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Title: Medea Benjamin Shows America What Real Resistance Looks Like (consistently non-interventionist)
Source:
RPI/Medium
URL Source: http://www.ronpaulinstitute.org/arc ... at-real-resistance-looks-like/
Published: Sep 22, 2018
Author: Caitlin Johnstone
Post Date: 2018-09-22 18:22:18 by Hondo68
Ping List: *Neo-Lib Chickenhawk Wars* Subscribe to *Neo-Lib Chickenhawk Wars*
Keywords: None
Views: 3052
Comments: 28
Almost immediately after hitting publish on my last article about how the so-called “Resistance” to the Trump administration doesn’t actually resist Trump’s most pernicious agendas in any meaningful way, I saw an awesome video clip proving that there is at least one woman out there providing real opposition to Trump where it matters.
A think tank is an organization wherein highly-paid academics pour their collective brainpower into coming up with convincing arguments that it would be good and smart to do something evil and stupid. At one such think tank, the Hudson Institute, former John Bolton advisor and current Mike Pompeo lackey Brian Hook had his neocon cuddle party interrupted by CodePink activist Medea Benjamin Wednesday morning. Benjamin excoriated the Director of Policy Planning for Pompeo’s Iran Action Team, decrying the Trump administration’s crippling sanctions following its withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal.
“That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen,” Benjamin exclaimed while security staff worked to muscle her off the stage. “The world community wants to keep the Iran nuclear deal. Our allies — the Germans, the French, the British — they want to keep in this deal. The world community wants to keep the deal. Let’s talk about normal countries. Let’s talk about Saudi Arabia. Is that who our allies are? They are the biggest threat to the world community. And let’s talk — you’re hurting me. You’re actually hurting me. I want to ask: Do you think these sanctions are hurting the regime, or are they hurting the Iranian people? They’re hurting the Iranian people. You are making a case for war with Iran. How did the war with Iraq turn out? You’re doing exactly the same thing we did in the case of Iraq. We don’t want another war in the Middle East. Let’s see, how did Iraq turn out? How did Libya turn out? We have the people of Syria suffering. And how dare you bring up the issue of Yemen? It’s the Saudi bombing that is killing most people in Yemen. So let’s get real. No more war! Peace with Iran!”
The think tank ghouls chuckled and mocked her, but the damage was done and the video went viral.
As a reminder, the Trump administration has not only leveled crippling sanctions upon Iran with the goal of fomenting civil unrest, but has also escalated CIA covert operations led by Trump-appointed officials and cultivated an intimate relationship with the MEK terror cult, which is spearheading a social media propaganda campaign against the Iranian government directed at western audiences. The Trump administration’s approach to Iran is in these ways mirroring the Obama administration’s approach to Libya and Syria, and has been called a regime change policy in all but name due to the many unrealistic demands being made of the Iranian government in order to deescalate. These escalations could easily erupt into direct hot war in the future, especially with this administration being stuffed to the gills with virulent Iran hawks at the highest levels.
The Medea Benjamin video is so tasty I’ve watched it several times. It feels like it’s attuning my cells and reminding me what it takes to put up real time resistance in the stifling atmosphere of opposition by breaking through the somnolent hypnosis of tribal dynamics.
This is what it takes. But this is all it takes. Interrupt our regularly scheduled programming with a burst of truth and humanity will inevitably rouse a few more from their hypnosis, and a few more awake is a few more towards tipping point. While Democrats are holding demonstrations in support of longstanding neocon agendas against Russia and leftists are gathering to punch racist nobodies in the face, this feisty little sheila threw her body into the bright lights of the brainwashing machine and jammed it right up until they had to physically remove her.
Are we seeing the heart of the anti-war left kick back into life? I sure hope so. Unlike the impotent busybox of Russiagate, this is the resistance to Trump that is real, and it will work. Attacking the Trump administration on their continuation of Bushbama’s warmongering ecocidal, omnicidal policies and refusing to fall in line with longstanding neocon agendas runs interference on the very lifeblood of the parasitic elite that seek to suck the tax dollars of working Americans into murdering humans and fattening Raytheon profit margins.
Destroying the war machine fixes everything from climate change to living standards, terrorism, famine, homelessness, mental health, slavery, plus all the horrors that war always necessarily births into the world such as rape, black markets, human trafficking, refugee crises and so on. Not to mention the butchery of humans for profit which is what war is. Putting up resistance by breaking the hypnotic effect of war propaganda works. No one actually wants war apart from a handful of powerful elites who fund these think tanks to weave lies and manipulate truth into stories that will manufacture consent for endless military bloodbaths. Simply using the truth to run interference on these lies and spin is enough.
