Syria and the Antiwar Movement
Published on The Bullet, Socialist Project’s E-Bulletin No 1348, by Judith Deutsch, Dec 29, 2016.
The enormity, complexity and fall-out of the Syrian war calls for urgent attention. Current events in Aleppo bring to the fore the unreliability of information and dichotomous political positions that contribute to obstruction and paralysis in the antiwar movement. Conflicting reports make unclear the number of civilians and fighters who have been evacuated, their condition, their political beliefs, their situation as refugees in Idlib, the civilian toll perpetrated by all sides. Instead of verifiable facts and pertinent history, much that is said about Aleppo is speculation about the future, about whether the re-taking of rebel areas of Aleppo will consolidate Bashar al-Assad’s hold or whether it will engender even worse violence. There is much second guessing of the imperial and geopolitical aims of international players … //
… Debating the Syrian War: … //
… Recent History: … //
… The Global Arms Race: … //
… The Antiwar Movement in Canada: … //
… Syria is still treated as a distant reality. Psychotically, Syria will likely not disrupt holiday cheer, while ominous dark clouds loom over the new year. The global war against the people (as Jeff Halper refers to militarized neoliberalism) is being fought with political impunity and with increasingly horrific technology. It demands an antiwar movement in Canada and the U.S. that is unrelenting in its opposition to the global arms trade, to militarization and austerity regimes, to resurgent racialized nationalism and closed borders, and to ineffectual international institutions.
(full long text, related links).
Links:
Women suffer much more work stress than men, says psychiatrist, on The Guardian, by David Batty, Dec 30, 2016: sexism in the workplace and family responsibilities add to pressure as they face unequal pay and lack of support … it comes as official figures show that women aged 25-54 are more stressed than their male colleagues, with this pressure peaking for those aged 35-44, when many women are juggling family responsibilities, such as caring for children and elderly parents …;
ISIS, sectarian conflict & chaos: Iraq 10 years after Saddam Hussein’s death, on RT, Dec 30, 2016;
Economic Update: We Can Do Better Than Capitalism, 56.02 min, uploaded by Democracy At Work, Dec 29, 2016 … updates on mistreated homeless, keeping millions from voting, ‘I, Daniel Blake,’ 3000 water systems like Flint, Trump’s foreign employees, unequal retirement USA, Sen Whitehouse on anti-science. Major discussions of (1) economics of broken infrastructure, and (2) raising capital for worker coops;
A Battle Over American-Made Products Is Looming and Republicans Are in the Middle of It, on naked capitalism, by Yves Smith, Dec 27, 2016: why “Buy American” is going to be a tough sale for Trump;
Das Kapital im 21. Jahrhundert, Finanzmarkt Ökonomie – Thomas Piketty, 58.07 min, von Nachden Ken am 26. Dez 2016;
Armenian President highlights alternative route to Upper Lars checkpoint at Supreme Eurasian Economic Council session, on Armenpress, Dec 26, 2016;
Destiny Lopez on Reproductive Rights, A.C. Thompson on Hate Crimes, on FAIR.org, by CounterSpin, Dec 23, 2016: … for corporate media, abortion access is primarily a “hot topic”—rather than a material fact of life for women and families;
Weekly Top 5 Papers, on SSRNblog, by Annemarie Nordquist, Dec 19, 2016;
Mesmerizing Historical Photos From The Wild Wild West (47), on Historian Insight, Oct 13, 2016:
… and this:
Tangerine Dream – Live at Conventry Cathedral 1975, uploaded by ozashikiTECHNO: