Election? What Election? EU Elite Will Censor Their Way Out of This Mess (or Die Trying)

Helen Buyniski
Aletho News

The neoliberal establishment is wringing its hands in the wake of European elections that proved a resounding victory for populist parties across the continent, casting around for someone to blame but utterly incapable of realizing their own interference has doomed them. Doubling down on the censorship, they are determined to provoke the catastrophe they need to make free speech history.

The NGO-industrial complex was operating at maximum capacity in the weeks leading up to the election, shutting down hundreds of Facebook pages deemed “fake” or “hate speech” in the hope of controlling the messages reaching voters before they made the terrible mistake of voting for a candidate who represents their interests.

Led by Avaaz, which claims to be a “global citizens’ movement monitoring election freedom and disinformation,” this well-heeled fifth column whipped the press into paranoid frenzies with reports like “Fakewatch,” which breathlessly documented 500 “suspicious” pages and groups it claims are “spreading massive disinformation.” The groups have little in common other than their alleged “link[s] to right-wing and anti-EU organizations,” a capital offense for the promoters of “democracy,” which can only be permitted where it doesn’t stray from the center-left path of most #Resistance.

“Far-right and anti-EU groups are weaponizing social media at scale to spread false and hateful content,” the study warns, gloating that after sharing its findings with Facebook, the platform shut down an “unprecedented” number of pages on the eve of the election (77 out of the 500, according to VentureBeat, which has credulously signal-boosted every utterance of Avaaz as if it is divine truth from the Oracle of Delphi). Avaaz’s reports frame the problem as an affliction of the right wing only, even though disinformation is second nature to political operatives at both ends of the spectrum (and, more importantly, in the sanctified center).

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The Tiananmen Square 'Massacre' - Facts, Fiction and Propaganda

Chris Kanthan
Sott.net

"As far as can be determined from the available evidence, NO ONE DIED that night in Tiananmen Square."

If after reading that you're thinking: 'nonsense! that's just a blatant propagandist claim by China's communist party!', you'd be wrong. It was, in fact, Jay Mathews, the Washington Post's Beijing Bureau Chief in 1989. He wrote this article on the topic of the June 4th 1989 Tiananmen square protests for Columbia Journalism Review.

Many western papers have, in fact, occasionally admitted that this report and other similar reports exist, only to go back to the "massacre" narrative, for some unknown reason. For example, in June 13, 1989, NY Times reporter Nicholas Kristoff - who was in Beijing at the time - wrote: "State television has even shown film of students marching peacefully away from the [Tiananmen] square shortly after dawn as proof that they [protesters] were not slaughtered." In that article, he also debunked a sensational article's claim that Chinese soldiers with machine guns simply mowed down peaceful protesters in Tiananmen Square.

A Wikileaks cable from July 1989 also reveals the eyewitness accounts of a Latin American diplomat and his wife: "They were able to enter and leave the [Tiananmen] square several times and were not harassed by troops. Remaining with students ... until the final withdrawal, the diplomat said there were no mass shootings in the square or the monument."

It is true, of course, that about 200-300 people died in clashes in various parts of Beijing around June 4th 1989 - but about half of those who died were soldiers and police officers.

But what about the iconic "tank man"? Well, if you watch the whole video, you can see that the tanks stopped and let the man jump on the tank. He eventually walks away unharmed. In fact, there are almost no pictures or videos of soldiers actually shooting at or killing people (which doesn't mean it didn't happen, but it's a point to keep in mind).

Propaganda involves not only exaggeration, but also omission. Western media now rarely show pictures of tanks and military vehicles burned down or Chinese soldiers brutally killed by the Beijing protesters.

In an article from June 5, 1989, the Wall Street Journal described some of this violence: "Dozens of soldiers were pulled from trucks, severely beaten and left for dead. At an intersection west of the square, the body of a young soldier, who had been beaten to death, was stripped naked and hung from the side of a bus."

