thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-20--Climate Crisis, Pandemics, and Bad Governance: Humanity’s Existential Threats

Since I started News Junkie Post , eleven years ago , I have , as a rule , avoided the first person narrative .
In my mind , there is a simple reason for an aversion for the “ me , myself , and I ” type of storytelling so widespread in our culture .
The first person is fine for a journal , an autobiography of course , or if you have the immense literary talent of Marcel Proust .
Otherwise , it amounts to a navel-gazing narcissism common in our era and society as a spectacle where anyone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of , aspires to achieve his proverbial 15 minutes of fame and to milk for as long as possible .
The reader might wonder why I will make an exception to this self-imposed rule of first-person narrative avoidance .
The answer is simple : once in a blue moon , events that either already impact humanity or are about to turn upside down all mankind ’ s existence personally hit you in the face like a thunderbolt .
Like most people on Earth , I have been dealing with COVID-19 while trying not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affect me too much .
What I didn ’ t expect was for humanity ’ s biggest challenge , the climate crisis , to join the pandemic .
In my recent life experience , I ’ ve had to deal , at the same time , with the impacts of the climate crisis , a pandemic , and chronic bad governance , which are , unless we radically change course , humanity ’ s future .
This is a snapshot of our common future .
The three factors are compounded threats to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ town where “ We Stand for Our Flag and Kneel for Our Cross ” I have lived for the past four years in a small rural community deep in the United States Bible Belt , where people are , by a large majority , white evangelicals .
I call this part of the US Trumpistan , because of the strong support President Donald Trump has in this neck of the woods .
Trumpistan is neither a state nor a country , but a state of mind .
As an example , in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 93 percent of the votes in the county .
Incidentally or not , this part of the US used to be within the Confederacy during the US Civil War .
Economically , this community is poor , and it barely survives from cattle ranching and fracking .
Most people , except the ranchers , are poor , but nonetheless , they follow , as patriotic evangelicals , what has become Trumpistan ’ s core motto , “ We Stand for Our Flag , and Kneel for Our Cross.
” Many are climate change @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they viewed the COVID-19 pandemic either as a hoax concocted by the Democrats to make Trump lose his reelection bid or as a deliberate Chinese attack on the US .
In this context , I view myself as an amateur anthropologist and a sociologist .
For me , the dramatic events occurred on May 22 , 2020 .
It was a Friday , and the town had scheduled its yearly high school graduation celebration .
Naturally , the townspeople , like most people on this planet , we 're still trying to cope @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purpose , and to celebrate the end of the strict lockdown affecting its retirement home , the community held an event where about 40 elderly people ( see photographs ) were allowed to sit outside to be greeted by relatives who drove by .
It was overall an extremely sad ceremony , and I could not help myself thinking of the inherent sickness of our so-called modern civilization , where the older generation is institutionalized while , in most cases , they could have been cared for by their children or grandchildren .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ retirement homes had an extremely high mortality rate during the COVID-19 pandemic .
The residents of this specific facility , just like in the rest of the US and most western European countries , were further victimized by the interdiction of visits from their relatives .
They had to deal with the great psychological pain of isolation , on the premise of their own good , all of it by governmental decrees .
One could hope that the pandemic will give an acute sense of guilt to people who consider their elderly parents @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the care of others in an institution .
It is morally wrong and cruel to treat your elderly parents this way .
In decent societies , either archaic societies or ones of recent past , the entire family took care of their aging relatives when they became weak and frail .
The wisdom of age was respected , and older people in need of help were not put away , institutionalized , and subcontracted to strangers .
Furthermore , the elders were actually revered , as the younger generation would seek their advice @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The sky turned black towards the north-west while it was still clear in the south-east .
The temperature dropped abruptly .
The thunderous black clouds had company : it was a tornado .
The rain didn ’ t start right away , as the winds were gathering strength .
At about 9:00 , the town sirens went off , and shortly afterward I got a tornado warning on my phone that said : “ Tornado alert seek shelter immediately.
” I did so in a closet that seemed to be relatively strong @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or near to windows .
Then the power went off , and I could only hear the extremely loud fury of sheets of rain , thunder , and deadly winds , combined with the glaring sirens .
The cacophony was intense .
Nature ’ s wrath had hit the town , and the tornado chewed away like a giant chainsaw .
It lasted for about 45 minutes .
Later , while the rain continued to pour , I quickly inspected the house I live in , with help from the lightning .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were intact .
Exhausted , I went to bed .
When I woke up the next day , two sizable trees were down in my muddy backyard .
I did not yet realize quite how lucky I had been .
Having no immediate means to clear anything , I decided to take a survey ( see photographs ) of the worst-hit areas of town .
Someone told me where the tornado had done the most damage .
It was literally on the wrong side of the tracks .
Urban development is interesting that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ world , parts of cities , big or small , are more desirable than others .
There are always dividers , either natural or man-made , which sort of segregate a town by the level of income and sometimes by race .
It is quite often in relationship with elevation and risk of flooding .
This little town is split by a freight train railroad track .
Because life is usually unfair , the poorer part of town was the one hardest hit by the tornado .
According to a local news source @ @ @ @ @ @ @ damaged or destroyed .
For a town of slightly more than 5,000 people , already suffering from the COVID-19 recession like the rest of the US , and with the crash of oil prices , whose business sustains many in the community , the recovery will be an uphill battle .
This little rural community will be joined by countless more in the very near future , and it will not make headlines in any mainstream news cycle .
Many poor people became homeless that night .
Many small business owners lost their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sycamores , and hackberry trees were snapped like matches or uprooted .
Last , but not least , baby birds in the trees were killed by the thousands .
The infrastructure suffered a great deal too , with many wooden electrical posts broken like twigs or laid flat on the ground .
What I saw reminded me of Katrina ‘ s aftermath in New Orleans , which I had covered .
Natural disasters are always a reminder of life ’ s incredible frailty and the brutal yet awesome forces of wind , rain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , in all their arrogance , think and act like they can control natural phenomena , but this is a dangerous delusion .
When the wrath of nature falls on us , we then realize that , as a species , we have no more survival power and skills than fire ants .
Actually , probably less so .
When you experience disasters , it usually gives you a great sense of humility as well as an appreciation for life .
The COVID-19 pandemic did that too .
Disasters also , in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or a fire , bring people closer .
If on Friday , during the day , in this little town , wearing a mask and social distancing was still officially on the behavioral menu , on Saturday morning , after the tornado , the COVID-19 cautions of mask-wearing and social distancing were thrown to the wind .
People who had lost everything were trying to help and comfort each other .
This spontaneous sense of solidarity is what humanity can be at its best .
Unfortunately , just as I witnessed in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the citizens in this small rural town had to rely on themselves and their neighbors to start sifting through the rubble to salvage bits and pieces of their lives ; rely on themselves to clear trees that had fallen on their houses , cars , and across their yards .
City government authorities were nowhere to be seen .
Perhaps this was because the elected town ’ s major powers have been de-facto stripped and assumed by an unelected and designated City Manager .
Privatization of critical sectors : the rise of banana @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the private power company that has the contract from the city to maintain and fix all the electrical grid , power station , electrical posts , transformers and lines showed up , assessed the damage and immediately shut down part of the grid .
Fair enough .
The repairs had to be done .
I asked the crew ’ s foreman what was a projected time estimate to restore service to the town .
He didn ’ t want to answer and abruptly told me to contact the press representative of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week we had , in the town , several daily power outages as well as Internet disruption .
A few years before the town had made a huge technological jump to fiber optics , all of it runs underground .
Of course , the Internet/communication company that won the bid to wire the town is different from the power company .
When I called the Internet company about the numerous connection problems , they told me that the underground fiber-optic had been disrupted in many places in my areas .
One can easily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ A is digging deep holes to set up new electrical posts , and carelessly disturbing the fiber optics of company B .
This is , in a nutshell , what you get when you privatize and subcontract government functions on a local , state or federal level .
There is no more coordination .
Private companies only care about profits and their bottom lines .
If this town was really run democratically by an elected mayor , instead of a designated city manager , the citizens could ask him in person why , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the U.S. at the edge of tornado alley , major electrical wires are run above ground .
Why not run them underground as is done in a city with no extreme weather hazard like Las Vegas , Nevada ?
My partner at News Junkie Post , Dady Chery , and I often joke about the US and other so-called developed nations , like France , becoming banana republics , where all the infrastructure is falling apart , vital services like power and water are marginal , and corruption is rampant at all levels @ @ @ @ @ @ @ exposed governmental failures in most countries .
In France , years of budget cuts in what used to be a stellar public health care system did the job .
The culprits are government officials and technocrats who decided in an office somewhere , just because they could , that money must be saved .
The French technocrats in question , just like the politicians in the US who for years have blocked laws to establish a free universal health care system , have blood on their hands .
Indecision , and bad political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public sector to privatize government , kill .
The politician culprits will not be held accountable , as the system has been rigged to keep them , and the corporations that finance their elections and therefore maintain them in power , above the law .
Yes , the banana republic factor is becoming widespread , as real democracies become an endangered mode of governance .
The banana republic model is contagious too , as bad governance has reached a stage of pandemic .
Sadly enough , most of the aspiring banana republics do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bananas .
This first-person story had to be told because I perceive this little community to be a microcosm of not only the dysfunctional aspects of the US but also the rest of the world .
As the climate crisis intensifies — and this is not in humanity ’ s future , it is right now — millions , or perhaps even billions , will join the ranks of the homeless in this little town .
Conservative estimates put the likely number of climate change refugees at 600 million by the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the oceans keeps rising , hurricanes , tornadoes , floods , and severe droughts will affect regions of western Europe that have been so far spared .
With global warming , diseases that were confined to tropical areas , like dengue fever and malaria , will move away from the equator towards the north and south .
Current medical habits to overprescribe antibiotics will cause the appearance of many more antibiotic-resistant bacteria .
Humanity ’ s general forecast is grim .
Our future is under multiple threats , dark clouds are gathering , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Real storms and the growing clamor of popular anger .
The global COVID-19 pandemic and its gross political mismanagement have turned people ’ s chronically simmering anger into a pressure cooker .
Will this blow in the face of the billionaire class and their political enablers ?
Time will tell .
It always does .

