RE: Déjà Vu All Over Again by Tom Engelhardt
Tom Engelhardt is one of the voices I always listened to and still do. In this article, however, he forgot mentioning one important fact. That is the nuclear first strike doctrine of the US hidden behind the words: ‘The United States has refused to adopt a no first use policy’, meaning that the first strike doctrine has been and is the predominant American military doctrine.
In consequence, this means that Russia has lived all the years of confrontation and one-sided economic warfare after the fall of the Soviet Union with the fear that they could at any time, while the US had a technological advantage, become the victims of an American attack. When Putin put his nuclear forces on high alert, he just drew even with what was already standard policy in the US.
In addition to this, it were the US and NATO who first broke international law by bombing Yugoslavian cities, creating Kosovo with force (and without the follow-up of a promised plebiscite), invading Iraq and bombing Libya without a valid UN mandate while breaking their pledge not to enlarge NATO towards the Russian border. In addition, to be valid, their newly invented doctrine R2P, ‘responsibility to protect’, cannot be applied and accepted by only one partner in the game.
International law and political pledges have since become empty words in an ideological dit for dat. Anyone, looking clear minded at the origin of Russia’s military adventure will have to start here and not at the date when Russia’s soldiers crossed their borders. Independent of present opinions, it is this which will be read in future history books.
Wilhelm Klein
*
Dear Southern Cross,
Certainly losing the Amazon forest would have a very negative impact on human life around the world. Europeans travelled to the then new world to escape the effects of deforestation in Europe. I dare say climates do alter but sadly those who wish to prove that don't provide useful evidence to support their claims. And now I find their is a big question mark over the ability to detonate in a flash a whole day's energy from a nuclear power station.
Robin Bate
RE: Esoteric Cosmology-2 by Rudolf Steiner
Thank you for covering these lectures. I find it helpful - it took me a long time to read Blavatsky's book : the language was so difficult to grasp. But already I am put at ease and find what RS talks about more clear.
Therese Osborne
RE: Renascence by Edna St Vincent Millay
Thanks for publishing it. One of my dearest poems.
Jenny Floch
*
Great poem to share just now, Frank!
John Beck
RE: Reincarnation Blues by Frank Thomas Smith
Right on all accounts. Imagine a happy face emoji. So sorry I can’t read everything you bring forth; the world is in great turmoil and I feel spread out to encompass all, whether I understand it or not. Love and hugs from me, and thanks for updates. Kendall Weaver
*
Love it Frank, love it!
The beauty of rhyming verse confronting our mortality works for me.
Cheers,
Ian McGillivray
*
Good one! Needs a bitter-sweet guitar riff.
Raun G
*
Reincanation Blues Everywhere. Good one. Here is my reincarnation
blues
https://youtu.be/UT8IHG_vThs
Robert Thibodeau
RE: Adrian's Way to the Universal Basic Income by Frank Thomas Smith
I really loved your piece on Adrian's Way. Yes, by all means, let's fight for the UBI Steiner's way. The donation part and the part on the downgrading of the value are essential.
Warm regards from Spain,
Karina ZdB
RE: Esoteric Lessons by Rudolf Steiner
These are the amazing lessons. How greatly they resound in our lives today. Thank you for making them more available.
Kendall Weaver