Striking a blow against fascism with commentary on current events, finance, economics, politics, music, art, culture and how to deal with our economic lives being bartered away by the elites who have our financial future all figured out: We'll be paying off their debts forever.
Cirze's World
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Conservative Animus
_________________
Conservatism is the theoretical voice of this animus against the agency of the subordinate classes. It provides the most consistent and profound argument as to why the lower orders should not be allowed to exercise their independent will, why they should not be allowed to govern themselves or the polity. Submission is their first duty, agency, the prerogative of the elite.
- Corey Robin
The Conservative Mind
_________________
“Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never — in nothing, great or small, large or petty — never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense.
Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”
- Winston Churchill _________________
“Imperial privilege is this strange ability on the part of the U.S. public to ‘shrug off’ the consequences experienced by people impacted by the direct and indirect result of U.S. militarism.”
— Ajamu Baraka
_________________
Current Readers
Politicus USA on GOP Fascism
_________________
The entire GOP apparatus is slipping toward fascism and millions of Americans have been indoctrinated to believe that the Bible none of them have read takes precedence over the Constitution none of them have read.
Eco Farm Shitakes, Squash, Kale - Cindi, Nicole & Eddie
Ukraine Disinformation Battle: Little Green Men, Hamsters and the Fog of War
________________
There has always been a gap in how media on both sides of the former Iron Curtain have reported world events, and it’s growing as the crisis in Ukraine escalates. It has become increasingly difficult to obtain reliable information from any side — west, east, or further east — about what is going on in Eastern Ukraine.
While powerful propaganda machines fill the public space with smoke and mirrors, one of the few facts that can be positively established in Eastern Ukraine is that the body count is steadily growing: a testament of just how easy it is for self-interested foreign powers to start, either intentionally or recklessly, a civil war in the heart of Europe. Continuing coverage is available at this link and this link.
Cirze's World
Red Roots Farm - Kristen & Jason - No Sprays/Delicious Veggies!
Fukushima, Japan Disaster Worsens and Spreads
________________
While the American reactor industry continues to suck billions of dollars from the public treasury, its allies in the corporate media seem increasingly hesitant to cover the news of post-Fukushima Japan. Continuing coverage is available at this link, this link, and this link.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.
Cirze's World
Paradox Farm - Goat Cheese Louise!
Blog Against Theocracy
(h/t Darkblack)
Cirze's World
Red Wolf Organics - Jordan & Sylvan sell basil, chard, peppers - 10% of Profits Support Syrian Refugees
My Blog Fights Climate Change
Cirze's World
Working hard at the Farmers' Market - Grand Hope Farm
Animal Rescue - Click Everyday!
Cirze's World
Paul Krugman:
I don’t think many people grasp just how raw, how explicit, the corruption of our institutions has become.
Yesterday I had a conversation with someone who, like me, spent most of the Bush years as a voice in the wilderness. And he pointed out something remarkable: although those of us who said the obvious — that the Bush administration was fundamentally monstrous — were ridiculed by all the respectable people at the time, at this point our narrative has become everyone’s narrative.
Cirze's World
Paul Craig Roberts:
_________________ US Media
_________________
"Anyone who depends on print, TV, or right-wing talk radio media is totally misinformed. The Bush administration has achieved a de facto Ministry of Propaganda."
"The uniformity of the US media has become much more complete since the days of the cold war. During the 1990s, the US government permitted an unconscionable concentration of print and broadcast media that terminated the independence of the media.
Today the US media is owned by 5 giant companies in which pro-Zionist Jews have disproportionate influence. More importantly, the values of the conglomerates reside in the broadcast licenses, which are granted by the government, and the corporations are run by corporate executives — not by journalists — whose eyes are on advertising revenues and the avoidance of controversy that might produce boycotts or upset advertisers and subscribers.
Americans who rely on the totally corrupt corporate media have no idea what is happening anywhere on earth, much less at home."
_________________ War On Terror
_________________
Roberts asked "Is the War on Terror a Hoax", and claims it has "killed, maimed, dislocated, and made widows and orphans of millions of Muslims in six countries". Roberts called the attacks "naked aggression" on civilian populations and infrastructure which constitute war crimes.
_________________ Republican Party
_________________
Roberts is seriously dismayed by what he considers the Republican Party's disregard for the U.S. Constitution. He has even voiced his regret that he ever worked for it, avowing that, had he known what it would become, he would never have contributed to the Reagan Revolution.
_________________ American Democracy and Oligarchy
_________________
Roberts has been increasingly critical of what he deems as the lessening of democracy in the U.S.; instead accusing it of being run by oligarchs by stating:
"The west prides itself that it is the standard for the world, that it is a democracy. But nowhere do you see democratic outcomes: not in Greece, not in Ireland, not in the UK, not here, the outcomes are always to punish the innocent and reward the guilty.
And that's what the Greeks are in the streets protesting. We see this all over the west. There is no democracy, there are oligarchies, some of these smaller European countries are not even run by their own governments, they are run by Wall Street... There is probably more democracy in China than there is in the west.
