Showing posts with label propaganda. Show all posts
Showing posts with label propaganda. Show all posts

Tuesday, September 2, 2025

The People Take Action

 
Listen to Greta speak before the launch of the Global Sumud Flotilla.

The People Take Action

by C. A. Matthews

I’m tired of people whining. It’s not that I don’t whine myself, because we all do from time to time, but some folks’ incessant whining about how terrible things are and how they can’t do anything about them drives me up the wall. If I were a protagonist in a 1940s movie, I’d take the whiners by the shoulders and shake them hard and then slap them across the face to make them stop whining.

I know. I’d get into a helluva big mess if I resorted to physical violence to get the whiners’ attention nowadays. So, I’m left with using only non-violent means, such as writing, to get them to snap out of their whining tirades. So, here goes.

Things are terrible in 2025, but you can do something about them beside whining. You can take action.

The following are examples of people from all over the world who didn’t sit and whine about how terrible things are. They’ve stood up and started moving. They know their actions could make them lose their livelihoods or get them hurt. They realize they could be risking their lives and their reputations by taking action, but they feel it’s worth it. The ends justify the means—and any cost to themselves personally.

First example: American IT workers were willing to risk losing their jobs, their careers and professional reputations in order to make a bold statement protesting Israel’s actions in Palestine and their company’s association with the genocidaires. This is the story of what four former employees of Microsoft did recently ...

Our second example of people taking action instead of whining is global in its importance. From People’s Dispatch:

In July 2025, a new international maritime initiative was launched: the Global Sumud Flotilla. It was formed by four major coalitions: the Global Campaign to Return to Palestine, the Freedom Flotilla Coalition, the Maghreb Sumud Convoy, and the Southeast Asian Nusantara Sumud Initiative. The Global Sumud Flotilla is set to depart on August 31, 2025. Its goal is clear: to break Israel’s illegal blockade on Gaza, to deliver urgent humanitarian aid, and to expose the genocidal war waged on Palestinians.

The flotilla is composed of dozens of small civilian vessels carrying activists, parliamentarians, doctors, and trade unionists, alongside humanitarian cargo. More than 39 national delegations have pledged participation, making this the largest people-led maritime effort in solidarity with Gaza since the 2010 “Mavi Marmara”...

 

And be sure to register now for the webinar to learn how to become a part of the Lifeline for Palestine. https://lifelineforpalestine.com/

 

To read more about how and why we should take action (and not just sit around and whine)please copy or click on this link: 

https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can become a free or paid subscriber and receive weekly posts in your email box, along with occasional special articles just for paid subscribers, too.

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today. Power to the people!
 
 

 And also watch https://youtu.be/CtUGZXM_-Lc

 

This article is the 535th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years. 

You can make a donation at https://paypal.me/camatthews or Buy Me a Coffee or Ko-fi. Every little bit helps since this is my only source of income. Thank you. 

Tuesday, April 22, 2025

Everything You Wanted to Know About Maintaining the Status Quo (But Were Afraid You Already Knew)

 

Everything You Wanted to Know About Maintaining the Status Quo (But Were Afraid You Already Knew)

by C.A. Matthews

From time to time The Revolution Continues (TRC) likes to do a “man on the street” interview to get a finger on the pulse of the public. What’s on the ordinary person’s mind lately? Here is the transcript of our latest meet-up with an Average American Voter (AAV).

TRC: Thanks for agreeing to speak with us today. You told us earlier that something is really bothering you. You suspect it’s also worrying others, and you want to hear our thoughts on the matter. What’s your concern?

AAV: Well, it’s hard to put into words, but here goes: Why does it seem the more Americans vote the way they tell us to, the worse things get? I mean, why aren’t the Democrats doing anything to stop Trump and his cronies from ruining the economy or stopping arms sales to Israel? I thought the Dems were different.

TRC: Different? In what way are they supposed to be “different”?

