Mr. Universe's Revolutionary Roundup

Mr. Universe is a character from the science fiction movie Serenity. It's from him that I get my name "Can't Stop the [Macedonian] Signal:"

Dystopianmovies.org describes him as

...the ‘Mr Wikileaks’ of the Serenity world. He maintains a secret base with his own intelligence station and transmitter from which he broadcasts his defiant messages of freedom, exposing the misdemeanours of the ruling Alliance regime.

So, in the interests of making this a true open thread, I thought I'd present you with a roundup of the current news sources and commentators I've been watching over the last week. I think Mr. Universe might not be averse to sharing a beer with these people. They are interested in spreading the truth of the signal, just like he is.

Jimmy Dore is usually my first stop. The attacks on his character and tone have only served to make me watch his show more.

This video has a bit of sound distortion initially, but it's a highly important story. The lawyer in question is being prosecuted by a corporation

Since we're living under a politics of personality and identity politics, I thought I'd include this Dore video on Kamala Harris. She seems to share a characteristic with both George W. Bush and Trump: confronting her with her own errors results in her doubling down on those errors. It is, I think, a standard part of the neoconservative playbook:

Another Young Turks refugee, Jordan Chariton, is doing good work on homelessness. He calls it "the other pandemic." He's traveling around America talking to people who are both suffering and organizing in response to the problem. He's started in Philadelphia. It's a good choice, because Philly has had a homelessness problem since at least the 90s. The podcast really starts at around 1:14. It goes on for over an hour, but it's rare these days to find actual investigative reporting, not beholden to any wealthy puppetmasters, and it's well worth the time. He interviews a woman from a local mutual aid society. I had no idea that there were mutual aid societies were being formed, and it's very encouraging.

I don't know if you all have been watching the ongoing drama between Cenk Uygur and Ana Kasparian of The Young Turks and Aaron Mate, an independent journalist who got an award for debunking Russiagate, and who has done some groundbreaking work in Syria (literally *in* Syria; he went there to do investigative reporting on the effects of the war). Jimmy Dore gives you the background story:

Mate is part of an excellent enterprise called The Gray Zone (his own show on The Gray Zone is called "Pushback.") Here he is being interviewed by one of his colleagues, on the show "Moderate Rebels." This one, too, is long, but worthwhile even if you only listen to the first few minutes of it. It's so great to have real investigative journalism, reported by someone who has actually gone to a place and talked to the people involved.

Krystal Ball and Saagar Enjeti have left The Hill and their show "Rising," and become independent. Their new show is called "Breaking Points," and it has performed wonderfully, unlike the re-tooled "Rising" the Hill concocted after they left. So far, they've done remarkably well:

Krystal is doing really good work on labor:

This is a good piece. Krystal speaks for worker-owned cooperatives and legalized marijuana:

Kyle Kulinski is probably the most mainstream podcaster I watch. Here he reports on the McCarthyite attacks on Ilhan Omar by both the Republican and Democratic right. Why is she being attacked? Because she told the truth about America's crimes against humanity:

I love Hard Lens Media. It's mostly young people from Chicago, and they make me smile every time I watch them. They do, however, have long intros. If you don't want to watch the intro, move the dial to 8:17. They have stories about medical bankruptcy, Kamala Harris' recent speech, and more.

I've actually seen Graham Elwood live, and like him a lot. Here he reports on El Salvador making bitcoin its legal tender. I'm not a big fan of bitcoin, myself, because unfortunately the servers making the calculations are running on electricity produced from fossil fuels, and have a carbon footprint the size of New Zealand.

https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/05/bitcoin-btc-surge-renews-worries-about-i...

But if it were run on electricity produced from solar or wind, I'd probably be in favor of it. Here's Graham's segment on it:

Apparently, sonar uncovered a mass grave in Canada. There were 215 children's bodies in it. The dead came from "indigenous schools." These "schools" were run by the Church, and backed by the Canadian government as a tactic to destroy indigenous cultures and force indigenous people to assimilate. So they essentially kidnapped children and put them to work in what actually looks more like a forced-labor camp. They did this from the 1840s to the 1990s, and a lot of children died.

For some reason, I can't embed Lee Camp's coverage of this story on Redacted Tonight. So here's a link:

https://www.rt.com/shows/redacted-tonight-summary/526378-north-american-...

