Public event to share Russia trip stories

Playing in the snow

MB caught me shoveling snow around our car this morning - making a dent in it but much more on the way.

My dear friends in Florida will like this photo - but yes I still enjoy playing in the snow!

More than five inches are expected in Brunswick - other parts of the state are getting much more.

Bruce

Militarizing the U.S. university system

Video produced by Global Network board member Will Griffin from Philadelphia, PA.

Carrying aid and love to Palestine

While in the Donbass (Russian ethnic population in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border) last month I was given a book by an activist from Belfast, Ireland named Fra Hughes.  We were in Lugansk and Donetsk along with a few others.  We were led by a wonderful labor leader in Lugansk by the name of Andrey Kochetov.

Fra gave me a copy of his book entitled An Activist's Tale, My Walk with Palestine.  I loved reading his stories.  I always cherish activist writings - their lives are so rich in spirit by meeting inspiring and determined people in struggle around the world. Giving support comes natural when you see through the corporate media brainwashing about people like those in Palestine.

Fra is no ordinary guy.  He's made several trips to Gaza and the West Bank over the years - bringing aid and tremendous solidarity.

He tells an inspiring story about an 18-month campaign where he and others handed out 70,000 flyers about the boycott of Israeli products which were produced on stolen Palestinian lands.  The boycott effort was concentrated on the Belfast Castle Court Shopping Mall.

That is what I call stick-to-it-iv-ness.

Some times the convoys that Fra participated in reached into Gaza - other times Fra tells us harrowing stories about failed attempts to cross the border into the 'forbidden land'.

It's obvious that the US and Israel have been working together for years to remove the Palestinian people from what is hailed in Tel Aviv as the expansion of 'Greater Israel'.  It's part of a larger ploy to do regime change in Syria, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Turkey and Egypt.  Saudi Arabia (the head-chopping monarchy) is allied with Washington and Tel Aviv in this operation.

While in the Donbass (where Fra has visited several times) he impressed me with his love for the people and complete rejection of fascism.  He sees fascism in both Israel and in Ukraine as the US puppet government in Kiev attacks their own citizens near Russia's border.

Fra ran a guest house in Belfast for many years but never put money above service to those who have Mr. Big's boot on their necks.

Wouldn't it be nice to shift some of the current corporate media 24/7 coverage of Hong Kong protests (being orchestrated by Washington and London) onto the Palestine and Donbass genocides?  Sadly, it is not in Mr. Big's news script to oppose those two neglected struggles.  Mr. Big wants their lands for 'strategic' reasons.

Fra ends the book with seven pages of revealing quotes from top Israeli officials - from the founding of Israel to the present.  Here is one of them:

We walked outside, Ben-Gurion accompanying us.  Allon repeated his question, 'What is to be done with the Palestinian population?' Ben-Gurion waved his hand in a gesture which said 'Drive them out!'

    ~ Yitzhak Rabin, leaked censored version of Rabin memoirs, published in the New York Times.

Bruce

Please meet Fra in the video below.


In Focus: Fra Hughes from Northern Visions NvTv on Vimeo.

Don't forget it....

Patti Smith - People Have The Power

I was dreaming in my dreaming
of an aspect bright and fair
and my sleeping it was broken
but my dream it lingered near
in the form of shining valleys
where the pure air recognized
and my senses newly opened
I awakened to the cry
that the people have the power
to redeem the work of fools
upon the meek the graces shower
it's decreed the people rule

The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power

Vengeful aspects became suspect
and bending low as if to hear
and the armies ceased advancing
because the people had their ear
and the shepherds and the soldiers
lay beneath the stars
exchanging visions
and laying arms
to waste in the dust
in the form of shining valleys
where the pure air recognized
and my senses newly opened
I awakened to the cry

The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power

Where there were deserts
I saw fountains
like cream the waters rise
and we strolled there together
with none to laugh or criticize
and the leopard
and the lamb
lay together truly bound
I was hoping in my hoping
to recall what I had found
I was dreaming in my dreaming
god knows a purer view
as I surrender to my sleeping
I commit my dream to you

The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power
The people have the power

The power to dream, to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
Listen
I believe everything we dream
can come to pass through our union
we can turn the world around
we can turn the earth's revolution
we have the power
People have the power

The people have the power
The people have the power

The power to dream, to rule
to wrestle the world from fools
it's decreed the people rule
it's decreed the people rule
we have the power
People have the power
we have the power...

Sunday song

What is the role of the military?

Global Network board member and Iraq & Afghanistan war veteran Will Griffin doing a fascinating review of his recent round of talks to high school students in New York City.

I think you will learn alot from Will's presentation.

He also comments on the current state of education in the schools where cutbacks and reductions in teaching staffs are having real impact on what kids know these days.  Is this dumbing down of American citizens just by chance or is it a systematic program?

Who does it benefit when the American people don't know their own history or contemporary foreign policy?

I can promise you that these kids left this presentation by Will with their heads spinning.  I think it is safe to say that this was a life-changing experience for most of them.

Will produces videos at an amazing rate and has a video channel where you can see all of them.  It's called The Peace Report which you can find here.

