Sunday, September 17, 2023

OUR WORLD: THE END OF THE BRITISH EMPIRE/UNITED KINGDOM

THE COLONIZER AND THE COLONIZED


End of Empire chronicled the last days of British rule around the globe, through the remarkably candid reminiscences of both colonizers and the colonized. The series, a Granada Television 1985 production, uses old newsreel film and interviews with former British and Colonial officials.

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Chapter 1: The Beginning of the End CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 1


Chapter 2: India, Engine of War CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 2

Chapter 3: India, The Muslim Card CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 3 Chapter 4: India, Divide and Quit CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 4

Chapter 5: Malaya CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 5


Chapter 6: Palestine CLICK: End of Empire - Palestine


Chapter 7: Iran CLICK: End of Empire - Iran Chapter 8: Egypt CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 8


Chapter 9: Aden CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 9


Chapter 10: Cyprus CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 10


Chapter 11: The Gold Coast CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 11


Chapter 12: Kenya CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 12


Chapter 13: The Rider and The Horse CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 13


Chapter 14: Rhodesia CLICK: End of Empire - Chapter 14

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LET US NOT KEEP OUR HEADS IN THE SAND




THE ORIGINS OF THE NEOCONS AND THEIR LUNATIC WORLD VIEW - Prof. Michael Brenner, University of Pittsburgh

 


Professor of International Affairs at the University of Pittsburgh; a Senior Fellow at the Center for Transatlantic Relations, SAIS-Johns Hopkins (Washington, D.C.), contributor to research and consulting projects on Euro-American security and economic issues. Publishes and teaches in the fields of American foreign policy, Euro-American relations, and the European Union. Author of numerous books, and over 60 articles and published papers on a broad range of topics. These include books with Cambridge University Press (Nuclear Power and Non-Proliferation) and the Center For International Affairs at Harvard University (The Politics of International Monetary Reform); and publications in major journals in the United States and Europe, such as World Politics, Comparative Politics, Foreign Policy, International Studies Quarterly, International Affairs, Survival, Politique Etrangere, and Internationale Politik. His most recent work is Toward a More Independent Europe Egmont Institute, Brussels. Directed funded research projects with colleagues at leading universities and institutes in Britain, France, Germany, and Italy, including the Sorbonne, Bonn University, King’s College – London, and Universita di Firenze. Invited lecturer at major universities and institutions in the United States and abroad, including Georgetown University, UCLA, the National Defense University, the State Department, Sorbonne, Ecole des Sciences Politiques, Royal Institute of International Affairs, University of London, German Council on Foreign Relations, Konrad Adenauer Foundation, and Universita di Milano. Consultant to United States Departments of Defense and State, Foreign Service Institute, and Mellon Bank on multilateral diplomacy, peacekeeping by multinational organizations, and political risk assessment. Recipient of grants from the Ford Foundation, Carnegie Endowment For International Peace, United States Information Service, European Union Commission, NATO, and the Exxon Education Foundation. Previous teaching and research appointments at Cornell, Stanford, Harvard, MIT, Brookings Institution, University of California – San Diego, and Distinguished Visiting Fellow at the National Defense University. 1. Click: Origin of Neoconservatism 2. Click: Partnership beyond Alliance - Neocons Agenda

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LET US NOT KEEP OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

Saturday, September 16, 2023

THE MYTH OF THE "INDISPENSABLE NATION."

 


“If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.”
-- MADELEINE ALBRIGHT, U.S. Secretary of State, 1998


In 1996, political journalist Sidney Blumenthal and foreign policy historian James Chace struggled to come up with a memorable phrase to describe America’s post-Cold War role in the world. “Finally, together, we hit on it: ‘indispensable nation.’ Eureka! I passed it on first to Madeleine Albright,” Blumenthal recalled.

In his memoir of the Clinton presidency, The Clinton Wars, Blumenthal elaborated on what the phrase was intended to represent: “Only the United States had the power to guarantee global security: without our presence or support, multilateral endeavors would fail.” Albright, then secretary of state, began using the phrase often, and most prominently in February 1998, while defending the policy of coercive diplomacy against Iraq over its limited cooperation with U.N. weapons inspectors when, during an interview on the “Today Show,” she said: “If we have to use force, it is because we are America; we are the indispensable nation. We stand tall and we see further than other countries into the future, and we see the danger here to all of us.”

