I'm gonna use that from now on: "No no no, Stalin was just CrOnY CoMmUnIsM, so it doesn't count :)"

The press just wills things into being at the behest of the capital class and presents it as a trend or logical outcome of X action

"Deregulation will make the economy more efficient and stimulate GDP growth," insist think tanks like the Brookings Institution and American Enterprise Institute. "Fiscal hawks," claiming to be worried about the deficit, demand austerity measures to reign in government spending. When it comes to "entitlement programs," we hear that "there are always tradeoffs."  

Time and again, the media and policymakers spew the same tired recitations meant to convey the seemingly natural, immutable laws of economics. The economy, we’re told, is thriving when business owners and hedge fund managers are making record profits, yet failing when investments in social programs have gotten too big. And that's just how it is.

Terms, phrases, and sentiments like these are part of a lexicon of economic euphemisms, cliches, and other forms of business-school speak designed to blur class lines and convince us all that our current economic system - entirely a result of policy choices largely designed to further enrich the wealthy at the expense of the broader welfare - is merely a function of cold, hard science, with rules and principles no more pliable than those of physics or chemistry.

But why should we be expected to accept that a news report that “the economy” is on the upswing means the average worker is doing any better, when all evidence is to the contrary? Why should our media’s economic "experts" come from a pool of elite economics departments beholden to corporate donors and right-wing think tanks? And why must "the economy" be defined in terms of whether the Dow is up or down, rather than whether people have food, housing, healthcare, and job security?

On this episode - Part II of a two-part series - we’ll examine another five of the most popular cliches, jargon, and rhetorical thingamajigs that economists, economic reporters and pundits use to sanitize, obscure, and provide a thin gloss of Science-ism to what is little more than power flattering cruel, racist austerity ideology.

Our guest is writer Hadas Thier.

How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part II)

And Introducing…we are taking a brief but fertile trip to Key West to visit a friend of quite a few folks: that's right, it's Jimmy Buffett. A son of a son of a sailor, a blender-drink connoisseur, a schooner crooner, a Conch Train stowaway, a vacation virtuoso, and an escape artist on the level of Houdini, Jimmy Buffett's life and career are truly one of one, and we learned all about it via his 2017 biography Jimmy Buffett: A Good Life All The Way by Ryan White. 

So throw some lime juice and tequila in a glass...........grill up some hot dogs..........whip out the old Hawaiian shirt.........and listen to our podcast. It may not be Key West, and as I type this I'm immediately regretting not putting in some like wave/ocean sounds or seagull calls into the podcast but it's simply too late now.....but regardless it might take your mind on a brief vacation.

Songs played on the pod:
Jimmy Buffett - "Margaritaville" (Raxlen Slice 8 Bit Chiptune Remix)
Jimmy Buffett - "The Christian?"
Jimmy Buffett - "Come Monday"
Jimmy Buffett - "Changes in Latitude, Changes in Attitude"
Jimmy Buffett - "Margaritaville"
Jimmy Buffett - "Cheeseburger in Paradise"
Alan Jackson and Jimmy Buffett - "It's Five O'Clock Somewhere"

And Introducing

#108 JIMMY BUFFETT!

Benjamin Norton continues his discussion with Pakistani scholar Junaid S. Ahmad about Pakistan's Prime Minister Imran Khan, his history, and how he challenged the two-party system that dominated the country for decades until being overthrown in a US-backed soft coup this April.

Part 2 of 2

(This was originally published on April 14, 2022.)

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=prtjx1_hMAM

Who is Pakistan's Imran Khan? From athlete to protester of US wars to overthrown prime minister

Multipolarista host Benjamin Norton is joined by Beijing-based journalist Ian Goodrum to discuss the Chinese government's campaign against inequality, its crackdown on billionaires, and its push for what it calls "common prosperity."

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=TiJ2-Uw_0tA

Follow Ian on Twitter at https://twitter.com/isgoodrum

China cracks down on billionaires and inequality, pushes for 'common prosperity'

Dimitri and Khalid continue discussing Otto Rahn’s downfall, (now #metoo’d) cult filmmaker Richard Stanley’s “The Secret Glory” documentary about Rahn, Stanley pledging himself to a White Lady spirit in Montsegur, traveling to Afghanistan in 1988 to search for ancient Aryan shapeshifters, dropping LSD in a war zone, joining CIA proxy force Hezb-e Islami as a bit, Stanley’s African colonizer great-grandfather Henry Morton Stanley, his witchy Seutheefreken emigré mother, dabbling in Haitian Vodou, LaRouche’s accusations against the synarchist Martinists, possible Lovecraft allusions in Rahn’s writings, and whether we should care about finding the Graal.

For access to full-length premium episodes and the SJ Grotto of Truth Discord, subscribe to the Al-Wara’ Frequency at patreon.com/subliminaljihad.

