The Weekly Watch
Collusion, Illusion, and Delusion
Will the Russiagate zombie ever die? Is there no wooden stake which will kill this vampire of distraction? Now, it is the FBI! But only after the Russians invaded the brain of Nunes. You mean the FBI was colluding? The FBI has a long history of being tainted with crimes which are obscured and hidden by illusion. Like maybe the JFK assassination, and MLK, and RFK? Perhaps even 911 itself? Lee Camp had a good 10 minute expose of things the FBI has lost.
While everyone is focused on the “memo” there's all kinds of destructive policies sliding through under the radar. Evils like resource extraction in parks. Rapid appointment of RW judges. Tariffs on solar panels to slow down green energy. Imperialist corporate conquests of poor countries using debt as the new chains of slavery. But what's new?
You pull back the curtain and try to see what is really going on. I found several interesting pieces this week....
The Intercepted podcast this week was called “Hate of the Nation” had an insightful interview with journalist Juan González, as well as an interesting conversation with Naomi Klein. Also Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada discusses Israeli collusion with the Trump campaign and Mike Pence’s trip to Israel (1.5 hours with text) https://theintercept.com/2018/01/31/intercepted-podcast-hate-of-the-union/
Max Blumenthal, Phyllis Bennis, and Norman Solomon discuss President Trump's State of the Union. Rather than deliver a serious address, they say Trump offered a simplistic narrative designed to galvanize extremism. (20 min with text) http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
This interview with mindfulness proponent Robert Wright and Max Blumenthal starts out a little trite with a focus on identity politics, but it quickly morphs into a really interesting conversation. (49 min with quick links to topics in the notes, but no text)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wQMQezGyVos
I offer a simple pie graph to illustrate who is to be feared....
The rest of the world seems to understand who is the greatest threat to peace
Much of the illusion is created by the Military-Media Collusion
Occupying a country without the permission of the host government, as America is doing in Syria, contravenes international law, yet multiple media outlets have praised Tillerson’s intention to keep military troops in Syria indefinitely, in pursuit of the US’s “key end states for Syria,” including “post-Assad leadership,” the marginalization of Iran and the elimination of “weapons of mass destruction” that the US claims Syria has. https://fair.org/home/tillersons-promise-of-more-war-in-syria-gets-warm-...
A look at the slanted way Jacobin magizine covers or misrepresents the situation in Syria.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/jacobin-fueling-lies-syria/
Just follow the money
https://ourworldindata.org/military-spending
How about the way the media spins police abuse of power...copspeak.
https://fair.org/home/6-elements-of-police-spin-an-object-lesson-in-cops...
The fate of the LA Times tells a story of the decline of journalism.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/tronc-trump-journalism/
But what does the media want to talk about? The Memo.
The “memo” is more about creating a political smokescreen than exposing FBI abuses of FISA: Nunes, whose staff wrote the controversial House Intelligence Committee memo, voted for the bill that, in January, reauthorized mass surveillance powers under Section 702 of FISA.
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/01/release-the-memo-trump-russia-fisa/
The just-released Nunes memo alleges surveillance abuses by the FBI and Justice Department in their handling of the Trump-Russia probe. Former FBI Special Agent Coleen Rowley and award-winning journalist Max Blumenthal weigh in (25 min sorry no text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21049:Max-Blumenthal-and-Ex-FBI-Agent-Co...
The partisan fight over Rep. Devin Nunes' memo is consuming Washington and even leading prominent liberals to question if Nunes is a Russian agent. Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus at New York University and Princeton University, says Russiagate has now become "much more than McCarthyism." (12 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21038:Russiagate-is-Dangerous%2C-Will-Wa...
Jimmy Dore, Steph, and Ron suggest the FISA secret court and memo is a sham. (30 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HWb5yOFCUU0
You control the conversation by limiting dissent...
Eight states are working on bills that would create new penalties for people who attempt to disrupt the operations of “critical infrastructure” such as pipelines.
https://theintercept.com/2018/02/02/ohio-iowa-pipeline-protest-critical-...
There is some good news. A federal judge on Tuesday ruled that a Kansas law designed to punish people who boycott Israel is an unconstitutional denial of free speech.
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/31/kansas-bds-law-free-speech/
The FBI was behind the shut down of OWS
http://www.justiceonline.org/fbi_files_ows
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2012/dec/29/fbi-coordinated-cr...
We are all Immigrants
The first nation people have a different take on imigration
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/this-land-was-stolen-for-you-and-me/
They also suffered a holocaust
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/remember-bear-river-massacre-climax-am...
