Dave Barry's Year in Review

Is here ...always worth a look.

A Little Encouraging News from Mexico City

‘Living proof that you can spend money on the poor’: Utopia comes to Mexico City

Excerpts:

"The mayor’s office believes the utopias have driven down crime in a neighbourhood that used to record one in every five of Mexico City’s murders. Serious offences such as assault, robbery and murder have dropped by between 25% and 74.1%, depending on the utopia....

“You know the programme is working when the rich are complaining that the poor have a gym and a swimming pool,” says Robles-Durán. “This is so pioneering, as it is an entirely new political economy where every citizen, no matter how poor, should have access to these services. And it is the first case in 20 or 30 years that Mexico has broken with the neoliberal dogma that there is no money for this.

“This is living proof that if you want to, you can spend money on the poor.”

Impoverishing the public realm is part of the neoliberal impulse for "labor discipline." Life is horrible, if you're poor, so you had better take that crappy job...that's the labor discipline message. Mexico is leading the way toward remedying this 

The Tulsi Gabbard Controversy

(c) by Mark Dempsey

In a bizarre twist, a DSA (Socialist) former university professor posted a (Republican) Lincoln Project video critical of Tulsi Gabbard. The video calls her a traitor, Putin's stooge, and a supporter of dictators like Assad in Syria, etc. Worst of all, she's been critical of the US role in the war in Ukraine. How dare she!

But the US provoked the Ukraine war and made dictators like Assad and Castro take extraordinary measures to deal with CIA sabotage. The cruelty, torture, and incarceration were a response to well-funded sabotage campaigns. And yet, the per-capita incarceration in even these tortured countries does not approach US rates, which are now five times the world's per-capita average.

It's not often mentioned, but the G.H.W. Bush administration promised Gorbachev that NATO would not expand "one inch to the east" in return for allowing Germany to reunite. Clinton and Bush 43 promptly broke that promise, expanding NATO up to Russia's borders. Russia protested but didn't attack.

The US also spent $5 billion in "democracy promotion" in Ukraine leading up to the "Orange Revolution" in 2014--a coup to replace the elected Ukrainian leader with one Undersecretary of State Victoria Nuland selected. No need for those pesky elections! Neocon Nuland will select! You may also remember the neocons as those cheerleading the war crime known as the invasion of Iraq.

The proximate cause of both Gulf Wars was Saddam's invasion of Kuwait. Rarely mentioned in accounts of Gulf Wars: the Kuwaitis were slant drilling to steal oil from Iraqi territory near their border, and Saddam wanted to punish the thieves. He even asked the US ambassador to Iraq if the US would object. "We have no opinion about that" was the response, so he invaded, and then the US responded by attacking Iraq claiming (falsely) Saddam had WMDs.

Eastern Ukraine protested the coup when Nuland's chosen Ukrainian leader was installed, and Kyiv responded by shelling those protesting, leading to roughly 14,000 casualties. Yet Russia still tried to negotiate for peace in Minsk (1 & 2) and Istanbul. German Prime Minister, Angele Merkel, has admitted NATO negotiated in bad faith to delay as settlement so Ukraine could arm itself. The US and UK sabotaged any peace agreement. Russia still did not attack.

As a side note, one might remember the strategic importance of Ukraine (and part of Belarus)--it's the avenue Europeans used to invade Russia. Both Napolean and Hitler came through this territory.

So when Tulsi Gabbard points out that Russians had legitimate security concerns about Ukraine, she was more accurate than the "Eeek! The Russians just attacked for no reason!" crowd. Yet this makes her a treacherous "Putin's stooge"!

Please believe me when I say I'm no fan of Trump or most of his appointments, but Ms. Gabbard might rein in the military-industrial-spook complex that keeps provoking these "nation-building" wars. And such wars are commonplace. Between 1798 and 1994 the US is responsible for 41 changes of government south of its borders. And that's just in this hemisphere! No need to mention Iran, Iraq, Vietnam, Syria, and Libya where the US practiced violence in the service of its empire.

For a more authoritative take on the US' responsibility for the Ukraine war, see John Mearsheimers' description of how the Ukraine war is the responsibility of the West.

Or read Naomi Klein's description of "disaster capitalism" ("Baghdad Year Zero") describing US policy in Iraq.

Warlord capitalists are running our foreign policy show, creating disasters for the sake of economic advantage. 

Or see Michael Hudson's Super Imperialism to see how long this has been going on.

Of the 250+ military attacks since WWII, the US is responsible for just over 80%. The US thrives on stirring up conflicts.

Anyway, I'm no great fan of Trump or his appointments, but to see someone who actually promoted peace criticized by someone whose business was being informed was disappointing.

