Monday, April 27, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Conclusion

Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In an October 19, 1945, headlined "Germans Indicted In Massacre Of 11,000 Poles In Katyn Forest," for example, the New York Times reported that "if the" July 1941 "crime was committed after the date when the Germans overran their last resting place it could not have been committed by the Russians" and "the Germans overran the Katyn Forest in 1941."

Then in a March 12, 1946 article, headlined "Pravda Denounces Churchill's Speech As Threat Of War," the New York Times reported that the then-Soviet Union's Pravda newspaper declared in an editorial:

"What does the proposal of Churchill come to? The formation of an Anglo-American military alliance that would assure Anglo-American rule throughout the world...and make a policy of force the dominant factor in the development of the world...

"...Churchill convulsively grabs for the coat-tails of Uncle Sam...in the hope that an Anglo-American military alliance would enable the British Empire, although in the role of a junior partner, to continue the policy of imperialist expansion..."

But in its October 16, 1946 issue, the New York Times printed an article about what eventually happened to some of the Nuremberg Trial defendants, following their convictions of war crimes and crimes against humanity, headlined "Goering Ends Life By Poison, Ten Others Hanged;" and which included the following names of the ten German war criminals who were hanged: "Joachim von Ribbentrop, former Foreign Minister; Field Marshal Gen. Wilhelm Keitel, chief of the German High Command; Ernst Kaltenbrunner, head of the Gestapo; Alfred Rosenberg, Minister for Occupied Territories; Hans Frank, who led in the killing of thousands of Poles; Wilhelm Frick, former Minister of the Interior; Julius Streicher, leader of Nazi anti-Semitism; Fritz Sauckel, director of the German General Staff; Col. Gen. Alfred Jodl, head of the German General Staff; and Arthur Seyss-Inquart, who sold out Austria..."

And in a December 12, 1948 article, headlined "Tojo And 6 Others Hanged By Allies As War Criminals," the New York Times listed the following names of the Japanese war criminals who were hanged: Hideki Tojo, former dictator of Japan; Koki Hirota, former Premier of Japan; General Kenji Doihara; General Iwane Matsui; General Akira Muto; Seishiro Itagati, former War Minister; and General Hitaro Kimwa. (end of article)






Saturday, April 25, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 9

Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In a February 14, 1945 article, headlined "RAF Hits Dresden Heavy Night Blow," for example, the New York Times reported that "The RAF...sent 1,400 aircraft over Germany last night and delivered a smashing blow to Dresden in support of the Red Army's drive on that city;" and in a February 17, 1945 article, the New York Times also noted that "The German-controlled Scandinavian Telegraph Bureau said today that 70,000 persons had been killed in this week's Allied bombings of Dresden."

Then, on March 16, 1945, the New York Times published an article that was headlined "Giant Tokyo Fires Blackened B-29's;  while on April 13, 1945, the New York Times published an article that was headlined "President Roosevelt Is Dead." And on May 1, 1945, the New York Times published an article headlined "Mussolini and Mistress Hang."

But in a May 2, 1945 article, headlined "Hitler Dead In Chancellery, Nazis Say Admiral In Charge," the New York Times next reported that "Grand Admiral Karl Doenitz, proclaiming himself the new Fuehrer by Hitler's appointment, said that the war would continue."

In a May 8, 1945 article the New York Times next reported that 4 million were killed at Oswiecim in Poland from 1939 to 1944 according to the Soviet Union's Extraordinary State Commission's findings. And around five weeks before Democratic U.S. President Harry S. Truman ordered the U.S. war machine to drop atomic bombs on civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in early August 1945, the New York Times published an article on July 2, 1945 which indicated in its headline that in Japan "4,000 Tons Of Fire Missiles Bring Ruin To Four Enemy Cities." (end of part 9)

Wednesday, April 22, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 8


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate..

On August 11, 1943, for example, in an article headlined "Russia Still Asks For Second Front," the New York Times reported that "many believe Allies have the power to open big drive, yet are not willing to do so;" while a September 16, 1943 article in the New York Times was headlined "Mussolini `Sets Up New Kind of Regime'."

Then, on May 7, 1944, the New York Times published an article headlined "Gandhi's Release Widely Approved."

An article, written in Geneva, Switzerland by Daniel T. Brigham, headlined "Inquiry Confirms Nazi Death Camps: 1,715,000 Jews Said To Have Been Put To Death By Germans" (which may not have been featured much on the front page of the NYC-based newspaper) was also published in the New York Times on July 3, 1944.

Then, on July 21, 1944, the New York Times printed an article headlined "Fuehrer `Bruised;' Bomb Wounds 13 State Officers, One Fatality;" and on July 23, 1944, a New York Times article was headlined "Red Army Drives Show No Signs Of Flagging; German Debacle Worse Than That Of Russians In First Month Of War."

In its August 6, 1944 issue, the New York Times next printed an article headlined "Partisans Claim Much of Warsaw."