Since I started News Junkie Post, eleven years ago, I have, as a rule, avoided the first person narrative. In my mind, there is a simple reason for an aversion for the “me, myself, and I” type of storytelling so widespread in our culture. The first person is fine for a journal, an autobiography of course, or if you have the immense literary talent of Marcel Proust. Otherwise, it amounts to a navel-gazing narcissism common in our era and society as a spectacle where anyone, with no particular talent to speak of, aspires to achieve his proverbial 15 minutes of fame and to milk for as long as possible.
The reader might wonder why I will make an exception to this self-imposed rule of first-person narrative avoidance. The answer is simple: once in a blue moon, events that either already impact humanity or are about to turn upside down all mankind’s existence personally hit you in the face like a thunderbolt.
Like most people on Earth, I have been dealing with COVID-19 while trying not to let the fear and paranoia factors affect me too much. What I didn’t expect was for humanity’s biggest challenge, the climate crisis, to join the pandemic. In my recent life experience, I’ve had to deal, at the same time, with the impacts of the climate crisis, a pandemic, and chronic bad governance, which are, unless we radically change course, humanity’s future. This is a snapshot of our common future. The three factors are compounded threats to the very survival of our species.
A town where “We Stand for Our Flag and Kneel for Our Cross”
I have lived for the past four years in a small rural community deep in the United States Bible Belt, where people are, by a large majority, white evangelicals. I call this part of the US Trumpistan, because of the strong support President Donald Trump has in this neck of the woods. Trumpistan is neither a state nor a country, but a state of mind. As an example, in the 2016 presidential election, Donald Trump obtained 93 percent of the votes in the county. Incidentally or not, this part of the US used to be within the Confederacy during the US Civil War. Economically, this community is poor, and it barely survives from cattle ranching and fracking.
Most people, except the ranchers, are poor, but nonetheless, they follow, as patriotic evangelicals, what has become Trumpistan’s core motto, “We Stand for Our Flag, and Kneel for Our Cross.” Many are climate change deniers and creationists. At first, they viewed the COVID-19 pandemic either as a hoax concocted by the Democrats to make Trump lose his reelection bid or as a deliberate Chinese attack on the US. In this context, I view myself as an amateur anthropologist and a sociologist.
Elderly COVID-19 lock-down misery in a retirement home
For me, the dramatic events occurred on May 22, 2020. It was a Friday, and the town had scheduled its yearly high school graduation celebration. Naturally, the townspeople, like most people on this planet, we're still trying to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. For this purpose, and to celebrate the end of the strict lockdown affecting its retirement home, the community held an event where about 40 elderly people (see photographs) were allowed to sit outside to be greeted by relatives who drove by. It was overall an extremely sad ceremony, and I could not help myself thinking of the inherent sickness of our so-called modern civilization, where the older generation is institutionalized while, in most cases, they could have been cared for by their children or grandchildren.
In western Europe and the US, retirement homes had an extremely high mortality rate during the COVID-19 pandemic. The residents of this specific facility, just like in the rest of the US and most western European countries, were further victimized by the interdiction of visits from their relatives. They had to deal with the great psychological pain of isolation, on the premise of their own good, all of it by governmental decrees.
One could hope that the pandemic will give an acute sense of guilt to people who consider their elderly parents to be inconvenient and put them in the care of others in an institution. It is morally wrong and cruel to treat your elderly parents this way. In decent societies, either archaic societies or ones of recent past, the entire family took care of their aging relatives when they became weak and frail. The wisdom of age was respected, and older people in need of help were not put away, institutionalized, and subcontracted to strangers. Furthermore, the elders were actually revered, as the younger generation would seek their advice.
On a tornado path
At dusk, a thunderstorm came. The sky turned black towards the north-west while it was still clear in the south-east. The temperature dropped abruptly. The thunderous black clouds had company: it was a tornado. The rain didn’t start right away, as the winds were gathering strength. At about 9:00, the town sirens went off, and shortly afterward I got a tornado warning on my phone that said: “Tornado alert seek shelter immediately.” I did so in a closet that seemed to be relatively strong and was not directly under big trees or near to windows. Then the power went off, and I could only hear the extremely loud fury of sheets of rain, thunder, and deadly winds, combined with the glaring sirens. The cacophony was intense. Nature’s wrath had hit the town, and the tornado chewed away like a giant chainsaw. It lasted for about 45 minutes. Later, while the rain continued to pour, I quickly inspected the house I live in, with help from the lightning. The structure seemed okay, and all windows were intact. Exhausted, I went to bed.
Tornado’s wreckage
When I woke up the next day, two sizable trees were down in my muddy backyard. I did not yet realize quite how lucky I had been. Having no immediate means to clear anything, I decided to take a survey (see photographs) of the worst-hit areas of town. Someone told me where the tornado had done the most damage. It was literally on the wrong side of the tracks. Urban development is interesting that way. Pretty much anywhere in the world, parts of cities, big or small, are more desirable than others. There are always dividers, either natural or man-made, which sort of segregate a town by the level of income and sometimes by race. It is quite often in relationship with elevation and risk of flooding. This little town is split by a freight train railroad track. Because life is usually unfair, the poorer part of town was the one hardest hit by the tornado.
According to a local news source, over 450 structures were either seriously damaged or destroyed. For a town of slightly more than 5,000 people, already suffering from the COVID-19 recession like the rest of the US, and with the crash of oil prices, whose business sustains many in the community, the recovery will be an uphill battle. This little rural community will be joined by countless more in the very near future, and it will not make headlines in any mainstream news cycle. Many poor people became homeless that night. Many small business owners lost their livelihood. Countless majestic old oaks, sycamores, and hackberry trees were snapped like matches or uprooted. Last, but not least, baby birds in the trees were killed by the thousands. The infrastructure suffered a great deal too, with many wooden electrical posts broken like twigs or laid flat on the ground.
What I saw reminded me of Katrina‘s aftermath in New Orleans, which I had covered. Natural disasters are always a reminder of life’s incredible frailty and the brutal yet awesome forces of wind, rain, and fire. Some human beings, in all their arrogance, think and act like they can control natural phenomena, but this is a dangerous delusion. When the wrath of nature falls on us, we then realize that, as a species, we have no more survival power and skills than fire ants. Actually, probably less so. When you experience disasters, it usually gives you a great sense of humility as well as an appreciation for life.
The COVID-19 pandemic did that too. Disasters also, in the case of a hurricane, a tornado or a fire, bring people closer. If on Friday, during the day, in this little town, wearing a mask and social distancing was still officially on the behavioral menu, on Saturday morning, after the tornado, the COVID-19 cautions of mask-wearing and social distancing were thrown to the wind. People who had lost everything were trying to help and comfort each other. This spontaneous sense of solidarity is what humanity can be at its best.
Unfortunately, just as I witnessed in New Orleans post-Katrina almost 15 years ago, the citizens in this small rural town had to rely on themselves and their neighbors to start sifting through the rubble to salvage bits and pieces of their lives; rely on themselves to clear trees that had fallen on their houses, cars, and across their yards. City government authorities were nowhere to be seen. Perhaps this was because the elected town’s major powers have been de-facto stripped and assumed by an unelected and designated City Manager.
Privatization of critical sectors: the rise of banana republics
The day after the tornado hit, the private power company that has the contract from the city to maintain and fix all the electrical grid, power station, electrical posts, transformers and lines showed up, assessed the damage and immediately shut down part of the grid. Fair enough. The repairs had to be done. I asked the crew’s foreman what was a projected time estimate to restore service to the town. He didn’t want to answer and abruptly told me to contact the press representative of the corporation that employs him. The following week we had, in the town, several daily power outages as well as Internet disruption. A few years before the town had made a huge technological jump to fiber optics, all of it runs underground. Of course, the Internet/communication company that won the bid to wire the town is different from the power company.
When I called the Internet company about the numerous connection problems, they told me that the underground fiber-optic had been disrupted in many places in my areas. One can easily solve this problem here. Power company A is digging deep holes to set up new electrical posts, and carelessly disturbing the fiber optics of company B. This is, in a nutshell, what you get when you privatize and subcontract government functions on a local, state or federal level. There is no more coordination. Private companies only care about profits and their bottom lines. If this town was really run democratically by an elected mayor, instead of a designated city manager, the citizens could ask him in person why, for example, in a part of the U.S. at the edge of tornado alley, major electrical wires are run above ground. Why not run them underground as is done in a city with no extreme weather hazard like Las Vegas, Nevada?
My partner at News Junkie Post, Dady Chery, and I often joke about the US and other so-called developed nations, like France, becoming banana republics, where all the infrastructure is falling apart, vital services like power and water are marginal, and corruption is rampant at all levels of government. The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed governmental failures in most countries. In France, years of budget cuts in what used to be a stellar public health care system did the job. The culprits are government officials and technocrats who decided in an office somewhere, just because they could, that money must be saved. The French technocrats in question, just like the politicians in the US who for years have blocked laws to establish a free universal health care system, have blood on their hands. Indecision, and bad political decisions except the ones to dismantle the public sector to privatize government, kill.
The politician culprits will not be held accountable, as the system has been rigged to keep them, and the corporations that finance their elections and therefore maintain them in power, above the law. Yes, the banana republic factor is becoming widespread, as real democracies become an endangered mode of governance. The banana republic model is contagious too, as bad governance has reached a stage of pandemic. Sadly enough, most of the aspiring banana republics do not even have the merit of growing bananas.
This first-person story had to be told because I perceive this little community to be a microcosm of not only the dysfunctional aspects of the US but also the rest of the world. As the climate crisis intensifies — and this is not in humanity’s future, it is right now — millions, or perhaps even billions, will join the ranks of the homeless in this little town. Conservative estimates put the likely number of climate change refugees at 600 million by the end of the century.
As the temperature of the oceans keeps rising, hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, and severe droughts will affect regions of western Europe that have been so far spared. With global warming, diseases that were confined to tropical areas, like dengue fever and malaria, will move away from the equator towards the north and south. Current medical habits to overprescribe antibiotics will cause the appearance of many more antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Humanity’s general forecast is grim. Our future is under multiple threats, dark clouds are gathering, and many storms are on their way. Real storms and the growing clamor of popular anger. The global COVID-19 pandemic and its gross political mismanagement have turned people’s chronically simmering anger into a pressure cooker. Will this blow in the face of the billionaire class and their political enablers? Time will tell. It always does.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-20--US Billionaire Wealth Surges to $584 Billion, or 20 Percent, Since the Beginning of the Pandemic

