No Vaccine for Tyranny
[Politics] [Social]
No Vaccine for Tyranny
by Ron Paul
Posted November 29, 2020
The World Health Organization (WHO) recently admitted that lockdowns cause more harm than good. Following this announcement, one would have expected American politicians to immediately end the lockdowns. After all, the WHO ‘s pronouncements are considered infallible, so much so that social media sites silence anyone who dares challenge the great and powerful WHO. Yet, governors, mayors, and other government officials across the country are ignoring the WHO’s anti-lockdown position.
Instead of admitting that the lockdowns were a mistake, many in the political class, which includes a disturbing number of medical professionals whose positions and prestige depend on government, claim that we cannot return to normalcy until a coronavirus vaccine is in wide use. This suggests that people among the majority of Americans who do not wish to be vaccinated will remain under lockdown or be forced to be vaccinated against their will. More…
Julian Assange faces the ‘trial of the century’: 10 reasons why it threatens freedom of speech
[Justice] [Politics]
Julian Assange faces the ‘trial of the century’: 10 reasons why it threatens freedom of speech
Fidel Narváez and Ben Norton
Posted November 28, 2020
At the end of the hearings that seek to extradite journalist Julian Assange to the United States, on October 1, his defense team should have felt triumphant. Because with more than 30 witnesses and testimonies, throughout the whole month of September, they gave a beating to the prosecution representing the U.S.
If the case in London were decided solely on justice, as it should in a state based on law, this battle would have been won by Assange.
However, this “trial of the century” is, above all, a political trial, and there remains the feeling that the ruling was made beforehand, regardless of the law.
The court kicked off on September 7 with hundreds of protesters outside, in contrast with the restrictions that the court imposed inside — in what is the most important case against the freedom of expression in an entire generation. More…
How to Thrive When Everything Feels Terrible
[Spiritual]
How to Thrive When Everything Feels Terrible
by Christine Porath and Mike Porath
Posted November 27, 2020
We’re surrounded by negativity everywhere we turn. The news we read, social media we peruse, and conversations we have and overhear. We absorb stress from our family, friends, and coworkers. And, it’s taking a toll.
The Mighty, a community platform (founded by Mike) that provides health information and brings people together around specific health issues, has surveyed more than 70,000 readers and community members since March around their awareness, perceptions, and experience with the coronavirus crisis. In September, respondents reported their top three emotions were frustration, worry, and anger. The number of respondents choosing anger as one of their top emotions has more than doubled since March — rising from 20% then to 45% in September. More…
Vonnegut’s Dark Vision Arrived 60 Years Early
[Social]
Vonnegut’s Dark Vision Arrived 60 Years Early
by James Quinn
Posted November 26, 2020
The un-Constitutional lockdowns are a test drive for further authoritarian measures designed to make our lives joyless, bleak and controlled by a master class of oligarchs and their henchmen enforcers. Their goal is to turn us against each other, creating a nation of snitches and equally miserable slaves for the state. They haven’t resorted to shotgun blasts on national TV, but physically attacking the non-compliant has begun.
Vonnegut clearly believed the relatively new invention of television had become a hugely important part of our daily lives, with the potential capacity to be used by the government to sedate, rule and terrorize the population into doing what they were told. As Bernays noted almost 100 years ago, the manipulation of the habits and opinions of the masses through unseen propaganda techniques allow the invisible government to manipulate and control the minds of its citizens.
The unadulterated use of propaganda and fear has never been more evident than during this great reset pandemic scheme. The brightly colored Covid-19 case counters at the bottom of every MSM news channel screen are designed to scare the non-thinking math challenged noobs into believing mass death will sweep the nation unless they lockdown and mask-up. The government uses influencers (Hollywood idiots and sports heroes who can’t spell hero) and mass media advertising campaigns to make the plebs believe masks work and lockdowns will stop the virus. The level of willful ignorance is beyond comprehension, but a true credit to the propaganda powers of the state.. More…
Want Hope and Real Growth? Let the Dead Forest of Corruption and Fed Manipulation Burn Down
[Economic] [Social]
Want Hope and Real Growth? Let the Dead Forest of Corruption and Fed Manipulation Burn Down
by Charles Hugh Smith
Posted November 25, 2020
Wake up, America, and see the Fed for what it really is: a totalitarian tool of kleptocracy.
You know what happens when fire suppression policies limit forest fires: deadwood piles up and all the trees killed by bark beetles are awaiting a spark to ignite. Sure enough, a random lightning strike provides the ignition, and the entire forest is consumed in an out-of-control conflagration made inevitable by the policy of suppressing fires as “bad” for lumber companies and tourism, i.e. the politically influential.
This is a remarkably apt analogy for the central banks’ policy of suppressing business cycle recessions that burn down dead zombie corporations and all the deadwood suppressing new growth. More…
Once We Awaken
[Spiritual] [Social] [Political]
Once We Awaken
by Rudy Avizius
Posted November 24, 2020
Do you get a sense, that something is wrong
like that dissonance, that does not belong
As we move through the journey of life, many people are experiencing a sense of dis-ease, that something is off-kilter, that the narratives we are receiving do not match the reality we are experiencing. There is great hope in this knowledge because once one recognizes this dissonance the process of awakening begins.
