Stay tuned folks, this morning’s inactivity at the Ghion Journal was but a precursor to a deluge of posts that is about to come your way. A deluge at least by our standards since we make it our purpose to be more “slow news” than we are the funk food that corporate media has become. By slow news, I’m referring to the time in the not too distant past when we took time to consume information and think on it for a while instead of the era we live in now where more and more scan articles, skim a few sentences then move on to the next sensational headline.
We are a TMZ society, fitting since our president is a reality show carnival barker who has exported his “shithole” to the District of Caligula. Given this paradigm, our aim at the Ghion Journal is to turn back the hands of time just a wee bit and cater to readers and thinkers who actually enjoy quality writing and articles that challenge conventional wisdom. It is with this aim of reclaiming journalism from the clutches of corporate personalities and pundits that we started the Ghion Water segment. The hope is not to be the leaders of independent journalism, rather we want to collaborate with like minded and non-corporate voices to bring an awareness to the public at large of the imperative of having a free and vibrant independent press.
This will only be possible if fellow independent journalists and non-corporate reporters band together and collaborate instead of competing against one another. It is with this in mind that I post excerpts from various independent media outlets and non-corporate voices and provide links to their sites; my hope is to direct readers of the Ghion Journal to other sites who are doing amazing work and in the process grow the influence and reach of independent journalists as a whole. Enough of me writing (I do that a lot), on to news and notes from truly independent journalists from around the world.
Whitewashing Martin Luther King
This year marks the 50th anniversary of King’s tragic assassination, and though countless publications will brim with commemorations and retrospectives of this misunderstood icon, most will miss the mark. Long ago co-opted and sanitized by mainstream political figures, the King of memory bears little resemblance to the radical, complex man himself. He’s remembered by Democrats and Republicans alike as the “good,” “peaceful” civil rights leader—a useful foil for the “bad” activists of the black power movement, the Stokely Carmichaels, Malcolm Xs and Huey Newtons of the world. In reality, the categories were never so neat, the commonalities staggering. [from Truthdig]
Duplicitous Natural Criminals aka the DNC
The great thing about the Democratic cult of anti-Trumpism is that it isn’t actually about anything. It turns the sitting president into a placeholder to point at and scream “NOT THAT!” without ever actually doing anything to advance the well-being of Americans or providing any real inertia to the actual threats this administration poses in any meaningful way, and get everyone applauding “Yes, I agree! Not that!” It’s not for anything, it’s just anti-something that the Democratic base is inherently opposed to anyway. It’s a fake plastic toy they give rank-and-file Democrats to play with so they’re too preoccupied to reach for something real, like healthcare, peace, or justice. [from Caitlin Johnstone]
Situational Morality Should Be an Olympic Sport
The Resistance is not only pushing Bannon as credible and a book that should be read but just recently they were pedaling a fund to give money to families of the FBI. Mueller and Comey are now the darlings of the Resistance, liberals are professing daily, their love and support of an organization that’s known for its systemic racism, profiling and destruction of black communities and activists for decades. What’s even more shameful are the many black people that I’ve seen ready and willing to go along. I had a college friend today send me a group text, expressing jubilation for her ordering of Fire & Fury, yet this same woman refused to believe anything that Donna Brazile said about Hillary and the DNC. [from Politics Peach]
What the Charlatan in Chief Wrought…
“Financially, I thought he’s a genius. I said, ‘Well, America’s in debt; maybe he can do something and turn the economy around.’ Obviously, it’s not looking that way. Mr. Trump didn’t do his research and made himself look silly in front of the nation when these layoffs and early retirements began,” Duane Oreskovic, a Trump voter who lost his job Thursday, told the New Yorker. In retrospect, Oreskovic concluded that he wishes he voted for Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
“I would have voted for him if I could do it again,” he said.
As Reuters reports, 1,000 workers will remain at the factory—in positions that were “never slated to move”—while the other “jobs are going to the company’s plant in Monterrey, Mexico, where workers make about $3 an hour.” Carrier, however, will continue to benefit from the $7 million in state tax breaks it was rewarded for keeping its factory in Indiana. [from Common Dreams]
Cancerous Capitalism and Wall Street Larcenists Convention
In the first few days of what’s become known as J.P. Morgan Week, New Jersey-based Celgene announced it would spend up to $7 billion to acquire Impact Biomedicines. And Novo Nordisk, the world’s biggest insulin maker, bid $3.1 billion for a Belgian biotech firm. For those who didn’t land a coveted invite, satellite conferences on digital health and biotechnology dot the city, offering lesser mortals an opportunity to network and make their own deals. Former Vice President Joe Biden even popped into town to keynote the StartUp Health Festival satellite conference, speaking about cancer treatment costs and electronic health records. The J.P. Morgan gathering comes at a jarring time when you consider that the other world of health care is flooded with uncertainty for the millions of ordinary Americans who inhabit it. They face a precarious political landscape in which the future of the Affordable Care Act remains uncertain and Republican leaders in Congress mull dramatic cuts to Medicaid and Medicare. [from Naked Capitalism]
Because War is Always Always a Racket
While ignoring the US/Saudi coalition airstrikes and the thousands of civilians they killed, however, MSNBC did report on Houthi attacks on Saudi warships of the coast of Yemen. In his show MTP Daily (2/1/17), Chuck Todd favorably covered the anti-Iran posturing of Trump and National Security advisor Michael Flynn. He misleadingly spoke of the Houthis as Iranian proxies and gave former US diplomat Nicholas Burns a platform to claim, “Iran is a violent troublemaker in the Middle East.” On February 1 and 2, Chris Hayes also reported on the Houthi attack. MSNBC was eager to highlight attacks by US official enemies, yet the tens of thousands of air sorties Saudi Arabia has launched in Yemen—with weapons, fuel and intelligence from the US and UK—were made almost entirely invisible by the network. [from Fair.org]
From the YouTubes
This Day in History
1942 - President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders all aliens in the U.S. to register with the government. Contrary to popular beliefs, all the injustices of the world did not start on January 20, 2017. Regardless of how much they try to indoctrinate you, when it comes to our two parties, evil truly is bipartisan in the District of Caligula.
Quote of the Day
“The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.” ~ Ernest Hemingway
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Teodrose Fikre
Originally from Ethiopia with roots to Atse Tewodros II, Teodrose is a former community organizer whose writing was incorporated into Barack Obama's South Carolina primary victory speech in 2008. He pivoted away from politics and decided to stand for collective justice after experiencing the reality of the forgotten masses. His writing defies conventional wisdom and challenges readers to look outside the constraints of labels and ideologies that serve to splinter the people. Teodrose uses his pen to give a voice to the voiceless and to speak truth to power.
Latest posts by Teodrose Fikre (see all)
- Why I’m Not Defending Representative Ilhan Omar Anymore - April 13, 2019
- Breaking News: Julian Assange Arrested in London, the World Bears Witness - April 11, 2019
- Event Alert: Race and Identity in America #LeaveRace - April 10, 2019
