Thursday, February 20, 2020
Early voting in Arkansas: VOTE NOW FOR BERNIE
EARLY VOTING IS CRUCIAL!
EARLY VOTING MAKES IT HARDER
FOR THE ESTABLISHMENT
TO STEAL THE NOMINATION
FROM BERNIE!!!
https://www.rockthevote.org/voting-information/election-dates-deadlines/arkansas/
Arkansas Primary Election
Mar 3, 2020
Early Voting: Feb 17, 2020 - Mar 2, 2020
In-Person Absentee Voting: Not available
Voter Registration Deadline
Postmarked by Mon Feb 3, 2020
In-Person, Received by Mon Feb 3, 2020
Deadline to Request an Absentee Ballot:
Email by Tue Feb 25, 2020
Deadline to Return Completed Absentee Ballot:
In-Person, Received by Mon Mar 2, 2020
Bloomberg’s Poll Numbers Show The Power Of Billionaire Narrative Control
by Caitlin Johnstone
Back in November Mike Bloomberg was polling at four percent nationally and had the highest disapproval rating of any potential Democratic presidential candidate, and understandably so; the man has a uniquely horrible record and no redeeming traits to speak of.
Now, after spending $400 million in broadcast, radio and cable ads, $42 million on Facebook ads, $36 million on Google ads, and an unknown fortune on other shady manipulations, a national Quinnipiac poll released last week put him at 15 percent nationally in the Democratic primary. This week national polls released by NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist and Zogby put him at 19 and 20 percent, respectively.
You can argue against the validity of polls all you like, and surely none of them are pristine representations of public opinion. But there's no denying that these numbers have gone way up, and there's no denying that now, approvingly or not, everyone's talking about Michael Bloomberg.
Late night talk show hosts are doing bits about the prevalence of Bloomberg ads. People are making satirical videos spoofing them. I've seen parents complaining that their kids recite lines from his ads at the dinner table. It's a story in itself. It's saturating social consciousness. It's very much a thing.
MICHAEL BLOOMBERG BUYS ADS INSIDE HIS OWN ADS (from @TheUNDERCULTURE) pic.twitter.com/H1dy5KxNz0
— James Adomian (@JAdomian) February 17, 2020
"Nothing remotely like what Mike Bloomberg is doing has ever been seen in US politics - nothing in the same universe," journalist Glenn Greenwald recently tweeted. "And the threat and danger it (and he) poses to US democracy is equally without comparison."
Greenwald is of course correct. But while Bloomberg is doing something that is without precedent, his campaign is also highlighting problems with the system which have existed for ages. And in my opinion it would be an unfortunate waste if his campaign came and went without these problems getting more attention than they currently are.
Mike Bloomberg is not the first plutocrat to use his wealth to manipulate a US election, and he is not the first plutocrat to use his wealth to manipulate public perception. He's just the first to do it so brazenly and ham-fistedly. The fact that it is both possible and easy for a billionaire to throw a vast fortune at an electoral race and drastically influence its direction tells us everything we need to know about the illusory nature of US democracy. And now it's right out in the open.
As long as a small elite group are able to manipulate the way people think and vote, then you don't have democracy, you have oligarchy. If that small elite group happens to be much wealthier than everyone else, then it's a specific kind of oligarchy known as plutocracy. You can watch this video and this video for some general information on the ways US plutocrats exert control over the political system, and you can read this fascinating thread here for more specific information on how Bloomberg has been stifling opposition and manipulating endorsements out of political figures using his unparallelled spending power.
The degree to which Michael Bloomberg is using his fortune to fundamentally alter & manipulate U.S. politics to his personal advantage extends way beyond ads. I've worked against him, covered him as a journalist & worked with his top aides. Here’s their playbook: (1/17)
— Blake Zeff (@blakezeff) February 13, 2020
This has been happening all the time, for generations, and not just with US elections but with Americans' perception of what's going on in their world as well. Whether it's running ads, buying up media outlets, funding think tanks or incentivizing politicians to regurgitate the desired lines, billionaires are constantly using their wealth to shore up narrative control, because they understand that whoever controls the narrative controls the world.
Bloomberg built a media empire. Jeff Bezos bought The Washington Post. Most of America's news media are owned or controlled by billionaires. Even that so-called "philanthropy" which mass media pundits keep crowing about in the same breath as Bloomberg's name is actually just another billionaire narrative control apparatus, allowing them to donate a tiny tax-deductible portion of their income in exchange for political influence, and buying them the ability to wear the fancy label of "philanthropist" instead of "sociopathic parasite".
Billionaires pour vast fortunes into think tanks, which are generally institutions where academics are paid to come up with the most intelligent-sounding arguments possible explaining why it would be good and smart to do something evil and stupid, whether that be the destruction of the ecosystem, regime change in Iran, or further corporate/financial deregulation. They then circulate those arguments at key points of influence.
