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

Saturday, August 8, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020 [two "best posts"]

  • The News that Didn't Make the News from Project Censored. (Note: This is a film trailer of the film "Project Censored The Movie: Ending the Reign of Junk Food News". You can watch the entire film free at this website, but I think we, that is, if we are able, should support the filmmakers. This post belongs in the "best posts" category on my website. I will attach it to the list of my recommended films only after viewing it to see if it meets my criteria for recommending it.) 11:00 PM CT--Note: After watching this old film about censorship, I realized that it was a liberal take on the theme of censorship back in mostly 2012. (The film was officially released in 2013.) Censorship and manipulation of the news is much more worse now than then, and I apologize for posting this. My excuse is that I am forced by time restrictions to make more snap judgements, and this permits errors to creep into my posts. I will try to avoid such errors in the future.
  • US credit outlook rated “negative” as concerns mount over dollar’s global role by Nick Beams from World Socialist Web Site. (My reaction is as follows: I have much respect for Nick Beams, a longtime socialist from Australia. Unlike most of the writers for this website, he consistently maintains his independence by reporting his independent views. But I've noticed a transition for this website from an independent voice of socialist writers to one of collaborating with the media corporations during this "pandemic" in order to exaggerate the fear aspects of the virus by posting articles about the dangers to workers. To be sure, those private enterprises that still employ workers ("essential workers") during this pandemic have little concern for the safety of workers as they do for the population at large, but the website has not run a single article regarding the fake and manipulated numbers that government authorities are reporting in order to spread fear. I have also noticed that Chairman David North has disappeared from the website. Could it be that he is ailing from the virus and has editorial control of website posts?) 
  • “Conspiracy Theory” – What Is It? by Peter Koenig from Global Research. (Note: This article is about much more than the term "conspiracy theory". It is mainly about the ruling classes control of the narratives about the current pandemic. This post is also in the "best posts" category.)
  • Beirut Explosion Lays Groundwork for Regime Change Push by Kit Knightly from Off-Guardian. (Note: The author goes on to provide evidence that the "regime change push" has ardent supporters among those in the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. But he also writes "In short, we don’t know exactly what happened yet, or who is to blame. Also, you may want to read Elijah J. Magnier's take on the same subject. Hopefully, if any change comes about related to their government, it will be to the advantage of the Lebanese people in general. )

Thursday, August 6, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020

Franklin barely skims the surface of this phenomenon: the avoidance of Allied bombing in WWII to targets that had ties to Western capitalist corporations. I recommend that you read Trading with the Enemy by Charles Higham, Wall Street and the Rise of Hitler by Anthony Sutton, Nazi Nexus by Edwin Black, and Big Business and Hitler by Jacques Pauwels (the latest, and in my opinion, the best). Obviously, the same applies to plants owned by purely US corporations: Opel owned by General Motors and Ford-Werke. My clarification about WWII--see commentary.
  • Black Labor from Chattel Slavery to Wage Slavery by Sam Marcy from Internationalist 360°. (My reaction: Nothing proves Marx's emphasis on labor than capitalists' use of slave labor to exploit the value they found in the Americas. Capitalists could conquer these territories but they could not exploit them. Early on, they couldn't get enough Europeans workers to come to the Americas so they had to engage in slave labor to exploit their new conquered territories.
As Marx was to write, “It is slavery that gave the colonies their value; it is the colonies that have created world trade, and it is world trade that is the precondition of large-scale industry. Thus slavery is an economic category of the greatest importance.”
  • Ben Swann Interview – Decades Of Mask Science Came To One Conclusion, So Why Can’t We Talk About It? Ryan Cristián posts the Ben Swann interview on his weblog The Last American Vagabond. (Note: The interview lasts for 33:08m. I admit I have a bias against Cristián because of his excessively long comments (up to three hours) on his Daily Wrap-Up show. Why he thinks that anyone has time to listen to his show is beyond my understanding. Anyway, listen to Ben Swann and be sure to notice the studies about masks below the video.)

