Click here to access article by Max Blumenthal from Gray Zone.
This independent journalist provides an excellent report about one of the Empire's main government agency, the tax-supported agency of the National Endowment for Democracy, that is responsible for the proliferation of fake news designed to colonize your mind and thereby enlist your support for their quest of world domination.
I watched the following 22:42m video which appears to be supported by the report which I briefly scanned. The latter is useful for people who want to check out the many supporting links that he provides to document his arguments.
You may also be interested in the views by another independent blogger's views in the following video about the proliferation of fake news and the increasing censorship of the internet (some of which she has directly experienced) which is a major threat to the rule of the Empire's tiny ruling capitalist classes.
Thursday, August 30, 2018
How the Department of Homeland Security Created a Deceptive Tale of Russia Hacking US Voter Sites
Click here to access article by Gareth Porter from ConsortiumNews.
The evidence uncovered by Porter strongly suggests that an effort was initiated and coordinated by powerful figures among the ruling class to inculcate the belief among ordinary Americans that Russia interfered with our elections. This theme has been disseminated throughout corporate media and is still being used--apparently in the conviction that a lie repeated often enough becomes a fact--much like the false belief that lemmings often commit mass suicide.
The evidence uncovered by Porter strongly suggests that an effort was initiated and coordinated by powerful figures among the ruling class to inculcate the belief among ordinary Americans that Russia interfered with our elections. This theme has been disseminated throughout corporate media and is still being used--apparently in the conviction that a lie repeated often enough becomes a fact--much like the false belief that lemmings often commit mass suicide.
The narrative of Russian intelligence attacking state and local election boards and threatening the integrity of U.S. elections has achieved near-universal acceptance by media and political elites. And now it has been accepted by the Trump administration’s intelligence chief, Dan Coats, as well.
But the real story behind that narrative, recounted here for the first time, reveals that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) created and nurtured an account that was grossly and deliberately deceptive.
Wednesday, August 29, 2018
Back in the (Great) Game: The Revenge of Eurasian Land Powers
Click here to access article by Pepe Escobar from ConsortiumNews.
This highly educated and informed Brazilian journalist has been following and touting China's Belt and Road Initiative for quite some time. In this article he provides an historical background on the Western European powers to thwart the rise of China on the world scene, and the subsequent reaction by the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, and other Eurasian nations who are taking the Westphalian principles, that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter, seriously unlike the Empire's complete disregard of them.
The article is well-documented, but one reference was neglected for less educated Americans: the reference to the "end of history".
This highly educated and informed Brazilian journalist has been following and touting China's Belt and Road Initiative for quite some time. In this article he provides an historical background on the Western European powers to thwart the rise of China on the world scene, and the subsequent reaction by the Chinese Communist Party, Russia, and other Eurasian nations who are taking the Westphalian principles, that are enshrined in the United Nations Charter, seriously unlike the Empire's complete disregard of them.
The article is well-documented, but one reference was neglected for less educated Americans: the reference to the "end of history".
Asymmetric Financial War and Radical US Leverage – What Will It Bring?
Click here to access article by Alastair Crooke from Strategic Culture Foundation. (Content added at 11:30 AM CT.)
Even the former member of MI6, the British version of the CIA, has doubts about the viability of the US Empire. No, he is not an anti-capitalist as evidenced by his quote from the Mises Institute. However, he sees that a long-game is being practiced by the enemies of the US-led Empire that is out to control the world.
An article by Pepe Escobar, a highly educated and informed Brazilian journalist, entitled "Economic war on Iran is war on Eurasia integration" may be of interest to you.
Even the former member of MI6, the British version of the CIA, has doubts about the viability of the US Empire. No, he is not an anti-capitalist as evidenced by his quote from the Mises Institute. However, he sees that a long-game is being practiced by the enemies of the US-led Empire that is out to control the world.
It seems that the Chinese leadership has concluded that the Trump Administration is determined to use its full spectrum radical leverage to hobble China as a rival, and to resurrect its own global domination – Xi seems to foresee a long struggle for position in the global future: one that will be played out geo-politically (in the jostling in the South China Sea, over North Korea, Taiwan and the BRI), as much as in the economic domain. If this is so, there is real risk of the ‘jostling’ spontaneously escalating into a military clash, whether limited and contained, or not.He is wrong about Trump's administration starting this economic war. He only accelerated it. It started in the Obama administration under the "pivot to China" policy, but it wasn't Obama who instigated it. Obama, like most government officials, was merely a puppet. It was primarily the Anglo-American ruling capitalist classes that have since WWII established their power over much of the world. However, the latter won't suffer in this war--it is the workers of nations controlled by the Empire that will be the causalities in this new economic war.
An article by Pepe Escobar, a highly educated and informed Brazilian journalist, entitled "Economic war on Iran is war on Eurasia integration" may be of interest to you.
A People’s Definition of Capitalism
Click here to access article by Jason Holland from Dissident Voice.
The author makes some excellent observations about the system that many people are beginning to challenge, and these challenges are frightening to the "owners" of most of the world's economies.
The author makes some excellent observations about the system that many people are beginning to challenge, and these challenges are frightening to the "owners" of most of the world's economies.
Capitalism in a truthful word: Exploitation.
The long form definition is full of complexities purposely installed to hide the fact the short version sounds so ugly, because few would agree to engage in an economic system that was called what it truly is — exploitism.
Through decades of red baiting and condemnation of any alternative system that doesn’t drive monetary resources to the few at the expense of the many we’ve arrived at a state of indoctrination where people cannot see past the wall of propaganda ....
Gov. Shutdown Of TeleSUR & "Empire Files" Explained By Abby Martin
View the video below that reports on Abby Martin's experience with censorship and related matters on the Jimmy Dore Show. View it before YouTube or the corporation, Google, that "owns" them, takes the post down. There is a war on for your mind. No, I'm not referring to Afghanistan, Syria, Venezuela, Ukraine, Israel and all the other countries that are plagued by war.
The ruling capitalist classes of the Empire have declared war on your mind, and they are gradually shutting down all dissident views which challenge their power. On one side are the (hopefully) millions of people that support truth-tellers like Abby Martin, Jimmy Dore, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, etc, and on the other side are the corporations who quite literally "own" the USA and large parts of other nations. Which side are you on (see this and this)?
The ruling capitalist classes of the Empire have declared war on your mind, and they are gradually shutting down all dissident views which challenge their power. On one side are the (hopefully) millions of people that support truth-tellers like Abby Martin, Jimmy Dore, Julian Assange, Edward Snowden, etc, and on the other side are the corporations who quite literally "own" the USA and large parts of other nations. Which side are you on (see this and this)?
Tuesday, August 28, 2018
The Real Russian Interference in US Politics
Click here to access article by Diana Johnstone from ConsortiumNews.
Those of you who suspect corporate media of disseminating fake news, now is your chance to read an article about the real interference by the US ruling class in the Russian government and their promotion of private interests to takeover the Russian economy.
Those of you who suspect corporate media of disseminating fake news, now is your chance to read an article about the real interference by the US ruling class in the Russian government and their promotion of private interests to takeover the Russian economy.
The Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union was ostensibly a conflict between two ideologies and two socio-economic systems.I differ with her implication that the Cold War was not about ideology, because it was about the USSR's half-baked version of socialism, and as such, an enemy to the agenda of the US Empire's intention to become the author of a New World Order or Pax Americana, or the latest capitalist version of the "Fourth Reich". The fact that the Empire is posing considerable opposition to the resistance led by Russia and China, who currently only want a multipolar world, attests to the fact that the Empire can accept no interference in their quest to dominate the world. The simple fact is that they have no alternative. The Empire's transnational capitalist class are committed to this objective out of necessity to pay off all the enormous debts (to themselves) that their governments have incurred. Their intention is that these debts will be paid at the expense of the rest of the world much as they have been in the past.
All that seems to be over. The day of a new socialism may dawn unexpectedly, but today capitalism rules the world. At first glance, it may seem to be a classic clash between rival capitalists. And yet, once again an ideological conflict is emerging, one which divides capitalists themselves, even in Russia and in the United States itself. It is the conflict between American unipolar dominance and a multipolar world.
Jo Cox, Her Assassination, the White Helmets, “Humanitarianism,” and Regime Change (Part 1 of 4)
Click here to access article by Vanessa Beeley and Whitney Webb from Mint Press News. (Updated at 11:52 AM CT.)
These independent journalists have researched the rise of the White Helmets and offer this exposé into a fake "humanitarian" weapon used by the US Empire's ruling capitalist class to promote their imperialist interests in Syria. However, their continued operation and funding from various front NGOs (I have done my own research on two occasions in the past, see here and here, on these "humanitarian" funders) suggest that the White Helmets will be used in many other places in the future where the Empire has an interest. For example, see this post.
These independent journalists have researched the rise of the White Helmets and offer this exposé into a fake "humanitarian" weapon used by the US Empire's ruling capitalist class to promote their imperialist interests in Syria. However, their continued operation and funding from various front NGOs (I have done my own research on two occasions in the past, see here and here, on these "humanitarian" funders) suggest that the White Helmets will be used in many other places in the future where the Empire has an interest. For example, see this post.
This is Part I of a three-part [it has since expanded to 4 parts] series on the life and legacy of Jo Cox, focusing on the establishment of the Jo Cox Fund 24 hours after her dreadful murder on June 16, 2016 — a fund that designated among its causes the multi-million-dollar government-financed White Helmets, whose primary purpose has been to escalate unlawful NATO state-proxy and direct military intervention in Syria. We focus on the originators of this fund and the extent to which they influence Western policy on Syria and elsewhere. It is no coincidence that some of the world’s most ardent imperialists are behind the cynical exploitation of one heinous murder to enable global mass-murder as well as human trafficking under the pretext of “ethical” and “humanitarian” intervention.See Part II which was posted yesterday here.
This is Part II of a four-part series on the life and legacy of Jo Cox. .... In this part, we focus on how the people behind the Jo Cox Fund have applied strategies intended to promote foreign military intervention that was first perfected in the NATO intervention in the Balkans to the current conflict in Syria. Additionally, we examine how these players have helped develop the massive public-relations machine with the White Helmets at its center and how that machine has sought to use Cox’s death to sanctify the controversial group and shield it from scrutiny.
Lee Camp: All Dissenting Voices Being Crushed By Facebook & Others
Political comedian and satirist Lee Camp goes on a rant regarding the growing censorship by our masters in the capitalist ruling class against any views expressed by dissidents that is not approved by their censors. Lee Camp exclaims that it is time to fight back by simply spreading this knowledge about the growing censorship.
