Whenever I talk about the fact that our world is ruled by psychopaths who have our species on a trajectory toward annihilation via climate collapse or nuclear war, I get people asking the very understandable question, "What can we do to stop this?" By which they generally mean something like, how can we collectively free our minds from the propaganda prison of manipulative dominators and use the power of our numbers to create a healthy world?

And the answer to this question is essentially, do what you can, where you can. You're only one person, and the machine is so very powerful and so very deeply dug in, so all you can do is one person's best in each moment. Seize every opportunity you can find to spread awareness and throw sand in the gears of the machine, and rest assured that you've done all you can.

Reading by Tim Foley.
Article with links and sources: https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/you-can-never-do-everything-but-you

You Can Never Do Everything, But You Can Always Do Something

And it was seen that there's not actually any reason humanity cannot collectively awaken to this perspective. The ability to awaken from the illusion of the mental self exists within us all, and probably exists for a reason. Every species eventually reaches a point where it must adapt to changing conditions in an ever-changing world, and with egoic consciousness threatening our existence with climate collapse and nuclear war we are most certainly arriving at that point today.

Reading by Tim Foley.

The End Of Illusions

In the wake of the Afghanistan withdrawal influential promoters of western militarism have been absolutely fuming about the popular idea of ending the forever wars, and their tantrums are not even trying to disguise it as something else. They're literally using that phrase, "ending the forever wars", and then saying it's a bad thing.

I mean, what a bizarre hill to die on. War is the very worst thing in the world, and forever is the very worst amount of time they could go on for, yet they're openly condemning the "doctrine of ending the forever wars". How warped does your sense of reality have to be to even think this is a view anyone who isn't paid by defense contractors could possibly be sympathetic to?

Reading by Tim Foley.

Article with links and sources: https://caitlinjohnstone.substack.com/p/warmongers-keep-raging-about-the

Warmongers Keep Raging About The Phrase 'Ending The Forever Wars' And We Should Laugh At Them

The billionaire CEO of the multibillion-dollar corporation that recently purchased the news media outlet Politico has said that its newly acquired employees will be required to support Israel and the capitalist world order.

In a recent interview with The Wall Street Journal, Mathias Döpfner, CEO of the German publisher Axel Springer, said that Politico staffers will be required to adhere to a set of principles which include "support for a united Europe, Israel’s right to exist and a free-market economy, among others."

“These values are like a constitution, they apply to every employee of our company,” Mr. Döpfner told WSJ. People with a fundamental problem with any of these principles “should not work for Axel Springer, very clearly,” he said.

I mean, how refreshing is that? How often does a billionaire corporation buy up a media property and just straightforwardly tell you they're going to be using it to push propaganda? They even say what the propaganda will be. It makes you feel like your intelligence is being respected.

Reading by Tim Foley.

Refreshingly Honest Billionaire Says Media Purchase Will Be Used For Propaganda

Looking In

luv jonez submission for Sample Challenge #224 at The Producers Corner.

Covidicus Maximus 68pt605bpm Fm 24bit

I found Daniel's bass part (https://soundcloud.com/daniel-diaz/unfinished-disquiet0525) utterly inspiring, so went about making a beat for it. So this started out as a dangerous kitchen, cutlery type percussion track with some guitar sprinkled over here and there. When it was almost done, I tore it to shreds again, remixed it and loaded the resulting abstract, non-linear, non-grid beats/acoustic guitar improv into Leafcutter John's Forester. 

A couple of trial and error type experiments lead me to  picking out this nugget (mostly beats mingling with guitar, as if by magic, inside Forester). 

I think this matches very well with the double bass solo groove. I hope you agree, and look forward to whatever gets added in the upcoming third week.

More on this 526th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Magic Number (2 of 3) (The Assignment: Record the second third of an asynchronous trio) — at: https://disquiet.com/0526/

More on the Disquiet Junto at: https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here: https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0526-magic-number-2-of-3/

uno/duo/trio (disquiet0526)

From the wonderful recording of the first notes of a beginning band: https://freesound.org/s/588336/

Beginning Band Blast Var #3

While The Worst are Full of Passionate Intensity (2022)

The Indignant Desert Birds

The wonderful Luciole Langevine https://soundcloud.com/luciole-langevine interprets one of my songs. 
A song of optimism.
Luciole Langevine - Voice
All instruments and production - The Inconsistent Jukebox
More to come.
Image of the aerialist, Lyn Routledge, in York Minster for the Incandescence Circus Theatre.
SECOND WIND (lyrics B. Snaith)

When 'Home Sweet Home' is wearing thin.
When you feel the bones
Through the thickest skin.
When all your hope is full of holes.
When your bag of dreams has got punctures in...

How can you believe?
When there's no room to breathe
And all you swallow is vacuum.

You must hold it all in
Till you get your second wind
Then you blow it to your friends
In a kiss of life.
To break the spell.

Tell me, how is it you stay awake while the rest suffocate?

Second WInd

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