Gaza is destroyed. It will not, at least for the Palestinians, be rebuilt. Those who lived there will spend their lives, like survivors of the Armenian genocide, desperately trying to protect memory.
This passage hit me especially hard: “Once we forget, once memories are purged — the goal of all genocidal killers — we are enslaved to lies and myths, severed from our individual, cultural and national identities. We no longer know who we are.”
It reminds me of the struggle confronting indigenous people across the U.S. Just yesterday, I was enthralled by a presentation by Navajo/Diné elders in Santa Fe about traditional weaving techniques, and their work as shepherds cultivating a species of sheep that had been driven to near extinction twice. I was impressed by their mission and work to reclaim culture and identity—especially coming from California, a supposedly “progressive” state that actively continued the genocide long after it began in the East, and which left many indigenous communities not only displaced, but effectively disbanded. I wrote about that revolting and revealing history last year at https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/indigenous-lives-matter-from-north.
The elders last night spoke of traditions that have been seemingly lost as instead being merely “asleep,” waiting for the future to revive them. May we all help remember, and be part of a future awakening.
Amen to that. Decades ago I was part of a team that went into an isolated fishing village on the west coast of BC, on the west coast of Canada. I was advised not to go by other indigenous peoples - because this community was 'too far gone'. It now 'exports' dancers, singers, and language/cultural teachers - so I am a firm believer in resurrection stories and the power of the phoenix. What I just cannot grasp is how deep is the Zionist hatred/fear of Palestinian women and children - another name for the ethnic cleansing to enable a land grab. And how much more capitalist fascist USA and Europe value profit and power over human rights, common decency and life with any kind of dignity.
Did the communities advising you not to go perceive the one that you visited as having lost their traditions, before they later recovered them and began sharing them with others? Just wanted to better understand. I’d be curious if there were any principles or practices in particular that you recall resonating with you.
How do we see each other? As a mother would with all she sees in her children or as a father would seeing the potential in his son or daughter...or as God does, lovingly. We have to cloose to see differently each and everyone of us; it begins with me. How will I hold you in my thought? Hopefully seeing clearly. I must choose.
Oh yes, lazy. Why not try seeing the way God, life sees...we have the ability to hold ourselves with His eye. But we need to cloose how we see ourselves and others looking through a different lens. Hold yourself accountable!
Yes. I have heard Indigenous Californians speak with sorrow of the loss of their language and culture, the diaspora of their tribe during the many decades that their tribal status was denied, and the struggle to reclaim their culture and identity.
It's shocking that this can happen to the Palestinian people, famed for having the highest literacy rate in the world, in the modern day, with the full complicity of the US government; in full view of the world, no matter how many journalists are assassinated, imprisoned, or muzzled by the big media outlets; and against the will of the American people who supposedly live in a democracy.
The people in control are not just absolutely corrupted by absolute power, they're crazy delusional, and the worst part is that they don't seem to recognize any of the warning signs that they're madly pursuing the wrong goals using the wrong methods.
Absolutely. And called out should any ever talk again of their human rights, democracy, or civil society. And we must clearly identfy this as a genocide carried out by Zionist with unconditional support of two capitalist nations. I am waiting for the total amount of public funds invested in this genocide to be revealed as well as into whose private hands it went - both the corporations an the individuals
I agree - they think they are just passively involved, but they are directly involved - as are all the military personnel and the ghoulish weapons manufacturers. Sunak + Cameron = Starmer + Lammy = Netanyahu + Smotrich.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. ANYONE who voted for either brand of the corporate UniParty are totally on board with GENOCIDE against their fellow human beings. The complete destruction of Gaza along with the effective elimination of the Palestinians was the plan from the beginning of establishing the state of Israel. And now we have finally reached the Final Solution. Enabled all the way by the USA and its other allies from the so-called “civilized societies.” What a bunch of malarkey to steal a word from Bibi’s brother in arms the ever so evil fucking Biden hiding behind the smiley face of the friendly fascist party. I’m glad that Hedge’s dives into the Armenian genocide as both my grandparents (may they rest in peace) escaped with their lives from that horror show, giving birth to my mother (may she rest in peace) and ultimately myself. Genocide in any form whatsoever makes me rage against the murderous machine that enables such atrocities to happen, especially in this day and age. One might think that humans would have finally moved on past such evil, but no, not at all. There is far too much “artificial wealth” to be amassed by folks killing each other. It is far too profitable to make a living by killing each other by these sociopathic monsters. And when the destruction is complete in Gaza, there will be massive contracts to rebuild it on behalf of Israel who always had a plan to steal ALL THE LAND from day one. And any bets to how many Trump Hotels will be built upon that land of blood and guts.
I also see that the end result of the Palestinian genocide will be more trump hotels and casinos. So, is this all about cash? All the genocides and all the wars? For cash?
FDR's New Deal helped the majority working class and his banking regulations curtailed the banksters. Thus deeply resented by Wall St. and the 1%ers. (They had to wait for the neolib Clinton admin. for total repeal.) The cabal of wealth and privilege conspired to overthrow FDR and to make Gen. Butler a figurehead President. He played along, but also informed members of the U.S. Congress, so the plot was thwarted. Historians debate to what degree this would have happened. Anyway, Butler is a hero for many reasons; foremost for telling the truth.
Yes, a true hero, but unfortunately he converted after retirement from perpetrating the crimes that he deplored and confessed.. Better late that never.
As Butler shows in his book, the people who promote war are those who profit from it. In his day, in the early twentieth century, Butler and his Marines went into foreign countries to enable big business to exploit those countries. Consider today the Military-Industrial Complex that Pres. Eisenhower warned us about.
I understand profit motive. I don’t understand murdering people to get their belongings. I know well that this has been US policy since Day 1. I just don’t understand how these “leaders” justify their savagery.
That would be the point. Because we cannot fathom their level of evil, we are defenceless to stop it. I think we all have a bit of 'shadow' within us. However, we work hard to deny that part of ourselves and so cannot face, and confront, the evil in others. Instead we wring our hands and act like it's all too much to understand. We need to tap into our own shadow as a source of fierce strength and power to challenge the psychopaths who are our leaders.
There have been numerous instances of this kind of thing throughout history. Anthropologists, biologists, economists, historians, those in literature, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, et al. study it and try to explain it. Let us not omit those in the field of divinity/theology. Some of Mr. Hedges' previous posts address the evil. He has said--I hope I'm paraphrasing him correctly--that the potential for this evil lies within all of us. There is a very fine line between evil and good. Some stay on the good side and others cross the line into the evil.
