caucus99percent

free-range politics, organic community

Is anyone going to watch this? I kind of want to tune in for part of it just to see how bad it is. Like a train wreck, you don't want to watch but you can't look away.....

From Roar magazine, September 23, 2020, ‘The Zapatistas need your solidarity after targeted attacks by government-linked paramilitaries destroyed much of this year’s coffee harvest’  (my bolds)

“On August 22, 2020, the ORCAO paramilitary organization looted and burned two Zapatista coffee warehouses in Cuxuljá, Chiapas. This is the latest in an accelerating series of attacks on the Zapatista project since the current administration of Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) took office.

I'm taking Anja's slot today while she grieves the loss of a beloved animal companion.

Everyone is already familiar with fake news.
The Gulf of Tonkin incident, Iraqi weapons of mass destruction, virtually every Russiagate story, etc.
Those are easy and obvious. But most propaganda involves what isn't said.
For example, let's look at today's headlines.

It's so confusing. Get this:

NYC has announced that the outdoor dining program will be in place year round. Yes. January, February, and March when the temperature hovers around 30 degrees. Or 20 degrees Fahrenheit. WTF?

You see, the outside pavilions (some located out in the street replacing parking places for cars) will be allowed to install outdoor heaters. Which works great in South Beach, Florida on a chilly December evening but in NYC? Wait. It gets better.

In Kenya during Al-Shabaab standoff

Another giant  global humanist has left us this week, may he rest in power, and he and his works be remembered forever.  Allow me to borrow excerpts from several homages by those who knew him and his work, and loved him well.

‘André Vltchek’s Sudden Death’,  Robert Hunziker, Sept. 25, 2020, counterpunch.org

EDITOR’S NOTE: CounterPunch received word from Rossi Indira, Andre’s partner who was with him at the time of his death, that Andre died from complications with diabetes. Andre had been very ill for several weeks prior to his death, he could barely walk and one of his legs was paralyzed. Rossi tells us that he also refused medical treatment. Andre’s funeral is being held in Istanbul. For a full list of articles he wrote for CounterPunch, please visit his author page.

A Time to Regenerate

The world seems to be between a rock and a hard place. COVID has amplified the problems and made obvious the dysfunction of the system. Meanwhile the money machine goes brrr, funneling ever more wealth upward. The ecosystem is degrading faster than we imagined. People are protesting in the streets around the world. If there is a way out of this mess, I don't see it. Is it really the end times? If so, should we go out with a party celebrating our life, or fighting the system tooth and nail to the end, or perhaps both at the same time? I know this much, I'm going to do my best to live in harmony with the ecosystem as I wrap up my last decade or two. Of course that has been my path for many years now, so why stop at this point. As I stated last week, I feel for the young folks who we are leaving with all this dysfunction. This week I thought I would explore ecosystem restoration because restoring our political, economic, and social systems is beyond my ability.