Revolution is the only answer... We are confronted with a curious situation. Throughout the west we think we have democracy, we hold ourselves up high, we demonize China, we talk about the mafia state of Russia, we talk about the Arabs and so on, but where is the democracy here?"
Roberts effectively announced his journalistic retirement. The article, published at Counterpunch.org, begins:
"There was a time when the pen was mightier than the sword. That was a time when people believed in truth and regarded truth as an independent power and not as an auxiliary for government, class, race, ideological, personal, or financial interest."
It proceeds to a bitter chronicle of the demise of American intellectual integrity, particularly that of financial journalists and economists. These have been thoroughly corrupted by monetary inducements to misrepresent and ignore what has been, in effect, the systematic dismantling of the nation's productive life, in the name of globalization.
He holds the members of his own journalistic profession largely responsible for abetting relentless outsourcing of American industry, thereby gutting the American middle class and effectively dooming the nation's future.
He describes his own ostracism from mainstream media access, the consequence of his relentless and unflinching criticism of the demolition process over the past decade. His column ends, "The militarism of the U.S. and Israeli states, and Wall Street and corporate greed, will now run their course. As the pen is censored and its might extinguished, I am signing off."
_________________
Cirze's World
Liberal?
"If by a 'Liberal' they mean someone who looks ahead and not behind, someone who welcomes new ideas without rigid reactions, someone who cares about the welfare of the people — their health, their housing, their schools, their jobs, their civil rights, and their civil liberties — someone who believes we can break through the stalemate and suspicions that grip us in our policies abroad, if that is what they mean by a “Liberal,” then I’m proud to say I’m a “Liberal."
John F. Kennedy, 1960
________________
Citizen's United
"[T]his Court now concludes that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. That speakers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that those officials are corrupt. And the appearance of influence or access will not cause the electorate to lose faith in this democracy."
Takedown intensifying
-
You love to see it: Protesters gathered at Tesla dealerships throughout
Washington and dozens of other locations across the U.S. on Saturday in a
coordin...
Oh Freedom Over Me
-
In the email from rightwing poll aggregator Real Clear Politics:
Sweet Christ, Carl, you're still fretting about how four and a half years
ago Twitter...
Elon Musk’s Mission to Take Over NASA—and Mars
-
Wall Street Journal: “It is at NASA where Musk is making the biggest shift
in an agency’s priorities to align them with his own—both financially and
person...
Bernie And AOC Sheepdog For The Democrats
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“Bernie Sanders is this election's Democratic sheepdog. The sheepdog is a
card the Democratic party plays every presidential primary season when
there's ...
Tesla cybertruck looks like a piece of junk
-
It is astonishing how shoddy is the construction of Elon Musk’s Tesla
Cybertruck, with parts of the body falling off especially at higher speeds,
because t...
Why Republicans keep trying to murder Big Bird
-
Congressional Republicans held a hearing on Wednesday to direct their ire
at a familiar target: public broadcasting. Led by Rep. Marjorie Taylor
Greene o...
Trump Is Burning All Our Bridges
-
One of the saddest things about the ongoing destruction of the U.S. is that
Trump/Musk/Vance are blowing off many long-nurtured relationships with
other co...
Israel’s Bad Influence
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CHARLEY REESE—[Israel wants an American war on Iran. ] Of course, Israel’s
American supporters, most of whom are ignorant of nuclear energy, ignorant
of th...
This Week In Techdirt History: March 23rd – 29th
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Five Years Ago This week in 2020, the pandemic news continued. Some people
were attempting to leverage it to call for longer patent terms, while we
were ca...
Links 3/29/25
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Links for you. Science: A cell pulls off one of the ‘Holy Grails’ of
biotechnology Flu deaths rise as anti-vaccine disinformation takes root.
More are dyin...
Weekend links 771
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A page by Philippe Druillet from Salammbo (1980). • At the BFI: Alex Ramon
suggests 10 great British films of 1975 (the Britishness of Barry Lyndon
seems a...
Very sweaty failed attempts
-
“Exposing the UK Crackdown on Anti-Zionism with David Miller“ (ACTIVE
MEASURES).“Colonel Douglas Macgregor: Zelensky Will Be Gone and NATO Will
Fall Apart“...
Saturday Hashtag: #ChatGPTShadowLarceny
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[image: Screen, heads, men]
Welcome to Saturday Hashtag, a weekly place for broader context.
Saturday Hashtag: #ChatGPTShadowLarceny originally appeared o...
Near Horizon Recession Probability
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I run a probit regression of a NBER peak-to-trough recession dummy on
contemporaneous Michigan sentiment (FRED variable UMCSENT, and final
reading for Marc...
Republican Math
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I note that House Republicans have approved a $4.5 trillion tax cut plan,
offset by $2 trillion in spending cuts. They are also seeking to raise the
debt...
Why are Palestinians not allowed to survive?
