The Definition Of A Warrior

Here is a good working definition of a warrior. Chogyam Trungpa, or the 13th Dalai Lama, can explain it better. I am just a student. (See, Shambhala: The Sacred Path of the Warrior, and The Bodhisattva Warrior) Nevertheless, I think the following thoughts are worthy of reflection.

A true warrior commits to compassionate action, for the benefit of all sentient beings, and commits to pursuing the truth, and speaking the truth, to that end. There is no other summary or definition of what it means to be a warrior that I feel has any merit, or at least, any real depth. That includes speaking the truth even when it is unpopular, even when it is dangerous to do so. To do otherwise means that you are not a warrior, nor even, a decent human being, but a hollow shell, a sham, morally bankrupt, and a coward.

When Chomsky said, quite rightly, “If the Nuremberg Trials were held today, every US President since World War II would be hung”, that was an unpopular thing to say, but it needed to be said. The same is true for the covid hysteria. The crisis is real, but widely misunderstood. Worse, the crisis is being cynically used by elites to advance their own agenda, and as always, it revolves around greater power and wealth for themselves – and a good 70-80% of the people are silently acquiescing to the new gospel narrative and the power grab which it covers, or are actively, though unwittingly, aiding and abetting it.

A few people question the official narrative, but not many. Most are either subjugated into unthinking obedience by indoctrination and propaganda, or are cowed into silence, fearing to raise their voices, lest they incur the wrath of the obedient herd. They are cowards, and they are endangering us all, far more than would ever dare to imagine.

Speak the truth. Seek the truth, and speak the truth, no matter how uncomfortable or unpopular that may be; or else surrender to the new normal, of vacuous obedience to power, and docile conformity, even at the expense of your own sanity and capacity for rational thought – even at the expense of your freedom, your dignity, and your soul.

The majority of people are motivated by ego and the pursuit of comfort. They imagine themselves to be moral and decent, but, at least in this decadent age, it is largely a ruse, and a self-deception. They have basically decent impulses, as Chomsky said, but no courage. When their conscience or compassion conflict with their desire for comfort, or to be liked, they choose the latter. But as Gandhi said, “Cowards can never be moral.”

They herd are terrified of being driven out of the herd. The herd instinct makes them strong, in that they naturally tend towards compassion, empathy, solidarity, cooperation and mutual aid; but it also makes the majority cowardly, because they are afraid to risk losing the perceived safety of the herd.

This is why all significant positive change in human society has always come, and will always come, from a small, dissident minority. It was the small minority that led the movements for democratic revolution in America and France, the movement to abolish slavery, to gain universal suffrage, to end child labour and racial segregation, and on and on the list goes. Only when the brave minority, through tireless action, and tirelessly speaking the truth, reach a tipping point in terms of getting their message across to the broader society, do the majority decide, and usually rather quickly, that they are now on the side of the right and the truth, and they join in, as late-comers, in the drive for positive social change.

So, keep up the fight. Non-violently of course. Seek the truth, and speak the truth. There is more day yet to dawn. The revolution has only begun; and so too, the new renaissance.

Freedom and compassion must be united, just as the people must be united, or our future is dark. This is the central principle upon which an enlightened democracy is founded. But in order to achieve that end, we must speak up. We must question more, think for ourselves, and speak the truth, as best we understand it. This will lead us to a better world. Nothing else will – certainly not technocratic plutocracy and fascism, which is what we have now.

J. Todd Ring,

January 10, 2021

#covid, #covid-19, #coronavirus, #propaganda, #Warrior

Censorship, Big Tech & The Closing Down of Society

Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, YouTube, and the MAGATs – Microsoft, Apple, Google, Amazon and Twitter – are all now embedded and engaged in censorship, data mining, privacy invasion, the new global surveillance and police state, and/or state-corporate propaganda, and manipulation of elections and the public mind (ie: the Facebook and Cambridge Analytica proven manipulation of facebook users and the general public to sway the election in 2016 in favour of Trump, for a fee, paid by one of the billionaire plutocracy). 

In other words, unless you want to live in Orwell’s dystopia of 1984, or Huxley’s Brave New World, you had better start the exodus from, and boycott of, Big Tech now. 

At least make a start. I’ve written about it on my blog, J. Todd Ring on WordPress, in terms of why, how, and what the alternatives are. Keep a foot in the dinosaur media and platforms if you like, but at least open accounts in the new and better alternatives, which refuse censorship, surveillance and Big Brother.

Patreon is now reportedly censoring and purging. Medium appears questionable. 

The global neofeudal corporate fasist oligarchy has taken over nearly everything, including the global economy and financial system, the major international organizations, such as the IMF, WTO, WEF, BIS, ECB, Fed, World Bank and the WHO, nearly all governments, all the major media, much of academia, science and the big environmental groups, and most of the internet. 

