inviting our own destruction 12/7/2017 0 Comments   by E.L. Christianson Jr. Self-destructive behaviors go all the way from suicide at one extreme to various lesser forms of self hatred.  Is it something generic in the basic composition of human beings that causes us to move against our own self interest on one level or another?  And, is it inherently apart of our make-up to want to take others with us as we travel that downhill slope.? In every direction we look in this country, we see unbelievable stupidity is in the leadership position.  It is understandable that the wealthy elite would seek to screw the population with 'new tax regulations' that steal from the poor while enriching themselves.  But, is it smart?  How far will people be pushed before they feel a need to rebel?  We are reminded of the quote, "let them eat cake" that proceeded the the trip to the guillotine. As pointed out by Ralph Nader, "Slashing and burning in every direction, this legislation endangers the financial security of regular Americans of every age and every occupation."  As he states, this outrage sets the stage for cutting Medicare, Medicaid and other critical services to vulnerable Americans.  How far can this go before there are serious repercussions? Are those in leadership roles in this country simply doing the natural thing and leaning toward their own self destruction?  They cannot possibly believe that the people will never rise up against them.  They are the 'educated' ones who know history.  Do they suffer a group personality disorder that afflicts the 'oligarchy'? The same set of questions applies to our 'spreading peace' in the middle-east.  Are we out of our collective minds? Our mid-east actions are ill conceived.  We know our actions are stupid because, based on our own actions, we are warning American citizens about traveling out into the world.  We know we are creating hatred that is probably going to precipitate various degrees of reactions against us.  And, we go ahead and do it anyhow... knowing in advance... ​The United States State Department warned citizens to use extra caution when traveling outside of the United States.  The warning comes after we intentionally inflamed the tensions in the Middle East by relocating our embassy to Jerusalem. The State Department also implored U.S. travelers "to maintain a high level of vigilance and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness when traveling" and to "be alert to the possibility of political unrest, violence, demonstrations, and criminal activities when traveling". Certainly the promotion of peace could not be our motivation in moving our embassy to Jerusalem.  Everyone in the entire world recognizes that unrest all around the world will grow as a direct result of this particular stupidity on the part of our government.  Are we sick? Stupidity seems to be our 'calling card'.  Can anyone imagine anything more idiotic than irritating North Korea and pushing them toward nuclear war?  Screwing the American public with unfair tax laws is bad.  The result of making the Israeli/Palestinian situation worse is horrible.  Unrest and increased tensions are guaranteed in both situations and that's bad enough. ​But, the result of unnecessarily provoking North Korea is in a category all by itself.  On the downhill side, it is likely to be a whole lot worse - a whole lot worse.  This is where questions about suicide enter into the discussion.  It appears that our leadership is in a rush to meet up with their god.  The problem is that many of us regular people don't want to hurry into that meeting.  But, due to the leadership's stupidity and their drive to end it all, we will not have a choice. Unless there is massive change taking place in the very near future, we should all prepare to say good-bye to our loved ones... and that's the truth !!! The Necessity of Imagining An Unimaginable War Top military and political experts warn that the risk of war is at an all-time high, the threat is imminent and the impact would be catastrophic. from Common Dreams by Lisa Fuller "If activists take a breath from firefighting long enough to imagine a potential war with North Korea, they may realize that they need to proactively organize to insist that Congress urgently focuses its attention on the North Korea crisis, and implements an effective legislative strategy to prevent war." The prospect of nuclear war with North Korea has repeatedly been described as “unimaginable” – and in fact, most of us have literally failed to imagine it. As the New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof points out, “We’re complacent — neither the public nor the financial markets appreciate how high the risk is of a war, and how devastating one could be.” Admittedly, with biological, conventional and nuclear weapons expected to kill millions, the scenario is genuinely difficult to comprehend. We struggle to translate such high numbers into pictures of individual men, women and children suffering. Nevertheless, we can no longer afford to be in denial. Top military and political experts warn that the risk of war is at an all-time high, the threat is imminent and the impact would be