It seems to me that if critics of the growing censorship are to get serious, they would stop going on rants about it and organize a nationwide alternative media organization like I proposed last year. Critics of the growing censorship in the USA need to get serious about fighting back.
It seems to me that if critics of the growing censorship are to get serious, they would stop going on rants about it and organize a nationwide alternative media organization like I proposed last year. Critics of the growing censorship in the USA need to get serious about fighting back.
Saturday, August 25, 2018
Articles recommended for Saturday, August 25, 2018
- Breaking the chains of delusion -Technological progress mythologies and the pitfalls of digitalization by Fabian Scheidler from DeGrowth (Germany). (Note: there is one obvious mistake, likely a typo, in the article--"... in relation to 800 billion people starving on the planet.")
It is the endpoint of the submission of human beings under the logics of the [capitalist] machine, the blind mechanics of endless capital accumulation and the disciplinary apparatuses. The digitalized human only exists as a set of data, and consequently all that makes up life – spontaneity, emotional experience and creativity – have vanished. Of course this is not what Google is saying, quite the contrary, but it is what happens, if you follow their ideas.
Now, the question is: Do we want to entrust our future to people with visions of that kind? Do we want to feed them with our data, see the world through their Google glasses and move around in cars that are steered by their algorithms? Or are we going to free ourselves from the Matrix they have created, in order to regain reality, our bodies and our minds?
- US Uses Facebook to Spread Fake News About Cuba by Rosa Miriam Elizalde from Cuba-Network in Defense of Humanity.
- Video: Jasic factory workers imprisoned in China from Libcom.
- US Inmates’ Against 'Modern Slavery': Possible Outcomes of the National Prison Strike by Edward Rhymes from his blog Rhymes Media Group.
The Fires This Time and Their Implications for Ecosocialists
Click here to access article by Richard Smith from System Change not Climate Change.
Unless we get people to start thinking about and talking about and working for a viable alternative to the market-driven collapse of civilization. Our job, as ecosocialists is to put forward a practical plan to slam the brakes on emissions, an EMERGENCY RESPONSE TO THE CLIMATE EMERGENCY. This plan has to begin with brutal honesty:Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to recognize the reality that most of the capitalist ruling classes are thoroughly addicted to power and profits. The only way that we are going to stop them from bringing us with them in a final ecological apocalypse is for the rest of sane humanity to force the overthrow of their addictive system that supplies them with the drugs of power and profits.
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Recommended articles for Thursday, August 23, 2018
- Exclusive: Shell Took 16 Years To Warn Shareholders of Climate Risks, Despite Knowing in Private All Along by Chloe Farand and Sharon Kelly from Desmog.
- Brainwashed America: Awakening from the illusions is generally in stages by Eric Schechter from The Greanville Post.
- Censorship in America: The New Normal by Stephen Lendman from his blog.
The new normal in America and other Western societies considers anything conflicting with the official narrative on vital issues “inauthentic behavior.”
- Inside America's Meddling Machine: The US Funded Group that Interferes in Elections Around the Globe by Max Blumenthal from his website. Excellent exposé of the nefarious role of the National Endowment for Democracy to subvert governments of other nations. Also, the article includes an excellent 22:42m video.
- US political warfare intensifies after Cohen plea, Manafort conviction by Patrick Martin from World Socialist Web Site.
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Recommended articles for Wednesday, August 22, 2018
- US-Saudis Enlist Al Qaeda For Yemen War by Tony Cartalucci from New Eastern Outlook.
Associated Press has revealed that the US-backed, Saudi-led war against Yemen includes the use of Al Qaeda as a mercenary force against Houthi rebels.
This confirms as fact what was widely dismissed by Western politicians and a complicit Western media as a “conspiracy theory” since 2011.
Evidence that the US and its allies enlisted Al Qaeda and other extremist groups to wage serial proxy wars across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), from Libya and Syria to Yemen, has piled up into a mountain emerging high above the fog of disinformation behind which these wars had been fought.
- How the Media Keeps Americans in the Dark about the Slaughter in Yemen by CJ Werleman from American Herald Tribune.
The media’s obsession with this obviously unhinged and deranged US President comes at the cost of informing the American public of the horrors that are occurring in their name and with their tax dollars in countries many voters can’t even find on a map.
While CNN and a handful of other mainstream television networks carried news of the Saudi coalition missile attack on the school bus, there has been almost no follow up, leaving the public totally in the dark about the role the US played in this war crime, and in what has been described as the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
“Remember Pearl Harbor,” “Never Forget 9/11,” “Putin Did It”
Click here to access article by Hiroyuki Hamada from Dissident Voice. (I again thank an activist for alerting me to this fine article.)
After a review of the real history of the capitalist construction of the US Empire, the author concludes with these hopeful words:
After a review of the real history of the capitalist construction of the US Empire, the author concludes with these hopeful words:
We are looking at the empire disintegrating as its economic sphere is losing its power and legitimacy while “enemies” of the empire are gaining a sphere of influence. Corporate political parties, war industry, government agencies and the rest of the imperialists are struggling to assert their own interests within the imperial framework of corporatism, colonialism and militarism, while picking fights with Russia, China, Iran and any country that defies the imperial hegemony, desperately seeking ways to metastasize for their survival. But the entire imperial order is collapsing.
We must not be a voice for the capitalist lords nor for the hitmen. This is a time we must reach out to people like us in Russia, China, Syria, Iran, and other peoples of the planet, and people like us in our communities, with messages of peace, sharing and mutual respect. .... We, the people of the planet, somehow must assert our desire to bring about a new era for our species .... You might feel isolated. But we are everywhere on this planet. We want to live as brothers and sisters. We want to live in harmony with our planet. We share our angles and facts for a better tomorrow for our children and their children. This is an urgent challenge of our time. Peace to us all.
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Sixth Mass Extinction Ushers In Record-Breaking Wildfires and Heat
Click here to access article by Dahr Jamail from Truthout. (Thanks again goes to an activist in northwest Oregon for alerting me to this article.)
In our current mass extinction event ... rather than the CO2-caused warming coming from a volcano, it is anthropogenic (human-caused), and the climate is not just warming, it is disrupted. And this time, rather than the process taking tens of thousands of years as it did during the Permian mass extinction, humans are increasing atmospheric CO2 levels far, far more rapidly.
Whether or not humans go extinct remains to be seen ....
Project Due Diligence
Click here to access introductory remarks (which I've supplied below) and 79 minute video sponsored by the Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth.
It has been clear to me from the beginning that this was a history-making false-flag event that set in motion all the military actions of the US Empire since: the invasion of Iraq, our 17 year long military engagement in Afghanistan, the bombing and subsequent collapse of the Libyan government, the US Empire's military attempts at overthrowing the Syrian government, etc.
If you don't have the time or inclination to view/listen to all of the video presentation, I advise you to view/listen to the first 2:50 minutes, then a summary of their challenges to government issued reports about Building 7 between 36:00m and 40:25m, and finally the summary of their findings (at 72:05m till the end) that challenge the official reports about the collapse of the twin towers.
Project Due Diligence is a coordinated effort by a team of engineers around the world to engage the profession in performing its due diligence regarding the official reports on the three catastrophic building failures that occurred on September 11, 2001.Nearly 17 years after the 9/11 tragedy more and more architects and engineers are coming together to challenge the official government reports (from FEMA and especially National Institute of Standards and Technology) about the collapse to the twin towers and Building 7 of the World Trade Center.
As engineers, we have a legal responsibility to guard the public’s safety. Given the magnitude of the building failures at the World Trade Center, which resulted in greater loss of life than any other building failure in history, it is our duty to understand the official reports and to call for further investigation if those reports are not satisfactory.
To facilitate this process of due diligence, we are giving our presentation to groups all over the world. At the conclusion of each presentation, we invite engineers to sign our petition and to join the effort to present this information to the entire engineering profession.
It has been clear to me from the beginning that this was a history-making false-flag event that set in motion all the military actions of the US Empire since: the invasion of Iraq, our 17 year long military engagement in Afghanistan, the bombing and subsequent collapse of the Libyan government, the US Empire's military attempts at overthrowing the Syrian government, etc.
If you don't have the time or inclination to view/listen to all of the video presentation, I advise you to view/listen to the first 2:50 minutes, then a summary of their challenges to government issued reports about Building 7 between 36:00m and 40:25m, and finally the summary of their findings (at 72:05m till the end) that challenge the official reports about the collapse of the twin towers.
Brave New Money: PayPal, WeChat, Amazon Go - A Totalitarian World Currency in the Making
Click here to access article by Norbert Häring, a German economist, from his blog.
This article illustrates how an old-fashioned conservative views the increasing digitization of money that is slowly creeping into our lives. Don't misunderstand me: I am also concerned about this, but I come from a different point of view. Häring, as a well-educated, well-paid upper-middle class German, has served capitalism well (which he still refers to as a "democracy"). He also has a fetish for gold which (not incidentally) started us on the path toward the promotion of privately owned banks (see video at 4:13m) together with private ownership and/or control of all of the economy, has led to widespread inequality, never-ending wars, widespread suffering, etc.
Digitization of money, as a sub-system, can offer us a most convenient way to exchange our productivity for goods and services that we need. But when this sub-system and a general social-economic system permits not only money, but the entire economy to be owned and controlled by a tiny minority (today they are capitalists), we see the results in extreme inequality.
On the other hand, what if we, the people, controlled the digitization of money through a general system that we created, a general system that promotes widespread participation in decision-making? We could have convenience without inequality along with many other benefits such as peace, economic security, real education (instead of indoctrination), an economy that wouldn't pose a threat to our ecosystem, leisure time to spend with others we love, boundless creativity, etc.
However, he is right when he warns us about the increasing control of money by our ruling capitalist class. This trend is another indication of their compulsive drive for total control over our lives.
This article illustrates how an old-fashioned conservative views the increasing digitization of money that is slowly creeping into our lives. Don't misunderstand me: I am also concerned about this, but I come from a different point of view. Häring, as a well-educated, well-paid upper-middle class German, has served capitalism well (which he still refers to as a "democracy"). He also has a fetish for gold which (not incidentally) started us on the path toward the promotion of privately owned banks (see video at 4:13m) together with private ownership and/or control of all of the economy, has led to widespread inequality, never-ending wars, widespread suffering, etc.
Digitization of money, as a sub-system, can offer us a most convenient way to exchange our productivity for goods and services that we need. But when this sub-system and a general social-economic system permits not only money, but the entire economy to be owned and controlled by a tiny minority (today they are capitalists), we see the results in extreme inequality.