As to free speech zones online or off, they are falling and being closed down fast. The Guardian was a decent paper, then they bravely published Snowdon’s important leaks, then was clearly leaned on and lost its soul – as just one of myriad recent examples. The same happened a generation earlier to the Washngton Post and NY Times after the Pentagon Papers.

*

Of course, I long ago, decades ago, moved away from any reliance, and generally any reading or viewing at all, of the utterly unreliable corporate-state media. And yes, the two have merged, as the new ruling empire of global corporatism represents the merger of big business and the state; which, as Mussolini said, is the proper definition for fascism.

80% of the world’s major media is now owned by six corporations. State media such as the BBC and CBC have of course been systematically corrupted by the corporate take-over of governments around the world. Even “public” broadcasters such as PBS and TVO are deeply corrupted by their reliance on big money from corporattions and billionaire-controlled foundations. And the “alternative media” suffers systemically from group think, herd mentality, or simple co-option through foundation money or other means. Democracy is not dying, it is being strangled to death by the power-hungry business elite.

At least have a thoughtful look at better alternatives and generally far more reliable sources for information, research, news and analysis. Shun, or at least, do not rely on the big media giants, Big Tech, Wikipedia, governments, big business, corporate-controlled bodies such as the WHO, or even the “alternative media”. Question everything. Think for yourself.

At this moment, there are a handful of sources I trust as having high reliability, honesty, intelligence, and courage. They are not infallible, but they are light years above the sordid and corrupt major media, which are an echo chamber and propaganda system for the ruling business elite, as John Pilger and Noam Chomsky have said.

And they are incomparably more reliable than the general “alternative media”, which seem to excel on many issues, but get all the biggest issues wrong: such as the War On Terror, 9/11, Obamamania, Russiagate, the Ukraine coup, Syria, the OPCW, the new cold war(s), China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, covid-1984….and the list goes on.

Take a serious and thoughtful look at these sources, then decide for yourself – on every subject! We have innate intelligence. We need to use it far more than our “new normal”, or even our old normal, would allow. Banish group think, read and listen to diverse views, and think for yourself.

Remember, united we stand, divided we fall. Divide and conquer is the most essential and time-tested strategy of all empires throughout the ages, including the latest: the global neofeudal crypto-fascist corporate oligarchy. Unite the people. We have more in common than most people realize. It is the 99% vs the 1%, not left vs right, or black vs white. Read widely, think deeply, then unite the people, and stand. And now. MLK shows the way.

*

Look into these ten sources, then decide things for yourself. And remember, we don’t all have to agree on everything.

Trends Research (Trends Journal)

Global Research (Centre for Research on Globalization)

GreenMedInfo (one of the two remaining reliable sources I know of for science-based health information, along with Gary Null, on PRN)

Max Keiser, The Keiser Report

Michael Hudson

Vandana Shiva

The Council of Canadians

The David Suzuki Foundation

The Corbett Report

The American Herald Tribune

*

I have moved my email to Protonmail, my web searches to Swiss Cows, my browser to Brave, and my main social networking and chat platforms to Minds and Telegram. I urge others to do the same.

Next is to switch hardware to Purism, for phones, servers and laptops. And as a writer, I need to find a platform that is *dedicated* to free speech.

Blogger (my original site) is owned by the evil mega-corp Google, and Google censors, as do all the Big Tech vampires. WordPress, which I currently use, I just discovered, is now censoring bloggers and writers, too. Where to find a blog platform that respects and defends freedom of speech? I am looking.

(The new CSM editing system for WordPress is so extremely intrusive, counter-intuitive, and obnoxiously obstructive, absolutely in the road at every turn, that I was planning a rapid exodus anyway. Any whiff of censorship only confirms my feeling that it is soon time to leave. Maybe the people at WordPress will respond with a better CSM editing system and a public vow to protect free speech. I will not hold my breath, but I would love to be pleasantly surprised. Hint, hint, Quislings and Vichys… Get it together, or be adandoned in the rapidly unfolding exodus from Big Tech and nauseatingly suffocating platforms.)

Fight for freedom, as well as justice, equality, ecological sanity, democracy, peace, and constitutional rule and human rights for all, or we are in for a very dark time ahead, followed by extinction and collapse. Truly, this is our situation now, and it is a global darkness that is swallowing us up.

Stand up and speak out now, or our future will be unimaginably bleak, I can assure you.

Stand!