catastrophic. Even before North Korea’s latest missile test, former U.S. Army General Barry McCraffrey, Council of Foreign Relations President Richard Haass and the International Institute for Strategic Studies Executive Director Mark Fitzpatrick all estimated that the risk of war was 50 percent. General McCaffrey expects that war will breakout by summer 2018. There is a significant risk that a war would escalate beyond a regional conflict. China has warned that it would intervene on behalf of North Korea in the case of a U.S. preemptive strike, and international security experts Nora Bensahel and David Barno argue that China may launch attacks on “U.S. bases in the region or possibly even the U.S. homeland, especially since radiation would inevitably blanket some of its territory.” China has been carrying out military drills near the Korean peninsula since July, and tested an ICBM capable of hitting the continental United States on November 6. Russia also recently publicly warned that it is preparing for war as well. Even if the war was confined to the Korean peninsula, however, it has the “potential to cause mass starvation worldwide,” as a result of nuclear winter, according to nuclear experts Alan Robock and Owen Toon. In other words, World War III is no longer just the stuff of sci-fi movies — it may be right around the corner. With such high stakes, it is critical that we voluntarily imagine the “unimaginable,” as uncomfortable as it may be. Those who do imagine war are much more likely to take action to prevent it. Journalist and author Jonathan Schell advocated for this position in his 1982 book “The Fate of the Earth,” writing that “Only by descending into this hell in imagination now can we hope to escape descending into it in reality … the knowledge we thus gain cannot in itself protect us from nuclear annihilation, but without it we cannot begin to take measures that can actually protect us.” Provoking Risk of 'All-Out War' US Deploys Supersonic Bomber Over Korean PeninsulaNorth Korea called the show of force, part of a joint exercise with South Korea, a manifestation of America's "extremely reckless war hysteria" from Common Dreams by Jake Johnson The United States further intensified what has been described as one of its largest-ever aerial military exercises on Wednesday by flying a B-1B supersonic bomber over South Korea's eastern coast, where it conducted bombing drills that North Korea warned are "simulating an all-out war." "U.S. imperialists are staging an ultra-precision strike drill with high intensity just like in a real war focused on 'removing' the DPRK's state leadership and core facilities by massively introducing the ultramodern stealth fighters." —North Korea According to Reuters, "the bomber flew from the Pacific U.S.-administered territory of Guam and joined U.S. F-22 and F-35 stealth fighters." The supersonic bomber was just one of 230 aircraftset to be deployed over the next five days. The massive show of force—which came just a week after North Korea successfully tested its most powerful missile yet—was part of a joint exercise with South Korea that takes place annually. This year's simulations, however, have taken on new significance, as U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un have continued to trade barbs and exchange threats of nuclear destruction. As Common Dreams reported on Monday, North Korea denounced the military exercises—formally titled "Vigilant Ace"—as a "major provocation" that pushes the world "to the brink of nuclear war." Pyongyang ramped up its criticism of the U.S.-South Korea operations in a statement issued on Tuesday through its official Korean Central News Agency, calling the drills a manifestation of America's "extremely reckless war hysteria." "U.S. imperialists are staging an ultra-precision strike drill with high intensity just like in a real war focused on 'removing' the DPRK's state leadership and core facilities by massively introducing the ultramodern stealth fighters," the statement read. The North went on to conclude that thanks to continued provocations by the U.S., "a grave situation is prevailing in the Korean Peninsula that a nuclear war may break out any moment." ​ Military exercises are just one way in which the U.S. is continuing to fuel nuclear tensions on the Korean Peninsula. Last week, as Common Dreams reported, U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley pressured China to cut off its oil shipments to Pyongyang and threatened that North Korea would be "utterly destroyed" if war breaks out. It is no coincidence that members of Congress who are war veterans have been some of the most outspoken and active in raising the alarm over the crisis in North Korea. ​ Although President Reagan never personally experienced war, a movie depicting a nuclear attack on the United States was enough to activate his imagination and change his entire orientation to nuclear war. After seeing the “The Day After,” he wrote in his diary that the film “left me greatly depressed … We have to do all we can to have a deterrent and see there is never a nuclear war.” A few months later, he announced that “reducing the risk of war, and especially