fossilesque
No, I read that book (The School of the Americas by Leslie Gill) before I knew what socialism was in a Political Theory of Latin America class. It radicalized me and I have used it to radicalize ex military confused libertarians and liberals. It is good without theory, it is pure history. If you read enough history, you can passively get theory via trends and vice versa. That is ultimately what they discuss anyway if the author is decent, via materialist analysis (though that obviously brings its own problems). I am happy to send audio and pdfs as needed to whomever. I am not sure if there is an audiobook of this one, but I am due a refresher regardless.
You all are sleep walking into another forever war nobody wants. I implore everyone to read your own and Latin American history from the last 50 years. It's not taught.
https://read.dukeupress.edu/books/book/901/The-School-of-the-AmericasMilitary-Training-and (Ask Anna for a copy.)
Venezuela
Name: Army Commander in Chief Efrain Vasquez and General Ramirez Poveda
Country: Venezuela
Dates/courses: Attended the SOA in 1988; 1972
Info: Both Vasquez and Poveda helped to lead a failed coup in Venezuela in April of 2002, despite supposedly receiving training at the SOA that encourages respect for democracy and civilian governments. Otto Reich, then Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, shared his support for the coup and a new government, and in the same year was appointed as a WHINSEC Board of Visitor member to "oversee" democracy and human rights curriculum, as well as operations at the school. Reich met with these SOA graduates prior to the coup and advised business leader Pedro Carmona, who subsequently seized the presidency.
Name: General Ramon Davila Guillen
Country: Venezuela
Dates/courses: Attended the SOA in 1967 for Irregular Warfare training
Info: General Guillen was indicted in November 1996 in connection with a shipment of one ton of cocaine into Miami in 1990, which he says was authorized by the CIA in an effort to catch drug dealers. In 1993, the CIA called the shipment "a regrettable incident" and dismissed the CIA agent involved. (CAP, 9/21/97)
Religion is a tool and was one of the first forms of government, a proto-government. States are also a tool, do the same shit (resource control) and now that god is capital. Many modern religious folks do more mutual aid in their community than the average terminally online leftist and I don't blanket blame others for seeking meaning when lives are complicated and messy. People need social safety nets and now churches are fallbacks when states fail in different areas. Be kind to individuals and ruthless to systems. States are just continuing where the schism with religion left off. Religious institutions managed surplus extraction, states took over that function (often incorporating religious legitimation), and now capital operates as the organising logic with its own quasi-sacred justifications. New Atheist attitudes often miss the forest for the trees and function as a reactionary sentiment not grounded in materialism. It treats religion as a causal prime mover rather than as an institution shaped by and serving material interests. I have book reccomendations if you are interested in this. Note, Christianity is really interesting case sudy, but that is a whole seperate conversation.
The old slip n' slide. Classic.
Want to edit one word in your comment? ;)
Yes.
Yes.
It's true. :)
My PhD thesis got 11% owo
Listen to that voice and read this: https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/russell-means-for-america-to-live-europe-must-die That voice is telling you something very real and important. Trust yourself.