J. Todd Ring,

October 1, 2020

Essential Reading:

Christopher Simpson and Mark Crispin Miller: Blowback: America’s Secret Recruiting of Nazis

Noam Chomsky: Necessary Illusions: Thought Control In Democratic Societies 

Naomi Klein: The Shock Doctrine

Naomi Wolf: The End of America

John Perkins: A Game As Old As Empire, and, The New Confessions Of An Economic Hitman

John Pilger: The New Rulers Of The World

Peter Phillips: Giants: The Global Power Elite 

Vandana Shiva: Oneness vs The 1% (Coming soon)

And 

Read my first two books for a clear, concise overview and an in-depth and sweeping global and historical analysis of what we face, how we got here, where we are heading, and what must be done:

Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium (2014)

The People vs The Elite: A Manifesto For Democratic Revolution, Or, Survival In The 21st Century & Beyond (2020)

Both are on Amazon and Barnes & Noble now. 

Or better yet, support your local independent bookstore, and order through them. Phone them now.

Averting Fascism

Fascism is rising – here is how to avert it.

A short video talk, linked below, sparked these thoughts, which I will share. May they bless us with the courage, and the presence of mind, to avert the rising of fascism once again – which, make no mistake, is indeed our present course, and rising now.

I disagree with Yuval on some points, but he is a definite ally if he champions democracy and freedom, and opposes fascism. And further, he wisely urges decentralization, in order to preserve the former and prevent the latter, as Thomas Jefferson and many others have realized and urged as well.

He also helped the cause of both freedom and justice, which are not at odds, except in the minds of the indoctrinated and confused, by distinguishing nationalism, which is helpful, from fascism, hubris, xenophobia and aggression, which are always dangerous as well as delusional.

Moreover, he hit the proverbial nail on the head, by saying that fascism stems from fear and ego. Precisely. Transcend, or at least keep in check, these two human weaknesses, and we can live in freedom, well-being, richness of life, unity amidst diversity, and in peace.

I would add, however, that it is not really vanity or ego that is the root problem, but only the surface appearance of the problem. Vanity and ego attachment arise when people lack confidence, dignity, and trust in themselves. That is why they have ego attachment and vanity, and must continuously puff themselves up and build themselves up in various ways.

As Aldous Huxley, C. Wright Mills, Erich Fromm, and myself have pointed out, the deeper problem is that the people do not trust themselves. That is why they seek ego affirmation. And it is the deeper reason why they give their power away to elites, demagogues, false messiah figures, authoritarians, and to fascists.

(See: Brave New World Revisited, The Power Elite, Escape From Freedom, and my own work, Enlightened Democracy, and, The People vs The Elite.)

We must encourage and inspire the people to trust themselves. That is the root challenge. Then, they, and we, will make mistakes, certainly; but we will avoid the terrible pitfalls of fascism and elite rule, which are always incomparably greater disasters, and result in far greater suffering, far greater problems, and far greater evils.

Respect yourself and others. Trust yourself. Keep your dignity at all times. Have compassion for all beings, and for yourself. Forget the petty ego, which is a charade. True dignity runs deeper than that.

Inspire, encourage and empower yourself and others. Then, fascism will become impossible; and a better world for all, a world of freedom and justice both, will be, not only a beautiful dream, but a reality.

Or we can do what the majority of people, including activists and intellectuals, are doing. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. That should prevent fascism. It always worked before.

J. Todd Ring,

September 17, 2020

Ok, WordPress is being buggy again. I must ditch this platform soon. I can’t seem to paste the video link, sorry!

Web search – on Swiss Cows, never the fascist tech giant Google:

Why Fascism Is So Tempting

See also, my recent essays:

Knowledge Is Power

The Failure Of Propaganda

Sinking All Ships

Any Enemy Will Do

Importing From China

Geopolitics 2020

Flash Drive Revolution

Knowledge Is Power. Panic Is Death. Reconnection Is Resilience

Amidst the current global pandemic of fear, what is most urgently needed is perspective.

What must be done? In sum, we must disconnect from a dying system which is sucking the life out of us, out of humanity, and out of the planet, and thereby stop supporting it, stop feeding it, and stop giving it our energy and our power. Power structures only have power when the people give them their power. When the people stop giving them their power, they collapse, as we saw in the Soviet Union and Eastern Bloc. Remember that. That is the key. We must disconnect and decouple from dying, life-destroying systems, patterns and structures of power, and reconnect with community, nature, and our deeper selves. That will radically empower the people, while removing power from the system which feeds off the people and keeps them subjugated and in virtual chains. Only then can we begin to truly heal our world, and heal our communities and ourselves in the process.

Here are some thoughts on how we can make that shift, with the results being greater awareness, greater aliveness and empowerment, greater resilience, and a healing of ourselves, our families, our communities, our society, and the beautiful, fragile, highly resilient planet that is our home.

Belief in technology as salvation, or worse, technocracy as salvation, is a thought pattern stemming from poverty consciousness, scarcity consciousness, inner impoverishment, weakness, delusion, alienation and fear – and the belief that either technology or technocracy will be our saviour, will, I assure you, lead us into slavery, dystopia, and the slow and painful death of our species.

