1/ In my review of @AidanJBeatty's biography of Gerry Healy, I accused him of violating the principles that apply to the writing of a scholarly work, especially his neglect of primary sources, his unlimited use of hearsay, gossip and other forms of unsubstantiated allegations. 2/ To check whether my criticisms of Beatty's work are justified, I engaged ChatGPT in a discussion of the principles that govern the writing of a biography. The following thread consists of my questions and ChatGPT's answers.

The dismissal "with prejudice" of the case against Harvard-based on the false claims against Professor John Comaroff-discredits not only the plaintiffs who initiated the witch hunt. 1/
wsws.org/en/articles/20… It also substantiates my characterization of @AidanJBeatty's pseudo-biography of Gerry Healy as "an utterly filthy piece of hack work." In its final chapter, devoted to an attack on the Socialist Equality Party, Beatty denounced its "blunt defense" of Comaroff. 2/

Fifty years ago, in 1974, the Labour Party under Harold Wilson, defeated the hated Tories twice. It then betrayed the working class and paved the way for Thatcher. The Labour “opposition” was led by the feckless Foot and fake-left Kinnock. 1/ After 18 years of Tory rule, it was the turn of Tony Blair and then Gordon Brown, who epitomized the Thatcherization of the Labour Party and its descent into political criminality. By 2010, the Tories were back. 2/

This article by @JSternWSWS is an analysis of MERA25 led by @yanisvaroufakis, the former finance minister in the infamous Syriza government, which implemented in 2015 the EU-dictated austerity program that it had been elected to oppose. /1
wsws.org/en/articles/20… Despite his betrayal of the Greek working class, Varoufakis is still lauded as a major figure in European "progressive" and even socialist politics. The middle-class pseudoleft rejects a class analysis of politics, and never holds its heroes to account for their actions. 2/

The Biden administration, having decided to authorize direct attacks on Russia, is all but daring and double daring Putin to strike back against NATO. It is likely that he will, and then it is only a matter of time before the conflict escalates to the use of nuclear weapons. 1/

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1795998635194192098

A mood of total recklessness now prevails in the capitals of the major NATO powers, and first and foremost in Washington, D.C. If Biden and his advisers really believe that Russia will not retaliate after being attacked by NATO, they are delusional. 2/

Frequently in US history, presidential elections have set the stage for war. Wilson ran as the peace candidate in 1916 and entered World War I just one month after his inauguration in 1917. The US entered World War II one year after the 1940 election. 1/ Kennedy, inaugurated as president in January 1961, launched the disastrous Bay of Bigs invasion of Cuba three months later. Lyndon Johnson, the "peace candidate" in 1964, began bombing North Vietnam in February 1965 and deployed the first 100,000 US soldiers in July. 2/

The @nytimes is inserting the phrase "falsely accused Ukraine" in articles that reference the Russian response to the #terroristattackinmoscow. But in the course of dismissing possible Ukrainian involvement, the Times indicates how the attack serves Kiev's interests. 1/ Times' correspondent Anton Troianovski, an unabashed mouthpiece for US State Department propaganda, stresses that the attack undermines Putin's credibility by exposing Russia's vulnerability. 2/

Time Magazine has chosen as its cover story Professor @NoahRFeldman's maliciously dishonest and morally bankrupt defense of Israel's savage war against the population of #Gaza. 1/ The "old" anti-Semitism was a central element of fascism, espousing virulent nationalism, anti-communism and anti-socialism, and implementing genocide of defenseless people. 2/

The original version of an article written by @AndrewKramerNYT make the glaringly false statement that "World War II began in what is now Ukraine in 1939 with a Soviet invasion into territory than controlled by Poland in western Ukraine..." 1/ In fact, the war began on September 1, 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany. In response to protests from @nytimes readers over his blatant falsification of history, Kramer's lie has been revised -- though without an acknowledgment of error by Kramer or the NYT. 2/

The @nytimes palms off the deep historical and present-day links of Ukrainian nationalism to Nazism and genocide as merely "thorny issues", i.e., a public relations problem for media propagandists who are trying to sell NATO's #ProxyWar as a struggle for democracy. 1/ The Times references photographs showing Ukrainian soldiers who "wore patches featuring symbols that were made notorious by Nazi Germany and have since become part of the iconography of far-right hate groups." The NYT admits that the media "quietly" deletes such photos. 2/

The @nytimes plumbs the lower depths of pro-war propaganda, favorably reporting Zelensky's signing into law new measures that enforce anti-Russian xenophobia and glorify the heroes of Ukrainian fascism. 1/ #UkraineRussiaWar

https://twitter.com/nytimes/status/1649811563287592966

The Times interviews Vakhtang Kebuladze, a right-wing professor of philosophy in Kiev, who "supports the erasing of Russian names, even those of great writers like Leo Tolstoy." 2/