Abby Martin of The Empire Files does excellent work on American foreign policy, particularly in relation to the Middle East. Here she talks about Netanyahu's fall.

And finally, there's some actual good news: looks like scientists are finding a way to counter the mites that are causing such problems for the honeybee! It's early days yet, but the signs are encouraging:

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2021/06/scientists-evolve-fungus-battle-...

How are you all today?

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

How are you all today?

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7 users have voted.

"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

Lot's to like here.
Thanks!

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8 users have voted.
Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@QMS

There were many I left out, because it got too long.

Just found this that people should be aware of; Abby Martin of "The Empire Files" won a freedom of speech lawsuit a little while ago:

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11 users have voted.

"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

Raggedy Ann's picture

Lots to like in your OT today! I've listened to the vids - thanks for those - it's how we stay on top of the "real" news!

Enjoy the day! Pleasantry

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10 users have voted.

"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@Raggedy Ann

Always nice to "see" you, RA!

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5 users have voted.

"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

thanatokephaloides's picture

Worker-owned weed and finally some hope for honeybees against those accursed varroa mites!

For once, not all the news is bad! Smile

Thank you for bringing it to us!

Give rose

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9 users have voted.

"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar

"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@thanatokephaloides

Exactly how I felt--about both those stories.

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2 users have voted.

"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

enhydra lutris's picture

Been out running around since early this morning, getting ready for a weekend in Yosemite. Damn, much more involved than it ought to be but that's our fault (my wife, and I not everybody)

Not quite ready for bitcoin myself for a variety of reasons. I've watched it since day one and the value of one bitcoin has been all over the map, making it seem, from my simplistic viewpoint, a bit speculative and a bit more so than a lot of traditional currencies. Then again, I am an old fuddy duddy. And, maybe they can mine anywhere using clean energy, but what little hard information I've seen is that they can, but by and large, they aren't. Also, if there is a one paragraph answer explaining how this will raise multitudes out of poverty, I'd love to hear it, but I'm not quite ready to listen to an hour long you tube in the hopes that they explain that at some point.

be well and have a good one

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7 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

And, maybe they can mine [bitcoin] anywhere using clean energy, but what little hard information I've seen is that they can, but by and large, they aren't.

And I've seen that combination before.

We can, but we're not gonna. Fuck off.

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6 users have voted.

"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

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal But I thought that for El Salvador at least the announcement of bitcoin was also accompanied by an announcement by the president that they were going to scale up geothermal for the whole country (several volcanoes there), and also use that energy for bitcoin mining. Doesn't change any of the other caveats of bitcoin, but the energy use one is prime in my mind as well.
Thanks for the OT.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@peachcreek

I was talking about what's happened so far, but it sure wouldn't surprise me to find out that El Salvador wants to do it differently.

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2 users have voted.

"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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@enhydra lutris

I really need to start travelling again. I haven't wanted to wrestle with the new difficulties.

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3 users have voted.

"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

enhydra lutris's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

3 days and one for two weeks, and learned a few things that way, mostly it involves extra gear and stuff, almost as if one were camping inside of whatever lodging one winds up staying in. It makes a big difference as to comestibles if there is no nuker and/or fridge which, of course, will be the case in Yosemite.

be well and have a good one

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3 users have voted.

That, in its essence, is fascism--ownership of government by an individual, by a group, or by any other controlling private power. -- Franklin D. Roosevelt --

mimi's picture

I have lost track and didn't know where and how you find Abby Martin's reporting. I haven't listen to podcasts yet. I guess I should change that ...

Thanks.

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Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@mimi

Though I will probably move to Rokfin this year and restrict my YouTube presence to videos about music, books, movies, and gaming. Google is pretty irritating when it comes to politics.

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5 users have voted.

"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

earthling1's picture

On the subject of winning lawsuits, what have you heard re: Sharyl Attkisson's suit against the Feds hacking into her computer(s) and her hiccup in Sunday programming?
Seems like she has been steppin' on the wrong toes.
Haven't been to Breaking Points yet, but looking forward to it.
It also seems like we now have to chase good journalists around the tubes like the police chase the homeless around town.
So sad. (H/t D.Trump)

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5 users have voted.