Knowledge is power. Bacon was right about one thing, at least.

People are afraid of wolves, coyotes, snakes, bugs, bears…the flu. Our ability to assess danger rationally in our modern, coroporate ruled, media manipulated, techno-entranced, deeply alienated society, is near zero, it would seem.

In terms of modern man’s fear of nature, it is, by and large, utterly unwarranted. Respect and alertness are needed – not fear. Nature is far safer than “civilization.”

Despite delusional and misplaced fears, which are pandemic, unless you do something stupid: like keeping food or toothpaste in your tent (bears will investigate anything with a scent that just may conceivably mean edible items), or feeding bears, or trying to pet bear cubs; or unless you’re in grizzly country, rattlesnake country, or polar bear territory, in the desert, British Columbia, the jungle or the far north; your chances of being attacked by dangerous creatures are nearly zero – in the wilderness, that is. 

The city is far more dangerous than the wilderness. Bad drivers can kill you. Even if you’re just crossing the street. Or the smog and pesticides will give you with cancer, or the stress will give you a heart attack. 

Get out of the city. Read Thoreau. Don’t follow the lost herd. Definitely don’t follow the media, the government, the technocrats or bureaucrats, the elite, or the “authorities”.

Think for yourself. Eat organic, lower your stress, exercise, and don’t believe the hype.

Most dangerous of all, statistically, are obesity and poor diets, along with poverty and malnutrition, pharmaceuticals, and cars. Covid is no more dangerous than the flu, the figures now confirm.

0.26% mortality rate for covid-19, compared to 0.1% typically for the flu, so it is slightly higher for covid-19, but still miniscule compared to cancer, poverty, hunger, malnutrition, obesity, death by pharmaceuticals, junk food, or cars. Even bathtub drownings killed more people in Japan than covid-19. Check and verify the figures for yourself. Look at the Italian government study, for a start. (See Trends Journal and GreenMedInfo for further evidence-based information and analysis.) 

Yet the lemmings panic on cue, like Pavolv’s dogs, and stay rigidly in denial of the really big dangers: growing environmental disaster, pollution, war, poverty, obesity, fast food, junk food, pesticides, and fascism.

(See my essays: Importing From China, Any Enemy Will Do, Geopolitics 2020, Trump Says Up, You Say Down… Reality Check, and, Danger & Delusion From ISIS To Ebola)

Don’t be manipulated by fear-mongering media, or elites who cynically use fear to their advantage.

Remember:

Divide and conquer is the oldest and most essential maxim and strategy of control, used by all empires, including the latest: the global neofeudal empire of technocratic corporate fascist oligarchy.

And as we also know, in terms of the corporate-state media and the elite:

If it bleeds it leads.

Necessary Illusions are good for plutocrats.

Manufacturing Consent is the basis of elite-ruled pseudo-democracy.

And any crisis will do for Shock Therapy.

Stay calm, boost your immune system naturally, with real food, omega-3s and vitamins C and D, exercise, sunlight, love and joy – and question everything.

Above all, it’s what you put in your mouth, as in, “food-like substances” which really should not be ingested, along with certain pharmaceuticals and injections, which are the biggest danger.

Get outdoors. Do your own research. And embrace your power.

Real power comes from within – and it is quiet confidence, energy and strength, that does not need to be showy or to boast.

After inner power and inner resilience, comes the power of community, and the power of nature. Build your connections on these three levels, along with a healthy body, mind and spirit, and your empowerment and resilience will grow.

Read, reflect, make time for solitude and nature, build networks of mutual aid, and we will, in the process, heal ourselves, our families, our communities, and our world.

Disconnect first. Then only can you truly connect to others, to the natural world, to your deeper self, or even to reality. Dissociation from reality is the great plague of the modern 21st century world. We are enmeshed and entangled in webs of illusion, and in systems and patterns which alienate us from one another, from nature, and from ourselves. We must, therefore, disconnect from human systems that are, to a high degree, based in delusion and dissociation from reality, in order to better connect to the real world, to ourselves, and to one another.

If you have not yet, then begin now: learn to love books, reading, reflection, solitude and nature; and the nourishing of your body, your spirit, and your mind.

Rediscover your love for others, for community, for the natural world, for humanity, for the Earth, for learning, for creativity, free expression, and for yourself. We all had these things naturally as small children. We have been socially conditioned to lose them, to deny them, and to suppress them. But they can and must be rediscovered – especially now, when our world is in crisis. These are the core things which will heal our world, our communities, and ourselves. Not technocracy, not Big Brother, not plutocratic elites posing as saviours, not technology, not drugs: it is love and wisdom which will heal us and our world. That requires that we disconnect from certain things, and reconnect with others.

Disconnect, listen, observe, read, reflect – these things are critical. Make the time. Nourish your body, and also your mind and your spirit. Then you can reconnect with life in deeper, healthier, more joyful, empowering, and more meaningful ways.

