https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgxvzKkmXccmbPBszHRxCGKvJcRXv
This first item is a long extract from a new book about journalism in Britain. It's a long read, but an important one in understanding our own journalism.
_______________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/surprise-truce-brokered-by-turkey-and-russia-spares-idlib-for-now
The news out of Idlib, the Syrian city that is held by 'rebels' - mostly Moslem fighters of the same groups who staged 9/11 but are now best friends of the U.S. - has been confusing - but looking better for the civilians of the region.
The 'rebels' are being allowed to leave the city. Syria and Russia will hold back until they do so. As a result, civilians will be spared mass murder that would result from an assault by Syria and Russia.
There's more than a little cynicism on all sides in this. The idea that the Americans or Russians or Syrians or Turks or Israelis or Syrian rebels give a damn about killing civilians is absurd. Indeed, the U.S. is now starving to death a whole generation of babies and children in Yemen. Estimates say the death toll will be in the millions.
The sparing of civilians lives in Idlib, has more, far more, to do with national images than with compassion. But it's better than the alternative - which might well have been a U.S.-Russia war.
This is probably far the most important news of the day - but not in the irving press. For Sept. 19, this story rated last place in a series of very brief items on the last page. It needed the space for the big story of the day, "Cyclists peddle removal of roadblocks to infrastructure".
_______________________________________________________________
This story wasn't important enough for our irving press.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/sep/10/starvation-a-weapon-of-war-that-could-kill-590000-children-by-the-end-of-2018
_____________________________________________________________
I hesitated in including this next item about Canada and racism. This incident, terrible though it is, is pretty tame stuff about racism in Canada that was very widespread indeed not just a hundred years ago but well into the 1980s. And it went far beyond African Canadians to include Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, Jews... And it still goes on. McGill University had a quota that excluded large numbers of Jews and Africans. Some years ago, I was the advisor for a National Film Board Film called Show Girls. In the days when Montreal was the nightclub capital of North America, African girls and even a child like Sammy Davis Jr. were permitted to perform in White Montreal clubs - but African Canadians were not permitted to be customers or to talk to customers. When my uncle travelled with his boxers, the Africans were not permitted to stay in most "White" hotels.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/20/canada-racism-past-civil-rights-charles-daniels-bashir-mohamed
https://www.nfb.ca/film/show-girls/
_________________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-salt-bae-istanbul
Most of our news media have not reported on why Venezuelans are being starved - by the U.S. government. The man who has ordered their starvation is Donald Trump. So where's the story about Trump enjoying a big meal? Where's the story about Trump lying in a comfortable bed while millions of Americans, including children, have to live in foul conditions - and even on the streets? Or about him dining in style while the children of Yemen starve to death?
Where's the story about the Queen's fine dining while thousands of children in Britain live in the streets?
____________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/yemen-famine-million-more-children-at-risk-
The irving press has largely ignored this. Can you imagine its coverage if it were North Korea causing the famine?
______________________________________________________________
Too true.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/indigenous-nationhood/2018/09/its-indigenous-and-environmental-groups-protect-public
_______________________________________________________________
A corrupt and dying society.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/20/how-does-trump-even-sleep-night-cuts-cancer-research-head-start-and-womens-shelters
______________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/20/hurricane-flooding-exposes-mass-poverty-class-oppression-in-america/
_____________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/20/florence-voter-apathy-in-the-american-carolinas/
Hey, there ain't no climate change. Ain't happenin'. Ask Mr. Irving. He'll tell you. And he knows. He studied at university for two years. Wow!
_______________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/17/plastic-pollution-the-age-of-unsolvable-problems/
________________________________________________________________
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/20/hold-the-front-page-the-reporters-are-missing/
______________________________________________________________
...and, just as in Canada...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50298.htm
_________________________________________________________________
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50296.htm
________________________________________________________________
Well, I believed the recent reports of Chinese brutality toward Muslims. But this report raises some very serious questions. The charge of Chinese brutality did NOT come from the UN. It came from just one member of the committee investigating it - and it was the American member. Funny our media reports never mentioned that.
https://off-guardian.org/2018/09/19/no-the-un-did-not-report-china-has-massive-internment-camps-for-uighur-muslims/
_________________________________________________________________
https://theantimedia.com/epa-9-11/
Here, in New Brunswick, we don't need a Donald Trump. We have the Conservative Party led by Blaine Higgs.
