Until the time when our actual governments and leaders are debating things like the legitimacy of their decisions towards interventionist policies, or any other policies they impose on us, we should all be criticizing these policies and the governments who enforce them, even if in some cases they're right. A few Intellectuals on tv just doesn't cut it. Ultimately, these guys should be agreeing with Chris if they had any sense of accountability, and that's why Chris owns this debate.
Brilliant debate,thanks to TVO,Hedges unassailable,in a league of his own,Federman impressive,Reihan who?another corporate apologist and obvious opportunist,he better wake up soon to the world around him or be swept away by the coming tsunami,the other guy...what's his name..pretty lightweight intellectually,can't wait to buy Hedge's book, :)
Reihan is a very, very disgusting person. He knows full well what's going on in the world and he is being paid to deny it. Having his voice heard over someone who's on food stamps is disturbing.
@efarmer385 Reihan and Tony Keller are perfect examples of apologists for colonialism they offer no value at all in what they say they are just trying to keep up with Chris and damper down his points with irrelevant hog wash. The reality is that things are allot worse than Chris laid out and the people who keep ignoring it all deserve what is coming down on them.this colonial Empire is on its way out, thank God.
@efarmer385 Cool, I'm going to try to put an anti-Imperial channel together and post some videos if you want to subscribe to it and offer suggestions.
First off the reason why we see on average a lower number of people living in houses is BECAUSE people are having less kids and the reason why people are having less kids is because wages have been going down. So the trend that he points out actually supports what Christ Hedges said earlier Then he goes on to say He "see a very different landscape " then Chris Hedges because hes totally isolated from the vast major of people in this country who are really really pissed off at the American elite.
hes comparing government to a restaurant have you ever worked in a restaurant you fool. restaurants what EVER!! The conspiracy is that the OLD power structures have not given way to the postmodern or posthuman way of neo liberal safety valves. a liberal democracy cannot exist in an industrial oligarchy which is the science fiction of posthuman and the new third world of American social order.
These people don't understand how power works in Washington. They seem never to have been to Camden, NJ. I wonder, do they know anyone whose home is in foreclosure? Well, I'm not an expert either, but an Ivy-Beltway education, a year in Philadelphia, and one friend and another family member teetering on the edge of bankruptcy AND foreclosure, have sure taught me that things are EXACTLY as Hedges describes. Read Elizabeth Warren's Two-Income Trap (2003). The Hillary Clinton part is exquisite.
Hedges knows war and various foreign cultures, and he is so right to spank the neocons and neocon-leaning smarties who think of war as if it were some strategic game worth a try because they think so. The latter had power and abused it and had friends who profited from Iraq which made the whole effort highly corrupt and immoral. William Kristol is on record as saying Iraq is a moral war. Hedges has said there are few winners in wars but mainly dead and maimed people and devastated societies.
Around 22:38 Keller thinks he has a snappy new idea, hint: even the host doesn't want to hear about it, seems the cheerleaders for the Invasion of a sovereign country, Iraq, are just gettin a bum rap for their goodly works. Hedges proceeds to eviscerate Keller and rightly so.
My family, like Mr Salam's, is also originally from Bangladesh. But listening to him try to defend the capitalist system, and particularly the criminal war in Iraq, makes me feel sick to my stomach, cringing with shame and embarrassment...
These people need to listen to a real economist, Paul Craig Roberts, who has been explaining in precise detail for the last 10 years exactly why America's economy is being gutted, exactly how it is being gutted, and exactly who is doing the gutting. Salam is just nuts and full of it. Hedges is exactly right. We need more people like him.
What is so nauseating is the USA Invading/Occupying Army publicly declared before WikiLeaks that it did not keep a tally of Dead Iraq people. 200 K dead is somehow better than 1 million, boldly assuming Hedges is wrong. Lets try for zero dead Iraq citizens next time, and you do know that the USA supported Saddam Hussain after he Gassed the Kurds. And maybe you don’t like the glasses Hedges is wearing, that should discount at least half of what he says.
I've watched a lot of his interviews, debates and speeches on YouTube and elsewhere. He has the keenest intellect I've ever encountered and can win a debate with anyone. He's impressive. AND he speaks the truth.
