It Is What It Isn’t

They say money makes the world go round. Actually the world makes money go round.

They say the truth will set you free. Ask Julian Assange about that.

Liberals are the messengers of a progressive vision for the future, which is why they embrace war, promote lies about Russia and China, and look to the CIA and other intelligence agencies for guidance and protection.

Conservatives believe in the rock-solid principles of individuality, less government interference and control, and fiscal responsibility, as they demand the government run up colossal deficits to subsidize them and protect their businesses from competition.

The U.S. is the beacon of democracy, respect for the rule of law, self-determination and citizen empowerment in the world, which is why it topples other governments, removes democratically-elected leaders and replaces them with despots.

We have policing by media watchdogs to stamp out fake news, and that effort has itself become fake news.

We must go to war to guarantee the peace. Do I even have to unpack that one to show how patently absurd it is?

I could go on. But the point is, any and all interaction or communication among individuals is predicated on the idea that everyone is acting in good faith, that to the best of their abilities, people are being forthright and honest. Absolutely nothing can be discussed or agreed upon if the parties to the discussion are lying.

Yet, the bar has sunk so low, we now ASSUME others are being deceptive. The idea of an honest politician is an oxymoron. We expect everyone to be bending the truth as far as they can get away with it. We are considered foolish and reckless if we’re not constantly on guard, incredulous, suspicious, always looking for the “angle”, trying to figure out what’s really being said, or what the hidden agenda is. In more innocent times, we could easily spot the exaggeration, the “white lie”, the “friendly persuasion” going down. White lies are now every shade of gray, and public announcements a blurry opaque fog, a smoke screen in a house of mirrors.

Yes, we’re buried in mountains of bullsh*t, propaganda, fake this, fake that, deep fakes, false flags, manufactured crises. Lies are flaunted openly with brash impudence and total impunity, even celebrated. Being a great liar, if not openly lauded, seems to be quietly admired. There are best-selling books on how to jockey, manipulate, deceive, con your way to the top. Success justifies anything it takes to get there. When our “The Art of the Deal” 45th POTUS was caught telling 504 lies in a single day, I frankly wasn’t sure how we were supposed to react. Frown? Get angry? Shake our heads in disbelief? Nod and chuckle? Shrug and check the sports page?

Which makes what I do truly a thankless task, an exercise in futility. I actually try to the best of my ability to be truthful, accurate, informative. As do a host of others whom I religiously follow and admire. Most of the criticism I get are attacks on my integrity, questions about my “real motives”, speculations about my hidden agenda, allegations questioning my affiliations and loyalties. No one bothers to talk about the ideas.

That’s the world we live in. It is what it isn’t. It’s probably not what it appears to be. Truth is relative. Facts belong to the highest bidder.

Tragically, I concede: it’s not harsh to criticize someone for not believing anything anymore. At one time, being so closed-minded, so obdurate, so impregnable, so pig-headed, would be judged cynical, negative, pessimistic. Now it’s considered practical, necessary for survival, the only way to deal with the reality of post-modern dystopia.

Truth is negotiable.

A man’s word is worthless.

Scientists and politicians are for sale.

And good luck trying to fix it.

Because you’re on your own.

Seriously, who can you trust?

So … is there a solution to this mess? Anything we can do to reverse this descent into cognitive chaos?

If I told you, would you believe me?

I might just be peddling a bunch of lies.

[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]

It Is What It Isn’t | John Rachel

Julian Assange: Lest We Forget What Courageous Journalism Looks Like

New Zealand citizen journalist Suzi Dawson, herself a whistleblower who has taken political asylum in Russia to avoid persecution by the New Zealand government, listed what she considered the ten most important achievements by Julian Assange and Wikileaks.  This was in a interview with Jimmy Dore, October 27, 2018.

Here they are:

1)  "Wikileaks has been keeping the historical record intact, and is actually combating the digital loss as web pages and websites are constantly being taken down from the internet by the powers that be.  In this current paradigm they're actually scrubbing entire websites and domains at every opportunity.  They're trying to erase information from our living history.  And Wikileaks' founding charter says that any information that's at risk of censorship or deletion can find a safe harbor at Wikileaks."

2)  "Wikileaks enables victims of persecution to have admissible evidence to fight their cases in court.  40,000 cases around the world have had Wikileaks documents submitted as evidence to the court."

3)  "They've maintained a 100% accuracy record over ten years of publishing."

4)  "Wikileaks is still publishing despite the full force of the Empire being used against them.  Intelligence agencies, financial service providers, hostile media and law fare, and of course now Julian Assange's solitary confinement, we still see Wikileaks releases being published."

5)  "Wikileaks has established a digital library of over 10 million documents, containing pristine datasets, the full relevance of which will only become apparent years into the future.  Every current news story can be further informed by doing a key word search to see what Wikileaks archives contain about topics or persons or places that may be relevant to that news story."