________________________________________________________________
https://truthout.org/articles/industrial-firms-are-using-trade-associations-to-oppose-climate-policy/
______________________________________________________________
And now, what's happening here in New Brunswick.
In recent weeks, I've been following a new, regular columnist. He's a university professor who is, we are told, an authority on regional economic planning. As he has done before, his Sept. 19 column is an attack on the provincial government for deficit spending. And, as he has not done before, he still does not mention that the very wealthy of this province don't pay income tax, underpay property tax, and live happily off massive gifts of our money from the government.
Of course, we have to overspend to offer the basic services of our society. But columnist Rob Emery doesn't seem to understand that. Nor does he seem to know how much it costs us every day to stuff the pockets of our already wealthy. And he's a specialist in finance?
Sorry. I can't take this guy seriously.
Then there's the New Brunswick provincial election. (Sigh!)
The Liberal governing party is unimpressive with very little sense of the challenges facing us. But it gets one thing right in opposing fracking.
The Conservative Party, which is actually the only serious contender to beat the Liberals, has no intelligent or coherent policy on anything, no sense of any social philosophy or purpose. It's leader is obviously the lead sled dog for the man who owns this province. And his bow-wow means he intends, in this world that has the greatest climate crisis in known history, to restore fracking.
The Greens, though way short of dealing with our very serious climate problems, at least have a sense of them - if only a vague one. The NDP?
Many years ago, I had a long supper with Stephen Lewis. He was a brilliant man, and the leader (and creator) of the NDP.
Earlier, he had been leader of the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation). This was a party that actually had a social philosophy behind its politics. It had been a party founded on Judaeo/Christian values that were broadly acceptable to other major religions, too. It was a party unique to its time (and our time, too) in that its concern was to serve the needs of the people rather than to be fronts for the wealthy. That was the party that brought medicare to Canada. That meant it has a strong thread of socialist principle - which, if you read The Bible - you will also find in that book.
In 1939, the then leader of the CCF was a clergyman, Rev. J.S. Woodsworth. Relying on his Christian principles, he was the only MP to vote against going to war. (Actually, and I say this as thousands of members of The Canadian Legion bang their beer bottles on the table in anger, there was a good deal of truth and sense in his position.)
And Stephen Lewis had been the major figure in breaking up the CCF to become the NDP. The major part of the change was dropping the socialist principles. So that's what I asked Stephen Lewis about at that supper.
The problem, he said, was that the party had no money. You need big money to fight elections. The Liberals and Conservatives get their's from billionaires. Nobody could win elections without that kind of money. He could not possibly get such money from billionaires. So he had to turn to unions.
But the unions, alas, had a good deal in common with the bosses. And they weren't interested in Judaeo/Christian principles any more than the bosses were. So the new party, the NDP, came out as a pretty wimpy compromise. Which it still is.
The other parties in this year's election aren't to be taken seriously.
Well, let's not kid ourselves. None of the parties is to be taken seriously. The Conservatives are actively destructive. The Liberals drift. And the other parties aren't really in the game, anyway.
The population of New Brunswick, thanks to the irving press, are almost entirely ignorant of the issues. So this election, like most, will consist of voters lining up at the polls and saying Baa-aaa, baa-aa.
Meanwhile, climate change IS happening - and quickly. The wealthy, who take bows for creating jobs, are robbing this province blind, moving wealth from all of us to themselves. Their greed and political power are setting us up for one hell of a financial crisis. Maybe even the 1930s all over.
But don't worry. Their greed is setting us up for a war that will, in its own way solve all our problems.
This first item is a long extract from a new book about journalism in Britain. It's a long read, but an important one in understanding our own journalism.
