I appreciate your consistent noting of real losses—not just “costs” tallied by capitalism—the irreparable loss of life of planetary beings due to the machinations of militarism, capitalism, and racism. I hear echoes of Martin Luther King warning us of the trifecta of our destruction.
They never mention the embattled moral-legal international order.
I took your "economic rationalist" story-telling as furious satire and irony. Not something appreciated by the slaves of empire.
Your poetic-narrative here is in step with the No Kings line-dancers and the ascension of the Pleiades* here in the South Pacific. Yeah ..through the portal of your nimble provocation we squint at the sheer enormity of the Crimes against Peace in mid 2025.
This ukalele squinting through the smokescreen of media hegemony is apparently not appreciated by those for whom the world is a battlefield. As with the Merchants of Doubt story, a small determined group of malign actors aim yo change the world with "alternative facts". In these circumstances the artists and prophets must needs speak in parables. Their story survives long after the pharisees and their empires are forgotten.
Questions are important. Cancel culture is for cults.
Here's some questions not addressed by tonight's TVNZ Corporation's 6 o'clock News, with lingering video bites of the latest night sky in the forever oil war, with dangerous Silence and with injurious Complicity platforming the butcher of Gaza. Which regime controls scores of nuclear weapons? Which country did not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty? Who has aggressively prevented Inspections**?
Who or what is "flooding the zone" from the unthinkable in Gaza?
Who or what seeks to drag oil majors and their masrers of war into joining this "regime change" war, like that tried before on Iraq (oil) and Afghanistan (oil pipeline), but this time on Iran?
Thanks to corruption journalism strumming through the fog of war, and thanks to all people of good will, the bitter-sweet truth will out 🌎 🌍
* Re the Times
The rise of this constellation is a Public Holiday in Aotearoa-NZ this coming Friday. See Matariki, and
I love the message in this article! Yet Capitalism needs an enemy. Domestic or foreign. It does not matter. This ideology needs to say some people deserve more than others. More money for some, more hatred for others. The brown people of the middle east deserve to have their lives taken from them. They do not deserve to have their safety considered. And they do not deserve to have security. We (the capitalist class of the west) deserve access to their resources, they deserve to be paid slave wages to provide it for us!
There must be groups to other. Either domestically or as foreign adversaries to justify the capitalist claims of deservedness. And domestically, they need an undeserving class too.
Political stratification is one thing. What bothers me most is that people seem no longer capable to dismantle/disentangle the language they use to express any attempt at forming such groups.
This glorious experience we mistakingly cling to in the material sense is a language construct at the end of the day. And by ‘language’, I mean a succession/superposition of communication media, from the written word to the Neuralink.
Well, there is one journalist…and I’m grateful. Great reporting. Thanks. And thanks for reminding me of Fanon. I need that book! I’m currently reading Aporophobia: Why We Reject the Poor Instead of Helping Them by Adela Cortina. I’m in chapter two, Hate Crime Towards the Poor, where she writes about the legality and ethics of Hate Speech and Hate Crimes in general. I’ve long believed Capitalism could be charged under the RICO Act (US law) and have now added both, Hate Speech and Hate Crime to my list of chargeable offenses. If only we could get the DOJ to act…if only.
what cruel stupid creatures humans are. cant wait for the planet to wipe us out and start again - there are some smart octopods and mosses out there who could rule the world with dignity and respect.
PS You'll no doubt interpret some of these comments as showing just how right you are. Just stop for a minute & reflect. Apart from anything, you'll lose a lot of thoughtful folk & end up with an echo chamber of true believers. I doubt that's what you really want in your heart of hearts.
Seems a one sided account, what about the Iranian proxies funded by IRG over the last four decades. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has built a network of proxies across the Middle East. As of 2022, Tehran had allies among more than a dozen major militias, some with their own political parties, that challenged local and neighboring governments. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the elite Qods Force provided arms, training and financial support to militias and political movements in at least six countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen. What about the nuclear bomb? Iran possesses/ed nearly 410 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% - enough fissile material for 9 to 10 nuclear devices. Even more alarming are recent implosion tests, unmistakably linked to preparations for nuclear weapons testing. According to multiple intelligence sources, Iran is poised to reach full breakthrough capability by September 1st.