And don't forget this: TVO - The Agenda, Chris Hedges, Oct 22, 2010 The Liberal Class, on YouTube. This precedes the above video, and NO, Hedges is not talking about the Liberal Party in Canada or the Boogeyman/Woman/LGBT in US political lore.
If you are working person of any political stripe you need to listen to this exchange of ideas. For more on this issue see Noam Chomsky - Prospects for Democracy 1994 - video and CD. Hedges' retort to Keller about supposed well meaning Michael Ignatieff's cheerleading for the Bush II invasion of Iraq was classic. How is it that people like Keller and Salam pull a check?
When Mark asks who stood to gain from the Iraq war Tony bursts in "that's crazy talk" (26:16). When conspiracy theories are mentioned someone always tries to dismiss them as crazy talk, but some crazy sh!t really does happen. Notice how he drops that when the connections are shown between huge profits and corporations with close ties to the U.S. government.
What?! Tony Keller doesn't believe there is a conspiracy among anybody? Why are we listening to him at all. History has been riddled with conspiracy, and they are exposed over and over again, even with the media bias and censorship. Wherever there is something to gain, there will be people and powers conspiring to get it. He is not stupid enough to really believe this, he is a part of some conspiracies himself. One is the conspiracy to hide this conspiracy.
It's hard to think of Chris Hedges as credible after he asserts that 1 million people died in the Iraq war, that figure is now only thrown out by hysterical anti-war activists, there are no recent studies which put the number of casualties anywhere near that number. Even the recent Wikileaks "expose" cites the civilian death toll as being under 200 000.
@Re5Publica Oh jeez. The death toll in Iraq is only under 200,000 you say? Thanks for passing that along. I feel better about the war already. I'm certain the relatives of the 200,000 also feel better.
@bapyou It matters 2 me that he's full crap. I have a suspicion u were probably calling 4 the U.S. 2 surrender 2 the people who killed most of those 200 000, if that's true, don't pretend civilian casualties concern u.
Hedges' attitude might b that the U.S. intervention is too late, but that's not the opinion of around 90% of Kurds, & around 50% of shia who say they support the invasion. It's sunni arabs who made up most of the resistance, & they would've resisted in 1991, as much as in 2006.
@Re5Publica You're entirely unconvinving and you seeth with hatred for Hedges' correct analysis of the "war." And what force unleashed these latent hostilities? Numerous veterans have attested to the take-no-prisoners standing orders from American field commanders.
I loathe fucks like you. Scum of the Earth free-marketeers have brought more misery on the working people of this Earth than any other group. Scum of the Earth. SCUM of the Earth. You're a worthless fuck.
@bapyou I'd believe that if it weren't 4 the fact that I'm aware of the conditions of working people in non-capitalist countries, & they're far more miserable. It's a matter of historical record.
I don't think u understand that capitalists can only make money if u give it 2 them freely, it's the government that makes money by taking by threat of force & arrest. U shouldn't ask y capitalists make so much money, u should ask y u keep giving it 2 them. The answer to that is y they merit it.
@Re5Publica Look: In a capitalist system there is no choice but to give your money to capitalists.
The bottom line is this:
You cannot comprehend the depth of my hatred for the right-wing. My hatred and loathing go beyond economic issues. There is no end to the misery that right-wing policies have caused around the world. No end.
The right-wing are the scum of the Earth. The sooner they are eradicated, the sooner free citizens of the world can live decent, meaningful lives.
@bapyou Capitalism simply means that citizens are free to produce goods and provide services without government orders. Asserting that people are forced to give money to capitalists is just dishonest, you're just saying it out of desperation. When was the last time you were forced to buy anything from a business? If you want a service or product (some thing people have to work to provide for you) you naturally must pay in exchange for it. Government taxation however, is levied by force.
@bapyou You're wrong; you're perfectly free to live in a commune.
I understand it's typical of leftists to be intolerant, and fanatical which is why they have a penchant for totalitarianism, and a hatred of those who fight it, namely the U.S. and its allies.