AAV: I expected them to take a more active role in protecting ordinary people like me. You know, protect us from being taken advantage of by the billionaires. But they’re just letting Musk tear the government apart. You’d think they’d stand up and stop him from destroying so many social programs, not just talk about it and do nothing of consequence.

TRC: And this inactivity on the Democrats’ part worries you?

AAV: Yes, it does. I’d like to be able to retire and collect my Social Security in a few years if possible.

TRC: Completely understandable. To re-state your concern, you’re wondering why the opposition party doesn’t seem able or willing to challenge the actions of the party in power currently. The Democrats seem to be cooperating more with the Republicans than actually challenging them. Is that right?

AAV: Right. That’s not what I voted for. I want change. I want them to challenge the status quo, not go along with them.

TRC: I see. I think that’s where your misinterpretation of the DNC’s inactivity comes in. Because the Dems have, in fact, been quite active as of late.

AAV: They have? 

 

To discover the true nature of all this "activity," continue reading the rest of this article. Copy or click on this Substack link: 

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There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can become a free or paid subscriber and receive weekly posts in your email box, along with occasional special articles just for paid subscribers, too.

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today. Power to the people!

 

This article is the 516th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years. 

You can make a donation at https://paypal.me/camatthews or at Buy Me a Coffee or at Ko-fi. Every little bit helps since this is my only source of income. Thank you.

Tuesday, March 11, 2025

Sleight of Hand

 

Sleight of Hand

by C.A. Matthews

Sleight of Hand (from the Merriam-Webster Dictionary online)

1a : a cleverly executed trick or deception b : a conjuring trick requiring manual dexterity 2 a : skill and dexterity in conjuring tricks b : adroitness in deception

Synonyms: legerdemain, fakery, front, scam, swindle, cheating, duplicity, chicanery, fraud, subterfuge, trickery, hoax, feint, dupery, skulduggery

I’m always amazed how easily adult human beings are taken in by the masters of sleight of hand. I don’t mean just professional magicians and jugglers, either. I mean some seem to believe every word that comes out of Donald Trump’s mouth while simultaneously insisting they detest the man because he’s a big fat liar.

Now, that’s some Grade A legerdemain on Trump’s part! He not only fools his own followers and devotees, he fools his avowed enemies as well.

But why would anyone believe a person they claim to be a liar in the first place? Why get upset over toddler-like antics such as shouting matches and name-calling? And perhaps the biggest question, why do they spend so much time and energy whining about the antics of a big fat liar?

Could it be...could it really be so simple? Are Trump and company simply acting like magicians practicing sleight of hand tricks? His job for our true rulers (the billionaires/oligarchs) of our corrupt capitalist system is to keep us distracted from what’s really going on? You got to admit it, Trump does have the perfect qualifications for the job of Distractor-in-Chief.

First off, he’s a failed businessman who makes used car salespersons look good. Secondly, he was the “star” of a TV reality show for several years, so he actually knows how to follow a script and improvise from a prompt. (You do realize that reality TV shows are all scripted, don’t you? I’ve met people who think everything they watch on TV reflects reality. Those who can think for themselves and practice critical thinking skills know how far from the truth that is.)

So, here you have Trump in his role as Distractor-in-Chief recently getting into a televised knockdown, drag out fight with Mr. Zelensky. All of a sudden people are crying and wringing their hands over how “rude and obnoxious” Donald Trump was to that “brave, honorable man” Volodymyr Zelensky.

Remember: Everything on television is not real—and neither is Mr. Zelensky...

 

To learn more about these "bad actors", please continue reading the rest of this article by copying or clicking on this Substack link: 

https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com

There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You can become a free or paid subscriber and receive weekly posts in your email box, along with occasional special articles just for paid subscribers, too.

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today. Power to the people!

This article is the 510th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years.

You can make a donation at https://paypal.me/camatthews or at Buy Me a Coffee or at Ko-fi. Every little bit helps since this is my only source of income. Thank you.

Tuesday, January 7, 2025

Of Psyops and False Flags



Let’s start the new year off with a leisurely stroll along the beach and a bit of nonsense from a classic poem. Somehow, it just seems very appropriate.

