The Weekly Watch
Workers of the World Unite!
It's Labor Day weekend. It marks the end of the summer season for many, however we still have a few more weeks till the equinox and true Autumn. This summer was the 50th anniversary of the “Summer of Love”...a time when hopes and dreams of a better world filled many minds of my generation. At that time I thought our idealism would change the world. Sadly capitalism was a more powerful force than our aspirations. How far away we have drifted from that dream of a better world. Today's image of America in my mind includes it's militarized police, disregard for people in favor of corporate profit, massive incarceration of the poor people of color to benefit privatized prisons and probation services, large scale aggression across the world, destruction of the planet and climate for the benefit of the few, and top it off with a heapin' helpin' of our arrogance that we are exceptional (yes exceptionally evil).
So this week I would like to explore both the good and bad of our current situation. Many people are ignoring the government and setting up a variety of worker coops. Others are trying to stand up to the corporations and fight for peace and planet. There is growth in the peace movement. On the flip side, we race toward extinction either from a rapidly changing climate or nuclear war. Capitalism has run amok and is destroying itself. America's empire collapses as China's emerges (I'm not sure that is so bad). The US is really governed by the deep state and shadow government who control the media and brainwash the people to accept a theater government that does care about nor represent them.
I normally don't recommend Netflix productions because many of you don't pay that corporation for its programing. However, I've watched some of their shows over the last few weeks that have made me think. Netflix offers one free month of viewing or you could watch with a friend that is a member. This weekly edition also offers the usual free access links also.
The first recommendation is The New Economy - This film spotlights companies and individuals who are building a new economy by employing nontraditional business models that look beyond profit. https://www.netflix.com/title/80191553 (1.5 hr)
There are many examples of people inventing their own business models. Here is a selection of several discussions of worker cooperatives of various lengths from which to pick and choose
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8G1-SYMatNc&list=PLPJpiw1WYdTMPSQpXK-Tes...
Gardening can be revolutionary...Our purpose is to demonstrate what can happen if groups of committed people with ideas are given space to nurture and grow.
https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/aug/17/carrots...
How about a pub that is a community run coop? I'll drink to that!
https://www.theguardian.com/voluntary-sector-network/2017/apr/07/communi...
Another cooperative project is the idea of Land Trusts to share land and housing.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/new-economy/baltimores-push-to-solve-its-affo...
Ralph Nader had the president of https://www.amalgamatedbank.com/ on the second half of his show to discuss what a progressive bank http://www.gabv.org/ looks like (25 min)
https://ralphnaderradiohour.com/outrageous-ceo-payprogressive-banksremem...
We had a brief discussion about bitcoin last week, so I did more homework. Again Netflix had an intriguing documentary, Banking on Bitcoin. I found it interesting that two of bitcoin's pioneers are serving time (one for developing Silk Road with it's illegal trades and another was set up for convection – he sold bitcoins to someone who sold them to another person who bought drugs), yet not one bankster who perpetrated the 2008 collapse has done a single day or has even been charged.https://www.netflix.com/title/80154500 (1.5 hr)
Here's a nice short 3 min video explanation of bitcoin from the Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/news/video/2014/apr/30/bitcoin-made-simple-v...
And for those who prefer reading, here's a short article hitting the highlights of bitcoin https://fynestuff.com/how-bitcoin-works/
Max Keiser is a bitcoin proponent...here he is gleefully telling about the new Japanese bitcoin bonds. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyPGTj7wwJU (first 15 min)
Perhaps because the shadow government that is funded by and is colluding with big deep state corporations (including media) is fighting against people and planet tooth and nail?
One of the most powerful clips I caught this week is Kevin Shipp's presentation about his old employer, the CIA. He explains that we lost our constitutional government when Truman created the unchecked CIA. It isn't just the deep (corporate) state, but also the shadow government led by the CIA and NSA that have become our acting (non-constitutional) government.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHbrOg092GA (1.1 hr)
Better not criticize the big corporations. They are a big part of the deep state. Lynn, who ran New America’s Open Markets Initiative, said his problems began last June when the European Union fined Google a record €2.42bn ($2.7bn) for breaching antitrust rules and abusing its market dominance. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/aug/31/google-new-america-fo...