Let’s not forget: Tehran flatly rejected a previous offer by President Trump’s administration to supply low-cost nuclear fuel and assist in building peaceful nuclear power infrastructure, an offer that could have secured Iran’s energy future.
The West had drawn a clear red line months ago. Iran was given a four-month window - from February 15 to June 15 - to reach a final agreement. What about the dead Israelis or other nationalities murdered Oct 7th too? Not worth a mention? Or the fatalities this week in Israel - some are Ukrainians who fled one war to be caught in another...or the Iranians dancing and singing in the streets as their regime is brought down -internet has been cut off but I got some messages through. I respect and like your work hugely as a fellow environmentalist but this is not your usual standard or takes into account the historical and real nuances of the region. I also fail to understand why you parrot Hamas casualty numbers - these are known to be inflated and include military dressed as civilians - a breach of any war code. If we want to encourage real dialogue and understanding - and look for peace and a safe operating system for the planet we need to dig deeper. The world is a mess and it's heartbreaking on many accounts but more division is not helping.
The Gazan casualty figs are undoubtedly an underestimate bc of the bodies under the rubble, the daily increase in deaths, and the obliterated state of Gaza now. Israel has some 400 nukes, all illegal, and the Samson Option - a moderate weapon if ever there was one. The mayhem, murder and theft wreaked by the US & UK in the ME for decades appears to have slipped your scorecard. Let's play snap w. peoples celebrating the deaths of their enemies - Israel's going to win that by miles. The article was about the energy cost of war and murder, the energy 'tax' on ordinary people in the UK for supporting Israel's illegal wars and the overarching intent to extend western investors' and bankers' reach into the heart of the Middle East. That heavily sanctioned Iran has long resisted, having been regime changed on behalf corporate oil profits, seems to outrage you most unreasonably. Does Starmer intend there to be terror attacks (fundamentalist Islamists or false flag Zionists or just pissed off far right Brits) in the UK as part of some totalitarian vision he has for the future?
The arrogance of statements like "The West had drawn a clear line months ago. Iran was given a four-month window..." Nuclear weapons-owning countries refusing to give up their nukes and deciding who can and cannot have them. And then you go off on a tangent. October 7th? Please. How about Nakba and 75 years of oppression? You seem to be surprised and outraged that people would fight back. It's difficult to even start a conversation when such blindness is evident across the table. If prisoners at Dachau had escaped and terrorized nearby German townspeople would the Nazis have been right to bomb the camp to smithereens? There is no "chosen" or better race or people. If we cannot learn that we cannot get anywhere. By all accounts, we haven't really learned it, have we?
Rachel, just remember the vast majority of your audience knows that having compassion for all victims of war and greed is not being antisemitic. Your heart and message are not tainted in any way! Thank you for having the courage to speak your truth! You are a wonderful human being.
Oh Rachel, please try to resist the siren call of swivel-eyed conspiracies. You provide a valuable service with the range of folk you interview. There's a huge temptation when looking at the polycrisis, I know, to get pulled down the road of goodies v. baddies, because everything becomes simple then, with the added bonus of being able to virtue-signal like crazy. But you're no' a daftie, so please do resist. You'll spoil your brand & cease to be useful, just becoming another shrill voice. Please.
You're absolutely right in bringing all of these crises together, as they are all connected. Glad to be a supporter.
Resistance is not futile.
I appreciate your consistent noting of real losses—not just “costs” tallied by capitalism—the irreparable loss of life of planetary beings due to the machinations of militarism, capitalism, and racism. I hear echoes of Martin Luther King warning us of the trifecta of our destruction.
Here they come.
See how they run..
They never mention the embattled moral-legal international order.
I took your "economic rationalist" story-telling as furious satire and irony. Not something appreciated by the slaves of empire.
