Bill Browder's Testimony Paints Dark Picture of Russian Corruption

First full disclosure: I have written of and discussed the Russia Gate obsession as a useful distraction from other important policy considerations, importantly, restoring transparency and fairness in elections.  Heightened irrational fear of  Russians perverting foreign policy makes the word a more dangerous place.

This article paints a dark and disturbing picture of greed and corruption that is important to understand.  Putin is indeed very corrupt and Russian life if full of injustice such as portrayed.  This may actually explain why unethical  rich people like the Trumps like working with them.  Lots of money with no accountability, ethics or rules.  But it has nothing to do with our elections.  Those we fuck up for ourselves because our government has been captured by money and corporate power and is undemocratic to the core.

The Russians did not steal our election. De-escalation of tensions with Russia is good.  Nuclear and conventional arms reductions including NATO are imperative.

This does not mean I support the Magnisky Act as I have not studied it.


Read the Full Text of Bill Browder's Testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee - The Atlantic:


This is from Rebecca Solnit on facebook 7/26/17

Mr Browder testifies: That all changed in July 2003, when Putin arrested Russia’s biggest oligarch and richest man, Mikhail Khodorkovsky. Putin grabbed Khodorkovsky off his private jet, took him back to Moscow, put him on trial, and allowed television cameras to film Khodorkovsky sitting in a cage right in the middle of the courtroom. That image was extremely powerful, because none of the other oligarchs wanted to be in the same position. After Khodorkovsky’s conviction, the other oligarchs went to Putin and asked him what they needed to do to avoid sitting in the same cage as Khodorkovsky. From what followed, it appeared that Putin’s answer was, “Fifty percent.” He wasn’t saying 50 percent for the Russian government or the presidential administration of Russia, but 50 percent for Vladimir Putin personally. From that moment on, Putin became the biggest oligarch in Russia and the richest man in the world, and my anti-corruption activities would no longer be tolerated....

Information from the Panama Papers also links some money from the crime that Sergei Magnitsky discovered and exposed to Sergei Roldugin. Based on the language of the Magnitsky Act, this would make Putin personally subject to Magnitsky sanctions.

This is particularly worrying for Putin, because he is one of the richest men in the world. I estimate that he has accumulated $200 billion of ill-gotten gains from these types of operations over his 17 years in power. He keeps his money in the West and all of his money in the West is potentially exposed to asset freezes and confiscation. Therefore, he has a significant and very personal interest in finding a way to get rid of the Magnitsky sanctions.

The second reason why Putin reacted so badly to the passage of the Magnitsky Act is that it destroys the promise of impunity he’s given to all of his corrupt officials.

There are approximately ten thousand officials in Russia working for Putin who are given instructions to kill, torture, kidnap, extort money from people, and seize their property. Before the Magnitsky Act, Putin could guarantee them impunity and this system of illegal wealth accumulation worked smoothly. However, after the passage of the Magnitsky Act, Putin’s guarantee disappeared. The Magnitsky Act created real consequences outside of Russia and this created a real problem for Putin and his system of kleptocracy.

[And then he goes on to draw the links between this extraordinary corruption and the lawyer the president's son and son-in-law met with.]

Trump and Macron, once cast as adversaries, show they have much in common

I just have to first put this in perspective for our short attention span American readers.  Macron as you will remember was loudly lauded for saving France from a fascist contender Maria Le Pen by mainstream press.



But he is no friend of progressives...in fact. he was a 39 year old investment banker in a highly-paid position at Rothschild & Cie Banque.  And, no friend of labor....they hate him but the establishment were not having a real progressive such as Melenchon who actually wanted peace and justice (see update.)  Mainstream press in US, France and Britain were saturated with handsome images of Macron.  A wolf in sheep's clothing, (well not sheep really, rather charming, successful young business man.)  Just another example of how blindered the mainstream pundits are.  Macro is a business executive and is going to fuck french people.  Now media are surprised and think something changed or are just now seeing that they have a lot in common.  Well way to go Washington Post that was a giant screw up call.  But we told you so.

