Articles I especially recommend on Saturday, August 31, 2019 [Updated with a post from Deep City)

• Bahamas, Florida in path of 'dangerous' Hurricane Dorian by Leila Macor from Phys.org.

• Hurricane Dorian: What the Presidential Candidates—and All of Us—Need to Know by Kristy Dahl from Union of Concerned Scientists.

• The DNC rejects a climate change debate and puts virtual caucusing in doubt by  Anya van Wagtendonk from Vox.

• Political Climate by Raul Diego from his weblog Deep City. (Note: this is an exception to my usual rule that posts must be within one month.)

• Saving The Amazon’s Only Worth $20 Million — But Amazon, Inc is “Worth” $1 Trillion. What The? by Umair Haque posted on The Greanville Post.

• Syrian 'Rebels' Feel Left Behind - Burn 'Traitor' Erdogan's Picture by Bernhard from his weblog Moon of Alabama (Germany).

Articles I recommend for Friday, August 30, 2019

• Making a Killing From Killing by Paul Atwood from CounterPunch.

• The Bizarre Action in U.S. Treasuries Is Linked to the U.S. National Debt and the Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act by Pam Martens and Russ Martens from their weblog Wall Street on Parade.

• The Justice Department Has Had the Epstein Case Since July 2006 – It’s Time to Arrest Accomplices by Pam Martens and Russ Martens from their weblog Wall Street on Parade. 

• Another Syrian Victory – and West’s Telling Silence by an editor of the Strategic Culture Foundation.

• Give Me Suggestions On How To Level Up My Fight by Caitlin Johnstone from her weblog.

Articles recommended for Thursday, August 29, 2019

• A Concise Overview by Guy McPherson posted on my sister weblog Titanic Lifeboat Academy. 

• Why Netanyahu Dares to Hit Iran’s Backyard in Iraq, Syria and Lebanon: “Israel” Accepts Hezbollah’s Challenge by Elijah J. Magnier posted on Mideast Discourse.

• Pentagon warns Israel on Iraq by Jason Ditz from Defend Democracy Press.

• Hezbollah Will Respond to Israel: But when? How? And at what cost? by Elijah J. Magnier from his weblog.

How the Alliance of Intelligence & Organized Crime Gave Rise to Jeffrey Epstein

Click here to access to a nearly one hour interview conducted by Bonnie Faulkner of Guns & Butter with Whitney Webb who has established credibility because of her investigative research published online by Mint Press News and other websites.

We get to hear the voice of Webb via Faulkner's program and learn so much about the complex web of criminal links among the capitalist ruling class. After listening to Webb, you will find it hard to argue that her information is an exaggeration that capitalism has evolved into organized crime in the USA and its associated empire, the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire.

Articles recommended for Wednesday, August 28, 2019

• No Country for Old Protest Marchers by John R. Hall from Dissident Voice.

• Talk is cheap by David Ruccio from Real-World Economics Review Blog.

• Climate denial is reported more than science by Tim Radford from Climate News Network.

“There Are Reasons for Optimism” – Chomsky on Brazil, Fascism, US Politics

Click here to access post in Defend Democracy Press in which John Nichols, mostly known as an editor at The Nation, interviews Noam Chomsky.

Because I have expressed my views in articles I have posted in the past, both positive (see this and this) and negative (see this, this, and this), regarding Noam Chomsky's role on the political left in US politics, I won't add much to the critique in this post except to argue that his legacy's influence as a left gatekeeper lives on in the thinking of John Nichols and apparently in the people at Defend Democracy Press. 

Chomsky's early life apparently had an indelible effect on his understanding of fascism. It appears that he doesn't recognize the upgraded version of fascism as fascism, but this is acceptable only if one takes a superficial of the concept. The central theme of fascism is control (of others, domination). The earlier version focused mainly on physical methods of intimidation and arbitrary authoritarian legal procedures that was typical of the Nazi's Third Reich. In contrast, the upgraded version relies heavily, but not exclusively, on methods of pervasive mind control, that is, through the use of comprehensive indoctrination, propaganda, fake news, false flags, etc, by agents of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. The difference is largely one of methods.

One of Chomsky's remarks in the interview elicited my close attention: his answer to the question "Was it clear to you that a greater war [WWII] was coming?" His mention of the "State Department" as one of the sites where discussions were commonly talked about regarding the coming war particularly drew my attention. While recently reading As He Saw It by Elliott Roosevelt (1946), he quoted his father's disparaging remarks about the State Department that suggested he didn't trust them based on his experience with members of this government department. This evoked a rather vague memory that I've gathered a number of years ago from readings that referred to the State Department as being militantly right-wing.

I have argued elsewhere in this blog that a largely secret resurgence of fascist-sympathetic capitalists came "out of the woodwork" (def.) following the article "American Century" published by Henry Luce of Time magazine in February, 1941. I have a hunch that they mostly ensconced themselves in this government department. The famous CIA director, Allen Dulles, was one of them. [If anyone reading this blog has sources which reveal any information about this, please let me know via email (goatmeal36@yahoo.com)]. I've also read some remarks in Bruce Cumings' The Origins of the Korean War (2 volumes) which stated that various figures in the State Department actively supported containment and rollback policies against Soviet Union and its satellites shortly after WWII. 