-
[image: Bodies of Palestinians are brought to the Al-Ahli Baptist Hospital
by their relatives for funeral procedures following Israeli attacks on
apartment...
SATURDAY: Who the heck is Hotep Jesus?
-
S*ATURDAY, MARCH 29, 2025*
*We finally decided to check:* Last night, it was the same old thing on the
primetime "cable news" propaganda show, *Gutfeld!....
Open Thread March 29 2025
-
Yesterday, I was moving slowly for some hours, at which point I realized I
had a mild headache and made myself a cup of coffee, which helped. But I’d
like ...
Greenland Gets a Visit from the Creepy Neighbors
-
You know, you could imagine a world where the US was a good neighbor, the
kind you could borrow salt from in a pinch, the kind that didn't threaten
ter...
THE TRUMP INSIDER BACKSTABBING BEGINS
-
A day after *The Atlantic*'s Jeffrey Goldberg revealed that he'd been
included in a group chat discussing plans for a bomb attack on Houthi
targets in Yeme...
Israel's Torture Jails
-
*'Armed with dogs, the five reservists allegedly kicked and punched and
stamped on the man as he lay on the ground.Continuing their assault, they
are accu...
The Conversation -- March 29, 2025
-
*Trump and his mob had their day in court Friday. For the most part, it did
not go well. *
*Devlin Barrett* of the *New York Times*: “Federal judges deal...
Saturday 7-Up
-
This week 759,789 visitors visited 776,902 times viewing 848,021 pages. The
most read and shared stories in order of popularity were:
- 272-Year-Old I...
Fridays with Nicole Sandler
-
We talked about how Mike Waltz and Pete Hegseth show we need DEI to bring
back basic competence.
The post Fridays with Nicole Sandler appeared first on ...
A Brief History of ‘The’ Freedom of Speech
-
The government’s respect for speech is often at its lowest ebb in wartime,
when it is also most important and timely, writes Andrew P. Napolitano, By
Andre...
İmamoğlu’s Arrest
-
Ekrem İmamoğlu, the mayor of Istanbul, was arrested early in the morning of
Wednesday, 19 March, on two charges – one related to corruption and...
Weekend long read
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1) The Long War Journal presents a report titled ‘Gaza doctor widely quoted
by major media outlets has deep Hamas ties’ by Joe Truzman...
The post Weeken...
Weekend long read
-
1) The Long War Journal presents a report titled ‘Gaza doctor widely quoted
by major media outlets has deep Hamas ties’ by Joe Truzman...
The post Weeken...
The End of Curiosity
-
The machine waits for us to speak. The blinking cursor hangs there, patient
and undemanding, like a dog that never gets tired of the same old tricks.
Typ...
Black Agenda Radio March 28, 2025
-
Black Agenda Radio March 28, 2025
Authors
Black Agenda Radio with Margaret Kimberley
bareditors Fri, 03/28/2025 - 05:10
Black Agenda Radio · Black Agenda ...
Ultra-Processed Life
-
*Consuming more of this Ultra-Processed World is not a path to "the good
life," it's a path to the destruction and derangement of an Ultra-Processed
Life. ...
Their Bottom Line
-
There are far too many gullible and duped Americans who BELIEVE every word
from Trump and other radical Right extremists is gospel. It's no
coinci...
Analogies for AI policymaking
-
Overview As a suite of technologies under the label of artificial
intelligence increasingly take center stage, policymakers recognize the
need to develop...
The War on Whatever
-
The War on Whatever is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous,
which it is. Like the never-ending war in Orwell’s 1984, it is waged by the
empir...
Weekly Review
-
It was announced that the pope would return to Vatican City to take a
two-month rest, the founder of Pirate’s Booty attempted to overthrow his
village’s ...
Monday Open Thread
-
Our last open thread is just about full.
Today's latest: Chief Judge James Boasberg has issued a lengthy order keeping
his ban on Trump's use of the Alie...
Parade Deck Sec Def (Oops Sec)
-
Drunk & IncompetentI am still livid over the shameful disrespect towards Ira
Hayes, Jackie Robinson, and so many other Veterans by the racist cowards,
tr...
Kevin Drum (1958–2025)
-
Blogger and journalist Kevin Drum died earlier this month at the age of 66
after a long battle with cancer. His most recent website, where his wife
Marian ...
The Isolation
-
The way things are going, you'd think donald trump doesn't want any foreign
policy at all. he's burning nearly every bridge the United States has to
the ...
No Sympathy For the Devil
-
"You should get it into your head, and pass it on to whoevr needs to know
up above, that your power depends on not taking absolutely everything away
fro...
Cartoon: Taking Away His Incentive To Work
-
This cartoon is by me and Becky Hawkins. Becky writes: In some circles,
Portland’s claim to fame, aside from “burned down by Antifa in 2020,” is
the large ...
"State of the Union causes State of Confusion"
-
The state of this fragile American union is not good. It's not good because
the leader is intentionally trying to divide us and destroy it. I am not
...