So what exactly did happen? What's the complete story?
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“Manufacturing Dissent”: The Anti-globalization Movement is Funded by the Corporate Elites

Prof Michel Chossudovsky Global Research

This article was first published in 2010.

The author’s introductory quote was first formulated in 2001 in the context of the Summit of the Americas in Quebec City which was held a few months before 9/11

“Everything the [Ford] Foundation did could be regarded as “making the World safe for capitalism”, reducing social tensions by helping to comfort the afflicted, provide safety valves for the angry, and improve the functioning of government (McGeorge Bundy, National Security Advisor to Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson (1961-1966), President of the Ford Foundation, (1966-1979))

“By providing the funding and the policy framework to many concerned and dedicated people working within the non-profit sector, the ruling class is able to co-opt leadership from grassroots communities, … and is able to make the funding, accounting, and evaluation components of the work so time consuming and onerous that social justice work is virtually impossible under these conditions” (Paul Kivel, You Call this Democracy, Who Benefits, Who Pays and Who Really Decides, 2004, p. 122 )

***

“Under the New World Order, the ritual of inviting “civil society” leaders into the inner circles of power –while simultaneously repressing the rank and file– serves several important functions. First, it says to the World that the critics of globalization “must make concessions” to earn the right to mingle. Second, it conveys the illusion that while the global elites should –under what is euphemistically called democracy– be subject to criticism, they nonetheless rule legitimately. And third, it says “there is no alternative” to globalization: fundamental change is not possible and the most we can hope is to engage with these rulers in an ineffective “give and take”.

While the “Globalizers” may adopt a few progressive phrases to demonstrate they have good intentions, their fundamental goals are not challenged. And what this “civil society mingling” does is to reinforce the clutch of the corporate establishment while weakening and dividing the protest movement. An understanding of this process of co-optation is important, because tens of thousands of the most principled young people in Seattle, Prague and Quebec City [1999-2001] are involved in the anti-globalization protests because they reject the notion that money is everything, because they reject the impoverishment of millions and the destruction of fragile Earth so that a few may get richer.

This rank and file and some of their leaders as well, are to be applauded. But we need to go further. We need to challenge the right of the “Globalizers” to rule. This requires that we rethink the strategy of protest. Can we move to a higher plane, by launching mass movements in our respective countries, movements that bring the message of what globalization is doing, to ordinary people? For they are the force that must be mobilized to challenge those who plunder the Globe.” (Michel Chossudovsky,  The Quebec Wall, April  2001)

“Manufactured Consent” vs. “Manufactured Dissent”

The term “manufacturing consent” was initially coined by Edward S Herman and Noam Chomsky.

“Manufacturing consent” describes a propaganda model used by the corporate media to sway public opinion and “inculcate individuals with values and beliefs…”:

The mass media serve as a system for communicating messages and symbols to the general populace. It is their function to amuse, entertain, and inform, and to inculcate individuals with the values, beliefs, and codes of behavior that will integrate them into the institutional structures of the larger society. In a world of concentrated wealth and major conflicts of class interest, to fulfill this role requires systematic propaganda. (Manufacturing Consent by Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky)

“Manufacturing consent” implies manipulating and shaping public opinion. It establishes conformity and acceptance to authority and social hierarchy. It seeks compliance to an established social order. “Manufacturing consent” describes the submission of public opinion to the mainstream media narrative, to its lies and fabrications. 

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62 Organizations to U.S. Congress: Pass Legislation to Halt a “March to War” with Iran

NIAC Action

In light of President Trump and John Bolton’s dangerous escalations against Iran and a forthcoming intelligence briefing on Capitol Hill this afternoon, 62 organizations – including J Street, Indivisible, NIAC Action and Win Without War – sent a letter calling on Congress to pass legislation to halt a march to war with Iran.
 
The combined groups, representing millions of Americans concerned about renewed threats of war with Iran, signals a strong desire for Congress to step up and block Trump from leading America into yet another war of choice.