#120b - TRIUMPH OF THE GRAAL: Richard Stanley’s Quest To Become Otto Rahn (Part 2)

The Communist Party of China (CPC) is holding its 20th national congress to plan the next five years of policies. It says its goal is to "write an even more magnificent chapter for socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era."

Carlos Martinez, Danny Haiphong, and Ben Norton discuss the importance of the party congress in this joint production co-sponsored by Friends of Socialist China, The Left Lens, and Multipolarista.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=4IztA3jlUKs

Read more in our report here: https://multipolarista.com/2022/10/21/china-20th-cpc-national-congress

China plans 'new era' of revolution in 20th CPC national congress

Lula da Silva has returned as Brazil's president. This will cause a major geopolitical shift. Meanwhile, far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro fled to Florida, fearing legal consequences for his corruption.

Brazil-based journalist Brian Mier joins to discuss what a third Lula government means for Latin America and the world.

VIDEO: https://youtube.com/watch?v=CQq1kTubYQQ

Follow Brian at https://twitter.com/BrianMteleSUR

Brazil's President Lula is back - and Bolsonaro fled to Florida

We get into Evgeny Morozov’s latest essay on the geopolitical interests and military neoliberalism that’s really driving the AI arms race. Morozov traces today’s developments back to the Cold War – not just as a metaphor, but by showing how many of the same people and institutions are still in positions of power. To understand the America vs China framing of technological competition, which is now so dominant and two-dimensional in the discourse about AI, we must see how it is stoked by people like Eric Schmidt and Gilman Louie and their  networks of influence, capital, and ideology.

Article we discuss:
••• AI: the key battleground for Cold War 2.0? | Evgeny Morozov https://mondediplo.com/2023/05/02china 

Subscribe to hear more analysis and commentary in our premium episodes every week! https://www.patreon.com/thismachinekills   

Hosted by Jathan Sadowski (www.twitter.com/jathansadowski) and Edward Ongweso Jr. (www.twitter.com/bigblackjacobin). Production / Music by Jereme Brown (www.twitter.com/braunestahl)

253. The Cold War Origins and Future of Today’s AI

And introducing…The Fall! It’s the story of punk rock’s orneriest group and of course the front man synonymous with the name, Mark E. Smith. Chapo Trap House’s Will Menaker joins us to learn all about Smith and the Fall through the recollections of the dozens and dozens…and dozens of musicians used up and discarded in Fall’s chaotic wake, through Dave Simpson’s “The Fallen: Life In and Out of Britain’s Most Insane Group”.

Songs
The Fall - Totally Wired (chris cover)
The Fall - Pacifying Joint
The Fall - In My Area
The Fall - Two Steps Back
The Fall - Eat Y’self Fitter
The Fall - Theme From Sparta F.C.
The Fall - Spector vs. Rector

And Introducing Podcast

#60 THE FALL! (ft. Will Menaker)

Blood in, blood out. The Clintons have been dogged with a conspiracy theory claiming they're responsible for the deaths of dozens of people. We do a deep dive into the most prevalent name on the list: Vince Foster. We also examine the birth of the theory, and those involved in propagating it. Plus Jake gets kidnapped? Must have been Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary Clinton. Or somebody else. Hard to tell.

Hey! Head over now to patreon.com/qanonanonymous
& throw us 5 bucks a month to get an extra episode every week + access to the entire archive. Also it helps us continue to do this :)

Episode 60: Clinton Body Count

A network of QAnon figures are assisting fugitives, some of which planned abductions of their own children from foster homes, their legal guardians or CPS. Multiple custody disputes are also deteriorating, and all signs point to shady organizations like "The Children's Crusade" and "E-Clause". Join us in the spiral with Will Sommer, author of a recent two-part article on this topic.

↓↓↓↓ SUBSCRIBE FOR $5 A MONTH SO YOU DON'T MISS THE SECOND WEEKLY EPISODE ↓↓↓↓
https://www.patreon.com/QAnonAnonymous

Follow Will Sommer: https://www.twitter.com/willsommer

Merch / Join the Discord Community / Find the Lost Episodes / Etc: https://qanonanonymous.com

Episode music by Orko Three (https://doomchakratapes.bandcamp.com/album/orko-three-trax-from-the-quadead-zone) and ITEM (https://doomchakratapes.bandcamp.com/album/item-hall-of-errors)

Episode 105: QAnon Abducts Children feat Will Sommer

Citations Needed is a podcast about the media, power, PR, and the history of bullshit. It is hosted by Nima Shirazi and Adam Johnson, and produced by Florence Barrau-Adams.

How Economic Jargon and Cliches Make Cruel, Anti-Poor Policies Sound Sterile and Science-y (Part II)

Citations Needed Podcast

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