I am staggered. There are 10,000 ‘NGOs’ (Non-Governmental Organizations) in Haiti, one for every 900 inhabitants and each one of them has no doubt at least one Westerner working within, yet aside from the Cuban health workers, it seems they could do nothing until the gringos arrived with their Blackhawks and nuclear-tipped aircraft carrier and of course, the 82nd Airborne, paying yet another ‘visit’ to this benighted and super-exploited land to ’secure’ the place for the locust storm of aid to come (too late for too many).
Thursday, January 21, 2010
Disasters are Big Business
by William Bowles.
So Why is the Fed So Desperate to Keep Maiden Lane III Details Secret?
from Naked Capitalism website. Yves Smith critiques the information contained in a Bloomberg report that casts further shadows on the Federal Reserve and its attempts to cover up the AIG and counter-party generous bailouts.
We Have Met the Enemy - and They’re Not in Yemen
from Toward Freedom website. The author brings a lot of clarity and depth to an understanding of recent events in Yemen.
Whatever the underlying reasons, Americans are just beginning to feel the economic, social and political consequences of having abdicated their power to incompetent and/or immoral leaders. It doesn't take "boots on the ground" (in Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Yemen or anywhere else) to fire cruise missiles into neighborhoods filled with women and children or to send unmanned drones into villages, and hope they hit the desired mark. It doesn't take brains, courage or good leadership skills either. What it does is insure a self-perpetuating cycle of endless war. That may enrich the military-technological complex for a minute, but it is guaranteed to impoverish the rest of us for generations to come.
Melting Glaciers Scientist Blames Issue on Misquote
From Bloomberg News website. It is clear to me that the governing class's mainstream media, which is designed to influence working people, will go to any lengths to find flaws with the overwhelming body of scientific, peer reviewed evidence that climate change is real. Of course, because the evidence clearly implies a collision course between environmental limits and the governing class's cherished system of capitalism, they must attack the messengers. You will see some corrective articles like this in their own media (Bloomberg News) because capitalists depend to a great extent on reliable information in order to make sound investments. In spite of this, their biases often cloud their judgment.
Resistance is Coming to the Vancouver Olympics
From The Nation website.
There are serious and inspired protests being planned while the athletic festival is underway. That's what happens when the myth of what the International Olympic Committee promises (economic largess) runs up against the reality (gentrification, displacement, budget cuts, police repression).
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
FBI agents seeking phone records used 'startling' methods
From the Washington Post. Also see links at end of the article for more background information.
The Results Are in: Massachusetts Chooses Tweedledum over Tweedledee!
By Ron Jacobs from Dissident Voice website.
Turning ‘Combat Casualties’ into ‘Victims’ & Vice Versa
From Sibel Edmonds' excellent website, Boiling Frogs. Read how this famous government whistle blower critically reads ruling class propaganda.
How Effective Are Misinformation Campaigns to Manipulate Public Opinion?
From Scientific American website--an interview with David Altheide, a sociologist at Arizona State University in Tempe.
It affects everyone. Generally speaking, the more media literate (familiar with how the media operates), the more educated, the more critically thinking people are, the less likely [they are] to be swayed by it. People who just have more opportunity to think and evaluate information and who have access to more information and to different kinds of media are less likely to be so directly influenced.
NAACP Sells Out “Civil Rights” to Net Neutrality
By Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report.
As the Federal Communications Commission prepares to rule on fundamental issues of internet neutrality, the NAACP and the League of United Latin American Citizens, LULAC, have aligned themselves with the likes of Verizon, AT&T and Comcast. The Urban League and the National Council of La Raza are claiming to have open minds, but look ready to go where the money is.
IPCC officials admit mistake over melting Himalayan glaciers
From The Guardian website. "Senior members of the UN's climate science body admit a claim that Himalayan glaciers could melt away by 2035 was unfounded" The headlines here were designed to discredit the reported facts about the rapid melting of the Himalayan glaciers; but if one reads the report carefully, it only refers to the prediction regarding the specific year when the glaciers will melt away.
