#decades of pro-usa propaganda

[crooked-wasteland]

When Americans are saying "Biases being broken down on both sides"

And the bias is the propaganda the United States Government has been sneaking into China to try and instigate civil unrest.

Notice how they thought that the US was a much better place than it actually is? Yeah. You accidentally undid decades of CIA and intelligence propaganda.

Biases being broken down on both sides

[thethief1996]

9.000 palestinians were killed in 3 weeks of bombings and the USA has just approved $14bi in additional military aid for Israel, on top of the annual $3.8bi Joe Biden instituted 28 years ago. Israel has targeted an ambulance convoy near Al-Shifa hospital, which was evacuating wounded from hospitals to the Rafah crossing. Al-Shifa is already working at 164% capacity, while 25 of the 35 hospitals in the Gaza Strip have shut down due to damage from bombing and lack of fuel (if I hear another zionist talk about how good Israel is for roof knocking hospitals is I'm going to explode). They did everything Israel asked of them and still they were murdered.

Almost half of these deaths are children, and even in death they're not respected and the US president and western media outlets are casting doubt over the reported numbers, even though they cast no such doubt over the numbers reported by Israel even though there's no official list provided by the government. It's ridiculous how blatantly they are copying Holocaust denialism talking points.

Meanwhile, Israel is enjoying the fog of war to proceed with the ethnic cleasing of the West Bank. Palestinians in Masafer Yatta, that have been intimidated by the construction of settlements hounding them for years, received threats by armed civilians saying they would be killed if they didn't leave in 24h and since then settlers have burned down their homes. Bedouin villages in Hebron, whose population was already routinely brutalized by settlers from the outposts nearby, are receiving equal threats and being terrorized by the destruction of their water supplies, roadblocks and physical violence. This is the largest forced displacement in the West Bank since 1972 and it's all being committed by settlers backed by the IDF. Israeli activists said they don't even know if these settlers are acting at the government's request or if they're just terrorizing people into running away from their homes in their free time. Thousands of Gazans who worked within Israel's "green line" were being held hostage since Oct 7th and reported they were tortured and labeled with numbers around their legs. Today, they were pushed back into southern Gaza amid airstrikes.

Palestinian journalists are being targeted for live streaming their genocide. The least we can do is pay attention and take action. Gazans have said our support lifts their spirits. If nothing else, to lift their spirits.

TOMORROW, NOV 4TH, there will be a National March in Washington DC organized by 500+ orgs and expected to be the largest pro-Palestine movement in the history of the USA. If you can, please attend.

Educate yourself. Read into Palestinian history and the occupation. You can't common sense people out of decades of propaganda. If your arguments crumble when a zionist brings up the "disengagement of Gaza", you have to learn more.

Read Decolonize Palestine. They have 15 minute reads that concisely explain the occupation (and its colonial roots) and debunk popular myths, including pinkwashing.

Read on Palestine. Here's an amazing masterpost.

Verso Book Club is giving out free books on Palestine (I personally downloaded Ten Myths about Israel by Ilan Pappe).

Keep yourself updated and share Palestinian voices, looking to inform yourself from the sources. Palestinians have asked of us only that we share, tweet and post, over and over. Muna El-Kurd said every tweet is like a treasure to them, because their voices are repressed on social media and even on this very app. Make it your action item to share something about the Palestinian plight everyday. Here are some resources:

Al Jazeera

Anadolu Agency

Mondoweiss

Boycott Divest Sanction Movement

Palestinian Youth Movement

Mohammed El-Kurd (twitter / instagram)

Al-Shabaka (twitter / instagram)

Mariam Barghouti (twitter / instagram)

Muhammad Shehada (twitter)

Motaz Azaiza (instagram) - reporting directly from Gaza.

Take action. You can participate in boycotts wherever you are in the world, through BDS guidelines. Don't be overwhelmed by gigantic boycott lists. BDS explicitly targets only a few brands which have bigger impact. You can stop consuming from as many brands as you want, though, and by all means feel free to give a 1 star review to McDonalds, Papa John, Pizza Hut, Burger King and Starbucks. Right now, they are focusing on boycotting the following:

Carrefour

HP

Puma

Sabra

Sodastream

Ahava cosmetics

Israeli fruits and vegetables

Push for a cultural boycott - pressure your favorite artist to speak out on Palestine and cancel any upcoming performances on occupied territory (Lorde cancelled her gig in Israel because of this. It works.)

If you can, participate in direct action or donate.

Palestine Action works to shut down Israeli weapons factories in the UK and USA, and have successfully shut down one of their firms in London.Some of the activists are going on trial and are calling for mobilizing on court.

Palestinian Youth Movement is organizing direct actions to stop the shipping of wars to Israel. Follow them.

Call your representatives. The Labour Party in the UK had an emergency meeting after several councilors threatened to resign if they didn't condemn Israeli war crimes. Calling to show your complaints works, even more if you live in a country that funds genocide.

FOR PEOPLE IN THE USA: USCPR has developed this toolkit for calls, here's a document that autosends emails to your representatives and here's a toolkit by Ceasefire in Gaza NOW!

FOR PEOPLE IN EUROPE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace targeting the European Parliament

FOR PEOPLE IN THE UK: Friends of Al-Aqsa UK and Palestine Solidarity UK have made toolkits for calls and emails

FOR PEOPLE IN GERMANY: Here's a toolkit to contact your representatives by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN IRELAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN POLAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN DENMARK: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN SWEDEN: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN FRANCE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN THE NETHERLANDS: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN GREECE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN NORWAY: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN ITALY: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN PORTUGAL: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN SPAIN: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN FINLAND: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRIA: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN BELGIUM: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN ROMANIA: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN UKRAINE: Here's a toolkit by Voices in Europe for Peace

FOR PEOPLE IN AUSTRALIA: Here's a toolkit by Stand With Palestine

FOR PEOPLE IN CANADA: Here's a toolkit by Indepent Jewish Voices for Canada

Join a protest. Here's a constantly updating list of protests:

Global calendar

Another global calendar (go to the instragram of the organizers to confirm your protest)

USA calendar

Australia calendar

Feel free to add more resources.

[mister-forest]

"what is happening to Venezuela isn't even comparable to what is happening in Rafah" TELL ME YOU HAVE NEVER EVER READ SOMETHING ABOUT THE LATINOAMERICAN PEOPLE WITHOUT TELLING ME. FIRST YOUR STUPID IMPERIAL COUNTRY TRIES TO INVADE OURS FOR ECONOMICAL AND OTHER SHITTY ASS REASONS, SECOND THEY MAKE PROPAGANDA AGAINST US AND YOU EAT IT LIKE YOUR STUPID HAMBURGERS, AND NOW YOU GUYS TRY TO TELL US WHAT IS HAPPENING IN *OUR* COUNTRIES JUST BECAUSE OUR POLITICS/IDEOLOGIES ARE NOT THE SAME AS YOURS. DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT US LATINOS HAVE TO DO TO SURVIVE LIVING IN OUR OWN COUNTRIES? COUNTRIES WHOSE ELECTIONS GET FUCKED UP BY USA'S CLAWS, PUTTING PRO-USA CANDIDATES IN CHARGE SO THAT THEY SELL OUR PETROL, FOOD, MINERALS, AND MORE TO THAT HELL YOU CALL YOUR COUNTRY?

