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“I spent 33 years and four months in active military service and during that period I spent most of my time as a high class muscle man for Big Business, for Wall Street and the bankers. In short, I was a racketeer, a gangster for capitalism. I helped make Mexico and especially Tampico safe for American oil interests in 1914. I helped make Haiti and Cuba a decent place for the National City Bank boys to collect revenues in. I helped in the raping of half a dozen Central American republics for the benefit of Wall Street. I helped purify Nicaragua for the International Banking House of Brown Brothers in 1902-1912. I brought light to the Dominican Republic for the American sugar interests in 1916. I helped make Honduras right for the American fruit companies in 1903. In China in 1927 I helped see to it that Standard Oil went on its way unmolested. Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”
― Smedley D. Butler, War is a Racket A most complex and interesting man. See biography at the end.Known as “The Fighting Quaker”
Kremlin couldn’t tolerate the prosperity of a free Ukraine. So let us demand from, after the victory and Putin’s capture, due reparations. #Mariupol (click on the image if you don’t see the 3rd frame) photo
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Mikhail Khodorkovsky (English) Retweeted
Justice for Journalists Foundation
Join the UK launch of the Safety of Journalists Platform’s 2022 Annual Report hosted by
&
18th May, 6:00pm (UK time) Speakers:
William Horsley & Fabian Hamilton Register:
The Russians take Kherson museums’ property and educational institutions’ art collections to Crimea #Ukraine #UkraineRussiaWar
Russia keeps using Viber, a popular messaging app in Ukraine, to promote the narrative about “Europe wanting to rob Ukraine of food which would lead to famine.” Reminder: it’s Russia who is stealing Ukrainian grain in Kherson region
Business Ukraine mag Retweeted
After weeks of work, our short film on the evidence of possible war crimes we uncovered is out. Travelled around Kyiv, Sumy regions where we discovered children bound& shot, underground torture chambers & bodies under the rubble for over a month #Ukraine
Business Ukraine mag Retweeted
A powerful speech by Ukraine’s president Zelensky at the Cannes International Film festival opening via videolink from Kyiv, with a lot of quotes from famous movies: this is just a part of it
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Prominent Russian propagandist Vladimir Solovyov has recently had his Italian residency revoked and lost his Italian villas. Luckily, he is not bitter
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Francis Scarr
@francis_scarr
· 36m
Russian state TV’s Vladimir Solovyov has taken the loss of his Italian villas and residence permit very badly indeed (with subtitles)
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Vladimir The Friendless: This week’s summit of the post-Soviet CSTO bloc underlined Russia’s international isolation with only Belarus dictator Lukashenka prepared to publicly defend Vladimir Putin’s disastrous Ukraine invasion
Putin’s only friend: Belarus is Russia’s last remaining post-Soviet ally
The recent CSTO summit in Moscow highlighted Russia’s lack of support even within the former Soviet region while underlining Belarus dictator Alyaksandr Lukashenka’s status as Vladimir Putin’
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WAR, What have we learnt? Nothing. Who benefits?
A little history to Smedley Butler, worth knowing.
Biography
At the time of his death, Major General Smedley Darlington Butler, also known as “The Fighting Quaker”, was the most decorated Marine in US history; he was the only person to be awarded a Marine Corps Brevet Medal and a Medal of Honor for two separate military actions. He had also become an unrelenting voice against the business of war.
Raised by prominent Quaker parents, Smedley Butler defied his pacifist lineage by joining the Marines just before his 17th birthday. He served in Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico and Haiti (earning his Medals of Honor in Mexico and Haiti). Butler was known for his leadership and commitment to the welfare of the men under his command. He rose quickly through the ranks to become, at age 48, one of the youngest major generals.
Prior to World War II, Butler spoke out against what he saw as admiration for Fascism and for Italy´s leader Benito Mussolini. He was punished for telling an unfavorable story about Mussolini, avoided court-martial by accepting a reprimand. Because of his rank, he was able to write his own reprimand and never apologized to Mussolini.
Butler retired from the military in 1931. By then, he was beginning to question US involvement in foreign conflicts. He had come to believe that war–in particular WWI–was really a profitable business for the few and at the expense of thousands of lives. He thought of himself as a cog in the imperialist war machine.
Who Watches the Watchers? 