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

Friday, October 2, 2015

Propaganda War Begins: Russia's Syria Strikes Targeted US-Backed "Moderate" Rebels, West Says

Click here to access article by Tyler Durden from Zero Hedge
With the US having officially lost control of the narrative in Syria now that The Kremlin has called Washington’s bluff on the battle to eradicate ISIS and eliminate the Sunni extremist elements that threaten to wrest control of Syria from President Bashar al-Assad, the only remaining question after Russian lawmakers officially cleared the way for airstrikes was how long it would be before the Western media began shouting about Russian warplanes bombing targets that aren’t affiliated with ISIS.
Because I have been busy with visiting relatives, I have seen only a little of the outrageous reporting from corporate media that Durden much more fully describes in this article. It seems in the minds of our "minders", there are good Al Quedas and bad Al Quedas, or good terrorists and bad terrorists, much like the way George W. Bush described his simple-minded view of the world after 9/11: "you are either with us or against us". Russia is bombing both terrorists to our ruling class's displeasure. Of course the "us" refers to the Empire's rich and powerful ruling capitalist class who regard the Assad government of Syria to be a problem for their interests in the oil-rich Middle East, and thus is pretending to use "good terrorists" to bring Assad down. In reality there is no distinction.