Exclusive: Russia-gate has jumped the shark with laughable new claims about a tiny number of “Russia-linked” social media ads, but the U.S. mainstream media is determined to keep a straight face, reports Robert Parry.
By Robert Parry
A key distinction between propaganda and journalism is that manipulative propaganda relies on exaggeration and deceit while honest journalism provides context and perspective. But what happens when the major news outlets of the world’s superpower become simply conveyor belts for warmongering propaganda?
The Washington Post building in downtown Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Washington Post)
That is a question that the American people now face as The New York Times, The Washington Post, CNN and virtually the entire mainstream media hype ridiculously minor allegations about Russia’s “meddling” in American politics into front-page hysteria.
For instance, on Tuesday, the major news outlets were filled with the latest lurid chapter of Russia-gate, how Google, the Internet’s dominant search engine, had detected suspected “Russia-linked” accounts that bought several thousand dollars worth of ads.
The Washington Post ran this item as front-page news entitled “Google finds links to Russian disinformation in its services,” with the excited lede paragraph declaring: “Russian operatives bought ads across several of Google’s services without the company’s knowledge, the latest evidence that their campaign to influence U.S. voters was as sprawling as it was sophisticated in deploying the technology industry’s most powerful tools.”
Wow! That sounds serious. However, if you read deeply enough into the story, you discover that the facts are a wee bit less dramatic. The Post tells us:
“Google’s internal investigation found $4,700 of search ads and display ads that the company believes are Russian-connected, and found $53,000 of ads with political content that were purchased from Russian Internet providers, building addresses or with Russian currency, people familiar with the investigation said. …
“One Russian-linked account spent $7,000 on ads to promote a documentary called ‘You’ve Been Trumped,’ a film about Donald Trump’s efforts to build a golf course in Scotland along an environmentally sensitive coastline, these people said. Another spent $30,000 on ads questioning whether President Obama needed to resign. Another bought ads to promote political merchandise for Obama.”
A journalist – rather than a propagandist – would immediately follow these figures with some context, i.e., that Google’s net digital ad sales revenue is about $70 billion annually. In other words, these tiny ad buys – with some alleged connection to Russia, a nation of 144 million people and not all Vladimir Putin’s “operatives” – are infinitesimal when put into any rational perspective.
A Dangerous Hysteria
But rationality is not what the Post and other U.S. mainstream news outlets are engaged in here. They are acting as propagandists determined to whip up a dangerous hysteria about being at “war” with nuclear-armed Russia and to delegitimize Trump’s election last year.
Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. (Photos by Gage Skidmore and derivative by Krassotkin, Wikipedia)
It doesn’t seem to matter that the facts don’t fit the desired narrative. First of all, none of this content, detected by Google, is “disinformation” as the Post claims, unless you consider a critical documentary about Trump’s Scottish golf course to be “disinformation,” or for that matter criticism and/or support for President Obama.
And, by the way, how does any of this material reveal a Russian plot to put Trump in the White House and to ensure Hillary Clinton’s defeat, which was the original Russia-gate narrative? Now, we’re being told that any Internet ads bought by Russians or maybe even by Americans living in Russia are part of some nefarious Kremlin plot even if the content is an anti-Trump documentary or some ads for or against President Obama, but nothing attacking Hillary Clinton.
This surely does not seem like evidence of a “sophisticated” campaign to influence U.S. politics, as the Post tells us; it is either an indication of a totally incoherent campaign or no campaign at all, just some random ads taken out by people in Russia possibly to increase clicks on a Web site or to sell some merchandise or to express their own opinions.
And, if you think that this latest Post story is an anomaly – that maybe some editor was having a bad day and just forgot to include the requisite perspective and balance – you’d be wrong.
The same journalistic failures have appeared in similar articles about Facebook and Twitter, which like Google didn’t detect any Russian operation until put under intense pressure by influential members of Congress and then “found” a tiny number of “Russia-linked” accounts.
At Facebook, after two searches found nothing – and after a personal visit from Sen. Mark Warner, D-Virginia, vice chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and a key legislator on the high-tech industry – the social media company turned up $100,000 in “Russia-linked” ads spread out over three years (compared to its annual revenue of $27 billion). Facebook also reported that only 44 percent of the ads appeared before the 2016 election.
Facing similar pressures from key members of Congress, Twitter identified 201 “Russia-linked” accounts (out of Twitter’s 328 million monthly users).
Tiny Pebbles
However, rather than include the comparative numbers which would show how nutty Russia-gate has become, the U.S. mainstream media systematically avoids any reference to how tiny the “Russia-linked” pebbles are when compared to the size of the very large lake into which they were allegedly tossed.
President George W. Bush announcing the start of his invasion of Iraq on March 19, 2003.
The mainstream Russia-gate narrative also keeps running up against other inconveniently contrary facts that then have to be explained away by the “responsible media.” For instance, The New York Times discovered that one of the “Russia-linked” Facebook groups was devoted to photos of “adorable puppies.” That left the “newspaper of record” musing about how nefarious the Russians must be to cloak their sinister operations behind puppies. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “The Mystery of the Russia-gate Puppies.”]
The alternative explanation, of course, is unthinkable at least within the confines of “acceptable thought”; the alternative being that there might be no sinister Kremlin campaign to poison American politics or to install Trump in the White House, that what we are witnessing is a mainstream stampede similar to what preceded the Iraq War in 2003.
In the run-up to that disastrous invasion, every tidbit of suspicion about Saddam Hussein hiding WMD was trumpeted loudly across the front pages of The New York Times, The Washington Post and other major U.S. news outlets. The handful of dissenters who questioned the groupthink were ignored or dismissed as “Saddam apologists”; most were essentially banned from the public square.
Another similarity is that in both cases the U.S. government was injecting large sums of money that helped finance the pro-war propaganda. In the Iraq case, Congress funded the Iraqi National Congress, which helped generate false WMD claims that were then accepted credulously by the U.S. mainstream media.
In the Russia-gate case, Congress has authorized tens of millions of dollars to combat alleged Russian “propaganda and disinformation,” a sum that is creating a feeding frenzy among “scholars” and other “experts” to produce reports that support the anti-Russia narrative. [See Consortiumnews.com’s “The Slimy Business of Russia-gate.”]
Of course, the big difference between Iraq in 2003 and Russia in 2017 is that as catastrophic as the Iraq invasion was, it pales against the potential for thermo-nuclear war that could lie at the end of this latest hysteria.
Investigative reporter Robert Parry broke many of the Iran-Contra stories for The Associated Press and Newsweek in the 1980s. You can buy his latest book, America’s Stolen Narrative, either in print here or as an e-book (from Amazon and barnesandnoble.com).
please take me off your list…..no more emails please
Honest Journalism on the article “Russia-gate Jumps the Shark”
Keep up the good work! I hope America is waking up to the obvious propaganda.
Please watch the Jimmy Dore show on youtube
Media Misreports “Russian Facebook Ads” To Scare You: https: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=UtzDial-Qzg
Always nice to come across someone with actual facts although sadly, America doesn’t seem to be interested in facts, or logic, or critical thinking anymore.
Why does no-one ask these mainstream media people about the “17 spy agencies”? Another lie, trumpeted again and again.
2 spy agencies, and even they were look-warm, non-committal.
Now that the Russia-Gate propoganda is not working, they are re-focusing their attention on blaming Bernie Sanders for Clinton’s epic fail.
THEY DID IT ON YOUTUBE TOO ! ! !
AND ONE OF THE VIDEOS GOT 26 LIKES ! ! !
When the Soviet Union fell apart the neo-cons/MIC pushed us into the “war on terror”, which not only included the spending of trillions but also the Geo-political goal of establishing control over the entire Middle East. They felt this was possible with the USSR out of the way. They could continue to spend at cold war levels and then some and take control of much of the worlds oil supplies and at the same time stop any rising power coming from the Arab/Persian nations.
The re-emergence of Russia as a power and the quagmires in Afghanistan and Iraq slowed the timeline on this goal but have far from ended the game. Trump’s election and his desire for Detente 2.0 with Russia would have spoiled their plans if not for “Russiagate”. Russiagate, as ridiculous as it clearly is, has helped these people achieved their goal which was simply to force Trump into condemning Putin.
As for Trump he is playing into their hands with his irrational hatred of all things Iranian (or is he?). In the eyes of the neo-cons/MIC the only problem with the war on terror was that Iran was supposed to be on the hit-list and instead ended up more powerful/influential than ever before. The goal of Russiagate and those who pushed it was to create a divide between Trump and Putin. If Putin and Trump were to get along there is no way their plan to destroy Iran could be achieved.
So now they think they have exactly what they want. Trump is still gung-ho to “do something’ about Iran, it’s impossible for him to be friendly with Putin and we are all one step closer to war with Iran. Only one problem; it’s unlikely that Trump is serious about actually attacking Iran. He’s all about bluster and bluffing and talking a big game, which I’ll take any day over actual war.
For all of Trump’s hyperbolic tantrums he has so far avoided making any of the big mistakes that defined the last presidents.
Is it possible that Trump isn’t nearly the fool they think he is? How does anyone who is actually an idiot build the kind of business he has? How does an actual idiot become the first president to have never served office or have been an employee of the government and to win with no support from either party and with a very hostile media?
I would suggest that Trump is no fool, even though he seems to relish playing one on TV. He’s more than willing to play along and even appear to be a leading war monger. But is he? So far his actions would actually say that no he isn’t. So again, is Trump a war monger or does he only play one on TV? Let’s hope I’m correct and that he is no fool and understands that the way to win is to play along while having no intention at all of giving them the war they are so desperately trying to create.
Forget it. After reading the comments, you people are fuckin nuts. Tom Clancy wannabes w/ insider’s dope. I have enough.
Go back for another dose of Rachel Madcow. You’ll feel just fine again.
Propaganda works. That’s why every country has a version of a Ministry of Propaganda and advertising in the commercial realm is a multi-billion dollar industry. Trump’s contacts with Russia and his straight up supplication of Russian interference in the election is not a joke. American intelligence has determined that Russia has interfered in the presidential election via propaganda, a new cold war technique.
Why is this so difficult for Consortium News to wrap its head around? Propaganda works.
The Iraq war propaganda dealt by the criminal Bush regime is and was obvious bullshit from a domestic enemy. The criminals against humanity should be in prison at the very least…Bremer, Wolfowitz, Bush, Cheney, Rice, Powell, Rumsfeld, etc.
The current situation is an insidious foreign attack.
“American intelligence has determined…”
https://blog.codinghorror.com/content/images/2015/04/obvious-troll-is-obvious.jpg
Of course there has been no such “determination” by “American intelligence.”
Doubtless you know that the “Iraq war propaganda” came from DefSec Wolfowitz appointments at DIA. CIA, and NSA (Perle, Wurmser, and Feith) to supply discredited fake info to the warmongers. They were all zionists and had previously worked together to persuade Netanyahu to trick the US into wars for Israel. See Bamford’s Pretext for War.
Russia-gate is plainly a zionist scheme to coverup zionist control of the DNC, possible only due to zionist control of nearly all US mass media and politicians.
“Propaganda works” as you clearly know. An insidious foreign attack, by Israel.
Oh Yeah, the same “American Intelligence” that told us about “weapons of mass destruction”. Another lazy troll comes to CN. Proof please!
Good refutations, Abe. The Counterpunch article by Mike Whitney is worth reading How much taxpayer money are these guys wasting on this? Its clear they’re using “confirmation bias” and “manufacturing consent”, to use Chomsky’s description. This, from the most nefarious meddling bunch ever, the US! Now, the US is pulling out of UNESCO because of UNESCO’s “anti-Israel bias”! I think the first post from Seer here has it right, “The empire in full panic mode”. The bullies can’t play fair. Wait till other countries withdraw from dollar domination for business. It’s happening.
“The Senate Intelligence Committee has made it clear that it is not conducting an open and independent investigation of alleged Russian hacking, but making a determined effort to support a theory that was presented in the January 6, 2017 Intelligence Community Assessment. Committee Chairman Senator Richard Burr (R-N.C.) admitted as much in a press conference last Wednesday when he said:
“‘We feel very confident that the ICA’s accuracy is going to be supported by our committee.’
“Burr’s statement is an example of ‘confirmation bias’ which is the tendency to interpret information in a way that confirms one’s own preexisting beliefs. In this case, Burr and his co-chair, Senator Mark Warner have already accepted the findings of a hastily slapped-together Intelligence report that was the work of ‘hand-picked’ analysts who were likely chosen to produce conclusions that jibed with a particular political agenda. In other words, the intelligence was fixed to fit the policy. […]
“From the Intelligence Community Assessment:
“‘We assess Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered an influence campaign in 2016 aimed at the US presidential election. Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.’
“This is the basic claim of Russia meddling that has yet to be proved. As you can see, the charge is mixed with liberal doses of mind-reading mumbo-jumbo that reveal the authors’ lack of objectivity. There’s a considerable amount of speculation about Putin’s motives and preferences which are based on pure conjecture. It’s a bit shocking that professional analysts– who are charged with providing our leaders with rock-solid intelligence related to matters of national security– would indulge in this type of opinionated blather and psycho-babble. It’s also shocking that Burr and Warner think this gibberish should be taken seriously. […]
“after all the interviews, all the testimony, and all the stacks of transcripts– the Committee has come up with nothing; no eyewitness testimony supporting the original claims, no smoking gun, no proof of domestic espionage, no evidence of Russian complicity, nothing. One big goose egg.
“So here’s a question for critical minded readers:
“If the Senate Intelligence Committee has not found any proof that Russia hacked the 2016 elections, then why do senators’ Burr and Warner still believe the ICA is reliable? It doesn’t really make sense, does it? Don’t they require evidence to draw their conclusions? And doesn’t the burden of truth fall on the prosecution (or the investigators in this case)? Isn’t a man innocent until proven guilty or doesn’t that rule apply to Russia?
“Let’s cut to the chase: The committee is not getting to the bottom of the Russia hacking matter, because they don’t want to get to the bottom of it. It’s that simple. That’s why they have excluded any witnesses that may upset their preconceived theory of what happened. […]
“Apparently Burr and his colleagues would rather avoid any witness or evidence that conflicts with their increasingly-threadbare thesis.
“So what conclusions can we draw from the Committee’s behavior? Are Burr and Warner really conducting an open and independent investigation of alleged Russia hacking or is this just a witch hunt?
“It should be obvious by now that the real intention of the briefing was not to provide the public with more information, facts or evidence of Russian hacking, but to use the prestigious setting as a platform for disseminating more disinformation aimed at vilifying an emerging rival (Russia) that has blocked Washington’s aggression in Ukraine and Syria, and threatens to unite the most populous and prosperous region in the world (Eurasia) into one massive free trade zone spanning from Lisbon to Vladivostok. Reasonable people must now consider the possibility that the Russia hacking narrative is an Information Operation (IO) devoid of any real substance which is designed to poison the publics perception of Russia. It is a domestic propaganda campaign that fits perfectly with the ‘Full Spectrum Dominance’ theory of weaponizing media in a way that best achieves one’s geopolitical objectives. The American people are again being manipulated so that powerful elites can lead the country to war.”
Where’s the Beef? The Senate Intel Committee and Russia
By Mike Whitney
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/12/wheres-the-beef-the-senate-intel-committee-and-russia/
If Perry is really interested in Russia-gate, he needs get over his Obama man-crush and explore how the Obama administration spied on its political opponents and concocted the fake Russia scare based on the fake Michael Steele report.
Parry has addressed the dodgy Christopher Steele dossier here and elsewhere:
https://consortiumnews.com/2017/07/10/forgetting-the-dirty-dossier-on-trump/
Michael Steele is a delusional GOP flack who supported the Iraq War and President George W. Bush’s war strategy, complained that President Obama had “demonized” the Iraq War, and claimed that the Afghanistan War was “a war of Obama’s choosing” (in fact, it was initiated by George W. Bush in October 2001).
Stop peddling calumny and please do try to pay a bit more attention.
