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Henry Kissinger, Most Controversial Diplomat Since World War II, Is Dead At 100!

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Henry Kissinger, the most controversial diplomat since World War II, is dead at age 100!

The winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War, he is seen by many as having been an international outlaw and criminal for his involvement in spreading the Vietnam War into Cambodia; his support and promotion of a right wing government in Chile, destroying that democracy for a generation; and his lack of concern about human rights and loss of freedom in so many places around the world besides Chile, including Argentina.

As National Security Adviser and then Secretary of State to President Richard Nixon, and later to President Gerald Ford, he engaged in many unethical, if not illegal, actions.

A believer in Realpolitik in international relations, he was seen as lacking ethics and morality to the extreme, and was noted for his egotism and lack of concern about his reputation.

He is noted for helping to open up relations with the People’s Republic of China, and his dealings with the Soviet Union, and the Middle East cauldron. He also is criticized for backing Pakistan in the Bangladesh-India War for Independence of what had been East Pakistan, undermining relations with the largest populated nation, India, beyond China, and also encouraging the corrupt Shah of Iran during the energy crisis!

Seen as a brilliant and yet to many an evil man, he clashed with many other diplomatic and political figures, and stood out as diametrically opposite to many, including President Jimmy Carter, who survived him and one hopes will reach age 100 in ten months!

Disturbing Right Wing Trend In International Affairs, Mirroring Donald Trump!

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As the threat of Donald Trump continues to be a menace, we are seeing in international affairs a troubling and disturbing trend of right wing populism, mirroring his extremism.

Already, this has been evident in Turkey, Poland, Hungary, Italy, and now The Netherlands, along with Egypt, India, Myanmar, and now Argentina, and dangers of right wing extremism threatening to rise in Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and elsewhere.

Religion, whether Christian, Muslim, Hindu, or Buddhist is a growing factor in these nations.

It seems as if the world is moving back into the Fascism movement that was so prominent in the 1930s and 1940s.

Henry Kissinger Reaches Age 100: Mixed Views On His Reputation And Legacy!

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Henry Kissinger, arguably the most significant Secretary of State in American history since World War II, turns age 100 today.

Sadly, Kissinger has a very checkered history, seen as outstanding in some ways as National Security Adviser and then the head of the State Department under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford.

But he has also been held complicit for supporting the prolonging of the Vietnam War under Nixon; backing the military coup in Argentina, which led to brutality and the deaths of tens of thousands of Argentines by death squads; the overthrow of the Chilean democracy in 1973, leading to the brutality of Augusto Pinochet’s dictatorial regime until 1990; support of the Pakistan dictatorship war against Bangladesh and India in 1971; and the bombing of Cambodia in 1970 and after during the Vietnam War.

On the positive side, he was involved in the negotiation of the Paris Peace Accords ending the Vietnam War; pioneering the policy of detente with the Soviet Union; promoting the opening of relations with the People’s Republic of China; and involvement in shuttle diplomacy that ended the 18 Day Yom Kippur War between Egypt and Israel in 1973.

So Kissinger is looked at by experts as both a “war criminal” but also a statesman who won the Nobel Peace Prize for negotiating the end of the Vietnam War.

Kissinger has been unable to travel freely to many areas of the world, since he left office in 1977, as he could have faced arrest for the evil deeds he endorsed and supported.

He will remain controversial in the future after his passing, but one thing is certain!

You cannot study the history of the Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford Presidencies, without realizing the great impact, both negative and positive, of the German Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany!

Donald Trump Raves About Putin, Xi Jinping, Kim Jong Un, And Republicans Stay Silent!

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Former President Donald Trump is demonstrating yet again how dangerous and crazy he is, and yet the Republican Party acts prostrate toward him!

Trump went on Fox News Channel and was interviewed by Tucker Carlson, who we know has said he hates him, but still has him on his show, as the goal is, ever after, to make money for Carlson and Fox News Channel by allowing Trump to spew forth his authoritarian impulses!

Trump praised Communist dictators Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation, Xi Jinping of China, and Kim Jong Un of North Korea, lavishing them with glowing statements about how smart they are, and how brilliant they are, despite their well known record of human rights violations against their own populations, and threats to their neighbors.

And although one might say Putin is NOT a Communist, since the Russian Federation supposedly replaced the Soviet Union in December 1991, reality is that Putin WAS a Communist functionary in the Soviet KGB in the 1980s.

Imagine this, Communism was the enemy to decades of Republicans from the time of the Russian Revolution to the downfall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

It made the careers of innumerable Republicans, including the infamous Senator Joseph McCarthy, President Richard Nixon, and a massive number of others.

But along comes Trump, glorifying and praising these dangerous and unstable authoritarians, who could also be termed “Fascists” in their tactics, such as past horrors as Adolf Hitler of Germany, Benito Mussolini of Italy, Juan Peron of Argentina, and Francisco Franco of Spain in the 20th century.

The differences between “old line” Communists and modern Fascists are miniscule, and to have an American President praise such tyrants, and his party stays silent, is truly proof that the Republican Party and Fox News Channel are a danger to American freedom, security, and democracy!

