lewrockwell--2020-09-05--Covid News in the Age of the Impossible

Covid News in the Age of the Impossible

Good evening , this is Lester Muir .
Our top story tonight : a treasure trove of documents written by the once-famous philanthropist , Bill Gates , has been unearthed in a bunker near Seattle .
Last weekend , workers clearing the ruins from a bomb set off by the Nation ZZAHC discovered the long-rumored Gates Diaries .
A shocking release from the Smithsonian Department of History states : “ Mr .
Gates , obviously in a deranged state of mind , wrote , ‘ I ’ ve taken a virtual tour of Hell .
Just in case I end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
My Foundation has donated three billion dollars toward the construction of a new wing , which includes a five-star resort where Melinda and I will spend our days .
The wing will also feature a drug and vaccine research facility… ’ ” Ten years ago , the cryogenic factory where Gates ’ brain had been frozen and stored collapsed in a hurricane , and all heads were lost .
The Biden Department of Advanced Linguistic Studies at Harvard will cooperate with the Smithsonian in analyzing the Gates Diaries .
The Singularity Is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ : $ 2.30 Buy New $ 12.71 Before moving on to our next story , subscribers to our Class A Portal can now click over to learn more about the Gates discovery .
That Portal broadcast is only for gen-rich viewers who have received the injectable Genetic Modification Series 9 .
This is Lester Muir , for our Series 9 subscribers .
We have a brief report from the Chairman of Biden Studies , Sir Dulles Op Obama , grandson of the former president of the United States .
Sir Dulles is hoping @ @ @ @ @ @ @ confession ” of “ a never-discovered coronavirus.
” Such an inaccurate characterization would destabilize trading markets and cause yet more riots that would have to be put down by force .
Sir Dulles warned that all speculations about fake viruses should remain in Limbo , where they can cause relatively little harm .
That warning is now a directive issued by the President ’ s Council on Surveillance .
Do not discuss fake viruses .
The US-China All Eyes System will pick up such conversations and reduce digital funds in offenders ’ accounts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the All Eyes System has been repaired .
It is once again fully functional .
You , our subscribers , are our most valued asset .
Your genetically enhanced status makes you the elite of the elite .
What is your duty as gen-rich pioneers ?
To do everything you can to preserve order .
As you know , we are facing an ongoing revolution from many quarters .
In particular , the Bitter Clingers want to target you and your privilege .
In their latest round of propaganda , they are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is a sham , and your genetic alterations are unworkable and even harmful .
These studies must be censored at every level .
You are therefore urged to make donations to the GoogFace Fund .
Its AI InfoSweeps are the best in the business .
As for your private security forces , we recommend Vanguard-State Street-BlackRock .
Their resources are unparalleled .
We here at NBC have wide-reaching contracts with their Serbian ground troop brigades .
NBC has been taking the lead in lobbying for an open windows policy regarding subscriber communications of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would be well-deserved .
Our proposal , as you know , is to release you from all surveillance vectors between the hours of 2 and 4AM on alternate Mondays .
Unfortunately , so far our efforts have failed to make inroads on national parliament deliberations .
We ’ ve taken up the issue with the US CFR-Trilateral Intelligence Nexus , and this is what we ’ ve learned : security leaks are emanating from our own gen-enhanced subscribers .
We have no details so far .
We assume this means a few of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these confidential briefings , under the misapprehension that the surveillance net will not pick up your gross violations .
You ’ re no doubt already the targets of investigation .
On a brighter note , the new New York Alliance is hard at work digitizing what amounts to a new branch of the economy designed for trade and commerce , exclusive to a network of the gen-rich .
Of course , the trickle-down effects to other classes will ultimately benefit the entire population .
But this plug and pay will facilitate your day-to-day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and clarity .
It ’ s a universe built for you .
Find new opportunities .
Meet with like-minded speculators .
Life 3.0 : Being Human ... Tegmark , Max Best Price : $ 6.00 Buy New $ 10.91 Gain access to proprietary files listing depressed and seized properties large and small , by category .
You can buy AND sell properties with a click .
It ’ s a trading market .
Now , for those of you with a real zest for adventure , NBC is partnering with the Gates School @ @ @ @ @ @ @ entirely new and experimental download seminar .
The data are priceless .
Learn how to set up your own non-profit foundation , fund pharma research , promote the anticipated results , invest in those pharma corporations doing the research , watch stock prices soar , and make profit .
That ’ s the short description .
Give , promote , invest , profit .
But the innovation is the method of learning : It ’ s a direct download , into the brain .
Experimental , as I say .
Up to now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ inducing feelings , impulses , aversions , preferences—in some people .
But it ’ s a new day .
We ’ re working to insert entire data files AS KNOWLEDGE in the mind .
Without coercion .
This is a major leap forward .
Do you want to try it ?
These files are for the gen-rich only .
Bill Gates once wrote , “ The aftermath of COVID is the key .
That ’ s when the new changes will take hold .
Bold technologies will replace older ways of thought and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Disclaimer : No liability is attached to NBC or any of its partners .
In prior clinical trials , some volunteers experienced transient memory loss and motor impairment .
—All of which leads to today ’ s talking points .
The big question facing us is : who invents reality ?
Are we going to create reality for the masses , or are we going to allow them to create it for us ?
The new technologies are about to answer that question .
If researchers can insert/inject the quality and content @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The first crude attempt , on a wide basis , was the COVID nano vaccine .
It attempted to place tiny sensors in the brain and body , for the purpose of receiving instructions from a central command point .
The results were spotty , at best .
But that was to be expected .
Updates were introduced with COVID booster shots .
—Still , wildly unpredictable outcomes .
Many people reported hearing voices .
Some of them went on to found churches and cults .
Soon , however , the combination of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ called the Contentment Index .
Also known as the Placidity Constant .
It was the high-tech equivalent of the old invocation , “ Remain Calm.
” Here is the current problem researchers are working on .
If you shoot impulses which represent 50 million words into the brain , how does the brain interpret those messages ?
How does it translate them ?
Does it integrate them with prior knowledge ?
And finally , here is the conundrum : who is listening to the brain ?
We are suddenly in the uncomfortable realm @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there is no need for anyone to hear what the brain is saying .
The brain IS the human being .
Others will claim there must be a Being apart from his brain .
If so , who will control that Being ?
To Live Again and The ... Silverberg , Robert Best Price : $ 7.07 Buy New $ 15.75 In any event , apparently Bill Gates thought he was hedging his bets when he made his donation to a new wing in Hell .
This must have happened near the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We wonder whether he was an early victim of one of the experiments he funded .
Yet , we should admire his persistence .
He envisioned a day when the human population would exist as a “ coordinated apparatus.
” That ’ s what he called it .
An assigned function for every person in the overall scheme of things .
Here are two more snippets from his Diaries : “ We are simply transferring medieval feudalism , with modern technology , into a new age .
The master sits in his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and foremost , with genetic enhancements .
He can think and plan with awesome speed and specificity .
He feels a steady hum of confidence .
He is always young… ” “ Depopulation is a given .
Fast or slow .
Gradual deletions will work best .
Selective targeting , based on studies and projections , is essential .
What matters is the human race will survive .
The species will endure .
It ’ s the same for any animal population .
If you cull a herd , you are not making @ @ @ @ @ @ @ those creatures you preserve , but you enhance them to produce only what you need from them.
” We have a question from a subscriber : “ Lester , how can you be appearing simultaneously on the public and private broadcasts ?
” Well , I ’ m live on the public side .
Here , you ’ re watching and listening to our latest AI version of me .
Naturally , I ’ ve been profiled carefully by my employers at NBC , and they ’ ve had a replica built that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is to say , I am that replica .
In fact , I can tell you that a remarkable Bill Gates AI replica is presently living in China , and is working as a consultant to the Regime .
He ’ s housed in a building in one of newer smart cities .
I hope to interview him in the near future .
NBC is partnering with Microsoft to create AI replicas of a number of historical figures .
Among them : David Rockefeller , Henry Kissinger , George Soros , and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will feature them in live broadcasts and conversations .
If you ’ re wondering whether a future AI candidate for could run for , and win , the US presidency , I believe the answer is yes .
What would we be asking the public to accept ?
A synthesis of the best thinking and organizational planning , congealed into the perfect likeness of a human being .
Why would that be a problem ?
These days , almost all political decisions are technical choices .
The overall values and assumptions of civilization @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only real issue is controlling rebellions .
For example , if my biological counterpart were to disappear tomorrow , what exactly would be lost ?
I would still be here .
And that is today ’ s report .
The Best of Jon Rappoport

