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Kissinger has been elevated to a visionary for his views on the war in Ukraine. But those views are outdated and dangerous and reflect a Cold War mindset that is no longer relevant in the 21st century, argues Ramzy Baroud.

The post Prophets of Doom: Henry Kissinger and the ‘Intellectual’ Decline of the West appeared first on MintPress News.

Army Talks fact sheet Once again, Heather Cox Richardson’s Letters from an American offers up a historical reference germane to our times that, as the saying goes, rhymes (as does the adjective). So I’m dropping her comments in full right here: Beginning in 1943, the War Department published a series of pamphlets for U.S. Army personnel in the European theater of World War II. Titled Army Talks, the series was designed “to help [the personnel] become better-informed men and women and therefore better soldiers.” On March 24, 1945, the topic for the week was “FASCISM!” “You are away from home, separated from your families, no longer at a civilian job or at school and many of you are risking your very lives,” the pamphlet explained, “because of a thing called fascism.” But, the publication asked, what is fascism? “Fascism is not the easiest thing to identify and analyze,” it said, “nor, once in power, is it easy to destroy. It is important for our future and that of the world that as many of us as possible understand the causes and practices of fascism, in order to combat it.” Fascism, the U.S.

Angelo Calianno spoke to supporters of the Turkish opposition during the two ballots in the closely fought Presidential election against Recep Erdoğan

“epigraph, n.: a brief quotation placed at the beginning of a book, chapter, etc.”
—Webster’s

“Loneliness took me for a ride…”
—Aerosmith

Greetings. You’ve picked up a new novel. Isn’t it exciting? Gonna be a wily one, if I’m any indication. In fact, I’ll bet you chose this book based on the title, the cover, the author photo, and—the clincher—me, the epigraph.

I’m thrilled to be part of your process. And I really am great, aren’t I? I’m profound. I’m witty as hell. I’m by Langston Hughes, T. S. Eliot, John Keats, or Joni Mitchell. And look at me—just look at me—all duded up in my best font and shiny italics, sprouting a long, elegant em dash, like a Gatsby–era cigarette, pointing to a first and last name. Is this novel off to a hot start or what? Do you love me? You love me.

I’m gorgeous.

Except, well… don’t look now, but I don’t really have anything to do with the actual novel. The truth is I am meaningless and expendable. But shh. Never mind. Forge ahead. See me. Study me. Move on.

RADHIKA DESAI: Hello and welcome to the 10th Geopolitical Economy Hour, the fortnightly show in which we discuss the political and geopolitical economy of our times. I’m Radhika Desai. MICHAEL HUDSON: And I’m Michael Hudson. RADHIKA DESAI: And as last time, we have once again with us today, Professor Mick Dunford, professor emeritus at Sussex Continue Reading

The post Achieving by Undermining first appeared on Michael Hudson.

Fizza Qureshi, CEO of the Migrants' Rights Network, explains why her charity did not want to apply for funding from the Mayor of London to tackle hate crime and extremism

After the surprise cross-border raid against Russia and unexplained drone attacks in Moscow, Julian McBride looks at how Ukraine is turning Putin's playbook against him

Adam McKay is a film director and producer recently founded Yellow Dot Studios, a media company to fight climate disinformation. Today, he offers a dose of outrage and imagination in the face of dire climate warnings.

In today’s interdependent economic world, UK companies are just too small to survive and thrive without cooperation with the EU, writes Jon Bloomfield

On this week’s MVC, Rivka and Frank discuss the series finale of HBO’s Succession.

Radicals in the Age of Revolution saw the classical world as a common inheritance that could aid their fight for liberty

- by Francesca Langer

Read at Aeon

How is enjoying a burger, even if it’s one made of fake meat, different from enjoying a female, even if she’s a sex doll?

- by Rebecca Lowe

Read at Psyche

A new parliamentary reports criticises the Government's plans for young people's care – with the Home Secretary announcing that the same strategy will be used to tackle child sexual abuse

Today marks the 642th anniversary of the 1381 English uprising commonly known as the Peasants’ Revolt. This was a remarkable moment in medieval English history, and the uprisings in Essex, Kent, and London and leaders such as Wat Tyler would become the stuff of folk legend, not least for English socialists. On Thursday 13 June […]

If only there were some solutions besides completely caving!

You won't believe the dumb stuff going on, on Earth.

Little in the discipline has changed in the wake of the crisis. Mirowski thinks that this is at least in part a result of the impotence of the loyal opposition — those economists such as Joseph Stiglitz or Paul Krugman who attempt to oppose the more viciously neoliberal articulations of economic theory from within the […]

ingredients: ½ pound spinach8 leeks, white parts only2 onions½ cup mushroomscelery stalks10 ounces bamboo shoots1 pound 5 ounces slightly marbled beefsteak3 Tablespoons peanut oil4 eggsFor the sauce:½ cup beef bouillon½ cup soy sauce4 teaspoons sake (Japanese rice wine) instructions: All preliminary steps of preparing the vegetables and sauce are done in the kitchen. The final […]

In January 2023, the Reserve Bank of Australia commissioned a comprehensive review of the operating environment supporting the Reserve Bank Information and Transfer System (RITS). This system is a critical part of Australia's payments infrastructure and is owned and operated by the Reserve Bank. The review, conducted by Deloitte, was requested by the Payments System Board (PSB) following a major outage of the system on 12 October 2022.

Source - Patreon

Source - Patreon

That goes beyond flattery. It’s rhetorical fluffing. It’s hard to believe he isn’t joking. But he isn’t. I don’t know if Levin has been gargling lead infused water all his life or if this is sheer opportunism. But even Tucker Carlson doesn’t go this far. It’s frightening. And, by the way, Trump hears this too. And he believes it as much as his followers do.

Demographer Glenn Capuano provides the latest update to the top 50 cities and towns in Australia. It’s time for the latest version of our most popular and enduring blog series of all time. Sometimes...

The news media is always pounding on the fact that polls say that people think Biden is too old and mentally decrepit to run for another term. (His apparent ability to close a deal with the batshit House GOP without giving away the store argues otherwise but …) I have always wondered why they don’t ask the same question about Trump. He’ll be 77 in a couple of months and there’s plenty of evidence that he’s the one not playing with a full deck: As it turns out people are just as concerned about Trump’s brain function as Biden’s — and they have much greater concerns about Trump’s character: A Fox News poll found that 56% of Americans do not believe former President Donald Trump has the “mental soundness” to be president. A survey conducted by the conservative outlet gave Trump a 33-point lead over Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL). The survey also compared President Joe Biden’s character to Trump. Biden had a 9-point advantage over Trump regarding honesty and an 8-point lead for empathy. 11% fewer people also believe that Biden is corrupt.