"It's a Secret Program'

From director Sonia Kennebeck and executive producers Wim Wenders and Errol Morris, NATIONAL BIRD follows the harrowing journey of three U.S. military veteran whistleblowers determined to break the silence surrounding America’s secret drone war. Tortured by guilt for their participation in the killing of faceless people in foreign countries, and despite the threat of being prosecuted under the Espionage Act, these three veterans offer an unprecedented look inside this secret program to reveal the haunting cost of America’s global drone strikes.

Also featuring famed defense attorney Jessalyn Radack—best known for representing Edward Snowden—NATIONAL BIRD is the first film that has revealed so much first-hand information about the U.S. drone program through on-the-record sources, connecting the stories of veterans and survivors as never seen before in a documentary.

Loukie Lofchie Presente!

Loukie Lofchie (right) with her friend Debbie Leighton

Some of you know that Loukie Lofchie has been some days at the Gosnell Hospice House in Scarborough.  This is the note I just read from her dear friend Caroline Clavell:

Loukie went out with the full moon at 11:52p.m. [Saturday July 8]. Stan [Lofchie]  called us just after midnight. [My husband] Glenn and I got there soon after. The nurses were very kind and gentle and gave him plenty of time. We brought Stan home around 2 a.m. and are heading back to our house now... I am so glad for everyone's help. - Caroline

Martin McDonough and Caroline spent all of Sunday afternoon with Loukie and Stan; I brought him some Thai food; Elena Schmidt visited and stayed well into the night.

Loukie was a shining light to so many of us.  I'm guessing that Stan would love to receive some cards in the mail... maybe a memory or an old photo or two.... (20 Forest Terrace, Brunswick, ME  04011).

We discussed having a celebration of Loukie's life, but have done no planning yet.  We will keep all in touch.

In gratitude for Loukie's life,

Mary Beth Sullivan

Sunday Song

Slave State

Libraries Closing - Save Net Neutrality

Mark Twain Branch Detroit Public Library

This photo above speaks to me for several reasons.   The most obvious is the lifetime of care put by authors into their works that were published and stored in libraries and bookshelves in our homes.  I think of the librarians who love books and love to share them with the public.  This library most surely was closed due to local budget cuts - the government deemed that libraries were not a top priority as their community collapsed along with the US automobile industry.

But why were the books just tossed aside - literally wasted? Why were they not stored or given to other communities who would have cherished the gift?  I can only conclude that this photo is one more very sad piece of evidence of the corporate oligarchies 'dumbing down' of the American people.

The public, especially working class and poor people, are superfluous - no longer needed as corporate investment and jobs moved overseas.  Trump said he was going to fix all this but so far the only thing he has done is request $54 billion more for the Pentagon budget in Fiscal Year 2018.

I've long written about the Pentagon's vision for America in the coming years under corporate globalization of the world economy - they call it 'security export'.  We won't make cars, TV's, cell phones, clothes, shoes and other products here anymore.

Obviously there was one other key reason for the shuttering of this library and many others like it across the nation.  It is the Internet.  Many people are not reading books and have become used to reading short bits of things online.  It's a hurry up, drive-up window world.... people want their fast food, fast news, and their social change right now.

So an additional strategy of Mr. Big, and his ringside click of corporate collaborators, is to reduce our access to the Internet.  Imagine the world today without a fully open world-wide web.  Take that away and many of us will be flying blind.

The FCC wants to destroy net neutrality and give big cable companies control over what we see and do online. If they get their way, they’ll allow widespread throttling, blocking, censorship, and extra fees.  Former Verizon lawyer-turned-FCC Chair Ajit Pai's is implementing just such a plan to kill net neutrality in its tracks.

Without net neutrality, the Internet will become more like Cable TV, where the content you see is what your provider puts in front of you at a steep price.

On July 12 an Internet-Wide Day of Action to Save Net Neutrality is being organized. Major sites like Amazon, Netflix, Vimeo, Reddit, and Twitter are partnering with the Day of Action, it is anticipated that this will be one of the largest online protests in history.
 

If you want to support independence of free information, free thinking, a fair society that depends on the sharing of ideas then please help spread the word to your friends and family right now.  

You can learn more about the day of action here

Bruce

The Fog of Endless War & Global Domination

The US economy increasingly depends on war.  Our #1 industrial export product is weapons and the primary job opportunity for high school graduates these days is to join the Army and go kill on behalf of resource extraction corporations.  The Democratic Party Mayor of Chicago Rahm Emanuel has just come out with a new policy saying that he won't hand out high school diplomas to graduates in their city unless the kid has been accepted into a college program, has a job, or is going to join the military. Guess which demographic this will impact the most?

