Propaganda is to a democracy what the bludgeon is to a totalitarian state.
Thirty House Democrats, led by Rep. Joaquin Castro, publicly asked Secretary of State Marco Rubio on May 4 to end the long-standing U.S. policy of ambiguity around Israel’s nuclear capabilities. In a letter, the group asked for answers on detailed questions about Israel’s warheads, delivery systems, fissile material production, and nuclear doctrine. They argue that Congress has a constitutional responsibility to understand the nuclear balance in the Middle East and warn that official silence makes coherent nonproliferation policy impossible.
Lawmakers tied their demand for transparency directly to the current U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, warning that fighting alongside a state whose nuclear posture remains officially unacknowledged heightens the risks of miscalculation and escalation. It also makes the United States out to be hypocritical — citing the nonexistent threat of an Iranian nuclear weapon yet to be built, which Iran had forsworn, while simultaneously ignoring Israel’s secret, unmonitored, undiscussed nuclear weapons arsenal.
... full articleOnly the mob and the elite can be attracted by the momentum of totalitarianism itself. The masses have to be won by propaganda.
First, the good news: If you are in the United States, you are not going to catch the hantavirus. At least, you’re not going to catch the strain of the pathogen that’s been in the news lately.
That strain is known as the “Andes” variant, so named because it has previously been confined to South America. To repeat: It is not coming for us. We do have our own, made-in-the-USA hantavirus strain, called the “Sin Nombre” virus. It’s transmitted by inhalation of aerosolized rodent feces, urine or saliva and has caused under 1,000 cases since it was identified back in 1993, with the highest number of cases in the Southwest. If you live in New Mexico, Arizona, or Colorado, the risk of acquiring the virus when cleaning out a shed or garage is low but nontrivial. Put on an N-95 mask and wash your hands if you’re concerned. Otherwise? You’re going to be fine.
... full articleAll over the place, from the popular culture to the propaganda system, there is constant pressure to make people feel that they are helpless, that the only role they can have is to ratify decisions and to consume.
El presidente del Real Madrid, Florentino Pérez, convocó una conferencia de prensa de urgencia. La primera en once años. La expectación, pues, era máxima. “He pedido a la junta electoral que inicie el proceso para las elecciones a la presidencia”, se lanzó. El arranque prometía. Cuando muchas voces especulaban con una posible dimisión, Pérez sacó músculo. O esa parecía su intención. …
... full articleIt is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.
The U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, billed by the Trump administration as a “military operation,” has now evolved into a sustained confrontation with no clear exit strategy, no authorization from Congress, and no public transparency. The United States finds itself at a precarious juncture in a conflict of its own choosing. While high-level representatives from both countries met last month in Pakistan for ceasefire-linked negotiations, diplomatic efforts have not resulted in slowing a conflict that has increased regional instability.
The war remains unpopular both domestically and among U.S. allies, even as the Trump administration continues to try to rationalize entering a war of aggression. Reporting and political pressure have begun to focus on how and when this war will end, but the matter of whether the constitutional framework governing war will be meaningfully upheld is still a fundamental question that needs to be addressed.
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