_______________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/surprise-truce-brokered-by-turkey-and-russia-spares-idlib-for-now
The news out of Idlib, the Syrian city that is held by 'rebels' - mostly Moslem fighters of the same groups who staged 9/11 but are now best friends of the U.S. - has been confusing - but looking better for the civilians of the region.
The 'rebels' are being allowed to leave the city. Syria and Russia will hold back until they do so. As a result, civilians will be spared mass murder that would result from an assault by Syria and Russia.
There's more than a little cynicism on all sides in this. The idea that the Americans or Russians or Syrians or Turks or Israelis or Syrian rebels give a damn about killing civilians is absurd. Indeed, the U.S. is now starving to death a whole generation of babies and children in Yemen. Estimates say the death toll will be in the millions.
The sparing of civilians lives in Idlib, has more, far more, to do with national images than with compassion. But it's better than the alternative - which might well have been a U.S.-Russia war.
This is probably far the most important news of the day - but not in the irving press. For Sept. 19, this story rated last place in a series of very brief items on the last page. It needed the space for the big story of the day, "Cyclists peddle removal of roadblocks to infrastructure".
_______________________________________________________________
This story wasn't important enough for our irving press.
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/sep/10/starvation-a-weapon-of-war-that-could-kill-590000-children-by-the-end-of-2018
_____________________________________________________________
I hesitated in including this next item about Canada and racism. This incident, terrible though it is, is pretty tame stuff about racism in Canada that was very widespread indeed not just a hundred years ago but well into the 1980s. And it went far beyond African Canadians to include Chinese, Japanese, Hindus, Jews... And it still goes on. McGill University had a quota that excluded large numbers of Jews and Africans. Some years ago, I was the advisor for a National Film Board Film called Show Girls. In the days when Montreal was the nightclub capital of North America, African girls and even a child like Sammy Davis Jr. were permitted to perform in White Montreal clubs - but African Canadians were not permitted to be customers or to talk to customers. When my uncle travelled with his boxers, the Africans were not permitted to stay in most "White" hotels.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/20/canada-racism-past-civil-rights-charles-daniels-bashir-mohamed
https://www.nfb.ca/film/show-girls/
_________________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/18/venezuela-nicolas-maduro-salt-bae-istanbul
Most of our news media have not reported on why Venezuelans are being starved - by the U.S. government. The man who has ordered their starvation is Donald Trump. So where's the story about Trump enjoying a big meal? Where's the story about Trump lying in a comfortable bed while millions of Americans, including children, have to live in foul conditions - and even on the streets? Or about him dining in style while the children of Yemen starve to death?
Where's the story about the Queen's fine dining while thousands of children in Britain live in the streets?
____________________________________________________________
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/sep/19/yemen-famine-million-more-children-at-risk-
The irving press has largely ignored this. Can you imagine its coverage if it were North Korea causing the famine?
______________________________________________________________
Too true.
http://rabble.ca/blogs/bloggers/indigenous-nationhood/2018/09/its-indigenous-and-environmental-groups-protect-public
_______________________________________________________________
A corrupt and dying society.
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/09/20/how-does-trump-even-sleep-night-cuts-cancer-research-head-start-and-womens-shelters
______________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/20/hurricane-flooding-exposes-mass-poverty-class-oppression-in-america/
_____________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/20/florence-voter-apathy-in-the-american-carolinas/
Hey, there ain't no climate change. Ain't happenin'. Ask Mr. Irving. He'll tell you. And he knows. He studied at university for two years. Wow!
_______________________________________________________________
https://countercurrents.org/2018/09/17/plastic-pollution-the-age-of-unsolvable-problems/
________________________________________________________________
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/09/20/hold-the-front-page-the-reporters-are-missing/
______________________________________________________________
...and, just as in Canada...