We must disconnect and decouple from the systems, patterns, thinking, organizations, groups and substances which drain our energy, deplete us, divide us, further alienate us, exploit us, degrade us, or make us sick. That generally comes in small steps; although, many have taken great leaps, as have I, many times, and that works too. Sometimes small steps are all that is possible. Sometimes a great leap is required to save our sanity, our soul, or our very lives.

We must examine things for ourselves, question everything, and decide for ourselves what is truly life-supporting, nourishing, or life-enhancing, and what things merely give the illusion of being life-supporting, nourishing or life-enhancing, but in truth degrade, disempower, alienate, exploit or impoverish us, drain us or enslave us. We must unplug, pause, and reflect deeply, in order to even begin to think clearly, or to see what is going on.

Excessive time spent staring into electronic screens, excessive time spent in buildings or cars, the mainstream media in general, the corporate world and corporate culture in general, the fiat money system, the myriad “food-like substances” which are in truth more poison than nourishment, along with the fundamental, root poisons, which are ignorance, greed and hate: these are among the things we must disconnect from, and which literally and figuratively drag us down.

Some things require a complete disavowal and refusal, such as crack cocaine or hillbilly heroine, or other dangerous drugs and other addictions, for people who have succumb to them. I would place the major media and the Fortune 1000 biggest corporations in that category, as well: they are poison, and they are life-destroyers. They must be boycotted and renounced.

Other things, like the internet, the phone or the TV, simply require a more balanced approach, and frequent disconnection, rather than permanent disconnection. (Although, I respect people who choose to eliminate them entirely from their lives, especially TV, and there are good reasons for such a response.)

But I leave it to you to decide what we must disconnect from, either completely or periodically, for greater well-being, quality of life, health, healing, ethical standards, empowerment, fulfillment, the healing of ourselves and our world, and simply for greater aliveness and joy.

There is much entanglement and much debris in our minds and our lives. Clearing our minds and our lives of entanglements and debris, and clearing away physical and mental toxins, is vital now.

Disconnect: We must first disconnect in order to reconnect; and thereby, live and love more fully, and with greater empowerment and joy. Then only, come the revolutionary changes and the regeneration we urgently need.

Reconnect: with others, with nature, and above all, with your deeper self. That is where our true power, liberation and resilience lie. Not in drugs, not in money, not in material things; and certainly not in cynical elites posing as the protectors and saviours of humanity.

A global awakening of humanity is underway, and is growing with accelerating speed. Remember that. The people will triumph. The oligarchs of East and West will fall. Our world will be healed, and regenerated, and the people will be free.

J. Todd Ring,

September 9, 2020

Further reading:

My first two published books:

Enlightened Democracy: Visions For A New Millennium

And

The People vs The Elite: A Manifesto For A Democratic Revolution, Or, Survival In The 21st Century & Beyond

And see my other recent essays:

Flash Drive Revolution

The Death and Rebirth of Freedom and Democracy

Covid Update

Any Enemy Will Do

Importing From China

Sinking All Ships (But Our Own)

Geopolitics 2020

Global Overview 2020

The Certainty Of Death, Or The Death Of Certainties

Also critically important:

The Hero With A Thousand Faces – Joseph Campbell

World As Lover, World As Self – Joanna Macy

Choosing Reality – Allan Wallace

The Protestant Ethic & The Spirit Of Capitalism – Max Weber

The Pathology Of Normalcy – Eric Fromm

The Corporation – Joel Bakan

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley

Brave New World Revisited – Aldous Huxley

Roads To Freedom – Bertrand Russell

Mutual Aid – Peter Kropotkin

The Empathic Civilization – Jeremy Rifkin

The Ecology Of Freedom – Murray Bookchin

The Chalice & The Blade – Rianne Eisler

Wisdom of the Elders – David Suzuki

The Wayfinders – Wade Davis

Stolen Continents – Ronald Wright

Year 501: The Conquest Continues – Noam Chomsky

A Short History Of Progress – Ronald Wright

Collapse: How Societies Choose To Fail Or Succeed – Jared Diamond

Necessary Illusions – Noam Chomsky

Class Warfare – Noam Chomsky

The New Confessions Of An Economic Hitman – John Perkins

The Shock Doctrine – Naomi Klein

The End of America – Naomi Wolf

The American Deep State: Wall Street, Big Oil & The Attack On American Democracy – Peter Dale Scott

Iron Heel – Jack London

1984 – George Orwell

Giants: The Global Power Elite – Peter Phillips

The Power Elite – C. Wright Mills

The New Rulers of the World – John Pilger

A Game As Old As Empire – John Perkins

Escape From Freedom – Eric Fromm

Shambhala: The Sacred Path Of The Warrior – Chogyam Trungpa

The Discourse On Voluntary Servitude – Etienne de La Boitie

Walden, and, On Civil Disobedience – Henry David Thoreau

The War On Democracy

(Comment below after listening to the most important three minutes of info you are likely to hear, read or otherwise encounter in decades, or have likely ever heard. Noam Chomsky on The Crisis Of Democracy, via Spotify, is linked below. But note this important synopsis of my political analysis, which pretty much accords with Chomsky’s, nearly on every point.)

