And of course there is the absence of coverage. I read the Daily Mail to monitor the pulse of what is deemed interesting and shocking and about 4 or 5 days ago the campus protests were always the lead article skewed to the right and featuring conservative/establishment figures reacting with horror at the mere sight of the protests and the "attacks on Israel". Then the Daily Mail simply dropped any coverage so far below the digital fold that it's nearly impossible to find.
If "outrage" does not stop the protests, then consign the news to the deepest rabbit hole available. Yes, there always has been wretched MSM coverage or ignoring of reality, but it was fascinating to watch such a blatant 180 degree turn around from a media source that depends on fueling the fires of whatever can most alarm or titillate the reader.
Of course when the police decided to "professionally" clear the encampments, the Daily Mail was all over the action. But what struck me most about this article was how the framing of the narrative is more along the lines of this is "war", not just arresting protestors. The opening lines and videos of the tearing down of the Palestinian flag and the raising of "Old Glory" immediately brought to mind the iconic image of the construction workers raising the American Flag amidst the wreckage of the two towers. The message is that we are at war with the enemy, Palestinians and Arabs, and no quarter is being considered or given. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13371981/nypd-flag-city-college-new-york-protesters-palestine-israel.html
There are 2 sides in the US. You are either pro-imperialism or anti-imperialism.
Imperialism is not "invading countries" or "militarism". Imperialism is the highest form of capitalism. It is monopoly capitalism. Both Democrats and Republicans are pro-imperialism. They just highlight different conflicts. Dems won't face reality about Ukraine, and 400,000 dead Ukrainians, and a completely PROVOKED war that has accelerated the collapse of the US. Money printing for Raytheon is just putting off the collapse of US imperialism.
Republicans won't face reality about China. They are told to hate China. The truth is that it was OUR US GOVERNMENT that destroyed American workers by moving factories to China for cheap labor. China has raised one billion people out of abject poverty while our government feeds talking points to argue about stuff that is completely meaningless.
Like, i really want to scream when Dems talk about abortion. Like, Omg. How they are blind to people who cannot afford a gallon of milk- it is really stunning. 10 years ago I cared about abortion rights. Now, are you f'in kidding me? It's almost like if someone was protesting the US supreme court's abortion decision in the rubble of Palestine. The absolute disconnect between material economic reality and the government and media's talking points is absolutely unbelievable.
Let's not forget Obama could have codified Roe v. Wade into law in 2009. He and the Dems chose not to. They prefer to fundraise off the issue, always promising to do something but never quite doing it.
The Dems NEED the attacks on reproductive liberty and rely on it to rally their partisans. While I think civil rights are indeed important, much of the issues today seem intentionally cultivated and stoked as part of a culture war that serves to hold partisans in their respective camps. The culture war thus powers each side of the duopoly, perpetuates an illusion of differentiation between them, and obscures and distracts from the most fundamentally / existentially important issues upon which there is for the most part a bipartisan consensus.
If tasers, handcuffs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and good old-fashioned truncheons don't work at quieting dissent, there's always the Ohio Option. It worked pretty well 54 years ago this coming Saturday, remember? For details, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCS-g3HwXdc .
Does this mean that Cheney and Halliburton will finally spend that money the Bush administration gave them? I thought it was just a donation to Cheney from the taxpayers. It'll be wonderful to see it actually put to use. A shame to waste taxpayer dollars. I may even get a place to live!
Ray, unfortunately this is nothing new. I had a friend who was in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC in the 80s. He said there was a nearby unit training behind a fence that looked to him and his buddies like they were being trained for deployment in the US.
I don't recall if it was one of the Gray Zone guys or someone else, but a paraphrased quote - made as a warning, was that Americans need to understand they will surrender some of their civil liberties for the protection of Israel and any statements critical of it.
The industry of war and cancer at its best, sending in the troops to brutalize those asking for ceasefire.
Using its weaponized supremacists laws to brutalize everyone opposing its commissioned Holocaust, arming nations to kill more and vetoing resolutions which would end of the violence and bring peace.
All in the name of an industry of death, sold as the only one “safe and effective” for to save lives.
War is peace, opposing Genocide criminal, inform consent useless, freedom to privacy a form of terrorism, this is the USA in April 2024.