On the other hand, what if we, the people, controlled the digitization of money through a general system that we created, a general system that promotes widespread participation in decision-making? We could have convenience without inequality along with many other benefits such as peace, economic security, real education (instead of indoctrination), an economy that wouldn't pose a threat to our ecosystem, leisure time to spend with others we love, boundless creativity, etc.
However, he is right when he warns us about the increasing control of money by our ruling capitalist class. This trend is another indication of their compulsive drive for total control over our lives.
Monday, August 20, 2018
Take unprecedented action or bear the consequences, says eminent scientist and advisor
Click here to access article by David Spratt and Ian Dunlop from Climate Code Red (Australia).
“Climate change is now reaching the end-game, where very soon humanity must choose between taking unprecedented action, or accepting that it has been left too late and bear the consequences.”Looking to the government "leaders" to take effective action to counter the now obvious threat of global warming is like looking to a factory foreman to reorganize the factory. Unfortunately for most Americans, the latter is how they view decision-making by the government. The capitalist ruling class has fooled most Americans into thinking that the government puppet show, which they control behind the scenes that are constructed by them, is reality.
Those are the challenging words from Prof. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, for twenty years the head of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and a senior advisor to Pope Francis, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and the European Union.
Sunday, August 19, 2018
OMG This This This This!
Click here to access article by Caitlin Johnstone from her website. (My gratitude goes to another activist for alerting me to this fine article.)
Johnstone is one of the relatively few people in the world who sees the urgency of the situation in which we find ourselves. Her promotion of truth-telling journalism is a sound one, but it urgently needs to be supported by an organized movement committed to truth-telling. Nothing less will be sufficient to counter the power of a tiny class who are desperately acting to prevent the truth from reaching the overwhelming majority of people on our planet.
Johnstone is one of the relatively few people in the world who sees the urgency of the situation in which we find ourselves. Her promotion of truth-telling journalism is a sound one, but it urgently needs to be supported by an organized movement committed to truth-telling. Nothing less will be sufficient to counter the power of a tiny class who are desperately acting to prevent the truth from reaching the overwhelming majority of people on our planet.
The fires this time: Implications for ecosocialist strategy
Click here to access article by Richard Smith from Climate & Capitalism.
The author has contributed so much to alerting the public to the death trajectory that capitalism is taking all of us. His strength is his study of economics which has informed his view that the capitalist system and a habitable planet are on a collision course.
However, I think his present weakness is promoting the Democratic Socialists of America as offering a solution. I've always found the latter to be an inconsistent critic of capitalism and often willing to offer only token actions to counter its influence. I think that nothing less than an organized revolutionary movement can put a stop to this death spiral. The time to offer only individualistic passive solutions is at an end (for example, see this). It's time to get serious. That is why I have proposed one.
The rule of capitalist ruling classes, especially under the leadership of the US-led Empire, is built upon a mountain of lies. I have noticed an increasing frequency of deceptive reports spread by their corporate media, and likewise, an increase of efforts to censor information that expose their lies. It appears that they are desperate to protect their mountain of lies, deceptions, false-flags, psyops, etc. I am convinced that the most effective way to weaken and ultimately destroy that mountain is a movement committed to telling the truth. This will have to be organized from the ground up by people who see the urgency of taking effective action.
The author has contributed so much to alerting the public to the death trajectory that capitalism is taking all of us. His strength is his study of economics which has informed his view that the capitalist system and a habitable planet are on a collision course.
However, I think his present weakness is promoting the Democratic Socialists of America as offering a solution. I've always found the latter to be an inconsistent critic of capitalism and often willing to offer only token actions to counter its influence. I think that nothing less than an organized revolutionary movement can put a stop to this death spiral. The time to offer only individualistic passive solutions is at an end (for example, see this). It's time to get serious. That is why I have proposed one.
The rule of capitalist ruling classes, especially under the leadership of the US-led Empire, is built upon a mountain of lies. I have noticed an increasing frequency of deceptive reports spread by their corporate media, and likewise, an increase of efforts to censor information that expose their lies. It appears that they are desperate to protect their mountain of lies, deceptions, false-flags, psyops, etc. I am convinced that the most effective way to weaken and ultimately destroy that mountain is a movement committed to telling the truth. This will have to be organized from the ground up by people who see the urgency of taking effective action.
Saturday, August 18, 2018
Carbon Monoxide from California Wildfires Drifts East
Click here to access report from NASA.
My curiosity was piqued yesterday by weather reports on area (Minneapolis) weather reports that it was unhealthy to exercise outside because of the smoke from Canadian wildfires. (I wanted to ride my bicycle on a route through my town as a routine exercise.) Scanning several weather broadcasts from other channels, I found the same reports, that is, that wildfires in Canada were the cause of the darkened sky. Because I was skeptical that the smoky skies were all caused by Canadian wildfires, this morning I decided to scan reports from the web. Guess what?
There are fires reported across the globe from Siberia to Greece to Portugal as well as the west coasts of USA and Canada (see also this, this, this, and this). The Guardian even announced that it was time to do something about climate change! But "not to worry" because the Secretary of the Interior says that it's all the fault of environmentalists! (sarcasm)
My curiosity was piqued yesterday by weather reports on area (Minneapolis) weather reports that it was unhealthy to exercise outside because of the smoke from Canadian wildfires. (I wanted to ride my bicycle on a route through my town as a routine exercise.) Scanning several weather broadcasts from other channels, I found the same reports, that is, that wildfires in Canada were the cause of the darkened sky. Because I was skeptical that the smoky skies were all caused by Canadian wildfires, this morning I decided to scan reports from the web. Guess what?
There are fires reported across the globe from Siberia to Greece to Portugal as well as the west coasts of USA and Canada (see also this, this, this, and this). The Guardian even announced that it was time to do something about climate change! But "not to worry" because the Secretary of the Interior says that it's all the fault of environmentalists! (sarcasm)
Thursday, August 16, 2018
Other recommended articles for Thursday, August 16. 2018
- Taibbi: Censorship Does Not End Well from Rolling Stone.
- Why Are ATMs Disappearing at an Alarming Rate after a Wave of Branch Closures? by Don Quijones (a Brit who lives mostly in Spain) from Wolf Street.
Climate change in the Anthropocene: An unstoppable drive to Hothouse Earth?
Click here to access this review by Ian Angus of a report entitled Trajectories of the Earth System in the Anthropocene by Will Steffen and other scientists posted on Climate & Capitalism.
Corporate media has given such unusual coverage to a report published in a subscription-only scientific journal that the editors have since removed it from a paywall. Could it be that this was caused by concern about feedback loops reported by the scientists in addition to the extreme weather that nearly everyone is experiencing?
Corporate media has given such unusual coverage to a report published in a subscription-only scientific journal that the editors have since removed it from a paywall. Could it be that this was caused by concern about feedback loops reported by the scientists in addition to the extreme weather that nearly everyone is experiencing?
As the Earth warms, positive (amplifying) feedbacks are becoming stronger: the authors identify ten that have global impacts and that could be radically accelerated by relatively small temperature increases, including thawing permafrost, release of ocean floor methane hydrates, weakened land and oceanic CO2 absorption, increasing bacterial respiration in the oceans, dieback of Amazon and/or boreal forests, reduced northern snow cover, loss of Arctic and/or Antarctic sea ice, and melting of polar ice sheets.Angus quotes their conclusions:
Any one of these could substantially accelerate global warming, and if one passes a tipping point, it may trigger a “tipping cascade,” permanently accelerating others.
“Incremental linear changes to the present socioeconomic system are not enough to stabilize the Earth System. Widespread, rapid, and fundamental transformations will likely be required to reduce the risk of crossing the threshold and locking in the Hothouse Earth pathway....And then states the following:
“The contemporary way of guiding development founded on theories, tools, and beliefs of gradual or incremental change, with a focus on economy efficiency, will likely not be adequate to cope with this trajectory. …
“To avoid crossing a planetary threshold … a deep transformation based on a fundamental reorientation of human values, equity, behavior, institutions, economies, and technologies is required.”
Although stated in very general terms, these points have deeply radical implications.Do you think that our masters who are addicted to profit and power supplied by their system of capitalism can even consider such changes? If not, then who? (The revolutionary question of our time.)
Tuesday, August 14, 2018
The Minority
Click here if you wish to access this post from the website of Ghada Chehade, a very talented Palestinian Canadian, who sent me this post from her website:
This white man is not my enemy
No, this white man hasn’t done shit to me
Let’s talk about the E-C-O-N-O-M-Y
That’s the real issue here
Don’t. You. See.
It’s not just about race,
but economic d-i-s-p-a-r-i-t-y
Most white men today are suffering just like me
You see, the problem aint with the majority
But a tiny little minority:
The Uber Wealthy Authority
That enslave us through financial s-u-p-e-r-i-o-r-i-t-y
Black and brown do have it worse
But economic suffering is a global curse
Orchestrated by and for the globalists’ purse
And when we turn on each other
We. Make. The. Situation. Worse
For divide and conquer is an age old trick
It makes the majority weaker
And the rich more slick
Able to stop us from seeing our common plight
And prevent us from waging a common fight
Against the ones with all the Authority…
That. Uber. Wealthy. Minority.
The Minority
This white man is not my enemy
No, this white man hasn’t done shit to me
Let’s talk about the E-C-O-N-O-M-Y
That’s the real issue here
Don’t. You. See.
It’s not just about race,
but economic d-i-s-p-a-r-i-t-y
Most white men today are suffering just like me
You see, the problem aint with the majority
But a tiny little minority:
The Uber Wealthy Authority
That enslave us through financial s-u-p-e-r-i-o-r-i-t-y
Black and brown do have it worse
But economic suffering is a global curse
Orchestrated by and for the globalists’ purse
And when we turn on each other
We. Make. The. Situation. Worse
For divide and conquer is an age old trick
It makes the majority weaker
And the rich more slick
Able to stop us from seeing our common plight
And prevent us from waging a common fight
Against the ones with all the Authority…
That. Uber. Wealthy. Minority.
Climate Change Bites Big Business
Click here to access article by Manuel GarcĂa, Jr. from CounterPunch.
... climate change denialism was heavily promoted by corporate and partisan (right wing) media, and by legions of corporate agents, flacks and factotums masquerading as elected representatives in federal and state governments. That has now changed.What is the likely response by our masters' bought-and-paid-for government?
Climate change is now all over the front pages of the newspapers and is the headline story of the mainstream mass media ....