Why is it like this? Why are humans what we are in general? What accounts for the individual differences? I surely don't know.
Absolutely, and not just neighbors either, but even one's own spouse or parents. It's an unfortunate aspect of human nature that we have not yet learned to overcome, especially in international relations where it can be to some extent depersonalized. As a child in the 1960's, I was thrilled by the civil rights and environmental justice movements, the drive to eradicate poverty, desegregation, feminism, and so many people coming together to power various movements to uplift humanity so that people across the globe could live together in a just peace with a healthy environment. But the PTB couldn't allow that!
I wouldnt say 'all' - but certainly a big portion. If wars and reconstruction didnt transfer massive amounts of public funds into private influential hands we would have a lot less of modern wars at least. And capitalist do not like to share. It is not how they 'keep score'. Greed and 'power over' is. Racism and religious intolerance hide this as they trigger so many emotions. Not knowing this leaves us vulnerable to being manipulated - as we humans get emotional rather than asking and observing - who and what is benefitting and how? who and what is paying and how?
It won't last....as the American Empire contracts and American citizens begin refusing to see their wealth go to military expeditions around the world while climate disasters and disaster capitalism increases poverty at home.......the world watching helplessly now...and in the middle east, enraged by their helplessness, is bound to rise up.......and make Israel an impossible dream.
The Palestinians may be doomed, but so is the apartheid state of Israel.
Not soon enough for sure. However - if each of us keep spreading hope, alternatives, and countering the dominant narrative of the propagandist - it will come. And if not - Earth will get rid of us as she did the dinosaurs - regenetate - and it will be other species turn. We humans have so much potential - should we get clear on some basic values then collaborate and co-operate to realize them.
We might be surprised....listened to John Valliant, the guy who wrote FIRE WEATHER this weekend. He talked about the new fire normal and how big systems work hard to maintain stability, until they can't.........and then the crash comes very quickly. I think the term we use is Collapse.
Israel may be in just such a trajectory...her losses we aren't being told much about in our msm.
Well, having spent time in the PNW and experiencing fires, I can say a paltry amount of govt. money is being given to US National Forest Service, and billions are being given to Israel (and Ukraine). And currently there is not a lot of Middle Eastern support for Palestinians and now those in Lebanon. And it makes me think there is a Great Reset occurring where the people are incidental and perhaps in the way. Some suggest the Collapse will enable the one-world government. My comment was one addressed to the naivete. I am all in for a collapsed Israel.
A Collapse trajectory? One would think so. But, with compelling evidence the forest fires and hurricanes are geoengineered (land grab?) and paltry federal money being contributed to deal with them (unlike the billions spent to support military efforts in Israel and Ukraine) I don’t know.
No one geoengineered the new normal for hurricanes....or for fire beasts either. That sounds like a conspiracy fiction to me........but then, when you know the likely devastations that a rapidly warming climate brings with it.......I suppose it could be tempting to keep believing Men are Gods.......and the actual natural world a mere machine that can be fine tuned by the Fossil Fools.
I fear we're going to find out just how powerless most of them are....over anything that matters to life on this planet.......sooner than we imagine.
I’ve learned to question everything, including the controls in place to use climate change as a new form of social control (15-minute cities, and land grabs, for example). Some “conspiracy theories” are true.
I seem to remember that when the Roman Empire contracted it was because of lack of funds, materials for the legions, and dire needs at home. Americans wouldn't have voted for a Trump if things were prosperous at home...so that contraction may be happening already. The elites will resist it of course, but you know that old song..."We the people never wanted war'.
Yes - as Trump has already stated - what nice waterfront property this war will open up. And the transfer of public funds into private hands that war and reconstruction justifies. Huge profits being made.
No words of wisdom today. I don't understand why we cannot, as humans, pull back and see that we are all sisters and brothers on this beautiful planet. It's so hard to watch this over and again.
We can - but we are being emotionally manupulated by those who own various forms of media and foster intolerance and hatred. Apparently - they generate are better 'click' bait, and 'clicks' generate advertising, and advertizing/propaganda generates profits.
I believe the Palestinians and Ukrainians are the sacrificial lambs for the Military Industrial Complex; the world certainly sacrificed them in the name of world war and world peace; our world looks bleak now. No one nation has the will save any of them. Saudi will suffer a horrific loss, as I believe 47 plans on taking it over. Greed and avarice hails globally. Meanwhile, Palestinians are crying on the phone in “ live time,” their bones and muscles, (what’s left of them) are aching constantly, and the noise is deafening-from the hovering drones that carry death to all; the incredibly painful death of forced starvation is upon them. I saw an Indigenous Democrat in my state read the riot act to a pro-Palestinian Indigenous activist for making Harris lose—but it was too hard for me to drag myself across 280,000 dead bodies to vote for Harris. It’s divide and conquer again friends.
Hard to have had to watch from another nation - Americans of conscience (to whom I am related) tearing themselves apart over two absolutely horrific evils in that election. Whenever I would mention the Greens - the only not-pro-war candidate - didnt much get past it being a 'spoiler' vote. We need alternatives - and we all in this world need to be about building them now - wherever we are. And yes - the war in Ukraine - the capitalist nations put their missiles in former neutral territories right on Russia's western border. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All could reach Moscow. Putin didnt send in the troops until they started to put them in Ukrain's Donbas - which cut Russia off from its only all season port accesdible by land. The east is blocked by China and other nations.
How come we are not nor have been in the streets in the millions protesting this? Miasma?”. An influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt. “In not being part of millions in the street protesting the genocide and for us Americans protesting our morally corrupt government, especially President Biden and his fellow Zionist triplets, Blinken, Sullivan, Hochstein- using our hard earned tax monies to pay for the bullets in the brains of babies and children. How are you and I not corrupted by our witnessing the ongoing murder and most importantly choosing not to fill the streets with our alive bodies insisting on decency, not murder?. Shut the killing machinery delivery spigot this instant! Why aren’t all the Jews in the country - not just the Jews for Peace - but all Jews in the streets demanding the shutting down of AIPAC and its ilk? Exactly how often have you watched the wretched Nazi holocaust and insist all Americans see the concentration camps and the bones of Jews piled in little mountains? Where are you now when the Palestinians are being murdered by Israeli Zionists many of whom are Jews? Are you still sending money to Israel? To AIPAC? Why the silence? How about the National Council of Churches - all those Protestants? Where is the proper moral stance for a Protestant witness to mass murder? And where is the Pope! The kizillions of Roman Catholics? Outlaw abortion but a mass murder of living breathing babies no longer in the womb but now in the tomb? Literally! How do you Catholics and you Right to Lifers ever get the right to close abortion clinics when you are not out heaving the streets with your fury because of live helpless people on two legs each or alive in a crib being annihilated by an army of Israelis bloodthirsty sadists cheering and chalking up another star when an entire village of human beings is blown up!? How are We not also the enemy of the Palestinians in Gaza? By our silence? By our choosing passivity? Aren’t there more of us than there are our “leaders” in DC?
