Click here to access article from Political Film Blog.
I strongly disagree with the author (?) that America was "killed" when JFK was assassinated by a "deep state" cabal who directed the CIA to murder him. The United States of America was already headed in this fascist direction.
In the run-up to WWII, a large section of the capitalist ruling class in America and many other Western countries, was split between their national interests and Anglophiles on one side and those who supported the rise of Nazi Germany. The supporters of the latter were impatient with all the deceptions and difficulties of running fake democracies and controlled elections, and especially wanted an aggressive Nazi Germany to destroy the Soviet Union, the nemesis of the whole capitalist world. (Read my commentaries here, here, and here for more details and supporting documentation.)
After the successful conclusion of WWII, the US was in a very dominant position with an intact economy, a large army, and most of the gold. People in the right-wing, people like the Dulles brothers, saw this as a great opportunity to construct a hidden government behind the facade of the official government that would really run political affairs and promote the construction of a dominant empire.
What the assassination of Kennedy did accomplish was the consolidation of a hidden deep state consisting of a class-based network of major capitalists and
encompasses all the levers of power ranging from NSA surveillance, CIA
infiltrated media corporations, National Security Council to powerful
think tanks such as Brookings Institution, Council on Foreign Relations,
Rand, etc, and the Federal Reserve. The assassination also gave a demonstration to many prominent capitalists who really ran the government. Since then they have been perfecting the machinery of this deep state that successfully engineered 9/11 and constructed the Empire we see today engaged in wars and subversive activities all over the world.
Tuesday, May 17, 2016
Establishment Blinders: Philip Shenon & 9/11
Click here to access article by Joe Giambrone from Political Film Blog.
I am a bit disgusted today. Philip Shenon–formerly of the New York Times–has done an incredible amount of work exposing how utterly fraudulent the “9/11 Commission” actually was. It was a complete sham from start to finish. He shows us easily a hundred facts that establish how disgraceful and untrustworthy its report is. There is much laughter in the audience throughout his talk.
It is, however, not a laughing matter.
The Right Rises Up as Latin American Left Faces Setbacks
Click here to access article by Benjamin Dangl from Toward Freedom.
Dangl has been one of Latin America's leading leftist intellectuals, so I was looking forward to reading this piece for his assessment on all the recent right-wing gains in South America during the past year. I was profoundly disappointed. I googled his name to find out if he wrote other essays about this disturbing trend. I only found another brief article in Upside Down World of which he is the editor. I noticed that he is a doctoral student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada. I also noticed in my googling survey that his articles have been frequently published on liberal websites like the Nation, the Guardian, AlterNet, TruthOut, etc. So, my searches and perusals of his articles left me wondering if he was now trying to tone down his militant politics in order to protect his doctoral status and a future career. Anyway this brief article and another one posted on his Upside Down World website are both very disappointing. In the latter article he seems too casual in his brief sum up of this right-wing trend:
Capitalists in most countries in Latin America and elsewhere typically maintain close ties with the US capitalist ruling class and vice versa. These capitalists are keenly aware that their existence depends to a large extent on US support and protection. Any radical revolutionary movement will be opposed not only by the local capitalists, but by the powerful US Empire.
Given this reality, it seems to me that revolutionaries in Latin America and other countries under the heel of the US Empire must coordinate their activities and collaborate to insure their ultimate victories. Capitalist ruling classes, under the direct or indirect influence of the Empire, do this as a matter of strategic practice to maintain their control over most of the world. As Russian revolutionaries knew even before their successful Soviet revolution, socialism in one large country (or several small countries) cannot survive in a capitalist world.
Dangl has been one of Latin America's leading leftist intellectuals, so I was looking forward to reading this piece for his assessment on all the recent right-wing gains in South America during the past year. I was profoundly disappointed. I googled his name to find out if he wrote other essays about this disturbing trend. I only found another brief article in Upside Down World of which he is the editor. I noticed that he is a doctoral student at McGill university in Montreal, Canada. I also noticed in my googling survey that his articles have been frequently published on liberal websites like the Nation, the Guardian, AlterNet, TruthOut, etc. So, my searches and perusals of his articles left me wondering if he was now trying to tone down his militant politics in order to protect his doctoral status and a future career. Anyway this brief article and another one posted on his Upside Down World website are both very disappointing. In the latter article he seems too casual in his brief sum up of this right-wing trend:
The new Latin American left, in all its shades of red or pink, has lately been experiencing perhaps its roughest string of months since it came to power. From embattled Venezuela to the possible political death of the Workers' Party in Brazil, from the demise of the Kirchners in Argentina to Bolivia's own turmoil, the situation is grim.It seems to me that he and others are failing to acknowledge, or in denial of, the unsustainability of left-liberal regimes in which the left governments permit the existence of a major capitalist sectors within their countries. The latter can and do wreck havoc, with their Empire partners, on any such left-liberal government and can rather easily regain control of governments.
Capitalists in most countries in Latin America and elsewhere typically maintain close ties with the US capitalist ruling class and vice versa. These capitalists are keenly aware that their existence depends to a large extent on US support and protection. Any radical revolutionary movement will be opposed not only by the local capitalists, but by the powerful US Empire.
Given this reality, it seems to me that revolutionaries in Latin America and other countries under the heel of the US Empire must coordinate their activities and collaborate to insure their ultimate victories. Capitalist ruling classes, under the direct or indirect influence of the Empire, do this as a matter of strategic practice to maintain their control over most of the world. As Russian revolutionaries knew even before their successful Soviet revolution, socialism in one large country (or several small countries) cannot survive in a capitalist world.
Monday, May 16, 2016
Feminism is Bigger Than Gender: Why I’ll be Happy in Hell Without Hillary
Click here to access article by Barbara MacLean from CounterPunch.
Although she necessarily uses generalities to characterize the history of the left in the US, her historical summary is quite accurate. However her criticism of "old left Marxists" for their rather "mechanical understanding of the relationship between social class and other forms of identity" is, I believe, a little unfair. Though this was appropriate when aimed at those who clung literally to Marxist dogma especially in the lead up to WWI, she omits the history of oppression, at times brutal, of left parties and organizations that capitalists mounted after WWI, the Soviet revolution of 1917, and ever since.
After the assassination in 1963 of President John Kennedy who refused total cooperation with a CIA engineered plan to invade Cuba and his brother Robert Kennedy's (he was assassinated in 1968) aggressive campaign against capitalist corrupted labor unions, our ruling capitalist masters refused to permit any Kennedy to run again in any election. This marked the beginning of the "deep state's" complete control of the government. Since then our ruling capitalist masters have devised a variety of techniques (in addition to the usual ones--control over both parties and the use of their media corporations to support or smear candidates), one of which has been the use of left-liberal candidates.
This has consisted of entering left-liberal candidates to lure in the large number of disaffected left voters who would then ultimately vote for an approved capitalist candidate, particularly if they had a scary right-wing candidate for the Republican Party. For this purpose Senator Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota worked very well in 1968, Al Gore in 2000, and Howard Dean in 2004. Now we see the same purpose served in the candidacy of Bernie Sanders.
A more recent strategy has been added to this: catering to people on the left by advocating reforms to conservative racist and gender discrimination laws and practices (identity politics) as a method of gaining support for Democratic candidates who demonstrated that they would faithfully take orders from the "deep state". Indeed, there has been considerable progress in the past 50 years on these issues, but they have also served as a very useful distraction from imperial policies abroad and austerity policies at home. This is how the deep state managed to have Obama elected in both 2008 and 2012. Now with Hillary Clinton, they are playing to liberal views on gender discrimination.
In this article Barbara MacLean does an excellent job of exposing this ruse except she omits the background history of how the ruling class has eliminated through their control of all institutions of indoctrination and propaganda most traces of class analysis from the American populace by replacing it with identity politics.
Although she necessarily uses generalities to characterize the history of the left in the US, her historical summary is quite accurate. However her criticism of "old left Marxists" for their rather "mechanical understanding of the relationship between social class and other forms of identity" is, I believe, a little unfair. Though this was appropriate when aimed at those who clung literally to Marxist dogma especially in the lead up to WWI, she omits the history of oppression, at times brutal, of left parties and organizations that capitalists mounted after WWI, the Soviet revolution of 1917, and ever since.
After the assassination in 1963 of President John Kennedy who refused total cooperation with a CIA engineered plan to invade Cuba and his brother Robert Kennedy's (he was assassinated in 1968) aggressive campaign against capitalist corrupted labor unions, our ruling capitalist masters refused to permit any Kennedy to run again in any election. This marked the beginning of the "deep state's" complete control of the government. Since then our ruling capitalist masters have devised a variety of techniques (in addition to the usual ones--control over both parties and the use of their media corporations to support or smear candidates), one of which has been the use of left-liberal candidates.
This has consisted of entering left-liberal candidates to lure in the large number of disaffected left voters who would then ultimately vote for an approved capitalist candidate, particularly if they had a scary right-wing candidate for the Republican Party. For this purpose Senator Eugene J. McCarthy of Minnesota worked very well in 1968, Al Gore in 2000, and Howard Dean in 2004. Now we see the same purpose served in the candidacy of Bernie Sanders.
A more recent strategy has been added to this: catering to people on the left by advocating reforms to conservative racist and gender discrimination laws and practices (identity politics) as a method of gaining support for Democratic candidates who demonstrated that they would faithfully take orders from the "deep state". Indeed, there has been considerable progress in the past 50 years on these issues, but they have also served as a very useful distraction from imperial policies abroad and austerity policies at home. This is how the deep state managed to have Obama elected in both 2008 and 2012. Now with Hillary Clinton, they are playing to liberal views on gender discrimination.
In this article Barbara MacLean does an excellent job of exposing this ruse except she omits the background history of how the ruling class has eliminated through their control of all institutions of indoctrination and propaganda most traces of class analysis from the American populace by replacing it with identity politics.
Thought control in economics
Click here to access article by economist David Ruccio from Real-World Economics Review Blog.
Thought control is a ubiquitous phenomenon that our ruling masters exercise over every institution in society, but their application of it is particularly strong in a core capitalist curriculum like economics. As Ruccio points out, economics departments of institutions of higher learning usually do not permit any kind of "alternative" views on economics. He cites a recent exception to this rule in which the U. of Glasgow permitted for a time an unorthodox lecturer in their department--but it was not to last.
Ruccio's experience with students and colleagues was particularly disheartening for me:
Thought control is a ubiquitous phenomenon that our ruling masters exercise over every institution in society, but their application of it is particularly strong in a core capitalist curriculum like economics. As Ruccio points out, economics departments of institutions of higher learning usually do not permit any kind of "alternative" views on economics. He cites a recent exception to this rule in which the U. of Glasgow permitted for a time an unorthodox lecturer in their department--but it was not to last.