‘The time has come,' the Walrus said,

To talk of many things:

Of shoes — and ships — and sealing-wax —

Of cabbages — and kings —

And why the sea is boiling hot —

And whether pigs have wings.'

—excerpt from The Walrus and the Carpenter by Lewis Carroll

Of Psyops and False Flags

by C. A. Matthews

This first of the year’s disturbing news in New Orleans and Las Vegas reminded me that I hadn’t written a “book report” on a fantastic book I finished reading recently. JFK and the Unspeakable by James W. Douglass is a book everyone should read thoroughly and keep on their bookshelf for quick reference whenever things in the world start to seem too nonsensical or too coincidental to be quite true. Often you’ll find that there are no such things as “coincidences” and that the truth is out there, and it has nothing to do with aliens or UFOs (UAPs).

Who or what is the Unspeakable

To learn about the Unspeakable and to see how the coincidences seem to be part of a larger pattern, please continue reading this article by clicking on this Substack link: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com. There you'll see related article and video links, all the graphics, and be able to leave comments. You also can become a free or paid subscriber and receive weekly posts in your email box, along with occasional special articles just for paid subscribers. 

Subscribe to The Revolution Continues on Substack today. Power to the people!

This article is the 501th blog posting of The Revolution Continues. We began in June 2015, and we're still going strong. Please keep reading, sharing, and subscribing to help TRC continue for another ten years. Thank you.

Feel free to make a donation to TRC at https://paypal.me/camatthews or at Buy Me a Coffee or at Ko-fi.

 

Tuesday, July 23, 2024

Priorities, People! Priorities!

 


"Those who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities." —Voltaire

Priorities, People! Priorities!

by C.A. Matthews

Everyone probably has had a teacher, professor, coach, boss, or parent who has shouted, “Priorities, people! Priorities!” whenever you seemed to lose focus or got distracted by something not as important as you thought it was.

I can still hear my 9th grade Algebra teacher repeatedly telling us to do our assignments first or we wouldn’t be able to pass the chapter test.

“Did you do the even numbered exercises last night? he’d challenge us. “You want to pass the test and pass this class, don’t you? Priorities, people! Priorities!”

Of course, not everyone did their homework. Not everyone passed the test or passed the class. They got distracted by something more fun than working math problems. In my era, that meant watching too much TV or listening to your latest rock LPs for hours on end instead of doing your homework. And the results of their distraction showed—in their grades then, and possibly in their lives later on because of the type of jobs they were able to get without passing Algebra. Not the good paying kind.

Becoming distracted from what is really important can lead to serious consequences. “What happened?” these distracted folks whine in confusion. They’ll blame everyone but themselves for making poor decisions by following a false priority down a dead end path.

I want to help you focus on what should be your top priorities, not because I enjoy scolding people, but because I hate seeing people suffer later, angry, because no one warned them from wandering far from what really matters.

 

To read the rest of this article, click on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see the related article and video links, all the images, and be able to leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. Subscribe today! Power to the people!

Tuesday, June 25, 2024

The Exercise of Imagination

 

“The exercise of imagination is dangerous to those who profit from the way things are because it has the power to show that the way things are is not permanent, not universal, not necessary.”

—Ursula K. LeGuin

The Exercise of Imagination

by C.A. Matthews

My husband has a new hobby. Every evening he turns on the local newscast to view the weather forecast so we know how much watering our garden will need the next day. Lately he waits until the national newscast comes on. This is when his cathartic yelling at the screen begins.

“What the…? It’s not a war, asshole. The children of Gaza are being murdered. It’s a goddamn genocide. Say the word, you stupid bastard!”

Mercifully, the six o’clock newscast runs only about sixteen minutes or else he’d be permanently hoarse. I timed the commercials one night, and discovered the half hour is made up of mostly commercials for Big Pharma. That gives you some idea who their target audience is—older Americans with deep pockets who love popping pills.

