Click here to access article by Mathew Maavak from Uncommon Thought Journal.
I hesitated in posting this article this morning even though I felt in sympathy with most of his portrayal of the "fascist beast and the New World Order" otherwise widely known as the Empire which is led by the US capitalist gang. The problem I have with it is that it is loaded with cynicism, and wallowing in this type of feeling can be hazardous to one's health.
However, he did provide me with a link to one important antidote: a report from RT describing the influx of volunteer fighters to the separatist regions of Ukraine to defend them from the fascist beast much like the International Brigades that poured into Spain during their war against fascists in the 1930s. This time we can only pray that the outcome will be different. It absolutely must be different if there is to be any hope for a brighter future.
Maavak sees many parallels with current events in Europe with that of the 1930s. I think that they are entirely appropriate. The same social-political dynamics are playing out simply because they are basically the same as what occurred in the 1930s. Unfortunately for us fascism wasn't defeated then, and thus we are faced once again with this beast that we simply must defeat this time--because time is rapidly running out for the human species. German based fascism was defeated mostly by the Russians under the Soviet Union, but unfortunately for the world the latter country was so defective that a US-led fascist beast was easily able to take control, to expand its influence, and morph into the beastly Empire that we see today destroying one country after another.
The international brigades of today called "United Continent" may succeed in securing southeast Ukraine from fascist control, but can it create a people-powered democracy? It's very doubtful. Only a worldwide upheaval of the Ninety-Nine Percent (NNP) and organized resistance on a global scale can bring the current fascist beast to its knees. But our work will not be finished until we of the world's NNP construct genuine people's democracies everywhere in the world. As I see it, the first step must be the construction of our own media to inform us on what is going on in the world. (I've just discovered what purports to be a grass-roots independent media group that is reporting on the conflict in Ukraine. It's called Voice of Sevastopol. You might want to check it out.)
Tuesday, September 2, 2014
Senior [retired] U.S. Intelligence Officers: Beware Flimsy “Intelligence”
Click here to access article in the form of an open letter dated Sept. 2 to Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, posted on The Greanville Post.
The retired US military officers have had first hand experience with the Empire's fabrication of military intelligence, and want to prevent further bloodshed by informing Merkel of their experience.
The retired US military officers have had first hand experience with the Empire's fabrication of military intelligence, and want to prevent further bloodshed by informing Merkel of their experience.
Largely because of the growing prominence of, and apparent reliance on, intelligence we believe to be spurious, we think the possibility of hostilities escalating beyond the borders of Ukraine has increased significantly over the past several days. More important, we believe that this likelihood can be avoided, depending on the degree of judicious skepticism you and other European leaders bring to the NATO summit next week. [Sept. 4-5]
How Can You Tell Whether Russia Has Invaded Ukraine?
Click here to access article by Paul Craig Roberts from his blog.
This is an excellent introduction to Orlov's counter-attack on mainstream media's ridiculous propaganda that is being endlessly repeated so that most Americans believe it. I continue to be absolutely shocked at the extent of the lies being fabricated by the ruling One Percent. On the other hand, they have gotten away with so many lies in the past, why not continue with even less believable ones? There seems to be no limit to the gullibility of the American Sheeple.
This is an excellent introduction to Orlov's counter-attack on mainstream media's ridiculous propaganda that is being endlessly repeated so that most Americans believe it. I continue to be absolutely shocked at the extent of the lies being fabricated by the ruling One Percent. On the other hand, they have gotten away with so many lies in the past, why not continue with even less believable ones? There seems to be no limit to the gullibility of the American Sheeple.
The U.S. Owns the Narrative on Ukraine: Return of the Evil Empire
Click here to access article by Jason Hirthler from CounterPunch.
Yes, the ruling One Percent "own" the narrative because they literally own, according to capitalist property rights, the means of nearly all news dissemination in the US and much of the world. Any serious attack on their rule will necessitate a counter-media organized and operated with a lot of volunteer labor on behalf of truth for the benefit of the Ninety-Nine Percent. Until such time, we activists and concerned citizens are all just pissing in the wind.
This resurrected theme of the "evil empire", of course, hides the reality of an extant evil empire led by the US ruling class heavily infected by Zionist influences. Russia and any other nation that stands in the way of this real evil empire will face the latter's wrath, bombs, sanctions, subversive NGOs, mercenary armies, lies, etc.
Yes, the ruling One Percent "own" the narrative because they literally own, according to capitalist property rights, the means of nearly all news dissemination in the US and much of the world. Any serious attack on their rule will necessitate a counter-media organized and operated with a lot of volunteer labor on behalf of truth for the benefit of the Ninety-Nine Percent. Until such time, we activists and concerned citizens are all just pissing in the wind.
This resurrected theme of the "evil empire", of course, hides the reality of an extant evil empire led by the US ruling class heavily infected by Zionist influences. Russia and any other nation that stands in the way of this real evil empire will face the latter's wrath, bombs, sanctions, subversive NGOs, mercenary armies, lies, etc.
Monday, September 1, 2014
Full Spectrum Dominance: US Policy From Iraq to Ukraine
Click here to access article by Thomas S. Harrington from Common Dreams.
Having spent a number of years in Europe, this author provides a unique perspective on changes he has observed with European media. He suggests a dumbing-down of Europeans by establishment media much as we have witnessed here in the US.
Referring to parts of the European press as American stooges, he writes:
Having spent a number of years in Europe, this author provides a unique perspective on changes he has observed with European media. He suggests a dumbing-down of Europeans by establishment media much as we have witnessed here in the US.
Referring to parts of the European press as American stooges, he writes:
...for much of the last three decades, they constituted but one current among many other competing strains in the European press.
Since approximately 2004, however, their specific gravity within European opinion-making apparatus—as evidenced by the changes at El País and other similar “liberal” media outlets—has increased dramatically. Now simplistic American assumptions about who is bad and who is good once chuckled at on the continent, are the new normal in the editorial boards Europe’s “prestige press”.
America’s Gamble: Wealth, War and Power. “Russian Roulette” and the Drive To Nuclear Armageddon?
Click here to access article by Colin Todhunter from Global Research.
...it is Washington that accused Moscow of invading Ukraine, based on flimsy or no evidence at all. Washington has accused Moscow of having a hand in the downing of a commercially airliner based on no evidence at all. As a result of this invisible Russian ‘aggression’, Washington has slapped sanctions on Moscow, which are hurting Europe more they are hurting the US. But that’s the point: to de-link Europe’s economy from Russia in terms of trade and energy and weaken Europe to ensure it remains dependent on Washington.His take on the latest hyper-aggressive actions of the Empire are more pessimistic than mine. I think that they will rely on weapons in their arsenal such as economic sanctions, subversive NGOs, possibly even private mercenary armies, etc. to bring about regime change in Russia, but will avoid a direct war with Russia which would likely involve the use of nuclear weapons. While wars in general are good for capitalist economies, imperialists know that a nuclear war would destroy far too much of the Empire's investments. However, I could easily be wrong in my assessment of the sanity of the Empire's directorate.
The mainstream corporate media in the West parrots the accusations against Moscow as fact, despite Washington having cooked up evidence or invented baseless pretexts. The western corporate media’s role is to cheer-lead official policies and wars.
The Last Gasp of Climate Change Liberals
Click here to access article by Chris Hedges from TruthDig.
I have a hunch that Hedges in this piece is really writing about himself, that is, his transformation from a liberal critic to a radical critic. If he is sincere, perhaps we can forgive him for caustically criticizing the Occupy Movement and his plagiarism. In this piece he arrives at a political position that he has never articulated before:
I have a hunch that Hedges in this piece is really writing about himself, that is, his transformation from a liberal critic to a radical critic. If he is sincere, perhaps we can forgive him for caustically criticizing the Occupy Movement and his plagiarism. In this piece he arrives at a political position that he has never articulated before:
Resistance will come from those willing to breach police barricades. Resistance will mean jail time and direct confrontation. Resistance will mean physically disrupting the corporate machinery. Resistance will mean severing ourselves from the dominant culture to build small, self-sustaining communities. This resistance will be effective only when we refuse to do what we are told, when we turn from a liberal agenda of reform to embrace a radical agenda of revolt.However, resistance will mean more than "severing ourselves from the dominant culture"; it must mean devising strategies to defeat the dominant culture and replacing it with a pro-life economy and culture. It's hard to tell from this one piece how much he has been transformed.
The Peak Oil Crisis: When?
Click here to access article by Tom Whipple from Post Carbon Institute.
For those following the world oil production situation, it has been clear for some time that the only factor keeping global crude output from moving lower is the continuing increase in U.S. shale oil production, mostly from Texas and North Dakota. Needless to say, once the fabled “peak” comes oil and gasoline prices are certain to move higher, triggering a series of economic events – most of which will not be good for the global economy.
.... Usually missing from optimistic estimates for future U.S. shale oil production is any discussion of just how fast production from fracked wells declines.He concludes along with many independent observers that production will peak during 2016-2017 and will fall off dramatically after that. Could this be one reason why the One Percent ruling class is pursuing foreign adventures so aggressively, and their corporate media has hyped-up its bellicose propaganda in support of these adventures? Considering that their system of capitalism requires growth, the eminent prospect of diminishing supplies of cheap fossil fuels to keep their system going could explain, at least in part, why they are acting so crazy.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Democracy? What democracy?
Click here to access article by Terry Bell from Daily Maverick (So. Africa).
This critique of existing "democracy" is what I'd like to see coming from US citizens and others throughout the world. The fact that this sort of critique is largely absent is testimony to the success of capitalist indoctrination. Thus, the political awareness necessary to change things for the better is mostly absent among the world's Ninety-Nine Percent. This is quite astonishing to me given the widespread suffering that is being inflicted upon the people of the world by capitalist ruling classes: endless wars, poverty, exploitation of workers, and their pollution of the environment that is leading inevitably to catastrophic climate destabilization.
Instead, what we get from critics are "reforms" to the system, little micro-fixes such as tax-the-rich proposals, candlelight peace marches, passing laws restricting the militarization of police forces, registering poor and minority voters so that they can vote in elections managed by the ruling class, etc.
The interests of politicians, many of whom move seamlessly from political office to the boardrooms of big business, lie not with the voters, but with party bureaucracies. These bureaucracies, in turn, rely for much of their funding on the financial elites whose fundamental interests are diametrically opposed to those of the majority of the population. And they who pay the piper tend always to call the tune.Terry Bell, a South African, offers an excellent examination of what real democracy must consist of in contrast to the fake version, wrapped in a pretty "Bill of Rights", that capitalist ruling classes provide their subjects in today's world. Bell even provides some sound practical information on how a real democracy could be implemented.
This critique of existing "democracy" is what I'd like to see coming from US citizens and others throughout the world. The fact that this sort of critique is largely absent is testimony to the success of capitalist indoctrination. Thus, the political awareness necessary to change things for the better is mostly absent among the world's Ninety-Nine Percent. This is quite astonishing to me given the widespread suffering that is being inflicted upon the people of the world by capitalist ruling classes: endless wars, poverty, exploitation of workers, and their pollution of the environment that is leading inevitably to catastrophic climate destabilization.
Instead, what we get from critics are "reforms" to the system, little micro-fixes such as tax-the-rich proposals, candlelight peace marches, passing laws restricting the militarization of police forces, registering poor and minority voters so that they can vote in elections managed by the ruling class, etc.
The Covert Origins of ISIS
Click here to access article from StormCloudsGathering.
Over the past several years I have occasionally read articles on this website that appeared to be well written, well reasoned, and well documented. However, when I've looked into them further, I have always been left with an uneasy feeling. This happened again today.