How is it that Republicans have completely changed their perception of foreign enemies, and are engaged in similar tactics to undermine the civil rights and civil liberties of millions of Americans, who do not fit the image of white supremacy Christianity?

What has happened that the party of Lincoln, TR, Ike, and Reagan has reached this point?

Extreme Threat Growing To Biden And Harris And Civil Order From Right Wing Trumpists Who Deny Election Results!

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With the Electoral College having met in the 50 states and Washington DC on Monday, the victory of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris is done, but even though Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and some other Republicans on Capitol Hill are coming around to acceptance that Joe Biden will be taking the oath of office on January 20, 2021, there is growing concern of an extreme threat to both Biden and Harris and to maintaining of civil order.

Right wing Trumpists present a growing threat to the nation, as there are those who have threatened to call for a coup, a declaration of martial law, suspension of the Constitution, and denial of the Bill of Rights as part of a plan to keep Donald Trump in office indefinitely as a tinhorn dictator, similar to Juan Peron of Argentina or Benito Mussolini of Fascist Italy.

The “Proud Boys” are a terrorist group supportive of and endorsed by Trump, and white supremacists, as those at Charlottesville, Virginia in 2017, are a serious threat in Washington DC now, and on Inauguration Day and after!

If Donald Trump continues to deny reality and incites rebellion, he needs to be arrested and charged immediately upon leaving office, and tough measures against “secessionists” and “traitors” and “seditionists” need to be implemented!

We are not going to allow lawlessness and violence to be perpetrated by Donald Trump or any of his minions, who have no respect for the rule of law and the Constitution and Bill of Rights!

Donald Trump Uses Independence Day To Promote A Culture War Rather Than Unite Us!

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President Donald Trump spent Independence Day promoting a culture war, rather than uniting us on our national patriotic holiday.

He demonstrated that promoting the retention of Confederate statues, monuments and symbols is more important than convincing Americans of the need to wear masks and promote public health and safety.

He applauds the law enforcement community and the military, while ignoring the horrible record of law enforcement toward racial minorities. He also claims that evidence of Russian payments to the Taliban in Afghanistan to kill American soldiers is a hoax, rather than stand up to Vladmir Putin as part of promoting national security and protection of Americans fighting overseas.

As with his Inaugural in 2017, Trump promotes darkness, pessimism, fear, conspiracy theories, and demonstrates his total lack of understanding of totalitarian leaders who undermine American democracy.

He does not even know what Fascism is, when he speaks about “left wing Fascism”, when any expert who is not a right wing extremist knows that Fascism refers to right wing totalitarianism, such as Benito Mussolini of Italy, Adolf Hitler of Germany, Juan Peron of Argentina, and Francisco Franco of Spain, among others. While all of them might at some point seemed to appeal to so called “Socialists”, all worked to undermine, persecute, and torture and kill those groups on the Left, all of which vehemently opposed them.

Donald Trump’s aim is only to divide and conquer, and to spread lies and deceit, including making his 2016 opponent Hillary Clinton out to be a monster, a crook, an extremely corrupt and tainted person, much like he is now attempting to portray Joe Biden as the same. And the reason for this is that both Clinton and Biden are connected to Barack Obama, which brings out the total, maniacal, and racist hatred of Trump for his predecessor.

The Negative Side Of The Presidency Of George H. W. Bush

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As George H. W. Bush lies in state before his funeral on Wednesday and his burial on Thursday, praise and plaudits have been visited on the 41st President.

But as with all Presidents and all government leaders worldwide and historically, there is a negative side.

Among the shortcomings of the 41st President are the following in no particular order:

Bush ignored the AIDS Epidemic crisis, much like his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, allowing the Religious Right Wing to set the agenda on a hate campaign against gays and lesbians.

Bush switched his pro choice views on abortion by picking up the Reagan viewpoint on women, and sacrificing his beliefs, while his own wife Barbara quietly continued to support abortion rights.

Bush ran a nasty, dirty, and despicable campaign for President in 1988 against the Democratic nominee, Michael Dukakis, allowing falsehoods and distortions to be promoted, without any consideration of the damage his campaign manager Lee Atwater was engaged in.

Bush pursued a Mideast policy that led to long term disaster, and placing troops on a permanent basis in the Middle East led to September 11 and the Iraq War and Afghanistan War.

Bush as CIA head backed dictatorships in Latin America, particularly in Chile and Argentina.

Bush promoted a tough war on drugs, as Ronald Reagan had done, and it victimized people of color much more than whites, and caused prison terms that are now seen as a failed policy, that did not really get to the issue of how to treat those addicted to drugs.

Bush was involved in the Iran Contra Scandal under President Reagan, never fully explored, and ended up giving pardons to many who were part of that scandal, right before he left office in 1993.

Bush made a horrible appointment to the Supreme Court when he nominated Clarence Thomas in 1991, and the nation has been burdened with his influence for the past 27 years, including many potential future Supreme Court nominees who worked for Thomas, and are now being put on the Circuit Courts under President Donald Trump, setting up a future Court with even greater Thomas impact than just himself.