People tell me I'm lucky
-
I don't think I've mentioned her paintings of New Orleans before, but Diane
Millsap is an artist I've long enjoyed. This one is Old Absinthe House. You
can...
The Euro-American Split (I): Dread Possibility
-
*THERE ARE DECADES WHEN* possibility is constrained in a narrow frame. The
terrain has been surveyed, boundaries have been laid, and rules have been
establ...
Esther Kinsky’s Lyrical Elegy for the Movies
-
In Esther Kinsky’s fiction, landscapes write and speak. Across her novels
we find “waters sighing,” “shadows of leaves scribbling notes,” the Oder
drawin...
The Meaning of Trump’s Victory
-
This was a change election that was made amazingly close by voters wanting
the middle class to govern, not the richest and for women to have equal
rights. ...
It Can't Happen Here
-
Trump has made his repeated promise to deport 20,000,000 minorities and
foreigners a central feature of his campaign. What does Trump intend to do
wi...
Maybe Not So Fast
-
I just got the estimate for the hosting on my other Blog,
Bustednuckles.com, for one year. With Wa state tax? A little over $900. I
can’t afford that so I ...
Clock
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Guest post by Sander O’Neil https://sanderoneilclock.tiiny.site/ This is a
follow up to this post
https://mathbabe.org/2015/03/12/earths-aphelion-and-perih...
We Don’t Need A New Theory Of EVERYTHING
-
Though things have indeed changed since this video was produced, it still
makes the infinitesimally tiny point! “Luminous beings are we; not this
crude...
-
Hello all,
It is with great sadness that I share with you the passing of our beloved
sister, Mother, and Grandmother, the individual that you all knew ...
4 bienfaits de l’huile de CBD
-
L’huile de CBD, issue du cannabis, est devenue un sujet de discussion
croissant dans le domaine de la santé et du bien-être. Ses propriétés
thérapeutique...
In Memorium
-
Tom Degan
1958-2023
To all Tom’s faithful readers of the Rant, we are sad to announce that he
passed away on December 7th, 2023. Thank you so much for th...
Shadowproof Is Shutting Down
-
After eight years, we have decided that it is time to shut down
Shadowproof, but that does not mean that the independent journalism that we
fostered is c...
I Have Been To Heaven and Back
-
OBS chimed in on my post about mobility impairment. And therein my
capybaras, lies the tale. For early in fall, I had a swelling in my leg,
that I thought ...
Last Post, Please Read
-
Good morning. This is Zandar's Dad. I am sorry to tell you that he passed
away over the weekend, peacefully in his sleep. Fortunately, his computer
was on ...
Media Say ... Gloom And Doom In China
-
The New York Times, and other western media, are running a 'doom and gloom
in Xi's economy' campaign. The latest entry is this piece: China’s Economic
Pain...
A Few Quick Announcements
-
By James As I wrote a couple of years ago, I don’t post here anymore. I
just have a couple of updates for people who subscribe and may be
interested in my ...
This feed has moved and will be deleted soon. Please update your
subscription now.
-
The publisher is using a new address for their RSS feed. Please update your
feed reader to use this new URL:
*https://www.alternet.org/feed/*
Happy 2023 To All Of You
-
I have often come back here to try to write some sort of a conclusion to
the years of activity on this site, but have not figured out what, exactly,
to s...
November/December 2022 issue
-
Our November/December 2022 issue has been printed and is going out to print
subscribers very soon, and e-subscribers have already gotten their
electronic c...
END TIMES
-
Half of yesterday's content was suppressed before it existed. There is no
point in producing content under such conditions. I Quit.
This post was unpubl...
Intersectional Pride Day
-
Today was Pride Day in NYC, and for the first time in two years, the march
was packed with participants... people were confident to step out during
this ...
What Is a Bayonet? Or, Who Wins & Who Loses?
-
WD Ehrhardt: So I signed up, only to discover that being a man wasn’t all
it was cracked up to be, that men who are horribly mangled in battle really
do ...
Colin Kidd: Green Pastel Redness
-
With six conservatives on the nine-person court, Chief Justice John Roberts
knows that another prudent defection on his part will not be enough to save
Roe...
Trump = Roadkill
-
Surely the facts are not in dispute A New York man upset with what he
perceived as Donald Trump’s threats to democracy was criminally charged on
Monday wit...
The War on Terror Is a Success — for Terror
-
Terrorist Groups Have Doubled Since the Passage of the 2001 AUMF Nick Turse
It began more than two decades ago. On September 20, 2001, President George
W....
Merry Christmas! We Got You Some Fauxmosexuals!
-
Happy holidays, everyone. People seemed to enjoy last year's riff of D.W.
Griffith's 1909 silent melodrama, *A Trap for Santa*, so we did it again,
with ...
Test Article
-
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur interdum
libero pulvinar pretium sagittis. Nulla at sem sollicitudin, blandit neque
nec,...
