Thanks for including Laos for a change. I lived there 1970-1971 with an American deserter who together with Fred Branfman was documenting the war crimes devised by the CIA and perpetrated by the US Air Force. Because Vientiane was neutral territory all the big spies and best journalists were there and they all knew that this poor country was a huge and disgusting laboratory for testing the most hideous atrocities the CIA and USAID could produce. I highly recommend Branfman's Voices from the Plain of Jars to your readers.
I second your recommendation about Fred Branfman's book, Dee. Fred was a passionate, deeply thoughtful guy who struggled until his death with his mission to bring truth into the open about the terrible crimes committed against the innocent people of Laos. In his last years, he visited Viet Nam whenever possible. I learned a lot from him.
thank you for the book recommendation, which I was not aware of. Much appreciated by me as protester and organizer against the US war on the Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
A great essay and insight into the dystopian faux democratic reality the world actually lives… the U.S and its ever compliant arse licking “allies” those cowed into submission to participate in their bullying, the destruction they wrought wantonly upon innocents are truly loathsome, their behaviour repugnant, the worst however is that their populaces, inculcated with many decent people unaware of the true reality are ignorant of the fact that their political classes in serving monied interests wreak the havoc and destruction they rail against…
There will be a reckoning, an awakening as more and more nations coalesce and come together to stymie and ultimately defeat this fascist tyranny, the so called Collective West will become the outliers of the global community, pariahs, despised and hated by the global majority…
Pray those in the nations impacted, whose lives have been turned inside out, upside down, their prospects of a peaceful existence destroyed in the never ending maelstrom of violence these Western ghouls and vampires are so fond of perpetuating never ever forgive, that the leaders and political classes of the nations impacted never allow their suffering to be forgotten, that they move on for the sake of letting bygones be bygones.. nope, may the Western states, their citizens be constantly reminded and called out for the evil they have perpetrated…
I applaud the Yemeni’s for their courage in standing up and not bowing down, to fighting the fight most decent and freedom loving peoples want fought… May they be successful in every attack undertaken, in so doing reminding the world as to the why, why they fight and put what little they have on the line… one thing is for sure, courage, humanitarianism, empathy for humanity and its suffering, fighting a just fight are traits commensurate an unbridled courage they possess, that many talk of but sadly are not possessed of the same courage to act as is required and demanded… power to the Houthi's and the pox continued to be poured upon the liars, frauds, cheats and weak politicians that define our so called Western elite … just saying
I get the sense that we should all be like Ansar Allah. I am open to that as a moral imperative. Practically speaking at an individual level we have a range of options from Aaron Bushnell style self-immolation to free-lance attacks on US, Israeli or allied state assets. Neither of those particularly appeal.
The movement against the genocide here in Aotearoa has very wide support (in an informal survey of my own community I found 90% were appalled by the Gaza genocide) but opposition has not progressed far beyond expressions of concern. Meanwhile the ruling regime continues to actively support the genocidaires. I hesitate to suggest that the Arab states which have so signally failed their Palestinian "brothers and sisters" are a large part of the problem, because it sounds too much like evading responsibility for the catastrophic moral failure of the collective west. However it remains true that the Arab states need to take a long hard look at themselves.
Last year I was unlawfully arrested by the colonialist regime merely for publicly displaying a placard reading "Lest we forget Gaza". So we cannot separate the struggle against colonialism in New Zealand from the struggle against genocide in Gaza, and I do believe that we need to ramp up action against the regime for our own sake as well as for the sake of the people of Palestine.
Wheñ they fiñally opeñ their eyes & ears: what y soñ & daughter call "THE WOOOO" is people uñdergrouñd ruñ ruñ iñ the west they will
fiñd the*selbes iñ a deep hole *uch bigger thañ the oñe where the eks URSS fell wheñ occideñtal leeches left her with *iñus 30 years of life posibility.
I libed *y iñfañcy & youñg years iñ Bueños Aires suburbs. Polio Rebolutioñs - sucesibe goberñorships - rebolutioñs añd so oñ. fiñally decided by *y *other had eñough of BA. goiñg
back ho*e to Patagoñia *y fa*ily was *ostly Añglo. but I couldñ't help kñowiñg the real truth
behiñd the Europeañ looks of this Southa*ericañ couñtry. añd theñ ca*e the coñbibial of
the *ost diberse Europeañ poblatioñ. I libed & so*eti*e fightiñg *y e*ployer that was the guy
that couldñ't go back to Ger*añy Juañ *aler he theñ orgañised ODESSA ñow I thiñk he was
part of paperclip. People like you that carbe iñto the past are the oñes that gabe the possibility
Thanks for including Laos for a change. I lived there 1970-1971 with an American deserter who together with Fred Branfman was documenting the war crimes devised by the CIA and perpetrated by the US Air Force. Because Vientiane was neutral territory all the big spies and best journalists were there and they all knew that this poor country was a huge and disgusting laboratory for testing the most hideous atrocities the CIA and USAID could produce. I highly recommend Branfman's Voices from the Plain of Jars to your readers.