Good evening, this is Lester Muir. Our top story tonight: a treasure trove of documents written by the once-famous philanthropist, Bill Gates, has been unearthed in a bunker near Seattle.
Last weekend, workers clearing the ruins from a bomb set off by the Nation ZZAHC discovered the long-rumored Gates Diaries. A shocking release from the Smithsonian Department of History states:
“Mr. Gates, obviously in a deranged state of mind, wrote, ‘I’ve taken a virtual tour of Hell. Just in case I end up there, things are all set. My Foundation has donated three billion dollars toward the construction of a new wing, which includes a five-star resort where Melinda and I will spend our days. The wing will also feature a drug and vaccine research facility…’”
Ten years ago, the cryogenic factory where Gates’ brain had been frozen and stored collapsed in a hurricane, and all heads were lost.
The Biden Department of Advanced Linguistic Studies at Harvard will cooperate with the Smithsonian in analyzing the Gates Diaries. The Singularity Is Nea... Kurzweil, Ray Best Price: $2.30 Buy New $12.71 (as of 04:06 UTC - Details)
Before moving on to our next story, subscribers to our Class A Portal can now click over to learn more about the Gates discovery. That Portal broadcast is only for gen-rich viewers who have received the injectable Genetic Modification Series 9.
SWITCH.
This is Lester Muir, for our Series 9 subscribers. We have a brief report from the Chairman of Biden Studies, Sir Dulles Op Obama, grandson of the former president of the United States. Sir Dulles is hoping the Gates Diaries will include no “confession” of “a never-discovered coronavirus.” Such an inaccurate characterization would destabilize trading markets and cause yet more riots that would have to be put down by force.
Sir Dulles warned that all speculations about fake viruses should remain in Limbo, where they can cause relatively little harm.
That warning is now a directive issued by the President’s Council on Surveillance. Do not discuss fake viruses. The US-China All Eyes System will pick up such conversations and reduce digital funds in offenders’ accounts.
Last month’s massive hack of the All Eyes System has been repaired. It is once again fully functional.
You, our subscribers, are our most valued asset. Your genetically enhanced status makes you the elite of the elite. What is your duty as gen-rich pioneers? To do everything you can to preserve order. As you know, we are facing an ongoing revolution from many quarters. In particular, the Bitter Clingers want to target you and your privilege.
In their latest round of propaganda, they are publishing false studies claiming your extended longevity is a sham, and your genetic alterations are unworkable and even harmful. These studies must be censored at every level. You are therefore urged to make donations to the GoogFace Fund. Its AI InfoSweeps are the best in the business.
As for your private security forces, we recommend Vanguard-State Street-BlackRock. Their resources are unparalleled. We here at NBC have wide-reaching contracts with their Serbian ground troop brigades.
NBC has been taking the lead in lobbying for an open windows policy regarding subscriber communications of all kinds. We believe your freedom would be well-deserved. Our proposal, as you know, is to release you from all surveillance vectors between the hours of 2 and 4AM on alternate Mondays. Unfortunately, so far our efforts have failed to make inroads on national parliament deliberations. We’ve taken up the issue with the US CFR-Trilateral Intelligence Nexus, and this is what we’ve learned: security leaks are emanating from our own gen-enhanced subscribers. We have no details so far. We assume this means a few of you are reporting out the contents of these confidential briefings, under the misapprehension that the surveillance net will not pick up your gross violations. You’re no doubt already the targets of investigation.
On a brighter note, the new New York Alliance is hard at work digitizing what amounts to a new branch of the economy designed for trade and commerce, exclusive to a network of the gen-rich. Of course, the trickle-down effects to other classes will ultimately benefit the entire population. But this plug and pay will facilitate your day-to-day business activities and ventures with unprecedented speed and clarity. It’s a universe built for you. Find new opportunities. Meet with like-minded speculators. Life 3.0: Being Human ... Tegmark, Max Best Price: $6.00 Buy New $10.91 (as of 04:03 UTC - Details)
Gain access to proprietary files listing depressed and seized properties large and small, by category. You can buy AND sell properties with a click. It’s a trading market.
Now, for those of you with a real zest for adventure, NBC is partnering with the Gates School of Investment Logic, to present an entirely new and experimental download seminar.
The data are priceless. Learn how to set up your own non-profit foundation, fund pharma research, promote the anticipated results, invest in those pharma corporations doing the research, watch stock prices soar, and make profit. That’s the short description. Give, promote, invest, profit. But the innovation is the method of learning:
It’s a direct download, into the brain. Experimental, as I say. Up to now, we’ve been successful at inducing feelings, impulses, aversions, preferences—in some people. But it’s a new day. We’re working to insert entire data files AS KNOWLEDGE in the mind. Without coercion. This is a major leap forward. Do you want to try it? These files are for the gen-rich only.
Bill Gates once wrote, “The aftermath of COVID is the key. That’s when the new changes will take hold. Bold technologies will replace older ways of thought and action.” Downloading knowledge is the frontier.
Disclaimer: No liability is attached to NBC or any of its partners. In prior clinical trials, some volunteers experienced transient memory loss and motor impairment.
—All of which leads to today’s talking points. The big question facing us is: who invents reality? Are we going to create reality for the masses, or are we going to allow them to create it for us?
The new technologies are about to answer that question. If researchers can insert/inject the quality and content of KNOWLEDGE/PERCEPTION, it becomes reality.
The first crude attempt, on a wide basis, was the COVID nano vaccine. It attempted to place tiny sensors in the brain and body, for the purpose of receiving instructions from a central command point. The results were spotty, at best. But that was to be expected.
Updates were introduced with COVID booster shots. —Still, wildly unpredictable outcomes. Many people reported hearing voices. Some of them went on to found churches and cults.
Soon, however, the combination of nanotech and genetic inserts introduced what researchers called the Contentment Index. Also known as the Placidity Constant. It was the high-tech equivalent of the old invocation, “Remain Calm.”
Here is the current problem researchers are working on. If you shoot impulses which represent 50 million words into the brain, how does the brain interpret those messages? How does it translate them? Does it integrate them with prior knowledge?
And finally, here is the conundrum: who is listening to the brain? We are suddenly in the uncomfortable realm of metaphysics. Some experts will insist there is no need for anyone to hear what the brain is saying. The brain IS the human being. Others will claim there must be a Being apart from his brain. If so, who will control that Being? To Live Again and The ... Silverberg, Robert Best Price: $7.07 Buy New $15.75 (as of 07:11 UTC - Details)
In any event, apparently Bill Gates thought he was hedging his bets when he made his donation to a new wing in Hell. This must have happened near the end of his life when he went mad. We wonder whether he was an early victim of one of the experiments he funded.
Yet, we should admire his persistence. He envisioned a day when the human population would exist as a “coordinated apparatus.” That’s what he called it. An assigned function for every person in the overall scheme of things.
Here are two more snippets from his Diaries: “We are simply transferring medieval feudalism, with modern technology, into a new age. The master sits in his castle. He is equipped, first and foremost, with genetic enhancements. He can think and plan with awesome speed and specificity. He feels a steady hum of confidence. He is always young…”
“Depopulation is a given. Fast or slow. Gradual deletions will work best. Selective targeting, based on studies and projections, is essential. What matters is the human race will survive. The species will endure. It’s the same for any animal population. If you cull a herd, you are not making a complete erasure. You can enhance those creatures you preserve, but you enhance them to produce only what you need from them.”
We have a question from a subscriber: “Lester, how can you be appearing simultaneously on the public and private broadcasts?”
Well, I’m live on the public side. Here, you’re watching and listening to our latest AI version of me. Naturally, I’ve been profiled carefully by my employers at NBC, and they’ve had a replica built that thinks and speaks as I would. That is to say, I am that replica.
In fact, I can tell you that a remarkable Bill Gates AI replica is presently living in China, and is working as a consultant to the Regime. He’s housed in a building in one of newer smart cities.
I hope to interview him in the near future.
NBC is partnering with Microsoft to create AI replicas of a number of historical figures. Among them: David Rockefeller, Henry Kissinger, George Soros, and Hillary Clinton. Eventually, the network will feature them in live broadcasts and conversations.
If you’re wondering whether a future AI candidate for could run for, and win, the US presidency, I believe the answer is yes. What would we be asking the public to accept? A synthesis of the best thinking and organizational planning, congealed into the perfect likeness of a human being. Why would that be a problem? These days, almost all political decisions are technical choices. The overall values and assumptions of civilization have been set in stone. The only real issue is controlling rebellions.
For example, if my biological counterpart were to disappear tomorrow, what exactly would be lost? I would still be here.
And that is today’s report.
Reprinted with permission from Jon Rappoport’s blog.
The Best of Jon Rappoport


