unblocktheplanet

Bangkok is largely a third-world city with too many shopping malls and shiny towers. Tourists don't get to see the mooban chicken-house, the poor hidden away under corrugated metal, the great pollution, floods, filthy klongs. To tourists, our tangle of wires just isn't an eyesore they live with. And that's before I get to the traffic jams caused by entitled selfishness. Me, I love it here! But I think they paid for the panel's trip for a fun week in Soi Cowboy, all inclusive. Here, take home this giant red box and vote the right way.

I think the shine has worn off his penny. Steal while you're on overstay. Police can be overzealous when they think it's kiddieporn. And what is Kik???

The 85k Israelis were just tourists. Some behave badly...just like all tourists. It is unfair (but NOT antisemitic) to single them out. The problem occurs when the young Israelis, fresh out of the IDF, think of Thailand as a no-rules paradise. They were just locked up shooting people for two years and then they hit the Land of Smiles. I don't know how we solve this problem while remaining just. Israelis come to Phangan for the drugs and the Full Moon Parties.

I demand that Canada be added to this list! We're every bit as good as México! Thai Customs is now applying arbitrary tariffs (when they should be reciprocal), plus VAT on not only the contents but on its insurance and shipping from overseas! On even 1 baht (no idea how they figure that). Do we even know what tariffs the US is charging us now? Trump sure loves chaos!

Just doing me job. Sail into a warzone, what could go wrong? RIP, anyway.

Would a Thai taking photos of these planes be in trouble? Has anybody questioned the foreigner? Honestly, it sounds like a more interesting tourist destination than most of the commercial crap on offer. No warning signs. Dead planes. Will somebody please tell me how this harms Thailand's military. (Probably spying for the Cambodians, eh. Wonder how much they pay.)

Donnie & Bibi sitting in a tree, wrecking the world's economy. When we we ever learn, war is never the answer.

The antisemitic in the title was just meant to get people excited. I already did a post on racism which never reached a conclusion. This post is meant to be something different--blind obedience to authority.

Let's take this further, Connda, because I would genuinely like to hear your opinion. There are two types of crime: crimes against people and crimes against property. I agree that there have been in many instances destruction of property and looting in cases of protests that became uncontrollable riots. I submit, though, that no one intended the protest to turn into a riot. Frustration becomes people, both protesters and police. Propaganda, of course, works both ways. It can mean anything. Rhetorical question: Are the majority too stupid to separate propaganda from what is truth. Such, hehe, "fake news" (great invention, btw) requires checking multiple sources and looking at an issue from many perspectives before one can arrive at a valid opinion. I do it every day. I believe there is never an excuse for violence, by civilians, by soldiers, by the state. But nonviolent civil disobedience is a different story. We stand and take our medicine. Not only does the protest hit the media, but so do the arrests, trials aso.

Jersey Devil here! I believe that violence can only be done to people. Burning a Tesla is not violence. Ignoring police is far different from attacking police or responding to police brutality with violence. Regardless, the goal of all protest is to be heard, to bring the issue before the public. Only drama does that. In the eyes of the state, there is no "100% peaceful protest". They always find a way for repression Ah, I'll give you an example. You mentioned blocking roads. How about blocking pipeline construction, or weapons trains, or m ilitary bases? I very much admire the Valve Turners, a group of oldies who coordinated shutting off oil on several pipelines, all at the same time. Was that violence? In the US, this action was charged as "domestic terrorism". A country that can trump up such charges, can make such repressive laws, is not my Canada.