You know ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about my people, DON'T YOU DARE SPEAKING ON *OUR* ISSUES, DIE EVEN. You and the toe-sucking pro-usa "people" are the ones who make our lives FUCKING MISERABLE.

"Oh we actually care about Palestine and Congo, don't worry, I'll share information about what's happening there! Don't worry, I care! Wait... Something happening in Latam? Issues that transcend decades of trouble and cultures? Nevermind never heard of it, it mustn't be real."

You all are BEYOND salvation. No matter how much information we tell you, it's meaningless because you will NEVER understand. You will not boycott industries who steal our water no matter how much we tell you, you won't boycott anything related to us. Hell, you guys can't even boycott things for the sake of Palestine and Congo. Your brains are deeply rotted in capitalism and individualism, you maggots genuinely deserve to disappear off the face of Earth.

[gryficowa]

I'm going crazy, they want to strengthen this wall on the Polish-Belarusian border, they seriously want to kill everyone trapped on the border

I'm fed up with this country, it will destroy itself with its reborn fascism, it's clear that Donald Trump has played too hard on Polish politicians and I hate it

Why has bullying Muslims become so fucking fashionable?

Poland, USA, UK and Israel, and there's probably more and it pisses me off, but I'm powerless because I have ASD and social phobia, which means I can't even rebel like others, I'm not Greta, I'm someone who is terrified of crowds and I would die on the spot if I had to go on strike with other people in the real world

But I can't pretend that nothing bad is happening here, I'm not silent about the border, Poles, Palestine and other important things, just because I can't physically fight doesn't mean I can't show my frustration in another way

Why are all my attempts to publicize what is happening at the border abroad not working? Are these Muslims less important than the Palestinians and Sudanese?

People were deceived by Lukashenko that he would help them, they were imprisoned, the border guards from both countries abuse them, they do not allow help and they destroyed their phones so that they could not communicate, it is terrible, and the worst is that many right-wingers are supports (And the pro-life wanted to shoot these people)

I remember there was a post (or rather a tweet) about a woman with a cat who was trapped at the border, people laughed like today Israelis laugh at children dying from their bombs, it's terrible that we live in these times, although other leftists talked about the returning fascism and people laughed at them and it hurts

I saw how people attacked them and when they fled from the Taliban they took their children with them because it was irresponsible (Yes, you heard right, people are terrible)

I see the same thing with Israelis (specifically with Zionist views), laughing or attacking families because their child is not at home, or is at home because the Israeli army kidnapped him, people have lost the trait of empathy and it hurts

How many times have I heard that I am under leftist propaganda, or just stupid, because they treat "Bad illegal immigrants" as people + They spread propaganda that these people force you to cry, yes, they are so disgusting

If it turns out that these bastards supporting the border guard suddenly turn out to support Palestine, I will be disgusted by the hypocrisy of these people, I'm sorry, but I hate two-faced people and I say that straight

Yes, I'm fed up with this world, I'm fed up with people in my country using gashlighing to tell me that I'm wrong, that what's happening is wrong and shouldn't be considered normal, my country has been imprisoning people since 2021 borderline and I hate it

If not about Muslims, then about LGBT+ people, because they are not people, but an ideology, so they need to be expelled, I hate it all, this country, which was a victim, has a problem like Israel, and this says something about what is happening, being a leftist in a nationalist country is a challenge because everyone looks at you like you're stupid and laughs at you, although what you say is true, it is the worst in this world, fascism is back and it will be almost impossible to eradicate it, and probably in many decades it will resurface again and find new victims

Poles are like Zionists, they don't listen to anyone because they consider themselves victims, so you have to respect them (And then they go with a billboard saying "Poland for Poles" or other racist shit), it's depressing that a country that survived the holocaust does this the same as the Third Reich, and then he has the nerve to criticize countries for the same shit as himself, it's disgusting and shows how fascism has been reborn, being a fascist has become fashionable and is considered "your own opinion" and the worst thing is that we are powerless because no one listens to us and we are ridiculed for telling the truth, seriously, in such times we live in

The very fact that we are repeating the same history, even though we were supposed not to, shows that we, humans, want extinction, which is terrifying because we should strive for change, but instead we want to go full circle and then it will probably happen again that we should not repeat it X events and repeat them as Y

We are selfish, we play with human life and then pretend that we care about it, we destroy the planet and exterminate endangered species, because after all, "Humans are better than animals", when animals rarely kill for entertainment

Poles and Israelis, you fucking deserve each other

[ultraericthered]

Meet the new boss, same as the old boss. Or same-ish?

Like so many of us, I am still horrified by the election results from yesterday, and I fucking hate that the outcome did not go the way it ought to have because so many fuckwits in this damned, broken down husk of a nation on (yes really) both sides of the political aisle did not learn the lessons of history and allowed it to repeat itself.

I am distraught because this was the ultimate high stakes election that would decide the salvation of the American Experiment as it was concieved of and built upon by the founding fathers in 1776 and restored once by Abraham Lincoln and the Northern Union in 1865, or the damnation of the country as it breaks apart by choosing and accepting the instillation of a theocratic fascist dictatorship that wipes its ass with the Constitution, shits all over the fundamental ideals of American democracy, and rules in a way reminiscent of and even approved of by our enemies...and the damnation was fulfilled, the Neo Confederacy has won, the United States of America as we knew it exists no more. It's dead. We played Russian Roulette with our nation's future and got the bullet. We committed national suicide.

I am heartbroken because this was the one chance to determine the path forward and the shape that the later 2020s would take for not just the USA but the world at large. Our chance at a future where Trump and his MAGA Cult Party finally, after almost a decade, finally recedes as a force in our national politics, news, society, and the world around us. He's taken so much from us already, wrecked so many lives and relationships, and has got us all so damn tired of him. I was so hoping we could finally turn the page on him. "We're Not Going Back" and all that. And nope! The Trump As Hitler arc has been fulfilled and things with MAGA will get worse in the later 2020s before they can ever get better. The Cold Civil War goes on and on.