Ruccio's experience with students and colleagues was particularly disheartening for me:
No matter how many stories I tell them about thought control in economics, students and colleagues in other disciplines simply don’t believe me.
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Entering the age of humans (a must read article)
Click here to access article by Ian Angus from Socialist Review (Britain).
This article directly focuses on one half of two purposes of my blog: to bring to the attention of web surfers credible information about the increasing threat of climate destabilization. The other half focuses attention on the threat of a nuclear conflagration in an age in which capitalist wealth and power has been heavily concentrated in one very aggressive US-led Empire that has a clear track record of moving toward world hegemony. Both threats to humans are propelled by the system of capitalism. Consequently the main agenda for humanity must be the termination of this deadly system before either of these threats end human existence, and replace it with a more benign and sustainable system that is compatible with the Earth's biosphere.
This article directly focuses on one half of two purposes of my blog: to bring to the attention of web surfers credible information about the increasing threat of climate destabilization. The other half focuses attention on the threat of a nuclear conflagration in an age in which capitalist wealth and power has been heavily concentrated in one very aggressive US-led Empire that has a clear track record of moving toward world hegemony. Both threats to humans are propelled by the system of capitalism. Consequently the main agenda for humanity must be the termination of this deadly system before either of these threats end human existence, and replace it with a more benign and sustainable system that is compatible with the Earth's biosphere.
Science has long known that conditions on Earth have changed over time — that much of the planet has at times been covered in ice, and that areas that are now cold were once tropical — but it was believed that such shifts took place very slowly, over thousands of years or longer. One of the most surprising results of recent research into past climate is that rapid climate change has been the rule, not the exception. The climate is remarkably sensitive to quite small changes in the atmosphere and oceans, and rather than gradually warming or cooling, it has tended to lurch from one state to another, in years or decades rather than millennia. As one prominent scientist puts it, Earth’s climate is an ornery beast that violently overreacts even to small nudges.
That’s particularly relevant today, when greenhouse gas concentrations are not only high, but are rising more quickly than ever before.
The Great Capitalist Climacteric: Strategic Implications And Class Struggle
Click here to access article by Omar Rashid Chowdhury from Countercurrents.org.
This article, which is about the same subject as the above posted article, is in my opinion rather inferior in quality to the latter due to its stereotypical academic and wooden Marxist styles and formatting errors (words run together). Once past these faults, the reader can access more well documented evidence from numerous sources that capitalism poses a dire threat to humans.
This article, which is about the same subject as the above posted article, is in my opinion rather inferior in quality to the latter due to its stereotypical academic and wooden Marxist styles and formatting errors (words run together). Once past these faults, the reader can access more well documented evidence from numerous sources that capitalism poses a dire threat to humans.
Against Capitalist Education is a striking call for education to be freed of the straightjacket of the capitalist market, finds Phil Armstrong
Click here to access a book review by Phil Armstrong of a book entitled Against Capitalist Education posted on CounterFire (Britain).
It is written in an unusual and very engaging way; in the form of a dialogue between two passionate and angry educators, George and John, who teach at a university. The style is highly engaging and the narrative unfolds as their conversation develops and progresses in front of an audience of students in a series of acts and scenes characteristic of a play. The questions asked by the characters mirror those likely to be asked by the reader which both aids her ability to absorb the information in the text and enhances enjoyment of the book.I've got news for Armstrong. Capitalist ruling classes have always controlled education like they have all other institutions, but probably more now than ever before.
Silence of Complacency: The Moral Universe of Progressive Gatekeepers
Click here to access article by Jay Taber from Public Good Project.
Yes, the Native Americans and others have, to my surprise, won a major battle against major capitalist supporters, like Warren Buffet, to stop the construction of a coal terminal near their territory just below the Canadian border and north of Seattle (near where I live).
I was thinking about my new piece, which I sent to the usual progressive gatekeepers in Seattle media, and was pondering the reluctance of all of them to ever use the word ‘racism’ in any of their coverage of the fossil fuel export war between Coast Salish Nation and Wall Street.So far as I can tell, no media source has published his article.
Yes, the Native Americans and others have, to my surprise, won a major battle against major capitalist supporters, like Warren Buffet, to stop the construction of a coal terminal near their territory just below the Canadian border and north of Seattle (near where I live).
Saturday, May 14, 2016
Film Review: ‘Occupation Of The American Mind’ Unravels Israel’s Propaganda War In US
Click here to access article by Roqayah Chamseddine from ShadowProof.
“The Occupation Of The American Mind,” directed by Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp, is a stunning documentary examining Israel’s public relations war in the United States. It premiered last month.The reviewer must mean that it premiered in the US last month. Actually the premiere showing was in Amsterdam of last year.
With help from Peter Hart, of Fair Media Watch, Yousef Munayyer, executive director of The U.S. Campaign to End The Israeli Occupation, and others, the film deconstructs the establishment media’s propaganda efforts. Yousef Munayyer argues that when we examine the formula that mainstream media outlets follow we find Israeli spokespeople are over-represented when compared to Palestinian spokespeople by a margin of 3 to 1. So when Israel is discussed, we are inundated with commentary from officials, who propagate in support of Israel’s use of violence.I wonder how often this film will be shown in movie theaters in the US outside of the ones on university campuses. But you can access this film online for as little as $5 at this link. Also you may be interested in another review posted in March from AntiMedia.
Power to the Community: The Black Panthers’ Living Legacy of Grassroots Organization
Click here to access article by John Clark from Academia.
This very readable paper of moderate length recovers the contributions of the Black Panther Party to radical thought and practice that is supported by excellent documentation. Because American radicals have been unable to establish permanent institutions to preserve radical history, each generation to a large extent faces the task of re-learning what previous generations created and understood about capitalist and racist society.
This very readable paper of moderate length recovers the contributions of the Black Panther Party to radical thought and practice that is supported by excellent documentation. Because American radicals have been unable to establish permanent institutions to preserve radical history, each generation to a large extent faces the task of re-learning what previous generations created and understood about capitalist and racist society.
One must wonder what would have happened if millions had followed the strategies they proposed rather than the path of slogans of street protests and the lobbying of politicians that has prevailed!
The Peak Oil Dilemma
Click here to access article by David Blittersdorf from AllEarth.
We’re on the backside of the bell curve, and once you start coming down, there’s no going back ever again. Fracking was a trick that most people didn’t see coming, one that gave us artificial time, but it’s not a long-term solution. And other “solutions,” like oil production from tar sands, are just as limited in their effectiveness. Tar sands oil production accounts for a fraction of our world’s supply and is both very energy intensive and very expensive, not to mention extremely destructive to the environment. ....
We're living in an oil-based world and we have a huge crisis coming because of this dependence. We haven't stopped the growth of CO2 emissions, and we're going to see some major changes to our environment because of that. Even if we reduced all emissions to zero today, we'll still see a couple degrees of global warming. Climate change is going to happen, it's just a question of how bad it will be. And it's a shame that peak oil has been delayed by a decade, because it may have forced action on this issue sooner.Because this article is posted in what looks like a trade journal for the renewable energy industry, it holds out promise that this industry can save us from extinction. However the author does somewhat candidly see a major problem ahead.
The other significant issue we're facing is that oil drives the world's economy, and our modern economy is driven by a concept of an infinite world, infinite growth forever. In a finite world, we're going to crash against that mindset. Society doesn't tend to react until we have an actual, immediate crisis on our hands. We'll have an oil supply crisis soon--it could be in two years, it could be in ten, but it's coming.The "mindset" is, of course, irrationally driven by our capitalist masters because they are addicted to the wealth and power that capitalism provides them with. Only a massive program that involved planning and implementation to radically reduce carbon emissions on a bigger scale than the Marshal Plan following WWII might save us.
WikiLeaks: Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer Is US Diplomatic Informant
Click here to access article by Kit O'Connell from Mint Press News.
Brazil’s new acting president is a known U.S. informant who has provided Washington with insider information about the Brazilian government on multiple occasions.The author (and others) base their argument that the current acting president of Brazil, Michel Temer, is an informant for the US, the author on two Wikileaks reports (others on other reports such as this) which were sent to the National Security Council and the US Southern Command. Also in the cables mention was made by Temer that he had met with "CG" which mean consul general and "poloff" which means political official. Both presumably refer to US local officials with "poloff" likely being a CIA officer.
Michel Temer’s ties to the U.S. government, as revealed by WikiLeaks’ Public Library of U.S. Diplomacy, add to the growing body of evidence that the parliamentary impeachment of Brazil’s democratically-elected president, Dilma Rousseff, was supported by allies in Washington.
Friday, May 13, 2016
Manufacturing Dissent: When Revolutions are Sponsored by Wall Street
Click here to access an introduction and a 47:00m audo recording of a discussion by Michael Welch, Prof Michel Chossudovsky, and Barrie Zwicker from Global Research (Canada based).
This discussion starts at about 11:00m after a review of current topical events. Keep in mind that the participants are Canadian and sometimes make references to Canadian events with which (unfortunately) Americans are not very familiar.
I don't normally like to post audio or video interviews who formats do not allow for documenting links to support their arguments. (For nearly seven years I have posted supporting articles from very credible sources that support the views of these participants.) But the popularity of the omnipresent hand-held electronic devices are appearing everywhere, and many people are using them to access audio broadcasts and podcasts.
This podcast provides a discussion of a critically important subject: the influence of the capitalist class on left activist organizations to limit their dissent especially on topics that might expose their class's dirtiest secrets--the assassination of John Kennedy and the 9/11 project. Basically they use their massive riches to control the limits of any critical examination of their rule, and pay infiltrators to control some activist movements. Chossudovsky argues that the best way to determine if an organization is contaminated by these influences (45:40m) is by examining their funding sources. I have found that the main source that our ruling masters use to funnel money to dissident organizations is the Tides Foundation (see this article for an excellent illustration. You might also enter "Tides" into one of my search boxes to find other articles on this funding source).
This discussion starts at about 11:00m after a review of current topical events. Keep in mind that the participants are Canadian and sometimes make references to Canadian events with which (unfortunately) Americans are not very familiar.
I don't normally like to post audio or video interviews who formats do not allow for documenting links to support their arguments. (For nearly seven years I have posted supporting articles from very credible sources that support the views of these participants.) But the popularity of the omnipresent hand-held electronic devices are appearing everywhere, and many people are using them to access audio broadcasts and podcasts.
This podcast provides a discussion of a critically important subject: the influence of the capitalist class on left activist organizations to limit their dissent especially on topics that might expose their class's dirtiest secrets--the assassination of John Kennedy and the 9/11 project. Basically they use their massive riches to control the limits of any critical examination of their rule, and pay infiltrators to control some activist movements. Chossudovsky argues that the best way to determine if an organization is contaminated by these influences (45:40m) is by examining their funding sources. I have found that the main source that our ruling masters use to funnel money to dissident organizations is the Tides Foundation (see this article for an excellent illustration. You might also enter "Tides" into one of my search boxes to find other articles on this funding source).
