I was just watching a gaggle of blue-checkmarked narrative managers attack progressive commentators Katie Halper and Briahna Joy Gray on Twitter for platforming antiwar journalist Rania Khalek on the grounds that Khalek is an “Assadist”, which is imperialist for “someone who opposes western imperialism in Syria”.

At no point do any of these narrative managers bother to address the actual things these women were discussing together or why anything Khalek was saying in their video conference was wrong. They do not feel the need to do such a thing, because they have this label, “Assadist”, which they can pin on one of the speakers and thereby reject one hundred percent of her work and one hundred percent of the people who give her a platform from which to speak. They feel no need to address the arguments, because they have a label which they all agree means they can completely un-person someone who opposes western regime change agendas in a specific region.

There are many such labels that are used to exclude people from positions of influence and power for simply disagreeing with the official doctrine of status quo oligarchic imperialism in any way. “Assadist” is one of them; it allows someone to be completely marginalized from platforms of significant influence without anyone ever needing to admit that they’re simply depriving anyone of a platform who criticized the way the US power alliance used proxy armies and propaganda campaigns in a campaign to topple Damascus. “Kremlin asset” is another, as are “conspiracy theorist”, “tankie”, or “[insert imperialism-targeted leader] apologist”.

In reality, these labels are interchangeable with the word “heretic”. They mean “Someone who disagrees with the mainstream consensus religion of oligarchic imperialism”.

In ages past people would be excluded from positions of influence and power if they did not belong to the dominant religion in that place and time. If you were a Jew living in the Holy Roman Empire, for example, the door would be closed to you from ever holding a position of power or influence over the mainstream population. In the same exact way, those who do not espouse the mainstream orthodoxy of continual military expansionism and status quo politics are cut off from major positions in politics and media using the modern-day equivalent of the “heathen” label. It’s a very old dynamic adapted for a new world.

Oligarchic imperialism is the new dominant world religion. It is the scripture that everyone reads from. It is what shapes our culture. It is what holy wars are fought over and acts of terrorism committed for. It’s what power is built around. It’s what you’re branded a heretic for rejecting. It’s just as fake as any other religion, just as crafted toward the advantage of the powerful as any other religion, and just as dependent upon blind faith in insubstantial narratives as any other religion. But it lets its adherents feel smug and superior to people who believe in those primitive older religions.

Adherents of the old dominant religion used to read the Bible; adherents of the new dominant religion read The New York Times. Adherents of the old dominant religion used to go to church on Sunday; adherents of the new dominant religion go to Hollywood movies. Adherents of the old dominant religion fought in the crusades; adherents of the new dominant religion kill families with drones and Tomahawk missiles overseas. Adherents of the old dominant religion used to burn heretics at the stake; adherents of the new dominant religion imprison journalists and deplatform “Assadists”, “Putin apologists” and “conspiracy theorists” so their ideas don’t infect the rest of the flock.

These labels exist because if mainstream platforms admitted that they refuse access to literally anyone who disagrees with status quo oligarchic imperialism, they would have to admit that they are not the objective arbiters of absolute reality they portray themselves as being, but are in fact propagandists for a very specific belief system. That they are not tasked with the responsibility of reporting the news, but with promoting the doctrine of the new dominant world religion. That they aren’t news reporters, but high priests.

Religion isn’t disappearing, it has just changed its form. The world has become too small for widespread belief in omnipotent deities creating the universe in six days and controlling all our affairs, so now people tell new fairy tales about a liberal world order which must be preserved by a beneficent superpower and its allies. In reality it is nothing other than propaganda for a murderous, tyrannical theocratic empire, of just the sort once presided over by Rome.

Western imperialism is worse than every single issue the mass media are screaming in your face about on any given day. It is without exaggeration worse than 100 percent of those issues. If people could really grasp the horrific nature of imperial warmongering, the wars would be forced to end. It is the job of the imperial high priests to prevent this from happening, which is why they use dismissive labels to marginalize anyone who might be inclined to remind you of this.

In a murderous, tyrannical theocratic empire, the only sane position to hold is that of heresy and apostasy. Hopefully one day mankind will open its eyes to reality and require no blind faith in any artificial belief constructs of any kind.

____________________

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117 responses to “Oligarchic Imperialism Is The New Dominant World Religion”

  1. My hunch, for what it’s worth, is that the US moon landings really happened, but they were unmanned. The US astronauts, if they blasted off at all, remained in Earth orbit for the duration of their missions. Most of the photography on the “moon” was shot in studios and desert locations in the US, though some was taken on the lunar surface by robots. Lunar soil and rock samples were collected by robots and returned to Earth as “proof” of the manned landings. Even that was a mighty technological achievement back then. The Soviets, with fewer resources, were able to do something similar, but on a very much smaller scale, at about the same time.

  2. Ms Johnstone, I am hoping and praying that you and your loved ones are alright.

    1. Ron, I was also worried about the delay in a new post by Caitlin and did something I never do–checked Twitter. There, Caitlin indicated that she was about to take a few days off, well-deserved we’d all agree, to chill and celebrate her birthday. I think the best birthday present we could give her, in light of the priceless present she’s given to us in this blog, is to keep doing what we’re doing, continue the dialogue until she holds forth once again as only she can.

      1. Here’s some truth tonic while Caitlin’s away:

        https://youtu.be/_aJArigViMU

        Damning indictment of capitalism and the globalists—with facts, and the proper dose of good old-fashioned righteous indignation that Parenti brings.

        1. Thanks Newton for the update! Not knowing, at my age, can cause a panic along with the worry. Happy Birthday Ms Johnstone!!

  3. Caroline Sanford Avatar
    Caroline Sanford

    Science Fiction has come up with a lot of very creative ways for the world to end.
    Douglas Adams turned a few of them into an interesting combination of comedy and storytelling.

    But, here I am, as someone who’s been reading science fiction, including multiple end-of-the-world stories, and I am flabbergasted. Because it appears that real-life has come up with an end-of-the-world story that a century of science fiction writers could never have imagined.

    There is a pandemic…
    Scientists work hard, and billions of dollars are spent creating not one but multiple vaccines…
    But then, disaster happens and the world comes to an end…
    Not because the vaccines were faulty…
    But because the supposedly intelligent beings on that world were so stupid that they refused to take the vaccines. (drums play rim-shot)

    Without a sufficient number of people in the population becoming vaccinated, the deadly pandemic continued to spread, hospitals became overwhelmed, society breaks down, the world descends into chaos and another centuries of dark ages and human civilization as we know it comes to an end and the survivors tell stories around the campfire of the world that once was and the youngsters can’t believe a word of it because it is so different from the world they know.

    All because the people were too stupid to take the vaccine.
    Not even Douglas Adams could think of that one.

    The world ends because the people refused to take the vaccine.
    I guess I’ll lose my bet. I’d have bet on nuclear war being the method by which the human society extinguishes itself. (she sighs as she tears up another useless betting ticket)

    Who says God is Dead?
    Or that She doesn’t have one heck of a sense of humor?

    And thus ended the era of the supposedly intelligent monkeys.
    They go out like they came in. Screeching and throwing their shit at each other.
    I wonder what’s next?

    1. https://web.archive.org/web/20201126163323/https://www.jhunewsletter.com/article/2020/11/a-closer-look-at-u-s-deaths-due-to-covid-19

      It sounds like you’ve been EXCEDINGLY WELL propagandized. Kudos on that go out to Bill Gates, Klaus Schwab and the other Davos Billionaires – and the media, NGOs, Vaccine makers, and Government bodies that their money and work have bought. They’ve managed to somehow convince you that a disease with a fatality rate of less than 1% of those infected – is “the end of the world”.

