The permanent stationing of more than 220,000 U.S. troops, weapons arsenals, and thousands of aircraft, tanks, and ships in every corner of the globe makes the logistics for U.S. aggression, and that of its allies, quicker and more efficient. Bases also facilitate the proliferation of nuclear weapons, with the United States keeping nuclear bombs in five NATO member countries, and nuclear-capable planes, ships, and missile launchers in many others. Because the U.S. is continually creating plans for military actions around the world, and because the U.S. military always has some troops “on the ready,” the initiation of combat operations is simpler.
Browsing: Opinions
The Democratic National Convention was happening here in Chicago — my city — and I sat frozen at my desk, staring at my computer. Earlier in my life, yeah, I’d have gone down to the United Center, linked arms with the sane and outraged, joined the cry: Stop funding genocide!
Last week I explored the politics of Project 2025, the far right’s plan for dismantling the so-called Deep State and replacing it with a President-centered authoritarian system designed with Donald Trump in mind. In foreign affairs, I evaluated the Project’s policy ideas on China and Russia, two of the five countries it identifies as priorities for the next administration. Iran, Venezuela and North Korea are the others, which I’ll discuss here, as well as military affairs. But I begin with international trade, a key section of the Project 2025 playbook authored by none other than Peter Navarro, one of Trump’s main advisers who recently served time in jail.
I fear that too many people think war is normal. We encounter symbols of conflict frequently, and our everyday language is riddled with the terminology of war. While walking along the high street this week, I noticed a store with the name “Price War.” The day before, a friend described an “uphill battle” at work. Phrases like “spearheading an initiative” or “bombarding someone with information” or “rallying the troops” have become so normalized in sports and workplaces that we barely give them a second thought.
Currently, Trump is on a turbulent anti-democratic mission to save his presidential aspirations and himself from facing imprisonment as a common criminal. His ability to openly garner support from Republican Congresspersons, SCOTUS’ six conservative justices, and complicit judges demonstrates his systemic threat to democracy.
American Gangsters
It is extremely important that major events are covered by the Black Media from a Black perspective. In Atlanta at the first debate between Biden and Trump, CNN issued a press statement on Thursday; less than 24 hours after outrage grew on social media amid reports that the Black media wasn’t being granted access to the debate.
“The vast majority of my people are in refugee camps or in apartheid villages, struggling every day just to make a living… They deserve to have a bio-graphy, not someone like me, living in Canada with a decent job in the government,” said Raïss Tinmaung. Tinmaung is Rohingya and when we met last month in a Toronto cafe, we discussed if I should tell his story or not. We agreed that I should, but only if I made it clear that he has more privilege than most people from his community.
They Not Like Us: White Female Attacks on Black Women
Instead, Campaign Nonviolence rallies hundreds of groups and organizations who use nonviolent action and promote nonviolent solutions. Sandy Hook Promise trains thousands of schoolchildren in how to counter social isolation – a factor in mass shootings – with Start With Hello Week. The Nobel Prize winning International Campaign Against Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) coordinates hundreds of actions to move money out of nukes. The Global Silent Minute synchronizes thousands of people for a moment of prayerful silence for peace on the International Day of Peace (Sept 21). Nonviolent Peaceforce and Cure Violence use de-escalation techniques in conflict zones worldwide to prevent attacks.