The IPCC says the broader conclusion of the report is unaffected: that glaciers have melted significantly, that this will accelerate and affect the supply of water from major mountain ranges "where more than one-sixth of the world population currently lives".
Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-chair of the IPCC, added that the mistake did nothing to undermine the large body of evidence that showed the climate was warming and that human activity was largely to blame. He told BBC News: "I don't see how one mistake in a 3,000-page report can damage the credibility of the overall report. "See also Der Speigel's coverage.
"Glacier gate" - how the Murdoch press have got it wrong on the Himalayan big melt
From Climate Action Centre website. Read a much more balanced report on this incident reported on by mainstream media as illustrated in the above post.
William Astore, Going Rogue in Combat Boots: A Very American Coup
From Tom Dispatch website. About more military spending and a look at what will likely be the scene in 2016--unless you and I do something about it!
Defeat of Ukraine's "Orange Revolution": Yanukovich -- Man for all Seasons
From Global Research website. This provides an update on political events in Ukraine since the widely ballyhooed Western media coverage about the "orange revolution" in 2004 when US political operatives were actively trying to subvert democracy in that country.
Gaza blockade threatens health of 1.4 million, aid agencies warn
From The Guardian website. "Israeli and Egyptian blockade means nearly one-fifth of requests to leave for treatment are refused or delayed...."
Israel Crushes Local Dissent, Attacks Global Criticism
From IPS news service. Israel responds aggressively to world wide criticisms and condemnations of their human rights violations.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
32,000 Scientists (9:55m video)
From Ecosocialism Canada website exposing climate change deniers' outrageous claims widely reported in mainstream media.
US military to enforce state of emergency in Haiti
From World Socialist Web Site. "...working people in the US have donated a record amount of money."
In spite of the unfolding humanitarian disaster, the US media has increasingly shifted its focus to “the security situation” in Haiti, as the Post put it. In tones reminiscent of its coverage of the devastation wrought by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans in 2005, the US media is now replete with references to “looters,” “gangs,” and “street violence.”
Wall Street's Power Grab
By Michael Hudson. Michael Hudson is a former Wall Street economist. A Distinguished Research Professor at University of Missouri, Kansas City (UMKC), he is the author of many books.
Fractured Narrative: Haitian Calm, American Cynicism
By Chris Floyd. Since 2000, Floyd has worked as a freelance journalist and as a writer and researcher for Oxford University. He is also the Chief Editor of Atlantic Free Press.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Obama Executive Order Seeks to “Synchronize and Integrate” State and Federal Military Forces
By Tom Burghardt from Dissident Voice website.
"Slow Death" in Europe
The Economic Populist reports on Greece, the latest serious casualty in the economic collapse after Latvia, Iceland, and Ukraine.
How to Help Haiti
From the excellent Washington's Blog. In this article he provides a number of excellent links on background information re Haiti.
U.S. Military Weapons Inscribed With Secret 'Jesus' Bible Codes
The latest from ABC News re your religious-military-industrial complex.
Obama confidant's spine-chilling proposal
Glenn Greenwald on Salon website provides more evidence that the recent ruling class organized elections change nothing when it comes to managing consent of the people.
Cass Sunstein has long been one of Barack Obama's closest confidants.
Sunstein advocates that the Government's stealth infiltration should be accomplished by sending covert agents into "chat rooms, online social networks, or even real-space groups." He also proposes that the Government make secret payments to so-called "independent" credible voices to bolster the Government's messaging....
The Right Testicle of Hell: History of a Haitian Holocaust
Greg Palast's report on rescue efforts in Haiti.
The Most Neglected Labor Story of Last Year
From Progressive Review website.
Last fall, the Mondragon Cooperative Corporation, a multibillion dollar cooperative based in the Basque region of Spain, formed an alliance with the United Steelworkers, the largest industrial trade union in the U.S. The two announced that they would develop Mondragon manufacturing cooperatives in the United States and Canada that would "adapt collective bargaining principles."
Organizing: Movement, Community, or Pressure Group?
By Jerry Silberman from Energy Bulletin website. The author continues the discussion about organizing in the US.