9/11 - The monstrous myth
This 4:40m video was post/ed on YouTube an/d Brasscheck TV.
This video reinforces not only my belief that 9/11 was an inside job, but that George Bush Jr was only an acting president. (Actually I believe this to be true of most presidents since the assassination of J.F. Kennedy, but this was especially true of the incompetent Bush Jr.) Also it reinforces several other beliefs of mine: that Bush Jr. was too incompetent to be allowed to lead in any way the government's response to 9/11, he was assigned to be reading stories to children in a Florida primary school while Dick Cheney took operational command of the government after 9/11 to make sure that the project was secure, that Bush Jr. was only a very useful tool of the perpetrators of 9/11, why the "deep state" interfered so aggressively in the presidential election of 2000 to make sure Bush was elected, and in 2004 to make sure he was re-elected to secure their nefarious project from any scrutiny.
This video reinforces not only my belief that 9/11 was an inside job, but that George Bush Jr was only an acting president. (Actually I believe this to be true of most presidents since the assassination of J.F. Kennedy, but this was especially true of the incompetent Bush Jr.) Also it reinforces several other beliefs of mine: that Bush Jr. was too incompetent to be allowed to lead in any way the government's response to 9/11, he was assigned to be reading stories to children in a Florida primary school while Dick Cheney took operational command of the government after 9/11 to make sure that the project was secure, that Bush Jr. was only a very useful tool of the perpetrators of 9/11, why the "deep state" interfered so aggressively in the presidential election of 2000 to make sure Bush was elected, and in 2004 to make sure he was re-elected to secure their nefarious project from any scrutiny.
Robert McChesney: Capitalism Is a Bad Fit for a Technological Revolution
Click here to access article in which Mark Karlin interviews McChesney regarding the current developments in computer technology and artificial intelligence.
Our point is simple: Capitalism as we know it is a very bad fit for the technological revolution we are beginning to experience. We desperately need a new economy, one that is not capitalistic -- based on the mindless and endless pursuit of maximum profit -- or one where capitalism has been radically reformed, more than ever before in its history. It is the central political challenge of our times.I take issue with the clause "one where capitalism has been radically reformed". This is an oxymoron. Capitalism as a system can only evolve in a certain direction much like organisms. The best analogies I know of are cancers and parasites where the disease eventually takes control of, and destroys, the host. Activists must absolutely forget about "reforming" the system.
Thursday, May 12, 2016
The Fairy Tale of GNP per capita
Click here to access article by Asad Zaman from the WEA Pedagogy Blog of the World Economics Association.
This is an important, but somewhat narrow, critical examination of how economics is taught in higher educational institutions by focusing on GNP. His criticism of this measure easily leads him into important important insights about the powerful influence of the wealthy on how economics is taught.
The prominent use of this measure and, indeed, the entire mechanical nature ("economic theory of self-interested utility maximization", "invisible hand", etc.) of capitalist theory constrains the teaching of economics and the entire ideology of capitalism--and this is intentional. It avoids all the messy moral dilemmas posed by the grossly immoral effects of actual capitalist practice.
Zaman also refers to a paper by Julie Nelson entitled "Poisoning the Well: How Economic Theory Damages the Moral Imagination". She also condemns the mechanical and amoral way economics courses are taught, but she mostly poses a feminist argument to explain this phenomenon.
This is an important, but somewhat narrow, critical examination of how economics is taught in higher educational institutions by focusing on GNP. His criticism of this measure easily leads him into important important insights about the powerful influence of the wealthy on how economics is taught.
Students can go through entire courses with the deceptive titles relating to Income Distribution, Inequality and Poverty. These courses go through a lot of mathematical material on how to measure inequality, and descriptive empirical material, but implicitly teach students to regard these as natural features of an economy. There is underlying message of indifference: inequality does not matter, and the best way to combat poverty is through economic growth. The use of the GNP per capita measure helps sustain these myths. The rapid transfer of trillions from the bottom billion to the top 100 people will not show up in the GNP per capita statistics.This is only one step away from examining the class nature of our societies and the ideology that is used to justify capitalist class rule. This ruling class shapes not only how economics is taught but also the institutions of higher learning and every other institution of society. Indeed, the fact of a ruling capitalist class explains why Zaman confines his argument mostly to an attack on the uses of GNP. Were Zaman to go further with the implications of his argument about the influence of the wealthy and thinks tanks in order to attack the dominant role of capitalists and the class structure, he would no doubt experience considerable harm to his career in economics.
.... It is this money of the wealthy which drives think-tanks, research organizations, and universities to produce tons of research supporting the use of GNP per capita as the primary target of economic policies.
The prominent use of this measure and, indeed, the entire mechanical nature ("economic theory of self-interested utility maximization", "invisible hand", etc.) of capitalist theory constrains the teaching of economics and the entire ideology of capitalism--and this is intentional. It avoids all the messy moral dilemmas posed by the grossly immoral effects of actual capitalist practice.
Zaman also refers to a paper by Julie Nelson entitled "Poisoning the Well: How Economic Theory Damages the Moral Imagination". She also condemns the mechanical and amoral way economics courses are taught, but she mostly poses a feminist argument to explain this phenomenon.
Who Will Control Access to Internet News?
Click here to access article by Russ Baker from his blog WhoWhatWhy.
Google has entered the fray to do battle with Facebook and others as the place where online content lives.It was inevitable that our masters in the ruling capitalist class would make efforts to control what information we receive over the web just as they have done with other media. I see this especially true of the hand-held electronic devices, but I think that their efforts to control what we access on the web via computers is much more limited. We just need to be informed, alert, and exercise more judgement about the nature of the web. Baker's information is helpful in this effort.
If these efforts are successful, people will increasingly stop visiting websites as we know them. They will get all their news from Google, Facebook, Apple, Twitter, and a few other large providers. We will see the gradual diminution of brands until online journalism is purely about which story grabs us.
Weaponizing the Term “Conspiracy Theory”: Disinformation Agents and the CIA
Click here to access article by Dr. Gary G. Kohls from Global Research.
Dr. Kohls provides a lot of useful information about our capitalist's owned and controlled government and its agencies which both manage how you think and spy on you. This is an important part of their means of keeping in control of our nation, its policies, and its actions all over the world.
Dr. Kohls provides a lot of useful information about our capitalist's owned and controlled government and its agencies which both manage how you think and spy on you. This is an important part of their means of keeping in control of our nation, its policies, and its actions all over the world.
TTIP leaks highlight the dangers of regulatory cooperation
Click here to access article from Corporate Europe Observatory.
On top of private parallel courts which would create an avenue for multinationals to receive vast amount of taxpayers’ money in 'compensation' for democratic decisions, TTIP poses another threat to public interest legislation: regulatory cooperation (or convergence, as often referred to in the USA). Regulatory cooperation aims to align standards across the Atlantic by changing law-making in the European Union and the United States of America.
Wednesday, May 11, 2016
Alert: The European Financial Dictatorship seriously threatens France
Click here to access article posted on the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens.
This article furnishes more background on the precipitating factor in the rise of "Nuit debout". It seems that the neoliberal agenda applied to Greece a few years ago is now being applied to France. In France this has taken the form of an end-run around normal parliamentary procedures to attack labor rights.
This article furnishes more background on the precipitating factor in the rise of "Nuit debout". It seems that the neoliberal agenda applied to Greece a few years ago is now being applied to France. In France this has taken the form of an end-run around normal parliamentary procedures to attack labor rights.
As it happened many times in Greece for six years since the explosion of the financial crisis, the European Financial Dictatorship (EFD) seeks to bypass democratic processes in order to impose the "Greek model" throughout eurozone.
Syria: Regime Change Still the Main Course on the US Menu
Click here to access article by Eric Draitser from Stop Imperialism.
Eric Draitser of StopImperialism.org provides his [7:35m] commentary (May 7, 2016) on the latest comments from US Secretary of State Kerry regarding the situation in Syria. Draitser explains that US rhetoric is dictated by facts on the ground, and that Washington feels emboldened to discuss regime change with Russia’s engagement having diminished. He notes that the strategy for Syria remains essentially unchanged, with a plan to carve up the country along political lines amenable to US interests in the region. All this and much more in this jam packed short talk.
After splitting with Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra is being presented to the West as a moderate force. It’s nothing of the sort
Click here to access article by Robert Fisk from The Independent (Britain).
Also read another article by Bernhard from his blog Moon of Alabama entitled "Charles Lister Asks 'Moderate Rebels' To Hide Their Cooperation With Al-Qaeda".
The capitalist Empire's main quest is global hegemony and it will back any organization that it can use, often with deception, to achieve this objective. Thus we see Empire operatives colluding with the most anti-democratic regimes on earth, terrorist organizations, NGOs, and even more legitimate political groups that they can corrupt with money and other support.
The jihadist force's reputation is being cleaned up, to suggest it is deserving of CIA support.And an important Empire advisor, Charles Lister, associated with the Brookings Institute appears to be behind the effort. The Brookings Institute is a prime funnel of Empire's deep state influences. Fisk's assessment suggests that the Empire is making an effort to clean up Al-Nusra's image to place the terrorist jihad back in the "moderate opposition" that the Empire has been backing in their effort to topple the Assad government in Syria.
Also read another article by Bernhard from his blog Moon of Alabama entitled "Charles Lister Asks 'Moderate Rebels' To Hide Their Cooperation With Al-Qaeda".
The capitalist Empire's main quest is global hegemony and it will back any organization that it can use, often with deception, to achieve this objective. Thus we see Empire operatives colluding with the most anti-democratic regimes on earth, terrorist organizations, NGOs, and even more legitimate political groups that they can corrupt with money and other support.
How Schooling Leads to War
Click here to access article by Dan Sanchez from AntiWar.com.
Like every other institution, in a class structured society the ruling class insures that education serves their interests. In contemporary capitalist America this means the top goals are profit and power in the form of world hegemony. The latter means endless conflicts and wars. Thus our children need to be taught to have allegiance to military and other authorities, and they need to be taught that there are "evil-doers" out there that they must fear--only the police and military can protect them from these "evil-doers".
Like every other institution, in a class structured society the ruling class insures that education serves their interests. In contemporary capitalist America this means the top goals are profit and power in the form of world hegemony. The latter means endless conflicts and wars. Thus our children need to be taught to have allegiance to military and other authorities, and they need to be taught that there are "evil-doers" out there that they must fear--only the police and military can protect them from these "evil-doers".
How did we become so manipulable and herd-like? So easily spooked into hysterical stampedes? So docile and ready to be driven by our government herders over the precipice of war?
In a word, near-universal compulsory schooling. In school, students are not so much taught as they are conditioned. Schooling deeply ingrains certain mentalities that foster militancy: timidity and tribalism, dependency and docility, conformity and credulity. And so schools sow the spiritual seeds of war.