In just three months , the U.S. added 29 more billionaires while 45.5 million filed for unemployment .
In just three months , the U.S. added 29 more billionaires while 45.5 million filed for unemployment .
As the Federal Reserve reported during the week of June 10th , more than $ 6.5 trillion in household wealth vanished during the first three months of this year as the pandemic tightened its hold on the global economy .
“ This is the biggest economic shock in the U.S. and in the world , really , in living memory , ” Fed Chair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 10th .
“ We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years to the highest level in close to 90 years , and we did it in two months.
” Since March 18th , the US Billionaire class has seen their wealth increase by 20 % , or $ 584 billion , since the rough beginning of the pandemic , as 45.5 million Americans filed for unemployment and the economy cratered , according to a new analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness ( ATF ) and the Institute for Policy Studies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , building on the IPS Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report .
Overall , between March 18—the rough start date of the pandemic shutdown , when most federal and state economic restrictions were in place—and June 17 , the total net worth of the 640-plus U.S. billionaires jumped from $ 2.948 trillion to $ 3.531 trillion , based on the two groups ’ analysis of Forbes data .
Since March 18 , the date Forbes released its annual report on billionaires ’ wealth , the U.S. added 29 more billionaires , increasing from 614 to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , over 45.5 million people filed for unemployment , according to the Department of Labor .
The top five billionaires—Jeff Bezos , Bill Gates , Mark Zuckerberg , Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison—saw their wealth grow by a total of $ 101.7 billion , or 26 % .
They captured 17.4 % of the total wealth growth of all 600-plus billionaires in the last three months .
The fortunes of Bezos and Zuckerberg together grew by nearly $ 76 billion , or 13 % of the $ 584 billion total .
“ This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our economic system is , ” said Frank Clemente , ATF ’ s executive director .
“ In three months about 600 billionaires increased their wealth by far more than the nation ’ s governors say their states need in fiscal assistance to keep delivering services to 330 million residents .
Their wealth increased twice as much as the federal government paid out in one-time checks to more than 150 million Americans .
If this pandemic reveals anything , it ’ s how unequal our society has become and how drastically it must @ @ @ @ @ @ @ society needs is more economic and racial polarization , ” said Chuck Collins , director of the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and co-author of the Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report .
“ The surge in billionaire wealth and pandemic profiteering undermines the unity and solidarity that the American people will require to recover and grow together , not pull further apart.
” During the same approximate three-month period nearly 2.1 million Americans fell ill with the virus and about 118,000 died from it .
Among other pandemic victims are 27 million @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coverage .
Low-wage workers , people of color and women have suffered disproportionately in the combined medical and economic crises .
Billionaires are overwhelmingly white men .
Wealth growth of other select billionaires in the top 30 on the Forbes June 17 list is below .
Remarkably , 12 billionaires more than doubled their wealth over the last three months .
One of them , Trevor Milton , the founder of Nikola Motor that is building semi-trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen , increased his wealth more than five times .
Decades of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the growth of billionaires and their wealth .
Even in the midst of the greatest national emergency since World War II , tax handouts to the wealthy have continued—most recently in the form of the “ Millionaire Giveaways ” slipped into the CARES pandemic relief law enacted in late March .
The recently passed House HEROES Act would repeal this tax break that is giving an average tax cut of $ 1.6 million this year to 43,000 millionaires and billionaires , according to the Joint Committee on Taxation .
JCT estimates closing this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a huge sum that could be used for pandemic relief .

In just three months, the U.S. added 29 more billionaires while 45.5 million filed for unemployment.
In just three months, the U.S. added 29 more billionaires while 45.5 million filed for unemployment.
As the Federal Reserve reported during the week of June 10th, more than $6.5 trillion in household wealth vanished during the first three months of this year as the pandemic tightened its hold on the global economy.
“This is the biggest economic shock in the U.S. and in the world, really, in living memory,” Fed Chair Jerome H. Powell told reporters on June 10th. “We went from the lowest level of unemployment in 50 years to the highest level in close to 90 years, and we did it in two months.”
Since March 18th, the US Billionaire class has seen their wealth increase by 20%, or $584 billion, since the rough beginning of the pandemic, as 45.5 million Americans filed for unemployment and the economy cratered, according to a new analysis by Americans for Tax Fairness (ATF) and the Institute for Policy Studies – Program on Inequality (IPS), building on the IPS Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report.
Overall, between March 18—the rough start date of the pandemic shutdown, when most federal and state economic restrictions were in place—and June 17, the total net worth of the 640-plus U.S. billionaires jumped from $2.948 trillion to $3.531 trillion, based on the two groups’ analysis of Forbes data. Since March 18, the date Forbes released its annual report on billionaires’ wealth, the U.S. added 29 more billionaires, increasing from 614 to 643. During the same three months, over 45.5 million people filed for unemployment, according to the Department of Labor.
The top five billionaires—Jeff Bezos, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Warren Buffett and Larry Ellison—saw their wealth grow by a total of $101.7 billion, or 26%. They captured 17.4% of the total wealth growth of all 600-plus billionaires in the last three months. The fortunes of Bezos and Zuckerberg together grew by nearly $76 billion, or 13% of the $584 billion total.
Sources: All data analyzed by ATF and IPS is from Forbes and All data analyzed by ATF and IPS is from Forbes and available here . March 18, 2020 data is from the Forbes World’s Billionaires List: The RIchest in 2020 . June 17, 2020 data was taken from Forbes real-time estimates of worth that day.
“This orgy of wealth shows how fundamentally flawed our economic system is,” said Frank Clemente, ATF’s executive director. “In three months about 600 billionaires increased their wealth by far more than the nation’s governors say their states need in fiscal assistance to keep delivering services to 330 million residents. Their wealth increased twice as much as the federal government paid out in one-time checks to more than 150 million Americans. If this pandemic reveals anything, it’s how unequal our society has become and how drastically it must change.”
“The last thing U.S. society needs is more economic and racial polarization,” said Chuck Collins, director of the Institute for Policy Studies Program on Inequality and co-author of the Billionaire Bonanza 2020 report. “The surge in billionaire wealth and pandemic profiteering undermines the unity and solidarity that the American people will require to recover and grow together, not pull further apart.”
During the same approximate three-month period nearly 2.1 million Americans fell ill with the virus and about 118,000 died from it. Among other pandemic victims are 27 million Americans who may lose their employer-provided healthcare coverage. Low-wage workers, people of color and women have suffered disproportionately in the combined medical and economic crises. Billionaires are overwhelmingly white men.
Wealth growth of other select billionaires in the top 30 on the Forbes June 17 list is below.
Sources: All data analyzed by ATF and IPS is from Forbes and List above includes 13 billionaires who are among the top 37 billionaires as of June 17, 2020.All data analyzed by ATF and IPS is from Forbes and available here . March 18, 2020 data is from the Forbes World’s Billionaires List: The RIchest in 2020 . June 17, 2020 data was taken from Forbes real-time estimates of worth that day.
Remarkably, 12 billionaires more than doubled their wealth over the last three months. One of them, Trevor Milton, the founder of Nikola Motor that is building semi-trucks powered by batteries and hydrogen, increased his wealth more than five times.
Decades of tax cuts for the rich have fueled the growth of billionaires and their wealth. Even in the midst of the greatest national emergency since World War II, tax handouts to the wealthy have continued—most recently in the form of the “Millionaire Giveaways” slipped into the CARES pandemic relief law enacted in late March.
The recently passed House HEROES Act would repeal this tax break that is giving an average tax cut of $1.6 million this year to 43,000 millionaires and billionaires, according to the Joint Committee on Taxation. JCT estimates closing this loophole would raise $246 billion, a huge sum that could be used for pandemic relief.
MEDIA Contact: Bob Keener, 617-610-6766, bobk@ips-dc.org


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-21--Are we witnessing a social rebellion in the US?