Frustration mounts over Haiti aid
From Al Jazeera website.
"Some aid agencies have complained about a lack of co-ordination at the Port-au-Prince airport, where the US military has taken over operations."
"Some aid agencies have complained about a lack of co-ordination at the Port-au-Prince airport, where the US military has taken over operations."
Israel Threatens Palestinian Authority: Defer UN Vote on Goldstone or Face 'Second Gaza'
From Global Research website.
India: Hill Women Form Cooperative, Turn Entrepreneurs
From IPS news service. I don't see what "entrepreneurs" have to do with this--it's about cooperatives!
Bass Boats and Queer Marriage
This working class journalist-in-exile, Joe Bageant, expounds in his inimitable style on the American Way of Life and politics.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
If the climate were a bank, they’d have saved it by now
An editorial from Green Left website in which they review the results of Copenhagen's UN conference. They conclude that "it confirmed the world’s corporate rulers were simply unwilling to act in defence of people and the planet". But they also view the prospect of "a people’s movement that exploded onto the scene both inside and outside the summit — is to gather strength and grow, until it can indeed defeat the corporate criminals and the governments that now do their bidding."
The (In)dispensable Public: Public opinion mainly a prop for corporate press
By Janine Jackson of FAIR (Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting) website. She illustrates how the governing class's media shape public opinion by its use of opinion polls.
Iraq Political Fissures Widen as March Vote Nears
By Dahr Jamail. More turmoil is seen in Iraq because of the recent actions by "US-appointed Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki" banning numerous opposition parties from the upcoming election.
Avatar is real: Pandora is located in Central and South America and Africa
From Venezuela Analysis website. Author provides a number of illustrations, which correspond with the movie, of the reality of corporate/military efforts to wipe out indigenous peoples in order to extract their resources.
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Welcome to Third Life - Wikitopia
Introducing a website devoted to creating a virtual world order to serve human needs and sustain all life.
Zbigniew Brzezinski: How Jimmy Carter and I Started the Mujahideen
This is a document to support my view expressed in Thursdays post re the interview with Brzezinski in which he down-played a major role in organizing a terrorist group, the Mujahideen (later to become al Qaeda), to use against the Soviet Union back in the 1980s. This is an example of The Great Games that ruling elites love to play (and later try to cover up), and result in terrible crimes against humanity that continue for many years into the future.
Tinpot tyrant ain't seen nothing yet
By George Galloway in The Daily Record website. The humanitarian peace convoy called Viva Palestina made it to Gaza successfully and distributed their supplies. However it was a harrowing journey due to the threats and actions of Egyptian authorities.
Friday, January 15, 2010
A Must-See Film: Defamation
By Gilad Atzmon, from Dissident Voice website.
The film elaborates on the aggressive, vulgar, orchestrated amplification of fear amongst Israelis and Zionist Jews. “We are raised to believe that we are hated” says an Israeli high school girl....
A fight against the odds
By Nick Turse and Tom Engelhardt. Another excellent look at the realities hidden behind mainstream media's portrayal of "al Qaeda".
Obama’s “Get Tough on Banks” Again Tries to Play the Public for Fools
By "Yves Smith" at Naked Capitalism website.
The Instrumental and Subordinate Nature of Capital: Looking Deeper at the Mondragon Principles
From Solidarity Economy website.
Germany's Endless Search for a Nuclear Waste Dump
From Der Spiegel. Most media articles on nuclear energy fail to address the ongoing disposal problem connected with nuclear energy.
Britain: Number of armed forces' veterans in jail 'on the rise'
From The Observer. It is likely that this is the same for the US, maybe worse. I haven't seen any coverage of this problem in the US.
Britain: Of course class still matters – it influences everything that we do
From The Observer. It is about the almost instinctive sense of fairness versus class privileges created by the capitalist system. This applies to all class structured countries, but the British are talking about it.
Bilderbergs of the World Unite!
By William Bowles, from Global Research website. A must-read article--it contains more fundamental realities about the world we live in than any other article I've posted up to now.
