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Chosen Leaders, Proven Failures and Political Debacles
James Petras
Introduction
With a few notable exceptions, political leaders are chosen by political leaders, and not by electorates or community-based organizations or popular assemblies. Popular media figures and the so-called ‘pundits’, including academics and self-declared experts and ‘think-tank’ analysts reinforce and propagate these choices.
A collection of terms and pseudo concepts are essential in validating what is really an oligarchical process. These concepts are tagged onto whoever is chosen by the elite for electoral candidates or for the seizure of political power. With this framework in mind, we have to critically analyze the symbols and signs used by popular opinion-makers as they promote political elites. We will conclude by posing an alternative to the ‘propaganda of choice’, which has so far resulted in broken pre-election promises and political debacles.
Language and Pseudo-Concepts: Subterfuges for Manipulated Choices
The usual suspects in the business of mass-manipulation describe their political leaders in the same folksy or pseudo-serious terms that they attribute to themselves: Experts/ intuitive improvisers/ trial and error ‘muddlers’. The ‘experts’ often mean wrong-headed policymakers and advisers whose decisions usually reflect the demands of their current paymasters. Their stated or unstated assumptions are rarely questioned and almost never placed in the context of the contemporary power structures. The experts determine the future trajectory for their political choices. In this way, the views expressed by ‘experts’ are primarily ideological and not some disembodied scholarly entity floating in an indeterminate space and time.
Pundits often promote ‘experience’ in describing the ‘experienced’ leader, adviser or cabinet member. They denigrate the opposition candidate adversary as ‘lacking experience’. The obvious questions to this platitude should be: ‘What kind of experience? What were the political results of this experience? Who did this experience serve?
Trump Allies w. Israel’s Justice Minister Who Advocated Exterminating Palestinians
Eric Zuesse
Many news-reports indicate that President-Elect Donald Trump’s Israel policy is in accord with that of his Orthodox Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner, who allegedly allies himself with Israel’s Jewish Home Party, which favors Israel's absorbing both the West Bank and the Gaza strip and imposing upon Palestinians the full rule by Israel’s government, regardless whether they accept it or not.
The Jewish Home Party was co-founded by Ayelet Shaked, Netanyahu’s Press Secretary, and by Naftali Bennett. Both Bennett and Shaked were elected to Israel’s Knesset or parliament in 2013. Bennett was Netanyahu’s Minister of Economy until 2015, when Netanyahu appointed him Minister of Education. During 2006-2008 Bennett had been Netanyahu’s Chief of Staff. On 14 May 2015, Shaked started her service, appointed by Benjamin Netanyahu, as Israel’s Minister of Justice, equivalent to America’s Attorney General, serving now in a different and much higher capacity than before, her former boss, Netanyahu.
UN Aid in Syria Going to US-Supported Terrorists
Stephen Lendman
The UN largely operates as a wholly owned US subsidiary, serving its imperial interests - in flagrant violation of its Charter principles.
On November 30, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said world body aid is politicized - crumbs alone earmarked for thousands of Deir al-Zor residents, trapped by ISIS fighters, desperately needing help.
Most UN aid goes to US-supported terrorists. On Wednesday, Russia’s General Staff head of main operations Gen. Sergei Rudskoi accused the UN and other international organizations of refusing to provide humanitarian aid to Aleppo residents.
“The Russian Center for Reconciliation did not receive a single proposal on the humanitarian aid deliveries either from the UN or from any other international organization as if civilians no longer need food and medicine after militants have been driven out,” Rudskoi explained, Moscow alone providing it.
Trump Says Will Focus Solely on Presidency, Not Business
Stephen Lendman
In multiple tweets I’m combining, he said:
“I will be holding a major news conference in New York City with my children on December 15 to discuss the fact that I will be leaving my…great business in total in order to fully focus on running the country to MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
“While I am not mandated to do this under the law, I feel it is visually important, as President, to in no way have a conflict of interest with my various businesses..”
“Hence, legal documents are being crafted which take me completely out of business operations. The Presidency is a far more important task!”
Trump Picks Wall Street Banker to Run Treasury
Stephen Lendman
Once a Wall Street banker, always one. Rare exceptions prove the rule. Goldman Sachs alum Steven Mnunchin is Trump’s choice for Treasury.
After 17 years at GS, he became OneWest Bank Group chairman and CEO, an enterprise connected to George Soros.
He founded motion picture production and financing company RatPac-Dune Entertainment after serving as Trump’s presidential campaign finance chair. He’s chairman and CEO of hedge fund Dune Capital Management.
Like GW Bush, his father, grandfather and John Kerry, he belonged to Yale University’s secretive Skull and Bones.
