In honor of International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023 If we could see a Mother’s Day All around the world, Where mothers lived a day of joy, Where mothers felt their worth, Then what exactly would we see So moms could realize That their lives are important and Their own perspectives wise? The women in Sudan would not[Read More…]
NOTE: For these 6 Finale videos, there is no accompanying written essay that matches each video. The videos are each presentations given extemporaneously with charts. This concludes the series of essays and videos on the application of the Paradigm for Peace model to the Russia/US conflict in Ukraine and beyond. While I had intended to walk through each part of[Read More…]
NOTE: For these 6 Finale videos, there is no accompanying written essay that matches each video, because the videos are each presentations given extemporaneously, with charts. The following text is an introduction to the video that does not include the bulk of the video’s material but that contains additional material not included in the video. While there seems to be[Read More…]
NOTE: For these 6 Finale videos, there is no accompanying written essay that matches each video, because the videos are each presentations given extemporaneously, with charts. The following text is an introduction to the video that does not include the bulk of the video’s material but that contains additional material not included in the video. Once you’ve laid out and[Read More…]
NOTE: For these 6 Finale videos, there is no accompanying written essay that matches each video, because the videos are each presentations given extemporaneously, with charts. The following text is a detailed synopsis of the video that doesn’t include all of the video’s material but that also contains much additional material not included in the video. While the first two[Read More…]
NOTE: For these 6 Finale videos, there is no accompanying written essay that matches each video, because the videos are each presentations given extemporaneously, with charts. The following text is a synopsis that also contains additional material not included in the video. The first of the four elements of the Paradigm for Peace model involves an examination of the Roots of[Read More…]
Paradigm for Peace is a model that I created in the autumn of 2001, following 9/11. The model has four elements: The Defensive and Aggressive Roots of Violence The Mental, Legal, and Physical Escalators of Violence Three Facets of Solutions Cooperative Dialogue A major purpose of this model is to promote understanding, truth, and caring. In this video, I use[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4S. Obtuse US and UK “experts” issue libelous statements re: Putin’s concept of unity False Bias #19. When Putin Speaks of “Unity,” He Means That Ukrainians Aren’t Ukrainians but Russians and that Russia and Ukraine Should Merge into One Nation. Peter Dickinson, a member of the[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers- Part 4R. The nature of a “US-led rules-based order” False Bias #18. Russia Is at Fault for Overturning the “US-Led Rules-Based Order,” Which Is a Benign, Just, Egalitarian, Democratic, Cooperative, and Peaceful Order to Spread Positive Political, Economic, and Cultural Values. The previous essay referred to the January[Read More…]
Part 4q. US and NATO policymakers blame Putin, and not themselves, for violating the post-cold war settlement False Bias #17. This Confrontation Is Not America’s or NATO’s Fault. Russia Is to Blame for “Rolling Back” the Post-Cold War Settlement. In his January 29, 2019 testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Senate Hearing of the National Defense[Read More…]
Part 4P. Proxy wars for fur and fossil fuels: Obsessions for resources are the cause and effect of mental, spiritual, physical, economic, and environmental imbalance False Bias #16. Oil Is a Vital Resource, and US Policymakers Are Smart and Psychologically Balanced in Their Pursuit of Fossil Fuels. The night of February 8, 1690, some 200 French troops with their Native[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4O. Fossil fuels and rivalry: US policymakers’ addiction to the “Great Game” leads to violence, wastefulness, death, and destruction False Bias #15. US Policymakers Are Mentally Balanced, Spiritually Healthy, Intelligent Individuals Far Removed from Dishonesty, Greed, and the Coveting of Others’ Natural Resources, Who Really Care[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers- Part 4N. US “experts” omit truth about Russia’s actions in Georgia to paint a good vs. evil scenario that ignores ethnic conflict, NATO, and fossil fuels False Bias #14. Russia’s Government and Military Actions Are Motivated by Desires for Conquest, Empire, and Status, But US Government and Military[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4M. “Experts” who advocate the expansion of NATO and capitalist privatization dismiss Putin’s accusations and instead falsely claim that Putin craves empire and emulates Peter the Great False Bias #13. Putin Does Not Recognize Ukraine’s Borders or Sovereignty and He Longs to Be an Emperor, like[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4J. US “experts” falsely claim that a “pluralistic Ukraine” is supported by the US and opposed by Putin False Bias #10. Putin Feels Threatened by a “Pluralistic Ukraine.” Derek Mitchell, president of the National Democratic Institute, one of the four core institutes of the National Endowment[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4L. Without substance or proof, shallow US journalism condemns Putin’s alleged goals False Bias #12. Putin Bemoans the Fall of the Soviet Union Because He Is a Creep Who Loves Power, Status, Gulags, and Empires. In her article in The Atlantic, “Who Is Vladimir Putin’s Revisionist History For?”