Saturday, December 31, 2016

High Integrity Journalists and other Sources of Information


Disclaimer: 

No author or journalist or site is ever going to be right or in-integrity 100% of the time, or even have an opinion or take on things you, or I, or others all agree upon.  Sometimes a source has excellent insight on some topics, while being foolish on others.

We are past the point where we can rely on mainstream news outlets or the integrity of well known journalists to be honest or to operate with a great respect for the institution of journalism and news.  Most simply have capitulated to the almighty dollar, or to pleasing a certain segment of their readers.

So it falls on us, each of us individually, to have to claw through this muck and find what is likely true and honest, and what is unlikely to be; and to share with one another what we can reliably trust and warn of what we cannot.

To that end, I am going to curate this post and update it as new information comes to me, and you and others offer constructive feedback on these or other worthy sources.

Please keep in mind that this is relative!  And things change over time, and with regards to the specific topic at hand.  Note: Since I posted this more than a year ago, Matt Taibbi joined the MSM chiore and wrote in favor of russiagate lies, but then about a year later returned to integrity and renounced russiagate as censorship and nonsense.  Jeffrey St. Clair has written similarly neoliberal schmaltz, Amy Goodman has revealed herself and Democracy Now! to be a gatekeeper against the truth of Syria, and a cheerleader for neo-McCarthyism and Russia-gate pablum.

Individuals with significant integrity:

Aaron Maté - Journalist, formerly of the BAR (q.v. below), fantastic voice of reason and insight into anti-racism, USA politics, geopolitical ethics, etc.

Abby Martin - Host of The Empire Files - "cuts through the false Left/Right paradigm set by the establishment & reports the hard facts."

Arundhati Roy - Author - Amazing human being - Social commentary & common sense.

Ben Norton - Independent Journalist and tweeter - Often tweets insightful things about the ongoing shenanigans of USA political theater.

Bill Moyers - Long history of deep reporting on corruption and society.  Gets significant funding from neoliberal groups now, so beware. https://billmoyers.com/

Caitlin Johnstone - Rogue Journalist - 100% citizen funded Australian wordsmith who is fearless and has a deliciously uncompromising way with calling bullshit.  Prolific.

Diana Johnstone - European politics and Western foreign policy. Honest, brave, uncompromising journalist in an often misogynist world.  https://www.unz.com/author/diana-johnstone/

Chris Hedges - Long history of reporting on American hegemony and its death-cult.  Has been inculcated into the trans-cult of late, but is good on other topics. https://www.truthdig.com/author/chris_hedges/

Dahr Jamail - Journalist - Middle east reporting and Global Warming.

Dr. Cornel West - Public figure who often speaks truth and common sense in a corrupt and foolish world. http://www.cornelwest.com/

Eva Bartlett - Independent Middle East Correspondent. Speaks truth about Syria.   https://twitter.com/evakbartlett

Edward Curtin - Independent Journalist - Existentialist, brilliant. http://edwardcurtin.com/

Glen Ford - Black Agenda Report executive editor - fantastic voice of anti-racism and common sense.

Greg Palast - Anti corruption, anti-american-hegemony, etc.

Guy McPherson - Ecologist - Global warming.

Henry Giroux - Social criticism "Critical Education for a Global Democracy"

Howard Zinn - Long history of exposing the fraud of propaganda that is taught in place of the actual history of the USA.

Hiroyuki Hamada - Artist, author, social and political awareness advocate and truth-teller.

John Pilger - Journalist "It is not enough for journalists to see themselves as mere messengers without understanding the hidden agendas..."

Keith Harmon Snow  - Independent Journalist - specializes in honesty about Africa, both indigenous and foreign manipulations, war crimes, genocide, psy-ops, business dealings, etc.

Margaret Kimberley - Journalist for Truthout, Black Agenda Report, ... - anti-American hypocrisy and propaganda, social commentary.

Mat Blumenthal - Independent Journalist - exposing the Venezuelan coup for what it is.

Michelle Alexander - Professor - author of "The New Jim Crow" - anti-racism, current affairs.

Morris Berman - Contemporary American Historian - Major critic of Americanism and documentor of the fall of America.

Naomi Klein - Canadian author - Green revolution, socialism, global warming, humanitarian.