“Last Fall, Americans voted for a new Congress to act as a co-equal branch of government that would finally serve as a check on this president and his reckless impulses,” said NIAC President Jamal Abdi. “Now Trump and his National Security Advisor John Bolton are taking this country to the brink of a completely avoidable military confrontation. It’s time for Congress to turn its words into action by passing legislation to stop Trump and Bolton from starting an illegal war.”
“President Trump’s chaos-first foreign policy centers around his penchant for turning challenges into crises,” said Win Without War Advocacy Director Erica Fein. “His Iran policy is no different: President Obama took us off the path to war, but now Trump and Bolton have put us back on it. It’s time for Congress to put the brakes on a Trump-Bolton war with Iran.”
“If the Trump administration were to launch a war of choice against Iran it would have devastating consequences for the United States, Israel and the entire region,” warned J Street head of government affairs Dylan Williams. “Congress must fulfill its constitutional responsibility by making absolutely clear that the president is not authorized to trigger a new conflagration in the Middle East.”

According to the letter,

“As the drumbeat for war grows louder, Congress must fulfill its Constitutional duty and enact further constraints to unequivocally prevent the administration from launching an unauthorized war.” The letter concludes, “The American people do not want another disastrous war of choice in the Middle East. Congress has the chance to stop a war before it starts. Please take action before it is too late.”

Please see full text here.

Winter is Coming, Predictions from History

Stefan Verstappen

The reason I wrote my three books is because the pattern of historical cycles predicts the collapse of society. 

Please support my efforts to finish the 3rd book which will provide the final key to survival. 

Support my work at: www.gofundme.com/how-to-create-a-community 

Learn more at: www.chinastrategies.com/gofundme-campaign/ See all my works at: www.chinastrategies.com

FBI Sued for Failure to Report Known 9/11 Evidence to Congress

Collective Evolution

 

In Brief

• The Facts:The Lawyers’ Committee for 9/11 Inquiry, Architects & Engineers for 9/11 Truth, and 9/11 victim family members have announced a joint federal lawsuit against U.S. Department of Justice for not acknowledging evidence about what happened on 9/11.
• Reflect On:Why has the US government continuously ignored credible evidence? Why do they constantly deem it a 'conspiracy theory' and use character assassination and ridicule tactics instead of just countering the evidence?

Nearly 20 years after 9/11, the tragic event has served as a catalyst for the mass awakening of millions of people to facts about our government, or ‘the powers that be,’ that they previously were unaware of. Furthermore, every year after that event has brought even more awareness and new information to the forefront, serving as a mass awakening tool. It has helped so many people understand that not everything presented to us by our government is accurate. When it comes to 9/11, many believe it was an event created by the powers that be in order to justify the invasion of Iraq by the western military alliance, otherwise known as ‘false flag’ terrorism. This narrative has been supported by many academics trying to bring awareness to the truth of the event as well as multiple political figures from around the world, including those within the United States.

The evidence that something fishy happened on 9/11 is very strong, and this is why the majority of American citizens alone don’t believe the official explanation provided by their government, which is evident if you look at the latest polls. Over the past few years, this subject has been under investigation by thousands of architects, engineers and physicists. Researchers have even been publishing papers in peer reviewed academic journals emphasizing that what we really saw, apart from planes hitting the towers, was a simultaneous controlled demolition. For example, a paper titled “15 Years Later, On The Physics Of High-Rise Building Collapses” in the European Scientific Journal concluded:

The evidence points overwhelmingly to the conclusion that all three buildings were destroyed by controlled demolition. Given the far-reaching implications, it is morally imperative that this hypothesis be the subject of a truly scientific and impartial investigation by responsible authorities.

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Extinction Rebellion: the new millenarian cult

Austin Williams
spiked.com

Over the past week, large groups of protesters have brought traffic to a standstill in central London. They have glued themselves to bus stops, pavements and Jeremy Corbyn’s fence. They have stood on top of trains, barricaded bridges, painted slogans on corporate headquarters and planted trees in the streets. Meanwhile, politicians have remained on holiday or cowered in Westminster. The police appear to have no idea what to do when confronted by a mass of people who don’t care if they are arrested. This is Extinction Rebellion (XR) – a new environmental protest movement that is spreading across the country.

