Georgia:Don’t confuse them with facts

Saturday, 11 May 2024 — Strategic Culture Foundation

Georgia

 

 

By Stephen Karganovic

Time will tell what measures the Georgian authorities will employ to ensure the integrity of their country, Stephen Karganovic writes.

Extraordinary events are taking place in the streets of Tbilisi. Normally, agitated crowds should be demanding increased transparency in public affairs and access to all the facts they need to efficaciously exercise their civic duties. In Georgia, they want the opposite. The agitated crowd’s vociferous demand is for the facts to be withheld from them.

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Video: Hiroshima-Nagasaki Dress Rehearsal. The Dangers of Nuclear War. Michel Chossudovsky with James Corbett

Saturday, 11 May 2024 — Michel Chossudovsky

Oppenheimer and the U.S. War Department’s Secret September 15, 1945 ‘Doomsday Blueprint’ to ‘Wipe the Soviet Union off the Map.’”

Michel Chossudovsky and The Corbett Report

The original source is The Corbett ReportToday, Michel Chossudovsky of

GlobalResearch.ca joins us to discuss his recent article entitled:

The Hiroshima Nagasaki ‘Dress Rehearsal’: Oppenheimer and the U.S. War Department’s Secret September 15, 1945 ‘Doomsday Blueprint’ to ‘Wipe the Soviet Union off the Map.’”

Business Insider

Washington Post


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Antonio Carlos Jobim and Willie Rosario

Radio Gladys Palmera

Let’s see this wonder. Antonio Carlos Brasileiro de Almeida Jobim, Tom Jobim, performing his classic Wave at the Free Jazz Festival in Sao Paulo at Pacaembu Stadium in September 1993, a year before he died in December 1994. Here he plays alongside Ron Carter, Oscar Castro-Neves, Paulo Jobim, Harvey Mason and Alex Acuña, a star ensemble under the direction of Herbie Hancock:

Empire Managers Explain Why This New Protest Movement Scares Them

Thursday, 9 May 2024 — Caitlin Johnson

Caitlin Johnstone

 

featured image

Listen to a reading of this article (reading by Tim Foley):

The US secretary of state and a Bilderberg surveillance tech oligarch have both made some very interesting admissions about the burgeoning protest movement against the US-backed slaughter in Gaza and the problems it poses for the empire they help run.

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In Africa They Say, ‘France, Get Out!’: The Nineteenth Newsletter (2024)

Thursday, 9 May 2024 — The Tricontinental

Liby Ousmane Lougué (Burkina Faso), Papa Roger, 2020.

Dear friends,

Greetings from the desk of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research.

On 2 October 1958, Guinea declared its independence from France. Guinea’s President Ahmed Sékou Touré clashed against France’s President Charles De Gaulle, who tried to strong arm Touré into abandoning the project for independence. Touré said of De Gaulle’s threats, ‘Guinea prefers poverty in freedom to riches in slavery’. In 1960, the French government launched a covert operation called Operation Persil to undermine Guinea and overthrow Touré. The operation was named after a laundry detergent, used to wash away dirt. This provides a clear window into the French attitude toward Touré’s government. France’s weapons shipment to opposition groups in Guinea was interdicted in Senegal, whose President Mamadou Dia complained to the French government. France would not tolerate African independence, but the people of Africa would not tolerate French dominion.

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Everything we know is a lie

Thursday, 9 May 2024 — Dot Commie

How can I put this? We live in a gaudy, sometimes, bubble, insulated from the world, fed an illusion that strokes our vanity, our egos, our presumptions but especially our fears. A world, so complete, so walled off from the real world and for so long that it’s impossible to see beyond the Lie. Out of it as if we live in a walled city. It consumes us all, even questions are prepared for us as are the answers.

The Lie feeds our vanities and our fears, our assumptions. Everything we think we know is a lie, so complete, down to the tiniest detail. In every direction when, if, we care to look we see, the Lie, a lie that’s impossible to challenge because it’s impossible to recognise it as a lie. The Lie consumes everything. The Lie is ancient, embedded in the ruins of our memories.

