Chris Hedges and Stella Assange in conversation about the depravity and barbarism of the prison industrial complex and, in particular, Julian Assange’s experience in Belmarsh Prison. Chris has worked in the prison system for many years and has great insight into the carceral state. There are 1.68 million prisoners languishing in prisons in the United States of America today, second only to China in total number of incarcerated persons per capita.
Are Intentional Communities Cults?
For better or worse, I have a great deal of personal experience with cults and intentional communities. As this article explores, the two are largely synonymous with one another. As our world becomes more complex, chaotic and confusing, increasing numbers of people are vulnerable to the sensemaking of cults and intentional communities. Beware!
Report Back from Venezuela
I was on this trip. There is so much to report. The commune movement for local democracy and self-reliance is amazing with thousands of communes, both urban and rural, nationwide. Meanwhile this important work which is crucial for the future of humanity is being crushed by the sanctions imposed on Venezuela by the US government.
I encourage everybody to attend this webinar to learn the truth of what’s really going on in Venezuela. The lies perpetrated by the US government acting on behalf of the US-based oil companies and former Venezuelan oligarchs will be dispelled.
Human Rights in the United States: 2023 Report
How Family Estrangement May Benefit Trauma Survivors
No one estranges from people who make them feel safe.
KEY POINTS
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- Despite its potential benefits, family estrangement continues to be stigmatized.
- Survivors require safe and valuable relationships and group dynamics.
- Survivors need to exert their agency.
It’s been years since I’ve seen or spoken to my mother, and it was one of the best decisions of my life.
I was the perfect daughter who earned straight As, behaved well, and acted as a caretaker for my mother and younger brother. Then, I realized I had survived childhood emotional and physical neglect perpetrated by my parents, which negatively impacted my ability to thrive as an adult. When I decided to become estranged from my mother (my father had died years earlier), I made substantial progress in trauma recovery. My decision was not popular within my family, community, or society, yet it was necessary.
Family estrangement is a misunderstood and stigmatized experience. When trauma survivors discuss their estrangements with others, they are often met with judgment, gaslighting, and sometimes even victim blaming. Family estrangements can be short-term, long-term, or permanent, and there are many reasons why survivors may need to initiate and maintain estrangements. Understanding these needs might help decrease the stigma surrounding estrangement, allowing survivors to feel understood and supported.
Lies My Education Taught Me About Capitalism & Democracy Unraveled
Schooling the World
Modern (Western) education promulgates practices crafted by the ruling elites to destroy Nature, commit cultural genocide, and brainwash people into becoming materialistic consumers living in controlled urban settings…all to concentrate their power and wealth. This film lays out these truths beautifully.
Carbon Offsets: A Weapon of Mass Distraction
Capital capture is endlessly ingenious and disaster capitalism is simply one of its manifestations. Within capitalism the present climate crisis is arguably at least as financially lucrative if not more so than war. One of the biggest scams of all time is currently in play: carbon emissions trading. This expose recently aired on Al Jazeera and does a good job exposing this deceptive scheme.
Launch of the Ecosocial Energy Manifesto from the Peoples of the South
The Manifesto for an Ecosocial Energy Transition from the Peoples of the South, is an important new call from the Global South for a real, clean, and equitable transformation away from fossil fuels, the trashing of nature, and the disproportionate consumption patterns of the wealthiest countries. The manifesto can be read and individuals and organizations can add their signature here.
I Have a Dream
I hope to live so long so as to see a comparable sign somewhere here in the USA having staked out territory free from the subjugating, precarious, dehumanizing, kleptocratic, capitalist, fascist, police state we are living in at present.