It's also typical of them to be completely ignorant of economics, which is why I tried, even if in vain, to shed some light on some things you might've never considered before due to your fanatical devotion and obstinate hatred.
@Re5Publica "You're perfectly free to live in a commune."
Tell that to the CIA, the precious thugs of capital who've systematically undermined every socialist government that's come into existence.
"leftists ... hate those who fight (totalitarianism), namely the U.S. and its allies."
Was the US "fighting totalitarianism" when it overthrew the democratically-elected governments of Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973)? In every case a US-friendly autocrat was placed in power.
@bapyou There's a difference between giving up your property willingly and living a communal lifestyle, like Tolstoy did, and having a government take away your property against your will by threat of force, like Castro did, and like the Soviet Union did. If you want to go live in a commune, they exist, you're free to in capitalist countries, but I suspect you wouldn't like the lifestyle.
In response to your second question, yes, it was part of the soviet containment policy.
@Re5Publica Look, asshole: The U.S. had no problem supporting dictatorships throughout its history, as long as those dictatorships were friendly to U.S. business interests.
"Soviet containment policy" What Soviet threat? The fucking State Dept, you useless piece of fuck, for decades lied about Soviet military strength. Why? Very simple, you useless piece of fuck: To keep the motherfucking war machine grinding on.
The Soviet Union never attacked any nation. Unlike America. Useless fuck.
@bapyou If you don't know what the Truman Doctrine was, or why liberal democracies felt threatened by Soviet expansion, then you simply can't claim to know 20th century history, in particular, the important global political events from 1950 to 1991. Do you know nothing about the Berlin Wall, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
Oh, and a fuckin fuckitty fuck fuck to you too. Profanity isn't a substitute for rational thought.
Hedges is a rare voice of sanity and truth. Let's stop being zombies people, let's rediscover thinkers like Bakunin, let's smash the old system. Salam's a joke, clowns like him will be tossed into the dust bin of history.
34:30 - (Salam shaking his head at the statement being made about the Tea Party funders) ... If he concedes this point, the thesis of his book (judging by its title) is shot.
Conspiracy (civil), an agreement between persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights, or to gain an unfair advantage * Conspiracy (crime), an agreement between persons to break the law in the future, in some cases having committed an act to further that agreement * Conspiracy (political), the overthrow of a government
The corporate board room is by its nature, a conspiracy.
Reihan Salam is a member of a neoliberal think tank that includes on its list of contributors William Kristol, one of George Bush's prime neo-con ideologues; a man partly responsible for America's ill-thought-out and illegal invasions of Iraq & Afghanistan. Salam is little more than a garden variety free-marketeer Friedmanite, the same marauding corporatists who have bankrupted America and the world.
@bapyou You're so boring. Corporatists are not free-market capitalists, they're practically polar opposites. But, I suspect there's nothing more to your jargon than an outburst of cynicism and prejudice.
And what qualifies you as the apotheosis of excitement, creampuff?
"Corporatists are not free-market capitalists ... "
You're fiddling with words. They are the same fucking thing. Next you'll tell me "greed is good!"
Take your Milton Friedman books and stick them where the sun doesn't shine. His is a morally bereft economic philosophy suitable only for teenagers high on Ayn Rand's millimeter-deep philosophy.
@bapyou It's easy to research, look up corporatism, and look up free-market, or laissez-faire capitalism, one involves state interference, while the other does not. One is intrisincally statist, while the other is the opposite. They're distinct terms which mean different, even opposing, things. At least know the ideas you oppose.
@Re5Publica "laissez-faire capitalism" Yes, no government interference. Got it, jackball. (As if I didn't know the definitions.)
Actually, corporations are also laissez-faire capitalists. Corporations combine laissez-faire economics with state-subsidized welfare. Ronald Reagan wanted the government off the backs of corporate America so that the market could do its "magic." Translated, this means corporations were free to earn obscene profits while the working class were left to gape in awe.
@bapyou Reagan was right, 2 have fair competition, the government cannot meddle, or favour any corporation above another, u'll always hear laissez-faire capitalists bemoan government mergor with corporations, like the recent government takeover of GM, did u hear Michael Moore cry about it? The main critics (in fact, the only critiques) have been laissez-faire capitalists. They believe in a profit and loss system, where the market and not the government determines what businesses fail or succeed.