National newscasts really don’t provide news as much as they give out headlines. Their headlines tend to be predictable propaganda soundbites courtesy of the Ministry of Truth or the government propaganda machine. The news readers with their Hollywood-movie-star looks aren’t trying to impart factual information as much as they’re trying to persuade and provoke emotions, such as hatred and animosity toward those whom the oligarchy wants us to hate. They want us to despise and fear others so much that we’d be willing to go to war with them and die—or at least we’re okay with our children or grandchildren dying for the cause.

After watching several national newscasts, the emotional manipulation became bleedin’ obvious (as my British husband says). Do the regular consumers of mainstream (legacy) media realize they’re being manipulated to believe and feel a certain way in the first place? (See last week’s post about who does the manipulating and why.) What do they really get out of it? Do they actually enjoy being lied to? Do the lies reinforce their deep-seated prejudices and feed their wildest fears, making them fat and content in their hatred? Is warmongering propaganda a source of entertainment for them?

 

To read the rest of this article, click on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see the related article and video links, all the images, and be able to easily leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. (We'll think you'll like it much better than Blogspot.) Power to the people! 

Tuesday, June 18, 2024

The Ugliness To History

 


We need to tell the truth about the ugliness to history. We don't honor our forefathers if we don't learn from their mistakes. —Radical Jesus on X.

The Ugliness To History

by C. A. Matthews


I had an dream about what to call what I wanted to write about this week. My original title idea was along the lines of “The Truth of the Matter” But then I came across Radical Jesus’ awesome post and thought it summed up what I wanted to say nicely (so I borrowed it with permission).

All of human history is ugly. Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. You will know what you’re reading is the truth if the author doesn’t varnish over the nasty, disgusting, horrific bits that happened in the past. You’ll know what you’re reading is the truth if the past isn’t painted in uniform, glowing colors and all the actors therein portrayed as decent folks “just doing their best during tough times.”

Because if everyone is just doing their “best” why do things still suck nowadays? How did so much evil come into the world if our ancestors were “doing their best” for all of humankind? Doesn’t voting for the “lesser evil” bring about good eventually? (If you read this piece, you’d know that’s impossible.) Let’s be absolutely honest with ourselves: Human beings all lie, and they have done (and still do) some rather selfishly shitty things to each other and our planet.

There. I said it. I confessed humanity’s deepest sin. We are all liars. We are all manipulators of our own history in order to make ourselves look like decent, non-shitty actors on this stage called life. Countries and corporations are no different. In fact, they’re worse—way worse...

 

To read the rest of this article, click on this link to go to our Substack page: https://therevolutioncontinues.substack.com  There you'll also see the related article and video links, all the images, and be able to easily leave comments. You can subscribe to receive the weekly blog post in your email box as well. (We'll think you'll like it much better than Blogspot.) Power to the people!

Tuesday, May 21, 2024

To Proclaim Loudly

 

I don't know if there has ever been a time comparable to this one, where we are seeing people for who and what they really are. There's nowhere to hide anymore. You're either with God or you're with the devil and his legions. You either support children being stripped naked, having their hands tied behind their back, and executed or you don't. There's no middle ground. And whatever side a person is on has become abundantly clear to everyone around them. The masks are off.  --Mike Stone

To Proclaim Loudly

by C.A. Matthews


As the weeks turn into months, and the genocide in Gaza continues unabated, you really start to wonder: “Is it worth it? Is it worth protesting to a (mostly) uncaring audience that ethnic cleansing is wrong? Is it worth doing march after march after protest after protest after informational meeting after informational meeting when you’re essentially reaching the same folks (who were already pro-Palestinian) time and time again?”

It’s draining, and it’s frustrating, but what is the alternative? To give up? To stop caring about the plight of two million souls who are enduring the worse that humanity has to offer? And this isn’t the only place on Earth where people are being indiscriminately killed because of… Well, simply put, greed and prejudice. The Congo, Sudan, and Haiti come to mind. You can see the “why” of how Westerners can forget about the suffering of darker-skinned peoples. It’s not like the Western nations have never been racist against non-whites, but now the West has adopted the racism of Zionism as well. How open-minded of them!