Please make sure these dispatches reach as many readers as possible .
Share with kin , friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise .
A sophisticated foreign observer finds that , regrettably , the fruits of this uprising against the status quo may fall painfully short of expectations .
Once again recent events in the United States have been the expression of an extreme diversity of commentary in the media and online , once again the opinions range from the most apocalyptic to those who assume that everything has been a Trump tactic to get out of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country after the disastrous handling of the Covid 19 pandemic .
It is mentioned that the United States has entered a stage of `` unstoppable revolution '' and that the `` people '' have finally tired of the system and have taken to the streets to demonstrate it .
In the same way , it is assumed that violence is an expression of how fed up the citizens are with a `` system that oppresses them . ''
It seems to me that these points of view expose excesses in the analysis or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the empire should at last suffer real turmoil in its guts .
But you have to be objective , the rebellions of United States blacks , or African-Americans as they call themselves , are recurrent throughout history .
The independence obtained in 1776 did not change the institution of slavery present since the beginning of the colony in the early seventeenth century , although the Spanish had already brought blacks from Africa to be enslaved in their colonial territories that later became part of the United States .
.
Nor did the constitution @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ slave corporation ” .
On the contrary , it legalized and legitimized oppression against blacks .
The first and most important rebellions of black slaves came to take place only at the beginning of the 19th century .
They were led by Gabriel Prosser in Richmond , Virginia in August 1800 , Denmark Vessey in Charleston , South Carolina in June 1822 , and Nat Turner in Southampton , Virginia in August 1831 .
Slavery linked to feudalism became a brake on the capitalist development of a country that aspired to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ war called `` secession '' was necessary because the eleven states that defended slavery wanted to create a new country .
The triumph of the states of the Union and of the capitalism they advocated legitimized the racism , the exclusion , the repression and the contempt of blacks as an attribute of the economic and political model that had expired , although some civil rights were granted as a result of a war that had formally freed them from slavery .
As American historian Morris Berman recalls in his work `` The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Abraham Lincoln , considered the apostle of the fight against slavery in the United States , said in his speech to the special session of Congress on July 4 , 1861 , that he had `` no direct or indirect intention to interfere with slavery in the United States wherever it exists . ''
So it is false that the war was waged to free the slaves as the official history indicates , but that it responded to the clear intention of avoiding the plausible objective of avoiding secession .
Berman points out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that he was not in favor of black social and political equality `` in any way . ''
If that was the opinion of the president who “ abolished ” slavery , we might ask ourselves , what can we expect from others ?
Since then , until the death of George Floyd on May 25 , 2020 , in Powderhorn , Minneapolis , more than a century and a half of continuous uprisings have been carried out by black Americans in their fight against exclusion and discrimination .
But except in very @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not gone beyond that : spontaneous movements of desperate rejection when the abuse loses even the sanity that the formality of the white society imposes on them .
Yesterday , in an interview for “ iguana.tv ” , the Venezuelan journalist Clodovaldo Hernández opined that : “ There are those who say that this wave of riots and protests definitely sinks Donald Trump , who is headed to lose the elections .
Others say that it strengthens him because he radicalizes positions and he lives on radicalism ” ... and asked me what @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or lost with this unexpected turn of the campaign .
Here is my answer : “ The first thing to consider is that blacks in the United States represent 13 % of the population .
And that segment is overwhelmingly a Democratic Party voter .
So , in electoral terms , Trump is attacking an opposition sector , which was not favorable to him before these events .
On the other hand , in more structural terms it must be said that racism is a permanent phenomenon in the United States , it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was a child then , but I remember that in the 60s there was that movement of Black Panthers , which even assumed the armed struggle and came to acquire great strength , especially in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico , when the winning black American athletes raised their fists and stared at the floor as the national anthem played .
This demonstrated the roots of the movement .
But it was always limited to blacks .
From time to time , when this type of event occurs , like the one that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happens with more or less force .
This time it has been very strong , many people compare it to what happened after the murder of Martin Luther King .
But it is still a racial movement , it has no other connotation .
It is limited to a minority sector of the US population .
Not to be confused .
There are people talking about revolution in the US and crisis in the political system .
One should not be mistaken in thinking that this leads to the doors of a social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ changes .
On the other hand , it must be taken into account that blacks in the US vote for the Democratic Party [ a systemic pillar ] , and that in the party 's internal elections they lean towards the Democratic party right .
On this occasion , they supported Joe Biden against Bernie Sanders !
So we can not fool ourselves into thinking that they are anti-system , liberationist blacks .
No .
They are blacks who are fighting , and it is good that they do so , depending on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is discriminated against , exploited , robbed , which manifests itself in the pandemic , when , being just 13 % of the global population [ from the USA ] , they are between 24 % and 25 % of those infected , that is , double the proportion .
In the US they have created a series of myths commemorating the supposed end of racism .
On the third Monday in January they celebrate Martin Luther King Day , which is a national holiday ; in baseball , on April 15 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Jackie Robinson , who was the first African American to be allowed to play in the big leagues .
But , finally , those same blacks are put on a boat and sent to invade Venezuela without much resistance .
None of its current leaders [ Black radical intellectual Glen Ford properly calls them `` misleaders '' ) , have the strength , moral stature , or the force of ideas that Muhammad Ali had , who , being the greatest boxer in history , renounced the world title , went to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he refused to participate .
in a war he did n't believe in , the one in Vietnam .
Let 's also not forget that Obama is black and he was the one who started the persecution against Venezuela in the dimensions that we have now .
Where are Obama and other blacks , like Condoleezza Rice and General Colin Powell ?
They are on the side of the powerful , of the system , of the oppressors .
So , I think Trump 's response is calculated , in the sense that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not favor him and is encouraging actions that are well received by that sector of the population , the WASP ( whites , Anglo-Saxons and Protestants , the more conservative segment [ of society ] ) who tend to support him .
Blacks in the US , moreover [ like the rest of the US population ] do not have much class consciousness ; they are hostile to Latinos and immigrants .
Thus , we are not talking about a social or political revolution , but , if anything , a racial rebellion @ @ @ @ @ @ @ raising this in substantive political terms , in class terms , is film director Spike Lee .
He made a solid approach .
All the others have done so in terms of the marginalization of blacks , but not in terms of the system and structure of capital .
So , I insist , it is not going to mean great social and political changes because to do so , the marginalized , women , immigrants and the unemployed , who are millions , would have to join , but obviously many have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In response to another question from the journalist , I added that : “ … Yesterday [ Joe ] Biden met with some black leaders and his proposal was that if he becomes president , he will give instructions so that the police do not shoot [ the protesters ] in the chest , but in the legs .
And he said he will seek control of weapons in citizens ' hands .
That is an electoral move by a dumb candidate , which has not appeared much in the entire Covid-19 episode @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is calculated [ by Trump ] because he knows that in the United States there is a great fervor for the ownership and use of weapons and that the white majority is still so overwhelming that nobody dares to challenge it .
In addition , [ it 's likely that many ] Latinos and others will surely join that group , in the event of violent racial conflict .
So in that scenario , blacks will be crushed , at the cost of hundreds or thousands of deaths .
If Trump said that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ die from Covid-19 , that 100,000 blacks should die is not a thing that could worry him very much.
``

