There's a thread going around on Twitter by Columbia University's Sophie Fullerton advancing the claim that I have promoted crazy conspiracy theories about child "crisis actors" in Syrian war atrocities. Fullerton has me blocked on Twitter so I can't respond to her there, but in her thread she brings up one of the most egregious instances I've ever seen of US war propaganda in the mass media, so it's worth taking some time to unpack her claims here as a public service.

The "interview": https://youtu.be/R7MRWhZzL5k

Reading by Tim Foley.

Recalling CNN's Fraudulent "Interview" With A Seven Year-Old Syrian Girl

I get funny reactions from people who are new to my work, often because I don't act like the other indie media figures they follow. I'm unrefined and swear a lot. I engage on social media with both followers and critics far more than most do. I talk about elite conspiracies to create a totalitarian dystopia, but I differ from other conspiracy analysts in that I assert that the dystopia is already here and has been for generations.

One of the main things that sets me apart from other people whose names I often get mentioned alongside is that I don't just publish anti-establishment commentary on news and politics and polemics against the empire; I publish art, poetry, philosophical musings, and big-picture assessments of what's going on with humanity as a whole. In case anyone's curious, I have a number of reasons for doing this.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Why I Publish Art And Philosophy In Addition To News Commentary

In times like these
when nuclear warheads are being moved into position,
when weapons manufacturers can't keep up with the demand,
when the pundits are making everyone stupid and crazy,
when it's hard to remember Assange's face but you can't turn on a screen without seeing Zelensky,
when our culture is manufactured on conveyor belts in New York, Hollywood, Arlington and Langley,
when everything's fake but the bombs and blockades,
when it feels like we're rocketing toward armageddon next to Jeff Bezos in a space suit,
when it feels like the angels have become smack addicts but have to settle for shitty Fentanyl fixes,
when it feels like God got kicked out of the group home and has to sell his plasma and sperm for cash,
when it feels like Heaven must be powered by smoggy nineteenth century London coal,
when it feels like the angel and the demon on humanity's shoulders are double fucking our ear canals,
when the bastards have sleeves full of bottomless aces while we're still trying to learn the rules,
when annihilation feels like a certainty and transcendence like a fairy tale,
it helps to have somewhere solid to take your stand.

In times like these
when everyone's so alienated they have to consume chemical intoxicants together just to share affection with each other,
when everyone's so lonely they trap animals in their homes with them so at least they have something that can't leave,
when everyone's so afraid of their own vulnerabilities they preemptively attack anyone who lowers their guard,
when everyone's pouring their lives into generating profits for miserable employers who will never have enough,
when everyone's being driven mad by the pointlessness of a civilization built around wealth extraction,
when everyone's allowing themselves to be sedated into a coma so they can't experience their own despondency,
when the radiant authenticity of nature is paved over to build cinemas to watch CGI creatures in CGI worlds,
when the sacred song of the heart is getting drowned out by desperation for dopamine hits from strangers on apps,
when the causeless joy of being keeps getting lost to fear and insecurity,
it helps to have some grounding in the changeless.

In times like these
truth can sneak in
like a thief,
like a ray of light through the smallest crack,
like a children's cereal mascot finally nicking a bowl of that delicious sugary starch
(oh my god it's got marshmallows and turns the milk neon colors oh fuck oh god I'm cumming),
like a ninja,
like Batman,
truth can sneak in and bonk you on the head
leaving you unable to see anything but the primal oneness,
unable to remember how you ever got things so mixed up,
like Gilligan when he got hit with the coconut
(except good).

In times like these
no matter how fucked up you are
you can sometimes catch Buddha winking at you in the mirror.

In times like these
everything is so tenuous
that satori can come crashing in at any moment.

In times like these
Shiva can just get tired of putting on the act
and take off the you-mask and break character.

In times like these
anyone's petty and irrelevant natterings
can be interrupted by the hatching of their heart.

We are such weird, mascara-streaked, runny-nosed ape mutants.
We are sharp-toothed blood-splashing murder monkeys.
We are honey-hearted giants with galaxies in our eyes.
I really hope you know how beautiful you are,
no matter how hard things are
and no matter how hard things get.
You contain vast universes,
and I wish I could make full-length Broadway musicals out of all of them.
No matter what happens I will love you through and through
until the heat death of the universe
and beyond.

And we just might get our miracle after all,
beautiful ape mutant.
We just might get our miracle after all.
In times like these, anything is possible.
In times like these, anything can be.
In times like these, we've all got nothing to lose,
which means we've got nothing to lose
by leaping.

___________________

Reading by Caitlin Johnstone.

In Times Like These

US-led provocations and escalations against China are becoming a regular occurrence, both from the US itself and from its imperial assets like Australia and Taiwan. Yet according to the western political/media class, the urgent threat of our day is "Chinese aggression".

Reading by Tim Foley.

"Chinese Aggression" Sure Looks An Awful Lot Like US Aggression

The other day I stumbled across a 2014 opinion piece in The Guardian titled "It's not Russia that's pushed Ukraine to the brink of war" by Seumas Milne, who the following year would go on to become the Labour Party's Executive Director of Strategy and Communications under Jeremy Corbyn.

I bring this up because the perspectives you'll find in that article are jarring in how severely they deviate from anything you'll see published in the mainstream press about Ukraine in 2023. It places the brunt of the blame for the violence and tensions in that nation at that time squarely at Washington's feet, opening with a warning that the "threat of war in Ukraine is growing" and saying there's an "unelected government in Kiev," and it only gets naughtier from there.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The Mass Media Used To Publish Perspectives On Ukraine They Would Never Publish Today

Produced by Tha Leftovas ©2023
Composed by Doc Spliph, Ill Eyez, Sam Seed and SupaUgly
Arranged and mixed by Doc Spliph
Featured in TPC sample challenge #282

Brothas N Sistas (TPC282)

TPC 288 Follow The Path

This weeks Entry for S..C. TPC 296

slice and filleting > "Gabor Szabo - People/My Kind Of People" & "Ziad Rahbani Mais El Rim 1978"

Cravat Lax

The Producers Corner - Sample Challenge #296

Every Night | STBB 850

In the heart of a shining glass city, a melody is heard every morning. Its high-pitched notes awaken unconfessed memories in the hearts of those who hear it. Despite the grandeur of the terminal, the melody reminds everyone that darkness exists even in the brightest of places.

Central Glass Terminal

Readings of all Caitlin Johnstone's articles, usually by her co-writer Tim Foley.

Why I Publish Art And Philosophy In Addition To News Commentary

Caitlin Johnstone

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