John Chuckman
COMMENTS – RECENT BITS AND PIECES – VOLUME SIX
Just one added thought.
When we discuss such dark matters as biological warfare, it
is important to understand, just as with nuclear weapons, we are talking not
about something theoretical but something the United States has actually used
in the past.
During the Korean War, the United States used extremely
brutal methods. It carpet-bombed North Korea for three years, destroying
one-fifth of its entire population. (Note, that brutality was a major reason
for North Korea’s costly pursuit of nuclear weapons as a deterrent.)
The US committed a number of terrible atrocities like the
massacre at No Gun Ri, where it shot hundreds of civilians, including women and
children, as they were fleeing and looking for refuge.
And, it used biological weapons in North Korea and nearby
China. This is documented, although the US always denies it.
Japan’s infamous Unit 731 was set up in occupied China in
1938. Many Chinese were killed by its biological weapons and many suffered from
hideous Nazi-like “experiments.’
The American occupation forces in Japan decided not to
prosecute any of the war criminals and indeed covered up Unit 731’s existence.
Undoubtedly, American officials learned something about the use of such weapons
from investigating the Unit’s past work.
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US sells over a million barrels of seized Iranian fuel
headed for Venezuela”
It is simply piracy and theft by the United States.
US laws written by and for Americans have absolutely no
legal authority over others in the absence of support from the United Nations.
Every time the US engages in this kind of behavior, its
moral and ethical credibility is only further reduced.
It has foolishly “weaponized” its dollar. And it has foolishly
grabbed other people’s assets. If you think that kind of behavior will not have
a long-term effect on trust and faith in the United States, I suggest you study
some economic history.
America’s political reputation is already in tatters. Few
anymore regard it as a model. Its social
problems, especially its inequality and division, are immense, and they are
ignored by its government. And its economic status is in steady relative
decline because it simply cannot compete with some other countries.
Effectively, America’s government, not knowing how to
respond to its many problems but muscle-bound with ignorant military power,
participates in accelerating its own decline.
It truly is a sad spectacle.
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It is almost a waste of time to talk to Macron about
anything serious.
He is ineffective, he is visibly servile to the interests of
others, and, as he demonstrated on the streets of Paris, he is quite a brutal
thug pretending to be a very civilized man.
He has lied countless times, and I have a hard time even
thinking of any sensible idea he has contributed to international affairs. Good
God, Saudi Arabia should join a new JCPOA?
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Electric vehicles are assuming a place in the transportation
mix.
But it will remain a minor part until some serious new
technology comes along, especially in batteries.
Electric power cannot even begin to replace the totality of
trucks and buses and trains and other vehicles.
We are going to need hydrocarbons for a good long while. And
we should take care of the industry that produces them.
As far as the generation of electricity itself, it is hard
to see where any great progress can be made without either nuclear or natural
gas.
A real economy cannot be run on pipedreams if you want real
jobs and real growth.
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Given China’s latest hypersonic anti-ship missiles, it’s
possible to imagine American aircraft-carrier pilots in the South China Sea one
day taking off and returning only to find nowhere to land.
Carriers still make intimidating displays, especially
against smaller countries, but against a major opponent, they are reduced to
very costly targets.
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The very continued existence of Iran with its several
regional allies and its remarkable weapons program is proof of a kind of
victory after more than forty years of the most intense hostility from the US
and Israel.
Even overcoming the terrible ordeal of a long war encouraged
by the US in which many war crimes were committed.
It is a set of achievements of which to be proud, and I hope
Iran will continue to uphold its worthiest principles in the region.
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It's about 8,000 miles from the South China Sea to the West
Coast of the US.
What on earth are American warships doing there?
As though these thousands-of-year-old Asian societies could
not work out their own practices?
And we’ve certainly seen from recent events, how very well
America runs its own society and how much it has to offer others.
It's beyond arrogant. It is just plain stupid.
And that kind of stupidity by America’s privileged elites is
just part of why China is going to inherit the earth.
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The WHO findings in China confirm what thoughtful people
have believed from the beginning.
We have a long history of viruses in nature changing
slightly and jumping from one host to humans, as was the case, famously, with
AIDS.
As for the world’s supply of ignorant and hateful people, no
facts will ever stand in the way of their promoting malicious ideas.
It is just a shame that one such person happened to be
President of the United States at the time of this virus’s emergence.
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“EU-Russia ties far from satisfactory: Top EU diplomat”
Do you think the mere fact that the EU has accused Russia of
poisoning a man and done so with no evidence it will provide could possibly
have something to do with the state of relations?
In fact, it’s the second time such an ugly, unsupported
accusation has been made. The elaborate and costly charades in both cases were certainly
the work of Western security services.
And then there’s all the nonsense about Ukraine when in fact
the source of all problems there is Ukraine itself, the Ukraine as governed
after an American coup the EU doesn’t even acknowledge.
It is almost impossible to believe the asinine level on
which many foreign relations are conducted today.
But that’s what happens when an international bully
dominates everyone and demands its sick lies and fantasies be supported.
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“Nuclear war with China, Russia is 'real possibility': US
commander”
A truly stupid thing for anyone to say.
But still immensely more stupid for a high-ranking general
to say.
Perhaps, the United States has too many of these uniformed,
beribboned popinjays sitting at desks in the Pentagon with little real to do?
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Biden lacks clarity in most large foreign-policy issues.
Already, his statements in many matters are contradictory or confused.
For example, with Russia he has taken the positive step of
renewing the New START Treaty.
