Oddbean new post about login | logout It has become so weird that the US Right supports Israel’s war on Palestine while the US Left supports Ukraine’s defense against Russia. Political sides dig in. The wars become associated with culture. There is so little voice today from those who oppose aggression. Those who support Jews but are not onboard with Israel’s actions against Palestinians. Those who support Ukrainian independence but don’t want to commit unlimited troops for border regions that literally speak Russian amid a complicated history. More people die in Sudan and Cambodia than Israel/Palestine, but we are all focused on Israel/Palestine because it’s a conflict of cultures. Religious cultures but also western imperialism vs the global south. The focus of it all. That occupies our attention even as bigger massacres occur elsewhere that aren’t directly across these massive fault lines. I refuse to engage in attention whoring. I support peace in most instances globally, other than total war against someone’s existence where it becomes right to fight back. People have a right to self-defense. And those who have power over others have a responsibility to hold back on using it fully. Keep in mind that at any moment, tons of violence is occurring globally. The media directs you to a subset of it that is geographically, economically, or culturally relevant for their purposes. You ignore or are unaware of the rest, and get emotional about what is fed to you. That’s how most people act, anyway.
As always, incredibly insightful and beautifully written
Cambodia?
I meant Myanmar actually. That’s how off the radar this stuff is.
I studied history in college in the 1990’s. I was naive and or ignorant enough to believe that we in todays world would not be misled by propaganda and economic interests perpetuating conflicts by supporting both sides. The money is in the middle I suppose. Finally studying money at age 55 has made me question everything I thought I believed subconsciously, if not, openly supported. Now in late middle age I find myself questioning everything. I’m glad I now have more time to do so.
Ocorreu o mesmo comigo, somente que acordei um pouco mais jovem
A civil war is more difficult to solve if all parties are not willing to set for talks and stop the violence. When the conflict is prolonged, each side is right, each side lost their people (supporters) and fighting for retribution and it’s not possible to convince them to forgive. So a distant intervention can be tricky especially when talking to all the involved parties is not possible and the conflicts are fueled by foreign interference to fuel the retribution cycle. Also, conflicts are caused on purpose to cause a sign of Judgement Day (increase of murder), draw the attention of the areas where the natural resources are getting stolen or to keep the country busy so its people can’t know or profit from their own natural resources. At the same time different conflicts in different parts are a distraction from the main ones.
The scene where the trade federation and chancellor palpatine develop their plan comes to mind, together being driver by the profits of those manufacturing “defense” equipment.
I wouldnt call them "right". I wouldnt call any nationalist "right". Nationalism is quite a new revolutionary leftwing extremist ideology under which even the means of producing law, defense and justice are no longer privately owned. And, consequently, theres far more positions one can take than just the 3-5 you mentioned.
And when these wars become a part of “history” they are recorded in the same context in which the media presented thus solidifying the propaganda for generations and creating a playbook for future generations to emulate. Mind capture across time
I became emotionless about everything feed by the media. It started with the internet where I saw everything possible. Nothing can surprise me anymore.
Second and third layer analysis, and not wrong. If one’s willing to follow the money back to the beginning of Western civilization, then it makes sense to inquire into those who are sufficiently responsible for the manipulation of the money - the fountainhead of the violent permutations. For it is those people, a decentralized ethnic network, who can be traced back through the ages - those who sit at the base layer of jingoistic social hierarchies, those who have corrupted the money, turning it to fiat- who are causally responsible for the large scale altercations that imperil humanity today…even if Homo sapiens are disposed to such violence. Bitcoin will fix the incentives, but not necessarily the actions of furtive, fiat marauders, in a timely fashion. Definitely not in time for your somber list of international casualties.
You are 100% correct. However, to name those people is not allowed in many countries. Its a jailable offence and you literally get censored on nostr( do these people also wield central power over nostr?). So we plod on with innuendo. How did we get to this state of affairs ?
The Organized Jewish Community masterfully controls the flow of information. Their control of money is at the foundation of this ubiquitous throttling, which is why #Bitcoin is the answer to the ‘Jewish Question.’ And it just so happens that a purging by #Bitcoin is the most peaceful and humane way to disintermediate them from informational monopolization. Free Ursula Haverbeck.
