Heading Towards the Setting Sun

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/06/heading-towards-the-setting-sun/

Gwangju May 1980:A Real Movement for Democracy

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/06/03/gwangju-may-1980-a-genuine-movement-for-democracy/

When War is Too Easy

 In 1965 I lived in Peshawar, Pakistan on a small US military base. The base existed to spy on China and the Soviet Union. In the summer of 1965 a war broke out between India and Pakistan over the nation of Kashmir. For those who don't know, Kashmir is a region on the subcontinent that is claimed by both India and Pakistan. It is also the home of a longtime independence movement. After a summer of increasing hostilities in other parts of the country, the war came to Peshawar. On my tenth birthday, the Indian Air Force bombed military and civilian areas near the US base where my family lived with a couple hundred other US citizens. The next day, US troops dug deep long trenches in the yards of the Americans, place sheets of plywood over them and covered the plywood with dirt. These would be our bomb shelters. They also painted every window on base black and began enforcing a curfew that required us to turn off all electric lights at dusk. For the next week, the bombers came every night. We spent most nights in the trenches in our backyards. Anti-aircraft guns fired all around us and we heard the ack-ack of the guns and the bombs whistle as they fell, then explode. It was both scary and adventuresome. My siblings who were with me in that trench continue to deal with the trauma it created. After a week of bombing, the Pentagon evacuated the women and children from the base. After an overland journey to Kabul, Afghanistan and then a flight on a C-130 outfitted for troop transport, we ended up living in military barracks in Karamursel, Turkey. We stayed there for three months. The nations supplying weapons to each side halted their shipments and a truce was negotiated at peace talks in Tashkent.

This was my first brush with war. The other was when my father deployed to DaNang, Vietnam in late 1968. Despite a couple close calls, he made it home physically intact and relatively stable emotionally. My experience in Pakistan taught me two very important things. The first was that war is a foolish, if not downright idiotic method of problem solving. The second lesson was that a war could be ended if the combatants ran out of weapons and ammunition.

That week of huddling through the night in hastily-made air raid shelters while bombers dropped their ordnance a couple miles away and heavy artillery on the ground tried to shoot them down was enough war for me. I knew then that I would not allow the draft to take me. I wasn't going to die for that nonsense and I wasn't going to kill. The lessons I learned from my experience seem to be the exact opposite of the lessons learned by those who make and profit from war.

My week of war is nothing compared to those who have fought in wars or lived in countries where war ripped apart their lives. However, that week is considerably more experience than the majority of those politicians and profiteers who now insist on escalating the war between Russia and Ukraine. These men and women, who act as if war is a Hollywood film or a video game, act as if they have little understanding of the trauma they are inflicting. Nor do they seem to be considering alternatives to the escalation they champion. Their lives as US citizens are lives full of triumphalism and military madness—a madness that sees war not as a last resort, but all too often as the only resort. Even after the debacles in Afghanistan and Iraq, these politicians and all too many who vote for them reject the compromise peace requires in favor of combat; combat most often carried out by working class men and women.

Instead of spending billions of dollars on weaponry for Ukraine's military, banning all things Russian and reviving the lend-lease legislation of World War Two, the US should be insisting on a ceasefire and a negotiated peace. This approach may lack the optics of war, but is most likely where the war will end up, anyhow. Unfortunately, for the reasons stated above and more, Washington demanding a ceasefire is unlikely to happen any time soon. The madness of war is in place. This war is just too easy for US politicians and their constituents, especially those who make money from war: no body bags of US troops, big profits and no protests. It is the perfect war crime.

Ban the Damn Guns

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/27/ban-the-damn-guns/

Some Thoughts on the Russia-Ukraine Conflict in Week Number Twelve

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/18/some-thoughts-on-the-russia-ukraine-conflict-in-week-number-twelve/

The Game is Bigger Than the Parks It’s Played In

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/13/the-game-is-bigger-than-the-parks-its-played-in/

Winston Churchill’s Rap Sheet: A Record of Empire

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/06/winston-churchills-rap-sheet-a-record-of-empire/

We Need an International Antiwar Movement, Not a Cheerleading Squad for the Arms Industry

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/03/we-need-an-international-antiwar-movement-not-a-cheerleading-squad-for-the-arms-industry/

What About History?