We need more activists like Will Griffin.  You should consider offering a donation to him at his Peace Report site.  He's a good one.

Bruce

Plymouth Rock: Some real talk and healing

Speaking on site at Plymouth Rock. A longer explanation of the roots of Thanksgiving and how we as a multicultural people can transmute our situation into beauty and healing. This Thanksgiving, let’s eat and have some real talk. The truth will set us free.

Lyla June is poet, musician, educator, anthropologist, activist and community servant of Diné (Navajo), Tsétsêhéstâhese (Cheyenne) and European lineages.  She holds a degree in Environmental Anthropology with honors from Stanford University and a degree in American Indian Education with distinction from the University of New Mexico.

🎥Produced by Bill Hurley

Don't freak out - agitate!

Not to be missed video - very important stuff here....

At a private donor meeting ($$$$$$$) Obama warns voters not to go too far to the left......

Come on over....

Turkey with no talk? Please pass the muzzles.....

While cooking rice pudding this morning (for the first time ever) I was listening to NPR (National Petroleum Radio) and they were doing a segment on Thanksgiving dinner - how to avoid family conflict over politics.

They had on a couple 'experts' who suggested that families should avoid discussing controversial subjects like politics and religion.  One wag made the suggestion that when someone brings up an 'uncomfortable' subject the host should redirect the conversation like this, "Well Uncle Joe, tell us about your recent trip to Greece."

America, the world's supposed greatest democracy, is now afraid to discuss politics and the folks that guide the thinking of the nation (corporate run media) have decided that in this land of the free (and home of the brave) that we should keep our traps shut and just discuss mundane subjects like sports, shopping, crap TV shows and the like.

The US military is actively spreading 'democracy' around the world at the point of a gun wishing to show the great unwashed people of the planet just how it is all supposed to work.  Ugh!

It is my belief that people would be less divided in America if the corporate media actually reported the truth about what was going on with our government.  Take for example the recent coup d'etat in Bolivia that was clearly orchestrated by the CIA.  Some of us actually understand what happened there because we find other sources of information while the majority of Americans still fall for the propaganda that comes from the mainstream media.  So yes, this is one example of where conflict at the dinner table could arise.  But are we just supposed to fear telling our relatives and friends what actually happened in Bolivia?  According to NPR the answer is absolutely YES.

One friend this morning sent around a link to a story about Extinction Rebellion’s global climate hunger strike and he commented, "Here is an excellent Thanksgiving story. Hunger strikers are missing Thanksgiving while Pelosi feasts. Let's make it go viral so people are discussing it with their families on Thanksgiving."

NPR would not approve of this! Only open your mouths to stuff food down your gullet!

Talk about the coming climate catastrophe?  No way. Forget about the kid's future - no worries....

Could we talk about Joe Biden's son being linked to $16.5 million of Ukrainian funds siphoned off into Hunter (and friends) pockets?  No don't do that - no need to upset anyone.

How about we talk about the growing wealth divide in the US (and around the world) as corporate oligarchs rob the people blind and we have record levels of homeless people this Thanksgiving? Sorry, not allowed!

Maybe we could all discuss our 800 military bases around the globe and the $6.4 trillion that has been wasted on endless war since 2001?  Just imagine how those funds could have been used for sustainable technology development, schools, health care and the like.  Nope, not allowed!

Just ask yourself, how we can have 'democracy' while we create a dumbed down public that is afraid to discuss relevant issues that face us all?  It's nonsense!

So ignore the NPR propaganda.  If someone wants to talk about politics at dinner please join in the discussion.  You don't have to be rude or mean spirited - but you can listen, learn and share your heartfelt feelings about a particular issue that concerns you.  Someone, including each of us, might just learn something new.

That is how 'democracy' is supposed to work.

Bruce
PS My rice pudding turned out quite nicely.

Jamming more military onto already militarized Hawaiian islands

The Pentagon is planning to build a billion dollar radar system called the Homeland Defense Radar –Hawaii (HDR-H) on Oahu, Hawaii.

Global Network board member Lynda Williams (Physics teacher) was interviewed about the radar. Read her report Billion Dollar Expansion of Missile Defense in Hawaii here

Upside down thinking....

Aaron Maté speaks about how corporate media propaganda, from Russiagate to Ukrainegate, promotes war and hawkish foreign policy, and how liberals have embraced this belligerence in the era of President Donald Trump.

(On the panel "PROPAGANDA: How Propaganda Manufactures Consent," organized by the Big Apple Coffee Party in New York City on November 19.)

Civilians still being bombed by Nazis

Up close look at a village in the Donetsk Peoples Republic (Donbass) under continual attack by the Ukrainian Army (Ukrops) and the Nazi death squads.

Filmmaker Regis Tremblay visited the war-torn and badly damaged Petrovsky District of Donetsk in eastern Ukraine near the Russian border.

Russell 'Texas' Bentley (who came to Donbass in 2014 to help defend the people) led a guided tour of the very poor, civilian district that has been repeatedly bombed by Ukrainian military forces. (Mostly coal mine workers community.)