The war on democracy has had many incarnations and taken many forms. The War On Drugs was one form. That was conjoined by the older, Red Scare and Cold War tactics. Fostering racism, sexism, xenophobia, anything that will divide the people, is strategy number one, of course, and always has been. Then came the War On Terrorism. That too, was effective, but not sufficient. Something further was needed to control the 99% and keep the 1% in power. Now we have the War On Germs. Does anyone notice a pattern here? You should.

JTR,

August 30, 2020

I offer you these hashtags, to sow dissent, non-violent revolution, freedom and democracy:

#WarOnGerms #WarOnDemocracy #FightTheFascists

#OccupyYourMind #ScienceIsNotDogma #NoToOligarchy

#FreedomNotFascism

 

“Conspiracy Theory”

 

Remember what Chomsky said, summing it up perfectly:

 

“The term “conspiracy theory” is used to poo-poo institutional analysis.”

 

Exactly. And what does that mean? It means the phrase was coined by the FBI in the 1960’s to discredit the theory that the Deep State, the military industrial complex, had a role in the assassination of JFK, RFK, MLK and Malcolm X. The term conspiracy theory was hatched to scare people away from questioning power elites.

 

Now the lemmings repeat the phrase, like Pavlov’s dogs drooling on cue, thinking it makes them look intelligent. It doesn’t. It makes them look like hapless idiots.

 

So far, 50+ years later, nevertheless, the strategy has worked extremely well overall – but not on everyone. A growing minority are unafraid of asking questions of powerful groups and individuals, and are not frightened off by mindless, asinine name-calling.

 

Keep it up. Question everything.

 

An awakening of humanity, which really got underway in the 1960’s with the Civil Rights movement and other powerful popular movements, continues to grow. It is soon to reach a tipping point. A new renaissance is dawning – slowly.

 

The official narrative is most often a false narrative, based in part on ignorant people parroting what they are told, and deceitful people knowingly spinning lies for the pursuit of power and self-interest.

 

Did governments, military elites, “intelligence” agencies, and other powerful groups knowingly lie to get the people to support a war on Iraq? Of course they did, and we have the proof.

 

Could it be possible that elites are lying again, and the (rapidly shrinking) majority of people have simply been deceived, once again?

 

Of course that is entirely within the realm of possibility. But examine things for yourself.

 

Question everything.

 

JTR,

August 20, 2020

Know Your Enemy

Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will be victorious. – Sun Tzu

*

Never underestimate what a few individuals will do in pursuit of wealth, privilege, or power. The danger of a sociopathic powerful few being able to carry out monstrous acts, because the many refuse to believe such horrible acts are not possible, is an ever present danger.

The price of freedom, as well as democracy, truly is eternal vigilance. And sadly, the war on freedom and democracy is now in endgame in 2020. Inform yourself, and resist. Remember, the people always have the greater power.

And do read, or read again, Brave New World, 1984, Necessary Illusions, Escape From Freedom, The Shock Doctrine, The Ecology Of Freedom, the speeches of Martin Luther King Jr., The Discourse On Voluntary Servitude, and Thoreau’s short essay, On Civil Disobedience.

We need maximum clarity and inspiration now.

JTR,

August 15, 2020

 

Lest we forget (the awful power of denial):

 

Chaim Engel, Sobibor survivor, interview with USHMM, discussing arriving at the death camp:

http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/survivor/chaim%20engel.html

“Well let me say that we hear in Poland what happens with the Jews. They kill Jews and they gas Jews and things like that. 

But we really as young people, we really didn’t believe that something like that is possible. We thought, “Maybe the younger people will be taken to work – maybe only the older people…..” 

You just didn’t want to believe, because it was so incomprehensible, so unbelievable that something like that can happen that you just – even if you had the intelligence, you didn’t believe it.”

http://www.nizkor.org/hweb/people/e/eichmann-adolf/transcripts/Sessions/Session-066-08.html

 

Testimony from the Eichmann trial:

Attorney General: When you came there, did you know what was the place you had arrived at?

Witness Lindwasser: No. I knew it was Treblinka, but we did not know the purpose.

Q. Had you heard about Treblinka in Warsaw?

A. We had heard about Treblinka.

Q. Did you know that Jews were being exterminated at Treblinka?

A. We did not believe it.

Q. You did not believe it. Why?

A. Why? This would, perhaps, be difficult to answer. Possibly, it is an individual matter for each person. One simply could not grasp that such a thing was possible – actual extermination. Rumours reached Warsaw that the Germans were sending people out to work. And simply, it was better to cling to this idea.