America needs its own carnation revolution
A revolution which must depose the eugenists which want to kill, destroy, and dehumanize people, and replace them with those which can guide the US and the rest of the world back into the rule of law under the bill of rights and the once great constitution, and back on its right tracks for freedom and justice for a free world.
The world is awaking to nightmare and lies and history is being written.
Save Palestine and save the US for to save the people of the rest of the world from the madness of those which in them now sees only numbers to trey for their personal commodities.
GAZA SHOWS US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EVIL AUTOCRACIES AND FREE DEMOCRACIES
by Caitlin Johnstone 30 Apr 24
We’re always hearing international conflicts framed as a battle between Free Democracies and Evil Autocracies. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FREE DEMOCRACY AND AN EVIL AUTOCRACY? Well, let’s look at the situation in Gaza to help us understand the distinction.
In Evil Autocracies the leaders commit genocide for hateful and racist reasons, whereas in Free Democracies the leaders commit genocide for noble and righteous reasons.
In Evil Autocracies the police are summoned to break up student protests in order to ensure the safety of the government, whereas in Free Democracies the police are summoned to break up student protests in order to ensure the safety of the students.
In Evil Autocracies the government monitors political speech on university campuses to suppress dissent, whereas in Free Democracies the government monitors political speech on university campuses to suppress “antisemitism”.
In Evil Autocracies the government controls the media and ensures that it only reports information which serves their interests, whereas in Free Democracies it is billionaires who do this.
In Evil Autocracies they imprison journalists who report inconvenient facts, whereas in Free Democracies they do this also, but mostly they just kill them with airstrikes.
In Evil Autocracies they massacre civilians with bullets and blades, whereas in Free Democracies they massacre civilians with military explosives and siege warfare, like civilized people.
In Evil Autocracies political speech is heavily restricted by the government, whereas in Free Democracies political speech is heavily restricted by Silicon Valley in collaboration with the government.
In Evil Autocracies they mow down disobedient civilians and bury them in mass graves, whereas in Free Democracies they mow down disobedient civilians and bury them in mass graves, and then their allies solemnly say they’re waiting for more information about these very serious allegations.
In Evil Autocracies they bomb hospitals, schools and religious centers, assassinate cultural leaders and journalists, and deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the name of inflicting death and terror, whereas in Free Democracies they bomb hospitals, schools and religious centers, assassinate cultural leaders and journalists, and deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the name of self-defense.
In Evil Autocracies they flagrantly disregard international law, whereas in Free Democracies they flagrantly disregard international law.
In Evil Autocracies they drop bombs on areas full of civilians because of genocidal bloodlust, whereas in Free Democracies they drop bombs on areas full of civilians because of “human shields”.
In Evil Autocracies you’ll get thrown in prison if you go on TV and speak out against the government, whereas in Free Democracies nobody who would speak out against the government is ever allowed to have a TV job.
In Evil Autocracies people are afraid to speak out against war crimes, injustice and oppression because they’ll be punished, whereas in Free Democracies people are afraid to speak out against war crimes, injustice and oppression because they’ll be accused of hating Jews.
In Evil Autocracies they arm terrorists with AK-47s and RPGs to help them inflict violence and suffering upon the innocent, whereas in Free Democracies they arm terrorists with war planes and 2,000-pound bombs to help them inflict violence and suffering upon the innocent.
In Evil Autocracies people are kept too brutalized and cowed to rise up against their rulers, whereas in Free Democracies people are kept too propagandized and indoctrinated to rise up against their rulers.
In Evil Autocracies the media feed the public a nonstop deluge of propaganda and people know it’s propaganda, whereas in Free Democracies the media feed the public a nonstop deluge of propaganda and people think it’s the news.
"I suppose deceptive headlines don’t hurt quite as much as being beaten to the ground and hauled off to jail. But they are even more effective, I think, at quietening dissent."
Not sure about that, Bill. I think video of people being beaten is pretty effective as far as quashing dissent. I certainly wouldn't want to be marching in the streets these days, let alone protesting on campus.
Maybe. But the outrage produced by videos etc. of abusive arrests tends to fuel the protests, whereas the headlines are all about keeping people asleeo, together with telling them what to think.
The videos of abuse may indeed spark outrage and lead to more protests, but I'd say only the most dedicated will be involved. It takes a courageous person to engage in protest, knowing it could lead to physical injury. Even as a college kid, I would have shied away from that.
