We focus once again on the ongoing genocide in Gaza with Delinda Hanley, executive editor of the “Washington Report on Middle East Affairs” who tells the heartrending story of an undertaker in Gaza who since October 8th personally has had to bury over 17,000 people.
Col. Wilkerson is a brilliant mind on the topics of the state of the military, foreign policy, and diplomacy, but his economic analysis is utterly inane. It is good that Col. Wilkerson moved away from Bush administration narratives on foreign policy. He ought to do the same on macroeconomics as well. The United States federal government is not “broke” as he claims. Social programs will only be underfunded if politicians underfund them. That has nothing to do with the economic status of the country, but rather what politicians are willing to fund. Col. Wilkerson is perfectly willing to discuss corporate corruption as it pertains to the Pentagon, but then is seemingly completely oblivious of corporate corruption in other sectors which encourages government to privatize social services rather than to ensure universal coverage.
The limitation on federal government spending are real resource limitations. If the United States drags the country into armed conflict where Americans are having to fight our wars rather than Ukrainians, etc., then there will possibly be a real resource barrier in terms of labor if nothing else. That barrier will likely become even more of a problem with a draft. That should be the focus of the discussion, not nonsensical ramblings about the national debt as if the United States is still on a gold standard.
What Col. Wilkerson should be advocating for is nationalization of the military industry. Everyone employed in the military industry currently will still have their jobs at their current salary and location, but they will work on legitimately needed defense needs. Excess engineering and manufacturing resources will be repurposed to work on a peace-focused industrial agenda such as clean infrastructure and creating license-free technology which can be transferred to the developing world so they can deploy their own clean infrastructure. Over time, the nationalized defense industry can be downsized if needed, but nobody should lose their jobs or else this whole program is a failure politically.
As it is, Col. Wilkerson is sounding like those economic ‘luminaries’ at the New York Times during the GFC ~15 years ago who said the United States was ‘broke’ and that the debt at that time was unsustainable. It is really no different than President Obama saying during the same period that the government could not afford proper healthcare reform. Somehow, those economic luminaries are still employed even though the Covid-era proved that the federal government was far, far from being ‘broke’. If the United States wants to fund something, they can do it unless there are real resource limitations. It is as simple as that. That doesn’t mean every appropriation is a good one, but that is a completely different discussion on fiscal policy.
I listed this morning and immediately requested a free sample copy of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Ms. Hanley replied promptly to let me know that she’d send my copy tomorrow. I can’t wait to get it!
Thank you all for providing such an informative program.
I just got myself an online subscription to Linda Hanley’s Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. It sounds like a great publication and I look forward to reading the material. Thank you very much for this podcast, Mr. Nader and team. This is valuable input for all Americans who care about being informed and maintaining a fair perspective on America’s foreign affairs.
I recommend an interview on YouTube of a Gazan woman, living in Scotland and working as a pharmacist. Her family of parents and 6 siblings were slaughtered in December, 2023. All were talented and successful people, stellar in their successes. Her report is heart-breaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuzcOPNTars
Wilkerson for months has spoken out against the Ukrainian war, he can be seen regularly at Judging Freedom and other YouTube sites. He is a breath of fresh air.
Lastly, the war in Afghanistan cost the U.S. $2.1 trillion, and that comes to $110,000 per Afghani adult. The typical (or median) adult owns $1,028, the overall average wealth is $2,139. (Credit Suisse Bank, 2022 Global Wealth report, Databook, page 119) We could have done much more for that country had we sent educators, doctors, nurses, construction workers, business people, community organizers, and so on. Watson Institute at Brown Univ. has experts, professor Boucher testified to Congress on the subject.
Good program; it's hard to process the horrific news we are getting every single week on the Gaza situation with the treacherous pro-Israel Americans in our midst who will only hear the one side they want on this story. One day this will be over and the genocide will be crystal clear for the entire world to see and understand.