      Meanwhile – somehow lost in all of that panic – is the VERY REAL threat of a Global ThermoNuclear war – that is becoming more and more likely, despite being entirely unnecessary.

      That link that my post began with – was posted and CENSORED by Johns Hopkins – not because it was untrue, but because it was full of inconvenient facts, – for maintaining a narrative that allows for all sorts of authoritarianism and agendas (ID2020, Agenda 21, Agenda 30,
      “The Great Reset” etc..)

      Since it sounds like you’re WELL CONVINCED of the safety and effectiveness of a Gene-altering vaccine…why would you care about the roughly half of the US population, who doesn’t intend to take it? As long as you take it – you’ll be “safe” – while those who refuse it will all drown in their own lung fluids.

      Despite Bill Gates’ pronouncements about the need for everyone to take the vaccine – his commonly stated goal of much needed massive Global population reductions, would appear to be served by many of us NOT doing so…assuming that every thing IS as he says it is…

      Beware of Eugenics proponents, bearing gifts.

      https://www.rt.com/op-ed/507937-covid-pcr-test-fail/

    2. It appears – that like Intelligence Community’s Alphabrt/Google/YOUTUBE platforms – Caitlin’s blog has decided to CENSOR “The Last American Vagabond” ‘s webpage and channel. Such a shame – but it explains why some of her readers write such silly ‘Chicken Little’ apocalyptic fiction.

      the last american vagabond dot com/rise-authoritarianism-from-parasite-stress-theory-lockstep/ – is the location of an article that you and she and others would be well served by considering… But since I had it included in my other reply – it wouldn’t post… Remove the spaces and add a period in place of the “dot” – if you care to address reality on reality’s terms. The sources for the essay – that I’m not allowed to mention – are below – if you’d like the some of the inspiring facts without all of the trenchant and relevant analysis – or the relevant additional details and links to further works by author Derrick Broze.

      https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3641067/

      https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-08040-6.pdf

    3. What’s next? I wouldn’t rule out nuclear war just yet. The US Navy has been probing the borders of a lot of foreign countries, basically trying to provoke an incident. Meanwhile the mask refusers are spreading a deadly virus out of spite. It might turn out to be a photo finish.

      1. Nuclear War – and 99%+ survivable virus… One of these things is NOT like the others…

        But you two – are two of a kind…

        Feel free to address the reality in any of the comments I posted above. And the reality that Masks are just apart of the “New Religion”. Part of the Cult of Fear-based conformity – that your Oligarchic Imperialist priests are using to take ever greater control over all people on the planet.

        https://truthbarrier.com/masking-ourselves-to-death-new-essay-by-mark-crispin-miller-phd/

        globalresearch dot ca/primary-purpose-mandatory-masking-foster-fear-say-acclaimed-researchers/5726651

        https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa2029717

        https://www.technocracy.news/the-miserable-pseudo-science-behind-face-masks-social-distancing-and-contact-tracing/

        https://www.technocracy.news/blaylock-face-masks-pose-serious-risks-to-the-healthy/

        https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2020/10/how-a-police-state-starts/

        globalresearch dot ca/plain-truth-about-masks/5724961

        I’m sorry that this blog – or the hosting platform won’t allow me to link directly to GlobalResearch… Censorship of all dissenting vuews was discussed as a key element of the Gates Foundation/WEF/Johns Hopkins “EVENT 201” – long before the outbreak was commonly known to exist (though evidence points to it having existed and been actively spreading in the US since the Summer of 2019). While that “Exercise” was somehow psychically predicting what was to come – it appears that this bioweapon was being released in China, in October 2019, at the World Military Games, in Wuhan

        https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/04/30/is-it-time-to-launch-an-investigation-into-the-bill-melinda-gates-foundation-for-possible-crimes-against-humanity/

    4. People aren’t stupid. We know the PCR test, particularly the way it is being run with over-cycled magnifications and implemented as “the” diagnostic tool for declaring a “case” (regardless of whether or not an infection by a particular virus is present), is part of a deception. We know there is no excess mortality and that “Covid” deaths are being over-tabulated. We know this so-called “deadly pandemic” is nothing of the sort and has been “exercised” or “gamed-out” and that “lockdowns” under their convenient “scenarios” were also gamed-out years ago. We know the Cares Act was ready to roll and the largest transfer of “wealth” in the history of the planet is underway. Cui Bono? We know the real economy is in a Depression and our humanity and freedom is under assault and the most of us are being hung out to dry. We know the “vaccine” is going to make lots of money and is highly “experimental” (shall we say) and will involve no liability on the part of manufacturers.
      What we don’t know is how to do about anything about any of it—though some Germans seem to get it (maybe they don’t want to fail against fascism a second time).

  4. After all of these years of the ” daily Donald Trump show ” I must have my ” Trump ” news of the day. For today there is this:
    https://kunstler.com/clusterfuck-nation/behind-the-scenes-in-swamptopia/

  5. What a great metaphor = that is exactly what they are – a religion or a cult
    they use the same framework
    I noticed while living in LA, SF, DC etc that most Americans structure most things this way – I even had impression that even my gay friends structured their friendships that way – like a cult – and no differences are tolerated.
    That explains why the same friends were the most rabidly pro-Hilary of all the Americans I know (I lived there from more than a decade all over the country).
    It’s probably to do with how most Americans are religiously brainwashed from birth, they go to church ‘schools’ or even kindergartens. I can imagine how their minds are shaped there. A jewish friend in Berkeley told me how after she sent her 2 year old son with a jewish nursery, he once started parroting how ‘Egyptian people are VERY bad!’ as soon as he saw pyramids on TV. My friend was shocked and she changed the nursery.

  6. Here’s a little article from Information Clearing House that simply tells it like it is. No deep analysis, no subtle reasoning, no revisionist history, no bombshell revelations–just a succinct statement of the obvious, the moral cesspool that all American institutions have become. The antidote to this moral devolution is a resurgence, a new Great Awakening of genuine religion–a non-institutional, non-doctrinal passion which is fiercely ethical in social as well as individual terms and is grounded in Albert Schweitzer’s elemental, universal value of reverence for life. Were draining a moral swamp of this magnitude totally up to us, we wouldn’t have a prayer, as the article indicates. But if genuine religion truly links us to a higher power, if our prayers that the swamp be drained are heard, then the impossible becomes possible. Do we not live in a dystopian time when purely secular humanists should hope to God they’re wrong?

    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55968.htm

  7. So What Happened at Nuremberg??
    Amidst the ashes of WWII, a major battle was waged between those deep state forces that had funded fascism as a “solution to the woes of the great depression” vs those genuine patriots who understood that the very fabric of empire and its associated financial, cultural and legal paradigm had to be destroyed and replaced with a paradigm more befitting human civilization.
    ~
    Among the leading representative of the patriotic forces loyal to FDRs anti-colonial vision was a man who has been nearly lost to history named Robert H. Jackson (1892-1954). Mr. Jackson would serve as Franklin Roosevelts most trusted legal advisor who first made a name for himself working closely with Ferdinand Pecora in prosecuting dozens of high level Wall Street financiers and pro-fascist industrialists who orchestrated the depression of 1929 and the later coup and assassination attempts against FDR in 1933-1934. After proving himself in combat, Mr. Jackson arose to become United States Solicitor General (1938-1940), Attorney General (1940-41) and leading member of the Supreme Court from 1941 until his death in 1954.
    ~
    This article can be read here:
    The Nuremberg Tribunal: 75 Years Later and Still the Basis for Humanitys Survival by Matthew Ehret!
    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/29/nuremberg-tribunal-75-years-later-and-still-basis-for-humanity-survival/

  8. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
    Julius Skoolafish

    Okay, since the theme of religion won’t go away …
    .

