mintpressnews--2020-07-10--Mexico State Oil Company Files $22 Billion Debt Swap amid IMF Threats and White House Visit

Mexico ’ s president , Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador , known colloquially as AMLO , arrived back in his nation ’ s capital yesterday aboard an American Airlines flight after his first state visit to the United States since taking office in a historic , landslide victory in 2018 .
The commercial flight included a stopover at Miami International Airport as coronavirus-induced protocols have resulted in the suspension of direct flights in and out of the North American country .
AMLO ’ s choice of traveling commercial instead of flying on the official presidential airplane is part of a carefully-crafted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years since he left the ranks of the once immovable conservative ruling party , the PRI , and joined the left-leaning PRD in the late 1980s .
In 2014 , Obrador formed a new party called MORENA after having served as Mexico City ’ s mayor for four years and later losing his first bid to become president in 2006 .
The Trump White House hosted AMLO on Wednesday , one day after Pemex – the embattled Mexican state-owned petroleum company – announced a $ 22.4 billion debt swap to mitigate its massive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the largest of the recent refinancing operations carried out by the once state-owned company ; and while the filing with the U.S. SEC did not specify when the bonds would be issued , the action was intended to alleviate pressure mounting on the oil giant , which Obrador had planned to use as a “ pillar ” in his strategy to turn the Mexican economy around .
Falling oil prices , however , have severely hampered the execution of that idea .
In addition , the coronavirus-induced economic crisis is being evoked by @ @ @ @ @ @ @ IMF ) to predict a veritable collapse of the Mexican economy .
In their June World Economic Outlook Update titled “ A Crisis Like No Other , An Uncertain Recovery , ” the Atlanticist organization forecasts a devastating 10.5 percent contraction for Mexico this year , nearly four percent lower than its April forecast .
The IMF ’ s dire estimate comes on the heels of the official start of the USMCA , which went into effect on July 1 and comprised a significant portion of the state visit ’ s agenda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ improvements over its predecessor and has served mostly as a political tool by all three heads of state .
The one sector that did get a complete overhaul in the new trilateral agreement was the U.S. tech sector , which secured important concessions from both Canada and Mexico , such as the fact that they can not be sued for “ the content appearing on their platforms ” or forced to store their data on in-country servers .
Intellectual property protections heavily skewed in favor of American companies were also expanded .
Related @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that could have critical implications for the agricultural sector provisions in the trade deal .
The original NAFTA made Mexico a net corn importer through unfair rules allowing the U.S. to subsidize its own corn industry while prohibiting the same of the country that gave birth to corn , itself .
New biotech rules are sure to exacerbate these problems for the Mexican agricultural sector and a multitude of groups have come out in opposition .
In a letter signed by more than 80 agricultural associations in Mexico petitioned the government to prohibit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country .
The coalition , which calls itself “ Group in Defense of Agricultural Diversity and Mexican Food Against Genetically Modified Organisms ” warns of the “ grave danger ” posed by the lack of defined rules against the introduction of GMOs throughout the national territory .
In addition , the group condemns the provisions in the USMCA , which forces Mexican farmers to adhere to the UPOV 91 protocol that makes seed hoarding and trading illegal .
Casting a shadow over the implementation of the USMCA is compliance to the extraneous COVID-19 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are forcing a “ rethinking about global supply chains ” and are sure to affect exactly how the new trade deal is ultimately enforced .
AMLO ’ s trip to D.C. may have been a signal to the Atlanticist power bloc that he is ready to give in to their demands , recently outlined in an article authored by a CFR senior fellow , where the Mexican president is called on to “ save his presidency ” by embracing globalization lest the country slip into a more severe recession .
Presciently , the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money and expertise into the energy sector , ” foreshadowing the debt swap announcement a day prior to Obrador ’ s official White House visit .
“ Adherence to market-based rules ” are also endorsed by the perennial Atlanticist mouthpiece as a way to carve a “ path out of the permanent poverty of subsistence farming ” by enabling the “ specialization in more profitable fruits , vegetables , coffees and other products , ” a strategy first implemented by NAFTA and which has resulted in the precise opposite effect .
Feature photo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wait to sign a joint declaration at the White House , July 8 , 2020 , in Washington .
Evan Vucci | AP

Mexico’s president, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, known colloquially as AMLO, arrived back in his nation’s capital yesterday aboard an American Airlines flight after his first state visit to the United States since taking office in a historic, landslide victory in 2018. The commercial flight included a stopover at Miami International Airport as coronavirus-induced protocols have resulted in the suspension of direct flights in and out of the North American country.
AMLO’s choice of traveling commercial instead of flying on the official presidential airplane is part of a carefully-crafted everyman image he has been cultivating for years since he left the ranks of the once immovable conservative ruling party, the PRI, and joined the left-leaning PRD in the late 1980s. In 2014, Obrador formed a new party called MORENA after having served as Mexico City’s mayor for four years and later losing his first bid to become president in 2006.
The Trump White House hosted AMLO on Wednesday, one day after Pemex – the embattled Mexican state-owned petroleum company – announced a $22.4 billion debt swap to mitigate its massive financial liabilities. The swap will be the largest of the recent refinancing operations carried out by the once state-owned company; and while the filing with the U.S. SEC did not specify when the bonds would be issued, the action was intended to alleviate pressure mounting on the oil giant, which Obrador had planned to use as a “pillar” in his strategy to turn the Mexican economy around. Falling oil prices, however, have severely hampered the execution of that idea.
In addition, the coronavirus-induced economic crisis is being evoked by entities like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to predict a veritable collapse of the Mexican economy. In their June World Economic Outlook Update titled “A Crisis Like No Other, An Uncertain Recovery,” the Atlanticist organization forecasts a devastating 10.5 percent contraction for Mexico this year, nearly four percent lower than its April forecast.
The IMF threatens Mexico
The IMF’s dire estimate comes on the heels of the official start of the USMCA, which went into effect on July 1 and comprised a significant portion of the state visit’s agenda. The revamped NATFA agreement has mostly modest improvements over its predecessor and has served mostly as a political tool by all three heads of state.
The one sector that did get a complete overhaul in the new trilateral agreement was the U.S. tech sector, which secured important concessions from both Canada and Mexico, such as the fact that they cannot be sued for “the content appearing on their platforms” or forced to store their data on in-country servers. Intellectual property protections heavily skewed in favor of American companies were also expanded.
Related to these provisions are ones surrounding biotechnology that could have critical implications for the agricultural sector provisions in the trade deal. The original NAFTA made Mexico a net corn importer through unfair rules allowing the U.S. to subsidize its own corn industry while prohibiting the same of the country that gave birth to corn, itself. New biotech rules are sure to exacerbate these problems for the Mexican agricultural sector and a multitude of groups have come out in opposition.
The USMCA’s “new normal”
In a letter signed by more than 80 agricultural associations in Mexico petitioned the government to prohibit the introduction of GMO seeds into the country. The coalition, which calls itself “Group in Defense of Agricultural Diversity and Mexican Food Against Genetically Modified Organisms” warns of the “grave danger” posed by the lack of defined rules against the introduction of GMOs throughout the national territory. In addition, the group condemns the provisions in the USMCA, which forces Mexican farmers to adhere to the UPOV 91 protocol that makes seed hoarding and trading illegal.
Casting a shadow over the implementation of the USMCA is compliance to the extraneous COVID-19 “new normal” policies, which are forcing a “rethinking about global supply chains” and are sure to affect exactly how the new trade deal is ultimately enforced.
AMLO’s trip to D.C. may have been a signal to the Atlanticist power bloc that he is ready to give in to their demands, recently outlined in an article authored by a CFR senior fellow, where the Mexican president is called on to “save his presidency” by embracing globalization lest the country slip into a more severe recession. Presciently, the author recommends that AMLO “welcome foreign money and expertise into the energy sector,” foreshadowing the debt swap announcement a day prior to Obrador’s official White House visit.
“Adherence to market-based rules” are also endorsed by the perennial Atlanticist mouthpiece as a way to carve a “path out of the permanent poverty of subsistence farming” by enabling the “specialization in more profitable fruits, vegetables, coffees and other products,” a strategy first implemented by NAFTA and which has resulted in the precise opposite effect.
Feature photo | President Donald Trump and Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador wait to sign a joint declaration at the White House, July 8, 2020, in Washington. Evan Vucci | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-07-10--Africa to Become Testing Ground for “Trust Stamp” Vaccine Record and Payment System

