Just for fun: Jordan’s Ranting Vent on the New York Times’ FAIL reporting on Standing Rock– Heads up, foul language in profusion. Hey, it’s a RANT! It’s to be expected. If you want nice and polite tune into the PBS News Hour.
#WaterIsLife
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Who cares about R2D2 when you’ve got a Water Warrior Drone Scout? Is there anything cooler? Yeah, well Dakota Access Pipeline Layers and the Morton County Sheriff’s forces are not too fond of them. I do not understand why they keep shooting at drones. Actually I do and so will you after seeing what drones can show and tell. Still, what does a helicopter have to fear from a drone? I don’t know, but apparently they’re capable of “stalking” with ill intent. A malicious drone? Huh. Maybe they’re afraid they’ll do that bird flying into the blades or engine or something. Yep. Instead of getting into all that, here’s a few Digital Smoke Signals from Myron Dewey’s drones. If you click through to YouTube you can see more and subscribe. Take a load off and enjoy the views that you have NOT seen on mainstream news.
Drone Day Shift-ing.
Drone-ing at night.
After being asked nicely by the feds to stop construction ETP/DAPL did their usual thing–work.
Kandi Mossett, Tara Houska, and Dallas Goldtooth present an update and call to action on the situation at Standing Rock, North Dakota – where thousands of Indigenous water protectors and allies are defending sacred lands from desecration by the Dakota Access Pipeline in the face of police brutality and arrest.
Filmed live at the Bioneers 2016 Conference on October 23, 2016.
But some people don’t want to think about that reality.
~Why not?
Because then they’d have to learn a new history.
~Ooops–but isn’t history supposed to be true and honest?
Depends on who is using which facts to support which version of what happened.
~Are you saying people manipulate facts to suit their own agendas?
Me? Why would I ever say something like that? It might be politically incorrect, and we can’t have that, can we?
~Hmm, but what’s Politically Correct for one group isn’t necessarily PC for another group. And people do have a tendency to abuse PC everywhere in order to create conflict and sometime even abuse other people who had no intentions of abusing anyone. There’s been some very rough irony involved in demands for PC over the years.
No way! Who would do something like that?
~Who doesn’t? Come on, look at the conservative media, the scared shitless media, the controlled media, the alternative media, the foreign media, the underground media, the social media–everyone spins everything to suit their vision of reality, right?
Do you think that’s what pissed off those high school kids in Colorado so much that they pretested in the streets about changes in what history would be taught?
~What do you think?
I’m not sure yet. But–I do recall what happened in Arizona with the Mexican-American Studies program being shut down because it presented a different viewpoint of history than what the TPTB wanted taught in schools.
~Hey, are you saying there’s a conspiracy to teach lies in American schools?
Look, I don’t go in for conspiracy theories. But I don’t think this is a coincidence either. Maybe it’s just like minds acting out in similar ways. Or not.
~ Like minded people, right. Ah ha.
ACT II:
Lie. Lie. Lie.
Deny lying and lie some more.
Because if the truth is known the people might rebel.
There’s a very good chance they’ll refuse to be cannon fodder.
They might even learn other languages in order to talk to the rest of the world about issues that affect everyone.
Or not.
ACT III:
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Howard Zinn on Honesty In History
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Humor ~~ Warning! Contains Sarcasm, Irony and Questioning of Authority
If you’re still in the dark about the history curriculum issue in Colorado:
I love my local public library’s book and magazine holdings–even if I don’t always love what I learn via all information sources. While browsing the magazine racks this weekend I came across GQ‘s red tagged Special Report on sexual assault in the U.S. military–“Son, Men Don’t Get Raped” by Nathaniel Penn. There’s a certain irony in this September 2014 issue of GQ as this is its style edition and there are lots of photos of great looking guys wearing wonderful clothing throughout the magazine. So many in fact that I had some trouble navigating my way to the article that had caught my attention. To clarify, not because I was distracted by the images, but because of the sheer amount of fashion pictures. It’s all about a man’s image. And this article offers a haunting and compelling counterpoint to all those slick photographs of handsome, healthy masculinity. What happens when a basically healthy man is destroyed by his fellow man via sexual assault?
Penn’s piece offers a shattering look at the ongoing, and increasing, issue of male sexual assault in the military. The number of victims are in the thousands, these men have no recourse for medical aid of any kind from the VA, they are discharged from all branches of the service if/when they report being sexually assaulted by their comrades and superiors, and the consequences damage them for life. Penn eschews a straightforward narrative prose approach by letting dozens of quotes from victims speak for themselves to tell their stories, which taken as a whole present a damning portrait of how the American Armed Forces across the board is NOT dealing effectively with sexual assault by men against other men. The issues of power and control are in full throttle swing here on multiple levels and the picture is appalling. Indeed the military has succeeded in de-humanizing itself from the very top ranking officers down to the lowest ranking private. There is no compassion, there is no legal redress, there is no medical treatment offered, there is no accountability. There is only abuse and destruction of men by other men on the psychological, physical and emotional levels. There’s not much to recognize of the noble ideal of officers and gentlemen in this scenario which is destroying the lives of men who joined the military to serve their country.