.Trump and Macron, once cast as adversaries, show they have much in common - The Washington Post:

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-france-election-scenarios-factbox-idUSKBN17L1W8 bad article but has the list.of french candidates

Update: A new article for World Socialist Web Site is considers Melenhon a reactionary and points to his support for the military.  It is interesting in that he is called pro war by virtue of wanting borders, and sovereignty and protection from Germany rather that the NATO gambit that is all about Russia.  I admit my confusion in this argument but the conclusion about Macron still stands.

America is the poorest first world country

Chris Hedges on RT tv with Linh Dinh, author of Postcards from the End of America (30 min.)

What Does Russiagate Look Like to Russians?

Basic Russian history lesson. Yeah, I know Americans are not big on history, even remembering their own, but inform our actions according to Norman Soloman and Matt Taibbi we should at least try to under stand history before the bozo in President's office pushes the big red button. For a short history you'll have to read the article.

     For all the fears about Trump being a Manchurian Candidate bent on destroying America from within, the far more likely nightmare endgame involves our political establishment egging the moron Trump into a shooting war as a means of proving his not-puppetness.
     This already almost happened once, when Trump fired missiles into Syria with Russian troops on the ground, seemingly as a means of derailing a Russiagate furor that was really spiraling that particular week. That episode proved that the absolute worst time to bang the war drum under Trump is when he's feeling vulnerable on Russia – which he clearly is now.
     Rising anti-Russian hysteria and a nuclear button-holder in the White House who acts before he thinks is a very bad combination. We should try to chill while we still can, especially since the Russians, once again, probably aren't as powerful as we think.

Taibbi: What Does Russiagate Look Like to Russians? - Rolling Stone:



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Would Medicare-For-All be the Answer for our Health Care System?

OK, OK, enough with the "we must defend the Affordable Care Act, (Obama Care), Nobody I know ever wanted this without a public option anyway but somehow we are all being named as the loyal masses that the dirty Republicans are fucking over by attacking it.  I will editorialize no further and let Dr. Geyman speak for himself.  Keep in mind this article is from January 2013, before Trump, before the Republican congress, even before 2014 when most of ACA went into effect, but just check out his predictions of system failures that have indeed all come to pass and worse.

      Dr. Geyman predicts that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) “will fail to control costs or prices, will not provide universal access to care, and at best will provide low value, high premium “insurance” that will still make essential health care unaffordable for many millions of patients and families.”
     According to Dr. Geyman, “The ACA’s fundamental flaw is that it props up an inefficient and exploitative private health insurance industry while not recognizing that deregulated markets can’t fix systemic problems of access, costs, quality, equity, accountability and sustainability.” In Dr. Geyman’s view, this flows from the political fact that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was “crafted in large part by corporate stakeholders who are themselves responsible for the high costs of U.S. health care. More

Dr Greyman is obviously a hardened advocate for Medicare for all and has written extensively for many years, is past president of Physician for a National Health Plan and all having been working on this issue since 1987.  30 years -- my god that is ancient history, and for that 30 years the insurance industry has done exactly what I predicted in 1994 when California single payer, prop 186 was defeated in a high priced campaign of lies -- they would sucked the life blood out of the health care system until we had to nationalize it dead and rotting corpse. And, you know what?  It is by all rights indeed nearly dead.  Oops, I digress, editorializing and I said I wouldn't.



The following is from a recent article An American Tragedy: Healthcare for Profit which reviews Dr. Geyman's new book Crisis in US Health Care: Corporate Power vs The Common Good (Copernicus Healthcare which tracks 60 years of for profit American health care.  It is an indispensable history especially at this time when truth telling is in such short supply all around.