At the same time, though, he makes ridiculous accusations
about election interference and Navalny and other matters which are Russia’s
internal affairs.
And he is still trying to stop Russia from supplying natural
gas to Germany, a grotesque interference into the business affairs of others.
In the matter of Iran, he talks of going back to the JCPOA
(Iran Nuclear Agreement) yet makes statements ignoring Iran’s reasonable
expectations, statements almost guaranteeing no return to a working treaty that
the United States, and the United States alone, destroyed.
Iran only asks for a return to the status quo ante, but
Biden’s statements suggest Iran must act first and the need for other terms
That is, understandably for Iran, a non-starter. Not a hopeful situation.
I think the basic problem is that Biden and his people want
him to appear fair and reasonable, but underneath, when it comes to foreign
affairs, the same intense hostilities and jealousies are hard at work, the ones
that motivated Trump.
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Economists and serious statesmen and economic historians do
not like trade wars, and for very good reasons. They are destructive, and they
always carry the risk of exploding into real wars.
The only authority for the benefits of trade wars is Donald
Trump, a man so ignorant he suggested fighting COVID by injecting antiseptic
products like counter cleaners. He is a thoroughly discredited man who failed
at almost everything he tried and created a lot of human misery along the way.
One quality study recently showed that at the height of
Trump’s malignant efforts against China, the United States actually lost
245,000 jobs.
The illusion of a strong Trump economy is just that, an
illusion. It was the result of monstrous tax cuts for the wealthy and the
continued easing of money creation – neither of which is sustainable for any
time and both of which have negative long-term consequences.
Trump was about as astute in his assessment of trade wars as
he was in the management of America’s COVID crisis.
In a post-pandemic world, we will need every bit of trade
and investment possible. Letting political attitudes prevail over economics
only will impoverish all of us more than need be.
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“We consider any move that does not end the siege and
aggression against Yemen as just a formality and do not pay any attention to
it,”
Wise words from Yemen.
If the US were determined to end this ugly war, it could do
so in a moment.
The Saudis would absolutely not act against direct
instructions from the US.
What Biden is doing is just a cheap public relations ploy to
separate the US from all the terrible publicity associated with this filthy war
it helped start.
It is hypocrisy. And it is the kind of dishonesty which
promises no great changes for the Middle East.
Biden is, after all, a fifty-year political veteran of
supporting wars and coups and death.
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“Ankara says US behind 2016 abortive coup in Turkey
against Erdogan”
I’ve never doubted it from the beginning.
The US had motive, means, and opportunity.
The big opportunities for Turkish (disloyal) officers and
American officers to exchange information were at the Incirlik Air Base.
Erdogan is too independent-minded for America’s liking.
The coup did provide a great opening for Russia, and
Russia’s masterful statesman, President Putin, took full advantage of It. He
has even managed to sell Turkey the S-400 anti-aircraft missile system.
Not a lot of people realize it, but apart from the system’s
excellence, a key reason Erdogan wanted it was that, unlike the US or France or
Britain, Russia does not keep a control key to the missile systems it sells.
Libya’s Ghaddafi had just bought an expensive system from
France when his country was attacked. The French simply switched the missile system
off, so that he was completely vulnerable to air attack.
That’s why Erdogan will not give up his S-400s just because
the US demands it.
I wish Iran were in a position to buy these missiles also.
It is rumored, too, that their radar can see America’s F-35 stealth jets.
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“Canadian government designates ‘Proud Boys’ as terrorist
group”
Just a ridiculous, cheap stunt to gain some credit in
progressive political circles.
Trudeau’s own record as a leader for human and
democratic rights in the world is nonexistent. And genuine terror, on a vast and
grisly scale, has simply been ignored by Justin Trudeau.
The Proud Boys may be distasteful and unwelcome, but they
are not terrorists. I consider that an abuse of language, and, God knows, we already
have far too much of that in our politics.
Trudeau has never objected to the terrors of Saudi Arabia,
both at home and abroad – indeed, Trudeau has sold the good Prince billions of
dollars’ worth of armored cars while the Prince’s armies slaughtered thousands
of women and children in Yemen and oppressed minorities at home.
Trudeau never objected to America’s horrific treatment of
Venezuela and its seven-times elected government – rather, he joined right in
calling for an end to the government and welcoming the sleazy, unelected Juan Guido,
as though Venezuela’s politics were any of Canada’s business.
Trudeau never raised his voice once against crude dirty
tricks like America’s shutting down Venezuela’s electricity grid several times.
You can just imagine the misery and difficulties that caused for millions of
ordinary people.
Trudeau never objected to Israel’s shooting down unarmed
protesting Palestinians in Gaza with soldiers ambushing them from behind a wall.
A couple of hundred were killed and thousands wounded, some mangled for life.
Trudeau never objected to the American horrors imposed on
Iran, a country that did nothing wrong and met its obligations under a treaty
Trump decided to rip up. America assassinated a number of important people, put
eighty million innocent people under siege, and contributed to death and
disease with its sanctions in a pandemic.
Trudeau closely aligned himself with Trump’s foreign
policies for four years, demonstrating no independence and no courage and
certainly no conscience.
And who is the honorary godfather of the Proud Boys? The
very same Trump whose policies Trudeau slavishly followed. He even destroyed
Canada’s once excellent relations with China in doing so.
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“Iran’s Islamic Revolution set the stage for a new global
anti-imperialist struggle”
That is a very true and interesting observation.
Of course, it is part of why the US has maintained such
vicious hostility towards Iran for over forty years.