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The Florida State Sunshine Bank: How a State-Owned Bank Can Protect Free Speech
the South is rising again, in a digital civil war
by Ellen Brown
Fifteen years have passed since the Occupy Wall Street movement focused attention on the inequities and hazards of large Wall Street banks, particularly those risky banks with trillions of dollars in derivatives on their books. “Move your money” was the obvious response, but what could local governments do? Their bank accounts were too large for local banks to handle.
Thus was the public banking movement born. The impressive potential of government-owned banks was demonstrated by the century-old Bank of North Dakota (BND), currently the nation’s only state-owned bank. In the last fifteen years, " target="_blank">over 100 bills and resolutions for local U.S. government-owned banks have been filed based on the BND model. But while promising bills are still pending, so far the allure of saving money, stimulating the local economy, banking the underbanked and avoiding a derivative crisis has been insufficient to motivate local legislators to pass bills opposed by their Wall Street patrons. State legislators have acknowledged potential benefits, but they have generally not been ready to rock the boat when the situation did not appear to be urgent.
The Evolution of Free Speech Suppression in the U.S.: From Nixon to Biden-Harris
by Tracy Turner
Harris is hellbent on strengthening hate-speech (thought-control) laws, which is entirely antithetical to Free Speech. This slippery slope is that they can just willy-nilly add things to their list, this is hate speech, that is hate speech, and you should fear life in prison and shut your mouth.
Understanding the trajectory of free speech in the United States within its rich historical context is crucial. It unveils a troubling trend toward increasing suppression and surveillance. Over the decades, successive administrations have expanded monitoring and controlling public discourse. Various U.S. administrations, alongside pivotal legislative and covert programs, have transformed free speech into a regulated and often suppressed entity. Key elements in this transformation include FBI COINTELPRO, CIA Operation Mockingbird, the (George W. Bush) National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) sections 1021 and 1022, and the Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF).
Nixon and Cronies
President Richard Nixon's tenure (1969-1974) marked a significant shift in government surveillance practices. Nixon's administration became notorious for its extensive use of surveillance and illegal activities, exemplified by the Watergate scandal. The 1970s White House Plumbers, covert burglars tasked with preventing leaks, engaged in wiretapping and burglary, revealing Nixon's readiness to ignore civil liberties for political gain (Bernstein, 1974). Nixon targeted journalists, activists, and politicians critical of his administration, aiming to intimidate and suppress dissent (Cohen, 1993). Nixon's era set a profound precedent for future administrations, demonstrating early how surveillance could be leveraged for political control and dissent suppression. This lasting impact should raise concerns and instill a deep awareness about the enduring effects of surveillance on free speech.
The Ukrainian Trace In The Latest Trump Assassination Attempt Is Impossible To Ignore
Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter
The suspect is a Ukro-maniac who’d been radicalized by the Mainstream Media into traveling to Kiev, trying to join the “International Legion”, and even recruiting former Afghan soldiers for it.
The authorities detained a man on Sunday who attempted to assassinate presidential frontrunner Donald Trump at his golf course in Florida. He was caught with an AK-47, a scope, and a GoPro camera. It turns out that he’s also fairly well known, being a former construction worker-turned-mercenary by the name of Ryan Routh. The New York Times even reported on him in spring 2023, mentioning that he’d spent some time in Kiev and was actively recruiting Afghan soldiers who fled to Pakistan as refugees.
CNN confirmed that he posted on social media shortly after the special operation began that “I AM WILLING TO FLY TO KRAKOW AND GO TO THE BORDER OF UKRAINE TO VOLUNTEER AND FIGHT AND DIE…Can I be the example We must win.” Routh also criticized Trump for wanting to “MASA…make Americans slaves again master”, among other rants against the former president. Quite clearly, he drank the Kool-Aid and was convinced that Trump was a ‘threat to democracy’ and likely also a ‘Russian agent’.