lewrockwell--2020-09-05--For Years, Journalists Cheered Assange’s Abuse

Court hearings in Britain over the US administration ’ s extradition case against Julian Assange begin in earnest next week .
The decade-long saga that brought us to this point should appall anyone who cares about our increasingly fragile freedoms .
A journalist and publisher has been deprived of his liberty for 10 years .
According to UN experts , he has been arbitrarily detained and tortured for much of that time through intense physical confinement and endless psychological pressure .
He has been bugged and spied on by the CIA during his time in political asylum , in Ecuador @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that violated his most fundamental legal rights .
The judge overseeing his hearings has a serious conflict of interest – with her family embedded in the UK security services – that she did not declare and which should have required her to recuse herself from the case .
All indications are that Assange will be extradited to the US to face a rigged grand jury trial meant to ensure he sees out his days in a maximum-security prison , serving a sentence of up to 175 years .
None of this happened in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happened right under our noses , in a major western capital , and in a state that claims to protect the rights of a free press .
It happened not in the blink of an eye but in slow motion – day after day , week after week , month after month , year after year .
And once we strip out a sophisticated campaign of character assassination against Assange by western governments and a compliant media , the sole justification for this relentless attack on press freedom is that a 49-year-old man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That is the reason – and the only reason – that the US is seeking his extradition and why he has been languishing in what amounts to solitary confinement in Belmarsh high-security prison during the Covid-19 pandemic .
His lawyers ’ appeals for bail have been refused .
While the press corps abandoned Assange a decade ago , echoing official talking points that pilloried him over toilet hygiene and his treatment of his cat , Assange is today exactly where he originally predicted he would be if western governments got their way .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ US so he can be locked out of sight for the rest of his life .
Gulag : A History Anne Applebaum Best Price : $ 2.90 Buy New $ 9.40 There were two goals the US and UK set out to achieve through the visible persecution , confinement and torture of Assange .
First , he and Wikileaks , the transparency organisation he co-founded , needed to be disabled .
Engaging with Wikileaks had to be made too risky to contemplate for potential whistleblowers .
That is why Chelsea Manning – the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan for which Assange now faces extradition – was similarly subjected to harsh imprisonment .
She later faced punitive daily fines while in jail to pressure her into testifying against Assange .
The aim has been to discredit Wikileaks and similar organisations and stop them from publishing additional revelatory documents – of the kind that show western governments are not the “ good guys ” managing world affairs for the benefit of mankind , but are in fact highly militarised , global bullies advancing the same @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and pillage they always pursued .
And second , Assange had to be made to suffer horribly and in public – to be made an example of – to deter other journalists from ever following in his footsteps .
He is the modern equivalent of a severed head on a pike displayed at the city gates .
The very obvious fact – confirmed by the media coverage of his case – is that this strategy , advanced chiefly by the US and UK ( with Sweden playing a lesser role ) , has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ journalists are still enthusiastically colluding in the vilification of Assange – mainly at this stage by ignoring his awful plight .
When he hurried into Ecuador ’ s embassy back in 2012 , seeking political asylum , journalists from every corporate media outlet ridiculed his claim – now , of course , fully vindicated – that he was evading US efforts to extradite him and lock him away for good .
The media continued with their mockery even as evidence mounted that a grand jury had been secretly convened to draw up espionage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ located in the eastern district of Virginia , where the major US security and intelligence services are headquartered .
Any jury there is dominated by US security personnel and their families .
His hope of a fair trial was non-existent .
Instead we have endured eight years of misdirection by the corporate media and its willing complicity in his character assassination , which has laid the ground for the current public indifference to Assange ’ s extradition and widespread ignorance of its horrendous implications .
Corporate journalists have accepted , entirely at face @ @ @ @ @ @ @ why the interests of justice have been served by locking Assange away indefinitely – even before his extradition – and trampling his most basic legal rights .
The other side of the story – Assange ’ s , the story hiding in plain sight – has invariably been missing from the coverage , whether it has been CNN , the New York Times , the BBC or the Guardian .
First , it was claimed that Assange had fled questioning over sexual assault allegations in Sweden , even though it was the Swedish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even though the original Swedish prosecutor , Eva Finne , dismissed the investigation against him , saying “ There is no suspicion of any crime whatsoever ” , before it was picked up by a different prosecutor for barely concealed , politicised reasons ; and even though Assange later invited Swedish prosectors to question him where he was ( in the embassy ) , an option they regularly agreed to in other cases but resolutely refused in his .
It was not just that none of these points was ever provided as context @ @ @ @ @ @ @ media .
Or that much else in Assange ’ s favour was simply ignored , such as tampered evidence in the case of one of the two women who alleged sexual assault and the refusal of the other to sign the rape statement drawn up for her by police .
Twilight of Democracy : ... Applebaum , Anne Buy New $ 20.99 The story was also grossly and continuously misreported as relating to “ rape charges ” when Assange was wanted simply for questioning .
No charges were ever laid against him because @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and her British counterparts , including Sir Keir Starmer , then head of the prosecution service and now leader of the Labour party – seemingly wished to avoid testing the credibility of their allegations by actually questioning Assange .
Leaving him to rot in a small room in the embassy served their purposes much better .
When the Sweden case fizzled out – when it became clear that the original prosecutor had been right to conclude that there was no evidence to justify further questioning , let alone charges – the political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Assange ’ s confinement was implicitly justified for entirely different , political reasons – because he had supposedly aided Donald Trump ’ s presidential election campaign in 2016 by publishing emails , allegedly “ hacked ” by Russia , from the Democratic party ’ s servers .
The content of those emails , obscured in the coverage at the time and largely forgotten now , revealed corruption by Hillary Clinton ’ s camp and efforts to sabotage the party ’ s primaries to undermine her rival for the presidential nomination , Bernie Sanders @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shown little concern over Assange ’ s lengthy confinement in the embassy , and later jailing in Belmarsh , for his exposure of US war crimes , which is why little effort has been expended on winning them over .
The demonisation campaign against Assange has focused instead on issues that are likely to trigger liberals and the left , who might otherwise have qualms about jettisoning the First Amendment and locking people up for doing journalism .
Just as the Swedish allegations , despite their non-investigation , tapped into the worst kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the “ hacked ” emails story was designed to alienate the Democratic party base .
Extraordinarily , the claim of Russian hacking persists even though years later – and after a major “ Russiagate ” inquiry by Robert Mueller – it still can not be stood up with any actual evidence .
In fact , some of those closest to the matter , such as former UK ambassador Craig Murray , have insisted all along that the emails were not hacked by Russia but were leaked by a disenchanted Democratic party insider @ @ @ @ @ @ @ however , is that a transparency organisation like Wikileaks had no choice , after it was handed those documents , but to expose abuses by the Democratic party – whoever was the source .
The reason that Assange and Wikileaks became entwined in the Russiagate fiasco – which wasted the energies of Democratic party supporters on a campaign against Trump that actually strengthened rather than weakened him – was because of the credulous coverage , once again , of the issue by almost the entire corporate media .
Liberal outlets like the Guardian @ @ @ @ @ @ @ openly fabricate a story – in which it falsely reported that a Trump aide , Paul Manafort , and unnamed “ Russians ” secretly visited Assange in the embassy – without repercussion or retraction .
All of this made possible what has happened since .
After the Swedish case evaporated and there were no reasonable grounds left for not letting Assange walk free from the embassy , the media suddenly decided in chorus that a technical bail violation was grounds enough for his continuing confinement in the embassy – or , better still @ @ @ @ @ @ @ breach of bail , of course , related to Assange ’ s decision to seek asylum in the embassy , based on a correct assessment that the US planned to demand his extradition and imprisonment .
None of these well-paid journalists seemed to remember that , in British law , failure to meet bail conditions is permitted if there is “ reasonable cause ” – and fleeing political persecution is very obviously just such a reasonable cause .
Similarly , the media wilfully ignored the conclusions of a report by Nils Melzer , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United Nations ’ expert on torture , that the UK , US and Sweden had not only denied Assange his basic legal rights but had colluded in subjecting him to years of psychological torture – a form of torture , Melzer has pointed out , that was refined by the Nazis because it was found to be crueller and more effective at breaking victims than physical torture .
Assange has been blighted by deteriorating health and cognitive decline as a result , and has lost significant weight .
None of that has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of more than a passing mention – specifically when Assange ’ s poor health made him incapable of attending a court hearing .
Instead Melzer ’ s repeated warnings about the abusive treatment of Assange and its effects on him have fallen on deaf ears .
The media has simply ignored Melzer ’ s findings , as though they were never published , that Assange has been , and is being , tortured .
We need only pause and imagine how much coverage Melzer ’ s report would have received had it concerned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ official enemy state like Russia or China .
Last year British police , in coordination with an Ecuador now led by a president , Lenin Moreno , who craved closer ties with Washington , stormed the embassy to drag Assange out and lock him up in Belmarsh prison .
In their coverage of these events , journalists again played dumb .
They had spent years first professing the need to “ believe women ” in the Assange case , even if it meant ignoring evidence , and then proclaiming the sanctity of bail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ simply as a pretext for political persecution .
Now that was all swept aside in an instant .
Suddenly Assange ’ s nine years of confinement over a non-existent sexual assault investigation and a minor bail infraction were narratively replaced by an espionage case .
And the media lined up against him once again .
A few years ago the idea that Assange could be extradited to the US and locked up for the rest of his life , his journalism recast as “ espionage ” , was mocked as so improbable , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” journalist was prepared to countenance it as the genuine reason for his seeking asylum in the embassy .
It was derided as a figment of the fevered , paranoid imaginations of Assange and his supporters , and as a self-serving cover for him to avoid facing the investigation in Sweden .
But when British police invaded the embassy in April last year and arrested him for extradition to the US on precisely the espionage charges Assange had always warned were going to be used against him , journalists reported these developments as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The media erased this context not least because it would have made them look like willing dupes of US propaganda , like apologists for US exceptionalism and lawlessness , and because it would have proved Assange right once more .
It would have demonstrated that he is the real journalist , in contrast to their pacified , complacent , power-worshipping corporate journalism .
Right now every journalist in the world ought to be up in arms , protesting at the abuses Assange is suffering , and has suffered , and the fate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
They should be protesting on front pages and in TV news shows against the endless and blatant abuses of legal process at Assange ’ s hearings in the British courts , including the gross conflict of interest of Lady Emma Arbuthnot , the judge overseeing his case .
They should be in uproar at the surveillance the CIA illegally arranged inside the Ecuadorian embassy while Assange was confined there , nullifying the already dishonest US case against him by violating his client-lawyer privilege .
They should be expressing outrage at Washington ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of due process by the British courts , designed to extradite him on espionage charges for doing work that lies at the very heart of what journalism claims to be – holding the powerful to account .
Journalists do not need to care about Assange or like him .
They have to speak out in protest because approval of his extradition will mark the official death of journalism .
It will mean that any journalist in the world who unearths embarrassing truths about the US , who discovers its darkest secrets , will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jailed for the rest of their lives .
All Things Censored Abu-Jamal , Mumia Best Price : $ 10.00 Buy New $ 43.48 That ought to terrify every journalist .
But it has had no such effect .
The vast majority of western journalists , of course , never uncover one significant secret from the centres of power in their entire professional careers – even those ostensibly monitoring those power centres .
These journalists repackage press releases and lobby briefings , they tap sources inside government who use them as a conduit to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they relay gossip and sniping from inside the corridors of power .
That is the reality of access journalism that constitutes 99 per cent of what we call political news .
Nonetheless , Assange ’ s abandonment by journalists – the complete lack of solidarity as one of their number is persecuted as flagrantly as dissidents once sent to the gulags – should depress us .
It means not only that journalists have abandoned any pretence that they do real journalism , but that they have also renounced the aspiration that it be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ means that corporate journalists are ready to be viewed with even greater disdain by their audiences than is already the case .
Because through their complicity and silence , they have sided with governments to ensure that anyone who truly holds power to account , like Assange , will end up behind bars .
Their own freedom brands them as a captured elite – irrefutable evidence that they serve power , they do not confront it .
The only conclusion to be drawn is that corporate journalists care less about the truth than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ salaries , their status , and their access to the rich and powerful .
As Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky explained long ago in their book Manufacturing Consent , journalists join a media class after lengthy education and training processes designed to weed out those not reliably in sympathy with the ideological interests of their corporate employers .
Briefly , Assange raised the stakes for all journalists by renouncing their god – “ access ” – and their modus operandi of revealing occasional glimpses of very partial truths offered up by “ friendly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who use the media to settle scores with rivals in the centres of power .
Instead , through whistleblowers , Assange rooted out the unguarded , unvarnished , full-spectrum truth whose exposure helped no one in power – only us , the public , as we tried to understand what was being done , and had been done , in our names .
For the first time , we could see just how ugly , and often criminal , the behaviour of our leaders was .
Assange did not just expose the political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ too – for their feebleness , for their hypocrisy , for their dependence on the centres of power , for their inability to criticise a corporate system in which they were embedded .
Few of them can forgive Assange that crime .
Which is why they will be there cheering on his extradition , if only through their silence .
A few liberal writers will wait till it is too late for Assange , till he has been packaged up for rendition , to voice half-hearted , mealy-mouthed or agonised columns arguing that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he did not deserve the treatment the US has in store for him .
But that will be far too little , far too late .
Assange needed solidarity from journalists and their media organisations long ago , as well as full-throated denunciations of his oppressors .
He and Wikileaks were on the front line of a war to remake journalism , to rebuild it as a true check on the runaway power of our governments .
Journalists had a chance to join him in that struggle .
Instead they fled the battlefield @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to their corporate masters .

