42 Comments

Where ever Jews have lived in the world they have been ostracized. They never seem to understand why. Why is it that their rabis seem to think of themselves -- and teach their students -- that they are better than anyone else in the world? This kind of philosophy becomes engrained in the minds of children and becomes the focal point of their dealings with others as they grow older. I try not to be antisemitic but it becomes very difficult when you see how they use others for their own gain -- politically and economically.

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Oh they understand why all right. Jews can be very self-critical amongst themselves. Highly typical and to facilitate demonization they invented a term for an activity viewed in much of the world as normal - the self-hating Jew. I agree with you otherwise.

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How ironic that Israel is doing "the Nazi thing". After years of mistreatment of the Palestinians, "the roosters are coming back to roost". How did the terrorists escape without being detected by Israel's security? How was that possible if there was no collusion? Ethnic cleansing is never a valid solution. After the influx of Jews in Palestine during WWII, instead of treating the Palestinians as their hosts, their Zionist zeal must have blinded them to the concerns of the people living there and never treated Palestinians as equals with equal rights. Now is the time to right all those decades of wrongs. The brutality of Hamas is clearly a reaction to years of abuse, of indiscriminate abuse of the local people, the brutality of Hamas not to be forgiven, but to be understood. Instead of exploding hatred of Jews around the world by their inhumane brutality to the Palestinians and threatening the world with World War III, they have the opportunity to dethrone Netanyahu and his coterie of psychopaths and turn the table around by making amends with the Palestinians and showing the world their humanity.

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A lovely idea but it will never happen. Good people are too passive, and desperate people too blindly partisan. Once land theft begins, it does its best to finish off the landless victims it creates. Israel intends to destroy Gaza.......completely, once and for all.

Good luck in that maze of tunnels...is all I can say. It's going to be a blood soaked slog.

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I completely agree with what you say, but I cannot accept that there is no hope. I think RFKjr should come out against the bloodbath, the ethnicide, and be the first major figure to publicly denounce this with a better plan to create peace once and for all by maintaining that the good people of Israel must reconcile with the Palistinians just like Bishop Tutu helped the reconciliation process in S. Africa. After one generation of giving Palestinians their freedom and equality, hatred would dissipate, like one generation after WWII in Germany, and the Arab world would have no reason to hate the Jews in Israel if Israel could follow their religion by bringing peace and justice to the world instead of imitating the Nazis in purging of an entire culture of people.

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I don't disagree. All you suggest could happen, but I don't think it will, for the following reasons: 1. Unregulated capitalism has exacerbated rapidly moving climate catastrophes all over the planet.

2. At the same time, it has created an international aristocracy of immense wealth...if capital is wealth in a degraded biosphere....an aristocracy is generally the least capable of rapid radical change....perhaps for the simple reason that its members have never had to work very hard, or make any sacrifices. They just want to continue living as they live....with the footprint of a tyrannosaurus....and the brain that goes with that reptile.

3.The people living their lives beneath the notice of this elite predator are so busy just getting by, so anxious about their personal futures, and so incapable of long term thinking...that they mainly stay quiet....or join the loony cults that are currently rising everywhere. They are angry, so can be employed in the elite's war games.....but they aren't organized or wise.

4. All this adds up to a risk adverse world; no one wants to take a stand, knowing full well that other factions might sooner fall on them, rather than come together to prevent what is happening in Gaza. The world has the capacity to force Israel to stop the carpet bombing....but without the US of A threatening to pull back its aid.....no one else is going to lead that charge.

In short, the west talks human rights............it does not live them. Sacrificing other culture's lands, water and resources is the way Europe....and now North America, has become so well off....and able to consider social justice for all its citizens. We haven't achieved it mind you.......but we talk a good line....and some of us, on the home front, fight the good fight.

Internationally....we're still the apex predator. Your leaders are lying about the war in Ukraine for example....and they tell those lies daily. I see no one on the current scene capable of beginning the solution you outline above.

Today I hear on our CBC that the Turkish leader has called Hamas a Liberation Movement.

THAT IS THE OBVIOUS FACT, IF YOU KNOW THE HISTORY OF THE GAZA STRIP....but let's just enjoy the orchestrated outrage his simple label change will receive.

The West has so much blood on her hands, she can't imagine another way of achieving peace and inequality in our time. Sorry to have to be so pessimistic, but it doesn't look good.

