this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2023
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[–] deweydecibel@lemmy.world 211 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (3 children)

Rolling Stone first out of the gate with the true elbow-drop of a headline this news deserves, and a beefy polemic to back it up.

This article, along with every other news site's, has been sitting there primed and ready to release for years and years, needing nothing but a minor edit to add the relevant details of his passing and the date. Someone at Rolling Stone is delighted today to have finally hit "Publish" .

And too right they should. It's a great day.

[–] rentar42@kbin.social 41 points 11 months ago

I like to imagine that whenever there was a particularly slow day or someone was particularly stressed, they just opened the prepared article and tweaked and improved it a bit ... it's probably the collaborative work of many people over many years.

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago

Every other news article is like

"Henry Kissinger, diplomat beloved by the wealthy, is dead at 100"

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[–] Jakdracula@lemmy.world 119 points 11 months ago (1 children)

This is the best summary I could come up with: Henry Kissinger, war criminal and complete piece of shit, has finally died. The world is a better place now.

[–] intrepid@lemmy.ca 33 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The world would have been a better place if somebody had made a better decision 101 years ago.

[–] Aceticon@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

Whilst I would love to think that all that it would have taken for the World to be a much better place since the later part of the XX century was but one coitus interruptus, I'm almost certain that in the US there was and always has been a long line of sociopaths willint to advise the for the deaths of millions of others for personal upside maximization whilst calling it just realpolitik, any of which would've taken the place of this one has his daddy chosen to pull out at the last minute.

Had Kissinger raised to be the consiglieri of power in, say, Canada, he would've had quite a different impact in the World.

[–] Land_Strider@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago (1 children)

What gets me is this actually. This news of death of Henry Kissinger is nothing but a circlejerk of American's absolving all their guilty conscious of the warmongering and general malevolent meddling in other people's businesses and resources. As if they did anything until this asshole reached a very very generous age of 100, all while living in luxury.

The public had done nothing about these unjust warmongering and coups and insurgencies and such, maybe except the hippy times during vietnam war, and their presidents will do nothing to change the American international affairs (while having fairly different internal policies). Both the presidents and the population will keep blaming figureheads like Kissinger, possibly Blinken in the next decade and such names, while complicit in enjoying the benefits of resources acquired at the expense of 3rd world nations and their populations.

Hell after seeing how he lived till 100 in luxury despite the fact that he is such a piece of shit to a global degree, I would recommend aspiring to be such a piece of shit for luxury and power over billions of people.

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[–] Siegfried@lemmy.world 88 points 11 months ago (7 children)

This is well known, but I think it suits this thread well

Once you’ve been to Cambodia, you’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands. You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking. [...] Witness what Henry did in Cambodia- the fruits of his genius for statesmanship- and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to Milošević. While Henry continues to nibble nori rolls and remake at A-list parties, Cambodia, the neutral nation he secretly and illegally bombed, invaded, under-mined, and then threw to the dogs, is still trying to raise itself up on its one remaining leg.

Anthony Bourdain

[–] lolcatnip@reddthat.com 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

God damn it, why couldn't it have been Kissinger who killed himself?

I guess because Bourdain had a soul and Kissinger didn't.

[–] ManOMorphos@lemmy.world 15 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

The wrong people tend to kill themselves in general. Those who commit the worst acts usually have supremely high self-confidence and self-assurance.

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[–] MindSkipperBro12@lemmy.world 73 points 11 months ago (7 children)

Saddest part is that he gets to die living a long, comfortable life after making his mark upon the world, meaning he gets to die happy.

[–] Deestan@lemmy.world 41 points 11 months ago

Don't celebrate that he died. Mourn that he lived.

[–] intrepid@lemmy.ca 20 points 11 months ago

And the cherry on top is the Nobel 'peace' prize.

[–] FaceDeer@kbin.social 15 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The world order that he helped to create has spent the last few decades crumbling, so perhaps he wasn't as happy as you might think. I can only hope.

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[–] Snapz@lemmy.world 70 points 11 months ago

Anthony Bourdain, a well spoken man who reached his boiling point with existence a fair bit to soon, always had a lot to say about Kissinger. An excerpt from a book he wrote "about" culinary tourism from, if anyone wasn't aware...

[–] slaacaa@lemmy.world 61 points 11 months ago (1 children)

The title is strong, but article itself is brutal

[–] lulztard@lemmy.world 32 points 11 months ago (3 children)

three and four million people

That would make the list go: Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Kissinger. With the difference that the US has been a terrorist state for over a hundred years, while the other names on the list have been individuals while Kissingers was part of a greater evil.

[–] Badgernomics@lemmy.world 36 points 11 months ago (5 children)

The 'Behind the Bastards' 6 part series on him was fucking brilliant, well worth a listen. Also, if BtB has to do a 6 part series to cover all the fucked up shit you did...? You're one of histories greatest monsters....

