Surviving Capitalism (Not) : 5/5/19

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

Wednesday, May 8, 2019

Announcement: I will be going on a much needed vacation

Starting tomorrow the 9th of May, I will be on vacation which will last approximately until the 20th of May. I'm not certain on what day I will be "back in the saddle" (def.) again. I might post something around the 16th when I will be visiting other activists near Astoria, Oregon.

Pamela Anderson and WikiLeaks editor-in-chief visit Julian Assange in prison

Click here to access article by Laura Tiernan from World Socialist Web Site.

I urge everyone to send letters of support to Julian Assange as he languishes in a British maximum security cell. The instructions and address are at the end of this article.

Emerging from the maximum-security prison, visibly shocked and angered, Anderson and Hrafnsson addressed the media. Their statements were a searing indictment of state criminality and lawlessness on the part of the British and US governments.

Hrafnsson said, “It is for me, shocking to see my friend—an intellectual, a publisher, a journalist, a man that has transformed the world of journalism with his work—sitting in a high security prison, spending 23 hours a day in a cell, having half an hour outdoors if weather allows and half an hour to do everything else. This is not justice. This is an abomination.”

Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Articles recommended for Tuesday, May 7, 2019

Overwhelming evidence shows global biodiversity in crisis from Climate & Capitalism.

Climate-change induced “sinking” of Jakarta pushes government to relocate the capital by Sandipan Talukdar from Peoples Dispatch.

What progressives don’t see by Eric Schechter from The Greanville Post.

Intel and Law Enforcement Tried to Entrap Trump by Larry C Johnson from Sic Semper Tyrannis.

Denmark depriving Europe of right for gas on orders from Washington from United World International.

A World On Fire: Western Peoples’ Apathy Must End: A Cri de Coeur

Click here to access article by Vanessa Beeley from BSNews. (This was originally posted on Facebook, but I refuse to post articles from that website.)

Of course there are some beautiful souls in all these countries who have stood in solidarity with #Syria but there are also many who are still asleep, who don’t realise that these young men and women are dying for us, not only for Syria. What amazes me is the level of defensiveness in the comments – because this man, who has survived a number of attacks by the terrorists – has dared to openly criticise the people in the West for their passive collusion in the pain of his people. I take full responsibility for my government and their crimes – they would not exist without us and in my very humble opinion, we must start to take responsibility for what happens globally during our lifetime. WE are the change we are searching for, not our governments, not our President, not our pseudo-humanitarian NGOs, not the UN, not any institution that is automatically compromised by its sponsors and its establishment backers.

Documents expose how Hollywood promotes war on behalf of the Pentagon, CIA and NSA

Click here to access article by Tom Secker and Matthew Alford from Insurge Intelligence.

The authors examined government documents which reveal another illustration of my long held argument that the capitalist ruling class controls every institution of our nation, the same way as the transnational capitalist class exercises major influence over every institution of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire.

Tom Secker and Matthew Alford report on their astonishing findings from trawling through thousands of new US military and intelligence documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.

The documents reveal for the first time the vast scale of US government control in Hollywood, including the ability to manipulate scripts or even prevent films too critical of the Pentagon from being made — not to mention influencing some of the most popular film franchises in recent years.

This raises new questions not only about the way censorship works in the modern entertainment industry, but also about Hollywood’s little known role as a propaganda machine for the US national security apparatus.

Hassan Nasrallah: Daesh is Still a US-Israeli Asset, Threatens Central Asia

Click here to access a speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah posted on Resistance New, Unfiltered. (Unless you know Arabic, go directly to the transcript below the video sections.)

If you don't believe this Arab leader who is vilified in corporate media, I have at least 25 other posts that support his argument that the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire and its satellite Saudi Arabia are responsible for the terrorist proxy armies that invaded Syria.

Where did they come from? Who brought them here? Who armed them? Who eased up things for them and gave them all the opportunities? Who gave them money? Who opened all the borders for them? Who covered them favorably in the media? All the Arab satellite channels constantly repeated (with praise) "the Islamic State"! Who (did all that)? We must never forget! Neither the Lebanese who have pushed back Daesh in the Jurd of Ersal and in the Bekaa have the right to forget, nor the Syrian people, nor the Iraqi people, nor all the peoples of the region must ever forget (all the atrocities) perpetrated by Daesh, (the Western and regional countries & media that supported them), and everything that Daesh will continue to do, as I'll mention later.

Extinction Rebellion Training, or How to Control Radical Resistance from the ‘Obstructive Left’

Click here to access article by Cory Morningstar from Wrong Kind of Green.