Your poetic-narrative here is in step with the No Kings line-dancers and the ascension of the Pleiades* here in the South Pacific. Yeah ..through the portal of your nimble provocation we squint at the sheer enormity of the Crimes against Peace in mid 2025.
This ukalele squinting through the smokescreen of media hegemony is apparently not appreciated by those for whom the world is a battlefield. As with the Merchants of Doubt story, a small determined group of malign actors aim yo change the world with "alternative facts". In these circumstances the artists and prophets must needs speak in parables. Their story survives long after the pharisees and their empires are forgotten.
Questions are important. Cancel culture is for cults.
Here's some questions not addressed by tonight's TVNZ Corporation's 6 o'clock News, with lingering video bites of the latest night sky in the forever oil war, with dangerous Silence and with injurious Complicity platforming the butcher of Gaza. Which regime controls scores of nuclear weapons? Which country did not signed the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty? Who has aggressively prevented Inspections**?
Who or what is "flooding the zone" from the unthinkable in Gaza?
Who or what seeks to drag oil majors and their masrers of war into joining this "regime change" war, like that tried before on Iraq (oil) and Afghanistan (oil pipeline), but this time on Iran?
Thanks to corruption journalism strumming through the fog of war, and thanks to all people of good will, the bitter-sweet truth will out 🌎 🌍
* Re the Times
The rise of this constellation is a Public Holiday in Aotearoa-NZ this coming Friday. See Matariki, and
https://www.puanganui.co.nz/ Enjoy a moment of wonder 🌟
**Re nuclear systems inspections : https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mordechai_Vanunu
Re Ukelele
In the Hawaiian language the word ukulele roughly translates as 'jumping flea'
I love the message in this article! Yet Capitalism needs an enemy. Domestic or foreign. It does not matter. This ideology needs to say some people deserve more than others. More money for some, more hatred for others. The brown people of the middle east deserve to have their lives taken from them. They do not deserve to have their safety considered. And they do not deserve to have security. We (the capitalist class of the west) deserve access to their resources, they deserve to be paid slave wages to provide it for us!
There must be groups to other. Either domestically or as foreign adversaries to justify the capitalist claims of deservedness. And domestically, they need an undeserving class too.
Political stratification is one thing. What bothers me most is that people seem no longer capable to dismantle/disentangle the language they use to express any attempt at forming such groups.
This glorious experience we mistakingly cling to in the material sense is a language construct at the end of the day. And by ‘language’, I mean a succession/superposition of communication media, from the written word to the Neuralink.
Language does make a difference! Deservedness and should/ought distinction exist in most languages.
Sorry, i accidentally hit send. My point is that deservedness implies a hierarchy. And should/ought does not.
Well, there is one journalist…and I’m grateful. Great reporting. Thanks. And thanks for reminding me of Fanon. I need that book! I’m currently reading Aporophobia: Why We Reject the Poor Instead of Helping Them by Adela Cortina. I’m in chapter two, Hate Crime Towards the Poor, where she writes about the legality and ethics of Hate Speech and Hate Crimes in general. I’ve long believed Capitalism could be charged under the RICO Act (US law) and have now added both, Hate Speech and Hate Crime to my list of chargeable offenses. If only we could get the DOJ to act…if only.
what cruel stupid creatures humans are. cant wait for the planet to wipe us out and start again - there are some smart octopods and mosses out there who could rule the world with dignity and respect.
PS You'll no doubt interpret some of these comments as showing just how right you are. Just stop for a minute & reflect. Apart from anything, you'll lose a lot of thoughtful folk & end up with an echo chamber of true believers. I doubt that's what you really want in your heart of hearts.
Let’s weep together here, shall we? Stick around. You’ll love it.