I second your recommendation about Fred Branfman's book, Dee. Fred was a passionate, deeply thoughtful guy who struggled until his death with his mission to bring truth into the open about the terrible crimes committed against the innocent people of Laos. In his last years, he visited Viet Nam whenever possible. I learned a lot from him.
thank you for the book recommendation, which I was not aware of. Much appreciated by me as protester and organizer against the US war on the Southeast Asian countries of Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
A great essay and insight into the dystopian faux democratic reality the world actually lives… the U.S and its ever compliant arse licking “allies” those cowed into submission to participate in their bullying, the destruction they wrought wantonly upon innocents are truly loathsome, their behaviour repugnant, the worst however is that their populaces, inculcated with many decent people unaware of the true reality are ignorant of the fact that their political classes in serving monied interests wreak the havoc and destruction they rail against…
There will be a reckoning, an awakening as more and more nations coalesce and come together to stymie and ultimately defeat this fascist tyranny, the so called Collective West will become the outliers of the global community, pariahs, despised and hated by the global majority…
Pray those in the nations impacted, whose lives have been turned inside out, upside down, their prospects of a peaceful existence destroyed in the never ending maelstrom of violence these Western ghouls and vampires are so fond of perpetuating never ever forgive, that the leaders and political classes of the nations impacted never allow their suffering to be forgotten, that they move on for the sake of letting bygones be bygones.. nope, may the Western states, their citizens be constantly reminded and called out for the evil they have perpetrated…
I applaud the Yemeni’s for their courage in standing up and not bowing down, to fighting the fight most decent and freedom loving peoples want fought… May they be successful in every attack undertaken, in so doing reminding the world as to the why, why they fight and put what little they have on the line… one thing is for sure, courage, humanitarianism, empathy for humanity and its suffering, fighting a just fight are traits commensurate an unbridled courage they possess, that many talk of but sadly are not possessed of the same courage to act as is required and demanded… power to the Houthi's and the pox continued to be poured upon the liars, frauds, cheats and weak politicians that define our so called Western elite … just saying
Kia Kaha (stay strong) from New Zealand
I get the sense that we should all be like Ansar Allah. I am open to that as a moral imperative. Practically speaking at an individual level we have a range of options from Aaron Bushnell style self-immolation to free-lance attacks on US, Israeli or allied state assets. Neither of those particularly appeal.
The movement against the genocide here in Aotearoa has very wide support (in an informal survey of my own community I found 90% were appalled by the Gaza genocide) but opposition has not progressed far beyond expressions of concern. Meanwhile the ruling regime continues to actively support the genocidaires. I hesitate to suggest that the Arab states which have so signally failed their Palestinian "brothers and sisters" are a large part of the problem, because it sounds too much like evading responsibility for the catastrophic moral failure of the collective west. However it remains true that the Arab states need to take a long hard look at themselves.
Last year I was unlawfully arrested by the colonialist regime merely for publicly displaying a placard reading "Lest we forget Gaza". So we cannot separate the struggle against colonialism in New Zealand from the struggle against genocide in Gaza, and I do believe that we need to ramp up action against the regime for our own sake as well as for the sake of the people of Palestine.
Wheñ they fiñally opeñ their eyes & ears: what y soñ & daughter call "THE WOOOO" is people uñdergrouñd ruñ ruñ iñ the west they will
fiñd the*selbes iñ a deep hole *uch bigger thañ the oñe where the eks URSS fell wheñ occideñtal leeches left her with *iñus 30 years of life posibility.
I libed *y iñfañcy & youñg years iñ Bueños Aires suburbs. Polio Rebolutioñs - sucesibe goberñorships - rebolutioñs añd so oñ. fiñally decided by *y *other had eñough of BA. goiñg
back ho*e to Patagoñia *y fa*ily was *ostly Añglo. but I couldñ't help kñowiñg the real truth
behiñd the Europeañ looks of this Southa*ericañ couñtry. añd theñ ca*e the coñbibial of
the *ost diberse Europeañ poblatioñ. I libed & so*eti*e fightiñg *y e*ployer that was the guy
that couldñ't go back to Ger*añy Juañ *aler he theñ orgañised ODESSA ñow I thiñk he was
part of paperclip. People like you that carbe iñto the past are the oñes that gabe the possibility
to tie the kñotts. thañk you so *uch
I see the deaths mount
I kill here and there blindly
Stupid in God's eyes