In an interview with Der Spiegel, Prof. @TimothyDSnyder-who epitomizes the self-prostitution of US academics in the service of imperialism-is asked: "In Germany, many fear an escalation of the conflict, a world war or a nuclear strike. Do you not share that concern?" 1/ He replied: "No, I’m ashamed by that entire discussion. Fear of nuclear war is primarily about our own security. In these circumstances, when whole Ukrainian cities have been destroyed, such a worry is pathetic." 2/

The Federal Reserve has announced on Sunday yet another another massive bailout to cover in full the potential losses of rich depositors who held accounts at the failed #SiliconValleyBank. 1/ The @washingtonpost bluntly admits that the Fed has decided "to protect the assets of tech firms, venture capitalists, and other rich people in California." As always, this latest bailout of the rich is covered over with the lie that it won't cost the taxpayers a penny. 2/

Seventy years ago, on March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin died at the age of 73. To the extent that the worst defeats of the working class in the 20th century century can be attributed to the crimes and betrayals of an individual, that person is Stalin. 1/ As early as 1927, Trotsky described Stalin, to his face, as the "gravedigger of the revolution." That proved to be true in the most literal sense of the word. 2/

In his book "American Fascists," @ChrisLynnHedges denounced negotiations with these forces. He wrote that they are beyond reasoning with, hostile to democracy, and "bent on our destruction." Now Hedges justifies his capitulation to neo-Nazis as "political maturity." 1/

https://twitter.com/cygnus_321/status/1631202580066889730

On January 16, 2018, Hedges and I held an hour-long online discussion on the issue of Internet censorship and the political crisis in the United States. Watch this to see how far to the right he has moved during the last five years.
2/

VP Harris' statement that Russia has committed "crimes against humanity" - repeated today by Blinken - escalates the US propaganda campaign to condition public opinion for the direct deployment of US-NATO troops into the #UkraineRussiaWar. 1/

https://twitter.com/VP/status/1626982717307908096

Harris asserted that the Biden administration knows "the legal standard" for the allegation of crimes against humanity. Presumably, she was referring to the definition of such crimes provided in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. 2/

The "red lines" of @ChrisLynnHedges are falling even more rapidly than NATO's. Less than a week ago, in his article defending his presence on the platform of the upcoming #RageAgainstWarMachine rally, Hedges wrote: 1/ "If I had organized the rally, there are some speakers I would not have invited. But I didn’t. This does not mean that there are no red lines: I would not join a protest that included neo-Nazi groups such as Aryan Nations or militias such as The Proud Boys or Oath Keepers." 2/

The political views of @ChrisLynnHedges have changed dramatically over the last 15 years. He now insists on the necessity of a "left-right coalition, which will include people whose opinions are not only unpalatable but even repugnant..." #RageAgainstWarMachine 1/ But he argued vehemently against an alliance with the extreme right in "American Fascists: The Christian Right and the War On America," published in 2008. He poured scorn on the self-deluding liberal appeal for dialogue with these reactionary forces. He wrote: 2/

The apologetic justification provided by @ChrisLynnHedges for sharing a platform with the right and even fascists in the frauduent Feb 19 #RageAgainstWarMachine rally is hard to equal as an example of political disorientation, outright ignorance and self-deluding demagogy. 1/

https://twitter.com/ChrisLynnHedges/status/1625334085815074816

To excuse his collaboration with the reactionaries, Hedges offers a political amnesty for his new allies.
“The rally on February 19 is not about eliminating Social Security and Medicare or abolishing the minimum wage, which many libertarians propose,” he writes." 2/

Financial Times columnist @gideonrachman has long enjoyed a reputation as one of the more thoughtful journalists employed by the capitalist press. That has been badly damaged by his response to the #UkraineWar, which consists of total acceptance of NATO's propaganda narrative. 1/

https://twitter.com/FT/status/1625120305101373442

Rachman's latest self-inflicted wound to his reputation is a column attacking US academic John Mearsheimer's well grounded claim that the Biden administration's plan to bring Ukraine into NATO created an existential threat to Russia that triggered its invasion last February. 2/

The #StateOfTheUnionAddres delivered by Biden last night was delusional and deceitful. It was constructed largely out of lies, which were used to create an image of a thriving America that bears no resemblance to reality. 1/ Just a few quick points: Biden hardly mentioned the central focus of his administration, i.e., the escalating war being waged by the United States against Russia. How can this astonishing omission be explained? #UkraineRussiaWar 2/