We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Sunday, August 23, 2015

The Guardian Gets it Wrong on Latin America Again

Click here to access article posted by J.C. from TeleSur.

J.C. exposes the false reporting by a major British media company well known for its left-wing capitalist (aka "liberal") orientation. I have generally followed events in Ecuador and have known about these demonstrations, some of which are peaceful, some genuinely opposing the policies of exploitation of Ecuador's oil and mining resources, and some are based in the right-wing that are opposed to any of Ecuador's public expenditures and taxes on the rich policies. But recently there was a violent protest by an environmental group such as depicted in this video which reminds one of what occurred in Ukraine before their government was overturned in a right-wing coup. (See also this, this, and this.)

As the narrator in the video asked, can you imagine such a protest in the US? The police would simply respond with more violence up to, and including shooting the demonstrators like they did to unarmed, non-violent student protesters during the Vietnam War.

Could it be that a US regime-change project targeting Ecuador is in operation? Well, they certainly have motives to get rid of President Correa's administration because of his refusal to follow orders from Washington, his many criticisms of US policies, and his protection of Julian Assange in their London embassy.