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TONY KEVIN–At the political level, Morrison and his ministers are daily digging deeper the hole they are in, too proud to apologize to China for their aggressive clumsiness. It is a dangerous moment in a hitherto tranquil enough Australia -China relationship based on mutual economic interest.

Pompeo’s personal attack on an Australian state premier — however excessive and misplaced it was — might have been seen by him and Morrison as a useful distraction from this larger crisis. The U.S. ambassador in Canberra — a Trump appointee — hastily backtracked, trying to cover for Pompeo’s crude bullying language, which was evoking resentful Australian public responses.

CALEB MAUPIN—Caleb’s chats are the ideal tool for those who wish to acquire a solid understanding of contemporary history in an easy, accessible manner. In this episode Caleb talks about imperialism—global monopoly capitalism—and how it has destroyed and is now aggressively destroying even America’s infrastructure, not to mention the population’s economic security. We see that in a tidal wave of artificially produced problems, intractable problems that only arise when we live under capitalism, not due to lack of resources or human capabilities. In America today, the world’s citadel of imperialism, many citizens have no access to clean running water. Many are homeless. Many are unemployed and under employed, living in the “gig economy”, whose wages are pitiful and benefits non-existent. Almost 30% lack fast internet access. The healthcare system has long been a disgrace and a scandal—yet nothing is really done, except apply glorified bandaids, like Obamacare. 

THE CONVO COUCH—So, as usual, with a horrid boondoggle cum tragedy like the Beirut blast, the empire’s disinformation machine is trying to capitalize, so the usual “assets” are providing the necessary incriminating headlines: it’s Russia! Russia! Russia!, folks, while the presstitutes oblige. Is anyone surprised? 

ANDRE DAMON–Bolton is a professional advocate of aggressive war, a sort of Dr. Strangelove without the charm. He somehow comes off in his writing as even more icy and detached than he does on camera. Reading this half-deranged bureaucrat’s observations is unnerving, recalling Hannah Arendt’s observations about the banality of evil. Throughout the conflicts Bolton narrates, the dominant factor is the utter debacle facing US imperialism on the world stage.

JOHN PILGER —During the 75 years since Hiroshima, the most enduring lie is that the atomic bomb was dropped to end the war in the Pacific and to save lives. “Even without the atomic bombing attacks,” concluded the United States Strategic Bombing Survey of 1946, “air supremacy over Japan could have exerted sufficient pressure to bring about unconditional surrender and obviate the need for invasion. “Based on a detailed investigation of all the facts, and supported by the testimony of the surviving Japanese leaders involved, it is the Survey’s opinion that … Japan would have surrendered even if the atomic bombs had not been dropped, even if Russia had not entered the war [against Japan] and even if no invasion had been planned or contemplated.”