“So we’re told Russia spent a hundred grand on Facebook ads. Some money into Instagram’s pocket from the Muscovite Bear, too. Leaving aside for the moment the relative paucity of alleged Kremlin social-media-based influence peddling (considered against the billions in Super PAC and dark money spent in the last election cycle), and the fact that to my knowledge nobody has even attempted to concretely demonstrate the Russian state’s role in the purchase of these ads, this newest ‘foreign meddling’ flap does raise some genuine questions about the security of American democratic institutions. But not necessarily those that the pundits and the policymakers want our eyes on. […]
“it’s maybe worth acknowledging the creeping rot in our democratic institutions that existed before Fancy and Cozy Bears snuck in the back door. Corporate spending is a titanic (sinking pun intended) influence on our electoral process, and it’s incumbent on us as citizens to seriously consider the sovereign relationship (the actual loyalty and best-interest mindedness) corporations have with the American body politic they seek to control.”
Russian Bots, Corporate Sovereigns, Facebook and the Fall of the Republic
By Jonathan Schmitt
https://www.counterpunch.org/2017/10/12/russian-bots-corporate-sovereigns-facebook-and-the-fall-of-the-republic/
Think tanks have been promoting to professional audiences the need to report on Russia as if rumors are facts. This started before Trump was elected.
Any number of real people do not live within the confines of the US. The US itself is merely a concept –a piece of earth within an imaginary line drawn around it. Sometimes people that live within “the wall” buy ads, and sometimes people that live without do so.. Sometimes the mysterious Outsiders are called “operatives of Russia”, or Asians, Middle Easterners or whatever — but really, they are just folk trying to care for their own and forced into playing the game (buying ads) to do so.. It really has nothing to do with reality. Neither do ads. It is merely shit from the bulls. Let’s scrape up all that shit and grow community gardens.
To say I’m weary over this Russia gate NONSENSE is an understatement.
I said it when this nonsense started: it has all the earmarks of the WMD NARRATIVE. We don’t have news and haven’t for a long time. What we have is the National Enquirer.
But it’s being used to censor FB and Google too. I make it a point of visiting my alternative sites every day to know what’s REALLY going on.
An interesting note here. I saw an article about the Awan brothers and Senator Spechters questioning about them yesterday. It was so brief I’ve forgotten which newsite it was but one of them was said to have sold off Congress emails and was the one who hacked into the DNC SERVERS. It also mentioned that the DNC won’t allow their servers to be examined. Since this would DEBUNK the Russia story altogether, I can’t understand why this only got a snippet of news yesterday on alternative sites.
The Democratic party will never win another election as it has spent the better part of one year trying to get Americans incinerated in a nuclear holocaust rather than take responsibility for the election fraud it committed to push a WARMONGERING sociopath in our faces.
But in reality it appears that neither was any better.
All Pres. Trump needs to do is let the public chew to bits Muellers “credibility”. Pres. Trump need only to expose Muellers role in covering for the Saudi role in 9/11/01 and join the New Silk Road. This British operation using US assets in and out of US government to initiate ” regime change” in the US stands exposed.
Sure russia – gate may be bs, however, it may trap trump into lying about some weird sex proclivity, apparently, the only impeachable offense for a US president.
Another great de-bunking of the bunkers. I so need this after a day with the Hillary Channel. But why do we–meaning we the left–keep going after only the Neo-cons and The Rump? We need to be looking at the Mercers. They are crazy mofos trying to create chaos in the country just to create chaos. Jane Meyer has done great reporting on them but no one has followed up. And they are the evil genius and money bags behind Brietbart, Bannon, KellyAnne Dumpfy and the reinvigoration of The Rump’s failing and flailing campaign. These are the people we need to expose.
I had a quick look through the comments and chuckled. Supposedly this is a site that encourages independent thinking yet almost all the comments are textbooks example of group-think. There is no effort to analyze what’s in the article, weigh against other perspectives and then reach a loosely-held conclusion. Instead it’s just shades of “yeah man, you’re right, corporate media sucks and those that believe it are fools.”
Sadly, if there is anything uniting Americans it’s a plague of group-think. Each group in their favorite little mind-bubble.
As far as this article goes, Googles ad income is irrelevant. The point is not “Russia underwrites Google” it’s that ads were bought by a foreign country with the intent to influence Americans. Whether or not that’s a big deal can be debated but whether they spent $5,000 or $50,000 is far from the point
A look at the latest wave of Russia-gate ‘splainin’ monkey business:
Obvious troll “WC” remains “disappointed”
“timothy jerzyk” mutters about “smoke”
“Double dee” repeatedly mutters about “delving”, “discoveries” and “dependency”
“Saiko” mutters about “a foreign country with the intent to influence Americans” and warns us of “group-think” if we don’t all simply believe that it’s Russia.
Not even the shadow of an attempt at a weak argument from any of these “commenters”.
Just more of the usual feces-throwing monkeyshines.
Certainly there was no such effort on your part, as you offer no evidence or argument to the contrary. You wish that consensus against your politics was uncritical, and ignore the extensive basis for that consensus.
Report today of “mysterious radioactive element” appearing in Europe baffling scientists. Reading further on the RT article, it’s clear that Russia is suspect as the source. Ruthenium-106 is the radionuclide. I looked up whether Fukushima Daiichi disaster released Ruthenium-106 into the Pacific Ocean. Yes, it was one of the many. No one suspects ocean source? No, no, it must have been Russia!
The New York Times is doing more than the silly Russia-Gate agitation. It’s actively encouraging a war in Europe. No link, but here is the title.
Time for the Trump Administration to Arm Ukraine
The author of the piece wants “defensive” arms to be given to Ukraine. Problem is, very few weapons are strictly “defensive”. Consider anti-aircraft systems. In a peaceful nation these would certainly be defensive. But what if you plan to start a war? In that case the radars and missiles would be strictly offensive. Ditto for the Javelin anti-tank missiles. These are “defensive” only if they exist to deter an enemy attack. As part of an offensive campaign, they’re going to destabilize the entire system.
I just saw a story at the Russia Insider site.
“The Only Reason to Arm Ukraine Is to Encourage It to Restart the War”
Arming Ukraine – the stupid idea that just won’t go away
Daniel Larison
The neocons want to use Ukraine as a match to start a general war against Russia. This is dangerous to the extreme, but does it bother the owners and editors of the wretched New York Times? Obviously not.
h**p://russia-insider.com/en/politics/only-reason-arm-ukraine-encourage-it-restart-war/ri21224
The whole thing is ridiculous. The NYT, Washington Post, USA Today, CNN & any other channels except Fox and the Patriot Channel are traitors to this country. They should go away (with their owners & presidents) and let’s START ALL OVER.
I think they jumped the shark some time ago. The excuses-for-Hillary machine combined with the shock of losing control to veer us out of the lane of sanity a good long while ago.
It does not help that Trump feeds on this, as he did during the campaign. Media attention is media attention, whether they like him or not.
Those who control the media
Control the dialogue
Those who control the dialogue
Set the agenda.
The dreadful NYT has a new story out about how our wonderful little friend Israel caught evil Russians spying on us. The Moon of Alabama site has some comments which ends thusly:
http://www.moonofalabama.org/2017/10/everyone-hacked-everyone-hacked-everyone-spy-spin-fuels-anti-kaspersky-campaign.html#more
Thank you for putting this hysteria into some kind of context. The MSM have a lot to answer for: For complying with the “official” cover-up of 9/11 and all the criminal acts committed by ensuing governments since then. Russia Gate seems to be another attack, on the few remaining alternative, serious news outlets.
Excellent point, Drew, and i wonder what this salacious story is keeping the masses from knowing, also? “Taking a knee” was wearing off.
Thanks Jessica K.
Yup, taking a knee was losing its diversionary effectiveness.
I just heard on a sports channel yesterday that the NFL commissioner has stated that the players should stand for the National Anthem. It will be interesting to see what happens next.
I would assume that this is based on the NFL’s contract with the Pentagon, in which case they are correct.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/pentagon-paid-nfl-displays-patriotism/
If the Players’ Union has any defined cut in all of this money then they OUGHT to cough it up (give it to a victim’s fund or such). The should NOT pocket it. So, in this regard there might be a hook that the owners do have: Commissioner is instructing based on the owners, that’s his real job.
Kind of off topic.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the unfolding Weinstein scandal, and it’s barely getting the saturation coverage it deserves, is the influence Weinstein had on the media. On a few occasions he threatened or showed off his prowess in planting stories in the mainstream media, sometimes within hours of telling the women he was going to do so.
This is terrifying. That a single multi-billionaire can call some New York news desk and plant stories makes a mockery of our press.
This aspect of the story is getting short shrift amidst all the salacious details. This very unsettling portion of the story is being buried.
What other billionaires; military contractors; pro-Israel zealots; anti-union businesses, firms and giant corporations, warmongering Pentagon flacks, etc. are flexing this kind of muscle behind the scenes?
With almost just a flick of his wrist, Weinstein could control the thought process of tens of millions of Americans both through his films (and yes, some of them were excellent) as well as through his control over sectors of the establishment media.
Had you not heard the term “Media Whores?”
Sadly, with profits driving “news,” it’s more about getting people to buy the catchy headlines than in content. And people will buy based on their ignorances/biases/racist impulses.
Lots of CRAP is sold, because people like CRAP (they may not see it as CRAP, due to ideological blinders). Sad, but, that’s the reality of today.
Drew Hunkins –
Excellent post. From what I had read long ago, that these Media Moguls like Weinstein had been doing this Female Harassment/abuse thing for a very long time now. Those days, the females/actresses did not report it. May be I am wrong.
Your comments:
“On a few occasions he threatened or showed off his prowess in planting stories in the mainstream media, sometimes within hours of telling the women he was going to do so.
This is terrifying. That a single multi-billionaire can call some New York news desk and plant stories makes a mockery of our press.”
Yes, it is unbelievable how much power – over the entire U.S. Citizenry – these people have accumulated. This “Committee to Investigate Russia” formed by Rob Reiner along with Max Boot and David Frum, and hiring that lackey Morgan Freeman to do the Video to go on all networks, shows the power they have. Rob Reiner is not alone; Weinsteins, Speilberg, and all the rest are behind it. This is terrifying as you wrote.
Imagine if the war budget could be allotted for 1 year to 100,000 people, including families, to sponsor them to stay for at least a month with ordinary people in any one place of their choice in Russia, China or Iran. Peace would break out overnight. “You may say that I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one.”
Absolutely, Joe, and i just posted to make sure of a response to the Crimea lie. I don’t like going on and on anymore, find “you can lead a horse to water but can’t make him drink”.
Enough said.
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/10/10/julian_assange_accusations_of_wikileaks_trump
https://www.rt.com/usa/406305-project-veritas-dudich-comey/
Amy Goodman, has lost her credibility with me– in lending too much credibility to the neocon intelligence community.
Chasing red herrings isn’t normal for her, or DemocracyNow.
And yet the unquestioning US masses swallow the Kool-Aid without hesitation. The Halloween Zoombie walks take on an eerie reality.
From Page: “In the Russia-gate case, Congress has authorized tens of millions of dollars to combat alleged Russian “propaganda and disinformation,”
The Russia-gate hoax was designed by MIC/neocon bankers’ lobbyists, in part, to discredit non-MSM news. The oligarch’s lobbyist system is losing its ability to manufacture consent. Therefore, there’s a big push by the corporate state to marginalize news outlets that counter MSM/neocon propaganda. Freedom of the press will suffer as a result.
By not mentioning RT, I avoided the eight hundred pound gorilla as well.
No, it’s not all about war with Russia. It’s basically a propaganda campaign to stir up the masses against a bogeyman, and a big country like Russia will do, given the past Cold War history, which the younger folks don’t even remember so well. People have been getting jaded with the “war on terror”, since it has no end in sight (isn’t that what Dick Cheney said?).
War does make money. There’s a lot of money to be made for the defense industry. Militarism is a huge industry in the US. And those profiting from it know it’s a racket that works here, as Major General Smedley Butler said. Trump talking about getting other countries to pay more into NATO didn’t go over so well, because the US likes having NATO do their bidding.
There’s a whole propaganda industry. That’s what the so-called “Fourth Estate”, the press, do. They make big salaries, and they serve the establishment now. It’s not like in the days of Cronkite and Murrow.
Somebody swallowed the propaganda lie on Ukraine. You don’t know about the US setting up the coup? Look it up. And don’t you know about the murderous activities of the CIA?
Most people I know Jessica, are clueless when asked if they have ever heard of Victoria Nuland, and when they do hear about Victoria passing out cookies at the Maiden Square they think Tori is nice lady. Today when that happens the media passes out Murrow and Cronkite awards, for a job well done. Yes, it’s all about misinformation, and keeping the citizenry dumbed down. Joe
You are aware of the old saw about assuming, and your criticism serves only to illustrate you believe all who oppose your own views are less intelligent or, more charitably, less informed than you. I have read and reread the transcripts of that phone call between her and Pyatt, and find they are discussing a coup already in progress, albeit early in the process.
I am not naive enough to think the US has not , and on a number of occasions, subverted legitimate governments to its own interests and I have no doubt that Nuland supported the coup personally, especially given her political background. But to give her superwoman powers to initiate and carry out said coup is just a bit far fetched at least to me. The roots of that act were a long time in coming.
I definitely know I’m not the brightest bulb on the lighted tree, and I do regret if I came off that way. I realize Nuland didn’t single handedly bring down the Yanukovych Administration in Ukraine. What Victoria Nuland did turn out to be, was America’s front person for that coup, so if criticisms of her are harsh then Victoria should stand a little further in the background on the next instigated coup. Also let’s be honest the U.S. Shadow Government keeps it’s eye on a variety of governments who are in troubled states of discontent, so to portray Nuland and Pyatt as simple observers is disingenuous at best when describing the Maiden Square coup, and America’s involvement in prompting that coup onwards.
Lastly my opinion of the American public’s lack of news knowledge is based on the lack of apparent knowledge nowhere to be found in the actions of everyday Americans. I realize this is an assumption, but one which has as it’s base drawn in the inaction of the American people to prove otherwise. In fact I hope I’m wrong on that assumption, and myself not being the brightest bulb well maybe by proving me wrong I will be able to shine a little brighter.
Thanks for bringing your thought to my attention, take care Double dee. Joe
Well said, Joe!
The US spent billions to overthrow democracy in Ukraine to support its schemes against Russia, and Nuland/Pyatt were directly involved. Clearly they were not merely discussing an independent coup, and no one has suggested that they acted as individuals.
I respect Mr. Parry for both his intellect and his crusading journalism. I also understand that he may very well have insights unavailable to the general public. Having said that I believe , in this article, Parry dwells upon the weakest links in the chain of evidence that there was indeed Russian meddling in our election.
Vladimir Putin is as much a devious, murderous leader as can be found anywhere. In addition, he seems to be far more intelligent, and far more clever than many world leaders. He has stolen Crimea, fomented rebellion in Ukraine,lends military support to an equally bloodthirsty leader in Syria, seeks rather blatantly to restore the Soviet Union as well.
With three separate investigations ongoing, with the leaks of discoveries in the Mueller investigation especially pointing to financial ties and dependency from Trump and others within his administration, dependency that may very well have led to said election meddling in Trump’s favor I believe the dwelling on Google ads or Facebook’s either, is simply a whitewash of what very well may turn out to be a serious attack on our elections from one of our chief competitors in the world.
I understand those who disagree with what I have written here, and that is their right. I am content to await the completion of Mueller’s delving into such matters and only see those, like Parry apparently, who attempt to minimize what is not yet clear but certainly has more concrete allegations than he dwells upon, as unfair and with motives that do not include finding the truth.
Check out Russian experts Ray McGovern and Prof. Stephen Cohen. Also check out former NSA official Bill Binney. Look at ex-CIA operative and ex-Marine Intelligence officer: Robert David Steele. Finally has Wikileaks ever “publicly” lied? (not to my knowledge)
Truth is not dependent upon those who support or denigrate it, nor is the proof of said truth diminished only by opinion about it. I thought I took great pains to be fair minded , to note that awaiting the results of ongoing investigations was best at this point. Summary dismissal of this, despite the continual uncovering of links between Russia and Trump cabinet members as well as our Tangerine Toddler, seems premature to say the least.