Giving up on saving the lives of others will not save our lives, in case you’re leaning that way. If we stop caring for others, we will eventually stop caring for ourselves and our loved ones. You can’t just turn off the tap of compassion for one part of humanity and expect love to flow to the rest. It doesn’t work that way. Ask an addict. When you use chemicals to kill the pain and stop feeling those uncomfortable emotions, it doesn’t just stop the negative feelings. It shuts down all your feelings. And how can you love others when you’re not even loving yourself through the abuse of substances or engaging in destructive habits? Answer: You can’t.

The United States of Israel is one such addict.

The US has become addicted to greed itself. We hoard others’ natural resources such as land, fossil fuels, copper, cobalt, platinum, uranium… The list goes on ad infinitum. Our powers-that-be have perfected the use of racism and fear of others in their quest to steal others’ natural resources. They promote racism and fear of others in their divide and conquer tactics within our country. With all of us at each others’ throats, we will never have enough energy to go after those who are truly our enemies, the capitalists and their minions.
You don’t have enough to eat? It’s those people down the block or the country across the globe from yours who are “stealing your food.” Go fight them for it, but forget all about blaming the rich and powerful who control food distribution. Forget who are manufacturing the false narrative that your fellow workers are at fault. Somehow it’s never the fault of the wealthy who own everything. Remember you should never tax the “job creators” and make them pay their fair share of taxes… Trust the Trickle Down Theory implicitly! It will eventually trickle down some wealth to you and yours in perhaps three to four hundred years.

I don’t know about you, but I don’t expect to live that long.

The bottom line is we can’t give up. We can’t give up on the Palestinians, the Congolese, the Sudanese, the Haitians...or ourselves. To give up on any part of humanity is to give up on the whole of humanity.

To give up on humanity is to give up on any chance we have of turning the climate crisis around. It’s to give up on seeing your children or grandchildren grow up to take the reins away from the greedy and prejudiced powers-that-be who are currently screwing us and the planet over.

So, what can we do on days when all we can think about doing is throwing in the towel? On days when all we want to do is to stop caring so much about others because it hurts? On days when we could just walk away from this struggle called life and not miss it? There’s only one thing we can do: We have to give ourselves new marching orders.

We take it to the streets again. And again. Because...

If our struggle was hopeless their propaganda would be unnecessary. Keep Going.
We keep proclaiming the truth of what’s happening—loudly. We keep marching in protest parades even when threatened with mace, rubber bullets, tear gas or a night in jail. We keep sharing the truth of things even when others refuse to listen and shun us or shame us. We don’t need their approval, after all. Our consciences approve of us and our actions. And these stone-hearted fools really do need to hear us.

They really do understand there is a genocide happening in Gaza, but they’re afraid of us knowing that they do. They’re scared of acknowledging their part in perpetuating the official narrative that there is no genocide. They have become slaves of the corrupt system. In their fear they’ve locked themselves into the cycle of Zionist lies thinking they'll stay safe, not realizing that losing their souls is a prison worse than hell itself.

Poor pitiful things! This is where the “proclaim loudly” part comes in handy.
We simply don’t shut up. We don’t shut down. We keep repeating the reality of our messed up world over and over again because these sell-outs to the Zionist lie are both stupid and stubborn. But we can act pig-headed, too. With so many innocent lives at stake, why should we waste precious time playing their silly “Shut up, you’re hurting our feelings” game?

Saving lives, the planet, and our souls comes well before anyone-who-is-okay-with-babies’-faces-being-blown-off-by-US-provided-bombs’ “feelings”. These narcissists need a wake up call to reality, not our coddling. Let me put it bluntly: F*** the feelings of all greedy zionarcissists! It time for you to grow up and think of the welfare of others, you self-centered morons!
It's freeing when you give yourself permission to keep marching with heads and flags held high. And no, not the flags of the military-industrial complex lackeys, better known as the US and its NATO allies. We fly the flags of truth, liberty, revolution, freedom and peace for all humankind. Wave those flags proudly and raise a fist and shout loudly!