Paulette Jordan, a 37-year-old Idaho state representative and member of the Coeur d’Alene Tribe, is running in a competitive primary in the state against Boise businessman A.J. Balukoff — who previously ran for governor in 2014 but lost to incumbent Republican Governor Butch Otter (who is retiring and will not seek re-election in 2018).
https://www.theindigenousamericans.com/2018/01/05/meet-anti-trump-candid...
Education
GOP fat cats who make up the powerful donor network led by billionaire industrialist Charles Koch recently met in California and declared their intention to “fundamentally transform America’s education system,” including the K-12 sector.
http://educationopportunitynetwork.org/how-public-schools-became-the-koc...
What about Puerto Rico's schools? They are closing 25% of them. Their students have no choice but to head to the mainland
http://www.newsweek.com/puerto-rico-plans-close-hundreds-schools-794171
MN teachers strike as money pours out of schools and into the Super bowl
https://theintercept.com/2018/01/26/st-paul-teachers-union-strike/
The Economy
During his State of the Union speech, Trump touted the recent stock market boom as proof of how well the U.S. is doing. However, as economist Bill Black explains, the boom has nothing to do with new investment (10 min with text) http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21027:A-Booming-Stock-Market-Does-Not-Me...
Growing inequality is a natural process of capitalism. Richard Wolff (2.5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BM3V_ic8QFE
Are big tax cuts and a soaring stock market good for working people? Paul Jay hosts a discussion with Robert Pollin, Stephanie Kelton, and James Henry (43 min with text) http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21022:Trump%27s-Economic-Nationalism%3A-...
Richard Wolff explains the health care fiasco in the US and discusses the effect of technology on the role of workers (15 min) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-LPvbzwllY
Chris Hedges talks with Carl Anthony, Author of “The Earth, The City, and the Hidden Narrative of Race,” discusses architecture as a form of oppression in the United States. (28 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xf8tJY7AlMI
A quick look around the world
We have a simple foreign policy. Let our corporations extract your resources and abuse your people as cheap labor or else!!!
Consider Zambia
There needs to be scrutiny on these multinational corporations that have made it their business to drain the wealth out of Africa while sanctimoniously offering their small donations towards the acute suffering of the hungry and illiterate Zambian people.
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/132-more-blog-posts-...
The wars never slow down..
Things are still dicey in Syria. A Russian plane was shot down yesterday (1 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qonZpkqt7Wo
https://www.rt.com/news/417799-russia-missile-strike-su25-militants/
Did you pick up on the shift in our Imperialist policy announced by Mattis last week? It's not terrorism that is our enemy. It is the other major economic powers – Russia and China. Now they can justify another dozen aircraft carriers when we already have more than the rest of the world combined.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=afpk1g4qq6U (3.7 min)
Closer to home our policy stays the same...use, abuse, distort.
We recognize a fraudulent election in Honduras, and now preemptively annul the upcoming election in Venezuela. It all about control and resources....
Independent Filmmaker Jesse Freeston reports from Honduras on how the newly inaugurated President Hernandez lacks all legitimacy in the general population, not only because of the fraud allegations, but also because of the massive corruption scandals his government is covering up (20 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
More on the election coup (7 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
Venezuela
In an effort to discredit Venezuela's upcoming presidential election, the Trump administration is rallying conservative governments in Latin America to discredit the vote and isolate Venezuela. If the opposition enters the race divided and if new economic measures work, President Maduro could still win explains Lucas Koerner
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21050:Trump-Preemptively-Dismisses-Upcom...
The media spin against Venezuela is so blatant...horrible China is colluding with them!
https://oilprice.com/Latest-Energy-News/World-News/Venezuela-Skirts-US-S...
Brazil
Brazil's political elite is going after Lula and the Workers Party to stop them from running in this year's presidential election, says CEPR co-director Mark Weisbrot (15 min with text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&I...
The Environment
There's an effort to get politicians to pledge to no longer accept fossil fuel money
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:21015:Climate-SOTU%3A-Activists-Urge-Pol...
The plastics in the ocean are also killing coral.
https://climatenewsnetwork.net/coral-reefs-face-infection-risk-plastic/
Shale oil still isn't profitable
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Why-Is-The-Shale-Industry-Sti...
It's the stupid bowl!
Well, if you enjoy football have at it. I live in Alabama where it is considered downright insane not to be absorbed in all those folks running up and down the pasture trying not to step in something or get knocked down. Football has never been my cup of tea, and the injuries are part of the reason.
