Outside of the electoral $$$ game

 

Last night Lisa Savage tried her best to get into the final US Senate debate.  

Standing in the cold dark Maine night outside the WMTW studio, joined by 33 others, she tried to hand a station representative copies of 2,600 petition signatures calling on the station to allow her to debate.  The person refused to accept them so they were placed at the feet of the man sent out to push them away.

Alongside Lisa was 9-year old Fiona who came to stand with Lisa with her mother and younger brother.  Can you imagine the lesson young Fiona learned about so-called 'democracy' in America?

The slick debate, without both qualified Independent candidates, went on anyway.  During the brief intro the TV station debate moderator said that the legal team of the Hearst media corporation had determined that the two excluded candidates did not meet their criteria - one of which was specifically the amount of money raised.  

This is an important recognition of just how things truly work these days.  If you are running against corporate domination, and don't have a mega-million dollar war chest, then the corporate media masters can declare your candidacy null and void.  So much for free speech, free elections, and freedom to select your preferred candidate.  If you can't hear or see all the candidates how are you to truly participate as an informed citizen in a free and fair election?  The BS is unreal.

You can watch the Fazebook live streaming of Lisa attempting to get into the debate here. 

It is indeed a sad thing to witness this corporate corruption but it only makes me more determined to stand alongside good people like Lisa Savage and her many supporters. 

I voted for Lisa #1 yesterday here in Bath and it was my most proud vote since my first one against the Vietnam war in 1972 while in the Air Force.

Bruce

A managed system.....

 

 

“No Conspiracy Required” 

Scene from Peter Joseph’s InterReflections

Debate shenanigans in Maine

 

 

After being invited into four US Senate debates, the Portland TV station WMTW decided to exclude Independent candidates Lisa Savage and Max Linn from the final debate.  The reason?  The stations corporate legal counsel (based in North Carolina) stated that neither of the two were 'newsworthy'.

Most debate watchers felt that Lisa won most (if not all) of the previous debates because she: (1) answered the questions (2) didn't engage in blistering negative attacks throughout like the Republican Susan Collins and the Democrat Sara Gideon routinely did (3) had the courage to actually stand for something rather than beating around the edges (Medicare4All, demilitarized Green New Deal and much more).

My guess is that one of the major political parties (if not both) had someone make a call to the Hearst Corporation which owns WMTW-TV and urged them to dump Savage and Linn.  

 

 

One can only wonder.  Why kick them out of the last debate unless internal polling for the two major party candidates was showing that one or both of the Independents were cutting into their votes?  Could we call this corporate intrusion into the electoral process?  Forget about the Russians - this is home town election rigging!

I grew up on military bases going to schools run by the Pentagon.  I was spoon fed all the patriotic stuff about democracy, the sacredness of the vote, the value of an educated citizenry and more.  And I internalized all of it and now in my adult life I expect to have a fair and untampered with election for the US Senate in Maine.

I think of the Lincoln-Douglas debates in 1858 that most of us were taught were the epitome of democracy in action. Today our nation bombs countries around the world to 'bring them this democracy and rule of law'.  

So I don't easily swallow this tampering with Maine's Senate debate just so they can ensure their two corporate backed candidates (Sara Gideon has now raised $69.5 million for this race) come out on top.

If you feel like calling WMTW to urge them to include Lisa in their US Senate debate tonight, here are their direct lines:

 

• WMTW President and General Mgr. Dave Abel: (207) 835-3880
• WMTW President's Assistant Stephanie Robinson:(207) 835-3771
• WMTW News Director Amy Beveridge: (207) 835-3808

Lisa plans to attempt to enter the debate this evening (station located in Westbrook).  We'll see how the corporate masters handle this one.

Bruce 

Lockdown in Havana

 

 

Belly of The Beast is a media outlet that counters parachute journalism by providing stories directly from the island.

The documentary series, The War on Cuba, gives an inside look on the effects of U.S. sanctions on Cuban people. 

Episode 2 explores the impact of the US-imposed “oil blockade” on Cuba and the ways in which Cubans are finding alternatives to scarcities caused by US sanctions.

CORRECTION: John Bolton was named National Security Advisor in 2018.

What is going on here?

 

Here is the real version of the video. 

Just this week, President Putin sent a formal message to the US government to extend the New START Treaty without any preconditions. Unfortunately, America, the treaty breaker, demanded more concessions from the Russian Federation to which Russia said Nyet. 

America still thinks it can bully the world, but Russia and China are finally saying "no more." Important and timely interview because Trump is trying to pretend he has "a deal" for the sake of gaining political points with less than two weeks left before the US elections. 

The US is holding the whole world hostage, no wonder Russia has no faith or trust in America. 

 

The bomb has been banned!

 

Statement: On the Occasion of the 50th Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Yasui Masakazu, Secretary General
Japan Council against A and H Bombs (Gensuikyo)

October 25, 2020 

1. Today, the 50th instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was deposited. The Treaty will enter into force 90 days later, i.e., on January 22, 2021. The entry-into-force of the Treaty will render nuclear weapons illegal, establishing a norm in the international community to prohibit their use and all other activities involving nuclear weapons. The TPNW marked a critical step towards achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons. It is a significant accomplishment of the joint efforts of the Hibakusha, peace movements across the world and like-minded governments.  

2. The adoption and entry-into-force of the TPNW demonstrates the fact that main players of international politics are not a handful of superpowers but the governments and grass-roots civil society of majority of nations of the world. Nuclear-armed and nuclear-dependent states refuse to give up the fallacy of nuclear weapons as an ultimate guarantor of their national security. But the entry-into-force of the TPNW will illuminate the total illegitimacy of their logic. We call on all the anti-nuclear peace movements and civil society organizations in the nuclear-armed and nuclear-umbrella states to strengthen activities to urge their own governments to join the Treaty.

Building on the entry-into-force of the TPNW, we as the movement of the A-bombed country, are determined to do our utmost to develop international public opinion demanding the total elimination of nuclear weapons.  

3. The government of Japan, the only country to have suffered the atomic bombing, ought to stand in the forefront of the worldwide efforts to achieve the elimination of nuclear weapons. While calling itself a “bridge-builder” between nuclear weapon states and non-nuclear weapon states, Japan has actually continued to rely on U.S. nuclear weapons, which has disappointed the Hibakusha and people around the world. We urge the Japanese government to sign and ratify the TPNW without delay.

We hereby express our determination to do everything in our power to develop a national movement across the spectrum of opinions and positions, based on one demand of having Japan join the TPNW.

Sunday song