Morningstar analyses and illustrates the capitalist origins of the UK's Extinction Rebellion movement that uses crowd and psychological techniques to take charge of the hunger-driven desire to do something about the coming environmental disasters. The author gives examples of this fake movement to illustrate the use of psychological and social techniques of the well-funded new movement to advance their messages. These methods were honed to perfection by the subversive NGOs that promoted the color revolutions which occurred in many countries in the early decades of the 21st century.

Our masters in the transnational capitalist ruling classes in charge of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire believe that it is better to lead the worldwide hunger to do something about the threat of environmental destabilization than allow grassroots people to create their own movements which might interfere with the Empire's obsessive quest for power and profits.

This , in essence, forms the key strategy of Extinction Rebellion. To isolate radical voices and to dominate the narrative. While targeting the non-practical and pragmatic. A narrative and an orchestrated campaign that serves the ruling class. To give a faux sense of inclusion, while mocking those who have, first and foremost, an allegiance to the Earth. Framing those ["as political absolutists"] who recognize that the very capitalist system destroying all life on our finite planet, [a system which] will not and cannot be magically reformed to save us ....

Although Extinction Rebellion takes no position against capitalism, Hallam [one of the trainers] has no issue with taking a swipe at socialism.

Capitalism’s burning house: California wildfires put [capitalist] system on trial

Click here to access article by Nicholas Avedisian-Cohen from Liberation.

By July 2018, scientists were predicting an annual worsening of the wildfire situation due to global warming. Forestry experts and ecological engineers can diagnose the threat of wildfires with impressive precision and advocate for responsible individual practices, but an economy based entirely around manic pursuit of quick profits will continue to let fossil fuel industries and militarism run rampant, leading to devastating climatic shifts that make uncontrollable wildfire practically inevitable. California, despite its liberal self-branding as a “green” and “environmentally conscious” state, remains a hub for military contractors and the energy industry – the two biggest culprits in climate change. The state is simply reaping what it sows, when it comes to wildfires. [my emphasis]

This is the base reality.

Monday, May 6, 2019

Is There a Path Out of Ratcheting Mid-East and Geo-Strategic Tensions?

Click here to access article by Alastair Crooke from Strategic Culture Foundation. (Because the author was a former MI-6 employee, he has obviously written this for other political analysts who follow events closely in the Middle East. That means he frequently uses abbreviations that may make reading difficult for you. "MBZ", "MBS", "GNA", and "AKP".)

... circles close to Erdogan see the noose tightening around Turkey’s neck, and view this Kurdish ‘project’ as ‘a platform’ from which to penetrate and weaken Turkey itself. For the leadership, this amounts to a conspiracy, standing in open view, to undermine Turkey.

This piece of political analysis illustrates the real dangers of hyper-aggressive negotiating strategy that Trump clearly uses. But do his key players in his administration take them seriously? This question is not only relevant in connection with the Deep State's strategies against Turkey, but on all other foreign policy matters.

... those who see the bellicose language uttered from Bolton and Pompeo as simply a negotiating strategy are perfectly free to continue in that opinion, but others may view it as the piece-by-piece construction of a narrowing tunnel that ends with only one exit: forever escalation against ‘malignity’.

The real issue is, does Trump see and understand this? Or has he convinced himself that the Administration’s wider bluster is actually winning: Making America Great Again? On this question, hangs our joint futures.

Venezuela: Establishment Talking Points Translation Key

Click here to access article by Australian Caitlin Johnstone from her blog.

Things keep heating up in Venezuela, with possible “military options” now being seriously discussed at the Pentagon. And of course you know what that means! That’s right, it means we can expect to see even more lies and manipulations from the political/media class as the narrative managers try to get their rapey little fingers into our minds to manufacture support for unconscionable acts.

This can create a very confusing environment for everyone, where up means down and black means white and “humanitarian intervention” means “murdering thousands and thousands of innocent human beings”. With that in mind, here’s a handy translation key to help you understand what the establishment mouthpieces are really saying:

George Orwell would love her translations.

Sunday, May 5, 2019

On Contact - The deep rot of American journalism w/Matt Taibbi

Matt Taibbi and Chris Hedges, having both worked for media corporations, offer valuable inside information regarding the work of journalists within media corporations. Thus, many true journalists leave these organizations to work for peanuts (def.) at alternative media or RT, a Russian sponsored website. Those who remain are forced to become "presstitutes" (def.).

Occupy the NYTimes

Click here to access article by Josh Mitteldorf originally from OpEdNews but due to their objection to my ad blocker, I must post the article from The Greanville Post.