      Here are some statistics about the US’s ruinous system of health care that you’ll find appalling, though probably not surprising. Page numbers come from the book I’m reviewing here:

• The combined annual cost of insurance and health care is $25,000 for a family of four, while one year’s worth of cancer drugs exceeds $200,000, forcing patients to choose between bankruptcy and treatment. [262]
• Health care makes up a seventh of America’s national income, despite which, 50,000 Americans die every year because they lack health insurance, according to findings in 2012 by Harvard researchers and the US Census Bureau. [98]
• Tens of millions of uninsured or underinsured Americans include “5.9 million uninsured mothers, one in five of whom are likely to have the greatest physical and mental health care needs.” The “underinsured” are 31 million people who have insurance but can’t get care when they need it. Even the insured get “surprise bills for services they thought would be covered.” [261]
• In 2014 over a half-million Americans paid more than $50,000 each for medicine, up by 63% from 2013, having been prescribed high-cost “specialty” drugs. [81] In that year the cost for a bottle of 500 tablets of the common antibiotic Doxycycline, soared from $20 to $1849 in just six months. [80] The contrast with other countries is immense; Herceptin, a breast cancer drug, costs 30 percent less in England and 28 percent less in Norway than it does in the US. [81]
• Costs vary from region to region and even from hospital to hospital. In California, an uncomplicated Caesarian section ranges from $8,312 to $70,908, while in the early 1960s it cost $300 and included pre- and post-natal care. [79]

These statistics are drawn from Dr. John Geyman’s Crisis in US Health Care: Corporate Power vs The Common Good. A founding member of Physicians for a National Health Plan, Geyman charts “60 years of ‘enormous changes,’ 1956-2016,” the period of his primary care practice in rural and urban regions. A former conservative who turned progressive as he learned about America’s health-care enormities, Geyman says our health care predicament is rooted in “a confrontation between profit-seeking corporate stakeholders and the common good,” and while he doesn’t use the c-word, the book is a thoroughly convincing indictment of capitalism in its effects on our nation’s health.”

Both of these below are from 2013
Would Medicare-For-All be the Answer for our Health Care System? | HelpingYouCare®:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-geyman/the-affordable-care-act_b_2537411.html

It’s Time To Raise the Level of Public Debate about Syria | Tim Hayward

This blog post is so convoluted it makes my head spin.  White helmets, abused little girls, hack, shills. good foundations letting themselves be used for profit by propagandists.  Seriously. it boggles the mind.  In balance however, who to believe is less important and less accessible than who to distrust.  If you think you are informed about Syria you will begin to doubt what you know after reading this.  It’s Time To Raise the Level of Public Debate about Syria | Tim Hayward:

Trump ends CIA support for anti-Assad Syria rebels

The hawks, especially among democrats will hate this because they are on such a "Russian everything" trip and they just love dealing weapons.  Democrats, get a grip. This was a very bad policy anyway.  Now let's stop bombing. (update: oops well it looks like the Obama era program was such a flop--who could have guessed that arming nasty mercenaries could have been unhelpful -- that there hasn't been a peep out of the press in 3 days.  My mistake, the hawks are simmering but with zipped lips.)

     Al Jazeera's Heidi Zhou-Castro, reporting from Washington, DC, said the efficacy of the CIA programme to support "moderate" rebels fighting Assad has come under question since Russia's intervention in 2015 to support Assad.
     "But even at its inception, this programme was considered to be minuscule - it would only arm a few hundred Syrian rebel fighters a month," she said.
"And then in 2015 when Russia entered the conflict, throwing its oversized military weight behind Assad ... the CIA programme's perceived impact diminished to nearly inconsequential.
     "But the US held on to it, apparently in an effort to maintain it as a bargaining tool in future negotiations with Russia."
     Juan Cole, history professor at the University of Michigan, told Al Jazeera that the groups the CIA was training and arming are small and have largely been defeated.
"So they're not much of a bargaining chip if that's what they were being held for," he said.

Update:  With Syria you just can't believe anything.  Her is a another report.