Elon Musk & The Limits of Genius

“We don’t have heroes anymore. We have people who are known for their knownness.” Having no heroic public figures left, we resort to worshipping people who are merely well-known, simply because they are well-known.

I overstated the matter here, as I studiously avoid doing in general, to make a point. We do have heroes, but they tend to be unknown by more than a few people, or censored, suppressed, marginalized… And the majority resort to venerating, and yes worshipping, the merely well-known, in response.

Elon Musk has made interesting statements about the present and the future. He intelligently prefaced them by saying it is extremely difficult to predict the future; and further, wisely implied that the future depends on our actions – a point which is not viscerally realized the way it should be, and needs to be, by all.

He sensibly points out the urgent need to switch to renewable energy. He intelligently appeared in an interview wearing an OCCUPY t-shirt. And he has proven he is both innovative, and savvy in business.

(In fact, he has a brain, a heart, and a spine: a combination which, today, is a rare.)

That does not make him omniscient, of course.

Our culture is in love with money, materialism, consumerism, gadgets, entertainment, distraction, toys, trinkets, power, fame, wealth – and celebrity status. The cult of worship directed at business elites, professional athletes, certain public figures, famous actors, and celebrities in that broader sense, is truly delusional, deranged, infantile, and dangerous. I think Musk would agree to that.

(I think Gates would agree; but not so secretly is in love with the idea of power.)

Musk’s remarks, however, on genetic engineering, place him firmly in the George Jetson techno-fantasy camp of people who believe that: a) technology will solve every human social and ecological problem (no spiritual, philosophical or sociological reflection or change required); and b) rushing headlong into new technologies, for the imagined or even proven benefits, could never have an unintended down side. (Such as with CFCs, DDT, thalidamide, internal combustion engines, car-centred suburban-oriented cities and urban sprawl….and the list goes on.) His remarks on wet-wiring a direct connection between the human brain and computers, shows a further level of giddy naive intoxication with technology as risk-free panacea.

(See geneticist David Suzuki for a much more informed view of genetic engineering.)

People too typically think that because someone is intelligent, educated, famous or successful, therefore they are an authority on all subjects. But being clever at business, does not mean you know jack shit about public health POLICY, political-economy, social or political philosophy, history, or sociology – and that lack of understanding in these five areas make any statements by, for example, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, or Dr. Faucci into such realms, purely baseless, and full of hot air: as substanceless as a fart in the wind.

(Yes, Faucci too: because tracking a virus is different from being at all competent in public POLICY. And in the end, the latter is for public debate to decide, not any group of elites – if we are to live in a democracy, and not under an authoritarian police state, that is.)

I am not putting Elon Musk down. (The other two could give Dr. Mengela a run for his money, or Goebbels; but I think Elon Musk, by contrast, is a rich man with a conscience. Another rarity.) He seems principled, humanitarian, and good-natured, as well as bold, resourceful and creative. I quite admire him. But I do not worship at anyone’s feet. Nor to I believe celebrity-worship, or authority-worship, or worship of any elites, to be fitting for adults. My point is to question the habitual deference to authority which the great majority of people demonstrate daily. That is the single greatest danger that we face.

Think for yourself. As the Buddha said, Question everyone, even people you respect.

And remember, the future is what WE make it.

(We, the 99% – or the 100%. Not just the ruling 1%.)

Do not be a by-stander. And do not let a docile obedience lead the way – that would be disastrous; as history has proven, time and time again.

JTR,

August 11, 2020

 

Renaissance & Rebirth, or Decline & Decay?

And the demonic take-over continues…. Or so it would seem. Evil rules the political realm, the economic, and increasingly, the cultural as well. An awakening of humanity continues to unfold. But the war on compassion is only getting hotter and more intense. Cynicism drips from everything, like blood off rotting meat.

For example, and just one example of a countless many: Four or five “Netflix original” TV series I have sampled so far. All were too nauseating to continue watching. All were nihilistic, narcissistic, sadistic, superficial, lacking all depth, desensitizing, waging war on compassion, leading to a further hollowing out of human feeling, and making light of suffering and violence, while glamourizing them and reveling in them.

Yes, suffering, killing, violence and death are funny, amusing, and fun! LOL! Ha ha!

This isn’t Star Wars, Spielberg, Dickens or Blake – culture based in the values of the Enlightenment, and in universal values of compassion, love and solidarity. This is Satanic.

Do the corporate elite, who control virtually all the major media, want us all to become isolated, narcissistic, numbed consumers? Well, that is a naive question, isn’t it?

This is the way the world ends. Not with a bang, but with a mass derangement.