Have You Heard Has a New Website
-
TweetHave You Heard has a new website. Visit us at
www.haveyouheardpodcast.com to find our latest episodes and our entire
archive. And be sure to check out...
Whether (and how) America can survive Trumpism
-
Georgetown Professor Thomas Zimmer joins us to talk about polarization and
extremism, and what insights American and world history provide as to
whether ...
Goodbye, Little Macho
-
Saturday was a year since my mom died from COVID. My sister and I got Macho
in the car, and we drove to the cemetery for the first time since her
burial. W...
Big Government Handouts
-
Recently, Elon Musk beat out Jeff Bezos for a 2.9 billion contract from
NASA to fly one of his magnificent exploding rocket ships to the moon. In
true Am...
Cancel Yourself
-
At this point we find ourselves confronted by a very disquieting question:
Do we really wish to act upon our knowledge? Does a majority of the
population t...
American Carnage
-
And crows will eat your eyes. -- Motörhead, *Traitor *
I promise that I don't intend to make a habit of breaking radio silence,
especially just a couple ...
Weird Op-Ed of the Day
-
Today's weird op-ed comes from DNI John Ratcliffe via the Murdoch-owned
Wall Street Journal.
China Is National Security Threat No. 1Resisting Beijing’s ...
‘Test & Trace’ is a mirage
-
Lockdown II thoughts: Day 1 Opposition politicians have been banging on
about the need for a ‘working’ Test & Trace system even more loudly than
the govern...
Saturday Emmylou Blogging
-
Note: Blogspot has changed its template for posting and I can't make any
sense of it so this may be my last post. Sorry. Adios. Thanks to Fuzzy
Legends Arc...
Outbreak: Anatomy of a Plague
-
[ by Charles Cameron — scientific [precision meets human error in cases of
outbreak — with links to a terrific science thread by Palli Thordarson
@PalliTho...
Over-the-air television and the other America
-
If you’re an OTA viewer you’re feeding on cultural leftovers, quite
literally. If you’re not, your baseline cost of living is poverty line
times 1.5 or som...
The Immaterial Physical World
-
For centuries the prevailing western worldview has been built upon the
materialistic, mechanical model of Isaac Newton - a clockwork Universe
composed of...
They can save the world by @BloggersRUs
-
*They can save the world*
by Tom Sullivan
Climate activist Greta Thunberg, Time magazine's 2019 Person of the Year
has called on German industrial giant...
Stop the Madness! Sign this Petition!
-
Hello, fellow outraged citizen. Are you as outraged as we are? Have you had
enough? Are you one of those astute, sentient, breathing persons who has
not...
More Shoes More
-
So, like, always, because this is forever the only relevant part of the
shtick:
Yesterday was the last day that neither of us was 60 fucking years old. O...
Open Thread
-
[image: image of a purple sofa]
Hosted by a purple sofa. Have a seat and chat.
[*Note:* Liss is currently on hiatus for health reasons. There will be an
Op...
apologies for my absence
-
skippy, his co-bloggers and his followers are among my favorite people in
the world. real life has been challenging for me these last few years but i
got m...
Site Announcement
-
Hey, folks. So, we've passed the Rubicon on this site. We've done the final
migration of posts. This includes over 18,000 posts I've written over the
las...
Membership Drive
-
The Office of Strategic Services during World War II included in its
training courses for agents so-called OSS Steps to Recruitment, which
detail import...
The Fossil Fuel Globalists Ruining our Lives
-
Are You Ready for an Epoch Fail? Globalists Really Are Ruining Your Life
By John Feffer You know the story: the globalists want your guns. They want
your d...
Armistice Day...Every Family Has a Story
-
*[Gary Note: Blogging, of late, has been taking a back seat to life...which
is as it should be. But today **you're getting a pair of posts!**]*
==========...
Attacks on Afghan security forces kill at least 10
-
*Attacks on Afghan security forces kill at least 10: *
*In northwestern Badghis province, five officers were killed, including
Abdul Hakim, the police co...
Meanwhile in bizarro world…
-
This is a take so hot, it’s officially 2 Hot 2 Touch, by one Douglas Heye:.
Trump is uniquely positioned to cut a deal to prevent school shootings
Wait, do...
Savage Minds is dead! Long live anthro{dendum}!
-
This will be the last post on the domain savageminds.org, but the site will
live on. It will live on both at this address (savageminds.org) where there
wil...
Trump-Branded Shit
-
From our partners at DownWithTyranny! -by Dorothy ReikNever one to bypass a
branding opportunity, Donald Trump has decided to increase and extend his
prese...
Bezmenov- West Capitulated to Communist Subversion
-
Communism is the Protocols of Zion in action. This excerpt from a crucial
1985 interview with KGB Defector Yuri Bezmenov throws our predicament into
stark ...
Day 166 and Counting
-
Source: Getty Images Well, it's been a long 8 months since the election,
and an even longer 5-1/2 months since Trump officially became president.
It's be...
