Stuart Jeanne Bramhall's Blog: The Most Revolutionary Act , page 1260
September 2, 2016
U.S. Trained Militants Formed the ‘Core of Daesh’/ISIS*
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According to CNN, a top Daesh leader with a 3-million-dollar bounty from the U.S. State Department on his head received counter-terrorism training in the United States for 11 years. His case isn’t unique.
U.S. Trained Militants Formed the ‘Core of Daesh’/ISIS*
A top Daesh leader with a 3-million-dollar bounty from the U.S. State Department on his head received counter-terrorism training in the United States for 11 years, CNN reported. In an interview with Sputnik, Dr. Alon Ben-Meir, political analyst told Radio Sputnik that the case with Khalimov is not isolated. According to Ben-Meir, U.S. trained militants that formed the core of what is now known as Daesh.
“Many of these people did not join ISIS [Daesh] then, but remained active in various capacities,” the expert said.
“Kalhimov was in the command of the police force, he was not motivated by what Daesh has been doing. But subsequently he sort of gave up,” he added.
Made in America: State Dept. Launches $3Mln Manhunt For Daesh Leader Trained in U.S. Gulmurod Khalimov, who is also a top recruiter for the jihadist group, once served as a commander of a special operations unit in the Interior Ministry of Tajikistan. From…
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Relocalization: Opting Out of Corporate Society
Diversidad: A Road Trip to Reconstruct Dinner
Solutionary Pictures (2010)
Film Review
Diversidad tells the story of a 35-day bicycle trip the Sierra Youth Coalition took from Vancouver to Tijuana in 2003. Their goal was to visit West Coast rural farming communities as a prelude to their participation in the 2003 anti-WTO protest in Cancun Mexico.
The goal of the fifth ministerial round of WTO negotiations was to resolve a dispute between developed and developing countries over agricultural trade. North American and Europe hoped to use the WTO to force developing countries to drop all trade barriers that were blocking US and EU agrobusinesses from dumping cheap food on agricultural nations. By 2003, NAFTA*, the precursor to the WTO, had allowed US agrobusiness to put two million Mexican farmers out of work by flooding their markets with cheap corn.
Building Alternatives to the Corporate Economy
The most surprising aspect of the cycle trip was the discovery of a vast network of rural communities and urban neighborhoods that are busily creating an alternative to the capitalist economic system by consciously decreasing consumption, changing consumption choices and building strong local economies
In Olympia, Washington, for example, they discover that Evergreen State College is training students in organic agriculture techniques, as well as new economic models, such as Community Supported Agriculture, to increase access to cheap, locally produced organic foods. In 2003 Thurston County (where Olympia is located) already held a national record as the country with the most CSAs.**
In Oakland, they stay with an African American group which had started a large organic garden in the Oakland ghetto. Likewise in Watts, they stay with the “Seed Lady,” an African American woman who got a scholarship to study organic farming in Cuba. After learning how to grow organic food in containers on concrete, as they do in Havana, she returned to engage her neighborhood in launching the Watts Garden Club.
This is in stark contrast to what the fifteen cyclists discover in Salinas, where they meet with Hispanic farm workers and and discover the corporate farms they work on have lost all their topsoil. Because the remaining soil has been destroyed through mismanagement, it no longer supports crop growth without heavy application of chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
Cancun WTO Negotiations Collapse
Diversidad ends with dramatic footage of the anti-WTO protests in Cancun, attended by farmers from all over the world. The protest would attract global media attention after one of the Korean farmers mounted the heavy iron fence barricading the protest area and killed himself with a knife.
Buoyed by the ferocity of the protests outside, the third world WTO delegates refused to cave in, as they had in 1999. (See This is What Democracy Looks Like)
Why TPP Was Negotiated in Secret
By 2010 when Diversidad was released, the industrialized world had given up on the WTO as a vehicle for consolidating profits for their multinational corporations. However, unbeknownst to the filmmakers, Obama was already negotiating a new pro-corporate trade treaty called the Transpacific Partnership (TPP) to replace the WTO.
TPP negotiations were conducted in secret to circumvent the massive popular opposition that repeatedly shut down WTO negotiations. However thanks to Wikileaks, which leaked portions of the secret TPP text over a period years, TPP is highly unlikely to be ratified owing to massive popular opposition to TPP in all 12 partner countries.*** (See Rock Against the TPP)
*The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is an agreement signed by Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral rules-based trade bloc in North America.
**Community-supported agriculture (CSA) is an alternative, locally based economic model of agriculture and food distribution in which consumers advance purchase a share in a farmer’s crop and receive regular distributions of fresh fruits and vegetables in season. (See Top 10 Reasons to Join a CSA)
***Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton officially oppose TPP.
September 1, 2016
Coca-Cola Has Always Had A Connection To The Cocaine Business
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Coke’s ugly link to domestic cocaine production.