A biometric digital identity platform that “ evolves just as you evolve ” is set to be introduced in “ low-income , remote communities ” in West Africa thanks to a public-private partnership between the Bill Gates-backed GAVI vaccine alliance , Mastercard and the AI-powered “ identity authentication ” company , Trust Stamp .
The program , which was first launched in late 2018 , will see Trust Stamp ’ s digital identity platform integrated into the GAVI-Mastercard “ Wellness Pass , ” a digital vaccination record and identity system that is also linked to Mastercard ’ s click-to-play system @ @ @ @ @ @ @ learning technology called NuData .
Mastercard , in addition to professing its commitment to promoting “ centralized record keeping of childhood immunization ” also describes itself as a leader toward a “ World Beyond Cash , ” and its partnership with GAVI marks a novel approach towards linking a biometric digital identity system , vaccination records , and a payment system into a single cohesive platform .
The effort , since its launch nearly two years ago , has been funded via $ 3.8 million in GAVI donor funds in addition to a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation .
In early June , GAVI reported that Mastercard ’ s Wellness Pass program would be adapted in response to the coronavirus ( COVID-19 ) pandemic .
Around a month later , Mastercard announced that Trust Stamp ’ s biometric identity platform would be integrated into Wellness Pass as Trust Stamp ’ s system is capable of providing biometric identity in areas of the world lacking internet access or cellular connectivity and also does not require knowledge of an individual ’ s legal name or identity to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , Mastercard , and Trust Stamp will soon be launched in West Africa and will be coupled with a Covid-19 vaccination program once a vaccine becomes available .
The push to implement biometrics as part of national ID registration systems has been ongoing for many years on the continent and has become a highly politicized issue in several African countries .
Opposition to similar projects in Africa often revolves around the costs surrounding them , such as the biometric voter management system that the Electoral Commission of Ghana has been trying to implement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ December .
Bright Simons , honorary VP of the IMANI policy think tank , has questioned the “ budgetary allocation ” for the new system , claiming that the “ unnecessary registration of 17 million people all over again ” represents millions of dollars “ being blown for reasons that nobody can explain in this country.
” Trust Stamp ’ s biometric identity system , largely funded by Mastercard ’ s massive investment in the company in February , utilizes a technology it calls Evergreen Hash that creates an AI-generated “ 3D mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a person ’ s face , palm or fingerprint .
Once this “ mask ” is created , much of the original data is discarded and encryption keys are created in place of a person ’ s name or other more traditional identifiers .
“ Only a small percentage of the data that originally existed is in the hash , ” Trust Stamp CEO Gareth Genner has stated .
“ What you have is something safer for storing because it can ’ t be used to directly identify you .
No one would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ numbers.
” The result , according to Genner , is an “ irreversible non-personally identifiable information ” system that “ protects privacy , reduces potential for misuse and allows effective inclusion when there is no other form of legal record.
” Genner also explained in a recent press release that the unique “ hash ” is capable of “ evolving ” as a new hash with updated health information is created every time a child or individual gets a vaccine .
Trust Stamp ’ s AI algorithms can accurately determine if different hashes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that “ the hash evolves over time just as you evolve , ” said Genner .
It is unclear how much the Wellness Pass initiative is motivated by public health concerns as opposed to free market considerations .
Indeed , the GAVI alliance , largely funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations , as well as allied governments and the vaccine industry , is principally concerned with improving “ the health of markets for vaccines and other immunization products , ” rather than the health of individuals , according to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s GAVI partnership is directly linked to its “ World Beyond Cash ” effort , which mainly bolsters its business model that has long depended on a reduction in the use of physical cash .
Trust Stamp also shares this market-focused vision for its digital identity system as the company has stated that it is looking for new commercialization options for its Evergreen Hash technology , specifically with prison systems .
Talks with private and public prison systems have revealed an interest in their utilization of Trust Stamp ’ s technology to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without making them pay for pricey ankle bracelets that monitor their every move , ” as Trust Stamp ’ s platform would ostensibly provide that same function but in a “ touchless ” and less expensive manner .
Trust Stamp ’ s interest in providing its technology to both COVID-19 response and to law enforcement is part of a growing trend where numerous companies providing digital solutions to COVID-19 also offer the same solutions to prison systems and law enforcement for the purposes of surveillance and “ predictive policing.
” For instance , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the COVID-19 response has since been used by police departments across the U.S. to track protesters during the country ’ s recent bouts of protests and civil unrest .
Similarly , a controversial Israeli tech firm currently being used in Rhode Island offers AI-powered predictive analytic to identify likely future COVID-19 hotspots and individuals likely to contract COVID-19 in the future , while also offering governments the ability to predict future locations of and participants in riots and civil unrest .
What is perhaps most alarming about this new “ Wellness Pass @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these “ dual use ” digital solutions to cashless payment solutions that could soon become mandated as anything over than touchless , cashless , methods of payment have been treated as potential modes for contagion by GAVI-aligned groups like the World Health Organization , among others , since the pandemic was first declared earlier this year .
Feature photo | A boy sells fish at his street stall in front of an informational mural warning people about the dangers of the new coronavirus and how to prevent transmission , with words in Swahili @ @ @ @ @ @ @ painted by youth artists from the Uweza Foundation , in Nairobi , Kenya , July 8 , 2020 .
Brian Inganga | AP

A biometric digital identity platform that “evolves just as you evolve” is set to be introduced in “low-income, remote communities” in West Africa thanks to a public-private partnership between the Bill Gates-backed GAVI vaccine alliance, Mastercard and the AI-powered “identity authentication” company, Trust Stamp.
The program, which was first launched in late 2018, will see Trust Stamp’s digital identity platform integrated into the GAVI-Mastercard “Wellness Pass,” a digital vaccination record and identity system that is also linked to Mastercard’s click-to-play system that powered by its AI and machine learning technology called NuData. Mastercard, in addition to professing its commitment to promoting “centralized record keeping of childhood immunization” also describes itself as a leader toward a “World Beyond Cash,” and its partnership with GAVI marks a novel approach towards linking a biometric digital identity system, vaccination records, and a payment system into a single cohesive platform. The effort, since its launch nearly two years ago, has been funded via $3.8 million in GAVI donor funds in addition to a matched donation of the same amount by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.
In early June, GAVI reported that Mastercard’s Wellness Pass program would be adapted in response to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Around a month later, Mastercard announced that Trust Stamp’s biometric identity platform would be integrated into Wellness Pass as Trust Stamp’s system is capable of providing biometric identity in areas of the world lacking internet access or cellular connectivity and also does not require knowledge of an individual’s legal name or identity to function. The Wellness Program involving GAVI, Mastercard, and Trust Stamp will soon be launched in West Africa and will be coupled with a Covid-19 vaccination program once a vaccine becomes available.
The push to implement biometrics as part of national ID registration systems has been ongoing for many years on the continent and has become a highly politicized issue in several African countries. Opposition to similar projects in Africa often revolves around the costs surrounding them, such as the biometric voter management system that the Electoral Commission of Ghana has been trying to implement ahead of their 2020 general election in December. Bright Simons, honorary VP of the IMANI policy think tank, has questioned the “budgetary allocation” for the new system, claiming that the “unnecessary registration of 17 million people all over again” represents millions of dollars “being blown for reasons that nobody can explain in this country.”
Masking ulterior motives
Trust Stamp’s biometric identity system, largely funded by Mastercard’s massive investment in the company in February, utilizes a technology it calls Evergreen Hash that creates an AI-generated “3D mask” based on a single photo of a person’s face, palm or fingerprint. Once this “mask” is created, much of the original data is discarded and encryption keys are created in place of a person’s name or other more traditional identifiers.
“Only a small percentage of the data that originally existed is in the hash,” Trust Stamp CEO Gareth Genner has stated. “What you have is something safer for storing because it can’t be used to directly identify you. No one would recognize you in this huge jumble of numbers.” The result, according to Genner, is an “irreversible non-personally identifiable information” system that “protects privacy, reduces potential for misuse and allows effective inclusion when there is no other form of legal record.”
Genner also explained in a recent press release that the unique “hash” is capable of “evolving” as a new hash with updated health information is created every time a child or individual gets a vaccine. Trust Stamp’s AI algorithms can accurately determine if different hashes belong to the same individual, meaning that “the hash evolves over time just as you evolve,” said Genner.
It is unclear how much the Wellness Pass initiative is motivated by public health concerns as opposed to free market considerations. Indeed, the GAVI alliance, largely funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates and Rockefeller Foundations, as well as allied governments and the vaccine industry, is principally concerned with improving “the health of markets for vaccines and other immunization products,” rather than the health of individuals, according to its own website. Similarly, Mastercard’s GAVI partnership is directly linked to its “World Beyond Cash” effort, which mainly bolsters its business model that has long depended on a reduction in the use of physical cash.
Dual use tyranny
Trust Stamp also shares this market-focused vision for its digital identity system as the company has stated that it is looking for new commercialization options for its Evergreen Hash technology, specifically with prison systems. Talks with private and public prison systems have revealed an interest in their utilization of Trust Stamp’s technology to provide identification for individuals on parole “without making them pay for pricey ankle bracelets that monitor their every move,” as Trust Stamp’s platform would ostensibly provide that same function but in a “touchless” and less expensive manner.
Trust Stamp’s interest in providing its technology to both COVID-19 response and to law enforcement is part of a growing trend where numerous companies providing digital solutions to COVID-19 also offer the same solutions to prison systems and law enforcement for the purposes of surveillance and “predictive policing.”
For instance, contact tracing software originally introduced as part of the COVID-19 response has since been used by police departments across the U.S. to track protesters during the country’s recent bouts of protests and civil unrest. Similarly, a controversial Israeli tech firm currently being used in Rhode Island offers AI-powered predictive analytic to identify likely future COVID-19 hotspots and individuals likely to contract COVID-19 in the future, while also offering governments the ability to predict future locations of and participants in riots and civil unrest.
What is perhaps most alarming about this new “Wellness Pass” initiative, is that it links these “dual use” digital solutions to cashless payment solutions that could soon become mandated as anything over than touchless, cashless, methods of payment have been treated as potential modes for contagion by GAVI-aligned groups like the World Health Organization, among others, since the pandemic was first declared earlier this year.
Feature photo | A boy sells fish at his street stall in front of an informational mural warning people about the dangers of the new coronavirus and how to prevent transmission, with words in Swahili reading “We are the Cure” painted by youth artists from the Uweza Foundation, in Nairobi, Kenya, July 8, 2020. Brian Inganga | AP
Raul Diego is a MintPress News Staff Writer, independent photojournalist, researcher, writer and documentary filmmaker.


