- Portland Mayor Condemns Masked Federal Agents Abducting Protesters by Alan Macleod from Internationalist 360°. (My reaction: This Democratic Mayor, because he depends on the political party funds to be re-elected, attributes this Gestapo tactic to Trump. But the Deep State, who largely governs America (except for Trump that likes to annoy them), is perfectly able to order this operation.)
So much debate over whether or not we should be wearing masks in order to fight COVlD but multiple scientific studies over the past decade have already settled this question. Not only do medical masks not prevent the spread of the virus, but a 1995 study proves that wearing a cloth mask can put you at greater risk for infection. Ben Swann breaks down the science.
Previous to today I have never encountered so much cynicism and doubts about the government's handling of this pandemic and mainstream media's coverage of this event. Examples include this and this.
- The Great American Firewall: On the Question of Censorship by Danny Haiphong from Black Agenda Report. (One proviso (def.): Freedom of speech is upheld if a person is not considered influential. I can get by with calling for revolution, pointing to a Deep State, criticizing imperial policies, etc. because I am not a major influencer. I write on a Google weblog to express such ideas, but I have received very little harassment except for one incident briefly described here. That way they can have their cake (can proclaim that there is freedom of speech) and eat their cake too--threatening with the loss of their careers anyone who is a major figure from espousing subversive views in any media.)
Zuesse is a social democrat who loves FDR as an example of a US ruling class that held such promise. He has forgotten or overlooked the history before FDR came on the scene. Zuesse loved the capitalism as was practiced during FDR's administrations while ignoring the earlier history of the numerous massacres by private armies and public militias of union organizers, 12 hour days that workers were forced to work, the cheap child labor employed by capitalists to build their fortunes, the imperialist history of the US from 1898 onwards, the seizure of the control of our money by private banking interests (the Fed), the constant cycle of recessions or depressions since the second half of the 19th century, the history of slavery, Native American massacres, etc.
FDR inherited his wealth from an investor in the opium trade (also see yesterday's post "Protecting the American Opium Trade") who engaged in the drug trade that was forced on China. Old wealth shaped his personality to a large extent much as old wealth shaped John Kennedy and his progrssive politics. FDR and Kennedy had some sympathies for ordinary people and their problems. Both of them were never anti-capitalists--they grew up in families and friends who were steeped in old wealth. These two were the exceptions to a ruling class that has aggressively pursued power, and used power derived from their concentrated wealth to create their own Empire after WWII. John Kennedy was assassinated, and FDR was subjected to an attempted removal from office. Much more typical since WWII is the rise of the neo-fascist element in the ruling class who set the ambitious goal of constructing their own empire.
It appears that the commune structure first articulated by Hugo Chavez and implemented by millions of ordinary folks in Venezuela evolved into a powerful force that today has saved Venezuela from the imperialist ravages of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. Together with the people of China, Russia, Iran, Venezuela, Cuba, Syria, etc. they are standing up to the Empire and surviving. Eventually this combination of forces can defeat the Empire. It will most likely be too late to save humans, but such people will serve to redeem their species marred by the hideous stain left by self-serving ruling classes during the last several thousand years.
As I recently explained in a major post why US activists cannot succeed in overcoming this ruling class:
The fundamental reason why US activists and revolutionary movements have not been effective, nor in the future will they be, is that they have been subject to a long and comprehensive process of capitalist propaganda and indoctrination. As a result, working people along with fake leaders are ignorant of American history and of the heinous effects of US actions on the rest of the world. They have been divided into mutually distrustful and hostile camps, brainwashed, obedient, distracted by vacuous entertainment, and unhealthy due to capitalist propaganda that would only allow them to be mere spectators in sports, and from a poor diet of cheap"fast foods" prepared for them by giant corporations. There is no reason to expect such people to lead or form an effective revolutionary movement. What we will see at most are pseudo movements and fake leaders who promise solutions to our many problems. We will probably need to look beyond the people of the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire to see genuine leaders and revolutionary movements.
And it will take a mass movement of the working class, with Black people and oppressed people in the lead, to chart a new course for the United States that is driven by the ideological and material demand for socialism rather than the reactionary scapegoating and political repression inherent in the capitalist system.
What are the chances of that happening?
- Classism by Terry Everton (political cartoonist) from Dissident Voice.
- Protecting the American Opium Trade from Tales of the American Empire, a YouTube channel. (Note: A little history of how early American and British capitalists (including an ancestor of FDR) aggressively gained their wealth from the opium trade with China.)
Official history makes frequent references to the British tea trade as a vital part of the British empire in the 1800s. It’s hard to understand how trading tea could be so profitable, until one learns that opium was a major component of the tea trade. Opium is a powerful and addictive pain killer that is often refined into heroin. It was banned by governments a century ago, but the opium trade continues to this day with secret approval by government officials. The American government has used the US military to protect the opium trade for two centuries and evidence shows this continues. The extent of this protection is open for debate, but if one connects the dots the image is ugly.
- RFK, Jr. talks with Dr. Andy Wakefield about his new movie, 1986: The Act. This post is from Children's Health Defense. (Note: This is about a movie made by Wakefield regarding Big Pharma's control over the government which resulted in the latter protecting the exorbitant profits of pharmaceutical corporations while permitting Big Pharma to severely impact the health of some young people. The film costs $12.99 to view. I have seen it and recommend it to those who have a special interest in this subject.)
In this article Zuesse refers to ordinary citizens who register as "Democrats" in the fake elections that are held in the USA while examining the CIA engineered coup in Ukraine in 2014. Zuesse uses his well-trained skills as an historian to uncover the key true story of what happened in contrast to the fake stories published by media corporations to deceive US citizens. He also cites an obviously CIA written entry for the "Ukrainian Revolution" in Wikipedia to manipulate public opinion in addition to mainstream media coverage in support of the ruling class's version of events. He accomplishes all of this in a rather short article. Amazing!
- Iran-China pact turbocharges the New Silk Roads by Pepe Escobar from A bird's eye view of the Vineyard. (Note: Because Asia Times, the original source of the article, is now behind a paywall, I am posting other sources for Escobar's articles appearing on their website.)