Sanctions Are Acts of War

Modern-day "sanctions" should be thought of as essentially the same as laying siege to a major city in the distant past.  They are acts of war.  Our Fed Government's sanctions relative to Venezuela and Iran are nothing but Empire Building...egregious interference for the purpose of maintaining "American Primacy" in the world.

When a government interferes with another country's economy and finance, and even threatens allies who might not agree with that approach, the whole thing becomes a de facto declaration of war.  In the cases cited above, it's interventionism of the worst kind--- strictly to advance "American Primacy and its geostrategic imperatives".  It's the main reason our Gov't keeps sticking its big nose into the affairs of the Middle East, Central Asia, South America, and Central America.

It appears that both Neoconservatives and Neoliberals look upon Brzezinski's book, The Grand Chessboard (1997), as the Bible in terms of geopolitics and our Neocolonial Empire.  In this Neocolonial Age, our Gov't doesn't have to directly control a country via politics or military force (as in the old colonial times).  Now it can do so indirectly by means of economics, finance, and propaganda.  No matter who is in power in DC, that's the game.  It's wrong, and except for a fairly brief time around the turn of the Twentieth Century (1898-1906 or thereabouts), it's un-American.  [Perhaps I should, but I'm not counting our very early history of so-called "Manifest Destiny", when the Powers-That-Be simply assumed that this whole continent belonged to us...because "God" was on "our side".]

Sanctions can lead to a shooting war.  Here's a message for our Warmongers; it's taken from the Bobby Darin song, "Simple Song of Freedom".
Let it fill the air
Tell the people everywhere
We the People here don't want a war

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Election = a Mixed Bag - Plus, World Corporate Empire

In what should have been a resounding, slam-dunk rejection of the corporatist, plutocratic, serial-lying, ignorant but clever, law-breaking Trump Admin (and any candidate supported by The Don), the election turned out to be a mixed bag.  There are many reasons for that, but in this essay I'll focus on a chief reason.

[Technically, all the election results have not yet been tabulated.  This is being written just before midnight on Tuesday, Mountain Standard Time.  Nevertheless, I feel comfortable with the "mixed bag" characterization.  Of course, both sides undoubtedly will claim victory on Wednesday.  Once again, and for any new readers here, I'm not a Republican or a Democrat.]

Just as during the Bill Clinton Era, today's Democratic Party (at the highest levels) is run by plutocratic corporatists...or their puppets.  After Clinton left office, the DNC re-took power from the Clintonite DLC (Dem Leadership Council, which heavily leaned toward Corporatism).  Unfortunately for genuine Populists, the DNC quietly adopted most of the policies of the outgoing, corporatist DLC.

So, today (& for a number of years), the only difference between so-called Democrats and so-called Republicans is on most social Hot-Button issues---such as gun control, abortion, gay rights, etc.---and maybe one or two non-Hot-Button, domestic issues.  When it comes to the economy, finance, war, empire, monetary policy, fiscal policy, corporatism, and foreign policy, the two Parties (again, at the highest levels) are pretty much the same.

All of the above means that the Dems in control of their Party don't want to rock the Corporate Boat.  That's why, in the lead-up to the election, we heard little to nothing about the following---

1.  About 50% of working families in the USA are either in poverty, or so close to the brink of it that the difference doesn't matter.  They are in the "Precariat Class", a term coined by the economist & professor, Guy Standing.  People in this Class are insecure relative to their material & psychological existence.  Their lives, through little to no fault of their own, have become extremely precarious.

2.  Of the remaining 50%, about 35% of them are doing okay, but they still are in the Precariat Class...at least in terms of economic and financial stability.  Their jobs and lifestyle are no longer secure.  They could lose it all virtually in a few weeks, or at most, a few months.

3.  The economy is "booming" only for about the top 15% of income earners.  Despite any piddly wage increases of late, wages/salaries still essentially are stagnant (after adjustment for price inflation).  That's been true for about thirty years.  In the same period, the Upper Crust has increased its income by 700%.