[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4K. US “experts” display skills in creative fiction, but they fail in history, research, reading comprehension, and truth False Bias #11: Putin Is a Deluded Man Seeking Empire Whose Interest in History Reveals His Ignorance, Backward Views, and Crazed Longing for a Mythological Past. We’ve been talking about[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4I. US “experts” falsely claim that a “prosperous, democratic Ukraine” is supported by the US and opposed by Putin False Bias #9. Putin Feels Threatened by a “Prosperous, Democratic Ukraine.” Derek Mitchell is the President of the National Democratic Institute, one of the four core institutes of the[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4H. To authoritarian US policymakers, those who prefer international law to the US-led unipolar world are dangerous, undemocratic, and aggressive False Bias #8: The Unipolar World Represents Democracy and the Free World, while Putin’s Disapproval of the Unipolar World Reveals His Dislike for Democracy and Freedom. We’ve been[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4G. Black-and-white thinking and needs for noble purpose bring the domino theory back to life False Bias #7. Putin Is Using Ukraine As a Testing Ground for His War against Democracy. One would imagine that Derek Mitchell, president of the National Democratic Institute, one of the four core[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers- Part 4F. US experts’ lack of empathy and lack of truthfulness cause them to twist Putin’s motives for military action in Ukraine False Bias #6. Putin Doesn’t Care about Ukrainians’ Lives or Sovereignty. Based on my reading of Putin’s 2007 Munich speech, July 2021 essay, and February 21 and 24,[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers Part 4E. Psychological patterns of US policymakers obstruct the creation of genuine democracy False Bias #5: The US Represents Democracy and the Free World, while Putin’s Russia Seeks to Destroy Democracy. We’ve been discussing how Mental Escalators, specifically US policy and media makers’ dysfunctional, skewed psychological patterns, falsehood,[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers- Part 4D. Who truly stands against corruption? Black-and-white thinking causes US experts to believe falsehood False Bias #4. The US Is Fighting Against Corruption. The previous essay about authoritarianism referred to the 2019 testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Senate Hearing of the National Defense[Read More…]
Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers – Part 4C. Who truly stands against authoritarianism? Black-and-white thinking causes US experts to believe falsehood False Bias #3. The US Is Fighting against Authoritarianism. In his 2019 testimony to the Senate Armed Services Committee for the Senate Hearing of the National Defense Strategy, Damon Wilson, President of the National[Read More…]
Part 4. Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers. Part 4B. A competitive, threat-orientation towards international relations: Psychological patterns described by Lakoff, Spranger, and Allport False Bias #2. Life Is Competition; the Goal Is to Beat Adversaries and Stay on Top. Let’s take a look at actual, representative lines from Damon Wilson’s 2019 testimony, two years before[Read More…]
Part4 – Mental escalators of violence in US policy and media makers Part 4A. An Introduction to the Frame of Mind of Those Forever Leading US Foreign Policy False Bias #1. We Can Understand and Judge Other People Without Meeting Them, Without Engaging in Cooperative Dialogue, and Without Hearing Their Side of the Story. In these latest group of essays,[Read More…]
Paradigm for peace applied to Russia, Ukraine and the US: Proposal for a peaceful Pathway forward PART 3. THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE: NEEDS FOR POWER AND FREEDOM Part 3C. The National Endowment for “Democracy”: A Second CIA We’ve been describing the threats to power and freedom that are driving the current crisis in Ukraine, specifically threats of foreign political interference.[Read More…]
Paradigm for peace applied to Russia, Ukraine and the US: Proposal for a peaceful Pathway forward PART 3. THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE: NEEDS FOR POWER AND FREEDOM Part 3B. PNAC’s American Empire: Aggressive Desires for Power and Freedom We hear constantly in mainstream media that Russian President Vladimir Putin craves conquest and a revival of the Russian Empire. You[Read More…]
PART 3. THE ROOTS OF VIOLENCE: NEEDS FOR POWER AND FREEDOM Part 3A. Fears of US Political Interference and Coups, Much Like the 9/11 Coup of Allende We’ve been discussing one way to approach non-violent conflict resolution by applying the Paradigm for Peace model to the current crisis in Ukraine. In our imaginary chart for the Roots of Violence, we[Read More…]
Part II. The Roots of violence: Needs for life and safety In the Paradigm for Peace model, the Roots of Violence are divided into seven categories. While a few of the categories aren’t as easily divided into defensive and aggressive motivations, for the most part, we examine how each party to the conflict may be defensively motivated or aggressively[Read More…]
PART 1. INTRODUCTION US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that Western nations will continue “moving Heaven and Earth” to send weapons to Ukraine in its war against Russia.[1] While they may be moving Earth, it’s doubtful they’re moving Heaven, which could very well be enraged at US policymakers’ habit of seizing for itself divine powers to inflict massive amounts of[Read More…]