This is my question too.........maybe it wouldn't stop the murderers....but hundreds of thousands of us in the streets would at least say that our countries.....I'm Canadian.......aren't complicit, even if the elites are too far up the Zionist money wormhole to get their heads free and their consciences working.
It's like we're all stun gunned by what's happening....my partner and I went on rallies all last fall and winter.......but now my legs are going on me, and there's been no increase in citizen participation.........I've lost all hope that any resistance is going to make a difference....
We're complicit........and likely in denial of that.
Who owns the media? Why are demonstrations being banded on college campuses. Also being Canadian - we sell the resources to the weapons manufacturers that make the bombs, and planes - enabling private profit from expenditure of public funds.
And in a little less than a year, we'll vote in the party that is completely pro genocide...not the party that called months ago for a ceasefire. Heather MacPherson of the NDP....and the entire party, voted to end the bombing......but Canadians aren't for the most part, who they think they are. Who they are bears a lot more analysis...but of course, our billionaire captured/intimidated media, won't raise that question.
Imagine what the rest of the world thinks of the west now though....we're the death machine: and for the most part PROUD OF IT.
Well said. Thanks for your passion and clarity and appropriate comparisons - all with which I agree. A good question. For Americans - an election where both of the major parties were parties of perpetual war. So - following from that question - how do we - realizing something vital is missing - how do we work where we are to build and nurture an effective, multi-faceted resistance. The Pope has spoken out - why havent his pleas been applified? Same with the Christian, Buddahist, Jewish (non-Zionist) leaders - why have their voices not been amplified? Who owns the dominant media? Why are priests in Catholic churches - as Christmas approaches - not amplifying the Pope's pleas for just and sustainable peace as we approah the Christmas season - and celebrate the birthing anew of the Prince of Peace?
Long ago, they turned Christianity into the spiritual arm of imperial colonialism???
I ask myself often how Catholic run schools could have been so abusive to native children in Canada...Gabor Mate tells the story of one little 4 year old having a pin stuck in her tongue for speaking her native language...and being unable to pull her tongue into her mouth for a protracted length of time because the pin would cut her lips.....
How could priests and nuns do such things???
We shrink from the answers........though the answers must be obvious. They were broken vessels themselves.......sadists not able to understand Christ's admonishments regarding "Suffer the little children to come unto me".
Broken children themselves quite likely....given to the Church by parents who couldn't afford them.....or who wanted favours from the church....
We need to stop looking to authoritarian religions to save any of us.......but especially the small and vulnerable.
Lately in Québec province , PRO- PALESTINIAN DEMONSTRATIONS ARE BANNED OR not being held. It's as if the televised genocide has reached a saturation point. YES we know enough of the horror (NOT) . But are divided, fragmented & hungry for direction.
The other day I got caught up in a friendly back-and-forth on Facebook with someone who was arguing that the Holocaust was a one-off, not to be compared with anything else, and that to draw comparisons was somehow an insult to the memory of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis. It struck me that his was an excellent example of the mindset that justifies what’s going on in Gaza (and I don’t think the guy was even Jewish). I wish I’d had this article to link to.
Your story reminds me of the day I went to lunch with a bunch of older friends, most of whom were Jewish. who formed an active political group, and were long time critics of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, however someone invited an old friend who didn't know me. When I settled into a seat she asked me about my ethnic background, and she got really upset at one side of me that is Polish. She said in a condemning way that my people killed her people. I told her my people were probably too poor and too busy fishing for food, since they came from Gdańsk. I told her if you're really interested in people killing others, lets talk about Israel and their many genocidal assaults on the Palestinians. This was before the genocide going on now. Well, that shut her mouth. Too many latch on to their victim hood which blinds them and justifies their genocidal behavior toward the Palestinians that has been going on in slow motion for decades.
Absolutely agree. And too many do people not distinquish between being Jewish and the fanatical Zionism of Biden and Netanyhu et al - besides all the profit from wrapons, reconstruction and the Trump Towets about which he is already musing.
And of course the Jewish people are not the only ones to suffer mass murder in the millions. I rhink they might have been the first to be industrially killed in gas ovens. The millions killed in Cambodia - hand to hand often; the Armenians; the Great Famines of the Catholic Irish when food was being exported to industrial England ... War is much more profitable than just, sustainable peace.
Zionists continually demand special pleading. Might Is Right - but not when they are on the receiving end. The it's Victimhood Gives Special Status Forever.
Just today I was reading about the Armenian genocide in the late great Robert Fisk's book, Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East. The Palestinian people, against all the odds, have resisted being erased for 76 years; their collective resilience is astounding.
Thank you Chris for this description of the Armenian genocide which my two parents barely survived as young children.We must never forget our Palestinian brothers and sisters and especially the children, who are now suffering this incomprehensible trauma.May we have the strength and courage to stop the outrage and work for peace!
Why is this world so cruel? Why do we do such unspeakable things in the name of religion! How I wish religions were never invented! Why can’t we realize we are all the same. We all live on a rock floating in space. Why can’t we work together to make this world a better place for us all?
We can. And that is what thexruling elite deeply fear. Why alternatives like the numerous forms of democratic socialism are denounced and mislabelled. Why so much $ is invested in very manipulative propaganda.
