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

Friday, February 5, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend today: Friday, February 5, 2021

CounterPunch runs Urie's articles occasionally to demonstrate their radicalness, but this is all pretense. Usually they post articles that support the ruling capitalist class with emphasis on criticisms of the government. However, the legitimacy of capitalist classes is increasingly being called into question and doubts are rising. The people at CounterPunch don't want to be left behind. Worse yet, nowadays pretense is omnipresent in our capitalist culture.
Because the rising capitalist in the 18th century had a sufficient answer to the existential quandaries of humans, and the rule of a small group of aristocracy, which based their rule on inheritance, whose ancestors had conquered lands and enjoyed papal support for their rule, became no longer viable. Capitalists were able to attain state power based on individual "ownership" of economic property. This class took power away from feudal authorities and soon learned that "ownership" of economic property brought other rewards such as political influence. Under this class's system of capitalism, economic property became a commodity to be purchased in some market; and today this class has, through the consolidation of property into a few hands, taken control of many nations.
Starting in the late 20th century, capitalist classes used feudal inheritance laws to consolidate vast economic properties. They soon saw opportunities in other nations to acquire property which gave them more influence within their native countries and beyond. They no longer felt bound in nation-states in order to pursue their goals of ever increasing consolidation of property. Thus, arose a transnational class of capitalists with an ideology of neoliberalism. ("neo" of course means new, and "liberal" refers to the classic definition of capitalist ideology. They, as a ruling class, have imposed this term because it sounds much nicer than transnational capitalism.) Wherever possible, this new class has removed national barriers from restrictions that nations have imposed on the exchange of commodities.

It was soon to become apparent that the capitalist belief that you could simply buy economic property in some market and accumulate ever increasing profits and power was mistaken. It could, and did, lead to many other social problems like gross inequality, crime, wars, etc. Soon people learned that the source of individual wealth was strongly influenced by class that you were born into which gave advantages such as educational opportunities, opportunities provided by family wealth, political and economic social connections, etc. The new Protestant Christian sects of the Reformation can no longer convince most people to support capitalist rule.

However by this time, ruling capitalist classes gained so much social and political power that they could limit such recognition and impose the values and norms of capitalism. This is when pretense and capitalist propaganda really set into motion. In the 21st century this trend was followed by increasing amounts of censorship and propaganda that validated capitalism and capitalist rule. This is where we are today: capitalist class overwhelming control of nations, powerless citizens, omnipresent censorship, surveillance of communications, and ruling class propaganda that is designed to hide truthful reporting of events, and the use of various sophisticated means of manipulation of thoughts of sub-classes. And, the frequent collapses of capitalist economies is contributing to this feeling of illegitimacy.  In short, the philosophical foundations of capitalism are increasingly being seen as illegitimate. What is much worse, the dominant system of capitalism is in terminal conflict with the forces of nature which will produce dramatic climatic crises, and will likely end with the extinction of humans and most other species that exist today.
  • You Never Know by David Perez from Off-Guardian, and independent weblog based in Britain.
  • Is the Current Climate Catastrophe Irreversible? by Vladimir Danilov from New Eastern Outlook. My reaction: The future looks to me far worse than the author's. Note that he leaves his pessimistic essay on an insane false-hope. Anyone who believes that the Biden administration will rescue us from climate destabilization should seek psychiatric help.
  • American Marines Reclaimed Northern China in 1945 from Tales of the American Empire via their YouTube channel in a 6:59m video. (Note: This is for history buffs who got a history that was extensively revised and taught in American public schools.)