Zephyr Teachout continues the story in an email this week -
A few months ago, some of the world's leading antitrust researchers and advocates published a 150-word statement praising a European Union antitrust ruling against Google. Within days, Google used its power and influence to threaten to cut off funding for the whole organization in which they worked. The entire staff and all the fellows like me were kicked out.
And her article in the Intercept
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/31/how-i-got-fired-from-a-d-c-think-tan...
Another Netflix documentary of interest is Nobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press. It looks at the Peter Thiel funded Hulk Hogan's court case against Gawker Media. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Thiel It sheds light on wealthy, powerful figures who challenge freedom of the press in order to silence critics. (1.5 hr)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80168227
Brian Knappenberger, director of Nobody Speak, talks about his documentary (20 min or text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=767&...
Wednesday is the last day people can post comments to the Federal Communications Commission about a sweeping new plan intended to roll back rules of net neutrality and an open internet. According to disclosure forms filed with Congress, in the first three months of 2017, AT&T, Verizon and Comcast spent $11.2 million lobbying against net neutrality.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/fcc-racks-up-22-million-comments-criti...
Meanwhile there are even more media mergers in the offing
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/can-anyone-stop-trumps-fcc-approving-c...
Don't worry, we can always make money with our prisons!
13th... In this thought-provoking documentary, scholars, activists and politicians analyze the criminalization of African Americans and the U.S. prison boom. (1.7 hr)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741
Interview with the director Ava DuVernay (video and text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2016/12/30/ava_duvernays_documentary_13th_a...
If you missed Chris Hedges discussion about restoring America’s justice system with legal scholar Edgar Cahn from a couple of weeks ago, I think it will be worth your time (26 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_czs3EPfJ8
This week Chris Hedges examines the rise of white, right-wing hate groups with Ajamu Baraka.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8QTHimv9Vo (26 min)
Even if we were trying to establish a new economy based on people and planet rather than profit, are we already too late?
Houston, We have a problem...
Naomi Klien complains, “So, nobody is saying that climate change caused this storm.”
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/30/naomi_kleins_message_to_the_media
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/28/harvey-didnt-come-out-of-the-blue-no...
It's extremely annoying when all of these extreme events occur, whether it's a wildfire or an extreme hurricane like this, and there's no mention of the fact that climate change has actually exacerbated the situation,' says Dr. Kevin Trenberth of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (16 min or text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19886:Mainstream-Media-Misrepresents-Hur...
Interview with world-renowned climatologist Dr. James Hansen on what role climate change played in unleashing Hurricane Harvey. (10 min or text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/30/ex_nasa_scientist_james_hansen_there
As Harvey hits Texas and the Gulf coast many refineries are impacted creating a sea of pollution
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/30/environmental_crisis_unfolding_in...
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/09/01/analysis-harvey-triggered-r...
It's not just Houston …
Over the past month, more than 1,200 people have died amidst flooding in Bangladesh, Nepal, and India. This year’s monsoon season has brought torrential downpours that have submerged wide swaths of South Asia, destroying tens of thousands of homes, schools, and hospitals, and affecting up to 40 million people. (video and/or text)
https://www.democracynow.org/2017/8/29/1_200_die_as_devastating_climate
As storms hit the U.S. and South Asia, investigative journalist Christian Parenti says we have the laws and technology to protect humanity from climate disaster, but we need to rip away the veil of the 'free market'. And why would the corporate media not want to deal with this? Because they have been conditioned by decades of campaigning by Exxon and Koch-funded denialists. And they are afraid to draw the ire of these right-wing talking heads. They're afraid to turn off their advertisers and sponsors. And they're following the cues of the political class. (19 min or text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19896:Climate-Change-Is-Creating-A-New-U...
How Can We Distract People....from seeing climate catastrophe and the impending economic collapse?
Korea
Trump had made these threats of unleashing fire and fury, and that the U.S. was locked and loaded, prepared for, following in the words of H.R. McMaster, preventive war, and that's basically a codeword for a preemptive strike on North Korea says Christine Ahn of Women Cross DMZ. (16 min or text)
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19887:North-Korea-Fires-Missile-Over-Jap...
Syria
The White Helmet group works with Al Qaeda, explains Max Blumenthal. The White Helmets were basically working with a PR firm based in New York and London called The Syria Campaign, which is supported in part by a Syrian exile billionaire named Ayman Asfari who wants regime change.