Once again upon reading this article through most of the article I was impressed with the well documented facts and the sound reasoning that lead to sound conclusions about ISIS. But after this, I and the reader, is led down to some very prescriptive conclusions that end up nowhere substantial. First there is this:
Such an experience feeds my suspicions (paranoid fantasies, "conspiracy theories"?) about how national security agencies might want to gather information about activists and potential revolutionaries by luring them into their data bases by running articles like this. Just a thought. You must decide for yourselves.
Over the past several years I have occasionally read articles on this website that appeared to be well written, well reasoned, and well documented. However, when I've looked into them further, I have always been left with an uneasy feeling. This happened again today.
Once again upon reading this article through most of the article I was impressed with the well documented facts and the sound reasoning that lead to sound conclusions about ISIS. But after this, I and the reader, is led down to some very prescriptive conclusions that end up nowhere substantial. First there is this:
Now you might be thinking: "This all sounds fine and good, but what does this have to do with me? I can't influence this situation."
.... I'll be honest with you though, this isn't going to be easy. To succeed we have to start thinking strategically. Like it or not, this is a chess game. If we really want to rock the boat, we have to start reaching out to people in positions of influence. This can mean talking to broadcasters at your local radio station, news paper, or t.v. station, or it can mean contacting influential bloggers, celebrities, business figures or government officials. Reaching out to current serving military and young people who may be considering joining up is also important. But even if it's just your neighbor, or your coworker, every single person we can reach brings us closer to critical mass. The most important step is to start trying.Then we are led to a 13:47m video entitled "The Road to WW 3" which refers us to "The Natural Rights Foundation". Trying to locate the latter website seems only to lead to Common Ground which provides little substance and merely asks one to subscribe to the website as does the StormCloudsGathering website.
Such an experience feeds my suspicions (paranoid fantasies, "conspiracy theories"?) about how national security agencies might want to gather information about activists and potential revolutionaries by luring them into their data bases by running articles like this. Just a thought. You must decide for yourselves.
"Holy Bejeezus!": I Know What We Did This Summer, In Gaza
Click here to access article from The Polemicist.
With two videos the authors dramatically show us what our tax dollars ($3 billions plus, yearly) are paying for in the latest Israeli massacre of Palestinians.
With two videos the authors dramatically show us what our tax dollars ($3 billions plus, yearly) are paying for in the latest Israeli massacre of Palestinians.
Saturday, August 30, 2014
Top 10 ways we can build a better economic system
Click here to access article by Gary Engler from New Commune-ist Manifesto (Canada).
Engler gives us some ideas on how to construct an economic system to promote social justice.
Engler gives us some ideas on how to construct an economic system to promote social justice.
Why is our Pay Flatlined, and our Workweek Stuck at 40?
Click here to access article by John Pennington from his blog Class War in America.
Pennington observes the tremendous increase in productivity of American workers since the 40 hour workday was established (mostly in the 1930s), but workers are still working the same 40 hour week. This doesn't seem right to him--and, of course, it isn't right. He concludes that the reason is the "capitalist imperative to maximize profit". I think that this explanation could be misleading by attributing motives of selfishness to individual capitalists. Hence, it suggests a moral problem instead of a system problem.
Capitalism gives the "owner(s)" of an enterprise control over the value that is produced by workers and the equipment they use. Of course, the equipment they use was produced by other workers, and their owners took control of the value of these machines. Worker's labor is, like most everything under capitalism, a commodity to be purchased as hourly wages in the labor market much like capitalists pay rent to occupy a facility in an industrial property market. It just another cost of doing business.
If owners/corporations fail to reduce costs to a minimum, they likely will fail in their market by competition from other enterprises. And in regard to corporations, they are legally required to maximize profit or else they can be sued by their shareholders. Thus, it is the system, not the moral qualities of owners of enterprises that is the issue. To be sure, such a system encourages owners and their managers to function with a lack of moral/ethical principles.
Pennington observes the tremendous increase in productivity of American workers since the 40 hour workday was established (mostly in the 1930s), but workers are still working the same 40 hour week. This doesn't seem right to him--and, of course, it isn't right. He concludes that the reason is the "capitalist imperative to maximize profit". I think that this explanation could be misleading by attributing motives of selfishness to individual capitalists. Hence, it suggests a moral problem instead of a system problem.
Capitalism gives the "owner(s)" of an enterprise control over the value that is produced by workers and the equipment they use. Of course, the equipment they use was produced by other workers, and their owners took control of the value of these machines. Worker's labor is, like most everything under capitalism, a commodity to be purchased as hourly wages in the labor market much like capitalists pay rent to occupy a facility in an industrial property market. It just another cost of doing business.
If owners/corporations fail to reduce costs to a minimum, they likely will fail in their market by competition from other enterprises. And in regard to corporations, they are legally required to maximize profit or else they can be sued by their shareholders. Thus, it is the system, not the moral qualities of owners of enterprises that is the issue. To be sure, such a system encourages owners and their managers to function with a lack of moral/ethical principles.
What We Can Learn About Corporations From the Man Who Sold Shares in Himself
Click here to access article by Nick Bentley from Reclaim Democracy!
Bentley writes about some important insights about our society when reading an amusing piece about Mike Merrill who sold shares in himself, and thus giving "owners" power to rule over himself. There were many problems in this arrangement for Merrill's more intimate relationships as there are, of course, with corporations in relation to their employees, customers, and in the communities where their operations are located. Bentley was struck with the following insight while most people were only amused by Merrill's experience:
Bentley writes about some important insights about our society when reading an amusing piece about Mike Merrill who sold shares in himself, and thus giving "owners" power to rule over himself. There were many problems in this arrangement for Merrill's more intimate relationships as there are, of course, with corporations in relation to their employees, customers, and in the communities where their operations are located. Bentley was struck with the following insight while most people were only amused by Merrill's experience:
The only difference between public corporations and Mike Merrill is that we’ve come to accept the consequences of absentee ownership as “normal” in the context of publicly traded companies, so we’re blind to their pathologies. When the same thing happens in an unusual context, it’s easy to see what’s wrong with it.
Any dysfunction can seem perfectly normal if we’re sufficiently used to it. But that doesn’t mean the world wouldn’t be a much better place if we woke up to the problem and fixed it.
Cell Phone Guide For US Protesters, Updated 2014 Edition
Click here to access article by Eva Galperin and Parker Higgins from Electronic Frontier Foundation.
The authors provide some practical advice to activists in their use of cell phones.
The authors provide some practical advice to activists in their use of cell phones.
Friday, August 29, 2014
Propaganda and the lack thereof
Click here to access article by Dmitry Orlov from his blog ClubOrlof.
This morning after reading/watching my usual news sources including Western media regarding the situation in Ukraine, I felt really bewildered about the military situation in that war. Although I do not usually focus on specific events like this, but look at issues from more of a systems point of view, I decided to do the best I could to find out what was currently going on there. So I offer this piece by Orlov, an author and blogger, who, according to his publisher, immigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1970s to the United States. I followed his blog several years ago, and as I recall, he has traveled a lot to the Soviet Union and Russia since then. I regard him as an informed and reliable source of information on the situation in Ukraine.
I also highly recommend a report entitled "Ukraine Lost A Battle - West Escalates With More Russia Sanctions" from a blog entitled Moon of Alabama authored by Bernhard who I also regard as a very reliable and informed source of information.
Contrast these reports with the latest one from Western oriented Reuters.
This morning after reading/watching my usual news sources including Western media regarding the situation in Ukraine, I felt really bewildered about the military situation in that war. Although I do not usually focus on specific events like this, but look at issues from more of a systems point of view, I decided to do the best I could to find out what was currently going on there. So I offer this piece by Orlov, an author and blogger, who, according to his publisher, immigrated from the Soviet Union in the 1970s to the United States. I followed his blog several years ago, and as I recall, he has traveled a lot to the Soviet Union and Russia since then. I regard him as an informed and reliable source of information on the situation in Ukraine.
I also highly recommend a report entitled "Ukraine Lost A Battle - West Escalates With More Russia Sanctions" from a blog entitled Moon of Alabama authored by Bernhard who I also regard as a very reliable and informed source of information.
Contrast these reports with the latest one from Western oriented Reuters.
Income Inequality Costs The Middle Class $18,000 A Year
Click here to access article by Bryce Covert from ThinkProgress.
This article provides jargon-free analysis and charts to reveal the increasing class income differences from roughly 1980 till now between high income earners and the rest of us.
It must be understood that there are essentially two types of people in a capitalist society from an economic point of view: those who "own" capital (factories, machinery, equipment, patents, intellectual property, etc--essentially anything that is regarded as having monetary value) and are referred to as "capitalists" and those whose work creates capital but without "ownership" or control over it--workers. Capitalists live off of their "ownership" of things: dividends, interest, capital gains, etc; while workers receive income from the work they perform for the owners (capitalists). The analysis in this article focuses only on income earners or workers.
It should also be understood that workers are also divided: the closer that workers are to capitalists the more privileges they enjoy and are usually paid with salaries for their work whereas lower income people are paid wages based on the time (hours) they perform work. Thus, those with the highest incomes are people who work directly for capitalists as managers, top accountants, and highly skilled technical people.
This article provides jargon-free analysis and charts to reveal the increasing class income differences from roughly 1980 till now between high income earners and the rest of us.
It must be understood that there are essentially two types of people in a capitalist society from an economic point of view: those who "own" capital (factories, machinery, equipment, patents, intellectual property, etc--essentially anything that is regarded as having monetary value) and are referred to as "capitalists" and those whose work creates capital but without "ownership" or control over it--workers. Capitalists live off of their "ownership" of things: dividends, interest, capital gains, etc; while workers receive income from the work they perform for the owners (capitalists). The analysis in this article focuses only on income earners or workers.
It should also be understood that workers are also divided: the closer that workers are to capitalists the more privileges they enjoy and are usually paid with salaries for their work whereas lower income people are paid wages based on the time (hours) they perform work. Thus, those with the highest incomes are people who work directly for capitalists as managers, top accountants, and highly skilled technical people.
The economics of American racism (9 charts, 1960 to 2014)
Click here to access article by David Ruccio from Real-World Economics Review Blog.
It appears to me that the US ruling class (aka the One Percent), like most ruling classes, likes to foment division among its potential adversaries (the Ninety-Nine Percent). These nine graphs attest to their success in doing this via racial discrimination in favor of European-Americans in spite of occasional rhetoric to the contrary, laws prohibiting such discrimination, and the election of a president who is widely seen as an African-American in racist-ridden US society in spite of the fact that he was mostly raised by a white grandmother who was a banker and educated at elite schools (see my commentary here).
It appears to me that the US ruling class (aka the One Percent), like most ruling classes, likes to foment division among its potential adversaries (the Ninety-Nine Percent). These nine graphs attest to their success in doing this via racial discrimination in favor of European-Americans in spite of occasional rhetoric to the contrary, laws prohibiting such discrimination, and the election of a president who is widely seen as an African-American in racist-ridden US society in spite of the fact that he was mostly raised by a white grandmother who was a banker and educated at elite schools (see my commentary here).
Thursday, August 28, 2014
Petro-dollar era is officially over as Gazprom begins sales in Yuan and Rouble
Click here to access article by Kenneth Schortgen Jr from Examiner.com.
Controlling a money supply has always meant controlling how money is spent and for what. Thus, major Empire controlled financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank usually loan US dollars based on restrictions as to what it is spent for. These conditions typically require nations to buy from US or allied corporations, to open up countries for Western investments, and to generally promote neoliberal policies.
Thus, the times we are living in are more dangerous than ever, and we can only expect worse things to come if we prove to be unable to rid the world of the predatory system of capitalism and governments controlled by capitalists.