YOUR PERCEPTION IS NOT REALITY
Source: The Huffington Post
When news broke yesterday about the discovery of $56 million worth of cocaine at a Coca-Cola plant in France, the press was all abuzz. But as it turns out, this Cocaine-Cola connection is not entirely new; Coca-Cola has been intimately linked to domestic manufacture of cocaine in the United States for years.
A little glimpse into Coke’s history reveals all.
Yes, most people know that Coca-Cola’s first president Asa Candler became concerned about cocaine in the early 1900s and decided to remove any trace of the drug in the company’s famous drink, but few people know that Coke continued to use what is called “decocainized coca leaf extract” in its signature beverage. In company ledgers, this―mixed with kola nut powder― is what is known as Merchandise #5, one of the “secret ingredients.”
Here’s how the process works. Beginning in the early 1900s, Coca-Cola partnered with…
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The Real Reason Brazil’s Democratically Elected Dilma Rousseff Was Impeached. Money and Power…
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While the mainstream media was focused on today’s primetime Brazilian spectacle, namely Dilma Rouseff’s impeachment vote in the Senate, what has gotten far less press is the ongoing devastation of the Brazilian economy.
By Graham Vanbergen
Global Research, September 01, 2016
TruePublica 1 September 2016
The real reason for the democratically elected leader of the largest country in South America being ‘impeached’ was not alleged corruption by its socialist president Dilma Rousseff, but more about Brazil’s elite power class and their media oligarchs who have failed time and time again to be democratically elected.
This by David Miranda from Brazil, The Guardian –
“Slowly, the outside world has begun to see past the pleasing, two-dimensional caricature manufactured by its domestic press, and to recognise who will be empowered once Rousseff is removed. It has now become clear that corruption is not the cause of the effort to oust Brazil’s twice-elected president; rather, corruption is merely the pretext.
The story of Brazil’s political crisis, and the rapidly changing global perception of it, begins with its national media. The country’s dominant broadcast and print outlets are owned…
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Why Did the Feds Outlaw the Herbal Supplement Kratom?
Source: Kurt Nimmo, Another Day In The Empire
Simple.
It is in direct competition with the pharma industry.
Kratom is an opioid agonist. What this mean is it mimics the effects of opioid drugs such as heroin, morphine, hydrocodone, oxycodone, and other dangerous drugs but without the risk of addiction, overdose, and other side effects.
It helps heroin addicts kick the habit.
It works for chronic pain sufferers.
Big pharma and the CIA will simply not tolerate that.
Even though the government is cracking down on opioid prescriptions, it is still looking out for the interests of big pharma.
Between 1998 and 2004 big pharma lobbied on at least 1,600 pieces of legislation. During the same period it donated $89.9 million to political candidates and parties. Between January 2005 through June 2006 the pharmaceutical industry spent approximately $182 million on lobbying Congress. It has an astounding 1,274 registered lobbyists in Washington.
Big pharma control freaks want to make sure they can squeeze every penny out of the sale of their products. It was behind the passage of the Medicare Prescription Drug Improvement and Modernization Act of 2003. The law prevents the government from directly negotiating prices with drug companies who provide those prescription drugs covered by Medicare. In other words, big pharma has a vested interest in making sure old people pay top dollar for medicine.
And the CIA?
It’s no secret they run the opium business in Afghanistan where 95% of the world’s opium is cultivated.
In 2009 it was reported that the CIA controlled the opium trade in Afghanistan through Ahmed Wali Karzai, the brother of the former president, Hamid Karzai, who began his career as a fundraiser for the CIA’s mujahideen during the 1980s.
Read more (source): Why Did the Feds Outlaw Kratom?
August 31, 2016
Marijuana on the Ballot
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This article provides a full list of states with cannabis initiatives on the ballot in November.
Marijuana Majority writes:
Hi Joe,
August was another extremely busy month for marijuana news! But don’t worry: We’ve compiled anything you might have missed right here in this email…
This Month’s Top Marijuana Policy Developments
Here’s some of the most important legislative and business news you need to know about from the past month:
DEA refuses to reschedule marijuana. In what might be the biggest marijuana news of the year — until Election Day, that is — the Drug Enforcement Administration finally issued its ruling on whether to reclassify marijuana. Unfortunately, the agency decided to keep cannabis in Schedule I, a classification that’s more restrictive than the one for cocaine and which is supposed to be reserved for drugs with no medical value. Marijuana Majority is pushing back by urging Congress to overrule the DEA. Please take action and contact your senators today if you haven’t already.
More marijuana initiatives qualify for state…
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The Poison in our Walls – Fault Lines
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At least half a million children in the United States have been poisoned by lead – leading to irreversible brain damage. A stark indictment of a US public health system that continues to poison US drinking water with fluoride. Great Al Jazeera documentary.