Mitteldorf is another follower of corporate media who has had his mind completely boggled by their fake news. He writes:

There is indeed a crisis, but not as it has been characterized. The crisis is not that we have alternative accounts of reality, but rather that some of these contain truths that our mainstream “free press” has kept hidden from us. The crisis is that the version of the world that the mainstream media presents to us no longer passes the smell test. The lies have gotten ever bigger, the topics swept under the carpet have created a bulge we cannot ignore, and meanwhile the Internet has provided compelling alternative narratives for anyone who cares to look. The NYTimes version of some key events has diverged so far from the truth that no one with an independent mind can fail to notice.

He wants activists to organize a takeover of the New York Times, but I'm think that it will take much more: a social-economic revolution to cure our ills.

Countdown to “Full Spectrum Dominance"

Click here to access article by T.J. Coles from CounterPunch.

1938 Man of the Year in the
January 2, 1939 issue of Time

It was fascist capitalists in the West who first saw the potential of a powerful fascist Germany as a force that could remove their hated enemy, the Soviet Union, from the globe. Western capitalists promoted the rise of the Nazis in Germany to rid themselves of this existing socialist virus, a disease that could wipe capitalists from the face of the earth. Thus, many aristocrats and capitalists in Britain and America befriended and actively supported Nazis in Germany: the industrialist Henry Ford, financiers like the Rockefellers, J.P. Morgan, etc, many capitalists ensconced in American corporations like IT&T, General Electric, Standard Oil, and General Motors. (Read Big Business and Hitler by Jacques R. Pauwels for a well documented study of this phenomenon.)

However, it was during this time when the British Empire became increasing threatened by the rising power of German capitalists and their ambitions to rule the world under the banner of the Third Reich. British and US capitalists originally thought that the Nazis would go through Czechoslovakia to attack the Soviet Union, a nation that British capitalists has long hated and attempted to overthrow the Russian Revolution of 1917. Instead the Nazis attacked Poland which forced the Brits through treaties to declare a formal war against Germany. However, the British armed forces did little to attack German forces for over eight months after declaring war. This period became known as the Phony War. They waited during this period to see what the Germans would do. When they successfully invaded the Low Countries and France, the British ruling class in particular became very concerned that the Nazis, which they had previously nurtured and supported, would eclipse the British Empire. In addition, they had mutual defense treaties with both Poland and France which forced them to declare war on Germany and come to the aid of France. The French forces under the ruling French capitalists, who were riddled with Nazi sympathizers, fell apart early on. The Germans, particularly the German mixed ruling class of capitalists and aristocracy, clearly resented the false armistice of the WWI and the loss of their colonies. The Germans went on to drive the British armies out of Europe and adopted France as a virtual colony under the control of the Vichy. When the German Nazis turned their weapons on Britain during the aerial Battle of Britain, the British ruling class were convinced that the Germans were a threat to the loss of their empire. However, Hitler admired both Britain and the USA, and evidence is abundant that he would not have invaded Britain. Hitler, in fact, did not--not because he feared the allied effort, particularly the USA behind Britain, but because he turned east to attack the Soviet Union as was his original plan.

Meanwhile, Henry Luce and other capitalists on the Council on Foreign Relations, a "think tank" consisting of powerful members of the emerging US Deep State (see my commentary here if you don't understand this term; for an extensive history of its development read The Anglo-American Establishment by Carroll Quigley) presciently saw the possibility that the fascist powers could replace the British Empire as top dog in the world, and they, the Deep State which was the core of the US capitalist ruling class, wanted a US capitalist empire to rise as a dominant nation from the ruins of a world war. Henry Luce published in February 1941 in his Time magazine an article American Century which signaled to the broader capitalist class their determination to establish an American empire. He essentially urged American capitalist leaders to come out from the banner of isolationism where they were hiding, and support what he foresaw as an "American Century" where American and allied capitalists from other nations could rule the world.

Sure enough, that is what precisely happened. The British Empire emerged at the end of WWII as only a bankrupt shadow of its former self. The British ruling class's empire was in ruins and many of their colonies were demanding independence. The British ruling class saw the necessity of combining with the US ruling class to preserve their power. Together they soon saw the usefulness of a European Jewish colony placed in the middle of Arab Middle East in order to control the abundant fossil fuel resources of this area (read Israel: a Beachhead in the Middle East.) Thus, Israel was born to serve the Empire. And, as they say, the rest is history.

Coles in this post brings us up-to-date on the latest efforts of the Empire to rule the world.

Back in 1997, the now-re-established US Space Command announced its commitment to “full spectrum dominance.” The Vision for 2020 explains that “full spectrum dominance” means military control over land, sea, air, and space (the so-called fourth dimension of warfare) “to protect US interests and investment.” “Protect” means guarantee operational freedom. “US interest and investment” means corporate profits.

He describes some of these efforts by supplying extensive documentation that shows that the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire is now totally focused on maintaining and expanding the Empire's hegemony over the rest of the world.

Surviving Capitalism (Not)