The main issue here is the herd mentality of masses. The majority does not want to have responsibility & do not care what really happens, they only care virtue signaling so that they feel good & go on their lives. Despite all the propaganda, the information is thanks to internet available freely unlike analog era which was totally controlled by the state & the elite. If people are too lazy to read, learn, do their own research, they will continue to follow the propaganda like the herd. Therefore I believe the main issue is lack of critical thinking rather than propaganda. There has always been, is and will be propaganda, there is no way to fix it, but for critical thinkers and sovereign minds, this is the best time in the history to be alive. Take responsibility, and question everything. This is my answer how to navigate and find the signal in the noise.
Yes, it is almost like whoever comes to power, more war and Raytheon's profits are guaranteed. It is weird when those who want Ukrainian independence and freedom find it perfectly acceptable for the US to go in and violently overthrow the elected president, which led to a civil war. Then much more recently, when Ukraine and Russia reached a peace agreement, those same 'supporters of independence' objected and pushed Ukraine towards more war. The road to independence is to do as we tell you...
If you mean "istanbul agreements" in this agreement russia wanted ukraine to surrender and for example have limited troops, like one houndred thousands. so, that wasn't "agreements" and no one forced ukraine to continue war. this is very strange logic, russia invaded ukraine, ukraine wanted to defend but you blaming ukraine and someone to have the right to defend themselves. why don't you just say russia should get out of ukraine and that's it, no war.
And you conveniently forget the history of this. 1990 "NATO not one inch east"- James Baker, 2 Minsk peace treaties ignored by the west "we just used Minsk to buy time to arm Ukraine"- Merkel and Holland's admitting this, a coup by the west in Ukraine in 2014(no democracy), suspension of Ukraine voting and time limit on the presidency. You get the pattern ?
- Is Ukraine a member of NATO? - "we just used Minsk to buy time to arm Ukraine" - why then after two month of invasion Ukraine run out of artillery shells and why Ukraine still need weapons? - "coup by the west in Ukraine in 2014" - If it was coup by the west - what was the reason for that?
The reason for the coup is in writing here: https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_briefs/RB10014.html TL;DR - Hurt Russia by stoking anti-Russian feelings in Ukraine and goading Russia into a war.
> Hurt Russia by stoking anti-Russian feelings in Ukraine and goading Russia into a war. very strange reason, anti-russian feelings in ukraine exists for hundred years, just because ukraine trying for hundred years to create their own state but russia suppresses all atempts. > goading russia - so russians are so stupid that they don't see it?
Anti-Russian feelings exist in the western parts, but they have not been the prevalent attitude in the country historically. Half of Ukraine is ethnically Russian and speaks Russian, which is why they had elected a pro-Russian government before the 2014 coup. What attempts at independence has Ukraine made "for hundred years" which Russia suppressed? Nobody can take endless challenges and leave them without response. Everyone has their limits.
> What attempts at independence has Ukraine made "for hundred years" which Russia suppressed? 1917–1922, more here https://www.wikiwand.com/en/articles/History_of_Ukraine > Half of Ukraine is ethnically Russian and speaks Russian Usual stuff empire does is moving their loyal people to colony to mix population and make it more loyal. For example after Crimea annexation russia moved hundred thousands russian to crimea, specifically military people and their families. eastern part of Ukraine has a lot of factories built during USSR and because of that lots of russians moved to eastern ukraine. specifically to big cities, if you were in Ukraine you know that the moment you left big city, like Kharkiv, you see a lot of ukranian speeking people.
by accident came across this picture on youtube https://image.nostr.build/ee3b01ae7d16729f40c80249037f3bff508db123db5f12afca840e2719663205.png it says: "give me your gun and we guarantee your safety". humor of the issue, voice of ukraine magazine. bear is russia hare is ukraine, 1993! so ukraine at that time were quite sceptical about russia promises and picture shows relationships between countries. and thats way before maidan.