And most of all, I am disgusted because due to all this, Trump got exactly the win he wanted. Post-2020/Covid response Trump. Post-Januray 16 Trump. Post-felony indictiment and conviction Trump. After a series of political miscalculations and public humiliations, a rapidly accelerating mental decline, and the worst, most inept, most nakedly racist, sexist, xenophobic, angry, fascistic, pro-authoritarian, anti-democracy, psychopathically hateful and disdainful of the country campaign ever waged in politics, culminating with a literal Nazi Rally at Madison Square Garden, everything that should have been setting him up for a spectacular downfall...instead, he wins. Again. The misogynstic rapist swine is favored by voters over yet another infinitely more qualified woman that he's "put in her place" and denied us our first female President for a second time, he gets to reverse of the election outcome he kicked and screamed and whined and cried and betrayed our country and did a coup over just to reverse, and he gets to avoid being held legally accountable for his crimes. The charges will all go away, he never goes to prison. All thanks to a voting electorate more irreparably broken then we could've ever imagined. A fallen nation filled with minds that have been shattered by harsh realities, poisoned by propaganda, and so spoiled that they take their civil blessings and liberties as Americans for granted, souls that have been corroded and gone 99% defective. Donald Trump is America and America is Donald Trump.

However, there's a caveat here. None of us can look into the future to know for sure what it'll hold, not even the very near future. Times are uncertain once more and we're going to have to accept that. And on Trump's end, as nightmare inducing as the prospect of him and his sycophantic loyalist cronies at the levers of power once again and even worse than before may be, especially with Project 2025 as a thing, there are two beacons of hope shining in the face of this immeasurable darkness.

First is, like I said, history has repeated. We've seen this movie before. Trump has vendetta against a male Democratic President that he refuses to shut up about, he runs for President as a fascist, nativist, populist demagogue stoking the fears, rage, grievance, resentments and prejudices of a good chunk of the population that will go vote for him, and he wins the election against a female Democratic candidate in an upset victory, getting the win he desired and his revenge against the man he takes the keys to the Oval Office from....and then has to actually live in the White House, run the country, and do the job he'd bitched about the previous guy not doing well enough by his standards. And he sucks at it way, way, waaaaaay worse, having to deal with all the tough decisions and bad press and stresses of the job that previous Presidents took with more dignity and grace, except he whinges and whines like a little bitch about how nasty and unfair to him everyone and everything is. Swap out the name "Barrack Obama" for "Joe Biden" and the name "Hillary Clinton" for "Kamala Harris", and the series of events are identical. Everything that Trump has sent around, every bit of cruelty, hate, hurtfulness, negativity, toxicity and even violence is once again going to come back around on him, but this time, he won't be in the shoes of Barrack Obama this time - he's already landed right in the shoes of Joe Biden. He's 78 years old and people are already noticing his aging, increased physical frailty, weaker and hoarser voice, low energy, and regularly accelerating cognitive decline into dimentia. He's again going to be unable to live up to all the huge, wild promises he made on the campaign trail, which will be especially hurtful should he crash the economy, drive prices back up, and cause the very recession people were dooming about Biden causing. And most deliciously ironic of all, while so far not widespread and not yielding any drastic measures from the Left, there are conspiratorial rumors floating around about foul play done to rig and steal the 2024 election for Trump after Kamala Harris had ended up the narrow favorite to win just before it, much of it fueled by Trump's own words he said while running his big fat filthy mouth like "You don't have to vote, we've got all the votes we need" and talk about a "big secret" that he and Mike Johnson know and all his thanks and flattery to Elon Musk. The allegations are going to hound him starting now and into his presidency. He's going to have to face a nation with people who view his presidency as illegitimate and fraudulent, the same situation he made Joe Biden have to face. And now that he and his MAGA freak show cabal run the executive branch, his party got the Senate majority and a possible narrow House majority rettained, and he even has SCOTUS Justices on his side, this means there's no more Democratic leadership that they all can scapegoat for the country's problems. THEY are "the regime" now. Everyhing that will occur in the country starting next year will occur ON THEIR WATCH. They're holding the bag for everything now. And they're going to regret it.

Second is, and while this is an ironically darker shade of light, while we may have to brace ourselves to see inevitable divisions in this broken country not seen since the Civil War, this also means that local governments and state governments, namely in Blue and Purple States, will push back against federal overreach and fight back against the MAGA regime when they attempt their fascist shit. And should said fascist shit go truly beyond the pale, such as mass deportation raids for legal immigrants and attempts to mow down dissenters to the Far Right with the National Guard or military, there will be counterstrikes, protests, riots, and revolutionary action taken the likes of which this country has never known in ages. So long as good people still live, still stand, still fight in all the right positions, whether they be elected leaders or private citizens, evil won't prevail.

Also, let's be real, how likely is it that Trump even makes it through all 4 years? Whether a bullet fired at his face finally hit its target or he experiences terminal age and health complications, he could be done at a time none of us are ready for it. He's nowhere near the imposing titan in the prime of his life that most strongman dictators start as, and he is so easy to ridicule, now more than ever. So let's all show him what a big joke we think he, his regime, and his country are, and that we do not respect nor fear him. Let's all drive him even crazier and sadder and smaller and more stressed 'til he can't survive it!

All decent Americans out there, buckle up for the fight of our lives. The latter 2020s should be interesting times, but I can promise you that if we live together, fight together, support one another, and navigate our way through this with resilience, we'll make it through.

[callofdutylorist]

Call of Duty's Problems

It's important to know the problematic factors to media we consume, and then deciding for ourselves if it crosses the line. Just about everything we can consume in media is problematic in one way or another, nothing is perfect and it's gross and puritan to believe things should be.

But that doesn't change the fact that we still have to acknowledge those problems, and be critical thinkers about it.

I love Call of Duty, but I would be crazy not to admit that it has a dark side, even in recent games.

(I'm not debating the ethics of the FPS genre)

Propaganda

ID: photo of common USA military advertisement, called The Calling.

Being a Triple A video game from the United States of America, it isn't too shocking to admit that US Military propaganda has found it's way into the franchise. After all, Call of Duty depicts the United States' military, and they are very particular about how their image is perceived back home.

Like in many militaristic nations, living the United States lots of military propaganda is shoved down your throat.

Universities and high schools often have recruiters hanging about and running programs of their own. Young adults are tailored to get constant advertisements from military branches. The usual...

Media presenting the US military in bad light is often suppressed in the United States' own sneaky ways. This includes Call of Duty.

Repeatedly Call of Duty has been called out for participating in US propaganda, as well as often being used as a tool by the US military for conditioning teenagers. Some major cases of this include but are not limited to

Participating in a major decade long project of creating a gamer to soldier pipeline

Helping fund military advertisements

Depicting certain historical actions of the United States in skewed pro-US perspectives

Many of the older games including lots of anti-Russian, anti-Latin American/Hispanic, and anti-Asian plotlines. This has gotten better overtime, but it is not completely fixed.

Representing common US media stereotypes

Call of Duty is mostly very open about this, especially in recent years, as they have gotten in trouble for it before. However this isn't a problem sole to Call of Duty and can be seen in the majority of popular military based media in the United States, including shows, movies, podcasts, YouTube channels, and video games.

One game infamous for going against this, as well as going against the glorification of war in the media is Spec Ops: The Line if you're interested.

Harmful Historical Inaccuracies

Being simultaneously a historical fiction, sci-fi, and realism fiction it's expectant that Call of Duty would take advantage of history to tell a story. That's not the problem here.