What Israel is doing in Gaza is horrific, clearly Acts Against Humanity, and probably War Crimes. Same goes for Hamas militants. Israel and Hamas militants equally guilty.
I am distressed about the US enabling Israel to commit these crimes, so as a US citizen I feel partly responsible and wish the US would quit sending weapons to Israel.
The war would stumble to an end if Hamas quit its military activities and released the hostages, or if Israel quit military activities in Gaza.
Jamal Bowman wasn’t defeated by AIPAC but by voters who insist on being deceived and playing dumb. If AIPAC spends all this money and loses again and again, they’ll pack up and leave.
A great program, but very depressing! That Biden has been universally declared as performing incompetently on Thursday night is belied by The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in its reporting on the massive death toll in Gaza. Biden and his administration loses votes by the minute with its support of genocide in Gaza and the entire world knows it. Col. Wilkerson remains perhaps the best voice on US militarism and I’m going to try to get to his Boston speech. He’s right in his assessment about the readiness of the US for the use of nuclear weapons. I comment about Biden’s “debate” performance in my post today:”The Not So Greatest Show on Earth” at Howie’s Substack. Please read it.
Col. Wilkerson is a brilliant mind on the topics of the state of the military, foreign policy, and diplomacy, but his economic analysis is utterly inane. It is good that Col. Wilkerson moved away from Bush administration narratives on foreign policy. He ought to do the same on macroeconomics as well. The United States federal government is not “broke” as he claims. Social programs will only be underfunded if politicians underfund them. That has nothing to do with the economic status of the country, but rather what politicians are willing to fund. Col. Wilkerson is perfectly willing to discuss corporate corruption as it pertains to the Pentagon, but then is seemingly completely oblivious of corporate corruption in other sectors which encourages government to privatize social services rather than to ensure universal coverage.
The limitation on federal government spending are real resource limitations. If the United States drags the country into armed conflict where Americans are having to fight our wars rather than Ukrainians, etc., then there will possibly be a real resource barrier in terms of labor if nothing else. That barrier will likely become even more of a problem with a draft. That should be the focus of the discussion, not nonsensical ramblings about the national debt as if the United States is still on a gold standard.
What Col. Wilkerson should be advocating for is nationalization of the military industry. Everyone employed in the military industry currently will still have their jobs at their current salary and location, but they will work on legitimately needed defense needs. Excess engineering and manufacturing resources will be repurposed to work on a peace-focused industrial agenda such as clean infrastructure and creating license-free technology which can be transferred to the developing world so they can deploy their own clean infrastructure. Over time, the nationalized defense industry can be downsized if needed, but nobody should lose their jobs or else this whole program is a failure politically.
As it is, Col. Wilkerson is sounding like those economic ‘luminaries’ at the New York Times during the GFC ~15 years ago who said the United States was ‘broke’ and that the debt at that time was unsustainable. It is really no different than President Obama saying during the same period that the government could not afford proper healthcare reform. Somehow, those economic luminaries are still employed even though the Covid-era proved that the federal government was far, far from being ‘broke’. If the United States wants to fund something, they can do it unless there are real resource limitations. It is as simple as that. That doesn’t mean every appropriation is a good one, but that is a completely different discussion on fiscal policy.
Great program!
I listed this morning and immediately requested a free sample copy of Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Ms. Hanley replied promptly to let me know that she’d send my copy tomorrow. I can’t wait to get it!
Thank you all for providing such an informative program.
Join Veterans for Peace $50.00 membership for nonmilitary civilians. veteransforpeace.org
VFP annual conference have an open invitation for 2024 "zoom" registration.