Last evening, LO posted this to Bill's WordPress Bracing Views:
LO April 29, 2024 at 5:27 PM
I’d like to thank the various government agencies, training groups, weapons manufacturers, propaganda pushers & other coordinated interests for increasing an interest in less war & more accountability from the elected, appointed & employed…whether that was their intent or if they even know they’re doing it.
Those who prefer peace couldn’t achieve such a thing without the State unmasking itself and telling the world what it really is. Please continue…
Uniformed, armed and protected (and usually beefy) people weighing in on other people who get beaten and arrested and, now more than ever, identified to be punished later on with job loss.
It is difficult for me to understand why anyone in the United States in 2024 would willingly don a uniform either for the military or for the domestic military we call the police. In doing so one is committed to the command of power, right up to killing people. One gives up one's individuality to become a tool in a "force" thereby enabling/empowering that force with one's own body while being helpless to act against it even if one wants to.
It seems to me the only way to maintain one's sanity in this submission with no choice is to form a bond with others in the same position and build up an idea of us-vs-them, giving the group cohesion and allowing each member to convince him/herself that what one does is right and in support of one's group.
Thus we have individuals in a country that emphasizes individualism and has many with the attitude of "nobody is going to tell me what to do" join up and freely, even enthusiastically, give it all up voluntarily to become "the force" all masked and uniformed to go against what we all claim is precious.
I don't have a problem with protests. I do have a problem with turning campuses into tent cities. Students and professors already have a place to live so who are these squatters?
It's a Golden Rule thing. You know, "do unto others ..." I own a house with a front yard. Would I object to strangers putting up tents in my front yard? Yes I would. And somehow I think that if I asked them politely to take their tents and themselves away they would refuse. So I would call the police and have them removed. All reasonable actions on my part. And frankly I don't care if they get noticed. Let them start a Facebook group if they want to get noticed.
And of course there is the absence of coverage. I read the Daily Mail to monitor the pulse of what is deemed interesting and shocking and about 4 or 5 days ago the campus protests were always the lead article skewed to the right and featuring conservative/establishment figures reacting with horror at the mere sight of the protests and the "attacks on Israel". Then the Daily Mail simply dropped any coverage so far below the digital fold that it's nearly impossible to find.
If "outrage" does not stop the protests, then consign the news to the deepest rabbit hole available. Yes, there always has been wretched MSM coverage or ignoring of reality, but it was fascinating to watch such a blatant 180 degree turn around from a media source that depends on fueling the fires of whatever can most alarm or titillate the reader.
Of course when the police decided to "professionally" clear the encampments, the Daily Mail was all over the action. But what struck me most about this article was how the framing of the narrative is more along the lines of this is "war", not just arresting protestors. The opening lines and videos of the tearing down of the Palestinian flag and the raising of "Old Glory" immediately brought to mind the iconic image of the construction workers raising the American Flag amidst the wreckage of the two towers. The message is that we are at war with the enemy, Palestinians and Arabs, and no quarter is being considered or given. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13371981/nypd-flag-city-college-new-york-protesters-palestine-israel.html
There are 2 sides in the US. You are either pro-imperialism or anti-imperialism.
Imperialism is not "invading countries" or "militarism". Imperialism is the highest form of capitalism. It is monopoly capitalism. Both Democrats and Republicans are pro-imperialism. They just highlight different conflicts. Dems won't face reality about Ukraine, and 400,000 dead Ukrainians, and a completely PROVOKED war that has accelerated the collapse of the US. Money printing for Raytheon is just putting off the collapse of US imperialism.
Republicans won't face reality about China. They are told to hate China. The truth is that it was OUR US GOVERNMENT that destroyed American workers by moving factories to China for cheap labor. China has raised one billion people out of abject poverty while our government feeds talking points to argue about stuff that is completely meaningless.
Like, i really want to scream when Dems talk about abortion. Like, Omg. How they are blind to people who cannot afford a gallon of milk- it is really stunning. 10 years ago I cared about abortion rights. Now, are you f'in kidding me? It's almost like if someone was protesting the US supreme court's abortion decision in the rubble of Palestine. The absolute disconnect between material economic reality and the government and media's talking points is absolutely unbelievable.
Let's not forget Obama could have codified Roe v. Wade into law in 2009. He and the Dems chose not to. They prefer to fundraise off the issue, always promising to do something but never quite doing it.