Paul Craig Roberts - Blogger - Geopolitics, Economics - gloomy realist.

Pepe Escobar - Brazilian journalist at Asia Times - Geopolitics / economist / analyst.

Rania Khalek - Journalist & Political commentator - Israel-Palestine conflict.

Richard D. Wolf - Professor of Economics - Post capitalist economist / analyst.

Robert Fisk - Writer & journalist - Geopolitics & middle east correspondent for The Independent, based in Beirut.

Robert Parry - Journalist - Consortium News.

Stephen F. Cohen - Professor emeritus of Russian Studies and Politics at NYU - US-Russian Cold War and geopolitical analysis.

Seymour Hersh - Investigative journalist, old school, politics and international affairs.  Broke the My Lai Massacre story from the Vietnam war.

Shaun King - Writer & anti-racist - Senior justice writer for the New York Daily News, and a political commentator for The Young Turks.  Be warned that the young turks is mostly neoliberal garbage.  In fact, Shaun has become more and more of a neoliberalist and cannot be trusted on politics.  His outrage at racism is on-point and, in my opinion, insightful.

Stephen Kinzer - Former Central America correspondent for NY Times - anti CIA, anti American hegemony, etc.

Ta-Nehisi Coates - Author - Anti-racism, contemporary racism, injustice, black American experience, etc.

Teodrose Firke - Independent Journalist - American politics and culture, especially focusing on the lie of two-party politics in America and our need to overcome racism and prejudice and work together as we-the-people against the 1%.  He now has his own website and publishes other independent voices there: https://ghionjournal.com/

The Saker - Blogger - Anti-American-Hegemony, Geopolitics.

Thierry Meyssan - Political consultant, President-founder of the Réseau Voltaire (Voltaire Network) - Geopolitics.

Vanessa Beeley - Journalist - Middle east independent correspondent and truth teller.

William Blum - Author, Blogger - US Geopolitics (https://williamblum.org/).

William Engdahl - Author - US Geopolitics.

YahNé Ndgo - Founder and Chief Visionary Officer at Deep Blu Womyn Company - Feminist & anti-racism, youth advocate.

Fairly Trustworthy Sites:

21st Century Wire - Where Vanessa Beeley, Patrick Henningsen, etc. publish real stuff on Syria, and Middle East generally.
Black Agenda Report (BAR) - anti-racism, black consciousness, and a great deal of common sense can be found here.
Common Dreams - Progressive issues, political commentary, etc.
Consortium News - American news, politics, etc.
Counterpunch - Ostensibly progressive but known to be strident and foolish.  Read with caution.
Free Thought Project - Often has excellent articles, but can be quite sensationalistic, and somewhat clickbaity.
Greanville Post - Anti-Imperialist news & commentary.
Guns and Butter - Investigates the relationships among capitalism, militarism and politics.
Land Destroyer Report - Geopolitics
Mint Press News - Progressive issues, political commentary, etc.
Moon of Alabama - Geopolitical analysis and political commentary.
Naked Capitalism - Critical look at capitalisms constant genocide and ecocide.
New Eastern Outlook (NEO) - Fantastic resource for geopolitics and international perspectives.
Radio War Nerd - A podcast by John Dolan, history and real politics.
RT - Formerly "Russia Today" - an international news channel available on internet.
The Duran - Independent reporting.
The Ghion Journal - Independent journalism founded by Teodrose Fikre.  Covers racism, US politics, Zionism, etc.
The Gray Zone - Independent web site with a plethora of top-notch independent journalists covering a wide range of geopolitical stories, including the plight of Palestinians and the current ongoing coup attempt against Maduro and the sovereignty of the Venezuela people.
Truthout - Progressive issues, political commentary, etc.
Wikileaks - 100% real source emails and other secret documents to expose criminality and chicanery in our governments.
Zero Hedge - No-nonsense political insight and criticism.

Special Mention:

Jimmy Dore Comedic Video Blogger on US Progressive Issues
The Sane Progressive - Video Blogger on US Progressive Politics
H. A. Goodman - Video Blogger on US Progressive Politics
Brain Spank - Satirical Blog on US Insanity
Guns and Butter - Pod Cast on Geopolitics, Interviews, Pediphelia, Domestic Politics, all 100%
Lee Camp - Comedian and host of "Redacted Tonight" - a humorous look at the news and world events.