Beginning today with an 80000 ton oil shipment from their Arctic fields, Gazprom Neft agreed to new terms on the sale and transfer of oil through the Eastern Siberian-Pacific Ocean pipeline to China, and facilitating the future sale of oil and gas to both Europe and China through a currency other than the dollar. And although this is not the first real transaction for oil done outside the petro-dollar, as this occurred covertly by Iran for gold during the days of economic sanctions, it is the first official global offering by a major oil producer and will likely bring an end to the solitary system of nations being forced to buy dollars first before buying oil from producers such as OPEC and Russia.I think this development portends a major threat to the US dollar which is one of two major pillars that support the US Empire. This represents another step in the increasingly dangerous conflict between mainly Russian and Chinese capitalist gangs on one side and the US-led capitalist gang on the other. (The other pillar supporting the US Empire is its huge military establishment including its control of NATO.)
Controlling a money supply has always meant controlling how money is spent and for what. Thus, major Empire controlled financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank usually loan US dollars based on restrictions as to what it is spent for. These conditions typically require nations to buy from US or allied corporations, to open up countries for Western investments, and to generally promote neoliberal policies.
Thus, the times we are living in are more dangerous than ever, and we can only expect worse things to come if we prove to be unable to rid the world of the predatory system of capitalism and governments controlled by capitalists.
Carrots and sticks: New Iraq crisis is part of US agenda to target Syria and Iran
Click here to access article by Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya posted on RT.
This independent Canadian sociologist and geopolitical analyst has been focusing his attention on the Middle East and North Africa for quite some time. Now he offers his interpretation of the strange events currently occurring in Iraq and nearby areas. One things is certain: the biggest capitalist gang of all, known widely as the Empire, loves to promote conflicts and hostile divisions as a part of its divide and conquer strategy to control the fossil fuel rich Middle East.
This independent Canadian sociologist and geopolitical analyst has been focusing his attention on the Middle East and North Africa for quite some time. Now he offers his interpretation of the strange events currently occurring in Iraq and nearby areas. One things is certain: the biggest capitalist gang of all, known widely as the Empire, loves to promote conflicts and hostile divisions as a part of its divide and conquer strategy to control the fossil fuel rich Middle East.
The anti-government forces ravaging Iraq and Syria are mostly the same overzealous or gung-ho head choppers, rapists, extortionists, thugs, and cannibals that were pillaging and senselessly devastating the Syrian countryside with the aim of occupying Damascus in 2011. These ever morphing and constantly name changing groups are not new at all. They have just been rebranded.
From Minsk to Wales, Germany is the key
Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar posted on RT.
Brazilian independent journalist Escobar sees Germany as playing a pivotal role in future events in Europe which will have major consequences in the conflict heating up between Russia and the American-led Empire. The headline of this article is about two key meetings in Europe (Minsk, Belarus and in Wales) with the one in Minsk just concluded and the other in Wales scheduled next week. He also mentions an important energy conference in Moscow tomorrow. All of these meetings should have a major influence on which way Germany and Europe will pivot. Based on the just concluded meeting in Minsk, Escobar writes:
Brazilian independent journalist Escobar sees Germany as playing a pivotal role in future events in Europe which will have major consequences in the conflict heating up between Russia and the American-led Empire. The headline of this article is about two key meetings in Europe (Minsk, Belarus and in Wales) with the one in Minsk just concluded and the other in Wales scheduled next week. He also mentions an important energy conference in Moscow tomorrow. All of these meetings should have a major influence on which way Germany and Europe will pivot. Based on the just concluded meeting in Minsk, Escobar writes:
Germany is growing only 1.5 percent in 2014. Why? Because the Washington-propelled sanction hysteria is hurting German business. Merkel finally got the message. Or at least seems to have.The Empire wants to punish Russia, which has opposed NATO expansion and NATO adventures in the Middle East, with more NATO bases right on its border. The Empire and its NATO army also want to keep Europe separate from Russia and dependent on the Empire, and thus opposes Europe's economic integration with Russia. The current wave of economic sanctions imposed by the Empire is not only trying to punish Russia, but appears to be an attempt to unravel the strong economic ties between NATO-dominated Europe and Russia that have been established over many decades.
Wednesday, August 27, 2014
We Are All Criminals
Click here to access this 55 minute audio interview with attorney and former public defender Emily Baxter recorded at the studios of KPFA Berkeley, California.
We have seen the recent attempt to criminalize Michael Brown who was executed by a Ferguson, Missouri policeman. In this interview we learn that at least one out of four Americans have been recorded as having a criminal record even if based on only unsubstantiated charges. To get around government restrictions on confidential records, the One Percenters, as always when it is in their interest to evade their own system of laws, get around these restrictions by giving out these records to private companies who in turn make them public. You will learn this and much more in this interview.
If you don't have time to listen to all of it, I recommend listening from 3:24m to 8:45m on the recording.
We have seen the recent attempt to criminalize Michael Brown who was executed by a Ferguson, Missouri policeman. In this interview we learn that at least one out of four Americans have been recorded as having a criminal record even if based on only unsubstantiated charges. To get around government restrictions on confidential records, the One Percenters, as always when it is in their interest to evade their own system of laws, get around these restrictions by giving out these records to private companies who in turn make them public. You will learn this and much more in this interview.
If you don't have time to listen to all of it, I recommend listening from 3:24m to 8:45m on the recording.
Michael Brown, According to the New York Times
Click here to access article by Peter Hart from Fairness & Accuracy in Reporting.
The ruling One Percent's media directors are already at work managing the minds of the Ninety-Nine Percent regarding the execution of Michael Brown by their enforcers. Actually this started within days of the execution when video footage was conveniently "leaked" to their media showing someone looking like Brown shoplifting. In the days ahead we can only expect a heighten effort to portray Brown as deserving what he got.
Meanwhile, it appears that efforts are now being made by corporate media directors to make white Americans comfortable with the way things are, that is, with well-indoctrinated police forces who are trained to treat citizens differently according to racial and ethnic profiling.
The ruling One Percent's media directors are already at work managing the minds of the Ninety-Nine Percent regarding the execution of Michael Brown by their enforcers. Actually this started within days of the execution when video footage was conveniently "leaked" to their media showing someone looking like Brown shoplifting. In the days ahead we can only expect a heighten effort to portray Brown as deserving what he got.
Meanwhile, it appears that efforts are now being made by corporate media directors to make white Americans comfortable with the way things are, that is, with well-indoctrinated police forces who are trained to treat citizens differently according to racial and ethnic profiling.
The Bright Side of a Beheading
Click here to access article by Ben Schreiner from The Greanville Post.
Schreiner's post is loaded with sarcasm, but sarcasm can be both appropriate and satisfying when one is feeling overwhelmed with corporate media's disinformation "news" dispatches.
Schreiner's post is loaded with sarcasm, but sarcasm can be both appropriate and satisfying when one is feeling overwhelmed with corporate media's disinformation "news" dispatches.
A mere year after having run into both popular and military resistance in their drive to bomb Syria, Washington’s political elite is once again busily prepping a hesitant American public for a plunge further into the Middle East.
Unlike a year ago however, when the pretext of choice was a chemical attack of suspicious origins within Syria, this time around the ruling elite are cynically capitalizing on the brutal execution of American journalist James Foley....
'Severe... Pervasive... Irreversible": IPCC's Devastating Climate Change Conclusions
Click here to access article by Jon Queally from Common Dreams.
Climate change is here. Climate change is now. Climate change will be significantly more dangerous, deadly, and expensive if nothing is done to correct humanity's course, but aspects of future shifts are probably already irreversible. [my emphasis]
That's the assessment of the United Nations' Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change....
Tuesday, August 26, 2014
Obama Buggers Europe: Sanctions Deepen the Recession
Click here to access article by James Petras from Boiling Frogs Post.
Petras surveys the effects of the Empire's strategy to separate Russia from the rest of Europe with the use of economic sanctions, and it doesn't look good for the people of Europe. I wonder how long it will take for the Ninety-Nine Percent in Europe to wake up and resist their masters in the One Percent.
Petras surveys the effects of the Empire's strategy to separate Russia from the rest of Europe with the use of economic sanctions, and it doesn't look good for the people of Europe. I wonder how long it will take for the Ninety-Nine Percent in Europe to wake up and resist their masters in the One Percent.
The sanctions policies occur at a time when Europe’s economies are in deep economic crisis, exacerbating long-term stagnation and chronic recession. This paper will identify and analyze the crisis and how US-led sanctions policy is fracturing the European Union. Secondly, we will analyze how Washington’s militarist imperial policies undermine Europe economically and destabilize the rest of the world militarily. Thirdly, we will discuss how the European leaders are prodded by Washington, to put it crudely, through an aggressive ‘buggering process’, to surrender their economic sovereignty and how capitulation to the US project in the Ukraine will lead to their long-term decline and decay. Finally, we will discuss the long-term perspectives for a re-aligned world economy where military conflicts can result in large-scale changes.The only criticism I have of this article is that, once again, we see agency ascribed to Obama, who really functions only as the chief public relations officer of the ruling One Percent. This plays into the hands of the whole shadow ruling directorate of the One Percent who are intent on disguising all their machinations behind "democratic" myths of a representative government, that is, a government that represents the people. Serious critics of US policy must grow up and recognize these myths for what they are if we in the Ninety-Nine Percent will ever have a chance to gain control over society.
The Time for Burning Coal Has Passed
Click here to access article by Claudia Ciobanu and Silvia Giannelli from Inter Press Service.
In Europe as a whole, coal has seen a minor resurgence over the past 2-3 years, despite the European Union having the stated goal to decarbonise by 2050 (out of all fossil fuels, lignite produces the most CO2 per unit of energy produced).It's clear that these "experts" are either capitalist ruling class propaganda experts who want to give us false assurances or they are naive environmentalists whose views are informed only by a narrow logic without taking into consideration the enormous political-economic factors preventing any change from "business as usual". The latter people have the simple-minded belief that we can have the 800 pound gorilla (capitalism) with its unlimited appetite for energy and a planet that can sustain human life.
Access to cheap coal exports from the United States, relatively high gas prices, plus a low carbon price on the EU’s internal emissions trading market (caused in turn by a decrease in industrial output following the economic crisis) led to a temporary hike in coal usage. Yet experts are certain that coal in Europe is dying a slow death.
“In the longer term the prospects for coal-fired power generation are negative,” according to a July report by the Economist Intelligence Unit. “Air-quality regulations (in the European Union) will force plant closures, and renewable energy will continue to surge, while in general European energy demand will be weak. The recent mini-boom in coal-burning will prove an aberration.”Meanwhile, here in the Northwest region of the US, we are fighting against coal export terminals; but as a recent report out of Vancouver illustrates, it is a losing battle. Capitalism cannot function without relatively cheap fossil fuels to run its huge growth machine. Because capitalists reap so many benefits from their system, they are fanatically opposed to any changes in spite of all their rhetoric about "green energy" and promises of a future technological fix. Only working people, who suffer the most in other ways from this system, together with conscientious and informed people can save the planet for a future that can sustain human and many other life forms.
“Additional coal mines would not only be catastrophic for people, nature and climate – it would also be highly tragic, as beyond 2030, when existing coal mines will be exhausted, renewable energies will have made coal redundant,” says Anike Peters, climate and energy campaigner at Greenpeace Germany.
The Historical Perspective of the 2014 Gaza Massacre
Click here to access article by Ilan Pappe posted on Information Clearing House.
This Israeli historian and author has examined his country's actions from the very beginning of its founding until today; and the evidence he has uncovered, and described in detail in his 2007 book entitled The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, has convinced him that the underlying objective for all Israel government actions toward Palsestinians constitutes a plan of genocide.
This Israeli historian and author has examined his country's actions from the very beginning of its founding until today; and the evidence he has uncovered, and described in detail in his 2007 book entitled The Ethnic Cleansing of Palestine, has convinced him that the underlying objective for all Israel government actions toward Palsestinians constitutes a plan of genocide.