Wednesday, August 5, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2020

  • National Security Alert: COVID Tests Scientifically Fraudulent, Epidemic of False Positives by David DeGraw, Torsten Engelbrecht, and Konstantin Demeter from Quantum Politics. (Note: I don't want to add to the confusion about this current pandemic, but I see media corporations only harping one alarming theme: that of the dangerous aspects of the pandemic and to convince their viewers that only a vaccine can finally offer a cure for it. The ruling capitalist class who owns these corporations (as well as the pharmaceutical corporations and most of America) don't have a credible track record having sold us in the past on so many fake propaganda themes: war on drugs, 9/11 tragedy, war on terrorism, the invasion of Iraq, etc. I don't pretend to understand all of this article, but it seems to me to offer alternative and credible views of this pandemic by including links to solid documentation.)
  • Beirut Blast Wrap-up by Bernhard (German) from his weblog Moon of Alabama. (My reaction: I can't think of a more reliable source than this one about the catastrophe that the inhabitants of Beirut have suffered on top of their suffering from economic collapse!)

Tuesday, August 4, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Tuesday, Aug. 4, 2020

Crooke has an interesting background in British diplomacy, MI-6 spy analyst, and now geopolitical analyst. In this article he attempts to unravel the mysteries of global currencies, and in particular, the Federal Reserve's printing money and giving it mostly to US banks and corporations. His analysis explains this as an attempt to make US dollars cheaper and easier for the US government to pay off its soaring debts.
It is about U.S. explosive debt accumulation, on account of the Coronavirus lockdown. In a world where there is already over $100 trillion in dollar-denominated debt, on which the U.S. cannot default; nor will it ever be repaid. It can therefore only be inflated away. That is to say the debt can only be managed through debasing the currency. (Debt jubilees are viewed as beyond the pale.)
One thing to keep in mind: Control of the Federal Reserve lies mostly in the real ruling class that owns most of the USA--the financial and dominant part of the ruling capitalist class. However, these fabulously rich and powerful people are split between domestic financiers but are increasingly being challenged by transnational capitalists or "globalists". The latter see the cheapening of dollar as a hindrance to their transnational capitalist profits and are becoming worried about the US dollar as a prime global currency.
But keep in mind, these problems exist regardless of which capitalist party wins the elections. Elections are mostly irrelevant in this fake democracy in order to distract workers from the real issues. International workers, particularly highly skilled and trained workers who are essential to make economies run, have been largely co-opted with lucrative careers into serving capitalists. Capitalists have nothing much to do but to bet on stocks, bonds, and currencies in their Wall Street casinos. Meanwhile, ordinary workers are left to struggle to feed, clothe, and house their families on a planet that is increasingly threatened by global warming.
  • New Book Due Out September 1 posted by Edward Curtin from his weblog Behind the Curtain. (Note: I am promoting this book, SEEKING TRUTH IN A COUNTRY OF LIES, on the basis of Curtin's past record of excellent posts on his weblog.)

Monday, August 3, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Monday, Aug. 3, 2020

Sunday, August 2, 2020

Posts that I especially recommend today: Sunday, Aug. 2, 2020

Nevertheless, the federal appeals court ruling opens a wedge by admitting that something was wrong, and Dzhokhar’s punishment has to be reconsidered in a new trial. If there were attorneys and bar associations that served justice rather than career and money, they could use the opening provided by the First Circuit to blow up the hoax conviction of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev together with the hoax false flag Boston Marathon Bombing. This, I think, is the message from the US Appeals Court of the First Circuit. The Appeals Court opens the opportunity, but if no one cares, the Appeals Court is not going to take the hit for declaring an innocent person innocent.
A country whose lawyers no longer will fight for justice, but only for money, is a lost and destroyed country.
Roberts criticizes lawyers for succumbing to their socialization in a thoroughly capitalist country. Lawyers are human, and they see that taking on the powerful US ruling class is an exercise in futility, worse yet, it may be suicidal, that is, without a public that is conscious of a class-structured society, capitalism, a ruling class that essentially owns the country, etc. For those of you who don't know your history simply because you were never taught it, Marxist concepts have been expunged during the McCarthy period. (Bruce Lerro explained it very well.) The capitalist ruling class has completely taken control of every institution and is dictating the narratives that shape people's consciousness.