Going Rogue With Caitlin Johnstone

Violence is not always justified, but there is always a reason why it happens. Western pundits, politicians and newscasters will very seldom tell you what those reasons are unless it advances the interests of the western empire. Reading by Tim Foley.

I don't mind admitting that I hope the US and Israel suffer a crushing, devastating defeat in Iran. I hope this war collapses the entire US empire. My only loyalty is to humanity, and being on Team Human in today's world means being against the US empire and against Israel. Reading by Tim Foley.

Everyone hates Israel now, which is as it should be. But we all need to understand that Israel has never acted alone. Reading by Tim Foley.

Have you ever noticed how the same people who accuse Israel's critics of "obsession" with a tiny insignificant country will also fall all over themselves to tell you that Israel is an indispensable ally whose interests are inextricably intertwined with the interests of western civilization? Reading by Tim Foley.

This serves as yet another reminder that the world can have peace or it can have Israel - but it cannot have both. Israel is a genocidal apartheid state whose entire existence is premised upon a strategy of unceasing violence and abuse in the middle east. As long as that state continues to exist in its present iteration, peace will never be attainable. Reading by Tim Foley.

So as things stand right now this certainly looks like a humiliating defeat for the empire. Iran gets a lot of things it didn't have before the war, including tolling the Strait of Hormuz and relief from the US sanctions that have been crushing its economy for years, while the empire gets to resume its shipping for a hefty fee and pretend it just rescued the world from a nuclear Iran. Quite the turnaround from a White House that just last month was saying "There will be no deal with Iran except UNCONDITIONAL SURRENDER!" Reading by Tim Foley.

At this point if you're in the US military you have a moral obligation to start refusing orders. Desert. Become a conscientious objector. Ideally, get everyone together and launch a full-scale military coup. We're in "Mad King" territory. Someone's gotta do what needs to be done. Reading by Tim Foley.

Ultimately what separates the anti-imperialist left from mainstream liberal "humanitarians" is whether you're in it for humanity or for yourself. Reading by Tim Foley.

The New York Times has printed an article with the headline "A North American Treaty Organization Without America?", apparently having spent the entire Ukraine war completely unaware that NATO stands for North ATLANTIC Treaty Organization. Reading by Tim Foley.

It's so wild how we keep seeing reports that Iran's retaliation caught the US off guard. For all the years I've been paying attention to this issue I've been reading experts and analysts saying if the US attacks Iran, Iran can close the Strait of Hormuz and strike US bases and the energy infrastructure of US allies in the region. Reading by Tim Foley.

"May all be revealed" has been my prayer for our world for many years now. That dearly held wish is now being answered, and the truth is looking every bit as ugly as expected. Reading by Tim Foley.

It doesn't matter what else you do with your life if you stand on the side of a man-made murder machine which is fueled by the blood of the innocent. Reading by Tim Foley.

The law doesn't exist to protect ordinary people from the most malignant members of our society, the law exists to protect the most malignant members of society from ordinary people. Reading by Tim Foley.

Meanwhile, in real life, people are being mercilessly butchered in Iran, Lebanon and Palestine by Israel and its allies. The uglier it gets, the more aggressive the concern-trolling about "antisemitism" becomes. Reading by Tim Foley.

The US needs to help Israel harm people or else the people who are mad about being harmed might harm Israelis. It's circular reasoning all the way through. Reading by Tim Foley.

I get so tired of all this American hand-wringing about "boots on the ground". It's a symptom of a wildly sick dystopia that these people are fine with raining military explosives on a densely populated city but draw the line at putting American troops in the line of fire. Reading by Tim Foley.

As soon as you accept that Israel must exist as a "Jewish state" no matter what, you are accepting that there will never be peace in the middle east. Because Israel cannot exist as it is without nonstop violence. Reading by Tim Foley.

The problem is US presidents, not kings. The problem is the US empire, not Trump. The United States needs drastic, revolutionary change, not daytime protests designed to be as inoffensive as possible. Reading by Tim Foley.

Western civilization is what's bombing Iran. It's what's strangling Cuba. It's what's torching Lebanon. It's what's exterminating Palestine. It's what stole Venezuela. It's what's plundering the labor and resources of the global south. It's what's keeping the systems in place which are killing our ecosystem and driving us closer to nuclear armageddon. There is no sane and truthful position to have toward all this but vehement rejection. Reading by Tim Foley.

I will never, ever express sympathy for Israelis. Ever. Under any circumstances. To do so would be irresponsible, because Israel always weaponizes sympathy and then uses that weapon to commit mass atrocities. If the world gives Israel sympathy for civilians injured by an Iranian airstrike over the weekend in a war Israel started, by Friday they'll be using that sympathy to justify nuking Tehran. Reading by Tim Foley.