The Israeli strategy of branding its brutal policies as an ad hoc response to this or that Palestinian action is as old as the Zionist presence in Palestine itself. It was used repeatedly as a justification for implementing the Zionist vision of a future Palestine that has in it very few, if any, native Palestinians. The means for achieving this goal changed with the years, but the formula has remained the same: whatever the Zionist vision of a Jewish State might be, it can only materialize without any significant number of Palestinians in it. And nowadays the vision is of an Israel stretching over almost the whole of historic Palestine where millions of Palestinians still live.
Monday, August 25, 2014
The Pentagon’s Strategy for World Domination: Full Spectrum Dominance, from Asia to Africa
Click here to access article by Bruce K. Gagnon from The Plymouth Institute for Peace Research.
The lead sentence is well supported by the rest of the article:
The implication of these truths is that we are living in a very dangerous world. Here from my vantage point in the US, I witness my fellow Americans being manipulated this way and that, but mostly dumbed-down to the specter that is haunting humanity--a global conflagration.
The lead sentence is well supported by the rest of the article:
Current US military space policy is primarily geared toward two countries, China and Russia.I am thoroughly convinced that this is true based on my many years of examining US policies, but especially the accelerated use of psychological operations directed against the public to gain their support for such an insane imperial policy. When I occasionally watch mainstream media "news" reports of domestic and world events, I am now seeing an overwhelming content of lies.
The implication of these truths is that we are living in a very dangerous world. Here from my vantage point in the US, I witness my fellow Americans being manipulated this way and that, but mostly dumbed-down to the specter that is haunting humanity--a global conflagration.
Oil, Blood, Confusion and Fear: Fuelling the Public’s “Appetite for War”
Click here to access article by Colin Todhunter from Global Research.
There are many important truths revealed in this piece supported by sound reasoning and evidence. Here is only one:
There are many important truths revealed in this piece supported by sound reasoning and evidence. Here is only one:
...we should not be fooled by made-for-media outpourings of fake concern for our safety or fake morality about good and evil that are designed to create fear, outrage and support for militarism. The result will be more war and slaughter for pipelines and power. The result will be further repression under the guise of preventing terror at home.
The Gates Foundation Education Reform Hype Machine and Bizarre Inequality Theory
Click here to access a series of cartoons posted as graphic journalism by Adam Bessie and Dan Carino from Truthout.
Cartoons can be useful to focus on certain truths even though they present a very simplified version of reality. In this post we are led to focus on the absurdity of Gates' influence on education policies which are attempting to lead us down the path of corporate takeover of education. So far, so good. But, this focus leaves out a more important and radical insight which liberal websites like Truthout tend to avoid.
Although he has used the wonderful gift of truth-seeking procedures of science (systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses) given to mankind by the early seekers of truth during the Enlightenment period of human history to advance computer technology, Bill Gates is first, and foremost, a capitalist. This means that he was much more thoroughly indoctrinated in beliefs about "ownership" of other people's labor. He learned that (under capitalism) labor is a commodity and can be purchased like any other commodity. He also learned a lot about how capitalist laws can be used to acquire ownership over knowledge (another commodity) which are really a legacy of human activity over many centuries. He astutely purchased the knowledge of corporate lawyers to construct his computer empire. And then, of course, he benefited from a lot of pure luck. Anyway, as you can see, all of the above brought him piles and piles of money, and under capitalism money is power. He is merely playing the capitalist game for all its literal worth.
Meanwhile, liberal sites like Truthout will avoid these deeper insights, because they too are a part of the capitalist universe. They, too, subscribe to capitalist assumptions about an economy which inhibit their analyses of issues like education. Thus their focus on Bill Gates, and his bizarre and unscientific theories that justify corporate takeover of education, refuses to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla room: capitalist principles that reduce every human activity to a marketable commodity to support a tiny class of capitalists and their mad pursuit of wealth and power regardless of the effects on the rest of humanity.
Gates is only doing what he was taught to do: make more money/power for himself and Microsoft. He gets away with his bizarre theories on education because he can--he has overwhelming power to do so. That should offer a clue about how a sustainable society should be designed (hint: think egalitarian).
Cartoons can be useful to focus on certain truths even though they present a very simplified version of reality. In this post we are led to focus on the absurdity of Gates' influence on education policies which are attempting to lead us down the path of corporate takeover of education. So far, so good. But, this focus leaves out a more important and radical insight which liberal websites like Truthout tend to avoid.
Although he has used the wonderful gift of truth-seeking procedures of science (systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses) given to mankind by the early seekers of truth during the Enlightenment period of human history to advance computer technology, Bill Gates is first, and foremost, a capitalist. This means that he was much more thoroughly indoctrinated in beliefs about "ownership" of other people's labor. He learned that (under capitalism) labor is a commodity and can be purchased like any other commodity. He also learned a lot about how capitalist laws can be used to acquire ownership over knowledge (another commodity) which are really a legacy of human activity over many centuries. He astutely purchased the knowledge of corporate lawyers to construct his computer empire. And then, of course, he benefited from a lot of pure luck. Anyway, as you can see, all of the above brought him piles and piles of money, and under capitalism money is power. He is merely playing the capitalist game for all its literal worth.
Meanwhile, liberal sites like Truthout will avoid these deeper insights, because they too are a part of the capitalist universe. They, too, subscribe to capitalist assumptions about an economy which inhibit their analyses of issues like education. Thus their focus on Bill Gates, and his bizarre and unscientific theories that justify corporate takeover of education, refuses to acknowledge the 800 pound gorilla room: capitalist principles that reduce every human activity to a marketable commodity to support a tiny class of capitalists and their mad pursuit of wealth and power regardless of the effects on the rest of humanity.
Gates is only doing what he was taught to do: make more money/power for himself and Microsoft. He gets away with his bizarre theories on education because he can--he has overwhelming power to do so. That should offer a clue about how a sustainable society should be designed (hint: think egalitarian).
Why aren't college presidents writing letters of concern about Salaita?
Click here to access article by David Palumbo-Liu from Al Jazeera.
American Zionists are not satisfied with painting those critical of Israeli policies with the brush of "anti-Semitism", they also like to go after their jobs. This piece reports on the latest academic firing, and actions opposed to it.
American Zionists are not satisfied with painting those critical of Israeli policies with the brush of "anti-Semitism", they also like to go after their jobs. This piece reports on the latest academic firing, and actions opposed to it.
One wonders why it is that critics of Israel are particularly vulnerable to attack, and not only undefended by people like those in UIUC's administration, but even subject to their whims. And furthermore, one has to mention this - if such arbitrary actions, prompted by outside influence and trumping faculty governance, can be undertaken with impunity in this case, there is absolutely no reason to believe that it could not happen again, to any other faculty hire in the country for any other reason, Israel-related or not.
The Political Spectrum
Click here to access a schematic from LUV News.
This featured post has an excellent simple graphic that explains so much about the narrow political spectrum that is permitted by Empire media directors.
Thus far I am impressed with this online news service that highlights important articles that corporate media ignores in favor of their propaganda pieces. Although one must forever guard against trusting any one source of information, some of you might consider joining this news service as another antidote to the virus of ruling class's Orwellian propaganda that like a cancer can metastasize and consume your soul.
This featured post has an excellent simple graphic that explains so much about the narrow political spectrum that is permitted by Empire media directors.
Thus far I am impressed with this online news service that highlights important articles that corporate media ignores in favor of their propaganda pieces. Although one must forever guard against trusting any one source of information, some of you might consider joining this news service as another antidote to the virus of ruling class's Orwellian propaganda that like a cancer can metastasize and consume your soul.
Sunday, August 24, 2014
5 Crucial Lessons for the Left From Naomi Klein’s New Book
Click here to access article by Ethan Corey and Jessica Corbett from In These Times.
...in her new book, This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate (due in stores September 16), Klein casts her gaze toward the future, arguing that the dangers of climate change demand radical action now to ward off catastrophe. She certainly isn’t alone in pointing out the urgency of the threat, but what sets Klein apart is her argument that it is capitalism—not carbon—that is at the root of climate change, inexorably driving us toward an environmental Armageddon in the pursuit of profit. This Changes Everything is well worth a read (or two) in full, but we’ve distilled some of its key points here.
Alternatives to Capitalism -- a book review
Click here to access the article in which Errol Sharpe from The Media Co-op (Canada) offers his review of a new book by Richard Swift. (Note: The Media Co-op is Canada's premier independent source of news and analysis offering a radical alternative to their capitalist media.)
Swift’s book is a much needed antidote to the myriad of political clap trap that spouts from our daily newspapers and much of our “left” journalism which suggests that capitalism can be reformed and regulated in such a way that an ecological and economic disaster can be avoided.
The Fishy James Foley Video
Click here to access article by Bernhard from Moon of Alabama.
Are Empire directors once again manipulating world opinion by another staged operation? There are several reasons for regarding the Foley video as faked. And as Escobar observes, the timing is perfect to prepare domestic opinion in support of air strikes in Syria.
Are Empire directors once again manipulating world opinion by another staged operation? There are several reasons for regarding the Foley video as faked. And as Escobar observes, the timing is perfect to prepare domestic opinion in support of air strikes in Syria.
Ferguson Versus the Counter-Insurgency State
Click here to access article by Glen Ford from Black Agenda Report.
Ford explains that what we are now witnessing in the US is a counter-insurgency state, and it has been created over many decades starting in the 1960s when the ruling class felt threatened by the Black Power Movement. This is very true, but an incomplete analysis as far as it goes.
Ford should be congratulated for recognizing the police state that we now live in by identifying it as a "counter-insurgency state". Counter-insurgency as a concept has been employed by ruling class media to describe Empire operations in many parts of the world since the Vietnam War. It has been used to overturn governments that did not comply sufficiently with Empire demands to open their nations (Ukraine is the latest victim) to corporations based in the Empire, or to protect their existing dictator friends, who have been complying with neoliberal policies, from their own populations. But I've previously never heard the term used to describe their use of military-grade weapons technology to control active dissent within the US. Empire elites are globalists. They have no more regard for Americans than they do for Mongolians, Nigerians, etc. The application of this concept to Americans is a major step forward in understanding the world we live in. However, it is not sufficient.
First, of all domestic counter-insurgency operations are not merely targeting African-Americans, they are targeting anyone or any group that engage in physical resistance against their policies. The mostly white Occupy Movement experienced the same kind of response even though they engaged in mostly peaceful protests. Surely I don't need to review the long history of ruling class actions to brutally crush worker strikes and the massacres of mostly white workers. By exclusively framing their current operations as racist only serves to divide workers which the ruling class loves to do.
Second of all, by framing these operations in exclusively racial terms diverts attention away from the underlying dynamics of capitalism which, of course, likewise serves ruling class interests.
Ford explains that what we are now witnessing in the US is a counter-insurgency state, and it has been created over many decades starting in the 1960s when the ruling class felt threatened by the Black Power Movement. This is very true, but an incomplete analysis as far as it goes.
Ford should be congratulated for recognizing the police state that we now live in by identifying it as a "counter-insurgency state". Counter-insurgency as a concept has been employed by ruling class media to describe Empire operations in many parts of the world since the Vietnam War. It has been used to overturn governments that did not comply sufficiently with Empire demands to open their nations (Ukraine is the latest victim) to corporations based in the Empire, or to protect their existing dictator friends, who have been complying with neoliberal policies, from their own populations. But I've previously never heard the term used to describe their use of military-grade weapons technology to control active dissent within the US. Empire elites are globalists. They have no more regard for Americans than they do for Mongolians, Nigerians, etc. The application of this concept to Americans is a major step forward in understanding the world we live in. However, it is not sufficient.