The US fears Russian and Chinese unity and will do practically anything to torpedo that growing relationship. The alliance between China and Russia (along with others) is demanding that power be shared in a multi-polar world where no one nation dictates terms to vassals who surrender their resources and sovereignty to the US.  Washington (with its NATO appendage) understands it has a short period of time to destroy the growing power of China and Russia and thus we witness this current aggressive global confrontation and fake news about Russian hacking of the last US election.

The US is a drunken cowboy that bellies up to the bar at the Last Chance Saloon. America is addicted to violence, chaos and war.  The violence that used to be primarily manifested worldwide has now come home to roost with a ferocity unlike anything we've seen here since our own Civil War.

Donald Trump is not really in charge - the Deep State neo-con war mongers are pulling the strings in this puppet show.  Trump is performing his TV professional wrestling act - just days ago he tweeted that the US was going to have to put "a move" on North Korea - in the best tradition of those who do body slams, head butts, and pile drivers in the ring.

I saw one person write today, "The US does not talk, it shouts, with gun in hand."  A perfect description of Washington's foreign and military policy.

North Korea, Russia or China are not going to start a war.  If WW III begins it will because the drunken cowboy staggers out of the bar and demands a shoot out at the OK Corral at high noon.  The nuclear system of the US is all about first-strike - in fact the Pentagon now has a program called 'Prompt Global Strike'.  The nuclear systems of Russia, China and North Korea are retaliatory systems to be used only if attacked first.

We were in the car today and turned on the radio and NPR was talking about Russia.  I've been taking an informal survey of each instance when I switch the radio on to see what subject pops up over the air waves.  The vast majority of the time it is about Russia as the demonization is just like a fog that has descended on America and refuses to lift. 

The American people are brain washed, mind manipulated, and being led over a cliff into a war.  The US ruling oligarchies clearly see their hold on the global economy and total military control slipping from their fingers.  They know they have just a short time left to try to take back their global domination before the multi-polar world pushes ahead toward global leadership and stability.

This is what makes this moment the most dangerous in human history.  Despite the United Nations voting today to make nuclear weapons illegal the US won't dare give up its nukes.  The US's nukes are the double-barrelled shot guns that Mr. Big uses to put up to the heads of nations it wishes to bully into submission.  Coupled with the steroidal deployments of US 'missile defense' interceptors and radars around the globe this formidable offensive system, directed by military space satellites, gives the neo-con war mongers the feeling of swaggering unlimited power.  

Whether they will ultimately use these forces is an open question. The international peace community has the moral responsibility to make sure it does not happen.

Bruce

Love It......

RT Interview about North Korea

Let's just call it like it is - the US is the biggest hypocrite on the planet.

The US tests ICBM's and so-called 'missile defense' interceptors all the time.  US 'friends' like the UK, France, India, and Israel routinely test nuclear weapons and missiles. No one says a peep.

Only the 'bad' guys can't have nukes or missiles.  But who is the biggest bad guy on Mother Earth - yes, of course it is Mr. Big and his minions!

I've had enough with the bullshit and the hypocrisy.  Call it like you see them - the US is off base on this one.  It needs to take the plank out of its own eyes before judging others.

Bruce

Happy Birthday America (Or at least what is left of it....)

Tell Navy 'No War Games in Whale Habitat'

The Navy has opened public comments on their Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing (AFTT) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS)/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement.  Comments must be postmarked or received online by August 29, 2017 to ensure that your concerns are considered and addressed in the Final EIS/OEIS.

You can post your online comments at the Navy's EIS web site here

The Navy offers three choices for action that they ask those who submit comments to choose from.  I picked this one:

No Action Alternative – Under this alternative, the Navy would not conduct proposed training and testing activities, and a permit under the Marine Mammal Protection Act would not be issued.

The Navy is required by law to go through the EIS process before they can begin holding their new round of war games in the ocean including testing sonar in the southeast (Florida-Georgia coast)  which happens to be the prime breeding ground of the North Atlantic Right Whale - one of the most endangered whales of all.

This proposed 'Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing' program will lead to the deaths of much sea life.

If you'd like more information about this you can watch artist/activist Russell Wray from Maine (who painted the banner above).  You can see my recent public access TV interview with Russell here

Even though these EIS processes never really influence the Navy they are still a useful tool for educating the public about how these military war games impact sea life.  So please help spread the word and send in your comments ASAP - tell the Navy - No Action Alternative!

Bruce

War is Sorrow and Tears

Compelling story by this woman who refuses to leave the war zone in eastern Ukraine as they are attacked by the Kiev government installed by the US in 2014.  Currently the US-NATO are arming and training the National Guard to attack their fellow Ukrainians who live near the border with Russia.

