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Anti-Populism: Ideology of the Ruling Class
James Petras
Introduction
Throughout the US and European corporate and state media, right and left, we are told that ‘populism’ has become the overarching threat to democracy, freedom and . . . free markets. The media’s ‘anti-populism’ campaign has been used and abused by ruling elites and their academic and intellectual camp followers as the principal weapon to distract, discredit and destroy the rising tide of mass discontent with ruling class-imposed austerity programs, the accelerating concentration of wealth and the deepening inequalities.
We will begin by examining the conceptual manipulation of ‘populism’ and its multiple usages. Then we will turn to the historic economic origins of populism and anti-populism. Finally, we will critically analyze the contemporary movements and parties dubbed ‘populist’ by the ideologues of ‘anti-populism’.
South Korean President Seeks Diplomatic Relations with DPRK
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
President Moon Jae-in urges improved ties with Pyongyang over confrontation.
Earlier he said “I’m pro-US, but now South Korea should adopt diplomacy in which it can discuss a US request and say no to the Americans."
He wants his government taking the lead on policies affecting the peninsula, mostly concerned about preventing war, devastating for Seoul and Pyongyang if launched. On Thursday, ahead of the G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, he expressed willingness to meet with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un “any time, any place” - despite the DPRK’s nuclear program and July 4 ballistic missile test.
He proposed both North and South resumption of family reunions and mutual cooperation on the 2018 winter Olympic games - to be held in Pyeonchang, South Korea.
Ceasefire Declared in Southern Syria
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
It’s a major development if it sticks. Syria’s Defense Ministry said the following:
“The hostilities in the southern regions of Daraa, Quneitra, and Suwayda have been suspended from” midnight last night until 12:00AM July 6, longer if it’s working.
Syria’s aim is “supporting the peace process and national reconciliation.” ISIS, al-Nusra and other terrorist fighters remain in these areas, their ranks severely battered by Syrian and allied forces.
Ceasefire covers areas targeted six times in recent weeks by Israeli aggression. Damascus promised “an appropriate response” to elements breaching cessation of hostilities.
Implementing De-Escalation Zones in Syria
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Successfully implementing four designated de-escalation zones is a vital step toward restoring peace and stability to war-torn Syria.
Russia, Iran, and Assad’s government are committed to making the plan work. Washington wanting regime change and Syrian sovereignty destroyed is the obstacle to overcome - no easy task.
On July 4, Syria’s UN envoy/chief peace negotiator Bashar al-Jaafari explained mechanisms for implementing the de-escalation zones are still being discussed.
“We are still in the framework of diplomatic discussion on how to bring attitudes closer and find common denominators to focus on them for building a unified position,” he said.
“We are still in the beginning, and we have not yet finished discussing the mechanisms related to implementing the agreement.”
Why Don’t All Americans Have Healthcare Like Congressional Members Get?
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
It’s generous but not free. It’s not as good as Medicare for all - the only equitable system, especially for the world’s richest country, easily able to afford it.
Medicare coverage isn’t free as originally promised. Eligible recipients with incomes above a certain amount have to pay for Parts B and D. Supplemental insurance is needed for what Medicare doesn’t cover.
Seniors like myself pay plenty for Medicare, originally touted as free. It’s not an entitlement, as falsely claimed. It’s financed by individual and employer payroll tax deductions - insurance premiums by another name. Here’s what congressional members get. Prior to enactment of Obamacare, they got the same healthcare coverage as other federal employees through the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program (FEHBP).
Obamacare requires lawmakers and designated staff members to get coverage through the Affordable Care Act DC Health Link exchange.
Reckless US Provocation in Chinese Waters
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Imagine the following scenario. One or more Chinese or Russian warships provocatively enter the Gulf of Mexico, or perhaps intrude close to America’s east or west coast, sailing into its territorial waters - after being warned not to.
Washington would likely consider the intrusion an act of war - with full media support. Yet US warships provoke Russia in the Black Sea and China near its Xisha and Nansha Islands repeatedly - showing its own sovereignty matters, no one else’s.