But on October 4, 1944, the New York Times published an article headlined "Warsaw Gives Up After 63-Day Fight Losses Put Above 300,000."  (end of part 8)

Monday, April 20, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited; Part 7


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In a June 13, 1942 article, for example, headlined "Gandhi Seeks To Oust U.S.-British Forces," the New York Times reported from New Delhi, India that "Mohandas K. Gandhi is about to unleash a large-scale `quit India' campaign in which American as well as British forces will be urged to get out of India immediately." And in an August 9, 1942 article, headlined "21 Seized In India," the New York Times reported that "Mohandas K. Gandhi and other Indian Nationalist leaders were arrested today within a few hours after the All-India Congress party had approved a resolution authorizing a mass campaign of civil disobedience to support its demands for immediate Indian independence."

Then, in a November 25, 1942 article by Jame MacDonald, a London-based reporter (that may not have been emphasized on the front page of the New York City-based newspaper), headlined "Himmler Program Kills Polish Jews: Slaughter Of 250,000 In Plan To Wipe Out Half In Country This Year Is Reported," the New York Times stated:

"...Polish authorities gave out statistics showing that up to Oct. 1 [1942] about 250,000 Polish Jews had been killed under the Himmler program, put into effect this year...Declaring that the Nazi program to reduce the number of Jews in Poland by 50 per cent this year was a `first-step toward complete liquidation,' the report said:

"`...The Germans have mobilized a special battalion under the command of S.S. men...The victims when caught are driven to a square where old people and cripples are selected, taken to a cemetery and shot there...The remainder are loaded into goods trucks [freight cars] at a rate of 150 to a truck that normally holds 40...The doors are sealed...

"`Whenever the trains arrive half the people are dead. Those surviving are sent to special camps at Treblinka, Belzec and Sobibar [in Southeastern Poland]. Once there the so-called settlers are mass-murdered...'"

And on December 18, 1942 the New York Times published an article headlined "11 Allies Condemn Nazi War On Jews: United Nations Issue Joint Declaration Of Protest On `Cold-Blooded Extermination;'" while on February 11, 1943 the New York Times pushed an article headlined "Gandhi Starts Fast To Protest Arrest."

On March 2, 1943, the New York Times then published an article, headlined "Save Doomed Jews, Huge Rally Pleads: 21,000 Filled Madison Square Garden Rally, in which it reported that a message was read from Chief Rabbi J.H. Hertz of Great Britain at this rally which said:

"It is appalling to think that whole of mid-European Jewry stands on brink of annihilation and that millions of Jewish men, women and children have already been slaughtered with fiendish cruelties which baffle belief, but equally appalling is the fact that those who proclaim the Four Freedoms have so far done very little to secure even the freedom to live for 6,000,000 of their Jewish fellow  men by readiness to rescue those who might still escape Nazi torture and butchery..."

Then March 3, 1943, the New York Times published an article headlined "Gandhi Fast Ends, Aim Not Achieved;" and on July 26, 1943 the New York Times published an article headlined "Mussolini Ousted With Fascist Cabinet." (and of part 7)

Sunday, April 19, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 6


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In a December 5, 1941 article, headlined "Australia Girds For Pacific War," for example, the New York Times reported from Melbourne, Australia that "a War Cabinet meeting in which service chiefs participated has completed comprehensive plans to put Australia on a new emergency footing if war spreads to the Pacific."

And in a December 7, 1941 article, headlined "Japanese Herald `Supreme Crisis': U.S. Is Held Aggressive, Press Intimates Efforts For Negotiated Settlement May Soon Be Abolished," the New York Times reported that "Japan indicated early today that she was on the verge of abandoning efforts to achieve a settlement of Pacific issues by diplomatic negotiation at Washington."

Then in a December 8, 1941 article, headlined "Tokyo Acts First," the New York Times noted that "Japan went to war against the United States and Britain today with air and sea attacks against Hawaii, followed by a formal declaration of hostilities."

But in another December 8, 1941 article, headlined "Japan Wars On U.S. And Britain: Makes Sudden Attack On Hawaii," the New York Times stated:

"Sudden and unexpected attack on Pearl Harbor and other United States possessions in the Pacific early yesterday by the Japanese air force and navy plunged the United States and Japan into active war...There were unconfirmed reports that German raiders participated in the attacks...The news of these surprise attacks fell like a bombshell on Washington. President Roosevelt immediately ordered the country and the Army and Navy onto a full war footage...

"...The White House took over control of the bulletins, and the Navy Department, therefore, said it could not discuss the matter or answer any questions how the Japanese were able to penetrate the Hawaiian defenses or appear without previous knowledge of their presence in those waters..."

And in a third December 8, 1941 article, headlined "Hull Denounces Tokyo `Infamy': Brands Japan `Fraudulent' In Preparing Attack While Carrying On Parleys, the New York Times stated:

"Japan was accused by Secretary of State Hull of making a `treacherous and utterly unprovoked attack' upon the United States and of having been `infamously false and fraudulent' by preparing for the attack while conducting diplomatic negotiations with the professed desire of maintaining peace.