The problem is when it's not there as part of the story, but instead a straight up historical inaccuracy that's supposed to be a fact. Call of Duty has done this multiple times.

Sometimes it's not only a historical inaccuracy but also a very harmful one, such as propagating skewed US history, lying about important fractions of history, or sweeping major events under the rug.

The most infamous and recent of this example is the highway of death presented in Modern Warfare II (2022).

The IRL Highway of Death is in the Middle Eastern country Kuwait, and was a site for major war crimes committed by the United States. The Highway of Death received its name during the Gulf War. The highway, outside of Kuwait City was viscously bombarded by artillery, ships, and especially air craft by the United States.

The US claimed there was a convoy there that they had the right to destroy, but their excessive force destroyed over 2000 vehicles with photos showing the vehicles to primarily be civilian ones. It was an intense massacre that doesn't even scratch the surface of other US crimes in that area.

How does Modern Warfare II portray it? Well it's a subtle singular line spoken by the characters, claiming that the Russians did the Highway of Death.

This is a major dodging of responsibility, and anti-russian/eastern propaganda. For obvious reasons it made many people (especially Slavic players) furious.

It isn't the first or only example of this in Call of Duty games, or FPS games in general, but it's a significant one.

This article from the Polygon does a very good job talking about the Highway of Death Controversy -> [x]

Activision-Blizzard

Oh Activision-Blizzard... What a mess!

If you're unaware, Activision-Blizzard is a large video game mega corporation in the United States. It has ownership of tons and tons of iconic video game series.

And it's had tons and tons and tons of controversies.

Even right now it's major controversy is Microsoft buying it, which would make it into a monopoly of video games as Microsoft owns many series, and electronics (including the xbox console)

In the recent years and past Activision-Blizzard has had many problems with its workplace, video game finance decisions, and more. This includes a lot of employee misconduct, including infamous cases of sexual harassment in the workplace.

(Jesse McCree -> Cole Cassidy)

It's also been caught with lower pay for female employees, gives incredibly difficult deadlines for video game devs to meet, and generally is known to treat its employees like shit.

Call of Duty itself has been guilty for a lot of this activision-blizzard behavior too.

The sole companies themselves have done tremendous work in increasing diversity, and workplace safety in both their casts, developers, and even inside the games themselves.

Call of Duty is currently praised for this as it has made great strides, however this doesn't cover up how terrible Activision-Blizzard is to people. In fact it should be a major worry as Microsoft and Activision-Blizzard can easily regress that progress in name of bigotry, capitalism, and the United States.

What does this mean for Cod fans?

Unfortunately, like most major video game corporations, we are enjoying at our own risks. This is not a "LeTS BoYCotT cOd!" or a call to abandon the franchise.

It's instead a call to bring awareness that this is nowhere near a perfect franchise, and a franchise with many significant problems and a long history.

I'm going to continue playing the game of course

And you can too, except with a little bit more knowledge

[thenewwei]

Reflections on India

After taking 11 flights, 2 long-distance buses and much local transport across Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand over a month, I have arrived back in New York City. I have been hibernating for the last week or so, trying to get over jet lag, return to my normal sleep schedule (this has been a woeful disaster), and taking care of family business. Here are some reflections on India ( will get to the other nations in later posts):

India

It is remarkably modern now. For the first time in six visits to India over my life, I did not get sick at all, despite having marked jet lag for the first few days. Granted, I was limited to Surat, self-proclaimed “the cleanest city in India.” Nearly every home had modern seat toilets and bidet shower, the exception being one roadside gas station in Maharashtra on my long road trip in the middle of the night from the Mumbai airport. This was not true at all on my last visit in 2012, although it was rapidly modernizing even then. Also, next to my uncle’s home in a relatively posh neighborhood of Surat (well, it was a barren dirt field when his father bought it in the early 1970s), you would see people driving bullock carts in 2012. Not anymore, now there’s a modern “Northern Boulevard” type street right next door with multiple lanes.

The wedding was spectacular. My extended family (which, in India, includes people who aren’t directly related to you and even neighbors) were amazingly welcoming and accommodating. Everyone helped out. The locations were ornate, the technology used was exquisite. Some people outside of India who viewed my online documentary on the wedding told me they assumed that the couple getting married was from outside India (because how could they afford just a luxurious wedding) but both families are from Surat. I’m not even sure they’ve ever left India.

And this is the general sentiment I got from people in India that they want foreigners to take with them. One told me it will be the same here as in the West “in five years” (not so sure—maybe 10-15?). One of my uncles told me Indians don’t want their nation to be considered like the world depicted in “Slumdog Millionaire.” I mean “Slumdog Millionaire” (a British film) was from 2008, which was 16 years ago, and it’s a rag to riches story that could easily happen in any nation, including, maybe especially, in the United States, but no matter. They associate it with Western propaganda (because of course films are made just to insult nations) that their nation is poor and filthy.

The main reason India has prospered, especially economically and technologically, seems to be help from Russia. And pretty much everyone I met had a pro-Russia, pro-Putin, pro-Modi and pro-Trump mentally. All the right wing talking points were there: George Soros funded the riots that led the CIA to ouster the Bangladeshi PM because the USA wants some island (not Greenland :) —don’t remember the last time the USA conquered a territory to keep it, and the only person in this century who’s ever hinted at this is, recently, Trump); the US “provoked” Russia into invading Ukraine after installing Zelensky after the Revolution of Dignity in 2019 (problem—the Revolution of Dignity occurred in 2014 (before which there was a decades-long and popular effort to have closer ties to the West) and, there was a previously pro-Western President before Zelensky who was elected in 2014 (after the popular overthrow of the pro-Russian President) and Zelensky was popularly elected in a landslide in 2019, but I guess that doesn’t jive with the info on Russian State TV); Bush attacked Iraq in 2003 to install a pro-US govt (true, at the time—not as much anymore) and steal their oil (evidence?); Trump will bring “peace on Earth” by reeling in the violent, stubborn and insubordinate Zelensky, by stopping the CIA/Military etc. from unnecessary meddling in world affairs and by punishing China and Muslims everywhere; the USA and UK only have good economies because they control the gold/monetary supply—etc. etc. Needless to say, being “Good for India” meaning economically and for Hindus/Modi/BJP is the barometer and only barometer for what should go on in India.

Only after I got back did my mother tell me that a couple of family members had expressed different (pro-Congress) points of view to her in the past. But I didn’t hear them while in India. As far as I can tell, at least among high caste Gujaratis, India under Modi is ideologically totalitarian. I suppose that’s not surprising considering that India is a developing rather than developed nation and that, despite having the world’s largest democracy by population, India had no history of democracy before 1947 (unless you count ancient Dwarka under Krishna’s guidance in the Hindu epics and who knows if that even existed). And I experienced plenty of high caste Indians ordering around restaurant workers, servants, even their wives, in a way no one could ever get away with in America.

