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, June 24, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Because so many times during the last 10 years I've documented examples of authorities employed by the capitalist ruling class have lied (here's another current example), I have concluded that they rule by deception. Crowe has entitled his website after a book (which I've read) by a well-known 1920s sceptic and critical thinker, Upton Sinclair, who revealed so much corruption and lies during that period. I think that Crowe is another critical sceptic of our age.
I have been so troubled by the reports which take statistics and tests reported by corporate media TV as absolute facts without any nuances or details about how they could be misleading and problematic, I have looked around for critical analysts who do. I am convinced that David Crowe is such a person.
This post contains two videos by Crowe. The first one is where he critically analyzes health test results, and the second uses the same skills regarding Anthony Fauci who is the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) since 1984. You might also be interested in a recent post by another critical analyst, Kevin Barrett, entitled "Tony Fauci is Corrupt to the Core!"
  • Why an Arab-Israeli diplomat's assault is no surprise by Jonathan Cook from The National (Abu Dhabi). (My reaction: We are all Palestinians now! You see, it matters not that we are Americans--the Empire's transnational ruling class is at war with all workers. They dare to because they imagine that they "own" AI and robots that can replace most of us.)
An Israeli diplomat filed a complaint last week with police after he was pulled to the ground in Jerusalem by four security guards, who knelt on his neck for five minutes as he cried out: “I can’t breathe." 
There are obvious echoes of the treatment of George Floyd, an African-American killed by police in Minneapolis last month. His death triggered mass protests against police brutality and reinvigorated the Black Lives Matter movement. The incident in Jerusalem, by contrast, attracted only minor attention – even in Israel.
  • Suicidal Empire by Prof. Mazin Qumsiyeh (Palestinian) from his weblog Popular Resistance