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19889:The-Murder-of-Seven-White-Helmets-... (20 min or text)
It's been over three months and the battle for Raqqa is still raging. More and more civilians are dying from U.S. airstrikes.
https://theintercept.com/2017/08/28/entire-families-are-being-killed-by-...
Afghanistan
It's 'incredible' that the New York Times gave former Blackwater CEO Erik Prince editorial space to suggest letting private mercenaries lead the war in Afghanistan, says Col. Lawrence Wilkerson
http://therealnews.com/t2/story:19895:The-New-York-Times-Gives-Ex-Blackw... (10 min or text)
Vijay Prashad explains why T-rumps Afghan policy is a disaster
http://therealnews.com/t2/component/content/article/132-more-blog-posts-...
Iran
From Afghanistan to Iraq, the Trump administration, leading Democrats and much of the foreign policy and military establishment believe the U.S. should be more aggressive towards Iran. That's a very dangerous situation that can lead to war, noted Iran expert Trita Parsi (3 parts video and text) http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=832&...
Venezuela
Corporate America plans to conquer Venezuela just as it did Chile...
Abby Martin explains the function of newly elected assembly and the US spin against it and Maduro. (26 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tEcW6UgDRrw
More from Abby. Use of force by Venezuela's Bolivarian National Guard has become a regular sight in corporate media, and those actions are used by foreign powers as justification for intervention. (22 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z_imOLycqg
War is never pretty...even when sponsored by the UN. The story of their first foray into war is chilling. The Siege of Jadotville is another netflix film. Besieged by overwhelming enemy forces, Irish soldiers on a U.N. peacekeeping mission in Africa valiantly defend their outpost in this true story. (1.8 hr)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80041653
Time's take on the film and story
http://time.com/4408017/the-siege-of-jadotville-the-true-story-netflix-f...
And if you missed Jeremy Scahill's Dirty Wars on Netflix you might want to watch it...A 2014 Oscar nominee for Best Documentary Feature, this film explores America's controversial covert operations around the globe. (1.5 hr)
https://www.netflix.com/title/70267831
https://www.theguardian.com/film/2013/nov/24/jeremy-scahill-exposing-us-...
What do you sneak through while everyone is distracted? Tax Cuts...
The president's tax agenda is nothing more than a "scam" that would take money from low-income families and hand it to the rich.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2017/08/30/trump-begins-tax-reform-pus...
What do you hide while everyone is distracted?
Did you hear the Awan Trial has started?
http://dailycaller.com/2017/08/24/exclusive-wasserman-schultz-islamophob...
George Webb has all his evidence on the Awan spy ring online now https://trello.com/b/RMx1r5dG/hillarys-hamlettruth-leaks-hcs-leakershack...
I will be shocked if this gets any coverage or criminal action, but we'll just have to stay tuned. George is out there pushing it. Here's some background http://www.theeventchronicle.com/news/north-america/meet-awan-brothers-n...
http://www.theeventchronicle.com/news/north-america/former-u-s-attorney-...
There are current efforts to revive a peace movement http://worldbeyondwar.org/
On Sept 17 World Beyond War will work with the Backbone Campaign and other allies to organize a flotilla for the environment and peace, bringing kayaktivism to Washington, D.C.
http://worldbeyondwar.org/flotilla/
Then they will host a conference Sept 22-24 in DC No War 2017: War and the Environment with many outstanding presenters, and they plan to stream it for everyone.
http://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2017/
Peace Action, the biggest peace group, has tried to popularize transferring funds from war to human services. War Resisters League has helped counsel high schoolers on why they shouldn't enlist
http://portside.org/2017-04-27/where-peace-movement-when-we-really-need-it
Chris Hedges suggest violence by the "antifa" is as bad as violence by the white nationalists.
https://www.truthdig.com/articles/antifa-mirrors-alt-right/
and an ad to support Chris' concept
https://www.truthdig.com/cartoons/punch-nazi-kit-video/
There was a little more peace this week after China and India ended hostilities in their border dispute
http://m.asianews.it/news-en/Peace-found-between-India-and-China:-the-th...
http://www.newsr.in/n/India/75edq8zfu/Defence-experts-label-India-China-...
China is also spreading harmony with its massive “silk road” project interconnecting Asia and linking to Europe. China has a new age Marshall Plan, we have a corporate profit plan. https://thedailycoin.org/2017/08/29/new-silk-road-shall-bring-asean-coun...