For me, the conversations we’ve been having here on racism and, more particularly, antisemitism have been very instructive. I’ve learned a lot by talking with all of you. Most of us are familiar with the story of the good German, the ordinary person who followed orders, no matter how far against morality or humanity they went. Eichmann’s defence at Nuremburg was, “I was only following orders.” They hanged him anyway. You see, that’s not good enough. We all like to think of ourselves as better humans, better than that, surely. But, in reality, I think very, very few of us, a minuscule proportion, ever resist orders. For example, “Food and drink are not allowed on the BTS Skytrain system.” Do you break that rule? Even when we break the rule, such as carrying a cup of coffee onto the train, we’re furtive about it, as if someone in authority might scold us. Or, in Nazi Germany, far worse than scolding. How about plea bargains: “You’ll shave years off your sentence after certain conviction, if you just tell us this.” Or pressure to a false confession or false accusations.. Even I, a lifelong rebel, activist, agitator, troublemaker, find myself obeying almost all the rules. Why? Well, for one thing, we intrinsically don’t want to disappoint anyone, including those in authority, the boss, for example. And we certainly don’t want any trouble! Mostly, we follow rules made by <who knows> because it’s easier. It makes things smoother, more convenient for a largely hassle-free life. But we will never meet those who made and make the rules, never. Some of the rules are ridiculous or antiquated or no longer apply. But rules are rules, right. Books have been written about the Nazi phenomenon, complete cult worship for no benefit to society. But the Germans followed the rules, in fact the breakdown of morality. Almost no Aryan Germans or Jews resisted that authority, with very few exceptions. There was Dietrich Bonhöffer, the Weiße Rose students, and the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. Any other resistance was passive, done discreetly to avoid the attention of the authorities. Both in the streets and in the camps. Many war resisters were guillotined in Berlin, as were Christians. I have recorded them in one of my books. We have to, we have to, remember their names, or we are less than human. I have written about the scourge of nationalism before but Nazi Germany really nails that down über alles. What occasioned this post is a 2015 movie called Experimenter, about the obedience experiments of Dr Stanley Milgram. The level of obedience elicited is shocking. It should cause us all to examine our own decisions of right or wrong. I don’t mean only us personally but what we support: right or wrong. This requires a great deal of self-examination. Experimenter is not a documentary, it is a re-creation of Dr. Milgram’s work. It is notable he was Jewish, as were many of his fellow psychology professors. The Albanian prof’s story is especially chilling. His story is untrue, and I will not repeat it here. But it did happen in Romania. Should you really want to explore further, there are documentaries on YouTube, Milgram’s own books, and scores of others. Why? Because none of us can understand the good German, how could they do this, this isn’t me. Until it does become us. Group-think, obedience. We all need somebody lower than us. We don’t often think this aloud, but it’s there, waiting, all the time. The most extreme examples are soldiers & executioners. They do terrible things that, were they not legalised, would result in life in prison. I can’t imagine what they tell their families, their children, their parents. In the case of the Nazis, it was Jews. Why? Jews in Germany were friends, neighbours, colleagues. They weren't feared. But the hate was lying just below the surface. Hitler used that to achieve national unity. For us, perhaps it’s child abusers or drug dealers or kids with tattoos, Iranians. Tattooed Iranian paedophile drug dealers! It can be that simple. Right or wrong? Choose. At heart, I’m being convinced that every one of us bears that racism inside. Even Jews are antisemites. So, deny this, if you wish. But I believe we all hate somebody or something. Most of us will not resist, we’ll do as we’re told. Remaining silent in the face of injustice is not resistance. Hannah Arendt: Niemand hat ein Recht darauf, zu gehorchen. “Nobody has the right to obey.” We are all antisemites. Watch Experimenter. Further reading. Hannah Arendt, Eichmann in Jerusalem: A Report on The Banality of Evil, 1964. Arendt, The Origins of Totalitarianism, 1951 Arendt, Crises of the Republic: Lying in Politics, Civil Disobedience, On Violence, Thoughts on Politics and Revolution, 1972. Blass, The Man Who Shocked the World: The Life and Legacy of Stanley Milgram, 2004. Blass, The roots of Stanley Milgram’s obedience experiments and their relevance to the Holocaust, 1998. Fermaglich, American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares: Early Holocaust Consciousness, 2007. Daniel Jonah Goldhagen. Hitler's Willing Executioners: Ordinary Germans and the Holocaust., 1996. Milgram, “Behavioral Study of Obedience”, 1963. Milgram, Obedience to Authority: An Experimental View, 1974. G. Miller, “If Someone Secretly Controlled What You Say, Would Anybody Notice?”, 2014. Perry, Behind the Shock Machine: The untold story of the notorious Milgram psychology experiments, 2013. Bettina Stangneth, Eichmann Before Jerusalem: The Unexamined Life of a Mass Murderer, 2014.