There was a bonus episode of Intercepted featuring Josh Begley, Shaun King and Donte Stallworth, a 10-year veteran of the NFL, to discuss brain injuries, the #TakeAKnee protests, and Trump’s attacks on athletes. https://theintercept.com/2018/02/01/the-nfls-violent-ballet-concussion/
The documentary Concussion Protocol can be viewed here: https://theintercept.com/2018/02/01/concussion-protocol/
So the focus of corporate media continues to shine on T-rump. His SOTU address and then the release of the “memo” has them all astir. Meanwhile there is little to no coverage of our illegal presence in Syria and the resulting invasion by Turkey. No discussion of the absurdity of our dismissal of Venezuela's inspected fair elections and acceptance of Honduras corrupt election coup. Absolutely no coverage of our and others exploitation of African countries. They rave over record high stocks and neglect income inequality. They promote their fossil fuel advertisers while misrepresenting the climate chaos we face. I started this piece asking if Russiagate will ever die. I think not. It is too useful.
Well friends, stay “woke”, keep speaking out, and let's continue to help each other understand the world.
Comments
Droning on about war....
on Ralph's podcast this week -
Investigative journalist Pratap Chatterjee joins us for a deep dive into his graphic non-fiction book “Verax: The True History of Whistleblowers, Drone Warfare, and Mass Surveillance,” which reveals the dark underbelly of how the U.S. conducts the so-called War on Terror. Also, Ralph deconstructs Donald Trump’s State of the Union address.
https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/drones-snowden-the-state-of-the-union/
Here's a review of the graphic novel
http://www.shelfabuse.com/graphic-novel-reviews/verax/
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank You, lookout, for helping us understanding the world.
the last week wasn't so good, was it? I was thinking how nice the world had been at those times I didn't understand nothing much at all. I longed for the times without the delusional internet collusions of my mind with my illusions. I wanted to get back to the stage of blissful ignorance.
So, I get practical for a second. I support the candidate Paulette Jordan in Idaho. I live a couple of thousand miles away, but the spirits move mountains and - as has been proven over and over by the intertubes talking heads - the ballot boxes as well. The Germans do what the Russians can do better. But we are as good to mess up minds. Never doubt the evil guys. Once evil, all the time evil, once being good at it, always being good at it. So, if Paulette Jordan doesn't win, you know who to blame. Germans. /s
Nothing for Ungood. I am heart- and spirit broken. Something has to to be done to fix that. Chris Hedges talked about the Christian Right connections into the Deep State. They destroy families, he said. True dat. Confirmed.
Have a good Sunday, all of you reading and writing here. It's a good place to call a home base for the ones with no home. It might be a total illusion and I am so delusional to love the collusion with the C99p place. Friends have to collude with friends, I think.
https://www.euronews.com/
I like our little community
We do try to help each other see what is going on. As scary as today's politics are, I find the threat to our planet even more important. First nations people think we borrow the Earth from the children. How I wish we could view the world in this way.
We are rushing toward destruction...
Accelerating the rape of the oceans
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/rhea-suh/trump-moves-open-90-percent-our-co...
Poisining prisoners?
https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/connection-between-mass-incarceration-and-e...
And trying to slow down green energy. The tariffs will raise the cost of solar power, resulting in a slowdown in growth for one of the fastest-growing employment sectors of America’s economy.
https://www.nrdc.org/experts/kevin-steinberger/trumps-solar-tariffs-unde...
On we go. Glad to "see" you this morning.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
on we have to go ... on the streets ... shouting, fighting,
occupying, and risk our lives. Yes. There needs to be a physical and legislative revolt. There is no other solution. Many, many more people have to hit the streets and protest.
I am in revolution mood today. I can't read more than the first paragraphs of everything, as I am so disgusted of reading the content, I have to stop reading to stay sane.
I want to stay healthy to be a better fighter.
https://www.euronews.com/
Can you see new green things outside or in?
Welcome a new world for them. It's near freezing (below) and snowing in tiny flakes, sideways.
I am going back to roots and collecting rocks. My car is full of little packages but I got in three. Two large amethysts and a 3" agatized ammonoid snail fossil. Preserved plants and corals are a love but I now enjoy (relatively) inexpensive crystals and not for their Woo factor.
Hey! my dear friends or soon-to-be's, JtC could use the donations to keep this site functioning for those of us who can still see the life preserver or flotsam in the water.
no green here yet...
but the trees are budded up. I noticed today the dogwoods look like they will bloom well this spring. A few years back the trees had just leafed out when we had a freeze. Killed all the emerging foliage - it was the first time anyone living around here ever saw that. The timing of the last freeze is kind of the issue. I've been pruning and cutting back plants on our place. I still hope to plant some more blueberries this winter.