As to Assange and Wikileaks, who said they supported and collaborated in lies? Do you not see that they may very well have believed what they were given?
I prefer FACTS. Sadly, anyone believing that we’ll get any facts out of this “investigation” is totally mistaken.
History tells us that these kinds of investigations are not about fact-finding, but of tailoring a story that will meet the needs of TPTB. Yes, there have been a few exceptions to this rule, but, and especially of late, those exceptions seem more than remote: Mueller is anything but an unbiased investigator; his involvement in crimes demonstrates that he could never be any such thing as a trust-able investigator/prosecutor. Mueller IS a bag-man for TPTB.
You lack any evidence whatsoever, so clearly your conviction came first, and your motive rules. Do you argue that internet equipment changes its mind after a year or so, about who did what, or is it evidence manufacturing that you are waiting for? Who do you think you are addressing to be fooled by that?
Why don’t you call for investigations of every other nation’s influence, especially Israel’s influence? We already have tons of evidence of that, which you ignore. So you wanted Clinton, whose top donors were all zionists and wanted endless Mideast wars to extend Israeli land thefts, and you want Russia out of Israel’s way in the Mideast.
Maybe you will explain why you want all that instead of lying about Russia.
be reasonable yourself. this is all to whip us into war against russia? are you daft? where’s the money in that? guaranteed immediate mutual destruction was the game changer many decades ago. try thinking this out a bit more clearly. when the real russian connection with trump is revealed — and it won’t be in this generation — then our grandchildren will discover that many prominent americans and banksters helped to bilk russian citizens and us, of course. that’s the distraction, friends. in short, our govt. representatives have far more sense than to seek annihilation from russia.
And, yet, there was WWI (which then led to WWII). Having sense is one thing, having big weapons and having an accident (or being conned into using them- the events here are too numerous to even begin to list) is another. Human hubris, don’t underestimate it’s powers!
Oh we poor people of the U.S. Deluded and denuded, politically and economically, disenfranchised by a lack of a PR firm and a lobbying firm, the majority of the population is unable to discern fact from fiction anymore. The demands of Capitalism require blinding oneself to the results of a zero sum game where the only concern is profits. Now in the U.S. we are living this reality, so in the face of facts, real and tangible, the media follow a Mobius Loop cycle of stupidity analyzing emotion and discarding fact or investigation.
In too many ways it is now clear that the corruption of free market capitalism has destroyed what many believe to still exist, that being U.S. Democracy. This nation’s national politicians, and the ruling oligarchs, no longer exhibit any desire to uphold the rule of law, the preservation of Democracy, the ideal that the power of the State flows from the People. But no, the rule of capital has risen to be the dominant ideology, in fact one could call it a religion, considering the devotion some have to it and the Dracula like reaction to something called Socialism. As a result the major media, owned by a few corporations who profit from advertisements, but on the other arm of the corporation profit from war, conflict, weapons, etc… an insidious nest of profit making on the backs of the majority of the American citizenry, but not those who trumpet these calls for armaments, regime change, drones, surveillance, etc…
Too much money is yet to be milked from this nation. And our willing propagandists have too much skin in the game to not keep raising the pot, as in the end as they conceive, no matter how much bet, they will be a winner.
Yes, the corruption has become ideology, but mainly among the Repubs and the oligarchy controlling the DNC. Even the undereducated see the deceptions underlying the wars and fearmongering and anti-labor politicians. They go along to get along, but still support a Sanders or a Trump in vain hopes of dethroning oligarchy, which must field these pseudo-populists to survive.
Sam F-
I never thought about people like Trump and Sanders being “fielded” by the Oligarchy, but it makes perfect sense.
The main takeaway from Russiagate is that Trump campaign tried to collude with Russia, but was not smart enough to do it effectively or conceal it. Unfortunately Hillary lost to Trump due to lack of credibility.
Andrew –
Your comments: “The main takeaway from Russiagate is that Trump campaign tried to collude with Russia, but was not smart enough to do it effectively or conceal it. ”
I am not sure what you exactly meant by these comments. It will help a lot if you can provide some concrete evidence showing Trump campaign’s collusion with Russia. You can see how much time and energy has been wasted for over a year now discussing this Russia-gate nonsense in this country. But we have not seen any evidence yet. Even with hundreds of billions of dollars spent every year by our intelligence superstructure consisting of seventeen agencies, no concrete evidence has been provided to the people.
Fonzie “jumped the shark”. That was vaguely amusing for its time. I realize here it’s merely wit in the form of a headline (and rather witty wit, at that), but there’s no longer anything remotely amusing about this situation. It’s out of control.
These propaganda outlets desperately flood the airwaves with reams of distraction-worthy garbage, fake situations, and outright lies–yet a lot of people are wise to them. And yet….and yet, the propaganda continues apace. I fear lately that they won’t stop until they are literally, physically taken off the air. That’s a tall order for regular folk.
Agreed; corporate news is fake news, and would have been stopped by constitutional amendments restricting funding of mass media and elections to limited individual donations, except that both are already controlled by oligarchy, which knows only the language of force. Without those tools of democracy, only force can restore democracy, and “regular folk” will wait for someone else to do that, until the nation lies in ruins.
Off the top of my head, I can think of several developments over the past year that have been very disturbing:
1. Lynch expanding powers of intelligence agencies to allow them access to unvetted and unanalyzed intelligence collected through NSA surveillance.
2. Escalated and Illegal surveillance and unmasking of Americans by Obama administration, possibly for political purposes.
3. The creation in Dec. 2016 of a “propaganda center” to authorize the censorship of certain foreign news outlets, such as RT.
4. Google, Twitter, Facebook, Reddit removing questionable content, accounts, “fake news” stories, especially those that are progressive and anti war, like WSN and RT.
5. Russian sanctions and ban on Kaspersky Labs all based on unsourced unproven claims.
6. Requiring journalists, like Chris Hedges or Julian Assange, to register as foreign agents.
7. The MSM and Clinton collusion ( Brazille’s debate question).
8. Mueller’s unconstitutional investigation: no oversight, was never elected or appointed, can’t be fired, full of conflicts, not transparent, etc. He started with a conclusion and is working backward to find a crime.
9. CrowdStrike’s poor reputation and lack of experience in security and incident response ignored. There report is 3rd party hearsay.
10. FBI warrants illegal if based on phony dossier
11. FBI ignores Congressional subpoenas. CrowdStrike doesn’t testify.
It’s frustrating that smart people like Tulsi, Warren, Bernie don’t speak up.
https://www.alternet.org/media/what-news-wont-tell-you-about-news
The corporate media in the US are slowly dragging the masses towards war. For the corporate elites, we are useless bread gobblers, cannon fodder for their continuing acquisition and profit taking.
War is a very profitable exercise for the arms or death merchants.
As America enters into fascism and as the daily workings of capitalism fails the majority of the world’s people, war is usually the answer.
There has not been one president in my lifetime, and I am 65, who has not gone to war. That is because presidents really have very little power. The deep state is in charge and has been for years.
I remember Lyndon Johnson promising the Generals a war if he was to be elected president. He got the seat, but not until JFK was assassinated.
No, war is the elite’s main dish. and until there is a global unified movement against capitalism, it will continue to be the steady diet of failed Empires.
Did Gerald Ford go to war? (I’m kind of laughing.)
Keep in mind that ALL WARS ARE ABOUT RESOURCES. TPTB in the West are losing their control over resources (and or the ability to extract the necessary levels of profit). When there’s a land of plenty the people are fine, and, for the most part, TPTB have little reason to lie (they basically are camped well off in the background). In these past few decades, however, the real panic has set in and the US as the world’s “leader” has an aging population and a burgeoning debt is hanging on only due to its control of the world’s money supply (USD as world’s reserve currency).
The push for “clean air” (though for sure, no one can be against clean air) is a lot about setting up a scheme in which Russia and other foes of the West can not have control. The scheme also provides an increased means by which to control populations.
A good journalist would dig deeper how many times were the ads’ subject magnified linked to across other platforms? In that vein a recent piece I noticed- one item was referenced 340,000 times. A small number in nyc, but in some states in the heart of darkness nearly the entire population.
Any digging into click counts would show that all ads are clicked a lot, which proves nothing. You would have to compare click counts of all ads to make any comparison. Why bother? You are asking us to believe that click counts of certain ads must have been disproportionate, for which you have no evidence. Sounds like an effort to solicit belief rather than analysis. Why not look at click counts of ads by Australians?
To pick up on something from Robert Parry above:
The NY Times “Russia-gate” coverage is actually *worse* and *more* one-sided than was its 2002-2003 Iraq WMD stuff was.
In those days, you could read some articles in NYT that weren’t entirely in line with the program. I recall, for example, reading on the front page how foreign policy mandarins like Brent Scowcroft were cautioning against the charge to war.
You don’t see anything like that now. The Times and MSNBC and the rest are completely self-contained environments where skepticism of Russia-gate’s premises doesn’t exist.
Well said, Seer. Your posts are great! It is a giant Ponzi scheme, doomed to fail at some point.
It is a protection racket with the US military as Vinnie and yes, it will and is collapsing. The issue is what will it collapse into and will human life survive.
No hope for betterment IF people don’t realize the real WHY. Controlling a military, or a group of god-like folks (“leaders”) ain’t enough, not IF people commence with perpetual growth. I offer no “solution” (read a post of mine above to why) because any real solution would essentially require a “god-like” power (and in the hands of “man” it never seems to work out how we think).
Lots of death. Then tribal formations: tribal formations have been an organizing form that has existed longer in human history than any other- I don’t pick it because it’s my “favorite,” just based on probabilities: what I or anyone else “wants” has no real power, especially not any lasting power.
Oceania has always been at war with Eastasia! This is definitely Orwell’s “1984” playbook, and Vladimir Putin is Emmanuel Goldstein. We’ve gotta have our daily “Two Minutes of Hate”!
Chris Hedges has a great article at Truthdig, “The End of Empire”. USA can’t figure how to deal with the major world changes since other countries figured out that the US is the “greatest threat to world peace”. New alliances are forming, such as the House of Saud visit to Putin last week. Putin is respected by many other countries and it drives the neocons crazy. These guys are trying their darnedest to keep control but we see through them.
I’m pretty sure that the neocons know it’s pretty much the start of the end. Even STRATFOR(? or some other entity that produces big, comprehensive reports on “The Big Picture” has indicated as much).
No empire has ever escaped collapse. It’s a cycle that is well captured in history. At the core is the need for perpetual growth. At first this comes easy as the well-fed invaders overcome the locals/natives. It then becomes harder as the need to push out in order to supply the increasing needs for resources. Any military expert will tell you that wars are mostly won and lost owing to the ability to manage supply lines (stock/supply the troops). Very few people can equate the underlying problem as being that of growth: no one wants to admit it because everything that the “modern” world does today is predicated on it- we are operating one very big PONZI, we are operating at the highest levels of self-deception that probably could ever happen. Reality is out there. We will “find” it.
In fact, perhaps the most accurate and useful definition of humans is that of ‘the self-deceiving mammal’. For deception, duplicity, sophistry, delusion and hypocrisy are the foundational products of human nature in its ‘natural’, primal and untutored state; but it is not instinctive and subjected to fate. But, rather than reducing these negative tendencies, most ‘schooling’ and socio-cultural influences redirect them, rendering them more sophisticated, more artful, more obscure and more inclined to deception and illusion.
Danny when I sit and watch the animals, like squirrels, chipmunks, deer, wild turkeys, and the family dog, I get the sense it’s we humans who don’t belong. Joe
But, Joe, humans can “think” their way out of being animals! Clearly, the earth is not meant for animals!
Danny, keep in mind that many a good people were annihilated because they were deemed savages, “animals.” If you don’t believe that the undercurrents are still running with this in mind (with you/I/others being on the possible “receiving list” of this kind of treatment/outcome) then you might want to reassess your thoughts: https://www.corbettreport.com/bigoil/
I wonder if Mark Warner put a horse’s head on Zuckerberg’s pillow, a la “The Godfather”, to spur (sorry) his search for the damning evidence. Or maybe in this case it was a puppy’s.
Oh well, I’m off to picket my local diner for putting Russian dressing on the reuben sandwiches.
Oh yeah, and boycott those Russian Fries. Oh, wait! I somehow got time-warped back to another time… (but, I now respect the coiner of that slogan of back then -“Freedom Fries” Walter Jones- he’s repented and continues to push back on all these stupid wars: http://www.thenewcivilrightsmovement.com/freedom-fries-gop-congressman-says-dick-cheney-will-rot-in-hell-for-iraq-war/politics/2013/02/26/61291)
Ikr. I don’t keep close tabs on Rep. Jones, and I imagine he holds to some notions I would consider pretty Stone Age.
But I love his enduring, righteous rage about the Iraq WMD lies.
He’s the only person I can think of in either the U.S. or U.K. political/media establishment who acts like he was truly duped by Bush and Blair, rather than just having cynically played along with the fraud and casually dumping it once it passed its use-by date.
Jones has taken “responsibility” for his actions. Not only said he was WRONG but actually has put forth energy in combating those who refuse to admit they’re wrong. Besides this point, which I know of because during the lead-up to the Iraq war I didn’t have very nice thoughts about the guy, I really don’t know much about what he stands for: suffice it to say, however, if one is able to so completely and openly acknowledge how wrong they were (and not doing so to play to any crowd) then I think that person has some redeeming values (unlike Cheney, who, as Jones says, should burn in hell).
Fully agree.
The world today is not about the Jones. It is about a failing economic system dominated by a few militarists, plutocrats and banksters.
Focus on systems, not people.
Danny Weil wrote:
“The world today is not about the Jones. It is about a failing economic system dominated by a few militarists, plutocrats and banksters.
Focus on systems, not people.”
I agree (one could find MANY years of my Internet postings that champion the point of it being about “the System”). I veered off things a bit in order to note the absurdities of propaganda, and the relevant point that everyone should be encouraged to spot and challenge it. When those controlling the System confront people willing to call their bluff, THAT is when TPTB’s control is removed.
The System is failing due to a preposterous notion/foundation/predication of perpetual growth on a finite planet. And if you really want to chase down that Rabbit Hole step up and try outlining a “solution:” I guarantee you it’ll start becoming god-like, it’ll end up looking little different than what TPTB are pushing: https://www.corbettreport.com/bigoil/
Eric Sevareid was correct when he said that solutions are the main causes of problems. Keep in mind that “solution” means an “end,” it means “solved,” there is no more to do. It’s essentially a condition of “stasis.” I’m not exactly seeing how this could come about as long as “time” exists. ANYONE purporting to have a “solution” is someone I ramp up my skepticism of.
Over the past few weeks, the real target (besides Trump) of these Russiagate “fake news” allegations has been made clear — any opinion or interpretation of fact that doesn’t conform to the MSM or “official” state narrative. In a particularly egregious example, Monday’s NYT story, “How Russia Harvested American Rage to Reshape U.S. Politics” (10/9/17),” effectively makes ALL critics, dissenters, and political heretics into a “fifth column” of Putin’s Troll Army, insidiously undermining American “democracy.” As with the Red Scare during the first McCarthy era and its House Un-American Activities Committee, this New McCarthyism is paving the way for a political witch hunt to “cleanse” the US of dissent and protest.
Ultimately, one suspects, the real goal is to force social media platforms like Facebook and web-hosting services like Dreamhost to monitor and censor their postings and websites, eliminating anything critical of U.S. government or corporate policy. Already we’ve seen claims of sinister Russian trolls using Facebook to support Black Lives Matters, helping sow division and inflame anti-government sentiment in Baltimore and Ferguson, MO — a throwback to the days when Martin Luther King, Jr. was labeled a “Communist” by J.Edgar Hoover’s FBI.
