Read, But Don’t Read (June 26, 2023)

Posted in Newspapers, Truth on June 26, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Read ‘Consortium News’, but don’t read ‘The New York Times’.  Read ‘Naked Capitalism’, but don’t read ‘The Washington Post’.  Read ‘Wall Street On Parade’, but don’t read ‘The Wall Street Journal’.  Read the ‘South China Morning Post’, but don’t read ‘USA Today’.”    

. .  .

J          “Read ‘The New York Times’, but don’t read ‘Consortium News’.  Read ‘The Washington Post’, but don’t read ‘Naked Capitalism’.  Read ‘The Wall Street Journal’, but don’t read ‘Wall Street On Parade’.  Read some other paper, but don’t read ‘South China Morning Post’.”    

. . .

[See the diffident musings in “The New York Times Is A Disgusting Militarist Smut Rag” by Caitlin Johnstone, the recipient of the Fourth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2019 (April 15, 2019) in “www.caitlinjohnstone.com” dated March 27, 2023 and “New York Times Is Now Telling Bigger Lies Than Iraq WMDs and More Effectively” by David Swanson in www.WorldBeyondWar.com” dated April 11, 2023.]

[See the e-commentary at Information Silos / Echo Chambers (March 15, 2021), Seventh Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2022 (May 9, 2022) and Fifth Annual Noble Prize In Eco-nomics (October 12, 2020).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

“If you don’t read the newspaper, you’re uninformed.  If you do read the newspaper, you’re misinformed.”  Attributed to Mark Twain, but who knows

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Juneteenth (June 19, 2023)

Posted in Freedom / Liberty, Slavery on June 19, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “We need to remember.”

J          “We cannot forget.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary at Humanity’s Motto: To Enslave And To Colonize (January 27, 2014).]

Bumper sticker of the week:

To Enslave And To Colonize.  Hey, it’s who we are.

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Stalking The Stalking Saber-toothed Tiger (June 12, 2023)

Posted in Society on June 12, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The Smilodon donned quite a smile.  Strategically curved white teeth.  Without orthodontics or whitener.  Or regular brushing.  Could have been a movie star.  Had to kill or be killed.  Killed and was killed.”

J          “You see it.  The critter explains life.  And death.  Sitting in the split-level cave with a flickering fire and nothing to eat in the last fortnight wondering if the saber-toothed tiger gets you or you get the saber-toothed tiger.”

K          “And today the saber-toothed tiger is much more subtle and cunning and menacing and camouflaged.  And stalking us everywhere and all the time.”

J          “Far more saber-toothed tigers are stalking us with less opportunity for us to harvest one than in recent memory.” 

. . .

J          “Airline seats will soon be modified baby chairs that may recline.  For a fee.”

K          “Another saber-toothed tiger stalking us.”

. . .

K          “The pack is scared.  The human pack.  Is scared.”

J          “You can feel it and smell it and hear it and see it and touch it.  Out there.  Everywhere.” 

. . .

K          “Those in power charge for access to water.  They will soon charge for access to oxygen.”

J          “As a society, we pursued oil and gas via fracking in the short run and in the process literally poisoned our water in the long run.”

K          “That is an 800-pound saber-toothed tiger.”

. . .

J          “And then there are Perfluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS).”

K          “Another 800-pound saber-tooth tiger.” 

. . .

J          “When an airline charges for access to the bathroom on the plane, take note.”

K          “Another saber-tooth tiger stalking us.”

. . .       