Thursday, February 4, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend today: Thursday, February 4, 2021

  • Atlantic Council Pens Anonymously Authored Expose Calling for Regime Change in China by Alan Macleod from Mint Press News. My reaction: This group is represented by unelected members sponsored and promoted by the international capitalist class that has created the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire. This document contains the real intentions of this transnational ruling class that is in control of the Empire, and all the government agencies of the Empire will carry out this plan. You probably thought that official legislative bodies whose members consist of "democratically" elected members actually made both foreign and domestic policies. Sorry to disillusion you. It is a primary function of media corporations, but will be supported by all institutions, to convince you of the latter.
It is hard to discern what events were crucial in the fulfillment of the empire builders in 1941 as they launched their project to what became the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire, the "New World Order" of today. But one such event noted by many people interested in true history, and Prof. Curtin and I are among them, is the assassination of President John Kennedy. I remember very well the details of the event, and that verified details pointed to a coup d'état by what many scholars began naming as a Deep State, the real capitalist rulers of their growing empire. Although I don't recall Curtin's use of the concept of the Deep State, he was clearly disturbed by this event because it clashed with all the conventional political ideas with which he had been indoctrinated.
One important agent of this Deep State was the long-time director of the highly secretive Deep State, the CIA, was Allan Dulles. Pres. Kennedy was in the tradition of Franklin Roosevelt. Kennedy was no anti-capitalist as was Roosevelt, but he, like Roosevelt, believed in social justice among and within nations. The fact that capitalism was antithetical to social justice escaped both leaders, and Kennedy, and maybe even Roosevelt was (many suspect this) assassinated for this error in judgment.
Professor (of Sociology) Curtin is one such scholar (shortly to be dismissed from his employment), and he has closely followed the events and the coverup by government authorities, media, and all institutions since it happened in 1963. Thus, Curtin can be named as an expert on this historic event, and the author of this new book added clarity to his understanding.
This is just more anti-Chinese propaganda (disinformation) that highly secret agencies proliferate from the media corporations and the US/Anglo/Zionist Empire that they serve. This propaganda, like all the other efforts such as the Covid-19 pandemic, Russia, censoring real independent bloggers, etc. are designed to control the minds of the American populace. 
The first step is to turn off your TV (for entertainment only) and get the real news from thoroughly independent bloggers. But you say, which are "thoroughly independent"?  That is the critical challenge of our times! Most of us are trying to merely survive and don't have time to devote to any challenge. This is unlike the fabulously rich who can spend very little of their money to hire desperate folks like us to go online and spread disinformation.

Wednesday, February 3, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend today: Wednesday, February 3, 2021

  • This Is Why They Attack Him - Putin Explains Why We Need New Economic Policies by Bernhard (a German independent blogger) from his weblog Moon of Alabama. (My reaction: The title refers to the theme in this report, and, in addition, you can learn what you are missing by reading this article. You will also learn what corporations like NBC, CBS, ABC, PBS, NPR, CNN, etc. fail to inform you. They want you to be ignorant of what goes on in the world, and fill you with propaganda that serves billionaires so that you will end up being compliant serfs. If this article interests you, you might also add to your information about the real world by reading this.
  • Taking on Telecom’s “5G” by David Rosen from CounterPunch. My reaction: Of course, taking on the Telecom's "5G" is like taking on the capitalist system. This issue is about the very core of capitalism to make profits and thereby create influence in the sacred halls of Congress.
  • ‘Cancel the Rents’: People Across the US Mobilize Calling for Housing Relief from People's Dispatch. My reaction: This is another way that the ruling class can impose the divide and conquer strategy on the American people. Landlords have substantial mortgages and bills to pay for upkeep of their properties. With ordinary Americans looking out for their own interest and their family's interests, we can expect more turmoil in the days ahead.
  • Are UN climate talks leading to a global dictatorship? by by Simon Butler from Climate & Capitalism. My reaction: Butler's central criticism of the book is: "Climate Leviathan warns that a worldwide imperial state is on the agenda, but provides no credible arguments or evidence." But, maybe that's obvious, and therefore no need to supply evidence.