Big Capital is now openly scared about climate change, and that is what we are now seeing as headline news.
We will also be seeing urgent promotions – presented as mass media news and commentary – for varieties of government subsidized protection for those sectors of Big Business that feel most financially threatened by the biting furies of climate change.
Sunday, August 12, 2018
The Target Is Assange and Wikileaks, and the Role of Australia
Click here to access a 38:50m interview with John Pilger conducted by Dennis Bernstein of KPFA FM radio (a listener sponsored radio station) in Berkeley, CA posted on Pilger's website.
You will learn about Assange's health, the legal aspects of his case, the significance of his ongoing persecution by agents of the US Empire, among other topics related to Julian Assange, the renowned activist who has led the effort in countering the Empire's dirty secrets.
You will learn about Assange's health, the legal aspects of his case, the significance of his ongoing persecution by agents of the US Empire, among other topics related to Julian Assange, the renowned activist who has led the effort in countering the Empire's dirty secrets.
Articles I found on 8/12/2018 that may be of special interest to readers of my website
- Jordan – Staunch Western Ally – Angry and Confused by Andre Vltchek from New Eastern Outlook. He visits Jordan and reports on what he finds in this colony of the US Empire which it faithfully serves.
- Brecht: On the matter of political illiteracy from The Greanville Post.
- Bunker Mentality: Start Preparing for Ecological & Economic Disaster Free of Corporate Overlords by Robert Bridge from Strategic Culture Foundation.
It’s time to stop acting like children and face an ugly truth: our current materialistic lifestyles are not sustainable in the long-term, and probably not in the short term either. Our incredible level of wastefulness, compounded by Earth’s finite resources, guarantees that the planet’s 7 billion people are living on borrowed time. Exactly what ‘short-term’ means, however, is a question none of us can really answer. It may mean the day after tomorrow or another 500 years. Again, nobody can say. But given the upsurge of interest, for example, in “doomsday prepping” among people of average means (a topic that even the high-brow Financial Times reported on), to the construction of sprawling underground bunkers for the elite, there is a growing consensus among many people that it is time to start taking back some control of our lives.
- America’s unending reign of police terror by Niles Niemuth from World Socialist Web Site.
While racism plays a role in some police killings, and in the brutal measures directed against immigrants, this is entirely subordinate to the role of the state as an instrument of class rule. It is not a matter of making the police more racially diverse or electing more African American prosecutors. Decades of racially integrated police forces have illustrated quite starkly that black cops can be just as vicious, corrupt and murderous as their white counterparts.
The fight against police violence is a class question.
What If There Were No Official Narratives?
Click here to access article by Caitlin Johnstone from her website. (I thank an activist for alerting me to this excellent article.)
This Australian wonder woman strikes again with this brilliant essay about how our masters thoroughly manipulate the news about major events in order to control us for their benefit of power and profits. In this essay her remarkable imagination takes us into a world where we are only fed raw material about events across the world, and what that would be like. Unfortunately, most people already believe what they are fed by mainstream sources is raw material instead of fabricated stories. But there are increasing numbers who believe the exact opposite, and someday maybe they will prevail. She imagines that someday.
This Australian wonder woman strikes again with this brilliant essay about how our masters thoroughly manipulate the news about major events in order to control us for their benefit of power and profits. In this essay her remarkable imagination takes us into a world where we are only fed raw material about events across the world, and what that would be like. Unfortunately, most people already believe what they are fed by mainstream sources is raw material instead of fabricated stories. But there are increasing numbers who believe the exact opposite, and someday maybe they will prevail. She imagines that someday.
Saturday, August 11, 2018
How Turkey's Currency Crisis Came To Pass
Click here to access article by Berhard from Moon of Alabama.
This is a major geopolitical alert! With Erdogan of Turkey laying down the gauntlet (def), it looks obvious to me that the current economic warfare of the Trump administration waged against Turkey portends a major shift from Turkey's lukewarm alliance with the US Empire to the emerging powers of Russia, China, etc.
This is a major geopolitical alert! With Erdogan of Turkey laying down the gauntlet (def), it looks obvious to me that the current economic warfare of the Trump administration waged against Turkey portends a major shift from Turkey's lukewarm alliance with the US Empire to the emerging powers of Russia, China, etc.
The Limits of Green Energy Under Capitalism
Click here to access article by David Klein from Truthout.
The author argues that the effects of climate destabilization confronts us humans with only two stark choices: staying with the existing system of capitalism or replacing it with a sustainable system.
The author argues that the effects of climate destabilization confronts us humans with only two stark choices: staying with the existing system of capitalism or replacing it with a sustainable system.
Too Late? A Horror Story
Click here to access article by Gene Warren Jr. from The Socialist.
The author writes about his personal extensive efforts, and that of his friends, extending over many years to warn about the future destabilization of the biosphere followed by the likely extinction of humans and other "higher" life forms.
The author writes about his personal extensive efforts, and that of his friends, extending over many years to warn about the future destabilization of the biosphere followed by the likely extinction of humans and other "higher" life forms.
I personally, in a number of public meetings, was called a “kook catastrophist,” a “Neo-Malthusian,” an “apolitical tree hugger,” and many other negative epithets – I haven’t heard any of that in-your-face name calling in the last six or seven years.
So what has changed? Reality. If you have been paying attention and are not mired in rigid ideology, then continued denial is no longer an option.
Friday, August 10, 2018
Recommended articles for Friday, August 10, 2018
- Washington Has Lured EU into Anti-China Trade Front by F. William Engdahl from New Eastern Outlook.
- Why Trump Cancelled the Iran Deal by Eric Zuesse from Strategic Culture Foundation.
- Who Has Profited From Your Beliefs? by Caitlin Johnstone from her website.
The fact of the matter is that the ideas which have taken the most widespread hold in social consciousness are those which were advanced by people with influence over society, and the people with the most influence over society are, and always have been, those in power. It is self-evident that those in power are always going to encourage belief systems within the populace which benefit those in power, so, logically, most of the popular beliefs, values and ideas in our society exist predominantly because at some point, someone powerful wanted them to.
So now we’ve got a world in which powerful people inject beliefs into social consciousness that benefit the powerful, as well as vestigial, culturally ubiquitous ideas from ages past about how important it is to be placid and obedient.
Wednesday, August 8, 2018
Recommended articles for Wednesday, August 8, 2018
- Washington allies with ISIS as great power conflict trumps “war on terror” by Bill Van Auken from World Socialist Web Site.
- Eternity, nature, society and the absurd fantasies of the rich by Kurt Cobb from Resource Insights.
- Trump’s Talk of Isolating Iran Speaks More to US Global Isolation by independent Irish journalist Finian Cunningham from Strategic Culture Foundation.
I thoroughly agree with his argument that Trump's sanctions against Iran is very likely to backfire to the detriment of the US economy and ultimately the hegemony of the US Empire over the entire world. However, I would not lay the responsibility for this foreign policy entirely on Trump. I think that the entire American (and much of the British) ruling class supports such a move, and this support would exist whoever was president. However, there is a split among European corporations over this policy, and the policy is likely to sow dissension among Europeans and ultimately impact NATO.
Together with the trade war against China, such policies illustrate the desperation that the American capitalist ruling class are now experiencing. Hopefully they will not do something foolish that will have much worse consequences. Meanwhile, the vast majority of Americans remain unaware as to the ultimate effects of these policies on their already deteriorating standard of living, and it will be a rude awakening for them.
Tuesday, August 7, 2018
How identity politics makes the Left lose its collective identity
Click here to access article by British doctor Tomasz Pierscionek from RT. (I thank an activist in northern Oregon for alerting me to this article.)
This is an excellent article regarding the use of identity politics by various factions of the capitalist ruling class that ultimately serves the latter's interest to divide and control the majority. Some people within, and especially outside these factions, are not conscious of the role they play in supporting the ruling class because they have been thoroughly indoctrinated to identify with their masters and their interests of profit and power. Such people can be regarded as "useful idiots".
This is an excellent article regarding the use of identity politics by various factions of the capitalist ruling class that ultimately serves the latter's interest to divide and control the majority. Some people within, and especially outside these factions, are not conscious of the role they play in supporting the ruling class because they have been thoroughly indoctrinated to identify with their masters and their interests of profit and power. Such people can be regarded as "useful idiots".
Recommended articles for Tuesday, August 7, 2018
- Fear and Loathing In And Of The USA by Christopher Black from New Eastern Outlook.
- Codename Acor Sycamore - The Saudi-U.S.-Al-Qaeda Plan To Reconquer Canada by Bernhard from Moon of Alabama. Also you might be interested in a related article entitled Canada Refuses to Back Down After Saudi Arabia Freezes New Trade
- In A Corporatist System Of Government, Corporate Censorship Is State Censorship by Caitlin Johnstone from her website. It looks like the ruling class censors are going after "low-hanging fruit" in their initial phase. This reminds me of Niemöller's famous quote: "First they came for...."
Monday, August 6, 2018
Recommended articles for Monday, August 6, 2018
- Taibbi: Beware the Slippery Slope of Facebook Censorship from Rolling Stone. The following statement shocked me:
As noted in Rolling Stone earlier this year, 70 percent of Americans get their news from just two sources, Facebook and Google. As that number rises, the power of just a few people to decide what information does and does not reach the public will amplify significantly.
- Eternity, nature, society and the absurd fantasies of the rich by Kurt Cobb from his blog.
- Confronting Authoritarianism vs. Disciplining Democracy: The Recent Protests in Jordan and US Attempts at Democracy Promotion by Benjamin Schuetze from Jadaliyya. Jordan has been obviously very important strategically for the Empire and its military incursions in Syria. The author starts off with this introduction:
Jordan currently ranks among the highest recipients of US foreign aid worldwide, both in absolute terms and particularly so on a per capita basis. Besides military and economic support, Jordan has over the past years also been the target of a whole plethora of US democracy-promotion interventions. As a result, there are probably only a few Jordanian state institutions that have not in one way or another been the target of external attempts at some form of capacity building and institutional engineering.
Later he writes:
Comparing US attempts at alleged democracy promotion with the recent protests highlights important differences in both approaches and the key actors. In fact, such comparison reveals the extent to which many US-funded programs in the country are about the disciplining of democratic demands and shaping them such that they become compatible with existing authoritarian power structures.
Some thoughts on liberal democracy as a deceptive term
Click here to access article by Jim O’Reilly from his blog Comments on Global Political Economy. (Unfortunately, I am not a natural writer. There was much needed editing to clarify my arguments at 9:55 PM CT and 8:35 AM CT on 8/7/2018. So, if you have read my commentary before these edits, I recommend that you read my commentary again.)