Don Hazen, executive editor of Alternet.org’s, a mildly-leftist newssite, recently complained in an editorial about a dramatic fall-off in readership since Google began using new algorithm to weed out “fake news” searches. Ironically, Alternet has been an avid promoter of Russia-gate stories from the outset.
This New McCarthyism is also being used to “cleanse” social media and the internet of troublesome (if credible) news stories that won’t go away. The Daily Beast, for instance, claims that “Russians Impersonated Real American Muslims to Stir Chaos on Facebook and Instagram,” infiltrating a Muslim-oriented Facebook account to disseminate:
“memes that claimed Hillary Clinton admitted the U.S. ‘created, funded and armed’ al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State; claimed that John McCain was ISIS’ true founder; whitewashed blood-drenched dictator Moammar Gadhafi and praised him for not having a ‘Rothschild-owned central bank’; and falsely alleged Osama bin Laden was a ‘CIA agent.'”
Of course, Osama bin Laden was indeed, for many years, funded and supported by the CIA, and Clinton DID publicly admit when she was Sec’y of State that the U.S. was funding Syrian “rebels” linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS.
So who’s spreading “fake news”?
Robert, is it really worth wasting your talents on this “story”, already hyped up to ensure we do not notice the abandon of things that really matter, like the clear air act?
I respectfully disagree, Rosemerry.
While the Clean Air Act has great importance in the age of the internal combustion engine, my opinion is that Robert’s attention to press freedom (the extinction of which is becoming a real possibility in the “Free World) is infinitely more alarming.
Sorry, I meant to say that the attention to press freedom is infinitely more valuable.
And this is where the alternative press has failed: it has not unionized itself, i.e. unified itself as one block. Instead we get hundreds of web sites, which few have the power to read or the time. And then pitches for ten dollars, etc. Americans simply are broke they cannot afford to send nickles or dimes to fifty different media sites.
Alternative press must unify, there must be a sit down for a frontal anti-fascist media, one not made up of fiefdoms, but of one force.
Some mutual protection would be helpful, but also some thought on the problems. To avoid exchanging the problems of decentralization for those of centralization, such a union of alternatives must be organized to preclude bias in any group, or bias in the whole. If a union shared funds by page hits, members might compete for popularity not unlike media who compete for advertising revenue. Subscribers would get a blend they might not want, and specialized sites would still need to solicit funds from specialized readers. The organization would be the target of massive infiltration and control schemes by political factions, much like its mass media predecessors.
How “clean” is the air going to be after the nukes are dropped/launched?
Regarding “clean air” and the climate, keep in mind that fossil fuel extraction is peaking and that no matter whether we WANT to keep burning at increasing rates that it will NOT happen. And the “carbon-free” leaders? Are you aware they’re the same people that have amassed their power/wealth from the fossil fuel industry? These are the same folks that “got us here.” Do you feel lucky?
Take a look (this will turn your stomach, and turn you into a skeptic as we should all become):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySnk-f2ThpE
Having traveled outside this aberration of the normal (US) I have seen that our quest for “clean power” can in no way be scaled/replicated throughout the planet and that by hammering down on fossil fuels humans will resort to even dirtier fuels: watch as our forests get turned into firewood! But, just like they cared not when pushing fossil fuels (and I’m sure you’ll note the push for eugenics by these folks that have our best interests at heart) they won’t care about any of us with the push for “clean fuels.” It’s about POWER, about THEIR survival (not ours). But, everyone is entitled to supporting other’s at the expense of one’s own life, if that’s the desire: and in the case of dying for the oligarchs I’d have to say that’s interestingly charitable!
I disagree!
The environment and clean air are utterly important. But the aggression towards Russia, and the wider neocon context, and the real as well as the possible implications are terrible, disgusting and possibly devastating to the planet.
The aggression towards Russia has left Europe divided, poorer, with conflicts and a surge in refugees, left Russia also poorer and totally disillusioned, and deprived us of a chance for cooperation and development across the entire continent. It has also helped the extreme right grow all over the continent and carried out a reactionary coup in Ukraine which has also alienated half the population, created tension and war.
Surely, both issues deserve attention.
Indeed.
Martin – Swedish Citizen,
I completely agree with your comments. Political upheavals and Wars unleashed – with this NeoCon Agenda of Full Global Dominance – by the Sole Superpower is the the most important issue of these times.
Also, Environment and Clean Air problem is not going to be solved by passing a few laws. We have to completely shift from current mode of NeoLiberal Expansionary Exploitative Capitalism to some form of Free but planned Economic System which reduces consumption; and shifts from War Making Industries to industries for peaceful purposes to meet real human needs. Population control in the developing countries is also equally important.
The hallmark of a propagandist is the throwing to the winds of any concern about maintaining their trademark credibility. These mainstream media outlets should be concerned about their readership not caring about whether these stories are believable or not, because readers have become more sophisticated and less trusting of what they are seeing, from recent events. But they aren’t. The brand and good will of the NYT is disappearing, but they don’t care because their mission has changed from gaining the confidence of their readers that they are hearing the truth, to the indoctrination of the peasants on behalf of the government, as their circulation fails and alternative voices are gaining in credibility.
In these two citizen journalism documentary films, you will see more info about the lobbyists/media strategists at SKDKnickerbocker who hijacked the DNC, decimated the 2016 election, and corrupted our media — specifically the NYT, Washington Post, and CNN, to push scams, shams, and outright fraudulent lies, including protecting the BP Oil Spill and pushing Suze Orman’s predatory prepaid debit card scam that came with a mediawide misinformation campaign orchestrated by SKDK and stole money directly from the pockets of poor and middle class victims who were fooled into believing her fee-infested card would improve their FICO scores:
https://youtu.be/V8ERFwZoPXE
https://youtu.be/wZJh25-sO98
I first heard about this a few weeks ago, and it was shown that those “Russian ads” listed had nothing to do with “influencing politics.” Many concerned everything from tourism to selling traditional folk art/crafts, a number of them had no connection with Russia whatsoever, etc. They had absolutely nothing to do with the election, but no matter, they’re sticking with the claim.
Thanks Robert Parry, for keeping your trained eye on the lemming herders – on the hawks – in the corporate-state media. They are vultures that feed off the carcasses of the dead.
They can get away with this because the American public loves sound bites, and puts nothing in context. Just go to Facebook and if some political issue comes up, which in my experience is somewhat rare, mostly pictures, people’s responses never reflect more then a knee jerk reaction because no brain activity seems to be involved, usually just some nastiness spewed out lacking any thought on the subject.
Read the book by Nicholas Car: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains.
Most people can only absorb soundbites and celebrity culture. Decades of no education and commercial capitalist culture has assured that most people can watch the spectacle, but they really cannot think critically about it.
“One of the most pathetic aspects of human history is that every civilization expresses itself most pretentiously, compounds its partial and universal values most convincingly, and claims immortality for its finite existence at the very moment when the decay which leads to death has already begun.” —– Niebuhr Reinhold
‘Tis a thin gruel we are offered by the Russia-Gate goons and their MSM sycophants. Then again, has it not always been that way: “Huns bayoneting Belgian babies”, “Commies, pinkos, fellow travelers”, “Destroy the village to save it”, “We don’t want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud”. Keep us jiggied up with fear, gee gaw distractions, reality tv nonsense (including Trump porn), and, above all, USA! USA! USA! so we fall in line. This is not a workable solution to anything except catastrophe. Thank you to Robert Parry and Consortium news for providing a sliver of sanity. I’ll be sending you some money after I finish this.
Hobgobblins!
Good on you to make the comment on contributing to this site: I was meaning to mention that folks do this.
To me the low point of the degeneration of the Democratic Party into full NeoCon war monger mode was when the Clintonistas drowned out the Sanders supporters at the 2016 convention by chanting, “USA! USA! USA!”
I always had experienced that behavior before as something only right-wing, unthinking, ‘my country right or wrong’ types did. That Clinton organizers actually used that technique to drown out opposition was very telling.
But when the Oregon delegation chanted “No more war”, the arena cut the lights in their section.
I long ago walked out on that circus. I think the final straw was in dueling with the “Firefighters for Kerry” bunch. Union over lives, yeah, get your priorities right!
From the NYT:
This from the largest agent of destruction of them all! Notice the “misinformation” bit that us “real Americans” are accused of “broadcasting”.
So far as I can tell, these vermin are claiming the right to decide what is a real problem and what isn’t.
No link to the contemptible site.
One aspect of Russia-gate that I find most astonishing is how many otherwise-very-intelligent “liberals” are buying this nonsense without question. I’m encountering one after another: accomplished, successful, highly educated people who are engaging in a feeding frenzy of utter nonsense. As just one recent example, two high-ranking *faculty* from prestigious US universities were telling me with complete sincerity last week that Putin is using psychological techniques that “go back to Pavlov” to influence people around the world, most recently the independence vote in Catalonia. There are very many people that are just completely delusional about this, and utterly disinterested in any honest investigation of the 2016 election. I suspect that would mean too much cognitive dissonance.
Chomsky seems to be correct once again: ‘the intellectual elite is the most heavily indoctrinated sector’; ‘it’s crucial that they believe it because, after all, they are the guardians of the faith’.
A really clever professor named Carlo Cipolla had an explanation for this oddity in his essay THE BASIC LAWS OF HUMAN STUPIDITY.
h**p://harmful.cat-v.org/people/basic-laws-of-human-stupidity/
My opinion of Cipolla is such that I own all of his English-language books which I can afford!
The more wealthy and/or socially positioned someone is, the higher their stakes are in maintaining the validity of what got them there, be it heredity (in the case of monarchs and elites), beliefs (religionists), knowledge systems (academics), economic systems (Wall Streeters), gossip (news organizations), etc.
It is why high ground is so coveted in war
Liars and those preferring lies over the “truth” (which should really be about “facts”- anyone can have a “truth” but not everyone a different “fact” as pertains to the same thing). THIS is one of mankind’s traits that ought not be talked about- “his” nature of deception. Humans believe that they are apart from nature when in fact this is not the case. Look around you at non-human nature and you see how deceptive nature is. It’s ALL a survival (and pro-creation) means. Folks hide behind flags and bumper stickers because they’re insecure, they have to use something for deception (and often, sadly, it’s not even understood by people themselves that they are actually being self-deceptive).
Wow Seer that was pretty profound, not that you aren’t able to be profound, but what you wrote here is definitely spot on the money. Truth vs Facts, now who would have ever thunk it. Joe
“the higher their stakes are ”
And also in the confidence in their own intelligence and superior understanding.
It just seems so obvious to them that they are intellectually superior. There are very few who really question heir assumptions and the received knowledge on which they are based. Most highly educated and elites use their mental abilities to defend their positions—not to question them.
Malcolm X was one who truly used his intelligence to interrogate himself and his beliefs, and to be capable of seeing things differently. But few have teh intellectual integrity of Malcolm X. In fact, trump voters who had previously voted for Obama twice were far more able to respond to new information than our so-called elites, who just couldn’t what was plain to see: That Obama’s presidency was a failure for Main Stream America, and Hillary was a continuation of the disaster.
Yes, the engineering of opinions is a technology that we ignore at our peril, at all levels of education. Often people have little knowledge of broad policy areas despite much specialized knowledge, which is not really stupidity but makes them easily deceived.
Perhaps breadth of knowledge in broad policy matters was his measure of what he calls stupidity. Presumably it was not the quotient of math or reading “age” reflected in IQ, which is culturally relative but reflects certain knowledge and problem-solving ability, so is correlated with “socioeconomic status” SES unlike his measure.
If it was susceptibility to political propaganda, then the politics would have to be unrelated to SES to get the same ratio at every level. If it was susceptibility to false advertising, that might be random relative to SES, although it seems least likely among the educated. If it was susceptibility to social pressure, it might not be best described as stupidity.
Yes, well, Chomsky. That’s a quasi-liberal of a different feather. Careful there. The left media gatekeeper who won’t talk about the overwhelming evidence for 9/11 truth or the JFK coup, like it doesn’t matter, when it is *all* that matters. Another modified limited hangout artist.
Yes, that is the difficult part of loving Chomsky, so I guess I should just like him. I agree JGJG. Joe
I’m there as well. I’ve liked AntiWar.com, but here too these things, especially what was the news of the day -9/11- was dismissed. This one is perhaps even more perplexing to me (than say Chomsky- Chomsky is a bit more visible and that might keep him from opening his mouth- there’s enough folks out there that would just love to permanently close his mouth).
For the record, this article is linked at Antiwar.com, and is reprinted at LewRockwell.com.
I shared one of Robert Parry’s excellent articles debunking RussiaGate with a Facebook friend of mine, a woman who went to High School with me 45 years ago. She is intelligent, savvy, and liberal.
Her response was that since the article used the word ‘lede’ it was to be dismissed since she figured there was no point in paying attention to an author who didn’t bother to do a spell check. After another woman friend of ours (who also went to High School with us) and I explained the difference between ‘lede’ and ‘lead’ she then found another reason to dismiss the article.
Sometime later we were all involved in discussing the NFL protests during the National Anthem. After I spoke out in favor of the protests and about the injustice being done by our police state against Black folk, she responded with saying she supported me and was very surprised about my position.
I asked her about it and she said she didn’t expect a Trumpster like me to hold that position.
I found out that she thought anyone who rejected RussiaGate must be doing so simply because they are a Trumpster. She had no idea that anyone on the left critiqued the current narrative. She didn’t know who Robert Parry was or his impressive journalistic background.
Later we discussed Hillary Clinton and she said she really liked her and I told her I despised her politics. We shared what made us think the way we did. I said: “She helped gut welfare, she helped build the industrial prison state, she helped deregulate Wall Street, she led the Democrats to give Bush his Iraq War, she worked against single payer, she flipped on credit card bankruptcy to support the big banks after big contributions to her, she facilitated a coup in Honduras that created a violent regime that force children to flee to the US for safety and then she insists on sending them back to die to teach them a lesson, she worked to build a fence on the border, she destroyed Libya and laughed when Gaddaffi was killed, and she wanted to shoot down Russian jets in Syria. Also she went after the women her husband abused instead of going after him; she coined the term ‘bimbo alert.’ Plus she supports the constant slaughter by Israel on Gaza.”
Her reasons for loving Hillary were, “When she speaks during interviews she is direct and logical in her responses. She speaks coherently and intelligently. I admire her intellect.”
This is the problem we are facing.
Yep.
I’m trying a new tactic: if I judge that there’s at least some chance of ‘redemption’, I’m giving certain friends copies of Thomas Frank’s “Listen, Liberal”. Not sure if it will help, but so far no one has dismissed it out of hand. (So far.)
I know a lot of people like that. Supposedly intelligent, but no common sense. I can’t take anyone seriously who takes the Russian BS seriously.
Good comment, Miranda Keefe. Thanks.
Whistling past the graveyard, they is!
On the NFL issue/story one need point out that none of this took place before 2009 and that it was at that time that the PENTAGON started pumping millions into the NFL (as well as the other professional sports leagues) to have them do the goose-stepping saluting (prior to 2009 the teams weren’t even out on the field).
Ha ha. Just the other night I showed a US “Silver Certificate” to my wife. Fist time she’d seen one: she’d run across some old coin, so I figured I’d show her the certificates I had long ago tucked away. I have THREE certificates, one from 1935, one from 1953 and another from 1957. I placed them all back-side up with a newer bill present. “In God We Trust” only was found on the non-Silver-Certificate bill and the 1957 silver certificate. VERY few people are aware of this revisionism. Propaganda aimed at the godless Commies. This crap sneaks in until it becomes invasive, until everyone believes that things have always been this way.