Update: This review of Provoked by Scott Horton is from the Von Mises (libertarian) institute, and adds some substance to the points above. Concluding paragraph: "Incredibly, this only begins to scratch the surface of these early, post-Cold War provocations toward Russia that Horton documents, let alone the follies and misdeeds that occurred during the George W. Bush presidency and thereafter. Horton has persuasively made the case that the US provoked Russia over the course of three decades, knowing that Russia would respond with hostility toward NATO expansion. Yet, with reckless abandon, US leaders and officials pushed on, achieving their wildest dreams of NATO expansion and setting their sights on what was always their crown jewel—Ukraine. It did not have to be this way, and it still does not. But time is ticking. Defying expectations, President Biden manages to reach new heights of absurdity in his escalatory policy toward Russia, ticking off a box on Zelensky’s deadly five-point “peace” plan. The war cannot end soon enough."

Congressional Funnies

From nakedcapitalism.com:

“The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Failing to Elect a House Speaker Quickly” [Chad Pergram, Thread Reader]. Original. Sounds like a pretty big deal: “This is the breakdown when the Congress starts: 219 Republicans to 214 Democrats…. The Speaker of the House must win an outright majority of all Members casting ballots for someone by name. In other words, the person with the most votes does not win… So let’s crunch the math for Mike Johnson. If there are 219 Republicans and four vote for someone besides him – and all Democrats cast ballots for Jeffries, the tally is 215-214. But there’s no Speaker. No one attained an outright majority of all Members casting ballots for someone by name. 218 is the magic number if all 434 Members vote. By rule, this paralyzes the House. The House absolutely, unequivocally, cannot do anything until it elects a Speaker. Period. The House can’t swear-in Members. Technically, they’re still Representatives-elect. Only after the House chooses its Speaker does he or she in turn swear-in the membership. The House certainly can’t pass legislation. It can’t form committees. It’s frozen in a parliamentary paralysis until it elects a Speaker…. This also means that the House cannot certify the results of the Electoral College, making President-elect Trump the 47th President of the United States on January 6. The failure to elect a Speaker compels the House to vote over and over….” Much more on possible scenarios in the complete thread. Chuck Grassley, Senate President Tempore, is fourth in line for the Presidency: “If the House is still frittering away time, trying to elect a Speaker on January 20, Grassley likely becomes ‘Acting President.'” • Could be entertaining! And today’s House has not had a good record picking Speakers in a timely and non-acrimonious mannner. Maybe the people floating Elon Musk for Speaker had these scenarios gamed out?

US Healthcare Administrative Costs Exceed OECD Countries'

 

Biden's legacy

 

Michael Conahan took $2,800,000 in bribes from a private prison in exchange for locking up 2300 kids, one of whom committed suicide.

Biden commuted his sentence.

Steven Donziger won a $9 bn lawsuit against Chevron & got locked up for 3.5 in retaliation.

He was not pardoned. pic.twitter.com/jR1G9Br0gx

— Climate Defiance (@ClimateDefiance) December 16, 2024

A little commentary on the CEO assassination

 

United Healthcare Rules the World!

 

🚨 🚨 🚨

ATTN: Everyone!

Listen to this incredibly invaluable breakdown of the situation with United Healthcare.

Gives some chilling context!! pic.twitter.com/B5P09y2o1b

— Krista Monroe (@MsKristaMonroe) December 6, 2024

Democrats Sabotage Progressives

 

NEVER FORGET IT WAS THE DEMOCRATS WHO DESTROYED DEMOCRACY AND PAVED THE WAY FOR DONALD TRUMP. pic.twitter.com/lOrKaYAGP9

— Power to the People ☭🕊 (@ProudSocialist) December 3, 2024

On CNN, Rahm Emanuel admits a refusal to hold Iraq War proponents accountable for their lies & a refusal to hold Wall St accountable for the financial crisis created big problems for Dems.

Emanuel was chief of staff of the Obama White House that opted to hold nobody accountable. pic.twitter.com/JvCin9M8ua

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) December 3, 2024

Here's the guy they're denying:

Trump has suggested that Canada become the 51st state in our union.

Does that mean that we can adopt the Canadian health care system and guarantee health care to all, lower the cost of prescription drugs, and spend 50% less per capita on health care?

I'm all for it. https://t.co/Nwkk7lykXd

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 3, 2024

News Humor

 

Breaking: Sources have confirmed that Juan Guaidó has declared himself interim President of South Korea. 🇰🇷🇻🇪 pic.twitter.com/kB5sSDXRuP

— Alan MacLeod (@AlanRMacLeod) December 3, 2024

Colonial Power Sponsors Terrorism to Maintain Its Military Presence in Former Colonies

 

🛑🇹🇩- Chad should have learned from the AES!

When Mali 🇲🇱 was alone fighting terrorism, the French prevented @GoitaAssimi and his boys from pursuing the rest of the terrorists who fled to Kidal. That was the first betrayal that Mali 🇲🇱 experienced with the French, because they… pic.twitter.com/ImKOoOiGow

— Sy Marcus Herve Traore (@marcus_herve) November 29, 2024

Worth reading the whole thing.