Court hearings in Britain over the US administration’s extradition case against Julian Assange begin in earnest next week. The decade-long saga that brought us to this point should appall anyone who cares about our increasingly fragile freedoms.
A journalist and publisher has been deprived of his liberty for 10 years. According to UN experts, he has been arbitrarily detained and tortured for much of that time through intense physical confinement and endless psychological pressure. He has been bugged and spied on by the CIA during his time in political asylum, in Ecuador’s London embassy, in ways that violated his most fundamental legal rights. The judge overseeing his hearings has a serious conflict of interest – with her family embedded in the UK security services – that she did not declare and which should have required her to recuse herself from the case.
Today one year ago we visited #Assange in prison. He showed clear signs of prolonged psychological #Torture. First I was shocked that mature democracies could produce such an accident. Then I found out it was no accident. Now, I am scared to find out about our democracies… pic.twitter.com/enElUmA1fK — Nils Melzer (@NilsMelzer) May 9, 2020
All indications are that Assange will be extradited to the US to face a rigged grand jury trial meant to ensure he sees out his days in a maximum-security prison, serving a sentence of up to 175 years.
None of this happened in some Third-World, tinpot dictatorship. It happened right under our noses, in a major western capital, and in a state that claims to protect the rights of a free press. It happened not in the blink of an eye but in slow motion – day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.
And once we strip out a sophisticated campaign of character assassination against Assange by western governments and a compliant media, the sole justification for this relentless attack on press freedom is that a 49-year-old man published documents exposing US war crimes. That is the reason – and the only reason – that the US is seeking his extradition and why he has been languishing in what amounts to solitary confinement in Belmarsh high-security prison during the Covid-19 pandemic. His lawyers’ appeals for bail have been refused.
Severed head on a pike
While the press corps abandoned Assange a decade ago, echoing official talking points that pilloried him over toilet hygiene and his treatment of his cat, Assange is today exactly where he originally predicted he would be if western governments got their way. What awaits him is rendition to the US so he can be locked out of sight for the rest of his life. Gulag: A History Anne Applebaum Best Price: $2.90 Buy New $9.40 (as of 10:05 UTC - Details)
There were two goals the US and UK set out to achieve through the visible persecution, confinement and torture of Assange.
First, he and Wikileaks, the transparency organisation he co-founded, needed to be disabled. Engaging with Wikileaks had to be made too risky to contemplate for potential whistleblowers. That is why Chelsea Manning – the US soldier who passed on documents relating to US war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan for which Assange now faces extradition – was similarly subjected to harsh imprisonment. She later faced punitive daily fines while in jail to pressure her into testifying against Assange.
The aim has been to discredit Wikileaks and similar organisations and stop them from publishing additional revelatory documents – of the kind that show western governments are not the “good guys” managing world affairs for the benefit of mankind, but are in fact highly militarised, global bullies advancing the same ruthless colonial policies of war, destruction and pillage they always pursued.
And second, Assange had to be made to suffer horribly and in public – to be made an example of – to deter other journalists from ever following in his footsteps. He is the modern equivalent of a severed head on a pike displayed at the city gates.
The very obvious fact – confirmed by the media coverage of his case – is that this strategy, advanced chiefly by the US and UK (with Sweden playing a lesser role), has been wildly successful. Most corporate media journalists are still enthusiastically colluding in the vilification of Assange – mainly at this stage by ignoring his awful plight.
Story hiding in plain sight
When he hurried into Ecuador’s embassy back in 2012, seeking political asylum, journalists from every corporate media outlet ridiculed his claim – now, of course, fully vindicated – that he was evading US efforts to extradite him and lock him away for good. The media continued with their mockery even as evidence mounted that a grand jury had been secretly convened to draw up espionage charges against him and that it was located in the eastern district of Virginia, where the major US security and intelligence services are headquartered. Any jury there is dominated by US security personnel and their families. His hope of a fair trial was non-existent.
Instead we have endured eight years of misdirection by the corporate media and its willing complicity in his character assassination, which has laid the ground for the current public indifference to Assange’s extradition and widespread ignorance of its horrendous implications.
Corporate journalists have accepted, entirely at face value, a series of rationalisations for why the interests of justice have been served by locking Assange away indefinitely – even before his extradition – and trampling his most basic legal rights. The other side of the story – Assange’s, the story hiding in plain sight – has invariably been missing from the coverage, whether it has been CNN, the New York Times, the BBC or the Guardian.
From Sweden to Clinton
First, it was claimed that Assange had fled questioning over sexual assault allegations in Sweden, even though it was the Swedish authorities who allowed him to leave; even though the original Swedish prosecutor, Eva Finne, dismissed the investigation against him, saying “There is no suspicion of any crime whatsoever”, before it was picked up by a different prosecutor for barely concealed, politicised reasons; and even though Assange later invited Swedish prosectors to question him where he was (in the embassy), an option they regularly agreed to in other cases but resolutely refused in his.
It was not just that none of these points was ever provided as context for the Sweden story by the corporate media. Or that much else in Assange’s favour was simply ignored, such as tampered evidence in the case of one of the two women who alleged sexual assault and the refusal of the other to sign the rape statement drawn up for her by police. Twilight of Democracy:... Applebaum, Anne Buy New $20.99 (as of 03:37 UTC - Details)
The story was also grossly and continuously misreported as relating to “rape charges” when Assange was wanted simply for questioning. No charges were ever laid against him because the second Swedish prosecutor, Marianne Ny – and her British counterparts, including Sir Keir Starmer, then head of the prosecution service and now leader of the Labour party – seemingly wished to avoid testing the credibility of their allegations by actually questioning Assange. Leaving him to rot in a small room in the embassy served their purposes much better.
When the Sweden case fizzled out – when it became clear that the original prosecutor had been right to conclude that there was no evidence to justify further questioning, let alone charges – the political and media class shifted tack.
Suddenly Assange’s confinement was implicitly justified for entirely different, political reasons – because he had supposedly aided Donald Trump’s presidential election campaign in 2016 by publishing emails, allegedly “hacked” by Russia, from the Democratic party’s servers. The content of those emails, obscured in the coverage at the time and largely forgotten now, revealed corruption by Hillary Clinton’s camp and efforts to sabotage the party’s primaries to undermine her rival for the presidential nomination, Bernie Sanders.
Guardian fabricates a smear
Those on the authoritarian right have shown little concern over Assange’s lengthy confinement in the embassy, and later jailing in Belmarsh, for his exposure of US war crimes, which is why little effort has been expended on winning them over. The demonisation campaign against Assange has focused instead on issues that are likely to trigger liberals and the left, who might otherwise have qualms about jettisoning the First Amendment and locking people up for doing journalism.
The Guardian: Fake news and hostility toward Assange in 44 headlines. #DumpTheGuardian https://t.co/jwl5ZbEOL7 — FiveFilters.org ⏳ (@fivefilters) April 19, 2019
Just as the Swedish allegations, despite their non-investigation, tapped into the worst kind of kneejerk identity politics on the left, the “hacked” emails story was designed to alienate the Democratic party base. Extraordinarily, the claim of Russian hacking persists even though years later – and after a major “Russiagate” inquiry by Robert Mueller – it still cannot be stood up with any actual evidence. In fact, some of those closest to the matter, such as former UK ambassador Craig Murray, have insisted all along that the emails were not hacked by Russia but were leaked by a disenchanted Democratic party insider.
An even more important point, however, is that a transparency organisation like Wikileaks had no choice, after it was handed those documents, but to expose abuses by the Democratic party – whoever was the source.