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50298.htm
_________________________________________________________________
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/50296.htm
________________________________________________________________
Well, I believed the recent reports of Chinese brutality toward Muslims. But this report raises some very serious questions. The charge of Chinese brutality did NOT come from the UN. It came from just one member of the committee investigating it - and it was the American member. Funny our media reports never mentioned that.
https://off-guardian.org/2018/09/19/no-the-un-did-not-report-china-has-massive-internment-camps-for-uighur-muslims/
_________________________________________________________________
https://theantimedia.com/epa-9-11/
Here, in New Brunswick, we don't need a Donald Trump. We have the Conservative Party led by Blaine Higgs.
________________________________________________________________
https://truthout.org/articles/industrial-firms-are-using-trade-associations-to-oppose-climate-policy/
______________________________________________________________
And now, what's happening here in New Brunswick.
In recent weeks, I've been following a new, regular columnist. He's a university professor who is, we are told, an authority on regional economic planning. As he has done before, his Sept. 19 column is an attack on the provincial government for deficit spending. And, as he has not done before, he still does not mention that the very wealthy of this province don't pay income tax, underpay property tax, and live happily off massive gifts of our money from the government.
Of course, we have to overspend to offer the basic services of our society. But columnist Rob Emery doesn't seem to understand that. Nor does he seem to know how much it costs us every day to stuff the pockets of our already wealthy. And he's a specialist in finance?
Sorry. I can't take this guy seriously.
Then there's the New Brunswick provincial election. (Sigh!)
The Liberal governing party is unimpressive with very little sense of the challenges facing us. But it gets one thing right in opposing fracking.
The Conservative Party, which is actually the only serious contender to beat the Liberals, has no intelligent or coherent policy on anything, no sense of any social philosophy or purpose. It's leader is obviously the lead sled dog for the man who owns this province. And his bow-wow means he intends, in this world that has the greatest climate crisis in known history, to restore fracking.
The Greens, though way short of dealing with our very serious climate problems, at least have a sense of them - if only a vague one. The NDP?
Many years ago, I had a long supper with Stephen Lewis. He was a brilliant man, and the leader (and creator) of the NDP.
Earlier, he had been leader of the CCF (Cooperative Commonwealth Federation). This was a party that actually had a social philosophy behind its politics. It had been a party founded on Judaeo/Christian values that were broadly acceptable to other major religions, too. It was a party unique to its time (and our time, too) in that its concern was to serve the needs of the people rather than to be fronts for the wealthy. That was the party that brought medicare to Canada. That meant it has a strong thread of socialist principle - which, if you read The Bible - you will also find in that book.
In 1939, the then leader of the CCF was a clergyman, Rev. J.S. Woodsworth. Relying on his Christian principles, he was the only MP to vote against going to war. (Actually, and I say this as thousands of members of The Canadian Legion bang their beer bottles on the table in anger, there was a good deal of truth and sense in his position.)
And Stephen Lewis had been the major figure in breaking up the CCF to become the NDP. The major part of the change was dropping the socialist principles. So that's what I asked Stephen Lewis about at that supper.
The problem, he said, was that the party had no money. You need big money to fight elections. The Liberals and Conservatives get their's from billionaires. Nobody could win elections without that kind of money. He could not possibly get such money from billionaires. So he had to turn to unions.
But the unions, alas, had a good deal in common with the bosses. And they weren't interested in Judaeo/Christian principles any more than the bosses were. So the new party, the NDP, came out as a pretty wimpy compromise. Which it still is.
The other parties in this year's election aren't to be taken seriously.
Well, let's not kid ourselves. None of the parties is to be taken seriously. The Conservatives are actively destructive. The Liberals drift. And the other parties aren't really in the game, anyway.
The population of New Brunswick, thanks to the irving press, are almost entirely ignorant of the issues. So this election, like most, will consist of voters lining up at the polls and saying Baa-aaa, baa-aa.
Meanwhile, climate change IS happening - and quickly. The wealthy, who take bows for creating jobs, are robbing this province blind, moving wealth from all of us to themselves. Their greed and political power are setting us up for one hell of a financial crisis. Maybe even the 1930s all over.
But don't worry. Their greed is setting us up for a war that will, in its own way solve all our problems.
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