The bottom line is that–the men who swear to defend the United States of America by doing military service do not defend each other—they enter a system in which rape, a crime of power and control, is rampant–and clearly no one within the system gives enough of a damn to do what needs to be done to address the problem. Other countries have–but not the United States. Here the victim still pays the price for the behavior of the criminal.
Yes, son, men do get raped all the time in the military — and it’s not by enemy forces, but by their so-called brothers in arms.
Kudos to GQ for publishing this devastatingly candid article about an issue apparently no one in the U.S. government really wants to do anything about. Why is that? Refusal to face reality that the military system is dysfunctional and destructive and therefore counterproductive? Because it’s run by damaged people with power and control issues of their own? Because the public lives in denial of reality? Because it’s hard to accept that the ideal is not real? Or ____ ?
“There are certain points in history where a society goes so wrong, and there are certain people who will say, ‘I won’t stand for that . . . I will risk career, life, limb, family freedom . . . And I will take this risk, and I will go and do it.”
David Kairys
Betty Medsger’s book about the 1971 burglary of the FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania isn’t about a cheap thrill ride of robbery for adrenaline kicks and profit, though it was a crime with a huge payout–the truth. The burglary committed by a crew of non-violent peace activists assembled by a physics professor, William Davidon, confirmed the suspicions of anti-war activists that they were being unlawfully spied upon by their own government because they were exercising their right to dissent — and that thousands of other people were being illegally spied upon because they were considered subversives according to one man, J. Edgar Hoover. People didn’t have to commit any crime or even speak about committing treason to get their names put on a list of folks to be rounded up and jailed in the event of some national emergency. If they were liberal, if they were black, if they espoused anti-war sentiments, if they were writers, artists, then they were candidates for warrantless, indefinite detention without due process under the law–as far as Hoover was concerned. The Citizens Commission to Investigate the FBI’s theft of FBI records brought into the light of day the term COINTELPRO–and a lot of very very illegal activity by the FBI as it committed crimes against the American people with impunity. Such crimes included destroying the lives of innocent people by deliberately framing them for crimes they didn’t commit, celebrating such wrongdoing and refusing to turn over evidence that proved their innocence in any wrongdoing. Hoover’s secret FBI didn’t give a damn about truth, integrity, civil liberties, or the law. It existed to create paranoia and fear in the population at large in order to control everyone. It refused to protect and uphold the Constitution of the United States and the law. It was a criminal entity from the top on down with a few exceptions.
If this is striking a contemporary current events cord with you, that’s not an accident.
If you’re expecting an anti-war tale rife with hippies, drugs, sex and rock and roll music, look elsewhere. The people who broke into the FBI office in Media were not a bunch of hooligans. They weren’t looking for money. They were searching for evidence. These were people who raided draft offices in order to destroy the effort to conscript young men for the war machine then stayed to be arrested by the police in order to take responsibility for their actions. These were people deeply invested in ethical behavior and education who wanted the death and destruction in Vietnam to stop. They were people committed to the civil rights movement. Betty Medsger’s book provides varied personal portraits of the burglars, each dependent upon how much personal information they were willing to share, of the Media burglars. There’s a range of backgrounds and experience among them which provides some sense of the breadth of the range of people involved in the anti-war movement and what inspired them to become activists.
If you have no clue about the short and long-term importance of this burglary and the context in which it occurred, don’t fret, Medsger will fill you in. She provides notes and a very useful bibliography for further reading. While this is a very serious book about very serious issues which are very relevant to the here and now, it’s also very very accessible and readable. It gives life and breath to events by creating connections with real humans thinking hard about the world we live in–and how we live in it. What are the responsibilities of those who are free? What does it mean to have the right to dissent without fear of retaliation in a society that claims to be free? What are you willing to do to protect your civil liberties? Who wants to live their lives in fear of being arrested because of their ideas?
Betty Medsger’s book raises all sorts of interesting issues for serious conversation while stressing the important role ‘ordinary’ people play in creating the world in which we live our daily lives. If you think one person doesn’t have a lot of influence in the power plays then consider J. Edgar Hoover the Head of the FBI versus William Davidon, a physics professor with an idea.
Who is reading everyone’s mail? Who is collecting phone conversations? Who is creating files on everyone? Why?