[See the e-commentary in no special order at “Recurring Revenue”:  Inserting A Tentacle Into Every Pocket (August 29, 2022), Covid-19 PanICdemic/Plague:  Basically, Back To Basics:  Finding Food; Printing Rutabagas.  Happy Earth Day! (April 20, 2020), “Monitoring The Masses:  The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015)” Seven Years Later (January 10, 2022), “Monitoring The Masses:  The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015)” Revisited:  The “Fondle Slab” Enslaves Us All (January 28, 2019), Monitoring The Masses:  The Card And The Chip (January 12, 2015), Social (In)Security And The C.P.I. (May 29, 2017), Back Door Inflation (July 16, 2007), Fraudulent Frequent Flying Fiascos.  Oh, And Happy Canada Day and Independence Day! (July 2, 2018), Preserve Cash; Preserve (Some) Privacy (May 4, 2015), Close the Harvard Business School (February 23, 2009) and An Airline (Partial) Survival Guide (January 24, 2005).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Lion or Gazelle?

Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up.

It knows it must run faster than the slowest lion or it will be killed.

Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up.

It knows it must outrun the slowest gazelle or it will starve to death.

It doesn’t matter if you are a lion or gazelle: when the sun comes up, you’d better be running.

[Be the feline.  It does matter if you are a lion or a gazelle.  When . . .  and what does the gazelle get to eat?]

. . .

“War has also taught me that each one of us contains every ingredient of the human recipe.  By varying measure we are all cowards and brave men, thieves and honest men, selfish and selfless men, malingerers and champions, weasels and lions.  The only question is how much of each attribute we allow—or force—to dominate our being.”  Eric L. Haney, Inside Delta Force: The Story of America’s Elite Counterterrorist Unit

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United States v. Russia:  Turning Up The Thermostat (June 5, 2023)

Posted in Russia, War on June 5, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “Heating up.”

J          “Heating up.”

. . .

J          “Not good.”

K          “Not good.”

. . .

Bumper sticker of the week:

When will they ever learn

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Memorial Day (May 29, 2023)

Posted in Society on May 29, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

“Sometimes silence.”

. . .

 

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Eighth Annual “Cameo In Courage” Award For 2023 (May 22, 2023)

Posted in Cameo In Courage Award on May 22, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “The envelope please.  . . .  This year, the ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award is awarded to . . . Barbara Lee, the only Congressperson who voted against the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) in 2001.  Not one other person in the House or in the Senate had the courage, the dignity and the integrity to do what she did.  She has continued to challenge the powerful on behalf of the powerless.  She continues to carry the torch carried by Ron Dellums before her.  A civil society must provide some public nod to honor secular saints.  To acknowledge the poppy that forces its way through the crack in the asphalt to reach for the light.”

J          “One person demurred.  Only one person demurred when Congress capitulated completely.  And she is still serving.”

. . .

[See the e-commentary Cameo In Courage Award Nominee: Julian Assange (January 31, 2022), Sixth Annual “Cameo In Courage” Award For 2021 (April 5, 2021), Fifth Annual “Cameo In Courage” Award For 2020 (July 6, 2020), Seeing 2020:  Profiles In Cowardice; Profiles In Courage.  Oh, And Happy Valentine’s Day! (February 10, 2020), Alex J. / J. Assange And The First Amendment (August 13, 2018), Hero or Traitor? (June 10, 2013), Fourth Annual ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award For 2019 (April 8, 2019), Third Annual ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award For 2018 (April 9, 2018), Second Annual ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award For 2017 (March 6, 2017), First Annual ‘Cameo In Courage’ Award For 2016 (May 9, 2016), Award Deadlines (Livelines?) (July 25, 2016), Profile In Cowardice Award (May 12, 2014), Profile In Courage Award, 2015 (May 11, 2015), Chelsea And Ed:  Time For ‘Con’ ‘dign’ Treatment (November 30, 2015) and On Courage and Truth (March 17, 2008).]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Dissent remains patriotic, but perilous

“People run in packs because they don’t feel safe alone.  I run alone because I don’t feel safe in packs.”  Muhammad Ali

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Graduation Advice:  Find The First Amendment (May 15, 2023)

Posted in First Amendment, Graduation Advice on May 15, 2023 by e-commentary.org

.  .  .