Mixed:

Amy Goodman - Once a stalwart of progressive honest journalism, has become a liar for US aggression and wars in Syria, as well as a gatekeeper regarding global wars of American Hegemony.
Glenn Greenwald - "It's complicated". Arguably manipulated Snowden for his own purposes (receiving quite a few accolades for his efforts from the establishment), and recently has gone on with Amy Goodman to claim that the latest accusation of chemical attacks by Assad against his own folks on the eve of his victory have some merit (essentially repeating statist propaganda that has been twice debunked in previous incidents).
Jeffrey St Clair - Likes to bash on women and Caitlin Johnstone in particular.  A bit of a chauvinist and a fool.
Jeremy Scahill - Gaslights about Syria.
Matt Taibbi - Went full neoliberal apologist earlier in 2017 with russiagate, but has since (early 2018) done a 180 and is now decrying the chilling effects of russiagate hysteria and anti-journalism that "fake news" and other government censorship initiatives are engendering (nice to have him back, for as long as it lasts - he's quite a good writer).

Democracy Now - Along with all of NPR and PBS has become neoliberal and untrustworthy but was once upon a time an excellent source, and for non-war-related and non-politics related things, might still be.
NPR & PBS - State funded neoliberal propaganda outlets.  For fluff pieces may still show the occasional moment of journalistic integrity.
The Guardian - Brit publication that sometimes gets it right.
The Hill - US domestic political reporting with somewhat neoliberal leanings.
The Intercept - British publication with neoliberal leanings, but also has good commentary and reporting.  Better than The Hill, and broader scope.
Truthdig  - Political commentary but with sloppy neoliberalisms amongst more factual or honest reporting.  Often quite sensationalistic.

Specific Books or Publications or Documentaries or etc.:

Howard Zinn - A People's History Of The United States
Elizabeth Kolbert - The Sixth Extinction
Stephen Kinzer - Overthrow: America's Century of Regime Change from Hawaii to Iraq
David Talbot - The Devil's Chessboard, Allen Dulles, the CIA, and the Rise of America's Secret Government

Other Lists:


Friday, December 30, 2016

Power Corrupts, but some people never weren't...

I agree with the basic premise that absolute power corrupts absolutely.
I wish I could be more on the "Obama was a good man who was corrupted by the system" bandwagon! I really, really do! It would make my life SOOOOOooooo much easier with my family and liberal friends.
But... I cannot. I daresay he was corrupted as a senator - and very likely well before that.
I say that because his very first decisions after winning the general were to hire wall street execs, and lash out at progressives for being too nosey about his administration's early choices and decisions - exactly the opposite of what he said he'd do (run the most open administration in history - nothing like GW).
Pelosi announced that investigations were off the table.
He started the health care negotiations by PUBLICLY walking backwards BEFORE the first CLOSED meetings with Republicans.
It was like he punched me and all progressives squarely in the gut non-stop for the first two years of his administration.
Excuse after excuse about not floating progressive legislation.
Excuses for not using the supermajority he / the Dems had.
Excuses for not even using single payer as a bargaining tool against the rethugs.
Sidestepping racial justice issues.
Actually admonishing POC for not being good boys & girls in the face of various rank racist incidents at the time.
Blaming his / the democrats massive hemorrhaging loss in 2010 on progressives!!!! On the very people he shut out and told to fuck themselves instead of have some sort of rapport with.
No, he was a colossal asshat from day 1. I cannot. I will not. I shall not forget, nor make excuses for the POS of a failure of a human being to do what the fuck he was elected and preached about doing.
He rode a progressive wave of enthusiasm similar to Bernie's - but was FAR less honest about his positions than Bernie was. Bernie may not be ideal, but I honestly believe Bernie believes in the common American.
Obama was an elitist pretending to be a populist - saying just the right things - smiling that big white-toothy smile, and looking damn good on camera with that twinkle in his eye.
I feel fucked by a high-priced hooker that I thought really wanted to be with *me*, not my *money*.

I do respect your opinion...