     US Continues Supporting Terrorists in Syria  by Stephen Lendman (stephenlendman.org – Home – Stephen Lendman)
     It’s naive to believe otherwise. It’s central to US strategy since launching war for regime change.
     Tactics alone changed from then to now, not Washington’s objective – allied with Israel and other rogue states to topple Syria’s legitimate government

Here is the report which includes the Russian reponse tot he so-called news of ending the program.  Be Suspicious of the Fake News that US is withdrawing from Syria and ceasing to arm 'Rebels' - PaulCraigRoberts.org:  Full disclosure alert:  Roberts has a checkered past and has seemed to flip flop on big views and some consider him a white supremist and you have to wonder about his Reagan era supply side economics work and his stint at the WSJ.

This story fills out the details of the arming of rebels.  Trump ends CIA support for anti-Assad Syria rebels' | News | Al Jazeera:

This is where the story first broke  washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-ends-covert-cia-program-to-arm-anti-assad-rebels

Trump's FBI Pick Has a Troubling History on Digital Liberties

All very true and as the confirmation hearing moves forward, do you think the FBI (secret police) will give up power and spying or will they just lie? I fully expect a rubber stamp.  Think not?  Good luck with that.  Lots of detail here from experts in all things digital at Electronic Frontier Foundation

Read more on Christopher Wray on torture and detention at Guatanamo.  Indeed a bad character. Even worse is his track record on being cozy with corporations.   It  never stops, never will, until we stop it.


full article: Trump's FBI Pick Has a Troubling History on Digital Liberties:



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North Korea and the United States: Will the Real Aggressor Please Stand Down?

Historical background for the Korth Korea story.  Is it any wonder they fear us.

     US political leaders and media pundits trumpet North Korea's recent testing of missiles and nuclear weapons as a great threat. But the US mass media do not tell the whole story. Without the context of history and current events, the actions of North Korea look insane, but when put in context we find that the United States is pushing North Korea on this path. North Korea is really not a significant threat compared to what the United States is doing with nuclear weapons, the Asia Pivot and war games off the Korean coast. In this article, we seek greater understanding by putting ourselves in the place of North Korea.

Her is a list of recent mock invasions US regularly hold military exercises off the Korean coast

North Korea and the United States: Will the Real Aggressor Please Stand Down?:



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South Korea's Peace Villagers Can't Stop the Budding US Defense Project, but They've Managed to Slow It Down

Just looking at this military project right at North Korea's front door is it any wonder that missile tests have accelerated.  We clearly want a fight and everything we do is provocation.

South Korea's Peace Villagers Can't Stop the Budding US Defense Project, but They've Managed to Slow It Down:



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Solidarity Peace Delegation to South Korea – No to U.S. Missile Defense in Korea

This is Korea's best hope for peace and sanity

     The U.S. THAAD deployment in South Korea is part of the U.S. “pivot” to the Asia Pacific. It expands the already significant network of U.S. missile defense systems encircling China and Russia. This effort to boost declining U.S. political and economic influence in the region comes at a high cost, however, to the American people. It diverts billions of dollars away from critical domestic needs at a time of decaying infrastructure, unprecedented economic inequality, and limited access to basic human services. It also compromises the principles as well as safety of peace-loving Americans by intensifying regional military tensions, fuelling a new arms race, and threatening a renewed outbreak of fighting on the Korean peninsula, this time involving nuclear weapons with unimaginable consequences for human life.

Solidarity Peace Delegation to South Korea – No to U.S. Missile Defense in Korea:



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North Korea’s Fast-Track Missile Development: How Far It’s Come and Why It Has the U.S. on Edge

This article contains pages of note and descriptions of every missile that ever was

The United States declares that it will not engage in talks with North Korea unless it denuclearizes as a precondition while receiving nothing in return. [19] That position shuts down any possibility of diplomacy, and it is hard to visualize any way out of the current impasse as long as Washington clings to that attitude.