The reason that Assange and Wikileaks became entwined in the Russiagate fiasco – which wasted the energies of Democratic party supporters on a campaign against Trump that actually strengthened rather than weakened him – was because of the credulous coverage, once again, of the issue by almost the entire corporate media. Liberal outlets like the Guardian newspaper even went so far as to openly fabricate a story – in which it falsely reported that a Trump aide, Paul Manafort, and unnamed “Russians” secretly visited Assange in the embassy – without repercussion or retraction.
Assange’s torture ignored
All of this made possible what has happened since. After the Swedish case evaporated and there were no reasonable grounds left for not letting Assange walk free from the embassy, the media suddenly decided in chorus that a technical bail violation was grounds enough for his continuing confinement in the embassy – or, better still, his arrest and jailing. That breach of bail, of course, related to Assange’s decision to seek asylum in the embassy, based on a correct assessment that the US planned to demand his extradition and imprisonment.
None of these well-paid journalists seemed to remember that, in British law, failure to meet bail conditions is permitted if there is “reasonable cause” – and fleeing political persecution is very obviously just such a reasonable cause.
The ‘Breach of Bail’ Allegation Against Assangehttps://t.co/XYkRmHn1cB — Defend Assange Campaign (@DefendAssange) April 7, 2019
Similarly, the media wilfully ignored the conclusions of a report by Nils Melzer, a Swiss scholar of international law and the United Nations’ expert on torture, that the UK, US and Sweden had not only denied Assange his basic legal rights but had colluded in subjecting him to years of psychological torture – a form of torture, Melzer has pointed out, that was refined by the Nazis because it was found to be crueller and more effective at breaking victims than physical torture.
Assange has been blighted by deteriorating health and cognitive decline as a result, and has lost significant weight. None of that has been deemed worthy by the corporate media of more than a passing mention – specifically when Assange’s poor health made him incapable of attending a court hearing. Instead Melzer’s repeated warnings about the abusive treatment of Assange and its effects on him have fallen on deaf ears. The media has simply ignored Melzer’s findings, as though they were never published, that Assange has been, and is being, tortured. We need only pause and imagine how much coverage Melzer’s report would have received had it concerned the treatment of a dissident in an official enemy state like Russia or China.
The UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Nils Melzer, has repeatedly alleged that Julian Assange has been (i) tortured and (ii) politically persecuted by the UK Government. https://t.co/HmPFP3xprZ — JamieSW (@jsternweiner) August 29, 2020
A power-worshipping media
Last year British police, in coordination with an Ecuador now led by a president, Lenin Moreno, who craved closer ties with Washington, stormed the embassy to drag Assange out and lock him up in Belmarsh prison. In their coverage of these events, journalists again played dumb.
They had spent years first professing the need to “believe women” in the Assange case, even if it meant ignoring evidence, and then proclaiming the sanctity of bail conditions, even if they were used simply as a pretext for political persecution. Now that was all swept aside in an instant. Suddenly Assange’s nine years of confinement over a non-existent sexual assault investigation and a minor bail infraction were narratively replaced by an espionage case. And the media lined up against him once again.
A few years ago the idea that Assange could be extradited to the US and locked up for the rest of his life, his journalism recast as “espionage”, was mocked as so improbable, so outrageously unlawful that no “mainstream” journalist was prepared to countenance it as the genuine reason for his seeking asylum in the embassy. It was derided as a figment of the fevered, paranoid imaginations of Assange and his supporters, and as a self-serving cover for him to avoid facing the investigation in Sweden.
But when British police invaded the embassy in April last year and arrested him for extradition to the US on precisely the espionage charges Assange had always warned were going to be used against him, journalists reported these developments as though they were oblivious to this backstory. The media erased this context not least because it would have made them look like willing dupes of US propaganda, like apologists for US exceptionalism and lawlessness, and because it would have proved Assange right once more. It would have demonstrated that he is the real journalist, in contrast to their pacified, complacent, power-worshipping corporate journalism.
The death of journalism
Right now every journalist in the world ought to be up in arms, protesting at the abuses Assange is suffering, and has suffered, and the fate he will endure if extradition is approved. They should be protesting on front pages and in TV news shows against the endless and blatant abuses of legal process at Assange’s hearings in the British courts, including the gross conflict of interest of Lady Emma Arbuthnot, the judge overseeing his case.
They should be in uproar at the surveillance the CIA illegally arranged inside the Ecuadorian embassy while Assange was confined there, nullifying the already dishonest US case against him by violating his client-lawyer privilege. They should be expressing outrage at Washington’s manoeuvres, accorded a thin veneer of due process by the British courts, designed to extradite him on espionage charges for doing work that lies at the very heart of what journalism claims to be – holding the powerful to account.
Journalists do not need to care about Assange or like him. They have to speak out in protest because approval of his extradition will mark the official death of journalism. It will mean that any journalist in the world who unearths embarrassing truths about the US, who discovers its darkest secrets, will need to keep quiet or risk being jailed for the rest of their lives. All Things Censored Abu-Jamal, Mumia Best Price: $10.00 Buy New $43.48 (as of 07:21 UTC - Details)
That ought to terrify every journalist. But it has had no such effect.
Careers and status, not truth
The vast majority of western journalists, of course, never uncover one significant secret from the centres of power in their entire professional careers – even those ostensibly monitoring those power centres. These journalists repackage press releases and lobby briefings, they tap sources inside government who use them as a conduit to the large audiences they command, and they relay gossip and sniping from inside the corridors of power.
That is the reality of access journalism that constitutes 99 per cent of what we call political news.
Nonetheless, Assange’s abandonment by journalists – the complete lack of solidarity as one of their number is persecuted as flagrantly as dissidents once sent to the gulags – should depress us. It means not only that journalists have abandoned any pretence that they do real journalism, but that they have also renounced the aspiration that it be done by anyone at all.
It means that corporate journalists are ready to be viewed with even greater disdain by their audiences than is already the case. Because through their complicity and silence, they have sided with governments to ensure that anyone who truly holds power to account, like Assange, will end up behind bars. Their own freedom brands them as a captured elite – irrefutable evidence that they serve power, they do not confront it.
The only conclusion to be drawn is that corporate journalists care less about the truth than they do about their careers, their salaries, their status, and their access to the rich and powerful. As Ed Herman and Noam Chomsky explained long ago in their book Manufacturing Consent, journalists join a media class after lengthy education and training processes designed to weed out those not reliably in sympathy with the ideological interests of their corporate employers.
A sacrificial offering
Briefly, Assange raised the stakes for all journalists by renouncing their god – “access” – and their modus operandi of revealing occasional glimpses of very partial truths offered up by “friendly”, and invariably anonymous, sources who use the media to settle scores with rivals in the centres of power.
Instead, through whistleblowers, Assange rooted out the unguarded, unvarnished, full-spectrum truth whose exposure helped no one in power – only us, the public, as we tried to understand what was being done, and had been done, in our names. For the first time, we could see just how ugly, and often criminal, the behaviour of our leaders was.
Assange did not just expose the political class, he exposed the media class too – for their feebleness, for their hypocrisy, for their dependence on the centres of power, for their inability to criticise a corporate system in which they were embedded.
Few of them can forgive Assange that crime. Which is why they will be there cheering on his extradition, if only through their silence. A few liberal writers will wait till it is too late for Assange, till he has been packaged up for rendition, to voice half-hearted, mealy-mouthed or agonised columns arguing that, unpleasant as Assange supposedly is, he did not deserve the treatment the US has in store for him.
But that will be far too little, far too late. Assange needed solidarity from journalists and their media organisations long ago, as well as full-throated denunciations of his oppressors. He and Wikileaks were on the front line of a war to remake journalism, to rebuild it as a true check on the runaway power of our governments. Journalists had a chance to join him in that struggle. Instead they fled the battlefield, leaving him as a sacrificial offering to their corporate masters.
Reprinted with the author’s permission.