    “So perhaps happiness is synchronising one’s personal delusions of meaning with the prevailing collective delusions. As long as my personal narrative is in line with the narratives of the people around me, I can convince myself that my life is meaningful, and find happiness in that conviction.”

    .
    From: ‘Sapiens: A Brief History of Mankind’ by Yuval Noah Harari:
    .
    So I wish everyone happiness and meaning in their own way. Please just don’t disturb my bubble.
    .
    Please respect my religion (DM Murdock – aka Acharya S)
    .

  9. Even the secretive Oligarchic Transnational Elite Collective (OTEC) religion needs a choir to worship its true foundation. Luckily, I have acquired a video recording of the most important of the many OTEC-approved hymns being sung, usually on Fridays at midnight, in a no-longer-being-used NYC subway station that has been converted into a subterranean “cathedral” (in the “basement” of the Church of Capitalism on the streets above).

  10. Humans are religious animals. It’s in our genes. It came to us through Darwinian evolution, because it has survival value. As such it can be a good thing or a bad thing. Christianity is a good thing in Cornel West and a bad thing in Mike Pence. In our secular age the religious instinct is often projected into politics. Political rallies have a strong resemblance to revival meetings. Politics is as much emotional as it is rational. It is a response to a breakthrough of light. It is a conversion experience that brings about a sacred duty. MLK, a believer, fought for racial justice with religious fervor. So do progressive nonbelievers.

    Fundamentalism is a religious perversion. I know many secular Democrats and Republicans both who are fundamentalists.

    1. “in our genes” LOL

  11. There are similarities between religions.

    Roman Catholics and Christians in general are waiting for the Second Coming of Jesus; oligarchic imperialism faithfuls are waiting for the holy vaccine to come from Heaven.

    For oligarchic imperalism faithfuls, the voice of governments is dogma as for Catholics the teachings of the Church are dogma.

    I know a few people who boasted of being free because they didn’t follow the guidelines of any religion. I notice that often these people, especially this year, are the ones who easily comply with government directives.

    They are followers of this oligarchic imperalism world religion.

    Another way to see it, it is that we are living in the return of the days of Noah just before the return of Jesus. Decadence is everywhere.

    Keeping my Rosary on hand!

  12. The human species makes a habit of dismissing faults and weaknesses no matter how massive or trivial these traits are. Our owners and masters have always used human traits as weaknesses to enslave and control us. No one is ever ” free ” until they become aware of and completely control their own inner faults, demons, weaknesses, etc. True wisdom brings humility, empathy, and control of your inner and outer ” self “! If your wisdom makes you arrogant and deceitful you have become a tool of the devil.

  13. Global Capitalism is the new world religion.
    Imperialism has been around for a long time.

  14. It is not going well in France.

    Protests against ‘Global Security’ bill continue in Paris.

    Macron, one of the great priest of the oligarchic imperialism religion, has been able to overcome the “yellow vests” protests with a “pandemic from Heaven” to stop those yellow vests protests.

    But now protests against the “Global Security” bill take off.

    People understand that there is nothing “global” in this bill; it is security for the State and its billionaire friends.

    We are truly living the return of the days of Noah just before the return of Jesus.

    The decadence is eveywhere.

    Keeping my Rosary on hand!

  15. One of your best columns — ever.

  16. Thank you, Julius, for this fascinating and voluminous feedback. It will take a LOT to convince me that the moon landing was faked (which a scan of your links indicates is their conclusion) but the prevalence of conspiracies spun by the American Empire leaves me willing to take another look at the evidence. I was, of course, aware of the photo of the American flag, purportedly planted on the moon, proudly waving in the nonexistent wind, but always figured that it was a doctored photo thrown into the mix by NASA. An American flag hanging down like a limp dick would have been incompatible with the intended patriotic orgasm.

    1. Once again, I screwed up (or the system screwed up) the placement of this comment, which was supposed to be in response to Julius’ comment at the end, not at the beginning, of this thread. Please ignore these remarks unless you get to the end of the comment section and are interested enough in the back-and-forth about conspiracy theories and the moon landing to make them worth reading.

  17. It appears that the oligarchic imperialism religion did want a change in the US, so Trump could not be reelected with his “Make America great again”.

    This is really not what the religion want. They want America to be a Third world country like all the others.

    Keeping my Rosary on hand!

    1. I would add that even if Trump is reelected America would still remain a Third World country of course.

      Trump is also a member of this religion and he is there only to foster the illusion among the population that there is a possibility of making America great again.

      I do not understand why people are still casting their votes.

      Keeping my Rosary on hand!

  18. The globalists responsible for engineering a medical tyranny across much of the Western world have something valuable to teach right-wing nationalists and would-be fascists, and that is you do not sell your damaged product out of the barrel of a machine gun, but rather dripping from the end of a syringe that promises to end all pain and misery.
    ~
    According to the Daily Mail, “Britons are set to be given Covid “freedom passes” as long as they test negative for the virus twice in a week, it has been suggested..To earn the freedom pass, people will need to be tested regularly and, provided the results come back negative, they will then be given a letter, card or document they can show to people as they move around.”
    And this is what they call a “return to normalcy.”
    Personally, I call those plans the approach of fascism.
    ~
    And for those who doubt that it could not happen in the United States of America should heed the words of the late sagacious comedian George Carlin, who once quipped that “when fascism comes to America, it will not be in brown and black shirts. It will not be with jackboots. It will be Nike sneakers and smiley shirts.” Had Mr. Carlin been alive today to see the tremendous mess we have inherited, he would most likely have included a syringe in the neo-fascists toolkit.
    ~
    This relevant article can be read here:
    Americas Future Is Liberal Fascism Sporting a Smiley Shirt and Armed With a Syringe by Robert Bridge!
    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/27/america-future-is-liberal-fascism-sporting-smiley-shirt-armed-with-syringe/

  19. The new religion of Scientific Dictatorship depends heavily on the lockstep belief in ONE narrative – germ theory, which Pasteur himself recanted on his deathbed. Of course the body isn’t sterile. It’s teeming with germs, bacteria and viruses, trillions working together to fend off daily foreign invaders, everything from environmental chemicals to electro-smog. The state of our terrain, whether or not it’s reinforced with a healthy diet, exercise, sunshine, social connection and rest, determines how well we can thwart disease.

    We all need to unite against the Rockefeller Empire that destroyed the medical industry a century ago (hired ex-Nazi scientists to create the Pharma and vaccine patent profit business, promoted the long discredited germ theory, financially suppressed and eradicated alternative natural healing treatments), degenerated our educational system, poisoned the farming industry with GMOs and pesticides, established the new churches of the Federal Reserve, the UN/WHO, WEF, CFR, Trilateral Commission… and are now behind this Great Dystopia agenda.

    “Through Rockefeller created groups like the Council on Foreign Relations, the Trilateral Commission, the Bilderberg Group, the World Economic Forum, and the United Nations, various international interests from a wide variety of sectors in society were brought together into informal settings to discuss policy and develop ways in which coordinated moves can further the profits of all the connected interests that “play ball.”

    These organizations were supplemented with think tanks like the Rand Institute, the Brookings Institute, and the Atlantic Council. Think Tanks were designed to do “research” and write “official” papers that outline “policy suggestions” to world leaders. The problem is that these papers are usually written to further the interests of those funding it, not collective social well-being.” 

    https://wakeup-world.com/2016/03/31/understanding-the-new-world-order-the-who-what-how-and-why/

    Humanity is at a crossroads. Will we live in truth or perpetual lies?

