U.S. government should end its prosecution of Julian Assange
“The U.S. government should end its prosecution of Julian Assange for publishing secrets,” the editors of the Times, the Guardian, Le Monde, Der Spiegel and El Pais wrote in a joint letter published Monday. #publishing #julianassange #publishingisnotacrime
Reclaiming Attention & Focus
Attention and focus are essential for understanding anything. Are you feeling distracted? Struggling to understand something? This book reports on the latest research findings about how technology is harming these essential human faculties. Interview with the author of “Stolen Focus: Why You Can’t Pay Attention–And How to Think Deeply Again” Interview starts in the second hour of the show.
Capitalism Defiles the Truth
Social media companies bow to capitalist demands, filtering content which clashes with their profiteering. This even if it flies in the face of the truth. I posted an article on LinkedIn published on the National Institute of Health’s website on the use of Ivermectin for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 in poor countries, and it was removed. LinkedIn no doubt removed the post as it clashed with their corporate customer’s carefully orchestrated campaign against Ivermectin in order to further boost their obscene and unconscionable profits from their exclusive intellectual property vaccines which they refuse to share with the world.
We now live in a world of advanced capitalism which increasingly defiles the truth. Whenever mis and dis-information occurs, the old adage ‘follow the money’ will set you free to discover the truth.
British Court Approves Julian Assange Extradition to the US
The British court’s ruling to extradite Julian Assange to the United States to face charges there, boosts fascism and state secrecy, sending a chilling message to the practice of journalism everywhere. The vendetta against Julian, pursued by deranged actors inside the US government seeking revenge for his exposing their ‘secrets’, is being carried out.
Today is a low point in the history of press freedom and democracy. Without a free press reporting on state actions, government can perpetrate atrocities in our name, without our consent, undermining our safety and security.
Once regarded as a paragon of press freedom supporting democracy in the world, with this act, the United States government is following in the tradition of the worst of fascist states in their destruction of a free press. Long live the free and unfettered press!
Completing the Collapse
We’re living in a perfect storm today when it comes to misinformation, disinformation, and downright ignorance, all of which is accelerating societal collapse. Put the internet together with the effects of neoliberalism upon our educational system, and you have today’s civilization, which is rushing to the precipice.
I recently read an article in the New Yorker about nuclear power, energy supply and use. About how nuclear power is being embraced by so-called environmentalists as a non-polluting energy source. One problem I recognized immediately was the article completely omitted any mention of conservation or efficiency, both of which can offset energy supply. Worse yet, the author made only cursory mention of the nuclear waste storage problem, i.e. failing to talk about the persistence of human-caused radiation and its impacts upon the biological world, much less the ethics around dumping toxic contamination on a future world whose inhabitants have no say. The author, armed with information she no doubt gathered on the internet, decided she knew enough to pen an article on nuclear power. This is frighteningly naive. Actually its worse than that, its downright reckless and irresponsible.
The internet is both a wonderful and horrible resource. I can type in a search term and bring up a breathtaking amount of information. In our fast food, instant gratification society, people are under the impression that by using the internet, you can learn all you need to know in order to make informed decisions. This is a dangerous fallacy. People don’t know what they don’t know. This is especially true when it comes to technology, the pace of which requires ever deepening expertise to grasp and keep up with.
Now more than ever people must question sources of information. Does the author or speaker know what they’re talking about? What are their credentials? Do their arguments make sense? Are they on the payroll of industry or government?
Can ignorance be innocent? Yes. But that is no excuse to not challenge it.