I’d argue that three things have influenced the rise of this movement. The first is Brexit. Indeed, the politics of anger, disillusion and frustration unleashed by Brexit are possibly the most significant. There are no statistics on the Leave / Remain make-up of the environmental protesters, but one suspects Remain is overrepresented. That said, to her credit, Dr Gail Bradbrook, self-styled co-founder of Extinction Rebellion, told the Today programme that similar disruptive tactics would be ‘perfectly reasonable’ from Brexiteers ‘if democracy is not being honoured’.

The XR protesters – as Jon Snow might say – are mostly white, middle-class and often elderly. They are demonstrating their frustration that environmentalism isn’t getting enough coverage in the press and that, as XR puts it, ‘conventional approaches of voting, lobbying, petitions and protest have failed because powerful political and economic interests prevent change’. The first claim might seem to fly in the face of reality for the rest of us, who see climate campaigns, global-warming paranoia and environmental journalism at every turn. But the second point is the most contentious.

The conclusion drawn by XR activists is that democratic change is impossible and disruption is the only way to force change. Rather than pledging to improve the democratic process, to hold people more firmly to account, they are campaigning to work around it. It is the democratic process that they seek to overturn, not capitalism. Forget the old-fashioned arrogance of the Occupy movement’s slogan, ‘We are the 99 per cent’. Forget the stubborn Remainers’ assertion that 48 per cent takes precedence over the 52 per cent. XR types say that they only need ‘the involvement of 3.5 per cent of the population to succeed’.

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Huge turnouts across France for 21st straight weekend of Yellow Vest protests

Comment: Largely ignored by mainstream media...

-------------------

RT

More than a dozen people have been arrested as Yellow Vest protesters flood the streets of French cities, marking the 21st consecutive week of mass demonstrations against President Emmanuel Macron and his government.

Some 21 protesters were arrested in Paris on Saturday morning, local media reported, citing police. Eric Drouet, one of the leaders of the Yellow Vests, was fined 135 euro ($150) for violating public protest laws. The ruling was slammed by his lawyer who said that "if Drouet wants to have a cup of coffee at the Champs-Elysees, he has an absolute right to do so."

Nevertheless, the rallies in the French capital and elsewhere remain largely peaceful. The Yellow Vests are singing songs and holding placards as they march to denounce the policies of Emmanuel Macron and demand his resignation. 

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Soldiers to 'OPEN FIRE' if lives are threatened at Yellow Vest protest

dailymail.co.uk

 

French soldiers will be permitted to 'open fire' if lives are threatened by Yellow Vest rioters this weekend, the military governor of Paris said today. 

General Bruno Leray's ominous words highlight the growing law and order crisis faced by President Emmanuel Macron as he faces up to the increasingly violent social movement.

It has now been confirmed that the French Army will support some 5,000 police trying to keep order during the 19th Yellow Vest Saturday demonstration in a row in Paris at the weekend.

General Leray told Franceinfo Radio on Friday: 'If their life or that of the people they defend is threatened, they can go up to opening fire.'

There was widespread rioting across the French capital last Saturday, with banks, high-end shops, and restaurants looted and burnt out.

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Why Greta Thunberg doesn’t deserve a Nobel

Ella Whelan
spiked.com  

The rise of child climate activists is a truly strange development.

Greta Thunberg – the stern 16-year-old voice and face of the recent school climate-strike movement – has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Thunberg first made headlines when she skipped school on 20 August last year in her hometown in Sweden to protest outside parliament, holding a homemade placard reading ‘skolstrejk för klimatet’ (school strike for climate). Since then, she has inspired schoolkids across the world to ‘strike’, missing school to protest against what they argue is a climate crisis. 

Thunberg says the prospect of global warming and a changing climate frightened her – and so she decided to speak out. In a clip that has since gone viral, from Thunberg’s special address to the World Economic Forum in January, she says: ‘Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if our house is on fire. Because it is.’

