Read this.
It’s always been a myth that western elites hate everything about China’s system. Many of them love the worst parts of that system - the surveillance, the censorship, the central control.
But whereas China seems to use that control to build infrastructure etc (not saying that’s necessarily all a good thing), the west will use it to ensure the continuation of our violent hegemony over the world and its resources. (I mean, it already does, but it’ll get even worse).
The Coronavirus crisis provides an opportunity to manufacture consent for this agenda.
Monday, 27 April 2020
Sunday, 26 April 2020
Coronavirus: Famine risk
Coronavirus: World risks 'biblical' famines due to pandemic - UN.
Why are so many at risk? Because their countries have been bought up by western corporations, following wars and covert coups, forcing them to produce mono-crops for export to rich countries, rather than diverse foods for themselves, leaving them reliant on the global market to survive?
What are rich countries doing right now to prevent a famine in these countries that we’ve subjugated and plundered? Cancelling some debt, as some western leaders are finally now proposing, will help, but it won’t be enough. A massive coordinated effort is needed. But that’s unlikely to happen, thanks to the neoliberal self-interest that led to the subjugation and plunder of these lands in the first place.
Instead, such is the chaos and insanity of capitalism, the west continues to bomb and economically sanction some of these countries.
Why are so many at risk? Because their countries have been bought up by western corporations, following wars and covert coups, forcing them to produce mono-crops for export to rich countries, rather than diverse foods for themselves, leaving them reliant on the global market to survive?
What are rich countries doing right now to prevent a famine in these countries that we’ve subjugated and plundered? Cancelling some debt, as some western leaders are finally now proposing, will help, but it won’t be enough. A massive coordinated effort is needed. But that’s unlikely to happen, thanks to the neoliberal self-interest that led to the subjugation and plunder of these lands in the first place.
Instead, such is the chaos and insanity of capitalism, the west continues to bomb and economically sanction some of these countries.
Coronavirus: Neoliberal fail
If Corbyn was PM and had overseen 20,000-40,000 deaths, the media would probably be demanding a military coup to oust him.
This idea, that I've seen many espousing, that the media has been too critical of Boris Johnson & co is absolutely nuts! The media has been awful.
Whatever party was in government, I’d want a decent media to hold them to account. That’s meant to be their job. But sadly our media is extremely politicized - in favour of neoliberalism - the ideology that has taken over everything these last four decades.
The government has been so terrible in responding to this crisis largely because of that ideology. Tories, especially, are neoliberal ideologues. They think the market always knows best, and they hate the state, (unless it’s being used to wage war/bail out banks/cut tax for the rich!). The kind of state intervention needed for a crisis like this, on the side of working people, is completely out of their comfort zone.
The 10 years of austerity we just had was all about destroying the state, even more than has already been done by successive governments since Thatcher. It’s led to an NHS that’s more overstretched than it otherwise could have been, and it led to reports that said we were unprepared for a pandemic, being ignored, because ‘there’s no money’. Which is nonsense - what there’s been none of is the political will to distribute resources appropriately. Because the market is meant to do that, (it does the opposite).
Thanks to these years of neoliberalism, even the most competent people in government right now probably wouldn’t have been able to handle the crisis particularly well. But for sure, socialists would’ve done a far less awful job!
This idea, that I've seen many espousing, that the media has been too critical of Boris Johnson & co is absolutely nuts! The media has been awful.
Whatever party was in government, I’d want a decent media to hold them to account. That’s meant to be their job. But sadly our media is extremely politicized - in favour of neoliberalism - the ideology that has taken over everything these last four decades.
The government has been so terrible in responding to this crisis largely because of that ideology. Tories, especially, are neoliberal ideologues. They think the market always knows best, and they hate the state, (unless it’s being used to wage war/bail out banks/cut tax for the rich!). The kind of state intervention needed for a crisis like this, on the side of working people, is completely out of their comfort zone.
The 10 years of austerity we just had was all about destroying the state, even more than has already been done by successive governments since Thatcher. It’s led to an NHS that’s more overstretched than it otherwise could have been, and it led to reports that said we were unprepared for a pandemic, being ignored, because ‘there’s no money’. Which is nonsense - what there’s been none of is the political will to distribute resources appropriately. Because the market is meant to do that, (it does the opposite).
Thanks to these years of neoliberalism, even the most competent people in government right now probably wouldn’t have been able to handle the crisis particularly well. But for sure, socialists would’ve done a far less awful job!
Why do we need 5G?
Why do we need 5G? Aren’t there more pressing concerns in the world? Like mass poverty and hunger?
We’re spending $trillions rolling out even faster internet for some, whilst most of the world doesn’t even have access to 1G...?!
As for potential health risks... is there any truth in it? Or is it all ‘conspiracy theory’? Read here.
We’re spending $trillions rolling out even faster internet for some, whilst most of the world doesn’t even have access to 1G...?!
