The United States government has gone far astray from following the policy of nonintervention overseas espoused by Founders, including George Washington in his presidential farewell address in 1797. Instead of avoiding intervention abroad, the US has pursued it with vehemence in recent decades, with the turning point arguably being the US going to war against Spain in 1898 — just over a hundred years after Washington’s farewell address.
Continue readingSince September, the presidential administration of Donald Trump has been directing the United States military to blow up boats and kill their occupants in the Caribbean and Pacific, claiming to be thus countering Venezuela government supported “narco-terrorism.” At the same time, it has been building up a large US military force off the Venezuela shore. And the Trump administration has made clear that these actions go hand in hand with seeking to achieve its goal of removing Venezuela President Nicolás Maduro from office.
Continue readingRichard J. Maybury’s book Whatever Happened to Penny Candy? provides a good introduction to government’s destruction over time of the value of money. The “penny candy” mentioned in the book’s title has moved on to higher and higher prices as the value of the penny has continued to decrease. Now pennies themselves are going away with the last new penny having been minted by the United States government on Wednesday.
Continue readingGreat Britain, over a month ago, bowed out of helping the United States blow up boats and kill their occupants in the Caribbean. Natasha Bertrand reported in a Tuesday article at CNN that Britain had then suspended its providing of intelligence to the US that would help the US in carrying out a series of fatal attacks on boats.
Continue readingWeeks into the longest United States government shutdown in history, the administration of President Donald Trump had cut welfare spending on food for Americans and even demanded that state governments also cut such aid. At the same time, the US government was rushing to spend money on providing new aid to foreigners in Caribbean counties that had just been hit by the latest hurricane to pass through the area.
Continue readingThe Global War on Terror (GWOT) declared by United States President George W. Bush in 2001 has been a bonanza for the military-industrial complex and foreign intervention supporters over the last two and a half decades. It has also been the bringer of poverty, destruction, and death in parts of the world targeted by the sanctions, drone strikes, all-out wars and other interventions the US government has pursued in the name of advancing the imperial enterprise.
Continue readingHundreds of thousands of “ultra-Orthodox” men protested this week in the Israel city of Jerusalem in opposition to the Israel government enforcing a military draft of members of their communities. You may not hear much about the protest from American media, but a Thursday Times of Israel report provides a rundown of some of the protest activities in Jerusalem. The report also includes video and photographs of the protest.
Continue readingArgentina President Javier Milei, since taking office nearly two years ago, has been one of the foreign government leaders most prominent in celebrating United States government interventions across the world, including US-aided wars of Ukraine and Israel and the US going to war against Venezuela. And earlier this month Milei secured a tens of billions of dollars bailout for his government from his chum US President Donald Trump, with the bailout only set to happen if Milei’s party came out on top in the election held on Sunday, which it did.
Continue readingPro-war propaganda often maligns the people in a place targeted for attack. That characterization spread far and wide in the country from which an attack is planned to emanate can help temper opposition to and enhance support for the attack and ensuing war.
Continue readingDonald Trump seems to be following through in his second term as president on the threat of a United States war on Venezuela he made in his first term. Significant US military force has been recently placed near Venezuela ready for attack, the US has already destroyed several boats near Venezuela and killed most the people on them in a claimed effort to counter “narco-terrorism,” and Trump last week said he has authorized Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) operation and is considering attacks on land in Venezuela.
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