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[–] XaeroDegreaz@lemmy.world 23 points 11 months ago (7 children)

You think because the names you listed were leaders of their countries doesn't make them part of a greater evil? No one person commits atrocities alone; there must be some backing.

One single name doesn't get to make decisions... There must be a greater body at play. There has to be support of some sort, otherwise the people would have just said no, and killed that person.

[–] lulztard@lemmy.world 17 points 11 months ago (2 children)

I'd rather not have an internet argument, but I'll give you a pointer that you can use to google for more information of the issue is of actual interest to you:

  • Mao, Stalin and Hitler were tyrants that forced their way to leadership and killed everyone who opposed them. Kissinger was the advisor of a terrorist government that existed long before him and will continue to exist.

  • "just said no, and killed that person" is a naive Disney fantasy. In actual reality people that "just say no" get vanished, tortured and killed. And their neighbours suddenly turn reaaally quiet after that. However, there is always a certain joint guitl and complicity, I agree with that. And it weighs especially heavy if "the people" are very free to protest their nation's terrorism but don't do so.

There is a big difference between a single dictator being a plague upon the world for the 10-50 years he's in power, and an nation with constently changing leadership being a permanent plague upon this world for 100+ years.

That's the reason why Kissinger sticks out of the list: Mao, Stalin, Hitler, Kissinger*.

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[–] agent_flounder@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] ours@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Which can be blamed on... Kissinger!

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[–] mvilain@kbin.social 42 points 11 months ago (1 children)

My great Aunt had a terrific joke about Henry:

Nixon is walking outside the Whitehouse near an area of freshly fallen snow.

He sees NIXON SUCKS in yellow snow and asks the Secret Service (and the FBI) to investigate who did it.

A couple days go by and someone from the FBI Forensics Lab comes into the Oval Office to report.

"Well?" Nixon asked.

"You're not gonna like this."

"Just tell me."

"It's Henry's."

"I knew it!"

"Ah. That's not all Mr. President."

"What else?"

"It's Pat's handwriting."

[–] Peter1986C@lemmings.world 9 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] mbfalzar@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Pat Ryan, wife of Richard Nixon

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[–] xmunk@sh.itjust.works 39 points 11 months ago

Ding dong the witch is dead!

[–] TallonMetroid@lemmy.world 34 points 11 months ago (1 children)

About fucking time, holy shit.

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[–] Pons_Aelius@kbin.social 31 points 11 months ago

Best example of The good die young I have ever seen.

[–] Glytch@ttrpg.network 25 points 11 months ago (1 children)

It's a shame he never faced justice for his crimes.

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 18 points 11 months ago

As is typical for most USA sponsored terrorists, especially those that call the shots in 'murica

[–] Karyoplasma@discuss.tchncs.de 22 points 11 months ago (1 children)

And not a single tear was shed.

[–] bingbong@lemmy.dbzer0.com 12 points 11 months ago

Plenty of tears >!of joy!< were shed

[–] ICastFist@programming.dev 17 points 11 months ago (1 children)

After reading the article, I'm left with the impression that, if he wasn't jew, he'd be right at home with the german nazi govt. Not necessarily because of racial bias, but because of his anticommunism and also for being able to direct the military against unsuspecting targets for the sole purpose of solidifying power.

[–] T00l_shed@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)
[–] AutistoMephisto@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago (1 children)

I love that they added the part where he said "Any people that's been persecuted for two thousand years must have done something wrong."

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[–] pinkdrunkenelephants@lemmy.cafe 14 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So are we all just going to wait for the ruling class to die off like he did or are we going to stand for justice and do something about the other evil motherfuckers in the elite still living?

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[–] ShittyBeatlesFCPres@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I heard Henry Kissinger ran into a tree and all his money fell out of his pockets and the teens called him Sonic the Bitchhog while he tried to get at least one coin so he could go on.

[–] margaritox@lemmy.world 10 points 11 months ago (3 children)

Can someone please explain what he did to be labeled a war criminal?

Genuine question, because I only know this guy as an asshole who suggested Ukraine should give up it’s occupied territories.

[–] fossilesque@mander.xyz 25 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (2 children)

He's got a 6-8 part Behind the Bastard series about him but the article here is a tldr. Basically he is directly responsible for killing about four million people, basically carpet bombed Vietnam and was in Watergate.

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[–] Zeroxxx@lemmy.my.id 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) (1 children)

He (and Ford) came to Indonesia during Soeharto's New Order and endorsed invasion of East Timor. That was one day before the invasion happened.

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[–] Marthirial@lemmings.world 8 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Nixon, Reagan, Bush 1, Thatcher, Mao, Thọ, and many more scumbags welcome this monster in hell. Disgusting.

[–] xc2215x@lemmy.world 8 points 11 months ago

Won't miss him.

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