"But even before he knew of that attack, Mr. Hull had vehemently brought the diplomatic negotiations to a virtual end with an outburst against Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura, the Japanese Ambassador, and Saburo Kurusi, special envoy, because of the...reply they delivered to his document of November 26...

"...Japan charged that the United States was `conspiring' with Great Britain in the Far East...The document revealed definitely that the Japanese Premier had sought to meet President Roosevelt last August [1941] for a conference, but that this was refused..."

Then, in a June 8, 1942 article, headlined "West Coast Finishes Removing Japanese; 100,000 Sent Inland, Leaving Only The Incapacitated," the New York Times reported that "except for a handful of ill or otherwise incapacitated persons and a still smaller number considered irreplaceable in their work, not one of about 100,000 Japanese remained at liberty today in that roughly 150 mile-wide strip of the three coast states and Arizona which was their home when war began..." (end of part 6)

Friday, April 17, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 5


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In its July 27, 1941 issue, for example, the New York Times published an article from Tokyo, dated July 26,1941, by Otto Touschus which stated:

"Within a few hours after President Roosevelt's order freezing Japanese assets and credits in the United States was announced, the Japanese Government retaliated by freezing the assets and credits of American and Philippine nations and corporations within the Japanese Empire...Therewith...has begun an open economic war between the United States and the British Empire on the one hand and the Japanese Empire...It risks, in the words of the ultra-nationalist Nicki Nichi...but `one step from armed warfare.'...As regards the American and British freezing orders, it is generally admitted here that it is bound to have a crippling effect on Japan's trade..."

And in a September 21, 1941 article, headlined "Aim Of President Is War, Nye Says," the New York Times stated:

"Senator Gerald P. Nye appealed last night to `all loyal Americans' to oppose President Roosevelt's foreign policy program...on the grounds that it represented a deliberate attempt by the President and British leaders to involve this country against its will in the war...."

Then, in a November 1, 1941 article, headlined "Reuben James Hit: First American Warship Lost In War Torpedoed West Of Iceland," the New York Times stated:

"The United States lost its first warship in the Battle of the Atlantic when the destroyer Reuben James was torpedoed and sunk last night west of Iceland while on convoy duty...Forty-four members of the crew had been rescued. It was without word, however, as to the fate of the other members of the crew of 120 officers and men which make up her complement..."

And on November 5, 1941, the New York Times published an article headlined "Japanese Ask U.S. To Reverse Stand Or Face Conflict."

But in a November 12, 1941 article, headlined "President Warns Nation Is Facing World War Again," the New York Times reported that "President Roosevelt declared in his address that this country may be forced by Germany into another war..."

Then on December 1, 1941, the New York Times published an article headlined "U.S. Principles Rejected By Japanese As `Fantastic.'"

Yet in a December 4, 1941 article, headlined "Singapore Doubts Japanese Threats: Arrival Of The British Fleet Is Expected To Cause Tokyo To Order General Retreat," the New York Times stated:

"Political observers here say the arrival of the British fleet brought powerful new pressure on the Japanese in connection with the Washington negotiations and believe it may be decisive in forcing Japan to drop her plans for new aggressions and to begin a general retreat."  (end of part 5)




Thursday, April 16, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 4


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

Seven weeks before German Imperialism's Nazi war machine invaded the Soviet Union on June 22, 1941, for example, the New York Times published an article, from Berne, Switzerland and dated May 1, 1941 by Daniel T. Brigham, headlined "Russia Reported Bolstering Lines: Said To Be Increasing Forces In Ukraine, Poland And Estonia Against Reich," which stated:

"...Russia was reported here today to be taking extensive steps for the immediate bolstering of already strong Soviet forces in the Ukraine, Poland and Estonia in preparation for a worsening of Russian-German relations in the near future, which, it is said, might even lead to war...Russian apprehension is further heightened by an increasingly acrimonious tone in the Axis press in reference to the Soviet Union..."

Then, in a May 28, 1941 article, headlined "A Call To Nation: President Takes Step Permitted Only When War Threatens," the New York Times stated:

"President Roosevelt tonight proclaimed that `an unlimited national emergency exists,'...The United States, he declared, will not permit Germany to dominate the high seas...

"The President...stated that, with further American naval units transferred...to the Atlantic, this government intended to assure war supplies reaching Britain...`The delivery of needed supplies to Britain is imperative,' he declared. `This can be done; it must be done; it will be done.'..."

And in an article from Ankara, Turkey that was dated May 29, 1941, headlined "Nazi Troops Pouring To Russian Borders" and published, 23 days before German imperialist troops attacked the Soviet Union, on May 30, 1941, the New York Times stated:

"Further confirmation was received from diplomatic sources today that the German High Command is withdrawing German troops from the Balkans and concentrating a formidable army on the Russian frontier in Rumania and Poland..."