Despite her fear of the future, Thunberg is having a good time – not every 16-year-old girl has her own Wikipedia page, gets invited to give TED talks, speaks to European commissioners, or goes to Davos. She has come to symbolise a new movement, with youngsters echoing her mantra: ‘Why should I go to school to study if there is no future?’ Politicians have celebrated her bravery, activists have saluted her conviction, and greens everywhere have kicked themselves for not doing something similar when they were in their teens. 

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Youth Strike Movement For Climate Change is an Immensely Deceptive Globalist Propaganda Campaign

In This Together

Recently we have all been asked to celebrate the youthful commitment to 'save the planet' personified by the 'Youth Strike 4 Climate .' Hundreds of thousands of children, across the world, have been involved in various forms of strike action in protest against humankind's heating of the planet through our CO2 emissions. Many were given leave from their lessons to 'demonstrate.' This has been widely welcomed by the political class. Jeremy Corbyn, Caroline Lucas and Nicola Sturgeon were but a few of the leading politicians supporting this 'coordinated day of action.

Particularly delighted was the President of the EU Commission Jean Claude Juncker. He tweeted his support and a committed a quarter of the EU's annual budget for programs to 'mitigate' against man made climate change. That's an annual expenditure of more than €36bn, based upon the EU's 2015 figures. As ever with the EU, it is difficult to know precisely how much of your tax money they spend or where they spend it. They haven't independently audited their budget accounts for more than 20 years, preferring their own 'in house' auditors. Wouldn't we all? 


While mass absenteeism presented a bit of a problem for schools, who should record a child's absence for any reason other than illness as 'unauthorised,' the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) union were also supportive. Despite some 'official concerns,' clearly there was tacit acceptance of the strike from government education departments around the world.

All of which begs some interesting questions. Whose idea was it that schoolchildren as young as 5 yrs old should get involved in political protest? Who coordinated the 'day of action?' What were they protesting for (or against) and, most importantly, who funded it and why? Whose Idea Was It?

Allegedly the YouthStrike4Climate came about largely due to the efforts of 16yr old Swedish schoolgirl Greta Thunberg. Greta staged her own school day walkout and formed her solo picket line outside the Swedish Parliament in the lead up to Swedish elections. Just two days before the elections, and only two weeks after starting her solitary protest, international media organisations the world over, such as the BBC, were already extolling the virtues of her 'struggle.' An incredible piece of global media manipulation by one so young.

Greta's achievements are truly staggering. Not only has she delivered a moving Ted Talk (owned by Chris Anderson's tax exempt Sapling Foundation, whose publishing company Future plc apparently settled out of court for violation of U.S online child protection laws) but also gave an 'educational talk' to the United Nations at the COP24 climate change summit. Her international government connections and use of social media to spread her message around the world is incredible. Especially seeing as she was just 15 when she began her protests. In the 8 months since opening her Twitter account (in June 2018), she has amassed 195,000 followers and her various videos have been shared millions of times.

Perhaps her amazing global reach is understandable when we consider that Greta's rapid emergence upon the World stage didn't just 'happen,' but rather appears to have been carefully coordinated by grown ups. Her initial protest fortuitously coincided with the publication of her mother's book. Greta's mum, the opera singer Malena Ernman, worked with PR man Ingmar Rentzhog, who promoted her publication.

Rentzhog, coincidentally, launched his climate change social media campaign group "We Don't Have the Time" the same day that Greta first started her protest. Making a tidy sum along the way.
 
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See also: Dark Green series - Part 1

Parents Demand Removal Of Cell Tower At Elem. School After 4th Child Diagnosed With Cancer

Chris Menahan
InformationLiberation

Parents are demanding a cell tower at their children's elementary school in San Joaquin County, California be removed after four students and three teachers were reportedly diagnosed with cancer.