“Green” Capitalism builds Big Solar: Should we throw the baby out with the bathwater?
Click here to access article by David Schwartzman from Capitalism Nature Socialism (CNS).
I think that the author is engaging in a bit of knit-picking with another anti-capitalist writer, Hamza Hamouchene, but nevertheless the former does focus on the immediate issue of reducing fossil fuel emissions without neglecting the ultimate agenda: the urgent necessity of replacing private control of economies under capitalism with social control of economies under some form of socialism.
I think that the author is engaging in a bit of knit-picking with another anti-capitalist writer, Hamza Hamouchene, but nevertheless the former does focus on the immediate issue of reducing fossil fuel emissions without neglecting the ultimate agenda: the urgent necessity of replacing private control of economies under capitalism with social control of economies under some form of socialism.
While ecosocialist class struggle is still too weak to prevent the deficiencies in these big solar projects, and as the global climate and energy justice movement gains strength, then the opportunity to create a sustainable and just solar transition will grow. But the creation of a wind/solar energy infrastructure should be welcomed now even with all the problems pointed out by Hamouchene. We cannot wait for the end of the rule of capital to start building this renewable infrastructure; it will be too late.
Tuesday, May 10, 2016
It’s Difficult to Say Exactly What, But Something is Happening A Social Movement Awakens in France
Click here to access article by Anouk Colombani from The Brooklyn Rail.
I've been aware of these protests known as "Nuit debout" (translated as "Up All Night", "Standing Night", and "Rise up at night") for some time, but I've recently become aware that it is spreading all over France, reaching nearby countries, and has even turned up in Montreal.
What sparked it was apparently a law proposed to attack labor laws protecting workers, morphed into protests against the whole austerity fabric of capitalist rule under the latest phase of neoliberalism, and incorporated issues and methods of the more recent protest movements such as the Indignados and Occupy movements. As North American activists we need to know what is going on with these spreading protests. This article is the best I have seen to capture the origins and evolution of the movement. (I also recommend reading the recent Wikipedia entry about Nuit debout.)
What sparked it was apparently a law proposed to attack labor laws protecting workers, morphed into protests against the whole austerity fabric of capitalist rule under the latest phase of neoliberalism, and incorporated issues and methods of the more recent protest movements such as the Indignados and Occupy movements. As North American activists we need to know what is going on with these spreading protests. This article is the best I have seen to capture the origins and evolution of the movement. (I also recommend reading the recent Wikipedia entry about Nuit debout.)
Scattered, messy, refusing leaders and celebrities, the movement is sustained by the masses of people who make it. The diverse and often new forms it takes are signs that people are searching for new kinds of political organization. In the space of a month and a half, we have participated in the birth of new kinds of struggle but also in raising hundreds of issues for the broader public to consider, such as the vegan issue, the return of radical feminism, radical ecology, and horizontal democracy. This protest movement didn’t come from nowhere. If it refuses to take on a partisan label, it is clearly the product of protest movements and marginal practices that have been going on for the last twenty years. It also signals a political rebirth in many working-class neighborhoods. ....
Large crowds provoke fear [among the ruling class]; as a result repression shows its face when people come together. Since the week of March 16, the police have not hesitated to intervene with tear gas, beatings, and arrests.
Zionism’s roots help us interpret Israel today
Click here to access article by Jonathan Cook from his blog.
This free-lance British journalist who has been based in Nazareth, Israel since 2001, offers an historical background on Zionism which led to the establishment of Israel in the heart of Palestinian territory. He explains how racism, which was a very popular way of dividing up humans until WWII especially among Europe's ruling classes, was the impetus behind the Zionist motivation to establish their own nation. Zionists joined racists all over Europe, including the Nazis, in the effort to establish what became essentially a European colony in the heart of Arab territory.
I don't think that this was the only motivation for the creation of Israel. Israel has also provided Western nations with a reliable ally to defend their interests in the oil-rich Middle East. Today's government in Israel is clearly supporting the Empire's agenda in the Middle East even against the interests of its peace-loving citizens as argued in today's article by Tony Cartalucci entitled "Who is Israel's Biggest Enemy?".
This free-lance British journalist who has been based in Nazareth, Israel since 2001, offers an historical background on Zionism which led to the establishment of Israel in the heart of Palestinian territory. He explains how racism, which was a very popular way of dividing up humans until WWII especially among Europe's ruling classes, was the impetus behind the Zionist motivation to establish their own nation. Zionists joined racists all over Europe, including the Nazis, in the effort to establish what became essentially a European colony in the heart of Arab territory.
I don't think that this was the only motivation for the creation of Israel. Israel has also provided Western nations with a reliable ally to defend their interests in the oil-rich Middle East. Today's government in Israel is clearly supporting the Empire's agenda in the Middle East even against the interests of its peace-loving citizens as argued in today's article by Tony Cartalucci entitled "Who is Israel's Biggest Enemy?".
Why Saudi Arabia Is Suddenly in Serious Trouble
Click here to access article by Vijay Prashad fro/m AlterNet.
Prashad sees that the Saudi King’s son, Mohammed Bin Salman, is following a very neoliberal plan that will lead the kingdom "either into social chaos or into the Chinese orbit. No other alternative exists." And he wonders if Washington is paying attention.
Well I think Washington is paying very close attention, and so does Kevin Ryan, a 9/11 Truther and author of Another Nineteen: Investigating Legitimate 9/11 Suspects. Check out this very fascinating interview with Ryan, posted on Global Research's website, and his arguments about the recent threats to reveal the contents of the censored 28 pages of the official 9/11 report.
Prashad sees that the Saudi King’s son, Mohammed Bin Salman, is following a very neoliberal plan that will lead the kingdom "either into social chaos or into the Chinese orbit. No other alternative exists." And he wonders if Washington is paying attention.
Well I think Washington is paying very close attention, and so does Kevin Ryan, a 9/11 Truther and author of Another Nineteen: Investigating Legitimate 9/11 Suspects. Check out this very fascinating interview with Ryan, posted on Global Research's website, and his arguments about the recent threats to reveal the contents of the censored 28 pages of the official 9/11 report.
...I see the 28 pages as not just a red herring that propagates the myth that “Muslims did it,” which we know to be untrue, but also as a means of controlling the Saudi regime.
Sykes-Picot: how an arbitrary set of borders created the modern Middle East
Click here to access article by Paul Mason from New Statesman (Britain).
This writer gives us some idea of how casually early 20th century British and French imperialists divided up the Middle East to serve their ruling class geopolitical interests.
This writer gives us some idea of how casually early 20th century British and French imperialists divided up the Middle East to serve their ruling class geopolitical interests.
One hundred years ago today, Britain and France drew a line through the Middle East that became the border between Syria and Iraq, with a kink at the end of it that became Israel. You get a sense of the breezy confidence behind the so-called Sykes-Picot agreement from the minutes of the cabinet where the idea was hatched:
Monday, May 9, 2016
Syria, ISIS, and the US-UK Propaganda War
Click here to access article by Eric Draitser from New Eastern Outlook.
Draitser points to a major reason why and how Empire agents keep their populations at least neutralized, and at most, in support of their never ending wars in their mad pursuit of world hegemony.
Draitser points to a major reason why and how Empire agents keep their populations at least neutralized, and at most, in support of their never ending wars in their mad pursuit of world hegemony.
With the war in Syria raging in its fifth year, and the Islamic State wreaking havoc throughout the Middle East and North Africa, it’s clear that the entire region has been made into one large theater of conflict. But the battlefield must not be understood solely as a physical place located on a map; it is equally a social and cultural space where the forces of the US-UK-NATO Empire employ a variety of tactics to influence the course of events and create an outcome amenable to their agenda. And none to greater effect than propaganda.I will never stop hammering away at my top revolutionary strategy. Challenging Empire propaganda and indoctrination must be a top priority of a vital, world-wide revolutionary movement. If humans are to survive the coming ravages caused by the practice of capitalism and the latest aspiring world capitalist hegemon, the US-led Empire, they must first mount an effective campaign to create their own independent information agencies. Bloggers, anti-capitalist organizations, and other peace loving people must organize and support such an effort if we are to survive the threats of never-ending wars, a nuclear conflagration, and climate catastrophes. Time is rapidly running out--indeed, it may already be too late! If the latter is the case, let us not disappear from the Earth without a fight!
Indeed, if the ongoing war in Syria, and the conflicts of the post-Arab Spring period generally, have taught us anything, it is the power of propaganda and public relations to shape narratives which in turn impact political events. Given the awesome power of information in the postmodern political landscape, it should come as no surprise that both the US and UK have become world leaders in government-sponsored propaganda masquerading as legitimate, grassroots political and social expression. [my emphasis]
The lobby firm that works both sides of the room
Click here to access article from Corporate Europe Observatory.
The article uncovers the deep infiltration of major biotech industries that produce glyphosate into scientific efforts to research the effects of glyphosate. This article focuses on the role of lobby organizations that work both sides, but it also contains links to other articles showing that many people involved in science research projects investigating the effects of glyphosate are being funded by the biotech industry. For example, one spokesperson, Christoph Then, from a science agency, Testbiotech, has charged the biotech industry with gross interference in their research and that of others.
The article uncovers the deep infiltration of major biotech industries that produce glyphosate into scientific efforts to research the effects of glyphosate. This article focuses on the role of lobby organizations that work both sides, but it also contains links to other articles showing that many people involved in science research projects investigating the effects of glyphosate are being funded by the biotech industry. For example, one spokesperson, Christoph Then, from a science agency, Testbiotech, has charged the biotech industry with gross interference in their research and that of others.
Testbiotech analysis shows the biotech industry has seriously impacted the results of the research project. As a Testbiotech report published today also shows, the biotech industry has not only systematically influenced the GRACE research project, but four other similar EU research projects. All of the coordinators of these projects are part of a close network of institutions that are funded by industry.
Even specialised consultancy groups such as PERSEUS and GENIUS which have biotech industries as their clients, are directly involved in the GRACE research project. For example, the Belgian company PERSEUS that just recently approached the German government on behalf of a US biotech company about allowing the cultivation of oilseed rape derived from new methods of genetic engineering, is organising communication services for GRACE.
“The documented networks existing between EU research projects and industry cannot simply be regarded as coincidental. Just a handful of experts all organised in the same networks are dominating publicly funded risk research on genetically engineered plants”, Christoph Then concludes for Testbiotech.
Sunday, May 8, 2016
Already happens: Capitalism destroys human labor force and goes to the next phase
Click here to access article by "system failure" from the unbalanced evolution of homo sapiens.
Because the English is a bit awkward, the anonymous author is likely writing this as a second language. Still the subject of increasing automation that the writer addresses is a very important issue that points to major convulsions in the future.
Because the English is a bit awkward, the anonymous author is likely writing this as a second language. Still the subject of increasing automation that the writer addresses is a very important issue that points to major convulsions in the future.