Neither Russia nor China is our enemy.
Neither Iran nor Venezuela are threatening America.
Cuba is a dead horse, stop beating it.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@earthling1

Please post a link (if you like) to Atkisson's story!

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1 user has voted.

"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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@earthling1

it's all a series of tubes...

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2 users have voted.

"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

snoopydawg's picture

Here was a huge exposure of how the media just does talking points anymore.

I’m watching dr. who finally and I’m the episode where the kid wants his mommy. It freaked me out the 1st time I saw it and hope the 2nd I get over it. I think of you when I do. Can’t believe that you remember your favorites from all the choices. I’ve forgotten most of this episode already. Smile life gets another chance to make a good first impression.

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4 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

snoopydawg's picture

South winds have pushed the smoke from the south into the valley and the air quality is poor. I can still see Ben Lomond though so it can get worse. I wait till 8 pm to take my walk. I just sit in the shade during the 1st one because it’s just too hot but the little critter gets to play if she wants.

Edited. Got lost for a minute. Phew…

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3 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@snoopydawg

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2 users have voted.

"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

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@snoopydawg

is what Grover Norquist was doing in the early oughts. Back then, it was considered noteworthy that Grover and his colleagues cooked up a message-of-the-week and piped it out to all friendly radio stations, television stations, and preachers--so people got bombarded with the same message all around them. Now most of the media seems to work that way--we just get two different brands of message.

I can't believe you remember that I love "The Doctor Dances!"

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3 users have voted.

"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

snoopydawg's picture

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal

how the media manipulates them into believing what they haven't believed most of their lives. Like the push for censorship, love of the intel agencies, Mueller and now are the 'lock em up' whispers. They saw thru Q but not Russia Gate so the Q folks are the idiots. It is absolutely fascinating to watch if not also horrifying. Reminds me of the 'dusk of the gawds' when a civilization breaks up.

Yes the Doctor Dances. The whole episode creeps me out, but I am watching it anyway. Just wish he wouldn't let the newbies wander off and get into so much trouble, but alas that's the plot line eh?

My friends bought me a tee shirt long ago that said Potty Animal on it because of how often I needed to use the facilities on road trips. I don't care who sees me hanging out peeing. When my bladder says time's up it is not kidding. Smallest one ever or just a sensitive, "HEY I'm FULL."

Look for a bush, stop, squirt and move on down the road. No one knows ya.

As for the fires here, it more of the perfect storm that hit this summer. I have a trailer picked out and is there for me, but with the fire risks so high and every person and their dawgs bought them this year the mountains are full. Long past are the days when I found a fire road, pulled off and camped for 2 weeks. Too many full timers and the states want to get paid. So I am holding off, but if this one slips away I will just give up. Heat, low water, fire danger...not my idea of relaxing in the hills. Sad, but then I did enjoy what I had when I did. The best secret ski hill in the country till the Olympics came to Utah and put it on the map. Snowbasin...look it up.

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2 users have voted.

Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@snoopydawg

"This is extremely dangerous to our democracy."

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3 users have voted.

"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

I made it through 4 videos, will tackle one more tonight.
I have morning court, so can't stay up late and listen, then shake fists. I must be coherent.
I have been taking driving trips here and there. Some 13 hours away, some only 3 hours away, but all are just not here, and all afford different sights and sounds than I have here.
PM me if you want some suggestions on booking, planning, and pricing. It is not that complicated once you get back in the habit of riding the roads!

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3 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981

Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal's picture

@on the cusp

to be honest, my biggest problem is with public bathrooms on the road.

We've considered:

boat potties (such as one takes camping)
renting an RV
buying an RV
finding a bush Smile

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3 users have voted.

"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

@Cant Stop the Macedonian Signal Or, cleanliness?
I make it a point to pack tp.
If I am on a country highway, I pull over on a dirt road.
People in cars or trucks with extended cabs just pull off the freeway, open both front and rear doors, do their business in relative privacy. That is pretty common.
Truck stops have the cleanest restrooms. And they are all over the interstates.
There is likely a map of rest areas on any public road that have restrooms. I have never Googled that.
RVs have the restroom advantage, but fuel prices are rising everywhere, making them quite pricey to take on the road.

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4 users have voted.

"We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false." ---- William Casey, CIA Director, 1981