Oh it’s a clever lie, cleverly constructed. It’s deep, it has many levels, many layers like an onion. Peeling back a lie reveals another lie. It’s the Lie that preserves the status quo, that’s stops the questions. That permits no questioning.

The Lie is rooted in privilege and power, power accumulated, stolen over the centuries, sucked from the earth, the sky, the water, our bodies, our minds. Transported, the Lie feeds the privileged. In turn, that privilege is used to perpetuate the Lie.

I’m struck by the history of racism (and its brother, sexism) and the role both have played in creating the Lie. Both are, of course the progeny of a class society, specifically that of European capitalism. One could say that it’s an historical accident, I mean, why Western Europe and white people and specifically, Christianity and its progeny, slavery, the fuel of the industrial revolution and again, its brother patriarchy, the rationale that justified Western industrial capitalism? Paradoxically, it’s the so-called Age of Enlightenment that rationalised the rise of industrial capitalism. It was, after all, the philosopher Hobbes, who described the human body as if it were nothing more than a machine:

“Life is but a motion of limbs… For what is the heart, but a spring; and the nerves, but so many strings; and the joints but so many wheels, giving motion to the whole body.” — Hobbes, Leviathan, 1650)

And in the 17th century, far from being the Age of Enlightenment, Hobbes’ contemporaries described their time as the Iron Century and with good reason. The rise of mercantile capitalism, the suppression of women’s role in the economy and in society that, along with slavery, literally supplied the wealth that powered the Industrial and Scientific Revolution that in turn, made possible the rise of the Royal Navy and we know what that led to, or do we? It’s during this time we see the conscious suppression/revision of Europe’s organic connection to Africa and Asia and the knowledge those Ancient civilisations bequeathed to Europe, stolen by Europe. This disconnect enabled European capitalism to begin the task of rewriting the history of humanity, supplanting, especially the so-called Middle East and North Africa, with Greece as the source of European civilisation. By the time of the 19th century, the European colonial powers of England, France, Holland, Spain, Germany and Portugal had, between them, conquered Africa, Asia and the Americas and literally sucked them dry of the resources, both material and human, that built the European industrial powerhouse. So the Lie was built not only on the theft of land and resources but on the appropriation of the knowledge of our collective past by rewriting our history in its entirety.

If I am right in urging the overthrow of the Aryan Model and its replacement by the Revised Ancient one, it will be necessary to not only rethink the fundamental bases of ‘Western Civilisation’ but also to recognise the penetration of racism and ‘continental chauvinism’ into all our historiography, or philosophy of writing history. The Ancient Model had no major ‘internal’ deficiencies, or weaknesses in explanatory power. It was overthrown for external reasons. For 18th– and 19th century Romantics and racists it was simply intolerable for Greece, which was seen not merely as the epitome of Europe but also as it pure childhood, to have been the result of the mixture of native Europeans and colonizing Africans and Semites. Therefore the Ancient Model had to be overthrown and replaced by something more acceptable.”

‘Black Athena The Afroasiatic roots of European Civilisation Volume 1: The Fabrication of Ancient Greece 1785-1985’, by Martin Bernal

Bernal’s superb history took an age to get published, because, as he says, the idea that Africans and Asians could be the source of European ‘civilisation’ was just too much to swallow, not only for 19th century racists but also for 20th century racist publishers. As is the case today, the role of academics in the revision of history is central to the Lie and what could be further proof of this than the role of universities in the suppression of the revulsion felt by their students (and some staff) over the slaughter of Palestinians by the Zionist imperialists? Furthermore, the perpetuation of the myth of Zionism as some kind of ‘saviour’ of the Jewish ‘race’ and the role the media plays in promoting this myth, is only possible because the history of Zionism as its perceived by the majority of the public, is a total fabrication and especially the role of British imperialism in the Lie, a role that has been entirely suppressed in the public discourse. This is of course, just the tip of the iceberg. When one digs deeper into this created reality, we find that nothing escapes the Lie and I mean nothing! But how is this possible? We live in a culture saturated in data, coming at us 24/7, it’s like trying to walk on quicksand, it sucks you in. Perhaps this is why. We’re blinded by information, we’re drowning in data! Discriminating between truth and falsehood becomes virtually impossible, it’s as if our world has been dropped into a giant blender. In the process, critical thinking is homogenised into a soup of non-sense. Everything is everything and everything is nothing. Is it any wonder therefore, that the ruling class shit a brick when the Worldwide Web came along? The potential of the Web to blow the entire fantasy apart eventually sank into the power-crazed brains of the ruling class, they had to repossess it! Such power in the hands of the ‘Great Unwashed’ was unthinkable. Today, I came across this:

“During a vitriolic rant about university demonstrators at the Ash Carter Exchange on Innovation and National Security on Tuesday, Palantir CEO Alex Karp came right out and said that if those on the side of the protesters win the debate on this issue, the west will lose the ability to wage wars.” – ‘

Empire Managers Explain Why This New Protest Movement Scares Them’ – Caitlin Johnstone, 9 May, 2024

Karp didn’t mince his words:

“We think these things that are happening across college campuses are a sideshow. No, they are the show.”

“If we lose the intellectual debate, you will not be able to deploy any army in the West, ever.”

#Palantir CEO Alex Karp at #SCSPAIExpo2024 pic.twitter.com/MwQoDlSMFw

Palantir (@PalantirTech) May 8, 2024

Note Karp’s reference to “los[ing the] intellectual debate”, the ruling class always speak the truth (as they see it) when talking amongst themselves. It’s the difference between reading the Financial Times and reading the Daily Mail, or in the US between the Wall Street Journal and the Daily News. One of the central objectives of neoliberalism has been to transform education into a tool, not only to supply the brains to run their Empire for them but to ensure that real, critical thinking is snuffed out. Clearly, at least in the US, they have failed dismally in achieving the latter. In turn it explains the vicious crackdown by the Security State, not only in the US but across the entire ‘Collective West’ on all opposition to its wars of conquest disguised as ‘defending human rights’. It seems that the proxy war launched against Russia in the Ukraine and the genocidal holocaust launched against the Palestinian people, has exposed the vulnerable underbelly of the Empire. It reveals that the ruling class of the West doesn’t have it all its own way. That change is possible. The Lie does have its limits.

NATO ‘No Boots on the Ground’ Ukraine Strategy Meant to Silence West’s ‘Loudmouths’

Wednesday, 8 May 2024 — Sputnik

NATO's multinational battalion headed by the USA in Orzysz, Poland. - Sputnik International, 1920, 08.05.2024 © Sputnik / Stringer

In the wake of recent Western threats to deploy ground troops in Ukraine, along with other aggressive steps threatening to escalate NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine, Russia announced upcoming tactical nuclear missile drills to “cool down the ‘hot heads’.”

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Israel’s Brutality Draws on British Rule

Wednesday, 8 May 2024 — Consortium News

Britain’s “mandate” over Palestine from 1920-48 left an apparatus of repression which Israel inherited and still uses today in its ferocious war on Palestinians, writes A. Bustos.

Members of the U.K. Royal Commission during the Palestine “disturbances” of 1936. (Library of Congress)

By A. Bustos
Declassified UK

Israel’s present use of collective punishment against Palestinians owes much of its origins to British rule in Palestine.

So too do the aerial bombardments, military raids, use of  Palestinian civilians as human shields and the infrastructure of military law deployed against an occupied, overwhelmingly civilian population.

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Boycott called off as Arnolfini apologises for anti-Palestinian censorship

Wednesday, 8 May 2024– Artists for Palestine

Brilliant news!

Thanks to your commitment and thanks to the tenacity and care of a group of artists in Bristol, Arnolfini gallery have published a detailed apology for cancelling events curated by Bristol Palestine Film Festival back in November, and have committed to reparative work.

You can read our report on what happened here – including statements by Bristol Artists for Palestine, The Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI), and of course Arnolfini’s statement.

The story has been reported in Arts News, Arts Professional and Bristol Cable, and we believe the repercussions will be felt far and wide. Bristol Palestine Film Festival’s statement can be found here.

Our official statement:

‘We welcome Arnolfini’s statement and applaud the hard work of those involved in the mediation process.