Max and Stacy discuss Germany repatriating €24 billion worth of gold from New York and the US administration finally realizing it is already at economic war with China.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pqcnBdY_3lg
A piece of Brazil has been given a reprieve. A global outcry stymied President Temer's unilateral decree to opened up a vast region of the Brazilian Amazon to industrial mining. Temer's government suddenly backtracked, stating that no permits will be issued to companies seeking to operate there until the implications of this move have been clarified and discussed.
http://amazonwatch.org/news/2017/0901-after-deafening-global-outcry-braz...
Max and Stacy look at the impending fracking financial fiasco and banksters involvement
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKknJCTBQPg (1st 15 min)
Perhaps our love of the Earth will help us heal the planet.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/planet/for-the-love-of-earth-20170823
For much of the 20th century, Korea saw massive shifts in political organization, struggling through a forced occupation, multiple wars, separation, and a slow, often bloody fight for democracy that didn’t formally end until 1987. Understandably, the older generation here sees gardening as a means of survival.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/people-power/what-the-garden-hacking-grandmas...
There are many new ecological approaches to living in harmony with the planet. Here are a few.
https://www.nrdc.org/onearth/farms-fringe-new-takes-americas-farming-tra...
I know I posted many longer documentaries today. I hope they might serve as a resource. Perhaps one or two of these longer pieces would make good group viewing and promote some thoughtful conversations. I hope your holiday weekend is a good one and any labor you do is fulfilling. I look forward to your comments, stories, and insights.
Comments
netflix documentaries
Again I'm not suggesting supporting this corporation, but those of you already using them might want to know about a few other Netflix pieces of interest:
Awake, a dream from Standing Rock (1.5 hr)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80184376
Oliver Stone's Untold History of the United States (12 1 hr episodes)
https://www.netflix.com/title/80127995
Chasing Ice (1.25 hr – the last 15 min of time lapse is well worth your time)
https://www.netflix.com/title/70229919
Chasing Coral (1.5 hr) 30% of the coral in the Great Barrier Reef died last year!
https://www.netflix.com/title/80168188
and all the ones I recommend in the essay (so you can have them in one place)
The New Economy
Dirty Wars
13th
The Siege of Jadotville
Nobody Speak, Trials of the free press
Banking on Bitcoin
and speaking of bitcoin PBS had a piece about block chain technology last night...
Perhaps bitcoin's “blockchain” technology, which helps conduct transactions without using banks or credit card companies as conduits will be the important innovation
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3ZbYIJv4ok (7.5 min)
Bitcoin is up 2000% in the last two years. Will it crash? This fellow thinks so. (15 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SEIxadvMrI
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Add War Machine to that list
a movie with Brad Pitt about Afghanistan, it's destined to be a classic.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Thanks for the recommendation
I'll check it out.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank you for that picture.
I was just being grumpy to myself about the fact that Labor Day means barbecue and sales. Not that I have anything against barbecue.
"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
It is easy to lose sight of origins
in this commercialized world. In our little community the group cookout is a stew cooking - 15 gallons of brunswick stew. We boiled meat yesterday. I gets de-boned today, and all the stock will be used to cook the vegetables tomorrow. The last thing added will be the cooked meat about an hour before it is ready to serve.
It is cooked outside in a big (20 gal) cast iron pot. Everyone takes a turn stirring. Meanwhile mainly the guys put up a dollar and draw cards to set up horseshoe teams. Then there a round robin tournament that takes a few hours. Winners make $5-10 each. Usually a few of us play music too. It is one of my favorite gatherings of the year (which sometimes happens July 4 too if it isn't too hot).
I hope you have a good gathering wherever you live as well!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
brunswick stew
Sounds like a squirrelly enterprise to me!
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Fewer people than ever get the holiday off
Working on Labor Day is a real oxymoron, yet typical.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Two things happened to the peace movement.
One was the Iraq War. The other was Barack Obama.
A profoundly demoralizing defeat followed by a profoundly demoralizing Trojan Horse.
Who also did double duty policy laundering for the establishment. After all, if Barack Obama wants a war, it must be right, right? Wait, you don't think so? You must be racist.
It's great when your personal moral and political capital are so high that you can make assassination acceptable. Just like taking dirty money from Mexico's Cartel and pushing it through a nice clean bank where everything is aboveboard--oh, wait.
