocracy.

We expect harsh arguments from the right-wingers. But to often these so called leftists take up the same path and end up on the same side as the right.

I continue to take a hard stance on NATO. It needs to go and for all times, not just when it seems convenient.

---

[1] See In defense of “Tankies”- Part 1, Otto's War Room.

[2] Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

[3] See In defense of “Tankies”- Part 2, Otto's War Room.

[4] See On the Dangerous, Reckless and Unconscionable Drumbeat for a “No-Fly Zone” in Ukraine, Revcom.us.

[5] North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

For those US citizens who want to fight in Ukraine —GET OUT!

By Steve Otto

There are too many Americans who just can't stay out of a war. They are almost always right-wing bullet-head mercenaries who want to fight anywhere they can. There are those who actually fought in Afghanistan and now that the US has left, they want to go to Ukraine to get involved in  their War.

President Joe Biden has so far, rightfully, kept the US out of directly fighting with Russian troops.  He is using sanctions (of which may be unnecessary and more destructive than necessary) and sending military aid. The main point of this article is that the US and its people need to stay out of the Ukraine war. People have every right to protest it, but fighting in that country is unnecessary and it is wrong.

There are those who claim they are willing to die for the cause of freedom. They would do better to stay here and not die. It is simply not necessary and it is not the right thing to do. War is bad enough, but to directly contribute is even worse.

According to Newsweek:

Thousands of American volunteers willing to defend Ukraine against Russia's invasion have signed up to join the International Legion of Territorial Defense, according to Military Times.

The legion was created by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to help strengthen Ukraine's military against the Russians. Some Americans who have signed up to join forces with Ukraine are on the ground already.

The country under siege has received more than 3,000 applications from people in the United States who want to fight, a defense official with the Ukrainian Embassy in Washington, D.C., told Military Times

 

Also:

 

Pentagon spokesman John Kirby urged Americans to stay home and not travel to Ukraine as volunteers.

"I don't have an estimate of Americans who might want to be volunteering to go there," Kirby said, according to Military Times. "I would say what I said last week, if you're an American and you want to do right by Ukraine, the best thing you can do is find a way to donate to so many agencies that are trying to deal with what is now clearly a humanitarian crisis in the region, and certainly there in Ukraine. We still do not believe that Ukraine is a safe place for Americans to go. We urge them not to go and if any are still there, we urge them to leave."

 

So why does any person want to risk their life in a useless war that no one should be involved in. For those who live in Ukraine, it is patriotic to stay and fight for the homeland. But for those of foreign countries, they need to stay away. It is ridiculous for those who were fighting in Afghanistan, a country the US actually invaded and occupied, to turn around and oppose the same actions in Ukraine. The problems that others witnessed in Afghanistan were mostly created by the US invasion. Biden did the right thing taking US troops out of Afghanistan. If he keeps the US out of Ukraine fighting he is also doing the right thing.

It is time for US citizens to get away from war and let the people of the world fix their own problems.

These people are ridiculous. They don't need to die for some one else's war. That one jerk is risking leaving his kids as orphans.  

This month we had International Women's Day, Here are a few relevant quotes:

 

.....That little man in black there, he says women can't have as much rights as men 'cause Christ wasn't a woman! Where did your Christ come from? Where did your Christ come from? From God and a woman! Man had nothing to do with Him.

- Sojourner Truth

Women are the real architects of society. - Cher

Always be a first-rate version of yourself instead of a second-rate version of somebody else. -Judy Garland

I am grateful to be a woman. I must have done something great in another life.- Maya Angelou

I have plowed and planted and gathered into barns, and no man could head me. And aren't I a woman?...

 

 Break the Chains

Unleash the fury of women

As a mighty force for revolution -Jiang Qing/江青

It is St. Patrick's day and a good excuse to celebrate Irish Nationalism

 It is St. Patrick's Day, a stupid holiday for Catholicism. Still, it is a great time to celebrate Irish nationalism:

James Connolly

living in America

-Steve Otto

Western HYPOCRISY smashed by Clare Daly | Ukraine vs Afghanistan

 

So far—US and NATO resists attempts to expand the war

 

By Steve Otto

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has attempted to expand the war in his country by attempting to get the US and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)  countries (of which the US is part of) to declare a "no fly zone" over parts of his country. If this worked, it could expand the war and lead to a third world war in Europe, of which nothing like this has taken place since World War II. To enforce a no fly zone, the US and allies would be flying air attacks against Russia.

We can be thankful that the US, The UK and other countries have resisted this idea. If they had not, it could have led to a major fight with present day Russia and the government of Vladimir Putin.

It is bad enough that war is now existing in Ukraine. It is a needless war, just as most wars are. It is bad enough that NATO still exist. It was supposed to stop the Soviet Union from invading Europe. Today it is simply a tool of European imperialism. If presently favors crappy little right-wing countries who hate Russia, communism and outside countries. It should be abolished.