Connecting the dots one can discover the most nightmarish scenarios. Destructive capitalism's next phase is the total substitution of the human labor force with robotic machines, or in other words, the hyper-automatization. There is a process taking place right now, and no one (or nearly no one) knows what would happen after its completion.What could be a blessing for humans is a nightmare under capitalism.
In case that these armies of interconnected machine slaves belonged to everyone, thus if everyone had the right to benefit from the goods that they produce, then no problem. What should be done, however, in case that these machine slaves, the capital of future, belong (like the most of today's capital) to the very few, while at the same time most of the people do not have access in the goods they produce and an opportunity to work for a (human) wage?”
Our Childhood Poverty Is a Global Embarrassment
Click here to access article by Josh Hoxie from US News & World Report.
The data provided by a UNICEF study indicates that the US should be even more embarrassed.
The data provided by a UNICEF study indicates that the US should be even more embarrassed.
If a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members, the United States just received an incredibly unflattering judgment.
A new study published by the United Nations Children's Emergency Fund, or UNICEF, ranked the wealthiest countries of the world by the well-being of their most disadvantaged children. Out of 41 countries, the U.S. ranked No. 18 overall.
For context, the U.S. ranks No. 1 in total wealth.
The lawless state of Israel
Click here to access article by Asa Winstanley from Middle East Monitor.
For the Palestinians, Israel is a democracy for its Jewish citizens alone. For its Palestinian citizens (some 20 per cent) it is an ethnocracy. Israel is defined in law and in practice not as a state of all its citizens (as other modern industrialised nations are – at least formally) but as a state of all the Jews of the world.
This means that Jews from London, New York or Yemen with no family ties or history in the land, still have more rights to the land of Palestine that the native inhabitants of that land – the Palestinian people. This is the reality of Zionism.
China Plans to become GMO Giant
Click here to access article by F. William Engdahl from New Eastern Outlook.
At the very highest levels it is now clear that the Chinese regime of President Xi Jinping and his Prime Minister, Li Keqiang, who is also head of the State Council, have decided to make China a world leader in the highly controversial field of Genetically Manipulated Organisms or GMO and the related highly toxic (to humans) pesticides and herbicides. This was made clear in November when the Chinese state ChemChina announced it was seeking to buy the Anglo-Swiss pharmaceutical giant, Syngenta of Basel. This is for me a personal disappointment and for the world, a major blow.
Hot March breaks temperature records
Click here to access article by Jackson Stiles from The New Daily (Australia).
Earth’s hot streak has continued for a record 11 months – sparking fears of global catastrophe.And read what some top climate change scientists are saying about this streak--if you have a strong stomach.
Saturday, May 7, 2016
Hey, Bernie, Leave Them Kids Alone
Click here to access article by Paul Street from CounterPunch.
Street analyses the results of the latest quadrennial election ritual where the Democratic party apparatchiks provide a "progressive" candidate to act as a sheepdog tho lure real progressives back into to party to support the real candidate backed by Empire interests. In doing so he provides his views on the various actors in this spectacle: young naive progressives, older progressives, and the Democratic party's fake progressive apparatchiks. But in the end, what is really needed is the construction of a genuine grassroots movement dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism and its rich supporters who are driving us off the cliffs of never-ending wars and climate destabilization.
Street analyses the results of the latest quadrennial election ritual where the Democratic party apparatchiks provide a "progressive" candidate to act as a sheepdog tho lure real progressives back into to party to support the real candidate backed by Empire interests. In doing so he provides his views on the various actors in this spectacle: young naive progressives, older progressives, and the Democratic party's fake progressive apparatchiks. But in the end, what is really needed is the construction of a genuine grassroots movement dedicated to the overthrow of capitalism and its rich supporters who are driving us off the cliffs of never-ending wars and climate destabilization.
The people’s and workers’ struggle needs a more serious and radical starting lineup and game plan. The 2015-16 squad went about as far as people can go playing by the reigning major league and party system rules. It was fairly impressive. They took some good swings up at the plate. But, well, guess what? It wasn’t even in the revolutionary ballpark. The ruling class sent them back to the bench with their bat in their hands, as usual.
Friday, May 6, 2016
When Liberals Run Out of Patience: the Impolite Exile of Seymour Hersh
Click here to access article by Dave Wagner from CounterPunch.
Wagner tells us how Seymour Hersh, the great investigative reporter who is best known for his exposé of the My Lai massacre and other reports that told the true story of events that our media directors didn't want covered, put together the real story of the execution of Bin Laden and his subsequent banishment from American corporate media. I guess it is one thing to uncover the hidden dirty secrets of the Empire and allow them to be published by one or two media companies, but it is not permitted to expose the lies of Empire propagandists.
Wagner tells us how Seymour Hersh, the great investigative reporter who is best known for his exposé of the My Lai massacre and other reports that told the true story of events that our media directors didn't want covered, put together the real story of the execution of Bin Laden and his subsequent banishment from American corporate media. I guess it is one thing to uncover the hidden dirty secrets of the Empire and allow them to be published by one or two media companies, but it is not permitted to expose the lies of Empire propagandists.
Seymour Hersh’s The Killing of Osama bin Laden a pocket-size collection of stories written for the London Review and printed during the second Obama administration arrives at an awkward moment for the expatriate journalist who not so long ago was esteemed as the finest investigative reporter in the United States. Hersh now publishes abroad because his talent, though undiminished, no longer fits into the publication plans of the nation’s newspaper and magazine publishers. He has, it appears, failed to adapt to the times. His revelations about deceit and brute force in the conduct of foreign affairs that delighted his editors when he raised a torch over Dick Cheney lost its shine when he reported on President’s Obama’s not-so-different Cold War liberalism.I had a good laugh at the sentence "Hersh now publishes abroad because his talent, though undiminished, no longer fits into the publication plans of the nation’s newspaper and magazine publishers." Maybe Wagner wrote this with a deliberate comic or satirical effect, but this way of describing what happened is an extremely obscure way of hiding the truth which is in direct contradiction to what Hersh's investigative work as been about.
The moment of Hersh’s fall from grace can be pinpointed to a meeting in the office of New Yorker editor David Remnick in 2011.
One Way The White House Manipulates
Click here to access article by Bernhard from Moon of Alabama.
Bernhard finds out from a major ruling capitalist class propagandist, Ben Rhodes, how they work their magic to gain the public's acquiescence and support for their policies.
Bernhard finds out from a major ruling capitalist class propagandist, Ben Rhodes, how they work their magic to gain the public's acquiescence and support for their policies.
You can replace the "Iran deal" with "regime-change in Syria", "Russia's aggression" or some big trade deal the White Hosue wants to push through. It works the same way with every issue. Some experts in some (well paid) thinktanks get fed some juicy bits, they go out to cheerlead clueless reporters who then write whatever validates the various White House claims.
It is all test driven and works. Unless of course people have time and energy to inform themselves through other than the usual sources. Only few are able to do so.
War Against the People
Click here to access a review by Kit Klarenberg of a book by the above title authored by Jeff Halper, and posted on CounterPunch.
Halper explains how Israel has become a laboratory used to research and develop weapons to control and suppress populations, and is marketing their products to oppressive governments all over the world.
Halper explains how Israel has become a laboratory used to research and develop weapons to control and suppress populations, and is marketing their products to oppressive governments all over the world.
As a starting point, Halper notes that Israel currently maintains diplomatic relationships with 157 countries. In every instance, those relationships contain military and security treaties and agreements, which serve to spread Israeli killing apparatuses, surveillance ‘solutions’ and battle tactics worldwide. This accounts for why the tiny country is now a seemingly permanent fixture in lists of the world’s top arms exporters, and the most militarised state in the world.
Evidently, Israel’s oppressive methods have stopped being bad for business. In fact, they’ve mutated into a unique selling point, and have bought much criticism-stifling goodwill from Israel’s customers in the process. Why?
Halper attributes this phenomenon to a global move towards weaponised neoliberalism the world over post-9/11, as governments scramble to suppress internal dissent that their iniquitous economic and military policies create.
Future Options: From Militarism And Monsanto To Gandhi And Bhaskar Save
Click here to access article by Colin Todhunter from his blog East by Northwest.
Because this Britisher lived a number of years in India, he knows a lot about the disastrous effects that industrialized agricultural corporations have had on that country. To counter these disastrous effects on the minds of citizens, he writes how corporations manage the growing opposition to their destructive but very profitable practices.
Because this Britisher lived a number of years in India, he knows a lot about the disastrous effects that industrialized agricultural corporations have had on that country. To counter these disastrous effects on the minds of citizens, he writes how corporations manage the growing opposition to their destructive but very profitable practices.
...to ensure it remains ‘business as usual’, part of the message is that there is no alternative to the chemical-intensive, GMO model of farming. ...the companies they head or their associates have done everything possible (including bribery and fakery) to ensure their model dominates by smearing certain scientists, capturing trade bodies and negotiations, incorporating themselves within government policy and regulatory agencies, using the concept of ‘commercial confidentiality’ to justify a lack of transparency and by funding universities, media outlets and research with the ultimate aim of privileging their model of agriculture ahead of others, which they or their supporters seek to attack, discredit and marginalise.
The industry and its supporters attempt to wrap themselves in ‘free market’ ideology, while failing to acknowledge that any concept of ‘freedom’ that they attempt to associate with ‘the market’ has long been discredited.
The Fort McMurray Disaster: Getting Beyond “Is It Climate Change?”
Click here to access article by Bob Henson and Jeff Masters from Weather Underground.
...even the most elaborate, carefully conducted attribution studies (research designed to show how and when climate change has made a particular event more likely) may not always give the conclusive results people crave when it comes to specific fires and floods--although such work can say quite a bit about long-term trends.
Thursday, May 5, 2016
Pentagon working on plan to convert the Islamic State caliphate into a US-backed Syrian rebel redoubt
Click here to access article by Stephen Gowans from his blog What's Left.
I regard Stephen Gowans as a top tier political analyst, and I regard this piece as an illustration of his excellent skills at parsing what the deception-infused US policy really is in Syria and nearby areas. It attempts, and I believe succeeds, to clear up the many mysteries and strange reports regarding our actions in Syria and adjacent areas.
Because Syria has tried to pursue policies that are independent of the Empire's interests, they have become a target for destabilization and regime change much like Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Ukraine. Now it appears that Venezuela has been re-added to the Empire's list.
I regard Stephen Gowans as a top tier political analyst, and I regard this piece as an illustration of his excellent skills at parsing what the deception-infused US policy really is in Syria and nearby areas. It attempts, and I believe succeeds, to clear up the many mysteries and strange reports regarding our actions in Syria and adjacent areas.
Because Syria has tried to pursue policies that are independent of the Empire's interests, they have become a target for destabilization and regime change much like Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Ukraine. Now it appears that Venezuela has been re-added to the Empire's list.