The Liberal government leading Canada has introduced Bill C-9, the “Combatting Hate Act”, which is supposed to prevent hate crimes. Instead, the Bill C-9 threatens the Charter rights and civil liberties of all people in Canada. That includes any communities that the government wishes to help protect. Bill C-9 gives police discretionary powers to determine which symbols are hateful and what are protesters’ intentions. This will lead to more arbitrary arrests and disruptions of peaceful assemblies, potentially including labour union picketing. These new broad and discretionary powers, combined with increased jail sentences, will significantly undermine Canada’s fine record of free expression and dissent. Bill C-9 sends a chill amongst those who would otherwise take part in civil protests. Bill C-9 is highly alarming, especially in the context of the crackdown on Palestinian solidarity, anti-genocide, antiwar, anti-violence as well as pro-peace, pro-justice protests. The voices of Canadians have a right to be heard! Perhaps pols have not read our Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The hate laws in Canada have provided adequate protections for decades. Have we grown so thin-skinned we can’t ignore the Holocaust-deniers, the climate change-deniers, anti-immigrant voices, whatever? These agitators are mostly on the Internet to hear their own voices. By banning them, you’ve validated that their voices are real and not just in their in their heads. Sticks & stones worked in grade school and it still works now. Canada has not yet reached the level of denying free speech by broad SLAPP lawsuits and defining legitimate protestors terrorists as in the US, broaching its Bill of Rights. In the UK, govt has already breached the Magna Carta by banning Palestine Action. Bill C-9 appears to this author as just more toadying to the US. Our leaders may talk bif but introducing Bill C-9 in the Commons means they have no commitment to walking the walk. C-9 is assC-9!

Yag, I am rarely this direct. But you've got so much hate in you, you'll live longer than Trump. Unless...it's all an act.

At this rate, the US is going down to default. The banks sure would not let me get to this position. If the US defaults because, for instance, China redeemed its bonds, the bottom would fall out of the USD, the market would crash. Unfortunately, it serves them right. I'm moving into yuan, myself.

The USA has already degenerated to 'losers and suckers'. If there is any winning in war (and I don't think so, only 'losers and suckers'), the last war the US "won" was WWII. This photo says it all. Can't even doff his hat for Americans the Idiot-in-Chief sent on a suicide mission. And where, exactly, did Bone Spurs learn to salute?

“Trump said he had found some likely candidates [for a new Iran regime], but then admitted that unfortunately they were now lying dead in the rubble of a bombed government building. ‘Most of the people we had in mind are dead. Now, we have another group. They may be dead also, based on reports. So I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty sure we’re not going to know anybody.’” Hehe...