What happened in my country in 2014 was a grassroots revolution which overthrew a dictator in the making, "peace agreement" was nothing but demands of surrender and conflict freezing until russia regroups. You fucking liar! You fucking idiot! Fuck you! Go to hell!
I don't think any of us have witnessed brutality like that displayed the Israeli govt in the last 12 months. Also, our tax money is funding them (unlike Russia) so we are culpable through our governments. This makes it personal.
https://image.nostr.build/42444c5e99d79e028999ac5abbbf649742526e10554127e6172fb9948e016be1.png nostr:nevent1qvzqqqqqqypzp64suatdx2uqhn2xfu7cgjuqgqcrqadp864uxkv6wckf43atj860qqs9edhzcppg5e7x8gzs2tcat3jcm3m3nfe40qafgm6dpudt5avxa4qx5qdg2
I still say that we need to be strong, independent, but also support peace, other humans and our nature. Wars won't bring us prosperity, it will bring deaths, poverty, sorrow. For instance, if I say that I support peace for "heavy" Ukrainian supporter, they would say that I am together with Kremlin and Russians. What a time we are living 🤯
I think the brutality of the Israeli genocide and the fact that it is being broadcast live on social media makes it hard to ignore. The fact that Journalists are targeted, snipers are deliberately shooting children in the head, the university is destroyed, every hospital has been destroyed, doctors are targeted, there is forced starvation and now rampant disease with no access to hospitals or doctors (see above) makes this an obvious genocide. It’s difficult to ignore it when it’s forced in front of our faces. I think it’s wrong to ignore it.
Americans generally do not realise the extent to which their politicians and media elite are paid propagandists for Israel. AIPAC's influence over US politicians through bribery (or "donations" as we politely refer to them) means that US Middle East policy is neither fair nor just, it is lately set by the Israelis. America needs to free itself from the grip of Zionism.
> I support peace in most instances globally, other than total war against someone’s existence where it becomes right to fight back. People have a right to self-defense. And those who have power over others have a responsibility to hold back on using it fully. what you saying is - I support everything good and I'm against everything bad. because it is vague general statement people in the comments will interpret by their own what is good or what is bad in specifics like ukraine and israel. my opinion that if you really want to spread crititical thinking and truth you need to say specific facts and specific conclusions from them.
What I don’t understand is why Americans are so concerned that in 10 years there has been ALMOST 1,000,000 casualties from the Ukraine/Russia conflict but have no problem turning their head to 1,037,000 abortions in America in 2023! Or how there were almost 1,000,000 during 2020 when everything was supposedly shut down?? I saw a great statement from the 80’s on a magazine cover Only people that are alive support abortion.
Great post! It feels as if there are very few people that truly take an antiwar stance. The culture is so brainwashed to join a team, don the pom poms, fly the flag, and cheer it to "victory". Dennis Kucinich was on to something with a Dept of Peace in his platform. IMO, most wars are not good for the people, but instead benefit the few. And that seems obvious, but then why do we allow it? Per Assange and Orwell, the goal is not successful war, the goal is endless war... because we've always been at war with "Eastasia", right?! And endless fiat helps enable endless war. I remember inspirational videos from Andreas Antonopoulos and Roger Ver discussing the power of bitcoin to help end this cycle (Sadly those two crashed and burned.). That notion helps keep me a btc believer. https://image.nostr.build/e60c12b94f998820b6fd0d4c1db8bcb905a87fba0132ffe8962f2501d568c869.jpg
While I share your sentiment of supporting peace, consider another side of the same coin, being anti-war in all it's forms, in other words being aligned with the non-aggression principle. Many resources here: antiwar.com, Scott Horton-https://open.spotify.com/show/5L5rQLP5sIQJ2Z1s0Xcb29, Dave Smith-https://partoftheproblem.com/. Many others, but these are a good place to start.
the fault line. every single time. research for yourself, ALL conflicts. https://m.primal.net/LhyN.jpg
I’m with Trump. I just want people to stop dying.
How "progressive" we are, supporting both sides of a primitive barbaric religous war on the other side of our planet, as if we need something more to be so absurdly antisocial and violently divided about in our socialist democrazy here at home.
