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, March 3, 2022

Posts that I especially recommend for Thursday, March 3, 2022

The World Health Organization has signed a contract with Deutsche Telekom (DTEGn.DE) subsidiary T-Systems to build a software solution for global electronic verification of coronavirus vaccination certificates, the telecoms company said.

The QR code-based software solution will be used for other vaccinations as well, such as polio or yellow fever, T-Systems said in a statement on Wednesday, adding that the WHO would support its 194 member states in building national and regional verification technology.
As the conflict between Ukraine and Russia continues to escalate and dominate the world’s attention, the increasing evidence that the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is and has been working to create and arm an insurgency in the country has received considerably little attention considering its likely consequences. This is particularly true given that former CIA officials and a former Secretary of State are now openly saying that the CIA is following the “models” of past CIA-backed insurgencies in Afghanistan and Syria for its plans in Ukraine. Given that those countries have been ravaged by war as a direct result of those insurgencies, this bodes poorly for Ukraine.
The growing risk of the Pentagon initiating biological warfare using over 400 US biological laboratories located overseas around the world and the need for a clear response to the risk of worldwide biological disaster from such secret US overseas facilities has been repeatedly pointed out. After all, these biological laboratories employ some 13,000 “employees” who are busy creating strains of killer pathogens (microbes and viruses) that are resistant to vaccines.
  • Understanding Ukrainian Nazism by Lucas Leiroz from Internationalist 360°. My reaction: Leiroz strikes the ring of truth in that the "West" (the de-facto US/British/Zionist Empire) only has its most effective ties to the Ukrainian neo-Nazis via NATO, otherwise it appears to be like any other bourgeois-democratic nation. This is similar to here in the USA which appears outwardly to function as a bourgeois democratic nation, but in reality the billionaire-capitalist class rules the nation behind the scenes by the Deep State (the ruling class consisting of major financiers and the CEOs of corporations, particularly those of the military-industrial complex, and executed by the highly secretive CIA and other "intelligence" agencies, Pentagon, NATO, etc.)
  • 💥Ukraine, John Mearsheimer, and Unexploded Intellectual Bombs by Ron Unz from his weblog. (Note: This post contains five lengthy videos, but I think it is very important for those of you who have been watching TV news programs.) My reaction: So, turn off mainstream media that broadcasts incessant ruling class propaganda, and read/view this post for what's is really happening in Ukraine. On the other hand, if you are a member of the billionaire-ruling class, continue to listen/view TV and mainstream media to engage in fantasies.
To discuss  the government and media hypocrisy and dangerous escalation by the West and Russia, Rania Khalek is joined by Ali Abunimah, director of The Electronic Intifada and author of the Battle for Justice In Palestine.
“This is the largest, and most shocking, display of a centrally-controlled media flood of vicious invective that I have ever seen.”

I made that comment to myself after reading thousands (and I don’t exaggerate; I mean thousands) of articles in all the Western world’s media about Kamila Valieva and Russia at the Olympics. But I’d hardly gotten the words out of my mouth when Kamila fell to second place, replaced by Vladimir Putin and Russia (again).

For background, I generally peruse 30 or more publications each day, in 15 or 20 countries, to learn what different countries are saying on important topics, and I save all webpages with useful content. With these Western attacks on Russia, I stopped. I’ve been doing this for many years, but in this case I could no longer stomach the rubbish I was reading, and I quit.
  • Political Cartoonists Who Get Ukraine RIGHT featuring Jimmy Dore, a comedian turned anti-propagandist and guest Kurt Metzger, a comedian mostly interjecting humorous satirical comments, from Dore's channel on YouTube (02:45).
  • Science Update: IPCC's Bleakest Warning Yet featuring the views and analysis of Prof. (retired) Guy McPherson, an independent scientist (via his YouTube channel--10:27), who has fearlessly focused his attention throughout much of his prior career and retirement on the climate crisis. My reaction: Bear in mind (def.), the IPCC is a conservative organization and is likely to underestimate the impacts of abrupt climate change.
at