First, of all domestic counter-insurgency operations are not merely targeting African-Americans, they are targeting anyone or any group that engage in physical resistance against their policies. The mostly white Occupy Movement experienced the same kind of response even though they engaged in mostly peaceful protests. Surely I don't need to review the long history of ruling class actions to brutally crush worker strikes and the massacres of mostly white workers. By exclusively framing their current operations as racist only serves to divide workers which the ruling class loves to do.
Second of all, by framing these operations in exclusively racial terms diverts attention away from the underlying dynamics of capitalism which, of course, likewise serves ruling class interests.
Dangerous climate change: Myths and reality - Part 3
Click here to access article by David Spratt from Climate Code Red.
In part 3 Spratt addresses two myths propagated by ruling class propaganda organs:
In part 3 Spratt addresses two myths propagated by ruling class propaganda organs:
* Long-term feedbacks are not materially relevant for carbon budgeting
* There is time for an orderly, non-disruptive reduction in emissions within the current political-economic paradigm [capitalism]
Saturday, August 23, 2014
Alternative Energy Fetishes and Temples to Technology
Click here to access article by xraymike79 from Collapse of Industrial Civilization.
However, I have little doubt that the ruling class gatekeepers of opinions will come up with other delusions and will keep insisting on existing ones that include fusion power, migrating to other planets, engineering climate fixes, etc. Meanwhile as we continue to be fed and distracted by such delusions, we will continue our descent into a dystopia of wars, massacres, racism, police states, poverty, climate destabilization, etc.--unless, of course, we target the deliverer of the system that supplies the drugs of wealth and power to the global One Percents and misery to the rest of us, and worst of all a system that requires growth to exist--the capitalist system.
...the carrot of a civilization-saving technological breakthrough is forever dangled before our eyes. By all accounts, we appear hellbent on doing everything humanly possible to maintain and perpetuate industrial civilization by deploying “earth-friendly” renewable energy technologies which, in the end, turn out to be nothing more than “reconstituted fossil fuels”.It appears that one more delusion spread by agents of the One Percent to prolong theirs addictions to wealth and power is now reaching its expiry date. Of course, energy analysts like Gail Tverberg have been arguing this for years, but when a major corporation such as Google offers a forum for the expression of this view as seen in one video in the article, then it becomes sort of "official".
The role that fossil fuels play in the creation, maintenance and support of alternative energy technologies is not discussed or analyzed at all by those peddling it to the masses who live with the hope of a “green” economy and carbon-neutral civilization.
However, I have little doubt that the ruling class gatekeepers of opinions will come up with other delusions and will keep insisting on existing ones that include fusion power, migrating to other planets, engineering climate fixes, etc. Meanwhile as we continue to be fed and distracted by such delusions, we will continue our descent into a dystopia of wars, massacres, racism, police states, poverty, climate destabilization, etc.--unless, of course, we target the deliverer of the system that supplies the drugs of wealth and power to the global One Percents and misery to the rest of us, and worst of all a system that requires growth to exist--the capitalist system.
Bomber Bernie Can’t Take the Heat
Click here to access article by Jay Moore from CounterPunch.
I love it when someone reveals the true nature of a liberal as another clever supporter of the Empire. Here arch-liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders is exposed in all of his pro-Empire glory.
I love it when someone reveals the true nature of a liberal as another clever supporter of the Empire. Here arch-liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders is exposed in all of his pro-Empire glory.
Many on the Left outside of Vermont think Bernie is just wonderful. But they don’t know him as we radical activist in Vermont do. He may be pretty decent on domestic issues, at least relative to the other set of bad to horrible choices in the U.S. political spectrum. He can talk a good talk about income inequality and the need to fix it Yet, ever since he’s been in the U.S. Congress, he has been consistently atrocious on U.S.-launched and U.S.-supported wars, especially in the Middle East.It is interesting to note that Sanders appears to be the direct opposite of someone like Ron Paul or his son Rand Paul, both are, or have been, members of Congress. The latter both espouse very conservative views (pro-rich policies) regarding domestic issues, but in contrast to Sanders they are opposed to many foreign adventures of the Empire directorate. Because these people do support half of the shadow government's policies and none ever challenge capitalism, they are allowed to serve in Congress. It helps to preserve the illusion of "democracy" to have a few such dissenters.
The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Spoiled 23-Year-Old
Click here to access article by Ben Steverman from Bloomberg.
This is another contribution to my occasional practice on Saturdays to run articles about our fellow citizens of the One Percent (actually .01 of the 1%, or one out of every 10,000 of us) hoping that by doing this that we don't lose touch with their world and their concerns--you know, to promote understanding. It is important that we become better acquainted so that we can serve them better and make it easier for them to carry out the daily burden of making important decisions, decisions which affect whether we go off to war in foreign lands to kill their enemies, if we have jobs, if we live in a home or under a bridge, if we can afford their health care services, education, etc.
Unfortunately, for some reason they tend to hide their lives from the rest of us behind walls of secrecy, literal walls of guarded gated communities, private clubs, esoteric publications, by traveling with private jets, etc. We should not let that deter us.
From this article in Bloomberg we learn that the One Percent have worries too--I'll bet you are surprised.
This is another contribution to my occasional practice on Saturdays to run articles about our fellow citizens of the One Percent (actually .01 of the 1%, or one out of every 10,000 of us) hoping that by doing this that we don't lose touch with their world and their concerns--you know, to promote understanding. It is important that we become better acquainted so that we can serve them better and make it easier for them to carry out the daily burden of making important decisions, decisions which affect whether we go off to war in foreign lands to kill their enemies, if we have jobs, if we live in a home or under a bridge, if we can afford their health care services, education, etc.
Unfortunately, for some reason they tend to hide their lives from the rest of us behind walls of secrecy, literal walls of guarded gated communities, private clubs, esoteric publications, by traveling with private jets, etc. We should not let that deter us.
From this article in Bloomberg we learn that the One Percent have worries too--I'll bet you are surprised.
Rich people have enough money to solve almost all their problems but one: children who grow up to be entitled, materialistic and unhappy slackers.
First class for superrich high flyers
Click here to access article by Jim Hightower from his blog.
With so many things to worry about in our world, I'm glad that one of my big concerns has finally been resolved.
My worry was that, as a global society, we haven't been doing enough to meet the basic needs of the superrich. I'm talking about the 1-percent-of-the-1-percent. They have extra-special needs that we commoners never think about. Like first-class air travel. Sure, they can buy a first-class ticket, but come on – how special is that, really?
Friday, August 22, 2014
Western-NATO ‘Machinations’ Propel Death Squad ISIS, As Iraqi PM Maliki Forced Out Amidst Division
Click here to access article by Shawn Helton from 21st Century Wire.
Empire operatives seem to be working overtime in many places and using every conceivable weapon in their vast arsenals to increase their domination of the world, and enhance their financial statements. If they weren't committing so many major crimes against humanity, one would have to admire their skill at deceiving the public while accomplishing their agendas. This article focuses on one of their latest, and most brilliant operations using their manufactured terrorist organization ISIS while executing "humanitarian bombing" missions.
Empire operatives seem to be working overtime in many places and using every conceivable weapon in their vast arsenals to increase their domination of the world, and enhance their financial statements. If they weren't committing so many major crimes against humanity, one would have to admire their skill at deceiving the public while accomplishing their agendas. This article focuses on one of their latest, and most brilliant operations using their manufactured terrorist organization ISIS while executing "humanitarian bombing" missions.
There has been a media firestorm over the Islamic State radical terror thugs, as Western outlets have been busy displaying dramatic pictures of mass-executions as ‘evidence’ of their takeover in Iraq, their bizarre victory parades, the heavily staged video productions, along with their online merchandising campaign blamed for funding their rise. The ‘ISIS Crisis’ is a multilayered narrative that is partly real and partly fiction and is being used as yet another pretext to ramp-up military budgets and security threats throughout Europe and the US. Most of the ‘mass execution’ images put forward by the media have long since been exposed as a fraud but this hasn’t stopped US-European media ‘experts’ or US State Department and UK Foreign Office officials from continuing to fraudulently push this seemingly cooked up terror narrative.
US Begins Selling "Syria Intervention" Using ISIS Pretext
Click here to access article by Tony Cartalucci from Land Destroyer Report.
Cartalucci uncovers evidence that the US is using their "humanitarian bombing" in Iraq as a cover for going into Syria.
Following this he reveals once again how effective ruling class propaganda machinery is to mislead the gullible American public into supporting their war crimes.
Cartalucci uncovers evidence that the US is using their "humanitarian bombing" in Iraq as a cover for going into Syria.
Following this he reveals once again how effective ruling class propaganda machinery is to mislead the gullible American public into supporting their war crimes.
The utter madness of US policy in the Middle East, and indeed around the world, is enabled by both public ignorance and apathy. It enables US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to stand in front of the world and shamelessly claim:
ISIL [ISIS] is as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen," Hagel said. "They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. Oh, this is beyond anything that we've seen. So we must prepare for everything.That the public never asks just how ISIS could achieve such regional prominence despite hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, weapons, and military backing allegedly being funneled to "moderate opposition" in Syria indicates a vast chasm between reality and where public opinion stands.
World's Largest Ice Sheets Melting at Fastest Rates in Recorded History
Click here to access article by Jon Queally from Common Dreams.
The world's two largest ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are melting at the fastest rates ever recorded, according to a new study based on detailed satellite imagery.
Presented by scientists at the Germany-based Alfred Wegener Institute, the new research was conducted with the help of sophisticated mapping technology and the use of an ESA satellite (called CryoSat-2) which used radar technology to generate highly accurate elevation measurements of the ice sheets.
What the detailed look at the ice shows is devastating.
Bank of America agrees to sweetheart settlement with US Department of Justice
Click here to access article by Gabriel Black from World Socialist Web Site.
This brief article points to another example of how the ruling One Percent ensconced in major banks conceal their crimes with deceptions that are widely disseminated by mainstream media. In this example Americans have been lead to believe that justice has been served in the case of fraudulent practices committed by the Bank of America. You see, the system works! (sarcasm)
However, the author uses financial media sources to reveal the real truth:
This brief article points to another example of how the ruling One Percent ensconced in major banks conceal their crimes with deceptions that are widely disseminated by mainstream media. In this example Americans have been lead to believe that justice has been served in the case of fraudulent practices committed by the Bank of America. You see, the system works! (sarcasm)
However, the author uses financial media sources to reveal the real truth:
On Thursday, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) announced that it had reached an anticipated $16.7 billion settlement with Bank of America. The settlement related to charges that BoA and two banks it purchased, Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch, knowingly sold toxic mortgage assets to investors prior to the 2008 financial meltdown.
The $16.7 billion price tag is a deception. A majority of the money is either tax deductible or designed to support BoA while costing it nothing.When members of the ruling class commits crimes which severely damages the economy of the entire society, nobody is prosecuted. When someone like Michael Brown in a St. Louis suburb allegedly steals cigars, he is executed. Ain't capitalism wonderful?
The EU and IMF Rape of Ukraine Agriculture
Click here to access article by William Engdahl from Boiling Frogs Post.
It appears that Western capitalists, like vultures, are flocking to Ukraine to feed on the spoils of their violent takeover of the government and the Empire's 5 billion dollar investment. Engdahl reports on the spoils they are going after first.
It appears that Western capitalists, like vultures, are flocking to Ukraine to feed on the spoils of their violent takeover of the government and the Empire's 5 billion dollar investment. Engdahl reports on the spoils they are going after first.
Thursday, August 21, 2014
Ukraine Crisis Continues
Click here to access article by Paul Craig Roberts from his blog.