Renaissance and rebirth, or decline and decay? Both are happening. The jury is still out as to which will predominate.

But I can tell you this. It is up to us.

JTR,
August 1, 2020

Distance Yourself From Evil, Not People

The Boycott Big Tech Movement Begins Here

First rule: Question everything, and think for yourself.

Second rule: Don’t support your slavers. (Gandhi, MLK and Thoreau would understand. It’s time for mass civil disobedience.)

Nothing is free. If you want to say no to Big Brother, you have to pay for better tech that itself says no to Big Brother. That means boycotting Big Tech. It’s a transition we need to make. Start by ditching Google. Then Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Android….

Marco Polo is worth looking into, as well. (A video calling service) They refuse to use annoying ads, and more importantly, they refuse to sell client data or to be part of the new global surveillance state. 

Also of note: There is a new tech company making sleek black phones, tablets and laptops, which are not only built to last three times longer, but are built from the kernel up to be deeply resistant to the new global surveillance apparatus. Sorry the name escapes me at the moment. See the excellent podcast, Geopolitics & Empire, and you’ll find it; along with an extremely important interview with Robert Epstein on why boycotting Big Tech is imperative (my extrapolation).

See also, My Seven Simple Steps, by Robert Epstein, for further resistance to Big Brother.

The MAGATS – Microsoft, Amazon, Google, Apple, Twitter, and the “social media” giant Farcebook – are all deeply embedded and eager partners with the new global corporate police state. We need to begin an exodus away from them, an intelligent social distancing campaign that brings people together, face to face, and in groups for rallies and protests, meetings, conferences and blockades, under freedom of travel, speech and assembly, and distance ourselves from the Big Tech tools of the corporate police state. Now that would be…pardon me, will be…intelligent social distancing. Distance yourself from evil – not from people.

“Social distancing” doesn’t work. The science indicates 27 feet is needed. Six feet is useless – unless you want to sow panic and fear, and divide and conquer the people, which of course is the elite-driven objective, which the lemmings blindly obey.

Masks don’t work, as even the WHO admitted. They do however cut off oxygen to the body and brain, lowering immune resistance as well as functional intelligence – which partly explains the mass insanity and loss of ability to think critically or to use basic common sense reasoning.

Mass quarantine, which is mass house arrest, doesn’t work, as Sweden and Taiwan have proved. In fact, it is causing alienation and economic devastation to soar, which will, if continued, result in surging poverty, sickness and death.

Moreover, this is not the Plague. The global death toll from covid, a new form of the cold and flu family, is under 300,000, while annual death tolls from the flu are 300,000-700,000.

Basic math, anyone?

Think for yourself.

Check the facts. Question everything. You are being lied to. Mass hysteria has taken over.

The covid crisis needs to be understood for what it is: a Davos billionaire oligarch-driven agenda of: 1. Mass distraction, 2. Divide and conquer, 3. Economic warfare, that is, class warfare, of the 1% vs the 99%, and 4. A pretext for a power grab, and the final stage of the 50 year process of neoliberalism, which has been the corporate take-over of society on a global scale, and the merger of business and the state, which as Mussolini said, is the proper definition of fascism.

Where is the left? I hope you are starting to get this right, or will soon. This is a corporate fascist coup.

Of course, to frame the issues in this way will put the 60-80% of people who have become complete lemmings, into total panic, hyperbolic mouth-foaming fervour, and vitriolic hysteria; but it simply must be done.

I’ve explained these issues countless times. Read my blog essays if anything here is surprising or alarming. It certainly should not be. And I am not willing to repeat myself ad nauseum.

The propaganda war is beginning to fail. People are asking questions, at last, and are waking up. The mouth-frothing, screaming, self-righteous, deeply hypocritical defenders of the “new normal” of pseudo-medical fascism, are losing. Keep questioning. Keep speaking the truth. Keep pressing the facts over hyperbole. 

Saddam Hussein did not have WMDs. A giant lie launched a war causing hundreds of thousands of deaths. Now we face mass distortions that will kill millions and enslave billions, if we don’t cut through the illusions, distortions, propaganda, hysteria and lies.

Choose solidarity and caring *with* freedom; or choose virtual lobotomy, and slavery to a brutal new Orwellian order. There is no third choice, other than in fantasy and delusion.

Remember what Emerson said, “A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds.” Sane, mature, confident people can admit when they were wrong. Insane, childish, petty, and weak-minded people cannot.

JTR,

May 10, 2020

Post-Script:

Privacy is a misnomer. The entire issue has been mislabelled. Freedom from surveillance and manipulation is the big issue. Vastly more important than privacy is that we don’t cooperate with our slavers: the new global corporate fascist police state. Just say no to Big Brother. See My Seven Simple Steps for important tips, as a starting place. #BoycottBigTech! #BoycottBigBrother