In many ways, his profile closely resembles that of the political extremist who was radicalized by the Mainstream Media into thinking similar falsehoods about Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico, which drove him to try to kill the incumbent last spring in an assassination attempt that he only narrowly survived. Both were obsessed with Ukraine, but Routh’s connection to it wasn’t just as a bystander, but as a participant in NATO’s proxy war on Russia given his time in Kiev and recruitment of mercenaries for it.
He was also almost certainly a member of “NAFO” too, the global troll network that’s connected to the Ukrainian, American, and other Western governments as documented by investigative journalists Moss Robeson and Alex Rubinstein, among others. The latter’s colleague Max Blumenthal also shared some brief additional insight into Routh’s ties with Ukraine’s “International Legion”. Those mercenaries are backed by the US Government, thus linking him to them as well.
America's Mastery of Fear as Gross Domestic Product: From McCarthyism to Modern Surveillance to De-Platforming
by Tracy Turner
What a shame about all that McCarthyism nonsense – We have replaced it with Obama-Harrison-ism Doublespeak Doublethink.
You can have more “Security” than you wanted, you just have no rights, no Free Speech. We have replaced it with HATESPEECH PROSECUTIONS!
The United States has monopolized fear as a political and social tool for most of its history. This tool has profoundly shaped international relations and domestic life. Fear has been remanufactured and wielded in American policy, from the Red Scare to modern surveillance. Fear has become a frangible product, influencing international interventions to energy policies.
Timeline of U.S. Fear Production: 1920s to 2024
The Early 20th Century: The Birth of Modern Fear
1920s – Red Scare and Political Repression
The U.S. faced intense anti-communist rhetoric following World War I during the First Red Scare (1917-1920). The Palmer Raids targeted suspects, leading to mass arrests and deportations. The Red Scare not only established a precedent for using fear to justify political repression and surveillance but also significantly eroded civil liberties, a loss keenly felt by the populace.
World War II and the Atomic Age
1940s – Atomic Bombs and Nuclear Fear
The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan in 1945 produced an ongoing existential fear, a tangible, fungible new product. The Cold War arms race amplified these core survival fears, reflected in civil defense drills and fallout shelters. The Atomic Age demonstrated how fear could be ongoing and mobilized to justify military and civil defense expenditures.
Cold War Era: McCarthyism and the Red Menace
1950s – Domestic Fear
Senator Joseph McCarthy's anti-communist crusade created a climate of paranoia. The House Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) investigated and blacklisted individuals suspected of communism, severely limited civil liberties, and employed fear to erase dissent.
RT Is Being Scapegoated For The US’ Global Soft Power Failures
Andrew Korybko
Andrew Korybko's Newsletter
The US simply cannot accept that it lost the battle for hearts and minds across the Global South and even among a growing segment of the Western population itself.
The US’ sanctions against RT on the basis of it supposedly functioning as an undeclared intelligence agency “engaged in covert influence operations” are the continuation of its liberal-globalist elite’s efforts to revive the Russiagate conspiracy theory ahead of the November elections. Elements thereof earlier smeared Jill Stein as “a useful idiot for Russia” and then RT was accused of financing some top conservative influencers, who weren’t even aware of these alleged ties, all of which was explained here:
● 4 September: “The Democrats’ Attacks Against Jill Stein Show How Desperate They’re Getting”
● 5 September: “The Latest Russiagate Scandal Aims To Discredit Alt-Media & Trump”
● 7 September: “Russia’s Tenet Media Operation Was A Total Flop If The Reports Are True”
The intent was to discredit third-party candidates, Alt-Media, Trump, and top conservative influencers in the hopes of manipulating more voters into casting their ballots for Kamala. It remains to be seen whether this will succeed, but the complementary goal being advanced by the latest move is to scapegoat RT for the US’ global soft power failures. RT has proudly informed their audience of “inconvenient truths” about US foreign policy, however, so there’s nothing conspiratorial about that.
