CAPITALIST SICKNESS

MARK SKIDMORE—I view the primary struggle as not so much between nation states, but between the “elite” class and everyone else.  I think of the western financial sector and the military industrial complex as two sides of the same coin.  The western financial system (and information systems too) needs a strong military as enforcer, and the military needs the financiers to be sure the desired funding flows to the military-industrial complex.  This dynamic ensures control and access to key resources such as oil, minerals, etc. globally.

This is not to say that those within the elite class always cooperate or that there isn’t a second-layer power struggle between nation-states and thus potential for nation-state conflict. 

CAITLIN JOHNSTONE—The single greatest threat to freedom and democracy is not foreign governments, nor the authoritarian measures being implemented by our own governments, but the fact that giant media and tech companies are used to continuously manipulate the way people think about all of those governments.

You are not free if your mind is not free. It doesn’t matter if you were free to say and do whatever you want if the powerful are still actively manipulating the thoughts you think, because all your words and actions will arise from those thoughts. Mental sovereignty comes first.

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Objective economic analysis is difficult to come by in this heated political moment, with deep budget cuts that disproportionately affect the poor and working class while the top one percent of Americans continues to amass wealth at a record pace. Professor Richard D. Wolff’s academic work and public lectures warning of a crisis of capitalism preceded the current disaster. Wolff will discuss the fallout of the economic collapse and the ongoing struggle over who will bear the massive costs. THE NEW SCHOOL | http://www.newschool.edu Wolff is professor emeritus of economics at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and is currently visiting professor in the graduate program in international affairs at The New School in New York City. Having accurately predicted the economic collapse of 2008, he is widely sought after as a commentator on the current financial crisis. Wolff is also noted for his ability to distill complex economic concepts and data into palatable, accessible language.

Claiming that coup plot leader Leopoldo Lopez’s only crime was “to propose a free-market alternative to the repressive socialist policies,” Cruz called for his release.

Cruz later praised an App called Zello, which, his office’s press release said, “created an application to successfully bypass Venezuela’s heavy censorship.” It continued: “Recalling the proud tradition of Radio Free Europe during the Cold War, the Senator lauded Zello’s work as an example of how we can use technology to support those fighting for economic and political freedom around the globe.”

As Venezuelan journalist Erica Ortega Sanoja has reported, coup plotters used Zello to “teach how to assassinate policemen and make weapons.” Zello has since been blamed for helping to facilitate protests at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th by Diet Insurrectionists.