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

Thursday, September 24, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020

  • Senate GOP releases report on Hunter Biden's dealings in Ukraine from The Duran (based in Cyprus). My reaction: It is hard to know which candidate among the two candidates in the "democratic" election that we are allowed to vote for is worse. But, you are not forced to vote for either--that is our very limited freedom!
  • André Vltchek Remembered by Peter Koenig and Andre, friend by Farooque Chowdhury from Internationalist 360°. My reaction: Another fine human being lost in the battle of human survival against the forces of capitalism which can only support the interests of a few capitalists. He will not be the last.
Unfortunately, Corbett pans the overwhelming evidence provided by independent scientists that we have already "baked-in" sufficient greenhouse gases in the planet's upper atmosphere and the oceans to insure dramatic changes in the climate such that planet Earth will no longer be able to sustain human and many other species. In short, we, humans--an "exceptional" species, will disappear (along with most others).
He does so for two basic reasons: 1) because he is an anarchist produced by the indoctrination-loaded educational system throughout the capitalist Empire to ensure that their graduates are not "contaminated" with any anti-capitalist ideas; and 2) because he refuses to recognize the unthinkable--that we humans depend on a rather unique environment which does not appear on nearly all other planets. He refuses to accept scientific evidence that in the future the conditions of the planet Earth will be dramatically altered because of capitalism's incessant search for profits, and that they have loaded our atmosphere, oceans, and other places on the planet with greenhouse gases. 
Thus, Corbett fails to recognize the reasons why their latest "Reset" project is their attempt to cope with this very real concern, along with many other problems facing the capitalist Empire. He refuses to accept scientific evidence that in the future the conditions of the planet Earth will dramatically change because of capitalism's incessant packing of our atmosphere, oceans, and other places on the planet with greenhouse gases. He doesn't distinguish independent scientists from scientists employed by capitalist industries and from government bureaucrats, employed by the ruling class, posing as authorities. He refuses to recognize that the system is the source of not only abrupt climate destabilization, but so many other problems facing humans. Finally, Corbett fails to recognize the reasons why the Empire's latest "Reset" project is their attempt to cope with this very real concern, along with many other problems facing the capitalist Empire.
Humanity [human species] will continue along its self-destructive trajectory until the masses use the power of their numbers to force real change. Humanity will not use the power of its numbers to force real change as long as it’s being successfully propagandized not to do so. The oligarchic propaganda machine is therefore the primary barrier to our transition from our self-destructive patterns into a healthy collaborative relationship with each other and with our ecosystem. 
So throw sand in the gears of the machine. If enough of us throw enough sand, we can cause the whole thing to break down.   
And she continues on to give her advice on how we should "throw sand in the gears" of what she identifies as the "oligarchic propaganda machine".
These posts today are all I have time for.
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