If we had a different president we might be at war with the Russian government. We can be thankful that hasn't happened—yet.

On the other hand we could have kept President Donald Trump in office who still actually supports Putin. Trump was given several opportunities to reject Putin on Fox News. But he didn't do that. According to Yahoo News:

 

 Fox’s Sean Hannity set Trump up multiple times during the 30-minute exchange to criticize Putin, but the former president didn’t go along. He instead touted his relationships with Putin, the North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and President Xi Jinping of China.

Trump came under fire last month for describing Putin’s invasion of Ukraine as “genius” and “savvy,” keeping in line with his tendency to speak favorably of the Russian leader. Even House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a Trump ally, broke with the former president this week, saying there was nothing “savvy or genius” about Putin. McCarthy went on to say that Putin was “evil,” condemning a war that has already left hundreds of civilians dead in Ukraine.

In fact former President Trump mouthed off on how he believes he could have prevented the war. He criticized President Joe Biden for leaving Afghanistan. He his terribly full of shit. So things could be worse. We still have that idiot as a president.

Russian Troops commit war crimes—but didn't the US do this also in Afghanistan and Iraq?

 

By Steve Otto

The outrage and discontent over Russia's invasion of Ukraine is understandable. Of course they targeted civilians in their war. That almost always happens. But while our news people are so quick to show us the casualties, the damage to buildings and property, the attempts by refugees to leave, I have to wonder about something. Where were these reporters when the US invaded Afghanistan and Iraq? Didn't these wars produce a lot of the same thing? Weren't there casualties, the damage to buildings and property, the attempts by refugees to leave? I'm sure there were. I remember a CIA man being questioned about the children and grand children killed when a US drone attacked a suspected terrorist leader. He was asked if he felt any remorse about killing the kids and he quickly said "no."

The US has done the same kind of war crimes now playing out in Ukraine. There is sympathy for the victims of that war all over the news, by lots of pundits and political activists. But the war crimes of this country were swept under the rug when this country did those things.

How many victims were shown by US TV when those two occupations were going on? Many news agencies banned such coverage for their reporters. many of us had to watch British TV or RU TV (a Russian media).

So let's not forget how different our country's coverage of this war differs from that going on in Ukraine today. There is a lot of hypocrisy to go around. Especially since the US still occupies Iraq, as we speak today.

Pix from NBCNews.

Car repairs, insurance and the business of fear

By Steve Otto

All we have to do is look at our TVs today to see what is being sold to us, in the name of crisis. For example—Car Shield, Endurance, Carchex and many other types of insurance to prevent us from having expensive car repairs. Until recently, when our cars broke down we came up with funds to fix them. But not now. We buy some kind of insurance, such as Car shield and a number of other car fix insurance companies, by other names. When the warranty wares off, then it is time for car-fix insurance.

There are also insurance systems we can buy to fix your home appliances and the mechanics of our homes, such as American Home Shield. These companies fix such things as a toilet, leaky pipes or bad air conditioners. But what do we really get for our money?

The insurance cost money and most of us won't save $2,000 to $6,000. A few people will come out ahead. The ads on TV don't tell us how much this insurance cost. Apparently all cars and homes don't cost the same. But we can be sure of one thing...These companies are making money. Most people are going to pay way more than the collect when their car breaks down.

There two things to look at here. One is that these things work on the sale of fear. We are shown what can happen if our car beaks down and the money it costs. We are shown home appliances that don't work and create horrible problems. Then we are told "if the car engine light turns on, that's game over." It is designed to scare us over things that might happen to our car or maybe our home.

Then again, insurance does not represent a company that makes things or really fixes anything. They just provide the money to do the fixing. Most people don't have $4,000 laying around to fix their car as the ad says. So they pay more than that amount, in a year's time, with monthly installments. All of this is because the average person can't make more money than they need in a week—when a crisis occurs. So there is a service there, based on fear and the economics based on the average working class person or that person's family and home.

It is like the ads for borrowing money. Whether a personmakes use of CashNetUSA.com loans, with their 240 percent interests or JG Wentworth, where a person with an injury settlement gets back a lump some of their own money—for a fee—of course. It is all about buying large amounts of money, with time payments and interest payments.

A lot of the ads I see in the morning are about insurance. I see more and more ads to call a number to bet back all kinds of medical benefits, including money back on "your" social security payments—for those over 65 who are on Medicare. I'm sure the people behind these ads have found a way to make a shit load of money off of us. Before a person turns 65, on one gives a shit about them. They can drop dead on the street and no cares. But when they reach the age of Medicare—65 years, they are a gold mine to the insurance companies and the medical profession in general. There is money to be mad and that is all the people who run this society care about. So one of the biggest profession today include the business of fear and its profits.