[briantakita]

Pot, meet kettle...seriously though, I don't think many people are inclined to "grow out of" advocating for their own self interests by giving up their freedoms to the state/bureaucracy. As long as there are power dynamics, those on the lower rungs will dare to annoy those on the higher rungs by sticking up for themselves...and vice versa

Perhaps you meant "they will eventually sell their soul" instead?

[alright_scowl]

Are you implying I gave up freedoms to state/bureaucracy?

Which freedoms did I give up, exactly?

[briantakita]

Interesting that my anti-war reply gets flagged over here. Can't have anyone critical of wars allowed to speak out. Nor can certain extremist ideological movements with a history of mass destruction, whose current activities are well documented, be acknowledged. I believe that answers your question...

[skinnymuch]

Are you advocating for some right wing libertarian stuff?

[briantakita]

Sure...We should not support wars where many people die & we should choose diplomacy instead. We should not funnel arms to violent ideological extremists as well. One of these extremist groups calls themself "The Right Sector". Many members of "The Right Sector" have tattoos that are Nazi symbols, hold large tiki torch marches, & have publicly proclaimed Nazi ideology. Do I dare mention the over 16000 civilians killed (many of which are children) in the Donbas after the 2014 coup in Kiev?

My opinion is, you know, "right wing libertarian stuff". I must be off my rocker...So must Vice & the various other media outlets that extensively reported on this over the past decade.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xC1oCpnDURc&ab_channel=VICE

https://www.vice.com/en/article/y3m3eg/neo-nazi-terror-group...

https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/ukraine-has-nazi-probl...

https://thehill.com/opinion/international/359609-the-reality...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fy910FG46C4&ab_channel=TIME

https://youtu.be/pKcmNGvaDUs

``` Brenton Tarrant, who massacred 51 worshipers at a mosque in Christchurch in New Zealand in 2019, and several members of the U.S. “Rise Above Movement” who were prosecuted for attacking counter-protesters at the “Unite the Right” rally in Charlottesville in August 2017, have been trained by the Azov Battalion. ```

https://www.peoplesworld.org/article/ignoring-the-influence-...

Pax Americana & the EU is sending weapons to the Azov Battalion in this war. Here is more on the "Rise Above Movement", which Wikipedia describes as ```a loose collective of violent neo-Nazis and fascists", white nationalist, white supremacist, and far-right``` and ```Social media accounts used by the group shared photographed of members meeting with far-right and neo-Nazi groups in Eastern Europe, such as the Ukrainian political party National Corps and the Azov Battalion```

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

I also don't support Pax Americana destroying the Nordstream Pipeline, where the German people bear the brunt of this act of violence. I lived in Panama City, FL, where the divers who destroyed the Nordstream Pipe live, as reported by Pulitzer Prize journalist Seymour Hersch.

https://seymourhersh.substack.com/p/how-america-took-out-the...

Here is "right wing libertarian stuff" news outlet Democracy Now interviewing Seymour Hersch...

https://youtu.be/d4BuMaGlKp0

Sounds like I failed some sort of purity test here. It's a chilling time we live in; that simply saying we should not eagerly enter into wars & arm violent extremists is so controversial. Reminds me of the 1930s Germany, where so-called pacifists (imo people with common sense) were so wholeheartedly denounced when they did not support the tenants of the same extremist ideology that created WW2...whose modern direct adherents we are sending $billions of weapons to.

But shhhh, we can't talk about this. It's the dirty secret that shall not be mentioned. Who in their proper mind would support this? Consolidated power inevitably gets corrupted & turns into a bully because it attracts psychopaths, sociopaths, & sycophants into positions of leadership.

So please, denounce me & downvote me. Flag this post. Silence this thread. Many people critical of wars & arming extremist groups have been denounced & silence in the past and continue to be denounced & silenced. Show us all who you really are...Are the dead Ukrainians, dead Russians, & rise of Nazi ideological extremists worth it?

[skinnymuch]

I wasn’t sure what you meant. It’s hard to tell what someone is indicating in online comments. I don’t think the world should stay out of Ukraine but I agree America doesn’t have to be in the war the way it is. Europe is powerful.

I keep thinking Russia is a joke now. Whatever they get of Ukraine, isn’t the country a mess now? Would they be able to invade Georgia in 5 years? Other regional power like Indonesia, Iran, Saudi Arabia are much more successful at their imperialism. Israel is the most successful of regional powers. Israel is unique in that it is plenty more powerful than any neighboring country while having fewer people. Not to mention engaging in ethnic cleansing and an open air gulag/internment camp in the Gaza Strip.

I guess my thinking is who cares? Relatively speaking. We were still bombing Yemen with Saudis pretty recently. Israel kills so many Palestinians. America keeps trying to overthrow leftist leaders in Brazil, Cuba, and Venezuela. American intelligence assassinated the leader of my parent’s country a decade ago.

I never quite understood the intense hype of Russia and Ukraine. I’m guessing it’s because they are white and the Global North is white and controls the world, relatively speaking.

I realize my comment borders on whataboutism. I don’t think it is. I’ve condemned Russia’s actions.

[briantakita]

These neverending wars & the incentives that perpetuate the neverending wars are a tragedy. I've been following the Russian state's reasons for the invasion, which is to combat NATO encroachment & to de-Nazify Ukraine. Putin stated that the US is "agreement incapable" & Xi told Biden something to the effect "you say one thing but do another". India & the global south do not condemn the invasion. Putin's rhetoric about fighting imperialist colonialism is received well not because Putin is a wonderful guy, but because these words ring of truth to the audience.

I'm not happy with the invasion but given the aggressive expansionist behavior of Pax Americana, I don't know if there are any alternatives other than the West using diplomacy in good faith. Russians see this conflict as "existential" & will not back down. Given such a position, does diplomacy not make sense? Why don't we know more about their positions? The captured media only tells one story. "Putin is a madman hell bent on invading Ukraine", when in reality Russia, after Gorbachev decided to end the Soviet Union, has tried diplomacy for years but the agreements were violated.

There was a US backed coup in Ukraine in 2014, which the Nazis played an important role in. The Minsk 2 agreement was broken by Ukraine as it continued to attack the Donesk & Luhansk Republics, both of which declared independence from Ukraine after the 2014 coup.

Zelensky & Putin were about to come to an agreement in February before the west, via Boris Johnson, intervened.

My main point here is diplomacy is possible & the natural course but bad actors in Pax Americana, like the NeoCons/NeoLibs only push war & double down on war when these misadventures fall apart. This behavior also drives the conflicts in Yemen, Israel, South America, etc.

The NeoCons/NeoLibs used to be known as "The War Party". Fitting name. They push for war & as we have seen, war is what we have gotten for a long time. The War Party has caused widespread destruction & sponsored widespread terrorism throughout it's history.

The alternative is peaceful coexistence with Russia, China, South America, Africa, the Middle East, etc. BRICS & a multipolar payment system are developing, which I believe will usher in a new age of global prosperity. The question is, will Pax Americana dissolve just like the USSR dissolved or will it remain by sticking to it's stated policy explained as:

``` we have about 50% of the world’s wealth but only 6.3% of its population...Our real task in the coming period is to devise a pattern of relationships which will permit us to maintain this position of disparity without positive detriment to our national security ```

or as the Chinese govt officials call it, The Thucydides Trap.

https://history.state.gov/historicaldocuments/frus1948v01p2/...

More importantly, can we stop the escalation of WW3 & stop nuclear conflict?