US Govt BANNING CITING DEATH TOLL IN GAZA!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3D2_017it0
House Republicans Pass Draconian Measure Censoring Public Data
The amendment bans giving the State Dept funds to cite the Gaza Health Ministry’s data.
https://newrepublic.com/post/183200/house-republicans-bill-censoring-information-gaza
6/28,/24 - House of Representatives Votes 269-144 to Ban State Dept from Citing Gaza Death Toll
https://www.democracynow.org/2024/6/28/headlines/house_of_representatives_votes_269_144_to_ban_state_department_from_citing_gaza_death_toll
I just got myself an online subscription to Linda Hanley’s Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. It sounds like a great publication and I look forward to reading the material. Thank you very much for this podcast, Mr. Nader and team. This is valuable input for all Americans who care about being informed and maintaining a fair perspective on America’s foreign affairs.
June/July issue has 8 pages of Pro Israel PAC donations 2024 elections *Career Recipients
I recommend an interview on YouTube of a Gazan woman, living in Scotland and working as a pharmacist. Her family of parents and 6 siblings were slaughtered in December, 2023. All were talented and successful people, stellar in their successes. Her report is heart-breaking. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuzcOPNTars
Wilkerson for months has spoken out against the Ukrainian war, he can be seen regularly at Judging Freedom and other YouTube sites. He is a breath of fresh air.
Lastly, the war in Afghanistan cost the U.S. $2.1 trillion, and that comes to $110,000 per Afghani adult. The typical (or median) adult owns $1,028, the overall average wealth is $2,139. (Credit Suisse Bank, 2022 Global Wealth report, Databook, page 119) We could have done much more for that country had we sent educators, doctors, nurses, construction workers, business people, community organizers, and so on. Watson Institute at Brown Univ. has experts, professor Boucher testified to Congress on the subject.
Col. Lawrence Wilkerson: A Decent Respect to the Opinions of All: JFK & the Effort for World Peace https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMkceyqqDMtGNdxXWmCO945y_XX34VluvWp#/registration
Good program; it's hard to process the horrific news we are getting every single week on the Gaza situation with the treacherous pro-Israel Americans in our midst who will only hear the one side they want on this story. One day this will be over and the genocide will be crystal clear for the entire world to see and understand.
TREACHEROUS? ARE YOUA PRO HAMAS TOADY?
What Israel is doing in Gaza is horrific, clearly Acts Against Humanity, and probably War Crimes. Same goes for Hamas militants. Israel and Hamas militants equally guilty.
I am distressed about the US enabling Israel to commit these crimes, so as a US citizen I feel partly responsible and wish the US would quit sending weapons to Israel.
The war would stumble to an end if Hamas quit its military activities and released the hostages, or if Israel quit military activities in Gaza.
OH, LET'S FORGET ABOUT THE 1,200 YOUNG JEWS KILLED BY THE ANIMALS. LET'S FORGET ABOUT THE 100 HOSTAGES BEING RAPED AND BRUTALIZED
Jamal Bowman wasn’t defeated by AIPAC but by voters who insist on being deceived and playing dumb. If AIPAC spends all this money and loses again and again, they’ll pack up and leave.
Read "The Racket" 2nd Edition by Matt Kennard @kennardmatt on X
erasingtheliberty.com Order a T-shirt + the book Holocaust on the High Seas by Phillip F Tourney
A great program, but very depressing! That Biden has been universally declared as performing incompetently on Thursday night is belied by The Washington Report on Middle East Affairs in its reporting on the massive death toll in Gaza. Biden and his administration loses votes by the minute with its support of genocide in Gaza and the entire world knows it. Col. Wilkerson remains perhaps the best voice on US militarism and I’m going to try to get to his Boston speech. He’s right in his assessment about the readiness of the US for the use of nuclear weapons. I comment about Biden’s “debate” performance in my post today:”The Not So Greatest Show on Earth” at Howie’s Substack. Please read it.
oH, HE HAS SPOKER AGAINST THE UKRAINIAN WAR--YOU MEAN THE ILLEGAL WAR BY RUZZIA, RIGHT?
Ralph RALPH I just stumbled across C-Span2 April 6 1992 US Israel Relations AIPAC conference wth Senator Joseph BIDEN D-Delaware C-Span.org
Zz