@Re5Publica "Reagan was right, 2 have fair competition, the government cannot meddle"
Reagan was the most protectionist President in modern history. He was all about socialism for the wealthy.
I am a socialist. Capitalism has had its run. It is an inhumane, economically unjust system which impoverishes most for the benefit of the few. Its time has come & its time is passing.
I loathe everything right-wing with every molecule of my being. You cannot comprehend the depth of my hatred.
@bapyou you just saved me a search.between his queasy appeasement and his hollow assertions, which not even he believes,it was one sided.hedges has been accused of becoming more strident of late.i enjoy him too much sometimes,i wonder whether this is a symptom of his ability to tie off every corner with such assuredness or whether i have too much chomsky in my veins.
What planet are these people living on? Chris, is so spot on. Always, keep your enemies closer, Corporations and politicians.
penlovmov 5 days ago
he is angry at liberals for not standing up to the corporations
BEBOP268 1 month ago
GOOD GOOD Discussion! Yay for civility!
DeeSee25 1 month ago
Reihan Salan is a freaking tool. Should've known seeing that he works for Tina Brown.
jjurney1 1 month ago
*cough*hedgestorunasanindependant?*cough*
thegreatNEb 2 months ago
Chris Hedges puts on a freakin clinic kicking these guys arses up n down the whole show, lol.........
mrframeofmind1 2 months ago in playlist Chris Hedges
Reihan Salam is delusional, his reasons neither challenge Hedges points or prove what he is trying to say.
BobMcCob 2 months ago
Until the time when our actual governments and leaders are debating things like the legitimacy of their decisions towards interventionist policies, or any other policies they impose on us, we should all be criticizing these policies and the governments who enforce them, even if in some cases they're right. A few Intellectuals on tv just doesn't cut it. Ultimately, these guys should be agreeing with Chris if they had any sense of accountability, and that's why Chris owns this debate.
rhth79 2 months ago in playlist CH
"Do you read the climate change reports?"
3:1 and Chris Hedges still fucking slays these pinheads.
radioamor 2 months ago
@radioamor Captain Beard Man more or less agreed with him. It was the other two pinheads who were being pinheads.
devourerofbabies 2 months ago
"Do you read climate change reports?" 3:
radioamor 2 months ago
i like to keep an open mind and listen to all the information... but wow this guys had absolutely nothing on Hedges.
MrOnetedify 2 months ago
stupid charade to try and demerit Hedges
too bad reality is too strong to be belittled by fantasy and lies
matereymate 3 months ago
Brilliant debate,thanks to TVO,Hedges unassailable,in a league of his own,Federman impressive,Reihan who?another corporate apologist and obvious opportunist,he better wake up soon to the world around him or be swept away by the coming tsunami,the other guy...what's his name..pretty lightweight intellectually,can't wait to buy Hedge's book, :)
oceallaigh2003 4 months ago
Reihan is a very, very disgusting person. He knows full well what's going on in the world and he is being paid to deny it. Having his voice heard over someone who's on food stamps is disturbing.
JessLaJess 4 months ago 3
Reihan Salam looking out of date only twelve months later. Completely irrelevant commentary.
charlesfrith 4 months ago
"I don't believe there's a conspiracy among anybody to do much of anything." Fucking idiot.
Barakoft 4 months ago
Hey Salam !!!!!
Fuck You
rickbar123 5 months ago 4
@rickbar123 Salam looking irrelevant only 12 months later.
charlesfrith 4 months ago
Tony Keller, poster boy for pseudo-Liberal Apologia. You can almost feel the 'ahhh shucks' complacency in his voice.
PrometheanRunGood 7 months ago 3
Hedges schooled these shills.
poop121 9 months ago 12
@poop121 Yep!
mrframeofmind1 2 months ago in playlist Chris Hedges
WELFARE .. you now have a group of people that want to hand out to help those they've pushed down.