Bush also gave us the most ill qualified, incompetent Vice President in modern history, Dan Quayle, and when Bush had medical issues in office, it made the nation worry at the thought of a President Quayle.

These nine points mentioned above make an assessment of the ultimate historical significance of George H. W. Bush much more complicated than the fulsome praise now being promoted at the time of his passing.

A Woman As German Chancellor; A Woman As British Prime Minister; A Woman As President Of The United States; Why Not?

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The world is reaching a moment to celebrate!

We have had a woman as German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, since November 2005.

We will now have a woman as British Prime Minister, Theresa May, in two days.

And in November, four months from now, we are very likely to have a woman President elected, Hillary Clinton.

And why not?

It is long overdue that this has happened!

We have seen several nations in South America (Argentina, Brazil, Chile) and two in Europe (Norway, Poland), and two in Asia (South Korea, Taiwan) with female leaders, along with past woman leaders in India, Pakistan, Israel, and Great Britain, among others.

It is time to put women into power, as so many men have done so much damage over time, and there is no special talent to govern held by men, so this development is wonderful and laudatory!

Donald Trump: The Demagogue, The Fascist, Dangerous For American Democracy!

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It is now past five months since Donald Trump entered the Presidential race, and he is still number one in the polls for the GOP Presidential nomination.

It was thought that Trump was a “flash in the pan”, who would falter and collapse, but that has not happened.

Republicans are disillusioned not only with Barack Obama, but also with Republican leadership, and in the dangerous world we live in, they seem ready to throw away experience and select a man who has NEVER been in government, and has no clue on most issues, but uses code words and incendiary language to draw his support.

It is clear that racism, nativism, and ignorance are reigning today among Donald Trump supporters who seem not to care that most of what he says are all lies, manipulations of the truth, and pure demagoguery.

His appeal includes attacking Mexicans, Muslims, immigrants, the news media, and anyone who dares to disagree with him, and his bully nature brings out the lowest class of people who love his boasting and egotistical nature.  He ridicules the disabled; insults women wit his misogyny; and acts in a fashion that should turn off any decent, intelligent human being, and yet no matter what he says or does, his support seems to remain strong, worrisome for the long term future of American democracy.

But John Kasich, the Governor of Ohio, is speaking out on the reality that Trump is sounding more and more like a typical Fascist, as found in Spain with Francisco Franco, Argentina with Juan Peron, Italy and Benito Mussolini,  and elsewhere historically–the superhero who arouses an ignorant population to follow him in solving all problems, and has no problem in insulting and humiliating others.

Kasich is showing guts and courage, which so far no other GOP Presidential candidate seems willing to display.

Donald Trump must be stopped because he is a danger to America in both domestic and foreign affairs, who would undermine all of the progress made in the past century.  The right wing would prosper under his leadership, as all of the objectionable extremist groups in America would flock to him.

60th Anniversary Of Castro Revolution In Cuba: What Is The Future?

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60 years ago on this day, Fidel Castro led a failed attempt to seize an army barracks, which is marked as the beginning of his revolutionary uprising against Fulgencio Batista, leading after five and a half years of struggle to his seizure of power in Havana on January 1, 1959.

Fidel Castro gave up power due to medical problems in 2006, after 47 plus years of leadership, but his brother Raul succeeded him, and the Castro dynasty is still in power in Cuba after 54 and a half years, and Fidel Castro will be 87 years of age nest month, and is reported in good health.

Fidel Castro, as evil a man as he is, will go down as the most significant Latin American government leader of the past century of history, with only Juan Peron of Argentina a weak second behind him.

The effect of Cuba on the international scene has been massive, considering the fact that Cuba never made a dent in world affairs before Castro, and we nearly had nuclear war between the US and the Soviet Union 51 years ago, a year and a half after a failed American attempt to use Cuban exiles to overthrow him in the Bay of Pigs fiasco!

And our domestic politics has been profoundly affected by the loyalty of the few million Cuban Americans to the Republican Party, making them a distinct Hispanic group in their political behavior, particularly in Florida!

We have also seen three Cuban US Senators–Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Marco Rubio of Florida, and Ted Cruz of Texas–who have a great impact in the US Senate, as well as a few in the House of Representatives. Menendez is the lone Cuban Democrat who has made it to a prominent position, Chairman of The Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

The question is what will happen when Fidel and Raul Castro leave the scene, at least officially in 2018, according to the plans of Raul Castro to retire. How will Cuba evolve, and how will the United States react to change in Cuba? Will democracy develop in Cuba or come about by a new revolution, or will the Castro influence and Communism persist in Cuba?

This island, just 90 miles from the Florida Keys, will become the center of world politics again very soon, and what happens there will affect America domestically and in foreign affairs for the long term future, just as it has for the past six decades!

The Castro brothers have managed to survive in power through the terms of 11 Presidents from Dwight D. Eisenhower to Barack Obama! It is an amazing story just by that reality!