Please make sure these dispatches reach as many readers as possible. Share with kin, friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise.
Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein
A sophisticated foreign observer finds that, regrettably, the fruits of this uprising against the status quo may fall painfully short of expectations.
OpEds
In 1939 Billie Holliday sang that terrible lament entitled "Strange Fruits": Southern trees bear a strange fruit, Blood on the leaves and blood at the root, Black bodies swinging in the southern breeze, Strange fruit hanging from the poplar trees . The black holocaust in the US has lasted for centuries. Sergio Rodríguez Gelfenstein delivers an iconoclastic vision .
Once again recent events in the United States have been the expression of an extreme diversity of commentary in the media and online, once again the opinions range from the most apocalyptic to those who assume that everything has been a Trump tactic to get out of the catastrophe in which he has plunged his country after the disastrous handling of the Covid 19 pandemic. It is mentioned that the United States has entered a stage of "unstoppable revolution" and that the "people" have finally tired of the system and have taken to the streets to demonstrate it. In the same way, it is assumed that violence is an expression of how fed up the citizens are with a "system that oppresses them." It seems to me that these points of view expose excesses in the analysis or even the expression of the desire that the empire should at last suffer real turmoil in its guts.
But you have to be objective, the rebellions of United States blacks, or African-Americans as they call themselves, are recurrent throughout history. The independence obtained in 1776 did not change the institution of slavery present since the beginning of the colony in the early seventeenth century, although the Spanish had already brought blacks from Africa to be enslaved in their colonial territories that later became part of the United States. . Nor did the constitution of 1787 bring about modifications in the “slave corporation”. On the contrary, it legalized and legitimized oppression against blacks. The first and most important rebellions of black slaves came to take place only at the beginning of the 19th century. They were led by Gabriel Prosser in Richmond, Virginia in August 1800, Denmark Vessey in Charleston, South Carolina in June 1822, and Nat Turner in Southampton, Virginia in August 1831.
Slavery linked to feudalism became a brake on the capitalist development of a country that aspired to be a great world imperialist power. A war called "secession" was necessary because the eleven states that defended slavery wanted to create a new country. The triumph of the states of the Union and of the capitalism they advocated legitimized the racism, the exclusion, the repression and the contempt of blacks as an attribute of the economic and political model that had expired, although some civil rights were granted as a result of a war that had formally freed them from slavery. As American historian Morris Berman recalls in his work "The Roots of American Failure," even Abraham Lincoln, considered the apostle of the fight against slavery in the United States, said in his speech to the special session of Congress on July 4, 1861 , that he had "no direct or indirect intention to interfere with slavery in the United States wherever it exists." So it is false that the war was waged to free the slaves as the official history indicates, but that it responded to the clear intention of avoiding the plausible objective of avoiding secession. Berman points out that Lincoln had already made it clear that he was not in favor of black social and political equality "in any way." If that was the opinion of the president who “abolished” slavery, we might ask ourselves, what can we expect from others?
Since then, until the death of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, in Powderhorn, Minneapolis, more than a century and a half of continuous uprisings have been carried out by black Americans in their fight against exclusion and discrimination. But except in very specific cases, the racial struggle has not gone beyond that: spontaneous movements of desperate rejection when the abuse loses even the sanity that the formality of the white society imposes on them. Yesterday, in an interview for “iguana.tv”, the Venezuelan journalist Clodovaldo Hernández opined that: “There are those who say that this wave of riots and protests definitely sinks Donald Trump, who is headed to lose the elections. Others say that it strengthens him because he radicalizes positions and he lives on radicalism ”...and asked me what was my opinion regarding whether Trump won or lost with this unexpected turn of the campaign. Here is my answer:
“The first thing to consider is that blacks in the United States represent 13% of the population. And that segment is overwhelmingly a Democratic Party voter. So, in electoral terms, Trump is attacking an opposition sector, which was not favorable to him before these events. On the other hand, in more structural terms it must be said that racism is a permanent phenomenon in the United States, it is intrinsic to that country. I was a child then, but I remember that in the 60s there was that movement of Black Panthers, which even assumed the armed struggle and came to acquire great strength, especially in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico, when the winning black American athletes raised their fists and stared at the floor as the national anthem played. This demonstrated the roots of the movement. But it was always limited to blacks. From time to time, when this type of event occurs, like the one that just happened now, the same thing happens with more or less force. This time it has been very strong, many people compare it to what happened after the murder of Martin Luther King. But it is still a racial movement, it has no other connotation. It is limited to a minority sector of the US population. Not to be confused. There are people talking about revolution in the US and crisis in the political system. One should not be mistaken in thinking that this leads to the doors of a social rebellion that is going to produce substantial changes. On the other hand, it must be taken into account that blacks in the US vote for the Democratic Party [a systemic pillar], and that in the party's internal elections they lean towards the Democratic party right. On this occasion, they supported Joe Biden against Bernie Sanders! So we cannot fool ourselves into thinking that they are anti-system, liberationist blacks. No. They are blacks who are fighting, and it is good that they do so, depending on the interests of their race, which is discriminated against, exploited, robbed, which manifests itself in the pandemic, when, being just 13% of the global population [from the USA], they are between 24% and 25% of those infected, that is, double the proportion. In the US they have created a series of myths commemorating the supposed end of racism. On the third Monday in January they celebrate Martin Luther King Day, which is a national holiday; in baseball, on April 15, all players wear the number 42, for Jackie Robinson, who was the first African American to be allowed to play in the big leagues. But, finally, those same blacks are put on a boat and sent to invade Venezuela without much resistance. None of its current leaders [Black radical intellectual Glen Ford properly calls them "misleaders"), have the strength, moral stature, or the force of ideas that Muhammad Ali had, who, being the greatest boxer in history, renounced the world title, went to jail and was subjected to persecution because he refused to participate. in a war he didn't believe in, the one in Vietnam. Let's also not forget that Obama is black and he was the one who started the persecution against Venezuela in the dimensions that we have now. Where are Obama and other blacks, like Condoleezza Rice and General Colin Powell? They are on the side of the powerful, of the system, of the oppressors. So, I think Trump's response is calculated, in the sense that he is hitting a population that does not favor him and is encouraging actions that are well received by that sector of the population, the WASP (whites, Anglo-Saxons and Protestants, the more conservative segment [of society]) who tend to support him. Blacks in the US, moreover [like the rest of the US population] do not have much class consciousness; they are hostile to Latinos and immigrants. Thus, we are not talking about a social or political revolution, but, if anything, a racial rebellion. The only one I've heard raising this in substantive political terms, in class terms, is film director Spike Lee. He made a solid approach. All the others have done so in terms of the marginalization of blacks, but not in terms of the system and structure of capital. So, I insist, it is not going to mean great social and political changes because to do so, the marginalized, women, immigrants and the unemployed, who are millions, would have to join, but obviously many have not been in these protests. ”
In response to another question from the journalist, I added that:


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-21--Why Killer Cops Go Free