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If You Don’t Want Dangerous 5G Technology Installed Throughout Your Community, Boycott 5G Companies

B.N. Frank
Activist Post

From December 5, 1955 until November 23, 1956, African Americans in Montgomery, Alabama stopped riding public buses until they were legally allowed to sit wherever they wanted.  This is one of many examples of how voting with your money makes a difference.

Organization, No5G.com suggests that there is no better time than to vote with your money AGAINST dangerous 5G technology.

The Telecom Industry can’t even prove that 5G is safe.

BUT current laws still make it legal for them to install it everywhere so they are – in front of homes, hospitals, schools, etc. throughout communities in the U.S. and around the world.  EVERYWHERE.

Suggestions from No5G include:

• Don’t buy any of the 5G gadgets that are already being advertised.
• Boycott SpaceX, OneWeb, Boeing and any other corporations that are involved in the launch of 5G satellites.
• Display posters on your house’s windows to alert your neighbors about the real 5G grid that they are building.
• Organize local discussion groups to exchange information with others from your area.
• Educate your local elected officials about 5G.
• Force your government to reveal its knowledge about the dangers of 5G infrastructure.
• Inform the telecom workers who install the 5G grid near you about how this hurts them and their children.
• Don’t use (“free”) WiFi in public spaces.

Even if you can’t do absolutely everything, every little bit helps.

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Political bias is destroying people's faith in journalism

Lara Logan
New York Post

Lara Logan, former correspondent for "60 Minutes," caused a stir last week when, on a podcast called "Mike Drop," she said that too many in the media have become "political activists." Here, she explains to The Post how one-sided reporting has undermined the credibility of the press.

I was a working journalist before I could legally drink. On Saturday nights in Durban, South Africa, when most kids in high school were partying with friends, my last job was to hand deliver first-edition copies of the Sunday newspaper where I worked to the police station, the fire station, the hospital and the morgue.

It was a violent time in South Africa. The people had risen up against the injustice of Apartheid to fight for freedom and the region where I grew up was one of the bloodiest. So I persuaded the guys on night shift at the morgue to break the rules and tell me how many dead bodies they had received. I asked so many questions, they gave in and let me count the bodies myself. It mattered because no one knew how many people were dying every night in the political violence. The police had a habit of clearing the dead from the streets so the government could hide the truth.

But on that one night, every week, in that one place, I knew the truth. And no one could take it from me because I learned it first hand.

I do my job today, some 30 years later, the same way I did it then: with an open mind, an open heart and a million questions. There is nothing more human than opinions and bias. To say we have none is dishonest. But what we do have as professional journalists is a simple standard to get us past that: two first-hand sources - question everything and independently verify. I didn't invent this - I inherited it from people like Edward R. Murrow and I will keep passing it on.

Journalists are not activists. We may share the passion for a particular cause, but our job is to follow the facts wherever they may lead. We can't ignore something that reflects badly on a noble cause, as an activist might. We have to care about the means as much as the end because our duty is to search for the whole truth.

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France Recalls Envoy From Rome After Italian Deputy PM Meets 'Yellow Vests'

Sputnik

The standoff between Rome and Paris started after Italian Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Five Star Movement Luigi Di Maio met with Christophe Chalençon, one of the "yellow vests" leaders.

"For several months France has been the subject of repeated accusations, unfounded attacks and outlandish claims", the French Foreign Ministry said in a statement, adding that such criticism was "unprecedented" since the end of World War II.

"All these moves create a grave situation that questions the intentions of the Italian government and its bilateral relations with France. In light of this unprecedented situation, the French government has decided to recall the ambassador of France in Italy for consultations", a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry added.

Di Maio has supported the French protestors, saying following a meeting with the "yellow vests", that the "winds of change" had crossed the Alps. 

In response, Paris called the meeting "a new provocation" by the Italian Deputy Prime Minister, stressing that such moves are "not acceptable between neighbouring countries and partners in the European Union".

The "yellow vests" rallies, triggered by fuel price hikes last November, are still ongoing, with almost 60,000 reportedly participating in mass protests in France during the first weekend of February.