Most thinking people are trying to find answers to big questions. I believe spirituality evolved much earlier than our species, and archeological evidence shows that signs of it are found in Neanderthals and Homo erectus as far back as half a million years ago. The problem arose when our ancestors grew from villages into city-states and religion was invented. Today, many religious people believe that religion exists to provide morality. However, I disagree. The following are some quotes from the book "God: A Human History" by theologian Reza Aslan:
"It is certainly true that religion can enhance altruistic behavior between individuals (though it is equally adept at promoting selfishness). The question is whether religion has a unique moral effect on society. The cognitive scientist Paul Bloom has conducted years of research on how religion and religious belief affect moral views. His conclusion is that there is little evidence that “the world’s religions have an important effect on our moral lives.” In fact, study after study has demonstrated that the good and bad moral effects of religion are no more or less powerful than the good and bad moral effects of any other social practice. Even if, for the sake of argument, one concedes that religion can mitigate the social effects of selfish behavior in a group, that still does not adequately explain how or why religion evolved in the first place. What we call “religious morality” played no role in the spiritual lives of primitive peoples. Belief in a “divine lawgiver” who determines good and bad behavior is barely five thousand years old; belief in a heavenly reward for such behavior is even newer. The gods of the ancient world were rarely conceived of as “moral”; they were above the trifling concerns of human morality. The gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt were savage and brutal; their primary interest in human beings was as slaves to their whims. The Greek gods were capricious, vain, entitled beings who toyed with humanity for sport. Yahweh is a jealous god who regularly demands the wholesale slaughter of every man, woman, and child who does not worship him alone. Allah is a martial deity who prescribes an array of draconian punishments—in this life and the next—to those who oppose him. How are these gods, who are at best beyond morality and at worst simply immoral, supposed to serve as the source of moral behavior?"
"Durkheim’s theory that religion arose as a kind of social adhesive, a means of fostering cohesion and maintaining solidarity among primitive societies, remains the most widely held explanation for the origins of the religious impulse. Evolutionarily speaking, it makes a certain amount of sense to assume that by banding together around a common set of symbols and participating in a shared ritual experience, our ancient ancestors were able to enhance their collective viability and thus increase their chances of survival in a savagely competitive world. The trouble with this line of reasoning, however, is that there is nothing intrinsically unifying or cohesive about religion. Religion certainly has the power to bring disparate people together. But it is just as efficient a dividing force as it is a uniting one. Religion engenders both inclusion and exclusion. It spawns as much conflict in society as it does cohesion. It benefits some members of a community more than—and often at the expense of—others. It delegitimizes as much as it legitimizes. More to the point, the theory of social cohesion is dependent upon the idea that religion is the primary, most dominant source of attachment among prehistoric communities. That is emphatically not the case. Kinship is a stronger and far more primal tool for social cohesion in our human evolution. Our Paleolithic ancestors lived in small-scale communities—an extended family sharing a shelter. Their sense of solidarity was engendered first and foremost by birth and blood, not by symbols and rituals. To argue that religion arose in human evolution because it gave “believing” communities an adaptive advantage over “nonbelieving” communities would require the existence in religion of some uniquely cohesive power that it simply does not possess."
I believe we need to get a grip on what is needed for human survival. We either learn to get along and embrace differences while respecting others - or Earth is soon going to get another 'dominant species'.
Because humans are easily led, and because power is to sociopaths and psychopaths what catnip is to cats. Which is why power inevitably winds up in the hands of such humans - because they will do whatever it takes to get power.
We can hold our government to the Leahy Law, which prohibits sending aid to countries who violated human rights. On the Department of State website, a citizen can submit a report of violation. It's called the Gateway Reporting System. You will need to document with some evidence and if possible, provide the name of the IDF battalion.
One of the many reason independent journalists are not being allowed into Gaza and Wrst Bank - and snipers are targetting all journalists not just Palestinian ones. The ruling elite learned from how the American public shut down the Vietnam war - and others.
Today, there's a bill up for vote in Congress to stop aid to Israel because of its human rights violations (genocide). There was an excellent press conference by the bill's sponsors. I'm writing to the Department of Justice to insist that the Leahy Law be enforced.
And the citizens of all Middle Eastern country, regardless of their leaders are on fire. How awful, to not be able to help because of the memory of what happened to Iraq, and the fear of American bombardment.
Those leaders crave American carrot and fear American stick.
The Houthi leaders have no western assets to seize, no western bank accounts to freeze, no western toys to take away, and consequently, they are the only one to stand up for Gaza and Palestine.
Not all Jews and not all Israelis. There were large demonstrations in thecsyreets of Tel Aviv. Definitely the Zionists and capitalist fascists - and those are who enabled the Nazis.
True, but only a few Israelis oppose the genocide (Ilan Pappe, Scholomo Sand etc.) but the demonstrations against the war is only demanding to negotiate the freedom of the sequestered Israelis, not against the occupation. The torture and expulsion of the Palestinians are very popular in Israel, which has taught its children for three generation that the Old testament is true history and science. Soon we will have the same curriculum in America!
It was interesting to read about memory, which is a resistance to lies and a way to remain yourself. As a child, I made a point of remembering every incident of mistreatment by my mother. No one else saw her as she really was. I was the only one in my birth family who knew the jabs were bio-weapons and the government was lying.
While we waste our resources and energy obliterating each other, the great überdisaster of climate change moves along inexorably thanks to human intransigence. For how long will Palestine be habitable or fertile for anybody? COPOUT 29 is in progress right now, or rather the lack thereof. I suppose Trump will not have the US attend COPOUT 30. I don’t know why. Fossil fuel nations host them all the time and they’re a great place to make oil deals.
War is really really bad for emitting green house gases. I cant remember how many cars driving how many miles is the equivalent of one fighter jet or bomber taking off. A lot.
This passage hit me especially hard: “Once we forget, once memories are purged — the goal of all genocidal killers — we are enslaved to lies and myths, severed from our individual, cultural and national identities. We no longer know who we are.”
It reminds me of the struggle confronting indigenous people across the U.S. Just yesterday, I was enthralled by a presentation by Navajo/Diné elders in Santa Fe about traditional weaving techniques, and their work as shepherds cultivating a species of sheep that had been driven to near extinction twice. I was impressed by their mission and work to reclaim culture and identity—especially coming from California, a supposedly “progressive” state that actively continued the genocide long after it began in the East, and which left many indigenous communities not only displaced, but effectively disbanded. I wrote about that revolting and revealing history last year at https://shahidbuttar.substack.com/p/indigenous-lives-matter-from-north.
The elders last night spoke of traditions that have been seemingly lost as instead being merely “asleep,” waiting for the future to revive them. May we all help remember, and be part of a future awakening.
Amen to that. Decades ago I was part of a team that went into an isolated fishing village on the west coast of BC, on the west coast of Canada. I was advised not to go by other indigenous peoples - because this community was 'too far gone'. It now 'exports' dancers, singers, and language/cultural teachers - so I am a firm believer in resurrection stories and the power of the phoenix. What I just cannot grasp is how deep is the Zionist hatred/fear of Palestinian women and children - another name for the ethnic cleansing to enable a land grab. And how much more capitalist fascist USA and Europe value profit and power over human rights, common decency and life with any kind of dignity.