mintpressnews--2020-07-10--Latin America’s Neoliberal Leaders Are Making the Coronavirus Pandemic Far Worse

While other continents have largely dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic , much of Latin America is in meltdown , as cases soar , bodies pile up , and anger mounts .
Its new wave of neoliberal leaders , mistrustful of collective action in any situation and extolling the virtues of individualism in a collective public health crisis , are making the problem far worse .
Despite having months to prepare for the worst , over 100,000 people have ( officially ) died in South America already , over two-thirds of them in Brazil .
The country ’ s far-right president @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a highly dubious election in 2018 marked by the imprisonment of the runaway favorite Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers ’ Party , has constantly downplayed the threat , describing it as merely a “ little flu ” and decrying the decision by the governor of Sao Paulo to initiate a lockdown , calling it a “ hysterical ” overreaction .
Even amidst a deadly wave of disease , he continued to hold public rallies , declaring that the coronavirus was nothing to worry about .
In a remarkable turn of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ criminal gangs showed themselves to be more responsible and committed to public safety than the government , imposing their own curfew to stop the spread of COVID-19 .
“ We want the best for the population .
If the government won ’ t do the right thing , organized crime will , ” read their statement .
“ We are at the mercy of a deranged lunatic , ” concluded independent outlet Brasil Wire .
Now , Bolsonaro himself has tested positive for COVID-19 .
But he still refuses to wear a mask @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only for “ fairies ” or “ faggots , ” depending on the translation .
The Brazilian Press Association is suing him for deliberately endangering them by not self-isolating but telling them face-to-face , without a mask , about his positive test .
Ecuador has given up even pretending to record infections .
On April 24 , it announced 7,595 had tested positive ; the two days after that , zero cases .
Its president , Lenín Moreno , was elected on a promise to further Rafael Correa ’ s social-democratic agenda .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the IMF , he slashed the country ’ s health budget by 36 percent , rescinded the country ’ s support for whistleblower Julian Assange and began persecuting Correa , who was forced to flee to Belgium .
Like in Brazil and Bolivia , the Ecuadorian government quickly purged the country of its contingent of Cuban doctors , some of the only medical professionals serving Latin America ’ s popular classes .
The coastal city of Guayaquil is thought to be the worst-affected in the world by COVID-19 .
Hardline Christian conservative Jeanine @ @ @ @ @ @ @ November in a military coup that ousted Evo Morales and his Movement Towards Socialism Party .
She wasted no time in mass privatization of the country ’ s state-owned resources , leading hospitals across the countries to close .
Añez herself has now tested positive for the virus , and six of the country ’ s seven worst days for total infections have happened in the past week .
In Chile , billionaire president Sebastian Piñera has seen his personal wealth increase substantially during the lockdown .
This week the pro-business leader vetoed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important public services during the pandemic , ensuring they remained open to all .
Critics say the move is hardly likely to improve the situation across the country and puts profits before people .
Meanwhile , in Colombia , neoconservative president Ivan Duque is opening up the economy , even as the pandemic reaches new heights .
Thursday saw a new record number of infections in the country , 5,335 , beating Tuesday ’ s previous high of 4,213 .
Duque , who came to power in a highly questionable election that , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , would have likely been labeled a sham .
His leftist challenger , Gustavo Petro , narrowly escaped an assassination attempt from government-aligned paramilitaries , while American election observers , mistaken for ordinary citizens , report being offered money to vote for Duque .
The president is now using the pandemic to end the country ’ s long peace process while government-linked paramilitaries are taking the opportunity of the lockdown to assassinate their foes , including union leaders and activists .
The economic and social confusion has led to large numbers of people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to Venezuela , contributing to an increase in cases there as well .
One of the few bright spots in the region is Cuba , the island having squashed its curve .
The worst days in the past month have seen only 15 new cases and one death .
Its strong public services , particularly its famous health system , have aided the fight against the virus .
In March , MintPress spoke to an American student doctor training in Havana , who said she was optimistic about the country ’ s preparedness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ am very confident of Cuba ’ s public health and epidemiology system , it is all very organized : nationally , provincially , regionally and locally , ” she said .
While these governments might have got what they want by deposing the wave of progressive , anti-imperialist governments in the last decade , their ideological drive to privatize and destroy any public institution is reaping what it sowed during this pandemic .
Unfortunately , it is the people of Latin America who are suffering the most because of it .
Feature photo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ burials at Vila Formosa Cemetery , east side of São Paulo , Brazil on July 10 , 2020 .
Bruno Rocha | Fotoarena | Sipa Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .

While other continents have largely dealt with the COVID-19 pandemic, much of Latin America is in meltdown, as cases soar, bodies pile up, and anger mounts. Its new wave of neoliberal leaders, mistrustful of collective action in any situation and extolling the virtues of individualism in a collective public health crisis, are making the problem far worse.
Despite having months to prepare for the worst, over 100,000 people have (officially) died in South America already, over two-thirds of them in Brazil. The country’s far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, who came to power in a highly dubious election in 2018 marked by the imprisonment of the runaway favorite Lula da Silva of the left-wing Workers’ Party, has constantly downplayed the threat, describing it as merely a “little flu” and decrying the decision by the governor of Sao Paulo to initiate a lockdown, calling it a “hysterical” overreaction. Even amidst a deadly wave of disease, he continued to hold public rallies, declaring that the coronavirus was nothing to worry about. In a remarkable turn of events, Rio de Janeiro’s criminal gangs showed themselves to be more responsible and committed to public safety than the government, imposing their own curfew to stop the spread of COVID-19. “We want the best for the population. If the government won’t do the right thing, organized crime will,” read their statement. “We are at the mercy of a deranged lunatic,” concluded independent outlet Brasil Wire.
Now, Bolsonaro himself has tested positive for COVID-19. But he still refuses to wear a mask all the time, saying they are only for “fairies” or “faggots,” depending on the translation. The Brazilian Press Association is suing him for deliberately endangering them by not self-isolating but telling them face-to-face, without a mask, about his positive test.
Bolsonaro took off his mask while announcing in a press conference that he tested positive for #COVID19 https://t.co/j7QSBMZ5sS — Nathália Urban (@UrbanNathalia) July 7, 2020
Ecuador has given up even pretending to record infections. On April 24, it announced 7,595 had tested positive; the two days after that, zero cases. Its president, Lenín Moreno, was elected on a promise to further Rafael Correa’s social-democratic agenda. Instead, on orders from Washington and the IMF, he slashed the country’s health budget by 36 percent, rescinded the country’s support for whistleblower Julian Assange and began persecuting Correa, who was forced to flee to Belgium. Like in Brazil and Bolivia, the Ecuadorian government quickly purged the country of its contingent of Cuban doctors, some of the only medical professionals serving Latin America’s popular classes. The coastal city of Guayaquil is thought to be the worst-affected in the world by COVID-19.
Hardline Christian conservative Jeanine Añez came to power in Bolivia in November in a military coup that ousted Evo Morales and his Movement Towards Socialism Party. She wasted no time in mass privatization of the country’s state-owned resources, leading hospitals across the countries to close. Añez herself has now tested positive for the virus, and six of the country’s seven worst days for total infections have happened in the past week.
Cuban doctors in Bolivia provided free healthcare until they were pushed out by the US-backed coup. The hospitals they worked at are still closed, leaving working class communities vulnerable. Report from @OVargas52 pic.twitter.com/s3m0K8E3v7 — MintPress News (@MintPressNews) January 8, 2020
In Chile, billionaire president Sebastian Piñera has seen his personal wealth increase substantially during the lockdown. This week the pro-business leader vetoed a bill with bipartisan support that protected important public services during the pandemic, ensuring they remained open to all. Critics say the move is hardly likely to improve the situation across the country and puts profits before people.
Meanwhile, in Colombia, neoconservative president Ivan Duque is opening up the economy, even as the pandemic reaches new heights. Thursday saw a new record number of infections in the country, 5,335, beating Tuesday’s previous high of 4,213. Duque, who came to power in a highly questionable election that, had it occurred in an enemy state, would have likely been labeled a sham. His leftist challenger, Gustavo Petro, narrowly escaped an assassination attempt from government-aligned paramilitaries, while American election observers, mistaken for ordinary citizens, report being offered money to vote for Duque. The president is now using the pandemic to end the country’s long peace process while government-linked paramilitaries are taking the opportunity of the lockdown to assassinate their foes, including union leaders and activists. The economic and social confusion has led to large numbers of people crossing over the long and porous border to Venezuela, contributing to an increase in cases there as well.
One of the few bright spots in the region is Cuba, the island having squashed its curve. The worst days in the past month have seen only 15 new cases and one death. Its strong public services, particularly its famous health system, have aided the fight against the virus. In March, MintPress spoke to an American student doctor training in Havana, who said she was optimistic about the country’s preparedness in dealing with COVID-19. “I am very confident of Cuba’s public health and epidemiology system, it is all very organized: nationally, provincially, regionally and locally,” she said.
While these governments might have got what they want by deposing the wave of progressive, anti-imperialist governments in the last decade, their ideological drive to privatize and destroy any public institution is reaping what it sowed during this pandemic. Unfortunately, it is the people of Latin America who are suffering the most because of it.
Feature photo | Employees and family members during collective burials at Vila Formosa Cemetery, east side of São Paulo, Brazil on July 10, 2020. Bruno Rocha | Fotoarena | Sipa
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-07-10--As White Jesus Debate Rages, Islam Undergoes its Own Racial Reckoning