This is behind a paywall that can be opened with a mere 25/year subscription to Counterpunch +

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/05/01/what-about-history/

F*ck You, Motherf*ckers

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/29/fuck-you-motherfuckers/

Love and Death, War and Peaceniks

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/22/love-and-death-war-and-peaceniks/

Neoliberalism is Not a Noun

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/15/neoliberalism-is-not-a-noun/

Desperation, Fear, Facebook and Hope, Always Hope

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/08/desperation-fear-facebook-and-hope-always-hope/

Supporting Militarism Will Not Bring Justice, Only Death

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/04/06/supporting-militarism-will-not-bring-justice-only-death/

April 4, 1968

Blast from the Past.....

https://mronline.org/2006/04/04/april-4-1968/ 

Why Spill Any Blood?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/30/why-spill-any-blood/

The Empyreal Horn of Wadada Leo Smith

 This is another piece behind the Counterpunch firewall.  Well worth the 25 bucks a year for the exclusive content.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/27/the-empyreal-horn-of-wadada-leo-smith/

Queen Victoria's Goddaughter

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/25/queen-victorias-goddaughter/

NATO, the Cold War and the roots of the war on Ukraine

 https://kboo.fm/media/108332-nato-cold-war-and-roots-war-ukraine

War should never be applauded. Avoid it at all costs.

 https://vtdigger.org/2022/03/15/ron-jacobs-war-should-never-be-applauded-avoid-it-at-all-costs/

NATO and Its Assimilation of Europe

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/15/nato-and-its-assimilation-of-europe/

When the University was Antiwar

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/11/when-the-university-was-antiwar/

Calling for More War is Not a Desire for a Just Peace

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/09/calling-for-more-war-is-not-a-desire-for-a-just-peace/

An Antiwar Primer

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/04/an-antiwar-primer/

Bertolt Brecht's poem A War Primer

Fascism is a Movement, Not Just a Man

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/03/02/fascism-is-a-movement-not-just-a-man/

Imperial Idiocy's Newest Battleground

 Extra note Robert Kagan (mentioned in this piece) was also a co-founder of the neocon Project for a New American Century and the husband of a key architect of the dismembering of the elected 2014 Ukrainian government, Victoria Nuland.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/25/imperial-idiocys-newest-battleground/

The Ugly Marriage of Postmodernism and Neoliberalism

Yet another piece published in Counterpunch's subscriber only section.  It bears repeating-- this section is worth the $25/yr subscription!

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/20/the-ugly-marriage-of-postmodernism-and-neoliberalism/

I'm Reckoning on a Day of Reckoning

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/16/im-reckoning-on-a-day-of-reckoning/

The Responsibility of the Intellectuals-Is It Still a Thing?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/10/the-responsibility-of-the-intellectuals-is-it-still-a-thing/

Close the Bases, Reduce US Wars Abroad

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/02/04/close-the-bases-reduce-us-wars-abroad/

Hunter S. Thompson: A Certain Type of Witness

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/28/hunter-s-thompson-a-certain-type-of-witness/

Ukraine as Game Board

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/26/ukraine-as-game-board/ 

Peter Weiss and his Piece de Resistance

 This meditation on Peter Weiss' The Aesthetics of Resistance is located in Counterpunch's subscriber only section.  Once again, I encourage you to subscribe if you haven't already.  25 dollars a year for exclusive articles, reviews, commentary and other goodies every week...it's worth it.  I believe there are special prices for low income readers.  Thanks......