The motto of the governing Ba’ath Party [the ruling party in the Syrian government], unity (of the Arab nation), liberty (from foreign domination), and socialism, is light years from the motto Washington would prefer states emblazon on their banners. We embrace atomism, welcome foreign investment, apotheosize capitalism, and are open to US military bases on our territory, is more along the lines of a motto a good member of the “international community” is expected to adopt. You need know little more than the foregoing to understand why Washington insists that Assad and his fellow Ba’athists step down.He goes on to delineate the Empire's strategy and objectives for Syria:
The Wall Street Journal sketched out how the United States will carry on its war against the Syrian state. Reading between the lines, the war will be pursued under the guise of eliminating ISIS, and while this will be the immediate outcome of the war if the campaign is successful, the ultimate objective will be the conquest of Syrian territory held by the caliphate. The war will be pursued on the ground by Sunni Arab fighters trained and equipped by the special operations forces of the United States and its allies. US proxies on the ground—the Sunni Arab fighters recruited and equipped by the Pentagon—will capture territory currently held by ISIS, backed by US air strikes. Once captured, the territory will remain in the hands of the US surrogates.
Mighty Monsanto: Veteran cartoonist fired for pro-farmer, anti-Big Ag piece
Click here to access article from RT.
This type of incident happens everyday in capitalist countries even though most people insist that they have a right of free speech, etc, guaranteed by their constitutions. If you examine many constitutions of various capitalist countries you will find many such freedoms listed, but these constitutions are only a part of the ideological structure which promises freedoms but deny them in practice.
This subterfuge is simply due to the fact that enormous wealth and control over jobs give capitalists overwhelming power. Thus, whenever the exercise of these "freedoms" become in conflict with the interests of powerful capitalists, the freedoms give way. Most people know this and modify their behavior to suit powerful capitalist interests, but this cartoonist thought he had a constitutional right to create this cartoon and others for a local newspaper. Thus his job, or his means of living, was taken away from him. The moral of this story is that you have lots of theoretical freedoms under capitalism, but you must be willing to starve to death to exercise them.
This type of incident happens everyday in capitalist countries even though most people insist that they have a right of free speech, etc, guaranteed by their constitutions. If you examine many constitutions of various capitalist countries you will find many such freedoms listed, but these constitutions are only a part of the ideological structure which promises freedoms but deny them in practice. This subterfuge is simply due to the fact that enormous wealth and control over jobs give capitalists overwhelming power. Thus, whenever the exercise of these "freedoms" become in conflict with the interests of powerful capitalists, the freedoms give way. Most people know this and modify their behavior to suit powerful capitalist interests, but this cartoonist thought he had a constitutional right to create this cartoon and others for a local newspaper. Thus his job, or his means of living, was taken away from him. The moral of this story is that you have lots of theoretical freedoms under capitalism, but you must be willing to starve to death to exercise them.
Here’s the Climate Context For the Fort McMurray Wildfire
Click here to access article by Brian Kahn from Climate Central.
I looked long and hard for any commentaries about the relationship between the fire conflagration in Fort McMurray and global warming. This is one of the few. Most other corporate media are feasting on the sensational aspects of this event, some try to figure out the causes but have a very limited perspective by focusing on the immediate causes, some attribute the increasing fires to a "new normal" climate, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized people who made a connection with global warming. I've noticed that local TV meteorologists in the Seattle area, if they make a connection at all to the record breaking temperatures we've been experiencing, correctly deny that any single event can be traced to global warming; but yet they refuse to look at patterns over time.
This article provides the best analysis of the relationship, but it only makes some brief references.
I looked long and hard for any commentaries about the relationship between the fire conflagration in Fort McMurray and global warming. This is one of the few. Most other corporate media are feasting on the sensational aspects of this event, some try to figure out the causes but have a very limited perspective by focusing on the immediate causes, some attribute the increasing fires to a "new normal" climate, and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized people who made a connection with global warming. I've noticed that local TV meteorologists in the Seattle area, if they make a connection at all to the record breaking temperatures we've been experiencing, correctly deny that any single event can be traced to global warming; but yet they refuse to look at patterns over time.
This article provides the best analysis of the relationship, but it only makes some brief references.
The wildfire is the latest in a lengthening lineage of early wildfires in the northern reaches of the globe that are indicative of a changing climate. As the planet continues to warm, these types of fires will likely only become more common and intense as spring snowpack disappears and temperatures warm.
“This (fire) is consistent with what we expect from human-caused climate change affecting our fire regime,” Mike Flannigan, a wildfire researcher at the University of Alberta, said.I think that the fire conflagration at Fort McMurray is giving us a look into our future. Unfortunately, most people, especially our ruling capitalist class, refuse to acknowledge this simply because capitalism and a planet that can support human life are completely incompatible. Capitalist indoctrinated people frequently can imagine the end of humans before they can imagine the end of capitalism.
As Climate Disruption Advances, UN Warns: "The Future Is Happening Now"
Click here to access article by Dahr Jamail from TruthOut.
Each month as I write these dispatches, I shake my head in disbelief at the rapidity at which anthropogenic climate disruption (ACD) is occurring. It's as though each month I think, "It can't possibly keep happening at this incredible pace."
But it does.
Wednesday, May 4, 2016
The Voting Delusion
Click here to access article by Dmitry Orlov from Club Orlov.
Orlov lists many of the barriers preventing ordinary people (non-capitalists) from participating in elections, but he misses the 800 pound gorilla that guarantees that nobody interferes with the capitalist agenda to gain more wealth and power.
The gorilla is capitalism, a system that a tiny group of people imposed through violence on the vast majority of humans over the past several centuries. Their system enshrines the right to take possession under rules of "ownership" of all the products and services created by working people. The capitalist ruling class have sought to legitimatize their dominance of society mainly by establishing the so-called "rule of law", and of course these rules, which they made, were designed to serve and protect their system of ownership. And they have many other means that they use to promote the legitimacy of their rule: their domination over every institution of society which they use to indoctrinate people in pro-capitalist values, especially the fake mythology of democracy and their sponsorship of elections. The capitalist class monopoly on the means of indoctrination has been so successful that many critics like Orlov completely miss this 800 pound gorilla.
Capitalism is a system born in the belly of feudalism. Feudalism was based on territory captured through the use of violence imposed on people who lived in those territories. Theirs was a system controlled by these victorious families who laid claim to everything that existed in the territory under their control: the food and crafts produced by working people and on the people themselves. This form of family domination was passed down through patrilineal and primogeniture rules which established the permanent power hierarchy known as monarchs and aristocracy. This ruling class reinforced the legitimacy of their rule by promulgating myths about the "divine right" of monarchs, and religion in general had a very important role in buttressing the rule of feudal authorities.
Feudalism was born in the belly of the rule by military chieftains who imposed violence on others to obtain war booty, slaves, etc. Such is the history of humans, about 2% of human history called "civilization", after the days when primitive communism existed for 98% of our history, but then ceased to exist after military chieftains imposed their violence on humans.
No doubt you have detected a pattern: the history of ruling classes are all ultimately based on violence or the threat of violence imposed by a tiny minority on the vast majority of humans. All else is subterfuge. And this includes elections.
Orlov lists many of the barriers preventing ordinary people (non-capitalists) from participating in elections, but he misses the 800 pound gorilla that guarantees that nobody interferes with the capitalist agenda to gain more wealth and power.
The gorilla is capitalism, a system that a tiny group of people imposed through violence on the vast majority of humans over the past several centuries. Their system enshrines the right to take possession under rules of "ownership" of all the products and services created by working people. The capitalist ruling class have sought to legitimatize their dominance of society mainly by establishing the so-called "rule of law", and of course these rules, which they made, were designed to serve and protect their system of ownership. And they have many other means that they use to promote the legitimacy of their rule: their domination over every institution of society which they use to indoctrinate people in pro-capitalist values, especially the fake mythology of democracy and their sponsorship of elections. The capitalist class monopoly on the means of indoctrination has been so successful that many critics like Orlov completely miss this 800 pound gorilla.
Capitalism is a system born in the belly of feudalism. Feudalism was based on territory captured through the use of violence imposed on people who lived in those territories. Theirs was a system controlled by these victorious families who laid claim to everything that existed in the territory under their control: the food and crafts produced by working people and on the people themselves. This form of family domination was passed down through patrilineal and primogeniture rules which established the permanent power hierarchy known as monarchs and aristocracy. This ruling class reinforced the legitimacy of their rule by promulgating myths about the "divine right" of monarchs, and religion in general had a very important role in buttressing the rule of feudal authorities.
Feudalism was born in the belly of the rule by military chieftains who imposed violence on others to obtain war booty, slaves, etc. Such is the history of humans, about 2% of human history called "civilization", after the days when primitive communism existed for 98% of our history, but then ceased to exist after military chieftains imposed their violence on humans.
No doubt you have detected a pattern: the history of ruling classes are all ultimately based on violence or the threat of violence imposed by a tiny minority on the vast majority of humans. All else is subterfuge. And this includes elections.
Extinction, “De-Extinction,” and Capitalism
Click here to access a 52 minute interview with Ashley Dawson, author of a new book entitled Extinction: A Radical History. The interview begins after a news summary at approximately 6:30m. The broadcast is from the studios of KPFA, a listener sponsored radio station in Berkeley, California.
What should we do in the face of the ongoing extinction crisis? What is rewilding, and how does it work? Is de-extinction, which involves the resurrection of extinct species, advisable? Ashley Dawson puts mass extinction and the various efforts to address it in a broader political-economic context.Dawson targets capitalism as the culprit behind the mass extinction of life forms that is increasing at a rapid rate in spite of various attempts by advocates of "green capitalism" to preserve species. A very thought provoking interview throughout, but he specifically draws our attention to the destructive role of capitalism starting at 36:25m.
Another goodbye to democracy if Transatlantic Partnership is passed
Click here to access article by Pete Dolack from Systemic Disorder.
I presume he means the anemic version of "democracy" that our masters permit us to exercise--like having to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
I presume he means the anemic version of "democracy" that our masters permit us to exercise--like having to choose between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton.
Corporate control on both sides of the Atlantic will be solidified should the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership be passed. Any doubt about that was removed when Greenpeace Netherlands released 13 chapters of the TTIP text, although the secrecy of the text and that only corporate representatives have regular access to negotiators had already made intentions clear.
Health, safety, environmental and food laws will all be at risk....
A 9/11 "Dog That Didn't Bark"
Click here/ to access article by John Spritzler from New Democracy World.
In this brief article Spritzler focuses our attention on only one among many doubtful aspects of the whole 9/11 tragedy that suggests a conspiracy was involved to commit one of the grossest crimes against humanity in the nefarious history of false-flag operations.