lewrockwell--2020-09-05--Jacob Agonistes; or, the Wounded Martyr

Jacob Agonistes; or, the Wounded Martyr

About five years ago in Racine , Wisconsin , a 24-year-old black man named Jacob Blake and a couple of female companions were among the patrons of the Brass Monkey tavern .
An inebriated Blake got into an argument with another patron and pulled a gun on him .
The dramatic confrontation was unceremoniously punctuated , however , by the gun ’ s magazine dropping out of the weapon and clattering to the floor .
Blake was ordered out of the establishment , but as he was leaving , he pointed the gun through the window at other patrons .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the police .
When the police managed to corral Blake after a “ high risk traffic stop , ” he exited the vehicle and began walking toward them , ignoring their commands to get down on the ground .
They ended up having to turn a K9 loose on him to finally get him under control .
The charges he racked up for his misadventures included one felony count of resisting arrest causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer , and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety—use of a dangerous weapon , and disorderly conduct .
For whatever reason , the charges were never pursued , and Blake ended up getting off scot-free .
You would think that a young man would have learned some kind of lesson here about breaking the law and resisting arrest , that he would have appreciated his serendipitous reprieve , and that he would have resolved not to screw up again .
Alas , it was not to be .
The War on Cops : How t ... Mac Donald , Heather Best @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 16.61 Early on the morning of May 3 of this year in Kenosha , Wisconsin , Blake entered the residence of his girlfriend and confronted her as she lay in bed sleeping .
He digitally penetrated her , then sniffed his finger and said , “ Smells like you ’ ve been with other men.
” After taking her debit card and the keys to her vehicle , he drove off in that vehicle and then made a thousand dollars ’ worth of fraudulent withdrawals with the debit card .
The girlfriend called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ eventually issued for his arrest on three counts : criminal trespass , domestic abuse ; third degree sexual assault , domestic abuse ; and disorderly conduct , domestic abuse .
On August 23 of this year , Kenosha police dispatch received a call from the same woman advising that her boyfriend was back on the premises when he shouldn ’ t be and that he was once again attempting to take her keys and her vehicle .
The dispatcher also communicated to the responding officers that there was a “ wanted ” alert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the complainant , that someone just happening to be Jacob Blake .
Shortly after arriving at the complainant ’ s address , the police engaged Blake and attempted to place him under arrest .
It turned out that Blake was also armed with a knife , although it is not clear whether he brandished it or simply had it on his person .
Blake physically resisted the police , at one point even putting one officer in a headlock .
Two officers attempted to tase Blake but to no avail .
Blake then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tail end of this part of the struggle was captured on cell phone video in Blair Witch shaky cam fashion , showing Blake either kneeling or crouching on the passenger side of a vehicle surrounded by three police officers .
Blake then gets to his feet and strides toward the front of the vehicle , police following with guns drawn .
Killer High : A History ... Andreas , Peter Best Price : $ 19.48 Buy New $ 19.49 A better quality cell phone video picked up the action from the driver side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ walking around the front of the vehicle to the driver side door and opening the door , officers in tow with guns drawn .
One officer attempts to shove Blake away from the door but to no avail .
That same officer then scrambles around behind Blake , grabs the fabric of Blake ’ s wife beater shirt with his free hand , and attempts to pull Blake back .
Blake strains to lean forward into the vehicle as if reaching for something .
The same officer , maintaining the tension of his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fires seven shots and then pauses ; the next sound heard is that of the vehicle ’ s horn as Blake—having gone limp—slumps against the steering column .
Blake survived but is currently paralyzed from the waist down .
“ But why did he have to shoot him and why did he shoot him so many times ?
” are the questions most asked about the incident .
Well , many officers have been shot by suspects who didn ’ t want to be arrested and who reached for a weapon to shoot @ @ @ @ @ @ @ warrant out on him , he resisted arrest , and he reached into a vehicle .
Any officer would have reason to believe that Blake was the kind of wild idiot who might be reaching for a weapon with which to do them in .
Fentanyl , Inc. : How Ro ... Westhoff , Ben Buy New $ 13.50 As to why he was shot so many times : Officers are trained to shoot until the threat is stopped .
There have been instances where a suspect in a gunfight with the police @ @ @ @ @ @ @ had enough oxygenated blood in his system to continue firing at the police before he finally dropped dead .
As long as he was still firing , he was still considered a threat , and the police were justified in continuing to put holes in him .
Same here .
As long as Blake was continuing to reach into the vehicle , he was still considered a threat , and the officer was justified in continuing to fire .
When Blake finally went limp , the threat was over and the officer stopped @ @ @ @ @ @ @ justified nature of this shooting , riots broke out in Kenosha doing millions of dollars in damage .
According to the last published census data , Kenosha has a black population of approximately 10 percent .
Here ’ s a question for the Kenosha Police Department : What percentage of murders , rapes , robberies , and assaults were committed in the city by black people in the last decade ?
Is it about 10 percent , or is it significantly more than 10 percent ?
With percentages adjusted accordingly , I pose @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of other cities that have also experienced rioting and looting .
If a particular group is committing a significantly disproportionately higher percentage of crimes , is defunding the police a good idea ?
The Best of George Hollenback

