Give all your money to billionaires!
Not saying that Cuba is a shining example without corruption. Just saying that the USA is an unequal, corrupt pile of excrement. The American people have been conned. It’s a system that works for the 1% and dumps 99%. The richest country in the world where everyone is working their arses off for billionaires.
Trump exemplifies all that is wrong with the place – an authoritarian conman!
Remember a short while ago Russia was the enemy?
Remember how a short while ago the West had a NATO alliance to deter the Russian threat?
Remember how a short time ago there was a threat of nuclear war with Russia?
Remember how a short time ago communism was the big scare?
Remember how a short time ago America went to war in Korea, Vietnam and Cambodia to stop the threat of communism?
Remember a while back there was a cold war with the enemy Russia?
Now, under Trump, under MAGA, Putin, the totalitarian dictator, is Trump’s best mate, Russia can ransack Europe – it’s OK, communism is fine!
Now Canada and Europe are the enemy!
If this isn’t Orwellian double-think what is?
But the GOP seem happy with this realignment.
Will the UK find itself at war with both Russia and the USA?
A teacher has a class of 9 children.
They receive ten bars of chocolate.
The teacher takes 9 bars for themselves and divides the remaining bar among the 9 children.
The teacher distributes the chocolate so they all get a bar each.
The class work for the community to earn the money to buy 10 bars of chocolate. They share it equally.
How on Earth have billionaires persuaded ordinary people to:
a. Vote them into power?
b. That they have the interests of ordinary people at heart?
c. That they care?
d. That Trade Unions are bad?
e. That fairness is wrong?
f. That equality is wrong?
g. That we can have a fairer society without poverty?
h. That the problem is immigrants not billionaires?
i. That it’s OK for a few profiteers to exploit people to become billionaires while people have to live and die on the streets.
j. That the rich deserve tax breaks?
k. That politicians are in the pay of the billionaires and earn millions?
l. That politicians are unaccountable?
m. That the poor are parasites?
n. That fair pay is unaffordable?
o. That it’s OK for them to own the media and spew out fake news, propaganda and scare stories?
p. That the lies they tell are the only truth?
q. That health care should be for the rich?
r. That education is unnecessary and should be defunded?
s. That the poor deserve to be poor?
t. That billionaires are geniuses who deserve their wealth?
u. That everybody can become billionaires?
v. That poor people are motivated by pay cuts and rich are motivated by pay increases?
w. That spending money on public services is a waste?
x. That giving money to billionaires is going to create growth and is good for the country?
y. That their country is better than all other countries and people?
z. That they deserve to be in power?
No War!! No War!!
No War!! No War!!
There is no war!
That’s fake news!
To say there is
Is worth fifteen years!
No War!! No War!!
Controlling the narrative,
Suppressing dialogue,
This is the truth!
Shout the puppeteers!
No War!! No War!!
Putin’s in control.
Tanks and troops
Are peace keepers.
Have no fears.
No War!! No War!!
Destruction is from
Ukranian insurgents.
Russians bring chocolate and hope
(death and tears)!!
No War!! No War!!
Opher – 5.3.2022
He who controls the narrative controls the people. The news is being suppressed, the people oppressed.
Putin and his oligarchs walk off with the cash while the people live in tiny apartments and eat boiled cabbage.
Communism was meant to be about equality! About the people being in charge.
This form of totalitarianism coupled with extreme inequality and a ridiculously wealthy elite is about as far away from communism as you can get. This is repressive totalitarian control.
The people are on the street. The hierarchy is crumbling fast.
The rat is trapped – a victim of his own greed and paranoia.
In the early part of the twentieth century there were three political ideologies vying for world dominance:
Communism
Fascism
Liberalism.
Communism argued that the world was engaged in a struggle between classes and sought to create a social system based on equality even at the price of freedom.
Fascism was based on the theory that one race was superior to all others and would rule and exploit all the inferior races.
Liberalism argued that life was based on a struggle between tyranny and freedom and envisioned a world in which all the world cooperated in peace with a minimum of central control at the price of some inequality.
I am a Liberalist with a big added dollop of equality.
In the 1930s the Second World War put an end to the fascist dream. It lived on in s few places – notably South America and Spain – but was no longer a world contender.
So there were two.
Towards the end of the twentieth-century communism, having descended into centralised tyranny and failed to deliver prosperity, crumbled as a world dream.
Then there was one.
Liberalism seemed to have the whole field. There was no competition. But changing events caught it out.
It failed to move fast enough to create a global peace and prosperity.
It failed to control capitalism which created massive inequality. The wealthy became obscenely wealthy and the poor became poorer.
The advent of A/I and automation removed the need for skilled workers.
The global move of industry to third world countries, with cheaper workforces and production, exacerbated the situation.
Global warming, climate change and the collapse of biodiversity created global emergencies – floods, droughts, extreme temperatures, extreme weather and failure of monsoons. It resulted in more poverty and desperation.
Overpopulation.
Mass migration ensued.
Muslim terrorism sparked chaos.
The rise of former communist states (Russia and China) who were now tyrannies with global aspirations.
Many people lost their faith in liberalism. It wasn’t responding to situations quickly enough and they felt left behind.
Then there was none.