In this brief article Spritzler focuses our attention on only one among many doubtful aspects of the whole 9/11 tragedy that suggests a conspiracy was involved to commit one of the grossest crimes against humanity in the nefarious history of false-flag operations.
The true anti-semites, past and present
Click here to access article by Jonathan Cook from his Blog from Nazareth.
Cook examines the latest attempt to smear the new British Labor party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, with the Empire's favorite brush of "antisemitism" that Empire agents frequently uses against their adversaries. His examination takes us behind the history of antisemitism that offers a new understanding of how it all began. From there he concludes with Finkelstein's argument that...
Cook examines the latest attempt to smear the new British Labor party leader, Jeremy Corbyn, with the Empire's favorite brush of "antisemitism" that Empire agents frequently uses against their adversaries. His examination takes us behind the history of antisemitism that offers a new understanding of how it all began. From there he concludes with Finkelstein's argument that...
the “new anti-semitism” canard is likely – and possibly intended – to fuel the very anti-semitism that it claims to be exposing and challenging.
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
Arctic sea ice is falling off a cliff and it may not survive the summer
Click here to access article from Robertscribbler.
change destabilization is real. We've experienced record breaking temperatures nearly every week for the past month. Some records were smashed by as much as 10 degrees Fahrenheit. It is now clear that positive feedback loops are in operation to accelerate the climate temperatures upward. Have we reached the point of no return or tipping point of this destabilization? There is no scientific consensus on this frightening question, but the evidence keeps mounting in support of this position.
For an excellent video discussion of this prospect, I recommend that you view a 43:57m video that was posted on National Geographic's website in November 2015. The video is structured around the five stages of grief, but I notice that in the final stage of acceptance the "patient", Bill Nye, starts engaging in hopeful scientific fantasies which I believe brings him back to stage one.
Of course nowhere in the presentation is any mention made of capitalism that is driving climate destabilization. The closest they come is some brief recognition that the fossil fuel industry will oppose any significant measures to construct indispensable new power and transportation infrastructures simply because they would require tremendous costs. The video actually charges science with the cause of climate destabilization, not the sacred cow of capitalism.
Another fantasy I have noticed is that some people imagine moving to other planets after they trash this one. Read this piece entitled "Scientists discover potentially habitable planets" in which they speculate that another planet may be habitable and it is "only" a little more than 40 light years away! Well, if we could travel at the speed of light (roughly about 186,000 miles per second) for 40 years, we could shove this planet in the dumpster and migrate to that planet.
...during the first decade of the the 21st Century the mainstream scientific view was that Arctic sea ice would be about in the range that it is today by around 2070 or 2080. And that we wouldn’t be contemplating the possibility of zero or near zero sea ice until the end of this Century.We in the northwest of the United States no longer need to read scientific sources to know that climate
But the amazing ability of an unconscionable fossil fuel emission to rapidly transform our world for the worst appears now to outweigh that cautious science.
For an excellent video discussion of this prospect, I recommend that you view a 43:57m video that was posted on National Geographic's website in November 2015. The video is structured around the five stages of grief, but I notice that in the final stage of acceptance the "patient", Bill Nye, starts engaging in hopeful scientific fantasies which I believe brings him back to stage one.
Of course nowhere in the presentation is any mention made of capitalism that is driving climate destabilization. The closest they come is some brief recognition that the fossil fuel industry will oppose any significant measures to construct indispensable new power and transportation infrastructures simply because they would require tremendous costs. The video actually charges science with the cause of climate destabilization, not the sacred cow of capitalism.
Another fantasy I have noticed is that some people imagine moving to other planets after they trash this one. Read this piece entitled "Scientists discover potentially habitable planets" in which they speculate that another planet may be habitable and it is "only" a little more than 40 light years away! Well, if we could travel at the speed of light (roughly about 186,000 miles per second) for 40 years, we could shove this planet in the dumpster and migrate to that planet.
Monday, May 2, 2016
The Bernie Fade Begins
Click here to access article by Paul Street from CounterPunch.
As the quadrennial exercise in support of a "progressive" candidate within the Democratic Party comes to a close, Street offers his take on the meaning of it all. Street concludes his essay with the following hopeful statement:
Despite the organizers' attempts to not cooperate with authorities to prevent the latter from controlling the march, in the end the massive police force demonstrated that they had complete control of the march by herding the crowd where the police wanted them to go. I stopped watching the coverage when it became apparent that the marchers were being corralled and cornered by the police.
After watching this coverage, I was left with the feeling that the ruling class had the May Day march entirely under their control. Because there was no alternative media that people could turn to, most people watching this event were likely influenced by the TV-police themes that these May Day marchers were violent people who posed a threat to society. Thus, not only were the marchers under police control but the meaning of the march was completely controlled by the local authorities of the ruling class.
What was direly needed was an independent media source like an alternative radio station that people could turn to offer a real meaning to the march, and also to present a sharply different perspective that listeners/viewers could contrast with the one-sided police narrative and perspective provided by the corporate TV station. If there was any serious effort to promote a "radical reconstruction" of society, such alternative media would already be functioning and this workers day celebration would have served a truly revolutionary consciousness-raising purpose.
As the quadrennial exercise in support of a "progressive" candidate within the Democratic Party comes to a close, Street offers his take on the meaning of it all. Street concludes his essay with the following hopeful statement:
“If voting made any difference,” the great American left anarchist Emma Goldman once said, “they’d make it illegal.” Elections, candidates, and parties come and go, though now the electoral extravaganza seems to last forever. Their outcomes are largely beyond our control. What is not outside our sphere of influence is the ability to build radical and durable people’s and workers’ power organizations that are ready, willing, and able to undertake what Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. called near the end of his life “the real issue to be faced: the radical reconstruction of society itself.”I am not optimistic about any serious, long-term effort at organizing a movement whose main objective is "the radical reconstruction of society". I was left with this feeling yesterday after watching the coverage provided by a local TV station of the annual parade of workers celebrating May Day in Seattle. The TV reports were frequently reinforced with reports from police sources. Thus the cops were the good guys protecting us from the violence of anarchists even though many in the march did not wear black which denoted anarchist affiliation. There were no interviews with the marchers which were only presented as a threat to society. Indeed, the masks and other facial coverings they wore were highlighted to show them as a criminal threat instead of measures to protect themselves from being identified by the police and from further police harassment. A few windows were broken (who knows by whom) and the TV camera poured over this as an indication of the violent tendencies of the marchers.
Despite the organizers' attempts to not cooperate with authorities to prevent the latter from controlling the march, in the end the massive police force demonstrated that they had complete control of the march by herding the crowd where the police wanted them to go. I stopped watching the coverage when it became apparent that the marchers were being corralled and cornered by the police.
After watching this coverage, I was left with the feeling that the ruling class had the May Day march entirely under their control. Because there was no alternative media that people could turn to, most people watching this event were likely influenced by the TV-police themes that these May Day marchers were violent people who posed a threat to society. Thus, not only were the marchers under police control but the meaning of the march was completely controlled by the local authorities of the ruling class.
What was direly needed was an independent media source like an alternative radio station that people could turn to offer a real meaning to the march, and also to present a sharply different perspective that listeners/viewers could contrast with the one-sided police narrative and perspective provided by the corporate TV station. If there was any serious effort to promote a "radical reconstruction" of society, such alternative media would already be functioning and this workers day celebration would have served a truly revolutionary consciousness-raising purpose.
ALEPPO, SYRIA: Remember Benghazi Before You Buy the Latest Propaganda…
Click here to access article from The Burning Blogger Of Bedlam.
And just when you thought the situation in Syria was entering into a period of peace, negotiation and reconciliation, and that the propaganda and deception might die down for a while.
Sunday, May 1, 2016
The demise of Sanders’ “political revolution”
Click here to access article by Patrick Martin from World Socialist Web Site.
Sanders began his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination with no expectations of electoral success or even significant influence. His aim was to play the role of previous left-liberal candidates, like Dennis Kucinich and Al Sharpton, and use the presidential primary process to give the Democratic Party a “left” face. The Clinton campaign itself welcomed his participation, counting on Sanders to allow her to position herself as the “responsible progressive” during the primary contests.
.... His “political revolution” turned out to be nothing more than getting out the vote for the Democrats, his “socialism” merely warmed-over liberalism, without the slightest threat of any inroad against capitalist property.
Next Cold War Roundup 4/29/16
Click here to access article by Joanne Leon from Shadowproof.
The author provides an excellent survey of the latest news reports related to events associated with Cold War II in which the Empire is battling both Russia and any significant independent movements that impede its global agenda of hegemony.
The author provides an excellent survey of the latest news reports related to events associated with Cold War II in which the Empire is battling both Russia and any significant independent movements that impede its global agenda of hegemony.
Panama Papers – Sheep-Dipped CIA Dirty Ops
Click here to access article by F. William Engdahl from New Eastern Outlook.
Although the investigative details provided by Engdahl do not appear to be original, still he puts all of them together in this tightly knit essay. See, for example, this article entitled "Why most of the Panama Papers have been kept in the dark?" by a Greek writer posted online by the unbalanced evolution of homo sapienson on April 13th. Also read today's article from the same online source, which argues that Panama Papers incident may signal a new tactic by Empire operatives:
Engdahl's article connects the dots from a pro-NATO German media firm, SĂĽddeutsche Zeitung, that first released this "leak", to a non-profit organization, International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, to a Washington DC-based Center for Public Integrity to funders such as the following:
Although the investigative details provided by Engdahl do not appear to be original, still he puts all of them together in this tightly knit essay. See, for example, this article entitled "Why most of the Panama Papers have been kept in the dark?" by a Greek writer posted online by the unbalanced evolution of homo sapienson on April 13th. Also read today's article from the same online source, which argues that Panama Papers incident may signal a new tactic by Empire operatives:
The establishment could feed the mainstream information channels with huge amounts of controlled data, to overshadow crucial revelations by WikiLeaks, Snowden, or other truly independent whistleblowers, and gradually wipe them out from the field of the leak "industry". It's easy someone to understand that such a development would mean the end of real leaks and revelations.The release of the Panama Papers for me always reeked of a psy-ops program that is so typical of the operations of the Empire's deep state. The Empire's psy-ops agents seem to be active on daily basis to manipulate public opinion to support the interests of the ruling transnational capitalist class that forms the supporting foundation of the US-led Empire. The selective nature of corporate media coverage that used the Panama Papers disclosure to smear Putin and other figures who have not cooperated fully with Imperial directors was so obvious from the beginning.
Engdahl's article connects the dots from a pro-NATO German media firm, SĂĽddeutsche Zeitung, that first released this "leak", to a non-profit organization, International Consortium of Investigative Journalism, to a Washington DC-based Center for Public Integrity to funders such as the following:
- George Soros’ Open Society Foundations
- Rockefeller Brothers Fund
- Rockefeller Family Fund
- Carnegie Corporation
- Ford Foundation
- Foundation for National Progress, Soros-backed mother of Mother Jones
- Fidelity Brokerage Services, second largest mutual fund in the world
Today Is Our Day
Click here to access article by Jonah Walters from Jacobin.