4.  Our crushing National Debt (which has the potential of further ruining our economy) is not primarily due to social spending; rather, the main cause is massive Corporate Welfare (including military spending).  Corporate welfare DWARFS all social spending combined.  The "Nanny State" in the USA is for corporations, not people.

5.  Our foreign policy kowtows to Mega Corporations...especially those in the Financial Sector.  Our Fed Gov't is belligerent on the world stage because that ultimately benefits the Big Boys in Biz.  [See the book, War is a Racket, by General Smedley Butler, a Marine for 33 years.]  Our foreign policy is further bankrupting our country.  Do you really believe that we need 900 military bases around the world?  Do you really believe that we still need to be in Afghanistan...after 17 years?  Do you really believe that sanctions on a country are not an act of war?  Do you really believe that we need more expensive nukes?  Our military budget already is larger than those of the next top seven countries combined...and that includes China & Russia.

6.  The goal of Mega Corps is to privatize everything...worldwide.  At the highest levels in DC, politicians are helping them do that...or, at the very least, not opposing them.  The monopolists of Mega Biz are moving us all toward NeoFeudalism, and the pace rapidly is increasing.  In the not-too-distant future, the Middle Class no longer will exist.

7.  Finally, our foreign policy is crucial mainly because it drives domestic policy.  Surveillance, War, Trade Wars, Sanctions, Empire...it all drains economic security from We the People.  It all enriches the Upper Crust at our expense.  It serves to funnel spending away from any safety net for the most vulnerable, and increasingly, from any economic security for everyone who isn't in the top tier of income earners.
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The Big Boys & Girls at the DNC ignore most of the above.  Even the small Progressive Wing of the Democratic Party often appears to not get the significance of foreign policy vis-a-vis the World Corporate Empire.  The Democratic hierarchy is basically the same as the Republicans when it comes to foreign policy, sanctions, war, and Empire.

It all comes down to more wealth for the already wealthy...and the top Democrats don't want to rock the boat.  So they mostly ignore Corporatism, and instead, concentrate on immigration or Russian "interference".  No wonder they can't slam-dunk the rejection of Trump & Crew...and if anything needs slam-dunking, it's that.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well

Is it Race or Class? Or Both?

I get suspicious whenever the Corporate Media and/or the Fed Gov't promote some idea...over & over & over.  In this case, it's the supposed racial divide here in the USA.  Yes, some people of all "races" are prejudiced; but I don't believe the problem is as massive as we're being told.

The current unrest is not primarily about Race.  I'm sure there are some bad-apple racist cops; however, I suspect the following is mostly playing out worldwide--

Cops are much like soldiers:  THEY HAVE ORDERS from higher up.  The Oligarchy's 

political corruption, economic & financial failures, empire hegemony, & intolerance of 

democracy are no longer being tolerated by the People...who are demonstrating on a wide variety of fronts (racial, economic, environmental, immigration, incarceration/prison reform, 

political, police brutality, etc.).  The Powers-That-Be are clamping down on all protests; 

they no longer tolerate protests of any kind...be they group or individual.  [Once in a great while, we see an exception 

to that general statement.]

The Oligarchy is attempting to put "the little people", "the bewildered herd", "the ignorant masses", "the spectators" [all terms from a few "Liberals" and "Libertarians" of the past] in their place.  This is a Class War of epic proportions...the monitoring of essentially everyone, a 

crackdown on demonstrations, no tolerance for arguments from anyone, a massive transfer of wealth, white-collar criminality by the 

Super-Rich, war for profit, privately-run prisons, privatization of public infrastructure & other 

resources, a War on Cash, the hollowing-out of the Middle Class, and on & on.

As Warren Buffett said, "We are in a Class War in this country, and unfortunately, my class 

is winning.".  He's correct.

Not only my opinion.  Be Well