Wishing you the best in your corner of the world.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
HI, riverlover, here where I am
it's s around zero degree celsius since weeks and we have such a grey-ish soup of a sky, you can't see any clouds, just a low grey pudding over your head. My sister looks out of the windows in our very beautiful garden and complains at least five times a day why it is not spring yet. And winter hasn't really started in earnest. No real snow here, just snwow/rain and not much of subzero temperature.
No, I can't see any greens out there yet, just all buds ready to come out anytime when it gets warmer. But we have lots of evergreen plants, including bamboo and rhododendron. I live in my sisters house, which is also the house I grew up in. My sister inherited it from my parents. I am just a guest/care taker and have no rights here. She doesn't like inside plants, so there are none and I am not allowed to have them.
There is one part of our garden, which is out of direct sight from the main house (so my sister doesn't see it) and that piece of land I am allowed to do what I want with. Last year I cleared it out, it was a northern jungle. I planted four fruit trees, and there were already two apple trees and a cherry tree, was which a gift I made to my father 25 years ago. I don't know, who was the idiot to replant that little tree back then and has abused it. It has lots of broken off branches and very few of the branches still carry fruits. Someone placed it near a fence in a dark corner and am so angry about such neglect.
My sister is a 'park' person, the garden has to look like a park and there is lots of lawn. It looks nice, because all trees and plants are very old by now, so it is a rare and beautiful park-like garden, but I feel it's a pity to do nothing more with the land than providing a "nice view". Next spring I will start a vegetable garden.
If I visit the US again, may be I can hop over to your March meeting and we can chat in person.
I can't get it out of my head that you own 20 acres of land. If you knew how crowded Germany is, you would never want to come here. Our garden is an acre and one of the last lots that size in a town of 35,000 people.
The green stuff will come again, always something to count on and hope for. I wish for you that springs comes soon and that you see some blue sky and the sun. I miss both. Sigh.
https://www.euronews.com/
Morning. I've purposely not read a damn thing about
the "Nunes memo". It's just another in a long line of political distractions that really doesn't matter to me and mine. It doesn't tell me anything I didn't already know and it won't change anything. From McCarthyism to the Pike Committee to Iran Contra, it's all the same bullshit we get from the duopoly political system. And they'll just keep rolling along unless enough people stand up and demand a change to this ridiculous political system.
Magic tricks are mainly distraction
The memo isn't the issue. It is meant to keep us from looking at the issues you bring up all the time...War, aggression, economic control.
They try to keep us divided. They are often aided by our own prejudice. I noticed the other day Ron Paul had a peace institute. Now I may not agree with his laissez-faire economics nor environmental regulations, but I can get on board with promoting peace with him and anyone else. Same with Tulsi, hardly perfect, but at least she went to visit with Assad. (BTW she was born on Samoa and I'm unsure if she can even run for president). Seems the whole political approach is a waste. It is issues and policies we must focus on, not poltics (IMO)
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Ya, I think the biggest way we're divided is through this
two party system. It literally divides the country into two competing tribes so to speak. That corresponds to the office of the president which is selected from one of the two parties. There you have people voting for Trump because they hate the liberals, Clinton and the democratic party and people voting for Clinton because they hate Trump, conservatives and the republican party. And there is no in between, no other valid options because the system and the conditioning of our society will not allow third party participation. When we read about politics and what's happening with our government, it's always about the democrats vs republicans, republicans vs democrats. Just like now with this Russiagate thing. It forces people to take sides or not participate. We want to focus on the important issues but we're forced to follow along with the agenda the duopoly and the corporate media set.
I keep thinking we can unite people...
...in a good anti-war movement. Everyone I talk with (right and left) agree that we should stop these wars and re-invest in our nation. Sadly what people want is not reflected in the system because TPTB have purchased our so called representatives. Additionally the media is focused on profit and will not promote an anti-war message nor even cover demonstrations designed to draw attention. So there we have it. A message most people buy into but no way to promote it and government forces dedicated to stifling the creation of a movement.
World beyond war and the poor people's campaign are efforts.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
I'm all in for an antiwar movement.
I've been thinking about that recently as a means to get something going and in consideration of the dire situation we're now faced with. I've been focusing more on bringing down the oligarchy and changing this political system, but ending U.S. imperialism would be a huge step toward both. In the essay I posted last night, the WSWS article ended with a call for an antiwar movement combined with a movement to take down capitalism. As Lenin once said, "imperialism is the highest form of capitalism". But it has to be done outside the two party system and will not succeed unless it is.
