How do trust the govt to have our best interest in mind in regards to pandemic response but not in regards to war?
It's the same driving force: medical and journalist corporations making record profits.
War Is a Racket (1933)
161–170 of 235 posts
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#162I wonder how famous is this piece. It's often reposted but do higher-ups think the same ?
What higher ups? Where and when the US military is used is not decided by the military. It's decided by politicians. This resonated strongly with me when I was a young US Marine but I don't feel the same now. It's one of those pure and simple ideas that's easy to say but the world is not pure and simple.
higher-ups includes politicians, or anyone with actionable levels of influence
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#163YYYYYYYYeeaap, but as long as politics and media prevent the people from thinking about the actually important things, nothing will ever change.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#164I started paying attention to this when I lived close to DC around 2002. Bush was cutting the top tax brackets while ramping up for the Iraq invasion, the defense contractors made record profits (I remember one CEO making around 30 million) and the DC metro was plastered with ads touting the patriotism of the defense contractors. I thought "these guys are making record money, are getting their taxes reduced, try to l…
*some clueless young guys have to go and kill untold numbers of innocent people in another country. It never ceases to amaze me how citizens of the USA place the vast majority of sympathy to their beloved “troops” and barely any on those who actually get invaded.
Why's that amazing? The media dictates what most people talk about, and how they do it.
Never noticed how topics switch over time depending on what's in the news? That's what people talk about! News switches the main topic, people switch the main topic. The old topic becomes forgotten and it does so quickly.
If you take a closer look, you'll even see that they talk about the thoughts they've read, in the perspective they've received read them. I have little reason to assume it's not like this everywhere.
There will always a part who disagrees, but it will always be a minority compared to the masses, which creates beneficial controversy and keeps people arguing.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#165I started paying attention to this when I lived close to DC around 2002. Bush was cutting the top tax brackets while ramping up for the Iraq invasion, the defense contractors made record profits (I remember one CEO making around 30 million) and the DC metro was plastered with ads touting the patriotism of the defense contractors. I thought "these guys are making record money, are getting their taxes reduced, try to l…
*some clueless young guys have to go and kill untold numbers of innocent people in another country. It never ceases to amaze me how citizens of the USA place the vast majority of sympathy to their beloved “troops” and barely any on those who actually get invaded.
Yep. About 5000 American soldiers died in the Iraq War. A tragic loss, undeniably.
Iraqi deaths? Estimated to be between 400,000 and 1,000,000. That doesn't include deaths that will follow for decades from lasting damage and the instability that followed in the region and continues to this day.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#166Earlier quoted context omitted.
*some clueless young guys have to go and kill untold numbers of innocent people in another country. It never ceases to amaze me how citizens of the USA place the vast majority of sympathy to their beloved “troops” and barely any on those who actually get invaded.
Why's that amazing? The media dictates what most people talk about, and how they do it. Never noticed how topics switch over time depending on what's in the news? That's what people talk about! News switches the main topic, people switch the main topic. The old topic becomes forgotten and it does so quickly . If you take a closer look, you'll even see that they talk about the thoughts they've read, in the perspective…
It is kind of fun to just not follow national news and then get into conversations with relatives / friends that do. Most conversations are really pre-programmed including the views that they will have. "Telegram is bad because it is used by extremists" for example. The most egregious example being COVID of course. The different national narratives were slightly out of sync at all times, so that people got told the Vaccines were effective at preventing infection, spread and the "way out", while at the same time another country was already running Booster programs because two doses were not enough and weren't even effectively preventing hospitalisations after 6 months.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#167Earlier quoted context omitted.
*some clueless young guys have to go and kill untold numbers of innocent people in another country. It never ceases to amaze me how citizens of the USA place the vast majority of sympathy to their beloved “troops” and barely any on those who actually get invaded.
Why's that amazing? The media dictates what most people talk about, and how they do it. Never noticed how topics switch over time depending on what's in the news? That's what people talk about! News switches the main topic, people switch the main topic. The old topic becomes forgotten and it does so quickly . If you take a closer look, you'll even see that they talk about the thoughts they've read, in the perspective…
And many people pick up terminology or even whole headlines really quick. Sometimes it’s super easy to tell which newspaper/website someone is reading by that.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#168Earlier quoted context omitted.
*some clueless young guys have to go and kill untold numbers of innocent people in another country. It never ceases to amaze me how citizens of the USA place the vast majority of sympathy to their beloved “troops” and barely any on those who actually get invaded.
Yep. About 5000 American soldiers died in the Iraq War. A tragic loss, undeniably. Iraqi deaths? Estimated to be between 400,000 and 1,000,000. That doesn't include deaths that will follow for decades from lasting damage and the instability that followed in the region and continues to this day.
Don't forget the lasting effects of depleted Uranium munitions:
https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/2019/09/21/new-study-do...
that's a particularly nasty thing to be lobbing around. The shell that just keeps on shellin' long after the war is over.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#169I started paying attention to this when I lived close to DC around 2002. Bush was cutting the top tax brackets while ramping up for the Iraq invasion, the defense contractors made record profits (I remember one CEO making around 30 million) and the DC metro was plastered with ads touting the patriotism of the defense contractors. I thought "these guys are making record money, are getting their taxes reduced, try to l…
> Since then I honestly think there should be no profit in making weapons while a war is going.
Why should the weapons manufacturers be left out while oil companies, mercenary corps, and construction/logistics companies get all of the action? "Everybody" deserves their place at the feeding trough.
Re: War Is a Racket (1933)
#170Earlier quoted context omitted.
This guy is amazing and it really speaks of the troubles of war. >The flag follows the dollar, the soldiers follow the flag. I find this "business plot"[0] to be fascinating as well. >Retired Marine Corps Major General Smedley Butler asserted that wealthy businessmen were plotting to create a fascist veterans' organization with Butler as its leader and use it in a coup d'état to overthrow Roosevelt. >Early in the com…
Capitalists tend to dislike Democracy. In a Democracy, groups of people tax the Capitalists to pay for all sorts of frivolities like Health Care, Elder Care, poor folk care, and crazy useless stuff like Libraries, parks (aka future mining locations), policing, and community-sponsored housing. It's so much easier for the Capitalists if there is a fascist in charge, because then such nonsense as just mentioned is tampe…
Sarcasm and anger often gets misinterpreted on online forums, hope you arent continuously downvoted.