This British born and educated American has had a career in banking, and knows about the key role that bankers have played in the capitalist era. In this article he reflects on the frequent use of the term "liberal democracy" and what Ishay Landa's important book entitled The Sorcerer's Apprentice has to say about it. Landa shows how the capitalist class with its ideology of liberalism has attempted throughout its era of hegemony to pursue two basic conflicting strategies--economic and political liberalism. O'Reilly quotes Landa:
Landa in his book exposes fascists for what they are: they intended to deal with this contradiction in liberalism by destroying political liberalism. But when they began constructing self-justifying ideologies, they had considerable difficulty. He examines the writings of various fascist ideologues and finds gross deceptions and contradictions as they go to great lengths trying to pretend that their ideology serves the people as a whole, rather than strictly the capitalist class.
On the other hand, Landa likewise exposes the deceptions of liberalism (to fool the vast majority of people) and shows how their ideology evolved over time from the early stages when they were still battling the rule of feudal authorities until the 20th century when they were confronted by the increasing strength of democratic forces that political liberalism had spawned: the rise of unions and the spread of suffrage to greater parts of Western societies.
Although the author, O'Reilly, of this article uses Landa's research to bolster his thesis that the term "liberal democracy" is a contradiction, unfortunately at end of this article he prefers the term "oligarchy", the term that simply means rule by the powerful few rather than the much more accurate term "capitalism": rule by a specific oligarchy--by capitalists. This current term (oligarchy) has become fashionable with many political writers and analysts because it obscures the fact that in our age the term capitalist ruling class means a powerful few who are the dominant owners of financial, industrial, and commercial property. I can only imagine that this error of O'Reilly is psychologically necessary to defend his life-long career in banking.
Since WWII and the ascendance of the US-led transnational capitalist Empire there has been a dearth of ideological writings while, at the same time, there has been an abundance of pro-capitalist propaganda. This was, I believe, intentional because of the confusion about liberalism. It appears that our masters wanted to end the efforts to construct a self-justifying ideology. In 1992 this was accomplished formally by a member of the ruling class in a book entitled The End of History and the Last Man by a prominent neoconservative, Francis Fukuyama, who argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies and free market capitalism of the West was the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution. Nowadays, writing about ideology in conventional media, and much of the left media, has become passé if not taboo, rather like farting in public.
I don't know where Landa is going with this analysis because I am only half way through the book. However, it appears to lend solid support for my view that fascism is always the final stage of capitalism because sooner or later the capitalist class must turn to the means of violence, or the threat of violence, to maintain their rule.
This British born and educated American has had a career in banking, and knows about the key role that bankers have played in the capitalist era. In this article he reflects on the frequent use of the term "liberal democracy" and what Ishay Landa's important book entitled The Sorcerer's Apprentice has to say about it. Landa shows how the capitalist class with its ideology of liberalism has attempted throughout its era of hegemony to pursue two basic conflicting strategies--economic and political liberalism. O'Reilly quotes Landa:
Political liberalism splits apart from economic liberalism and effectively undermines it, since the logical economic upshot of democracy is not capitalism but its antithesis, communism.Ideology, as has been used by ruling classes throughout the history of humans (roughly the last 10,000 years--roughly 2% of human existence), is nothing more than an attempt to legitimate class rule by a tiny minority over the vast majority. Since fascists and their ideologues started appearing in the 20th century with their attacks on liberals and liberalism, Landa reveals that the ruling capitalist classes have had a love/hate relationship with them, but mostly that of accommodation. (Initially Anglo-American capitalists loved fascists; but when Germany and Japan attacked first Britain and then the USA in their efforts to build their own empires, they represented a major threat to the British Empire and their friends. This forced the Anglo-American ruling capitalist classes into a collaboration with their arch-enemy the Soviet Union.)
Landa in his book exposes fascists for what they are: they intended to deal with this contradiction in liberalism by destroying political liberalism. But when they began constructing self-justifying ideologies, they had considerable difficulty. He examines the writings of various fascist ideologues and finds gross deceptions and contradictions as they go to great lengths trying to pretend that their ideology serves the people as a whole, rather than strictly the capitalist class.
On the other hand, Landa likewise exposes the deceptions of liberalism (to fool the vast majority of people) and shows how their ideology evolved over time from the early stages when they were still battling the rule of feudal authorities until the 20th century when they were confronted by the increasing strength of democratic forces that political liberalism had spawned: the rise of unions and the spread of suffrage to greater parts of Western societies.
Although the author, O'Reilly, of this article uses Landa's research to bolster his thesis that the term "liberal democracy" is a contradiction, unfortunately at end of this article he prefers the term "oligarchy", the term that simply means rule by the powerful few rather than the much more accurate term "capitalism": rule by a specific oligarchy--by capitalists. This current term (oligarchy) has become fashionable with many political writers and analysts because it obscures the fact that in our age the term capitalist ruling class means a powerful few who are the dominant owners of financial, industrial, and commercial property. I can only imagine that this error of O'Reilly is psychologically necessary to defend his life-long career in banking.
Since WWII and the ascendance of the US-led transnational capitalist Empire there has been a dearth of ideological writings while, at the same time, there has been an abundance of pro-capitalist propaganda. This was, I believe, intentional because of the confusion about liberalism. It appears that our masters wanted to end the efforts to construct a self-justifying ideology. In 1992 this was accomplished formally by a member of the ruling class in a book entitled The End of History and the Last Man by a prominent neoconservative, Francis Fukuyama, who argued that the worldwide spread of liberal democracies and free market capitalism of the West was the end point of humanity's sociocultural evolution. Nowadays, writing about ideology in conventional media, and much of the left media, has become passé if not taboo, rather like farting in public.
I don't know where Landa is going with this analysis because I am only half way through the book. However, it appears to lend solid support for my view that fascism is always the final stage of capitalism because sooner or later the capitalist class must turn to the means of violence, or the threat of violence, to maintain their rule.
Sunday, August 5, 2018
Why West Fears ‘Made in China: 2025’
Click here to access article by F. William Engdahl from New Eastern Outlook.
With a devotion to private property and inheritance, the cornerstones of capitalism, capitalists see the world through a lens of domination and control that has been so well expressed and promoted by the late Zbigniew Brzezinski: as quoted in the article: “it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America.”
Of course, what he meant, and many others who represent the ruling class mean by such language, is that American capitalists must formulate policies of the state, which they control, to prevent China and any other competitor from threatening and displacing American capitalists (now the US Empire's transnational capitalists). Economics is always a zero-sum game for capitalist enterprisers.
I can't fault China's ruling class, the Chinese Communist Party, for the "win-win" strategy first formulated by Deng Xiaoping back in the middle '70s: selling Chinese cheap labor to the Empire's corporations in return for opportunities to rapidly learn western industrial technology. They were completely aware of the addiction that Empire capitalists have for profitable opportunities.
What I am concerned about is that China's ruling class will be satisfied with merely outplaying the game of capitalism against their Western opponents and creating hundreds more Chinese billionaires. What I'd like to see is more indications that the Chinese Communist Party intends to create a system that replaces the capitalist cornerstones of private property and inheritance with a system that creates an egalitarian society which promotes the welfare of all of the people because all of the people will be empowered to insure this outcome.
With a devotion to private property and inheritance, the cornerstones of capitalism, capitalists see the world through a lens of domination and control that has been so well expressed and promoted by the late Zbigniew Brzezinski: as quoted in the article: “it is imperative that no Eurasian challenger emerges, capable of dominating Eurasia and thus of also challenging America.”
Of course, what he meant, and many others who represent the ruling class mean by such language, is that American capitalists must formulate policies of the state, which they control, to prevent China and any other competitor from threatening and displacing American capitalists (now the US Empire's transnational capitalists). Economics is always a zero-sum game for capitalist enterprisers.
I can't fault China's ruling class, the Chinese Communist Party, for the "win-win" strategy first formulated by Deng Xiaoping back in the middle '70s: selling Chinese cheap labor to the Empire's corporations in return for opportunities to rapidly learn western industrial technology. They were completely aware of the addiction that Empire capitalists have for profitable opportunities.
What I am concerned about is that China's ruling class will be satisfied with merely outplaying the game of capitalism against their Western opponents and creating hundreds more Chinese billionaires. What I'd like to see is more indications that the Chinese Communist Party intends to create a system that replaces the capitalist cornerstones of private property and inheritance with a system that creates an egalitarian society which promotes the welfare of all of the people because all of the people will be empowered to insure this outcome.
Saturday, August 4, 2018
Recommended articles for Saturday, August 4, 2018
- Edward Snowden: 5 years in Russia and still relevant as ever by Seraphim Hanisch from The Duran. I have been curious about Snowden's personal life in Russia and the author provides some information on this.
- AngloZionist attack options against Iran by "The Saker" from his website A bird's eye view of the Vineyard. I think when the author makes this political observation about how our ruling class regards Trump, he is right on target.
It appears that the Neocons have a basic strategy which goes like this: “we hate Trump and everything he represents, but we also control him; let’s use him to do all the crazy stuff no sane US President would ever do, and then let’s use the fallout of these crazy decisions and blame it all on Trump; this way we get all that we want and we get to destroy Trump in the process only to replace him with one of “our guys” when the time is right“.
- Class exploitation and the market: The secret of the $1 trillion corporation by Andre Damon from World Socialist Web Site. Read this to see how the author reaches this conclusion:
The coming period will see many expressions of growing working-class resistance to exploitation and inequality. These struggles can only succeed if workers understand that they are confronting not just one company, union or government, but the entire capitalist system, whose basic operation is predicated on the continuous suppression of workers’ wages for the enrichment of the financial oligarchy. [my emphasis]
Friday, August 3, 2018
Who spews the most propagada MSNBC or Russia Today?
Listen and view Jimmy Dore on his show berate corporate media coverage and reveal that people such as Ed Schultz, Phil Donahue, and others were told what to say/write and not what to say/write; and if they didn't comply, they were fired. Dore contrasts these honest journalists and news anchors with corporate flunkies like Rachel Maddow and Chris Hayes.
(By the way, I think Bernie Sanders was in on the game with the Democratic Party. He performed well his function as sheep-dog herding the "progressives" into the safe corral of the Party so that Hillary Clinton could ultimately benefit. Notice that he has not been expelled (fired) from the Party, and apparently finds it a comfortable home.)
(Thanks go to an activist who alerted me to this video.)
