Wakeful Video Weekend 2019-11-24 (25 videos)

Neat videos: First, a great video on what human life is meant to be (egalitarian and natural!). Next, billionaires are systemically evil. And lots more on: the money aristocracy, awareness, state coups, “Dem” debates, “Dem” candidates (Bernie vs Warren, Tulsi vs DNC, Biden BS), billionaires vs free speech, separating anger from action to make change, our political choice between fascism and a better world, and, and, and, incl. some humor. 🙂

Stars & channels: Christopher Ryan, Jimmy Dore, The Grayzone, The Real News Network, Democracy Now!, Abby Martin (Empire Files), The Michael Brooks Show, Hard Lens Media, Krystal Ball (The Hill), Secular Talk, Yanis Varoufakis, NonCompete, and a bunch more…

Topics:

1. Hunters & Gatherers’ Egalitarian, Social, Low-Work, Low-Worry & Low-Stress Life ***
2. Billionaire = Evil **
3. Money Aristocracy: Let’s Let Jeff Bezos Own the Whole Planet
4. Stimulating Conversation on Awareness
5. Bolivia’s Coup & its People’s Resistance
6. “Dem” Debate Analysis
7. Candidates (Bernie vs Warren, Tulsi vs DNC, Biden BS)
8. Media (Speech Monopoly / Treatment of Protests)
9. U.S. Schools & Teachers (shoved into the ditch)
10. Political Stubbornness, Rich Selfishness, & One Choice: … **
11. Populist vs Popular & Lying vs Snuggling Politicians
12. Thoughts: Focus on a Better World
13. Humor: Bolivia, Obama (“Don’t Hope!”)

 

1. Hunters & Gatherers’ Egalitarian, Social, Low-Work, Low-Worry & Low-Stress Life ***

There is a reason why in my critique of our abusive current system and promotion of a Good Life for All (incl. No Rich and No Poor but universal prosperity) system I regularly point at how our ancestors lived before resources-hoarding from agriculture and abusive large-population hierarchies ruined human life having us all born into a man-made hell to fizzle out our lives in:

How We Are Being “Civilized To Death” w/Christopher Ryan ~ The Jimmy Dore Show

Comments:

1. As far as our rapidly changing world goes, let’s not forget that those of us who grew up in the fifties, sixties, or possibly even seventies, grew up with the expectation of picking a profession, contributing to society in this profession throughout our working lives (stable working lives!!!), enjoy hobbies, maybe build or buy a home, and then retire in comfort for the last slice of our lives. But job security went away, retirement security went away. Even healthcare and education did. All was taken by the super rich to make themselves even richer. People like me have been crushed out of their jobs AND PROFESSIONS over and over and over again, losing all our lives savings every time, and seeing ahead of us a bleak future of a last phase of life in utter poverty and helplessness.
2. As far as trying to return to where we came from goes, there isn’t only hunting and fishing (and other hobbies) that resemble H&G life, there are also other popular activities: parties, sports, and VACATIONS… socializing with other people, traveling around to see nature or villages or town and ruins never seen before. Vacations that aren’t staycations (that poor people like me are often limited to, if in fact we aren’t busy hunting for a new job) do indeed resemble the roaming H&G life! Travel-vacations are such a high mark in people’s lives and so incredibly relaxing and recharging for some reason, aren’t they?
3. Our great ape relatives: Chimps resemble capitalism or (with the lack of hoardable resources) a simpler form of unequal authoritarianism. Bonobos (an evolutionary recent split from chimps) resemble the “Love not War” Hippie movement or communes that was perhaps sparked to no small extent by the development of birth control. We humans seem to have both instinctual MOs built in.
4. And kudos for bringing up the vastly important topic so generally avoided: our dying phase that our greed-driven capitalist society is not at all prepared to handle with any form of dignity. An issue we must discuss because it is critical and can also help us tie ourselves together and dismiss the silly distractions with which we are lambasted daily by the establishment.

 

2. Billionaire = Evil **

A good point to digest:

Anand Giridharadas | It Is Immoral To Be A Billionaire (5/8) | Oxford Union

 

3. Money Aristocracy: Let’s Let Jeff Bezos Own the Whole Planet

Why not? ;-p

Amazon Is Opening Grocery Stores & Why That’s Bad ~ The Jimmy Dore Show

 

4. Stimulating Conversation on Awareness

Matt Stoller: Pete Buttigieg, Obama are con artists ~ The Hill

 

5. Bolivia’s Coup & its People’s Resistance

Taking Power by violent means is not a legitimizing democracy. Mass killings by the military are the means of a tyranny not an act against an alleged dictator (who was actually a democratically elected president who halved the poverty rate in his country). Declaring a military coup a liberation act against a “dictator” who actually is a democratically elected president with a liberating track record is highly ironic, and yet these things are now common practice of our corporate media and fascist politicians.

The real picture – the real dictator:

Who is Bolivia’s far-right US-backed coup leader? ~ The Grayzone

Systematic, Well-Planned Coup & a Talk with Bolivia’s U.N. Ambassador:

Bolivian U.N. Ambassador: “Racist Elite” Engineered Coup to Restore Neoliberalism in Bolivia ~ Democracy Now!