"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
And I don't mean "defeat" as in "The United States was defeated
in Iraq," though I suppose to some, sinking the nation into a bloody quagmire might count as a sort of defeat.
"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
We're gearing up for Obama 2.0 in the form of K. Harris
Just wait for it, we'll all be racist misogynists if we don't agree to every point on Goldman Sachs' and the Warpigs' agenda. Harris will be the lipstick, but the pig is the same.
"Obama promised transparency, but Assange is the one who brought it."
Obama was tasked with laundering
a trillion dirty dollars for the banksters, all the while maintaining a quasi-liberal facade. This was a tough sell, but amazingly he managed to pull it off. He also had to somehow extricate the Neocons from the awful mess they had made in Iraq, without offending their tender sensibilities too much. So he clevely gave them the Libya, Syria, and Ukraine projects to work on, as a sort of consolation prize. This kept them plenty busy. The Arab Spring provided great cover for these operations, wherein R2P Democrats and Neocons could both cooperate in support of "regime-changing" selected targets of opportunity.
One disastrous failure after another in these endeavors has not deterred America's would be empire-builders from continuing their relentless quest for a One World Government. The US MICC now largely controls both US political parties, and has set its sights firmly on Russia as the coming enemy-du-jour. But in spite of its voracious appetite and its formidable powers of digestion, I think the US Empire may have finally bitten off more than it can chew.
native
you might want to check out this link
CIA whistleblower Kevin Shipp
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHbrOg092GA (1.1 hr)
If you want a better understanding of who pulls the strings, this is worth a listen.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Yes, I watched and commented on
Kevin Shipp's excellent presentation last week. Thanks for bringing it forward again. In it, he identifies and defines both the "Deep State" and the "Shadow Government", clearly explaining what they are, and how they work in tandem. Together they form the bipartisan, sub rosa power structure that upholds and perpetuates the America's global empire.
native
Wow, I'm kinda in a crummy mood, aren't I? Sorry, guys.
"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 moods are sort of hard to come by
In these circumstances.
I am messing around on the computer - had to download a new install for Ubuntu-Studio since I screwed it up last week - but listening to Eckhart Tolle at the same time. He is all "don't worry about the future or bemoan the past . . . rather live in the present moment."
Not there yet . . .
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Hey the world is in a mess
It is OK to be frustrated by the current situation. Don't feel bad about feeling bad. However I find doing positive things helps me and my attitude. Already harvested the garden this AM...peppers, okra out the wazoo, tomatoes about played out, and so on.
Sure makes the craziness fade out of you mind...mainly cause there's too much to do to put up all the produce (like lots of pickled okra).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
How do you pickle your okra?
Can you share your recipe?
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
ez peazy
Stuff clean jars with okra, a hot pepper (or pepper flakes), and a clove or two of garlic. You can add dill or whatever other spice you like too.
Boil 3 qts water, 1 qt vinegar, and 1 cup pickling salt.
Pour hot mixture into filled jars, and add lid. Most people will water bath them. Mine seal fine with the cooling of the hot mixture.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Thank you!!
I really appreciate the recipe.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
I like fried okra. It kinda tastes like the fried eggplant from
my youth. It isn't particularly healthy, but yuuummm.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
You can bake it instead
but it ain't the same. We do both. We also just saute with onions (peppers, tomatoes...) and add a little brags sauce to it.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Hadn’t known about Bragg’s sauce (Bragg’s “Liquid Aminos”)
Gluten-free alternative to soy sauce, apparently. Good to know about, even though I grew up on good-and-true brewed soy sauce in Hawaiʻi.
@Lookout Interestingly, I went
Interestingly, I went out and did some gardening before I read this comment!
Yeah, getting out in the sun and air is good for the mood.
"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
fresh Okra cut in little pieces makes a sauce "elastique" ...
that's the way I saw it being used in Cameroon's kitchens. No "pickling" going on there ...
I read the old "Weekly Watch" from 2016 and let me just say it's an educational pot of gold.
Just to say thank you. It's so much I need my whole retirement age to read/watch it all. May be I get it by the end of my life.
Thank you for your work.
Always glad to see you
I hope all is well in you corner of the world. Germany (although having its issues) seems so much saner than this fix we're in on this side of the pond. Great trains, good schools, descent social benefits are light years ahead of the states.