Did the communities advising you not to go perceive the one that you visited as having lost their traditions, before they later recovered them and began sharing them with others? Just wanted to better understand. I’d be curious if there were any principles or practices in particular that you recall resonating with you.
How do we see each other? As a mother would with all she sees in her children or as a father would seeing the potential in his son or daughter...or as God does, lovingly. We have to cloose to see differently each and everyone of us; it begins with me. How will I hold you in my thought? Hopefully seeing clearly. I must choose.
Oh yes, lazy. Why not try seeing the way God, life sees...we have the ability to hold ourselves with His eye. But we need to cloose how we see ourselves and others looking through a different lens. Hold yourself accountable!
Yes. I have heard Indigenous Californians speak with sorrow of the loss of their language and culture, the diaspora of their tribe during the many decades that their tribal status was denied, and the struggle to reclaim their culture and identity.
It's shocking that this can happen to the Palestinian people, famed for having the highest literacy rate in the world, in the modern day, with the full complicity of the US government; in full view of the world, no matter how many journalists are assassinated, imprisoned, or muzzled by the big media outlets; and against the will of the American people who supposedly live in a democracy.
The people in control are not just absolutely corrupted by absolute power, they're crazy delusional, and the worst part is that they don't seem to recognize any of the warning signs that they're madly pursuing the wrong goals using the wrong methods.
U.S. and European complicity in the Gaza genocide must also never be forgotten.
Absolutely. And called out should any ever talk again of their human rights, democracy, or civil society. And we must clearly identfy this as a genocide carried out by Zionist with unconditional support of two capitalist nations. I am waiting for the total amount of public funds invested in this genocide to be revealed as well as into whose private hands it went - both the corporations an the individuals
We already know one.
Compllicity? Hell, they knowingly and consciously actively aid and abet that genocide.
I agree - they think they are just passively involved, but they are directly involved - as are all the military personnel and the ghoulish weapons manufacturers. Sunak + Cameron = Starmer + Lammy = Netanyahu + Smotrich.
I’ve said it before and I will say it again. ANYONE who voted for either brand of the corporate UniParty are totally on board with GENOCIDE against their fellow human beings. The complete destruction of Gaza along with the effective elimination of the Palestinians was the plan from the beginning of establishing the state of Israel. And now we have finally reached the Final Solution. Enabled all the way by the USA and its other allies from the so-called “civilized societies.” What a bunch of malarkey to steal a word from Bibi’s brother in arms the ever so evil fucking Biden hiding behind the smiley face of the friendly fascist party. I’m glad that Hedge’s dives into the Armenian genocide as both my grandparents (may they rest in peace) escaped with their lives from that horror show, giving birth to my mother (may she rest in peace) and ultimately myself. Genocide in any form whatsoever makes me rage against the murderous machine that enables such atrocities to happen, especially in this day and age. One might think that humans would have finally moved on past such evil, but no, not at all. There is far too much “artificial wealth” to be amassed by folks killing each other. It is far too profitable to make a living by killing each other by these sociopathic monsters. And when the destruction is complete in Gaza, there will be massive contracts to rebuild it on behalf of Israel who always had a plan to steal ALL THE LAND from day one. And any bets to how many Trump Hotels will be built upon that land of blood and guts.
I also see that the end result of the Palestinian genocide will be more trump hotels and casinos. So, is this all about cash? All the genocides and all the wars? For cash?
All the wars are about cash?
Yes. See "War is a Racket", by the late Maj. Gen. Smedley D. Butler, USMC, ret. "All wars are bankers' wars."
FDR's New Deal helped the majority working class and his banking regulations curtailed the banksters. Thus deeply resented by Wall St. and the 1%ers. (They had to wait for the neolib Clinton admin. for total repeal.) The cabal of wealth and privilege conspired to overthrow FDR and to make Gen. Butler a figurehead President. He played along, but also informed members of the U.S. Congress, so the plot was thwarted. Historians debate to what degree this would have happened. Anyway, Butler is a hero for many reasons; foremost for telling the truth.
Yes, a true hero, but unfortunately he converted after retirement from perpetrating the crimes that he deplored and confessed.. Better late that never.
I can’t read the whole reply.
Money, Resources and Power.
Got it now. So would you kill your neighbor just to get his stuff? Who are these people who promote war?
As Butler shows in his book, the people who promote war are those who profit from it. In his day, in the early twentieth century, Butler and his Marines went into foreign countries to enable big business to exploit those countries. Consider today the Military-Industrial Complex that Pres. Eisenhower warned us about.
I understand profit motive. I don’t understand murdering people to get their belongings. I know well that this has been US policy since Day 1. I just don’t understand how these “leaders” justify their savagery.
That would be the point. Because we cannot fathom their level of evil, we are defenceless to stop it. I think we all have a bit of 'shadow' within us. However, we work hard to deny that part of ourselves and so cannot face, and confront, the evil in others. Instead we wring our hands and act like it's all too much to understand. We need to tap into our own shadow as a source of fierce strength and power to challenge the psychopaths who are our leaders.
There have been numerous instances of this kind of thing throughout history. Anthropologists, biologists, economists, historians, those in literature, philosophers, psychologists, sociologists, et al. study it and try to explain it. Let us not omit those in the field of divinity/theology. Some of Mr. Hedges' previous posts address the evil. He has said--I hope I'm paraphrasing him correctly--that the potential for this evil lies within all of us. There is a very fine line between evil and good. Some stay on the good side and others cross the line into the evil.
Why is it like this? Why are humans what we are in general? What accounts for the individual differences? I surely don't know.
Behind any genocide is leader of a nation that considers that nation and its people to be superior to other nations, other people.
Narcissistic righteousness.
Absolutely, and not just neighbors either, but even one's own spouse or parents. It's an unfortunate aspect of human nature that we have not yet learned to overcome, especially in international relations where it can be to some extent depersonalized. As a child in the 1960's, I was thrilled by the civil rights and environmental justice movements, the drive to eradicate poverty, desegregation, feminism, and so many people coming together to power various movements to uplift humanity so that people across the globe could live together in a just peace with a healthy environment. But the PTB couldn't allow that!
Mental defectives with a perverse fascination for greed, power and destruction.
And power over.