 

Let’s keep encouraging one another as the days drag along and it seems like there’s no end in sight to the bombing, shooting, starving, and suffering of innocents. It is our duty. We are their witnesses. We are their bringers of hope. We may even be their bringers of salvation in time. And we’d want them to do the same for us when our time of suffering comes.

Power to the people!


Related Articles and Other Interesting Links

Chris Hedges: Israel’s Willing Executioners
https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/13/chris-hedges-israels-willing-executioners/

Please Stop Saying Israel Is an “Ally” of the United States — It Is Not.  https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/please-stop-saying-israel-is-an-ally

Israel Orders Evacuation in Rafah, Hours After Raiding Al Jazeera Offices https://truthout.org/articles/israel-orders-evacuation-in-rafah-hours-after-raiding-al-jazeera-offices/

Police Brutality “Made in Israel” https://joebrunoli.substack.com/p/police-brutality-made-in-israel

US Army Officer Resigns Over ‘Unqualified’ Support for Israeli Slaughter in Gaza  https://news.antiwar.com/2024/05/13/us-army- officer-resigns-over-unqualified-support-for-israeli-slaughter-in-gaza/

Jewish Biden Appointee Resigns from Interior Department Over Gaza Slaughter https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/16/jewish-biden-appointee-resigns-from-interior-department-over-gaza-slaughter/

The Genocide Case Against Israel Before the World Court Just Got Much Stronger https://stevendonziger.substack.com/p/the-genocide-case-against-israel

Report: Israel Has Bombed Known Aid Worker Sites in Gaza at Least 8 Times  https://truthout.org/articles/report-israel-has-bombed-known-aid-worker-sites-in-gaza-at-least-8-times/

Biden’s Shifting ‘Red Line’ Allows Israel To Keep Getting Away With Murder https://popularresistance.org/bidens-shifting-red-line-allows-israel-to-keep-getting-away-with-murder/

Biden won't turn his back on Israel because he is just as fanatical as Netanyahu https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/biden-wont-turn-his-back-on-israel

ICC prosecutor seeks arrest warrants for Netanyahu and Hamas leaders for war crimes and crimes against humanity https://www.nationofchange.org/2024/05/20/icc-prosecutor-seeks-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-hamas-leaders-for-war-crimes-and-crimes-against-humanity/

'Dark Times' As Renowned Israeli Historian Ilan Pappé Detained, Interrogated By FBI https://www.commondreams.org/news/ilan-pappe  https://mark192.substack.com/p/alert-dark-times-as-renowned-israeli

The Nakba: All you need to know explained in five maps and charts https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/israel-palestine-nakba-ethnic-cleansing-explained-five-maps-charts

UCLA attackers exposed: meet the violent Zionist agitators LA police haven’t arrested https://thegrayzone.com/2024/05/13/ucla-attackers-exposed/

13% of 2020 Swing State Biden Voters Won’t Be in 2024 Because of Gaza: Polls https://scheerpost.com/2024/05/14/13-of-2020-swing-state-biden-voters-wont-be-in-2024-because-of-gaza-polls/

Booing of Israeli Singer Covered up by Eurovision https://rumble.com/v4uywkb-eurovision.html

The US Empire Deliberately Stokes Hatred And Violence In The Middle East https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/the-us-empire-deliberately-stokes

Orf vs. The Memory Hole: When Israel Bombed AP's Gaza Office https://censorednews.substack.com/p/orf-vs-the-memory-hole-when-israel 
 
Assange Wins Right to Appeal on 1st Amendment Issue https://consortiumnews.com/2024/05/20/assange-wins-right-to-appeal-on-1a-issue/ 
 
Why You'll Never Achieve The American Dream https://youtu.be/vu7IJ-HDIos?si=zzYvS4vHxhy5C7Qk
 
“Unprecedented” – CO2 Rising 10 Times Faster Than Any Time in Recorded History https://scitechdaily.com/unprecedented-co2-rising-10-times-faster-than-any-time-in-recorded-history/ 
 