Who has the Hoover virus? What is to be done about it?
http://www.politics-prose.com/book/97… Betty Medsger talks about her book about the previously unsolved burglary of an FBI building in Media, Pennsylvania. Recorded on March 16, 2014.
Founded by Carla Cohen and Barbara Meade in 1984, Politics & Prose Bookstore is Washington, D.C.’s premier independent bookstore and cultural hub, a gathering place for people interested in reading and discussing books. Politics & Prose offers superior service, unusual book choices, and a haven for book lovers in the store and online. Visit them on the web at http://www.politics-prose.com/
Yes, it’s Monday. It’s St. Patrick’s Day. It’s national beer drinking day for a lot of folks.
But it’s also another day in the ongoing fight against uranium mining and its consequences everywhere from the past to the present.
On March 14, 2014 independent journalist Amy Goodman reported from Flagstaff, Arizona about the ongoing environmental and health issues connected with uranium mining and its long-term consequences for the Dine ~ Navajo people. The main portion of her video report is posted here but there is a great deal more information and related coverage on Democracy Now!’s site. Part of the Democracy Now! broadcast discussed the use of music and film by to raise awareness and share information regarding issues. To supplement DN!’s coverage I’ve included two videos featuring Klee Benally’s music and an informative video about Outta Your Backpack Media which teaches Indigenous people how to make and use movies to address the need for media justice and coverage in their communities. There’s a trailer for the film The Returnof Navajo Boy which is referenced in the news piece. The film’s website –> http://navajoboy.com/. Democracy Now!’s page for the story also includes links to information and related stories.
This is a trailer for the award-winning documentary film, “The Return of Navajo Boy.” See its official website for more information:http://www.navajoboy.com
What’s in a word? What does a name signify? If you call a thing by a certain label does it make it so? For the life of me I cannot understand why a film is titled WinterSoldier and contains a character by that name when the term has nothing at all to do with the historical reality associated with the term Winter Soldier. From the information I’ve gathered so far online there seems to be absolutely no connection at all between the movie Captain America: The Winter Soldier and the historical and contemporary Winter Soldiers of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan telling the public about war crimes. I find this a tad unsettling while seriously doubting there will be any ongoing social media dishing of this misappropriation of a phrase which designates American veterans as there was of The Lone Ranger. There was a ton of chatter about all the things ‘wrong’ with TheLone Ranger –all of which went on while blatantly ignoring the movie’s outright attacks on genocide, manifest destiny and the military industrial complex. I came across some comments regarding a clip from a portion of the real Winter Soldier testimony in which people were considering the effect of the Captain America film on the reality of the veterans known as Winter Soldiers. Once the movie is seen by millions who pay little attention to historical events, the term Winter Soldier will be coupled with a character from a movie with absolutely no meaningful connection to the Winter Soldiers of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Is there any greater insult to people who have the courage to speak the truth about war? Hmm, ooops I shouldn’t have asked that question, because I’m sure there are greater insults. Have no doubt that the FBI and/or the CIA could top such an insult with ease. More on that when I post my review of Betty Medsger’s very unsettling book, The Burglary. It’s an unsettling read for what it reveals about the totally corrupt character of the FBI under J.Edgar Hoover. If you can imagine a law to break, the FBI broke it. I digress, more to come on the book later. Back to misrepresentation, illusion and manipulated delusions of Marvel Comics characters. Superheroes can be so enthralling. They’re also very unreal.
Now if anyone sees the Disney film and finds a connection between the illusion and the reality, please do not hesitate to share it.
Wait–could it be the concept of brainwashing? Could it? Let’s consider that possibility…hmmm. Why not? It’s a connection. Or is it?
My thanks to Wikipedia for the factual information and links that follow.
On with the show.
