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Colonizing the Western Mind

by Jason Hirthler Part 5 - Schooling the Savages Once the pretext is established, the appropriate intervention is made. There’s no lack of latent racism embedded in each intervention. Something of Edward Said’s Orientalism is surely at play here; the West is often responding to a crude caricature rather than a living people. One writer, Robert Dale Parker, described western views of Asia as little more than, “ a sink of despotism on the margins of the world. ” Iran is incessantly lensed through a fearful distrust of the ‘other’, those abyssal Persians. Likewise, North Korea is mythologized as a kingdom of miniature madmen, possessed of a curious psychosis that surely bears no relation to the genocidal cleansing of 20 percent of its population in the Fifties, itself an imperial coda to the madness of Hiroshima. The interventions, then, are little different than the missionary work of early colonizers, who sought to entrap the minds of men in order to ensnare the s

Stephen Hawking dies aged 76

Stephen Hawking, the brightest star in the firmament of science, whose insights shaped modern cosmology and inspired global audiences in the millions, has died aged 76. His family released a statement in the early hours of Wednesday morning confirming his death at his home in Cambridge. Hawking’s children, Lucy, Robert and Tim said in a statement: “ We are deeply saddened that our beloved father passed away today. He was a great scientist and an extraordinary man whose work and legacy will live on for many years. His courage and persistence with his brilliance and humour inspired people across the world. He once said: ‘It would not be much of a universe if it wasn’t home to the people you love.’ We will miss him for ever. ” For fellow scientists and loved ones, it was Hawking’s intuition and wicked sense of humour that marked him out as much as the broken body and synthetic voice that came to symbolise the unbounded possibilities of the human mind. Mo

Army General admits US does not track weapons used to bomb Yemeni civilians

US Army General Joseph Votel admitted that the US does not monitor how the weapons it supplies to Saudi Arabia are used in Yemen. Over 10,000 Yemeni civilians have died in the conflict since 2015. During a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee on Tuesday, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts) asked Votel, head of the US Central Command, whether Centcom tracks the purpose of the Saudi missions it refuels in Yemen. “ We do not,” Votel said. Warren drew attention to the recent spate of civilian casualties in Yemen as a result of Saudi airstrikes against the region. She asked whether Centcom is able to ascertain whether US fuel or munitions were used as part of Saudi strikes that killed civilians. “ I don’t believe we are,” Votel said. Full report: https://www.rt.com/usa/421205-army-general-us-weapons-yemen/

The Pentagon-Hollywood propaganda complex

The Pentagon helps Hollywood to make money and, in turn, Hollywood churns out effective propaganda for the brutal American war machine. The US has the largest military budget in the world, spending over $611 billion – far larger than any other nation on Earth. The US military also has at their disposal the most successful propaganda apparatus the world has ever known… Hollywood. Since their collaboration on the first Best Picture winner ‘Wings’ in 1927, the US military has used Hollywood to manufacture and shape its public image in over 1,800 films and TV shows. Hollywood has, in turn, used military hardware in their films and TV shows to make gobs and gobs of money. A plethora of movies like ‘Lone Survivor,’ ‘Captain Philips,’ and even blockbuster franchises like ‘Transformers’ and Marvel, DC and X-Men superhero movies have agreed to cede creative control in exchange for use of US military hardware over the years. In order to obtain cooperation from the De

Ιδιωτικοποίηση νερού: άλλος ένας νεοφιλελεύθερος μύθος καταρρέει

globinfo freexchange Τη στιγμή που η Ευρώπη δοκιμάζεται από μια κρίση όχι μόνο οικονομική αλλά από μια κρίση αξιών, εκατομμύρια Ευρωπαίοι πολίτες ζητούν μια απάντηση σε ένα καίριο ερώτημα: είναι το νερό για την Ε.Ε. ένα εμπόρευμα της αγοράς ή ένα ανθρώπινο δικαίωμα; Μέχρι σήμερα, η Ευρωπαϊκή Επιτροπή δεν έχει δώσει ξεκάθαρη απάντηση σ’ αυτό το ερώτημα, ενώ αρνείται να αναγνωρίσει το ανθρώπινο δικαίωμα στο νερό, όπως έκανε ο ΟΗΕ το 2010. Την ίδια στιγμή, εκατοντάδες πόλεις, περιφέρειες και κράτη σε όλο τον κόσμο επαναδημοτικοποιούν τις υπηρεσίες ύδρευσής τους, απορρίπτοντας ως αποτυχημένο το ιδιωτικό μοντέλο διαχείρισης του νερού που δοκίμασαν για δεκαετίες. Στην Ευρώπη, οι περισσότερες περιπτώσεις καταγράφηκαν στη Γαλλία, την έδρα των μεγαλύτερων και ισχυρότερων πολυεθνικών εταιρειών νερού του πλανήτη. Εννιά περιπτώσεις καταγράφηκαν στη Γερμανία. Παρ’ όλο που το Βερολίνο και το Παρίσι επανέκτησαν τον δημόσιο έλεγχο του νερού τους, κάτι που παρουσιάστηκε εντός συνόρων ω