The US wants to destabilize Moscow and is using this proxy war and the western media demonization of Putin to build hatred against Russia.  The western bankers want to break Russia into smaller countries so the oil corporations can take control of the vast Russian border as the Arctic Sea melts.  The US also wants to interrupt the growing trading and political alignment between Russia and China.

The current puppet show in Washington is staged to distract our attention (and pit us against each other) as the great American experiment is taken apart one screw and bolt at a time and turned into the military arm of corporate globalization.

Wars R Us........ get on board or go hungry.  This is our future they say inside the Deep State.

Bruce

Working on Next Newsletter

I started in earnest yesterday working on the GN's next newsletter.  I always dread the job because there is so much information that I've saved since the last Space Alert was published.  But once I get rolling doing the 'Odds & Ends' section which are important short bits (what I call toilet reading) the energy cranks up.  I love going through various space related articles and picking out things I want others to know about - things that help give people a slight view of where the whole space industry is taking the people of our planet.  And just as important are the peaceniks around the world working on some angle of the space militarization issue - we always want to share their stories.  We need a global movement that connects all the dots.  It's happening and it is fun and rewarding to be part of that.  Great folks out there and they are what gives me 'hope'. 

You can't help but wonder what the agenda is? Is it all about profit or is there something to those that say extraterrestrials have infiltrated our world and are now working with the military, government, etc....?  How could we ever be the only 'intelligent' life in the universe?  A frightening thought.

I once was told by a leading physicist that when NASA began their moon missions they discovered some kind of structures on the dark side of the moon.  Why doesn't the government share that information with us?  Bases, buildings, space launch facilities?  Why can't we know the truth?

Some even maintain that our human species is ultimately cross-bred with those from another planet who came to mine the surface of the Earth.  When they needed workers they gave some apes enough intelligence to turn them into slaves.  (Basic medical experimentation, it's done all the time these days.) That theory might explain much of human history as exemplified by our current earthly battle against Mr. Big.  The global corporate plan is to turn us into slaves again.

I've got an inquisitive and fertile mind so this is like reading science fiction for me.  There are many capitalist and militarist forces on Earth that are trying to get humanity to fund the 'new space race'. 

There is alot of $$$ to be made building rockets, satellites and launch facilities around the country as communities are forced to bid against one another to bring the 'aerospace biz bacon' home to the local taxpayers - who often pay to build these same space facilities.  It's like a gas station on every corner - how did that whole oil thing work out for us? 

So I try to follow many theories and new space stories into the rabbit hole to see what I might find. Some wear thin and others lead to new caverns.  It makes for good reading while I'm watching baseball - the one sport that still is played in a 'ball park' with green grass, peanuts, beer and the amazing sounds like the crack of the bat, the ball hitting a mitt, and the cheers or sighs from the crowd.

This is my world.  But there is another one out there that some folks are dying to reach.  The call of the wild, maybe, or a beacon.  It's worth checking out.  Could be a real link to true human history - I would like to know the real story and I am certain that those at the top of the pyramid have worked to ensure that we stay in the dark while the Vatican holds us tight in its 'welcoming' arms.

Bruce 

Sunday Song

I Want to Go Home

This is what the US supported puppet regime in Kiev has done to their own citizens who live near the Russian border - in the Donbass region of eastern Ukraine.

How long do they have to suffer?  Russia has not invaded Ukraine - in fact it is the US that has a base in western Ukraine where US Army Special Forces from Ft. Carson, Colorado are presently stationed.  They train the Ukrainian National Guard (made up of Nazi death squads) who are then sent to the Donbass to kill the civilians. 

More war crimes but the world is silent.

It's Always About the Oil!

No THAAD in South Korea!

 

 

Global Network board member Lindis Percy (Harrogate, England) at US embassy in Seoul.

Sung-Hee Choi reports:

No THAAD! (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) 'Missile Defense'

Lindis Percy, a UK peace activist kept one person protest in front of the US embassy in Seoul, Korea, despite police interruption.

Thank you, Lindis, your persistent effort and solidarity is an inspiration and encouragement for us.

Lindis Percy is a co-founder of Campaign Accountability of American Bases (CAAB), former-co-representative of the CAAB. She has been arrested around 500 times for her anti-base struggles.

The People's Democratic Party hit its 347th day of one person protest in front of the US embassy as of June 29. The issues are: 'Immediately remove out THAAD, Stop war exercise against North Korea! Conclude a Peace Agreement between North Korea and United States! Remove all the US bases [from the alliance countries]!"

Lindis Percy, who is being invited by the People's Democratic Party to visit the various anti-base struggles in Korea from June 27 to July 9 has welcomed the People's Democratic Party to the struggle site against the US NSA base at Menwith Hill, North Yorkshire, England, several months ago.