The Dems NEED the attacks on reproductive liberty and rely on it to rally their partisans. While I think civil rights are indeed important, much of the issues today seem intentionally cultivated and stoked as part of a culture war that serves to hold partisans in their respective camps. The culture war thus powers each side of the duopoly, perpetuates an illusion of differentiation between them, and obscures and distracts from the most fundamentally / existentially important issues upon which there is for the most part a bipartisan consensus.
YES.
Thank You for sharing that, Bill.
If tasers, handcuffs, tear gas, rubber bullets, and good old-fashioned truncheons don't work at quieting dissent, there's always the Ohio Option. It worked pretty well 54 years ago this coming Saturday, remember? For details, see https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCS-g3HwXdc .
Does this mean that Cheney and Halliburton will finally spend that money the Bush administration gave them? I thought it was just a donation to Cheney from the taxpayers. It'll be wonderful to see it actually put to use. A shame to waste taxpayer dollars. I may even get a place to live!
Ray, unfortunately this is nothing new. I had a friend who was in the 82nd Airborne at Fort Bragg, NC in the 80s. He said there was a nearby unit training behind a fence that looked to him and his buddies like they were being trained for deployment in the US.
Stopped listening yo PBS many years ago. 60 minutes as well. Same for MSM. It's independent news for me that I pay for now.
I don't recall if it was one of the Gray Zone guys or someone else, but a paraphrased quote - made as a warning, was that Americans need to understand they will surrender some of their civil liberties for the protection of Israel and any statements critical of it.
Corporatism killing the American dream.
The industry of war and cancer at its best, sending in the troops to brutalize those asking for ceasefire.
Using its weaponized supremacists laws to brutalize everyone opposing its commissioned Holocaust, arming nations to kill more and vetoing resolutions which would end of the violence and bring peace.
All in the name of an industry of death, sold as the only one “safe and effective” for to save lives.
War is peace, opposing Genocide criminal, inform consent useless, freedom to privacy a form of terrorism, this is the USA in April 2024.
America needs its own carnation revolution
A revolution which must depose the eugenists which want to kill, destroy, and dehumanize people, and replace them with those which can guide the US and the rest of the world back into the rule of law under the bill of rights and the once great constitution, and back on its right tracks for freedom and justice for a free world.
The world is awaking to nightmare and lies and history is being written.
Save Palestine and save the US for to save the people of the rest of the world from the madness of those which in them now sees only numbers to trey for their personal commodities.
GAZA SHOWS US THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN EVIL AUTOCRACIES AND FREE DEMOCRACIES
by Caitlin Johnstone 30 Apr 24
We’re always hearing international conflicts framed as a battle between Free Democracies and Evil Autocracies. WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FREE DEMOCRACY AND AN EVIL AUTOCRACY? Well, let’s look at the situation in Gaza to help us understand the distinction.
In Evil Autocracies the leaders commit genocide for hateful and racist reasons, whereas in Free Democracies the leaders commit genocide for noble and righteous reasons.
In Evil Autocracies the police are summoned to break up student protests in order to ensure the safety of the government, whereas in Free Democracies the police are summoned to break up student protests in order to ensure the safety of the students.
In Evil Autocracies the government monitors political speech on university campuses to suppress dissent, whereas in Free Democracies the government monitors political speech on university campuses to suppress “antisemitism”.
In Evil Autocracies the government controls the media and ensures that it only reports information which serves their interests, whereas in Free Democracies it is billionaires who do this.
In Evil Autocracies they imprison journalists who report inconvenient facts, whereas in Free Democracies they do this also, but mostly they just kill them with airstrikes.
In Evil Autocracies they massacre civilians with bullets and blades, whereas in Free Democracies they massacre civilians with military explosives and siege warfare, like civilized people.
In Evil Autocracies political speech is heavily restricted by the government, whereas in Free Democracies political speech is heavily restricted by Silicon Valley in collaboration with the government.
In Evil Autocracies they mow down disobedient civilians and bury them in mass graves, whereas in Free Democracies they mow down disobedient civilians and bury them in mass graves, and then their allies solemnly say they’re waiting for more information about these very serious allegations.
In Evil Autocracies they bomb hospitals, schools and religious centers, assassinate cultural leaders and journalists, and deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the name of inflicting death and terror, whereas in Free Democracies they bomb hospitals, schools and religious centers, assassinate cultural leaders and journalists, and deliberately target civilian infrastructure in the name of self-defense.
