What Russia has maintained and what was pretty apparent was that this [Donbass] was a de facto NATO base inside Ukraine, which is technically not a member of NATO, so you’re talking about de facto NATOization being the main factor in this war,,,I mean for Russia. This war was predicated by NATO’s appetite for eastern expansion of the expansion eastward to include Ukraine..
“Since armies can reach each other regardless of the thousands of miles which lie between them friends have to show that they are just as independent from spatial distances as enemies so let’s continue shooting our long-distance missiles of friendship to each other in order to show that those who are inventive only in order to destroy that we are just as able to nullify space as they are.” Gunter Anders
“That tyranny exists only in Western adversaries but never in the West itself is treated as a permanent axiom of international affairs, as if Western democracies are divinely shielded from the temptations of genuine repression.”
Why, despite public opposition, do military budgets continue to rise and arms sales to authoritarian governments continue? Find some answers here.
Including: Effects of neoliberal capitalism, U.S. empire, and militarization: U.S. Military Bases worldwide, Climate Chaos and Colonization—U.S. occupation of/war with indigenous and sovereign lands, Fossil Fuels, Water Pollution, Nuclear War, Agent Orange and Burn Pits, Superfund Sites, and more.
“Since Biden’s inauguration, the report states, the State Department has approved the sale of $85 million in missiles from Raytheon to Chile, and a $… This Is How the Biggest Arms Manufacturers Steer Millions to Influence US Policy
Yesterday, Ukrainian and Russian officials held another round of high-level negotiations in Turkey. Ukraine says it will accept neutral status and be a non-nuclear country and Russia says it will reduce some military activity “to increase mutual trust.” While these developments give some reason for optimism, Biden’s proposed FY2023 does the opposite.
“Biden is a classic example of the traditional elites, who now are completely out of touch. Remember, he’s built an alliance with the traditional establishment of the Republican party, the old Liz Cheneys, and Bill Kristol, and all these people, who are appalled by the kind of cult-like Republican party that’s built up around Trump.”
Washington DC lobbyists wag the dog: While public relations firms and intelligence-linked propaganda operations target the public, Washington DC lobbyists are agitating in Congress to extend the war in Ukraine.
What critical race theory actually is. Watching the news or browsing social media, it would be easy to think that critical race theory is a complicated, controversial, or new idea.
What are the implications for humanity as a whole?
“Industrial war destroys existing value systems that protect and nurture life, replacing them with fear, hatred, and a dehumanization of those who we are made to believe deserve to be exterminated. It is driven by emotions, not truth or fact. It obliterates nuance, replacing it with an infantile binary universe of us and them.”
A Tale of Two Wars: Biden Decries Russian Atrocities in Ukraine While Backing Saudi/UAE War in Yemen
CodePink. “Why is there such a disparity between coverage of the war on Ukraine vs. the war on Yemen? Coverage of Yemen reveals the US and UK’s complicity in creating the humanitarian crisis. Coverage of Ukraine constructs the US, the UK, & their allies as the ‘saviors of democracy.’” [as quoted on Democracy Now!]
A list of nonviolent tactics (from Gene Sharp,,”The Methods of Nonviolent Action,” Boston 1973)
Russia-Ukraine War: Mairead McGuire, Hedges, Glenn Greenwald, John Pilger, UNAC, Diana Johnstone; Palast: Voter Rights; Taibbi: Orwell Was Right; Bill McKibben: Climate Crisis; Away with Borders!; Dred Scott, George Floyd; MAUS; and more…
Instead of hyped military spending:
Fund educational programs across the world on the value of cultural diversity in friendships and communities, and the abysmal failures of racism, nationalism, and Nazism.
“Who is the perpetrator
Who is the victim
If the perpetrator is our enemy, and there is political capital to be made from highlighting their crime, then the media will deem the victim “worthy” — especially if the victim is a pro-U.S. figure. If, however, you die at the hands of the U.S. or its allies, you can expect little sympathy or coverage from the media, especially if you are a Communist, Muslim, or any other designation that renders you unworthy of media attention.”
Macgregor blasted the “uniparty” that drove the war from Washington and heaped criticism on NATO.
Organizing to end the Russia-Ukraine War
“It is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to find any despot in history who does not weaponize accusations of “treason” against dissidents as a central instrument for control. That U.S. discourse has now descended completely to that level is barely debatable.”
“The Ukrainian war has silenced the last vestiges of the Left. Nearly everyone has giddily signed on for the great crusade against the latest embodiment of evil, Vladimir Putin, who, like all our enemies, has become the new Hitler. The United States will give $13.6 billion in military and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, with the Biden administration authorizing on Saturday an additional $200 million in military assistance.”
The U.S. is censoring media, which affects our access to information. This outright censorship is a slippery slope could too easily lead directly to state censorship of media in the U.S. and is frightening in relation to freedom of the press/media/speech, the cornerstone of American democracy.
With the information in the latest UN report, McKibben makes an impassioned plea for immediate action to address the climate crisis.
Rise Up Times 
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