About five years ago in Racine, Wisconsin, a 24-year-old black man named Jacob Blake and a couple of female companions were among the patrons of the Brass Monkey tavern. An inebriated Blake got into an argument with another patron and pulled a gun on him. The dramatic confrontation was unceremoniously punctuated, however, by the gun’s magazine dropping out of the weapon and clattering to the floor. Blake was ordered out of the establishment, but as he was leaving, he pointed the gun through the window at other patrons. As could be expected, someone called the police.
When the police managed to corral Blake after a “high risk traffic stop,” he exited the vehicle and began walking toward them, ignoring their commands to get down on the ground. They ended up having to turn a K9 loose on him to finally get him under control. The charges he racked up for his misadventures included one felony count of resisting arrest causing a soft tissue injury to a police officer, and one misdemeanor count each of carrying a concealed weapon, carrying a firearm while intoxicated, endangering safety—use of a dangerous weapon, and disorderly conduct. For whatever reason, the charges were never pursued, and Blake ended up getting off scot-free.
You would think that a young man would have learned some kind of lesson here about breaking the law and resisting arrest, that he would have appreciated his serendipitous reprieve, and that he would have resolved not to screw up again. Alas, it was not to be. The War on Cops: How t... Mac Donald, Heather Best Price: $16.73 Buy New $16.61 (as of 05:30 UTC - Details)
Early on the morning of May 3 of this year in Kenosha, Wisconsin, Blake entered the residence of his girlfriend and confronted her as she lay in bed sleeping. He digitally penetrated her, then sniffed his finger and said, “Smells like you’ve been with other men.” After taking her debit card and the keys to her vehicle, he drove off in that vehicle and then made a thousand dollars’ worth of fraudulent withdrawals with the debit card. The girlfriend called the police, and a warrant was eventually issued for his arrest on three counts: criminal trespass, domestic abuse; third degree sexual assault, domestic abuse; and disorderly conduct, domestic abuse.
On August 23 of this year, Kenosha police dispatch received a call from the same woman advising that her boyfriend was back on the premises when he shouldn’t be and that he was once again attempting to take her keys and her vehicle. The dispatcher also communicated to the responding officers that there was a “wanted” alert for someone associated with the address of the complainant, that someone just happening to be Jacob Blake.
Shortly after arriving at the complainant’s address, the police engaged Blake and attempted to place him under arrest. It turned out that Blake was also armed with a knife, although it is not clear whether he brandished it or simply had it on his person. Blake physically resisted the police, at one point even putting one officer in a headlock. Two officers attempted to tase Blake but to no avail. Blake then broke away from the officers. The tail end of this part of the struggle was captured on cell phone video in Blair Witch shaky cam fashion, showing Blake either kneeling or crouching on the passenger side of a vehicle surrounded by three police officers. Blake then gets to his feet and strides toward the front of the vehicle, police following with guns drawn. Killer High: A History... Andreas, Peter Best Price: $19.48 Buy New $19.49 (as of 05:30 UTC - Details)
A better quality cell phone video picked up the action from the driver side of the vehicle. It shows Blake walking around the front of the vehicle to the driver side door and opening the door, officers in tow with guns drawn. One officer attempts to shove Blake away from the door but to no avail. That same officer then scrambles around behind Blake, grabs the fabric of Blake’s wife beater shirt with his free hand, and attempts to pull Blake back. Blake strains to lean forward into the vehicle as if reaching for something. The same officer, maintaining the tension of his grasp on Blake’s garment, fires seven shots and then pauses; the next sound heard is that of the vehicle’s horn as Blake—having gone limp—slumps against the steering column. Blake survived but is currently paralyzed from the waist down.
“But why did he have to shoot him and why did he shoot him so many times?” are the questions most asked about the incident. Well, many officers have been shot by suspects who didn’t want to be arrested and who reached for a weapon to shoot the officer. Blake had an active warrant out on him, he resisted arrest, and he reached into a vehicle. Any officer would have reason to believe that Blake was the kind of wild idiot who might be reaching for a weapon with which to do them in.
Fentanyl, Inc.: How Ro... Westhoff, Ben Buy New $13.50 (as of 05:32 UTC - Details) As to why he was shot so many times: Officers are trained to shoot until the threat is stopped. There have been instances where a suspect in a gunfight with the police has been shot through the heart but had enough oxygenated blood in his system to continue firing at the police before he finally dropped dead. As long as he was still firing, he was still considered a threat, and the police were justified in continuing to put holes in him. Same here. As long as Blake was continuing to reach into the vehicle, he was still considered a threat, and the officer was justified in continuing to fire. When Blake finally went limp, the threat was over and the officer stopped firing.
In spite of the totally justified nature of this shooting, riots broke out in Kenosha doing millions of dollars in damage. According to the last published census data, Kenosha has a black population of approximately 10 percent. Here’s a question for the Kenosha Police Department: What percentage of murders, rapes, robberies, and assaults were committed in the city by black people in the last decade? Is it about 10 percent, or is it significantly more than 10 percent? With percentages adjusted accordingly, I pose the same question to the police departments of other cities that have also experienced rioting and looting. If a particular group is committing a significantly disproportionately higher percentage of crimes, is defunding the police a good idea?
The Best of George Hollenback


lewrockwell--2020-09-05--Back to School…D’ya Think?

Back to School…D’ya Think?

After the spring from hell , and two months of summer staycation , families across the land anxiously await the very dubious reopening of the school year .
The Covid-19 virus has revealed structural cracks in the mighty fortress of public education .
Some districts remain closed , or only tentatively and partially open .
It ’ s easy to see where this is going .
I got a letter this week from a high school physics teacher in New England — who wants to remain anonymous .
He writes : “ …Covid has initiated the death of public ed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decide whether we should start full remote or whether we should try some weird hybrid schedule .
Nobody can make a decision .
The union is pissed .
They know most of the classrooms are poorly ventilated and too small and they see nothing but a ‘ cruise ship ’ scenario unfolding .
Remote is terrible , but it is better than nothing….
” The Messianic Characte ... Rousas John Rushdoony Best Price : $ 20.00 Buy New $ 20.00 Before we go further , remember the first principle of the long emergency @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is liable to fail .
During the post-war growth spurt , we consolidated all the nation ’ s schools into giant districts serviced by the yellow bus fleets bringing thousands of kids together in buildings designed to look like insecticide factories .
And when that project was complete , what did we get ?
Two decades of mass shootings in schools .
I don ’ t think we got the correct message from this — which is that this manner of schooling produces so much ennui and anomie that some kids turn homicidal @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The fact that this condition remains unrecognized , and certainly absent from public discussion , says a lot about our disastrous collective psychology of previous investment : having set up this miserable system at titanic expense , we can ’ t even think about changing it .
Now , as is usual in human history , the process will happen emergently , on its own , whether we like it or not , because circumstances demand it .
Another matter absent from news media is what happens when falling tax revenues start @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
My physics teacher correspondent in New England writes : “ School finances are in full reverse mode .
Whispered in the hallways before every school committee and in every town council chamber is the awesome reality that sales tax and property tax collections are down 25 – 30 percent .
The fear is palpable… .
It seems to me that Public Ed as we currently know it will be history in about four years .
It is a big edifice .
It will take a few years to fully implode , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ no money left to keep it going as it is.
” And so , “ technology ” steps in to save the day : remote learning .
It seemed like a good idea at the time , but the unintended consequences are pretty grim .
Is it realistic to park little kids , say 1st to 6th graders , in front of computer screens for six hours a day ?
I doubt it .
And now that we ’ ve set things up so that many households need both parents to generate income @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the remote learning ?
Personally , I doubt that a majority of even high schoolers will stick to that regimen .
The Underground Histor ... John Taylor Gatto , Ric ... Best Price : $ 16.21 Buy New $ 16.27 What about the many poor households ?
The schools may dole out laptops and tablets to them , but what if there ’ s no Internet service in the home .
What if the parents are computer illiterate ?
What if there are several kids and the household is chaotic ?
That is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ are on public assistance .
As it is , the kids already do badly in regular schooling .
So , then there ’ s home schooling .
A parent buys a curriculum and follows it .
Swell .
How many parents are actually equipped to do this ?
And who are the parents — mothers mostly — who get to stay home with the kids at least half the day ?
I hasten to add that the next iteration of schooling in America probably will grow out of home-schooling efforts , as groups @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hoc schools that resemble in structure the one-room schoolhouses of yesteryear .
But the journey to that outcome is likely to be messy and rocky , and a lot of children will be left behind .
Well , Abe Lincoln managed to get an education with little more than a Bible , a volume of Shakespeare , and a pile of law books .
The colleges have their heads so deep in the sand that you can barely see the ankles of the people-in-charge .
It ’ s absolutely worst at the top @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a letter lately sent out to the whole of the Princeton University “ community ” of students , staff , and faculty by President Christopher Eisgruber ( read the whole thing here ) .
Such a reeking dumpster-load of cowardly and disingenuous race-pander has hardly been seen before , even at Harvard , Yale , and Brown , where insincerity flows like Amontillado sherry .
Eisgruber writes : “ We must ask how Princeton can address systemic racism in the world.
” The grandiosity is really something — like , the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Princeton to fix it , and now the time is ripe !
And , of course , as if quixotic crusades against political hobgoblins will save Princeton .
I have news for you : the colleges and universities are going down hard and hardly just because Covid-19 has interrupted their business plan .
Rather , because of the stupendous and gross dishonesty that higher ed has fallen into .
The racketeering around college loans was bad enough but the intellectual racketeering around fake fields of study , thought-crime persecutions , and an epic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of higher ed , turned it into something no better than a sick cult , and infected the rest of the culture by seeding many institutions and business enterprises with cultist graduates bent on subjecting the whole of American society to a never-ending Maoist struggle session .
Anatomy of the State Murray Rothbard Best Price : $ 5.00 Buy New $ 5.82 If remote learning is for you , take five free online courses a semester at the Khan Academy and don ’ t fork over seventy-large to an Ivy League University for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Right now , the schools are in turmoil as the students show up , get to partying — or merely convening in small social groups — and whaddaya know , things go all cruise ship .
That ’ s what happened at SUNY Oneonta and Indiana University this week .
More to come , I ’ m sure .
Eventually , you see , thousands of colleges and universities across the land will close or at least downsize severely — if the Maoists don ’ t torch them after the election .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not in the hallowed halls of Google , Microsoft , and Goldman Sachs but rather in the fields and pastures across the fertile parts of the country where food must be grown for a dwindling population .
Sssshhhh .
Don ’ t tell them that .
They ’ ll just have another tantrum , scream in your face , and cancel you .
But the world goes as the world goes , and that ’ s probably where it ’ s going .
The Best of James Howard Kunstler