Then, on June 14, 1941, Daniel T. Brigham sent another article from Berne, Switzerland, headlined "Clash Is Expected Soon, Germans Are Expected to Attack," that the New York Times published on June 15, 1941 (a week before the Soviet Union was attacked) which stated that "indications point to military action, probably along the Russian-German dividing line in Poland, within the next 10 days."

Yet a June 17, 1941 article by Walter Duranty was headlined "Soviet-Nazi Deal Held More Likely Than Clash Despite Rumours" by the New York Times; although part of this New York Times article stated:

"...I have just received an uncensored letter from a competent friend in Moscow, dated April 27 [1941], stating:

"`Various indications are that the Germans intend eastward action in June [1941]. Many folks here now take it very seriously.'...

"There are other items that appear to herald a speedy Russsian-German clash...The presence of German troops in Finland is admitted..."

And in a June 22, 1941 article from Ankara, Turkey that was written by C.L. Sulzberger on June 21, 1941 and headlined "Big Armies Mass On `Eastern Front': All Along Russian Frontiers Troop Movements Suggest Clash May Be Near," the New York Times stated:

"For some time rumors have circulated setting the actual date for war's outbreak...German troops have been filing through Slovakia from the West...Sano Mach, the Minister of Interior, announced at Bratislava that a `German liberation' of the Ukraine was imminent..."

Then, in a July 9, 1941 article written by its London reporter and headlined "Litvinoff Exhorts Britain To Invade: Former Commissar In A Radio Plea From Moscow Advises Quick Drive On Reich," the New York Times stated:

"In a radio appeal by Maxim Litvinoff, Russia tonight urged Great Britain to hurl her full weight against Germany in the West while the Red Army withstood the shock of the Nazi war machine in the East and thus force Adolf Hitler to wage war on two fronts.

"The former Soviet Foreign Commissar and longtime foe of the fascist dictators, implying that the moment was ripe for a British invasion of the Continent, said that the battle of Russia was forcing Herr Hitler to `withdraw more and more forces from the West to the East.'..." (end of part 4)

Wednesday, April 15, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 3


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In a July 21, 1940 article, for example the New York Times stated: 

"...If Great Britain can withstand Nazi attempts at conquest in the coming weeks until uncertain weather begins, United States production of all types of material and munitions for modern warfare will be sufficiently increased by spring to give the British tremendous, and perhaps decisive, supply aid, high Administration circles stated today...By May 10 of next year [1941], it will be possible to sell the British enough to meet their needs...With the Nazis threatening Great Britain, this country must spend every cent it can for defense as quickly as possible..."

And in a September 4, 1940 article, the New York Times stated:

"...Fifty United States destroyers were coming to help Great Britain...The British fleet at one stroke acquired fifty 1,200-ton destroyers as an offset to the 30 lost since the beginning of hostilities.

"These destroyers are badly needed at this stage of the war...The most open indication yet of Anglo-American cooperation...It provides timely reinforcement of the British Navy in the task of maintaining control of the Atlantic..."


But in a November 1, 1940 article, headlined "Nehru Seized In India For Pacifist Speech," the New York Times stated:

"Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, former president of the Indian Congress party, was arrested near Allahabad this evening after a meeting with Mohandas K. Gandhi.

"He was one of two men chosen by Mr. Gandhi to make anti-war speeches as part of the plan of limited civil disobedience...Pandit Nehru was arrested under the Defense of India Rules, charged with delivering an objectionable speech at Gorakhpur recently..."


Then, in a November 18, 1940 article, headlined "First Drafted Men Enter Army Today," the New York Times reported that "the Army will get its first drafted men tomorrow, two months and two days after President Roosevelt signed the Selective Service and Training Bill..."

Yet in a November 27, 1940 article, the New York Times noted:

"Admiral Kichisaburo Nomura...said today there was no issue between Japan and the United States that could not be solved without recourse to war...`There are few--if any--Japanese who want war with the United States.'...He said he viewed any possible United States embargo upon Japan as 'dangerous'..."

But in a February 16, 1941 article by Dean Dinwoody, headlined "Lease-Lend Bill Extends Wide Power Of President," the New York Times stated:

"Under the Constitution, the President has two great powers legislation cannot affect...:

"To conduct the foreign relations of the United States;

"To act as Commander-in-Chief...

"The latter power places in the President the supreme command over all the country's military forces and the sole authority to direct and employ these forces in time of peace and war. This authority of the President, however, is dependent upon the exercise by Congress of its complementary constitutional powers `to raise and support armies,' and `to provide and maintain a navy.'