Medea Benjamin is my hero. People are going to tell me that you and your organization haven’t been exactly 100 percent perfect on every single issue every single day, because this is the left and that’s what the left does. But I don’t care; anyone who’s willing to throw a hammer in the gears of the machine to any extent is a hero to whatever extent that they did so. Enough of us doing what Medea Benjamin did would bring the entire machine crashing down.
Medea Benjamin, thank you. I salute you.
Reprinted with permission from Medium.com.
Support Ms. Johnstone's work on Patreon or Paypal
Poster Comment:
This is what integrity looks like, nonpartisan.
Code Pink opposed Dubya, they opposed Obama, and they oppose Trump's globalist interventionist policies too.
This MAGA in action. To hell with the globalist neocon think tank Saudi-Israel D&R puppets! (1 image)
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How pacifist are you, Hondo.
I can respect pacifism if it is consistent.
For starters, where do you stand on abortion and the death penalty?
#2. To: hondo68 (#0)
Christ, she's even more ugly and screechy.
I thought Odumbass got her retired; not a peep out of any of her front holes for eight years.
#3. To: Vicomte13, Grand Island, protecting and serving pedo convicts (#1)
How pacifist are you, Hondo.For starters, where do you stand on abortion and the death penalty?
Wrong! I don't go out looking for trouble and assaulting people like the neocons, I'm a non-interventionist. But don't F' with me, or Fire & Furry! Defense, not physical offense. DOD used to be called "Department of War", which more accurately describes the forever war Pentagon NWO.
Baby killing is lethal assault with zero due process. Unwarranted aggression of the worst sort, and no opportunity to even confront your accuser, much less have a trial and be judged by a jury of your peers Pure evil, fully funded by President Trump, and he also funds The Great Satan (US gov) buying the fresh dead baby parts. What a sicko!
I don't want to pay for murdering rapist pedophiles etc, spending the remainder of their natural life in a luxury country club detention facility, being waited on hand & foot by Grand Island and his cohorts, when not picking up the soap for them. Fry 'em, hang 'em, shoot 'em!
#4. To: Vicomte13.hondo68 (#1)
How pacifist are you, Hondo. I can respect pacifism if
No, a "respect" from you is an insult. The blood of the innocents is on on your hands and on your mouth, shame on you.
#5. To: hondo68 (#0)
Do you think these sanctions are hurting the regime, or are they hurting the Iranian people? They’re hurting the Iranian people.
I just love projection from the peanut gallery... lol
The Mullahs have been hurting the Iranian people for decades. And whenever the Iranian people ask for our help whatever swamp dweller dickwad President that is in office at that particular time throws the Iranian people under the bus.
That deal helped the mullahs retain power (at US taxpayer expense of course not the EU) and spend money on fomenting terror in the world it doesn't help the average Iranian citizen.
Just the actions of another typical run of the mill oppressive leftard government, what's the total body count from those governments now? Billions!!
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#6. To: CZ82 (#5) (Edited)
You are a brainwashed zombie.
#7. To: A Pole (#6)
You are a brainwashed zombie.
Oh how so?
Let me guess you've never been there or you don't know any?
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#8. To: CZ82, A Pole, Jimmy Carter, Shah of Iran, Saudi-Israel MEK, Iranian Students, Ayatollah Khomeini, *Neo-Lib Chickenhawk Wars* (#5) (Edited)
Gerry Ford & Henry Kissinger explain to the Shah of Iran the new nuke plant that the US just gave him.
The Mullahs have been hurting the Iranian people for decades. And whenever the Iranian people ask for our help
I suppose that the Iranian people (students) asked Jimmiah Carter in 1979 to take out the Shah of Iran, the guy that the US installed into power in the 50's?
Jimmy Carter's band celebrates the US victory in Iran '79 - The (US')Shah is gone.
The US has been screwing the Iranian people for many decades. Now the new us savior is the MEK, Another BAD plan that will do nothing but further hurt the people of Iran.
Stop the humanitarian crapola shuck 'n jive, bring the troops home. (and quit drinking the Jimmy Carter Kool-Aid, aka Billy Beer!)
MEK/Trump peaceniks? Wacko Birds
#9. To: hondo68 (#8)
I suppose that the Iranian people (students) asked Jimmiah Carter in 1979 to take out the Shah of Iran, the guy that the US put installed into power in the 50's?