North Korea’s Fast-Track Missile Development: How Far It’s Come and Why It Has the U.S. on Edge:



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Do you get your news from PBS

Apologies to the faithful PBS 'ers out there but I had to share this

Bullshitter in Chief -- A Theory

Thank you Linda Sexauer for turning me on to this blog by Tim Hayward.  US foreign policy in its whole is bullshit. I was heartened to see that the term has not escaped critical thinkers.  "Bullshit often involves lying, the two things are not the same: the bullshitter ‘does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are."  Harry Frankfurt   Although I can not remember the US State Department ever telling the "truth", of late bullshit has spiked to unbearable levels.



A Theory of Bullshit: Introduction | Tim Hayward:

Democrats Face Failing Russia-gate Scheme

This from our friend Norman Solomon writing in Consortium news:

     The plan for Democrats to run against Russia may be falling apart.
President Donald Trump being sworn in on Jan. 20, 2017.
     After squandering much of the last six months on faulting Russians for the horrific presidency of Donald Trump… After blaming America’s dire shortfalls of democracy on plutocrats in Russia more than on plutocrats in America… After largely marketing the brand of their own party as more anti-Russian than pro-working-people… After stampeding many Democratic Party-aligned organizations, pundits and activists into fixating more on Russia than on the thousand chronic cuts to democracy here at home… After soaking up countless hours of TV airtime and vast quantities of ink and zillions of pixels to denounce Russia in place of offering progressive remedies to the deep economic worries of American voters…
     Now, Democrats in Congress and other party leaders are starting to face an emerging reality: The “winning issue” of Russia is a losing issue.

I might add that it is not only the party that loses -- The entire mainstream media is playing with fire and risks being discredited as a source of information.  Of course much damage has already been done by the news/entertainment industry and that of course the subject of a much longer study.  My fear is that progressives are so close to democrats that it will rub off, leaving fascism to sweep the boards.

Above is just his opener read the complete and nuanced article here:  Democrats Face Failing Russia-gate Scheme – Consortiumnews:



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The Enquirer and Trump

For me this eye opening New Yorker article begs the question of the character of the electorate and takes me back to the days in the early 90's when I began working on public access television in Petaluma -- what would become PCA.  As myself and my partners in crime pushed and shoved and lobbied for access to local cable TV,  paramount in our minds was community self expression and free speech in a media environment dominated by six corporations cozy with the power structure.  From the very beginning one of the valuable connections we made was the League of Women Voters and American Association of University Women and we shared a common plank -- what's needed in democratic elections is a truly "informed electorate".  In one of our earliest efforts in local media, together we sponsor and televised candidates forums and debates with that very goal in mind. We persisted for many years. Over 27 years later, the jury is in!  The electorate has gotten dumber, information has been replaced by tabloid style sleaze an innuendo and civic participation has plummeted.

For those few who are not regular readers of the Enquirer, and just to give the flavor, this from the article.

     Throughout the 2016 Presidential race, the Enquirer embraced Trump with sycophantic fervor. The magazine made its first political endorsement ever, of Trump, last spring. Cover headlines promised, “donald trump’s revenge on hillary & her puppets” and “top secret plan inside: how trump will win debate!” The publication trashed Trump’s rivals, running a dubious cover story on Ted Cruz that described him as a philanderer and another highly questionable piece that linked Cruz’s father to the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
     It was even tougher on Hillary Clinton, regularly printing such headlines as “ ‘sociopath’ hillary clinton’s secret psych files exposed!” A 2015 piece began, “Failing health and a deadly thirst for power are driving Hillary Clinton to an early grave, The National Enquirer has learned in a bombshell investigation. The desperate and deteriorating 67-year-old won’t make it to the White House—because she’ll be dead in six months.” On election eve, the Enquirer offered a special nine-page investigation under the headline “hillary: corrupt! racist! criminal!” This blatantly skewed coverage continued after Trump took office. Post-election cover stories included “trump takes charge! success in just 36 days!” and “proof obama wiretapped trump! lies, leaks & illegal bugging.”. 