While the vigorous and often bitter debate around depictions of “ White Jesus ” continues to rage , a similar , but quieter discussion is taking place within Islamic communities on the subject of overly white illustrations of key figures in the Muslim tradition , particularly the twelve imams so revered in Shiaism , an subsect of Islam that comprises approximately ten percent of the world ’ s Muslim population .
Depictions of humans are far less common in Islamic art , especially in Sunni Islam which tends to have much more iconoclastic tendencies , but a growing number of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ portrayals of these leaders make them out to look far more European than they were .
“ If there is talk about anti-black racism and working against mental colonization , then it makes sense that Muslims , as well as Christians , decolonize these depictions of prophets and saintly people , ” Dawud Walid , Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations , told MintPress .
“ It ’ s about time , to say it bluntly , ” said Zeinab Chami , a public school educator from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ now is the time for a change.
” Sakina Syedda , co-founder of the Shia Racial Justice Coalition , agreed , telling MintPress that Muslims too should question any implicit racial biases encoded in their day-to-day lives : “ It ’ s something that we know needs to be addressed .
And we are beginning to see efforts in doing so.
” The idea that Jesus — a Jew living in Palestine 2,000 years ago — was “ white , ” is so ingrained into the public consciousness that it appears as an @ @ @ @ @ @ @ host Megyn Kelly laughed at the idea of a non-white Jesus , calling it “ ridiculous.
” “ Jesus was a white man , ” she said , claiming fourth century Saint Nicholas , born in southwestern Turkey , as one of her own too : “ Santa just is white… he is what he is.
” If this level of understanding of one ’ s own culture is the norm , it is perhaps unremarkable to see the same in Islam .
In the wake of writer and activist Shaun King ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should be removed ( something that led to threats on his life ) , Georgia Republican Congressional candidate Angela Stanton King responded , “ Threaten to tear down statues of the Prophet Muhammad and see how many death threats you get , ” seemingly not realizing that Muslims would be all too happy to help her in her task .
In reality , the scholarly consensus on the historical Jesus is that he likely had a dark complexion , not unlike that of many living in the Levant or Arabia today .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2013 : “ If he were taking the red-eye flight from San Francisco to New York today , Jesus might be profiled for additional security screening by the TSA.
” Like with Jesus , many of the key figures in early Islam were far darker than many often suppose .
“ The reality is that perhaps almost half of the imams were what we would now call black ; we would see them and think they are black or African-American , ” said Chami , “ And I don ’ t know @ @ @ @ @ @ @ people to accept .
If that is the case there needs to be some soul searching done.
” When most Americans imagine Jesus , there is a good chance that they are picturing the same 1940 portrait by Chicago artist Warner E. Sallman .
Depicting Jesus as young , light-skinned , and Nordic-looking , “ The Head of Christ , ” is said to be the best-known American artwork of all time , having been produced over a billion times , the image adorns churches across America and was printed out and handed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Salvation Army and the YMCA .
“ The Head of Christ ” is the epitome of the nineteenth and twentieth-century attempts to whiten Jesus .
Throughout the period , European nations justified their imperial conquests on the ground that they were saving “ savages ” from damnation .
The French called it their “ civilizing mission.
” Making sure that the image of religious authority looked just like they did was a crucial psychological weapon .
By negating his true identity as a dark-skinned revolutionary with anti-imperialist tendencies , slavers and imperialists @ @ @ @ @ @ @ racial hierarchies they were imposing around the world .
If Jesus was white then authority is white .
The radical postcolonial intellectual Frantz Fanon understood this explicitly .
In his seminal 1961 work , “ The Wretched of the Earth , ” he wrote : Malcolm X saw Islam as an escape from the fundamentally racist power structures ruling the United States .
In his famous letter from Mecca , he wrote that : Due to his experiences in Mecca , he began to see racism as a spiritual problem that required a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ vein , we can see this move toward accurate portrayals of our holy figures as more than a decolonization of our minds , ” argued Chami , “ it can be a shift at the soul level , and , God willing , a healing process within our individual spirits and our communities at-large.
” Unlike with Christianity , the European depictions of the twelve imams who followed the Prophet Muhammad appear to have been far less deliberate , being brought from Persia .
If that is the case , then is there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ important , ” says Walid .
“ Especially when we are talking about anti-blackness and trying to discuss history the way that it truly was .
A number of those imams actually had African mothers and were described as being brown to black in skin color , so the depictions of all of them looking white is the erasure of blackness from within early Islamic history.
” Halema Wali , another co-founder of the Shia Racial Justice Coalition , also notes that black erasure can have a powerful psychological influence .
“ Anti-Blackness @ @ @ @ @ @ @ figures accurately depicted and/or whitewashed .
Whether intentionally or not , what ends up happening is the desire to be close to whiteness not just through beauty standards , but also via religiousness , ” she told MintPress .
For her colleague Syedda , the significance of the matter transcends the religious domain : The whole point of her religion , for Chami , is about grasping at the fundamental truths of existence : We learn about Islam through the lives of the prophet and the imams .
We think of these people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the message of God .
So when you see resonance with these people , you see yourself in them .
There is power there .
But when they look a particular way , a way that you are told is the best way and it doesn ’ t look like you , that can be problematic .
And for me , the ultimate issue is that these white depictions are not the truth .
And we do not want to perpetuate something that is dishonest…And this movement is moving us closer to truth.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have a profound effect on behavior and the human psyche is precisely the reason this debate is happening at this moment .
George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25 .
Without video of the incident , circulated widely on social media , Floyd would have become just another statistic : one of the 1,000 American victims of police violence every year , a footnote in history .
Instead , the killing sparked millions to demonstrate nationwide and across the world and has completely changed the paradigm of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like defunding or abolishing the police entirely , once-fringe positions , have gained popular support almost overnight .
There is a new sense that change is possible , and within grasp , if it is demanded .
On the topic of inaccurate depictions in Islam , Walid said , “ There are some people who always saw this as problematic , but now there are people who are actually organizing around the issue to bring awareness to it.
” Shaun King may have gone too far when he called for the removal of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of worship .
His “ damn fool idea ” caused hysteria in conservative circles , with Fox News ’ Tucker Carlson telling his older , white audience that “ the mob ” was coming to destroy their churches .
But it also received huge pushback from the left , who saw it as an overzealous , iconoclastic demand .
Yet on the issue of replacing Europeanized versions of Islam ’ s most important figures with more historically accurate ones , it appears that activists are pushing at a door already somewhat open .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ resistance from her predominantly South Asian Shia community .
“ People of faith should be primarily interested in truth , ” said Chami , adding : Feature photo | Ali , 22 , poses for a photo showing off his tattoo of Shia Muslims ’ first Imam Ali , in the southern suburb of Beirut , Lebanon , May 31 , 2016 .
Hassan Ammar | AP Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