I would imagine Khomenei and the MEK asked for his help (POS leftards asking for help from other POS leftards you know) and "Jerrah" being the good little POS leftard he is obliged.
You do know the MEK was/is in bed with the Mullahs, right?
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#10. To: CZ82 (#7)
You are a brainwashed zombie.Oh how so?
One homeless guy gave me these glasses, and when I look at you I see this.
So maybe you are in business of brainwashing others?
#11. To: CZ82 (#9)
I would imagine Khomenei and the MEK asked for his help (POS leftards asking for help from other POS leftards you know) and "Jerrah" being the good little POS leftard he is obliged.You do know the MEK was/is in bed with the Mullahs, right?
+100. Truth.
Waste of Time & Space discussing adult theme and the truth of any given matter with a brain-dead zombie.
#12. To: A Pole, CZ82 (#10)
You've inverted the truth. But then, you're a Commie.
#13. To: A Pole, CZ82 (#6)
You are a brainwashed zombie.
Oh, the irony.
#14. To: Liberator (#12)
You've inverted the truth. But then, you're a Commie.
I don't know. When I put those glasses on you look like that:
Why do you guys search for Commies everywhere? Are you afraid of them? You are really weird.
#15. To: A Pole (#10)
One homeless guy gave me these glasses, and when I look at you I see this.
As I figured you wouldn't answer the question cause you not know of what you shovel.
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#16. To: CZ82 (#9)
You do know the MEK was/is in bed with the Mullahs, right?
How's that blowback working out for ya?
#17. To: hondo68 (#16)
You do know the MEK was/is in bed with the Mullahs, right?How's that blowback working out for ya?
Spit it out, I don't read minds.
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#18. To: CZ82 (#17)
Spit it out, I don't read minds.
That's OK. You do not read humans, even if spitted out. CZ82
Go back to your planet. Perhaps you will find more Commies, that you crave, there.
#19. To: A Pole (#18)
#7. To: A Pole (#6)
You are a brainwashed zombie.
Oh how so?
Let me guess you've never been there or you don't know any?
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
CZ82 posted on 2018-09-23 10:07:55 ET Reply Trace Private Reply
You still haven't answered the above question?
Try answering this one: "Do you think the "whole" US Government is conspiring with the Mullahs/MEK or just certain politicians"?? (Your answer will either help your credibility or hurt it, the choice is yours).
Hondo declined to answer so his is shot in the ass.
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#20. To: CZ82 (#19)
You still haven't answered the above question?
I did answer, but you are too dense to grasp it.
#21. To: CZ82, VxH, *Neo-Lib Chickenhawk Wars* (#19)
Hondo declined to answer
So sorry, truly a great tradegy.
~'53 CIA US installs the Shah > Savak secret police 
BLOWBACK '75> Ford brings Iran into the nuclear age, nuke plant, attempting to prop up US dictator Shah
BLOWBACK '79> Jimmiah's CIA Iranian students able to install Ayatollah Khomeini, because people notice that US puppet Shah is an ahole, Trotskyite neocons start whining that Iran is so SPECIAL that they have no right to self defense with nukes or missiles, must disarm and prepare for defeat and surrender to Israel.
neo-BLOWBACK> neo-MEK revival attempts to correct past neocon screwups with shuck 'n jive propaganda tsunami, "Iranian trucker strikes" and mucho malarkey. This too will fail.
#22. To: hondo68 (#21)
BLOWBACK '79> Jimmiah's CIA Iranian students able to install Ayatollah Khomeini,
Operation Cyclone - The gift that keeps on giving.
Jimmuh and Zbig instigated and funded the Islamic revolution of 1979.
#23. To: hondo68, CZ82, Liberator, A Pole (#16)
You do know the MEK was/is in bed with the Mullahs, right?How's that blowback working out for ya?
How The MEK Paid Their Way From Terrorists To ‘Freedom Fighters’
With enough money, you can even open a nice plush lobbying office on Pennsylvania Avenue in the District of Columbia, not too far from the White House and Capitol Hill.
Pay Off the Right People and You Are No Longer a Terrorist
The tale of the rehabilitation and rise of MEK/NCRI is a subset of the ongoing corruption of America’s political culture, best illustrated by the fact that even national security is now up for sale, enabling a terrorist group to transform itself into a “resistance movement” and eventually be labeled “freedom fighters.”