The author explains the history and significance of this day.
The author explains the history and significance of this day.
Saturday, April 30, 2016
The Devil Capitalism
Click here to access article by Gary Engler from CounterPunch.
Because it is likely that the amount carbon pollution in our environment may have already occurred in sufficient amounts to threaten the eventual extinction of humans, these human characteristics (lack of imagination, immediate gratification, and gullibility) may be regarded as fatal psychological flaws that will cause humans to disappear from the Earth.
Okay, here’s the proposition — you can have a good job, decent pay, lots of overtime, but only if you give me your grandchildren or maybe your great-grandchildren.Obviously what is referred to here is the fatal consequence of continuing with the devil's system of capitalism that scientists have been warning us about since at least 1972: climate destabilization because of extensive carbon pollution driven by capitalism's insatiable drive for profits. Unfortunately because people find it difficult to imagine any other economic system and/or don't want to incur the risks to their lifestyle to challenge the present one, they usually go for easier answers provided by the capitalist devil to satisfy their more immediate interests. So far the record seems to show that humans have in effect chosen to accept this bargain with the devil, or that most humans have believed the assurances of this devil that they don't need to worry about it because our masters have it under control.
Would you make this deal with the devil?
Because it is likely that the amount carbon pollution in our environment may have already occurred in sufficient amounts to threaten the eventual extinction of humans, these human characteristics (lack of imagination, immediate gratification, and gullibility) may be regarded as fatal psychological flaws that will cause humans to disappear from the Earth.
The Lingering Danger of Google & Facebook
Click here to access article by Ulson Gunnar from New Eastern Outlook.
The author provides substantial evidence to show that the US capitalist ruling class has used, and is using, not only NGOs, as many others have shown, but information technology giants such as Google and Facebook in collaboration with the Department of State in their efforts to promote regime change on behalf of the Empire's capitalist interests. This emphasis by Empire agents on the use of information for political purposes illustrates once again the importance of independent media to prevent not only the Empire's successful engineering of consent to their policies, but the liberating revolutionary goal of eliminating any type of class domination over the vast majority of humans.
The author provides substantial evidence to show that the US capitalist ruling class has used, and is using, not only NGOs, as many others have shown, but information technology giants such as Google and Facebook in collaboration with the Department of State in their efforts to promote regime change on behalf of the Empire's capitalist interests. This emphasis by Empire agents on the use of information for political purposes illustrates once again the importance of independent media to prevent not only the Empire's successful engineering of consent to their policies, but the liberating revolutionary goal of eliminating any type of class domination over the vast majority of humans.
McKibben’s Divestment Tour – Brought to You by Wall Street
Click here to access article by Cory Morningstar from The Art of Annihilation.
Morningstar explains why corporations have backed McKibben's and 350.org's support for divestment of stocks that support environmentally harmful activities. (clue) It is just another deception to make us believe that capitalists are doing something constructive about the threat of climate destabilization.
Morningstar explains why corporations have backed McKibben's and 350.org's support for divestment of stocks that support environmentally harmful activities. (clue) It is just another deception to make us believe that capitalists are doing something constructive about the threat of climate destabilization.
What most people are happy to dismiss is the fact that the bourgeoisie do not fund and promote what they cannot control and manipulate for their own benefit. It’s incredible how millions of dollars in funding enables those who benefit (those of privilege) to not ask the obvious questions that follow such “philanthropic gifts” (ie. investments). If any person of sound mind truly believes that Rockefeller et al. are united in financing and promoting a global divestment campaign because they simply wish for a clean world, then this author has a bridge to sell them.
Ecuador earthquake disaster relief undermined by multi-million dollar investment tribunal decision
Click here to access article by Cecilia Olivet (Transnational Institute) posted on Friends of the Earth.
Today, the Ecuadorian government is required to pay $180 million to multinational oil corporation Occidental, the final payment of a total settlement of $980 million following the widely criticized decision of an Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) tribunal. Just two weeks after a major earthquake, this payment threatens to undermine Ecuador’s disaster relief efforts by financially limiting the government’s ability to rebuild severely damaged hospitals, homes and hundreds of schools.
Friday, April 29, 2016
Pres. Candidate Dr. Jill Stein & Abby Martin – Symptoms of a Sick Society
Click here to access this introduction and a 23:57m video interview conducted by Abby Martin with Jill Stein, a Green Party candidate for president, posted on Media Roots.
Jill Stein explains some of the ways the ruling capitalist class has to prevent any threats to their interests by preventing progressive candidates within the Democratic Party or a third party candidate from being elected. She also explains some of the reasons how the New Deal legislation was passed in the 1930s, and how it was co-opted and tamed into something that was acceptable to the ruling class.
Given her career as a physician, her most interesting comments were about how the expensive health care system is not helping the increasing pathology rates of most Americans. Here are some quotes that I gathered from her talk before time ran out.
Jill Stein explains some of the ways the ruling capitalist class has to prevent any threats to their interests by preventing progressive candidates within the Democratic Party or a third party candidate from being elected. She also explains some of the reasons how the New Deal legislation was passed in the 1930s, and how it was co-opted and tamed into something that was acceptable to the ruling class.
Given her career as a physician, her most interesting comments were about how the expensive health care system is not helping the increasing pathology rates of most Americans. Here are some quotes that I gathered from her talk before time ran out.
We are not only literally sick in the sense of high rates of pathology and longevity, but sick in the sense of social injustive and extreme inequality. In addition humans are under threat of extinction due to climate destabilization.
[Her cure is a] green New Deal which cures the economy, cures the climate, and cures the wars for oil.
Our health care system has increasingly become coopted, profiteered, and costs have skyrocketed and peoples' health has not improved.
The Empire of Chaos Strikes Back
Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from Strategic Culture Foundation.
The Brazilian journalist extraordinaire frames the impeachment proceedings in Brazil as part of a larger effort by the Empire to attack the evolving BRICS and the threat they pose for Empire hegemony.
The Brazilian journalist extraordinaire frames the impeachment proceedings in Brazil as part of a larger effort by the Empire to attack the evolving BRICS and the threat they pose for Empire hegemony.
Cold War 2.0 is essentially about Russia and China – but Brazil is also a key player. Edward Snowden revealed how NSA spying was centered on Petrobras, whose proprietary technology was responsible for the largest oil discovery of the young 21st century; the pre-salt deposits. US Big Oil is excluded from its exploitation. That’s anathema; and that requires deployment of Hybrid War techniques inbuilt in Full Spectrum Dominance.The Empire has been actively seeking alliances with ruling capitalist classes among all Latin American countries, and it has been largely successful to the point that many of these classes actively cooperate with Empire directors against their own citizens. In other words, the ruling classes throughout most of Latin America are much more loyal to the Empire's ruling class than they are to their own nation. This is simply because they know that the precarious foundations of their power rests largely on the support of Empire elites. Actually this is true with the Empire's relations with most of the world's ruling capitalist classes, but I think that this phenomenon is more advanced in most Latin American countries.
Brazilian comprador elites have been gleefully playing the game.
Thursday, April 28, 2016
Organizing for radical change beyond the ballot box
Click here to access article by Ben Reynolds from ROAR.
On the other hand capitalist propaganda issues from every pore of mainstream institutional bodies with the result that people end up misinformed and confused. The capitalist ruling class knows something that revolutionaries do not seem to take seriously: if you can capture the minds of those who might rebel from their rule, these potential rebels will remain docile and even supportive of imperial policies with the additional benefit that you don't need to use so many costly coercive measures to contain dissent.
Thus the fundamental task of any viable revolutionary movement must be to build media organizations to counter capitalist propaganda. Initially such forms can emulate anti-Vietnam War activists who spread information near army bases in coffee houses and other establishments. Nowadays, similar efforts can make use of small businesses, collectively run coffee houses and restaurants near college campuses and areas where workers and the unemployed congregate. Online anti-establishment media must make greater efforts to collaborate and share resources. Future efforts can also devote energies to teaching working class history to counter the massive programs of indoctrination that children and youth are subject to in schools.
Finally, I must add that serious revolutionaries do not pursue careers in order to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, take-on the burden of home mortgages, and raise a family. People who do this are easily co-opted into serving the system because of the ever present threat of a loss of their jobs by capitalists or capitalist overseers who control their jobs. Because revolutionaries know that capitalism is going to be the death and ruination of the working class and indeed the planet, they dedicate their lives to the overthrow of this deadly system in order to replace it with a sustainable, life-affirming system.
The youth of today are increasingly aware that their generation may be the last that can save humans from nuclear war conflagrations and catastrophic climate destabilization. Never before in human history has a generation faced such a monumental task: to save humans from extinction.
History shows that our best hope for radical social change lies not within the sphere of electoral politics, but in building popular power from below.The only criticism I have of this article is that Reynolds omits a major building block of any revolutionary movement: propaganda efforts to counter the massive disinformation put out by capitalist institutions. This has always been a major component of any of the movements that he mentions in the article; but when these movement died, propaganda work died with them. Because this has not been pursued by any sustained, organized movement over time in the US (and elsewhere), each generation must re-learn political lessons and real working class history that previous movements and generations had already learned.
On the other hand capitalist propaganda issues from every pore of mainstream institutional bodies with the result that people end up misinformed and confused. The capitalist ruling class knows something that revolutionaries do not seem to take seriously: if you can capture the minds of those who might rebel from their rule, these potential rebels will remain docile and even supportive of imperial policies with the additional benefit that you don't need to use so many costly coercive measures to contain dissent.
Thus the fundamental task of any viable revolutionary movement must be to build media organizations to counter capitalist propaganda. Initially such forms can emulate anti-Vietnam War activists who spread information near army bases in coffee houses and other establishments. Nowadays, similar efforts can make use of small businesses, collectively run coffee houses and restaurants near college campuses and areas where workers and the unemployed congregate. Online anti-establishment media must make greater efforts to collaborate and share resources. Future efforts can also devote energies to teaching working class history to counter the massive programs of indoctrination that children and youth are subject to in schools.
Finally, I must add that serious revolutionaries do not pursue careers in order to enjoy a comfortable lifestyle, take-on the burden of home mortgages, and raise a family. People who do this are easily co-opted into serving the system because of the ever present threat of a loss of their jobs by capitalists or capitalist overseers who control their jobs. Because revolutionaries know that capitalism is going to be the death and ruination of the working class and indeed the planet, they dedicate their lives to the overthrow of this deadly system in order to replace it with a sustainable, life-affirming system.
The youth of today are increasingly aware that their generation may be the last that can save humans from nuclear war conflagrations and catastrophic climate destabilization. Never before in human history has a generation faced such a monumental task: to save humans from extinction.
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