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READ MORE: 'A New Europe is Being Born': Senior Italian Officials Hail Yellow Vests

Costco First Major Retailer to Stop Selling Monsanto’s Roundup Herbicide

The Most Revolutionary Act

In another major blow to Monsanto, Costco agrees to drop all herbicides containing glyphosate

The anti-GMO awareness group petitioned Costco, Lowes and Home Depot to stop selling the products after the recent Johnson vs. Monsanto-cancer verdict was upheld. The case set the precedent for thousands of other cases against Monsanto, all claiming exposure to Roundup caused non-Hodgkins lymphoma.

RELATED: Monsanto Stock Plummets After Cancer Rulings

The mom’s group gathered over 150,000 signatures on change.org, asking the three retailers to stop selling the toxic herbicide.

Costco is the first to respond, according to Moms Across America founder Zen Honeycutt:
“I called the headquarters, and after two days of messages and calls, I did finally confirm with three people that Costco was not ordering Roundup or any glyphosate-based herbicides for the incoming spring shipments,” she wrote on her website.

When she asked for an official statement, Honeycutt said she was told that Costco does not usually issue press releases about which items they have discontinued.

“One employee mentioned that they had looked into organic alternatives first and were happy with the results. More than one employee mentioned the lawsuit (Johnson V Monsanto) for part of the reasoning. They said they just felt like it was the right thing to do.”

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Yellow Vests go global as protest movements around the globe adopt it

TRT World

 

The yellow vest movement has spread to several countries around the world who are protesting similar issues.

 

France

French Yellow Vests turned out in small numbers for the sixth Saturday of nationwide demonstrations, with one person killed in a road accident, the tenth to die since the protests began last month.

Since their peak on November 17 when 282,000 demonstrators came out in force, the turnout has fallen to around 166,000 on November 24, 136,000 on the first and eighth of December and 66,000 on December 15.

About 23,800 people were demonstrating on Saturday, including fewer than 1,000 in Paris. 

Even though the protests are slowly dwindling its symbolism became a global phenomenon.

Belgium

Belgium was the first country to which the protests spread with protestors coming out against high tax rates and food prices.

Belgium has the highest tax revenue globally, just after France.

Some members of the movement began working to form a party for the federal and regional elections in May 2019, under the name Mouvement citoyen belge (The Belgian Citizen Movement).

Demonstrators gathered mostly in the capital of Brussels, at the end of November and beginning of December. 

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What do the protesters in France want? Check out the 'official' Yellow Vest manifesto

Sott.net

The following list of demands has been circulating among French social media users in recent days. We do not know its exact origins or author(s), but it seems to have first appeared here on December 5th. You'll have to click on the image to enlarge it if you want to read it in French. We've translated it into English (in summary, not word-for-word) below...  

 

Gilets Jaunes' List of Demands  

Economy/Work

• A constitutional cap on taxes - at 25%
• Increase of 40% in the basic pension and social welfare
• Increase hiring in public sector to re-establish public services
• Massive construction projects to house 5 million homeless, and severe penalties for mayors/prefectures that leave people on the streets
• Break up the 'too-big-to-fail' banks, re-separate regular banking from investment banking
• Cancel debts accrued through usurious rates of interest

Politics

• Constitutional amendments to protect the people's interests, including binding referenda
• The barring of lobby groups and vested interests from political decision-making
• Frexit: Leave the EU to regain our economic, monetary and political sovereignty (In other words, respect the 2005 referendum result, when France voted against the EU Constitution Treaty, which was then renamed the Lisbon Treaty, and the French people ignored)
• Clampdown on tax evasion by the ultra-rich
• The immediate cessation of privatization, and the re-nationalization of public goods like motorways, airports, rail, etc
• Remove all ideology from the ministry of education, ending all destructive education techniques
• Quadruple the budget for law and order and put time-limits on judicial procedures. Make access to the justice system available for all
• Break up media monopolies and end their interference in politics. Make media accessible to citizens and guarantee a plurality of opinions. End editorial propaganda
• Guarantee citizens' liberty by including in the constitution a complete prohibition on state interference in their decisions concerning education, health and family matters

