Paul Craig Roberts Interview

[ThePilgrim]

Dr. ROBerts interviewed about the latest on the Ruble, the Dollar and more.

 

[John81]

As a superpower and one that is aggressively interventionist around the world, America is clearly in the unique position to be the most beneficial or dangerous nation on earth.

 

Unfortunately, not only is American leadership today ungodly, but they are also immoral even in the secular sense. Couple this with the ungodly and immoral ideology the leaders follow and it's little wonder America is in the mess she's in at home and American's are disdained or outright hated in much of the world.

 

It still amazes me that so many Christians in America still hold to the idea that somehow America on some moral high ground above all other nations, that America and her leadership isn't subject to the same corruptions, lies and sins as others.

 

Scripture is clear that all nations are astray, all unsaved people (even Americans) are servants of their father the devil, that all men are subject to the same temptations and without being in Christ most men give in to most temptations.

 

There are no sainted nations. America isn't unique in thinking she has divine blessing, a divine destiny, that she's special in God's eyes. Virtually all of the "Christian" nations have similar histories in this regard.

 

An unsaved OBama and those in congress are just as sinful and dangerous as an unsaved Putin, Castro or any other unsaved leaders. The thing that currently makes America more dangerous than some is her superpower status, ability and willingness to assert herself into the internal affairs of nations around the world.

 

Whether on the Right or the Left there are all kinds of justifications for such intervention, and each side claims they are interfering for their idea of some "greater good". The reality is they are feeding their flesh, pursuing political agendas, satisfying their greed, lust and pride.

 

OBama took an instant disliking to Putin because Putin was the only major leader which refused to treat OBama as a superstar and hang on his every word. OBama made it his aim to do anything he could to harm Putin. The situation in Ukraine, Syria and Cuba are all a part of OBama's personal hatred of Putin. The Left willingly goes along with this because Putin is anti-homosexual "rights", Putin defends Christianity (albeit mostly of the Orthodox kind, but Christianity is Christianity to the Left) and has refused to go along with the push for a one world agenda. The right willingly goes along with this because most still have a Cold War mindset and because it's popular among so-called conservatives to be anti-Russian.

 

Thus we have a destabilized world and shaky economies due to sin upon sin.

[Invicta]

I see Putin said today that when the Berlin wall fell, Nato said they would not expand, but did so into the former eastern European countries almost immediately and now wanted to reach right to the Russian borders.  He said Russia has no troops in Ukraine .  

 

The west should speak to Russia not impose sanctions, because sanctions rarely work.  America has just realized that regarding Cuba, and decided to talk.  About time too.

[HappyChristian]

Yeah. The Cubans are real thrilled about that "talking."

[Invicta]

Yeah. The Cubans are real thrilled about that "talking."

 

So should the Americans be.  If they had talked year ago they may not have communism there today. After all you not only talk to China, we make all our goods there, despite the fact that the ruin the peasants, pollute the atmosphere, and ruin our economies.  In five minutes time there is a Panorama programme about Apple factories in chine it purports to show workers falling asleep a their desks because of the long hours they work.  I intend to watch it.

 

Sanctions only make those countries more bitter and anti those who impose them.  The only time I can remember sanctions working was in Southern Rhodesia, and what happened?  We got Mugabe. 

[ThePilgrim]

Yeah. The Cubans are real thrilled about that "talking."

Which Cubans are you referring to?  Miami and southern Florida, I presume.

[John81]

I see Putin said today that when the Berlin wall fell, Nato said they would not expand, but did so into the former eastern European countries almost immediately and now wanted to reach right to the Russian borders.  He said Russia has no troops in Ukraine .  

 

The west should speak to Russia not impose sanctions, because sanctions rarely work.  America has just realized that regarding Cuba, and decided to talk.  About time too.

Yes, Russian leaders were given assurances that if they dissolved the Soviet Union and what went with it, Russia would be welcomed as a friend by the Western nations. Assurances were given that NATO would not be expanded and there would be no attempts to turn former Soviet nations and Eastern Bloc nations into Western allies against Russia. Many assurances of friendship and cooperation were given by American and various Western European leaders.

 

Unfortunately, rather than take positive advantage of the opportunity to forge true friendship and trust with Russia, America and Western Europe decided to treat Russia as a defeated enemy, to rub her nose in her loss of status, to interfere in former Soviet nations and Eastern Bloc nations elections. To expand NATO, whose stated reason for existence was to counter the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact nations, into the very nations Russia was promised NATO would not expand into.

 

Putin, regardless of Western medias false claims of being a communist tyrant bent upon reforming the Soviet Union and taking on the West, actually spent much time and effort attempting to cooperate with America and Western European nations, especially in the area of terrorism. Unfortunately, most of Russia's help was either ignored or used but not given credit for.

 

With OBama things only got worse because OBama hates that Putin doesn't lick his shoes and the Left hates Putin's traditional and nationalistic stances. OBama has taken every opportunity to push against Putin; including interfering in Ukraine's internal affairs to the point of fomenting a coup by funding and supporting neo-nazis, anti-semites and anarchists; targetting Putin's ally in the Middle East (Syria); working with Saudi Arabia to flood the market with oil in order to drive down oil prices and damage the Russian economy; and most recently OBama's efforts to woo Cuba away from Russia by offering Cuba massive concessions while getting little in return.

 

Peace isn't profitable, peace isn't a distraction, peace doesn't afford easy means of creating or instigating a "crisis" for political purposes.

 

America and Western Europe came to rely upon the Cold War for personal and political gain and both have been unwilling to give that up so they continually poke the Russian bear and shine a spotlight upon Russia when she growls in response.

[HappyChristian]

Talking would have avoided the Communist takeover?  I don't think so...Cuz talking to Russia, China, etc. have done so much...