(By the way, I think Bernie Sanders was in on the game with the Democratic Party. He performed well his function as sheep-dog herding the "progressives" into the safe corral of the Party so that Hillary Clinton could ultimately benefit. Notice that he has not been expelled (fired) from the Party, and apparently finds it a comfortable home.)
(Thanks go to an activist who alerted me to this video.)
Recommended articles for Friday, August 3, 2018
- The Great ‘Oracles of War Propaganda’ Blame Everyone But Themselves from 21st Century Wire.
- The West has Performed ‘Philosophical Coup’ against the Left by Andre Vltchek from New Eastern Outlook.
- They Work To Manufacture Consent Because They Need It. So Don’t Give It To Them. by Caitlin Johnstone from her website.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
NATO’s “News Hero” – #PropagandaWatch
Click here if you wish to access the video below (via YouTube) and show notes from James Corbett's website. (Some editing done at 3:25 PM CT to amplify my views on fascism.)
Corbett is running a series of the most outlandish pieces of propaganda that he can find on the internet. This one is hilarious and its origin is from a source that identifies with NATO.
However, what I insist is that nearly all "news" reports (like 95%) from ruling class sources (mainstream media or corporate media) are designed to shape your thinking (propaganda) about major events both domestic and international to conform with, or support, the interests of the Empire's transnational capitalists. Because Trump as a business man is mostly looking for opportunities to enhance the bottom line (profits) of "America Inc" (national capitalists), he has been the target for much of the recent propaganda issued by media owned by the ruling class. It seems that the directors of the Empire can't get over the loss of their candidate's (Hillary Clinton) presidential bid in the last election and that many Americans voted the wrong way in spite of their tremendous efforts. You can be sure that this will never happen again.
I've noticed this trend of propaganda replacing hard news taking shape over the past several decades. Of course, capitalists have always had a major influence on news reporting, but nowadays it has sunk significantly deeper into the Orwellian swamp of pure propaganda. And, this post by Corbett provides an excellent, although rather extreme, example. (You may need to wait some seconds for this video to appear on your device.)
Our Empire masters have stayed with this traditional strategy of liberalism (the ideology of capitalism) by promoting the fake propaganda of contemporary version of "liberalism", a largely political and social propaganda construct, that is irrelevant to the interests of our masters in the capitalist ruling class. The latter don't really care whether you identify as homosexual or transsexual who sometimes uses the "wrong" bathroom; likewise, they don't care if a black face is elected president who is willing and able to serve their interests. But, they do care if you (especially if you manage to reach a significant audience with ideas or information inimical to their interests) advocate actively ideas that limit in any way the capitalist system's prerogatives of property ownership. Likewise the ruling class uses all sorts of methods to control their legislative and other legal bodies to make and enforce laws in order to promote their interests of profit and power at the expense of workers.
Fascists want to eliminate all of that fake apparatus of democracy. Fascists still use propaganda to promote their imperialist agenda but it has a slightly different character: it encourages obedience to authority, militarism, and patriotism. They mainly rely on the use of force or the threat of violence against those who differ from them. With the enactment of the Patriot Acts, the 24/7 surveillance of Americans, the FISA courts, the establishment of secret services (CIA, NSA, FBI, etc), the practice of censorship, and police violence against resisting minorities, our ruling masters have gone a long way down the path of fascism. Racism is now passé (they tried targeting Muslims, but this didn't fly very well), instead the ruling class authorities refer to the USA as an "exceptional nation" which can ignore all international agreements and norms of behavior. Above all, fascists promote the interests of property owning capitalists, but without all the pretenses of "democracy", elections, civil liberties, freedom of the press, and the rule of law.
Our ruling class masters are discovering that it is increasingly difficult to maintain such fakes practices. Hence, I'm convinced, unless they are stopped by a revolutionary movement, the day will come when our capitalist masters will drop all their pretenses and implement pure fascist rule without all the pretty trimmings. That is one of the main reasons why I refer to the current practice of capitalist rule, also known as liberalism (classic), as pre-fascism.
Corbett is running a series of the most outlandish pieces of propaganda that he can find on the internet. This one is hilarious and its origin is from a source that identifies with NATO.
However, what I insist is that nearly all "news" reports (like 95%) from ruling class sources (mainstream media or corporate media) are designed to shape your thinking (propaganda) about major events both domestic and international to conform with, or support, the interests of the Empire's transnational capitalists. Because Trump as a business man is mostly looking for opportunities to enhance the bottom line (profits) of "America Inc" (national capitalists), he has been the target for much of the recent propaganda issued by media owned by the ruling class. It seems that the directors of the Empire can't get over the loss of their candidate's (Hillary Clinton) presidential bid in the last election and that many Americans voted the wrong way in spite of their tremendous efforts. You can be sure that this will never happen again.
I've noticed this trend of propaganda replacing hard news taking shape over the past several decades. Of course, capitalists have always had a major influence on news reporting, but nowadays it has sunk significantly deeper into the Orwellian swamp of pure propaganda. And, this post by Corbett provides an excellent, although rather extreme, example. (You may need to wait some seconds for this video to appear on your device.)
Our Empire masters have stayed with this traditional strategy of liberalism (the ideology of capitalism) by promoting the fake propaganda of contemporary version of "liberalism", a largely political and social propaganda construct, that is irrelevant to the interests of our masters in the capitalist ruling class. The latter don't really care whether you identify as homosexual or transsexual who sometimes uses the "wrong" bathroom; likewise, they don't care if a black face is elected president who is willing and able to serve their interests. But, they do care if you (especially if you manage to reach a significant audience with ideas or information inimical to their interests) advocate actively ideas that limit in any way the capitalist system's prerogatives of property ownership. Likewise the ruling class uses all sorts of methods to control their legislative and other legal bodies to make and enforce laws in order to promote their interests of profit and power at the expense of workers.
Fascists want to eliminate all of that fake apparatus of democracy. Fascists still use propaganda to promote their imperialist agenda but it has a slightly different character: it encourages obedience to authority, militarism, and patriotism. They mainly rely on the use of force or the threat of violence against those who differ from them. With the enactment of the Patriot Acts, the 24/7 surveillance of Americans, the FISA courts, the establishment of secret services (CIA, NSA, FBI, etc), the practice of censorship, and police violence against resisting minorities, our ruling masters have gone a long way down the path of fascism. Racism is now passé (they tried targeting Muslims, but this didn't fly very well), instead the ruling class authorities refer to the USA as an "exceptional nation" which can ignore all international agreements and norms of behavior. Above all, fascists promote the interests of property owning capitalists, but without all the pretenses of "democracy", elections, civil liberties, freedom of the press, and the rule of law.
Our ruling class masters are discovering that it is increasingly difficult to maintain such fakes practices. Hence, I'm convinced, unless they are stopped by a revolutionary movement, the day will come when our capitalist masters will drop all their pretenses and implement pure fascist rule without all the pretty trimmings. That is one of the main reasons why I refer to the current practice of capitalist rule, also known as liberalism (classic), as pre-fascism.
The IMF is back in Argentina
Click here to access an interview with Eric Toussaint, international debt specialist, conducted by Sergio Ferrari posted on Committee for the Abolition of Illegitimate Debt.
While describing the details of the recent IMF loan to Argentina, Toussaint also provides an excellent illustration of the Empire's transnational capitalist orientation--privatization of profits and the socialization of debts.
While describing the details of the recent IMF loan to Argentina, Toussaint also provides an excellent illustration of the Empire's transnational capitalist orientation--privatization of profits and the socialization of debts.
Wednesday, August 1, 2018
If the economy is so good, why are wages flat?
Click here to access article by Pete Dolack from Systemic Disorder.
Dolack explains why wages are so flat in spite of the abundance of reports in ruling class media that things are rosy for workers. Read the article to see how he reaches this final conclusion:
Dolack explains why wages are so flat in spite of the abundance of reports in ruling class media that things are rosy for workers. Read the article to see how he reaches this final conclusion:
The hyper-competitive nature of capitalism, under which our labor is a commodity, can’t be altered; at best through massive effort reforms can be achieved until the next wave of attacks commences. As long we continue to fail to question the world economic system, our conditions will only worsen.
Heatwave 2018 explained - BBC Newsnight
Posted by BBC Newsnight via YouTube.
Because of numerous heat waves and other symptoms of dramatic global warming such as wildfires, and freak weather, I've noticed this summer a rather dramatic increase of concern about the effects of global warming expressed through mainstream media websites. The lack of reporting in the past is in sharp contrast to what alternative and independent sites have been reporting for many years (for current reports see this, this, and this).
It seems that the capitalist ruling classes can no longer ignore or downplay this threatening trend, and must reassure or "explain to" the public that the capitalist authorities recognize the problem and by using a careful selection of scientists, to suggest that the authorities have it under control. Meanwhile, through independent and alternative sites, scientists and other experts on climate are increasingly describing these trends in terms of dramatic climate destabilization within decades and likely leading to the extinction of humans.
Because of numerous heat waves and other symptoms of dramatic global warming such as wildfires, and freak weather, I've noticed this summer a rather dramatic increase of concern about the effects of global warming expressed through mainstream media websites. The lack of reporting in the past is in sharp contrast to what alternative and independent sites have been reporting for many years (for current reports see this, this, and this).
It seems that the capitalist ruling classes can no longer ignore or downplay this threatening trend, and must reassure or "explain to" the public that the capitalist authorities recognize the problem and by using a careful selection of scientists, to suggest that the authorities have it under control. Meanwhile, through independent and alternative sites, scientists and other experts on climate are increasingly describing these trends in terms of dramatic climate destabilization within decades and likely leading to the extinction of humans.
Monday, July 30, 2018
Recommended articles for Monday, July 30, 2018
- Iran-US Escalation and the Strait of Hormuz factor by Salman Rafi Sheikh from New Eastern Outlook. I've noticed this morning about four or five other articles which suggest or clearly predict the likely attack on Iran by the US Empire (see this, this, this, and this).
- Workers in US face growing class battles by Jerry White from World Socialist Web Site.
- Extreme global weather is 'the face of climate change' says leading scientist by Damian Carrington from The Guardian.
The Salisbury Bookshop Sketch
Click here to access article by Rob Slane from his website The Blogmire. (Thanks for this hilariously satirical post go to an activist in northwestern Oregon.)
Slane has re-written the dialogue from an old Monty Python sketch back in 1968 and updated it to target the recent reports of poisonings in England that were broadly and sensationally reported by Western media. Could it be that the Empire propagandists were trying to draw attention away from the World Cup soccer games in Russia?