The articles written by this former member of the Reagan administration are widely re-posted in many alternative websites because he has exposed so many lies of the One Percent's government and media. Because of many such writings in recent years, he is regarded as a political renegade by the One Percent, and often as a champion to many on the left. Clearly he deserves a lot of respect for rejecting the fascist slippery road that our ruling class is going down, and affirming the truth about their policies regardless of the personal costs that he has had to pay in relationships with his former class friends.
However, the logic of his thinking as so well expressed in this article leads to very dangerous conclusions. Unfortunately, many other astute observers like William Engdahl and Pepe Escobar, including leftists, agree with his logic--and therefore his conclusions. But there is one major flaw in the logic of all these anti-imperialist critics: they all make the TINA (there is no alternative--to capitalism) assumption. With this assumption their logic inevitably leads them to favor other capitalist gangs in some kind of paradise that is often referred to as a "multi-polar world".
I don't recall Robert's use of this term, but he uses the same basic logic. Thus, his logic regarding the aggressive policies pursued by the Empire in Ukraine leads him into arguing for an aggressive response by Russia that could easily lead to a major conflagration between nations armed with nuclear weapons. Having already argued that "Washington...relies on violence", he lamely advocates an attempt at diplomacy. Then he finally reaches a more realistic (in terms of his logic) conclusion:
The articles written by this former member of the Reagan administration are widely re-posted in many alternative websites because he has exposed so many lies of the One Percent's government and media. Because of many such writings in recent years, he is regarded as a political renegade by the One Percent, and often as a champion to many on the left. Clearly he deserves a lot of respect for rejecting the fascist slippery road that our ruling class is going down, and affirming the truth about their policies regardless of the personal costs that he has had to pay in relationships with his former class friends.
However, the logic of his thinking as so well expressed in this article leads to very dangerous conclusions. Unfortunately, many other astute observers like William Engdahl and Pepe Escobar, including leftists, agree with his logic--and therefore his conclusions. But there is one major flaw in the logic of all these anti-imperialist critics: they all make the TINA (there is no alternative--to capitalism) assumption. With this assumption their logic inevitably leads them to favor other capitalist gangs in some kind of paradise that is often referred to as a "multi-polar world".
I don't recall Robert's use of this term, but he uses the same basic logic. Thus, his logic regarding the aggressive policies pursued by the Empire in Ukraine leads him into arguing for an aggressive response by Russia that could easily lead to a major conflagration between nations armed with nuclear weapons. Having already argued that "Washington...relies on violence", he lamely advocates an attempt at diplomacy. Then he finally reaches a more realistic (in terms of his logic) conclusion:
If this very reasonable and diplomatic approach to Europe fails, then Russia and China know that they must prepare for war.We the people of the world, sometimes known as the global Ninety-Nine Percent, represent the only force that can prevent the destruction of humanity either through a series of global wars over diminishing resources by capitalist gangs or an immediate nuclear holocaust by major capitalist gangs. It is finally up to us to save our species and many other species from the actions of the global capitalist gangs whose actions will inevitably lead to our extinction. We must destroy the system that is driving the actions of the global One Percents, and replace it with one that can sustain not only human life, but the lives of many other species.
The Militarization of Racism and Neoliberal Violence
Click here to access article by Henry A. Giroux from Uncommon Thought Journal.
I have long complained about liberal takes on current issues like Giroux's articles. While left-liberals frequently complain about the numerous current problems of wars, poverty, the lack of social justice, etc, they always stop short of blaming the system. One frequent method of accomplishing this is evident again in this article where Giroux points his finger at "neoliberalism" or "casino capitalism" as something like a recent creation, something very different than what we had before in which democracy existed. I have attacked this view for so long (look under my tag "liberal") that I am frankly tired of doing so. Thus, if you have doubts, I'm only going to refer you to one very excellent article entitled "The 'Ralph Nader' Illusion" explaining the fakery of this liberal view.
Still, Giroux, especially in this article, seems to come the closest that liberals ever come to revealing the real nature of capitalism. He just hides it behind terms like "neoliberalism" (a current stage of capitalism) and "casino capitalism". The strongest targets of his criticism of this current stage of capitalism are very characteristic of elements of fascism, but he never uses that word. To do so might reveal the hard core nature of earlier capitalism which hid behind a curtain with pictures of "democracy" all over it.
I have long complained about liberal takes on current issues like Giroux's articles. While left-liberals frequently complain about the numerous current problems of wars, poverty, the lack of social justice, etc, they always stop short of blaming the system. One frequent method of accomplishing this is evident again in this article where Giroux points his finger at "neoliberalism" or "casino capitalism" as something like a recent creation, something very different than what we had before in which democracy existed. I have attacked this view for so long (look under my tag "liberal") that I am frankly tired of doing so. Thus, if you have doubts, I'm only going to refer you to one very excellent article entitled "The 'Ralph Nader' Illusion" explaining the fakery of this liberal view.
Still, Giroux, especially in this article, seems to come the closest that liberals ever come to revealing the real nature of capitalism. He just hides it behind terms like "neoliberalism" (a current stage of capitalism) and "casino capitalism". The strongest targets of his criticism of this current stage of capitalism are very characteristic of elements of fascism, but he never uses that word. To do so might reveal the hard core nature of earlier capitalism which hid behind a curtain with pictures of "democracy" all over it.
‘The Bull Move Has Lasted So Long Nobody Can See Its End’
Click here to access article by Wolf Richter from Wolf Street.
See if you agree with what I see as an underlying message in this article and others he's written: the economy, wrecked in 2008 by years of risky bets promoted by banksters, has since been largely sustained by a bubble of cheap money supplied to capitalists and created by the Fed out of nothing, is now teetering on a precipice and will soon come crashing down.
While noticing that Wall Street stocks seem to be levitating today to ever greater heights, I have a strong feeling that he is right. Because the cheap money party has lasted so long, many investors will have their delusions shattered in the coming collapse. Unfortunately, working people as always will suffer the worst damage. Ain't capitalism wonderful?
See if you agree with what I see as an underlying message in this article and others he's written: the economy, wrecked in 2008 by years of risky bets promoted by banksters, has since been largely sustained by a bubble of cheap money supplied to capitalists and created by the Fed out of nothing, is now teetering on a precipice and will soon come crashing down.
While noticing that Wall Street stocks seem to be levitating today to ever greater heights, I have a strong feeling that he is right. Because the cheap money party has lasted so long, many investors will have their delusions shattered in the coming collapse. Unfortunately, working people as always will suffer the worst damage. Ain't capitalism wonderful?
Former Mafia Boss Who Did a Lot of Business with Wall Street: Buy Physical Gold and Silver, Because Wall Street Steals Your Money
Click here to access article from Washington's Blog.
Sometimes it takes a crook to recognize another crook.
The article contains a very interesting 7:15m video interview with a former organized crime boss.
Sometimes it takes a crook to recognize another crook.
The article contains a very interesting 7:15m video interview with a former organized crime boss.
The Colombo crime family’s former boss – Michael Franzese – says even he doesn’t trust Wall Street.
Franzese...spent 10 years in prison after he was convicted on federal racketeering charges.
When he was 35, Franzese ranked No. 8 on Fortune Magazine’s list of the 50 most wealthy and powerful mafia bosses (44 of those on the list are now dead, and three are doing life in prison without parole). He reportedly raked in up to $8 million a week. Franzese is the only surviving high-ranking member of a major crime family to publicly walk away and refuse protective custody.
'They Just Killed Him': New Video Betrays Police Depiction of Fatal Shooting
Click here to access article by Jon Queally from Common Dreams.
This article includes two videos that illustrate how the police lie about their executions of people they profile as undesirable citizens.
This article includes two videos that illustrate how the police lie about their executions of people they profile as undesirable citizens.
Not at Home on the Range: Subsidized Fracking Hits Colorado
Click here to access article by Paul Thacker from Oil Change International.
In response to public unease, the state has created a system to report complaints of oil and gas health effects. The subject has become so acute that it consumes Colorado’s politicians and electorate, who have been squaring off on multiple ballot initiatives to limit where companies can drill, in order to provide a buffer between gas wells and people’s homes.
But there’s one fact the industry would like to hide from the public (but uses in its lobbying of Congress): much of the drilling activity in Colorado would never happen were it not for generous tax subsidies.
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
The Double Identity of an "Anti-Semitic" Commenter
Click here to access article by Lance Tapley from Common Dreams.
After suffering criticism from donors critical of frequent atrocious anti-Semitic comments following articles critical of Israel, Common Dreams' staff launched their own investigation of the people behind the comments. What they found was a new twist of the Jewish victimization technique used by Zionists in which they attack people who are critical of the actions of Israel as being "anti-Semitic".
Read the article to find the details of what they discovered about one individual's devious use of the web to discredit websites like Common Dreams that post articles critical of Israeli actions. Also, the article reveals interesting information about organized efforts to defend and promote Israeli policies on the web and social media.
After suffering criticism from donors critical of frequent atrocious anti-Semitic comments following articles critical of Israel, Common Dreams' staff launched their own investigation of the people behind the comments. What they found was a new twist of the Jewish victimization technique used by Zionists in which they attack people who are critical of the actions of Israel as being "anti-Semitic".
Read the article to find the details of what they discovered about one individual's devious use of the web to discredit websites like Common Dreams that post articles critical of Israeli actions. Also, the article reveals interesting information about organized efforts to defend and promote Israeli policies on the web and social media.
Jewish and evangelical-Christian groups and other organizations outside Israel have long promoted Israel's interests--some by attacking what they perceive as bias in newspapers and on television and radio. In the U.S., the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America (CAMERA), founded in 1982 (with a newer offshoot, CAMERA on Campus), has aggressively pushed pro-Israel narratives in American news media.
Israeli-government-promoted internet activism--reactive and proactive--is a newer effort. News reports show it was ramped up in recent years, in step with other governments, including the U.S. government. Some civilian Israelis apparently are paid by the government to work the internet. The Associated Press reported from Jerusalem last year that the government was "looking to hire university students to post pro-Israel messages on social media networks."
New York Fed’s Answer to Cartels Rigging Markets – Form Another Cartel
Click here to access article by Pam Martens and Russ Martens from Wall Street On Parade.
These two authors have specialized in investigating and writing articles about the corrupt practices found in Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, the nerve center of US capitalism, following the 2008 economic collapse.
If you agree with my contention that the ruling class in the US and the US-led Empire is located most predominately in the private banking consortium deceptively called the Federal Reserve, then you must read this piece, and follow this website, to discover what they have found: the incestuous relationship of regulatory agencies with the banks that they are supposedly monitoring to insure compliance with laws, and both groups are tied closely to the Fed. Is it any wonder that are economy serves only the One Percent?
These two authors have specialized in investigating and writing articles about the corrupt practices found in Wall Street and the Federal Reserve, the nerve center of US capitalism, following the 2008 economic collapse.
If you agree with my contention that the ruling class in the US and the US-led Empire is located most predominately in the private banking consortium deceptively called the Federal Reserve, then you must read this piece, and follow this website, to discover what they have found: the incestuous relationship of regulatory agencies with the banks that they are supposedly monitoring to insure compliance with laws, and both groups are tied closely to the Fed. Is it any wonder that are economy serves only the One Percent?
‘Mission Blue’ Warning: The Ocean Is Not Too Big to Fail
Click here to access article by Sylvia A. Earle from The Daily Beast.
I originally found this article at The Greanville Post, a website whose articles I have often posted because they have contributed a lot to understanding the major issues of today: the destructiveness of capitalism both on societies and the environment. However, occasionally I see articles posted like this on their website which, I am convinced, serve capitalist elites. Let me explain.
I doubt that Earle intentionally designed the piece to pander to the interests of the One Percent ruling classes, but such articles could easily have been written by design to lull unsuspecting, un-critically thinking people into acquiescing with their dangerous activities. My argument is that such articles do, in fact, serve the interests of capitalist actors, like this major corporation that owns The Daily Beast, and their directors who are actively destroying societies as well as the environment while satisfying their addictions to power and profit.
