We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Thursday, February 15, 2018

Recommended articles for 2/15/2018

  • Who is burying the Olympic movement and why? from Oriental Review. Although this rather lengthy post originates from an independent website in Russia, I think that it at least provides balance to the ongoing smearing of Russia athletes by the US. Actually I think most Russian and other nations' websites, whether independent or funded by their governments, offer far more accurate coverage of issues that those under the control of the transnational capitalist class in nations under the control of the US-led Empire.  Media corporations in the latter nations have no scruples about planting fake news stories, presenting extremely biased reports in their media, and engaging in censorship by refusing to offer the views of independent journalists.
  • The following video was posted in an article entitled "A chi sono utili le «inutili guerre»" or "The Art of War: For Whom are the 'Useless Wars' Useful For?" posted at Il Manifesto, an Italian journalists' cooperative website. The 16:08m video provides a very good summary of the article. (The video may take a few seconds to upload.)