This blog is now closed...
-
...and I'm now blogging at http://www.ecosophia.net. All of the posts that
appeared here during the eleven-year run of *The Archdruid Report* will be
issu...
Love And Money: Marriage The McArdle Way
-
It's Valentine's Day and Megan McArdle's thoughts naturally turn to love,
which means money. Join me as I mock the woman whose rat-fucking is
screwing ...
When Scalia Beamed up!
-
by Len Hart, The Existentialist Cowboy
These flights are critical to the the government's crumbling cover up!
Without those flights, Bush and his murderous...
Surging
-
*We're Number One*
*"A major military-led surge in U.S. aid to fight"* Ebola in West Africa
will soon begin. 3000 soldiers and probably more than $500 mill...
Occupy The Banks
-
I am so pissed off about what happened to the protesters UC Davis Police
Pepper-Spray Seated Students In Occupy Dispute (VIDEO) (UPDATES)
and the absence o...
Nickel and Dimed (2011 Version)
-
On Turning Poverty into an American Crime By Barbara Ehrenreich I completed
the manuscript for Nickel and Dimed in a time of seemingly boundless
prosperity...
Damon Galgut: The Impostor
-
Damon Galgut is one of those authors who justifies the existence of
literary prizes. Without its multiple shortlistings – Booker, Impac,
Commonwealth Write...
And watch this. Really. I guarantee it will be among the best things you do this week. (Don't let the language changes trip you up. If you're really interested, it won't make any difference in your understanding of the message, and so much of the message is in the acting.)
And don't comment if you can't watch the whole video because this is presented to give you more insight, if not a different insight than you possess currently.
It's worth an hour of your time to review exactly who you are and what you value.
Munich is one of my favorite movies.
And Exodus, of course.
Love is the only answer.
If only.
L'chaim!
4 comments:
Anonymous
said...
Professor Sand demonstrates that there are some Jews who have not fallen for the "God's Chosen" foolishness.
I have tried to differentiate between Jews of religion, race or heritage (because this seems to be the various avenues they use for themselves). It is difficult (a moving target, as it were), because if one studies any portion of the Talmud, one cannot come to any other conclusion that as a religion, Talmudic Judaism is one of the most racist, hedonistic (and evil) "religions" available. I suppose this is why most people don't really know anything about the Talmud, for if Christians actually knew what it teaches, most would have a very hard time agreeing with the Zionists that use that religion to foster hatred and genocide against anyone and everyone NOT Jewish.
I read the following linked article today and it touches upon this issue, by explaining a bit of what Paul meant when he spoke of the Logos. Understanding what this is (which is truly the real Christian belief, imo) and living as such doesn't necessarily make a Jew Christian (or anyone a Christian, for that matter), but it is a frame of mind intent on peace and harmony without some crazy-assed notion that Jews are "The Elect" or something any more special than, say, me.
Suzan, Are you Jewish? And what does that mean to you, if you are? You have never come off as "superior" to anyone that I have ever seen at your or my blog. So, you must understand the Logos.
You're a little bit off base, my friend, as I am an atheist.
I've studied the available history on this and think of all the "Bible" history as fiction.
That doesn't mean that I denigrate anyone else's beliefs. I am also a democrat - a social democrat in the old school definition, of course.
People love to denigrate atheists for some reason but I've always felt this way (even though reared in the southern fundamentalist (Methodist) tradition of MYF and church three times a week when young) and have been humbled by the knowledge and power that it imparts to one's daily moral choices.
We may disagree, but I agree to let you (the formal you, of course) disagree.
And I agree to continue reading and studying in order to try to understand our world better and how we can help to improve it and others.
Love you!
S
P.S. I was reared with many Jewish friends (also blacks!) so that may have helped to mold me also.
The big problem was reading the Bible three times in the 2nd grade for clarity (hint, there was none) and then reading through the Colliers Encyclopedia as quickly as I could after my parents bought them for us when I was in the 4th grade.
Apparently, you consider being Jewish strictly as a religion. The problem is that I know self proclaimed Jews that also claim to be atheist (Kelso Nuts from my blog was one). He had many friends on Facebook that made the same claim.
So, is being Jewish a religion? Is it a race? Is it some type of heritage?
It obviously can be a religion. But if anyone other than a Jew looks into what makes it a religion, they can see thru the Jewish Holy Books that these books (and religion) are used to teach (brainwash) these people into believing they are "God's Chosen" and superior to us goyim. It is plainly evident that this is their shtick.
Are they a "race"? I can't see how, since many look like me, but there are also black African Jews, not to mention the Semites (of which I don't know a single Semite Jew). They would be brown and look much like the Arabs from Palestine.
So, is it a "heritage"? Maybe, except that they all come from vastly different places and have a variety of differing heritages from whatever homeland their ancestors came from.
I didn't really think you were Jewish. If the picture is you, then you don't look like any Jew I have ever met (this doesn't mean anything, really). You certainly aren't Semite or black.