2025 was Venceremos Brigades first Queer & Trans Brigade to Cuba https://justseeds.org/venceremos-vbs-first-queer-trans-brigade-to-cuba/ SEARCH female revolutionaries in Cuba; Venceremos Brigades, how many prostitutes in Cuba before revolution and now, is brigadista male or female, were gay men allowed in Batista’s Cuba Nothing can ever be truly objective. Writers’ biases inevitably appear in their work. Dr. Tice is obviously a woman and a feminist. The majority of combatants in the Cuban Revolution were male, but women held key leadership roles, participated in armed struggle, and played crucial roles in organizing, logistics, and as combatants. In Batista's Cuba, there were up to 135,000 prostitutes. In 1961, during the transition period, there were 150,000. Currently, there are 6,714 but 190 pimps. She writes about US ‘radical feminists’. Really? When were they active? Are they active today? As radical as it got in my time, feminism meant burning your brassiere in the street. Those were the days before slogans and advertising appeared on t-shirts to give us an excuse to check out women’s tits! As a VB participant, I disagree with a great deal of what Dr. Tice has to say. I can, of course, only compare my own experience and she did not interview me nor was she a brigadista herself. In fact, this paper seems to be the result of a single trip to Cuba. I can’t speak for others but my Brigade was not organised by SDS. In fact, the Brigades were started by Quakers (I’m still a birthright member) and organised by the pacifist War Resisters’ League. I had a giant laugh over the groups Tice considers “radical”; she includes the Quakers. Of course, I had contact with many of them. I’m sorry you didn’t like my “ode to New York” as you call it. NYC was where I first became aware of gay men and my part in the peace movement. Most lesbians of the time were better at fitting in. For example, it was not uncommon for two women to live together; two men, however, were suspect. Many gays and lesbians were my friends, though I was completely unaware of their sexuality. They didn’t care, nor did I. (That may be perceived as saying some of my friends were Bluish.) You’ve given me a new word for hate: homophobia in addition to antisemitism and Islamophobia. Ah, and misogynism. The Inuit have 70 words for snow. What a pity we don’t have more for love, though there are hundreds of compound words in Thai for heart. That’s my point. Who cares who you <deleted>? It’s nothing to be proud of and equally nothing to hide or being ashamed of. But if that’s all we’ve got going for ourselves in the tragic condition of the world, I find it immeasurably sad. This article makes me wonder about gays in the US Army and the North Vietnamese/NLF armies in Vietnam. Was there homophobia or was everybody more worried about getting their asses blown off. My Brigade was very mixed by colour, ethnicity, nationality and gender though there were no gays I was aware of. Perhaps we were a uniquely pacifist Brigade—I was sponsored by the Quakers—but none of us thought violent overthrow would work in our own countries. No Weatherman among us! If Cuban homophobia—exactly the same as it is in every South American country—negates the other positive benefits of the revolution for you, I can’t help you. Perhaps you think Cuban gays would be better off under free market capitalism. (Translation: American theft.) If brigadier gays actually “paraded around in Cuban towns in drag”, that demonstrate enormous cultural insensitivity and appropriation. Holding a foreign country to our own standards of tolerance. The Cubans were clearly wrong about gays being counter-revolutionary. The revolution needs everbody. By stigmatising gays in this way, you create counter-revolutionaries who were not so before. Power to the people means all people. However, I ask myself, are gays accepted in the US? Really accepted? Sure there’s gay Pride parades but I would say gays are more accepted in Thai culture with no parades. Is there less homophobia today than when <most> gays came out of the closet? Maybe. But gays are a minority (transgenders are taking over our classrooms, snipped in an afternoon without parental permission, at least when they're not eating cats and dogs!) and minorities of any sort are always discriminated against by the majority. Q: Are sanctions & blockades on Cuba more evidence of US imperialism? I would argue that Cuba was nothing more than a US colony and money-pot during the Batista regime. It was one more colony, like Puerto Rico, which was never formally recognised or given any power. I am hopeful Puerto Rico will separate from the US rather than accepting statehood, an offer which may never come without threat to secede. Will the USA enact sanctions and blockade in revenge? I'd bet on it. The revolution in Nicaragua was dependent on one revolutionary leader—like Fidel. I haven’t looked closely enough to see if their revolutionary goals have been accomplished. It was (of course) warred upon by the US. VB was not only about Cuba. We would have gone to Vietnam had there not been a war on. VB was about solidarity against imperialism and for self-determination. Is beauty and femininity not feminist? Is it counter-revolutionary to look good. Some of our brigadistas had liaisons with Cuban men though I did not observe the same for brigadiers with Cuban women, though some were definitely tempting. Tice write we had to cross ‘enemy lines’ to get to Cuba. That’s the first time I’ve heard Toronto classed an enemy! Perhaps America has already emasculated the Cuban revolution by attrition since 1959. Perhaps we’ll never be able to know the full flower of that revolution if left to Cubans without outside interference, both American and Soviet. To read Tice’s article, I am immediately convinced of the potential of the Cuban revolution, had the USA not interfered…out of spite. After all, the US has, historically to the present, not really been the “sweet land of liberty” except in our dreams. To whit, Marco Rubio, rumoured to be gay. Why should a second gen Cuban know any more about the revolution than, for instance, I do? Interesting to me upon observation is that the Cuban revolutionaries admitted their errors and worked to correct them. Have you ever heard this from the US govt? Having said this, the successes of the indigenous Zapatista revolutionary movement in Chiapas has given me great hope that resistance is still alive and well. This is not a leading question, but I’m most curious as to how you found this article and what made you interested in its content? I don’t mean in any way to pry. I sure loved the Cuban pavilion at Expo67 in Montréal. What could be better than rum & cigars! Probably the reason I became excited about VB. I got arrested there for climbing into the structure of the geodesic dome that was the US pavilion and unveiling an antiwar t-shirt. We were up there a long time. It took more than three hours to get us down during which time we were visible to every int’l visitor to the pavilion. Let us not forget that Lee Harvey Oswald organised for the Fair Play for Cuba Committee. Hehe..