Other noted alumni include Supreme Court chief justices, CIA officials, cabinet members, congressmen, senators, and business leaders, among other prominent members of society.
Jill Stein Wouldn’t Know Real Democracy If It Bit Her on the Rump
Stephen Lendman
Demanding meaningless recounts disruptively wastes time, money, achieving nothing - other than besmirching her already tarnished name and reputation.
Her scheme shows she knows nothing about America’s political system - notably its history, its framers, and who they were. Today we’d call them a Wall Street bunch, the Constitution no masterpiece of political architecture.
Jefferson believed it wouldn’t stand the test of time. He urged a new convention every 20 years to make it relevant to the times. It was the product of duplicitous framers and cronies, scheming to cut the best deals for themselves, democracy never considered.
They created a government of men, excluding women - not laws, serving privileged interests exclusively, how things work today more than ever.
Barack Obama Is Not Interested in the Liberation of Aleppo from the Militants
Anna Jaunger.
The Syrian Army which is backed by its allies has started to prepare for the beginning of large-scale ground operations to liberate eastern districts of Aleppo, which are controlled by illegal armed gangs. However, in spite of a state of siege, the terrorists are continuing to bombard western districts of Aleppo which are under the protection of government forces.
What is the reaction of Washington and Western countries to the situation in Aleppo? Yesterday in Berlin EU leaders and a current US president Barack Obama spoke of the need to immediately stop the Syrian government forces' attacks on Aleppo districts held by terrorists. In addition, Obama expressed Washington's intention to achieve a peaceful settlement of the Syrian conflict. According to him, this way will prevent a new migration crisis and avoid the numerous casualties among the civilians. Presenting his proposal, Obama did not neglect to mention that these consequences were caused by the actions of the government army and its allies.
It also should be mentioned that, despite the constant accusations, Washington still has not provided any evidence of the government army's blame for the casualties of civilians. They often sound, at least, stupid, considering that Syrian and allied aircraft haven't been flying over Aleppo for a month by now.
Jill Stein’s Post-Election Fundraising May Not Go for Recounts
Stephen Lendman
She’s raised millions of dollars from naive donors, most of it likely dirty money from anti-Trump dark forces, her goal $7 million for recounts in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
Her scheme is a ruse, a cruel hoax to undermine Trump’s election, steal it for Hillary, wanting her as America’s 45th president, not him - underhanded tactics OK, under the phony guise of assuring “election integrity.”
Individuals duped to donating should demand their money back. Dark forces have plenty to spread around for toxic purposes. A scheme to install Hillary as president instead of Trump is despicable enough. Here’s another reason.
According to lawnewz.com, familiar with “the fine print” of Stein’s fundraising, a clause states:
“We cannot guarantee a recount will happen in any of these states we are targeting. We can only pledge we will demand recounts in those states.”
Hillary’s Dirty Hands Involved in Stein’s Recount Scam?
Stephen Lendman
According to attorney Marc Elias, Hillary’s campaign “quietly t(ook) a number of steps in the last two weeks to rule in or out any possibility of outside interference in the vote tally in these critical battleground states” - referring to Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.
They “uncovered (no) actionable evidence of hacking or outside attempts to alter the voting technology.”
Yet Elias repeated the Big Lie, claiming Russian hacking of DNC emails and interfering in America’s electoral process, despite no credible evidence suggesting it, just baseless accusations - part sour grapes, part Russia bashing.
He said Hillary’s campaign will participate in Wisconsin’s recount, lawyers representing her in court, if needed. If the process is repeated in Michigan and Pennsylvania, her representatives will also be involved.
The ‘Worker President’ and the Banker Regime: Brazil under Lula DaSilva 2003-2010
James Petras
Introduction
Leftwing academics, writers and journalists have written tendentious articles where they manage to transform reactionary political leaders into working class heroes and present their dreadful policies as progressive advances.
Recently, leftist pundits throughout US and Latin America have plagued the reading public with gross distortions of historical events contributing, in their own way, to the demise of the left and the rise of the right.
The leading international figures in this deceptive leftwing punditry include the famous Noam Chomsky, once eulogized by the New York Times (NYT) as ‘America’s most important public intellectual’. Such effusion is not surprising: Professor Chomsky and the NYT both supported the presidential candidacy of the warmongering Hillary Clinton, the perpetrator of seven wars that uprooted 20 million people from Syria, Libya, Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen, sub-Sahara Africa (Is this any different from Stalin in the ‘30’s?) and author/supporter of numerous coups and attempted ‘regime changes’ in Brazil, Honduras, Venezuela, Paraguay and Ukraine.
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