OK,  so what does this have to do with real media, you may ask?  I don't read tabloids! Although inquiring minds want to know if you really do. My answer: With Trump's Twitter, campaigns hiring trolls to propagate similarly sleazy fake news memes, CNN getting into the act by producing scripted "breaking news" using actors holding signs standing in for demonstrators, and a system wide echo chamber of lies and deceit -- well the media as a source of information has seen better days.  The conclusion:  If the so called "free press" is not contributing to an informed electorate that is crucial for the health of a democracy and instead making us dumber, what to do? Read the Enquirer and find out.

I know that's not a conclusion but I will leave it there for now because this is a conversation must continue, but since it happens in the media, it won't happen -- HELP!

https://www.google.com/amp/www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/03/the-national-enquirers-fervor-for-trump/amp#ampshare=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/07/03/the-national-enquirers-fervor-for-trump

The Atlantic's cover this month is indistinguishable from John Milius's Homefront on XBOX

Sheer war mongering is standard fare for US media

sober, liberal magazine The Atlantic's cover this month is indistinguishable from John Milius's Homefront on XBOX pic.twitter.com/OScJAl0etc

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) July 4, 2017

Point of information: NYC police force has a budget just shy of North Korea's military budget. I would like to add a bit of homework to your political studies.  Read this short book: The Korean War: A History - by Univ. Chicago historian Bruce Cumings


Continuing our little study of war mongering

shockingly WSJ calls for regime change in North Korea https://t.co/qGIfeo2dIh

— Adam H. Johnson (@adamjohnsonNYC) July 4, 2017

Yes, we should insist on changing this dangerous dialogue. Following is an article by Robert L. Gallucci is a professor of diplomacy at Georgetown University. He served in the State Department as chief U.S. negotiator during the North Korean nuclear crisis of 1994, and as an ambassador-at-large and special envoy dealing with threats posed by the proliferation of ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction. It is the clearest, most straight forward statement supporting detente I have seen in years.  Total nuclear disarmament aside, (my preference) -- Lest by arrogance and stupidity we forget 65 years of experience in this diplomacy.

If we're going to rule out negotiations with North Korea, we have to be ready for war https://t.co/n76eyy6mnz

— wmorgenthaler (@wmorgenthaler2) July 4, 2017

Yes, I vote for peace and will not be silenced by those who say it is unrealistic.  It is in fact, true, just and most realistic.

In a divided America, James Baldwin’s fiery critiques reverberate anew

This is a wonderful article from the Washington Post.  Beyond just canonizing Baldwin or reviewing the new documentary, “I Am Not Your Negro” The author provides a compendium of resources and links on the subject of Baldwin's enduring relevance.  I will let it speak for itself.

     Baldwin wrote “I love America more than any other country in this world, and, exactly for this reason, I insist on the right to criticize her perpetually,” he wrote in “Notes of a Native Son,” a classic tome of essays illuminating what it is to be black in an America intent on preserving its whiteness.
     Take the words out of the 1950s, when they were published, and they could apply to the women in pink hats, the scientists, the Black Lives Matter activists, the climate-change believers and the LGBTQ-rights supporters who have flooded the streets of Washington this year.
     Baldwin wanted desperately for his country to deliver on its promise. So does a whole new generation of his fans 

If you are interested in a deeper appreciation of this black American hero I strongly recommend following the link below and reading the original article.

 In a divided America, James Baldwin’s fiery critiques reverberate anew - The Washington Post:



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A glut of energy? With global warming why would we do this in California?

A runaway energy industry is costing California billions https://t.co/OX6OlL9qcM

— wmorgenthaler (@wmorgenthaler2) July 4, 2017

Quantifying the additional killings commited by cops when they get military weapons

Good study of the fucking obvious problem with the military transferring weapons (1033 transfers) to the police.

     Conclusion: "We find a positive and statistically significant relationship between 1033 transfers and fatalities from officer-involved shootings across all models."
     Moreover, they used clever methods to determine that the causal arrow runs in the direction they hypothesized, showing that it wasn't that cops in violent communities got more military stuff and were thus involved in more violence -- rather, getting military goods made the cops more violent.

