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 =]
Oh...gosh...how horrifying, Truscha. Thanks for letting us know. Days like today that bring back memories are painful but important for all of us. My heart goes out to you, the people who lost their lives in that horrible attack, and all who feel the repercussions to this day. 💔😢❤️🩹
Ellen, thanks for posting Robert Reich's essay on Kissinger, and speaking of Kissinger, I’ve been reading a group of articles by a reporter/writer, Nick Turse, for “The Intercept” entitled “Blood on His Hands” on Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was “National Security Advisor” and “Secretary of State” under both Presidents Nixon and Ford and has had continuing influence within declared & undeclared wars throughout the world for a long, long time (it was just Kissinger’s 100th birthday recently)! And he has also earned the distinction by many, many human rights advocates as a WAR CRIMINAL who has eluded accountability!!!
Nick Turse has found new evidence including from CIA records that Kissinger had a key role in the “secret” U.S. bombings of Cambodia that killed, wounded, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Cambodian civilians (Cambodia was an undeclared war for the U.S.).
Kissinger was the chief architect of U.S. war policy in Southeast Asia and nearly had “co-president status;” however, these bombings/attacks were previously unreported! Furthermore, Kissinger’s involvement/actions also laid the groundwork and are connected to the Khmer Rouge regime’s genocide of 2 million people from 1975-79. Americans were unaware of the fact that Nixon had approved the secret bombings of suspected communist camps and supply areas in Cambodia in March 1969 which was an escalation of covert bombing started by President Johnson in 1965 (Kissinger was there as well). The New York Times revealed the operation which provoked international protest.
Kissinger has eluded accountability from the “Established Media” although the “Independent Media” has been critical.
Henry Kissinger was also the architect of the “coup d'erat” in Chile, which resulted in the murder of thousands of citizens as well as the disappearance of at least 3,000 people. In the 1960s Chile was a Democratic country despite many of its neighboring countries being dictatorships in the 1950s. The United States became heavily involved in the politics of Latin America. Millions of dollars were sent to the surrounding countries such as to Romulo Betancourt in Venezuela who was a major democracy leader in the 1960s. Also, the CIA helped promote coups in Bolivia and Brazil in 1964 with the help of US funds.
In Chile, climate factors and various historical events strongly influenced its settlement patterns and population demographic factors. The area’s traditional agriculture developed on large, landed estates called “haciendas.” And these haciendas covered about 75 percent of Chile’s arable land. In 1965, under the “Christian Democratic” President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1911-1982), a more equitable agricultural policy distribution reform was initiated. This policy continued under the “Socialist” President Salvador Allende Gossens (1908-1973) into the early 1970s resulting in a more equitable redistribution of the land among its citizens. But also, under Chile no president can serve two terms. In addition, the U.S. did not like that Allende had good relations with Fidel Castro (a socialist) thus in Parliament they worked together to form the “Confederation of Democracy” and stopped further reforms. The United States withdrew their aid which led to massive inflation in Chile. Also, there were calls for Allende to be overthrown and he had very little support on the right from the right-wing officers. Allende couldn’t restore order, which led to strikes! Carlos Prats Gonzalez of the Allende government was forced to resign and was then replaced by Pinochet.
Where is Kissinger’s accountability?
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her recent visit to Latin America calls on the U.S. to declassify all documents including those involving Chile’s 1973 coup.
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.
Tony, thanks for the reminder. If we look at the miserable condition of women in countries five or 10 years after there has been an invasion, we see how violence spreads. The more threatened men feel by other men, the more they exert power over women and others they perceive as weaker than themselves. This is an unconscious attempt to regain a sense of personal power to compensate for having felt disempowered by the invading forces. 🙁
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
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.
Oh...gosh...how horrifying, Truscha. Thanks for letting us know. Days like today that bring back memories are painful but important for all of us. My heart goes out to you, the people who lost their lives in that horrible attack, and all who feel the repercussions to this day. 💔😢❤️🩹
A memory that simply will never fade away. God bless you Truscha.
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
And. Not a Ms.
Ellen, thanks for posting Robert Reich's essay on Kissinger, and speaking of Kissinger, I’ve been reading a group of articles by a reporter/writer, Nick Turse, for “The Intercept” entitled “Blood on His Hands” on Henry Kissinger. Kissinger was “National Security Advisor” and “Secretary of State” under both Presidents Nixon and Ford and has had continuing influence within declared & undeclared wars throughout the world for a long, long time (it was just Kissinger’s 100th birthday recently)! And he has also earned the distinction by many, many human rights advocates as a WAR CRIMINAL who has eluded accountability!!!
Nick Turse has found new evidence including from CIA records that Kissinger had a key role in the “secret” U.S. bombings of Cambodia that killed, wounded, and displaced hundreds of thousands of Cambodian civilians (Cambodia was an undeclared war for the U.S.).
Kissinger was the chief architect of U.S. war policy in Southeast Asia and nearly had “co-president status;” however, these bombings/attacks were previously unreported! Furthermore, Kissinger’s involvement/actions also laid the groundwork and are connected to the Khmer Rouge regime’s genocide of 2 million people from 1975-79. Americans were unaware of the fact that Nixon had approved the secret bombings of suspected communist camps and supply areas in Cambodia in March 1969 which was an escalation of covert bombing started by President Johnson in 1965 (Kissinger was there as well). The New York Times revealed the operation which provoked international protest.
Kissinger has eluded accountability from the “Established Media” although the “Independent Media” has been critical.
Henry Kissinger was also the architect of the “coup d'erat” in Chile, which resulted in the murder of thousands of citizens as well as the disappearance of at least 3,000 people. In the 1960s Chile was a Democratic country despite many of its neighboring countries being dictatorships in the 1950s. The United States became heavily involved in the politics of Latin America. Millions of dollars were sent to the surrounding countries such as to Romulo Betancourt in Venezuela who was a major democracy leader in the 1960s. Also, the CIA helped promote coups in Bolivia and Brazil in 1964 with the help of US funds.
In Chile, climate factors and various historical events strongly influenced its settlement patterns and population demographic factors. The area’s traditional agriculture developed on large, landed estates called “haciendas.” And these haciendas covered about 75 percent of Chile’s arable land. In 1965, under the “Christian Democratic” President Eduardo Frei Montalva (1911-1982), a more equitable agricultural policy distribution reform was initiated. This policy continued under the “Socialist” President Salvador Allende Gossens (1908-1973) into the early 1970s resulting in a more equitable redistribution of the land among its citizens. But also, under Chile no president can serve two terms. In addition, the U.S. did not like that Allende had good relations with Fidel Castro (a socialist) thus in Parliament they worked together to form the “Confederation of Democracy” and stopped further reforms. The United States withdrew their aid which led to massive inflation in Chile. Also, there were calls for Allende to be overthrown and he had very little support on the right from the right-wing officers. Allende couldn’t restore order, which led to strikes! Carlos Prats Gonzalez of the Allende government was forced to resign and was then replaced by Pinochet.
Where is Kissinger’s accountability?
U.S. Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in her recent visit to Latin America calls on the U.S. to declassify all documents including those involving Chile’s 1973 coup.
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.
Tony, thanks for the reminder. If we look at the miserable condition of women in countries five or 10 years after there has been an invasion, we see how violence spreads. The more threatened men feel by other men, the more they exert power over women and others they perceive as weaker than themselves. This is an unconscious attempt to regain a sense of personal power to compensate for having felt disempowered by the invading forces. 🙁
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
Also--
Dictatorship = the celebration of vices
Democracy = the celebration of virtues
I like that, Steve!
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
Which is the correct date?
“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