 

And, no, Pilgrim, it's not just former Cuban residents.  http://time.com/3641375/OBama-cuba-deal-ted-cruz/

 

I'm afraid it's dreaming to think that this is a good thing.  But then, the emperor has spoken and we must all fall in line.

 

 

 

As we now know, around the time I was interviewing Sanchez and Farinas, the OBama administration was already planning a major revision of U.S. policy toward Cuba. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton recounts in her recent book, Hard Choices, that she recommended this course of action around the time she left office.

And we all know just how pro-freedom BO and Hillary are...not.

[HappyChristian]

http://www.capitolhillcubans.com/2014/12/cuban-dissident-leaders-react-to-OBamas.html

 

These folks would know...

 

 

 

"Sadly, President OBama made the wrong decision. The freedom and democracy of the Cuban people will not be achieved through these benefits that he's giving -- not to the Cuban people -- but to the Cuban government. The Cuban government will only take advantage to strengthen its repressive machinery, to repress civil society, its people and remain in power."

-- Berta Soler, leader of The Ladies in White.

"[Alan Gross] was not arrested for what he did, but for what could be gained from his arrest. He was simply bait and they were aware of it from the beginning... Castroism has won, though the positive result is that Alan Gross has left alive the prison that threatened to become his tomb."

-- Yoani Sanchez, Cuban blogger and independent journalist,14ymedio.

 

 

 

"The Cuban people are being ignored in this secret conversation, in this secret agreement that we learned today. The reality of my country is there is just one party with all the control and with the state security controlling the whole society. If this doesn’t change, there’s no real change in Cuba. Not even with access to Internet. Not even when Cuban people can travel more than two years ago. Not even that is a sign of the end of the totalitarianism in my country."

--Rosa Maria Paya, daughter of murdered Christian Liberation Movement leader, Oswaldo Paya.

 

 

 

"This is a betrayal that leaves the democratic opposition defenseless. OBama has allied himself with the oppressors and murderers of our people."

-- Jorge Luis Garcia Perez "Antunez," former political prisoner and head of the National Resistance Front.

"I feel as though I have been abandoned on the battlefield."

-- Dr. Oscar Elias Biscet, former Cuban political prisoner and U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient.

[ThePilgrim]

I agree that this action by the U.S. government is not for the good of the Cuban people.  I think this whole thing with Cuba is part of the manipulations the U.S. are using in it's war against the Russian people.  This Cuba thing did not just happen out of thin air.  It seems to me that nearly all if not all actions of the U.S. government in the past twenty years or so have been for the good of a elect few of the worlds population . . . . and the elect are not you and me or anyone else in our class.  

 

This thing with Cuba was done to separate Cuba from Russia in the same way that the thing with Ukraine was to separate Ukraine from Russia.  It is all part of the plan to isolate Russia from any support in the world.  It is all a part of the plan for our future.  I don't know about you but I do not like OBama's or th Bush's or the Clinton's or any of their ilk or those who run them plans for my future. 

[ThePilgrim]

I just ran across this while reading through many blogs and news sites later this morning: http://orientalreview.org/2014/12/18/did-raul-just-reverse-the-entire-cuban-revolution/

[Invicta]

My memory of the history, is that the US supported a brutal right wing dictatorship, then tired of it and supported ab apparent "Freedom Fighter" Castro.  When Castro did not turn out as they expected., they turned against him.. PrOBably a wise choice as Castro invited the USSR in and the missile crisis occurred.  Whether he invited the USSR because of US sanctions, I cannot say.When the USSR folded the US had no further excuse to keep sanctions on Cuba.  The internal politics of Cuba is no business of the USA.  She has supported vicious right wing dictatorships throughout the world for years.

 

Sanctions don't work.  They impoverish the normal people but don't affect the rulers too much, it turns most of the people against the US and makes them support thr Govt.   

[John81]

My memory of the history, is that the US supported a brutal right wing dictatorship, then tired of it and supported ab apparent "Freedom Fighter" Castro.  When Castro did not turn out as they expected., they turned against him.. PrOBably a wise choice as Castro invited the USSR in and the missile crisis occurred.  Whether he invited the USSR because of US sanctions, I cannot say.When the USSR folded the US had no further excuse to keep sanctions on Cuba.  The internal politics of Cuba is no business of the USA.  She has supported vicious right wing dictatorships throughout the world for years.

 

Sanctions don't work.  They impoverish the normal people but don't affect the rulers too much, it turns most of the people against the US and makes them support thr Govt.   

That was standard Cold War practice. Whatever national leader was willing, or could be bribed by US dollars, to at least somewhat be on America's side was supported, even if they were tyrants and even if they treated their citizens terribly. At the same time, any national leader which refused to side with America was subject to various means of attempted coercion or punishment.

 

Unfortunately, American leaders got used to trying to dictate how nations should conduct themselves, what governments they should have, who their leaders should be and who they should choose as allies in accord with what American leaders deem best.

 

President Bush II's attempts to build democracies in the Middle East that would spread to other Middle Eastern nations and make the Middle East a stable American ally has been a dismal failure. President OBama's support of the "Arab Spring" and various uprisings in the Middle East with the belief such would lead to democratic governments where everyone would be treated equal and the Middle East peace would become the norm and the Middle East would be a friend of America has likewise been a dismal failure.

 

While traditional American conservatives used to hold to the Founding principle of avoiding entangling alliances, staying out of nations internal affairs, not getting involved in disputes between nations, all while trying to maintain civil dealings and commerce with all possible, today's so-called American conservatives (who are mostly neo-cons) tend to be warhawks bent upon forcing nations to conform to their desired ideology.

 

It's sad that America left her moorings long ago and thus far refuses to return.