Okinawan Governor Denny Tamaki Calls Out Crimes Committed by U.S. Military Personnel, New Henoko Base Construction, and PFAS
The great U.S. historian, Peter Kuznick, Governor of Okinawa Denny
Tamaki, and Pat Elder representing World BEYOND War.
By Pat Elder, World BEYOND War
DC event highlights Tamaki as an ally of the peace movement, despite restraints.
Okinawa Gov. Denny Tamaki is in Washington D.C. for the fourth time to voice Okinawan concerns to the U.S. government. Last night, the Washington Office of the Okinawan Prefectural Government hosted “Okinawa Night with Governor Denny Tamaki” at the City Club of Washington. I was asked to attend on behalf of World BEYOND War. My report follows.
The lavish event featured traditional Okinawan hors d’oeuvres and lively Okinawan dance and music. The event was attended by more than a hundred people, mostly representing DC-based NGO’s and academic institutions.
“This is my fourth visit to the U.S., in order to resolve the U.S. military base issues on Okinawa. I think it’s important that I come to the U.S. and directly convey my message to the U.S. government and appeal to them, especially in light of the situations surrounding Okinawa, including the recent series of sexual assaults committed by U.S. military personnel and the recent reinforcement of defense capabilities in the southwest islands, we believe that it is very meaningful to take this opportunity right before the presidential election to directly convey the actual situation in the Okinawa prefecture.”
Short Overview of Making Colonial Empires by European Powers from the Time of the Vienna Congress up to WWI (1815−1914)
Great Britain as well as one by one acquired new colonies and up to 1914
became the greatest Western colonial empire and the biggest one in the
world’s history having territorial acquisitions from Canada to New Zealand
by Dr. Vladislav B. Sotirovic
The period in the world’s history from the end of the Napoleonic Wars (1815) to the beginning of the Great War (1914) is usually labeled as the “golden age” of the European imperialistic expansion and the making of the greater national states and overseas colonial empires in Africa and Asia. Nevertheless, in 1815 huge territories of the world still have been un known to Europeans, and millions of people in Africa and Asia were living their lives not influenced by European civilization. Europeans even were not very familiar with China, one of the oldest, richest, and biggest civilizations globally. However, only a century later, European explorers, colonists, missionaries, merchants, bankers, adventurists, soldiers, and administrators, penetrated almost all corners of the globe. As a matter of fact, the people of Asia and especially Africa mainly were unable to resist colonists and to repulse the superior European technology, especially of armed forces. In Africa, for instance, on the eve of the Great War, there were only two territories free of European colonization: Liberia on the western African seacoast and Abyssinia in East Africa.
As a historical-political phenomenon, imperialism is understood as domination or control by one state or a group of people over others. The new phase of imperialism started in the first half of the 19 th century when occupational-colonial authorities were imposed by (West) European industrial states in their competition for the colonial partition of Asia and especially Africa. At least from the Marxist viewpoint (V. I. Lenin), imperialism was an economic necessity of the industrialized capitalist economies that had the aim to offset the declining tendency of the rate of profit by exporting capital investments. The others did not understand imperialism as necessary in economic terms as it was, for instance, the case with J. A. Schumpeter who defined this phenomenon as the non-rational tendency of the state to expend as much as its power and territory. From the psychological point of view, imperialism was rooted in the minds of rulers and ruling aristocracy for the grabbing of land to become richer and politically influential. Alternative views of imperialistic policies stress the outgrowth of popular nationalism or a method to underwrite the welfare state in order to pacify the working class, personal adventurism, civilizing mission, or finally as a consequence of international rivalry for political power and prestige. Nevertheless, the 19th-century neo-imperialism had clearly a Eurocentric focus (like the previous one too).