Slane has re-written the dialogue from an old Monty Python sketch back in 1968 and updated it to target the recent reports of poisonings in England that were broadly and sensationally reported by Western media. Could it be that the Empire propagandists were trying to draw attention away from the World Cup soccer games in Russia?
The door of a bookshop opens and in walks Mr Roderick Praline, played by John Cleese. He walks over to the counter and rings a bell. A moment or two later the owner of the establishment, played by Michael Palin, enters nervously from a door behind the counter.
Saturday, July 28, 2018
America’s Allies Against Russia & Iran
Click here to access article by Eric Zuesse from The Greanville Post.
In this article the Zuesse digs up some very inconvenient facts about the growth of fascism in the USA. He is famous for digging up inconvenient historical facts about the rise of fascism in the US, but he is always careful to disassociate it from capitalism. According to him (and many others) it's an aberration, an infection from the outside.
Zuesse's take on history is through the lens of someone who does not recognize the differences that the rising capitalist class represented from the earlier aristocrats from the era of feudalism. Thus capitalists are simply the modern form of aristocrats. Apparently he doesn't object to aristocrats, but only fascist aristocrats. This is because he doesn't see, or doesn't want to see, that the dynamics of capitalism are different than what existed under the rule of the monarchs and aristocrats during the feudal era. He always steers clear of analyzing the dynamics of capitalism. (It's a mystery to me why this website appointed him as Senior Contributing Editor.)
This lack of discrimination has much in common with the politicos who are now fashionably referred to as paleoconservatives (old-fashioned conservatives). The latter enjoyed top dog status in the US ruling capitalist class for much of the 20th century and earlier, but have been largely replaced by neo-conservatives (more overt fascists) who first infiltrated the Reagan administration and now appear to be top dogs. To be sure, Zuesse has demonstrated via his prolific writings, which are frequently well-documented, that he has a good grasp of history. But by avoiding the reality of capitalism and being extremely careful to always disassociate capitalism from fascism, he is very much like the paleoconservatives (Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, Paul Craig Roberts, etc).
In sharp contrast to such a view of political history, I regard fascism as the end state of capitalism, or capitalism as pre-fascism. For a similar view of capitalism but with a detailed documented analysis, you should read The Apprentice's Sorcerer by historian Ishay Landa.
This blindness provides Zuesse with a certain safety from any repercussions to his career as an historian. (I've never found any references to his career, and I wonder why.) However, it does cause him to make mistakes in interpreting historical events. For example, Zuesse writes:
In this article the Zuesse digs up some very inconvenient facts about the growth of fascism in the USA. He is famous for digging up inconvenient historical facts about the rise of fascism in the US, but he is always careful to disassociate it from capitalism. According to him (and many others) it's an aberration, an infection from the outside.
Zuesse's take on history is through the lens of someone who does not recognize the differences that the rising capitalist class represented from the earlier aristocrats from the era of feudalism. Thus capitalists are simply the modern form of aristocrats. Apparently he doesn't object to aristocrats, but only fascist aristocrats. This is because he doesn't see, or doesn't want to see, that the dynamics of capitalism are different than what existed under the rule of the monarchs and aristocrats during the feudal era. He always steers clear of analyzing the dynamics of capitalism. (It's a mystery to me why this website appointed him as Senior Contributing Editor.)
This lack of discrimination has much in common with the politicos who are now fashionably referred to as paleoconservatives (old-fashioned conservatives). The latter enjoyed top dog status in the US ruling capitalist class for much of the 20th century and earlier, but have been largely replaced by neo-conservatives (more overt fascists) who first infiltrated the Reagan administration and now appear to be top dogs. To be sure, Zuesse has demonstrated via his prolific writings, which are frequently well-documented, that he has a good grasp of history. But by avoiding the reality of capitalism and being extremely careful to always disassociate capitalism from fascism, he is very much like the paleoconservatives (Pat Buchanan, Ron Paul, Paul Craig Roberts, etc).
In sharp contrast to such a view of political history, I regard fascism as the end state of capitalism, or capitalism as pre-fascism. For a similar view of capitalism but with a detailed documented analysis, you should read The Apprentice's Sorcerer by historian Ishay Landa.
This blindness provides Zuesse with a certain safety from any repercussions to his career as an historian. (I've never found any references to his career, and I wonder why.) However, it does cause him to make mistakes in interpreting historical events. For example, Zuesse writes:
Under Hitler, hereditary rights and obligations were publicly recognized; and democracy, the rule over a land by the residents on that land, was publicly condemned. .... As an ideology, nazism totally affirms both the hereditary principle, and the imperialist principle. This is what the U.S.-Saudi alliance likewise affirms. And that is why, for example, the CIA has always favored monarchies and opposed democracies (or at least authentic ones, which the U.S. aristocracy cannot control).Did you notice that he doesn't provide any documentation to support his contention about Hitler's support of the "hereditary principle"? Because there is none. In contrast, Landa writes with extensive documentation:
Hitler did not wish to revive the closed caste society of the middle ages, but rather to construct society according to paramount capitalistic-liberal tenet of equal opportunities, competition and individual merit. Like the majority of his right-wing contemporaries, he endorsed open [his emphasis] elitism, which admits into its ranks and promotes new talent from below. Hitler's "aristocratic principle of nature" was thus in fact distinctly meritocratic, i.e., bourgeois.The whole system revolves-- ... at least in theory--on "the principle of achievement". [Capitalists always view their success in business as "achievement" no matter how it is achieved.]In stark contrast to their ideology, in practice the Nazi's always honored the hereditary principles of the capitalist class. This is because the German fascist-capitalists only pretended to be a basic alternative to the ruling capitalist class. They only differed in one way: to the capitalists' strategy of always presenting a democratic facade to their rule.
Venezuela on the verge of a social explosion?
Click here to access article by Jorge Martin from In Defense of Marxism (a British Trotskyist website).
Maduro and previous administrations under Chavez appointed bureaucrats and military officers who had the necessary skills to run government offices, but they were so infected by capitalist norms of behavior that they often reverted to old patterns of behavior. Chavez saw the need to educate ordinary people and promoted free education through the college level. This was a good policy, but was it enough?
The Maduro government has been careful to maintain the loyalty of the army top brass, by giving them a stake in the economy (through companies like CAMIMPEG and AfgroFANB), and by appointing military officers to run state-owned companies (from PDVSA to Aceites Diana), where they have been notoriously inefficient and corrupt, and more recently by raising the wages of the top officers.Martin has been following events in Venezuela for quite some time, and he has always argued that the Venezuelan Bolivarian revolution did not go far enough. On my visit to that country in late 2005, I left with the very same impression. One factor in retarding the left's progress toward an authentic revolution is the psychological residue of capitalist influence throughout the country. This phenomenon is precisely what Caitlin Johnstone warned about in yesterday's post ("old patterns of fear and greed and need to control which are constantly used to manipulate us", and I might add, for us as well indoctrinated subjects, to control and manipulate others while striving for "success").
Maduro and previous administrations under Chavez appointed bureaucrats and military officers who had the necessary skills to run government offices, but they were so infected by capitalist norms of behavior that they often reverted to old patterns of behavior. Chavez saw the need to educate ordinary people and promoted free education through the college level. This was a good policy, but was it enough?
Friday, July 27, 2018
Humanity Is Deciding If It Will Evolve Or Die [one of the best all-time posts]
Click here to access article by Caitlin Johnstone from her website. (I added a commentary at 6:25 PM CT.)
So many words of wisdom from someone who, I am convinced, has traveled down this road to psychic transformation before. This is a route upon which, as she argues, we must all go on to determine whether our human species will "evolve or die".
So many words of wisdom from someone who, I am convinced, has traveled down this road to psychic transformation before. This is a route upon which, as she argues, we must all go on to determine whether our human species will "evolve or die".
Throughout recorded history and across all cultures around the world, there have been individuals testifying that it is possible to undergo a transformation in the way one relates to the world, experiencing life as it actually is instead of filtered through unconscious conditioned thought patterns. After such a transformation, thought becomes the useful tool it’s supposed to be instead of the writer, director and star of the whole show.She refers to a sociopathic elite, but omits from her brilliant essay is that we are raised in sociopathy from birth onwards. It's not surprising that our capitalist society churns out so many sociopaths. Not only do agents of capitalism shape and infiltrate every institution, but our minds as well. The "old patterns of fear and greed and need to control" are not intrinsic human qualities, but must be inculcated. And, they are by every institution in the current society. However, she does make the profound point that we must rid ourselves of these foreign qualities in order to awaken our true natures that express values of equality and compassion in order to "begin working in harmony with each other and our environment ..."; and I might add, to rid ourselves of this scourge of capitalism.
If such a transformation is possible on an individual level, it is possible on a collective level as well. With a shift in our relationship with thought and ego, we would become impossible to propagandize, and therefore able to determine a course of action that isn’t selected for us by plutocratic manipulators. We can awaken from the old patterns of fear and greed and need to control which are constantly used to manipulate us, and begin working in harmony with each other and our environment instead.
Recommended articles for Friday, July 27, 2018
- The War for Net Neutrality by John Mason for The Saker blog. (Updated at 1:30 PM CT)
- Democrats’ anti-Russia campaign leaves most Americans unmoved by Barry Grey from World Socialist Web Site.
- Pakistan's 'Populist' Wins The Election by Bernhard from his blog Moon of Alabama.
Nuking Sounds Fun When You’re High as a Kite
Click here to access article by Martin Berger from New Eastern Outlook. (Although I regard Berger's arguments in most of his articles as
consistent with reality, I often see signs that they were written in
haste and this article is no different. Some examples in this article: I
would like to have seen some documentation for the phrase "According to
one of the Pentagon press conferences given in 2014" which referred to
commanding officers distributing drugs to their soldiers, some of whom
controlled nuclear missiles, and some documentation about the BZ agent;
and the use of the "OPCW" instead of Organisation for the Prohibition of
Chemical Weapons.)
Berger points out how many commanders of armies throughout history have drugged their soldiers in order to prepare them to engage in all sort of horrible acts in war time, and juxtaposes this with a more recent startling documentation that the Pentagon is drugging soldiers who are in control of nuclear weapons.
Berger points out how many commanders of armies throughout history have drugged their soldiers in order to prepare them to engage in all sort of horrible acts in war time, and juxtaposes this with a more recent startling documentation that the Pentagon is drugging soldiers who are in control of nuclear weapons.
Thursday, July 26, 2018
CIA/FBI/DOJ Plot To Overthrow The President Of The United States
Click here to access article by Paul Craig Roberts from his website. (Thanks go to an activist for alerting me to this article.)