Over the last six months, the notion of American indispensability has resurfaced in a big way. U.S. President Barack Obama has emphasized this point repeatedly, and most expansively in May while giving a commencement address to West Point cadets: “When a typhoon hits the Philippines or schoolgirls are kidnapped in Nigeria or masked men occupy a building in Ukraine, it is America that the world looks to for help. So the United States is and remains the one indispensable nation. That has been true for the century past and it will be true for the century to come.” Beyond the White House, this assertion has recently been made by Joe BidenHillary ClintonChris ChristieJeb BushBobby JindalMarco Rubio, and Michelle Bachman. This bipartisan group may not agree on much, but they are all proudly “Indispensables.”

Like many foreign policy concepts overwhelmingly endorsed by officials and policymakers, this one has little basis in reality. If you consider everything encompassing global affairs — from state-to-state diplomatic relations to growing cross-border flows of goods, money, people, and data — there are actually very few activities where America’s role is truly indispensable, defined by Webster’s as “absolutely necessary.” Nevertheless, the notion clearly has political salience and has even become something of a mandatory mantra for current and prospective commanders-in-chief. 


When Indispensables provide specifics to support their claim, they almost exclusively highlight some use of the U.S. military, whether for humanitarian purposes, coercion, or war fighting. More than any other country, the United States retains a far greater capacity to send troops, disaster response professionals, or bombs virtually anywhere in the world in a short time frame. Today, the U.S. Navy has 102 ships deployed around the world, the Air Force 659 strategic airlifters, 456 air refuelers, and 159 long-range bombers, and the Air Force and Navy combined some 3,407 fighter and attack aircraft. Not to mention the over 300,000 active-duty and reserve Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines deployed to warzones or stationed at America’s 576 active military facilities worldwide.

These unmatched global military capabilities provide U.S. officials with an unmatched spectrum of policy options. However, these can be used for benign and relatively judicious missions, like responding to typhoons, or for profoundly destabilizing and dumb ones, such as invading a distant country to topple its leader with minimal support from other countries and a totally implausible transition strategy. These damaging and tremendously costly missions conveniently tend to be forgotten by Indispensables, yet they are partially a direct result of their crusading mindset.

Indispensables also cite recent U.S. foreign policy activities as evidence to support their hypothesis, but do so in an extremely selective manner. For example, using Obama’s examples, nearly all of the more than 200 Nigerian schoolgirls remain in the clutches of Boko Haram, and clandestine Russian security forces continue to operate with impunity in Ukraine. Abuja and Kyiv looked to the United States for help, which it provided to the extent that their governments were willing to accept it. But in both countries, the help was insufficient to achieve the intended objectives. Again, the reason is, as a senior administration official declared in March: “The American people are not going to war with Russia over Ukraine, full stop.” Similarly, even if Michelle Obama herself posts a Twitter photo holding a #BringBackOurGirls sign, U.S. forces will not unilaterally violate Nigerian sovereignty to openly intervene on behalf of the government in a complex civil war to attempt to retrieve them.

Relatedly, Indispensables also omit the vast number of instances where “the world” looks to America for help, and U.S. officials choose to do nothing. Earlier this year, as they have since 2011, mayors in Darfur, South Kordofan’s Nuba Mountains, and Blue Nile, again requested a no-fly-zone to protect civilian populations from the indiscriminate airpower used by the regime in Khartoum. It was denied yet again. Similarly, in March, the Ukrainian defense chief asked the United States to impose a no-fly zone over his country’s 15 nuclear reactors “so that his troops could at least count on some zones of safety.” This also did not happen. Finally, Syrian activists and rebels have asked Obama for no-fly zones, buffer zones, arms and training, and financial support for over three years. The Obama administration has largely rebuffed them, while providing arms, training, and salaries that seemingly all the moderate rebel leaders have denigrated for being wholly insufficient against the brutalities of the Assad regime and the Islamic State (IS).