While the vigorous and often bitter debate around depictions of “White Jesus” continues to rage, a similar, but quieter discussion is taking place within Islamic communities on the subject of overly white illustrations of key figures in the Muslim tradition, particularly the twelve imams so revered in Shiaism, an subsect of Islam that comprises approximately ten percent of the world’s Muslim population. Depictions of humans are far less common in Islamic art, especially in Sunni Islam which tends to have much more iconoclastic tendencies, but a growing number of Muslims are voicing their discomfort over how portrayals of these leaders make them out to look far more European than they were.
“If there is talk about anti-black racism and working against mental colonization, then it makes sense that Muslims, as well as Christians, decolonize these depictions of prophets and saintly people,” Dawud Walid, Executive Director of the Michigan chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, told MintPress. “It’s about time, to say it bluntly,” said Zeinab Chami, a public school educator from Michigan and a practicing Shia, “now is the time for a change.” Sakina Syedda, co-founder of the Shia Racial Justice Coalition, agreed, telling MintPress that Muslims too should question any implicit racial biases encoded in their day-to-day lives: “It’s something that we know needs to be addressed. And we are beginning to see efforts in doing so.”
The idea that Jesus — a Jew living in Palestine 2,000 years ago — was “white,” is so ingrained into the public consciousness that it appears as an uncontroversial fact to many. Fox News host Megyn Kelly laughed at the idea of a non-white Jesus, calling it “ridiculous.” “Jesus was a white man,” she said, claiming fourth century Saint Nicholas, born in southwestern Turkey, as one of her own too: “Santa just is white… he is what he is.” If this level of understanding of one’s own culture is the norm, it is perhaps unremarkable to see the same in Islam. In the wake of writer and activist Shaun King’s comments that images of white Jesus should be removed (something that led to threats on his life), Georgia Republican Congressional candidate Angela Stanton King responded, “Threaten to tear down statues of the Prophet Muhammad and see how many death threats you get,” seemingly not realizing that Muslims would be all too happy to help her in her task.
In reality, the scholarly consensus on the historical Jesus is that he likely had a dark complexion, not unlike that of many living in the Levant or Arabia today. As The Atlantic’s Jonathan Merritt wrote in 2013: “If he were taking the red-eye flight from San Francisco to New York today, Jesus might be profiled for additional security screening by the TSA.” Like with Jesus, many of the key figures in early Islam were far darker than many often suppose.
“The reality is that perhaps almost half of the imams were what we would now call black; we would see them and think they are black or African-American,” said Chami, “And I don’t know why that would be hard for some people to accept. If that is the case there needs to be some soul searching done.”
When most Americans imagine Jesus, there is a good chance that they are picturing the same 1940 portrait by Chicago artist Warner E. Sallman. Depicting Jesus as young, light-skinned, and Nordic-looking, “The Head of Christ,” is said to be the best-known American artwork of all time, having been produced over a billion times, the image adorns churches across America and was printed out and handed to troops in World War Two by the Salvation Army and the YMCA.
Black Skin, White Masks
“The Head of Christ” is the epitome of the nineteenth and twentieth-century attempts to whiten Jesus. Throughout the period, European nations justified their imperial conquests on the ground that they were saving “savages” from damnation. The French called it their “civilizing mission.” Making sure that the image of religious authority looked just like they did was a crucial psychological weapon. By negating his true identity as a dark-skinned revolutionary with anti-imperialist tendencies, slavers and imperialists were able to better justify the strict racial hierarchies they were imposing around the world. If Jesus was white then authority is white. The radical postcolonial intellectual Frantz Fanon understood this explicitly. In his seminal 1961 work, “The Wretched of the Earth,” he wrote:
The Church in the colonies is the white people’s Church, the foreigner’s Church. She does not call the native to God’s ways but to the ways of the white man, of the master, of the oppressor. And as we know, in this matter many are called but few chosen.”
Malcolm X saw Islam as an escape from the fundamentally racist power structures ruling the United States. In his famous letter from Mecca, he wrote that:
America needs to understand Islam, because this is the one religion that erases from its society the race problem. Throughout my travels in the Muslim world, I have met, talked to, and even eaten with people who in America would have been considered white — but the white attitude was removed from their minds by the religion of Islam.”
Due to his experiences in Mecca, he began to see racism as a spiritual problem that required a spiritual solution. “In that same vein, we can see this move toward accurate portrayals of our holy figures as more than a decolonization of our minds,” argued Chami, “it can be a shift at the soul level, and, God willing, a healing process within our individual spirits and our communities at-large.”
Unlike with Christianity, the European depictions of the twelve imams who followed the Prophet Muhammad appear to have been far less deliberate, being brought from Persia. If that is the case, then is there really a problem? “Imagery is important,” says Walid. “Especially when we are talking about anti-blackness and trying to discuss history the way that it truly was. A number of those imams actually had African mothers and were described as being brown to black in skin color, so the depictions of all of them looking white is the erasure of blackness from within early Islamic history.”
Halema Wali, another co-founder of the Shia Racial Justice Coalition, also notes that black erasure can have a powerful psychological influence. “Anti-Blackness can be perpetuated by not having religious figures accurately depicted and/or whitewashed. Whether intentionally or not, what ends up happening is the desire to be close to whiteness not just through beauty standards, but also via religiousness,” she told MintPress.
For her colleague Syedda, the significance of the matter transcends the religious domain:
A lot of countries around the world have been colonized by European nations and that creates power structures and hierarchies that tie into what people perceive as powerful, beautiful or aspirational. And you can see that reflected in all kinds of areas…whether it is fashion or beauty or art you have to stop and think, and people are starting to do that a lot more now.”
The whole point of her religion, for Chami, is about grasping at the fundamental truths of existence:
We learn about Islam through the lives of the prophet and the imams. We think of these people as the living Koran; they lived the message of God. So when you see resonance with these people, you see yourself in them. There is power there. But when they look a particular way, a way that you are told is the best way and it doesn’t look like you, that can be problematic. And for me, the ultimate issue is that these white depictions are not the truth. And we do not want to perpetuate something that is dishonest…And this movement is moving us closer to truth.”
I Can’t Breathe
The power of the image to have a profound effect on behavior and the human psyche is precisely the reason this debate is happening at this moment. George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin on May 25. Without video of the incident, circulated widely on social media, Floyd would have become just another statistic: one of the 1,000 American victims of police violence every year, a footnote in history. Instead, the killing sparked millions to demonstrate nationwide and across the world and has completely changed the paradigm of how we collectively understand race. Ideas like defunding or abolishing the police entirely, once-fringe positions, have gained popular support almost overnight. There is a new sense that change is possible, and within grasp, if it is demanded. On the topic of inaccurate depictions in Islam, Walid said, “There are some people who always saw this as problematic, but now there are people who are actually organizing around the issue to bring awareness to it.”
Shaun King may have gone too far when he called for the removal of statues of white Jesus from Christian places of worship. His “damn fool idea” caused hysteria in conservative circles, with Fox News’ Tucker Carlson telling his older, white audience that “the mob” was coming to destroy their churches. But it also received huge pushback from the left, who saw it as an overzealous, iconoclastic demand. Yet on the issue of replacing Europeanized versions of Islam’s most important figures with more historically accurate ones, it appears that activists are pushing at a door already somewhat open. Syedda noted she had not received much resistance from her predominantly South Asian Shia community. “People of faith should be primarily interested in truth,” said Chami, adding:
For people who are resisting this movement because they see it as some kind of imposition of our modern notions of race and racial justice on to the ancient traditions of our faith, the reality is that we know that these depictions are inaccurate so why would we want to prevent them from being more truthful? Why have we accepted these inaccuracies without question? And why would we resist these changes? For people who are resisting this, and I know some people who are, I think they should all do some soul searching and ask why.”
Feature photo | Ali, 22, poses for a photo showing off his tattoo of Shia Muslims’ first Imam Ali, in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, May 31, 2016. Hassan Ammar | AP
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-07-10--Private Prison Simulation Game Goes Viral on Apple App Store

A new game called “ Prison Empire Tycoon ” is going viral .
Released in late May , it has risen to become the current number one strategy game in Apple ’ s App Store and has been among the top 20 most popular games overall since its launch , with at least 3 million downloads to date .
In line with many other popular business simulation games like the “ Railroad Tycoon ” and “ Rollercoaster Tycoon ” series , where users create huge transport networks or design and run their own theme parks , the point of “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ money running a private American prison .
During the tutorial at the start , a baton-wielding guard instructs you , telling you that “ the state pays us good money ” to manage the “ lowlifes ” they send your way .
“ It ’ s a perfect business , ” he says , as he shows you how to send inmates to solitary confinement , something that is near-universally described as torture .
The game is undeniably well put together , with a clear , functioning world and appealing , chunky graphics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reception the game has received , users see nothing wrong with its content either .
Indeed , the biggest complaints in the negative reviews left online are that it has a number of bugs , has a tendency to crash , and features a lot of annoying ads and in-app purchases .
With almost 2.3 million people locked up across a sprawling network of thousands of facilities , the United States has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world , significantly worse than brutal dictatorships in Africa , Latin America or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ citizens at over ten times the rate of European countries like Denmark or Sweden , and over seventeen times that of Japan .
Three-quarters of people held in jails have not been convicted of anything .
For-profit private prisons are a growing phenomenon .
Since 2000 , the number of people incarcerated in them has increased by 39.3 percent , compared to an overall rise of 7.8 percent .
Some states have seen their private prison industry explode .
Arizona ’ s private prison population for example has grown nearly sixfold over the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s have quadrupled , while Florida ’ s has tripled .
Private prison corporations have a clear and perverse incentive to keep their charges in their custody for as long as possible and to make sure they return .
In 2010 , a federal grand jury convicted Pennsylvania judges of taking $ 2.6 million in bribes from for-profit juvenile detention facilities in exchange sending thousands of children to jail , often over the protestations of their probation officers .
Writer and prison critic Chris Hedges , who has taught at a number @ @ @ @ @ @ @ American worker ; they do not receive any benefits or pensions , are not paid overtime , can not organize or go on strike , have no vacations or sick days , never show up late to work , can not complain , and if they try to protest they can be beaten or tortured in solitary confinement .
As such , he concludes , prisons “ are models for what the corporate state expects us all to become.
” According to a 2017 study by the Prison Policy Initiative , incarcerated workers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 0.86 and $ 3.45 per day , a significant decline from previous years .
These wages are used as a battering ram against wages across society .
Right now , California is facing a critical shortage of firefighters to tackle the summer forest fires , precisely because the state has relied on prison labor , rather than unionized firefighters .
California ’ s prison population is currently on lockdown after particularly severe COVID-19 outbreaks across the state ’ s correctional facilities .
While many people are working to change or abolish the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and terrible conditions found inside have become so accepted that Chelsea Manning ’ s jailer is running a successful campaign for Congress in Alabama , as a Democrat .
The runoff election is on Tuesday .
Video games are also used to sanitize other inherently violent institutions .
Among the most popular genres of games are hyper-realistic first-person shooters like the “ Call of Duty ” franchise , where players play as American troops gunning down huge numbers of faceless Arabs .
The U.S. Army has its own eSports team which it uses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ military .
Indeed , the Air Force has a recruitment tool game on its own website which allows you to drone bomb Iraqis and Afghans .
Players who perform well are prompted whether they would like to do this in real life .
The fact that the reception to “ Prison Empire Tycoon ” has been overwhelmingly positive , with few people remarking on its problematic content , goes to show how normalized the prison industrial complex has become and how few people recognize the dystopian depths that society has sunk to .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ series of images from Digital Things ’ “ Private Prison Tycoon ” Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