See, the thing is, we can disagree about what we want, what's best, who we like, what we think may happen under what circumstances.... that's all fair, and nobody can say for certain what is going to be or honestly assert that their preferences are "better" (they may be better for them, or theirs, or under some circumstances, etc.)
But we cannot really disagree for a real length of time about what is actually in existence, or what actually happened, unless there is no evidence whatsoever.
Because facts, truth, reality; these things are real. They're not subject to one's likes and dislikes at the level of changing because of your stance on them. (you are welcome to take whatever stance you wish).
But at the end of the day, we either sent astronauts to the moon, or we did not. Our CIA ousted Salvador Allende in a military coup, or it did not. We are engaged with bombing 7 other nations currently, or we are not (or the number is 6, or 8). These things are not opinions, they are facts that can be proved or disproved.
Americans are currently wildly gullible and unable to have these conversations in a truly honest manner because we have been lied to for generations. We are daily exposed to lies on NPR, or CBS, or MSNBC, or FOX, or Washington Post, or NY Times, or a public address from President Obama, or a rally from Trump, or a shyster on Oprah channel.
And these lies use our prejudices, our biases, our preconceived notions to stroke our egos, to appeal to our wants and desires, to reinforce our fears so that we don't think too hard or long because it is - genuinely - scary and disturbing.
American propaganda is a well-oiled, mature, efficient, seasoned machine of epic proportions with nearly limitless funding. It's adverts are slick, compelling, emotional, and manipulative as hell. As manipulative as our best psychologists and studies have been able to become. We have engineered the world's best device for deceiving and manipulating large numbers of human beings.
But I'm asking you. I am begging you. I am on my hands and knees - please - for yourselves - for your children - for your loved ones - for the future that might yet be - I implore you to become deeply suspect of the US government and all - every - single - thing - it claims to be true.
Precious little that comes out of either political party and their extremely well paid PR firms has more than a fleeting association with reality. It's all there to blow smoke up your derriere. Smoke tuned to just the right texture, temperature, scent as to be most pleasing to you as an individual who believes that part of who you are is a member of a certain identity - a grouping - such as "I am a proud liberal" or "I am a proud American" or "I am a proud Republican"
Such affiliations are - well - we can have that discussion sometime - I eagerly await it. But for now, just know that they're using the connection between who you believe you are - "I am a good person because I am for social justice as are all of my liberal compatriots" to twist your view of the world. To hide from you the evils committed by democrats. To hide from you the evils committed by the American apparatchik. The evils done in the name of business and profits and global trade and international relations.
You, and I, and everyone we know are just a game that they're really, really good at winning.
To turn the tables - we have no choice but to stop playing by their rules, believing their lies, and failing to see how we are literally pawns on their board.
I am not your enemy.
I am not insulting your "intelligence."
I am your friend. I am your brother. I am your comrade. I am asking you to put aside your ego - that false house of cards - long enough to be brutally honest with me - not just about who we are - but about what the world really - in _fact_ - looks like - and why.
And through that, I honestly believe, we have a chance to change things for the better.
Not lie to each other about how it will all be okay.
But really enact changes that cause actual changes in the world for the ultimate betterment of what actual is and will one day actually be. Truth. Indisputable, factual, actual, reality.
The truth can set you free.
Nobody is truly free until everyone is free.

Wednesday, December 28, 2016

Some lessons from the past...

