AMERICAN PROPAGANDA

RAINER SHEA—The first step taken towards this solidification of internal control has been the manufacturing, through government and media propaganda, of a worldview that the people within the imperial core are now expected to accept. This worldview says that Russia and China need to be feared and hated, that socialism is an evil force which needs to be stamped out, and that those who challenge the official narratives are working in favor of the nation’s enemies. In other words, a resurrection of the American Cold War narratives-except now the information deemed to be “dangerous” or “treasonous” is primarily in the online sphere.

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE—That is what we are witnessing here. We are witnessing the head-on collision between the story America’s political, media and educational institutions tell Americans about what their country is, and the reality of what their country actually is. The disparity between the bedtime story and the waking up story has finally been stretched to a breaking point, and now the mask of free liberal democracy is coming off in front of everyone.

Former Senator Piedad Cordoba ironically tweeted that if 800 U.S. soldiers are coming for counternarcotics operations in the region, they should “start with the case of drug trafficker Ñeñe Hernandez, who financed a presidential campaign.” For his part, former President Ernesto Samper warned that allowing foreign troops into the country without the Senate’s authorization could lead to disciplinary and criminal proceedings against President Ivan Duque and his Defense Ministry, for “ignoring jurisprudence of the Constitutional and the State Council.”

PHILIPPE GENDRAULT—Of course, the unethical aspect of the idea of herd immunity has not escaped many commentators as the notion of letting the weak die off in order to protect the greater numbers did not sit well with many. Not only that, but dealing concretely with urgency for those severe cases on the doorstep of death would overwhelm healthcare delivery services and result in a medical catastrophe. Moreover, the level of immunity for those surviving infection by the virus remains unclear to this day. The certainty of immunity post-infection has not been demonstrated as cases of second infections have seemingly occurred.

ROBERT BRIDGE—Trudeau, who does not strike me as a chess player, expressed his “extreme concern” at the decision, which really should have come as no surprise. The Schellenberg case was clearly a show trial to give Beijing some leverage in freeing Meng Wanzhou, and now it will be very interesting to see how Trudeau responds. Will he cave in to US demands and extradite Meng, or will he hold onto the Chinese national in a possible exchange agreement for the three Canadians?