After the spring from hell, and two months of summer staycation, families across the land anxiously await the very dubious reopening of the school year. The Covid-19 virus has revealed structural cracks in the mighty fortress of public education. Some districts remain closed, or only tentatively and partially open. It’s easy to see where this is going.
I got a letter this week from a high school physics teacher in New England — who wants to remain anonymous. He writes:
“…Covid has initiated the death of public ed in America…. The state cannot decide whether we should start full remote or whether we should try some weird hybrid schedule. Nobody can make a decision. The union is pissed. They know most of the classrooms are poorly ventilated and too small and they see nothing but a ‘cruise ship’ scenario unfolding. Remote is terrible, but it is better than nothing….”
The Messianic Characte... Rousas John Rushdoony Best Price: $20.00 Buy New $20.00 (as of 07:40 UTC - Details) Before we go further, remember the first principle of the long emergency: anything organized at the giant scale is liable to fail. During the post-war growth spurt, we consolidated all the nation’s schools into giant districts serviced by the yellow bus fleets bringing thousands of kids together in buildings designed to look like insecticide factories. And when that project was complete, what did we get? Two decades of mass shootings in schools. I don’t think we got the correct message from this — which is that this manner of schooling produces so much ennui and anomie that some kids turn homicidal by the time they hit their teens.
The fact that this condition remains unrecognized, and certainly absent from public discussion, says a lot about our disastrous collective psychology of previous investment: having set up this miserable system at titanic expense, we can’t even think about changing it. Now, as is usual in human history, the process will happen emergently, on its own, whether we like it or not, because circumstances demand it.
Another matter absent from news media is what happens when falling tax revenues start to bite the giant consolidated school districts. My physics teacher correspondent in New England writes:
“School finances are in full reverse mode. Whispered in the hallways before every school committee and in every town council chamber is the awesome reality that sales tax and property tax collections are down 25 – 30 percent. The fear is palpable…. It seems to me that Public Ed as we currently know it will be history in about four years. It is a big edifice. It will take a few years to fully implode, but not a decade. There’s no money left to keep it going as it is.”
And so, “technology” steps in to save the day: remote learning. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but the unintended consequences are pretty grim. Is it realistic to park little kids, say 1st to 6th graders, in front of computer screens for six hours a day? I doubt it. And now that we’ve set things up so that many households need both parents to generate income, who’s around to supervise the remote learning? Personally, I doubt that a majority of even high schoolers will stick to that regimen. The Underground Histor... John Taylor Gatto, Ric... Best Price: $16.21 Buy New $16.27 (as of 09:50 UTC - Details)
What about the many poor households? The schools may dole out laptops and tablets to them, but what if there’s no Internet service in the home. What if the parents are computer illiterate? What if there are several kids and the household is chaotic? That is the actual reality where many single mothers are on public assistance. As it is, the kids already do badly in regular schooling.
So, then there’s home schooling. A parent buys a curriculum and follows it. Swell. How many parents are actually equipped to do this? And who are the parents — mothers mostly — who get to stay home with the kids at least half the day? I hasten to add that the next iteration of schooling in America probably will grow out of home-schooling efforts, as groups or pods of families organize small ad hoc schools that resemble in structure the one-room schoolhouses of yesteryear. But the journey to that outcome is likely to be messy and rocky, and a lot of children will be left behind. Well, Abe Lincoln managed to get an education with little more than a Bible, a volume of Shakespeare, and a pile of law books.
The colleges have their heads so deep in the sand that you can barely see the ankles of the people-in-charge. It’s absolutely worst at the top of the heap. Case in point, a letter lately sent out to the whole of the Princeton University “community” of students, staff, and faculty by President Christopher Eisgruber (read the whole thing here). Such a reeking dumpster-load of cowardly and disingenuous race-pander has hardly been seen before, even at Harvard, Yale, and Brown, where insincerity flows like Amontillado sherry. Eisgruber writes: “We must ask how Princeton can address systemic racism in the world.” The grandiosity is really something — like, the world has been just sitting around waiting for Princeton to fix it, and now the time is ripe! And, of course, as if quixotic crusades against political hobgoblins will save Princeton.
I have news for you: the colleges and universities are going down hard and hardly just because Covid-19 has interrupted their business plan. Rather, because of the stupendous and gross dishonesty that higher ed has fallen into. The racketeering around college loans was bad enough but the intellectual racketeering around fake fields of study, thought-crime persecutions, and an epic sexual hysteria has disgraced the very mission of higher ed, turned it into something no better than a sick cult, and infected the rest of the culture by seeding many institutions and business enterprises with cultist graduates bent on subjecting the whole of American society to a never-ending Maoist struggle session. Anatomy of the State Murray Rothbard Best Price: $5.00 Buy New $5.82 (as of 05:45 UTC - Details)
If remote learning is for you, take five free online courses a semester at the Khan Academy and don’t fork over seventy-large to an Ivy League University for pretty much exactly the same thing. Right now, the schools are in turmoil as the students show up, get to partying — or merely convening in small social groups — and whaddaya know, things go all cruise ship. That’s what happened at SUNY Oneonta and Indiana University this week. More to come, I’m sure.
Eventually, you see, thousands of colleges and universities across the land will close or at least downsize severely — if the Maoists don’t torch them after the election. The destiny of many young people today lies not in the hallowed halls of Google, Microsoft, and Goldman Sachs but rather in the fields and pastures across the fertile parts of the country where food must be grown for a dwindling population. Sssshhhh. Don’t tell them that. They’ll just have another tantrum, scream in your face, and cancel you. But the world goes as the world goes, and that’s probably where it’s going.
Reprinted with permission from Kunstler.com.
The Best of James Howard Kunstler


lewrockwell--2020-09-05--Revolution Is Being Institutionalized in the Federal Government

Most Americans are too removed from reality to be aware of the peril that they are in .
Critical Race Theory , an anti-white doctrine designed to produce revolution in the United States in order to overthrow “ white rule , ” has long held sway in the universities and public schools .
On an Executive Order from former President Obama , critical race theory now has infiltrated the Federal government cabinet agencies including the Treasury and FBI within the Department of Justice .
US government employees , if white , are required to attend Soviet-style self-denunciation “ sensitivity training @ @ @ @ @ @ @ as a white person .
One wonders that no one has told President Trump about this .
Our taxpayer dollars are paying for indoctrination sessions that make white people unable to defend their race and their rights to equality under the law .
Cynical Theories : How ... Lindsay , James Buy New $ 21.14 In no previous country in history that was overthrown had the rot reached the inner sanctums of the government itself .
Tucker Carlson , the only TV journalist remaining in the US , and his guest , a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government under Trump ’ s nose by critical race theory , show in the first nine minutes of Tucker ’ s show ( soon to be taken down by the censors at YouTube ) the extent to which the US government bureaucracy is being brainwashed against White Americans .
What you need to understand , although it will be difficult for you , is that in the Trump administration itself , revolution against white people is being institutionalized within the US Government .
Stay with the remaining 30 minutes of Carlson ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democrat experienced at stealing elections says that is what voting by mail enables .
The Democrats already know that they have lost the election .
They intend to steal it by throwing out mail-in ballots from Trump areas .
Even postal employees are participants in the theft .
No Trump vote that is cast by mail will be counted .
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts

Most Americans are too removed from reality to be aware of the peril that they are in. Critical Race Theory, an anti-white doctrine designed to produce revolution in the United States in order to overthrow “white rule,” has long held sway in the universities and public schools. On an Executive Order from former President Obama, critical race theory now has infiltrated the Federal government cabinet agencies including the Treasury and FBI within the Department of Justice. US government employees, if white, are required to attend Soviet-style self-denunciation “sensitivity training sessions” and acknowledge their inherent racism as a white person. One wonders that no one has told President Trump about this. Our taxpayer dollars are paying for indoctrination sessions that make white people unable to defend their race and their rights to equality under the law. Cynical Theories: How ... Lindsay, James Buy New $21.14 (as of 03:40 UTC - Details)
In no previous country in history that was overthrown had the rot reached the inner sanctums of the government itself.
Tucker Carlson, the only TV journalist remaining in the US, and his guest, a researcher into the undermining of the US government under Trump’s nose by critical race theory, show in the first nine minutes of Tucker’s show (soon to be taken down by the censors at YouTube) the extent to which the US government bureaucracy is being brainwashed against White Americans.
What you need to understand, although it will be difficult for you, is that in the Trump administration itself, revolution against white people is being institutionalized within the US Government.
Stay with the remaining 30 minutes of Carlson’s show. You will learn that a Democrat experienced at stealing elections says that is what voting by mail enables. The Democrats already know that they have lost the election. They intend to steal it by throwing out mail-in ballots from Trump areas. Even postal employees are participants in the theft. No Trump vote that is cast by mail will be counted.
The Best of Paul Craig Roberts