I'm a beloved and loving husband, a father of two, a software engineer, a self-taught guy who never did get along with institutions of any sort - be they religion, schools, or any other authoritarian top-down system.
I spent my early childhood as a military brat, spending two years in Taiwan, then two more in Wiesbaden Germany, after which my parents divorced, we moved to Albuquerque NM, where I spent the rest of my childhood & teenage years coming of age in a bizarre subculture that has produced some of the most interesting people I know. Alb. had a lot of drugs, parties, rich kids throwing parties in their parents homes when the parents were away - cops showing up, everyone running for the hills. Fist fights were common. Hispanic / White racial tensions were common - with the whites owning & controlling the best parts of the city, and the hispanics and native americans being mostly relegated to the older, more run-down parts. Lots of crime, shootings, alcohol poisoning, meth, LSD, ganja.
Probably because I was a nerd, never fit in socially anywhere really, I've always had an affinity for those who are picked on in the world. I spent a lot of my time in elementary school running from bullies, or being humiliated. Middle school was less physical abuse, but more humiliation. High schools were just a joke which I eventually realized I could just GED my way out.
Computers were my saving grace. I just understood them, and found an easy passion for them - something I could master and then make easier for all people to use. Sadly, they're only marginally easier to use with endless failures to really make them great - just okay enough, and on to the next "shiny" thing.
The past ten years or so I've become a regular FB presence - learning a great deal about systemic racism, the difference between bigotry and systemic racism, and have watched as black/native/mentally ill person after person has been shot or strangled or beaten to death over and over and over.
I've become aware of the endless failures of democrats to seize the day and put their efforts where their mouth is - leading me - and many of you - to realize that they don't walk the walk - they're just blowing hot air up our collective asses. I used to make excuses - I used to know that it was tough fighting the forces of the republicans - I used to understand that approximately 50% of the electorate was of a kind of person that believed that people didn't deserve help - that success was an indication of moral fiber, or maybe a reflection of divine will - that believed to their very core that bad things only happened to bad people (unless it was themselves or a personal relation - and maybe not even then).
I used to laugh and shake my head at those loony folks on FB who claimed that both parties were really two sides of the exact same coin. "Can't you see the massive differences in what they each want?!" "How can you say that those who want to deprive women of choice are the same as those fighting for women's health?!"
But as time has passed - 10 years! - I noticed more and more that given the opportunity - democrats didn't actually fight. They did a few token gestures here and there - but mostly they just waited and waited and then jumped in on something good - a groundswell - and claimed credit for it without ever having risked themselves at all - without ever having really lent a hand at all. LGBTQ - marriage equality - being "People's evidence #1" - with Hillary (as one example amongst myriad other democrats) pushing for DADT, and then switching only after the public momentum was massively on the side of marriage equality.
I've watched as organizations that claim to stand for people have cynically sucked down millions - tens of millions - hundreds of millions in well-intentioned donations to help our fellow brothers and sisters - and then use the money for political influence or personal gains. The Red Cross - for god's sake - taking hundred million plus dollars sent to help Haitians rebuild after that horrific string of earthquakes killed thousands and left many thousands without homes - crumbled and ruined - built three (3) total homes with that money.
I've watched as my fellow self-labeled "democrats" and "liberals" ignored such information and/or actively made excuses. "It's the republicans' fault!" "What can we do, it's just the way the cookie crumbles!" "Na na na na I'm not listening to you crazy-pants because I need to believe in democrats / liberals and what you're saying undermines my faith and makes me feel yucky!"
I've watched as Bernie Sanders - easily the best progressive voice in our federal government - did the insanely unlikely thing of throwing his hat in the ring - and then watching with giddy excitement as Americans - ordinary middle of the road fellow Americans responded to his message of "enough is enough!" - of simple truth - the oligarchs run this nation and both parties have failed the American people utterly.
And then, I watched as those same "democrats" and "liberals" balked at taking a chance on a good human being for the "safety" of a rotten and corrupt one.
I watched them refuse to learn about Bernie. I watched as they rejected facts that exposed Hillary as a syndicated crime boss.
I watched them as they twisted everything to fit their preconceived worldview of "democrats/liberals are the 'good team[tm]"
I was bitter at republicans for cynically manipulating their followers desires and prejudices to gain power and serve the oligarchy - devastating the middle class in America - robbing us of our only real wealth (our homes) - only to watch as the democrats did the same to their liberal followers and those same people fall into the equivalent traps - their prejudices stoked against Trump to fever levels - unable to - or unwilling to - do any self-examination, and honest conversations about Hillary's public and undisputed record from her political history.
This has made me deeply - deeply cynical and angry towards "democrats / liberals".
I have had to rethink my ideas time and again on this journey. I've had to peel back my own defenses, ruthlessly look at some of my biases in a cold hard mirror of honesty - and own my own biases, my own bigotries.