Regarding the counter-“argument” in support of Clinton, take note of not what is SAID but that which is done. The numbers killed on her insistence speaks volumes for the value of her “intellect.” People don’t want to hear it because that would mean they’d have to do something. Why Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was seen as such a threat- he advocated people to FORCE issues to come to a head, to make things so uncomfortable that you’re FORCED to deal with them (and in a way I almost can see Trump doing exactly this- at some point the Clinton/TPTB “liberals” will be forced to confront what they have wrought: while I detest the notion of slapping down everything Obama did as being a value to the common person, I can also see lots of things done during his tenure that really were absolutely horrific (sadly, I don’t see ditching the dronings and such on Trump’s agenda- but this would meet the worst kind of backlash because the “other side of the coin” supported this, and still does).
People cling hard to the idea that you can judge someone’s character by how they look on TV. Without some level of political awareness, that’s all they have to go on.
“Lede” is the word used by journalists to describe the opening paragraph of a story.
Miranda I got to tell you girl, that when I first saw Robert Parry’s spelling of ‘lede’, I couldn’t help but think of how I still got a lot to learn. So I went to the dictionary, and here is what I found;
lede
l?d/Submit
nounUS
the opening sentence or paragraph of a news article, summarizing the most important aspects of the story.
“the lede has been rewritten and the headline changed”
I guess I could feel better that I’m not alone, or write it off to ‘misery loves company’ mindset, but I do find some unity with you on being accused of being a Trump supporter for all because I’m against what the media is doing with Russia-Gate. With that I would ask your friends and my friends, to why without any concrete evidence would anyone want to poke the fingers in the eye of a nuclear armed Russian bear? Is Hillary’s political reputation worth all that destruction? Why don’t we talk about what was in those Wikileaks Hillary emails, like the undermining of the Sanders Campaign? Also when will evidence accompany the accusations made in regard to Russian interference into our American (ah-hem) democracy? Miranda just ask about the little things, don’t overwhelm your friends with to many hard questions, like; did the MSM help Trump out more to win Trump the 2016 presidential election, than did speculative Russians with their supposed ‘email hacking’ with the 4.9 billion dollar free media coverage Trump received from these corporate news flunky’s?
We should point out to these rabid Hillary supporters, that so far since Congress has been shaking down the Silicone Valley nerds that these Techno Geniuses have come up with less than 200 thousand dollars of Russian ad interference that could have swayed the outcome of this past election… & the color girls sing, dee da dee da da dee da dee so cheap so cheap da dee so cheap da dee. If a live Lou would be singing it to your friends, I really believe that he and Andy would have skipped the 2016 election.
I feel Miranda your friend who buys into Hillary’s interviews needs to get herself out more, and meet more people, like normal ones. Hillary always looks to me like she’s sitting on egg cartons and rustling around surmising for who’s to blame, because it’s never her fault. So Miranda, take this friend of yours, who finds Hillary logical to a science fair or something, but do everything possible within your power to show this friend of yours just how illogical Hillary really is, or just go out and get another friend.
In the end Miranda it could all be a losing battle, and when you find it so, then just come to this message board. Joe
Joe, you got me thinking (could be bad, could be good :-))…
I’d been trying to figure out exactly why it was that TPTB pushed Trump when they had to have known it was a huge gamble. This in light of the FACT that Clinton was already proven to be able to do what they required. Your comments helped me “solve” this perplexing question!
Sanders had a LOT of support. Had Hilary won the Sanders supporters would have had a LOT of power to push Clinton. While how much they could push is hard to tell, I do believe that this point has more than enough weight to support my conjecture.
TPTB never want anything that presents any threat or form of “wealth redistribution” (unless it’s to their direction). TPTB would toss Clinton, and her predictable string connections (puppet), under the bus and take the gamble on the loose cannon Trump. TPTB know that they can pretty much sit down with any POTUS and tell him/her how things go. But, with Clinton they’d be dealing with a LOT of Sanders supporters lurking in the wings- there would be NO easy push-over here. The Sanders supporters weren’t, and would not be willing to save Clinton from being pushed under a bus. Trump supporters, however… even IF Trump does nothing for them they are willing to save him from going under the bus (and, well, Trump is happy to sell his soul- he’s pretty familiar with doing that). Trump supporters are also in agreement with the “no wealth redistribution” mantra. THAT was, I believe, why the more probable Clinton lost to a complete clown.
In a “Commies Are Coming” kind of way one could say that the fear of Russia was in play from the get-go. Sanders, to TPTB, essentially, represented “communist thinking” (“wealth redistribution”): one can question the sincerity of Sanders (I wasn’t a supporter), but the “figure,” the appearance/symbolism of all this was there. TPTB were afraid of the Sanders supporters: and they will protect their involvement/conspiracy with/in shutting down Sanders’ POTUS run at all costs.
THIS is why no talk about what happened with Hilary’s campaign vis a vis conspiracy against Sanders’ campaign. THIS is why the focus is shifted toward Russia.
Also, and a bit off-track, THIS is why we’re being steered toward “clean energy” and such. TPTB are re-racking their game of control. THEY and only THEY are to say how the world should work: people acting on their own will not be allowed- everyone WILL be plugged into THEIR Matrix: https://www.corbettreport.com/bigoil/
I firmly believe that no one can tell Hillary Clinton what to do. Google search ‘Bill Clinton warned Hillary’ or ‘Hillary doesn’t listen to Bill’ and see what you get. If you get what I did (oh and maybe go on DuckDuckgo) you will read how Hillary didn’t and still doesn’t take Bill’s experienced advice. Now, say what you will about Slick Willie, but that man knows how to win an election, and he certainly knows how to pull the wool over the public’s eyes, so what’s wrong with Hillary not taking her hubby’s advice? Everything wrong with everyone’s ideas, if you are Hillary Clinton, because she’s the boss. I also don’t picture her to be much different than Trump. I suspect she is just more guarded with her outrageous ego, and she doesn’t tweet so much at 3 in the morning.
With that being said, I have pondered over the idea that the Shadow Government may have preferred a Trump presidency over a Clinton one, mostly because I sense that Washington insiders don’t like her. I picture Hillary, and this has nothing to do with her gender, but that Hillary is a bossy and awful person to try and interact with. Like a Cheney who doesn’t know what he’s doing, if that may serve as a good example of what Hillary maybe like to work with. Of course, I’m telling you Seer what I think, and you Seer should take it for what that is worth.
I must disagree with you on the leverage the Sanders supporters would have had on Hillary if she had won the presidency, because Hillary already during the election showed she had no real respect for that crowd on a few occasions. I also believe Hillary doesn’t look back, and that Hillary uses what she can on her way up, and then once she gets up there she forgets where she came from, and she especially forgets who put her there. That’s just my opinion, and I don’t mean to discredit your opinion, because you do have a good point to be observed, as you usually do with your comments Seer.
Great to have you posting here Seer, stay with us. Joe
Answering Joe’s commments/reply…
Hilary had done everything that TPTB had wanted. Firm backer of Israel. She’s managed to derail real healthcare reform: there’s a nice Bill Moyers piece with Elizabeth Warren in which Warren was whisked away to talk about heathcare with Hilary; Warren felt really good about the conversation; but, later on Warren notes that Clinton seemed to go completely against what Warren had been saying to her (even though it was VERY clear Clinton understood what Warren had told her).
Bankers. MIC. Israel. Clinton was there for all of them. Trumps rhetoric was filled with nothing that provided support for these groups.
TPTB (king-makers) have no problems with dispatching anyone (as they most certainly have done numerous times).
Miranda-
You are not alone having these types of friends/relations. Most people, even some seemingly intelligent, are basically lazy thinkers. They are sheep-dipped in propaganda and don’t even now it; or if they know it, don’t seem to mind as long as they get to remain comfortable.
(I hope I didn’t already post this and I just can’t see it.)
My friend *is* intelligent and savvy. She also is culturally a liberal, by which I mean her gut reaction to issues like gender politics, abortion, racial issues, LGBT rights, taxing the rich, immigration, etc. is the liberal one.
But she told me she isn’t really ‘political.’ By that I take it she does’t really follow politics much except when it gets close to an election and then she goes by mainstream media, especially the debates to decide. Although I expect her default candidate in the presidential race will always be the Democrat.
So I think the things I listed were all unknown to her. Most likely she dismissed them as inaccurate. In fact she said, “Where’s your proof?” Those on the right who hate Clinton and those of us on the left who despise her war mongering have probably seen the video of her saying “We came, We saw, He died! Ha ha ha ha ha!” forty times. She probably has never seen it.
I’m sure all the NeoLiberal policies of the Bill Clinton administration I listed, which of course Hillary was integral in getting passed, are things she has never heard about. I’m sure she’s never read an analysis of how the repeal of Glass-Stegal by Clinton led to the mortgage bubble and the Great Recession.
My little bit of dialog with her on this might be a seed for her to think about it more. She might read some of the articles I post now that she knows I’m not posting rigth-wing Trumpster stuff she considers full on fake news.
She’s not my only female friend in my age range with thinking like this. I have three other women friends, who I admire a lot and with whom I thought we were simpatico, who it turned out are so anti-Trump they see it as totally logical to full on support RussiaGate and to have full on supported Hillary. One was so enamored by Hillary and disgusted by Trump she started a Facebook group for “Nasty Grandmothers.” She invited me to join, having no idea I agreed with Trump that Hillary was a “Nasty Woman” and that I wasn’t about to adopt that description reversed as a positive thing like so many Hillaryites did, identifying with that nasty, piece of garbage.
I didn’t tell her that. I just explained to her that although I don’t support Trump I’m also not reflexively opposing everything he does and that I actually agreed with him on three issues- peace with Russia, no regime change in Syria, and anti-TPP and that it probably shouldn’t be in her group as it would disrupt the group for me to argue against their anti-Russia, anti-Assad, pro-Hillary positions. She finally agreed.
Miranda-
Thank you for this thoughtful reply. Glad I checked back. Unfortunately people like your friends that you describe are in the majority. It takes effort to find out the truth. I am sure that there are many Hillary supporters who have “Hate has No Home Here” signs on their lawns, and “Coexist” bumper stickers, and have no idea of all the deaths, injuries, and heartaches that evil woman is responsible for due to her warmongering. I hope you succeed in shedding some light and getting some converts. We really need a genuine grassroots peace movement if we are going to survive.
Agreed. This is scary, since it applies not only to Russia-gate, and to most of us to some extent. Requires responsibility.
Intelligent liberals is an oxymoron.
A question posed as the crux of the article: “But what happens when the major news outlets of the world’s superpower become simply conveyor belts for warmongering propaganda?”
Answer: US history since, at least, the end of WWII.
http://bit.ly/USA-at-war
http://tinyurl.com/nodnk
http://tinyurl.com/q655p63
tinyurl.com/o33eg64
PS
Add: tinyurl.com/y8jv3zbl
They used to call talking head news reporters “news readers” In England. We’re used to calling them “journalists” and treating them like respected academics. It’s time to return to seeing them as nothing but news readers and stripping out the respect.
Ah, but it’s NOT “news” they’re even reading! “Propaganda readers”- let’s make it fit!
We should compare the per capita purchase of Amazon/Google/YouTube political-subject ads within the world’s various ethnic/religious/national groups, including those of various heritages within the US, and would surely find many groups ahead of the Russians. The zionists would certainly be way out front. This would destroy the credibility of the zionist propagandists who control US mass media.
You know Sam (and Abe, Zac and the rest of the club), I can understand the need for rednecks, liberal idealists, hardcore conservatives, anti-Zionists, and the rest of the haters needing some clarity of mind that comes with focusing in on one group for all your problems. It makes the world easier to understand instead of seeing it as the massive conflicting mess that it is. With an over-riding boggy man you can always trace the problems back to the perceived source and everything magically makes sense.
Back in the days when Richard Prior had his TV show, at the end of one episode he did a short monologue that he ended by repeating the following words over and over and over, and over again. “DON’T CONDEMN A WHOLE GROUP OF PEOPLE FOR THE ACTIONS OF A FEW”. And there is certainly no denying that Richard knew a thing or two about prejudice. :)
To lump some poor Zionist schmuck toughing it out in a kibbutz in northern Israel into some grand conspiracy (which there may very well be), is as ridiculous as blaming some other poor schmuck living in a west Texas trailer park for the trouble caused by America. And if you want to use the blanket argument that they are aiding and abetting all of the trouble, do an Internet search for an article written by Charles Hugh Smith titled The Consent of the Conned.
To your credit there Sam, along with your cohorts, you are far from stupid and a lot of your posts on this site hit the nail square on the head. But I am here to tell you that when you state and phrase things in a way that condemns a whole group of people for the actions of a few, you lose credibility. And I’d be on your case if you were talking the same way about Eskimos. :)
What you are referring to WC is very valid, and important, that we don’t lump everyone into one basket. I do try when I post to make a distinction to who the real villains are to what I’m referring too. For example; the Zionist are the villains, but not the Jewish people. Now I know you can find fault with that, but for the sake of writing my opinion I take for granted that the reader knows the difference and by using such names as let’s say ‘Netanyahu’ in the place of the Zionist, well that pretty much is what I do to aim the reader in the right direction. Although you could argue that Einstein was a good Zionist, even though he had in his later years some misgivings about the cause, but when I’m writing about modern day Israeli cruelty against the Palestinians I do believe people don’t think of Albert Einstein in as much as they would think of Netanyahu.
I also must add that we should not blame the total of every man, woman, and child, in America, as being the blame for what America’s leaders have done with all these wars of destruction. The problem is, is that I can’t assure that the context for my writing is always understood and comprehended the way I wrote my comment to mean, up against what the reader takes away from it. Probably this comment is a good example of that happening when read, but trust me I never go trashing a whole population when I reference a specific country’s war crimes, or crimes committed against humanity.
WC your comment postings are filled with good questions, and it is important we discuss what’s on your mine. Hope you understand what I’m saying, if not then fire it back at me. I’m here if you have any more questions. Joe
In a 1938 speech, “Our Debt to Zionism”, Albert Einstein stated: “I should much rather see reasonable agreement with the Arabs on the basis of living together in peace than the creation of a Jewish state. My awareness of the essential nature of Judaism resists the idea of a Jewish state with borders, an army, and a measure of temporal power, no matter how modest. I am afraid of the inner damage Judaism will sustain—especially from the development of a narrow nationalism within our own ranks, against which we have already had to fight strongly, even without a Jewish state. … If external necessity should after all compel us to assume this burden, let us bear it with tact and patience.”
Einstein’s support for Jewish immigration to Palestine was nuanced.
In testimony before the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry in January 1946, Einstein stated that he was not in favour of the creation of a Jewish state. However, in a 1947 letter to Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Einstein stated that the Balfour Declaration’s proposal to establish a national home for Jews in Palestine “redresses the balance”.
Einstein deeply criticized right-wing Zionist terrorist groups in Palestine for their fascism and violence.
The Irgun (Etzel) (National Military Organization) and the Lehi (Fighters for the Freedom of Israel), also known as the Stern Gang, were both aligned with the right-wing revisionist Zionist movement of Ze’ev Jabotinsky.
Formed in 1931, Irgun broke away from the mainstream Jewish militia, the Haganah. During the 1936–39 Arab revolt in Palestine, in which Palestinian Arabs rose up against the British mandate authorities in protest at mass Jewish immigration into the country, Irgun’s tactics had included bus and marketplace bombings, condemned by both the British and the Jewish Agency.
Lehi, an Irgun splinter group, was formed in 1940 following Irgun’s decision to declare a truce with the British during World War II. Lehi subsequently carried out a series of assassinations designed to force the British out of Palestine.
Irgun is best known are the bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem on 22 July 1946 and the Deir Yassin massacre, carried out together with the Lehi on 9 April 1948.
Deir Yasin was a prosperous Muslim village situated on a hill west overlooking the main highway entering Jerusalem. By most accounts, they lived in peace with their Jewish neighbors in nearby villages, particularly those in Givat Shaul, an Orthodox community just across the valley, some of whom reportedly tried to help the Deir Yassin villagers during the attack by Irgun-Lehi terrorists.
After the attack on Deir Yassin, Irgun’s district commander in Jerusalem gave a news conference at which he claimed 240 were killed. This story was repeated by the BBC and the Hebrew news services. The New York Times, April 13, 1948, reported that 254 Arabs were killed at Deir Yassin.