6)  "Wikileaks has established a whole new way of doing journalism.  They also initiated the first anonymous drop boxes, which we now see that a similar technology is being used by media outlets across the globe."

7)  "Wikileaks has become the vanguard of press freedom, always pushing at the boundaries of what is acceptable in publishing.  And that is incredibly important because as they are pushing those boundaries further and further out, it allows independent media and citizen media to fill that space in between.  We can go further and do more significant things because Wikileaks is out there taking the heat for us."

8)  "Wikileaks has published leaks on every country in the world without geopolitical bias."

9)  "Wikileaks leaves no source behind, and not only do they go above and beyond to support their sources, they've actually established other organizations to support other at risk journalists and whistleblowers, such as the Courage Foundation, and we now have proven that Julian Assange was involved in the establishment of the Freedom of the Press Foundation."

10)  "Julian saved the life of Edward Snowden, who is renowned as the greatest whistleblower of our generation, and was brought to you by Wikileaks."
Julian Assange should be getting a Nobel Prize, not being persecuted.

What can we do to save this courageous, heroic man?  This is not just about one man, as admirable and honorable he is as a person.  This is about freedom of speech, freedom of dissent, being able to stand up to power and avoid complete and total, across-the-board repression by burgeoning corporate-state totalitarianism.  The media is already a pitiful shell of what it once was.  Silencing the Julian Assanges of the world will just accelerate the demise of public discourse built on honest investigative reporting.


[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . https://jdrachel.com ]



Julian Assange: Lest We Forget What Courageous Journalism Looks Like

The fix is in … Hillary will win … vote for Jill Stein!

 

I've finally emerged from my naive stupor and faced the facts.

Hillary Clinton will be installed as the next POTUS, regardless of how many people do or do not vote for her.

To the extent that I see the insulting choice between the Queen of Chaos and the King of the Racist Rant as somehow pivotal, I have been subconsciously mulling this diabolical verity for some time now. 

What finally cracked the edifice of my willful denial was a highly insightful interview of Julian Assange by the award-winning Australian journalist and film maker, John Pilger.  Please take the time to watch this.

Assange discusses the incriminating emails he has dumped into the public sphere, denies that Russia had anything to do with providing them, highlights Hillary Clinton's criminal use of the Clinton Foundation for influence peddling and her demented plan to establish herself as the go-to candidate for the presidency by destroying Libya and attacking Syria, Wikileaks' role in exposing systemic corruption wherever it occurs, the U.S. defying the UN and ignoring international law, rendering him a fugitive in the Ecuadoran Embassy.

Assange as always is brilliant.  He claims Hillary's victory is predetermined, a foregone conclusion.  History and the facts are on his side.  Think George W. Bush in 2000. 

What will happen after Clinton's coronation in January is anyone's guess.  All informed predictions portend the worst.

The world is heading for war.  No one I know seems to have any clue how that decision is made and who makes it.  But the writing is on the wall.  The military build-ups in Europe and Asia, the constant vilification of Russia and intimidation of China, the hysterical and thoroughly unfounded clamoring about the necessity to stop the aggressive actions of Putin -- though no evidence is presented because no real evidence is available -- all paint the same hideous portrait of apocalyptic violence and unprecedented carnage.

World War III.

Why?  Why must it again come to this?  Because . . .

It's time.

And Hillary Clinton is the perfect minion to inflict this upon the world.

The preparations are being made as I write this, while the mesmerized masses either can't wait to get to the polls because they've already made their decision, or ponder the weighty choice between a sociopathic narcissist and a criminally insane warmonger.

As if it made a difference.

So . . .

Vote for Jill Stein.

You have nothing to lose.
It won't change the results of the election.

As I've said, the fix is in.  The power brokers, the investment banks, Wall Street, the media, the transnational corporations, the security agencies (except for some rebels in the FBI), the .01%, the oligarchs, have made their choice.  The polls have been fixed around that choice, as will be the final results of the election.

Why Jill Stein?

If the programming of the voting machines hasn't completely removed any possibility of her getting sufficient voter support, and the Green Party manages 5% of the popular vote, it will qualify for federal matching funds in the next election.

If there is a next election.

Am I being pessimistic?

Of course not.  There is hope!  The Loch Ness Monster might come out of hiding, and lead humankind to a new spiritual rebirth.  Or in an unexpected turn of events, Sasquatch will win the presidency on a write-in ballot, then require all armaments to be melted down and turned into snow shoes.  An extinction-threatening meteor could glide in from outer space and make a soft landing at Dulles Int'l Airport, Jesus Christ, Ghandi, Buddha and Nelson Mandela could emerge healthy and invigorated, take a limo into DC and talk some sense into the lunatics running our country.

Or . . . or . . .



[ This originated at the author's personal website . . . http://jdrachel.com ]



The fix is in … Hillary will win … vote for Jill Stein!