Thanks for reading. Learning is a lifelong process, and as the changes accelerate it makes it ever more difficult to understand.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
there is the TV Duell Merkel / Schultz live streaming
for those who understand German. There is a pretty long segment about how the hate speech of some Muslimische Imans in German mosques can or can't, should or shouldn't be oppressed / forbidden.
I thought that was interesting and showed the complexities inside Germany with regard to hate speech laws. Watching it online from Hawaii. Strange all that.
Hope to watch The New Economy
And some of those hopeful videos you listed at the beginning.
Don't have it in me to watch or read the depressing ones though. Too freaked out by floods, fires, heat, and hurricanes at the moment. We are not suffering at all where we are . . . the weather has been beautiful. But still, there is the weight of the suffering of others. Made some modest donations, but how else can I help?
So . . . how to channel this freaked out energy into positive actions and interactions? I think I am going to go outside and plant some stuff.
Marilyn
"Make dirt, not war." eyo
Good Morning Marilyn
There are many hopeful pieces interwoven in the links. I hope you'll like some of them.. Try the last one...some cool stuff going on out there we never hear about!
As to weather...
Like you we are having great Sept weather...60 this AM high of about 80
With all the flooding coverage in TX, I neglected to mention the fires and heat out west. Here's an informative piece eyo posted in another essay -
https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/heat-smoke-and-fire-assault-western-st...
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Great links Lookout!
but while Houston, Mumbai float away
SF and the SW is melting, the health of plant
Earth isn't well.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/Hey-San-Francisco-get-ready-for-th...
EDIT TO ADD: on this note
we then get get this from Zero Hedge
"Appeasement Will Not Work": Trump Responds To North Korea's 6th Nuclear Test
"North Korea has conducted a major Nuclear Test. Their words and actions continue to be very hostile and dangerous to the United States..."
SEP 3, 2017 8:41 AM
216
http://www.zerohedge.com/
I never knew that the term "Never Again" only pertained to
those born Jewish
"Antisemite used to be someone who didn't like Jews
now it's someone who Jews don't like"
Heard from Margaret Kimberley
poor San Fran
By contrast, (we have a hi/lo thermometer)the high for the summer has been 94, and the low last winter 18. Very mild for the SE. We normally top 100 and often dip into single digits.
Now last year was a different story - hot and a major drought.
Houston has had a 500 year storm for each of the last three years.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2017/08/29/houston-is-experi...
I'm sad to say we can expect ever greater swings of the weather pendulum for the rest of our lives.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
". . . for the rest of our lives." Exactly.
"The object of persecution is persecution. The object of torture is torture. The object of power is power. Now do you begin to understand me?" ~Orwell, "1984"
Hey, looks like you have some great links to alternative
economics/commerce and sustainability stuff. That's great. That's the direction I'd like to go.
"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
Fake News About Antifa
Good morning Lookout. From Alternet:
6 Examples of Fake News About Antifa
http://www.alternet.org/media/6-examples-fake-news-about-antifa
And:
Why It's Just Bonkers to Compare Fascists to the Activists Trying to Stop Them
http://www.alternet.org/activism/why-its-just-bonkers-compare-fascists-a...
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
Hey MM
I dislike this dichotomy that seems to be evolving between the White Nationalists and the antifascists. Seems like a new civil war.
I wish we would unite to fight capitalism which would benefit both groups and relieve economic stress (which I think drives much of the aggression on both sides).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
White Supremacists
will never unite with progressives. Not all Trump voters are white supremacists.
Educating blue collar whites, northern and southern, will be difficult. Right to work laws, which have a racist history, are killing them. Big challenge.
"They'll say we're disturbing the peace, but there is no peace. What really bothers them is that we are disturbing the war." Howard Zinn
I live surrounded by white nationalists here in Alabama
They know the economy is rigged against them and are ripe to a populous movement. That's what they thought (and many still think) they get with T-rump. However with a corporate media we have no chance to unite because the truth of our situation is never covered. Many of these separatist T-rumpeteers would have voted for Bernie for example.
If we can't forge partnerships we won't move forward. Sadly I think the corporate coup is complete and the direction we are headed isn't forward.
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
@Lookout There's a good reason
There's a good reason for disliking it. It's the establishment's war. The one they want stateside. They have other wars they want abroad, of course.