Why Killer Cops Go Free

Lemon can ’ t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation , harassment and murder .
Death squads backed up by a racist criminal justice system .
A few bad apples my eye .
Corruption and racism are widespread .
It ’ s bad enough that criminal banks have cost black homeowners billions by dumping junk mortgages on them when they were eligible for conventional loans , but the police grab hundreds of millions by sticking up drug dealers , and pimps– a Marshall Plan benefitting whites @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economy .
They can at least leave behind a couple of bucks so that we might invest in community projects , which is how other ethnic groups funneled money from the underground economy .
They support each other no matter how murderous their fellow officers might be , black or white .
What does it tell you about the lack of morality among its personnel when Atlanta police would support a sick depraved individual who would kick a dying man after shooting him in the back !
They ’ re conducting a “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about their morale .
You can imagine the morale among those bodies in the funeral home where Rayshard Brooks is being prepared for burial .
Don Lemon can ’ t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation , harassment and murder .
Death squads backed up by a racist criminal justice system .
Don Lemon can ’ t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation , harassment @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by a racist criminal justice system .
On June 10 , 2020 , Lemon said that if he said what he really wanted to say on CNN he couldn ’ t pay his mortgage .
Don Lemon does the best he can , but most of those who referee and comment on race are white moderators and their guests , who anchor shows that take up hours of the day , which is why the truth can never be told on a media that lacks [ true ] diversity .
Even those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out or fired .
If they speak up they ’ re in danger of receiving the Roland Martin treatment .
The CEOs at CNN and Comcast , Jeff Zucker , and MSNBC ’ s Brian L. Roberts ’ are responsible for the muting of Don Lemon and others .
Zucker didn ’ t renew the contract of a pundit .
Why ?
Because he talked about white supremacy too much .
Both Zucker , Roberts , and their salesmen count on white supremacist cash to buy their advertisers ’ products .
Joy Reid @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tokens don ’ t come on too strong .
Is that why they haven ’ t given her the show that was moderated by Chris Matthews ?
Ari Melber loves black people and loves rap .
Why doesn ’ t he demand that she have that hour ?
Both CNN and MSNBC crowd their weekends with black , brown and yellow commentators , the journalistic equivalent of being placed at the back of the bus .
n Wednesday , I watched Senator Tim Scott ’ s pitiful presentation of the Republican ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ black men and women by the police .
Can you imagine hanging out with Trump , McConnell , and Lindsay Graham ?
How Scott has to swallow his pride as they say dumb ignorant racist things ?
Senator Scott , like the television black pundits and guests , are seen as compatible with the interests of the networks ’ advertisers .
Like them , Scott is being promoted as a star .
Many of the on-air black commentators are Baldwin clones , like Elvis imitators , who are attempting to appeal to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to out eloquence each other instead of presenting facts .
They lack Baldwin ’ s theatrical flair and depth .
They are hemmed in by their networks ’ salesmen .
Whenever I become frustrated with the lack of a variety of black opinions in the media , I vent to my friend , the journalistic workhorse Richard Prince .
He cited Don Lemon ’ s show as a sign of progress .
They retaliate against whistleblowers like Ramsey Orta , who photographed Eric Garner ’ s murder , or officer Adrian Schoolcraft who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the police fill their quotas by using racial profiling and arbitrary harassment through Stop and Frisk .
In retaliation , the notorious NYPD , which Baldwin called the most racist department in the world , sought to dig up dirt on Schoolcraft ’ s father and sister .
When Orta arrived at Rikers Island prison , the guards taunted him , “ Not so tough without your camera.
” They put rat poison in his food , and arrested his mother to get him to plea bargain .
Most of those who @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men by police have been women and men from other ethnic groups–mostly white males–another indication that a segregated media will never be able to tell America ’ s story .
In a fox-guarding-the-chicken-coop moment , CNN hired former police Commissioner Bill Bratton , one of the architects of Stop and Frisk , to deliver pro-police speeches .
When he sought to bring Stop and Frisk to Oakland , he was run out of town .
Traditionally black men are onlookers as others discuss their fate .
I might be able to find space @ @ @ @ @ @ @ San Francisco Chronicle because a Latinx journalist has influence there , but my other outlets are to be found abroad .
Since March , I ’ ve been published in Haaretz , Liberation , and El Pais , which asked me to comment on the current crisis in America .
Following the first footnotes is an English translation of the June 5th El Pais article , “ Why Killer Cops Go Free.
” The reaction to the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin , a Minneapolis policeman , follows a historic pattern @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the circumstances that led to the murder .
The victim ’ s character was impugned .
The victim ’ s family hired a private pathologist , the famed Michael Baden , to do an autopsy of Floyd because , in the past , official medical examiners have lied in order to protect the police .
The family released Michael Baden ’ s findings on Monday , June 2 , which showed that George Floyd had died of asphyxiation inflicted by the four officers .
Their examiner , unlike the state ’ s medical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ murdered .
Also , on June 1 , it was reported that the neck restraint had been used in the past against blacks disproportionately by the Minneapolis police .
Minnesota was a Klan stronghold in the 1920s .
For his part , the prosecutor declared that the murderer did not commit a criminal act even before evidence was examined .
The police union backed the murderer .
The police unions in the United States often have more power than the civilian leadership in American cities and sometimes threaten the civilian leadership .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was mayor of New York , the police staged a riot against the mayor .
The F.B.I .
has been called in to investigate Floyd ’ s murder as though this would guarantee a just outcome for Mr. Floyd ’ s family .
This Department of Justice is headed by Attorney General William Barr , a monarchist , who said , recently , that those communities that don ’ t respect the police shouldn ’ t receive protection .
He countermanded the requests of Department of Justice lawyers that Daniel Pantaleo , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also died from a choke hold , be charged with civil rights violations .
On May 30 , when Barr finally made a statement , he blamed the violence on left wing extremists , ignoring the fact that Minnesota officials said that white nationalists , whom the president regards as “ good people , ” had a hand in stirring up trouble .
One white group , called “ The Boogaloo Boys , ” was among the 20 percent of the violence prone who came from out of town .
Their aim is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Another far right group present was the accelerationists : “ The demographics of a largely white , young , and destructive group fit more with a movement known as accelerationists than Black Lives Matter .
The accelerationists , if you have never heard the term , are an extreme subset of white nationalism whose goal is to bring about chaos and destruction.
” Neither of these groups has been declared a terrorist organization .
President Trump , who has given his approval to police brutality , suggested that demonstrators might be shot , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t mean , or that he was misinterpreted .
On June 1st he boasted that if the states can ’ t deal with violence he ’ ll send in the army .
Experts say that this would be unconstitutional .
The white nationalist majority on the Supreme Court , like the Attorney General , has given immunity to police who kill blacks .
The response from the media is also predictable .
They routinely explain these murders are committed by a “ few bad apples , ” among the police forces @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted by the Plain View Project which examined the posts made by thousands of police on social media .
They found that the posts represented “ troubling conduct in a database that is replete with racist imagery and memes , and in some cases long , vitriolic exchanges involving multiple officers.
” Members of the San Francisco police department were also exposed as posting troubling posts : In our country , the police , who have been infiltrated by Nazis and Klansmen , are above the law which is why the police in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ defy federal mandates that they reform .
Clearly , the police departments in the United States need to be De-Nazified and De-Ku Kluxified .
The American media are fifty years behind the South in terms of diversity , so that those who dissect George Floyd ’ s story from the murder and its aftermath haven ’ t a clue about how black males live .
I get profiled , racially , every day .
I have even been placed under surveillance and stopped by the campus police at the University of California where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ handful of blacks , who are viewed as the least offensive to white audiences , entertainers , athletes , academics , and theocrats , attempted to educate those whom James Baldwin referred to as “ The Chorus of Innocents , ” about the abuse of blacks by the police .
What Baldwin acolytes failed to mention is that by the time Baldwin published his novel , Tell Me How Long The Train ’ s Been Gone ( 1968 ) , he was done with attempting to redeem people and turned on his liberal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ invited to comment on the murder of George Floyd were white men and black and white women , plus some people of color , who haven ’ t the slightest idea of what it means to be a black man in the United States .
The media view them as being less confrontational than black men .
The media , which has endorsed the rioters in Hong Kong , condemned the riots that have occurred in the United States in the wake of Mr. Floyd ’ s murder .
Riots are worthless and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s poll numbers .
Those who commit violence during demonstrations in my city , Oakland , California , are white kids who come from the suburbs .
When the media cover riots they emphasize black looters , when many of the looters are white.During the riots that accompanied the acquittal of the police who beat Rodney King , the mayor of San Francisco , a former policeman , chided white rioters for not being as restrained as blacks , yet when the media covers such disturbances , they can only see black .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ instructions of their billionaire owners , doted over every injury to the police during the riots , but gave little coverage to the abuse by the police of demonstrators in New York and , on Sunday in Atlanta and elsewhere .
Unfortunately , their concern about the safety of the police wasn ’ t reciprocated .
A black CNN reporter and crew were arrested in Atlanta .
One policeman could be seen firing rubber bullets at a TV crew .
After all , Trump told his followers that the media , especially CNN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Moreover , the media didn ’ t comment on the over 1000 civilians who were murdered last year by the police .
They were black , Latino and Native American , your typical victim of police brutality because they ’ re still being punished for resisting the invasion .
The media have ignored the rampant rape of Native American women by white men .
It took The New York Times ( ! )
on May 31 , to show that the police weren ’ t innocent and in fact exhibited the kind of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ demonstrations .
Police brutality .
“ Videos showed police officers in recent nights using batons , tear gas , pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters , bystanders and journalists , often without warning or seemingly unprovoked .
The footage , which has been shared widely online , highlighted the very complaints over police behavior that have drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the United States.
” Former Vice President Biden was wrong when he said that the majority of Americans condemn the actions of the police .
The police feel @ @ @ @ @ @ @ given them the mandate to do whatever they wish to minorities .
They ’ re right .
The goal of armed white men from the 1600s settler communities to now has been to protect “ the virtuous white family , ” especially white women , the safest group in the country .
This is why Donald Trump received 53 % of votes from white women .
Clinton beat Trump by only 7 % among white college educated white women.White women chose race over gender .
He won their vote when he threatened that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Finally , even if the four policemen who murdered Mr. Floyd are convicted by a Minneapolis jury , their lawyers can always appeal to an all-white suburban jury .
In the black experience , all-white juries , rank with bloodhounds and nooses .

