The book arrived yesterday in solid shape—still wrapped in its library cover, barcode intact. I ordered a bookmark for it too.
It’s Here: The Neocon Reader
Tag: New Deal
Dialectics for Pavlov’s Dogs
A Spectre Is Haunting New York City—and It’s Not Communism, It’s Capital in Drag
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Nailing the neocon myth [Excerpts from The Neocon Reader]
Nailing the neocon myth (excerpt from “Neoconservatism” edited by Irwin Stelzer aka “The Neocon Reader”)
Read More »Trump plans to deny Social Security disability payments to hundreds of thousands of workers
Choreographed Dissent
How Reform Rebrands Power Without Redistributing It
Notice: This is not an endorsement of Mr. Reagan. What strikes me is how long it’s taken some folks to catch on—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was never the political outsider she was marketed to be. I remember watching these videos years ago. Even then, it was clear her role was never to disrupt the machinery, but to redirect dissent—to shepherd disillusioned voters back into the Democratic fold. The Justice Democrats weren’t a rupture; they were a renovation.
You can’t change the system from within.
Read More »Revealed: How journalism and awards work together to promote genocide and regime change
Don’t Deify Jimmy Carter
Jimmy Carter, out of office, had the courage to call out the “abominable oppression and persecution” and “strict segregation” of Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza in his 2006 book “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.” He dedicated himself to monitoring elections, including his controversial defense of the 2006 election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, and championed human rights around the globe. He lambasted the American political process as an “oligarchy” in which “unlimited political bribery” created “a complete subversion of our political system as a payoff to major contributors.”
The Soviet Union was asked by the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan to intervene to help fight against the Afghan mujahideen that the US was arming: Soviet-Afghan War
Carter, Charter 77, and Solidarność (Solidarity):
Read More »The ‘Israel Lobby’ Works for the US Military Industrial Complex
Since publication of John Mearsheimer’s and Stephen Walt’s ‘The Israel Lobby’ in 2007, superior public relations has served as the main explanation for the outsized influence that the nation of Israel holds over American politicians. In that telling, AIPAC (American-Israel Public Affairs Committee) and other supporters of Israel built a sophisticated and far-reaching public relations machine that promotes US politicians who support Israel and punishes those who don’t.
The ‘Israel Lobby’ Works for the US Military Industrial Complex – by Rob Urie – 27 June 2024
H/T: xenagoguevicene
[2003] When the CIA financed European Intellectuals
To counteract the Soviet influence in Europe, at the end of WWII the United States created a network of pro-American elites. Thus, the CIA financed the Congress for Cultural Freedom in which many European intellectuals participated. Among the most distinguished ones were Raymond Aron and Michel Crozier. Responsible for designing an anti-communist ideology welcomed by the conservative right as well as the socialist and reformist left of Europe during the Cold War, these networks were reactivated by the Bush administration. Today, they are the European sounding board of American conservatives.
When the CIA financed European Intellectuals
Related:
Tom Braden, Real-Life Dad Behind ‘Eight Is Enough’ and ‘Crossfire’ Pundit, Dies
As a CIA official in the early 1950s, Mr. Braden was head of the International Organizations Division, which promoted anti-communism by secretly funding groups including the AFL-CIO and the National Student Association, sending the Boston Symphony Orchestra on a European tour and publishing Encounter magazine. After Ramparts magazine exposed the CIA’s system of funding anti-communist front organizations all over the globe, Mr. Braden defended the program in an article in a 1967 issue of the Saturday Evening Post. He said the secret program was his idea.
[2013] Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won
Cultural Exchange and the Cold War: How the West Won (archived)
There are many theories of why Soviet communism collapsed and the Cold War ended. Here are a few of them to consider:
…
That is a claim also made by a former Hungarian ambassador to Washington, Andras Simonyi*, who led a rock band in Budapest during the Cold War. In a talk titled “How Rock Music Helped Bring Down the Iron Curtain,” delivered at the Rock ‘n Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Simonyi said, ”Rock ‘n roll, culturally speaking, was a decisive element in loosening up communist societies and bring them closer to the world of freedom.”
Related:
He plays guitar in the rock band, The Coalition of the Willing (est.2003) with top rated U.S. guitarist Jeff “Skunk” Baxter (Steely Dan, Doobie Brothers) which has Secretary of State Tony Blinken (guitar, vocals) as a regular guest.
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 
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