On 15 June 1948, Irgun leader Menachem Begin founded right-wing Zionist Herut (Freedom) Party as a political successor to the notorious terrorist group.
In an open letter to the New York Times in 1948, Einstein likened Begin’s Herut to “the Nazi and Fascist parties” and stated “The Deir Yassin incident exemplifies the character and actions of the Freedom Party”.
A one-issue party intent on expanding Israel’s borders, Herut objected to withdrawal of Israel forces and negotiations with Arab states, vigorously opposed the ceasefire agreements until the annexation of Gaza Strip and the West Bank, and refused to recognize the legitimacy of the Kingdom of Jordan after the 1948 armistice. Herut frequently used the slogan “To the banks of the Jordan River” in claiming Israel’s right to the whole territory of Palestine.
Herut remained the major right-wing nationalist party in Israel from 1948 until its formal merger into Likud in 1988. The current Netanyahu regime in Israel is the ideological heir of the Herut legacy of right-wing Zionist terror that Einstein deplored.
A good book to read is by Fred Jerome, with the books dedication to the late Rachel Corrie under the title of, “Einstein on Israel and Zionism’. In it you can read how Einstein struggled with the settling in to the Zionist’s new status of them acquiring the right to live in Palestine as if it were their own. Einstein seemed to be reluctant to much of what was reported in his day of the Zionist heavy handed methods that were used against the Palestinians, and after reading this about him I felt that Einstein was afraid that the Zionist were taking the Jewish down the same road Hitler had taken Germany down to the Germans ultimate destruction. I know Albert Einstein was a man of peace, and that he and Henry Wallace pushed for a more relaxed relationship with Russia over what the warmongers were pushing by bringing about the first Cold War.
“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”.
If the Jewish are to assimilate into the American landscape, then that would mean they need to quite throwing around accusations of racial slurs for everytime an American should find fault with an Israeli policy. The backlash that someday may occur will be sure to punish all the Jews for what the few Zionist were to have used as a defense for the Zionist to go on the offensive in such a nefarious way as to play the race card against Israel’s perceived interpretations of what that critic of Israel had said.
Thanks Abe for the Einstein information, it helped giving context to what I brought up. Joe
Abe-
Thank you so much for this comment. I can always count on you to give me an education when I need one.
Wow! Thank you!
Then why do you guys love to use the expression “Antisemitism” while there are so many Semites who are NOT Jews??!! Why do you continue to use it as a weapon to silence anybody saying anything YOU do not like?! …………..By the way, WC in Britain stands for what is called Washroom in North America…….I hope that it is just a coincidence…………
The jewish people have stolen the word “semite”. It is a complete irony that semite includes the arabs.
You are the hater, WC, as has been very evident in all of your posts, which are directed against anyone who criticizes zionism. You are a zionist and a disgrace to your people, a Jewish fascist doing to others as the Nazis did unto your people.
Your core belief is that you can dominate others by pretenses of superiority: you are not superior, you are a racist, inferior to other Jews and non-racists. Your scam is to pretend that you are defending against racism, when you are the racist. You can scare fools, but you are the fool among educated persons.
You ignore all of the voluminous evidence of zionism and its injurious effects upon the US, regardless how many times you are confronted with it. You present no evidence or argument and lie that others have none when it is right in front of you.
Your posts have been uniformly incoherent, rife with non sequiturs and other scams to fool the naive and careless, which you have apparently practiced upon less educated audiences. They don’t work here. They are a disgrace. Your reply is of no consequence, as are your posts. Find another place for your racism.
Sam when you said; “you are not superior, you are a racist, inferior to other Jews and non-racists” that was a great defensive for the ‘Jew’. Sam you spoke up for the many Jewish who do not support this modern day Israeli/Zionist Plan. Joe
Yes, most Jews are not to be blamed for zionism, just as most Germans were not to blame for Naziism. It is unfortunate that the distinction is sometimes overlooked. Even in those cases where an ascriptive group (race, creed, color, nationality, etc) has a majority whose behaviour leads to injustice, it is critical to make the distinction, because it is the ones who seek justice who can be reasoned and negotiated with, and will lead their people to policies of justice that earn respect for the group. I often make that argument in vain, amongst those too angry to make distinctions.
You are starting to become unglued. :) I am neither Jewish, racist nor a Nazi fascist.
A couple of months ago a friend of mine suggested that I check out the Consortium News. As my friend is more left of center (while I can probably be classified as a moderate conservative), I knew CN would have a liberal bias, but that’s okay and a lot of the articles I read were not without considerable merit. What I had not expected was the comments section and the sort of vitriol displayed therein. On other sites you get used to the usual ragging on the Jews for being at fault for all of our problems. But on the CN comments section it was Jews vs Jews for being the problem!
I view Zionism as a religious sect in the same way I view other sects of other religions, of which there are plenty. Zionists would appear to be fairly well organized, not lacking money, along with being highly motivated. Politically, they are very active with the state of Israel and probably had a lot to do with its formation. Since it’s establishment in 1948, as a means of giving “the wandering Jew” a place they could call their own and be away from the persecution of others, Israel has been attacked multiple times and terrorism is a fact of life. For the Jewish commentors on this site who call my reference to Jewish paranoia a “slur” have been living in New York too long and life has been way too good to you. :)
On the subject of religion, I am more inclined to go along with George Carlin or Christopher Hitchens, and when I see a conflict that boils down to my god is better than your god, I know we have entered the twilight zone. So, instead of looking at the religious aspects of any conflict, I try to determine what else they want. For justifiably paranoid Zionist Jews living in Israel that would be security.
What you seem to fail to understand here is that haphazardly throwing around the word “Zionist” throws a net around a lot of people who’s soul concern in life is security, a steady job and raising a family and NOT some grandiose globalist plot to take over the world! Now you may very well be right about some rich and powerful group wanting to dominate the planet (something that has been going on forever), but how does this include the poor Zionist schmuck who just wants to be left alone to raise a family in a kibbutz in northern Israel? But . . .but . . . the schmuck is being influenced, you would say. And who the hell isn’t? Which makes the schmuck no different than the rest of us. :)
Money talks and there are a lot of monied interests involved in the middle east for a variety of reasons, and not just the Zionists you have such a hate on for. :)
West Bank Palestinian territory is held by Israel under military occupation.
Following the 1967 occupation of the West Bank by Israel, Israeli military government began to refer to the territories by the names “Judea and Samaria”.
Right wing Zionist “schmucks” constructed settlements on Palestinian lands and demanded annexation of these and other illegally occupied areas.
In one of many Israeli annexation schemes, privately-owned Palestinian lands in the northern Jordan Valley area have been transferred to a kibbutz, Merav, inside Israel, in violation of international law and with no jurisdictions.
Hasbara troll “WC” has taken pains to inform us that he is “neither Jewish, racist nor a Nazi fascist”.
It’s pretty safe to assume that “WC” actually qualifies as all three of the above:
Note the obvious enthusiasm for “a kibbutz in northern Israel” (the identical phrase is mentioned twice), profound affection for “schmucks” (mentioned five times), and signature vitriol for so-called “New York” Jews.
WC, you stated here a few days ago that you are a zionist apologist, and have a lot of apologizing to do, having allied yourself with the most serious troublemakers for the US and the Mideast, if not the worst in the world. Do not try to redefine zionism to include some not to blame: you may as well apologize for Naziism, whose supporters were largely coerced.
You have offered no apology, only attacks on those who know the facts. Your have sought to disrupt, deceive, insult, and make false accusations. That will not do. Here is what you must apologize for:
Allied with the MIC, your faction has caused endless war in the Mideast, and stay in power by fearmongering, scheming and scamming, the ancient method of tyrants. Your insane self-contradictory Mideast wars, simultaneously supporting terrorists while claiming to be fighting them, and your efforts in Ukraine to provoke a new cold war are obviously self-serving and murderous. You seek to destroy democracy in the US for personal gain.
Your faction has corrupted the US mass media, Congress, State dept., Dem and Rep party funding, and large businesses, and have manipulated protestant fundamentalist leaders, effectively destroying democracy in America.
As to the propaganda gambit of “anti-semitism” accusations, we all know that:
1. Semites include Arab and Jewish groups; the term is incorrect;
2. There is no other group that demands a special word for discrimination against itself, and then pretends that it is a unique phenomenon not susceptible to rational analysis, but only the pronunciations of Jews themselves;
3. Zionists use this unique term to denounce anyone who will not agree to their every demand for special privileges;
4. There is no racism in denouncing zionists as racist fascists.
Perhaps you will also let us all know why Jews should have an empire in the mideast, when:
1. There are no more living survivors of the Jewish disasters of WWII to gain thereby;
2. A Jewish homeland was not a sensible way to help Jewish survivors;
3. Palestine was the worst place in the world to choose for a Jewish homeland, due to opposition there;
4. No one deserves an empire, even when their ancestors had one there;
5. Everyone’s ancestors had empires there, as there were doubtless thousands of empires there in the million or so years in which all of our ancestors migrated through N Africa from common origins in SE Africa.
We would also like to be advised by such an expert on why Jews should be accorded special privileges in the US:
1. To control US foreign policy to dump money on Israel as “aid”;
2. To control US mass media so that nearly everyone accepts zionist lies about the Mideast and special privileges;
3. To control nearly every US politician through bribes, like those of all of the top ten donors to Clinton;
4. To rent the US military for pennies on the dollar to Israel to kill hundreds of thousands of innocents in the Mideast to benefit Israel;
5. To terminate democracy in the US for the advantage of one of the most racist groups in history.
You have a lot to apologize for, WC, so go ahead, make those long-awaited apologies.
Sam F and Abe-
Many thanks to both you guys for your educational and rational responses.
None of these commenters or anyone else on this website (with one exception months ago) has ever criticized Jews, and Mr. WC knows this. He always claims that those criticizing zionism are attacking Jews, and he knows that this is not true. It is the oldest zionist trick in the book, to hide racism behind accusations of racism. Everyone is anti-Semitic unless they give the farm to zionists. Time to flush WC.
I make more sense out of the situation by referring to Executive Intelligence Review website search box: “Return of the Monarchs”, ” Synarchy against America”, “Henry Luce”,”CCF”, “fight fascism the way Franklin Roosevelt did”,”JFK vs the empire”,”Permindex”, “Inter-Alpha group”,”Cecil Rhodes”. Then it all makes sense. You are right, Zionism was a 19th century creation of Cecil Rhodes and the British Empire as a bid to secure North African, and M.E. colonies for the British and French Empires, along with captured American economic might in Post-WWII era (now covertly so, as Empire has tarnished its reputation, as has fascism). The same bid is being made with Kurds right now. This is all ultimately aimed at a revival of the Pan-Europa/ Holy Roman Empire gone global ( the Eurasain Quarter is the last power-bloc holdout), and we are a LONG way off from a few million Semites in a tiny desert country.
Empire is the oldest Game in the world, going back for millennia. We were naive to believe it is no longer with us, and was put in its grave with the creation of the U.N. (which was the intention; the dream died with FDR, died in the cradle. JFK tried to revive it. He was put in the grave for his troubles.)
Empire, in its essence, is just a looting operation for the benefit of an oligarchy, at the expense of the subjugated people, who are the REAL wealth-creators.
Frankly, after reading that reading list, it all becomes rather obviously self-evident.
The U.N., along with most all other seemingly-unified bodies is no more than a tool by the oligarchs. It has been, at the most benevolent, co-opted; at it’s worst it can be said to have been established FOR the oligarchs.
https://www.corbettreport.com/bigoil/
If you don’t understand that it’s a ping-pong game then you’ll likely miss that you’re the ball.
Yes Seer, the struggle has been ENTIRELY one of resisting co-option of the tools designed to protect the people from the oligarchs. This is true of republican Nation-states themselves (a relatively new phenomena in history), trying to protect against the OLDER arrangement of feudal and pre-feudal oligarchies through the centuries. This is true of unions to secure the interests of the workers against the depredations of the management. This is true of the U.N. (liberating and inducting the many European colonies into sovereign nationhood) trying to seek another way to redress grievances (mostly imperial blockages against development for the undeveloped former colonies) instead of resorting to war & revolution. Our ENTIRE history has been one of resisting Synarchy and trying to hold on to our Republic (“if we can keep it”) against the ancient Oligarchy that has prevailed in Europe for more than 1500 years now (more like 2000+ years when the Roman Republic, having thrown off its Etruscan kings 500 years previously, fell to the ambitions of the Roman oligarchs of the Roman Empire). I am acutely aware of how We The People have been slapped around like ping pong balls. Always another group of wannabe oligarchs arising from the ashes of a successful resistance against a prior group of oligarchs. Union and constant vigilance are necessary and VERY hard to achieve. Probably requiring all of us to be Ralph Naders, in effect.
Its like a constant log-rolling contest to stay on top of a functioning Republic with a government of, by, for, the people.
Conventional Hasbara (pro-Israel, pro-Zionist) propaganda troll “WC” dropped in with a whole cohort of Hasbara shark-jumpers.
See the CN comments at:
– Israel’s Stall-Forever ‘Peace’ Plan (September 23, 2017)
– How Syria’s Victory Reshapes Mideast (September 30, 2017)
– Challenging the Saudi Air War on Yemen (October 4, 2017)
– President Zigzag (October 6, 2017)
Hasbara propagandists like “WC” just can’t understand why all those pesky “haters” have to mention Israel’s constant military threats against neighboring nations (Lebanon, Syria, Iran), illegal Israeli settlements in occupied Palestinian territory, Zionist claims of an “unconditional land grant covenant” for Israel, Israeli support for terrorism in Syria and Iraq, and the workings of the Israel Lobby.
Poor “WC” is coming more and more “unglued”, desperately trying to state and phrase things in a way that suggest that he’s really not just another “poor Zionist schmuck”.
Despite loud protestations of “WC”, it’s quite obvious that “the schmuck is being influenced”.
https://blog.codinghorror.com/content/images/2015/04/obvious-troll-is-obvious.jpg
Hasbara propaganda online has intensified as Israel now threatens military attack on Lebanon and Syria. The Israeli army is preparing to once again use cluster bombs and white phosphorus.
During the 2006 war in Lebanon, Israel dropped up to four million cluster bomb submunitions on Lebanese soil, one million of which remain unexploded “duds,” according to the United Nations Mine Action Service.
The Israeli army flooded the region with cluster bombs. Throughout the thirty-four-day conflict, the United States resupplied Israel’s arsenal of cluster bombs, which prompted an investigation by the State Department to examine if Israel had violated secret agreements it signed with the United States governing their use.
90% of Israel’s cluster bombs were dropped in the last 72 hours of the war, when the conflict already had been largely resolved by UN Security Council Resolution 1701.
Israel used advanced cluster munitions produced by Israel Military Industries, and large numbers of older cluster bombs purchased from aging American stockpiles, fired by multiple rocket launchers, 155mm artillery guns, and dropped by aircraft. Entire towns were covered in cluster bombs.
As many as 1 million Israeli cluster munitions failed to explode on impact, lingering as land mines that killed or maimed almost 200 people since the war ended. As of 2011, munitions were still causing casualties and being cleared by volunteers.
The 2006 Israeli invasion of Lebanon provided momentum for the global campaign to ban cluster bombs.
Israel joined the United States and other nations, including Russia and China, in opposition to The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM), an international treaty that prohibits the use, transfer, and stockpiling of cluster bombs
Israel also used white phosphorus shells to attack civilian areas in Lebanon. White phosphor is especially harmful to humans because its burning will continue inside the flesh. The shelling was investigated as a violation of international law.
Although Israeli and Syrian forces clashed in Lebanon during the 1982 War, the two countries have not fought across their common border since the 1973 War.
