The War ‘Diplomat’: How Borrell, the West Lost the ‘Global Battle of Narratives’

In a blog entry, reflecting on the G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Bali, Indonesia on July 7-8, the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, seems to have accepted the painful truth that the West is losing what he termed “the global battle of narratives”. 

 

“The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning,” Borrell admitted. The solution: “As the EU, we have to engage further to refute Russian lies and war propaganda,” the EU’s top diplomat added. 

 

A LOVE SONG: Film Review

At a time when superhero and other action flicks explode and careen across our screens, with its decidedly indie sensibility, Max Walker-Silverman’s little gem A Love Song goes against the blockbuster grain. It is as gentle as Marvel Universe flicks are violent. With its simple, naturalistic style tinged by sly humor, A Love Song is a motion picture paean to the human condition, filled with yearning, grief, loss and the quest for meaningful (if not necessarily long-lasting) connection and love.

The war 'diplomat': How the West lost the 'global battle of narratives'

In a blog entry, reflecting on the G20 Foreign Ministers' meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on 7-8 July, the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, seems to have accepted the painful truth that the West is losing what he termed "the global battle of narratives".

"The global battle of narratives is in full swing and, for now, we are not winning," Borrell admitted. The solution: "As the EU, we have to engage further to refute Russian lies and war propaganda," the EU's top diplomat added.

Borrell's piece is a testimony to the very erroneous logic that led to the so-called 'battle of narratives' to be lost in the first place.

My Weekend with the Good Guys

You may find this shocking, but a little over a decade ago I spent a weekend learning how to shoot a handgun — under the auspices of the NRA. I wound up earning myself an NRA “personal protection in the home” certificate.

For years I have pondered writing about this weekend, but never found quite the right context for doing so. But the recent decision of the Supreme Court in the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen — declaring that the possession of pistols in public is a constitutional right — has pulled that weekend up from my memory (as well as from the pages of the journal entry I made afterwards, on May 2, 2011).

The ruling, as Karrie Jacobs has written, intensifies the danger we all face simply by being out in public, noting that in its wake “our sense of security in crowded places may be more permanently damaged than it was by the pandemic.

She adds: “It advances a perception of the United States as a dystopian nation where day-to-day survival depends on being armed.”

Michigan’s Pro-Choice Referendum; Grassroots In GA, NC, OR, FL; CA Green New Deal; Bannon’s Fascist Wet Dream

We hear from BRIAN STEINBERG about Michigan’s amazing statewide referenda to win a Constitutional Amendment guaranteeing a woman’s right to control her body, and to make it easier for ordinary citizens to exercise their democratic rights. 

 An astonishing 750,000+ signatures have been gathered, guaranteeing a sea change in Michigan politics that should be matched throughout the country if the progressive movement was actually awake.

JOEL SEGAL, WILLIE FLEMING, RAY MCCLENDON and ROBERT WILSON then fill us in on the all-important grassroots/relational organizing in North Carolina and Georgia, two states that would swing the entire nation.

Florida’s JIM LANGFORD joins Oregon’s LAWRENCE TAYLOR & SHERRY HEALY to update the Progressive Democrats of America’s work to democratize the Democratic Party.

TATANKA BRICCA then updates us on California’s campaign for a Green New Deal and the desperate attempt to get the horrendous Diablo Canyon shut before it unleashes an apocalyptic cloud killing millions of people and permanently destroying the American ecology and economy.

From Physicians for Human Rights: Protestor’s Guide

Giving water to protester

As people around the world take to the streets to protest against human rights violations such as police brutality and restrictions on reproductive rights, they’re frequently met with violent crackdowns by law enforcement firing tear gas and other crowd-control weapons.  

Deceptively known as “less-lethal,” these weapons can cause severe injuries and even death when used with excessive force. PHR has conducted numerous investigations into governments’ disproportionate and indiscriminate use of CCWs and other forms of excessive force in many countries, including in the United States during nationwide protests for racial justice after the May 2020 police killing of George Floyd.  

Crowd-control weapons can cause serious injury, disability, and even death. That’s why it’s so critical that you and your family, loved ones, and community members know what to prepare for, what precautions to take, and how to treat tear gas and other chemical irritants (e.g., pepper spray) before participating in any rally or demonstration.  

Movie review: Resurrection

Woman lying in bed looking scared

Margaret's (Rebecca Hall) life is in order. She's capable, disciplined, and successful. Soon, Abbie (Grace Kaufman), her teenage daughter, who Margaret raised by herself, will be going off to a fine university, just as Margaret had hoped. Everything is under control. That's, until David (Tim Roth) returns, carrying with him the horrors of Margaret's past.

It's about a single mother acting alone to protect her child from some sort of dangerous threat or predator, but we don’t quite know who she is or why she must act alone. The character of Margaret is a complex woman, haunted by events in her past but also extremely in control of her life, or so she thinks. Margaret is a character preoccupied with control: control over her environment, her body, her emotions. Maintaining control is how she keeps her emotional wolves at bay and brings her a sense of pride. But of course, if you’re someone interested in maintaining strict control over yourself and your environment, the worst thing you can possibly do is have a child.

Worsening Chaos: Israel's Political Instability Is Now the Norm

The collapse of the short-lived Israeli government of Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid validates the argument that the political crisis in Israel was not entirely instigated and sustained by former Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Even if a purportedly centrist or even leftist prime minister finds himself at the helm of the government, outcomes will not change when the Knesset—in fact, most of the country—is governed by a militaristic, chauvinistic, and colonial mindset.

Bennett's coalition government consisted of eight parties, welding together arguably one of the oddest coalitions in the tumultuous history of Israeli politics. The mishmash cabinet included far right and right groups like Yamina, Yisrael Beiteinu and New Hope, along with centrist Yesh Atid and Blue and White, leftist Meretz and even an Arab party, the United Arab List (Ra'am). The coalition also had representatives from the Labor Party, once the dominant Israeli political camp, now almost completely irrelevant.

The Rise of BRICS: The economic giant that is taking on the West

The G7 summit in Elmau, Germany, June 26-28, and the NATO summit in Madrid, Spain, two days later, were practically useless in terms of providing actual solutions to ongoing global crises – the war in Ukraine, the looming famines, climate change and more. But the two events were important, nonetheless, as they provide a stark example of the impotence of the West, amid the rapidly changing global dynamics.

Pages

Subscribe to Freepress.org RSS