ISHMAEL REED
Lemon can’t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation, harassment and murder. Death squads backed up by a racist criminal justice system. A few bad apples my eye. Corruption and racism are widespread. It’s bad enough that criminal banks have cost black homeowners billions by dumping junk mortgages on them when they were eligible for conventional loans, but the police grab hundreds of millions by sticking up drug dealers, and pimps– a Marshall Plan benefitting whites based on revenue from the black underground economy. They can at least leave behind a couple of bucks so that we might invest in community projects, which is how other ethnic groups funneled money from the underground economy. They support each other no matter how murderous their fellow officers might be, black or white. What does it tell you about the lack of morality among its personnel when Atlanta police would support a sick depraved individual who would kick a dying man after shooting him in the back! They’re conducting a “sick out” and CNN is worried about their morale. You can imagine the morale among those bodies in the funeral home where Rayshard Brooks is being prepared for burial.
Don Lemon can’t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation, harassment and murder. Death squads backed up by a racist criminal justice system.
Don Lemon can’t say that the American police are a terrorist entity whose job is to hobble the advancement of blacks through intimidation, harassment and murder. Death squads backed up by a racist criminal justice system.
On June 10, 2020, Lemon said that if he said what he really wanted to say on CNN he couldn’t pay his mortgage. Don Lemon does the best he can, but most of those who referee and comment on race are white moderators and their guests, who anchor shows that take up hours of the day, which is why the truth can never be told on a media that lacks [true] diversity. Even those who remain are in danger of being bought out or fired. If they speak up they’re in danger of receiving the Roland Martin treatment. The CEOs at CNN and Comcast, Jeff Zucker, and MSNBC’s Brian L. Roberts’ are responsible for the muting of Don Lemon and others. Zucker didn’t renew the contract of a pundit. Why? Because he talked about white supremacy too much. Both Zucker, Roberts, and their salesmen count on white supremacist cash to buy their advertisers’ products. Joy Reid has defied the requirement that the network tokens don’t come on too strong. Is that why they haven’t given her the show that was moderated by Chris Matthews? Ari Melber loves black people and loves rap. Why doesn’t he demand that she have that hour? Both CNN and MSNBC crowd their weekends with black, brown and yellow commentators, the journalistic equivalent of being placed at the back of the bus.
n Wednesday, I watched Senator Tim Scott’s pitiful presentation of the Republican’s predictably weak answer to the murders of black men and women by the police. Can you imagine hanging out with Trump, McConnell, and Lindsay Graham? How Scott has to swallow his pride as they say dumb ignorant racist things? Senator Scott, like the television black pundits and guests, are seen as compatible with the interests of the networks’ advertisers. Like them, Scott is being promoted as a star. Many of the on-air black commentators are Baldwin clones, like Elvis imitators, who are attempting to appeal to the conscience of white Americans. They try to out eloquence each other instead of presenting facts. They lack Baldwin’s theatrical flair and depth. They are hemmed in by their networks’ salesmen. Whenever I become frustrated with the lack of a variety of black opinions in the media, I vent to my friend, the journalistic workhorse Richard Prince . He cited Don Lemon’s show as a sign of progress.
They retaliate against whistleblowers like Ramsey Orta, who photographed Eric Garner’s murder, or officer Adrian Schoolcraft who recorded a Brooklyn captain’s instructions that the police fill their quotas by using racial profiling and arbitrary harassment through Stop and Frisk. In retaliation, the notorious NYPD, which Baldwin called the most racist department in the world, sought to dig up dirt on Schoolcraft’s father and sister. When Orta arrived at Rikers Island prison, the guards taunted him, “Not so tough without your camera.” They put rat poison in his food, and arrested his mother to get him to plea bargain.
Most of those who have commented about the murder of black men by police have been women and men from other ethnic groups–mostly white males–another indication that a segregated media will never be able to tell America’s story. In a fox-guarding-the-chicken-coop moment, CNN hired former police Commissioner Bill Bratton, one of the architects of Stop and Frisk, to deliver pro-police speeches. When he sought to bring Stop and Frisk to Oakland, he was run out of town.
Traditionally black men are onlookers as others discuss their fate. I might be able to find space for my opinions in CounterPunch and the San Francisco Chronicle because a Latinx journalist has influence there, but my other outlets are to be found abroad. Since March, I’ve been published in Haaretz, Liberation, and El Pais, which asked me to comment on the current crisis in America. Following the first footnotes is an English translation of the June 5th El Pais article, “Why Killer Cops Go Free.”
Why Killer Cops Go Free
The reaction to the murder of George Floyd by Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis policeman, follows a historic pattern. The Minneapolis police department lied about the circumstances that led to the murder. The victim’s character was impugned. The victim’s family hired a private pathologist, the famed Michael Baden, to do an autopsy of Floyd because, in the past, official medical examiners have lied in order to protect the police. The family released Michael Baden’s findings on Monday, June 2, which showed that George Floyd had died of asphyxiation inflicted by the four officers. Their examiner, unlike the state’s medical examiner, concluded that George Floyd was murdered. Also, on June 1, it was reported that the neck restraint had been used in the past against blacks disproportionately by the Minneapolis police. Minnesota was a Klan stronghold in the 1920s.
For his part, the prosecutor declared that the murderer did not commit a criminal act even before evidence was examined. The police union backed the murderer. The police unions in the United States often have more power than the civilian leadership in American cities and sometimes threaten the civilian leadership. When David Dinkins, a black man, was mayor of New York, the police staged a riot against the mayor.
The F.B.I. has been called in to investigate Floyd’s murder as though this would guarantee a just outcome for Mr. Floyd’s family. This Department of Justice is headed by Attorney General William Barr, a monarchist, who said, recently, that those communities that don’t respect the police shouldn’t receive protection. He countermanded the requests of Department of Justice lawyers that Daniel Pantaleo, the policeman who murdered Eric Garner, who also died from a choke hold, be charged with civil rights violations.
On May 30, when Barr finally made a statement, he blamed the violence on left wing extremists, ignoring the fact that Minnesota officials said that white nationalists, whom the president regards as “good people,” had a hand in stirring up trouble. One white group, called “The Boogaloo Boys,” was among the 20 percent of the violence prone who came from out of town. Their aim is to foment a second Civil War. Another far right group present was the accelerationists:
“The demographics of a largely white, young, and destructive group fit more with a movement known as accelerationists than Black Lives Matter. The accelerationists, if you have never heard the term, are an extreme subset of white nationalism whose goal is to bring about chaos and destruction.”
Neither of these groups has been declared a terrorist organization.
President Trump, who has given his approval to police brutality, suggested that demonstrators might be shot, which, he said later, he didn’t mean, or that he was misinterpreted. On June 1st he boasted that if the states can’t deal with violence he’ll send in the army. Experts say that this would be unconstitutional.
The white nationalist majority on the Supreme Court, like the Attorney General, has given immunity to police who kill blacks.
The response from the media is also predictable. They routinely explain these murders are committed by a “few bad apples,” among the police forces, a notion refuted by a study conducted by the Plain View Project which examined the posts made by thousands of police on social media. They found that the posts represented “troubling conduct in a database that is replete with racist imagery and memes, and in some cases long, vitriolic exchanges involving multiple officers.” Members of the San Francisco police department were also exposed as posting troubling posts:
“…text messages in which a trio of San Francisco Police Department officers referred to minorities as ‘barbarians,’ ‘cockroaches’ and other slurs should trigger an even larger review of past criminal cases for signs of racial bias, according to the city’s public defender.”
In our country, the police, who have been infiltrated by Nazis and Klansmen, are above the law which is why the police in my city are permitted to continue to defy federal mandates that they reform. Clearly, the police departments in the United States need to be De-Nazified and De-Ku Kluxified.
The American media are fifty years behind the South in terms of diversity, so that those who dissect George Floyd’s story from the murder and its aftermath haven’t a clue about how black males live. I get profiled, racially, every day. I have even been placed under surveillance and stopped by the campus police at the University of California where I taught for thirty-five years.
The handful of blacks, who are viewed as the least offensive to white audiences, entertainers, athletes, academics, and theocrats, attempted to educate those whom James Baldwin referred to as “The Chorus of Innocents,” about the abuse of blacks by the police. What Baldwin acolytes failed to mention is that by the time Baldwin published his novel, Tell Me How Long The Train’s Been Gone (1968), he was done with attempting to redeem people and turned on his liberal sponsors. Most of those who were invited to comment on the murder of George Floyd were white men and black and white women, plus some people of color, who haven’t the slightest idea of what it means to be a black man in the United States. The media view them as being less confrontational than black men.
The media, which has endorsed the rioters in Hong Kong, condemned the riots that have occurred in the United States in the wake of Mr. Floyd’s murder. Riots are worthless and only serve to improve the president’s poll numbers. Those who commit violence during demonstrations in my city, Oakland, California, are white kids who come from the suburbs. When the media cover riots they emphasize black looters, when many of the looters are white.During the riots that accompanied the acquittal of the police who beat Rodney King, the mayor of San Francisco, a former policeman, chided white rioters for not being as restrained as blacks, yet when the media covers such disturbances, they can only see black.
Predictably, the media, following the instructions of their billionaire owners, doted over every injury to the police during the riots, but gave little coverage to the abuse by the police of demonstrators in New York and, on Sunday in Atlanta and elsewhere.
Unfortunately, their concern about the safety of the police wasn’t reciprocated. A black CNN reporter and crew were arrested in Atlanta. One policeman could be seen firing rubber bullets at a TV crew. After all, Trump told his followers that the media, especially CNN, are enemies of the people. Moreover, the media didn’t comment on the over 1000 civilians who were murdered last year by the police. They were black, Latino and Native American, your typical victim of police brutality because they’re still being punished for resisting the invasion. The media have ignored the rampant rape of Native American women by white men.
It took The New York Times (!) on May 31, to show that the police weren’t innocent and in fact exhibited the kind of aggression that proved the point of the demonstrations. Police brutality.
“Videos showed police officers in recent nights using batons, tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on protesters, bystanders and journalists, often without warning or seemingly unprovoked. The footage, which has been shared widely online, highlighted the very complaints over police behavior that have drawn protests in at least 75 cities across the United States.”
Former Vice President Biden was wrong when he said that the majority of Americans condemn the actions of the police. The police feel that the majority of white Americans have given them the mandate to do whatever they wish to minorities. They’re right. The goal of armed white men from the 1600s settler communities to now has been to protect “the virtuous white family,” especially white women, the safest group in the country. This is why Donald Trump received 53% of votes from white women. Clinton beat Trump by only 7% among white college educated white women.White women chose race over gender. He won their vote when he threatened that Mexican rapists were streaming across the border.
Finally, even if the four policemen who murdered Mr. Floyd are convicted by a Minneapolis jury, their lawyers can always appeal to an all-white suburban jury. In the black experience, all-white juries, rank with bloodhounds and nooses.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-21--California Investigates Hangings of 2 Black Men: Don’t let this ugly thing slip through the cracks

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Share with kin , friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise .
First iteration : News June 14 , 2020 Officials in two Southern California communities are investigating the hanging deaths of two African American men .
The body of 24-year-old Robert Fuller was found last week in Palmdale , hanging from a tree near City Hall .
Late last month , the body of Malcolm Harsch , who was 38 , was also found hanging from a tree in Victorville , near a homeless campsite @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the men had committed suicide but are now reserving final decisions in response to community uproar and pending further investigation .
Thousands of people turned out Saturday in Palmdale for a memorial for Fuller .
Diamond Alexander , Fuller ’ s sister , said , “ We just want the truth .
My brother was not suicidal .
He was a survivor.
” One woman told the Los Angeles Times that while officials suspected “ suicide , ” she suspected “ a lynching.
” The Harsch family has issued a statement , saying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ comfortable excuses.
” They added , “ There are many ways to die but considering the current racial tension , a Black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesn ’ t sit well with us right now.
” The U.S. has experienced protests across the country recently in response to the death of George Floyd , an African American man who died after a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd ’ s neck for nearly nine minutes .
America has a long history with hanging or lynching black people .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a museum in Montgomery , Alabama , says it is a “ national memorial acknowledging the victims of racial terror lynchings.
” The museum says on its website that the memorial “ is a sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terror in America and its legacy .
”

Please make sure these dispatches reach as many readers as possible. Share with kin, friends and workmates and ask them to do likewise.
By VOA
First iteration: News June 14, 2020
Officials in two Southern California communities are investigating the hanging deaths of two African American men. The body of 24-year-old Robert Fuller was found last week in Palmdale, hanging from a tree near City Hall. Late last month, the body of Malcolm Harsch, who was 38, was also found hanging from a tree in Victorville, near a homeless campsite. Authorities in both locations initially suspected the men had committed suicide but are now reserving final decisions in response to community uproar and pending further investigation. Thousands of people turned out Saturday in Palmdale for a memorial for Fuller. Diamond Alexander, Fuller’s sister, said, “We just want the truth. My brother was not suicidal. He was a survivor.” One woman told the Los Angeles Times that while officials suspected “suicide,” she suspected “a lynching.”
The Harsch family has issued a statement, saying that they “want justice, not comfortable excuses.” They added, “There are many ways to die but considering the current racial tension, a Black man hanging himself from a tree definitely doesn’t sit well with us right now.” The U.S. has experienced protests across the country recently in response to the death of George Floyd, an African American man who died after a police officer pressed his knee into Floyd’s neck for nearly nine minutes. America has a long history with hanging or lynching black people. The National Memorial for Peace and Justice, a museum in Montgomery, Alabama, says it is a “national memorial acknowledging the victims of racial terror lynchings.” The museum says on its website that the memorial “is a sacred space for truth-telling and reflection about racial terror in America and its legacy.”