K          “Find the First Amendment.  Don’t quit until you find it.  It may be hidden under a rock.  If you quit and don’t find it, we may get stoned for what we say.”

.  .  .

K          “Ladies and gentlemen of the class of ’23 . . . find the First Amendment. . . .  If I could offer you only one tip for the future . . . find the First Amendment.  You have been studying and partying and extracurricularing at a frantic and frenetic pace.  Now is the time to . . . find the First Amendment.  The assault on the First Amendment is coordinated and unrelenting by just about every large public and private and quasi public/private institution in America.  We all love it in theory but have a hard time applying it in practice, at least to others.  Sentiments such as the First Amendment and Due Process require a level of emotional intelligence and maturity sorely lacking today particularly among the parvenu PMC caste who were expensively school and yet lightly educated. As you join the company of educated men and women, find the First Amendment.”

. . .

K          “Wear sunscreen.  Wear hearing protection; listen attentively.  Wear chainsaw safety chaps; cut with care.  Eat dessert: First.  Learn to tie a bowline (and a bow tie).  Stop, pause, think.  Eschew fear.  Transcend:  Maintain FL 44; Make A Few Discrete Dives And Diversions To TPA (Traffic Pattern Altitude).  And find the First Amendment.”

. . .

[See “High Court Declines Arkansas Case on Boycotting Israel” by Marjorie Cohn in “Consortium News” dated March 2, 2023 discussing the one case more than any other case that should have been reviewed and reversed by the Court (the “Illegitimate Institution”?) without delay or hesitation.  See the e-commentary at Senate Repeals Constitution.  Oh, And Happy Presidents’ Day! (February 18, 2019) and House [Also] Repeals Constitution.  Oh, And Happy Civic Holiday In Canada! (August 5, 2019) and the entire Boycott Category.  For good measure, see “Biden’s DOJ Indicts Four Americans for Their Political Views on Russia” by Dave DeCamp in www.antiwar.com dated April 19, 2023.]

[See the original “Sunscreen Column”, the Wikipedia article “Wear Sunscreen” and listen to “Everbody’s Free (To Wear Sunscreen)”.]

[See the e-commentary at The Möbius Loop Of Stupidity, Dishonesty, Hypocrisy, Incompetence, Indifference, Arrogance, . . .  Oh, And Happy Thanksgiving! (November 25, 2019), Graduation Advice:  Transcend:  Maintain FL 44; Make A Few Discrete Dives And Diversions To TPA (Traffic Pattern Altitude) (May 16, 2022), Graduation Advice: Eschew Fear (May 10, 2021), Graduation Advice:  Stop, Pause, Think (May 18, 2020), Graduation Advice:  Learn To Tie a Bowline (And A Bow Tie) (May 13, 2019), Graduation Advice:  Eat Dessert.  First. (May 14, 2018), Graduation Advice:  Wear Chainsaw Safety Chaps; Cut With Care (May 15, 2017), Graduation Advice:  Wear Hearing Protection; Listen Attentively (May 16, 2016) and the advice to youth at Go East, Young Person (August 25, 2014).] 

Bumper stickers of the week:

Wear sunscreen.  Wear hearing protection; listen attentively.  Wear chainsaw safety chaps; cut with care.  Eat dessert:  First.  Learn to tie a bowline (and a bow tie).  Stop, pause, think.  Eschew fear.  Transcend:  Maintain FL 44; Make A Few Discrete Dives And Diversions To TPA (Traffic Pattern Altitude).  And find the First Amendment.

Find the First Amendment

Flee the Mobius Loop

Make 2024 the “Year Of The First Amendment”

“Here in America we are descended in blood and in spirit from revolutionists and rebels – men and women who dare to dissent from accepted doctrine.  As their heirs, may we never confuse honest dissent with disloyal subversion.”  Dwight D. Eisenhower.