I grew up in NYC. There were tons of gays, both in and out of the closet. I think the City was more of a gay centre than SF at the time. I had my ass grabbed in the bus station or a hand in my crotch in a darkened movie theatre from about the time I was 12, the era of the Mattachine Society and NAMBLA. I really didn’t worry about it much. I had heard, of course, about Cuba's repression and even imprisonment of gays. But there were gays and my Brigade, and also women, and I never witnessed or even heard of any sort of discrimination. Then, and during my subsequent visits, I met a few gay Cuban men--there were even gay prostitutes & ladyboys. They were discreet, of course, but not living in fear. Do those camps even still exist? I would have thought views would have grown more enlightened by now. In NYC, one could know a gay man or woman for years and never think about their sexuality. It didn't matter then and it doesn't matter now. <deleted> who you want! You don't need to tell me about it. In any case, the 60s and early 70s were all about free love. The young men and women in the Brigades worked equally as hard and put in long hours. Did we ball? Was that not feminist, too? Absolutely! Girls asked as often as guys. A brush on a bum or boob was friendly invitation not assault! These were different times. I certainly never heard of any rapes. There was no #MeToo or LG-BLT+ (plus what, exactly? Next, Z, zoophiles will be included!) The sexes worked out sex on their own, and it was nobody’s business! We were all young so we weren't really into booze yet. No smoking dope in Cuba--that was really bourgeois decadence! I was last in Cuba in 2015. There were no blackouts and no fuel shortages. However, essential meds were in short supply as were foodstuffs. Excellent wine & rum, though. Most of the pharma came from India, some from Russia, and some from China. Not enough, because of the US blockade. Cuban society was always fun (why I kept going back) but had lightened up a great deal and certainly no one seemed desperate to escape. I think my Cuban friends & colleagues would have told me so, if true. I completely disagree that there was extensive flight of the best and brightest. There was great flight of the middle class. IMO, this was due to a desire to be part of American consumer culture. Can't live without Levi's. I knew many scientists & other academics at the University who had no intention to flee. I have never heard of a Cuban doctor, sent to the West for humanitarian relief, defecting to “live in freedom”, as you so quaintly put it. The Med School was first class, certainly as good as Chula’s, but using antiquated Soviet diagnostic machines out of necessity…because of US sanctions and embargo. IMO, the sanctions and embargo should have been lifted after the missile crisis. That incident showed Cuban good faith, standing up for themselves. It was not wholly the Soviet decision to withdraw; it was also Fidel’s. But then we got LBJ and Vietnam pushing Cuba again onto the back burner, where it has remained ever since. Until, that is, the current US-created humanitarian crisis and bully Trump talking about a takeover. Yeah, friendly—not! Hehe, the joys of freedom, immigrants to the US, refugees, if you will, you must be joking. People of colour make such great targets! Again, IMO, the original US sanctions were not due to any kind of Communism on our doorstep. It was because a huge number of US interests were nationalised, casinos, for example. Americans lost a lot of money. The blockade was vengeance, pure and simple. Would you really prefer Cuba go back to Batista-era corruption? I have absolutely zero interest in or support for Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah. But...missiles for missiles! What a loser strategy that is! For both sides! Leaving aside the terrorist factions (and yes, that’s what they are) for a moment, the attack on Iran was completely unprovoked. Yeah, right, more WMD—were people born yesterday, with their eyes closed?!? And sinking an Iranian ship 3,000 miles from the war zone. WTF! Can you honestly believe this was anything less than cold-blooded murder just like the Caribbean drug boats. The US don't take no prisoners! What I’m for is an end to needless suffering caused by violence, state or otherwise. You focus on LG-BLT, why? There was no such ‘persecution’ (whatever that means) in my Brigade or others I knew about, many of whom I networked with on my return to NYC. In fact, we were more like the partisans in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade who went to Spain to fight the Fascists, including Hemingway. Those dudes were the original badass antifa. None of us were big-C Communists. But we all believed the socialism of Cuba showed great promise and could be an inspirational example to other countries. I still do. It's only the US shackles are holding Cuba prisoner. Is Vietnam, another example, any kind of failed state? It’s shallow to resort to left-right, beneath you, friend. Those labels are meaningless in today’s world. “Leftist excitement”—hey, only in the sack! I was never part of the New Left, e.g., SDS/Weatherman. I did hear they didn’t like gays. I was a core member of the pacifist movement and worked with many gays & lesbians. And you know what? Nobody ever talked about it! Why would they? Gay Pride—proud because of who you screw?!? WTF! Aren’t there more important things to champion??? Free abortion, for instance. No idea where that phraseology came from. It certainly wasn’t the Brigades, though I did not follow their evolving ideology into the 80s. The thought that the Brigades would even ask you about your sexuality on signing up is completely ludicrous! There ya go. Have I managed to say nothing yet??? Hehe…