Tuesday, February 2, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend today: Tuesday, February 2, 2021

  • Myanmar Crisis Explained... by Brian Berletic from his weblog Land Destroyer Report. (Note: Myanmar is only an example of how the USA works to subvert unfriendly governments and install "friendly" governments that will cooperate with their Empire's capitalist interests.)
Driver tends, as is commonly done, to shame us into acting in a more moral fashion. Later on in his argument he cites numerous studies, that I have been exposed to because I was a student of sociology in college, that illustrated how immoral acts are committed by the average human because he/she wanted the approval of authorities. Then he caps his argument off with an experiment done on individuals who merely wanted to gain the approval of the group. In both cases, the individuals succumbed to authority figures or a social group. 
These experiments are often cited by authoritarians who want to prove how weak humans are, and thus provide evidence to support their belief in authoritarianism: the belief that certain individuals are endowed with superior wisdom in contrast to the herd of humans which consist of dumb animals. The fact that these superior individuals all belong to one dominant class of people is carefully hidden from their brainwashing task in order to prove their bias of class leadership. In reality Driver is not trying to morally shame us into more ethical behavior, he is attempting to justify the moral position that a few individuals are superior and thus should be followed. Note that in the group experiment where all of the "subjects" were in on the experiment that the latter conformed to the authority's wishes. They, too, were indoctrinated to obey the existing authorities. However, this was carefully omitted from the report. 
Disobeying authorities usually brings swift punishment for any who wish to defy authority. Driver knows this and all supporters of class rule know this. Thus, such propagandists--Driver is one such individual--know that most humans from birth are taught to conform to the expectations of their class of people. But "class" is carefully hidden from the consciousness of ordinary humans. (To point to class as explaining anything is like farting in a social setting--it's taboo.) On the other hand, what is drilled into the minds of ordinary humans is the belief of the desirability of promoting the welfare of the family. That is precisely why a thoroughly brainwashed Margaret Thatcher revealed her own belief that "there is no such thing as society, there is only individuals and their families."
As Jerome Roos wrote in 2013 shortly after her death :
In the global class war of the 21st century, Thatcher’s blunt upper-class sneers have been replaced with ... Reagan’s cowboy attitude to CIA-sponsored coups and US invasions in Latin America has long since made way for Obama’s friendly smiles and silent drone strikes. In the process, the dehumanizing logic of global capitalism and neoliberal ideology is obscured with a gentle layer of good-intent. This is capitalism with a human face; a blend of market fundamentalism specifically tailored to making you believe it is in your best interest to obey.
He continues on to conclude:
... it remains crucially important to make a distinction here: it was not Thatcher who systematically erased our dignity and destroyed our society. It was the capitalist system she sought to defend.
To promote this fake meme of obedience is to avoid the subject of disobedience to class authorities which usually brings swift punishment to individuals and even their families. It is a consciousness that one belongs to a class that rescues one from the unconscious blind obedience to mostly brainwashed authority figures that support capitalist class rule.
  • Whitney Webb Interview – Starbucks COVID Connection, GameStop Suspicions & WEF Cyber Pandemic Simulations from The Last American Vagabond. This discussion between Webb and Cristián lasts nearly 2 hours based on Webb's research which she summarizes. Because of the corporations and individuals involved and the "weird" way their involvement is introduced in mainstream media, they both suspect that a public relations campaign is going on to cover the increasing role of major corporations in obtaining data about the general public. Also, they suspect this is only beginning steps to integrate the present situation in the USA into their plans for the Great Reset.
  • Citizen for Free Speech featuring an interview conducted by James Corbett, of The Corbett Report, with Patrick Wood, founder of Citizens for Free Speech, concerning his worries about restrictions on people's communications. (Note: Corbett brings the subject back into his anarchist perspective by pointing to the facade of "government" as the culprit rather than the people who control the government--the capitalist ruling class.)
  • The triads, the Kuomintang and Hong Kong’s “democracy riots” by Ji Pei from "the Saker Blog". (Note: This post will interest those who are interested in history, particularly China's history of the 19th and early 20th century. Also recall that Franklin D. Roosevelt, another history and ancestry buff, traced his family fortune to a person who engaged in the China- trade in opium.)