The article performs this function first by seducing unsuspecting readers who are increasingly concerned about the environment with material that recognizes the serious problems that have been caused by man-made actions on the ocean. But then the article cleverly steers them into a solution which will protect capitalist "business as usual" by suggesting that all that needs to be done is to establish ocean reserves. This solution reminds me so much of the establishment of reservations for indigenous people whom European-Americans failed to destroy in the 19th century. Does anyone seriously think that such reserves could be immune to the massive assault on the environments of the rest of the planet; but more importantly, that we can save the planet for humans and other species by such as scheme?
I originally found this article at The Greanville Post, a website whose articles I have often posted because they have contributed a lot to understanding the major issues of today: the destructiveness of capitalism both on societies and the environment. However, occasionally I see articles posted like this on their website which, I am convinced, serve capitalist elites. Let me explain.
I doubt that Earle intentionally designed the piece to pander to the interests of the One Percent ruling classes, but such articles could easily have been written by design to lull unsuspecting, un-critically thinking people into acquiescing with their dangerous activities. My argument is that such articles do, in fact, serve the interests of capitalist actors, like this major corporation that owns The Daily Beast, and their directors who are actively destroying societies as well as the environment while satisfying their addictions to power and profit.
The article performs this function first by seducing unsuspecting readers who are increasingly concerned about the environment with material that recognizes the serious problems that have been caused by man-made actions on the ocean. But then the article cleverly steers them into a solution which will protect capitalist "business as usual" by suggesting that all that needs to be done is to establish ocean reserves. This solution reminds me so much of the establishment of reservations for indigenous people whom European-Americans failed to destroy in the 19th century. Does anyone seriously think that such reserves could be immune to the massive assault on the environments of the rest of the planet; but more importantly, that we can save the planet for humans and other species by such as scheme?
Tuesday, August 19, 2014
The New Ulster: The Nature and Purpose of The State of Israel
Click here to access article by Brandon Turbeville from Activist Post.
Turbeville provides us with an absolutely excellent piece of analysis examining the historical uses of the "divide and conquer" strategy so effectively employed by the British Empire, and now continued by the new US-led Empire, particularly in the fossil-fuel rich Middle East.
Turbeville provides us with an absolutely excellent piece of analysis examining the historical uses of the "divide and conquer" strategy so effectively employed by the British Empire, and now continued by the new US-led Empire, particularly in the fossil-fuel rich Middle East.
While a Forward Operating Base is one way to describe Israel, it is also much more than simply a territorial staging ground for Western imperialist motives. It is, in fact, a carefully constructed destabilization organ that was planned and implemented long ago for the purpose of dividing and conquering the entire Middle East....
Order Out of Chaos: The Global Elites Plan for a “Middle Eastern Union”
Click here to access article by Steven MacMillan from New Eastern Outlook.
The Middle East has been engulfed in a state of chaos for decades now, with the region becoming increasingly unstable in recent years largely due to western sponsored proxy wars. The current map of the Middle East was created in 1916 through the surreptitious Sykes-Picot agreement, a deal which divided the Ottoman-ruled territories of Syria, Iraq, Lebanon and Palestine, into areas controlled by either Britain or France. Today the chaos we see in the Middle East is the creation of Anglo-American-Israeli power, which is attempting to redraw the map to meet their present strategic and imperial objectives.MacMillan offers a very solid piece of geo-political analysis of this war-torn region of the world.
The Carnage of Capitalism
Click here to access article by Paul Buchheit from Common Dreams.
Capitalism is expanding like a tumor in the body of American society, spreading further into vital areas of human need like health and education.Actually, what we are witnessing is the final stage of capitalism in which it is seeing the approaching limits posed by a finite planet, and is starting to feed ever more aggressively on its host societies. It will destroy us all, as well as itself, if we remain passive out of ignorance or fear.
Misdirection in the United States
Click here to access article by David Ruccio from Real-World Economics Review Blog.
Economist Ruccio provides more data on what's happening inour the One Percent's economy. This is good news for them because labor costs are lower, and this means more profits for them. However, they don't want us to know that, so their media directors put a positive spin on such data in an attempt to keep us quiet.
Economist Ruccio provides more data on what's happening in
The Washington Post tries to put a positive spin on the recent pattern of job growth. However, the underlying study (from the National Employment Law Project [pdf]) offers quite a different view: even though jobs gains have recently accelerated in higher-wage industries, the imbalance of especially pronounced gains at the bottom and slow growth in mid-wage industries persists.
Monday, August 18, 2014
Solidarity with Occupied Ferguson
Click here to access article from War Resisters League.
This piece offers a brief, but concise statement that connects so many evils both past and present that are being perpetrated by the Empire. What we are seeing is a growing global war under the leadership of the directors of the Empire against the rest of us. It's now clear that citizenship is irrelevant in this new stage of globalized capitalism: either you serve the Empire or face consequences; and if you resist enough to constitute a threat to their interests or prejudices, you will become a target.
Also, you may find this article interesting: "Linking Violence In Solidarity: Ferguson, Gaza, and the US State" posted on Jadaliyya.
This piece offers a brief, but concise statement that connects so many evils both past and present that are being perpetrated by the Empire. What we are seeing is a growing global war under the leadership of the directors of the Empire against the rest of us. It's now clear that citizenship is irrelevant in this new stage of globalized capitalism: either you serve the Empire or face consequences; and if you resist enough to constitute a threat to their interests or prejudices, you will become a target.
The parallels between the Israeli Defense Forces in Palestine, the Military Police of Rio de Janeiro, the Indian police in Kashmir, the array of oppressive armed forces in Iraq, and the LAPD in Skid Row could not be any clearer. But just as police repression is an increasingly coordinated global phenomenon, recent movements against policing have unleashed powerful imagination and energy; from the rebellion following the Oakland Police murder of Oscar Grant to the uprising against police brutality that sparked the Egyptian revolution in 2011.It's clear that the events in Ferguson have the ruling One Percent worried judging by this interesting article entitled "The Coming Race War Won’t Be About Race" by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar posted in Time, a ruling class media agency. However, don't expect any constructive efforts to be made by our masters.
Also, you may find this article interesting: "Linking Violence In Solidarity: Ferguson, Gaza, and the US State" posted on Jadaliyya.
The Islamic State: a monster US empire created
Click here to access article by Jerome Roos from Reflections on a Revolution.
The rise of fundamentalism is a decidedly modern phenomenon in which US imperialism has always played a major role. The Islamic State is no exception.Roos continues on to explain how the "Empire of Chaos", as referenced by Brazilian Journalist Pepe Escobar, along with its Arab monarchy friends have created this latest terrorist monstrosity following a pattern first established in Afghanistan in the 1980s to undermine Soviet influence.
Questioning Edward Snowden’s Cure-All
Click here to access article by Bill Blunden from CounterPunch.
Because of Blunden's condensed writing style, I found that I had to read every word carefully to get the full meaning--and it was very worthwhile.
In contrast to the facile and naive solution that Snowden thinks is sufficient to deal with government spying on our computers, electronic gadgets, and emails, Blunden's argument leads us to the following conclusion:
Because of Blunden's condensed writing style, I found that I had to read every word carefully to get the full meaning--and it was very worthwhile.
In contrast to the facile and naive solution that Snowden thinks is sufficient to deal with government spying on our computers, electronic gadgets, and emails, Blunden's argument leads us to the following conclusion:
There are laws that allow these violations to transpire. Furthermore the government which formulated these laws has been captured by plutocratic factions. The intelligence services, in particular the CIA, exist to serve these elite interests. To seek refuge in strong encryption is to escape into denial. Bolstering security and protecting our civil liberties will require the public to mobilize and generate the political impetus to take on the Deep State. [my emphasis]
When water is a commodity instead of a human right
Click here to access article by Pete Dolack from his blog Systemic Disorder.
I am posting this article because it is representative of a an attack on capitalist rule that is frequently seen in left-wing media sources, and I believe that it falls short as an explanation of what is currently happening in Western capitalist countries. I do this in a spirit of respect for this outstanding blogger in the higher interest of understanding the system that is increasingly crushing the life out of all of us in the Ninety-Nine Percent.
It has long been recognized by anti-capitalists that the system has an inherent tendency to transform everything into a commodity which, of course, it does. Therefore, to secure the legitimacy of their rule and to weaken opposition, capitalist elites have long recognized the need to provide monetary and other supports to those who cannot, for any reason, purchase their fundamental needs. As the system of capitalism with its voracious appetite for resources, particularly relatively cheap supplies of fossil fuels, comes up against the limits of a finite planet, the failure of capitalism to supply the needs of a large part of humanity has become dramatic.
We have now entered into an era in which the cost of mining fossil fuels is becoming increasingly expensive. Also, the scramble by capitalist gangs to secure the cheapest sources of these fuels has forced them to resort to military violence against any competitors or people who resist their incursions on their territory to access these fuels. (Hints: think Iraq, think Afghanistan, think Libya, think Syria, think Iran, think Ukraine.) The costs of military violence is also a growing burden for capitalist rulers. So, something must give. Guess what that is?
The best way to understand the predicament that capitalists are now in and what is now threatening us in the global Ninety-Nine Percent is a theory recently resurrected by Camille Barbagallo and Nicholas Beuret first formulated by African philosopher Achille Mmembe called "necropolitics" in which death assumes an important function of elite governance. Rather than repeating myself, I refer you to my commentary in an article I posted last week to explain this theory.
I am posting this article because it is representative of a an attack on capitalist rule that is frequently seen in left-wing media sources, and I believe that it falls short as an explanation of what is currently happening in Western capitalist countries. I do this in a spirit of respect for this outstanding blogger in the higher interest of understanding the system that is increasingly crushing the life out of all of us in the Ninety-Nine Percent.
It has long been recognized by anti-capitalists that the system has an inherent tendency to transform everything into a commodity which, of course, it does. Therefore, to secure the legitimacy of their rule and to weaken opposition, capitalist elites have long recognized the need to provide monetary and other supports to those who cannot, for any reason, purchase their fundamental needs. As the system of capitalism with its voracious appetite for resources, particularly relatively cheap supplies of fossil fuels, comes up against the limits of a finite planet, the failure of capitalism to supply the needs of a large part of humanity has become dramatic.
We have now entered into an era in which the cost of mining fossil fuels is becoming increasingly expensive. Also, the scramble by capitalist gangs to secure the cheapest sources of these fuels has forced them to resort to military violence against any competitors or people who resist their incursions on their territory to access these fuels. (Hints: think Iraq, think Afghanistan, think Libya, think Syria, think Iran, think Ukraine.) The costs of military violence is also a growing burden for capitalist rulers. So, something must give. Guess what that is?
The best way to understand the predicament that capitalists are now in and what is now threatening us in the global Ninety-Nine Percent is a theory recently resurrected by Camille Barbagallo and Nicholas Beuret first formulated by African philosopher Achille Mmembe called "necropolitics" in which death assumes an important function of elite governance. Rather than repeating myself, I refer you to my commentary in an article I posted last week to explain this theory.
USA jobs lost 2008-14, average wage of jobs lost, average wage of jobs gained
Click here to access article by David Ruccio from Real-World Economics Review Blog.
Here is some hard data and graphs from a U.S. Conference of Mayors report to confirm what we have been witnessing in the US economy: a continuing decline of good-paying jobs and the impoverishment of workers.
Here is some hard data and graphs from a U.S. Conference of Mayors report to confirm what we have been witnessing in the US economy: a continuing decline of good-paying jobs and the impoverishment of workers.
Sunday, August 17, 2014
Israel’s turn to the right: the occupier devours itself
Click here to access article by Jerome Roos from Reflections on a Revolution.