    A man who lies to himself, and believes his own lies becomes unable to recognize truth, either in himself or in anyone else, and he ends up losing respect for himself and for others. When he has no respect for anyone, he can no longer love, and, in order to divert himself, having no love in him, he yields to his impulses, indulges in the lowest forms of pleasure, and behaves in the end like an animal. And it all comes from lying – lying to others and to yourself.

    ~ Fyodor Dostoevsky

    1. Its amazing how everyone pours onto that idea of germs. Just saw an ad for a product that recharges your phone while it bombards the phone with UV light to kill the germs. The gullibility of people is really starting to blow my mind.

  20. Ms Johnstone is this what is happening?
    ~
    From the “vast right-wing conspiracy” through the “basket of deplorables” to now, the Democratic message increasingly focuses on the illegitimacy of the ordinary conservative voter’s opinion: ignorant, conspiratorial, and racist, so terrible that the only hope is mass-reprogramming by educated betters.
    ~
    On the other hand, Republicans from Goldwater to Trump have warned that coalitions of “marauders” from the inner cities and “bad hombres” from across the border are plotting to use socialist politics to seize the hard-earned treasure of the small-town voter, with the aid of elitist traitors in the Democratic Party.
    ~
    Spool these ideas endlessly and you get culture war. Any thought that it might abate once Trump left the scene looks naive now. The pre-election warnings from the right about roving bands of Pelosi-coddled Antifa troops looking to “attack your homes” haven’t subsided, while the line that Trump voters are not a political group but a stupidity death-cult is no longer hot take, but a mandatory element of mainstream press analyses.
    ~
    This article can be read here:
    For What Are America’s Wealthy Thankful? A Worsening Culture War By Matt Taibbi
    http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/55953.htm

  21. I just read that Alice Brock, the owner Arlo Guthrie’s “Alice’s Restaurant”, has fallen on hard times. She was a very giving person and helped many people over the years.
    `
    https://www.wbur.org/artery/2020/11/26/arlo-guthrie-alice-help
    `
    “But Alice also helped a lot of people in dire straits and rarely turned anyone down. “For some reason, if somebody asks me for something, I believe that they really need it — so I give it to them,”
    `
    Sounds like solutions to me.
    `
    “Davis recalled getting to know Alice in the early ’90s as AIDS was ravaging the gay community. Provincetown filled up with men from cities all over the country who said if they only had a year or two left to live, they wanted to do that in Provincetown.

    “And so we had to do benefit after benefit after benefit,” Davis remembered. “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. We all drew so close. And Alice is one of those people who was at every benefit giving everything she had, just emptying her pockets.”
    `
    Her Go Fund me page here:
    https://gf.me/u/y23jh5

  22. The godless must have their gods too. At its root, all of it is an attempt to understand the universe and an experience of that. Endless thought seeks to simplify a vastness of eternity into the form of neat story, then dispense with it, allowing the ego to expand beyond its inherent necessity into the realms of play and importance. Intricate knowledges, compounded concepts and a multiplicity of things then obscure the divine. Thought is no more than putting the cart before the horse and is incapable of answering its own question.

    1. Excellent comment. You are so right. Our subconcious intent is to invent a system of belief where we are the most important thing in the universe. Thats why Christianity is hated since it espouses God first, others second and self last. Any faith that is about perfecting the self is readily accepted by the world.

  23. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
    Julius Skoolafish

    … and since the topic of “religion” was brought up, here is another quote …
    .
    “But veneration is inherent in the human breast. Presently mankind, emerging from intellectual infancy, began to detect absurdity in creation without a Creator, in effects without causes. As yet, however, they did not dare to throw upon a Single Being the whole onus of the world of matter, creation, preservation, and destruction. Man, instinctively impressed by a sense of his own unworthiness, would hopelessly have attempted to conceive the idea of a purely Spiritual Being, omnipotent and omnipresent.
    .
    “Awestruck by the admirable phenomena and the stupendous powers of Nature, filled with a sentiment of individual weakness, he abandoned himself to a flood of superstitious fears, and prostrated himself before natural objects, inanimate as well as animate. Thus comforted by the sun and fire, benefited by wind and rain, improved by hero and sage, destroyed by wild beasts, dispersed by convulsions of Nature, he fell into a rude, degrading, and cowardly Fetissism, the faith of fear, and the transition state from utter savagery to barbarism.”
    .
    Source: “The Jew, The Gypsy and El Islam” by Richard Francis Burton
    .
    or to paraphrase …
    .
    “The difference between a Savage and a Barbarian is Religion.”

  24. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
    Julius Skoolafish

    Caitlin, with so many informed people leaving great comments here, if I may take this opportunity to offer just a few more links from my own compilation so that everybody has them.
    .
    Rev Andrew Ashdown
    .
    was a member of the multi-faith UK Peace Delegation to Syria in 2016 and was interviewed by Mike Robinson on UK Column News:
    .
    • UK Column News – A Tour of Syrian Realities with Andrew Ashdown (6th October 2016)
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zT17RRF_dLM
    .
    Rev Ashdown: “Everywhere we went the narratives that we hear, here in the West, are just completely – almost just thrown out the window.”
    .
    The figure to Rev Ashdown’s right (slightly to left on screen) at around 7:30 is the Grand Mufti of Syria, Sheikh Ahmad Badreddin Hassoun.
    .
    Madelyn Hoffman and the US Peace Council
    .
    • Madelyn Hoffman of US Peace Council
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMC8bmHhPK4
    .
    Hoffman: “… it is NOT President Assad against his own people – it is President Assad AND the Syrian people ALL TOGETHER – IN UNITY – against outside forces – outside mercenary forces – TERROR ORGANISATIONS … “
    […]
    “… and this is where we come in as the United States – that the United States needs to stop supporting some of those outside TERROR GROUPS. ALL of the support for the outside terror groups needs to be withdrawn and allow the Syrians to fend for themselves – the Syrian Arab Army is fighting for its life and fighting for the life of Syria. And WE need as a country to acknowledge our role – what WE are doing to cause harm and destruction to the Syrian people. And we need to STOP IT – and we need to STOP IT NOW!”
    .
    The full press conference by the US Peace Council is here – I didn’t even know who Bashar Ja’afari was when I first saw this – he introduces the panel.
    .
    • Truth Regarding Syria – Not Civil War, But US/Israeli Invasion
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUSL4RNZzys
    .
    Senator Richard H Black (R – Virginia State)
    .
    • Senator Richard Black explains what’s happening in Syria
    • VA State Senator Richard Black Addresses September 11 Memorial Schiller Conference
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mg6B0P-127w
    .
    Ambassador Bashar Ja’afar
    .
    (He gets one major thing wrong for the sake of political correctness, but otherwise a pleasure to listen to him)
    • Syrian Ambassador to UN Address to Schiller Institute September 11 Memorial Conference
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3LTTbOYVfU

  25. For the past decade, foreign powers have sought to destroy Syria. Most people are unaware since western corporate media pretend the violence is the result of a revolution or civil war. A direct invasion of Syria would pose difficult political problems. The preferred method in the modern world is to destroy a nation by agitating and arming minority groups while sending thousands of foreign mercenaries to join attacks and flooding the world with propaganda. If people knew the truth, they would be proud to be called an “Assadist”.

    1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
      Julius Skoolafish

      Carlton, thank you so much for sharing!! What a thrill to view your video – great narration and many supporting links – all bookmarked and saved. I cannot recommend highly enough to other readers. There is no better 15-minute summary.