My whole point is that even with some good folk found within this mish-mash of people that call themselves Jewish, there is no real consensus.
But I do know where the superiority issues come from and that is their Holy Books (The Torah and even worse, the Talmud).
Take a little time studying them (I suspect you are somewhat familiar with the Torah, since you have read the Bible). But take time to read some of the Talmud garbage and see if I am off base.
I never knew a Jew until adulthood. However, I grew up with many blacks and were close friends (still am) with several.
If I am a racist, none of them would ever claim it.
Good points all, B. And, yes, that's me, an earlier me, an unevolved me, a blank slate me, a long-haired, young me.
Thanks so much for your comments. It always means a lot to me to hear what you're thinking.
Like my now-departed friend, Christopher Hitchens (and you would have loved to have talked with him on these and many other subjects), before he discovered a hidden ancestral line of Jews from an unknown grandmother said, "Sometimes I've wished that I had some Jewish blood just so I could claim a bond with all those people in more than an intellecual fashion."
So, no Jewish blood here to speak of that I know.
When I was a little girl I was fascinated by genealogy and haranged all of my greatgrands for their data. What I learned was all of them were born in this country, most of them in South Carolina (which I found unbelievable as I was looking for some American Indian connections at that time and felt sure that I was related to Pocohontas . . . .).
I had no idea at that time (and neither did most of them) that all of my families in my ancestral line were related to settlers in the 17th century migration from England, Ireland, Scotland, and especially Wales. My original paternal greatgrandfather back about 17 generations ago (kidding!) was on the manifest of the second ship to land at Jamestown. His family settled in Virginia from 1608-1750 before needing "elbow room" and helping to settle South Carolina.
I did have a grandfather with a suspicious last name (sounded like it might be Jewish to me), but when I brought it up at a family reunion, I was shushed all round by those cracker relatives who think Jew is a dirty word still! And my census/land records search never located him in any of the 18th century data so I'm still wondering.
As to the term Jewish indicaing a race, we know that race is a fictionalized construct today with no meaning at all outside of DNA, which you can't make a cogent argument for anyway. It's a heritage thing as far as my cultural studies indicated and you can find all types of Jews who celebrate the high holidays because they are the great cultural identifier. I've celebrated Seder/Passover, Rosh Hashanah, etc., most of my adult life with friends. I thought about marrying a Jewish man twice in my life and started instruction for conversion but never completed it or remarried anyone.
I have read and studied both the Talmud and Torah and thought at the time that they both shared with the Christian Bible the same fallacy: they are works of fiction arising from primitive tribal beliefs.
One of my favorite courses in undergrad school (and I thought about pursuing a Middle Eastern concentration then because it was so much fun) was Religion 31: Culture of the Near East, where my prof was born in Iraq to a father from Iran and a mother who was a Jew. He was probably one of the smartest men I ever studied under, making each assignment a dream come true, so to speak. And, he was an atheist, natch.
I can remember some of the enthralling books, which I never sold and are in storage somewhere just awaiting my eventual revisitation and rereading: History Begins at Sumer, The Sumerians, The Babylonians, The Epic of Gilgamesh, A History of the Ancient Near East, Ancient Mesopotamians.
There is a new book out you might want to glance at now and then: Myths from Mesopotamia: the Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others.
4 comments:
Professor Sand demonstrates that there are some Jews who have not fallen for the "God's Chosen" foolishness.
I have tried to differentiate between Jews of religion, race or heritage (because this seems to be the various avenues they use for themselves). It is difficult (a moving target, as it were), because if one studies any portion of the Talmud, one cannot come to any other conclusion that as a religion, Talmudic Judaism is one of the most racist, hedonistic (and evil) "religions" available. I suppose this is why most people don't really know anything about the Talmud, for if Christians actually knew what it teaches, most would have a very hard time agreeing with the Zionists that use that religion to foster hatred and genocide against anyone and everyone NOT Jewish.
I read the following linked article today and it touches upon this issue, by explaining a bit of what Paul meant when he spoke of the Logos. Understanding what this is (which is truly the real Christian belief, imo) and living as such doesn't necessarily make a Jew Christian (or anyone a Christian, for that matter), but it is a frame of mind intent on peace and harmony without some crazy-assed notion that Jews are "The Elect" or something any more special than, say, me.
http://www.darkmoon.me/2012/who-is-the-real-enemy-by-e-michael-jones/
Suzan, Are you Jewish? And what does that mean to you, if you are? You have never come off as "superior" to anyone that I have ever seen at your or my blog. So, you must understand the Logos.
Or am I way off base?
You're a little bit off base, my friend, as I am an atheist.
I've studied the available history on this and think of all the "Bible" history as fiction.
That doesn't mean that I denigrate anyone else's beliefs. I am also a democrat - a social democrat in the old school definition, of course.
People love to denigrate atheists for some reason but I've always felt this way (even though reared in the southern fundamentalist (Methodist) tradition of MYF and church three times a week when young) and have been humbled by the knowledge and power that it imparts to one's daily moral choices.