“I disapprove of what you say, but [I] will defend to the death your right to say it.”  Voltaire

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Eighth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2023 (May 8, 2023)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, First Amendment, Journalism, Pushitzer Prize In Commentary on May 8, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

            “The envelope please.  . . .  This year’s Pushitzer Prize in Commentary is awarded to . . . Matt Taibbi, Michael Shellenberger and Bari Weiss . . . for their work exposing the alliance between Twitter and other Big Tech Behemoths and Big Government that coordinates efforts to suppress and censor free speech.  For their exposure of 51 foreign policy types who knowingly and actively interfered in the 2020 election in support of Biden.  And for their efforts stirring the pot, asking hard questions, demanding answers, rejecting lies, spotlighting uncomfortable truths, comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable.  And being journalists.”

. . .

[See “Post-Decency Politics:  House Democrats Use Hearing to Attack Both Free Speech and a Free Press” by Jonathan Turley in “JonathanTurley.org” dated March 13, 2023 and “Why Do Mainstream Democrats Hate Matt Taibbi?” by Yves Smith, the recipient of the Seventh Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2022 (May 9, 2022), in “Naked Capitalism” reprinting “Democrats vs. Democrats – One of Them Will Lose” by Thomas Neuburger in “neuburger.substack.com” dated April 6, 2023.]

[See the blatant dishonesty, hypocrisy and cowardice of the corporate stenographers who masquerade as journalists in America and cover for each other but disregard one of the world’s most courageous journalists in the proclamation “Journalism Organizations Call On Administration To Prioritize Reporters Taken Hostage [But Not Real Reporters Such As Julian]” dated April 14, 2023.  And not a word about Gonzalo Lira today.]

[See the e-commentary on the ongoing international crime at The Persecution Of Assange And The Feckless MSM (September 21, 2020).]

[See the e-commentary on the Commentary Award and previous recipients at Seventh Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2022 (May 9, 2022), Sixth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2021 (June 7, 2021), Fifth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2020 (May 4, 2020), Fourth Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2019 (April 15, 2019), Third Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2018 (April 16, 2018), Second Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2017 (April 10, 2017), First Annual Pushitzer Prize In Commentary For 2016 (April 18, 2016) and Pulitzers Are Pro-War?  Pressing The Pushitzers (April 22, 2013).]

[Please send your nomination for the Pushitzer Prize in Commentary for 2024 and a supporting letter by January 21, 2024 to e-ssay@gci.net and send the entry fee to your favorite charity.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

Make journalism great again

Make journalism journalism again

Knowledge is not power, but ignorance is powerless

“First they came for the journalists.  We don’t know what happened after that.”

“All tyrannies rule through fraud and force, but once the fraud is exposed they must rely exclusively on force.”  George Orwell

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Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland:  Recipient Of The Prestigious John McCain – Madeline Albright Rancid Vermin Award!  Oh, And Happy May / Law Day! (May 1, 2023)

Posted in Awards / Incentives, John McCain – Madeline Albright Rancid Vermin Award, War on May 1, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “It says something – profound and troubling – about the America experiment that the Empire pursues war crimes as national policy and celebrates war criminals as national heroes.”

L          “That it does.  It celebrates war in all its manifestations.  You know what they say.  If you want a state funeral in America, first be a war criminal.”

. . .

K          “Miss Vicky ‘Fuck the EU’ Nuland is a vile and venal admixture of a sociopath and a psychopath who is indifferent at best whether the entire world is obliterated in a nuclear war.  She is pursuing a private agenda on the public dole.  For these and other compelling reasons and despite ferocious competition, she is most deserving of the inaugural and prestigious ‘John McCain – Madeline Albright Rancid Vermin Award’ for 2023.”

. . .

[Please send your nomination for the John McCain – Madeline Albright Rancid Public Pest Award for 2024 and a supporting letter by January 21, 2024 to e-ssay@gci.net and send the entry fee to your favorite charity.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

If you want a state funeral in America, first be a war criminal.