I was shocked at this headline and the contents of the article. I wonder if Roberts, as a former member of the Reagan administration, can get away with such an allegation which, of course, we know is quite apparent given all the escalating attacks on Trump through the ruling class media corporations.
I was shocked at this headline and the contents of the article. I wonder if Roberts, as a former member of the Reagan administration, can get away with such an allegation which, of course, we know is quite apparent given all the escalating attacks on Trump through the ruling class media corporations.
An open letter to Bill McKibben
Click here to access the letter by Eric Schechter, a retired professor of mathematics, posted on The Greanville Post.
The ignoring of the man-made system of capitalism is common among those upper-middle class professionals who want to enjoy a well-paid career. They go to great lengths to avoid offending their bosses who are themselves employed by, and serve, the ruling class of capitalists. Even Schechter is this letter does not name the system (although he may have omitted the name to avoid shocking McKibben and to increase his chances of getting a response). It has a name--capitalism. Hence, upper-middle class writers often treat the economic system as an absolute fixture of reality much like nature or gravity.
The ignoring of the man-made system of capitalism is common among those upper-middle class professionals who want to enjoy a well-paid career. They go to great lengths to avoid offending their bosses who are themselves employed by, and serve, the ruling class of capitalists. Even Schechter is this letter does not name the system (although he may have omitted the name to avoid shocking McKibben and to increase his chances of getting a response). It has a name--capitalism. Hence, upper-middle class writers often treat the economic system as an absolute fixture of reality much like nature or gravity.
La izquierda está consumida por la propaganda occidental [The Left is Consumed by Propaganda]
Click here to access article from Wrong Kind of Green posting a speech (translated into English) delivered by Gustavo Borges Revilla, director of the Venezuelan media project MisiĂłn Verdad during the 24th Sao Paulo Forum in Havana, Cuba held July 15th -17th. (An activist alerted me to this post.)
Missions in Venezuela were begun under former President Hugo Chavez to create a variety of grass roots organizations in Venezuela. Thus, Venezuelan media project MisiĂłn Verdad (Truth Mission) is some kind of media project of a grass roots organization.
In his speech Gustavo Borges Revilla warned the audience that the capitalist Empire wages war in the form of propaganda to subvert and indoctrinate leftists of the world in addition to all their other means of warfare.
Missions in Venezuela were begun under former President Hugo Chavez to create a variety of grass roots organizations in Venezuela. Thus, Venezuelan media project MisiĂłn Verdad (Truth Mission) is some kind of media project of a grass roots organization.
In his speech Gustavo Borges Revilla warned the audience that the capitalist Empire wages war in the form of propaganda to subvert and indoctrinate leftists of the world in addition to all their other means of warfare.
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
Recommended articles for Wednesday, July 26, 2018
- ‘Tweet of Mass Destruction’ ratchets up tension on Iran by Pepe Escobar from Asia Times.
- Syria: The White Helmets’ Final Performance by Tony Cartalucci from New Eastern Outlook.
- A New World Order: That Possible Dream by Christopher Black from New Eastern Outlook. After giving up out of frustration on other subjects to write about, the author writes that the only solution is to create another "world order" after the disasters created by the various capitalist world orders.
These successive world orders are continually upset by the very conditions and circumstances they produce as capital searches for ways to increase its exploitation of resources, including human beings who are seen as just another resource to be used and destroyed, for new ways to secure more profit. And so at each new historical phase, a new balance of world forces is established by fresh military conflict, followed by a fresh set of agreements, followed by new conflicts ad infinitum as the dialectic requires in a logic that only a socialist world order can stop.
And, he goes on to argue that this can only be created by "working people of the world".
Tuesday, July 24, 2018
Why Socialists Have Always Fought for Open Borders
Click here to access article by Wladek Flakin from Left Voice.
The author explains the Marxist roots regarding this issue that is often resulted in divisions among workers in various countries; and, of course, this is always encouraged by capitalist ruling classes in order to divide workers.
When and if socialists take power (before the catastrophic destabilization of our ecosystem), they must thoroughly reorganize their societies to reflect their values of egalitarianism by creating their own institutions, instilling in every person that they must take some role in the decision-making apparatus that governs their society, and recognizing the critical need for a worker-oriented education in order to effectively participate in governing society. The latter would require workers (everyone, since capitalists would no longer exist) to reduce their work week to about 15 hrs (this could now be easily attainable in order to satisfy all their essential needs) in order to attend classes.
The author explains the Marxist roots regarding this issue that is often resulted in divisions among workers in various countries; and, of course, this is always encouraged by capitalist ruling classes in order to divide workers.
The capitalists and their states use migration to divide workers and increase the rate of exploitation. But workers have no interest in limiting the movement of their class sisters from other countries. As the history of capitalism has shown, restrictions on migration don’t really stop anyone from moving – xenophobic laws simply deny immigrants their rights, and therefore lower wages even further.And, more importantly (in my opinion), he clarifies the long standing socialist position as articulated by leading Marxists, in contrast to many confused socialists, that real socialists must not be misled into thinking that they should simply take control of the capitalist organization of society. No, capitalist societies are integrated societies, that is, they are thoroughly organized to serve the ruling class of capitalists.
When and if socialists take power (before the catastrophic destabilization of our ecosystem), they must thoroughly reorganize their societies to reflect their values of egalitarianism by creating their own institutions, instilling in every person that they must take some role in the decision-making apparatus that governs their society, and recognizing the critical need for a worker-oriented education in order to effectively participate in governing society. The latter would require workers (everyone, since capitalists would no longer exist) to reduce their work week to about 15 hrs (this could now be easily attainable in order to satisfy all their essential needs) in order to attend classes.
Marxists argue for workers’ control of production – the proletariat must seize the means of production to open the road to a classless society. However, Marx argued that workers cannot simply take over the existing state apparatus, i.e. the police, the army, the border regime, etc. Workers’ revolution must smash the state and replace it with organs of self-organization (councils, militias etc.). This is why Marxists reject all demands for "workers’ control" of the capitalist state as illusory.
Trump Drops the Value of the EU as an Ally — to Zero
Click here to access article by Alastair Crooke from Strategic Culture Foundation.
This government careerist of the fallen British Empire and quite astute geopolitical analyst attempts to shed light on the meaning of the recent Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki, Finland. Since then the American ruling class, who own and control corporate media, has treated the meeting as a major scandal and has dramatically escalated their attacks on Trump. Unfortunately, his analysis of the significance of the meeting and its aftermath is marred by biases that was shaped by his career in the British Imperial government.
For example, in contrast to other analysts, Crooke doubts that Trump will be removed from office simply because he has committed no crimes! (ha, ha) In addition, he drags out the tired old reactionary theme that Wall Street funded the revolutionaries of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and adds a new twist: Stalin took control of the country and the Trotskyists, who were bought and paid for by Wall Street, were removed; and this caused the American ruling class to turn against Russia. Total nonsense!
I have often posted articles by this British establishment figure because he understands how the Anglo-American ruling classes think, and he often brings this skill to bear on major geopolitical issues. However, in this article he shows his ruling class biases that enabled him to pursue a successful government career in the British Imperial government. On the other hand, in this article he demonstrates that he understands Trump and his entrepreneurial competitive strategies.
This government careerist of the fallen British Empire and quite astute geopolitical analyst attempts to shed light on the meaning of the recent Trump-Putin meeting in Helsinki, Finland. Since then the American ruling class, who own and control corporate media, has treated the meeting as a major scandal and has dramatically escalated their attacks on Trump. Unfortunately, his analysis of the significance of the meeting and its aftermath is marred by biases that was shaped by his career in the British Imperial government.
For example, in contrast to other analysts, Crooke doubts that Trump will be removed from office simply because he has committed no crimes! (ha, ha) In addition, he drags out the tired old reactionary theme that Wall Street funded the revolutionaries of the 1917 Russian Revolution, and adds a new twist: Stalin took control of the country and the Trotskyists, who were bought and paid for by Wall Street, were removed; and this caused the American ruling class to turn against Russia. Total nonsense!
I have often posted articles by this British establishment figure because he understands how the Anglo-American ruling classes think, and he often brings this skill to bear on major geopolitical issues. However, in this article he shows his ruling class biases that enabled him to pursue a successful government career in the British Imperial government. On the other hand, in this article he demonstrates that he understands Trump and his entrepreneurial competitive strategies.
Monday, July 23, 2018
Recommended articles for Monday, July 23, 2018
- ‘Kill All the Gentlemen’ — seven centuries of class struggle in rural England, a book review of Martin Empson's new book by Ian Angus posted on Capitalism and Climate.
- Israel Evacuates White Helmets From Syria to Send to Western Nations by Jim Carey from Geopolitics Alert.
Sunday, July 22, 2018
It’s all fake: Reality TV that masquerades as American politics
Click here to access article by John W. Whitehead from Intrepid Report.
Now that I've moved into a new building that includes basic cable television, I occasionally watch TV programs (although mostly sports events when I'm not surfing the internet), but I can't help noticing the other programs presented while searching through various channels. I also occasionally linger a while on a particular program to see the kind of material it is presenting. I discovered old movies like Mash (the comedy program set in the Korean War--it never seems to die), religious programs, soap operas, weather reports, managed-news programs by the CIA (see this, this, this, this, and some posts that our masters have taken down--see this and this), sports programs, and tons of commercials.
Anyway this article provides good advice about watching cable TV programs.
Now that I've moved into a new building that includes basic cable television, I occasionally watch TV programs (although mostly sports events when I'm not surfing the internet), but I can't help noticing the other programs presented while searching through various channels. I also occasionally linger a while on a particular program to see the kind of material it is presenting. I discovered old movies like Mash (the comedy program set in the Korean War--it never seems to die), religious programs, soap operas, weather reports, managed-news programs by the CIA (see this, this, this, this, and some posts that our masters have taken down--see this and this), sports programs, and tons of commercials.
Anyway this article provides good advice about watching cable TV programs.
Look behind the political spectacles, the reality TV theatrics, the sleight-of-hand distractions and diversions, and the stomach-churning, nail-biting drama, and you will find there is a method to the madness.And the author summarizes his essay with this statement:
We have become guinea pigs in a ruthlessly calculated, carefully orchestrated, chillingly cold-blooded experiment in how to control a population and advance a political agenda without much opposition from the citizenry.
This is mind-control in its most sinister form.
The bottom line is simply this: Americans should beware of letting others—whether they be television news hosts, political commentators or media corporations—do their thinking for them.
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