Seems a one sided account, what about the Iranian proxies funded by IRG over the last four decades. Since the 1979 revolution, Iran has built a network of proxies across the Middle East. As of 2022, Tehran had allies among more than a dozen major militias, some with their own political parties, that challenged local and neighboring governments. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards and the elite Qods Force provided arms, training and financial support to militias and political movements in at least six countries: Bahrain, Iraq, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories, Syria and Yemen. What about the nuclear bomb? Iran possesses/ed nearly 410 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60% - enough fissile material for 9 to 10 nuclear devices. Even more alarming are recent implosion tests, unmistakably linked to preparations for nuclear weapons testing. According to multiple intelligence sources, Iran is poised to reach full breakthrough capability by September 1st.
Let’s not forget: Tehran flatly rejected a previous offer by President Trump’s administration to supply low-cost nuclear fuel and assist in building peaceful nuclear power infrastructure, an offer that could have secured Iran’s energy future.
The West had drawn a clear red line months ago. Iran was given a four-month window - from February 15 to June 15 - to reach a final agreement. What about the dead Israelis or other nationalities murdered Oct 7th too? Not worth a mention? Or the fatalities this week in Israel - some are Ukrainians who fled one war to be caught in another...or the Iranians dancing and singing in the streets as their regime is brought down -internet has been cut off but I got some messages through. I respect and like your work hugely as a fellow environmentalist but this is not your usual standard or takes into account the historical and real nuances of the region. I also fail to understand why you parrot Hamas casualty numbers - these are known to be inflated and include military dressed as civilians - a breach of any war code. If we want to encourage real dialogue and understanding - and look for peace and a safe operating system for the planet we need to dig deeper. The world is a mess and it's heartbreaking on many accounts but more division is not helping.
The Gazan casualty figs are undoubtedly an underestimate bc of the bodies under the rubble, the daily increase in deaths, and the obliterated state of Gaza now. Israel has some 400 nukes, all illegal, and the Samson Option - a moderate weapon if ever there was one. The mayhem, murder and theft wreaked by the US & UK in the ME for decades appears to have slipped your scorecard. Let's play snap w. peoples celebrating the deaths of their enemies - Israel's going to win that by miles. The article was about the energy cost of war and murder, the energy 'tax' on ordinary people in the UK for supporting Israel's illegal wars and the overarching intent to extend western investors' and bankers' reach into the heart of the Middle East. That heavily sanctioned Iran has long resisted, having been regime changed on behalf corporate oil profits, seems to outrage you most unreasonably. Does Starmer intend there to be terror attacks (fundamentalist Islamists or false flag Zionists or just pissed off far right Brits) in the UK as part of some totalitarian vision he has for the future?
The arrogance of statements like "The West had drawn a clear line months ago. Iran was given a four-month window..." Nuclear weapons-owning countries refusing to give up their nukes and deciding who can and cannot have them. And then you go off on a tangent. October 7th? Please. How about Nakba and 75 years of oppression? You seem to be surprised and outraged that people would fight back. It's difficult to even start a conversation when such blindness is evident across the table. If prisoners at Dachau had escaped and terrorized nearby German townspeople would the Nazis have been right to bomb the camp to smithereens? There is no "chosen" or better race or people. If we cannot learn that we cannot get anywhere. By all accounts, we haven't really learned it, have we?
Rachel, just remember the vast majority of your audience knows that having compassion for all victims of war and greed is not being antisemitic. Your heart and message are not tainted in any way! Thank you for having the courage to speak your truth! You are a wonderful human being.
Nice post. This reminded me of the song "Globalization" by Dead Prez: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAYLRtz-JZM
Oh Rachel, please try to resist the siren call of swivel-eyed conspiracies. You provide a valuable service with the range of folk you interview. There's a huge temptation when looking at the polycrisis, I know, to get pulled down the road of goodies v. baddies, because everything becomes simple then, with the added bonus of being able to virtue-signal like crazy. But you're no' a daftie, so please do resist. You'll spoil your brand & cease to be useful, just becoming another shrill voice. Please.
Ugh. Unsubscribe. Stop hating Jews.
Bye bye. Our Zionist friends deserve a good smacking.
Hey legend, I think you mucked up there.
What you're really trying to say is anyone who doesn't support the mass murdering Zionist state of Israel is an antisemite.
Try harder next time.