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/23/peter-weiss-and-his-piece-de-resistance/

Where Greed is a Virtue and Poverty Your Own Damn Fault

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/18/where-greed-is-a-virtue-and-poverty-your-own-damn-fault/

Me, Richard Nixon and the War on Drugs

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/14/me-richard-nixon-and-the-war-on-drugs/

Some Hazy Cosmic Jive

https://www.counterpunch.org/2022/01/07/some-hazy-cosmic-jive/ 

Intrepid Trips, Indeed

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/31/intrepid-trips-indeed/

Ronnie Reagan Wasn’t Nice and He Wasn’t Santa Claus

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/24/ronnie-reagan-wasnt-nice-and-he-wasnt-santa-claus/

Eros and the Grateful Dead

 From 2005 and still good to go.....

https://www.counterpunch.org/2005/06/18/eros-and-the-grateful-dead/

Racism and Social Reform

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/17/racism-and-social-reform/

Afghanistan: Washington’s Forty-Year Folly

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/10/afghanistan-washingtons-forty-year-folly/

The Orange Blossom Special Hits the Haight

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/12/03/the-orange-blossom-special-hits-the-haight/

US History and its Ugly Truth

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/26/us-history-and-its-ugly-truth/

A Land Where Justice is a Game

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/22/a-land-where-justice-is-a-game/

The Dead End of Public Transit for Profit

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/19/the-dead-end-of-public-transit-for-profit/

Last Negroes at Harvard Podcast Conversation

 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ron-jacobs-journalist-author/id1521268233?i=1000542163230

The Mystery to the Solution

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/12/the-mystery-to-the-solution/

J. Edgar and the Birth of US Counterterrorism

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/05/j-edgar-and-the-birth-of-us-counterterrorism/

The Confederacy Votes for A White Supremacist—Is That News?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/11/04/the-confederacy-votes-for-a-white-supremacist-is-that-news/

Mexico, US Imperialism and the Border

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/29/mexico-us-imperialism-and-the-border/

Checking in With Dave Zirin: Kaepernick, COVID and the MLB Playoffs

 This is another piece from Counterpunch +.  I can't encourage you enough to put down the 25 bucks for a year's subscription.  It's worth it!

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/17/checking-in-with-dave-zirin-kaepernick-covid-and-the-mlb-playoffs/

The American Way--2021

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/15/the-american-way-2021/ 

The Privatization of “Jihad”

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/08/the-privatization-of-jihad/

Karachi: Dystopian Modernity?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/10/01/karachi-dystopian-modernity/

Twentieth Century Europe: Revolution and Reaction

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/24/twentieth-century-europe-revolution-and-reaction/

City Council Resolution to Support BDS Movement Fails in Burlington, VT

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/20/city-council-resolution-to-support-bds-movement-fails-in-burlington-vt/

Nothing Good Came Out of It: 9-11 Twenty Years On

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/10/nothing-good-came-out-of-it-9-11-twenty-years-on/

The Sixties, Hollywood, and One Man’s Consideration of the Curse of Vietnam

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/09/03/the-sixties-hollywood-and-one-mans-consideration-of-the-curse-of-vietnam/

The Walk of Life

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/27/walk-of-life/

 

Police will not solve economic and social problems underlying crime

https://vtdigger.org/2021/08/12/ron-jacobs-police-will-not-solve-economic-and-social-problems-underlying-crime/ 

Kabul's Victors and the Vanquished

This article published today in Counterpunch (8/19) has already elicited some pretty harsh emails. It is written not to express support for the Taliban, but in an attempt to look at the situation free from imperial prejudices and assumptions. In terms of the situation in Afghanistan, let us remember that ending a war is almost as ugly as fighting one. The western media has an agenda that included supporting the US war on the Afghans, on the Iraqis, on the Vietnamese and a multitude of other peoples around the world. It has no legitimate right to say a damn thing about the havoc and fear in Afghanistan since it helped to create and maintain it. Besides my piece in today Cpunch, the lead article is by Vijay Prashad. I heartily recommend reading it along with mine. His analysis from India provides a clear and practical look at how a future might look in Afghanistan.

-Ron J

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/19/211959/

The Myth of the Atomic Genie

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/13/the-myth-of-the-atomic-genie/

The Dog Days of August 1990

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/08/06/the-days-of-august-1990/

The Indian Nation and Its Borders

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/07/30/the-indian-nation-and-its-borders/

The Beast that Kills the Beauty

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/07/23/the-beast-that-kills-the-beauty/

What's a Left Wing to Do?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/07/15/whats-a-left-wing-to-do/

Sacrilege and Sanctity: Ishmael Reed and Henry Dumas

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/07/09/sacrilege-and-sanctity-ishmael-reed-and-henry-dumas/

Rewriting History in the Land Called California

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/07/02/rewriting-history-in-the-land-called-california/

Music is Our Special Friend—1971 With a Bullet

This is from Counterpunch's subscriber only section.  I can't emphasize enough--SUBSCRIBE!!!  It's worth the 25 bucks a year.....