    2. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
      Julius Skoolafish

      I will just make mention of and recommend Dilyana Gaytandzhieva (Bulgarian investigative journalist)
      .
      Her original article
      • 350 diplomatic flights carry weapons for terrorists
      http://dilyana.bg/350-diplomatic-flights-carry-weapons-for-terrorists/
      .
      which was featured here by Thierry Meyssan
      • Billions of dollars worth of weapons against Syria
      http://www.voltairenet.org/article197134.html
      .
      There are several other powerful exposés on Dilyana’s site including on bioweapons.

    3. If not for Russia, Syria would have fallen long ago. Another Reason America deep state hates Russia. They are in the way.

      1. If not for Russia – they wouldn’t CARE about Syria. They want to put a Natural Gas pipeline across Syria, from the UAE to the Mediterranean – to steal Russia’s Natural Gas Market in Europe… Which is about weakening Russia, for the kill. When Assad said no to that (since he’s friendly with Russia, and not the UAE or Saudis) – SUDDENLY he had to go. When he was torturing OUR prisoners for us, Pelosi and Biden were still meeting with him – in a fashion that marks “apologists” today.

  26. Lots of talk here about “religion”. Just what that is, however, remains undefined, hence leads to useless puerile discussion.

    1. Same with politics I am afraid.

    2. Kinda agree, Religion normally points to spirituality and I don’t really see or hear about that in the left today. This to me is more about sociology which as I see it can be just as controlling and delusional. When your attitudes are determined by those closest to you and those closest to you are in influenced by how you see things, the situation can devolve quite a bit. Not a lot of reward in swimming against the tide.

      1. That is what true faith is all about. Swimming against the current of the world. The reward is eternal. The world says faith is brainwashing and the sign of a weak mind. But for those who believe it is a gift from God.

  27. Christian J. Chuba Avatar
    Christian J. Chuba

    This is projection. Try doing the same thing by dismissing someone as a ‘Zionist’ and of course you will be accused of being a hateful recruit for the next Kristallnacht. Btw to me Zionist just means someone who supports Israel, not someone who should be censored.

    The other reason is to shame anyone who actually visits Syria so people will avoid going there for themselves lest they start seeing the Syrians as a diverse community rather than Iranian puppets to be destroyed.

    I’m in a sour mood. Started to watch a video by a Christian Zionist about Israel’s attacks on Syria,
    https://youtu.be/ME4iOUrNrGQ In addition to the expected nonsense I got triggered by his ‘breaking news’ as if this is a rare event and his instructing us that this was an act of self-defense so that we don’t allow any normal feelings of empathy get in the way.

  28. Excellent article (no surprise there!) from the always clear-sighted Ms. Johnstone. Bravo!

  29. Rhyd Wildermuth has an interesting perspective on Religion:
    .
    “Missing in all these solutions is the question of religion. Religion is not merely the worship of gods, spirits, saints, or prayer and rituals, but also the entire cosmological framework by which people see the world. From such cosmologies comes value sets, moralities, taboos, and entire codes of action which define for individuals and groups what is acceptable behavior in society and what is transgressive. A religion which believes one gender is superior to another, for instance, will create completely different behavior in its adherents than one that believes genders are equal. The same goes of course for skin color or sexuality, but also for non-human questions, such as “how should trees and rivers be treated?” An animist or a pagan religion, for instance, in which the world is full of persons that are not just humans, will compel in its adherents a completely different set of behaviors than one which believes the earth and all within it was created by God for humans to use.”
    .
    https://abeautifulresistance.org/site/2020/11/19/pandemics-social-coercion-and-the-current-limits-of-anarchism

  30. Western imperialism is not a new name for traditional religion. Most of the major religions originally promoted honesty, justice, law and order, generosity, personal responsibility, care for helpless people, peaceful co-existence of all mankind, and other worthy universal ideals. However major religion were corrupted by scheming politically motivated imperialist military leaders who persuaded and bribed religious leaders to coerce their followers into supporting imperialist military operations. They devised new, foreign and misleading interpretations to corrupt the original religious doctrines and practices.

  31. My neighbor has started a ” betting pool ” on the date that Donald Trump begins bombing Iran. I wanted to pick between December 7th and December 10th but he said I had to choose a single day. So I will have to muse on it a while. Ms Johnstone, what day would you pick?

  32. Roundball Shaman Avatar
    Roundball Shaman

    “Oligarchic imperialism is the new dominant world religion… It is what shapes our culture… It’s what power is built around. It’s what you’re branded a heretic for rejecting.”
    .
    There are several other false religions also running loose today. So-called “Science” has become a religion. The belief in “technology” has become a religion. One’s choice of political party has become a religion. To the Me-Me-Me types of the world, self-deification has become a religion. Even people who decide to believe in NOTHING have turned that into a religion. You know, no God, no life after death, no paranormal gifts, no alien life. The Almighty or a life form from a distance galaxy could be standing stark naked in front of these “Nothing” believers and the faithless would deny they are seeing any of it. To do otherwise would shatter their nonsensical bogus world view and they would do anything but have that false religion shattered and have to learn some personal humility.
    .
    As long as this world is around, there will be widely-accepted false gods and false religions. There seems to be a deep need within humans to indulge themselves in all kinds of false beliefs and utter nonsense before one finally gives in and learns some humility to say, “I guess I don’t know what the hell I was thinking. I was believing a big bunch of crap!” When one finally reaches this point, the false gods and false narratives lose their appeal and one can finally go about the job of elevating one’s thoughts and desires and ideas that were waiting for years to be released from the prison created from within their own misguided mind.

  33. I put my hope in the future. People are starting to get better at seeing through rhetoric. A cousin of mine recently left the marines and said it was turning into a cult.

  34. Alice’s Restaurant
    `
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m57gzA2JCcM
    `
    Thanksgiving tradition at my house. We sing along at the top of our lungs.
    `
    Because “you have to sing loud if you want to end war and stuff.”
    `

    1. I just read that Alice Brock, the restaurant owner, has fallen on hard times. She was very giving person and helped many people over the years.
      `
      https://www.wbur.org/artery/2020/11/26/arlo-guthrie-alice-help
      `
      “But Alice also helped a lot of people in dire straits and rarely turned anyone down. “For some reason, if somebody asks me for something, I believe that they really need it — so I give it to them,”
      `
      Sounds like solutions to me.
      `
      “Davis recalled getting to know Alice in the early ’90s as AIDS was ravaging the gay community. Provincetown filled up with men from cities all over the country who said if they only had a year or two left to live, they wanted to do that in Provincetown.

      “And so we had to do benefit after benefit after benefit,” Davis remembered. “It was the best of times and it was the worst of times. We all drew so close. And Alice is one of those people who was at every benefit giving everything she had, just emptying her pockets.”
      `
      Her Go Fund me page here:
      https://gf.me/u/y23jh5

  35. This could have been a good article if you had not ruined it with your mindless idiocy and ignorance of an atheist perspective. Every time you do this, which is every time you get the chance, you ruin your credibility further and further — as a Hypocrite.

    1. Atheists for some reason detest religion and their adherents. Much more so than other people they feel are foolish. Not sure why the anomosity. Christianity seems to get it more than other faiths.

      1. I hate religion. It is a mind destroyer.

    2. Somebody, I do not remember who, said that there is no real atheist.

      I think many of the people which believe they are atheists are in fact following this oligarchic imperialism religion described by Mrs Johnstone.

      The difference with the Catholic religion for example is that they use vaccines, bombs and surveillance as “sacramentals” instead of holy water.

      We are truly living the return of the days of Noah just before the return of Jesus. The decadence is everywhere.

      Keeping my Rosary on hand!

      1. I think we do have to use holy water against this oligarchic imperialism religion. I do not think it is from God.

        Keeping my Rosary on hand!