"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
The Art of the Smear ...
Lots of interesting stuff in the WW this morning, here's a little more.
This is Jimmy Dore with Nomiki Konst on the Democratic Party and its use of weaponized identity politics to smear opponents. YouTube (18 min.)
We wanted decent healthcare, a living wage and free college.
The Democrats gave us Biden and war instead.
Thanks
I thought it was Jimmy that had a piece on Kamala and Bernie, but in searching it was Mike on the humanists report. Interesting analysis that Kamala is playing politics supporting/cosponsoring Bernie's medicare for all bill. (5 min)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGWcFU-4Z40
To be honest, I'm ready to leave the democrats for the rats they are and just move on, but I guess I'm glad someone is shining a light on the degradation of the party. Jimmy certainly has focused on the sorry state of the party.
Thanks for the link. I enjoy Jimmy, Steph, and Ron. (I've often wondered if he reads c99 as many times he deals with topics covered here a day or two later).
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
Lookout your essays have so much in them,
I publish them whole on FB and I pull out important tidbits. There is just so much, I can't decide.
"Religion is what keeps the poor from murdering the rich."--Napoleon
I takes me a week to collect
I guess it would take a week to read and view. Joe and gjohn are the ones that amaze me. They are both so insightful and prolific on a daily basis. All I can manage is a weekly. Please feel free to change, edit, refine, abridge as you see fit. Thank you for sharing these ideas...cause that's what it is about. Trying to learn what is really happening through a lens of bias media is a group effort, and I like the attitude and approach of all of us at c99.
I was trained as a scientists and for me it is always, "what is the evidence?". I appreciate the way almost everyone in this community supports their ideas with some sort of reporting.
Thank you all for helping me see more clearly!
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
the first inroad against Labor Day in the USA
..... was to move it into September to begin with.
The rightful place for Labor Day in the Calendar is Beltaine, the first of May, in memory of the Haymarket Affair and the Labor Heroes who were murdered by the State of Illinois on behalf of its capitalist 1% owning class.
The move to September was ordained by President Grover Cleveland and enacted by Congress in 1894:
source
Of course, I have a bias here: as an anarchosocialist Pagan, you know I'd favor Beltaine.....
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
I'm with you
May day is still the date of the international labor day
good summary from IWW
https://iww.org/history/library/misc/origins_of_mayday
“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”
May day
I love the fact that when IWW went for an illustration for that article, they still could do no better than Walter Crane (may Peace be upon him!)
"US govt/military = bad. Russian govt/military = bad. Any politician wanting power = bad. Anyone wielding power = bad." --Shahryar
"All power corrupts absolutely!" -- thanatokephaloides
Hawaiians have a soft spot for Grover Cleveland for
the way his administration honestly investigated — and ended up denouncing, in no uncertain terms — the disgraceful overthrow of the Hawaiian kingdom in a coup by U.S. landowners and businessmen.
MLK's last speech was on labor
I think his giving this speech and his Riverside church speech was when TPTB decided to kill him.
Marching for civil rights is one thing, but calling out the MICC and for calling out for economic reform was something they didn't want people to insist on.
This Labor Day, Remember That Martin Luther King’s Last Campaign Was for Workers’ Rights
Labor is being attacked all across this country, especially in the states that the Koch brothers have bought.
Laws are or have been drafted making it harder for people to join a union and there are very few unions left.
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Adding to my comment above
During the garbage workers strike, what finally turned the tide was when white union members joined the Blacks on strike and then students also joined it.
This is what needs to happen again to get TPTB's attention.
If people are unable to not work because of their bills, they can participate in boycotts.
If enough people didn't buy gas, food and other electable products for a week or longer, would this get our government's attention that we want decent health care, a rise in the minimum wage and the other issues that are keeping people from being able to live comfortably?
I don't know how to get the people who aren't affected (yet) to join the boycotts, but if enough people can hit the corporation's pocketbooks, maybe things can change in this country.
Hell, what's to lose by trying this?
Which AIPAC/MIC/pharma/bank bought politician are you going to vote for? Don’t be surprised when nothing changes.
Thank you Lookout
for another really helpful and jam-packed WW. I look forward to viewing as many of the videos as I can in the coming days.
Thank you for all of the
Thank you for all of the information!