In the 21st Century many people rejected the liberal ideal of global prosperity and turned back to a form of fascism now called Populism. It’s central plank, as with fascism, was racism. It evoked a strong return to nationalism. Instead of looking outward and working towards a peaceful global future they began pulling up the gangplank, cutting themselves off from the world and building walls.
Populism was all about ‘us’ and ‘ours’. It was based on the idea of superiority and insularity. We had to care for our own and not concern ourselves with the rest of the world. We had to consolidate and pull in our tentacles. This was the MAGA movement, the burn the rainforest down and Brexit.
Immigrants and foreigners were demonised.
Muslims were demonised.
Minority extreme right-wing groups were empowered.
Fear, hate and division were exploited for political ends.
The media and experts were vilified.
Science and the environment were trashed.
It resulted in Brexit, Bolsonaro, Johnson, Trump and Erdogan.
Within a short period of time it became clear that this Populist movement was in trouble. The leaders were inept and unable to deliver their promises. There was a great deal of division and hatred. The division was being fed on propaganda, fake news and conspiracy.
No country could isolate itself from the world no matter how high a wall they constructed.
We are all subject to the global economy, the climate, pressures from mass immigration, terrorism and threats of war.
No matter how hard the leaders denied global warming, ignored global condemnation or cozied up to tyrants and despots, the problems persisted and mounted.
No man is an island.
The coronavirus brought it all into stark relief. Calling it a hoax or playing it down proved to be totally ineffective against a global pandemic. The USA, UK and Brazil, unlike most of the rest of the world, suffered horrendous mortality.
Populism had failed miserably. It was seen as what it was – fascist nationalism in different guise.
Trump was dumped, Brexit was seen by the majority as a big mistake, Johnson, Bolsonaro and Erdogan will surely follow as soon as democracy permits.
So what will come out of these ruins?
Will China and Russia rise up to gain global control imposing their version of fascist tyranny?
Or will the Western Liberalism adapt, learn from its mistakes and surge forward again?
I would like to think that Liberalism will prevail. In order for it to do so it needs to tackle the range of problems that beset it and knocked it off course in the late twentieth century. It needs to prove to be faster on its feet.
There are crucial issues that require addressing:
Global warming, climate change and biodiversity (all interrelated).
Overpopulation
Global prosperity
Mass migration
Muslim terrorism and religious extremism of all kinds
Gross inequality. To ensure that all people benefit for the advent of A/I and not just the wealthy elite. An end to zero hours contracts and in-work poverty.
The increased military aggression and global threat of Russia, China, Iran and North Korea.
The first step is to deal with the virus. After that Liberalism has to start to tackle all these other issues and show that it is capable of providing that prosperous, peaceful world. It has to resell that vision. Show that its global perspective will not bring tyranny nor gross inequality; that nature can be protected, the climate controlled and all people benefit – not just an elite. It has to show that institutions like the UN and WHO can function effectively and bring peace and an end to poverty.
It’s a big ask. But I cannot see a viable alternative.
Biden is making all the right noises. The EU needs to get its act together.
The future could start to look a lot brighter.
Victor Jara was a communist. He was a singer of social songs. He sang songs of love and peace as well as Left-wing songs of struggle and social justice. Victor believed in fairness and human rights.
He supported Salvador Allende who was a communist politician elected by the people of Chile. Phil Ochs met Victor, befriended him and sang with him in support of a miners’ strike.
The USA, as part of its campaign against communism, sought to destabilise Chile under Allende. The CIA used a lot of underhand tactics. It culminated in the support of the fascist military overthrow of the Allende government in a sponsored coup. On September 11th 1973 Allende was murdered and his government overthrown. General Pinochet took over and proceeded to deal with the Allende supporters.
Thousands were rounded up and taken into the football stadium where they were systematically tortured and killed.
Victor Jara taught at the university. He was rounded up along with students and other teachers. When they identified who he was he was singled out for special treatment. He was gruesomely tortured and killed.
The rumour was that he was instructed to play and sing for the prisoners in the stadium. They then either chopped his hands off with and axe or crushed his hands and told him to sing. He stood and sang. They ripped out his tongue and teeth and he still tried to make a noise.
He was finally killed when a soldier played Russian roulette with him. He loaded one bullet into the chamber, spun it, held it against Victor’s head and pulled the trigger. He did this a number of times until it fired.
Pinochet was supported by the Likes of Thatcher and the USA for forty years.
Over a thousand people were ‘disappeared’ under Pinochet. The hunt for their remains continues to this day. Victor Jara, a teacher and singer, was just one of many but he came to symbolise the terrible travesty and viciousness of the Pinochet regime.
The dictionary doesn’t give you a lot of words to describe a Communist. It informs me that it is someone who believes in a commune; someone who aspires to a society in which all people are equal. I could go along with that. I like equality as long as it does not equate with sameness. I am not a same person. Some people would substitute that m for an n. But they would be entirely wrong wouldn’t they? I used to dream of living in a commune with a group of my friends. Having the luxury of space for yourself coupled with companionship and stimulation. I imagined it being a loving experience of sharing and the ideal way to live. That shows what a true romantic I am at heart.
If you were to get into the head of a communist I think you would find someone who believed in equality, fairness and justice without prejudice or discrimination. I don’t know what McCarthy was getting in such a state about?