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-22--Biden And His Ventriloquists Keep Out-Hawking Trump

oe Biden keeps trying to out-warmonger Donald Trump , and by Joe Biden I of course mean the team of handlers who are animating the dementia-ravaged corpse of the Biden campaign like a ventriloquist operating a wooden dummy .
In response to Trump suggesting an openness to scaling back his administration ’ s murderous Venezuela policy and meeting with President Nicolás Maduro , whoever runs Biden ’ s Twitter account for him seized upon the moment to assert that the former vice president will be doing no such thing if elected commander-in-chief .
“ Trump talks tough on Venezuela , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maduro , ” tweeted Biden Incorporated .
“ As President , I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.
” “ Translation : if Trump retreats from his current policy of trying to sanction and suffocate Venezuelan into submission , Biden will make sure to revive it , ” journalist Aaron Maté said in response .
“ To be clear , Joe Biden is now attacking Donald Trump from the right on Venezuela , ” said journalist Walker Bragman .
This tactic of attacking Donald Trump for being insufficiently warlike is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is it limited to Venezuela .
During the primary debates Biden attacked Trump for being insufficiently hawkish toward North Korea , claiming the president was wrong to meet with Kim Jong Un because it gives the leader “ legitimacy ” , whatever that means .
An April Biden campaign ad accused the president of being too soft on China by failing to force Beijing to allow US government officials into Wuhan to monitor the governing of a sovereign nation during a pandemic outbreak .
“ Trump praised the Chinese 15 times in January @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the world , ” says the ad ’ s narrator in an ominous voice .
“ Trump never got a CDC team on the ground in China .
And the travel ban he brags about ?
Trump let in 40,000 travelers from China into America after he signed it .
Not exactly airtight.
” Biden has attacked Trump ’ s partial troop withdrawal from Syria , using talking points from the so-called war on terror to absurdly claim during a primary debate that the president is putting America at risk of a terrorist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ISIS that ’ s going to come here , ” Biden said .
“ They are going to damage the United States of America .
That ’ s why we got involved in the first place.
” And of course Biden & Co have been attacking Trump for being too soft on Russia , despite this administration ’ s many , many dangerously hawkish new cold war escalations against Moscow .
“ We need a President who will stand up to the Kremlin , push back against Putin , and take immediate steps @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” Biden ’ s Twitter account said last year .
This line of attack is so ubiquitous in the Biden campaign that it sometimes just takes the form of a vague , general swipe at Trump ’ s unwillingness to be more warlike , with an April tweet reading simply “ Donald Trump says he ’ s a wartime president — it ’ s time for him to act like one.
” Again , this is Donald Trump these people are talking about .
The same president who imprisoned Julian Assange for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of thousands of Venezuelans with starvation sanctions , vetoed attempts to save Yemen from US-backed genocide , is working to foment civil war in Iran using starvation sanctions and CIA ops with the stated goal of effecting regime change , nearly started a full-scale war with Iran by assassinating its top general , occupied Syrian oil fields and implemented devastating sanctions with the goal of preventing Syria ’ s reconstruction , greatly increased the number of troops in the Middle East and elsewhere , greatly increased the number of bombs dropped per day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers of civilians , and reduced military accountability for those airstrikes .
The second-to-last thing the world needs is political pressure placed on Donald fucking Trump to be more warlike .
The very last thing the world needs is a US president who ends up being even more warlike than Trump .
America is a war machine on top of a police state on top of a mass media psyop .
Only people who are willing to keep these psychopathic mechanisms in place are permitted to ascend to presidential candidacy .
While all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ minor differences between presidents and presidential candidates , you can learn a lot more about America and what drives it by looking at their similarities .

J
oe Biden keeps trying to out-warmonger Donald Trump, and by Joe Biden I of course mean the team of handlers who are animating the dementia-ravaged corpse of the Biden campaign like a ventriloquist operating a wooden dummy.
In response to Trump suggesting an openness to scaling back his administration’s murderous Venezuela policy and meeting with President Nicolás Maduro, whoever runs Biden’s Twitter account for him seized upon the moment to assert that the former vice president will be doing no such thing if elected commander-in-chief.
“Trump talks tough on Venezuela, but admires thugs and dictators like Nicolas Maduro,” tweeted Biden Incorporated. “As President, I will stand with the Venezuelan people and for democracy.”
“Translation: if Trump retreats from his current policy of trying to sanction and suffocate Venezuelan into submission, Biden will make sure to revive it,” journalist Aaron Maté said in response.
“To be clear, Joe Biden is now attacking Donald Trump from the right on Venezuela,” said journalist Walker Bragman.
Donald Trump says he’s a wartime president — it’s time for him to act like one. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 18, 2020
As FAIR.org’s Alan MacLeod accurately observed last year , this phrase “the Venezuelan people” is only ever invoked by the political/media class of the US-centralized empire for sloganeering purposes in support of US-led regime change interventionism in that nation, despite an overwhelming majority of Venezuelans opposing all US interventionism including sanctions.
This tactic of attacking Donald Trump for being insufficiently warlike is nothing new for Biden Inc, nor is it limited to Venezuela.
During the primary debates Biden attacked Trump for being insufficiently hawkish toward North Korea, claiming the president was wrong to meet with Kim Jong Un because it gives the leader “legitimacy”, whatever that means.
An April Biden campaign ad accused the president of being too soft on China by failing to force Beijing to allow US government officials into Wuhan to monitor the governing of a sovereign nation during a pandemic outbreak.
“Trump praised the Chinese 15 times in January and February as the coronavirus spread across the world,” says the ad’s narrator in an ominous voice. “Trump never got a CDC team on the ground in China. And the travel ban he brags about? Trump let in 40,000 travelers from China into America after he signed it. Not exactly airtight.”
I wouldn’t meet with Kim Jong Un without pre-conditions. By meeting with him, Donald Trump gave Kim Jong Un what he was looking for: legitimacy. I will work closely with our allies and hold China accountable for its lack of pressure on the Kim regime’s bad behavior. #DemDebate — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) January 15, 2020
Biden has attacked Trump’s partial troop withdrawal from Syria, using talking points from the so-called war on terror to absurdly claim during a primary debate that the president is putting America at risk of a terrorist strike from ISIS.
“We have ISIS that’s going to come here,” Biden said. “They are going to damage the United States of America. That’s why we got involved in the first place.”
And of course Biden & Co have been attacking Trump for being too soft on Russia, despite this administration’s many, many dangerously hawkish new cold war escalations against Moscow.
“We need a President who will stand up to the Kremlin, push back against Putin, and take immediate steps to ensure the security of our elections,” Biden’s Twitter account said last year.
This line of attack is so ubiquitous in the Biden campaign that it sometimes just takes the form of a vague, general swipe at Trump’s unwillingness to be more warlike, with an April tweet reading simply “Donald Trump says he’s a wartime president — it’s time for him to act like one.”
Donald Trump says he’s a wartime president — it’s time for him to act like one. — Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) April 18, 2020
Again, this is Donald Trump these people are talking about. The same president who imprisoned Julian Assange for exposing US war crimes, killed tens of thousands of Venezuelans with starvation sanctions, vetoed attempts to save Yemen from US-backed genocide, is working to foment civil war in Iran using starvation sanctions and CIA ops with the stated goal of effecting regime change, nearly started a full-scale war with Iran by assassinating its top general, occupied Syrian oil fields and implemented devastating sanctions with the goal of preventing Syria’s reconstruction, greatly increased the number of troops in the Middle East and elsewhere, greatly increased the number of bombs dropped per day from the previous administration, killing record numbers of civilians, and reduced military accountability for those airstrikes.
The second-to-last thing the world needs is political pressure placed on Donald fucking Trump to be more warlike. The very last thing the world needs is a US president who ends up being even more warlike than Trump.
America is a war machine on top of a police state on top of a mass media psyop. Only people who are willing to keep these psychopathic mechanisms in place are permitted to ascend to presidential candidacy. While all the news cameras focus on the relatively minor differences between presidents and presidential candidates, you can learn a lot more about America and what drives it by looking at their similarities.


thegreanvillepostbiasrating--2020-06-22--How to tell the false left from the real left—an intro to The Synthetic Left

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Share with kin , friends and workmates and @ @ @ @ @ .
All about The Synthetic Left , and why it must exposed and opposed A @ @ @ @ @ politics , here is Caleb Maupin 's succinct and passionate clarification about what constitutes the @ @ @ @ @ discuss the CIA 's creation of the `` Synthetic Left '' , which now , @ @ @ @ @ Democratic party falsehoods , dominates the label of `` left '' in the US and @ @ @ @ @

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