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Thanks for your comment Ingamarie, I agree with most of your remarks and that it does seem impossible for what I wish to happen. Nevertheless, I believe that it is necessary to confront impossible seeming challenges as best we can and not succumb to a defeatist attitude as realistic as it may seem. So I will continue to look for plausible strategies.

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Not suggesting we give up....just that we realistically view the obstacles we face. Over time, war games and ethnic cleansings may increase. But they will also fuel the already deadly climate crisis, so at some point, we either change tactics or die.

As dear little Greta said a few years ago: CHANGE IS COMING, WHETHER YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.

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Maybe so, but I question everything, even the "climate crisis". Many prominent scientists believe that this too is a hoax.

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Old Zionist terrorists, like the deranged dirtbag quoted by Chris in this piece, all wind up dead, just like the rest of us. In his case, decades too late. May he rot in a circle of hell previously undiscovered and worse than the rest of them put together.

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Some think there was serious Anti Semitism before Oct 7, wait until the Israelis finish this madness.

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Thing is, 'Anti-Semitism' is a weasal word. Palestinians are more Semitic than Jews returning to the area after centuries living abroad, in Europe and elsewhere.

Semitic is a term for the bloodlines of the people of that region. The real anti-Semites are those in agreement with the genocide of Palestinians.

As usual.......America gets everything as.... backwards.

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https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/mark-twain-and-the-jews

Mark Twain understood antisemitism he called for death to the czar during the pogroms till he died calling for revolution at home and abroad.

https://www.jstor.org/stable/41205856

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founding

BDS is a necessary tool to solve the Palestine/Israel problem and it is the only one that can be successfully implemented by the grass roots. Our bribed governments will do nothing for Palestine. The following excerpt was downloaded from Alternativeradio.org

MAX BLUMENTHAL "Palestine: Fifty Years of Occupation" Interviewed by David Barsamian

D. B. -What would constitute a fair and just solution to the question of Palestine?

M. B. -It would, first of all, be something that’s absolutely hypothetical and abstract at this point, but it’s something that’s embodied in the BDS call. The BDS call simply demands that Israel comport with international law, specifically three resolutions: 181, which calls for Israel to provide equal rights to all of its citizens, Jewish or not; 242, which calls for it to leave the occupied territories, the Gaza Strip, Golan Heights, and the West Bank; and 194, the right of return for the refugees that Israel has created from 1948 on. BDS does not call for the removal of one single Jewish Israeli or the loss of their rights. It simply provides the context for a state based on every citizen enjoying equality before the law. I don’t think we’ve even achieved that in our own country. But that would be the ideal solution. It would lead to a cessation of hostilities. When you are told by opponents of BDS that this is tantamount to the destruction of Israel, you have to ask yourself, and you have to ask them, What does that say about what Israel is? If equality means the destruction of Israel, then their understanding of Israel is a regime of inequality. That really goes to the heart of the conflict or the crisis

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Chris' conclusion is likely correct. Stop supporting fascist regimies abroad...while sanctioning governments you disapprove of. Stay home Yankees....and put some work into fixing your own dysfunctional system. If you want the definition of Terror that many world citizens feel daily.....it is the sense we have that the American Empire is seriously dysfunctional, given to knee jerk reactions, and with an evil genius for choosing the wrong side.

Getting behind an actual genocide in progress.......with weapons of mass destruction and endless streams of money many in your own country could use.....suggests an America that is either bat sh....t crazy, or terminally fascistic at its core.

I'm reminded of the final line in Joeseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness: 'The horror...the horror!"

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I vaguely remember reading that oil was discovered in the sea off the shores of Palestine and this added to the intensity of attacks to just who has the rights to drill and claim this deposit.

Does anyone else remember hearing about this?

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I heard it was natural gas. Heard it on the Duran a couple of months ago.

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In response

John Ralston Saul 2023

Two hours fifteen minutes of Socratic Dialogue for a nation in desperate need of truth.

Painful but riveting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_zHl3Vw9o

Nothing to add except

Saul's definition of War from A Doubter's Companion: A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense. Viking Press 1994

WAR Children love war , especially Civil War.

In peacetime parents think children can be told what to do. Civil wars are wonderful because suddenly children can be grown-ups. It's an opportunity to get rid of their parents, sometimes permanently. Instead of being bribed with toy guns and games, they can shoot real people. They can shoot each other.