This story is from Boing Boing and admittedly left leaning source which is nonetheless highly factual.  Quantifying the additional killings commited by cops when they get military weapons / Boing Boing:

This may all sound academic and indeed 1033 transfers are not the only thing going on that makes cops more violent.  The complex phenomenon is describe by journalist Radley Balko in his book Rise of the warrior cop .  If you are still not emotionally hooked or wavering on the fence not wanting to impugn the character police officers, then a look at his video and its introduction Conditioned Response.may change your mind.



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Beyond Celebrity Politics and Capitalism: Michelle Alexander, Naomi Klein and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on Trudeau, Sanders and More

We are not likely to get beyond Celebrity.  If anything the people of the United States are the biggest suckers for celebrity and brands on the planet.  Ultimately the answer will be revolutionary.  We must take the marketing mechanisms that support and indeed give an advantage to this type of promotions out of the electoral process by banning advertising, mail, TV, radio and somehow the Internet in elections.  We must break up corporate media and re institute rules of fairness and equal time. We must get back to captains, neighbors and volunteers walking precincts and convincing people to vote for the candidates that will support good policy.  We need local forums mediated fairly by respected civic groups, churches, nonprofits.  We need to return to paper ballots counted by people in an observable, accountable way as a national standard for all elections. And, we must publicly finance campaigns. Hardly anyone thinks that going back to basic is possible and for this we may be doomed to continue seeking a savior instead of electing public servants.  Demand the Impossible!

US President Trump and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau participate in a joint news conference at the White House on February 13, 2017. The fascination with Trudeau "speaks to the way that celebrity culture bleeds over into political culture," says Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor.

Beyond Celebrity Politics and Capitalism: Michelle Alexander, Naomi Klein and Keeanga-Yamahtta Taylor on Trudeau, Sanders and More:

OK, so this is just my speel on elections the Haymarket talk is much broader than this single issue and very educational.



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Is Facebook Media?

Facebook Temporarily Blocks Black Lives Matter Activist After He Posts Racist Email

This s the title of and older story that I am bringing back which happened late last year and got little attention.  While watching the news feed on my own facebook,  An old friend went suddenly Sean Hannity on me and once started it just all linked up and high profiled. I came to see how easily manipulated the feed could be.  I saw how easily we could be persuaded to take up the telephone and call to support obsolete neoliberal talking point by the constant barage of Democratic Party machine group think, and even old dead free market crap about liberty.  All of this is spiced with a strong dose of classic Libertarian bullshit. We are called a progressive community in the North Bay but in truth there is a staunch majority of liberal Democratic Party loyalists that are still pissed off about Hillary and yearn to go back to the days of Obama.
Getting back to Facebook I will first set the stage by saying that across this country most people still get their news from TV.  This is well documented.  However in our circles and among the young and progressive activists and our friends Facebook principally and social media in general is the window into the world of information and news. KQED and KPFA distant third and umtheenth.  Does this make Facebook a media company, do they edit, even censor or do they gently push ideas?  Turns out the answer is no, sort of yes and no and definitely yes,but the platform is undeniably fertile ground for exploitation for those with an agenda.  Most of the users are clearly net consumers of this mediated information. So this would seem to support  the answer.  Yes they are media and therefore this debate is also as about issues of privatization of the utility of communications systems and influence as it is about censorship. It is a proverbial can of worms.  Telephones and postal mail use to be regulated to prevent thought control.  TV and news outlets use to be required to provide equal time for opposing views, but with Facebook? All bets are off and I am more than a little worried.

This is from the story:

Facebook faced international scorn last week when it censored a Norwegian writer’s post featuring the historic Vietnam war photo of nine-year-old Kim Phuc running naked from a napalm attack. Journalists criticized the decision, saying the Pulitzer-winning image had clear news value, and Norway’s largest newspaper published a front-page letter to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging him to live up to his role as “the world’s most powerful editor”.