"The constitutional power of the President to conduct foreign relations also is an exclusive power...which the administration is utilizing in support of its lease-lend bill..." (end of part 3)

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 2


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In a November 22, 1939 article, headlined "Gandhi Warns Britain On India's Role," for example, the New York Times noted that "Mohandas K. Gandhi told Britain bluntly today that...they could not participate in the" then-inter-imperialist "war against Germany unless they obtained in return `complete freedom for India...'" from being ruled by UK imperialism's government. And in a January 5, 1940 article (that, perhaps, may not have been featured on the New York City newspaper's front page), headlined "Jews Lay Torture To Nazis In Poland," the New York Times stated:

"...Jewish sources cite excerpts from reports by the German police in Lodz itself--excerpts, Jews say, that have been printed in the Schlesiche Zeitung of Breslau. The police are quoted as saying there have been wholesale executions in Lodz and at least 100 Jews shot. The German police, it is added, reported that 1,000 Jews surrounded a synagogue when the police wanted to search it and hundreds were killed when the police opened fire. The synagogue was burned..."

But in a May 11, 1940 article by Harold Denny, headlined "Allies See Victory In Low Countries: Military Leaders Emphasize Strength Of The Defenses Of Netherlands And Belgium," the New York Times stated:

"London, May 10--Though the scope and exact objectives of Germany's sudden invasion of the Low Countries cannot be defined this early, military leaders express complete confidence in the ability of the British and French to defeat Germany if the new operations takes the nature of a wheel into Northern France, such as Britain's little army faced in 1914.

"The German armies will meet far more effective opposition than they encountered in the last war..."

Then, after UK imperialism and French imperialism's allied military forces failed to defeat German imperialism's military forces in the Low Countries in May and June 1940, the New York Times, in a July 3, 1940 article, headlined "Gandhi Appeals To Britain To Seek Peace With Nazis," reported:

"Mohandas K. Gandhi tonight appealed to all Britons to cease hostilities with Germany and urged that they settle their differences with `non-violent methods.'

"The Indian Nationalist leader urged Britain not to enter `undignified competition with the Nazis in destructive power.'..."
(end of part 2)

Monday, April 13, 2020

Why Millionaire Bernie Sanders Endorsed Hawk Democrat Biden For President In 2020

Democratic Party Loyalist  Sanders and Democratic U.S. Senate Leader Schumer
Some folks on the U.S. left have claimed in recent years that Millionaire Bernie Sanders is still some kind of a "politically independent socialist." But Democratic Party loyalist Sanders recently endorsed Hawk Democrat Joe Biden to be the next president of the United States.

In 2016, Sanders also ended up endorsing in the November 2016 general election for U.S. president another Hawk Democrat, Hillary Clinton, that he previously campaigned against in the Democratic Party's presidential primaries. And in his 2018-published post-2016 campaign book, Where We Go From Here, Sanders indicated how, in exchange for endorsing the 2016 Democratic Party presidential nominee, he was later able to join the Wall Street and Zionist lobby-backed Corporate Democratic Senator from New York, Chuck Schumer, as part of the Democratic Party's leadership group in the U.S. Senate:

"...It is no small thing to be part of leadership...In addition, being chairman of outreach would give me additional resources as we traveled around the country...I asked Chuck to put me on the team...He concluded that it made sense for THE PARTY...Chuck Schumer became Senate Democratic leader in 2017 when Harry Reid retired. Harry served as majority leader when Democrats controlled the Senate. He and I were friends...I have known Chuck Schumer for 28 years, going back when we were both in the House of Representatives and served together on the House Banking Committee...We're friends and have worked well together."


In his same 2018 book, Millionaire Sanders recalled how he has apparently spent most of his adult life in perpetual individual political office-seeking, within U.S. imperialist society, in the state of Vermont; rather than actually working very much as an authentic grassroots anti-imperialist/antiwar left or peace movement community Movement organizer:

"As I assumed my place in the Senate Democratic Leadership, I thought back to the...road that got me to this position...I started in electoral politics in 1971, when...I ran for the U.S. Senate in Vermont...One year later, I ran for governor of Vermont...In 1974, I ran for Senate again and...in 1976, I ran for governor again...In 1981...friends suggested that I run for mayor of Burlington...A late endorsement by the Burlington Patrolman's Association, considered to be a conservative group, probably put us over the top...

"In Burlington...I won re-election in 1983 and 1985...In 1987...we won that election as well.

"In 1986, I ran for governor of Vermont...In 1988, I ran for an open seat in the U.S. Congress...In 1990, I became...elected to Congress. I ended up...in the House for 16 years.

"In 2006, Vermont's Senator Jim Jeffords retired, and I ran to replace him...In 2012, I won re-election...And now I was a member of the Senate Democratic Leadership..."

In his 2018 book Where We Go From Here, Senate Democratic Leadership member Sanders also indicated why--despite the claim of some folks on the U.S. left that Sanders is still some kind of "politically independent socialist"--this perpetual political office-seeker, who recently endorsed Hawk Democrat Biden for U.S. president, has actually been a Democratic Party loyalist and politically partisan Democratic Party partner for many years:

"...In Washington, I have been a member of the Democratic Caucus in the House for the 16 years I served there and a member of the Democratic Caucus in the Senate for the last 12 years. Today, of course, I am a member of the Democratic Senate leadership team...