Lindis visits Jeju from July 5 to 7 and Seongju on July 8.

(Photo by People's Democratic Party)

Testimony: The Lies of U.S. War Making

Very moving testimony by US soldier about the carnage created during the destruction of Fallujah in Iraq. 

Why doesn't the US ever get charged with war crimes?

Teaching Local Cops to Kill

"Conditioned Response", a short film by Craig Atkinson and Field of Vision. For the past 20 years, ex-Army Ranger and “killology” expert Dave Grossman has been traveling across the US to train police officers on his philosophy of killing.

Footage from one of Grossman’s seminars is juxtaposed with stark, brutal images of police brutality—including the shooting of Philando Castile by a Minnesota police officer.

Directed by Craig Atkinson and Laura Hartrick

See more from Field of Vision here: fieldofvision.org

Craig Atkinson also filmed "Do Not Resist", a documentary about the militarization of police: http://www.donotresistfilm.com/

Field of Vision YouTube: https://youtu.be/773T86dY7wU

Read an article about the film from The New Yorker: http://bit.ly/2smHg4P

Movement of Resistance & Love

But you also gotta connect the military budget to all this - that is where the $$$ is if you want to have a free and just society.

Stop Endless Wars

I began to seriously question the government's lies while in the Air Force during the Vietnam War.  I went to the base exchange one day while stationed at Wheeler AFB, Hawaii and picked a copy of the Pentagon Papers off the book rack.  I started reading the book at my job site and would now and then read aloud one of the more egregious lies uncovered by the governments own 'secret history' of how the war in Vietnam came about.

Years before I had come to appreciate the phrase modus operandi (MO) while taking a pre-FBI agent correspondence course through the mail.  Every criminal has an MO - a way of repeating their crimes over and over again.  That is the perfect description of how the corporate criminal syndicate, that runs the US, acts at home and around the world - they keep doing the same bad shit and selling it to the public in the same way.

As a teenager I dreamed of fighting organized crime as my career.  Reading the Pentagon papers helped me see one prime example of Washington's MO happening right before my eyes.  So I feel like I achieved my goal of being a fighter of the mob but thankfully learned that the FBI was part of the problem.

When Washington started attacks (verbal and physical) on Panama, Granada, Yugoslavia, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, Syria, Ukraine, Yemen, Iran, Russia, Congo, China and North Korea I saw the MO in action.

It is hard for many people to admit we are being played like a violin - they want to believe in the system because if they move to rejecting it then they have to act - and most folks don't want to act.  They want someone else to do the heavy lifting for them.

So it gets real interesting that in recent days the 'RussiaGate' story is losing oxygen - like a balloon deflating in your hand.  CNN and now the New York Times are slowly creeping toward back tracking on their earlier claims about Russian interference in US elections.

Award winning reporter Robert Parry at Consortium News today writes:

The New York Times has finally admitted that one of the favorite Russia-gate canards – that all 17 U.S. intelligence agencies concurred on the assessment of Russian hacking of Democratic emails – is false.

The reality of a more narrowly based Russia-gate assessment was admitted in May by President Obama’s Director of National Intelligence James Clapper and Obama’s CIA Director John Brennan in sworn congressional testimony.

.... as any intelligence expert will tell you, if you “hand-pick” the analysts, you are really hand-picking the conclusion. For instance, if the analysts were known to be hard-liners on Russia or supporters of Hillary Clinton, they could be expected to deliver the one-sided report that they did.

In the history of U.S. intelligence, we have seen how this selective approach has worked, such as the phony determination of the Reagan administration pinning the attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II and other acts of terror on the Soviet Union.

CIA Director William Casey and Deputy Director Robert Gates shepherded the desired findings through the process by putting the assessment under the control of pliable analysts and sidelining those who objected to this politicization of intelligence.

Since Clapper’s and Brennan’s testimony in May, the Times and other mainstream news outlets have avoided a direct contradiction of their earlier acceptance of the 17-intelligence-agencies canard by simply referring to a judgment by “the intelligence community.”

Most of us have learned to smell a rat and this cycle we are in of 'endless wars' is stinking up a storm.  Trusting the ruling elites is a foolhardy thing to do.  Trusting their media is even more foolhardy.  Sadly it is simply amazing how many 'progressives' still read and believe the New York Times and the Washington Post along with CNN and MSNBC.

The puzzle pieces are falling into place on the wall and a clearer picture has emerged for us to see if we are willing to look.  Democracy is gone - corporate oligarchic control is here and neo-feudalism is backed up with a militarized police.

They must lie to us about everything.  It's the only way Mr. Big can keep us distracted and under control.  We win the day we stop falling for their MO and begin to act against it.

Bruce