Using the metaphor of a snake that under certain conditions will devour itself, Roos explains that similar problems are now facing the rulers of Israel who, like all oppressors in history, have become addicted to from their dominance and exploitation of others. The only way that this sort of relationship of oppression can sustain itself is to dehumanize their own populations with the tools of propaganda and indoctrination. He draws wisdom from other historical figures who have studied this phenomenon:
I think the main reason that this sort of aggression against other human being has succeeded is the class structure of human societies which began roughly about 10,000 years ago. Because this period only constitutes about two percent of human existence--the last two percent--it can hardly be attributed to a defective human nature. No, the culprit here is the division of humanity into layers of privileged and less privileged groups, the institutionalization of inequality.
The top layers of unequal societies are ruling classes who exploit those below them to obtain their goodies of power and material rewards. I believe that the key to their success lies in the nature of the class structure itself. Ruling classes insulate themselves from the worst effects of their own dehumanizing actions by forcing or inducing lower classes to carrying out the worst forms of oppression and violence. Thus, the subordinate classes are the people who experience the worst forms of dehumanization, and the lower one is on the class structure, the worse are the effects. The ruling classes suffer very little of this damage.
Until we rid societies of the scourge of inequality, we will continue to suffer "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" in the form of wars and environmental destruction. And, worst of all, we risk total annihilation if we fail to do so.
Using the metaphor of a snake that under certain conditions will devour itself, Roos explains that similar problems are now facing the rulers of Israel who, like all oppressors in history, have become addicted to from their dominance and exploitation of others. The only way that this sort of relationship of oppression can sustain itself is to dehumanize their own populations with the tools of propaganda and indoctrination. He draws wisdom from other historical figures who have studied this phenomenon:
Not too long ago, great thinkers like Paulo Freire, Aimé Césaire and Frantz Fanon observed with great lucidity how the European colonizer, by brutalizing the colonized, ended up brutalizing himself. Running a colonial regime, they noted, requires not just the dehumanization of the oppressed, but — much more importantly — the thorough dehumanization of the oppressor. Human affects like empathy must be actively repressed to keep the colonial order intact; not only to justify the brutality ideologically, but simply to cope with one’s own atrocities emotionally.However, it has been very evident that such oppression of others has been a fact of human history. So, one is forced to ask the question: is it true that such dehumanizing oppression succeeds because of some weaknesses in the nature of human beings which, if they fail to overcome them with other character strengths, will ultimately end in the specie's annihilation? Here I am referring to the powerful effects of immediate gratification: the obtaining of material rewards and the allure of power through the use of violence or the threat of violence against others or nature.
I think the main reason that this sort of aggression against other human being has succeeded is the class structure of human societies which began roughly about 10,000 years ago. Because this period only constitutes about two percent of human existence--the last two percent--it can hardly be attributed to a defective human nature. No, the culprit here is the division of humanity into layers of privileged and less privileged groups, the institutionalization of inequality.
The top layers of unequal societies are ruling classes who exploit those below them to obtain their goodies of power and material rewards. I believe that the key to their success lies in the nature of the class structure itself. Ruling classes insulate themselves from the worst effects of their own dehumanizing actions by forcing or inducing lower classes to carrying out the worst forms of oppression and violence. Thus, the subordinate classes are the people who experience the worst forms of dehumanization, and the lower one is on the class structure, the worse are the effects. The ruling classes suffer very little of this damage.
Until we rid societies of the scourge of inequality, we will continue to suffer "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" in the form of wars and environmental destruction. And, worst of all, we risk total annihilation if we fail to do so.
NAFTA Is 20 Years Old – Here Are 20 Facts That Show How It Is Destroying The Economy
Click here to access article by Michael Snyder from The Economic Collapse.
It's has become obvious to ordinary people that the economic opportunities for them have been severely damaged for them under NATA. (I'm proud to recall that the protests in Seattle were the first significant organized opposition to it.) In spite of carefully laid propaganda by the One Percent's media promising more jobs to Americans, the protests brought together hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Seattle and resulted in the shutdown of the NAFTA meetings. However, NAFTA was shoved through the ruling class's government anyway, and the now the results are evident for everyone to see--except most people won't see them because they are too busy watching the mind-altering "news" brought to them by corporate media.
One obvious fact stands out, but is not mentioned in the article. NAFTA and all the other neoliberal schemes have promoted the economies of capitalist classes, and that is precisely why they were successfully promoted. Instead the author points to one of the favorite distracting right-wing themes--world government:
It's has become obvious to ordinary people that the economic opportunities for them have been severely damaged for them under NATA. (I'm proud to recall that the protests in Seattle were the first significant organized opposition to it.) In spite of carefully laid propaganda by the One Percent's media promising more jobs to Americans, the protests brought together hundreds of thousands of people on the streets of Seattle and resulted in the shutdown of the NAFTA meetings. However, NAFTA was shoved through the ruling class's government anyway, and the now the results are evident for everyone to see--except most people won't see them because they are too busy watching the mind-altering "news" brought to them by corporate media.
One obvious fact stands out, but is not mentioned in the article. NAFTA and all the other neoliberal schemes have promoted the economies of capitalist classes, and that is precisely why they were successfully promoted. Instead the author points to one of the favorite distracting right-wing themes--world government:
When you hear our politicians talk about "free trade", what they are really talking about is integrating us even further into the emerging one world economic system.It is not world government itself that we have to fear--it the is character of the world government. It is the governments beholden to capitalist classes, particularly the current contender for top dog, the US capitalist Empire, that we have to fear taking over the world and enslaving all workers of the world.
When Will They Shoot?
Click here to access article by Peter Frase from Jacobin.
Frase provides factual data on hazards to various types of workers to support his argument:
Frase provides factual data on hazards to various types of workers to support his argument:
Lots of people are at risk on the job. But when it comes to cops, they’re mostly a danger to others.
Saturday, August 16, 2014
Top 10 reasons to hate capitalism
Click here to access article by Gary Engler from New Commune-ist Manifesto (Canada).
A very good list.
A very good list.
Israel’s Real Target is Not Hamas
Click here to access article by Dan Glazebrook from CounterPunch.
All colonial settler states are based on the violent dispossession of the native peoples – and as a result, their fundamental and overriding aim has always been to keep those native peoples as weak as possible. Israel’s aim for the Palestinians is no different.Using candid statements from Israeli sources, Glazebrook develops the thesis that the principle of "divide and conquer" has been the Zionist's major principle, if not the sole principle, guiding their actions not only toward Palestinians, but all of the neighboring countries.
Energy and the Economy – Twelve Basic Principles
Click here to access article by Gail Tverberg from her blog Our Finite World.
Tverberg, who is a highly respected energy analyst among independent energy scientists and technologists, sums up many years of her research into these "Twelve Basic Principles". I have been following her writings for at least five years, first at the Oil Drum and now here, and cannot recall that she ever questioned the system of capitalism.
If you are not familiar with her work, you might initially get the wrong impression by her statement in the first principle: "Economic models are no longer valid, as we start getting close to limits." But it will shortly become clear that she is writing about economic models formulated by capitalist economists, not the capitalist model itself. She, like so many others has been infected by the TINA virus, and is unable to think outside the box of capitalism. However, unlike our addicted capitalist rulers, she has examined the evidence and acknowledged the realities of a finite planet, and that we humans cannot continue relying on cheap fossil fuels. Unfortunately, such thinking leads to only a "gloom and doom" scenario.
Tverberg, who is a highly respected energy analyst among independent energy scientists and technologists, sums up many years of her research into these "Twelve Basic Principles". I have been following her writings for at least five years, first at the Oil Drum and now here, and cannot recall that she ever questioned the system of capitalism.
If you are not familiar with her work, you might initially get the wrong impression by her statement in the first principle: "Economic models are no longer valid, as we start getting close to limits." But it will shortly become clear that she is writing about economic models formulated by capitalist economists, not the capitalist model itself. She, like so many others has been infected by the TINA virus, and is unable to think outside the box of capitalism. However, unlike our addicted capitalist rulers, she has examined the evidence and acknowledged the realities of a finite planet, and that we humans cannot continue relying on cheap fossil fuels. Unfortunately, such thinking leads to only a "gloom and doom" scenario.
We seem now to be at risk in many ways of entering into the collapse scenario experienced by many civilizations before us.
Friday, August 15, 2014
From Boston to Ferguson: Have We Reached a Tipping Point in the Police State?
Click here to access article by John W. Whitehead of The Rutherford Institute.
Thus, for those like myself who have studied emerging police states, the sight of a city placed under martial law—its citizens under house arrest (officials used the Orwellian phrase “shelter in place” to describe the mandatory lockdown), military-style helicopters equipped with thermal imaging devices buzzing the skies, tanks and armored vehicles on the streets, and snipers perched on rooftops, while thousands of black-garbed police swarm the streets and SWAT teams carry out house-to-house searches—leaves us in a growing state of unease.After citing seven problematic factors that support such a police state, he concludes by writing:
Mind you, these are no longer warning signs of a steadily encroaching police state.
The police state has arrived.
Whatever the threat to so-called security—whether it’s rumored weapons of mass destruction, school shootings, or alleged acts of terrorism—it doesn’t take much for the American people to march in lockstep with the government’s dictates, even if it means submitting to martial law, having their homes searched, and being stripped of one’s constitutional rights at a moment’s notice. Americans will unfortunately march in lockstep with the police state, that is, until suddenly they are the ones being held at gunpoint, terrorized and stripped of their rights. At that point, as Ferguson makes clear, it’s almost too late to dial back the police state.I also recommend a much briefer article entitled "Solidarity with Occupied Ferguson" from War Resistors League.
The inhabitants of Donetsk see their “liberators” as murderers
Thanks to Seemorerocks website for posting this CNN broadcast via YouTube.
This kind of major US corporate news coverage is extremely rare--in fact, I've seen nothing like it. US citizens have been bombarded with monolithic anti-Russian propaganda that resembles what occurred in Nazi Germany before their invasion of Russia and familiar to Americans during the Cold War--only the content is different and more sophisticated. The dramatic events of the Israeli massacre of Gazans, and then the US equipped Islamic jihadist threat in Iraq offer convenient distractions from the horrors of war that are being perpetrated by the US-backed Kiev government against people in the eastern provinces of Ukraine.
This kind of major US corporate news coverage is extremely rare--in fact, I've seen nothing like it. US citizens have been bombarded with monolithic anti-Russian propaganda that resembles what occurred in Nazi Germany before their invasion of Russia and familiar to Americans during the Cold War--only the content is different and more sophisticated. The dramatic events of the Israeli massacre of Gazans, and then the US equipped Islamic jihadist threat in Iraq offer convenient distractions from the horrors of war that are being perpetrated by the US-backed Kiev government against people in the eastern provinces of Ukraine.
'ISIS a pretext for US-sponsored regime change in Iraq'
Click here to access article by Eric Draitser from RT.
This independent geopolitical analyst offers his assessment of the real underlying reasons shaping recent events in Iraq and nearby areas. It's about control of oil by major Western corporations and the intolerable independent policies of the Empire-installed puppet al-Maliki.
This independent geopolitical analyst offers his assessment of the real underlying reasons shaping recent events in Iraq and nearby areas. It's about control of oil by major Western corporations and the intolerable independent policies of the Empire-installed puppet al-Maliki.
The ousting of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is part of a broader US plan for Iraq and the Middle East as a whole.
Against the backdrop of the war against the Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Washington has managed to kill two birds with one stone, as the saying goes. Not only has the US removed a political leader who had proven to be problematic due to his opposition to US military presence in Iraq, as well as his staunch support for Syria and President Assad, they have also created the conditions for the dismemberment of the Iraqi state.
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