Arrayed against us, the people, is a vast apparatus of control and manipulation that embraces governmental, ‘non’-governmental, private foundations, the media, state and corporate, ‘entertainment’ in all it’s wondrous forms, think tanks, institutes, foundations, academia, formal and informal bodies, both national and transnational, associations, ngos and ‘ngos’, charities and ‘charities’, all of which are heavily subsidized by the state and / or corporations. Who needs ‘The Illuminati’ when we have all this arrayed against us?
Brazil: Solidarity Economy Thriving
From IPS news service.
The movement in Brazil differs from those of other countries, because it combines three dimensions, said FBES executive secretary Daniel Tygel. Besides the economic aspect, which comprises self-management and the creation of cooperatives and networks, it includes a cultural dimension, related to consumption, gender relations and areas like free software, as well as a policy of social transformation.
In the long term, "we want to change the model of production and the direction of development, towards a model that is not harmful to life," said Tygel.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
The Afghan war and the 'Grand Chessboard' Pt2 (10:26m video)
This concludes the interview with that great Cold Warrior, Zbigniew Brzezinski. He again downplays his role and US's in the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and their subsequent withdrawal. However, the evidence that the astute interviewer from Real News Network presents clearly links Brzezinski's/US's strategy to 9/11 and to the current war in Afghanistan and Pakistan. This a perfect example of "blowback" that so often happens after The Great Games that Brzezinski and members of the ruling class like to play have ended. In other words, the games that these war criminals play often result in the suffering of many millions of ordinary people like you and me.
Hugo Blanco: `Only extinction of capitalism will ensure the survival of our species’
Hugo Blanco was leader of the Quechua peasant uprising in the Cuzco region of Peru in the early 1960s. He was captured by the military and sentenced to 25 years in El Fronton Island prison for his activities, but an international defence campaign won his freedom. He continues to play an active role in Peru's Indigenous, campesino, and environmental movements, and writes on Peruvian, indigenous and Latin American issues. He edits the Lucha Indigena newspaper
Nuclear Deceit - The Times and Iran
Because there was no permalink to this article on MediaLens' website, I have linked to Dissident Voice. This is about mainstream media's propagation of deceptions about Iran's nuclear program.
America’s quest for 'Buck Rogers Death Ray' continues
From RT, a Russian television network whose programs are carried in many cable systems throughout the world, much like the BBC. I often find that news and commentary sources that are located in countries foreign to the topic reported or analyzed can be the most accurate and revealing.
China responds to Google hacking claims
From the Guardian in Beijing.
Notice the rank hypocrisy from US administration figures re this issue. What about the use of telecommunication services in the US to spy on its citizens? See this and this. It is rather nauseating to see US government leaders wrap themselves in civil rights righteousness when they are so deep into this surveillance activity.
Notice the rank hypocrisy from US administration figures re this issue. What about the use of telecommunication services in the US to spy on its citizens? See this and this. It is rather nauseating to see US government leaders wrap themselves in civil rights righteousness when they are so deep into this surveillance activity.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
http://undertheinfluence.nationaljournal.com/2010/01/health-insurers-funded-chamber.php
From the National Journal
How Harold Ford Blazed the Trail For Barack Obama
By Glen Ford of Black Agenda Report.
Poor Harold Ford. Having created the model of a right-wing, corporate Black Democratic politician in search of a national podium, he was eclipsed by the more talented Barack Obama. But the backing of a few billionaires changes all the odds in 21st century America, where the “corporate boardroom is the equivalent of Hollywood's casting couch.”
Goldman Sachs admits 'improper' actions in sales of securities (3:17m video and article)
Reported by McClatchy news service. A report from the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission hearings currently going on in Washington, DC.
Millions more US children in poverty
By Tom Eley from the World Socialist Website re recent findings of a study from the Brookings Institute
The Afghan war and the 'Grand Chessboard' Pt1 (16:46m video)
A Real News Network interview with Zbigniew Brzezinski, one of the more influential advisers on US foreign policy over the past 50 years. He was born and partially raised in Poland by parents in the Polish aristocracy. His father was in that country's diplomatic service and served in several Polish embassies until his final post in Canada as ambassador. Soon his country was overrun by both Soviet and German invasions in 1939. Brzezinski's life lead him to be a student and professor at Harvard University where he taught for several years, and then on to Columbia University and became known as an expert on Eastern European political affairs and what is known as "the Great Game." In other words, he identifies with ruling class perspectives and the political games they play on the world stage.
