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

Sunday, August 22, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend for Sunday, August 22, 2021

Transparency advocates have criticised the US Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) decision not to hold a formal advisory committee meeting to discuss Pfizer’s application for full approval of its covid-19 vaccine.

Last year the FDA said it was “committed to use an advisory committee composed of independent experts to ensure deliberations about authorisation or licensure are transparent for the public.” But in a statement, the FDA told The BMJ that it did not believe a meeting was necessary ahead of the expected granting of full approval.
  • 💥The Puppet Masters Portfolios featuring an unknown British narrator taking step-by-step showing you via the Yahoo Finance website (he/she must be accessing data from their paid subscriptions) how the same institutional owners like Blackrock and Vanguard own essentially every nominal company/corporation you encounter every day of your lives. This post is from a British channel (39:06m) of YouTube (owned by Google which is substantially owned by the stockholders of Blackrock and Vanguard) called Observation Deck. This is a best post. (Note: The subject of this video starts at about 2:20m.) My brief commentary follows:
I have been warning you about the consolidation of wealth and power in fewer and fewer hands since I started my website in late 2009. But my worst fears of this concentration of wealth and power were rather tame compared with what this British channel of YouTube reveals. The fact that YouTube has allowed this channel to expose online readers to such content only suggests to me that they are supremely confident that it is too late for us to do anything that will threaten their power. I am unable to dispute their confidence this morning. But, one thing that I can strongly recommend is that you stop watching TV "news" broadcasts. These are major sources of ruling class propaganda to distort and manipulate your mind on behalf of Blackrock, Vanguard, and their associates in the capitalist ruling class. Only watch these "news" broadcasts as a study of propaganda.
 
By permitting economic entities to own stock in other corporations, the capitalist system is perfectly able to hide this concentration of wealth and power behind the facade of individual corporations--that is, until now. This confidence--it is too late for you to do anything about it--of the Empire's transnational capitalist ruling class now enables their spokespeople like Klaus Schwab to openly talk about you owning nothing and will nevertheless be happy because they will own and control it all. I wonder and fear whether he isn't correct. 
 
This tiny class has demonstrated their power by censoring any voices of opposition to their fear narratives about the Covid pandemic crisis which they entirely manufactured. 
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