Monday, February 1, 2021

Posts that I especially recommend today: Monday, February 1, 2021

  • Why the US Will Continue to Meddle in Thailand... by Brian Berletic from his weblog Land Destroyer Report. (Note: Berletic explains why a different administration will make no difference in US interference in other nations political affairs. He goes on to explain that corporation funded "think tanks" or corporate policy committees fund this interference to influence other nation's policies toward neoliberal policies, or policies that open their countries to make it easier for international corporations to exploit the cheap labor and resources that these nations possess.) My reaction: Although he explains most bills that are introduced to Congress originate in the corporate-funded "think tanks", Berletic doesn't address the ongoing propaganda and disruptive efforts by Deep State agencies like the CIA, NSA, etc. to sponsor and train political movements recently seen in Hong Kong, and now in Russia with riots that back Navalny using outrageous propaganda as Bartlett, an independent journalist, explains in this video.
  • Biden Attacks Farms – Comprehensive War on Global Food Supply – Engineered Famine by Christian from his weblog Ice Age Farmer. My reaction: I cannot agree or disagree with many of the things he says in this 27:39m video, and that is because I don't know farm problems. He is an independent reporter of farmers' concerns about the food supply, and as such I am posting this. I do agree with him about his negative comments in relation to bio-engineering of food and Monsanto's engineered seeds. But on other topics such as cutting back on meat in our diets and his cynical views of ruling class's concern about the climate crisis, I cannot agree with him. In relation to the last topic, I think that the ruling class is trying hard to not let the real climate crisis interfere with their preoccupation with wealth accumulation. Regarding his general view of the Biden administration, I agree that the administration's policies are putting small farmers out of business and promoting Big Ag as would be expected from a capitalist ruling class.
An academic critical media literacy conference warning of the dangers of media censorship has, ironically, been censored by YouTube. The Critical Media Literacy Conference of the Americas 2020 took place without incident online over two days in October and featured a number of esteemed speakers and panels discussing issues concerning modern media studies. 
Weeks later, however, the entire video record of the conference — estimated at around 24 hours of material — disappeared from YouTube.
  • Just A Bunch Of Goodfellas THAT LOVE YOU! featuring Jason Bermas on his channel on Rokfin in a 23:32m video satirically commenting on each of the "Goodfellas" loving us so much! (Note: The video starts at about 25 seconds.)
  • Don’t be Fooled that Corporations’ Motives are Moral by Leonard C. Goodman from CounterPunch. (Note: Although at the end of the article, CounterPunch states that "This article was produced by Economy for All, a project of the Independent Media Institute.", I could not find it on either website or any piece on those websites that was authored by Leonard C. Goodman. However, there were an abundance of articles on CounterPunch's website that were by this author.)
This essay is an introduction to the topic of Mass Propaganda and, perhaps more importantly, to a brief series of articles detailing how the US has been for more than 100 years the most propagandised and brainwashed nation in the world. The history of thbis has been buried for generations, but the facts are indisputable. One of the most important elements in this tale, as we shall see, is the employment of propaganda in American war marketing.
This short film, written and narrated by political consultant Jeffrey Peel, compares the UK death toll of January 2015 with this month just past, and asks are we truly in the middle of a pandemic? Or has mass PCR testing simply created a monster with no body?
While you may not agree with every position he takes, there’s no ignoring his figures, or his concern about the personal liberties of every British citizen.
The might of Israel, the power of Washington’s interventionist alliance, the horror of war, the poverty of sanctions, nothing can erode this belief in their ability to withstand the darkness and to find the inextinguishable light that is at the core of their resilience. This is the impenetrable wall of resistance that has enabled Syria and Syrians to survive ten years of collective and devastating war and economic punishment and it is built on the ancient foundations of history, heritage, culture and refusal to kneel or capitulate to external, hostile influences. This wall will never fall.