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I'd point out that in addition to the actions Glenn highlights above, we also have the current administration either watching silently or giving tacit approval to congressional efforts to encourage corporate censorship of independent journalism.

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The media has been predominantly a leftist agenda driven entity for decades. And for those decades distortion of truth has been the MO. This is not new. 90%+ journalists are self described leftists.

What is new is the left now has, for the most part, power over everything.

Yet the same people who vote for Bernie and think he’s their ideal, a man who fell in love with the drabby pathetic life of Eastern European communism at a young age, are surprised that censorship has taken hold when the left gets power? It’s surreal how detached from reality the left has become.

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Oh, I don't wonder *how* they can lie with a straight face, I know how and why. It's precisely because the United States doesn't have a free press. It has an establishment-(D) loving propaganda machine who will NEVER question the words coming out of that liar's mouth. And HE KNOWS IT. They wouldn't dream of challenging the lies of a Democrat Administration.

They never challenged Dementia Joe when he was calling a lid on the day at 9 am during the campaign and they're not going to challenge anything that this administration does or lies about for the next four years. Get used to it. I've seen this shit before.

Props to you, and only you, for pointing it out.

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I think we should take Blanken at his word when he says, "Countries that deny freedom of the press don't have a lot of confidence in themselves or their systems".

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One of the reasons why I largely stopped reading mainstream newspapers is their failure to stand up for Assange. Just looking back to the "reporting" about the Assange trial by the Guardian ...

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I think I may be a good example of why the US government is scared of Assange and unrestricted journalism. I changed my mind about our military and our government after the reporting on what we were doing in Iraq was exposed. I was disgusted and changed my entire perspective about being lied to. I don't think I was alone.

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Blinken and all these guys are stooges for the oligarchy, which I think most people understand in some way, even if they don't fully know what the endgame is. The bigger picture is that the Western financial oligarchy is siting atop the largest financial bubble in human history, hundreds of trillions of dollars in worthless derivatives debt, which the bailouts have been used to keep afloat. In contrast, the Eurasian nations have opted for real physical economic development, and they have not allowed themselves to be kept hostage by predatory financial centers in the same way as the west. Notice all the city building, infrastructure, high speed rail, advanced nuclear power?

The western oligarchy is trying at all cost to somehow stop these developments.

In light of this, I think it's important to keep a discussion of solutions are forefront. Let Wall Street and the City of London go bankrupt. Let their worthless debts be cancelled, and let the average person, their savings, loans to productive business be protected. This is what happened in the 1930s when Roosevelt went to all out war with Wall Street.

https://risingtidefoundation.net/2021/02/06/how-to-overcome-todays-crisis-a-lesson-from-fdr/

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I hear that there is a Third World country where the recently deposed president is blocked from criticizing the current regime on social media. At least we ought to be able to lecture that sh*thole place about their lack of political free speech.

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Thank you Glen. Keep doing what you're doing.

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The clip of Azerbaijani president responding to BBC’s crackdown claims by asking her about Assange: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9s6YggbTk4

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Beyond farcical. Lecturing others about press freedoms while torturing Assange and seeking to put him away for life, along with other whistleblowers. Lecturing others about THEIR aggression/militarism while encircling the globe with 800+ military bases (vs China’s/Russia’s, what, a fistful of foreign bases?), having a larger military budget than the next 10 countries combined and bombing/droning, what, 7 countries just right at this moment? Lecturing others over their alleged interference in US affairs/elections while overtly (and covertly) interfering in, undermining, couping, invading innumerable countries at will. Lecturing others about democracy and human rights while supporting and arming the 73% of the world’s dictatorships that obey US dictates/are client states and routinely toppling democracies that dare disobey. https://truthout.org/articles/us-provides-military-assistance-to-73-percent-of-world-s-dictatorships/

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It's Blinkin's hypocrisy that is so appalling . . . and yet, so expected.

Where would the left be without double standards (as well as confirmation bias and confirmation bias's handmaiden, the post-hoc, ergo propter hoc fallacy)?

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Which came first? The shitty politician, willing to lie, cheat, steal, corrupt and destroy any and every one or thing to win? Or the righteous superiority complex in our ignorant society that demanded for one?

What blows my mind is that we as an American society have not only come to expect and accept this from our leaders, but we are utterly complicit. We don’t protest it. We vote for it repeatedly, the same people over and over for decades on end. We donate and endorse and rally behind it. No matter how many bombs our government drops, no matter how many innocent civilians are killed by our military... we do nothing. Fight and argue about ideologies and virtues with anyone who isn’t in line online. That’s what we do.

Sadly, I believe our government is INDEED representing us. Exactly as we are: ignorant, vicious and corrupted. Unable to do democracy. Unable to do diplomacy. Unable to not attack others and take to satisfy our selfish, overwhelming needs. Unable to discern anything presented to us-because we’re right and that’s all there is to it.

The order say I heard something that left me hollow. I seriously felt like a hot air balloon that just lost it’s fire. The conversation was going well and was about how the US having bases at other country’s footsteps with weapons pointing isn’t such a great national security idea. And that we clearly use them to commit crimes abroad and kill innocent people and get away with it because there are no consequences because I said “we are bullies.” The response was “well, we do have them (weapons). And we will launch.” With this smile I can’t stomach -some kind of evil “I know we’re wrong but there’s nothing they can do about it so... lucky us!”. Made me sick hearing that. That there are innocent dead people out there whose families hold us responsible and can do nothing about it, and we’re over here bragging that yeah, no you can’t do nothing about it because if you do 💣

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Glenn - I love reading your Substack but believe your comments section is often hijacked by people who often engage in petty off-topic bickering.

I read a lot of blogs and have found the heavily moderated comment section at ‘nakedcapitalism.com’ to have the most informative and interesting comment section of all. Their commenters often add far more to an article than just the article alone.

I don’t suspect you have the time or inclination for that type of moderation but here is a suggestion: Allow subscribers one comment and one reply comment per article. I think this would greatly improve the quality of your comment section which should be a place for thoughtful discussion, not middle school bickering.

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Antony Blinken is clearly evil. He certainly knows better.

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"How can you feign anger over others’ attacks on a free press when you imprison Assange as punishment for his vital revelations about U.S. officials?" Because no government is every really interested in free press. Lenin said, "A lie told often enough becomes the truth." Those in power didn’t get there by telling the truth--or wanting the truth be told by others. They got there by manipulating stories. The internet has proved as dangerous for the State as the printing press did in 1440. People like Assange can't be disseminating information to the general public. Free access to information is dangerous. People will do all sorts of crazy things--like decide children shouldn't have to wear masks, and they will do research to back up this idea and band together with others who agree. And so, such irrationals will be labeled conspiracy theorists. Once this label is applied, all conversation is shut down. A State version of truth must be told across all platforms. Anything else must be discredited and silenced. This isn't going to end well... https://khmezek.substack.com/p/the-problem-of-faith

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