The language he uses reflects this kind of thinking. His unrelenting hatred of the Soviet Union, and now Russia, has informed his views on US relations with that country. He was the main architect behind the US sponsorship of the Mujaheddin and Obama bin Laden in their fight against the Soviet Union.
I think that, while listening to this interview, one should pay particular attention to the words he uses to disguise and legitimatize a foreign policy that advocates domination, or the use of force, over other counties. He uses terms like engagement to mean domination, and when the skillful interviewer translates "engagement" to domination, he replies that domination merely means "the ability to manage." In his circumlocutions about what our policy in the region should be, he vaguely suggests that we need to be "engaged" there so that we can "manage" the resources of the region and so that they don't fall into the hands of some other power. Later he says, "The fact is that to some extent our participation in the Eurasian game is also a source of stability and prevents eruptions that could affect us very directly or our immediately friends very directly."
It is people like him who view other countries and their people like mere pawns in the Great Games that ruling people like to play, and which result in the devastated lives of so many ordinary working people.
The language he uses reflects this kind of thinking. His unrelenting hatred of the Soviet Union, and now Russia, has informed his views on US relations with that country. He was the main architect behind the US sponsorship of the Mujaheddin and Obama bin Laden in their fight against the Soviet Union.
I think that, while listening to this interview, one should pay particular attention to the words he uses to disguise and legitimatize a foreign policy that advocates domination, or the use of force, over other counties. He uses terms like engagement to mean domination, and when the skillful interviewer translates "engagement" to domination, he replies that domination merely means "the ability to manage." In his circumlocutions about what our policy in the region should be, he vaguely suggests that we need to be "engaged" there so that we can "manage" the resources of the region and so that they don't fall into the hands of some other power. Later he says, "The fact is that to some extent our participation in the Eurasian game is also a source of stability and prevents eruptions that could affect us very directly or our immediately friends very directly."
It is people like him who view other countries and their people like mere pawns in the Great Games that ruling people like to play, and which result in the devastated lives of so many ordinary working people.
Soldier jailed after recording angry rap song
More than 185,000 U.S. troops have been forced to extend their time in the military under the “stop loss” policy since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Defense Secretary Robert Gates has said he hopes the practice can be scaled back drastically in the next two years.
Invasive Species Multiply in U.S. Waterways
By Matthew Berger, from IPS.
Problems exacerbated by climate change.
Problems exacerbated by climate change.
Report of the Bloomington Peak Oil Task Force: Redefining Prosperity: Energy Descent and Community Resilience
A dramatic community action plan devised by a volunteer citizen panel was adopted by the city of Bloomington, Indiana to prepare for the peak oil crisis.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
For-profit Education
By Paul A. Moore on Dissident Voice website. He is a teacher at Carol City Senior High School in Miami.
Iceland points to the future
By Julian Delasantellis at Asia Times website.
In the long run, those opposed to debt repudiation may have to answer a very difficult question. Just how much national wealth and treasure, how much future productive capacity, are going to be called on to right the policy wrongs of the past? Much as in the manner of the "debt holidays" mandated for every seven years by the Old Testament, debt repudiation may eventually come to be seen as the only real solution to the gross misallocation of national wealth and income that has attended the past three decades of world capitalist excess.
Empire reloaded
By Pepe Escobar from Asia Times website.
The idea of "full spectrum dominance" is about threatening to cut energy flows not only to China but even to the European Union (EU) or anyone for that matter who crosses Washington's policy makers. And it's as much about Saudi Arabia as about China. As Saudi oil exports also have to negotiate the Bab el-Mandab, US "interest" in Yemen means a graphic warning to the House of Saud: don't even think of trading oil in euros or in a basket of currencies including the Chinese yuan.
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