Indispensables also hold an unrealistic faith in the latent power of leadership that flows from supposing it indispensableness. During a House hearing in September, Gerald Feierstein, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, declared: “When the United States stands up and demonstrates resolve and demonstrates a direction, the international community generally supports and falls into place behind.” Really? This hypothesis would surprise anyone who tracks multilateral fora where U.S. officials state their policy positions and then repeatedly fail to compel other leaders to get in line — see, for example, the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009, and the WTO trade talks since the Doha Round opened in 2001.

And if Feierstein is referring only to warfare, then why do so few countries with deployable military assets participate in U.S.-led campaigns in a meaningful way? The United States provided the majority of the actual combat forces and airpower in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Libya, and is doing so again in the air campaign to counter the Islamic State (IS). Most countries that could participate have either declined to do so or are taking part by providing such limited and constrained capabilities that they are not significantly enhancing the coalition’s capabilities. In each of these military interventions, the United States decried unilateralism, attempted to form a large coalition, and then found itself paying most of the costs, dropping most of the bombs, sacrificing the most soldiers, and losing most of its credibility.

Whether it is multilateral talks or military operations, other governments do not do as Washington demands because, quite simply, it is not in their national interests to do so. Moreover, the United States refuses to employ political will or coercive leverage to force them to. The point being is that few if any, substantive and enduring foreign-policy activities can be done unilaterally, and asserting one’s indispensability does nothing to alter others’ interests. It is often stated that countries in the Middle East or East Asia are looking for America “to lead,” but they actually want U.S. leadership on their terms, and in support of their own narrow objectives. The moment that leadership conflicts with the visions and objectives those countries hold, they cease or severely limit their partnerships with the United States.

Finally, the Indispensable's belief that America’s role in the world is “absolutely necessary” in all areas is simply arrogant. It discounts the tremendous and essential contributions from non-U.S. countries, international non-governmental organizations, and civil society. This includes the 128 countries contributing 104,184 troops and police forces currently deployed in support of sixteen U.N. peacekeeping operations worldwide. The United States provides only 113 troops to U.N. peacekeeping operations, but, importantly, foots 27 percent of the bill and provides logistics support. Or, consider the billions of dollars from the Gates Foundation, Norwegian Refugee Council, Mercy Corps, International Red Cross, Red Crescent, and countless others, which improve the lives of the poorest and most in need. Each of these public health, humanitarian, and development organizations offers the deep pockets and political neutrality that allows them access to areas where the United States simply cannot or will not go.

The reason that the United States is not an indispensable nation is simple: the human and financial costs, the tremendous risks, and the degree of political commitment required to do so are thankfully lacking in Washington. Moreover, the structure and dynamics of the international system would reject or resist it, as it does in so many ways that frustrate the United States from achieving its foreign policy objectives. The United States can be truly indispensable in a few discrete domains, such as for military operations, which as pointed out above has proven disastrous recently. But overall there is no indispensable nation now, nor has there been in modern history. Indispensables may feel compelled to repeat this feel-good myth, but nobody should believe them.

Micah Zenko is the co-author of Clear and Present Safety: The World Has Never Been Better and Why That Matters to Americans. Twitter: @MicahZenko



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NOTES TO READERS:  
1. Colored and/or underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked posts/articles. Forwarding this and other posts to relatives and friends, especially those in the homeland, is greatly appreciated. To share, use all social media tools: email, blog, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, Viber, etc. THANKS!!
2. Click the following underlined title/link to check these Essential/Primary Readings About Us Filipino Natives:


Primary Blog Posts/Readings for my fellow, Native (Malay/Indio) Filipinos-in-the-Philippines
3. Instantly translate to any of 71 foreign languages. Go to the sidebar on the right to choose your preferred language.
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LET US NOT KEEP OUR HEADS IN THE SAND