Much to their delight, they met a group of grannies who told of their plight and showered them with gifts of homemade wine, pickles, and jam.

The woman at the very end shares her nightly prayer which is promised to bring tears to your eyes and heart.

Moms Demand Action

This Issue host Bruce Gagnon interviews guests Kathleen McFadden & Nacole Palmer from Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.  Their organization, part of a national network, has been working hard across Maine for several years, locally and in Augusta, to bring attention and legislative change to our state’s gun laws.  (Thanks to VFP member Peter Morgan for arranging their appearance on the show.)

This Issue is produced by David Brooks.  Camera work was done by Peter Woodruff and Dan Ellis.  Dan Ellis also did the final editing. Photos provided by Moms Demand Action.

This Issue runs each week during the following days/times on Brunswick's Cable TV Channel 3:

Wed  6:00 pm
Friday  2:30 pm
Sat  2:01 am
Sunday  8:30 pm

* This Issue also airs on Bath, Harpswell, Portland, Phippsburg, Freeport, New Castle, Madison, Skowhegan, Anson, North Anson, Solon, Belfast, South Portland, and Biddeford public access cable TV at random times.  Check local listings. 

Sunday song

College football delayed by Climate Catastrophe protest

ESPN reports:

The start of the second half of Saturday's Harvard-Yale game was delayed by nearly an hour after a number of spectators rushed the field to stage a climate change protest.

The field was ultimately cleared, and the game resumed at 2:48 p.m. ET.

Some protesters held banners asking their colleges to act on climate change and Puerto Rican debt relief, including one sign that read, "Nobody wins. Yale & Harvard are complicit in climate injustice."

"Hey hey, ho ho, fossil fuels have got to go," some protesters chanted.

Caleb Schwartz, a Harvard student and spokesman for the group Divest Harvard, said Saturday's protest was the result of months of coordination.

"This is a very deliberate choice of targeting this specific [game] to get our action out there," Schwartz told ESPN's Paul Kix.

In a statement, the Ivy League referred to the protest as "regrettable."

In its own statement, Yale said that while it "stands firmly for the right to free expression," it had issues with how the protesters went about their demonstration.

"The exercise of free expression on campus is subject to general conditions, and we do not allow disruption of university events," Yale said in a statement.

Saturday was the 136th edition of "The Game" between Harvard and Yale. The Bulldogs clinch the Ivy League title with their 50-43 win in double overtime.

The delay created by the protesters presented a potential problem for the game's finish as Yale Bowl lacks stadium lights and the double-overtime conclusion forced the game to be completed in near darkness.

Where is the sand going?

Denis Delestrac made his debut in non-fiction filmmaking in 2001 and scored a number of hits including IMAX blockbuster "Mystery of the Nile" and "Pax Americana and the Weaponization of Space", his first feature award-winning documentary.

His latest feature documentary, "Sand Wars" is an epic eco-thriller that takes the audience around the globe to unveil a new gold rush and a disturbing fact: we are running out of sand!

In his talk he explains to us where sand comes from and where it ends up. Our perception is that the resource sand will always be available for us but thanks to his investigations we realize that this is not true and that sooner or later we will be running out of sand - and consequently won´t have beaches anymore.

The ecological results of loss of sand is staggering.

The origins of the Ukraine story.....

There is much confusion these days about the Ukraine story.  That confusion sadly also widely exists within the 'progressive community' as well.

It never ceases to amaze me how many so-called enlightened activists fall victim to the non-stop lies and distortions that daily come to us from NPR, Washington Post, New York Times, CNN, Fox, MSNBC and more.  The truth is out there if one is willing to search for it and allow yourself to be skeptical of the same media outlets that sold us the Vietnam War and the 2003 'shock and awe' in Iraq (among many other recent regime change wars).

This video is a must watch.

Hear Victoria Nuland's (Hillary Clinton's Asst. Secretary of State for European-Affairs) phone call to Obama's  Ambassador to Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt, in a 'conversation' that was leaked to the news media on February 4, 2014.

'Fuck the EU', says Nuland as they discuss who the US will accept as the 'new president' of Ukraine following the coup d'etat that Washington led in 2014. Then Nuland talks about bringing in a United Nations guy and V-P Joe Biden to give their blessings for the 'new' government in Ukraine.  A complete Washington orchestration.

What's really important here is the level of planning for the coup that overthrew the elected President Viktor Yanukovych, which brought to power (as heard on the recording) a group of selected puppets described as 'moderate democrats.' In fact, most of them, including Oleh Tyahnybok (just below whom Nuland insists the new head of state consult four times weekly), are a far-right nationalist faction with overt and long-standing ties to the neo-Nazi movement.

Meet the characters in the story that led to what's called 'the worst crisis since the old cold war' and which Russia experts describe as a new cold war more dangerous than the first.

Both parties (Repub and Dem) are complicit in this Ukraine mess.  They created it and are doing this fake impeachment circus act in Washington to distract and confuse the public.  If you fall in line behind either corrupt party you are just being used.

Put your ear to the railroad tracks and hear the train coming.....

Bruce

the funnies......

The American dream has turned into a terrible nightmare for most of the people and our Mother Earth.