MrSchpankme 10 months ago
LOL It's so hard to listen to the guy with the glasses and not laugh. LAWL
efarmer385 10 months ago
@efarmer385 Reihan and Tony Keller are perfect examples of apologists for colonialism they offer no value at all in what they say they are just trying to keep up with Chris and damper down his points with irrelevant hog wash. The reality is that things are allot worse than Chris laid out and the people who keep ignoring it all deserve what is coming down on them.this colonial Empire is on its way out, thank God.
ZionismBitestheDust 10 months ago
@ZionismBitestheDust Yeah it's about time, really.
efarmer385 10 months ago
@efarmer385 Cool, I'm going to try to put an anti-Imperial channel together and post some videos if you want to subscribe to it and offer suggestions.
ZionismBitestheDust 9 months ago
First off the reason why we see on average a lower number of people living in houses is BECAUSE people are having less kids and the reason why people are having less kids is because wages have been going down. So the trend that he points out actually supports what Christ Hedges said earlier Then he goes on to say He "see a very different landscape " then Chris Hedges because hes totally isolated from the vast major of people in this country who are really really pissed off at the American elite.
efarmer385 10 months ago
Gen-YU-AY-N? and Inter-VAY-N? lol what's up with the pronunciations of these conservatives?
grecobactrian 11 months ago
hes comparing government to a restaurant have you ever worked in a restaurant you fool. restaurants what EVER!! The conspiracy is that the OLD power structures have not given way to the postmodern or posthuman way of neo liberal safety valves. a liberal democracy cannot exist in an industrial oligarchy which is the science fiction of posthuman and the new third world of American social order.
kukunu 11 months ago
hes comparing government to a restaurant have you ever worked in a restaurant you fool. restaurants what EVER!!
kukunu 11 months ago
These people don't understand how power works in Washington. They seem never to have been to Camden, NJ. I wonder, do they know anyone whose home is in foreclosure? Well, I'm not an expert either, but an Ivy-Beltway education, a year in Philadelphia, and one friend and another family member teetering on the edge of bankruptcy AND foreclosure, have sure taught me that things are EXACTLY as Hedges describes. Read Elizabeth Warren's Two-Income Trap (2003). The Hillary Clinton part is exquisite.
sovietjoybuzzer 1 year ago
CSPAN has been running a 90 min talk this weekend that Chris gave back in Dec. Crucial perspective for the times we exist in.
TheeUnidentified 1 year ago
Hedges knows war and various foreign cultures, and he is so right to spank the neocons and neocon-leaning smarties who think of war as if it were some strategic game worth a try because they think so. The latter had power and abused it and had friends who profited from Iraq which made the whole effort highly corrupt and immoral. William Kristol is on record as saying Iraq is a moral war. Hedges has said there are few winners in wars but mainly dead and maimed people and devastated societies.
Tsnore 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
Chris Hedges is awesome. I had terrible experiences at Universities. Everybody check out my videos for more truth!
dutytocareforothers 1 year ago
Around 22:38 Keller thinks he has a snappy new idea, hint: even the host doesn't want to hear about it, seems the cheerleaders for the Invasion of a sovereign country, Iraq, are just gettin a bum rap for their goodly works. Hedges proceeds to eviscerate Keller and rightly so.
DjWellDressedMan 1 year ago
The Canadian wanker behaves like the TAR SANDS don't exist !!
sanacore2011 1 year ago
Reiham Salam confuses real wages with median wage. Congrats.
AndroidPolitician 1 year ago
Comment removed
jarjarjenks 1 year ago
How does Hedges restrain himself from picking up his chair and bludgeoning some of these guys?
monkeyinmaine 1 year ago 5
@monkeyinmaine It's called class, and he has a ton of it.
DaHonestAbe 1 year ago
Chris Hedges looks pained at listening to all of these other guys, who seem barely articulate in comparison with Chris.