In response to Washington’s latest intrusion, China’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang responded sharply, saying:
“Under the (phony) pretext of ‘freedom of navigation,’ the US side once again sent a military vessel into China’s territorial waters off the Xisha Islands without (its) approval.”
The Reason Behind the U.S. Government’s Secret Hatred of Europeans
Eric Zuesse
The reason for the U.S. government’s hostility — at least since 4 February 2014 —toward Europeans, has been a mystery, until now.
This hostility wasn’t even publicly recognized at all, until it leaked out, on that date, from a tapped phone-line of arguably the most powerful person at the U.S. State Department, the person whom American President Barack Obama had personally entrusted with running his Administration’s most geostrategically sensitive secret foreign operations (and she did it actually throughout almost the entirety of Obama’s eight years in office, regardless of whom the official U.S. Secretary of State happened to be at the time): Victoria Nuland.
Her official title was “Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs” and she was appointed to that post by the President himself, but nominally she reported to him through the Deputy Secretary of State William Joseph Burns, who reported to the Secretary of State, who, in turn, reported to the President.
She ran policies specifically on Ukraine (and, more broadly, against Russia). In the famous leaked phone call that she made on 4 February 2014 to the U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Geoffrey Pyatt, she instructed him to place in charge of Ukraine’s government, once America’s coup in Ukraine would be completed (which then occurred 18 days later and overthrew the democratically elected Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych, entirely in violation of Ukraine’s own Constitution), “Yats” or Arseniy Yatsenyuk. He did, immediately after the coup was completed, receive this crucial appointment — basically, the power to control all other top appointments in the new Ukrainian government. With this appointment, the coup, which had started by no later than 2011 to be planned inside the U.S. State Department, was effectively completed.
US-Called Security Council Meeting on North Korea
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Washington requested a closed-door session, scheduled for July 5 at around 3PM New York time - to discuss North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
The Trump administration wants China cracking down hard on Pyongyang, including tough sanctions, severing economic ties, and isolating the DPRK - policies far more extreme than anything Beijing and Russia will agree to.
Nor should any country support Washington’s imperial agenda. It’s the root cause of conflicts in multiple theaters, risking others - endless wars of aggression to advance its imperium.
On July 4, a joint Sino/Russian statement on the Korean peninsula reflects what both countries will propose to America and other Security Council members Wednesday afternoon - virtually certain to fall on US, UK and French deaf ears, these countries fundamentally opposed to conflict resolution anywhere.
Trump’s Reckless Korean Peninsula Brinksmanship
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Trump’s belligerent unpredictability could embroil East Asia in devastating conflict.
America’s rage to impose its will on all other nations risks unthinkable nuclear war.
Trump earlier said “we could end up having a major, major conflict with North Korea. We’d love to solve things diplomatically, but it’s very difficult.”
He called the DPRK his biggest diplomatic challenge - “an urgent national security threat and top foreign policy priority,” according to administration officials.
China rejects belligerence. War is “not acceptable,” its Foreign Minister Wang Yi stressed. “The Korean peninsula is not the Middle East. If war breaks out, the consequences would be unimaginable.”
Provocative US Response to Latest North Korean Missile Test
Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org (Home - Stephen Lendman)
Here’s what’s most important to understand. Following cessation of hostilities on the Korean peninsula in late July 1953, an uneasy armistice persisted to this day.
A heavily fortified 2.5 mile Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) separates North and South. Occasional incidents occur.
Truman’s war never ended. Its origin was misreported.
Repeated US-orchestrated cross-border provocations by South Korea against Pyongyang got the DPRK to respond in self-defense - its legitimate right under international law.
Peace on the peninsula hasn’t existed since 1950. Trump’s bullying and provocative behavior threatens Korean war 2.0.
He’s risking an unthinkable nuclear conflict, one nuclear power against another, assuring devastating consequences if war on the peninsula is launched - assuring losers, not winners.