As for potential health risks... is there any truth in it? Or is it all ‘conspiracy theory’? Read here.
Saturday, 25 April 2020
What to make of Bill Gates?
Bill Gates uses his power to advance neoliberal economics and industrial agriculture, thus helping to fuel poverty and destroy the natural environment, which in turn fuels the creation of new diseases, and damages our health as we are all increasingly forced to eat chemical-ridden, mass produced food.
He, and other billionaires, have a disastrous influence on the world.
I find it extremely dangerous that he is one of the biggest donors to the World Health Organization. This will surely help ensure that it focuses on health issues without looking at what is the root cause of many of those health issues - the neoliberal, corporate imperialism, that Gates & co impose on the world.
Gates has said that he wants to reduce unsustainable population growth in poor regions of the world. But that poverty and population growth - people reproduce more, when they are desperate - is fueled by the corporate imperialism that Bill Gates' foundation pushes.
And why is that population growth so unsustainable? Because the corporations destroy the livelihoods of locals; stealing their farmland and replacing it with environmentally devastating industrial agriculture, to produce unhealthy food to export to rich countries.
But now he supposedly wants to help all these people by vaccinating them all against diseases (that he helps to fuel)?
I'm not going to pretend to know what goes through the mind of Bill Gates, and what his motivations are. Is he some kind of evil mastermind desperate to advance his power and control the world with AI? Or is he just lost, ignorant, in denial? Whatever the case, the more power his ilk have, the less hope there is of real change. They'll keep us focussed on the symptoms when we need to be focussing on the underlying disease: neoliberal globalization, aka corporate imperialism.
.....
This new article by The Grayzone is probably the best left-wing critique of Gates I've read.
He, and other billionaires, have a disastrous influence on the world.
I find it extremely dangerous that he is one of the biggest donors to the World Health Organization. This will surely help ensure that it focuses on health issues without looking at what is the root cause of many of those health issues - the neoliberal, corporate imperialism, that Gates & co impose on the world.
Gates has said that he wants to reduce unsustainable population growth in poor regions of the world. But that poverty and population growth - people reproduce more, when they are desperate - is fueled by the corporate imperialism that Bill Gates' foundation pushes.
And why is that population growth so unsustainable? Because the corporations destroy the livelihoods of locals; stealing their farmland and replacing it with environmentally devastating industrial agriculture, to produce unhealthy food to export to rich countries.
But now he supposedly wants to help all these people by vaccinating them all against diseases (that he helps to fuel)?
I'm not going to pretend to know what goes through the mind of Bill Gates, and what his motivations are. Is he some kind of evil mastermind desperate to advance his power and control the world with AI? Or is he just lost, ignorant, in denial? Whatever the case, the more power his ilk have, the less hope there is of real change. They'll keep us focussed on the symptoms when we need to be focussing on the underlying disease: neoliberal globalization, aka corporate imperialism.
.....
This new article by The Grayzone is probably the best left-wing critique of Gates I've read.
See here for the influence that Gates has over the media.
See here for his influence in agriculture.
Also watch this - The malaria business: Big pharma vs natural medicine.
Can localisation unite us, and save the planet?
Watch this.
I love pretty much everything Helena Norberg-Hodge has to say.
I think localisation has the potential to unite people of all political persuasions.
Another great talk here, by Jason Hickel, at the same event. It seems imperative that we end neoliberal, growth-dependent globalization. Hickel argues against the idea of 'green growth'.
It seems that the environmental movement has to a large extent been co-opted by capitalism in recent decades, resulting in a story being promoted that the current system can continue pretty much as is, but with green energy sources, (that potentially aren't even very green). Watch Michael Moore's latest film for more on this.
And you can watch Helena's film, The Economics Of Happiness, here.
I love pretty much everything Helena Norberg-Hodge has to say.
I think localisation has the potential to unite people of all political persuasions.
Another great talk here, by Jason Hickel, at the same event. It seems imperative that we end neoliberal, growth-dependent globalization. Hickel argues against the idea of 'green growth'.
It seems that the environmental movement has to a large extent been co-opted by capitalism in recent decades, resulting in a story being promoted that the current system can continue pretty much as is, but with green energy sources, (that potentially aren't even very green). Watch Michael Moore's latest film for more on this.
And you can watch Helena's film, The Economics Of Happiness, here.
Wednesday, 22 April 2020
CIA: Global Gestapo?
The CIA's targeting of multi-award winning journalist, Julian Assange, for exposing corruption and war criminality, is undeniably fascistic.
And is this anything new?
Soon after its inception, the CIA recruited literal Nazis!
“Honest and idealist… enjoys good food and wine… unprejudiced mind…”
That’s how a 1952 CIA assessment described Nazi ideologue Emil Augsburg, an officer at the infamous Wannsee Institute, the SS think tank involved in planning the Final Solution.
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