At least half a million children in the United States have been poisoned by lead. And although it is totally preventable American children are still poisoned each day.
Lead in household paint – once marketed as durable and safe – became recognised as toxic, especially to children. It was banned in 1978, but lead paints still exist in tens of millions of older US homes.
Once it starts to flake, the paint chips and dust put lead into the air, soil and our bodies.
Children are the most susceptible to being poisoned because their bodies absorb the toxic metal at higher rates than adults.
Studies have shown that lead, especially at higher levels, can cause irreversible brain damage in children. Children who have suffered from lead poisoning are more likely to have lower IQs, long-term health problems, be diagnosed with ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and exhibit aggressive behaviour.
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Why the assassination of Fred Hampton matterz today
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On this anniversary of the FBI/police assassination Black Panther Fred Hampton leader in Chicago — when black people face the fight of their lives — it is important for us to understand why his life and death mean so much to us now.
by David A. Love
Fred HamptonFred Hampton. Say his name.
On this anniversary of the slaying of the Black Panther leader in Chicago — when black people face the fight of their lives — it is important for us to understand why his life and death mean so much to us now.
The charismatic chair of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panther Party accomplished a great deal before he was cut down at the age of 21. Hampton headed the Chicago chapter of the Panthers, where he formed a multiracial “rainbow coalition” of organizations, including Students for a Democratic Society, the Blackstone Rangers street gang, and a Puerto Rican organization known as the National Young Lords. He also started a community service program that included a free breakfast program for children and a free medical clinic, and held political education classes.
And under his leadership, the Chicago…
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Rock Against the TPP (3.25 min)
What’s going on?
Right after the Novemeber election, Obama is going to try to get a lame duck Congress to decide the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), an anti-democratic deal between 12 countries that was negotiated in complete secrecy by government officials and hundreds of corporate lobbyists. If it becomes law, the TPP would be the largest deal of its kind in history, and it poses a grave threat to good-paying jobs, internet freedom, the environment, access to medicine, food safety, and the future of freedom of expression.
What can we do about it?
The TPP text has already been finalized, but before it becomes law, U.S. Congress must approve it. With all the extreme secrecy and blatant corruption surrounding this deal, it’s not hard to see why voters from across the political spectrum overwhelmingly oppose it. Even all the leading presidential candidates are against it! But pro-TPP members of Congress are still plotting to rush the TPP to a vote this Fall. They want to do it quietly. That’s why we need to get loud.
What is Rock Against the TPP?
Rock Against the TPP is a massive effort to sound the alarm about the toxic backroom deal that is the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Through a series of (free) large-scale educational concert events, protests, teach-ins, and trainings, we’ll reach thousands of people who haven’t heard about the TPP yet, and ignite a movement to stop it in its tracks. The tour is a partnership between viral internet freedom nonprofit Fight for the Future and Firebrand Records, the new freedom fighting record label co-founded by Ryan Harvey and Tom Morello.
Rock Against the TPP organizers are particularly concerned about sections in the TPP text that would restrict Internet freedoms Fight for the Future won with their hard fought battles to kill SOPA (the Stop Online Piracy Bill) in 2012 and to force the Obama and FCC to approve Net Neutrality rule in 2015.
Although a majority of Americans oppose the TPP, too many still don’t know what it is – once it’s explained to them, most people oppose it.
For West Coast tour dates see Rock Against the TPP lineup
Featuring (among many others)
Line-ups at each stop vary, scroll down for a list of dates.
Incendiary rock guitarist, troubadour, and activist. Guitarist of Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, Prophets of Rage. website
Internationally acclaimed hip hop emcee known as one of the world’s most accomplished lyricists, has collaborated with Kanye West, Pharell Williams, J Dilla, and more. website
Writer, activist, and Golden Globe nominated actress known for her roles in Lost, The Hobbit, The Hurt Locker, and Ant-Man. website
Legendary political punk band serving high-energy, fist pumping sing-along anthems. Equal parts circle pit and picket line. website
“One of the most exciting political comics in stand-up today.”—New York Times website
Slack Rock guitarist renowned for punking world leaders and corporate media. Penned “Occupy” anthem (Rolling Stone). Hawaiian cultural ambassador. website
Beloved style-blending singer/songwriter on ANTI Records. website
Denver, Colorado’s revolutionary hip-hop act Flobots bring it on real with their signature anthems dedicated to creating a better world. website
Jonny 5 and Brer Rabbit of Flobots
Legendary revolutionary hip hop group from New York. website
Legendary punk singer and spoken word artist, ex-Dead Kennedys, co-founder of Alternative Tentacles. website
The Most Revolutionary Act
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