Listen HERE.
Eric Walberg joins us to discuss his articles on Jerusalem and Recent Demos in Iran. Eric also explains why he converted to Islam (from Marxism), and why Abraham Lincoln was a war criminal not a hero. We discuss the question of why psychopaths rise to the top of power hierarchies (or why power turns people into psychopaths); the history of incidents that nearly triggered nuclear wars; why many otherwise excellent critics of empire won’t discuss 9/11 or Zionist power (Eric says “most people have been castrated in our society”); whether the rising Chinese hegemon will be kinder and gentler than the falling American hegemon; and whether the real hegemon may not be any particular country, but rather the capitalist system that exists independently of its bases in particular nations.
Is there going to be a video too, Kevin? Thanks.
No video on this interview. I am about to publish the Jimmy Walter video. It will be on Patreon for a few days, then made public.
If Eric Walberg had as deep of consciousness about the centuries-long oppression of women as he does about the oppression of palestinians, there would be no need for MeToo movements — or for feminism for that matter.
It was so clueless of Walberg to say MeToo is unnecssary, that women just need to speak up and voice what they want. Those on the power-over side of social relations always have trouble perceiving the mindset of those on the receiving end of oppression. For example, many white people could not understand how the vast majority of black south africans could be oppressed for so many years by such a tiny white minority. Duh!
And then for Walberg to suggest a woman should just punch someone as a means of advancing her concerns. Yeah, right, male violence. How evolved a solution is that?
I suggest Walberg educate himself on the worldwide statistics throughout history of the rape, battering, and murder women have perpetrated against men versus the rape, battering, and murder throughout history men have perpetrated against women. I bet he’d discover that those statistics would look eerily similar to the charts on the If Americans Knew site of Palestinian children killed versus Israeli children killed.
As for women enticing men, no, excuse me, we’re just being human. Men, YOU cover up. YOU are the ones who have a perverse inability to curtail your fleshly desires. We women are just being our normal human selves.YOU guys need the chastity belts and the burkas and your feet bound. Put a wrap on your base instincts and leave women’s bodies alone!
i agree fully with cat mcguire that everyone should dress modestly. men should cover their appendages (i do), as should women. i think a head scarf for men is not necessary. they aren’t as alluring. a glare by a guy makes the situation clear.
that is the muslim dress code. that (and the islamic respect for women) is why rape is very rare in muslim societies.
i am glad that women in the west now are speaking up for themselves. our commercial secular society denigrates women (and men).
but the me-too movement has created justifiable backlash, and it is growing. there are women who abuse it. several prominent ontarions were slandered, and investigations showed the men accused were innocent. one was the conservative party leader, brown, and his career was destroyed. me-too was used to destroy the only good conservative hopeful, but the accuser gets off scot free.
i still believe that whenever a woman is touched indecently she should protest right away. give the jerk an elbow, yell,… if it is blackmail for a job offer, then find another profession/ workplace and protest. stand up for yourself.
a feminist socialist (and attractive) friend told me ‘eric, no one ever tried to molest me. i must give off the wrong vibes.’
I think Eric raises a valid point: The #MeToo movement is destroying careers and reputations of people who have not been convicted of anything and who therefore must be presumed innocent. There are countless examples of false rape and sexual assault accusations. Here is a particularly egregious one: https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/3962530/woman-made-up-fake-rape-claims-against-15-men-jailed/ How could ANYONE least of all trained law enforcement have believed this “hideous fraud” (to borrow an expression from Thierry Meyssan)?! Does anyone care about all those innocent men whose lives she destroyed? And if the truth was so difficult to figure out in this situation, how in hell are we going to decide whether, say, Garrison Keilor, should be in prison for something that may or may not have happened many years ago?
In many cases there is so much smoke that there is undoubtedly some fire, as with Harvey Weinstein, who will hopefully be convicted of rape and other crimes. But speaking out years after the fact is not a good way to get justice. Obviously Eric is right that any time anyone is victimized by any serious crime that person should fight back as ferociously as possible in all possible ways: verbally and/or physically at the moment it happens, then by reporting it to law enforcement or even potential vigilantes if law enforcement won’t deal with it. “Naming and shaming” years after the fact is a terrible way to get justice, because this approach creates a situation in which it is very difficult to distinguish true accusations from false ones. That situation is indeed producing a backlash that feeds into the growing backlash of Trumpies and the alt right against everything on the “left” which is perceived, with some accuracy, as contaminated by the excesses of victimization-basedidentity politics.
Also I think Eric is right that Islam has the solution to this problem through:
*The simple rule that sex outside marriage is a serious sin/crime
*Corollary that no man can ever have sex except after promising long-term support to the woman and any children they might conceive (this leads to sublimation of male sexuality into productive endeavors beginning with what is by far the most important human task, child-raising)
*Spiritualization of life via 5-times-daily prayer, fasting, God-consciousness (taqwa)
*Ban on alcohol, the single biggest trigger of inappropriate male sexual aggression
*Ban on men and women mingling in situations that are likely to lead to trouble
Islam works and creates a vastly better situation for women! That may be one reason why more than two thirds of converts to Islam are women.
I have zero desire to get married. In your conception of a better world, does that mean I would be denied a sexual life with men?
As for false accusations of rape, first of all, the majority of rapes are never reported (~63%). Rape victims for years (centuries!) were either never believed or faced extreme societal censure for speaking out.
Of those rapes that are reported, about 2-10% statistically have been false. Yes, that is wrong, but what’s far worse is the 90-98% of rapes that actually take place. One really has to wonder why men focus so intently on the false accusations when an epidemic of actual rapes are happening all around them.
You, Eric and I would agree that all rapes should be prosecuted and severely punished. That is what we all are pushing for in our different ways. We think quick forceful action, as quick and forceful as possible, against the (wannabe) rapist is key, just like with any other crime.
Islamic cultures have traditionally included minorities of various kinds who don’t follow Islamic rules. Religious minorities, for example, can follow their own marriage rules, drug use rules, etc. And outlier individuals – people who choose to privately violate rules and norms – are rarely punished if they are discreet. Lots of Muslims don’t pray all their prayers as they are supposed to, for example, but this rule is rarely enforced (except maybe by parents). Others drink, gamble, have illicit sex, etc.
So in an Islamic culture with fornication and alcohol banned, you might still be able to make your own choices on these matters as long as you were discreet and didn’t corrupt the wider society. And of course of you were Shia you could have as many temporary marriages as you wanted.
So you would lose the ability to drink and fornicate openly, in public. But you would gain a society with vastly fewer negative social indicators, including rape and sexual abuse. https://www.veteranstoday.com/2013/08/16/jamil-2/
Worth the trade off?