"In Vermont, I am strongly supported by the Vermont Democratic Party and have helped lead the effort to get Vermont Democrats elected to office, including the sate's last Democratic governor, the present lieutenant governor, and many members of the legislature. My campaign has made significant financial contributions to Vermont Democratic candidates, as well as large donations to the Vermont Democratic Party's coordinated campaigns...Given that reality, the state Democratic leadership and I agree that it would be absurd to have a Democrat run against me...For my last two Senate races, I have run in the Democratic primary, won it...and appeared on the ballot as an Independent. This is a strategy that works well for Vermont Democrats, for me..."

Millionaire Democratic Party loyalist Sanders's "strategy" of posing as a "political independent" on the November ballot in Vermont--despite perpetually running in the Democratic Party's primary in Vermont--may be "a strategy that works well for Vermont Democrats" and for him. But for grassroots anti-imperialist/antiwar left U.S. peace movement activists who--unlike Hawk Democrat Biden supporter Sanders--are authentic political independents, Sanders's historical "strategy" for individually monopolizing a Vermont seat in the U.S. Congress for decades seems morally unethical and politically manipulative. Which might be one reason why most anti-imperialist/antiwar left and U.S. peace Movement activists who are politically independent were not surprised after Sanders ended up endorsing Hawk Democrat Joe Biden for U.S. president in 2020.

Sunday, April 12, 2020

`New York Times' Coverage of 1932 to 1948 History Revisited: Part 1


Between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times newspaper claimed to always be providing its readers with accurate information about what was going on during the 1932 to 1948 period of world history. But between 1932 and 1948, the New York Times sometimes printed articles that turned out to be historically accurate; and sometimes also printed articles that turned out to be historically inaccurate.

In an August 16, 1932 article, headlined "Hitler Dictatorship In Reich Held Unlikely: Woodbridge Thinks Nazi Leader Cannot Seize Power--Sees Steadying Force in People," for example, the New York Times stated:

"Professor Frederick J.E. Woodbridge, Theodore Roosevelt Professor of American History at the University of Berlin for the last year, returned on the Holland-American liner Volendam yesterday and said the probability of Adolf Hitler and the National Socialists gaining power in Germany was not strong. He said he did not think it possible for Hitler to seize power and that the Nazis would have to wait for a majority in the Reichstag..."

Then, in a January 31, 1933 article, headlined "Hitler Puts Aside Aim To Be Dictator," the New York Times stated:

"Adolf Hitler's acceptance of the German Chancellorship in a coalition with conservatives and nonpartisans marks a radical departure from his former demand that he be made `the Mussolini of Germany' as a condition to his assumption of government responsibility...

"...A group of Nazi industrialists in the Rhineland the Ruhr, who have been among Hitler's chief financial backers, have urged him to drop his uncompromising attitude and join the government. According to recent dispatches from Berlin, former Chancellor von Papen was the `friendly broker' between the National Socialists and this group of industrialists.

"Recent Berlin dispatches indicate also a deal between Papen and Hitler for the overthrow of General von Schleicher, who roused the displeasure of the Rhineland-Ruhr industrialist by his inclination to deal leniently with labor and to seek the support of the trade unions. In this policy, these industrialists foresaw the abandonment of the economic program laid down by Papen as Schleicher's predecessor in the Chancellorship.

"Outstanding is the dramatic element of Hitler's accession to power at the age of 43. The new Chancellor began as the son of poor parents in Austria. For  a long time he was not even a German citizen..."

And after German Imperialist Dictator Hitler ordered German Imperialism's war machine to invade Poland in early September 1939, the New York Times asserted that "following upon the sinking of the Athenia yesterday the United States took its first sweeping step to insure neutrality in the European war" by issuing a proclamation "establishing an arms embargo against present belligerents as required by our neutrality statute," in a September 5, 1939 article; and a September 10, 1939 article by an apparently white racist Columbia University Professor of History, Allan Nevins, headlined "Can Civilization Survive A World War?," was printed a few days later by the New York Times, which stated:

"There is danger that the depletion of European manhood, if pushed much further, will permanently weaken the Caucasian stock in its competition with black and yellow races; that Asia and Africa by sheer default of the present leaders will take a new rank in world affairs. European strength cannot withstand the drain of successive periods of butchery without exhaustion, and some of the resulting changes may go further than people of European blood will like to contemplate..."

In a September 12, 1939 article, headlined "Poles Unprepared For Blow So Hard," the New York Times also then stated:

"It is a mystery to both German and neutral military experts on the tour with the writer that the Poles made no provisions for second or third lines and that in retreat they did not make any attempt to throw up earthworks or dig trenches such as helped the Germans stop the Allies after the Marne retreat in 1914..." (end of part 1)

Tuesday, April 7, 2020

`Ballad of Liam Mellows' folk song lyrics


A biographical folk song from 1985 about an Irish Republican socialist who was executed during the Irish Civil War.
(chorus)
Irish puppets ordered
Liam Mellows shot
Executed ten minutes before Mass
Irish traitors served
The British as good cops
And murdered Liam Mellows for their class.