MercierBradleyMichae 1 year ago 2
My family, like Mr Salam's, is also originally from Bangladesh. But listening to him try to defend the capitalist system, and particularly the criminal war in Iraq, makes me feel sick to my stomach, cringing with shame and embarrassment...
euclidxxx 1 year ago 4
These people need to listen to a real economist, Paul Craig Roberts, who has been explaining in precise detail for the last 10 years exactly why America's economy is being gutted, exactly how it is being gutted, and exactly who is doing the gutting. Salam is just nuts and full of it. Hedges is exactly right. We need more people like him.
jimtrueblue99 1 year ago 3
What is so nauseating is the USA Invading/Occupying Army publicly declared before WikiLeaks that it did not keep a tally of Dead Iraq people. 200 K dead is somehow better than 1 million, boldly assuming Hedges is wrong. Lets try for zero dead Iraq citizens next time, and you do know that the USA supported Saddam Hussain after he Gassed the Kurds. And maybe you don’t like the glasses Hedges is wearing, that should discount at least half of what he says.
DjWellDressedMan 1 year ago
Reihan is what Malcolm X would refer to as a "House Negro"
WeNeedA3rdParty 1 year ago 3
@WeNeedA3rdParty "House Negro". Ha ha. Yes. Exactly. Malcolm X was a clear-thinking man.
bapyou 1 year ago
I've never seen Chris debate. Jesus he's quick.
MalevolentShockValue 1 year ago 2
@MalevolentShockValue
I've watched a lot of his interviews, debates and speeches on YouTube and elsewhere. He has the keenest intellect I've ever encountered and can win a debate with anyone. He's impressive. AND he speaks the truth.
MercierBradleyMichae 1 year ago
And don't forget this: TVO - The Agenda, Chris Hedges, Oct 22, 2010 The Liberal Class, on YouTube. This precedes the above video, and NO, Hedges is not talking about the Liberal Party in Canada or the Boogeyman/Woman/LGBT in US political lore.
DjWellDressedMan 1 year ago
If i don't get out of the service industry i am going to kill myself.
AndyRiotRed 1 year ago
Compared to Mr. Hedges, the rest of the guests are a bunch of lightweights and, in the case of Reihan Salam, he's a moron or a shill. Take your pick.
sam7748 1 year ago 4
Haha. Hedges is so fucking smart, or these guys are really stupid.
Nostatementinthename 1 year ago 35
@Nostatementinthename Both.
fhgwdads05 11 months ago
If you are working person of any political stripe you need to listen to this exchange of ideas. For more on this issue see Noam Chomsky - Prospects for Democracy 1994 - video and CD. Hedges' retort to Keller about supposed well meaning Michael Ignatieff's cheerleading for the Bush II invasion of Iraq was classic. How is it that people like Keller and Salam pull a check?
DjWellDressedMan 1 year ago 4
When Mark asks who stood to gain from the Iraq war Tony bursts in "that's crazy talk" (26:16). When conspiracy theories are mentioned someone always tries to dismiss them as crazy talk, but some crazy sh!t really does happen. Notice how he drops that when the connections are shown between huge profits and corporations with close ties to the U.S. government.
Mahkahta 1 year ago 3
@Mahkahta what's crazy is dropping iron fragmentation bombs on wedding parties via a satellite link from a bunker in Nevada.
WeNeedA3rdParty 1 year ago
What?! Tony Keller doesn't believe there is a conspiracy among anybody? Why are we listening to him at all. History has been riddled with conspiracy, and they are exposed over and over again, even with the media bias and censorship. Wherever there is something to gain, there will be people and powers conspiring to get it. He is not stupid enough to really believe this, he is a part of some conspiracies himself. One is the conspiracy to hide this conspiracy.
Mahkahta 1 year ago
@Mahkahta he's pretty dumb
WeNeedA3rdParty 1 year ago
It's hard to think of Chris Hedges as credible after he asserts that 1 million people died in the Iraq war, that figure is now only thrown out by hysterical anti-war activists, there are no recent studies which put the number of casualties anywhere near that number. Even the recent Wikileaks "expose" cites the civilian death toll as being under 200 000.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica Oh jeez. The death toll in Iraq is only under 200,000 you say? Thanks for passing that along. I feel better about the war already. I'm certain the relatives of the 200,000 also feel better.
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou It matters 2 me that he's full crap. I have a suspicion u were probably calling 4 the U.S. 2 surrender 2 the people who killed most of those 200 000, if that's true, don't pretend civilian casualties concern u.