One of my uncles told me that the diversity of political thought in America had gone way downhill. Really? I mean, just for one example, 16 Democrats ran for the Presidential nomination in 2020, each with various ideas for issues and governance. And the only reason we didn’t get the same in 2024 was an incumbent President who bowed out too late and picked his VP to run in his place like 100 days before the election because the party didn’t want to go into the election divided. On the Republican side we had serious challenges to Trump by Nikki Haley, and there were some fresh ideas offered, whether people liked them or not. It’s true, there are ridiculous hurdles to running as an Indie candidate but we still had Green, Libertarian, Cornell West, even an Indian American right-wing dude who wasn’t natural-born (I think he was ultimately disqualified--didn't appear on my ballot). I mean everyone has an opinion about everything and even despite the crazy bipartisan divide, there’s still plenty of complex thought among specific issues by Americans of all types. Not to mention hundreds of types of cereals, a million channels, thousands of ethnicities (even languages, in NYC, anyway). One of my cousins also told me that she heard NYC was “dirty.” I admitted it had gone downhill after the pandemic due to idiotic policies and governance, but it’s still NYC. And she lives in Surat (sorry, not as clean or modern as NYC yet—though I didn’t say that).

Speaking of which, there are signs of Modi's lax environmental standards to boost technological innovation. Just take a drive through Vapi, Gujarat. You'll barely be able to see, let alone breathe.

I also watched a film (almost 4 hrs in length with previews and intermission) in a theater in Surat. It was Pushpa 2: The Rule.” The theater had modern recliner seats and waiter service, just like at Alamo Drafthouse or most non-indie theaters in NYC nowadays. Although my relative who (now) lives in Kentucky acted like this was an advance from the US. Maybe these kinds of theaters don’t exist in Kentucky, I don’t know, or maybe he was just trying to show as usual how modern India has become.

The film is a sequel, so I read up on the original prior to watching the film. It was in Hindi without subtitles so I couldn’t understand what was being said, but I got the basic gist. Basically Pushpa is a South Indian gangster who “made it” in the first film, and now needs to maintain/increase his power by controlling politicians. Throughout the first half of the film, he and his selected politician are trying to get on the ballot/influence power, and meanwhile he needs to get a shipment of illegal red tree logs through multiple jurisdictions while being chased by a rogue cop who was humiliated by Pushpa in the last film. I think you can guess who wins that battle.

There was an intermission, after which the film took a completely different turn. Now Pushpa needed to defend Hindu/Indian Womanhood (“whether they like it or not,” as Trump said). While attending a festival, he encounters a cross-dressing, makeup wearing villain (of course the villain must be portrayed as a transgender weirdo in Modi’s anti-woke India) who tries to accost/rape a Hindu virgin. Pushpa intervenes but is summarily dressed down by the victim’s infuriated father. My assumption was that he blamed his daughter for the flirtation in the typical macho manner, but my relative explained to me that his ego was too big and he wanted to be the one to protect her, not Pushpa. Because he’s responsible for her virginity until she’s married. I think.

In any case, Pushpa backs off. We learn the perpetrator is the nephew of the powerful politician Pushpa unsuccessfully courted in the first half of the film and that he has been let off the hook/released from jail on multiple crimes due to this influence. Which gives the cross-dressing villain the chutzpah to kidnap the girl (who’s POV we never get). Now Pushpa goes into Superman mode and tries to save the girl, and after much travail, succeeds and kills the villain. Afterwards, he receives a visit from the tearful father, who apologizes for his ego/arrogance and gives Pushpa’s dutiful/beautiful wife a wedding invitation to the saved daughter’s wedding (assumably an arranged match in the typical Indian manner, although it’s not so typical in India anymore). We learn that the invitation doesn’t include a child that Pushpa’s wife bears.

However, there are unhealthy tidings. The politician is furious at his nephew’s death and swears revenge with the help of the rogue cop. So this is will set the stage for Pushpa 3: The Rampage. Yay!

My relative said the film was “okay” but he praised its positive depiction of Hinduism. He said this was only because the film was South Indian. He claims that Bollywood films depict Hinduism as being evil and Islam as the ideal. An example he gave was that Hindu priests are depicted as rapists, whereas no film would ever depict a Muslim Imam that way. Certainly if true this is an unbalanced depiction.

In any case, I was informed that this film has generally gotten good reviews in India, though I’m not sure why. It’s two completely different storylines, neither of which have a hint of originality. I love crime films, but Pushpa 2 was only semi-interesting for its strange bend.

A word about the traffic in Surat: it’s an amazing experience to be on the road here. There are few traffic lights to speak of, and everyone is basically turning into oncoming traffic that’s head on. You not only have to be a great driver yourself, but you have to trust that everyone else is a great driver too. It’s amazing there aren’t more accidents. Granted, there’s still prohibition in Gujarat, so I imagine drunk driving isn’t so common. Most people who drink are lower caste Hindus in the villages heady on moonshine, like in a Faulkner novel.

I have plenty of other observations but don’t want to make this tremendously long—maybe save it for the book. Even the visa process was painless and featured good eye candy—nothing like the bribery-filled, bureaucratic old days. Bottom line, India has advanced significantly, despite its flaws—so visit if you can!

[punalippulaiva]

This was of course not just the US: the rest of the world were keen to follow their example. Britain is probably the best-known example (alongside the US), where the rail system was decimated in the 1960s. Cities all over the world did away with perfectly functioning tram (streercar or interurban for the Usanians) systems to make space for cars...

What undid the trend (outside the USA anyway) was the first oil crisis and it's aftermath in the 1970s. New rail lines started to be built, new tram systems were opened - in some places they even rebuilt the old lines that had been demolished a couple of decades earlier - and we arrived at the ongoing rail renaissance. But the pro-car propaganda remains strong, and even though the experience of essentially every new tram system and rail link has been positive, it's always a massive fight over building new ones, sometimes resulting in stupid bus rapid transit experiments that are costly and inevitably end up replaced by a rail system anyway.