Deep down way inside, you may have suspicions
that much what we’re told, are but veiled omissions
The narratives are controlled by a small handful of people who determine what issues and discussions we should be examining. As we watch the main stream news and follow social media, the news and discussions we see are mostly spectacle designed to boost ratings with little or no coverage of the real issues such as: our wars without end, corporate and big money control of government and media, or anything critical of the powers that be. Most of the journalists we see on the main stream media are basically celebrity faces who no longer practice journalism, but are simply parroting what those in power want them to say with little effort made to investigate and corroborate the stories. There is great hope in recognizing this knowledge, as it allows one to view the narratives more critically and to filter out what does not resonate with them. More…
A Guide for Free Thinkers: They’re Both Wrong
[Politics] [Media]
A Guide for Free Thinkers: They’re Both Wrong
by Ethan Yang
Posted November 24, 2020
If you get your information about American politics from the media, politicians, and even from a lot of Washington, DC think tanks, you’re doing it wrong. It goes without saying that politics is about mass mobilization and power; narratives and oversimplification are the tools of the trade. That would be fine if real-life consequences didn’t come out of half-baked ideas about policy, but guess what, they do.
Few people in politics seem to care about looking a couple inches below the surface and a few steps ahead into the future when it comes to making the case for their policies. Why would they? Politics is war, power is the end that justifies the means, victory is all that matters. If it riles up the masses and gets the right team elected, that’s all they could ask for. The problem with the way all this works however, is that politicians don’t need to live with the consequences of their decisions. The rest of us definitely do. More…
A New World Monetary Order Is Coming
[Economic] [Politics]
A New World Monetary Order Is Coming
By Stefan Gleason
Posted November 23, 2020
The global coronavirus pandemic has accelerated several troubling trends already in force. Among them are exponential debt growth, rising dependency on government, and scaled-up central bank interventions into markets and the economy.
Central bankers now appear poised to embark on their biggest power play ever.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, in coordination with the European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF), is preparing to roll out central bank digital currencies.
The next frontier of the Fed’s unlimited mandate could be “FedCoin” – a central bank digital currency. More…
Why Propaganda is Vital In Upholding The Illusion of a Democracy
[Politics] [Media]
Why Propaganda is Vital In Upholding The Illusion of a Democracy
By Cynthia Chung
Posted November 22, 2020
Democracy is something that has been completely taken for granted here in the West. There is an ongoing triumph over past laurels, without paying heed to the road we have strayed from. We criticize others for failing to uphold a standard we consider ourselves the leaders of, but democracy is not something simply “acquired” and subsequently “retained,” it is not a “possession.” This is because a system of democracy is at every moment of its existence defined by the character of its citizenry. Democracy only exists if it is upheld, and if a citizenry fails to do so, it renders itself defenseless to an ever-creeping tyranny.
For such a “creeping tyranny,” control is conditional to whether the citizenry is satisfied with an ever-growing “illusion of democracy.” Such a construct needs to give its subjects the impression that they have “free choice” in what shapes their future and their way of life, including: who will be their “friends” and who will be their “foes.” More…
The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End
[Social]
The Most Famous Paradox in Physics Nears Its End
by George Musser
Posted November 21, 2020
In a series of breakthrough papers, theoretical physicists have come tantalizingly close to resolving the black hole information paradox that has entranced and bedeviled them for nearly 50 years. Information, they now say with confidence, does escape a black hole. If you jump into one, you will not be gone for good. Particle by particle, the information needed to reconstitute your body will reemerge.
Most physicists have long assumed it would; that was the upshot of string theory, their leading candidate for a unified theory of nature. But the new calculations, though inspired by string theory, stand on their own, with nary a string in sight. Information gets out through the workings of gravity itself — just ordinary gravity with a single layer of quantum effects. More…
Electronic Frontier Foundation
Quotable Sayings
There is no chance, no destiny, no fate that can circumvent or hinder or control the firm resolve of a determined soul.
Ella Wheeler Wilcox
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You do not become a billionaire through labor. You become a billionaire through inheritance, corruption or economic rents – or, in most cases, some mixture of all three.
Grace Blakeley
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Mainstream American liberals think they’re clear-eyed because they can see the propaganda strings being pulled by Fox and Donald Trump, and mainstream American conservatives think they’re clear-eyed because they can see the propaganda strings being pulled by MSNBC and the Democrats, but the propaganda strings on both trace back to the same puppet master. And seeing that is just the beginning.
Caitlin Johnstone
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You alone are the judge of your worth and your goal is to discover infinite worth in yourself, no matter what anyone else thinks.
Deepak Chopra
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It is obvious that the US government is destroying Assange to signal to journalists the consequences of publishing information. It is therefore also obvious that any journalist who fails to use whatever platform they have to speak out against Assange’s persecution has no intention of ever publishing anything that the US government doesn’t want published. Their silence on or support for what is being done to this man can and should be taken as an admission that they are nothing other than state propagandists.
Caitlin Johnstone
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It’s quite fitting that the – imperially pre-determined – judicial fate of Julian Assange is being played out in Britain, the home of George Orwell.
Pepe Escobar
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