nuclear war, is priority number one.” His shift in perspective is often credited with being one of the most important factors in de-escalating the Cold War. As our brains are hard-wired to protect us from thinking about large-scale suffering, we too may need to take proactive efforts to imagine a potential war. For example, we can look at pictures of Hiroshima and read the stories of atomic bomb survivors, transposing such scenarios to our own cities. We can use nuclear historian Alex Wellerstein’s Nukemap to understand what would happen if a bomb was dropped on our own cities. We can ensure that we stay updated on the crisis and that we obtain information from reliable sources with expertise. Pyongyang released pictures of Kim Jong-un with what state media said was a new type of hydrogen bomb However, while imagining the prospect of war may be necessary, it is not sufficient: Americans must mobilize quickly and effectively to address the threat. If they are able to do so, there is good reason to believe they can prevent war. First, there are viable options to resolve the Korean crisis — the Trump administration just hasn’t tried any of them yet. In 1994, the Clinton administration successfully negotiated a framework agreement that centered on the idea of a freeze-for-freeze: North Korea suspended its nuclear program in exchange for the U.S. suspending some of its military exercises. The agreement held up until 2003 when the Bush administration — not North Korea — ended the agreement. A new freeze-for-freeze (which North Korea has repeatedly indicated it would be open to), in combination with legislation preventing Trump from launching a pre-emptive strike, would be the best possible option to solve the current crisis. Essentially, if North Korea doesn’t feel threatened, it will probably stop threatening others. Second, there is already an existing grassroots structure with the capabilities to organize an effective large-scale movement. Since Trump became president, “an astounding number of new grassroots groups, at least six times the number the Tea Party could boast at its height,” have formed according to grassroots leader L.A. Kauffman. Activists have already done the hard part — they have formed movements, mobilized large segments of the American population, and proven their efficacy, successfully organizing to prevent the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, for example. Third, unlike with Obamacare, there is already bipartisan support for efforts to prevent war with North Korea. There are already over 60 co-sponsors, including two Republicans, to the “No Unconstitutional Strike against North Korea Act” in the House. Although there are only three Democrats co-sponsoring the Senate bill, several Republican senators — including Bob Corker, Jeff Flake, Dan Sullivan, and John Thune — have all publicly expressed concern about Trump’s approach to North Korea. However, there hasn’t been any movement on the bill since it was introduced in October, nor on various other bills that would restrict Trump’s power to start a pre-emptive war. Public pressure is needed to ensure that Congress prioritizes such legislation. Although no bills have been introduced as of yet to support a freeze-for-freeze, 61 members of Congress sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in August highlighting the success of the aforementioned 1994 Agreed Framework, stating that there is an “urgent need to replicate these successes.” While the Trump administration is responsible for making international treaties, Congress could still force a freeze-for-freeze by passing legislation that prevents funds from being used for the most provocative military drills. Fourth, there is a historical precedent for a large-scale nuclear freeze movement. During the Cold War, as activist and writer Duncan Meisel explained, over a third of Americans participated in “a series of city and state referendum campaigns calling for a Nuclear Freeze.” What’s more, “Reagan’s militaristic temperament” — according to Andrew Lanham of the Boston Review — actually aided the movement’s efforts to garner support across the political spectrum. However, all of these advantages are meaningless if activists fail to focus sufficient attention on the North Korea crisis. With so many important issues at stake, activism can feel like triage these days: Efforts tend to be focused on whatever legislative calamity is most imminent. The problem with that approach is that activists’ focus becomes determined by Congress’ agenda rather than grassroots priorities. If activists take a breath from firefighting long enough to imagine a potential war with North Korea, they may realize that they need to proactively organize to insist that Congress urgently focuses its attention on the North Korea crisis, and implements an effective legislative strategy to prevent war. As the Bulletin of Scientists President Rachel Bronson says, “we have reversed the hands of the Doomsday Clock before. We can do it again.” Lisa Fuller spent the past eight years as a senior staff member and a civilian peacekeeper at Nonviolent Peaceforce, working in war zones such as Iraq, South Sudan and Sri Lanka.