What you really don’t like is that I have come in here and upset your love/hate fest and mutual admiration society. Without me to rock the boat, you could all sit around feeling self-righteous and basking in the comfort that comes from that association. :)
I say that your solutions to real world problems are in La La Land despite the fact that your logic is perfect, just not suited to the true nature of this world. You have this underlying belief that the kindness of the human spirit will carry us through to better times. Admirable, but the odds are not in your favor looking at the ebb and flow of history. The only time you acknowledge the dark side of human nature along with the sociopaths and psychopaths is toward your favorite whipping boy. You need a clearly defined bad guy and couldn’t care less if your blanket accusations fit the individuals or not.
I say that (what you refer to as) “the little cesspool state” isn’t going anywhere, but Abe keeps telling us how those nasty Zionists behaved back in the 1940’s, as if this is somehow going to change the facts today. You love the idea of labeling Israel a totalitarian state but are scared shitless and go into deep denial of the ever growing signs that what you believe can only happen someplace else may well be happening right under your feet.
Despite the fundamental truths that have been self-evident since before the time of Christ, everything is subjective and no side is absolutely right or wrong simply because there is so much diversity in the mix. If you want to point fingers there is plenty of blame to go around with everyone. If you are such “educated persons” why are you being so one-sided in your criticism? I had expected a more balanced view from the comments section of what is supposed to be one of the vanguards of progressive thinking. To say I am disappointed is an understatement. :)
1. You state that your intent is to disrupt the commenters here, which would be fine if it were based upon rational arguments and evidence, but it is not;
2. You merely claim without evidence or argument that opponents of zionism merely “need a clearly defined bad guy” and do not care about the truth, while ignoring our extensive evidence and argument against zionism, and our concern about other factions like the MIC and WallSt;
3. You claim that opponents of Zionism are “labeling Israel a totalitarian state” and that we deny that this “may well be happening” in the US, despite the lack of rationale that would provide for fascism in Israel, and despite our concerns that zionists and others are doing that to the US;
4. You claim that critics of zionism are “one-sided” seeking absolute right or wrong despite diversity, but zionism is not diverse, it is a belief in special rights that causes widespread severe injustice. No regular commenter here has suggested that the Mideast is simple or has only one source of trouble.
I believe the truth lies somewhere between your respective arguments actually.
“I believe the truth lies somewhere between…” is a rhetorical phrase recommended in Hasbara propaganda manuals.
In fact, Hasbara propaganda desperately strives to avoid any sort of rational “arguments” on behalf of Israeli policy.
“WC” demonstrates this avoidance most admirably.
It’s very easy to see why Hasbara trolls “defend Israel” by hurrying to change the subject.
The truth doesn’t lie “somewhere”. The truth is right in front of us all.
Israeli policies of militarized state terrorism completely undermine not only Israel’s security.
Regional stability and peace throughout the Middle East is threatened by unconditional U.S. support for Israel, which is opposed by the American people.
The Israeli state is ever more greedy for military and economic aid from the United States.
Israel’s ballyhooed “prosperity” is a myth subsidized by U.S. taxpayers. In fact, without American support, Israel would rapidly face economic crisis and political collapse.
So if Americans want peace, we need to get involved today.
If we want to avoid the next cataclysmic war in the Middle East, we must put an end to Israel’s military threats against Lebanon, Syria and Iran.
We can support the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement and other efforts to stop Israel’s drive for war.
You nailed it. The fellow is a dishonest propagandist and his job is disruption.
Ruchama Marton is a psychiatrist; feminist and human rights activist, founder and President of Physicians for Human Rights-Israel. She is the recipient of several peace and human rights awards, including the Right Livelihood Award, (the Alternative Nobel prize) in 2010.
Dr. Marton founded Physicians for Human Rights-Israel in 1988 during the First Intifada, bringing the term “human rights” into the Israeli political discourse. Born in Israel, where she has lived her whole life, she has been an active psychiatrist for more than 40 years.
Marton is convinced that the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement is critical to ending Israeli illegal activities
https://bdsmovement.net/news/distinguished-israeli-doctor-supports-bds
Dr. Marton has observed the psychological and political aspects of Israel’s Jewish society today. In 2013, she described the group mentality that shapes Israeli political identity and social discourse:
“The central and most profound Israeli convention is that ‘we’ cherish and crave peace. At the same time ‘we’ are convinced that all others, especially the Arabs (Palestinians) are warmongers. Facts, naturally, must not be allowed to confuse ‘us’.
“The Israeli-Jewish self-image as spiritually superior and peace-loving is a cardinal element in Israeli society’s high self-esteem, and has made possible thousands of cases of state-sponsored killings, injuries, torture, abuse, and dispossession. It justifies the devaluation of the Palestinian enemies and permits the disregard of their human rights. […]
“one must ask why peace, which is the declared aspiration of Israelis, provoked such a collective anxiety. I have to conclude that Israel does not yet have a mature definition of itself. In other words, it is not evident to ‘us’ who we are. Israel demands time and again that its neighbor states recognize it – as if Israeli statehood were not a solid fact. Having difficulty figuring out one’s identity from within leads to the need to receive an answer from without. The ultimate ‘not me’ is an enemy. Therefore an enemy as defined by the large group is an absolute need. Losing this solid definition through a peace agreement is a real psychological threat.
“Another reason for needing an enemy and war is the severe fragmentation of Israeli society into various sectors, which requires war as a tool for inner cohesion, a remedy for social disintegration.”
As an IDF soldier in the Givati reserve brigade during the 1956 Sinai War, Marton witnessed the murder of dozens of Egyptian prisoners by soldiers in her unit.
After serving in the army, Marton completed medical school and specialized in psychiatry. Working in the mental health field for decades, she has closely observed the dysfunctional segregationist mentality of Israeli society.
In a September 2017 interview in her Tel Aviv home in honor of her 80th birthday, Marton described the pervasiveness of “a colonialist, an occupier, an apartheidist” mindset on all levels of Israeli society.
Recognizing the threat of this segregationist mentality, Marton supports the solution of direct intervention from outside Israel:
“We need outside help. And I’m talking mainly about one thing: BDS.”
Abe, you’re invaluable!
One point that Dr. Marton might be incorrect in is this:
“Israel demands time and again that its neighbor states recognize it – as if Israeli statehood were not a solid fact.”
Not the first part, but the second. I believe (I’m a lazy researcher, so perhaps someone else can look it up, though I fully do believe it to be correct) that the U.N. recognizes a State as one having a stable border(s); that is, their area of “control” is known/set. Israel has, and continues to, shift it’s “borders.”
Israeli Hasbara propaganda is probably the most widespread and ambitious state-run propaganda effort in the world today.
Hasbara is a form of propaganda mostly aimed at a foreign audience, primarily in western countries, particularly in the United States.
Hasbara aims to influence the conversation in a way that positively portrays Israeli political moves and policies, including actions undertaken by Israel in the past. Often, Hasbara efforts includes a negative portrayal of the Arabs and especially of Palestinians.
The use of the Hebrew term Hasbara in a critical context is necessary, because Hasbara efforts are wider and their goals much more ambitious than any similar propaganda activities taken by all democracies and most non-democracies.
Hasbara targets political elites, opinion makers and the public simultaneously; it includes traditional advocacy efforts as well as more general appeals made through mass media, and it is carried out by government agencies, non-governmental organizations, lobbying groups, private citizens, students, journalists and bloggers.
The Israeli government encourages all citizens to actively engage in Hasbara. Recently, it even distributed brochures with talking points to all Israelis traveling abroad. Israelis are asked to engage in politically-oriented conversations with their hosts and contacts abroad.
Until a few years ago, the main government agency carrying out Hasbara work was the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through its Media and Hasbara department. Under Ehud Olmert’s government, and more so under Netanyahu’s, there was a considerable increase in Hasbara efforts.
Prime Minister Netanyahu launched a Hasbara Ministry headed by a government minister. The Hasbara Ministry includes a situation room, which operates in five languages, and a new-media team that can reach, according to its website, over a hundred thousand volunteers on social media networks, as well as many bloggers.
In addition to the Hasbara Ministry, Israel has a Hasbara branch in the Prime Minister’s Office (in charge of both local and international PR). The IDF Spokesperson has an international arm with a new media branch, which makes Hasbara efforts and does not limit itself to providing information on army activities.
Under Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Ministry was instructed to take a bigger role in the Hasbara effort.
Numerous non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and agencies have moved into greater involvement in Hasbara. Perhaps the most notable is The Jewish Agency, which used to serve as a liaison to Jewish communities abroad, and now trains its envoys to American campuses to engage in propaganda.
Under Avigdor Lieberman, the Israeli Foreign Ministry was instructed to take a bigger role in the Hasbara effort (a popular rant against the foreign ministry for many years was that it deals with peacemaking instead of advocacy, and Lieberman has promised to solve that). I was contacted awhile ago by a private agency that won a contract with the foreign ministry; they were looking for professionals to play hostile journalists in simulations with Israeli diplomats.
Much of the Hasbara work carried out outside official channels – but with heavy official influence – is carried out through non-governmental organizations such as “Stand With Us”, “The Israel Project” and more. These organizations produce booklets, flyers, maps, “polls”, and spin news events in ways which are favorable to the Israeli government.
Hasbara propaganda organizations strive to influence “opinion-makers”: journalists and bloggers are flown on a regular basis to tours in Israel, accompanied by government officials, while Israeli representatives – former diplomats, journalists, soldiers and officers – are brought to give lectures at campuses, think-tanks, conferences and other public events around the world.
Organizations also try to influence the grassroots level by granting Hasbara fellowships to international students in Israel.
There is a sense of “Hasbara failure” in the Israeli public. Rants about the fact that Israel is misunderstood and complaints about the incompetence of those dealing with Hasbara are often heard in the Israeli Hasbra popular media.
Given the abject failure of Hasbara – actually a failure of Israeli policy on all levels – all the Israeli state has left is war.
Universities?Zionist control?
I keep waiting for some “journalist” in our fine media to face the camera some night and say, “This is total BS–I can’t believe they’re asking me to spew this nonsense!”
But no, they continue to say these ridiculous things in their earnest, robotic voices and I just hope viewers can see through the absurdity of it all.
If the MSM were a true and honest broker of reporting the news, you would hear that one broadcaster saying, ‘this is all a bunch of BS’. Good comment Nancy. Joe
Van Jones called Russiagate a nothingburger, but of course he backpedaled later to keep his job.
That Van Jones moment of telling it like it is, was very revealing. Like, ‘whoops what the heck did I just say’ moment had snuck up on our man Van. I actually kind of like Van Jones. I mean sometimes on a panel discussion he at least comes close to saying what is needed said, but in the end our man Van is probably just another establishment sell out. I guess everybody got to eat, so why not? I’m joking of course Skip, because what we the people do need in our media and government is honest and caring people who do respect the angst of our populace, and do something about it.
Good to see you Skip, it’s always good to correspond with you. Joe
The “journalists” are simply corporate employees; they are paid to read out loud.
In any case, watch Assange on todays Democracy Now. He isn’t having any of it.
https://www.democracynow.org/
Yeah, it really shows DemocracyNow! what it’s really about (a mouthpiece for the Democrats). Wonder if they’ll look to air him again (or whether he’d bother to waste his time with them).
Yeah, what’s so glorious about Assange’s extended exchange today with Amy Goodman is how, manifestly, he loses his patience with her sheer incontinence in asking him yet one more dumb question after dumb question after dumb question about Russia, Russia, Russia when, clearly, all he really wants to be talking about is what was evidently the very pretext for his appearance — viz., the unfolding situation in Catalonia, which he sees (with warrant and with justice) as likely the single most critical showdown going down in the western world today. And thereby, with his strident reversion to the topic of Catalonia, Assange eloquently underwrites what he has already painstakingly sought to convey expressly to Goodman in so many words — that, veritably obsessed with #Russiagate, the United States has lost its mind (and most especially all those on the left). Well worth a watch @ YouTube: Democracy Now, October 10 (all four segments — just let ’em roll).
DemocracyNow has become a fiefdom. Yes, they are connected to the corporate demos, though they will not say it.
The issue now is to understand this is not about conservative or liberal, democrat or republican, it is about a failing capitalist economy world wide and thus as German writer and activist Walter Benjamin said so well, and he knew for he lost his life to fascism:
“Behind every fascism there is a failed revolution.” What he meant was that fascism arises when the left fails and the ‘left’, as it is called, an antiquated and absurd term, much like liberal or conservative, has failed.
DemocracyNow is just one example.
The thing is, I’ve never heard Amy Goodman conduct an intelligent interview. She never picks up on what the subject is saying and initiates an interesting conversation.
I’m not denying the deeper ideological biases: for example, in the first part of today’s program, she cited the al-Qaeda White Helmets uncritically as a source for some alleged violence by the Syrian government. And that’s nothing new for DN!.
But the fact that she just kept playing Roger Stone clips for Assange to react to, rather than actually listen and reply to his statements — this is largely because she just isn’t really very bright.
Good point. She’s also a tool. She should hang it up before it gets even more embarrassing for her.
David, this kind of tells us that DemocracyNow! is starting to fail.
I am more informed by listening to Flash Points. Bernstein doesn’t badger people. Topics are more fully investigated and less politically (as far as party politics goes) inclined. John Pilger gets a lot of air time, and that’s a good thing!
Amy Goodman is overpaid, over-respected, arrogant and has built a fiefdom.
This is not a news organization that can help us fight fascism.
I agree with Assange on the irrelevance (as far as I can see) of the clown Roger Stone, and the pathetic emphasis put on Stone by Amy Goodman. She comes across sounding “serious” but totally off-base.’
However, I do not agree with Assange’s long disquisition on the Catalonian rebels nor on his apparently using that to avoid saying waht really has to be said about Stone.
I can undersatnd his annoyance, but I don’t understand his passing up the opportunity to completely destroy Stone’s credibility and that of those who insist that he has some kind of credibiltilyl. Assange is too blase. He could, for example, have taken the opportunity to zero in on the *contents* of some of the Podesta emails and explained that this content is the real elephant in the room, not Roger Stone and not Russia’s supposed meddling with the election.
IMO, Assange punted.
Litchfield:
Assange seems to be not a very good communicator. He is slow in this fast lane type of communication dialog in today’s World. Roger stone had been working with many Republican Presidents including Nixon’s campaign I think. All these characters – like Roger stone – are not very moral or intellectual type of people. In fact, they are the opposite – Careerists with no principles. But here and there Roger Stone does give some information on the shows to refute what is going on in the Country now with this Trump bashing and Russia-Gate nonsense.
Assange doesn’t work in a sound-bite-oriented world? Say it ain’t so!
Goodman’s hyper-gunning of words are quite the contrast to Assange’s careful consideration/thinking and responses.
FACTS take time to present.
While Stone may or may not be a pile of doo, one should take caution not to give energy to things that can get exploited that lead to more of the same. TPTB are steering all of this. MANY organizations that have been presented as “for the people” have been funded by TPTB.
For us little people, BIG is a threat, and here is where, whether it’s in the same context or not I cannot say, the folks like Trunp and Stone exhibit similar realizations. How would folks like these combat TPTB (if in fact that is their aim)? Any attempts to work with TPTB become co-opted. The same crappy stuff just continues. Why? Because TPTB have near total (soon to be TOTAL) control.
I disagree. Assange isn’t about character assassination. The MSM is so focused on doing this kind of stuff. Assange is trying to get FACTS out there. He stated what he thought about Stone, and that’s enough. There ARE much bigger issues that need his energy. Spend a bunch of energy attacking one Messenger and TPTB just push forward another one. HOW TPTB are doing things, that is what Assange is trying to push out there.
I just thought of something. What if these are “S.O.S.” signals from journalists captured by the Media Cartel owners forced into writing such trash that they HOPE we notice how ridiculous it all is, and that they can’t come right out and say “This BS serves to fuel the MIIC and keep it rolling in dough, also to prevent YOU, the reader/listener, from paying attention to REAL news, like our General Breakdown Crisis: from crumbling character and personality, and failing health & falling lifespans, to crumbling bridges and dams, and withering landscapes, while our Imperial/Mercenary Armies are out setting fire to the World, for the power & profit of big Portfolio holders”??? and still expect to keep their jobs?