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/27/music-is-our-special-friend-1971-with-a-bullet/

My Father's House

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/18/my-fathers-house/

Bipartisan Fear, Bipartisan Aggression: China and The United States

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/08/204284/

It's a Man's World

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/06/04/its-a-mans-world/

Guerrilla: Bundesrepublik Deutschland

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/28/guerrilla-bundesrepublik-deutschland/

Cops in Baltimore, the Hard Town by the Sea

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/19/cops-in-baltimore-the-hard-town-by-the-sea/

I Went Down to the Demonstration to Get My Fair Share of Abuse

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/13/i-went-down-to-the-demonstration-to-get-my-fair-share-of-abuse/

Capitalism, Borders and the Damage They Do

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/05/07/capitalism-borders-and-the-damage-they-do/

From the Foggy Dew

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/30/from-the-foggy-dew/

Love and Revolution

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/23/love-and-revolution/ 

Ben Fletcher-Unsung Hero of the Working Class

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/16/ben-fletcher-unsung-hero-of-the-working-class/

Biden, Blinken and DOD

One more from Counterpunch+....please subscribe!!!  It's worth the 25 bucks a year

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/04/11/biden-blinken-and-dod/

The Allure of Roberto Bolaño

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/31/the-allure-of-roberto-bolano/

The Curse of White Supremacy Must Be Fought, Not Handed Over to a Committee

 From Counterpunch+, a subscriber only section of Counterpunch which is currently free to all.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/21/the-curse-of-white-supremacy-must-be-fought-not-handed-over-to-a-committee/

A People’s History of the Civil Rights Movement

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/19/a-peoples-history-of-the-civil-rights-movement/

Washington in Afghanistan: How Long Must This Go On?

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/03/16/washington-in-afghanistan-how-long-must-this-go-on/

Health Care and Colonialism: A Sickness unto Death

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/26/health-care-and-colonialism-a-sickness-unto-death/

Go St. Pauli! Beat Fascism!

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/19/go-st-pauli-beat-fascism/

Trump: Turning Losing Into Winning

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/15/trump-turning-losing-into-winning/

Lying Lawyers and Butt-kissing Senators: The First Days of Trump’s Second Impeachment Trial

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/12/lying-lawyers-and-butt-kissing-senators-the-first-days-of-trumps-second-impeachment-trial/

Ain't No Time to Wait--A Review of The Imperial Mode of Living

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/02/05/aint-no-time-to-wait/

Airplane: COVID-19 Edition

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/29/airplane-covid-19-edition/ 

Capitalism's Wolves in Sheep's Clothing

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/15/capitalisms-wolves-in-sheeps-clothing/

Department of Redundancy Department-Trump Racks Up Another Impeachment

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/14/department-of-redundancy-department-trump-racks-up-another-impeachment/

Burlington, Vermont: Harbinger of Change?

On Counterpunch +, which is a subscriber only part of Counterpunch.  However, it is still free as of today.  It's worth the $25/year.  Believe me.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/10/burlington-vermont-harbinger-of-change/

Facebook and the Street

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2021/01/01/facebook-and-the-street/

Music is the Highest Revelation

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/25/music-is-the-highest-revelation/

Crime Fiction and the Commodification of Life

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/18/crime-fiction-and-the-commodification-of-life/

Of Thee I Sing

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/11/of-thee-i-sing/

University Cuts are About Priorities, Not Education

 https://vtdigger.org/2020/12/03/ron-jacobs-uvms-proposed-cuts-are-about-priorities-not-education/

Biographies of a Revolutionary Moment

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/04/biographies-of-a-revolutionary-moment/

We Know Joe

 https://www.counterpunch.org/2020/12/01/we-know-joe/