Health/Environment

• No more 'planned obsolescence' - Mandate guarantee from producers that their products will last 10 years, and that spare parts will be available during that period
• Ban plastic bottles and other polluting packaging
• Weaken the influence of big pharma on health in general and hospitals in particular
• Ban on GMO crops, carcinogenic pesticides, endocrine disruptors and monocrops
• Reindustrialize France (thereby reducing imports and thus pollution)

Foreign Affairs

• End France's participation in foreign wars of aggression, and exit from NATO
• Cease pillaging and interfering - politically and militarily - in 'Francafrique', which keeps Africa poor. Immediately repatriate all French soldiers. Establish relations with African states on an equal peer-to-peer basis
• Prevent migratory flows that cannot be accommodated or integrated, given the profound civilizational crisis we are experiencing
• Scrupulously respect international law and the treaties we have signed

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Amnesty warns of new ‘zero tolerance’ policy by Israel soldiers at Gaza fence

Middle East Monitor 

 

Amnesty International today warned of a new “zero tolerance” policy by Israeli forces towards Palestinian demonstrators in the occupied Gaza Strip, raising “fears of escalating bloodshed”. 

 

In a statement, the human rights organisation urged the Israeli government “to rein in its armed forces, which have routinely used unnecessary or excessive force during Gaza’s weekly ‘Great March of Return’ demonstrations”. 

 

Saleh Higazi, Amnesty’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, said: “Given Israeli forces’ horrific track record of using deadly force against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, as well as journalists, medics and others, the announcement of a ‘zero tolerance’ policy is deeply alarming.” 

 

Higazi added: “There are serious fears that this policy will further sanction the use of deadly force against unarmed protesters during today’s demonstrations, and that Israeli forces will be given carte blanche authorisation to carry out large-scale, unlawful killings escalating the bloodshed.”

Israel has repeatedly used lethal force unnecessarily and excessively against unarmed protesters in shameless violation of international law.

Amnesty’s statement comes in response to a reported new policy agreed on by Israel’s cabinet, instructing Israeli forces to open fire on Palestinians nowhere near Gaza’s perimeter fence.

Israel’s Housing Minister and former head of the Israeli army’s Southern Command, Yoav Gallant, was quoted in Israeli media stating that “the rules of the game are about to change”.

“The three armed conflicts between Israel and Hamas have had catastrophic consequences for the population of Gaza, which continues to suffer from 11 years of living under a brutal blockade,” said Amnesty’s Higazi.

“It is now time the international community shows ‘zero tolerance’ towards Israel’s flagrant contempt for Palestinian lives and disregard for its obligations under international law.” 

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REVEALED: Canary Mission Blacklist Is Secretly Bankrolled By Major Jewish Federation

Forward

One of the largest Jewish charities in the U.S. has been secretly funding a shadowy online blacklist targeting college students who criticize Israel.

For three years, a website called Canary Mission has spread fear among undergraduate activists, posting more than a thousand political dossiers on student supporters of Palestinian rights. The dossiers are meant to harm students’ job prospects, and have been used in interrogations by Israeli security officials.

At the same time, the website has gone to great lengths to hide the digital and financial trail connecting it to its donors and staff. Registered through a secrecy service, the site is untraceable.

Now, for the first time, the Forward has definitively identified a major donor to Canary Mission. It is a foundation controlled by the Jewish Community Federation of San Francisco, a major Jewish charity with an annual budget of over $100 million.

The federation’s support of Canary Mission connects the American Jewish establishment itself to a website that is facing increasing criticism from young Jews.

Canary Mission has been controversial since it appeared in mid-2015, drawing comparisons to a McCarthyite blacklist. While some of those listed on the site are prominent activists, others are students who attended a single event, or even student government representatives suspected of voting for resolutions that are critical of Israel.

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