Hedges' attitude might b that the U.S. intervention is too late, but that's not the opinion of around 90% of Kurds, & around 50% of shia who say they support the invasion. It's sunni arabs who made up most of the resistance, & they would've resisted in 1991, as much as in 2006.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica You're entirely unconvinving and you seeth with hatred for Hedges' correct analysis of the "war." And what force unleashed these latent hostilities? Numerous veterans have attested to the take-no-prisoners standing orders from American field commanders.
I loathe fucks like you. Scum of the Earth free-marketeers have brought more misery on the working people of this Earth than any other group. Scum of the Earth. SCUM of the Earth. You're a worthless fuck.
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou I'd believe that if it weren't 4 the fact that I'm aware of the conditions of working people in non-capitalist countries, & they're far more miserable. It's a matter of historical record.
I don't think u understand that capitalists can only make money if u give it 2 them freely, it's the government that makes money by taking by threat of force & arrest. U shouldn't ask y capitalists make so much money, u should ask y u keep giving it 2 them. The answer to that is y they merit it.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica Look: In a capitalist system there is no choice but to give your money to capitalists.
The bottom line is this:
You cannot comprehend the depth of my hatred for the right-wing. My hatred and loathing go beyond economic issues. There is no end to the misery that right-wing policies have caused around the world. No end.
The right-wing are the scum of the Earth. The sooner they are eradicated, the sooner free citizens of the world can live decent, meaningful lives.
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou Capitalism simply means that citizens are free to produce goods and provide services without government orders. Asserting that people are forced to give money to capitalists is just dishonest, you're just saying it out of desperation. When was the last time you were forced to buy anything from a business? If you want a service or product (some thing people have to work to provide for you) you naturally must pay in exchange for it. Government taxation however, is levied by force.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica "Asserting that people are forced to give money to capitalists is just dishonest"
In a capitalist system you have no choice.
I loathe fucks like you with every mothefucking molecule of my being.
Do you understand me? I LOOOOOATHE everything right-wing with every molecule of my being.
You are clueless.
You are clueless because you are incapable of fathoming the depth of my hatred; you've never encountered someone with my depth of hatred.
DEPTH of my hatred.
bapyou 1 year ago 2
@bapyou You're wrong; you're perfectly free to live in a commune.
I understand it's typical of leftists to be intolerant, and fanatical which is why they have a penchant for totalitarianism, and a hatred of those who fight it, namely the U.S. and its allies.
It's also typical of them to be completely ignorant of economics, which is why I tried, even if in vain, to shed some light on some things you might've never considered before due to your fanatical devotion and obstinate hatred.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica "You're perfectly free to live in a commune."
Tell that to the CIA, the precious thugs of capital who've systematically undermined every socialist government that's come into existence.
"leftists ... hate those who fight (totalitarianism), namely the U.S. and its allies."
Was the US "fighting totalitarianism" when it overthrew the democratically-elected governments of Iran (1953), Guatemala (1954) and Chile (1973)? In every case a US-friendly autocrat was placed in power.
bapyou 1 year ago 6
@bapyou There's a difference between giving up your property willingly and living a communal lifestyle, like Tolstoy did, and having a government take away your property against your will by threat of force, like Castro did, and like the Soviet Union did. If you want to go live in a commune, they exist, you're free to in capitalist countries, but I suspect you wouldn't like the lifestyle.
In response to your second question, yes, it was part of the soviet containment policy.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica Look, asshole: The U.S. had no problem supporting dictatorships throughout its history, as long as those dictatorships were friendly to U.S. business interests.
"Soviet containment policy" What Soviet threat? The fucking State Dept, you useless piece of fuck, for decades lied about Soviet military strength. Why? Very simple, you useless piece of fuck: To keep the motherfucking war machine grinding on.
The Soviet Union never attacked any nation. Unlike America. Useless fuck.
bapyou 1 year ago 2
@bapyou If you don't know what the Truman Doctrine was, or why liberal democracies felt threatened by Soviet expansion, then you simply can't claim to know 20th century history, in particular, the important global political events from 1950 to 1991. Do you know nothing about the Berlin Wall, the Soviet invasion of Hungary, the Soviet invasion of Czechoslovakia, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan?