      2. The saying is ‘that there are NO ATHEISTS in the trenches.’

    3. “With or without religion, good people can behave well and bad people can do evil; but for good people to do evil – that takes religion.”

      ― Steven Weinberg

  36. Let me put in a good word for religion, at least the early, ephemeral one that blazed like a comet through the Roman Empire during the early years of what we call (for that very reason) the first century A.D. In the ancient world of Rome, only the rich and powerful mattered, were considered fully human, were able to take part in civic duties and responsibilities and reap the benefits. It was a slave-based empire that conquered to exploit, draining its colonies of resources in order to to feed its insatiable appetites. Accordingly, the suffering of a slave or a plebe was something that a Roman citizen would instinctively laugh at or mock, because it wasn’t considered remotely worthy of concern, much less sympathy or compassion. THAT was the ancient Roman Empire, to which the current American Empire bears increasing resemblance. Then suddenly, out of nowhere, out of some back eddy of one of Rome’s colonial streams, came a completely different message–that as children of the same loving deity, all men and women were brothers and sisters, that we were to treat them as such, care for them as such, forgive them as such, making no distinction whatsoever as to whether they were male or female, slave or free, rich or poor, and totally without regard to ethnicity or cultural identity. A related aspect of this new message was that violence is wrong, oppression is evil, that genuine power serves humanity instead of exploiting it, and that the living of this life in the Roman way or, yes, the Christian way, not only profoundly impacts this world but has eternal consequences–that this choice between two very different modes of existence is what life is all about. I could go on, but for what purpose? Those who get my drift will recognize in a heartbeat that ALL the values we western humanists hold so dear, however secular we might see ourselves, had their origin in this RELIGION which swept through the so-called civilized world two thousand years ago. Which is not to forget or downplay for a moment the Jewish prophetic tradition in which Jesus stood, the wisdom and compassion toward all living things of eastern Religion, much older than that of the west, or the sublime idealism of the Late Stoic philosophers who opposed the new religion but espoused a similar value system. Of course, this new religion was compromised and distorted, turned almost into its polar opposite, within the short span of a few centuries, when the early church made the fateful decision to marry the empire that had murdered its founder. Ever since, Christian history has been a checkered and often appalling tale. But before we go about damning religion in its entirety, as simply a regrettable category of human thought and experience, we should at least pause to consider the history I’ve touched upon in this comment. RELIGION, like so much else, is far too big and diverse a thing to be written off in knee-jerk fashion by anyone who claims think deeply and clearly. I know that Caitlin has her own kind of religion, although she might not call it that, so I’m not so much talking to her as I am to my fellow readers of her blog…and to myself.

    1. Thank you for providing perspective and context!

    2. Excellent comment. Let us not throw out the baby with the bath water.

      1. And let us not forget about the Quakers, who appear to be the real deal.

      2. And let us always discern between religion and spirituality …

    3. Excellent comment. The majority of people are religious. We must find tolerance and common with each other to solve our common challenges. Positive human values are what’s important.

    4. Good comment. While perverted at the state level it is still practiced more purely on a personal level by many.

    5. Most of the major religions originally promoted honesty, justice, law and order, generosity, personal responsibility, care for helpless people, peaceful co-existence of all mankind, and other worthy universal ideals.

    6. alex in San Jose AKA Digital Detroit Avatar
      alex in San Jose AKA Digital Detroit

      American Christianity is all about getting rich and kicking the poor down. None of them actually believe in anything Jesus actually said.

  37. I am Heretic and Iconoclast!

  38. And you can bet your sweet bass that the machine plans to reeducate or dismember all heretics who post here.

  39. I consider the fact that I did not have children in this hellish world created by the new oligarchic religion as a proof of the presence of Jesus in my life and in the world.

    It is a real Blessing from Heaven in this year 2020 no doubt. I would have been so worried for my children and grand-children with a decadent ruling class in charge.

    Our time was prophesied by Jesus Himself:

    “For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.” (Luke 23:29)

    Keeping my Rosary on hand!

  40. Ms Johnstone, this article is very eye-opening!
    ~
    U.S.-and-allied governments, and their billionaires’-controlled press, are unrelenting in their fraudulent portrayal of what was actually the U.S. regime’s conquest and destruction of Ukraine in 2014, by means of a brutal coup, which caused a civil war and the break-up of that country.
    ~
    The hidden truths about Ukraine, after 2009, will be documented and proven here. These facts have been kept secret from Western publics. (Articles like this are censored-out by the regime’s operatives.)
    ~
    The first documentation concerns the coup itself, which occurred in February 2014, though the narrator in that video mistakenly says (at 0:27) that the coup started “on February 20th of 2013,” instead of on February 20th of 2014, which is the only slip-up in this entire otherwise-superb presentation. The video is here, and it demonstrates — it even displays — that the U.S. Government, under President Barack Obama, lied through their teeth about that coup, as having been instead a “revolution,” instead of a coup.
    ~
    This great article can be read here:
    How the Western Press Lied About the 2014 Coup in Ukraine, Pretending That It Was Instead a Real Democratic Revolution by Eric Zuesse!
    https://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2020/11/25/how-western-press-lied-about-2014-coup-ukraine-pretending-real-democratic-revolution/

  41. the evidence is out there. GOTO WEF AGENDA2020 or 2030 and maybe some say i have not seen it, ID2020. you will see the plan in more detail than you would like. it is ugly. one world .gov. run by what they themselves call them selves: the Plutocrats. which will be billionaires. those sweet unselfish angels of mercy who will endeavor to return the world population to 1/10th of what it is now. there are not enough bullets someone counted. but viruses oh, yeah!. that’s why our western civ was not ready for this one with PPE or masks etc. and the new brave new threat is anti-viral VAXies made of mRNA, not dead shells of viruses empty of all threat to stimulate immune systems before being attacked this one will become part of human DNA fo a long time if not forever.
    read Doubna or search her video, and lean about CHISPR.
    BOTTOM LINE? WE’RE PROBABLY DOOMED. BUT FIRST? MASS STARVATION. 21ST CENTURY FOX….no one in India has any food. except the upper 1%…

    1. No one is listening. They feel what was will always be. Stock what food while you can. Millions upon millions will starve.

  42. George P Paulson Avatar
    George P Paulson

    Heretic is exactly the right way to describe it! Heathens may be hated, but not in the same way that heretics are. Fine article.

  43. When you get critical of religion I can just hear millions of ears slamming shut.

    1. Boris Alotofcrap Avatar
      Boris Alotofcrap

      Boris not understand. What is sound of millions of ears slamming shut? Is like sound of one hand clapping?

  44. “These labels exist because if mainstream platforms admitted that they refuse access to literally anyone who disagrees with status quo oligarchic imperialism, they would have to admit that they are not the objective arbiters of absolute reality they portray themselves as being, but are in fact propagandists for a very specific belief system.”
    `
    Yes. One of the reasons people pay attention to them is because they give the illusion that they’re presenting dissenting opinions.
    `
    Chomsky said it well, I think:
    `
    “The smart way to keep people passive and obedient is to strictly limit the spectrum of acceptable opinion, but allow very lively debate within that spectrum — even encourage the more critical and dissident views. That gives people the sense that there’s free thinking going on, while all the time the presuppositions of the system are being reinforced by the limits put on the range of the debate.”

  45. Also check out the writings of Vanessa Beeley, the late Robert Fisk, and Eva Bartlett for accurate on the ground reporting regarding Syria and Assad. It is ironic that one of the most endangered groups in Syria as a result of our support for the rebels are the Syrian Christians. The new religion of Empire is more important than the professed religion of most of our US population. Another irony is that the largest jewish population in the middle east outside of Israel is in IRAN, where they are a protected minority with a long history. As with all religions, whatever doesn’t fit in the mandatory narrative gets ignored.