If we could only turn off the noise or make it irrelevant
Then we could deal with the problems on an issue by issue basis without being manipulated into making crazy connections between say "family values" and oil production. I think it would be possible if everybody went to local mesh networks instead of ISPs. That would put everybody on an equal footing and open the door for internet based direct democracy. I think this is a fast growing idea since I'm hearing more and more people talk about and seeing meetup groups etc. springing up to promote it in the wake of the net neutrality ruling.
Beware the bullshit factories.
local mesh networks seem a great idea
Thanks for the suggestion.
Here's an example of one in NY
https://www.fastcompany.com/40509146/want-to-guarantee-net-neutrality-jo...
Sure sounds interesting. I would love to have access to nearby Chattanooga's internet service...Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, a publicly owned utility, is bringing 10-gigabit internet to its customers. http://www.zdnet.com/article/chattanooga-the-first-10-gigabit-internet-c...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
That sounds like a model for all the other cities and counties
Beware the bullshit factories.
@Timmethy2.0
They made damn sure that didn't happen in Seattle. The last
MayorDeveloper Bobblehead before the current one, dangled Municipal Broadband on the campaign trail, but changed his tune once elected. He awarded the contract to failed Super-Comm-Corp Century Link (formerly Quest/formerly US West), in the face of overwhelming demand for Municipal Broadband.He also opened up 6 new positions in city depts. with salaries at the 250K+ mark. We have some of the highest paid city officials in the nation. And one of the highest homeless rates as well.
There's a new more progressive mayor in B'ham
but friends in city gov't tell me the past mayor stacked several people in place from boards to officers trying to maximize personal profit. Maximizing personal profit is the goal of the system isn't it?
Here's the new mayors main stream story
http://www.al.com/bhammag/index.ssf/2017/12/meet_birminghams_new_mayor_a...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Big Al I feel basically the same
I feel basically the same.
I stick my head up every few months to see if they've actually accumulated any real evidence (not that I expect them to; they're all bad faith actors). So far, either they make more baseless claims, or their "evidence" is risible.
"More for Gore or the son of a drug lord--None of the above, fuck it, cut the cord."
--Zack de la Rocha
"I tell you I'll have nothing to do with the place...The roof of that hall is made of bones."
-- Fiver
Good morning and Happy Super Sunday!
Yes, it's Super Sunday again, America's corporate holiday. Owners in their sky boxes will celebrate the fact that all of America will be watching the same thing at the same time. What an achievement that is! Yes, I know, viewership has been declining but it's still a good bet that more people will watch the football game than will vote in the next election. Militarism will be celebrated too. Who knows, perhaps the drone-bombing of an Afghan village will be shown live on the Jumbotron at halftime. The crowd will go nuts.
Here's one more thing you can watch, should you decide to skip the five hour pre-game show.
Bezos, Buffet and Dimon are teaming up to solve our healthcare problem. Yay! Jimmy Dore breaks it down - YouTube ( 27 min.)
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Corporate health care sounds great!
I meant to add that link near Wolff's comments about US health care. Oh well, can't cover it all. Thanks for the link!
In the early 90's I went to the AT&T control center in NJ. They have this huge (yuge) wall of screens looking at phone traffic, news, and so on. They pulled up a graph of phone use during the last super bowl. It was a fairly flat line showing use except for these big periodic spikes. End's up they were the commercials. They say sewer treatment plants see the same sort of spikes with waste water. Of course that was in the day when everyone used landlines.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Is the FBI our friends again?
because they are trying to keep teh mean Russians from destroying our greatest democracy and trying to rid of the Orange Creature? I get so confused whether I'm supposed to cheer them on or not. Is there a cheat book or something I can use that tells me when I'm supposed to clap for them?
The FBI was behind the shut down of OWS.
Thanks Lookout for the weekly news report.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
our new best friends...
...along with the CIA, NSA, and so on. You know the ones that tell the newspapers what to print.
Glad you dropped by!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
As if getting my tax info together for my tax preparer
wasn't aggravating enough, it is intruding upon my Sunday afternoon I devote to following your links!
At least I will be done with it today.
Thank you for the news round up which is one of my absolute favorites.
"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981
many thanks
I'm lucky. One of my long time picking buddies family runs a tax service and handles mine for free. Ours is easy though. Nothing it ain't nothing but it's free. Our real wealth is our place, but Alabama has the lowest property tax (and almost the lowest school funding) of any state. My small farm is $500 per year...and I'm not taking my old age discount nor using a land trust covenant.
All the best!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
In Germany, everyone except the far Right is pro-NATO
It’s NATO and its allies who are destroying and dismembering country after country — Iraq, Libya, Syria, Yemen: serial crimes against humanity.
Yet it’s the anti-NATO Right who get called fascists. Go figure.