TIME TO HEEL

“Whether in actual fact the policy of the boot-on-the-face can go on indefinitely seems doubtful. My own belief is that the ruling oligarchy will find less arduous and wasteful ways of governing and of satisfying its lust for power, and these ways will resemble those which I described in Brave New World. Within the next generation I believe that the world’s rulers will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging and kicking them into obedience.” Letter from Aldous Huxley to George Orwell – 1949

Orwell v. Huxley | Apathy and Urgency

The Search for Scientific Optimism in Speculative Fiction: The Dystopic Worlds of H.G. Wells, Yevgeny Zamyatin, Aldous Huxley and George Orwell – Every Word Counts

Huxley’s vision of the future held sway for the next five decades, as generation after generation underwent government social indoctrination in public schools; medicating those who didn’t conform reduced dissent; incessant propaganda from government-controlled media convinced the masses to consume, obey and feel (no thinking allowed); and learned to love their debt servitude.

Orwell’s vision has taken precedence since September 11, 2001, slowly at first, but rapidly in the last year. A population drowning in cultural irrelevancy, ego enhancing distractions, and technological gadgetry making them dumber, are now being corralled using electronic surveillance, totalitarian dictates by government lackeys, the shredding of the Constitution, intense propaganda, Soviet style censorship of speech, and 3rd world style fraudulent elections to install the Deep State chosen puppet leader. The age of Huxley’s Brave New World has degenerated into Orwell’s 1984 and Solzhenitsyn’s Gulag Archipelago.

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Oliver Stone: Here’s Why Trump Should Pardon Snowden, Assange

What a coincidence. I happened to watch Oliver Stone’s “Snowden” last night. Extremely well done and sobering movie. The fact that it did only $21 million at the box office is a tribute to the Deep State and the MSM propaganda machines which have convinced the majority of ignorant Americans that Snowden is a traitor and endangered the national security of the country.

Nothing but bullshit. He proved that Clapper lied to Congress. Why is that fucker not in prison? He revealed to the whole world that everything they say, type, or record is being monitored by their government and will be used against them whenever the Deep State chooses.

Interestingly, the movie has an actual snippet of Trump saying Snowden should be executed. Assange and Snowden did more for the people of this world than any two men of the 20th & 21st century. The failure of people to support their release is a black mark for humanity. The Deep State has become bolder since Snowden’s revelations, basically saying “what the fuck are you going to do about it?”

Well. What are we going to do about it?

Via ZeroHedge

Filmmaker Oliver Stone has joined the growing chorus of activists calling for President Trump to pardon Julian Assange and Edward Snowden – without whom we wouldn’t know about intrusive government surveillance programs, the United States’ aggressive drone strike program, or that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign manager and his brother are apparently into ‘spirit cooking‘ with a satanic performance artist.

According to Stone, pardoning the pair of whistleblowers “will take the edge off his pardons for his family & loyalists by being unselfish and not self-serving. And at the least, confound his many critics — as well as future historians.”

Second, “It will drive his enemies in #DeepState and #Media absolutely nuts!

“A pardon of @Snowden and #Assange would be a great shock to this world, and reflect well on @realDonaldTrump,” wrote Stone in a Thursday tweet. “Despite all the negatives he’s created, it will be seen as a purely merciful action. It will not be forgotten.”

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THE ONLY THING SYSTEMATIC IS THE DESTRUCTION OF AMERICA

“It is difficult to get a man to understand something, when his salary depends upon his not understanding it!” – Upton Sinclair

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Upton Sinclair was describing willful ignorance based upon who butters your bread. The rampant corruption of our society, as power has been consolidated into fewer and fewer hands, has resulted in our political, financial, cultural and economic systems being captured by a billionaire class who use their wealth to dictate the path we are forced to follow – or lose everything.

The sociopath class include the Silicon Valley social media titans, the billionaires running the six mainstream media companies, the rogue billionaires like Soros and Bloomberg who fund chaos and foment insurrection, the Deep State surveillance agency operatives like Clapper, Brennan, Comey and Mueller doing the bidding of the oligarchy, Wall Street criminals like Dimon, Paulson, and Blankfein doing god’s work, and last but certainly not least – Powell, Yellen, Bernanke and slimy Kashkari priming the pump for the never ending systematic pillaging of the nation’s wealth.

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Should Snowden and Assange Pardon the US Government?

Guest Post by Jacob Hornberger

President Trump is saying that he might issue a pardon to Edward Snowden. For some reason, he hasn’t said the same thing about Julian Assange.

But a pardon suggests that the person being pardoned has done something wrong. Neither Snowden and Assange has done anything wrong — at least not in a moral sense. It is the US government — and specifically the national-security state branch of the federal government — that has engaged in terrible wrongdoing — wrongdoing that Snowden and Assange revealed to the American people and the people of the world.

