With tensions rising with multiple geopolitical rivals, the U.S. military-industrial complex is preparing itself for World War 3.

The Pentagon has concluded that it is a question of when, not if, an armed conflict with Russia and/or China begins. Now preparations are underway to ensure that the U.S. is ready for such a war, writes Patrick Martin for The World Socialist Website.

Societal divisions increasing as result of U.S. militarism

In discussions about aircraft carriers a top Navy admiral bemoaned the fact that the U.S. had only 11 colossal aircraft carriers rather than the 21 it really needs to confront the multiple challenges the country faces. However maintaining a fleet of such a size would bankrupt a country even with far more resources than the U.S.

Internal divisions were raised during the Senate hearing on cybersecurity. During the meeting retired Gen. Keith Alexander, former director of the National Security Agency and former head of the Pentagon’s CyberCommand, said that “insider attacks,” such as those carried out by Edward Snowden and Chelsea Manning, represented a serious threat.

Democratic Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia asked Alexander, “Should we treat him as a traitor?” in reference to Snowden. Alexander responded, “He should be treated as a traitor and tried as such.”

World War 3 a dangerous prospect for U.S. ruling elite

While individual whistleblowers like Snowden and Manning have grabbed the headlines, the attendees demonstrated that internal opposition has grown far larger than these two. The U.S. population is increasingly critical of military intervention in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Syria, Yemen and across North Africa.

These same working people would be a major component in the U.S. war effort against another major world power such as China or Russia. Assuming that politicians could prevent such a war from deteriorating into a nuclear exchange, American citizens would have to mobilize both economic human capital to support the war effort.

Such a mobilization would involve a huge deterioration in living standards for many Americans, not to mention the fact that many young men would die in combat. As we have seen in past conflicts, these young men tend to be the children of the working class.

Now that the population is more aware of the U.S. role in conflicts around the world, people are becoming more vocal in their opposition to U.S. militarism. The Vietnam War marked the first time that conscription was met with serious public opposition and draft defiance, and since then the U.S. Army has been made up of volunteers. If World War 3 broke out it would inspire the restoration of the draft, provoking serious opposition from those families asked to bear the human cost of war.

Such widespread opposition to World War 3 would put the cohesion of U.S. society to the test, even though repressive police powers would probably be increased. The U.S. ruling elite must surely be worried that the political impact of World War 3 could bring the established system crashing down around their ears.

(valuewalk.com)

Anonymous releases list of alleged KKK members, saying some are ‘dangerous, sociopathic’

(RT) Activists from the Anonymous group have released a list of hundreds of alleged Ku Klux Klan (KKK) sympathizers on the internet. The group said the data dump was a “form of resistance against the violence and intimidation tactics” used by members of KKK groups throughout history.

According to the hacktivist group, it began compiling the list about 11 months ago, following the killing of Michael Brown, the 18-year-old African American fatally shot by police officer Darren Wilson in Ferguson, Missouri, last August.

Last year the KKK pledged to use “deadly force” against those protesting the killing of the teen.

Follow Operation KKK @Operation_KKK OFFICIAL #OpKKK #HoodsOff 2015 Data Release. http://pastebin.com/wbvP95wg With Love, Anonymous 4:27 PM - 5 Nov 2015 5,2395,239 Retweets 3,9893,989 likes

Anonymous said it had collected data for its so-called “Operation KKK” through a range of ways, using publicly available information, “interviewing expert sources” and resorting to covert, “digital espionage.”

“Members often told on themselves to us about their connections with the KKK during various chat conversations we had with Klan members and affiliates throughout the course of our operation. You never know who you are talking to on the internet,” the group said.

The activists said the list features “official members of various KKK groups throughout the United States as well as their closest associates (most are also in other extremist hate groups).” Among the names mentioned in the document is Frazier Glenn Miller, the white supremacist who killed three people at a Jewish community center in Kansas City. In late August, the former “Grand Dragon” of the Carolina Knights of the Ku Klux Klan, 74-year-old Miller was convicted of capital murder. During his trial, he admitted to killing 14-year old Reat Underwood, his grandfather William Corporon, 69, and Terri LaManno, 53, in April 2014.

Follow Anon Cop Watch @AnonCopWatch Big shoutout to some of the KKK FB accounts that gave us access to secret groups and other klan accounts for #OpKKK 5:12 PM - 5 Nov 2015 936936 Retweets 729729 likes

Some members were listed with their alleged aliases, Anonymous said, noting that the Klan “sometimes hides behind several online identities. Given name or alias, these are the real people underneath the hoods.”

Anonymous stressed that many Klan members change Klan affiliations, switching from being Klan members and neo-Nazis, sometimes even doing both. “Some members of this list are quite dangerous, sociopathic individuals,” the hacktivist group said.

The latest data uploaded came only a few days after Anonymous was mistakenly credited with posting a separate list containing the names of several US lawmakers. Four US Senators and five mayors, including Lexington Mayor Jim Gray and Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, found their names sitting next to other KKK members when the list was leaked on Sunday. One of the “accused,” Mayor Tom Henry of Fort Wayne, Indiana, has called the claims “irresponsible,”stating that “racism has no place in our society” and his life.

Anonymous later said it had nothing to do with that list.

Hacktivists initially planned to kick off their own operation on November 24, the one-year anniversary of a Missouri grand jury’s decision not to indict a police officer in the killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson. The hacktivist group later moved it to November 5 so that it would coincide with the worldwide Million Mask March.

(The EVENT CHRONICLE)

By John Vibes

It was reported late on Friday that Mikhail Lesin, the former head of media affairs for the Russian government, and the founder of Russia Today (RT), was found dead in the hotel room that he was staying at in Washington DC.

Lesin, who is said to be a close associate to Russian President Putin, was staying at the Hotel Dupont when he passed away this week, and very few details about the case have been made public. According to ABC, the Metropolitan Police Department is now investigating his death, but his family was quick to say that the cause of death was a heart attack.

Lesin’s death comes at a time where he was surrounded in controversy, especially in the United States. RT, the Russia-based news source that Lesin founded has become very controversial in the US for challenging the Western narrative of foreign policy and privacy issues. Some US politicians have suggested that RT be banned in the US for “spreading propaganda,” while others have been blatant enough to attack Lesin personally.

Some US Senators, including Roger Wicker of Mississippi, recently called for the Department of Justice to open an investigation into Lesin’s finances.

Wicker was concerned that Lesin made too much money, something that was really none of his business.

“That a Russian public servant could have amassed the considerable funds required to acquire and maintain these assets in Europe and the United States raises serious questions,” Wicker said.

Lesin was 57 years old, an age where heart attacks happen, but not extremely often.

“The president has a high appreciation for Mikhail Lesin’s massive contribution to the creation of modern Russian mass media,” the Kremlin’s press service said on Saturday.

The Russian Embassy in the US put out the following statement:

John Vibes is an author and researcher who organizes a number of large events including the Free Your Mind Conference. He also has a publishing company where he offers a censorship free platform for both fiction and non-fiction writers. You can contact him and stay connected to his work at hisFacebook page and purchase his books at his website www.JohnVibes.com.

(activistpost.com)