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Monday, August 21, 2023

POVERTY IN THE ADVANCED/DEVELOPED COUNTRIES: THE UNITED STATES AND WESTERN EUROPE



OUR WORLD: GLOBALIZATION AND ITS DISCONTENTS

"Some believe we are part of a secret cabal working against the best interests of the United States, characterizing my family and me as "internationalists" and of conspiring with others around the world to build a more integrated global political and economic structure - one world, if you will. If that's the charge, I stand guilty, and I am proud of it."
 --
David Rockefeller in his "Memoirs" (10/28/2003)



In 1980, UK PM Margret Thatcher and US-Pres. Ronald Reagan agreed that the formula for greater economic progress begins with a drastic reduction in the regulatory role of the state. Instead, the government was to take a back seat to corporate executives and money managers. The overall philosophy was that companies must be free to move their operation anywhere in the world to minimize costs and maximize profits/returns to investors.
Free trade, unfettered investments, deregulation, balanced budgets, low inflation, and privatization of public/state-owned enterprises were proclaimed as the six-step plan for national prosperity. All these steps as imperatives for "globalization/globalism" or "neoliberalism." The common people or the public be damned.
Fast forward to the 1990s, the consequent realities of this relaxed flow of finished products and capital led to the 1997 Asian Currency Crisis," of Tiger Economies; the 2008 Financial Crisis," etc. All with the devastating long-term effect of reducing family income and government spending on social health services. Not to mention the increasing frequency of economic crises with their adverse impact on society and the world.
Now, the "globalization" mantra that was trumpeted to supposedly "lift all boats to prosperity" shows that its benefits accrue only to the wealthy in the corporate world and politicians beholden to them. -- BMD 8/24/2023


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A journey through Italy, Portugal, and Ireland investigates the causes of poverty while challenging politicians and economic experts on the subject. Can Europe win its fight against poverty? Is there a European master plan for structural change – or have 119 million people simply been left behind? And what is the price Europe will ultimately have to pay for this?

In Europe, 119 million people live in or at risk of poverty and social exclusion, earning under 60% of the average national income in their countries. Among them are poor children, unemployed young adults, and the working poor, spread out across the EU. In 2010 the “European Economic and Social Committee” launched “Europe 2020” – an initiative aiming to lift 20 million people out of poverty by the year 2020. As working conditions in Europe become ever more precarious, and layoffs more frequent, the EU faces a crisis of confidence from those members who feel unrepresented and disadvantaged. Poverty plays a decisive role here – it poses a fundamental threat to the European Project.
CLICK: Europe Extreme Poverty *****

Citizens across Europe who used to belong to the lower middle class have fallen into poverty. An in-depth investigation into the precariat, a new social class of financially insecure citizens who, although they are employed, find it very difficult to make ends meet. ARTE.tv Documentary is here to tell you more about what’s going on in the world of culture, news, and current affairs with powerful, refreshing, and entertaining docs subtitled in English for our international fans. CLICK: Working But Poor

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Germany is one of the wealthiest countries in the world – but the gap between rich and poor continues to grow. What’s it like to live in Germany when you hardly have any money left for groceries at the end of the month? And what’s it like when you have so much money that you can barely spend it all? We tell the stories behind the bank statements – and ask why Germany is a rich country with poor people. Elke, for example, lives off welfare. When she cooks, her priority is giving her daughter enough to eat. Elke eats the leftovers. Boris, a high-earning self-employed marketing coach, loves luxury cars and thinks being poor is a decision. And the middle-class Valdivieso family, homeowners with a comfortable income, have been worried about social decline since the energy crisis began – and feel let down by politicians. They’re not the only ones who feel like things in Germany are going downhill. What happens to a society when the rich and poor keep drifting further and further apart? One thing is sure: people are protesting. Under the hashtag “I’m affected by poverty”, resistance is growing on social media; Elke even speaks at a big demonstration in front of the Chancellery in Berlin. And there are some wealthy people who say they’d like to pay more taxes to close the wealth gap. What kind of political decisions is Germany facing?
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With the increase in the cost of living, food banks are increasingly in demand in Germany. But the massive influx of people in need poses a major challenge to charities, which sometimes have to refuse new applicants. ARTE.tv Documentary is here to tell you more about what’s going on in the world of culture, news, and current affairs with powerful, refreshing, and entertaining docs subtitled in English for our international fans. CLICK: The Newly Poor in Germany