“Bomb bomb bomb, bomb bomb Iran.”  John McCain

Lesley Stahl:  “We have heard that a half million [Iraqi] children have died.  I mean, that’s more children than died in Hiroshima.  And, you know, is the price worth it?”

Madeleine Albright:  “I think this is a very hard choice, but the price – we think the price is worth it.”

The same venal and vile sociopath/psychopath also decreed that if women do not vote for a fellow war criminal – Hillary (“It Takes A Pillage”) Clinton – they will find a place in Hell.  God willing, Ms. A. may be in a place to assay her hypothesis.

“Senator Cruz, like you, I am, and I think the administration is, very gratified to know that Nord Stream 2 is now, as you like to say, a hunk of metal at the bottom of the sea.”  Victoria “Fuck the EU” Nuland.  January 26, 2023

McCain:  1999 Kennedy Profile in Cowardice Award winner

Albright:  2012 Presidential Medal of Bondage winner

Nuland:  2023 John McCain – Madeline Albright Rancid Public Pest Award winner

“To the 2023 graduating class of the College On War And Violence – and the home of the “Fightin’ Fighters” – I remind you of one of the central truths of life in America.  If you want a state funeral in America, first be a war criminal.  Good luck on the Foreign Service Officer’s examination, your first step on the path to a state funeral.  And for the one or two of you who get it and get out of line, a funeral occasioned by the state. God speed you.”

“Show me the incentive and I will show you the outcome.”  Charlie Munger

Remember Military Appreciation Month

Namaste

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“De-Dollarization” Is The Word Of The Week.  And The Development Of the Year. (April 24, 2023)

Posted in Currency, Petrodollar, Ukraine on April 24, 2023 by e-commentary.org

. . .

K          “‘De-dollarization’.  I cannot remember a time when one word has been bandied about in so many quarters by folks across the political spectrum who wonder if the post-1964 U.S. clad quarter will survive beyond the current quarter.  Everyone is in accord that there is a whole lot of de-dollarizing going on around the world today.”

J          “The change we will employ for our economic transactions may be changing, but I’m not sure what changes it will bring.”

. . .

J          “Saudi Arabia is considering accepting yuan instead of dollars for Chinese oil sales.  Saudi Arabia and Iran announced their intention to join BRICS.  China and Brazil entered into a renminbi-based trade deal.  I can’t disagree with you that the world is being rent in twain one agreement at a time.”

K          “The PetroDollar is the life blood of the economy.  Today.  Much of the rest of the world wants to change the international blood type and seeks not just a blood transfusion but a blood transfer.  The PetroDollar is backed by Fe and Pb but is losing that backing as the rest of the world gangs up to confront and rebut the Big Bully suggesting that they will employ Au and Ag.  And the Saudis are taking the ‘Petro’ out of the Secret Sauce.”

J          “The transition, like all transitions, is not likely to be seamless.  There will be unintended consequences, although it is hard right now to define specifically what the intended consequences are among the big players.  But the drift is clear.”

. . .

[Type in “De-dollarization” and be prepared to revisit and revise your world view.  See “Wait, The Dollar Won’t Die?” by Brent Johnson in an interview with Adam Taggart on “Wealthion” dated April 21, 2023 and “Dancing on the Brink” by John Michael Greer in “www.ecosophia.net” dated April 19, 2023.]

[See World’s Reserve Currency War I = Cold War 2.0 = WW III (?) (September 8, 2014), Plow Shares And Swords.  Oh, And Happy Memorial Day! (May 28, 2018) and other e-commentaries under the Category PetroDollar.]

Bumper stickers of the week:

De-dollarization, dude

“How did you go bankrupt?”  “Two ways.  Gradually, then suddenly.”  Ernest Hemingway, The Sun Also Rises.

“Collapse now and avoid the rush.”  John Michael Greer at www.ecosophia.net

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