We hope this sends a clear message to other cultural institutions.  Amid a repressive political and media climate, cultural institutions are too often failing in their duty to uphold freedom of expression and to protect against discrimination.

At a time of unprecedented dehumanisation of Palestinian people, artists and audiences expect cultural spaces to amplify voices that articulate the realities of Palestinian experiences and aspirations, as vital contributions to cultural understanding and to our shared humanity’.

With love and solidarity.

The Electronic Intifada is hosting a livestream today

Wednesday, 8 May 2024 — The Electronic Intifada

1900 Palestine time / 1900 Amman time / 1600 GMT / 1700 UK / 1800 CET / 11 am CT / 12 pm ET / 9 am PT

Short-lived scenes of celebration after Hamas announced that it had accepted a truce proposal on Monday gave way to renewed fear and confusion in Gaza, as Israel rejected the negotiated deal that had been signed off on by the United States, Egypt and Qatar.

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The beast of ideology lifts the lid on transformation

Monday, 6 May 2024 — Strategic Culture Foundation

By Alastair Crooke

The police repression of student protests exposes sheer intolerance towards those voicing condemnation against the violence in Gaza.

The Transformation is accelerating. The harsh, often violent, police repression of student protests across the U.S. and Europe, in wake of the continuing Palestinian massacres, exposes sheer intolerance towards those voicing condemnation against the violence in Gaza.

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Video: The Globalization of War. America’s “Long War” against Humanity. Reveal The Lies. Confront the War Criminals

Saturday, 4 May 2024 — Michel Chossudovsky

“When the Lie becomes the Truth, there is no Moving Backwards”

The world is at a dangerous crossroads. The United States and its allies have launched a military adventure which threatens the future of humanity.

The ultimate objective is World conquest under the cloak of “human rights” and “Western democracy”.

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Covid-19 Response and Excess Deaths

Monday, 6 May 2024 — HART

By Dr Ros Jones [personal comments in square brackets – RJ]

On 18th April, Andrew Bridgen finally secured a full length debate on this vexed topic, the original text of which is available here. Full length in theory, but shortly before the debate was due to begin, the deputy Speaker told him he only had 15 minutes instead of the 30 minutes he had prepared. After he complained to the Speaker’s office, the compromise was 20 minutes, as highlighted in an interview he gave afterwards.
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Gaza resistance sparks youth revolt in the belly of imperialism

Monday, 6 May 2024 — The Communists

Scenes reminiscent of the anti-Vietnam war movement are playing out as US students refuse to stay silent in the face of academia’s complicity.

Proletarian writers

Students in the USA are risking both present academic and future career prospects to oppose US academia’s widespread collaboration with and investment in zionist Israel, its institutions and especially its arms industry. Their example is one that should be followed by workers and students everywhere. We need to build the British wing of an international ‘Hands off Palestine’ campaign that will stop the genocidal regime in its tracks by starving it of every aspect of the outside assistance it relies on to carry out its crimes.
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Humboldt and Gaza: Berlin Bulletin No. 222, May 4, 2024

Sunday, 5 May 2024 — MR Online

By Victor Grossman

No books were burned this time in early May. But there were ironic parallels, some all too alarming!

It was May 10th in Germany’s terrible year 1933, Hitler had been in power for hardly three months, when students and staff emptied the university libraries of forbidden books and threw them, an estimated 20,000 books by over a hundred authors, into the flames of a giant bonfire. Most authors were German—Jewish, atheist, liberal, leftist, Bertolt Brecht, Anna Seghers, Sigmund Freud and  Magnus Hirschfeld, but also some foreign works were thrown into the flames—Maxim Gorki, Hemingway, Jack London, Dos Passos.

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May Reflections: Multipolarity is the hope of workers around the world

Friday, 3 May 2024 — Strategic Culture Foundation

By Lucas Leiroz

Mayday

Only in a new geopolitical order will it be possible to overcome current economic and social problems.

May is one of the most important months of the year. This month several relevant dates are celebrated, starting with Labor Day. May 1st is celebrated all over the world. Among Western nations, this is a time to celebrate the important achievements of workers, such as their labor rights, while in the former socialist bloc the date serves as a reminder to mobilize the masses in the constant struggle between capital and labor.

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