In Evil Autocracies they flagrantly disregard international law, whereas in Free Democracies they flagrantly disregard international law.
In Evil Autocracies they drop bombs on areas full of civilians because of genocidal bloodlust, whereas in Free Democracies they drop bombs on areas full of civilians because of “human shields”.
In Evil Autocracies you’ll get thrown in prison if you go on TV and speak out against the government, whereas in Free Democracies nobody who would speak out against the government is ever allowed to have a TV job.
In Evil Autocracies people are afraid to speak out against war crimes, injustice and oppression because they’ll be punished, whereas in Free Democracies people are afraid to speak out against war crimes, injustice and oppression because they’ll be accused of hating Jews.
In Evil Autocracies they arm terrorists with AK-47s and RPGs to help them inflict violence and suffering upon the innocent, whereas in Free Democracies they arm terrorists with war planes and 2,000-pound bombs to help them inflict violence and suffering upon the innocent.
In Evil Autocracies people are kept too brutalized and cowed to rise up against their rulers, whereas in Free Democracies people are kept too propagandized and indoctrinated to rise up against their rulers.
In Evil Autocracies the media feed the public a nonstop deluge of propaganda and people know it’s propaganda, whereas in Free Democracies the media feed the public a nonstop deluge of propaganda and people think it’s the news.
Source: https://www.caitlinjohnst.one/p/gaza-shows-us-the-difference-between .
"I suppose deceptive headlines don’t hurt quite as much as being beaten to the ground and hauled off to jail. But they are even more effective, I think, at quietening dissent."
Not sure about that, Bill. I think video of people being beaten is pretty effective as far as quashing dissent. I certainly wouldn't want to be marching in the streets these days, let alone protesting on campus.
Maybe. But the outrage produced by videos etc. of abusive arrests tends to fuel the protests, whereas the headlines are all about keeping people asleeo, together with telling them what to think.
I agree completely about the headlines.
The videos of abuse may indeed spark outrage and lead to more protests, but I'd say only the most dedicated will be involved. It takes a courageous person to engage in protest, knowing it could lead to physical injury. Even as a college kid, I would have shied away from that.
Last evening, LO posted this to Bill's WordPress Bracing Views:
LO April 29, 2024 at 5:27 PM
I’d like to thank the various government agencies, training groups, weapons manufacturers, propaganda pushers & other coordinated interests for increasing an interest in less war & more accountability from the elected, appointed & employed…whether that was their intent or if they even know they’re doing it.
Those who prefer peace couldn’t achieve such a thing without the State unmasking itself and telling the world what it really is. Please continue…
Uniformed, armed and protected (and usually beefy) people weighing in on other people who get beaten and arrested and, now more than ever, identified to be punished later on with job loss.
It is difficult for me to understand why anyone in the United States in 2024 would willingly don a uniform either for the military or for the domestic military we call the police. In doing so one is committed to the command of power, right up to killing people. One gives up one's individuality to become a tool in a "force" thereby enabling/empowering that force with one's own body while being helpless to act against it even if one wants to.
It seems to me the only way to maintain one's sanity in this submission with no choice is to form a bond with others in the same position and build up an idea of us-vs-them, giving the group cohesion and allowing each member to convince him/herself that what one does is right and in support of one's group.
Thus we have individuals in a country that emphasizes individualism and has many with the attitude of "nobody is going to tell me what to do" join up and freely, even enthusiastically, give it all up voluntarily to become "the force" all masked and uniformed to go against what we all claim is precious.
I don't have a problem with protests. I do have a problem with turning campuses into tent cities. Students and professors already have a place to live so who are these squatters?
I guess we need a new federal handbook for how to protest with political correctness and safety for all to follow. Another failure of government.
It's a simple thing. Don't camp out on other people's property without their permission. Basic courtesy.
It's a Golden Rule thing. You know, "do unto others ..." I own a house with a front yard. Would I object to strangers putting up tents in my front yard? Yes I would. And somehow I think that if I asked them politely to take their tents and themselves away they would refuse. So I would call the police and have them removed. All reasonable actions on my part. And frankly I don't care if they get noticed. Let them start a Facebook group if they want to get noticed.
Up until October 7th, anyone just slightly to the left of the late Pol Pot was termed "far right."
I have not been a fan of NPR, and it is toeing the line, but it ain't FOX.