For a Bloomberg-specific example of think tank narrative control, take the time his donations to the Center for American Progress (CAP) leveraged that think tank into removing a chapter from a 2015 report detailing his Orwellian surveillance program targeting Muslims back when he was the mayor of New York City. Back in 2013 The Nation's Ken Silverstein reported that CAP staffers "were very clearly instructed to check with the think tank’s development team before writing anything that might upset contributors." Sure enough, a former CAP staffer named Yasmine Taeb recently detailed for Democracy Now how "the chapter was flagged by a member of the executive committee who actually previously had worked for Mayor Bloomberg" and "said that there would be a strong reaction by Bloomberg World if this report was released as it was." At that point Bloomberg had given CAP nearly $1.5 million.
The billionaire class has to buy up narrative control because there is nothing about plutocracy that is sane or healthy; people would never knowingly consent to it unless they were manipulated into doing so. Because power is relative, and because money is power in a plutocracy, plutocrats are naturally incentivized to maintain a system where everyone else is kept as poor as possible so that they can have as much relative power as possible. A glance at what the Sanders campaign has been able to accomplish just with small-dollar donations and grassroots support gives you some insight into why these plutocrats want people working long, exhausting hours with as little spare income as possible.
[...]
Global Mining Corporations Have a Friend in the New Guatemalan Government
Ellen Moore, Jen Moore. Common Dreams. February 16, 2020
Guatemalan President Alejandro Giammattei is less than a month into his term and yet there are already disturbing signs that his administration will side with global mining corporations against indigenous communities fighting to protect their land and water.
The clearest sign to date: the appointment of Juan José Cabrera Alonso, a former executive of a controversial silver mine, as Special Secretary to the Vice President.
Cabrera was General Director for the Pan American Silver company’s Guatemalan subsidiary, Minera San Rafael, until May 2019. He was also in charge when the mine was violently imposed on local communities in 2013-2014, and, according to the Guatemalan government’s public registry of contracts and acquisitions, still serves as its legal representative today.
Mining operations at Escobal have been suspended since 2017, due in large part to widespread community opposition and a Supreme Court order that suspended the mine’s license over failure to consult with affected Xinka Indigenous people. Guatemala’s highest court upheld that suspension in September 2018 and ordered the Guatemalan government to consult with the Xinka before operations could resume.
During his election campaign, President Giammettei promised to restore confidence in the investment climate for transnational mining companies within the first 90 days of his administration. Cabrera’s new, cozy position within the Guatemalan government raises serious concerns about the influence he might be able to exert on behalf of the company to get the Escobal mine back up and running.
“Now, Pan American Silver has an operator on the inside to protect its interests,” said Quelvin Jiménez, lawyer for the Xinka Parliament who is Xinka himself. “The government is already attempting to exclude Xinka representatives and the Xinka Parliament from the consultation process. This appointment tells us that we should expect the government to continue to violate our rights.”
While General Director of Escobal, Cabrera worked closely with the government to obtain the exploitation license for the mine in 2013. This took place at a time when local communities and municipalities were holding their own referenda in which tens of thousands voted against any mining on their territory, and when over 200 individual complaints were filed against the approval of the exploitation license over potential environmental and health harms.
The Ministry of Energy and Mines dismissed these complaints without consideration hours before approving the mine’s license. In the weeks and months following, unarmed protesters were shot at and injured by mine security leading to a civil lawsuit against the company in Canada, the militarization of areas surrounding the mine, and numerous indigenous and environmental leaders were criminalized, threatened and even killed.
Cabrera’s appointment comes at an already tense moment. The government-led consultation with affected Xinka people has been stalled since November 2018, when Xinka Indigenous authorities first denounced violations of due process and discrimination. The Xinka Parliament has filed more than a dozen complaints about these violations on multiple occasions since, and has yet to receive an adequate response from authorities. Guatemala’s Human Rights Ombudsman, mandated by the Constitutional Court to act as a watchdog for the consultation, recently backed up their complaints.
President Giammattei has already declared martial law in two municipalities opposed to resource extraction. He also promised to fast-track a highly controversial law to regulate the consultation process. While sure to be contested, many fear this type of regulation would undermine long-term struggles for self-determination through a meaningless process of paper-pushing.
To support efforts in Guatemala to halt the government’s attempts to violate Xinka rights by restarting the destructive Escobal mine, international allies have launched a petition drive.
Pan American Silver, which is based in Canada, is clearly feeling some pressure. In response to a previous version of this blog published by Earthworks, a company official asserted that Juan José Cabrera Alonso no longer works for their subsidiary, Minera San Rafael.
The fact that Cabrera stepped down from his role as General Director in May 2019 is not in dispute. However, according to Guatemala’s public registry, Cabrera continues to serve as the company’s legal representative, effective through May 2, 2020. If Pan American Silver no longer has official ties to Cabrera, this should be reflected in the public registry. This is an example of the lack of transparency and access to information mine-impacted communities in Guatemala face every day.
Even if Cabrera no longer has official ties to the company, this doesn’t change his long-term relationship between the company’s wholly owned subsidiary.
Pan American Silver has a friendly ear at the highest level of Guatemalan government. Xinka communities do not.
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