(verses)
Born in 1892 with Ireland in chains
Liam Mellows sang and played fiddle
But before the age of 20 he united with his cause
And trained farmers to fight against British wrongs.

In 1916, Liam Mellows led the fight
In Galway and throughout the Irish West
To escape the British hunt, Liam went on the run
While the British drowned in blood the Irish Republic.

One by one they dragged into the prison yard
The leaders of the Easter Rebellion
And there the British shot the Irish Republic
As one by one the leaders were executed. (chorus)

With the aid of the people, Liam escaped to England
And then to North America to fight on
He raised some money there to wage guerrilla war
To re-establish the Irish Republic.

Then Liam Mellows returned to the land he loved
And organized for Ireland a gun run
The British were brutal, but the I.R.A. fought well
And they forced Lloyd George to the table.

But within the Irish camp there was an upper class
That sold out the Irish Republic
LIke a good Trojan Horse, they gave Britain the North
And Liam Mellows chose to resist. (chorus)

Britain's Irish tools were armed with British guns
And shot their former comrades at Four Courts
The Irish upper class did Britain's dirty work
And although elected, Liam Mellows was locked up.

Liam Mellows called for the Irish Republic
Where Irish workers would not be slaves
To shut Liam Mellows up, at 30 he was shot
And the government that killed him still rules today.

But the memory of Liam Mellows roams Ireland today
For his whole short life he gave for Ireland
His dream of a free nation, no longer partitioned,
It lives inside the hearts of everyone. (chorus)

Friday, April 3, 2020

Hawk Democrat Joe Biden's Pre-2010 Record On Foreign Policy Issues Revisited


Most U.S. peace movement and anti-imperialist/anti-war left movement supporters in the United States opposed the Democratic Clinton administration's decision to militarily attack people in Serbia in 1999 and the Republican Bush II-Cheney administration's decision to militarily attack and occupy Afghanistan in 2001 and Iraq in 2003.

Yet former U.S. Vice-President and 2020 candidate for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination, Multi-Millionaire Joe Biden, supported the decision of the U.S. power elite's government officials to use its Pentagon war machine to attack Serbia in 1999, to attack Afghanistan in 2001 and to attack and occupy Iraq in 2003, when he was a U.S. Senator.

As Jules Witcover recalled in his 2010-published Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption book:

"With [Bill] Clinton assuming the presidency in early 1993, Biden...called for NATO air strikes on Serb positions...Biden joined his Delaware Republican colleague, Senator William Roth, in calling on NATO to bomb the Serbian heavy artillery...To Biden's chagrin, Milosevic remained Yugoslavia's...leader...In March 1999 Biden introduced a resolution in the Senate authorizing Clinton to take action...and with Clinton's approval NATO air strikes began. At one point Clinton told Biden he was considering halting the bombing, but Biden urged him otherwise...Biden continued to make trips to the Balkans, insisting that Milosevic be seized and turned over...for trial as the war criminal Biden had proclaimed him to be...

"...The Foreign Relations Committee [Joe Biden] moved quickly to demonstrate his solidarity with Bush administration in its response to...9/11. In October [2001] he [Biden] called Secretary of State [Colin] Powell before the committee and lauded him and the president...In early January [2002] he flew to the war zone...On leaving Kabul, Biden...emphasized that in his view U.S. participation in a multinational military force was essential to restore order against the Taliban, not simply as a peacekeeper but `with orders to shoot to kill. Absent that,' he said, `I don't see any hope for this country.'...

"...Biden held full Foreign Relations Committee hearings on July 31 [2002] and August 1 [2002]...Biden, in opening the hearings, seemed to accept the idea that the Iraqi dictator had the fearful weapons [of mass destruction]...Biden said, `These weapons must be dislodged from Saddam Hussein, or Saddam Hussein must be dislodged from power.'...

"...House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt persuaded his Senate counterpart, Tom Daschle, to urge fellow Democrats to vote for the Bush use-of-force resolution in October [2002], providing a congressional green light for the eventual invasion of Iraq...On October 10, 2002, the Bush war resolution passed the House, 296-133, and the next day the Senate, 77-23, with Biden voting for it...Biden then joined Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, the party's eventual 2004 presidential nominee, and Senator Hillary Clinton of New York...in voting for the Bush resolution on the same dubious grounds...Biden resisted the notion, raised in the fall [of 2005] by Representative John Murtha of Pennsylvania, for an immediate drawdown of American forces in Iraq. In a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Biden said...`the hard truth is that our large military presence in Iraq is necessary.'...When liberal Democrats in Congress in 2007 sought to cut off funding for the war...Biden refused to use denial of funding as a tool to end the war..."

And as a U.S. Vice-President between 2009 and 2017, "Biden's recommendation...was a key ingredient in Obama's initial decision in his first few weeks as president to send 21,000 more U.S. troops to Afghanistan [in 2009]...," according to the same book.