Therefore, the real question is: Should Snowden and Assange pardon the US for having destroyed a large part of their lives and liberty?

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P FOR PANDEMIC

“People should not be afraid of their governments. Governments should be afraid of their people.” – Alan Moore – V for Vendetta

Coronavirus is close to becoming a pandemic, WHO warns - The ...

“Authority, when first detecting chaos at its heels, will entertain the vilest schemes to save its orderly facade.” – Alan Moore – V for Vendetta

I wrote an article called V for Vendetta – 2011 just over nine years ago on the day after the Tucson shooting where congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords and eighteen others were shot by a psychologically disturbed lunatic, with six dying. At the time, I thought of the scene from the V for Vendetta movie where someone did something stupid and all hell broke loose. I expected a similar result from this act, but those in control of our society were successfully able to put a cork in the bottle, preserving their façade of order.

We learned shortly thereafter, through the patriotic efforts of Edward Snowden and Julian Assange, how the government was using the vilest of schemes to surveil every American through their abuse of the Patriot Act. The government has become an enemy of the people.

The Immelman Turn » Blog Archive » Giffords Assassination Attempt

It is interesting to go back and view my conclusion from nine years ago and assess its accuracy as of today:

“This country has not reached the level of control and fear seen in Orwell’s 1984 and V for Vendetta, yet. We are moving relentlessly in that direction. Surveillance, monitoring, spying, censorship, secret prisons, predator drones, and conforming to state rules and regulations put citizens further under the thumb of an all-powerful state. The freedom to dissent, the freedom to be left alone, the freedom to speak out against injustice, the freedom to disagree with your government, and the freedom to present your ideas without fear of retribution or penalty are essential in a democratic society.

The next phase of this Fourth Turning will surely include another downward spiral in financial markets as un-payable debts accumulate to a tipping point level. When ATM machines stop spitting out twenties, food shelves are bare and gas stations are shuttered, social chaos will ensue. The government will react with further command and control measures. In V For Vendetta, the government creates a terrorist incident in order to gain unquestioned control over the population. Americans will need to be more vigilant than they have been over the last ten years in keeping an eye on their government.”

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STRANGER IN A STRANGE LAND

“Secrecy begets tyranny.” Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

Image result for secrecy begets tyranny

“Thinking doesn’t pay. Just makes you discontented with what you see around you.”Robert A. Heinlein, Stranger in a Strange Land

When I read quotes by men like H.L. Mencken and Robert Heinlein, I realize I’m not really a stranger in a strange land, even though I feel that way most of the time. These cynical, critical thinking, libertarian minded gentlemen understood government tended towards corruption and tyranny, the populace tended towards ignorance and distraction, and reality eventually teaches a harsh lesson to fools, knaves and dumbasses.

Sometimes we think the current day worldly circumstances are new and original, when human nature, politicians, and governments never really change. When Mencken and Heinlein were writing and providing social commentary during the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s, they observed the same fallacies, foolishness, lack of self-responsibility, government malfeasance, and inability of the majority to think critically, that are rampant in society today.

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DANCING ON THE CRUMBLING PRECIPICE

Dancing on the crumbling precipice
The rocks are coming loose just at the edge
Are we laughing? Are we crying?
Are we drowning? Are we dead?
Or is it all a dream?

The bombs are getting closer everyday
“That can never happen here” we used to say
Have these wars come to our doorstep?
Has this moment finally come?
Or is it all a dream?

Rise Against – The Violence

This recent song by Rise Against, inspired by the turmoil since the 2016 election of Donald Trump, captures the feeling of angst and uncertainty engulfing the world today. This Fourth Turning is entering its most violent stage, where blood will be spilled in vast quantities as an epic conflict between good and evil plays out across the globe. Eighty years ago, the bloodiest conflict in human history began, as the social mood turned dark and compromise was no longer a viable option.

It wasn’t a coincidence World War II began exactly eighty years after the onset of the American Civil War, which began as compromisers died off and hearts hardened on both sides. We are now eighty years gone since the outset of World War II and a global mood of impending doom overshadows our daily lives. The inevitability of conflict, domestically and internationally, eclipses all efforts to bridge the ideological differences of competing interests around the world. The cycles of history will not be denied and this Fourth Turning will play out as those before, with clear victors and clear losers.

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Why the Assange Arrest Should Scare Reporters

Guest Post by Matt Taibbi

The WikiLeaks founder will be tried in a real court for one thing, but for something else in the court of public opinion

LONDON, ENGLAND - APRIL 11: Julian Assange gestures to the media from a police vehicle on his arrival at Westminster Magistrates court on April 11, 2019 in London, England. After weeks of speculation Wikileaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by Scotland Yard Police Officers inside the Ecuadorian Embassy in Central London this morning. Ecuador's President, Lenin Moreno, withdrew Assange's Asylum after seven years citing repeated violations to international conventions. (Photo by Jack Taylor/Getty Images)

Julian Assange was arrested in England on Thursday. Though nothing has been announced, there are reports he may be extradited to the United States to face charges related to Obama-era actions.