Yes!!
Yes.
I wouldnt say 'all' - but certainly a big portion. If wars and reconstruction didnt transfer massive amounts of public funds into private influential hands we would have a lot less of modern wars at least. And capitalist do not like to share. It is not how they 'keep score'. Greed and 'power over' is. Racism and religious intolerance hide this as they trigger so many emotions. Not knowing this leaves us vulnerable to being manipulated - as we humans get emotional rather than asking and observing - who and what is benefitting and how? who and what is paying and how?
It won't last....as the American Empire contracts and American citizens begin refusing to see their wealth go to military expeditions around the world while climate disasters and disaster capitalism increases poverty at home.......the world watching helplessly now...and in the middle east, enraged by their helplessness, is bound to rise up.......and make Israel an impossible dream.
The Palestinians may be doomed, but so is the apartheid state of Israel.
Unfortunately, I don't see that happening anytime soon.
Not soon enough for sure. However - if each of us keep spreading hope, alternatives, and countering the dominant narrative of the propagandist - it will come. And if not - Earth will get rid of us as she did the dinosaurs - regenetate - and it will be other species turn. We humans have so much potential - should we get clear on some basic values then collaborate and co-operate to realize them.
We might be surprised....listened to John Valliant, the guy who wrote FIRE WEATHER this weekend. He talked about the new fire normal and how big systems work hard to maintain stability, until they can't.........and then the crash comes very quickly. I think the term we use is Collapse.
Israel may be in just such a trajectory...her losses we aren't being told much about in our msm.
Well, having spent time in the PNW and experiencing fires, I can say a paltry amount of govt. money is being given to US National Forest Service, and billions are being given to Israel (and Ukraine). And currently there is not a lot of Middle Eastern support for Palestinians and now those in Lebanon. And it makes me think there is a Great Reset occurring where the people are incidental and perhaps in the way. Some suggest the Collapse will enable the one-world government. My comment was one addressed to the naivete. I am all in for a collapsed Israel.
A Collapse trajectory? One would think so. But, with compelling evidence the forest fires and hurricanes are geoengineered (land grab?) and paltry federal money being contributed to deal with them (unlike the billions spent to support military efforts in Israel and Ukraine) I don’t know.
No one geoengineered the new normal for hurricanes....or for fire beasts either. That sounds like a conspiracy fiction to me........but then, when you know the likely devastations that a rapidly warming climate brings with it.......I suppose it could be tempting to keep believing Men are Gods.......and the actual natural world a mere machine that can be fine tuned by the Fossil Fools.
I fear we're going to find out just how powerless most of them are....over anything that matters to life on this planet.......sooner than we imagine.
I’ve learned to question everything, including the controls in place to use climate change as a new form of social control (15-minute cities, and land grabs, for example). Some “conspiracy theories” are true.
How long will US money last. Perhaps that’s how long Israel will last.
I seem to remember that when the Roman Empire contracted it was because of lack of funds, materials for the legions, and dire needs at home. Americans wouldn't have voted for a Trump if things were prosperous at home...so that contraction may be happening already. The elites will resist it of course, but you know that old song..."We the people never wanted war'.
Yes - as Trump has already stated - what nice waterfront property this war will open up. And the transfer of public funds into private hands that war and reconstruction justifies. Huge profits being made.
I'm so sorry for your family's suffering and for all the wasted lives that have left behind so much trauma, rage and dysfunction.
No words of wisdom today. I don't understand why we cannot, as humans, pull back and see that we are all sisters and brothers on this beautiful planet. It's so hard to watch this over and again.
We can - but we are being emotionally manupulated by those who own various forms of media and foster intolerance and hatred. Apparently - they generate are better 'click' bait, and 'clicks' generate advertising, and advertizing/propaganda generates profits.
Consider rephrasing the question away from "cannot" and the passive "watch."
Maybe "I'm doing x" because I'm sure as heck not going to stand by and watch!!!
I believe the Palestinians and Ukrainians are the sacrificial lambs for the Military Industrial Complex; the world certainly sacrificed them in the name of world war and world peace; our world looks bleak now. No one nation has the will save any of them. Saudi will suffer a horrific loss, as I believe 47 plans on taking it over. Greed and avarice hails globally. Meanwhile, Palestinians are crying on the phone in “ live time,” their bones and muscles, (what’s left of them) are aching constantly, and the noise is deafening-from the hovering drones that carry death to all; the incredibly painful death of forced starvation is upon them. I saw an Indigenous Democrat in my state read the riot act to a pro-Palestinian Indigenous activist for making Harris lose—but it was too hard for me to drag myself across 280,000 dead bodies to vote for Harris. It’s divide and conquer again friends.
Hard to have had to watch from another nation - Americans of conscience (to whom I am related) tearing themselves apart over two absolutely horrific evils in that election. Whenever I would mention the Greens - the only not-pro-war candidate - didnt much get past it being a 'spoiler' vote. We need alternatives - and we all in this world need to be about building them now - wherever we are. And yes - the war in Ukraine - the capitalist nations put their missiles in former neutral territories right on Russia's western border. Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. All could reach Moscow. Putin didnt send in the troops until they started to put them in Ukrain's Donbas - which cut Russia off from its only all season port accesdible by land. The east is blocked by China and other nations.
It was hard to vote in this election and I had never not voted for a presidential. I voted down ticket .
How come we are not nor have been in the streets in the millions protesting this? Miasma?”. An influence or atmosphere that tends to deplete or corrupt. “In not being part of millions in the street protesting the genocide and for us Americans protesting our morally corrupt government, especially President Biden and his fellow Zionist triplets, Blinken, Sullivan, Hochstein- using our hard earned tax monies to pay for the bullets in the brains of babies and children. How are you and I not corrupted by our witnessing the ongoing murder and most importantly choosing not to fill the streets with our alive bodies insisting on decency, not murder?. Shut the killing machinery delivery spigot this instant! Why aren’t all the Jews in the country - not just the Jews for Peace - but all Jews in the streets demanding the shutting down of AIPAC and its ilk? Exactly how often have you watched the wretched Nazi holocaust and insist all Americans see the concentration camps and the bones of Jews piled in little mountains? Where are you now when the Palestinians are being murdered by Israeli Zionists many of whom are Jews? Are you still sending money to Israel? To AIPAC? Why the silence? How about the National Council of Churches - all those Protestants? Where is the proper moral stance for a Protestant witness to mass murder? And where is the Pope! The kizillions of Roman Catholics? Outlaw abortion but a mass murder of living breathing babies no longer in the womb but now in the tomb? Literally! How do you Catholics and you Right to Lifers ever get the right to close abortion clinics when you are not out heaving the streets with your fury because of live helpless people on two legs each or alive in a crib being annihilated by an army of Israelis bloodthirsty sadists cheering and chalking up another star when an entire village of human beings is blown up!? How are We not also the enemy of the Palestinians in Gaza? By our silence? By our choosing passivity? Aren’t there more of us than there are our “leaders” in DC?