What does this illusion:
Marvel’s Captain America: The Winter Soldier
Information about the film via Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Captain_America:_The_Winter_Soldier
Steve Rogers’ best friend, who has reemerged as an enhanced brainwashed assassin after being thought killed in action during World War II.[12][7] About the character, Feige said, “Winter Soldier has been methodically, almost robotically, following orders for 70 years.”[13] Stan, who has a nine-picture deal with Marvel Studios including his appearance in The First Avenger,[14]endured five months of physical training to prepare for the role and did historical research stating, “I dove into the whole Cold War thing. I looked at the KGB. I looked at all kinds of spy movies, and all kinds of documentaries about that time, and what it was about. I grabbed anything from that time period. Anything about brainwashing.”[15] Regarding Bucky’s transition into the Winter Soldier, Stan said, “You know, the truth of the situation is although he looks very different and there’s different things about him, it still comes from the same person. I think you’ll get to see that no matter what. I think part of my goal here was to make sure that you see an extension of that version but just a different color of that same version in a way. I think he’s still the same guy; he’s cut from the same cloth.”[16]
have to do with this reality?:
Winter Soldier Investigation via Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winter_Soldier_Investigation
The “Winter Soldier Investigation” was a media event sponsored by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) from January 31, 1971 – February 2, 1971. It was intended to publicize war crimes and atrocities by the United States Armed Forces and their allies in the Vietnam War. The VVAW challenged the morality and conduct of the war by showing the direct relationship between military policies and war crimes in Vietnam. The three-day gathering of 109 veterans and 16 civilians took place in Detroit, Michigan. Discharged servicemen from each branch of military service, as well as civilian contractors, medical personnel and academics, all gave testimony about war crimes they had committed or witnessed during the years of 1963–1970.[1][2][3]
Hmm, how’s that poem working for you? May not make the publishing book grade, but it does the introduction rites job today. Sort of. Books are strange things. Never know just what you’ll find between their covers–hard copy or electronic, it makes no difference when the words are what make the mental meat of the matter. I have no clue how good or bad Medsger’s brand spanking new book reads. Yet. It’s literally a NEW release by Random House-as in publication dated yesterday. Ironically the historical story it features is decades old. New book for an old untold story about American citizens taking things into their own hands in order to get to the truth of what matters. According to the interview on Democracy Now! this morning, the newspaper media nearly failed them. The truth was very HOT to handle. Some political folks so feared the FBI that they turned their backs on the right to information regarding illegal activities by the FBI. One mailing of copied documents never reached its destination. Can we say “intercepted”? Or maybe just an honest mistake on the part of the postal service. I wouldn’t bet a penny on that.
Clearly history is repeating itself in current events. The stakes are just as high regarding freedom and civil liberties. A portion of the public is very paranoid. J. Edgar Hoover would be proud of the media spin on all things of politics regarding the military industrial complex and corporate personhood for inducing much paranoia–according the old documents stolen and “released.” Some times it’s just no fun having a theory proven. My next observation might seem like a side issue, but it’s not. How many ‘cop’ shows are on television? How many feature all sorts of fancy surveillance techno toys? How many feature terrorist threats week after week? How many evoke sympathy for the hardworking agents no matter what their flaws? Have you gotten used to the sound of gunfire from watching crime shows on television? Ever notice the lack of emotion from the people doing the shooting and the characters giving and recieving the news that someone has been killed?
Side note: At the opposite end are the medical heroes who do everything they can to save lives and then seem to suffer a sense of loss when their patients die. Hmm. I’ve yet to encounter any such doctor in my life experience. I’ve managed to send a couple running in a panic. I guess that proved those well educated individuals were human after all.
“Excuse me, doctor, but that’s not his sense of humor. At the moment, he really thinks you’re all aliens out to kill him. He’s a lot stronger than he looks. I advise exercising caution when handling.” Watch doctor run back to ER room.
Back to the regular word flow:
I wonder if there’s a television program in the works about TSA folks in order to show us just how good all their intentions are as they intimidate, strip search, x-ray, hassle and belittle people everywhere with impunity in order to keep people safe. The irony of TSA is a steak so thick an axe is needed to cut the meat.
What’s your paranoia meter reading? I know people who freak out every time there’s a plane crash and others who fear the sight of police people wearing gun holsters. I also know a fair number of folks who don’t give a flying f&*^ about anything except their daily routine and money-making. As long at those boats are not rocked, all is well in their universe.
Is there a safety lock somewhere?
Is this piece fully loaded?
Careful with the drones~
Make sure they fly right~
Status quo depends on the system flowing, flowing, flowing…..
http://www.democracynow.org – One of the great mysteries of the Vietnam War era has been solved. On March 8, 1971, a group of activists — including a cabdriver, a day care director and two professors — broke into an FBI office in Media, Pennsylvania. They stole every document they found and then leaked many to the press, including details about FBI abuses and the then-secret counter-intelligence program to infiltrate, monitor and disrupt social, political movements, nicknamed COINTELPRO. Calling themselves, the Citizen’s Commission to Investigate the FBI, no one was ever caught for the break-in. The burglars’ identities remained a secret until this week when they finally came forward to take credit for the caper that changed history. Today we are joined by three of them — John Raines, Bonnie Raines and Keith Forsyth; their attorney, David Kairys; and Betty Medsger, the former Washington Post reporter who first broke the story of the stolen FBI documents in 1971 and has now revealed the burglars’ identities in her new book, “The Burglary: The Discovery of J. Edgar Hoover’s Secret FBI.”
Watch part 1 of this interview: http://youtu.be/GMWuJipChs0
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Climate Denial Crock of the Week
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Connie Dover
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