(Of course there were rail developments already before the oil crisis: the Shinkansen happened already in the 1960s, and although both were realised only in the post-oil crises world, the development of both the TGV in France and APT in Britain started before the first oil crisis).

please god above can someone explain to me why we're still working on self driving cars when trains exist

[automatismoateo]

How much is Religion responsible for the horrific US Polarization? via /r/atheism

How much is Religion responsible for the horrific US Polarization? There is no debate that the USA is terrifyingly polarized, more than any other country I can think of and seemingly worse every time I look at the News. From the relative safety of a liberal prosperous and largely-harmonious country, like Australia, the place looks both depressing and terrifying. The one thing that comes through loud and clear is that the split seems to have it's deepest foundations in Religious alignment, with all other considerations entirely driven from there. Religions belief (especially Christian) appears correlate near-universally with Conservative, Hard Capitalism, Pro-Gun, Pro-'Life', Conspiracy susceptibility, Lower Education & an Anti-science stance. Where as Non-Belief aligns well with the Liberal, Social Democratic, Anti-Gun, Pro-Choice, Pro-Science, Educated demographics. How did such a stark delineation ever evolve? Why is the hatred between the Red and Blue 'sides' so intense and something people define themselves on? Has it always been the case historically or is it a more recent split? What is also interesting is the US seems almost equally 50/50 spilt on politics but 70/30 on belief. So what's the deal with the overlapping 20%? Do any of you living there have hope of things ever resolving? Could less religious younger generations replace the older ones to allow a swing away from conservative views? Personally I doubt this, as the Boomers were once some of the most liberal and non-religious people, in their Flower-Power heyday, but somehow became some of the most conservative and entitled hypocrites ever. Why wouldn't the same happen to the Millennials and Zoomers eventually to? As a GenX, I grew up with the US as the shinning light on the hill (maybe largely due to Hollywood propaganda, but still) and it's so depressing how our great hero's have fallen in the past two decades. With the US Centaury (1914-2016) finally concluded what comes next? Is there any hope to reverse the decline or is Handmaidens Tale and Civil War really as inevitable as it seems from the outside? Submitted July 18, 2024 at 03:46AM by SchwarzBlack7 (From Reddit https://ift.tt/AkgLz6j)

[barryogg]

The CIA has openly admitted to starting the midan protests which resulted in a democratically elected president being ousted.

That is not hyperbole or a conspiracy theory. The US govt is well known for sponsoring coups and regime changes, this is a thing that it does regularly.

That is not justification for a Russian invasion, but it is undeniably one of its causes. The invasion is still wrong and unjustified, but anyone pretending that the US bears no blame for it is delusional. This would be like Russia sponsoring a coup in Mexico.

Again, invasion still wrong, I'm not pro Russia, but the US undeniably shares some of the blame for it. They actively sought out this outcome, and now they are getting exactly what they want.

I can't help but feel that we're operating under different definitions of 'blame', anon. You're describing states like if they were force majeure that simply can't not invade when there's perceived-as-hostile activity nearby, sorry, hands are tied, can't help the armies spontaneously amassing, can't help laying a near-decade-long propaganda groundwork for the eventual annexation.

In your analogy, it's like if there was sizeable ethnic USian minority (let's pretend that in that universe the phrase "ethnic American" makes sense) in a few Mexican states near the border. There was factional tension, FSB propped up a candidate, CIA propped another and tried to poison the first guy who eventually won. USA gains de facto control of the bordering states after ostensibly inter-Mexican guerilla warfare to which they send covert ops, then they do a full-scale invasion almost a decade later. Well, in that universe, I would think that kvetching about how FSB is partially to blame about the American invasion would be equally dumb.

[thedandeliongarden]

Wrong on the first count. Right on the second.

trump will do more genocide, with great gusto, than Biden and will also remove your rights including the right to vote.

Biden, on the other hand can be pushed towards breaking the decades long USA support for the genocidal state of israel.

If you think Biden is the worse option you’re falling for pro-trump propaganda. You are not immune to propaganda.

So yeah. It sucks. You have to pick the same maybe less genocide candidate that leads eventually towards a candidate that doesn’t support genocide rather than the more genocide candidate though. Otherwise your hands are covered in the blood of them that die who could have lived if you went for the less genocide option.

i really despise the "why should innocents die for your ideology" line of the vote blue not matter who people because. like.

you do realise you have an ideology too right.

you do realise that you are also asking for many innocents to die for it right.

[inqilabi]

Yo, russia Just invaded Ukraine. Weren’t you saying this couldn’t happen and it was all propaganda?

Hope you don’t mind my replying public. no I meant USA's reporting on it is propo. US media had some ridiculous headline, that Russia would use cadavers to make it look like they killed Ukrainians, similar to gulf war incubator babies propo. I believed that people would no longer buy into US reporting given their track record.

Last week, it was the case that both Russia and Ukraine jointly stated that there is no invasion while US was reporting there is. Something has changed since then. We don't fully know what that is.

NATO, USA and Israel has been funding & arming the neo Nazis (Azov Batallion) in Ukraine for many years, similar to how they funded ISIS & Taliban. Ukranian gov in 2014 was a US-installed coup to overthrow the elected pro-Russian gov of that time. Much of his has being going on since then. After a decade of terror, 2 eastern regions of Ukraine affected by these neonazi terrorism declared independence/ wanted to join Russia instead (these two regions, they mostly speak Russian btw they’re ethnically Russian). Ukraine sent their army to take back this region (not sure when this happened). For some weeks now, these Ukrainian neonazis were bombing this region, an ethno-nationalist assault. A couple of days ago, this escalated in these 2 regions even more. And now Russia has sent in troops to demilitarize these regions and capture some of the key people behind this faction. But usa has been beating the war drum for years on this. Putin has made clear he does not want expansion of NATO and remove nato troops from regions near it.

Currently USA has imposed economic sanctions on Russia and also imposed sanctions on Russian media/journalism. If you want to follow this, you have to do this outside of North American or US funded media. But I think the primary concern for NATO country residents should be more about why our tax dollars go to funding & arming the right-wing forces, and about how NATO should not exist.

[thedreadvampy]

I swear to god if I see one more post implying that there was public consent to the Iraq War as if it wasn't one of the most protested wars in British history both before and after the invasion of Iraq and as if now than half of Americans by 2007 condemned the war, I'm going to scream

it's like talking about the Vietnam war without mentioning its unpopularity it's wild how well nationalist propaganda has worked in just a decade or two to erase the massive resistance to an unlawful invasion. like it's so fucked up that the crackdown on anti war messaging in public media seems to have, long term, absolutely worked.

I need you to understand that the message of the Iraq War isn't 'the American and British people were happy to kill millions of civilians', it's 'the American and British governments chose to pursue an illegal bombing and mass murder campaign for profit despite the weight of public opinion and international condemnation, and used brutal policing, propaganda and censorship within their own borders to create a fragile illusion of public consent, and it worked.'

One lesson we should have learnt as leftists from the Iraq War is that governments are not held accountable to their people. Another is that therefore people are not defined by the actions of their governments, but by how they react to those actions (and around the world over 36 million people reacted with protest and anger). A third is that propaganda and censorship are an incredibly potent force in rewriting history.

the lesson we shouldn't learn is that the Iraq War was considered fine and good because although pro-war propaganda was ubiquitous and there was immediate quashing of dissent in the USA, people did not go gently along with it, they kicked and screamed and protested and called out the crimes being committed. and they happened anyway because the governments of the US and UK were not held accountable to their constituents.

[eretzyisrael]

Sovereign or Satellite?

“Israel has the right to defend herself,” said Joe Biden to cheers from the Jewish state. But not too strongly or for too long, apparently. When the pressure from the left wing of his party began to get uncomfortable, he issued an ultimatum. And when America says “jump,” Israel jumps.

