Agh, that picture of Tom Ridge and that psyop threat level poster brought back some seriously bad memories. I remember thinking at the time how awful the 9-11 events were and how much more awful the US reaction was going to be. Shiver and shake! Good luck professor with the public appearances, I wish I could be there =]
FYI The revolting numerous repeating ads for cruelly factory farmed hot dogs throughout the article on Chile made it nearly impossible to read. I have informed them. The atrocities committed against animals through factory farming, most egregiously in the case of pigs, but cows and chickens too, are blithely ignored by most people who wouldn't mistreat pets. Pigs are known to be highly intelligent and all of these animals think, respond to love, and suffer emotionally and physically so that we can buy "meat" neatly packaged at the store.
I think that there are good reasons to consider the many alternatives to spending $8.8 Trillion dollars on the GWOT. We left the world an unhappier place and I believe part of the irrational ugliness of American politics today was inspired by the disastrous policy to invade Iraq as the U.S. did in 2003. Among the many casualties of these wars are the millions of refugees and over one million and a half Iraqi dead. Afghanistan is another casualty of these failed policies. when for a tiny fraction of the money spent, afghanistan and the world could be moving in a better, a different, direction today.
Wow, Ruth... your essay on how Chile reclaimed it's democracy is just what I needed to hear, and I think everyone needs to hear. For eight years we've been being warned and doomed by books about how democracies die but what we really need are role models for how democracies survive and thrive. So thanks for this shot in the arm this morning! I specifically like the historical perspective you offer that nonviolent movements for democracy are very much aided when there is a strengthening coalition of business, labor, faith leaders, etc. as ballast underneath. I also loved hearing that hopeful ads, encouraging and empowering memes about joy and the return of rainbows, for example, can be so uplifting amid a population who has been downtrodden and hopeless for too long. I suggest we follow that example right now and contrast the loss of individuality and personal agency that happens under dictatorships with the buoyancy of self expression and the right to think for yourself and speak honestly about how you feel that is nourished and protected in a democracy.
“First, the polling field is broken. Or, if you listen to pollsters’ complaints, it is consistently misapplied and misinterpreted. Polls didn’t come within shouting distance of the right result in either 2016 or 2020. … polling seems designed to make a point. Asking voters whether they want an imaginary, younger Democratic candidate when the only candidate who will get the nomination is Joe Biden is effectively asking people to underscore the point that the president is old… it tells us nothing about what voters will do when presented with a choice between an 80-year-old, sane and accomplished incumbent running against an only slightly younger, unhinged, accused felon. Polling obsession might feed the desire, as media critic Jay Rosen said, to turn politics into ‘a savy analysis of who was up, who was down, who’s winning or likely to win, the horse race, the spin, the strategy – all of that,’ but it does not provide information with which voters can seriously, critically evaluate what is going on and what is at is at issue in the election. … We all would do far better to apply our energy to stemming the tide of disinformation and facing hard truths about a MAGA movement that manages to bamboozle millions of Americans – and remains the greatest domestic threat to democracy we’ve seen.” Jennifer Rubin, “I don’t write about polls. You shouldn’t bother with them, either.” New York Times, 9/10/2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/10/pollings-unrealistic-coverage/
Really looking forward to reading your piece on Chile. The film “NO” with Gael Garcia Bernal is compelling and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it. I need to rewatch it, too! Thank you, Ruth.
Watch &/or read “Missing” for a taste of what living under a fascist regime was like in Chile and can be in the U.S. thanks to American hubris. It trivializes the possibility of virtually all threats in spite of evidence to the contrary.
The book, “Missing: The Execution of Charles Horman, by Thomas Hauser (1977.)
The Oscar winning film, “Missing,” (1982) was
directed by Costa-Gavras.
The late George Orwell is restless, trying to warn us yet again, to no avail; He warned about the use of euphemisms, that sugar coat a dire threat.
This movie should have been played in all theaters on 9/11.
BTW, does anyone see the irony of our 9/11 tragedy and Chile’s? Our predicament is due to a lack of accountability for people in high places; it all but guarantees repetition. That should set our hair on fire. Crime often pays, in very high places; it shouldn’t.
Dr Ben Ghiat, when you use the term, convoy, what is your meaning? I've never had to deal with multiple units on multiple routes. I'm familiar with the term but not in the context of authoritarian society. Thanks
The Two 9/11s: US Terror Attack and Chile Coup; Sept. Q&As and Appearances NYC & Miami
Agh, that picture of Tom Ridge and that psyop threat level poster brought back some seriously bad memories. I remember thinking at the time how awful the 9-11 events were and how much more awful the US reaction was going to be. Shiver and shake! Good luck professor with the public appearances, I wish I could be there =]
I was on my way to work in lower Manhattan for AT&T as a switch engineer.
I heard the news on the radio, I remember pulling my car over to side first I screamed, then I cried uncontrollably.
I was not sure what to do. I knew the city was in lockdown.