For those who think Biden is "soft" on immigration:  

"...The Biden Administration seeks to engage in the type of politically-motivated action that the Refugee Convention and 1980 Refugee Act sought to eliminate. For the above reasons, such action would violate the intent of Congress, our treaty obligations, and over two centuries of U.S. case law." Proposed Asylum Bar Regs Are At Odds With International Law (And Why That Matters)  https://www.jeffreyschase.com/blog/2024/5/16/proposed-asylum-bar-regs-at-odds-with-international-law-and-why-that-matters

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Tuesday, October 24, 2023

How To Succeed At War Crimes (Without Really Trying)

 

It’s a little bit bomby in Gaza today,
at least that’s what the news men say.

Israeli victims were “murdered” and “killed”
and all mourn the innocent blood that was spilled,

but in Gaza explosives just fall from the air
and nobody mentions who launched them, from where.

They talk about “blasts” and how buildings were “hit”.
Who blasted and hit them? Eh, who gives a shit.

It’s a little bit bomby outside, that’s the weather.
Put up your umbrellas, dudes. Get it together.

--It's a Little Bit Bomby In Gaza Today by Caitlin Johnstone

 

Name a war crime Israel isn't committing... They're running out of war crimes to try out. --Lee Camp

 

How To Succeed At War Crimes 

(Without Really Trying)

by C.A. Matthews


WARNING: The following is satire and is not to be taken seriously or followed in order to commit genocide UNLESS you’re already a war criminal like Joe Biden, Benjamin Netanyahu, or one of their sycophants. Then there’s no need for you to read any further really, is there? You’ve already written the war crimes playbook, haven’t  you?
 

 


An excerpt from the chapter How to Succeed at Genocide...

 
 
Step 0: First take a bunch of post-WWII European exiles and give them access to the British Mandate of Palestine. Let them call themselves “Israel” after an ancient kingdom mentioned in the Judeo-Christian Bible and pretend they have always lived in Palestine rather than someplace like Germany, France, or Poland. Once this lie is established as “fact” through various means of propaganda (See Step 6), you can then proceed with the following steps.
 
Step 1: If anyone accuses you of being bloodthirsty, racist, and/or a fascist, accuse them of “antisemitism” even if they are of Semitic origins, i.e. most Middle Easterners. Rinse and repeat as often as necessary to shut down all dialogue and to defame as many persons’ characters as necessary for your cause.

Step 2: Make friends with a big warmonger, one with a really big war machine that is hungry for profits for their military-industrial complex. Ask and receive military and financial aid from Big Warmonger consistently. If said Big Warmonger doesn’t put out the goods, lay on the guilt and accuse them of antisemitism (See Step 1) and tell their paid-off politicians they'll be no more briefcases full of cash until they do as they're told.

Step 3: Build your own nuclear bomb, or at least start rumors that you have built one while simultaneously denying the rumors. Make your neighbors in the region worry you might use the bomb on them or have your friend Big Warmonger (See Step 2) threaten to use their nukes on your behalf or invade said neighbor, taking their oil, pipelines, and whatever other desirable resources they might have.

Step 4: Label as “enemies” any persons who own any land and/or resources you desire. Do not let others tell you that these persons who have been living on the land you desire are, in fact, the actual owners of this land and its resources. If these “enemies” do not willingly give up the land and resources you desire, then force them into refugee camps and walled reservations with very limited means of getting in or out. Turn off their electricity and water at will to further emphasize your point that you now own all their land and resources.

Step 5: Denigrate and refuse to recognize your “enemies” as human beings. Call them names such as “human animals” or “terrorists” to dehumanize them as much as possible in the eyes of the world at large. Create propaganda scenarios where your “enemies” are seen as being only worthy of extermination. Even their children and elderly are to be painted as “vermin” that must be wiped off the face of the earth. If anyone argues that you are acting like a Nazi from the Third Reich, accuse them of antisemitism (See Step 1).