The Script: Evil Persecutor, Innocent Victim, Rescuing Hero Brzezinski’s Baiting of the USSR Cold War Truth and Propaganda Russian Fears US Greed and Biases of the Policymaker Breed Shallow Analysis Double Standards Consequences of Believing the Script Compassion for Ukrainians victimized by Russia’s violence demonstrates that human hearts care. However, beneath the visible current of compassion there’s an alarming, dangerous[Read More…]
When brainwashed to commit violence, your conscience doesn’t prick when you kill. The barbaric actions at the Capitol on January 6, 2021 were taken by Americans convinced by Donald Trump and others that violence—even war—is essential to secure the nation, democracy, and freedom. Consequently, when rioters killed one police officer, savagely beat another, tried to gouge out the eye of[Read More…]
On January 3, 2020, the U.S. military, following President Trump’s orders, killed Major General Qassim Suleimani, respected leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Groups’ Qud Force. I never understood the morality of foreign policy, but I’m getting the hang of it, thanks to the little-known pocket manual “The U.S. Holy Code Book of Double Standard Morality.” According to U.S. Code,[Read More…]
If you were Iranian and learned that U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton wanted to attack your country, wouldn’t you feel terrified? But we’re taught to dismiss that. The training begins early: Complete the assignment. Get good grades. Insulate your life. Automate your soul. Don’t worry about U.S. bombs pulverizing Baghdad or U.S.-funded death squads mutilating peasants in Latin America.[Read More…]
How do we treat opponents? In strong democracies, we engage them in cooperative dialogue. In weaker democracies, we exclude and overpower them. If we’re undemocratic, we might kill them. So why has the United States, democracy’s alleged leader, become the world’s largest weapons exporter? In 2016, U.S. government arms exports totaled $38 billion, more than a third of the[Read More…]
Americans are instructed that North Korea is an aggressor that violates international agreements and doesn’t negotiate. Until North Korea denuclearizes, we are told, the U.S. must continue rejecting its peace proposals. After all, North Korea withdrew in 2003 from the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Its subsequent nuclear and missile testing violate the 1953 Korean[Read More…]
According to President Donald Trump, people who are tortured deserve it. Trump’s initial draft executive order in January revealed his passion for reopening U.S. black site prisons, loading Guantanamo with prisoners, and rewriting the Army Field Manual to redefine allowable interrogation techniques. Sure, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis opposes torture. But multiple CIA agents, military brass, legislators, and citizens have[Read More…]
The Democratic National Committee’s conspiring to sabotage Bernie Sanders’ campaign is disturbing on many levels, but what makes me livid is that the DNC was hoping to portray Bernie Sanders as an atheist. What’s worse than the intended smear is the belief that branding someone an atheist is a smear. So what if he were atheist? Does this make him[Read More…]
Selling One’s Soul – The betrayal of Christ and Constitution 
Climate Crisis Has Caused Increasingly Irreversible Losses, Says UN Report 
Yarrow Mamout Masjid Dedicated at Georgetown University 
Adolf Hitler, Carl Orff & Sophie Scholl 
Algeria’s Gas vs. Rightwing Ideology: Will Italy Change Its Position on Jerusalem? 
From Balloons to AUKUS: The War Drive Against China 
Paul Keating’s criticism of Australia’s AUKUS deal is damming but not “astonishing”, – in fact, timely! 
In memory of 20th anniversary of the Iraq War 
CBI investigation against Harsh Mandar’s NGO is nothing but travesty of justice 
Concept of Gram Swaraj (‘Village Self-Reliance’) and Its Increasing Relevance for Our Times 
Indian Democracy & Chaos in Parliament! 
Veterans Condemn Eviction of Aruna Rodrigues from her Residence 
America’s Wars 
Criminals at Large: The Iraq War Twenty Years On 
Massive White House Protest Against Endless Wars 
From ‘Progress’ to an Economics of Happiness 
On Missing Dr. Strangelove Or How Americans Learned to Stop Worrying and Forgot the Bomb 
The Arrest Warrant Against Putin and International Justice 
Illiberal Democracy and Anti-modernization waves in south-Asia 
To prevent a civil war that is about to happen in Pakistan 
Self-Reliant Farmers Improve their Economics and Also Contribute to Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation 
Where Do We Go From Here 
Modi Government’s crusade against the opposition 
India’s shift to a Defence-oriented economy, with increasing role for the private sector 
Spent Matters: The AUKUS Nuclear Waste Problem 
Iraq Invasion 20th Anniversary: 5 Million Dead In Iraqi Holocaust 
The Significance of the Paris Commune 152 Years After 
In memory of Anton Semyonovich Makarenko who championed democratic education 
Genetically Modified Animals Bring New Risks and Uncertainties 
When will the suicide of Dalit, tribal students stop? 
Social media and people’s life: A way of good governance 
In USA Black Farmers are Down From 14% to 1.4%, They Need Help 
Demystifying the halo around `Naatu Naatu’ and RRR 
Amazon Rainforest Destabilizes the World 
Iraq and 15 Lessons We Never Learned 
Paulo Freire: Education, Schooling and Social Change 
A Donbas Diary: Looking Back at the Early Stages of the Conflict in Ukraine 
The U.S. and UK’s Submarine Deal Crosses Nuclear Red Lines with Australia 
In memory of Writer Han Suyin Chaos in Pakistan: Imran Khan Takes on America and its Comprador Elites 
Our beloved K.P.Sasi is no more. Filmmaker, cartoonist, writer, mentor, friend and above all tireless activist championing the cause of every underdog, Sasi breathed his last, mid-afternoon this Christmas day – after battling a medical condition for months. I remember the last time I met him, almost exactly a month before he passed away, at the ayurvedic healing center in[Read More…]