I drove to one of our facilities in NJ to see they needed help transferring traffic.
At that time AT&T was the major carrier for all of the banks and trading companies.
I had friends who died in those buildings, I will never forget 9/11.
Is Putin a Ms the Russian troll machine our comeuppance for Chile (and the 1952 overthrow of Iran’s President).
Robert Reich’s take on Kissinger and Chile. Evil.
https://open.substack.com/pub/robertreich/p/today-50-years-ago-henry-kissinger?r=cntu&utm_medium=ios&utm_campaign=post
FYI The revolting numerous repeating ads for cruelly factory farmed hot dogs throughout the article on Chile made it nearly impossible to read. I have informed them. The atrocities committed against animals through factory farming, most egregiously in the case of pigs, but cows and chickens too, are blithely ignored by most people who wouldn't mistreat pets. Pigs are known to be highly intelligent and all of these animals think, respond to love, and suffer emotionally and physically so that we can buy "meat" neatly packaged at the store.
I think that there are good reasons to consider the many alternatives to spending $8.8 Trillion dollars on the GWOT. We left the world an unhappier place and I believe part of the irrational ugliness of American politics today was inspired by the disastrous policy to invade Iraq as the U.S. did in 2003. Among the many casualties of these wars are the millions of refugees and over one million and a half Iraqi dead. Afghanistan is another casualty of these failed policies. when for a tiny fraction of the money spent, afghanistan and the world could be moving in a better, a different, direction today.
Wow, Ruth... your essay on how Chile reclaimed it's democracy is just what I needed to hear, and I think everyone needs to hear. For eight years we've been being warned and doomed by books about how democracies die but what we really need are role models for how democracies survive and thrive. So thanks for this shot in the arm this morning! I specifically like the historical perspective you offer that nonviolent movements for democracy are very much aided when there is a strengthening coalition of business, labor, faith leaders, etc. as ballast underneath. I also loved hearing that hopeful ads, encouraging and empowering memes about joy and the return of rainbows, for example, can be so uplifting amid a population who has been downtrodden and hopeless for too long. I suggest we follow that example right now and contrast the loss of individuality and personal agency that happens under dictatorships with the buoyancy of self expression and the right to think for yourself and speak honestly about how you feel that is nourished and protected in a democracy.
Dictatorship = the loss of selfhood
Democracy = the right to selfhood
Hi All.
U M website has lecture on Thursday the 21 at 7. Not the 20th as listed here. Hope to see some of you here in Miami
“First, the polling field is broken. Or, if you listen to pollsters’ complaints, it is consistently misapplied and misinterpreted. Polls didn’t come within shouting distance of the right result in either 2016 or 2020. … polling seems designed to make a point. Asking voters whether they want an imaginary, younger Democratic candidate when the only candidate who will get the nomination is Joe Biden is effectively asking people to underscore the point that the president is old… it tells us nothing about what voters will do when presented with a choice between an 80-year-old, sane and accomplished incumbent running against an only slightly younger, unhinged, accused felon. Polling obsession might feed the desire, as media critic Jay Rosen said, to turn politics into ‘a savy analysis of who was up, who was down, who’s winning or likely to win, the horse race, the spin, the strategy – all of that,’ but it does not provide information with which voters can seriously, critically evaluate what is going on and what is at is at issue in the election. … We all would do far better to apply our energy to stemming the tide of disinformation and facing hard truths about a MAGA movement that manages to bamboozle millions of Americans – and remains the greatest domestic threat to democracy we’ve seen.” Jennifer Rubin, “I don’t write about polls. You shouldn’t bother with them, either.” New York Times, 9/10/2023 https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/09/10/pollings-unrealistic-coverage/
Really looking forward to reading your piece on Chile. The film “NO” with Gael Garcia Bernal is compelling and I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn’t seen it. I need to rewatch it, too! Thank you, Ruth.
Watch &/or read “Missing” for a taste of what living under a fascist regime was like in Chile and can be in the U.S. thanks to American hubris. It trivializes the possibility of virtually all threats in spite of evidence to the contrary.
The book, “Missing: The Execution of Charles Horman, by Thomas Hauser (1977.)
The Oscar winning film, “Missing,” (1982) was
directed by Costa-Gavras.
The late George Orwell is restless, trying to warn us yet again, to no avail; He warned about the use of euphemisms, that sugar coat a dire threat.
This movie should have been played in all theaters on 9/11.
BTW, does anyone see the irony of our 9/11 tragedy and Chile’s? Our predicament is due to a lack of accountability for people in high places; it all but guarantees repetition. That should set our hair on fire. Crime often pays, in very high places; it shouldn’t.
Robert Leyland Monefeldt
UM site reads Thursday 9/21
Dr Ben Ghiat, when you use the term, convoy, what is your meaning? I've never had to deal with multiple units on multiple routes. I'm familiar with the term but not in the context of authoritarian society. Thanks