    Yes, I am an Assad and Putin apologist. I read their speeches and interviews and ignore the mindless bashing and evidence-free accusations from our MSM. I suggest anyone seriously interested in truth do the same.

    1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
      Julius Skoolafish

      Great comment, Scott. Let me elaborate by cutting and pasting some material I have shared with family and friends.
      Here are two of the most courageous women I have come across
      .
      • Eva K Bartlett
      • Vanessa Beeley
      .
      I cannot speak highly enough of their integrity, courage and heroism in bringing the truth from the ground in Syria and other places.
      .
      • Here Eva and Vanessa meet up for a chat and to compare notes
      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yG0aeniwhE
      .
      Eva’s youtube channel is “Eva K Bartlett” and her blog site is “ingaza.wordpress.com” (she started her heroic work in Gaza speaking out for the Palestinian people.)
      .
      A typical article:
      • Pulse of Life, Syria: Damascus International Fair, Syrian Hero War Photographer – by Eva K Bartlett
      https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2018/09/13/pulse-of-life-syria-damascus-international-fair-syrian-hero-war-photographer/
      .
      Eva brings us countless first-hand reports from the ground in Syria (as well as Gaza and DPRK) with interviews with a variety of people from all walks of life. She brings us the human perspective and utterly debunks the conspiracies of the controlled propaganda media channels and the scripted narratives of our conscienceless senior politicians.
      .
      For example – as at 18 February 2020:
      • So-Called “Rebels” (Terrorists) Tortured & Point-Blank Executed Syrian
      https://ingaza.wordpress.com/2020/02/17/so-called-rebels-tortured-point-blank-executed-syrian-civilians-all-over-syria/
      .
      Vanessa’s youtube channel is “vanessa beeley” and she is Associate Editor of “21stcenturywire.com” https://21stcenturywire.com/
      .
      Vanessa is the classic investigative journalist who brings us hard-hitting articles. Apart from her extraordinarily thorough exposé on the White Helmets in Syria, she also reports on Yemen and more recently on the Yellow Vests.
      .
      For example:
      • The White Helmets Files – by Vanessa Beeley
      https://21stcenturywire.com/tag/White-Helmets/
      .
      It comes as no surprise that the BBC is engaged in viscous personal attacks on both these remarkable women.

        1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
          Julius Skoolafish

          Great links. Now added to my own compilation. Thank you.
          .
          What else can we share – oh yes, the story of
          .
          Omran Daqneesh
          .
          And just when you thought there was a finite low to pit of MSM (mainstream media) depravity …
          Here is the tale of Omran Daqneesh (now living safely in liberated Aleppo.
          .
          (I am not sure if all of these videos are still available as youtube systematically and deliberately suppresses such truth getting out.)

          • Omran Daqneesh’s Father Exposes the MSM !
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rE0emXxJTo
          .
          • The Truth About the #Syrianboy Viral Photo. Its really a story of two boys. #OmranDaqneesh
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jifS0fi9WB8 (Distressing)
          .
          • Aleppo Boy’s father supports Assad, slams US propaganda
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gha4jkiSlRw
          .
          • ‘Media used my son for their purposes’: CNN’s Amanpour challenged to go talk to ‘Aleppo boy’
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAMLF-EI2ls
          .
          • The Father of Omran Daqneesh Says Terrorists Used His Son’s Photo For Propaganda
          https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ylXf0UCkh4A

  46. Seems to me that there are major projects underway that bear a close resemblance to religion. Belief or faith over truth or facts, yet put forth as truth or fact. For example, “we are in the middle of the worst pandemic in 100 years”, which somehow has not significantly increased the number of deaths world wide from all causes this year over pervious years.

  47. On the one hand, critical thinking is touted as the solution to dissolve a conspiracy theory. On the other hand, critical thinking is probably what developed the conspiracy theory in the first place. It is so ordered that the words “conspiracy theory” shall henceforth supplement as a universally understood denigrative disqualifier any and all reports as to the obvious existence of massive, widespread conspiracy in direct proportion to such report’s potential for harmful effects which may be realized upon the status quo, the Overlords thereof and those agendas serving same. Imperius Rex!

  48. How can we reactivate the Peace Movement? How can we get smart people/media/everyone to start talking about the advantages of and demanding a new Peace Economy? No more US interventions!! Syria, Afghanistan, China—it all needs to stop, not ramp up. Reallocate half of the “Defense” budget to healthcare, renewable energy development, education, childcare. Defense means defending our lands and borders, not foreign oil fields. Take care of America here, at home. Peace is Prosperity. Peace Now. Pass it on!

    1. Great comment. How to get people to see that which is clearly in their own self interests?
      `
      It seems to me most of us (of all persuasions) are so unhappy with the way things are (not just due to covid.) The wealthy are no exception. How many billionaires actually seem happy? No matter how much people acquire they always want more.
      `
      We live in a world that’s constantly changing and yet, we’re afraid of change.
      `
      And the hypocrisy. Conservatives cloaim they want to bring home the troops and balance the budget, but they don’t want to cut the biggest waste; the Pentagon budget. Democrats claim they want to clean up the environment, but are also unwilling to cut the budget of the biggest polluter on the planet; America’s war machine.
      `
      I’m going to keep speaking out and try to do everything I can, in my daily life, to promote peace, compassion and love. Solutions!

  49. The word racist is being used culturally with the same effect to shut down discussion. It is not a religion but a technique of control. Just because religions use the same technique does not make the technique a religion. Christians in the middle ages and Muslims today employ it. Narrative of control. You are sadly mistaken to extrapolate the absence of God fom the machinations of man in response to faith on God. Thus faith worldwide is dying because of such a worldview.

  50. Couldn’t agree more Caitlin. The way propaganda and censorship are exploding really frightens me for the future 🙁

  51. The second most dominant religion Caitlin.
    MAMMON leaves all the others for dead.

    1. An excellent point! By the way, if “worship of mammon” is expressed as “worship of the worldly personal self” I think that you, I and Caitlin may find ourselves with little to disagree about.

    2. According to the below-linked booklet, a retelling of the Jesus story in gospel form while drawing upon modern historical and literary criticism, Jesus himself centered his message around your incisive point. To quote from the booklet’s introduction, what Jesus tried to tell us was this: “that there are only two deities, God and money (mammon); that we are bound to worship one of the other; that wealth is a snare almost impossible to escape; that despite our best efforts not to love money, if we have too much of it, it will inevitably capture our heart. Has there ever been a message more diametrically opposed to our (capitalist) way of life?” If you click on the cover, you can freely read this introduction, along with the booklet description.

      https://www.amazon.com/Life-Truth-synoptic-gospel-Theophilus-ebook/dp/B00NIZOJ4C

  52. As is ” the planet of the apes movies “; we must worship nuclear warheads! A great article Ms Johnstone; this is our dominant religion.

  53. Charles Andrew Robinson Avatar
    Charles Andrew Robinson

    Become the media. I didn’t even read your post.
    https://www.minds.com/newsfeed/1178505043075330048?referrer=bbrebozo

  54. Carolyn L Zaremba Avatar
    Carolyn L Zaremba

    Brilliant Python bit there.

  55. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
    Julius Skoolafish

    David Bowie – Blackstar
    Featuring a “gaggle of blue-checkmarked narrative managers”

    1. Bowie is very good at what he does. I have read many interpretations on its meaning. A pity he is not here to tell us his intentions.