How did this happen as MEK was on the State Department roster of foreign terrorist organizations since the list was established in 1997? Its inclusion derived from its having killed six Americans in the 1970s, its participation in the U.S. Embassy hostage-taking and from its record of extreme violence both inside and outside Iran since that time. When I was a CIA trainee our course included a simulation of the horrific attack on U.S. Air Force Officers in Tehran in 1973 that killed two colonels.
MEK is widely regarded as a terrorist cult headed by a bizarre husband and wife team Massoud and Maryam Rajavi. Its members are required to be celibate and are subjected to extensive brainwashing, physical torture, severe beatings even unto death, and prolonged solitary confinement if they question the leadership. One scholar who has studied them describes their beliefs as a “weird combination of Marxism and Islamic fundamentalism.”
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
#24. To: Deckard, *Arab Spring Jihad* (#23) (Edited)
Neo-Iranian Student Leader, MEK
President Trump's lawyer, aka America's Mayor.
#25. To: hondo68 (#24)
President Trump's lawyer, aka America's Mayor.
Ghoulianni - the epitome of a neo-con warmonger and life-long swamp critter.
And Trump said he was going to "Drain the swamp".
Did anyone actually believe that shit?
“Truth is treason in the empire of lies.” - Ron Paul
Government is in the last resort the employment of armed men, of policemen, gendarmes, soldiers, prison guards, and hangmen.
The essential feature of government is the enforcement of its decrees by beating, killing, and imprisoning.
Those who are asking for more government interference are asking ultimately for more compulsion and less freedom.
#26. To: Deckard (#25)
Did anyone actually believe that shit?
"nah, that PLAYED great before the election"
--Donald Drumpf, December 2016
Believe that shit? The Trump fancult not only still BELIEVEs in it - they line up to eat it with a spoon and beg for seconds!
#27. To: hondo68 (#21) (Edited)
~'53 CIA US installs the Shah > Savak secret policeBLOWBACK '75> Ford brings Iran into the nuclear age, nuke plant, attempting to prop up US dictator Shah
BLOWBACK '79> Jimmiah's CIA Iranian students able to install Ayatollah Khomeini, because people notice that US puppet Shah is an ahole, Trotskyite neocons start whining that Iran is so SPECIAL that they have no right to self defense with nukes or missiles, must disarm and prepare for defeat and surrender to Israel.
neo-BLOWBACK> neo-MEK revival attempts to correct past neocon screwups with shuck 'n jive propaganda tsunami, "Iranian trucker strikes" and mucho malarkey. This too will fail.
Lets just hit some of the high points:
You do know he became the Shah in 1941 (so he was not installed) when his father was forced to abdicate because the "Blokes and Ivans" (British and Russians) invaded Iran because they didn't like him having Germans in positions of authority in the transportation system?? (The railroad system of Iran was needed to ship arms to the USSR from the Allies and the Germans in charge refused to let them use the railroads).
Things started falling apart in the early 50s so the Shah appointed Mohammad Mosaddegh as the Prime Minister to informally run the country. The problem with this was the PM wanted to nationalize the oil companies which sent "The Blokes" into another tizzy. So they teamed up with the CIA and got rid of the PM effectively putting the Shah back in charge.
From 53 until he was deposed the Shah did a lot of good things for the Iranian people by using oil-generated wealth, he modernized the nation. He built rural roads, postal services, libraries, and electrical installations. He constructed dams to irrigate Iran's arid land, making the country 90-percent self- sufficient in food production. He established colleges and universities, and at his own expense, set up an educational foundation to train students for Iran's future.
To encourage independent cultivation, the Shah donated 500,000 Crown acres to 25,000 farmers. In 1978, his last full year in power, the average Iranian earned $2,540, compared to $160 25 years earlier. Iran had full employment, requiring foreign workers. The national currency was stable for 15 years, inspiring French economist André Piettre to call Iran a country of "growth without inflation." Although Iran was the world's second largest oil exporter, the Shah planned construction of 18 nuclear power plants. He built an Olympic sports complex and applied to host the 1988 Olympics (an honor eventually assigned Seoul), an achievement unthinkable for other Middle East nations.
In the mid 70s he mentioned nationalizing the oil companies again pissing off the blokes again and this is was led to his downfall, exile and death.
I was stationed with some Iranian pilots during the late 70s/early 80s and they had nothing but good things to say about the Shah and negative about the Mullahs.
You might want to do a bit of research to update your memory of events in Iran...
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
#28. To: A Pole (#20)
I did answer, but you are too dense to grasp it.
It actually tells me you don't know schitt about the subject and are trying to BS your way thru it tweety.
Vegetarians eat vegetables. Beware of humanitarians!
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