A new game called “Prison Empire Tycoon” is going viral. Released in late May, it has risen to become the current number one strategy game in Apple’s App Store and has been among the top 20 most popular games overall since its launch, with at least 3 million downloads to date. In line with many other popular business simulation games like the “Railroad Tycoon” and “Rollercoaster Tycoon” series, where users create huge transport networks or design and run their own theme parks, the point of “Prison Empire Tycoon” is to make money running a private American prison.
During the tutorial at the start, a baton-wielding guard instructs you, telling you that “the state pays us good money” to manage the “lowlifes” they send your way. “It’s a perfect business,” he says, as he shows you how to send inmates to solitary confinement, something that is near-universally described as torture.
The game is undeniably well put together, with a clear, functioning world and appealing, chunky graphics. And judging from the extremely positive reception the game has received, users see nothing wrong with its content either. Indeed, the biggest complaints in the negative reviews left online are that it has a number of bugs, has a tendency to crash, and features a lot of annoying ads and in-app purchases.
With almost 2.3 million people locked up across a sprawling network of thousands of facilities, the United States has by far the highest incarceration rate in the world, significantly worse than brutal dictatorships in Africa, Latin America or Central Asia. The U.S. imprisons its citizens at over ten times the rate of European countries like Denmark or Sweden, and over seventeen times that of Japan. Three-quarters of people held in jails have not been convicted of anything.
For-profit private prisons are a growing phenomenon. Since 2000, the number of people incarcerated in them has increased by 39.3 percent, compared to an overall rise of 7.8 percent. Some states have seen their private prison industry explode. Arizona’s private prison population for example has grown nearly sixfold over the last 20 years. Indiana and Ohio’s have quadrupled, while Florida’s has tripled.
Private prison corporations have a clear and perverse incentive to keep their charges in their custody for as long as possible and to make sure they return. In 2010, a federal grand jury convicted Pennsylvania judges of taking $2.6 million in bribes from for-profit juvenile detention facilities in exchange sending thousands of children to jail, often over the protestations of their probation officers.
Writer and prison critic Chris Hedges, who has taught at a number of penitentiaries, called prisoners the ideal American worker; they do not receive any benefits or pensions, are not paid overtime, cannot organize or go on strike, have no vacations or sick days, never show up late to work, cannot complain, and if they try to protest they can be beaten or tortured in solitary confinement. As such, he concludes, prisons “are models for what the corporate state expects us all to become.” According to a 2017 study by the Prison Policy Initiative, incarcerated workers in non-industry prison jobs are paid between $0.86 and $3.45 per day, a significant decline from previous years.
These wages are used as a battering ram against wages across society. Right now, California is facing a critical shortage of firefighters to tackle the summer forest fires, precisely because the state has relied on prison labor, rather than unionized firefighters. California’s prison population is currently on lockdown after particularly severe COVID-19 outbreaks across the state’s correctional facilities.
While many people are working to change or abolish the institution altogether, the massive prison population and terrible conditions found inside have become so accepted that Chelsea Manning’s jailer is running a successful campaign for Congress in Alabama, as a Democrat. The runoff election is on Tuesday.
Video games are also used to sanitize other inherently violent institutions. Among the most popular genres of games are hyper-realistic first-person shooters like the “Call of Duty” franchise, where players play as American troops gunning down huge numbers of faceless Arabs. The U.S. Army has its own eSports team which it uses to groom suggestible teenagers into joining the military. Indeed, the Air Force has a recruitment tool game on its own website which allows you to drone bomb Iraqis and Afghans. Players who perform well are prompted whether they would like to do this in real life.
The fact that the reception to “Prison Empire Tycoon” has been overwhelmingly positive, with few people remarking on its problematic content, goes to show how normalized the prison industrial complex has become and how few people recognize the dystopian depths that society has sunk to.
Feature photo | An screenshot shows a series of images from Digital Things’ “Private Prison Tycoon”
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-07-10--Podcast: West Virginia’s Exploited Communities Stand Up to Coal, Oil & Gas Giants

Welcome to MintCast — an interview series hosted by Mnar Muhawesh Adley featuring dissenting voices the establishment would rather silence .
In this episode , we are joined by activist , journalist and documentary filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield whose new documentary , “ Hard Road of Hope , ” shares the stories of people in West Virginia and their struggle against the corporate state .
West Virginia .
It ’ s been dubbed as a throwaway state with throw away people .
It ’ s a region in America often brushed under the rug in mainstream corporate media but its significance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story are a microcosm of U.S. exploitation of working class Americans at the hands of the corporate state , most notably the oil , gas and coal industry .
Journalist Chris Hedges describes its coal-rich mountains as an economic and ecological sacrifice zone to capitalism , one of the areas richest in resources in all of America , yet filled with some of the poorest and most powerless people in the country .
West Virginia is home to the opioid crisis , theft of indigenous land , environmental disaster , water and soil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ coal mining , fracking , and slavery .
“ Hard Road of Hope , ” tells the story of the poorest state in the union by per median household income , the ecological damage done by extractivist corporations plundering the region ’ s mineral resources , and how communities are coming together to fight back .
Goldfield ’ s debut feature-length documentary is a sad , angering , and inspiring account .
Of the film , Paul Corbit , President of the ecological group Keeper of the Mountains said : So many have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ story- some have done so better than others .
But Eleanor ’ s film is one of the very few that told our story in our own words ; succinctly , and with a clarity and dignity that can ’ t be ignored .
Our story is yet another in a long line of wake up calls happening around the world .
Eleanor ’ s film sounds that alarm in a way that can ’ t be denied.
” Today , we discuss the reasons Goldfield chose to make a documentary about West @ @ @ @ @ @ @ energy companies have caused , and the community ’ s fight back against the corporate state .
This program is 100 percent listener supported !
You can join the hundreds of financial sponsors who make this show possible by becoming a member on our Patreon page .
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes , Spotify and SoundCloud .
Please leave us a review and share this segment .
Mnar Muhawesh is founder , CEO and editor in chief of MintPress News , and is also a regular speaker on responsible journalism , sexism @ @ @ @ @ @ @ start-ups .

Welcome to MintCast — an interview series hosted by Mnar Muhawesh Adley featuring dissenting voices the establishment would rather silence.
In this episode, we are joined by activist, journalist and documentary filmmaker Eleanor Goldfield whose new documentary, “Hard Road of Hope,” shares the stories of people in West Virginia and their struggle against the corporate state.
West Virginia. It’s been dubbed as a throwaway state with throw away people.
It’s a region in America often brushed under the rug in mainstream corporate media but its significance is major: this state and its story are a microcosm of U.S. exploitation of working class Americans at the hands of the corporate state, most notably the oil, gas and coal industry.
Journalist Chris Hedges describes its coal-rich mountains as an economic and ecological sacrifice zone to capitalism, one of the areas richest in resources in all of America, yet filled with some of the poorest and most powerless people in the country. West Virginia is home to the opioid crisis, theft of indigenous land, environmental disaster, water and soil contamination, oil pipelines and extraction, coal mining, fracking, and slavery.
“Hard Road of Hope,” tells the story of the poorest state in the union by per median household income, the ecological damage done by extractivist corporations plundering the region’s mineral resources, and how communities are coming together to fight back. Goldfield’s debut feature-length documentary is a sad, angering, and inspiring account.
Of the film, Paul Corbit, President of the ecological group Keeper of the Mountains said:
So many have come to West Virginia to tell our story- some have done so better than others. But Eleanor’s film is one of the very few that told our story in our own words; succinctly, and with a clarity and dignity that can’t be ignored. Our story is yet another in a long line of wake up calls happening around the world. Eleanor’s film sounds that alarm in a way that can’t be denied.”
Today, we discuss the reasons Goldfield chose to make a documentary about West Virginia, the environmental devastation that huge energy companies have caused, and the community’s fight back against the corporate state.
This program is 100 percent listener supported! You can join the hundreds of financial sponsors who make this show possible by becoming a member on our Patreon page.
Subscribe to this podcast on iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud. Please leave us a review and share this segment.
Mnar Muhawesh is founder, CEO and editor in chief of MintPress News, and is also a regular speaker on responsible journalism, sexism, neoconservativism within the media and journalism start-ups.


mintpressnews--2020-07-14--Exporting Toxic Chemical Waste to Poor Countries Must End, Says UN