  56. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
    Julius Skoolafish

    I am definitely an “Azzadist ” (‘z’ always add effect) . Let’s start with …
    .
    Mrs Asma al Assad, First Lady of Syria – the Lioness of Damascus

    These clips put all the qualities of this wonderful woman on display
    .
    • Asma Al-Assad during the reception made to the participants in ” Woman For Peace ” Bicycle Ride
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oc4ZZ-yXaOQ
    .
    • I love Asma Al Assad
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xLRKaqU1cg
    .
    First Lady Asma al Assad was diagnosed with breast cancer in August 2018 …
    .
    • Our prayers are with you, Mrs Asma Assad
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KoBOGZB6AsU
    .
    Her first major interview after treatment and being cleared of the cancer – it is in Arabic so I would go full screen and read the subtitles. You won’t be disappointed. Talk about stoicism, morality and gratitude – Asma al Assad is the essence of grace and dignity!!
    .
    • Asma al Assad tells of her struggle against cancer
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYe4rffV3Dg

    1. Thanks Julius, I admire Syrian leaders for standing up to Western imperialism and braving the horrific punishment they receive as a consequence from Western allies.

      1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
        Julius Skoolafish

        And thank YOU – and Caitlin of course for keeping this topic on the table.
        Syria was my awakening (sorry for being late) and those links were a small part of a compilation I shared with family and friends. It took me deep into the President Putin and Russian History rabbit hole as well.
        Following are some interviews with President Bashar al-Assad and please see my response to ‘Skip Scott’ re Vanessa Beeley and Eva K Bartlett (in progress).
        There are other voices including Senator Richard H Black, Rev Andrew Ashdown, Madelyn Hoffman (and the US Peace Council) and of course Dr Bashar Jaafari, Permanent Rep of the Syrian Arab Republic to the UN.
        These are cut and paste so I hope the links still work. Without commentary or this comment would become too long – readers to discern for themselves.
        .
        Re President Bashar as-Assad – just three or four interviews to hear the man himself. I have chosen interviews over the period 2006 to 2019.
        • Assad Pre War interview 2006, consistent as ever (60 Minutes)
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqQa-QSMMjs
        .
        • Maria Finoshina (of RT) interviews President Bashar al-12 April 2016
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epdYYTeh1gI
        .
        The following is an interview with President Assad with the very hostile NBC– one of the most revealing and frank by President Assad who is being more than polite. It is worth perusing the comments on this NBC video – EVERYBODY (who is informed) knows the truth about what has been going on in Syria. Sadly, our own politicians and media are the ones supporting terrorism. Strange world!
        .
        • Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad: Exclusive Interview | NBC Nightly News
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=45odEv_1DAY
        .
        • Bashar al-Assad speaks to Swiss television – October 2016
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-ZU-r5sDeY&t=9s

  57. Yes,,,, its not obvious to me that the majority of people who have or wish to acquire an independent view of reality will be able to prevail over blind followers of whatever ideology promises them social rewards.

    1. Join the mob or get out of the way before they trample you to death.

  58. “Grasping the Horrific ”
    Consider “Deer Hunting with Jesus ”
    Ignorance prevails

  59. We’ve been heading down this road for quite some time, now. But it does seem to be getting extremely warm in this pot of frogs, right now.

    https://www.ae911truth.org/news/716-youtube-google-suppress-ae911truth-boost-authoritative-sources-like-nist

    1. Yes, it’s EXTREMELY disturbing that valid conspiracy theories like those about the World Trade Center Atrocity (WTCA) being an inside job, and BS conspiracy theories like those about the moon landing (observed by the world) being faked, are now being subjected to same internet censorship. I envision the day, not that far off, when genuine dissidents will have to find modes other than the existing corporate web to disseminate information and opinion. I hope that tech-savvy dissidents are working feverishly to meet this crucial challenge and urge any of Caitlin’s readers, aware of such efforts, to clue us in…UNLESS, of course, that might undermine those efforts by tipping off the bastards-that-be (BTB). I kind of like that last acronym; maybe it will catch on.

      1. Julius Skoolafish Avatar
        Julius Skoolafish

        JP Sears (AwakenWithJP) gives a great overview on the ‘moon landing’
        .
        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QhxTwcslfCY
        .
        But seriously, here is a great read by Dave McGowan (RIP) – he completely eviscerates the notion
        .
        • Wagging the Moondoggie
        .
        http://centerforaninformedamerica.com/moondoggie/
        .
        I believe von Braun was fixated with the concept. His mentor Hermann Oberth was a technical advisor on Woman on the Moon – Fritz Lang
        .

      2. Personally – I don’t like to give legs to that CIA and OPERATION MOCKINGBIRD- approved, “Thought Terminating Cliche’ ” except perhaps when pointing-out the hypocrisy of things like SPYGATE/”RussiaGate” being so popular with people like Rachel Maddow – while VERY REAL things – like the exposed evidence of COVERT OPERATIONS by the US and its allies – are somehow demeaned and contained by its use.

        Back when I had a radioshow that did extensive work in the area, I would use the term “Covert Operations Research”. Because Covert Ops are a real thing…we have a “Clandestine Service” and “Special Operations Forces” for a reason – along with a whole lot of parallel machinery of the same type on the Private side, using Corporate Security Firms, Government Contractors, and off-the-shelf/books arrangements like GHWBush’s White House Basement, the “The Safari Club”, Le Cercle Pinay, 6I, etc… https://isgp-studies.com/le-cercle-pinay (an interesting site, full of good information – though I often find myself at odds with his assessment of other researchers, and some of his analysis).

        Some prefer the term “Political Research” – though ‘Chip’ Berlet seems to have ruined that one, by using it to describe his own work, as a Disinformation Agent.

        When people use the epithet of “Conspiracy Theorist” towards myself, I would usually come back (without addressing it directly) by asking, “So you’re a ‘Coincidence Theorist’, then?”.

        Conspiracies are a legal term. But once the President, VP, or National Security Advisor signs off on one – it becomes a “Covert Operation”. The utility of a legal term becomes limited at that point – because law loses it’s meaning. And as we know, we live in a world of “Too-big-to-fail” (or ever really be prosecuted) corporations – further limiting the applicability.

        As for Architect’s and Engineers for 9/12 Truth – I find their work to be great scholarly analysis…and NIST’s to be much less so – at least where they intersect. I don’t bother with exploring whether the Moon Landing was real of faked, or some hybrid in the middle. As the other commentor mentioned – Control of Space, the Moon and access to the outer Solar System and beyond was always a big issue amongst the Nazis, and that didn’t end with OPERATIONs like PAPERCLIP and OVERCAST. Bruce Gagnon and company have done some fine work exposing that stuff. http://space4peace.org/

        1. Thank you, AWIP, for some helpful observations. Interesting, isn’t it, how “conspiracy theorist” has become a dismissive term when so much of history is the story of one conspiracy after another. Few things get done in this world without concerted action, and there is often a reason, good or bad, to keep that concerted action fully or partially hidden from public view. Indeed, it’s a challenge to come up with historic events that were not the result of concerted action coupled with an effort to keep people in the dark about some or all of it. Instead of “conspiracy theorist,” we might simply say “historian,” as you aptly indicate. By the way, Julius has succeeded in making me reconsider the reality of the moon landing, something I never dreamed I would do. “One small step” toward demonstrating the value of Caitlin’s blog.

          1. As I watched the videos I remember visiting Cape Canaveral and seeing the Apollo capsule. I remember thinking then that the whole thing looked awful primitive to go all the way to the moon. Now looking back with all the additional information I realize alarm bells were sounding even then but I didn’t pay attention. There is no way it ever happened.

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