Occupy

Stomping Out Democracy in Somalia

The best way to control a country is to keep it divided and powerless.
The US is good at that.  I read from Ann Garrison on how the US is making sure that Somalia cannot vote for a national leader.

Congress Attacks Matt Taibbi and Other Journalists

Our ruling overlords are incensed that the Twitter files show the collusion between corporations and state to influence elections, hide data, and stomp out dissent.
Some exceptionally stupid members of Congress hauled the journalists who exposed the rot in front of them, in order to make it even more clear how corrupt the system is.
Or maybe that was just an unintended result.

US Invents Ridiculous Story

That headline is too vague.  Which particular ridiculous story?
The one put out recently that the Nordstream pipelines were blown up by 6 Ukrainians who rented a yacht and sailed out onto the Baltic Sea (a NATO lake) and then dove down 80 meters with explosives.  Sure, dudes.
What is the real reason this story was put out?  Joe Lauria at Consortium News posits that the US is ready to abandon Ukraine and needs a reason, so they made one up.
It doesn't have to make sense.  The Empire creates its own reality, and everyone has to pretend to believe it.

Lab Leak Leaks

We are now able to say the obvious-that SARS 2 was a bioweapon.
The gaslighting over 3 years, starting with the very obvious one, that SARS 2 was said to be a "novel virus" never before seen by humanity, even though it was labeled TWO , which comes after ONE, which was SARS 1, released back in 2003 or so.
Then we were told that it came from man eating a bat in China, and quickly spread from there to Italy, Iran and a Washington state nursing home, even though this respiratory virus was not spread person to person through the air, it was spread by "fomites".   How fomites got from China to Iran was left as a mystery.
Anyway, apparently as part of the war drums beating against China we are now allowed to talk about it, but not all of it.  So we read from the testimony of a DARPA employee who was part of the process.

China Throws Down

China released 3 statements last week.  One on US hegemony, one on US wealth inequality and one peace proposal.
The US has focused on the peace package because it outraged them.
But the hegemony statement is a bold challenge to the exceptionalism narrative the US presents to the world.  I think it is an interesting development, so I read most of it here.

Government Sponsored Censorship

Although we have a Bill of Rights, the government is now openly funding new and improved ways to censor your speech, and stomp out information and dissent.
Whatever the government funds, grows.   Sprinkling money on groups engaged in methods of repression is like watering your plants, it makes them flourish.

Speeches in Eastern Europe

Biden gave a speech in Poland and Putin gave a speech in Russia.
There is no escaping Biden's speech if you live in the US, so I only briefly mention it.  There is great difficulty finding Putin's speech if you live in the US, so I read part of it.

Democracy in Sovereign Ukraine

We cover how the US is influencing Ukraine's upcoming election by helping them repress alternative voices and candidates.
This is what the US calls "nurturing democracy".  This is because the spin doctors know no shame.

The East Palestine Train Derailment

A train derailment in Ohio caused chemical toxins to be released.   The authorities decided to burn the toxins, thus causing toxic materials to spread through the air, as well as the water. 
This happened on Feb. 3 but was not reported by the msm.  Now social media is spreading the news. 

US Sanctions on Syria

The US brazenly brags that they will not lift sanctions on Syria to provide earthquake relief, because the object is to beat Syrians into compliance with the empire.
The empire doesn't seem to realize how cruel this seems to decent people around the world.