One of the greatest mistakes Israel has made in the 73 years since its declaration of independence was to sign on as a satellite of the United States, in return for military aid. The aid has been corrosive: it gives the US too much leverage over our policies, distorts our military procurement decisions, corrupts our decision-makers, cripples our own defense industries, and damages our sovereignty. We don’t need it and we would be better off without it.

While many Americans support Israel, there are those, including some in the US Congress, Senate, and administration, who would prefer that she disappear. Even among those who support Israel, knowledge of the facts about our situation is rare. American media, with few exceptions, is at best strongly biased toward a policy of Israeli concessions that most Israelis oppose. Some of the media’s misconceptions are risible, like their repetition that Benjamin Netanyahu is a “hardline right-winger.” Many Israelis would respond to this, “if only!”

Israel and its conflict with the Palestinian Arabs has become a highly partisan issue, with American politicians spouting nonsense in order to activate their political bases. Anti-Israel propaganda has become a large-scale industry in the US, with numerous organizations springing up, financed by our state enemies and non-state actors like the groups associated with George Soros, probably the single most prolific funder of anti-Israel initiatives.

In addition to all this, the US is currently going through a convulsive social upheaval centering on the subject of race. The mix of violence and incoherent ideologies, along with what is probably a deliberate attempt to destabilize the country, has also given rise in some segments of society (as political and economic instability always does) to antisemitism and its constant companion, misoziony, the irrational, extreme, and obsessive hatred of the Jewish state. There has been a deliberate effort by some to tie domestic racial issues like the relations between the police and black Americans to Israel. Despite the absurdity of this proposition, it has garnered a great deal of support.

Henry Kissinger once said that Israel does not have a foreign policy, only a domestic one. This is becoming true of America as well. All politics, as Daniel Moynihan said, is local. In more and more ideological localities, they don’t like us, and that has an effect on national policy.

Do we, as Israelis, want to tie our survival to the USA? Or any other great power, like China for example? I don’t think so.

But what is the alternative? Israel is a very small country with a small population in an increasingly hostile world. It is located in a very strategic spot, both physically and in the conceptual geography of much of the human race. Without allies, she would be at the mercy of much larger and stronger nations. Today she is facing a direct threat from Iran, a country with a population almost ten times greater.

The Trump Administration, whatever else can be said about it, was solidly pro-Israel. Its actions regarding Jerusalem and the Golan Heights, as well as its sharp reduction of financial support for UNRWA and the Palestinian Authority, strengthened Israel with respect to her internal and neighboring enemies. The Abraham Accords it brokered provided – for the first time – a true light at the end of the tunnel for the Israeli-Arab conflict, in a way that the cold peace agreements with Egypt and Jordan did not.

I was very optimistic at that time that Trump’s policy marked the beginning of progress away from international isolation, as well as – for the first time – an end to the artificial support for the poisonous and destructive Palestinian movement. Israel, I thought, could develop into a leader of a strong non-aligned movement, including Arab countries and possibly India, that could deter Iranian aggression. I thought that maybe the irredentist PLO and Hamas could be pushed out, and some form of Palestinian autonomy established that would both provide a better life for the Palestinians and end the plague of terrorism that has accompanied our nation since her beginnings.

Unfortunately, the Biden Administration, feeling the need to reject all things Trump, rejected his pro-Israel policy. It went back to the failed and dangerous initiative of the Obama Administration to appease Iran, a policy that guarantees a new regional war in the Middle East – one that will make the recent fracas in Gaza look like a schoolyard squabble. In addition, it is impossible for me to understand how Iran, where “death to America” is a popular slogan, will be a better ally to the US than the nascent Abraham Accords community promised to be.

Biden is a good guy. He said that Israel had the right to defend herself, and said that “until the region, says unequivocally, they acknowledge the right of Israel to exist as an independent Jewish state, there will be no peace.” He is not personally confrontational to Israel or her leaders, as Obama was. But one has to look past what politicians say at what they do. His administration is moving ahead to restart the Iran deal and resume funding the PA and UNWRA. And his ultimatum over Gaza, no matter how polite, was still an ultimatum.

I hope it will be possible for Israel to make the necessary changes to reduce its dependence on the US. It won’t be easy.

In the meantime, this week we are facing a test of our sovereignty and independence. That is the conflict over the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood. Israel’s courts have decided, after a legal struggle that continued for decades, that four Arab families who have never paid rent to the Jewish owners of the property, must be evicted from it. If the evictions are not carried out, it will establish that Israeli law does not apply in Israel when it doesn’t suit the Arabs and their international supporters.

PM Netanyahu will have a chance to prove that he is the leader of a truly sovereign and independent state in the next few days. Let’s see if he can do it.

Abu Yehuda

[crazyintheeast]

I am not surprised considering you are parroting Russian Trump bots talking points

Yeah sweetie that’s not how it works with presidential elections in the USA. There are only two choices in this trashfire of a country . You either chose the unfathomably fascist evil of Trump and Vance and the real possibility of them stacking the Supreme Court even more ensuring more and more rights will disappear for decades or you vote Kamala . That’s it . So you shut the fuck up and vote for her because the median voter espcially the median liberals voter is an idiot who will screw themselves at the slightest chance . After she is elected THEN you start criticising her , then you start obsessively writing to your representatives, then you start pushing hard at primaries and so on and so on

Opposite . There is no evidence for this . In fact it’s the opposite . There is a HUGE amount of evidence that this whiny attitude( which a carbon copy of which we got in 2016 from Bernie bros who heavily bought into the Russian bots propaganda not to vote or throw their vote on a their party to “punish the democrats and push them further left “ for us Trump , over a million death and a stacked Supreme Court who will be right wing for decades ) beings conservatives to power and push the democrats more to the right

Please enlighten me on what she has done . I admit I haven’t followed her so I could be wrong . How many political candidates who are pro Palestine and pro trans right did she support( in especially in light of the huge push by the Zionist lobby to destroy them ) ? And how did she support them ? Did she join them on the campaign ? Did she raise money for them ? Did she form her own lobby group ? Does she work and support activist and lawyers pushing for better policies ? Did she use her fame and celebrity connection to give a benefit concert for Palestine or trans people ?. Pleas enlighten me

Again need I remind you that Bush won by 500 votes ? No seriously this is not a rhetorical question . Do I need to remind you this ? Do I need to remind me you that in quite a few states Hillary was just a few thousand votes from Trump ? Do I need to remind me you that even one Senator could make a difference when passing new laws or god willing confirm a proper justice if Kamala becomes President ? Again EVERY FUCKING VOTE MATTERS

Yes she should grow the fuck up. This is life and death for millions of people and she is making whiny tik tok videos instead of behaving like a goddamn adult . Not being able to pronounce Kamala’s name . Doing the “ugh I just woke up” nonsense . She is a goddman adult with influence and it’s about time she started acting like it . She CHOSE to get involved with politics . The least she can do is actually consult with some real activists ( and not whiny social justice warriors who throws tantrums on Twitter and tik tok) and consult with them on how she can express herself properly