Oh, and a fuckin fuckitty fuck fuck to you too. Profanity isn't a substitute for rational thought.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@bapyou
WORD
aerobique 1 year ago
Hedges is a rare voice of sanity and truth. Let's stop being zombies people, let's rediscover thinkers like Bakunin, let's smash the old system. Salam's a joke, clowns like him will be tossed into the dust bin of history.
AndrewMann552 1 year ago 3
34:30 - (Salam shaking his head at the statement being made about the Tea Party funders) ... If he concedes this point, the thesis of his book (judging by its title) is shot.
bapyou 1 year ago
24:47 - Hedges makes such a powerful, strong, compelling statement about the Iraq War and the rationale for the war. Bravo Chris! Bravo!
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou I was thinking exactly the same
siminge81 1 year ago
Conspiracy (civil), an agreement between persons to deceive, mislead, or defraud others of their legal rights, or to gain an unfair advantage * Conspiracy (crime), an agreement between persons to break the law in the future, in some cases having committed an act to further that agreement * Conspiracy (political), the overthrow of a government
The corporate board room is by its nature, a conspiracy.
pfreddyp 1 year ago 3
Reihan Salam is a member of a neoliberal think tank that includes on its list of contributors William Kristol, one of George Bush's prime neo-con ideologues; a man partly responsible for America's ill-thought-out and illegal invasions of Iraq & Afghanistan. Salam is little more than a garden variety free-marketeer Friedmanite, the same marauding corporatists who have bankrupted America and the world.
bapyou 1 year ago 48
@bapyou You're so boring. Corporatists are not free-market capitalists, they're practically polar opposites. But, I suspect there's nothing more to your jargon than an outburst of cynicism and prejudice.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica
"You're so boring."
And what qualifies you as the apotheosis of excitement, creampuff?
"Corporatists are not free-market capitalists ... "
You're fiddling with words. They are the same fucking thing. Next you'll tell me "greed is good!"
Take your Milton Friedman books and stick them where the sun doesn't shine. His is a morally bereft economic philosophy suitable only for teenagers high on Ayn Rand's millimeter-deep philosophy.
Cheers.
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou It's easy to research, look up corporatism, and look up free-market, or laissez-faire capitalism, one involves state interference, while the other does not. One is intrisincally statist, while the other is the opposite. They're distinct terms which mean different, even opposing, things. At least know the ideas you oppose.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica "laissez-faire capitalism" Yes, no government interference. Got it, jackball. (As if I didn't know the definitions.)
Actually, corporations are also laissez-faire capitalists. Corporations combine laissez-faire economics with state-subsidized welfare. Ronald Reagan wanted the government off the backs of corporate America so that the market could do its "magic." Translated, this means corporations were free to earn obscene profits while the working class were left to gape in awe.
bapyou 1 year ago 3
@bapyou Reagan was right, 2 have fair competition, the government cannot meddle, or favour any corporation above another, u'll always hear laissez-faire capitalists bemoan government mergor with corporations, like the recent government takeover of GM, did u hear Michael Moore cry about it? The main critics (in fact, the only critiques) have been laissez-faire capitalists. They believe in a profit and loss system, where the market and not the government determines what businesses fail or succeed.
Re5Publica 1 year ago
@Re5Publica "Reagan was right, 2 have fair competition, the government cannot meddle"
Reagan was the most protectionist President in modern history. He was all about socialism for the wealthy.
I am a socialist. Capitalism has had its run. It is an inhumane, economically unjust system which impoverishes most for the benefit of the few. Its time has come & its time is passing.
I loathe everything right-wing with every molecule of my being. You cannot comprehend the depth of my hatred.
bapyou 1 year ago
@bapyou he s fucking blind
phildirt3 1 year ago
@bapyou you just saved me a search.between his queasy appeasement and his hollow assertions, which not even he believes,it was one sided.hedges has been accused of becoming more strident of late.i enjoy him too much sometimes,i wonder whether this is a symptom of his ability to tie off every corner with such assuredness or whether i have too much chomsky in my veins.
hotstixx 1 year ago