This is my question too.........maybe it wouldn't stop the murderers....but hundreds of thousands of us in the streets would at least say that our countries.....I'm Canadian.......aren't complicit, even if the elites are too far up the Zionist money wormhole to get their heads free and their consciences working.
It's like we're all stun gunned by what's happening....my partner and I went on rallies all last fall and winter.......but now my legs are going on me, and there's been no increase in citizen participation.........I've lost all hope that any resistance is going to make a difference....
We're complicit........and likely in denial of that.
Who owns the media? Why are demonstrations being banded on college campuses. Also being Canadian - we sell the resources to the weapons manufacturers that make the bombs, and planes - enabling private profit from expenditure of public funds.
And in a little less than a year, we'll vote in the party that is completely pro genocide...not the party that called months ago for a ceasefire. Heather MacPherson of the NDP....and the entire party, voted to end the bombing......but Canadians aren't for the most part, who they think they are. Who they are bears a lot more analysis...but of course, our billionaire captured/intimidated media, won't raise that question.
Imagine what the rest of the world thinks of the west now though....we're the death machine: and for the most part PROUD OF IT.
Well said. Thanks for your passion and clarity and appropriate comparisons - all with which I agree. A good question. For Americans - an election where both of the major parties were parties of perpetual war. So - following from that question - how do we - realizing something vital is missing - how do we work where we are to build and nurture an effective, multi-faceted resistance. The Pope has spoken out - why havent his pleas been applified? Same with the Christian, Buddahist, Jewish (non-Zionist) leaders - why have their voices not been amplified? Who owns the dominant media? Why are priests in Catholic churches - as Christmas approaches - not amplifying the Pope's pleas for just and sustainable peace as we approah the Christmas season - and celebrate the birthing anew of the Prince of Peace?
Long ago, they turned Christianity into the spiritual arm of imperial colonialism???
I ask myself often how Catholic run schools could have been so abusive to native children in Canada...Gabor Mate tells the story of one little 4 year old having a pin stuck in her tongue for speaking her native language...and being unable to pull her tongue into her mouth for a protracted length of time because the pin would cut her lips.....
How could priests and nuns do such things???
We shrink from the answers........though the answers must be obvious. They were broken vessels themselves.......sadists not able to understand Christ's admonishments regarding "Suffer the little children to come unto me".
Broken children themselves quite likely....given to the Church by parents who couldn't afford them.....or who wanted favours from the church....
We need to stop looking to authoritarian religions to save any of us.......but especially the small and vulnerable.
exactly!
Lately in Québec province , PRO- PALESTINIAN DEMONSTRATIONS ARE BANNED OR not being held. It's as if the televised genocide has reached a saturation point. YES we know enough of the horror (NOT) . But are divided, fragmented & hungry for direction.
The revolution will not be televised.
Many are out there, including the Pope, yet your comment denies this.
Perhaps you are speaking of yourself?
Because humans are herd animals to rival any dog, sheep or lemming.
The other day I got caught up in a friendly back-and-forth on Facebook with someone who was arguing that the Holocaust was a one-off, not to be compared with anything else, and that to draw comparisons was somehow an insult to the memory of the millions of Jews who were killed by the Nazis. It struck me that his was an excellent example of the mindset that justifies what’s going on in Gaza (and I don’t think the guy was even Jewish). I wish I’d had this article to link to.
Your story reminds me of the day I went to lunch with a bunch of older friends, most of whom were Jewish. who formed an active political group, and were long time critics of Israeli policy toward the Palestinians, however someone invited an old friend who didn't know me. When I settled into a seat she asked me about my ethnic background, and she got really upset at one side of me that is Polish. She said in a condemning way that my people killed her people. I told her my people were probably too poor and too busy fishing for food, since they came from Gdańsk. I told her if you're really interested in people killing others, lets talk about Israel and their many genocidal assaults on the Palestinians. This was before the genocide going on now. Well, that shut her mouth. Too many latch on to their victim hood which blinds them and justifies their genocidal behavior toward the Palestinians that has been going on in slow motion for decades.
Absolutely agree. And too many do people not distinquish between being Jewish and the fanatical Zionism of Biden and Netanyhu et al - besides all the profit from wrapons, reconstruction and the Trump Towets about which he is already musing.
And of course the Jewish people are not the only ones to suffer mass murder in the millions. I rhink they might have been the first to be industrially killed in gas ovens. The millions killed in Cambodia - hand to hand often; the Armenians; the Great Famines of the Catholic Irish when food was being exported to industrial England ... War is much more profitable than just, sustainable peace.
You should watch Mehdi Hassan’s recent Zeteo interview with Israeli professor of genocide studies Omer Bartov. This issue is discussed in detail.
Thanks. Will look for it.
Zionists continually demand special pleading. Might Is Right - but not when they are on the receiving end. The it's Victimhood Gives Special Status Forever.
Just today I was reading about the Armenian genocide in the late great Robert Fisk's book, Night of Power: The Betrayal of the Middle East. The Palestinian people, against all the odds, have resisted being erased for 76 years; their collective resilience is astounding.
All semites are very resilient.
Absolutely is!
Thank you Chris for this description of the Armenian genocide which my two parents barely survived as young children.We must never forget our Palestinian brothers and sisters and especially the children, who are now suffering this incomprehensible trauma.May we have the strength and courage to stop the outrage and work for peace!
Why is this world so cruel? Why do we do such unspeakable things in the name of religion! How I wish religions were never invented! Why can’t we realize we are all the same. We all live on a rock floating in space. Why can’t we work together to make this world a better place for us all?
We can. And that is what thexruling elite deeply fear. Why alternatives like the numerous forms of democratic socialism are denounced and mislabelled. Why so much $ is invested in very manipulative propaganda.
Yes!