OAS Deception Helped the Coup in Bolivia

How OAS Deception Helped the Coup in Bolivia ~ The Real News Network

Resistance & Trouble

Bolivia crisis : food, gasoline shortages reported in several cities ~ FRANCE 24 English

“Christian” Mass Shootings of Peaceful Indiginous People

Massacre in Cochabamba: Anti-Indigenous Violence Escalates as Mass Protests Denounce Coup in Bolivia ~ Democracy Now!

Interview with Evo Morales

‘We’ll be back’: Evo Morales on Bolivia unrest and his resignation | Talks to Al Jazeera ~ Al Jazeera English

Here is an older interview from the week before that I somehow missed:

Exclusive Interview with Bolivian President Evo Morales ~ TeleSUR English

If you’re interested in South American fascist dictatorships you may profit from this guy’s long and slow analysis, basically a way to research and think about it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhln6RIR7d8

Some more latest info here (but not the very latest either, which may not have made it into the English language sphere, yet): Evo Morales urges UN to stop bloodshed in Bolivia

Also, Niko House claims the Bolivian congress has held a vote rejecting Evo Morales’ resignation (but his source is unknown to me): BREAKING: Bolivian Congress Rejects Evo Morales Resignation In Sharp Rebuke Of Military Coup

More detail on what’s behind all this, and the problem we have with unaccountable government institutions, (incl. a short but cool Chris Hedges video) can be found in the next article: Unaccountable U.S. Government Agencies

 

6. “Dem” Debate Analysis

This discussion of Abby Martin and Mike Prysner is definitely more meaningful and less boring than the establiishment-run debates aimed at attacking worthwhile candidates and issues:

Empire Files LIVE – Post-Debate Show

 

7. Candidates (Bernie vs Warren, Tulsi vs DNC, Biden BS)

Bernie vs Warren on Foreign Policy

Elizabeth Warren’s Problematic Bolivia Comments ~ The Young Turks

Bernie Speaks Up (a little) for Palestinians

Bernie: Treat Palestinians With “Dignity & Respect”! ~ The Jimmy Dore Show

Bernie for Whistleblowers

Shoutout: Bernie Sanders Will End Whistleblower Prosecutions ~ The Michael Brooks Show

Tulsi vs the DNC

Set to start where it cuts to the chase:

DNC FREAKS OUT at Tulsi Gabbard’s Effective Campaign ~ Hard Lens Media

Biden BS

Krystal Ball: A dire warning for Joe Biden supporters ~ The Hill

 

8. Media (Speech Monopoly / Treatment of Protests)

Speech Monopoly: Should Zuckerberg OWN all Free Speech? ***

CNN Host Breaks With Conventional Wisdom On Facebook & Fake News ~ Secular Talk

Media Treatment of Protests

Hong Kong Protest Narratives and Double Standards | BadEmpanada

 

9. U.S. Schools & Teachers (shoved into the ditch)

A PARTIAL report on it (things like how teachers are not only underpaid and overworked (with lots of BS paper work, BS meetings, and BS continued education to regularly renew their teaching license) they are also treated as disposable commodities, us getting told all the time how much teacher sortage we have while their contracts don’t get renewed year after year to keep them at low pay and have principals use this to excuse the missing increase in student scores):

A real education: The plight of teachers ~ CBS Sunday Morning

Sooo… don’t expect more than a partial insight from our corporate media.

 

10. Political Stubbornness, Rich Selfishness, & One Choice: … **

… Brutal Fascist Government or a good-for-the-people New Deal. Insightful conversation with Yanis Varoufakis (set to start at 32:03 min in were it begins to cut to the chase(s)):

Yanis Varoufakis | Cambridge Union

Less powerful but interesting if mentally stuck on the populism term or what politicians stand for and are like:

 

11. Populist vs Popular & Lying vs Snuggling Politicians

Is populism fostering progress, stagnation or regress? – Kishwer Falkner and Yanis Varoufakis ~ UBS Center

 

12. Thoughts: Focus on a Better World

Separating our anger and our actions (video set to start where it begins to cut to the chase):

Soft Is Strong: Standing Firm Without Losing Your Compassion [mirror] ~ NonCompete

 

13. Humor: Bolivia, Obama (“Don’t Hope!”)

People in Bolivia & Venezuela fighting for Democracy

… while our oligarchy relentlessly tries to crush it… and turning a blind eye to it because of our own problems at home is giving up on solidarity and on calling the despots to account:

Corporate News Repeats CIA Propaganda On Bolivian Coup ~ The Jimmy Dore Show

Note: When we, the people of the U.S., turn a blind eye to U.S.-institution-run coups (plus political imprisonment & and assassinations) against Bernie Sanders equivalents in other countries (like Evo Morales, Hugo Chávez, Nicolás Maduro, Lula da Silva, just to name a recent few), what can we expect here at home?

Obama: Stop Hoping for Change!

Obama Tells Dems Don’t Be “Too Far Left” ~ The Jimmy Dore Show

 

 

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