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This is a magnificent piece of writing.

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I think it's worth listening to the rabbis in this country who deplore this activity in the name of Judaism. AIPAC has a huge influence in our Congress and are probably driving the support of Netanyahu. I can imagine that American Jews are terrified of the anti-semetic blowback. This requires full attention while WWIII is looming over us.

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I know Mr. Hedges doesn't have time to answer, but I need something from him, and I'm sure some of his readers can provide it. I need his best official answer specifically dealing with the belief of many old hardcore progressives that "If Putin gets away with taking Ukraine, he will keep invading more countries". I have met so many smart people, people who hate the proxy war in Ukraine, but justify it because of this fear. What's the best argument to shoot that down?

I am 100% against this war. I explain to people that America's death count just since 9/11 (4.5 million according to new Brown U. study) is 15 times higher than Putin's. And that our prominent politicians, including Schiff and Lindsey Graham, have made it clear that they LOVE that this is a proxy war and the "the Ukrainians will fight to the last person". And that we are "helping" the Ukrainians exactly like we "helped" the Vietnamese and the Iraqis. And that thinking America can help Ukraine is like thinking Jeffrey Dahmer would be a good babysitter for your children.

But I can see how someone who grew up in the Cold War could be worried about Putin expanding with impunity if he can get away with it in Ukraine. Please help!

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Frequent recitation of the #SerenityPrayer helps keep your Love Lights locally bright and shining during these otherwise dark days, Beloved Community.

LewWelge.com

#CREATORS (Conspiracy Realist Educator Activist Truther Organizer Reader Socializer)

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founding

Another powerfully-written article, beautifully read by Eunice Wong. I have a minor correction: Jenin (it is a West Bank city you mention) is not pronounced Jén in, but Juh neén (rhymes with seen). The accent is on the 2nd syllable.

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deletedOct 25, 2023·edited Oct 25, 2023
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I just received this Email ffrom the Thomas More Institute in Montreal. In America the Thomas More Society is a group of right wing Catholic legal sophists. It is the same Thomas More and the Utopia.

We did not find results for: The 22/23 Year In ReviewRead about this year’s accomplishments in our annual report. Read the ReportTMI Webinar Series Recording Now Available!What Constitutes a Good Death? Exploring Ethical Questions around Medical Assistance in DyingUpcoming Events Book LaunchWednesday, November 22nd 6:30 - 9:00 PM3405 Ave. Atwater at The Thomas More InstituteFree Meet Sandra Paikowsky, Concordia Professor Emeritus of Art History, for a lively discussion of her work on a 19th century Canadian artist.Register HereRegistrations are Open for TMI’s Winter & Spring Courses Inspired by True EventsMany works of fiction have been inspired by actual events, yet the extent of the writer’s adherence to—and transformation of— factual material differs among authors. More InfoArt of Telling Your StoryThis six-week workshop focuses on storytelling and embodiment, combining elements of theatre practice with the development of writing skills. More InfoDemocracy at Risk?Enrich your understanding of how the spread of disinformation can put countries at risk of democratic backsliding. More Info.

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Thanks Jon

The answer is NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hv_zHl3Vw9o

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ralston_Saul

John Ralston Saul three months ago addressing the history of Western Civilization

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Tbt

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"The child is father to the man." William Wordworth 1802

Back when I was living South of Hyde Park in Chicago a close friend and I used to discuss Wordsworth. Have you ever even heard the name?

Thank you for a 30 year old memory.

Jon and I were talking Wordsworth and English Romanticism.

Tbt is what the thread is dedicated to; as well as George Santayana.

He who forgets history is doomed to repeat it.

My friend's mother had taken the underground railroad to the University of Michigan.

It is getting confusing there is Jon and John known as Jack.

You can't understand. I am 75. Please educate your children. Ours are programmed beyond redemption they spent too much time at the University of Chicago Business School being trained to be artificially intelligent.

William Blake 1757-1827 Tyger, Tyger.

A la recherche de temps perdu.

I know I sound autistic and disordered: "I arm what I arm." Popeye the Sailor Man. I was looking for a different song but found this current trailer. Marketing, marketing , marketing Propaganda is just in its infancy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SACXGX3_k0Q

Its the same old story a fight for love and glory

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d22CiKMPpaY

It was Bogey who tried to tell us Ronald Wilson Reagan would destroy America.