The practice of dumping banned , toxic chemical waste on poorer societies by big corporations in rich countries must end , say experts at the United Nations Human Rights Council .
“ In nearly every case there is no legitimate public interest justification , ” said Baskut Tuncak , a Turkish-American UN special rapporteur on the environment and the disposal of toxic waste .
“ These loopholes are a political concession to industry , allowing their chemical manufacturers to profit from inevitably poisoned workers and communities abroad , all the while importing cheaper products through global supply chains and fueling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is long-overdue that States stop this exploitation.
” While stricter regulations apply regarding dumping in regions like Europe and North America , they are often virtually non-existent in African , Asian or Latin American countries .
Last year , at least 30 rich countries exported locally-banned toxic substances to poorer states , primarily to save money and resources , allowing corporations to write off their costly waste as an externality , transferring the costs on to some of the poorest people on earth .
“ The ability to manufacture and export toxic substances @ @ @ @ @ @ @ albeit large , element of how states have institutionalized externalities through discriminatory national laws and an outdated system of global governance for chemicals and wastes , ” added Tuncak .
The Agbogbloshie dump in Ghana is a prime example of the relationship between rich and poor nations .
10,000 workers shift through millions of tons of Western electronic waste that pollutes the air , land and water for miles around , burning plastics and melting metals , hoping to find small amounts of valuable minerals , drastically reducing their own life expectancies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , I used to be a footballer — but not anymore , ” said 28-year-old Abdullah Boubacar , who makes a living burning plastic insulation off wires to salvage copper .
“ [ Now ] I have stomach ulcers and I run out of energy very easily.
” There are usually far fewer regulations against harmful substances in poorer countries , often because their governments have been deposed by Western ones , with institutions like the World Bank imposing extreme forms of neoliberalism governance on them , forcing them to deregulate and privatize @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glue manufacturer H.B .
Fuller remove a dangerous and addictive additive in one of its adhesives .
However , the company continued to sell the same product across Latin America , despite knowing that tens of millions of children were sniffing it to alleviate pain or hunger , leading to terrible health consequences , including death .
When multinational corporations pollute in rich countries , governments have the power to stand up to and punish them .
But this is usually not the case with poorer states in the global south .
After @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Department of Justice imposed a fine of over $ 4.5 billion on petrochemical giant BP .
Yet when Ecuador attempted to punish Chevron-Texaco for the massive destruction of its Amazon jungle — spilling 80 times the amount of oil BP dumped in the Gulf of Mexico , they simply refused to pay .
Furthermore , Chevron-Texaco has managed to get a New York court to prosecute Steven Donziger , the lawyer representing over 30,000 poisoned Ecuadorians .
Since then he has had his accounts frozen and has been under house arrest for successfully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ court ’ s decision was condemned by 29 Nobel laureates .
The UN position strongly clashes with that of the World Bank .
In 1991 , the Bank ’ s Chief Economist , Larry Summers , argued that his organization should be “ encouraging more migration ” of pollution to the poorest countries .
“ I ’ ve always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted , ” he wrote , adding that , in his opinion , “ the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should face up to that.
” Summers also bemoaned the fact that the United States and Europe could not export their transport emissions .
Summers is now a key advisor to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden .
Activist groups such as Greenpeace and the Working Families Party are attempting to convince Biden to remove him from his position , citing his abysmal record on economics , the environment , and on gender .
On the issue of toxic dumping , some progress is being made .
France recently prohibited the export of domestically-produced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ made it illegal to export to them any substances forbidden from use in their country of manufacture .
These laws , however , should not be necessary , according to the experts , who noted that exporting banned chemicals is already illegal under international law .
“ Failing to address this longstanding exploitation is discrimination , pure and simple , ” they concluded .
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News .
After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books : Bad News From Venezuela : Twenty Years of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Information Age : Still Manufacturing Consent .
He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting , The Guardian , Salon , The Grayzone , Jacobin Magazine , Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary .

The practice of dumping banned, toxic chemical waste on poorer societies by big corporations in rich countries must end, say experts at the United Nations Human Rights Council. “In nearly every case there is no legitimate public interest justification,” said Baskut Tuncak, a Turkish-American UN special rapporteur on the environment and the disposal of toxic waste. “These loopholes are a political concession to industry, allowing their chemical manufacturers to profit from inevitably poisoned workers and communities abroad, all the while importing cheaper products through global supply chains and fueling unsustainable consumption and production patterns. It is long-overdue that States stop this exploitation.”
While stricter regulations apply regarding dumping in regions like Europe and North America, they are often virtually non-existent in African, Asian or Latin American countries. Last year, at least 30 rich countries exported locally-banned toxic substances to poorer states, primarily to save money and resources, allowing corporations to write off their costly waste as an externality, transferring the costs on to some of the poorest people on earth. “The ability to manufacture and export toxic substances banned from use domestically is one, albeit large, element of how states have institutionalized externalities through discriminatory national laws and an outdated system of global governance for chemicals and wastes,” added Tuncak.
The Agbogbloshie dump in Ghana is a prime example of the relationship between rich and poor nations. 10,000 workers shift through millions of tons of Western electronic waste that pollutes the air, land and water for miles around, burning plastics and melting metals, hoping to find small amounts of valuable minerals, drastically reducing their own life expectancies. “When I was a small boy, I used to be a footballer — but not anymore,” said 28-year-old Abdullah Boubacar, who makes a living burning plastic insulation off wires to salvage copper. “[Now] I have stomach ulcers and I run out of energy very easily.”
There are usually far fewer regulations against harmful substances in poorer countries, often because their governments have been deposed by Western ones, with institutions like the World Bank imposing extreme forms of neoliberalism governance on them, forcing them to deregulate and privatize their economies. The U.S. government made glue manufacturer H.B. Fuller remove a dangerous and addictive additive in one of its adhesives. However, the company continued to sell the same product across Latin America, despite knowing that tens of millions of children were sniffing it to alleviate pain or hunger, leading to terrible health consequences, including death.
When multinational corporations pollute in rich countries, governments have the power to stand up to and punish them. But this is usually not the case with poorer states in the global south. After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the Department of Justice imposed a fine of over $4.5 billion on petrochemical giant BP. Yet when Ecuador attempted to punish Chevron-Texaco for the massive destruction of its Amazon jungle — spilling 80 times the amount of oil BP dumped in the Gulf of Mexico, they simply refused to pay. Furthermore, Chevron-Texaco has managed to get a New York court to prosecute Steven Donziger, the lawyer representing over 30,000 poisoned Ecuadorians. Since then he has had his accounts frozen and has been under house arrest for successfully standing up to the corporation. The court’s decision was condemned by 29 Nobel laureates.
The UN position strongly clashes with that of the World Bank. In 1991, the Bank’s Chief Economist, Larry Summers, argued that his organization should be “encouraging more migration” of pollution to the poorest countries. “I’ve always thought that under-populated countries in Africa are vastly UNDER-polluted,” he wrote, adding that, in his opinion, “the economic logic behind dumping a load of toxic waste in the lowest wage country is impeccable and we should face up to that.” Summers also bemoaned the fact that the United States and Europe could not export their transport emissions. Summers is now a key advisor to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Activist groups such as Greenpeace and the Working Families Party are attempting to convince Biden to remove him from his position, citing his abysmal record on economics, the environment, and on gender.
On the issue of toxic dumping, some progress is being made. France recently prohibited the export of domestically-produced toxic chemicals, while 25 African countries made it illegal to export to them any substances forbidden from use in their country of manufacture. These laws, however, should not be necessary, according to the experts, who noted that exporting banned chemicals is already illegal under international law. “Failing to address this longstanding exploitation is discrimination, pure and simple,” they concluded.
Feature photo | Young men burning electrical wires to recover copper at Agbogbloshie, Accra, Ghana. Sept 02, 2019. Photo | Muntaka Chasant | CC
Alan MacLeod is a Staff Writer for MintPress News. After completing his PhD in 2017 he published two books: Bad News From Venezuela: Twenty Years of Fake News and Misreporting and Propaganda in the Information Age: Still Manufacturing Consent. He has also contributed to Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting, The Guardian, Salon, The Grayzone, Jacobin Magazine, Common Dreams the American Herald Tribune and The Canary.


mintpressnews--2020-07-14--Divide We Fall: America Has Been Blacklisted and McCarthyism Refashioned for a New Age