The Israeli army mobilized Ezra Yachin, a 95-year-old army veteran, to “motivate” the troops. Yachin was a member of the Lehi Zionist militia that carried out numerous massacres of Palestinian civilians, including the Deir Yassin massacre on April 9, 1948, where over 100 Palestinian civilians, many women and children, were slaughtered. 

“Be triumphant and finish them off and don’t leave anyone behind. Erase the memory of them,” Yachin said addressing Israeli troops.

“Erase them, their families, mothers and children,” he went on. “These animals can no longer live.” 

“Every Jew with a weapon should go out and kill them,” he said. “If you have an Arab neighbor, don’t wait, go to his home and shoot him.”--Chris Hedges: Let Them Eat Cement

Step 6: Plant a “false flag” to come up with a real good excuse to start the extermination of your “enemies.” You’ll know when the time has come, since you will have been keeping them under close surveillance for years. Manufacture circumstances that will produce the most outrage in your supporters. Milk it for all it’s worth in the mainstream media,that is with your top propagandists. Follow the following tenets of propaganda use for maximum effect:

Lord Posonby's Ten Commandments of War Propaganda

1. We don't want war, we are only defending ourselves!

2. Our adversary is solely responsible for this war!

3. Our adversary's leader is inherently evil and resembles the devil.

4. We are defending a noble cause, not our particular interests!

5. The enemy is purposefully committing atrocities; if we are making mistakes this happens without intention.

6. The enemy makes use of illegal weapons.

7. We suffer few losses, the enemy's losses are considerable.

8. Recognized intellectuals and artists support our cause.

9. Our cause is sacred.

10. Whoever casts doubt on our propaganda helps the enemy and is a traitor.

Step 7: Repeat the above steps as needed to maintain the moral outrage and to cover your tracks whenever you slip up and get caught making false phone conversations, etc., to excuse bombing civilian targets such as churches and hospitals.

Step 8: Above all else, do not (repeat: do NOT) allow the rest of the world to see your "enemies" as human beings. This step cannot be emphasized enough. Once your supporters start seeing your "enemies" as actual human beings who have children and grandparents and homes and hospitals and schools and other relatable things, then you'll have lost the propaganda war. Sure, you might still do some massive extermination and raze a lot of useless buildings in order to build seaside condos, but you will never be able to rebuild the respect you once possessed in the western world. 

But if respect isn't particularly what you want or need, keep doing what you're doing until you run out of bombs to drop and bullets to shoot. The moment you do stop dropping bombs and shooting children, you're probably history. You've made a helluva lot of people righteously angry, after all. War crimes aren't for sissies.

No no you don’t understand: if Israel stops killing children by the thousands in its relentless bombing campaign, the nation could be taken over by murderous terrorists. --Caitlin Johnstone, If Israel Stops Murdering Thousands Of Children, The Bad Guys Might Win


photo by Amjad Doumani

My Photos from the "Reclaiming Our Humanity" (End the Genocide) March to Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur's District Office

Join a protest near you! https://www.answercoalition.org/join_a_protest_near_you_free_palestine


Related Articles and Links

Chris Hedges: Let Them Eat Cement https://scheerpost.com/2023/10/22/chris-hedges-let-them-eat-cement/

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The Israeli government is losing the PR war https://www.councilestatemedia.uk/p/the-israeli-government-is-losing

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Manufacturing Consent For Genocide https://www.wewillbearwitness.org/p/manufacturing-consent-for-genocide

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Telegraph UK - How Benjamin Netanyahu empowered Hamas ... and broke Israel https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2023/10/16/how-benjamin-netanyahu-empowered-hamas/ 

Jerusalem Post - Netanyahu: Money to Hamas part of strategy to keep Palestinians divided https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Netanyahu-Money-to-Hamas-part-of-strategy-to-keep-Palestinians-divided-583082

Jerusalem Post - Abbas: Netanyahu gives Hamas money and we pay the price when they attack https://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Abbas-Netanyahu-gives-money-to-Hamas-and-we-pay-the-price-575124