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The American Middle-Class Crisis | Real Stories, Noam Chomsky  Wealth & Inequality Documentary

Renowned academic and author Noam Chomsky offers a thought-provoking exploration of the 10 principles that underlie the concentration of wealth and power, resulting in unprecedented levels of inequality and the erosion of the American middle class. In this enlightening documentary, Chomsky elucidates the causes and consequences of this profound societal shift. Through his keen insights and intellectual rigor, Chomsky reveals the mechanisms behind wealth concentration and its detrimental effects on society. He delves into the hollowing out of the American middle class, shedding light on the socioeconomic challenges faced by millions. Chomsky's analysis uncovers the interplay between power dynamics and economic disparities, providing a critical examination of the state of inequality in America. CLICK: American Middle-Class Crisis

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REQUIEM FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM is the definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as the most important intellectual alive, on the defining characteristic of our time - the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few. Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality - tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority - while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation. Profoundly personal and thought-provoking, Chomsky provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time - the death of the middle class and the swan song of functioning democracy. A potent reminder that power ultimately rests in the hands of the governed, REQUIEM is required viewing for all who maintain hope in a shared stake in the future. CLICK: Requiem for the American Dream




It’s the great English paradox. If the country has a historically low unemployment rate of 3.6%, poverty is breaking all records: today, more than 15 million Britons are considered poor… That’s almost a quarter of the population!

Galloping inflation and the explosion of energy costs in recent months forced millions into poverty. But there is also the hyper-flexibility of wages and the growing 'uberisation' of hundreds of thousands of self-employed people… All aggravated by more than 10 years of severe cuts in social assistance initiated under the government of David Cameron and disengagement of the State in the public services… As a result, the United Kingdom, which had only a few dozen food banks in 2010, now has more than 2,000… Life expectancy is stagnating, even declining in the most disadvantaged regions where people die 10 years earlier sooner than elsewhere, a victim of what is known as “shit life syndrome”, literally the shitty life syndrome: a deadly cocktail of multiple pathologies and addictions. So, millions of Britons engage in voluntary work to make up for the shortcomings of the government. This is the advent of the “Big Society”, a society of charities, charities, theorized in 2010 by the then Prime Minister: David Cameron, the architect of the austerity policy! We went to meet England’s working poor all forced to rely on solidarity to survive. From Blackpool, a seaside town in the north-west plagued by poverty, to the green county of Cumbria on the Scottish border, one of the most rural in the country, where public transport and services have become almost non-existent, via Ashton-under-Lyne, a factory town paralyzed by the absence of economic prospects, plunged into a Great Britain.





"The corporate-dominated economy and the transnational corporate state had consolidated its power over almost every aspect of public and private life, and under a formal globalization movement, the transnational corporations were extending their tentacles all over the planet.

Footsoldiers like Margaret Thatcher, Ronald Reagan, the ever-dutiful Bush family, Helmut Kohl, and a list of Japanese leaders had diligently kept the faith. Working with the timeworn International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and ultimately with the new engine of globalization, the World Trade Organization, they ensured that the interests of capital were nowhere endangered by the needs of the world's three billion poor to eat, have shelter, clothing, sanitation, medical care, and education."

-- William F. Pepper in his book "An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King," (10/20/2015)

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NOTES TO READERS:  
1. Colored and/or underlined words are HTML links. Click on them to see the linked posts/articles. Forwarding this and other posts to relatives and friends, especially those in the homeland, is greatly appreciated. To share, use all social media tools: email, blog, Google+, Tumblr, Twitter, Facebook, WhatsApp, etc. THANKS!!
2. Click the following underlined title/link to check these Essential/Primary Readings About Us Filipino Natives:


Primary Blog Posts/Readings for my fellow, Native (Malay/Indio) Filipinos-in-the-Philippines
3. Instantly translate to any of 71 foreign languages. Go to the sidebar on the right to choose your preferred language.
*************************




LET US NOT KEEP OUR HEADS IN THE SAND