CHARLOTTESVILLE ( Rutherford ) –– For those old enough to have lived through the McCarthy era , there is a whiff of something in the air that reeks of the heightened paranoia , finger-pointing , fear-mongering , totalitarian tactics that were hallmarks of the 1950s .
Back then , it was the government—spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee—working in tandem with private corporations and individuals to blacklist Americans suspected of being communist sympathizers .
By the time the witch hunts carried out by federal and state investigative agencies drew to a close , thousands of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innocent any crime whatsoever ) had been accused of communist ties , investigated , subpoenaed and blacklisted .
Regarded as bad risks , the accused were blacklisted , and struggled to secure employment .
The witch hunt ruined careers , resulting in suicides , and tightened immigration to exclude alleged subversives .
Seventy years later , the vitriol , fear-mongering and knee-jerk intolerance associated with McCarthy ’ s tactics are once again being deployed in a free-for-all attack by those on both the political Left and Right against anyone who , in daring @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideas or beliefs that run counter to the government ’ s or mainstream thought It doesn ’ t even seem to matter what the issue is anymore ( racism , Confederate monuments , Donald Trump , COVID-19 , etc . )
: modern-day activists are busily tearing down monuments , demonizing historic figures , boycotting corporations for perceived political transgressions , and using their bully pulpit to terrorize the rest of the country into kowtowing to their demands All the while , the American police state continues to march inexorably forward .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ dissenting views , prevails .
The silence is becoming deafening .
After years of fighting in and out of the courts to keep their 87-year-old name , the NFL ’ s Washington Redskins have bowed to public pressure and will change their name and team logo to avoid causing offense .
The new name , not yet announced , aims to honor both the military and Native Americans .
Eleanor Holmes Norton , a delegate to the House of Representatives who supports the name change , believes the team ’ s move “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ names , statues , figments of our past that are racist in nature or otherwise imply racism [ and ] are no longer tolerated.
” Yet it wasn ’ t a heightened racial conscience that caused the Redskins to change their brand .
It was the money .
The team caved after its corporate sponsors including FedEx , PepsiCo , Nike and Bank of America threatened to pull their funding So much for that U.S. Supreme Court victory preventing the government from censoring trademarked names it considers distasteful or scandalous .
Who needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are already doing such a great job at censoring themselves and each other , right ?
Now there ’ s a push underway to boycott Goya Foods after its CEO , Robert Unanue , praised President Trump during a press conference to announce Goya ’ s donation of a million cans of Goya chickpeas and a million other food products to American food banks as part of the president ’ s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative .
Mind you , Unanue—whose grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Spain—also praised the Obamas when they were in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t carry much weight in this climate of intolerance .
Not to be outdone , the censors are also taking aim at To Kill a Mockingbird , Harper Lee ’ s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Atticus Finch , a white lawyer in the Jim Crow South who defends a black man falsely accused of rape .
Sixty years after its debut , the book remains a powerful testament to moral courage in the face of racial bigotry and systemic injustice , told from the point of view of a child growing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s not enough for the censors .
They want to axe the book—along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—from school reading curriculums because of the presence of racial slurs that could make students feel “ humiliated or marginalized.
” Never mind that the N-word makes a regular appearance in hip-hop songs .
The prevailing attitude seems to be that it ’ s okay to use the N-word as long as the person saying the word is not white .
Rapper Kendrick Lamar “ would like white America to let black people exclusively @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the overlooked part of how oppression becomes systemic : it comes about as a result of a combined effort between the populace , the corporations and the government .
McCarthyism worked the same way .
What started with Joseph McCarthy ’ s headline-grabbing scare tactics in the 1950s about Communist infiltrators of American society snowballed into a devastating witch hunt once corporations and the American people caught the fever .
McCarthyism was a contagion , like the plague , spreading like wildfire among people too fearful or weak or gullible or paranoid or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ what it was : an opportunistic scare tactic engineered to make the government more powerful .
The parallels to the present movement can not be understated .
The contagion of fear that McCarthy helped spread with the help of government agencies , corporations and the power elite is still poisoning the well , whitewashing our history , turning citizen against citizen , and stripping us of our rights .
What we desperately need is the kind of resolve embodied by Edward R. Murrow , the most-respected newsman of his day .
On March @ @ @ @ @ @ @ speak truth to power about the damage McCarthy was inflicting on the American people .
His message remains a timely warning for our age .
We will not walk in fear , one of another .
We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason , if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine ; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men .
Not from men who feared to write , to speak , to associate , and to defend causes that were for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reckoning right now , one that will pit our commitment to freedom principles against a level of fear-mongering that is being used to wreak havoc on everything in its path .
The outcome rests , as always , with “ we the people.
” As Murrow said to his staff before the historic March 9 broadcast : “ No one can terrorize a whole nation , unless we are all his accomplices.
” As I make clear in my book Battlefield America : The War on the American People , this may be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nehemiah Nuk Nuk Johnson , left , with JUICE ( Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere ) , confronts a counter protester who did not give his name in Martinez , Calif. , July 12 , 2020 , during a protest calling for an end to racial injustice and accountability for police .
Jeff Chiu | AP John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney , author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute .
His new book Battlefield America : The War on the American People ( SelectBooks , 2015 ) is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be contacted at johnw @ rutherford.org .

CHARLOTTESVILLE (Rutherford) –– For those old enough to have lived through the McCarthy era, there is a whiff of something in the air that reeks of the heightened paranoia, finger-pointing, fear-mongering, totalitarian tactics that were hallmarks of the 1950s.
Back then, it was the government—spearheaded by Senator Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee—working in tandem with private corporations and individuals to blacklist Americans suspected of being communist sympathizers.
By the time the witch hunts carried out by federal and state investigative agencies drew to a close, thousands of individuals (the vast majority of them innocent any crime whatsoever) had been accused of communist ties, investigated, subpoenaed and blacklisted. Regarded as bad risks, the accused were blacklisted, and struggled to secure employment. The witch hunt ruined careers, resulting in suicides, and tightened immigration to exclude alleged subversives.
Seventy years later, the vitriol, fear-mongering and knee-jerk intolerance associated with McCarthy’s tactics are once again being deployed in a free-for-all attack by those on both the political Left and Right against anyone who, in daring to think for themselves, subscribes to ideas or beliefs that run counter to the government’s or mainstream thought
It doesn’t even seem to matter what the issue is anymore (racism, Confederate monuments, Donald Trump, COVID-19, etc.): modern-day activists are busily tearing down monuments, demonizing historic figures, boycotting corporations for perceived political transgressions, and using their bully pulpit to terrorize the rest of the country into kowtowing to their demands
All the while, the American police state continues to march inexorably forward.
This is how fascism, which silences all dissenting views, prevails.
The silence is becoming deafening.
After years of fighting in and out of the courts to keep their 87-year-old name, the NFL’s Washington Redskins have bowed to public pressure and will change their name and team logo to avoid causing offense. The new name, not yet announced, aims to honor both the military and Native Americans.
Eleanor Holmes Norton, a delegate to the House of Representatives who supports the name change, believes the team’s move “reflects the present climate of intolerance to names, statues, figments of our past that are racist in nature or otherwise imply racism [and] are no longer tolerated.”
Present climate of intolerance, indeed.
Yet it wasn’t a heightened racial conscience that caused the Redskins to change their brand. It was the money. The team caved after its corporate sponsors including FedEx, PepsiCo, Nike and Bank of America threatened to pull their funding
So much for that U.S. Supreme Court victory preventing the government from censoring trademarked names it considers distasteful or scandalous.
Who needs a government censor when the American people are already doing such a great job at censoring themselves and each other, right?
Now there’s a push underway to boycott Goya Foods after its CEO, Robert Unanue, praised President Trump during a press conference to announce Goya’s donation of a million cans of Goya chickpeas and a million other food products to American food banks as part of the president’s Hispanic Prosperity Initiative.
Mind you, Unanue—whose grandfather emigrated to the U.S. from Spain—also praised the Obamas when they were in office, but that kind of equanimity doesn’t carry much weight in this climate of intolerance.
Not to be outdone, the censors are also taking aim at To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel about Atticus Finch, a white lawyer in the Jim Crow South who defends a black man falsely accused of rape. Sixty years after its debut, the book remains a powerful testament to moral courage in the face of racial bigotry and systemic injustice, told from the point of view of a child growing up in the South, but that’s not enough for the censors. They want to axe the book—along with The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn—from school reading curriculums because of the presence of racial slurs that could make students feel “humiliated or marginalized.”
Never mind that the N-word makes a regular appearance in hip-hop songs. The prevailing attitude seems to be that it’s okay to use the N-word as long as the person saying the word is not white. Rapper Kendrick Lamar “would like white America to let black people exclusively have the word.”
Talk about a double standard.
This is also the overlooked part of how oppression becomes systemic: it comes about as a result of a combined effort between the populace, the corporations and the government.
McCarthyism worked the same way.
What started with Joseph McCarthy’s headline-grabbing scare tactics in the 1950s about Communist infiltrators of American society snowballed into a devastating witch hunt once corporations and the American people caught the fever.
McCarthyism was a contagion, like the plague, spreading like wildfire among people too fearful or weak or gullible or paranoid or greedy or ambitious to denounce it for what it was: an opportunistic scare tactic engineered to make the government more powerful.
The parallels to the present movement cannot be understated.
The contagion of fear that McCarthy helped spread with the help of government agencies, corporations and the power elite is still poisoning the well, whitewashing our history, turning citizen against citizen, and stripping us of our rights.
What we desperately need is the kind of resolve embodied by Edward R. Murrow, the most-respected newsman of his day.
On March 9, 1954, Murrow dared to speak truth to power about the damage McCarthy was inflicting on the American people. His message remains a timely warning for our age.
We will not walk in fear, one of another. We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine; and remember that we are not descended from fearful men. Not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate, and to defend causes that were for the moment unpopular.
America is approaching another reckoning right now, one that will pit our commitment to freedom principles against a level of fear-mongering that is being used to wreak havoc on everything in its path.
The outcome rests, as always, with “we the people.” As Murrow said to his staff before the historic March 9 broadcast: “No one can terrorize a whole nation, unless we are all his accomplices.”
Take heed, America.
As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People, this may be your last warning.
Feature photo | Nehemiah Nuk Nuk Johnson, left, with JUICE (Justice Unites Individuals and Communities Everywhere), confronts a counter protester who did not give his name in Martinez, Calif., July 12, 2020, during a protest calling for an end to racial injustice and accountability for police. Jeff Chiu | AP
John W. Whitehead is a constitutional attorney, author and founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His new book Battlefield America: The War on the American People (SelectBooks, 2015) is available online at www.amazon.com. Whitehead can be contacted at [email protected].