I almost think that this is what Turmp is doing. The stuff he says and does is so ridiculous that I have to wonder if he’s really only trying to slap people up-side the head such that they can see how f’d up things are. He really is forcing backlash, though there’s still not enough to gain traction (but give him enough time and people are going to have had “enough”- only issue is whether there will be the requisite unification of people against the ruling propagandists or whether they’ll only further divide themselves, just as the ruling propagandists seem to always manage to do). Maybe Trump it throwing us a Coca Cola bottle ala “The Gods Must be Crazy.”
Well, after John Barron and John Miller were eliminated by the PTB for telling the truth, Trump, rather than share their fate, learned to be cagier, devising an elaborate symbology of revelation disguised as narcissistic ravings.
He’s really a remarkable man, with an unbelievable IQ.
Don’t confuse me of being a Trump supporter. But, at this point there’s little in the “hope” department other than the remote possibility that Trump actually does have a brain. Remember: humans are deceptive. If YOU or I were in this position, hell-bent on draining the swamp (really meaning it!) what would WE do? There would be, perhaps, a handful of mid-to-lower-level staff and legislators that would be on one’s side: and any communications with them would be bugged.
I do not believe that when folks around the Trump administration act totally befuddled by Trump that their befuddlement is a show.
Am I wagering on anything good coming from Trump? NO. Is there a possibility something good could come from him? Yes. Probability being slightly above zero…
Oh, please. Take a nap. You’re a dumbo.
What people must understand is that Presidents have very little power, they are mascots for the real rulers, the banks, the oil companies, the Zionists, the military and on and on. That is why Trump is president
You are right. We the people should be going after government agencies, and there managers there of. Question it all, drill down on all those who work provided our taxes dollars.
What a perfect analogy, Seer!
Yeah–like they claim the POWs did during Vietnam!
Perhaps Facebook and Google were reluctant but obliged to compile the data and maliciously enjoy that the published data shows just how infinitesimal any Russian use of their systems is.
But of course any responsible journalist subject to threats or coercion, or President in the case of Obama and Trump et al, would immediately report such extremely important information about improper influence. A journalist could seek another career, while a president could purge the offending agency. If they do not have that integrity they do not care, and likely were carefully selected on that basis.
You SLAMMED that nail on the head.
But then, as a matter of course, they end up running a webpage nobody reads and begging for money, or with a shot-off head in the back of an open convertible. We are WAY past the stage of martyrdom (that was the sixties). We need a winning strategy, and if anyone can come up with one, you can, Sam.
I keep coming back around to a People’s Party of small, dues-paying members numbering in the millions (NRA doesn’t have more than a few million members, but are powerful), and the officers of this Party must draw their salaries from the dues only, NO BIG DONORS. Anyone taking bribes is automatically banned from the Party.
Yes, new political parties true to their members are essential, forming coalitions to gain majorities, and their candidates and their relatives and associates must be monitored for corrupt influence during their lives. They should seek legislation to do the same for all federal officials.
Executive overreach could in principle restore democracy. Such a candidate must have a shadow government to move into place immediately, and purge the secret agencies and military of corrupt elements. With advance research and planning by the party, a dark horse candidate for president could dismiss nearly all of Congress and the judiciary for accepting campaign bribes, and turn over the mass media temporarily to the universities. Then hold new elections on paper ballots, demand amendments to the Constitution restricting funding of elections and mass media to limited individual contributions, and laws regulating mass media corporations, and repeat the purges until Congress does so without judicial obstruction. No martyrs needed, but no candidate should apply unless ready for that risk. I’m sure that my own readiness for such risk for democracy is reflected in many others.
Meanwhile, the independent journalist is our best resource in the media, and should be supported generously, as we have no other credible sources.
Check this out….
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-03-28/top-german-journalist-admits-mainstream-media-completely-fake-we-all-lie-cia
Wasn’t it one of the Rockefellers who thanked the MSM for going along with them? Back in the 50s?
Where’s Abe?
The empire in full panic mode. We’re through the looking glass. Hold on!
Seer in the beginning this Russia-Gate silliness was an excuse used by the Hillary people to explain why she lost the 2016 presidential election, but now I sense something more is afoot. I truly am convinced that the Russia-Gate story is being used to reduce our freedom of the press. I believe the real targets of this war of accusations against Russia, is really a war against reporting sites, such as consortiumnews. Russia isn’t nearly as intimating towards revealing the truth, as is sites such as consortiumnews, or a Paul Craig Roberts, and likewise commentators of our day are.
Just like the Las Vegas massacre, these ‘ Powers that be’ who control our American society, are doing everything they can to take away our god given freedoms. Of course, they hide behind the ‘keeping us all safe card’, and who isn’t for National Security. So we Americans should all wake up from our deep sleep, and insist that enough is enough. Let’s face it, we Americans need a whole new media, and a people oriented government to govern in a respectable way to insure we keep our basic freedoms. Joe
Very good points. The Russia hysteria has become a cover for zionist control of US mass media and politicians (Clinton’s top ten donors), a scheme to bring the US to more wars for Israel. Once more Mr. Parry provides an essential counterpoint to the mass media propaganda.
Those who would like to petition the NYT to make Robert Parry their senior editor may do so here:
https://www.change.org/p/new-york-times-bring-a-new-editor-to-the-new-york-times?recruiter=72650402&utm_source=share_petition&utm_medium=copylink
While Mr. Parry may prefer independence, and we all know the NYT ownership makes it unlikely, and the NYT may try to ignore it, it is instructive to them that intelligent readers know better journalism when they see it. A petition demonstrates the concerns of a far larger number of potential or lost subscribers.
“The Russia hysteria has become a cover for zionist control of US mass media and politicians”
Exactly so! Israel is the 8000 pound gorilla at the center of:
1. Pushing the US to war with Iraq, Iran, and Russia,
2. Suppressing all discussion of Israel in the MSM.
“In decertifying Iran deal, Trump caves to Israel. But who will say so?”
http://mondoweiss.net/2017/10/decertifying-trump-israel
How this got going, succinct, documented, and suitable for sharing:
“War Profiteers and the Roots of the War on Terror”
http://warprofiteerstory.blogspot.com
Someone ALWAYS has to throw the Zionist/Jew card into every conversation. This, of course, plays exactly into the globalist elite plan of keeping us all arguing amongst ourselves, propping up false enemies, etc. Why is there no discussion, or even inference, to the Rockefellers, who were actually the drivers behind much of the US economy and policy? No, instead we must focus on Rothschild. Totally ridiculous.
Joe, yes, it’s Hobgobblins.
No way TPTB get can get their cannon fodder (and funding) if the PEOPLE actually know what’s going on.
There’s really no such thing as “safety,” only the appearance of it, but, for sure, there’s such a thing as “oppression.”
I highly recommend that people read (it’s available on the Internet) Fate of Empires and Search for Survival by Sir John Glubb. Glubb did a fantastic job of identifying the common traits in the lifespan of many western empires. You see/read the phases of empires, that, like every other thing subject to time, go through. The waters ahead are fully predictable: anyone can actually become a “Seer” if they understand the lessons of history.
Seer I will be sure to get that book by Sir John Glubb after I write down all of the nasty doings of Harvey Weinstein….do you believe how this corporate controlled frigging cable news is blasting all of this sexy ‘caught ya dude’ tabloid story beyond it’s no apparent worth to society’s many needs. And just as I did here with my comment by answering your comment where you mention Sir John I change the narrative with my reply to that to this Weinstein character…. take a knee vs honor the flag, that’s another clever way of changing the narrative. We humans do this all the time. I think it’s called normal conversation, or table talk, if you are sitting down. Although yours and my changing narratives aren’t in anyway hiding any false flag events, nor covering up war crimes…. where is the severity of intent, and where may one go to find the true facts to prosecute it properly?
I think that there are many who are closeted doubters of all of our country’s many false flag Operation Northwoods style events, but they sit it out whether through lack of information, or possibly fear of government retribution these wise citizens play it safe, and stay silent. Go to that quiet guy sitting down at the end of the bar around the counter facing the door, and ask him of what he thinks. He’ll tell you, as he takes a swig of his Tequila and downs it coming back up for air he will hoarsely say, ‘they’re all crooks’. Sorry, I just pictured High Plains Drifter there for a moment, but you get my drift, right. Joe
And be sure and thank those brave men and women in uniform for their “service”.
Joe exactly right. Hillary people are not just using it as an excuse for Hilllary’s defeat but Hillary herself is calling on Twitter, Facebook and Google to begin censoring false news on their platforms as she said in her speech at Stanford last week.
Could it be that Assange & the Alternative Internet Media were to far out of Hillary’s and the DNC’s control? I know you know the answer, but that’s my way of supporting your prognosis of the ever evolving Russia-Gate epic of the century event. God when I think of it, I think what assholes, all of these war crazed idiots can’t respect life over all of their own selfish ambitions they have to acquire more status, and of course more money. I know this is mankind’s M.O. but through out mankind’s history people like us have had to be there to hopefully balance out man’s need to be on this quest and drive he is on to further destroy himself, and this planet….we may be the brakes to this thing, peace! Joe
Joe – Yes. But reducing the freedom of press – doing away with the sites like Consortium News – is just one of the goals of this continuing MSM propaganda onslaught on Russia. The immediate goal I think is to intervene in Syria, then on to Iran. It is Israel who is really control of U.S. Foreign Policy, and they – with all the Ruling Elite here – are in panic mode, as stated in many comments here. This ZioNecon PNAC bandwagon has been stalled with President Trump. And The Ruling Elite has some plan of action in their minds.
Dave I think you are right that Iran is the target of interest. I think just based upon its advocacy by Israel that pretty much says it all.
The control of citizens, and the message send out by the media need to be corralled to establish complete control. The best method of implementing this would be under the cover of using false flag events, leaving a sound reason for imposing restrictions upon the citizens civil liberties, where in war time this is the most suitable way of controlling the masses. If you recall, WWI on many a home front was filled with citizen riots, over unions among well needed other reasons for revolt. So establishing a narrative, and by laying a foundation with the correct dialog, is essential to keeping the peace. This peace Dave isn’t the kind of peace you and I advocate for. Joe
Joe, yes you are right. We have been looking and working for peace for a long time now, since George McGovern campaign in 1972. Look where the things have come to – Facebook and Twitter. This is the level of political and public debate in this Country now.
I am not a Facebook or Twitter expert. However, two to three million people left Russia after 1991 collapse to go to Israel, U.K., U.S., Germany, and other places. According to L.A. Times article, more than 50,000 from Israel have returned to Moscow to open businesses etc. There are four or five flights every day from Tel Aviv to Moscow. There are as many daily flights from London to Moscow. And then there are daily flights to Saint Petersburg and other cities. All these are Russians going back and forth from all these Western Countries. All these people use Facebook and Twitter. Also, there are all these NGO’s still in Russia supported by Soros and the likes. Who knows who have these few accounts!
Now we are told that a few Russians using these Facebook and Twitter accounts, for less than $100,000 which overthrew the American Democracy ! What a joke.!
Those of us who grew up admiring Western Civilization for it’s rule of law, individual human rights, and others achievements have to witness now what it has come to. That civilization has been extinguished already to a great extent.
Don’t they understand that the Americans are going to be afraid of all the Russians now as if they are all spies. The same thing they did with this Terrorism and Muslim thing.
Yes Dave maybe the 400 pound guy who Trump said maybe sitting on a sofa in New Jersey is the one hacking said government emails, or rather he is none other than a one time resident of Israel now living in Moscow working at a Russian outpost for Mossad . Who knows? Well maybe the CIA or NSA, but why would we rely on them to tell us the truth? So here we are chasing after ghost while this whole mixed up country goes down the tubes. Nothing new here, now move along.
Dave I like reading your comments, keep them coming. Joe
AIPAC owns Congress. Forget that Trump appears to be BIBI’s poodle, the whole of Congress is including Democrats who are also pushing anti BDS bill too and many have dual citizenship.
ISRAEL is the true threat to world Peace, aside from our war mongering idiots. The level of evil invilved here is unfathomable to most of us. They will risk American lives for war. That IS their money making machine.
The elites know we are catching on.
Joe Tedesky… Thank you for your insight. For me looking at what has been happening it seems to have started at the time of the Sochi Olympics and has been week after week of “evil, crooked Russians”. Now it has gone so far that the government, and media, believe that they have the right to “censor” what we read based on “fake news”. I find the juxtaposition of the people that helped sell the Iraq War, which resulted in the deaths of 1/2 million to 1 million Iraqis, quite disturbing when they have the audacity to point fingers. The fact is that fear sells wars. Look under your bed, hide under your desk, be afraid. Maybe with the advent of the internet and access to information people are not as fearful and questioning what the government and media are saying. I just wonder when America, a country that has been at war 93%of its’ history, will have the guts to look critically at itself in the mirror. Maybe with the decline of the American Empire this day will hopefully come.
Until America does take that cold hard look into the mirror, Joe L I’m afraid much will get better. Since the founding of the U.S. it has all been about conquest, and domination. I’m hopefull a new era will arise, and the next generation of Americans will bring a humble U.S. to the world community.
Great to hear from you Joe L. Joe
Over here in the UK we’re way past through the looking glass we are up to our arm pits in Alice in wonderland. The British football authorities have taken steps to warn our footballers who are going to play in some overseas tournament to take electronic equipment with them to sweep their hotels and dressing rooms for Russian bugs and other spying stuff. The notion that the Russians want to spy on a second rate football side, which we are, is is bizarre and beyond fantasy. Two word for these stupid rsoles, “mad buggars” !!!!
There’s inevitably going to be some kind of Western official and media strategy for next year’s World Cup in Russia to make sure we all understand it is in fact being held in Mordor, and run by Sauron for his evil purposes.
I guess now is the time to try things out to see what works. Expect to hear an immense amount about hooliganism as well.
I read where those 100 Russian Olympians that were casted out of the Brazil Olympics were finally exonerated with only 1 being kicked out because of true steroidal use. The others lost a dream of their lifetime. The US is the nastiest of the nastiest countries !
GMC – Yes. Many of the athletes in U.S. , and elsewhere had been on steroids too for a long time. But these Russians ! They are out to get them for a hundred years now.
Wait what they do with this coming 2018 World Soccer Championship in Russia ! U.K., ever the faithful poodle of U.S., is already on to it – raising athlete safety, hacking, spying issues. From all what is going on now, it is clear that the Ruling Elite in The West needs psychological help – they are embarked on a path to destroy all human life on this planet.
Pot meets kettle. It is , of course, “mad buggers”
If anything is to be found it’ll be stuff implanted by US operatives. Didn’t the world learn this when US-planted bugs were found at the UN (I think it was leading up to the Iraq war- US was trying to arm twist its “allies”).
BTW – Keep in mind that while these “ships” are sailing with the US flag it’s really The Organization (the various controllers- TPTB; they’ll flay any flag that gets the job done).
Ha ha. Yes. And the only WMDs they found in Iraq were old depleted ones buried in the desert, sold to Saddam by Rumsfeld and Cheney during the Reagan era. These people keep manipulating themselves into circus history.
Sorry I think Parry keeps tossing these things out and I’m not getting anything that he’s offering other than the weakness of their argument. I normally have some acceptance level for what you write but this is truly weak. And the choir seems to be all in synch which leads me to believe I’m not off the path. So who was involved and doing what. The proverbial, where there’s smoke…sure seems to have a good application here. Note, I’m not going with MSM but Parry offers nothing for an American event that was bizarre beyond strange.
I must agree, Parry is usually far better than this article indicates.
Well, yes, but sometimes the choir likes to know that they’re still on-key. It’s therapy for all us that know it’s f’d up.
We should NOT forget how huge the stakes are here.
“timothy jerzyk” and “Double dee” seem to be all in synch.
They offer nothing.
That they “must agree” truly is not so strange.
Note, I’m not going with ‘trolls” just yet, but we’re not getting even a weak argument from this burgeoning choir.
The proverbial, where there’s gas…