The Evolution of America's Secret Police and Surveillance State: From Nixon to the Present
governance that prioritizes security over individual liberties
by Tracy Turner
The Evolution of America's Secret Police and Surveillance State: From Nixon to the Present. This research is of paramount importance as it offers a comprehensive and in-depth understanding of the evolution of the United States surveillance apparatus. It sheds light on its profound impact on civil liberties and the pivotal role of key figures and events in shaping its history.
The Dawn of Surveillance Role Players
The concept of Surveillance Role Players (SRPs) is familiar. It has evolved from early covert operations into a sophisticated, pervasive system that now includes law enforcement, emergency responders, and private entities acting in surveillance capacities. This article meticulously chronicles the transformation of the United States' surveillance apparatus from its roots under President Richard Nixon to the current state of pervasive state and corporate surveillance. It explores the influences and consequences of critical policies, individuals, and events.
The Nixon Era: Establishing the Foundation
The seeds of modern surveillance were sown in the Nixon administration. In the early 1970s, President Richard Nixon's administration, primarily through the notorious COINTELPRO operation, aggressively sought to control dissent and monitor political opponents through covert and often illegal means. This historical context provides a deeper understanding of the evolution of surveillance in the United States, ensuring that the audience is well-informed and enlightened about the topic.
U.S./NATO Surveillance Role Player (SRP) Programs: A Critical Examination Introduction to SRP Programs
SRP programs represent a grave violation of constitutional rights...
by Tracy Turner
Every September 11, we are told to “never forget.” Never, ever forget the freedoms and civil rights you enjoyed before the economics of the Nanny Surveillance Role Players State. Never forget the Civil Rights you have forfeited, so the owners of private shadow armies could become billionaires.
Surveillance Role Player (SRP) programs, a controversial practice, involve recruiting and deploying individuals to act as covert operatives for various government agencies, including the NSA, CIA, DHS, and potentially other entities like the Committee of Public Safety (COPS). These programs, due to their controversial nature, are problematic and conflict with the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
Ethical and Legal Concerns
These programs recruit a troublingly diverse array of individuals, including former police officers, military personnel, intelligence operatives, and individuals with criminal backgrounds, such as drug dealers, prostitutes, and human traffickers. This diverse recruitment strategy undermines the rule of law and ethical standards expected of law enforcement and intelligence agencies. Notable figures like Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald have criticized this approach for compromising civil liberties and ethical standards. The government coerces, traps, blackmails the criminals and prostitutes into acting out inhumane behaviors, thereby the government violates both the rights of their criminal minions and the intended victims.
The crisis-ridden U.S. empire wants to take the world down with it in nuclear flames
American pretense and delusion of absolute power is coming to
a shuddering, calamitous end
Strategic Culture
The United States defines itself in zero-sum terms. Its national myth – let’s indulge the preposterous arrogance for a moment – is that it is an exceptional nation in the history of the world. It is supposedly the indispensable leader of the “free world”, a paragon of democratic virtue and it possesses the most powerful and benevolent military force the world has ever seen.
Thankfully, many decent American citizens know that this is propaganda hogwash. Still, its political class and complacent mass media view the United States as the world’s supreme uni-power. All other nations must pay homage to this consummate hegemon.
Therein lies a fatal contradiction. This untenable definition is essential for justifying its presumed privileges. And yet, by doing so, the U.S. cannot brook any genuine equality or mutual respect essential for peaceful multilateral relations. It must be the top dog – at all costs. That is a definition of imperialism. The concomitants are aggression, belligerence, lawlessness, and duplicity – of course, all concealed with impossibly virtuous rhetoric, or in short, propaganda. So-called allies are merely servile functionaries to augment American global ambitions.
Hence, when the real world does not match the mythical notions of the U.S., there is consequently an ineluctable existential crisis. The zero-sum, all-dominant demands of the would-be hegemony are not achievable. In this situation, the hegemonic power behaves like a drunk in a bar who is refused another drink. Mayhem and violence are almost inevitable.