We may disagree, but I agree to let you (the formal you, of course) disagree.
And I agree to continue reading and studying in order to try to understand our world better and how we can help to improve it and others.
Love you!
S
P.S. I was reared with many Jewish friends (also blacks!) so that may have helped to mold me also.
The big problem was reading the Bible three times in the 2nd grade for clarity (hint, there was none) and then reading through the Colliers Encyclopedia as quickly as I could after my parents bought them for us when I was in the 4th grade.
Education. It's a religion killer.
Just my humble opinion, of course.
No snark intended.
Suzan,
Apparently, you consider being Jewish strictly as a religion. The problem is that I know self proclaimed Jews that also claim to be atheist (Kelso Nuts from my blog was one). He had many friends on Facebook that made the same claim.
So, is being Jewish a religion? Is it a race? Is it some type of heritage?
It obviously can be a religion. But if anyone other than a Jew looks into what makes it a religion, they can see thru the Jewish Holy Books that these books (and religion) are used to teach (brainwash) these people into believing they are "God's Chosen" and superior to us goyim. It is plainly evident that this is their shtick.
Are they a "race"? I can't see how, since many look like me, but there are also black African Jews, not to mention the Semites (of which I don't know a single Semite Jew). They would be brown and look much like the Arabs from Palestine.
So, is it a "heritage"? Maybe, except that they all come from vastly different places and have a variety of differing heritages from whatever homeland their ancestors came from.
I didn't really think you were Jewish. If the picture is you, then you don't look like any Jew I have ever met (this doesn't mean anything, really). You certainly aren't Semite or black.
My whole point is that even with some good folk found within this mish-mash of people that call themselves Jewish, there is no real consensus.
But I do know where the superiority issues come from and that is their Holy Books (The Torah and even worse, the Talmud).
Take a little time studying them (I suspect you are somewhat familiar with the Torah, since you have read the Bible). But take time to read some of the Talmud garbage and see if I am off base.
I never knew a Jew until adulthood. However, I grew up with many blacks and were close friends (still am) with several.
If I am a racist, none of them would ever claim it.
Good points all, B. And, yes, that's me, an earlier me, an unevolved me, a blank slate me, a long-haired, young me.
Thanks so much for your comments. It always means a lot to me to hear what you're thinking.
Like my now-departed friend, Christopher Hitchens (and you would have loved to have talked with him on these and many other subjects), before he discovered a hidden ancestral line of Jews from an unknown grandmother said, "Sometimes I've wished that I had some Jewish blood just so I could claim a bond with all those people in more than an intellecual fashion."
So, no Jewish blood here to speak of that I know.
When I was a little girl I was fascinated by genealogy and haranged all of my greatgrands for their data. What I learned was all of them were born in this country, most of them in South Carolina (which I found unbelievable as I was looking for some American Indian connections at that time and felt sure that I was related to Pocohontas . . . .).
I had no idea at that time (and neither did most of them) that all of my families in my ancestral line were related to settlers in the 17th century migration from England, Ireland, Scotland, and especially Wales. My original paternal greatgrandfather back about 17 generations ago (kidding!) was on the manifest of the second ship to land at Jamestown. His family settled in Virginia from 1608-1750 before needing "elbow room" and helping to settle South Carolina.
I did have a grandfather with a suspicious last name (sounded like it might be Jewish to me), but when I brought it up at a family reunion, I was shushed all round by those cracker relatives who think Jew is a dirty word still! And my census/land records search never located him in any of the 18th century data so I'm still wondering.
As to the term Jewish indicaing a race, we know that race is a fictionalized construct today with no meaning at all outside of DNA, which you can't make a cogent argument for anyway. It's a heritage thing as far as my cultural studies indicated and you can find all types of Jews who celebrate the high holidays because they are the great cultural identifier. I've celebrated Seder/Passover, Rosh Hashanah, etc., most of my adult life with friends. I thought about marrying a Jewish man twice in my life and started instruction for conversion but never completed it or remarried anyone.
I have read and studied both the Talmud and Torah and thought at the time that they both shared with the Christian Bible the same fallacy: they are works of fiction arising from primitive tribal beliefs.
One of my favorite courses in undergrad school (and I thought about pursuing a Middle Eastern concentration then because it was so much fun) was Religion 31: Culture of the Near East, where my prof was born in Iraq to a father from Iran and a mother who was a Jew. He was probably one of the smartest men I ever studied under, making each assignment a dream come true, so to speak. And, he was an atheist, natch.
I can remember some of the enthralling books, which I never sold and are in storage somewhere just awaiting my eventual revisitation and rereading: History Begins at Sumer, The Sumerians, The Babylonians, The Epic of Gilgamesh, A History of the Ancient Near East, Ancient Mesopotamians.
There is a new book out you might want to glance at now and then: Myths from Mesopotamia: the Creation, the Flood, Gilgamesh, and Others.
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