Here’s the Washington Post on the subject of prosecuting Assange:

A conviction would also cause collateral damage to American media freedoms. It is difficult to distinguish Assange or WikiLeaks from The Washington Post.”

That passage is from a 2011 editorial, “Why the U.S. Shouldn’t Try Julian Assange.”

The Post editorial of years back is still relevant because Assange is being tried for an “offense” almost a decade old. What’s changed since is the public perception of him, and in a supreme irony it will be the government of Donald “I love WikiLeaks” Trump benefiting from a trick of time, to rally public support for a prosecution that officials hesitated to push in the Obama years.

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Assange Arrest a Warning from History

Guest Post by John Pilger

The glimpse of Julian Assange being dragged from the Ecuadorean embassy in London is an emblem of the times. Might against right. Muscle against the law. Indecency against courage. Six policemen manhandled a sick journalist, his eyes wincing against his first natural light in almost seven years.

That this outrage happened in the heart of London, in the land of Magna Carta, ought to shame and anger all who fear for “democratic” societies. Assange is a political refugee protected by international law, the recipient of asylum under a strict covenant to which Britain is a signatory. The United Nations made this clear in the legal ruling of its Working Party on Arbitrary Detention.

But to hell with that. Let the thugs go in. Directed by the quasi fascists in Trump’s Washington, in league with Ecuador’s Lenin Moreno, a Latin American Judas and liar seeking to disguise his rancid regime, the British elite abandoned its last imperial myth: that of fairness and justice.

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QUOTES OF THE DAY

“At the root of America’s economic crisis lies a moral crisis: the decline of civic virtue among America’s political and economic elite. A society of markets, laws, and elections is not enough if the rich and powerful fail to behave with respect, honesty, and compassion toward the rest of society and toward the world.”

Jeffrey Sachs

“Assange is a deeply polarizing figure. That’s almost certainly why the Trump DOJ believes it could get away with indicting him based on a theory that would clearly endanger core journalistic functions: because it hopes that the intense animosity for Assange personally will blind people to the dangers this indictment poses.

But far more important than one’s personal feelings about Assange is the huge step this indictment represents in the Trump administration’s explicitly stated goal to criminalize journalism that involves reporting on classified information. Opposition to that menacing goal does not require admiration or affection for Assange. It simply requires a belief in the critical importance of a free press in a democracy.”

Glenn Greenwald

“If all the world hated you, and believed you wicked, while your own conscience approved you, and absolved you from guilt, you would not be without friends.”

Charlotte Bronte, Jane Eyre

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Is Julian Assange another Pentagon Papers case?

Guest Post by Alan Dershowitz

Image result for julian assange daniel ellsberg

Before WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange gained asylum in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London in 2012, he and his British legal team asked me to fly to London to provide legal advice about United States law relating to espionage and press freedom. I cannot disclose what advice I gave them, but I can say that I believed then, and still believe now, that there is no constitutional difference between WikiLeaks and The New York Times.

If The New York Times, in 1971, could lawfully publish the Pentagon Papers, knowing that it included classified documents stolen by Rand Corporation military analyst Daniel Ellsberg from our government, then WikiLeaks was entitled, under the First Amendment, to publish classified material that Assange knew was stolen by former Army intelligence analyst Chelsea Manning from our government.

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Cascading Cat Litter

Guest Post by Jim Kunstler

And so now Julian Assange of Wikileaks has been dragged out of his sanctuary in the London embassy of Ecuador for failing to clean his cat’s litter box. Have you ever cleaned a litter box? The way we always did it was to spread some newspaper — say, The New York Times — on the floor, transfer the used cat litter onto it, wrap it into a compact package, and put it in the trash.

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Edward Snowden: Assange Arrest “Dark Moment For Press Freedom” – One For “The History Books”

Via ZeroHedge

Assange’s critics may cheer, but this is a dark moment for press freedom,” NSA whistleblower and leaker Edward Snowden wrote on Twitter in reaction to seeing WikiLeaks’ Julian Assange dragged by UK police from his seven year asylum captivity at the Ecuadorian embassy in London on Thursday.

Via Ruptly/Reuters

A bearded, disheveled-looking Assange was filmed being roughly escorted out of the embassy by British police and loaded into a police van. Assange can be seen shouting:

“The UK must resist this attempt by the Trump administration.”

The arrest came, as WikiLeaks predicted, a mere days after the organization was tipped off that Ecuador was preparing to swiftly end Assange’s asylum and hand him over the UK authorities, after which it’s further believed the WikiLeaks founder will be extradited to the United States.

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