Speaking metaphysically are you too lazy to fact check?

"Clothes make the man." Mark Twain

"Clothes make the man. Naked people have no influence." Mark Twain

What did Bogey know? He was only an actor.

He was a great artist as well as a great actor.

I just checked my calendar and it is still 1984.

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deletedOct 25, 2023·edited Oct 25, 2023
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Thanks Jon,

I understand you were never taught philosophy. Without philosophy there is no such thing as metaphysics. Metaphysics is the consideration of what is real.

Education is understanding what is real.

From The Doubter Companion : A Dictionary of Aggressive Common Sense 1994 Viking Press

John Ralston Saul

ELITE EDUCATION Something in which the elites are personally interested.

Those already in responsible positions feel the need to fund the training of their successors. The rising power of specialist groups increasingly ties this training to what is called utility. In order to attract money from and for these groups, universities are now reorganizing themselves to serve directly a variety of specific interests. The thousand -year struggle to create independent centres of learning and free thought is barely mentioned.

For me personally that is brilliant satire but I am me and you are you.

By the way I am well educated but I couldn't start learning to write until I was 50 . I was lucky I married a PhD in education I failed kindergarten till college 101. I learned to read as an infant. They said I was a genius in logic and linguistics.

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As I said; your response leaves me much perplexed. The dialogue is about what you say you spent your life doing. It is about art history and western civilization and alternative cultures such as Buddhism and Confucianism. It is about cultures where art and philosophy are joined rather than opposites.

I know it is too Canadian but my wife was brought up in the Midwest and people mistake her for a Canadian and I am embarrassed to be mistaken for an American.

On 9/11 I was planning a second day at one of the world's finest art museums that nobody ever heard of in Kansas City home of BarbeQue something beyond my ability to understand. I do Chinese and Korean why disguise the flavour of meat?

I am partial to the flavour of raw meat but my wife wants me alive so I can continue to suffer rolling on the floor with tears in eyes as I laugh hysterically.

"Life is a comedy for those that think." Jean de la Bruyere

I also feel.

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I spent over an hour responding and it disappeared. I am getting to many mixed messages. I am a high functioning wide spectrum autistic disordered 75 year old. My wife's PhD is in cross cultural education. I spent many years living in diverse aboriginal communities. I taught High School and never really passed a year of high school. If you would like to talk European and American Art history I have spent many hours at Montreal's Musee de Beaux Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago. On 9/10 as my wife attended an education conference I was at the Art Museum in Kansas. It has a great art collection it was the greatest repository of Art in North America when America was high on the Gilded Age.

I am not impressed by scholasticism I spent my like enmeshed in its ignorance.

In 2015 John Ralston Saul wrote the The Comeback

https://www.johnralstonsaul.com/non-fiction-books/the-comeback/

It is an easy read.

If you get further into the discussion they talk art history

I know John Ralston Saul was cancelled just as Time Magazine called him a prophet

I find your response rather difficult to understand. The discussion is all about ART and HISTORY. John's field of study at Cambridge was Art History and European Civilization. I thought it would be the cat's meow.

I would send you my paperback copy but I think if you were interested you would find a copy.

My wife wrote a chapter on the education of Aboriginal people for The Royal Commission on Aboriginal People.

Some of our neighbours were world acclaimed artists and philosophers who spoke only Dene but their children learned English.

My wife's paternal grandmother was an accomplished American Artist as was her mother.. One of my special prints is hanging in Southern Chile it is Objibwa. I spent a week at the Van Gogh exhibit in Chicago. In the dialogue Saul explains Zhuangzhi and Confuscius.

Sir John is anti Western. Sir John believes without art who are we.

I wish you well you stimulate my perceptions but I don'[t understand what you are saying.

This is one of my favourite English Philosophers. She is scientist in resident at The Art Institute of Chicago. I was born abstract mathematician

The Art of Logic

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHZKX0H6cUE&t=5s&pp=ygUUZXVnZW5pYSBjaGVuZyBnb29nbGU%3D

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Thank you

I wish you well. I do not understand what you are saying. I don't understand your metaphysics. This dialogue is the one I 've been in for 75 years.

Speech is philosophy. That is what Sir John is saying.

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