Spinoza and Slavery

An interesting take on Spinoza's views on liberty and slavery and his excommunication from the Jewish community in Amsterdam. One thing we can be sure of is if that community had abandoned the incorrect teachings of Moses for the correct ones of Spinoza there would've been no genocide in Palestine. Cry freedom the-tls.com Commentary|Essay Cry freedom Did Spinoza make a stand against slavery? By Steven Nadler

PERU SHOWS LIMITS OF ANTI-CHINA US PUSH

PERU SHOWS THE LIMITS OF WASHINGTON'S ANTI-CHINA PUSH ''As Secretary of State Marco Rubio travels this week to Peru, its growing economic ties to China have raised tensions with the U.S., but show no signs of reversing course.'' ’'Experts describe China as a patient partner, with state-owned firms that often think on longer timelines than private Western companies under pressure to deliver quarterly profits to stockholders. President Xi Jinping of China inaugurated the [new Peruvian]port in November 2024, calling it ‘a new Asia-Latin America land-sea corridor for the new era’.’’---NYT 9/8/2026 ‘’Longer time lines’’—this is the key to understanding this article. Chinese state owned corporations are able to out- maneuver, wit, and compete with US imperialism. This is because the Chinese state is not run by a capitalist class. Such a class is present, and significant, but it is not dominant. Capitalism needs to reproduce itself by constantly generating sufficient capital to expand and update its economic system; it cannot indulge in long-term planning which is the prerogative of a socialist oriented economy not dependent upon generating maximum surplus value in the minimum amount of time unless it can impose monopoly control of the world market as it tries to dominate its own working class as well as the war of competition within it own ranks between the various capitalist nations incorporations which have created that market. The Chinese Communist Party, which currently functions as ‘’the dictatorship of the proletariat’’ during the transition from capitalism to socialism in China, is able to develop the domestic economy and expand internationally because it regulates the surplus value generated by the market under its control both for necessary capital investment and for the rational distribution of social benefits which are neglected by the bourgeoisie which expropriates it for its own enrichment and conspicuous consumption. Where it cannot be suppressed by economic warfare or military intervention, socialism, and socialistic measures, will out perform capitalism. This is what worries US imperialism. China has created a stronger and more vibrant economic basis for the transition to socialism then the Soviet Union was able to maintain as a result of the economic warfare waged against it during the Cold War. See less

DUDS AND DUBIOUS EVIDENCE

‘’Russia’s failed drone attack on a German airport was part of a dangerous pattern of escalation that, experts and officials said, risks sparking an open confrontation with NATO — whether the Kremlin wants it or not. German officials declared this week that the Russian state was behind the attack, in which one explosive drone hit a parked Ukrainian cargo plane and another appeared to collide with a plane taking off. Both drones failed to detonate. ‘’—NYT 9/5/2026 Amateur hour in Leipzig. Dud drones one of which ‘’appeared to’’ hit a plane— [did it hit a plane or not? ] is the basis of this long article repeating a chorus of the usual suspects [NATO leaders] denouncing Russia. As is usual with New York Times articles of this kind, no empirical proof is offered that can be independently verified. We are told it exists but just can't be made public. So all the proof that is publicly available is simply assertions made by hostile governments who are involved in a proxy war being waged against the Russian Federation that they started in the first place by trying to incorporate Ukraine into a military alliance which they knew would upset the balance of power in eastern Europe and force a Russian response. A response more forceful than they anticipated and which they cannot contain as it slowly but surely dismembers Ukraine. It's up to NATO, if it wants to save what's left of Ukraine, to sit down with its puppet and negotiate a just and lasting peace with the Russians and give up its fantasy that Ukraine is going to defeat Russia.

CIA's Advice to Putin

‘’The C.I.A. director, John Ratcliffe, flew to Moscow last week to try to persuade Russia to cut a deal before the country’s military and economic situation got any worse.’’ —NYT 9/4/2026 Really! The C.I.A. is worried that Russia may find itself in a weakened military and economic situation. If the war continues Russia won't get as good a deal from the Ukrainians so they should quit now while they are ahead and the Ukrainians start winning. This concern for the well-being of Russia it's quite touching. All this time many of us thought C.I.A.directors had anti-Russian proclivities and it turns that, just as the Chinese and the DPRK , they have been wishing Putin well and don't want to see conditions in his country getting worse. I guess you don't know who your friends are till you really need them. Trump doesn't pay any attention to the C.I.A. which was skeptical with regards to his victorious triumph over Iran and his control of the soon to be rechristened Strait of Trump, why should Putin.