Articles recommended for Tuesday, August 27, 2019

• Lies of the Victors by Jason Hirthler from Dissident Voice.

• What Will It Take To Declare A Climate Emergency? by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers from Dissident Voice.

• Capitalists contra workers by Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan from Real-World Economics Review Blog.

• How To Make Sense Of Foreign Protests, Conflicts And Uprisings by Caitlin Johnstone from her weblog.

• Ecosystems and ecological breakdown submitted by UK Youth Climate Coalition from Ecologist (Britain).

Articles recommended for Monday, August 26, 2019

• Hong Kong Crisis: Made in America by Tony Cartalucci from New Eastern Outlook.

• We Are Not Fooled by the Hong Kong Protests by Kevin Zeese and Margaret Flowers from .Popular Resistance

• Brazil, the Amazon, and Global Warming: It ain’t quite what the media tell you by Dean Baker from Real-World Economics Review Blog.

• Bolsonaro’s legal bonfire fuels Amazon inferno by Jan Rocha from Climate News Network. 

• Would The End Of The Dollar Era Threaten American Hegemony? from Fort Russ News.

• Secrets WWII Documents Finally Declassified (Video) from Fort Russ News.

• The Great Switch: The Geo-Politics of Looming Recession by Alastair Crooke from Strategic Culture Foundation.

The Hitler-Stalin Pact of August 23, 1939: Myth and Reality

Click here to access article by Jacques R. Pauwells from CounterPunch.  (commentary updated at 12:08 CT)

Although born in Belgium, he emigrated to Canada in 1976 where he earned a doctorate degree in political science, taught as a professor at several universities in Canada, and has written numerous books mostly in European languages. I presume he is now retired. Because the name is only vaguely familiar to me, I did a search for more information on this author. Here is what I found. A translation of the Wikipedia entry on him (via DeepL translation) is as follows:

Jacques R. Pauwels (born in 1946 in Ghent) is a Belgian-Canadian historian, political scientist and essayist. He has authored a large number of books and articles analyzing modern history from a Marxist-Leninist perspective.

Born in Flemish Belgium, Jacques Pauwels studied history at Ghent University between 1965 and 1969, which he completed with a degree thesis entitled Werkstakingen in België, 1830-1880 (litt. Grèves ouvrières en Belgique, 1830-1880). After graduation, he emigrated to Canada and in 1976 defended a thesis at York University in Ontario on the theme of (female) students at Nazi German universities. He completed his training with a master's and doctoral degrees in political science at the University of Toronto. He has taught at various Ontario universities, including the Universities of Toronto, Waterloo and Guelph. He is also active as a tour operator and guide in a family business, Pauwels Travel Bureau, in Brantford, Ontario.

Jacques Pauwels, who has resided in Canada since 1969, is the author of several dozen books and articles in both English and his mother tongue, Dutch. Several of his books have been translated, particularly into French, German, Italian and Spanish.

And from an Amazon books search I found this one entry. 

Because Pauwels did not furnish any references to support his assertions and because of the lack of information regarding this author by CounterPunch, I had to waste precious time researching who this guy was and his qualifications (initially I thought this was only a review of historian Michael Jabara Carley's book). Clearly the post was about his very informed views about WWII and specifically the title of the article: The Hitler-Stalin Pact of August 23, 1939: Myth and Reality. 

Like many academics both in Western countries, Pauwels was aware of this true history that contradicted the many mythical histories that we ordinary people have been subject to in Western countries. These mythical histories were propagated through all institutions: press media, radio, TV, schools and universities, online media, and Hollywood films. But our ruling class discouraged academics and others telling what they knew by impeding their careers.  This was done overtly during the McCarthy period beginning with the House Unamerican Activities Committee (HUAC) attacks on Hollywood producters. Then they went on to attack academics, writers, and others. Many lost their jobs or succumbed to this pressure by keeping their mouths shut. Public school teachers had to swear loyalty oaths.

I notice that Pauwels' books were originally published since 2005 and in foreign languages, and only one has been later published in English. The answer to why this is so and Counterpunch's scant coverage of his qualifications is part of the general cover-up on the true history of WWII by the ruling capitalist classes. The latter were so sympathetic to the Nazi regime to the extent that they initially very likely collaborated with the Nazi's and their plans to invade the Soviet Union. It was only after the phony war when Nazi Germany turned their weapons against Britain that the allies formed to prevent the German Empire's threat to the British Empire. 

In contrast to Counterpunch's careless posting of Pauwels' article, Global Research based in Canada, has posted numerous articles written by him.

Probably because I became aware as a young adult that authorities in my life had frequently lied to me about so many important subjects, I have since read many books by authors who knew first-hand about WWII. I can attest to the accuracy of nearly all statements made by Pauwels in this article. I say "nearly all" because some of the details he revealed, like Polish politics at the time, I have not covered in my readings.

Our masters in the current capitalist ruling class have gone on to give a completely fake reports of nearly every event that might impact their rule (even contrived false-flag events). This has resulted confusion, doubts, and ignorance in ordinary Americans about so many important contemporary issues.