Despite his pre-2010 record of pushing for and/or supporting morally wrong and militaristic White House foreign policy decisions prior to 2010 that violated the UN Charter, international law and the Nuremberg Accords, the 77-year-old Hawk Democrat Biden apparently still believes he's morally qualified to try to continue to position himself to become president of the United States on January 20, 2021. Yet, ironically, as Jules Witcover observed in his 2020 Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption book:

"According to an interview with Newsweek...Biden...told Obama [in 2008], `The good news is that, I'm 65 and you're not going to have to worry about my positioning myself to be president...'"

Perhaps the now multi-millionaire former U.S. president Obama-- whose Hawk Democratic administration initially escalated U.S. military intervention in Afghanistan, continued to militarily occupy Iraq, waged drone war in Pakistan, waged war for regime change in Libya and initiated a covert war for regime change in Syria between 2009 and 2017--might not be worrying about Biden now attempting to position himself "to be president" in 2021?

But, given Joe Biden's pre-2010 record on foreign policy issues, U.S. peace movement and anti-war/anti-imperialist left activists should, perhaps, be worrying now about what kind of foreign policy decisions Hawk Democrat Biden will make if he moves into the White House oval office on January 20, 2021?

Thursday, April 2, 2020

Multi-Millionaire Joe Biden's Pre-2010 Political Record Revisited


As Jules Witcover recalled in his 2010-published book, Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption, the former U.S. Democratic Vice-President and current 2020 Multi-Millionaire candidate for the Democratic Party's 2020 presidential nomination, Joe Biden, was "elected to the New Castle County Council" in Delaware "at the age of 27 and to the U.S. Senate at 29" after the then "young Joe tap-danced through an elite...prep school, the University of Delaware, and the Syracuse Law School."

But, according to the same book, as late as 1972 "Biden told a Young Democrats' Convention in Dover...that he was against legalization of marijuana and...against granting amnesty to anyone who fled the country to avoid" the Vietnam Era "draft;" and that "he flatly opposed school busing to combat segregation."

So, not surprisingly, after Biden "became the first senator to endorse" Trilateral Commission member Jimmy Carter's presidential candidacy "and agreed to chair" Carter's "national campaign steering committee" in March 1976, Biden "joined Bill Roth, his senior Delaware Republican colleague, in sponsoring a bill to bar an federal court from ordering busing;" and "veteran NAACP leader Clarence Mitchell accused Biden and Roth of being motivated by `racism...deep in the state of Delaware," according to the Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption book.

During the 1980's, Biden became a member of the Corporate Democrats' Democratic Leadership Council that Multi-Millionaire Bill Clinton was also a member of during the 1980's; and in the 1990's and early 21st-century Biden apparently began representing the special corporate interests of the U.S. banking industry as a U.S. Senator. As Jules Witcover recalled in his Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption book:

"David Bakerian, president and CEO of the Delaware Bankers Association, said Biden was cooperative in the repeal of a Depression-era antitrust law that had built a `firewall' between the banking industry and businesses designed to inhibit ownership of banks by large corporations..."

According to the same book, "in 2006 Bank of America acquired MBNA [Maryland Bankers National Association] and became Delaware's top private employer;" and "after the 1996 election, records at the Federal Election Commission indicated that MBNA executives and employees had given Biden $62,850 [equal to over $105,000 in 2020], the largest bloc of contributions from any source, under another fund-raising approach known as bundling."

Coincidentally, the Joe Biden: A Life of Trial and Redemption book also noted in 2010:

"In 2008 the New York Times reported that in 2003 Biden's younger son, Hunter, after graduating from law school was hired by MBNA `as a management consultant and' MBNA `quickly promoted him to executive vice president.' Thereafter, the Times said, he became a partner in a Washington lobbying firm with an annual retainer of $100,000 `to advise it on the Internet and privacy issues,' and in June 2008 Senator Biden paid his son's law firm $143,000 [equal to over $174,000 in 2020] for `legal services.'...

"The New York Times meanwhile reported that Hunter Biden had received consulting fees from MBNA from 2001 to 2005 at a time when his father was working for passage of a bankruptcy protection bill sought by the credit card industry. The story said Biden voted four times for the bill before it finally cleared the Senate in 2005. It also said Biden was one of only 5 Democrats who voted against requiring credit card companies to give better warnings about the consequences to consumers of paying only minimum required monthly payments..."

And in the early 21st-century, 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries candidate Biden, himself, also recalled that "every current law on the books in America today regarding illicit drugs, drug abuse, drug sentencing, the courts--I wrote it, as chairman of the [U.S. Senate] Judiciary Committee, as a member of 30 years."

Yet most people in the United States in 2020 now realize that what helped create a system of mass incarceration of African-Americans and poor whites in the USA in the 21st-century were the "current law on the books in America today regarding illicit drugs, drug abuse, drug sentencing, the courts" that Biden apparently "wrote."