Most thinking people are trying to find answers to big questions. I believe spirituality evolved much earlier than our species, and archeological evidence shows that signs of it are found in Neanderthals and Homo erectus as far back as half a million years ago. The problem arose when our ancestors grew from villages into city-states and religion was invented. Today, many religious people believe that religion exists to provide morality. However, I disagree. The following are some quotes from the book "God: A Human History" by theologian Reza Aslan:
"It is certainly true that religion can enhance altruistic behavior between individuals (though it is equally adept at promoting selfishness). The question is whether religion has a unique moral effect on society. The cognitive scientist Paul Bloom has conducted years of research on how religion and religious belief affect moral views. His conclusion is that there is little evidence that “the world’s religions have an important effect on our moral lives.” In fact, study after study has demonstrated that the good and bad moral effects of religion are no more or less powerful than the good and bad moral effects of any other social practice. Even if, for the sake of argument, one concedes that religion can mitigate the social effects of selfish behavior in a group, that still does not adequately explain how or why religion evolved in the first place. What we call “religious morality” played no role in the spiritual lives of primitive peoples. Belief in a “divine lawgiver” who determines good and bad behavior is barely five thousand years old; belief in a heavenly reward for such behavior is even newer. The gods of the ancient world were rarely conceived of as “moral”; they were above the trifling concerns of human morality. The gods of Mesopotamia and Egypt were savage and brutal; their primary interest in human beings was as slaves to their whims. The Greek gods were capricious, vain, entitled beings who toyed with humanity for sport. Yahweh is a jealous god who regularly demands the wholesale slaughter of every man, woman, and child who does not worship him alone. Allah is a martial deity who prescribes an array of draconian punishments—in this life and the next—to those who oppose him. How are these gods, who are at best beyond morality and at worst simply immoral, supposed to serve as the source of moral behavior?"
"Durkheim’s theory that religion arose as a kind of social adhesive, a means of fostering cohesion and maintaining solidarity among primitive societies, remains the most widely held explanation for the origins of the religious impulse. Evolutionarily speaking, it makes a certain amount of sense to assume that by banding together around a common set of symbols and participating in a shared ritual experience, our ancient ancestors were able to enhance their collective viability and thus increase their chances of survival in a savagely competitive world. The trouble with this line of reasoning, however, is that there is nothing intrinsically unifying or cohesive about religion. Religion certainly has the power to bring disparate people together. But it is just as efficient a dividing force as it is a uniting one. Religion engenders both inclusion and exclusion. It spawns as much conflict in society as it does cohesion. It benefits some members of a community more than—and often at the expense of—others. It delegitimizes as much as it legitimizes. More to the point, the theory of social cohesion is dependent upon the idea that religion is the primary, most dominant source of attachment among prehistoric communities. That is emphatically not the case. Kinship is a stronger and far more primal tool for social cohesion in our human evolution. Our Paleolithic ancestors lived in small-scale communities—an extended family sharing a shelter. Their sense of solidarity was engendered first and foremost by birth and blood, not by symbols and rituals. To argue that religion arose in human evolution because it gave “believing” communities an adaptive advantage over “nonbelieving” communities would require the existence in religion of some uniquely cohesive power that it simply does not possess."
I believe we need to get a grip on what is needed for human survival. We either learn to get along and embrace differences while respecting others - or Earth is soon going to get another 'dominant species'.
Well said.
Because humans are easily led, and because power is to sociopaths and psychopaths what catnip is to cats. Which is why power inevitably winds up in the hands of such humans - because they will do whatever it takes to get power.
so will jews get by with this genocide with no punishment or repercussions?
jews are attacking With lawyers ICC and ICJ and UN
Netanyahu walks away???
WTF. ????
Sorry that's the only response I can think of.
We can hold our government to the Leahy Law, which prohibits sending aid to countries who violated human rights. On the Department of State website, a citizen can submit a report of violation. It's called the Gateway Reporting System. You will need to document with some evidence and if possible, provide the name of the IDF battalion.
One of the many reason independent journalists are not being allowed into Gaza and Wrst Bank - and snipers are targetting all journalists not just Palestinian ones. The ruling elite learned from how the American public shut down the Vietnam war - and others.
They will not listen and continue the genocide.
Law is meaningless. Enforcement is the only thing that matters.
Today, there's a bill up for vote in Congress to stop aid to Israel because of its human rights violations (genocide). There was an excellent press conference by the bill's sponsors. I'm writing to the Department of Justice to insist that the Leahy Law be enforced.
Good luck.
Gaza will remain a REMINDER that the JEWS, the ZIONISTS and their FRIENDS AND ENABLERS are WORSE THAN THE NAZIS !
And the citizens of all Middle Eastern country, regardless of their leaders are on fire. How awful, to not be able to help because of the memory of what happened to Iraq, and the fear of American bombardment.
Those leaders crave American carrot and fear American stick.
The Houthi leaders have no western assets to seize, no western bank accounts to freeze, no western toys to take away, and consequently, they are the only one to stand up for Gaza and Palestine.
Not all Jews and not all Israelis. There were large demonstrations in thecsyreets of Tel Aviv. Definitely the Zionists and capitalist fascists - and those are who enabled the Nazis.
True, but only a few Israelis oppose the genocide (Ilan Pappe, Scholomo Sand etc.) but the demonstrations against the war is only demanding to negotiate the freedom of the sequestered Israelis, not against the occupation. The torture and expulsion of the Palestinians are very popular in Israel, which has taught its children for three generation that the Old testament is true history and science. Soon we will have the same curriculum in America!
This is so gut wrenchingly painful to read. I pray for those who experienced it.
It was interesting to read about memory, which is a resistance to lies and a way to remain yourself. As a child, I made a point of remembering every incident of mistreatment by my mother. No one else saw her as she really was. I was the only one in my birth family who knew the jabs were bio-weapons and the government was lying.
While we waste our resources and energy obliterating each other, the great überdisaster of climate change moves along inexorably thanks to human intransigence. For how long will Palestine be habitable or fertile for anybody? COPOUT 29 is in progress right now, or rather the lack thereof. I suppose Trump will not have the US attend COPOUT 30. I don’t know why. Fossil fuel nations host them all the time and they’re a great place to make oil deals.
War is really really bad for emitting green house gases. I cant remember how many cars driving how many miles is the equivalent of one fighter jet or bomber taking off. A lot.
Argh. "Fossile fule nations host them all the time and they're a great place to make oil deals."
Wish that I could chide you for your cynicism, Stan Kopacz, because the truth hurts.
Bless you, Chris Hedges, for carrying these memories to us. We are all Armenia. We are all Palestine.