Global

Original written and printed by Free Press 4 years ago, prior to 2016 election.

Definitions of Terms Used in this Column:

A cult of personality arises when a country's regime uses the techniques of mass media, propaganda, the big lie, spectacle, patriotism, and organized mass demonstrations and rallies to create an idealized, heroic, and worshipful image.

A cult leader is a dynamic leader whose authority is respected and unquestioned. Obedience to the leader is often required, even when it involves deviant or unhealthy activity. Usually, a cult leader is a person of tremendous charisma who makes followers feel loved and accepted. Cult leaders use brainwashing tactics to attract and keep followers.

The above photo shows one of the two Twin Towers on 9/11/01, obviously exploding into fine dust (it is not “burning” down). The explosions were obviously caused by pre-planted explosives in an obviously controlled demolition operation, which means that many weeks – even months - of expert work involving well-trained demolition experts had to have taken place. (In 2001, only a handful of demolition companies in the world could have accomplished the task, but investigations into what actually happened on 9/11/01 were officially prevented, so that even the investigations into those companies did not take place. 

Note that the arrow in the photo above points to one of the many “squibs” of exploding gas which are commonly seen with controlled demolitions. 

Disturbing a Crime Scene is Itself a Federal Crime and Rudy Giuliani is Yet to be Charged

If we were to look beyond words to actions, there would be no doubt that virtually all U.S. politicians have, in effect, taken the Trump/Kissinger view of U.S. troops for as long as there have been U.S. troops.

“Why should I go to that cemetery? It’s filled with losers.” –Donald Trump, according to Jeffrey Goldberg.

“Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy.” — Henry Kissinger, according to Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.

It we were to let the non-U.S. 96% of humanity into our vision, it would be even clearer how little value is placed on human life by those who wage U.S. wars in which nearly all the casualties are on the other side.

“Plastics!”

Yeah, it’s everywhere ... not just in grocery store aisles and department stores and every other commercial outlet you can think of, not to mention your own cupboards and closets and trashcans, but on the grass and on the sidewalks, in the landfills, in the lakes and rivers, in the oceans. And it doesn’t go away. Ever.

You know, it doesn’t biodegrade. And “the vast majority of all plastic made up to now, will likely not be recycled,” Zoë Schlanger writes at Quartz. “And it will exist virtually forever, crumbling into microplastics that show up most everywhere scientists look for them.”

A Promise to Our Children

On August 16, the Israeli navy declared the Gaza sea a closed military zone. A few days later, a group of Gaza fishermen decided to take their chances by fishing within a mere two or three nautical miles off the Gaza shore. No sooner had they cast their nets, Israeli navy bullets began whizzing all around them. 

Five days before the election that put Donald Trump in the White House, an article we wrote appeared under the headline “

One result of the Republican convention will be a drop in the number of progressives who are in denial about the Trump regime’s momentum toward fascism. This week’s relentlessly unhinged GOP gathering has probably done more to win votes for Joe Biden from the left than last week’s Democratic convention did. And that points up a problem.

In the spirit of Protest Reports, the Free Press reprints this from:

Charlie Pierce, who cut his teeth writing sports:

I always found [NBA coach Doc Rivers] a smart and aware human being, the son of a Chicago cop. He met his wife, Kris, when they were students at Marquette together. Kris is white. When they were dating, her parents’ home and auto were vandalized. While he was in San Antonio, his house was burned to the ground. He’s been there. He’s seen things. And, on Tuesday night, he turned his history loose.

"It’s amazing we keep loving this country and this country doesn’t love us back."