After the intense backlash, Facebook reinstated the photo, but media ethicists said the spat exposed fundamental flaws and unresolved challenges in the way the company controls the news. While Zuckerberg continues to insist that his corporation is a “platform” and “tech company” – and not a media site or publisher – the reality is that Facebook has become a primary news source for many users and a vital tool for reporters.

Shaun King – a senior justice writer for the New York Daily News, who frequently writes viral stories about police brutality – posted on his Facebook page a screenshot of an email that twice called him the N-word, saying “FUCK YOU N*****!” The technology corporation said it was blocking him from posting for 24 hours, saying he had violated its “community standards”. 

I really mean can of worms, I know you all love your Facebook and it is sometime incredibly sweet and warm and almost human,  but beware.  This is part of your  mental environment (count your hours.) The Internet is the information environment upon with you form opinions and make decisions.  It is so big it is only a quasi business.  If Facebook were a religion it would be the second largest on the planet and as such it is wide open to those who would persuade you and money is no object, this is big.

As the discussion about fake news, terrorism, hate speak, social media trolling software deployed by governments, law enforcement agencies and NSA back doors proceed, trust me this will only become worse.  As authoritarian governments work to stop the resistance and yet the resistance itself deploys social media aggressively as a powerful organizing tool the shit will hit the fan.  Just a head up.

Facebook Temporarily Blocks Black Lives Matter Activist After He Posts Racist Email:

Injured General Motors Colombian Worker and Activist Denied Visa

One notable and vitally important part of last years Standing Rock protest was it strong international and intersectional framework. I was very impressed at the sophistication of the organizers. This story connects this with internationalism, Naomi Klein's global call to action and Sara Jaffe's hopeful book Necessary Trouble, Americans in Revolt.  Trade agreements between elites in Columbia and other countries with the US include the exchange and sharing of information.  Here is a case of suspected collusion between a corporation and governments to black ball activists.  One of the shining hopes of the Resistance is Internationalism.  Although difficult to confirm due to secrecy, this articles shows that in the age of terrorism watch and no fly lists, we may see more of this directed at activists such as this injured General Motors worker who was flying to meet with Oregon-based Central America Solidarity Committee. The cancellation has not been officially explained, and supporters suspect retaliation for the aggressive protest tactics employed by the Colombians.

     In official statements“GM has put in place training, funding, and other resources so the Asotrecol members can return to productive work again and care for their families.”
     Shell-Spurling brushes aside GM’s statements, charging that the company has spent years denying the problem, or making insincere offers of partial restitution. GM exercises strong political influence in both the United States and Colombia, she adds, and the governments of both countries have generally supported GM in the struggle with ASOTRECOL. She cited the action of U.S. Ambassador Kevin Whitaker to cancel Parra’s visa a prime example of such support.
     Although there has been no confirmation, Paige says there is some suspicion that Parra’s visa cancellation may have been related to a meeting that had been scheduled this month with U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Oregon).  The Portland Solidarity Committee had pressed for the meeting, Shell-Spurling says, in hopes that Sen. Wyden’s attention would spur GM to finally settle with all the injured workers.

General Motors to Colombian Workers Injured on the Job: You're on Your Own:



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What Will It Take for Americans to Understand the Basics of Election Integrity?

In 2009, Germany's highest court recognized that which the US mainstream media, the leadership of both US political parties and the US courts have, for the most part, ignored. All forms of computerized vote counting -- via the Internet, Direct Recording Electronic (DRE's, usually touch-screens), and paper ballot optical-scan tabulators -- are vulnerable to malicious hacking and/or insider manipulation.

 "There's only one way to ensure a verifiable count that complies with Germany's constitutional mandate for "transparency": hand-marked paper ballots, publicly hand-counted with the observable tallies posted at each precinct on Election Night. The German court therefore banned all forms of e-vote tabulation in that nation's elections."

What Will It Take for Americans to Understand the Basics of Election Integrity?:

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