And this isn't a one and done sort of thing. I have to keep on doing this work. I Have to keep on confronting the truth of America as it continues to lynch marginalized peoples - blacks, hispanics, natives, homeless, poor, the mentally ill.
I have to have my beautiful vision of America as a great experiment in democracy - in freedom of choice - of social justice and equality - ripped apart - piece by piece by horrible undeniable piece.
I've had to learn that we've assassinated or overthrown hundreds of lawfully elected democratic leaders all over this world in favor of military juntas and evil dictators that we use as our lap dogs; controlling the natural bounty of these nations - ruthlessly stripping anything of value that we possibly can in exchange for bribing a very very few at the top, and murdering and destroying the livelihoods and literally committing genocide against millions more in the name of American Exceptionalism and Global Hegemony (often euphemized as "Free Trade").
I've watched as democrats and their "liberal" rank and file have promoted and instituted policies that have gutted our once preeminent manufacturing sector - turning our nation from the envy of the world with good paying jobs, job security, and solid benefits into another third-world ghetto full of (righteously) angry and pitiful people - homeless, jobless, destitute, and scrambling to find anything - anything at all - to hold on to to feed themselves or take care of their children.
I've watched as multiple election cycles have come and gone with this undercurrent of a gutted, betrayed, sold-out middle class and working-class in America continued to be - mocked - ignored - despised - sneered at by democrats and their "liberal" followers.
I've watched as an endless parade of political analysts have pointed out this failing in the democrats - only to have most democrats just ignore it - grab on to the themes of "conservatives are to blame!" and "conservatives aren't really even human - they're horrible, hateful people who hate blacks and all immigrants" - while never once being willing themselves to stop this tape - stop listening to this propaganda - this easy othering - this easy excuse for what's going on - this easy avoidance of any personal responsibility at all.
This election cycle I've finally come to realize that liberals are literally the biggest obstacle to social and political progress in this nation.
Those I thought of as noble people who most wanted to help the world for the better are in fact the most insidious at ensuring no change can be made. Bernie robbed in plain view with concrete evidence of wrongdoing (morally, if not technically) - to a resounding - overwhelming - chorus of "meh."
I'm sadder than I know how to be sad.
I'm more worried than I know how to be worried.
I'm angrier than I Know how to be angry.
If my fellow human beings are more wedded to the illusion of goodness - than the reality of it - then I simply do not believe we have any chance of righting this ship.
There are dire - dire warning signs in every direction we're headed:
Global thermonuclear war.
Corptocracy with people as commodities to be used and discarded at whim of profits.
Global warming causing global crop failures and famine and the collapse of civilization with massive die-back of the human race.
Global warming to the extent of 90+ die back of all species - almost absolutely guaranteeing the complete eradication of Homo Sapiens.
Peak oil causing the rapid contraction of the entire global economy - sending every nation on earth into internal strife of proportions none of us has ever even had a nightmare about.
Americans are like the courtiers of King Louis the Sun God. We're all hanging on to the coattails of the royalty and hoping we'll be okay as long as our Kings and Queens of industry continue to be the top dogs of this planet - and we pretend we're "good people" by doing various "good deeds" - but fundamentally failing to be honest about our complicity in a global nightmare from which we derive our sustenance at the suffering of millions of our brothers and sisters - our equals - people who by rights should be our friends - our global neighbors - our kin.
We continue the legacy of slavery by globally impoverishing everyone else so long as we're the "winners" - the future - including our own children - and the millions of children all over this world digging with their bare hands for rare minerals needed for our iPhones or whatever latest geegaw that distracts us and entertains us and lets us explore the exploits of being the pinnacle nation at this time in history. We are #1. We are the best. We are Americans.
If I could cry a tear for every wrong we do in the name of business and American Interests - just on this one day alone - I would exhaust a million bodies of tears. I'd drown my entire community in the salty reality of pain that we inflict - mostly mindlessly - on the less fortunate.
I know that each individual American is trying to be a good person - and very likely believes themselves to be a good person. And I don't mean to detract from the many wonderful deeds people individually do to try to make this world a better place.
But if we cannot stop with the lies - the self-deception - the intellectual dishonesty and squeamishness - we're all - absolutely - on a path to self-annihilation - to global catastrophes - plural.
Every indicator is that we have only a little time left to do something about all of this. Global warming, global famine, global war.
The only silver lining that I am aware of is that matters of the heart - are irreducibly intertwined with matters of the state.
We must - and we can - learn to prioritize the well being of humans over "markets" or "profits" or "nations" or "religions".
We could be a great people - we Humans of Earth. If we'd but let go of our fears of scarcity, our fears of being ordinary - our fears of each other - and embraced our truth of oneness and similarity and frailty and join together to love. All for one, and one for all. It is our only hope.
Namaste.