CORPORATE CRIMINALITY

Lee and his guest Richard Wolff discuss the numerous signs of an imploding capitalism, and why citizens need to recognise the disease and see past the big propaganda wall keeping the sickness alive. Richard Wolff and Lee make importnat points: No matter what trade deals Trump signs off or destroys, the majority of the population will have no say and their interests will be harmed. Same with Britain’s Brexit situation: whether the UK leaves or stays in the EU, the fate of most Britons is still controlled by an utterly corrupt bipartisan conservative clique that has no inclination to do the public’s bidding. It’s just a class thing. Period. The episode also has a terrific discussion about Russiagate with Aaron Mate. Not to be missed.

ELIZABETH VOS—The Nation goes on to quote Kissinger’s reassurance of US tolerance of Pinochet’s government:“We welcomed the overthrow of the Communist-inclined government here. We are not out to weaken your position.” The dialogue between Kissinger and Pinochet, as well as the despot’s friendship with Thatcher, illustrates the dominance of the realpolitik value system in Western nations, through which human rights abuses became an afterthought in comparison with perceived geopolitical advantage.

MEDIA LENS—The Independent, owned by billionaire Sir Tony O’Reilly, can manage to provide an eight-page supplement for a former ‘ecowarrior’ to explain why environmentalism must throw in its lot with capitalism. But there are no multi-page supplements to present community initiatives and grassroot debates around the world on alternatives to the present disastrous system.

JOHN SCALES AVERY—The urgent actions needed to avoid catastrophic climate change imply lifestyle changes, but we will not necessarily become less happy. Do we really enjoy sitting in traffic jams? We can still be happy when the use of private automobiles (except when absolutely necessary) is replaced by bycycles and public transport. We can still be happy without air travel for recreational purposes. We can still be happy with the smaller families which will be needed to stabilize and ultimately reduce global population.