I have to remember to add that /s!

Um, because Israel is waging a three plus year war decimating Gaza...using those F35s. And now is bombing the <deleted> out of Iran and Lebanon...using those F35s. Thailand is neutral. Our national carrier should not be carrying parts which will facilitate killing people.

Sorry to annoy you! Enthnoreligious? I should say not! Eastern European Jewry and Ethiopian Jewry and Middle Eastern Jewry. They're as different as Catholics in different country. I have already explained why I am "obsessed" with Israel. Because I know, from personal experience, that Jews can shine in the world instead of being murderous warmongers. So much of the world could benefit from Jewish influence & knowledge. Instead, here we are, Jing. (And I don't find you even mildly annoying!)

As one OP commented, Dontcha know, this is war! Tit for tat. Why do we believe Iran is any more capable of firing a nuclear missile than Israel or the USA? They themselves would be destroyed in the process! Having nukes are for men with tiny dicks.

I was in the original Venceremos Brigades, cutting sugarcane to support the revolution, I have been back seven times and given lectures at the University of Havana. The suffering I see in Cuba is 100% created by the USA.

Erdogan wants entry to the EU. He won't screw that up for such a small benefit, only bragging rights, really.

Nonsense! That isn't true of any other religion, why Judaism? Do you really want this particular lost tribe?!?