Like it or not the average American is a dumb piece of shit who listens to celebrities and listening to her idiotic word salads could make real negative influence and help Trump over a leather enough amount of people to have a real effect so you bet you ass I am going to call her out if she is too stupid to educate herself

I don’t give a shit about her AuThEnTic SeLF . I care about stopping Trump and Vance and the least she can do is get her shit together for a month and a half and help do it . If she can’t do something so small she deserves all the criticism . The lives of billions of people are more important then then some millionaire pop Princess getting offended

Chappell Roan really was like "I won't endorse Harris because of the continuing genocide and the fact that the Democrats aren't protecting trans people. I am voting for Harris but won't endorse. You should expect more from your politicians and that's what I want before I endorse anyone" and got absolutely insane amounts of hatred and vitriol for that not only normal, but morally righteous take. And then because of aforementioned insane amounts of hate had to cancel shows due to mental health and then got MORE HATE. Like wow! Starting to think you don't want principled and authentic celebrities, don't care about women's feelings, and don't understand how mental illness affects people! It will entirely be entitled fans fault if she steps back forever from releasing music

[stephenjaymorrisblog]

I Hope the Communists Take Over the USA

7/11/21

Stephen Jay Morris

©Scientific Morality

Living in the USA during the 1950’s and early 60’s was a stone cold drug. People had bomb shelters in their backyards. Public school students were required to perform daily exercises known as “Drop Drills.” Out of nowhere, during a lesson, the teacher would command with one word, “Drop!” There would be a moment of hesitation and, then, like trained monkeys, we would drop to the floor, scoot as best we could underneath our desks, and cover our heads with both hands and arms. This action was called, “duck and cover.” On every second Friday of the month, old World War II sirens would sound out across Los Angeles. I remember how, for a second, I thought, “This is it! Soviet planes are going to drop bombs on us!” If my mom said something off center or even slightly liberal, my dad would chide her, “Marilyn! Somebody might hear you! Watch what you say!” It was all centered around the fear of Communism. Back then, we were force fed patriotism. You were never allowed to say anything critical or negative about America. The atmosphere was stifling and paranoiac.

I was 9 years old during the Cuban Missile Crisis, but I have no memory of it. Anti-Communism was a requirement for Americans then. President John F. Kennedy proclaimed Anti-Communism like any Republican did, so the centrists and liberals did the same. Now, the moronic conservatives are using this Neo-McCarthyism tactic of accusing liberals of being Communists. Kennedy’s brand of Anti-Communism was finessed and civil, but the Neanderthal MAGA type of Anti-Communism consists of primal drooling-on-the-floor. And, let’s not forget, chest-beating! I notice, also, that Islamo-phobia is now less of a priority than Anti-Communism. So, because of corporate media, we are subjected to Right wing corophila on a daily basis, displayed on flat screens across America.

The Religious Right tells us, everyday, about the evils of Communism. Why? Because Communists are Atheists—which goes to show that everybody has some good in them. It’s not that Right wing Christians are opposed to Authoritarianism—oh, they love that type of shit! They hate Communism because its followers don’t believe in God. Period! Even though the content of Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” could have gotten him on McCarthy’s Blacklist, the Religious Right oppose Islam because they are competitor representatives of God. You know: “My God is an awesome God. Allah is a false God!” Don’t those stupid fucks know that “God” and “Allah” mean the same thing? Jesus! See what I mean? What they want is a Christian Theocracy run by a corporate oligarchy: a Fascist Christian State! Somebody should tell them that America is a Republic, not a Theocracy. They will declare how evil an Islamic Theocracy is and then proclaim how wonderful a White Christian government would be. They would burn Britney Spears on a stake for allegedly practicing witchcraft. (Well...at least we wouldn’t have to hear about her conservatorship case in court.) A Christian Theocratic government would control your behavior and a morality squad would break into your room and shoot you for masturbating. Would a Communist government do that? Hell, no! They believe in “Free Love.”

Do I really want a Communist government? Not really. But if I was faced with an ultimatum between a Christian police state and a Stalinist state, I would choose a Communist state any day. Under Communism, there would be no sports analysts disrupting a basketball game. A Communist government would abolish Christmas, and we would no longer be obligated to buy family members and friends gifts. No more Christmas songs! Yes!!! We would be wearing uniforms, so we would save a lot of money on clothes. If anyone suffered a heart attack under a Christian state, all they would get is a prayer circle surrounding them as they lie dying on the floor. Under Communism, they’d be rushed to a hospital where their life would be saved. And, all for free! There would be no more lectures about “self reliance;” the impetus would be more about team work.

I am an Anti-Authoritarian leftist. That means, I don’t have to declare that I am Anti-Communist or even Anti-Fascist. I oppose allauthority! No social construct can be under God’s rule because God may not exist; and, if he did, I would rebel against him/her, or it. How do you like thempronouns! You want to read communist propaganda? Read the gospel of Jesus Christ! Let’s cancel stupidity! Bye!

Addendum: 7/13/21 “Cuban Protests” For decades, there haven’t been civil protests in Cuba. When the Stalinist dictator, Fidel Castro, was in power, he controlled Cuba with an iron fist. Any complaints about the Revolution were suppressed to the world media by him. Che Guevara was not a big supporter of Castro, but in revolutionary solidarity, his disagreements with the dictator were kept secret. After Castro kicked the bucket, his brother, Raúl Castro, took over. Eventually, he retired.

Cuba wasn’t as totalitarian as, say, North Korea. However, there weren’t any democratic elections. Matter of fact, American Conservatives see Castro’s election as a model to establish, in the USA, what he had. Cuban Gays were treated badly and the Cuban government spied on its citizens. A little esoteric note: It was the only time American Trotskyites tepidly supported a Stalinist regime.

When President Barack Obama reopened this country’s relationship with Cuba, the American Right protested. Cuban exiles protested his restart of diplomatic relations. Then, along came Trump, who reinstated the prior embargo. He wanted to reward the Cuban anti-Communists by closing the doors of peace. What a guy.

Compared to what happened in Washington D.C. on January 6, 2021, the recent protests in Cuba were as peaceful as a 1969 Anti-war protest in America: a lot of shouting and chanting and picket signs. They all marched in a straight line. This was no mandate against communism; this was a grievance about government policies. The protesters all wore masks to comply with health recommendations. A lot of Black Cubans marched, also. There was no violence. Hell, you can’t even call this a pro-Democracy revolt, such as is occurring in Hong Kong. The Right wing Cubans in Miami, honking their horns in celebration, are wasting their car batteries! There is no counter-Revolution in Cuba, contrary to mainstream reporting.

Let’s hope the CIA is not involved in this so-called Cuban uprising. Read the history of the 1961 “Bay of Pigs,” during the JFK Administration. Note that this event in Cuba quickly followed the assassination of Haiti’s President Jovenel Moise. More espionage shit? Maybe. But, then, I’d be labeled a conspiracy nut.